NLNG enters deal with Total Gas - ITREALMS

ITREALMS: 

The Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) has entered deal with the Total Gas & Power (TGP) which sees to the signing of an LNG Sale and Purchase Agreement (SPA) for some of the remarketed volumes from NLNG’s Trains 1, 2 and 3, reports ITREALMS.

ALSO READ: 

Next big deal for Nigeria: NLNG Train 7 says MD ... - ITREALMS

The agreement is for the supply of 1.5mtpa for a 10 year term on a Delivered Ex-ship and Free on Board (FOB) basis.ITREALMS gathered that the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of NLNG, Mr. Tony Attah signed on behalf of the company while Thomas Maurisse, Senior Vice President LNG, signed for TGP.

Also, the General Manager, External Relations at NLNG, Eyono Fatayi-Williams told ITREALMS that accordingly the agreement is in line with NLNG’s drive to continue to deliver LNG globally in consolidation of its position as one of the top ranking LNG suppliers in the world.

The SPA with TGP advances the plans by NLNG to remarket volumes from three trains. The SPA is expected to boost the company’s global presence and market reach, in line with its corporate vision of being a “global LNG company, helping to build a better Nigeria”.ITREALMS recollects that NLNG is an incorporated Joint-Venture owned by four Shareholders, namely, the Federal Government of Nigeria, represented by Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (49%), Shell Gas B.V. (25.6 per cent), Total Gaz Electricite Holdings France (15%), and Eni International N.A. N. V. S.àr.l (10.4 per cent).

Chuks Egbune/Editor

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Pix: Tony Attah

Amotekun: Tinubu speaks, insists Nigeria not at risk with SW security outfit - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

All Progressives Congress (APC) national leader, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has drummed support for the South West security outfit, Amotekun, insisting that Nigeria is not at risk with it, reports ITREALMS.

He also called for private discussion between the Governors of the South-West and the Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Mallam Abubakar Malami, over Amotekun.

He said the foundation of the country had not been put at risk with the South-west regional security outfit launched by the governors of the zone in a bit to confront the insecurity in their states.

The former Lagos governor, however, warned that, that fabric could be torn by what he called the “dangerous rhetoric of those who should know better.”

In his first intervention in the controversy surrounding Amotekun, Asiwaju Tinubu said “Those claiming that this limited, inoffensive addition to security threatens the Republic have taken themselves upon a madcap excursion.

“Those claiming that the Federal Government seeks to terribly suppress the Southwest have also lost their compass. Those who occupy these two extremes have sunken into the dark recesses of fear and political paranoia that can undo a nation if such sentiments are allowed to gestate”.

Titled “The Public Discourse Over Amotekun,” the statement personally signed by him reads: “Amotekun. This issue has dominated recent discourse and media headlines. Distilled to its basics, it concerns how best state governments can assist with the safety and security of their residents. This is a matter of serious concern entitled to sober thought. However, it has been turned into a political tug-of-war. Fierce, often unthinking rhetoric, for and against, has crossed the lips of too many Nigerians. More subjective talking than objective thinking has been the fuel of this outburst.

“Question those in favour of Amotekun. Most have but the vaguest notion about it. They know few details yet vigorously attribute to its opponents the most negative intentions. Ask those who oppose Amotekun. They are equally ignorant of its provisions. They oppose the initiative not on its merits but merely because it was proposed by their political opponents or because they don’t see an avenue for personal gain from it.

“While colourful, the rhetoric has been disconcerting. How people have mishandled this matter demonstrates that we still have far to go in perfecting this democracy. Too much energy has been spent distorting this issue instead of seeking a resolution that supports local enhancement of security while keeping the constitution intact. If this becomes the standard for how we handle disagreements then we will obscure Nigeria’s path forward with our own rubbish.

“In this matter, I do not see malign intent in the differences of opinion between the SW Governors as authors of Amotekun and the Attorney-General as the primary law enforcement officer of the Federal Government. Shorn of the overly dramatic language, what lies before us is but a step in the evolution of our federalism. This is an opportunity to more clearly define that federalism; but one cannot attain this better, more functional definition through overblown, emotional language. Objectivity and calmness are required. To a significant degree, the enduring quality of our republic will be established by the sagacity with which we handle disagreements regarding the division of power between federal and state governments. Such disagreements are inevitable. This is not the first. Nor will it be the last. We must devote our energies more toward solving problems rather than amplifying them.

“Seeking to fulfil their mandates by helping protect their people, the governors of the Southwest collectively established a program to buttress existing security mechanisms. Seeking to protect the constitution as best he could, the Attorney-General offered his opinion on what he believed the governors have sought to do. No one can blame either party for seeking to fulfil what they genuinely see as their public duty.

“Until now, I have deliberately maintained a studied silence regarding Amotekun. Many have tried to goad my swift public reaction. Those who have taken this road did so not because they care about Amotekun or even the people it intends to help protect. They did so knowing this had become a delicate and emotional issue for many. These cynics did so with the adversarial hope that, in haste, I might misspeak or misstep in a manner they could twist to their political advantage.

