Binder1 by GLOBAL MEDIA MIRROR LIMITED

Tribunal verdicts: PDP summons emergency national caucus meeting

Tribunal sacks Rivers’ Speaker, 20 lawmakers

Group warns Metuh against inciting statement

OBIORA IFOH ABUJA

Metuh

Vol. 5 N0. 1230

ational leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party,

PDP, has summoned an emergency meeting of its national caucus to discuss what it called “current onslaught against the party

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

and its candidates in the last general elections, by the APC-led Federal Government.” The caucus meeting CONTINUED ON PAGE 5>>

P.5

Wike

National Mirror Online

@NationalMirror

N150

How 40-year-old Enitan st emerged 51 Ooni A BOLADALE BAMIGBOLA OSOGBO

…to arrive Ife, proceed to Ilofi for 21 days

key actor in the process that led to the emergence of a 40-year-old Prince Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi as the new Ooni of Ife yesterday shed light on some factors considered before his choice was arrived at. Osun State Government CONTINUED ON PAGE 2>>

FG fines MTN N1.02trn over SIM cards’ disconnection infraction P.4

Former National Security Adviser, Col. Dasuki Sambo (second right), at the Federal High Court after appearing for his trial in Abuja, yesterday.

ADVERT HOTLINES For advert bookings and information, please contact: LAGOS 01-8446073, 08113947415 08113947419 08113947420 08113947422 ABUJA 08113947421 PORT HARCOURT 08113947418 OGBESE 08113947424

NCAA says airpspace remains open, meets unions in Abuja P.6

FG files fresh charges against Dasuki, seeks secret trial Begs for release of travelling document to go for medical check-up P.2

FUNAAB students protest female colleague’s death

P.7

News

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

FG files fresh charges against Dasuki, seeks secret trial DOOSUUR IWAMBE ABUJA

ederal Government yesterday applied to the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja for a secret trial of former National Security Adviser, NSA, Col. Sambo Mohammed Dasuki (rtd) in the criminal charge of unlawful possession of firearms and money laundering preferred against him. The government also filed fresh charges against the ex-NSA, which now include alleged retention of funds which formed part of the proceeds of an unlawful act contrary to section 15 (2)(d) of Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011. Dasuki, who was escorted to the court by three former civilian governors and a retinue of former ministers and top government functionaries pleaded not guilty to the fresh 5 – count charge as against the earlier one count charge. He was allowed bail in the previous term by Justice Adeniyi Ademola. However, in a motion on notice argued by the prosecution counsel Mr. Shuaibu Labaran, the Federal Government applied to the court to grant secret trial of the ex security chief for security of witnesses billed to testify against the accused. The application was brought pursuant to section 36(4) of the 1999 constitution and section 232 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act 2015. Among others, the prosecution sought order to direct that names and address of all its witnesses should not be disclosed in any record or report of proceedings that may be accessible to the public and that the witnesses be permitted to use pseudo name in the course of proceedings. The order should also grant the witnesses access to a non-public route to and from the court premises and court rooms as well as to allow them use private witnesses’ room.

Apart from lawyers and accredited newsmen, the prosecution asked the court not to al-

low any member of the public to witness the trial and that the witnesses be permitted to wear fa-

cial masks while giving evidence against the ex NSA. Labaran submitted

that the case would suffer setback because the witnesses will not testify without secret trial for

fear of reprisal from undisclosed sources. However, counsel to CONTINUED ON PAGE 5>>

President Muhammadu Buhari (sixth left); representative of Director-General, World Health Organisation/Regional Director for Africa, Dr Matshidiso Moeti (fifth left); Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Health, Dr Linus Awute (fouth right); National Chairman, Association of Polio Survivors of Nigeria, Mr Misbahu Lawan-Didi (on wheel chair), and other Partners in the Fight Against Polio in Nigeria, after a meeting with President Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, yesterday.

How 40-year-old Enitan emerged 51st Ooni CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

had in the early hours of yesterday announced the choice of Prince Enitan Ogunwusi from the Ojaja family unit of the Giesi Ruling House as Ooni designate. Giesi ruling house last occupied the throne of Ooni when the revered warrior, Derin Ologbenla, reigned in the late 18th century. Speaking to newsmen at the residence of Pa Ropo Ogunwusi, the father of the new monarch, Chairman of Ife Central Local Government Area, Dr. Taiwo Olaiya, said kingmakers and all political office holders in Ile-Ife arrived at his choice after considering some qualities that stand him out among the 43 princes that vied for the vacant stool. Olaiya said the new Ooni’s impressive records in the field of business endeared him to all the people involved in the selection process, adding that the need to quickly industrialise the ancient city and provide jobs for many youths was consid-

ered in his choice. He added that Ogunwusi’s understanding of the Yoruba culture, despite being widely travelled and generosity, even when he had not shown interest in becoming Ooni also worked in his favour. According to him, Enitan Ogunwusi also displayed unmatched humility and calmness that was hard to come by among all the contestants, saying the fact that the business tycoon made his money without being linked to any political party or government also counted in his favour. In his remarks, father of the Ooni-designate, Pa Ropo John Ogunwusi, said before his birth, a man of God had predicted that Enitan will be great in life and achieve unprecedented success. Pa Ogunwusi, who retired at Osun State Broadcasting Corporation, OSBC, added that he started noticing pointers to the coming into fruition of the prophesies when Enitan started making headway in business.

He told newsmen that he had ceased being his father the moment he was announced as Oonidesignate. Speaking to newsmen inside Ile Oodua, Ooni’s palace, head of Isoro Cult, who is also leader of all deities in Ife land, the Obadio Oduduwa, Oba Olajide Ifaloba, said the emergence of Ooni Enitan Ogunwusi was “divine”. He appealed to those that contested the throne with him to see his choice as “product of grace”, even as he demanded for total support from all stakeholders in the town in the interest of peace. Ifaloba allayed fears that human sacrifice may be done as part of rites before the installation of the new monarch. He added that rites that would be performed would be done mostly at nights. He said: “We rejoice with him and thank the creator for giving us a monarch in his class. Those that vied for the throne with him must now see Oba Enitan as

father that must be supported to lift Ife. “We pray for him a long life and good health to administer the town and the entire Yoruba land.” Commenting in similar vein, Chief Olaolu Dada, Arole Obatala Agbaye, said the announcement of Ooni designate signalled commencement of new set of rites that must be performed before the new monarch can sit on the throne. He said the spirit of the late Ooni, Oba Okunade Sijuade was still lurking around the palace, saying it must be chased out first to allow the new monarch have a peaceful reign. He however urged all residents and visitors to the town not to panic, stressing that all rites that would be performed would not affect businesses or movements within Ife metropolis. Giving insights into how the new monarch would be installed, Oba Isoro, Eluyele Olawenu, Owa Eredumi of Ife, said the first step, after his royal entrance into

the town today, would be for him to proceed to his father’s compound from where he would move to Ilofi where rites would be performed for 21 days. Oba Eluyele, who declined giving detailed information about the rites said, the new Ooni would have spent three months in Ilofi before his installation, but explained he would only spend 21 days instead because of the forthcoming Olojo Festival. Oba Joseph Ijaodola, the Lowa of Ife and one of the two lead kingmakers, while speaking to newsmen, called on other contestants to be patient and support the new monarch. The Ooni designate, sources said, may be received at the Ife end of the Ife-Ibadan Expressway today, with an informed source saying Ifa was being consulted to determine the best day for him to enter the town. Meanwhile, heavy security presence was noticed in strategic points in Ile Ife, just as people have been trooping to the residence of Pa Ropo Ogunwusi to rejoice with him.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Photo News

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

L-R: Commercial Controller, Airtel Nigeria, Toyin Aralepo; Managing Director, Optimal Cancer Care Foundation/facilitator ot the programme, Dr. Femi Olaleye; Nollywood star and fitness instructor, Kate Henshaw and Human Resources Director, Airtel Nigeria, Gbemiga Owolabi during the Airtel Nigeria’s Breast Cancer Awareness Seminar tagged Pink October, organised for staff under the Employee Knowledge Series for October, held in Lagos, recently.

L-R: Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Lagos (UNILAG), Prof. Samuel Oni; Deputy Public Affairs Officer, United States Consulate General, Lagos, Frank Sellin; Dean, School of Postgraduate Studies, UNILAG, Prof. Solomon Akinboye and Guest lecturer, Prof. Graeme Wood, during the School of Postgraduate Studies Lecture in Lagos, yesterday.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

L-R: Cluster Head, Business Banking, Surulere, Ecobank Nigeria, Mr. Chima Nwafor; Head, Personal Banking, Ecobank Nigeria Limited, Mrs. Korede Demola-Adeniyi; Education Secretary, Surulere Local Government Authority, Lagos State, Mrs. Abeke Yetunde Fatoke and Head Teacher, Obele-Odan Nursery/Primary School, Surulere, Lagos, Mrs. Memunat Akinwunmi, during the presentation of books and learning materials to the Pupils of Obele-Odan Nursery/Primary School, Surulere, Lagos, to mark Ecobank Day in Lagos, recently.

L-R: Director, Collective Investment Schemes, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mrs. Mary Uduk; Executive Director, Business Development, The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) Mr. Haruna Jalo-Waziri;, Managing Director, Vetiva Fund Managers Limited, Mr. Damilola Ajayi and Head, Investments, Vetiva Fund Managers Limited, Mrs. Oyelade Eigbe, at the listing of Vetiva Sector Series ETFs at the Exchange yesterday.

National News

retired Deputy Inspector-General of Police, DIG, Mr. Chris Omeben, has lent his voice to the clamour for creation of state police in Nigeria. Omeben, who turns 80 on October 27, made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos yesterday. It would be recalled that for years, different state governments, groups and individuals have been clamouring for creation of state police, arguing that it would address the problems of high-profile killings, kidnappings and crimes in general. They also argue that creation of state police would help to create jobs and instill sense of security among the populace as it would enable indigenes of any community “to identify who is who.” The National Conference convoked by the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan listed the issue of creation of state police among “no go

Former DIG backs state police

areas.” Omeben said: “I was opportune to be a Deputy Inspector-General of Police and right from our days there has been this clamour. “I wholeheartedly support the creation of state police for a very simple reason that it will check incessant cases of abuse by policemen and the high and mighty in society. “Before, we had local, state police in the Eastern Region, the old Bendel State part of which is now Edo State, the Western Region and even the Northern Region and they did wonderful jobs.” The retired police chief said the clamour for state police now was because of the visible successes recorded by the local outfits then. He recalled that there was a time the police had about 40,000 personnel, “which was said to be good at that time.” With that situation,

he said, Nigerians then asked for an InspectorGeneral of Police, Deputy Inspector-General of Police and other positions. “But what is the current situation of the police? The population of the force is now over 200,000. How do you ex-

pect 200,000 people to be handled the same way 40,000 were handled? It is not possible. “I believe that every state should own a police and also have a Commissioner of Police, and we shall also have the federal police, who will have an

Inspector-General that would take care of standards. “All the forces must have the same standard and uniform all over the states but with the highest person in the state being a Commissioner of Police. “The federal police

should handle federal cases or matters which are above the state power,” he said. On the worsening cases of crime and traffic in Lagos, the former DIG said government should ban mobile shops and hawking on roads in the state.

