The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Nigerian news

  • Between ASUU and FUOYE

    SIR: Recently, a piece entitled: “Again, ASUU alleges corruption, mismanagement, tyranny in FUOYE’, was published in one of the national newspapers. Unfortunately, the write-up in question attacked, without caution, the office and person of the Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti, Prof. Kayode Soremekun.

    Thousands of informed and rational readers, expectant of a balanced that article, perhaps, would have consumed the piece. Such readers would be shocked to discover that the said article lacked the requisite perspectives from the other side.

    First, the piece misinformed the public that FUOYE’s local chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities had again cried out against what the writer mischievously alleged as the “impunity and administrative recklessness” of the institution’s management. The wonder here is: Which local body of ASUU was the writer referring to? This is because at the moment, ASUU in FUOYE is in disarray. There are now, in fact, several splinter groups and some of them are so disillusioned that they have decided to cast their lot with the management while some have even decided to form a separate body, distinct from ASUU.

    Secondly, the writer of the one-sided piece claimed that the ASUU zonal body raised concerns at a press briefing about “perceived docility of the federal government in acting on the allegations of administrative recklessness earlier raised against the VC, and the failure to constitute a visitation panel to the university to “correct all ills and anomalies”. But one wonders if this writer thinks that the federal government would be so naive that it would pay attention to such unfounded lies when indeed, the VC had, in several counter press briefings, adequately replied such falsehood raised against him.

    Moreover, there have been many laughable allegations by the zonal ASUU leadership which had been proved to be mere falsehood and tissues of lies. For instance, there was the allegation that the VC bought many buildings in the capital city of Ado-Ekiti, and also got involved in pension jerk ups all of which were found to be untrue as none of these accusers has been able to come up with any evidence of such property belonging to the VC. Meanwhile, pension deductions of all staff of FUOYE are duties performed only by revenue bodies in government outside the university management’s purview.

    The writer also reminded his readers about a March 5, press briefing where ASUU purportedly raised an alarm on the VC’s alleged “rule of tyranny…other sundry allegations bordering on academic patronage, financial mismanagement, rotten state of infrastructure, and students’ welfare”. Again, here lies the insincerity and misleading nature of such claims as they (local ASUU and in cahoots with the Akure zone) had yet to produce incontrovertible evidence for such malicious allegations.

    On the issue of poor infrastructure in FUOYE, while this is not a peculiar feature to the institution, there are incontrovertible pieces of evidence that students and lecturers of the university on a daily basis laud the ingenuity of the university management in providing befitting infrastructural and learning facilities in the twin campuses of the institution. Indeed, since he assumed office, the vice chancellor can boast of having initiated, built and still building over 40 projects. Those structures are not ghosts. Rather, they dot the expansive landscape of the university for any curious eye to behold!

    An attestation to the VC’s performance is a recent award of excellence given to him by FUOYE’s Students’ Union Government in recognition of his “contributions to improved learning conditions, increased accreditation of programmes leading to numerical expansion and infrastructural development in the school.”

    On the issue raised about the acting bursar of the school, recall that former bursar of FUOYE had died suddenly in 2017, and shortly after that, the then chairman of the university council, resigned and to that extent there was a vacuum. On this note, it is instructive to appreciate that only the council is responsible for setting in motion the process of appointing a substantive bursar. And it was only recently that the federal government appointed a new chairman for the governing council.

    Pray! How does this development amount to administrative recklessness and violations of the university statutes on the part of the VC?

    We would like to advise the Zonal ASUU, Akure, to live up to expectations and emulate exemplary leaders like Professors Lai Olorode, Dipo Fashina, Attahiru Jega and Assisi Asobie who have paid their dues to the union without any damage to their respective reputations.

    • Geoffery Bakji,

    PRO, Federal University Oye-Ekiti.

  • Airlines’ role in developing airport hubs

    What qualifies an airport as an effective hub? Experts say it is beyond geographical location, population, operational infrastructure and the size of terminal facilities. The role strong carriers can play in achieving a hub for Nigeria has triggered a debate in the sector. KELVIN OSA OKUNBOR reports.

    Nigeria’s desire to achieve hub status for some of its airports in the last few decades has remained elusive.

    The drive to upgrade some of its airport terminals to hub status has engaged the attention of successive administrations with little to show for it beyond rhetorics. Terminal upgrade and remodeling initiatives conceived by many ministers of aviation are yet to yield the expected outcomes.

    But, the country is losing billions of dollars  in the West African region and on the continent due to the failure of the government to deliver on its target.

    Experts, including Chief Executive Officer Belujane Konsults, Mr Chris Aligbe ; Chief Executive Officer, African Aviation Services Limited , Mr Nick Fadugba ; Chairman  and Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), Captain Meggison  said hub pursuit for Nigeria may take longer time until strong  carriers are put in place.

    Beside strong carriers, they said government needs deliver modern airports with transit facilities for passengers to connect flight from one corner of the world to another.

    They said Nigeria will be better positioned to achieve hub status for its airport terminals if it takes advantage of its geographical location, population and other attractions.

    Besides geography, they say establishing strong carriers has a role to play in the development of effective airport hubs. They argue that such carriers should not be necessarily publicly owned, but could be private sector-driven, judging by the experience in other climes.

    Aligbe on his part identified the absence of strong indigenous carriers as one of the reasons Nigeria is unable to develop airport hubs. He said though Nigeria is naturally blessed with with good geographical location, it is not enough to make her airports natural hubs as hub development goes beyond geography encompassing strong carriers to distribute passengers.

    He said other countries in Africa were using their carriers to develop their airport into strong hubs for the distribution of passengers on the airline network they belong to.

    Aligbe  said until the government designed policies that would promote strong  indigenous carriers, the ambition to develop some international airports into a hub will remain a mirage.

    In an interview, Aligbe said in some parts of the world, some private carriers assisted in developing their airports into strong hubs.

    He said: “We cannot develop hub in our country. If you look at it globally  it is only two major places that private airlines have developed as hub.

    “You have it in Honk Kong, developed by Cathay Pacific, the airline was owned by a shipping magnate, but now it is a global airline.

    ‘’There is another airline that developed  a hub in Brazil after the collapse of Varig Air. So, airlines have a role to play in developing airport hubs. Other hubs were developed by national carriers. Even though most American carriers are privately owned.’’

