MONDAY 5TH DECEMBER 2022 by THISDAY Newspapers Ltd

Zenith Wins ‘Bank of the Year Nigeria’ in The Banker’s Awards James Emejo in Abuja Zenith Bank Plc has emerged as ‘Bank of the Year in Nigeria’ in The Banker’s Bank of the year awards 2022. The award, which was announced by The Banker Magazine, Financial Times Group, United Kingdom, during an awards ceremony held

in London, on December 1, 2022, was in recognition of Zenith Bank's strong management, sound business model and strategy, support for small businesses and efforts to cut energy consumption. According to the Banker, Nigeria's Bank of the Year award was among the continent's most hotly contested this year, befitting the country's

status as Africa's largest economy. This came on the heels of the award as Number One Bank in Nigeria by Tier-1 Capital by The Banker won by Zenith Bank earlier in the year. Commenting on the award, the Group Managing Director/CEO of Zenith Bank Plc, Ebenezer Onyeagwu, was quoted in a statement

yesterday to have said, "winning the Bank of the Year attests to our tenacity as an institution despite a very challenging operating environment exacerbated by persistent macroeconomic headwinds. “Indeed, being recognised by The Banker – the world’s longest running international banking title, is an acknowledgement of

the resilience of the Zenith brand as the leading financial institution in Nigeria and the West African sub-region." He lauded the Founder and Chairman, Jim Ovia, for his guidiance and pioneering role in laying the foundation and building the structures for an enduring and successful institution, the Board

for their outstanding leadership, the staff for their commitment and dedication as well as the Bank’s customers for their unflinching loyalty to the Zenith brand over the years. Regarded as the industry standard for banking excellence, The Continued on page 9

CBN Oﬀered N7.33trn Treasury Bills in Six Months... Page 5 Monday 5 December, 2022 Vol 27. No 10100. Price: N250

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Adeleke: Oyetola Set Many Traps for Me, I’m Yanking Them Oﬀ... Page 58

Buhari: We Need Urgent Action Plan Against Terrorism in W’Africa Wants new ECOWAS management to complete on-going reforms Flays unconstitutional changes in sub-region Deji Elumoye and Michael Olugbode in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari, has called for quick implementation

of ECOWAS action plan against terrorism and other crimes in West Africa. The president, who canvassed this position in his welcome address

at the 62nd Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government in Abuja, yesterday, stressed that there is the urgent need to fully bring

into operation, the regional action plan in the fight against terrorism and other acts of criminality in the sub-region. According to him, this move

would guarantee enhanced safety aimed at sustaining national governance efforts that would ensure the growth and progress of the West African sub-region.

He called on the new management team at ECOWAS Commission led by Dr. Omar Alieu Continued on page 9

With Poverty, Education, Health in Focus, Presidential Hopefuls Mull Solutions at Arise Town Hall Atiku: I’ll remove bottlenecks, wastages in govt Obi: I'm ready to channel subsidy funds to the key sectors Kwankwaso: Ensuring financial autonomy for LGAs critical Deji Elumoye, Chuks Okocha, Adedayo Akinwale, Udora Orizu, Emameh Gabriel and Juliet Akoje in Abuja It was a battle of ideas, yesterday, at the third in a series town hall meeting, organised by the Arise News Channel and its partners, where three of the leading presidential candidates – the Peoples Democratic Party’s Atiku Abubakar, Labour Party’s Peter Obi and the New Nigeria Peoples Party’s Rabiu Kwankwaso – took on four critical issues of poverty, education, health and human capital development as central to the growth and development of the country, preparatory to the 2023 general election. Transmitted simultaneously from panelists, both in the Lagos and the Abuja studios of Arise Television, the programme jointly anchored by seasoned broadcasters, Charles Aniagolu and Adesuwa Omoruwa, was the second the candidates appeared on, having featured in the maiden edition of the Town Hall dialogue last month. Continued on page 9

GROUNDBREAKING CEREMONY FOR NEW ECOWAS HEADQUARTERS...

L-R: Ambassador of the People's Republic of China to Nigeria, Cui Jianchun; President Muhammadu Buhari; Chairman of Authority of ECOWAS Heads of State and Government and President of Guinea Bissau, Umaro Sissoco Embalo; President of Sierra Leone . Julius Maada Bio; President of the ECOWAS Commission, Omar Alieu Touray, and FCT Minister Muhammad Bello, during the groundbreaking ceremony of the new ECOWAS headquarters in Abuja...yesterday PHOTO: GODWIN OMOIGUI.

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Group News Editor: Goddy Egene Email: Goddy.egene@thisdaylive.com, 0803 350 6821, 0809 7777 322, 0807 401 0580

NEWS

CONVOCATION OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PORT HARCOURT... L-R: Registrar and Secretary to the Council, University of Port Harcourt, Dr. Gloria Chinda; Pro-chancellor and Chairman of Council, University of Port Harcourt, Senator Andrew Ichendu; Chief Executive Oﬃcer, Lekki Gardens Estate Limited, Dr. Richard Nyong, and Vice Chancellor, University of Port Harcourt, Prof. Owunari Abraham Georgewill, during the conferment of Honorary Doctorate Degree on Nyong at the convocation of the University held in Port Harcourt…recently

CBN Offered N7.33trn Treasury Bills in Six Months FG’s domestic debt increased by N3.28trn in H1 as debt service rose to 40.74% Renews bilateral currency swap agreement with China James Emejo in Abuja The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) yesterday said it offered treasury bills amounting to N7.33 trillion in the first half of the year (H1 2022) while total public subscriptions amounted to N10.94 trillion. The bank also stated that the total outstanding FGN domestic debt stock amounted to N20.91 trillion, representing an increase of N3.28 trillion or 18.59 per cent outstanding as of June 2022, which was higher than the N17.63 trillion recorded in June 2021. This was contained in the CBN Financial Market Half-Year Activity Report 2022, which was obtained from the central bank’s website yesterday. Consequently, the report noted that the cost of debt service increased by 40.74 per cent to N1.37 trillion at half-year compared to N977.03 billion in June last year, due to the increase in borrowings by the federal government. The apex bank further stated that a total of $9.30 billion was sold at the foreign exchange market including spot sales

worth $4.39 billion or 47.57 per cent and forwards sales of $4.84 billion during the review period. The CBN explained that it sustained its intervention in the foreign exchange market during the review period to enhance supply, moderate demand pressures, and preserve the value of the naira, stressing that intervention was made through sales for invisibles, small and medium enterprises and at the Investors’ & Exporters’ window and interbank secondary market intervention sales. The CBN further disclosed that it made purchases from autonomous sources, particularly from oil-producing and servicing companies. Nonetheless, the central bank pointed out that the increase in the subscription to treasury bills was largely attributed to investors’ appetite for risk-free assets and stable yields on the National Treasury Bills (NTBs). The bank noted that the structure of allotment in the first half of the year indicated that commercial banks took up N1.78 trillion or 73.78 per cent, mandate and

internal funds customers accounted for N564.50 billion or 23.37 per cent, while merchant banks took up the balance of N68.87 billion or 2.85 per cent. The central bank also revealed that the implementation of the three-year N720.00 billion/ CNY15.00 billion Bilateral Currency Swap Agreement between the Bank and the People’s Bank of China (PBoC), which commenced

in July 2018, was renewed in April 2021 for another three-year term. The bank noted that a total of CNY1.26 billion was sold in 13 auctions during the review period, compared with CNY1.22 billion in 13 auctions in the corresponding period of 2021, thus, bringing the total sales from the inception of the currency swap to June 2022 to CNY7.04 billion. The report further stated that the

The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has filed a lawsuit against President Muhammadu Buhari over the failure to probe the spending of trillions of ecological funds by governments at all levels—federal, state and local governments - from 2001 to date, and to ensure the prosecution of suspected perpetrators of corruption and mismanagement of public funds. Joined in the suit as respondents were the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami and Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha. In the suit number FHC/L/

CS/2283/2022 filed last Friday, at the Federal High Court, Lagos, SERAP sought the court to direct and compel Buhari to promptly and thoroughly investigate the spending of Ecological Fund by governments at the Federal, state and local government levels from 2001 to date. SERAP asked the court to direct and compel Buhari to ensure that suspected perpetrators of corruption and mismanagement of trillions of ecological funds were promptly brought to justice, and any missing public funds fully recovered. SERAP argued that impunity for corruption in the management of Ecological Fund would continue as long as high-ranking public

The ASI increased by 8,791.36 points or 20.43 per cent, while the MC increased by 4.76 trillion or 20.53 per cent while in the corresponding period of 2021, the ASI and MC opened at 41,147.39 points and N21.52 trillion and declined by 3,240.11 points or 7.87 per cent and N 1.76 trillion or 8.18 per cent to 37,907.28 points and N19.76 trillion, respectively, at end-June 2021.

OPEC Keeps Oil Production Quota Unchanged, to Continue with 2mbpd Cut Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and its allies known as OPEC+ yesterday resolved to stick to their oil output targets, falling back to a decision it took last month to slash oil output by two million barrels per day. It came as the oil market struggles

to assess the impact of a slowing Chinese economy on demand and a G7 price cap on Russian oil on supply. The Group of Seven is an intergovernmental political forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States. The oil cartel had slashed

SERAP Sues Buhari over Failure to Probe Alleged Missing Ecological Funds Udora Orizu in Abuja

Nigerian stock market remained bullish in the first half of the year as against the bearish trend observed in the corresponding period of 2021. It stated that the All-Share Index (ASI) and market capitalisation opened at 43,026.23 points and N23.18 trillion, respectively, in January and increased to close at 51,817.59 points and N27.94 trillion, respectively in June 2022.

officials go largely unpunished for their alleged crimes. The suit filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyer, Kolawole Oluwadare, read in part: “the federal government has the legal obligations to address the calamitous consequences of flooding for the human rights of millions of people, and to prevent and address the consequences that climate change may reap on human rights. “According to the audit of the Ecological Fund Office carried out by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, (NEITI), the total amount received by the fund from December 2011 to November 2016 alone was N277 billion. “The operations of the Fund

from 2012 to 2016 reportedly showed that some of the disbursements were not utilised for the purpose for which it was established. During these periods, N74,170,932,645.20 was released to state governments to solve ecological problems in their states. “Although ecological funds are shared across the three tiers of government, and emergency management agencies, the funds are managed and supervised by the federal government. The federal government has the legal obligations to prevent and address the threats to human rights that result from climate change, and to provide access to justice and effective remedies for victims when these rights are violated.”

Nigeria’s oil production output by 84,000 bpd as part of the cuts before the latest decision, although the country has been unable to meet its quota which peaked at about 1.83 million bpd for over a year. The country’s production had fallen to its lowest levels in a long time, with industry data showing output hitting new lows, although it improved to 1.014 million bpd in October. The production cut by OPEC for November was an attempt to reverse a price fall in the global market. OPEC+ angered the United States and other Western nations in October, when it agreed to cut output by two million bpd, about two per cent of world demand, from November until the end of 2023. Washington accused the group and one of its leaders, Saudi Arabia, of siding with Russia despite Moscow's war in Ukraine. Yesterday, the group of oil producers decided to keep the policy unchanged. Its key ministers would next meet on February 1, for a monitoring committee while a full meeting is scheduled for June 3-4, a statement from the organisation said. “In line with the decision...which was purely driven by market considerations and recognised in retrospect by the market participants to have been the necessary and the right course of action towards stabilising global oil markets... the participating countries reiterated

their readiness to meet at any time and take immediate additional measures to address market developments and support the balance of the oil market and its stability if necessary,” OPEC said yesterday. The participating countries decided to adjust the frequency of the monthly meetings to become every two months for the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC). It also reiterated the critical importance of adhering to full conformity and compensation mechanism taking advantage of the extension approved earlier. On Friday, G7 nations and Australia agreed $60 per barrel price cap on Russian seaborne crude oil in a move to deprive President Vladimir Putin of revenue while keeping Russian oil flowing to global markets. But Moscow said it would not sell its oil under the cap and was analysing how to respond. Many analysts and OPEC ministers have said the price cap was confusing and probably inefficient as Moscow has been selling most of its oil to countries like China and India, which have refused to condemn the war in Ukraine. The price cap measure could have an uncertain effect on the price of oil as worries over lost supply through the boycott compete with fears about lower demand from a slowing global economy.

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NEWS

UNVEILING 40TH ANNIVERSARY LOGO OF DIOCESE OF OWO... R-L: Ondo State Governor, Rotimi Akeredolu; his Lagos State counterpart, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu; Bishop of the Diocese of Owo, Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Rt. Revd. Stephen Fagbemi and his wife, during the unveiling of 40th Anniversary Logo of Diocese of Owo at St. Andrews Cathedral, Imola, Ondo State... yesterday

House Probes PTAD over Failure to Employ New Workers Despite Budgetary Allocation Moves $800m port operators' debt probe to Lagos Udora Orizu in Abuja The House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts is currently investigating why the Pension Transitional Arrangement Directorate (PTAD) failed to employ workers in 2018 despite money that was appropriated for that purpose by the parliament. The Committee accused the

agency of lying to the government and the parliament and denying other agencies of money that could have been used for such purpose. According to the audit query raised against the agency by the office of the Auditor General of the Federation, PTAD was given N1.7 billion as personnel cost in 2018, but utilised only N1.4 billion and returned the balance of about

N310 million to the Consolidated Revenue Fund (CRF). The lawmakers however observed that despite not recruiting the required staff, the agency got the same amount of N1.7 billion as personnel cost in 2019, with the amount spent going up to about N1.6 billion. According to the query, "in 2020, the agency's allocation for person-

nel cost went up to N1.8 billion, it reduced to N1.6 billion in 2021, went up again to N1.9 billion in 2022, even when the workers have not been employed." The Chairman of the committee, Hon. Wole Oke declared that something was wrong in the agency, wondering why the personnel cost kept rising and falling even when new staff was employed.

Fuel Scarcity Will Be Over Soon, NMDPRA Assures Nigerians Sylvester Idowu in Warri Motorists would soon heave a sigh of relief as the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has assured that the fuel scarcity across the country would soon be a thing of the past. Delta State Coordinator of NMDPRA, Victor Ohwodiasa, gave the assurance over the weekend, when he led a team of the regulatory authority on an unscheduled inspection visit to some petroleum depots at Ifiekporo in Warri South Local Government area of Delta State. He disclosed that vessels laden with petrol were already arriving in the state and assured residents that the regulatory authority would ensure the vessels discharge products as quickly as possible. "We will ensure that the depots receiving these products lift them out to the end users. By the time we have all the depots wet with petrol and they are lifting regularly, the looming scarcity we are experiencing will disappear," he said. The State Coordinator said the essence of the visit was to ensure depots with products dispensed to licenced retail outlets, eliminate middle men and also avoid diversion. "Once we get our daily manifest, we send our men out to make sure those trucks gets to their actual locations. There might be one or two infractions, we have apprehended about two persons for product diversion and they

were made to face the full wrath of the law. "As a regulatory authority saddled with the responsibility of regulating the Midstream and Downstream of the Oil and Gas sector in Nigeria, we will continue to do what we need to do to ensure that the products are available and adequately and fairly distributed within Delta and neighboring states," he said. Ohwodiasa said the NMDPRA has been carrying out intense routine surveillance assuring that it would sustain the tempo to ensure that the right things were done in the midstream and downstream sub-sectors of the oil and gas industry. He, however, urged people to stop panic-buying, noting that the federal government was doing everything possible to ensure availability of petroleum products in the country particularly in the yuletide season and beyond. Ohwodiasa pledged that NMDPRA would ensure that the products get to the consumers at the right price, quality and quantity. Among the depots visited were: Matrix Energy Group, Pinnacle Oil and Gas Limited and AYM Shafa Limited. Terminal Manager, Matrix Energy, Mr. Francis Ibe said the PMS stock level was14 million litres as of Thursday, adding that as at evening, it had trucked out over four million litres. "With what I am pushing out, I know it will not be enough. Before now, on weekly basis, we were

receiving 40 million litres of PMS but at the moment, we barely received 40 million in two weeks. So you can see the difference. "Forty million litres in one week as against receiving one vessels in two weeks cannot solve the problem. There is a serious supply gap," Ibe said. Also, the Depot Manager, Pinnacle Oil and Gas, Warri depot, Mr. Luke Nnajieze said the current stock level of the company in Warri as at Thursday morning was 3.1 million litres of petrol while Automated Gasoline Oil

(AGO) was 2.9 million litres. "At the moment, we are out of stock of Dual Purpose Kerosene (DPK). On daily bases, we trucked 2.5 million litres to 3 million litres of PMS," he said. Nnajieze identified heavy vehicular gridlock as a major challenge confronting their business in the area and called on the government to assist in expanding or fixing the bad access road. He also called for the dredging of the Escravos bar to allow for bigger vessels to navigate and bring in petroleum products.

But, a senior officer of PTAD, Abdullahi Abubakar who represented the Executive Secretary, Dr. Chioma Ejikeme explained that the agency budgeted N1.7 billion for personnel cost in 2018, because it initially planned to employ new staff, adding that the balance of N310 million was returned to the treasury. He explained that the increase in expenditure despite not employing new staff was as a result of promotion of existing workers and adjustments in their salaries in accordance with their new rank. He said: "Our personnel is handled by IPPIS. The balance of the money budgeted was returned to the CRF because we did not employ the staff that we needed to employ. Till date, we are still in need of those workers, but we are yet to get a waiver from the Head of Service to employ." The lawmakers however demanded for an assessment to be carried out on the agency by the Head of Service and the Federal Character Commission on their budgetary request since 2017. According to the Committee Chairman, "the Head of Service and the Federal Character Commission must have carried out a needed assessment on your agency leading to your request for funds to employ.

“We gave you that money, but you failed to use it. The complain of most agencies have been lack of funds, but here, you got the funds you requested for and yet, failed to use it. "You have lied to the parliament through the president and has denied other agencies the use of that money. So, we need to seed the assessment that was carried out on your agency that led to the parliament giving you this money. “By not using this money for what it was meant for, you have committed an offence against the appropriation act. But we will give you a right of fair hearing to explain to us the reason (s) for your action.” Meanwhile, the Committee has also decided to conduct the investigation into an alleged indebtedness by port operators to the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) amounting to over $800 million in Lagos. Oke said since the NPA needs to be present alongside the port operators, the committee would take to investigation closer to them. "The parliament will move the hearing to Lagos where all parties will meet with us at Marriott Hotel in Ikeja between December 8th and 9th. We hope to resolve this issue once and for all. 800 million dollars is not small money," he said.

Suspected Vandals Destroy Six NDPHC Power Assets in Three Months Guard killed, nine arrested

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Six transmission towers belonging to the Niger Delta Power Holding Company Limited (NDPHC) have been destroyed in the last three months, disrupting power supply and costing billions of naira in repairs, the company said yesterday. A statement by a Media Adviser to the company, Adesanya Adejokun, noted that the ‘unrelenting’ attacks on the power infrastructure by economic saboteurs was leading to the inability of Nigerians to access adequate electricity for economic growth and prosperity.

In recent times, the statement said several projects being embarked upon by the NDPHC had been attacked and contractors either killed or maimed by attackers. The power company stated that on September 3, 2022, some miscreants attacked and vandalised the 330kV DC Afam – Onne Transmission Line in Gbake community of Ogoniland, River State. According to the statement, the vandals cut down four transmission towers (T19, T20, T21 and T22), dismantled them and carted them away. Again, on October 10, 2022, it stated that the vandals attacked

and destroyed two additional towers on the same 330kV DC Afam - Onne Transmission Line. However, during a third attempt luck, NDPHC stated that luck ran out on them as efforts of vigilante members, buoyed by security operatives paid off, resulting in the arrest of nine of the miscreants. “They have since been charged to court to face the full wrath of the law,” the company stated. In addition, during a routine patrol in the night of November 25, 2022, it noted that vigilance groups again encountered vandals along the same Afam-Onne 330kV DC Transmission Line.

The security men, it said, called for military reinforcement, but noted however that before help came, one of the guards was shot and later died. “Incidentally, this line connecting Afam to Onne in Port Harcourt is the first 330kV double circuit transmission supply line to the capital of Rivers state. “The persistent attacks on the line have caused substantial damage to the transmission line project and it will take huge sums of money to effect needed reconstruction and repairs in addition to resultant delays on delivery time,” NDPHC added.

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NEWS

ANNUAL DIRECTORS' CONFERENCE... L-R: Managing Director, First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Mrs. Yemisi Edun; Honorary Legal Adviser, Institute of Directors (IoD), Mrs. Funmi Roberts and President/Chairman of Council, IoD, Mrs. Ije Jidenma, during the Annual Directors Conference held in Lagos…recently

Diri: I’m Prudent With 13% Derivation Funds, FG’s Refunds Highlights priorities of his administration Wike: I've no apologies commending Buhari over reimbursements

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, yesterday stated that his administration was prudently expending its 13 per cent derivation funds and other refunds by the federal government on the construction of the three senatorial road projects as well as other people-oriented projects. He also said the focus of his administration was to open up the riverine state by linking rural communities by roads. This was just as Governor Nyesom Wike has insisted that he has no apology for commending President Muhammadu Buhari for the release of the 13 per cent derivative fund arrears to various states of the Niger Delta region. Speaking through his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, on a Yenagoa-based radio station at the weekend, Diri said Bayelsa was not in competition with any other state as all states had their peculiar needs and priorities. According to the governor, one of the major challenges of the state was its riverine nature, which restricts access to rural communities by road as well as hinder agricultural produce from reaching markets in the state capital and other cities. “This is why our administration is focused on constructing roads to rural communities where the bulk of the poor people live,” he said. He listed some of the ongoing big-ticket projects to include the 42km Sagbama-Ekeremor road, which costs N34.4 billion with seven bridges and five already done by his administration. He also said the 22.2km Yenagoa-

Oporoma road would gulp N31.4 billion as well as the 21km Igbogene-Elebele road expected to gulp N54.56 billion. “Our administration has also embarked on the first phase of the Nembe-Brass road with 10 bridges at a cost of N54 billion as well as the 10.2km dual carriageway Glory Drive road from the Ecumenical Centre at Igbogene to the TombiaAmassoma road.” Some other infrastructure projects embarked upon by the administration included the 4.5km Igbedi road, the media complex, Elebele bridge, Nembe Unity bridge, phase one of the Igbogene-Elebele ring road, lecture halls and laboratories at the Bayelsa Medical University, which were all completed and inaugurated during the administration’s second anniversary in February this year. Diri further stated that his administration has equally carried out numerous training and empowerment programmes such as the ICT-focused Diri Digital Entrepreneurship Empowerment Programme (DDEEP) with 8,000 beneficiaries across the eight local government areas of the state as well as training in other vocational areas such as catering, fashion designing, shoe making and agriculture. “No fewer than 500 of our youths and women have been trained at the CSS Integrated Farms in Nasarawa State,” he said, stressing that the government was setting up those trained to own their farms and small-scale businesses. In addition, he said the administration initiated a social welfare scheme that captures small business in the rural communities.

Under this scheme, 210 different beneficiaries from each of the 105 wards in the state get N200,000 each monthly to grow their small businesses. While acknowledging that the state had received the crude oil, SURE-P and oil subsidy refunds from the federal government in installments in the last two years, Diri said the receipts had always been captured in the monthly transparency briefings, adding that the state had nothing to hide. The Bayelsa helmsman insisted that insinuations in some quarters that the government did not disclose the receipt of the funds is false and urged the people to pay attention to the transparency briefings as the financial books of the state were always open. He further explained that statutory allocations to Bayelsa

and its internally generated revenue were not more than N3 billion monthly, saying it was the derivation funds that made it possible for the state to embark on the big projects as well as pay workers salary regularly. He assured that his administration was determined to make a positive difference in the lives of people of the state. Meanwhile, Wike has insisted that he has no apology for commending Buhari for the release of the 13 per cent derivative fund arrears to various states of the Niger Delta region. The Rivers State Governor who wondered why his commendation of the president should elicit unwarranted acrimony in the region, maintained that the fund aided the successful developmental projects delivered in the state by

The Director General of Atiku Abubakar Presidential Campaign Council in Anambra State, Prof. Obiora Okonkwo has assured that the support of the south-east for the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Atiku Abubakar would not be in vain. Okonkwo said it was already evident that the people of the zone have agreed to support Atiku, who

has severally pledged to ensure the restructuring of Nigeria, and that the support will not be taken for granted. The DG stated this in a statement signed on his behalf by the Deputy Director Media/ Publicity, Atiku-Okowa Presidential Campaign in Anambra State, Mr. Chukwubuikem Uloka. He said anything short of voting for PDP would amount to supporting All Progressives Congress (APC), which according

fan of Buhari. He has not done well in many areas, but this one he has done well. My party members may not be happy. But they should not be angry, because this one, he did well. “He gave me money and I used the money to do something for people in Rivers State. This money was there, nobody paid us. I hear somebody saying that his three kilometre road would do my 15 flyovers. No problem. Do the three kilometres first. Tell Nigerians you are doing three kilometres.” Wike, who explained that the state honours and awards was solely the initiative of former governor, Dr. Peter Odili, remarked that everyone bestowed with an award had distinguished themselves by their good character, personal achievements and positive contributions to society.

Echonu: Poor Research Output Reason Behind Infrastructural Deﬁcit at TETFund Kuni Tyessi in Abuja

The Executive Secretary of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Sonny Echonu has bemoaned the dearth of quality research in Nigeria, saying it’s at the core of why meaningful development has eluded the country. According to him, neglecting the impact of research on Nigeria’s national development dynamics was a result of clear-cut philosophy and goal for sustainable development

of the country. He noted that the conduct of research in the nation’s higher institutions had not been accorded the seriousness and attention it deserved, hence poor output. Echono gave the charge while delivering a keynote lecture at the 18th Convocation ceremony of Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) in Enugu. In the lecture titled ‘Education, Research and Human Development in Nigeria: The Challenges and Missing Link’, the TETFund

Okonkwo: We'll Not Take South-east Support for Atiku for Granted David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka

his led administration. Wike said this at the weekend, during the State Honours and Awards to 162 distinguished Nigerians for their inspirational achievements, held at the Government House, Port Harcourt. He said: “Human beings instead of them to say I appreciate you, they become envious. Because I say Buhari thank you, I am having problems today. That is the country we are in. I am not a fan of Buhari. “When a man has done well say he has done well in this area. If he has not done well you say so. I have no apologies to anybody. If Buhari did not release the money from 1999, which my party did not even release, I wouldn’t have been doing what I am doing. I say it and I don’t give a damn to anybody. I don’t care. “I got the money, I am not a

to him has impoverished the people for years now. "We must embrace the opportunity of Atiku Abubakar to rescue and recover Nigeria, join other nationals to oust APC out of power, and get the country to work again for the common man, which is what Atiku Abubakar and PDP are offering Nigerians. "We are confident that Atiku Abubakar will appreciate the efforts of the South East and reward our support for his

recovery mission when he is declared president-elect in 2023, which is most probable. "We want our people to understand that politics is a game that must be played with strategy and tact rather than emotion and sentiment. Given that the ticket of Atiku-Okowa is currently the most popular among other Nigerians with the promise of restructuring the country, it will be perfect for the South-east to secure maximum support for the PDP,” he said.

Boss said, “Poor research output is a natural consequence of the absence of infrastructural facilities. Conducting research requires a conducive atmosphere or environment.” In many institutions, basic infrastructure such as laboratories, instruments and equipment, and internet connectivity were either absent or dilapidated. Similarly, academics across higher institutions in Nigeria lack the capacity to carry out meaningful research. He lamented that many universities, polytechnics and colleges of education lecturers lacked the basic ability, skill and motivation to carry out standard research in many fields. Hence they are equally handicapped to access any grants or research funds within or outside their institutions due to a lack of capacity. “The situation is compounded by lack of credible and timely data, absence of legal frameworks for research, low uptake and implementation of research results, academic corruption including protracted supervision of postgraduate students and low computer literacy amongst scholars,” Echono lamented.

He explained that the missing link between education research and human capital development in Nigeria could be attributed to a lack of effective interactions between the Academia (the University), Industry, and Government (the Triple Helix) to foster economic and social development, which contemporary globalised economies have embraced and applied to attain greatness through innovative. “Nations that recognise and apply the Triple Helix Model that espouses synergy among academia/research institutions, industry and government in national development drive have the ability to and play an active role in a knowledge-driven economy. “Academia and industry must interface in a sustainable manner that produces goods and services for local consumption and export as well as guarantee human capital development.” The Executive Secretary expressed hope that with the recent drive by TETFund for Nigeria to embrace the triple helix model as the panacea for transforming research and education generally, research and development would soon get its place of pride accordingly.

MONDAY, DEC ͽ˜ ͺ͸ͺͺ ˾ T H I S D AY

NINE

Security Forces Deployed Along Abuja-Kaduna Railway Line Assures passengers of protection IG says police, security agencies in joint operation to ensure security along the route Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Usman Baba at the weekend, ordered immediate deployment of armed personnel drawn from

the Police Mobile Force, K-9, Force Intelligence Bureau, Explosive Ordinance Unit and Railway Police Command for the commencement of railway services along the Abuja-Kaduna rail lines from

today. A statement by the Force Headquarters said the Nigeria Police made adequate security arrangements in collaboration with the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) and

other security agencies in preparation for the commencement of operations. It said the deployment covered major railway stations along the route and operational coaches to

provide adequate security for passengers, their property and the entire service in order to prevent any unforeseen incidence. "The IGP, therefore, assured the general public, especially

intending passengers of adequate protection of lives and property as all hands are on deck to fortify the railway services along the route and other rail lines across the country," it said.

