Maureen Ihua-Maduenyi

The National Universities Commission has approved the request by the Architects Registration Council of Nigeria to upgrade the study of architecture from departmental to faculty.

The Executive Secretary, NUC, Prof. Abdulrasheed Abubakar, who stated this at the annual colloquium organised by ARCON in Abuja, said the new policy would become operational in few months.

Abubakar, who was represented by the Acting Director, Department of Students Support Services, NUC, Dr. Mariam Salle, stated that the commission would soon hold a one-day retreat with all academic and practicing architects towards implementing the new policy, after which a directive would be sent to the universities for immediate implementation.

According to him, ARCON’s request was a good one, hence the approval, which will take the profession of architecture to the next level.

“The graduate of that course will be better off.  The study of architecture will definitely be better off with this. It is a positive development for Nigerian students studying architecture,” he stated.

The NUC also urged leaders of the profession to embrace the approval and work towards improving the delivery of the curriculum.

The ARCON President, UmaruAliyu, said the approval had brought a great excitement as the council had been on the issue since 2012.

He stated that by the new policy, more architects would be trained.

“Now that study of architecture study has been upgraded to faculty level, it means that more prospective students will be admitted and that will clearly lead to increased number of architects in Nigeria,” Aliyu added.

He said the council realised that the country was short of architects and needed about 18,000 to serve the populace.

In order to improve the situation, ARCON and members of the Nigerian Institute of Architects, both in the public and private sectors, were sensitised and reached an accord to support the initiative, he added.

The Registrar, ARCON, Umar Murnai, who thanked the NUC for acceding to the council’s request, said architecture in the country would no longer remain the same.

According to him, ARCON has worked hard to get to this point and will not relent but ensure the smooth implementation of the new policy.

The President, NIA, AdibeNjoku, stated that members of the institute were part of the initiative.

He added that the new policy would go a long way to impact positively on the quality of architecture, the built environment and the nation, as the issue of quackery would be effectively tackled.

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Unseeded Philip Abayomi   on Saturday  won the inaugural Zenith Bank “Next Generation” Junior Tennis Masters  after beating Godgift Timibra  9-5 at the National Stadium in Lagos.

Abayomi, who was playing his first-ever final on the national stage,  started a bit tentatively but loosened up and started hitting out when he got the first break to lead 4-2. Riding on the loud support of the Mainland Tennis Club,  the revelation of the tournament was hardly threatened as he coasted home with the title.

The girls’ event was  won by Oyin Quadri after  beating  Toyin Asogba 9-1 in the final.

The finals,  which were  played before a full arena,  attracted some personalities including Mrs Toyin Hassan-Odukale, a tennis patron, who was special guest of honour.

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Jose Mourinho hopes to cross swords with Arsene Wenger again after his Manchester United side condemned the Frenchman to a galling defeat on his last visit to Old Trafford as Arsenal boss, Independent.ie reports.

Wenger’s long and storied rivalry with United looked to be ending with a point apiece after former Red Devil Henrikh Mkhitaryan cancelled out Paul Pogba’s opener.

That would have represented a minor triumph given the much-changed and inexperienced Gunners XI he sent out, with more than half an eye on Thursday’s Europa League clash with Atletico Madrid.

But there was a sting in the tail, Marouane Fellaini climbing off the bench and flicking home a match-winning header in stoppage time.

Mourinho has had plenty of his own tussles with Wenger over the years but on a day where United paid generous tribute to him through Sir Alex Ferguson’s pre-match presentation, their current boss held out hope of further battles beyond Arsenal.

“I hope that I play against him again, I hope that can happen,” he said.

“If not in the Premier League, who knows, we still have a big match waiting for us.”

Wenger played down the prospect in the immediate future due to his apparent uncertainty over his next destination and – mischievously – Mourinho’s.

“I don’t know if honestly, first of all, he will be at Manchester United next year, certainly,” he said.

“I don’t know where I will be. At the moment I am in a bit of unknown territory, I don’t knew where I go from here or do I take a break? I would be surprised if I meet him next year.”

Wenger would be forgiven for indulging a little nostalgia as he revisited the scene of so many past skirmishes, triumphs and travails but even on a day where he received a pre-match presentation from Sir Alex Ferguson and an unusually cordial welcome from the home support, he stayed focused on the outcome.

Maureen Ihua-Maduenyi

The Nigerian Society of Engineers has emphasised the need for practising and prospective engineers to develop requisite entrepreneurship skills.

The Chairman, NSE, Lagos Branch, Mr. Johnson Akinwande, said this at the society’s 2018 annual public lecture/awards and induction ceremony with the theme, ‘From engineering to entrepreneurship: The Rainoil story’.

He explained that there was a need for engineers to be more creative, adding that this was achievable through inventions and investment.

According to him, young engineers need to be more innovative to outshine their counterparts in other countries.

He stated, “Engineering is a very innovative profession. It is one of the industrious professions but many of us are not tapping into the numerous opportunities available to us.