“Such people are possessed of a mercenary aspect that permits them to sacrifice almost anything, even jeopardize the very foundations of our political unity, if they might exact personal gain from the upheaval. In that they know no nobler purpose than their own appetites, we should feel sorry for them. However, we must not allow our sympathies for their barren condition to persuade us that there is worth in their destructive misconduct. They must be left to the consequences of their own devices.

“If truly I am a political leader as I am often described, then I have not the luxury of hasty, ill-conceived utterances. There are those who will use inflamed words to spark the passions of others. This may bring transient applause. But when the cheers fade, we shall only have further descended because their words were never inclined toward resolution and long-term improvement but toward short-term popularity and perpetual confrontation.

“I believe in this nation and its benign prospects. I dearly love its people, all of them. Over the years of our existence, they have suffered much. Yet they still hold forth with heroic patience and an extraordinary optimism born of strong faith. To these people I owe my best. I shall not treat them cheaply or bandy their emotions like some errant football. The welfare of this good and decent people is my overriding concern.

“Equally, I do not cow to the demands of those who press for me to make a premature statement on an important issue. Again, that is a game devised by those who care more about political cleverness than the quality of governance. I chose to talk when my position has been made ripe by a collection of the facts and a reasonable assessment of those facts.

“As I view it, this matter can be divided in three major parts: 1) Substantive merits of Amotekun, 2) Decision-making and consultative process and 3) Recommendations on the way forward.

AMOTEKUN, GOVERNORS AND SECURITY

“As the highest elected official in his state and thus the individual embodiment of the will of the people, a governor must view safety and security as a foremost priority, integral to his mandate. To turn a blind eye to these concerns would be a grave dereliction. That the SW Governors seek to work together to complement the extant security architecture is, in principle, a commendable undertaking. In embracing this concept, they have acted in consonance with spirit of their offices for the better interests of their people.

“As Governor of Lagos State, I confronted a burgeoning criminal menace. I could not sit idly in the face of the violence and property destruction that struck genuine fear in the hearts of the people. The police tried as best they could; but their coverage was thin. They simply did not have the personnel or material wherewithal to be everywhere at once. We formed Neighbourhood Watch to help fill the gap.

“Our aim was not to replace existing structures but to complement and augment them. The mission of Neighbourhood Watch was to monitor the wards and neighbourhoods of the state. The group would gather information and intelligence to pass to the police and security authorities. The Neighbourhood Watch also provided an early warning system to keep citizens from harm’s way. The idea worked. Crime and violence reduced significantly. Even the overreaching Obasanjo government did not contend against Neighbourhood Watch.

“Judging from the public statements of the governors, Amotekun is meant to be structured along similar lines. As I understand it, Amotekun is to be another set of eyes and ears to assist the police. As such, it is but the second generation of Neighbourhood Watch expanded to a regional scale. Conceptually, there is nothing wrong with this. It does not appear to insult the constitution. However, my position regarding Amotekun is not blind or uncritical; there are several organisational and functional aspects of the proposal that could cause some problems if left unresolved.

“First, the stated mission is information gathering by civilians. Such tasks are always and everywhere best done in low-key fashion. Some aspects of Amotekun seem to undermine rather than enhance this function.

Second, equipping Amotekun with showy paraphernalia may cause the public to misconstrue the role of Amotekun, incorrectly believing its mandate is more expansive than it is. This possible disconnect could impede the good aims of the program.

“We also should consider that the Buhari administration has approved implementation of a policy of community policing wherein additional recruits from all 774 local government areas will be added to the force to help protect their own communities. As the Federal Government emphasizes grassroots policing it is uncertain how well Amotekun can complement the police force as the force moves toward greater decentralisation when Amotekun is organisationally leaning in the opposite way.

“We have been fighting for local and decentralised policing for a long time because we know that too much centralisation impedes performance. In regard to actual performance of its appointed tasks, Amotekun should have focused on grassroots local organisation at the state level without a regional command hierarchy. The regional approach may undermine efficiency. There is no compelling logic why the same personnel providing security & informational assistance in Ado-Ekiti should be under the same functional and operational leadership as those providing assistance in Lekki or Akure. This will not lead to optimal performance.

“The regional approach has only limited benefit with regard to the procurement and maintenance of vehicles and communications equipment because this wider approach allows for economies of scale. The regional approach also helps tackle the growing incidences of interstate criminal activity. Some things need to be corrected before Amotekun becomes operational. If not, it will not live up to expectations. Thus, the current formulation of Amotekun is in need of repair before it takes to the road only to quickly slip into a ditch.

CONSULTATIVE PROCESS BREAKS DOWN

“The governors state that they consulted regularly with the police and security agencies. This was the right thing to do. However, their failure to include the office of the Attorney-General in these discussions is the fount of the current public uproar. This was an unfortunate omission the governors should regret and seek to remedy. However, the conceptual merits and positive functional aspects of Amotekun should not be tainted by this procedural defect.

