The Nation Newspaper

Category: Special Report

  • Buhari’s firm handle on finances

    The Finance Act is a bold move by the Federal Government to redefine revenue generation through the re-engineering of the nation’s tax laws, writes Assistant Editor NDUKA CHIEJINA

    The National Assembly passed the Finance Bill 2019 on October 14, last year and President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday signed it into law.

    The objectives of the Act, as outlined by the President, are to strategically: “Promote fiscal equity by mitigating instances of regressive taxation; reform domestic tax laws to align with global best practices; introduce tax incentives for investments in infrastructure and capital markets; support small businesses in line with the ongoing Ease of Doing Business Reforms; and raise revenues for the Government by various fiscal measures, including a proposed increase in the rate of Value Added Tax (VAT) from 5 per cent to 7.5 per cent.”

    Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning Mrs. Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed said: “The annual budget will always be accompanied by finance bills to enable the realisation of revenue projections. Future finance bills will, therefore, provide additional opportunities to incrementally improve the fiscal policy and regulatory/legal environment to further strengthen our domestic capital market, and ultimately ensure sustained and inclusive growth and development.”

    The Act, among other things, amended the tax provisions and made them more responsive to the tax reform policies of the Federal Government as well as enhance its implementation and effectiveness.

    Companies Income Tax Act, Cap. C2, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004 (as amended to date)

    The Act has amended the provision of the Companies Income Tax Act to, amongst other things, curb Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) as proposed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and thereby broaden the triggers for domestic taxation of income earned by non-resident companies in Nigeria through dependent agents and via online market platforms.

    The Act now addresses the taxation of industries, such as insurance, start-ups, and the capital markets, considered by the Federal Government as critical to the growth and development of the Nigerian economy to stimulate activities in those sectors and foster overall economic growth. Specifically, the Act now promotes fiscal equality by ensuring companies are not taxed twice on the same income stream; endorses the implementation of proposals to promote investments in Securities Lending Transaction and stimulate activity in the capital market.

    With regards to Value Added Tax Act, Cap V, LFN 2007 (as amended): the new Act now proposes to improve the efficiency of the Nigerian VAT system taking by taking into considerations recommendations from various stakeholder groups. In addition to simplifying the VAT landscape, the Act also seeks to expand VAT coverage by addressing some critical issues, such as taxation of the digital economy, VAT registration thresholds and intangibles.

    In the case of the Customs and Excise Tariff etc. (Consolidation), Cap C49, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004: the Act has created a level playing field by subjecting certain imported goods to excise duties similarly as their locally manufactured counterparts.

    The Act has also provided clarity and efficiency in the administration of individual income taxes in Nigeria as contained in the Personal Income Tax Cap P8, LFN 2007 (as amended).

    For Capital Gains Tax Act Cap C1, LFN 2007, the Act also covers the taxation of the business combination and seeks to prevent abuse of a provision of the Act on group restructuring.

    Under the Stamp Duties Act Cap S8, LFN 2007, the Act also seeks to increase revenue generation from duties on electronic stamps.

    The Act contains some changes to the Companies Income Tax Act, Value Added Tax (VAT) Act, Petroleum Profits Tax Act (PPTA), Personal Income Tax Act, Capital Gains Tax Act (CGTA), Customs and Excise Tariff Etc. (Consolidation) Act and Stamp Duties Act.

    Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC), in its analysis of the components of the Act, stated that “Currently, companies are charged to tax at 30% on their dividend distributions where such dividends exceed the taxable profits for the year notwithstanding that profits being distributed may have been taxed in prior years, exempt from tax, or taxed under a different tax law.”

    This PWC said: “Particularly affects holding companies on dividends received from their subsidiaries thereby making Nigeria unattractive as a headquarters or group holding company location. The Finance Bill proposes changes to limit the application of the tax only to untaxed profits that are not exempt from tax.”

    On Tax on interim dividend as proposed in the Act, PWC noted that “currently, companies that declare and pay interim dividends are required to remit income tax at 30% on such dividends to the FIRS. There is a proposal to repeal this provision (which also specifies that Withholding Tax (WHT) should not be applied on dividends that are not paid in money).

    The world-renowned audit firm argued that “while the repeal will address the intended exemption of advance tax on interim dividend, it may also imply that WHT should be applied on bonus shares or dividend-in-specie.”

    With regards to the Commencement and Cessation rules, “the Bill seeks to amend the contentious commencement and cessation rules in CITA. The effect of these rules is that companies suffer tax twice on profits of at least 12 months when they commence business. Conversely, on cessation of business, a period of up to 12 months escapes tax. The removal of these rules is considered a welcome development.”

    For anti-avoidance provisions for business reorganisation, PWC noted that CITA empowers the FIRS to grant certain exemptions on group reorganisations, where certain criteria are fulfilled. Some of the criteria include that: i) The companies involved should be part of a “recognised group of companies”, and ii) The transaction should be for the “better organisation of that trade or business”. The Bill proposes that to obtain the exemption, the entities involved should be part of a recognised group of companies 365 days before the transaction, and the relevant assets should not be disposed of earlier than 365 days after the transaction. The Bill defines “recognised group of companies” as “…a group of companies as prescribed under accounting standards”.

    Under the proposed Personal Income-tax Act: the Amendment will attempt to clarify that pension contributions no longer require the approval of the Joint Tax Board (JTB) to be tax-deductible; On the other hand, the Bill seeks to remove the tax exemption on withdrawals from pension schemes except the prescribed conditions are met; Child relief (2,500 per child up to a maximum of 4) and dependent relief (2,000 per dependent for a maximum of 2) are to be deleted; Banks will be required to request for Tax Identification Number (TIN) before opening bank accounts for individuals while existing account holders must provide their TIN to continue operating their accounts; Emails are to be accepted by the tax authorities as a formal channel of correspondence with taxpayers.

    Penalty for failure to deduct tax will also apply to agents appointed for a tax deduction. This penalty is 10% of the tax not deducted, plus interest at the prevailing monetary policy rate of the Central Bank of Nigeria; the conditions attached to tax exemption on gratuities have been removed. Therefore gratuities are unconditionally tax exempt. The duties currently performed by the Joint Tax Board (JTB) as relates to administering the Personal Income Tax Act, will now be performed by the FIRS. This, PWC believes “seems to be an error in the process of amendments to replace the word “Board” as it appears in the Federal Board of Inland Revenue.”

    For Value Added Tax (VAT), the Act is introducing VAT exemption on group reorganisations, provided that the following conditions are met: The sale is to a Nigerian company and it is for the better organisation of the trade or business; The entities involved are part of a recognised group of companies 365 days before the transaction, and the relevant assets are not disposed earlier than 365 days after the transaction. To PWC, the current practice is that companies send an approval request letter under CITA Section 29(9) to the FIRS, and include a VAT exemption request, even though there is technically no basis for this in the VAT Act.

    For infractions, there are penalties. Penalty for VAT late filing of returns has now been increased to N50,000 for the first month and N25,000 for subsequent months of failure; the penalty for failure to register for VAT is reviewed upwards to NGN 50,000 for the first month of default and NGN 25,000 for each subsequent month of default; the penalty for failure to notify FIRS of change in company address to be reviewed upwards to N50,000 for the first month of default and N25,000 for each subsequent month of default. This penalty also covers failure to notify FIRS of permanent cessation of trade or business.

    Similar to the VAT amendment, the Act is also introducing Capital Gains Tax (CGT) exemption on Group reorganisations, provided that the following conditions are met: Assets are sold to a Nigerian company and is for the better organisation of the trade or business; The entities involved are within a recognised group 365 days before the transaction, and the relevant assets are not disposed earlier than 365 days after the transaction. According to PWC, the current practice is that companies send an approval request letter under CITA S29 (9) to the FIRS, and include a CGT exemption request. Currently, the CGT Act imposes CGT on compensation for loss of employment above N10,000. The Bill seeks to expand the coverage of this provision by renaming it “compensation for loss” and increase the minimum threshold from N10,000 to N10 million.

    Implications for the Banking Sector and Capital Market

    Price Waterhouse Coopers in assessing the impact of the Act on the banking sector argued that “overall, we expect the general changes being introduced by the Finance Bill and the specific amendments targeted at the banking sector and the capital market to have a positive impact especially in the medium to long term.”

    Implications for the Consumer and Industrial Products Industry

    According to PWC, “the proposed changes aimed at raising revenue for the government, and easing tax compliance burden on taxpayers with a focus on small and medium scale enterprises (SMEs). However, one major issue that needs to be addressed is making VAT in Nigeria a proper pass-through, where only the final consumer bears the burden.”

    This, PWC said, “means that businesses should be able to obtain credit for their VAT costs. Currently, VAT credit is only available for goods purchased for resale or used in manufacturing other products. The current “VAT” system in Nigeria is closer to a cascading Sales tax structure, and unfairly increases the cost of doing business along with each level of the value chain.”

    Implications for Micro, Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises

    Price Waterhouse Cooper, in its assessment, noted that “it is clear from these amendments that the government is trying to improve the fiscal policies and regulatory environment to stimulate growth in the MSME sector. However, there is also a deliberate effort to ensure that the sector contributes to revenue generation without excessive financial burden.”

    Specifically, PWC noted that “an area of focus for the government would be to formalise these businesses through the TIN project in collaboration with the banks. Although the definition of instruments for stamp duty has been expanded to cover electronic transactions to give legal backing to the Central Bank’s N50 stamp duty drive. The increase of the chargeable amount to N10,000 and above would reduce the challenges faced by SMEs and retailers who have recently transferred the N50 as an additional cost to their customers.”

    Digital economy

    PWC believes that “a bit more engagement would be required to avoid double taxation in the area of corporate income tax.” The FIRS it said “may need to provide some clarification on what mode of returns would be required for the permanent establishments. The FIRS may also need to invest in capacity to understand the businesses of taxpayers in this sector to determine what services are being provided to Nigerian residents and how to fairly determine the attributable profits.

    With regards to Transfer Pricing (TP) in the 2019 Finance Act, Seun Adu of PwC’s stated that “the amendments to section 27 will come as good news to many taxpayers. It will, however, be bad news or a mixed bag for some others. For now, the main casualties are taxpayers whose businesses are driven by the exploitation of IP and who must make payments to related parties for the rights to use the IP.

    Section 27i gives the FIRS the discretion to allow or disallow expenses incurred outside Nigeria without setting the parameters for exercising this discretion. This could lead to abuse. Surely, this has to be a good thing. You no longer have to worry that arbitrary price caps from NOTAP will determine whether or not you get a tax deduction for your related party expenses. You only need to concern yourself with applying the arm’s length principle in line with global standards, right?

    According to Adu, “Section 27h requires taxpayers to get the approval of the Minister of Finance to be eligible for a tax deduction for management services. In practice, the FIRS uses the approval of the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) as a proxy for the Minister’s approval. Similarly, section 27i gives the FIRS the discretion to determine whether or not any expense incurred outside Nigeria is allowable. This discretion is often hinged on the availability of a NOTAP approval for transactions that required such approvals.”