WITH POVERTY, EDUCATION, HEALTH IN FOCUS, PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFULS MULL SOLUTIONS AT ARISE TOWN HALL Aside the Arise News Channel, the other media partners were Premium Times, Vanguard Newspaper, The Punch Newspaper, The Guardian Newspaper, Daily Trust Newspaper, Leadership Newspaper, New Telegraph Newspaper, Sun Newspaper, The Cable news portal, Nigeria Union of Journalists and the Nigerian Guild of Editors. In addition, the town hall engagement was also streamed across the major social media platforms, including YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and many of the cable televisions. The candidates, however, aired their views, in sync with their manifestos, on how they planned to address those issues, which were considered germane to the development of the country, post-2023.

ATIKU ABUBAKAR:

Atiku, while speaking to Nigerians, assured the people that if elected president next year, his administration would ensure that poverty rate in the country was reduced to the barest minimum. The PDP candidate, who urged Nigerians to be fair to the PDP, said when the party was in power, the poverty rate wasn't as high as it was presently, adding also that

he would removed the bottlenecks stifling access to funds by tertiary institutions, as part of ways to addressing recurring strike action by public universities' lecturers. According to him, the current system has bottlenecks, because when government released funding for universities it always went into another agency, and that the agency stifled the universities from getting these funds. On healthcare, Atiku advised that the issue of primary healthcare should be addressed, lamenting that government was not investing enough in the medical sector. Assuring the Nigerian people that he would provide them with his health status if need be, the PDP presidential candidate said, he might not be able to use Nigeria's healthcare facilities, because there were limitations that needed to be addressed. Atiku, who addressed rising medical tourism, advised that private sector partnership would help increase the number of quality hospitals in the country. He therefore, promised that his administration would look at the constitution and determine how to ensure that local government’s funds were directly allocated to the LGAs and applied in the best

ways possible. "When I assumed office as VP in 1999, I was placed in charge of LG allocations. I gave instructions that all LGA funds should be transferred directly to the LGAs. After nine months, the governments of the states protested and said it was illegal. We must look at the constitution and determine how to ensure that local government funds are directly allocated to the LGAs and applied in the best ways possible. "The most important thing is education – to get our kids educated. And not only educated but rightly educated. And then they can make themselves available to the private sector for growth, which is the engine room of the economy. When we were in power, the poverty rate was not this high. “We implemented these NEEDS (National Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy) and SEEDS (State Economic Empowerment and Development Strategy), which significantly reduced poverty. I believe the programme initiated by the PDP government, which brought down the poverty rate in Nigeria, should be sustained. "We need to first address the issue of primary healthcare. After addressing this, which affects the

BUHARI: WE NEED URGENT ACTION PLAN AGAINST TERRORISM IN W’AFRICA Toure, to complete the review and harmonisation of ongoing reforms aimed at strengthening the sub-regional body. His words: "The Commission must, therefore, work assiduously to complete the review and harmonisation of the Protocols on Good Governance and Democracy, as this would enable our sub-region to sustain our collective efforts to deepen, not only democracy but her dividends through good governance to the community citizens." Welcoming fellow regional leaders, President Buhari noted that this year's summit was the 8th that Nigeria, under his leadership has hosted. "All of those occasions, including this one, have brought honour and respect to my country as Nigeria continues to be at the centre of sustained solidarity and collaborative efforts to maximise our relationships in order to address common challenges to our countries and the community's citizens," he said. The president paid tribute to his Ghanaian counterpart, Kuffour Addo-Nana, the immediate past Chairperson of the Authority for his services and congratulated President Umaro Embalo of Guinea Bissau, on assuming the leadership of the sub-regional organisation, expressing his confidence in the latter’s ability to "discharge his responsibilities to the sub-region, as well as meet the expectations of the Community citizens."

Buhari thanked fellow leaders for the support he received as the Regional Champion on COVID-19 at a time the pandemic ravaged the entire world, ascribing the successes recorded in the region to their cooperation. "Let me specifically thank you, brother heads of state and government, for the confidence you reposed in me to be the Regional Champion on COVID-19, an opportunity that brought me to working closely with sectoral ministers, ECOWAS commission as well as the West Africa Health Organisation to develop regional mechanisms that mitigated the effects of the COVID-19. "Without doubt, the commitment shown by member-states yielded very positive results as West Africa emerged as one of the regions with the least mortality rate, not only on the continent, but globally," he declared. The president, however, lamented that despite the efforts of ECOWAS leaders towards deepening democracy, the region suffered some unpleasant setbacks. "Regrettably, some of our gains, especially, in fully democratising our governance space, have faced and continue to face severe challenging threats from unconstitutional change of government as witnessed in Mali, Burkina Faso and Guinea," he said. Earlier, at the official groundbreaking ceremony of the new ECOWAS Headquarters Building, Buhari expressed appreciation to the

government of the People’s Republic of China, “for their financial and technical contribution to ensuring that a monument of this nature, is built on behalf of our region.” The building, to be named the EYE OF WEST AFRICA, with an expected completion period of 26 months, would house the three major ECOWAS Institutions, namely the ECOWAS Commission, the Community Court of Justice and the Parliament. According to the President, “We have waited for this day, since 10th of July, 2019, when ECOWAS and the People's Republic of China signed an implementation agreement for this diplomatic gift to the West African States. “The new complex would represent the unity and brotherhood of the Member-States, as well as signify a re-commitment to progress and regional integration. It will be our home and a regional rallying point.” In his remarks, the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, His Excellency Cui Jianchun, said, “To sponsor and construct the new ECOWAS Headquarters is a vivid reflection of China’s support to the work of ECOWAS as well as the traditional friendship between China and the West African countries. “We will continue to promote the common development of China and Africa, and are ready to make new contribution to the building of the China-Africa community with shared future in the new era.”

ZENITH WINS ‘BANK OF THE YEAR NIGERIA’ IN THE BANKER’S AWARDS Banker's Bank of the Year award is contested by the world's leading financial institutions, with winners chosen across Africa, Asia-Pacific, Central & Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, North America and Western Europe. Zenith Bank's track record of excellent performance has continued to earn it numerous awards, including being recognised as Number One Bank in Nigeria by Tier-1 Capital, for the 13th consecutive year, in the 2022 Top 1000 World Banks Ranking published by The Banker Magazine; Best Bank in Nigeria, for three consecutive years from 2020 to 2022, in the Global Finance World’s Best Banks Awards; Best

Commercial Bank, Nigeria 2021 and 2022 in the World Finance Banking Awards; Best Corporate Governance Bank, Nigeria in the World Finance Corporate Governance Awards 2022; Best in Corporate Governance’ Financial Services’ Africa, for three consecutive years from 2020 to 2022, by the Ethical Boardroom; Best Commercial Bank, Nigeria and Best Innovation In Retail Banking, Nigeria in the International Banker 2022 Banking Awards. Also, the Bank emerged as the Most Valuable Banking Brand in Nigeria in the Banker Magazine Top 500 Banking Brands 2020 and 2021, Bank of the Year (Nigeria) in The Banker’s Bank of the Year Awards 2020 and

Retail Bank of the year, for three consecutive years from 2020 to 2022, at the BusinessDay Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards. Similarly, Zenith Bank was honoured as Bank of the Decade (People’s Choice) at the ThisDay Awards 2020 and emerged winner in four categories at the Sustainability, Enterprise, and Responsibility (SERAS) Awards 2021, carting home the awards for “Best Company in Reporting and Transparency”, “Best Company in Infrastructure Development”, “Best Company in Gender Equality and Women Empowerment”, and the coveted “Most Responsible Organisation in Africa.

majority of our citizens, then, we can focus on the secondary and tertiary levels. The truth is that, we are not investing enough as a government in the medical sector. “Another issue is medical tourism. We need to sit with the private sector and tell them we want them to invest in the health sector and that we are ready to offer incentives. With the right incentives, I believe Nigeria’s private sector will invest adequately in the health sector. "On poverty, the poverty rate wasn’t high as this. Nigerians should be fair to PDP. We have got all the statistics both national and international, the most important thing emphasised by Peter and Rabiu is education. We have to get our kids educated by the time you educate them, you find that they become readily available to the private sector, who should be the engine of growth," Atiku said. Taking on budget deficit, the former vice-president said his administration would first block government wastages in terms of spending to save money. Seemingly expressing support for subsidy removal as part of his plans to raise money to meet up budget deficit, Atiku said his administration would continue with privatisation as part of plans to raise money. He said: "We must first block government wastage. We started removing subsidies while we were in office. We were to remove it in four stages. We did two stages before we left, but no one had the leadership and courage to see it through. “Another area is that we make sure we continue with the policies we have set, for instance started removing subsidies, when we were in office, we removed subsidies in four quarters. After we left, the whole thing froze; nobody had the courage in leadership to continue. “We will continue with privatisation, for instance, the case of our moribund refineries, they have not been working but we are expending a lot of money there. With privatisation, we can raise so much money to meet up this deficit." Justifying why he was the best candidate to lead the country come 2023, Atiku said given his experience, he was the most qualified. He argued that, Nigerians should look at their performance, when PDP was in government from 1999 to 2015 and that of the present administration of All Progressives Congress (APC) before making decision on who to vote for next year. His words: "Nigerians should vote for me, because one, I started as a civil servant. I have an experience of civil service bureaucracy for 20 years. Thereafter, I began my political career, the fight for democracy. “In the fight, I went through a lot of challenges, assassination attempts and so on. I was elected governor of my state and because of my contribution to the party, I was nominated as Vice President and we won. "I believe since the return of democracy in this country, the party, which we formed performed very well, up till now there’s no other government that performed better between 1999 and 2015. I believe with my experience, Nigerians can’t afford to elect another person other than me. Nigerians should compare our government and the current to see, who served this country better."

PETER OBI:

Espousing his ideas, Obi hinted at his commitment to channel petroleum subsidy resources towards proper funding of health, education

and human capital development. This was even as he blamed the federal government over the continued diversion of local government allocation by state governments, saying the government at the central had in the last decade failed to live up to its constitutional responsibility. He also faulted the rising cases of medical tourism, especially, by the political class in the country, saying those aspiring for political offices were expected to make their health status public. He said, "The issue of primary health is basic. That is why I said we need to increase investment in the health sector. Our investment in education and health is very low. Our total investment in health in the past six years is N2.3 trillion. That's too low for a country of over 200 million. "Essentially, when you look at the issue of primary health care, especially, in the north. So, we need to invest in primary health care, invest in training the manpower especially, now that nurses and midwives are needed all over the world. "What we need is insurance. We need to ensure insurance like other countries do. Example is what is happening in Indonesia. This is the area we are going to move subsidies in. It's key". Obi, who dwelt on the alleged diversion of local government allocation by state governments as recently raised by President Muhammadu Buhari, said the federal government should be blamed for it, because the issue was solely on the federal government, whom he said has created a communication gap between the government at the state and local levels. The LP candidate also noted that the absence of security in most part of the states, has chased investors operating at the local government level, a situation he said has denied local councils the opportunity to generate revenue. According to him, when there is "lack of adequate communication," the tendency to mismanage or divert allocations of local authorities was encouraged. Citing how he was able to manage local government resources as governor of Anambra State some years ago, he said, "Go and see how we work in the state and the local government to be able to increase investment in the area of education, in the area of primary health care and other areas. “It's the federal government that will revive the productivity, when you return confidence in investors by using the appropriate measure to provide enabling environment that investors can come in and invest." Still on medical tourism, he said the practice must be discharged to encourage investment in the health sector in the country, adding that any leader seeking public office, "should be able to make their medical and health status known to the public. "When I was serving as a governor, I resuscitated some health facilities and I used them and I still use them today. So, I use the facilities here and I believe in them and I can tell you that they are very competent. All we need is to support it and see how we can use insurance to ensure that everybody can be cared for," he said.

RABIU KWANKWASO:

Kwankwaso, while fielding questions on wide ranging issues, assured the people that his government would not allow governors to suffocate the local governments, financially, if elected. The NNPP candidate held the view that, there was a need to look

at the Constitution in order to ensure provisions could be made whereby the local government authorities could get their money derived from the federal allocation. He pointed out that though there were cases in the past, where local governments did not handle the resources well, but assured that his government would not only ensure that those monies were being sent to the local governments, while local governments would also be encouraged to do the right thing, by way of doing their projects or programmes. The former Governor of Kano State insisted that stifling the local government shouldn't be acceptable to any responsible government. Said he: "So, we have a very robust arrangement whereby we are going to work not only with the local governments in many ways, because you are serving the same people, whether we are in the same party or not. We believe that the people of this country should be given good governance at all levels – state, local government and at national level. "We will continue to encourage the local government and states to ensure that education is given priority. And, of course, other areas that will help the people – the infrastructure, the agriculture." Kwankwaso’s idea on education was hinged on the belief that more investment should be made in the education sector to ensure that each and every child in the country was given the opportunity to go to school at all levels. On the persistent strike by ASUU, Kwankwaso said the issue with the union demanded a lot of transparency and recalled that when he was the governor of Kano State, the state chapter of ASUU, in most cases, didn't join the strike, because what was due to the university system was given to them. He said his government would ensure that all the questions raised by ASUU were addressed, adding that his party's blueprint on education was in tandem with the issues raised by ASUU. The NNPP standard bearer pointed out that his prospective administration believed that the best way to go was to massively support education, while also putting in place, a lot of reforms and ensuring that the issue of corruption was tackled. Pondering the issue of security, which is threatening education in the country, Kwankwaso noted that there was a need to ensure that every square metre in the country was secured, and also stressed the need to have timely and accurate information, adding that security could not function effectively without intelligence and use of technology. "We have the issue of insecurity and our situation in Nigeria is that people can no longer buy and sell freely, because of insecurity and all these are issues associated with poverty," Kwankwaso added. Dialoguing the health challenge, he hinted that his government would do whatever it would take to provide quality and affordable healthcare services for Nigerians. The former Senator, noted that his government would encourage people, who were interested in establishing hospitals and give them all the necessary support. "But, on the other hand, I think leaders should lead from the front not from the back. You see this idea that our leaders developed over the years that even when they have malaria, they will travel abroad. Some of them have children in particular countries. Some have children in Britain, Dubai, some have in France.

MONDAY, DEC ͽ˜ ͺ͸ͺͺ ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

THANKSGIVING SERVICE FOR GOVERNOR ADELEKE... L-R: Dr. Deji Adeleke; Kola Adewusi and Osun State Governor, Senator Ademola Adeleke, at the thanksgiving service for the governor held at C&S Church, Oke-gada, Ede, Osun State...yesterday

Alleged Money Laundering: Order NDLEA, AGF to Arrest, Prosecute Tinubu, CSO Begs Court Alex Enumah in Abuja The Registered Trustees of Center for Reform and Public Advocacy have asked a Federal High Court for an order compelling or mandating the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) to arrest and prosecute former Lagos State Governor and candidate of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in the 2023 presidential election, Senator Bola Tinubu over alleged drug-related and money laundering allegations. The advocacy group in the suit marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/2237/2022, claimed that the anti-drug agency has a duty by law to arrest and prosecute Tinubu based on a 1993 judgment by a United States of America District Court that ordered the forfeiture of funds belonging

to the APC presidential. The plaintiff also asked the court to make the same order against the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF), who is the second defendant in the suit. While the Registered Trustees of Center for Reform and Public Advocacy is the sole plaintiff in the suit, the NDLEA, AGF, and Tinubu are 1st, 2nd, and 3rd defendants respectively in the suit dated and filed December 2, 2022. According to the suit filed on behalf of the advocacy group by their lawyer, “there are reasonable grounds to suspect that Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu committed an offense under the money laundering act in that on October 4, 1993, the United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois, Eastern Division in case number

93c4483 made an order of forfeiture of the sum of $460,000.00 against Bola Ahmed Tinubu.” The plaintiff said the suit was necessitated by the refusal of the NDLEA and AGF, “to enter a decision, act and communicate,” to it, regarding letters it wrote the NDLEA and AGF demanding the prosecution of Tinubu based on the US court ruling. According to the court documents, while the order of forfeiture was made against Tinubu’s bank account with number 263226700 held by the First Heritage Bank), other accounts the US government had sought to also seize in the suit included 39483134, 39483396, 4650279566, 00400220, 39936404, 39936383 held by Citibank N.A, in the name of Bola Tinubu or Compass Finance & Investment

Co) and 52050 – 89451951, 52050 - 89451952 and 52050 – 89451953 held by Citibank International in the name of Bola Tinubu, all in the US. The plaintiff submitted that the court in its October 4 ruling, “Ordered that the funds in the amount of $460, 000 in account 263226700 held by First Heritage Bank in the name of Bola Tinubu represents proceeds of narcotics trafficking or were involved in financial transactions in violation 18 U.S.C 1956 and 1957 and therefore these funds are forfeited to pursuant to 21 U.S.C 881 (a) (6) and 18 U.S.C 981; it is further “Ordered that the First Heritage Bank shall issue a check in the amount of $460,000 payable to Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago and that these funds shall be

INEC: Attacks on Our Facilities Systematic as Arsonists Burn Oru West Office

Chuks Okocha in Abuja

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), has described as systematic, the unceasing attacks on its offices across the country. For the second time in one week, two of INEC’s offices in Imo State were razed down by arsonists. The first was on Thursday, December 2022 in Orlu Local Government and the second was in Oru west. A statement by the INEC National Commissioner in charge of Information and Chairman Voter Education, Festus Okoye, stated that, "Once again, the commission expresses its concern on the consequences of what appears to be a systematic attack on its facilities across the country on the conduct of elections in particular and electoral activities in general. "Overall, this is the 7th attack on our facilities in five states of the Federation in the last four months," he said. On the latest attack, Okoye said, "The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Imo State, Professor Sylvia Uchenna Agu, has reported that our office in Oru West Local Government Area was attacked at about 4.00am today Sunday 4th December 2022. "The attack affected the Conference Room, where office furniture and fittings were destroyed. However, other critical facilities were not affected." He recalled that on Thursday, December 1, 2022, “our office in Orlu Local Government Area of

Imo State was also attacked.” In the Orlu attack, Okoye said, the building, which is undergoing extensive renovation following an earlier attack, was vandalised and partially set ablaze, adding that three out of seven construction workers

were abducted but later released. "The damage would have been more extensive but for the quick response of the Nigeria Police, which has deployed its personnel to the site," Okoye stated. INEC lamented the incessant

attacks, saying. "This is one attack too many," and once again expressed its concern “over the spate of attacks on its facilities and the negative consequences on our preparations for the 2023 general election.”

disposed of according to law; it is further “Ordered that the court shall retain jurisdiction over the actions in order to implement and enforce the terms of this Decree of Forfeiture.” In supporting its suit against the defendants, the advocacy group submitted that Section 3 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015 provides that: “A suspect or defendant alleged or charged with committing an offense established by an Act of the National Assembly shall be arrested, investigated, inquired into, tried or dealt with according to the provisions of this Act, except otherwise provided under this Act.” While arguing that Section 4 of the NDLEA Act imposes a duty of a public nature on the defendants to act on the allegation, the plaintiff submitted that, “there is an international aspect on narcotics which is found in Financial Action Task Force (FATF) that imposes an international obligation to the effect that someone who forfeited money arising from narcotics trade ought to be prosecuted for money laundering.” Similarly, in a 25-paragraph affidavit deposed to in support of the suit, the plaintiff accused the 1st and 2nd defendants of ignoring its letters dated November 8, 2022,

and November 15, 2022, respectively, wherein they demanded the prosecution of Tinubu over alleged drug-related and money laundering charges. One Mr. Kalu Agu, a legal practitioner in Abuja, submitted that documentary evidence attached as an exhibit in the suit confirmed that the Tinubu whose funds were forfeited to the US government in 1993, was same as that of the APC’s presidential candidate in the 2023 general elections. Agu submitted that at the time the issue necessitating the current litigation occurred, the relevant law in Nigeria was Section 13 of the NDLEA Act, which provides thus: whoever, knowing that the property involved in a financial transaction represents the proceeds of some forms of unlawful transaction which in fact involves the proceeds of a specified unlawful activity……shall be guilty of an offense under this Act.” In stating that the current law today is Section 18 of the Money Laundering (Prevention and Prohibition) Act, 2022, the plaintiff alleged that, “there are reasonable grounds to suspect that Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu committed the offense of money laundering arising from narcotics trafficking. Continues online

Grandma, Pregnant Woman in NDLEA Nets for Drug Offence Michael Olugbode in Abuja Two women, a 60-year-old grandmother and a pregnant woman were among those arrested during interdiction operations by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) across five states and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja in the past week, during which 5,527.15 kilogrammes of methamphetamine and cannabis sativa, as well as 132,090 tablets of tramadol and 2,000 bottles of codeine were recovered. A statement yesterday, by the spokesman of the anti- narcotics agency, Femi Babafemi, said the grandma, Mrs. Ibinosun Esther was arrested in Ibadan, Oyo state, in a follow up operation following the seizure of 5.5 kilogrammes loud variant of cannabis imported into the country from South Africa. According to Babafemi, the grandma claimed the consignment was sent to her by her daughter and concealed in two giant speakers as part of a consolidated cargo that arrived the NAHCO import

shed of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja Lagos on board an Air Peace Airline flight. In a related development, the NDLEA operatives also on Saturday November 26th, intercepted 1.4 kilogrammes of methamphetamine concealed inside custard tins packed among cosmetics and foodstuffs going to Brazil via Doha on a Qatar Airways flight. Babafemi said a cargo agent, Salako Omolara who brought the bag containing the illicit drug to the airport and an intending passenger to Brazil, Anyanwu Christian, who was to travel with the consignment were promptly arrested. He said another attempt by a freight agent, Adebisi Aina to export 3,000 tablets of tramadol concealed in motor spare parts to Banjul, Gambia, through the NAHCO export shed was equally thwarted by operatives who seized the consignment and arrested her on Monday 28th November, while a follow up operation to Ebute-Meta area of Lagos the following day, Tuesday 29th November led to the arrest

of the alleged actual owner, Afam Chibuke, who is a spare parts seller. He noted that this was followed by the seizure of 100,000 tablets of Royal brand of Tramadol 200mg with a gross weight of 68.9 kilogrammes imported from Karachi, Pakistan on Ethiopian Airlines at the SAHCO import shed. He disclosed that in Abuja, operatives stormed the warehouse of a notorious drug lord and an ex-convict, Ibrahim Momoh, alias ‘Ibrahim Bendel’ who escaped from prison custody to return to his criminal trade and recovered 81 jumbo bags of cannabis weighing 1,278 kilogrammes. He said though the fleeing drug dealer was still at large and was wanted by the agency, his warehouse keeper, 55-year-old Ghanaian, Richard Forson was arrested. He noted that Ibrahim Momoh was first arrested on 27th November, 2014 with the same substance weighing 385.1 kilogrammes. He subsequently prosecuted, convicted and sentenced to seven and a half years in prison on 22nd April, 2020

but escaped from jail after three months. He also disclosed that no fewer than 2,000 bottles of codeine-based syrup were seized in a commercial bus by operatives on Friday 2nd December along Lokoja - Abuja expressway. “In Rivers state, operatives on Saturday arrested a 29-year-old pregnant woman, Kate Ibinabo with 34.4 kilogrammes cannabis sativa in Okrika area of the state,” the statement added. However, in view of her condition, he said the Chairman/Chief Executive of NDLEA, Brig. Gen. Buba Marwa (Retd), has directed that she should be granted administrative bail pending when she’s delivered of her baby and thereafter return for her prosecution because at the time of her arrest, she’s in her ninth month of pregnancy. “In Ondo State, 241 bags of the psychoactive substance with a gross weight of 3,133 kilogrammes were recovered from a building at Ilale Cashew, Ehinogbe, Owo, last Tuesday; and at least, 507.9 kilogrammes

of cannabis were also seized during a raid at the hideout of a fleeing drug dealer in Mushin area of Lagos last Thursday. “In Cross River, 53 jumbo bags of cannabis sativa weighing 567.05 kilogrammes were seized from three suspects: Bassey Boniface, 38; Effiong Akiba, 30 and Ngbong Raymond, 45 at Mpara junction, Odukpani local government area last Thursday while conveying the consignment in a bus marked CKK 74 AA,” the statement added. Babafemi said operatives equally arrested another suspect, Ali Mohammed along Potiskum- Damaturu road after they found 29,090 tablets of tramadol in his personal Honda car marked ABC 914 RW coming from Gombe to Damaturu, Yobe state. Meanwhile, while commending the officers and men of the MMIA, Rivers, Ondo, Lagos, Cross River and Yobe commands of the agency for the arrests and seizures, Marwa charged them and their counterparts across other formations to continue to step up their offensives against drug cartels.

MONDAY DECEMBER 5, 2022 • T H I S D AY

T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY DECEMBER 5, 2022

POLITICS

Acting Group Politics Editor DEJI ELUMOYE Email: deji.elumoye@thisdaylive.com 08033025611 SMS ONLY

M O N D AY D I S C O U R S E At Last, Obi Releases Pact with Nigerians The presidential candidate of Labour Party, Peter Obi, has ﬁnally made public his long awaited manifesto, reeling oﬀ his plans for Nigerians if elected President next year, Udora Orizu reports

Obi

wo days ago, the presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, finally released his manifesto as his electioneering campaign heats up nationwide. For sometime now, criticisms have trailed the delay in the release of Obi’s ‘manifesto’ which is a sector-specific policy options that a political party intends to pursue once elected. The LP presidential candidate, who is contesting against the All Progressives Congress’ Ahmed Bola Tinubu, Peoples Democratic Party’s Atiku Abubakar, New Nigeria Peoples Party’s Rabiu Kwankwaso, and 14 others had in October, 2022, told BBC that he is waiting for the positions of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) before releasing his manifesto. The latest criticism, came from the spokesperson of the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo, who listed conditions for which his party will accept to debate with Peter Obi. Keyamo said Obi should first release his manifesto before any debate with him could be considered by the APC. At last on December 4, 2022, Obi, a former two-time governor of Anambra State, released his manifesto, a 72-page document, titled, ‘It’s POssible: Our Pact with Nigerians’, promising that he and the party’s vice presidential candidate, Yusuf Datti Baba- Ahmed, will offer honest and competent leadership to deliver seven priorities, aimed at stopping deterioration and redirect Nigeria to prosperity and sustainable development. Announcing the release of the manifesto on his verified Twitter page, Obi wrote, “I have the honour to present our 72-page Manifesto, titled, ‘It’s POssible: Our Pact with Nigerians.’ This Manifesto, its overarching and visionary policy planks, lays out our mission focus and mandate for securing, uniting and making Nigeria productive.” In the document, Obi emphasised on the need for a secure, united and prosperous Nigeria that works for everyone and that realises the hope of black people of the world as a city on the hill. He said he will run a government of national unity, bringing together for the task at hand, all competent, honest, and diligent Nigerians, irrespective of their political affiliations. On security, the presidential flag bearer said if elected, he will end banditry and insurgency, and unite the nation, to manage diversity such that no one is left behind. According to him, his government will deal decisively with insecurity by putting a permanent end to the incessant banditry, insurgency, kidnaping and cross-border terrorism in the country today. To achieve this, he said his administration will, among other initiatives, “activate all the necessary regional cooperations and arrangements for

Baba-Ahmed

securing our borders with neighboring countries in west and central Africa, particularly Niger,Chad,and Cameroun, increase the personnel of our armed forces, police and other security agencies and optimally equip, train, and fund them to respond adequately to security threats, deploy state-ofthe-art military technology to fight terrorists, bandits, insurgents and kidnappers, recreate community relations with security agencies in order to increase public trust and build human intelligence to restore law and order in the communities, and pursue proactively and deliberately policies that will implement the fundamental objectives and directive principles of state police in the constitution so as to create a secured society that reduces the social pressure for crimes and provides viable livelihood for the youths.” On economy, Obi said his administration will shift emphasis from consumption to production by running a production-centered economy that is driven by an agrarian revolution and export- oriented industrialization. According to him, “in consideration of our current ranking as the least competitive economy in Africa with very low total factor productivity (TFP) and export competitiveness index (ECI), we will, with all sense of urgency, aggressively pursue policies and programmes that enhance the productivity and competitiveness of all the sectors of the Nigerian economy. “In addition to our strategic economic development plan, we have reviewed and selectively adopted critical elements in previous economic development plans in designing the bold and innovative development agenda for the new Nigeria that we shall birth.

