The Nation Newspaper

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  • Court remands Islamic cleric over alleged defilement of neighbour’s child

    An Ikeja Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday remanded an Islamic cleric, Morufu Salaudeen, who allegedly defiled his neighbour’s  five-year-old daughter.

    Magistrate B.O. Osunsanmi ordered that Salaudeen should be kept at the Kirikiri Prisons, Lagos, pending  advice from the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecutions.

    Thus, the court did not take the  plea of the defendant.

    The magistrate adjourned the case until May 1 for mention.

    READ ALSO: Court remands Islamic cleric in Kirikiri for child defilement

    Salaudeen, 28, who resides on Olushola Street, Agbelekale, Aboru, Lagos, was charged  with child defilement.

    The Prosecutor, Insp. Raphael Donny, alleged that the defendant committed the offence on Jan. 19, on Joblanso Street, Aboru, Lagos.

    “The defendant lured the little girl to the backyard and sexually assaulted her and took away her pants,” the prosecutor said.

    He said that the girl’s mother reported the case, and the defendant was arrested.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the alleged offence contravenes Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015, and is punishable with up to life imprisonment

  • Buhari condemns killing of Kolade Johnson by SARS

    *Promises prosecution of perpetrators

    President Muhammadu Buhari has regretted the recent unfortunate action of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) operatives from the Lagos State Police Command, which led to the avoidable death of Mr. Kolade Johnson.

    In a statement by the Special Adviser on Media and publicity, Femi Adesina, the President commiserated deeply with the family of the deceased.

    He acknowledged the genuine outrage regarding the activities of SARS and reassured the public that swift actions have already been taken.

    “Suspects are in custody and an orderly room trial is set to commence immediately, following which indicted officers will be prosecuted in court.

    Read Also: Buhari congratulates Chief Odeyemi at 80

    “Government will not tolerate in any way the brutalization of Nigerians or the violation of their rights. Any officer of the law enforcement agencies or any other government functionary caught in this act will certainly be visited with the full weight of the law.”

    Recall that following directives from the Presidency in 2018 to overhaul the management and activities of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, steps were taken by the Police leadership to restructure and reform SARS.

    The President recognized that a lot more remains to be done and this effort must be sustained.

    He reassured that this administration will continue to ensure that all officers in the Police and other law enforcement agencies conduct their operations in strict adherence to the rule of law and with due regard to International Human Rights and Humanitarian law.

  • Chukwueze scores as Barca survive Villarreal scare

    Super Eagles winger Samuel Chukwueze was on target for hosts Villarreal as FC Barcelona survived a scare in an eight-goal thriller in a Spanish La Liga clash on Tuesday.

    FC Barcelona’s Lionel Messi came off the bench to help the La Liga leaders battle back from 4-2 down in stoppage time to snatch a remarkable 4-4 draw at struggling Villarreal.

    The Catalans thus avoided a first league loss since November.

    A last-gasp Luis Suarez strike after captain and top scorer Messi gave them hope with a deadly free kick in the 90th minute at Estadio de la Cerámica.

    The draw resulted in Barca’s lead over nearest challengers Atletico Madrid, who had earlier won 2-0 at home to lowly Girona, being trimmed to eight points.

    Read Also: Arsenal, Leicester table N17b for Chukwueze

    All these have however come ahead of Saturday’s top-of-the-table showdown at the Nou Camp.

    Even without Messi, Gerard Pique and Ivan Rakitic in their starting line-up, the visitors still strolled into the lead through a Philippe Coutinho goal in the 12th minute.

    Brazilian forward Malcom soon doubled the lead with a header.

    But Villarreal, who began the game hovering one point above the relegation zone, were to soon haul themselves back into contention.

    It began with a strike from dazling 19-year-old Chukwueze midway through the first half.

    Cameroon striker Karl Toko Ekambi took advantage of slack positioning from Barca goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen to equalise soon after the interval.

    Vicente Iborra completed the home side’s remarkable revival just after the hour mark.

    Messi was called from the bench to rescue the champions, but instead Villarreal increased their lead with a strike from substitute Carlos Bacca.

    Alvaro Gonzalez was then dismissed for Villarreal for a second booking with four minutes remaining.

    It thus paved the way for Messi and Suarez to strike for Barca and produce a remarkable finish to an enthralling contest.

    NAN

  • Court: Adeleke unfit to run for Osun governor

    A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Bwari, Abuja yesterday voided the participation of  Senator Ademola Adeleke of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the last governorship election in Osun State.

    Justice Othman Musa, in a judgment,  annulled Adeleke’s nomination as candidate of the PDP on the grounds that he offended Section 177 of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

    The section states that candidates for governor must be educated up to secondary school level.

    Justice Musa said while the court’s findings showed that Adeleke entered secondary school in 1976, there was no record showing that he (Adeleke) actually graduated.

    The judge said Adeleke’s name was no longer seen in the school’s register from 1980.

    Justice Musa noted that the result Adeleke attached to the Form CF001, which he submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), was fake, as it was found to be different from the one presented to the court by the principal of Ede Muslim High School, Ede, Osun State.

    The judgment was on a suit filed by Wahab Adekunle Raheem and Adam Omosalewa Habeeb.

    The plaintiffs had accused Adeleke of not possessing the requisite educational qualification (secondary school certificate) to contest for the office of governor.