FG fines MTN $5.2bn over SIM cards’ disconnection infraction Sylva EmEka-OkErEkE

ederal Government has fined MTN $5.2bn for failing to disconnect subscribers with unregistered and incomplete SIM cards. Already, the mobile operator’s market cap is said to stand at $26bn, while its shares were down by more than 10 per cent after the fine was announced. Africa’s largest mobile operator in a statement

disclosed that the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, imposed the fine due to timing of the disconnection of 5.1 million subscribers in August and September. “MTN Nigeria is currently in discussion with the NCC to resolve the matter in recognition of the circumstances that prevailed with regard to these subscribers,” the company said. NCC said all other telecom firms operating in

Nigeria complied with the directive, except MTN, according to Director of Public Affairs, Tony Ojobo. The regulator said MTN, whose biggest market is Nigeria, had not denied the infraction and that its enforcement team deactivated the unregistered lines to ensure compliance. “We had a directive that was given to all the networks to deactivate all unregistered SIM card on

their networks and they had enough time to do that. “We came out with all guidelines and the fine was supposed to be N200, 000 per SIM card,” Ojobo said. MTN reported a slowdown in quarterly subscriber growth last week, citing stiff competition and tougher regulation in the country. It would be noted that Nigeria contributes about a third of MTN’s sales.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

News

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Tribunal verdicts: PDP summons emergency national caucus meeting CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

will discuss the ruling of some election petitions tribunals, which did not favour the party. Its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, in a statement yesterday said: “The caucus, which will meet on Thursday, will focus on the unrelenting schemes by the APC and its Federal Government to use some unpatriotic elements in the judiciary to advance their plot to take over states won by the PDP, particularly Rivers, Akwa-Ibom, Delta, Taraba and Abia. “The national caucus meeting is in furtherance of the decision of the leadership of the party to fully activate its structures in stiff resistance to the

manipulations, coercions and threats of the APC-led government, and in line with the unbending determination by the party not to, in any way whatsoever surrender any mandate freely given it to by the people at any level across the country, no matter the pressure.” Meanwhile, a group, Governance Watch Initiative, GWI, yesterday condemned PDP and Metuh for act unbecoming of a political party. GWI, while reacting to a statement by Metuh on Sunday in which he called on members of the PDP to rise up and use all lawful means possible to resist anti democratic forces said such call was tantamount to incitement.

National Coordinator of GWI, Rotimi Ogunwuyi in a statement in Lagos warned the opposition not to cause crisis in the polity by such unguarded statement. The statement said: “We are horrified that a party that was until six months ago the ruling party in our country, and one that was in control of 27 states at a certain time, could so brazenly seek to instigate anarchy in the country simply because a duly constituted tribunal upturned the governorship election in Rivers State. “We have also noticed a series of unwarranted attacks against our nation’s judiciary by Chief Metuh and his party, an attack

that was carried to a disturbing level in Sunday’s statement. “We recall that when Chibuike Amaechi, then of the PDP, was pronounced as the Governor of Rivers State by the Supreme Court in October 2007, even when he did not contest that year’s governorship election since his name had been substituted by his party, the PDP did not think the judiciary was being used by the PDP-led Federal Government of the time. “We also recall that under the present dispensation, all the APC National Assembly candidates in Rivers, who took their cases to the election petition tribunal, lost and heavens did not fall.

“We note that Chief Metuh has always been quick to say that his party will provide a credible opposition, and wonder what is credible in the kind of subversive statements that have been emanating from the PDP spokesman in recent times. “If indeed Chief Metuh and his party believe in the rule of law, as they have often trumpeted, they would have realised that it is better to appeal any judgment they do not like than to threaten to bring the entire country crashing down on everyone. “What true democrat will resort to self-help to resolve an electoral dispute when there are clear constitutional channels to

resolve such issues? It is an interesting irony that the same Chief Metuh, who has been raving at the judiciary, is the one calling, in his statement, on the Chief Justice of Nigeria to ‘note the looming danger and save the nation’s democracy and the institution of the judiciary’. “We call on the leaders of the PDP who still believe in the tenets of democracy and the rule of law to rein in Chief Metuh before he blacklists the party and instigates chaos in the polity with his unconstrained recklessness. They should tell him there are better ways play opposition than the issuance of crude and irreverent statements.”

Tribunal sacks Rivers’ Speaker, 20 lawmakers

Cross-section of judges at the opening ceremony of the 2015/2016 FCT Legal Year in Abuja, yesterday.

FG files fresh charges against Dasuki, seeks secret trial CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

the accused, Mr. Joseph Daudu, SAN, asked the court to dismiss the application for lacking merit and for being frivolous. He told justice Ademola that the names of the witnesses were already in the public domain at the instance of the prosecution, adding that the application was

a mere academic exercise that should not be granted by the court. Justice Ademola will give ruling on the application tomorrow. The fresh charges are that the accused was on July 17, 2015 at his house, No. 13, John Khadiya Street, Asokoro, Abuja found in possession of various range of firearms with-

out requisite license, an offence punishable under section 27 (1)(a) of the Firearms Act Cap F28 LFN 2004. He was also accused of retaining $40,000, N5m and another $20,000 in the same house and same date contrary to section 15 (2)(d) of Money Laundering Prohibition Act 2011. Besides, the accused

was said to have on July 16, 2015 at his residence at Sultan Abubakar Road and Sabon Birni Road, Sokoto retained another $150,000 and N37.6m being part of proceedings of unlawful act contrary to Section 15 (3) of the Money Laundering Act 2011. Meanwhile, the accused, through his counsel has filed an ap-

plication for temporary release of his travelling documents from the court to enable him travel abroad for medical attention. The medical check-up was said to have been overdue since July but that he could not travel due to the seizure of his passport. The application will also be argued tomorrow.

ivers State House of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal, sitting in Abuja, yesterday sacked the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Owaji Ibani, and 20 other lawmakers. All the sacked lawmakers were elected at the April 11, 2015 general elections on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. It would be recalled Governor Nyesom Wike was on Saturday sacked by a tribunal under the same circumstances. Ibani was representing Andoni Constituency in the House of Assembly. Before yesterday’s ruling, there were 32 members in in House of Assembly, with PDP having 31, while APC had one. Like in the case of Wike, the tribunal cited irregularities and violence among other electoral malpractices as reasons the elections of the lawmakers were nullified. The tribunal ordered that fresh elections should be conducted by Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to fill the vacant seats.

News

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

NCAA says airspace remains open, meets unions in Abuja Olusegun KOiKi

he meeting between the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, and industry unions earlier scheduled for yesterday has been postponed till tomorrow. The meeting will now take place in Abuja. Yesterday’s meeting was to have hold in Lagos The parley, which was called last Friday at the instance of the agency, was to resolve the crisis with the unions over plans to shut down the nation’s airspace. This is as the DirectorGeneral, NCAA, Captain Muhtar Usman, insisted that the country’s airspace would continue to be opened to flights operations and called on air travellers to disregard any notice of travel ban. A statement from NCAA spokesman, Mr. Sam Adurogboye, said the postponement and shifting of the meeting to Abuja was to enable all parties to attend. Adurogboye hinted that separate meetings were held at the NCAA conference room in Lagos last Friday with the sister union, Air Transport Senior Staff Services Association of Ni-

geria, ATSSSAN, and later with the representatives of National Union of Air Transport Employees, NUATE and National Association of Aircraft Pilot and Engineers, NAAPE. He noted that it was at the Lagos meeting that an agreement was reached with NCAA management to suspend any form of industrial action and the circular to that effect was promptly circulated to all members. Speaking on the airspace closure, Usman maintained that any notice of travel ban within the country’s airspace was false, misleading and the handiwork of some mischief makers. It would be recalled that leaderships of NUATE and NAAPE had through an open letter to all its members threatened to paralyse activities in NCAA over what they described as non-adherence to condition of service with respect to promotion of workers and other welfare issues. The letter jointly signed by Secretaries General, NUATE and NAAPE, Olayinka Abioye and Aba Ocheme threatened to shut down the agency from midnight of Sunday until further notice.

Stanbic IBTC debunks FRC fraud allegations JOhnsOn OKanlawOn

tanbic IBTC Holdings yesterday debunked allegation that it has ceded its banking application rights to Standard Bank of South Africa against the directives of National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion, NOTAP. The Financial Reporting Council, FRC, had requested that Central Bank Nigeria, CBN, and Economic and Financial Crime Commission, EFCC, investigate the bank and KPMG Professional Services for financial misstatements. In a report released by the FRC yesterday, the council suspended the registration of four directors of the bank and that of its audit engagement partner, KPMG, until KPMG’s innocence is ascertained. The four directors suspended are Atedo Peterside, Sola David-Borha, Arthur Oginga and Dare Owei. But the bank described the allegations as inaccurate, unfortunate. A statement signed by Chief Executive Officer of

the bank, Mrs Sola DavidBorha, said whilst FRCN takes refuge in Regulation 21 of the Directorate of Inspection and Monitoring Guidelines Regulations 2014 for the wide publicity that it has given to its decision, Regulation 21 only applies where the panel and the entity agree that accounts are to be rectified by way of revision or restatement. The bank said: “That is not the case here, because Stanbic IBTC does not agree that its accounts are defective or require rectification. Moreover, Regulation 27 makes clear that where a reporting entity does not accept FRCN’s position, FRCN shall institute a legal action against the entity. FRCN has ignored this laid down process in preference for self-help and media publicity. “The matters that FRCN alleges to be wrong are not wrong in any material respect and many are in any event not matters of financial reporting at all, but matters of business decision and judgment for Stanbic IBTC and its board of directors.”