    He expressed concern that “You will not be allowed to deduct any amount over 5% of the Earnings Before Interest, Tax, Depreciation and Armotisation plus the Royalty (EBITDAR) relating to the business for which the intangible right was used. The percentage (5%) and profit measure (EBITDAR) applied to appear to be arbitrary and do not reflect what independent parties will agree to in all situations. This provision has significant implications for businesses that are heavily driven by intellectual property rights.

    Another global accounting firm, Deloitte, in its analysis of the Finance Act, stated that “the Bill is a welcome development in the tax landscape of Nigeria. It proposes provisions that can boost the economy by stimulating the growth of small and medium scale enterprises and enticing foreign direct investment into Nigeria.”

    “Nonetheless, we urge stakeholders to be aware of the underlying challenges and procedures to counter such challenges. For example, tax authorities and relevant government parastatals may commence preparation of administrative notes, enlightenment guides, effective compliance aid and other implementation guides. The National Assembly should also include transitional provisions to aid movement from the old regime to the new one.”

    “Ultimately, the proposed amendment is a good step towards achieving the objectives of the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC) concerning paying taxes. The ‘GAME’s rules’ will change. Therefore, taxpayers cannot afford to be caught ‘offside’ in their tax planning and compliance efforts. As a matter of urgency, taxpayers are advised to evaluate how Bill would impact their operations, review their tax compliance requirements and strategise for effective tax planning.”

     

    The law In a nutshell

    • Promote fiscal equity by mitigating instances of regressive taxation
    • Reform domestic tax laws to align with global best practices
    • Introduce tax incentives for investments in infrastructure and capital markets
    • Support small businesses in line with the ongoing Ease of Doing Business Reforms
    • Raise revenues for the government by various fiscal measures, including a 7.5 per cent VAT
    • Annual budget will always be accompanied by finance bills to enable the realisation of revenue projections
    • Future finance bills will provide additional opportunities to incrementally improve the fiscal policy
    • The Law amends the provision of the Companies Income Tax Act to curb Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS)
    • The Law broadens the triggers for domestic taxation of income earned by non-resident companies in Nigeria through dependent agents and via online market platforms
    • The Law addresses the taxation of industries, such as insurance, start-ups, and the capital markets
    • The Law promotes fiscal equality by ensuring companies are not taxed twice on the same income stream
    • The Law promotes investments in Securities Lending Transaction and stimulate activity in the capital market
    • The Law expands the VAT landscape by addressing some critical issues, such as digital economy, VAT registration thresholds
    • The Law provides clarity and efficiency in the administration of individual income taxes
    • The Law seeks to increase revenue generation from duties on electronic stamps

  • Fed Govt’s cleansing rite in NDDC

    The Niger Delta has suffered untold neglect over the years. Distractions, such as corruption and incompetence, have made the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) unable to fulfil its mandate almost two decades after its establishment. Now, the Muhammadu Buhari administration has set in motion the process of ensuring the NDDC can effectively address the long-standing yearning of the people, writes ROSEMARY NWISI

     

     

    PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari watched the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) over the years. He thought without looking at its financial past the agency could be turned around for the good of the people. But, in his second term, it occurred to the president that for the NDDC to achieve its mandate, it was important to do a forensic audit of its financial records. Enter an Interim Management Committee headed by Joi Nunieh. The committee’s task is not ambiguous: root out every vice that has negated an effective implementation of its mandate.

    The agency was established by an Act of the National Assembly in 2001 to facilitate the rapid, even and sustainable development of the Niger Delta, into a socially stable, economically prosperous, politically peaceful and ecologically regenerative region.

    It is almost 20 years after but the commission has not been able to fulfil its mandate. It has also been linked to corruption and poorly executed projects.

    “We want to assure everyone in Nigeria and indeed the Niger Delta that their commonwealth will be accounted for,” said Nunieh. “We will make sure that the audit is carried out properly… The President is very particular about the Niger Delta, so it is important we have to drive the change effectively… He is spearheading the reform in the Commission with a firm order that the Commission must be strong again and fit for the purpose for which it was established,” she added.

    Mrs Nunieh resumed two months ago at the agency. She has made many administrative changes and stopped the payment of N1 billion a month for a ‘crooked’ consultancy.

    The NDDC has inaugurated a 50-member Contracts’ Verification Committee to confirm and document projects and contracts in the nine Niger Delta states, as part of the process to redirect the Commission’s activities. Dr. Nunieh said the contracts’ verification team was a prelude to the forensic audit of the commission.

    Mrs. Nunieh added that the verification was necessary because there were so many fake Interim Payment Certificates, IPCs, being claimed by NDDC contractors. “Members of the committee will go round all the NDDC mandate states to verify these projects and contracts,” she said.

    The NDDC Chief Executive Officer noted that the committee’s assignment, which would last for two weeks, was the first stage in the redirection exercise at the interventionist agency.

    She said: “After the initial documentation and verification, we will go out to all the states to identify and inspect the projects. We will work with professional groups, such as architects, engineers and quantity surveyors to ensure that the projects were done to acceptable standards for the benefit our communities.

    “We have selected credible people from the Commission to carry out this important assignment and we expect them to be steadfast and resist all manners of external influences from those who may be claiming to have connections in high places.”

    Nunieh added that the NDDC had records of all the contracts that had been awarded by the Commission and as such, anyone coming with a fake IPC would be arrested by the security agencies.

    She advised Nigerians not to buy IPCs and contracts purported to emanate from NDDC, noting: “We are aware that some people are still signing and awarding contracts from hotel rooms. Unfortunately for them, we have a comprehensive list of all our contracts. If you come with fake IPC, you will be promptly arrested.”

    She observed that some non-governmental organisations (NGOs), which were not supposed to be profit making, became contractors, contrary to the law regulating their activities.

    She said: “We will invite the NGOs to come for verification so that they can explain why they were involved in profit making contracts. When you claim that NDDC owes you, you will also know that he who goes to equity must come with clean hands.”

    Nunieh thanked the governors of the NDDC mandate states that had set up committees to investigate the jobs done by the commission’s contractors in the various states, following the list of contracts given to them. She urged them to help to fish out dubious contractors claiming to have executed jobs that exist only on paper.

    She assured all contractors that did their jobs according to specifications that they would be paid after the verification exercise, adding: “We have started paying consultants and suppliers that have indeed done their jobs well. They will be paid without having to bribe anyone. You don’t need to pay gratification to get your bills paid in the new NDDC.”

    Dr Cairo Ojougboh, who is the Chairman of the Verification Committee and the Executive Director Projects, assured that they would approach the assignment with diligence and thoroughness.

    He said: “You have made it clear that the revalidation exercise is free. No contractor shall be asked to pay money and nobody should make any demands from the contractors.

    “The Commission will do its best to ensure that you are not intimidated or harassed. So, you should not succumb to any pressure.”

    The committee has the NDDC Director of Project Monitoring and Supervision, Dr Emmanuel Audu-Ohwavborua, as Deputy Chairman and the Director, Community and Rural Development, Mrs. Iyingi Numbere, as Secretary.

    No sacred cow

    The Niger Delta Civil Society Coalition (NDCSC) warned that there should be no sacred cows in the forensic audit.

    NDCSC, through its Chair, Anyakwee Nsirimovu, said: “There may be a subtle attempt by irredeemable and highly-placed expert agents in fighting back existential corruption to derail President Buhari’s thinking that culminated in the order for a forensic audit of the management scorpions of NDDC.

    “The President should continue to insist on copious and comprehensive forensic audit that is independently manned, in order to get the critical stakeholders to provide effective information about their actions and decisions.

    “It will be self-defeating for President Buhari to allow a ‘house-keeping’ that will not allow an efficient answerability at the end of the exercise, which will be against the President’s global stand on integrity and anti-corruption.

    “Poor management and leadership at the NDDC continue to claim thousands of lives, especially children and youths, who are turned ‘orphans’ in the land of immense riches. Rather than lead and develop the people of the region in a sustainable manner, their greed and corruption use the wealth to create extreme poverty, and development to underdevelope the people instead.”

    The group also stated that all NDDC’s key players, including political stakeholders, who were described as illicit cow-milkers, must respond to questions regarding their various roles in running the affairs of the commission.

    It said: “The Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs is the least qualified entity to supervise a forensic audit of NDDC. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is most recommended to lead.

    “All infractions by public officials bordering on abuse of positions of trust, no matter who is involved, be dealt with on equal terms, in accordance with the rule of law.

    “What President Buhari is seeking by calling for forensic audit of NDDC is in keeping with the growing awareness globally that participatory democracy requires government and public officials that are not only accountable to their citizens, but also subject to restraint and oversight by other public agencies.

    “It is increasingly becoming very clear that without a working systems that can provide credible restraints on the powers that the management of NDDC wield, the essence of the Federal Government’s interventionist agency will remain shallow, corrupt, vulnerable to plebiscitarian styles of rule and incapable of guaranteeing basic civil liberties and effective political goods anticipated by the framers of the agency and the people of the region.”

    Wike’s endorsement of forensic audit

    Rivers State Governor Nyeson Wike last year endorsed the Interim Management Committee inaugurated 5 by the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio.

    Wike, while receiving members of NDDC’s new management, led by the Acting Managing Director, Dr. Nunieh, said: “As a true Rivers person, I cannot do anything that is against the interest of Rivers State. Political affiliations come secondary. What matters to me is the development of Rivers State.

    “The Members of the Interim Management Committee are all from the Niger Delta region. So, why can’t we support them?

    “The governors of the Niger Delta States met with President Muhammadu Buhari. We told him that there must be a surgical operation in NDDC. So, we support the forensic audit as ordered by the President.”

    Rivers governor also stated that the fight over political appointments by Niger Delta people was unnecessary, noting that what the people needed was development.

    He said: “I feel ashamed that our people cannot come together and agree on development strategies.

    “The appointment of the Interim Management Committee is purely an executive function. There is no reason for our people to be fighting over it. I will protect anything that has to do with Rivers State. I will not support anybody asking that the Interim Management Committee be removed.

    “If you have the capacity and the political will, you can right the wrongs in the NDDC. I urge you to use this opportunity given to you to put NDDC on the right track.”

    Wike also stated that the founding fathers of NDDC had lofty goals for the development of the Niger Delta, but regretted that the commission was yet to achieve the set objectives.

     

  • How U.S. Air Force 7,000 miles away nailed Iran’s Soleimani

    Unknown to the world, an operator sitting at the console in the U.S Air Force Base at Creech in Nevada 7,000 miles away pushed the button of the drone that nailed Iran top General Qassem Soleimani.

    It is no longer news that Iran’s most powerful and revered military leader, General Qassem Soleimani, whom Washington accused of plotting imminent attacks against United States (U.S.) forces in the region, was killed in Baghdad, Iraq and buried in his hometown of Kerman in Iran. But fresh information has revealed how the button of the drone, which killed him was pushed 7,000 miles away by an operator sitting at the console in the U.S Air Force Base at Creech in Nevada.

    Unmasking the mystical figure

    From consolidating Iranian influence in Iraq to waging war against the “Islamic State” in Syria, Soleimani was an instrumental figure for Iranian aspirations in the region.