“While the Attorney-General is a conscientious public servant, he is also human. Not having been consulted, he was suddenly faced with an unexpected public announcement regarding a matter within his official ambit. He likely feared the failure to consult him meant that federal prerogatives were being encroached. To blame him for this conclusion would be to blame human nature itself. Though his negative reaction was understandable it was also unhelpful.

“The Attorney-General acted hastily in rendering a public statement that was more inaccurate than it should have been. Amotekun was never proposed as a “defence” agency; the Attorney-General erred in using this description. The use of uniforms and brightly coloured vehicles may not be the best ideas but they do not render Amotekun a defence agency or paramilitary group any more than a designated school van carrying uniformed students constitutes a paramilitary deployment.

“Believing the governors had crossed the line, the Attorney-General should have reached out to them. Before going public, he should have sought a private meeting so that he could have a better factual understanding of Amotekun. This would have enabled him to give the governors any specific constitutional or other objectives he might have. In this way, the two sides would have engaged in private consultations to reach agreement on the way forward. This cooperative process might have helped to correct some of the organisational lapses above identified. Such a diplomatic and wise step also would have prevented the current public acrimony now surrounding the issue.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR RESOLUTION

“This matter cannot be resolved on the pages of newspapers or by attributing negative motives to either side. The best way to resolve this is still for the two sides to enter private discussions. Either the governors should seek an official but private meeting with the Attorney-General, or the Attorney-General can initiate the contact. Since Amotekun is their initiative, the governors bear the greater onus in seeking the meeting.

“The meeting will initiate further discussion on how to resolve what appears to be a misunderstanding caused by an unfortunate lack of communication. Remedy the gap in communication and the misunderstanding will begin to disappear.

Last, I again stress to well-intentioned Nigerians to shun those who employ heated language to inflame emotions. It does us no good to rush toward exaggerated statements that suggest calamity of the highest order. Don’t allow yourselves to be fodder for those who seek to divide us.

“The fabric of the Republic has not been put at stake by Amotekun. However, that fabric could be torn by the dangerous rhetoric of those who should know better. Those claiming that this limited, inoffensive addition to security threatens the Republic have taken themselves upon a madcap excursion. Those claiming that the Federal Government seeks to terribly suppress the Southwest have also lost their compass. Those who occupy these two extremes have sunken into the dark recesses of fear and political paranoia that can undo a nation if such sentiments are allowed to gestate.

“We are one nation, 200 million strong with 36 states and a great complex of federal authority residing in dozens of federal ministries and agencies. If everyone is allowed their democratic expression, there are bound to be disagreements. This is inherent in the federal structure. Nations that have practiced federalism much longer than us still frequently debate over where the line between state and federal power is to be drawn. They have hundreds of court cases each year on this very issue. Yet they do not attack each other as we do. We must all learn to be more restrained and judicious in our reactions when such disagreements arise.

“Before leaping from our seats to lift our voice to the high rafters in profound indignation, we first would be wise to properly discern the situation. We must ascertain whether it merely is a tempest in a teapot or whether our house and all its teapots are swirling in a real tempest. Despite the ominous headlines and heated talk, an objective analysis points more clearly to the former than the latter. The resolution of this matter is not beyond us if only we allow ourselves to be the democrats that our better conscience and the very documents of our national existence call us to be.

“In trying to help resolve this matter, I have initiated communication with the Chairman of the South West Governors’ Forum, Arakunrin Rotimi Akeredolu, with a view to meeting the South West governors to explore amicable solutions to the avoidable controversy. I am sure that, at the end of it all, peace, security, and progress shall reign in our nation. Thank you.”



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OPEC, AEC applaud Putin for reappointing Novak - ITREALMS

ITREALMS: 

The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is leading oil and gas stakeholders to applaud the reappointment of Alexander Novak as the Russian Energy Minister by President Vladimir Putin, reports ITREALMS.

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, ITREALMS gathered appointed a new cabinet, keeping key ministers, including Novak.

Also on applause table is the African Energy Chamber (AEC) who welcomed the reappointment of Minister Novak reputed for supporting the establishment of new alliances with Africa and believed this move signals the potential for further cooperation for Russia and Africa.

“Minister Novak has ensured that African companies have a seat at the table, built partnerships and pushed President Putin’s mission to broaden and strengthen relationships with Africa,” said Executive Chairman of the African Energy Chamber, NJ Ayuk. “The African Energy Chamber has always enjoyed a good relationship with him and the Russian energy sector and, we look forward to furthering our collaboration,” he said.

Having maintained his seat as energy minister since 2012, Novak’s reappointment is received as the Kremlin’s commitment to the continuation of the OPEC+ strategy which has already seen Russian companies benefit from bilateral cooperation with OPEC member states and boosted oil prices.