“Beyond being a professional, engineers can also be successful entrepreneurs. We are seriously concerned about the hopelessness of our youths, especially young engineers. They are losing hope in themselves and in our country.”

The Group Managing Director, Rainoil Limited, Mr. Gabriel Ogbechie, advised young engineers to go for entrepreneurship training after their professional courses.

Ogbechie, who was the guest speaker, noted that the education system for Nigerian youths needed to be fixed in order to have employable graduates.

He said, “If you look at the kind of artisans we have today, you can’t get good Nigerian artisans to work as electricians, bricklayers, welders etc., most of the people doing these jobs correctly are artisans from other West African countries.

“This is something we need to fix through education and not through platitudes or admonitions. We need to go back and fix our educational system.”

The Founder and Managing Director, Slot Systems Limited, Mr. Nnamdi Ezeigbo, also warned professionals against depending solely on their certificates.

According to him, it is wrong to assume that certificates create wealth as envisioned by most youths in Nigeria.

He stated, “I think the youth are depending so much on their certificates. Certificates do not create wealth. Acquiring certificates is just a way of developing your mind and helps you to be equal to your peers.

“The tertiary education system is not structured to make you or help you create wealth. Graduates, undergraduates and young people who want to be entrepreneurs, businessmen or women should endeavour to acquire the needed training for competence and knowledge about the businesses of their choice.”

Apart from Ezeigbo and Ogbechie, the Rector, Yaba College of Technology, Mr. Obafemi Omokungbe; and the pioneer Managing Director, Planet Project Limited, Mr. Otunola Adebayo, were given awards for their contributions to the growth of the engineering profession in the country.

Others who were also recognised were the Executive Director, Operations, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, Mr. Oluwarotimi Fashakin; and the Chief Executive Officer, Kenol Nigeria Limited Mr. Olaolu Ogunduyile.

The NSE, Lagos Branch, also inducted 77 engineers and corporate members at the forum.

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Deontay Wilder says he does not believe his unification fight with Anthony Joshua is in any doubt, despite his $50m offer not being accepted by his prospective opponent’s team.

This week, Wilder offered Joshua $50m to accept the fight and set him a deadline of Thursday to make a decision.

Joshua responded to Wilder on Instagram, saying “let’s roll”. But despite the Briton’s apparent willingness to fight, the deadline came and went without a deal.

However, despite the latest hurdle in negotiations, Wilder – the WBC heavyweight champion – is sure the fight is still going to go ahead.

When asked about stepping into the ring with Joshua, the American said, “It will definitely happen.” He then added,  “If Joshua and his team are smart enough, they’ll take this fight and take it soon.”

The deadline to accept the bout was allowed to lapse after Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn said negotiations with Wilder’s camp were “bizarre”.

He told Sky Sports News, “It’s all very bizarre. I returned the email of Deontay Wilder and said we are very interested in making this fight, please send us a draft contract.

“He replied and said ‘you have to accept the fight and then we will send you the contract’. I’ve never known anything so bizarre since I’ve worked in boxing.

“It’s always nice to call someone’s bluff. What we’ve done is called their bluff here, and they won’t even meet to talk about the deal.”

Idris Adesina

Nigerian referee Joseph Ogabor has been placed on a one-year ban by CAF for  allegedly attempting to manipulate the first leg of the CAF Confederation Cup  match  between Plateau United and USM Algers.

South African referee Victor Gomes reported to CAF that one of the two clubs attempted to bribe him and his assistants   with $30,000 to fix the first leg at Agege Stadium in Lagos on April 8. The Nigerian champions won the encounter  2-1 and lost the reverse fixture  in Algeria 4-0  to  crash out of the competition.

CAF Referees Committee on Sunday said Ogabor  was found guilty by the CAF Disciplinary Board and recommended  that he should be banned for one year.

A statement on CAF’s  website on Sunday said, “The CAF Referees Committee on April 28, 2018 confirmed the recommendation of the CAF Disciplinary Board to ban Nigeria referee Joseph Ogabor from any official mission for one year for attempted match manipulation with respect to the Total CAF Confederation Cup 1/16th round first leg between Plateau United (Nigeria) and USM Alger (Algeria) played on April 7, 2018 in Lagos.

“The decision follows investigations conducted and evidence submitted by the South African match officials of the said match, who were contacted by Ogabor to provide “technical assistance” to the Nigerian team.”

The committee warned Plateau to desist from giving  hospitality gifts to match  officials. The South African Football Association was also asked to apologise to the Nigeria Football Federation, who was cleared of any wrongdoing in the incident.

The statement added, “Also, Plateau United was cautioned to refrain from the practice of hospitality gifts which tend to create wrong impression.

“In a related development, the South African Football Association has been ordered to render an apology to the Nigeria Football Federation after investigations proved there was no evidence of whatsoever of any official of the NFF regarding an allegation of $30,000 bribe.”

