02042019 - Military uncovers arms factory in Benue

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18 — Vanguard, TUESDAY, APRIL 2, 2019 SOMETIMES when the attitudes of public sector workers to their responsibilities are put in perspective, one wonders whether they know the purpose of governance. Do they know that government and the laws exist for the betterment and uplift of the average citizen? Or do they think government exists only to lord it over the people? On Tuesday, March 27, 2019 at exactly 3.00pm, the bulldozers of the Federal Capital Development Authority, FCDA, descended on the Divine Wounds of Jesus Christ Orphanage in Kubwa, Abuja, and brought it to the ground. The Orphanage had reportedly sheltered 150 children, some of them only a few months old. In virtually the twinkle of an eye, the children were rendered homeless. Pictures and videos of these hapless kids, their foodstuff and belongings littering the outdoors, went viral on the social media. Demolition of Abuja orphanage Though the owners of the Orphanage claimed the demolition took place without warning, FCDA Director, Mr. Mukhtar Galadima, counterclaimed that the demolition was carried out because the owners had ignored many “Stop Work” notices. It also emerged that the property was the subject of ongoing family squabbles and litigations between the widow of the late owner and his family members. What concerns us more than any other thing is the apparent lack of empathy and human feeling on the part of the FCDA officials over the plight of the orphaned children whose woes were worsened immediately by being rendered homeless. This much was evident in the fact that the children and their belongings spent the night in the open before the viral videos brought FCDA officials hurrying back to meet with the orphanage operators and promising to accommodate the children temporarily for at least one year. The correct procedure should have been for the FCDA to get the orphanage owners to move the children and their provisions to a secure place before proceeding with the demolition. That would show a government with a human face and a heart for the plight of these less-fortunate minors who have no family member willing or able to care for them. If not for the power of the social media, who knows how long the children and their providers would have languished in great deprivation before any succour would come? We call on the law-enforcement agencies and the relevant Federal Ministry in charge of social welfare to inquire into this incident and ascertain the veracity or otherwise of the claim that some of the children were not accounted for after the demolition. We also condemn all acts of impunity by some misguided citizens who refuse to abide by the laws in setting up edifices, as well as government officials who engage in the callous demolition of people’s buildings. We must all be law abiding. IN 1999, the Independent National Electoral Commission, under Justice Ephraim Akpata, spent over N32 billion to conduct the 1999 general elections. At that time there was no National Assembly. The approving authority then was the 33-man Provisional Ruling Council headed by General Abdusalam Abubakar, GCFR. In 2003, the National Electoral Commission under Chief Abel Guobadia spent over N60.5 billion to conduct the general election. In 2007, National Electoral Commission, INEC, under Prof. Maurice Iwu spent over N74.2 billion to conduct the general elections. In 2011, under Prof. Attahiru Jega INEC spent over N89.2 billion. In 2015, under the same Prof. Attahiru Jega, the Independent National Electoral Commission spent about N120 billion to conduct the general elections. The breakdown is as follows: N4 billion for vehicles, N3 billion for collapsible ballot boxes, N5.4 billion for the review of the voter register, N10.8 billion for operations (personnel cost requirements and cost for registration of voters nationwide), N222 million for hotel accommodation for state INEC commissioners, N3.66 billion for logistics and transport, N502.5 million for training of staff for voter registration, N10.3 million for printing of voter register, N5.4 billion to clean up the electronic voter register after election, N155.5 million for Servicom, N64.78 million for electoral hazards allowance, N222 million for voter education, display of voter register across the 774 local government areas. In October last year, the National Assembly passed a budget of N242.2 billion for the conduct of this year’s elections. Addressing members of the National Assembly committee, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, INEC chairman, defended the budget as what would be enough to conduct the poll. He said out of the N189 billion, N134.4 billion would be used as operational cost while N6 billion was budgeted for feeding security officials during the elections. He added that N27.5 billion will be used for elections’ technological cost while N22.7 billion will be for administrative cost. Aishatu Dukku, chairman of the INEC committee in the House of Representatives, said the lawmakers would be transparent in considering details of the budget. “It is important for us to approach the budget proposal from both process and content perspective,” she said, adding: “It is only by so doing that one can begin to unravel the intricacies of the entire range of issues involved.” She also said the committee hopes the government would address issues that have to do with election funding “unlike the previous budgets that were not OPINION The staggering election burden productive in the entire planning of elections”. The commission subsequently met with the Senate committee on INEC over the same matter. At the senate meeting, Prof. Yakubu said the increase in the budget - as against the N120 billion requested in the 2015 elections - was necessitated by the increase in number of political parties, The election burden has become too much for our economy; we can’t continue this way registered voters as well as high exchange rate. The commission has so far registered 91 