TUESDAY 7TH DECEMBER 2021

Gana: Buhari’s Failure to Implement 2014 Confab Report, Terrible Mistake Says Nigeria better off together Sylvester Idowu in Warri A former Minister of Informa-

tion and Culture, Professor Jerry Gana, has described the failure of President Muhammadu Buhari-led

administration to implement the 2014 National Conference report “as a terrible mistake”.

Gana, who said the nonimplementation of the confab report was largely responsible for some of

the growing agitations and disunity across the country, however, said Nigerians were better off together

as a people and country.

Continued on page 6

Emirates Resumes Flights to Nigeria... Page 6 Tuesday 07 December, 2021 Vol 26. No 9738. Price: N250

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Red List: UK Under Fire for Travel Apartheid against Nigeria FG fumes, insists ban discriminatory, unfair UN Condemns Britain, others for 'travel apartheid,' says ban targeted at poor countries Country's High Commissioner to United Kingdom kicks against restriction, calls for global collaboration NARD: New variant not as deadly to warrant flight restrictions CACOVID harps on mass vaccination to prevent virus spread Biden's medical Adviser urges Nigerians to take booster jabs Onyebuchi Ezigbo, Olawale Ajimotokan, Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja; Chinedu Eze and Dike Onwuamaeze in Lagos As global outrage continues to trail recent travel ban placed on Nigeria and some other African countries by the United Kingdom (UK), a development which has been described as racist and discriminatory, Nigeria’s federal government yesterday officially

condemned the decision of the UK to put the country on its red list and place a ban on foreign travels following its detection of Omicron variant.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who addressed journalists in Abuja, described the decision of the UK government targeting Nigerian travellers as discriminatory, unfair, Continued on page 10

...Fails to Red List 17 European Countries Despite Recording Omicron Despite the presence of the new Omicron COVID-19 variant in 17 countries in Europe, the United Kingdom has failed to take same punitive action it took against some developing nations, thereby confirming its selective red listing of Nigeria and some other of their largest Commonwealth allies

which has continued to attract global outrage.

The move has been described by many as racist, misguided and discriminatory.

Following its discovery at the end of November, the variant has Continued on page 10

TOURING LEKKI DEEP SEA PORT...

L-R: Chief Executive Officer, Lagos Free Zone (LFZ), Mr. Dinesh Rathi; Chairman, Lekki Port LFTZ Enterprise Limited, Mr. Biodun Dabiri; President and CEO, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote and Group Managing Director, Tolaram, Mr. Haresh Aswani, during a tour of the Lekki Deep Sea Port as part of his visit to PHOTO: SUNDAY ADIGUN the Lagos Free Zone in Lagos…yesterday

Despite FG’s Plea, Electricity Workers Cripple Power Supply in Abuja, Environs... Page 6

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

NEWS

50 YEARS OF INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES...

L-R: Managing Director, International Breweries PLC (IB Plc), Hugo Dias Rocha; The Lefoosan of Ifosan, Ilesa, Chief Michael Olumuyiwa Falomo; Chairman of the Board, IB Plc, HRM Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe; PHOTO: ABIODUN AJALA. Paramount Ruler of Oginigba Kingdom, HRH G.B Odum and Alake of Egbaland, Oba Adedotun Aremu Gbadebo, during the 50th anniversary celebration of IB in Lagos...recently

Tax-to-GDP Ratio: FIRS Moves to Reflect Govt Revenues, Waivers, Others in Computation Omoigui-Okauru harps on need to reduce physical cash transactions FG’s governance app 90% ready, says Agba James Emejo in Abuja The Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Mr. Muhammad Nami, yesterday said the agency would henceforth ensure that all government revenues are included in the accounting for taxes generated and amounts invested by taxpayers in road infrastructure as a result of Executive Order 007 and tax waivers granted pioneer companies.

He also said import and exercise duties waived through the operations of the Nigeria Customs Service and all other revenues generated by Ministries,

Departments and Agencies (MDAs) on behalf of the federal, state and local governments in the country would also be taken into consideration.

Nami, said the measures, when implemented would align the country with global best practice in reporting public finance and reflect a more transparent and accurate picture of the country's tax-to-GDP ratio which is currently at six per cent.

This was just as a former FIRS Executive Chairman, Mrs. Ifueko Omoigui-Okauru, lamented that physical cash constituted the bulk of transactions in the country, call-

ing on the government to further deepen electronic transactions for the sake of transparency in fiscal operations.

Also, Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Agba, said the current administration accords great premium on citizens' participation in governance, tracking service delivery and development in their communities.

To this end, Agba pointed out that in order to ensure transparency and accountability in the delivery of government's capital projects countrywide, the budget and national planning arm of

N'Assembly Will Ensure Judicious Use of COVID-19 Funds, Says Lawan Deji Elumoye in Abuja President of the Senate, Dr. Ahmad Lawan has given assurance that the National Assembly would provide resources in 2022 budget for the battle against COVID-19 pandemic while insisting on judicious use of the funds.

Lawan who spoke yesterday in Abuja, while declaring open a National Summit on COVID-19 with the theme: 'End the Pandemic and Build Back Better" stressed that "in the 2022 appropriation, whatever is necessary will be provided for Nigeria to continue to fight the pandemic and beyond it.

"But there is a caveat that those who will be given those funds need to provide the kind of prudence that is necessary - the economy, the efficiency in the deployment and application of those resources.

"And I will urge our committees who have been working very hard and very closely with the PSC to ensure very strict and rigorous scrutiny and oversight of our funds in 2022 when we are able to provide them to the Federal Ministry of Health and its agencies," he said.

He assured Nigerians that, "members of the National Assembly and other political leaders of this country take the health of Nigerians very seriously and we

will continue to be alive to our responsibility to ensure that our citizens are protected and are provided that kind of opportunity to take the vaccine."

The Senate President also urged relevant health authourities to do more to ensure that the vaccine hesitancy is minimised or eliminated if possible.

He commended the PSC for the great work it had done in effectively coordinating and mounting a formidable national response to this emergent global public health threat.

Lawan also paid tribute to patriotic and gallant health personnel who had sacrificed so much to fight against the pandemic stressing that Nigeria would remain indebted to them.

According to him: "The 9th National Assembly, under my leadership has equally played critical role in supporting the Executive Arm of Government to respond frontally through the passage of the Quarantine Act 2020 in order to mitigate the effects of COVID – 19 on our citizens and the economy.

"The Act provided and regulated the imposition of quarantine and made other provisions for preventing the introduction, spread and transmission of dangerous infectious diseases in Nigeria.

"The NASS proactively reviewed

the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the 2020 national budget in order to sufficiently fund the national response to the pandemic and to provide economic stimulus packages for Nigerians.

"In addition, after meticulous scrutiny, the Assembly gave approvals for various loans requested by the Executive to fund the 2020 national budget.

"Members of the Senate gave up 50 percent of their monthly salaries to provide relief materials for Nigerians to cushion the effect of the pandemic while some distinguished members of the Assembly procured and distributed various COVID – 19 relief materials to their constituencies.

"The oversight functions of the Assembly necessitated the proper scrutiny of how the aforementioned funds were expended and also monitored strict compliance with resolutions concerning the fair and equitable distribution of palliatives to the vulnerable.

"The Executive was engaged on the implementation of the Social Intervention Programme (SIP) in response to the needs of the citizenry.

"The emergence of the Omicron variant of the virus points to the fact that the pandemic is yet to be over, hence, we should not rest on our oars in fighting the pandemic.

the ministry was working on a Web App –called the Eye Mark, to assist citizens to report on government's projects and programmes earmarked for their communities using their mobile phones and in real time.

They all spoke at the opening of the national symposium on, "Taxation and Challenges of External Shocks: Lessons and Policy Options for Nigeria," as well as formal launch of the FIRS Contact Center in Abuja.

The FIRS boss explained that for the country to achieve meaningful and sustainable growth in tax revenue, and minimise dependence on oil revenue, there was the need for continuous reform of the country’s operations and processes and human capital development, adoption of technology as well as the tax laws.

Nami also said Nigeria’s low tax-to-GDP ratio constituted one of the recurring issues in national discourse, adding that though the country needed to continually and conscientiously put measures in place to improve such concern, it also required to comprehensively bring all the national and subnational revenue sources into consideration to properly and appropriately determine the correct and meaningful tax-to-GDP ratio for the country. He pointed out that the current basis for tax to GDP computation, which mostly focuses on the taxes administered at the federal level and leaving out other sources of revenue being generated by the federal, states and local governments and their MDAs, does not truly reflect its correct standing.

He said reforms remained crucial to the current Board and Management of FIRS, adding that the, “achievements we have recorded in improving and sustaining the revenue growth since 2020 to date irrespective of the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic can be attributed to these reform initiatives.”

He stressed the need to strengthen collaboration among the tiers of government to enhance the certainty of the tax system and engender taxpayer confidence and compliance, stressing that the service would continue to

provide leadership to the states through the Joint Tax Board (JTB) to re-position tax administration in Nigeria.

Speaking further, the FIRS boss said as a key stakeholder in the symposium, the agency would consider the ideas and strategies recommended at and incorporate them in its corporate plan from 2022 and beyond.

According to him, the essence of the symposium cannot be overemphasised given the challenges being experienced globally due to the pandemic, expressing concern that the mutations and vaccine resistant variants being discovered every often in some countries, further indicated there is no respite yet as social and economic variables are still unpredictable.

He said the thematic areas for the symposium were carefully chosen to evaluate the reform options in tax administration and the lessons tax administrators could learn from other success stories as well as review the challenges of the informal sector which constitutes about 70 per cent of businesses in the country.

The symposium, organised in collaboration with the Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (UDUS), also sought to assess the reform options available to bring the SMEs into the tax net.

He said, “Another area of consideration will be policy options to get the private sector involved in the critical infrastructure development in Nigeria.”

According to him, the launch of the contact centre demonstrated the FIRS commitment to not only hold talks on policy options in enhancing tax administration but also putting in place structures to actualise one of its key policy thrusts, which is to build a customer-centric FIRS through effective and efficient taxpayer service.

He explained that the centre was designed to help in bridging the communication gap between the taxpayers and the service and provide real-time platform for response to issues and resolution of challenges and concerns that may be raised by the resident and non-resident taxpayers

without physically visiting our offices.

Agba, at the symposium, said the current administration accords great premium on citizens' participation in governance, tracking service delivery and development in their communities.

He said in order to ensure transparency and accountability in the delivery of government's capital projects countrywide, the budget and national planning arm of the ministry was working on a Web App –called the Eye Mark, to assist citizens to report on government's projects and programmes earmarked for their communities using their mobile phones and in real time.

He said the application would soon be launched as it is about 90 per cent developed, stating that the government required the active participation in the process of tying budget provisions to projects and getting time value of money earmarked for capital projects as governance remained a collective responsibility by all citizens.

Agba, said the ministry would continue to support the FIRS and provide the enabling environment and policy direction to strengthen its operations.

The minister said taxation remained the surest and most sustainable source of government revenue and a potent tool for economic growth adding that that the federal government had continued to review its tax policy to bring it in line with current realities.

He said the fiscal initiatives in the annual Finance Act, prioritize non-oil sectors such as primary agriculture production, shipping and air transport, as well as financial and insurance services and grants tax breaks for MSMEs as well as enshrines fiscal discipline in Government Owned Enterprises (GOE) by limiting their cost- torevenue ratio to a maximum of 50 per cent.

Agba, further pointed out that due to the uncertainty and unpredictability of oil prices in the international market, the government had continually placed a premium on the growth of the non-oil sector in the diversification of revenue sources.

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NEWS

UNVEILING ECOBANK’S STATE OF THE ART BRANCH...

L-R: Head, Branch Network, Ecobank Nigeria, Titiloye Olarinde; Managing Director/Regional Executive, Patrick Akinwuntan; Branch Manager, Admiralty Way, Lekki, Oreoluwa Essien and Regional PHOTO: SUNDAY ADIGUN Head, Lagos Region, Ayodele Osolake, at the unveiling of the bank’s state of the art Admiralty Branch, Lekki in Lagos... yesterday

Emirates Resumes Flights to Nigeria Chinedu Eze Emirates on Sunday landed at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja as well as the Murtala Muhammed International, Airport, Lagos as scheduled.

Both flights from Dubai, EK 785 to Abuja and EK 783 to Lagos were welcomed with water cannon salutes on landing, as they taxied to the avio-bridges.

Upon arrival, a cake cutting ceremony was also held between Emirates officials and the airport authorities to mark the resumption of operations.

Emirates’ Country Manager, Nigeria, Paulos Legesse said: “We are delighted to resume operations to and from Nigeria, and are pleased to see strong interest from our customers, reflected in robust forward bookings from the time of our announcement, as well as today’s full flights from Dubai

to Abuja and Lagos.

“The services will also give our customers the opportunity once again to safely experience Emirates’ superior product and service, offering them convenient travel options to Dubai, an already popular destination for Nigerian travellers, as well as seamless connectivity other key cities across our network.”

The aircraft being deployed to both Nigerian cities were the three class Boeing 777-300ER which offers eight luxurious First Class suites, 42 generous Business Class seats, and over 300 seats in Economy Class.

Customers across all classes were able to enjoy the airline’s regional delicacies onboard, as well as its renowned in-flight entertainment system, ice, featuring over 4,500 channels of on-demand entertainment, including Nollywood films and content.

GANA: BUHARI’S FAILURE TO IMPLEMENT 2014 CONFAB REPORT, TERRIBLE MISTAKE Gana, who spoke on Sunday in Uvwiamuge, Agbarho, Delta State, during the thanksgiving service to conclude activities marking the 90th anniversary of the Urhobo Progress Union (UPU) Worldwide, said there would hardly be peace in the absence of justice and fairness in any society.

The elder statesman, however, maintained that, he did not share sentiments of persons, who were clamouring for the balkanisation of the country, saying he believed strongly in a united Nigeria, where justice and fairness were served to everyone irrespective of political or religious inclinations.

“We, in the middlebelt of Nigeria, are great lovers of peace, justice and fairness. The last administration convened a national conference in 2014 and we agreed on some certain fundamentals to ensure justice and fairness. Unfortunately, when this government came in, they made a terrible mistake. They never touched that report and that is the problem.

“That’s why we are now saying we should start that conversation.

We should talk to one another and assure one another of justice and fairness, because without equity, there can’t be peace. Without equity, we cannot be together.

Let me appeal to the federal government to promote peace, equity and justice. Let me also appeal to those people, who are agitating that there’s tremendous

power in being united. Let’s not fight to scatter and divide Nigeria.

We are better being together,” he stated.

He congratulated the Urhobo Nation on the 90th anniversary of UPU, stressing that Urhobo people had played prominent roles in stabilising and promoting the unity of Nigeria.

The former minister, had at an earlier engagement, said the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) would be swept out of office in 2023, because it had committed a lot of injustices against humanity, adding that Nigerians were fed up with their leaders.

Gana said this at the weekend in Effurun, near Warri, Delta State, while delivering a lecture titled: "Raising 21st Century Leaders for Nigeria" at Youth Arise Conference 2021.

The Youth Arise Nigeria Conference with large turnout in attendance from within and Outside Delta was put together

by Advocates of Paradigm Shift in Governance.

They included Deacon Chris Iyowaye, Hon. Gibson Akporehe, Phillip Adu-Odogwu, Cogent Owhe and Lady E Ejiro Umukoro with the goal of raising the civic and political consciousness of youths in how they engage governance, get their PVC as a civic duty while volunteering and investing their time in being useful citizens rather than be purchaseable electorate.

Emirates operates to Abuja with EK 785 and 786. EK 785 departs Dubai at 1100 hrs, arriving in Abuja at 1540hrs. The return flight, EK 786 takes off from Abuja at 1900, arriving in Dubai at 0435hrs the next day. Emirates flight EK 783 to Lagos departs Dubai at 1030hrs, arriving in Lagos at 1540hrs. The

return flight EK 784 departs Lagos at 1810hrs, arriving in Dubai at 0415hrs the next day.

The airline said to ensure the safety of travellers, visitors, and the community, COVID-19 PCR tests are mandatory for all inbound passengers arriving to Dubai, including UAE citizens,

residents and tourists, irrespective of the country they are coming from. Travellers coming from Nigeria must hold a negative COVID-19 PCR test certificate for a test taken no more than 72 hours before departure.

In addition, the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has

specified designated laboratories for passengers departing Nigeria and travellers must obtain their certificate from one of the labs listed to be accepted on the flight.

Travellers coming from Nigeria will also need to take another COVID-19 PCR test on arrival at Dubai International Airport.

Despite FG’s Plea, Electricity Workers Cripple Power Supply in Abuja, Environs Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja Despite a federal government statement pleading with the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) not to embark on an industrial action, the workers yesterday made good their threat, crippling power supply in parts of Abuja and environs.

The affected areas under the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC) franchise included Abuja, Nasarawa, Kogi, parts of Edo, Niger and Kaduna states.

Specifically, the protesters attached to the AEDC said they were embarked on the industrial action over the non-payment of their entitlements for over 20 months.

The federal government at the weekend through the ministry of power had cautioned workers

against the action, as a consequence of the impact of the ownership tussle in the Distribution Company (Disco).

Minister of State, Power, Mr Goddy Jedy-Agba, had urged members of the labour union to follow due process in airing their grievances, stressing that going contrary to established rules will run against extant laws which may have unintended consequences.

The minister had advised the union members to be, “cautious and responsible to avoid endangering the fragile state of our electricity infrastructure which the present government is working hard to strengthen.”

But in defiance, members of staff of the company who are demanding the payment of their 2020 bonus and other entitlements and remittance of pensions allegedly deducted by

the company to their pension fund administrators, shut down some the of facilities belonging to the AEDC. “Enough is Enough! Pay us our outstanding pension remittances, thrift/corporative deductions, 2020 productivity bonus, bulk rent and union check off bonus,” some of the banners in a number of the AEDC’s offices in Abuja read.

In its reaction, management of the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN) informed that though it had available bulk power for delivery to the distribution load centres of the AEDC to offtake for its customers, power evacuation from injection substations across the franchise area had been disrupted.

“TCN regrets this disruption and assures Nigerians that normal bulk power delivery to AEDC will be restored as soon as the injection

substations are opened for onward electricity supply to consumers,” a statement by TCN’s General Manager, Public Affairs, Ndidi Mbah, stated.

Also, a statement from the AEDC signed by its Public Affairs Manager, Oyebode Fadipe urged the distribution company’s customers to be calm as all the pending issues were being resolved.

“Following the industrial action embarked upon by the National Union of Electricity Employees, power supply to some of our areas of operation, especially those on the 11kV network, may be affected.

“We would like to assure all our customers that all hands are on deck to resolve the issues that prompted this action. We would also like to apologise to our customers for the inconvenience and disruption,” the Disco stated.

Direct Primaries: CSOs Dispute N500bn Cost Claim Deji Elumoye in Abuja Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) under the aegis of Civil Society Partners on Electoral Reform have disputed the N500 billion estimated cost to organise direct primaries for political parties describing it as a hoax.

The CSOs have, however, provided alternative estimates in four categories that could, “guide the thinking of those who want to buy into the ridiculous N500 billion projection,” adding that it would cost the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) far less to organise direct primaries for the 18 political parties.

The CSOs in a statement by the Executive Director, Adopt A Goal for Development Initiative, Ariyo-Dare Atoye, and endorsed

by Centre for Liberty, Raising New Voices, Youth and Students Advo-

cates for Development Initiative (YSAD), The Nigerian Alliance, The Art and Civics Table and Speak Out Africa Initiative, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to ignore the propaganda and sign the bill The CSOs stated: “While we are happy that INEC has favourably replied to Mr President’s request, we want to urge President Muhammadu Buhari to ignore the rumours, scheming's and distractions, and immediately sign the Electoral Act 2021 as a legacy and birthday gift to Nigerians, especially the youths.

“We are not doing the work of INEC, but as stakeholders and partners who have been consistently involved in pushing for the passage and signing of the electoral bill, we owe the public and the nation a duty to dispel the rumour of N500 billion for direct primaries with alternative information."

The CSOs further submitted that: “Our rough projection on what INEC may be spending only on using NYSC members to monitor the direct primaries system could help to guide the thinking of those who have been deceived or may want to buy into the ridiculous figure in circulation.

“Bear in mind that we do not expect that all the 18 political parties will have candidates for every position in the five categories of the general elections and will be able to conduct direct primaries in all the 8809 wards.

“By our rough estimates: at N30, 000 each for 17,628 NYSC monitors, participating in five primaries of 18 political parties, it will cost 79,281,000,000; at N20,000 each for 17,628 NYSC monitors, participating in five primaries of 18 political parties, it will cost 47,568,600,000.

“At N10,000 each for 17,628 NYSC monitors, participating in five primaries of 18 political parties, it will cost 15,856,200,000.

“By our observation, the two major parties (PDP & APC) may decide to merge their primaries and reduce it from five to two or three (just like the general elections that will be conducted on two separate dates).

“Also, we expect the other 16 smaller parties to continue their simple process of selecting candidates because of lack of presence in every ward and the logistics of doing so.

“We however concede that INEC is at liberty to deploy one monitor per ward in some cases because there is no major obligation for the commission to perform beyond the constitutional mandate of monitoring party primaries and congresses in this regard."

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NEWS

MTN LAGOS ROADSHOW...

L-R: Past President, Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), Mike Itegboje; Chief Executive Officer, MTN Nigeria Communications Plc., Karl Olutokun Toriola; President, CIS, Olatunde Amolegbe; Chief Executive Officer, Chapel Hill Denham, Bolaji Balogun and Chief Financial Officer, MTN Nigeria Communications Plc., Modupe Kadri, during the nationwide roadshow in support of MTN's retail offer at Lagos Marriot Hotel, Lagos... yesterday

Report: COVID-19 Induced Learning Disruption May Cost Students $17trn in Lifetime Earnings Obinna Chima The present generation of students now risks losing $17 trillion in lifetime earnings in present value, or about 14 percent of today’s global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as a result of COVID-19 pandemic-related school closures, according to a new report published yesterday by the World Bank, UNESCO, and UNICEF. The new projection revealed that the impact was more severe than previously thought, and far exceeded the $10 trillion estimates released in 2020.

In addition, the report titled: “The State of the Global Education Crisis: A Path to Recovery,” showed that in low- and middle-income countries, the share of children living in Learning Poverty – already 53 per cent before the pandemic – could potentially reach 70 per cent given the long school closures and the ineffectiveness of remote learning to ensure full learning continuity during school closures.

“The COVID-19 crisis brought education systems across the world to a halt,” World Bank Global Director for Education, Jaime Saavedra said.

“Now, 21 months later, schools remain closed for millions of children, and others may never return to school. The loss of learning that many children are experiencing is morally unacceptable. And the

potential increase of Learning Poverty might have a devastating impact on future productivity, earnings, and well-being for this generation of children and youth, their families, and the world’s economies,” she added.

According to the report, simulations estimating that school closures resulted in significant learning losses are now being corroborated by real data.

For example, it stated that regional evidence from Brazil, Pakistan, rural India, South Africa, and Mexico, among others, showed substantial losses in math and reading.

Furthermore, analysis showed that in some countries, on average, learning losses are roughly proportional to the length of the closures.

“However, there was great heterogeneity across countries and by subject, students’ socioeconomic status, gender, and grade level. For example, results from two states in Mexico show significant learning losses in reading and in math for students aged 10-15. “The estimated learning losses were greater in math than reading, and affected younger learners, students from low-income backgrounds, as well as girls disproportionately,” it added.

According to the report, barring a few exceptions, the general trends from emerging evidence around the world aligned with the findings

from Mexico, suggesting that the crisis has exacerbated inequities in education, It found that children from low-income households, children with disabilities, and girls were less likely to access remote learning than their peers. This was often due to lack of accessible technologies and the availability of electricity, connectivity, and devices, as well as discrimination and gender norms, it added.

Its findings also showed that younger students had less access to remote learning and were more affected by learning loss than

older students, especially among pre-school age children in pivotal learning and development stages.

The detrimental impact on learning has disproportionately affected the most marginalised or vulnerable. Learning losses were greater for students of lower socioeconomic status in countries like Ghana, Mexico, and Pakistan, it added.

“The COVID-19 pandemic shut down schools across the world, disrupting education for 1.6 billion students at its peak, and exacerbated the gender divide.

In some countries, we’re seeing

A fresh leadership crisis has erupted in the fold of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Bauchi State as a state High Court has granted an order stopping the inauguration of the executive elected recently A faction believed to be loyal to the Nigerian Ambassador to Germany, Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, was believed to have approached the court.

A member of the faction, Alhaji Hassan Mohammed Sherif, ap-

proached the court to seek an order restraining the National Caretaker Committee of the APC led by Mai Mala Buni from inaugurating the new leadership in the state.

Thus, the Bauchi State High Court, consequently gave an interim order last Friday,restraining the national leadership of the party from administering the oath of office on the Hon. Babayo Aliyu Misau-led executive members elected recently.

The development was, however, the height of the crisis that trailed

report also noted that while nearly every country in the world offered remote learning opportunities for students, the quality and reach of such initiatives differed – in most cases, they offered, at best, a rather partial substitute for in-person instruction.

“Reopening schools must remain a top and urgent priority globally to stem and reverse learning losses.

Countries should put in place Learning Recovery Programs with the objective of assuring that students of this generation attain at least the same competencies of the previous generation,” it added.

Akpanudoedehe: We'll Soon Resolve Leadership Crisis in Kano APC Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja National Secretary of the Caretaker/Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator John Akpanudoedehe, has assured members of the party that its committee would soon intervene and resolve the leadership crisis rocking the Kano State chapter of the party.

The Kano APC has been

embroiled in crisis following the battle for the control of its structures between Governor Abdullahi Ganduje, which led a faction and a former governor of the state and Senator representing Kano Central, Ibrahim Shekarau, who has an ally the senator representing Kano North, Jubrin Barau, a governorship hopeful.

The supremacy battle amongst the three has led to the conduct of parallel Congresses in the state.

A federal High Court sitting in

Fresh Crisis Rocks Bauchi APC as Court Restrains Buni from Inaugurating Faction Segun Awofadeji in Bauchi

greater learning losses among girls and an increase in their risk of facing child labor, gender-based violence, early marriage, and pregnancy. To stem the scars on this generation, we must reopen schools and keep them open, target outreach to return learners to school, and accelerate learning recovery," said UNICEF Director of Education Robert Jenkins.

The report highlighted that, to date, less than three per cent of governments’ stimulus packages were allocated to education. Much more funding will be needed for immediate learning recovery. The

the conduct of the APC State Congress, which produced two factional leaders with Hon Sanusi Aliyu Kunde loyal to Tuggar and Misau, loyal to the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, both claiming to be the legitimate APC leaders in Bauchi State.

Copies of the court order, which was made available to journalists at the weekend, restrained Buni, Adamu and a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon Yakubu Dogara and their ‘privies, agents, cohorts and representatives in whatever capacity from

administering the oath of office or recognised as Bauchi APC leaders.

The court also ordered Misau and those that emerged as APC leaders along with him from ‘parading themselves in whatsoever manners or means and or acting in whatever capacities or names called as Bauchi State Executive Officers of APC pending the hearing of the substantive suit filed’.

The order therefore persists pending the determination of the suit brought before it by the plaintiff, Hassan Sheriff.

Abuja, last week, voided the Ward and State Congresses conducted by the Ganduje faction, which produced Abdullahi Abbas as Chairman.

Following the Court pronouncement, Ahmadu Haruna Zago (Danzago), who emerged at the parallel Congress conducted by the Shekarau faction, had effectively emerged chairman of party.

However, speaking with journalists yesterday in Abuja, Akpanudoedehe disclosed that the APC national secretariat was yet to get a copy of the judgement, delivered by Justice Muazu of the Federal High Court, Abuja.

"We are responsible leaders of the party and we won't like to comment on a judgement that we haven't seen. All I can tell you now is that we are going to apply for a Certified True Copy of the judgement. We haven't seen it. We need to study the judgement."

Akpanudoedehe described as unfounded the allegation that the Caretaker Committee sent two different Committees to Kano State to conduct the State Congresses.

"We didn't give letters to two Committees. How could we have done that? We won't put fire in

our own house. We know the people we gave official letters to go to Kano and conduct official assignments. That's the team we will accord recognition," he said.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Committee that conducted the Congress that produced the displaced Abass, Mr. Auwwal Ibrahim, has insisted that the Congress attended by Ganduje was the authentic Congresses.

He said, "It was very fair and very cordial, because we were drafted from the national headquarters of the party with my name and the names of our members. We collected our mandate from the APC headquarters through the office of the Director of Organisation, Professor Al Mustapha Mednaer.

"We went for the congress with all the materials and we conducted the congress in Kano without any hitches. We met with all the Stakeholders, from the governor to the local organising committee. We did what we did and we came back with the result to the national secretariat.

"All my members were with me. I have the pictures, including motion pictures to prove that we were all together at the Congress.

We were seven all in all and everybody signed the results sheets and the report," he said.

TUESDAY DECEMBER 7, 2021 • T H I S D AY

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TEN RED LIST: UK UNDER FIRE FOR TRAVEL APARTHEID AGAINST NIGERIA punitive, indefensible and unjust.

The Secretary General of the United Nations, Mr. Antonio Guterres, also joined to strongly condemn what he termed “travel apartheid” being meted on some developing countries, mostly in Africa as part of their strategy to curtail the spread of Omicron variant.

This is just as Nigeria's High Commissioner to the UK, Sarafa Tunji Isola, who was on a media round in UK yesterday, aligned with the position of the Guterres in describing the action by the UK government as "travel apartheid."

Isola said what was expected on the matter was a global approach to halt the spread of the disease and not selective punishment.

Speaking further, the minister also questioned the decision of the UK government, saying it was not driven by science.

The UK has now joined other countries, including Canada, which have taken a similar action against Nigeria over Omicron.

"How do you slam this kind of discriminatory action on a country of 200 million people, just because of less than two dozen cases? Whereas British citizens and residents are allowed to come in from Nigeria, non-residents from the same country are banned.

“The two groups are coming from the same country, but being subjected to different conditions.

Why won't Britain allow people in both categories to come in, and be subjected to the same conditions of testing and quarantine? This is why this decision to ban travellers from Nigeria, who are neither citizens nor residents, is grossly discriminatory and punitive," Mohammed fumed.

He also raised eyebrows against the UK government action, insisting Omicron did not originate in Nigeria.

"Let me say straight away that it's up to the Presidential Steering Committee (PSC) to respond to this action by the British government and others, and I have no doubt that the Committee will respond appropriately.

"However, as the spokesman for the federal government, I can say, without mincing words, that the decision by the British government to put Nigeria on the red list, just because of less than two dozen cases of Omicron which, by the way, did not originate in Nigeria, is unjust, unfair, punitive, indefensible and discriminatory. The decision is also not driven by science," he said.

He said the British took a decision that was prompted by reflex responses instead of science and taking a serious look at the issue of access to vaccines, “as well as ensure that it is based on the principles grounded in the right of every human to enjoy the highest attainable standard of health without discrimination on the basis of race, religion, political belief, economic or any other social condition."

The minister noted that such knee-jack reaction of placing a travel ban on Nigeria would be detrimental to the country’s quest to conclusively tackle the pandemic.

The minister added: "Many developed countries have used the advantage of their enormous resources or relationship to sign agreements with manufacturers to supply their countries with vaccines

ahead of making them available for use by other countries.

“Even before the clinical trials were completed, millions of doses of the most promising vaccines have been bought by Britain, US, Japan and the EU. Some of these countries bought doses five times the size of their population, while others, mostly in Africa, have little or no access to vaccines.

“This is the real issue to address, instead of choosing the easy path of travel bans, which the UN Secretary General called ‘Travel Apartheid.’

Let the world know that no one is safe until everyone is safe" He stressed that in the wake of the discovery of Omicron, the PSC, unlike the UK adopted science-driven actions, rather than those based on emotions and other extraneous reasons.

According to him, PSC reviewed its International Travel Protocol, which took effect on Sunday, December 5, 2021, aimed at further reducing the risk of importation and exportation of COVID-19, especially the variants of concern.

Under the revised protocol, passengers arriving in Nigeria are expected to provide evidence of and comply with rules including COVID-19 PCR test to be done within 48 hours before departure, post-arrival Day 2 COVID-19 PCR test, self-isolation for seven days (for unvaccinated and partiallyvaccinated individuals) and day 7 post-arrival exit PCR test (for unvaccinated and partially vaccinated individuals) among others.

"If any country is not satisfied with them, why not simply subject Nigerians arriving in their country to their own PCR tests and proven conditions, like quarantine, instead of banning them out rightly?" he wondered.

Muhammed expressed hope that the British government would review the decision to ban Nigeria and rescind its decision immediately, saying Nigeria should not be on the red list as it had handled the COVID-19 pandemic with utmost responsibility and based on science, and has rightly earned global accolades for its efforts.

UN Secretary General Rejects ‘Travel Apartheid’

Speaking in an interview, Guterres insisted that targeting the most vulnerable nations with travel ban for revealing the existence of the virus that was already present in Europe was unacceptable in a world that has the instruments to ensure safe travel.

Guterres said travel apartheid must be condemned, saying it was unacceptable.

“We have the instruments to have safe travels, let us use those instruments to avoid this kind of… allow me to say, travel apartheid, which I think is unacceptable.

What is unacceptable is to have one part of the world that is one of the most vulnerable parts of the world economy condemned to a lockout when they were the ones that revealed the existence of a new variant that, by the way already existed in other parts of the world, including in Europe as we know.

“So this is a very strong appeal that I launch, an appeal to commonsense that with a virus that is truly borderless travel restrictions that isolate anyone or country or

.. FAILS TO RED LIST 17 EUROPEAN COUNTRIES DESPITE RECORDING OMICRON now been detected in at least 48 countries, with 17 of them in Europe, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

For instance, checks by THISDAY yesterday showed as of yesterday, Austria had reported 10 cases of the new disease variant, while Croatia and Denmark had reported two and 18 cases respectively.

Also, while the total number of the omicron cases in Finland stood at seven as of yesterday, Iceland had recorded 10 cases; Latvia – four; Spain – seven; Sweden – seven; Switzerland – nine; France – 25; Germany – 15, and Italy – a total

of four cases.

Similarly, other European countries that had reported omicron on their soil included Netherlands with a total of 18 cases as of yesterday; Norway – 19 cases; Portugal – 34; Belgium – nine and Luxembourg with just one case.

UK's failure to red list its European allies reinforces the suspicion that African countries are being targeted by the Western world. The racist undertone becomes even more obvious considering the speed of the action against African countries and the deliberate attempt to tag the virus an African virus.

region are not only deeply unfair and punitive they are ineffective."

In a move that many have described as rushed, ill-advised and lacking scientific basis added Nigeria to its red list, which contains 11 mostly Southern African countries becomes effective from today.

In addition, on Monday, the UK government, took further measures against Nigeria as the British High Commission announced that it would pause “making decisions” on visitor visa applications from all red list countries, including Nigeria.

Latest figures from the UK government on its website revealed that 21 cases of omicron reported in England were linked to travel from Nigeria.

Nigeria’s High Commissioner to UK kicks against Restriction

On his part, Isola, in an interview with BBC, described the travel ban as an apartheid in the sense that, “we are not dealing with an endemic. We are dealing with a pandemic. Whenever we have a challenge there must be collaboration.”

He added: “Nigeria’s Minister of Health did come out with a statement yesterday saying between November 22nd and 28th, 67 passengers that tested positive were discovered in Nigeria and many of them happened to be travellers from the UK. But that would not be a basis for Nigeria taking such action against UK. “The message is very clear. If there was a mistake, it takes courage of leadership to admit it was an error and not a sign of weakness.”

He pointed out that the cases of omicron discovered in Nigeria were from in-bound travelers.

According to him, a lot of persons would be greatly affected by the action of the UK government, saying, “a lot of people have gone home – doctors, nurses - who are working in the UK and providing health services to NHIS and you can imagine the effect, even on Britain.

In addition, we are talking of the anger of 200 million people. This decision is going to hamper our relationship with UK, which is why I am not happy about that.”

“As at today, this variant is classified as a mild one and there has not been any hospitalisation nor death, scientist still working on it. This is quite different from the Delta variant and decision must be based on scientific and empirical evidence.

“We must have the facts that the variant we are talking about is dangerous. And that is why we need collaboration all over the world to ascertain the nature of the variant,” he added.

The UK, at the weekend, had updated its so called Red List, indicating countries prohibited from entering the UK in view of the new COVID-19 variant called “omicron”.

Also speaking with Arise News Channel yesterday, Ishola revealed that Nigeria would this week begin high level discussions with UK, in its efforts to seek a quick and amicable resolution to the restriction of Nigerians from visiting the country.

He said this week, Nigeria would begin talks with the British government, but quickly added that he was not willing to pre-empt what the country would do if its request to be delisted from the list was ignored.

He opined that under normal circumstances, the world should have saluted the efforts of the South African Medical Association for alerting everyone to the Omicron variant and rally round to solve the problem rather than the discriminatory action.

The high commissioner maintained South Africa had confirmed that the variant does not involve any hospitalisation or death, stressing that the issue of slamming bans on account of a “mild variant” was not the right thing to do.

While stating that the coronavirus did not originate from Africa,

he noted that the leaders of the continent were doing everything to ensure that the vaccines come to Africa but that what comes to Africa has been very limited.

According to the envoy, Nigeria has handled the COVID-19 pandemic excellently and should be commended , reason the travel restrictions this time is causing an outrage.

While insisting that the UK’s decision wasn’t backed by scientific evidence, he said: “So, this is not acceptable. That's why we're making it very clear. There is no scientific evidence as of today that shows that this variant is deadlier.”

He narrated that Nigerians were already reacting to the travel ban in their different ways, recalling that on a on a Virgin Atlantic flight from Lagos earlier in the day, only 24 people were on board which was a form of subtle protest because an average Nigerian does not believe that the country deserves the shabby treatment.

“I'm sure many of them will not subject themselves to such (conditions). The travel ban came Saturday night. Today is the first working day and I can assure you that before the end of the week, we will engage with the host authorities,” he assured.

He mentioned that with a relationship that dates back more than a century, both countries be deepening their ties rather than taking actions that will taint the relationship.

“The ties between Nigeria and Britain date back to more than one century. This relationship is not where it should be. And we're just making efforts to deepen the relationship before this ban came up.

“I don't even want to think that there won't be a reconsideration of the decision. We'll have to dialogue at the end of the day to have a compromise on this issue,” the envoy added.

Stating that the matter has its economic and political dimensions, he expressed that hope that the British government will reverse the decision as it does not make much sense to ban a country with three cases where’s those with tens of cases were not listed.

Stakeholders, Travellers Condemn UK’s Decision to Put Nigeria on Red list

In a related development, aviation industry stakeholders and air travellers have condemned the decision of UK to put Nigeria on its redlist.

Speaking with THISDAY yesterday, the Chief Operating Officer of Dana Air, Mr. Obi Mbanuzuo, described the decision of UK as a knee-jerk reaction, saying the UK was aware that the omicron was already in Europe even before South Africa announced it to the world, but failed to take action.

“This is a knee jerk reaction which will be soon reversed once they realise that Omicron is already deeply embedded in UK. They can't keep omicron put by banning Nigerians. What of the Netherlands where we now know had omicron even before the South Africans announced it?” Mbanuzuo said.

Also, the Managing Director of Flight and Logistics Solutions Limited, Mr. Amos Akpan, said the UK government's decision was not backed by scientific data.

“The data in public domain shows higher number of infected persons found in UK, while the official data says only three cases found in Nigeria. The Omicron variant existed in Spain and a few European countries before a South African scientist pronounced its existence.

“The strict restrictions on Nigerians and other Africans are scientifically unjustified. Therefore, we are left to view it as a kneejerk political reaction. If they stop Nigerians from entry into UK, will they also stop Spanish, Germans, Italians, and Indonesians, who have higher number of infections of the Omicron variant?

“Playing politics with medical science to this extent smacks of apartheid and racism and will not

stop further mutation and spread of the virus. The season for this kneejerk reaction is bad for air travel and tourism business for UK, and for Nigeria. British Airways, Virgin Atlantic Airways will feel the impact,” Akpan added.

In his contribution, the President of the National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies (NANTA), Mrs. Susan Akporiaye condemned the decision of the UK to put Nigeria in the red list and said it was totally uncalled for.

She disclosed that a lot of Nigerians and students in the UK who wanted to come to Nigeria have since cancelled their travel plans, regretting that the action taken by the UK could discourage vaccination.

“The decision taken by the UK by putting Nigeria on the red list is affecting our business.

Many people have cancelled their flights. You know, the UK is second home to many Nigerians. A lot of people are cancelling their travel plans because they know if they come to Nigeria they will be made to pay over 2000 pounds and they said they would only review this

by December 20, 2021.

“They will review it but it is totally uncalled for. That action will discourage vaccination. After all, Delta variant of COVID-19 appeared in the UK in February this year but there was no overreaction like this. This is making people not to go for the vaccine. It is unlike the US, which is saying that it is only fully vaccinated people that can come,” she said.

Travel expert and the organiser of Akwaaba African Travel Market, Ikechi Ukoh told THISDAY that it was disappointing that the UK could put Nigeria on the red list as the two countries have very close relationship and there is nothing Nigeria has done that the UK was not involved.

Speaking in similar vein, industry consultant and the CEO of Belujane Konsult, Chris Aligbe said that as a country, the UK took the decision to protect its citizens, even though he pointed out that such a decision was hasty.

However, the Regional Airport Manager, South West in charge of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport Terminal, Lagos, Mrs. Victoria Shin-Aba, told THISDAY that the UK carriers, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic operated their flights from Lagos on Monday but the only difference was that BA had shifted its flights from night to morning.

She said that there was no indication yet that other international carriers have received any directive from their host countries, adding that airlines like Lufthansa, Air France and others operated their normal flights from Lagos.

The Secretary General of Aviation Round Table, a think-tank group in the industry, Group Captain John Ojikutu (retd), told THISDAY that considering the long, good relations Nigeria has with the UK, putting Nigeria on red list was condemnable.

He said that diplomatic relations was guided by the principle of reciprocity, noting that Nigeria could ban UK nationals but not British Carriers, as UK did not ban Nigerian carriers, but Nigerian citizens.

Ojikutu added: “What economic sense would it make for BA to be coming to Nigeria under its COVID-19 rules when 90 per cent of its inbound and outbound passengers are Nigerians?”

NARD: Omicron Not as Deadly to Warrant Flight Restrictions

However, the National Association Resident Doctors (NARD) has said studies were yet to be concluded on the virulent nature of the Omicron variant, saying based on what is known currently, the virus strain was yet to claim many lives to warrant rush to impose travel ban.

NARD also urged the federal government to take proper measures to protect Nigerians and check further spread of Omicron variant as well as any other infectious diseases.

Speaking in a telephone inter-

view with THISDAY, the President of NARD, Dr. Dare Godiya Ishaya said there was no need for panic.

When asked if the Omicron variant was not a serious health threat to humanity, Ishaya said: “Well, from a scientific point of view, it's difficult to say because this variant of COVID-19 is only being studied and we don't know for sure, how virulent it is. However, with what is known, the variant hasn't claimed any lives yet, it may be a milder form than the existing variants hence these bans may be a storm in a teacup.

"On the other hand, countries have the responsibility of protecting their people and if the UK authorities feel this ban will help their people, we can't question that.

"It's left for us also to take measures that will protect Nigerians from COVID-19 and other diseases."

CACOVID Urges Nigerians to Get Vaccinated

The Coalition Against COVID-19 (CACOVID) also appealed to Nigerians not to let their guard down in the fight against the virulent virus.

CACOVID which is a coalition of private sector operators, mostly financial institutions and the Central Bank of Nigeria, urged Nigerians to ensure they make themselves available to take the vaccines and also adhere to all COVID-19 protocols.

“The organisation also appealed to those who are yet to take their second dose of the vaccine to do so in order to be fully immunised against the virus.

“CACOVID continues to support the NCDC in its cause to eradicate COVID-19 in all spheres of the country through the dissemination of helpful communication materials that’ll sensitise Nigerians against the virus as well as provision of equipment crucial to the fight.

Support the cause, do your part, get vaccinated today,” it added.