    They contented, among others, that Adeleke’s claim that he sat for the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination in May/June 1981 could not be true because Secondary School Certificate Examination had not been introduced then.

    The plaintiffs argued that what was in existence then was the West African School Certificate Examination.

    They urged the court to, among others, disqualify Adeleke from participating in the governorship election on the grounds that he did not possess the required educational qualification.

    Read also: Osun tribunal judgment: PDP supporters celebrate Adeleke’s victory

    At the preliminary stages in the case, the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), in response to a September 11, 2018, ex-parte order by the court,  provided evidence that Adeleke sat for its May/June 1981 Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination.

    In its affidavit sworn to by Henry Sunday Adewunmi Osindeinde, a Deputy Registrar/Head of School Examination Department, WAEC, said Adeleke sat for the May/June 1981 examination at Ede Muslim High School, Yidi Road, Ede, with Centre Number 19645 and Candidate Number 149.

    WAEC attached a copy of the results of all 122 candidates who sat for the May/June 1981 in Ede Muslim High School.

    In the attached results, Adeleke is listed as number 149. He sat for only English Language in which he scored F9.

    He was said not to have sat for Literature in English, Islamic Knowledge, Geography, Economics, Mathematics and Biology.

    Osindeinde said in the affidavit: “By virtue of my position as Deputy Registrar/Head of School Examination Department, I have read the enrolled order of this court (specifically orders iv, v and vi) dated 11th September, 2018 directing and compelling the WAEC to depose to an affidavit confirming or denying the said orders contained in the said enrolled order and referred to in this paragraph and I wish to state as follows:

    “The said candidate named in this suit known as Adeleke Ademola, with Centre Number 19645 and Candidate Number 149, indeed sat for the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination in May/June 1981 conducted by the council at Ede Muslim High School situate at P. O. Box 6 Yidi Road, Ede, State of Osun.

    “The copy of the result listing referred to by the court order as the ledger containing the results of all the candidates (001 – 221) who sat for the Senior Secondary School Certificate Examination in the said school is hereby certified, attached and marked: Exhibit WA1.”

    The plaintiff’s lawyer, Bankole Akomolafe hailed the court’s decision. Adeleke’s counsel Nathaniel Oke (SAN) faulted the judgement. He said the judge erred in law by going out of his way to source for evidence to arrive at his “unjust conclusion”.

    The lawyer said the court was wrong when it ignored WAEC’s evidence that Adeleke was educated up to secondary school as required by law.

    Oke said his client was  qualified for the election and met the constitutional requirement, having been educated to secondary school level.

    He said a High Court in Osun State had, in an earlier judgment, confirmed that Adeleke was qualified, having attended a secondary school.

    Oke said he drew the court’s attention to the fact that the case was statute barred in view of the fourth alteration to the Constitution, because as a pre-election matter it was filed outside the stipulated 14 days, but “the judge said my argument was an attempt to arrest his judgment”. “He went ahead to read the judgment.

    He went on: “They said he (Adeleke) did not attend secondary school. They (the plaintiffs) were the one who asked that officials of WAEC be subpoenaed to produce his result. And officials of WAEC tendered his result in court.

    What else do they want to prove that he was educated to secondary school level as required by the Constitution?”

    The lawyer said the issue had been settled by an earlier judgment of a High Court of Osun State, which held that Adeleke was qualified to stand election, having been educated up to secondary school level.

    “We have asked the judge to make the certified true copy of the judgment available to us on time, because we are appealing the judgment,” Oke said.

  • Shell pays Fed Govt, agencies $6.397b

    Over $6.397 billion was paid to the Federal Government and its agencies in 2018 by Shell exploration and production companies in Nigeria, The Nation has learnt.

    In the group are Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC) and Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo).

    The payment represents a 48 per cent increase overpayments ($4.322 billion) by the companies.

    The facts formed part of the four documents released yesterday by the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Royal Dutch Shell, Ben Van Beurden, to signal the firm’s renewed commitment to greater transparency.

    The documents are “Shell Sustainability Report”; “Industry Associations Climate Review”; “Nigeria Briefing Notes”; and “Payments to Government”.

    Read also: Shell: why we signed contractor support fund with banks

    “Shell must remain at the forefront of the drive for greater corporate transparency. We will continue to be more open about what we do and why we do it,” said van Beurden, adding: “We want to help people better understand Shell’s performance, values and principles. These reports outline our approach and activities in the crucial areas of sustainability and our relationships with industry associations and governments.”

    In the breakdown of the 2018 payments, the Shell companies paid $3.776 billion to the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation as production entitlement while $1.286 billion was paid in taxes to the Federal Inland Revenue Service.

    Another $1.253 billion went to the Department of Petroleum Resources for royalties and fees, while $81.5 million was remitted to the Niger Delta Development Commission.

    SPDC Managing Director and Country Shell Companies in Nigeria chair Osagie Okunbor, described the reports as a further testament to Shell’s efforts to increase transparency around activities that are important to investors, governments and civil society.

    “We are irrevocably committed to transparency just as we are to business integrity part of our core values and central tenets of the Business Principles that govern the way we do business,” Okunbo said.

