17022021 - Insecurity: Nigeria heading to point of no return, unless....

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18 — Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2021 ON February 1, 2021 the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Niyi Adebayo, announced with flourish the Federal Government’s approval of the National Quality Policy, NQP, which is primarily meant to stop the rejection of Nigerian exports to foreign countries. Much as this measure is welcome in exports were rejected due to poor that it will help in solving a major branding, labelling and packaging. impediment to our efforts to diversify Nigeria accounts for over 60 per cent our means of earning foreign of the world’s yam production but due exchange from dependence on crude to lack of quality control issues, she oil sales, it is seriously bemusing that is struggling to break the surface as a a country that gained its independence major yam exporter. over 60 years ago and once depended In April 2017, the immediate past on produce exports for its survival is Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbeh, only just now realising the need to had lamented: “Some consignments create an NQP to promote its exports. of yams were exported from Nigeria This simply underlines the decades to the United States and according to of neglect of our non-oil export reports we have today, they were sector. In September 2019, Williams found to be of poor quality”. Eze, the Director of Business The Minister had vowed to Development of the Nigerian investigate both the companies that Investment Promotion Council, NIPC, exported the yams and the Agriculture disclosed that 30 per cent of Nigerian Ministry’s Quarantine Department to Who’ll implement the National Quality Policy? find out “how such a consignment left here”. It is not as though no governmental mechanism exists at all to ensure that Nigerian exports undergo appropriate quality control measures. Indeed, nine Federal agencies and departments are charged with this responsibility. These are: the Nigerian Ports Authority, NPA; Nigerian Customs Service, NCS; Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN; the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC; and the Standards Organisation of Nigeria, SON. Others are the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, NPEC; Nigerian Agricultural Quarantine Services, NAQS; the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN; and the National Agricultural Seed Council, NASC. In Nigeria, the adage that “a goat owned by many people dies of hunger” is so true. Inter-agency synergy is lacking. This much is obvious even among our security agencies. The bureaucracy is full of indolent, unpatriotic, corrupt and incompetent workers, and the political leadership is only interested in the power and corrupt enrichment their offices afford them. Few officials are interested in the supervision and follow-ups that produce effective governance. We suggest that for the NQP to work, one agency should be handed the core assignment with others represented for their specialised inputs. The North and the rest of us (2) This is the concluding part of this piece. The first part which was published yesterday harped on the incompatible association between the North and the South. By SAM AGBESUA UNFORTUNATELY for the innocent children of the guard, the landlord came at the time they were coming from school. The Northern elite felt disappointed seeing the children coming in school uniform. He queried the guard about what he was seeing. The man explained that it was the NYSC man who enlightened them. He then flared up with the young man asking him whether that was what he came to do in the North. Thereafter, he arranged for the transfer of the young man out of the area. One can reasonably guess that that was the end of Western education for those innocent children whose crime was just the accident of their place of birth. How are we sure that those children are not members of the Boko Haram or the murderous herdsmen or other bandits tormenting innocent Nigerians today. The above story clearly reveals the marked difference between the North and the rest of us on what really constitute values that are really having impacts on the polity. No wonder Sir Ahmadu Bello unambiguously declared the amalgamation of the North and South as “the mistake of 1914.” How long can we continue to accommodate this mistake and the retrogressive impacts of the North on the rest of us? Under the present situation, it is quite unreasonable for the Northern hegemonists and their selfish collaborator quislings from the South to continue to shout at the top of their voices that Nigeria is an indivisible entity without doing the needful first. This is a great fallacy. Nigeria is divisible. We should stop living in self-delusion. A Yoruba proverb says that in a hunting expedition, instead of the elephant to be the armour bearer of the leopard, the expedition will rather be conducted separately. If every group goes its different way and life becomes meaningful for everyone, is it not desirable than under an enforced association where life is perpetually meaningless to almost everyone? The situation of the country is moving to where the North and the rest of us will be doing ourselves favour to heed the counsel of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Nigeria’s First Republic President. Zik pleaded in a broadcast: “Whether our beloved Nigeria will continue to remain OPINION united as one country or will become disintegrated into minute principalities depends now upon two factors … I have only one request to make … if this embryo Republic must disintegrate, then in the name of God, let the operation be a short and painless one.” Zik added: …Let it not be featured by violence … should the politicians fail to heed this warning, then I will venture the prediction that the experience of the It is only the restructuring of the country that can save the situation for Nigeria as single political entity Democratic Republic