Meanwhile, Plateau United on Sunday defeated Katsina United 1-0 in their Premier League encounter at the Jos Stadium.

The  team, who have two outstanding games,  are now fourth in the table with 28 points.

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Body language, facial expression and intonation will enhance voice and touch to control consumer interaction with tech devices, Ericsson ConsumerLab trend report has predicted.

The report, which points to a paradigm shift as consumers expect digital technology to increasingly operate on human terms, identified 10 consumer trends for 2018.

Ericsson observed that 63 per cent of consumers would like earphones that could translate languages in real time while 52 per cent would want to block out a family member’s snoring.

About 30 per cent said new technology made it hard to keep their skills up to date while 46 per cent noted that the Internet allowed them to learn and forget skills faster than ever.

Findings of the survey indicated that more than half of augmented reality or virtual reality users thought ads would become so realistic they would eventually replace the products themselves.

While presenting the 10 Hot Consumer Trends for 2018 and beyond in Lagos, the Country Manager, Ericsson Nigeria, Olivier Vandermoten, said that all the emerging technology trends would require 5G mobile infrastructure to be actualised.

Ericsson’s tech trends stated, “Social media is being overrun by traditional broadcasters. But half of consumers say AI would be useful to check facts posted on social networks. Fifty per cent think not being able to tell the difference between human and machine would spook them out. Forty per cent would also be spooked by a smartphone that reacts to their mood.

“Thirty-two per cent of students and working people do not think they need a job to develop a meaningful life. Forty per cent say they will like a robot that works and earns income for them, freeing up leisure time. Three out of four consumers believe that in only five years, they will use virtual reality to walk around in smartphone photos. City streets may be choked with traffic but the skies remain free.”

As part of the tech trend, Ericsson said consumers expected the connected world to require mobile power as more than 80 per cent believed that in only five years, there would be long-lasting batteries that would put an end to charging concerns.

The Head of Research, Ericsson ConsumerLab, Michael Björn, said, “We are entering a future where devices neither have buttons and switches nor need to be controlled digitally via your smartphone. In fact, this may be a necessary change, as it would be difficult for people to learn a new user interface for every device that gets connected to the Internet of Things.”

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Nasrul-Lahi-L-Fathi Society on Sunday empowered several women and the physically-challenged in Lagos with items and tools.

The News Agency of Nigeria reported that the programme, organised by NASFAT, Ipaja branch, also featured the inauguration of a block of six classrooms to propagate good morals through Western and Islamic education.

NASFAT’s Chief Missioner (Worldwide), Alhaji Maroofdeen Onike, who inaugurated the classrooms, said the society was committed to the spiritual well-being of the people, especially its members.

He said, “With these, we have contributed to the social services in Lagos State. We are not only an Islamic organisation, our mission statement is to develop an enlightened Muslim society, nurtured by true understanding of Islam for spiritual development and welfare of mankind.

“We have disbursed over N130m in the last four or five years. We should alleviate the suffering of people who are in need no matter the religious inclination,”

Onike said the society had directed all its branches and zones to found at least a primary school and a secondary school respectively.

NASFAT Chairman, Ipaja branch, Alhaji Monsurudeen Oloko, said the empowerment was to further cushion the effect of the economic hardship faced by the people.

 Nike Popoola

Busicon Nigeria Limited, an enterprise content management solution service provider, said it would reward the winner of its maiden Busicon App Challenge with N1m.

The Director, Tech Services, Busicon Nigeria Limited, Ayo Akanbi, said the Busicon App Challenge was an initiative of Busicon Group meant to encourage youth participation in the ICT and aid innovative mentality.

According to him, Busicon is a second generation ICT solutions company that is concerned with the ICT development in Africa, most especially for the coming generation.

He said, “That is why we are investing in the youth. There is a money prize of N1m for the winning entry. Beyond the prize money, participants will enjoy exposure to both local and international companies that are ready to either partner or fund tech start-ups in Nigeria.”

While speaking about modalities of the contest, the Director, Sales and Marketing, Busicon Nigeria Limited, Damilola Akanbi, said the contest would last for two weeks.

He said, “The first two weeks will be for entry submission, while contestants will spend the remaining four weeks to develop their ideas.”

Akanbi said that entries would be judged by reputable local and international ICT professionals, and that the winning entry must provide solution to an existing challenge; it must be implementable and should be achievable with minimum budget.

The Director, Business Development, Busicon Nigerian Limited, Yeside Ireobhude, said after this maiden edition, the company would be opened to partnership that would expand the contest and increase the prize money so that the winner could start a business with the money.

According to her, the contest is opened to both male and female app developers within the ages of 18 and 35.

“Entries can be submitted by unemployed, employed, self-employed and students within the age range who are willing and ready to proffer solution to everyday challenge using the ICT,” she said.

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 Nike Popoola

SES said it increased its technical reach in Nigeria to over 11 million TV homes in 2017 from three million in 2015.

According to a statement obtained on Sunday, this was revealed by Satellite Monitor, a market study commissioned by SES that provides insights on the broadcasting industry and on SES’s reach in the country.