    The Shell Nigeria Briefing Notes detail the activities of the Shell Companies in Nigeria for 2018. These include production, environmental performance, social investment, economic contributions, gas initiatives, deepwater operations, security and Nigerian content development.

    The Industry Associations Climate Review assesses for the first time Shell’s alignment with 19 key industry associations on climate-related policy. The report also details new governance principles to improve how Shell manages its memberships of industry associations on climate-related topics.

    The 22nd edition of the Shell Sustainability Report outlines Shell’s approach to sustainability and covers its social, safety and environmental performance in 2018. It sets out how Shell is playing a role in the transition to a lower-carbon world and its contribution to society, which includes helping to achieve universal access to cleaner, affordable energy.

    In addition, Shell published its 2018 Payments to Governments Report covering 34 countries where it has extractive activities.

  • Adelabu, APC challenge Makinde’s victory

    OYO State All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate Mr. Adebayo Adelabu has approached the Election Petitions Tribunal to challenge the victory of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate Mr. Seyi Makinde.

    Adelabu is praying the tribunal to overturn Makinde’s victory.

    He filed the suit alongside his party, whose state chairman, Chief Akin Oke, had after the result of the election, said the APC was considering approaching the election tribunal to upturn Makinde’s triumph.

    Makinde was on March 10 declared the winner of the governorship election by the state Returning Officer, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, having polled 515,621 votes to defeat Adelabu, who scored 357,982 votes.

    The results indicated that Makinde defeated Adelabu with 157,639 votes.

    Oke said: “I want to repeat what I said concerning the outcome of the last governorship election. First, I want to greet all the people who genuinely voted for us. But where there is a genuine case of fraud, of course why not go to court?

    “Do you want us to continue to support fraud? I repeat we will go to court once there are enough grounds to do so.”

    Yesterday, the APC made real its threat as it was listed as the second petitioner.

    The petition has Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as first respondent. Makinde and PDP are second and third respondents.

    But, in a reaction, the state secretary of PDP, Mr. Wasiu Adeleke, said there was no cause for alarm because it was glaring from the results across the five geopolitical zones that “Engr. Seyi Makinde won overwhelmingly and polled the highest number of votes and was subsequently declared as winner”.

     

     

  • N1trn projects: ICPC to probe Senators, Reps

    The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) yesterday said senators and members of the House of Representatives who failed to execute constituency projects will be prosecuted.

    Also, all companies engaged for the failed or abandoned projects will face trial.

    But the commission, however, opposed to plea bargain by corrupt elements because the nation’s laws allow it.

    Over N1trillion has been released by the Federal Government for constituency projects since 1999. The funds include the N200 billion by the administration of President Muhammadu Buhari from 2015 to 2017.

    More than 2,345 senators and representatives have benefitted from constituency projects since 1999.

    About 37 per cent to 40 per cent of the projects have either been completed or ongoing in the last 20 years.

    Many senators and representatives were found to have diverted the funds, using their personal companies. Some abandoned the projects.

    Of the 2,516 projects tracked by BudgIT Nigeria between 2015 and 2017, 918 were not done, 395 are ongoing and 214 cannot be located.

    The Chairman of ICPC, Prof. Bolaji Owasanoye, yesterday said the anti-graft commission had demanded a list of all constituency projects and presented budgets to make senators and representatives account for the funds they got.

    Owasanoye, who spoke at the launch of Constituency Projects Tracking Group (CPTG), said ICPC will also publish the names of those behind the project failures.

    Read also: ICPC praises PTAD on fight against scammers

    The tracking will cover outgoing senators and Representatives in the 8th National Assembly.

    He said ICPC was collaborating with the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors (NIQS) to evaluate whether or not the projects executed were commensurate with the budgetary allocations.

    The ICPC chairman said: “We are mindful of the fact that this is a Herculean task as constituency projects dot the entire landscape but we will overcome the challenges one way or another.

    “Where contractors and or politically-exposed persons have diverted funds for projects, we will pursue them to either complete the projects as initiated, return the funds or face prosecution.

    “Affected companies and their directors will also be prosecuted. We also hope to publish the names of those behind the project failures for possible social sanctions in their communities.”

    Owasanoye regretted that constituency projects had been turned into avenues of corruption.

    He added: “Constituency projects are intended for developmental projects, such as provision of water, rural electrification, rural clinics, schools, community centres and bursary for indigent students.

    “In the light of annual budgetary allocations to constituency projects and based on actual releases by the government, it is firmly believed that the impact of constituency projects on the lives of ordinary Nigerians ought to be more visible.

    “Regrettably, available statistics from open sources paint a bleak picture of the level of performance or delivery of constituency projects.

    “Over the years, constituency projects have become enmeshed in controversy among non-state actors, the promoters of the projects and the communities that are supposed to benefit from the projects.

    “The concern is that in Nigeria, rather than address the needs of constituents; many constituency projects have become avenues of corruption.”

    Owasanoye gave some three-year statistics which revealed how senators and Representatives have paid lip service to constituency projects.

    He said: “The level of implementation of constituency projects in 16 focus states for 2015 is revealing. Out of 436 constituency projects for the year that were tracked, 145 were completed, 77 ongoing while 211 were not executed at all.

    “For 2016, out of a total of 852 constituency projects in 20 states in the 2016 Budget that were tracked, 350 were completed, 118 were ongoing, 41 locations not specified in the budget and 343 not done or performed.