“While acknowledging the critical situation with our food security, we will, with the required sense of urgency, optimize all the comparative advantages of our 36 states and the FCT, across all the agricultural value chains through adequate and targeted investments, policies, and programmes. We shall address the identified impediments (banditry, kidnapping, terrorism, desertification, policies) and optimize the vast land and other resources, particularly in our northern region, in order to enhance food security and advance toward agro-based industrialization.” On restructuring, he said his government will “restructure the polity through effective legal and institutional reforms to entrench the rule of law, aggressively fight corruption, reduce cost of governance, and establish an honest and efficient civil service. To achieve these: We will strengthen our federalism by critically reviewing the 68 items on the exclusive list of the Federal government and moving agreed items to the concurrent list, to ensure effective public action for growth and sustainable livelihood. “Our drive towards restructuring of the federation shall follow a determined, functional, approach for efficiency, productivity, sustainability, and equity for a balanced national development where no component of the federation shall feel short-changed. We realise that nothing can be achieved in this area except we achieve a consensus. We understand that it is the responsibility of the leadership to help to stimulate and attain a genuine and enduring consensus on such matters.” On technological innovation, the LP presidential candidate said he will, “leapfrog Nigeria into the 4th Industrial Revolution (4IR), through the application of scientific and technological innovations to create a digital economy. Building on the gains of the agriculture-led manufacturing and export. We will pursue the development of capacities to leverage on the emerging disruptive digital technologies, automation, Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence, robotics, virtual reality, block chain technology, biotechnology and data science,all of which are at the heart of the fourth industrial revolution.” On infrastructural development, Obi said,

Obi, a former two-time governor of Anambra State, released his manifesto, a 72-page document, titled, ‘It’s POssible: Our Pact with Nigerians’, promising that he and the party’s vice presidential candidate, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, will offer honest and competent leadership to deliver seven priorities, aimed at stopping deterioration and redirect Nigeria to prosperity and sustainable development

“we will build expansive and world-class infrastructure for efficient power supply, rail, road and air transportation, and pipeline network, through integrated public-private partnerships, and entrepreneurial public sector governance. We will address current bottlenecks in extant national policies and frameworks with the view to unlock resources for investment in critical physical and social infrastructure. “We will seek to harmonize agencies involved in the infrastructure space to address coordination failures that impede effectiveness and efficiency. We will explore innovative solutions to address the shortcomings in the current PPP regime. The World Bank recognizes this in its recent switch to blended finance as a means to improve PPPs and market-based approaches to infrastructure provisioning in developing countries like ours. Our government shall go beyond blended finance to create mechanisms to scale infrastructure financing, incentivizing not only corporate tax credit application to infrastructure, but also, philanthropy, and community-based infrastructure bonds.” For education, human capital development, Obi promised that his government shall prioritize education to serve the following functions: “technical and industry relevance; alignment with local comparative advantages and factor endowments; modern skills proficiency, critical thinking, ethical citizenship values, global competitiveness, and talent export. “Our government will enter into strategic partnerships with state governments, private-led groups and international partners to establish incubators that will train young Nigerians in the latest digital and technological skills, provide workspaces, access to seed funding and mentorship by industry experts. “Enhance the human capital of Nigerian youths for productivity and global competitiveness through investment in world-class scholarship and research, quality healthcare, and entrepreneurship education. Achieving the revolution we envisage for the educational sector would require bold initiatives including retraining, retooling and re-certification of teachers, incentivising industry experts to take up teaching roles in partnership with universities, curriculum overhaul and policy and institutional review.” On diplomacy and rights of Nigerians in diaspora, Obi said a Labour Party-led administration will, “conduct an afro-centric diplomacy that protects the rights of Nigerian citizens abroad and advances the economic interests of Nigerians and Nigerian businesses in a changing world. “While Africa will remain the focus of our foreign policy, we will prioritize Nigeria’s economic interest through promoting Nigerian businesses and protecting our people across the globe. NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

MONDAY, DEC ͽ˜ ͺ͸ͺͺ ˾ T H I S D AY

INTERVIEW

Udom Emmanuel: Atiku Is Only Candidate with Capacity to Solve Nigeria’s Problems Confident, unassuming and evidently impressed with himself, the Akwa Ibom State Governor, Udom Emmanuel is quick to discuss his style with pride, which he reckons is atypical of the regular politician. By weaving the intricacy of the business of governance and its politics, with the commonwealth of the people, coupled with the fear of God, he claims to have held the state together in vision, growth, and development. Yet, as chairman, the PDP presidential campaign council, he reminds Nigerians of the refuge the party’s symbolic umbrella can provide against the sweeping hardships wrought on them through the ruling APC’s broom. As he discusses the God factor in the Akwa Ibom Project with THISDAY, he takes a deep dive into how Nigerians can come out of the seemingly crushing yoke they currently live under. Excerpts:

t’s almost eight years. Tell us, how has the journey been? It’s been interesting. There are a lot of things I did not know about the character, people’s personalities – a whole lot about politics in Nigeria, and even the role of followership in leadership. I couldn’t really appreciate it. I’ve learnt a whole lot these whole years. I’m writing a book, and that book, whoever seeks public office, if you read it, will be well grounded. The most exciting part is that I’ve been given the opportunity to serve my people, a rare privilege from God. The motives of people coming into politics are completely different. I came to serve. I’m happy I’ve been able to serve. I really want to appreciate my people for their support and for standing by me.

My signature project is about the people. It’s the people.That’s my signature project – the moral rebate.Anybody will tell you here I’ve been able to take the youth back to God in Akwa Ibom State. And it’s the greatest thing, and things money cannot buy are things considered the most.I don’t consider projects that money can buy. No, not at all

Did coming from the private sector make it especially difﬁcult for you? I wouldn’t say so, you see, human character, the person called man, I think, could be the same. The only difference between someone in the private sector and someone in the public sector is the adherence to laid down rules and policies and what discipline can follow if there’s an infraction and enforcement on those disciplines. Human behavioural patterns will always be the same. So, the individual and the environment could slightly determine man’s behavioural pattern. But I don’t think it’s just because I’m coming from the private sector. But even when you’re assuming public office, there’s a culture shock. You can’t write that off. There’s a culture shock based on where you’re coming from: as the name implies, organised private sector. Then this one, I don’t want to say the opposite, is the public sector. Let me stop there. So, the culture shock will make you feel somehow over there. People are looking at processing systems. Here, people are actually against the processing and systems – two different worlds. But did the private sector background give you any advantage? Certainly, as you can see, our business approach to governance is different. That’s why when I came, I said, no, I’m not a professional politician. I’m a professional in politics. So, it makes a whole lot of difference. In that case, you see governance as the business of governance. Even when we build roads here, we build those with economic value. It’s different from what all other politicians would do. Let me give you an example. When I came in, I said, look, we have oil today; it may not be there in the next 10 to 20 years. The same palm fruits that the Malaysians took from Akwa Ibom, today, the same Malaysians are exporting palm oil to Nigeria. I don’t like that kind of paradox. So, I said, can’t we also do something? Let’s also go to some of these places. Let’s also do something. I just observed our environment: the coconut my father planted, even my grandfather planted, is still yielding fruits to date. Almost 99 years after, it is still yielding. It is as tall as anything. You will see the fruits. No manure, nothing spectacular about it. Just leave it there, and then you’ll be harvesting. I said there must be something. I discovered that God made a provision for coconuts. How can we now get these to have economic value? So, I invested money in it. Last October, we planted 300,000 seedlings in one day. There’s a country where we went to buy coconut seedlings after we’d booked for 400,000. The whole country knew there was something wrong. How can a state in Nigeria come for 400,000? Did

Emmanuel

I’m not boasting, but among those contesting today, there is no candidate with the same capacity, knowledge and understanding of the problems and what to do for Nigeria like Atiku.There is none, not even one. I’m not being biased at all; I’m giving you a very objective opinion

you know, at the end of the day, I did not even buy up to 100,000 pieces of seedlings from that country? They refused to sell. They knew immediately that something was going on somewhere. And before they knew it, my target was to put two million seedlings of coconut anywhere in Akwa Ibom if I could. I don’t really need it to be a government plantation. Let’s assume you plant two million seedlings. Let’s even, for ease of argument, out of two million, 1.5 million survive. What economic value will you derive! And this will continue for another 60 years; will outlive me and probably outlive my children. And then, the refinery we will set up is to refine crude virgin oil. And crude virgin oil in the international market is more than $6 a litre, and 221 litres make one barrel. Compare that with crude oil. You know nothing is wasted, when you are talking about coconut, nothing is wasted. It’s a whole lot, and these are things that I don’t need much. Once they start yielding, I leave them for another 60, 70 or 80 years. I’m just giving you an example. So, these are things that a professional will look at. A professional wouldn’t just do a project 100 per cent political. Take, for example, you can see the menace of erosion all over. You’ll be shocked if I tell you how much we’ve spent on erosion control. The whole of the new ring road

we did, the 10 lanes you heard about, part of it, was flooded. I took an underground drainage there over six kilometres from that place to enter a stream. There is also another place where previous administrations dug like a big gully, so, when water settled in, they used a tanker to pump it and even with that, the whole of the environment, when it rained, the thing could get up to the neck level. Today, that’s history. If it rains now, in the next two minutes, you’ll not see a drop of water in that area. Even the church next to that place organised a thanksgiving after I fixed that place. There was a place that was even more challenging. I approached the World Bank that I needed support and provided our counterpart funding; the World Bank supported us. That one is over eight kilometres, spanning three local government areas. We took the whole thing out. If it rains and you go to that place, you’ll be surprised. Completely different. These are things only a professional in politics would do, because you’re sinking money for generations yet unborn, trying to improve the quality of life of the people. But even the people themselves might not even understand it now. Hitherto when it rained here in Uyo city, everywhere would be flooded, but now in two minutes, no water is seen anywhere. Nobody is saying anything. The entire airport road, you can’t believe what I inherited.

There was no single side drain, not to mention drainage channels, not even one. And there’s a lot of development coming up in that area. What do you think that area will be like in the next 10 years? I said no, I couldn’t leave office with this. So I’m not only doing the side drains, we’re doing a proper drainage channel to link up with the one that will be in a 10-lane ring road, so that they can take that away into 6.4km and go and discharge into the stream. This is a passion for development, lots of people, and it’s completely different. So these are all different. You see, we have the best new roads in this whole country. Nobody can beat it. And these are not done by roadside contractors, of course. You can see from Uyo to the Atlantic Ocean, where you have the… terminal by Julius Berger and CECC. These are two big construction companies here. I have another big company that did the one ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo inaugurated, where Julius Berger is stopping, from Uyo taking from… to the East-West road with a highway lighting system that when you drive on at night, it is as if you’re in the daytime with two cable bridges. So you just do these things, no noise, but you can see the economic value because we need the movement of goods and services for the people and with ease. These are what are called dividends of democracy. What is involved is the more emphasis on certain infrastructure and the rest. You know we have soft, we have hard infrastructure, but you know all these things. So it is a whole lot. I mean, there’s a whole lot that we are doing that is different. For example, I don’t know yet if even one nation in the whole Gulf of Guinea is doing the kind of terminal building we are doing. Because we want to attract people, we want to attract businesses. And look at the whole of, let me say, Central up to West Africa today, not even one MRO. The only MRO you have in Ethiopia is for Ethiopian Airlines. It is not even enough for their fleet. Then the other one is in South Africa (which is) nothing compared to our own. A subnational with an MRO that can service two Boeing 747-800 series aircraft fleet at the same time. Our CRJ 900 can service eight of those CRJ 900 at the same time; here in Uyo and today, you can see a lot of these aviation development companies are all over us. In fact, I even got an offer that am I ready to sell. I said no. So as of today, Airbus is telling us that up to six checks of their fleet will be done at that MRO. It is the biggest and the best you can find here. All the aircraft manufacturing companies that have done inspections there left extremely impressed. We just want to open and do something that will make economic sense. Since we have an airline, we must take advantage of what we have, and with the kind of terminal we are also building, we want to create a lot of economic value for our people. All regional flights of Ibom Air will be taking off from that terminal building. And also, if you’re a businessman coming from a regional trip, then you’re in Akwa Ibom, and you are

MONDAY, DEC ͽ˜ ͺ͸ͺͺ ˾ T H I S D AY

INTERVIEW

I’m Optimistic PDP’ll Win 2023 Presidential Election economy, and then we also have a seaport. Everything has been signed, including the MoU. The anchor tenant is there. And they’re bringing a lot of money even to NNPC to get that done. What matters most is once we get that done, at least 5,000 Nigerians will be employed directly. Imagine how long it takes. How many days do you think is the working capital cycle of manufacturing concerns? But it takes an average of 53 days to bring goods between Lagos and Kano. Not to talk of Maiduguri, but when we automate our system, you know, modern-day seaport, everything is automated. You can track your goods. You clear it off the coast even before the thing gets there. All you need to do is drop the goods off and get them on your truck. So all those bottlenecks won’t be there. It’s like the same thing. Go and check the way we run our airports and other airports. You see a whole lot of difference. Since I became Akwa Ibom’s governor, we’ve not had a power outage for one second. I didn’t say one minute. So coming back to your question, we’re looking at the three gateways that are actually from the ease of doing business and industrialisation. Industrialisation policy starts from you creating those gateways. That’s why I told you that we have the best road network today, that is why we have Ibom Air, that’s why we have one of the best airports and the seaport we’re developing.

waiting to connect domestic routes, then you are in the best place. We are trying to make sure that as you’re waiting, you can enter a business lounge, do anything you want to do as a businessman, still connect with your office, and do your work without losing anything. So at the business lounge, you can take a shower, have whatever you want to have and then probably pay for the services, and then off you go so you don’t actually feel like it’s out of the office. You’ll be connected to the world. It will be a top-notch business solution centre, ICT and everything we are doing there. We’re also building with a whole lot because we discover a whole lot of construction in Nigeria. There are also provisions for persons living with disabilities (PWDs), resulting in easy access to the aircraft. So, these are things that got into play. And you see the kind of apron that PW is constructing for us. We are trying to do these as part of our contribution. These are things that you don’t find at any subnational in Africa. And that’s why I contested the presidency. If I can create this at the sub-national level, where I don’t control policies, if you give me an opportunity where I control policies and then allow me to take this to a larger scale, we can actually do something and turn around the economy. Unfortunately, that did not work out. What is your signature project? My signature project is about the people. It’s the people. That’s my signature project – the moral rebate. Anybody will tell you here that I’ve been able to take the youth back to God in Akwa Ibom State. And it’s the greatest thing, and things money cannot buy are things considered the most. I don’t consider projects that money can buy. No, not at all. As creative as they are, these are not my signature projects. My signature project is the people; the youth are taken back to God and the peace we’ve achieved in this land. Because before I came in as a governor, there was a security breach everywhere. You know the story. They would enter churches, shoot a general, kidnap a whole retired general, and kill people inside the church on a Sunday. People were not holding evening programmes again in different churches. And you know this is a 100 percent Christian state. So I mean, these are things that used to happen. If you withdraw money from the bank, they would even block a bullion van in the middle of the road. So insecurity was something else. So the peace that came through the Almighty God has brought blessings and calmness. So all you need to do is for God to open your eyes. And also, once a passion is right, nothing is impossible. How could a state with a terrible situation in the exchange rate (we are still bringing in new aircraft at the exchange rate of almost N900 to the dollar) do this? Where is the money coming from? How can a state have an airline? How does a state have an airline? Where did we get the capital? Where did the capital come from? We went to an air show in Dubai. They were not signing nationals. In fact, in the whole of West Africa, they did not sign a single national on the contract. But they signed us as a subnational with the 108020300 series, that is the latest technology in aircraft manufacturing. They will start delivering from next year. No cash. Not about cash. But about money. What about money? You can create money, but you cannot create cash. I can’t print cash. I’m not CBN. I’m not the federal government, but I know how I can create money with my head. I create money and get what I want for the people.

But they are not unhappy with me as Udom Emmanuel.Did they tell you they were unhappy with the party? Four of them are candidates of the party. They hold tickets of the party.They’re members of the party; you are getting it wrong. Even spoons and plates hit themselves and create a lot of noise; that doesn’t mean they’ve broken

On human capital development, what have you done to take things to the next level? That is so huge. In fact, I won’t be able to count them all because we have different segments. The ministry of labour is aggressive on that. As I’m talking to you, there’s not a minute that you won’t find the ministry of labour working on different segments of development, training people in different areas. Even right now, we had to get the ministry of trade and investment involved. There’s what we call Ibom 3000 youths programme too. We needed to train people. You just discovered that it gets to a time when people don’t know the difference between what kind of cable can go into a panel or not. So, we train people in many areas. And also, my wife has a project that caters for women’s empowerment, including appropriate support for the girl-child. Even in sports today, we are supplying Nigeria with a lot of champions in youth sports. The current 400m commonwealth came from a public school in Akwa Ibom through our youth sports programme, and then we picked the person. And today, America picked the person I didn’t even know. It’s a complete package, and we are looking at that, and we’re not relenting. And I’m going to continue with that training until I leave office. And right now, I’m going on the full automation of the civil service processes, HR programmes and so on to get these people running. But the greatest one that will interest you most; when we were much younger, we used to hear about technical colleges, etc. You know, those are the people that train the technicians. We used to call the mechanics. But those were technicians that trained these people. Plumbers and so on, But that’s all gone. That’s why you see these days an average Nigerian will build a very beautiful house, but probably because the gate of the pipe does not match the pressure point. It starts the problem. So today, we are trying to solve that problem. We’ll build what we call the Dakkada Skills Acquisition Centre. What is

interesting about that school is after year one, you can start earning money. What are we trying to do? Everything joinery or what local people call carpentry, like all the desks we use in public schools and so on, they will produce there. While you’re training people in year one, those in years two and three are making something reasonable and decent enough. As they are making these things, the government will be ordering for the school. As they are learning, they are making money. That’s the whole idea. If we’re doing a whole building, we need plumbers; take students from there to go and do it. They will learn on the job, and they will also earn something. There’s the piggery and poultry section where the youth are receiving training. When I came in some years ago, when we started concentrating on agriculture, I said 80 per cent of food eaten at Government House must be produced here in Akwa Ibom. That’s where the challenge came. They now said, ‘Ah, your excellency, what will we do with flour?’ A lot of things in the Government House will have a lot to do with flour. Then I said, if that is the case, let’s also go into the world market to scout for an investor. That’s why we brought in one of the largest flour manufacturing companies in the world. Today, the finest flour in Nigeria, the most automated flour-making process in Nigeria is in Akwa Ibom, Kings Flour Mill. How I wish I was able to count all our projects from health sector to education, all the sub-sectors. I said I wasn’t elected as a senior prefect of a class. I was elected as a governor. So, we provide governance. These are acts of governance that people should know. We don’t do white elephants. You hardly will see things here that are just done

Emmanuel based on self-aggrandisement. Why are you not inaugurating these projects? For example, right now, I’ve done more than 4,860-something projects in primary and secondary schools. You can cross-check. I’ve never gone to inaugurate one. The internal roads, I have done many. I stand in one place—inaugurate 28 internal roads in one day. You can cross-check. There are certain areas we enter. I promised them that I’d do 30 internal roads, and I’ve done all; there are some I promised them 13, 15, and I’ve done all. I’ll just stand in one place, inaugurate. The whole idea is not about the noise I make. The whole idea is about the value to the people, and whether it’s impactful on the people or not. Mind you, no matter what you do, people won’t praise you. They didn’t praise Jesus Christ when he was on earth. A lot of people didn’t even know he’s the saviour of the earth. You can’t reinvent those things, things you don’t have control over. Just do your best. Tell us why you decided to set up an airline at a time it didn’t seem to be a very good idea, even though you have made a success of it? It’s always been an extremely brilliant idea. I came in with a buzzword of industrialisation. You can’t industrialise any country or state or national or subnational anywhere if you don’t open up the gateways. The ease of doing business starts with opening the gateways, and here thank God, we are blessed. We have the longest shoreline in this country. We are the only sub-national in this country with the full business case and the hardline business case approved for a deep seaport and a natural drop of 17 meters. All I need is just a paper from the federal government, and then we will have a deep seaport here. I don’t need money, but unfortunately, I can’t get a paper, which you know why. Okay, then we look at three gateways. Even with that, I didn’t give up. There are various ways of achieving results. But as of today, what we now do is to walk back. We now have an anchor tenant who will work with the NNPC, which we call the Ibom Solution Hub. So immediately, I changed the name, and the people are now going to service that. So now we have a tripartite agreement between the solutions hub, the NNPC as a group and the Akwa Ibom state government. The state government is only keeping - maintaining only - 20 per cent. And that will serve us as an industrial

Aside from helping to open up Akwa Ibom, is the airline generating revenue, and is it sustainable? Number one, it is sustainable, very sustainable. How are others sustaining it? If individuals (Virgin Atlantic is owned by one man) run airlines, why can’t a subnational sustain an airline? Everything is about business discipline. So it’s very sustainable. If you were to run it like any other government business, we couldn’t have gotten the services we are getting. And we have graduated: a lot of people talk about customer satisfaction. We don’t talk about customer satisfaction again in Ibom Air. We talk about customer enthusiasm. Somebody said, ‘Oh, once you leave, what will happen to the airline?’ I said nothing would happen. Because first of all, we started with shared values. Tamper with the culture of that place, and almost everybody will leave the same second, and nobody will want to take that risk. So we have a culture that permeates through, and once we start the regional flight, people will test the service, and they will know. So these are the things we looked at, ease of doing business. You can come into Akwa Ibom in the morning, finish your business and then leave in the evening. And that goes with what we are doing, and God is helping us. Once you have peace, you can expect that business will thrive. So you have peace. People can come in and do business in a peaceful environment. Come back to Akwa Ibom in the next five years, you’ll know the economic system we would have created. When you’re talking about revenue, revenue is not necessarily equal to profit because that’s where people also get confused. Business profit is not equal to revenue. Accounting profit is not equal to revenue. Revenue here, I want to equate what you call revenue with value, and value here as a total chain. And why not analyse that chain and then come out with the value and see whether that value is not more than any profit you think about any airline. So all you need, because of that value chain, is an airline that can give you accounting break even points. Accounting break even points, which in that case, there’s an element of what we call normal profits. Look at the way we started: we started with CRJ 900. It wouldn’t have been difficult for us to start with the Boeing 737, but with CRJ 900, we sustained it, and now we are graduating to airbuses. Business plan, and we operate by the book. Did you say something about discipline? Discipline starts with you. Yes, the anchor shareholder, which is the government. I have never for one day recommended a cleaner to be taken at Ibom Air. If you come and tell me you are a pilot and you like to work with us, the best I can do is to send you to management. If they find you worthy, fine. But I would never

Certainly, we all make mistakes. I must also confess as a party, we’ve made mistakes, and as individuals,we’ve made mistakes. But these mistakes, I can assure you, will not break us. We are trying to come back, review them, then reappraise, and see how we can move forward. And I can assure you we’ll do that

MONDAY, DEC ͽ˜ ͺ͸ͺͺ ˾ T H I S D AY

INTERVIEW

PDP Offering Nigerians Opportunity to Return to ‘Paradise’ vote for me and then collect the form and fill because we needed to do something. So in the Holy Bible, When Elijah visited that woman after drinking the water, Elijah did not ask the woman for food. The woman wouldn’t have given him food. The woman wouldn’t have given him food after giving him water. He asked the woman, ‘Don’t you have food?’ The woman said, ‘I only have a little to eat and die.’ He said, ‘Go and bring it’. So, certain things are supernatural. You must pass into certain things, from the natural to the supernatural. In this case, you must pass from the natural into the supernatural. There are certain things that the supernatural will just drop for you, and those are the eras of manna and squirrel in the desert. I had to go round, and the same God protected me, he allowed me to go round campaigning, and he knew from the beginning that I wasn’t going to win, and then he allowed me to go through it. If he had told me from the beginning, don’t go, I wouldn’t have gone. But I went; he kept quiet. I didn’t win. I don’t know why. But it was about his own reason. I don’t know what people call betrayer. If I was a coward or so, then I refused to contest, I refused to come out, then there would be an issue, but this time, I came out. I offered myself that ‘this is our turn’. But I think the main problem we’re having is because the committee that’s supposed to have zoned this thing to the South did not zone it. If they had zoned it, all these things wouldn’t have been there.

tell management to employ this person. I will not do that because that will kill the business overnight. Let them set their standards, have their own culture and train their people. And you know Airbus also offered us 40 slots. Twenty pilots, 20 engineers. And we told them to come and take the test, Akwa Ibom people, wherever you are, come and write the test and go. Does that mean you send people on training? They are in training. This is part of capacity development, the same thing with our hospitals. My policy is that if you have an emergency anywhere in Akwa Ibom, it shouldn’t take more than 30 minutes to get help from a well-equipped modern general hospital. It’s maximum, and we’ve achieved that. We have 13 modern general hospitals that can go for a teaching hospital if you enter some theatres with cameras and everything. We have 23 theatres today in general hospitals. If you check the ICU set-up at the Ibom Specialist, it can compare to ICUs found anywhere in the world. We also have ambulances across the state. They are well-equipped, brand-new ambulances. What does it take to be governor of Akwa Ibom? We just talked about the business of governance. So, you look at people with capacity, with character, not just charisma. To be a good governor of Akwa Ibom state, you need both character and charisma, and very few people have character. A lot of people have charisma, and it is so temporary, it is just a trend. It goes off. It doesn’t have depth. Then number two, if you cannot run a trade, you cannot run a multinational. You have to be running businesses, employing people and know what to do. So, you know how to take business decisions that can result in dividends. Outside that, you also need a man that would sustain the peace, not a man that will come and disrupt the peace. I just quoted proverbs 11: 11 for you. It says the blessing of the upright will make the city calm, so you must look for that. And actually, the choice of Emmanuel is not mine. It is God’s choice. It is not Udom Emmanuel’s choice. I can’t claim what I don’t have. It is 100 per cent God’s choice. But check that man capacity wise, exposure, intelligence, love for the people, passion for doing things right, consistency in doing the right thing. As chairman of the presidential campaign council, how challenging is this, looking at all the things going on in your party? What is going on in my party? Negative or positive, whatever you see from the outside is different from what is inside. Anywhere on planet earth, whatever you see from the outside is different from what is inside, and there are challenges everywhere, and you see, if nothing prompts you out of your bed, you are not a man, because God created the world that something must prompt you out of bed. Challenges are inevitable because even God himself was challenged at creation. So, God himself could be challenged, how much more men. So, if you’re a man, you run away from challenges, you don’t deserve to be a man. And also, if you’re a man, you run away from issues in that area, you don’t deserve to be a man. Issues are to be there, but you try to resolve them. So, what are those things going on in my party? Do you have a faction? Did they tell you they are a faction? They call themselves G-5. Good. But they are in PDP. But they are unhappy with you, and they are creating problems for you. But they are not unhappy with me as Udom Emmanuel. Did they tell you they were unhappy with the party? Four of them are candidates of the party. They hold tickets of the party. They’re members of the party; you are getting it wrong. Even spoons and plates hit themselves and create a lot of noise; that doesn’t mean they’ve broken. It doesn’t mean they’ve broken. I think that is the situation here. For the fact that people are unhappy, it is inevitable, definitely inevitable, with a large party like PDP. It is the largest party in the whole of Africa. Certainly, we all make mistakes. I must also confess as a party, we’ve made mistakes, and as individuals, we’ve made mistakes. But these mistakes, I can assure you, will not break us. We are trying to come back, review them, then reappraise, and see how we can move forward. And I can assure you we’ll do that. Are you making progress? Why not? If you’re a man, and you’re not making progress, then you are not worth being a man; that means you’ve retired. As long as you have not retired, you must make progress, so there is progress everywhere. I can attest to it. There is progress. I don’t like talking about people and individuals, and I don’t mention the name of any other political party. I don’t mention the name of an individual in anything I do. I talk about issues. I don’t even discuss another political party. That’s my principle. Because if I talk about another political party, I’m advertising that party. As far as I’m concerned, there is only one party and others: PDP and others. Others do not have a name, so I will not also talk about individuals. Because on what basis? Because by now, you start talking about individuals, you now start judging. And the principle of my life is ‘thou

What do you consider the odds against you going into this election? The only thing you’ll consider odd when you’re going into an election is the probability, because if there are no odds, in that case, you’re going with precision. There is nobody going into an election like this— of a multiparty system with precision. You’ll go with probability. That is what people call odd, am I correct? But I have a very high probability in this case, but you know one thing about probability, even if the non-occurrence is only one per cent, that one per cent can make a whole lot of difference, am I correct? So, it means you are not God.