"Alexander Novak has emerged as the reliable and dependable bridge between OPEC and non-OPEC in the Declaration of Cooperation. He has earned the respect and admiration of all participating countries in the OPEC+ group," said H.E. Mohammad Sanusi Barkindo, Secretary General of OPEC. Adding that, “His reappointment as Russia’s Energy Minister at this crucial juncture will further strengthen the collaboration with OPEC in our noble course to maintain oil market stability in the interest of producers, consumers and the global economy.”

Nenye Dom/Editor

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Flutterwave closes $35m series B - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Nigerian-based payments technology company with operations in Africa, Flutterwave, that it has closed a $35m Series B from a consortium of strategic investors. The round was co-led by Greycroft and eVentures with additional participation from CRE Venture Capital, WorldPAY FIS, VISA, Green Visor and Endeavor, reports ITREALMS.

Flutterwave connects the African continent to the world at large by providing the easiest and most reliable payment solutions for businesses around the globe. To date, Flutterwave has processed 100 million transactions valued at over $5.4 billion globally for clients including Uber and Booking.com.

“We’re helping businesses in Africa and globally accept payment and to scale by being the payment technology that connects Africa to the world,” says Flutterwave founder and CEO, Olugbenga “GB” Agboola. “We have built a technology infrastructure that is steadily being recognized as the bridge to connect the payment system. We are excited to be working with our newest commercial partners, Visa and FIS, and investors to build the dominant payments platform in Africa.”

With the latest round of funding, Flutterwave will continue to provide innovative solutions to businesses that want to facilitate payments seamlessly. The company’s core offering provides a frictionless payment solution for merchants, banks, and consumers and simplifies how payments are made and accepted.

The new funding will be used to support its expansion across Francophone and North Africa as part of its mission to connect Africa to the world as well as drive efforts to boost market share in existing markets.

On the back of the latest round of funding, Flutterwave has signed commercial agreements with Visa and FIS. The agreement with FIS will allow the global financial technology provider to offer the Flutterwave solution as part of Worldpay from FIS payment solutions to its merchant clients in Africa. Flutterwave is a 2016 graduate of the FIS FinTech Accelerator programme.

Additionally, the company’s new partnership with Visa aims to scale its consumer payments service, Barter, through Visa’s QR code payments, card issuance, and global payment processing channels - enabling efficient service delivery to over 85,000 businesses already using Flutterwave and rapidly growing Barter’s base users. The partnership increases access to digital commerce for African consumers and connects them to the rest of the world with Visa virtual card.

Nenye Dom/Editor

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Turbulence looms @DBI as board chair, Titi Omo-Ettu resigns - ITREALMS

Exclusive@ITREALMS:

The chairman of governing board of the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI), Engineer Titi Omo-Ettu has resigned with foreseeable turbulence in the institute, ITREALMS can authoritatively report.

He was appointed in October 2018 as board chairman for DBI.

Confirming the latest development to ITREALMS, Omo-Ettu, a former president of the Association of Telecommunication Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) and founder, The Cyberschuul, disclosed he submitted a letter of resignation from DBI board on Monday, January 20, 2020.

“I resigned my appointment as Chairman of The Digital Bridge Institute yesterday,” he revealed, insisting that there is no crisis whatsoever but of personal evolution to once again join forces with stakeholders to save DBI for the industry.

“Not for reason of any crisis but for strategic reasons to ultimately protect the Institute,” he maintained.

Sources close to Omo-Ettu noted that in his characteristic, foresaw a turbulence in the Communication and Technology industry in the country with some interests likely using DBI as cannon fodder and the telecom engineer may not love to be found wanting.

Omo-Ettu, a managing consultant of Telecom Answers Associates and founder of The Cyberschuul, and publisher of CyberschuulNews.com, pointed out that he wanted to save the situation by opting out.

“In order to save it, I have opted to step out and fight its cause, for which I was invited there to do in the first place, from outside using my private resources. Irony, isn't it?” he asserted.

ALSO READ: NCC names Titi Omo-Ettu board chair, Digital Bridge Institute - ITREALMS

Omo-Ettu, ITREALMS gathered, took a similar step some decades ago as a young professional when he quitted his job then at the Nigerian Telecommunications plc (NITEL), which invariably led to setting up of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and sundry Nigerian Communications Act.

ITREALMS recalls that in 1990, Omo-Ettu opted out of NITEL to become advocate for the industry and before long in 1992 NCC was established, therefore, he seemingly have a track record.

Engr. Omo-Ettu, ITREALMS gathered was born July 14, 1949 in Ijebu-Ode, Ogun State. He received his secondary education at Adeola Odutola College, Ijebu Ode, Ogun State in (1963-1967) and proceeded to University of Lagos where he graduated with B.Sc degree in Electrical Engineering (1968-1973) and participated in Telecom Executive Management, Institute of Canada in 1990.