It stated, “The Satellite Monitor results reveal that SES now reaches over 11 million TV homes, of which 3.5 million are directly served by its satellite fleet – a twofold increase compared to 2015. This means SES now directly serves 37 per cent of satellite TV homes in Nigeria. Digital Terrestrial Television homes fed indirectly by SES also contributed to the increased reach.”

The firm said the prime orbital position at 28.2 degrees east was a key driver for the growth of SES’s direct reach, with three million TV homes directly served through this orbital slot, up from 1.3 million in 2015

It added that this video position hosts SES’s premium free-to-air TV platform for Nigeria, giving broadcasters’ access to the highest technical reach in West Africa, and that the growth of SES’s reach was driven by direct satellite broadcasting and feeding the DTT head-ends through five degrees east.

According to the statement, there are a total of 35 million TV homes in Nigeria, of which close to 10 million are served by satellite, and the rest served by terrestrial networks.

It said that the penetration of digital TV had expanded to 25 million homes receiving digital TV signals, representing 35 per cent growth compared to 2015.

The Vice President, Sales & Market Development for Africa, SES Video, Clint Brown, said, “SES has been committed to driving the growth of digital TV in Nigeria for many years, and local partners in the country appreciate the Satellite Monitor study as a token of our commitment. We are particularly excited by our growing technical reach at 28.2 degrees east, which broadcasters and content programmers will be able to leverage to increase their audience via our Nigerian TV platform. In addition, the results show that the hybrid DTH/DTT approach is the winning strategy to deliver TV entertainment to the highest number of TV homes.”

The company said SES had also expanded its reach to 30 million TV homes across Africa.

It said that in addition to the growth of homes reached in Nigeria, the study also showed that there was an increase from two million to four million homes reached in Ghana; and that Ethiopia, Uganda and Tanzania – which are being included in the Satellite Monitor for the first year – accounted for an additional seven million homes reached by SES.

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Sterling Bank Plc has announced the launch of Specta, an instant lending platform that offers consumer loans of up to N5m in five minutes.

The product was unveiled in Lagos on Thursday, the lender said in a statement on Sunday.

The lending platform uses proprietary data and analytics to process and disburse consumer loans to salary earners who belong to pre-approved communities in less than five minutes without paper work and collateral.

The types of loans offered include personal, payday, wedding finance, rent, education and medical finance loans, among others, to salary earners.

The Executive Director, Retail and Consumer Banking, Sterling Bank, Grama Narashiman, was quoted as saying, “Specta automates, simplifies and personalises the loan application, disbursement and receipt process eliminating the slow turnaround time and other inconveniences associated with the manual process.”

Narashiman said that Specta was created to enable individuals who belong to pre-approved communities to have access to loans with ease.

Pre-approved communities are companies or organisations that have been profiled and enrolled on the Specta platform.

Individuals who, however, work for organisations that have not been profiled can apply to be enrolled as individuals on the Specta platform.

The Chief Marketing Officer of the bank, Ibidapo Martins, said, “With Specta, we want to help our customers solve some of their most pressing financial needs, ranging from house rents to medical bills and wedding expenses in a timely manner while they pay back in comfortable installments.”

Martins further added that prior to the introduction of Specta, salary-earning employees typically encountered challenges to access loan facilities as they could not provide the collateral which their corporate counterparts offered, which made it difficult for them to support their dreams and ambitions.

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Oyetunji Abioye

The scale of bribery and corruption has shown no improvement globally since 2012, despite the unprecedented level of enforcement activity and introduction of new corporate criminal liability laws in that time.

This is according to the 15th EY Global Fraud Survey, which surveyed 2,550 executives across 55 countries including Nigeria.

This year’s survey found this, despite regulators and law enforcement agencies around the world imposing more than $11bn of financial penalties since 2012.

According to the report, 38 per cent of global executives still believe bribery and corrupt practices remain prevalent in business.

The EY Global Fraud Investigation and Dispute Services Leader, Andrew Gordon, was quoted as saying, “The lack of improvement in global levels of corruption over the last six years shows that unethical behaviour in business remains a daunting challenge, despite intensified global enforcement.

“While corruption remains so prevalent, businesses remain vulnerable to significant financial and reputational harm. Management teams must identify and address the root causes of unethical conduct in their organisation.

“Compliance programmes need to keep pace with the impact of rapid technological advancements and the increasingly complex risk environment on business operations. More robust risk management should be considered a strategic means of improving business performance.”

The EY Nigeria Forensic/ Fraud Investigation and Dispute Services Leader, Osita Okeke, was quoted as stating that the high level of fraud and corruption occurring in businesses underscored the need for businesses to be more committed about their anti-fraud and anti-corruption initiatives.

Emerging markets still exhibit higher levels of corruption, according to the survey.