L-R: Founder, Kudirat Intiative for Democracy (KIND), Mrs. Hafsat Abiola-Costello; Emeritus Chairman, Punch Newspapers, Chief Ajibola Ogunshola; former Lagos State Deputy Governor, Mrs. Sarah Sosan; Son of MKO Abiola/author, Alhaji Jamiu Abiola; Publisher, Ovation International, Chief Dele Momodu and doyen of accountancy in Nigeria, Mr. Akintola Williams, during the book launch of Chief MKO Abiola, titled: “The President who never ruled”, held at Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Victoria Island, Lagos…yesterday.

CJ attributes slow dispensation of justice to shoddy investigation DOOsuur iwambe ABUJA

hief Judge of the Federal Capital Territory,FCT, High Court, Justice Ishaq Bello, yesterday attributed slow dispensation of Justice in the country to shoddy investigation by prosecuting agencies. Justice Bello, who spoke during the 2015/16 New Legal Year in Abuja, also expressed concern over inadequate usage of multidoor Courthouse saying, within the last legal year, only 67 walk-in cases and 16 court referred cases were recorded. According to the CJ, the menace of delay in the administration of justice stemming from rampant adjournment and stagnation in the prosecution of cases is frustrating many litigants. “We intend to reinforce the effect of case management techniques in our courts and the revision of our rules is ongoing in the revised rules. “We intend to dispense with procedures that rely on undue technicalities by adopting the attainment of justice as its ultimate goal. “We will substantially alter those procedural steps in civil proceedings that contribute to the perennial challenge of delay and expense. “Some far reaching measures have been introduced in the proposed rules and we hope its strict imple-

mentation would shorten the life span of the hearing,” he said. Justice Bello, however, reiterated the commitment of the FCT judiciary not to be influenced in any way by factors outside the law. “As a judiciary, we commit that our officers shall apply only the law as the constitution dictates. “As we know, the rule of law is the foundation of any society. “As such, we shall continue to do all that is necessary to meet that urge so that we can have a society that is

safe, peaceful and guarantees respect for all. “This will continue to be our goal,” he added. He gave the figure of the overall caseload in the high court for 2014/2015 legal year as 19,866, out of which 11,606 were carry over from the previous year. On disposal rates, he said, 14,969 cases were disposed, leaving a balance of 4,897. This represents 76 per cent of the case files and is highly commendable, he said. He added that the judi-

ciary shall leave no stone unturned in the new legal year to ensure that there is increase in productivity. “The judiciary must take the lead in the effort to grow this nation and set Nigeria on the path of greatness again. “What our forefathers bequeathed to us was an institution which has respect for its competence and commitment to principle of justice and equality. “Our mandate therefore is to continue on that note to surpass their achievements,” Bello added.

Nigeria to sustain fight against polio –Buhari rOtimi FaDeyi ABUJA

resident Muhammadu Buhari yesterday said Nigeria would maintain and improve surveillance system as well as raise childhood population immunity against polio virus to avoid any further spread of the disease. Buhari spoke at the Presidential Villa during a ceremony to mark the delisting of Nigeria as a polio endemic country as a first step towards certification as a polio-free nation in 2017. The event also marked more than a year in which no new polio cases were reported in the country. According to him, there would be no complacency as the Federal Government is ready to sustain the current momentum and continue to regard the campaign to de-

clare the country polio-free in the next two years as an emergency. The president stressed Federal Government’s commitment towards the achievement of a polio-free society in 2017, saying government would sustain the needed funding for operations and vaccine procurement for the programme. He added that the Presidential Taskforce on Polio Eradication would be reconstituted under the leadership of the Federal Ministry of Health to provide political direction and oversight in order to avoid complacency and relapse. The president commended vaccinators, community mobilizers, partners, parents and caregivers, who have supported the polio eradication initiative through the years. Executive Director of

National Orimary, a Health Care Development Agency, Ado Muhammad, while making presentation on polio eradication initiative said the fight against the disease in the country may face funding gaps of $155min 2016 and $249m in 2017. He explained that for the country to be certified poliofree, there should be regular meetings between the president and governors to ensure political support at all levels. In her remarks, WHO Regional Director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, who represented the Director General World Health Organisation, WHO, Dr. Margaret Chan said Nigeria would have to work hard towards total eradication of polio by ensuring that no child is paralysed by the disease.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

News

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

FUNAAB students protest female colleague’s death Femi oyeweso ABEOKUTA

undreds of students of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, FUNAAB, yesterday disrupted activities at the institution following the death of a female student identified as Atere Maria. The protesting students barricaded the main entrance to the university and prevented both the academic and non-academic

personnel of the university from gaining entry into the institution. Ogun State Chairman of National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, Dotun Opaleye, who spoke with journalists, accused the management of the university, particularly personnel of the University’s Health Center as responsible for the death of their colleague due to their negligence. National Mirror gathered that Maria, a 400 level

Okorocha clamps down on government hospitals …workers, patients locked out Chris Njoku OWERRI

t was a gory sight yesterday as workers and patients of government hospitals in Imo State were locked out by officials of Imo Security Network, ISN, following the order of the state governor, Rochas Okorocha . The general hospitals involved were among 305 health institutions in the state which the state governor concession early last month. Since then, government and labour union had been at logger ahead as the union complained of insensitivity of the government to the plight of its members who are owed over eight months salary arrears. When National Mirror visited some of the general hospital at Mberie, Mbaitoli Local Government Area, Umuguma in Owerri West LGA, Ngor Okpala LGA, and General Hospital Okigwe, workers and patients were seen discussing the matter. The officials, who arrived the hospital premises at about 12 midnight on Sunday, ordered all the staff and patients admitted in the wards out of the hospital before locking the gates. At Mberie General Hospital over 20 member of the security network, that were deployed to the hospital chased the workers and patients out of the hospital while those on duty were locked out from entering into the

hospital. A pregnant woman, Mrs. Ijiribako Chigozie, who claimed she came to the hospital for delivery, told our correspondent that she registered at the hospital. “I was given a date today (yesterday) because I am about to deliver, I am feeling somehow,” she said. Some doctors described the pregnant woman’s condition as having “Pedaroedema”(swollen legs) as a result of long time standing, adding that she was being exposed to serious danger.” Also, the state chairman, Hospital Workers Welfare Association, Imo State, Mgbemere Friday, expressed fear that the situation may worsen today (Tuesday) “because that is the day HIV patients come to take their routine treatment and many may die if they did to take their drugs as prescribed by their doctors. Speaking also, the doctor in charge of Mberie General Hospital, Dr. Christian Ojima, said that over 20 armed men arrived the hospital at about 12 midnight and ordered nurses and security guards on duty including in-patients out of the hospital that hour. Reacting, Chief Press Secretary to Governor Okorocha, Sam Onwuemeodo, said that he has not gotten the details, but insisted that the hospitals are owed by the state government.

student of Plant Physiology and Crop Production died of the injuries she sustained from an accident involving her motorcycle and another car along the Alabata campus road, few meters away from the university. Opaleye told journalists in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital that the motorcycle conveying Maria to one of the students’ hostels located around the university gate had a head-on collision with a car at around 7pm Sunday night in which the lady sustained multiple head injuries. Maria was allegedly rushed to a private hospital near the university by some

good Samaritans before leadership of the students’ union of the institution got wind of the bad news and contacted the university’s Health Center to release their ambulance van to convey the critically injured Maria. Opaleye further alleged that the university’s Health Center declined, but ordered the students to go and bring their injured colleague to the university first before the treatment could be administered on her. “The lady was bleeding seriously and for two hours medical personnel of the university’s health centre did not release the

ambulance and later we got a referral from the school health centre, but, we had to take her to the FMC with our buses. “On getting to the hospital, the doctor told us that she had died from the injuries she sustained due the fracture of the skull and we became devastated. That was the reason we embarked on the protest”. The death of Maria however, infuriated the students who blocked the gate early Monday morning, lamenting that the girls wouldn’t have died had the university’s health centre released the ambulance to convey the injured student to Federal Medical Centre,

Idi-Aba, Abeokuta. The students demanded that the university sets up a panel of enquiry to investigate the alleged negligence of the medical personnel at the university’s health center which resulted in the death of Maria. They also asked the management to compensate the family of the deceased, adding that life insurance fund they paid from the school fees should be made use of. Meanwhile, all efforts to get the reaction of the university’s Director of Public Relations, Emmy Alawode, was unsuccessful as she could not pick her phone calls till the time of filing this report.

Representative of the Chief of Army Staff, Maj.-Gen. Sanusi Muazu (seventh right); team leader, British Military Advisory and Training, Lt.-Col. Stewart Howells (fifth right); Chief of Training, Nigerian Army, Maj.-Gen. Fatai Ali (fourth right) and other participants, at the Command and Leadership Seminar for Warrant Officers and Senior non-Commissioned Officers, at Jaji in Kaduna, yesterday. PHOTO: NAN

Enugu workers slam Ugwuanyi over N11m car for appointees …demand payment of salary arrears emmaNuel ezeh ENUGU

he organised labour unions in Enugu State have slammed Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi over his decision to acquire Prado Jeeps as official vehicle for members of the State House of Assembly as well as other political appointees. The labour unions, made up of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, and the Trade Union Congress, TUC, made their feelings known yesterday. In a letter addressed

to Ugwuanyi which was made available to newsmen in Enugu, the Joint Public Service Negotiating Council condemned what it termed ‘the harvest of Prado Jeeps’ which it said does not speak well of the state in economic management at this point of economic recession. They observed that the car loan for legislators as listed by the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission, RMFC, approves N5.3m for state assembly members. In the letter signed by state chairman, Igbokwe

Igbokwe, and Theo Obasiana, Secretary, the labour group said it was unacceptable for government to buy official vehicles of over N11million when its workers were the least paid and with backlog of gratuity and pension. They warned that the government action at a time when other outstanding salaries were owed workers was a move that would generate serious industrial crisis in the state. The workers, therefore, urged the governor to as a matter of urgency implement the adjusted salary

which is captured in 2015 budget to assuage the economic tension and anger of workers. “We also call on His Excellency to pay all outstanding workers demands as what is good for the goose is also good for the gander,” they stated. Already the organised labour in the state has circulated a memo to alert workers of what it called government extravagance. It asked workers to be ready for a showdown with the government if their demands were not addressed with dispatch.