His professional career has an active link with telecommunications engineering, management and development that dates back to 1974. Omo-Ettu belonged to the pioneering set that served the Nigerian Youth Service Corps in Bauchi (then North Eastern State).

He commenced an engineering training with Department of Posts and Telecommunications, P& T and by mid-1980s he rose on his career role, which saw him serve as District Engineer/Manager, Territorial Manager, Project Manager/Contracting Officer, Senior Manager, National Network Maintenance and Senior Manager Network Planning respectively.

He retired from public service under then NITEL and in his passion pursued inspiring career in private practice and particularly in the change of the telecommunications landscape in Nigeria and globally too.

Today, he is a Telecommunications Consultant, Trainer and Publisher with focus on developmental processes. He has been Consultant to NCC, from its inception in 1993 to date serving the Commission in the areas of industry studies and research, universal service plans, and internet applications. He offers similar services to other private sector clients.

He is a recipient of several honours and awards from professional, trade and regulatory bodies such as Council for the Regulation of Engineering in Nigeria (COREN), Council for Computer Professionals Regulation in Nigeria (CPN), The Nigerian Society of Engineers, (NSE) The Nigerian Institute of Management, (NIM), and Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria, (ATCON). He served all these bodies at Council level.

A certified COREN engineer, Titi Omo-Ettu is fellows of the Nigerian Society of Engineers, Telecom Executive Management Institute of Canada to name a few.

Remmy Nweke/DoP

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Re: ‘On the matter of Gotel expatriates’ by John Chiahemen - ITREALMS

Commentary@ITREALMS:

My attention has been drawn to a publication in The News/PM News and Sahara Reporters online news sites, both of January 16, 2020, captioned ‘On the matter of Gotel Expatriates’ (“the publication”). In the publication, Paul Ibe, the Media Adviser to Gotel’s Founder, His Excellency Atiku Abubakar, made some false and libelous allegations against my person to which I am compelled to respond in order to correct the misrepresentations and misinformation contained therein.

In the publication, it was alleged that I, John Chiahemen, was given a free hand by the founder and board of Gotel Communications Ltd and Gotel Africa Media Ltd (Gotel) to run the affairs of the companies, that requisite resources, as requested by me were made available; that by 2016, there were concerns that the Chiahemen management was only long in promises and short in performance, prompting the then board to empanel an adhoc visitation committee to examine the state of the company and that the findings of that committee were damning.

It was further alleged in the publication that the visitation committee recommended the need for a comprehensive audit of the company; that the audit revealed serious fiduciary infractions by the Chiahemen led management; that further to the audit report, a board meeting was convened to consider the auditor’s report; that before that meeting of the board, Mr. John Chiahemen bolted and has refused to make himself available to account for the huge resources put under his charge.

The publication also stated that “for the avoidance of doubt, the funds dedicated to the payment of salaries of staff, both local and expatriates that were engaged by Chiahemen himself were made available to him. All those concerned are advised to contact Mr. Chiahemen accordingly.”

The publication concluded by stating that on the 14th day of December 2016, a formal petition on alleged breach of trust, fraud and misappropriation of funds against me was filed at the FCIID (Interpol) for investigation and advised that I make myself available to give account of all monies allegedly put under my charge during my tenure as the MD/CEO of Gotel.

I wish to inform the general public that the allegations levelled against me in the said publication are false, malicious, and a carefully orchestrated attempt to tarnish my image. I am talking with my lawyers with a view to seeking appropriate legal redress against the authors of the publication but in the meantime, I have responded below to the specific allegations made against me in the said publication.

Funds meant for the payment of Gotel staff salaries (local and expatriate) were not made available to me.

1. In the publication it was alleged that “the funds dedicated to the payment of salaries of staff, both local and expatriates that were engaged by Chiahemen himself were made available to him. All those concerned are advised to contact Mr. Chiahemen accordingly.”

2. The allegation that funds meant for the payment of salaries of both local and expatriates staff of Gotel were made available to me is not only false but also malicious. For the record, I was not the Group Financial Director or Group Financial Controller of Gotel. To be clear, funds dedicated to the payment of salaries of staff were not in my custody. The Group Financial Controller was the paymaster in all matters of funds relating to the Gotel Africa Project. Payroll and operational funds were provided on a month-by-month basis, when they were, by the Financial Controller and my management merely disbursed them.

3. I am aware that prior to my unceremonious removal as the Managing Director, payment of salaries had become difficult since mid-2015, and the Group Financial Controller had informed management on several occasions that this was due to the downturn in Nigeria’s economy. Consequently, management did not renew contracts for international staff when they came to an end and others agreed to cut theirs short and leave by the end of 2015.

4. The Financial Controller and the Company Secretary have made repeated promises to these former staff since mid-2015 that the arrears would be paid, and my physical presence has never been necessary to verify any payments. Indeed, I am in the same class as the other members of staff hired to launch Gotel Africa international news channel as I am also owed salary in arrears of several months.