The difference in levels of corruption between countries remains significant, with 20 per cent of respondents in developed markets indicating that bribery and corruption occurs widely in business, compared with more than half (52 per cent) of those in emerging markets, and 90 per cent of Nigerian respondents.

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Oyetunji Abioye

The Coordinating Director, Domestic Taxes Group/Special Adviser to the Executive Chairman, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Mr. Abiodun Aina, says efficient tax system is vital to the Federal Government’s quest to achieve sustainable economic growth and infrastructure development.

He said since oil revenue could not sustain economic growth, there was a need to widen the country’s tax base.

According to Aina, the FIRS has changed the narrative under the current administration in terms of helping the government to achieve its developmental goal through the use of tax revenue.

Aina spoke in Lagos as a special guest of honour at the 38th induction ceremony of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria where 409 candidates were inducted.

Analysing how the tax agency has transformed taxation in the country, the coordinating director explained that the average non-oil collection was currently 65 per cent, with oil accounting for 35 per cent of total collection.

He noted that Nigeria’s Value Added Tax collection, which was N60bn per month before the current administration, had risen to N90bn, saying,  “We are pushing very hard believing we will cross over N100bn threshold monthly.”

Comparing Nigeria’s six per cent tax to Gross Domestic Product ratio with some countries in Europe and Africa, Aina explained that the only time-tested source of reliable funding for government projects was taxation.

Aina said, “And if we look back and consider our environment, we see a correlation between systems that are efficient in tax collection and development. There is a correlation. Check out Denmark and Norway; check out all the Scandinavian countries. Tax revenue to the GDP ratio in some of these countries is about 50 per cent. At OECD, it’s about 34.4 per cent. The African continent boasts an average of about 17 per cent. Ghana, our neighbouring country, is doing about 20 per cent but in Nigeria today, we are still at six per cent tax revenue to GDP.

“While there is a correlation between efficient tax collection and development, there is sadly a similar correlation between those countries that are not doing well and inefficiency of their tax system. Just check it out.”

The President, CITN, Mr. Ikemefuna Ede, described taxation as the most sustainable and proven source of government revenue.

Ede said the renewed emphasis by government on taxes to fund its activities and developmental projects as the right way to go, stressing that developed countries had leveraged effective and efficient tax system to drive development and good governance for their citizens.

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Akinpelu Dada

The Chairman, Joint Tax Board and Federal Inland Revenue Service, Mr. Tunde Fowler, has called on state governors to empower state internal revenue services by making them autonomous.

Fowler made the call at the 137th meeting of the JTB in Ilorin, according to a statement signed and made available on Sunday by the Director of Communications and Servicom, FIRS, Wahab Gbadamosi.

Autonomy, according to Fowler, is the key to professionalism and generation of more revenue.

While addressing the Kwara State Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, Fowler stated, “The good work that you are doing is evident in the performance of the Kwara State Internal Revenue Service. It is good enough for others to follow. We commend the work that the KWIRS is doing and agreed among ourselves to adopt it as a model. Like I often tell my colleagues, we members of the JTB must not disappoint Nigerians.

“I would like you to call on other governors, your colleagues in other states, who have not taken the bold step to please do and give autonomy to state internal revenue services. Please, help us to convey this to them as an ambassador and tell other governors.”

He also called on the JTB members to intensify efforts towards meeting revenue targets and commended Ahmed for growing the internally generated revenue of Kwara State.

“I like to commend the efforts of the executive governor in transforming the Kwara State Internal Revenue Service. It is on record that the state’s annual IGR grew from N7.1bn in 2015 to N17.2bn in 2016. I, therefore, urge the service not to relent in its efforts and continue to work hard to justify the encouragement received from the state government,” Fowler added.

The meeting had as its theme: ‘Collaboration amongst tax authorities: Its impact on revenue generation and service delivery to taxpayers’.

Governor Ahmed, who declared the meeting open, told the chairmen of the state internal revenue service that the KWIRS’ ability to grow Kwara’s annual IGR from N7.1bn in 2015 to N17.2bn in 2016 was predicated on three key planks of people, processes and technology.

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Simon Utebor and ’Femi Asu

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has said the Federal Government will establish oil and gas parks in other parts of the country where crude oil has either been found or is being explored.

Kachikwu, according to a statement by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board on Sunday, stated this on Friday at the ground-breaking of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Park being developed by the NCDMB at Emeyal-1, Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

He said, “We will work with the board and provide everything that is needed for the projects. After the development of the five pilot parks in the Niger Delta states, we will extend this very innovative idea to other parts of Nigeria, where oil has either been found or is being explored.

“This initiative will send a message to investors that Bayelsa is ready for oil and gas business and drive home the point that the park will bring about localisation of indigenous companies, where fabrication, pipe milling, procurement hubs and oil and gas-related technologies will flourish.”

According to the statement, the park will generate about 2,000 jobs when it begins full operation and create a regional low-cost manufacturing hub that will produce equipment components and spare parts to be utilised in the nation’s oil and gas industry.