South West

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Profile of Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, 51st Ooni of Ife L

Ambode congratulates new Ooni

BOladale BamigBOla osogbo.

rince Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi was born into the family of Prince John Oluropo Ogunwusi and Margaret Wuraola of Ojaja family of Giesi ruling house of Agbedegbede Quarters in Ile-Ife, about 40 years ago. After completing his elementary and secondary schools, young Enitan attended The Polytechnic,

Ibadan, where he obtained a Higher National Diploma, HND, in Accountancy. Upon completing his higher education, Prince Enitan ventured into business and grew rapidly, becoming a successful real estate merchant. A certified member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria and the Institute of Management, Prince Enitan has been involved in engineering, procurement and

construction contracts locally and internationally for over 11 years. Some of his involvements in real estate include the development of Northern Foreshore Estate, Cityscape International Limited’s Buena Vista project in Lekki, Primewaterview Limited’s projects, Westcom Limited’s projects, and the Ajaokuta Steel and Delta Steel resuscitation projects.

At the moment, Adeyeye manages a company called Howard Roark Gardens Limited, which is undertaking the multimillion naira Jacob Mews Estate project in Yaba and Lakeview Real Estate development in Lekki. When installed, Enitan would be the first Ooni to have a living father, as all past Oonis ascended the throne after their fathers’ demise.

agos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode yesterday congratulated Prince Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi on his appointment as new Ooni of Ife. Governor Ambode in a statement signed by his chief press secretary, Mr. Habib Aruna, admonished the new monarch to see his appointment as a call to service and to uplift humanity. While charging Ogunwusi to be courageous in his decisions, Governor Ambode urged him to see the unity of the Yoruba as priority.

While congratulating the family members of the new Ooni, the Governor said they would have to bear with the demands of the job and support him morally, physically and spiritually. Ogunwusi’s appointment was announced by Osun State government in the early hours of yesterday. The new Ooni is into real estate and was involved in developing many prime estates in Lagos State. The stool became vacant following the death of Oba Okunade Sijuwade at a London hospital on July 28, 2015.

Cabinet’ll resume work this week –Amosun …swears in new HoS

reer officers, particularly the body of permanent secretarAbeokutA ies have put up at keeping the gun State Governor machinery of government Ibikunle Amosun running, explained that their yesterday disclosed burdens would be lessened that members of his cabinet, when the cabinet members which include all commis- fully resume office. sioners-designate earlier The governor, however, cleared by the House of As- swore in the new HoS with a sembly, would be sworn in charge to motivate the varibefore this week runs out. ous ministries, departments Amosun made the disclo- and agencies, MDAs, in line sure yesterday in Abeokuta, with his administration’s the state capital, during the continued “Mission to Reswearing-in ceremony of build” the state. new Head of Service, HoS, The swearing-in of AdAbraham Adeyemi, at the eyemi came barely a month executive chambers of the after former Head of Service, Governor's Office complex, Mrs. Modupe Adekunle, was Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta. pulled out of service on SepThe governor, who ac- tember 28, this year. knowledged the efforts caSpeaking further at the event, Amosun explained that the choice of the new HoS was premised on his past records in the state's public service, which he emtremendously under Oba phasized, was indicative of the fact that his administraOgunwusi. He, however, tasked the tion places emphasis on no new Ooni of Ife to continue other consideration than to maintain high sense of merit, competence, experipatriotism, unassailable pi- ence, hard work and devotion ety and sterling leadership to duty. The governor also charged qualities for which he is rethe new HoS to endeavour puted. Saraki said: "May your to block all leakages within ascension to the throne of the system of governance, your forebears mark the be- stressing that the present ginning of a new era of pros- economic realities in Nigeria perity, peace, development requires prudent manageand progress for your imme- ment of the few resources diate subjects, the Yoruba available. Amosun also implored race and the entire nation. It is my prayer that the people all the civil servants to coopof Ife and the entire Yoruba- erate with the new HoS by land would find in you a ral- giving him all needed suplying point for unity, peace port, emphasising that any and progress just like they distractions that would make did during the time of your him deviate from the arduous task should be avoided. predecessors."

Femi OyewesO

L-R: Former US Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Walter Carrington; Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode and Dr. (Mrs.) Arese Carrington, during courtesy visit to the Governor's office at the Lagos House, Ikeja, yesterday.

Saraki urges Ooni-elect to work for national unity

enate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, yesterday congratulated the Ooni of Ifedesignate, Prince Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, and advised him to concentrate on further solidifying the role of the Yoruba people in national unity. Saraki in a statement by his special adviser (Media and Publicity), Yusuph Olaniyonu, wished the Ooni-elect a long and peaceful reign, sound health and many years of service to his people. According to the Senate president, the Ooni-elect has so many things in common with the immediate past Ooni, which include but not limited to being widely

travelled, exposed, versatile, well-informed and devotion to community service. He noted that the appointment of Prince Ogunwusi could not have come at a better time. Saraki said: "I am particularly delighted that the approval of your appointment by the Governor of Osun State, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola, came at a time when the youthful zest, experience and knowledge of global best practices, which you possess in abundance are needed to move the traditional institution and most especially, the revered throne of the Ife kingdom to the next level. "I have no doubt that your present assignment would

greatly enhance the bond of unity that exists among the Yorubas as well as contribute immensely to the growth and development of our dear country." The Senate president assured the new monarch that the Senate, under his leadership, would continue to hold the traditional institution in high esteem, considering the role it plays in ensuring peaceful coexistence among the people, promotion of worthy cultural values in the society and sustenance of national traditions. He encouraged Oba-elect Ogunwusi to sustain the harmonious relationship between his subjects and other kingdoms around his domain as a way of building

on the impeccable legacies of Oba Okunade Sijuade of blessed memory. The Senate president also enjoined the new Ooni of Ife not to see his ascension to the throne of his forefathers as a mere fulfillment of a life-long ambition but rather a divine opportunity to use his vast knowledge and royal wisdom to positively improve on the wellbeing and living standard of his immediate subjects as well as uplift the glory of the Yoruba race across the continent. Saraki prayed that the legacy of peace, harmony, prosperity and steadfast progress which the Ife kingdom has witnessed so far would endure and improve

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

South West

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Cynthia: Court adjourns for adoption of written address Wale IgbIntade

L-R: Oyo State Deputy Governor Moses Adeyemo; Head, European Union Delegation to Nigeria, Amb. Micel Arrion; Acting Vice Chancellor, University of Ibadan, Prof. Emilolorun Ayelari and former President, Nigeria Economic Society, Prof. Akin Iwayemi, at a regional conference on Energy theme: Transformations in the Global Energy Industry, Setting the Agenda for Gulf of Guinea, in Ibadan, yesterday.

Crime rate: Lagos to procure three helicopters ...plans to recruit more LASTMA officials

FrancIs suberu

agos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode said his administration has concluded plans to procure three helicopters next month to combat increasing wave of crime in the state. Ambode, who spoke on a popular radio programme, said the helicopters would enable security agencies tackle criminal activities from the air, just as they would be useful in monitoring traffic and prevent gridlock in the metropolis. Ambode said he was deeply concerned about pockets of robberies in some areas

of the state in recent times, even as he expressed optimism that the helicopters would go a long way in aiding security and traffic surveillance in the state. He said the government would also boost the operation of Marine Police and the Nigerian Navy on the waterways in the state, and that various equipment and platforms would soon be presented to them. The governor also said at least 220 roads in the state have been rehabilitated in the last four months just as he mandated and empowered all the local government areas and the local council development areas, LCDAs, to construct a total of 114

roads. He assured the people of the state that his administration is working hard to build a safer, cleaner and more prosperous state for all irrespective of creed or colour. He pleaded with Lagosians to work with his administration and support him to take Lagos to the next level where there will be prosperity for all. The governor, who spoke on wide range of issues affecting the state, assured that a flyover bridge will soon be constructed at the Ajah roundabout, and that the Lagos State Public Works Corporation has equally been mandated to fix all potholes in the state both on federal,

state and local government roads to ease vehicular movement. While lamenting the situation whereby over 3, 000 tankers visit Lagos on a daily basis to lift fuel, Ambode said the population of Lagos keeps increasing, and same was due to the fact that the state is working. The governor acknowledged that the current 2,100 staff strength of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA, was not enough to effectively control traffic in the metropolis, promising however, that young graduates who are ready to be selfless will soon be employed into the agency.

$330,000 fraud: Ex-court registrar to know fate Dec 21 MattheW IrInoye

agos State High Court, Ikeja, has fixed December 21 to deliver judgment in the alleged $330,000 fraud against excourt registrar, Mrs Rosulu Idowu Oluronke. The presiding judge, Justice Lateef Lawal-Akapo, fixed the date after adoption of the final written addresses by the parties. Addressing the court, counsel to the defendant, Mr. Bamidele Ogundele, said the power of prosecution to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt was not satisfied, adding that

there was no fact that the defendant visited the prison to collect the alleged sum. Ogundele further said there was no dollars collected in prison, adding that the prosecution did not prove through documentary evidence that the defendant met Fred Ajudua and others for the purpose of obtaining money by false pretence from retired Major-General Ishaya Bamaiyi. He also said the prosecution did not produce to court any record of the defendant's visit to prison as well as documentation of the $330,000. The lawyer added that the prosecution failed to

conduct identification parade for Bamaiyi to identify the defendant. Ogundele urged the court to discharge and acquit the defendant of the allegations. However, the prosecution Mr. Seidu Atteh, who called six witnesses and tendered 10 exhibits to prove the case said that an accused person can be convicted base on confessional statement and the circumstantial evidence. Atteh, further said that the evidence of Bamaiyi who was the eye witness to the defendant collecting the alleged sum was neither challenged nor contradicted. “The defendant merely

denied going to kirikiri" "The fact that the prison officer did not adhere to the regulation of conducting visit to the prison cannot be a defence by the defendant to the charge before the court," he said. It would be recalled that, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, had charged the defendant to court for conspiracy and obtaining money under false pretence. Bamaiyi had in his testimony before the court alleged that Rosulu aided a Lagos based socialite lawyer, Fred Ajudua, in defrauding him of the sum of $330,000.