    “In 2017, a total of 1,228 constituency projects in the budget were tracked for performance as at June 2018. Out of these, 478 were completed, 173 in unspecified location, 200 ongoing, 13 abandoned and 364 not started. The level of performance of constituency projects is therefore disputable.”

    The ICPC chairman unfolded plans to collaborate with the media and Civil Society Organisations to fight corruption.

    But he warned against reckless whistleblowing and declared that the commission will deal with anyone who misleads it.

    He said: “We hope to have a robust relationship with the media and civil society. Not just in Constituency Project Monitoring and role of CSOs and media as partners in giving credible intelligence and evidence of corruption rather than generalised accusations or allegations of wrongdoing but specifics that help to make investigation seamless.

    “We also want to caution CSOs to avoid misleading ICPC with intelligence that have no foundation in the name of whistleblowing. We have had one or two experiences of reckless and irresponsible allegations of wrongdoing against prominent citizens provided by CSOs.

    “But for the cautious approach of the commission, the outcomes would have been embarrassing. We want to say loud and clear that there will be dire consequences in accordance with the law for anyone that misleads the commission.”

     

  • Osinbajo: what to expect from Buhari’s second term

    Vice President Yemi Osinbajo gave the 50th convocation lecture at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) on Monday. The lecture titled ‘Nigeria Rising…The Path to Prosperity’, Osinbajo itemises what has been done to reposition the country and what needs to be done. Excerpts:

    I suspect that the choice of the subject of this lecture: ‘Nigeria Rising…The Path to Prosperity’ was informed by the curiosity of the university about what to expect from the Buhari administration in the next four years.

    I will speak to this in several parts.

    Perhaps I may begin by affirming the belief of the Buhari Administration that Nigeria’s prosperity means a decent existence for all. Second,  that prosperity so defined will be attained if we are able to address the issues of extreme poverty, productivity, corruption, the rule of law and the deficiencies in the quality of Human Resources caused by poor education and healthcare ) . This last point is possibly the most fundamental.  How to ensure that we maximise the potential of the abundant Human Resources that we have. This implies that we must have a robust enough healthcare system that ensures that the average person is in good health, an educational system that guarantees education capable of preparing children for the opportunities and challenges of a knowledge economy, a thriving private sector-led economy supported by a business-friendly environment , a system of wealth creation options and safety nets capable of taking millions out of poverty and providing for those who cannot work. The wealth creation options must include access to cheap credit for smallholder farmers, traders and artisans. The safety nets include government created job schemes for the unemployed and cash transfers for the poorest and most vulnerable.

    In planning the path to prosperity we also took into account the age-old weaknesses of the Nigerian economy , and the illusion of prosperity that frequently distorts our understanding of the actual fragility of our economy. First is the focus on GDP growth figures, without a clear understanding of the underlying dynamic. 60% of GDP growth is dependent on oil revenues. How? While the oil sector contributes between 8-12percent, the non-oil sector contributed between 88-92 percent of GDP. However, between 50-53percent of the non-oil sector is also dependent on the fortunes of the oil sector.

    This means the economy rested on a tripod where two of the three legs were dependent on highly volatile oil prices and production.

    This shaky economic structure enabled Nigeria to keep growing as long as  revenue from oil and foreign reserves were high enough and of course we celebrated this fragile growth structure. By the very nature of extractive industries  high oil revenues does not mean more jobs or better human development indices.  Jobs are only created where there is value added. A thriving petrochemical industry would of course have created jobs directly from the oil and gas industry . The economy  had also been running a consumption growth model which is only advantageous if consumption is been met by domestic production of goods and services. However our structure was based on consumption of large portions of imports. As long as there was plenty of oil based foreign exchange in the reserves to import and fuel consumption our economy kept growing in GDP terms but few jobs were being created and more people were going into poverty. The majority of the affluent in this economic are the professionals, financial services contractors and others able to plug into the rent seeking opportunities that are created when the biggest business is government owned. The productive sector, the real manufacturers, the value adding businesses are relatively few.  The main source of the income coming to this class of individuals is oil revenue. When oil revenues fall, not only does GDP growth fall but  this most affluent  but unproductive sector suffers. Also in understanding the problems of the Nigerian economy, the place of corruption, especially grand corruption is crucial . The same oil earnings meant to develop infrastructure, fund education and healthcare end up in private pockets. The feeding frenzy is worse in times of high earnings from oil. A combination of theft of public revenues and the consequent failure to invest in infrastructure as well as a largely rentier or rent seeking business class is what accounts for Nigeria’s economic quagmire. The other problem is that of extreme poverty. A problem that  for reasons already adduced  increases even where oil earnings are high.

    It was clear to us that we needed to devise an economic plan that prioritise:

    1. Building of infrastructure especially rail, roads, power and ports.
    2. Productivity as we diversified the economy from oil and gas,
    3. The fight against public sector corruption,
    4. Developing a new educational curriculum that emphasizes Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths
    5. A new approach to resourcing healthcare
    6. A Social Investment programme that deals with issues of extreme poverty and unemployment. The Economic Recovery and Growth Plan effectively addressed these issues.

     

    So,how far have we gone and what is the next level?