    He further said:” Only national carriers build hubs. That is why Nigeria has not been able to build hubs. Four  or five years ago, there was an arrangement with Lufthansa to help build a hub in Abuja , but it did not happen. It will not happen, no foreign airlines will build hub for Nigeria. KLM built a hub in Schipol, Air France built Paris Airport, British Airways built Heathrow, not Virgin.

    “Nigeria is the best location in Africa to build a hub, yet we have not developed it.

    “The kind of  multiplier  effect a  hub has in economic development in any country is mammoth. Such  hubs as Dubai, Heathrow, France, Atlanta, do wonderful things. Delta Airlines has done a lot to develop hubs and contribute to the development of the economy.

    “We are not in a position to develop  that now, because we do not have a strong national flag carrier that can do this,” Aligbe concluded.

    Meggison in his view  said airlines have a huge role to play in developing hubs.

    He cited the roles Ethiopian Airlines has played in making Addis Ababa a strong hub in the Horn of Africa region, distributing passengers from all parts of the continent onto its global routes network, using its many global alliances.

    He said Kenyan Airways has also assisted  in developing Nairobi into a strong  hub for East Africa to distribute passengers around the continent.

    Egypt Air, he said, has developed a hub around Cairo just as South African Airways has also developed a hub  for Johannesburg to distribute passengers around the southern part of the continent. He said any country needed more than mere geographical advantage to become a hub.

    He said: “But a country needs more than the advantage of geographical location to become a hub.

    “Now, if you  take advantages into account, Nigeria ought to be a hub. But then what  really determines a hub is the quality and the capacity of the major carrier in that country.

    “It is not the population, it is not even the strategic location as it were. KLM is from Netherlands. How many people are in Netherlands? How many of the KLM passengers are going to Netherlands? But because the country has a very big carrier that has wide network, the airline has made Amsterdam a hub.”

    He said  Nigeria could become a hub if it has strong airlines that could distribute passengers from Europe, Americas, Asia and other destination outside the continent to various parts of Africa.

    “Nigeria can become a hub if it has two or three  airlines that are very strong. Even if one is not strong enough, but an airline  that can create a feeder network for passengers  to different parts of the continent.

    “Ethiopia is not strategically located  as it were, but because they have a very strong carrier, Addis Ababa has become a hub. So, it is the airline or the airlines that make a hub. For Lagos to become a hub, besides the facilities that will enable it to become a hub, like good airport, modern transportation facilities, the airline must be big enough to have network of routes and feed other airlines.”

    Despite its huge population,  Fadugba said Nigeria  lacks terminals that can accelerate seamless transit for passengers on domestic; regional and international flights.

    He said besides facilities for passengers’ transit; Nigerian carriers are not strong enough to attract global partnership to offer passengers reliable services on routes beyond point-to-point.

    Being a point -to -point carrier , Fadugba said   is no longer fashionable among global carriers.

    Speaking in an interview in Lagos, Fadugba said the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos and the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja were yet to qualify as hubs for West Africa because they do not command the kind of facilities that would attract global carriers as transit terminals to connect passengers to any where in the world.

    Fadugba said global carriers are attracted to airports with modern facilities where turn around time is swift; services are reliable; airlines could refuel and enjoy economies of scale.

    He said the weak status of many Nigerian carriers with limited aircraft fleet; unreliable schedules and lack of capacity to share interline and codeshare agreements with global carriers continue to undermine the drive for hub status for its airports.

    Fadugba said airports in Accra, Cairo, Casablanca, Dakar, Addis Ababa, Nairobi and Johannesburg have developed modern infrastructure and processes to attract global legacy carriers with intimidating aircraft fleet and network; Nigerian airports needed to be reworked to accommodate attractive hub facilities.

    He said: “Nigerian airports still have a long way to go to become significant hubs in Africa ; because they have inadequate facilities that will facilitate seamless passengers’ transit.

    “Government needs to tear down and build a modern terminal at Lagos Airport with at least three runways that will facilitate seamless connectivity.

    “Government needs to urgently look at land facilities at the Abuja Airport and at least build two runways for easy connectivity.

    “Developing an airport hub is not by accident but through careful planning and strategy. To achieve this government should look at airport size, and the readiness of the airspace to accommodate the exponential traffic that it will trigger if modern facilities are put in place.

    “This is what other countries have done by empowering their airlines; modernising their fleet; securing operational agreements and partnership to position them as catalyst for economic development.”

    He  said: “And we do not have any airline to cut on, put together all the airlines we have if we tell them to come together to form one airline , they are still not large enough to contend with South African Airways, Kenya Airways or Ethiopian Airlines.

    “We cannot develop hub in our country. If you look at it globally only two major places that private airlines have developed as hub.Even though most American carriers are privately owned.Look at all the hubs built globally, they were built by national carriers. Only national carriers build hubs.

    “That is why Nigeria has not been able to build one. Because of economies of scale for airlines in terms of fuel costs, insurance and other benefits for airlines that belong to network globally.

    “These are the things we are not benefitting. Aircraft utilisation in Nigeria is low, at least six hours as opposed to 12 hours.”

    Meanwhile, remodelling of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, is aimed at making it the preferred West African hub that would attract more international flights, President of new aviation think tank Stakeholders Square Table, Captain Balarabe Usman (rtd.) has said.

    Usman said when work is completed at the airport, it would meet all the necessary conditions for its certification by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and would be designated as a regional hub because the highest number of passengers in West and Central Africa still emanate from the Lagos airport.

    According to him, with the expansion of the terminal facility, installation of new conveyor belts for quick dispensation of baggage, upgrading of the cooling system and overall rehabilitation of the infrastructure at the terminal would entirely improve and hasten facilitation and attract more airlines into the country.

    Speaking in an interview, President and Chief Executive Officer, Sabre Travel Network, Gbenga Olowo said government could create deliberate policy to support  aviation activities including airlines, airports , catering, fuel and ground handling services.

    He said: “Nigeria ought to be  a hub with its geographical location in West , Central Africa  with its large population.

    “Lagos could be a formidable hub in West Africa if it has facilities that guarantees  a  functional airport with transit facilities , provision for aircraft leasing , aircraft maintenance repair and overhaul facility , an   aerotropolis and other  supporting amenities built around  flag  carriers or a national carrier.