According to the group, just when it seemed like a semblance of normalcy was returning to the world after a grueling battle with COVID-19, yet another variant of the virus simply known as Omicron reared its head.

“The variant which was first identified by scientists in South Africa on November 24, 2021, has been labelled a “variant of concern” (VOC) by the World Health Organisation. While further epidemiological studies are currently underway to better understand the virus, current findings have revealed that Omicron has several mutations that may greatly impact its spread and the severity of illness it causes.

“The strain has been detected in at least 20 countries, including Belgium, Hong Kong, Israel, Germany, Australia, the United Kingdom and very recently, “Nigeria as reported by the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC). In its report, the organisation elaborated that the cases were recent arrivals in the country with a history of travel to South Africa in the past week. It stated that follow up to ensure isolation, linkage to clinical care, contact tracing and other relevant response activities have commenced.

“Since the news of the outbreak, many countries, Nigeria inclusive, have reacted swiftly by placing a raft of travel restrictions and protocols.

For all inbound travellers to Nigeria, it is mandatory to present a negative COVID-19 test result done not more than 48 hours before departure,” it added.

Biden's Medical Adviser Urges Nigerians to Take Booster Jabs

This is just as yesterday, the Chief Medical Adviser to United States President, Dr. Anthony Facci, who in a virtual presentation addressed stakeholders at the National COVID-19 Summit held at the National Intelligence Agency, Abuja, canvassed for the use of booster doses in Nigeria to provide extra layer of protection Continued on page 36

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NEWS

WORKING TO IMPROVE CANCER HEALTHCARE...

L-R: CEO of Tanit Medical Ltd, Anthony Abou Nader; Varian’s Regional Sales Manager for West & East Africa, Ansu Durukay; United States Ambassador, Mary Beth Leonard; and Varian’s Head of Government Affairs and Market Development for Europe, Middle East and Africa, Kevin Massoudi, during a reception in honor of Varian in Lagos... recently

Buhari Charges Military to Evolve Outof-Box Strategies to End Insurgency Kingsley Nwezeh in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari, yesterday, charged the Armed Forces of Nigeria to evolve new strategies in containing insecurity in the country.

He, therefore, called for more focus on intelligence gathering in order to defeat the adversaries of the nation.

Buhari, who spoke at the Chief of Army Staff Conference, held in

Abuja, also tasked the military to sustain the winning tempo of the war to compel more insurgents to surrender in order to bring the war to an end.

The conference was attended by the Senate President, Senator Ahmed Lawal; Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila; Chairmen of the National Assembly Committees on Defence and Army; service chiefs, former army and defence chiefs,

notably, Gen Martin Luther Agwai (rtd) Gen Alexander Ogomudia (rtd), Gen. Alwalu Kazi (rtd) , Lt. Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, Lt. Gen Minima, and Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai; heads of EFCC, Customs and Excise as well as Nigerian Correctional Service, among others.

The president's charge came as the Minister of Defence, Maj. Gen Bashir Magashi (rtd),warned military officers to remain apolitical even as the Chief of Army Staff,

Lt. Gen Faruk Yahaya, pledged loyalty of the Nigerian Army to the Constitution and the president.

President Buhari, who was represented by the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Lucky Irabor, said his government was in talks with friendly nations to equip the military.

"One of the key agenda of this administration is security.

It is pertinent to note that for democracy to thrive or survive,

Citizenship: Court to Decide Atiku's Status Feb 21, 2022 Alex Enumah in Abuja Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Federal High Court, Abuja, yesterday, adjourned till February 21, 2022 to deliver his judgment in a suit querying the Nigerian citizenship of former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar.

Ekwo announced the date for judgment after counsel in the matter adopted their written submissions in respect of the matter.

The suit filed on February 11, 2019, before the presidential election, was brought by the Incorporated Trustees of Egalitarian Mission for Africa.

Specifically, the plaintiff is asking the Court to disqualify Atiku as the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and to prevent him from contesting the February 16, 2019 presidential election over alleged circumstances surrounding his citizenship.

Defendants include Atiku, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the AttorneyGeneral of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice as well as the Attorney General of Adamawa State.

They are asking the court to interpret Sections 25(1) & (2) and 131(a) of the 1999 Constitution and determine, “Whether Section 25 of the Constitution is the sole authority that spells out ways by which a person can become a Nigerian citizen by birth.

“Whether by the provisions of Section 131(a) of the Constitution, only a Nigerian citizen by birth can contest for the office of president.

Whether by the combined interpretation of Sections 25(1) & (2) and

131(a) of the Constitution and given the circumstances surrounding the birth of Atiku, he can be cleared

by PDP and INEC to contest for office of the president.”

The group went forth to ask the court to declare that by the combined interpretation of Sections 25(l) & (2) and 131(a) of the Constitution and given the circumstances surrounding Atiku’s birth, he could not be cleared by PDP and INEC to contest for president.

The plaintiff, in the suit, said if the court resolved the issues in its favour, it should declare that by the provisions of the 1999 Constitution, only a Nigerian citizen by birth could contest for president.

In an affidavit deposed to by one Michael Okejimi, a legal practitioner in the law firm of Kayode Ajulo, who filed the suit on behalf of the plaintiff, averred that Atiku was born on November 25, 1946 and that from Atiku’s personal testimony that was gazetted and published in most national dailies in circulation, he was from Jada town in Adamawa and Jada used to be in Ganye Local Government Area in Adamawa.

“That Ganye is regarded as the mother of the whole Chamba tribe and was never part of Nigeria legally as at the date of birth of Atiku. That none of Atiku’s parents or grandparents was born in Nigeria and his father died a citizen of Northern Cameroon in 1957 prior to the referendum of June 1, 1961 that made Northern Cameroon a part of Nigeria,” he stated.

In urging the court to dismiss the suit with substantial cost, Atiku and his party said the plaintiff, who lacked the locus standi (legal

right) to institute the action has failed to prove that Atiku was not a citizen of Nigeria.

Eyitayo Jegede (SAN), representing Atiku in a preliminary objection to the suit said the plaintiff’s case was statute barred, having been brought 129 days after the act complained of, which bordered on the nomination and eligibility of Atiku as a candidate of the PDP in the 2019 general election, while the primary election which the former Vice President emerged was conducted on the 6th of October, 2018, contrary to election 285(9) of the constitution.

His words: “The suit was filed on February 11, 2019 and ought to be heard and determined within 180 days as provided by Section 285(10) of the 1999 constitution (as amended) by the 4th Alteration No.21 Act, 2017.”

Other defendants in the matter

aligned with the submissions of the counsel to Atiku, in urging the court to dismiss the suit of the plaintiffs.

In his submissions, Akinola Oladimeji from the chambers of Kayode Ajulo, urged the court to dismiss the preliminary objections by the defendants, adding that the plaintiff has deposed to an affidavit to the effect that Atiku was not a citizen of Nigeria.

He said the argument canvassed

by Atiku and his party were of no moment and should be dismissed as misconceived and lacking in merit, adding also that the plaintiff had the locus stand to file the action, having shown sufficient and established a threat of injury he would suffer.

After listening to the submissions of all lawyers in the suit, Justice Ekwo then adjourned till February 21, 2022 to deliver judgment.

there must be the security of lives and properties. Therefore, as the army of a great nation, your role in the nation is paramount.

"In performing this role is the required equipment, training or motivation. As a government, we are doing all that is possible within the limits of available resources to equip the army and the Armed Forces of Nigeria to perform its roles.

"In addition to the indigenous efforts being embarked upon to build our military industrial complex, we are also into talks with friendly nations to equip you optimally for efficiency and effectiveness in the various operations you are undertaking.

"Some of the appointments and platforms procured are now being delivered, while others will soon arrive within the shortest possible time frame. While performing your constitutional roles, I urge you to remain apolitical and continue to operate within the framework of the principles of fundamental human rights and the laws of armed conflict", he said.

He noted that effective counterinsurgency measures required intelligence gathering hence the need to focus more on intelligence.

In his remarks, Magashi (rtd), urged the armed forces to remain professional in the conduct of its operations.

"It is pertinent to emphasise here on the need for the Armed Forces to remain professional in carrying out its constitutional roles.

"Remember that this was the oath you swore on joining the military.

Accordingly, you all must shun every form of politicking in the conduct of your responsibilities and in the aid to civil authorities", he said.

Earlier, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Faruk Yahaya, said the conference was designed to appraise the performance of the army and make projections for the next year.

He said the combined operations of the military services had so far curtailed insurgency.

"We are, thus, gathered here today and throughout this week to evaluate and appraise our activities and efforts so far towards achieving the overall objective of better positioning the Nigerian Army to face the tasks ahead in Year 2022 and beyond.

"The Chief of Army Staff Annual Conference holding at this time of the year makes it paramount that the performance of the Nigerian Army in the preceding quarters be appraised. This will afford the leadership of the Nigerian Army the opportunity to chart the way forward for better performance in the discharge of our constitutional roles in the Year 2022", he said.

Yahaya stated that the terror and insurgency in the North-east of the country significantly curtailed by the Nigerian Army and the MNJTF in conjunction with the Nigerian Airforce and the Nigerian Navy and other security agencies.

KWASU Expels 87 Students for Antisocial Behaviour Hammed Shittu in Ilorin Vice Chancellor of Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete, Professor Muhammed Mustapha Akanbi, SAN, has said it has in the last two sessions, expelled no fewer than 87 students for alleged antisocial behaviour.

He added that the students were expelled for alleged involvement in examination malpractices, drug abuse, internet fraud, robbery and others.

Akanbi, who spoke with journalists at Malete on the sideline of this weekend hybrid combined convocation ceremonies of the institution said, “Kwara State

University has zero tolerance for indiscipline and misconduct. All cases of indiscipline are investigated and appropriate punitive measures are taken against students found guilty of such offence.

"This is to ensure that the few bad eggs among students do not contaminate the decent ones.

Between 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 academic sessions, a total of 87 students were expelled from the university. Their expulsion followed investigation and establishment of their guilt by the Students Disciplinary Committee.”

Accordingly, Akanbi urged the federal government and National Universities Commission (NUC)

to formulate policies that make it mandatory for all students in tertiary institutions in Nigeria to live on campus.

“Students are also vulnerably exposed to antisocial influences, which are inimical to their health and academic career. Exposure to negative influence outside the university campus is majorly responsible for the involvement of some students in internet fraud, substance abuse and other untoward crimes.

“My administration is working very hard to reverse this trend.

Accommodation of greater percentage of our students in the university campus is one of

the ways we envisage will solve the challenge,” he said.

He also alleged that some commercial transporters “are serving as couriers for the sale and distribution of illicit drugs on the campus.”

On the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 convocation ceremonies, the professor of business law said, “In total, we are graduating 6,620 students; at this convocation, 3,864 for the 2019/2020 session and 2,756 for the 2020/2021 session.

“In addition, we are graduating 321 students for higher degrees in the 2019/2020 session and 96 in the 2020/2021 session. Among our first degree graduands, 96 made first class.”

TUESDAY DECEMBER 7, 2021 T H I S D AY

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NEWS

2023: Anyim Commences North-west Consultations, Inaugurates Lobby Committee Northern groups endorse him, say power should shift to south-east

Chuks Okocha in Abuja and John Shiklam in Kaduna Ahead of the 2023 general elections, former Senate President and Secretary to the Government Federation (SGF), Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, has started his presidential electioneering process by setting up a lobby group for the realisation of his aspiration.

Also, the Arewa Concerned Civil Society Organisations of Nigeria (ACCSON) that consist of 19 civil society groups has marshalled out reasons why Senator Anyim should be voted as the presidential candidate of PDP and subsequently elected President at the 2023 general election.

They also called on other political parties to zone their presidential tickets to the southeast.

Addressing media in Abuja, the spokesman of ACCSON, Comrade Abdulsalam Mohammed Kazeem described Anyim as a symbol of national unity.

He said the leadership of ACCSON realised that only two regions out of the six geo political

regions have not occupied either President or vice-President seat since 1999 till date, explaining that it is unfair and against any democratic standard worldwide.

According to him, “For instance, between 1999 to 2007, it was South-west and North-east, and between 2007 to 2015 it was between North-west,

South-south and North-west while between 2015 till date it is between North-west and South-west.

In view of this, he said: “The

South-east for instance, are part and parcel of the Nigerian project from day one till date and, they should be treated fairly just like other zones of

the country. They too deserve to get what others have gotten, because they have paid their dues in terms of contributions and consolidation of Nigeria.

AWARD WELL DESERVED…

L-R; Chairman/CEO, JOF Nigeria Limited, Mr. Segun Olugboyegun SAN; His Royal Majesty, Oba Adedokun Omoniyi Abolarin, Aroyinkeye 1, Orangun of Oke-lla Orangun and *rouS Chairman, Mutual Bene¿ts AssuranFe 3lF, Mr. Akin Ogunbiyi during the launFhing of *reat lfe AdYanFement Foundation and Fonferment of awards on distinguished alumni to Felebrate the 0th anniYersary of Obafemi Awolowo UniYersity in Lagos...reFently ABIODUN AJALA

NDLEA Launches National Police Kill Two Armed Robbery Suspects, Arrest Three in Anambra Drug Control Mastar Plan David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka

Michael Olugbode in Abuja, Ugo Aliogo and Oluchi Chibuzor in Lagos

The National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) has launched a Àve-year national action plan in Abuja. The launch is in collaboration with the 8nited Nations O΀ce on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

Speaking at the launch of the strategic document, the Chairman/Chief Executive O΀cer of the NDLEA, %rig General %uba Marwa (rtd), said the Àve-year national action plan would address the drug problem and its associated consequences in the country.

He said the master plan, built on four major pillars, addresses the drug issues in a comprehensive, balanced,

human rights-focused and gender-responsive manner.

The NDLEA boss, who was represented by the Secretary of the agency, Shadrach Haruna, said there has been three previous blueprints in the past and the NDCMP 2021-2025, the fourth and newest version, is built on the foundation of the three previous editions.

Marwa said: “I wish to start this remark by acknowledging the support of the European Union through the “Response to Drugs and Related Organised Crime in Nigeria” project (NGAV 16) and the UNODC for its enormous support to drug control activities and especially to the development of NDCMP 2021-2025, which is best described as a pragmatic “road map” to achieving our national drug control goals.”

FG Moves to Decongest Correctional Centres

Alex Enumah in Abuja

The federal government in a decisive step to enhance justice delivery as well as reduce drastically the number of inmates across custodial centres in the country, yesterday commenced virtual court sitting at the Kuje Correctional Centre, Abuja.

Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, SAN, in a remark at the launch of Virtual Court sitting facilities at the Kuje Correctional Centre, stated that the project was initiated to ensure the hearing and determination of urgent and time-bound cases, using the digital platform.

He said: “This system would equally ensure speedy dispensation of trials in line with section 36(4) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as

amended), which provides that every person shall be entitled to fair hearing within a reasonable time.

“It would also eliminate the issue of difficulties in conveying the inmates to court and would further ensure the safety and security of the inmates and law enforcement officers.

According to the AGF, the government will no longer be constrained by mobility, space and time in justice delivery on account of accommodation of the virtual court sitting facilities and deployment of incidental technology.

He noted stably the country’s justice system which is founded on the constitutional principle of fundamental rights to fair hearing requires the court to hear and determine cases in public and in the presence of suspects or parties in court.

Police in Anambra State yesterday said they have killed two suspected armed robbers, while one of the suspects was arrested alive.

The spokesperson of the state Police Command, DSP Ikenga Tochukwu, disclosed this to THISDAY in a statement, saying the police operatives

later led one of the suspects to their hideout, where three more suspected criminals were arrested.

The statement said: “On December 5, 2021, at about 0530 hours, the Anambra State Police Command operatives intercepted a three-man armed robbery gang operating around Idemili Áyover, Obosi by Onitsha-Owerri road.

“The hoodlums, who were

about to rob passengers travelling on a Toyota Sienna van, opened Àre on sighting the police. The operatives responded swiftly gunning down two armed suspects, later identiÀed as Chinedu Okeri from Enugu and Chukwuebuka Orizu from Anambra State, while the third suspect, Abuchi Osim, from Enugu State, was arrested.

“The police recovered two locally-made pistols, Àve

cartridges and the tricycle that brought the gangsters to scene of crime.

“In a follow-up operation, the arrested suspect led the operatives to their criminal hideout in Atani Ogbaru LGA were Chinedu Ogunna, 21, Arinze Chukwu, 16, and Ebuka Ayazie, 18, were arrested, who they claimed belonged to the same cult group and armed robbery gang.”

Meter Buying: LECAN Accuses Discos of Deviating from Responsibility

Sunday Ehigiator

The state Chairman of Licenced Electrical Contractors Association of Nigeria (LECAN), Bada Olalekan, has accused Electricity Distribution Companies (Discos) in Nigeria of deviating from their responsibility of providing free meters to Nigeria as agreed with the federal government.

Olalekan made this statement while speaking with THISDAY at the 60th anniversary celebration

of the association at the weekend in Lagos.

According to him, “The privatisation of the electricity sector came up in 2015. It was divided into different sectors, the generation sector, the transmission sector and the distribution sector, which is the closest sector to the users of electricity.

“What I understand is that the sectors have deviated from what they were assigned for, and that is the major cause of what we are

experiencing now. Otherwise, I don’t think there is any reason for any customer to pay for the meter.”

Olalekan said the distribution companies were supposed to be responsible for procuring the meter for their customers, as the meter is measuring equipment aimed at ascertaining consumer consumption of power.

He said: “That should be the rate or value of what he or she is supposed to pay. But the arrangement

has been deviated also by the federal government who privatised this sector, and still holding to the generation and transmission company, while they only privatised the distribution company.”

The association boss said the federal government was also to blame for this deviation, as there was a disconnect between what the discos pay to buy power and what they make from selling same to the public eventually.

StarTimes Unveils Reality Show for Job Seekers A new reality show, Breaking-in, that creates a platform for youths to gain insights as well as meaningful career jobs on a live TV show, has debuted.

A StarTimes original, Breaking-in held its maiden audition recently.

“The show is packaged in an electrifying way with five stages of hurdles to land the ultimate reward. The show is designed to

bring unending suspense, comic relief and education to viewers.

“StarTimes partnered with top companies to give immediate job opportunities to over eighty successful candidates. The companies include Guinness Nigeria, Airtel, Vivo, TCL, Jobberman, OPay, Lush Hair, Lifemate, Fearless Energy Drink, Cadbury, Indomie, Bigi, and Goodlife Magik, among other

reputable firms. While runners-up will win gifts worth millions of naira,” a statement explained.

It revealed that the high point of the show was the negotiation and fate box segment where a tempting offer, as well as three boxes are thrown at the successful candidates to choose one.

The fate box has options that outweigh the tempting offer, equals

the tempting offer, or less than the tempting off. The candidate is then left to either accept the offer or dip their hands into the fate box to decide their fate.

Speaking at the audition, CEO of StarTimes Nigeria, Alex Jian, said the pay TV was is poised to create more job opportunities for youths using the form of communication most appealing to them – entertainment.

2023: Group Makes Case for Youth President, Governors David-Chyddy Eleke in Awka

A group, Coalition of Southern and Middle %elt Youth Leaders Assembly (COSM%YLA), has made case for the election of only youths into the presidency and governorship seats in all the states in Nigeria.

The group said electing young leaders who have the interest of

the country at heart would help to advance the cause of the country toward sustainable development.

In a statement signed by the leaders of the group from the Southeast, South-south, Southwest and the Middle belt, the group led by its President General, Mr. Goodluck Ebem, said electing youths who have distinguished themselves in various fields of endeavours is the panacea to

bringing Nigeria out of the woods.

He said: “It is on record that when Nigeria was on the path of progress and development, youths were at the helm of affairs.

“General Yakubu Gowon (rtd) was head of state at the age of 27. Dim Odimegwu Ojukwu was 33 when he was in charge of the Eastern region. These leaders contributed positively to the growth of their regions

and the country at large.

“Of the truth, the nation fed well when young, energetic and vibrant young men and women were in charge of governance and leadership positions. The country’s independence that we are enjoying today was made possible by Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Professor Eni Njoku and others who were youths at that time.“

TUESDAY DECEMBER 7, 2021 • T H I S D AY

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14

T H I S D AY • TUESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2021

COMMENT

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

BEYOND FUEL SUBSIDY

It’s time to stop the subsidy fraud, once and for all, writes Audu Danfulani

T

he recurring debacle in the relationship between Nigerians and their golden goose layer of the salvation egg of subsidized petrol (NNPC) is rearing its rancorous head again. But this may be the last time such an unpleasant disruption of mutually beneficial relationship between citizens and their most precious national company will occur because both citizens and company have, as it were, come of age. The situation is akin to that between a mother and her suckling child when the inevitable time to wean the child comes. It is a coming of age with rites of passage that entail a transformative process that redefines the relationship.

The game changer is that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) has an overriding effect on the terms of the relationship between NNPC and the generality of Nigerians and their legitimate entitlement to benefits of the nation’s oil endowment. Enhanced transparency and accountability, strengthening agencies and facilitating investment are the main goals of the new dispensation expected to introduce radical changes to the operations and structure of NNPC and indeed the entire oil and gas industry. This translates into a significant departure from the ways and means template under which NNPC operated as a government parastatal, more subject to political exigencies than international best practices and standards of corporate governance applicable to the world oil industry. Due to the much- delayed process of re-aligning its policy and operational framework to compare and compete favourably with its highly rated counterparts, the NNPC was unable to set the stage for the dynamic emergence of the oil sector as catalyst for rapid socio-economic transformation and infrastructural development as witnessed in other leading oil producing nations.

We only need to consider the pathetic stagnation of petroleum refining facilities and the lack lustre performance of the petro-chemical sector to establish the adverse impact of the parastatal era on NNPC and its debilitating ripples such as incessant fuel supply shortages, ever-rising transportation fares and cost of living. These were the discomforting circumstances that created the fuel subsidy fiasco whereby Nigerians got fixated on the bogey of “cheap” petrol as an entitlement of living in a leading oil producing nation, oblivious to the astronomical economic cost incurred and the lost opportunities for more meaningful infrastructural and socio-economic development derivable, as witnessed with the Petroleum Trust Fund (PTF) projects.

The endless recycling of the fuel subsidy agenda without lasting acceptance of its viability or compensatory value to the masses as well as the emergence of new regulatory and corporate structure under the PIA are sufficient conditions for a comprehensive review. In the new dispensation, the discretionary determination of parameters of a subsidy on petrol pump price and the legality of NNPC’s facilitation role have both been overtaken and invalidated.

In particular, the much-anticipated deflationary dividend of subsidized pump price of petrol remains a pipe dream to be conjured as a talisman against perceived loss of the only popular dividend of democracy for people in a system hostile to social welfare schemes or as

IT IS AMAZING FOR US TO REMAIN OBSESSED WITH FUEL SUBSIDY AS AN ENTITLEMENT OF CITIZENSHIP ACCRUING FROM BOUNTEOUS OIL RESOURCES EVEN AFTER FRUSTRATING FAMILIARITY WITH ITS LIMITED COVERAGE, EPILEPTIC BENEFIT, ECONOMIC ADVERSITY AND CORRUPTING CAPACITY.

a bonus event in NLC ‘s roster of pretentious posturing. The contentious offer from government of a token N5,000 cash-transfer to only 40 million out of at least 120 million citizens is a non-starter that further highlights the necessity for an all inclusive multi-faceted investment of the trillion naira subsidy spin-off for the tangible transformation of lives of citizens and development of the nation ala PTF. Another controversial but popular “logic” of the pro-fuel subsidy lobby is that because Nigeria is a leading oil producing nation, its citizens should enjoy cheap petrol, suggesting that other citizens of oil producing nations enjoy such benefit. As a convenient peg to strengthen the clamour for subsidized pump price of petrol, this sounds impeccable and even portrays the Nigerian case as an absurd exploitation that violates God-given birth right to enjoy a natural resource. As a matter of fact, however, nothing could be further from the truth!

A random survey of international petrol pump price per litre in comparison with Nigeria’s current N165.600 and even the projected N340 for 2022 translates to 0.403 USD and 0.83 USD respectively, whereas in an even more prolific and prosperous oil producing Saudi Arabia the price is 2.330 Saudi Riyals or 0.621 USD; in the United Arab Emirates it is 2.81 Arab Emirate Dinar or 0.77 USD. In UK it is 1.475 Pounds or 1.975 USD and in the US its 0.87 USD! Obviously, it is misleading to believe that there is anything like “birth-right entitlement” in the determination of petrol pump price and it is in fact more subject to the pricing and production dynamics of the world oil market and the demand for more substantial contribution to national development budget.

From the foregoing it is beyond contention that Nigerians have to shake-off the “old school” attitude of sentimental considerations, short-term euphoria and perpetual attachment to irrational “dividends of democracy”, much of which is the result of governance challenges and mass misinformation. It is amazing for us to remain obsessed with fuel subsidy as an entitlement of citizenship accruing from bounteous oil resources even after frustrating familiarity with its limited coverage, epileptic benefit, economic adversity and corrupting capacity.

We should be going for more rational and impactful utilization of the lucrative earnings of our enviable status as a leading oil producing nation for optimum development strides across all socio-economic sectors in all six geo-political zones, with special focus on youth empowerment on an unprecedented scale, establishment and expansion of rural and urban rail systems as the ultimate “transport subsidy”, infrastructural transformation and export-oriented industrialization based on raw material exploitation and processing.

Meanwhile, the on-going repositioning and revitalization of NNPC under the Mele Kyari PIA-compliant management team must be insulated from all forms of “political” interference and the scourge of elitist excesses that he has persistently identified as the plague that must be eradicated to free the full potential of Nigeria’s oil and gas industry to power the progress and development of the country. Let’s stop the subsidy fraud, once and for all!

Danfulani wrote from Bauchi

TAKING LOTTERY TO THE NEXT LEVEL Kehinde Olaosebikan writes that a new dawn in the lottery industry is here

I

n many countries of the world today, lottery has become a major source of revenue. Beyond taxing, proceeds from the industry are used in different ways to improve the economies and living standards of citizens. From the United States, United Kingdom, Germany to Netherlands, lottery is utilized in financing projects that preserve, enhance and restore the state’s environment and natural resources amongst others.

When the first modern lottery was launched in the United States with the debut of the New Hampshire in March 1964, it was received with skepticism but with good regulations and forthright systems, lottery has continued to rise and today it earns huge revenue for the governments of different states of America. Not only that, many Americans place high hopes in lottery for their betterments. That lottery thrives in the United Kingdom and other countries of the world today is a result of deliberate efforts of government backed by sincere synergies of all the relevant agencies of government.

In 2005, Nigeria saw the light and joined the league of lottery supporting nations with the establishment of the National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC). Mandated to issue licenses and permits, set standards, guidelines, rules and promote transparency, integrity in the operations and business of lottery in Nigeria, the commission is steadily coming of age. Expectedly, the industry suffered what could be considered, the teething challenges as its earnings for government hovered around N200m and N400m for over a decade.

But, since 2018, the fortunes of the NLRC have taken a big leap up as it began generating billions of Naira in revenue for the federal government.

Without any relent, the commission has continued

to put measures deliberately positioning lottery as a major revenue earner for Nigeria.

From his first month in office, the incumbent Director General of the NLRC, Mr. Lanre Gbajabiamila has left nobody in doubt on his capacity, competence and readiness to take lottery to higher levels in Nigeria.

Versed and seasoned in the business, Gbajabiamila, the man behind the formalization of lottery business in the nation’s commercial capital, Lagos where he raised lottery earnings from zero to over N6bn yearly, took off the National Lottery Regulatory Commission with a transformation program which has become a huge success in all aspects.

In recent years, the NLRC has evolved as one statutory body that has successfully keyed into the Presidential Initiative for the economic revamp of the nation. The Commission has evolved robust regulatory regime and consistently devoted carefully knitted strategies to achieve a wholesome redefine of industry practices and in the process, it has successfully engendered an overall sound health of the sub sector in Nigeria.

Just last July, the commission in a very bold stride brought together all the critical stakeholders in the industry as it organized the first ever gaming conference in Nigeria where all issues concerning the growth of the industry were scientifically discussed with a solid seven-point communiqué. To achieve uniformity in the trade, the stakeholders resolved that financial standard be tailored to accommodate the peculiarities of operators in the gaming industry.

Another major highlight of the conference was the issue of engendering robust legislative framework which would accommodate the concerns of all stakeholders and the formation of greater synergies by the NLRC and sister agency, National Lottery Trust Fund in the establishment of monumental

projects to reflect the impact of lottery proceeds in the industry.

And after the conference a lot of improvements have been noticed in the gaming industry. It is already fostering higher stability; promoting healthy competition and instituting a regime of synergy that has made the gaming and betting sector a critical integral of the Nigerian economy as envisaged by the President.

For all intents and purposes, Mr. President’s choice of Gbajabiamila as the NLRC boss aptly paid credence to the narrative of a round peg in a round hole which fits effortlessly and allows for optimal performance on the job. The helmsman has continued to exhibit both capacity and willingness to deliver and has virtually succeeded in putting in place a model that has put the industry on a smooth auto run without any serious hiccups.

As clearly validated by the scientifically organized first of its kind, National Gaming Conference, his strategy borders on the creation of a managementstaff interface on one hand and a Commissionpublic interface on another hand, culminating in an expertly devotion of the mix to achieve a healthy interplay in which the Commission and its stakeholders are on the same page. He went ahead to provide strategic direction and encourage a sectoral linkages that have encouraged the present upsurge and vibrancy in the sector, drawing up a development projection and an appropriate trajectory that has been painstakingly pursued to the admiration of the industry players. Increasingly, the industry keeps attracting high profile investors, employs thousands of Nigerians with some millions of other citizens relying on the industry to make ends meet.

Un-relented in his determination to make lottery a major source for the country, the commission,

as the Director General revealed at the conference was working assiduously towards the installation of a central monitoring system that would enhance earnings from the gaming industry through blocking of leakages and elimination of discrepancies in the accounting processes.

As a man of high integrity, Gbajabiamila told the conference that his commission “has consistently worked on the actualization of a Central Monitoring System platform to ensure real time monitoring and promote accountable transparency in the gaming sector”.

Another innovation being worked on by the commission is the development of a new technology driven game, Naija National Game to be launched very soon. The game, according to Lanre Gbajabiamila is capable of turning things around for the commission and in the lottery business generally.

As the journey on the lottery business started by the American government in 1964 is today a huge success in the United States of America, it is almost certain that at the rate things are moving on steadily in the NLRC under the leadership of Lanre Gbajabiamila, Nigeria would very soon start reaping heavily from proceeds of lottery industry.

Nigeria now has an effective, proactive, forthright and performing lottery regulatory commission with the right head and leadership; getting the legal framework right; and the synergies expected from sister agencies and critical stakeholders are being solidified progressively. A new dawn in the lottery industry is evidently here and the time is now for Nigerians to feel the impact of the games in more meaningful projects being executed by the National Lottery Fund and remittance of higher revenues to the country’s coffers.

Olaosebikan is a journalist and public affairs analyst

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T H I S D AY • TUESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2021

EDITORIAL BEYOND JUSTICE FOR SYLVESTER OROMONI There is need to institute a regime of rigorous regulation of private educational institutions

I

n recent times, there has been a statistical increase in either death or severe bodily injury resulting from acts of bullying and deliberate violence on school children in the hands of their peers. The story of the 12-year-old Sylvester Oromoni fatally bullied at Dowen College in Lagos is in a new class because it happened in a private school setting. The circumstances surrounding this death have been complicated by contradictory narratives from the authorities of Dowen College. They seem to have chosen corporate image mitigation over and above the communication of a heartfelt human loss and avoidable tragedy.

When parents entrust the welfare of their young children into the hands of an expensive private school, the least they expect is that the authorities would pay close attention to the welfare and wellbeing of the minors entrusted to their care. Dowen College failed disastrously in this elementary role.

Meanwhile, there is a likelihood that the increase in instances and cases of bullying and violence STATE EDUCATIONAL AUTHORITIES MUST INSIST in boarding schools across the country THAT THESE SCHOOLS may be a spin-off of HAVE ON THEIR STAFF the general prevaQUALIFIED GUIDANCE lence of violence, COUNSELORS AND intimidation, and EXPERIENCED TEACHERS impunity in the wider WHO UNDERSTAND THE society. In the case of PSYCHOLOGY OF THE private institutions, YOUNG ONES ENTRUSTED it does seem that TO THEIR CARE the profit motive which lies at the root of the viral establishment of these colleges may have swamped the need to inculcate discipline and certain core values of tolerance and fellow feeling among the children. Instead, school proprietors and administrators tend to treat children to whom they have a duty of care more like products in a human assembly line that churns out certificate hungry youth with little humanity and responsible upbringing.

The Lagos State government has taken the right step

Letters to the Editor

in shutting down Dowen College to investigate what really happened to young Sylvester. The state should do even more. The investigation should be handled by the police and relevant judicial and educational authorities to get to the root of what is clearly a tragic mishap. Irrespective of the outcome of this investigation, however, the case of young citizen Sylvester has brought to the fore the need to institute a regime of rigorous regulation of private educational institutions around the country.

I T H I S D AY EDITOR SHAKA MOMODU DEPUTY EDITOR WALE OLALEYE, OBINNA CHIMA MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR ISRAEL IWEGBU CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN MANAGING EDITOR BOLAJI ADEBIYI THE OMBUDSMAN KAYODE KOMOLAFE

T H I S D AY N E W S PA P E R S L I M I T E D EDITOR-IN-CHIEF/CHAIRMAN NDUKA OBAIGBENA GROUP EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS ENIOLA BELLO, KAYODE KOMOLAFE, ISRAEL IWEGBU, IJEOMA NWOGWUGWU, EMMANUEL EFENI DIVISIONAL DIRECTORS SHAKA MOMODU, PETER IWEGBU, ANTHONY OGED ENGBE DEPUTY DIVISIONAL DIRECTOR OJOGUN VICTOR DANBOYI SNR. ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR ERIC OJEH ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR PATRICK EIMIUHI CONTROLLERS ABIMBOLA TAIWO, UCHENNA DIBIAGWU, NDUKA MOSERI DIRECTOR, PRINTING PRODUCTION CHUKS ONWUDINJO TO SEND EMAIL: first name.surname@thisdaylive.com

TO OUR READERS Letters in response to specific publications in THISDAY should be brief (150-200 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 (9501000 words). They should be sent to opinion@thisdaylive.com along with the email address and phone numbers of the writer.

WHEN WILL COVID-19 END?

I

n December 2019, I had one of my Chinese tenants alert me about a new virus reported in China. My first reaction was there are many viruses in China because I remembered the SARs and some other viruses that had major outbreaks in the East. I went ahead to reassure him and said I believe the Chinese healthcare system is robust enough to handle any outbreaks. In late December, the reportage increased across different news media and outlets from the two sides of the Atlantic. The media clock was on overdrive reporting the virus.

In January 2020, the picture got clearer and measures were taken, the World Health Organisation alerted the world about this virus with the strain of SARS COV, but the damage had been done. The virus had spread and brought death in its wake. It was only a matter of time before Nigeria caught the bug of the virus with the index Italian case. Then the lockdown started the Armageddon of airlifting citizens to their various countries.

Then surge in the death numbers became scary as the cases increased, for sad measure, around the world. It was declared a pandemic and the politicking started. America started blaming China for the problems and China launched its own fight back campaign, lockdowns started and the corrupt politicians started a long round of corruption by hoarding every fund possible and giving their girlfriends supply contracts. The sad thing, is that people become billionaires from Covid while people died and the world became poorer. Covid only manifested the division in the world that hitherto

t is not just enough to erect fancy edifices and charge astronomical fees to attract the patronage of status-hungry parents. State educational authorities must insist that these schools have on their staff qualified guidance counselors and experienced teachers who understand the psychology of the young ones entrusted to their care. In addition, health centres and sick bays in such schools must be well equipped and manned by qualified and experienced para-medical personnel who can respond to the needs of these young citizens in a timely and professional manner. In all, a more rigorous regime of school regulation and stricter registration requirement is now needed.

Even after registration and licensing, the operating licenses of private educational institutions should be subject to annual renewal with the implicit provision that such licenses can be withdrawn if there is reasonable representation from a body of parents that an institution is failing in its primary responsibilities to its patrons especially the children whose upbringing and welfare remains the basis for the existence of these schools in the first place.

The greatest justice that we as a public can do to the memory of Sylvester is to insist that the welfare and well-being of our young citizens are not sacrificed on the altar of profit by school proprietors. As a nation, it would not be out of place for us to prod the National Assembly to consider a legislation against all forms of bullying in our educational institutions with relevant sanctions against both enabling school authorities and the participating bullies themselves.

exist, the fact that the west doesn’t think highly of Africa and the fact that fake news and misinformation spreads like wildfire. Vaccine nationalism and skepticism was rife and the social media became a hotbed for all the battle about vaccines. Till today some believe that the vaccines are bad, it became a fight against good and evil and religious doctrines.

When Covid started I started reading a lot about the 1918 pandemic and I was shocked to see that nothing changed in the reaction to Covid. A lot of misinformation happened then too and a lot of deaths also coupled with the fact that it happened during the war. The Covid crisis now still shows that the world hasn’t learnt anything and the fact that viruses mutate is still scary and most of these mutations are caused by human activities like the Indian religious festivals that helped with the spike in cases and the Delta variant.

One thing is certain, viruses will always mutate and these mutations will be dependent on human activities. These human activities will continue to lead to loss of lives but the question: are we going to reach a common ground on how to fight Covid? I believe the beginning of the end of Covid will be when global solidarity starts and global solidarity has to be truthful, devoid of politics and racism but Alas! All I clearly can’t see is that all I see is division from every end of the world. It is incumbent on us to understand that the pandemic will end, but are we going to ever learn the lessons? I doubt.

Rufai Oseni, rufaioseni@gmail.com

KING CANUTE COULDN’T STOP THE TIDE

K

ing Canute was a British ruler who was considered almost godly by his people, so in order to dispel this he sat at the edge of the ocean and commanded the waves to stop coming in. He got wet feet.

The Australian Government is going to try and stop the tidal wave of online abuse by trolls using social media.

They will introduce legislation that will require Social Media companies to reveal the details of trolls so that those attacked can sue for defamation. If they won’t or can’t provide the information then the companies can be sued instead.

Although the basic idea is good, to expose the hidden keyboard warriors, the reality isn’t so simple. Many people are able to use fake emails or spoof emails addresses as is shown daily by the emails I get from Governments offering to give me massive amounts of money for a small fee. On the assumption that they then move to sue Instagram, Facebook or any of the other social media platforms it is unlikely the small individual will be able to match the legal resources of any massive company.

It will be David versus Goliath again but without a slingshot being available and I think the Government will get wet feet too.

Dennis Fitzgerald, Melbourne, Australia

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TUESDAY DECEMBER 7, 2021 T H I S D AY

NEWS

Senate: Insurgency, Banditry Responsible for Poor State of Army Barracks Deji Elumoye and Udora Orizu in Abuja

The Senate attributed the poor state of Army barracks across the country to the ongoing wars against insurgency and banditry.

The Senate Committee on the Army stated this after it visited some military formations in Plateau and Bauchi states to carry out some oversight activities.

Chairman of the Committee, Senator Ali Ndume, told newsmen after the visit that funds that should have been used to Àx the barracks were being paid as allowances to the personnel who are participating in the wars against insurgency and banditry.

According to him, eͿorts would be made by the two chambers of the National

Assembly to ensure that more money are appropriated for the renovation of old barracks as well as possible construction of new ones.

He said: “We went on oversight activities to see the conditions of the barracks as well as assess the implementation of the 2021 budget of the Army regarding some capital projects.

We assessed the implementation of the 2021 budget meant for the renovation of old structures in the barracks and the new ones being built. We are impressed about the quality of the jobs done and the speed at which they are being delivered. The conditions of the barracks is deplorable. The parameter fencing, the road network and the walls of the buildings are all dilapidated and they need a

complete rehabilitation or even reconstruction. The Nigerian Army is being involved in activities that are not its primary responsibilities. The Nigerian

Army is combatant and it is used to Àghting conventional wars.

“They are now involved in duties that should ordinarily

been handled by the police or other security agencies. Despite that the Nigerian Army is doing its best. Too much funds are going into the various operations

especially with the insurgency in the North-east, banditry in the North-west and instances of farmers - herders clashes as well as other tribal crisis.

Nembe Communities Protest Continuous Oil Spill, 31 Days after Blowout Olusegun Samuel in Yenagoa

Indigenes of Opu-Nembe and surrounding communities have protested the inability of the Aiteo Eastern Exploration and Production Limited or the government to stop the oil spillage currently devastating their communities following the blow out from the OML 29 Well

Head 1, which was operated by the indigenous oil company.

The oil spillage has lasted for 31days.

The protesting communities, which were led by the Nembe Se Congress (NSC) that is made up of eminent personalities and chiefs from Nembe, stormed the Nigeria Union of Journalists’ (NUJ) press center with placards, calling on the oil company and

relevant authorities to end the spillage and save the people in over 41 communities from becoming refuges in their own state.

Addressing the press, the President of NSC, Professor Monday Godwin-Egein, said the that group is deeply concerned that over a month since the incident at Worikumakiri, the Oml 29 blowout is still spewing

out crude oil and gas onto the rivers and creeks as well as the environment unabated.

Godwin-Egein said: “This is arguably the biggest oil spill disaster in the history of oil and gas exploration and exploitation in Nigeria.

Unfortunately, there appears to be no immediate respite in sight for our people as the aͿected company, Aiteo Eastern

Man to Die by Hanging in Ekiti for Killing Sibling Dangote Refinery Awards Scholarship Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti

An Ekiti State High Court, sitting in Ado Ekiti, has sentenced a 24-year old Mr. Olorunleke Ebenezer to death by hanging, for killing his own brother.

Pronouncing the death sentence on the convict on Monday, Justice Bamidele Omotoso, said: “The prosecution has discharged the burden on Olorunleke Ebenezer and established beyond reasonable doubt the oͿence of conspiracy, armed robbery and murder

against him.

“The defendant is guilty as charged. The sentence of the count upon you is that you will be hanged by neck until you are dead. May the Lord have mercy on your soul.’’

Ebenezer, who hailed from Yagba East Local Government Area of Kogi State, was arraigned on three -count charge of conspiracy, armed robbery and murder.

The oͿence was contrary to sections 6 (b), 1 (2) (a) of the robbery and Àrearms (special Provisions) Act, Cap R11, Vol. 14, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria,

2004, also section 316 and punishable under section 319 (1) of the Criminal Code, Cap C16, Laws of Ekiti State 2012.

According to the charge, Ebenezer and others now at large on 29 August, 2019, at Abe Cocoa Area, Housing Estate, Oke-Ila Ado Ekiti, conspired to rob his blood brother, Olorunleke Sunday, of his Bajaj motorcycle with registration number ADK 100 UJ and a sum of N40, 000.

During the robbery operation, Ebenezer was said to have been armed with knife and murdered the deceased.

Legislate Laws for Journalists’ Safety, NUJ Charges NASS

Blessing Ibunge in Port Harcourt

Lawmakers at the National Assembly have been charged to enact laws that would ensure the safety of journalists in the country for professional discharge of their duties.

The call was made yesterday in Port Harcourt, at the opening ceremony of the correspondent’s week, which was organised by Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Rivers State.

In his address, the Chairman of the Correspondents Chapel, Mr. Amaechi Okonkwo, noted the challenges faced by the media and journalists that had made it impossible for them to operate at a full capacity and avail the nation the beneÀts of

their highly important services.

Okonkwo stressed that only an empowered journalist is an asset to the nation. “An empowered journalist is an investigative journalist and an investigative journalist is a developmental journalist, a catalyst to a free, egalitarian and progressive society, the type our nation is in dire need of at this time of its developmental history.

“So we passionately plead that government at various levels, the National Assembly, media owners and practitioners should synergies to ensure that members of the fourth estate of the realm indeed come to their real estate in the realm.

The Rivers State Commissioner for Information and Communications Mr.

Paulinus Nsirim, stressed the need for journalists to continue to hold public o΀ce holders accountable in all their actions.

He admitted that journalists were facing some challenges, from hoodlums, thugs even security agents.