Emmanuel

I’m going with optimism. I would not have accepted to be the chairman if I was not optimistic that I’m going to win. So, we are in the race to win. So, there’s no permutation in this case at all. We are trying to take the right step shall not judge’. So, I don’t judge. To avoid judging, I don’t talk about individuals. But talking about the challenges I have as the chairman of the campaign council, of course, those are the challenges we must solve after winning our election. And let me also say something. Unfortunately, people make mistakes. If there’s any way to acknowledge noise, most is where there is power because where there is power, there’s always noise. If you pass through a transformer that carries power, you hear the transformer making some noise. If an aeroplane starts an engine, you will run away. The combustion that will come with a naked flame, you will run away, that’s it. Anywhere you can find power, there must be noise. And you need to know: that power, what are you firing it to? The same power that is giving issues is what is giving light. The same transformer you need to make that noise to bring light. The same aeroplane you will start will make some noise; that’s power, and it’s what will even power the plane to fly. It’s the use of power that’s the problem. I was interviewed, and many people did not understand what I referred to in that interview. I said, look, as the chairman of the campaign council, I have a responsibility, a huge one. As Nigerians, you all also have responsibilities, a huge one. Then the final result is God. But it’s my duty to campaign. It’s the responsibility of Nigerians to vote. It’s for God to give victory. So, I can never claim to be God when I’m not. I don’t give victory. So don’t tell me; you promised us victory as if you are God, don’t also tell me you promised us; my vote alone can’t do something. That is why I’m campaigning because I need the votes of at least 58 million Nigerians to come into the coffers of the PDP. So that’s why I’m campaigning. So that power of persuasion is what is required of me. The real action of civic rights is with Nigerians. As a party with structure, going into the 2023 election, you are obviously looking at the permutations and thinking, okay, this is where we need to do some work. Tell us, what are the polls saying? I say I’m not looking at any permutation. I’m going into this with optimism, because if I’m going with permutations, it means I

shouldn’t be the chairman of the campaign council. I’m going with optimism. I would not have accepted to be the chairman if I was not optimistic that I’m going to win. So, we are in the race to win. So, there’s no permutation in this case at all. We are trying to take the right step. That’s why you are asking about a few issues in the party, and I said, of course, we are making progress. We’ll resolve all issues. You can’t let anybody go - in an election—every vote matters. Every single person is important in politics, not to talk of when you’re talking about very big men. Small men like us will go and prostrate ourselves before them: please, oh, big men, don’t let us down. I’m into this game to win. I don’t think anybody will get to this point and be doing permutations. What kind of permutation? What will you say to those who say Udom Emmanuel abandoned the struggle for Southern presidency? I should have pulled down the party because it did not work? No, come on. You could have said so probably if I didn’t put myself forward. I spent money. I put myself forward. Also, I took the risk of going round the whole of Nigeria. I don’t know whether people understand what is involved. You know what it means to go round the whole of Nigeria canvassing for delegates, and at the end of the day, you expect that I went that deep, thinking that I wasn’t going to win? Otherwise, I wouldn’t have gone to that extent. Why did I leave all, everything I denied myself of, going around the whole country pleading with people to see reasons why they should vote for me and at the end of the day, they didn’t vote for me? It does not mean that I’m not fit to be the president. It doesn’t mean I’m not qualified. It means the final decision is with the Almighty. So this also has to do with your guiding principles of life; what you believe, what guides you. It can be totally different. To me, everything that happens, I believe it happens if the Almighty wants it to happen that way because he has the power to turn the hearts of men, all of them, to vote for me. So if he didn’t do that, he probably has his own reason. I can’t question Him, but let me do what I’m supposed to do as a man. What I needed to do as a man was to go round Nigeria, tell Nigerians to

APC has been in power for almost eight years and has taken the country backwards, and so this should naturally be an easy run for your party. Looking at your chances, you should be very optimistic, but ironically, APC is still competitive? I started by saying I’m very, very optimistic. But I don’t think the issue is about any party. The issue is about Nigerians because you see, Nigeria is a peculiar country, and we are a peculiar people too: suffering and smiling like Fela said. You don’t need anybody to tell you this: if you’re feeling the heat of the sun outside and it is left for you to come under an umbrella and basically, you refuse, then what do you want God to do for you? Even God himself said I stand at the door and knock. If you hear me and open, I will enter, so God has given you the willpower to get out of the storm and come under the umbrella. PDP provides an umbrella, and if you refuse to come under the umbrella, nobody can force you. So the issue is not about the party. The issue is about Nigerians who have the power to say, ‘Hey, I am tired. You guys took over power when the exchange rate was N186. Today, it is almost N900. You guys took over power when a bag of rice was N6,000. Today, it is N42,000. You guys took over power when corruption wasn’t even anything to go by. But today, it is on a very large scale— when fuel was this and today it is this. Our economy’s growth rate was almost double-digit, and today we are on a minus. Every single index in this country is on a negative trend. There is no Nigerian, beginning from the least to the highest level that is not feeling the pain. You don’t feel the pain because you have food to eat? What about those who stopped you by the way every time? They say you don’t have a good heart. If you have the heart of the people, by the time you see some people on the main road, you go back home and won’t be able to sleep. So, everybody is feeling it. So it is left for people to just rise and say, ‘Hey, let us go back to what we knew worked well’. And this is not even the case of the children of Israel who wanted to go back to Egypt and be faced with hard labour. In this case, there was no hard labour. It was actually a paradise you ran away (from). All you need to do is go back to paradise, and paradise is with those who have the capacity. I’m not boasting, but among those contesting today, there is no candidate with the same capacity, knowledge and understanding of the problems and what to do for Nigeria like Atiku. There is none, not even one. I’m not being biased at all; I’m giving you a very objective opinion. There is none. So that is why you see me following him because I love my country. I love my people. I want this country to get better, and even in terms of the assemblage of good people with genuine intentions, give it to Atiku: he can put a square peg in a square hole and get the result. How would you like to be remembered? As the man that brought peace to Akwa Ibom, the man who focused on things money could not buy. Money can’t buy morals. Money can’t buy character. Money can’t buy peace.

T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2022

BUSINESSWORLD R A T E S MONEY MARKET

A S

A T

REPO

Group Business Editor Eromosele Abiodun Email oriarehu.eromosele@thisdaylive.com

08056356325

D E C E M B E R

S & P INDEX

2 , 2 0 2 2

S & P INDEX

EXCHANGE RATE

OPR

11.25%

CALL

10.25%

INDEX LEVEL

613.31%

1/4 TO DATE

-0.85%

N416.86/ 1 US DOLLAR*

OVERNIGHT

11.50%

1-MONTH

9.56%

1-DAY

0.16%

YEAR TO DATE

7.64%

*AS AT LAST FRIDAY

3-MONTH

10.52%

MONTH-TO-DATE

0.44%

CBN FX Market Interventions Hit $12.74bn as External Reserves Narrow by $3.41bn in 11 Months

Kayode Tokede Following the drive to defend local currency, Naira, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) interventions in foreign exchange market reached $12.74billion in eight months of 2022, the CBN economic reports for the period under review has revealed. However, when compared with the same period in 2021, the interventions declined by 13.6 per cent from $14.74 billion. The CBN has maintained intervention in the Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS)

windows, foreign exchange sales at the Investors & Exporters (I&E) and the Small & Medium Enterprises (SME) windows, and the interbank segment. A breakdown revealed that the CBN total foreign exchange sales to authorised dealers stood at $1.32 billion in August, a decrease of 24.6 per cent from $1.75 billion in July 2022. For June, it recorded the highest intervention in the foreign exchange market, crossing the $2billion mark to $2.07billion. However, the CBN total intervention in foreign exchange market

in May stood at $1.18 billion, a decrease of 24.4 per cent, below $1.56 billion in April. The figure dropped to $1.82 billion in March from $1.39 billion reported in February. According to January economic report, the total foreign exchange sales to authorised dealers by the CBN was at $1.65 billion in the month. The report for the month of August revealed that the $1.32billion interventions disbursed to matured swaps, foreign exchange sales at the I&E, SME windows, as well as the Secondary Market Intervention

Sales (SMIS), decreased by 67.7 per cent, 53.0 per cent, 25.3 per cent and 12.8 per cent respectively, to $0.09 billion, $0.21 billion, $0.15 billion an $0.63 billion, below their respective levels in the preceding month. “Interbank sales/invisible forex sales rose by 99.9 per cent, to $0.25 billion, compared to the sales in the previous month,” the report disclosed. The economic report disclosed that the average foreign exchange turnover at the I & E window was $110.18 million in August 2022, a decrease of 3.6 per cent, relative

to $114.31 million in July 2022. The exchange rate of the naira depreciated at the I&E window relative to the level in the preceding month. The average exchange rate of the naira per dollar at the I&E window depreciated by two per cent to N426.04 against the dollar to N417.38 against the dollar in the July. On a year-till-date (YTD) performance, naira at the I & E window has depreciated by 2.41 per cent from N416.05 against the dollar in January 2022. According to the report, the stock of external reserves was above the

international benchmark of three months of import cover. “The external reserves stood at $38.46 billion at end August 2022 from $38.31 billion at end-July 2022. The external reserves could cover 6.6 months of import for goods and services or 8.5 months of import for goods only,” the report stated. A check on the CBN’s website, however, revealed that external reserves stood at $37.11billion as off November 2022, representing a decline of $3.41billion from $40.52billion it closed in 2021. Continued on page 23

Report: 59% of Nigerian e-Banking Customers Have Been Victim to Fraud Nume Ekeghe A survey carried out by Agusto&Co has revealed that 59 per cent of bank customers sampled indicated that they have fallen victim to fraud. According to the survey, 41 per cent said their accounts hadn’t been compromised, “however, the remaining had been victims

through phishing emails, data breaches, unauthorised access to accounts through USSD, and others.” Agusto&Co in its ‘2022 Consumer Digital Banking Satisfaction Index’ also called for investment in cyber security and awareness to avert bank customers falling victim to breaches in their accounts.

“Approximately 59 per cent of survey respondents have been fraud victims on the digital platforms of their respective banks. This suggests that more investments in cyber protection by Banks is required to combat the growing exposure to cyber security risks on digital platforms, ”it stated. It noted that a large percentage of the survey respondents are satisfied

with the level of security provided on their respective digital platforms. “Based on the digital banking satisfaction index’s parameters, Access Bank Plc recorded the highest user experience score of 94.6 underpinned by comparably higher estimated transaction success rates, ease of navigation, and awareness and active usage of services provided. United Bank for Africa

Plc (UBA) scored the second highest (94.4) while Guaranty Trust Bank Limited (GTBank) was third with a user experience score of 91.4. Perceived security strength, range of platforms known, and ease of navigation on the platforms were strong ranking factors amongst respondents. Zenith Bank Plc recorded the highest percentage of respondents who perceive their

bank’s respective digital platforms to be secure. UBA and Access Bank were the second and third highest respectively, ”the survey showed. The survey also stated that approximately 70 per cent of the survey respondents indicated that they are not willing to switch to another bank’s digital platform. Continued on page 23

M A R K E T D ATA A S AT F R I D AY, D E C E M B E R 2 , 2 0 2 2 BILLS

BONDS DESCRIPTION Price ^14.20 14MAR-2024 13.53 23MAR-2025 ^12.50 22JAN-2026 ^16.2884 17MAR-2027 ^13.98 23FEB-2028

Yield

99.77

15.16

99.77

14.20

94.98

14.27

105.26

14.59

98.51

14.38

Change Updated Time (%) December 0.00 2, 2022 December -0.07 2, 2022 December -0.28 2, 2022 December 0.00 2, 2022 December -0.32 2, 2022

MATURITY NTB 26-Jan23 NTB 9-Feb23 NTB 9-Mar23 NTB 27-Apr23 NTB 11May-23

Discount

Yield

11.58

11.83

8.32

8.48

8.96

9.21

8.05

8.34

8.05

8.37

OTC F X F U T U R E S

CPS

Change Updated Time (%) December -0.01 2, 2022 December 0.00 2, 2022 December 0.00 2, 2022 December -0.01 2, 2022 December 0.00 2, 2022

MATURITY FDHP CP III 17-MAR-23 VHPL CP III 1-APR-23

Change Updated Time (%) December 1.46 2, 16.46 15.63 2022 December 19.74 19.74 1.08 2, 2022

Discount Yield

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CONTRACT TENOR Contract (MONTH) NGUS NOV 30 1 2022 NGUS DEC 28 2 2022 NGUS JAN 25 3 2023 NGUS FEB 22 4 2023 NGUS MAR 29 5 2023

Current Rate Updated Time ($/₦) December 454.73 2, 2022 December 456.93 2, 2022 December 459.12 2, 2022 December 461.32 2, 2022 December 463.51 2, 2022

MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2022 ˾ T H I S D AY

BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

WTO: China, US, Germany Top World’s Merchandise Exporters in 2021 Oluchi Chibuzor A 2022 World Trade Statistical Review released by the World Trade Organisation (WTO) has shown that China, the United States and Germany were the top three merchandise exporters in 2021, representing 15, eight and seven percent of world exports respectively. This is as trade in goods has recovered faster than services trade due to strong consumer demand for products, especially in advanced economies, sustained by governments’ fiscal stimulus measures and in 2021, trade in goods rose by 27 per cent yearon-year, and by 17 per cent in comparison with 2019. In a statement, released by WTO for the 2022 World Trade Statistical Review, the Director-General of the organisation, Dr. Ngozi OkonjoIweala, said the data in this report, which cover trade in 2021 and the first half of 2022, shed light on recent trends in world trade. According to her, it provides

insights into the repercussions of COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine on the global economy, commodity prices, inflation, goods shortages, and supply chain congestion. Commenting on the report, the DG, noted that after rebounding strongly, if unevenly, from the slump caused by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, global trade in merchandise and services faces renewed headwinds, amid a slowing global economy, persistent inflation, monetary tightening, and the ongoing impacts of the pandemic and the war in Ukraine. She stressed that the war, which started in February 2022, has weighed heavily on world trade, with sharp rises in commodity prices and disruptions in access to essential goods such as grain, gas, and fertilisers. However, she acknowledged that prices remain high by historical standards in many countries, particularly in local currency terms. According to her, “global merchandise trade grew by 26 percent in value terms in 2021

– with estimated average price increases of 15 per cent accounting for the difference with the 9.8 per cent increase in global merchandise trade volumes.” But the report stated that, “China, the United States and Germany were the top three merchandise exporters in 2021, representing 15 per cent (China), 8 per cent (United States) and 7 per cent (Germany) of world exports. World exports of iron and steel grew the most among manufactured goods in 2021. Since 2017, they have increased by US$ 170 billion. “Trade in manufactured goods represented 68 per cent of world merchandise exports in 2021, with a value of US$ 14.8 trillion.World trade in goods and services amounted to US$ 27.3 trillion in 2021, a 24 per cent increase compared with 2020. Trade in transport services rose by 35 per cent in 2021, fuelled by a surge in freight shipping rates. The total value exceeds pre-pandemic levels.”

How Pension Funds are Invested Under Multi-fund Structure (2)

Heifer Empowers Agritech Innovators with $20,000 Gilbert Ekugbe Heifer International Nigeria (HIN) has restated its commitment to boosting food security as part of its contribution to the growth and development of the country’s agricultural sector. The Country Director of HIN, Mr. Rufus Idris, said at the Africa Youth and Technology (AYuTe) Africa Challenge Nigeria said that the country’s agricultural sector is one of the most underperforming in terms of yields and productivity because many farmers do not have access to improved inputs, seedlings and technology critical for boosting their productivity levels. Meanwhile, three young agrictech innovators have emerged final winners of this year’s AYuTe Africa Challenge Nigeria, an enterprise development programme initiated by HIN to identify, nurture, and support innovative, relevant, and technology-driven agric-centric enterprises that grow, scale and

help smallholder farmers to thrive in Africa. Announcing the winners in Lagos at the grand finale of the keenly contested challenge that saw well over 600 entries, Idris said that the newly introduced annual challenge in Nigeria would serve as a springboard for identifying outstanding young agritech innovators, as well as assisting in the formation of strong partnerships. As a result, the competition will increase visibility for growth and improve smallholder farmers’ productivity. The Managing Director of Soupah Farm-en-Market Limited, Ms. Ifeoluwa Olatayo, emerged the grand prize winner for the maiden edition of AYuTe’s competition in Nigeria having met all requirements to get the topmost position. Olatayo got $10,000 grants as the overall best at the conclusion of Heifer Africa AYuTe’s Challenge to expand her business initiatives in the agriculture value chain. The second runner’s -up, the Chief Executive

of Simkay Foods Limited, Rejoice Usim, got $6,000, while the CEO of Evet Technology, Mr. Stephen Obe, got $4,000 grants to emerge the third place winner. Also speaking, the Lagos State Commissioner for Agriculture, Ms. Abisola Olusanya, said there is always demand for food at every point, with about N9 billion worth of food consumed every day in the state. Olusanya, who was represented by the Director of Fisheries, Lagos State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. Emmanuel Audu, said as the population in Africa is increasing, with projection of the numbers expected to reach four billion people by 2050, there will be many challenges, while calling on youths to take advantage of the immense opportunities and economic benefits. She said the country’s food market system is already characterised by several factors, including wastage and unhygienic environment.

‘Integration of Lekki Port with LFZ’ll Change Nigeria’s Economic Fortunes’ The Chief Executive Officer, Lagos Free Zone, Mr. Dinesh Rathi has expressed confidence that the integration of Lekki Port with Lagos Free Zone would be a major catalyst to bringing about huge economic fortunes for Nigeria. Rathi disclosed this during a panel discussion of the West Africa Property Investment Summit titled, “Industrial Infrastructure, Special Economic Zones, and Masterplanned Developments,” held in Lagos. He noted that for Nigeria to realise its economic potential, the

country must begin to focus on planned city developments like the special economic zones to fasttrack development and enhance the economic well-being of its people. According to him, Lagos Free Zone is a classic example of a planned development that can drive growth given its integration with Lekki Port, which is well-equipped with world-class infrastructure to enhance the ease of doing business. He further explained that the combination of LFZ and the commencement of operations at Lekki Port remains a game changer that

would help to unlock the country’s economic opportunities. “What we have also done apart from creating Lekki Port as a gateway and transhipment hub is the creation of a free zone that is well equipped with world-class infrastructure- warehouses, standard factories, logistics park, etc. All of these are to make the operator come in and plug and play. Operators or investors can thrive in the zone because it provides them with the resilience since they can do it in the most efficient and optimised manner”, he said.

Wema Bank Business School Trains 156 SMEs in Port Harcourt Small and medium enterprise (SME) owners and other participants at the just-concluded Wema Bank SME Business School held in Port Harcourt have lauded the bank for the capacity development initiative. A total of 156 participants comprising SME customers and non-customers of the bank attended the 4th edition of the Wema Bank SME Business School, which was designed to impart business management skills and first-rate entrepreneurial knowledge to SMEs operating in the South-South region of the country. The Wema Bank SME Business

School was launched in Lagos in 2021 to boost the capacity and skills of SMEs and help them to achieve their objectives. The second edition took place virtually, while the third edition happened in Abuja. The fourth edition which recently held in the South-South geopolitical zone of the country, has further helped to equip SMEs in various parts of the region with the requisite business management knowledge and skills to effectively run their enterprises and respond to the ever-evolving challenges of today’s business world. A participant, Uche Onochie,

commended Wema Bank for the knowledge-laden program, which she said had broadened her perspective on SME management. “Wema Bank is trying for me; they have made me what I am today. They are the reason why my business is where it is today,” she said. Another participant and SME owner, Udoh Mfon Peter, expressed gratitude to the bank for the highly impactful program. He added that it was one of the most beneficial things that happened to him. “It was a real MBA, a live MBA program,” he said.

PENCOM DG, Aisha Dahir-Umar

In the article from the previous week (How Pension Funds are invested under Multifund Structure: Part 1- Focus on Fund I and II), we discussed the Multifund Structure introduced by the National Pension Commission (PenCom). The focus was on the general concept of the Multifund Structure and the salient benefits inherent in RSA Funds I and II. We highlighted that the Multifund Structure was introduced to govern the investment of pension fund assets of Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) funds. To this end, Fund I, II, III, IV, V and VI were introduced to align contributors risk appetite with their investment vision, at each phase of their life cycle. The main objectives of the Multifund Structure is to achieve ideal returns for contributors by aligning their pension savings with their individual risk profiles, provide investment portfolio choices to contributors and enhance the safety of pension assets through adequate portfolio diversification. In continuation of the article, we shall continue the discuss on the Multifund Structure focusing on Fund III and IV which are the also known as the pre-retiree and retiree funds respectively.

(PFA) requesting for the move.

FUND IV This fund applies to contributors who have attained the age of 60 years and above. The contributor is generally considered to have attained the retirement age and is automatically moved to Fund IV, (the retiree fund) from Fund III (The pre-retirement fund). The main objective of the retiree fund is to ensure that the fund does not diminish or lose value between the point of retirement and the point of collection of a lumpsum and commencement of pension. The funds are exposed to little or no risks to generate fair income. To this end, the retiree fund is largely invested in fixed income securities such as Government Securities, Money Market instruments, Corporate Debt Instruments all in line with the Regulation on investment of Pension Fund Assets issued by PenCom. At this juncture, it is important to note that the Fund IV or the retiree fund is for retirees who have chosen to access their retirement benefits through the programmed withdrawal mode offered by the PFAs. While, retirees that have chosen Retiree Life Annuity will have their funds transferred to a Life Insurance Company of their choice.

FUND III

CONCLUSION

This Fund is for contributors who are at least 50 years or older as at their last birthday and are still in active employment. It is a pre-retirement fund with a significantly reduced risk exposure to produce fair income. In the Fund III portfolio, the contributor’s exposure to variable income instruments drops to 20 percent when compared to Fund I and II with exposures of 75 and 55 percent respectively. Variable instruments is defined as the sum of a PFAs investments in ordinary shares, mutual funds, private equity funds and infrastructure funds. Contributors in Fund III cannot move to Fund 1 due to its high risk nature, considering the age of the Contributor. However, an RSA holder in Fund III can move to Fund II by written application to his/her Pension Fund Administrator

The Multi-Fund Structure has been beneficial to contributors’ as pension contributions are invested in the best manner to achieve better retirement benefits. For example, younger contributors may prefer a pension fund with higher returns, so as to increase the expected value of their pension at retirement, while older contributors or retirees, prefer a low risk fund, so as to minimize the likelihood of a reduction in the value of their pension. In order for contributors to make informed choices, the Pension Reform Act, 2014, Section 55 (d) mandates the PFAs to provide regular information on the pension fund’s investment strategy, rate of returns and other performance indicators. Therefore, contributors can obtain information on the performance of each fund from the websites of the PFAs.

T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2022

BUSINESSWORLD

STATUS REPORT

With N18.05bn Profit, Okomu Surpasses 2021 Performance

Kayode Tokede

komu Oil Palm Plc maintained an impressive profit after tax growth for the third year running with a profit of N18.05 billion at the end of the nine months ended September 30, 2022, which is ahead of N11.54billion reported in full year ended December 31, 2021. The financial report of the oil palm and rubber producing company for the nine months 2022 shows that it is maintaining an upswing in the bottom line for the third straight year. The company has elevated profit before tax from N7.5 billion in 2019 to N8.69 billion in 2020, accelerating to N16.1 billion in 2021 and climbing further to over N24.62 billion in the nine months 2022 unaudited result and accounts. The company’s challenge in the nine months 2022 came from the cost of sales that rose significantly by 356.5 per cent to N14.41billion from N3.2billion reported in nine months 2021. The high jump in the cost of sales compares to an increase of 61.6 per cent in revenue to N50.18 billion in nine months 2022 from N31.05billion in nine months 2021. The revenue breakdown shows a 72.3 per cent increase in local sales to N46.29billion in

nine months 2022 from N26.86billion in nine months 2021, while sales from exports dropped by 7.1 per cent to N3.89billion in nine months 2022 from N4.18billion reported in nine months 2021. The company’s management responded with cost saving steps that cut net operating expenses by 18 per cent to N10.67 billion in nine months of 2022 from N13.01billion reported in nine months of 2021. Despite that, operating profit still went up by close to 66.1 per cent to N24.6 billion in nine months of 2022 from N14.8billion in nine months of 2021. The company reported N536.79million finance cost in nine months of 2022 from N111.14million in nine months of 2021, driven by interest on long term loans.

OKOMU OIL PALM 2021 FY PERFORMANCE Okomu oil grew its full-year profit ending 2021 to N14 billion from N7.8 billion in the comparable period of 2020. The Nigeria’s biggest crude palm oil producer and second-biggest producer of rubber has recorded its highest profits in 10 years. The palm oil company grew its full-year profit 2021 to N14 billion from N7.8 billion

in the comparable period of 2020. The noteworthy performance by Okomu plc in the period under review of 2021 was due to an efflux in local sales backed by the ban on accessing forex for palm oil importation into the country thereby encouraging patronage of locally made products. Okomu plc grew its revenue by 60 per cent to N37.5 billion in the financial year ended December 2021 from N23.4 billion in the comparable period of 2020. The revenue was on the back of 85 per cent local sales while only 14.9 per cent was from exports. Local sales reported N31.9 billion while export sales yielded N5.6 billion. Further analysis by shows the company made a profit margin of 37.5 percent, showing how efficient the company is at managing its cost relative to its revenue. Okomu oil also recorded a 5234.5 per cent spurt in its finance income which gave a boost to its income and consequently, the performance in the period. Finance income increased to N380 million in 2021 from N7 million in the previous year. This consists of N331 million from exchange gain and other income of N48.9 million.

However, finance cost also increased by 174 percent to N192.8 million from N70 million in the comparable period of 2020 consisting of N113.4 million from exchange cost and N78.9 million from interest on long term loans. The increase in profit was despite the 51.4 per cent increase in the cost of sales to N11.7 billion in the year ended 2021 compared to N7.7 billion incurred in the comparable period of 2020. The cost of sales in the year ended 2021 consists of N9.8 billion from sales of oil palm and N1.9 billion from the sales of rubber. There was an increase in the palm oil company’s earnings per share ratio to N14.72 from N8.2. Okomu oil’s total assets grew to N65.7 billion as of 2021 from N34.8 billion, in 2020. Okomu oil has a market cap of N159.78 billion with a stock price of N167.5 per share as of December 2, 2022. According to the company’s financial report, the principal activities of Okomu oil are the development of oil palm plantation, palm oil milling, palm kernel processing, and the development of rubber plantation. Their products are palm oil, palm kernel oil, palm kernel cake, Banga(package), and rubber cup lumps.

CBN FX MARKET INTERVENTIONS HIT $12.74BN AS EXTERNAL RESERVES NARROW BY $3.41BN IN 11 MONTHS The report further revealed a lower crude oil and gas export receipts of $4.58 billion

was recorded in August 2022, compared with $5.39 billion in July 2022.

“A breakdown by the main components reveals that crude oil export receipts declined by 18.0

per cent to $3.89 billion, relative to S$4.74 billion in the preceding month. Recent crude oil price

REPORT: 59% OF NIGERIAN E-BANKING CUSTOMERS HAVE BEEN VICTIM TO FRAUD “This is less than the 82% of respondents recorded in our 2021 survey. Customers cited pain points to be high service fees, poor customer service, frequent downtime on the digital platform and as the main reasons they were willing to make a switch to another bank’s digital banking platform. “We expect the increasing competition in the digital space from Fintechs and Neo-banks to further spur more innovation and expanded service offerings by banks. Also, given the macroeconomic headwinds, which have reduced the appetite for lending to some extent, we expect more emphasis on non-interest income from electronic banking channels to sustain profitability. Overall, we expect more digital transformation as banks compete to grow and retain market share,” it stated.

trends and domestic production challenges were attributed to the decline in crude oil export receipt. In contrast, gas export receipts increased by 7.0 per cent to $0.70 billion, compared with $0.65 billion in the preceding month. In terms of share, crude oil and gas exports accounted for 88.1 per cent of total exports, with oil constituting 74.7 per cent and gas export accounting for 13.4 per cent. Non-oil export earnings fell by 0.8 per cent to $0.62 billion in August 2022, compared with the level in July 2022, largely, due to a 5.4 per cent decline in electricity export receipts to $0.02 billion from the level in the preceding month, ”it added. The report explained that weak domestic demand on the back of rising global inflation and supply chain disruptions, have continued to weigh on Nigeria’s imports. “Provisional data shows that aggregate import decreased by 3.7 per cent to $4.50 billion from $4.67 billion in the preceding month. The decline in import was solely driven by the 23.3 per cent decrease in oil import to $0.87 billion in the review period,

compared with $1.14 billion in July 2022, as the demand-supply gap in the domestic economy continue to narrow. Conversely, non-oil imports rose by 2.6 per cent to $3.63 billion, compared with $3.54 billion in the preceding month. In terms of composition, non-oil import accounted for 80.7 per cent, while oil constituted the balance of 19.3 per cent of the total, “the report submitted. Analysts believe dwindling crude oil production and continuous intervention by the CBN in the official market might have contributed to the drop in external reserves. “The bulk of our foreign exchange earnings come from the oil sector. However, Nigeria has not been meeting its OPEC crude oil production quota due to the oil theft and pipeline vandalism. “In addition, the continuous intervention by the CBN in the official market to maintain stability of the local currency might have contributed to the setback recorded in external reserves during the period, ”said analyst at PAC Holdings, Mr. Wole Adeyeye.

