Tuesday 1st November 2017

Nigeria Moves up 24 Places in World Bank’s Doing Business Report Ranked among 10 most improved global economies President hails rise in ranking Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja Nigeria has moved up 24 places in the World Bank’s Doing Business report released yesterday and was also

recognised as one of the top 10 most improved economies in the world. From last year’s 171st position in the Doing Business report, Nigeria is now ranked

145th, in a project that provides objective measures of business regulations and their enforcement across 190 economies worldwide. A statement by Vice-

President Yemi Osinbajo’s spokesman, Mr. Laolu Akande, quoted the vice-president as saying Nigeria had broken the jinx of a decade of decline in global rankings on the ease

of doing business. Osinbajo, who said the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) set up by the president and headed by him had worked

hard to achieve the feat, praised all stakeholders who cooperated with the council to achieve the feat. Continued on page 8

Italian Judge Expected to Rule on Eni, Shell Indictment over Malabu Oil Deal Dec 20… Page 10 Wednesday 1 November, 2017 Vol 22. No 8231. Price: N250

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New SGF Promises to Effectively Stimulate Govt Policies… Page 10

Governors Back Buhari as APC Defers Decision on Automatic Ticket President pledges to expand cabinet, constitute boards of agencies soon Omololu Ogunmade and Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja Rising from its National Executive Committee meeting yesterday, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) said that it has not started consideration of offering an automatic presidential ticket to President Muhammadu Buhari

to contest for a second term in the 2019 presidential election, but this was just as the party’s governors threw their weight behind the president to fly the party’s flag during the election. The party at its NEC meeting held in Abuja, Continued on page 8

N300m Was Stolen Daily from Pensioners, Alleges Maina Says assassins after him Chiemelie Ezeobi in Lagos and John Shiklam in Kaduna The embattled former Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Pension, Mr. Abdulrasheed Maina, has finally broken his silence on the multi-billion naira pension fraud that took place when he was in charge of the reform task force four years ago, alleging that N300 million was

stolen from the Office of Head of Service of the Federation daily before the advent of the Pension Transitional Directorate (PTAD). Given that he was declared wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and afterwards by Interpol, after being indicted in the N2.1 billion pension Continued on page 8

Oando Reports N7.1bn Profit in Q3 2017... Page 10

WIKE ON CLOUD NINE... Vice-President, Global Forum on Human Settlements & Sustainable Cities, Dr. Taj Hamad (left), presenting the Global Human Settlements Outstanding Contribution Award to the Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, during a ceremony by the Sustainable Cities and Human Settlements Awards (SCAHSA) in New York, USA… Monday

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T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 1, 2017

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T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 1, 2017

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T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 1, 2017

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PAGE EIGHT GOVERNORS BACK BUHARI AS APC DEFERS DECISION ON AUTOMATIC TICKET however, unanimously passed a vote of confidence on Buhari over what it described as his satisfactory performance. The confidence vote by the party came just as Buhari yielded to pressure to retool the federal cabinet so as to inject fresh ideas that will improve governance. Apparently responding to agitations by his party men who had complained of being shortchanged in appointments, the president in his opening speech at the meeting, said he would expand the cabinet to accommodate more supporters of the party, whom he said would inject fresh ideas into the government. He equally promised to make public soon appointments into the boards of federal government parastatals. The president said he regretted that the boards of the parastatals had not been constituted two years after he made the promise, blaming the delay on the committees saddled with the responsibility of ensuring equitable representation on the boards across the country. “Last year, I said we would reconstitute the boards of parastatals. I most regret the fact that we have not done so for many reasons. Some of us in this meeting may know I had given instructions since October 2015 for this exercise to start. “But there have been inordinate delays through several committees in an attempt to get the balance right and to make sure all parts of the country are equitably represented. “On the other hand, I am keenly aware that our supporters are very eager for these appointments to be announced. By the Grace of God, these appointments will be announced soon, especially now that the economy is improving, we will have the resources to cater for the appointees. “By the same token, the compressed Federal Executive Council will be expanded to bring in more supporters at the federal level with fresh ideas to be injected into the government,� he said. Buhari who thanked the party

leaders who had prayed for him while he was undergoing treatment for his illness in the United Kingdom, also expressed gratitude to the party’s National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun and the leaders and members of the National Assembly, including the opposition whom he said “rose above petty party interests and acted in the national interest�. He also thanked the state governors whom he said maintained unity and tolerance among their communities in the face of the stiff challenges confronting them as he proceeded to reel out what he described as the achievements of his administration. According to him, progress had been made in the fight against Boko Haram and other areas including peace in the Niger Delta, regular fuel supply, improved power supply, agriculture and the fight against corruption. Claiming that Nigeria’s reputation had improved among the comity of nations, Buhari said Nigeria was now creditworthy as the country’s Eurobond was four times oversubscribed. Irrespective of the progress made so far, the president said he was not unaware of the challenges before him. “In my remarks to the Caucus meeting yesterday (Monday), I enumerated the progress that our government has made in the implementation of the programmes of government and the party manifesto. “We can be proud of our achievements in the last two years – Boko Haram, Niger Delta, regular fuel supply, improved power supply, the TSA (Treasury Single Account), agriculture and fertilizer, and above all the knowledge that corruption will not be tolerated in this government. We all know there is change. “Nigeria’s prestige has gone up, Nigeria is now creditworthy, a clear testimony of which was the oversubscription of the Eurobond by four times. “Nevertheless, we are not resting on our achievements. I am quite aware of the challenges before us.

“Let me thank you all again for the commitment and dedicated service to our party and to remind you that much more will be required of you in the coming months. “I hope we can continue to depend on you. If we remain united and rise above petty or personal quarrels we will surely achieve the desired change in the country,� he stated. Addressing journalists on the outcome of the NEC meeting, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara said that the party reviewed its activities in the past year and also took decisions on how to reshape its future. He said following a motion brought by the party, the NEC meeting passed a vote of confidence on the president. He explained that the meeting also passed a vote of confidence on the national chairman of the party. Dogara said that there was another motion raised from the floor by a member urging for a vote for an automatic ticket for the president but it was deferred. “Even though there was a motion from the floor that called for a vote of confidence on the president, some of us felt it was not necessary because there is nowhere that his confidence is shaken. But the motion was taken and passed. “But there was a second leg to that motion which called for the adoption of the candidature of the president, but it was deferred and no decision was taken on it because that was not the major reason why we were here,� he said. Dogara also said that the meeting resolved to pursue reconciliation with aggrieved members as a way forward. In his briefing, the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi said the meeting approved the setting up of a committee to help fix dates for all activities leading to the party’s mini-convention and elective convention. Abdullahi further spoke on the motion on the automatic ticket, saying that the motion was brought by one of the members from the floor but that it was

not discussed at the meeting. He said the meeting could not also conclude action on the proposed party constitution amendments. However, before the meeting commenced, several governors elected on the platform of the APC said yesterday that they would support Buhari to fly the party’s flag in 2019. Regarding the issue of an automatic ticket for the president, Plateau State governor, Simon Lalong said all the APC governors had resolved that they would work for a return ticket for Buhari, adding that the party does not have anyone that could match Buhari for the ticket at the moment. “I want to say that if Mr. President is performing, is well respected and carrying everybody along, all of us have resolved that we will work for him. Do we have any other person that will challenge the president again? Whatever you call it, as far as we are concerned, we have one president and that is the ticket we will fly,� he said. Lalong said the APC leaders had used the National Caucus meeting held at the State House on Monday night to resolve all the grey areas, adding that what would be seen going forward is a brand new APC devoid of wrangling. “I want to assure you that you won’t see any wrangling after the meeting. From now onwards it will be focused governance from Mr. President and all the governors from the states. We have all resolved to support Mr. President,� Lalong added. Echoing Lalong’s position, the Kebbi State governor, Atiku Bagudu said he would give the president his support based on his “sterling performance�. “I think for APC members, it is a democratic party, but the performance of the president in the last two and half years suggest that if he wants to contest, I will certainly support him and I know that our party members feel the same way about him,� he said. Imo State governor, Rochas Okorocha described Monday’s caucus meeting as a turning point in the life of the ruling party.

He said Buhari had shown the right leadership and had taken the right steps, adding that there was silent reconciliation presently going on, which would put APC in the right mood for 2019 elections. “From the caucus meeting of last night (Monday night), we can see light at the end of the dark tunnel. APC is coming out of the woods and we are set to take over the nation like we have always done. It is going to get better and better,� he said. For the governor of Nasarawa State, Tanko Almakura, the greatest asset Buhari has is his acclaimed integrity and impeccable character which, according to the governor, have endeared him to Nigerians. However, Almakura said any consensus arrangement that did not follow a democratic process was not what the president needed. “For anybody to preempt the opinion of the people, is to say the least not fair to the vision of our party. I can tell you that if there is anything that is clandestine, the president will not honour it, so let’s wait and see as we embark on these meetings. “I believe the consensus and the preponderance of opinion of all party members will be what is good for this country,� he said. One of the fallouts of the meetings of the National Caucus and NEC was the reaffirmation that the state governors are leaders of the party in the various states. The party resolved to work towards reconciling all aggrieved persons and to reunite members in readiness for the 2019 general election. Key party leaders that attended yesterday’s meeting included Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo, Senate President Bukola Saraki, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, APC National Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, and the National Leader of the APC, Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Others in attendance were Governors Yahaya Bello (Kogi), Jibrilla Bindow (Adamawa), Godwin Obaseki (Edo), Simon Lalong (Plateau), Tanko Almakura (Nasarawa), Ibikunle Amosun

(Ogun), Abdullahi Umar Ganduje (Kano), Abdulaziz Yari (Zamfara) and Nasir el-Rufai (Kaduna). Others included Atiku Bagudu (Kebbi), Rochas Okorocha (Imo), Rotimi Akeredolu (Ondo), Mohammed Badaru Abubakar (Jigawa), Abubakar Sani Bello (Niger), Mohammed Abubakar (Bauchi), Samuel Ortom (Benue), Kashim Shettima (Borno), Aminu Waziri Tambuwal (Sokoto), Aminu Bello Masari (Katsina), and Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo). The senators present at the meeting included Senate Leader Ahmed Lawan, Senate Minority Whip, Francis Alimikhena, Senators Abdullahi Adamu, Binta Garba, Andy Ubah, Magnus Abbe, Dino Melaye, Ahmed Sani Yerima, Gbenga Ashafa and Barnabas Gemade. From the House of Representatives came Deputy Speaker Yusuf Lasun, House Leader Femi Gbajabiamila, and Majority Whip, Ado Dogowa, among others. The pioneer National Chairman of the party, Chief Bisi Akande, Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audi Ogbe, FCT Minister, Mohammed Bello and Special Adviser to the Vice President on Political Matters, Babafemi Ojodu were also in attendance. Before the meeting, some mild drama played out at the entrance to the secretariat of the party when the presidential guard deployed in the place insisted that the governors must get down from their cars at the gate and walk into the premises. But the security aides attached to Governor Yahaya Bello who was the first to arrive the secretariat for the meeting, engaged in a shouting match, which almost resulted in fisticuffs. The Chairman of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) and Zamfara governor, Abdulaziz Yari was furious that his colleagues were asked to disembark and walk into the secretariat, insisting that they be allowed to be driven in and the cars taken out after dropping them, but the head of the president’s security team told him that “it will not work that way�. In the end, the governors all had to walk into the premises from the gate.

sometimes outright blackmail, all in an attempt to paint Maina black like Lucifer. “After the biometric exercise, there were 71,000 genuine workers in the Police Pension office who needed N826 million to pay them as opposed to the N5.3 billion appropriated for them annually. They were pocketing N4.2 billion yearly. “They devised several ingenious ways to pull this cash out. They pulled out an average of N300 million daily, Monday to Friday. There are bank alerts to substantiate these assertions. “There is a particular person who has 69 cloned versions of his name on the payroll. Bank officials were also in cahoots. Names of dead pensioners were exhumed from the dead and paid pensions. Accounts were created with fictitious names,� he alleged. Speaking further, Fashikun said agents who were engaged in multiple collections of these monies from banks got 5 per cent of the volume collected. According to him, “There

has been a deliberate cover up in a well written script to give Maina a bad name. “Emerging evidence has shown that Maina is just a victim of corruption fighting back. “The then Senate committee in a bid to crucify Maina did the hatchet job when they told Nigerians that he stole N195 billion. “Maina was just a victim of high power play of some powerful individuals in high places. So for three years, Maina underwent a media trial where he was found guilty several times on the pages of newspapers.� But as Maina spoke from hiding yesterday, the presidency kept mum on the leaked memo written by the Head of Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita to President Muhammadu Buhari on October 23, 2017, in which she reminded Buhari that she had verbally brought to his attention on Wednesday October 11, after a meeting of the Federal Executive Council (FEC), of the implications of reinstating the former pension boss in the civil

service. The president, however, ever failed to heed her warning and only ordered that Maina be sacked on October 23, after the scandal had broken over his reinstatement. When contacted yesterday on the issue, the president’s spokesmen, Femi Adesina and Garba Shehu, referred THISDAY to the Head of Service, saying they knew nothing about her memo to the president.

N300M WAS STOLEN DAILY FROM PENSIONERS, ALLEGES MAINA fraud, he broke his silence in hiding. Dressed in a black suit, a white shirt and red tie, Maina, in a video which went gone viral on the social media, said he went into hiding because assassins were allegedly after him. Also in the video, he addressed the allegations of financial impropriety levelled against him as the former pension boss under the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan, for which he was indicted and sacked in 2013 after he absconded. Four years after evading arrest, news broke two weeks ago that he had been reinstated into the civil service as a deputy director in the Ministry of Interior, which aroused a public outcry. Following the outrage caused by his reinstatement, President Muhammadu Buhari immediately ordered for his sack, while the security agencies issued fresh warrants for his arrest. Speaking from his hideout, Maina who said he was being victimised, claimed he was being targeted by people who

are against the anti-corruption crusade of the government, adding that he has documents implicating certain powerful people in corrupt deals. Maina who however failed to mention who these people are, said: “Give us three months, we will bring out over N2 trillion to Nigerians.� While dismissing the perception that he was thief, he said he was not on the run, insisting that he was in hiding because some people were allegedly trying to assassinate him. Calling on Nigerians not to believe the rumours about him, he said he never stole N195 billion and alleged that N300 million was being stolen every day, adding: “We know where these monies are.� Also speaking through his aide Olajide Fashikun yesterday in Kaduna, the former pension task force boss further alleged that he was being haunted for stopping the theft of N5.32 billion monthly in the office of the Head of Service and the Police Pension

office, adding that he was framed by “pension thieves to stop him from exposing them�. He said the investigation ordered by President Muhammadu Buhari into the matter would expose those involved in pension fraud. “Between the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation and the Police Pension office, a leakage of N5.32 billion per month was stopped. “This is what civil servants steal monthly in the two offices out of the 99 pension offices in the country. “Forty-three persons were arrested and handed over to the EFCC to prosecute while 222 houses were seized from them,� he revealed. According to Fashikun, as soon as Maina had absconded to Dubai in the United Arab Emirates in 2013, before the emergence of PTAD, N35 billion was stolen in the Office of the Head of Service. “In the current media trial where all manner of stories have been published, there has been a lot of distortion of the facts and

NIGERIA MOVES UP 24 PLACES IN WORLD BANK’S DOING BUSINESS REPORT “I welcome Nigeria’s improved performance. We are one of the top ten reforming economies in the world in 2017. After a decade-long decline in Nigeria’s rankings, last year the government recorded a modest increase. “This year, Mr. President set us an ambitious target of

moving up twenty places in the rankings – I am delighted that we have exceeded his goal. “Improving the business environment is at the heart of the Buhari administration’s reform agenda. We are reinforcing our economic turn-around by a vigorous and active implementation of the Economic

Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) so businesses operating in Nigeria can thrive and be competitive globally. “For the first time, coordinated efforts across various levels of governments have been undertaken to make it easier to do business in Nigeria. “I commend all stakeholders

who worked with us to achieve this significant result, particularly the National Assembly, Lagos and Kano State Governments, and the private sector,� he said. The statement further said before arriving at the decision, the World Bank highlighted five reforms it said made it easier to do business in Kano and Lagos,

the two cities covered by the report in Nigeria last year. The five reform areas identified by the bank were starting a business, dealing with construction permits, registering property, getting credit, and paying taxes. Continued on page 59

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NGN NGN 0.19 3.99 1.50 31.50 1.62 34.12 0.45 9.53 0.14 2.97 NGN NGN 0.10 1.52 2.84 54.01 0.39 7.48 JAIZBANK 0.03 0.58 LIVESTOCK 0.04 0.81 HPE Nestle Nig Plc â‚Ś1,230.00 Volume: 259.079 million shares Value: N3.054 billion Deals: 4,503 As at yesterday 31/10/17 See details on Page 39

% 5.0 5.0 4.9 4.9 4.9 % 6.1 5.0 4.9 4.9 4.7

T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 1, 2017

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WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 1, 2017 ˾ T H I S D AY

NEWS

News Editor Davidson Iriekpen Email davidson.iriekpen@thisdaylive.com, 08111813081

New SGF Promises to Effectively Stimulate Govt Policies Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja

The newly appointed Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha, yesterday promised to promote a synergy among varying government policies with a view to guaranteeing the effectiveness of such policies. Mustapha, who made this promise while answering questions from State House correspondents after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari, said he would hesitate to make promises about the office he’s yet to occupy. Mustapha will be sworn in today at the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting by President Buhari. The prospective government scribe who said his main responsibility would be to coordinate effective implementation of government policies, advocated the need for emergency declaration to move Nigeria forward from its current state. According to him, the government had the responsibility to improve the living standard of the people who voted for it as he hailed government’s anchor borrowers’scheme, describing it as a good platform to guarantee food security.

He said Nigerians had huge expectations from the federal government as he canvassed the necessity not to disappoint them, pointing out that the president is focused on his three-point agenda to fight corruption, guarantee security and boost the economy. “Well, I’ll wait until the oath of office is administered on me. Once that is done, I’ll now begin to take briefings from the office and begin to chart a roadmap. It is always not too fashionable to begin to talk about an office you have never occupied. That will be too presumptuous and I wouldn’t want to do that at the moment. “I will want to step into the office first. But I have a general picture of where we should be going, and I can assure you that my responsibility is that of coordination and ensuring the implementation of government policies as generated. “Nigeria is not in lack of information and policy formulation, sometimes, it is the synergy of those policies for the purposes of attaining the goal that has been lacking, and I think those are some of the things that I am going to bring to the office. “There must be coordination, there must be synergy so that we can have a thrust that can

move us forward. We need an emergency acceleration to get out of where we are, and I can assure you that the president is focused on the three-pronged approach to take his government to fight corruption, diversify the economy and also the aspect of security. “We’ve done so much in the area of security. Even the diversification of the economy so much has been achieved. There are no poor farmers in Nigeria again. Honestly, for anybody that is able. We can deploy our hands and our energy to growing our agriculture. “I’ve been speaking to some of the governors. They are doing remarkable work with the anchor borrower scheme and other schemes that are coming

up. I believe that if we can do that consistently for a number of years, we’ll get out of this quagmire. “Because a nation that cannot feed itself has a long way to go in terms of institutional and industrial development, so, like I said, I will not be too quick to say what I am going to do in office, but I have a general picture. “The president has cast the vision, all of us that are appointees of government have the singular responsibility to ensure that we run with that vision. He has made it plain and whichever vision that has been made plain for those that are being charged with responsibilities we are supposed

to run with that vision to ensure that at the end of the day, the dividends of democracy is delivered to the people of Nigeria. “We went round and campaigned and sought their mandate, freely they gave us and it behooves on us charged with responsibilities to ensure that we do not disappoint them. The expectations are great out there. You live with families and you know the expectations of families. You live in communities, you know the expectations of those communities. “You live in geographical jurisdictions and you know the expectations of those people. But we’ve come at a time when the resources are very lean, in some cases, not available but I believe with prudent

management as being put in place by the President, we’ll be able to navigate this very difficult terrain and at the end of the day, every Nigerian will have a smile on his face. “We are not promising heaven on earth, but we can move our people from this state of squalour in which they are to a state where there will be hope, there will be expectations. And hope does a lot of things because your desire for living for tomorrow is to rekindle back hope. And if there is hope that things will be better, the people of Nigeria are very understanding people and I can assure you that they will continue to give this government the kind of support that will require us to push the nation ahead,” he said.

Oando Reports N7.1bn Profit in Q3 2017 With an end to Nigeria’s worst recession in two decades, buoyed by improved performance of oil, agriculture, manufacturing and trade sectors, Oando Plc has shown positive performance across all financial indices, as turnover increased by 16 per cent to N383.5 billion in the nine months ended September 30, 2017, from N329.9 billion in comparative period of 2016. The energy company’s gross also profit increased by 148 per cent to N71.2 billion from N28.6 billion while profit-after-tax increased by 120 per cent to N7.1 billion from a loss of (N35.8 billion) in Q3 2016. Commenting on the results Group Chief Executive, Oando Plc, Wale Tinubu said: “After five consecutive quarters of contraction, Nigeria’s official exit from the recession buoyed by improved performance in the oil, agriculture, manufacturing and trade sectors of the economy is laudable news. The continued increase in oil prices to a 2017 high of $58 in September, coupled with ongoing peace efforts in the Niger Delta have significantly impacted our fourth successive profit declaration.” Oando continues to keep to the promise it made to shareholders during its 39th annual general meeting in 2016 with the declaration of its fourth consecutive profit. The company was proactive in its approach to cushion the effect of the oil downturn by immediately implementing its strategic growth initiatives. Further commenting on the company’s results, Tinubu said: “Our third quarter financials are reflective of the continued implementation of our strategic initiatives of growth through our

dollar earning upstream portfolio; deleverage through recapitalisation and asset divestments and the expansion of our oil export trading business. The proceeds from our business restructuring and asset sales have been successfully used to improve our balance sheet with a reduction of N18 billion in our debt position from N247 billion as at December 2016 to N229 billion today.” Oando’s results defied the speculation of many who watched the company and its management came under scrutiny in the past months. It also comes as a relief to aggrieved shareholders who have in the past months expressed their dissatisfaction on the damage the SEC probe caused to brand value and the company’s share price. However, these result prove the company can look forwards to an optimistic future. In 2015, Oando concluded the recapitalisation of its downstream business with a consortium of Helios Investment and Vitol Group for US$210 million. The partnership reinvigorated Nigeria’s downstream sector to create one of Africa’s largest downstream operations. Oando further divested its midstream business now known as Axxela to Helios partners for US$115.8 million to increase its gas footprint. Speaking on the future of the company, Tinubu said: “Our tenacity to continuously create value despite prevailing headwinds is evident in our improved performance four quarters in a row; we remain optimistic about the fourth quarter and are steadfast in delivering strong returns to shareholders in the near to medium term.’’

WHEN HER ROYAL MAJESTY CAME CALLING

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode (right), with Queen Maxima Zorreguieta Cerruti of The Netherlands during the Queen’s courtesy visit at the Lagos House in Ikeja...yesterday

Italian Judge Expected to Rule on Eni, Shell Indictment over Malabu Oil Deal Dec 20 An Italian judge is expected to decide on December 20 whether to send oil majors Eni and Shell to trial over alleged corruption in Nigeria, two legal sources said yesterday. Milan prosecutors have asked for the two companies and some past and present managers, including current Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi,

to be indicted in a case revolving around the purchase of a Nigerian oilfield in 2011. A judge must now rule whether to press charges or dismiss the case. The Italian inquiry is one of several under way into the acquisition of Oil Prospecting Lease (OPL) 245 owned by Malabu Oil and Gas Limited for about $1.3

billion (£980.2 million), including current cases in the Netherlands and Nigeria. Under Italian law, a company can be held responsible if it is deemed to have failed to prevent or attempt to prevent, a crime by an employee that benefited the company. Yesterday, a court in Milan decided to wrap a strand of the

investigation involving three former Shell managers and current Shell Foundation chairman Malcolm Brinded into the main inquiry, the sources said. All the parties involved have denied any wrongdoing.

Buhari Hosts National Assembly Leadership to Dinner Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday night hosted principal officers of the National Assembly at a dinner in the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja. The dinner was meant to secure the cooperation of the lawmakers ahead of the presentation of the 2018 budget. The dinner had initially been scheduled to hold on October 26, but was abruptly called off after the decision of the lawmakers

to turn back at Aso Rock gate when the security officers insisted that they must undergo clearance before entry. Buhari later apologised to the lawmakers and rescheduled the dinner for yesterday. Present at the dinner were the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu and Deputy Speaker, Yusuff Lassun. Others were Senate Leader, Ahmad Lawan, House Leader,

Femi Gbajabiamila, Senate Deputy Leader, Ibn Na’Allah, Senate Whip, Olusola Adeyeye and Deputy Senate Whip, Francis Alimikhena. Also present were: the Minority Leader, Godswill Akpabio, Deputy Minority Leader, Emmanuel Bwacha, Minority Whip, Philip Aduda, Deputy Minority Whip, Biodun Olujimi. Also in attendance were: the House Whip, Ado Doguwa, Deputy Whip, Parley Iriase, Deputy House Minority Leader, Chukwuma Onyema, Deputy Minority Whip, Binta Bello.

The Minority Leader, Leo Ogor was conspicuously absent. He was said to have been brought down by an acute illness. Also in attendance on the part of the executive were the president, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, the yet to be sworn in Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, Chief of Staff, Abba Kyari, Minister of Finance, Kemi Adeosun, Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udo Udoma, National Assembly liason officers, Ita Enang and Ismaila Kawu.

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COMMENT

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

DANGOTE AND TEACHING AFRICA’S GEOGRAPHY Okello Oculi argues that the teaching of geography should be accorded its rightful place in the continent

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rofessor Akin Mabogunje has been highly celebrated by topmost learned societies in Sweden, Italy, France, the United States of America and China for his excellent and extensive writings on Geography- with special focus on Africa. Unlike Mungo Park who (as a recently graduated medical doctor was financed by his father-in-law and head of the Britain’s Royal Geographical Society to ‘’study of people and their situation in physical and temporal spaces’’ in Africa), Mabogunje remained largely unfunded by foreign capital in Nigeria and unknown to local farmers, market women, trans-Sahara traders from Kano and Borno, and blacksmiths. The British businesses who ran the ‘’Royal Geographical Society’’ were desperately searching for tropical lands that were producing cotton, groundnut and palm oils following Britain’s defeat in the liberation war by American colonies. Mabogunje remained an economic orphan academic genius. Other European geographers with large national missions were often military ‘’explorers’’ hawking flags and fake treaties meant as Certificates of Occupancy for colonial ‘’possessions’’. The import of these geographical hunts sank deep into European consciousness. Town hall meetings in Manchester and Liverpool, for example, angrily condemned King Leopold of Belgium for prohibiting British traders from access to elephant tusks and rubber in the Congo. When as a combative undergraduate student at Stanford University, I argued that Mount Kilimanjaro was ‘’discovered’’ by the Africa peoples who for centuries had populated its location and NOT by some wandering Germans in the late 19th century, the editors of ‘’STANFORD OBSERVER’’ newspaoer cut out that assertion of African geographical sovereignty from the published commentary. Borno’s trading and diplomatic travels to Morocco, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt were not accompanied by political vision to control access to spaces and natural resources. Ahmed Modibbo Mohammed has noted the struggle for control of geographical spaces by French agents moving towards Nigeria from Niger and Chad from the north and from Benin towards Kwara. Germans hunters were racing north and into what later became Nigeria’s Sardauna Province. His narrative lends military inevitability to British officials in London ordering Lugard to integrate Southern and Northern Nigeria into a common military space since the 1914 to 1918 War with Germany was about to begin. Geography, imperial conflicts, and political management of foreign lands and raw materials locked hands in the 1914 ‘’amalgamation’’ of Nigeria. The United States of America offers an interesting example of political leaders in a country that had won a liberation war against imperial Britain using the teaching of Geography in her schools to defend her independence and territorial integrity. Confronted with land-hungry European powers, American leaders blocked eyes, ears and tongues of her immigrant population from propaganda from Europe. Children in non-elite schools are taught primarily geographies of local states, and of the United States.

WHILE DANGOTE IS BUILDING CEMENT FACTORIES FROM SENEGAL IN WEST AFRICA TO ETHIOPIA AND TANZANIA IN EASTERN AFRICA, THE STUDY OF AFRICA’S NATURAL RESOURCES IS NOT IN THE GEOGRAPHY SYLLABUS

Michael Schatzberg, a classmate at graduate school, was a Peace Corps Volunteer in Cameroun. He was once merrily mocking the poverty of citizens of Cameroun who are condemned to radio broadcasts from a single state-owned station. Dictators in Africa, he pontificated, deny their citizens access to alternative sources of news and opinions. I nudged him to consider the American version of President Biya’s virtue by which driver in America turn on ignition keys of a car, and the only radio station that blares out ‘’news’’ is a local one. In Madison of Wisconsin, for example, we could never get radio broadcasts from California, Texas, New York and nearby Chicago City. The scales fell from his eyes. Gatekeepers of school syllabuses are vulnerable to the appeal of this American model. However, Africa is yet to become a United States of Africa (USA) and foreign powers are fearful of her united vastness. American leaders combined protecting eyes and ears of their immigrant population from propaganda by European enemies with aggressively expanding from the Atlantic Coast into the Pacific Ocean. Africa is fighting both the war against television and radio invaders and economic and political plots to prevent a giant Africa to match giant USA, China, India and the Russia. Nigeria offers interesting paradoxes. Political leaders wish to lead Africa but school children are not taught the map of Africa. Only students taking science course can study Geography beyond SS1. While Dangote is building cement factories from Senegal in West Africa to Ethiopia and Tanzania in Eastern Africa, the study of Africa’s natural resources is NOT in the Geography syllabus. While Zenith Bank, Ecobank, Access Bank are floating their flags across Africa, including Kenya and Rwanda, a senior journalist and students in SS1 placed Kenya in Sierra Leone; and that Mozambique is in Sweden. Toyin Falola has enumerated Mabugunje’s use of Geography to educate public policies. These include the exploitation of forest resources; the value of population statistics; directing urban growth and land reform and, organising rural development in such a way that communities do not suffer from desecration of cultural values and become psychologically decimated. Climate warfare against Africa has come during the old man’s academic dusk. Dangote, Zenith Bank, Access Bank, EcoBank should honour Mabogunje by funding youth explorers’ criss-crossing Africa. Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma as Chairperson of the African Union, adopted simulations of the Assembly of Heads of State of the African Union at the Ahmadu Bello University; Anglican Girls Grammar School in Abuja and Makini Secondary School in Nairobi and made it a project of the Commission. It is to be called “MODEL STUDENT AFRICAN UNION’’. Those who will probably curse his work are the indigenous population of what has become the Federal Capital Territory whose evolution he invested valuable intellectual work. Africa Vision 525 Initiative

LEADERSHIP BY INSPIRATION

Udom Emmanuel is an example of leadership that inspires, writes Collins Durugbo

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hy is Africa afflicted with so much poverty? Why is Africa rated as the perfect poster child for all that is wrong with humanity? Every day in recent years, a handful of African youths die in the Mediterranean Sea as migrants scurrying from their home countries in search of comfort in Europe. . They end up dying like chickens, their bodies swept ashore or in some cases, nowhere to be found. The answer is found locked in the hood of bad leadership. Africa through the ages had been afflicted with bad leadership. Most African leaders at any level had been largely accidental leaders: men and women who were not prepared for the office they lead but who were thrust upon the people by the continent’s skewed political system. This is evidenced by the poverty of leadership that dots the public space. Leaders without vision, without character and without the intellect and knowhow to chart a course for and fight the cause of their people. Leaders who do not inspire hope in the people but are agents of despair and dealers in despondency. Yet leadership is about inspiration. “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader� was the sound bite from John Quincy Adams, the sixth President of the United States famed for his bravery and raw, unvarnished ability to rouse the people. A man nicknamed “Old Man Eloquent� for his outstanding public speaking ability, many Americans remember him with nostalgia for giving hope to the people. The man who got Florida for America through his deft negotiation skill was a dealer in hope. This is the context in which the leadership style of Governor Udom Emmanuel deserves a look-in. Shortly after he was inaugurated governor, one

of his first acts was to give hope to his people. He launched the Dakkada (Rise Up) philosophy which is a re-orientation initiative that rouses the inert spirit of the Akwa Ibomites through a new value system that speaks of possibilities and opportunities. It is a new value system that has transformed into a mass movement driving the people of the state to conquer new heights. It is the kind of new vision and new spirit encapsulated in his now famous New Deal which Franklin Delano Roosevelt, inaugurated the Democratic President of the United States in 1933, infused in the American people in the days of the Great Depression. The strategy worked. The New Deal (a set of programmes targeted at relief, recovery and reform) helped to restore public confidence while creating multiple opportunities that acted as a buffer and relief against the pains of the Great depression. The Dakkada philosophy in a sense mirrors Roosevelt’s New Deal in that it has restored the confidence of the public, galvanised a new generation of ambitious and progressive-minded youths in the state in a season of national despair and economic atrophy. It is a testimony to Udom’s leadership exemplum. While other governors clatter about insufficient funds and trot it as excuse to justify their ineptitude and lack of innovation, the man who sees himself as a professional in politics as against the banal tag of professional politician which some persons in his position and even far more lowly positions wear as tag, has maintained a dignified silence preferring to let his works speak for him. Yes, Nigeria is broke. A nation that borrows to pay salary of its workers is actually insolvent. But that is not an excuse to do nothing. History reminds us of people who turned adversity to advantage. The likes of Lee Kuan Yew, the father

of modern Singapore and Deng Xiaoping of China arrested retrogression in their climes and placed their nations on the path to glory. Today, Singapore, China, India, Malaysia among other Asian nations, have become outsourcing outposts for most American and European manufacturing and service industry giants. Besides, their home-made products now dot the biggest and best malls around the world. Their automobiles and ICT products are the preferred in the enterprise marketplace. Other nations like Israel and Japan are recent examples of how a people can re-discover themselves and reactivate their collective destiny. The common denominator in the transformational stories of these nations is that at a point in their histories, a leader emerged and broke the chain of cyclic leadership failure, plugged the bureaucratic leakages, reversed the retrogressive value system and arrested the drift to perdition. It is about the quality of leadership and nothing else. As a frequent visitor to Akwa Ibom, it is easy to notice the resonance of the Dakkada philosophy with the people and its inductive effect on their attitude. There is a new stirring of the possibility spirit, a jarring of the rabble to self-believe and self-worth. It is commonplace to see a cab driver do his job with dignity as if driving is the best job in the world. A teacher asserts himself with didactical pride, same with the street sweeper and office janitor. It is a new order that evinces dignity in labour, the type you find in the advanced West where a teacher would saunter onto the stage and boldly introduce himself as a “school teacher�. From the comfort of marbled offices to the streets, the verdict of the people is a resounding approval of the style of leadership of this professional in politics. It’s obvious that Governor Udom’s private sector mentorship and tutelage

has prepared him for the exigencies of public service. He once said: “The concept of the best governance Nigeria never had is always in my head and I know I have to contend with some forces to achieve that. Be that as it may, we have been able to analyse various issues and progress and so the whole problems I have are the same the country is having and some other European countries of the world today; which is challenges of the world economy�. Knowing and realising these challenges has given him a head-start especially on his campaign promise to industrialise his state. It has to be said that Akwa Ibom has been lucky with leadership since the return of democracy. His immediate predecessor, Godswill Akpabio, still resonates till this day as the best infrastructure governor of his time. Governor Udom’s leadership dexterity is not lost on his colleagues, either. When governors of the South-South and South East zones met recently in a rare and highly commendable bipartisan political bonding, it was Governor Udom they unanimously appointed as their leader. It tells of the confidence reposed in him by his colleagues, an affirmation of his calmness in the midst of storm and ability to build bridges across ethnic configurations and political ideologies. I do not have a full grasp of what governors do when they gather at their forum but I recommend that peer review should be topmost on their agenda. That way, they can share ideas and information in a friendly manner without undue competition. It is on this note that I recommend that some of our governors especially those from the southern part of the country should espy the leadership note of Deacon Udom. He is a good example of leadership that inspires. Durugbo wrote from Umuahia, Abia State

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EDITORIAL MAINA AND THE PRESIDENTIAL SCANDAL The President should be held to account for Maina’s reinstatement in spite of a contrary counsel

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hen we wrote last week that the reinstatement and promotion of Mr. Abdulrasheed Maina, the fugitive former Chairman of Pension Reform Task Team, and the issues it has thrown up make this period a defining moment for President Muhammadu Buhari, some facts were not in the public domain. Now that the name of the president has been dragged in by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita, Senator Shehu Sani has been proved right: when it comes to dealing with corruption involving the opposition, the president applies insecticides; but when dealing with friends and supporters, he deploys deodorants. That perhaps explains why Nigerians have become cynical about the so-called war against corruption. Indeed, if any proof was ever needed that President Buhari cannot make a distinction between the rules of accountability in public office and patronage to those who supported or WHY WOULD THE CASE financed his political OF AN ASSISTANT campaign, the leaked DIRECTOR ATTRACT memo from Oyo-Ita RELENTLESS ATTENTION has settled that. TO THE EXTENT THAT THE “Mr. President on Wednesday, 11th PRESIDENT HAS TO DO THE DIRTY JOB OF FIRING October, 2017 after the FEC meeting HIM? where I briefed His Excellency verbally on the wide-ranging implications of the reinstatement of Mr. A. A. Maina, especially the damaging impact on the anti-corruption stance of this administration….” Oyo-Ita reportedly wrote in the memo. Following the summary dismissal of Maina, just a few hours after the Special Assistant to the president on prosecution, Mr Okoi Obono-Obla, had defended the man on Channels television, many Nigerians had suspected that all was not well. With Oyo-Ita’s memo, it will be difficult for the president to convince anybody

Letters to the Editor

that he stands for probity or anti-corruption, just as the government he leads cannot go on drowning the country in the mess of its own internal contradictions while blackmailing Nigerians into seeing it as a vehicle for change simply by holding to account members of the opposition.