     

    We believe that creating an environment for productivity investment in hard and soft infrastructure is crucial. Soft infrastructure covers the whole gamut of the regulatory environment for business. For hard infrastructure we have focused on economically strategic roads, rail, power and ports accross the country. Roads and rail linking important commercial centres are prioritised.

    As of today in two budget cycles despite earning over 60% less than the previous government we have invested 2.7trillion on capital the highest in the country.  We have recently commissioned the Lagos Abeokuta Ibadan end of the new standard gauge Lagos Kano Rail. The rail originates from the Apapa port which means that cargo will be moved by rail from the Apapa port, this will significantly ameliorate the congestion of that port. To expand port facilities generally we are currently dredging the Warri Port. In Lagos work is going on in the private sector led Lekki Port and the Badagry Port has also attracted significant foreign capital and interest. In Abuja after almost fifteen years we have completed and commissioned the Abuja light rail project starting from the airport to the city Centre. Similarly we completed and commissioned the Abuja Kaduna Railway. The Itakpe Warri Railway has also been completed linking the iron ore deposits to the Warri port.  Here in the southwest of Nigeria, work is ongoing on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, Lagos-Otta-Abeokuta Expressway, the Ikorodu-Sagamu Road, and the Ogbomosho-Ilorin Road.  The contract for the Lagos-Badagry Expressway has been awarded and work has already begun.

    On Power, we have moved generation from 4000 to 8100 MW. But the effect of this increase in generation has not translated significantly to better service to the consumer. This is mainly due  to   distribution challenges. Over 2000 MW of power is not taken up by the discos for distribution to consumers largely because of problems they experience in  collection of Tarrif , but one of the reasons for this is  the fact that the discos have not invested significantly in metering. We have now embarked on a major metering Initiative The Metering Assets Programme which involves private   metering Assets providers ,. In addition  the Federal government  has in the past eighteen months taken on the deficiencies in  transmission head on through the TCN and the NDPHC we are completing transmission projects all around the country. But the more important strategy is to decentralize power production. So we have adopted an off grid programme. Which means that we are encouraging private investors to collaborate with government to build IPPs and supply power to willing buyers. This was made possible by what  is called an eligible customer declaration by the Ministry of power works and Housing. By this collaboration we have been providing power, especially Solar Power  to economic clusters such as markets across the country including , Ariaria market in Aba, 31993 shops , Sabongari market in Kano 13,598 shops,  Sura market in Lagos 1047. Isikan  493, NEPA 256,  Gbagi 8778, UMBC 2178, a  total of 81691shops servicing 320000 SMEs.In  Lagos we recently  commissioned the Sura market solar project, the businesses there now have 24 hour power. From printers, commercial tailors to small chop businesses, everyone is employing more and making  more profit.

    The next level is to ensure completion of the major infrastructure projects. The main drawback is funding. We have established an infrastructure fund.

    • The Presidential Infrastructure Development Fund
    • Second Niger Bridge
    • Lagos-Ibadan Expressway
    • Mambilla Hydro Power Project
    • Abuja-Kano Expressway
    • East-West Road

    If we stick to our agenda in the next two years we will see the most significant improvements, in our power sector in history.  Industrial Infrastructure is a major component of our economic transformation plan. Project MINE Made in Nigeria for Export is the major plank of our industrial policy.  The idea is to build Special Economic Zones which accommodate industries for local manufacture of goods for which Nigeria has a comparative advantage. These include cotton, garments, leatherware etc. The Nigerian EZ investment company, a public private partnership company is the delivery vehicle for the project.  The objectives  are to boost manufacturing share of GDP to 20% and make Nigeria the leading regional manufacturing hub for Sub-Saharan Africa, create 1.5 million new jobs in manufacturing, generate  $30bn in non-oil export earnings annually, improve the utilization of Nigeria’s resources and comparative advantage and whilst creating strong domestic value chains and create local models of global best practice in industrial infrastructure and enabling business environment. Already work has begun in three locations.

    The Enyimba Economic City in Aba covering over 9500 hectares outside Aba in Abia State. Master planning, feasibility studies and detailed design have been completed for phase 1. Three international anchor tenants have been secured for phase 1. The city will be served by an existing IPP for power and will create 625000 jobs when fully built. There is also the Lekki Model Industrial Park in partnership with the Lagos State Government. It is set on 1000 hectares in the NE cluster of Lekki Free Zone. It has already attracted world class anchor tenants for textile and garments, agri-processing and light industrial manufacturing including the no 1 Chinese and No 9 global textile and garment group. The proximity to petrochemical feedstock from the Dangote refinery for,synthetic textile and garment manufacturing makes the park irresistible for investors. The third project in its early stages is the Funtua Cotton Cluster in Katsina State. Funtua has the largest aggregation of cotton ginneries in Nigeria. “The cluster will aggregate cotton from 800,000 farmers in Northern Nigeria and become the largest integrated cotton ginning, spinning and weaving complex in Sub Saharan Africa. It will re-establish the cotton value chain from seed cotton to finished fabric and provide feedstock for domestic and export oriented garment manufacturing”( Okey Enelamah)

    We believe that the future for job creation and efficient and profitable businesses lies in innovation and technology. We have partnered with local and international tech companies and innovators, in the building of tech hubs, and promoting innovation. Our aim is to completely democratise access to  innovation and cyber commerce and create jobs.