Lagos High Court presided over by Justice Olabisi Akinlade yesterday adjourned the ongoing trial of the murder case of Cynthia Osokogu till November for adoption of final written addresses. The court fixed date the due to the late filing of the final written addresses by the third and fourth defendants’ counsel, Chris Obama. Justice Akinlade also directed the defendants' counsel to file a joint written address, while the prosecution should file a comprehensive written address replying to all. It would be recalled that four men; Okwumo

Nwabufo, 34, Olisaeloka Ezike, 24, Orji Osita, 33, and Ezike Nonso, 25, are standing trial over alleged murder of Cynthia Osokogu, 25, a postgraduate student of Nassarawa State University. The accused persons are facing trial on a six-count charge of felony, conspiracy, robbery and murder. The first and second defendant had at the last hearing told the court that their statements were forcefully obtained from them. According to the charge sheet, the defendants allegedly chained and strangled 25-year-old Osokogu to death at Cosmilla Hotel, FESTAC Town, Lagos, on July 22, 2012. The alleged offences contravened sections 221, 249, 285 and 327 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2011.

Don prefers educationist as minister abIodun nejo Ado Ekiti

rovost of the College of Education, Ikere Ekiti, Professor Francisca Aladejana, has advised President Muhammadu Buhari to appoint an educationist as Minister of Education. Aladejana said appointment of a person with proper understanding of the education terrain and issues in education as minister would help address the myriads of problems facing the sector. The provost, who spoke in Ikere Ekiti yesterday at a press briefing heralding the 22nd convocation of the institution holding on Thursday, disclosed that 70 students had distinction among the 2,438 graduating students for 2012/2013 and 2013/2014 academic sessions. Aladejana lamented that "every aspect of stakeholders in education has

problem, students, parents, teachers, curriculum and government. "So, the person to be appointed has to be able to address all these. Somebody coming to address only one of these will not achieve result. It has to be a total overhaul. This is why somebody who has specialisation in education is necessary," she said. The provost, who said 29 Post-Graduate Diploma graduands would graduate on the occasion, disclosed that Fellowship of the college would also be conferred on Senator Biodun Olujimi and the Chairman of Capital Oil Limited, Dr Patrick Ifeanyi Ubah in view of their contributions in the service of education. According to her, the institution, which ranked as one of the best in the country, has continued to be consistent in "teaching, research and service with the aim of producing competent graduates.’’

HuCaPAN meets in Lagos

uman Capital Providers Association of Nigeria, HuCaPAN, will be having its first executive luncheon forum for chief executives of HuCaPAN member companies on Thursday, October 29, 2015. A statement signed by HuCaPAN President, Mr. Neye Enemigin, said the event that would hold at

Sheraton Lagos Hotel, will start at noon. Dr. Clement Illoh, Permanent Secretary at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity, is expected to be guest of honour. HuCaPAN is the umbrella organisation of registered/licenced Private Employment Agencies in Nigeria.

South East

Ojukwu's property: Bianca’s proposed meeting with UN scribe stalls trial Wale IgbIntade

he absence of Bianca Odumegwu Ojukwu, widow of the late Ikemba of Nnewi, Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu, yesterday stalled the suit she filed against Ojukwu Transport Limited, OTL, and seven others before a Lagos high court. Bianca had in the suit filed on behalf of her two under-aged children, Afamefuna and Nwachukwu (claimants) wanted the court to declare that her children are entitled to the possession and occupation of the property known as No. 29, Oyinkan Abayomi Street, Ikoyi, Lagos, until the harmonisation of the management and administration of the assets of the first defendant, OTL. The defendants in the suit are Prof. Joseph Ojukwu, Engr. Emmanuel Ojukwu, Lotanna Putalora Ojukwu, Dr. Patrick Ojukwu, Arc Edward Ojukwu, Lota Akajiora Ojukwu and Mrs. Massey Udegbe (doing business under Massey Udegbe & Company). When the suit resumed yesterday for trial, lawyer to the defendants, Chief George Uwechue, SAN, informed the court of a letter signed by Bianca’s lawyer, Chioma Okoro, stating that Bianca could not be in court as a result of a meeting with the United Nation’s World Tourism Organisation Secretary General, Dr. Taleb Rafai, scheduled for November 9, 2015. The letter dated October 23 reads in part: “The claimants’ witness, Mrs Bianca Odumegwu Ojukwu, who is the Nigerian Ambassador to Spain, is meeting with UN World Tourism Organisation Secretary General, Dr. Taleb Rafai, on 9th November, 2015 in Spain. Kindly find attached a copy of the UNWTO’s letter on the proposed meeting.” However, the trial judge, Justice Abdulfattah Lawal, said that the court did not receive a copy of the letter and stressed the need to give the claimant benefit of the doubt and adjourned the suit still December 11 for trial. Bianca, and her two children, had in their statement of claim, prayed the court to declare that the threat of forceful ejection from 29, Oy-

inkan Abayomi Street, Ikoyi, Lagos, by the defendants is illegal. In addition, they urged the court to declare that they are entitled to possess the following properties, namely, No. 13, Hawksworth Road, Ikoyi (now known as No. 13, Ojora road); No. 32A, Commercial Avenue, Yaba, Lagos; No. 30, Gerard Road, Ikoyi, Lagos; No. 30, McPherson Avenue, Ikoyi. All the above properties were alleged to be under the possession of late Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu - the father of the claimants, from the time the properties were released from government acquisition till date. The claimants stated that throughout the period their father was struggling to retrieve the properties from the government, the second to seventh defendants “never played any role in the struggle nor contributed financially or otherwise to the realisation of the struggle.” Besides, the claimant is asking for an order of court restraining the defendants, their agents or privies from interfering with the claimants’ possession and control of the properties. But, in their statement of defence, the 1st - 7th defendants averred that the subscribers of the memorandum of association of Ojukwu Transport Limited (1st defendant) at incorporation in 1952 were L. P. Ojukwu and Betram Chukwuemeka Obi, adding that the late Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu and one Professor Joseph Ojukwu (2nd defendant) were later appointed as directors in 1953.

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Enugu agency operates killer squad —Rights group

...As two citizens are brutalised emmanuel ezeh Enugu

group, Civil Rights Realisation and Advancement Network, CRRAN, yesterday accused the Enugu State Waste Management Authority, ESWAMA, of operating a killer squad. This followed the recent alleged barbaric attack on two residents of the state, Mohammed Koma and Haruna Koma, by ESWAMA officials. Reacting to the development through its president, Barr Olu Omotayo, the group called on Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State and the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, to urgently end the

impunity being perpetrated by the agency. Omotayo said: “The continuous deterioration of human rights situation in Enugu reached its peak last Friday, October 23, 2015, when the environmental fees collection outfit of Enugu State government caught up with two citizens in the course of their revenue drive and in broad daylight used shovel and heavy iron rods to break and shatter the ankles and knee cap bone of the duo, reminiscent of the precivilisation era of barbarity. “This is the worst human rights abuse we have ever recorded in modern Nigerian history. Two citizens of this country were caught like animal in a trap and the agents of the state used heavy metal

to pieces their legs and incapacitated them. “We have written severally to the governor of the state that the mode of operations of this agency is not only barbaric but dangerous to healthy survival of any decent democratic society, but the government looked the other way just because it believes in revenue collection for the state irrespective of the mode of collection overriding the entrenched fundamental rights of citizens of the state.” While describing the operations of the ESWAMA as illegal and unconstitutional, he further re-called that a Federal High Court, Enugu, presided over by Justice D.V. Agishi had given judgment against the agency over the

torture, humiliation, dehumanisation and unlawful detention of a citizen, Miss Nma Ukonu. He, therefore, demanded the “intervention of the state government to stop these atrocities of its agents, failure of which we shall lay complaints before both national and international human rights institutions to compel the state government to immediately disband its killer squad known as ESWAMA.” Omotayo equally called on the Enugu State Police Command to immediately withdraw policemen who follow “these ESWAMA thugs to dehumanise the citizens of the state,” and immediately arrest and prosecute.

L-R: former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon; Governor of Anambra State, Chief Willie Obiano and his Deputy Governor, Dr. Nkem Okeke, during the visit of UNICEF and WHO delegation to Government House, Awka, Anambra State, yesterday.

Enugu govt, Gowon Centre partner on tropical diseases emmanuel ezeh Enugu

overnor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State has pledged to support and assist the Yakubu Gowon Centre and its partners to control malaria and other neglected tropical diseases in the state. The former military head of state and initiator of the centre, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (rtd), visited Government House, Enugu, yesterday in furtherance of the pet project in the coal

city state. The governor commended Dr. Gowon and his partners for the vision to embark on a mobilisation campaign to control malaria and other neglected tropical diseases in the country. Governor Ugwuanyi in a speech through his deputy, Hon. (Mrs.) Cecilia Ezeilo, expressed happiness over the remarkable successes recorded by the centre and its partners in the fight against health scourges in the country. His words: "Notable among these achievements

is the eradication of such deadly diseases as guinea worm and polio, a feat that has made the country a safer place to live as far as health is concerned." He said it is heartwarming that many concerned organisations like the Yakubu Gowon Centre have formed clusters and partners to help countries prevent, reduce and mitigate the health impact of those diseases. Earlier in his address, General Gowon had informed the governor that he was in the Government

House with his team to advocate against malaria and other neglected tropical diseases. He added that the World Health Organisation, WHO, had scheduled that river blindness should be eliminated by the year 2020 but regretted that Enugu State and Nigeria in general were far from meeting the target. According to him, apart from Nasarawa and Plateau states, other states in the country were still in red condition instead of green condition in the elimination of river blindness in

Nigeria. General Gowon solicited the assistance of the state governor in the provision of vehicles and motorcycles for the health workers of his centre to enable them supervise drug distributions and usage. In a brief remark, a doctor in the centre, Dr. Emma Miri, noted that 2.1 million nets would be provided in the state to deal with the issue of malaria, adding that if mosquito nets are used properly, the issue of malaria and elephantiasis would be a thing of the past.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

South South

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Emmanuel arrives Uyo after tribunal verdict …restates confidence in judiciary

Governor Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State (hand raised), acknowledging cheers from a mammoth crowd, during a grand rally by NGOs and Civil Society Groups in the state, tagged ‘’Operation Reject APC,’’ at the Peace Park, Yenagoa, yesterday.