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T H I S DAY

EDITOR IJEOMA NWOGWUGWU DEPUTY EDITORS BOLAJI ADEBIYI, JOSEPH USHIGIALE MANAGING DIRECTOR ENIOLA BELLO DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR KAYODE KOMOLAFE CHAIRMAN EDITORIAL BOARD OLUSEGUN ADENIYI EDITOR NATION’S CAPITAL IYOBOSA UWUGIAREN

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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.

AMBODE: PROMISE AS AVIRTUE

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hat is more worrisome is that the whole Maina saga seems to have been orchestrated with the connivance of powerful people in government who manipulated our system for one man. Even at that, the contrived court judgment relied upon by the Attorney General and Justice Minister, Abubakar Malami, did not absolve Maina of the charges against him. It is about the procedure that was followed to declare him wanted which did not follow due process. It has nothing to do with the substantive matter. However, in all that has transpired on this sordid drama, the president should be held to account for allowing or overlooking Maina’s reinstatement in spite of a contrary counsel from the HOS. The questions that arise are: What did the president know? When did he know it? How long did it take between when the president was alerted and when the reinstatement took place? Why would the case of an assistant director in the civil service attract relentless attention to the extent that the president has to do the dirty job of firing him? Did the president fire him because the deal had gone public or because the administrative machinery of his government has been compromised or has become dysfunctional? That a government which came to power with the campaign to fight corruption would enthrone this brazen act of misdeed is shameful. All the raging issues of deficits of enlightened governance and lack of fidelity to rudimentary public morality that Nigerians witness almost on a daily basis run counter to any avowed commitment to right the wrongs of our past. Mounting instances of tardiness in taking prompt decisions on matters of transparency and accountability have also begun to taint the integrity that was the selling point of Buhari before the 2015 presidential election. Can the president redeem his image?

New York Times bestselling author, Richard Paul Evans, once said”: “Broken vows are like broken mirrors. They leave those who held to them bleeding and staring at fractured images of themselves.” Making promises and keeping them is definitely a good virtue that people must embrace in all walks of life. In the Nigerian political scene it is, however, obvious that promising a bright future in convincing manner works better than actually delivering on it! It is rampant among the political class to make promise without actually thinking about how to fulfil such. Hence, promises are often broken with tenable and untenable excuses. The consequence of broken promises accounted for one of the reasons why many display apathy towards certain basic civic duties, especially tax payment and the electoral process. Disappointment of many Nigerians has been visible in open expression of grievances, change of opinion about governments and condemnation of governments in states where performances have fell abysmally against campaign promises. Unfortunately, many of the states faced with challenges of matching promises with performances are not engaging their people meaningfully to explain situation of things to them. In Lagos State, however, the leadership seems to place high premium on the sanctity of promise in every sphere of life. To the state government, a promise made should always be a promise kept. In other words, the process of a promise made isn’t completed until it is fulfilled. This is, perhaps, why the state is relatively doing better on the index of economic growth and development. The state government’s

virtue of delivering on promises is a practical lesson for others to emulate. Creating an atmosphere in which citizens and investors have no option but to stand by his government, the Akinwunmi Ambode administration has continually been proving that fulfiling of promises is possible, and that it is a virtue a responsible government should not toy with. The administration has injected new hope and energy into a broken morale, scattered systems and altered old mindsets that Nigeria’s ruling class is full of liars. In an inaugural speech as the Governor of Lagos State on May 29, 2015, Governor Ambode promised to run an open government of inclusion that will not leave anyone behind. This was promised based on sincere belief that the essence of a representative democracy is continual engagement of all stakeholders in the society. His administration wasted no time in creating various channels of engagement with government. The administration created the Office of Civic Engagement for the purpose of listening to the people and ensures their concerns are adequately addressed. The Office has been engaging communities and various stakeholders in the state to rub minds on several issues, especially as it pertains to the overall development of the state. Many of the issues raised at such engagements were referred to the appropriate government MDAs and action promptly taken. The result of this is the various giant strides being recorded at the various sectors of the state. The Office of Civic Engagement has positively resolved a host of conflicts that could have degenerated into crisis. Rasak Musbau, Alausa, Lagos

HOW TO DEFEAT SHEKAU

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bubakar Shekau can be defeated by way of diplomacy if Nigeria is bold enough to confront Saudi Arabia on this front. Everyone considers Shekau a terrorist but Shekau sees himself as a modernday jihadist fighting for the growth of Islam by means that are abhorrent to everyone else except to those who support his vision (the formal appellation of Boko Haram says it all: Jama‘at Ahl al-Sunna lil-Da‘awah wa al-Jihad or Association of the People of the Sunnah for Preaching and Jihad). In truth, anyone fighting for Islam is a welcome friend of Saudi Arabia, whether this country publicly acknowledges this fact or not. That is why Boko Haram members freely travel to Mecca for their annual hajj rites without restriction. What Saudi Arabia needs to do on the diplomatic front is to openly advise Shekau and the Boko Haram hordes to lay down arms, free all captives, and stop proselytising by way of coercion and terror. Unfortunately, it is not likely that Saudi Arabia would appeal to Boko Haram to walk the path of peace and end violence; it is because of this attitude of Saudi Arabia and other rich Gulf countries that attitudes toward Islamic migration to Europe is hardening and the US has all but kept mute about the Rohingya situation. Basically, if violent jihad is halal then let countries under threat seek avenues to protect themselves and that sort of self-protection is what the military authorities in the Philippines and Burma have just recently adopted. Sunday Adole Jonah, Department of Physics, Federal University of Technology, Minna

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HASSAN AHMED DANBABA

Signed Rt. Hon. Dimeji Bankole Former Speaker Federal House of Representatives

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HASSAN AHMED

DANBABA

Magajin Garin Sokoto I join the millions of your admirers especially the downtrodden and the voiceless who have been rebased by your generosity to commemorate with you on the achievement of two decades as Magaji Garin Sokoto. This is a milestone to be proud of. It was Abraham Lincoln that posited 'whatever you are, be a good one'… Indeed as the Magaji Garin Sokoto, you no doubt have held forte as a good man… I wish you many more active years as the beacon of hope for our generation and those yet unborn… Professor Yusuf Dankofa and Family

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MIDWEEKPOLITICS

Group Politics Editor Tobi Soniyi Email tobi.soniyi@thisdaylive.com 08033146139 SMS ONLY

THE NEWSMAKER

At 63, Uduaghan Isn’t Done With Politics In a country where septuagenarians are still vying for elective positions, a former governor of Delta State, Emmanuel Uduaghan, at 63 is not done either. Going by his body language, he believes he has more to offer. Segun James thinks he may be right

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or the people of Ekurede, a suburb of Warri, Delta State, a chance meeting with their neighbour and former governor of the state, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, on the streets of the community provide them with an opportunity to seek medical advice from him. Even after he had left office Uduaghan remains the doctor next door. Quite unlike most political office holders, who move away or build for themselves fortresses that are inaccessible to the people they serve, Uduaghan has continued to live in the area and on the same street that he was living even before he became the governor. He never finds this strange because some of his neighbours were once his patients while practising in the city. And so it was that the people trooped to his home penultimate week to felicitate with him as he clocked 63 years. To him, nothing could be better than this. After all, others who had held similar office like him are no longer wanted in their community because they alienated the people while in office only to return as strangers. Passion, they say, can move mountains; and in the case of Emmanuel Uduaghan, it did. As a student Uduaghan had an irresistible desire to pursue medicine. That was quite natural for someone who had grown up under the overarching influence of a successful nurse. His mother was a midwife who was very diligent with her calling. Seeing her going about her duty of delivering babies and the joy and gratitude that came with it prepared Emmanuel for his choice of course he would later to study. It was also the spur he needed to venture into medicine. Although he no longer practices medicine full time, it is still his greatest passion. Well, along with politics, that is! Before 1999, Uduaghan was just a medical doctor engaged in private practice in Warri and like his mother before him; he was very popular on the streets of the famed oil city. But his path to active partisan politics began in 1998 when his cousin, Chief James Onanefe Ibori, who initially wanted to contest for a seat at the House of Representatives but suddenly, changed his mind to contest for the governorship instead. It was during this election that the political tactician in Uduaghan came into the fore. Ibori won the election and the grateful governor compensated Uduaghan with the position of Commissioner for Health. But his coming as a commissioner coincided with the rise in militancy in the Niger Delta; and getting the boys out of the creeks for negotiating with new government was a daunting task. But luckily, most of the boys were delivered by Dr. Uduaghan. They respected and trusted him. He soon took over the negotiations with the boys as the coordinator of security in the waterways. He was able to draw the creeks and into mainline society. And this was done long before that advent of any amnesty programme in the country! At this point, Uduaghan was desirous of going to the National Assembly as a senator to represent Delta South Senatorial District which is made up of the Ijaw, Isoko and Itsekiri people. But Ibori persuaded him to stay back. Because he was so successful in bringing under control, the fratricidal war between the Itsekiri and the Ijaw and the militants. A grateful Ibori elevated him to the position

Passion, they say, can move mountains; and in the case of Emmanuel Uduaghan, it did

Uduaghan

of Secretary to the State Government while also retaining him as the coordinator of security in the state. Although he was disappointed, he heeded the governor’s pleadings to allow another of his colleagues, Mr. James Manager who was the commissioner for works to go to the Senate. Providence would soon smile on him when four years later he became the governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP); and not surprisingly, he won the election. Growing up, the focus of the young Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan was to be an accountant. But somehow, fate in the form of maternal occupational influence intervened and the young Emmanuel diverted into the field of medicine following secondary school education at the Federal Government College, Warri, Delta State. Emmanuel Eweta was born on October 22, 1954 to Chief Edmund and Mrs. Cecilia Uduaghan. The father was Itsekiri from Abigborodo, in Warri North Local Government Area of Delta State while the mother was Ishan from Ubiaja in Esan South-east of Edo State. The mixed parentage was to play a large role, and indeed accounted for what

would be recognised as Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan’s amenable and open-minded disposition to all people, especially in a multi-ethnic setting like Delta State. By the time he entered medical school in the University of Benin in 1975, the young student had set his mind towards achieving the best in the profession, having been ordered by his father out of his initial first professional love, accountancy. Uduaghan qualified as a medical doctor in 1980 and carried out the mandatory National Youth Service in Kwara State. The enthusiasm for service quickly manifested in the first year of his qualification as he was honoured as the most outstanding medical doctor in the set of medical doctors posted to the state in that service year. Following the service year, he was employed by the Delta Steel Company, DSC, Aladja where he also distinguished himself in service to the extent that he was honoured with the General Manager’s prize for Outstanding Service. He subsequently disengaged from the services of the medical centre of the DSC to establish a private medical facility, named Abode Clinic. It was named after his grandmother, under whom he grew

up in Mosogar, Delta State. Uduaghan had by this time started opening himself up to politics or trade unionism, having served as Secretary, Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Warri, and also as Secretary, Association of Private Medical and Dental Practitioners, Warri Zone. His first contact with partisan politics was in the run up to the National Assembly elections of 1992 when he helped in mobilising support for his cousin, James Ibori who stood as a candidate in that election. Ibori lost that election, but paid compliments to Uduaghan for providing technical expertise which the candidate confessed after the election, would have helped him win only if he had taken them. At the restart of partisan politics in 1998, Uduaghan joined the newly formed PDP along with Ibori. His election as governor in 2007 after Ibori was almost like a logical step given the dedication and deftness he brought to his duties as government scribe. Even though he fully served in the administration of Ibori, Uduaghan never hid his determination to answer his own name in the erection of his legacies. Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan attended Federal Government College, Warri from 1968 to 1974 and the University of Benin from 1975 to1980 earning a Bachelor of Medicine and Surgery (MBBS) degree, and a Diploma in Anaesthesia. Emmanuel Uduaghan began work in 1983 at the Delta Steel Company, as a medical officer. From 1989 to 1994, he worked in a number of hospitals including Westend Hospital, Warri; Benoni Hospitals, Benin City and Shell Petroleum Development Company Hospital, Ogunu, where he was a Consultant Anaesthesiologist. In 1994 he set up a private medical practice. He was also into medical association politics as he held several positions in the Nigerian Medical Association in Warri, old Bendel State and Delta State. He was also active in the Junior Chamber International (Jaycees) leadership development organization. Emmanuel Uduaghan was a founding member and Chairman of the All Nigeria Congress Association for the Warri South Local Government Area, a founder and executive member of the Grassroots Democratic Movement (GDM), and a foundation member of the PDP. On 6 August 1999, Governor James Onanefe Ibori appointed him as Commissioner for Health, Delta State. In this position he improved the pay of medical staff and upgraded infrastructure. On 6 June 2003, Uduaghan was appointed Secretary to the Delta State Government. He became the governor of Delta state on May 29th 2007 having succeeded Ibori. Uduaghan ran again for governor in the 26 April 2011 elections, and was reelected. He gained 525,793 votes, while Chief Great Ogboru of the Democratic People’s Party (DPP) was the runner-up with 433,834 votes. He is married, with two children. His wife, Roli, is the daughter of Brig. General Sunny E. Tuoyo (rtd), at one time Military Administrator of Ondo State.

T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY,NOVEMBER 1, 2017

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MIDWEEKPOLITICS

How Abia Disbursed Bailout, Refunds As controversies continue to swirl over the utilisation of the bailout and Paris Club refunds by states, Abia State governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu explains that his state disbursed the funds in transparent manner, writes Eyinnaya Appolos

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s controversies continue to swirl over the utilisation of the bailout and Paris Club refunds by states, Abia State governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu explains that his state disbursed the funds in transparent manner, writes Eyinnaya Appolos There is nothing as cheering as when a leader is open and transparent in the handling of the affairs of those whose mandate he holds in trust. The Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) Media Conference for Chief Press Secretaries and Commissioners of Information of the 36 states of the federation, offered the Abia State Governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu, the opportunity to once again, give updates on how his state managed the bailout and the Paris Club debt refunds for payment of backlog of salaries, pensions and gratuitties as well as improvement of the infrastructure capital of the state. Speaking at the conference, Ikpeazu, who was represented by his deputy, Sir Udo Oko Chukwu, said that the state under his watch had enshrined transparency as a cardinal governance principle. He also explained that it was to promote transparency that he regularly briefed and inter acted with the people of Abia State. While making a presentation on the topic, ‘Application of the Paris Club Refund to State’, the governor said: “The receipt of the intervention funds has become a source of concern to some analysts, pundits, social critics and political commentators. Some comments have been made in the print and social media which were half truths and sometimes outright lies. “May I use this opportunity to briefly state the facts. Interestingly, Abia State government received the following intervention funds from FG: Bailout fund of N14.2b, first tranche of Paris Club debt refund of N10.6b and the second tranche of he Paris refund of N5.7b. “In line with the transparency approach to governance of the current administration, after the receipt of the first intervention (bailout) fund, the Abia State government constituted a committee made up of the different labour union leaders; namely NLC, TUC, NULGE, NUP, NUT and Joint Negotiating Council. The committee took charge of the disbursement of the funds to various areas of greater needs and exigencies. “Indeed, the exercise was conducted devoid of government intervention as 100 per ennt of funds received were expended in the services of workers’ payments. This exercise was (by all known standards) transparent and applauded by the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission (ICPC), who singled out Abia and two other states for their transparency in the disbursement and utilization of the funds. “50 per cent of the first tranche of the Paris Club Debt Refund to be dedicated to the payment of workers’salaries and wages. We also disbursed an additional N600m to augment the payment of workers’ salaries and wages. Thus a total of N5.9b was spent therein. “The second tranche of the refund received by Abia state was 100 per cent spent on workers’ salaries and pensions. This has greatly curtailed the salary arrears and responsibilities of the government.” He said that in all, Abia received a total sum of N16.3 billion from the Paris Club refund and deployed N11.6 billion to service workers/ pensioners wage bill. This, he said translated to a commitment of more than 71 per cent of total receipt to service workers’ salaries and pension. Ikpeazu who commended the Federal Government for supporting the states at such a critical time, said that despite the efforts, challenges remain. He said: “The challenge has remained that while trying to clear the backlog of salaries, they keep piling as most of us can testify. This is as a result of the fact that allocations from the centre and Internally Generated Revenue (IGR: have not been enough to carry the monthly wage bill and other responsibilities. “ The governor also spoke on the efforts he made to block wastages and linkages from the system.

Ikpeazu

Such fiscal responsibility measures included the introduction of verification and biometric exercise to weed out ghost workers. These measures, he explained, helped in no small measure to ensure that workers get paid as at when due. “With the introduction of the verification and biometric exercises some issues such as ghost workers salaries, padding of salaries, and multiplicity of people receiving salaries from various units of the government has been addressed. “This has assisted the state greatly, as the monthly wage bill has been reduced from an average of N2.8 billion to N2.1 billion. Thus from this alone a saving of about N600m monthly has been achieved. When extrapolated in 34 months this amounts to about N16 billion that would have ordinarily gone into some individuals’ accounts,” he added. On the issue of pensions, he said: “Hitherto there were 19 sub-treasuries through which pensioners were paid. These sub-treasuries determined when and how to pay the pensioners. This brought about sharp practices in the system. The government therefore decided to abolish the sub-treasuries system. “To address this issue, the state embarked on a Pensioners Verification Exercise (PVE). This has helped the state to identify non-retirees in the system. Thereafter, the e-payment system was

Ikpeazu, who commended the Federal Government for supporting the states at such a critical time, said that despite the efforts, challenges remain

adopted. This led to the simultaneous payment of all pensioners through their banks. Today, pensioners receive their pay at the comfort of their respective homes. “Through the verifications, about 131 teachers who were supposed to have retired were identified. From the original date of their retirement till the date of the discovery, the government had paid them a total sum of N496m. The government is determined to convert the monies paid to them as either their pension or gratuity in future.” Speaking on how the state was able to achieve the laudable feat in the application of scarce funds, the governor said: “The state government has brought about transparency and decency in the system. We have built more confidence on the relationship between the labour unions and the government. This can be attested to by the trade unions leaders and their members in the state.” He explained that Abia State government was up to date in payment of salaries saying, “in essence, these are the painstaking reforms we have carried out since the inception of this administration.” He nevertheless stated that the state was still owing some outstanding salaries. He said: “The state has some challenges among the parastatals. Whereas some parastatals are up to date as a result of prudence and transparency, others are not.” It is crucial to note that the organizers of the conference selected Ikpeazu to make this presentation because, as stated by one of them, “he is one governor that transparently managed the extra inflows and bailout funds as expected by the federal government, labour unions and civil society organisations”. The All Progressives Grand Alliance’s governorship candidate in Abia State during the 2015 general elections, Alex Otti had earlier accused the Abia State Government of lack of transparency

in the disbursement of the funds. However, the state quickly countered the allegation by releasing to the public details of how the funds were disbursed. The state government even invited anticorruption agencies to investigate it to further prove that it had nothing to hide. It was not on Abia State that had been accused of not utilising the funds for the purpose for which they were released. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission had also claimed it was investigating some states governors for allegedly diverting the funds. The governors however, denied the allegation and challenged the commission to prove the allegation that the funds were diverted. The Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF), said the states would await the report of the EFCC investigation. Speculation had been rife that some states allegedly diverted the refunds made to them from the Paris Club debt deductions, prompting the investigation by the EFCC. Some states were also alleged to have used fictitious consultants to divert some of the money from the Paris Club refunds. Worried by the development, the Presidency reportedly ordered a full-scale investigation into the disbursement of the funds. But the chairman of the NGF and Zamfara State governor, Abdulaziz Yari, while defending his colleagues said the governors were ready for the probe. He expressed the governors’ support for the present administration’s war against corruption, but said that they would wait for the outcome of the EFCC investigation. The presidency reportedly ordered the investigation because it was disappointed that what was meant to be a goodwill gesture was compromised by selfish interests. rAppolos, the Chief Press Secretary to the Abia State governor, wrote in from Umahia.

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FEATURES

Acting Features Editor Charles Ajunwa Email charles.ajunwa@thisdaylive.com

Rising Drug Abuse Everyday, over a 500,000 bottles of codeine are consumed by young Nigerians across the country, same with the intake of tramadol, rohypnol, marijuana, and other opioids, an alarming trend that has subtly eaten deeply into the Nigerian fabric with children of all classes having a field day abusing these drugs. But parents, stakeholders and the society continue to live in self-denial as a time bomb waits to explode. Martins IďŹ jeh, Christopher Isiguzo, Ademola Babalola, and Emmanuel Addeh report

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hen Franklin and his siblings were growing up, they never thought any of them would go into drugs. They are from a Christian home where drug abuse is regarded as the worse sin to commit. He even hated those who smoke cigarette not to mention marijuana. The smell was a complete turn off for him.  But at 15, while in his final year in secondary school, he got influenced by his celebrity idol, who would come on screen with beverage bottles, talk fluently, and sometimes mention how he gets inspiration through highness. Franklin soon realised what his idol carries about in his bottle is a mixture of opioids and beverages. This looked absolutely glamorous to him. He then tried it out and loved the feel. That is how Franklin, who otherwise came from a well to do responsible home got hooked to tramadol and codeine. Franklin, now 18 years old believes the day he stops taking tramadol he may die. “I used to take 100 milligram daily, but I realised my body is becoming resistant to it. Now am on 200mg daily. I know I am treading a terrible path, but I have tried stopping but it hasn’t worked out. The more I try the more I take it.� Surprisingly, no member of his family knows till date he is into drugs. “I often mash it into soft drinks, and no one has noticed in my house, not even my mum who is very interactive and observant.� Twenty-three years old Jasper from Abia State, who was very brilliant back in secondary school started smoking marijuana at age 17, the same year he got admission into the university. Jasper started well in class until he was introduced to smoking cigarette and then marijuana. “At a point I wasn’t getting satisfaction from marijuana. That was how I decided to look for substances that will give me a stronger feeling. I then decided to be living on tramadol, rohypnol and codeine,� he said. Like the euphoria it gave him, Jasper started missing classes, started spending all his school

money on drugs because he needed to maintain the certain level of that ‘highness’ constantly. Exams came and he couldn’t cope until he was advised by the management to withdraw; all within his first year in school. “Like a second opportunity, I got another admission a year later in Rivers State to read Law. But because I had been deep into drugs, it was easier for me to identify drug addicts and cultists in school from the very beginning, and quickly, I pitched tents with them. We were always together constantly living on drugs. “I would go to class ‘high’, I would read ‘high’, and I would even write exams in the same state. There were times during my exams, I would go to class with so much substance in my blood stream, and the next thing will be that I would sleep off during exams.� Jasper, who spent three years of his school fees on drugs, again couldn’t cope with classes. “While my class mates are done with Law education now and are set for their National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) posting, I am still in 300 level in the school because I couldn’t meet up with them because of the lifestyle I was living. I have deferred my admission now because I needed help first to tackle the addiction problem. I just wanted to be free from the addiction that almost ruined me. “My Dad is a Bishop and I was not just a brilliant child, I was very close to God, but drugs took everything my parents cherished in me away. There were times I even fasted and prayed that God should take this addiction away from me. But while I was fasting and praying, I would still go out to take the drugs on empty stomach. I couldn’t even leave tramadol during fasting and prayer time. It became a spirit controlling me until now that am into rehabilitation,� Jasper told THISDAY in Lagos where during his graduation from a rehabilitation school, House of Joy owned by the Redeemed Christian Church of God.  Hard drugs is no respecter of persons “Hard drugs can reduce a Professor or President of a country to the level of a mechanic who is also on drugs. It does not discriminate, it will reduce you to its level until you become a scum to the

society,� these were the words of a former drug addict, a 65 years old Professor of French and English Semantics, Prof. Ayo Adegoke-Craig, who learnt his lesson the hard way. Adegoke-Craig, who spoke to THISDAY said he started taking hard drugs from his secondary school days, and then when he got admission into a UK university, cocaine intake became part of him 24 hours a day. “Initially when I started taking it, I felt it was helping me write, it was much later I discovered it wasn’t the reason, I was naturally a good writer. “A while later, I got married and had a child, but they all ran away when they discovered I couldn’t eat, think or continue discussions without the influence of hard drugs. At a time I had to come to Nigeria to stay,� he said. Revealing that as a Professor who had made name for himself, he came back to Nigeria to live as a pauper, a bachelor and a reduced human, he said, “It was at this point I started looking for help, because I was fast losing my pride. Food became my worst enemy, and I could wear one shirt for days because I only had one interest, which was to satisfy my body. The professor, whose quest for solutions took him to three different countries, said he first went to Asia where they

told him with acupuncture he would be fine and free from the addiction, but the more he took the treatment, the more he was getting the urge to keep abusing drugs. “I then had to continue my research until I discovered there was a therapy in Bolivia. I embarked on another journey to Bolivia where I was told the coca leafs would be used for my treatment. “After the treatment, I didn’t just continue the life, I even bought cocaine in large quantity in that country, which I brought back with me to Nigeria. I went to Bolivia to get help, but I left there with more cocaine. I was becoming more miserable by the day.� But luckily, Prof. Adegoke-Craig has been able to tackle the addiction. He however paid the price of losing his job and family for that to happen. In Niger Delta, drug use is a time bomb waiting to explode “Leave me o, oga journalist,� said 25 years old Rose, a regular visitor to one of the lounges on Ingbi Road, off Mbiama/Yenagoa Road, who was quite reluctant to talk about her consistent round of “boozes� at the popular lounge which also serves as a night club, but on further persistence, the ordinary National Diploma holder eventually

My Dad is a Bishop and I was not just a brilliant child, I was very close to God, but drugs took away everything my parents cherished in me. There were times I even fasted and prayed that God should take this addiction away from me. But while I was fasting and praying, I would still go out to take the drugs on empty stomach. I couldn’t even leave tramadol during fasting and prayer time. It became a spirit controlling me until now that I have been rehabilitated

T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2017

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FEATURES RISING DRUG ABUSE decided to open up. Rose’s story wasn’t markedly different from those of many in the same shoes as hers around the world whose only source of joy, as Senator Ben Murray-Bruce recently put it, is to find solace and escape from reality in the abuse of what is supposed to be regular over-the-counter drugs or outright consumption of narcotics. She was influenced by a peer. Now fully relaxed with a bottle of her favourite beer, puffing away a stick of cigarette from a pack on the table, Rose narrated how her school boyfriend about five years ago influenced her to taste marijuana for the first time. From then onward, Rose became hooked to marijuana, then graduated to tramadol and other opioids. Like Rose, many youths from the Niger Delta region are hooked on the high that taking hard drugs brings, even if ephemeral. Statistics show that since the past 10 years, there is significant increase in the use of substance by young Niger Deltans between the ages of 14 and 30, a scenario that suggests the region is on a time bomb waiting to explode if nothing is done to tackle it.

Kano is hub for substance abuse in the North

A university Don and Professor of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Nelson Ochekpe, has disclosed that recent research suggests that over 60 per cent of substance abuse occurs in Northern Nigeria with Kano State being its major hub. No wonder the former Director General, NDLEA, Olarewaju Ipinmisho, once raised the alarm that there is rising incidence of drug abuse in the North, saying specifically that seven out of 10 youths, especially in Kano are on drugs. He believed no matter what government does for its people, if the youths are on drugs, effects of government benefits will not be felt. “That is why we are not moving forward in this country. The President may rule for four years and achieve nothing because he is pouring water in a basket and this predicament is the drainage through which the efforts are lost. The wife of Nigeria’s President, Aisha Buhari, recently raised an alarm early in the year when she visited Kano State. She said Northern youths, including women, were wasting their lives with drug abuse. She urged political and religious leaders in the region to urgently find a solution to the menace. Recently, Kano State raided markets and discovered hard drugs worth millions of naira. The Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, recently confirmed the seizure of more than five tons of Benilyn this year alone, adding that a major seizure was from a warehouse whose owner alleged that he got his supplies from Onitsha Market in Anambra State. Some school of thoughts believe the high unemployment rate and the Boko Haram insurgency in the North is part of factors fueling the menace. A consultant psychiatrist, Bayo Aduwo says over half a million bottles of codeine are consumed by Nigerians daily, with about 300,000 of such bottles sold in the North alone.

How Second World War fuelled production of hard drugs in South-west, others Drug abuse among Nigerian youths is as old as human existence. The habitual effect derives from unmitigated peer influence, parental negligence and government’s inability to stem the tide for ages, are major concern threatening the wars against its control. Drugs are known to induce social vices, civil upheavals and other forms of criminalities. In South-west Nigeria however, like other parts of the country, reports say the problem of drugs began to assume very worrisome dimensions at the end of the Second World War following the return of some Nigerian soldiers from mainly, Burma, India, where they had fought. One of the negative consequences of the war was the return of the soldiers with some seeds of cannabis sativa, also known as Indian Hemp, which they in turn experimented and discovered that the illicit plant could do well in some parts of the country. With time, the cultivation of cannabis sativa began to grow and so was the trafficking and abuse of the cannabis plant. Drug barons soon discovered that the geographical location of Nigeria, its thick population, bustling commerce, and vibrant air transportation hold so much attraction for a thriving drug business. This

Young girls are increasingly being hooked

What substance abuse does is that it rewires circuitry of the brain in a semi-permanent way, especially at the frontal lobe, the part of the brain responsible for planning, judgment and other higher executive decisions, such that everything the brain will be thinking about will be how to obtain psychoactive drug so they can continuously get that feeling. This is the science and neurology of addiction and this makes it clearly a medical problem, not a behavioural or spiritual problem led to the experimentation with category ‘A’ drugs such as cocaine, heroin and other psychotropic substances; a situation that has made the country a drug trafficking/transit point. In order to address this growing problem of illicit drugs, Nigeria has remained proactive in its counter-narcotic initiatives. In view of the fact that the drug menace continued to rise in profile, the Federal Government of Nigeria established a new body, independent of other existing law enforcement agencies in the country called the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), way back in 1989. The establishment of NDLEA was Nigeria’s deliberate effort at evolving an institutional framework for the suppression of the drug cankerworm. This is also in fulfillment of the country’s international obligation, as a signatory to the 1988 UN Convention, which recommended separate bodies to lead the onslaught against the ravaging drug menace in many parts of the world. Until the advent of the NDLEA, the Board of Customs and Excise (now Nigeria Customs Service) and the Nigeria Police were the major drug interdiction organs of government, while the Federal Welfare Department was charged with the counselling, treatment and rehabilitation of drug dependent persons.

Tobacco companies lure youths into smoking

Researchers have uncovered how tobacco companies are luring unsuspecting Nigerian youths into smoking at a tender age. Findings by two research groups; Nigerian Tobacco Control Research Group and Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth Nigeria revealed this after comprehensive researches in selected public secondary schools and states of the federation. The groups which have been conducting researches on the effects of tobacco use particularly on children made this known during a public presentation of a report carried out in five of the

six geopolitical zones in the country. The report, titled: ‘Big Tobacco Tiny Targets, tobacco companies targeting of school children in Nigeria’, sampled 221 schools in cities like Ibadan, Kaduna, Enugu, Lafia and Lagos representing the various geopolitical zones of the country. Dr. Adebiyi Akindele at St. Pauls School, Yemetu Ibadan disclosed that there are evidences of a pattern of the sale of tobacco products, including cigarettes, within 100 metres of school environments across selected towns in the country linking the practice to leading tobacco producers in the country. The findings also revealed a number of themes that clearly identifies the deliberate use of marketing strategies to stimulate the interest of children and youths in tobacco products. It added that only in a few stores and kiosks were the warning signage on the prohibition of sales to minors seen and even in these instances, they could not have served as a strong deterrent because of their often obscure placement. According to the report which condemns the use of systematic approach of targeting youths through visual appeal methods and such other placement of tobacco products on the counter and other positions easily accessible to youths, the researchers noted that the practice is a vagrant contravention of Article 16 of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) which specifies the prohibition of sale of tobacco products in any manner by which they are directly accessible to minors. They have therefore advocated for concrete actions and continued watchfulness of major stakeholders including parents, education authorities, teachers, women groups, professional groups and media on the grave harm of getting children hooked on tobacco. In its recommendation, the report disclosed that the location of a point of sales for tobacco within 100 metres of schools is a deliberate ploy of tobacco companies like BAT, PMI and ITC to stimulate children and youths into early interest in tobacco products.

“The delay in the implementation of the National Tobacco Control Act 2015 with provisions banning the placement of tobacco products at educational establishments and access of youths to tobacco products is particularly worrisome and if this situation is not quickly checked, we may likely experience an increase in the number of tobacco users as predicted by the WHO. “The enforcement of the comprehensive prohibition of tobacco advertising and sponsorship (TAPS) including point of sales and product display should be enhanced by the National Assembly urgently approving the regulations guiding the implementation of the National Tobacco Control Act 2015. “The Federal Ministry of Health and the Federal Ministry of Education should work together to ban the location of point of sales of tobacco products within 100 metres of all schools. This should be enforced at state and local government levels by state ministries of education and local education authorities. “We further advocate for concrete actions and continued watchfulness of major stakeholders like parents, education authorities, teachers, women groups, professional groups and media on the grave harm getting children hooked on tobacco would cause.”

BAT’s response

In countering the research material above, an Area Corporate Affairs of BAT, Abimbola Okoya responded to THISDAY email thus: “We are proud to state that we are a reputable and responsible law abiding corporate organisation, who market and sell our tobacco products in a responsible manner and strictly adhere to our own self-imposed International Marketing Principles that govern, regulate and monitor our marketing approach, within our controlled marketing universe, in countries in which we operate. “Our principles aim to prevent youth access and smoking at point of sale and discourages the sale of tobacco products near schools. It also strongly discourages the use of child labour at tobacco retail points to prevent minors from selling and promoting the use of tobacco products and we strictly monitor our trade partners with a view to ensuring we do not partner with anyone who engages under aged persons to sell our products. “Guided by our principled position, we are and remain an international organisation of repute who continues to contribute positively to the Nigerian economy in a responsible manner. We are committed to ensuring adherence to the Tobacco Control Act and regulations governing the sale and promotion of tobacco products in Nigeria. We will continue to advocate and drive for compliance to our International Marketing Principles now and in the future,” he added.

Girls and the growing love for tramadol, cough syrup

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IMAGES

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Photo Editor ĂŒĂ“Ă™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă˜ ÔËÖË Email Ă‹ĂŒĂ“Ă™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă˜Ë›Ă‹Ă”Ă‹Ă–Ă‹ĚśĂžĂ’Ă“Ă?ĂŽĂ‹ĂŁĂ–Ă“Ă Ă?Ë›Ă?Ù×

L-R: COO, CWG Plc, Kunle Ayodeji; Chairman, CWG Plc, Abiodun Fawunmi; Non-Executive Director, CWG Plc, Philip Obioha,; CWG Plc, Adedoyin Odunfa;, CEO, CWG Ghana, Harriet Yartey; CEO. CWG Plc, James Agada; Director, CWG Plc, Dr. Olusegun Oso, and, Founder/Vice Chairman, CWG Plc, Austin Okere at the CWG 25th Anniversary Gala/auction Night in Lagos... recently

Head, Business Technology, RMB Nigeria, Grema Ogboru; Abiola Adekoya, CEO, RMB Nigeria Stockbrokers, Muhtar Bakare “Speaker�, Director, Oreon Education, Michael Larbie, CEO RMB Nigeria & Regional Head West Africa, Kemi Owonubi, Senior Transactor, RMB Nigeria, Adeola Ukoha, Senior Transactor, RMB Nigeria and Ngozi KejawaCredit Operations Manager, RMB Nigeria during the bank’s Athena Breakfast Session on Entrepreneurship & Gender Balance in Lagos...recently.