    “One of the steps to achieving this is ensuring  effective infrastructure management and development  as well as improved air connectivity.”

  • Award against Nigeria

    The palpable fears over the $9.6 billion dollars arbitral award against Nigeria, in favour of Process and Industrial Developments Limited – a foreign company, under the New York Arbitration Convention, is not misplaced. Nigeria has every cause to be afraid that her foreign assets could be seized by the judgment creditor, in fulfilment of the award.

    Notably, the federal government has vowed to deal with the officials who entered into the dubious contract, during the regime of late Umaru Musa Yar’Adua. This column also urges the government to investigate the officials who did not take appropriate steps to defend the case, timeously during the arbitration.

    In an arbitration, where the tribunal is properly constituted in accordance with the arbitration agreement, any party who in spite of appropriate notice, fails to present its case, is bound by the arbitral awards. So, President Muhammadu Buhari while investigating those who negotiated the contract, should also find out if those who were supposed to defend our cause, compromised.

    After all, an arbitration is defined by learned authors, Ojomo and Orojo, as “a procedure for the settlement of disputes, under which parties agree to be bound by the decision of an arbitrator whose decision is, in general, final and legally binding on both parties.” Importantly: “the process derives its force principally from the agreement of the parties and, in addition, from the state as supervisor and enforcer of the legal process.”

    So, for there to be an arbitration both parties must agree to submit present or future disputes to a third party (private judge – arbitrator) whose decision will be final and generally binding on the parties. Where the parties duly submitted to an arbitration, are there grounds on which the parties can legitimately challenge the award? Of course, they are grounds, but the premise for a successful challenge is very limited.

    Orojo and Ajomo noted that as far back as the 1930s, there is limitedness of the grounds, for challenge. In Attah vs Amoah (1930) 1 WACA 16, the court held: “… it is clear that the trend of modern authority is to interpret the submission to arbitration so liberally that once an arbitrator has been selected, the parties must be assumed to have taken him for better for worse.”

    Continuing, the court further noted: “an arbitrator being something more than a judge, his arbitrament will require more to upset it than would suffice in the case of an ordinary judgment, and not until this fact is duly appreciated will the time and money spent on such cases as this be saved” (emphasis mine).

    Also, in Zermalt Holdings S. A. vs Nu-Life Upholstery Repair Ltd (1985) 275 Estate Gazette 1134, Bingham J. held: “as a matter of general approach, the courts strive to uphold arbitration awards. They do not approach them with a meticulous legal eye endeavouring to pick holes, inconsistencies and faults in awards and with the objective of frustrating the process of arbitration.”

    The learned judge went further to hold: “Far from it. The approach is to read an arbitration award in a reasonable and commercial way, expecting, as is usually the case, that there will be no substantial fault that can be found with it.” While the courts are generally circumspect about setting aside an arbitral award or arbitrament, they are general grounds, upon which an award can be set aside by the courts, if the necessary application is made timeously.

    Locally, section 28(2) of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, provides: “The court may set aside an arbitral award if the party making the application furnished proof that the award contains decisions on matters which are beyond the scope of the submission to arbitration….” Furthermore, Section 30(1) provides: “where an arbitrator has misconducted himself, or where the arbitral proceedings, or award, has been improperly procured, the court may, on the application of a party, set aside the award.”

    Section 48, of the Act, which relate to International Commercial Arbitration and Conciliation, contains additional grounds. Such grounds include where the applicant shows that “a party to the arbitration agreement was under some incapacity”; “that the arbitration agreement is not valid under the law which the parties have indicated should be applied, or failing such indication, that the arbitration agreement is not valid under the laws of Nigeria.”

    Other grounds include: “that he was not given proper notice of the appointment of an arbitrator or of the arbitral proceedings or was otherwise not able to present his case.” While these general principles may apply elsewhere, there is a limitation about the court with the requisite jurisdiction to set aside an arbitral award.

    In Adwork Ltd vs Nigeria Airways Ltd (2000) 2NWLR (Pt 645) 415 (CA) 422, Justice Oguntade JCA, (as he then was) held: “If the purpose of the application (by the defendants) was to determine that the judgment debt had been paid, it constituted an abuse of process since the same question could be or was being determined in the United Kingdom proceedings. If on the other hand, it was a subterfuge to use the court of Longe J as an appellate court over the decision of the arbitrator in England, which I believe it was, my simple reaction is that Longe J has no such jurisdiction.”

    The challenge facing Nigeria, on this matter is enormous, since the courts with the jurisdiction over the matter are outside our shores, just like the arbitral tribunal and the laws that guided it. Clearly, the contract in question and the mismanagement of the arbitration, is a manifestation of one of the greatest ills of our country. Unfortunately, we see persons who have no requisite competences, get appointed to positions of authority, from where they put our country into peril.

    While the federal government is entitled to stake the blame against the previous regimes, for what may amount to criminal misconduct, they must concentrate their energy to seek remedial measures where possible. As Nnaemeka-Agu J.S.C., held in Commerce Assurance Ltd vs Alhaji Buraimoh Alli (1992) 3 NWLR (Pt 232), “The underlying principle is that parties to a dispute have a choice. They may resort to the normal machinery for administration of justice by going to the regular courts of the land and have their dispute determined, both as to the fact and as to the law, by the courts.”

    The learned Justice went on, “Or, they may choose the arbitrator to be the judge between them. If they take the latter course they cannot, when the award is good on the face of it, object to the award on grounds of law or of facts.” Our country needs the best legal hands to save our common patrimony from buccaneers.

  • Ending the plastic menace

    A frenzy of scientific research is going on around the world to find lasting and contributory solution to the negative impact of plastics materials (which cause litter, choking of drainage system and marine life) on the environment. A lot of technologies are being developed for recycling of plastics while other efforts are being made on other areas including how to make plastics to be bio-degradable.

    The United Nations World Environment Day celebration in 2018 was on the theme “Beat Plastic Pollution”.

    For many stakeholders around the world including United Nations agencies,, plastics manufacturers, environmental protection agencies, concerned non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the general public, who have been worried about the negative impact of non-degradable plastic materials on the environment, solution seems to have come.