T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2022

BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

Despite Improved Earnings, Tier-1 Banks’ Market Valuation Down N315.9bn Kayode Tokede Despite releasing impressive corporate earnings on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), the market valuation of Tier-1 banks dropped by N315.9billion in 11 months of 2022, according to THISDAY investigation. Stock market investors in the period placed N2.413 trillion on Nigeria’s Tier-1 capital banks ahead of 2022 full year earnings season, accounting for about 9.3per cent of the entire stock market capitalisation that closed November at N25.959 trillion. The market valuation of Access Holdings Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, United Bank for Africa (UBA), Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO), Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), and FBN Holdings opened 2022 at N2.73 trillion and dropped to N2.413trillion as of November 30, 2022. A breakdown shows that GTCO between January and November 2022 has suffered the highest drop in market value followed by Zenith Bank. With about N6.00 per share drop in stock price to N20.00

as of November 30, 2022 from N26.00 it opened for trading, the market valuation of GTCO has depreciated by N176.6billion. For Zenith Bank Plc’s market value dropped by N102.04billion as its stock price opened for trading this year at N25.15 per share to close November 30, 2022 at N21.90 per share. Both leading banks had reported N304.7 billion profit after tax in nine months ended September 2022, representing an increase of 5.06 per cent from N289.99 billion reported in nine months of 2021. Zenith Bank and GTCO had declared interim dividend to shareholders in audited half year result and accounts. Access Holdings saw its market value drop by N28.44billion when its stock price depreciated by N0.8 per share, while UBA witnessed N27.36billion decline in market value. The stock price of UBA was down by N0.8 to N7.25 as of November 30, 2022 from N8.05 per share it opened for trading this year. In addition, ETI’s market value was down by N25.7billion as FBN Holdings recorded N7.18billion decline

Access Bank, IFC E m p o w e r s Wo m e n a t ‘Womenpreneur Pitchathon’ Nume Ekeghe In its continuous bid at empowering women, Access Bank in collaboration with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) has empowered women in its season 4 Womenpreneur Pitch-a-thon with cash grants worth over N14 million and a mini-MBA training for its selected candidates Mobaby Care Nigeria emerged as the grand prize winner of N5 million while the second and third winners carted with N4million and N3 million respectively with other consolation prizes Launched in 2019, the Womenpreneur Pitch-athon programme is the first women-in-business support initiative by Access Bank’s W Initiative tailored to support women-led businesses with grants, informative tools to help grow their businesses. Speaking at the closing ceremony event in Lagos recently, the Managing Director/CEO, Access Bank, Nigeria, Mr. Roosevelt Ogbonna, has stressed the need for Nigerian businesses to shift their business model from profitoriented to providing net

societal benefits. He urged the candidates selected to utilised the bank’s resources availed to them aside from the mini-MBA training given to them, in partnership with the IFC. This, if done, according to him, would push the country’s gross domestic product higher and lead to the improved well-being of the entire population and their respective businesses. According to him, “I recalled when I was in law school, one of the things that we talked about in class was the purpose of a business. Why are business started, in the earliest years of corporation it had to be that you provided net societal benefit. You have to prove to the queen that when they set up this business the society will be better off for it and you have to demonstrate that what you offered as an institution would make the world a better place for your economy. “We ask ourselves continually how do we make the world a better place, make the right impact in the markets and communities that we serve. If you look at the SDGs, particularly goal 2,3,4, 5, 10, and 17, they speak about human existence.”

in market value when it price closed at N11.2 per share from N11.4 per share it opened for trading in 2022. Capital market analysts attributed the decline to

uncertainty surroazunding the local economy in 2022 as foreign investors continued to exit the stock market. They also blamed the decline on a hike in Monetary Policy

Rate (MPR) to 16.5 per cent, which forced investors to fixedincome market instruments. Zenith Bank is currently the most valuable among Nigeria’s top lenders, followed

by GTCO– an agile financial service provider that was dislodged by share price appreciation in Zenith bank in 2022. Investors value Zenith Bank at N687.58billion on about 31.4 billion outstanding shares at a unit price of N21.9 as of November 30. To the market, investors GTCO worth N588.62 billion as of November 30 on 29.431 billion shares outstanding price at N20 at the close of the market on November 30. GTCO was the Tier-1 bank leader, and the stock had moved near the N1 trillion mark before price action onslaught by its main rival –Zenith bank. FBN Holding commanded N402.03 billion market valuation as of November 30, 2022. The oldest among Tier-1 category lenders has 35.895 billion outstanding shares price at N11.20 as of November 30, 2022.

Adesugba: Free Zones Attracted $30bn Investments, Remain Key to Economic Transformation James Emejo in Abuja The Managing Director/Chief Executive, Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), Prof. Adesoji Adesugba, has disclosed that the country’s free zones scheme had attracted over $30 billion in investments since its establishment to date. He said the investments are expected to exponentially increase in the next few years given the authority’s sustained incentives and aggressive investment drive across the world. Speaking at the 30thanniversary celebration of the free zones scheme in Nigeria, he added that the business enclaves currently harbour over 600 enterprises providing 150,000 and 400,000 direct and indirect employment. Adesugba commended President Muhammadu Buhari-led administration for the approval given for the establishment of six Special Economic Zones and the earmarking of four International Airports as Free Trade Zones in 2021. The NEPZA boss added that under Buhari, the scheme had been adopted as the policy thrust for economic growth, development, and prosperity, adding that 13 economic zones had been licensed so far by the current administration. He pointed out that the conversations around the country’s desire to join the league of Free Trade Zone nations started in 1977, but it was not until 1992 that NEPZA, the premier free trade zone regulator, was established by the enactment of the NEPZA Decree 63 of 1992 now the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority’s Act, CAP N107 LFN 2004. He said the ultimate objective of Nigeria adopting this global business model was to fast-track economic growth and industrialization. Adesugba said, “Suffice to, therefore, say that the decision of the Nigerian Government to key into this concept has remained legendary as the

model has become a key driver of the nation’s economy. “Since my appointment on July 1, 2020, as the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the authority, 2020 which was at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, I galvanized the management and staff to adopt strategies to reposition the agency for efficient

and effective service delivery. This entailed a number of reforms to position the scheme for global competitiveness.” He added that since his assumption of office, the remarkable reforms achieved included the establishment of Special Economic Zones Dispute Resolution Centre to mediate disputes among operators in the

zones, Special Economic Zones Security outfit to professionally secure lives and investments in the Zones, Special Economic Zones Training Institute, Kano to help bridge the knowledge gap in the Free Zones Scheme, and the automated platform to digitize the operations of the scheme for enhanced efficiency and accountability.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2022 ˾ T H I S D AY

BUSINESSWORLD

INTERVIEW

Akinmade: Unity Bank’s Women Empowerment Initiative Has Been Successful The Divisional Head, Retail SME and E-business, Unity bank, Funwa Akinmade in this interview with Kayode Tokede and some select journalists spoke on the bank’s Yanga initiative targeted at market women across the country. He expressed that the initiative has attracted more women to the financial inclusion of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Excerpts Give us a snapshot of how far the Yanga product has gone since it was launched in November 2021? anga was launched in November 2021 and 2022 makes it exactly a year. Yanga was launched in four geo-political regions. We launched it in Nasarawa, Oyo, Uyo and Gombe. Gombe was for North East and so on and so forth. We did that because we didn’t want it to be seen as a Lagos product. A number of people in the industry always say all the banks do things only in Lagos. We don’t want that to be our strategy and so we took Yanga by Unity bank to the marketplace across the country. We did not launch it in any expensive hotels, as we launched it at market locations and we had market women directly attended to and some state government officials were present during the launching Yanga has been fantastically successful. In terms of the number of accounts, the two figures that I can give you showed a mass acquisition across two states. We’re working with the Katsina state government where over 30,000 women have not only opened the Yanga accounts, they’ve been carded, and they’re up and running. In Plateau state, we have over 45,000 customers are under the Yanga product by Unity Bank. These are actual numbers that have been banked, accounts opened and cards issued to them and it’s been a fantastic experience with a few learning points. But overall, we’ve met our budget and is not just about us as Yanga is a win for the banking sector, women, and win also for CBN. So all the accounts that we’ve opened are people who did not have bank accounts before so when we’re opening Yanga, we take the bank to the market. We create what we call a Yanga woman as a female banking agent in each location so that anything that you are doing, you can do it through the Yanga agent.

the market woman has been left hanging in all of these as there is no product by any bank that tackles market women. There women are there across the country and they have been strong demand for products that can take care of their needs. For CBN, the women unbanked needed to be banked. So, it’s to meet a need and to create what I call a win structure. It is a win for Unity Bank, win for the woman and win for Nigeria.

Akinmade Why are women only participating in the Yanga initiative of Unity bank? Based on the figures from CBN in 2020, more than 52 per cent of unbanked people in Nigeria are women. More men than women have bank accounts. So, we sat down and worked for six months with Lagos Business School, did a lot of research in 18 cities and we did focus groups. Everything about Yanga is driven by research including the features, locations launched, and the name. As you likely know, Nigeria has three large components of Igbo, Yoruba, and Hausa. So which word applies to all of them.? Yanga was the name women loved the most and the reason it was picked. As we have 65 per cent of men banked, we have less than 45 per cent of women banked. Number two,

Do you have an issue with KnowYour-Customer during the process of getting these women on board? The CBN has made our lives easier. In 2013, they launched something called the tiered KYC guidelines, which was finalized and finetuned in 2015. So we have tier one, tier two tier three customers. Tier one means I can open an account once I have my passport photograph, basic information such as a home address, Biometric Verification Number (BVN) and my full name. Then, there’s tier two, which has Identification (ID) but no references. So if you have any of the four statutory pieces of ID card; voters card and NIN, passport and driving licence, you’re fine. About 99per cent of the women open tier one accounts which has the lowest level of KYC where they cannot keep more than N300,000 in their account. This is what they need. Because we’re talking about market women, not big women that own a shop, just the regular woman selling shoes or something small. There are some of them who indicate that they want the higher version of the Yanga account. So the way it works, is anybody can open this account on day one and you get your account number within five minutes. So if you don’t have BVN, we will enroll you and tie your account to

BVN. Now if you decide on that I don’t want this tier one account and want tier three. All you need to do is to give us your ID by visiting the nearest Unity Bank. Give us your ID and do your BVN as we will upgrade you as your account number remains the same. Yanga is an entry point to the financial system. Why would customers leave other banks’ products and bank on Unity Bank’s Yanga product? We have three added advantages that no other bank has. We don’t bank you and run away. So once a quarter, we gather the women in a market place and do capacity building. Our capacity building is in two areas. We have people that come to talk to you about how to run your business and how to have a bank account. We also have an agreement which is the second value add with two licensed and established Health Management Organization (HMO) approved by CBN and NAICOM. So, we give our customers health talks at least once a year and they also offer free health checks. If you open a Yanga account, you are enrolled on the scheme, where you pay the minimum amount possible to get a health management facility and it grants you access to any one of 4,000 hospitals; both private and general hospital across Nigeria. The third one is we create agents which will call Yanga women in those areas. So, if a market woman is in our Iddo branch, you have no business withdrawing money from our branch in Iddo. If you need to withdraw money, you will need to visit any Yanga dealer in your area and the same is applicable to savings. It’s also good for the Yanga woman because he’s getting more business from that immediate maker space and no other bank has provided such a service as we speak. NOTE: Interested readers should continue in the online edition on www.thisdaylive.com

MONDAY DECEMBER 5, 2022 • T H I S D AY

30 T H I S D AY MONDAY DECEMBER 5, 2022 TR

UT H

& RE A S O

Monday December 5, 2022 Vol 27. No 10099

opinion@thisdaylive.com

www.thisdaylive.com

WHY ARE OUR STATE GOVERNORS IN THE DOCK? DELE OLOWU contends that our governors are working hard, making our country livable

See page 35

WINNING GRADES FOR UDOM Emmanuel Udom’s administration is impacting positively on the people, writes DANIEL ABANG

See page 35 EDITORIAL

CONVOY DRIVERS AND ROAD SAFETY

NIYI OSUNDARE, renowned poet and Emeritus Professor’s acceptance speech eight years ago when he was conferred the NNMA by President Goodluck Jonathan, raising questions about whether anything has changed

NNMA, OASIS AND DESERT Of all the prizes and awards that have come my way in my nearly 40 years of professional and creative career, the one whose bestowal brought us all together today has a more special resonance and unusual gravitas to it than I could ever have anticipated. From near and far, the congratulatory messages pouring in in the past one week have concentrated not only on the lucky winner of the 2014 Nigerian National Merit Award, but also on the timing of the award and the country which is responsible for its bestowal. I cannot disclose many of the messages in full without sounding gross or boringly immodest, neither can I keep silent about them without denying myself a rare opportunity to share something useful with my compatriots, and without depriving my country of a chance to hear one or two things about itself. For nearly all these messages say something WR WKLV HͿHFW ZH DUH KDSS\ WKDW WKLV DZDUG LV coming at a time like this in the history of your country; oh, Nigeria got this right; the existence of this kind of award shows that not all is lost in Nigeria; one writer, a professor of political science and perspicacious columnist for one of Nigeria’s leading newspapers, disclosed how “uplifting and therapeutic” it was for him to learn about this year’s award. Waxing lyrically DQG HORTXHQWO\ PHWDSKRULFDO KH DGGHG ´,Q D clime where good news is in short supply, [the news of the award] comes as refreshing drops of water, massaging parched throats”. A stellar US-based Nigerian professor of philosophy renowned for his cerebral, unsparing evisceration of the African anomy, called to say that the award indicates that Nigeria is still capable of doing some things right. An old student of mine, now an insightful columnist for a prominent Nigerian daily, exhales, almost carthartically, Oh, what a breath of fresh air! A younger colleague from the Department of English, University of Ibadan, declared in a telephone conversation whose sheer energy QHDUO\ EOHZ XS WKH 1LJHULDQ QHWZRUN JULG ´6LU I’m happy for you and happy for myself; now it means we younger fellows have something to look up to”. Students in my undergraduate poetry class in the Department of English, University of New Orleans, burst into spontaneous applause upon hearing the news, exactly the same way some of my professor colleagues in the same department reacted a few days later. Some of these students and colleagues WHOO PH ZLWK DQ DOPRVW ÀOLDO FDQGRU DQG FRQFHUQ VRPHWKLQJ WR WKLV HͿHFW WKLV LV JRRG news, Niyi; better, happier than what has been coming out of Nigeria in recent times. And never one to miss a good chance to tell Nigeria his mind, the doyen of Nigeria’s op-ed journalism, avowedly now at home DEURDG GHFODUHV ZLWK WHOOLQJ DFXLW\ ¶$PLG WKH gloom that has encircled and now threatens to choke Nigeria, this award has largely been spared the corruption that rules the land. It is a reassuring testament that Nigeria can

still be true to its highest ideals’. A don from the Communication and Language Arts Department, University of Ibadan, famous for his relentless excoriation of verbal and stylistic infelicities in Nigerian writing, enthused over WKH SKRQH ZLWK WKLV DZDUG , NQRZ WKHUH LV VWLOO hope for Nigeria... I have cited all these episodes not in aid of some megalomaniacal confessionalism. I am QRW WKH ÀUVW SHUVRQ WR UHFHLYH WKLV DZDUG QRU am I going to be the last. Worthier people, many of them my teachers and professional predecessors, have walked this path before, and I have them to thank for blazing a worthy trail. The purpose of this narrative is to show KRZ SHRSOH IURP GLͿHUHQW FOLPHV GLͿHUHQW SHUVXDVLRQV DQG GLͿHUHQW VWDWLRQV RI OLIH perceive the Nigerian National Merit Award vis-à-vis the nation that has created it as its National Order of Distinction. For the NNOM is larger than any awardee; the light which issue from its beacon transcends the turbulent expanse of Nigeria’s territorial waters. What I GHGXFH IURP P\ H[SHULHQFH VLQFH WKH R΀FLDO announcement of this year’s award is an overwhelming yearning for the NNOM as an Order faithful to its mission; a Centre of Excellence given free rein and empowered in all legitimate ways to carry out its institutional functions not only as regards the recognition of merit and reward for it, but also the cultivation and encouragement of these attributes in Nigeria’s intellectual culture. To the best of my knowledge, the NNMA remains to date, about the only Nigerian Order of grave national importance relatively insulated from Nigeria’s typical political contamination, a national institution with relatively formidable ramparts against the rampaging monsters of mediocrity and intellectual mendacity. We owe it as a bounden duty to ourselves and to our future to help it in the maintenance of its measure of integrity. We must keep supremely hallowed that tradition of the First Thursday of December every year as has been the practice since 1979 when the maiden edition of the NNMA was bestowed on Chinua Achebe, one of Nigeria’s, nay the world’s most famous writers. One

To the best of my knowledge, the NNMA remains to date, about the only Nigerian Order of grave national importance relatively insulated from Nigeria’s typical political contamination, a national institution with relatively formidable ramparts against the rampaging monsters of mediocrity and intellectual mendacity

of those numerous well-wishers in the past week described the NNOM as an “oasis” in the Nigerian desert. It must be a vital part of NNOM’s mission to transform, by its own sterling example, that desert into a blooming landscape and productive humanscape. Urgently needed in this regard is the kind of UREXVW FRQVLVWHQW HQGRZPHQW EHÀWWLQJ LWV status as the nation’s intellectual and creative reference point/powerhouse jealously protected from all manner of interference and sordid meddling. But as that ancient Yoruba adage goes, ,GHORUXQ LWH QL ¶GHORUXQ H\H 7KH SHDFH RI the nest determines the peace of the bird). Without a nest called Nigeria, there would be no bird called NNOM. These, no doubt, are dangerously hard times for Nigeria. They are also times which call for the best and boldest LQ DOO RI XV OHDGHUV ZKR IROORZ E\ OHDGLQJ conscientiously, and followers who lead by following responsibly, with a keen eye on their rights as HUMAN beings. We have a country to build, a future to anticipate, a dream to honour. Now it is time for homages and acknowledgements. I remember with the tenderest gratitude today that day in January 1953 when my father, Ariyoosu Aguntasoolo Osundare of blessed memory, woke me up and VDLG TXLHWO\ WR P\ PRWKHU )DVLPLD 2PRR \DMX yanu daadaa; aa mo’we. Mo mu lo i si sukuru 7KLV ER\ ORRNV SUHFRFLRXV KH ZLOO NQRZ ERRN I’m taking him to school). Tall and sprightly like a regal warrior, father led the way while I broke into a rapid canter to keep up his pace. That morning’s journey landed me in Primary One B at St. Luke’s School, Iro, Ikere (NLWL ZLWK P\ ÀUVW WHDFKHU DV 0U * 2 $VDNH ,W WXUQHG RXW WR EH WKH ÀUVW WRGGOLQJ VWHSV RI D long-distance run that would take me to all the continents of the world. The Nigeria I grew up in gave me the education which quickened my pace, the kind of culture that priced mind over money, and endowed Character with a prime place in the pantheon of virtues. Farmer-born, peasant-bred, I learnt all so early the dignity of labour and the importance of integrity. These have remained the vital chapters in my book of life, my compass through life’s tempestuous voyage. I am eternally grateful to all my teachers, some of whom are present here today as 1120 ODXUHDWHV WKURXJK WKHLU ZRUWK\ examples, I have come to respect teaching as the noblest profession in the world, and to regard my students as my best teachers… And ÀQDOO\ , FRPPHQG 1LJHULD IRU HVWDEOLVKLQJ WKH Nigerian National Order of Merit, and the NNOM for striving all these years to safeguard the survival of that Merit and sustain the integrity and relevance of the culture of the mind. Prof. Osundare will deliver the 2022 Nigerian National Merit Award lecture on Wednesday in Abuja

MONDAY DECEMBER 5, 2022 • T H I S D AY

MONDAY DECEMBER 5, 2022 •T H I S D AY

T H I S D AY

335

MONDAY DECEMBER 5, 2022

DELE OLOWU contends that our governors are working hard, making our country livable

Emmanuel Udom’s administration is impacting positively on the people, writes DANIEL ABANG

WHY ARE OUR STATE GOVERNORS IN THE DOCK?

WINNING GRADES FOR UDOM

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36 4

T H I S D AY

MONDAY DECEMBER 5, 2022

EDITORIAL

Editor, Editorial Page PETER ISHAKA Email peter.ishaka@thisdaylive.com

CONVOY DRIVERS AND ROAD SAFETY The FRSC should subject convoy drivers to the same standard

¶R΀FLDO LPPXQLW\· IURP DUUHVW DQG SURVHFXWLRQ o fewer than four persons died they have become laws unto themselves and no on the spot following a ghastly one, not even men of the FRSC dare stop them. The accident involving a Toyota way they go about terrorising other road users had Hilux conveying a detachment always left the public wondering whether these of vigilantes, accompanying drivers were under instruction from their bosses Governor Adamu Fintiri of to break the rules of civilised conduct, especially Adamawa State, last Thursday. The accident was whenever they are late in keeping appointments. reportedly caused by over-speeding by one of the Yet there should be no excuse to unleash reckless vehicles in the convoy in the process of negotiating assassins on other road users just because they are a dangerous bend. While we commiserate with not disciplined enough to keep to time. the families of the deceased and wish speedy The statistics of the carnage on Nigerian roads recovery for the injured, we must stress that this is caused by the impunity and recklessness often a recurring tragedy in Nigeria that the authorities exhibited by convoy must deal with. Given drivers is mind-boggling. the frequency of There had been several this menace, many accidents involving Nigerians have been These drivers have no regard for traffic rules and regulations and convoys of president, left to wonder whether governors, deputy there is a bug that bites under the cover of presumed ‘official immunity’ from arrest and governors and their these drivers once they spouses. Perhaps the sit behind the steering prosecution, they have become laws unto themselves worst incident in recent wheel of hugely tinted memory was that of black jeeps and sedans then Edo State Governor, which make them drive T H I S D AY Oserheimen Osunbor along the Lokoja-Abuja as if on ‘Formula One’ car race. EDITOR SHAKA MOMODU express road in 2007 which claimed 12 lives on the Globally, thousands of people die daily because DEPUTY EDITORS WALE OLALEYE, OBINNA CHIMA spot. It is important for the Federal Road Safety of over-speeding, which accounts for most of all MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO Commission (FRSC) to step in on the recklessness road accidents. What compounds the problem in DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR ISRAEL IWEGBU of convoy drivers who pose serious dangers not CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI 1LJHULD LV WKDW WKH FRQYR\V RI SXEOLF R΀FLDOV DQG only to other road users but also to the society at EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN RWKHU ¶ELJ PHQ· GR QRW REH\ WUD΀F UXOHV 7KDW WKHQ MANAGING EDITOR BOLAJI ADEBIYI large. That many of these vehicles do not carry explains why accidents involving them are almost THE OMBUDSMAN KAYODE KOMOLAFE any plate number compounds the challenge which always fatal. Having created and sustained this speaks to lawlessness in the country. Now that culture of impunity, it no longer matters whether private citizens have joined this inglorious club, we WKHVH FRQYR\V FDUU\ DQ\ KLJK SURÀOH R΀FLDO WKH\ HQMRLQ DOO URDG WUD΀F PDQDJHPHQW R΀FLDOV WR EH T H I S D AY N E W S PA P E R S L I M I T E D just terrorise other road users for fun. Besides, in a more alive to their responsibilities. EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CHAIRMAN NDUKA OBAIGBENA VWDWXV REVHVVHG VRFLHW\ LW LV QRW RQO\ SXEOLF R΀FLDOV GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS ENIOLA BELLO, KAYODE KOMOLAFE, Meanwhile, we would like to advise government who drive in convoys, politicians, businessmen, ISRAEL IWEGBU, IJEOMA NWOGWUGWU, EMMANUEL EFENI R΀FLDOV DW DOO OHYHOV WR KHOS FXUE WKH DQWLFV RI WKHLU clerics, musicians, and just about anybody with DIVISIONAL DIRECTORS SHAKA MOMODU, PETER IWEGBU, drivers by ensuring that they depart in good time enough cash to buy many vehicles, including Hilux, ANTHONY OGEDENGBE whenever they have an engagement to attend. and could pay to hire security personnel, also do. DEPUTY DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR OJOGUN VICTOR DANBOYI They should also inform these drivers on the For years, many Nigerians have been at the mercy SNR. ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR ERIC OJEH implications of harassing the very taxpayers whose ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR PATRICK EIMIUHI of these killer-drivers whose daredevilry on the money was used to purchase the vehicles and to road have claimed the lives of numerous innocent CONTROLLERS ABIMBOLA TAIWO, UCHENNA DIBIAGWU, NDUKA MOSERI DIRECTOR, PRINTING PRODUCTION CHUKS ONWUDINJO pay the drivers salaries. It is about time we put an FLWL]HQV 7KHVH GULYHUV KDYH QR UHJDUG IRU WUD΀F UXOHV TO SEND EMAIL: first name.surname@thisdaylive.com end to this executive recklessness on our roads. and regulations and under the cover of presumed

Letters to the Editor Letters in response to speciﬁc publications in THISDAY should be brief (150-300 words) and straight to the point. Interested readers may send such letters along with their contact details to opinion@thisdaylive.com. We also welcome comments and opinions on topical local, national and international issues provided they are well-written and should also not be longer than (750- 1000 words). They should be sent to opinion@thisdaylive. com along with photograph, email address and phone numbers of the writer.

LETTERS STATE GOVERNORS AND RURAL POVERTY The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) recently released a damning report on the worsening poverty in the country. The agency has reported that133 million Nigerians are living below poverty line. The reports came after the survey on multi-dimensional poverty across the country placed some states as abysmally poor. In its ranking, Sokoto State from North-West became WKH ÀUVW VWDWH ZLWK KLJKHVW UDWH RI SRYHUW\ IROORZHG E\ %D\HOVD in South-South. Disturbed by this unfortunate report, the state PLQLVWHU RI ÀQDQFH EXGJHW DQG QDWLRQDO SODQQLQJ &OHP $JED blamed state governors for the rising cases of poverty in the country. The minister stated that state governors preferred to concentrate building projects within the states’ capital, instead of channeling the resources to the rural areas. Most of the state govHUQRUV SULRULWLVHG EXLOGLQJ Á\RYHUV DQG DLUSRUWV WKDQ EXLOGLQJ RI bridges and roads in the rural areas. He further said, “With lack of storage facilities and poor bad road network, farmers lost their food products”. The minister may be right. Looking at the huge amount of resources the federal government earmarked and disbursed through its social investment programs such as N-Power, Trader-moni and school feeding programs, the CBN Anchor Borrowers program, the federal government has indeed paid its

own dues. If the state governors have complemented the federal governPHQW·V HͿRUWV RQ ZDU DJDLQVW SRYHUW\ WKURXJK JRRG SROLFLHV DQG programes, the report of alarming rate of poverty will not have cropped up, let alone become the topic of discussion. Before the NBS’s scaring reports, the Global Poverty Clock in 2021, put 87 million Nigerians to have lived below the poverty line. It went ahead to describe Nigeria as the poverty headquarters of the world, having overtaken India. However, the reports did not go down well with our policymakers. It attracted condemnations DQG GHQLDOV 1RZ 1%6 KDV UHD΀UPHG WKH UHSRUWV RI *OREDO 3RYerty Clock. Can we still live in denial? Another shocking revelaWLRQ FDPH IURP WKH PLQLVWHU RI ÀQDQFH EXGJHW DQG QDWLRQDO SODQning, Zainab Ahmed, who stated that since 2015, state governors have collected a whopping N5.4 trillion as statutory allocation and other payments from the federation account. If these facts are not enough, then the release of over N625billion to nine oil producing states as arrears of derivation and Sure-P funds is enough evidence to show states governments are not cash-starved. Local governments which are closer to the people and are supposed to perform local functions such as construction of feed-

er roads, building of schools and hospitals only exist by name. State governments, through the joint-account, have rendered WKHP ÀQDQFLDOO\ KDQGLFDSSHG 3UHVLGHQW 0XKDPPDGX %XKDUL during the just concluded NIPSS graduation ceremony in Kuru, Jos, blamed state governors for tampering with the local governments funds. He cited an example that if N100 million is allocated to a particular local government, the governor will give the chairman N50million and order him to sign that he collected 100 million. The remaining 50 million belongs to the governor who will spend it the way he likes. President Buhari has stated the obvious facts. Local governments in Nigeria have been relegated to backJURXQG E\ WKH VWDWH JRYHUQPHQWV :KHQ WKH\ SD\ VWDͿ VDODULHV at the end of the month, the remaining funds are not enough to carry out capital projects. There is no gainsaying the facts, corruption and lack of priority among the state governments fuel poverty in the rural areas. The alarming rate of rural poverty will be squarely tackled if state and local governments are responsive to the yearnings and expectations of the rural populace. Ibrahim Mustapha, Pambegua, Kaduna State

T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2022

HOMES&DESIGN

Ivy Suite: Lagos’ Sweet, Inviting and Inventive Edifice in Ogudu Ogudu GRA, a well-laid-out exquisite area in Lagos, has some high-proﬁle residential and commercial facilities. One is the Ivy Suite, three towers in a well-landscaped environment. Bennett Oghifo writes

vy Suite is a well-designed and rendered upmarket facility with three exquisite high-rises. A product of Ostia Property and Homes, it is located in the desirable and tranquil heart of Ogudu GRA. Ivy Suite has breathtaking landscaping and boasts of peaceful escape from everything substandard. r 5IF àOF QPJOUT PG UIJT MPWFMZ QJFDF of real estate were presented by Ostia Property and Homes representatives (Olumide Banjo, General Manager; Sukurat Abubakar, Corporate Sales Manager/Brand Awareness Manager; Ayomide Olomiye, Head Business Development; and Eyo Nelson, Media Content creator). r i0VS BQBSUNFOUT BSF CVJMU UP NFFU the calibre of ultra-modern properties with a functional entryway and sleek JOUFSJPS àOJTIJOH *WZ 4VJUF TFMMT GPS /

million, and its features include all rooms en-suite; an exquisite master CFESPPN IPVS XBUFS TVQQMZ $$57 surveillance; a gym; a swimming pool; CJP HBT TFXBHF USFBUNFOU 5IFSF JT BMTP a service personnel room; perimeter fencing; recreational area,” stated Banjo. r )F BEEFE i*WZ 4VJUF &TUBUF JT B fast-selling estate that everyone desires UP IBWF B QJFDF PG 5IJT TUVOOJOH estate is home to 22 units of three BQ and four units of two-bedroom maisonettes with a BQ.” r 0TUJB 1SPQFSUZ BOE )PNFT established in September 2016, is a subsidiary of NIMCO GROUP. It is a real estate company with remarkable expertise in building affordable residential and commercial houses to accommodate the need for luxury, comfort, class, and functionality.