of the Congo will be a child’s play if it ever comes to our turn to play such a tragic role…”. The bitter truth is that the prevailing system cannot work. It has never worked. It will never work. It is only the restructuring of the country that can save the situation for Nigeria as single political entity. This will foster a symbiotic rather than the prevailing parasitic relationship. Each group in a genuine federation will be allowed to develop at its own pace, creating room for healthy competition as seen in the pre-independent era. Then, under Chief Obafemi Awolowo, the Western Region became the cynosure of all eyes as a result of spectacular social, economic and political developments that were glaring even to the blind and audible to the deaf. Other regions tried as much as possible to rise to the challenges of the breakthroughs in the West. Sir Ahmadu Bello in the North and Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe in the East also did things that were of great landmarks and of immense benefits to their people. Unfortunately the negative effects of the Northern domination on the rest of us had virtually wiped off the gains of that era. The Northern elite of today are not ready to face challenges of generating the resources they need. They are only interested in the feeding bottle federalism in which the needed resources, generated mainly from the South are under their control and doled out to them periodically without making any serious effort to work for what they need. It is purely a parasitic relationship. Ahmadu Bello did not rely on allocation from the centre to develop the North. He worked assiduously for what he needed. In fact, under the present Buhari government, it appears the detestable Ironsi’s Decree 34 of May 24, 1966 is just being Send Opinions & Letters to: opinions1234@yahoo.com implemented. Ironsi and his cohorts failed to consider the peculiarity of Nigeria as a multiethnic and multi-religious nation before coming up with the ill-fated decree. Compare the language and expectations of that decree with what is on ground under the present regime, you find the spirit of the decree dangerously hovering over the nation. The North can recall the major role it played in the conflagrations the ill-fated decree inevitably attracted which did not spare Ironsi and almost consumed the whole nation. If the decree, even before implementation by Ironsi, generated such conflagrations, anyone who thinks it would work now is living in a fool’s paradise. The North should not be deluded into thinking that there is immunity for it against the avoidable conflagrations this time around. Because the Northern elite are already complacent with the periodic allocation from the centre, they are ready to even threaten war to prevent the restructuring of the country that will force them to work for what they need. The only alternative to the restructuring of the country is for each group to go its separate ways peacefully just as Zik admonished. •Agbesua, former managing director of Tribune, wrote from Ibadan.
Vanguard, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2021 — 19 Axxela gets high ratings for strategic initiatives, revenue diversification By Peter Egwuatu Food inflation rises 20.6% as price increases persist *Headline inflation hits 16.5% in January By Elizabeth Adegbesan ECONOMY INCREASES in the prices of ba sic food items continued for the 17th consecutive month, prompting the Food inflation to hit 20.57 per cent in January, the highest since September 2019. Consequently, the nation’s annual inflation rate also rose for the 17th consecutive months to 16.47 percent in January representing 0.71 percentage point increase from 15.8 percent in December 2020. the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS disclosed this in its Consumer Price Index (CPI) Report for January 2021 released yesterday noting that the rise in the food inflation was caused by increases in prices of bread and cereals, potatoes, yam and other tubers, meat, fruits, vegetables, fish and oils and fats. This upward trend in food prices, according to analysts, will persist due to the insecurity in the country and the approaching planting season. The NBS stated: “The consumer price index, (CPI) which measures inflation increased by 16.47 percent (year-on-year) in January 2021. This is 0.71 percent points higher than the rate recorded in December 2020 (15.75 percent). Increases were recorded in all COICOP divisions that yielded the Headline index. “On a month-on-month basis, the Headline index increased by 1.49 percent in January 2021. This is 0.12 percentage points lower than the rate recorded in December 2020 (1.61 percent).” On the food inflation, the NBS stated: “The composite food index rose by 20.57 percent in January 2021 compared to 19.56 percent in December 2020. “This rise in the food index was caused by increases in prices of Bread and cereals, Potatoes, Yam and other tubers, Meat, Fruits, Vegetable, CURRENCY BUYING SELLING US DOLLAR POUNDS EURO FRANC YEN CFA WAUA RENMINBI RIYAL RAND 126.00 +2.95 2,428.00 -5.00 15.90 +0.26 63.15 -0.15 59.87 +0.40 379 379.5 380 527.7954 528.4917 529.188 461.1293 461.7377 462.346 426.8018 427.3649 427.9279 3.5958 3.6006 3.6053 0.6805 0.6905 0.7005 545.3257 546.0452 546.7646 58.6479 58.7257 58.8035 101.0424 101.1757 101.309 26.2077 26.2423 26.2768 CBN Exchange rate as at 16/02/2021 PRESENTATION — From left: South West Zonal Liaison officer, Nigerian Association of Road Transport Owners, Mr. Seyi Adejuyigbe, Managing Director, MASTERMINDER Oil & Gas Limited, Mr. Ademola Ademoroti, Director General, Lagos State Safety Commission, Mr. Lanre Mojola, and Director of Operations, MASTERMINDER, Mr. Kamal Lawal, at the presentation of Personal Protective Equipment to the DG in Lagos, recently. Fish and Oils and Fats. “On a month-on-month basis, the food sub-index increased by 1.83 percent in January 2021, down by 0.22 percent points from 2.05 percent recorded in December 2020. “ Commenting on the development, MONEY MARKET Analysts at Financial