    The contributory solution, according to recent discovery, is using just 1% Oxo-Biodegradable (OBD) additive in the manufacture of plastics materials. This additive (OBD) is said to make any various plastic materials biodegrade after a short period of time.

    A number of countries in Europe, Latin America, South Asia, Middle East and Africa are already using OBD in tackling the menace of plastics that have escaped collection and therefore polluting the environment.

    According to the Oxo-biodegradable Plastics Associations (OPA), UK, website www.biodeg.org the use of ODB in plastic manufacturing can actually be a contributory solution to the global menace.

    The OPA said that the problems caused by plastic litter in the environment has compelled governments, manufacturers and brand owners to rethink the way plastic is produced, used and their end of life..

    “Many are now looking for products and technologies that are inexpensive, non-disruptive to manufacture, and can   be   re-used and re-cycled at the end of their useful life.

    The need for Oxo-biodegradable (OBD) plastics is indeed obvious. Thousands of tons of plastic waste is escaping collection, getting into the world’s environment every day, and unless treated with just a 1% inclusion of Oxo-biodegradable Additive will remain there for decades.

    Oxo-biodegradable plastics have been independently tested and found ultimately bio-degradable on land or in the sea.

    Perry Higgs, a Senior Scientist at Symphony Environmental Limited, UK, the leading producer of Oxo-biodegradable Additives branded d2w, says the use of Oxo-biodegradable additive creates a faster and more complete degradation which leads to bio-degradation.

    He was speaking at a one-day Symposium on the menace of plastic waste, recently held in Accra Ghana, attended by the Ghana Plastics Manufacturers Association (GPMA), the Ghana Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Environmental Services Providers Association (ESPA), etc.

    The President of GMPA, Mr. Ebbo Botwe was said to have advocated for the use of Oxo-biodegradable (ODB) additives in Ghana to help reduce the menace of plastic waste in the Ghana environment – at least to serve as a mitigation measure to the concerns to many stakeholders in the country.

    In fact, he was said to have disclosed that the association has provided about 7,000 special plastic waste bins to help curb the indiscriminate dumping of waste in the environment.

    Information available, (https://www.symphonyenvironmental.com/solutions/oxo-biodegradable-plastic/) shows that UK-based Symphony Environmental Limited is a World leader in the development of additives to make ordinary plastic biodegradable and also has a range branded d2p which are protective technologies which enhance plastic products.

    Symphony’s technologies are sold into nearly 100 countries around the world, with applications in retail, medical and manufacturing industries with a focus on the protection of both the environmental and human health.

    Symphony is a member of The Oxo-biodegradable Plastics Association (www.biodeg.org) (OPA), the Society for the Chemical Industry (UK), and the Pacific Basin Environmental Council.

    There are four main features of the d2w Oxo-biodegradable technology:

    • Oxo-biodegradable Plastic facilitates the ultimate biodegradation of plastics on land or in seawater by bacteria, fungi or algae, within a reasonable time, so as to cause the plastic to cease to exist as such, far sooner than ordinary plastics, without causing any toxicity;
    • Meets a number of relevant international standards;
    • Has same characteristics in terms of appearance, strength flexibility and functionality as normal plastic
    • Does not just fragment and create micro-plastics, as the treated material becomes a biodegradable food source for the microbes found in these environments.

    So far, 23 countries including Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirate, Brazil, Argentina, Burkina Faso, Sudan, Togo, Benin, Mauritius and Pakistan have taken regulatory actions to make the production and/or importation and the use of Bio-Degradable Plastics mandatory.

    Indeed many countries around the world have realized that they cannot realistically collect all the plastic or indeed impose the restriction and or ban plastic, considering its usefulness in terms of cost, durability and economic impacts on economies.

    Furthermore legislating in favour of the use of Oxo-biodegradable additives helps to support the local plastics manufacturing industry, thus securing the jobs and livelihoods of tens of thousands of people employed in this sector worldwide.

    Oxo-biodegradable technology would certainly be an excellent solution for Nigeria, especially for the significant plastics industry we have and those Government agencies, including the Federal Ministry of Environment, which has scheduled a national workshop in Abuja on 12th September, 2019 on the need to develop a National Plastics Life Cycle Management Policy for the country.

    During the tenure of the Nigerian 8th National Assembly, a bill was introduced in the two houses on how to address the concerns of Nigerians on the issue of plastics wastes – and the best ways to handle the issue. The Plastics Group of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) had advocated for a win-win solution in tackling the issue.

    The Oxo-biodegradable plastics technology is an additional and very attractive option which will be proposed and recommend in Nigeria. Giving consideration to the significant importance of plastics in socio-economic life of the people, especially as over 600 plastics firms in Nigeria have 350,000 employees on their payroll, it will be difficult to dispense of such jobs.

    The best and most pragmatic option remains to increase the infrastructure  for the collection and recycling of Plastics and at the same time make it mandatory for the use of Oxo-biodegradable additives, which will then help to mitigate the menace of plastic waste that escapes collection and ends up  polluting the country.

    MAN, being a representative body of all manufacturers in Nigeria and a custodian of making Nigeria an industrialized nation in the face of lean resources, should lead the discussions with the Federal Ministry of Trade, Industry & Investments (FMTII) and Federal Ministry of Environment (FMEnv) to enact laws or regulations in line with other countries that have adopted the Oxo-degradable technology.

  • ‘Sanwo-Olu will not deviate from Lagos devt agenda’

    Lagos State All Progressives Congress (APC) Chairman Alhaji Tunde Balogun spoke with reporters on the challenges before the new commissioners and special advisers recently sworn-in by Governor Sanwo-Olu, and how the ruling party will continue to monitor and evaluate the administration. EMMANUEL OLADESU was there.

    What is your reaction to the appointment of new members of the Lagos State Executive Council, considering that three executive members of the state chapter of All Progressives Congress (APC) made the list?

    Three executive members of the Lagos APC have been appointed into the State Executive Council. It is a thing of pride that the party has come to appreciate efforts of these men and women who have done well and the party thought it fit to put them into higher positions, particularly in the Lagos State Executive Council. Of course, these people on their own are men and woman of rich pedigree. One of them is a lawyer of note. Mrs. Toke Benson-Awoyinka. Joe Igbokwe is an engineer, who has been a committed member of our party for some time and his efforts had been appreciated. The Secretary of our party, Dr. Wale Ahmed, who was a Commissioner for Special Duties during the Fashola administration. He has been appointed now as Commissioner for Special Duties and Inter-governmental Relations. I appreciate their appointments as members of the Lagos State Executive Council and I am happy that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has done us proud. He has recognised the contributions of all these people to our overall victory of APC in Lagos State.