L-R.; Vice President,Gas & Commercial, AITEO E& P, Mr. Victor Okoronkwo;;President, Nigerian Gas Association, Engr. Dada Thomas; Head Energy Group,FBN Quest Ltd, Ms Rolake Akinkugbe; Vice President, Nigerian Gas Association, Mrs. Audrey Joe-Ezigbo and Chairman,SPE Nigeria Council, Engr. Chikezie Nwosu during the ďŹ nancial Forum on invest in Nigeria’s gas future in Lagos... recently

L-R: Japan External Trade Organisation Deputy Trade Commissioner, Chiharu Yamamura, Trade Commissioner Managing Director Taku Miyazaki and Administative OďŹƒcer Folashade Odebode during the Japan External Trade Organisation Press Confrence to showcase Japan Pruducts in Upcoming Lagos International Trade Fair in Lagos.... recently

L-R: Head, South South Zone, Personal & Business Banking, Stanbic IBTC Bank, Mr Emeka Obasi; Director, Black Gem Cosmetics, Mrs Felicity Amure; Initiator, FarmSmart Initiative, Mr Tonye Lugard; and Head, Business Development, China Europe International Business School, Dr Thelma Opara, at the 2017 Stanbic IBTC SME training session in Port Harcourt,..recently

L-R; Gombe State, Governor, Ibrahim Dangwambo; President of ICAN, Alh. Ismaila Zakari and Chairman, Jaiz Bank, Umaru Muttallab during the 2017 Annual Dinner for the 47th Annual Accountants Conference held in Abuja....recently Julius Atoi

Representative of Director-General, Standard Organisation of Nigeria(SON), Engr. (Mrs) Oluremi Ayeni presenting the PAN CertiďŹ cation for lSO 9001:2015 certiďŹ cate to the Managing Director, PAN Nigeria, lbrahim Boyi at the SON’s oďŹƒce in Lagos....recently abiodun ajala

L-R: Chairman, Vigeo Group, Mr. Victor Gbolade Osibodu; CEO/Managing Director, Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Segun Ogunsanya and Chairman, Rubber Estate Limited, Mr. Ayo Olagundoye at the Nigeria-South Africa Chamber of Commerce (N-SACC) October Breakfast Meeting which also marked the 25th Anniversary Celebration of Phillip Consulting in Lagos...recentl

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BUSINESSWORLD R A T E S NIBOR OVERNIGHT 1-MONTH

A S

A T

NIBOR 15.3333% 17.0332%

3-MONTH 6-MONTH

20.1621% 23.1621%

M A R C H 9 , NITTY 1-MONTH 2-MONTH

Group Business Editor Chika Amanze-Nwachuku Email chika.amanzenwachukwu@thisdaylive.com 08033294157

2 0 1 7

13.0970% 14.0684%

3-MONTH 6-MONTH

15.7898% 19.6644%

EXCHANGE RATE N305.50//1US DOLLAR* ĚŠ

Quick Takes Sterling Bank Partners Ondo

YOU MUST DELIVER ON YOUR MANDATE

L-R: Secretary of the interim inter-agency management committee for Lagos International Trade Fair Complex, Mr. Chidi Nwafor; Director General, Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), Mr. Alex A. Okoh; Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Investment, Hajiya Aisha Abubakar; and Executive Director, Lagos International Trade Fair Centre, Mrs. Lucy Ajayi, at the inauguration of the interim inter-agency management committee for the Lagos International Trade Fair Complex... recently

SterlingBankPlchasdonated600customisedreflectiveuniformstothe OndoStateWasteManagementAuthority(OSWMA)fordistribution among highway sweepers and workers working with the agency. Inadditiontothereflectiveuniforms,SterlingBankalsodonatedkits, brooms,spades,bootsandrakestothewastemanagementauthority infulfillmentofitsCorporateSocialResponsibility(CSR)tothesociety. Speakingafterthepresentationoftheitemstothestategovernment in Akure, thebank’s Regional Business Executive, Commercial and Institutional Banking South-west 11, Mr. Ademola Olanrewaju Adeyemi explained that the bank was always willing to partner with organisationsthatarecommittedtokeepingtheenvironmentclean. AdeyemisaidSterlingBankwaskeenlyawarethattheburdenofkeeping the environment clean cannot be left to the state government alone to shoulder hence the intervention by the bank. He added that such assistanceisnotlimitedtoOndoStateasotherstatesofthefederation have also benefitted from the initiative. He added: “This donation is one of the ways through which Sterling Bank is contributing to the welfare of the community everywhere it operates. As I said earlier if the environment is bad and there is sickness everywhere we cannot live well. It is our hope that this donation will make the environment healthier and better for everybody in Ondo State.�

Nigeria, Russian Firm Seal Deal

Banking Stocks Remain Attractive, Lead Sectoral Gains with 69% Goddy Egene The banking sector of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) continued to lead as the best performer two months to the end of the year as investors remain bullish on the banking stocks. The performance of the banking stocks as shown by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) Banking Index is leading with a year-to-date growth of 69.34 percent. It has outperformed the NSE benchmark index, which has gained 35.68 per cent, by about 33.66 per cent. Other sectoral indices are trailing the NSE Banking Index. For instance, the NSE Consumer Goods Index has appreciated by 28.7 per cent, while the NSE Industrial Goods Index and NSE Insurance Index rose by 27.6 per cent and 10.1 per cent respectively. The NSE Oil & Gas Index has recorded a decline of 9.7 per cent.

CAPITAL MARKET THISDAY checks showed that investors renewed demand for banking stocks on the expectations that banks would benefit as the economy has recovered from recession, a development that they believe would impact positively on the performance of the banks at the end of the current financial year. Already some of the banks have recorded improved nine months results to September 30, 2017. Before the nine months results, some banks had recommended interim dividends. Some market operators said while the economy faced serious headwinds that pushed it into recession in 2016, some banks still posted impressive results and declared significant dividends. “It is therefore instructive for discerning investor to take position in the banking sector now

that there are strong indications that the economy would recover. When this happens, it means better performance for banks and higher returns to shareholders at the end of the year,� a stockbroker had said. The high demand for banking stocks, which lifted the sectoral index to a record high has also bolstered the share value of most of the stocks. For instance, Stanbic IBTC Holding Plc has surged 193 per cent, while United Bank for Africa Plc has garnered 112 per cent. Fidelity Bank Plc has advanced by 92 per cent FBN Holdings Plc has appreciated by 83.6 per cent, just as Zenith Bank Plc has chalked up 76.2 per cent. GTBank Plc and Ecobank Transnational Incorporated have chalked 70 per cent apiece. Access Bank Plc gained 67.2 per cent among others. Analysts at Meristem Securities Limited, had expressed

bullish sentiments towards the banking sector, saying that while the issues which plagued the sector in recent times were still prevalent to certain extents, the levels of income generation witnessed during the year, even in the face of significant credit loss charges, signal that the sector is driving towards another strong performance in 2017. They said: “Also, we expect more risk asset creation from the sector in 2017, when compared with the previous year when the growth in the nominal value of assets was due to the depreciation of the currency. While the issues plaguing the banking sector are still prevalent and significant, the resilience of the sector, in general, is not in doubt, in our opinion. We expect that with a re-surgence in the economy and improvement of macroeconomic Continued on page 24

Nigeria Told to Develop Innovative Ways to Fund Infrastructure Obinna Chima The FSDH Merchant Bank Limited has advised the federal government to develop constructive and innovative ways to revamp the country’s weak infrastructure. The Lagos-based firm reiterated that a well functional infrastructure was critical for the economy to generate revenue, saying it call to develop other ways of funding infrastructure in the country became necessary following the constraint of funds. FSDH, which stated this in a report, also noted that expected average oil production was aggressive, while the expected average exchange rate remained

ECONOMY conservative. “In addition, the expected capital expenditure of about N7.22 trillion between 2018 and 2020 is not sufficient to lift the economy from the current infrastructure deficiency. The rough estimate of the infrastructure expenditure gap in Nigeria at the moment is about N30 trillion,� it added. It further stated that the 20182020 Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) and the Fiscal Strategy Paper (FSP) that the federal government released recently, focused on some areas it thought were critical in raising

the revenue generating capacity of the Nigerian economy. The MTEF/FSP forms the basis on which the FGN’s yearly budget is developed. The focus of the 2018-2020 MTEF/FSP is to achieve the following: broaden revenue receipts by identifying and plugging revenue leakages; improve the efficiency and quality of capital spending; place greater emphasis on critical infrastructure; rationalise recurrent expenditure; and fiscal consolidation to maintain the fiscal deficit below 3% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). “FSDH Research’s analysis of the data that the International Monetary Fund (IMF) released shows that Nigeria recorded the

lowest revenue to GDP ratio (at 11%) between 2010 and 2016 among some selected countries,� it added. According to the report, some of the reasons for the low performance are: revenue leakages; weak infrastructure and institutions; inadequate structures to unlock revenue from agriculture, which is the largest contributor to the country’s GDP; and overreliance on one product (oil) as the source of revenue. It described some of the effects of this situation as widespread poverty and income inequality; and unsustainably high debt

Russia’sstate-ownedRosatomandNigeriahavesignedagreementsfor theconstructionandoperationofanuclearpowerplantandresearch centre in Africa’s biggest economy, Rosatom said on Monday. The deals are the latest signed by Russia’s state nuclear agency as it looks to expand in Sub-Saharan Africa beyond a planned bid to build nuclear power plants in South Africa. “The development of nuclear technologieswillallowNigeriatostrengthenitspositionasoneofthe leadingcountriesoftheAfricancontinent,�ReutersquotedRosatom’s vice president for overseas marketing and business development, AntonMoskvin,tohavesaidinastatement.Nigeria,whichfirstsigned a broad nuclear cooperation agreement with Rosatom in 2009, is turning to nuclear power as Africa’s most populous nation tries to end decades of blackouts that has hindered its economy. Moskvin signedtheagreementswiththechairmanofNigeria’sAtomicEnergy Commission,SimonMallam, onthesidelinesofanuclearconference inAbuDhabi.Feasibilitystudiesforthenewnuclearpowerplant,which would be the first in the continent’s main crude oil exporter, include sitescreeningandfinancingschemes,Moskvinsaid.Rosatom,South Korea’sKepco,France’sEDFandAreva,Toshiba-ownedWestinghouse andChina’sCGNarecompetingforSouthAfrica’sproject,whichcould beworthtensofbillionsofdollarstodevelopupto9,600megawatts, shoulditgetthegreenlightamidcostconcernsinastagnanteconomy. South Africa’s Koeberg power plant is the only commercial nuclear site in Africa.

FICAN, BudgIT Hold Forum

The Finance Correspondents Association of Nigeria (FICAN) and BudgiT,acivic-techorganisationhaveconcludedplantoholdaforum on effective budget monitoring and reporting.The inaugural ‘Meetthe-Executive,’ expected to hold in Lagos on November 7, 2017, has the theme: “Budget Analysis, Monitoring and Implementation: The Role of Financial Journalists.�The Chief Executive Officer of BudgIT, Mr.SeunOnigbinde,isexpectedtobetheguestspeakerattheevent. FICANistheumbrellabodyofjournalistsandbusinesseditorsreporting thefinancesectoroftheeconomy.TheAssociationhasmembership workinginprint,electronicandonlinemedia.The‘Meet-the-Executive’ forumisacapacitybuildingandagendasettingprogrammedesigned to deepen understanding of financial journalists of developments in the economy and enhance quality of reporting of such development. Foundedin2011,BudgITisacivicorganisationthatappliestechnologyto intersectcitizenengagementwithinstitutionalimprovement,tofacilitate societalchange.Apioneerinthefieldofsocialadvocacymeldedwith technology, BudgITuses an array of tech tools to simplify the budget and matters of public spending for citizens, with the primary aim of raising standard of transparency and accountability in government.

If the Nigerian government borrows less domestically, there would be more space for banks to channel credit to the private sector

IMF’s Mission Chief for Nigeria

Mr. Amine Mati Continued on page 24

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BUSINESSWORLD BANKING STOCKS REMAIN ATTRACTIVE, LEAD SECTORAL GAINS WITH 69% fundamentals, non-performing loan issues should dissipate and respite from this perspective should result in measured, appreciable risk asset creation, which should, in turn, drive growth further.� The analysts added that given the state of the economy, which has seen the Monetary Policy Committee deploy policy tools to support the currency and manage price levels, interest rate environment has supported top and bottom-line growths for the majority of banks with liquidity to deploy. NIGERIA TOLD TO DEVELOP INNOVATIVE WAYS TO FUND INFRASTRUCTURE service to revenue. “Thus, concerted polices and efforts are required to address these challenges in order to develop the Nigerian economy,� it added. The MTEF projects a benchmark crude oil price of US$45 per barrel for 2018 (US$44.5 in 2017 budget); oil production estimate of 2.3mbd (2.2mbd in 2017); and an average exchange rate of N305/US$ same as in 2017. It projects a GDP growth rate at 3.5% in 2018 in line with the projection of FSDH Research but higher than the projection of IMF at 1.9%. The MTEF expects inflation rate to end the year 2018 at 12.42% lower than 15.74% for 2017. Based on these assumptions, estimated aggregate revenue for the FGN for 2018 is N5.65trillion, 11% higher than N5.08trn approved in the 2017 budget. The oil revenue is projected to contribute N2.44 trillion. Non-oil revenues (Companies Income Tax, Value Added Tax, Customs and Excise duties, and Federation Account Levies) are estimated at N1.39trillion; Independent Revenue: N847.95 billion; Recoveries: N512.44 billion; and Others (including mining): N459.66 billion. The proposed expenditure for 2018 is N8.60 trillion, 15.59% increase over 2017 of N7.44 trillion.

NEWS

NAFDAC Slashes Registration Fees for Food and Products by 50% Laleye Dipo in Minna The National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control NAFDAC has slashed the registration fees for food and products by business outfits by 50%. The acting Director General, Mr. Ademola Mogbojuri, who disclosed this in Minna, Niger state on Monday, said that the decision was to boost manufacturing of goods and other businesses in the country. Speaking at a Stakeholders Consultative Forum for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMSE), Mogbojuri said the new initiative was also in support of the federal government’s initiative on Ease of Doing Business. Represented by Alhaji Abubakar Jimoh, NAFDAC Director of Special Duties, Mogbojuri said the free waivers on inspection, laboratory analysis and expert license granted to exporters of regulated products as well reduced in fees charged for registration of locally manufactured regulatory products were also to encourage business outfits in the country. He disclosed that the agency had begun the listing of products for a period of two years renewable afterwards

adding that some minor and small businesses would be registered at zonal levels to ease the bottleneck experienced in the past. Mogbojuri insisted that the measures were also aimed at promoting small and medium

enterprises and would assist businesses to grow in the country. He emphasised that the agency had keyed into the federal governments change agenda for the diversification of national economy. He warned staff of the agency

to avoid frustrating the registration, adding that registration of packaged water had now been reviewed to 90 days while that of bakery was 30 days. In his address, the Niger state Coordinator of the agency, Mr. Isah Ibrahim stressed the need

for all hands to be on deck to enable the issues of health safety succeed. Ibrahim however appealed to those seeking approvals from the agency to always submit their applications in good time and to follow due process.

SECURING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN BANKS

L-R: Chief Information Security OďŹƒcer, GTBank Plc, Mr. Bharat Soni; Managing Director/CEO, Digital Jewels Limited, Mrs. Adedoyin Odunfa; Head, Information Technology Strategy, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mrs. Nsuhoridem Okon, and Group Chief Information OďŹƒcer, Stanbic IBTC Holdings, Mr. Gboyega Dada at the Digital Jewels Q4 Information Value Chain Breakfast Forum in Lagos‌recently.

A’Ibom Govt, World Bank Train 800 on Community Devt Projects Okon Bassey in Uyo Eight hundred persons have been trained by the Akwa Ibom State Government in collaboration with the World Bank to implement community-based projects in 40 selected communities in Akwa Ibom State. Also, over N50million has been be disbursed in the partnership as first tranche payment for the execution of three projects each by the trained stakeholders of the beneficiary communities. The project covers provision of rural water, electricity, construction of culverts, school buildings, civic centres, rural markets, viewing centres and health centres will be implemented in phases within a period of one year. Presenting cheques to the beneficiary communities on behalf of the state government/ World Bank, the state’s accountant general, Pastor Uwem Andrew-Essien urged the beneficiaries to make judicious

use of the funds and provide the needed basic facilities in their communities. Andrew-Essien specifically tasked them to shun infighting, the laisser-faire attitude that it was government’s funds and should be eaten, mismanagement or misappropriation of the funds. “This money is meant for projects and not for eating. This is the first tranche; use it meticulously and religiously and finish the project�, saying the beneficiaries are expected to receive another money after inspection and satisfaction of work done on their previous projects�, he stressed. He commended the management and staff of the Akwa Ibom State Agency for Community and Social Development, (AKSCSD), for the strategy arrangement and effective organisation of the programme, saying the gesture would herald a development boom in the entire state. “If rural water is given at a go to 40 communities, or we give

light, or we build a school block, you can imagine the massive transformation that will bring to Akwa Ibom communities. That’s why I’m so elated,� he said. The accountant-general lauded the state governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel for supporting the agency and providing the counterpart funding that has resulted in the numerous projects to be provided in various communities in the state. He disclosed that the Emmanuel-led administration was committed to massive development of the state through the provision of counterpart funding to donor agencies for the execution of projects in the state. Andrew-Essien stressed that the state government was at the verge of providing counterpart funding for the implementation of the Nigerian Erosion and Watershed Management Project, (NEWMAP). Under this scheme, he said the NEWMAP will take away all erosion menace in our communities across the state

noting that there are a lot of projects that the World Bank is providing the state with counterpart funding from the state government The general manager of the AKSCSD, Mr. Ishmael Akpan said the gesture was part of the five-point agenda of the Governor Emmanuel administration which included wealth creation, economic and political inclusiveness, poverty alleviation, infrastructure consolidation and expansion and job creation. Akpan said the training was to prepare Community and Project Management Committee, (CPMC) members to talk on the role of implementing community-driven development, particularly, as it has to do with the responsibility of monitoring the implementation of micro-projects by communities in the state. He further said that the meeting was a capacity and partnership building planned to strengthen the participants as prescribed by the Community and Social

Development Projects, (CSDP), institutional arrangements as well as letting the beneficiaries to know the basic indicators that any monitoring team look for during projects implementation. The general manager who delivered a lecture on the “Roles and Responsibilities of Stakeholders in the Community Driven Development, (CDD)�, urged the participants to adhere strictly to the rules of the game; ensure team work; provide the necessary disclosures to the rest of the community members on the activities of the team on a regular basis as well as understand the contribution of their individual’s expertise to the success of the projects. Spokespersons of the beneficiary communities including Chief Henry Eka from Itu Local Government Area thanked the state governor and the World Bank for carrying them along in the development of their communities and assured of effective and prudent management of the funds.

Group Business Editor

Ă’Ă“Ă•Ă‹ Ă—Ă‹Ă˜Ă¤Ă?Ě‹ ĂĄĂ‹Ă?Ă’Ă&#x;Ă•Ă&#x; AgriBusiness/Industry Editor

ĂœĂ&#x;Ă?Ă™Ă? Ă?Ă‹Ă‘Ă“Ă? Comms/e-Business Editor

Ă—Ă—Ă‹ Ă•Ă™Ă˜Ă”Ă“ Capital Market Editor

ÙÎÎã Ă‘Ă?Ă˜Ă? Senior Correspondent

Ă‹Ă’Ă?Ă?Ă— Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ĂŒĂ™Ă–Ă&#x; (Advertising) Correspondents

Ă’Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂŽĂ&#x; äĂ? (Aviation) Ă“Ă˜ĂŽĂ‹ ĂœĂ™Ă•Ă? (Labour) ĂœĂ™Ă—Ă™Ă?Ă?Ă–Ă? ĂŒĂ“Ă™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă˜ (Cap Mkt) ÔÓÙĂ?Ă™Ăœ Ă–Ă“Ă•Ă? (Energy) Ă‹Ă—Ă?Ă? Ă—Ă?ÔÙ (Nation’s Capital) ĂŒĂ“Ă˜Ă˜Ă‹ Ă’Ă“Ă—Ă‹ (Money Mkt) Reporters

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FG Inaugurates Committee on Review of Draft National Transport Policy Kasim Sumaina in Abuja The federal government has inaugurated a 19 – man Committee to finalise the review of the draft National Transport Policy for Nigeria. Inaugurating the committee recently in Abuja, Minister of Transportation, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, charged the committee to produce the final document as quickly as possible so that it can be ratified by the appropriate authority and thereafter made available to the public.

He recalled that the National Transport Policy document had gone to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) where it was referred to the National Economic Council (NEC) for necessary input. According to him, “The NEC afterwards made some observations which involved making the policy statement and objectives to be Specific, Measurable, Accurate, Reliable, Time Bound (SMART) and implementable, with a chapter dedicated to implementation strategy and role definition

advising also that the Pipeline and Aviation modes of the policy document should be further enriched.� The Minister, represented by the Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Transportation, Sabiu Zakari, disclosed that the merging of the ministry made it easy to get the aviation sub sector to embellish its component while the newly created Department of Road Transport and Mass Transit Administration in the ministry has also enhanced the updated document.

He added that in order to further enrich the document, additional inputs were received from the Ministry of Petroleum Resources and provision was also made to accommodate Public Private Partnership (PPP) in the procurement of the national carriers in the sector. “A chapter for implementation time frame and the role of stakeholders was also included in the updated draft,� he said. Responding, the Chairperson of the newly inaugurated Committee, Barrister (Mrs.) Mfon

Usoro thanked the minster for the confidence repose in them and promised to work assiduously with her committee’s members within the time frame to achieve the objectives of government in the Transportation Sector. Usoro, who is the Secretary General, Abuja (MoU) on Port State Control added that the ministry is following worldwide consultations of wide spectrum stakeholders which would give the document wide acceptability in line with the international best practices.

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5 ) * 4 % ": t WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2017

Japan Pavilion Organizer:

Japan External Trade Organization 1st Floor (Road Wing), Foreshore Towers, 2A Osborne Road, Ikoyi, Lagos, NIGERIA info_lagos@jetro.go.jp +234-1-454-7643 http://www.jetro.go.jp/en/

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BUSINESSWORLD

NEWS

IMO Commends NIMASA’s Regional Search and Rescue Coordination Eromosele Abiodun The Secretary General of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Mr. Kitack Lim has commended the Nigeria Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) for its regional search and rescue coordination efforts. Lim made this assurance during the opening of the ongoing 4th Regional Technical Search and Rescue Committee meeting in Lagos, He stated that international trade is very critical to the world’s economy with estimation of 90 per cent of world trade and two thirds of its energy supplies carried by sea which makes safety paramount. He was represented by the Regional Coordinator, West and Central Africa-Anglophone, Technical Cooperation Division, IMO, Capt. Dallas Laryea Laryea commended NIMASA for its systematic and well laid-down procedures which the Agency has put in place to respond to emergencies that may occur at sea, especially in

the Gulf of Guinea. He charged the agency to continue to support the region and urged member states of the regional SAR to continue to collaborate to ensure a safe and secure West and Central African maritime domain. Speaking earlier, the Director General of NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Peterside restated the agency’s commitment towards the enforcement of strict safety regulations at sea, in order to ensure the protection of Marine Environment and Safety of assets. Peterside said that the establishment of an Emergency Service Division which is entrusted with the responsibility of rendering Search and Rescue Services to vessels and mariners in distress within the Nigerian territorial waters is a major accomplishment for the Agency. Peterside who was represented at the event by the agency’s Executive Director Maritime Labour and Cabotage Services, Mr Gambo Ahmed stated that the Agency as the regional coordinator of search and rescue for West and Central

Africa remains committed to leading the region in that light, adding that aside continuous trainings of SAR officials, NIMASA is coming up with other modalities to complement its SAR plan. According to him, “seafarers worldwide have the obligation to assist other ships in distress and as part of our commitment to SAR we have registered and trained volunteers as Maritime SAR Marshals in the riverine and inland areas. The psychic behind this is to ensure that these marshals are close to the loading/ unloading bays of river crafts and thus enforce strict observance of regulations with respect to safety of lives and assets at sea.� Nigeria is the host of the Regional Search and Rescue Coordinating Center and this is the 4th meeting of the Regional Search and Rescue Committee with attendance of member states which includes; Equatorial Guinea, Togo, Garbon, Democratic Republic of Congo, Congo Brazzaville, Benin Republic, Cameroun, Sao Tome & Principe, Nigeria.

Bala-Usman Promises to Partner ANLCA on Port Operations Eromosele Abidun The Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA), Hadiza Bala Usman has said that as a strong believer in partnership and collaboration, she will tap into the knowledge and experience of Women in the Association of Nigeria Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA), which will guide the authority in making policy decisions on Ports Operation. Bala Usman made this assertion while receiving a delegation of Women in ANLCA led by its Governor, Hajia Bola Muse who paid her a courtesy call in her office in Marina, Lagos recently. According to her, “I would like to say that in Nigerian Ports Authority, we believe in partnership and collaboration, we believe that there is a need for the Authority to reach out to critical Stakeholders and partner with them in any way we can,

We understand and appreciate your knowledge in the Industry and we know there is value in any relationship we have with you. Your knowledge and your operational experience in the Industry would help guide the Authority.� The NPA boss encouraged them to aspire to leadership positions and impact most positively in the Industry in the areas of mentorship and professional guidance. On the coming election of the national body in 2018, she encouraged the women to aspire to higher positions in all sectors especially in the maritime industry and pledged her readiness to assist them in accomplishing the objectives of the association. She further commended the efforts of the women in forming the association because according to her it requires a lot of efforts, resilience, adding that, “we will not rest on our oars to continue to see how we can

further amplify women and their roles within the society.� On her immediate appointment as the matron of the association, the NPA boss declared, “I am touched and honoured for appointing me as a matron. I am available for you and I will play my role as the Matron excellently.� Earlier, the Governor of the Women in ANLCA, in her welcome address described the Managing Director as an achiever and kind hearted Leader, whose performance as the first female managing director has been a source of inspiration for Womenfolk. She thereafter announced the official appointment of the Bala-Usman as matron of the association. Muse disclosed that Women in ANLCA, was formed in November 2014 as an umbrella body for all Women with the view to promoting gender equality in the affairs of the association.

Air Peace ConďŹ rms Arrest of Akure OfďŹ ce Burglars Chinedu Eze One of Nigeria’s carriers, Air Peace has confirmed the arrest of some of its former employees by security personnel of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) over the alleged burglary incident at its Akure Airport office on Sunday night. A statement issued by the Corporate Communications Manager of Air Peace, Mr. Chris Iwarah said the suspects worked for the airline for less than a month. The airline commended the vigilant FAAN security officers for resolving the riddle surrounding the burglary at its office within days.

The airline said its Akure office was burgled between Sunday night and Monday morning, with a safe containing millions of naira of sales proceeds carted away. Some former staff of the airline were however, arrested over the burglary on Thursday when one of them attempted to convey the stolen cash from where it was hidden in the bush. “We can confirm that some former members of our staff were on Thursday arrested as the suspects behind the burglary incident at our Akure office. “Background checks were conducted on the suspects before they were employed

in compliance with our strict employment procedure and no report of being involved in any previous crime was found against them. It is quite regrettable that some able-bodied members of the public would prefer crime to gainful employment. “We commend the vigilant FAAN security personnel for arresting the suspects and handing them over to the police for further investigation. We trust the police would ensure they are made to face the wrath of the law to serve as a deterrent to others with criminal tendencies,� Air Peace management said.

ELEVATING TO THE NEXT LEVEL Marie-Therese Phido

How Will the Fourth Industrial Revolution Impact? – Part 1 been consumers able to aord and access the digital world; technology has made possible new products and services that increase the eďŹƒciency and pleasure of our personal lives. Ordering a Ă?Ă‹ĂŒËœ ĂŒĂ™Ă™Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹ ĘŽĂ“Ă‘Ă’ĂžËœ ĂŒĂ&#x;ĂŁĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹ ĂšĂœĂ™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžËœ Ă—Ă‹Ă•Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹ ÚËã×Ă?Ă˜ĂžËœ Ă–Ă“Ă?ĂžĂ?Ă˜Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÙ Ă—Ă&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă?Ëœ ĂĄĂ‹ĂžĂ?Ă’Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹ Ę¨Ă–Ă—Ëœ Ă™Ăœ playing a game—any of these can now be done remotely.

Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă&#x;ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ?Ëœ ĂžĂ?Ă?Ă’Ă˜Ă™Ă–Ă™Ă‘Ă“Ă?Ă‹Ă– Ă“Ă˜Ă˜Ă™Ă Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ă™ Ă–Ă?Ă‹ĂŽ ÞÙ Ă‹ Ă?Ă&#x;ÚÚÖã̋Ă?Ă“ĂŽĂ? Ă—Ă“ĂœĂ‹Ă?Ă–Ă?Ëœ åÓÞÒ Ă–Ă™Ă˜Ă‘Ě‹ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ— Ă‘Ă‹Ă“Ă˜Ă? in eďŹƒciency and productivity. Transportation and Ă?Ù××Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă?Ă™Ă?ĂžĂ? ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– ĂŽĂœĂ™ĂšËœ ÖÙÑÓĂ?ÞÓĂ?Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‘Ă–Ă™ĂŒĂ‹Ă– Ă?Ă&#x;ÚÚÖã Ă?Ă’Ă‹Ă“Ă˜Ă? ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– ĂŒĂ?Ă?Ù×Ă? Ă—Ă™ĂœĂ? Ă?ĘĽĂ?Ă?ÞÓà Ă?Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă?Ăž Ă™Ă? ĂžĂœĂ‹ĂŽĂ? ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– ĂŽĂ“Ă—Ă“Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă’Ëœ Ă‹Ă–Ă– Ă™Ă? ĂĄĂ’Ă“Ă?Ă’ ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– ÙÚĂ?Ă˜ Ă˜Ă?ĂĄ Ă—Ă‹ĂœĂ•Ă?ĂžĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂŽĂœĂ“Ă Ă? Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă™Ă—Ă“Ă? Ă‘ĂœĂ™ĂĄĂžĂ’Ë› Ăž ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă‹Ă—Ă? ÞÓ×Ă?Ëœ Ă‹Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă™Ă—Ă“Ă?ĂžĂ? ĂœĂ“Ă• ĂœĂŁĂ˜Ă”Ă™Ă–Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă˜ĂŽĂœĂ?ĂĄ Ă? Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? ĂšĂ™Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă™Ă&#x;ĂžËœ ÞÒĂ? ĂœĂ?à ÙÖĂ&#x;ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă–ĂŽ ĂŁĂ“Ă?Ă–ĂŽ Ă‘ĂœĂ?Ă‹ĂžĂ?Ăœ Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă›Ă&#x;Ă‹Ă–Ă“ĂžĂŁËœ ĂšĂ‹ĂœĂžĂ“Ă?Ă&#x;Ă–Ă‹ĂœĂ–ĂŁ Ă“Ă˜ Ă“ĂžĂ? ÚÙÞĂ?Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă‹Ă– ÞÙ ĂŽĂ“Ă?ĂœĂ&#x;ÚÞ Ă–Ă‹ĂŒĂ™Ăœ Ă—Ă‹ĂœĂ•Ă?ĂžĂ?Ë› Ă? Ă‹Ă&#x;ĂžĂ™Ă—Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă?Ă&#x;ĂŒĂ?ÞÓÞĂ&#x;ĂžĂ?Ă? Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă–Ă‹ĂŒĂ™Ăœ Ă‹Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă?Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ“ĂœĂ? Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă™Ă—ĂŁËœ ÞÒĂ? Ă˜Ă?Ăž ĂŽĂ“Ă?ÚÖËĂ?Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă™Ă? ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ•Ă?ĂœĂ? by machines might exacerbate the gap between returns to capital and returns to labor. On the other Ă’Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽËœ Ă“Ăž Ă“Ă? Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ă™ ÚÙĂ?Ă?Ă“ĂŒĂ–Ă? ÞÒËÞ ÞÒĂ? ĂŽĂ“Ă?ÚÖËĂ?Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă™Ă? ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ•Ă?ĂœĂ? ĂŒĂŁ ĂžĂ?Ă?Ă’Ă˜Ă™Ă–Ă™Ă‘ĂŁ ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă–Ëœ Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹Ă‘Ă‘ĂœĂ?Ă‘Ă‹ĂžĂ?Ëœ ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă&#x;Ă–Ăž Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹ net increase in safe and rewarding jobs. We cannot Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă‹Ăž ÞÒÓĂ? ĂšĂ™Ă“Ă˜Ăž ĂĄĂ’Ă“Ă?Ă’ Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă˜Ă‹ĂœĂ“Ă™ Ă“Ă? Ă–Ă“Ă•Ă?Ă–ĂŁ ÞÙ Ă?Ă—Ă?ĂœĂ‘Ă?Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă’Ă“Ă?ĂžĂ™ĂœĂŁ Ă?Ă&#x;Ă‘Ă‘Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ? ÞÒËÞ ÞÒĂ? Ă™Ă&#x;ĂžĂ?Ù×Ă? Ă“Ă? Ă–Ă“Ă•Ă?Ă–ĂŁ ÞÙ ĂŒĂ? Ă?Ù×Ă? Ă?Ă™Ă—ĂŒĂ“Ă˜Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? ÞåÙ˛ ÙåĂ?Ă Ă?ĂœËœ

Ă‹Ă— Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă™Ă? Ă™Ă˜Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ě?ÞÒËÞ Ă“Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă&#x;ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ?Ëœ ÞËÖĂ?Ă˜ĂžËœ Ă—Ă™ĂœĂ? ĂžĂ’Ă‹Ă˜ Ă?Ă‹ĂšĂ“ĂžĂ‹Ă–Ëœ ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– ĂœĂ?ĂšĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă˜Ăž ÞÒĂ? Ă?ĂœĂ“ĂžĂ“Ă?Ă‹Ă– factor of production. This will give rise to a job Ă—Ă‹ĂœĂ•Ă?Ăž Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ă–ĂŁ Ă?Ă?Ă‘ĂœĂ?Ă‘Ă‹ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ™ ˍÖÙå̋Ă?Ă•Ă“Ă–Ă–Ëš ÖÙå̋ÚËãˏ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ËŤĂ’Ă“Ă‘Ă’Ě‹Ă?ÕÓÖÖ˚ÒÓÑÒ̋ÚËãˏ Ă?Ă?Ă‘Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ëœ ĂĄĂ’Ă“Ă?Ă’ in turn will lead to an increase in social tensions.