Ayade presents N350bn budget for 2016

ross River State Governor Ben Ayade on Monday in Calabar presented a budget proposal of N350 billion for 2016 fiscal year to the House of Assembly. N294.58 billion, representing 84 per cent of the budget, is for capital expenditure, while N55.41billion, representing 16 per cent, is for recurrent services. Ayade said the increase in the budget size from N149.44 billion in 2015 to N350 billion in 2016 was due to funds from Foreign Direct Investment, FDI. According to him, N53.44 billion of the budget will be committed to regional development and N53.009 billion for social services. A breakdown of the

Elo ogwara Warri

igerian Navy Ship, NNS Delta, has restated its commitment to rid the waterways of illegal trades, as well as prosecute their sponsors. New Commander of NNS Delta, Commodore Raimi Mohammed, stated this yesterday at Warri Naval Base during an introductory meeting with newsmen. Pledging transparency in his dealings, the commander urged journalists to work hand-in-hand with the command for the peace and security of the

budget shows that under recurrent revenue, N43.20 billion will come from federal sources, capital receipt; N284.44 billion, personal cost; N27.31 billion. Ayade said that the budget tagged “Budget of Deep Vision” would give priority to the economic sector in the state. ``We have created 12 new ministries to help drive the much economic vitality of the state to a first class state. ``We also hope that these new ministries would create jobs for our teeming unemployed youths in the state. ``We are aware of the financial challenges before the state, but we must explore other means of generating revenue rather

than depend solely on federal allocation. ``The 2016 budget of N350 billion would improve the economic status of the state and also improve on the welfare of all Cross Riverians,’’ he said. The governor said the state would continue to collaborate with the private sector and donor agencies to enhance development in rural and urban areas. Earlier, Mr John GaulLebo, Speaker of the State House of Assembly, commended Ayade for initiating the 260 kilometre super highway, flagged-off by President Muhammadu Buhari. Gaul-Lebo said the road, when completed, would attract more investors to the

state, thus improving its revenue profile. According to him, the assembly has passed nine bills since its inauguration in June. He assured the governor of the assembly's continued support for the economic and political growth of the state.

Ayade

tivities. "Overall is to make the maritime environment in my area safe for those who are doing legal and genuine business and to make it tough, if not impossible, for those who engage in illegal business. Further dispelling plans of reprisal attacks by those affected in past operations, he said, "Anybody who feels he can take on the Navy, I wish them good luck. We will go after those behind them," noting that they are only

doing their legal duties. "I will just advise all those that go about their businesses in the maritime industry to please ensure that their businesses are legal. We will provide the necessary security for them, in conjunction with other security agencies. "But for those who are involved in illegal business, I advise them to stay clear and change, if not, they will see me very soon. And if they don't believe me, I wish them hard law," Mohammed warned.

we are moving towards the promised land.” Emmanuel announced that two more industries were under way and the groundbreaking would to be performed next week. He mentioned the industries to include a meter assembly plant and new line for marine paint at Peacock Paint Industry, Etinan. He said his commitment to industrialisation was on course and cannot be deterred as the will of God has been expressed by the people in their overwhelming votes for PDP, which has become a household name in Akwa Ibom State. In their solidarity speeches, the state PDP Chairman, Obong Paul Ekpo, said the mandate freely given to Emmanuel by Akwa Ibom people is sacrosanct as any other party is alien in the state. Also, Director General of Divine Mandate 2015, Otuekong Idongesit Nkanga, commended the people for their solidarity with the governor and called on political elders not to misconstrue party partisanship for statesmanship.

Edo Assembly to NDDC: Complete abandoned projects

We’re ready to fight illegal maritime traders, says Navy state. He added that to effectively fight illegal activities in the state, he intends to work with other security agencies to ensure safety and peace in the maritime sector. "Our main objective here is to get rid of various vices that take place in some part of the country like illegal bunkering, crude oil theft, illegal refineries, sea robbery and even kidnapping. Of course, we will also be looking at anti-fishery ac-

kwa Ibom State Governor Udom Emmanuel has expressed confidence in the Nigerian judiciary in ensuring justice and fair play in handling electoral matters in line with the constitution that makes provision for the existence of multi-party system in the country. According to the governor, this will help democracy in the country to grow and meet the standard of other civilised democracies. The governor was addressing a mammoth crowd of Akwa Ibom people comprising the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, faithful who gathered to welcome him at the Ibom International Airport and the Globe Square, Wellington Bassey Way, Uyo, on his return from Abuja after the judgment of Akwa Ibom State Governorship Election Tribunal. He said: “Let me tell Akwa Ibom people that we have absolute confidence in the judiciary. Nigeria operates a multi-party system and we must allow the constitution to hold sway. Today, Akwa Ibom people are focused and

do State House of Assembly has called on the management of Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, to complete all abandoned projects in Uhunmwode Local Government Area and other parts of the state. The call was the outcome of a motion on Monday at plenary in Benin by Mrs Elizabeth Ativie, APC, representing Uhunmwode constituency. Moving the motion, Ativie expressed concern that 12 NDDC projects in Uhunmwode and several others scattered across the state had been abandoned. She said enormous resources had been expended by the Federal Government through the NDDC to execute the projects without corresponding result. She added that all efforts by the leaders of the communities where these projects were sited to get the contractors back to work had proved abortive. The legislator urged the

NDDC to mobilise its contractors back to site to complete all abandoned projects in the state in order to ameliorate the sufferings of the people. She called on the chairmen of the 18 local government councils in the state to furnish the constituency offices of House of Representatives members and senators from the state on the progress of work done on the abandoned projects. Ativie, urged members of the House of Representatives and senators from the state to follow up on the resolution by ensuring that work on all abandoned projects were completed by the NDDC. Lawmakers who aired their views on the motion supported it. The Speaker, Victor Edoror, directed that copies of the resolution be sent to the NDDC, senators, House of Representatives members, the chairmen of the 18 local government councils and the governor for action.

North

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Dangote Cement Africa projects drive revenue to N365.5bn

Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai (left), addressing some Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) at their Kuka Reta Camp in Yobe, yesterday.

Army Task Force Brigade to fight Boko Haram in Borno •Insurgents still dangerous –AIG Zone 12 INUSA NDAHI MAIDUGURI

hief of Army Staff, Lt. Gen. Tukur Buratai, yesterday said the new 29 Task Force Brigade in Beneshiek, Borno State, was strategically set up to end insurgency. Buratai said this while addressing soldiers deployed in the new brigade at Beneshiek and Ngamdu. Said he: “This location is very important and strategic; it has great impact towards defeating the Boko Haram group. “You are better trained and equipped than the criminals and you have to be professional and responsive. “You should have no excuse not to be on patrol, ambush or raid operations.” The army chief assured the troops that government would provide them with all necessary kits and equipment to facilitate their capacity to end insurgency. “We have to maintain the momentum to achieve Mr. President’s deadline. “We must eradicate insurgency and make Nigeria peaceful,” he said. Buratai charged the soldiers to apply tactics, battle procedure and fire discipline. “Be on the alert, ob-

serve routines, be disciplined and loyal to your officers,” he counseled them. He assured the civil population that the army would maintain high standard of professionalism in the course of its duties. Meanwhile, Assistant Inspector General of Police, AIG, in charge of Zone 12, Tunde Ogunsakin, yesterday said Boko Haram insurgents, though depleted and on the run, should be taken seriously more than before as they are just like wounded lions. Ogunsakin, who was in Maiduguri to boost the morale of the men of the Borno Police Command, especially in their battle against the Boko Haram insurgency, said the insurgents would soon be history but that Nigerians need to be alert to the new threats of the terrorist group. He said they are more dangerous now than before as witnessed by the numerous explosions in mosques in the North East region as hatched by them. Ogunsakin said the insurgents would soon be extinct with the combined efforts of the Nigerian security to meet the December deadline of President Muhammadu Buhari “but everyone

needs to be on red alert to combat them as they are more dangerous now than in the past.” He said recent happenings have shown that “just like wounded lions, the insurgents are deadlier and more dangerous than in the past,” but “this is a battle that our gallant police officers are ready for and definitely winning.” The police boss, while warning the men of the Borno Police Command that he has zero tolerance for acts that could disrupt peace and order in any of the states under his control, said: “We must overwhelm any person(s) or group(s) that will rise to disrupt public peace. “I urge you to continue

to work assiduously and seek your cooperation and commitment towards ensuring that law and order is maintained in Borno State.” Ogunsakin, who is charge of Borno, Adamawa and Bauchi commands, told the police officers that “it is important to let you know that the Nigerian police has a key role, synergising with other security agencies, in ensuring that peace is restored to the entire North East. “In this light, it is expected that you will be alert to the performance of your duties at this critical time. I will not condone any form of dereliction of duties from any officer under my control.”

ggressive Africa expansion projects by Dangote Cement has started yielding positive fruits as the company, for the nine months ended September 30, 2015, recorded a turnover of N365.5 billion, a 17.8 per cent increase over its corresponding year’s figure. The company in the same period exported 3.7 million metric tonnes of cement to neighbouring countries. The export underscores the fact that Nigeria is now selfsufficient in cement production. Chief executive of the company, Onne Van der Weijde, said: “I am pleased to report that sales from outside Nigeria have contributed nearly 29 per cent of volumes so far this year and 39 per cent in the third quarter, which demonstrates that we are diversifying successfully and quickly gaining market shares in new countries.” While revealing that the company has just acquired 2,000 new trucks to help improve its logistics capabilities and enhance its export of cement to neighbouring countries, he said: “Our key target will be Ghana, where we already have an import terminal that is at present supplied from outside the ECOWAS region.” The nine months’ unaudited results released on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, showed that the

NULGE vows to resist diversion of bailout funds

asarawa State chapter of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE, said it would resist any attempt by any local government to divert the bailout fund released to pay arrears of workers’ salaries. State chairman of NULGE, Abdullahi Abubakar-Alaye, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, yesterday, in Lafia. According to him, the bailout fund is purely for

payment of salary arrears to workers. “We will resist any attempt by any chairman to divert either in full or part funds released by the Federal Government for settling salary arrears of workers at the local government levels,” he said. He promised that the union would set up committees in all local governments to monitor the process of screening and payment and would report to the state exec-

utive any complaint. Abubakar-Alaye commended Governor AlMakura for releasing the funds and expressed the union’s readiness to cooperate with the state government in ensuring that the welfare of workers is given priority. He assured workers that the ongoing screening exercise at the local government levels is to sanitise the system for better service delivery.

cement giant’s earnings per share rose by 18.6 per cent to N9.80. Profit before tax at N166.9 billion for the nine months ended September 30, 2015, represents an increase of 8.4 per cent, compared with the N154 billion of the 2014 corresponding period. A breakdown of the results indicate that the cement group posted an operating profit of N173.5 billion, 6.8 per cent higher than the N162.5 billion generated in 2014. Nigerian operations accounted for N162.7 billion; West and Central Africa, N2.9 billion; while South and East Africa recorded N7.4 billion. Revenue rose by 17.8 per cent to N365.5 billion following strong performance of non-Nigerian factories, while gross profit grew by 13.5 per cent to N226.8 billion. Weijde added: “Our new operations have made strong starts right across Africa and these have helped to offset the impact of a subdued economy in Nigeria. We remain optimistic that our home market of Nigeria will recover and this will restore growth and improve overall profitability. “We hope that our new pricing strategy will contribute to the country’s economic recovery and particularly urge the government to begin building more robust roads, using concrete instead of imported asphalt.” Dangote Cement is Africa’s leading cement producer with three plants in Nigeria and recently opened factories in Ethiopia, Zambia, South Africa, Senegal and Cameroon. It is a fully integrated quarryto-customer producer with a production capacity of 29.25Mta in Nigeria. “Our Obajana plant in Kogi State, Nigeria, is the largest in Africa with 13.25Mta capacity across four lines. The Ibese plant in Ogun State has four cement lines with a combined installed capacity of 12Mta. The Gboko plant in Benue State has 4Mta.