    The appointments of these men and woman had declined our number in the Lagos APC executives, but that notwithstanding, we felt that they left for good reasons and I can assured you that there are other party members who can serve as executives of Lagos APC. We appreciate that and we are going to bring new members to replace them or try to adjust our positions in the Lagos APC executives. It is going to be a plus-plus for us because the appointments will be inspiration to others to work very well, devote and dedicate themselves to the party so that they can have the same feat like these people had for them to be recognised. We thank the governor of Lagos State and we thank the leadership of APC in Lagos State for what they have done by promoting members of the Lagos APC executives to the executive council of Lagos State.

    How soon are you going to fill the vacuum?

    The gaps would be filled after I must have discussed with the governor of the state. I will also discuss with the highest authority in our party, which is the Governor’s Advisory Council (GAC). We are going to have discussions and nominations will come and we will look at people who have contributed to the party; those who have shown dedication to our party, people who are loyal to the party, people who had experience and know what they can do and what they will do to ensure that we continue to be victorious in Lagos State. Those are the people we will consider.

    What are your expectations from the new commissioners and special advisers?

    Giving the process that has taken place in selecting them because I know they have been carefully selected, we have looked out for people who could serve in Lagos State of the 21st Century and also people who have innovative thinking; people with good pedigree in terms of their educational qualification and what they have done in the past; their antecedents and other things were also put into consideration. I must tell you, we really made painstaking efforts to bring out the best among those who applied. As the party chairman, I must have received over 600 CVs from people who were trying to be part of the executive council in Lagos State. Only 45 people on the list will now occupy positions. So, it is going to be something worthwhile and great honour and privilege for those have succeeded in getting there. They know that, out of about 20million or more, only 45 best men and women have been chosen. We have good proportion and percentage of women in the cabinet to show that we are gender sensitive. We brought men and women of note to participate in running the state for the next four years.

    How are you responding to the protests and agitations by Ajeromi/Ifelodun and Ojo people that they were excluded from the State Executive Council?

    Apart from the members of the state executive council that have been appointed by the governor, we are still going to have more appointments. It might not be a cabinet rank, but a lot of more appointments will still come. This is Lagos State as a whole; we don’t discriminate. So, no local government should feel neglected. Whichever part of the state is protesting now is because they want good thing to come to their side. Today, Ajeromi might be protesting but in another four years that a set of commissioners are appointed, many of them might come from Ajeromi. We selected people from all over the states putting many things into consideration. Apart from picking people from different senatorial districts, we also picked people from different local governments; looking for people who have contributed immensely to the victory and growth of the party. So, Ajeromi feel that this time they don’t have anybody; they have people in the past. They have people in the former cabinet, whereas a place like Badagry had nobody in the last dispensation. There was no complain and today, they have an appointee without much agitation from them. There are other places too; Amuwo-Odofin never had any representation; today they have. It is ongoing process anyway and people will always serve at any given time. We are not done with appointments of people who will work in this government.

    What are your expectations from the new federal cabinet?

    With the calibre of men and women who have been chosen by the Federal Government, specifically by President Muhammadu Buhari. They include people like former Minister for Power, Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, who had been a governor of Lagos State. We all know that he is a workaholic. He has done great things for this nation and continuing as Minister of Works and Housing will be better for that ministry. He will consolidate on what he has done so far. We also have many of the ministers who worked in the first term of President Buhari returning for second term. Given them another chance will make them to do more than what they have done in the past. I am very sure that it is going to be a plus for the Federal Government. They only need to be focused to know what this government is all about.

    We are talking about going to the Next Level to have a change in our infrastructure, development of vital areas like housing projects and power which has been a major problem for this country. They need to work on that. With the men and women onboard, I have so much confidence in the government of President Muhammadu Buhari and what they could do in the next four years.

    What do you want Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to do differently?

    This governor has a clear vision of what he wants to do for Lagos. He has been commissioner of Lagos State for sometimes and he also served as special adviser to past governors. He knows clearly the exact things that he need to do for Lagos State and he has a political agenda. He launched these as “THEME,” which includes Traffic Management and Transportation to have an integrated transportation system that will lead to maximum use of our roads, water ways and rail that will be coming up very soon. The same thing for the medical care; he has a comprehensive medical care scheme which he will brings about. The same thing is for education, technology and entertainment industry too. He has all these as parts of what he intend to do. So, it is a matter of time and as time goes on, all these things will start to unveil and you will see that we have a governor who has an innovative thinking and he is the man we feel and we know for a 21st Century Lagos State.

    Does the Lagos APC have a tradition of monitoring the government that it midwifed to ensure that the government fulfills its campaign promises?

    The political agenda was formulated by the party for the governor. We worked together to achieve victory. Before that, we had a 10-point agenda for Lagos State. Out of this, we have a lot of programmes that had led to the development of Lagos State in the last 20 years. Part of such agenda has been the creation of Lagos State Transport Management Authority (LASTMA). There was no LASTMA before 1999. So, it was part of what came out from such thinking by the first civilian governor we had in 1999, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, and a group or a committee that were elected who put together such agenda for the state. We arrived at that and we are pursuing that all along. And we will continue to do so for as long as we remain in power.

    I am chairman of the party and we are on the same page with the governor. We know what he does and he reports to us. After settling down, we would be having some periodic meetings to look at what he has done so far; how far have we gone in achieving some of the things we wanted to do. Everything cannot be done overnight. A lot of Lagosians have high expectations of this government and we don’t want to disappoint them. We want to make sure that we are on the right track to developing the state further.

    Do members of APC still pay dues to the party in Lagos State?

    Yes. Some of them do when they go for their local government meetings, which they hold every month. It is held every third Thursday of the month at their local governments.

  • The scamming of a country

    No thanks to an unknown quantity that goes by the name – Process and Industrial Developments Limited (P&ID), the nation’s economy as indeed the welfare of millions of its citizens now hangs precariously on the edge.  For a country that is never short on materials to excite, the award by the English Court in favour of the little known Irish engineering and project management company obviously surpasses anyone that the country has known.