Ă˜ Ă‹ĂŽĂŽĂ“ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ÞÙ ĂŒĂ?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹ Ă•Ă?ĂŁ Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă™Ă—Ă“Ă? Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ëœ Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă›Ă&#x;ËÖÓÞã ĂœĂ?ĂšĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ? ÞÒĂ? Ă‘ĂœĂ?Ă‹ĂžĂ?Ă?Ăž Ă?Ă™Ă?Ă“Ă?ÞËÖ concern associated with the Fourth Industrial Ă?à ÙÖĂ&#x;ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ë› Ă’Ă? Ă–Ă‹ĂœĂ‘Ă?Ă?Ăž ĂŒĂ?Ă˜Ă?ʨĂ?Ă“Ă‹ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă? Ă“Ă˜Ă˜Ă™Ă Ă‹tion tend to be the providers of intellectual and ÚÒãĂ?Ă“Ă?Ă‹Ă– Ă?ËÚÓÞËÖĚ?ÞÒĂ? Ă“Ă˜Ă˜Ă™Ă Ă‹ĂžĂ™ĂœĂ?Ëœ Ă?Ă’Ă‹ĂœĂ?ÒÙÖÎĂ?ĂœĂ?Ëœ and investors—which explains the rising gap in wealth between those dependent on capital versus labor. Technology is therefore one of the Ă—Ă‹Ă“Ă˜ ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă? ĂĄĂ’ĂŁ Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ù×Ă?Ă? Ă’Ă‹Ă Ă? Ă?ĂžĂ‹Ă‘Ă˜Ă‹ĂžĂ?ĂŽËœ Ă™Ăœ Ă?Ă Ă?Ă˜ ĂŽĂ?Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă?ĂŽËœ Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă‹ Ă—Ă‹Ă”Ă™ĂœĂ“ĂžĂŁ Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? ÚÙÚĂ&#x;Ă–Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ in high-income countries: the demand for highly Ă?Ă•Ă“Ă–Ă–Ă?ĂŽ ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ•Ă?ĂœĂ? Ă’Ă‹Ă? Ă“Ă˜Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă?ĂŽ ĂĄĂ’Ă“Ă–Ă? ÞÒĂ? ĂŽĂ?Ă—Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă™Ăœ ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ•Ă?ĂœĂ? åÓÞÒ Ă–Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă?ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÖÙåĂ?Ăœ Ă?Ă•Ă“Ă–Ă–Ă? Ă’Ă‹Ă? ĂŽĂ?Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă?Ă?ĂŽË› Ă’Ă? ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă&#x;Ă–Ăž Ă“Ă? Ă‹ Ă”Ă™ĂŒ Ă—Ă‹ĂœĂ•Ă?Ăž åÓÞÒ Ă‹ Ă?ĂžĂœĂ™Ă˜Ă‘ ĂŽĂ?Ă—Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹Ăž ÞÒĂ? Ă’Ă“Ă‘Ă’ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ÖÙå Ă?Ă˜ĂŽĂ?Ëœ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ăž Ă‹ hollowing out of the middle. Ă’Ă“Ă? Ă’Ă?Ă–ĂšĂ? Ă?Ă˘ĂšĂ–Ă‹Ă“Ă˜ ĂĄĂ’ĂŁ Ă?Ă™ Ă—Ă‹Ă˜ĂŁ ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ•Ă?ĂœĂ? Ă‹ĂœĂ? ĂŽĂ“Ă?Ă“Ă–lusioned and fearful that their own real incomes and those of their children will continue to stagnate. It also helps explain why middle classes around the world are increasingly experiencing a pervasive Ă?Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ă? Ă™Ă? ĂŽĂ“Ă?Ă?ËÞÓĂ?Ă?Ă‹Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă?Ă‹Ă“ĂœĂ˜Ă?Ă?Ă?Ë› ĂĄĂ“Ă˜Ă˜Ă?ĂœĚ‹ ÞËÕĂ?Ă?Ě‹Ă‹Ă–Ă– Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă™Ă—ĂŁ ÞÒËÞ ÙʼĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă™Ă˜Ă–ĂŁ Ă–Ă“Ă—Ă“ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă? to the middle class is a recipe for democratic malaise and dereliction. Discontent can also be fueled by the pervasiveness of digital technologies and the dynamics Ă™Ă? Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ—Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă?Ă’Ă‹ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞãÚÓʨĂ?ĂŽ ĂŒĂŁ Ă?Ă™Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă– Ă—Ă?ĂŽĂ“Ă‹Ë› Ă™ĂœĂ? ĂžĂ’Ă‹Ă˜ ͹͎ ĂšĂ?ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă˜Ăž Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă‘Ă–Ă™ĂŒĂ‹Ă– ÚÙÚĂ&#x;Ă–Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă˜Ă™ĂĄ Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă™Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă– Ă—Ă?ĂŽĂ“Ă‹ ÚÖËÞĂ?Ă™ĂœĂ—Ă? ÞÙ Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂžËœ Ă–Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂ˜Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă’Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ—Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ë› Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜ Ă“ĂŽĂ?Ă‹Ă– ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ–ĂŽËœ these interactions would provide an opportunity for cross-cultural understanding and cohesion. ÙåĂ?Ă Ă?ĂœËœ ÞÒĂ?ĂŁ Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ă™ Ă?ĂœĂ?Ă‹ĂžĂ? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂšĂœĂ™ĂšĂ‹Ă‘Ă‹ĂžĂ? unrealistic expectations as to what constitutes Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă™Ăœ Ă‹Ă˜ Ă“Ă˜ĂŽĂ“Ă Ă“ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă‹Ă– Ă™Ăœ Ă‹ Ă‘ĂœĂ™Ă&#x;ĂšËœ Ă‹Ă? ĂĄĂ?Ă–Ă– Ă‹Ă? ÙʼĂ?Ăœ opportunities for extreme ideas and ideologies to spread.â€? Ă?âÞ ĂĄĂ?Ă?Ă•Ëœ ĂĄĂ? ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– Ă?Ă™Ă?Ă&#x;Ă? Ă™Ă˜ ÒÙå ÞÒĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂžĂ’ Ă“Ă˜ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă– ĂœĂ?à ÙÖĂ&#x;ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– Ó×ÚËĂ?Ăž ĂŒĂ&#x;Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă?Ëœ ÑÙà Ă?ĂœĂ˜Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžËœ ĂšĂ?ÙÚÖĂ? and shape government. Challenges and opportunities . Ă“Ă•Ă? ÞÒĂ? ĂœĂ?à ÙÖĂ&#x;ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? ÞÒËÞ ĂšĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?ĂŽĂ?ĂŽ Ă“ĂžËœ ÞÒĂ? Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂžĂ’ .– Marie-Therese Phido is Sales & Market Industrial Revolution has the potential to raise Strategist and Business Coach Ă‘Ă–Ă™ĂŒĂ‹Ă– Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ù×Ă? Ă–Ă?Ă Ă?Ă–Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă“Ă—ĂšĂœĂ™Ă Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă›Ă&#x;ËÖÓÞã Ă™Ă? Ă–Ă“Ă?Ă? Ă?Ă™Ăœ ÚÙÚĂ&#x;Ă–Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă‹ĂœĂ™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽ ÞÒĂ? ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ–ĂŽË› Ă™ ĂŽĂ‹ĂžĂ?Ëœ Email: mphido@elevato.com.ng those who have gained the most from it have tweeter handle @osat2012 TeL: 08090158156 (text only)

ĂĄĂ‹Ă? Ă‹Ă?Ă•Ă?ĂŽ ÞÙ ×ÙÎĂ?ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ? Ă‹ ĂšĂ‹Ă˜Ă?Ă– Ă“Ă˜ Ă‹ĂšĂ? Ă™ĂĄĂ˜ Ă‹Ăž ÞÒĂ? Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă‹ Ù×Ă?Ă˜ Ă˜ĂžĂœĂ?ĂšĂœĂ?Ă˜Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă– Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă˜Ă˜Ă™Ă Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă™ĂœĂ&#x;Ă— Ě™ ̚˛ Ă’Ă? ÞÙÚÓĂ? focused on the new digital economy and the fourth industrial revolution. Before I got this ÞÙÚÓĂ?Ëœ Ă’Ă‹ĂŽ Ă’Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂŽ Ă?Ă˜Ă“ĂšĂšĂ?ĂžĂ? Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ—Ă“Ă˜Ă™Ă–Ă™Ă‘ĂŁËœ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ăž Ă’Ă‹ĂŽ Ă˜Ă™Ăž Ă?Ă™Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă?ĂŽ Ă™Ă˜ ÓÞ˛ Ă˜ Ă—ĂŁ ĂĄĂ‹ĂŁ ĂŒĂ‹Ă?Ă•Ëœ

Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ă™ ĂŒĂ™Ă&#x;Ă‘Ă’Ăž ÞÒĂ? ĂŒĂ™Ă™Ă• ÞÓÞÖĂ?ĂŽËœ ËŤ Ă’Ă? Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂžĂ’

Ă˜ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă– Ă?à ÙÖĂ&#x;ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ë? ĂĄĂ’Ă‹Ăž Ă“Ăž Ă—Ă?Ă‹Ă˜Ă?Ëœ ÒÙå ÞÙ ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂšĂ™Ă˜ĂŽËŹËœ ĂŒĂŁ Ă–Ă‹Ă&#x;Ă? Ă?Ă’ĂĄĂ‹ĂŒ ÞÙ Ă‘Ă“Ă Ă? Ă—Ă? Ă‹ ĂŽĂ?Ă?ĂšĂ?Ăœ understanding. Below is an excerpt of the ĂŒĂ™Ă™Ă• Ă?Ă™Ăœ ĂŁĂ™Ă&#x;Ăœ Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ—Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă•Ă˜Ă™ĂĄĂ–Ă?ĂŽĂ‘Ă? ĂŒĂ‹Ă?Ă?Ë› ËŤ Ă? Ă?ĂžĂ‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă™Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? ĂŒĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă• Ă™Ă? Ă‹ ĂžĂ?Ă?Ă’Ă˜Ă™Ă–Ă™Ă‘Ă“Ă?Ă‹Ă– ĂœĂ?à ÙÖĂ&#x;tion that will fundamentally alter the way we Ă–Ă“Ă Ă?Ëœ ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ•Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂœĂ?Ă–Ă‹ĂžĂ? ÞÙ Ă™Ă˜Ă? Ă‹Ă˜Ă™ĂžĂ’Ă?ĂœË› Ă˜ Ă“ĂžĂ? Ă?Ă?Ă‹Ă–Ă?Ëœ Ă?Ă?ÙÚĂ?Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ù×ÚÖĂ?Ă˘Ă“ĂžĂŁËœ ÞÒĂ? ĂžĂœĂ‹Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ—Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– ĂŒĂ? Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă–Ă“Ă•Ă? Ă‹Ă˜ĂŁĂžĂ’Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă’Ă&#x;Ă—Ă‹Ă˜Ă•Ă“Ă˜ĂŽ Ă’Ă‹Ă? Ă?âÚĂ?ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂŽ ĂŒĂ?Ă?Ă™ĂœĂ?Ë› Ă? ĂŽĂ™ Ă˜Ă™Ăž ĂŁĂ?Ăž Ă•Ă˜Ă™ĂĄ Ă”Ă&#x;Ă?Ăž ÒÙå Ă“Ăž ĂĄĂ“Ă–Ă– Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă?Ă™Ă–ĂŽËœ ĂŒĂ&#x;Ăž Ă™Ă˜Ă? ĂžĂ’Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă“Ă? Ă?Ă–Ă?Ă‹ĂœË? ÞÒĂ? ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂšĂ™Ă˜Ă?Ă? ÞÙ Ă“Ăž Ă—Ă&#x;Ă?Ăž ĂŒĂ? Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ă‘ĂœĂ‹ĂžĂ?ĂŽ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă™Ă—ĂšĂœĂ?Ă’Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ă“Ă Ă?Ëœ Ă“Ă˜Ă Ă™Ă–Ă Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹Ă–Ă– Ă?ÞËÕĂ?ÒÙÖÎĂ?ĂœĂ? Ă™Ă? ÞÒĂ? Ă‘Ă–Ă™ĂŒĂ‹Ă– ĂšĂ™Ă–Ă“ĂžĂŁËœ from the public and private sectors to academia and civil society. The First Industrial Revolution used water and steam power to mechanise production. The Second used electric power to create mass production. The Third used electronics and information technology to automate production. Now a Fourth Industrial Revolution is building Ă™Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? Ă’Ă“ĂœĂŽËœ ÞÒĂ? ÎÓÑÓÞËÖ ĂœĂ?à ÙÖĂ&#x;ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ÞÒËÞ Ă’Ă‹Ă? ĂŒĂ?Ă?Ă˜ occurring since the middle of the last century. It is characterised by a fusion of technologies ÞÒËÞ Ă“Ă? ĂŒĂ–Ă&#x;ĂœĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ ÞÒĂ? Ă–Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă? ĂŒĂ?ÞåĂ?Ă?Ă˜ ÞÒĂ? ÚÒãĂ?Ă“Ă?Ă‹Ă–Ëœ ĂŽĂ“Ă‘Ă“ĂžĂ‹Ă–Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂŒĂ“Ă™Ă–Ă™Ă‘Ă“Ă?Ă‹Ă– Ă?ÚÒĂ?ĂœĂ?Ă?Ë› There are three reasons why today’s transformations represent not merely a prolongation of the Third Industrial Revolution but rather the Ă‹ĂœĂœĂ“Ă Ă‹Ă– Ă™Ă? Ă‹ Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂžĂ’ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂŽĂ“Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă?Ăž Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ë? Ă Ă?Ă–Ă™Ă?Ă“ĂžĂŁËœ Ă?Ă?ÙÚĂ?Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?ĂŁĂ?ĂžĂ?Ă—Ă? Ó×ÚËĂ?Þ˛ Ă’Ă? Ă?ĂšĂ?Ă?ĂŽ Ă™Ă? Ă?Ă&#x;ĂœĂœĂ?Ă˜Ăž ĂŒĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă•ĂžĂ’ĂœĂ™Ă&#x;Ă‘Ă’Ă? Ă’Ă‹Ă? Ă˜Ă™ Ă’Ă“Ă?ĂžĂ™ĂœĂ“Ă?Ă‹Ă– precedent. When compared with previous Ă“Ă˜ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă– ĂœĂ?à ÙÖĂ&#x;ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ëœ ÞÒĂ? Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂžĂ’ Ă“Ă? Ă?Ă Ă™Ă–Ă Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ at an exponential rather than a linear pace. Ă™ĂœĂ?Ùà Ă?ĂœËœ Ă“Ăž Ă“Ă? ĂŽĂ“Ă?ĂœĂ&#x;ĂšĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă‹Ă–Ă—Ă™Ă?Ăž Ă?Ă Ă?ĂœĂŁ Ă“Ă˜ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂœĂŁ Ă“Ă˜ Ă?Ă Ă?ĂœĂŁ Ă?Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂžĂœĂŁË› Ă˜ĂŽ ÞÒĂ? ĂŒĂœĂ?ËÎÞÒ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂŽĂ?ÚÞÒ of these changes herald the transformation of Ă?Ă˜ĂžĂ“ĂœĂ? Ă?ĂŁĂ?ĂžĂ?Ă—Ă? Ă™Ă? ĂšĂœĂ™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ëœ Ă—Ă‹Ă˜Ă‹Ă‘Ă?Ă—Ă?Ă˜ĂžËœ and governance. The possibilities of billions of people conĂ˜Ă?Ă?ĂžĂ?ĂŽ ĂŒĂŁ Ă—Ă™ĂŒĂ“Ă–Ă? ĂŽĂ?Ă Ă“Ă?Ă?Ă?Ëœ åÓÞÒ Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂšĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?ĂŽĂ?Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂŽ ĂšĂœĂ™Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ ÚÙåĂ?ĂœËœ Ă?ĂžĂ™ĂœĂ‹Ă‘Ă? Ă?ËÚËĂ?Ă“ĂžĂŁËœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă‹Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă?Ă? ÞÙ Ă•Ă˜Ă™ĂĄĂ–Ă?ĂŽĂ‘Ă?Ëœ Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă&#x;Ă˜Ă–Ă“Ă—Ă“ĂžĂ?ĂŽË› Ă˜ĂŽ ÞÒĂ?Ă?Ă? possibilities will be multiplied by emerging ĂžĂ?Ă?Ă’Ă˜Ă™Ă–Ă™Ă‘ĂŁ ĂŒĂœĂ?Ă‹Ă•ĂžĂ’ĂœĂ™Ă&#x;Ă‘Ă’Ă? Ă“Ă˜ ʨĂ?Ă–ĂŽĂ? Ă?Ă&#x;Ă?Ă’ Ă‹Ă? Ă‹ĂœĂžĂ“Ę¨Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă– Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ă–Ă–Ă“Ă‘Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ëœ ĂœĂ™ĂŒĂ™ĂžĂ“Ă?Ă?Ëœ ÞÒĂ? Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ˜Ă?Ăž Ă™Ă? Ă’Ă“Ă˜Ă‘Ă?Ëœ Ă‹Ă&#x;ĂžĂ™Ă˜Ă™Ă—Ă™Ă&#x;Ă? Ă Ă?Ă’Ă“Ă?Ă–Ă?Ă?Ëœ ͹̋ ĂšĂœĂ“Ă˜ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘Ëœ Ă˜Ă‹Ă˜Ă™ĂžĂ?Ă?Ă’Ă˜Ă™Ă–Ă™Ă‘ĂŁËœ ĂŒĂ“Ă™ĂžĂ?Ă?Ă’Ă˜Ă™Ă–Ă™Ă‘ĂŁËœ Ă—Ă‹ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă–Ă? Ă?Ă?Ă“Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ëœ Ă?Ă˜Ă?ĂœĂ‘ĂŁ Ă?ĂžĂ™ĂœĂ‹Ă‘Ă?Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă›Ă&#x;Ă‹Ă˜ĂžĂ&#x;Ă— Ă?Ù×ÚĂ&#x;ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘Ë› Ă–ĂœĂ?Ă‹ĂŽĂŁËœ Ă‹ĂœĂžĂ“Ę¨Ă?Ă“Ă‹Ă– Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?Ă–Ă–Ă“Ă‘Ă?Ă˜Ă?Ă? Ă“Ă? Ă‹Ă–Ă– Ă‹ĂœĂ™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂŽ Ă&#x;Ă?Ëœ Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă— Ă?Ă?Ă–Ă?Ě‹ĂŽĂœĂ“Ă Ă“Ă˜Ă‘ Ă?Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ě™Ă“Ă˜ ĂŽĂ?Ă Ă?ÖÙÚĂ?ĂŽ Ă?Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă™Ă—Ă“Ă?Ă?Ěš and drones to virtual assistants and software that translate or invest. Impressive progress Ă’Ă‹Ă? ĂŒĂ?Ă?Ă˜ Ă—Ă‹ĂŽĂ? Ă“Ă˜ Ă“Ă˜ ĂœĂ?Ă?Ă?Ă˜Ăž ĂŁĂ?Ă‹ĂœĂ?Ëœ ĂŽĂœĂ“Ă Ă?Ă˜ by exponential increases in computing power Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ ĂŒĂŁ ÞÒĂ? Ă‹Ă Ă‹Ă“Ă–Ă‹ĂŒĂ“Ă–Ă“ĂžĂŁ Ă™Ă? Ă Ă‹Ă?Ăž Ă‹Ă—Ă™Ă&#x;Ă˜ĂžĂ? Ă™Ă? ĂŽĂ‹ĂžĂ‹Ëœ from software used to discover new drugs to algorithms used to predict our cultural Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ?Ă?ĂžĂ?Ë› ÓÑÓÞËÖ Ă?Ă‹ĂŒĂœĂ“Ă?Ă‹ĂžĂ“Ă™Ă˜ ĂžĂ?Ă?Ă’Ă˜Ă™Ă–Ă™Ă‘Ă“Ă?Ă?Ëœ Ă—Ă?Ă‹Ă˜ĂĄĂ’Ă“Ă–Ă?Ëœ Ă‹ĂœĂ? Ă“Ă˜ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ‹Ă?ĂžĂ“Ă˜Ă‘ åÓÞÒ ÞÒĂ? ĂŒĂ“Ă™Ă–Ă™Ă‘Ă“Ă?Ă‹Ă– ĂĄĂ™ĂœĂ–ĂŽ Ă™Ă˜ Ă‹ ĂŽĂ‹Ă“Ă–ĂŁ ĂŒĂ‹Ă?Ă“Ă?Ë› Ă˜Ă‘Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ?Ëœ ĂŽĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă‘Ă˜Ă?ĂœĂ?Ëœ and architects are combining computational ĂŽĂ?Ă?Ă“Ă‘Ă˜Ëœ ËÎÎÓÞÓà Ă? Ă—Ă‹Ă˜Ă&#x;Ă?Ă‹Ă?ĂžĂ&#x;ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘Ëœ Ă—Ă‹ĂžĂ?ĂœĂ“Ă‹Ă–Ă? Ă?Ă˜Ă‘Ă“Ă˜Ă?Ă?ĂœĂ“Ă˜Ă‘Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?ĂŁĂ˜ĂžĂ’Ă?ÞÓĂ? ĂŒĂ“Ă™Ă–Ă™Ă‘ĂŁ ÞÙ ĂšĂ“Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă?Ăœ Ă‹ Ă?ĂŁĂ—ĂŒĂ“Ă™Ă?Ă“Ă? ĂŒĂ?ÞåĂ?Ă?Ă˜ Ă—Ă“Ă?ĂœĂ™Ă™ĂœĂ‘Ă‹Ă˜Ă“Ă?Ă—Ă?Ëœ Ă™Ă&#x;Ăœ ĂŒĂ™ĂŽĂ“Ă?Ă?Ëœ ÞÒĂ? ĂšĂœĂ™ĂŽĂ&#x;Ă?ĂžĂ? ĂĄĂ? Ă?Ă™Ă˜Ă?Ă&#x;Ă—Ă?Ëœ Ă‹Ă˜ĂŽ Ă?Ă Ă?Ă˜ the buildings we inhabit.

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FBN Holdings Raises Shareholders’ Hopes Goddy Egene writes that the growth reported by FBN Holdings Plc in its nine months’ results has given shareholders hopes of a higher dividend payout at the end of 2017 FBN Holdings Plc is one of the blue chip stocks on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) given the fact that it is the parent firm of First Bank of Nigeria Limited. Every investor would want to have FBN Holdings in its portfolio because of the many prospects. However, in terms of dividend payment, many holders of the stocks have been disappointed in recent times due to the low dividend they have been receiving, compared with its peers in the market. FBN Holdings have not been able to pay high dividend because of the decline in profitability. While some of its peers recorded increases in bottom-line, FBN Holdings suffered profit decline, majorly due to high provision for loans losses. At a point, it became a major issue and challenge for the board and management of the company, which took it upon themselves to tackle the matter. FBN Holdings then assured stakeholders that a robust risk management strategy was being adopted to ensure that the performance of the company change for the better going forward. However, going by the nine months results of the FBN Holdings, things are beginning to look up for the financial institution rekindling shareholders’ hopes for higher returns at the end of the year.

Financial results Details of the results showed that gross earnings rose by 5.2 per cent to N439.2 billion, from N417.4 billion in the corresponding period of 2016. Net interest income went up by 25.3 per cent to N254.3 billion from N202.9 billion, while non-interest income went down by 43.5 per cent from N131 billion in 2016 to N74 billion. The gross earnings were largely driven by a 27.8 per cent growth in interest income. This was partly offset by a 43.5 per cent decline in non-interest income. Interest income and non-interest income contributed 81.3 per cent and 18.7 respectively. The growth in interest income to gross earnings was driven by increased investment in securities. Impairment charge for credit losses fell by 14.9 per cent from N114.7 billion in 2016 to N97.6 billion in 2017 as the financial institution continues to progress on remediation and recoveries as well as asset quality strategies. Consequently, cost of risk decreased to 5.6 per cent (Sept 2016: 6.9 per cent); while the non-performing loans ratio declined to 20.1 per cent September 2016; 24.9 per cent December 2016. FBN Holdings posted profit before tax (PBT) of N55.4 billion, down marginally from N57.5 billion, while PAT rose by 7.8 per cent to N45.8 billion compared with N42.5 billion in the corresponding period of 2016. Total assets went up by 2.7 per cent to N4.9 trillion, up from N4.7 trillion, while customer deposits fell by 5.3 per cent to N3.0 trillion, from N3.1 trillion. Similarly, loans and advances to customers stood at N2.0 trillion, compared with N2.1 trillion. Further analysis of performance ratio showed that post-tax return on average equity improved from 9.4 per cent in 2016 to 10.1 per cent in 2017.Net interest margin improved from 7.5 per cent to 8.8 per cent. Also, non-performing loan ratio stood at 20.1 per cent, compared with 24.9 per cent in 2016. Total customer deposits declined by 5.3 per cent N2.9 trillion at September 30, 2017, down from N3.1 trillion in December 31, 2016, as the company focused on growing inexpensive deposit at the right mix. FBN Holdings said the group’s deposit base remains overall stable and strong with a growing retail franchise and about 13 million active customer accounts. Similarly, net total loans & advances to customers declined by 1.9 per cent to N2.0 trillion, from N2.1 trillion, following repay-

First bank hall

ments and write-off of assets that had been fully impaired. According to the company, this result speaks to the efforts being made to strengthen asset quality in a sustainable manner while cleaning up our legacy asset position.

Company explains performance Speaking on the results, the Group Managing Director of FBN Holdings, Mr. UK Eke said: “FBN Holdings has again demonstrated its resilience in revenue generation with a 5.2 per cent y-o-y growth in gross earnings to N439.2 billion following a y-o-y increase of 25.2 per cent in net interest income to N254.3 billion. The Group is progressing in building the right structures for sustainable growth through an improved credit culture and risk management; increased technologically driven operational efficiencies; and the introduction of revenue enhancing platforms.� He explained that the Insurance group sustained its strong performance and they expect to see further growth from the retail, corporate and annuity businesses. “Similarly, we continue to see strong growth trajectory in the Merchant Banking and Asset Management group. These businesses complement our commercial banking business in our

aspiration to becoming the leading financial services institution in Middle Africa. We remain confident that the initiatives being implemented across our subsidiaries will further strengthen our business and ultimately reposition the Group for sustainable growth,� Eke said. Commenting on the results, the MD/ CEO of First Bank and subsidiaries, Dr. Adesola Adeduntan said: “On the back of a stronger balance sheet and despite the challenging but improving economic environment, the commercial banking group delivered a 4.5 per cent growth in gross earnings - a testament to its resilient revenue generation capabilities. “To further support future revenue generation and in line with our strategic imperatives to reposition the commercial banking business, we are expanding our digital banking initiatives and transforming our business model to increase customer acquisition and retention, providing a renewed customer experience. To improve profitability in a sustainable way, the Group is increasingly optimising its cost base, leveraging on technology. In addition, good progress is being made in strengthening the credit processes end to end and improving the quality of the loan book while resolving

FBN HOLDING NINE MONTHS FINANCIAL SUMMARY 500 450

SEPT. 2017 N439.2Bn SEPT. 2016 N417.4Bn

400 350

SEPT. 2017 N254.3Bn

300 250

SEPT. 2016 N202.9Bn SEPT. 2017 SEPT. 2016 N175.3Bn N161.8Bn

150 200 150

SEPT. 2016 SEPT. 2017 N114.7Bn N97.6Bn

100 50 0

GROSS EARNINGS

NET INTEREST INCOME

OPERATING EXPENSES

IMPAIRMENT CHARGES

SEPT. 2017 N45.8Bn SEPT. 2016 N42.5Bn

PROFIT AFTER TAX

the legacy assets.�

Analysts’ assessment Assessing the results, analysts at Cordros Capital said the growth in earnings is broadly supported by growth in funding income and decline in operating expenses. According to them, gross earnings grew by 5.17 per cent, in line with their estimate. “While PBT declined 3.52 per cent, PAT grew by 7.81 per cent, both above our estimates of -6.82 per cent and -1.85 per cent respectively. The marginal growth in gross earnings over the period broadly reflects the impressive yield on interest earning assets (+210 bps to 12.28 per cent) and consequently, robust interest income, which more than offset the significant decline in net interest revenue (47.08 per cent). Cordros Capital explained that despite 1.90 per cent contraction in NPLs to 20.10 per cent compared to H1-17, annualised cost of risk remains elevated, rising 20 bps to 5.60 per cent (annualised) following additional provisioning of N35.18 billion in Q3-17, which raised total loan loss provision during the period to N97.69 billion, albeit 14.93 per cent lower compared to N114.72 billion in 9M-16. “However, noteworthy is the 90.08 per cent growth in net recoveries from loans previously written off (with an additional recovery of N1.32 billion over Q3) which we believe reflects the gradual improvements in the general commerce and manufacturing sectors following increased FX liquidity. FBNH reported Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of 17.8 per cent for the bank in FY-16 and 17.6 per cent for H1-17. Relative to both periods, CAR contracted to 17.2 per cent in 9M-17, though still largely above the required regulatory minimum of 16 per cent for systemically important banks,� they said. Analysing further, Cordros Capital said for the rest of 2017, they expect interest expense will remain elevated, as liquidity pressure (liquidity ratio was down to 47.4 per cent in 9M-17, from 50.4 per cent and 52.7 per cent in H1-17 and FY-16, respectively) persists. According to the analysts, with the United States Feds rate hike impact on the LIBOR further compounding the already stretched local currency (LCY) interest rate. “Although we expect the re-pricing of assets, higher yields on investment securities, and FX interest income to support NIM, risk asset creation will remain subdued as the bank takes strategic steps to clean its loan portfolio. On impairment charges, the bank’s restructuring of some foreign currency (FCY) obligations reflected in the contraction in NPL during the period. We expect this to contract further, as the bulk of the upstream oil and gas reclassification reflects in the balance sheet, resulting in lower provisioning by full year (FY)-17 in line with our previous forecast,� the analysts said.

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Is Nigeria Ripe for Another Round of Banking Sector Consolidation? With the weakness in Nigeria’s macroeconomy and the attendant strain on the banking sector, Obinna Chima wonders if the Central Bank of Nigeria should raise the minimum capital base for Nigerian banks, 12 years after a similar exercise was carried out A study by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had shown that the significant and prolonged drop in oil prices since mid-2014 changed the fortunes of Nigeria and many other energy-exporting nations around the world. Finding from the report showed that budgets in oil exporting nations generally turned from surpluses to large deficits, slowdown in growth as well as increased threats to financial stability. The report stressed that in such a challenging environment, a policy of “business as usual� will not suffice—policymakers will need to adopt significant measures to put public budgets on a sounder footing, address risks to liquidity and the quality of assets in the financial sector, and improve growth prospects. These clearly, might have spill over effects on the banking system in Nigeria and other oil producing countries, and could be one of the reasons why the Senior Resident Representative and Mission Chief for Nigeria, African Department, IMF, Mr. Amine Mati, has suggested that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) should recapitalise the banks. Following the intense weakening of the country’s macroeconomic environment, resulting in the deterioration of asset quality and rise in non-performing loans (NPLs) in the banking industry, the IMF boss advised the CBN to consider asking the country’s lenders to recapitalise. Banking sector’s NPLs climbed to as high as 15 per cent. The prescribed minimum capital base of Nigerian banks was raised to N25 billion in 2005. Mati stressed the need for the banks to remain strong so that they would be able to play their roles in the economy. He explained: “We believe the banking sector should be strong to support the economy. So, it is important we recapitalise the banks to make sure that they are very strong. “The regulators should try to make sure that the banks operate in line with international standards to be able to withstand any shocks.� He, however, endorsed the CBN’s tight monetary policy stance, saying it had helped in gradually easing inflationary pressure and brought about exchange rate stability. But he urged the central bank to continue in its pursuit of a unified exchange rate, just as he acknowledged efforts that had been made by the CBN in eliminating pressure in the forex market. He noted that the country exited the recession in the second quarter of the year, driven by improvements in the oil and agriculture sectors.

State of the Banks According to Afrinvest West Africa Limited’s 2017 Banking Sector Report, majority of Nigerian banks have demonstrated their resilience within the last two years amid macroeconomic challenges which weighed on credit expansion, asset quality and capital adequacy, to record largely positive performances for the year. The report showed that the financial performance of the sector was principally affected by monetary policy decisions tied to the management of the foreign exchange (forex) market, which had a ripple effect on earnings across the industry. This, it stated was positive for banks’ noninterest income, especially Tier-1 lenders with aggregate long Net Open Positions (i.e. higher foreign currency denominated monetary assets than liabilities) which recorded massive jumps in forex revaluation gains. Furthermore, in a bid to attract private capital flows and shore-up the naira and external reserves, the CBN drove up policy and market interest rates, resulting in higher fixed income yields which bolstered interest income for banks. “Consequent on the higher interest and non-interest income, industry gross earnings (for the 14 banks within our coverage) rose faster at 16.4 per cent in full year 2016 (better than 10.4% in 2015). “However, the industry still faced significant

CBN Governor, EmeďŹ ele

cost pressures, particularly impairment charges which surged 91.8% within the period as a result of weaker asset quality and the one-off forbearance on writing off fully provisioned loans granted by the CBN in 2016. Nonetheless, profitability metrics improved as industryprofit before tax (PBT) expanded 9.8 per cent in 2016, an improvement from a 28.4per cent decline recorded in the prior year, while Return on Equity (ROE) strengthened to 12.3 per cent, from 9.1 per cent in 2015. “Similar to earnings performance, the impact of prudential guidelines and monetary policy reflected on balance sheet and capital adequacy of banks,� it revealed. According to the report, following the devaluation in June 2016, the industry’s capital adequacy level took a hit as forex-denominated risk weighted assets were revalued upwards while the CBN gave banks a soft landing by relaxing prudential rules. It pointed out that the effect of currency depreciation was also evident in the industry gross loan book which grew nominally by 23 per cent year-on-year, given that 39.5 per cent of industry loans were foreign currency denominated. In addition, total deposits grew 19.3 per cent in 2016, following a decline of 1.8 per cent in 2015 while total assets and total liabilities expanded 20.7 per cent and 21.8 per cent respectively. “Given the more or less resilient earnings performance, majority of the banks maintained their dividend policy with an average pay-out ratio of about 33.0% and investors netted alpha as the banking index outperformed the market benchmark. “Considering these factors, our outlook on the sector for the rest of the year and 2018 is broadly positive although we note that crystallisation of asset quality risk sill poses a threat to the sector, given that the economy is still recovering from a recession and banks loan book is heavily skilled to high risk sector - upstream oil & gas, manufacturing, general commerce and power sectors, “ it added. Afrinvest believed that despite forward guidance of banks to keep credit expansion minimal in 2017, the exposure of pre-existing loans to “high risk sectors� would continue to pressure asset quality in the year. Also, an Agusto & Co. Banking Industry report noted that the performance of the Nigerian banking industry was largely dependent on the macroeconomic environment, as well as the performance of the top five banks. The report had also shown that about 47 per cent of the banking industry’s impaired loans were collectively held by the top five banks. The

President Buhari

top five banks in Nigeria are: Zenith Bank Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, First Bank Nigeria Limited, United Bank for Africa Plc, and Access Bank. According to the Agusto & Co. report, the impaired loans were mainly in the oil & gas, transport & communication sectors, accounting for 37 per cent and 11 per cent respectively of the industry’s total classified loans. In the oil & gas space, also disclosed in the banking sector report, the top five banks accounted for 60 per cent of the loans disbursed to this sector, “which heightens concentration risks.� A breakdown of the oil and gas sector loan disbursement had shown that the top five banks granted over 66 per cent of the banking industry’s total exposure to the upstream, 64 per cent of total exposure to the midstream and 73 per cent of the total loans granted to the downstream.

Should the Banks be Recapitalised? Economists and financial market experts have expressed divergent views about whether Nigerian banks should be asked to hold a new minimum capital base. According to an economist and the DirectorGeneral West African Institute for Economic Management (WAIFEM), Prof. Akpan Ekpo, for a country that recently exited an economic recession, raising the banking sector’s capital base would compound the situation in the country. He explained: “How can the CBN recapitalise the banks when we are just technically out of recession and we are still walking towards economic recovery? You can’t do that! Where will the money come from? “It will bring pressure on the banks. Even today, the banks are not financing long-term investments. So, if you ask them to recapitalise today, you create more problems. “Normally, you encourage banks to beef up their capital base if you feel it has dropped, rather than force them to do so. So, I disagree with the IMF.� On his part, the Chief Executive Officer, Cowry Assets Management Limited, Mr. Johnson Chukwu, argued that it may not be necessary for the CBN to stipulate a new minimum capital base for the banks. According to Chukkwu, what the CBN needs to do is to find ways of compelling banks whose share capital are below the regulatory threshold, to either raise fresh capital or find merging partners, so that they don’t create systemic crisis in the industry. “There may be a few banks that had been adversely affected because of the years of economic crisis and high incidence of NPLs. So, those banks, the central bank must find ways of resolving their insolvency issues.

“They are either asked to raise fresh capital or to force them to look for merger partners. So, the CBN must look for ways of resolving the issue. So, it won’t be a call for fresh capital across board. It should be specific to the affected banks,� he added. But a former Executive Director of a bank, Abdulrahman Yinusa, welcomed the need for banks to be made to beef up their capital base, as long as it not public funds that would be used. “Every business needs to adjust to the environment, when things improve or go bad. So, I agree that the capital base of some of the banks have been depleted, of course not all. “All the marginal players would have had significant erosion in their capital base and therefore, their capital might have been less than the statutory minimum by now. “I don’t subscribe to regulators mentioning banks that have capital challenges, instead, they should work on them and get them recapitalised. But I don’t think the use of public funds is recommended,� he added. Yinusa described issuing Eurobond, as have been seen in the industry recently, as a fairly, and acceptable means of raising additional capital, if it is capital and not debt. “If you can get capital from the Eurobond market, that is fine. We call that tier-2 capital and it is long-term and it must be subordinated,� he added. But, it is worthy of note that the CBN has maintained that Nigerian banks are safe, sound and have strong capital buffers to withstand shocks. It had also admitted that just like in other oil and commodity-dependent economies, banks in the country also felt the headwinds in the economy. In addition, THISDAY findings showed that the central bank conducts stress test periodically on the banks and therefore, knows the true state of their health. Also, the Nigerian banking industry has often been described as one of the most regulated in the continent. For instance, the standard practice in several jurisdictions is that the Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) requirement for banks should be eight per cent, minimum. But in Nigeria, the smallest bank is expected to maintain a CAR of 10 per cent, while the large Systemically Important Banks (SIBs) are expected to maintain 15 per cent as CAR. What this has done is that it has provided capital buffers for the banks to be able to withstand shocks. The foregoing shows that the CBN, from the array of information on the banks at its disposal, is in the right position to determine when to call for an increased capital base for the industry.

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EDUCATION ‘Funding, Right Infrastructure will Enhance Teaching, Research in African Varsities’ The Vice-Chancellor, University of Ghana, Professor Ebenezer Oduro Owusu told Funmi Ogundare at the just concluded 2017 Global Meeting of Associations (GMA) of International Association of Universities (IAU) held at his institution why African universities must get their funding right; harness the right infrastructure and equipment; and adopt a teaching and learning style that will strengthen the quality of research in higher institutions What are those features that make University of Ghana stand out among universities in Africa and probably in the world? The University of Ghana is known for quality so basically we try to ensure quality at all levels of academic endeavours. We are also working to attain national recognitions. For instance, we are a member of the World Bank African Higher Education Centre of Excellence (ACE); we are doing very well when it comes to attracting funds.

In terms of concerted efforts, what strategies have you adopted to attain global relevance? One of them is strict partnership with global institutions. My personal philosophy is that no institution is an island on its own, we need to learn from others and others need to learn from us, so it is part of the strategic plan. We are deeply involved in partnerships with international organisations and institutions to make sure that at least we engage in best practices in the world.

Your institution recently hosted the IAU, what impact will the conference have on University of Ghana in terms of opportunity? It places the university higher among sister institutions not only in Africa but in the world. For the university to have been selected by IAU to host the conference, it means that they have high regard for us. The other aspect is that because of the recognition, it opens an avenue for us to compete in funding for research and others. It gives the university the opportunity to define its brand; that people should recognise the university and know what it is about and people should be able to have a feel of it and see that this is a good university. So it opens doors and avenues to the institution in so many perspectives. What lessons can be learnt from the meeting the world over? For the world over, what is quite critical that works round as a common denominator is that we all talk about the same funding purpose especially funding of tertiary education and so we need to put our efforts together and see how we can fund higher education. Of course we have differences; these are differentiated across the globe depending on where you are coming from. There are bigger and smaller fishes but we need to have a concerted effort possibly. All we are doing is to use knowledge. So we need to bridge the gap and make sure that wherever you are, as an institution you are able to fulfil this kind of openness. The minister of state for tertiary education said Ghana is placed about 1,800 on the webometric ranking, what efforts are you making to boost your institution’s ranking? We don’t want to be pushed by those world rankings, we want to live our normal life and go by our normal strategic plan so we are not distracted by world rankings, that is to say that we are moving at our own pace, trying to catch up with quality. Indeed these rankings are quite tough but an aspect of the real world ranking has to do with recognition for example, so recognition means that when the name of the university is mentioned, so many people should know and how can we compete with the likes of Cambridge, Oxford, Stanford MIT and Harvard, in Africa? The other aspect has to do with postgraduate training. For instance, there is an aspect of the ranking that they have to look at the number of PhDs and divide by the number of faculties of African universities; we always have less than one in terms of the decimal. Obviously, it is going to be very difficult for African universities to come out and say we want to be in the

How do you strengthen research and quality of teaching in your institution? That comes with multifaceted parameters, one has to do with the numbers, for instance the more students you have, the bigger the student population, the lesser the quality. At this point you are faced with the number of students, so what it means is that we have to make sure that we increase the number of faculties and that is one thing that we are doing so that we narrow the gap between the lecturer/students ratio. The other one is to make sure that we have the right infrastructure and equipment to be able to harness this and the third one has to do with attitude. Basically how do we regard the students as our best customers? How do we relate to the students? It all reflects on the teaching style, we need to adopt that teaching and learning style, you have to make the students feel comfortable. Owusu

first 500 or 600. If you try to do that, then it means that we have to sacrifice a whole lot of things and we may lose focus. So we need to go at our own pace and make sure we do the right things hoping that with time, quality will catch up with us. So much was said about funding at the conference, what are the challenges that you encountered in funding the university and higher institutions generally in Ghana? In Ghana and the rest of African countries,

We have a lot of partnerships with industry as compared with the past when academics stood alone, so there was no bridge between academia and industry. Now we have a whole institute responsible for bridging the gap

tuition is free; what this means is that because it is a public institution, government is responsible for funding higher education, but with time, there has been an erosion. So we have gotten to a point where government’s efforts look difficult. We are spending 45 per cent of our total expenditure, what it means is that we need to find money to fill in the gap. There is a funding gap. So we introduced things such as academic fee, residential facility user fee, it is not a true fee, but it is just to pay for maintenance, utility and others, but that aspect of money in government is not forthcoming and we cannot just sit and see our infrastructure deteriorating, we need to maintain them. We agreed with the students that they need to at least contribute a token for us to be able to maintain them. So those are the fees we got. Normally we collect these as part of our internally generated revenue. Have you been partnering with the private sector? We have, especially in the area of research, industrial attachment, experiential learning and provision of scholarships for needy but brilliant students. We have a lot of partnerships with industry as compared with the past when academics stood alone, so there was no bridge between academia and industry. Now we have a whole institute responsible for bridging the gap between the academia and the industry.