I am not aware of any audit report on my management neither was I ever questioned in connection with the purported audit.

5. In relation to the purported audit committee report, let me state firstly, that the purported audit referred to in the Press Release, if it exists, was a vindictive charade carried out after my removal. I have not been presented with or asked to respond to any queries relating to any audit while it was in progress or thereafter. I am not privy to the content of the speculated audit report or called upon to render account.

6. As I have further explained below, the so-called visitation panel was a vindictive and scapegoating exercise that had nothing to do with Gotel Africa but with the break down and rot of equipment at the Yola station over the years before the arrival of my management team.

7. Contrary to the publication, I did not ‘bolt and refuse to make myself available to account for the [alleged] huge resources put in my charge’. I was away on sick leave. The Chairman of the Board was notified of my trip and acknowledged my notification. In my absence, a Board meeting was held in Yola during which I was unceremoniously removed, and an acting Managing Director named to take over. The assertion that I had bolted is totally false and malicious as key Board members knew exactly where I was and were in written and telephone communication with me throughout.

I am not aware of any petition against me written to the FCIID or to any other law enforcement agency.

8. Relatedly, I am unaware of any petition written to the FCIID (Interpol) against me as I have not been invited by any law enforcement agency on any of the false allegations levelled against my person. All Gotel Africa Management’s financial transactions were made through the bank and the bank statements are available. Required funds to float the buildup of the international TV network for which international professionals were hired were never released by the Group Financial Controller even when approved by the Board of Directors and the Founder.

9. To emphasize “funds dedicated to the payment of salaries of staff “were not in my custody. All the former international staff, including myself, received a statement of salary arrears from the Company Secretary long after I had left Gotel.

Gotel management under me performed well within the resources that we had. The management under me was not “… long in promises and short in performance…” as alleged.

10. The allegation that there were concerns that the Gotel management under me was “only long in promises and short in performance” is a wrong projection of my management team, as it is on record that we successfully put Gotel on international satellite with footprint across Africa, the Middle East and parts of Western Europe before the license deadline of May 20, 2015. We turned a local station in Yola into a national channel via the DTT platform of CONSAT, and Gotel could for the first time, be watched in Abuja, Lagos, Ibadan, Port Harcourt and other major cities. The Founder’s residence in Abuja was the first live connection in Abuja. The NBC also included Gotel on its trial national digital service from Jos that was due to be extended to Abuja. All these services have been shut down because key satellite carriers cut Gotel off for nonpayment of platform fees.

11. All the achievements of my management were in spite of the lack of proper project funding. My management submitted a detailed project plan for the rollout of the 24- hour international channel in Abuja and refurbishment of the provincial station in Yola, with costs and implementation timelines, in November 2013. This was approved by the Board the same month and the author of the Press Release was a member of the Board. No funds were ever released for the proposal despite repeated pleas and delegations by the management and the Board to the Founder. This fact is verifiable from Gotel’s bank statements which show that the project for the rollout of the international station and refurbishment of Yola was not funded. My management’s revenue forecasts were conditioned to project funding.

12. The poor state of the facilities at the Yola station was an inherited condition from previous management and repeated requests by my management team for funds for the repairs and maintenance were ignored. The so-called visitation panel was a vindictive and scapegoating exercise that had nothing to do with Gotel Africa but with the break down and rot of equipment at the Yola station over the years before the arrival of my management team. My Management’s proposals with costs for repairing the equipment were not funded. A key member of the so-called visitation panel was the previous Chief Executive of Gotel under whose management the equipment had been neglected. He had been summarily removed as Chief Executive only to be appointed to the Board.

13. This misrepresentation and falsehood contained have been propagated by Gotel as far back as 2016 and it has caused serious damage to my profession, reputation, character and solid reputation as a renowned and veteran international journalist with a track record spanning more than 40 years. I have held editorial management roles with Reuters, running bigger budgets and multicultural staff.

14. In view of the foregoing, I would like to inform the general public that the publication was part of an orchestrated campaign of calumny dating back to 2016 aimed at damaging my hard-earned professional and personal reputation, character and to bring me into public odium, obloquy, infamy, scandal, scorn and contempt. While I am taking legal advice from my lawyers with a view to seeking appropriate legal redress against the publishers of the defamatory material, I would urge the general public, family, friends and well-wishers to disregard same.

John N. Chiahemen

International Media Professional



January 21, 2020

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FirstBank lifts education sector with N10bn schools' loan - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Premier financial services provider, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, has drummed support for the education sector with N10 billion schools' loan in the last one year, reports ITREALMS.

The Bank’s support is carried out through its FirstEdu product, an educational solution created to enhance the educational facilities in schools with a view to improving the quality of education across the country.

FirstEdu loan is targeted at private Nursery, Primary and Secondary schools to assist the schools in achieving their desired growth in the medium and long-term. The product provides funding to replace old furniture and equipment, pay staff salaries, purchase brand new or fairly-used buses as well as refurbish dilapidated buildings and classroom blocks. With this product, school owners/proprietors can stay ahead to make learning easy and conducive for students.