Nsirim, who was represented by the Director, Public Enlightenment of the Ministry, Mr. Celestine Ogolo, said that the governor of the state, Mr. Nyesom Wike, has granted unhindered access to information in the state.

Declaring the event open, Nsirim emphasised that the governor has done well in providing enabling infrastructures, pointing out that Rivers State in the near future will become a model to other states in the country.

,&3& /RVHV $SSHDO DJDLQVW 6DFNHG 6WD; Members

Adibe Emenyonu in Benin-city

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has lost an appeal at the Benin Division of the Court of Appeal against the reinstatement of one of its sacked workers, Albert Osarumwense.

Justice Oyebiola Oyewunmi of the National Industrial Court (NIC) in Akure in February 2020 ordered the ICPC and its chairman to immediately reinstate Osarumwense, who he said was wrongfully dismissed by the commission in October 2015.

However, the anti-corruption body challenged the reinstatement.

Ruling in the suit number: NICN/BEN/01/2016, Justice Oyewunmi declared that the nature of employment of Osarumwense is one with statutory flavour.

He further ruled that Osarumwense is entitled to be paid all his salary and other allowances from the month of October 2015 when his employment was determined till the day of his reinstatement.

Also delivering his judgment in appeal No: CA/B/44M/2021, Justice M. A. Danjuma of the Court of Appeal held that the ICPC was not ready to go on with its appeal, and therefore dismissed it.

He said in the certified copy

of his ruling signed by the Chief Deputy Registrar of the Court of Appeal, Adaeze Oby Aziwe, “That the non-compilation of the record of appeal nor its transmission up to this time and in spite of the service of a hearing notice for the case today and still without any response indicating the existence of any such application for the discretionary respite of an elongation of time to so compile and transmit record of appeal towards prosecution, clearly strengthens the fact that there is no desire to prosecute the appeal left as a sword of damage in the clog of a subsisting judgment as alleged by the applicant in his affidavit to the motion.

to Students in Host Communities Ejiofor Alike

As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility(CSR) programmes, Dangote Oil Refining Company has awarded scholarships to 137 tertiary institutions and secondary school students from its host communities in Ibeju Lekki, Lagos State.

The company said the scholarship had become an annual event meant to contribute

to the educational development of the people and position them in right place in the scheme of things in Lagos State and Nigeria in general.

Executive Director, Strategy, Capital Projects and Portfolio Development, Dangote Group, Mr Devakumar Edwin, presented the scholarships to the beneficiaries on Monday.

The scholarships were presented to 19 tertiary institution

students and 118 secondary school students from 15 communities in Ibeju Lekki.

Edwin said the Dangote Group believesthat education was the passport to the future and that an investment in knowledge yields the greatest dividends for mankind.

He said the company had over the years supported the Nigerian educational sector by instituting scholarship award programmes.

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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2021 ˾ T H I S D AY

FOREIGN DESK

COMPILED BY BAYO AKINLOYE

Myanmar’s Aung San Suu to 2 Years in Jail

A Myanmar court sentenced deposed democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi to four years in jail on Monday. Hours later, the military reduced the sentence to two years.

Suu Kyi was found guilty of incitement and breaching COVID-19 rules after being detained by the military as it seized power in February. Monday’s verdict was made in a closed hearing at Myanmar’s Zabuthiri Court in Naypyidaw, the country’s capital.

Win Myint, the ousted president for Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy (NLD) party, received the same sentence.

Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Campaigns Ming Yu Hah said the charges against Suu Kyi were “bogus” and the junta is attempting to “eliminate all opposition and suffocate freedoms in Myanmar.”

Human Rights Watch also condemned the sentencing, as did UN human rights chief Michelle Bachelet.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the “unjust conviction of Aung San Suu Kyi and the repression of other democratically elected officials are yet further affronts to democracy and justice” in Myanmar.

that Taiwan is a close ally and should be treated as a country, although 15 countries and the Holy See only recognize its government.

Despite its international exclusion, Taiwan regularly tops democracy rankings and placed first in East Asia and 11th globally in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s 2020 Democracy Index.

Putin, Modi Reaffirm ‘Time-Tested’ Ties

Former FARC Leader Killed in Venezuela

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi reaffirmed their ties at a New Delhi summit that aimed to reboot a relationship that has stagnated in recent years as India moves closer to the United States and Russia to China.

The Russian leader on Monday called India “a great power, a friendly nation, and a time-tested friend,” while Modi said that despite the emergence of different geopolitical equations in the last few decades, “the friendship of India and Russia has been constant.”

Although the altered geopolitical landscape poses challenges in maintaining close ties, a strong defence partnership that goes back to the Cold War years is a key pillar binding the two countries. New Delhi has diversified its defence procurement in recent decades, but Russia is still India’s largest arms supplier, with more than two-thirds of its military equipment being of Russian origin.

A former dissident leader of the FARC guerrillas was shot dead in Venezuela by other rebels, Colombian media reported Sunday.

Citing Colombian and Venezuelan intelligence sources, several newspapers said Hernan Dario Velasquez, nicknamed “El Paisa” (“The Peasant”), had been ambushed in the state of Apure, on the border with Colombia.

Neither the Colombian nor the Venezuelan government have confirmed the reports. The Colombian military also told the media it did not know about the reported killing.

Feared during his years at the head of an elite armed team in the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), Velasquez moved away from the rebel group in 2018, two years after signing a peace deal with the Colombian government.

He was infamous for his armed attacks, including a car bombing that killed 36 people and wounded dozens of others in February 2003 in Bogota.

Some 13,000 guerrillas have surrendered their arms since the signing of the peace pact in 2016, and the FARC has since transformed into a minority political party. Violence nevertheless persists in many regions of Colombia where FARC dissidents, more than 5,000 of whom rejected the deal, continue to fight paramilitary and rebel groups and drug traffickers in the world’s largest cocaine-producing country.

Taiwan to Participate in US Summit for Democracy, China Snubbed

Taiwan will take part in a virtual US Summit for Democracy this week after countries like China and Russia failed to make the list of attendees in another sign of American support for the East Asian democracy.

Hsiao Bi-khim, Taiwan’s de facto ambassador to the United States, and Digital Minister Audrey Tang will represent Taiwan at the meeting on Thursday and Friday alongside representatives from more than 100 countries and global institutions.

“This democracy summit is the White House sending a signal that democratic countries should support each other and to work together to enhance the human rights, freedom and democracy,” said Wang Ting-yu, a member of Taiwan’s legislature who sits on its Foreign Affairs & National Defense Committee.

Wang said Taiwan’s invitation to the summit was a “clear signal to Beijing”

UK Scientist: Next Pandemic May Be Worse

One of the scientists behind the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is warning that the next pandemic may be more contagious and more lethal unless more money is devoted to research and preparations to fight emerging viral threats, reports AP. In excerpts released before a speech Monday, Professor Sarah Gilbert

Dozens Killed in Renewed West Darfur Clashes Inter-communal clashes between Arabs and non-Arabs left at least 30 people dead and 40 others injured in Sudan’s West Darfur state on Sunday, according to eyewitnesses and officials.

Local militia supported by a paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces, attacked internally displaced persons in Kreinik camp and torched their houses, witnesses said.

The latest wave of fighting, which has been going on for weeks, stemmed from a dispute late Saturday between a customer and a cell phone store owner who was shot dead.

Arab fighters known as Janjaweed attacked the camp early Sunday morning after the murder.

Thirty bodies were brought to Kreinik Hospital. More than 40 others who were wounded were treated there.

Mustafa Mohammed Zain, a medical assistant at Kirenik Hospital, told Unvaccinated Italians Face New VOA’s South Sudan in Focus on Restrictions This holiday season, Italy is making Monday. life more uncomfortable for unvaccinated people, excluding them from indoor Hong Kong Threatens Wall Street restaurants, theatres, and museums Journal With ‘Incitement’ Hong Kong’s city’s government has starting Monday to reduce coronavirus spread and encourage vaccine sceptics warned The Wall Street Journal it may have broken the law by publishing to get their shots.

AP reports that Italian police can an editorial that said casting blank check whether diners in restaurants ballots was one of the “last ways” or bars have a “super” green health for residents to voice dissent.

The warning letter, which the US pass certifying that they are either vaccinated or have recently recovered media outlet published on Monday, from the virus. Smartphone applications comes as China’s ruling Communist that check people’s health pass status Party transforms the business hub into will be updated, and those who have something more closely resembling merely tested negative in recent days the authoritarian mainland.

Erick Tsang, Hong Kong’s secretary for COVID-19 will no longer be allowed into concerts, movies or performances. for constitutional and mainland affairs, took exception to an editorial the The measures run through Jan. 15.

Authorities also required a “basic” Journal ran last week, titled: “Hong health pass, which can be obtained with Kong Says Vote – or Else.”

The editorial previewed the city’s a negative test, on local transport and legislature election slated for this to check into hotels.

In Rome, local transportation hubs month, reducing Hong Kong’s already were controlled by dozens of police limited democratic opportunities.

“Boycotts and blank ballots are one checking both green passes and personal identification, finding a cooperative mood of the last ways for Hong Kongers among commuters. Still, a 50-year-old to express their political views,” Roman became the first to receive a the Journal wrote in its editorial.

In his letter, Tsang said he was 400-euro fine after getting off the bus at the northern Flaminio station without “shocked” to read that sentence and the “basic” health pass, said Stefano warned that Hong Kong banned “inciting Napoli, deputy chief of Rome’s municipal another person not to vote, or to cast an invalid vote.” police force. says the scientific advances made in fighting deadly viruses “must not be lost” because of the cost of fighting the current pandemic.

“This will not be the last time a virus threatens our lives and our livelihoods,” Gilbert is expected to say. “The truth is, the next one could be worse. It could be more contagious, or more lethal, or both.”

Gilbert is scheduled to make the remarks Monday night when she delivers this year’s Richard Dimbleby lecture, named after the late broadcaster who was the BBC’s first war correspondent and a pioneer of television news in Britain. The annual televised lecture features addresses by influential figures in business, science and government.

Gilbert is set to call on governments to redouble their commitment to scientific research and pandemic preparedness, even after the threat of COVID-19 wanes.

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T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY DECEMBER 7, 2021

POLITICS

Group Politics Editor NSEOBONG OKON-EKONG Email nseobong.okonekong@thisdaylive.com (08114495324 SMS ONLY)

All Eyes On Iyorchia Ayu As PDP Inaugurates New NWC Beyond the successful outcome of its recent national convention, the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, under a new leadership is faced with the daunting task to reinvent itself and return to its winning ways as 2023 approaches, writes Emameh Gabriel

T

he Rescue Nigeria mantra recently adopted by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as its campaign slogan for 2023 will come in full fledged on Friday, December 10 when its newly elected National Working Committee (NWC) takes over the baton to steer the affairs of the party for the next four years. Beyond this, the new leadership of the party is shouldered with the responsibility to return the former biggest political party in Africa to the centre of power come 2023.

Coming out of its last national convention without rancour has put to rest speculations of a gasping PDP that many believed the exercise could be its last as a political party. But against all odds, the PDP proved to be more resilient. The party is not only ready to push the ruling APC to the limit this time but it is also determined to give it a fight for its power and money come 2023.

Obviously, the outcome of the convention has sent shivers down the spin of the ruling party that is currently not certain of its direction to 2023, given the current leadership tussle that has engulfed its various state chapters; all the way to the national level- a situation tied to who decides what, takes what and gets what in 2023.

On Sunday, October 31, former Senate President, Ayorchia Ayu formally became the party’s national chairman through the party’s old tradition- consensus building. Ayu and 19 of the 21 new officials emerged by consensus after a high level horse trading at the geopolitical/zonal caucus levels, underlining the strong desire of the major opposition party to portray a veneer of unity and stability, and give order to an otherwise very difficult situation.

The PDP was riddled with leadership crisis that cost it a huge fortune in the last few years and became even worse in 2021 when three governors and several lawmakers from the Senate and House of Representatives left the party for the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC).

Before the party’s latest twist of fortune, it was enmeshed in an atrocious internal wrangling among factions, underlined by the conflict between the erstwhile party Chairman, Uche Secondus and the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike.

Since the party’s defeat at the 2015 election, all has not been well, as all prescriptions intended to put it back on its feet fell short of restoring the health of the former biggest political party in Africa.

The bulk of this blame was directed at the party’s leadership under Uche Secondus, who they accused of complacency and corruption. A factor attributed to the loss of Zamfara, Ebonyi and even Cross River to the APC as their governors decided to jump ship.

Despite the success recorded at its recent convention, Nigeria’s major opposition party is still confronted with crisis in some of its state chapters- a leadership conundrum bequeathed by the outgoing Uche Secondus led-NWC. Prince Kassim Afebgua, a former Edo State Commissioner for Information, acknowledged this when he told THISDAY in exclusive chat that the “new leadership of the party has a lot on its plate to resolve.”

Notwithstanding, the fortune of the party can be turned around. The timing is not at all bad for Ayu who has won the confidence of members of the PDP. The current economic woes in the country, hunger, inflation, the rising state of insecurity across the country, the cracks in the ruling party and the rage by Nigerians who are no longer comfortable with the state of the nation, provide a starting point for the new National Chairman of the PDP to activate the PDP’s rescue agenda in profound ways.

With all of these put together, Ayu will assume office with the strongest political tailwind, like Buhari did in 2015 with the APC’s ‘Change’ mantra. Of course, his party and well-wishers are desperate to make a hero of him by ensuring that the APC is sent packing in 2023. But first, he must start as a bridge builder.

Last week, Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike confirmed that the new leadership of the PDP, waiting to be inaugurated on December

Ayu savours the victorious moment of his election as National Chairman of PDP 10, has started engaging Nigerians and other party members on identifying what the problems are and how to address them properly.

The election of Ayu, a former Sociology lecturer and Minister in President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration as party chairman was a watershed moment for a party that tried unsuccessfully to dislodge the APC at the 2019 general election. Many analysts see it as an attempt by the PDP to return to its old ways, as it was during the nascent days of the Fourth Republic, when the party was driven by ideas and populated by men who understood the high ideals of democracy.

A former Governor of Plateau State Nigerian Ambassador to Kenya, Fidelis Tapgun, has described the adoption of Ayu as the best decision taken by the party in the last few years, noting that he is a peg fit for the job.

He said the “election of Senator Iyorcha Ayu, as the National Chairman, of the PDP, means the party has returned to the ideals of its founding fathers.

“The PDP is not called the PDP for nothing. I want to congratulate the new national chairman and the chairman of the national convention committee for a job well done because the party is now in the hands of those who understand the idea that informed the formation of the PDP.” “No single person was dictating happenings in the party. When people saw

how truly democratic the PDP was in its operations during the conduct of the council elections, many more people joined the party afterwards.

“The implication is that the party will now go back to its original philosophy centred on fairness and value for the people”, he noted.

This assertion is a testament to Ayu’s credentials but beyond this, he must prove that he is worth the confidence reposed in him by the PDP. Reinvigorating Saraki led- Reconciliation Committee Obviously, PDP’s journey to its national convention was confronted with various crises, but despite the smooth outcome of the exercise, some of the cracks in the party has either been resolved or mitigated.

Credit must go to the National Reconciliation and Strategy Committee, (NRSC) which was set up by the out-going NWC, in December 2020, to identify problems in the party and resolved them while also suggesting strategies that could help the party.

Led by immediate past Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, the NRSC has former Senate President Anyim Pius Anyim, former governors Liyel Imoke, Ibrahim Shema, and Ibrahim Dankwanbo, and former leader of the House of Representatives, Mrs Mulikat Akande-Adeola among others as members.

Notwithstanding, the fortune of the party can be turned around. The timing is not at all bad for Ayu who has won the confidence of members of the PDP. The current economic woes in the country, hunger, inflation, the rising state of insecurity across the country, the cracks in the ruling party and the rage by Nigerians who are no longer comfortable with the state of the nation, provide a starting point for the new National Chairman of the PDP to activate the PDP’s rescue agenda in profound ways

The body was set up at a time when the party was in tatters and many top members were leaving in droves. The committee resolved the crisis in Ogun State, the 14-year old crisis in the Borno State chapter. It also recorded success in bringing together the feuding groups in Nasarawa, Ekiti and Plateau states.

The committee also recorded a breakthrough in the Niger State crisis. The crisis in Lagos was also resolved, though the disruption in the last congress in the state suggested that there is a lot more to do in Lagos State. However, the PDP is also making frantic efforts to poach from the ruling party in the state and has successfully infiltrated the Lagos State chapter of the APC. Despite these achievements recorded by the committee, more is expected of Ayu to ensure that the party has a smooth ride to 2023.

Afegbua has advised the new leadership of the party to be more calculative in its approach and be concious of the fact that there is work ahead to ensure that the party regains its position at the centre of power.

Afegbua in an exclusive chat with THISDAY said the NWC started on a good note with the structuring of the party’s account system to entrench a culture of transparency.

He said: “The new leadership no doubt, has a lot on its plate to resolve, but with the way they have started, the sky will be its limit.

“The party’s accounting system has to be well structured to entrench a culture of transparency different from the opaque system of the previous exco. The recent retreat of the party captured in eloquent details what the way forward should be.

“The new leadership should apply holistic measures to have the buy-in of critical stakeholders in party activities. The language of inclusion and not exclusion is very important in rallying all the factors together for any party engagement. The women and youth are critical mass effect which must be accommodated and cultivated to expand the support base of the party”, Afegbua advised.

He added that, “Before the 2023 presidential election, the PDP must take deliberate, conscious and sustained steps to sustain its present stability across board to be able to withstand the monstrosity of the APC. The opportunity is there for grabs by the PDP if the leadership is able to look beyond selfish and parochial interest to embrace a most encompassing and robust approach to dealing with party issues.

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T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY DECEMBER 7, 2021

POLITICS

The Task Before Ayu Gbenga Giwa suggests that the new national leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party may ride on the current wealth of goodwill from Nigerians to return to its old winning ways

O

n December 9, 2021, the four-year tenure of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) led by its National Chairman Uche Secondus, will officially come to an end and that of Iyorchia Ayu, elected 40 days earlier, on October 31st, will begin. Secondus himself will not be around to oversee the handing and taking over, because he has been consumed by the power play that engulfed the party for over six months before the party’s National Convention of October 31st.

Because of that tussle for the soul of the party, many had feared that the National Convention will be acrimonious. But to the surprise of many onlookers, the convention turned out to be the best the PDP has organised in recent times. The ruling party, the All Progressive Congress (APC) which had expected mayhem at the PDP National Convention must now really be envious at the ease with which the PDP managed itself and achieved tremendous success. For the record, 18 elective offices, including that of the National Chairman, out of the available 21, were filled through consensus. Even the losers in the other three offices contested for, heartily congratulated the winners, with the top echelon of the party, singing ‘no winner, no vanquished’ tune. And the icing on the cake was the emergence of a 25-year old, as the party’s National Youth Leader.

No doubt, the PDP displayed finess and class at its National Convention of October 31st.

Now that the Secondus tenure is about winding up, how does Ayu ride on the good-feel factor, occasioned by the successful National Convention, when he takes over? What are his blueprints to disappoint the naysayers who said the silence at the PDP Convention, was that of a graveyard?

How would he shed the toga that he will be a lackey of the governors because they were largely instrumental to his emergence as Chairman? How is he going to tackle the issue of impunity and imposition of unpopular candidates, usually foster on the party by the governors and other bloc of godfathers? And most importantly, going into an election year, how is he going to handle the delicate

Secondus

issue of the high-octane ambitions of Atiku Abubakar, Bukola Saraki, Aminu Tambuwal, Sule Lamido, Pius Anyim, Tanimu Turaki and other heavyweights, to become the Presidential candidate of the party come 2023?

These are not the end of plethora of challenges facing Ayu and his new NWC team. But if they can device a roadmap that addresses these aforementioned issues, then PDP could be on its way back to prominence and power. Fortunately, Ayu is not a novice in the dense Nigerian political chess game. As a matter of fact, he was part of the first eleven of the PDP in the form of the G7, G17 and G34, that eventually became the Peoples Democratic Party in 1998. An academic of repute.

He was Chairman of Jos University chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, (ASUU). He is also a Marxist. You dont confront Olusegun Obasanjo and dare the consequences without being a tiger yourself. Together with Atiku he wrestled Baba Iyabo to

Tambuwal

Saraki

the ground on ‘3rd term’, although, he will be the first to display the scar of the injury he too sustained for his gallantry.

So, confronting intra-party crisis, daunting as it is, Ayu would be well served from his experience in the past. And it’s heartwarming to note what he said about the party shortly after being officially pronounced as the new National Chairman and I quote: “We were not happy that we lost power in 2015. However, with the benefit of hindsight, it is good that APC came to power. Nigerians have now seen the limit of falsehood, the emptiness of propaganda and the shallowness of demagoguery. APC has shown us that a party can manipulate its way into power, but if it has no ideas or coherent programmes about how to govern, then such a party will resort to executive surrender, recklessness and perpetual excuses. As a party, we have learnt our lessons in both defeat and opposition. We have also reinvented ourselves and we are coming back, united and stronger than before”. He then pointedly addressed party members: “to our faithful members, the new National Working Committee, NWC, pledges to be guided by our constitution, teamwork, internal democracy and

constant consultation.”

Ayu said Nigerians should look up to PDP for succour, because according to him, “we are in a sorry state as at present, because the gloom, the insecurity, the attendant bloodletting, the widening North-South divide, the ethnic tensions, religious suspicious, etc are all on a scale that has never been seen before in our nation.

And what is worse, the nepotism, mismanaged economy, rising cost of living and the unbelievable incompetence of the APC-led government have taken the destruction of our country to the Next Level.”

After the party’s National Convention, the party organized a two-day retreat for the newly elected NWC members, a couple of weeks ago which was conveyed in order for “stock-taking, honest self-assessment and bold decision taking”.

No doubt, the PDP has demonstrated seriousness in putting its house in order. The goodwill is there. CanAyu take advantage of this goodwill and offer better alternative to the APC? He, more than anyone knows that the attention span of Nigerians are very short and the honeymoon occasioned by the recent happenings at Wadata House can easily disappear as quickly as it appeared.

All Eyes On Iyorchia Ayu As PDP Inaugurates New NWC He continued: “The sins of the APC are so many that it will be shocking if Nigerians could forgive them. They have impoverished millions with their nebulous policies that are not properly captured and structured to address the precarious situation we find ourselves. Nigeria is now the poverty capital of world, corruption has gone worse under a government that preaches anticorruption, while unemployment has become pandemic. So, for the PDP, the campaign issues are self-defining and might become more compelling when the subsidy removal becomes manifest.

“It is going to be a tough battle ahead, said Afebgua who expressed confidence in the quality and content of the Iyorchia Ayu-led executives that he said “would put the party in stronger stead in contention for power”.

On his part, Efe T Williams, a public affairs analyst, said the PDP has a very good chance for comeback but that would depend on if the leadership of the party is willing to return the party to the people.

He said despite the huge disappointment to Nigerians by the ruling party, the PDP still has an ugly story that it must in first instance convince Nigerians otherwise.

William said: “It will be more than miracle, but possible if certain things are done right to rebrand the PDP. “Considering some of the glaring failures the ruling APC, and the wobbling party politics, the PDP can harvest from it, when and if the party first and foremost put its house in order. The party started well with a rancour free convention, it can build on it by repositioning the itself across the the country, from the ward level.

“The 16 years of PDP has its ups, and so many terrible downs, and the label will not leave by wishes. There has to be deliberate, strategic rebranding, a daily marketing of what the party represents, something far from the hubris that the umbrella means to Nigerians.

“The party should be owned by the “people”, not by some godfathers and mothers. Nigerians who are denied participation in other parties,

will find home in the party,” he said.

Ekiti as Ayu’s First Test The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has slated the elections to hold in Ekiti for June 18, 2022. While APC in the state is working round the clock to retain its control of the state, the opposition PDP has boasted that it has retooled to retake the state.

No doubt, even being an opposition party in the state, the PDP in Ekiti State remains well structured and strong enough to give the ruling party in the state a run for its power and money.

The elections do not just signpost a renewal of bitter rivalry. There is the 2023 general election context playing out in the preparations for the guber polls by the parties, especially as far as the South-West geopolitical zone is concerned.

APC currently controls five out of the six states in the region and has boasted it will retain Ekiti and subsequently, Osun.

But the opposition PDP is roaring a big comeback.

Is South-east in the Piicture?

In what appeared to be a surprise twist, last week, the new leadership of the PDP took its reconciliation train to the Aso Rock residence of Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Orji Kalu.

The team was led by the National Secretary of the PDP, Senator Samuel Anyanwu alongside other newly elected officials of the party.

The visit came amidst strong talks that the former Abia State Governor was being positioned for the 2023 presidency to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari.

This also came few days after the visit of APC National Leader and former Governor of Lagos State, Ahmed Bola Tinubu, also a presidential candidate, hopeful for the

ruling All Progressive Congress.

Kalu’s recent visit to the leader of the Indenginous People of Biafra, IPOB, Nnamdi Kanu, had also raised many questions about speculations of his ambition to throw his hat into the ring.

The PDP had said its presidential ticket is open to every region and would only support a candidate that can win election for it. The opposition party has punctured the position of the South-east that it is the turn of the region to produce the next president, based on justice and equity.

Ahead of the 2023 general election, the PDP on Thursday, appealed to the Senate Chief Whip, Sen. Orji Kalu to return to the party.

The National Secretary of the Party, Sen. Samuel Anyanwu, had during the meeting with Kalu appealed to him to return to his former party.

According to Anyanwu who described Orji Kalu as a respected leader in the Southeast, he said they came to visit a friend, “And to let him know the reason why he should move over to our party. We had a good discussion and this is just the beginning.”

He said the visit was part of efforts by the PDP to bring their members back and reposition the party.

“We are talking about bringing people back to the party because the more the merrier.

“This is a place he started, so you have to leave where you are and go back to where you started,’’ Anyanwu stressed. Kalu, is an ardent supporter of President Muhammadu Buhari and a reliable member of the APC left the PDP in November 2016.

Though he has not openly declared interest in the 2023 presidential election, his presidential posters flooded major cities in the country recently and should Kalu consider the bait, with the influence of Anyanwu’s office, he might be the favour-

able candidate for the opposition party from the East and going by the agitation from the region, the South-east as it has always been, would be a no-go-area for the ruling party.

But will Orji Kalu take the offer if the speculation is anything to go by? Again can Kalu win a Presidential election for the opposition party when the ruling party controls most of the state in the North and South-west?

Kalu was among names of prominent South-east leaders shortlisted by a group, under the aegis of Umunna LekkiAssociation, as potential candidates for the emergence of an Igbo President in 2023.

The group that comprises young Igbo entrepreneurs residing in the Lekki, Ikoyi, Banana Island, Victoria Garden City (VGC) and Victoria Island axis of Lagos State, expressed its readiness to support the course.

In a statement by President of the group, Ikem Umeh-Ezeoke, the group said it was ready to donate billions of naira to sponsor the election of the shortlisted names from the five states of the South East geopolitical zone. Among theme are: Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Prof. Ngozi Okonji Iweala, Senate Minority Leader, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe and former Abia State governor, Orji Uzoh Kalu.

From Anambra State, they listed former governor of the state, Peter Obi, Charles Udeogaranya, Ben Obi and Henry Okolie-Aboh. The candidates listed from Ebonyi State included the state governor Dave Umahi, Ogbonnaya Onu and Anyim Pius Anyim.

In Enugu, they picked Geoffrey Onyeama, Prof. Barth Nnaji, Nnia John Nwodo Jnr and Ike Ekweremadu. For Imo State, they listed Emeka Ihedioha, Rochas Okorocha, Kema Chikwe and Humphrey Anumudu.

“We are ready to donate billions of Naira to the two main national political parties, the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) if they nominate Nigerians of Igbo extraction to fly their flags in the 2023 presidential election,” the group revealed in the statement.

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T H I S D AY ˾ ͵, 2021

FEATURES

Group Features Editor: Chiemelie Ezeobi Email chiemelie.ezeobi@thisdaylive.com, 07010510430

Tackling Sanitation and Hygiene Challenges beyond Policies Omolabake Fasogbon in this report, writes about individual's quota to the quest to hygiene and sanitation challenge and expedite the attainment of Sustainable Development Goal six in Nigeria

Dirty toilets can cause Urinary Tract Infection

W

ith Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH), status in Nigeria abysmally low, it is that obvious that efforts have to be more than doubled by all stakeholders to reach a commendable height.

This is particularly important where the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which hygiene and sanitation is a crucial item, inches close to the 2030 deadline.

The 2030 UN Agenda recognises the centrality of sanitation and hygiene in the progress of other sectors of the economy, including health, education and poverty reduction.

As a matter of fact, SDG six which places premium on access to WASH for all, is considered a key driver of economic growth, which also provides leverage for existing investments in health and education.

Afterall, it is being said that health is wealth, just as the World Health Organisation (WHO) has conditioned good health as the prerequisite for sustainable development.

Sadly, WASH status in Nigeria has followed a retrogressive pace between 2018 and now, judging from the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene National Outcome Routine Mapping (WASH -NORM ) report.

The WASH -NORM survey being conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics in collabora-

Photo credit: Prevention.com tion with the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and United Nations says only 11 per cent of Nigerian population have access to complete basic WASH services in 2018.

In 2019, the percentage dropped further to nine percent, a situation which experts believed posed a great risk to public health.

In 2018, a state of emergency was declared in the Nigerian WASH sector, which as a result attracted a number of interventions to the sector. Inspite of this support, the sector is still begging for attention.

For instance, the federal government came up with several initiatives to improve access

to water and sanitation, which included construction of over 2,300 additional water points as well as 6,546 sanitation compartments and hygiene facilities across the country.

Most recently is the approximately $10 million donation that the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), received from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), in support of Nigerian government’s initiative to improve WASH services in three Nigerian states, namely Kebbi, Sokoto and Zamfara.

According to UNICEF, 46 million

According to UNICEF, 46 million Nigerians do not have access to proper sanitation while access to safe hygiene facilities nationwide is extremely low at 16 per cent. This situation is interestingly sad given the era of COVID-19 that has reinforced the importance of adequate and safe water, basic sanitation and proper hygiene

Nigerians do not have access to proper sanitation while access to safe hygiene facilities nationwide is extremely low at 16 per cent.

This situation is interestingly sad given the era of COVID-19 that has reinforced the importance of adequate and safe water, basic sanitation and proper hygiene practices to stem the tide of the disease in the country.

Poor access to WASH services has been reported to be the major cause of diarrheal morbidity and mortality in Nigeria, which is also associated with at least 70,000 deaths in children under five each year.

But beyond government actions and or inactions, experts say more can be done at individual's corner to support government's efforts and expedite the attainment of the SDGs on sanitation and hygiene.

They recognise proper hand washing and effective toilet usage &cleaning as cheap and effortless exercise to deal with the demands of sanitation and hygiene.

Experts say individuals observing these with discipline at their private corner would avert a lot of emergency health issues, save cost for developmental projects and consequently bolster economic performance.

Specifically, the WHO noted that proper hand washing and toilet hygiene which are usually taken for granted are important aspects of life

T H I S D AY ˾ ͵, 2021

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FEATURES

Clean toilets are a necessity that will speed up the attainment of SDGs. 94 Percent Nigerians do not Practice Proper Handwashing - UNICEF Relevant reports have shown a decline in how Nigerians observe proper hand washing.

The most recent report from UNICEF says 94 percent of Nigerians do not wash their hand properly. This further puts the country at a disadvantaged position as far as WASH is concerned.

While lack of access to water has becomes a major hitch to fulfilling handwashing precaution, report says that those with access to adequate water are equally guilty.

Acknowledging lack of running water in most Nigerian homes as a fall back to proper hand washing measure, Consultant Pediatrician, Dr. Efunbo Dosekun, noted that a special bucket with a tap at the bottom comes as a good alternative.

She said, "If clean, running water is not accessible, as is common in many parts of the country, use soap and available water but you must not wash your hands in one bucket. If soap and water are unavailable, use an alcohol-based hand sanitiser that contains at least 60 per cent alcohol to clean your hands."

According to her, the hands are the most exposed part of the body where germs are concerned, which when properly washed will yield a 40 per cent reduction in Acute Respiratory Infections, ARI, especially amongst children and prevent many other diseases including the ravaging COVID-19.

Quoting the Centre for Disease Control, CDC, Dosekun enlightened on five steps involved in proper hand-washing and they include "Wet your hands with clean, running water (warm or cold) and apply soap; Rub your hands together to make lather and scrub them well; be sure to scrub the backs of your hands, wrists, between your fingers, and under your nails; Continue rubbing your hands for at least 20 seconds. If without a timer, it advises you hum the “Happy Birthday” song from beginning to end twice; Rinse your hands well under running water; Dry your hands using a clean towel or air dry them; and After washing your hands properly, the CDC advises you use a fresh cloth or paper towel to dry your hands completely. Then use the towel as a buffer between your clean hand and the tap to turn off the water."

A General Practitioner, Dr Safiyaat also recommended that hands should be washed after defecation and after almost every activity for good hygiene.

Photo credit: Google

Diseases from Dirty Toilet Kill Women Every 40 Seconds - Water Aid Indeed, Nigeria has since suffered inadequate toilet facilities to the extent that it was tagged the number one open defecation nation globally, after which is India. Report says over 10 million households or 50 million Nigerians still defecate in the open.

More worrisome is poor sanitation practices or toilet usage that put Nigerians, especially women at risk of toilet diseases and other infectious ailments.

According to WHO, two in three people in the world are in danger of disease because they don’t have access to a clean and safe toilet.

A new analysis released by the international development organisation, WaterAid further puts it that diseases linked to dirty water and lack of safe toilets are the fifth biggest global killers of women.

According to the analysis, diseases from dirty toilet causes more deaths among women than diabetes, HIV/AIDS or breast cancer, taking a woman’s life every 40 seconds.

UNICEF further clarifies that not just lack of access to basic sanitation facilities, but poor hygiene practices has made diarrhoea, the second largest direct cause of childhood deaths in Nigeria.

Away from government roles, experts reckon that the function of a clean and hygiene toilet rests on individuals at home, schools, church and every other public place where government policy does not really interfere.

And just like handwashing, it is on record that many who have access to a toilet facility do not know the proper and ideal way to clean the toilet, such that meet the standard for safety and hygiene.

This knowledge gap alone has cost Nigeria up to N455 billion according to the Convener of Clean Up Nigeria Campaign, Adepeju Jaiyeola, who added that 70 million Nigerians live in pitiable sanitary conditions.

According to CDC, Feaces, either from people or animals is an important source of germs like Salmonella, E. coli O15 and norovirus that cause diarrhoea, and able to spread some respiratory infections like adenovirus and hand-foot-mouth disease.

It is also said that a single gram of human faeces can accommodate as much as one trillion germs, hence, the need for extra care of the toilet.

Towards Clean, Germ Free Toilet In one of its publications, a house cleaning firm, Molly Maid enlightened on effective steps to toilet cleaning, using a toilet cleaner or vinegar to make it harmless and germ free.

It explained thus- begin by applying toilet cleaner to the bowl, and allow it to soak. If you’re using vinegar in place of toilet cleaner, simply pour a cup into the bowl. Quickly swish the cleaner around the bowl with a brush; "While the cleaner soaks in, spray the exterior of the toilet with an all-purpose disinfectant. If the toilet is extra dirty, give it a preliminary wipe-down with paper towels and toss them in the trash;

A new analysis released by the international development organisation, WaterAid further puts it that diseases linked to dirty water and lack of safe toilets are the fifth biggest global killers of women...UNICEF further clarifies that not just lack of access to basic sanitation facilities, but poor hygiene practices has made diarrhoea, the second largest direct cause of childhood deaths in Nigeria

"Next, use a scrub sponge to clean the exterior of the toilet. Pay attention to the base and floor around the toilet while you’re there. If you have a modern toilet with a quick-disconnect toilet seat, remove the seat and clean it separately; "Once the exterior is clean, use a toilet brush to clean the bowl. If you have hard water rings or stains, use a pumice stone to remove these; "You know the area underneath the rim where water pours out? Since this is out of sight, many people don’t scrub it. Don’t ignore this area! Use your brush or sponge to clean the underside of the rim."

The Good Housekeeping Institute also advised that toilet be washed at least once a week. "But if there are people with bugs or small children around, then daily," it suggested.

In doing this, experts cautioned against the use detergent to get rid of toilet germs and recommend toilet cleaner instead.

This is because in addition to toilet cleaner destructive ingredients, it also comes with a soap base (Surfactants) that aids washing. But also, an Hong Kong based Medical Doctor, Dr Ademola Adeoye warned against the idea of mixing toilet cleaner with bleach which has been a common practice amongst households lately.

According to him, the effect has proven counter productive and deadly to human health away from the intended benefits.

Adeoye informed, “Some toilet cleaners contain hydrochloric acid and ammonia. Mixing bleach and ammonia-based cleaners create gases called chloramines. Mixing acid-based toilet cleaner is also very dangerous, the action of NaOCl on these detergents will cause the release of chlorine gas. Chlorine gas mixed with water will increase the hydrochloric acid content which is quite dangerous, you should know the dangers of acid burns.

“Asides from that, the chlorine gas can irritate the mucous membranes of the nose and eyes and affect breathing. Death is far-fetched but the mixture is definitely harmful,” he said.

The use of toilet paper to clean the anus after defecation has also been widely condemned.

Providing more clarification on this, a General Practitioner, Dr Safiya Ojo once said, “It is better to wash with water than use toilet paper after defecation because water washes completely without a trace, whereas toilet paper might not wash completely or properly.

“The paper particles can attach to the surroundings of the anus which can bring discomfort, while water washes off everything, leaving you clean and fresh."

Bridging Knowledge Gap in Hygiene Practices Government at different tiers have been advised to complement policies and initiatives with constant enlightenment on safe practices to aid the attainment of SDG six.

This safe practice is particularly advocated for sanitation and hygiene to curb diseases spread.

In the words of UNICEF’s Chief Officer in charge of WASH, Mr Kannan Nadar, "it is not enough to drive initiatives when the a larger percentage of the beneficiaries are oblivion of what and what not to do". According to him, reaching the SDG target on sanitation requires that current efforts be multiplied by 15.

Nadar affirmed that there had been a gap between knowledge and attitude in hygiene promotion practice, hence, called for behavioural change in practices.

“Such situation could be reduced with proper hygiene promotion messages. Nigeria needs to scale up its hygiene promotion strategies to enable it become a social norm", he said.

He added that stakeholders would need to develop simple, better and cost effective messages that would enable more Nigerians change their behaviours towards hygiene promotion.

The UNICEF chief also put it to private sector and academic institutions to make use of their platforms to promote safe hygiene messages and support WASH interventions in underserved communities.

In the same vein, the Country Director of WaterAid Nigeria, Chichi Aniagolu-Okoye worried that a lack of hand washing promote programmes have aided inequalities and place individuals at higher risk of contracting diseases with adverse impact on their health, education and livelihoods.

She said, “To accelerate to 2030 and leave no one behind, it is crucial that we move quickly from policy to practice. Ensuring access to hygiene facilities is necessary but not the only step.

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TUESDAY, Ϳ˜ ͺ͸ͺ͹ ˾ T H I S D AY

THE ALTERNATIVE

with RenoOmokri

A Tribute To Those Youths Who Made #EndSARS Possible

Some #EndSARS protesters

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wo weeks ago, I was received by Iceland’s ministers for Justice and Tourism. These were two young women. Þórdís Kolbrún Reykfjörð Gylfadóttir, is just 34 years old, and she moved from the ministry of tourism on November 28, 2021, and is now Minister for Foreign Affairs. Áslaug Arna Sigurbjörnsdóttir is just 31 years old, and she has been the Icelandic minister for justice since 2019.

And then last week, I was at Saint Lucia, where I was received by Joachim Andre Henry, Saint Lucia’s Minister for Equity, Social Justice and Empowerment. He is also in his thirties.

Previously, I met with Antigua’s Minister for Social Transformation, Samantha Marshall, and was struck by her youth.

I am not dropping names here. I am trying to paint a picture. All over the world, young people are finding a role and a voice. But not so in Nigeria.

There is not a single youth in the cabinet of Buhari. Not one. The average age of Buhari’s ministers is 61 years. Please do not take my word for it. Research it yourself. Yet Most of Nigeria’s populace are under 36.

Yet, they are not represented in government!

Obasanjo had multiple youths in his government, including 36-year-old Chukwuemeka Chikelu, and 37-year-old Frank Nweke.

Former President Jonathan had multiple youths in his cabinet, including a 32-yearold foreign affairs minister, Dr. Nurudeen Mohammed.

But it seems Buhari is allergic to youths.

He does not have them in his cabinet, and does not particularly like them, hence his infamous faux pas in London, when he described Nigeria’s youths as “lazy”!

This disdain that Buhari has for Nigeria’s youths led to the #EndSARS protests. Those protests were a cry from Nigeria’s youths

to be involved in their government. And that agitation will not be done away with by meaningless ‘peace walks’ or by inviting Instagram comedians to amuse a Nigerian big man in his office.

The problems of Nigeria’s youths can only be solved by bringing youths into government.

And it is not like there are no capable youths. There are. I was shocked when I read about Buhari’s finance minister’s proposal to plug the N3 trillion subsidy hole by giving out N5000 monthly to 40 million Nigerians. How do you save N3 trillion by spending N2.4 trillion?

Surely, a youth, like Feyi Fawehinmi, can do a better job as finance minister, than the 61-year-old Zainab Ahmed, who has obviously ran out of ideas.

Even within the Buhari administration itself, some youths are buried in obscurity, and who have the brilliance to better manage the direction of the hopeless Buhari regime.

One of such youths is Ajuri Ngelale, who will definitely do a better job as minister for information than Lai Mohammed, who is totally unfit for the job, and has earned an odious reputation for himself as an unrepentant liar and hopeless sycophant.

I am perhaps the most ardent critic of the Buhari administration, and yet, I recently found myself nodding in approval as I listened to the eloquence of Mr. Ngelale, who carries himself well, and seasons his words before discharging them from his mouth.

Even Buhari himself said, “I wish I became Head of State when I was a governor, just a few years as a young man. Now at 72, there is a limit to what I can do."

The man understands his limitations. His issue is that he is not compensating for his limitations. Old age and ill health are some of his many limitations. And rather than lean on youths, he relies on men like the

69-year-old (allegedly) Tinubu, 77-year-old Ibrahim Gambari, and 82-year-old Mamman Daura.

How can you compensate for your weakness with more of your weakness? This is the dilemma of the Buhari cabal. Nigeria is fragile because they are too old, and they are too old because Nigerians are too docile.

That is why I celebrate those youths who were brave enough to take a stand during the #EndSARS protests. That is why I celebrate Debo Adebayo, AKA Mr. Macaroni. I commend Folarin Falana, AKA Falz. I laud David Adeleke, AKA Davido.

And I applaud Obianuju Catherine Udeh, AKA DJ Switch.

There are many others. I cannot mention all. But what I can say is that a time will come when a responsible administration will govern Nigeria, and your labours of love will not be forgotten. It will be memorialised in

Reno’s Darts If Governor Sanwo-olu had the guts of Justice Doris Okuwobi, he would have been calling out Buhari and Buratai, instead of calling Macaroni, Falz and Seun Kuti for a walk for peace. How can you walk on the graves of #LekkiMassacre #EndSARS victims, then call for a walk for peace? Sanwo-olu, grow some balls. Learn from Governor Sam Ortom of Benue state, who looked Buhari to his face and called him out. For how long will you be Tinubu’s lackey? How can you be a Governor and you are still doing baba so pe?

Governor Sanwo-olu should know that it is not ingratitude if you bite the hands that feed you in order to protect the hands that voted for you. Nigerians don’t need a walk for peace. They just need Buhari, Buratai and all those responsible for #LekkiMassacre to walk to prison!

our currency, and our other national symbols, like stamps, passports and statues.

In you, Nigeria’s youths have good role models, who have and will continue to show that if anyone is lazy, it is not our youths.

It is the cabal led by the man who met a total debt of N12 trillion in 2015, and has increased it to N40 trillion, with little to show for it.

I dare say that any of the youths I mentioned above would do a better job than Buhari in piloting the affairs of Nigeria.