The NCDMB is working to establish oil and gas parks in five oil-producing states, namely, Cross River, Bayelsa, Imo, Akwa Ibom and Delta.

The Bayelsa project is the second to take off, as that of Cross River commenced early last month, according to the statement.

The Executive Secretary, NCDMB, Mr. Simbi Wabote, in his welcome address, stated, “The park occupies a total land mass of about 25 hectares, which will comprise various warehouses, manufacturing shop floors and factories, training centre, hostels, administrative block, mini estate, security posts, fire station and truck parking and holding areas.”

He said the park would be provided with uninterrupted power supply, adding, “This project will positively impact Bayelsa State in general and Emeyal community and its environs in particular. Citizens of the host community and environs will also benefit from on-the-job training opportunities.”

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’Femi Asu

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria has called on the federal and Rivers State governments to urgently put an end to illegal refineries, which are causing soot in Port Harcourt, the state capital.

The senior staff trade union said the soot, in the form of thick black smoke covering the city, could be the root cause of some of the respiratory problems being experienced by residents of Port Harcourt.

It noted that the health implications of the soot in Port Harcourt could be worse than Ebola if evaluated on the long-term effect.

In a statement signed by its National Public Relations Officer, Mr. Fortune Obi, PENGASSAN stated that the development was not getting any serious attention because most of the people affected seemed unperturbed, noting that the soot had been confirmed by experts to be carcinogenic.

“The black soot settles on everything and finds its way into the corners of living rooms no matter how hard people try to stop it. Food items in Port Harcourt markets are as well not spared from getting mixed with this deadly soot that is ever present everywhere,” Obi stated.

He added that PENGASSAN, in collaboration with other concerned bodies and citizens, had continued to call the attention of the government to the development as well as creating awareness with the residents.

Obi stated, “Majority believed that the source of this soot is due to incomplete combustion of hydrocarbons as well as asphalt processing, burning of barges/vessels used for oil bunkering and illegal artisanal refinery operations in some parts of the state.

“There is a need for collaboration among all stakeholders to end this environmental hazard. We, therefore, call on the state and the federal governments to put strategic action in place to finally address this black soot and put an end to whatever is the source.

“This is not the time to play politics with people’s lives. The federal and state governments, security agencies as well as all agencies in charge of environment, including the National Emergency Management Agency and its Rivers State counterpart, the National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, Department of Petroleum Resources and other agencies handling related issues, should tow a defined and safe path in handling illegal oil vessels as well as the criminal act of illegal refining of crude oil that are said to be the key reason of this menace.”

Obi added that the criminals perpetrating these acts should be arrested and prosecuted.

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Ifeanyi Onuba, Abuja

The Federal Government has inaugurated a project steering committee to drive the implementation of Nigeria’s Accreditation and Conformity Assessment Platform.

The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Budget and National Planning, Mr. Olajide Odewale, inaugurated the committee in Abuja.

A statement from the ministry on Sunday signed by the Director of Press, Victoria Agba-Attah, said Odewale was represented at the event by the Director, International Cooperation in the ministry, Mrs. Elizabeth Eghareva.

Odewale charged the members of the NACAP steering committee to ensure national compliance with all provision of the Accreditation and Conformity Assessment Policy.

He also urged the committee to live up to its responsibility of promoting the use of accreditation as a decision-making mechanism in government Ministries, Departments and Agencies.

This, he noted, would help to ensure that all accreditation and conformity assessment agencies such as the Standards Organisation of Nigeria and the National Agency for Food and Drugs Administration and Control, among others, conform to international best practices in their operations.

Odewale stressed the need for members of the committee to be guided by the constitution of NACAP in compliance with the Presidential Executive Order No. 2(1) of February 2017.

The order stipulates that “MDAs shall ensure that any professional practice in Nigeria must be duly registered with the appropriate regulatory body in Nigeria.”

Odewale said by adhering to standards, goods exported to other countries from Nigeria would be accepted globally, adding that it would also increase the country’s trade through consumer confidence.

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Akinpelu Dada

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, Ahmed Kuru, has called on agencies that are saddled with the responsibility of regulating the aviation industry and other critical sectors of the economy to adopt the same template, which the Central Bank of Nigeria used in streamlining banking operations in the country.

Kuru stated this as the guest speaker at the 6th Nigeria Transport Awards and Lecture in Lagos, where he presented a paper entitled: ‘AMCON’s intervention in transport and allied sector; achievements, challenges and prospects’.

Explaining the proposed template, the AMCON boss was quoted in a statement on Sunday to have said that such an approach would ensure stiffer corporate governance in the business of aviation and other critical sectors, minimise risks as well as ensure that the experiences, which necessitated the agency’s intervention in Arik and Aero Contractors would not recur.

Kuru, who was represented at the event by the Senior Vice President, AMCON, Mr. Kamilu Omokide, argued that the huge debt owed the corporation would have been avoided if the debtor companies had proper corporate governance structures that took better business decisions.