    In Iran and among its Shia allies across the Middle East, Soleimani, 62, enjoyed near mythical status. He was described in Time Magazine’s I00 most influential people as “James Bond, Erwin Rommel and Lady Gaga rolled into one.”

    His rise to power came via the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (I RGC), which was set up after the 1979 revolution to protect the Islamic Republic and enforce its ideological aims. The IRGC cemented its hold after the Iran-Iraq War, ending up with vast control over the country’s economy and resources.

    In the 1990s, Soleimani was given command of ‘the Quds Force, an elite unit that undertakes missions outside Iran’s borders and which had already established Hezbollah as a client militia in Lebanon. The force’s role is like few others anywhere in the world; equivalent in American terms to a combination of the CIA and Special Forces.

    It was in that role that Soleimani became the chief architect of Iran’s regional strategy, creating the arc of influence that Iran terms its “Axis of Resistance” – and others the “Shia crescent” – extending through Iraq, Syria and Lebanon.

    Soleimani remained a shadowy figure in that role for years. It was only in October that he revealed in a television interview that he had been in Lebanon in 2006 helping to direct the conflict between Hezbollah and Israel.

    After 20 years as Iran’s master fixer across the Middle East’s trouble spots, the late head of Iran’s Quds Force might have thought he was invincible. Maybe he had put trust in President Donald Trump’s insistence that he had no desire for war with Iran and wanted to withdraw from the region altogether.

    According to reports, the general certainly knew that U.S. and Israeli leaders had for years plotted his assassination and then baulked at the possible consequences.

    His last moments

    But, the last moves in the great game played by Soleimani, before he was killed showed brazen confidence. When he flew from Damascus to Baghdad late on Thursday night, from one of the key capitals Tehran believes it has in its pocket to another, he did not use a secret military or militia airbase. He flew in his personal and Iranian-regime jet to Baghdad’s main international airport.

    The General knew that the airport is not only a daily route for local, foreign and western civilians and soldiers in and out of the country, but it is also adjacent to a military base shared by the Iraqi counterterror service and U.S. forces.

    He was travelling with senior aides from the Iranian Revolutionary Guard – Brigadier-General Hussein Jafari Nia, Colonel Shahroud Mozafari Nia, Major Hadi Taromi and a captain, Vahid Zamanian.

    He was met by Iran’s most senior operative within the Iraqi security and paramilitary forces, Jamal Jaafar Ibrahimi, better known as Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the man who after the U.S.-UK invasion of Iraq in 2003, set up the country’s answer to Lebanon’s Shia militia Hezbollah -Iraq’s Kataeb Hezbollah. The militia was accused by the Pentagon of being behind recent rocket attacks on U.S.-occupied bases in Iraq and five of its compounds were hit in retaliation by American F15 jets on Sunday.

    Muhandis defected to Iran from the regime of Saddam Hussein in 1979 and was recruited as an agent in the ensuing war between the countries by the Revolutionary Guard.

    Alongside Muhandis to greet Soleimani was Mohammad Ridha, a senior figure in the Popular Mobilisation Units (PMU), the official Iraqi government-recognised umbrella group for Iraq’s militias. Muhandis’ formal position was deputy head of the PMU, answerable directly to the Iraqi prime minister. AdeI Abdul-Mahdi.

    The seven men, according to reports, piled into a Toyota SUV and a Hyundai minivan and set off out of the airport by the main road.

    The drone attack

    Unknown to the Iranian team, America’s formidable surveillance capabilities, masterminded from the National Security Agency in Maryland and helped by CIA operation in Baghdad, had Soleimani on their radar. Two MQ9 Reaper drones – sent from al-Udeid military and airbase in Qatar – were in place. The back-up drone was not needed. Just two missiles were used by operators at the U.S. Air Force base at Creech in Nevada, one for each of the two vehicles. The strike had been approved, the report indicated, at the same time that President Trump authorised Sunday’s attack on Kataeb Hezbollah.

    People were at the scene immediately, with phone cameras. The images that quickly circulated on social media were graphic. In one, the general’s vehicle was still blazing. In another, a bloodied arm stretched out, its curled hand bearing a recognisable ring.

    Mixed reactions over the assassination

    The reaction following the killing was immediate. Crowds gathered in Soleimani’s home town of Kerman and Mashhad, one of the regime’s bedrocks of support.

    Iraq was also in an uproar. The government found it hard to believe that an ally could assassinate Muhandis, officially a senior government official, on Iraqi soil. “The assassination of an Iraqi military commander holding an official position is an aggression against Iraq, the state, the movement and the people,” the Iraqi Prime Minister said.

    “Carrying out liquidation operations against Iraqi leadership figures or from a brotherly country on Iraqi soil is a flagrant violation of Iraqi sovereignty, a blatant attack on the dignity of the country and a dangerous escalation that ignites a devastating war in Iraq, the region and the world,” he added.

    Other Iraqis felt differently, as did opponents of Iran’s influence across the Middle East. Footage captured protesters in Baghdad and southern Iraq dancing in the street – Soleimani was said to have ordered the crackdown on recent demonstrations that led to hundreds being shot dead. In Syria, rebel groups that have been gradually crushed in their fight against President Assad by Soleimani and Iran’s Russian allies handed sweets to children. In Lebanon and elsewhere, relatives of people killed in Iran’s assassination programmes also celebrated

    The U.S. among the first countries to order its citizens to leave Iraq. France, the Netherlands and others followed.

    Iran’s retaliatory attack

    Iran fired several missiles at two Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops on Wednesday local time in retaliation for the American strike that killed the top Iranian general last week.

    There was a belief among the U.S. and European government officials that Iran deliberately missed areas populated by Americans.

    These officials floated the notion that Iran could have directed their missiles to hit areas that are populated by Americans, but intentionally did not.

    Iraq did receive a warning that the strike was coming and was able to take “necessary precautions,” according to a statement from Iraq’s Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi. A U.S. defence official said that Iraq, in turn, gave warning to the United States.

    Iraq’s joint military command said there were no casualties among Iraqi military forces.

    Iran targeted the al-Asad airbase, which houses U.S. troops, and American and coalition forces in Erbil, according to Jonathan Hoffman, a Pentagon spokesperson. Trump had visited al-Asad in December 2018.

    In a televised speech to Iran yesterday, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei addressed the missile attacks and said Iran had given the U.S. “a slap in the face last night.”

    The U.S. president, who was impeached last month and faces an election this year, at the weekend threatened to target 52 Iranian sites if Iran retaliated for Soleimani’s killing.

    Trump signals de-escalation of tensions

    Trump, who is facing the gravest test of his presidency, signalled a de-escalation of tensions with Iran on Wednesday in the wake of Tehran’s retaliatory attacks against Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops.

    “Iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned and a very good thing for the world,” Trump said, striking a sombre tone during his White House statement.

    Trump said an early warning system worked well and no American or Iraqi lives were lost.

    The President also outlined new sanctions on Iran and reiterated his vow that “Iran will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon.”

    “The United States will immediately impose additional punishing economic sanctions on the Iranian regime,” Trump said during an address to the nation from the White House, noting his administration is continuing to review other options to respond to the Iranian missile strike on Tuesday.

    “These powerful sanctions will remain until Iran changes its behaviour,” he added. “In recent months alone, Iran has seized ships in international waters, fired an unprovoked strike on Saudi Arabia and shot down two American drones.”

    Though Trump appeared to indicate a move toward lower tensions, he seemed to keep his options open when describing American military readiness.

    “Our missiles are big, powerful, accurate, lethal and fast,” he said, a warning tucked into a speech that otherwise indicated an easing of strain.

    “The fact that we have this great military and equipment, however, does not mean we have to use it,” Trump said. “We do not want to use it. American strength, both military and economic, is the best deterrent.”

  • Fed Govt’s strategy to decongest seaports, roads

    The Federal Government has set the ball rolling to use rail cargo to decongest roads and seaports in the country, a move in line with international best practices, writes ROBERT EGBE.

    The case for rail freight as opposed to road transport to decongest seaports, roads seems, on the surface, easy to make.

    Rail infrastructure may be more capital intensive to deploy than roads, but its lower maintenance cost and ability to reduce pressure on roads confer superior advantages over the latter.

    Again, besides not being affected by road traffic, rail transportation has also proven to be a more economical and energy-efficient means of transit in the long run.

    Another bonus the rail system offers is a reduction in terms of the cost of delivery.

    This, perhaps, explains why globally, rail transportation is one of the most common modes of mass transit.

    For instance, in much of North America, Europe, Russia, China and Eurasia, major cargoes are transported by rail.

    Interestingly, however, it is trucking that moves the most tonnage of all traffic in most large economies.

    A Wikipedia article ‘Rail freight transport’ says the United States moves 40 per cent of its traffic tonnage by rail freight, Russia 12 per cent, Japan 5 per cent China 8 per cent The European Union less than 20 per cent.

    But change is in the air and many countries are moving to increase speed and volume of rail freight so as to relieve overburdened roads and/or speed up shipping in the age of online shopping.

    Some nations have even advanced to high-speed trains for both passenger and cargo traffic.

    Nigerian rail puzzle

    Like in most African countries, the railways were mostly started by colonial powers to bring inland resources to port. There was little regard for eventual interconnection. As a result, there are a variety of gauge and coupler standards in use.

    As beneficial as rail transport is, Africa’s biggest economy Nigeria, with a population of about 200 million has a rail system of only 3,505 km.

    Its economical rival South Africa with about a quarter of Nigeria’s population has 36,000 kilometres (22,000 mi) of track.

    For decades after independence, Nigeria’s rail system virtually ground to a halt, despite billions purportedly spent on the sector, until the administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan began moves to revive the system.

    However, the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari is showing the greatest prospects of turning the sector’s fortunes around.

    Kaduna Inland Dry Port to Lagos

    Recently, news that the federal government has begun cargo delivery service from Kaduna Inland Dry Port to Lagos seaports was met with joy by stakeholders, importers and exporters.

    The cargo service is targeted at creating 24,000 direct jobs within and around the dry port and is also expected to reduce the cost of delivery by at least by 50 per cent.

    The Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) designated 24 flatbed wagons for evacuation and transportation of cargoes from the dry port.

    Minister of Transportation Rotimi Amaechi, who spoke during the flag-off ceremony, said the dry port project was part of measures introduced by the federal government to decongest the seaports, as well as place a lesser burden on the roads.

    Ameachi, who was represented by the Director of Maritime Services, Sani Galandanci, explained that the service will address the loss of cargo in transit, stop carnage and accidents on the roads, reduce transport cost and bring shipping services closer to shippers which would stimulate economic growth development.

    Attracting business from neighbouring countries

    Kaduna State Governor Nasir el-Rufai said the cargo service will not only boost the state’s internally generated revenue and decongest the seaports, but also open a new vista of commercial opportunities not only for northern businessmen but even for neighbouring countries.