How old was Gowon when he became Nigeria’s Head of State? Just 31! Yet, Nigeria made her best progress under him. The Youth Party should look to someone like Davido.

If they field Davido for President, they will be shocked at how people will troop out to vote YDPN! The best leaders in Africa have tended to be very young people. Gaddafi was 27 when he became Libya’s leader. Patrice Lumumba was 34 when he became Congo’s Prime Minister. Gamal Abdel Nasser, Julius Nyerere, Seretse Khama, the list goes on. Even the man Davido is named after became King of Israel at 30.

Reno’s Nuggets When you hear people complaining, listen.

That is how you come up with business ideas. The founders of Uber heard people complaining about the difficulty of getting taxis and came up with Uber. Every successful business is just a solution to other people’s problems. For example, if you hear people complaining about the price of rice, chicken and other consumables, don’t just join in on the complaining. See how you can provide those items at affordable prices. And voila!

Just like that, you have a business! #RenosNuggets #FreeLeahSharibu

LAWYER TUESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2021

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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2021 • T H I S D AY

IN THIS EDITION

Effect of Court’s Reliance on Authorities Not Cited by Parties Page IV

Lagos Peace Walk too Risky in Covid Pandemic Page V

QUOTABLES ‘The Justice Mary Odili house invasion, was an unfortunate incident……The Federal Government or any of its institutions, is not in any way involved……The Report is clear that, it is indeed, an organised crime syndicate that operated, and they will be dealt with accordingly.’ - Abubakar Malami, SAN, Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Federal Republic of Nigeria ‘How can the Attorney-General of Lagos State….who was confirmed by the testimony of…..the Head of Service to have attended the Security Council Meeting of 19/10/2020, where the most senior Military Officer in Lagos was set in motion…..to contain law and order,…..be the Chairman of the White Paper Committee?” - Adesina Ogunlana, Lead Counsel, #EndSARS Protesters

Babalakin JSC: A Judicial 'Iroko' Has Fallen Page V

New Senior Advocates told to be Humble Page V

LAWYER

ONIKEPO BRAITHWAITE: EDITOR, JUDE IGBANOI: DEPUTY EDITOR, PETER TAIWO, STEVE AYA: REPORTERS

III THE ADVOCATE

T H I S D AY • TUESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2021

NYSC, Law School: A Case for Urgent Review NYSC

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n January, 2017, I wrote a piece titled "Has NYSC Run Its Course?". It was about the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme which was established by the NYSC Decree No. 24 of May 22, 1973 during the regime of General Yakubu Gowon, as a one year programme for fresh University graduates "to promote unity, understanding and national integration among Nigerians" after the Nigerian Civil War. It was a laudable idea at the time, and it served its purpose in those days. Even in my time, in the 1980s, many of my friends enjoyed doing their NYSC in different parts of the country. I thoroughly enjoyed doing my Law School Chamber attachment in Kaduna, in the chambers of General I.B.M. Haruna, and I’m sad that, today, the same Kaduna State has become one of the epicentres of kidnapping students, and in several cases, killing them. If I was doing my Law School Chamber attachment today, I wouldn’t step out of Lagos to do it.

I gave a few reasons why I thought the NYSC programme had lost lost its usefulness, or at least, why I believed that even if it continues, it should be reformed. The major reasons which I provided were insecurity; the poor, unhygienic conditions and the deplorable state in the NYSC Camps.

The Nigerian Law School is not immune from these same constraints. And, as far as integration is concerned, today the country seems to be more divided than it has ever been, aside from during the Civil War, on lines of ethnicity/tribe and religion.

At the time I wrote the above-mentioned editorial, the insecurity in the country had not spread and deteriorated to the all time low that it has in recent times. Insecurity was concentrated in the North East with the Boko Haram insurgents, kidnapping in the South South, and a few issues with the Herdsmen in Benue State. Ergo, I stated in that piece: "Certainly, one would be playing Russian Roulette with a child's life, if you posted them to the North East for NYSC. With all the Boko Haram activities going on there, it would be wicked and unfair to post a person who has a whole life ahead of him or her, to a place where there is a high probability of that life span being cut short, since their safety cannot be guaranteed". Today, I can say “ditto for most parts of Nigeria”, since we have been experiencing insecurity across the country.

The same way I felt about posting fresh graduates to Borno State in 2017, is the same way I feel about posting them (and Law School students) to various parts of the country in the various geopolitical zones today. Government has shown uncountable times, that it has been unable to fulfil its constitutional mandate of ensuring the security and welfare of Nigerians (see Section 14(2)(b) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended in 2018)(the Constitution).

I therefore suggested that, since the NYSC was an opportunity for fresh graduates to work, at least for a year before they joined the unemployment cadre, people should no longer be constrained to go out-of-station, unless they opt to. See the articles of Omezia A.D. “Reform or Abrogate NYSC” and “Review of the NYSC Act: An Agenda for Reform” by Desmond O. Oriakhogba and Alero I. Fenemigho (Ajayi Crowther University Law Journal). Agreed, many places may be unsafe, but one tends to feel safer in an environment that one is familiar with. With the practice of Sharia in the Northern States, again, this may discourage Christians and Southerners from wanting to be posted to such places. Meanwhile, presently, I know of a few Southern Christians who were posted to the Yola and Kano Campuses of the Law School - of course, they do not want to go there. When the Federal Government turns a blind eye to State Governments implementing an unconstitutional religious policy which impinges on people’s right to freedom of movement (See Sections 10 & 41 of the Constitution) amongst others, they should know that there will be repercussions, like non-indigenes shying away from going to such places; and they cannot be forced to then go there under the guise of NYSC and Law School, when their concerns are real. Government cannot eat its cake, and have it!

I suggested that NYSC members, can be useful in their own communities. For example, many of them teach in Government schools, while Doctors are posted to Government hospitals. There are Government schools and hospitals in all the States - they can be posted to theirs. And that, instead of wasting time in the NYSC Camp doing military orientation - march past and man-o-war (when many of the graduates have no plans to join the Army or Police) - which adds little or no value to

ONIKEPO BRAITHWAITE onikepo.braithwaite@thisdaylive.com onikepob@yahoo.com Twitter: @TheAdvocate

The

Advocate “Many, myself included, thought that one of the reasons for decentralising the Law School, would be so that students can attend the campus closest to their homes, or the campus of their choice” their lives, there should be skills acquisition so that Corpers could be better equipped to possibly use the skills learned during NYSC to start some small scale business when the service year ends, as opposed to joining the massive group of unemployed graduates, becoming frustrated, and even turning to criminality to make ends meet.

Nigerian Law School: Issues Arising 1) Forced Out-of-Station Postings One of my submissions was that the Nigerian Government should learn to review its policies, update them, and abolish those that are no longer useful. NYSC is one of them. It requires updating. Therefore, many right thinking people find it rather bizarre, that the Nigerian Law School is trying to replicate the same failing NYSC model that requires reform, by posting students to out-of-station campuses by force.

For many, this policy makes little sense.

Many, myself included, thought that one of the reasons for decentralising the Law School, would be so that students can attend the campus closest to their homes, or the campus of their choice. What if a family that resides in Enugu, who barely had enough money to put their child through Nsukka University, and is hoping that the child is posted to the Enugu Campus of Law School to save their meagre resources, is posted to Yola, Lagos or Bwari? How will they pay for the child’s transportation out-of-station? How will they afford to pay for accommodation and living expenses? Does that mean that they won’t see their child for one year, since they are too poor to afford travelling expenses to and from the out-of-station Campus during the school holidays? Even NYSC, no matter how low the salary is, Corpers are paid.

Nigerian Law School, Abuja

I’m even surprised that in the South South, the Law School Campus was taken to Yenagoa and not Port Harcourt in the first place, because Port Harcourt has always been the major city in the South South, as Lagos is in the South West, Kano in the North, and Enugu in the South East.

We also know that the conditions in the Law School Bwari Campus, which is now the main Campus, is less than desirable, and many students opt to stay in external hostels off Campus that offer better living conditions.

Stories of reptiles being found in the Bwari hostel, the filth, sometimes shortage of running water there, abound. I understand that at a time, the Law School Yenagoa Campus was so bare and unsuitable, that members of the NBA were the ones contributing mattresses for use by the students posted there! What is the condition of the other campuses? Someone who went to deliver a lecture at the Lagos Law School, told me how shocked he was at seeing how decrepit things were backstage leading up to the podium.

2) Questions Why then, force people to go to Campuses that are not well equipped and fit for purpose?

Should funds not be expended on fixing the existing campuses, instead of trying to build new ones? The Governor of Rivers State has pledged N5 billion to support the Yenagoa Campus, while building a state of the art facility in the heart of Port Harcourt.

I submit that other funds should rather be ploughed into improving the existing Law School campuses, instead of building more for political or other useless sentiments; for now, anyway. Port Harcourt is a project that has already been approved and commenced - I

think that the expansion of Law School, should stop there for now. Let us see how it fares, before thinking of establishing more.

Again, why force people to go to Campuses that are located in insecure, isolated places, to be sitting ducks for kidnappers? Why is Government, through the Council of Legal Education (CLE), trying to keep up appearances that all is well, and there is no security risk with out-of-station postings? I visited Bwari a few times earlier this year; unlike the Lagos Campus which is situated right in the heart of town, in one of the best and more secure areas of Lagos - Victoria Island, Bwari is 40km or so outside Abuja, and the road leading there becomes rather lonely at some point, with absolutely no security presence thereon. When I visited the new Nabo Graham Douglas Law School Campus that is being constructed in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, I was glad to see that it is located also in the heart of town like Lagos, where students can feel safe, and not inside any secluded or back of beyond area.

3) Unnecessary Campuses And then, a Senator, a non-Lawyer for that matter, decides to usurp the role of the CLE and decides that the Legal Education (Consolidation, Etc) Act 2004 (LEA) should be amended, to allow for the establishment of six more Law School campuses across the geopolitical zones, his village included! Section 1(2) of the LEA gives the CLE the responsibility for the legal education of persons seeking to become members of the legal profession, and this very much includes the Law School. Should it then be the Senate proposing new Law School campuses, or the CLE that would be the body to decide on Law School requirements? Already, the existing Law School campuses are suffering from gross underfunding, and yet the Senate has come up with this harebrained idea to build more? Who will fund it? Is it the States that cannot pay their workers’ salaries? Or the Federal Government that is crumbling under the weight of debt, so much so that ASUU is always on strike because of non-payment of salaries, allowances etc and lack of proper maintenance and upgrading of Universities, that will fund the construction of new campuses, when the existing ones are in dire need of a huge injection of capital?

Good Government Section 4(2) of the Constitution enjoins the National Assembly to inter alia, makes laws for the peace, order and good government of the Federation, not to satisfy silly whims and caprices of Politicians. Granted Items 27 & 28 on the Concurrent Legislative list empowers the National Assembly to establish institutions for professional education, but the question is how sensible such an action is presently, with the situation that Nigeria is facing in terms of insecurity, insufficient funds plus the fact that new campuses are not required. When resources are scare, they must be distributed in terms of priority, and not wasted on non-necessities.

Why waste what we don’t have?! Additionally, presently, the Law School Campuses are spread across the geopolitical zones.

It is obvious that already, Law School Campuses like Yola and Yenagoa are under-subscribed, as those States obviously do not have enough home students to fill their Campuses, nor are they Campuses of choice for out-of-State students. This also sets the stage for corruption, as those who are financially capable will use any means possible, including the offering of bribes to Law School Staff, to change their postings to preferred campuses. Enough of illogical Government policies and half cocked, haphazard, extemporaneous proposed laws from the Senate.

Conclusion Nigeria is being ruled (not led), by a bunch of Political egotistical ‘Apas’ (Wastrels). But, in the case of the Law School, the CLE that knows better has openly disagreed with the Senate/ Sponsor of this new amendment. Recklessly establishing Law School campuses all over the place, so that Politicians can boast that while they were in the Senate, they were able to get a post-Tertiary institution located in their villages, cannot be a sufficient reason for such a ludicrous action, when funding even for the ones that are presently in existence is lacking - the allegation that the present campuses are not enough to admit those who want to go to Law School, has been debunked; the CLE posting innocent students out-of-station given the security and economic challenges the country is facing, is also ill-advised. I urge an urgent rethink.

IV LAW REPORT

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2021 • T H I S D AY

Effect of Court’s Reliance on Authorities Not Cited by Parties Facts The Appellant had earlier instituted Suit No. HOY/7/97 against the Respondents, in respect of a land known as Igbo Ede Iyin in Afijo Local Government Area of Oyo State. However, the said suit was dismissed by the trial court on the ground that the Statement of Claim failed to disclose any reasonable cause of action. Thereafter, by a Writ of Summons filed on March 17, 1998, the Appellant instituted Suit No. HOY/6/98 against the Respondents, in respect of the same land. Subsequently, the Respondents filed an application seeking to strike out the suit, on the ground that the said suit constituted an abuse of the process of court.

In its ruling, the trial court dismissed the application on the basis that the previous suit had only been dismissed in limine, and as such, could not form the basis of res judicata to bar the subsequent filing of the present suit. The court held further that, the present suit did not constitute an abuse of court process.

Dissatisfied with the said ruling, the Respondents appealed to the Court of Appeal, which court upturned the decision of the trial court. In considering the appeal, lower court, suo motu, raised the applicability of Sections 270 and 287 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999, without calling on parties to address it on the point.

The Appellant, who was unhappy with the decision of the appellate court, appealed to the Supreme Court. It was the Appellant’s grouse that the lower court did not also consider the effect of a dismissal not on the merit which was the issue in the appeal, and failed to take cognisance of the Supreme Court decision in (KOSSEN (NIG.) LIMITED & ANOR v SAVANNAH BANK OF NIGERIA LTD (1995) NWLR (Pt. 420) 439), which held that a dismissal not on the merit, has the effect of a mere striking out.

Issues for Determination In its resolution of the appeal, the Supreme Court considered the following issues: 1. Whether the Court of Appeal was right when it suo motu raised and decided the issue of Sections 270 and 287 of the 1999 Constitution, without giving the parties the opportunity to address it on the point.

2. Whether the Court of Appeal properly identified the main issue before it.

3. Whether the Court of Appeal was right in holding that the dismissal of Suit No. HOY/7/97 in limine constituted a bar to a subsequent action, that is,. HOY/6/98.

Arguments On the first issue, counsel for the Appellant argued that the main contention before the lower court, was whether the dismissal of a suit at the very start could form the basis of res judicata which had the effect of preventing the filing of a subsequent action. In resolving this issue, the Court of Appeal suo motu raised and determined the applicability or otherwise of the provisions of Sections 270 and 287 of the 1999 Constitution, without allowing parties address it on the said point, and that such failure occasioned a miscarriage of justice. He relied on the decision of OSHODIN v EYIFUNMI (2000) NWLR (Pt. 360) 1273 at 1305, in support of his assertion. Reacting to the submission, counsel for the 1st Respondent argued that reference

Honourable Mary Ukaego Peter-Odili, JSC In the Supreme Court of Nigeria Holden at Abuja On Friday, the 4th day of June, 2021 Before Their Lordships

Mary Ukaego Peter-Odili Kudirat Motonmori Olatokunbo Kekere-Ekun Ejembi Eko Ibrahim Muhammad Musa Saulawa Adamu Jauro Justices, Supreme Court SC.115/2008 Between Mr. Moses Olayiwola Adegbanke

Appellant

And 1. Dr. Toyin Ojelabi 2. Executive Governor of Oyo State 3. Director General, Ministry of Lands

Respondents

(Lead Judgement delivered by Honourable Mary Ukaego Peter-Odili, JSC)

to the provisions of Sections 270 and 287 of the 1999 Constitution did not have the effect of a ratio decidendi, as the reference was made in the course of an obiter dictum. He contended further that a court of law as a master of its court is not confined to only the legal authorities cited by counsel, and is not obligated to give counsel notice of the legal authorities it intends to rely on. He relied on MADAM HELEN OBULOR & ORS v LINUS WESOBORO (2001) FWLR (Pt. 47) 1004 at 1007.

On the second and third issues, counsel argued on behalf of the Appellant that the Court of Appeal did not properly identify the main issue before it (i.e. whether the Suit No. HOY/7/97 was dismissed in limine or on the merits and the effect of such dismissal on filing a new suit), but rather erroneously, on its own tangent, raised the issue of the applicability or otherwise of Sections

“…..a court of law has no legal duty to confine itself only to authorities cited by the parties. It can, in an effort to improve its judgement, rely on authorities not cited by the parties, and this is not per se breach of fair hearing, not even in the twin rules of natural justice”

270 and 287 of the 1999 Constitution, in holding that a judgment is valid and binding until set aside, and that the judgment had the effect of a dismissal.

He relied on EBBA v OGODO (1984) 1 SCNLR 372. He contended that the dismissal in Suit No. HOY/7/97 was in limine, which only had the effect of a mere striking out and could not act as a subsequent bar to the filing of Suit No. HOY/6/98 - KOSSEN v SAVANNAH BANK (1995) 25 SCNJ 29 at 40.

Arguing on the contrary, counsel for the 1st Respondent contended that the dismissal of Suit No. HOY/7/97 had not only put an end to the Appellant’s claim, but had also created a subsequent bar to claims, even though oral evidence had not been led in support of the Appellant’s pleadings in the said suit. He relied on OGBECHIE & ORS v ONOCHE & ORS (1988) 1 NWLR (Pt. 70) 370 at 395 in support of his position. He submitted that the commencement of Suit No. HOY/6/98 by the Appellant after the earlier dismissal of HOY/7/97, constitutes an abuse of court process.

Court’s Judgement and Rationale Regarding the first issue, the Supreme Court held that the Court of Appeal rightly found that the appeal before it bordered on the import of Sections 270 and 287 of the 1999 Constitution, which position does not require calling of parties to address it, even though the court raised the issue suo motu. A court of law is entitled to take judicial notice of all

laws and enactments and any subsidiary legislation made thereunder, having the force of law in any part of Nigeria - Section 74(1) of the Evidence Act; T.M. ORUGBO & ANOR v BULANA UNA & ORS (2000) 9 SCNJ 12 at 32-33.

The Court also held that a court of law has no legal duty to confine itself only to authorities cited by the parties. It can, in an effort to improve its judgment, rely on authorities not cited by the parties, and this is not per se breach of fair hearing, not even in the twin rules of natural justice.

The court held further that it is not every error of law that justifies the reversal of a judgement, as the error must have occasioned the miscarriage of justice for such reversal to take place - CHIEF JOHNSON IMAH & ANOR v CHIEF AJOWELE OKOGBE & ORS (1993) 12 SCNJ 57 at 77. Applying the principle above, Their Lordships held that no miscarriage of justice had occurred, as the main issue in contention before the court was whether the judgment in the previous suit could prevent the filing of the subsequent action, and not on the applicability or otherwise of Sections 270 and 287 of the 1999 Constitution as to whether the judgment was binding and valid until set aside. As such, parties need not address the court on that point. It is not in all instances of failure of the court to give opportunity to parties to address it, that automatically occasions a miscarriage of justice as each case depends on the merits.

Reference to Sections 270 and 287 of the 1999 Constitution while arriving at their decision and judgement, did not amount to raising a fresh issue which necessitated a further address of counsel.

Deciding the second and third issues, the court held that multiplicity of actions with the same parties, even where there is a right to bring the actions is an abuse of court process, and the abuse lies in the multiplicity and manner of the exercise of the right, rather than the exercise of the right per se. Abuse of the process of court will arise where multiple actions are instituted on the same subject-matter against the same opponent, on the same issues - SARAKI v KOTOYE (1992) 9 NWLR (Pt. 264) 156 at 188. Applying the principle above, the Supreme Court held that the dismissal of Suit No. HOY/7/97 had put an end to the Appellant’s claim, and had also created a bar to subsequent claims on the same issue. The court reasoned further that though oral evidence was not led in support of the previous suit, that does not justify the assumption that the suit was dismissed in limine and not on merit, as “hearing” a case is not only by oral evidence. The court cited TOMTEC NIGERIA LIMITED v FEDERAL HOUSING AUTHORITY (2009) 12 SCNJ 190 at 201-202.

Regarding the applicability of the decision of KOSSEN (NIG.) LIMITED & ANOR v SAVANNAH BANK OF NIGERIA LTD (1995) NWLR (Pt. 420) 439, the Supreme Court held that the case can be distinguished from the present appeal. Their Lordships stated that a court, after the dismissal of a suit, lacks the competence to delve into the matter inasmuch as the court is being presided by another Judge, and that the court lacks the jurisdiction to re-phrase the judgement of a court of co-ordinate jurisdiction - NGWO v MONYE (1970) 1 All NLR 91.

Appeal Dismissed.

Representation Oladipo Olasope, SAN with I.B. Ebhodage, Esq. and Emmanuel Idahosa, Esq. for the Appellant.

L.A. Folorunsho, Esq. for the 1st Respondent.

Reported by Optimum Publishers Limited, Publishers of the Nigerian Monthly Law Reports (NMLR)(An affiliate of Babalakin & Co.)

V NEWS

T H I S D AY • TUESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2021

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu

Hon. Justice Bolarinwa Oyegoke Babalakin JSC (Rtd)

BOSAN Executives with the Induction Programme Facilitators; L- R: Justice Mojeed Owoade JCA, Mr Olumide Sofowora, SAN, Prof. Fabian Ajogwu, SAN, Justice Helen Ogunwumiju JSC, Chief Felix Fagbohungbe, SAN, Justice Musa Muhammed Dattijo JSC, Chief Folake Solanke, SAN, Justice Ejembi Eko JSC, Justice Obietonbara Daniel-Kalio JCA, Mrs Miannaya Essien, SAN, Prof.

Lanre Onadeko, SAN and Chief Emeka Ngige, SAN

Lagos Peace Walk too Risky in Covid Pandemic Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has been advised to shelve the planned Peace Walk in support of the White Paper of the Lagos State Government on #EndSARS. In a letter to the His Excellency, Governor Sanwo-Olu, a Member of the Body of Benchers, Chief Kunle Uthman, said the planned Peace Walk would be too risky at this point in time, in the face of the raging Covid pandemic and its new variant.

In the letter he asked: ‘What is the purpose, intention and reason for a Government (anywhere) to gather in one place tens of thousands of people at this time of Covid-19 pandemic?

‘As an addendum, how does His Excellency intend to manage these large number of divergent groups and persons?

‘His Excellency should recognise as a fact that, there is a new variant of Covid-19 in the world, no decipherable cure and travel bans are being imposed globally. The British Government have imposed travel restrictions on Nigerians, travelling to the United Kingdom.

‘What is the macro benefit, if any, to be derived from a Walk that will lead to communal spread of Covid-19, in a

State where most of the residents have not been vaccinated?

As it were, His Excellency should cancel the Peace Walk, because it cannot be justified and there are no reasons whatsoever, for this Peace Walk slated for this month of festivities, or at any other time, because it would serve no useful benefits to anybody, and will further exacerbate the situation and make us a "laughing stock" in the comity of nations. This Walk, as contemplated is suicidal, and any dire consequences resultant thereat, the Lagos State Government will be held accountable and indeed, responsible.

‘A Stitch In Time Saves Nine.’

On the report of the Judicial Panel on #EndSARS, Chief Uthman opined that a White Paper to review the report, is absolutely unnecessary.

He said: ‘The Panel's key findings included inter alia, the following: That the Nigerian Army was invited for intervention, officers of the Army shot, injured and killed unarmed, helpless and defenceless Protesters, without provocation or justification, while they were waving the Nigerian flag and singing the National Anthem, and the manner of killing

could be described as a Massacre.

‘The Panel also found that the conduct of the Nigerian Army was exacerbated, by its refusal to allow ambulances

render medical assistance to victims who required such assistance.

‘The Panel found that, LCC hampered the Panel's investigation. It manipulated the incomplete

CCTV video footage of the Lekki Tollgate (LTG) on the night of the 20th of October, 2020.’

He advised that the Government should offer a public apology

to #EndSARS Protesters who were killed, injured and traumatised by the incident of October 20, and discountenance the recommendations of the White Paper Committee.

End Gender-Based Violence Now, Says AWLA Stories by Steve Aya African Women Lawyers Association (AWLA) has called for an end to genderbased violence, saying that it is against all international conventions. This views were expressed, at the start of the Orange Campaign.

The campaign kicked off on the International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women on November 25, all through to Human Rights Day on December 10. During the period, several events and programs are carried out to increase awareness, advocacy efforts and actions to prevent and eradicate violence against women

and girls. It is basically an organising strategy by individuals and organisations around the world, to call for actions for the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls.

Speaking at the launch of the Campaign, Amanda Demechi-Asagba, President of AWLA said: "We at AWLA, are poised to go the extra mile for women and children to give them a voice, by rendering free legal representation for indigent women and girls, and free legal clinic every Friday at all our offices from 9am till 5pm. Walk-in is also available".

"We regularly carry out

schools, hospitals markets and religious worship centres’ sensitisation, to reach out to the general public.

Particularly schools, in order to catch them young and instill the right values, and mindset of equality and violence free society."

According to her, violence against women and children, specifically against the girl child, has become a norm within our society. Women in Africa, like their counterparts all over the world, suffer domestic violence irrespective of their class, age, race, religion or social status, and this has become one of the most prevalent human rights violations in the world.

This violence is based

on an imbalance of power, and is carried out with the intention to humiliate and make a person or group feel inferior, and/ or subordinate. This type of violence is deeply rooted in the social and cultural structures, norms and values that govern society, and is often perpetuated by a culture of denial and silence.

Gender-based violence can happen in both the private and public spheres, and it affects women disproportionately.

The 2021 theme is “Orange the World: End Violence Against Women Now!” and the orange day celebrations will end on the December 10, 2021.

Law School Class of 1991 Awards Scholarships to 30 Indigent Students As part of celebration of its 30th anniversary, the NLS Class of ‘91 has fulfilled its pledge to award 30 scholarships to indigent Students of the Nigerian Law School 2021 set. This was made known in a statement issued by the Chairman, Anniversary Committee, Prof Paul Ananaba, SAN.

According to Joyce Oduah, Chairlady, Publicity and Mobilisation Subcommittee, the Committee received 560 applications.

To determine the most deserving 30 Applicants, a rigorous screening process was adopted.

Speaking on the process followed, the Chairman, Scholarship Selection Com-

mittee, Mr Sam Kargbo, stated that the first criteria was based on the number of Students who had not paid their school fees, as the payment was made directly to the Law School account. This whittled down the Applicants to 168. The 30 Applicants chosen, were from the six Nigerian geopolitical

zones The Class of ‘91’s 30th year reunion will hold in Abuja on December 10, 2021, at Nigerian Airforce Mess, Kado District, Abuja.

In attendance to deliver the keynote address will be the Vice President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Prof Yemi Osinbajo, SAN.

The new Senior Advocates have been told to be humble, and be leading lights of the legal profession in Nigeria.

This was the general submission at the 4th induction programme organised by the Body of Senior Advocates of Nigeria (BOSAN), during the week.

With the induction being legal ethics and professionalism in the practice of law, this is one of the

many series of events organised for the SANs, before they take the Oath later tomorrow.

Speaking on the topic “Understanding the Culture and Demand of Continuous Excellence at the Inner Bar”, Hon. Justice Musa Dattijo Muhammed of the Supreme Court, told the new SANs not to think of this as being the highest level of the law profession, but rather, the beginning. He also urged

them to show respect to both the Inner Bar and the Bench, because they are the custodians. He cautioned them against any act that will bring disregard to the Inner Bar, as the result of such an act may be unpleasant.

Also speaking, Hon. Justice Mojeed Owoade of the Court of Appeal, told the new SANs not to join the bandwagon of Lawyers that are fond of writing petitions to the

National Judicial Council (NJC) for unfounded reasons. He also urged them not to make their appeal the ground of their petitions, even where there is a reason to.

Other Facilitators at the induction include Hon. Justices Helen Ogunwumiju and Ejembi Eko of the Supreme Court, and Hon. Justice Obietonbara Daniel-Kalio of the Court of Appeal, amongst others.

Babalakin JSC: A Judicial 'Iroko' Has Fallen New Senior Advocates told to be Humble the deceased’s family, the Steve Aya Hon. Justice Bolarinwa Oyegoke Babalakin JSC, (Rtd) passed on early Saturday, December 4, 2021 at the ripe old age of 94.

Justice Babalakin was called to the London Bar, in the late 1950s. The late Jurist, who is also the father of Lawyer and businessman, Dr Wale Babalakin, SAN, retired from the Supreme Court in 1992.

According to the announcement issued by

nonagenarian was buried at Gbongan in Osun State on Saturday at 4 pm.

“With Total Submission to Almighty Allah, We Announce Return of Our Father, Grandfather, An Eminent Jurist, Justice Bolarinwa Babalakin, JSC,(Rtd) to Allah this morning, Saturday, 4th December, 2021.

Janaazah prayers for him, were held at Gbongan in Osun State, on the same day. “

VI COVER

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2021 • T H I S D AY

Nigerian Law School, Lagos Campus

Law School Campuses: How Many, How Necessary?

In 1962, the Nigerian Law School, the nation’s only qualifying training institution for Lawyers, took off at a temporary structure at No. 213, Igbosere Street, Lagos, before moving to its permanent site on Adeola Hopewell Street, Victoria Island. The School’s pioneer set of students, mostly already called to the English Bar, have over the decades, turned out some of the best Lawyers in Africa, some of whom have distinguished themselves at the Bar and on the Bench. As Nigerian Universities continued to churn out Law graduates, and the number of prospective Lawyers seeking admission into the only campus of the Nigerian Law School soared, it became necessary to expand, in order to accommodate more entrants. Thus, in 1997, the Bwari, Abuja Campus of the School was opened to admit more students, then that of Enugu; Kano in 1999, and subsequently, Yenagoa iߺn 2009, Yola in 2013, and Port Harcourt which is still under construction, was established in 2021. But, ever since these additional campuses have been established, there has been demand for the establishment of more Law School campuses, six to be precise, to be sited in the geopolitical zones. How healthy is this call for more campuses? Is it just about playing politics? Are new campuses necessary, when the existing ones are suffering from gross underfunding, while some of them remain under-utilised? Are the existing campuses not already spread across the geopolitical zones? Can the existing campuses not just be expanded, if the need arises? The Council of Legal Education (CLE) recently issued a Report and Guidelines on the subject-matter. Hon. Igo Aguma, Abubakar Sani, Bayo Owojori, Rasheed Ibrahim and Tolu Aderemi, examine the contentious issues surrounding the call for more campuses of the Nigerian Law School; and they all (including CLE) seem to agree that while the Law School has issues that need to be resolved to improve its standard generally, the building of new campuses in the six geopolitical zones is unnecessary

Nigerian Law School Doesn’t Need Additional Campuses High Points of the Memorandum by the Council of Legal Education (Nigerian Law School) This memorandum is presented in response to the Notice of Public Hearing with Ref No. NASS/S/CJHL/024/01/PH.6/2021/04 dated 27th October, 2021, requesting for comments from the relevant stakeholders and the general public, with respect to three Bills that have passed second reading at the Plenary of the Senate of Federal Republic of Nigeria.

This memorandum by the Council of Legal

Education is in response to the following Bills: (1) Legal Education (Consolidation, Etc) Act L10 LFN 2004 (Amendment Bill 2021) (S8.820) (2) Legal Practitioners Act, Cap L11 LFN 2004 (Repeal and and Re-Enactment) Bill, 2021 Introduction The Council of Legal Education (CLE) was established pursuant to the provisions of Legal Education Act in 1962, to set up and supervise the Nigerian Law School, as well as design a curriculum for the school to provide Bar vocational training for aspirants to the Nigerian Bar. Response of the CLE/NLS to the Is-

“It is the humble view of the Council of Legal Education/Nigerian Law School that, the establishment of additional campuses for the Nigerian Law School is most inauspicious and perhaps, misplaced……Available precedents for establishment of campuses of institutions, is always left to the institution; it is not by legislative intervention”

sues Raised by NASS for Proposing Additional Campuses for the Nigerian Law School The Council of Legal Education/Nigerian Law School deeply appreciates the concern of the NASS for Council of Legal Education/Nigerian Law School in the effective discharge of its statutory duties, to wit: i. establishment of the Nigerian Law School to provide Bar vocational training for aspirants to the Nigerian Bar; ii. approval of the curriculum for the training of the students of the Nigerian Law School; and iii. Accreditation of the LL.B programmes of the Faculties of Law in Nigeria.

It is the humble view of the Council of Legal Education/Nigerian Law School that, the establishment of additional Campuses for the Nigerian Law School is most inauspicious and perhaps, misplaced for the following reasons: (1) The six campuses of the Nigerian Law School currently admit less than 6000 annually, as against their potential in-take capacity of about 10,000 if the Campuses are strengthened and consolidated. The current in-take capacity per campus of the NLS is as follows:

a. Bwari, Headquarters – 1,650 b. Lagos – 1,300 c. Kano – 1,200 d. Enugu – 1,200 e. Yenogoa – 450 f. Yola – 400 g. Port Harcourt - projected at 1200 Total – 5,800 + Port Harcourt Campus (1, 200)=6,000 Expansion of the facilities in the six campuses plus the newly approved Campus in Port Harcourt, will be more than enough to cater for the additional students from the newly approved Faculties of Law. On the Need to Alleviate the 30% failure rate at the Bar Final Examinations Creating more campuses, does not address the failure rate. At any rate, consistently attaining a 70% pass rate at the Bar Final examinations, is a commendable feat that does not happen in sister professional examinations in Nigeria, such as Medicine, Accounting, to mention a few.

On the Issue of Backlog of Students from the Law Faculties Waiting for Admission into the NLS This should not be used as a reason for additional campuses of the NLS. The CLE/ NLS make bold to state that, every student from accredited Faculties of Law come to

VII

T H I S D AY • TUESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2021

COVER

Law School Campuses: How Many, How Necessary? the NLS as and when due.

Law as a regulated profession, must be shielded from flagrant abuse of the allotted quota by Faculties of Law, if the dignity and nobility of the profession is to be preserved.

Rather, concerted efforts should be made at enforcing the Quota-Per-Faculty of Law, as allocated by the CLE in collaboration with the National Universities Commission (NUC).

Any student denied admission by the NLS today, will be because the Faculty of Law where the student graduated over-admitted.

New campuses should not be established to compensate belligerent Faculties of Law in Nigeria; rather, they should be sanctioned.

Having regard to the current state of the economy, the cost implication of establishing the new campuses is not sustainable. The proposed sum of N31.2 billion mentioned by the mover of the Bill, is grossly inadequate.

Available precedents for establishment of campuses of institutions, is always left to the institution; it is not by legislative intervention. Already, the CLE has developed a well articulated draft policy, on the establishment of new campuses of the Nigerian Law School.

What the CLE needs at the moment, is increased funding to enable the current campuses run more effectively.

Reference to the establishment of campuses of Nigerian Law School based on geographical spread, should not be a reason for the establishment of new campuses across the country. The existing campuses, have reasonably taken care of the geographical spread.

The increase in the number of Universities offering law courses is also not a good reason for the establishment of more campuses, because Council of Legal Education through a well-structured accreditation of the institutions, regulates the admission of students based on available facilities and carrying capacities.

To maintain the high standard expected of legal practitioners trained in Nigeria, Council of Legal Education has always given priority to quality, rather than the quantity of persons that qualify to be called to the Nigerian Bar. Council of Legal Education can guarantee Nigerians that, it is well alive to its responsibility as a regulatory institution on legal education in Nigeria. So, there is no 'imminent disaster' in our legal industry whatsoever.

Conclusion Apart from the fact that the economic realities of our country can hardly support the creation of six (6) additional campuses, the Honourable Attorney-General of the Federation and the Council of Legal Education are better placed by the establishing statute, i.e., the Legal Education (Consolidation) Act, Cap L18 LFN 2004, to take necessary steps as they have done in the past, to expand the number of campuses of the NLS. Needless to say that the responsibility of establishing campuses of the Nigeria Law School and funding same, is the exclusive preserve of the Executive arm of the Federal Government, and not that of the Legislature.

1. Inclusion of the Director-General of the NLS, as an official member of the Body of Benchers.

2. The One (1) Year Mandatory Pupillage Programme Composition and Proceedings of Bar Council At the Plenary of Body of Benchers held on Thursday 25th of February, 2021, it was resolved that the Chairman of Council of Legal Education, be included as a member of the Bar Council.

The idea of Pupillage is salutary, but, in view of the above reasons, the time certainly is not now!

Chief Emeka Ngige, SAN, Chairman, Council of Legal Education and Professor Isa Chiroma, SAN, Director-General, Nigerian Law School

Chairman, Council of Legal Education, Chief Emeka Ngige, SAN

Law School Campuses: Appropriation is the Issue Hon. Igo Aguma The current process of amendment of the Legal Education (Consolidation, etc). Act L10, LFN 2004 (LEA) by the Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is ongoing; but, is the Senate not over-reaching itself by venturing into this task, which can be handled administratively by the Council for legal Education, when in actual fact, they hold the key to solving the issue of lack of admission spaces for Lawyers, through appropriation.

The President of the Nigerian Bar Association, the Chairman of the Council for Legal Education (CLE), and many other Lawyers, including two senior Lawyers who are members of the Senate Committee, clearly pointed out that the current campuses have enough capacity, but, lacked the funds for infrastructure.

The current meagre capital appropriation to the Council, cannot trigger any form of development of existing capacity. The power to appropriate to drive any development, resides in the National Assembly of which the Senate is a lead partner.

The Proposed Amendment to the LEA The Bill clearly has an unanswered question, in terms of not recognising the existence of the Port Harcourt campus which had been established before it was debated on the floor of the Senate. However, the Senate beat a retreat, right from the opening remarks of the Chairman of the Senate Committee, Senator Bamidele Opeyemi.

This exclusion, improved the quality of attendance, which generated a more indepth analysis into the actual situation in the Law School in terms of students’ admission. The preponderance of opinion, including the conclusion of the CLE, was lack of funding to expand capacity and not establishment of new campuses. In

“The preponderance of opinion, including the conclusion of the CLE, was lack of funding to expand capacity and not establishment of new campuses.

In fact, the President of the NBA suggested a virtual campus in the near future which is possible through the internet, and this too will require appropriation”

DG, Nigerian Law School, Prof. Isa Chiroma, SAN

fact, the President of the NBA suggested a virtual campus in the near future which is possible through the internet, and this too will require appropriation.

Funding The six campuses proposed in the Bill will require funding. One of the basic principles in law making, is that every Bill must be accompanied by a financial compendium. In this case, the Sponsor of the Bill might say the campuses will be funded through appropriation. The question then arises, if the existing campuses with excess capacity which have not been harnessed owing to extremely inadequate funding through appropriation, how much more establishment of six new campuses?

This Bill looked like a low hanging fruit for the Sponsor; more so, judging by the number of people in attendance from the towns and States where the campuses are proposed to be sited. It however, turned out to be a very tough one, as many differed with Senator Smart Adeyemi as to the solution to the paucity of admission spaces in the Law School.

Whereas, the Senator sees the solution in establishment of new campuses, others, including the technocrat Lawyers and yours truly, see it as appropriation to fund the expansion of existing campuses and this obviously is a major challenge, as we are in an era where funds are quite scarce with the national budget in heavy deficit.

The intervention by the Government of Rivers State, needs to be highly commended. The Nabo Graham-Douglas campus in Port Harcourt is indeed, laudable. The foresight of the Governor is unprecedented in tapping into this need for more capacity, and turning it to an economic advantage for the State. We know what will happen to the economy of the State, arising from the establishment of the campus. Like Mr Femi Falana, SAN said, the State Governments of the proposed locations of the Law School campuses MUST indicate interest, and partner with the Council in establishing these Law Schools, otherwise it may only exist in law, but not in reality owing to funding.

Hon. Igo Aguma, Port Harcourt

One Law School Campus per Village?

Abubakar Sani Introduction Critics of the on-going move by the Senate to expand the number of campuses of the

Nigerian Law School, have argued that it’s seemingly laudable objective - curbing the back-log of entrants to the School several years after graduating from University, amongst others - can be achieved by upgrading and expanding the facilities in the six existing campuses. Given that the impetus for the change came from a non-Lawyer, Senator Smart Adeyemi, many have read political motives into it. This was apparently confirmed when it emerged that the capital of his Kogi West Senatorial District – Kabba – along with the hometown of the Deputy Senate President (Orogun, in Delta State) have been earmarked to host two of the six proposed new campuses of the School.

Issues What is the truth? Which of the two sides is correct? Even if facilities in the existing campuses are sub-par/grossly inadequate, should the panacea be horizontal or vertical or a combination of both? Above all, regardless of the solution, what is the appropriate legal provision, if any? Is amending the relevant Legal Education (Consolidation, etc) Act (the LEC Act) the best – or even the only appropriate way of going about it? What does that law itself say about the Law School?

Does it envisage a multi-campus institution, as is presently the case?

Who, as between the National Assembly and the Council of Education, possesses the power to determine the need for additional campuses for the School, and/or their location?

Given that - as some commentators have rightly pointed out - none of the other major professional occupations have comparable institutions to the Law School (their training being wholly done in Universities), is the existence of the Law School itself a legal aberration? Can the training it offers be conducted in Law Faculties of Universities, albeit suitably equipped and strengthened?

What is the experience or legal framework for multi-campus tertiary public education in Nigeria? Can it, in any way, guide the present debate or does it impinge on its legal, if not constitutional, validity? So many questions.

We shall attempt a few answers.

First of all, Section 1(2) of the LEC Act provides that the Council of Legal Education shall have responsibility for the legal education of persons seeking to become members of the legal profession. Section 2(5) of the Act provides, inter alia, that “the Council shall have power to do such things as it considers expedient for” the purpose of performing its functions. Section 4 of the Act provides that “the Attorney-General of the Federation may give the Council directions of a general character with regard to the exercise by the Council of its functions”.

It is clear that the Senate’s move to increase the number of Law School campuses, is informed by the foregoing provisions of the LEC Act. This is because, without amending cont'd on page VIII

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Law School Campuses: How Many, How Necessary? cont'd from page VII

the Act, the Senate (and by extension the National Assembly) would, obviously, be impotent to effect the change. But, is that power limitless? Can the National Assembly micro-manage public tertiary education in Nigeria in the manner it seeks to do, by directly prescribing the establishment of Study Centres or Campuses? Is that the intention of the framers of the Constitution? Is there any precedent for such legislation? Does it, at all events, constitute such an egregious legislative overreach that it is invalid, if not under the Constitution, but in relation to any other Code, such as the African Charter? We shall see . . .

History of Multi-Campusism in Nigeria Several Nigerian Universities, have historically operated from more than one campus. These include the present University of Jos (which started as a campus of the University of Ibadan); Bayero University, Kano (which started as the Kano campus – then known as Abdullahi Bayero College) of Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; the University of Calabar (which started as the Calabar Campus of the University of Nigeria); the University of Ilorin (which was the Ilorin campus - called University College - of the University of Ibadan). Beyond these, however, the University of Nigeria, Nsukka presently operates multiple campuses in two different States Aba (in Abia State) and Nsukka and Enugu (in Enugu State).

What is common to all these institutions is that, even though they were established

by Acts of the National Assembly, in none of their enabling statutes did the Assembly directly prescribe the locations of their different campuses. Not even that of the National Open University of Nigeria (which has 57 so-called Study Centres, which are actually campuses in everything but name). In other words, in each of these cases, the Assembly - wisely, I submit - left the question of the geographical location of their individual campuses (and, even the decision to establish them, in the first place) to the Governing Councils or Boards of the particular institution.

I submit that for the National Assembly to purport to do so in the case of the Law School is simply illegitimate and is ultra vires, because it violates the right to equal protection of the law under Article 3(2) of the African Charter as validly domesticated in Nigeria.

See NNPC v FAWEHINMI (1998) 7 NWLR pt.559 pg.598 at 616 and I.G.P v ANPP (2007) 18 NWLR pt. 1066 pg.457 at 500C. In the latter case, the Court of Appeal upheld the supremacy of the Charter, over Acts of the National Assembly.

Conclusion Suffice it to say that, what is good for the goose should be sauce for the gander. Whilst the National Assembly is empowered to regulate the legal profession, it must do so in an even-handed manner, vis-à-vis other tertiary institutions in Nigeria. Since the Assembly does not dictate to those institutions as to when and where to cite additional campuses, it cannot and should not do so in the case of the Law School. That decision should be solely that of the Council of Legal Education - acting in concert with the Attorney-General of the Federation.