Do you involve students in the decision making processes of the institution? At all levels we have students, even at council; we have students who are involved in all our decision making in the institution. Team leadership is very germane for universities to run effectively, how do you sustain the internal cohesiveness of the institution? My personal style of leadership is based on team work and I have a very strong team. My point is that in my absence or the absence of any member of management, the system must not grind to a halt but must continue to work. So we have a very strong management team as part of our vision to push our strategic plan ahead, I have eight different teams that are taking care of all aspects of the strategic plan, so basically I still receive reports and interact with them; and also give them directions and they carry on with the work, so we have a viable institution that revolves around the team. What is the way forward for higher education in Africa? Higher education for now is being threatened by funding, so the way forward is that we should get our funding right and especially for those of us in Africa, our government should push in more money to sustain it.

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ASUU Drags Kogi Govt to Court over Proscription Yekini Jimoh in Lokoja The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Kogi State University, Anyigba chapter, has dragged the state government to court to seek redress of these contentious issues: the proscription of ASUU KSU, Anyigba and the termination of the appointment of 120 academic staff members of the institution. The acting Chairman of the union, Dr. Aina Daniel, who disclosed this during at press conference in Lokoja, said the

state government, the governing council and management of the university have taken steps which violate the members’ fundamental human rights and flouted the rules and regulations governing their contractual intercourse with the university. “We thought it is common knowledge that proscription of a trade union is beyond the jurisprudence of an executive governor.� He said it is pathetic and unfortunate that taking a cursory look at the list of the

purportedly sacked lecturers, identifying the courses they teach, the reallocation of such courses and identifying those who are assigned to teach those courses, it is crystal clear that the “one ready to kill has met the one ready to die� while not knowing that there is no one to bury. He pointed out that the institution has degenerated almost beyond the pre-2005 era as unethical practices are done with imminent colossal damage in an effort to create the impression that all is well

within the system. “Unqualified persons, technologists, members of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and other non-teaching staff are being co-opted to teach courses and supervise students’ projects. “In several departments, postgraduate programmes have folded up completely and where they seem to exist, they are being handled by unqualified persons; where a number of PhD and master’s degree students did their external defences without the knowledge

of their major supervisors. “Also, completed undergraduate projects hitherto supervised by the purportedly sacked lecturers were re-assigned and graded by lecturers who never took part in the supervision; in some instances, the names of the original supervisors were fraudulently removed and replaced with those who were not part of the supervision process,� he stated. Aina added that in some cases, some lecturers reportedly instruct students to browse and download lecture materials

without teaching in readiness for their end of semester examinations. “There are so many courses still left untaught and this cut across almost all the departments with far reaching implications on the quality of the university degrees. “Our members are faced with being killed without recourse to justice, harassed, maimed or kidnapped. The quiet resolve of 120 men and women of integrity is capable of doing the job- to build the KSU, Anyigba of our dream.�

NigerianVarsities Now 154 as NUC Approves Gombe State University of Science,Tech Kuni Tyessi in Abuja The National Universities Commission (NUC) has approved the establishment of Gombe State University of Science and Technology, Kumo in Gombe State. The approval brings the number of state universities to 46 and the number of universities in the country to 154. The Executive Secretary of NUC, Prof. Abubakar Rasheed gave the approval in Abuja when the Gombe State Governor, Ibrahim Dankwambo led a delegation from the state to seek recognition for the establishment of the university. Rasheed said the country is in dire need of new universities to help increase admission spaces in the universities to enable more students to gain admission into tertiary institutions across the country. He said every year, over one million students are denied opportunity to further their studies at the tertiary level due to the limited spaces available. “Consequent upon the formal presentation of the relevant gazetted law, academic brief and physical master plan and satisfactory report, I write on behalf of the NUC to inform His Excellency that with effect from Thursday October 26, 2017, Gombe State University of Science and Technology located in Kumo has been recognised as the 46th state university and in general the 154th university respectively. “All the 153 universities accommodate half a million and

we don’t need to be reminded whatever the calculation, we have in every year over 1.9 million who write exams for admission into Nigerian universities, yet the carrying capacity of universities can only accommodate only about half a million every year. “This means that every year we have more than a million youths who are frustrated, who feel disappointed because they cannot get into the university. This is why any university that is serious about this initiative of setting up a university, we are willing to assist to ensure that our teeming population gets to the university.� In his remarks, Dankwambo stressed that getting a second university in the state should not be considered too ambitious, as about 90 per cent of Gombe indigenes seeking admission to further their studies are denied entry due to limited spaces. He explained that in 2016, out of 10,387 students seeking admission into the university, only 3,500 students were admitted, adding that given the improvement in the state education sector and the influx of displaced youths from the states affected by insurgency into Gombe, there is need to set up another university to complement the existing one to provide the indigenes an opportunity to acquire higher education and develop the state. “There is nothing wrong with being ambitious what matters is to plan your ambition we have planned to establish a

The Rector, Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), Dr. Kudirat Ladipo; the representative of the minister of education and Head of Tertiary Education in the ministry, Mr. Samuel Ojo; Chairman, Governing Council, YABATECH, Lateef Fagbemi and; Executive Secretary, National Board for Technical Education (NABTE), Suleiman Gwarzo, during the 31st convocation ceremony of the college in Lagos... recently

Bayelsa Gov Tasks Leaders on Increased Access to Education Peace Obi

Given the correlation between youth restiveness and unemployment, the Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson has called on leaders at all levels to democratise education and make knowledge easily accessible to every Nigerian child, irrespective of class or creed. Speaking on grassroots education at the inaugural colloquium of the Government College Ughelli, class of September 1973 in Lagos the governor said one of the most important subject matters people in leadership position must be involved in is the promotion of education. He said government must improve its investment and expand the frontiers of education to create quality manpower and

a more peaceful and prosperous Nigeria. “If you are wondering why some places have issues if militancy, instability, criminality, unemployment, unemployability and many more, you just need to look at the state of education and the investment in education in that area.� In her opening remarks, the Chairperson of the event, Prof. Grace Alele-Williams called on stakeholders in the country’s education sector to rise to the need for an improved teacher training, good remuneration and conducive teaching environment. The first female vice-chancellor and former VC, University of Benin said leaders, educationists and other stakeholders should consider today’s children shortchanged if they are not taught

well enough to reach the level and quality of education the country accomplished 20 years ago in secondary and tertiary education levels. Reflecting on the theme, ‘Raising a Wise Generation: Revamping Nigeria’s Secondary Education’, the don said “if we do not have teachers who are satisfied, teachers who are given the opportunities of learning more, we cannot reach that level. Therefore, whatever we are discussing as to how we are going to improve our schools, the first and basic question we must ask ourselves is: are we promoting that very important stage, which is teacher education? Those who understand the way and manner knowledge is being extended in various parts

of the world. How much are we extending the knowledge of those who will change what we can have in our country?� Also speaking, the special guest of honour, Senator Oluremi Tinubu, who decried the state of the country’s education, said many people are dissatisfied with the state of education and that those who understand “the full ramifications of defective, incomplete and non-competitive education will be appalled.� She said due to inaccessibility of education and high incidence of dropout, Africa is critically lacking in skilled labour, adding that beyond inaccessibility of formal education, Nigeria must pay attention to the quality of education in schools.

YABATECH Council Chair Decries Poor Funding of Polys Funmi Ogundare The Chairman, Governing Council, Yaba College of Technology (YABATECH), Lagos, Mr. Lateef Fagbemi, has decried the poor funding of polytechnic education in the country; this he said has hampered the growth of the sector and prevented its products from being globally competitive. He said Technical, Vocational Education and Training (TVET) requires more funding to achieve the needed results. Fagbemi, who spoke at the 31st convocation ceremony of the college, said while it takes

an average of $7,105 to train one engineering student, government only earmarked N5 billion for the institution to cover personnel, overhead and capital projects. “Polytechnic education is meant to provide a country with the needed technical manpower for the advancement of technology and economic empowerment. It is also a veritable means of solving the unemployment problem that has long plagued our country. At the projected rate of $7,105 per student, the sector would require about N45 billion to train the current set of engineering students alone. “Long gone were the days

when our country had so much money and also the problem of how to spend it. The irony today is that there are countless areas of our socio, economic and education lives begging for financial attention. Unfortunately, the so much money of the 70s is no more available.�As a way out of the financial imbroglio, he called for prudent management of resources, saying that monies meant for the sector must strictly be spent on education and nothing else. He stressed that the polytechnic sub-sector cannot grow in a situation where proceeds from national education tax are spent

on other sectors, adding “we must strive to attain nothing less than 90 per cent implementation of our annual budget for our institutions for the next 20 years to see meaningful changes.� Fagbemi also solicited more funding from the federal government, while assuring the government of the college’s readiness to contribute to the economic and technological development of the country. In his remarks, the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, appealed to polytechnics to conduct more research and technological innovations, saying that academic programmes must be in tune with

global trends to enable graduating students compete effectively and remain relevant in the world of work. To achieve this, the minister tasked regulating agencies to continually monitor the programmes to ensure that prescribed standards are met, particularly in the areas of staffing, curriculum, library facilities and infrastructure. He added that new and relevant programmes must continually evolve in accordance with the dynamics of a rapidly changing world, while advocating collaboration between educational institutions and employers of labour to give direction in the

area of curriculum development to enhance the teaching and learning process. The outgoing Rector, Dr. Margaret Ladipo said about 9,021 graduands, comprising full and part time students, were produced by the college for the 2015/2016 academic session. Earlier at a national workshop by the institution’s alumni in commemoration of the 70th anniversary of the college, Fagbemi lauded the role of members in the growth of their alma mater and called for their inclusion in the governing council of YABATECH for accelerated development.

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‘Rivalry from Conventional Institutions Stalled Passage of Petroleum Varsity Bill’ Kuni Tyessi in Abuja After 10 years of operating in a vacuum without statutory laws guiding the establishment of the Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurum, Delta State, the Pro-Chancellor of the institution, Prof. Abdullahi Zuru has revealed that the major challenge that stalled the signing of the bill to law was rivalry from conventional institutions. Zuru, who disclosed this in Abuja, said the university which is the first of its kind in Africa, deserves special funding from oil and gas industries due its specialised nature and this attracted a big fight which

prolonged the signing of the bill. He said all the courses of the institution have been approved with 13 being accredited by the National Universities Commission (NUC), and regretted that reputable stakeholders that were expected to make meaningful contributions to the growth of the university were nowhere to be found especially the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Petroleum Trust Development Fund. “Some of the issues that stalled the signing of the bill include rivalry from conventional universities. There was contention by the conventional universities claiming that it should not attract

special funding from the oil and gas industry. There was a big fight and this was prolonged. “We deserve special funding from the oil and gas industry because we are a specialised university with special funding and the critical agency to do this is the Petroleum Trust Development Fund. It should do more for the university. “Other reasons include the abandonment of the university by stakeholders. No single budget was sponsored by the CBN and PTDF and this has to change. Not even the Niger Delta Development Commission has funded a single development project as well as all the states in the Niger Delta region.�

The pro-chancellor added: “Without a governing law, the university has been operating in a vacuum and this has repercussions because it has not been statutory recognised and the board as well as management will not be able to negotiate anything for the university’s interest. But now with the signing into law, it has been emboldened to negotiate with its critical players in the oil and gas industry.� He said the institution which has about 6,000 students will give admission through the normal clearing system which is the UTME and has made proposals for the commencement of postgraduate programmes.

L-R: The Director, National Mathematical Centre (NMC), Abuja, Prof. Stephen Onah; Managing Director, NigerianTulip International College L-R: The Group Head, Corporate Operations, Access Bank Plc, Mr. Banjo Adegbohungbe; Group Deputy Managing Director of the bank, Mr. Roosevelt Ogbonna, pupils of Keke Nursery and Primary School, Lagos; and the Director, Curricular, Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Mrs. Bunmi Oteju, at the handover ceremony of the newly renovated school to the state government by the bank’s Corporate Operations Group‌ recently

Girl Child and Sudden Realisation of Puberty As soon as puberty gains grounds in young ladies, breast lumps surface in women’s breasts. Virtually every woman has felt a lump- painful or painless in her breast at some time in their life. Breast lumps are common amongst women (and can occur in men) and are of several types. For instance, a breast cyst is a ďŹ rm uid- ďŹ lled lump in the breast. It is usually a benign (non-cancerous) lump that’s harmless. Breast cysts are thought to be caused by hormonal changes occurring at the dierent stages of a woman’s life.Women undergo these “hormonal revolutionsâ€? during their menstrual cycles, pre-menopausal period and post meno-pausally. Inyoungerwomen,acommontypeofbreastlumpknownasďŹ broadenoma is termed “breast miceâ€?. Breast mice are smooth and ďŹ rm, and move around easily in the breast. They come just before or during a period and disappear after a period. They may feel painful. Quite often, women experience breast abscess. Breast abscess is a painful collection of pus that forms under the skin of the breast. It is usually as a result of a bacterial infection. Breast abscess is also thought to be caused by changes in hormones and are commonly experienced by pre-menopausal women having hormone replacement therapy. A type of breast lump that’s very common in breast feeding women is mastitis. In mastitis, the breast tissue becomes inamed and painful. Mastitisiscausedbyanengorgementofmilkwithinthebreastordamage to the nipple, milk duct or glands in the breast. When breast milk is not being suďŹƒciently removed by the suckling baby, there is a build-up of breast milk (milk-statis) within the breast. Bacteria begin to breed and grow in this enabling environment of stagnant breast milk. Quickly breast tissues break down, the area becomes red, swollen, painful and uncomfortable. The breast feeding mother experiences enduring and searing pain in her breast whilst breast feeding. Inadditiontothis,sheexperiencesfever,chills,achesandpains,tiredness and fatigue. She may become impatient with the baby, irritable, weepy, and unsociable due to the pain she is undergoing. A woman suering with mastitis should keep on feeding her baby from the aected breast. Although it is painful and miserable for her, milk from the infected breast will not harm the baby. Plenty of rest, lots of uid-intake, paracetamol or ibuprofen may help. Warm compress, warm baths, warm showers and stroking the breast from the lump area towards the nipple give relief. Consult your doctor on any breast lump you feel. - Omoru writes from the UK

Army Donates Educational Materials to 600 Pupils, Teachers in A’Ibom

Lafarge Africa Kicks off National Literacy Contes

Okon Bassey in Uyo

Funmi Ogundare

More than 600 pupils of Government Primary School, Mbak Atai Itam in Itu Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State recently smiled home with education materials donated to them by the Nigerian Army, 2 Brigade Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. The Commander, BrigadierGeneral Abdul Ibrahim Hassan personally gave out the materials, including hard cover and 80 leaves exercise books, pens, pencils, rulers, erasers and math-sets among other items to the pupils and their teachers. Each of the pupils was given

half-dozen of the exercise books, a pen, pencil, ruler, eraser and math-set to encourage them in their education pursuit. Following recent rumours that soldiers were going round schools in the state to immunize pupils, THISDAY learnt that there was tension in the school as the villagers and parents suddenly gathered when the convoy of the Army vehicles drove into the school. However, the tension faded and paved the way for a calm and peaceful atmosphere when it was realised that the visit of the soldiers was for the donation of educational materials to the pupils and teachers.

Hassan, who briefed stakeholders in the community, explained that the donation of the educational items was part of the civil responsibility to their host community like other organisations. “The perception of people about the military to a large extend had always been in the negative and to actually do away with such perception we are trying to reach out that not only are we here to defend them but we are part and parcel of the larger society. “So as part of our civil responsibility like any other organisation, we decided to come here and present this token to the pupils so that

it will encourage them and the community to look at the military with a new light. “By the time the news got to the community what the military came to do in the school most of them will have a new thinking and a new perception about us.� He encouraged the pupils to read hard, be disciplined and obey their teachers, parents and guardians so as to be useful to the family, state, and the nation. Responding on behalf of the pupils, Miss Victoria Aniedie thanked the Nigerian Army for the kind gesture and promised to make good use of the books.

Again, Only Two Academics Get NNMA Awards Kuni Tyessi in Abuja Sequel to the 2016 Nigeria National Merit Award (NNMA) in which only two professors were awarded in science and humanities respectively, the 2017 awards has also found only two academics worthy of the awards, despite several applications and analysis. The academics are Prof. Adesina Adeniran and Mr. Paul Obomeyoma Bruce in the field of engineering/technology and humanities respectively.

This was announced by Prof. Shekarau Yakubu Aku when he addressed the press on the proceedings and forthcoming event of the 2017 NNMA with the theme ‘Governance Reforms and Human Security in Nigeria’ with sub themes ‘Food and Water: Key to Human Existence’, ‘Shelter, Sanitation and Environment for Sustainable Development’, ‘Effective Primary Healthcare as a Basis for Economic Development’. Aku said the award is

named Nigerian National Order of Merit (NNOM) and is a separate order of dignity in the highest honours category in the fields of science, medicine, engineering/technology, humanities. including arts and culture. “Nigerian scholars have tended to carry out their researches in their order of personal interest irrespective of whether they are relevant to the needs and aspirations of the nation, except perhaps in the area of politics. “The sub-themes were

carefully selected to reflect the needs of the nation and also to relate to the ongoing change agenda of the present administration .� He said President Muhammadu Buhari will perform the investiture of the awardees which will be on December 7 as it is statutory and the keynote address will be delivered by erstwhile INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, which will be followed by presentations on various aspects of the theme of the forum.

In an effort to improve competence and knowledge among Nigerian pupils, Lafarge Africa Plc has commenced its fourth annual national literacy competition with regional run-offs which kicked-off this month. Plateau State won the North Central regional finals of the competition and will represent the region in the finals in Lagos next month. For the rest of this month, other regional finals will hold across the other five political zones. The state run-offs held in September. The competition, the fourth in the series, is in line with the organisation’s sustainability strategy; the 2030 plan, which among others affirms its ambition for the construction and enhance the quality of life for all. The Head, Sustainability and Corporate Brand of the organisation, Mrs. Temitope Oguntokun, who briefed journalists recently in Lagos, said since it partnered the Ovie Brume Foundation and commenced the competition four years ago, the organisation has complemented government’s efforts in raising the standard of English Language in public primary schools, adding that pupils between the ages of nine and 13 are the primary target.

“Since the inception of the competition, over 200,000 primary school pupils across 244 local government areas have been impacted. There are also dedicated teachers working with the pupils and helping them to grow and become what they need to become. We are truly committed as an organisation to improving lives.� She said the competition is being organised with support from the respective State Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEB) and its implementation partner, the Ovie Brume Foundation. The Director of Communications, Public Affairs and Sustainable Development, Mrs. Folashade Ambrose-Medebem, who explained the vision of the initiative, said “we want to help create more literacy enhancement opportunities for several indigent pupils across Nigeria. We have been doing this successfully for the past four years and we are quite pleased with the positive impact we have made so far. It’s all about touching the lives of all our diverse people in a sustainable way.� She said the company understands the key role education plays in the development of any society hence the need to engage the leaders of tomorrow on critical literacy skills at an early stage.

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Your Varsity is too Regimented, Elitist, NUC Tells AUST Adedayo Akinwale in Abuja The National Universities Commission (NUC) has expressed displeasure over what it described as regimented and elitist enrolment policy being operated by the management of the African University of Science and Technology (AUST). The Executive Secretary, Professor Abubakar Rasheed made this known when he led a team to the university in Abuja. He said the commission was concerned about the institution and the centre’s decision not to grow. “We are really worried, how can we choose not to grow?

The enrolment is still very low and this is a deliberate choice by the centre, by the university not by proprietor or any other person. Yes we are trying to control the size, but if we can’t, we somehow review some of our guiding principles for the university.� He noted that if all universities in the country chose to adopt the same style as AUST, there would be chaos and riots on the street. “If you decide to come to this university you must have a scholarship, so we can’t grow because we don’t have funds for scholarship, can’t we open up and admit those who have no scholarship who will come with

their own scholarship? We don’t need to say we must give you scholarship here,� he said, adding that there is nowhere in the world where a university is running 100 per cent scholarship. “In the area of Science, Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), this is a place where you advertise; universities in this country will willingly send their own staff to come and do PhDs here instead of sending them to the UK, France or US. They will need to come here, they will pay their own money; they don’t need to take your money. “So why must we build a university and over-regiment

and control it, this is not a military institution. It is an unusual university. Yes it may have a virtue but if all universities adopt your approach, there will be chaos and riots on the streets. It is too elitist, too selective, you are not open. “The concept of university 1,000 years ago and 500 years ago, not today’s concept that is liberal, more open, where we bring in everybody who can afford it. Then, those who are intelligent but cannot afford it then you intervene. Even from the poorest families across the world but who have the brains to measure up can come in and enjoy the scholarship so that children of the rich and

the poor may all come in together.� The executive secretary emphasised that if the enrolment policy of the university is not reviewed, its objectives of producing 200 masters and 50 PhDs may not be attained. “Now I am speaking as the head of the regulatory agency on this growth issue, kindly the acting president, throw this issue open to the board. All over the world, no university is run like this on scholarship.� Responding, the acting President, Professor Charles Chidume said the NUC’s advise would be taken seriously and that the board would be communicated on the need

to expand. �I am optimistic about this statement coming from him, we must do something. We have to expand this, it is difficult for us to do that because of our facilities and we try to give young talented people from the sub-region opportunity to come here and be trained even they don’t have money. “But like he said there is no university on the planet where everybody is on scholarship. We have tried to do that and we have realised that some people have money; they can pay to get this quality of education. We are going to take his advice, speak to our board and advise it to

Salako Assumes OfďŹ ce as New FUNAAB VC The Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB) has confirmed the appointment of Professor Felix Kolawole Salako as its new Vice-Chancellor. In an announcement, the institution’s governing council said it also appointed Dr. Hakeem Adebola Adekola as the Registrar and Mr. Chukwunwike Ezekpeazu as the Bursar. According to the ProChancellor and Chairman of the university Governing Council, Dr. Aboki Zhawa, “the process was guided by rules, regulations and the act (establishing the university). We were guided by provisions of the act, the rules of the university and federal character. We as a council decided to set up the committee that will do the screening for the council. “It was after screening that the technical committee was mandated to look at the applicants to see if they have complied with the spirit of the advertisement. The technical committee came up with a good list and presented it to the selection board. Having looked at the list, we made a recommendation to the council and it approved the list and the other recommendations

Salako

that were submitted.� The vice-chancellor-designate was born in Lagos State in 1961 and hails from Ibadan, Oyo State. A Professor of Soil Physics in the

Department of Soil Science and Land Management, College of Plant Science and Crop Production (COLPLANT) of the university, he attended the famous Igbobi College, Lagos;

the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, where he obtained his B.Agric (Hons) and MSc in Soil Science in 1983 and 1986 respectively before proceeding to the University of Ibadan, where he bagged his PhD in Soil Science in 1997. Salako joined the services of FUNAAB in 2000 as a senior lecturer and moved up the academic ladder to become a professor in 2006. He has served the university on many fronts, which include: Head of Department, Soil Science and Land Management; Director, Agricultural Media Resources and Extension Centre; pioneer Director, Centre for Community-based Farming Scheme; and Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Development for two terms. He has to his credit over 80 publications in books/monographs, articles in learned journals, papers in referred conference proceedings and technical reports. He had also supervised more than 50 students at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels in addition to being an external examiner in several notable universities. Salako belongs to a number of professional associations and learned societies such as the International Society of Agricultural Meteorology; Soil Science Society of Nigeria; Agricultural Society of Nigeria; Soil and Water Conservation Society, United States of America and has delivered papers at many local and international conferences, seminars and workshops. He has won notable academic laurels, including the Best Student Prize in Soil Science (1982-1983) graduating set of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka; the Marquis’ Whois-Who in Science and Engineering (eighth edition) and Chief War Marshall, Man O’ War Club of Nigeria. He is currently the Southwestern Nigeria Co-ordinator (2016-2021), African Cassava Agronomy Initiative, taking Agronomy to Scale in Sub-Saharan Africa (ACAI) for the International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA), Ibadan; a project that has impacted the university and the society at large. Salako, a Jerusalem Pilgrim, was honoured with the chieftaincy titles of the Asoludero of Iwoye-Ketu and the Bobatolu of Isaga-Orile; Ogun State, in recognition of his contributions to the development of the two communities, among other laurels.

Kwara Speaker Awards Oil, Gas Stakeholders Support Science Education The Nigeria Content De- (PPP) to the deserving science Labss) and chief promoter of schools in the country have Scholarship to UNILORIN velopment the game, Mr. Patrick Ochuba, been participating in the reality and Monitoring teachers. Speaking at the maiden said the initiative was con- show. Board (NCDMB) has expressed Best Law Student “We have been receiving its readiness to support the Nigeria Oil and Gas Research ceived to change the ways Hammed Shittu in Ilorin

The Speaker, Kwara State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Ali Ahmad has awarded scholarship to a first class student of the Faculty of Law, University of Ilorin, Mrs. Mutiat Afolabi to further her law programme at the Law School. A statement issued by his Special Assistant on Media, Shuaib Abdulkadir said the lawmaker was delighted to sponsor the beneficiary to serve as impetus for other students coming behind. The scholarship according Ahmad, who is an associate Professor of Law, was one among several others he had embarked on in recent years to encourage the youths in their academic pursuits.

“As a first class student in my faculty, I am pleased to sponsor Mutiat Afolabi to Law School to become a full barrister.� The speaker added that as a public office holder, he was compelled to provide assistance in that regard as a way of supporting the state government in its quest to improve the education sector. He noted that the present economic situation in the country has made it expedient that public office holders, corporate organisations and other spirited individuals must support government in reviving the sector. Responding, the beneficiary, who expressed joy at the gesture, promised to justify the confidence reposed in her. Afolabi thanked the speaker and prayed that Allah in his mercy will replenish his purse.

Science Teachers’ Game (STG) as part of its policy aimed at showcasing projects and initiatives that would move the country forward. The Science Teachers’ Game show designed for teachers and students in secondary schools across the country is powered by an indigenous software and technology firm, Assppaa-ISBORS, which allows them to showcase different science experiments on a dedicated portal available at www.assppaa.com. The technology captures the science experiments, measures the qualities and quantities, scores and awards Teacher Basic Points (TBPs) and Students Basic Points (SBPs) respectively, while making Payment-Per-Practical

and Development Fair and Conference in Lagos recently, the Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Mr. Simbi Wabote, stressed the need for Nigerians to use their human and material resources to develop innovative local technologies that could tackle the challenges of the oil and gas industry and other sectors. He promised to set up a Research and Development Council (RAD), comprising members of the academia, industry players, NCDMB, entrepreneurs and stakeholders to articulate all the presentations exhibited at the fair and come up with recommendations. In his remarks, the Chief Executive Officer of Laboratory Supplies and Solutions (Mr-

teachers and students perceive and study science education. “Science subjects like biology, chemistry and physics are not literature, neither are they history. Teachers in our schools do what they call alternative to practical, or theory of practical. This is totally wrong and that is why our schools keep producing half-baked science students. Science is experimental and never theory. We are using the STG to push, encourage and reward these teachers and students across our schools so that they would do the right things in the learning and studying of sciences.� He expressed delight that since it was launched last month, science teachers and students across secondary

entries from teachers and students from every state in Nigeria and we are happy that the portal has been proved to be friendly and easy to use. We have had a few challenges, which though are not technical, but are related to media and information dissemination. A lot more Nigerian teachers and students need to be aware of the STG so that they can participate actively.� Ochuba called on Nigerians and corporate organisations to support the initiative by associating their brands with the project. He thanked Fidelity Bank, Konga, Systemtech and Innoson Vehicle Manufacturing (IVM), who have been supporting the initiative.

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T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 1, 2017

Rivers State House of Representatives Caucus

Felicitate with

His Excellency

NYESOM EZENWO WIKE,

GOVERNOR, RIVERS STATE

CON, GSSRS

on the GLOBAL HUMAN SETTLEMENTS

OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION

AWARD

By the GLOBAL FORUM ON HUMAN SETTLEMENTS (GFHS), UNITED NATIONS ENVIRONMENT PROGRAMME in Conjunction with

WORLD PEACE FEDERATION

Congratulations ‘MR. PROJECT’ Signed: Hon. Betty Apiafi Rep. O.K. Chinda Hon. Kenneth N. Chikere Hon. Gogo Bright Tamuno Hon. Blessing Nsiegbe Hon. Chief (Dr) Barry Mpigi Hon. Randolph Oruene Brown Hon. Awaji Inombek Abiante Hon. Chidi Wihoka Hon. Uchechirun Nnam Obi Hon. Chief Jerome Amadi Eke Hon. Maurice Pronen Hon. Boma Goodhead

Ëœ ͚˜ ͺ͸͚Ϳ Ëž T H I S D AY

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FEATURES RISING DRUG ABUSE

Over 500,000 codeine bottles are taken daily by Nigerian youths A recent research done by a non-governmental organisation, Saving Youths, showed that there is a growing use of tramadol, benylin, cough syrups, and shisha, among young girls in Nigeria. The study conducted in four Northern universities showed that most of these opioids are mixed with beverages.  The Nigerian Senate, recently, also raised alarm over the increasing use of substance by girls and women in Nigeria, as they see it as means for escapism. They believed some girls have even induced their mothers into the use of these cough syrups as an escape from abusive relationships. Â

Entertainers Glamourise Substance Use A music producer, Kelly Wise says many teenagers and young adults in Nigeria have gone into drug use simply because they hear their super stars talk about how drugs give them inspiration and make them confident to mount stages to entertain crowds. “You see them openly smoking and drinking in their musical videos. Fans adore these guys to the point they want to do what they are doing. I can tell you for sure many young Nigerians are into drugs because their superstars openly glamourise it. They make it seem cool. He said one common thing musicians do now is that they put drugs in their water bottle, or coke bottle missed with water or soft drink and you see them sipping it. Obviously, most of them put codeine, tramadol, and other opioids into those bottles. A mere look will suggest they are taking coke or water. “This is becoming a huge challenge. These substances they add to water or their soft drink is very accessible and affordable,� he said.

46 per cent of Nigerian youths have taken drugs at least once in their lifetime  To underscore the urgency required to tackle the malaise, several assorted works carried out by academics and professionals interested in psychosocial behaviour in relation to the menace of drug abuse in the Niger Delta, buttress the growing cases of the scourge.  In their work published in the Journal of Public Health Research on the ‘Prevalence of Drug Abuse Amongst University Students in Benin City, Nigeria’ in 2016, a group of researchers; Adeyemo Florence, Ohaeri Beatrice, Pat Okpala and Ogodo Oghale agreed that abuse is becoming an increasingly disturbing problem in the region. Aged between 20-25 years, the study revealed that a whopping 46.6 per cent of the sample respondents had taken drugs for non-medical purposes at least once in their lifetime, resulting sometimes in risky behaviours such as unsafe sexual practices. It concluded that some youths depend on one form of drug or the other such as tobacco, Indian hemp, cocaine, morphine, heroine, alcohol, ephedrine, madras, caffeine, glue, barbiturates and amphetamines for their various daily activities. Yet in another seminal work published in the International Journal of Scientific Research in Education, on ‘Drug Abuse: A Study of Selected Secondary Institutions in Bayelsa State’, Stephen Ekpenyong of the Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island, notes that most Nigerian youths will experiment with drugs at some point, particularly alcohol and nicotine. Most disturbing was the fact that the study es-

Is NDLEA doing enough?

We need to tackle drug issue. It is a very serious issue. Unfortunately, primary school children have become the worst for it because they are now into drugs. Small children now take Tramadol and other dangerous drugs tablished that 31.4 per cent of student respondents had a positive perception of drug abuse, meaning that they did not find anything wrong with taking or abusing drugs. It also indicated that a sizeable number (33.8 per cent) of the study participants admitted to abusing drugs, alcohol and cigarettes frequently used along with miraa and bhang, local substances grown by farmers, which experts say could lead to mental issues. It said that while boys had a higher proclivity to abuse drugs, the number of girls using drugs was on the rise among school children. Â

Is NDLEA doing enough?  When contacted on why there has been increase in the use of hard substances, the authorities of the Agency in Bayelsa said they would need clearance from the Commander in the state to make public comments, noting that the insinuation of an increase in cases of drug abuse remains disputable. “How are you sure there is an increase in drug abuse?� Osakwe Ikenna, the command’s spokesman asked. But the facts in the public space are glaring, though the execution of punishment prescribed by law for trafficking in hard substances remain suspicious. In a raid recently, the Delta State Command of the agency revealed that they had destroyed a massive cannabis farm measuring over 100 hectares (the size of some villages) in Ndokwa West Local Government Area of the state. In the same vein, the agency uncovered a huge methamphetamine-making laboratory in Asaba, the capital of the state. Eight suspects, four of them Mexican nationals, were apprehended. Surprisingly, the NDLEA said the methamphetamine laboratory resembled those found in Mexico, adding that it was the first lab of its kind to be discovered in Nigeria, revealing that the factory had a capacity to produce between 3,000 kg and 4,000kg of methamphetamine per production cycle. Decrying the latest trend, the Agency said “Nigeria methamphetamine is now competing with others in Asia and South Africa markets. The super laboratory does not need ephedrine because it uses the synthesis method. “Drug cartels are now shifting from simple method of methamphetamine production to a more complex process.� The effects of methamphetamine, a powerful stimulant, could range from disturbed sleep pat-

terns, hyperactivity, nausea, delusions of power to increased aggressiveness and irritability, insomnia, confusion, hallucinations, anxiety and paranoia. In Bayelsa, just last month, September, 38 suspects were arrested with 29.75 kg of illicit drugs, a statement by the command’s Principal Staff Officer and Superintendent of Narcotics, Ikenna, said a few weeks ago. The suspects included 26 male adults and 12 female offenders. While the illicit drugs seized comprised cannabis sativa, psychotropic substances, heroin and cocaine. He decried the use of Tramadol by both old and young people in communities across Bayelsa and high rate of abuse of the drug in the state by women and youths. Â

In South-east, NDLEA is upping its game  “I’m here to get myself rehabilitated from my addiction to drugs. My smoking habit started when I was in the secondary school, it grew to the level of addiction. I had tried very hard to stop it but it didn’t work out. This is why I was brought to this place in search of help. I’ve been here for about a year and am willing to stay even longer. My situation really worsened, my spending habit was so much. I found it very hard to settle down and have my own family but am happy am getting better now with the counselling we receive here especially on coping skills. “For me, I was addicted to smoking cannabis. I almost went mad as my behaviour changed terribly. I became almost a lunatic before it became obvious to me that I need something extraordinary. My parents had to hurriedly rush me to this rehabilitation centre. I’m glad my life has turned around for good after staying here for eleven months without those terrible friends who influenced me badly. “Drug addiction brought me here. It rendered my life almost useless. All my dreams about life got shattered, no thanks to cannabis. I was to be a Catholic Priest, went to seminary school but drug made me to be bundled out of the seminary when I was in the finals. I eventually got married but again, drugs almost ruined my marriage. It’s really unfortunate but I still give God thanks for giving me a second chance through this rehabilitation.� The above accounts came from inmates of NDLEA, Enugu State Rehabilitation Centre. The Commander, Dr. Anthonyy Ohanyere, who led THISDAY correspondent to the facility said the rehabilitation was part of the process for social and societal reintegration of the about 21 inmates. Most of them obviously from well-to-do families had clearly “destroyed� their lives before they were eventually taken to the rehab home. An appreciable number of the inmates are suffering from addiction to either psychotropic or narcotic drugs which had either endangered their nervous system or the psycho system of their bodies with the resultant nervous or mental breakdown. One of the inmates is a medical doctor whose parents are both Professors of Medicine. “This is a medical doctor who ought to counsel others not to engage in drug abuse but here he was brought here a lunatic. This shows this issue is not just restricted to those in the streets. As you can see, most of us here are graduates from different fields. Am an Engineer for instance, we have lawyers, businessmen from very good backgrounds but here we are in rehab home,� the inmate simply identified as Yomi (not real name) explained. At the moment, an appreciable percentage of mentally challenged persons roaming the

streets in either Umuahia, Abia State, Owerri, Imo state, Awka in Anambra, Abakaliki in Ebonyi or even in Enugu are said be as a result of drug abuse. It has become so bad that there’s hardly any week that passes without a story of how a young man has gone bunkers as a result of excess consumption of drugs. The Commander of NDLEA, Ohanyere who insisted that the pictures and names of the inmates at the rehabilitation centre should not be taken in order to preserve their fundamental human rights said but for the limited capacity of the centre, the place would have been flooded with mentally challenged persons whose cases were drug induced. “Our capacity is simply 21 but if you use this to judge the number of people who pass through here, you will be making serious mistakes. We really don’t have the facilities that would accommodate more people but I can tell you that the number of people that pass through here, respected people in the society, political office holder s, top government functionaries, professionals from different backgrounds, it’s really amazing,� he said. According to him, several young people have completely ruined their lives as a result of drug dependency. “Ordinary Valium five when abused can make one mad or even kill such a person. It has ruined lots of people. It has become a challenge to modern society. “We can even see it on the streets of Enugu. Most of the people you see that are mad, its not natural madness, majority of them are drug-induced. Even those who are engaged in prostitution do so under the influence of drugs. These people freely sleep with different classes of men and you think it is just normal, far from it. They get their boldness and courage from drugs and the after effect is better imagined. “In our rehabilitation centre here, we don’t have motor-park touts. We have doctors, engineers, graduates, undergraduates, professionals from different parts of the country. These are people who can afford the treatment. These are people who can afford it. There are many people out there who have taken to the streets because they can’t afford it. No street in Nigeria today without drug abuse cases,� he stated. He however noted that despite the enormity of the problem, the situation could still be brought under control through drug education and enlightenment, expressing dismay that so many people engage in drugs apparently as a result of peer group influence and adventure or to ward of frustration in the case of the elderly. He further challenged parents and guardians to rise up to their parental challenge of ensuring that the moral upbringing of their children is not thrown overboard. On his part, the NDLEA Commander for Abia State, Bamidele Akingbade expressed worry at the rising case of the menace, noting that the agency was on top of the situation with a view to ensuring that the society was free from such pandemic.  He said the story of drug abuse was the same and was more prevalent among young people especially those in higher institutions praying for government to equally rise to the occasion so as to stamp out such challenge from “our national life�. The situation is equally not different from Anambra State where NDLEA is engaged in intensive advocacy to check the prevalence of drug abuse. Though the State Commander could not be reached but officers of the agency CONTINUED ON PAGE 37

T H I S D AY ˾ WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2017

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FEATURES RISING DRUG ABUSE

Puffing his life away claimed they work round the clock to rid the state of drug-related mental health.