With many failed entities as a result of poor decisions that led to huge non-performing loans, he said the government had no choice then but to create AMCON to mop up the bad loans, thereby stabilising and revitalising the Nigerian economy.

To do that effectively, AMCON, he noted, purchased non-performing loans worth about N181bn from various banks, but 90 per cent of the loans purchased was in the aviation sector.

He said despite plans to aid the resuscitation of the airlines with additional investment of N40bn on very good terms, there were still no light at the end of the tunnel, which compelled AMCON to appoint receiver managers for a lot of the companies, including Arik and Aero.

Kuru stated, “AMCON was created to be a stabilising and revitalising tool in the Nigerian economy. Towards achieving our mandate, we purchased non-performing loans of about N181bn from various banks. Over 90 per cent of this was in the aviation sector.

“To place the companies in a position to recover and generate adequate cash flow, we gave additional on-lending facilities (in collaboration with Central Bank of Nigeria and Bank of Industry) of almost N40bn on very good terms.

“Unfortunately, notwithstanding this support, the companies could neither pay the old nor new loans. We have, therefore, been compelled to appoint receiver managers over a lot of the companies, the biggest being Arik and Aero.”

Kuru noted that AMCON’s intervention in the aviation industry had not come without its challenges, which stemmed from shareholders’ actions, lack of support by some trade creditors and some foreign lenders, and increased union demands, but added that these were not unexpected and had been professionally and transparently handled over the period.

He stated, “The new management in Arik had to take bold decisions to downsize its operations, especially cutting down all the long haul flights due to the losses being sustained on those operations and the lack of equity capital to absorb the losses.”

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The failure of the Federal Government to fund the Pension Protection Fund after borrowing N5.5tn from the Contributory Pension Scheme is delaying the commencement of the minimum pension payment to retirees, NIKE POPOOLA writes

About two years after the Pension Fund Administrators started funding the Pension Protection Fund meant for financing minimum pension payment to retirees under the Contributory Pension Scheme, the Federal Government has yet to fulfil its own side of the funding arrangement.

Figures obtained from the National Pension Commission showed that the Federal Government had borrowed N5.5tn of the total pension contribution, which stood at N7.79tn as of the end of February this year.

According to the commission, the funds are invested in the FGN bonds and treasury bills.

An official of one of the PFAs, who spoke with our correspondent, said that the firms had commenced the funding of the minimum guarantee fund, but the Federal Government had not yet started its share of the funding.

He stated, “On the minimum pension guarantee, one of the key requirements is that the Federal Government must be making contributions as well, but it is not doing so yet. That is one of the challenges that we are facing, but the Pension Protection Fund has started receiving funding from the operators.

“I think this should be the second year of making the contributions and I know that PenCom has been engaging the government to start making its own counterpart funds but when that will start, we are not sure.”

According to him, this is a major issue that the operators are still grappling with.

A source in PenCom stated that the industry might review upward the initial stipulated minimum pension of N14,400, which it had not been able to implement for two years.

According to him, the operators of the CPS have been making significant profits from the investment of pension funds.

The PFAs have made a profit of N2.2tn from the investment of pension funds over a period of 11 years.

The Pension Reform Act, 2014 provided that the National Pension Commission should establish and maintain a fund to be known as the Pension Protection Fund in respect of the guaranteed minimum pension.

According to the Act, funding of the minimum guaranteed pension will be partly obtained from an annual subvention of one per cent of the total monthly wage bill payable to employees in the public service of the federation and returns from pension fund investments.

It will also be funded from the annual Pension Protection Levy paid by PenCom and all licensed pension operators at a rate to be determined by the commission from time to time.

Section 84 (1) of the PRA, 2014 provides that all Retirement Savings Account holders who have contributed to a licensed PFA for a number of years to be specified by the commission shall be entitled to a guaranteed minimum pension as may be specified from time to time by PenCom.

PenCom stated that the minimum pension was the lowest benchmark of stipend that an eligible retiree under the CPS could receive on monthly basis.

“It is an absolute amount, which is equivalent to a certain percentage (to be determined by the commission from time to time) of the national minimum wage,” it stated.

According to the commission, the minimum pension will cover the RSA holders who contributed and retired under the CPS.

It stated that retirees solely on programmed withdrawal, whose RSA balances could only provide a stream of income lower than the minimum pension at the point of retirement, and whose RSA balances at the point of retirement could provide a stream of income equal or higher than the minimum pension, could benefit from it.

According to the guidelines on minimum pension, only workers who have contributed for a minimum of 15 years into their RSAs will enjoy the minimum pension payment.

It added that the informal sector and casual workers must have contributed to their RSAs for 120 and 135 months, respectively before they could enjoy this privilege.

The initiative, according to the operators, will bring an end to the situation where retirees are paid abysmally low pensions or nothing at all when the balances in their RSAs are very low.

The President, Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria, Mrs. Aderonke Adedeji, said the operators could not just be spending the pension funds on road construction and any project.