Abubakar D. Sani, Legal Practitioner, Kano

Proliferation of Law School Campuses: Unnecessary, Ill-Conceived Adventure Bayo Owojori The Nigerian Law School was created under the Legal Education Act of 1962, now Legal Education (Consolidated etc.) Act Cap. L10, LFN 2004 (LEA), to provide practical training

Hon. Igo Aguma for graduates of Law who aspired to become legal practitioners in Nigeria, and also because of the necessity to have a legal institution where knowledge gap in the legal training of those Nigerians who studied law abroad, could be filled.

Section 1 of the LEA created the “Council Establishment and of Legal Education” with the “responsibility for the legal education of persons seeking to become members of the legal profession”.

At its inception in 1963, The Nigeria Law School was situated at No. 213A, Igbosere Road, Lagos. The campus was later moved to Victoria Island, Lagos in 1969, due to increase in number of aspiring Lawyers, and the need to expand its facilities to meet demand for practical legal training.

The School was later moved to Abuja, in 1997. On the request by the CLE, three other campuses were established by the Federal Government in 1997, Lagos, Kano and Enugu, and in 2009, Yola and Yenagoa campuses were established.

Is the Planned Establishment of more Campuses Necessary?

Recently, newspapers reported the planned law by the Senate, to establish more Nigerian Law School campuses. It was reported that the Senate in actual fact, has passed for second reading, a Bill which seeks to establish six additional Law School campuses in the country. The said Bill was sponsored by Senator Smart Adeyemi, who represents Kogi West in the upper legislative chamber. According to him, about 5500 Law graduates are produced from 55 Universities, and the records of the Nigerian Law School indicated the it has the capacity to admit 6510 students yearly, which he agreed meant that the existing Law school Campuses would have been adequate to accommodate all the prospective Law Graduates, but for about thirty percent (30%) yearly failure rate which would have to repeat the Bar Exams. He therefore, proposed six additional campuses to be sited at Kabba, (Kogi North Central), Maiduguri (North East), Argungu (North West), Okija (South East), Orogun (South South), and Ifaki (South West).

Evaluating the proposed Bill on its merit, the first question that will come

“If not for politics and lack of vision, why must Bayelsa State have a Law School in the first place, when the Rivers State was there?”

Abubakar Sani to an objective mind, is whether the facilities in the existing six campuses have been effectively utilised, such that they are now overstretched to cope with requirement for practical legal training in the country. This writer strongly believes that the problems highlighted by the Distinguished Senator as necessitating his proposed additional campuses, existed because of inadequate management of the existing Law school campuses’ facilities and land resources. The land mass within the existing campuses, have not been effectively and fully utilised. It is a fact that apart from the Lagos Campus of the Nigerian Law school which has limited undeveloped land within its compound due to its location in the high-brow, mixed-use Victoria Island area of Lagos State, the other existing five campuses in Abuja, Kano, Enugu, Yola, and Yenegoa have large undeveloped land masses which can be effectively maximised, by building modern infrastructural facilities on them, including expansion of lecture theatres, administrative buildings and hostels for students to cater for increasing University law graduates aspiring to acquire practical legal training. Hostel and administrative buildings could be designed to be high-rise, and existing infrastructural facilities in school upgraded and expanded to meet international standards of legal educational institutions. Establishing more campuses, would amount to a waste of the nation’s hard-earned resources.

The other pertinent question, would be whether the CLE which has responsibility for legal training in the country, has identified inadequate campuses as the major challenge facing the Council in the performance of its statutory function of ensuring quality and quantitative legal training in Nigeria, and has made formal request for more campuses.

The CLE is statutorily positioned, to identify its challenges and needs for additional campuses. Moreover, this writer is of the opinion that the topmost challenge facing the Council of Legal education in Nigeria, may most likely not be inadequacy of the number of Law School Campuses, but inadequate funding, shortages of manpower to cope with existing demand for practical legal skills, decayed and unfit-for-purpose teaching facilities, overcrowded students’ hostels and lecture theatres, lack of modern infrastructures to cope with increasing technological development in legal training in Nigeria among others. Therefore, it is submitted that the Council should be allowed to determine its needs and priorities.

The plan to increase the number of the Law School Campuses from the existing underfunded and under-equipped six campuses is an unnecessary, selfish, politically motivated rather than for national interest crave for a deeper bite of the commonwealth, and ill-conceived adventure that would not serve national interest, but political interests. Rather than scheming for the creation of more Law School campuses to be located in the villages of the politicians to satisfy their personal and tribal desires, our politicians would do well by using their positions to canvass and lobby for increased funding for the existing Law School campuses.

Another issue of concern in the crave for more campuses is the likelihood of rendering the additional school campuses being proposed to be created unfit-for-purpose legal training institutions. If care is not taken, proliferation of law school campuses may result in the compromise of the standard of legal education in Nigeria which would end up making a mockery of our judicial system.

The Law School may eventually become like many universities established in this country which are nothing but “glorified secondary schools’.

In conclusion, it is high time our politicians, particularly our legislators changed their selfish, tribal and political desires and imbibe national interest in the use of their power over national commonwealth. Nigeria cannot afford investments in new Law School campuses now, when the existing ones with capacities to train and accommodate many more potential legal practitioners than they are being used to achieve presently, are under-funded and under-utilised. Therefore, embarking on the establishment of additional Law School campuses at this time of economic downturn of Nigeria is an unnecessary, selfish and ill-conceived adventure which is not in the national interest. With the responsibility of the CLE for legal education in Nigeria, it is logical that the necessity for addition Law School campuses should originate from the Council, and even when such requests are made, their consideration should be based on evaluation of how effective the existing land and human resources in them have been utilised.

Bayo Owojori, Legal Practitioner with a specialisation in Construction and Real Estate Law

Proliferation of the Nigerian Law School cont'd on page IX

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Law School Campuses: How Many, How Necessary? cont'd from page VIII

Rasheed Ibrahim The Briefcase Newsletter In 2014, when there was a mass failure in the Nigerian Law School I had said in, The Briefcase, the Newsletter I ran as a Publicity Secretary of the Lagos Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association: “There was gnashing of teeth recently, over the mass failure in the Nigerian Law School. One is not surprised that we are paying the price for the refusal to stand our ground, when the idea of decentralising the institution was first brought up. I belong to the school of thought, that kicked against the decentralisation. But, since we live in a country where every community in Nigeria is agitating to have its own State, the same polities was brought into the Legal Education in Nigeria, and as such, the Law School is now everywwhere in Nigeria i.e. Lagos, Abuja, Kano, Enugu, Yola and Bayelsa, to the best of my knowledge. Perhaps, if another President is elected, he too may decide to take another Law School to his home town. That is Nigeria for us all. If we may ask: Is this how other important institutions are being decentralised?

I am of the view that rather than continue to proliferate the Nigerian Law School, it is better we revert to a Centralised Law School. If we insist on multiple campuses for the institution, let Lagos and Abuja stand and scrap the others.

All we need to do is to merge and expand the infrastructure in Lagos and Abuja campuses.

A centralised Law School will unite us, more than the decentralised one. With the latest call to the Bar of about 3433 new wigs into the profession, we pray for more manna to fall from heaven, so that they will have the cause to thank God for being part of the profession.

The new wigs are most welcome”.

Well done, Governor Wike To date, my opinion has not changed on decentralising and the proliferation of the Nigerian Law School. While one must commend the effort of the Governor Nyesom Wike of Rivers State for recently coming out to say: “You will never allow your slave to attend the campus in Yenagoa. And, I want to thank the DG for being a true Nigerian. As I speak to you today, Rivers State Government is investing no less than N5.1 billion in the Yenagoa campus. What is our interest? Our interest is to contribute to the development of legal education in Nigeria”. According to him, the said amount is being used to build a 900-bed space hostel and 1,500 capacity auditorium for students in Yenogoa. This has gone to show the level of lack of infrastructure, in some of these law school campuses. If not for politics and lack of vision, why must Bayelsa State have a Law School in the first place, when the Rivers State was there? (Those visionary leaders that established the first generation Universities in Nigeria never thought of locating them in their own home towns out of patriotism, or are there not leaders who have established private ones for themselves at the expense of the public ones? ) It is Rivers State that is now planning to use about N16 billion to build a new Law School in Port Harcourt, which it has the capacity to do. If given the fiat, how many States in Nigeria can afford such huge sum to establish a standard Law School, even when it has been said that the institution is not getting more than N61 million annually from the Federal Government to fund it ?

I can say without fear of any contradiction, that most States in Nigeria today were not created out of patriotism and vision, but by the desires of those that created them to satisfy their friends and in-laws, which is the reason why most of them are not viable economically.

How many of them are developing the natural resources they are blessed with, in their various States? No wonder that some people are now calling for the merger of those States, for proper and real development in the true sense of the word. What matters most in legal education is the quality of the Law School and not quantity of the Law School, so that value

Bayo Owojori will be added to the training of people into the legal profession in Nigeria.

Rasheed Ibrahim

Proliferation of Nigerian Law School Campuses: Panacea to Decaying Legal Education?

Tolu Aderemi Background The incremental agitation for the establishment of more campuses of the Nigerian Law School has become a troubling national issue; particularly at a time when the Governor of Rivers State, Nyesom Wike, offered and indeed, reportedly got the nod of the Federal Government of Nigeria, to establish a new Law School campus in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. As though jolted from slumber, there are now ceaseless calls for a replication of such gestures in other States of the Federation, as if though, it is a clamour for Police Barracks. This campaign has taken an even higher dimension, with lobbyists seeking the intervention of the National Assembly with the sponsorship of a Bill to amend the Legal Education Act, to statutorily provide for the establishment of Law Schools in all the geo-political zones.

Unsworth Committee Recommendations As a member of the Legal Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), this author is aware of the current leadership of the NBA’s stride to reimagine the curriculum; both at the University and Law School levels. It is troubling that many of the agitators

“The establishment of more Law School campuses is therefore, not the solution to the problem we all face - the issue of quality assurance at the Law School level.This is not to say that, infrastructural decay in the Law School campuses should not be addressed”

Tolu Aderemi

of the proliferation of the Law School campuses have not taken time to read the recommendations of the Unsworth Committee established in 1959, with the mandate to rejig Nigeria’s legal education system. This Committee proffered far-reaching recommendations, that formed the basis of the enactment of the Legal Education Act and the Legal Practitioners Act. A significant recommendation of the Committee’s report was on vocational training of Lawyers, and the requirement for the regulation of Faculties that administer law programmes. To ensure quality assurance in the persons to be admitted to the Bar, the report recommended close monitoring of the administration of vocational training at the Nigerian Law School, and general principles of law at the Universities.

The focus of this article is not to determine the legality of the establishment of more Law School campuses.

The Legal Education (Consolidation etc.)

Act (LEA), is silent about the number of Law School campuses and the mode of their establishment, and therefore, it will appear that the Attorney-General of the Federation, in exercise of his statutory powers under Section 4 of the Act, can give directions to the Council of Legal Education (CLE), to take certain action(s) in that regard. The focus is whether the proliferation of Law School campuses will re-birth the gateway for the much-needed quality assurance, to equip aspirants to the Bar with the necessary legal and moral education to meet the expectations of 21st century legal practice.

Legal education involves not just the knowledge of legal principles, but also the inculcation of ethical values in the law student. The nobility of the profession, rests squarely on the wings of knowledge and ethics. Debra Burke of Western California University once said that: “the reason this profession is called a learned profession, is that they are held to such high standards and there is a high degree of trust reposed in this profession.” The serial complaints therefore, of a decline in the standard of our legal education, rests squarely on the significant failure of training of the practitioner’s brain or mind, or, in the worst-case scenario, both.

The proponents of the proliferation

of the Nigerian Law School, have also argued that it will clear the backlog of law students. Sadly, this is true. This backlog is only traceable to the continuous infidelity of Deans of Faculties of Law, whose actions have continued to put a strain on learning facilities in their Faculties and at the Law School as well as on their academic staff teaching the courses. Whilst the rush for providing physical infrastructure for CLE may be viewed as a welcome development, the real question that must be asked is whether the jostle for campuses of the Law School will create a concomitant effect of reviving the standard of legal education, which experts believe has significantly declined.

The establishment of more Law School campuses is therefore, not the solution to the problem we all face - the issue of quality assurance at the Law School level.

This is not to say that, infrastructural decay in the Law School campuses should not be addressed. Rather, it is a further ploy to accommodate the excesses of Faculties of Law, that continue to defy the quota allocated to them by the CLE. Even if there are Law School campuses in all the States of the Federation, the campuses will soon be overwhelmed by the population of unregulated admission of candidates to study law by accredited Universities that continue to place the profit of having more students admitted studying law, over and above the need to ensure that only those who are intellectually and morally capable of studying law are privileged to be admitted.

The legal training model of Nigeria, cannot be divorced from the English legal education system. The English legal education system where aspirants are called into different Inns has survived the centuries, because the system ensured fidelity to its traditions and principles.

May the day never arise where they compromise their principles and practice, and they will find themselves struggling to keep the standards like we presently are in Nigeria.

Conclusion In closing, we must focus on building the infrastructure of the mind(s) of Lawyers, as opposed to building physical infrastructure.

The legal profession must protect its sanctity, integrity, reputation of quality and the pride of the adroitness of its members. A Law School created for all Tom, Dick and Harry, cannot compete favourably with their foreign counterparts whose legal education is adequately regulated.

Tolu Aderemi, Partner, Perchstone & Graeys

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Insecurity: A Great Retardation to Peace and Progress (Part 1) Introduction Good Governance: A Panacea for National Development Good governance is the major driving force towards peace, security and sustainable development in Nigeria, as in any other country of the world. However, good governance has been a problem to the Nigerian State. After several series of military interventions and her return to a stable democracy in 1999, there has been the absence of elements of good governance in government which manifested into menace of ethnic crisis, unemployment, religious crisis, clamour for resource control, and even contributed to corruption as a result of lack of accountability, transparency, equitability, inclusiveness and, adherence to rule of law.

This article examines the extent to which lack of good governance hinders peace, security, and sustainable development in Nigeria, and also tries to offer some recommendations through its major findings.

Insecurity: Boko Haram as a Metaphor Insecurity means a state of uncertainty or anxiety, or lack of confidence in oneself or environment.

Despite the Nigerian Government’s repeated claims of military victory against Boko Haram, violence persists in the country’s Northeast.

Abductions, ambushes, and deadly suicide bombings continued in the first half of 2018.

Although military operations have degraded Boko Haram’s capacity to hold territory, Nigerian security forces are failing to protect the region’s vast rural areas from militant attacks. In the areas surrounding Lake Chad, the Islamic State in West Africa (ISWA) - which split from Boko Haram in 2016 - seems to have gained a stronger foothold. Hundreds of thousands of civilians are still displaced and living in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps and neighbouring host communities, unable to access their land or return to their villages.

Boko Haram’s resilience, highlights the limits of a purely military solution to the conflict. In the near term, neither a complete military defeat, nor a political settlement is likely. Although the Nigerian Government has announced that it has been in talks with Boko Haram about a possible ceasefire, the scope and nature of these negotiations are unclear. In the absence of a political deal, a key priority is to incentivise more Boko Haram fighters to defect - and to successfully rehabilitate those who are captured, or manage to leave the group.

Over the past two years, Nigerian officials and international partners have repeatedly emphasised the need for a disarmament, demobilisation, and reintegration (DDR) strategy.

Yet, so far, the Nigerian Government’s efforts in this regard, have been disjointed. State authorities have set up a small-scale rehabilitation program for low-level fighters, as well as for low-risk women and children previously affiliated with Boko Haram. However, the program operates with little transparency, and the military’s criteria for screening detainees are opaque. Thousands of suspects remain in military detention, held without charges and often in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions.

Sincerity is the solution to peace and security, which I believe to be the roadmap to sustainable development. The citizens willingly surrendered their powers to a group of individuals called “Government” in order not to live in a state of nature which is brutish, short, poor and nasty, and which can guarantee the improvement in their conditions of living. So, if there is sincerity in government (Good Governance) transparency, responsiveness and accountability, there will not be any reasons for conflict, which can lead to the absence of peace and insecurity, which are the preconditions for sustainable development.

Major General (Rtd) Bashir Salihi Magashi

The emergence of these situations, is rooted in the issue of governance. The entity known as Nigeria was a pet project of British empire in 1914, got her independence in 1960, became a Republic in 1963, and returned into a stable political democracy in 1999 after several series of military interventions. So, the question is why bad governance???

Retardation Retardation can be defined as a delay or sedation of progress or development of the society. Examples of places that have seen retardation as a result of insecurity in Nigeria include: Effect of Insecurity on the Educational Sector With an increase in the abduction of students and raiding of schools, a lot of schools in the North, specifically, at the primary and secondary school levels, have had to shut down. The most recent attack on the Nigerian Defence Academy in Kaduna, which was seen as a mark of humiliation on the Nigerian Military, has also made the terrorists look more formidable. It has now become a choice between education and safety, with parents facing the daily fear that their children might not return from their school. This has led to the shutdown of most boarding schools in the North, and has further denied the rights of children to an education and most importantly, a chance for the youths to attain knowledge.

Insecurity and Its Effect on Tourism and Transportation People are now afraid to travel to places within Nigeria. This has led to an increase in transportation rates, and also a decline in visits to famous sites in Nigeria. The increased insecurity has made people wary of visiting new places, and has led to a decline in tourism in our country With the recent abduction of the British Nationals at the Kajura Castle I Kaduna State, and also the recent attack on the Abuja - Kaduna Train station, Nigeria has become a country where travels are warned against, and modes of transportation are decided based on their shared risk factor.

Although as at 2014 Nigeria was stated to be a safe and beautiful place to travel, by

It is imperative to know that peace, security and sustainable development are a mirage, without good governance. Whenever governance breaks down, a generative process of structural and societal dislocation begins”

2021, warnings had been given by both travel and security agencies, that show most States in Nigeria are now high- medium risk places for visitation.

Good Governance, Bad Leadership and National Development Development has not been instilled in her political, economic and social life, as a result of dismal peace and security due to bad governance. That is why the general saying concerning the leadership structure in Nigeria is also said to be poor, due to the inadequacies in accountability and transparency of public affairs management in the nation. It is imperative to know that peace, security and sustainable development are a mirage, without good governance. Whenever governance breaks down, a generative process of structural and societal dislocation begins.

This process transforms into violent conflicts, instability and underdevelopment, slowly but inevitably. Before this process degenerates, there are usually early warning signals, such as sudden demographic changes, economic shocks, rising unemployment rates, destabilising elections, a rise in societal intolerance, and an increase in the number of demonstrations, among numerous other developments.

It is worrisome that all this aforementioned warning signals, have become a culture in Nigeria. Despite the return to stable democracy, availability of human and material resources required for development, there are no symptoms of development as a result of lack of good governance; and the opposite, bad governance has been characterising the Government of the day which has now translated into political crisis, economic meltdown, ethnic crisis, religious crisis, insecurity, unemployment, mayhem and bloodshed as a result of lack of accountability, transparency, responsiveness, inclusive democracy, and rule of law which the citizens have been clamouring for during both the British rule and military regime.

Mimiko (1998) posited that “The decolonisation allowed the crop of leaders that aligned with colonial power to take over Nigeria. This ensured the sustenance of a neo-colonial economy, even after political independence. These leaders, on assumption of power, quickly turned up the repressive machinery of the colonial State, rather than dismantling it. Significantly, they had no vision of development to accompany the efficient instrument of repression they inherited. All they were interested in, was access to power and privileges, and not development. The rising concern about the governance project in Nigeria cannot be explained

outside the country’s historical experience, one that has laid the “solid” foundation for the current wave of ethno-religious and politico-economic crisis in the land. This state of affairs importantly raises some serious concerns about the question of good governance in Nigeria, where the politics of deprivation and mismanagement of resources appears to be taking over the principles of accountability, transparency and responsibility (2013:57)”.

So, what has been the fate of Nigerians since the return to stable democracy in 1999, which is over twenty years with no achievements or signs towards sustainable development?

This is rooted in the fact that good governance (which is lacking) guarantees the delivery of public goods and services in a manner that is responsive and accurate to public demands, transparency in the allocation of resources, and equity in the distribution of goods. But, the reverse is the case in Nigeria. This has prompted the citizenry to also retaliate and use any window of opportunity or armed struggles to also destabilise peace and security, since the Government has failed to be responsive, accountable and transparent to them, and also failed to contribute to sustainable development in both the short and long run.

This now stimulated the poor and weak people in all parts of the country, to devise strategies to carry out mayhem and bloodshed, in order to destabilise the peace and security architecture in the country, and giving it different names; for example Boko Haram in the North- Eastern part in which thousands of lives are daily lost, properties worth billions destroyed and millions of people displaced, and abduction of over 300 school girls in Chibok and Dapchi; farmers and herdsmen crisis in the North-Central and part of South-West, in which lives and properties are lost; kidnapping for ransom and militants in the South-South and South-Eastern part of the country in which infrastructural facilities are damaged and lives lost; religious crisis and communal crises in Kaduna, Nasarawa and Plateau State;, election crisis in several parts of the country and clamour against marginalisation by the Niger Delta Region. All these menaces are as the result of lack of good governance, in which government had failed to provide basic necessities of life, such as potable drinking water, stable power supply, good roads, free education, fair representation, inclusive government, protection of life, property, providing security to the citizens and employment opportunities.

Armed Conflicts and the Role of the Civil Society In any civilised society, one of the primary responsibilities of government, if not the most important, is the safeguarding of the welfare and security of its people. This is so, as the State possesses military capacity and threat of force which other sections of the society are often incapable of. However, this ‘security monopoly’ trend is fast changing.

In a globalised world, preventing violent conflict and building sustainable peace requires complex strategies, which include cooperation with other stakeholders such as the civil society, and staying true to good governance, transparency and accountability. But, it is the case that the civil society in many countries of the world, especially Africa, which is conflict prone, has not been working to ensure peace in the society. In fact, as people become directly affected by armed conflict, civil society organisations (CSO) have developed interest in contributing to its resolution. The collapse of communism in the former Soviet Union and Eastern European countries and the birth of ‘Third Wave’ democracies, signalled a strong re-entry of the term civil society around the world. In Africa, the civil society has been consistently on the rise since the post-independence era. (To be continued).

Serious and Trivial There are two sides to every coin. Life itself contains not only the good, but also the bad and the ugly. Let us now explore these.

“If you are at an advantaged position, allow others to reach and attain their small goals through your assistance. Be a pillar not an obstacle” – Anonymous.

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IMAGES

T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY DECEMBER 7, 2021

Photo Editor Abiodun Ajala Email abiodun.ajala@thisdaylive.com

L-R: Brand Manager, Chivas Regal NG, Elizabeth Anthony; Managing Director, Pernod Ricard NG, Sola Oke; and Marketing Director, Pernod Ricard NG, Barene Jankovich-Besan, at the launch of Balmain and Chivas (limited edition) bottles in Lagos...recently

L-R: Officiating Minister, Venerable Femi Dada; Chief Executive Officer, D’Mart Shopping Mall, Princess Layo Bakare-Okeowo; Chairman, D’Mart Shopping Mall, Chief Abiodun Okeowo; Chief Operating Officer, D’Mart Shopping Mall, Mr. Adeleke Adeleye; and former President, Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), Dr. Rotimi Oladele, at the grand opening of D’Mart Shopping Mall in Ogba, Lagos...recently PHOTO: ETOP UKUTT

L-R: Senior Special Assistant to the President on Niger Delta, Office of Vice-President, Edebor Iyamu; Minister of State, Niger Delta Affairs, Omotayo Alasoadura; and Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, during the launching of the Strategic Implementation Work Plan (SIWP) to develop the Niger Delta region, held in Abuja…recently PHOTO: AYO AJAYI

L-R: Wife of Ooni of Ife, Queen Naomi Ogunwusi; former Governor of Ondo State, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko; the Jegun of Ile-Oluji, Oba Julius Adetimehin; and the Osemawe of Ondo Kingdom, Oba Victor Kiladejo, at the 2021 Ekimogun Day celebration in Ondo city, Ondo State...recently

House of the Representatives, Speaker, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila (middle), flanked by the Ayangburen of Ikorodu Kingdom, His Royal Highness Oba Kabiru Adewale Shotobi (right), and House member, Hon BabaJimi Benson (left), during the unveiling of roads facilitated by Benson in Ikorodu, Lagos…recently

L-R: Wholesaler, Wabi Nigeria, Mr. Bayo Adepoju; Head of Wabi2b product, Chimezie Ugwuzie; and Country Manager, Wabi Nigeria, Mrs. Omolara Adagunodo, at a press conference to launch of Wabi2b product in Lagos...recently PHOTO: ABIODUN AJALA

L-R: Cleric, Deaconess Ugonma Nduka Nwosu; family members, Mrs. Onuigbo Nnanna and Mrs. Uzoma Achara; parents of the triplet, Mr. Chukwudi Uche, and wife, Mrs. Uche; grandmother of the triplet, Mrs. Nene Onoh; family members, Mrs. Gemima Edeh and Mrs. Nneoma Oluleye, during the dedication of the triplet at the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) at Jabi, Abuja…recently

T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2021

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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

6 , 2 0 2 1

S & P INDEX

EXCHANGE RATE

OBB

9.00%

CALL

4%

INDEX LEVEL

564.02%

1/4 TO DATE

5.82%

N413.03/ 1 US DOLLAR*

OVERNIGHT

10.75%

1-MONTH

6%

1-DAY

–0.17%

YEAR TO DATE

– 15.85%

*AS AT LAST FRIDAY

3-MONTH

10%

MONTH-TO-DATE

0.19%

PWC: $6.7tn of Africa’s Oil Reserves May be Stranded on Demand Decline

Peter Uzoho Analysts at PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) have warned on the negative economic impact of energy transition on Africa, stating that $6.7 trillion of the continent’s total $15.2 trillion proven oil reserves could be stranded due to declining demand.

Energy and Infrastructure Strategy Lead, PWC South Africa, Mr. James Mackay, stated this at the hybrid 12th edition of PwC Nigeria’s Annual power and Utilities Roundtable,

with the theme: “Sustainable Power Supply in Nigeria-What Next, Gain, Perspective from Ghana and South Africa.”

Mackay said with Africa’s 3 per cent contribution to global carbon emission, the continent faces the double challenge of energy transition and energy poverty, advising therefore, that the private sector must play a critical role in financing and driving renewable energy initiatives in the continent.

“Africa’s fossil fuel is worth

$15.2trillion of proven reserves and our estimate is that $6.7 trillion of that would be left in the ground because there will not be a market to buy it because of the energy transition.

“So, there is greater risk in Africa of stranded assets and loss of revenue because Africa is not like strong economies like China where they can do what they need to do because they have the money to invest in fossil fuels and extensions,” he said.

He said that decarbonising Africa’s energy would cost about $2.8 tril-

lion, which he said was probably unaffordable to Africa with respect to their economies.

Mackay maintained that decarbonising Africa’s energy alone would not address energy poverty in the continent, arguing that to decarbonise Africa’s energy sector by 2050, there was the need to increase the capacity across Africa 110 times.

“So the question is, where will that money come from, is it affordable, do we have sustainable utilities to complement all that renewables

energy power.

“There is a lot of opportunity in Africa, but we need a significant increase in capability, finance, technology partnerships in order to navigate this transition and stay beyond competitors in a net zero world, ”he said.

Also speaking, the Special Adviser to President Muhammadu Buhari on Infrastructure, Mr. Ahmad Zakari, said the huge infrastructure gap in the Nigerian power sector would need billions of dollars to

close, adding that transmission infrastructure challenge alone would require between $15 billion to $20 billion to address.

He said with the massive government’s intervention within the power sector, it would require time for the nation to begin to see the dividends of those investments.

Zakari stated that several international financing institutions like the World Bank, African Continued on page 26

Again, Nigeria Loses 6.3 million barrels, $441m to Deteriorating Upstream Assets Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja At an estimated $70 per barrel, Nigeria lost roughly $441 million to shutdowns arising from ageing upstream infrastructure and force majeure in September this year.

The assets mostly affected in

the month under review included: Forcados, Sea Eagle, Brass, Yoho, Qua Iboe, Excravos, Urha , Ajapa and Otakikpo.

In its November presentation to the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), which held on the 17th of last month, the Nigerian

National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, indicated that the highest losses were from Forcados which lost 2.474 million barrels, followed by Qua Iboe with 1.55 million barrels of crude oil.

The export system experienced a shutdown leading to 79,000 barrels

FOOD NAME OF COMMODITY

MAIZE

COMMODITIES

LOCATION

PRICE

NAME OF COMMODITY

100KG JIGAWA

N9000

SORGHUM

100KG ENUGU

N24000

100KG DELTA

N15000

SIZE

100KG

ABIA

N14000

50KG

LAGOS

N13500

loss, Eroton CAWC2 was temporarily taken out due to faulty hose leading to a loss of 189,000 barrels, while there was production curtailment at the WalterSmith facility, making it lose 11,000 barrels.

While receipts into Forcados were curtailed to manage tank top, after

SIZE

PRICE

STATE

100KG JIGAWA

leak testing, a force majeure was declared, but was lifted thereafter on September 9.

The Sea Eagle Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) also experienced several trip offs, leading to reduced production to the tune of 126,000 barrels.

T O D AY

PRICE

N9,000

100KG

BENUE

N8,500

100KG

KADUNA

N8,500

50KG

ENUGU

N23,000

50KG

LAGOS

N17,000

100KG

DELTA

N23,000

On the other hand, production at Qua Iboe was shut in due to challenges with wellhead pressure, high export line pressure, low performance of gas lift wells and valves, resulting in a cumulative Continued on page 26

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TUESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2021 ˾ T H I S D AY

BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS FOOD

NAME OF COMMODITY

PALM OIL

SIZE

STATE

PRICE

NAME OF COMMODITY

25CL LAGOS N20,000-N25000 25CL

PH

RICE

N21,000-24,000

COMMODITIES SIZE

25CL

IMO

N21,000–N24,500

PRICE

100KG ABUJA N23,000–N25,000 50KG 50KG

25CL IBADAN N18,000-N22,000

STATE

OYO

N22,000-N25,000

PLATEAU N23,500-N25,000 (JOS)

50KG KWARA N24,000–N27,000 50KG

LAGOS N23,000–N26,500

50KG RIVERS N23,000–N26,500

25CL

EDO

25CL ABUJA

N17,000–N20,000 N19500- N25000

PRICE

NAME OF COMMODITY

COCOA

T O D AY SIZE

EDO

N17,000–N20,000

PRICE

N740,000

1 TON ONDO – N760,000 1 TON OSUN 1 TON

EDO

NAME OF COMMODITY

SIZE

STATE

PRICE

ONIONS

100KG

IBADAN

N25,000

100KG

KANO

N10,000

100KG

BENUE

N27,000

100KG GOMBE

N12,000

100KG DELTA

N21,000

100KG LAGOS

N25,000

100KG ENUGU

N15,000

100KG

N29,000

N730,000 – N750,000 N720,000 – N740,000

CROSS N700,000 1 TON RIVER – N720,000

50KG SOKOTO N11,500–N13,000 50KG

STATE

1 TON

AKURE SOUTH, ONDO

N730,000 — N755,000

ABIA

JP Morgan Forecasts $125 Oil Price in 2022, $150/bbl in 2023 Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

Oil prices are expected to overshoot $125 a barrel next year and $150 in 2023 due to capacity-led shortfalls in the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) production, JP Morgan Global Equity Research has said.

“As the group’s (OPEC+) real volume potential is discovered, this should drive a higher risk premium to oil prices,” the bank said in a note.

“We think OPEC+ will slow committed increases in early 2022, and believe the group is unlikely to increase supply unless oil prices are well underpinned,” the bank said.

The bank also forecast global oil demand to reach 99.8-101.5 million barrels per day in 2022-23.

OPEC and its allies agreed last Thursday to stick to their existing policy of monthly oil output increases despite fears that a U.S. release from crude reserves and the new Omicron coronavirus variant would lead to a fresh oil price rout.

But the producer group said it could review its production hike policy at short notice if oil demand collapsed due to a rising number of lockdowns, while Brent was on course for a sixth week of declines.

OPEC, Russia and allies, together called OPEC+, surprised the market on Thursday when it stuck to plans to add 400,000 barrels per day (bpd) supply in January.

“Its decision to continue increasing monthly crude production is a vote of confidence in the near-term demand outlook.

Better said, OPEC+ is banking on the new Omicron variant not having a lasting impact on oil demand,” the experts added.

But producers left the door open to changing policy swiftly if

demand suffered from measures to contain the spread of the Omicron coronavirus variant. They said they could meet again before their next scheduled meeting

on Jan. 4.

OPEC has struggled to actually follow through with its scheduled output increases while markets across assets have been roiled

all week by the emergence of Omicron and speculation that it could spark new lockdowns and dent fuel demand.

JPMorgan analysts said the

market fall implied an “excessive” hit to demand, while global mobility data, excluding China, showed that mobility is continuing to recover, averaging at 93 per

cent of 2019 levels last week.

“So far we see no signs of demand weakening on (a) global scale,” the JPMorgan analysts said.

Experts: How CBN Interventions Can Save Power Sector Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja Experts with deep knowledge of the Nigerian power sector have posited that current interventions by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) remain a major avenue to ease burden on consumers, with the planned removal of subsidy.

The apex bank had introduced the Power and Aviation Intervention Fund (PAIF), of about N300 billion, Nigerian Electricity Market Stabilisation Facility (NEMSF) of about N213 billion, the N140 billion Solar Connection Intervention Facility totalling over N600 billion tariff shortfall intervention and the N120 billion intervention

designed for mass.

In the last eight years, the CBN has spent roughly N1.5 trillion to keep the nation’s power sector afloat although the sector was privatised with the intention of surviving by itself.

Although most stakeholders insisted that the interventions remain critical, especially in ease the liquidity crisis and attracting further interventions, they maintained that the interventions should be tweaked in a manner that reduces the burden faced by Nigerians.

Former President and Chairman of Council, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Prof.

Segun Ajibola said the strongest

argument in favour of subsidy was the need for government to protect the welfare of the people by underwriting some of their basic household and infrastructure needs.

He noted however that the argument about removal of electricity subsidy was not the most fundamental to Nigeria at the moment.

“Rather, the inability to supply the electricity needs of Nigerians, in the right quality and quantities. If supply deficit could be remedied, the cost of electricity and energy generally would be cheaper to Nigerian households firms and even government compared with

the cost of alternative sources of power to them,” he stressed.

An energy expert, Prof. Wunmi Iledare said that interventions by the CBN as a repayable loan was understandable, but added that the current structure of the electricity market in the country could mar the interventions.

He maintained that while it is good that banks are targeting spending, subsidy may be a politically expedient instrument not economic efficiency.

Iledare argued that a way to bring subsidy to an end was metering and decentralisation of power management and services .

Also, Eseosa Onaghinon, another

energy expert, stated that the energy sector must be rid of inefficiencies, which is usually passed on to consumers, adding that there is about 40 per cent inefficiency losses between transmission and distribution.

“If we do not address such losses that occur, we might as well get into a trap where it’s an unending discussion of subsidy though it is actually continuous inefficiencies covered up as subsidies,” Onaghinon stated.

The CBN interventions over the years have helped to give the sector relative stability as the industry struggles with huge liquidity problems.

Fashola Explains Portal Issues as Over 10,000 Jostle for FG’s Houses Nationwide Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja Minister of Works and Housing, Mr Babatunde Fashola (SAN) has attributed the challenges experienced by some Nigerians in accessing the portal for the sale of federal government’s houses to submission of incomplete documents.

The minister stated that over 10,000 applications had been received through the portal and advised applicants to ensure strict compliance to the requirements by uploading complete and only valid documents on the portal.

A statement by the Director of Press

and Public Relations at the ministry, Boade Akinola, while acknowledging the complaints from members of the public, assured that all prospective applicants who complied with all the registration requirements will have a hitch free subscription while successful applicants will be notified via the e-mail addresses they supplied.

The ministry restated that the requirements for the online registration for the prospective applicants to be valid and successful as; passport photograph, current certified tax clearance/payment slip and means of Identification.

It listed the means of identification

to include a current national identity card, drivers licences, international passport and voter card as well as letter of first appointment and gazette of confirmation of appointment (for public servants).

It explained that the reasons why some applications were not successful were because of not having current tax clearance certificate, evidence of tax clearance, absence of pay slip and non-submission of Memorandum of Acceptance (MOA).

Others, according to Fashola include incomplete or inconsistent documents and not having valid means of identification or submission

of an expired one.

He urged applicants to log in to their profile to check the status of their application as the ministry had recently launched an online web portal: https://nhp.worksandhousing,gov. ng for the sales of the completed houses across some states of the federation, adding that the online sales was ongoing.

The National Housing Programme (NHP), a Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) development agenda for addressing housing needs, commenced in the year 2016 in 34 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

Following an approval by the Federal Executive Council (FEC), the completed housing units all over the country, according to the ministry, are now to be sold to low and medium income groups through mortgage and rent-to-own subscription windows.

“With the unveiling of the portal, Nigerians can now apply for the houses in the 34 states and FCT by paying a non-refundable application fee of N10, 000.00 only through Remita. Thereafter, a pin would be generated for the applicant access to the portal to complete the application process.

AGAIN, NIGERIA LOSES 6.3 MILLION BARRELS, $441M TO DETERIORATING UPSTREAM ASSETS

Group Business Editor Eromosele Abiodun Comms/e-Business Editor Emma Okonji Aviation Editor Chinedu Eze Asst. Editor, Money Market Nume Ekeghe Senior Correspondent Raheem Akingbolu (Advertising) Correspondents James Emejo (Finance) Ebere Nwoji (Insurance) Chineme Okafo (Energy) Emmanuel Addeh (Energy) Reporters Nosa Alekhuogie (ICT) Peter Uzoho (Energy) Ugo Aliogo (Development)

loss of 1.55 million barrels.

Furthermore, Brass lost 211,200 barrels of crude oil as Energia injection into the line was suspended due to pipeline damage, while pillar injection into Brass was also suspended as a result of third party interference on an Agip Akiri pipeline.

Similarly, Ohaji was shut down due to leak on the Assa-Rumuekpe line, and Yoho lost 620,000 barrels to low pressure wellhead and water handling issues.

In the same vein, Excravos lost

820,000 barrels; Urha lost 458,000 barrels, while Ajakpa and Otakikpo also made losses of 27,000 barrels and 57,000 barrels respectively.

Although the Group Managing Director of the NNPC Ltd., Mallam Mele Kyari, has assured that by the end of this year, Nigeria will be able to meet its allocation from the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), the country has been lagging behind by close to 300, 000 barrels per day.

In a similar report in August, the story was not different as Nigeria

lost 6.035 million barrels of crude oil to emergency shutdowns, according to data from the company.

At an average of $73 at the time, that would be a whopping sum of $438 million shortage posted for the month and roughly N219 billion at N500 exchange rate to the dollar.

Put side by side the NNPC’s contribution of N47.162 billion to the federation account in that month, the huge 6 million barrels worth over 200 billion, dwarfed the entire funds shared in the joint pool by the federal, state and local governments.

It was also roughly the same amount to be allocated to the host communities fund in the Petroleum Industry Act (ACT), if the law was to take effect in the beginning of this year.

These figures are however separate from the roughly 200,000 barrels of crude oil daily which the NNPC said Nigeria loses to theft and vandalism, another very big challenge for the industry.

With the price of $67.64 per barrel at the time, Kyari, said Nigeria was losing N5.1 billion ($13.5 million)

daily to the activities of the oil thieves an vandals.

“Though petroleum products theft on the system 2B pipeline has reduced considerably due to support from the security agencies, but the nation is still losing about 200,000 barrels of crude oil daily to theft and vandalism, ”Kyari said.

However, there are indications that the situation may get worse in the coming months as investment in the sector wanes, following the pressure on investors to withdraw funding for fossil fuels.

PWC: $6.7TN OF AFRICA’S OIL RESERVES MAY BE STRANDED ON DEMAND DECLINE Development Bank (AfDB) and others were funding transmission infrastructure projects worth $1.6 billion in Nigeria.

He said: “The gap in our infrastructure is in the billions and some experts say our transmission infrastructure needs between $15 billion to $20 billion. So, we have to find ways to crowd in all available cash in the industry.

“We have the world bank, AfDB,

JICA amongst others, funding about $1.6 billion for transmission infrastructure on critical corridors like from South-west to Kaduna to New Kano line. Those funds are actively being disbursed.”

Zakari, who stated that the federal government recently concluded the contract for substations and that the ministry of power recently accelerated the programme by identifying empty slots for

some of the mobile transformers that are needed in sub-stations, however revealed that some of the equipment would be landing very soon.

Also speaking, the Managing Director, Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Company (NBET) Plc, Dr. Nnaemeka Ewelukwa, said besides closing the metering gap in the distribution segment, implementing the Siemens Presidential Power

Initiative would lead to accountability in the sector.

Ewelukwa pointed out that closing the metering gap in the country would enable a clear visibility of every funds inflow in the electricity market, noting that energy transition fund was the bigger challenge facing the country in view of the global net zero.

He said there was a massive gap between the generation capacity in

the country and what is currently supplied to the citizens, saying the generating capacity was under 13,000 megawatts (MW) to 14, 000MW. “But if you look at what is available, it is about 6,000 to 7000MW, according to data from the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN). But on a given day, what comes to the citizens is about 4,500MW,” he added.

T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2021

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BUSINESSWORLD

INDUSTRY

The Agony of Nigerian Manufacturers The Nigerian manufacturers exporting goods to ECOWAS markets through the Republic of Benin are reeling under the weight of punitive levy imposed by the country on Nigeria goods transiting across its territory, writes Dike Onwuamaeze

T

his is not the best time for Nigerian manufacturers to export their products to the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) through the territory of the Republic of Benin. In June 2021, the Republic of Benin imposed a prohibitive levy of N9 million per truck carrying made in Nigerian cargoes across its territory to other West African countries.

The development has been viewed as contrary to the treaty establishing the ECOWAS whose aims and objectives amongst other items include free transit of persons and goods from member states.

The treaty also provided for the, “establishment of a common market through the liberalisation of trade by the abolition, among member states, of customs duties levied on imports and exports, and the abolition among member states, of nontariff barriers in order to establish a free trade area at the community level; the adoption of a common external tariff and, a common trade policy vis-à-vis third countries; the removal, between member states, of obstacles to the free movement of persons, goods, service, and capital, and to the right of residence.”

In view of these provisions, an Economist and the Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprises (CPPE), Dr. Muda Yusuf, told THISDAY that, “this levy is in total disregard for the ECOWAS Protocol on trade and movement within the sub-region.

And has been taking a huge toll on Nigerian businesses involved in cross border trade within the sub-region.”

Yusuf said: “It is essentially a blockade of movement of trucks through the Republic of Benin border. There is the theory that this is a retaliatory action by the government of the Republic of Benin following the border closure

by Nigeria about a year ago, which had since been relaxed.

“Products affected are largely those that are already registered under the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS), which should enjoy free passage across the sub-region.

“Regrettably, the Nigerian authorities have not responded to this development with the urgency it deserves as businesses trading across the sub-region continue to suffer. Investors would like to see a more effective intervention by the Nigerian government to put an end to this punitive and obstructionist action by the government of the Republic of Benin.

“The recurring violation of ECOWAS protocols by member states portends a great danger to the African Continental Free Trade Agreement.

There should be a framework for enforcement of such protocols by member countries at regional and continental levels.”

WHAT ETLS SAYS

The ETLS discouraged the imposition of “export duties,” which is described as “all customs duties and taxes of equivalent effect levied on goods by virtue of their exportation.”

Article 40 of the ETLS on Fiscal Charges

and Internal Taxation, said that “member states shall not apply directly or indirectly to imported goods from any member state fiscal charges in excess of those applied to like domestic goods or otherwise impose such charges for the effective protection of domestic goods.

“Member states shall eliminate all effective internal taxes or other internal charges that are made for the protection of domestic goods not later than four years after the commencement of the trade liberalisation scheme referred to in Article 54 of this treaty. Where by the virtue of obligations under an existing contract entered into by a member state such a member state is unable to comply with the provisions of this Article, the member state shall duly notify the council of this fact and shall not extend or renew such contract at its expiry.