political parties as against the 44 that were in place in 2015. “Also associated with political parties, is monitoring of party primaries, congresses and conventions. There is also the processing of nominations. We have 12,558 constituencies which means INEC has to process about 141,778 nominations. We also have more electoral constituencies. Right now we have about 68 more constituencies and there is also increase in the number of registered voters. We’ll need to open more voting points, engage more ad-hoc staff, supervisors and returning officers,” he said, stating that as at August 11, the commission had registered 12.1 million voters. In justifying the huge cost of the election the INEC chairman, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu said in December in Abuja that the increase in the cost of running the election in the country was partly due to security and logistic reasons. At a validation workshop on the study of the cost of elections in West Africa organized by ECOWAS Network of Electoral Commissions, ECONEC, in Abuja, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu said the study was part of ECONEC’s twoyear Work Plan (2016-2018) borne out of the serious concern of all electoral commissions in the sub region about the spiraling cost of conducting elections. Prof. Yakubu said: “With every cycle, the cost of elections keeps rising, making many countries unable to fund critical aspects of the electoral process as a sovereign responsibility. “The ever-rising cost of voter registration and the compilation of a credible voters’ register, recruitment and training of electoral officials, provision of electoral logistics, election security, civic and voter education, procurement of sensitive and nonsensitive materials, deployment of electoral technology, undertaking regular engagement with stakeholders and handling of preelection and post-election litigations are enormous.” The task of meeting such extensive expenditure has increasingly challenged the national resources of many countries in our region. It is against this background that the Governing Board of ECONEC inaugurated this study to explore what we can do as election managers, working together with national stakeholders and development partners, to find ways to reduce the cost of elections without jettisoning new innovations or compromising the quality, transparency and credibility of elections.” According to him, ECONEC has undertaken needs assessment, solidarity and mid-term review missions to several member states. “The objective is for Election Management Bodies, EMBs, in our sub-region to share experience, expertise and even pool resources not only with a view to ensuring best practice through peer review but also in order to reduce the cost of conducting elections among our member states. Yet in spite of the huge amount of money allocated to INEC some of the elections were inconclusive.” In comparison, in January this year all the thirty-six states of the Federation including Abuja shared N173.8 billion from the Federation account. If we add what INEC has been allocated since 1999 to conduct the six elections so far, it will be over N617 billion. That amount of money is enough to build the necessary infrastructure in the country. No doubt this our democracy is becoming a burden. We are talking of a nation without energy, no basic infrastructure, bad road networks, etc. The election burden has become too much for our economy. We can’t continue this way.
Vanguard, TUESDAY, APRIL 2 , 2019 — 19 Nigeria spends N10trn on petrol subsidy dismay that fuel subsidy deprive By Rosemary Onuoha At the backdrop of the continued comatose state of the Nigeria’s local refining capacity, the country may have spent about N10 trillion in the provision of pump price subsidy on imported petroleum products from 2006 to 2018. A research report by BudgIT, a public finance focused Non- Governmental Organisation, NGO, said this amount came from the price shocks in the international energy market as well as the exchange volatility. However, the report also indicated that the subsidy regime has opened Nigeria’s public finance to huge corruption and illegal exportation of petroleum products to neighboring countries. The report titled, “Nigeria’s Petrol Subsidy Regime: Dilemma of the World’s Most Populous Black Nation”, stated: “Nigeria currently imports an average of 91 percent of its daily petrol needs, thus disproportionately exposing local petrol prices to price shocks from international factors of production and exchange rate volatility. “There is a near perfectly inverse relationship between the fall in the value of Naira and the rise in the cost of imported petrol. That is, when next the Naira is devalued, Nigeria’s subsidy bill can be expected to jump.” It stated further: “The continuation of petrol price regulation perpetuates safety nests for exceptional forms of corruption within the country’s subsidy regime. Import subsidy creates petrol price arbitrage - the differential between the regulated price in Nigeria and the high petrol prices in neighbouring countries - which is big enough to incentivise smuggling of subsidized products to neighbouring border towns.” On the implication of the adverse development, the report stated: “BudgIT notes with CURRENCY BUYING SELLING US DOLLAR POUNDS EURO FRANC YEN CFA WAUA RENMINBI RIYAL SDR DANISH RAND $94.35 -0.15 2,305.00 25.00 $12.36 -0.17 $68.41 0.83 $60.79 0.65 305.95 306.45 306.95 401.0393 401.0393 402.3501 343.6736 344.2353 344.7969 307.2096 307.7116 308.2137 2.7625 2.767 2.7716 0.5041 0.5141 0.5241 423.9944 424.6873 425.3802845 45.5687 45.6437 45.7186 81.578 81.7113 81.8446 424.7504 425.4445 426.1387 46.0269 46.1021 46.1773 . 