    On the area of availing the opportunity for neighbouring countries, he disclosed his intention to send a trade delegation to Niger Republic with the aim of wooing them to utilise the cargo service.

    el-Rufai said: “The commencement has confirmed that our inland dry port is functioning and you can ship your goods direct from Kaduna to any part of the world and you can also import goods from any part of the world direct to Kaduna without your containers or any of your goods being opened up for inspection in Lagos. It has opened a new vista of commercial opportunities not only for Northern businessmen but even for our neighbouring countries.

    “The economic benefit of the port cannot be understated. The optimal operations of an inland dry port will impact tremendously on agro business, stimulate industrialisation and production, thereby increasing our internally generated revenue. It will create jobs for our young people, it will expand business opportunities and also lower the cost of doing business for our businessmen here in Nigeria as well as lower the cost of agricultural products in southern Nigeria.”

    Importers, exporters to smile

    Also speaking, the Executive Secretary of the Nigerian Shippers Council, Hassan Bello said the cargo service will address the challenges faced by the importers and exporters and guarantee seamless movement of cargo from the seaports to Kaduna Inland Dry Port.

    Harping on efforts taken to attract investors to Kaduna, he said: “We are in preliminary discussion with Commonwealth Enterprise and Investment Council in London and we want to bring them to Kaduna so that they can have a look so that they will know what value they can add to the dry port.

    “It is important that the dry port is not just a transportation centre but a hub of economic activities. We need to have so many facilities, like stores, refrigerated warehouses, consolidation centres, factories especially for packaging which is a problem for export.”

    Connecting all seaports by rail

    With the success of the rail interconnectivity between Kaduna and Lagos seaports, the president’s directive that all the nation’s seaports be connected by rail for improved evacuation of cargoes to the hinterland is on track.

    The government has also concluded arrangements to compensate all the terminal operators that their facilities would be affected in the ongoing efforts to bring back the rail tracks to the Lagos seaports.

    The initiative, it was learnt, is to boost quick evacuation of cargoes from the port, enthrone efficiency and boost government revenue.

    Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Managing Director Ms Hadiza Bala Usman disclosed that the multibillion naira contract for the construction of the rail tracks inside the port has been awarded by the government.

    She said that the contractor was engaged by the Federal Ministry of Transportation and the Federal Railway Corporation as part of sustainable efforts of the Federal Government to end the perennial gridlock on Apapa roads.

    “I think it is evident that as a Port, you cannot have all your cargoes evacuated by road. Therefore, what we intend to do this year is to deploy the necessary rail connection to the port. As you can see, there is an ongoing work in the Apapa/Tin-Can area by the contractor engaged by the Federal Ministry of Transportation.

    “They have demolished some warehouses and they are about to start to lay the tracks for the rail.

    “We are keen to have the project concluded and that is why we have identified areas where we would require access to the terminals.

    “The Federal Ministry of Transportation has provided the necessary compensation for those locations that are going to be used for the rail tracks,” she said.

    The move, the Managing Director said, was part of the new initiative by the government to reduce the perennial gridlock on Apapa roads and boost evacuation of cargoes from the ports.

    While assuring the stakeholders that the Apapa/Oshodi/Oworonshoki would soon be completed, Ms Usman said the NPA is excited because “rail is really a cargo means of transportation and that is where the revenue is.”

    Sustaining the rail system

    The Lagos-Kano Standard Gauge Rail Line (Lagos-Ibadan Standard Gauge) extends to Apapa. The rail project itself holds the key to the connectivity between the commercial city of Lagos in Western Nigeria and the economic centre of Kano in Northern Nigeria.

    CCECC Nigeria Limited is building an assembly plant in Kajola, Ogun State to sustain the rail project.

    Amaechi said: “It was in furtherance of these objectives that the Federal Ministry of Transportation and Messrs CCECC signed a deed of agreement for the establishment of the plant on March 17, last year to commence the production and assembly of rolling stocks, spare parts and maintenance equipment in Nigeria.

    “Consequently, Messrs CCECC conducted a feasibility study in which the choice of Kajola in Ogun State was arrived at as scheduled location for the project.”

    He added that the wagon assembly plant was a direct investment of Messrs CCECC Nigeria Limited and seen as part of the gains of the contract signed for the building of the standard gauge in Nigeria.

    He added: “This would be the first of its kind in Nigeria, and the first batch of wagons to be used on the completion of this Lagos-Ibadan rail project is expected to be produced from this plant.”

    The Managing Director of CCECC Nigeria Limited Mr. Michael Jiang said the corporation decided to invest in an assembly plant in Nigeria to further demonstrate its confidence in the giant strides of the government in developing reliable railway super-structure for the country.

    Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo described the plant as an important project for the production of rolling stock, spare part and maintenance equipment needed for the railway modernisation programme being undertaken by the Buhari administration.

    He added that when completed, the plant will produce some parts of the wagons for the Lagos-Ibadan and Abuja and Kaduna rail line. It will also be able to satisfy the needs of other rail operators within the West African sub-region and the African Continent.

    National Single Window

    Amaechi, who believes the rail system will end the gridlock at the Apapa ports, said: “Initially, the rail system was to stop at Ebute Meta. But I said I have never seen a country where the rail system would end in the town; it must get to the seaport. So we awarded a contract to the seaports – Apapa Port, Port Harcourt Port, Warri Port, Calabar Port and Onne Port.”

    He said the container-laden articulated vehicles that clog Lagos roads should ordinarily be put on the rail tracks for onward transportation to Ibadan, and from there to other parts of the country. He added that once such cargoes are being transported by rail, the pressure on roads would stop and the roads would be back to normal.

    “We’ve awarded the contract from Ibadan to Kano for 5.3 billion dollars. We are looking to get a loan from the Chinese government. If we’re able to get that and we construct the rail from Ibadan to Kano, the problem in Apapa would have been significantly reduced,” Amaechi said.

    He said another challenge was the inability of the country to establish a National Single Window, even as he noted that Nigeria has remained the only country in West Africa without such a system in place.

    “National Single Window is the synchronisation of the process of clearing of goods,” he explained. “What that means is that, as soon as your goods are on the ship, before the ship gets to Nigeria, all the clearing processes would been completed. In fact, in Benin Republic, if you don’t get your cargoes out in 24 hours, there is a park where they are put, so that the seaport would be empty.

    “As soon as your goods arrive, they are cleared immediately. There are tracking systems that would monitor your goods from the port of origin to Nigeria. And there are investors that are ready to put down their money, but government must play its part.”

  • See Jos, Kano…and freeze

    Since the beginning of this year, life has not been the same for residents of Jos, the Plateau State capital, and Kano, the Kano State capital. No thanks to severe cold weather, which has affected businesses and how the people go about their daily activities, write KOLADE ADEYEMI and YUSUF AMINU IDEGU.

    Jos has always been cold. But the cold it has been experiencing in the last few days is different from what many residents are used to. It is like living in Europe in Africa. It was reported that the temperature came down as low as -7 degree Celsius on a particular day. There are times it goes up to 11 degrees Celsius in the evening but rises to about 19 degrees in the afternoon.

    Residents say the weather condition is disrupting their routine activities. The atmosphere of Jos, the Plateau State capital, changed drastically on new year’s evening with the eruption of harsh cold weather. Many residents found it difficult to come out of their room to avoid the impact of the cold weather.

    The cold weather began on a light scale from last week of November and has remained light. But the type of cold that erupted last Wednesday evening tripled the prevailing one experienced within the last one month. Many residents now spend long hours indoors.

    Mr John Emeka, a student, said it was difficult for him getting out of bed and preparing for his outings.

    “As you can see, I am wearing a sweater and a very thick jacket and also tying a scarf on my head, hand gloves and socks to keep myself warm, having stayed indoors for many hours, ‘’ Emeka said.

    Mrs Annette Akpan said she resorted to wearing “cold breakers” to shield herself from the adverse weather and advised fellow residents to do likewise so as not to break down.

    A security guard, Baba Madaki, however, said: “This is not the normal Jos cold. The normal Jos cold temperature has reduced considerably. In the early 80s, there would have been deaths since the New Year. There used to be periods when time to resume office or school was reviewed to 9am due to the harshness of the cold, so the one we are currently witnessing is so mild.”

    Mrs Ngozi Peters, a trader at Terminus market, said the inclement weather had compelled her to open her shop late in the morning.

    “This cold is too severe and that is why I stay indoors for many hours before setting out to the market; my health first before any other thing,” Peters said.

    The cold weather had pushed prices of second-hand sweaters and jackets with the materials selling for between N2000 and N2500, as against N500 and N600.

    Musa Adamu, a dealer in second-hand sweaters, blamed the price increase on the high demand for the wears because of the cold.

    Like Jos, like Kano

    The ancient city of Kano on New Year Day also witnessed severe and chilly weather that left many with no other choice but to remain indoors. For one week running, the weather condition in the state has forced many to adopt to unusual dress code, to save themselves from the devastating cold and hazy weather, occasioned by the harmattan.

    The temperature of the ancient commercial city dropped as low as 7 degrees Celsius, closely equivalent to that of London. The cold weather affected commercial and social activities. Unlike previous festive periods, recreation centres, restaurants, nite clubs and eateries recorded low patronage, as many residents elected to stay indoors.

    More so, it was observed that people hardly take their baths during the severe cold weather, as many complained that even boiled water easily gets cold. They prefer washing their hands, arms and legs with hot water, all in a bid to avoid the cold.

    Children are scarcely seen playing in the streets as their parents make sure that they are always indoors, fully kitted with many clothes, including cardigan, jacket, head-warmer and nose-mask, to prevent cold and dusty haze from penetrating their system.

    Hospitals and chemist stores are, however, smiling to the banks for high patronage as almost every household is caught up with common diseases associated with harmattan, including catarrh, running nose, fever, coughing and general body weakness.

    The price of dust-mask has increased geometrically in the state, following an intense cold. A pack of 50 dust-masks that cost between N450 and N500 before the harmattan is now sold at between N600 and N700.

    Most of the mask sellers increased the price of the product due to the harmattan, as people now troop to Igbo Road Market and Sabon Gari Market to purchase the commodity. One of the mask hawkers at Igbo Road Market, Abubakar Sani, said men and women buy and use the commodity.

    He added that “business is moving smoothly: in a day, I sell between three and four packs of the mask, as well as other items such as hand gloves. A few months ago, a piece of the mask was sold at N20 but it now cost N40.”

    Another seller, Salisu Ahmed, said people patronise him daily and the prices vary.

    A housewife, Hajia Zainab Ibrahim, who was seen wearing the mask, said she used it to protect herself from dust because she had asthma. Another person wearing the mask, Malam Isa Bala, said the weather condition was harsh and the dust was overwhelming, “so I have to protect myself.”

    More so, severe hazes and cloud weather have left hundreds of passengers stranded at the Mallam Aminu Kano International Airport (MAKIA) in Kano State. Consequently, airline operators were compelled to cancel scheduled domestic and international flights for Sunday following the harmattan hazes. The Nation learnt that besides, Azman Air, Max Air, as well as other international flights could not land at the airport due to the unfriendly weather at the airport.

    What the experts say

    A Senior Registrar, Pulmonology Unit, Jos University Teaching Hospital(JUTH), Dr Chung- Gyang Shedrack, has advised sickle cell patients to keep themselves warm during the harmattan cold.