“Member states shall eliminate progressively all revenue duties designed to protect domestic goods not later than the end of the period for the application of the trade liberalisation scheme referred to in Article 54 of this treaty.”

The Chairman of the Export Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Mr. MAN Export Group, Mr. Ede Dafinone, told THISDAY that the levy contravened the agreement reached by ECOWAS in putting together the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS).

The government of the Republic of Benin, according to Dafinone, simply imposed duties on goods that are passing through its territory from Nigeria.

Presently, the MAN Export Group has made representations to the Nigerian government and to the ECOWAS demanding that the ETLS rules should be respected.

He told THISDAY that “the levy is not in accordance with the ETLS agreements.

In my opinion, they are presenting us with a barrier to trade not just with Benin but other countries further afield that we go through the Republic of Benin to reach.”

Now, Nigerian exporters desirous of accessing the ECOWAS market have been constrained to resort to transporting their goods through the sea, which is cheaper but much cumbersome, in order to circumvent the levy.

However, transporting the goods by sea is costing Nigerian exporters more in terms of time and logistics. No thanks to the legendary delay at the Nigerian ports and the double handling of cargoes where the goods had to be unloaded at the ports to be loaded on the vessels and then loaded on trucks again.

“The problem is a bit beyond Nigeria and we need to get to ECOWAS to resolve it. I know that our government has made representation at many levels to the government of Republic of Benin.

Our ambassador to ECOWAS in Abuja has continued to fight that battle on behalf of

the country. I have met him twice on this issue. The first time I met he was at the border within 24 hours.

“I want to say that our government is responsive. But clearly, there is more politics that surround this issue than it appeared from the surface. I can only tell you what I see from the surface. I am not aware of the goings-on below the surface. At the surface level, we are seeing additional costs and burdens on our exports and members. I see it as being a political problem because clearly there are lots of agreements for us to have free passage once we have the ETLS Certificate. I have to assume that it is not an economic issue but more of a political issue,” Dafinone said.

SUFFERING NIGERIAN EXPORTERS

He lamented that the Nigerian exporters had been suffering losses at both ends of the scale; be it the closure of the borders by the Nigerian government in 2019 or the current imposition of the levy by the government of the Republic of Benin.

The group was also unhappy that the government could not state its reasons for closing the border or announce to the business community the benefits derived from that exercise.

He said: “That transparency and announcement will give exporters better confidence in the system. It will be good for an exporter to have a clear explanation from his government so that he can turn to his investors and say yes the border was closed; yes we lose a lot of money but these were the benefits to the country and have the confidence to ask for more investments from them.”

The ECOWAS Commissioner for Private Sector, Mr. Kalilou Traore, was at a noisy function on Sunday when THISDAY contacted him for his response. He pleaded that he could not grant an interview in such an environment.

But the Director-General of the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Ambassador Ayo Olukanni, stated clearly in his response to THISDAY’s questionnaire that “the current protocols of the ETLS do not account for a transit levy, which makes this development quite worrisome.”

Olukanni, who was formerly a carrier ambassador, believed that the levy “is a backlash of Nigeria’s policy of border closure, which may have been seen by our Beninoise counterpart as ‘economic sabotage.’”

He added, “the development does not bode well for Nigerian manufacturers with markets in the West African region, as Nigerian goods will now be more expensive and will lose market share. Domestically, this will translate to loss of revenue and perhaps loss of jobs in an economy that is already

facing high unemployment rates.”

He said that the Joint Nigeria-Benin Commission, which was put in place to discuss the needs and challenges of both countries with respect to their shared border must focus on a winwin implementation strategy, rather than the submission of demands and counter-demands as is currently the case, “otherwise, the private sector of both countries will be in for tough times,” adding that “this situation provides an opportunity to test the articles of the AfCFTA, with respect to what is on paper versus what is being implemented.”

ECOWAS AGREEMENT VIOLATION

Similarly, a Professor of Economics and former Director-General of West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management, Professor Akpan Ekpo, also told THISDAY that the move from the Republic of Benin violated the ECOWAS agreement of free flow of goods and services without tariffs.

Ekpo insisted that, “the levy does not make sense and the Nigerian government has to get involved and call the Republic of Benin to order because once this is allowed to stand other countries might start to impose one form of condition or the other.”

He pointed out that the Republic of Benin has declared economic war on Nigeria and has shown that it does not want to obey any of the ECOWAS agreements.

Therefore, “Nigeria must look for ways to punish the Republic of Benin. We will look at the things they need from us and use them to punish them. It is a small country and we can threaten it militarily, claiming that we are enforcing the ECOWAS agreement,” Ekpo said, adding that “this is one of the reasons we have been calling for the revision of our trade policy. Government should find a way to stop it or find a way to punish Benin.”

But a Professor of Political Science and former Director-General of Nigeria Institute of International Affairs, Professor Bola Akinterinwa, told THISDAY that the question might not be as simple as it seemed.

Akinterinwa said that two factors are important and worthy of consideration. One is the need to establish the origin of the goods on transit to ascertain that they did not originate from a third-party country that is not a member state of ECOWAS. The second factor is compliance with international transit procedures (ITP) as required by the ECOWAS treaty, which said: “Where a member state exports its product to another member state through another member state such exportation shall be in accordance with international transit procedures (ITP),” which demanded that the truck and the goods and must be insured. Furthermore, the goods must not be a contraband item in the Republic of Benin and the driver must have an identity. “These are factors that are easily ignored,” said Akinterinwa.

He, however, warned that the steps being taken by the Republic of Benin might likely backfire on the country. “Benin should be wary of starting a diplomatic row because Nigeria could retaliate with a cobra for a rat released by the Republic of Benin,” Akinterinwa said.

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MANUFACTURING

Menace of Substandard Tyres Dealers Gilbert Ekugbe highlights the titanic challenge the SON has had to contend with as it carries out its constitutional mandate of taming the malevolent merchants of fake and expired tyres as well as other substandard products

I

t was a ghoulish expedition, a near-death experience. The Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) enforcement team who raided some locations in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, penultimate Thursday for fake and substandard tyres, surely appreciate the risks and gristly nature of their job.

They are not strange to possible unsavoury reactions or resistance from some of their sometimes-spiteful targets. That is what they have accepted as the mirthless part of their assignment. That was why they went with security operatives on their mission. However, it is unlikely that they actually envisaged the level of audacity, grit and mercurial temperament of the ‘merchants of death’ who ply the substandard tyre trade.

The enforcement team soon got the first whiff of trouble. The exercise was carried out simultaneously in three locations in the FCT: Area1Market, Apo Village and Kugbo Mechanic Village. The team, however, recorded success in only Area1 Market. They were fiercely and viciously resisted in the other two locations.

The team ran into a sudden volley of bullets and other dangerous weapons. Riled by what they probably saw as the Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) meddlesomeness, the business owners and hoodlums in these areas, who must have had a prescience of the raids through whatever means, had mobilised obviously to stop the exercise.

However, if the freakish display by the hoodlums shocked the enforcement team and the accompanying security operatives, it certainly failed to deter them.

Although they had to beat a tactical retreat to avoid further casualties, as some members of the team and security personnel sustained serious injuries, they still succeeded in confiscating a sizeable consignment of expired tyres from Area1 Market.

The macabre expedition of the enforcement team underscores the titanic challenges the SON has had to contend with as it carries out its constitutional mandate of taming the malevolent merchants of fake and expired tyres as well as other substandard products. But the regulatory agency has vowed never to retreat or surrender until the unscrupulous tyre merchants are nailed and their illicit trade stopped.

“We are determined and equal to the task,” declared the Director General, Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) Mallam Farouk Salim represented by SON’s Regional Coordinator, Mr Albert Wilberforce, who led the raids.

He added: “We at SON will not leave any stone unturned to ensure that these culprits are brought to book and these expired tyres don’t find their way into the market, because the growth and development of the country is our primary concern.”

Salim, who spoke to newsmen after the enforcement exercise, explained the sharp practices engaged in by substandard tyre dealers, which necessitated the raids

by SON’s enforcement team. He said many Nigerians have now delved into the illegal business of importing used tyres, which by law are tagged “contraband” and selling them to members of the public.

These merchants, according to him, are also in the habit of stuffing and compressing these used tyres, while they even go to the extent of spraying and polishing the used tyres and selling them to unsuspecting Nigerians as new.

The yuletide season is approaching and this is the time of their business boom because Nigerians are travelling for the festive season, “Wilberforce said.

He, however, vowed that the SON would take further action on the enforcement in spite of the attacks as, according to him, “the Director-General is determined to ensure that standards are maintained across board.”

DEALERS REQUEST TO MEET SON

However, a group of traders in Abuja have written to the SON D-G, requesting for a meeting as an aftermath of the raids and implored the agency to suspend further enforcement actions till after the meeting they proposed.

The traders, who deprecated the raids, wrote under the platform of the National Association of Nigerian Traders (NANTS), Abuja Chapter, which they describe as the umbrella of all traders in the markets, plazas and other trading places in Nigeria. The danger of fake and substandard tyres is inherent in the incessant auto crashes they cause on the roads. According to the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), a larger chunk of accidents being recorded frequently on Nigeria’s major high ways are traceable to the use of expired or substandard tyres.

However, SON’s D-G, Mallam Farouk Salim, believes, judging by the reactions from stakeholders, that the agency is winning the war against substandard products with effective standard enforcement.

He said the agency had increased seizures tremendously.

The D-G, who spoke on many things in a recent interview, revealed that SON recently confiscated close to N2 billion worth of stuffed, substandard tyres in 2021 alone.

FRSC ROAD ACCIDENT STATISTICS

He compared an aging tire to an old rubber band stressing that, “If you take a rubber band that’s been sitting around a long time and stretch it, you will start to see cracks in the rubber, cracks in a tire’s rubber begin to develop over time, initially not visible but over time, appearing on the surface and inside the tire as well. This cracking can eventually cause the steel belts in the tread to separate from the rest of the tire and nothing will slow the aging process.”

On how long a tyre last, the SON boss said apart from putting a tyre “expires date” to five years saying there are other factors such as heat, storage, underinflation and putting more tyres into, all these can dramatically reduce the life of a tire.

On reasons whether people should plan on replacement of tyre used or even if it’s never been used in every fives year, Salim, emplaned: “the sidewall of a tyre is covered in numbers and letters. They all mean something. But to determine the age of a tyre, you simply need to add five years to its U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) number to get the birth-date.

“Tyres made after 2000 have a four-digit DOT code. The first two numbers represent the week in which the tyre was made. The second two represent the year. A tyre with a DOT code of 1116 was made in the 11th week of 2016.”

Statistics from the FRSC showed that a total of 2,471 death’s and 5,320 auto crashes were recorded within the half of this year alone, a sizeable percentage of those accidents resulting from expired and worn out tyres. And majority of these accident victims were Nigerians in their prime.

Transport experts identify economic downturn as a major precipitating factor underscoring the increasing boom in the sale of fake and substandard tyres.

A manager with one of the private transport firms in Lagos, Mr. James Adepoju said the absence of standard tyre manufacturing companies in Nigeria and the tenacity of used tyre sellers to meet the increasing demand for them (used tyres) to boost their own economic power, not minding the dangers their atrocious practice poses also accentuate the problem.

“Come to think of it,” he posed, “how many people can afford to buy new tyres these days?

The hard fact is that most Nigerians are forced to buy used tyres because of their low purchasing power, even when they are aware of the inherent dangers.”

Salim, canvasses a similar argument. He said the problem of the use of fake and substandard tyres became pronounced after the two major tyre-manufacturing companies in the country, Dunlop and Michelin, shut down operations and relocated.

The big vacuum their absence created, he lamented, led to the emergence of no less than 250 different distorted substandard tyres in the country today.

AGING PROCESS

EXPERTS VIEW

Speaking, an expert in auto industry, Garry Ubene, said; “of all your vehicle’s components, tires have the greatest effect on the way it handles and brakes. So if the SON recommends shelf life of tyre at your five-year, spend the money and don’t put it off. Your life could depend on it.”

Ubene said that all modern tires are made of synthetic rubber, which itself is an artificial elastomer, composed of polymers which are composed of isomers.

“Over time, you get something called polymer degradation wherein the very long polymer chains break down into much shorter and more stable chains, but which are different than the original material.

That causes cracks, and more importantly a significant lowering of the tensile strength of the material, “he said.

Ubene suggested that the vulcanisers should carried along on sensitization on the use of substandard tyres and its implications to win the battle.

Meanwhile, the SON has said that it has placed tyres under “life endangering items,” and enjoined Nigerians to always use good quality tyres for their safety.

Salim warned against the importation, marketing, supply and use of substandard tyres in the country, emphasizing that the products kill and also affect the country’s economy adversely.

TESTIMONY

Mr.Tunde Olayemi (not real name) should know better with his recent near-death experience after he almost crashed for unsuspectingly buying an expired tyre.

He was on his way to Oshodi in Lagos from his Ayetoro-Itele, Ogun State base when passersby alerted him that one of his tyres was going flat.

He promptly packed the car beside the nearest vulcaniser to have the tyre checked.

He was told that the tyre had gone completely bad and needed to be replaced. Not to worry, the vulcaniser offered to help by placing a call to a used tyre seller nearby to bring a replacement.

One was brought in a jiffy. After being assured that the tyre he bought was a “Grade A tokunbo”(imported second- hand) one almost as good as new, the tyre was fixed and he resumed his journey relieved.

However, on Olayemi’s return trip later in the day, the same tyre he bought earlier suddenly burst on motion, erupting into a deafening explosion! Then the car began to go zigzag on the road as he held tightly to the steering wheel to control the car and avoid crashing into into other vehiches.

Mother luck smiled on him and he was able to halt the car a few inches to a ditch. Many other Nigerians are, however, not that lucky as a sizeable percentage of similar situations eventually result in fatality.

Obaseki Seeks Support to Strengthen Agric Programmes Axxela Powers Businesses in Ogun with 25mmscuf/d Gas Pipeline Infrastructure

The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki has urged international donors to support the government in executing sustainable agricultural programmes to check food security.

The governor made the call during a courtesy visit by the Joint Mission of the Federal Government of Nigeria, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), and International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) led by the IFAD Country Programme Manager, Dr. Patrick Habamenshiin, at the Government House in Benin City.

While commending IFAD on its impactful role across Africa, Obaseki

said the assistance provided by the Fund can help leapfrog systems and institutions in Nigeria and Edo State.

He noted, “We have failed to create the real market for agricultural produce, economic culture, subsidizing agricultural produce and mixed pricing of exchange rate.

These are some of the fundamental macro economic issues, which is not taking us anywhere. Agricultural business is a serious business in the country. Some of the macro economic situations are changing.

“As a government, our focus is how to be serious and help address the challenges. 50 to

60 years ago, our communities, society, and the economy were driven by agriculture. Commodity boards, farm institutions were well-organized, and people had a culture, but not anymore.”

Obaseki said, “As a governor for five years, I have not really seen the impact as I try to measure the impact by asking what has really changed? Agricultural Development Programme (ADP) Office carry a lot of signboards with all sorts of assisted programmes but yet no much impact or difference has been made in agricultural production and output. This is the major challenge, amongst other problems.

Peter Uzoho Axxela Limited, through its subsidiary, Transit Gas Nigeria Limited, has inaugurated another segment of the Sagamu Gas Distribution Zone for the distribution of 25 million tonnes of standard cubic feet per day (mmscf/d) of natural gas along that part of Ogun State.

The project undertaken by Transit Gas in partnership with the Nigerian Gas Marketing Company Limited (NGMC), a subsidiary of

the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, is a 12km-natural gas pipeline connecting Coleman Cables & Wires to Celplas Industries Park.

The pipeline runs from Ibefun to Celplas Industries Free Zone Enterprise along Sagamu-Benin Express Way, Sagamu, Ogun State, and is intended to power businesses along that area.

Speaking during the inauguration of the project, the Chief Executive Officer of Axxela, Mr. Bolaji Osunsanya,

said the commissioning reinforces the commitment of the company to deliver innovative solutions that create sustainable and efficient energy utilisation for the benefit of its customers.

“We understand the important role that industrialisation plays in the economic development of our nation, and we will continue to position as the energy partner of choice by providing the natural gas advantage to the different sectors,’’ he stated.

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Charles O’Tudor Releases Nuggets for Future of Audacious Branding Organizers of the just concluded season 05 of the Charles O’Tudor Brand Masterclass has described the event as a huge success stating that brilliant minds and industry thought leads were present to stimulate the minds of the audience, which was a mix of young entrepreneurs and business mouguls in the corporate world.

In a statement they said, “Thought leads present were Mr. Fela Durotoye (President of the GEMSTONE Nation Builders Foundation), Mr. Lanre Olusola (Chief Catalyst at Olusola Lanre Coaching Academy), Udo Okonjo (CEO of Fine and Country West Africa) and Olawale Ayilara (CEO/ Founder of Landwey).”

The Masterclass, the organizers said, “started off with a saxophone interlude, the dexterous Bamise Odusote delivered sonorous tunes to set the mood for the event. The first presentation on Audacious Branding was delivered by the main speaker and convener Charles O’Tudor highlighting the meaning and essence of being an audacious brand in your industry, which will help set the pace for a global positioning.

“The next presentation was by Mr. Fela Durotoye. Mr. Durotoye urged the audience to focus on brand beliefs and value add, what your brand believes in will set the pace for what your market will believe in. Mr. Lanre Olusola spoke on the importance of Wisdom, creating and preserving your name, recognising your gift, using it to serve humanity and solve problems at deep levels.”

The statement added that Mrs. Udo Okonjo spoke on developing key strategies to expand market reach.

She also said that audacious

move to step down from ADSTRAT BMC as the CEO and appointed a new CEO/Principal Consultant to run the brand – Daniel Victory

Momoh, a strategist and conceptual thinker that has worked closely with the brand since May 2019.

“The event ended with another

saxophone interlude by Bamise Odusote and a vote of thanks from Charles O’Tudor, “the statement read.

Official sponsors for the event were Access Bank and Aimart international, a real estate and logistics company.

˾ ˪ ßÎÙÜ branding is an idea that helps you choose who and how to play with in your industry, identifying and developing the right mindset it takes to win.

Mr. Olawale Ayilara stimulated, the statement added, tasked the audience to think beyond their environment, “stating that your brand can be present in a particular location but have a mindset that is not tied to or limited to that location. To achieve the status of an audacious brand, you have to define what you want your audience perception to be like.”

The main highlight of the event according to the statement, was the presentation of an award plaque to Mrs. Unyime King to honour the Late Ubong King.

“The award was presented

by Charles O’Tudor, The Group Principal Consultant of ADSTRAT BMC, Olawale Ayilara, CEO/ Founder of Landwey, Lanre Olusola, Chief Catalyst at Olusola Lanre Coaching Academy, Martins Iluyomade, CEO and Founder of Aimart International.

“Another high point was the unveiling of the Charles O’Tudor Foundation and during the unveiling, Charles O’Tudor announced his

L -R: Executive Director, Policy Innovation Centre (PIC), Mr.Faisal Naru; Deputy Director, PIC, Dr. Osasuyi Dirisu; Chief Executive Officer,, Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), Mr. ‘Laoye Jaiyeola;Acting Country Director, FHI 360, Dr. Hadiza Khamofu; and Senior Technical Officer,Reproductive Health and HIV, FHI 360, Dr. Helen Anyasi, at a design workshop on ‘Behavioural Insights for Development’ organized by the PIC in Abuja… recently

IITA: Smallholder Farmers Already Accessing 529tonnes of Certified Seeds Gilbert Ekugbe The International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) has stated that courtesy of the Feed the Future Nigeria Integrated Agriculture Activity, over 33,165 smallholder farmers are currently accessing 529 tonnes of certified seeds from the established community-based seed producers across the two implementation states—Adamawa and Borno States.

A former Executive Director, Lake

Chad Research Institute (LCRI), Mr. Oluwasina Olabanji, said that the quality of seeds produced in Nigeria leaves much to be desired.

But a statement posted on the IITA website said that the institute has taken measures to adequately address the issue of quality seed by establishing an effective partnership in September 2019 with the National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC).

According to IITA, the partnership was established specifically to

develop a sustainable seed system that will produce quality seeds and make them available locally in Northeast Nigeria.

“The Community Based Seed Enterprise (CBSE), seed companies, IITA, and NASC are the stakeholders of this seed system. Under the partnership, the Activity facilitates foundation seeds from IITA and other relevant research institutes to CBSEs, trained and supervised by the Activity and NASC officers to produce seeds certified by NASC,”

IITA said.

The partnership facilitated the selection, training, and development of 1,185 community-based seed producers (CBSP) from the Producer Groups of Farmers. It promoted the sustainable production of certified seeds at the community level.

The IITA said the partnership has created access to high-yielding varieties, developed greater climate resilience, and generated income through employment creation for smallholder farmers.

Kabir: Food Prices Will Escalate in Q1 2022 The National President, All Farmers Association of Nigeria (AFAN), Mr. Ibrahim Kabir, in this interview shares his thoughts on rising food prices and predicts that food prices will escalate in Q1 2022. Gilbert Ekugbe brings the excerpts According to FAO, agro-food systems are failing across the globe posing great threat to global food insecurity. What can be done to salvage the situation? he principal reason for the food system failures around the globe is the new normal occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic but as the UN’s Secretary advised there are dialogues going on to reinvigorate the global food systems by mitigating climate change, deploying innovations, adoption of various technologies, ensuring transparency and the attainment of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In Nigeria there are now concerted efforts to address all these as well as scaling synergies between all stakeholders in the agriculture space to avoid working at cross- purposes.

Nigeria’s population is expected to hit about 264 million by 2030. Will Nigeria be able to meet the future demand for food?

We are very hopeful that we will be able to do that if we do not have policy summersaults and create the right kind of synergies among all stakeholders in the agriculture space. The issue of insecurity is a serious threat factor to our food system so it must be stemmed. Our power supply is important to processing, so we must make it work properly to be able to have sustainable food sufficiency. We are currently doing “seed connect” at the NAF Conference Centre in Abuja under the auspices of NASC (National Agricultural Seed Council) with them. We are also working with them in so many areas including Seed Tracker and BASICS with Dr. Kumar, Dr. Godwin Atser and Professor Sanni all of the IITA.

T

What are the major challenges hindering the agricultural sector that you would want immediate actions by the federal government to address?

Today there are various interventions in agriculture especially by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and National Agriculture Land Development Authority (NALDA) without real stake-holder buy-in. The Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (FMARD) and the farmers need to be carried along because there are some actions being taken that are actually inimical to progress being made in other areas such as the importation of seed of any kind into Nigeria, which is not helpful to the Seed Act-2019, the PVP Act-2021 and the ARCN Act-2021, not involving AFAN in the activities of ALDAN and CBN creates serious gaps in the food system as seen in no repayment of loans and the food inflation being experienced at the time of harvest despite the colossal investments being made. All farmers must unite and speak to power with one voice for any meaningful and sustainable food system to evolve in Nigeria.

Climate change amongst other factors has continued to affect the crop yields and farmers’ incomes. What should be done urgently to address this situation especially in the midst

Kabir of rising food prices?

Climate change is real and we should not at all be in denial of it so deliberate and decisive decisions should be properly implemented to mitigate it take. Mr. President committed to this at the COP 26 in Glasgow and so all Nigerians must walk the talk seriously.

Farmers are complaining about the high level of rejection of Nigerian agro commodities in United States and EU markets over issues of non-compliance to global standards. What are your thoughts on this?

We must embrace Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) in our production otherwise the situation will remain with us even on the AfCFTA platform. On our part we are continuously urging the farmers to embrace G.A.P and, therefore, urge the government and all stakeholders to incorporate this in all their advocacies.

What will Nigeria be doing differently to address food shortages and rising price of food products?

Nigeria should convene a special stakeholder dialogue immediately! It should consolidate the Agriculture Promotion Policy (APP) to become Consolidated Agriculture Promotion Policy (CAPP) as Nigeria’s Agricultural policy for 2021-2024 since there is have no time to pursue the National Agricultural Technology and Innovation Policy (NATIP) in the time available for this administration.

Nigeria should push for all stakeholders to address the food system in unison with AFAN and insist that interventions by the CBN, NALDA and the FMARD be synergised for sustainability and efficacy.

What is your take on Anti-open grazing and how best can Nigeria practice best farming practice as it relates to cattle rearing?

I will advise for further dialogue on this matter as well as more explanation of the National Livestock Transformation Programme

(NLTP) to the governors and all stakeholders in the livestock space.

Are you satisfied with the level of financial commitment into the nation’s agricultural sector by the federal government?

There are many provisions in so many cross cutting Ministries Department and Agencies (MDAs). But the major problem is implementation, which is work in progress. I sincerely wish the current agriculture minister and his team success as he strikes me as capable with what seems to be a patiently listening mien!

Despite interventions from the government, agricultural trade remains constrained by poor infrastructure. What do you think is missing?

Stable power supply and efficient transportation as well as dependable rural infrastructure will harness our agricultural investments, certainly and I look upon these as work in progress so we will get to Uhuru shortly!

What are your projections for 2022 concerning rising food prices? What should Nigerians expect?

I foresee price hike in food to exacerbate in the first quarter of 2022 and probably reach a crescendo in March 2021, but to slightly come down in May, 2020 if the National Food Reserve Agency (NFRA) is properly resuscitated and takes off in earnest and if by then also our security situation improved and the world is able to concur the COVID-19 pandemic there will be a general stability in the food system and Nigeria will be better for it.

What should Nigerians expect from AFAN come 2022 in terms of policy advocacy and engagement with the FMARD? AFAN has always been in the vanguard of the advocacy for effective policy implementation at all levels and will continue to do its utmost.

The current agriculture minister, Dr. Mohammed Mahmud Abubakar, seems to be focused and listens to solid advice and so AFAN is hopeful for better impact.

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$50bn Needed to Vaccinate the World, Says OECD

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja with agency report

The Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), a group of the world’s most developed nations, has said it would cost $50 billion to vaccinate the world.

This sum pales into insignificance when compared to the $10 trillion the group of 20 countries has spent mitigating the economic impact of

Covid-19 since it became critical in 2020.

Chief Economist of the OECD, Laurence Boone, said the emergence of a new coronavirus variant increases the uncertainty already weighing on the global economic outlook and highlights vaccination shortcomings.

While the Paris-based organisation didn’t directly account for omicron in its new outlook, published Wednesday, it emphasised continued pandemic risks and urged govern-

ments to address low inoculation rates in some regions so as not to create “breeding grounds for deadlier strains.”

“We are concerned that omicron strain is further adding to high levels of uncertainty and risks and that could be a threat to recovery, “Boone said in a presentation of the OECD’s report in Paris.

Vaccinating more people “remains the most important priority for ending the pandemic and also for tackling

IEA: Renewable Energy to Account for 95% Power Generation Growth by 2026 Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The International Energy Agency (IEA) has said that renewables will account for about 95 per cent of growth in global power-generation capacity up to the end of 2026 despite the Covid-19 pandemic and rising costs of raw materials around the world.

The organisation stated that about 290GW of new renewable energy generation capacity, mostly in the form of wind turbines and solar panels, had been installed around the world this year, beating the previous record last year.

“On current trends, renewable energy generating capacity will exceed that of fossil fuels and nuclear energy combined by 2026,” the IEA said.

New climate and energy policies in many countries around the world have driven the growth, with many governments setting out higher ambitions on cutting greenhouse gas

emissions before and at the Cop26 UN climate summit in Glasgow last month.

However, this level of growth is still only about half that required to meet net zero carbon emissions by mid-century.

Executive Director of the IEA, Fatih Birol, stated that the massive growth in non-hydrocarbons related sources of energy was a testimony that the push for a carbon-free world was possible.

“This year’s record renewable energy additions are yet another sign that a new global energy economy is emerging. The high commodity and energy prices we are seeing today pose new challenges for the renewable industry, but elevated fossil fuel prices also make renewables even more competitive,” he said.

According to the IEA report, renewables will account for about 95 per cent of the increase in global power-generation capacity from now

to the end of 2026, with solar power alone providing about half of the increase.

Lead Author of the report, Heymi Bahar, said that commodity prices were not the main obstacles to growth, however.

He added that wind and solar would still be cheaper than fossil fuels in most areas, saying getting a permit was the main barrier to new wind energy projects around the world as policy measures were needed to expand use of solar power for consumers and industry.

Birol said China’s rapid expansion of renewable energy suggested the country could reach an emissions peak “well before 2030”.

India, the world’s third-biggest emitter, also experienced strong growth in renewable energy capacity in the past year, but its target – set out at Cop26 – of reaching net zero by 2070 is also regarded as too weak by many.

Kale, Imoukhuede to Headline Oando’s Online Conference Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja Former Director General, National Bureau of Statistics; Dr. Yemi Kale and Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Youth Empowerment and Job Creation, Afolabi Imoukhuede are expected to headline Oando Plc’s webinar today.

Themed, “Paying the Price: The Cost-of-Living Crisis” in partnership with the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) and Ventures Africa,

Oando said that the online conference will feature a diverse panel of notable experts on the economy.

Aside Kale and Imoukhuede, other panellists include, Head UNIDO Investment and Technology Promotion Office, Nigeria; Abimbola ‘Bibi’ Olufore, Fiscal Policy Partner & Africa Tax Leader, PwC Nigeria, Taiwo Oyedele.

A statement by the company stated that the session will be moderated by Lola Talabi-Oni, Consultant, Policy & Government

Relations, Global Citizens.

It stated that the discussions were important because 2021 has been characterised by an increase in the price of goods and services, birthing another wave of what is now popularly termed the ‘sachet economy’.

Quoting NBS Consumer Price Index (CPI) Report, Oando said inflation remains at a four-year high, with the price of food-having increased by 18 per cent in March and 20.75 per cent in October.

Firm Gets $500m Funding for Nigerian Youth Project Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja The Nigerian Youth Project (NYP), which aims to empower about 70 million youths in the provision of affordable homes, and mechanised agricultural businesses says it has received a boost from a foreign investor, HP Kapital to the tune of $500 million.

Chairman, FHT Ventures Plc, the initiators of the project, Olubunmi Adewa-Faboro, while unveiling the new partners stated that the project will kick off with foundation laying ceremony on January 27, 2022.

Conceived by an indigenous company, FHT Ventures Plc, a real estate firm based in Abuja, Nigeria, over a year ago, floated the project,

promoted along with overseas partners, seeking to bring investors from all over the world, to explore Nigerian potential and provision of mortgage based affordable homes, and agriculture using the country’s 70 million youths.

Apart from HP Kapital, AdewaFaboro, said a partner has also joined from the Middle East in the name of Omene Group, adding that a local partner, Possibility Specialists Global Resources, had also been admitted to the project with FHT Ventures ceding 10 percent of its shares to new local partner. Flanked by Prof.

Mary Nwoye, a Consultant for the project, Mr. Egona Abraham, the Lead of Possibility Specialists Global Resources, among other representa-

tives, Adewa-Faboro disclosed that a comprehensive documentary is being put in place to further highlight the profiles and achievements of the all the partners. “We are happy to announce to the whole world that we have made presentation to the Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment and they are positive in encouraging this project.

“This partnership is unique in the sense that our overseas partners who are going us on this project will have the rest of mind that despite the security challenges in the country, they will be protected. And that the foreign direct investments they are bringing into this country will be such that they will be able to repatriate their profit without any hitch.

Nigeria Lacks Huge Capacity in Seed Production’ Gilbert Ekugbe The Divisional Head, Agribusiness, Natural Resources and Project Development, Heritage Bank Plc., Mr. Olugbenga Awe, has stated that it is working with 30 seed companies to boost seed production in Nigeria.

According to Awe, the fact that the federal government, through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), imported 140,000 metric tonnes of seeds from Mexico at a staggering amount was an indication of the

huge gap in the nation’s seed space.

He added that its seed multiplication exercise is aimed at making Nigeria self-sufficient in seed production.

Awe said: “Going forward, what we are trying to achieve from the seed multiplication exercise is for us to be self-sufficient in seed production and stop importation of seeds.

“As a bank, we are working with the CBN, the Lake Chad Research Institute (LCRI), and a couple of seed companies to multiply seeds. Our

farmers can now be buying seeds from local seed companies in Nigeria as this would reduce pressure on Nigeria’s foreign exchange market.”

He highlighted the need to sustain the initiative by bringing the scheme to the Lagos Commodities and Future Exchange (LCFE).

“We will replicate this initiative in maize, rice and cocoa. We are taking this programmes seriously because we believe the future is bright if we continue in this path that we have taken,” he said.

the imbalances that are plaguing the recovery, “Bloomberg quoted him as saying.

On top of tighter virus restrictions including renewed lockdowns in some parts, OECD members are battling soaring inflation and hold-ups in global supply chains that are starving factories of components.

“When you balance things out, $10 trillion for supporting the economy going through the pandemic compared with a tiny $50 billion to bring the vaccine to the entire world population, that looks completely disproportionate,” she said.

The OECD, a group of high consuming nations of the world’s oil and gas is a major determinant of decisions taken by the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Meanwhile, despite the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, ExxonMobil has broadened goals to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide released with each barrel of oil it pumps.

The US energy major said it aimed to reduce company-wide greenhouse gas intensity by 20-30 per cent by 2030. Exxon’s previous target was an intensity reduction of 15-20 per cent by 2025 for its “upstream”, or oil and gas production, business, which it says was achieved this year.

The updated emissions and capital spending plans released on Wednesday are the first since Exxon lost board seats in a proxy battle with the activist hedge fund Engine No 1, which had argued the company was ill prepared for a lower-carbon future.

Carbon intensity is a measure of emissions per unit of output.

Activists have criticised Exxon

SUPPORT FOR SMEs…

for using this yardstick, rather than absolute emissions, because it allows total emissions to rise if fossil fuel output climbs. However, Exxon said its updated plans would lead to “corporate-wide” emissions 20 per cent lower by 2030.

The Texas-based company intends to spend $15 billion cumulatively on new emissions-reduction efforts to 2027, or about $2.5 billion a year.

The company’s total planned capital spending is between $20 billion and $25billion a year to the end of 2027, up from about $16 billion in this year’s pandemic-hit budget.

Chevron, Exxon’s biggest US competitor, said in September it would spend $10 billion on lowcarbon ventures up to the end of 2028. Both companies have pledged a much lower share of total spending to cleaner energy than their European rivals.

The Divisional Head, Treasury, First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Mr. Gerald Ikem; Managing Director of the Bank, Mrs. Yemisi Edun; Country Director, Proparco Nigeria, Mr. Jean GuyonnetDuperat and Minister Counsellor/Head of Co-operation, European Union, Ms. Celine TassinPelzer, during the signing of an agreement between Proparco and FCMB for a $35 million credit facility and EURIZ portfolio guarantee of N5 billion to support FCMB’s funding of SMEs and climate projects, held in Lagos...

31

T H I S D AY ˾ TUESDAY DECEMBER 7, 2021

PROPERTY & ENVIRONMENT Court Restrains Onikoyi, Others from Construction at 44 Gerrard, Ikoyi Ȋ Hears Originating Summons for Possession today

Bennett Oghifo

A

High Court of Lagos, presided over by Hon. Justice O. O. Ogunjobi, has restrained “Unknown Persons (as the 1st Defendant); and Oba Onikoyi on behalf of the Onikoyi Chieftaincy Family, along with Chief Abayomi Samuel Fafunwa,” from “carrying out any further construction on the property, subject matter of Suit, at 44 Gerrard Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, pending the determination of the Originating Summons for Possession, filed by Oystelcom International Limited as Claimant, and which comes up for hearing today December 7, 2021.

Specifically, Justice O. O. Ogunjobi, on Suit No. D/2487LMW/2019, dated 25 November 2021, a Certified True Copy of which was sighted by THISDAY, delivered a Ruling restraining the Defendants/ Respondents – being Unknown Persons (as the 1st Defendant); and Oba Onikoyi on behalf of the Onikoyi Chieftaincy Family, along with Chief Abayomi

Samuel Fafunwa (as the 2nd & 3rd Defendants) - from carrying on any further construction on the property, subject matter of the Suit, at 44 Gerrard Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, pending the determination of the Originating Summons for Possession filed by Oystelcom International Limited as Claimant.

The Ruling was delivered sequel to the Claimant/Applicant’s Motion on Notice dated 19th March, 2021, which sought, amongst others, the following: An order of interlocutory injunction restraining the Respondents, whether by themselves, or through their agents, privies, assigns, representatives or any persons howsoever, from interfering with the Claimant’s possession of the property at 44, Gerrard Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, pending the hearing and determination of the Originating Summons herein.

An order of interlocutory injunction restraining the Respondents, whether by themselves, or through their agents, privies, assigns, representatives or any persons

howsoever, from damaging, destroying or demolishing the Claimant’s fence and buildings on the property at 44, Gerrard Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, pending the hearing and determination of the Originating Summons herein.

An order of interlocutory injunction restraining the Respondents, whether by themselves, or through their agents, privies, assigns, representatives or any persons howsoever, from building, installing, constructing, or erecting, or further building, installing, constructing, or erecting, any fence, structures, buildings, or edifice, whatsoever, on the property at 44, Gerrard Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, pending the hearing and determination of the Originating Summons herein.

The Claimant’s aforementioned Motion on Notice was supported by a 22 paragraph Affidavit and a 9 paragraph Affidavit of Urgency, both deposed to on 24th March, 2021 by Kingsley Usiagu Esq., Counsel in the Law Firm of CLP Legal, representing the Claimant in the Suit.

The 2nd & 3rd Defendants, on

their part, filed a 25 paragraph Counter-Affidavit deposed to on 16th June, 2021 and a Further and Better Affidavit deposed to on 22nd October, 2021, in opposition to the Claimant’s aforesaid Motion seeking for an Interlocutory Injunction.

Both Affidavits were deposed to by the 3rd Defendant, Chief Abayomi Samuel Fafunwa.

In the Suit, the Claimant claims that it acquired the property lying and situate at 44, Gerrard Road, Ikoyi, Lagos in October, 2007 from NITEL Trustees Limited (in liquidation), whose parent Company is Nigerian Telecommunications Plc., and from whom the said NITEL Trustees Limited had previously acquired its interest in the property.

Our correspondent also gathered from the processes filed by the parties to the action, that the 2nd & 3rd Defendants had hitherto filed Suit No: LD/934/2011 - HRM Oba Patrick Ibikunle Fanfuwa Onikoyi (The Oba of Ikoyi and Imoba Land) & Anor. v. Waoh Auto Company Limited & Oystelcom International Limited, in which they, as Claimants, claim

to be entitled to possession of the very same property at 44 Gerrard Road, Ikoyi, Lagos by virtue of a Judgment in Suit No. LD/1172/93 – Chief Patrick Ibikunle Fafunwa Onikoyi & Ors. v. Attorney-General of the Federation & Ors. The Court processes disclose further that the Claimant alleges that, having filed Suit No: LD/934/2011, the 2nd & 3rd Defendants abandoned its case and, instead, forcefully wrested possession of a portion of the property abutting Parkview Estate Ikoyi, Lagos from it and immediately commenced demolition of the structures there and constructing new buildings on it.

These developments culminated the filing of the present Suit No. LD/2487LM/2019 by the Claimant.

On their part, the 2nd & 3rd Defendants contended that the property in issue in the present Suit is not the same as that in issue in Suit No: LD/934/2011; and that they did not enter into the property in issue forcefully, but did so further to Warrants of Possession issued pursuant to its Judgment against the Claimant’s predecessor-in-title, NITEL, in

Suit No. LD/1172/93. They argued, in this regard, that the title asserted by the Claimant in the present Suit has been vacated by the Judgment in Suit No. LD/1172/93.

After entertaining arguments from A. O. Omotoso; Esq. for the Claimants and A. Adenekan; Esq. for the 2nd & 3rd Respondents in adumbration of their respective Written Addresses, the Honourable Court in its Ruling, ordered as follows: “The prima facie evidence of the Claimant’s title to the land is worthy of protection, and I so hold. Consequently, an Order of Injunction is hereby granted restraining the Defendants from further construction on the property subject matter in this Suit situate at No. 44 Gerrard Road, Ikoyi pending the determination of the Claimant’s Originating Summons dated 19th March, 2021.”

Upon making the Order, the Court further ordered an accelerated hearing of the Suit and, pursuant thereto, adjourned the case to 7th December, 2021 for hearing of the Originating Summons for Possession dated 19th March, 2021.

AshafaVows to Continue Demolition Engineers Urged to Priotise Mentorship of Younger Colleagues of Illegal Structures in FESTAC Bennett Oghifo Managing Director, Federal Housing Authority (FHA), Sen. Gbenga Ashafa has vowed to restore the prestine nature of the landmark FESTAC Town by sustaining the demolition of illegal structures distorting its masterplan.

Some squatters, however, would be relocated, said Ashafa, who was represented at a stakeholders’ meeting at FESTAC recently by Mr Chinonso Omoke, FHA Executive Director, Project Implementation.

He listed successes recorded so far in the ongoing clean up

and restoration of the FESTAC master plan, adding that other federal government-owned estates would also be restored.

Ashafa said the recent demolition around the 9th Avenue in Festac Town did not target any group, stating that encroachers ignored all warnings and notices against illegal construction, thereby, undermining FHA’s authority.

“Though painful but inevitable, we will not fold our hands and cheer the distortion of our master plan under any guise, no matter how highly placed the defaulter might be.

“Individuals decided to

obstruct the major access to the 9th Avenue, by directly constructing on the road.

“We have started this sustained exercise of clearing them and negotiations on them are foreclosed.

“We have also observed that some other buildings in that part of FESTAC are already structurally challenged, so much that in places piling was required, ordinary raft foundations were put in place,” he said.

The Managing Director warned that the agency would adopt all possible measures to avert building collapse and forestall any loss of life in FESTAC Town.

L-R: The President, FESTAC Town Resident Association (FTRA), Mr Shola Fakorede; Executive Director, Project Implementation, Federal Housing Authourity ( FHA), Mr Chinonso Omoke; and South West Zonal Manager, FHA, Mr Akintola Olagbemiro, during a meeting with stakeholders at FHA Zonal office… recently

Bennett Oghifo Well-established Engineers have been advised to prioritise mentorship for young practitioners and collaborate for knowledge sharing in the profession.

The advice was given by Emeritus Professor of engineering at the H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, United States of America, Augustine Esogbue.

He stated this during a virtual public lecture he delivered on, ‘The Engineering of Societal Systems: A Guided Tour of Decades of some Pioneering and Transformative Research Contributions’ organised by the Nigerian Academy of Engineering (NAE) in Lagos, recently.

He also urged the teaching of system and industrial engineering in order to find solutions to societal challenges.

Prof. Esogbue said such education would promote knowledge in developing multi-purpose machines and systems that will not only solve problems but also manage existing resources in the best possible way.

He stressed that optimum operation of machines and systems must be of interest to engender development in the country.

Esogbue, who was the

Director of Intelligent Systems and Controls Laboratory at the institute said: “There should be teaching of system science in theory and application. At every point in time, you must monitor and maintain systems designed to solve problems. Irrespective of predictions, Nigeria is going to survive but we don’t just want it to survive, we want it to excel.

Engineering still has a lot to do to transform the country. Engineers in addition to building hardware must look for ways to complement them with the software aspect, which is more like policies and the use of machines to do things so that life can be better, more comfortable and the environment will be more beneficial.”

According to him, there is the need for practitioners to share experiences through public webinars and other means to engender transfer of knowledge and capacity development in the industry.

He said those who have become successive in the profession must embrace mentorship for the younger engineers, adding that emphasis should be on the pursuit of career in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) fields.

Esogbue who is a fellow of NAE further disclosed that to give back to the society, he plans to fund scholarships for selected

doctoral engineering students across the six geo-political zones of Nigeria for the next five years.

“We need to train engineers who are culturally sensitive to their environment, able to build machines and elevate the quality of life. The field of work now feels like the field of play through mechanization of labour and engineering”, he said.

He also stated that there was a need for partnership among industry players in order to make a lasting mark in the profession and in the sands of time.