    We have established hubs  in collaboration with the WB and LBS..the climate change innovation hub . In Yola, the North East Humanitarian Hub.  We have also in collaboration with Cicvic Hub promoted technology and innovation in universities with the Students innovation challenge in the six geopolitical zones, and technology hubs in three.

    Our technology agenda is premised on our new educational curriculum which emphasizes STEAM. Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics. We are currently developing  that curriculum  with the support of global players like MIT, Cisco, IBM and Oracle, a nationwide curriculum that incorporates 21st century STEAM thinking: coding, design skills, digital arts, robotics, machine learning, and so on.

    The curriculum will cover primary to secondary education. The Arts component of that vision is extremely important to us. Visual arts, dance, music, film and theatre, comedy,  literature – these and many more are fields in which Nigeria is has proved to the world that it is full of talent and originality and ambition. At the highest levels of the government in Abuja, we are creating opportunities to engage with artists to better understand how we can, as a government, support you to succeed.

    We believe that like technology entertainment and the arts require active support, especially in the development of policies as we engage uncharted territory in the coming years. Consequently the President directed that we establish a  technology and creativity  advisory group, to work on and formulate policies in these very dynamic spaces. We have had about three meetings so far.

     

    Assembly Plants

     

    At the top of the mechanisation chain are six assembly plants to be activated and spread across the six geo-political zones. The assembly plants will undertake the assembly of tractors and processing equipment as well as light manufacturing of parts which will be sent out to the Service Centers closer to the farmers across the length and breadth of Nigeria.

    The first assembly plant, among a total of six (6) to operate, to assemble tractors and implements, will be located in Bauchi State in an already existing facility owned by a private operator.  It is projected that almost 5,000 tractors will be assembled in Nigeria every year.

     

    Service Centres

     

    There will be a total of 780 Service Centers spread across all the Local Government Areas in all the states and the Federal Capital Territory.

    Primarily, the Service Centre will offer a technological package consisting of machinery and equipment services (agricultural mechanisation- e.g. rental of tractors), quality inputs (improved seeds varieties, fertilisers and pesticides), technical assistance and training for small holder farmers in order to ensure consistent results of productivity and quality of agriculture produce.

    The Service Centre will also perform an important market function of being able to aggregate primary produce for processing and haulage to markets. This establishes a means for monetisation and loan repayment based on a percentage of its own agricultural production.

    109 of these Service Centers will be located in the 109 senatorial districts in Nigeria and classified as “ Process Service Center”. Process Service Centers will, in addition to the already mentioned services, have processors which serve as a throughput with which value can be added to agricultural produce brought in by local farmers. Service Centers will be based on the comparative and complementary advantage each location has and also along value chain lines.

    The value chain will cover Grains & Cereal, Livestock, Poultry, Fruits, Roots & Tubers, Horticulture and other areas.

    Young technicians, from The N-Power Agro Programme will join the technical staff of the Service Centres to provide agricultural extension services and production planning, carried out jointly with small holder producers and geared towards market demand.

     

    Impact

     

    Through the implementation of the Green Imperative, 5 million people will be impacted, 100,000 technical personnel will be trained, and 4,848 tractors will be assembled each year, resulting in the ultimate injection of $12 Billion into the local economy over 10 years.

    Additionally, it will increase production and productivity, leading to a reduction in food prices and the cost of living, a drop in food imports, as well as improved food security while boosting exports significantly. The Green Imperative is the next level for Nigerian Agriculture.

    The third is the Social investment Programme .  The SIP is the largest and most ambitious social protection programme in the history of Nigeria. We provided N500b for it in  both 2016 and 2017. But total spend on the programme is  closer to 250 billion from both budgets. The programme has four components. The Npower programme our graduate employment scheme is the largest post-tertiary jobs project in Africa. 500,000  graduates have been recruited as teachers, agricultural extension workers, and as public health officials.  Each of these volunteers is provided with an electronic tablet containing relevant training materials including some with which they are trained to provide the required services on an on-going basis. The device also  empowers them to participate in the digital economy as data collectors and analysts.

    Under the scheme we are giving microcredits to 2 million petty traders across the country.  The scheme enables them to draw further credit if they are able to pay back within six months. The credit schemes also achieve major By giving them credit to replenish and increase their inventories, we give them a stronger chance, to earn more, while they also service the value chain that they are a part of. But more importantly, we bring them into the formal sector, where they have access to government and private credit . GEEP has  led to one of the most successful financial inclusion outcomes, the opening of 349,000 new bank accounts/wallets for beneficiaries and intending beneficiaries.

    Nigeria took the decision to embark on a School Feeding Programme as an important part of our Human Capital development agenda, by tackling  the broader issues of eradication of poverty, food and nutrition security, increasing school enrollment.  The At a cost of $0.19 per child per day we are able to provide a balanced meal for every one of the children.    9,300,892 million pupils in 49,837 public primary schools in 26 states across Nigeria benefit daily.     .lThe programme employs 95,422 cooks, and  over 100,000 small holder farmers linked to the program supplying locally sourced ingredients. This translates to 594 cattle, 138,000 chickens, 6.8 million eggs, 83 metric tons of fish that are procured, prepared, and distributed each week. As you can imagine, the quantity of starch, and vegetables required for this program on a weekly basis is equally impressive. Dietary energy and nutrients with established links to cognition- carbohydrates, protein, fat, iron and iodine as well as minerals with public health importance–are targeted by the NHGSF. The program aims to provide 50% of the Recommended Nutrient Intake targets for protein and prioritised micronutrients (iron, iodine, zinc, vitamin A, folate and vitamin C and 30% of energy because of the high burden of undernutrition and micronutrient deficiencies in Nigeria. There is also a deworming programme attached to the school Feeding programme.