The product enables the schools to access facilities with no tangible collateral, apart from domiciliation of school fees account with the Bank.

On the other hand, FirstEdu portal is a modular and robust web-based enterprise portal that enables Tertiary educational institutions manage academic, administrative, professional, logistics and payment challenges.

The product features and benefits include; e-Learning, virtual library and facilitation of exchange programmes with foreign educational institutions; academic & student events/time-table/calendar management; school fees payment via the internet; online information and result checking; interactive community forum between students and teachers. 

"It also affords applicants the opportunity of enrolling from the comfort of their homes or any location around the world; no licensing, installation and maintenance cost and plugs avenues for revenue leakages amongst others.

According to Chuma Ezirim, Group Executive, e-Business & Retail Products, First Bank of Nigeria Limited, “With FirstEdu, private schools across the various tiers of education in Nigeria; elementary, secondary and tertiary, have the right tool to boost their business to the level they desire. We are pleased to have already disbursed over N10 billion loans to schools in one year and we would continue to support growth in this key sector of our economy.”

“At FirstBank, we identify with the impact of the educational sector on the socio-economic activities of the country and importantly the lives of everyone. We remain committed to supporting schools as education is the core and root factor at enabling growth of our economy” he concluded.

He advised those interested in the right educational solutions to give your school a boost, "visit the FirstBank branch nearest to you or contact us on our social media channels; @firstbanknigeria on Instagram; @firstbankngr on twitter and FirstBankofNigeriaLimited on Facebook."

Uj. N. Dominic/Editor

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Pingle offers 1 month free calls - ITREALMS

ITREALMS: 

As part of plans to celebrate its 5 million users on Google Play, Pinngle Messenger is giving away free minutes for its users to make international calls to landlines or mobile numbers in the U.S and Canada via Pinngle-out starting from January 21, 2020, till February 29, 2020, reports ITREALMS.

Pinngle, ITREALMS gathered, is a free messaging app that allows users to communicate safely and securely through text and high-quality voice and video calls among Pinngle to Pinngle users. 

The company’s mission is to build a better-connected world by making the highest standards of quality, reliability, and privacy accessible to everyone.

For an entire month, all Pinngle users will have the opportunity to make free 5-minute Pinngle-out calls per week from anywhere in the world to the U.S or Canada.

ITREALMS also gathered that the person using this free service will need to have an internet connection or data usage to make the call, however, the person receiving the call does not need to have Pinngle installed on their phone or even an internet connection.

Nenye Dom/Editor

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Janngo dangles N24bn on tech startups for SDGs - ITREALMS

ITREALMS:

Janngo Capital Startup Fund is dangling the sum of €60m, about N24,139,583,166.97, Venture Capital endowment dedicated to financing tech-enabled startup accelerating progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Africa, reports ITREALMS.

This came on the heels of a €15m anchor invested by the European Investment Bank into Janngo.

Disclosing this on the eve of its participation to the 50th World Economic Forum, the Executive Chair of Janngo and Managing Partner of Janngo Capital, Fatoumata BA, pledged €60 million to back technology startups with a double bottom line approach through its dedicated investment vehicle Janngo Capital Startup Fund.

The fund, Fatoumata said, is a first of its kind Venture Capital & Impact vehicle investing from seed through growth stage across Africa and targeting at least 50 per cent of startups founded, co-founded or benefiting women.

Also, Fatoumata said, this initiative is part of Janngo’s broader commitment on financing the SDGs in Africa, as a member of the Goalkeepers Community and the Global Future Council on the New Economic Agenda of the World Economic Forum.

“Entrepreneurship, a powerful engine to provide decent economic opportunities and create jobs in Africa,” Fatoumata said.

ITREALMS gathered that on the African continent, about 3 million jobs are created annually when at least 20 to 30 million jobs will be needed to absorb its fast growing labour force in the coming years.

Based on the aforementioned context, Fatoumata noted that unlocking entrepreneurship is a critical lever to massively increase the supply of decent jobs and bridge the unemployment gap, both in the formal or informal sector.

“In 2050, we’ll be roughly 2.2 billion people in Africa, which means that we need to find now massive ways to feed, educate, house, care for and employ more than 1 billion people in less than 30 years. We believe traditional development models have failed because they were unbalanced and unsustainable either only focusing on commercial returns or too heavily aid-based : our thesis strikes the right balance between delivering solid returns to our investors while being socially accountable, solving key market failures and leveraging technology to help leapfrog development. 

"That's our ikigai, our reason for being, as Janngo means “Tomorrow” or “Future” in Fulani.” Fatoumata pointed out.

Chuks Egbune/Editor

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Supreme Court Ruling: Ihedioha can still be governor - ITREALMS

Commentary@ITREALMS: 

It is no longer news that in line with last week’s decision of the Supreme Court, Senator Hope Uzodinma is now the Imo State governor.