Derivative Company (FDC) said: “The rate of inflation is expected to slow as interest rates rise and consumption declines. However, inflation-stoking factors persist. Petrol prices are likely to increase further towards N200/litre on higher oil prices. “In addition, as we gradually enter the planting season, this coupled with rising insecurity across the country, will lead to supply shortages and keep food prices elevated.” N69.4bn debt: Court reinstates AMCON’s order to seize Jimoh Ibrahim’s assets By Babajide Komolafe AFederal High Court Lagos Division has declined to vacate an interim order through which the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) seized the properties of barrister and businessman, Jimoh Ibrahim over an alleged N69.4 billion debt. A statement from AMCON disclosing the development said: “Disclosing this in a statement, Recall that following the order of Honourable Justice R.M. Aikawa also of the Federal High Court, Lagos, AMCON effectively took possession of twelve prime assets belonging to Barrister Jimoh Ibrahim, who is also the Chief promoter of Global Fleet Oil & Gas Limited and NICON Investment Limited in Lagos and Abuja over the staggering indebtedness. “The embattled businessman who himself is a lawyer, and who decided to attend the court session fully robed as a lawyer on Tuesday February 16, 2021 sat there helpless, listening to superior argument, which made his plea fall flat on the ground. He, as well as NICON Investment Limited and Global Fleet Oil and Gas Limited, which he owns had asked the court to set aside the order for “non-disclosure and misrepresentation of material facts.” “Ibrahim and Co. also asked the court to order AMCON to pay N50 billion indemnity for alleged failure to conduct due diligence before obtaining the said order and for misrepresentation and concealment of fact, which the court also brushed aside. “Justice Rilwan Aikawa, in the ruling, upheld the arguments of AMCON’s lawyer, Mr Kemi Pinheiro (SAN) that AMCON made “full and substantial disclosure of all material facts” at the time of obtaining the orders on November 4, 2020. The presiding Judge therefore ruled that the order subsists.” Following the November 4 order, AMCON had announced on November 18 through a statement signed by its head of Corporate Communications Department, Mr Jude Nwauzor that AMCON had effectively took possession of over 12 properties belonging to the businessman and his firms. The properties included the NICON Investment Limited building on Plot 242, Muhammadu Buhari Way, Central Business District, Abuja; NICON Hotels Limited building located at Plot 557, Port-Harcourt Crescent, off Gimbiya Street, Abuja and the building of NICON Lekki Limited also at No. 5, Customs Street, Lagos. The statement added then that in addition to the takeover of the listed properties, the Court also ordered the freezing of all accounts belonging to Barrister Jimoh Ibrahim and his companies including Global Fleet Oil & Gas Limited and NICON Investment Limited all of whom are defendants in the Suit No. FHL/L/CL/ 776/2016. ENERGY GLOBAL Credit Ratings, GCR has accorded higher ratings to Axxela Limited, a company with duallisting of debt securities on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) and the FMDQ markets has been accorded higher ratings by According to the GCR report Axxela was accorded national scale issuer ratings of BBB+(NG) and A2(NG) in the long term and short term by Global Credit Ratings, GCR. The ratings are valid until September 2021 and were ascribed due to Axxela’s strategic initiatives, continued diversification of revenue sources, and robust business continuity plans. GCR stated that, “Axxela’s ratings reflect its leading position within the Nigerian natural gas distribution market, supported by long term distribution franchises in Lagos and Port Harcourt. Other key strengths which have underpinned the stability of earnings and cash flows include long term agreements with suppliers and customers, as well as a shipper license on the West African Gas Pipeline which enables Axxela supply gas to other West African countries. Axxela evidenced resilient performance in third quarter, Q3, and full year, FY20, despite the COVID-19 disruptions, and reported strong revenue growth over the review period underpinned by a larger client base, rising volumes, and firmer selling prices.” Agusto & Co. also recently re validated Axxela’s corporate credit rating as “Bbb+” with a stable outlook until June 30, 2021. Commenting on the rating renewal, Bolaji Osunsanya, Axxela’s Chief Executive Officer, said: “Given the global headwinds faced by many sectors due to the pandemic, the company’s rating profile reaffirms our healthy financial status, competitive position, and the application of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards across our sustainable business model. As an industry leader, Axxela will continue to spur wider industrialisation to develop communities and maximise shareholder value.” Nigeria’s crude oil production to rise by 32,000bpd Q4’21 ENERGY By Prince Okafor NIGERIA’s crude oil produc tion capacity is set to rise by 32,000 barrels per day, bpd following the commencement of Total Exploration and Production Company, Total E&P’s $500 million Ikike oil field in the fourth quarter of 2021. Estimated to hold 70 million barrels of crude oil, the field is located in the Oil Mining Lease (OML) 99, approximately 20km offshore Nigeria. It is owned by a joint venture (JV) comprising Total E&P Nigeria (40 percent, operator) and Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC, 60 percent). Speaking during a courtesy visit to the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, NCDMB in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, the Managing Director of Total E&P, Mr. Mike Sangster noted that the company had operated in Nigeria for 60 years and is the only IOC that operates in the upstream, midstream and downstream sectors of the Nigerian oil and gas industry.
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