    Shedrack, in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Jos yesterday, also alerted the residents on a likely increase in skin infections during the inclement weather.

    Dr Shedrack said patients who suffered from sickle cell and were anaemic were likely to experience worsening of their condition during the unfriendly weather.

    He said: “Sickle cell patients are prone to crisis in this period of cold; they will have to stay very warm, take a lot of fluid, go for medical checks with their doctor and take medications adequately so that they do not have to worsen of the crisis.”

    Shedrack advised the public to avoid dusty environment and also take lozenges such as strepsils, tom tom and menthol to suppress coughs, lubricate and soothe irritated tissues of the throat.

    He said there was worsening or an increase in prevalence in skin infections, advising that there was a need to take lots of water to protect the skin.

    The physician added that cold had harmful effects on the body, especially the respiratory system which led to ailments such as cough, asthma, upper airways infections from viruses, bacteria such as coryza, which is the common cold.

    Shedrack said: “We can have a provocation of asthma, hypersensitivity of the airwaves too, which is close to asthma, the cardiovascular system can also have some form of arrhythmia which is an abnormal beating of the heart, you can have a slowing of the heart, nose and ear infections.”

    Protect your wards against cold-related diseases

    The Director of Womanhood School of Health Science, Kaduna, Nurudden Bello, wants parents to protect their wards to avert contracting cold-related illnesses.

    Bello urged parents to help keep their children and the elderly warm to protect them against the effect of the season.

    He also advised commercial motorcyclists, popularly known as Okada riders, to use mask and eye-glasses to avoid the harsh weather condition.

    Bello said: “Extreme cold weather can lead to serious health issues to the elderly, such as hypothermia, while kids can also be affected with cold-related diseases if exposed to the harsh weather.

    He said exposing children to extreme cold could lead to low body temperature, hypothermia, frostbite and even death while exercising in the cold weather by the aged could result in heart attacks and stroke.

    “Some adults can lose body heat fast, even faster than when they were young, and ageing comes with changes in the body system that may make it harder for elderly persons who exposes themselves to extremely cold weather,” Bello said.

    He attributed the extremely harsh weather in some parts of the country to climate change, desertification, deforestation and environmental degradation.

    “One of the reasons why northern Nigeria and some parts of Africa are facing this kind of harsh weather is as a result of climate change, desertification and environmental degradation,” Bello said.

    He advised the authorities to sensitise the public about cold-related diseases and respiratory infections, such as conjunctivitis, common cold, asthma, cough, catarrh and tonsillitis, pneumonia, sickle cell crisis, eye problems, bronchitis and dry skin, among other illnesses.

    He advised the elderly persons to wear warm clothes, hand gloves and socks as well as glasses to protect their eyes.

    “They should also use jelly for their lips, skin, necks, and faces, and drink plenty water to prevent dehydration,” the expert said.

    Bello called on NEMA, SEMA and other environmental-related NGOs/CSOs to create more awareness on the dangers of bush burning, especially during harmattan.

  • Between Jonathan and the gunboat attackers

    It has been two weeks since the attack on a gunboat around the Otuoke home of former President Goodluck Jonathan but discussions around the motive of the attackers are yet to abate, writes MIKE ODIEGWU

     

    On December 24, last year, gunmen launched an attack close to the courtyard of former President Goodluck Jonathan in Otuoke, Ogbia Local Government Area, Bayelsa State.

    They came on five speedboats. It looked like they had carefully studied the environment while planning their evil mission. They were prepared and heavily armed. They stormed the area on the early hours of that day at about 3 am, perhaps thinking that they could catch the soldiers on guard napping.

    Obviously, the attackers knew their mission was suicidal. Some people believe that for them to have mustered the courage to undertake the mission was an indication that their operation could have been sponsored by some powerful forces.

    The courtyard of the former President is situated in a secured location. It is fenced with heavy columns of concrete and sited at the bank of Otuoke River. Enjoying the privileges of a former President, Jonathan has adequate security around him and his properties.

    In fact, the home that was nearly attacked is fortified with security. It is guarded by operatives of the Nigerian Army. A gunboat overlooks the multiple buildings and constantly patrols the river surrounding it. There is a permanent military checkpoint in the area.

    But the hoodlums believed they could overrun the soldiers on guard. Therefore, they engaged the checkpoint in a gun duel. It was a battle that lasted close to 30 minutes. The soldiers, who never anticipated such an attack, fought gallantly.

    Their firepower was stronger than the arsenal of the criminals. They successfully repelled the attack. But one of them, whose identity is yet to be made public, died. He was killed while repelling the attack. Another soldier, who was later identified as Lance Corporal Umar Muttaka, sustained gunshot wounds and was rushed to an undisclosed hospital. It was gathered that the attackers suffered some casualties but they escaped with them.

    Read Also: Kinsmen to security agencies: unmask sponsors, attackers of Jonathan’s residence

    What was the motive behind the incident? Different stakeholders have advanced two theories. One group believes that the mission of the gunmen was to steal the gunboat. Indeed, gunmen in the Niger Delta and Bayelsa have always attacked both military and police checkpoints to steal their gunboats, arms and ammunition.

    In most cases, they kill security personnel before escaping with their weapons. So, persons in this group reason that the life of Jonathan was not the target of the gunmen. In fact, they insisted that the gunmen would not have attacked the residence of Jonathan even if they had succeeded in overpowering the soldiers and stealing their gunboats.

    The state government led by Governor Seriake Dickson belongs to this school of thought. A statement he released through his Chief Press Secretary, Fidelis Soriwei, has nothing to show that Jonathan and his residence were the targets of the gunmen’s mission. The statement made no reference to Jonathan, his residence and his Otuoke community.

    The statement said: statement said: “The Governor of Bayelsa State, the Honourable Henry Seriake Dickson, has condemned in strong terms the attack on a military post in Ogbia Local Government Area of the State.

    “The governor described the act as reprehensible and condemnable. He said that media reports that three soldiers were killed in the attack were quite shocking and troubling.

    “The governor called on all Bayelsans and indeed Nigerians of good conscience to rise against the killing of innocent security operatives on a mission to maintain peace and security in the state.

    “Governor Dickson called on the police and the other security agencies to ensure that those behind the dastardly act are arrested and brought to justice.

    “He also urged the police and the security agencies to increase security presence in the state, especially during the festive period to prevent the hoodlums from wreaking havoc on the state. The Governor commiserated with family members of the security personnel who reportedly died in the attack.”

    But many others, whose strident voices condemned the incident, insisted that it was not just an attack on the home of the former President but an assassination attempt on Jonathan. They were of the opinion that the gunmen were in a mission to kill Jonathan or members of his household.

    These particular theorists advanced some logical reasoning to prove their case. They maintained that any attack on the security formation guarding Jonathan and his properties is targeting the former President.

    According to them, gunmen, who summon the courage to go after the life of a highly-placed personality like Jonathan must first and foremost overrun his security. They insisted that if those miscreants had overpowered the security operatives, they would have gone after Jonathan. While some of them said Jonathan was at home during the incident, others claimed he left the house for Yenagoa, few hours before the incident.

    On the reason why some persons would want Jonathan dead, the pro-assassination theorists said it could be connected to the just-concluded governorship election in Bayelsa. They argue that some power brokers, who were angry with the roles Jonathan played to facilitate the victory of the All Progressives Congress (APC) could be after him.

    Besides, those linking politics to the attack said some people were envious at the rising global influence of Jonathan and could do anything, including killing him, to stop him.

    Most Ijaw leaders, especially kinsmen of Jonathan, belong to this group. They want security agencies to beam their searchlight on some powerful persons within the state and the Niger Delta. They are angry that the military is yet to arrest suspects in connection with the incident.

    The kinsmen, who described the incident as unimaginable, urged security agencies to expedite their investigations, arrest the attackers and their sponsors.

    One of the kinsmen of Jonathan and public commentator, Wisdom Ikuli, is the leader of this school of thought. He said they were disappointed that nothing had been heard about persons who carried out the attack.

    Acknowledging that the security agencies could be working discreetly to unmask the identities of the perpetrators, Ikuli insisted that the attackers were targeting the former President.

    Ikuli noted that both sponsors and perpetrators must be persons within the state, who understood the environment and knew the movement of the former President.

    He said prior to the election, the former President moved freely without a record of any incident and wondered why he had become a target after the poll.

    He asked the National Security Adviser (NSA), the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and the Department of Security Service (DSS) to take the matter seriously.

    He said: “The attack on the house of the former president was very condemnable. Some people said they just attacked his security. Bit f they had overrun the security what do you think would have happened?

    “If the enemies attack your security men at the gate and overrun them, are you not going to be the victim? The attack was actually targetted at the former President Goodluck Jonathan, our father, leader, legend and global icon of democracy.

    “Goodluck is not just Bayelsa property or Ijaw or Niger Delta property. He is the property of Nigeria, Africa and now world property. We never knew his value until the world took him away from us. That is why you see him moving around the world. They are calling him to settle crisis all over the world.

    “The attackers of Jonathan are not outsiders. They didn’t come from the moon. They are from Bayelsa State. It means that those who know the environment and the movement of the former president carried out the attack.

    “We are not satisfied. I have not heard about any arrest and it is worrisome. Let’s imagined that they overran the security and got to the former president, what would have happened?

    “It is the madness of the highest order. I want to say that it is a shame to the Ijaw nation. It is a shame to all us because Jonathan is a sacred property to all of us. We need to guard him. His security should be paramount to every one of us because we know the value he has added and is adding to us as a people.

    “He is our most worthy ambassador. Nobody exposes his or her treasure. Treasure is guarded very jealously. I frown at the security so far for not hearing of any arrest. I know that they are doing a very discreet investigation. We want to charge them to unravel the forces behind the attack and not just those who went to attack but the sponsors of the attack.

    “We are aware that before the Bayelsa election, Goodluck Jonathan was moving freely. Nobody went to knock at his gate, but after the poll, some disgruntled elements who feel that they own the Ijaw nation have been making funny moves.

    “But we want to sound a note of warning to them that Ijaw people and Ogbia people are not weaklings. We are only quiet and we should not be pushed to the wall to the extent that we will be forced to react because when we read it will be very unpleasant. The forces behind all of these are persons who are the chief beneficiaries of Goodluck Jonathan presidency.”

    But even Jonathan was disturbed by the incident. A statement he issued through his Media Adviser, Ikechukwu Eze, shortly after the incident said: “The former President who was not in Otuoke at the time of the attack, however, returned to his village early this morning to assess the situation.

    “Dr. Jonathan promptly condemned the attack and reassured his people that there was no cause for alarm. The former President has also condoled with the family of the deceased soldier, the military and has urged the concerned security authorities to swing into action and bring the culprits to book.”

    The former President also visited the injured soldier at an undisclosed hospital in Yenagoa and wished his quick recovery. Following the incident, the security around him and his home had been strengthened.

    Disturbed by the incident, President Muhammadu Buhari, ordered thorough investigations to unravel the identities of the attackers and their sponsors.