In his address at the forum which attracted fellows of the academy, the President, Nigerian Academy of Engineering, Alex Ogedegbe said the lecture was organised to project decades of excellence in engineering profession as well as serve as a worthy and memorable way to celebrate an engineer on what science and technology can contribute towards societal socio-economic development and growth.

Ogedegbe said to encourage knowledge sharing; the NAE has mandated all its new fellows to present a paper on a particular topic to the academy.

The forum also featured a presentation of appreciation plaque to Professor Esogbue for his landmark contributions to engineering development across the world.

Corporate Vice President for Microsoft 365, the new Microsoft Teams Essentials is built for small businesses.

He said, “While the past 20 months have been challenging for all organisations, I don’t know any that have been hit harder than small businesses.

They’ve had to adapt nearly

every aspect of how they operate and work with customers, often without access to critical tools and technologies. The world isn’t going back to the “old” way of working, so small businesses need solutions that are designed specifically for their unique needs to thrive in this new normal.”

Microsoft Teams Essentials for SMBs Debuts Microsoft has announced the first ever stand-alone offering of Microsoft Teams, specifically designed for small-midsize businesses (SMBs), called Teams Essentials.

Teams Essentials will enable SMBs to serve their customers in new ways, grow their business and gain competitive

advantages in a couple key ways: r&BTJMZ IPTU MPOHFS QSPGFTsional meetings with colleagues, customers, and partners and take productivity to the next level with tools like calendar integration, group chat, and extended meeting limits up to 30 hours and 300 attendees

at once. r4UBZ PSHBOJTFE BOE TBWF time by connecting existing tools in one place with powerful collaboration capabilities and an increased 10GB of cloud storage.

“We all know the shift to remote and hybrid work has presented ample challenges for

companies of all sizes, but the unique challenges that small businesses face require unique solutions, and Microsoft is well-positioned to provide its SMB customers with the best possible tools to succeed,” said Microsoft, in a statement issued on Wednesday.

According to Jared Spataro,

32

T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ DECEMBER 7, 2021

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Plateau Harmonises Tax Collection to Avoid Hardship on Citizens Seriki Adinoyi ÓØ ÙÝ As part of measures to cushion the effect of current harsh economy on citizens, Plateau State has decided to harmonise tax collection to make payment compliance easy and enhance ease of doing business with the state government.

To this end, harmonization sub-committee of the Revenue Council headed Mr. Ibrahim Puri, an Executive Director with UBA held a stakeholders engagement between the state government and local government for the purpose of consolidating collection efforts and for the smooth implementation of the Plateau State Property and Land Use Charge Law 2021.

Addressing the stakeholders Puri intimated the chairmen of the local governments of what other states are doing to ensure the revenue profile of the state increases which will be of immense benefit to the

economic development of the local governments.

He said that for purpose of ease of administration and collection, the Property and Land Use Charge Law 2021 harmonizes and consolidates property evaluation charges, ground rent, and tenament rate as Land Use Charge.

He added that, “The Property and Land Use Charge Law exempts certain properties from paying land use charge such as properties owned by religious bodies and used strictly for public worship, cemeteries, burial grounds, recognised and registered institution or an educational institution certified as not for profit making, public library or private library certified as not for profit making, official palaces of recognised chiefs in the state and any property exempted by the Governor by notice in the gazette.”

Commissioner for Lands and

Survey, who was represented by Mr. Ndakafor, stated that the law provides the Local Governments with the opportunity to take advantage of the manpower, technology and structures already established by the state to ensure maximum collection of Local Government Revenues for the respective 17 Local Governments.

Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice clarified questions raised on the constitutionality of the harmonization process.

He said that the constitution empowers the state House of Assembly to make laws on the administration of collectible Local Government revenue titles, and that the Revenue Law 2020 is not inconsistent with the provisions of the Constitution and does not negate the autonomy given to the Local Governments.

Stakeholders urged the state to strengthen its institutions to ensure continuity of the processes put in place for a harmonized revenue administration in state.

MARKET INDICATORS

NOTAP, AUST Formalize Framework to Use Innovation Drive Development The National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) and the African University of Science and Technology (AUST) over the weekend concluded arrangement through signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to deploy their expertise on innovation for the technological development of Nigeria and Africa.

The Acting President of AUST, Prof. Azikiwe Peter Onwualu, in the formalization visit to the Director General of NOTAP, Dr. DanAzumi Mohammed Ibrahim, said the two organizations have no option than to jointly collaborate especially on innovation to take Nigeria to its next developmental level.

Onwualu, said: “We at AUST believe that for us to succeed in all the areas of our programmes and mandate especially in the areas of

innovation, we need NOTAP.This is the reasons why we came and I want to suggest that we work out the MoU immediately like doing joint research, projects and very important on innovation that we want to take to the market.”

While admitting that commercialization of research products in Nigeria has been one of the banes of Nigeria’s technological development, he urged the Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) stakeholders to move Nigeria’s research output from the laboratories to the market.

The AUST acting President, expressed optimism that with synergy from NOTAP and other relevant agencies and institutions, Nigeria is on the verge of breakthrough using STI as driver of the economy…

“Adding: “I believe that if

we work together, we can use science and technology to drive development in Africa.”

He explained that the African University, will expanding its programmes to include undergraduate programmes and courses which though was not the initial aim the late South African President, Nelson Mandela and its founding fathers.

While also exuding with excitement over the collaborative gesture from AUST, the NOTAP boss, said: I’m happy that both organizations are at tandem on the to evolve a synergy that will lead to wealth and job creation for Nigeria’s teeming populace, adding: that a vibrant collaborative research and development can translate into products and services for the country.”

FCMB, Proparco Sign $35m Funding Deal for SMEs, Renewable Energy Projects First City Monument Bank (FCMB), has signed a $35 million loan and an EURIZ portfolio guarantee of N5 billion (EUR 10 million equivalent) deal with Proparco.

The credit line will fund renewable energy projects and Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs) affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. Speaking at an agreement signing ceremony in Lagos on December 1, 2021, the Managing Director of FCMB, Mrs. Yemisi Edun, said: “Proparco’s financing and risk-sharing interventions align with our purpose, commitment and support to SMEs with high growth potential and the renewable energy sector. We are

optimistic that this partnership will accelerate the development of industries critical to attaining sustainable and inclusive economic growth in Nigeria.

Also speaking, the Country Director of Proparco, Mr. Jean Guyonnet-Duperat, said:”We are excited to partner with FCMB again in our commitment to promote sustainable economic, social and environmental development. Through our collaboration with FCMB and its wide network, we are optimistic about making more impact in facilitating the growth of local economic players to overcome the challenges of the COVID-19 crisis. Furthermore, this boosts

the private sector contribution towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals.”

On her part, the Minister Counsellor/Head of Cooperation, European Union, Ms Celine Tassin-Pelzer, stated that:”The European Union recognises the importance of SMEs, particularly women-owned ones, to the growth of societies. We will continue to offer support in critical sectors to create opportunities for individuals and businesses to thrive and overcome their challenges.

We are proud to support the laudable activities of FCMB to achieve these objectives”.

Investment One Emerges Innovative Investment Company of The Year Leading financial services company, Investment One Limited has emerged the Most Innovative Investment Firm of the year for innovations such as USSD code (*5678) My bank statement, others in the country.

The BusinessDay, Banks and Other Financial Institutions (BAFI) Awards seeks to identify and celebrate the financial institutions

and leaders that have excelled across a number of areas, including financial performance, shareholder value creation, brand value accretion, corporate governance, sustainability, employment of new technology, compliance, innovation, and contribution to the industry’s overall growth.

Investment One, with it’s various areas of excellent services across all sectors of the economy

such as USSD code (*5678) My bank statement, Toll free line, Investment education, Virtual Investment Simulator, Easy Invest, among other notable inventions.

Nicholas Nyamali the Group Managing Director, also won the Investment CEO of the year for leading the company to its innovative performance and his exceptional leadership in building a recognised brand.

MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

JANUARY 2021 Money Supply (M3)

38,779,455.43

-- CBN Bills Held by Money Holding Sectors

1,039,129.55

Money Supply (M2)

37,740,325.88

-- Quasi Money

21,779,302.69

-- Narrow Money (M1)

15,961,023.19

---- Currency Outside Banks

2,364,871.13

---- Demand Deposits

13,596,152.06

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

7,414,275.50

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

31,365,179.93

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

42,916,586.63

---- Credit to Government (Net)

12,304,773.44

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

0.00

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

0.00

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

30,611,813.19

--Other Assets Net

3,892,112.74

Reserve Money (Base Money

13,264,585.14

--Currency in Circulation

2,831,167.19

--Banks Reserves --Special Intervention Reserves

10,433,417.96 317,234.17

˾ ÙßÜÍÏ ̋

Money Market Indicators (in Percentage) Month

March 2018

Inter-Bank Call Rate

15.16

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

14.00

Treasury Bill Rate

11.84

Savings Deposit Rate

4.07

1 Month Deposit Rate

8.82

3 Months Deposit Rate

9.72

6 Months Deposit Rate

10.93

12 Months Deposit Rate

10.21

Prime Lending rate

17.35

Maximum Lending Rate

31.55

˾ ÙØÏÞËÜã ÙÖÓÍã ËÞÏ ̋ ͯͱϱ

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE ˜ ͵

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), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).

33

T H I S D AY ˾ ˜ ͵˜ ͰͮͰͯ

ETI Announces N143.67bn Profit BeforeTax in 9 Months Kayode Tokede Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) yesterday announced N143.67 billion profit before tax in its audited nine months ended September 30, 2021, an increase of about 316 per cent from N34.5billion reported in nine months ended September 30, 2020.

Profit after tax also grew by 916 per cent to N104.51billiion in nine months of 2021 from

N10.28billion reported in prior nine months of 2020.

Growth in gross earnings, net investment income, Other operating income and decline in operating expenses were major financial parameters that contributed to the Group’s significant increase in profits amid macro economy challenges where it has branches.

Gross Earnings for the period grew by 12 per cent to N686.8billion in nine months of

P R I C E S MAIN BOARD

F O R DEALS

2021 from N614.5billlion reported in nine months of 2020.

As net investment income rose by 523 per cent to N5.56billion from loss of N1.3billion in nine months of 2020, Other operating income closed nine months of 2021 at N11.59billion from N3.3billion reported in nine months of 2020.

In addition, total operating expenses dropped by three per cent to close nine months of 2021 at N300.72billion from

S E C U R I T I E S

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N )

N292.4billion in nine months of 2020.

The Group CEO, Ecobank, Ade Ayeyemi in a statement said: “We reported strong results, reflecting the continued diligence of Ecobankers in putting our customers first and ensuring that we meet their respective needs.

“For the nine months period up to September 2021, we earned $352 million in pre-tax profit, a 41per cent increase compared to the prior year and revenues of $1.3

T R A D E D MAIN BOARD

A S

billion, a four per cent growth.

Hence return on tangible equity increased to 17.9per cent, and we grew the per-share value of our shareholders’ equity by 11per cent to 5.52 US dollar cents.

“These results also demonstrate the hard work invested in driving efficiency in all our businesses in line with our deliberate focus on driving down our cost-toserve, sustain improvement in the quality of our credit portfolio, and strengthen liquidity and

O F

capital buffers.”

“As a result, our cost-to-income ratio has been declining consistently quarter on quarter, currently 58.3 per cent. In addition, the stock of nonperforming loans as a percentage of loans outstanding is now at 6.9 per cent compared to 9.9per cent a year ago.

“At the same time, we are proactively building loan reserves, currently at 91.2per dcent of nonperforming loans, close to our near-term target of 100per cent.

0 6 / 1 2 / 2 0 2 1 DEALS

MARKET PRICE

QUANTITY TRADED

VALUE TRADED ( N)

34

TUESDAY, Ϳ˜ ͺ͸ͺ͹ ˾ T H I S D AY

Tuesday, December 7, 2021

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THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 INDEX

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Fundamental Performance Metrics for THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 Index

Ticker

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40

1,828.36

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955.00

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34.2%

74.50

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23.95

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1 Airtel Africa PLC 2 BUA Cement Plc

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ŝŶ

,KEz&>KhZ

;нϵ͘ϴйͿ͕ E' D ;нϯ͘ϯйͿ͕ ĂŶĚ & E, ;нϬ͘ϳйͿ ďŽůͲ ϱ͘ϭйͿ͕ ĂŶĚ ^^ ;ͲϮ͘ϯйͿ͕ ĂƐ ƐƵĐŚ ƚŚĞ ďĞŶĐŚŵĂƌŬ ŝŶĚĞdž ƐƚĞƌĞĚ ƉŽƐŝƟǀĞ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ůŽĐĂů ďŽƵƌƐĞ ĂƐ ƚŚĞ ůůͲ ƐŚĞĚ Ϭ͘ϰй ƚŽ ϰϮ͕ϬϬϴ͘ϲϬ ƉŽŝŶƚƐ͘ ŽŶƐĞƋƵĞŶƚůLJ͕ ƚŚĞ zd ƌĞƚƵƌŶ ^ŚĂƌĞ ŝŶĚĞdž ƌŽƐĞ ďLJ ŵŽĚĞƌĂƚĞĚ ƚŽ ϰ͘ϯй ǁŚŝůĞ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ĐĂƉŝƚĂůŝƐĂƟŽŶ ƐŚĞĚ ϭϭďƉƐ ƚŽ ϯϵ͕ϱϱϬ͘ϯϲ ƉŽŝŶƚƐ͘ ŽŶƐĞƋƵĞŶƚůLJ͕ zd ůŽƐƐ ŝŵͲ േϴϯ͘ϭďŶ ƚŽ േϮϭ͘ϵƚŶ͘ dƌĂĚŝŶŐ ĂĐƟǀŝƚLJ ƐƚƌĞŶŐƚŚĞŶĞĚ ĂƐ ǀŽůƵŵĞ ƉƌŽǀĞĚ ƚŽ Ͳϭ͘ϴй ǁŚŝůĞ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ĐĂƉŝƚĂůŝƐĂƟŽŶ ƌŽƐĞ ďLJ ĂŶĚ ǀĂůƵĞ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ƌŽƐĞ ϭϯϯ͘ϯй ĂŶĚ ϴϰ͘ϯй ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ ƚŽ േϮϯ͘ϰďŶ ƚŽ േϮϬ͘ϲƚŶ͘ dƌĂĚŝŶŐ ĂĐƟǀŝƚLJ ǁĂƐ ŵŝdžĞĚ ĂƐ ǀŽůƵŵĞ ϰϮϮ͘Ϯŵ ƵŶŝƚƐ ĂŶĚ േϰ͘ϱďŶ͘ & E, ;ϭϮϴ͘ϵŵ ƵŶŝƚƐͿ͕ ^d Z>EͲ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ďLJ Ϯϭ͘ϲй ϭϭϬ͘ϴŵ ;ϰϳ͘ϴŵ ƵŶŝƚƐ ǁŚŝůĞ E< ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ ;ϳϳ͘ϴŵ ƵŶŝƚƐͿ͕ ĂŶĚ ƚŽ 'd K ƵŶŝƚƐͿ ǀĂůƵĞ ůĞĚ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ƌŽƐĞ ďLJ ϴϴ͘ϱй ƚŽ േϯ͘ϭďŶ͘ dŚĞ ŵŽƐƚ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ďLJ ǀŽůƵŵĞ ǁŚŝůĞ & E, ;േϭ͘ϱďŶͿ͕ 'd K ;േϭ͘ϭďŶͿ͕ ĂŶĚ EͲ ďLJ ǀŽůƵŵĞ ǁĞƌĞ dZ E^ KZW ;ϭϭ͘ϵŵ ƵŶŝƚƐͿ͕ & E, ;ϭϭ͘ϭŵ /d, ;േϮϰϬ͘ϲŵͿ ůĞĚ ďLJ ǀĂůƵĞ͘ ƵŶŝƚƐͿ͕ ĂŶĚ K E K ;ϳ͘ϯŵ ƵŶŝƚƐͿ ǁŚŝůĞ E ^d> ;േϮ͘ϮďŶͿ͕

E' D ;േϭϰϱ͘ϬŵͿ͕ ĂŶĚ 'd K ;േϭϯϰ͘ϴŵͿ ůĞĚ ďLJ ǀĂůƵĞ͘ ĞĂƌŝƐŚ ^ĞĐƚŽƌ WĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ĐƌŽƐƐ ŽƵƌ ƐĞĐƚŽƌ ĐŽǀĞƌĂŐĞ͕ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ǁĂƐ ďĞĂƌŝƐŚ ĂƐ ϱ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ůŽƐƚ ǁŚŝůĞ ƚŚĞ &ZͲ/ d ŝŶĚĞdž ĐůŽƐĞĚ ŇĂƚ͘ dŚĞ /ŶƐƵƌͲ ĞĂƌŝƐŚ ^ĞĐƚŽƌ WĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ĂŶĐĞ ŝŶĚĞdž ůĞĚ ůĂŐŐĂƌĚƐ͕ ĚŽǁŶ ϭ͘ϴй ĨŽůůŽǁŝŶŐ ƉƌŽĮƚͲƚĂŬŝŶŐ ŝŶ ĐƌŽƐƐ ƐĞĐƚŽƌƐ ƵŶĚĞƌ ŽƵƌ ĐŽǀĞƌĂŐĞ͕ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ǁĂƐ // K ;Ͳϱ͘ϰйͿ ĂŶĚ D E^ Z ;Ͳϯ͘ϳйͿ͘ dƌĂŝůŝŶŐ͕ ďĞĂƌŝƐŚ ĂƐ ϰ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ůŽƐƚ͕ ϭ ŝŶĚĞdž ŐĂŝŶĞĚ ǁŚŝůĞ ƚŚĞ &ZͲ/ d ƚŚĞ ĂŶŬŝŶŐ ĂŶĚ /ŶĚƵƐƚƌŝĂů 'ŽŽĚƐ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ ϭ͘ϰй ĂŶĚ ŝŶĚĞdž ƌĞŵĂŝŶĞĚ ŇĂƚ͘ dŽƉƉŝŶŐ ƚŚĞ ůĂŐŐĂƌĚƐ ĂƌĞ ƚŚĞ ŽŶƐƵŵͲ Ϭ͘ϲй ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ ŽǁŝŶŐ ƚŽ ƐĞůů ƉƌĞƐƐƵƌĞ ŽŶ h ;Ͳϱ͘ϭйͿ͕ Ͳ Ğƌ 'ŽŽĚƐ ĂŶĚ /ŶƐƵƌĂŶĐĞ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ͕ ĚŽǁŶ ϰ͘ϲй ĂŶĚ ^^ ;ͲϮ͘ϯйͿ͕ ĂŶĚ t W K ;Ͳϵ͘ϵйͿ͘ ^ŝŵŝůĂƌůLJ͕ ƚŚĞ ŽŶƐƵŵĞƌ ϭ͘Ϯй ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ďĂĐŬ ŽĨ ƉƌŽĮƚͲƚĂŬŝŶŐ ŝŶ E ^d> ;Ͳ 'ŽŽĚƐ ĂŶĚ Kŝů Θ 'ĂƐ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ƐŚĞĚ Ϭ͘ϯй ĂŶĚ Ϭ͘ϭй ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ ϵ͘ϭйͿ͕ hE/> s Z ;Ͳϯ͘ϱйͿ͕ >/E< ^^hZ ;Ͳϲ͘ϰйͿ͕ ĚƵĞ ƚŽ ůŽƐƐĞƐ ŝŶ E'^h' Z ;Ͳϯ͘ϭйͿ͕ hE/> s Z ;Ͳϰ͘ϬйͿ͕ ĂŶĚ ĂŶĚ D E^ Z ;ͲϮ͘ϮйͿ͘ ^ŝŵŝůĂƌůLJ͕ ƚŚĞ Kŝů Θ 'ĂƐ ĂŶĚ ĂŶŬͲ d ZE ;Ͳϰ͘ϭйͿ͘ ŝŶŐ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ĨĞůů ďLJ Ϭ͘Ϯй ĂŶĚ ϮďƉƐ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ ĚƵĞ ƚŽ ƐĞůůͲ

ŽīƐ ŝŶ K E K ;ͲϬ͘ϴйͿ͕ E/d, ;ͲϬ͘ϮйͿ͕ ĂŶĚ 'd K ;ͲϬ͘ϮйͿ͘ /ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ^ĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ tĂŶĞƐ ŽŶǀĞƌƐĞůLJ͕ ƚŚĞ /ŶĚƵƐƚƌŝĂů 'ŽŽĚƐ ŝŶĚĞdž ǁĂƐ ƚŚĞ ůŽŶĞ ŐĂŝŶͲ /ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ŵĞĂƐƵƌĞĚ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ĂƉƉƌĞĐŝĂͲ ďƌĞĂĚƚŚ Ğƌ͕ ƵƉ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ͕ ϭ͘ϴй ĂƐ ĚƌŝǀĞŶ ďLJ ďLJ ƉƌŝĐĞ

;ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞͬĚĞĐůŝŶĞ ƌĂƟŽͿ͕ ǁĞĂŬĞŶĞĚ ƚŽ Ϭ͘ϰdž ĨƌŽŵ Ϭ͘ϳdž ĂƐ ƟŽŶ ŝŶ E' D ;нϯ͘ϯйͿ͘ ϭϬ

ƐƚŽĐŬƐ

ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞĚ

ǁŚŝůĞ

Ϯϰ

ƐƚŽĐŬƐ

ĚĞͲ

ĐůŝŶĞĚ͘ ZKz > y ;нϵ͘ϰйͿ͕ D z Z ;нϵ͘ϭйͿ͕ ĂŶĚ /ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ^ĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ^ƚƌĞŶŐƚŚĞŶƐ ,/W> ;нϵ͘ϭйͿ ůĞĚ ŐĂŝŶĞƌƐ ǁŚŝůĞ t W K ;Ͳϵ͘ϵйͿ͕ >/EͲ /ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌƐ ;Ͳϴ͘ϵйͿ͕ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ͕ ĂƐ ŵĞĂƐƵƌĞĚ ďLJ ůĞĚ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ďƌĞĂĚƚŚ < ^^hZ ĂŶĚ dZ E^ ;Ͳϴ͘ϴйͿ ĚĞĐůŝŶĞƌƐ͘ tĞ ;ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞͬĚĞĐůŝŶĞ ƌĂƟŽͿ͕ ƐƚƌĞŶŐƚŚĞŶĞĚ͕ ƐĞƩůŝŶŐ Ăƚ ϭ͘ϲdž ĞdžƉĞĐƚ ƚŚĞ ůŽĐĂů ďŽƵƌƐĞ ƚŽ ƐƵƐƚĂŝŶ ƚŚĞ ďĞĂƌŝƐŚ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ŝŶ ĨƌŽŵ ϭ͘ϯdž ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ůĂƐƚ ƚƌĂĚŝŶŐ ƐĞƐƐŝŽŶ ĂƐ Ϯϰ ƐƚŽĐŬƐ ƚŽĚĂLJ͛Ɛ ƚƌĂĚŝŶŐ ƐĞƐƐŝŽŶ ĚƵĞ ƚŽ ƚŚĞ ǁĞĂŬ ŝŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ͘

5 Dangote Cement PLC 6 MTN Nigeria Communications PLC 7 Nestle Nigeria PLC 8 Lafarge Africa PLC 9 Access Bank PLC 10 United Bank for Africa PLC 11 FBN Holdings Plc 12 Nigerian Brew eries PLC 13 Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC 14 International Brew eries PLC 15 Flour Mills of Nigeria PLC 16 SEPLAT Energy PLC 17 11 PLC 18 Okomu Oil Palm PLC

ǁŚŝůĞ dZ E^ ;Ͳϴ͘ϯйͿ͕ > ^ K ;Ͳϲ͘ϳйͿ͕ ĂŶĚ >/s Ͳ DĞĂŶǁŚŝůĞ͕ d/ ƌĞƉŽƌƚĞĚ ŝƚƐ ϵD͗ϮϬϮϭ ƌĞƐƵůƚƐ ǁŚŝĐŚ ƐŚŽǁĞĚ Ă ^dK < ;Ͳϰ͘ϴйͿ ůĞĚ ůŽƐĞƌƐ͘ zĞƐƚĞƌĚĂLJ͕ ǁĞ ĞdžƉĞĐƚ ƚŚĞ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ϯ͘ϵй LJͬLJ ŝŶĐƌĞĂƐĞ ŝŶ ŶĞƚ ŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƚ ŝŶĐŽŵĞ ƚŽ Ψϲϵϳ͘Ϯŵ͘ KƉĞƌͲ ƐĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ƚŽ ƌĞŵĂŝŶ ŵŝdžĞĚ͕ ĂƐ ĞĂƌŶŝŶŐƐ ƐĞĂƐŽŶ ŐƌĂĚƵĂůůLJ ĂƟŶŐ ƉƌŽĮƚ ƌŽƐĞ ϭϴ͘ϵй ƚŽ ΨϱϮϴ͘ϭŵ ĨŽůůŽǁŝŶŐ Ă ϰ͘Ϯй ĚĞĐůŝŶĞ ǁŝŶĚƐ ƵƉ͘ ŝŶ KW y ƚŽ Ψϳϯϳ͘Ϯŵ͘ ůƐŽ͕ W d ŐƌĞǁ ϴϰϲ͘ϲй ƚŽ ΨϮϱϲ͘Ϯŵ ĨƌŽŵ

ŵĞŶƚ ;ϵD͗ϮϬϮϬ Ͳ Ψϭϱϵ͘ϰŵͿ͘

ROE

ROA

P/E

4.8x

P/BV

Divindend Earnings Yield Yield

24.6%

82.8%

15.0%

3.5%

12.1%

12.1%

14.7%

5.2%

0.7x

5.5%

-3.7%

19.1%

11.2%

35.8x

6.7x

-26.0%

24.8%

3.9%

3.6x

0.9x

12.5%

27.6% 31.4%

2.8%

23.50

0.0%

6.2%

-5.2%

-5.2%

20.9%

2.8%

3.2x

0.6x

12.8%

280.00

0.0%

6.7%

14.3%

14.3%

40.4%

16.7%

13.9x

5.4x

6.3%

7.2%

167.00

0.0%

4.6%

-1.7%

-1.7%

179.2%

14.1%

12.0x

18.3x

6.3%

8.3%

1,395.00

0.0%

3.6%

-7.3%

-7.3%

106.8%

15.6%

27.1x

31.8x

4.3%

3.7%

22.20

-9.9%

3.4%

5.5%

5.5%

11.6%

8.4%

8.3x

0.9x

4.5%

12.0%

8.70

-2.2%

2.8%

3.0%

3.0%

17.0%

1.4%

2.4x

0.4x

9.8%

41.0%

7.50

-5.1%

2.3%

-13.3%

-13.3%

1.9x

0.4x

7.3%

53.0%

11.70

-0.8%

3.9%

63.6%

63.6%

3.9%

18.3%

46.95

0.0%

1.7%

-16.2%

37.00

0.0%

1.9%

-2.0%

10.6%

1.0%

5.5x

0.6x

-16.2%

5.3%

1.9%

43.3x

2.3x

2.3%

2.3%

-2.0%

15.4%

2.0%

8.5x

1.4x

11.1%

11.8%

-10.3%

-3.9% 4.5x

0.7x

5.9%

22.4%

5.00

2.0%

1.3%

-16.0%

-16.0%

28.95

0.0%

1.1%

11.3%

11.3%

650.00

0.0%

1.6%

61.6%

61.6%

3.4%

1.9%

15.0x

0.5x

6.4%

6.7%

10.3%

0.9x

-11.4%

0.0%

1.2%

56.0%

56.0%

38.8%

25.2%

9.7x

3.4x

5.3%

2.36

-5.6%

0.6%

-6.3%

-6.3%

12.0%

1.1%

2.1x

0.2x

9.3%

8.00

0.0%

0.9%

33.3%

33.3%

1.5%

0.1%

2.2x

0.3x

21 Dangote Sugar Refinery PLC 22 FCMB Group Plc 23 Sterling Bank PLC

15.50

-3.1%

0.5%

-11.9%

-11.9%

3.00

0.0%

0.5%

-9.9%

-9.9%

1.46

-0.7%

0.3%

-28.4%

-28.4%

10.1%

0.9%

24 NASCON Allied Industries PLC 25 Transnational Corp of Nigeria

14.00

0.0%

0.4%

-3.4%

-3.4%

21.3%

0.95

-3.1%

0.4%

5.6%

5.6%

26 Presco PLC 27 Unilever Nigeria PLC

87.80

0.0%

0.3%

23.7%

23.7%

13.20

-4.0%

0.2%

-5.0%

-5.0%

6.00

0.8%

0.2%

13.2%

13.2%

28 PZ Cussons Nigeria PLC 29 United Capital PLC 30 Guinness Nigeria PLC 31 Custodian and Allied Insurance 32 AIICO Insurance PLC 33 TotalEnergies Marketing Nigeri 34 Julius Berger Nigeria PLC 35 Wema Bank PLC 36 Union Bank of Nigeria PLC 37 Oando PLC

47.9% 45.3%

1.5x

9.7%

3.2x

0.3x

3.4%

6.9%

13.2x

2.6x

2.9%

7.6%

11.1%

2.3%

5.0x

0.5x

1.1%

19.8%

2.1x

1.2%

-1.3%

-0.8%

5.0%

1.2x

31.5%

-1.1% 4.2%

9.85

-0.5%

0.4%

109.1%

109.1%

2.2x

7.3%

36.30

0.0%

0.4%

91.1%

91.1%

8.1%

3.8%

12.9x

1.0x

1.3%

7.7%

7.50

-2.6%

0.2%

28.2%

28.2%

24.7%

7.5%

3.7x

0.9x

7.3%

27.1%

7.2%

1.1%

388.9x

0.7x 2.0%

20.3%

0.70

-5.4%

0.3%

44.5%

45.8%

216.80

0.0%

0.3%

66.8%

66.8%

24.80

0.0%

0.2%

40.7%

40.7%

20.7%

2.5%

4.3x

0.8x

1.7%

23.1%

0.80

0.0%

0.1%

15.9%

15.9%

13.7%

0.8%

3.8x

0.5x

5.0%

26.5%

0.0%

0.0%

7.1%

0.8%

5.4x

0.5x

5.3%

0.0%

0.1%

24.3%

14.5%

2.6%

2.0x

0.3x

4.7x

0.6x

4.60

38 Notore Chemical Industries Ltd 39 Beta Glass PLC 40 Transcorp Hotels Plc

24.3%

0.3%

4.9x

62.50

0.0%

0.1%

0.0%

0.0%

-41.3%

-9.2%

52.95

0.0%

0.1%

-4.4%

-4.4%

14.8%

10.1%

5.38

0.0%

0.0%

49.4%

49.4%

18.7% 50.5%

2.3x

-20.3% 2.0%

21.4%

0.9x T o p 10 T r a d e s b y V o l u m e

T o p 10 G a i n e r s P ric e

P ric e C hg %

T ic k er

Vo lum e

R OYA LEX

0.58

9.4%

FB NH

128.9

-0.8%

M EYER

0.24

9.1%

ST ER LN B A N K

77.8

-0.7%

C H IP LC

0.48

9.1%

GT C O

47.8

-0.6%

UP D C

1.08

9.1%

UC A P

21.0

-0.5% -5.1%

T ic k er

17.9%

1.9%

142.00

P ric e C hg %

C H A M P ION

2.59

7.9%

UB A

18.6

A C A D EM Y

0.42

7.7%

ET I

13.5

0.0%

J A IZ B A N K

0.67

4.7%

T R A N SC OR P

10.7

-3.1%

R EGA LIN S

0.40

2.6%

Z EN IT H B A N K

10.3

0.0%

IN T B R EW

5.00

2.0%

WA P C O

7.5

-9.9%

PZ

6.00

0.8%

A C C ESS

7.0

-2.2%

T o p 10 T r a d e s b y V a l u e

T o p 10 L o s e r s T ic k er

P ric e

P ric e C hg %

T ic k er

Value

P ric e C hg %

WA P C O

22.20

-9.9%

FB NH

1505.5

-0.8%

LIN KA SSUR E

0.51

-8.9%

GT C O

1146.0

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A B CTRA NS

0.31

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Z EN IT H B A N K

240.6

0.0%

20.00

-8.7%

UC A P

202.7

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2.36

-5.6%

WA P C O

178.6

-9.9%

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F LOUR M ILL

147.6

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UB A

140.0

-5.1%

117.4

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Price Previous Current Change Price YTD Weighting Change

Current Price

UB A

0.70 7.50

CHA M S

0.20

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5.80

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ST ER LN B A N K

115.8

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13.20

35

TUESDAY DECEMBER 7, 2021• T H I S DAY

MARKET NEWS A Mutual fund (Unit Trust) is an investment vehicle managed by a SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) registered Fund Manager.

Investors with similar objectives buy units of the Fund so that the Fund Manager can buy securities that willl generate their desired return.

An ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) is a type of fund which owns the assets (shares of stock, bonds, oil futures, gold bars, foreign currency, etc.) and divides ownership of those assets into shares. Investors can buy these ‘shares’ on the

floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

A REIT (Real Estate Investment Trust): is an investment vehicle that allows both small and large investors to part-own real estate ventures (eg.

Offices, Houses, Hospitals) in proportion to their investments. The assets are divided into shares that are traded on the Nigerian Stock Exchange.

GUIDE TO DATA: Date: All fund prices are quoted in Naira as at 03Dec-2021, unless otherwise stated.

Offer price: The price at which units of a trust or ETF are bought by investors.

Bid Price: The price at which Investors redeem (sell) units of a trust or ETF. Yield/Total Return: Denotes the total return an investor would have earned on his investment. Money Market Funds report Yield while others report Year- to-date Total Return.

NAV: Is value per share of the real estate assets held by a REIT on a specific date.

DAILY PRICE LIST FOR MUTUAL FUNDS, REITS and ETFS

MUTUAL FUNDS / UNIT TRUSTS

AFRINVEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD aaml@afrinvest.com Web: www.afrinvest.com; Tel: +234 818 885 6757 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Afrinvest Equity Fund 161.40 162.80 -0.30% Afrinvest Plutus Fund 100.00 100.00 9.15% Nigeria International Debt Fund 318.06 318.06 -17.07% Afrinvest Dollar Fund 100.68 101.73 -8.89% AIICO CAPITAL LTD ammf@aiicocapital.com Web: www.aiicocapital.com, Tel: +234-1-2792974 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AIICO Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A AIICO Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A ANCHORIA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED info@anchoriaam.com Web:www.anchoriaam.com, Tel: 08166830267; 08036814510; 08028419180 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Anchoria Money Market 100.00 100.00 8.64% Anchoria Equity Fund 139.05 140.84 4.54% info@anchoriaam.com Anchoria Fixed Income Fund 1.14 1.14 -14.08% ARM INVESTMENT MANAGERS LTD enquiries@arminvestmentcenter.com Web: www.arm.com.ng; Tel: 0700 CALLARM (0700 225 5276) Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ARM Aggressive Growth Fund N/A N/A N/A ARM Discovery Balanced Fund 448.44 461.97 12.01% ARM Ethical Fund 39.71 40.90 17.78% ARM Eurobond Fund ($) 1.07 1.08 -2.03% ARM Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 8.56% AVA GLOBAL ASSET MANAGERS LIMITED info@avacapitalgroup.com Web: www.avacapitalgroup.com Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AVA GAM Fixed Income Dollar Fund N/A N/A N/A AVA GAM Fixed Income Naira Fund N/A N/A N/A AXA MANSARD INVESTMENTS LIMITED investmentcare@axamansard.com Web: www.axamansard.com; Tel: +2341-4488482 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn AXA Mansard Equity Income Fund N/A N/A N/A AXA Mansard Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A CAPITAL EXPRESS ASSET AND TRUST LIMITED info@capitalexpressassetandtrust.com Web: www.capitalexpressassetandtrust.com ; Tel: +234 803 307 5048 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CEAT Fixed Income Fund 2.04 2.04 -3.44% Capital Express Balanced Fund(Formerly: Union Trustees Mixed Fund) 2.21 2.25 1.60% mutualfunds@cardinalstone.com CARDINALSTONE ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED Web: www.cardinalstoneassetmanagement.com ; Tel: +234 (1) 710 0433 4 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn CardinalStone Fixed Income Alpha Fund 1.04 1.04 5.15% CHAPELHILL DENHAM MANAGEMENT LTD investmentmanagement@chapelhilldenham.com Web: www.chapelhilldenham.com, Tel: +234 461 0691 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Chapelhill Denham Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 9.66% Paramount Equity Fund 16.74 17.04 4.65% Women's Investment Fund 138.08 139.64 3.74% CORDROS ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmgtteam@cordros.com Web: www.cordros.com, Tel: 019036947 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Cordros Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 8.88% Cordros Milestone Fund 130.74 131.54 11.54% Cordros Dollar Fund ($) 110.09 110.09 5.60% CORONATION ASSEST MANAGEMENT investment@coronationam.com Web:www.coronationam.com , Tel: 012366215 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coronation Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A Coronation Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A Coronation Fixed Income Fund N/A N/A N/A EDC FUNDS MANAGEMENT LIMITED mutualfundng@ecobank.com Web: www.ecobank.com Tel: 012265281 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class A 100.00 100.00 7.77% EDC Nigeria Money Market Fund Class B 1,000,000.00 1,000,000.00 8.62% EDC Nigeria Fixed Income Fund 1,170.85 1,194.80 1.90% assetmanagement@emergingafricafroup.com EMERGING AFRICA ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED Web:www.emergingafricagroup.com/emerging-africa-assetmanagement-limited/, Tel: 08039492594 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Emerging Africa Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 7.93% Emerging Africa Bond Fund 1.04 1.04 3.48% Emerging Africa Balanced Diversity Fund 1.11 Emerging Africa Eurobond Fund 104.26 FBNQUEST ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.fbnquest.com/asset-management; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name Bid Price FBN Bond Fund 1,380.80 FBN Balanced Fund 171.92 FBN Halal Fund 114.92 FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 FBN Dollar Fund (Retail) FBN Smart Beta Equity Fund FCMB ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED Web: www.fcmbassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Legacy Money Market Fund Legacy Debt Fund Legacy Equity Fund Legacy USD Bond Fund

122.01 146.24 Bid Price 1.00 4.00 1.74 1.20

1.11 10.25% 104.26 4.22% invest@fbnquest.com Offer Price 1,380.80 173.16 114.92 100.00

Yield / T-Rtn 11.41% 3.23% 9.25% 9.09%

122.01 3.98% 148.22 10.92% fcmbamhelpdesk@fcmb.com Offer Price 1.00 3.99 1.75 1.20

Yield / T-Rtn 7.27% 3.24% 13.37% 5.83%

FSDH ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD coralfunds@fsdhgroup.com Web: www.fsdhaml.com; Tel: 01-270 4884-5; 01-280 9740-1 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Coral Balanced Fund N/A N/A N/A Coral Income Fund N/A N/A N/A Coral Money Market Fund N/A N/A N/A INVESTMENT ONE FUNDS MANAGEMENT LTD enquiries@investment-one.com Web: www.investment-one.com; Tel: +234 812 992 1045,+234 1 448 8888 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Abacus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 7.78% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.84 2.90 -0.72% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 4.50% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 155.53 155.81 0.02% Vantage Equity Income Fund (VEIF) - June Year End 1.25 1.29 -0.99% Vantage Dollar Fund (VDF) - June Year End 1.06 1.06 3.89% LOTUS CAPITAL LTD fincon@lotuscapitallimited.com Web: www.lotuscapitallimited.com; Tel: +234 1-291 4626 / +234 1-291 4624 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Lotus Halal Investment Fund 1.48 1.50 8.33% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,152.48 1,152.48 8.00% MERISTEM WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD info@meristemwealth.com Web: http://www.meristemwealth.com/funds/ ; Tel: +234 1-4488260 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Meristem Equity Market Fund 11.40 11.48 9.02% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 10.24% NORRENBERGER INVESTMENT AND CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LIMITED enquiries@norrenberger.com Web: www.norrenberger.com, Tel: +234 (0) 908 781 2026 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Norrenberger Islamic Fund (NIF) 101.30 101.31 7.53% Norrenberger Money Market Fund (NMMF) 100.00 100.00 8.87% PAC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD info@pacassetmanagement.com Web: www.pacassetmanagement.com/mutualfunds; Tel: +234 1 271 8632 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn PACAM Balanced Fund 1.58 1.61 13.16% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 11.09 11.12 -8.68% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 7.74% PACAM Equity Fund 1.44 1.45 -8.96% PACAM EuroBond Fund 111.60 113.85 1.78% SCM CAPITAL LIMITED info@scmcapitalng.com Web: www.scmcapitalng.com; Tel: +234 1-280 2226,+234 1- 280 2227 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SCM Capital Frontier Fund 127.67 130.10 6.81% SFS CAPITAL NIGERIA LTD investments@sfsnigeria.com Web: www.sfsnigeria.com, Tel: +234 (01) 2801400 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn SFS Fixed Income Fund 1.07 1.07 10.06% STANBIC IBTC ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD assetmanagement@stanbicibtc.com Web: www.stanbicibtcassetmanagement.com; Tel: +234 1 280 1266; 0700 MUTUALFUNDS Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Stanbic IBTC Balanced Fund 3,339.21 3,370.75 3.91% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 235.05 235.05 4.54% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 1.23 1.25 5.08% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 311.74 311.74 5.80% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 234.16 237.71 7.31% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 7.73% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 10,882.64 11,039.32 3.71% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.29 1.29 5.00% Stanbic IBTC Shariah Fixed Income Fund 116.62 116.62 4.99% Stanbic IBTC Enhanced Short-Term Fixed Income Fund 105.79 105.79 UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 01-6317876 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Balanced Fund 1.31 1.33 2.62% United Capital Bond Fund 1.95 1.95 6.28% United Capital Equity Fund 0.91 0.93 13.81% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 9.17% United Capital Eurobond Fund 121.81 121.81 6.41% United Capital Wealth for Women Fund 1.07 1.08 4.71% United capital Sukuk Fund 1.07 1.07 7.04% QUANTUM ZENITH ASSET MANAGEMENT & INVESTMENTS LTD service@quantumzenithasset.com.ng Web: www.quantumzenith.com.ng; Tel: +234 1-2784219 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Zenith Balanced Strategy Fund 12.91 13.02 8.78% Zenith ESG Impact Fund 14.41 14.56 18.05% Zenith Income Fund 24.78 24.78 3.25% Zenith Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 6.69%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

124.98 54.20

10.62% 7.24%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

13.48 126.28 100.89 17.35 21.15

13.58 129.41 103.10 17.45 21.25

4.78% 5.01% 1.69% -4.26% 14.29%

Fund Name SFS REIT Union Homes REIT

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS Fund Name Lotus Halal Equity Exchange Traded Fund SIAML Pension ETF 40 Stanbic IBTC ETF 30 Fund MERGROWTH ETF MERVALUE ETF

VETIVA FUND MANAGERS LTD Web: www.vetiva.com; Tel: +234 1 453 0697 Fund Name Vetiva Banking Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Consumer Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Griffin 30 Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva Money Market Fund Vetiva Industrial Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva S&P Nigeria Sovereign Bond Exchange Traded Fund

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

107.28

13.11%

INFRASTRUCTURE FUND Fund Name Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund

The value of investments and the income from them may fall as well as rise. Past performance is a guide and not an indication of future returns. Fund prices published in this edition are also available on each fund manager’s website and FMAN’s website at www.fman.com.ng. Fund prices are supplied by the operator of the relevant fund and are published for information purposes only.

36

TUESDAY, Ϳ˜ ͺ͸ͺ͹ ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

THE EXPERIENCE...

L-R: Metropolitan Senior Pastor of the House on the Rock Church, Pastor Paul Adefarasin, in a musical performance with American gospel artistes, Travis Greene and Donnie McClurkin, at the 2021 edition of The Experience Lagos gospel concert in Lagos... recently

Dowen: Family Hires Falana to Seek Justice for Late Oromoni Death of 12-year-old heartbreaking, says Lagos first lady

Chiemelie Ezeobi and Segun James Family of Sylvester Oromoni, a 12-year-old student of Dowen College, Lagos, allegedly tortured to death by some kid cultists, yesterday, hired human rights lawyer and activist, Femi Falana, as part of efforts to ensure justice and prosecution of the culprits responsible for their son’s death.

Also, wife of the Lagos State Governor, Dr. Ibijoke Sanwo-Olu, while lamenting the death of Sylvester, described the unfortunate incident as heartbreaking.