    Clearly, if the quantum of the award – a record $9 billion fine for a contract that never was could be deemed as exceeding the threshold of reasonable and exemplary, considering that the firm in question neither brought a dime into the country beyond the offer to turn the nation’s rich gas resources into gold, the story of how the company ‘agreed’ to accept $850 million in compensation, negotiated down from an initial proposal of $1.5 billion by a government committee after things fell apart, and how this later morphed into the July 2015 — $6.6 billion award for “loss of income” and which has now ballooned  to $9 billion, would qualify for a prominent chapter in our long-running Incredible Naija story.

    As the story went, P&ID reportedly entered into a 20-year gas and supply processing agreement (GSPA) with the federal government to build a gas processing facility. By the terms of the agreement, Nigeria would receive 85 per cent of the refined non-associated gas, free of charge to power generating and industrial entities; P&ID would receive the remaining 15 per cent and the by-products – namely methane, propane and butane for export.

    Simple, or is it? But then, the government was obligated to supply 150 million standard cubic feet (scf) of gas per day to the plant. This was to rise to 400 million scf in the life of the project.  A critical element is for the government to build a gas supply pipeline to the P&ID facility to be located in Adiabo, Odukpani LGA, Cross River State. The gas was to be sourced by the government from OMLs 67 and 123 operated by Addax Petroleum.

    End of story?

    Not really, in fact, the story had only just begun. First Nigeria did not build the pipeline; but neither did P&ID build the plant although it claimed to have spent about $40 million on pre-take-off expenses. Of course, P&ID claimed that the failure of Nigeria to build the gas pipeline breached the agreement even though there was no evidence that it acquired any land anywhere in Cross River let alone the one for the proposed facility. And so the government maintained that it could not, have conceivably, built a network of pipelines when the off-taker had not itself determined the project site let alone turn the sod!

    To put things in the Nigerian parlance, the matter thereafter became a case of “cunny man die, cunny man bury am’. Trust the foreign buccaneer; an arbitration clause simply became handy for a compensatory award for loss of “potential” income! At this time, not even Nigeria plea that the gas pipeline could not have been constructed to an unknown site made sense as P&ID would contend that Article 6(b) of the GSPA forecloses any such precondition!

    That, in summary is the story. You wonder how a $40 million pre-feasibility expenditure by a corporate entity would become the basis of an aggravated – and I daresay a most perverse award – $9 billion against a sovereign? That could only be made for Nigeria!

    I have taken time to peruse the different sides of the arguments on a deal that easily qualifies as a travesty.

    In this, Nigeria, I must admit, is no stranger to settlements that are best described as odious.  We saw this in 2005, when the Nigerian piggy bank, brimming full with cash courtesy of the windfall from petro-dollars was forced to shell out $12 billion cash in settlement of a most odious debt to the Paris and London Club cartel of creditors.  Never mind that Nigeria had as at this time had paid sums far in excess of the original sum borrowed in compounded penalties and charges even as the debts kept mounting! We are supposed to be grateful that the tidy sum which could have delivered the Lagos –Kano standard gauge railway was used to appease those foreign gods so our children could live debt free – even if we are a few years after, back in the same credit circuit shopping for funds to finance public infrastructure!

    Now, 14 years after, a variant of the game is at play via a deal that aspires to be the scam of the century. Think it is far-fetched?  The reader is invited to google up the recent shuffling of feet at the corporate suites at VR Capital Group, the hedge fund managers said to have taken a large stake in P&ID in the aftermath of the award. The group, as aggressive as they come, takes no prisoners. They have the money and the clout to make things happen – and are prepared to foreclose on Nigeria’s assets anywhere on the globe even if in the end, the African giant is brought on its knees.

    And to think that a few Nigerians actually inflicted this treasonable scam against their country. Unfortunately, stories of a few incompetent and unpatriotic fellows who, blinded by greed, couldn’t care about taking an entire country down the valley have not only become commonplace, they have since become the stuff of the Nigerian tale. Today, armed with a briefcase, you could literally walk out of the corporate towers of the national oil corporation with billions of dollars in sweet sleaze in the name of “strategic alliance”!

    Siemens. Subsidy-gate. Malabu. These are simply variants of the same Nigerian pathology: Impunity Inc. Talk of the malaise ceaselessly mutating; a virus well ahead of a known therapy. Knowing how others before this went, one could not but wish Magu and team lots of luck as they seek to unravel this latest mystery.

    Finally, the ECOWAS giant roars 

    I do not know if many Nigerians paid much attention to what happened at the Nigerian borders with Benin Republic last week. Without as much as a fanfare of a prior announcement, the Nigerian authorities finally, although temporarily moved to shut our western borders. President Muhammadu Buhari would later clarify that the measure had become necessary owing to the intolerable level of smuggling going on in that axis. Well, the measure is certainly overdue; the problem is that it did not go far enough. Why single out our western neighbour, Benin for a crime that Cameroun, Niger and Chad are guilty although in different degrees?

    Moreover,  I understand why the federal government would focus on rice smuggling at this time. That menace is killing local initiatives. However, were Nigerians to be asked to choose between that menace posed by that class of smugglers and those posed by transhumance activities across the borders, I suspect that they would gladly opt for the lesser evil in the age of mindless terror!

    Freewheeling transhumance seems to me one area where urgent and drastic action is also needed.

  • ‘I stammered on my first court appearance despite my parents being lawyers ’

    Crown-Law Partners Managing Partner Augustine Enefiok Udoh, comes from a family of lawyers. His father is a retired judge, his mother, a lawyer, his wife a judge, and his siblings are lawyers. Called to Bar 17 years ago, Udoh tells JOSEPH JIBUEZE about the judiciary of his dream.

    Becoming a lawyer was almost a faitaccompli for Augustine Enefiok Udoh. Growing up, he admired his father’s profession, accompanied him to court and was exposed to legal practice at an early age.

    A native of Ibiaku Uruan in Uruan Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, Udoh studied Law at the University of Uyo and was called to Bar in 2002.

    He also had the strongest of mentorships, working as a solicitor and advocate at Chief Afe Babalola Chambers in Abuja, and with Obong Mike Akpabio of Akpasima Chambers in Uyo.