    Therefore only the outcome of the investigations will determine the motive behind the attack at the residence of the former President. The report of such investigations will help to know whether the attackers are after his life or on a mission to steal the military gunboat.

  • Wisdom begins with fear of gas explosion

    Saturday’s gas explosion in Kaduna State was one too many. Not only did it destroy properties worth millions of naira, lives were lost. Other parts of the country such as Lagos, Delta and others had experienced the ugly incident which calls for government’s commitment to mitigate the incident for safety of lives and properties, writes CHINAKA OKORO.

    On Saturday, Nigeria lost a prominent citizen. At a time the country is grapling with the problem of brain drain, one of her cerebral academics, Professor Simon Mallam, who  was the Chairman of the Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission (NAEC),  his son and three others, were killed in a domestic gas explosion which occurred in Sabon Tasha, Kaduna.

    Mallam, who, according to a source close to the family, had just returned from the United States where he went on official tour, was at Sabon Tasha with his son to have their hair cut when the incident happened. The barber’s shop, unfortunately, was close to the gas shop.

    The source said: “Professor Mallam just returned few days ago from the United States. On his return, he went to his village in Kagoro in Kaura Local Government Area.

    “After he returned from the village for the Yuletide celebration, he, with his son, went to have a haircut in preparation for the Sunday service and subsequent movement to Abuja.

    “We learnt they just finished having their haircut when the gas exploded.”

    The sound was deafening. Nobody had expected such earsplitting sound. People ran from pillar to post confused. Their lives were so important; hence they ran as their legs could carry them.

    When the dust raised by the sound settled, people started asking what happened. It was a gas explosion.

    According to experts, gas explosion is an explosion resulting from mixing a gas, typically from a gas leak, with air in the presence of an ignition source. In household accidents, the principal explosive gases are those used for heating or cooking purposes such as natural gas, methane, propane, butane.

    In industrial gas explosions many other gases, such as hydrogen, evaporated (gaseous) gasoline or ethanol play an important role. Industrial gas explosions can be prevented with the use of intrinsic safety barriers to prevent ignition.

    Each incidence of gas explosion results in deaths of several people, including women and children. Not only are there loss of lives, there is also destruction of billions of naira worth of goods and properties.

    For several times, gas explosions had occurred in several parts of the country. Before the latest explosion which occurred at the Sabon Tasha area of Kaduna metropolis on Saturday, other parts of the country had witnessed such unpleasant phenomenon.

    In the Kaduna explosion, several people lost their lives and many others were burnt beyond recognition. The explosion, which was said to have occurred about 1:00 p.m. at a gas shop located by the main road opposite Total Filling Station, at the ever-busy Sabon Tasha.

    Not only did the explosion destroy properties, it took the life of a prominent Nigerian; an academic that was committed to producing manpower for the development of the country’s economy.

    A witness and manager of a filling station opposite the gas shop; Mr. Jerry Bishop said dismembered bodies of the gas vendor and one customer were thrown metres away.

    El-Rufai bans sales of gas in residential areas

    Enraged by the incident, Kaduna State Governor Nasiru El-Rufai has ordered the closure of all gas refill stations located within residential areas.

    The governor, who gave the order on Monday appealed to residents to report any gas outlets to government for immediate action.

    Governor El-Rufai, who visited the scene of Saturday’s gas explosion at Sabon Tasha, Kaduna said the gas refill stations should relocate to industrial layouts.

    “It is most unfortunate that this incident has happened. It is further proof and evidence that this is high risk activity that should not be allowed to be located in residential areas.

    “We will relocate them; we will give them land in industrial areas where adequate precautions to prevent things such as this will be put in place,” he said.

    The governor advised residents to report anyone found refilling gas within residential areas.

    “You should report to Kaduna Environmental Protection Agency (KASUPDA) so that measures can be taken to chase them out,” he said.

    He noted that gas refilling is a high risk activity that should be undertaken only in industrial layouts where all the safety measure can be put in place.

    The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) has said its preliminary investigation revealed that the Kaduna gas explosion was caused by illegal decanting of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) into another cylinder by operators of the facility.

    Head, Public Affairs of DPR, Mr. Paul Osu, stated this in a statement made available to reporters.

    Osu said the agency commiserates with the families affected by the unfortunate incident. According to him, an incident of gas explosion was reported to have occurred at an unlicensed LPG retail shop in Kaduna, Kaduna State, resulting in fatalities.

    “In line with our regulatory oversight on the oil and gas industry, the agency immediately mobilised our members of staff to the scene to investigate the cause of the explosion,” he said.

    Osu said the Department would continue to monitor and sensitise members of the public to safe handling of petroleum products to prevent the occurrence of incidences such as this.

    “We appeal to members of the public to continue to assist in reporting the activities of illegal operators to the nearest DPR office,” he said.

    Apart from the unfortunate incident in Kaduna, gas explosions have occurred in other parts of the country which were also claimed lives and destroyed properties worth billions of naira. For instance, in Oniru in Victoria Island, Lagos, at least three people sustained varying degrees of injuries in December after a gas cylinder exploded at the Four Point by Sheraton Hotel.

    The explosion occurred while some artisans were doing welding job inside the hotel premises.

    It was gathered that one of the cylinder hoses brought by the welders had leakage which triggered the explosion.

    It was gathered that several vehicles in the premises, room windows and other items were shattered.

    “A total of 10 vehicles alongside several windows of the hotel were affected by the effects of the explosion,” said a source.

    In November last year, two children died in a gas explosion also in Lagos. Twenty-three people, including children and adults were injured. One of the children was identified as Damilare Afolabi.

    The incident happened at Aduke Street off Ojo Road in Ajegunle, Apapa Lagos.

    Investigations revealed that the explosion was as a result of gas leakage from a gas cylinder store. It was learnt that the gas exploded when a resident made a call near the shop. The fire escalated to nearby shops and a bungalow behind the shops.

    According to the Director-General/Chief Executive Officer, Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), Dr Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, two children, a male and a female lost their lives and 23 people had injuries in the gas explosion that occurred at Aduke Street off Ojo Road in Ajegunle, Apapa Lagos.

    He said: “Upon arrival at the scene of incident, it was discovered that a gas cylinder store had exploded as a result of gas leakage. Further investigations revealed that the fire ignited as a result of a call made by an unidentified resident which escalated to other nearby shops and a bungalow behind the shops.”

    Call for regulation

    Owing to incessant gas explosion in Lagos, the House of Assembly has called for proper regulations and monitoring of sales of gas.

    The House arrived at the resolution after a motion moved by a member of the Assembly, Hon. Lukman Olumo, representing Ajeromi/Ifelodun Constituency 1 during a plenary session.

    In the motion, Olumo stated that it was important to regulate sales of Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) in residential areas to curb incessant gas explosion.

    The House therefore resolved to instruct the Commissioners for the Environment and Water Resources as well as the General Manager of the Lagos State Environmental Protection Agency (LASEPA) to enforce the necessary laws on the issue.

    “The Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources should ensure that licenses are given to the sellers of gas. The Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) should give approval on the location of gas stations.

    “The government should ensure that the cylinders imported into the country conform to the right standard,” he said.

    The House also called on the Commissioner for Information and Strategy to embark on aggressive sensitisation programme to the indiscriminate proliferation of gas sales outlets, use of mobile phones and handling of gas cylinders.

    Majority Leader Sanai Agunbiade said there should be enforcement of the laws of the state and enlightenment of members of the public on the matter.

    In Delta State, over four people sustained a high degree of injuries along the Ivwrekpokpo Road, Ughelli North Local Government Area following a gas explosion.

    Experts say incidents of gas explosions could be minimised if precautionary measures are taken, even as they urged government to show commitment to proper location of gas facilities.

  • How TETFund spends billions yearly on scholars (2)

    In this concluding part of her series on TETfund, JUSTINA ASISHANA sheds more light on the agency’s operations.

    One would have thought that being one of the grant bodies that has its origins from Nigeria, most of the lecturers would be encouraged to pursue their higher degrees in the country so that the tertiary institutions in the country would benefit in another way from the fund, however, this is not the case.

    “It is easier to do your Ph.D. outside (the country) there than here”, Professor Adedeji of the University of Ilorin said.

    “There are no courses that you cannot get in Nigeria, mention the course, we have it but we do not usually have one or two things to back it up, that is the major problem. I cannot see any course that you cannot do in Nigeria but there are some problems, which we have. The top of it is that we do not have enough equipment, the equipment limited to some courses and does not support a lot of research work, so according to the objectives and the result the person wishes to achieve, he will have no choice but to do it somewhere else.”

    However, his colleague, Professor Musa Toyin Yakubu, who is the Director, Central Research Laboratories, differs, saying that some courses are not available in Nigeria adding that the reason why most of the courses are not available is due the unavailability of equipment to go with it.

    “If we have the equipment, we can always have the ball rolling instead of going outside to study and spending so much. If the government can equip the universities the more in terms of state of the art equipment, of course, why do they have to go out, once we can get it done here? Once what you are looking is within your trouser, why will you look for it elsewhere?”

    The Federal University, Lafia ASUU Chairman was brute in his opinion about scholars going outside the country to study, “TETfund’s objective is to give the people quality education. This is not to say we do not have this in the country but some of the equipment specifically designed for some courses, particularly designed that one need for research is not here in the country.”

    He, however, stated that it is also the responsibility of TETFund to provide this equipment for the institutions, “maybe, they can consider that instead of sending people abroad, they will invest the money in an institution per time and get the needed equipment.”

    Abdullahi also added another dimension as to why academic scholars seek admission for their higher degrees outside the country as he explained that the academic calendar of tertiary institutions in Nigeria is not fixed and it takes longer for one to finish his Masters or Ph.D. in Nigeria than one would do in other countries. He said he was a victim of the irregular academic calendar during his Ph.D. programme in a Nigerian university.

    “There is the fear on the part of members that if you enter for studies here in Nigeria, it will take you three time the number of years you will spend abroad. The calendar over there is fixed, the day you enter; you know when you are graduating.

    Read Also: How TETFund spends billions yearly on scholars (1)

    “My Ph.D. took me eight years in a Nigerian university, that period alone is enough to train three to four persons abroad. Although I trained myself, it was self-sponsored but if I had had the money in bulk, it was enough to go to Malaysia and come back after three years. These are the special considerations and preferences of colleagues seeking admission abroad.

    “Colleagues will prefer to go there, spend 12 months for Masters and return or spend two to three years for Ph.D. and return instead of staying here, being on the road now and then and at the end of the day, not getting what you expect or not completing when you calculate.”

    Dr. Lazarus Luka Maigoro of the University of Jos on his part does not think it is a big deal for lecturers to want to go outside the country to study, saying the university system is supposed to be a universal affair that should be opened to new ideas and innovation.

    “The university system is a universal affair, if you restrict everything to your own country, you will only be localising the university system in the country. The reason why I think TETFund allows the academic staff to go outside the country for higher studies may be that they do not want to restrict knowledge to what we know in the country alone. We need to go outside to learn from others.”