Police: We are not empowered squarely to tackle drug abuses, only NDLEA can

A senior police officer in Lagos, who do not want his name in print because he was not authorised to speak on behalf of the force said the job of tackling drug abuse in Nigeria is enormous, adding that their major challenge was that there is duplication of duty between them and NDLEA which in turn discourages them to move against these elements squarely, since NDLEA by law is empowered to effect arrest, investigate and prosecute drug offenders in the country. “But because as police officers we can’t watch crime happen around us and not effect arrest, we sometimes raid these joints and arrest hard drug users, but majority of these people are now enlightened, they will argue with you that it’s not your job to arrest them. At the end of the day, we will transfer them to NDLEA where the matter will die a natural death. The next day you will see these same drug users walking around freely. So what do you expect us to do in this regard? Arrest them again and send to NDLEA? This is our challenge. “One of the things we resolved now is that hard drugs retrieved from drug users will be destroyed. An example is the recent destruction of cannabis by the new Commissioner of Police in Lagos State, Mr. Imohimi Edgal in Ojota, Lagos. So we make sure these hard drugs are destroyed, just as we transfer culprits to NDLEA for further action “This frustration is even more compounded because NDLEA saddled with that responsibility is highly understaffed. They have just few staff, not only in Lagos but all over the country. They can’t do more than 10 per cent of the job. We understand this and we try to compliment their job, but we are not empowered to tackle this square. Government should do something in this regard,” the police officer said. He said one of the frustrations in the fight against drug abuse was that many drug users no longer take Indian hemp which can be noticeable by parents, the society or even law enforcement agents, but could be deep into drugs without smoking them. “When you go to clubs you see so called big boys sipping water. My brother, don’t attempt to ask them to give you from it, because you might end up being consumed in the drugs in the bottle. With a very small amount of money, our young youths can get drugs that put them in the state they want. This is worrisome.” But what is the way out? The police boss said those mostly involved are between the ages of 14 and 40 years, adding that many go into it because they are unemployed. “Let’s even assume employed people are into drugs, but because they have to be at work morning to close night, the possibility of them enmeshed in the act all day is very unlikely, unlike the jobless ones who go to joints, stay there all day getting high. So I believe to a great extent, job creation will tackle drug abuse in Nigeria,” he said. He said parents should not underestimate their children. “Like my son, he got admission at age 14 into the University of Ado Ekiti. If you think they are still small, then you are missing it. You need to give them close marking. Visit them in school unannounced. Know their friends.” He cautioned parents not to expose their children to excess money. “By the time your child of 14 or 15 years, he or she is already controlling N200,000 or N300,000 as pocket money, apart from school fees, what do you expect the child to

Drug abuse now comes in a glamorous but more dangerous ways be doing. Mentally will she/he be able to control that freedom?”

Churches should take a front row in fighting drug abuse, Says RCCG Pastor “We are beginning to get to the point where preachers and parents should be involved in researches on drug abuse and how to prevent them,” says an Assistant Pastor, Flourishland Assembly, The Redeemed Christian Church of God, Ilupeju, Pastor Dare Adanri. He believes the role of curbing it should not be left in the hands of the government alone, adding that conscious efforts should be made by church to address the growing trend. He told THISDAY that during sermons, preachers should continuously raise awareness on this. “The risks and consequences should be talked about, not only to the youths, but to parents as well. The reason is, if parents are not informed about the signs, dangers and prevention of the habit, they may not be able to monitor their children and put them in check appropriately. “We often times mistake those using drugs to mean people who go to bus stops or under the bridge to smoke marijuana. Right under our very nose, a young adult or teenager could be on drugs without us knowing. Many have now moved beyond smoking marijuana. With as low as N30.00 they can get high on drugs. That is the challenge.” Giving an instance, Pastor Dare said about 10 years ago in his former parish, a nurse came from the United Kingdom and approached the church that she wanted to do a project on curbing drug addiction for church members. “Then we said to ourselves what was the point, since our youths are children of God. We then reluctantly gave her the opportunity, but we were surprised that one of the teenagers, who is a son of a minister in the church was actually into drugs. The nurse’s programme afforded us the opportunity to liberate the young teenager through counselling. “Whatever you pray or talk about most times reverberates in the mind of people. If every church makes it a point of duty to talk about drug abuse, and pray against it all the time, it will, whether consciously or unconsciously, registers in the minds of culprits or would-be culprits. This will also make people know it is a serious thing because it’s being talked about from time to time. Even God will also know it’s a serious matter because he hears it as prayer point all the time. He will then answer the prayer,” Pastor Dare said. He called on other churches to emulate RCCG who has established drug rehabilitation centres. This is becoming a national issue, as more people are indulging in the practise. Churches should take front row in this. “The consequences of drug abuse are enormous. These youths might not see it immediately, but in

future the consequences are often vey obvious. Do you know churches can also do mini adverts in this regards? For instance, you know the way we write some things on paper or banner and paste in open places in churches for worshippers to read. We can also write something like, ‘do you know addiction is a sin? Stop drug abuse today’, and put it out conspicuously in church. This will convey the message.” He called on churches not to stigmatise drug addicts so they won’t run away from coming out, adding that ministers and parents should continue to engage these youths, as being close to them can give a clue to whether they have changed or not.

Drug use reduces quality of life, social relevance, ambition A Senior Registrar at the Federal NeuroPsychiatric Hospital, Yaba, Dr. Mustapha Maruf , disclosed that use of psychoactive hard drugs have reduced the quality of lives of many users, such that social interaction and societal relevance begins to depreciate overtime because of the effect the substances have on the mental and psychosocial health of users. He said apart from the several physical and mental health consequences of drug use, including psychosis, liver cirrhosis, asphyxia, respiratory distress and even death, the social and economic consequences are enormous, leading not only to increasing crime rates, but also poverty and a markedly reduced quality of life. “What substance abuse does is that it rewires circuitry of the brain in a semi-permanent way, especially at the frontal lobe, the part of the brain responsible for planning, judgment and other higher executive decisions, such that everything the brain will be thinking about will be how to obtain psychoactive drug so they can continuously get that feeling. This is the science and neurology of addiction, and this makes it clearly a medical problem, not a behavioural or spiritual problem. “The consequences of drug abuse are in phases. Not everybody who tries drug for the first time is addicted. Not everyone who gets addicted requires hospitalisation. Not everybody who gets hospitalised recovers from it. So the consequences come in different forms for different people. “You will find out such person won’t do well in school. He or she may have difficulty holding down jobs. The person may start stealing, keeping bad company, and probably having a forensic file, and then gradually, the person starts to decline socially. What this means is that the person who is supposed to be a goal getter will start becoming a nuisance and will not achieve optimal capacity for his or her life.” He said when some drugs, especially opiates, are used in overdose, they may lead to the depression of respiratory centre in the brain, and the person can die from asphyxia. This happens when the

The delay in the implementation of the National Tobacco Control Act 2015 with provisions banning the placement of tobacco products at educational establishments and access of youths to tobacco products is particularly worrisome and if this situation is not quickly checked, we may likely experience an increase in the number of tobacco users as predicted by the WHO

brain is unable to coordinate breathing, leading to suffocation. “We know especially for teenagers, they like to experiment with one form of substance or the other. The commonest is alcohol, but the fastest trend now is the use of opioids like the tramadol, codeine. Some will take once and then stop using without it affecting their mental functioning. Others will take it, and then continue until it starts affecting their functioning. At that point, they won’t be able to function well in their day to day activities, thereby leading to a decline in their quality of life or futuristic plans,” he added. On the factors responsible for the increase of drug use in Nigeria, Maruf said drug abuse is now endemic in Nigeria owing to all or some of three factors, which are biological, psychological or social factors. He said even though the biological factor may not be so prominent, researches have suggested that there are certain genetic predispositions to substance taking behaviour, adding that the most relevant factors in Nigeria are the psychological and social factors. “Drug prices are coming down, and accessibility to them is increasing and those into drugs know exactly where to go. They know which street to go to. They know which time the sellers will be out. Despite other substances like alcohol and cannabis maintaining their popularity (and notoriety), what is even more worrisome is the rapidly emerging trend of adolescents and young adults engaging in newer and fancy psychoactive drugs that cost just little amount to purchase. These substances are very accessible. They are the tramadol, codeine, and other opioids, and also, rohypnol, diazepam and other benzodiazepenes. Some go as far as sniffing glue, petrol or even smell from soak away pits. “In the United States, the President just declared an emergency on opioid abuse, though the reason for the emergency is due to over prescription of the drugs by their healthcare system. But here, some people just go to the pharmacies, buy these controlled drugs without prescription and get high on them,” Maruf said According to Maruf, the society has also contributed to the rising incidence of the scourge. “A lot of people who just finished secondary school are jobless, they can’t get into school, and this is the period for experimentation. At that stage, they are very vulnerable to willingness to try new risky behaviours. “The educational system has also played a role in this. The incessant strike actions by tertiary institutions, poor monitoring by both parents and teachers has contributed as well. Imagine a situation where the parents think the child is in school, and the teacher thinks the child is at home, whereas these children are somewhere experimenting with different vices. All these have created a perfect environment for the rising trend in the use of substance abuse.” Maruf wants the government to put strict regulations on locally made opioids or imported ones, adding that when it is not well regulated, these opioids will be readily available in the country. “And for those reading this who may be having problems related to their use of these substances. Do not be afraid to seek expert help in any recognised health facility with psychiatric services. The journey to recovery from the negative effects of drug use only begins when we take ownership of the problem and begin to take steps to fix it. Please seek prompt expert medical and psychiatric rehabilitation as soon as possible, and do not be afraid of stigmatisation or victimisation by the society or law enforcement agencies, some of which have their own rehabilitation services,” he added.

T H I S D AY Ëž , NOVEMBER 1, 2017

38

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Again, Nigeria’s Manufacturing Index Sustains Expansion Obinna Chima The Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) stood at 55 index points in October 2017, indicating an expansion in the manufacturing sector for the seventh consecutive month. The PMI report for October obtained on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s website yesterday, showed that 11 of the 16 sub-sectors reported growth in the review month in the following order: plastics & rubber products; paper products; nonmetallic mineral products; chemical & pharmaceutical products; textile, apparel, leather & footwear; food, beverage & tobacco products; furniture & related products; primary metal; electrical equipment; printing & related support activities;

and fabricated metal products. But the appliances & components sub-sector remained unchanged, while remaining four sub-sectors contracted in the order: computer & electronic products; petroleum & coal products; cement; and transportation equipment. Also, the report showed that the production level index for manufacturing sector grew for the eighth consecutive month in October 2017. At 58.4 points, the index indicated an increase in production at a slower rate, when compared to its level in the preceding month. Eleven of the 16 manufacturing sub-sectors recorded increase in production level, whilefive remained unchanged during the review month. Also, at 52.8 points, the new orders index grew for the sev-

enth consecutive month. Seven sub-sectors reported growth, two remained unchanged while seven contracted in the review month. The supplier delivery time index for the manufacturing sector, at 55.5 points in October 2017, rose for the fifth consecutive month. Eleven subsectors recorded improved suppliers’ delivery time, 3 remained unchanged while two sub-sectors recorded delayed delivery time. The employment level index in October 2017 stood at 53.1 points, indicating growth in employment level for the sixth consecutive month. Of the 16 sub-sectors, seven recorded growth, four remained unchanged while five sub-sectors reduced their employment level in the review month.

Pension Fund Key to FG PPP Plan, Says ICRC Boss Ugo Aliogo The acting Director-General of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Chidi Izuwah, has said that private capital funds as well as the pension fund are key drivers to federal government’s Public Private Partnership (PPP) plan. Izuwah, who made the remark in Lagos at the 2017 Institute of Directors (IoD) Fellows Investiture ceremony recently, said piecemeal funding of projects would not yield the desired transformation in the country. Therefore, he noted the need for active involvement of the private sector. He also stressed the need for significant improvement on infrastructure financing annually. “What is important is that we

need to put forward bankable projects because the private sector is interested in bankable projects. “Bankability requires that if the private sector invests, there must be returns in investment. We are looking for the right mechanisms for these projects, and provide the right frame work that can attract investors,� he noted. Continuing, Izuwah further explained that there was need for a partnership between the private sector and the government, adding that as a regulator, the ICRC provides the framework that revolves around public involvement, security of investment, affordability, and public interest that the investors are protected. According to him, “You require a pool of capital and

the pension fund is one of such capital “Pension funds will benefit from investing in infrastructure. Therefore the only way we can do that is through PPPs. They will not give their monies to government to build because when government does it there is no return on investment. “But if the private sector does it there is return on investment. Infrastructure is like an antidote to inflation,� he said. In his remarks, the President and Chairman of Governing Council IoD Nigeria, Alhaji Ahmed Mohammed, said the role of infrastructure was critical to the growth and advancement of any economy, stressing that government alone cannot bear the financial burden of providing adequate infrastructure in the economy.

CBN Pumps Another $195m into Forex Market The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on Tuesday injected another $195 million into the interbank foreign exchange market. The central bank offered the sum of $100 million to the wholesale window and intervened in the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) segment with $50 million. The invisibles segment, comprising tuition, medical payments and Basic Travel Allowance received

$45 million. Confirming the figures, the Bank’s acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, reiterated CBN’s capacity to sustain the ongoing foreign exchange intervention especially now that the nation’s external reserve is on the upward climb, and stands at $34 billion. Okorafor urged banks to continue to honour requests from customers with genuine

needs, noting that the Bank will continue to sustain liquidity in the foreign exchange market. He also restated the Bank’s determination to achieve its objective of rates convergence, hence the consistent intervention in the foreign exchange market. Meanwhile, the nation’s currency maintained its stability in the forex market, exchanging at an average of N360/$1 in the BDC segment of the market.

Ecobank Pledges MoreTrade Finance to Customers Ecobank Nigeria has organised customer forum for exporters and importers targeted at boosting trade and commerce in the country. The Country Head, Commercial Banking, Ecobank Nigeria, Rotimi Morohunfola, said the forum was one of the several avenues by the Bank to support promoters and stakeholders in export and import business. He explained in a statement, that the engagement which was basically an interactive session, afforded the bank the opportunity to obtain feedback from participants with a view to serving them better. According to him, “We take into cognisance the role of exporters and importers in

the economy. The economy is largely driven by trade. “This was why we decided to hold this forum to engage our customers, feel their pulse, and also bring in the regulators like CBN to build capacity and further enlighten them on new trends and market practices.� Morohunfola further reassured participants of the bank’s determination to support them at all times, urging them to continue to do business with the bank. Presentations were made by Transaction Services Group, Treasury and Trade Operation departments of the bank. On support for small businesses, Head, SME, Commercial Banking, Ecobank Nigeria,

Sunkanmi Olowo, said the bank had put in place several initiatives to promote small and medium enterprises (SMEs). According to him, “Ecobank is commonly regarded as SME friendly bank. This is because of our support for the sub sector. For instance, we have an online mall called MyMall which presently have over 5000 SMEs trading on the platform globally; we are in partnership with EDC and Lagos Business School (LBS) where SME operators are trained and empowered to start their businesses; we offer window for them to access foreign exchange and also explore the CBN window to assist them. In fact, as a bank, we do a lot for the sub sector.�

CBN building

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

AUGUST 2017 Broad Money (M2)

21,851,454.31

-- Narrow Money (M1)

9,890,813.10

---- Currency Outside Banks

1,523,239.91

---- Demand Deposits

8,367,573.19

-- Quasi Money

11,960,641.22

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

9,732,990.89

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

12,118,463.42

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

26,821,446.81

---- Credit to Government (Net)

4,824,226.22

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

7,834,536.74

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

-3,010,310.52

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

21,997,220.59

--Other Assets Net

-14,702,983.39

Reserve Money (Base Money)

5,486,804.65

--Currency in Circulation

1,868,735.07

--Banks Reserves

3,268,266.17 Ëž Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă? Ě‹

MANAGED FUNDS Month

AUGUST 2017

Inter-Bank Call Rate

22.63

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

14.00

Treasury Bill Rate

13.35

Savings Deposit Rate

4.08

1 Month Deposit Rate

8.86

3 Months Deposit Rate

10.14

6 Months Deposit Rate

11.51

12 Months Deposit Rate

11.40

Prime Lending rate

17.69

Maximum Lending Rate

31.20 Ëž Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂŁ ÙÖÓĂ?ĂŁ Ă‹ĂžĂ? Ě‹ ͯ͹Ϲ

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT, MON, OCT 30 2017 The price of OPEC basket of fourteen crudes stood at $58.27 a barrel on Monday, compared with $57.55 the previous Friday, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations. The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Oriente (Ecuador), ZaďŹ ro (Equatorial Guinea), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Qatar Marine (Qatar), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela). SOURCE: OPEC headquarters, Vienna

T H I S D AY Ëž , NOVEMBER 1, 2017

38

BUSINESS/MONEYGUIDE

Again, Nigeria’s Manufacturing Index Sustains Expansion Obinna Chima The Manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) stood at 55 index points in October 2017, indicating an expansion in the manufacturing sector for the seventh consecutive month. The PMI report for October obtained on the Central Bank of Nigeria’s website yesterday, showed that 11 of the 16 sub-sectors reported growth in the review month in the following order: plastics & rubber products; paper products; nonmetallic mineral products; chemical & pharmaceutical products; textile, apparel, leather & footwear; food, beverage & tobacco products; furniture & related products; primary metal; electrical equipment; printing & related support activities;

and fabricated metal products. But the appliances & components sub-sector remained unchanged, while remaining four sub-sectors contracted in the order: computer & electronic products; petroleum & coal products; cement; and transportation equipment. Also, the report showed that the production level index for manufacturing sector grew for the eighth consecutive month in October 2017. At 58.4 points, the index indicated an increase in production at a slower rate, when compared to its level in the preceding month. Eleven of the 16 manufacturing sub-sectors recorded increase in production level, whilefive remained unchanged during the review month. Also, at 52.8 points, the new orders index grew for the sev-

enth consecutive month. Seven sub-sectors reported growth, two remained unchanged while seven contracted in the review month. The supplier delivery time index for the manufacturing sector, at 55.5 points in October 2017, rose for the fifth consecutive month. Eleven subsectors recorded improved suppliers’ delivery time, 3 remained unchanged while two sub-sectors recorded delayed delivery time. The employment level index in October 2017 stood at 53.1 points, indicating growth in employment level for the sixth consecutive month. Of the 16 sub-sectors, seven recorded growth, four remained unchanged while five sub-sectors reduced their employment level in the review month.

Pension Fund Key to FG PPP Plan, Says ICRC Boss Ugo Aliogo The acting Director-General of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), Chidi Izuwah, has said that private capital funds as well as the pension fund are key drivers to federal government’s Public Private Partnership (PPP) plan. Izuwah, who made the remark in Lagos at the 2017 Institute of Directors (IoD) Fellows Investiture ceremony recently, said piecemeal funding of projects would not yield the desired transformation in the country. Therefore, he noted the need for active involvement of the private sector. He also stressed the need for significant improvement on infrastructure financing annually. “What is important is that we

need to put forward bankable projects because the private sector is interested in bankable projects. “Bankability requires that if the private sector invests, there must be returns in investment. We are looking for the right mechanisms for these projects, and provide the right frame work that can attract investors,� he noted. Continuing, Izuwah further explained that there was need for a partnership between the private sector and the government, adding that as a regulator, the ICRC provides the framework that revolves around public involvement, security of investment, affordability, and public interest that the investors are protected. According to him, “You require a pool of capital and

the pension fund is one of such capital “Pension funds will benefit from investing in infrastructure. Therefore the only way we can do that is through PPPs. They will not give their monies to government to build because when government does it there is no return on investment. “But if the private sector does it there is return on investment. Infrastructure is like an antidote to inflation,� he said. In his remarks, the President and Chairman of Governing Council IoD Nigeria, Alhaji Ahmed Mohammed, said the role of infrastructure was critical to the growth and advancement of any economy, stressing that government alone cannot bear the financial burden of providing adequate infrastructure in the economy.

CBN Pumps Another $195m into Forex Market The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), on Tuesday injected another $195 million into the interbank foreign exchange market. The central bank offered the sum of $100 million to the wholesale window and intervened in the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) segment with $50 million. The invisibles segment, comprising tuition, medical payments and Basic Travel Allowance received

$45 million. Confirming the figures, the Bank’s acting Director, Corporate Communications Department, Mr. Isaac Okorafor, reiterated CBN’s capacity to sustain the ongoing foreign exchange intervention especially now that the nation’s external reserve is on the upward climb, and stands at $34 billion. Okorafor urged banks to continue to honour requests from customers with genuine

needs, noting that the Bank will continue to sustain liquidity in the foreign exchange market. He also restated the Bank’s determination to achieve its objective of rates convergence, hence the consistent intervention in the foreign exchange market. Meanwhile, the nation’s currency maintained its stability in the forex market, exchanging at an average of N360/$1 in the BDC segment of the market.

Ecobank Pledges MoreTrade Finance to Customers Ecobank Nigeria has organised customer forum for exporters and importers targeted at boosting trade and commerce in the country. The Country Head, Commercial Banking, Ecobank Nigeria, Rotimi Morohunfola, said the forum was one of the several avenues by the Bank to support promoters and stakeholders in export and import business. He explained in a statement, that the engagement which was basically an interactive session, afforded the bank the opportunity to obtain feedback from participants with a view to serving them better. According to him, “We take into cognisance the role of exporters and importers in

the economy. The economy is largely driven by trade. “This was why we decided to hold this forum to engage our customers, feel their pulse, and also bring in the regulators like CBN to build capacity and further enlighten them on new trends and market practices.� Morohunfola further reassured participants of the bank’s determination to support them at all times, urging them to continue to do business with the bank. Presentations were made by Transaction Services Group, Treasury and Trade Operation departments of the bank. On support for small businesses, Head, SME, Commercial Banking, Ecobank Nigeria,

Sunkanmi Olowo, said the bank had put in place several initiatives to promote small and medium enterprises (SMEs). According to him, “Ecobank is commonly regarded as SME friendly bank. This is because of our support for the sub sector. For instance, we have an online mall called MyMall which presently have over 5000 SMEs trading on the platform globally; we are in partnership with EDC and Lagos Business School (LBS) where SME operators are trained and empowered to start their businesses; we offer window for them to access foreign exchange and also explore the CBN window to assist them. In fact, as a bank, we do a lot for the sub sector.�

CBN building

MARKET INDICATORS MONEY AND CREDIT STATISTICS

(MILLION NAIRA)

AUGUST 2017 Broad Money (M2)

21,851,454.31

-- Narrow Money (M1)

9,890,813.10

---- Currency Outside Banks

1,523,239.91

---- Demand Deposits

8,367,573.19

-- Quasi Money

11,960,641.22

Net Foreign Assets (NFA)

9,732,990.89

Net Domestic Assets(NDA)

12,118,463.42

-- Net Domestic Credit (NDC)

26,821,446.81

---- Credit to Government (Net)

4,824,226.22

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

7,834,536.74

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

-3,010,310.52

---- Credit to Private Sector (CPS)

21,997,220.59

--Other Assets Net

-14,702,983.39

Reserve Money (Base Money)

5,486,804.65

--Currency in Circulation

1,868,735.07

--Banks Reserves

3,268,266.17 Ëž Ă™Ă&#x;ĂœĂ?Ă? Ě‹

MANAGED FUNDS Month

AUGUST 2017

Inter-Bank Call Rate

22.63

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

14.00

Treasury Bill Rate

13.35

Savings Deposit Rate

4.08

1 Month Deposit Rate

8.86

3 Months Deposit Rate

10.14

6 Months Deposit Rate

11.51

12 Months Deposit Rate

11.40

Prime Lending rate

17.69

Maximum Lending Rate

31.20 Ëž Ă™Ă˜Ă?ĂžĂ‹ĂœĂŁ ÙÖÓĂ?ĂŁ Ă‹ĂžĂ? Ě‹ ͯ͹Ϲ

OPEC DAILY BASKET PRICE AS AT, MON, OCT 30 2017 The price of OPEC basket of fourteen crudes stood at $58.27 a barrel on Monday, compared with $57.55 the previous Friday, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations. The OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Oriente (Ecuador), ZaďŹ ro (Equatorial Guinea), Rabi Light (Gabon), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Qatar Marine (Qatar), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela). SOURCE: OPEC headquarters, Vienna

T H I S D AY Ëž , NOVEMBER 1, 2017

39

MARKET NEWS

Oando Records N7.1 Billion Profit After Tax in Q3 Goddy Egene and Nosa Alekhuogie The prospects are getting brighter for Oando Plc as the company has reported a profit after tax of N7.1 billion for the nine months ended September 30, 2017, compared with a loss of N35.886 billion in the corresponding period of 2016. According to the results,

released yesterday, Oando’s financials show positive performance across all financial indices. Turnover increased by 16 to N383.5 billion from N329.9 billion in comparative period of 2016, gross profit increased by 148 per cent to N71.2 billion from N28.6 billion while profit-after-tax increased by 120% to N7.1 billion from a loss of (N35.8

billion) in Q3 2016. Commenting on the results, Group Chief Executive, Oando Plc, Wale Tinubu said: “After five consecutive quarters of contraction, Nigeria’s official exit from the recession buoyed by improved performance in the oil, agriculture, manufacturing and trade sectors of the economy is laudable news. The continued increase in oil

prices to a 2017 high of $58 in September, coupled with ongoing peace efforts in the Niger Delta have significantly impacted our 4th successive profit declaration.� He said Oando continues to keep to the promise it made to shareholders during its 39th annual general meeting in 2016with the declaration of its fourth consecutive profit.

PRICES FOR SECURITIES TRADED AS OF

The company was proactive in its approach to cushion the effect of the oil downturn by immediately implementing its strategic growth initiatives. “Our third quarter financials are reflective of the continued implementation of our strategic initiatives of growth through our dollar earning upstream portfolio. Deleverage through recapitali-

A S AT 3 0 / 1 0 / 2 0 1 7

PRICES FOR PREMIUM BOARD SECURITIES

sation and asset divestments and the expansion of our oil export trading business. The proceeds from our business restructuring and asset sales have been successfully used to improve our balance sheet with a reduction of N18 billion in our debt position from N247 billion as at December 2016 to N229 billion today,� he added.

˾ WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2017

40

Nigeria Daily Stock Market Report: Wednesday, November 1, 2017

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 INDEX

dŚŝƐ ĂLJ ĨƌŝŶǀĞƐƚ ϰϬ /ŶĚĞdž ĞĐůŝŶĞƐ Ϭ͘Ϯй

Fundamental Performance Metrics for THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 Index

dŚĞ dŚŝƐ ĂLJ ĨƌŝŶǀĞƐƚ ϰϬ /ŶĚĞdž ĚĞĐůŝŶĞĚ Ϭ͘Ϯй LJĞƐƚĞƌĚĂLJ ƚŽ ĐůŽƐĞ Ăƚ ϭ͕ϰϳϵ͘ϵϭƉƚƐ͘ dŚĞ /ŶĚĞdž ǁĂƐ ĚƌĂŐŐĞĚ ďLJ ůŽƐƐĞƐ ŝŶ E/' Z/ E Z t Z/ ^ ;Ͳϭ͘ϬйͿ͕ E/d, ;ͲϮ͘ϬйͿ͕ ^^ ;ͲϬ͘ϮйͿ ĂŶĚ d/ ;Ͳ Ϯ͘ϲйͿ ǁŚŝĐŚ ĐƵŵƵůĂƟǀĞůLJ ĂĐĐŽƵŶƚ ĨŽƌ ϯϭ͘ϲй ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ŝŶĚĞdž͘ dŚŝƐ ĂLJ ĨƌŝŶǀĞƐƚ /ŶĚĞdž ŚĂƐ ŐĂŝŶĞĚ ϰϴ͘Ϭй zd ͘ ƋƵŝƚLJ DĂƌŬĞƚ džƚĞŶĚƐ 'ĂŝŶ͙ E^ ^/ ƵƉ ϱϰďƉƐ dŚĞ EŝŐĞƌŝĂŶ ĞƋƵŝƟĞƐ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ĞdžƚĞŶĚĞĚ ŐĂŝŶƐ Ăƚ ƚŚĞ ĐůŽƐĞ ŽĨ LJĞƐƚĞƌĚĂLJ͛Ɛ ƚƌĂĚĞ ĂƐ ƚŚĞ ůů ^ŚĂƌĞ /ŶĚĞdž ; ^/Ϳ ĞdžƉĂŶĚĞĚ Ϭ͘ϱй ƚŽ ƐĞƩůĞ Ăƚ ϯϲ͕ϲϴϬ͘ϯ ƉŽŝŶƚƐ ǁŚŝůĞ zd ƌĞƚƵƌŶ ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞĚ ƚŽ ϯϲ͘ϱй͘ Ɛ Ă ƌĞƐƵůƚ͕ ŝŶǀĞƐƚŽƌƐ ŐĂŝŶĞĚ Eϲϳ͘ϴďŶ ĂƐ ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ĐĂƉŝƚĂůŝnjĂƟŽŶ ƌŽƐĞ ƚŽ EϭϮ͘ϳƚŶ͘ zĞƐƚĞƌĚĂLJ͛Ɛ ƉŽƐŝƟǀĞ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ĐĂŶ ďĞ ůĂƌŐĞůLJ ĂƩƌŝďƵƚĞĚ ƚŽ ƉƌŝĐĞ ĂƉƉƌĞĐŝĂƟŽŶƐ ŝŶ E' D ;нϮ͘ϯйͿ͕ E ^d> ;нϭ͘ϴйͿ ĂŶĚ ^ W> d ;нϯ͘ϭйͿ͘ ^ŝŵŝůĂƌůLJ͕ ĂĐƟǀŝƚLJ ůĞǀĞů ƐƚƌĞŶŐƚŚĞŶĞĚ ĂƐ ǀŽůƵŵĞ ĂŶĚ ǀĂůƵĞ ƚƌĂĚĞĚ ŝŵƉƌŽǀĞĚ ϰϴ͘ϭй ĂŶĚ ϲϳ͘ϱй ƚŽ Ϯϱϵ͘ϭŵ ƵŶŝƚƐ ĂŶĚ Eϯ͘ϭďŶ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ͘ /ŶĚƵƐƚƌŝĂů 'ŽŽĚƐ /ŶĚĞdž >ĞĂĚƐ ƵůůŝƐŚ ^ĞĐƚŽƌĂů /ŶĚŝĐĞƐ WĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ

Ticker

THISDAY AFRINVEST 40 1

Guaranty Trust Bank PLC

2

Nigerian Breweries PLC

3

Zenith Bank PLC

4

Dangote Cement PLC

5

Nestle Nigeria PLC

6

(A Dealing Member of the Nigerian Stock Exchange)

6.5%

6.5x

0.7x

4.2%

12.1% 11.4%

0.0%

23.0%

70.0%

70.0%

26.0%

4.3%

8.7x

2.2x

4.9%

150.00

-1.0%

10.7%

1.4%

1.4%

18.9%

8.6%

36.9x

6.7x

2.4%

2.7%

25.49

-2.0%

13.5%

72.8%

72.8%

21.7%

3.2%

5.0x

1.0x

7.9%

19.9%

30.4%

15.7%

15.5x

4.4x

3.8%

6.5%

78.4%

19.0%

32.6x

21.6x

0.8%

3.1%

Access Bank PLC

9.80

-0.2%

4.4%

67.0%

67.0%

15.1%

2.0%

3.9x

0.6x

6.6%

25.4%

7

United Bank for Africa PLC

9.60

0.6%

5.4%

113.3%

113.3%

17.2%

2.2%

4.2x

0.7x

7.8%

23.7%

8

FBN Holdings Plc

6.20

0.8%

4.1%

85.1%

85.1%

2.6%

0.3%

10.1x

0.4x

3.2%

9.9%

9

Ecobank Transnational Inc

17.00

-2.8%

3.0%

65.4%

65.4%

-14.6%

-1.3%

0.6x

3.6%

-19.5%

10

Lafarge Africa PLC

3.6x

2.1%

11

SEPLAT Petroleum Development C

12

49.95

-0.1%

1.8%

22.0%

22.0%

62.7%

11.8%

495.00

3.1%

1.8%

30.3%

30.3%

-12.4%

-6.7%

Unilever Nigeria PLC

41.19

-3.7%

1.6%

29.4%

29.4%

50.3%

8.4%

25.4x

9.7x

0.2%

3.9%

43.64

-0.9%

3.1%

190.9%

190.9%

28.7%

3.4%

10.1x

2.6x

1.4%

9.9%

100.00

-0.4%

1.4%

27.2%

27.2%

4.5%

1.4%

70.4x

3.5x

0.6%

5.99

0.0%

1.3%

27.4%

27.4%

31.7%

2.8%

2.7x

0.6x

37.0% 9.9%

4.7x

0.6x

40.00

-2.4%

0.5%

-52.6%

-52.6%

44.3%

3.7%

10.1x

4.5x

-0.4%

21.2% -21.1%

1.4%

17

11 PLC

155.00

0.4%

-44.4%

-44.4%

32.6%

12.0%

8.2x

2.3x

5.2%

12.2%

18

Total Nigeria PLC

236.00

-1.7%

0.6%

-21.1%

-21.1%

37.3%

7.4%

8.8x

3.1x

2.5%

11.4%

19

Okomu Oil Palm PLC

65.00

0.0%

1.1%

61.8%

61.8%

37.4%

25.9%

8.7x

2.8x

2.3%

11.5%

20

UAC of Nigeria PLC

18.79

3.7%

0.7%

13.9%

13.9%

6.3%

2.2%

12.1x

0.8x

5.2%

8.3%

21

Conoil PLC

28.00

0.0%

0.4%

-25.3%

-25.3%

11.8%

3.1%

8.1x

1.0x

11.1%

12.3%

22

Fidelity Bank PLC

1.52

-6.2%

0.8%

81.0%

81.0%

8.0%

1.1%

1.3x

0.2x

9.2%

75.4%

0.7%

23

Dangote Sugar Refinery PLC

15.00

1.1%

145.5%

145.5%

23.8%

10.3%

5.9x

2.5x

3.3%

17.1%

24

Flour Mills of Nigeria PLC

31.50

5.0%

0.7%

70.4%

70.4%

10.4%

2.6%

7.9x

0.8x

3.2%

12.6%

25

Custodian and Allied Insurance

4.00

0.0%

0.4%

2.8%

2.8%

18.9%

7.6%

4.2x

0.7x

7.0%

26

7 UP Bottling Co PLC

90.00

0.0%

0.3%

-30.2%

-30.2%

-56.7%

-13.9%

4.4x

-18.7%

27

Julius Berger Nigeria PLC

29.33

0.0%

0.3%

-24.0%

-24.0%

-12.2%

-1.2%

1.5x

-7.8%

-1.8%

28

FCMB Group Plc

1.07

0.4%

-2.7%

-2.7%

0.9%

0.1%

12.5x

0.1x

29

Transnational Corp of Nigeria

1.44

3.6%

0.6%

65.5%

65.5%

19.6%

4.1%

5.8x

1.0x

30

Diamond Bank PLC

23.9%

9.3%

8.0% 17.4%

1.01

-1.0%

0.4%

14.8%

14.8%

1.6%

0.2%

3.9x

0.1x

0.0%

0.5%

65.8%

65.8%

53.3%

31.5%

2.7x

1.2x

2.3%

36.5%

2.2%

5.1%

25.9%

31

Presco PLC

66.50

32

PZ Cussons Nigeria PLC

23.00

0.0%

0.5%

58.6%

58.6%

11.5%

5.8%

19.7x

2.2x

33

International Breweries PLC

48.99

-0.4%

0.7%

164.8%

164.8%

29.4%

10.2%

39.0x

10.6x

34

Cadbury Nigeria PLC

10.50

-4.5%

0.3%

2.0%

2.0%

4.5%

1.6%

30.0x

1.8x

3.3%

35

Union Bank of Nigeria PLC

6.10

-1.5%

0.3%

27.8%

27.9%

6.1%

1.3%

7.8x

0.4x

12.8%

36

Chemical and Allied Products P

34.12

5.0%

0.2%

6.6%

6.6%

84.3%

38.5%

14.9x

10.5x

37

Sterling Bank PLC

1.00

-1.0%

0.2%

31.6%

31.6%

6.1%

0.6%

5.3x

0.3x

38

GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Niger

25.20

0.0%

0.3%

60.0%

60.0%

61.2%

23.6%

5.2x

1.9x

1.2%

4.1%

0.1%

21.6%

21.6%

11.9%

3.9%

10.1x

1.2x

2.5%

1.5%

0.1%

34.3%

34.3%

9.6%

4.4%

7.8x

0.7x

39

AXA Mansard Insurance PLC

2.03

40

Continental Reinsurance PLC

1.33

T o p 10 G a ine r s T ic k er D A N GF LOUR FO H ON YF LOUR

2.6%

6.4%

P ric e C hg %

T ic k er

9.08

10.2%

40.99

7.1%

2.11

5.0%

UB A

Vo lum e

P ric e C hg %

FB NH

26.5

-0.8%

D IA M ON D B N K

26.2

-1.9%

16.1

2.5%

2.83

4.8%

Z EN IT H B A N K

15.6

1.1%

4.3%

T R A N SC OR P

14.8

-1.4% -2.4%

2.10

4.0%

F ID ELIT YB K

8.1

240.00

3.1%

WEM A B A N K

7.1

0.0%

ET I

17.49

2.6%

FCM B

4.9

-0.9%

UB A

9.54

2.5%

A C C ESS

4.7

-0.4%

UC A P

3.10

2.0%

GUA R A N T Y

4.4

0.0%

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

T ic k er

Value

P ric e C hg %

P ric e

P ric e C hg %

M OR ISON

0.60

-4.8%

Z EN IT H B A N K

401.4

1.1%

LIVEST OC K

0.85

-4.5%

D A N GC EM

256.2

0.0%

50.00

-3.8%

GUA R A N T Y

182.6

0.0%

ST ER LN B A N K

1.01

-3.8%

FB NH

162.1

-0.8%

M A N SA R D

1.95

-3.5%

UB A

151.9

2.5%

N EM

1.24

-3.1%

NB

120.2

-0.3%

F ID ELIT YB K

1.62

-2.4%

GUIN N ESS

78.6

0.3%

NP FM CRFB K

1.25

-2.3%

N EST LE

48.9

0.0%

480.00

-2.0%

A C C ESS

45.2

-0.4%

14.90

-2.0%

D A N GF LOUR

39.2

10.2%

WA P C O

SEP LA T

9.9%

T o p 10 T r a d e s b y V o l u m e

P ric e

11.00

T OT A L

19.1%

12.8%

C A D B UR Y C UT IX

6.7% 19.0%

VIT A F OA M

D A N GSUGA R

Afrinvest Securities Limited

20.6%

-0.2%

42.00

54.6%

/ŶǀĞƐƚŽƌ ^ĞŶƟŵĞŶƚ ^ƚƌĞŶŐƚŚĞŶƐ

(RC 603 315)