    He joined Evergreen Pensions Limited in 2006, where he worked as Chief Compliance Officer and Head of Corporate Services until  he returned to active legal practice in 2013.

    He is the Managing Partner of Crown-Law Partners, with offices in Uyo and Abuja.

    First day in court

    Udoh’s first court appearance was before a Federal High Court in Abuja to move a motion for extension of time to file a statement of defence. It was a tough experience.

    “The ambience of the courtroom filled with senior lawyers, one of whom was on the other side, made me feverish and frightened.

    “I watched as lawyers took turns in calling and prosecuting their cases. When my case was called, I stammered so much as I introduced myself.

    “When the court asked me to introduce my application, I continued shivering. I lost grip of the sequence of moving the motion.

    “It became obvious to my Lord that I was appearing for the first time. The court advised me to take an adjournment to enable me embolden myself, and I did much better by the next adjournment,” Udoh said.

    However, his pupilage with Chief Afe Babalola’s Chambers at Abuja, working under the then Head of Chambers, Dr. Olumide Ayeni, helped him master the art of advocacy.

    “I must say it was richly rewarding. I had the privilege of reading through the precedents of legal processes and case files.

    “Assignments were given to me on daily basis on legal drafting of agreements and judicial processes, as well as research and brief writing to strengthen my understanding of general legal practice and procedures,” he recalled.

    Family influences

    Aside his early exposure to Law, Udoh chose to be a lawyer because he nursed a childhood ambition to be one. His dream was to share in the passion of advocating for people’s rights, to see justice done between persons and groups and contribute to the propagation of societal values and norms.

    “As I grew up, my father, Justice Enefiok Udoh (rtd), became my icon of inspiration. As a practicing lawyer at the time, I admired his passion, commitment and devotion to the legal profession, his reading culture, his dressing, his devotion to bar activities and the respect he earned from his peers.

    “Oftentimes, I would accompany him to court and watch his display of advocacy, and in the course of his rising vast experience in the legal profession he became a High Court Judge,” he said.

    Udoh’s elder sister, Mrs Uduak Zachary Gwa, and his mother, Lady Bernadette Enefiok Udoh, are also lawyers. “They also inspired me as their practice made me appreciate the dynamic nature of our legal profession.

    “As I grew up, I told myself I would rather align with this profession, its nobility and the integrity, respect and love that go with it,” Udoh said.

    Father, mother, wife, siblings all lawyers

    How he feels being surrounded by lawyers and so much legal knowledge.

    Udoh said: “It is a blessing from God to come from a family of lawyers with such rich experience, knowledge and practice in the legal profession.

    “My father was appointed a High Court Judge in 1991 and retired in 2008, after serving meritoriously for about 17 years.

    “Having been called to bar in 1975, he was in private practice for about 16 years before going over to the bench.

    “My elder sister was called to bar in 1991 and after a brief stint in legal practice, she joined the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) were she currently serves as Principal Manager in overseeing Board affairs.

    “My mother was called to bar in 2000; she is currently the Managing Partner of Edu-Uwem Chambers and has a vast experience in corporate legal practice and litigation.

    “My wife, Mmeh, and my younger brother, Nsikak, were called to Bar in 2005. While my wife moved on to assume responsibility as a district court chairman, my brother is presently the Managing Partner of Garland Chambers,” he said, adding that he felt so blessed to be in the midst of such brilliant legal minds.

    “I feel excited and contented that there is a growing wealth of knowledge and contribution we share on a day-to-day basis on various legal issues and situations in our society. We learn from each other every other day,” he said.

    Asked what he would have been if not a lawyer, Udoh said he has no regrets studying law despite his strong passion for music.

    “I can write songs and sing as well. Perhaps I would have been a musician, but honestly, I have no regrets studying law. It is a passionate and enriching profession for me,” he said.

    Most challenging case

    When asked which case he considered the most challenging, having practiced for a while?

    Udoh said:“Honestly, I can’t really say what case has been more challenging in my experience. Every case is a challenge for me as a practicing lawyer because of their diversity in substance.

    “I am either for the claimant or the defendant, the prosecutor or the accused, the landlord or the tenant, the contractor or the client. I am are either negotiating between persons or resolving disputes either formally or informally.

    “All these present several and distinct challenges and they differ across parties and their temperaments, subject-matter, circumstances and situations,” he said.

    Surviving as a young lawyer

    While undergoing pupilage, Udoh’s foremost challenge was to meet his principal’s expectations in reading through case files and getting armed with the principles of law, practice and procedure on each case.

    He said: “Most often, the cases could have been age-long and the files quite bulky. I would take them home in order to read through and be abreast with the facts and status.

    “There was also the challenge of financial dependency on my principal’s goodwill to afford transportation to and from chambers and other privileges like attending conferences and seminars.

    “To overcome these challenges, I disposed myself to taking personal briefs and with the fees, I was able to save some money to buy more books and provide other logistic needs.”

    Some young lawyers have accused their principals of treating them like ‘corporate messengers’. Fortunately for Udoh, he had no such experience with his principals.

    “The relationship between a young lawyer and his/her principal depends on the roles he is expected to play for his principal while undergoing pupilage.

    “Pupilage is a learning process for every young lawyer and it is expected that the lawyer should undergo a process of rudimentary training in the dynamics of legal practice, and this comes with great costs and sacrifices.

    “The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) can develop a more friendly policy of subsidising fees, dues and other costs for young lawyers to encourage their active participation in the affairs of profession,” he said.

    His dream judiciary

    Udoh would like the legal profession to fully embrace Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) mechanisms such as arbitration, mediation and conciliation.

    This, he said, would ensure justice for all, and speedy and cost effective means of resolving disputes, while sustaining and building relationships. “The judiciary should make a more conscious effort in sending cases to these units to decongest the cause list of judges,” he said.

    Udoh would also want to see improvement in criminal and civil procedures. “Changes follow events. I believe that as the society and the nation develop, so too should our laws be reformed to meet the growing challenges of these developments.

    “Today, we are experiencing some increasing trends in societal vices, such as insecurity, robbery attacks, killings, cultism as well as the seeming dissatisfaction in our socio-economic development.

    “I believe the Buhari administration should consider making new bills to address these challenges,” he said.