    He also explained that not all courses for higher degrees are offered in the country, “It is not every course that is taught in Nigeria. There are also courses that we do not have the necessary manpower to mount Ph.D. programmes. Some countries have enough resources, enough personnel to mount such a programme, so why don’t we go to these countries and learn from them.

    “Another thing is that for most of these Ph.D. programmes, we do not even have the equipment and that is the reason why we need to go out. While there are some courses taught here in Nigeria that you can do your Ph.D. here, you, however, need to learn to gain knowledge from other people outside the country.”

    Is Tetfund fortifying foreign universities?

    While some scholars justify the reason why Tetfund is sponsoring scholars to study abroad, other scholars have argued that the fund has succeeded in carting away taxpayers’ money to fortify and strengthen universities abroad.

    A lecturer in the University of Jos, who prefers to speak anonymously, said that Tetfund is enriching universities outside the country at the detriment of the universities in Nigeria, according to her, if the money used for academic staff training is committed to one university each year, the country’s universities would have been well equipped to international standard.

    “How can universities in Nigeria grow when the major source of funding prefers to give it to some other universities outside? If money committed for foreign training for academic staff is dedicated to one university each year, we would have state of the art research facilities in Nigeria universities the foreign researchers would come to visit. But no, Tetfund prefers to give it to foreign universities for training rather than spend it on Nigeria.”

    The lecturer also said that it might not be farfetched if academic scholars are insisting to go and study abroad for some staff to enrich themselves.

    Defence by Beneficiaries

    A beneficiary of TETFund Staff Development and Training, Samuel Medayese told The Nation that sponsorship of staff to foreign universities has increased the capacity of the academic staff and have given them more international exposure especially to those who would not have to be financially capable of obtaining such quality education.

    According to him, “it is not out of place by Tetfund to give scholarship to those wanting to study abroad. Facilities are better, standards are much trusted and delays are not experienced by a foreign institution. The major importance is not just to obtain a certificate, but to increase exposure and give Nigerian scholars the required international exposure and the latitude to be able to compete in the international scenes.”

    Medayese further disclosed that recently, more scholars have used the fund for foreign training than funds meant for local training adding that TETFund seems to prefer foreign training because it enhances staff capacity compared to local training which is encumbered with series of challenges and delays.

    Violation of guidelines?

    Earlier in 2019, the news broke of how the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related OffencesCommission (ICPC) recovered N7.5 million unused grant from 11 lecturers of the Kaduna State Polytechnic.

    It was gathered that the money was part of the TETFund grant released to the school between 2010 and 2017 for staff capacity development through local and international training.

    The ICPC, through its Northwest zonal office which coordinated the investigation on the utilisation of tetfUND grants in the institution, found that the 11 lecturers failed to attend the training scheduled to hold in Nigeria, USA, Greece, and the United Arab Emirates despite having received monies.

    Some of the lecturers collected as much as N1.39 million while others collected between N149,000 and N1.337 million under the Academic Staff Training and Development Project.

    The former Executive Secretary of TETFund, Dr. Abdullahi Baffa, while in office had said that the guidelines for scholarships were intended to build the capacity of scholars in universities and create opportunities for them to pursue higher degrees at home and abroad were continually being violated.

    According to him, most of the beneficiary scholars who were given money to pursue their higher study refuse to go and spend their money on something else also said that some institutions do not give the scholars the total money that was approved for them, adding that some make illegal deductions from the grants to the scholars.

    Baffa claimed that the agency discovered that some scholars given funds to study in Europe or the United States in some cases ended up going to some African countries, while some scholars give the authorisation to study for their Ph.D. registered for Masters Degree.

    However, not all universities experience this type of defaulters. The Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Technology, Minna, Professor Abdullahi Bala, who confirmed that the institution also benefits from the Academic Staff Development and Training from TETFund declared that it is impossible and difficult for anyone to just come by and misuse any grant given to them.

    Strict disbursement process

    Bala said that the institution has stringent processes for the disbursement of funds to staff for their academic training both abroad and in the country.

    “From the academic staff development and training component of TETFund, the university has substantially benefited quite as a large number of our staff have been trained and some are still undergoing training at the Ph.D. level. That had improved and enhanced the capacity of the university in terms of academic staff resources.

    “We have not witnessed any case of defaulters in the institution because the university does not just give people money just like that. We have laid down criteria, if you are going for staff development or training, we will be giving the beneficiary the money in trenches based on the progress report we get. The progress report will not only be from the student but also from the supervisor n the institution he is attending, so it is only based on that that we give out money.

    “So we release the money in tranches, for those going on the conference, we do not just release the money, you have to give us documentation, proper documentation as per the papers to be presented and other things. When you are going, you will be given some money and when you return, after putting in your report, you will then be given the balance. It is very difficult in FUT Minna for an individual to just collect money and will not use the money, virtually impossible because we do not give all of the money to the staff, we insist that we see records of payments and commitment by the student before we give subsequent payments.

    This is in line with the procedure of giving out funds for Academic staff development and training by TETFund. The disbursement process is authorized to be in two batches as 85 per cent is released first while 15 per cent will be released later.

    For the sponsorship, N1.5 million or above is approved for Ph.D. courses abroad while N1.050 million is the amount approved for the programs in Nigerian universities for Ph.D.; all foreign programmes enjoy cover tuition fees, living expenses, health insurance, transportation amongst others.

    Also in University of Jos, the ASUU Chairman said that there have not been any defaulters among the beneficiaries of the Academic staff development and training, he also attributed this to the stringent process of getting a recommendation adding that for the grant to attend conferences and training, it is always done by hierarchy and whoever has benefitted in the previous years will have to wait until the circle gets back to him/her.

    “I have not heard of any defaulters here at the University of Jos. For us here, the system is so strict and regimented that it takes a long process for one to be recommended for the scholarships. The recommendations usually come from the Faculty as each faculty has allocations given to it.

    “The deans of these faculties recommend the scholar to the central committee before the scholar is finally awarded the scholarship, but not after the due screening. The procedure is so strict that I do not know how institutions that have had defaulters have done it but here, the system will not even allow you to default.

    “For conferences, you cannot apply straight from your office; it has to go through your Head of Department. If you are not qualified, you will not be given the grant. There are parameters used and these are followed to the book. For one, these who have been on the ground will be considered before the new applicants; also, there are some topics or courses which are also given priority. In addition, for conference attendance, it is always being given first to those who have not benefited before. I can tell you that it is a very open process.”

    • This investigation is supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the International Center for Investigative Reporting (ICIR)

  • How TETFund spends billions yearly on scholars (1)

    The quest by teachers in Nigerian tertiary institutions to upgrade their skills and qualifications has been on the increase. However, with the high cost of financing higher education, these scholars seek funds outside their savings and institutions. In this investigation, JUSTINA ASISHANA seeks to find out the motivation for this quest, why they prefer to study abroad, how TETfund grants are helping and the disbursement method.

    In 2008, the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Julius Okojie, via the University World News, 30 March 2008, Issue:0021, announced that PhD would be the minimum qualification for all academic staff in Nigerian universities. This triggered a frenzy for higher education as had the policy been implemented, it would have resulted in the dismissal of almost 70 per cent of “PhDless” lecturers.

    One of the areas of TETFund interventions to tertiary institutions across Nigeria is in the area of Academic staff training and development, research, book development, and publication of journals by scholars. These scholars get a helpline from TETFund as they can seek funds to further their studies and improve their capabilities for the nation and their institutions.

    The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) was established by an Act of the National Assembly in June 2011. The Act replaced the Education Tax Fund, which was set up to administer and disburse education tax collections to the federal and state tertiary education institutions in Nigeria. The main source of income available to the Fund is the 2 per cent education tax paid from the assessable profit of companies registered in Nigeria. The levies are collected by the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS).

    Beneficiaries of the fund, mainly tertiary institutions, are required to apply the funds for the provision of essential physical infrastructure for teaching and learning, provision of instructional materials and equipment, research, book development and publications, academic staff training and development and any other need which is seen as critical and essential to the improvement of quality and maintenance of standards in the educational institutions.

    In the past ten years, investigations revealed that over 24,385 scholars from various tertiary institutions across Nigeria have benefited from the funds’ scholarship under the academic staff development programme in the last 10 years both at home and abroad, however, according to the Executive Secretary of TETFund, Professor Suleiman Elias Bogoro, in a paper presented at the Institute for Security Studies Bwari, FCT Abuja, on 17th May 2019 and titled: TETFUND AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF TERTIARY EDUCATION IN NIGERIA: STRATEGIES, PERFORMANCE, AND CHALLENGES, he said that presently 215 tertiary institutions are beneficiaries of the Fund, including 81 Universities, 64 Polytechnics and 70 Colleges of Education.

    From January 2012 when the scheme commenced to March 2019, 24,385 Academic staff have been trained by TETFund under this programme. Of this number, 7,437 were trained in foreign institutions, comprising of Foreign Ph.D. – 3,902, Foreign Masters – 2,940 and Foreign Bench word – 595. Also, a total of 16,948 were trained in Nigeria, including Local Ph.D.- 8,447 and Local Masters – 8,501.

    Before the introduction of this intervention, only 40 per cent of academic staff in Nigeria’s Tertiary Institutions had Ph.D., which is the minimum requirement to be a lecturer in a Tertiary Institution. But as of this year, the percentage has risen to nearly 70 per cent.

    Are more lecturers in Northcentral opting for foreign Masters and PhDs?

    In an investigation carried out by The Nation in six federal universities in the Northcentral, it was discovered that most of the lecturers prefer seeking funding to study abroad than studying in Nigeria. While most of them get approval for this, others have to settle for furthering their education here in Nigeria.

    Some of the lecturers cite intimidation from supervisors, unavailability of experts, unfixed calendars, lack of infrastructures and equipment to research as part of the reasons why they seek funding to study outside the country.

    In the University of Abuja, one of Nigeria’s popular universities, The Nation discovered that difficulties in getting visas have hampered many scholars who apply to the Fund for support to study abroad to resort to studying at home. However, available data showed that between 2013 to date, about 35 lecturers have gone abroad to study various Ph.D. programmes while over 30 lecturers have done their various master courses in universities across Nigeria. Seventeen lecturers who are professors and doctors have benefited from the fund for various research projects.

    In 2015, N125,569,400 was said to have been disbursed to 44 lecturers as funds for academic staff training to study in universities both at home and abroad; in 2016, N24,750,000 was first disbursed to 18 Lecturers while another N36,676,666 was disbursed to three lecturers; in 2017, N79,745,265 was disbursed to another 30 while in 2019, N47,070,236 has been disbursed to nine lecturers while between 2015 and 2016, N15,050,916 was disbursed to 17 lecturers for their research projects.

    In the Federal University, Lokoja, it was revealed that most of the beneficiaries of the academic staff training and development went outside the country to study. However, being a new university, not many of the lecturers have benefited.

    Between 2016 and 2017, only seven of the lecturers benefited with six doing their PhDs outside the country while one is doing his in Nigeria. The university claims not to have accessed 2017 and 2018 interventions as at the time this investigation was carried out. Over N87 million has so far been disbursed to these beneficiaries.