48.0%

1,479.91

28.7%

Forte Oil PLC

48.0%

Divinden Earnings d Yield Yield

54.6%

16

dŚĞ ŝŵƉƌĞƐƐŝǀĞ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĂŶĐĞ ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ ŝŶ ϵD͗ϮϬϭϳ ǁĂƐ ŵĂũŽƌůLJ ĚƵĞ ƚŽ ŶŽƟĐĞĂďůĞ ŝŵƉƌŽǀĞŵĞŶƚƐ ŝŶ ŝŶĐŽŵĞ ĨƌŽŵ ƚŚĞ ĞŶĞƌŐLJ Ăƌŵ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ĐŽŵƉĂŶLJ͛Ɛ ŽƉĞƌĂƟŽŶƐ ĂƐ ǁĞůů ĂƐ ŝŶĐƌĞĂƐĞĚ &y ůŝƋƵŝĚŝƚLJ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ƐLJƐƚĞŵ͘ ŽŶƐĞƋƵĞŶƚůLJ͕ ǁĞ ĞdžƉĞĐƚ ŝŶǀĞƐƚŽƌƐ͛ ƌĞĂĐƟŽŶ ƚŽ ƚŚĞ ƐƚŽĐŬ ƚŽ ďĞ ƉŽƐŝƟǀĞ ĂŶĚ ƚŚŝƐ ĐŽƵůĚ ƉŽƚĞŶƟĂůůLJ ůĞĂĚ ƚŽ Ă ƌĂůůLJ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ƐƚŽĐŬ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ƐŚŽƌƚ ƚŽ ŵĞĚŝƵŵ ƚĞƌŵ͘

P/BV

28.7%

Oando PLC

KŶ Ă ƋƵĂƌƚĞƌ ŽŶ ƋƵĂƌƚĞƌ ďĂƐŝƐ͕ dZ E^ KZW͛Ɛ ƌĞƐƵůƚƐ ǁĞƌĞ ůĂƌŐĞůLJ ŝŵƉƌĞƐƐŝǀĞ ĂƐ ŐƌŽƐƐ ƌĞǀĞŶƵĞ ŐƌĞǁ ϮϮ͘ϳйYͲŽͲY ƚŽ EϮϮ͘ϱďŶ ;ƵƉ ĨƌŽŵ Eϭϴ͘ϰďŶ ŝŶ YϮ͗ϮϬϭϳͿ͕ ďƵŽLJĞĚ ďLJ ŐĂŝŶƐ ŝŶ ŽƉĞƌĂƟŶŐ ŝŶĐŽŵĞ ƵƉ ϱϱ͘Ϭй YͲŽͲY ƚŽ Eϳ͘ϴďŶ ;ĨƌŽŵ Eϱ͘ϬďŶ ƚŚĞ ƉƌĞǀŝŽƵƐ ƋƵĂƌƚĞƌͿ ĂŶĚ ŶŽŶͲŽƉĞƌĂƟŶŐ ŝŶĐŽŵĞ ǁŚŝĐŚ ŝŵƉƌŽǀĞĚ ϰϳ͘ϯй YͲŽͲY ƚŽ Eϯ͘ϯďŶ ĨƌŽŵ EϮ͘ϯďŶ ŝŶ YϮ͗ϮϬϭϳͿ͘ >ŝŬĞǁŝƐĞ W d ĂŶĚ W d ĂĚǀĂŶĐĞĚ ϲϭ͘Ϯй ĂŶĚ ϱϬ͘ϴй ƚŽ Eϰ͘ϱďŶ ĂŶĚ Eϰ͘ϬďŶ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ ŝŶ Yϯ͗ϮϬϭϳ͘

P/E

6.8%

15

>ŝŬĞǁŝƐĞ͕ EĞƚ ĮŶĂŶĐĞ ĐŽƐƚ ŝŵƉƌŽǀĞĚ ƐŝŐŶŝĮĐĂŶƚůLJ ƚŽ Eϳ͘ϴďŶ ŝŶ ϵD͗ϮϬϭϳ ;ĚŽǁŶ ϲϴ͘ϭй zͲŽͲz ĨƌŽŵ EϮϰ͘ϰďŶ ŝŶ ϵD͗ϮϬϭϲͿ ǁŚŝůĞ W d ĂŶĚ W d ƐƚŽŽĚ Ăƚ Eϵ͘ϬďŶ ĂŶĚ Eϴ͘ϮďŶ ŝŶ ϵD͗ϮϬϭϳ ĨƌŽŵ Ă ůŽƐƐ ŽĨ EϭϮ͘ϴďŶ ĂŶĚ Eϭϰ͘ϮďŶ ƌĞĐŽƌĚĞĚ ŝŶ ϵD͗ϮϬϭϲ͘ dZ E^ KZW͛Ɛ ƚŽƚĂů ĂƐƐĞƚƐ ŐƌĞǁ ϭϵ͘ϱй ƚŽ Ϯϳϳ͘ϱďŶ ĨƌŽŵ EϮϯϮ͘ϮďŶ ĂƐ Ăƚ &z͗ϮϬϭϲ͘

ROA

6.3%

Guinness Nigeria PLC

dZ E^ KZW ƌĞůĞĂƐĞĚ ŝƚƐ ϵD͗ϮϬϭϳ ƌĞƐƵůƚƐ ůĂƐƚ ǁĞĞŬ͕ ƌĞĐŽƌĚŝŶŐ Ă ϯϱ͘ϰй zͲŽͲz ŐƌŽǁƚŚ ƵƉ ĨƌŽŵ Eϰϭ͘ϵďŶ ƚŽ Eϱϲ͘ϴďŶ ŝŶ ϵD͗ϮϬϭϳ͘ 'ƌŽƐƐ ƉƌŽĮƚ ĂůƐŽ ŝŶĐƌĞĂƐĞĚ Ϯϵ͘ϭй zͲŽͲz ĨƌŽŵ Eϭϵ͘ϴďŶ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ƉƌĞǀŝŽƵƐ LJĞĂƌ ƚŽ EϮϱ͘ϲďŶ ŝŶ ϵD͗ϮϬϭϳ ĂůŽŶŐ ǁŝƚŚ ŽƉĞƌĂƟŶŐ ƉƌŽĮƚ ǁŚŝĐŚ ƌŽƐĞ ϰϬ͘ϭй zͲŽͲz͕ ĨƌŽŵ Eϭϭ͘ϲďŶ ƚŽ Eϭϲ͘ϮďŶ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ƐĂŵĞ ƉĞƌŝŽĚ͘

ROE

1.8%

14

dƌĂŶƐŶĂƟŽŶĂů ŽƌƉŽƌĂƟŽŶ ŽĨ EŝŐĞƌŝĂ WůĐ ;͞dZ E^ KZW͟Ϳ ŝƐ Ă ƉƵďůŝĐůLJ ůŝƐƚĞĚ EŝŐĞƌŝĂŶ ĐŽŶŐůŽŵĞƌĂƚĞ ŽŶ ƚŚĞ EŝŐĞƌŝĂŶ ^ƚŽĐŬ džĐŚĂŶŐĞ ǁŝƚŚ ĐŽƌĞ ďƵƐŝŶĞƐƐ ŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƚƐ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ Kŝů Θ 'ĂƐ͕ ,ŽƐƉŝƚĂůŝƚLJ͕ ŶĞƌŐLJ ĂŶĚ ŐƌŝĐƵůƚƵƌĂů ƐĞĐƚŽƌƐ͘ dŚĞ ĐŽŵƉĂŶLJ ĐƵƌƌĞŶƚůLJ ŚĂƐ Ă ŵĂƌŬĞƚ ĐĂƉŝƚĂůŝnjĂƟŽŶ ŽĨ Eϱϱ͘ϮďŶ͘

Price Change Index to Date

2.3%

Stanbic IBTC Holdings PLC

ŽŵƉĂŶLJ ŝŶ &ŽĐƵƐ͗ dƌĂŶƐŶĂƟŽŶĂů ŽƌƉŽƌĂƟŽŶ ŽĨ EŝŐĞƌŝĂ WůĐ ;͞dZ E^ KZW͟Ϳ

Price Change YTD

224.00

13

Previous Current Price Weighting Change

1,252.00

dŚĞ /ŶĚƵƐƚƌŝĂů 'ŽŽĚƐ ŝŶĚĞdž ůĞĚ ƉĞƌĨŽƌŵĞƌƐ͕ ƵƉ ϭ͘ϭй͕ ĚƵĞ ƚŽ ŐĂŝŶƐ ŝŶ E' D ;нϮ͘ϯйͿ͘ dŚĞ Kŝů Θ 'ĂƐ ĂŶĚ /ŶƐƵƌĂŶĐĞ ŝŶĚŝĐĞƐ ƚƌĂŝůĞĚ ĐůŽƐĞůLJ͕ ƵƉ ϭ͘Ϭй ĂŶĚ Ϭ͘ϵй͕ ĚƌŝǀĞŶ ďLJ ƌĂůůLJ ŝŶ ^ W> d ;нϯ͘ϭйͿ ĂŶĚ D E^ Z ;нϰ͘ϭйͿ ƌĞƐƉĞĐƟǀĞůLJ͘ ^ŝŵŝůĂƌůLJ͕ ƚŚĞ ŽŶƐƵŵĞƌ 'ŽŽĚƐ ŝŶĚĞdž ;нϬ͘ϮйͿ ĐůŽƐĞĚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ŐƌĞĞŶ ŽŶ ƚŚĞ ďĂĐŬ ŽĨ ƉƌŝĐĞ ĂƉƉƌĞĐŝĂƟŽŶ ŝŶ E ^d> ;нϭ͘ϴйͿ͘ ,ŽǁĞǀĞƌ͕ ƚŚĞ ĂŶŬŝŶŐ ŝŶĚĞdž ǁĂƐ Ă ůŽŶĞ ůŽƐĞƌ͕ ĚŽǁŶ Ϭ͘ϵй ĂƐ ŝŶǀĞƐƚŽƌƐ ƚŽŽŬ ƉƌŽĮƚ ŝŶ E/d, ;Ͳ Ϯ͘ϬйͿ͘

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Current Price

Investment Research

Brokerage Ayodeji Ebo | aebo@afrinvest.com

Robert Omotunde | romotunde@afrinvest.com

Bolaji Fajenyo | bfajenyo@afrinvest.com

Omotola Abimbola | oabimbola@afrinvest.com

41

˾ WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2017

MARKET NEWS

Diamond Bank Grows Profit to N6bn in Nine Months Goddy Egene Diamond Bank Plc has recorded growth in its financial results for the nine months ended September 30, 2017. The results released to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) showed gross earnings of N168.4 billion, while net interest income stood at N89.502 billion, compared with N78.414 billion in the corresponding period of 2016. Impairment charges shrunk by 16 per cent to N35.3 billion, a

development the bank attributed to management’s prudent approach to loan underwriting. Profit before tax grew by 71 per cent from N3.892 billion to N6.67 billion, while profit after tax rose from N3.511 billion to N5.91 billion. Commenting on the results, Chief Executive Officer of Diamond Bank Plc, Uzoma Dozie, stated that its modest growth in the last three business quarters under review despite the lull in economic activity and

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

hazy operating environment, was the result of management’s focus on key strategic projections across the three core segments of retail, business and corporate banking. According to him, the bank has a lot to do as the management will continue to passionately pursue its technology-driven retail strategy to optimise cost, boost financial performance in the medium to long term and strengthen support for MSMEs. Dozie said: “We are happy

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 30Oct-2017, unless otherwise stated.

with the progress we have made against our technology-led retail strategy and in areas of our financial performance, but there is more to do in the remaining quarter and beyond. Specifically, we are committed to further developing our technology and operational infrastructure that allows us to scale rapidly, efficiently and cost effectively across Nigeria.” Looking ahead, he said they expect the Nigerian economy to further improve during the

remainder of the year and into 2018. “Therefore, we plan to make more financial support available to small and medium business owners and have revamped our propositions to this segment in anticipation of this. This is fully aligned to our ethos of fuelling growth across Nigeria by supporting businesses and entrepreneurship,” Uzoma stated. Market analysts noted that as the economy continue on

the path to full recovery and strong economic activity after the exit from recession, Diamond Bank’s resolve to strengthen its partnerships with domestic and international bodies including MTN, The Gates Foundation and World Women Banking, will help boost and promote innovations in the development of products to drive financial inclusion in the country, and, in extension, shore up customer and deposit base in the business years ahead.

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 1 270 1680 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Afrinvest Equity Fund 177.22 178.21 39.66% Nigeria International Debt Fund 233.84 234.96 10.64% ALTERNATIVE CAPITAL PARTNERS LTD info@acapng.com Web: www.acapng.com, Tel: +234 1 291 2406, +234 1 291 2868 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn ACAP Canary Growth Fund 0.82 0.82 16.51% ACAP Income Funds 0.62 0.62 77.79% 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 100.00 100.00 17.84% 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 17.61 18.14 42.62% ARM Discovery Fund 369.58 380.73 28.70% ARM Ethical Fund 26.14 26.93 17.00% ARM Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 17.87% 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 148.03 149.07 40.74% AXA Mansard Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 18.06% 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 19.04% Paramount Equity Fund 11.57 11.87 23.63% Women's Investment Fund 94.94 97.47 12.28% 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 18.36% FBN CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD invest@fbnquest.com Web: www.fbnquest.com; Tel: +234-81 0082 0082 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn FBN Fixed Income Fund 1,104.32 1,105.41 9.05% FBN Heritage Fund 146.72 147.96 31.60% FBN Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 17.94% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Institutional $111.04 $112.21 8.05% FBN Nigeria Eurobond (USD) Fund - Retail $110.48 $111.65 8.25% FBN Nigeria Smart Beta Equity Fund 158.54 160.90 40.83% FIRST CITY ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD fcamhelpdesk@fcmb.com Web: www.fcamltd.com; Tel: +234 1 462 2596 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Legacy Equity Fund 1.38 1.40 47.87% Legacy Short Maturity (NGN) Fund 2.92 2.92 13.53% 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 Growth Fund 2,922.57 2,963.32 32.92% Coral Income Fund 2,400.73 2,400.73 15.20% GREENWICH ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED assetmanagement@gtlgroup.com Web: www.gtlgroup.com ; Tel: +234 1 4619261-2 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Greenwich Plus Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 17.48% 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 1.00 1.00 17.92% Vantage Balanced Fund 2.06 2.09 22.95% Vantage Guaranteed Income Fund 1.00 1.00 18.39% Kedari Investment Fund (KIF) 112.42 112.42 15.86%

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 1.15 1.17 16.10% Lotus Halal Fixed Income Fund 1,032.74 1,032.74 9.67% 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 13.07 13.18 35.27% Meristem Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 18.82% 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 1.20 1.22 20.46% PACAM Fixed Income Fund 10.84 10.89 4.25% PACAM Money Market Fund 10.00 10.00 13.95% 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 125.27 127.63 23.69% 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 1.40 1.40 12.10% 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 2,195.72 2,208.74 19.93% Stanbic IBTC Bond Fund 171.14 171.14 11.16% Stanbic IBTC Ethical Fund 0.97 0.99 27.27% Stanbic IBTC Guaranteed Investment Fund 214.17 214.17 14.60% Stanbic IBTC Iman Fund 169.97 172.15 30.91% Stanbic IBTC Money Market Fund 100.00 100.00 17.82% Stanbic IBTC Nigerian Equity Fund 9,469.76 9,580.90 24.88% Stanbic IBTC Dollar Fund (USD) 1.05 1.05 5.00% UNITED CAPITAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LTD unitedcapitalplcgroup.com Web: www.unitedcapitalplcgroup.com; Tel: +234 803 306 2887 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn United Capital Balanced Fund 1.31 1.32 17.30% United Capital Bond Fund 1.49 1.49 22.26% United Capital Equity Fund 0.89 0.91 32.36% United Capital Money Market Fund 1.00 1.00 18.50% ZENITH ASSETS MANAGEMENT LTD info@zenith-funds.com Web: www.zenith-funds.com; Tel: +234 1-2784219 Fund Name Bid Price Offer Price Yield / T-Rtn Zenith Equity Fund 12.54 12.72 29.01% Zenith Ethical Fund 13.19 13.33 20.57% Zenith Income Fund 18.72 18.72 13.16%

REITS NAV Per Share

Yield / T-Rtn

11.41 131.31

1.01% 5.92%

Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

10.78 137.03 106.20

10.88 140.00 108.20

24.92% 38.52% 40.15%

Fund Name FSDH UPDC Real Estate Investment Fund SFS Skye Shelter Fund

EXCHANGE TRADED FUNDS Fund Name Lotus Halal Equity Exchange Traded Fund SIAML Pension ETF 40 Stanbic IBTC ETF 30 Fund

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 Industrial Goods Exchange Traded Fund Vetiva S&P Nigeria Sovereign Bond Exchange Traded Fund

funds@vetiva.com Bid Price

Offer Price

Yield / T-Rtn

4.55 8.87 17.02 19.79 139.95

4.59 8.95 17.12 19.99 141.95

64.29% 26.03% 43.81% 23.93% 10.37%

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.

42

T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 1, 2017

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T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 1, 2017

Vol. 1 Issue 17 Nov. 01, 2017

Nextier Power is a consulting firm that provides policy advisory, investment advisory, and support services to the electricity supply industry. The firm aims to use this weekly publication to educate Nigerians on the intricacies of the Nigeria electricity supply industry on the assumption that a more informed public would advocate for the right policies and programmes which, in turn, would lead to a robust market that delivers the electricity needs of Nigerians. This column will cover everything from the basics of the industry to the more intricate, sometimes, complex policies and programmes.

Practical steps to Achieving Renewable Energy Target be an

Introduction Nigeria is endowed with oil and natural resources but has grappled with providing adequate electricity supply throughout history. The country generates less than 5,000 megawatts (MW) for a population of over 180 million people and there are often complaints of power outage despite privatising the power sector four years ago. Nigeria electricity generation still lingers around 28,000MWH to 30,000MWH since privatization.

Financing: is vital for renewable projects. Deliberate policies of the FG are required to lower interest rates, and enhance access to foreign exchange, as most of the equipment need to be imported until Nigeria develops a robust capacity to locally manufacture components.

To improve the situation, Nigeria has set a target to achieving 45% of its electricity generation from Renewable Energy (RE) sources. This corresponds with the Climate Change agenda being adopted by developed nations. RE sources comprise of electricity generated through solar panels; wind propelled turbines, biomass, geothermal energy and using hydro resources. These are said to be clean, efficient and reliable. Though Nigeria seems far off, its strategies contains opportunities to key into a robust renewable energy drive. Countries in Europe, Asia and the United States are setting targets to phase out combustion-based automobiles (those using petrol). Last weekend, Germany said it could pay electricity users for taking more power because it had expected excess generation triggered by 39,370 MW of wind power forecast. Nigeria Renewable Energy Master Plan In an apparent move to correct this over concentration on gas, the Federal Ministry of Power, Works and Housing in July 2016, launched a robust energy mix roadmap contained in the document tagged: ‘The Nigerian Power Sector Investment Opportunities and Guidelines’. The guide which is the first of its kind for the power sector, seeks to diversify the electricity grid by 2019. It is expected that by then, Nigeria would have attained 10,325MW of electricity, and attained 30,000MW by 2030. The document contains the actual renewable energy target of 45 percent attainment for Nigeria by year 2030. If the projection for 2030 becomes reality, it will no doubt solve issues of current overdependence on gas-to-power which currently accounts for 86% of electricity generation on the national grid, with Large Hydro Power (LHP) contributing only 14%. Achieving this target requires strict adherence to the guidelines. In 2015, Nigeria delved into lighting up rural areas not connected to the national grid with solar photo voltaic (pv) technology. Through a programme tagged,

for private investment to thrive. Such incentives are encouraging some current investors in the sector to execute solar projects. For example, Mainstream Energy Solutions Limited (MESL) is one of such, planning a 350MW solar generation.

‘Operation Light up Rural Nigeria (OLRN)’, solar pilot projects were done in Durumi, Waru and Shape rural areas within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). However, a breakdown of the energy target in the investment guide shows that by 2019 and at 10,325MW power, renewable energy contribution should have risen to about 25 percent. Solar power is expected to contribute 10 percent, 12 percent is expected from Large Hydro Power (LHP), two per cent from Small Hydro Power (SHP), and one per cent from Coal-to-power. The guide which supports huge private sector investments by 2030, targets an energy mix of 45% gas-to-power. The renewable energy sources would include 16% of solar, 15% of Large Hydro Power (LHP), and 4% from coal-topower. Other renewable sources are 4 per cent Small Hydro Power (SHP), 4 per cent from Biomass, and 3 per cent from wind. A study by the Nigerian Energy Support Programme (NESP) identified 47,489 population clusters. Of these, approximately 34,446 of the clusters having 57.1million people could have access to grid power by grid extension while the other 13,043 clusters of 116.9m be electrified with renewable energy sources. 7,210 clusters with a population of 2.8m people mostly in rural and off-grid areas were recommended for electrification using Solar Home System (SHS). Renewable Energy Strategy and Implementation Plan (RESIP) The RESIP plan gives substantial consideration to mini grid and off grid solutions to light up unserved rural communities across Nigeria. Its primary objective is to expand access to electricity as rapidly as possible in a cost-effective manner. In addition to addressing the immediate need for power, mini-grids can

important step towards eventual interconnection to the grid by building upload and willingness to pay for electricity service, thus improving the viability of grid extension to a given locality. Identifying the Gap With over 80 million Nigerians without access to power from the national grid, there are many opportunities to light up these communities them via renewable energy sources. Although the RE target applied so both grid and off-grid electrification, a significant step made to diversify grid electricity by the FG was the signing of about 14 Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) on solar-based power plants with the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET) in 2016. The construction of the plants worth over $1.75 billion would begin as soon as the financial close is reached and would be taking about 18 months to get them on the grid. Situated across Katsina, Bauchi, Nasarawa, Kaduna and the FCT, the plants are expected to add 1,125MW electricity to the grid just from solar. Following these, the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has also developed a Feed-In Tariff (FIT) for solarbased electricity just as it is for present grid generation under the Multi Year Tariff Order (MYTO) 2015. The new Mini Grid Regulation by NERC now allows more investments in small and medium renewable energy projects across industrial clusters and communities.

Renewable Energy Bank (REB): There is a need to create a REB to encourage knowledge sharing and data sharing to encourage this segment to grow quickly. This is because the power sector is the centre of economic development for any country globally. It is on record that once we can fix the Nigerian power sector, our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) cannot be equaled in the African continent. Risk to Achieving the RE Targets To achieve the 45% energy mix target by 2030, it is important that all relevant stakeholders remain committed to their roles as envisaged by the RE Master Plan. Fluctuation of macroeconomic variables such as interest rates, the forex earnings from crude oil sales etc. continues to risk the achievement of the RE target. Conclusion Over dependence on gas for electricity has caused more outages in times of vandalism, hence developing alternative solutions is best. Equally, rather than seeking huge and time consuming investments in building more gas-fired power plants, government must encourage private investors to raise solar, wind and other renewable energy power plants that takes less than 24 months to construct, and have zero impact on the environment. These steps will also catalysing industrial and economic activities across states and places in Nigeria.

Author Simon Sunday Journalist.

is a Power Sector

Editor Chinazo Ifeanyi-Nwaoha is a power sector analyst. Next Topics

Policy Making Tax: Part of FG support for renewable energy sources is to remove taxes or grant tax waivers on the importation of renewable energy equipment. This is seen as a huge incentive along with a solar energy tariff and the mini grid regulation

Nov. 8

Addressing Key Issues: Gas to Power

Nov. 15

Addressing Key Issues: Coal to Power

Nov. 22

Addressing Key Issues: Generation Infrastructures

www.nextierpower.com empower@nextierpower.com

T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 1, 2017

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TRUSTFUND PENSIONS LIMITED

NSITF SCHEME PENSIONERS REVALIDATION EXERCISE A nationwide revalidation exercise of pensioners under the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) Scheme will commence from 1st November, 2017 to 30th November, 2017 from 9am to 5pm daily. Pensioners are expected to present themselves in person at the following verification centres: S/NO.

CENTRE

CENTRE ADDRESS

1

ABUJA/LAFIA

PLOT 820/821, LABOUR HOUSE, CENTRAL BUSINESS DISTRICT, ABUJA

2

JOS/MAKURDI

NO. 1 LUGARD RD. JOS

3

MINNA

No. A61, JUSTICE MUAZU WAY, BABA IYAKA PLAZA, OPPOSITE OLD SECRETARIAT, MINNA

4

LOKOJA

PLOT 2, WALLACE RD. BY POST SERVICE RD. LOKOJA

5

PORT HARCOURT

77, LIBERATION STADIUM RD, OFF ABA RD. P/HARCOURT

6

UYO/CALABAR

162 ORON RD. OPPOSITE ROMACO FILLING STATION, UYO

7

BENIN/AKURE

NO 63 SAPELE RD (OPPOSITE EDO STATE LIBRARY COMPLEX) BENIN

8

ASABA

SAMOUND HOUSE, NO 4, OKPANAM RD. BESIDE SOUTH GATE HOTEL, ASABA

9

KANO/KATSINA

NO. 11C MURTALA MOHAMMED WAY OPPOSITE GOLF COURSE KANO

10

SOKOTO/GUSAU

NO 1 KADUNA ROAD, NSITF BUILDING, SOKOTO

11

KADUNA/ZARIA

BB 24, IBRAHIM TAIWO RD. (EAST AHMADU BELLO WAY) BEFORE GABASAWA POLICE STATION, KADUNA

12

BAUCHI/GOMBE

NEAR RIMI CLINIC, RIMI ROAD, OLD GRA, BAUCHI

13

MAIDUGURI/YOLA

NO. 14 SHEHU LAMINU WAY, NSITF BUILDING, MAIDUGURI

14

ENUGU

1A NWODO STREET, GRA ENUGU

15

AWKA

NO 90 ZIK AVENUE, AWKA

16

ABA

NO 132 MARKET RD. ABA

17

OWERRI

SUIT 6 (GROUND FLOOR) AWIBE PLAZA IMCC/URATTA RD. OWERRI

18

IBADAN/ILORIN/OSHOGBO

PLOT 116/117 MOSHOOD ABIOLA WAY, IYANA ADEOYE, RING ROAD, IBADAN

19

ABEOKUTA/IJEBU -ODE

1 AZEEZ AYORINDE STREET (IKIJA HOUSE) PANSEKE, ABEOKUTA

20

ONIPANU /OTA

154 IKORODU ROAD. ONIPANU BUS STOP, ONIPANU - LAGOS

21

V/ISLAND/IKOYI/ BROAD STREET

19 BISHOP KALE STREET, OPPOSITE STARCOMMS,OFF SAKA TINUBU STREET,VICTORIA ISLAND- LAGOS

22

AMUWO ODOFIN / OJO

SAVIOURâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S HOUSE, PLOT 7 BLOCK 18D, AMUWO LINK ROAD, AMUWO ODOFIN

23

WARRI

RESIDENTIAL SCHEME BY APPLE JUNCTION/FESTAC VALUATION HOUSE, NO 87A AIRPORT ROAD BY UGBOROKE JUNCTION, WARRI

Pensioners are required to come along with the following documents: 1. NSITF Pensioners ID card 2. Letter of retirement or disengagement issued by the last employer 3. Bank Account document (to include bank verification number) 4. Previous copies of revalidation slips 5. Any other documents related to membership of NSITF All Pensioners are required to attend the verification exercise. Any pensioner who fails to appear for verification will have his or her pension stopped immediately. The verification exercise will be monitored by the National Pension Commission (PenCom) For further information, please call the following telephone lines: 09-4628400 and 08069778760 SIGNED: MANAGEMENT

Labour House, Plot 820/821 Central Business District, P.M.B. 254, Garki, Abuja Email:enquiries@trustfundpensions.com website: www.trustfundpensions.com

T H I S D AY WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 1, 2017

Collocation

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IANCE LL PA

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presents

Lead Speaker

Lead Speaker

Chief Anthony Idigbe

Sheraton Hotel Abuja | November 1, 2017 | 10.00am

Chairman

Special Guest of Honour

Keynote Speaker

Mr. Luke Fadem

Prof. Yemi Osinbajo SAN Abubakar Malami SAN Justice A. G. Karibi-Whyte CFR (Rtd)

A Symposium on Speeding Up Criminal Litigation In Nigeria

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CWAG AAP

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Lead Speaker

Rotimi Jacobs

FISE IN ASSOCIATION WITH CONFERENCE OF WESTERN ATTORNEYS GENERAL (CWAG) Africa Alliance Partnership

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INTERNATIONAL

email:foreigndesk@thisdaylive.com

NewYork Attack: At Least Eight Killed as Truck Ploughs into Cyclists At least eight people have been killed in New York after the driver of a truck mowed down people on a pedestrian and cycle path in Lower Manhattan. The driver, in a Home Depot rental truck, jumped on to a kerb at West Houston Street and drove south on the West Street bike path on west side of West Side Highway, an NYPD official told CNN. The truck driver hit a school bus and wrecked his truck, the official added. Four people, who were removed from the bus, sustained minor injuries, he also said. The driver of a truck drove the wrong way down the West Side Highway bike path for several blocks on the lower west side of Manhattan on Tuesday afternoon, striking people and leaving up to six people dead, according to two senior law enforcement sources at the New York Police Department. A man who emerged from the vehicle brandishing imitation firearms was shot and arrested by police officers. He was promptly taken into police custody and taken to the hospital for treatment, sources at the NYPD said, adding that police were not ruling out terrorism as part of the investigation. There were several fatalities and numerous people injured, NYPD said in a tweet. Two senior law enforcement sources added that it appears to be deliberate act. The incident took place close to various schools as the city celebrated

Halloween, AFP explained. Police urged people to avoid the area as a major emergency services operation got under way. US police have described the incident as a terror attack. Meanwhile, New York City’s mayor and governor arrived promptly at the scene. One eyewitness, identified as “Eugene,” told ABC Channel 7 that he saw a white pick-up truck driving fast down the cycle path alongside the West Side Highway, near Stuyvesant High School, at full speed and hitting a number of people. He also reported hearing about nine or 10 shots. The city, which has frequently been on high security alert since the September 11, 2001 Al-Qaeda attacks on the Twin Towers, is America’s financial and entertainment capital, with a population of 8.5 million. “The vehicle struck multiple people on the path. There are several fatalities and numerous people injured,” police tweeted. “The vehicle continued south striking another vehicle. The suspect exited the vehicle displaying imitation firearms & was shot by NYPD.” Emergency services said the incident happened at 3:06 pm (1906 GMT) at Chambers and West Streets in the upmarket TriBeCa neighborhood, near Stuyvesant High School.

Police officers and ambulances swamped the area, in front of a park and next to a school as sirens wailed continuously and helicopters roared through the sky. Worried parents gathered outside a public elementary school that had closed, waiting to see if they could collect children who stayed after the end of the classes for extracurricular lessons and activities. “I didn’t see the actual shooting, but I got there about 30 seconds after,” said witness John Williams, 22, who was en route to the park. “There was a smell of gunshots. “There was a man lying on the ground. It looked as he’d been shot,” Williams added. New York State GovernorAndrew Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio were briefed on the incident at the scene. President Donald Trump has been briefed on the incident, the White House said. “OurThoughtsandprayersarewith all those affected,” spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said. First Lady Melania Trump, who was in New York City today for meetings, tweeted shortly afterwards: My heart breaks for #NYC today. Thoughts & prayers as we monitor the situation. Retailer Home Depot confirmed that the truck was a rental. “We’ll be cooperating with authorities in their investigation,” a spokesperson told AFP in an email.

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NEWSEXTRA

Senate Suspends Consideration of Motion Declaring ECA Illegal Laments non-completion of National Library 11 years after award Damilola Oyedele in Abuja The Senate yesterday suspended consideration of a motion seeking to declare the Excess Crude Account (ECA) illegal on grounds that it has no legal backing and is operated without checks and balances.

The consideration was suspended at the request of the lead sponsor, Senator Rose Oko (Cross River PDP) who asked for time to “make further consultations” on the motion. The motion listed on the order paper, has 42 other senators as

Why NNPC Shelved Planned Dinner With N’Assembly Members Chineme Okafor in Abuja The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) may have postponed its planned dinner last night with members of the National Assembly because of President Muhammadu Buhari’s planned dinner with the legislators at the same time, THISDAY has learnt. It was gathered yesterday night in Abuja that the corporation had planned to hold a dinner with the legislators reportedly as part of its engagement with stakeholders, but was forced to shelve the dinner to a future date. There were reports that the NNPC may have looked to use the dinner to gain favour from the legislators who are reportedly investigating its Group Managing

Director, Dr. Maikanti Baru, following a memo from the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu to President Buhari, in which the minister accused the NNPC boss of awarding contracts to the tune of $25 billion without recourse to the governing board of the corporation. But reliable sources in the corporation informed THISDAY that the dinner was in continuation of the stakeholder consultation, adding that the NNPC started this in March with editors of media houses and reporters. The sources however noted that that of the legislators’ was supposed to happen afterwards but was shifted because the National Assembly members had embarked on recession and thus requested that it be held in May.

sponsors. The ECA, with accruals from amounts above the benchmark of crude oil sales, was established in 2004 to provide savings for the country and stabilisation for the economy during periods of shortfalls in oil revenue. “It argued that the ECA is not in tandem with sections 80 (1-4) and 162 (1-3) of the 1999 Constitution, which prescribes revenue receipts and expenditure;” “It noted that these breaches of the Constitution in setting up and operating the ECA have created room for a pool of funds from revenue accruing to the Federation being operated without legal backing and without any checks and balances, thereby providing loopholes for imprudence and financial recklessness;” “The Senate is alarmed that a report by the National Resource Governance Institute rates Nigeria’s Excess Crude Account as one of the most poorly managed around the world, where its operation is

discretionary and at the whims of the Executive,” it read. The motion noted that the ECA increased from $5.16 billion in 2005 to over $20billion in 2008, and decreased to less than $4billion by 2010 with no known tracking of its operations. “It further noted that at various times and from several quarters in 2013, it was purported that $5billion was missing from the ECA, and that $2billion was withdrawn without authorisation;,” it added. The motion said the federal government in May 2017 resumed payments into the ECA with a payment of $87 million, since May 2015. “It also observed that however, between May, 2015 and August, 2017, about US $122.2million had accrued and ought to have been paid to the ECA;” “Deeply saddened by the continued impunity of the ECA and its discretionary operation in contravention of the 1999 Constitution, creating room for

imprudence, recklessness and arbitrariness; noting that this is one veritable source of huge revenue leakage in the country,” it read. In another development, the Senate lamented the non completion of the National Library, 11 years after the contract was awarded in 2006 by the Olusegun Obasanjo government. Senator Gbenga Ashafa (Lagos APC) who sponsored a motion on the issue recalled that the project was awarded to Reynolds Construction Company for N8.6 billion. “ That after a series of false starts leading to the initial suspension of work on the Project, sometime in 2009, the project scope was reduced from the initial 8 floor plan to 5 floors and the contract sum of the reduced scope was reviewed upward to N17 billion from the original sum of N8.590 billion,” Ashafa said. It has however been reviewed for the third time to N48 billion

as at Febuary 2013, Ashafa added citing media reports. He gave a breakdown of the total releases of budgeted funds to the project as a little above N7 billion as at 2015. “Worried that the continuous failure to properly fund the project within the specified period, would cause the government losses modestly estimated to be in the range of 40 to 50 billion Naira, and that if this failure to fund the project expeditiously continues, it might cost the government even more in the long run,” Ashafa said. Adopting the prayers of the motion, the Senate urged the government to prioritise the funding and completion of the permanent site of the project to mitigate losses accruable to it. It also mandated its Senate Committee on Education to meet with the Ministers of Education and the Federal Capital Territory to adopt an appropriation strategy to ensure the completion of the project.