    On his expectation from new ministers that have been sworn in, with Abubakar Malami (SAN) returning as the Attorney-General of the Federation, Udoh said: “For me as a private legal practitioner, I expect him (Malami) to strike a balance in policy administration between observing the rule of law, constitutional rights and interests of the citizenry and public interest.”

    Udoh does not agree that standards are falling in law practice. To him, lawyers should only enhance the culture of true professionalism, integrity, transparency and foster mutual respect within their ranks.

    Speeding up justice administration

    A lot has been said about slow process of justice administration/dispensation. What does Udoh think is the way out?

    “The way out is for us to embrace the ADR mechanisms like I have earlier mentioned. As a recently-trained mediator from the Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators, there are several ADR mechanisms.

    “These include negotiation, counseling, judicial appraisal, high/low arbitration, ombudsman, executive tribunal, in addition to mediation, conciliation and arbitration.

    “These will offer parties a wide range of options in addressing and resolving their relationship differences arising from contracts, marriage disputes, land disputes, and others,” Udoh said.

    Scrapping the SAN rank

    There has been calls for the scrapping of the Senior Advocate of Nigeria rank because the selection process, some say, have been abused, Udoh did not agree with the abolitionists.

    “No I do not agree,” he said without hesitation. The SAN rank is a special and privileged class of lawyers, who have attained some established heights through the years in the course of legal practice by hard work and dedication in landmark cases.

    “Most lawyers in Nigeria today are desirous of attaining the rank of SAN one day during the lifetime of their career.”

    Guiding philosophy

    Asked about his philosophical approach to law, Udoh said: “I see law as a an instrument containing a set of rules, principles, policies and procedures for guiding relationships between persons, bodies, groups, associations and the society at large in order to enhance their socio-economic well-being and foster growth, unity and peace.”

    Managing client expectations

    Some clients can be annoying; others have high expectations of their lawyers. How does Udoh manage his clients?

    “Oftentimes, clients have varying ways of understanding the legal process. A virtue that is common among clients is patience in receiving the end-products of the legal services rendered.

    “So, the tendency is for the client to express a general feeling of discomfort or near-dissatisfaction over the seeming delays in meeting the ends of justice. This may cause a negative reaction in the client not paying fees until the process is executed,” he said.

    Embarrassing moment

    Udoh said he experienced an embarrassing moment once when a Federal High Court Judge ordered him to open his defence after a lengthy cross-examination. “I had no previous conference with my client (who was not in court at the time) but my Lord insisted. In the end, I got a 30-minute stand-down, rushed out of court, called the client and got to have a brief conference with her.

    “We started the defence and the court was then willing to grant an adjournment for continuation of the defence,” he recalled.

    Career goal

    Udoh said he hopes to be either on the Bench or in practice as a Senior Advocate in the next 10 years. “I would like to be a High Court Judge or at best, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria,” he said.

    A firm believer in God, Udoh is sure that through fervent prayers, hard work, loyalty to his clients and determination, he would realise his career goals.

    In the meantime, he finds time to relax by listening to music, singing, watch movies and listen to the news.

    A sport enthusiast, he played lawn tennis, table tennis and football at several competitions in the past, but his favourite sport remains football.

    Asked if he were to go away for a week with only a piece of item, what would it be?

    He said: “My ATM card for easy financial access to other material needs.”

  • UPDATED: Court remands AA Nat’l chairman, Udeze in prison

    The embattled National Chairman of the Action Alliance (AA), Kenneth Udeze, was on Monday remanded in prison after he was arraigned by the Police in Osogbo, Osun State.

    Udeze who was recently sacked by the leadership of the party, was arrested on Friday by operatives attached to Zone 11 of the Nigerian Police Force, with Headquarters in Osogbo, the Osun State capital.

    Read Also: Breaking: AA Nat’l Chairman, Udeze remanded in Ilesha prison

    The report of his abduction was making the rounds after his wife raised the alarm that he has been kidnapped before the Police confirmed that he was not kidnapped but was arrested.

    Udeze is facing charges of criminal actions against the party, including fraud, conspiracy and forgery.

    According to highly placed member of the party, who pleaded anonymity,  “Udeze has been subject of criminal investigation by the Nigeria Police on crimes bordering on conspiracy, forgery, fraud and other offences unbefitting of a person who parades himself as a member of our great party”.

  • Osinbajo, ministers, others meet over $9.6 billion judgement

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo on Monday chaired a meeting over the $9.6 billion judgement against Nigeria.

    The $9.6 billion dollar judgment debt against Nigeria by a British court was over a botched gas contract.

    The meeting with Osinbajo started at his office around 1.30pm.

    Those at the meeting included the Finance, Budget and National planning Minister, Zainab Ahmed, Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, the Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Silva.

    Read Also: BREAKING: CSOs stage protest at British High Commission over award of $9.6 to P & ID

    Others are the Minister of State for Niger Delta Affairs, Festus Keyamo, Group Managing Director of NNPC, Melee Kyari,

    Also at the meeting are the Acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele.

    The meeting was still in progress at the time of filing this report.

  • ‘We need to foster culture of high standard in Nigerian businesses’

    A business expert, Dr Nneka Ebru Okpe has stressed the need for Nigeria to develop culture of high standard in businesses.

    Dr Okpe who was once a facilitator of businesses between Turkey and Nigeria since 2015 and currently focusing on Nigerian market, especially in oil and gas and manufacturing sectors affirmed that knowing how to build and run a really solid business and be successful at it does not come easily.

    She said, “What gets an international business going is not just the novelty of the product or service but understanding how to build relationships across cultures and local distribution channels.

    Read Also: Five must have mobile apps for entrepreneurs, business owners

    “For businesses to have cordial relations and mutually profitable partnerships across continents as seen through import and export, countries and companies must rely on each other for particular goods and services.

    Dr. Okpe who handles a few companies that specialise in consultancy and export-import, currently runs Intrasolutions Consultancy which is aimed at expanding its focus on man power supply and IT services having created foreign and local partnerships with established companies.

    Dr Okpe who completed her PhD at the age of 26 with extensive research on the effect of culture in business success in emerging nations believes in women-in-business, women empowerment, sharing and transferring technology between developed and developing nations, creating a standard in manpower, business and services which all contributes to the growth of businesses.