    While they have not benefitted from the scheme to study abroad, most of the staff, however, have taken advantage of the fund for pieces of training and conference attendance both within and outside the country. So far, over N23.2 million have been disbursed to 113 staff of the university for this.

    Although, The Nation visited other universities, the reporter was unable to get the exact number of staff who have benefited from these academic staff development and training.

    However, the Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) at the University of Jos, Dr. Lazarus Luka Maigoro said that “a lot of staff have benefitted from this fund. The fund is available and open for staff to access to go for higher studies within or outside the country or go on conferences. But for now, I cannot give you the number of staff who have benefitted but I can tell you all of us have benefitted.”

    For the Federal University, Lafia, the ASUU Chairman, Adams Abdullahi said staff that is qualified have benefitted from the institution, “every year, people who are qualified apply and they get. I know a good number of us are outside a very good number. My fear is that I do not have specific figures to give you. But as a union leader, I know that a lot of us are benefiting from the staff development and training from TETFund, particularly about issues relating to post-graduate training overseas, a lot of us are benefiting.”

    At the University of Ilorin, Professor Adeola Abdullahi Adedeji, who is the representative of the Faculty of Engineering in the institution’s TETFund Committee, told the reporter that from 2017 to 2019, academic staff have been going to universities in Malaysia, India and other countries for studies and research work, while others studied at home, adding that this had been made possible via the Fund.

    “As many as hundreds have benefitted but I cannot give you the exact figures. But here in the Faculty of Education, we have had more than 20 staff that have been given admissions that were sponsored by TETFundin Nigeria and overseas but I cannot give the exact figure.”

    NEITI and TETFund

    For the 2018 intervention year, each University, Polytechnic, and Colleges of Education was allocated N230million, N119million and N135million, respectively for the training of teachers.

    Meanwhile, the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) is seeking a comprehensive audit of TETFund, saying that the agency received a total of N993.3billion from the Federation Account between 2012 and 2016 but “does not have a comprehensive accounting and operational manual.”

    According to the latest NEITI Fiscal Allocation and Statutory Disbursement (FASD) Audit for the period 2012 to 2016, out of the total revenues of N993.3 billion received by TETFund from the Federation Account for its operations, about N804.9 billion came from mineral revenue sources and N188.5 billion from non-mineral sources.

    Details of the revenues showed in 2012, the Fund got N188.4 billion. The amount received in 2013 increased by 48 per cent to N279.2 billion, while the figure following year (2014) dropped by a similar percentage margin to N189.6 billion.

    In 2015, NEITI said the revenue allocated to the Fund increased by 8 per cent to N206 billion and then reduced to about N130 billion in 2016, a 37 per cent reduction.

    However, NEITI said its audit team was unable to verify the populated templates submitted to TETFUND because its top officials were uncooperative.

    According to the body in its final report, “Letters of introduction by NEITI were not honoured by the agency on two different occasions. A letter dated 10 April 2016, and another letter acknowledged as received on 8 June 2018 from NEITI were delivered to TETFUND. In both cases, we were informed the Executive Secretary had not yet given his permission for us to come and review the submitted templates, and so we were not granted permission to validate the templates.”

    NEITI also said that following the “insufficient guide for accounting and operations’ processes,” its audit team was “unable to verify the income received from the various sources by the agency, and unable to evaluate the utilization of the funds.”

    Consequently, the transparency agency recommended a comprehensive audit of the Fund to be carried out by the federal government immediately. The agency also called on the government to tackle the issue of undue political control and interference by State Governors in the execution of the Education Trust Fund-funded projects in their respective States.

    “There is a need to educate the governors on ETF intervention policies, which are rooted in accountability and standards and are performance-driven. Intervention, beneficiaries with accumulated un-accessed funds should be allowed to merge all their outstanding allocations and propose projects to be funded with the backlog of funds,” the NEITI report said.

    The other recommendations included the need to explore the possibility of developing prototypes for adoption by beneficiaries, to maintain standards and uniformity in projects they execute, and to minimise the challenges posed by un-accessed funds.

    In addition, it called for the re-examination of the Fund’s intervention policies, and to modify them where necessary.

    • This investigation is supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation and the International Center for Investigative Reporting (ICIR)

  • Staying safe during harmattan

    Fire outbreaks, sickle cell crises, skin infections and others are common during the harmattan season. Experts offer pieces of advice on how to stay safe during the season, writes CHINAKA OKORO.

    Jos, the Plateau State capital, has always been cold but it is now freezing. No thanks to the Harmattan. The temperature in the tin city has dropped to as low as 6.7 degrees Celsius, with residents apprehensive that the weather might worsen.

    Other parts of the North, such as Kaduna, Kano and Taraba, especially the Mambilla Plateau, have also witnessed serious drop in temperature.

    Coastal cities, such as Lagos and Rivers, are also feeling the hard knocks of the season. Almost nowhere in the country is free from the harsh effects of the season.

    Fire outbreaks, skin infections, sickle cell crises and many more have been identified with the season; so experts are offering pieces of advice of how to stay safe.

    Sickle cell patients to keep warm

    A Senior Registrar, Pulmonology Unit, Jos University Teaching Hospital(JUTH), Dr Chung- Gyang Shedrack, has advised sickle cell patients to keep themselves warm during the harmattan cold.

    Shedrack also alerted the residents on a likely increase in skin infections during the inclement weather.

    Dr Shedrack said patients who suffer from sickle cell and were anaemic were likely to experience worsening of their conditions during the unfriendly weather.

    He said: “Sickle cell patients are prone to crisis in this period of cold; they will have to stay very warm, take a lot of fluid, go for medical checks with their doctor and take medications adequately so that they do not have worsening crisis.”

    Shedrack advised the public to avoid dusty environment and also take lozenges such as strepsils, tom-tom and menthol to suppress coughs, lubricate and soothe irritated tissues of the throat.

    He said there was worsening or an increase in prevalence in skin infections, advising that there was need to take lots of water to protect the skin.

    The physician added that cold had harmful effects on the body, especially the respiratory system which led to ailments such as cough, asthma, upper airways infections from viruses, bacteria such as coryza, which is common cold.

    Shedrack further said: “We can have a provocation of asthma, hypersensitivity of the airwaves which is close to asthma, the cardiovascular system can also have some form of arrhythmia which is abnormal beating of the heart. One can have a slowing of the heart, nose and ear infections.”

    How to prevent fire outbreak

    The Commandant, Jigawa Command, Nigeria Security and Civil  Defence Corps (NSCDC), Alhaji Garba Muhammad, said it was important to avoid fire disasters, especially in the rural areas where thatch houses were many.

    Muhammad, in a statement by the Command’s Spokesman, Adamu Shehu, advised the people to be careful in handling fire and heating equipment in homes and offices.

    “To avoid further occurrence, the public should be cautious because most fire mishaps happened during harmattan period because of the need to keep rooms warm or boil water for bathing and other purposes.

    “In the process, people tend to forget to put off the heating equipment or the fire source and go to sleep.

    “Office workers must ensure they switch off all electronic appliances at the close of work. Sometime, fire incidents occur because the firewoods were not put out after cooking.

    “Therefore, residents, particularly rural dwellers, must be careful while using fire during harmattan. This is because fire, particularly during the harmattan, can escalate and consume valuables, including houses and even human lives,” he said.

    Muhammad advised house wives to ensure that they quenched fire used in cooking immediately after to avoid fire outbreak.

    He added that people should also be careful while using candles and kerosene lanterns in their homes, as they were capable of causing fire outbreak.

    Protect your wards against cold-related diseases

    The Director of Womanhood School of Health Science, Kaduna, Nurudden Bello, wants parents to protect their wards to avert contracting cold-related illnesses.

    Bello urged parents to help keep their children and the elderly warm to protect them against the effect of the season.

    He also advised commercial motorcyclists, popularly known as okada riders, to use mask and eye-glasses to avoid the harsh weather condition.

    Bello said: “Extreme cold weather can lead to serious health issues to the elderly, such as hypothermia, while kids can also be affected with cold-related diseases, if exposed to the harsh weather.

    Bello said exposing children to extreme cold could lead to low body temperature, hypothermia, frostbite and even death, while exercising in the cold weather by the aged could result in heart attacks and stroke.

    “Some adults can lose body heat fast, even faster than when they were young, and aging comes with changes in the body system that may make it harder for elderly people who expose themselves to extreme cold weather,” Bello said.

    He attributed the extremely harsh weather in some parts of the country to climate change, desertification, deforestation and environmental degradation.

    “One of the reasons why northern Nigeria and some parts of Africa are facing this kind of harsh weather is as a result of climate change, desertification and environmental degradation,” Bello said.

    He advised the authorities to sensitise the public to cold-related diseases and respiratory infections, such as conjunctivitis, common cold, asthma, cough, catarrh and tonsillitis, pneumonia, sickle cell crisis, eye problems, bronchitis and dry skin, among other illnesses.

    He advised the elderly people to wear clothes that will keep them warm, hand gloves and socks as well as glasses to protect their eyes.

    “They should also use jelly for their lips, skin, necks and faces, and drink plenty water to prevent dehydration,” the expert said.

    Bello called on the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), State Emergency Management Agency (SEMA) and other environmental-related non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) to create more awareness on the dangers of bush burning, especially during the harmattan period.

    NGO donates relief materials

    The Guild of Medical Directors, Bauchi State chapter, on Saturday donated 200 blankets to the Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) taking shelter near Rindubin Community on Bauchi-Gombe Road, Bauchi.

    The guild said the donation was to reduce the suffering of the IDPs during the current harmattan season.

    The state Chairman of the guild, Dr Hassan Garba, said the gesture was to protect the IDPs against excessive cold and associated diseases.

    “The donation is in an effort to prevent the IDPs, especially women and children, from being exposed to common diseases associated with this cold weather. We hope to bring more of this next time,” he said.

    Malam Lawal Gujja, who received the items on behalf of the IDPs, thanked the guild for the gesture and promised to ensure that women and children benefited more from the items.

    “We thank you for bringing these blankets to us. I will make sure that women and children are the first to benefit,” he said.

    Lagos cautions residents

    Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu advised Lagosians to take precautionary measures to prevent fire disasters because of the prevailing harmattan weather which aids the spread of fire outbreak.                                 The governor, who spoke through the Commissioner for Special Duties and Inter -Governmental Relations, Dr Wale Ahmed, said the people should be cautious because the current low humidity helps fire to spread fast, leading to the numerous fire outbreaks which have been recorded in parts of the country and the the rest of the world.

    The governor advised Lagosians to always switch off all electrical appliances and unplug them while leaving their homes. This also applies to markets and shops in the metropolis.

    The Commissioner of Special Duties quoted the governor as saying that “if there is no spark, there won’t be spread of fire.”

    Sanwo -Olu also advised Lagosians to keep gas cylinders in an open space, away from their kitchens, to prevent fire disasters even in the case of a leakage. He called on the people to invest in basic fire-fighting equipment, such as fire extinguishers, to deal with fire incidents before they could spread. He also cautioned against the use of fireworks at this time of harmattan, noting that they could lead to fire disasters if they fall on combustible materials.