    By the end of the year the number of new States joining will increase,     the NHGSFP is set to become the largest school feeding programme in Africa.

     

    Conclusion

     

    We restored medium term planning with the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan which served as a useful lodestone in improving macroeconomic performance, boosting the real sector of the economy and building infrastructure.  The decline in growth which started at the end of 2014 has been reversed, inflation has stabilised at about 11% over the past six months and our current account was in surplus at about 1.3% of GDP last year.  Our foreign reserves can cover at least 9 months of import of goods and services and despite understandable concerns, our debt burden is only about 22% of the size of our economy which is one of the lowest ratios in the world.

    We have very clear objectives. Clear plans. As you know the problem of our country is not the planning…or in designing great projects. It is in the actual implementation. We are fortunate that Muhammadu Buhari is not an orator…he is a doer.

  • The shame of the police

    In the early morning of Wednesday, March 20, a senior officer of the National Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, was allegedly beaten to death by police officers in Nyanya, Abuja. His offence was that he made an illegal u-turn in his haste to drop his children at school. The pleadings for mercy by his wife could not dissuade the callous police officers from snuffing out life from the ‘offending’ NSCDC officer. One would think the early morning rush on a weekday is a time to let go of petty traffic offences, in the interest of free flow of traffic. One would also think that the presence of children and the fact of their pleading on behalf of their father would have struck a sympathetic nerve somewhere. Apparently, when dealing with policemen in Nyanya, one would be wrong.

    The incident narrated above reminds one of the dark days of the military era, when men were whipped silly in the presence of their families. In those days, the definition of dignity was qualified, and khaki was the symbol of supreme authority in every facet of life. Today, policemen that would not have been fit to eat at the same table with the khaki-clad ‘gods’ of those days have become a law unto themselves.

    Anyone trying to wrap their mind around the incident in Nyanyashould save themselves the stress. There is no understanding what would have driven the policemen to such outrage. However, what we do understand, as Nigerians, is that there is a serious failure of leadership in the police, one that has endured for many years, under many police chiefs and presidents.

    If this was a one-off incident, one would be inclined to accept it as an unfortunate mistake. But it is not. First, there is that irritating inter-agency rivalry between Nigeria’s security agencies that is on display quite frequently. It has led to violent clashes between the Police and NSCDC men, in particular, several times in the past. Even in the last elections, there were rumours of clashes between soldiers and policemen, in the course of trying to outdo each other in the questionable activities that went on during the elections. One cannot clearly say that this was a factor in the unfortunate incident on that fateful Wednesday, but we surely cannot put it past our mostly dishonorable men in black, who have become a terror to the people they are sworn to protect.

    Secondly, police brutality is something Nigerians deal with on a daily basis, and there are numerous examples. At the end of January, a video circulated online showing policemen in Benin dragging an unarmed man in the street before shooting him to death at point blank range. On Thursday, March 28, a motorcyclist was reportedly shot dead in similar circumstances by police officers in Kilo, Surulere in Lagos State, when the cyclist allegedly refused to part with N200 bribe during police “stop and search” operation in the area. Just this last Sunday, a 36 year old man was also reportedly killed by a police bullet in Mangoro area of Lagos, while at a football viewing center. The police had allegedly shot recklessly in a busy neighbourhood while attempting to arrest a totally different person.

    Every day, we hear cases of police brutality, with people getting abducted, beaten, robbed and killed for sometimes maddening reasons. Last year, when Nigerians were apparently fed up with the free reign of terror of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, otherwise known as SARS, there was nationwide clamour for the dissolution of the notorious police unit. In response, Ibrahim Idris Kpotun, the controversial Inspector General of Police at the time, announced a series of ineffective reshuffles and a ‘federalisation’ of the unit which was reflected in a new name – Federal-SARS or F-SARS. The measure was cynical, as the vice-president’s directive that forced that lame reorganization was largely ignored. Still dressed like common thieves and thugs, SARS or F-SARS are still operating like they have a license to kill anybody at anytime.

    One explanation for the dearth of leadership in the police force is the politicization of promotions and appointments at the top hierarchy. The office of the Inspector General of Police, IGP, for instance, is the most insecure post in all uniformed services in the country. IGPs come and go frequently, usually leading to frequent, mass, compulsory retirement of senior police officers, either to create way for a political appointment or to clear the way for a new appointee to perform his true (political) assignment in the top police job.  The effect on the leadership structure is telling, such that the top officers can’t really get a grip of the force before being shuffled away into retirement. It also leads to the likelihood of insubordination.