With properties strategically located both on the Mainland and Island in neighbourhoods which are fast appreciating, well secured, and easily accessible to encourage peaceful living. r #BOKP TBJE i0TUJB 1SPQFSUZ and Homes also provides a flexible payment plan for anyone who seeks to invest in lands and properties.” r 5IF 0TUJB 1SPQFSUZ BOE )PNFT IBT other sturdy estates in its portfolio, such as Mangrove Estate, which boasts PG MVYVSZ GPVS CFESPPN 5FSSBDFT GPVS bedroom Maisonette, and one and two-bedroom apartments in Ogudu GRA Phase II. r 5IF DPNQBOZ BMTP PXOT UIF Raymond Estate, a stylish estate which presents a massive two, three, four bedroom Maisonette situated at Ajelogo Ketu in Lagos. Its Enclave

Estate in Ikoyi is sold out. r 5IF "MUJUVEF B MVYVSZ FTUBUF IBT eight units of four-bedroom semi-detached duplexes with two maid’s quarters and ancillary facilities. It is located on the highest point in Ramat Estate, Ogudu GRA, Lagos. r 5IF )BSNPOZ 1BSL &TUBUF JT B NBHOJàDFOU FTUBUF XJUI VOJUT PG GPVS bedroom terrace with BQ. It is located in a desirable and tranquil site at Ogudu GRA 1IBTF *** *UT .BQMF 7BMF JT B GBTU TFMMJOH land in Omole Phase I, Berger, Lagos. r "OPUIFS QSJNF GBDJMJUZ PXOFE CZ UIF company is Ostia Island, a man-made island located in Lekki. An urban development plan incorporating residential, commercial, educational, health care, and other uses on one island. At completion, Ostia Island will become one of the leading Islands in Nigeria and Africa.

MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2022 ˾ T H I S D AY

BUSINESSSPECIAL

Editor: Obinna Chima obinna.chima@thisdaylive.com 08024557078

Making Local Governments Viable through Fiscal Autonomy The ﬁscal relationship between the state and local governments has remained a major hindrance to inclusive economic growth in the country and contributes signiﬁcantly to the high level of poverty in the rural areas, writes Obinna Chima

ince Nigeria’s return to democracy, there has been an increasing clamour for the local government, which is the third tier of government to be autonomous in order to ensure effective service delivery at the grassroots. While constitutionally, local government is supposed to exist as an independent entity, with some amount of autonomy and sovereignty, that has not been the case due to the overbearing influence of the state governors. The governors made it difficult for the local government to perform their constitutionally assigned roles by not providing it with adequate revenue as allocated by the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC). This unfortunate situation was once more brought to the fore by President Muhammadu Buhari last week, who accused state governors of misappropriating funds meant for the local government councils in their respective states. Speaking at the Conference Hall of the State House, Abuja, at an event hosted for members of the Senior Executive Course 44 (2022) of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPSS), Kuru, the president expressed concern over what he described as governors’ unfair treatment of the administration at the local government level. Citing the personal experience involving an unnamed governor, Buhari x-rayed the sort of corrupt practices perpetrated by some governors in dispensing resources meant for local councils’ administrations. According to him, it beats anyone’s imagination how some state governors would collect money on behalf of council areas in their states, only to remit just half of such allocation to the local government council Chairman, who would further deplete the remittance in further pilfering of public resources. He, however, related the development to the question of lack of integrity in the character of many of those holding such offices like governorship and council chairmanship. The president added that such actions were rather despicable and spoke of the height of corruption in the country. “Speaking from personal experience, a chief executive of a state, a qualified lawyer, trained, the treatment of local governments, what they did, this is my personal experience. If the monies from the federal government to state governments is N100 million, N50 million will be sent to the chairman with a letter that he will sign that he received N100 million. “The governor will pocket the balance and share it with whoever he wants to and then the chairman of the local government will see how much he must pay in salaries, to hell goes development. Money for salaries will be given and the balance will put in his pocket. This is what is happening.” Even though some of the state governors have since distanced themselves from the allegation by Buhari, the widely help opinion is that the state governors, through their overbearing influence over the years deliberately crippled the local government system across the country, a situation believed to have laid the foundation for the current widespread insecurity, governors. It is believed that one of the main reasons the governors want to maintain their dictatorial attitude towards the local governments is so as not to whittle down their powers as

Buhari

‘godfathers’ as well as break their selfish control and financial manipulation of the local government system. “The governors want to ensure that they continue to collect local government allocations, which they mismanage. And as we all know most of them are always in Abuja every month, they wait, collect fund from FAAC and they disappear. “Their over 20 years of disinvestment in the local government system is what has led to the rise in insecurity, banditry, kidnapping and increase in social vices across the country,” a source who pleaded anonymous said. Also, a former National President, Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE), Ambali Olatunji, had alleged that the illegality perpetrated by governors was responsible for the destruction of the local government system in the country. Ambali had told THISDAY that the root of insecurity as well as socio-economic challenges bedeviling the country was traceable to the mismanagement of the local government system by state governors. According to him, “As at today, you can no longer move from one state to another without initially asking if you will get home safely. Insecurity in the south, east, west and north. This is not the Nigeria of our dream. We are

bedeviled by abject poverty, joblessness, hopelessness, threat to the nationhood. “This can be traced to the systematic decay and destruction at the local government level. Local government system is the most strategic, most relevant, most popular and most acceptable tier of government in the country.” He also called for direct funding of the local governments, saying allowing state governments to be in charge of local government fund was synonymous to giving same food to a lion and a dog and you ask them to go and share them. To the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, there is need for state Houses of Assembly to speedily ratify the bill seeking total autonomy and devolution of powers to the local government councils in the country. According to Osinbajo, who also lamented that the third tier of government had over time been neglected and undervalued, local governments play key roles towards nation building. He maintained the ongoing constitutional amendment seeking to allocate more powers to the local governments was a step in the right direction. “While the roles of state governments and their scope of authority appear

very well appreciated, local governments remain, in my view, quite undervalued, needing more attention from all of us, better funding, organisational and high quality leadership. “As we speak, a bill for local government autonomy is striving hard to pass the threshold of 24 votes required from state Houses of Assembly, a key milestone towards its passage. “I believe that efforts being made, through the ongoing constitutional amendment, to cede more responsibilities for control and management of resources to local governments across the country reflect our understanding of how crucial it has become for this tier of government to take full charge of their responsibilities and functions at optimal capacity. “After all, it is often argued that local government is closest to the people and best placed to impact on their lives,” he said at the weekend while delivering the “Distinguished Annual Lecture” of the National Institute for Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPPS), Kuru, near Jos, the Plateau State. The vice president argued that local government’s fiscal autonomy would promote peace and security in the country, adding that people at rural communities understand their terrain better and know how to deploy resources towards tackling security challenges. He insisted the yearning for local government autonomy was a step in the right direction and called on state assemblies to expedite actions toward ratifying the autonomy bill. He added the advantages that come with local government autonomy are obviously enormous, adding that it would further consolidate on Nigeria’s democratic system. “It is my firm belief that we must strengthen our sub-national administrative units via further devolution of powers and resources for effective performance,” he said. Also, the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Aminu Ado-Bayero, strongly believes that there is a strong nexus between effective local governance and sustainable development, insisting that Nigeria should not be left behind in this paradigm shift. He maintained that an effective local authority would address poverty, hunger, inequality, insecurity, illiteracy, and other challenges currently facing the nation. In his contribution, the Chief Executive Officer, Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Dr. Muda Yusuf, said the way state government manage local government funding was responsible for the high level of poverty in the country. According to him, accountability at the local government level is almost zero. He stressed the need to also strengthen capacity at the local government level, just as he called for stronger citizens’ engagement. He urged all Nigerians to hold their leaders at the local and state government levels accountable. Clearly, from the foregoing, the fiscal relationship between the state and local governments has remained a major hindrance to inclusive economic growth in the country and contributes significantly to the high level of poverty in the rural areas. Therefore, in order for the local governments to effectively carry out their constitutional duties, there is need to grant them fiscal independence and some level of autonomy.

T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2022

BUSINESS SPECIAL

ANALYSIS

Deepening Nigeria’s Non-oil Exports Non-oil exports can transform the structure of the Nigerian economy, support its diversiﬁcation and help address its perennial forex challenges, writes Obinna Chima

Emeﬁele

igeria’s third quarter 2022 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) figures which showed that the non-oil sector dominated economic performance by contributing 94.34 per cent to the nation’s GDP, while the oil sector contributed 5.66 per cent in the preceding quarter is something to cheer about as it underscored the increasing importance of the non-oil sector. The development showed that the federal government’s drive for economic diversification from the oil to the non-oil sectors, given the volatile nature of crude oil prices is yielding the desired results. Nigeria’s oil sector, which is its major source of revenue has been faced with a myriad of challenges in recent times. Crude oil theft, which is its major challenge, had hindered oil production in some terminals and affected the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited’s (NNPCL) ability to remit forex to the federation account. To show how bad it was, official forex receipt from crude oil sales into the country’s external reserves had dried up steadily from above $3 billion monthly in 2014, to an absolute zero dollars presently. Nevertheless, the country’s daily oil production output has increased recently as Shell Petroleum Development Company Limited (SPDC) resumed crude oil exports at the Forcados Oil Terminal. Owing to this, there was renewed hope as the country’s oil production recently rose above the one million mark for the first time since July 2022, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) had disclosed in its latest crude oil and condensate production data for October 2022. In order to avoid such disruptions and diversify the economy by promoting activities in the non-oil sector, in 2020, the federal government rolled out a N50 billion Export Expansion Facility Programme (EEFP) under the N2.3 trillion National Economic Sustainability Plan. The programme was designed to increase Nigeria’s export capacity in the near term and export volumes in the medium term by supporting exporters, especially micro, small and medium entrepreneurs (MSMEs). The EEFP targets 16 programmes in five areas, including capacity building, financing, market development, infrastructure, and institutional strengthening. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has played a significant role in boosting financing options for non-oil export value chains through several ongoing initiatives. Its N500 billion Non-oil Export Stimulation Facility is designed to enhance access of exporters to concessionary finance and attract new investments in value-added non-oil exports production, while the N300 billion Real Sector Support Facility (Differentiated Cash Reserve Requirement Facility) seeks to increase the flow

Adebayo of credit to the real sector of the economy. The apex bank’s sector- and segmentspecific programmes include Commercial Agricultural Credit Scheme (CACS), Creative Industry Financing Initiative (CIFI), CBN/BoI SME/Manufacturing Intervention Fund, and Micro Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund (MSMEDF). This year, the CBN launched its race to $200 billion in foreign exchange repatriation (RT200 FX) initiative to raise $200 billion in foreign exchange earnings from non-oil export over the next three to five years. The programme arises from the need to diversify Nigeria’s export earnings from oil while addressing declining foreign exchange earnings. The initiative is anchored on five pillars, including a value-adding exports facility, a non-oil commodities expansion facility, a non-oil FX rebate scheme, a dedicated non-oil export terminal and a biannual non-oil export summit. This implies that the CBN will incentivise the private sector in the non-oil value chains using a range of tools available under the five pillars. So far, the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) RT200 (Race to $200 billion forex inflows) has recorded $4.987 billion forex inflows this year. CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, who disclosed the feat achieved by its RT200 initiative in Lagos, last week, at the second RT200 Bi-annual Non-oil Export Summit, with the theme: ‘RT200 Non-Oil Export Program: The Journey So Far,” noted that the amount recorded so far this year, was an increase from the $3.190 billion recorded in 2021. According to Emefiele, a total of N81 billion has so far be given out as incentives to exporters of non-oil products under the programme this year. He also said the CBN was working to improve forex supply for businesses in the country. “In 2022, a total of $4.987 billion have been repatriated into the country by nonoil exporters, higher than $3.190 billion repatriated in 2021. Of this amount only $1.966 billion qualified for the rebate program, but only $1.559 billion was sold at the I & E window or for own use. “The CBN has also paid out about N81 billion in rebate to hard-working Nigerian exporters. This is a testament to the resolve of the CBN to ensure quick acceleration of the export value chain in the country. I know that there have been calls to make all exporters eligible for the rebate, and not just limiting it to finished and semi-finished products. “While we see some justification for this, one of the goals of the RT200 program is to

help quicken the process of industrialisation and encourage exporters to earn more from their export business. Economists have well-documented positive relationship between export and industrialisation,” Emefiele said. He further explained: “Export can transform the economic structure of countries, from simple, slow-growing, and low-value activities to more productive activities that enjoy greater margins driven by technology. “We must help our exporters and our economy by adding value to what we produce and export. We are already getting feedback from banks on the interest by exporters to add value to the products they export in order to allow them to benefit from the program. “We are happy that this is happening, and we encourage more exporters to find ways to add value to their export products so that they can benefit not only from the scheme but get better value for their exports.” Emefiele pointed out that one of the goals of the RT200 program was to help quicken the process of industrialisation and encourage exporters to earn more from their export business. He noted that economists have well documented a positive relationship between export and industrialisation, saying export could transform the economic structure of countries, from simple, slow-growing, and low-value activities to more productive activities that enjoy greater margins driven by technology. He stressed the need for support to exporters and, “our economy by adding value to what we produce and export.” Emefiele thank all the banks, the Nigeria Customs Services, the Nigeria Export Promotion Council, Nigerian Ports Authority and hardworking Nigeria exporters for flying the Nigerian flag everywhere and for making the program a success. To the Minister of Trade and Investment, Niyi Adebayo, Nigeria needs to support non-oil exports to boost the economy in the light of present economic realities. He, however, underscored the need for Nigeria to move beyond oil and export of raw commodities and build a vibrant manufacturing sector capable of exporting finished goods that could boost the nation’s foreign exchange earnings. He said, “As a nation, this is the time to build a competitive manufacturing sector to see us through the next 50 years, especially in the light of the African Continental Free Trade Area – one of the most important and strategic international economic agreements ever enacted.”

For the Chief Executive Officer of Zenith Bank Plc, Mr. Ebenezer Onyeagwu, expanding the country’s non-oil export has remained a matter of strategic economic importance requiring continual intervention. He pointed out that the impact of the pandemic on oil demand and, by extension, the price of crude oil in the international commodities market further exposed Nigeria’s over-dependency on crude oil earnings and its susceptibility to oil-related vagaries. “The expectation is that export diversification programmes and initiatives will intensify as Nigeria continues to re-orient its export profile and boost foreign currency earnings. Reinvigorating the Nigerian economy calls for measures to reduce the country’s dependence on oil exports. “It requires expanding the array of the country’s value-added products that are exported to foreign markets. When combined with the promise of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), more non-oil exports translate into enterprise and industry level competitiveness with positive implications for job creation and technological development while enabling the country to earn and save much-needed foreign currency,” Onyeagwu explained. On his part, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), Abba Bello, stressed the need to pay greater attention to the non-oil sector. According to him, non-oil exports have the potential to drive the needed inclusive growth, hence the need to double efforts to grow the boost activities in the areas. Bello, however, noted that the Nigerian economy was well diversified. What remained undiversified, he argued, was the external sector. He regretted that the country’s foreign exchange earnings still revolved on crude, which posed a concentration risk. “About 90 per cent of our foreign earnings still come from oil. Non-oil used to contribute about five per cent. But the recent emphasis on non-oil in recent years has helped to raise its contribution. But what we have is still very poor,” he regretted. According to Bello, the non-oil export growth agenda is constrained by issues ranging from production, quality standards to packaging challenges. He said Nigeria was losing so much to poor packaging, which should improve if the country must earn more from non-oil exports. Clearly, one of the factors that would guarantee Nigeria’s economic survival would be its ability to boost non-oil exports. The current forex challenges confronting the country is can actually be addressed by strengthening non-oil exports and that why the central bank’s RT200 initiative among other activities aimed at stimulating non-oil activities should be embraced and supported.

MONDAY DECEMBER 5, 2022 • T H I S D AY

T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2022

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Dangote Cement, MTN, Others Raise N1.02trn CPs, Corporate Bonds from FMDQ Kayode Tokede With the increasing demand to expand business operations amid macro economy challenges, Dangote Cement Plc, MTN Nigeria, among other firms have raised a whopping N1.02 trillion via Corporate Bonds and Commercial Papers (CP) from the FMDQ Exchange market between January and October 2022. The breakdown revealed that a total of N642.8billion CPs and N379.17billion Corporate Bonds were raised in the period under review. According to THISDAY investigations, Dangote cement and MTN Nigeria are the notable bond issuances in the period under review. Dangote Cement Plc in May 2022 completed the issuance of N116 billion series 2 fixed rate senior unsecured bonds under its N300 billion multi-instrument issuance programme, while MTN Nigeria in October 2022 completed its N115billion Series 1 fixed rate bond issuance under its new N200billion bond programme and third bond issuance in the debt capital markets. The Exchange also approved the listing of the GPC-SPV Company PLC N20 billion Series 1 Fixed Rate Bond under its N50 billion bond issuance programme on its platform. Dangote Cement said the proceeds of the bond issuance

would be used to finance the company’s Nigeria expansion projects, short-term debt refinancing and working capital requirements. The Group Managing Director of Dangote Cement, Michel Puchercos in a statement had said the landmark transaction would fund the cement’s manufacturing company expansion projects and further support the implementation of export strategy. For MTN Nigeria, the book build for the dual-tranche (fouryear Tranche A and 10-year Tranche B) bond issuance had closed on September 21, 2022 with a total value of N168.54billion in bids received, representing a 1.68 times oversubscription (of the intended N100billion issuance). MTN issued the Series 1 Tranche A and Tranche B Bonds at a clearing coupon of 13.50 per cent and 14.50 per cent, respectively. Of the total qualifying bids, MTN Nigeria opted to issue a combined value of N115billion across both tranches – N10.09billion in the four-year Tranche A and N104.91billion in the 10-year Tranche B. The Chief Executive Officer of MTN Nigeria, Karl Toriola stated that the telecommunication giant intended to use the net proceeds of the offering to finance its network expansion,

optimise working capital and for general corporate purposes. He explained that, “The Nigerian capital markets continue to present us with the opportunity to raise long-term financing to aid investments in our network and diversify our funding sources.” He said the bond would reinforce MTN Nigeria’s strategy of diversifying its funding sources in line with its corporate objectives. Speaking with THISDAY, the Vice Chairman, Highcap Securities, David Adonri said: “Issuance of CPs in 2022 has improved because interest rate fell drastically to lower single digit. Cost of borrowing via CPs was to the benefit of corporate borrowers more than traditional bank credit. “There was also an incentive for investors to invest in CPs due to their higher rates than deposit rate and Treasury Bill rate” Analyst at PAC Holdings, Mr. Wole Adeyeye attributed increasing CPs to severe macro economy factors, stressing that a hike in production input has forced companies to raise capital. The report by FMDQ Exchange disclosed that the total value of corporate bonds listed on FMDQ Exchange in October 2022 was N50.09billion compared to the previous month when no corporate bonds were listed on the Exchange.

Bhojraj Chanrai Holds Annual Dealers’ Meet, Launches Inverter Batteries Air Wave Limited, a member of Bhojraj Chanrai Group and leading power backup solutions company has introduced its new flagship product, 300Ah Tall Tubular Battery, with up to 36 months warranty into the Nigerian market. The launch, which coincided with the company’s Annual Dealers’ Meet held in two locations Abuja and Lagos on Saturday, 12th November 2022 at Hotel Sandralia Abuja and Friday, 18th November 2022 at Lagos Marriott Hotel, Ikeja, was attended by over 50 key dealers and ADDO employees. Speaking at the launch, the Managing Director of Air Wave Limited, Mr. Ajeet Batsa,

expressed delight at the presence of the dealers, saying that “We are really proud to be able to bring the dealers together in one place, which makes it easier for the dealers to benefit from each other’s experiences.’’ Delivering the keynote speech, the Head of ADDO Business, Nigeria, Mr. Sumit Singla disclosed that “ADDO is not only in the cities but also available in the rural areas of Nigeria lightening up their day-to-day life through affordability and sustainability”. He went on to mention how ADDO is taking care of the needs of all kinds of users in Nigeria, by emphasizing

on the quality of life and affordable energy which suits every pocket. Speaking to the quality and durability of ADDO inverter batteries, , the CEO, Maspower Technology Limited, Mr. Okonkwo Peter, one of the dealers at the meet, said, “I can vouch for the durability of ADDO inverter batteries because in the last two years, it is the number one brand for my clients. I have dealt with a lot of brands but none comes close to ADDO”. The event also witnessed the recognition of some of their business partners who were awarded with “Preferred Business Partner 2021-22”.

L-R: Sales Executive, ADDO Business(Lagos Branch), Raheem Isa; Nigeria Head, ADDO Business, Sumit Singla; Chief Executive Oﬃcer, Maspower Technology Limited, Okonkwo Peter and Manager, ADDO Business, Sumantra Mazumdar during the Dealers’ Meet in Lagos...recently

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS Money Supply (M3)

49,356,443.6

-- CBN Bills Held by Money Holding Sectors

50,601.36

Money Supply (M2)

49,305,842.3

-- Quasi Money

27,869,678.3

-- Narrow Money (M1)

21,436,164

---- Currency Outside Banks

2,680,236.81

---- Demand Deposits

18,755,927.2

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

5,074,909.92

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

27,869,678.3

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

61,195,142.4

---- Credit to Government (Net)

21,001,401.5

---- Memo: Credit to Govt. (Net) less FMA

0.00

---- Memo: Fed. and Mirror Accounts (FMA)

0.00

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

40,193,740.9

--Other Assets Net

6,785,979.22

Reserve Money (Base Money

14,040,351.9

--Currency in Circulation

3,210,664.98

--Banks Reserves --Special Intervention Reserves

10,829,686.9 390,557.8

Kayode Tokede Geregu Power Plc has disclosed to investing public the proposed plans by Fund for Export Development in Africa (FEDA) to acquire a portion of its shares listed on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX). The Company Secretary, Geregu Power, Akinleye

Olagbende in a signed statement said, “The discussions are currently ongoing and where these talks progress to a more advanced stage, the Company will notify the Exchange and the investing public in line with the rules of the Exchange.” Geregu Power was recently listed on the Main Board

of the Exchange by way of introduction. A total of 2.5 billion ordinary shares of Geregu Power were listed at N100 per share, under the Utility sector and Electric Power Generation sub-sector of NGX, with the trading symbol, GEREGU. The listing added N250 billion to the market capitalization of Exchange.

Ecobank Cardholder Wins All-expense Paid Trip to Qatar Kayode Tokede A customer of Ecobank Nigeria, Eziuche Ejike Michael, has emerged one of the winners of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ Spend & Win Campaign and has been rewarded with an all-expense paid trip to Qatar courtesy of Visa. The FIFA World Cup™ tournament is a truly global sporting event, bringing together different countries and diverse cultures on and off the field of

play. As the Official Payments Sponsor of the World Cup, Visa conceived the campaign to reward customers and football lovers who were active users of their Visa cards with cardholders only needing to spend a minimum of N50,000 in at least 5 transactions to qualify. The winners will have the opportunity of a first-class experience to the tournament, all expenses covered. Head, Consumer Banking,

Ecobank Nigeria, Korede Demola-Adeniyi in a statement said, “Mr Eziuche’s emergence as a winner is a reflection of the hassle-free payments experience our customers enjoy with their Ecobank Visa Cards. At Ecobank, we are always innovating our services to suit our customers’ lifestyle, especially when it comes to how they can effortlessly access our products. I am truly delighted for him and wish him a memorable time in Qatar.”

˾ ÙßÜÍÏ ̋

Money Market Indicators (in Percentage) Month

FEDA Plans to Acquire Shares in Geregu Power

(MILLION NAIRA)

AUGUST 2022

July 2022

Inter-Bank Call Rate

13.00

Minimum Rediscount Rate (MRR) Monetary Policy Rate (MPR)

14.00

Treasury Bill Rate

2.76

Savings Deposit Rate

1.42

1 Month Deposit Rate

3.64

3 Months Deposit Rate

4.96

6 Months Deposit Rate

5.87

12 Months Deposit Rate

5.76

Prime Lending rate

12.10

Maximum Lending Rate

27.61

˾ ÙØÏÞËÜã ÙÖÓÍã ËÞÏ ̋ ͯͱϱ

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT 24 OCTOBER, 2022

The price of OPEC basket of thirteen crudes stood at $92.17 a barrel on Monday, compared with $92.09 the previous Friday, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations. The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Djeno (Congo), Zaﬁro (Equatorial Guinea), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basrah Medium (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).

T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2022

MARKET NEWS

Oniha FG Borrowed N26.07trn to Finance Budget Deficit in 11 Years KayodeTokede The Director-General, Debt Management Office (DMO), Ms. Patience Oniha, over the weekend in Lagos disclosed that the federal government between 2000 and 2022 borrowed N26.07billion as new borrowings in its annual appropriation Acts and supplementary budgets. Oniha, who was at the 2022 Annual Conference of the Capital Market Correspondents Associa-

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

policy issues of the federal government, which is currently threatening nation’s debt sustainability. Oniha noted that the outlook of both the local and international markets are becoming tighter with rising interest rate. She, therefore, stressed the need for the country to urgently moderate its new borrowings and ensure that public debt is sustainable through accelerating its revenue base to shore up non-oil revenue

tion of Nigeria (CAMCAN) with the theme: “Nigeria’s Public Debt and the Capital Market,” stressed on the need for Nigeria to operate an efficient tax administration to tackle revenue challenges. According to her, Nigeria needs to operate an efficient tax administration that would ensure greater compliance to remittances devoid of all forms of evasions in the system. Oniha said revenue challenge remains one of the most critical

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and rationalising expenditure. Oniha said that the nation’s total public debt to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 23.06 per cent as of June 2022, was still within Nigeria’s self-imposed limit of 40 per cent, the World Bank/ International Monetary Fund (IMF) recommended limit of 55 per cent for countries within Nigeria’s peer group and 70 per cent for ECOWAS countries. She, however, argued that debt service to revenue was extremely

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

high, an indication that urgent steps needed to be taken to boost nation’s revenue and enhance public debt sustainability. “Nigeria’s public debt stock has grown consistently over the past decades and even faster in recent years. Consequently, debt service has continued to grow. Nigeria’s low revenue base compounded by dependence on crude oil resulted in budget deficits over the past decades. Efforts at increasing non-oil revenue are yielding

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positive results. Dependence on borrowing and low revenue base are now threatening debt sustainability. With a low debt to GDP ratio, Nigeria’s debt service to revenue ratio would have been low if revenue was strong, “Oniha said. According to her, most countries around the world have placed more emphasis on taxation as a principal source of funding for the government while reverse is the case in Nigeria.