Oromoni, a junior secondary school two student of Dowen College, Lagos, allegedly died after some senior students bullied and beat him up in the hostel.

Although the college had maintained its stance that the teen died from wounds sustained while playing football, his family, who vowed to pursue the matter to a logical conclusion, said the deceased opened up before his death and named the culprits.

Taking more concrete steps in pursuing justice after the Lagos State government had sealed off the school indefinitely, the family hired Falana to prosecute the case against the institution.

Acting on the brief, Falana's Chambers, in a letter signed

by Taiwo Olawale, wrote to the office of Lagos State's chief coroner, requesting an inquest into the circumstances leading to the death of the child.

Titled "Request for Inquest into the Tragic Death of Sylvester Oromoni killed at Dowen College, Lekki, Lagos", the letter posited that based on the briefings by the family, the deceased died as a result of injuries allegedly inflicted on him by his seniors at the school.

The letter read: "Given the needless death of Sylvester Oromoni, we are compelled to request you to use your good offices to cause a coroner's inquest to be conducted into the cause of death of this young and promising boy and make appropriate recommendations pursuant to Section 15 of the Lagos State Coroner's Law 2007, that states that an inquest shall hold whenever a coroner is informed that the death of a deceased person within his coroner district is as a result of a death in a violent, unnatural or suspicious situation.

"We, hereby, request your lordship to conduct an inquest into the circumstance surrounding this tragic death and we are confident that your lordship will accede to our request with utmost urgency."

But the family, in a statement, noted that all they wanted was for the guardians or parents of the boys to be fished out for questioning since the said culprits have been ferried out.

In a related development, the family has distanced itself from an ongoing fundraiser by unknown persons cashing in on the unfortunate situation.

The family, in a post said, "Some people have gone ahead to open

donation sites and what not. My family never and would never ask anyone for money. All we need is your voice to seek justice for Sylvester Junior. Please let's be guided."

As at press time, an online petition started on Change.org has already garnered 198, 807 votes, just a few votes away from the required 200,000 votes to make it one of the top signed votes.

Started by Irede Foundation, they asked questions like "did the school do enough to protect Sylvester? How were the injuries that led to his death sustained and was the school negligent in protecting its students?"

While stating that there were so many questions and not enough answers, they charged the police "to act immediately and investigate the circumstances and events that led to his death.”

Meanwhile, the Lagos first lady, speaking during an advocacy visit to some schools in furtherance of the ongoing ‘16 Days of Activism against Sexual and Gender-Based Violence,’ described the incident as unfortunate, saying never again should it reoccur in the state.

“I am aware that the Lagos State Government is at the moment investigating the incident and honestly it is something we are not very happy about. It’s a big

slap on the face of the education sector, the community, and Lagos State as a whole.

“It is a case that is being investigated and for the parents and everybody involved, honestly, we commiserate with them and send our condolences. As I said, the case is being investigated and I will not be able to say much on it at the moment,” a statement quoted the governor’s wife to have said.

According to her, the advocacy visit to schools was aimed at catching the students young and enlightening them on the need to work against all forms of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence.

“As we all know, the world is commemorating the ‘16 days of activism against SGBV.’ It commenced on November 25 and it will end on December 10, which is Human Rights Day. The programme is being championed globally by United Nations and our theme this year is “Orange The World: End Violence Against Women Now. “The advocacy is also being championed by the Nigeria Governors’ Wives Forum, NGOs and so many other private individuals and organisations to ensure that there is zero tolerance to genderbased violence all over Nigeria and Lagos in particular,” she said.

The Senate President called for a continuous multisectoral approach that integrates multiple work plan and collaboration to establish a sustainable bio security framework for the country, noting that recent experience has also shown that outbreak of diseases affects not only the health sector but also the social – economic sector of the nation.

Also, a professor of virology, Oyewale Tomori, in a paper titled: "Global Health Security Threat: Repositioning to End the Pandemic and Build Back Better," cited corruption, lack of patriotism, self-interest and shameless as the main destroyer of the country.

"Over the last 60 years, these diseases, all affecting our culture, have become the combined endemic demolisher of the foundation of our individual health security which has shaken the foundation of our national health security and in turn determined our irrelevance as a nation in contributing meaningfully to global health security.

"Today, we lie to each other.

The government lies to us, and we reciprocate with bigger lies, telling the government it is doing well, when we know it is not. We clap with the loudest ovation for a non- performing leader. We acclaim in pretended joyous ecstasy, those we should not, even when we know they are not telling the truth. We pray that our king lives forever, and he says amen, when we both know we shall all die," Tomori added.

The virologist also said he was disappointed to learn that there was Omicron in Nigeria from outside, based on the report issued by Canadian authorities.

He said: "I woke up today to hear the Canada no longer recognises my genuine vaccination card. And Britain has clamped a travel ban on us. A few days ago, I had to know there was Omicron in Nigeria from outside.

"The same Canada was telling me that Nigerians who travelled out with negative COVID lab result were Omicronised, before my own CDC finally tells me that we had the variant, detected in samples collected from people recently travelled from South Africa….were they people on the entourage of President Ramaphosa. They did not tell.

"We painfully call the reactions of the UK and Canada, racism, inequity. But I say we are paying for condoning our errors of commission and overlooking our errors of omission," he argued.

Regarding the production of vaccines locally, the one-time President of Nigeria Academy of Sciences (NAS) said the current generation of Nigerians are much smarter than the older generation, adding that if given the enabling opportunity and environment Nigeria will be donating vaccines to poor countries.

"The first epidemic we must address is the one affecting our culture. We must have a nation where national interest buries selfinterest. Otherwise, this summit will become a mirage and a vapour, it will be burnt to ashes by the fire of evil that plagues us. Unless we build back better on our culture, the outcome of the summit will descend into the valley of the disregarded and disremembered, and become another expensive exercise in futility," he said.

RED LIST: UK UNDER FIRE FOR TRAVEL APARTHEID AGAINST NIGERIA against COVID-19.

Continuing, Facci, who is the Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in the US, said statistics showed that 95 -96 per cent of vaccinated people, who received boosters got better than those not boosted.

He called on the US to partner with Nigeria to ensure that more people are vaccinated as much as possible.

Facci, who said it was a great honour to address the National COVID-19 Summit, decried the low number of persons who have been vaccinated against COVID-19 in Nigeria compared with that of the US. According to him while the percentage of fully and partially vaccinated persons in the US was 69 per cent, the percentage of fully and partially vaccinated persons in Nigeria was still as low as 2.9 per cent.

The US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mary Beth Leonard also underlined the strength of the partnership between the United States and Nigeria in the fight against COVID-19.

While urging Nigerians to take COVID-19 vaccines, she said the US government has contributed more than $130 million towards fighting the pandemic in Nigeria.

Also speaking at the summit, the Chairman Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19, Mr. Boss Mustapha said the pandemic had become the most significant public health emergency in the world with the WHO estimates putting the number of fatalities at about five million.

He put the number medical personnel trained on infection,

prevention and control at 40,000, while the total number of samples tested to date was 3,580,510 of which 214,662 persons were confirmed cases.

Mustapha, who is also the Secretary to the Government of the Federation said 2,980 deaths attributed to COVID-19 were recorded in Nigeria.

He said Nigeria had experienced the third wave while a fourth wave was unfolding with the Omicron variant.

He said with the best of efforts, the country, had so far been able to access 12 million doses of vaccines going into the third phase of the vaccines roll out while more is expected to be available by the end of February 2022.

Currently, according to him, 3,775,500, or 3.4 per cent of target population was fully vaccinated with second dose while 7,080,878, or 6.3 per cent of targeted eligible population had been partially vaccinated.

"The emergence of the omicron variant of concern highlights how fragile and vulnerable we are globally. It is therefore important that we maintain pressure on the COVID-19 virus until we deny it the opportunity to continue to circulate and mutate.

"Our overall focus will be to scale up vaccination of our population to reach targets set by the WHO. Nigeria needs to continue to implement public health and social measures in place combined with effective vaccination now that we are getting the vaccines," he said.

He, however, lamented that with the emergence of Omicron, Nigeria, like some other countries

have become targets of restrictive measures.

Meanwhile, the President of the Senate, Senator Ahmed Lawan has lashed the Minister of Health, Dr. Osagie Ehanire; the Minister of State for Health, Dr. Olorunimbe Mamora, and the Permanent Secretary, Mahmuda Mamman, for not attending the summit.

Lawan, who declared open the summit, said the two ministers and the Permanent Secretary ought to be physically present at the summit to garner all the sources that will come out of the event.

He said their presence was vital as the Presidential Steering Committee on COVID-19, was an interventionist outfit.

Even though Ehanire was briefly sighted at the summit, Lawan insisted another senior official should have replaced him to demonstrate the seriousness of the event.

“Before I begin my remarks, is the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Health here? Well, I asked that question because the two ministers of health are not here. The Minister of Health, the Minister of State and the permanent secretary are not here. I believe this is not good.

Because everything we do here, the federal Ministry of Health is supposed to be here to garner all the resources that will come out of this. The PSC is simply an interventionist outfit. And as politicians and political leaders, we are supposed to be very serious and committed about the health of our people," Lawan said.

He assured that whatever is needed to fight COVID-19 will be provided in the 2022 budget that will be passed by the Senate.

TUESDAY DECEMBER 7, 2021 T H I S D AY

37

NEWSEXTRA

Buhari Inaugurates 368km Roads Across Nigeria in Two Weeks Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari has commissioned the Nenwe, Oduma and Uburu communities in Enugu and Ebonyi States, a 40.37-kilometre facility, linking the two South-eastern states.

It brings to three the number of roads commissioned across the country in the last two weeks by the president.

The other two roads commissioned by the president included the 304 kilometre Sokoto-Tambuwal-Jega-KontagoraMakera Road, inaugurated last Thursday and the 24-kilometre Vandeikya-Obudu Cattle Ranch Road (Phases I and II) in Benue State officially flagged off on Monday, November 29.

In his remarks before the official inauguration at the Ezinike-Oduma Village, Buhari, who was represented at the event by the Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, said the move represented the commitment of his administration to improving road transport infrastructure, ease of doing business and job creation.

He observed that one element of change in those roads was “the travel experience on new and well-built roads” as opposed to the not-too-distant unpleasant experiences from the old and previously “unmotorable” roads.

He noted that reduced

journey times as a result of the improvement in the road network meant reduced expense on travel, pointing out that reduction in travel expense also meant more money in the pockets of travellers.

He explained that a situation where the previous travel time on

a road, which averaged one hour 30 minutes before construction, was reduced to 30 minutes after the completion of the road, meant both money and time had been saved.

Urging commuters not to abuse the road and to obey traffic rules

and regulations, Buhari, who reiterated that the roads have been built to the highest quality, urged them not to abuse the roads.

“Road abuse takes many forms such as overloading of vehicles and trucks which accelerates

pavement damage, spilling of petroleum products, which dissolves all the components and allows water to penetrate.

“It also involves converting the road shoulders to permanent parking places, that brings the onset of road failure from the

shoulder”, the president said.

In his remarks, the Minister of Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola said the commissioning underscored the Buhari administration’s investment in road transportation and the impact on the citizenry.

SHOWCASING NIGERIA’S POTENTIAL…

L-R: Director, Group Strategy, Flour Mills Nigeria Plc, Mr.Sadiq Usman; Honourable Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Chief Niyi Adebayo and Group Managing Director, Flour Mills Nigeria Plc, Mr. Boye Olusanya at the Nigerian National Day business brie¿ng in Dubai«recently

8JZXDQ\L +DV 6DWLVÀHG RYHU (OHFWRUDO $FW %LOO *URXS 8UJHV 1DWLRQDO $VVHPEO\ WR 2YHUULGH %XKDUL 80% of Enugu people, Says Catholic Bishop Ibrahim Shuaibu in Kano

The Bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Enugu, Most Rev. Callistus Onaga, has commended Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State for ensuring that Enugu State remains peaceful, secure and progressive in spite of the economic, security and public health challenges confronting the nation.

Bishop Onaga, who spoke during the Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols held at the Holy Ghost Cathedral, Ogui, Enugu, yesterday, described Gov. Ugwuanyi as “a man of peace and a very nice and plain man who feels the pulse of the people.”He disclosed that the governor has satisfied more than 80 per cent of people from the state.

His words: “Your Excellency our father of Enugu State we

cannot thank you enough both as church and citizens of this state, you are a man of peace. You will do everything to make sure there is peace. It will be difficult for anyone to fault your peaceful nature”.

The Bishop therefore, hailed Ugwuanyi for accommodating everybody in the state irrespective of political, religious and social differences, saying: “May God continue to give you that gift. I am sure you have satisfied more than 80 percent of people of Enugu State”.

Applauding Gov. Ugwuanyi for the numerous development projects his administration has executed in the state especially in the rural areas where he promised in his inaugural address to develop, Bishop Onaga said: “I was coming from our

A civil society group yesterday challenged the members of the National Assembly to deploy their full constitutional power to veto the President if he refused to sign the Electoral Act Amendment Bill into law.

The Executive Director of Organisation for Community Civil Engagement (OCCEN), Mr. Abdulrazaq Alkali, commended the commitment

of the National Assembly for concluding legislative work on the amendment bill, and alleged possible sabotage against the actualisation of the act.

Alkali hailed the adoption of direct primary as a form of candidate selection in the party system, which he believed would enhance transparency in nomination of candidates and eliminate godfatherism.

The director also insisted that the presidency has no

justiÀcation to continue to foot drag on the bill, which they believed would bring solution to electoral challenges bedeviling the nation.

He lamented that the present indirect system has also crippled the Not Too Young to Run Act. Alkali worried that in the event of denying assent, the President Muhammad Buhari may have placed more priority to few powerful political blocks who are being threatened by the

possibility of losing the power of imposition in the party, when the bill is eventually signed into law.

He said OCCEN is fully backing the Nigerian Labour Congress and other civil society group in their recent letter written to the Presidency, asking the executive not to yield to pressure from state governors and other selÀsh politicians opposing the signing of the bill.

MultiChoice Partners Global Online Learning Platform In a move to empower customers across the continent with functional skills, Africa’s entertainment provider, MultiChoice has announced its partnership with Udemy, a global leader in online learning, to provide access to thousands of high-quality courses to enable DStv and GOtv customers to invest in their personal and professional

development.

A statement explained that for years, the DStv and GOtv platforms provided viewers with, “world-class edutainment, with content catering to personal growth for all ages.”

“In addition to sport, local programming, news and general entertainment, customers of MultiChoice,

Africa’s Most Loved Storyteller, can access educational content on Discovery, Nat Geo Wild, History Channel, DaVinci Kids, BBC and many more channels.

“The partnership with Udemy will continue MultiChoice’s mission to positively contribute toward well-informed and progressive customers.

Udemy’s diverse course

catalogue includes over 183,000 online courses provided by more than 65,000 instructors in 75 languages. The platform is user-friendly and simple to navigate with a Áexible format that allows learners to access a wide variety of courses at their own pace, with personalised recommendations and paths that maximise learning,” it added.

In furtherance of its quest to mitigate the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Nigerians and to empower Nigerian youths, the Nigeria Solidarity Support Fund (NSSF) has unveiled a special COVID-19 themed photography contest tagged: WENAIJA Photography Contest.

NSSF is a not-for-profit

innovative platform for resource mobilisation primarily created to complement the government’s efforts to mitigate the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Nigerians.

Speaking during the media briefing event in Lagos, Board Member, NSSF, Aigboje AigImoukhuede, noted that the

campaign titled: ‘Visions of Nigeria’ is an initiative that seeks to tell, through photography, Nigerian stories, by Nigerians on how Nigerians have been adapting to and overcoming the economic, health, education, and social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. It would tell the COVID-19 story through the eyes of the public

using compelling photography.

According to General Manager, NSSF, Dr. Fejiro Chinye-Nwoko, “The campaign will provide an opportunity for youth across the country to communicate visually the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the people, organisations and the country at large and how Nigerians are coping.”

)XHO 6XEVLG\ 5HPRYDO 3RUWHQGV Danger to Economy, NAAT Warns FG NSSF Photography Campaign Makes Debut in Lagos

Amby Uneze in Owerri

Members of the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) have cautioned the federal government against the planned total removal of subsidy from petrol from next year.

NAAT made the call in a communique signed by its President, Mr. Ibeji Nwokoma, and made available to journalists yesterday in Owerri, the Imo State capital, after the 48th regular meeting of the National Executive Council (NEC) of the union.

The group said subsidy removal at this point in time would further damage the country’s economy, and put the ordinary man in a precarious situation.

On non-payment of

earned allowances arrears, the union urged the federal government to use the 2009 FG/universities-based unions’ agreement strictly in sharing of the earned allowance arrears, and also called for the implementation of the allowances as contained in the agreement.

NAAT enjoined the federal government and its relevant agencies responsible for the payment of the minimum wage arrears to expedite action and pay in order to avert another industrial disharmony.

Reacting also to the Omicron variant of COVID-19, the group called on the public to be aware and conscious.

It reiterated its earlier position on not making vaccination compulsory but rather people should be encouraged to go for it.

:RPHQ 3URWHVW DJDLQVW (NLWL 0RQDUFK RYHU $OOHJHG $UELWUDU\ $UUHVWV Victor Ogunje in Ado Ekiti

Some women in Orin Ekiti in Ido/Osi Local Government Area of Ekiti State yesterday staged a protest against their traditional ruler, Oba Adeniran Ajibewa, for allegedly masterminding the arrests of some indigenes of the town over arson attacks.

The women called on the state Governor, Kayode Fayemi to

rein in on the monarch against alleged dictatorship and Áagrant abuse of power.

They also accused the monarch of committing contempt of court by parading himself as the Olorin despite the court injunction restraining him from exercising such power pending the determination of the suit against his installation.

Five indigenes of the town, who are mainly youth leaders,

were arrested a couple of weeks ago by the police over alleged connection with arson attacks on some buildings and vehicles belonging to perceived loyalists of the monarch in the community.

Sequel to the foregoing, the police were said to have swooped on the victims based on a petition written by the community, which led to the arrest and incarceration of the

youths.

Addressing journalists during the protest, the women appealed to the monarch to stop intimidating those challenging his installation by Fayemi in court.

Spokesman of the protesters and the Eyenasin of Orin Ekiti, Mrs. Anthonia OniyeluOlubunmo, said those arrested had nothing to do with the arson attacks.

TUESDAY, Ϳ˜ ͺ͸ͺ͹ ˾ T H I S D AY

38

TUESDAYSPORTS

Group Sports Editor: Duro Ikhazuagbe Email: duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com

0811 181 3083 SMS ONLY

Rohr’s Contract, a Taboo, Says Paul Bassey Insists type of contract signed delaying the sack of the German Duro Ikhazuagbe More facts have emerged on why the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has been unable to dispense with the services of Head Coach of the Super Eagles, Gernot Rohr despite overwhelming support from Nigerian football stakeholders.

A Member of the Technical Committee of the NFF, Elder Paul Bassey revealed yesterday on Brila FM that with barely weeks to the start of the AFCON in Cameroon, Super Eagles were not sure of who is leading them to tournament. He said that the federation may not be able to sack Rohr because of the type of contract he was offered.

"I don't have the details of Gernot Rohr's contract as a member of the Technical Committee (of the NFF).

“When people talk about the payoff of Rohr’s contract, I hardly offer my opinion. The contract is a taboo. Maybe this is me. Other members might have different opinion,” observed former CAF Media Committee member.

The respected Chairman of Akwa United FC believes the NFF got boxed in because of the type of contract entered into with the German gaffer.

“We have put ourselves in a situation where sacking Rohr will be very difficult. He has met his target and the situation is tough.

Rohr might just go to Nations Cup and reach the semi final,” observed Bassey Contrary to general opinion that the Technical Committee of the NFF have the power to override some of the decisions of the Coach, Bassey: “We don't have the power people think that we have. We can not change the

Super Eagles...not sure who will lead the squad to Cameroon for the Africa Cup of Nations starting on January 9, 2022 decisions of the coach,” he said as a matter of fact.

He denied any knowledge of attending any meeting where Rohr’s sack matter was tabled.

“Not to the best of my knowledge. I never sat with any committee. The Executive Committee of the NFF must have

Gov Ikpeazu, Kalu Reward Enyimba for CAF Confederation Cup Win Abia State Governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, has rewarded Enyimba FC for Sunday’s CAF Confederation Cup victory against Al Ittihad SC. Enyimba on Sunday prevailed 2-0 against their Libyan opponents in the playoff round fixture at the Enyimba Stadium, with Sadiq Abubakar and Victor Mbaoma getting the goals.

And in a gesture of appreciation and support, Dr Ikpeazu has rewarded the team with a mouth-watering financial donation not disclosed.

While acknowledging the donation, Chairman of Enyimba FC, Chief Felix Anyansi Agwu said, “We cannot thank our Governor enough for this immense gift. We are all very happy about it and I know that this will go a long way to sustain the positive spirit that is in the team.”

“Our Governor has always held this team dear to his heart and this gesture shows how dearly he loves the club.

On our part, we will continue to work hard to bring glory to this great State.”

In a similar vein, former Governor of Abia State, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu has redeemed his pledge to the team for Sunday’s win.

Senator Kalu had promised to reward the team with one million naira for a win, and

following Sunday’s result, has duly fulfilled the pledge.

Reacting to his donation, Chief Felix Anyansi Agwu said, “We are very thankful to the former Governor for remembering Enyimba at this crucial stage.

Senator Orji Uzor Kalu is man whose love for football has never been in doubt, that is why he is a Pillar of Sports in Africa.

His gift is a big boost to the players.”

“This singular act has gone to underline the truth that football is an important tool for bringing people together and it is our sincere hope to continuously achieve results that will bring smiles to the faces of our people.”

met. If the Technical Committee met, I wasn't part of it or invited for such. You know that we have individual views on Gernot Rohr as the head coach of the Super

Eagles."

The NFF’s Technical Committee headed by Alh. Ahmed Fresh Yusuf as chairman was inaugurated in May, 2021 with

Chief Felix Anyasi-Agwu as vice chairman.

Other members of the Committee include; Elder Paul Bassey, Alh Aminu Balele Kurfi,

Barrister Isaac Danladi, Dahiru Sadi, Victor Ikpeba, and Mutiu Adepoju. Technical Director of the federation, Austin Eguavoen is the Secretary.

No Nigerian Shortlisted for BBC African Sports Personality Award For the up teeth time, the shortlist for BBC African Sports Personality of the Year 2021 award was announced yesterday with no Nigerian sportsman or women selected.

The six contenders for the accolade were chosen by a panel of journalists from Africa and the United Kingdom.

The panel selected a shortlist based on the best African sporting achievements on the international stage in 2021 (between January and September).

The impact of the person's achievement beyond their particular sport was also taken into account.

The nominees are: Eliud Kipchoge (athletics), Faith Kipyegon (athletics),Ntando Mahlangu (para-athletics), Christine Mboma (athletics), Edouard Mendy (football),

and Tatjana Schoenmaker (swimming).

BBC said voting will close

at 23:59 GMT on Sunday, 19 December and the winner of the award will be announced on

Friday, 7 January 2022 on Focus on Africa television and radio and on the BBC Sport website.

L-R: Eliud Kipchoge (athletics), Tatjana Schoenmaker (swimming), Ntando Mahlangu (paraathletics), Faith Kipyegon (athletics), Edouard Mendy (football), and Christine Mboma (athletics) shortlisted for the 2021 BBC African Sports Personality Award

Atanda Musa Returns to Asoju Oba Cup Today More than three decades after his appearance at the annual Asoju Oba Molade OkoyaThomas Cup, former Nigeria international, Atanda Musa, will make a return during the grand finale of the 53rd edition of Africa’s oldest table tennis tournament tonight at the Teslim Balogun Stadium.

The America-based Musa will not be competing but will be the special guest at the tournament that announced his emergence in the 1980s.

Musa, whose rivalry with

the late Yomi Bankole drew a lot of fans to the tournament at the popular Rowe Park Sports Centre in Yaba is expected to make a cameo appearance against some of the upcoming players at the final of the 53rd edition.

The Asoju Oba Cup which started in 1968 as an annual competition financed by the late Sir Molade Okoya-Thomas in commemoration of his installation as the Asoju Oba of Lagos by the late King of Lagos, Oba Adeyinka

Oyekan has churned out top stars including Musa for the country.

According to the Chairman of the Lagos State Table Tennis Association (LSSTA) Tunji Lawal, the presence of Musa would surely inspire the athletes competing while there are plans to partner with the former Commonwealth champion to develop the sport across Lagos.

Already, some winners have been decided in the doubles and para events while the

winners in the singles events will be known at the finale.

“We are excited that the family of Okoya-Thomas has kept faith with the sponsorship of the championships which has also been helping us to keep our players in top shape for major events. We hope to build on this with the hope that we will continue to attract more sponsors to table tennis in Lagos because we are hopeful that we can produce the next superstars in the sport just like Atanda Musa,” Lawal said.

Atanda Musa...returns for Asoju Oba table tennis

39

TUESDAY, Ϳ˜ ͺ͸ͺ͹ ˾ T H I S D AY

SPORTS

Man City’s De Bruyne to Start against RB Leipzig Tonight UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE

HOW THEY STANDING

Kevin de Bruyne will start against RB Leipzig as Manchester City complete their successful UEFA Champions League group campaign in Germany tonight.

Belgium midfielder De Bruyne returned as a substitute in Saturday's 3-1 Premier League win at Watford after missing four games due to Coronavirus.

"People who have suffered coronavirus, after they feel empty," said City manager Pep Guardiola.

"Step by step he will play the minutes. Tuesday night he will start,” emphasised Guardiola.

Named the Professional Footballers' Association men's Players' Player of the Year for a second consecutive season last term, the start of De Bruyne's 2021-22 season was disrupted by an ankle injury sustained at Euro 2020.

And Guardiola warned the 30-year-old he must "come back and fight for a position like everyone else".

"Kevin doesn't have to show absolutely anything to me," he added.

"But he has to come back to being himself and show himself he's back - and do what he has to do, like he has done the last five or six years, every single three days."

TODAY PSG v Club Brugge Leipzig v Man City

Team.

Man City.

PSG. RB Leipzig C’ Brugge.

P. 5 5.

5.

5.

Group A W. D. L. F. 4. 0. 1. 17.

2. 2. 1. 9.

1. 1. 3. 13.

1. 1. 3. 5.

A. GD. PTS 8. 9. 12 7. 2. 8.

13. 0. 4.

16. -11. 4.

Team.

Liverpool FC Porto AC Milan.

Atletico

P. 5.

5 5.

5.

Group B W. D. L. F. 5. 0. 0. 15.

1 2. 2. 3.

1. 1. 3. 5.

1. 1. 3 4.

A. 5.

8.

7.

7.

GD. 10.

-5.

-2.

-3.

PTS 15 5 4 4

Team.

Ajax.

Sporting Dortmund Besiktas

P. 5.

5.

5.

5.

Group C W. D. L. F. A. 5. 0. 0. 16. 3.

3. 0. 2. 12. 8.

2. 0. 3 5. 11.

0. 0. 5. 3. 14.

GD. 13 4 -6 -11

PTS 15 9 6 0

Team.

R’Madrid Inter FC Sheriff Shakhtar

P. 5.

5.

5.

5.

Group D W. D. L. F. 4. 0. 1. 12 3. 1. 1. 8.

2. 0. 3. 6 0. 1. 4 1

A. GD. PTS 3 9 12 3 5 10 10 -4 6 11 -10 1

Team.

B’Munich Barcelona Benfica.

Dy’ Kyiv

P. 5 5 5 5

Group E W. D. L. F. 5. 0 0 19 2. 1 2 2 1 2. 2 5 0 1 4 1

A. 3 6 9 9

GD. 16 -4 -4 -8

PTS 15 7 5 1

Group F Team.

P. W. D. L. F. A. GD. Man Utd. 5. 3. 1. 1. 10. 7 3.

Villarreal 5. 2. 1. 2. 9. 7. 2.

Atalanta 5. 1. 3. 1. 10. 10. 0.

Young Boys 5. 1. 1. 3. 6. 11. -5

PTS 10 7 6 4.

AC Milan v Liverpool Porto v Atletico Ajax x Sporting CP Dortmund v Besiktas R’Madrid v Inter Shakhtar v FC Sheriff

Kevin de Bryne...tipped to start tonight for Man City

Barca, Atletico in Danger of Missing Knockout Stages Xavi Hernandez faces his first critical test as Barcelona head coach on Wednesday night with the club at risk of failing to make the Champions League knockout stages for the first time in two decades.

A goalless draw at home to Benfica last month left Barca with

their destiny in their own hands, but with a much trickier final game away to Group E winners Bayern Munich.

Spanish champions Atletico Madrid have their work cut to secure one of the five unclaimed last-16 tickets after three defeats on the spin, while all four

teams remain in the hunt in an unpredictable Group G. Bayern are one of three teams with a perfect record in this season's competition, and Robert Lewandowski's perceived Ballon d'Or snub may give the star striker extra incentive to prove a point.

Xavi suffered his first defeat as Barca coach on Saturday against Real Betis. He rested key players with a view to the game in Munich, where victory would guarantee Barca go through as runners-up in Group E, extending their 20-year run of reaching the

knockout phase.

A youthful Xavi was establishing himself as a mainstay of the midfield when Barca exited in the first group stage of the 2000-01 competition.

Failure to secure maximum points would open the door for Benfica to pip them to second place, with the Portuguese needing to beat Dynamo Kiev in Lisbon.

Porto, AC Milan and Atletico will battle it out for the second qualification spot behind Liverpool in Group B.

P. 5 5.

5.

5.

Team.

Chelsea Juventus Zenit Malmo

Group H P. W. D. L. F. 5. 4. 0. 1. 10.

5. 4. 0. 1. 9.

5. 1. 1. 3. 7.

5. 0. 1. 4. 1.

Diego Simeone...testy time for him as Atletico visit Porto for all important clash tonight

already assured of places in the Round of 16 with only five more required to complete the roster.

Leading the chase for one of the remaining five spots in the knockout phase is former Champions Barcelona who are now being handled by one of their legends, Xavi Hernandez.

Although the Catalan giants have their destiny in their hands, they have a somewhat difficult task ahead of them at the Allianz Arena in Germany.

Barcelona will go through if they win, or if FC Benfica do not win.

In similar manner, Benfica will go through if they win and

A. GD. PTS 3. 1. 8 6. 1. 7.

4. 1. 6.

7. -3. 5 A. GD. 1. 9.

6. 3.

7. 0.

13. -12.

PTS 12 12.

4 1

Messi’s £26m Hotel Marked for ‘Demolition’ in Barcelona

Lionel Messi faces having his £26million luxury hotel in Spain demolished after receiving a court order.

The Argentine had bought the building, which has 77 rooms, for €30million (£26.01m), back in 2017.

The building is situated close to the beach and seafront promenade

Heineken Returns for Dramatic UCL Nights While Heineken will always remain a constant feature all through the UEFA Champions League, only 16 teams will be left in the competition after the match-day Six fixtures as the final group matches are completed across Tuesday and Wednesday.

As always, Heineken, proud sponsors of the global-acclaimed competition for over 25 years, will be delighting football fans across the world and especially in Nigeria in their unique way.

Going into the final set of fixtures in the group stage of the world’s most glamorous club competition, 11 teams are

Group G W. D. L. F. 2. 2. 1. 4.

2. 1. 2. 7.

1. 3. 1. 5.

1. 2. 2. 4.

Team.

Lille Salzburg Sevilla.

Wolfsburg

Barcelona do not win.

The scenario in Group B is even trickier as the other three teams still have a chance to pull through with Liverpool.

Porto will go through if they win, or if they draw and Milan do not win while Atlético will go through if they win and Milan do not.

Milan will also go through if they win and the other game is drawn.

In Group F, Samuel Chukwueze and his Villarreal teammates will go through if they avoid defeat in Italy against Atalanta but would finish third if they lose.

of Sitges, 40km from Barcelona.

However, according to reports in Spain, Sitges Town Hall had already approved the building's demolition before the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner had even purchased the building.

According toEl Confidencial, as per the Mirror, the hotel's balconies are too big and do not meet planning requirements.

On top of this, any attempts to make the balconies smaller could result in the collapse of the hotel in any case.

There are other issues with the building. Its fire plan is also failing to meet local standards.

It is understood Messi was previously unaware of the order to demolish the building until he was recently approached by El Confidencialfor comment.

On the pitch, Messi is currently struggling away from Barcelona, having move to PSG in the summer.

He has scored just once in nine appearances in Ligue 1 this season, although he has three Champions League goals to his name so far.

Tuesday, December 7, 2021

TR

UT H

& RE A S O

N

Price: N250

MISSILE Iyochia Ayu to Buhari, APC “It is generally known that since the assumption of power of the incumbent, it couldn’t fulfill promises made to Nigerians. Things are stagnant, they left everything without any progress. This has clearly shown the failure of APC and their lack of skill in governance. The situation is so bad that anyone on a journey from Abuja to Kaduna,… would not have peaceful mind”---PDP National Chairman, Iyochia Ayu, berating the Buhari-led administration for the debilitating sufferings of Nigerians.

TUESDAY WITH REUBENABATI abati1990@gmail.com

Sylvester Oromoni and Nigeria’s School System

T

he death of Sylvester Oromoni, a JSS 2 Student of Dowen College in Lekki, Lagos under controversial circumstances, has understandably sparked outrage - with both parents and other concerned citizens expressing shock and anger. Sylvester Oromoni Jr’s death speaks to the failure of the Nigerian school system, the collapse of morals and the evil that has overtaken not just the education sector but virtually every segment of society. Many parents toil day and night to be able to give their children the benefit of a good education. With the Nigerian public system having failed – many public schools do not even have blackboards, or chalk or duster, many do not have decent classrooms, the children sit in decrepit buildings threatening to collapse, the teachers are poorly paid or they do not even get their salaries, the learning environment in many schools would seem fit only for goats and poultry, certainly not for those we describe as leaders of tomorrow. Faced with such a harum-sacrum public education system and demoralized teachers, many families opt to send their children to private schools.

These schools vary in terms of structures, facilities and standards, depending on location and ownership.

But what has been seen is the failure of the entire system, both public and private.

The standards of old have disappeared. Nigeria’s places of learning have become environments of strife and chaos. The moral turpitude which has turned Nigeria into a land of failure – failure of ethos, governance and leadership – has crept into the schools. In the Northern part of the country, terrorists routinely kidnap students for ransom, for conversion to the Islamic religion, for recruitment as child brides or soldiers, or as pawns in a sustained assault against the Nigerian state. Over 600 schools were shut down in 2021 alone due to terrorist attacks.

In the South, patterns of violence have also been observed in schools. The students are on drugs, they form cult gangs, they bully one another; they join armed robbery gangs. Each time, there is a report of kidnap or disruption in any Nigerian school, there are loud ooohs and aaahs, and soon the noise dies down and we all wait until the next crisis occurs.

The latest is the death of Sylvester Oromoni Jr. He was said to have been bullied by four of his colleagues at Dowen College. They beat him up. They gave him a substance to drink. Every effort by his family to rescue him failed. He died in the hospital.

Before he gave up the ghost, he reportedly mentioned the names of his assailants. The school had tried to cover up the incident by insisting that he was only injured during a football session and that he was not bullied by anyone. His father, who celebrated his 12th birthday, post-humously, on December 4th (what a way to handle grief!) insists that he wants the truth. He wants justice. And he would not bury his son until justice is done. He has the support of the Delta State government and community where he hails from and concerned parents across the country.

Every family is united in condemning the death of the innocent 12-year-old. Master Oromoni could have been the child of any other family. Many testimonies have been given by other parents about how their own children were bullied too and the cost of the negligence of school authorities. But one question: why did it take so long before the deceased was taken to hospital for help?

The Lagos State Government has shut down and sealed off Dowen College indefinitely. The Government and the Nigeria Police have also commenced investigations into the incident. The school authorities finally managed to issue a statement on December 2. The school denied flatly that Sylvester Oromoni was ever beaten, bullied or assaulted, by any student and that any other story is at best “wild social media tales.” Dowen College authorities also disclosed that the school has a “very cordial relationship” with the Oromoni family as Sylvester Jr. was “the fifth child of the family Dowen College had the privilege to

Late Sylvester Oromoni

train…” We are further told that the school is “built on core values of Godliness and Excellence and will not tolerate any acts of cultism…” Thus, there are two sides to the story of the painful death of Sylvester Oromoni, and it is the more reason an investigation is important: to establish the truth and to ensure that justice is done. I have heard some concerned parents threatening that if Sylvester had been their child, they would have gone to the school to burn it down and demonstrate “serious madness.” No parent ever wants a child to die. Parents send their children to school to prepare them for the future and help them achieve their dreams. Sylvester Oromoni wanted to be a pilot. That dream is dead, a whole future has been buried. It is indeed painful.

It is even the more reason that both the Lagos State government and the police must do a thorough investigation. There have been similar promises of investigations in the past which yielded no results.

This particular case must not be swept under the carpet. This has come to public attention because it was reported by a whistleblower. The question is: How widespread are cases of this nature within the school system? Lagos State has over 20,000 private schools from primary to the tertiary level. Can the state boast of a strong inspectorate division to enforce standards in both the public and private schools?

How many personnel work in the Inspectorate Division of the state’s Ministry of Education and how well equipped are they? How many times do they visit the schools? Once upon a time in this country, school inspectors were an important part of the education sector. They even inspected teachers’ notes, school facilities and engaged with students.

I recall they used to time their visits to coincide with lunch time. They tasted the food too! During school hours, there was a task force that patrolled the streets. If you were of school age and you were found loitering around during school hours, you could be arrested! We now have a Universal Basic Education (UBEC) Law with strict provisions about school enrolment including penalties for parents but nobody enforces any law anymore. Is it possible that the school inspectors of today collude with school proprietors and simply look the other way?

There has been a reference to the existence of a cult or a gang in Dowen College, as in many other schools. Is it possible that the school authorities do not know this? The school claims that there was no bullying or assault. Does the school have House Masters? And how diligent are those House Masters?

There have been allegations that the owners of the

school are opposed to the idea of a Parents Teachers’ Association (PTA), and so the school does not have one. Is that true? It would be most strange indeed if it were to be true. What kind of school would not have a forum for regular interaction between the school authorities and parents. And what kind of parent would patronize such a school? Even universities these days set up PTAs. The University of Lagos (UNILAG) has a vibrant PTA that gets involved in everything from students’ registration to hostel allocation and the welfare of students! Parents should be the most important stakeholders in the school system. The Dowen College investigating panel should look into this and other issues. By the way, has anyone set up a panel yet? What is the composition of the panel? What are its terms of reference? Who are the members? Who is the Chairperson? The public needs to know. An investigating panel of civil servants will not pass the trust test, Mr. Governor.

And by the way, Dowen College has issued another statement dated December 4, which seems to have been written by a wiser person.

Now, let me return to our preliminary comment about how the school system in Nigeria has failed.

What has happened to our schools is frightening.

Reported cases are frightening enough but imagine the number of cases that have been swept under the carpet. The Oromoni case has resulted in a prodding of public memory in this regard. One, people have again remembered the case of Don Davis Archibong, a JSS 1 student of Deeper Life High School, Uyo whose mother, Deborah Okezie, cried out to the High Heavens, early 2021, that her son was emaciated and had been a target of sodomy in a Christian school.

Months later, the school principal, and four others, including the vice principal and housemasters, have now been charged for involvement in the starvation and sexual abuse of Don Archibong. They have been remanded in prison custody pending when they meet their bail conditions.

In January, when the story became public knowledge, Okezie alleged that her son contemplated suicide.

She said her son was bullied by a teacher and some senior students in his school. The case has only now shown up in December! Two, there is also the case of Karen Aondoo Akpager, a JSS 2, 12-year-old boarding student of Premier Academy, Lugbe, Abuja, who died on June 22, 2021. She took ill in school and was unable to walk. When she was eventually rushed to the hospital by her mother, doctors observed a discharge from her vagina, and this was found to be from a condom in her private part. Her urine also revealed dead spermatozoa. She died. Who on earth slept with a 12-year-old student in a boarding school and left a condom in her body? Her parents have been asking for justice since June. Of course, Premier Academy also blamed the social media for misinforming the public and peddling “unfounded statements.”

Three, in Delta state this year, an SS3 student, Michael Ogbeise, was reported to have beaten a teacher at Erimu Secondary School in Abraka to death for flogging his sister who was also a student in the same school. The teacher, Ezeugo Joseph was beaten black and blue, he slipped into unconsciousness. He never recovered. This is a classic case of how even teachers in Nigerian schools are no longer safe. Four, before the Abraka incident, a final year student at the University of Ilorin, one Salaudeen Waliu Anuoluwa, was reportedly expelled by the university, for having the temerity to beat up a lecturer, one Mrs Rahmat Zakariyau of the Department of Microbiology. And five, in the last week of November, in the Asero area of Abeokuta, students of two secondary schools engaged themselves in a bloody fight. When the police from Obantoko moved in to ensure peace, the DPO was attacked and drenched in blood. And six, only yesterday, December 6, students of Idogbo Secondary School, Benin City, Edo State, disrupted school activities as they went on a rampage. The school principal was said to have called in the Police. The

students (secondary school students!) overpowered the police men, gave them a thorough beating and seized their uniforms. There are probably many more examples out there, but the aforementioned must be shocking enough. What kind of country runs a school system that breeds cultists and hooligans who readily overpower teachers, the system and the rule of law? A straightforward answer is that the Nigerian school system is a reflection of the entire society itself.

The government bullies the people, assaults their sensibilities daily, beats the people, cheats them, deceives them and so the younger generation simply reproduces the same patterns. The real danger is that Nigeria’s youth society is proving to be worse than the adult society. There are no innocent children anymore, no safe havens either. A few years ago, a Pentecostal Church in Nigeria established a University and came up with the idea that any female students seeking admission into that Christian University must undergo a virginity test. We railed at the time against what looked like a discriminatory idea. The university stood its ground. But it didn’t take long before the idea died a natural death, as the university itself discovered the ugly truth that there was no point looking for a virgin in a thriving abortion clinic! A few years later, one University Vice Chancellor in Ghana protested that foreign students from Nigeria were introducing cultism to universities in Ghana.

Children have a way of imitating their parents.

What must we do? Parents need to be vigilant.

Many parents think of the education of their children in terms of cost and class. There are many useless schools across the country with fanciful names, and strong snob appeal. Parents send their children there just so they can be seen to belong to a certain class – the nouveaux riche. My son is in so, so and so school… the snobs know themselves and how much some of these schools cost per term… even if many of them are relying on bank loans and borrowings to maintain their fake lives. A school should be chosen for a different set of reasons: standards, values, quality. State authorities must also be awake to their responsibilities in the areas of policy and regulation. There are policies, rules and laws in the books, but they are invoked only when there is a crisis. For the most part, nobody would remember that there are laws in Lagos State against cultism in schools or that the state has a Child Rights Law. It took the Don Davis Archibong incident in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State for the Magistrate Court to throw the law at the defendants.

The state must be more vigilant. The laws relating to violence, cultism, and child rights, are strong enough.

It is just that nobody enforces them, because the will to do so is absent. Everybody knows everybody in Nigeria and so the right thing never gets done. In France, there are about 700,000 cases of bullying per annum in schools, resulting in social media humiliation and increased cases of suicide among adolescents. Last week, the French parliament decided to introduce stiffer legislation. The proposed law imposes a 3-year jail term, and a maximum fine of 150, 000 Euros in most serious cases, on anyone that is found guilty of school bullying. The law was proposed by Education Minister, Jean-Michel Blanquer. It has been approved by the lower house.

If it is adopted by the Senate in February 2022, it would be one of the harshest laws against school bullying in the world. Combatting bullying is also part of Brigitte Macron, a school teacher, and the French President’s wife’s area of focus. Jean-Michel Blanquer says the law is “a way of enforcing the values of the Republic.” What are the values of the Nigerian Republic? Do we know or agree on what those values are? How do we begin to enforce them?

We can start with our troubled school system by confronting the ugly truths. Sylvester Oromoni, the father, has taken a useful step in that direction, by engaging Femi Falana, SAN, to sue the school and demand a coroner’s inquest.

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