“We will make sure there is a more systematic and structured way of using the funds for the benefit of our customers and our nation,” she said.

According to her, the operators are already considering other classes of alternative investment structures that will improve the returns on the funds.

She also said that PenOp would continue to develop its relationship and work closely with PenCom, the regulator.

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Eze Onyekpere

censoj@gmail.com; 08127235995

The failed recall of Senator Dino Melaye on Saturday provides an opportunity for lessons to be drawn from the implementation of the recall constitutional provisions. Out of 189,870 signatories to the petition for Melaye’s recall, only 18,742 were verified by the Independent National Electoral Commission. This is a paltry 5.34 per cent of the total number of registered voters in the senatorial district and therefore did not satisfy the requirement of the law demanding a simple majority of the signatures of voters registered to vote in the constituency.

The Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 in Section 69 provides for the recall of senators and members of the House of Representatives. It requires that  a petition signed by more than one half of the persons registered to vote in the member’s constituency alleging that they have lost confidence in that member be presented  to the chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission. Thereafter, the petition is subjected to a referendum conducted by INEC and if it is approved by a simple majority of voters registered in that member’s constituency, the member stands recalled. In between the presentation of the petition and referendum, a verification of the signatures of the petitioners is conducted by INEC. For the verification to succeed, 50 per cent plus one of the registered voters in the constituency need to be verified.

The provision for recall of legislators is based on the sovereignty of the people affirmed in Section 14 (2) (a) of the Constitution to wit; that sovereignty belongs to the people of Nigeria from whom government through the constitution derives all its powers and authority. It is about the right of the people to change their mind on the mandate they gave to a representative, midway into a legislative term. It is democratic and tallies with the right of the people to choose their representatives. The Constitution is the supreme law of the land. In the secular world, it is the equivalent of the holy book in the great religions. Every other law derives its validity through compliance with the foundational principles and philosophy of the constitution and any law in conflict or inconsistent with it is void to the extent of its inconsistency. Provisions of such a foundational law are not to be invoked for mere atavism or just to prove an empty political point to a political opponent.

Media reports monitored last Saturday indicated that there was a very low turnout and the constituents were not in any mood to recall their senator. They were also unaware of the sins of Melaye that would have led to the commencement of the recall process.  They constituents simply stayed away and went about their normal routine business. Again, the media reported “fictitious and forged signatures and names of dead persons affixed to the recall petition by its promoters”. The constitution does not anticipate or provide that signatures would be forged or the names of dead persons be inserted in a petition to recall a serving senator. It is imperative to state that forgery is a criminal offence for which the offenders should face stiff penalties and sanction. It is the expectation that the police and INEC should proceed with the same rigour and vigour with which they moved to recall the senator and go after the culprits and bring them to book.

The constitution anticipates a good faith process based on honesty of purpose. For constituents to lose confidence in a legislator, there must have been some misdeeds or offences committed by the legislator. Maybe, they mismanaged constituency project money and converted the same to their personal use. Or they have committed a grievous offence known to the law. Alternatively, they sleep in the chambers of the Senate and fail to bring up issues of importance to the constituency in the Senate.  Also, the member has been docile without sponsoring appropriate bills and motions. None of these could be attributed to Dino Melaye in his representation of his people. I do not want to believe that people can make up their mind to recall a legislator for the fun of it to justify the number of petitioners who started the process. Alternatively, could it be argued that about 95 per cent of the persons who signed up for Melaye’s recall changed their mind? That would be magical and so drastic and would not have been the case in the logical and natural sequence of human action. It is a very remote probability.

The fact that those who perpetrated the forgery made the federal treasury to spend hundreds of millions of naira which should have otherwise been used to solve life and death challenges facing the nation makes the case for their prosecution more compelling. Our hospitals and schools are run down and need so much in resources to rehabilitate and our government states that the money is not available. Yet, some little minds on an ego trip decided to make Nigeria go through this punishing fiscal schedule. Yes, money must have been spent to defend the litigation from the Federal High Court to the Court of Appeal, pay the personnel that went to the field, and the logistics for the exercise, etc.

There must be a limit to the misuse of executive and state power to prove a point which has nothing to do with the interest of the people. Recalling a senator is not a tea party.

Due to the way the Melaye recall had gone initially, it encouraged some level of rascality leading to some persons in Senator Ennyinna Abaribe’s constituency in Abia to allegedly start the noise of his recall process. According to media reports, part of his sin is that he “insults” President Muhammadu Buhari in his contributions in the Senate. This is so trivial and if we do not learn lessons, it could start the process of a journey to nowhere that would waste public funds.

Let it be known that this discourse is not against the provisions of the constitution or the idea of recalling legislators. But the message is that recalls should be based on empirical evidence, good reasons and honesty of purpose. It should not be an opportunity to settle political scores or to flex muscles to show an opponent that you can lord it over them.

Let this serve as a deterrent to those who want to rig the system through forgery, so as to ensure that in future, no one will try to game the system in future.

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