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T H I S D AY ˾ DAY ͳ˜ 2022

CITYSTRINGS

Group Features Editor: Chiemelie Ezeobi ×ËÓÖ ÍÒÓÏ×ÏÖÓÏ˛ÏäÏÙÌÓ̶ÞÒÓÝÎËãÖÓàÏ˛ÍÙ×˜ ͖͕͔͑͑͒͑͒͑͑͘

As Lawmakers again Beam Searchlight on Ecological Fund Utilisation Udora Orizu writes that following the devastating effects of flooding nationwide, the House of Representatives has again launched probe into the utilisation of ecological fund for the past 10 years

embers of the House of Representatives Committee on Ecological Fund are currently investigating the total consolidated accruals and utilisation of the ecological fund from 2010 to March 2022. The lawmakers decision followed the devastating effects of flooding nationwide and outcry from several states for help from the Federal Government as they battle to provide succour for victims of floods forced out of their homes and left without shelter, food and water. 2022 flooding which was described by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), as the worst in history impacted thousands of communities and wreaked havoc in all the 36 States of the Federation and the FCT. According to NEMA, a total of 612 persons lost their lives, 3,219,780 persons were affected, 1,427,370 persons were displaced and 2,776 others suffered various degrees of injuries. A total of 181,600 houses were partially damaged and 123,807 houses were totally damaged. A total of 176,852 hectares of farmland were partially destroyed while 392,300 hectares of farmland got totally destroyed as a result of the floods. The Ecological fund is an intervention Fund by the Federal Government of Nigeria to address flood, erosion and other ecological challenges in various communities across the country. This special fund was established in 1981 through the Federation Account Act 1981, on the recommendation of the Okigbo Commission, Decree 36 of 1984 and 106 of 1992 as well as the allocation of Federation Account modification order of 2002 subsequently modified the act. N1 trillion, representing 2.2 percent of the total budget for 2018, 2019 and 2023 was budgeted for ecological and disaster management. In 2018, 2.2 percent of the estimated of N9.120 trillion budget, amounting to N198 billion was set aside for the Ecological Fund; in 2019, the 2.2 percent amount of the budget of N132 billion was allocated for the fund. Despite billions of Naira that goes into the fund annually, many states abuse the largesse. Without much oversight, officials of both the federal and state governments have for several years seen the ecology fund essentially as a slush fund to be deployed for all manner of things. They do not account for the money; they freely deploy it to areas of priority, often unrelated to ecological issues. An example was the disclosure in 2006 by the former Governor of Plateau State, Mr Joshua Dariye, that he diverted his state's N1.6 billion share of the ecological fund to the 2003 general elections campaign of then the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In 2010, Former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi detailing the wastes in the use of the funds said: “The Federal Government awards contracts under the Ecological Fund without informing states or requesting states to make inputs, especially on sites that are more critical. The implication is contracts are awarded for erosion projects, which are either non-existent or outside the priority areas begging for attention.” As lamentations trail use of the fund over the years, it often ended without actions. The Presidency in October this year, challenged states to give an account of how they spent amounts in excess of one trillion naira, allocated to them from the Ecological Fund to tackle floods and other ecological problems. Probes by the House In June 2010, the House of Representatives raised queries over curious withdrawals and loans to agencies and persons totalling N146.594 billion, mainly irrelevant to objectives of the fund. However the parliament took no action. In April 2022, the lawmakers asked the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Office of Accountant General of the Federation to halt the allocation of funds from ecological funds to some agencies of the federal government until investigations into past allocations to

Gbajabiamila them are concluded. The affected agencies are the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), National Agency for the Great Green Wall, the NorthEast Development Commission and the National Agricultural Land Development Authority. The House also directed the House Committee on Ecological Funds to investigate the release of the funds. The resolution followed the adoption of a motion moved by Ibrahim Isiaka. Again, the House of Representatives in June 23, resolved to probe the utilization of the fund for the past 10 years. The lawmakers resolution followed the adoption a motion sponsored by Hon. Femi Bamisile, at the plenary. The House specifically mandated its Committee on Ecological Fund to investigate the total consolidated mandatory accruals into the Ecological Fund from 2010 to March 2022 and as well evaluate the disbursement of the Fund in line with the provision of the 1999 Constitution from 2010 to March 2022. The Committee is also to look into the utilization of the Fund by benefiting Governments Departments and Agencies (MDAs) from 2010 to March 2022 and establish infractions (if any). At the commencement of the investigative hearing on November 7, the House Speaker, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila declaring the hearing open, said the dedicated pool of

resources in the Ecological Fund is intended for emergency response and remediation during environmental and natural disasters. While noting that the objective of the investigative hearing is to gather data to design public policy and guide governance decision-making, he however assured that it is not an exercise in witch-hunting or score-settling. Chairman of the Committee, Hon. Ibrahim Isiaka frowned at the absence of majority of the states, Ministries Departments and Agencies of the federal government who were invited didn't show up, neither did they send representatives. He vowed that the committee would recover the fund and pump it back into the main ecological account and ensure proper usage. At another sitting on November 16, the lawmakers expressed dissatisfaction when the Director General of National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Ahmed Mustapha, told them that the agency following the flood disaster reached out to and responded to over 1,427,370 displaced persons in all the states of the federation and the FCT. Mustapha also said that the provision of food and non-food items for immediate relief and building materials to facilitate long term rehabilitation of the impacted population is still ongoing. Frowning at the statement, Hon. Oghuma Johnson (APC, Edo), accused the agency of favouring a particular region of the country in their relief materials distribution selection process. The lawmaker before walking out of the sitting, told the DG that he's partial and the impact of their distribution claims hasn't been seen or felt in his constituency and Edo state as a whole. Johnson said, "In the whole of my area, we do not have any assembly members and

Despite billions of Naira that goes into the fund annually, many states abuse the largesse. Without much oversight, officials of both the federal and state governments have for several years seen the ecology fund essentially as a slush fund to be deployed for all manner of things. They do not account for the money; they freely deploy it to areas of priority, often unrelated to ecological issues

you said you informed assembly members from my state and I am here. It is my own federal constituency that is swallowed up by the flood. I moved a motion concerning my federal constituency and that is the only way they communicate to you. I do not have any personal relationship with you. I don't have to ask you for anything because I do not need anything from you. Corroborating Johnson statement, the Committee Chairman Hon. Ibrahim Isiaka (APC, Ogun), said, "Everything starts and ends at your table. Nobody is asking for any special favour. But what you are doing if they (lawmakers) are carried along, the pressure on them will lessen. And I am telling that here as we are seated here, there are three members from Ogun State here, including I as the Chairman of this committee." Also, Hon. Adewunmi Onanuga (APC, Ogun) said that she has written twice to the agency with regards to issues in her state and constituency, not once has anyone called her back. While saying that she has issues with the way the agency is being run, the lawmaker, claimed that not once did they get any information with regards to what NEMA is doing in the whole of that South West. Meanwhile, the DG giving details of consolidated accruals and ecological fund utilization from 2011 - 2022, explained that the sum of N112, 137, 641, 074.17 was expended in disaster management activities across the country. He however noted that unlike other appropriated funds, balances from ecological funds are rolled over to the next fiscal year. For 2010 expenditure, the NEMA DG said that the documents could not be sighted as they were vandalized during the ENDSARS protests, and police extract to that effect has been obtained. Earlier, the Committee Chairman, Hon. Ibrahim Isiaka frowned at the absence of Ministries Departments and Agencies of federal government and Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON) at the probe to defend the amount they received and how it was spent. The lawmaker threatened that the House might rescind its decision on any support given to the 774 local governments and MDAs if they continue this way. Isiaka said, "Apart from the yearly appropriation which you are entitled to, the National Assembly still stepped up the ante by creating you; or those that had been created before, you have an amendment to the law that created you, and we now create a space in there says ‘take money from the Ecological Fund to support you.’ Why we became a bit worried is because the same father that created some of these agencies – that is the National Assembly, through legislation and law – has now said ‘let us talk and review what we are doing,’ going forward, for us to know where you have challenges. "Unfortunately, many of the agencies became evasive. The situation we are right now, we are not expecting and hoping that such will repeat itself in 2023. You can see the people that we are fasting because of? They are eating lunch. That is ALGON. Last week they refused to come and today they refused to show up as well. "We are 774 local governments in the country and by the present provision, the entire local governments the 774 of them are taking 0.62 per cent from the Consolidated Revenue Account as their ecological fund. But now, for two times running we have invited them to come and share with us. It is so sad and unfortunate that this is the third time we would ask them to come and they did not. Why is ALGON not here?" This is not the first time such a probe is taking place in the National Assembly. Only time will tell if the lawmakers will take serious action this time or if it will go down in the books as one of the many "no action" probes of the parliament regarding the fund utilisation.

T H I S D AY ˾ MONDAY, DECEMBER 5, 2022

This Week In Tech 08097710984

nosakhare.alekhuogie@thisdaylive.com

Nosa

Alekhuogie

Adesanmi: How Spleet Is Using Prop Tech to Revolutionise Real Estate in Nigeria Cofounder and CEO of Spleet, Akintola Adesanmi, speaks on the property technology sector in Nigeria, his startup, and other issues. Nosa Alekhuogie presents the excerpts: easier? Tenants can get to pay their rent monthly. Landlords can verify tenants and ultimately, collection of rent. Facility managers can manage all tenants in their buildings on our platform, and agents can close deals using our infrastructure.

What is property technology, and how does it work? roperty technology (prop tech) is an industry of technology professionals trying to digitise real estate processes. So, it can be real estate processes in construction, real estate in ownership or in renting, which is in the case of spleet. In any of those verticals that have anything to do with real estate or facility management. Any company trying to digitise processes around any traditional real estate function is a prop tech. Also, real estate cannot do without prop tech and vice versa. They are two different entities. Prop tech is the industry that comes to provide technology solutions for real estate. Real estate is responsible for the building, provision of property, and management of the property. Our goal is to look at these processes that they must go through and help them digitise that.

What would you say the future of prop tech is in Nigeria? I think with us and more competitors going above that seed round stage, this year we saw two or three other prop techs raise a pre-seed, and people are beginning to sort of adopt and understand that we want this ease in our shelter lives from the real estate developers to the landlords, agents, tenants and those that want to buy homes. I think we’re going to see rapid adoption, because real estate is an asset class we can’t do without, so prop tech has to be adopted. It just took one or two players to first break that mould. We saw cutStruct, who’s solving a problem for construction tech, that’s prop tech in construction, raised a pre-seed round two weeks ago. Estates Intel, who sort of gives data to real estate investors, raised a pre-seed round earlier in the year. I see more companies doing things like fractional ownership of real estate, different solutions coming up to meet that prop tech or real estate economy much more digitised. Can you tell us about Spleet and how you operate? We are a financial services solution trying to make renting much easier in Africa. When my cofounders and I moved back from college, we just figured that people did not know that they had a problem. What was this problem? Paying your rent one to two years in advance just didn’t make sense, especially as everybody we know earned monthly, periodically, but not just one year in advance. So, we decided to solve that problem and in doing that, we sort of built out a marketplace to connect landlords and tenants. While we de-risk some of the problems that both parties had with verifying tenants, giving landlords adequate information to be able to manage their tenants and also collect their rent automatically, tenants now had this platform where we move the opacity of what was available on the market and for what price and what it looked like. We started back in 2018, bootstrapped for a while, and we started to find out that there were deeper problems we needed to solve. We raised friends and family round in 2019, after bootstrapping for a while, learning the back and forth of building something important like this. We raised about $260,000 from friends, family, and angel investors, all on the continent.

Ad e s an m i

And then thinking about credit infrastructure and just generally how rent is being paid and managed in first-world countries, we have started to think about doing all those things and sort of morphing into a company that builds products or builds an ecosystem for the renting economy. And the four major players would be the landlords (the corporate or individual landlords), real estate agents, facility managers and tenants. How do we build products that are interconnected and make each process or each of these players’ processes much easier? Last year, we got into the metal prop accelerator program, which is the foremost prop tech-focused accelerator in the world, and we ended up raising a pre-seed round of about $625,000 from that and quickly after we closed our seed round, which essentially was to help us get the people that will build these products and scale these products across Nigeria first. Being our home country, even though we want to be a Pan African company, we are taking a more informed and data approach to how we scale as opposed to just scaling for scale’s sake. What’s your view about the recent layoffs in the tech space? I think it is a bear market. The confusion was that the end of 2020 and 2021 would be a bull market. Bull markets come every six to seven years, but people who are new to tech and don’t read history are unaware of that. So, they think that the bull market will stay forever, but they don’t stay forever.

It is never really an employee’s market; it is always an employer’s market. It was bound to happen because a lot of investments went into technology that was nice to have but not necessary to have. They could not stand on their own without venture capital. This bear market was bound to happen, there is a world war going on somewhere, there is a recession going on in the United States, who are the biggest funders of venture capital on the continents today, so it was bound to happen. This is when you can tell the strong companies that will survive. The companies that can raise money in this time and that can stay alive in this time are the stronger companies. What other projects do you have in the pipeline? We just launched a product called ‘Verify’. It is an on-the-go or on-demand API product for agents to verify tenants. Two major verification we do today for these real estate agents will be identity verification and anti-money laundering verification. So, we know that with some recent situations that have been happening, landlords are being held more responsible about who is living in their homes. We built that product as a response to that. It is still pre-revenue, but we have a pilot coming up with a potential partner that will see us get that product live, but the products can be used by real estate agents today. That’s how we think, like how we are building products that make these processes

Does the involvement of these middlemen increase the rent? It is lower because customer acquisition is automatic. We are automating that process and agents cannot say they’re walking around looking for customers. We are finding those customers for you on a platform where they are ensuring that all the legal agreements are digitally signed. They are not doing any work and should not be earning anything. The only thing that is their job really is to manage that tenant overtime. That’s what we’re digitising and making much easier. It is hard because real estate is one of the oldest asset classes, and it is an asset class that is averse to digitisation and accepting technology globally. Looking at it globally, Airbnb came into the market to up-end hotels because hotels have worked the same way for centuries. But Airbnb came with a model that was going up-end hotels, and this just happened in 2012. So, prop tech is not like fintech in the sense that it’s straightforward with the processes of how cash moves. There is a physical asset you are helping to digitise processes for, and the owners of these assets are much older, much experienced, much grounded people that are not very susceptible to change. So, it is a longer journey for Prop tech fintechs, but it is a more long-lasting journey because you are solving real problems. Are there provisions for people who are not tech-savvy on your platform? I will say to you that if you are not tech-savvy in 2022, I don’t know how you’re renting homes. What we’re digitising is the know-your-customer (KYC) form. The only difference is that we are going to do the verification that this person is who they said they are, and there’s no anti-money laundering. The two things we verify are identity verification and anti-money laundering verification. We are doing that with the APIs that we have. Nobody wants to fill out a piece of paper or form today as everybody is moving into the digital economy. So, if you are an agent that cannot get digitised, that is a huge problem, and I wonder how you would be successful. How is Spleet addressing the housing deﬁcit in Nigeria? I would say the way we are addressing the housing deficits is to provide access to homes that people wouldn’t have had access to, more from an access perspective. Again, because we’re not solving for construction purposes, we’re solving for renting. But because we’re removing that opacity to what’s available on the market, people can access things they did not know existed. That’s a big contribution to the housing deficit as well. So, we always look at the housing deficit from the perspective that these homes have not been built yet, but the truth is that there are enough homes being built, but people just do not have access. And I think the barrier we remove is (the lack of) access.

MONDAY DECEMBER 5, 2022 • T H I S D AY

MONDAY DECEMBER 5, 2022 • T H I S D AY A

MONDAY, DEC ͽ˜ ͺ͸ͺͺ ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

RETURN OF MORE ARTEFACTS... L-R: Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki; Head of Nigeria’s National Commission for Museums and Monuments, Prof Abba Tijani and, Chair of the Horniman Board of Trustees, Michael SalterChurch, during a ceremony where ownership of 72 artifacts in the collection of Horniman Museum were transferred to Nigeria in London....recently

Oyebanji: How Nigeria's Default in Crude Swap Deal with Reﬁners Partly Contributed to Current Petrol Scarcity Ex-MOMAN Chair says subsidy payments have security implications to country Peter Uzoho The Managing Director of 11Plc (formerly Mobil Nigeria Plc), Mr. Adetunji Oyebanji, has said the current disruption in the petrol supply and distribution system in the country, which has thrown Nigeria into severe fuel scarcity was partly caused by Nigeria's default in its crude swap deal obligation with European refiners. Oyebanji, who is the immediatepast Chairman of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), also warned that the huge amount being spent on fuel subsidy even through borrowing, poses severe security implications to the country if not stopped. Oyebanji made the assertions in Lagos, at the weekend during his paper presentation at the 2022 Annual Dinner of the Institute of Change Management (ICM), where he was honoured with the Honorary Fellow of the institute. The topic of his paper presentation was, "The Impact of Insecurity and Oil Subsidy on Nigeria's Economy." Following the withdrawal of the oil marketing companies from the importation of petrol in protest against the subsidy debt owed them by the federal government as well as the foreign exchange accessibility challenge, the then Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) had emerged as the sole importer of petrol in the country. To achieve its energy security mandate, the then NNPC had gone into the DSDP arrangement with the foreign oil refiners in a trade by barter arrangement of giving them certain amount of crude oil and

in turn receive petrol equivalent of that crude volume from them. In the past few months, the country has been suffering fuel scarcity and queues at filling stations, with the pump price selling between N250 to N300 per litre at fillings stations and about N400 per litre at the black market in some parts of the country. The former MOMAN chairman said the federal had started the Direct-Sale-Direct-Purchase (DSDP) popularly known as crude swap deal with foreign refiners, where Nigeria supplies them with crude oil and in turn get petrol equivalent of the amount crude supplied. He explained that when the deal started, Nigeria was keeping to the terms of the deal by supplying the refiners crude as and when due. He said, however, at the moment, because of Nigeria's current financial challenge, the country no longer meets up with the supply of crude to the refiners as and when due. Oyebanji further blamed the scarcity on the delay in supplying crude to the refiners. According to him, the European refiners are now suspicious of the situation and that they are now worried that the next administration come 2023 may not want to honour the agreement in the DSDP deal. Oyebanji said, "Nigeria started the DSDP arrangement. You know, it's supposed to be, take the crude and then bring the petrol back. But because of our financial position, we started saying give me the petrol first, I will give you the crude by next week. Then we extended it to I will give you the crude in three weeks time.

"So the problem came when Nigeria started defaulting by saying 'I will give you the crude two weeks later, one month later, and till now, we are now saying in three months time, we will give you the crude. "So the people who are bringing the fuel say no, government wants to change, I'm not going to give you all this product, then another government will come tomorrow and say sorry, we don't know about that agreement you had. That is what caused the problem," he explained. He warned that the huge amount being spent on fuel subsidy even through borrowing, poses severe security implications to the country if not stopped. Oyebanji bemoaned a situation whereby Nigeria was wasting whopping sums on subsidy payments to the tune of N4 trillion for 2022, while neglecting investments in critical economic sectors like road, education, healthcare, power among other. With Nigeria's population growing exponentially and expected to hit about 400 million by 2030 and with a high number of unskilled young people, who have no jobs, he said it portends serious security implications for the country. "So the main topic today is the link between insecurity and the subsidy. When you have this high subsidy payment which this year is going to reach N4 trillion, the reality is that it will lead to increased borrowing, which I had demonstrated earlier. "You begin to see socio-economic collapse. Because you have a budget that is constrained, you have a huge

deficit, you cannot invest in capital projects, you are barely covering your recurrent expenditure, your external reserves start to decline and then you start to have the rise in inflation. "About two or three years ago, inflation was at about 12 per cent. Today, it is at about 20 per cent. Ghana is 40 per cent today. I pray we do not get there because by the time you get to that point, it means the middle class that is just managing to put its heads above water will go down, everybody will be poor except only the few rich", he said. He explained that if those monies used to fund fuel subsidy were invested in building road,

As part of efforts to enhance safety in Kogi State, the State Security Trust Fund has donated several motorcycles to the local hunter groups. The Chairman of the Trust Fund, Mr. Samari Teina Abdulmalik, disclosed this while speaking at the handing over ceremony in Lokoja, at the weekend, saying the feat was to boost security in the state. Abdulmalik explained that the motorcycles would assist

unconventional security outfits such as local hunters to conduct surveillance and intelligence gathering that would facilitate the work of security agencies in the state. He added that the motorcycles were tailored towards assisting members of the hunters group reach difficult terrains. The Chairman commended the leadership of the vigilance groups for their sacrifices, commitment and support to the security agencies in the state. He called for sustained col-

laboration and synergy among stakeholders in the security sector for optimal services delivery. He stressed that the initiative would also help the hunters to reach out to security agencies for support whenever the need arises. He, therefore urged the local hunters and other related agencies to use the opportunity to enhance collaboration with security agencies at the grassroots and community levels. Abdulmalik also cautioned unconventional security outfits in the state to ensure that their

Haram?" Oyebanji added. He listed insufficient products in the petroleum supply and distribution pipeline, high cost of renting Daughter vessels, foreign exchange challenge and the regulated price of fuel and attendant smuggling as other factors contributing to the recurring petrol scarcity. According to him, "instead of the pipe being full at all times, it's only having about 25 or 50 per cent product inside it and what does that mean? “Along the whole pipeline that includes the ship that will bring it to Nigeria or the refineries that produce it if it is refined in Nigeria, none of them are operating at an optimal levels."

NDDC Takes Campaign against Cultism, Drug Abuse to Akwa Ibom Okon Bassey in Uyo The Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) has taken its campaign against drug abuse and cultism to schools and other stakeholders in Akwa Ibom State. The campaign, which was revived by the Acting Managing Director of NDDC, Emmanuel Audu-Ohwavborua, was intended to sustain the peace in the region by sensitising youths especially secondary school students on the dangers of cultism and drug abuse. Speaking during the one-day campaign in Uyo, at the weekend, tagged, "the Dangers of Drug Abuse and Cultism," Audu-Ohwavborua,

Kogi Security Trust Fund Delivers Motorcycles to Hunters Ibrahim Oyewale in Lokoja

ramp up power generation and supply and fix the healthcare system, they would lead to job creation for the youths. "We have an unskilled and growing population, we are not creating enough jobs to accommodate all those people. How won't there be insecurity? Because you have a lot of young men, who are able-bodied but they don't have job, you are not investing in the things that will attract them to do any job. "So the choices you have made have led ultimately to creating insecurity in the country. If people are gainfully employed, how many people do you think will readily go and follow Boko

operational conduct was guided by security agencies in the state at all times, urging the beneficiaries to put the bikes to good use. Abdulmalik called on corporate bodies and public-spirited individuals to team up with the security fund to procure more equipment for security agencies in the overall interest of the people. He commended Governor Yahaya Bello for the sustained support, saying it would go a long way in preventing crimes and enhancing security as well as safety of residents.

said the two vices were destroying the promising future of the young generation. Audu-Ohwavboua, who was represented by the Director of Youths and Sports, NDDC, Mr. Offiong Ephraim, said youths must flee from the twin challenge of cultism and drug abuse to enable them contribute to development. Addressing the youths, the NDDC boss said: "We decided to embark on this campaign because this is the right time to catch the young ones and tell them why they should not indulge in drug abuse. "The problems associated with drug abuse are so enormous to quantify. We all know that even in our society people are not sure of their safety because cult activities are everywhere. "After this seminar, if anyone approaches you to join cultism or indulge in drug abuse you should be able to say 'no' because of the dangers that go with these vices. "So many people have gone haywire even mad, because of drug abuse and cultism will not allow you to concentrate on your studies because if you are a member of any cult group you may likely drop out of school.” Audu-Ohwavborua, who shared 100 educational materials, including tabs and bags to students, urged them to become ambassadors and advocates of anti-cultism and drug abuse in their respective schools

to help their colleagues shun such practices. He urged the students to help report anybody with drug-related problems to the Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) or the Narcotic Unit of the commission to help in rehabilitating the victim. Speaking on the effects of drug abuse and cultism on youths and students, the Akwa Ibom State Commander of NDLEA, Mrs. Obot Bassey, asked students to avoid receiving gifts from strangers disclosing that edible gifts might be soaked in drugs. On his part, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Odiko MacDon, said drug abuse and cultism were interrelated and could lead an individual to commit heinous crimes punishable by law. He urged the students to avoid joining bad gangs and focus on their studies for better tomorrow instead of weeping in prison due to wrong decisions. One of the students, Mr. Israel Udoh, who came from the Government Technical College, Uyo thanked the NDDC boss for the programme and promised to be an agent of positive change in his school. Also, Praise Amos of Community Secondary School, Oruk Anam LGA, said she learnt why she should refrain from drug abuse and cultism, adding that she would help others to also stand against such acts.

MONDAY, DEC ͽ˜ ͺ͸ͺͺ ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

INAUGURATION OF RANCSFARD FASHION AND SKILL ACADEMY... L-R: Deputy Speaker of Enugu State House of Assembly, Hon. Uche Ugwu; President, Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Enugu State Chapter, Prof. Fred Eze; Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State, wife of the Speaker of the State House of Assembly and Managing Director/CEO of Rancsfard Fashion and Skill Academy, Akunna Ubosi, and Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Edward Ubosi, during the inauguration of the Academy, in Enugu... yesterday

Atiku: APC Has Taken Us Adrift, Let’s Work Together to Recover Nigeria Says purposeful leadership births great, inclusive, united nation Holds presidential rally in Lagos today PDP remains solid in south-south, Okowa maintains Party condemns Tinubu’s threats to media, describes him as fascist Chuks Okocha in Abuja and Bassey Inyang in Calabar Presidential Candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, yesterday, said the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), has taken the nation and her people adrift, and would require a collective effort to recover Nigeria from them. Atiku, who has slated the Lagos leg of the presidential rally for today, however, noted that for Nigeria to be great, inclusive and united, there was a need for a purposeful

leadership that can work through the process, and in this case, himself. Similarly, the Vice-Presidential candidate of the PDP and Delta State Governor, Ifeanyi Okowa, at the weekend, in Calabar, Cross River State, boasted that the PDP would win next year's presidential election in all the six states of the South-south, because the zone was solidly PDP’s. At the same time, the leadership of the PDP has condemned what it described as constant brazen attacks, threats and negative labelling of the media by the Tinubu/Shettima

Presidential Campaign Organization, saying their disposition has confirmed that they were fascist. Atiku, in a statement, yesterday, said, "For a country to be great, it must be united and inclusive. And for a country to be united, it must possess a leadership that is ready to work through the purpose. "The upcoming general election in our country is a rescue mission to save the soul of the nation. The ruling party, APC, has taken us adrift and we are far off the course to the purpose of unity and prosperity.

"That is why you and I must work assiduously together to ensure that we Recover Nigeria. Saving the soul of Nigeria must begin with denying the APC your vote in 2023. They have failed us woefully and must be punished for that. "But it’s not enough to vote out the APC. We must coalesce into the PDP – the only viable party that has the capacity to dislodge the failed ruling party. When you vote for the PDP, you would have voted a party that has a history of uniting the country, with a guarantee of shared prosperity.

Terrorists Invade Mosque, Shoot Imam, Abduct 18 Worshippers in Katsina Francis Sardauna in Katsina Some 18 worshippers have been abducted by gunmen suspected to be terrorists on Saturday evening inside a mosque in Maigamji village in Funtua Local Government Area of Katsina State. The ward head, Sani Idris, who confirmed the attack to THISDAY in a telephone interview, yesterday, said the terrorists stormed the mosque when the victims were observing evening prayers at about 7:40pm. He explained that the terrorists shot and wounded the Chief Imam, Malam Yusha'u Adamu, who was leading the prayers and Husseni Jamo during the attack before abducting the victims to adjoining forests in the area. "We were observing Issahi (Muslim evening prayers) when the terrorists armed with sophisticated weapons surrounded our mosque on Saturday evening and started shooting sporadically. When we noticed their presence we started running to different directions. "They injured our Chief Imam, Malam Yusha'u Adamu and one other worshipper called Husseni Jamo. They earlier abducted 18 worshippers but so far, four have returned and 14 are still with them (terrorists),” he said. But the state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Gambo, while confirming the incident to

journalists, said police operatives had rescued six out of the abductees, and efforts were on in order to rescue remaining captives. Isah said, "It is true the attack took place. The terrorists stormed the Mosque at Maigamji while people were observing Issaih prayers. They shot and injured the Imam and

one other person. "Those injured are currently responding to treatment in a hospital. The terrorists also abducted some worshippers that night, but a combined team of the police and the vigilante rescued two of the victims that night. "The security operatives also

rescued four other victims on Sunday (yesterday), making a total of six victims, who have been rescued so far. Presently, 13 victims are still in the custody of the terrorists and our operatives are making serious efforts to ensure that they are rescued without any injury."

"So, please, permit me to admonish you, again, to continue to mobilise more support among your family, friends and colleagues that will ensure that the PDP wins in the next general election, because, when the PDP wins, the victory is all ours," he stated. However, expected at the Lagos PDP presidential campaign are all past and present PDP governors, National Assembly and members of the Board of Trustees among other party members. Also, all Lagos State candidates of the party are expected to collect their symbolic party flags as PDP candidates. Meanwhile, Okowa, addressing members of the campaign council, party members and supporters, in Calabar, said the PDP was solidly entrenched in the South-south, and was poised to win the presidential election, and all others elections in the zone at the 2023 polls. Okowa said the hard work done by the council, and the love the people of Cross River had shown to the PDP it was sure of winning the state, and the entire South-south zone. Okowa commended the leadership of the Presidential Campaign

Zulum’s Visit Triggers Installation of Solar System at Maiduguri Hospital Less than 24 hours after a surprise visit by Borno State Governor, Prof. Babagana Umara Zulum, a solar system as an alternative source of power, has been installed at the Umaru Shehu Ultra-modern Hospital located around Bulumkutu axis in Maiduguri. The system was installed on Saturday following a directive issued by Zulum Friday night, when visited the hospital and met patients in darkness due to a blackout said to have been for a number of days. Technicians of the State’s Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, carried out the installation under the directive of their Commissioner, Dr. Babagana Mustapha Mallambe, who first sought permission from

his fellow Commissioner in charge of the Ministry of Health. A power system with relevant number of batteries and solar panels was fully installed with lights restored. More sustainable measures are expected to combine with the solar system. Zulum had around 10pm on Friday night, showed up unannounced at two hospitals in Maiduguri only to find patients in darkness due to power failure that had lingered for a number of days. A statement noted that Zulum was at Umaru Shehu Ultra-modern Hospital and Fatima Ali Sheriff Maternity Hospital, both around densely populated Bulumkutu communities in Maiduguri. The governor had just returned

from Abuja and decided to drive from the airport straight to the hospitals, soon after he got a hint from private sources that the hospitals were under blackout for days. “Governor Zulum went to see things for himself and he confirmed patients were in darkness because there was lack of diesel supply to standby generators. “Both hospitals relied on generators because of lack of electricity supply from the national grid since Boko Haram destroyed electricity equipment along the MaiduguriDamaturu highway, in response to which frantic efforts were still being made by Federal and State officials to restore connections to areas yet to have electricity, including parts of Bulumkutu axis,” the statement

added. It revealed that Zulum, a Professor of Engineering, asked persons in charge of generators at both hospitals some technical questions, which led to his confirmation that the generators had no problems at all. They were fully functional but lacked diesel to power them. “It is very unfortunate that no official either from the Hospital Management Board or the Ministry of Health drew my attention to this outage,” the governor queried. “If we can power our streetlights constantly, I see no reason why we cannot power our hospitals” Zulum lamented as he consoled patients and their loved ones for being in darkness despite dealing with illnesses.