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

SUPER TUESDAY Nigeria requires strong leader like Buhari –Obiozor

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Politics

14, 43 EmmanuEl EzEh ENUGU

efore Governor Sullivan Chime took over power in 2007, Enugu had one political family- the Ebeano dynasty. Anybody who was out of that circle was far from the corridors of power. One man was in charge- former Governor Chimaroke Nnamani. All the crop of politicians, who emerged from 2003 to 2007 were all products of the Ebeano family. One of such persons is Senator Gilbert Nnaji representing Enugu East Senatorial district. However, the political equation in Enugu State was changed by ex-Governor Sullivan Chime, who chased Nnamani out of control as soon as he became Governor in 2007. Chime did not stop at that, he made sure that Nnamani did not return to the Senate in 2011. Instead, he chose Nnaji, one of the political sons of the ex-Governor. But, though Chime succeeded in reducing Nnamani’s political power in Enugu State, what he could not achieve was to also whittle down his popularity among his people in Enugu East Senatorial zone. Apparently because of the developmental projects he attracted to his people while he was Governor, Nnamani had remained a god of a sort among his people. This also accounts for the wild protest, which followed the outcome of the 2015 senatorial election. As soon as the result was announced in favour of Nnaji, hundreds of Nnamani’s supporters took over the streets of Enugu. The protest, which lasted for three days, was first of its kind in the State. They insisted that the votes of the people were for Nnamani and that as such he should be declared winner. In fact, Nnaji’s kinsmen, who voted against him during the March National Assembly election, were not left out in the protest. The interesting thing in the contest is that both Chime and Nnaji are political sons of the ex-Governor, a situation sources said had continued to anger the exGovernor. He immediately proceeded to the tribunal to contest the result as announced by the INEC. Nnaji was declared elected with total votes of 69,544 as against total votes of 57,528 scored by Nnamani. He approached the tribunal on the grounds that “the 1st Respondent was not duly elected by majority of lawful votes cast at the election”, and that “the Election was invalid by reason of corrupt practices or non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended).” Premised on the above stated grounds, the Petitioners prayed the Tribunal for the following declarations and Reliefs:“That it be determined that the 1st Respondent did not score majority of lawful valid votes cast in the Enugu East Senatorial District Election held on 28th March, 2015. “That it be determined that the 1st Petitioner scored majority of lawful valid votes cast in the Enugu East Senatorial District Election held on 28th March, 2015. “That it be determined that the 1st Petitioner is entitled to be returned by the 3rd Respondent as having been duly elected Senator representing the Enugu East Senatorial District at Election held on 28th March, 2015. “Consequential order that the 1st Petitioner be issued forthwith with a certificate of return as the duly elected Senator representing the Enugu East Senatorial District pursuant to the election held on 28th March, 2015. “In the alternatives to 2, 3, and 4 above, That it be determined that the election held in the Enugu East Senatorial District on 28th March, 2015 was invalid by reason of corrupt practices or non- compliance with the provi-

Nnamani vs Nnaji: When father, son fight to the finish

Nnamani

Nnaji

The inTeresTing Thing in The conTesT is ThaT boTh

chime and nnaji

are poliTical sons of The ex-governor, a

siTuaTion sources said had conTinued To anger The ex-governor

sions of the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended); and that fresh election be held in Enugu East Senatorial District amongst the contestants who participated in the original election”. However, in his reply to the Petition, the 1st Respondent, Nnaji denied the Petitioners claim and accordingly urged the tribunal to dismiss the petition for lacking in merit. They also incorporated in the reply a preliminary objection to the competence of the petition. Arguing this issue, Tochukwu Odo Esq., of P.I.N Ikwueto and Co., Counsel for Senator Nnaji had urged the tribunal to determine that the petition was without merit and ought to be dismissed for six simple but germane reasons: “The petitioners, have woefully failed to show that there was any non-compliance with the principles of the electoral Act in the conduct of the election. “The petitioners’ evidence in support of the allegations in the petition are insufficient; and failed to establish therefore any alleged non-compliance with the

principles of the Electoral Act that substantially affected the outcome of the election in the sense that but for the alleged irregularities, they (the Petitioners) would have won the election. “Despite admitting that copies of the results of the election in the polling units were given to the Petitioners’ Agents PW.2, PW.3, PW.4, PW.6, PW.7 and PW.9 (all of whom claimed to be PDC Ward Collation Agents) failed, refused and neglected to produce any of copies of the result of the election (Forms EC*A (1) obtained from the Party Agents for any polling units. “The report of the analysis of the Election Result (Exhibit PW. 5A-3) is not binding on the Tribunal as it consists of the unsubstantiated opinion of PW.5. the materials allegedly used in conducting the analysis, particularly the duplicate copies of the results of the election obtained/given to the Petitioners’ agents, were neither shown to the Honourable Tribunal nor contained (annexed) to the report. “The said report was shown to have omitted relevant matters such as the results of the election in polling units with the same features/discrepancies as formed the basis of the report and wherein the petitioners won. “The documentary evidence before the Honourable Tribunal completely contradicts the case of the petitioners. It is in the interest of justice to dismiss this petition.” He submitted that the correct attitude of the law was that where an allegation was made that an election was invalid by reason of corrupt practices or non-compliance with the provision of Section 135 (1) of the Electoral Act, 2002 (which is in pair material with Section 138 (1) (b) of the Electoral Act, 2010, as amended), the law rests the Election Tribunal or Court entertaining the Election Petition with the power to decide from the evidence tendered before it in such a case whether the CONTINUED ON PAGE 45

Politics

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Nigeria requires strong leader lik

Professor George Obiozor is the former Nigerian Ambassador to the United States, Israel and Cyprus. In this interview with EBERE NDUKWU he spoke about issues of national interests. Excerpts:

So far, are you impressed with the leadership style of Muhammadu Buhari? Well, one must look at Buhari in a different way in the context of Nigerian history. This is a country that reacts more positively to strong and decisive leaders and Buhari by his own background and the perception of the Nigerians is a very strong leader. So, people are reacting positively or negatively to him based on his personality. As a matter of fact, he is one Nigerian that is getting national attention either through fear or love. Only strong leaders build strong and sustained institutions. Believe it or not, it took Ataturk to build modern Turkey, he built strong institutions, gave the country a new constitution, within that constitution there are three irreversible articles that is still important today. Charles de Gaulle, the fourth republic, he brought institutions that sustained France till today, So also is oekarno of Indonesia. The issue here about strong man is that the strong man doesn’t need to be a dictator. The strong man means a leader who can compel compliance to rule of law, hold citizens responsible to do their jobs. The idea that Africa doesn’t need strong leader is a tragedy, because of lack of strong leaders Africa is actually becoming boring and drifting all at the same time. strong leaders make strong countries. In fact today, one of the most respected countries in Africa is Uganda..Believe it or not Uganda is making incredible progress within the international society, it has a strong leader. Their leader is building institutions; after he has finish building institutions things will be better for the country. In fact, let me be frank with you Nigeria requires a strong leader except we are deceiving ourselves. When Olusegun Obasanjo was in power this country’s self image was better, he is a strong man. And the eight years he was in power, he was in control both in foreign and domestic policies. What is your take on Buhari’s fight against corruption ? Everybody in Nigeria is against corruption, who will support corruption? Corruption is a terrible thing especially, the way it has been in the country for a long time, diversion of public fund to personal use, building personal empires where you should build public institutions. You see the point; everybody supports him on the issue of corruption. The problem here is what method and process is he adopting? I think he still has to articulate the process and follow the rule of law in accordance with the constitution. You cannot be pronounced guilty until you have been pronounced guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction through a constitutional process. You cannot do preemptive justice. At 55 years would you say Nigeria has made progress? Nigeria has made progress by staying together as the last federation created by the British in Africa, other federations created by the British in Africa have disintegrated except Nigeria. Example is Sudan, Angola, Egypt and Rhodesia. All those federations have become independent countries. Check it; all the federations created by the British in Africa have all disintegrated to separate countries except Nigeria. To that extent is an achievement. Actually what has failed in Nigeria more than anything else is captured by Chinua Achebe in his book “The Trouble With Nigeria.” He said the trouble with Nigeria is leadership. I agree with him, leadership in the sense of a nationally acceptable leadership or coherent group leadership, like political elites that are coherent, articulate and ideologically cohesive to some extent or with general and common denominator as to what direction the country should go.