VAT Contributes N797bn to Federation Account in 10 Months Tax compliance to be extended to private sector Ndubuisi Francis in Abuja Value Added Tax (VAT) contributed a gross revenue of N797.51 billion to the Federation Account between January and October 2017, the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, has revealed. Non-oil revenue represents 46.15 per cent of the 2017 VAT budget of N1.728 trillion, an increase of 19.78 per cent over the corresponding period in 2016. Adeosun, who released the details of the 2017 VAT collection yesterday in Abuja, said the highest VAT collection of N86.71 billion was achieved in September 2017, while N84.67 billion and N83.315 billion were recorded in May and October, respectively. The lowest VAT earning of N69.20 billion was in March 2017. The federal government gets 15 per cent of VAT revenue, while the states and local governments receive 50 per cent and 35 per cent, respectively. The minister, according to a statement by her media aide, Mr. Oluyinka Akintunde reiterated the federal government’s commitment to aggressively growing the tax revenue base in order to drive economic growth. “Revenue mobilisation is key to national growth and critical to the success of Nigeria’s economic reform agenda. We have an unacceptably low level of non-oil revenue and much of that is driven by a failure to collect tax revenues. “With a tax to Gross Domestic Product ratio of only six per cent, which is one of the lowest levels in the world, we have a lot of work to do if we are going to build a sustainable revenue base that will

deliver inclusive growth. Improving VAT and other tax collections is key to Nigeria’s revenue strategy,” the minister said. She stressed that the country’s revenue strategy to improve tax through the Voluntary Assets and Income Declaration Scheme (VAIDS), would lead to a broader tax base and more sustainable revenue for all tiers of government. Adeosun said: “The Nigerian government is committed to the diversification of the nation’s revenue base. Nigeria’s sole dependence on oil poses enormous challenge on the economy. “Oil is only 13 per cent of our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) but it represents 70 per cent of government’s revenue, which means if anything happens to oil, it affects everybody. “The question we need to ask ourselves is: why is the remaining 87 per cent of GDP contributing so little to government’s revenue? If we are able to have those other revenues which are much more stable, predictable and less volatile, then if the oil price goes down, we’ll be able to maintain some level of stability,” the minister stated. She assured that the federal government would continue to collaborate with state governments as part of its determined efforts to grow the non-oil revenue base, including raising the VAT collection to N100 billion monthly. The government, she added, would also extend its tax compliance to the private sector as well as intensify efforts to ensure that Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) are taxcompliant.

PRESIDENTIAL DINNER

L-R: President Muhammadu Buhari; Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki; and Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, at the presidential dinner held for leadership of the National Assembly at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa, Abuja …yesterday. Godwin Omoigui

Justice Galadima Replaces Salami as Chair Corruption Monitoring C’ttee Tobi Soniyi in Lagos The Chief Justice of Nigeria who doubles as the Chairman of the National Judicial Council (NJC), Justice Walter Nkanu Onnoghen, has appointed a retired Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Suleiman Galadima, as the new Chairman of the Corruption and Financial Crime Cases Trial Monitoring Committee (COTRIMCO). NJC’s Director of Information, Mr. Soji Oye, in a statement said Galadima would replace Justice Ayo Salami (rtd) who excused himself from the committee as the chairman, after initially accepting to serve. Initial reports had claimed that Salami rejected the appointment because he was uncomfortable with some members of the committee. He latter said he turned down

the appointment because the judiciary abandoned him during his travails that resulted in his suspension from the bench. He said the leadership of the judiciary that had appointed him to chair a committee, refused to reinstate him despite a recommendation to that effect. The NJC’s spokesperson said the committee would be inaugurated today by the CJN at the NJC’s conference hall by 2p.m. Justice Galadima was born in October 1946 in Nasarawa State. He retired on October 10, 2016, at the mandatory retirement age of 70 years. He attended Government College Keffi where he obtained the West Africa School Certificate in 1965 before he proceeded to Ahmadu Bello University where

he obtained a bachelor’s degree in law in 1977 and was called to the Bar after he graduated from the Nigerian Law School in 1978. He later received a master’s degree in law from the University of Jos in 1985. He joined the Anambra State Judiciary as Magistrate on July 1988 and in 1990, he was appointed as Attorney General and the Commissioner for Justice, Plateau State on May 1991, he became a High Court judge in Plateau State. At the creation of Nasarawa State in 1996, he was appointed as its pioneer Chief Judge of the state. On December 9, 1998, he was elevated to the Court of Appeal bench and moved to the Supreme Court on August 2010. Justice Galadima is famous

for his leading judgment in Shina Oketaolegun Vs. State, SC. 334A/2012, wherein he held that the Court of Appeal correctly reviewed the evidence led by both the prosecution and the defence in which he agreed that the evidence of one credible witness can justify conviction. The CJN set up the committee in response to the concern expressed by the public on the very slow speed at which corruption cases were being heard and disposed of by courts. He consequently directed all heads of courts to set up special courts to speedily hear and determine corruption and financial crime cases. He also asked them to compile the list of such cases and forward to the NJC.

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 1, 2017 ˾ T H I S D AY

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NEWSEXTRA

Omokri:Aregbesola is Not a Good Manager of Resources Ejiofor Alike A former Special Assistant to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan on New Media, Mr. Reno Omokri has challenged the Osun State Governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, to tell the people of the state how he mismanaged their resources, describing him as a governor who have a consumer mentality.

Responding to what he called Aregbesola’s verbal diarrhoea and historical revision, Omokri said in a statement yesterday that no matter how much federal allocation given to a governor with a consumer mentality, it would not be enough. “No matter how little federal allocation you give a governor, if he has a producer mentality, it will be turned into more than enough.

SCAHSA Honours Wike with Global Human Settlements Outstanding Contribution Award In recognition of his outstanding achievements in the area of urban renewal, sustainable cities and provision of basic amenities to the residential areas of low-income earners, Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, was on Monday night honoured with the “Global Human Settlements Outstanding Contribution Award.” Nigeria’s moment of glory peaked in New York City on Monday night when the the Sustainable Cities and Human Settlements Awards (SCAHSA) presented the international award to Wike in the presence of international diplomats, development professionals, highlevel administrators and leaders of international non governmental organisations. The governor was accompanied to the International Award Ceremony by his wife, Justice Eberechi Suzzette Nyesom-Wike, two of his children, Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Adama Iyaye-Laminkara, member representing Port Harcourt Federal Constituency, Ken Chikere, Edo State PDP Chairman, Chief Dan Orbih, the former Minister of Sport, Dr Tammy Danagogo, Rivers State Commissioner of Information, Mr. Emma Okah and and elder statesman, Prince Emma Anyanwu, member of the House of Representatives, Mrs. Betty Apiafi, among others. The 12th Global Forum on Human Settlements & Sustainable Cities and Human Settlements Awards Ceremony (GFHS XII) was jointly organised by the Permanent Mission of the Gambia to the UN, the Permanent Observer Mission of the African Union to the UN (AU), the Global Forum on Human Settlements (GFHS), the United Nations Environment Programme (UN Environment), the University Peace Federation (UPF), the World Association of Non-Governmental Organisations (WANGO) and the better City Institute (BCI).

Speaking at the award ceremony in New York on Monday night, a representative of the United Nations Environment, Mara Murillo said the organisation saluted Global Forum on Human Settlements & Sustainable Cities and Human Settlements for having developed the awards and the constituency for which it has been organised. The United Nations Environment Representative congratulated the 23 awardees who were selected for their positive achievements and leadership. The representative stated: “The awards recognise their feats which inspire and encourage others to innovate and replicate similar feats.” The Vice Chairman of Global Forum on Human Settlements & Sustainable Cities, Dr. Taj Hamad, said all the awardees have made great achievements that merit the awards. Permanent Representative of the Gambia to the United Nations, Mamadou Tangara, urged all the awardees to continue to work for sustainable cities across the world. Ms Mara Angelica of the United Nations Programme lent her voice to the calls for collaborations in developing habitable cities. In an acceptance speech after receiving the award, Governor Wike pledged before the global audience that he would continue his landmark projects to improve the living condition of the Rivers people. He said: “Let me on behalf of the government and people of Rivers State sincerely thank the organisers of this award for the recognition. “To also commit ourselves that we will progressively provide infrastructure and social services that will enhance the living standards of all Rivers people on a sustainable basis.”

Peter Obi and Willie Obiano of Anambra are examples,” Omokri said. Omokri, who was reacting to the recent comments by Aregbesola blaming former President Jonathan and the PDP for his inability to pay salaries at the state level and for failing to halt the theft of crude oil, described the governor’s comments as another one in the long list of blame gaming that the present All Progressives Congress (APC) governments at all levels are well known for. Speaking while hosting the House of Representatives Committee on Basic Education and Services, Aregbesola was quoted by Omokri as saying: “Nigerians easily forget that in June 2014, calamity struck the Nigerian economy when a huge magnitude of crude oil was stolen under the previous government which adversely affected the revenue from the federation account, and the government then repeatedly recorded slide in the revenue generation.” But Omokri said it was not

surprising that the usually loquacious Aregbesola has been quiet about the $25 billion scam at the Nigerian National Peteroleum Corporation (NNPC) and chooses to distract the public with this fallacious revision of history. According to Omokri, the $25 billion scam is the single largest scam in the history of Nigeria since 1914. “For the avoidance of doubt, calamity did not strike the Nigerian economy on June 2014 as alleged by Aregbesola or at any other time that President Jonathan governed Nigeria. Perhaps Aregbesola is confused and meant to say August 2016 when Nigeria officially entered into recession for the first time in 25 years due to the mismanagement of the economy by the APC administrations at all levels. Contrary to Aregbesola’s verbal diarrhoea, the Jonathan era, spanning 2010 to 2015, witnessed an era of unprecedented growth in which Nigeria’s Gross Domestic

Product (GDP) consistently grew at over 6 per cent per annum and our economy became the largest economy in Africa and the third fastest growing economy in the world according to CNNMoney. In that time frame, inflation was at single digit rate, the naira was stable at under 200 naira to a dollar and petrol sold at 87 per litre,” Omokri explained. He advised Aregbesola not to blame Jonathan or the PDP for his massive failure in office, but to look at Anambra State where the state government is not dependent on the federal government but has creatively come up with ways to generate revenue without taking loans or the bailout handed out by the APC led federal government. The former presidential aide noted that “Anambra State has become self sufficient in food production and is exporting agricultural produce to Europe and Asia whereas Osun State under Aregbesola which has a larger and more fertile land mass

is borrowing left right and centre and begging for funds from national and multinational institutions.” “My question to Rauf Aregbesola is whether the Governor of Anambra State has two heads whereas Aregbesola has only one? The answer is that the Anambra State government is not headed by a lazy talkative who believes that all there is to governance is to wait for monthly manna from Abuja. No matter how much federal allocation you give a governor, if he has a consumer mentality, it will never be enough. Aregbesola is an example. No matter how little federal allocation you give a governor, if he has a producer mentality, it will be turned to more than enough. Peter Obi and Willie Obiano of Anambra State are examples,” Omokri said. Omokri however, noted that the great people of Osun State have seen through the emptiness of their governor and his APC and voted overwhelmingly against them and for the PDP in the recent Osun West senatorial district election.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT

Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, showing his Global Human Settlements Outstanding Contribution Award to his wife, Eberechi at the Sustainable Cities and Human Settlements Awards (SCAHSA) in New York City... Monday night.

Monkey Pox Surfaces in Edo

Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City

A patient suspected to have been infected with the Monkey Pox virus has been discovered by authorities of the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Edo State yesterday. This appeared to be the first case of the disease in the state since its outbreak was reported

in the country Nonetheless, the teaching hospital said samples obtained from the suspected patient has been taken for test and result is being awaited from the designated World Health Organisations (WHO) accredited test centre. Confirming the disease outbreak in the state, UBTH Head, Public Relations, Mr. Joshua Uwaila, in a statement said the patient is

responding to treatment and was undergoing further evaluations. According to the statement, he said: “The good news is that the patient is recovering very fast and we presently do not have any reason to worry.” Uwaila further said: “The UBTH in conjunction with the relevant agencies in the state and local government health sectors are

working together and monitoring close contacts of this person, and so far, no one has come down with the sickness. “There is no cause for worry, and no danger is posed to staff or patients of the hospital. The patient is in an isolated complex. The hospital is ready and prepared to contain any situation if there is need to. As at now, there is no cause for alarm.”

to ensure our cross-border trading is more efficient while collaborating with other countries to safeguard our security. “This policy will also be supported by ongoing reform efforts to simplify trading within Nigeria, whether that be the ease of trade in goods, regulatory approvals, or the protection of intellectual property,” the vice-president stated. Also reacting to Nigeria’s improved ranking in the World Bank’s Doing Business report, President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday lauded what he described as the phenomenal rise in the global ranking. The president, according to a statement by his media aide, Mr. Femi Adesina,

congratulated all Nigerians, describing it as a symbol of the real success achieved by the PEBEC, the National Assembly and state governments by making registration of businesses, obtaining licences, and approvals from government agencies easy. He was quoted as saying that the development “also reflects our efforts to make it easy for foreign business visitors to obtain visas on arrival, pass through our airports, and do their businesses with ease and speed”. The statement also said the president commended the council chaired by Osinbajo “for a job well done”, adding that president looked forward to greater achievements for the nation.

NIGERIA MOVES UP 24 PLACES IN WORLD BANK’S DOING BUSINESS REPORT It noted that in the area of company registration, the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) moved to offer online registration and introduced new features such as electronic stamping of registration documents which enabled entrepreneurs to register their businesses much faster, within 24-48 hours, thereby saving cost and time. The statement added that getting construction permits and registering property in both Lagos and Kano States had become more transparent and easier for businesses with the online publication of all relevant regulations, fee schedules and pre-application requirements. “Getting access to credit is now easier and Nigeria is

placed sixth in the world on this indicator. The government recorded significant success by collaborating with the National Assembly to pass two new Acts, the Secured Transactions in Movable Assets Act, 2017 and the Credit Reporting Act, 2017, thereby strengthening the legal framework for access to credit for SMEs across the country – an important requirement for the success of businesses. “Finally, it has become easier to pay taxes in Nigeria because taxpayers can file tax returns at the nearest Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) office, and electronic payment and filing are gradually gaining acceptance,” it stated. It further quoted Osinbajo as saying that the council

would remain committed to promoting SMEs, adding that its vision was being pursued in collaboration with the states. “Our focus remains firmly on ensuring that SMEs operating in Nigeria find it easier to do business. Our ultimate success will be the testimonials received from businesses all across the country. “However, this report endorses the direction that we have been taking to improve the ease of doing business in Nigeria over the last 12-18 months. “Although we are beginning to get some positive feedback, we still have a lot of work to do before the full impact of our reforms are felt by all Nigerians. “Some of our critical

ongoing reforms include a new sub-national ‘ease of doing business’ project being implemented in conjunction with all the states and the FCT to replicate similar reforms across the country. “We are again collaborating with the National Assembly to deliver an Omnibus Bill to jointly furnish a more businessfriendly legal framework for Nigerian businesses in the future. “Furthermore, the Federal Executive Council has approved the concession of our major international airports, which will be fast-tracked to enable easier movement of persons. “We are also nearing the implementation stage of our National Trading Platform

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Metuh: Court, Again Orders DSS to Produce Dasuki in Court Today Alex Enumah in Abuja Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja yesterday reordered the Director General of the Department of State Service (DSS) to produce former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col Mohammed Sambo Dasuki (rtd) in court today to testify in the ongoing trial of former National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Olisa Metuh. Abang, however, stepped down on the subpoena issued against former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, on the ground that he (Jonathan) was yet to be served with the subpoena personally as required by the law. The judge however said Dasuki may not be compelled to testify in the trial until his motion, praying for adjournment, is fully determined by the court. Metuh and his company, Destra Investments Limited, are standing trial on a seven-count charge of money laundering involving alleged

cash transaction of $2 million and fraudulent receipt of N400 million meant for procurement of arms from Dasuki when he was the NSA. The court had at its last sitting adjourned till yesterday at the instance of the first defendant (Metuh) for the subpoenaed witnesses, Dasuki and President Jonathan, to be in court to testify for the former PDP spokesman. However, at the resumed trial yesterday, both Jonathan and Dasuki were again absent in court. While the court was informed of the inability of the bailiff to effect personal service of the subpoena on Jonathan, the DSS or its representative was not in court to explain Dasuki’s absence. Dasuki had filed a motion challenging the decision of the court which last week turned down his request to set aside the subpoena issued against him by the court. At the resumed hearing yesterday, Dasuki, in a fresh motion, prayed the court to adjourn the execution of the subpoena issued

against him, pending the hearing and determination of the appeal he filed at the Court of Appeal, Abuja Division. In the fresh motion brought pursuant to order 5 Rule 10 and 11, Dasuki, through his counsel, Mr. Ahmed Raji ( SAN), submitted that having lodged an appeal at the appellate court, it is incumbent on the lower court to allow the appellate court to determine the matter before executing the subpoena against him. Raji said record of proceedings has already been compiled and transmitted to the Appeal Court, adding that Dasuki’s appeal had been entered and issued with a number as required by law. The senior advocate further stated that a letter had been written to the presiding Justice of the Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal, praying for a departure from the rule and for an accelerated hearing of the appeal. He stressed that it is in the best interest of justice for the high court

to adjourn the execution of the subpoena against Dasuki. Raji also urged the court to expunge the remarks of the prosecution counsel, Sylvanus Tahir, in which he alleged that Dasuki vowed not to appear in court; from the court record on the ground, it was hearsay evidence. He told Justice Abang that apart from the fact that the prosecution was quoting another source on the evidence, “the evidence itself is incriminating, damaging, and not admissible under the Evidence Act.” Raji pleaded with the Judge to hesitate in issuing bench warrant against the Director General of DSS on subpoena to Dasuki on the ground that Dasuki had placed necessary document before the judge to ascertain that he (Dasuki) is already before the court of appeal to challenge the competence of the subpoena. On the case of Jonathan who was absent at the trial, his counsel, Chief Mike Ozekhome ( SAN), informed the court of an application filed

by the former president, praying the court to wholly set aside the subpoena order against him. The court had on October 23, at the instance of Metuh, issued a subpoena to compel Jonathan to appear in court for the purpose of giving evidence in his trial on an alleged corruption. But, Ozekhome, apart from praying for the setting aside of the subpoena, also asked the court to order Metuh to deposit in the court custody a sum of N1 billion in line with the provision of Section 241 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act ( ACJA), 2015, for him to appear in court. Jonathan, in the motion filed on his behalf by Ozekhome, explained that the N1 billion is for his travelling expenses and those of his security personnel from his home town, Utuoke, in Bayelsa State to Abuja and also for logistics and tight provision of security throughout the period of his stay in Abuja He urged the court to void the

subpoena issued against him. However, the subpoena against Jonathan was stepped down by the court following evidence from the court registrar that Jonathan had not been served with the document personally as required by the law. According to the court registrar, the house of the former president in Abuja was contacted by the bailiff of the court and that the bailiff was told that Jonathan had travelled out of the country and is being expected back in the country anytime in November. In his bench ruling, Justice Abang asked the DSS boss to produce Dasuki in court today, while the subpoena on the former president was stepped down due to non-service. The Judge said Metuh, who sought to invite the former president to testify for him, knows what to do in the area of substituted service as allowed by law. The matter was adjourned to today for hearing of both Dasuki and Jonathan’s motions.

Saraki: We Are Ready for Budget Presentation by Executive Omololu Ogunmade in Abuja Senate President, Bukola Saraki, last night said the National Assembly was ready to receive the 2018 budget from President Muhammadu Buhari whenever he chooses to present it. Saraki made this remark while answering questions from journalists after the dinner hosted by Buhari with principal officers of the National Assembly. He said the dinner served as a forum to welcome the president back to the country after 103 days in London for medical vacation. “Mr President invited us for dinner as you know since he came back we have not had the opportunity to meet with him.

“He has met with different stakeholders, this is the first meeting since returning to the country with the leadership of the National Assembly. “So, the meeting is to welcome him and we are all grateful that he has come back and we are happy and we assured him that we will continue to cooperate with the executive and also to acknowledge the role we played while he was away. He thanked all the members for the patriotic approach they took on the period of his absence.’ Asked when the president would present the budget to the National Assembly, he said “that question should be directed to the executive. We ‘ll receive them whenever they are ready.”

Lagos Council Boss Advocates By-laws to Protect Public Property Sunday Okobi The Chairman of Agege Local Government Area of Lagos State, Alhaji Abdulganiyu Egunjobi, is advocating by-laws to protect public property in the state from abuse by residents and business operators. Egunjobi, in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media, Mr. Rotimi Sulyman, said the council chairman made the call when organisers of Miss Cleaner Lagos Pageant 2107, an event to promote sanitation in the state, paid him a courtesy visit in his office. The chairman stated that many residents and business operators in Agege abuse government property, adding that there was an urgent need to stem the tide. He noted that the misuse and abuse of public property are some of the factors responsible for infrastructure deficit in the country. According to the statement, “Nigeria is today suffering huge

infrastructure deficit not only due to government’s failure to make provision but also the attitude of the generality of the public. “Agege is a miniature Nigeria. And here residents and business operators abuse public infrastructure in an unimaginable ways. They block access road, deface public property and dump waste in carnal and drainages indiscriminately. “Artisans also use roadsides for workshops. Their activities and that of traders caused road damage. Some trade on the road and sidewalks. “All these are clear antithesis to urban renewal drive being vigorously pursued by the Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, and we cannot continue to lose taxpayers’ money like this.” Egunjobi said he would want a bylaw criminalising abuse of public property in the area, adding that the law would not only benefit the council but the public as well, since it touches critical issues that facilitate the improvement of public service delivery.

NTEL MANAGEMENT

L-R: Non-Executive Director, Ntel, Alhaji Kashim Shettima; Vice Chairman, Mr. Tunde Ayeni; MD/CEO, Ernest Akinlola; Chairman, Gen. TY Danjuma (rtd); and Non-Executive Director, Mr. Kola Adeshina, after the company’s annual general meeting in Lagos... yesterday

Amnesty International Testifies at Presidential Panel Asks FG to investigate claims against military, counsel says report not reliable Alex Enumah in Abuja Amnesty International (AI) yesterday testified at the Presidential Panel set up to review compliance of the military on rules of engagement in the battle. The organisation in its evidence by two of its senior staff; Anna Neistat, Senior Director for Research and Netsanet Belay, Research and Advocacy Director, Africa insisted it has a prima facie case against the military and urged the federal government to investigate and prosecute alleged perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Their testimonies were however taken in a closed session following a statement by Baley at the beginning of his testimony that video scenes which constitute part of his evidence might be obscene. Justice Biobele Georgewill, Chairman of the seven-man panel, however invited journalists and other members of the public for the cross examination of the two

witnesses by the military. Lead counsel for the military, Prof. Yemi Akinseye-George (SAN), asked AI why it was silent on the number of military casualties in the battle against Boko Haram. He asked the witnesses if they knew how many soldiers have been killed by Boko Haram between 2012-2017. Responding, the first witness, Dr. Anna Neistat said the mandate of AI is to document violence against civilians and not what happens to the warring parties. Also when asked if she had visited the theatre of operation as a researcher to get first hand information for the report, the witness said, their are competent staff of the organisation on grounds in the north, adding that reports are not just used on their own but have to be corroborated with other information and sources including from the military. On the reliability and credibility of the sources it adduced its findings to, despite that the witness admitted

not knowing them personally, she disagreed with the military counsel when she was confronted with the possibility that the sources are interested parties. Counsel, “Do you agree that these sources are interested parties? Witness, “ No, I disagree,” she said, adding that no one testimony is just taken and put into our report without corroborating them with others. Also, the witness told the court that they could not categorise their sources because it believed in protection of sources and would not want to endanger their lives. Also, when asked if its claim in its report, that the military committed war crimes in the North-east was an allegation or a conclusion, the witness insisted that there was a prima facie case of war crimes against the military and urged that it be investigated. Earlier, when the case was called, one Emmanuel Oguche of the Save Humanity Advocacy Centre, objected to the presentation of Amnesty.

He, however, suggested that if the organisation must be heard, its recommendations should not be taken. However, the panel over-ruled him. The hearing which lasted till about 6.15p.m. was however adjourned to today for the completion of the cross-examination and hearing of other petitions. Monday said the panel would listen to stakeholders from the south-south region over alleged human rights abuses by the Army, Air Force, and Navy. He said the panel would take receipt of memorandum from state governments, traditional rulers, community leaders, NonGovernmental Organisations, Civil Society Organisations, human right groups and other stakeholders. “It is gratifying to inform that the panel has been receiving memoranda from across the country as we intend to hold public hearings in each of the six geopolitical zones.

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T H I S D AY Ëž WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2017

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Group Sports Editor Duro Ikhazuagbe Email duro.ikhazuagbe@thisdaylive.com

WORLD CUP 2018 QUALIFIER

Algeria Unleashes Top Stars on Super Eagles for Pride Duro Ikhazuagbe Despite not having anything to play for beyond pride, Algeria has listed a very strong squad to play Nigeria in the dead rubber last Group B match of the 2018 World Cup qualifiers. New handler of the Fennecs, Raber Madjer, yesterday listed Leicester City duo of Riyad Mahrez and Islam Slimani in the 23-man team to take on Super Eagles on November 10 in Constantine.

Madjer is also going to use the same line-up to take on Central African Republic four days later in an international window in Algiers. Also in the strong squad to line up against Eagles who picked the Group B ticket to Russia 2018 even before this game is FC Portoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attacking midfielder Yacine Brahimi and Schalke 04 midfielder Nabil Bentaleb. Algerian top daily, Lebuteur, yesterday listed

Madjerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s other invitees for the inconsequential clash with Nigeria to also include; Chamseddine Rahmani (CS Constantine, Algeria), Faouzi Chaouchi (MC Algiers, Algeria) and Abdelkadir Salhi (CR Belouizdad, Algeria) as the three goalkeepers for the game. The defenders for the game are Mohamed Khouthir Ziti (ES Setif, Algeria), Youcef Attal (KV Kortrijk, Belgium), Faouzi Ghoulam (SSC Napoli, Italy), Houari Ferhani (JS

Kabylie, Algeria), Aissa Mandi (Betis Sevilla, Spain), Liassine Cadamuro (NĂŽmes Olympique, France), Rami Bensebaini (Stade Rennais, France), Ayoub Abdellaoui (USM Alger, Algeria), Carl Medjani (Sivasspor, Turkey). Bentaleb is joined in midfield by Abderraouf Benguit (USM Alger, Algeria), Ismael Bannecar (Empoli FC, Italy), Yacine Brahimi (Porto FC, Portugal), Abdelmoumen Djabou (ES Setif, Algeria)

Mahrez is leading the strike force that include his Leicester teammate, Slimani, Zinedine Ferhat (Le Havre AC, France), Baghdad Bounedjah (Al Sadd Sport, Qatar), Hilal El Arabi Soudani (GNK Dinamo Zagreb, Croatia) and Sofiane Hanni (RSC Anderlecht, Belgium). However missing from the team is AS Monacoâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Rachid Ghezzal as well as Rais Mâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Bolhi, Djamel Benlamri and Sofiane Feghouli. A day earlier, Nigeriaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

Franco-German gaffer, Gernot Rohr, unveiled a 23-man squad for the clash with three other players on standby. Apart from the regulars who got the ticket during the qualifiers, the Super Eagles coach extended invites to three youngsters. They include Deportivo La Corunaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Francis Uzoho and former Golden Eagletsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Chidiebere Nwakali. The third player is on-loan Everton striker at Anderlecht, Henry Onyekuru.

Champions League: Spurs, Real Madrid Set for Wembley Showdown Femi Solaja The iconic Wembley Stadium in London will hug the limelight tonight for a special reason when â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;embattledâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Real Madrid visits the ground for one of the Match-day four matches of the UEFA Champions league tie against host, Tottenham Hotspurs for the leadership of Group H. Destiny has put both teams in similar position both in their respective domestic leagues and in the on-going Champions League and tonight may just the an opportunity to settle the score

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for both teams to follow their paths in the ongoing season. Reason? Both clubs seem to be mirroring each otherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s results which is not something common in modern day football. Aside the fact that both teams have same number of points in the group, the goals scored, against and goal different are same with the reverse fixture of the score draw in Santiago Bernabue as the best option to settle their placement before the end of the group stage of the competition next month. In their respective domestic

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league, Real Madrid, who are the defending champion of La Liga are presently third and a similar position occupied by Spurs in the English Premiership. Both teams have played 10 matches respectively, won six each , drew two, and lost two. As if that is not enough, both sides are eight points a drift of their respective league leaders in FC Barcelona and Manchester City! Both teams have scored 19 goals respectively in the league, with seven each in the Champions League just as they have also conceded

two goals each in Europe. Interestingly, both teams lost in their respective leagues last weekend by a goal margin. Although the home jersey of both teams is white, tonight will be different because the Champions League defending champion, Madrid, will come out in an away jersey which is purple. Ahead of tonightâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s match, reports have it that Tottenham Hotspur point man, Harry Kane, trained with the first-team squad and will be assessed ready for the Wembley duel. Kane, who has scored 13

goals in 12 appearances in all competitions for Spurs this season, missed defeats by West Ham United and Manchester United after suffering a minor hamstring strain. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re very confident (he will play) - heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s on the list. We have one more day to assess him but maybe itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s possible he can play tomorrow,â&#x20AC;? manager Mauricio Pochettino told a news conference yesterday. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to say 100 per cent because we have one more day. Today and yesterday was good at training. Now itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s with medical staff to take the right decision.

YESTERDAYâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S RESULTS Basel 1-2 CSKA Man Utd 2-0 Benfica Celtic 1-2 Bayern PSG 5-0 Anderlecht Atletico 1-1 Qarabag Roma 3-0 Chelsea Olympiacos 0-0 Barca Sporting 1-1 Juventus

TODAY 8:45pm Liverpool Vs Maribor Sevilla Vs Spartak Napoli Vs Man City Shakhtar Vs Feyenoord Besiktas Vs Monaco Porto Vs Leipzig Dortmund Vs APOEL Spurs Vs Real Madrid

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Wednesday November 1, 2017

UT H

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Price: N250

MISSILE

PDP to Ministers “It appears not all animals are equal under the Buhari-led administration. Some people are treated with kid gloves…” – Spokesman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Prince Dayo Adeyeye, calling for the sack of ministers allegedly involved in the reinstatement of the former Chairman of Pension Reform Commission, Abdulrasheed Maina.

KAYODEKOMOLAFE THE HORIZON

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Buhari and Prospects of Reboot W ith 19 months to the end of the term, those who still nurse some optimism about the Buhari government can only hope that it is not too late for the administration to fulfil the promises made to the people in 2015. This is not the first time that this reporter would suggest to Buhari to reboot. During the President’s first anniversary in office, the matter was put like this: ”To be sure, Buhari didn’t promise a magic or an El Dorado. But he told the people that he would tackle insecurity, fix the economy and fight corruption.” That statement still remains valid. A year later, the turn of events has proved the axiom that Buhari does not have eternity to reset the button of his administration to govern in the interest of the people. So what exactly are the prospects of a reboot of the 29-month old government of President Muhammadu Buhari? For the arch political opponents and even some not-so partisan pessimists, of course, the prospects are getting slimmer by the day. And the views of the critics should be taken more seriously than those in power are doing. The mentality that governance could be taken leisurely should be discarded forthwith if the administration wants to reboot. The first thing that those who still expect a measure of performance from the administration should, therefore, tell the President is that time is not on his side anymore. That is the consciousness of the need for a reboot. In serious terms, nothing so far suggests that this consciousness is prevalent in Abuja Yet, in the last few days, some activities taking place in Abuja would seem to be an attempt to reclaim the momentum lost way back in the first six months of the administration. The President told his party chiefs yesterday that more ministers would come on board and boards of parastatals and agencies would be constituted. You wonder what is the political wisdom in waiting for 29 months to constitute those boards, which have statutory roles to perform in making the agencies function. Meanwhile, party members desirous of being appointed in the boards increasingly get alienated. In another dimension, the party in power, the All Progressives Congress (APC), is apparently be reawakened from its dormancy to see the need for organisation. The party has played no role in defending its policies (if any) in over two years in power. It is as if the 2015 electoral success got APC stupefied. This may partly explain why party Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun is facing protests from some party members. Now its job is going to be more challenging because if nature abhors a vacuum, politics does not even give room for a vacuum. The other main party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) appears

Buhari

Oyegun

to be more serious about organisation. Despite the paralysis of the party due to some strange litigation, the PDP is pulling itself together. The campaigns of some of its chairmanship candidates are more worthy of attention than those of some presidential candidates in past elections. Now, this is quite healthy for democracy. The several factions of APC are getting the notice that in the game of power, the field is hardly empty of players, strong or weak. The situation will even be democratically enriching if some other parties could be oxygenated to mount serious challenges by presenting alternative paths to development. The divergent organisational efforts would add up to give the electorate meaningful choices in 2019. However, it should be stressed that the divergence of the parties is certainly not ideological. The parties should be programmatic in outlook; they should be defined by their ideas and programmes. In this respect, what is said about APC could also be said about the other parties. The prospects of rejuvenation would, of course, depend on some factors. One

factor is that of the vision thing. Since Buhari is talking about the possibility of doing something about his team, perhaps it is not too late to repeat the point this reporter once made on this page: beyond the individual competencies of the officers the organising principle of the administration also matters a great deal. This is where the vision becomes an imperative. If the Buhari administration likes to embark on visioning, it should ask the critical question: why is it that rather being reduced, poverty has exacerbated in the land despite the visions and strategies of the past? The administration should provide a compass for the team to work with by articulating a strategy of development beyond executing random projects and contracts. The economic team of Buhari should ponder why past efforts at visioning did not work as expected. It is important to look back since the dominant voices in Abuja seem to be echoes of the recent past about “liberalisation, privatisation and foreign investments.” Similar voices have been heard in the last 30 years in the name of the Structural Adjustment Programme of former President Ibrahim Babangida, Vision 2010 under Abacha, the National Empowerment and Economic Development Strategy (NEEDS) of former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the Transformation Agenda of Jonathan. Some lessons should, therefore, be learnt from our recent economic history. The Buhari admiration has lost valuable time. The foregoing ought to have been settled in the first six months of administration when it was preparing to the take-off. Unfortunately, unlike in the game of football, there would be no injury time for the Buhari admiration and APC, which has been lacerating itself as soon as its victory was declared. However, a reminder is apposite in the circumstance. In giving a

In giving a fresh impetus to the style and substance of his administration Buhari should be mindful of his journey to power and the role of the poor in it

fresh impetus to the style and substance of his administration Buhari should be mindful of his journey to power and the role of the poor in it. There must be a bias for the poor in policy design and implementation for a number of reasons. First, democratically the poor are in the majority. If policy is aimed at the “greatest good of the greatest number” it must have discernible anti-poverty thrusts. That is why the administration should be wary of being railroaded into taking some anti-people austerity measures in a country where it amounts to venturing into a state secret to know what lawmakers earn because of what the scandalous figures say about inequality in the system. If there should be cuts, the social spending should be exempted because of its horizontal impact on the people’s daily lives. Secondly, the poor read economic indices not merely in the graphs of “shrinking growth”, but in their empty stomachs, ignorance, disease and squalor. So the policy focus should also be on tackling the burgeoning poverty and worsening inequality. The tension out there is exacerbated by the scandalous inequality in the land with which members the elite are yet to come to terms as they exercise hegemony in all spheres of life. Another factor is that of policy articulation. The admnistration is famously incoherent. Buhari would not be the first president that lacking eloquence in marshalling economic arguments. President Ronald Reagan was not good at policy details. But he had a vision and a competent team. He had the capacity to inspire the team. The asset of the immense moral capital of Buhari has been unduly wasted. Besides, Buhari has a passion for the welfare of the poor. The President is on record to have wondered how governors could sleep well when civil servants are not paid. These moral assets are lost in the policy disarticulation, incoherence and internecine fights within the Buhari team. The antidote to the incipient mass anxiety and sense of despair is action from those who got the mandate to govern. The best response to the rising expectations of the people is not official impatience. Instead of talking down on the people, members of the administration should, as a matter of accountability, strenuously explain to the people how progress is being made in revamping infrastructure, fighting poverty and tackling insecurity. Some members of the Buhari team are making efforts in this important job of explaining to the people. There is certainly room for improvement in this regard. More members of the team should cultivate this habit of defending policies. All told, perhaps it is not too late for the administration to gird its loins to fulfil its promise to the people. The prospects of a reboot may no more be there by this time next year.

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