21.0564 21.0908 21.1253 CBN Exchange rate as at 01/04/2019 Nigeria of funds needed for critical socio-economic development as it discourages investors, who generally prefer a deregulated industry, from investing in the downstream sector especially in the area of refinery construction and operation. For instance, the 10 trillion consumed by the subsidy regime is sufficient to construct 27,000MW of electricity or build about 2,400 units of 1000-bed standard hospitals across 774 local government areas of Nigeria, found our research. “We equally note that the Nigerian masses worship low oil prices. More so, the political class fears that increases in petrol price (and in the cost of living by extension), occasioned by a deregulated price regime, and could become a flashpoint for mass uprisings and political instability. Nonetheless, we can never shy away from the opportunity cost of the corrupt subsidy regime.” Group Executive, Digital and Consumer Banking, United Bank for Africa, Anant Rao (Middle), with the 2019 UBA Campus Ambassadors during their unveiling at the UBA Group Head Office in Lagos at the weekend FMDQ lists Access Bank’s N15bn Green Bonds By Nkiruka Nnorom FMDQ OTC Securities Ex change, yesterday, admitted Access Bank Plc’s N15 billion green bonds for trading on its platform. The five-year, 15.5 percent, Fixed Rate Senior Unsecured Green Bond due 2024, is the pioneer climate bonds standard certified corporate green bond issued in Africa. The proceeds from the issuance will be used to finance/ re-finance eligible green assets and projects that will support the delivery of a low-carbon economy. Speaking at the bond listing ceremony at the FMDQ in Lagos, Ms. Tumi Sekoni, Associate Executive Director, Capital Markets, FMDQ, congratulated Access Bank for the successful issuance, saying that the green bond would help address climate and environmental challenges in a sustainable manner to deliver prosperity for Nigerians. According to her, the issuance of the green bonds by Access Bank would further deepen the domestic debt capital market by increasing the range of investible debt securities in the markets. Group Managing Director, Access Bank, Mr. Herbert Wigwe, speaking on the green bonds issuance, stated: “With our pace-setting experience in the mainstreaming of sustainability in our business operations, we are confident that this issue will further help in supporting environmentally friendly investors to meet their investment objectives whilst simultaneously supporting the bank’s customer towards realising growth opportunities in the fast-developing low carbon economy.” Oando increases PAT by 46% to N28.8 bn By Peter Egwuatu Oando Plc has recorded a N28.8 billion Profit-After- Tax (PAT) in its audited account for the year ended December 31st , 2018, representing a 46 percent increase from the N19.8 billion recorded in 2017. A review of Oando’s results shows positive performance across most of its financial indices; reaffirming the company’s concerted efforts and commitment to reversing the tide following the oil price crash in 2014. Analysis of the results sent to the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, show that turnover increased by 37 percent to N679.5 billion compared to N497.4 billion in 2017, driven primarily by higher oil prices resulting in higher oil revenue and higher gas prices, which led to higher gas revenues. In addition, gross profit grew by 9% to N96.3 billion from N88.1 billion in 2017. The company’s balance sheet remained strong with a 46 percent increase in PAT to N28.8 billion from N19.8 billion in the comparative period of 2017 driven by higher revenue and income tax credits. Its total Group borrowings decreased by 11 percent to N210.9 billion from N237.4 billion in 2017, while long term borrowings decreased by 23 percent to N76.8 billion compared to N99.6 billion in the same period of 2017. Since its acquisition of ConocoPhillips Nigeria in 2014, Oando has embarked on a proactive drive to significantly reduce its debt and liabilities. From a N473.3 billion corporate facility in 2014 to N210.9 billion in 2018, a 55 percent decrease and in its upstream business, the company has reduced its debt by MTN, StarTimes partner to offer subscribers special bundle S tarTimes Nigeria has partnered MTN Nigeria to offer mobile internet subscribers on the network a special data bundle for StarTimes ‘ON’ mobile app. With the video streaming bundles on StarTimes ‘ON’ App, MTN subscribers can now enjoy unlimited entertainment and video on demand (VOD) service at a cheaper data price than any other network in Nigeria. Speaking on the development, General Manager, Data & Devices, MTN, Abiodun Ajayi said, “With a data bundle of N150, subscribers can enjoy up to 60 minutes of streaming time on StarTimes ON by simply sending ST1 via SMS to 131 while for N400 customer gets up to 180 minutes of streaming time by sending ST3 via SMS to 131.” Also commenting, The OTT Director at StarTimes Nigeria, Tony Tuo, said that all MTN subscribers would also enjoy five premium channels that offer news, music, religion, movies and other entertainment content for free on StarTimes ‘ON’, a service which users of other networks have to pay to gain access to. According to Tuo, “StarTimes ‘ON’ currently boasts of 3.5 million users in Nigeria and over 12 million across Africa, making its partnership with MTN the latest in an industry where it has become a common trend for telecoms and video operators to partner towards an effective delivery in a market where VOD and live streaming is on the rise.” 70 percent to $260 million from $801.6 million in 2014. Speaking on the significant reduction in borrowings, the Group Chief Executive of Oando, Wale Tinubu said: “Our asset base is delivering strong free cash flows as evidenced by a 70 percent reduction in our upstream borrowings since the closure of our landmark acquisition of ConocoPhillips’s Nigerian assets in 2014. “The company’s 2018 results are further evidence that the company’s management team is focused on maintaining a strong balance sheet, profitability, value creation and a business that is indeed here for good. The company’s third year of strong financial performance is evidence that the company is back to business as usual, thus rebuilding stakeholder confidence in the brand as a viable business to invest in” he noted.
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