Having decided that the exclusion of certain votes in his favour during the collation of votes at the last governorship election in the state was illegal, the Apex Court went ahead to add the said votes which saw to the victory of the new governor.

Uzodinma was promptly sworn in. His immediate predecessor, Emeka Ihedioha who had earlier been declared as the duly elected governor by the electoral body had to step down.

Before doing so, Ihedioha did not forget to make the point that although he did not agree with what he described as an unfair and unjust ruling, he had “no option but to respect the outcome of the judgment.” A cursory look at various media platforms shows that Ihedioha’s viewpoint is generally shared by a cross section of Nigerians.

Bearing in mind that the ruling was made by the nation’s highest judicial authority – the Supreme Court, everyone appears to believe that there is really nothing left for Ihedioha to rely upon for some hope. There are grounds for this position, the most prominent is that the Supreme Court is the last court of the land; meaning that after it, no other court is available to a party for further action. In other words, the situation is not like what happens in the lower courts when a party can proceed on appeal to a higher court where he is dissatisfied with a judgment.

Again, there is the understanding that in order to avoid a situation where a case may never end, the same court is not expected to review its rulings after delivering its judgment. Put differently, a Court cannot sit as an appellate Court over its decision. It is this idea, that a Court has no business returning to a case it has already concluded that makes many people think the end of Ihedioha’s case has come.

For this reason, some analysts have condemned the call by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the Supreme Court to reverse itself in the Imo case. The only thing in our view that is wrong with the position of the PDP is the intemperate diction employed at the press conference where the call was made. Otherwise, the rule that a court cannot reverse itself is not absolute. To revisit a case already settled has happened many times before.

Almost 50 years ago, we had the case of Johnson v Lawanson (1971) 7 NSCC 82 where the Supreme Court found cause to overrule itself. In that case, Justice G.B.A Coker of the Apex Court made the point that “when the court is faced with the alternative of perpetuating what it is satisfied is an erroneous decision which was reached per incuriam and will, if followed, inflict hardship and injustice upon the generations in the future or of causing temporary disturbances of rights acquired under such a decision, I do not think we shall hesitate to declare the law as we find it.”

What the above implies is that the convention that Courts do not reverse themselves has exceptions; one of which is that a party is allowed to seek a revisit of a decided case if the decision was arrived at by fraud or deceit or in earnest, when there are clerical errors in the judgment. From the little that has been made public about the Imo judgment, it is obvious that the election has been accorded more votes than the number of voters accredited to vote – an anomaly that is made more visible by the current arrangement in which accreditation and voting are merged. However, the number of votes scored in an election can be lower than the number accredited where some ballots are found to be invalid

The decision of the Supreme Court in the Imo governorship case that the exclusion of certain votes was illegal because it was done by unauthorized officials cannot be faulted; it is in actual fact a point to be saluted if we must put an end to our history of rancorous elections. But if the addition of the controversial votes creates mathematical errors as we now have, the court ought to correct such clerical error, accidental slip or omission.
That is probably what any person would regard as the ordinary meaning of Order 8 Rule 16 of the Supreme Court Rules which creates an exception to the rule that a court cannot revisit its own ruling. Thus, nothing in our view stops Emeka Ihedioha from pointing out the apparent error occasioned by the addition of the voting figures approved by the court. All he needs to do is to present an application to the court for the correction of the error in computing the votes and not to seek an appeal. In other words, Ihedioha must not go to Court to seek a reversal of his case as Andy Uba was wrongly persuaded to do in the Anambra governorship election in 2007. Ihedioha should stop at correcting errors.

In truth, if the Supreme Court had averted her mind to the absurdity of the figures we are now seeing, she would have seen with relative ease, some wisdom in the earlier rejection by the electoral body of obviously concocted figures which Nigerian politicians are expert of. She would have realized that allowing the figures would do incalculable damage to our electoral and democratic system.

This is why we call on the Supreme Court to, on its own, without the prompting of a party correct the obvious error which would not derogate from its credibility because although the court is final, its members are not infallible; they are human. This is our own understanding of what the late legend, Chukwudifu Oputa meant when he said many years back while referring to those of them in the Supreme Court that “we are final not because we are infallible, rather we are infallible because we are final.”

What would make the finality of our Apex Court to be greatly cherished is where the Court is not only fair and just but where it also adopts an approach which allows errors to be corrected. If the truth must be told, such respect for the Court or what may be better described as public perception of our Supreme Court at this point in time is rather low.

One way of reversing the trend is for the Court to embrace substantial rather than technical justice as its priority and to revisit a case whose judgment is laced with errors. Otherwise, a judgment that no one would comfortably follow in future would be a great attack on the doctrine of judicial precedent. The judgment in the Imo governorship case, which has approved more votes than voters has all the potentials of serving as a bad case. It should be promptly corrected.

*Contributed by Tonnie Iredia, and first published in Vanguard.

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