    Like the SARS men have proven, where the personnel are rotten at heart, no change of name or declaration of new uniforms or other such cosmetic measures can lead to any real change in police attitudes, in their engagement with the public or in the performance of their core duty to protect the populace. Even though there are fine officers amidst the crop of misfits that wear the uniform, they seem to be widely outnumbered and their impact is seldom felt by the common man on the street. The locations of the extra-judicial killings by the police cited above are instructive, and it is replicated all over the country. It stresses the point that the best officers are either guarding VIPS or working beats in highbrow areas, where they know how to be careful and cautious in their dealings with the public. As such, there is a design to this ‘madness’.

    The present IGP, Mohammed Adamu, seems like one of the better officers that have taken up the post. Adamu’s credentials speak for themselves, having spent a long time working with Interpol where he rose to become Vice-President (Africa). Such a highly decorated officer being placed in charge of a mixed pot of good officers and misfits, coupled with the ever present politics, raises one’s curiosity. One hopes that he realizes the task before him and is able to rise to the challenge. In the mean time, as the news shows, the trigger happy and unruly officers are still at it and a stellar career as a police officer will not stop Adamu being bombarded by frustrated Nigerians if there is no noticeable change to the terror that has become the Nigeria Police.

    One suggestion, especially for the leadership of the police, is to have fixed tenures for IGPs, along with some extra level of decoupling of the powers of that office from executive control. Given the top cop free reign and security of tenure will afford dedicated officers the time and freedom to audit all units and squads and determine their efficiency and usefulness in the wider functions of the police. It will also help the chain of command and bring stability that will slowly trickle down the chain and force accountability on the boots on ground in the streets, who are the face of the police as far as the people are concerned.

    Right now, there is too much speculative reshuffling and reorganization within the police and it is not resonating with the poorly trained men at the bottom of the pile, who mostly think about how to profit from the authority their riffle commands. The orientation of the least ranking officers towards the public is still ‘obey without complain’. The reality is that people will complain, especially with the reputation of the police, and these men have no training to deal with that situation. Because they are poorly trained, they can’t take initiative, even when they are being used to carry out atrocious acts. It is a shame, one that Nigerians do not have to die for.

     

  • Slashing the MPR rate

    The March 26 decision by the monetary authorities, to slash the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), from 14 per cent to 13.5 per cent, though long overdue, could not have come at a better time, considering the steady progress recorded since the economy exited the recession in the second quarter of 2017.  The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) had, vide its communique, stated that ”the committee was convinced that doing this will further uphold the banks’ commitment to promoting strong growth by way of encouraging credit flow to the productive sectors of the economy”.

    Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele, was even more succinct when, in the course of his parley with the media shortly after, observed: “Having been on this path, particularly the MPR at about 14 per cent since July 2016, and with the relative stability we have seen in the macro-economic variables over the last two to two-and-a-half years, we just think that this should be the next phase, where we begin to think about consolidating growth. This should be the next phase where you should be talking about how do we create more jobs and reduce the level of unemployment in our country for people”.

    He noted that the decision merely followed the path already charted by the banks, majority of which have started dropping the interest rate marginally. Said Emefiele: “I will say that we are following them (the banks). That is why we say that we are signalling. We are signalling in the sense that with time this will permeate the entire banking sector and people will begin to see the expected impact.”

    The issue of high MPR, as indeed of high-interest rates as a whole, is certainly an old problem. Signalling or not, we have certainly come a long way from when Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el-Rufai, took the extremist view of not only faulting the decision of the CBN to hike the MPR from 12 per cent to 14 per cent, but went as far as to suggest that the government reduce same through legislation.

    Unquestionably, the CBN has done an admirably good job of steadying the economy in the last two years. Presently, headline inflation has climbed down from 18.6% then to 11.3 per cent; so also has the nation’s foreign reserves moved up from $23.69 billion to $45 billion. As against the volatility of yore, exchange rates in all the markets has since converged around N358 – 360/$1 just as the positive GDP growth trajectory has been consistent for about five quarters.

    The obverse side of the equation – unfortunately – is that growth has remained not only sub-par but fragile; unemployment and its companion, poverty, have also soared. To this we add the old, but intractable problems of high cost of funds and access to credit by small and medium scale enterprises. This is why the slashing of banks’ reference lending rate, no matter how tokenistic or symbolic it appears at this time, not only finds great merit but is actually a welcome development, as it comes with expectations of reductions in the cost of borrowing at least in the long run.

    Yet, there is a sense in which one needs to be cautiously optimistic about what the signal forebodes. To be sure, nothing of the fundamentals has changed. In other words, nothing as far as we can see is guaranteed.

    For instance, retaining the asymmetric corridor of +200/-500 around the MPR, the cash reserves ratio (CRR) at 22.5 per cent, and liquidity ratio at 30 per cent, still panders, largely, to the traditional obsession with liquidity tightening and inflation targeting. It says nothing about the problem of unbridled public sector spending, which gave rise to these measures in the first place. Would the MPC go back to the default mode of monetary tightening, should things change overnight as they could?

    And how about the moral dilemma of routinely visiting the ‘sins’ of unrestrained public sector spending on the private sector – supposedly the drivers of the economy – through punitive cycles of monetary tightening?

    Nonetheless, we welcome the cut particularly if it heralds a new dawn of progressively lower interest rates. With the apex pulling all the stops at deepening and diversifying the economy, an approach less yoked to inflation fighting with singular focus on growth and job creation would seem the natural order of things. To us, it is the least course for the apex bank to pursue at this time.