Council (PCC) in Cross River State, saying, the volume of work they had already done on ground was visible and palpable. The PDP vice presidential candidate said he believed strongly that the party would "recover, rescue and rebuild Cross River State, the south-south zone, and the nation from the sinking ship of the APC." Chairman of the Atiku/Okowa National Presidential Campaign Council and the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, who inaugurated the PDP National Youth Campaign Council and the Women wing of the Presidential Campaign Council, in the state said that the PDP has never lost any general election in Cross River State from 1999 to date. Udom said victory for the PDP in the state and the South-south zone was a culture that would be sustained during the 2023 general election, adding that, the governors of the South-south region were united with the PDP family to ensure the party's candidates won in 2023. In his remarks, a former governor of Cross River State and leader of the PDP in the state, Senator Liyel Imoke, said he was certain that with the calibre of people inaugurated into the Youth and Women wings of the campaign council, they were certain the PDP would win massively in the state. Imoke, who is the Deputy Director (Operations) of the Atiku/Okowa NPCC, welcomed and appreciated the vice presidential candidate, governors of the South-south states present, and other distinguished guests for gracing the ceremony, and honouring the PDP. The Senator representing Cross River Southern Senatorial District and Chairman of Cross River State Presidential Campaign Council, Gershom Bassey, while presenting his welcome address, said the PDP in the state was already in the trenches working hard to win the 2023 general election. Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki; Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, and the spokesperson for the PCC, Senator Dino Malaye, were among the top members of the party that attended the event. Continues online

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NEWS

CONFERMENT OF HONORARY DOCTORATE (HONORIS CAUSA) CEREMONIES AT THE VERITAS UNIVERSITY... L- R: Minister of Works and Housing and Guest Lecturer, Mr. Babatunde Fashola; Vice Chancellor, Veritas University Abuja, Prof. Hyacinth Ichoku and Founder, the Kukah Centre and Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah, during the Veritas University 11th convocation lecture and Conferment of Honorary Doctorate Degree (Honoris Causa) Ceremonies at Abuja… recently

Adeleke: Oyetola Set Many Traps for Me, I’m Yanking Them Off Says support from people helped him to hit the ground running Reassures state on good governance, recalls difficult road to becoming gov Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo Osun State Governor, Ademola Adeleke, yesterday, said the his predecessor, Gboyega Oyetola, had set many traps for him, with the sole intention of making him fail as governor, but that he has begun to dismantle his traps one after the other. Adekele also claimed that the support he received from the people of the state, including God, family and friends, gave him the strength to hit the ground running within a week of assuming office. Speaking at a thanksgiving service held at Eternal Sacred Order of Cherubim and Seraphim, Oke Gada, Ede, Adeleke, who vowed to deliver good governance through his five-point agenda, however, recalled the travails he passed through in his path to governorship, citing the gang-ups and the campaign of calumny from within and outside the party. According to him, "We passed through tough days before we reached here. I can't but constantly

praise God, my brother, my sister, my political associates, my friends and the great people of Osun State. That massive support accounted for my hitting the ground running a week ago. That was why I issued those executive orders to dismantle all illegalities and clean up the mess I inherited. "The man I defeated set many traps for my administration but we are removing all the evil structures they put in place. I have used the first one week to take charge and set the tone for good governance. From the new week, I will continue the great work. We are shaking up the system; we are unveiling and commencing implementation of our agenda. "I thank the people of Osun for their love and show of huge backing. I reassure them that all my actions will continue to be in the best interest of the state. All what I have done and will still do are to serve the people, meet their aspirations and restore good governance in Osun State," Adeleke said. Giving a vote of thanks on behalf

of the government of Osun State, the Secretary to the State Government, Hon Teslim Igbalaye, thanked God for using the Adeleke family to liberate the people of the state from oppression, exploitation and bad governance. According to him, "We give

thanks to God and to the Adeleke family, our Chairman, Dr Deji Adeleke; our mother in the House, Yeye Modupe Sani-Adeleke. We commend the clerics for their prayers, the party leadership at all levels, the loyalists within and outside the PDP. We are set to

Labour Party yesterday revealed how its acting National Publicity Secretary, Arabambi Abayomi, betrayed the trust of the party and that of its Ogun State chapter. In a statement by its National Secretary, Umar Farouk, party has also expressed concerns over allegations of corruption, attacks on the party's image and engagement in anti-party activities being carried out by Arabambi and other executives of the party in Ogun State. It stated that it has, "been watching with consternation the grandstanding of its acting National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Abayomi Arabambi and his cohorts in the Ogun state executive of the party as they have continued to dish out lies to the public concerning the leadership of the party.” Farouk said while the party was constrained not to go to the gutters with its national officer, "especially as it concerns the internal matters of the party which we all swore

oath of confidentiality to uphold, it was also, "not unmindful of the gullibility of men when confronted with carrots they can't resist, hence, we have chosen to come out with facts as distorted by our supposed spokesperson.” The statement added: "We are even more constrained knowing that when a bird dances in the air, the probability of a drummer hiding nearby is a possibility. "Appearing on a popular television programme Saturday morning, Abayomi Arabambi threw caution to the wind by callously dishing out statements attacking a party for which he claims to be the National Publicity Secretary and has also questioned the legality of the membership of one of our respectable leaders and the Director-General of the Presidential Campaign Council, Dr. Doyin Okupe, wherein he pronounced him expelled from the party. "On Friday, I did address a press conference wherein the party over-ruled the illegal

the Deputy Governor of Osun State, Prince Kola Adewusi; the Secretary to the State Government, Hon Teslim Igbalaye; the former State Chairman of the party, Hon Sunday Bisi; Alhaji Ganiyu Olaoluwa; Rev Bunmi Jenyo; Chief (Mrs) Ayo Awolowo; many other clerics and party leaders.

Bidemi Rufai Didn’t Bring Any Investor to Ogun, Says State Govt The Ogun State government yesterday said Bidemi Rufai did not bring any business concern to the state during his short stint as a special assistant to Governor Dapo Abiodun. The state government in a statement also debunked a news report that Rufai was being paid $2,000 as an aide to the governor. An online news medium, People's Gazette had reported that Abiodun

was paying $50,000 to Rufai each time he introduced people to him, along with monthly salary of $2,000. According to the statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Abiodun, Kunle Somorin, Rufai, who was appointed by the governor as his Senior Special Assistant on Housing, never had any close relationship with the governor, prior to his appointment. According to Somorin, Rufai, like

Labour Party: How Abayomi Betrayed Our Trust Emameh Gabriel in Abuja

deliver on good governance and dividends of democracy. We will not fail Osun people by the special grace of God," he noted. The thanksgiving service was attended by Dr Adedeji Adeleke, the pro-Chancellor of Adeleke University; Yeye Modupe Adeleke-Sani;

expulsion and had also warned of dire consequences against the architects of that rascality but with the recent development, the party has decided to tell its own story of how it has unknowingly harboured a 'Judas Iscariot' who is driven by pecuniary gains to sell the party, it ought to be defending. "First, at the conclusion of the party primaries, in line with the

directives of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, forms of the party's candidates are supposed to be uploaded to INEC's Portal. As a ranking member our party from the South-West, Mr. Arabambi was tasked with handling the candidates from both Lagos State and his home State, Ogun for the House of Assembly and governorship.

other aides of the governor, was recommended from his ward for the appointment, and not because of any special favour he offered to the governor during his gubernatorial campaigns in 2019. The statement further faulted and denied the claims by the online medium that Rufai was being paid $2,000 salary, which according to it is “outrageous and baseless.” According to Somorin, salaries and wages of political office holders are fixed by the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission, adding that no member of the government is permitted to any other allowances not known to law. Somorin added that records in the state never showed that Rufai, while serving in the state, brought a single investor or facilitated any investment from the United States of America, wondering how the former political aide would then be paid $50,000 for a deal that never took place. “Bidemi Rufai was appointed

as a Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Housing, and was nominated for appointment barely three months before he was arrested. “He had not resumed formerly and had no official office to transact business. He wasn't part of the Ogun State Economic Management Team and have got no input into the state government activities. His appointment was based on his activities in his ward. He didn't sit in the State Executive Council meetings and couldn't have had inputs in policies of the state government. “The governor had no deal with Rufai on any transaction. He brought not a single one. They can check with the US embassy,” the statement added. Somorin noted further that Abiodun being a law-abiding person and respecter of the rule of law, immediately suspended Rufai after his arrest for fraud in the United States and later terminated his appointment, even before his conviction for the crime by the US court.

Mbah Receives Endorsement from Enugu Town Unions in Lagos The Enugu State governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Peter Mbah at the weekend received a hero’s welcome at the 2022 Cultural Day of the Association of Enugu State Development Unions (AESDU), Lagos State, held at Ikeja, Lagos State. According to a statement, Mbah who was described by the President General of AESDU, Chief Linus Igbudu as the first incoming governor of

Enugu State to grace the annual Cultural Day with his presence, was lavished with endorsement speeches by Igbudu and various leaders of the association as their preferred candidate for the 2023 governorship election in the state, citing his rising popularity and wide acceptance across the state, phenomenal achievements as a leading entrepreneur and business innovator, as well as the exceptional quality of his manifesto to Ndi Enugu.

In his comment, Mbah thanked the unions for the rousing reception and endorsement, promising that his administration, when elected, would sustain the rich cultural heritage of the state, grow the GDP of the state sevenfold, making it the preferred destination for business, living and leisure, while urging Enugu business persons and investors to get ready to invest at home, taking advantage of the varied business incentives to be unleashed by his administration.

Mbah, had on arrival, taken time to move round the canopies of over 400 town unions and autonomous communities present at the mega event, mingling with the people and listening to their views, amid excitement and exchange of greetings. AESDU, the umbrella association of all Enugu State town unions and autonomous communities in Lagos State, is also the largest assembly of Enugu State people outside the State.

MONDAY DECEMBER 5, 2022 • T H I S D AY

MONDAY DECEMBER 5, 2022˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

DISCUSSING NIGERIA’S DEBT REDUCTION STRATEGIES…

L-R: Member, Council, Association of Securities Dealing Houses of Nigeria (ASHON), Mr. Charles Egbunonwo; Head, Market Architecture, FMDQ Securities Exchange Limited, Mr. Oluwaseun Afolabi; Executive Commissioner Operations, Securities and Exchange Commission(SEC), Mr. Dayo Obisan; Chairman, Capital Market Correspondents Association of Nigeria (CAMCAN), Mrs. Chinyere Joel-Nwokeoma; DirectorGeneral, Debt Management Office(DMO), Ms Patience Oniha; Divisional Head, Business Support Services, Nigerian Exchange Limited, Mrs. Irene Robinson-Ayanwale, and First Vice President, Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers, Mr. Oluropo Dada, at the CAMCAN 2022 Annual Conference held in Lagos…recently

Contempt: Lawyer Sues President Buhari, Wants COAS Sacked IG faces fresh contempt proceedings

Alex Enumah in Abuja

A Constitutional lawyer, Mr. Jideobi Johnmary, has dragged President Muhammadu Buhari to court over the recent sentencing of the Chief of Army Staff ( COAS), General Faruk Yahaya

to prison for refusing to obey lawful order of court. This just the Inspector General (IG)of Police has been threatened with a similar charge by a dismissed Police officer, one Mr. Christian Osondu, few days after a Federal High Court in

Abuja, ordered the IG’s remand in prison for refusing to obey a lawful order of court. Amongst others the plaintiff is asking the court to compel President Buhari to immediately sack General Yahaya as COAS, following his conviction and sentencing for contempt of court. Justice Halima Abdulmalik

of a High Court in Niger State had, in a ruling it delivered on November 30, ordered that the COAS be remanded at the prison in Minna for willfully disobeying an order it made on October 12, 2022. Besides the COAS, the remand order also affected the Commandant, Training

and Doctrine Command, Minna, Major General Steven Olabanji. Based on the court’s judgment, the lawyer had approached the court seeking a determination on: “Whether having regard to the provision of Section 287(3) of the amended 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the President of the

Federal Republic of Nigeria, is possessed of the Constitutional powers to appoint as the Chief of Army Staff, a man who has been convicted and serving jail term as a result of the sentence imposed on him by a Court of competent jurisdiction following his conviction for the crime of contempt of court?

Rebecca Ejifoma

Navy Central Pay office, Apapa are said to be on the run. It was learnt that an argument erupted during the traffic-related issue with the Naval ratings and snowballed into a fracas. This was said to have left three passers-by injured from stab wounds by the Naval ratings who were said to have used their jackknifes. In his reaction, the State

Police Spokesman, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed that the case was under investigation and has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID), Panti, Yaba Lagos. While he noted that the deceased has been deposited at a public morgue in Yaba, he said the family of the late ASP has been duly contacted about the tragedy.

Meanwhile, the Western Naval Command Spokesman, Commander Edward Yeibo confirmed that preliminary investigations were ongoing to unravel the effect of the gunshot and the alleged incident. He emphasised: “They are allegations. The incident is related to a traffic offence where about eight policemen on bikes and some thugs stopped the Naval ratings.

Bauchi APC Stakeholders Meet, Strategise to Displace PDP ASP Stabbed to Death, Three Injured as Navy, Police Clash in Lagos Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi As the battle for who occupies the number one political position in Bauchi state intensifies ahead of the 2023 general elections, chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state have met to strategise on how to reclaim power from the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The party’s Vice Chairman, Bauchi South, Alhaji Abdulmumini Kundak stated this at the formal inauguration of the state chapter of the Tinubu/ Shettima Grassroots Independent Campaign Council (lCC) in Bauchi Weekend. According to him, “Let me stress the importance of working together as one, especially as we approach 2023, the all-important election year. There is a whole lot that we can achieve together

as a united bloc.” Kundak enjoined all the stalwarts of the APC to unite and rally round the presidential candidate of the party, Senator Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, his running mate, Kashim Shettima, Governorship Candidate, Ambassador Sadique Baba Abubakar, Senatorial, Representatives and State Assembly candidates. “Let us rally round our party, let’s rally behind our candidates and reclaim the state and retain the country”, Kundak who is the Coordinator of Independent Campaign Council (ICC) of APC in Bauchi said. “We all know how PDP won in Bauchi state through protest votes by APC members in 2019 , so therefore we want our state back, we will reclaim the state,” he said.

An Assistant Superintendent of Police, Abion Hezikel, has been allegedly stabbed to death during a clash with the four Naval ratings in the Satellite area of Lagos State. Following his death, two Naval ratings, Onyekachi Egwumain, 27 and Ebubechukwu Growth, 28, were arrested. The other two erring ratings attached to the Nigerian

‘Nigerians Deserve Better than Comedy of Gaffes APC is Selling’ Adedayo AkinwaleinAbuja A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief Ray Morphy has said that the country deserves better than the comedy of gaffes that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) was trying to sell to Nigerians. Apparently rejecting the presidential candidate of the APC, Bola Tinubu, Morphy

said his presidency would further impoverish already traumatised and despondent citizenry. In a statement issued yesterday, the party chieftain noted that he had lost many friends because they expected him to live a lie. Morphy, who is a former special adviser to the former APC National Chairman, Chief John Oyegun and member of the APC Presidential Council in 2019, said he was leaving

the ruling party where he had made intellectual, material and financial contributions in order to help secure better governance. He said: “I am not sorry. I have lost many friends because they expected me to live a lie, they expected that I would like them, condemn the APC misrule in private and hail APC in public. I do not know how to speak with a forked tongue.”

“I am not sorry that I left APC where I had made intellectual, material and financial contributions, all in a bid to help secure better governance for our! “I realised after much effort that public good is the last thing on the mind of the leadership of the APC whether in government or out of it. Talking about public good to APC is like talking to a stone, so I took a walk.

The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, has said his government is paying critical attention to building the capacity of youths in the state to equip them with the right tools and knowledge to compete globally. The governor said this forms part of renewed efforts to combat illegal migration, human trafficking and all other forms

of modern day slavery. Obaseki said this in his message to commemorate the 2022 International Day for the abolition of slavery celebrated each year by the United Nations and its sister agencies. The governor, who reeled out the gains of his administration’s efforts at combating illegal migration and human trafficking

in Edo State, said his government will continue to pursue reforms and programmes to end all forms of modern day slavery, including child or forced labour, human trafficking, forced marriage, sexual exploitation, illegal migration and illegal organ harvesting, among others. Obasekei said: “The 2022 International Day for

the Abolition of Slavery is another opportunity for global stakeholders to review efforts at ending slavery in every form and guise and strengthen collaborations towards rescuing and protecting the estimated 50 million people who today are in modern slavery, including 28 million in forced labour and 22 million in forced marriage.

‘We ‘ll Manage Crowd During Edo Promoting Youth Devt to Tackle Obi’s Mega Rally in Owerri’ Obaseki: the weekend, Agbaso admitted Illegal Migration, Human Trafficking Amby Uneze in Owerri The State Coordinator of the Presidential Campaign Council (PCC) of the Labour Party(LP), Chief Martin Agbaso, has stated that even though it may be a herculean task to control the crowd of party faithful when the presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi visits the State tomorrow, arrangements have been concluded to manage them to a successful hosting. According to him, to that end, all is now set to receive the presidential candidate in Imo State on Tuesday (tomorrow) in continuation of his mega rally across the country by members of his party and residents of the State. Disclosing the level of preparation for the event at

that it would be a difficult task controlling the expected crowd at the rally, but assured that all has been put in place to have a smooth rally slated to hold at the Kanu Nwankwo Sports Stadium, Owerri. He said: “Mr. Peter Obi has become an incredible enigma, it becomes difficult for those of us who have worked closely with him to interpret who he is, he has now reached into the hearts of not only Nigerians but globally. “So organising a rally for him presents two difficulties, firstly meeting the expectations of the people because it is very high, ,s and secondly controlling the crowd of people that wants to see him, but everything has been put in place to have a smooth rally.”

Benue Condemns APC Chairman over Comments on Wike,Ortom George Okoh In Makurdi The Benue state government has condemned the speech made by the Chairman of the All Progressive Congress (APC), Austin Agada, against Governor Samuel Ortom over his close relationship with his Rivers state counterpart, Governor Nyesom Wike.

Special Adviser to the governor on Media and Publicity, Mr. Terver Akase, who reacted to Agada’s ‘smack of gangsterism’ against his principal in a press statement, also explained the relationship between the two governors. According to Akase,”We read a statement attributed to the State Chairman of the All Progressives

Congress, APC in Benue State, Austin Agada who accused Governor Samuel Ortom of abandoning governance to “run errands” for his counterpart in Rivers State, Governor Nyesom Wike. It was not the first time that the young man who runs APC in Benue as if he is leading a group of thugs would insult the governor of his state in the

manner he did.” “A party chairman, who was beaten to a pulp in his community Otukpa by aggrieved members of APC who were protesting against the fraudulent governorship primary election he conducted in May this year, lacks the moral authority to question the leadership abilities of anyone else.”

MONDAY DECEMBER 5, 2022˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS XTRA

BEAUTY EXHIBITION…

L-R: Beauty Expert/Nigerian representative for L’Oreal Active Cosmetics Division(ACD), Beatrice Eneh; Beauty Blogger/Inﬂuencer, Dimma Umeh; Business Unit Manager, L’Oreal ACD Sub-Saharan Africa, Badr Abbadi; Treasurer, Nigerian Association of Dermatologists, Dr. Erere Ortofanwei, and Director-General, L’Oréal ACD Sub-Saharan Africa, Frederic Mohr Durdez, during the Beauty West Africa Exhibition in Lagos…recently

Special Taskforce Rescues Five Persons from Kidnappers, Recovers 300 Cattles

Laleye Dipo in Minna

After more than 30 days in kidnappers’ den, five victims-two of them women-were last week rescued by men of the Niger State Police Special Tactical team in a clearance operation.

The five victims, Susan Sunday, Patience Sunday, Bulus Yahaya, Yakubu Abuba, and Lazarus John, were abducted from Chikun village in Kaduna state early November. They have all been reunited with their families after profiling

and undergoing medical treatment. It was learnt that during the clearance operation, several bandits were neutralised while not less than 300 cattle rustled by the bandits were recovered and returned to their owners. The neutralised bandits, according to reports, belonged to the Alhaji Leyi terror gang that has been

terrorising some parts of Kaduna and Niger States. The Niger State Commissioner for Internal Security and Humanitarian Affairs, Mr. Emmanuel Umar, who confirmed this to journalists in Minna at the weekend, said the operation was carried out last Thursday night when the Taskforce mobilised

to the operational base of the notorious bandits kingpin, adding that when the Taskforce invaded the terrorist hideout at Gaskiya Bana, they (terrorists) fled in different directions and abandoned herds of cattle believed to have been rustled around the axis. Umar said: “The Security

Forces recovered large herds of cattle and proceeded towards Unguwan Aboki, another community terroriSed by the terrorist,” adding that the Taskforce ran into an ambush by the terrorists at Unguwan Aboki but were repelled and others forced to retreat and run into a nearby vegetation and forest belt.

Palestine Appeals to Nigeria to Mediate a Conflict with Israel Sanwo-Olu Hails Akeredolu’s Infrastructural Drive, Michael Olugbode in Abuja Palestine has appealed to Nigeria to play a critical role in resolving its conflict with Israel. Speaking to journalists in Abuja at the weekend, the Ambassador of the State of Palestine to Nigeria, Abdallah Abu Shawesh said Nigeria could play a crucial role because it has good relations with Palestine and also with Israel. The envoy said Nigeria was well positioned to take some stands on international affairs as the seventh most populous country in the world, the biggest economy in Africa and having been playing crucial roles in Africa and in the international arena from time immemorial. He explained: “Nigeria has continued to play crucial role because Nigeria is standing firm in support of international

law, standing firm in support of the Palestinian cause. Nigeria can also push forward for more implementation of the international resolution. “I will communicate with different levels of people of Nigeria to make sure that they support the move not only from the political level but other institutions such as human rights institutions and NGOs to make sure that they collaborate with their counterparts in Palestine.” The envoy noted that the Palestinians have made a move to go to the International Crisis Group to seek legal advice on Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory,” he however added that: “This might have consequences to the peace process as the Israeli side considers it a unilateral move. What is your view on that?”

Inaugurates 10km Okitipupa-Igbokoda Road

My administration is reference point for development, says Ondo Gov Fidelis David in Akure Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu yesterday inaugurated the 10 kilometres Okitipupa-Igbokoda bypass which was constructed by Ondo State Governor, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu.

Sanwo-Olu while commissioning the road at Erinje Junction in Okitipupa, Okitipupa Local Government Area of the state, commended Akeredolu for the impactful and significant development happening in the Sunshine state. Sanwo-olu said: “What

we are about, as a party, as brothers, is to continue to do what we call peer review and to continue to encourage one another. This is not my first time. It is not my second time of coming to Ondo State. And each time I come, it is because of a significant development

that is happening in your state. “You have seen that, indeed, there is meaningful development that is happening in your state. You can see that, even with the little resources available to the State, Arakunrin Akeredolu is using it well for the betterment of the people and the state.

DSS Vows to Deal with Terrorists, Bandits in Nigeria Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja

The Department of State Security (DSS) yesterday vowed to deal ruthlessly with terrorists, bandits and other enemies of state threatening the peace of Nigeria. It warned those planning

to “mess up the country” to desist from doing so, saying “enough is enough, as any group that attacks personnel of the agency would not be spared. The Director-General of DSS, Yusuf Bichi, issued the warning at the weekend at

the graduation ceremony held in honour of participants of the Executive Intelligence Management Course (EIMC15) at the National Institute for Security Studies (NISS) Abuja. A total of 78 participants of the directorate/executive

cadre drawn from Nigeria, the Gambia, Ghana, as well as Niger Republic participated in the 2022 course. In his address, Bichi warned against attempts by subversive elements to undermine the authority, unity and corporate existence of the country.

Remanded Journalist’s Wife 2023: Police Warn against Destruction of Billboards, Banners in Kwara The Police Command, to all the political parties. “This statement stands Pleads for Release of Husband Hammed Shittu in Ilorin however, said any supporter “Intelligence available to the as the last warning by the Ayodeji Ake The wife of the remanded journalist, Ayodele Samuel, publisher of Taraba Truth and Facts Newspaper, has pleaded with the Taraba State Governor, Darius Ishaku, to release her husband, saying his absence is tolling on the family. Speaking in tears at the recent press conference organised by the Coalition of Journalists of Conscience (CJC) in Lagos, Mrs. Mercy Samuel, said her children have not been going to school because the incarceration of her husband. According to her, “I plead with the Taraba State Government to release my husband, if not for anything, for the sake of the family.” The General Secretary of CJC, Akinwale Kasali, while addressing journalists, called on the Nigerian Police Force, the Commissioner of Police Taraba and the State Governor, Darius Ishaku, to kindly honour the court ruling and free Ayodele

Samuel. He said: “Samuel was arraigned at a Magistrate Court in Jalingo presided by Justice Garba S. Garba on a two-count charge of defamation and injurious falsehood. “The charges were filed against him by the state governor through the office of the Attorney General of the state. “It comes as a reaction from nurtured grievance over a publication on page 5 of the Taraba Truth and Facts Newspaper, dated September 17, 2022, with the title ‘Taraba for Sale’. “The publication alleges a possible sale of the Taraba State-owned Mambilla Beverages Company and state property, including the liaison office in Abuja, in which similar publications had appeared on other prominent Nigerian media before the publication on Taraba Truth and Facts without rebuttal.”

Kwara State Police Command at the weekend warned political parties leaders in the state to call their supporters to order over the reported cases of destruction and defacement of billboards, banners and posters belonging to the opposition political parties in the state.

caught in the act would be made to face the full wrath of the law. A statement issued in Ilorin and signed by the state Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Mr. Okasanmi Ajayi, said: “This warning is not limited to any particular political party, but

Command has revealed the identities of the perpetrators. The good people of Kwara State are assured of their safety at all times and the determination of the officers and men of the Command to prosecute anyone arrested for violating this order.

Command to hoodlums to either drop their lawless ways or pack their bags and relocate from Kwara State or face the consequences of their lawlessness, as the Command has the full capacity to deal decisively with any form of criminality.”

Fayemi Calls for Strategies to Tackle Food Shortages

The President of the Forum of Regions of Africa (FORAF), Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has called on governments at all levels to create urban agriculture-friendly policies in order to bridge the rising food gaps in the world. Urban agriculture is defined as the production, distribution, and marketing

of food in cities and metropolitan areas. According to Fayemi, urban agriculture is a vital strategy for building the resilience of cities’ food supply, reducing poverty and increasing employment, as well as improving nutritional outcomes, and mitigating environmental degradation of urban spaces.

Fayemi, who is the immediate past Governor of Ekiti State, made this appeal call the 2022 Brazil-Africa Forum, which was held in Sao Paulo, Brazil with the theme Sustainable Cities: ‘Global challenges, local solutions.’ He said: “Policies about urban agriculture must be improved for the enhancement of

urban agriculture benefits as well as the reduction of the risks associated with public health and environmental hazards. Policy integration should pay attention to issues such as urban land use planning, health, waste management, social housing, slum upgrading, park, and nature management.”

Delta Lawyer Slams Suit against Military over Illegal Detention of Three Sylvester Idowu inWarri

AWarri-based lawyer in Delta State, Choice Umode, has instituted a suit against the Commanding Officer of the 90 Amphibious Battalion of the Nigerian Army, Major Ajongbo,

at the Effurun High Court, Effurun in Uvwie Local Government Area of the state. The lawyer is demanding N20million each for the three persons who were allegedly arrested and detained unlawfully

for over three weeks by military men attached to the Nigerian Army 90 Battalion in Koko, Warri North LGA. In a motion on notice with suit No: EHC/FHR/92/2022 before the court, the lawyer noted that:

“The N20 million is for exemplary and general damages suffered psychologically, physically and emotionally by the victims” for their unlawful detention by the Nigerian Army since November 9, 2022.

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Senegal ‘Extend African Jinx’ as England Set up France Q’final Clash

African champions, Senegal, failed to end the jinx against African teams that have met England on the global stage in football as Three Lions devoured the Teranga Lions to set up a quarter final clash with reigning champions France on Saturday. Going into the match yesterday, England had faced African opposition 20 times, including seven at the World Cup and were yet to be beaten. The Gareth Southgate’s side will meet France in the World Cup quarter-finals on Saturday after an impressive demolition of Senegal at Al Bayt Stadium. The Three Lions survived a nervy opening in which goalkeeper Jordan Pickford made an outstanding

save from Boulaye Dia. Save for Kalidou Koulibaly, there was no real fireworks from the Senegalese. Jude Bellingham was England's star man, setting up the first goal for Jordan Henderson with a perfect cross after 38 minutes then having a hand in the second on the stroke of half-time, combining with Phil Foden as captain Harry Kane powered home his first goal of the tournament. The goal leaves Kane just one behind Wayne Rooney's all-time record of 53 England goals and he now has the perfect stage here in Qatar to write a fresh page in the history books. Foden was the creator once more as England wrapped the game up in the 57th minute, crossing for Bukayo

DURO IKHAZUAGBE Reporting live

Saka to show great awareness and touch to flick a delicate finish past Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy. The victory capped a perfect