Obiozor

This is a naTion looking backwards for leadership because There is nobody in fronT or presenT. in oTher words nigeria becomes for me a counTry whose pasT is beTTer Than The presenT and whose fuTure is a case of doubT and speculaTions

Instead, what we have had are incoherent political elites. As a matter of fact, it’s such that, there’s no political or consensus among the political elites. Do you know that nearly every election in Nigeria ends in a court except this 2015 presidential election? And that was because of the way it ended otherwise every presidential election since 1979 has ended up in court. Elections have always been controversies-in- waiting whether you hold it today or tomorrow. Census, a call to war and crises, name it. What could be the cause, do you think it has to do with our multi-ethnic issue? Of course it does have to do with that but are we the only people with multi-ethnic or what you call pluralism problem? There are countries with the issue of pluralism but with good leadership they have a sense of direction. Only very few countries in the world are mono-cultural, the rest are pluralistic like Nigeria and they are organised. What do you say about Indonesia, Malaysia, India and these

are countries that started off with us almost at the same time? The only thing as far as I’m concerned that we can celebrate is that we have survived as a country. Survived in spite of the crises because we move from one crisis to the other, too many crises can kill any nation; it can lead to either national disintegration or partition. In history, we have too many crises and we continued moving from one crisis to another and yet we are not disintegrated. That is what we should celebrate. That is a major thing to celebrate, but to say that politically we have got it right, no, we have not. In fact of all the efforts, every regime in Nigeria talks about constitutional amendment and conferences and after doing it, in fact two most important ones vision 2010 under late General Sani Abacha and then they came down to vision 2020, now we have just finished the 2014 National Conference, each of them diagnosis and analysis Nigerian problems but nobody has the courage to implement them. Yet, if you implement them the country’s fete will be better

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

A PUBLICATION OF NATIONAL MIRROR NEWSPAPERS

Too many Nigerians are going blind –Experts RichaRd Ndoma CALABAR

edical doctors have raised alarm that countless

number of Nigerians are gradually going blind without the people knowing it. The medical experts said something must be done quickly to stem the high

Ex-PFN chair laments high rate of crime, hunger in Calabar RichaRd Ndoma CALABAR

he immediate past president of Penticoastal Fellowship of Nigeria, PFN, Cross River State branch and General Overseer of Christian Central Chapel International, Calabar, Bishop Emmah Isong, has decried the high level of armed robbery and general insecurity in some parts of Calabar metropolis. Isong gave the condemnation at his World Faith Mansion, Calabar, at the weekend while receiving members of Central Planning Committee for the 2015 NUJ Media Week. The cleric charged the media in the state to be proactive in reporting the nefarious activities with the view of drawing the attention of relevant authorities for prompt intervention. Isong who is also the former chairman for the Christian Association of Nigeria, Cross River State branch said: ``I am greatly worried by the high rate of armed robbery and other criminal activities going in some areas in Calabar. Imagine a situation where an armed robbery gang raids a particular area on daily basis, with no obstruction and nobody is saying or doing anything about it. Sometimes the security operatives only arrive after the raids had been completed and people robbed and beaten in their homes; this is unacceptable. I therefore call on journalists to rise up to the challenge by being proactive in reporting these activities of men of the underworld which is almost going out of control.’’ He encouraged journalists to always be objective and sincere in carrying out their duties, adding that there was always a reward

for hard-work and sincerity. I believe that God will always reward a hard working journalist, ‘’ he said. He said although the state government was doing its best in trying to tackle insecurity but that this was not enough. The General Overseer of Christian Central Chapel also lamented the high level of poverty in the country, saying that many Nigerians now walk the streets on empty stomach. When I go out, I see people complaining of hunger and starvation. Whenever I come back I see people waiting to ask me for something to eat. They will tell me clearly that this is not the issue of money they need something to eat. It is a very serious matter. We know that an idle mind is the devil’s workshop, ‘’ the cleric queried. Isong charged government at all levels to embark on policies that would directly impact on the people rather than undertake white-elephant projects. Isong, who is also a patron of the state council of the NUJ commended the planning committee for the programmes outlined for the event and pledged his total support. The cleric said he was going to be personally present during some of the events and to personally sponsor the sports aspect of the event, especially football competition among various chapels.Also speaking earlier, the Cross River State correspondent for The Daily Sun who is the chairman of the Correspondent Chapel and chairman for the media week planning committee, Mr. Judex Okoro, said the visit was to intimate the bishop on the programme lined up for the week-long event and for him to make his input.

prevalence of eye challenges, especially cataract, which increasing number of Nigerians are suffering from. The medical doctors however charged relevant authorities, religious institutions, schools, firms including the armed forces to regularly carry out free eye screening/ enlightenment campaign to help the vulnerable and very poor people with no access to medical care. According to two of the six eye experts from the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH), the leader of the medical team, Dr. Sunday Okonkwo, optometrist and Dr. Kennedy Nwachukwu, an ophthalmologist, who con-

ducted free eye screening exercise at the premises of Brotherhood of the Cross and Star in Calabar for Olumba Obu`s faithful, it was regrettable that most less-privileged people in our society today don’t even know about the status of their sight and as such, do not even bother about it because they lack the wherewithal to seek treatment. The free eye test was organised by the International All Ordained Ones Fellowship, a welfare and evangelical arm of Brotherhood of the Cross and Star for the general public to mark her 57th anniversary. Regular public seminar, Okonkwo said, would help to cushion the effects of eye

challenges among Nigerians. “Many Nigerians are suffering seriously from eye problems without knowing it, without also bothering to have their eyes checked regularly. “It is very necessary for organisations and churches to carry out regular campaign on eye check up for its members and very lessprivileged people. It is only through such campaigns that this growing problems can drastically be reduced. “During the eye screening exercise there were very many with serious eye issues and never knew they had such. It was surprising that many could not even see, and thing it was normal.

“There was a particular personnel from a national security agency with loaded fire arm but when we examined him he could not see beyond two meters. “There was also another case of a 13 year old girl who confessed that because of her very short-sightedness, which her parents were not even aware of, she was not doing well at school. “We want to stress that Nigerians should habitually be having eye check frequently. Different organisations, armed forces, schools too, should recognise this grave challenge by holding free and regular exercise of this nature,” Okonkwo advised.

L-R: Member, Governing Council of Ozoro Polytechnic,Delta State, Mr.Joe Adigwe; Chairman, Hon.Solomon Funkekeme; Governor Ifeanyi Okowa; his deputy, Barr. Kingsley Otuaro; members, Chief (Mrs) Oti Agoba and Hon.Gabriel Alebe, after the swearingin ceremony at Government House, Asaba, on Monday.

Obong gives scholarship to indigent students RichaRd Ndoma CALABAR

he Obong of Calabar, Edidem Ekpo Okon Abasi-Otu V, has awarded scholarship opportunities to about 20 students of Efik extraction, studying in the nation`s tertiary institutions across Nigeria. The scholarship scheme is meant particularly for those from low income backgrounds. Speaking to beneficiaries at the inaugural

scholarship award ceremony in his palace in Calabar which took place at the weekend, the Obong charged beneficiaries of the scholarship scheme to reciprocate the gesture by being good ambassadors of Efik kingdom. “The Efiks were trail blazers in time past because they loved education. Education is the bedrock of a people. There should be no reason why our children should not go to school. I’ve always pondered on the future of

the Efiks in today’s world if our children do not go to school. “But I am happy that the foundation has been laid today. We begin with only few students since this is just the inaugural ceremony. Next year, we will do better. More students will benefit. “To you beneficiaries, please ensure you reciprocate this gesture by studying hard and at the appropriate time, I believe you will give back to the society.”

The monarch lauded the advisory body, Obong of Calabar Executive Forum, OCEF, for putting together the event and keying into his vision. He called for unity among the Efiks. Also speaking at the ceremony, the immediate past Commissioner for Education in Cross River, Prof. Offiong Offiong, lamented the “high rate of out-of-school population, low national literacy rate and low educational atCONTINUED ON PAGE 16

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Our children will reclaim Bakassi –Monarch RichaRd Ndom CALABAR.

he Cross River state chairman for Traditional Rulers Council and Paramount Ruler of Bakassi Local Government Area, Etinyin Etim Okon Edet, yesterday said that the issue of Bakassi peninsular is not dead. The monarch also predicted that future generation of the people of Bakassi Peninsula will re-claim their land which, according to the traditional ruler, was forcefully taken away from it original owners. Etim Okon made the remark in his office while fielding questions from journalists on the ceding

of Bakassi to neigbouring Cameroon. He stressed that even though the world thinks that the Bakassi issue is dead, a new generation of Bakassians was likely going to revisit the issue and fight to redeem the land from those who forcefully took their land away from them. “I can assure you that the issue of Bakassi is not dead. We may not retake it now but our children will come up and ask questions and seek answers. A new generation of Bakassians will arise and fight for the return of our homeland to us. Bakassi peninsular will be recovered someday,” the monarch said.

The paramount ruler expressed dismay that the peninsular was forcefully taken away from them without any consultation, claiming that even the gods of the land will stand by those who will agitate for the return of the peninsular in future. “You remember that they took our homeland away from us without any consultation whatsoever. They did not tell us our offence and did not give us justice. The world simply

connived to take away our ancestral homeland from us and this injustice is the reason why our children will succeed in taking it back someday,” the monarch said. The paramount ruler regretted that since the ceding of the peninsular to Cameroon and the return of his people to the state, no genuine effort had been made to resettle the displaced people of Bakassi. “My people are still squatting all over the

place in their own state and nobody seems to be interested in their welfare. People seem to be solving a little problem by creating a bigger one. Now that the people are calm and carrying their displacement in their strides, government has not come to properly resettle them. This is very painful,” the chairman of Cross River State traditional rulers lamented. Etim Okon mainatained that since the return of

his people, they had lived like Internally Displaced People without any meaningful succour, insisting that that the future generation of his people would not want to live as strangers in their own land. Etim Okon however urged the militants from Bakassi to lay down their arms and cooperate with the administration of Senator Ben Ayade saying Ayade was interested in bringing development to the area.

Buhari’s visit: APC commends Cross River RichaRd Ndoma CALABAR

he All Progressives Congress (APC) yesterday commended the people of Cross River State for giving a warm reception to President Muhammadu Buhari during his visit to the state. President Buhari was on Tuesday on a working visit to Cross River State to perform the ground breaking ceremony of the 260 kilometer super dual carriage highway from Bakassi local government of the state to Katsina Ala in Benue State. The Assistant Organising Secretary of the party in the state, Comrade Francis Ekpenyong, stated that the massive turnout of residents of Cross River to receive the president was a clear indication of the acceptability of the APC-led federal government. Ekpenyong maintained that Buhari’s acceptance of the state government’s invitation to personally perform the ground breaking ceremony was a clear prove that he was a nonpartisanship leader. “His visit to Cross River has clearly shown that he is a focused and non-partisan leader. He said he was a president for nobody, but for all Nigerians and his acceptance of the PDP-led state government’s invitation to perform the ground breaking ceremony is amazing,” he said.

Ekpenyong charged the people of Cross River to extend similar support to the party in subsequent elections adding that the “APC was committed to repositioning the state.” The party’s deputy governorship candidate in the last general elections, Mr. Sylvester Nsa, also commended residents of the state for turning out enmasse to welcome President Buhari to the state. Nsa added that the reception given to President Buhari was unprecedented and a further prove of his acceptability by majority of Nigerians. “As President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Buhari shunned party affiliations and identified with policies and programmes initiated by state governments, especially if the programmes initiated was to better the lots of the people,” he said. Nsa added that by that singular act, Buhari had proved to the people that he was not blinded by party sentiments, and stressed that “he has further endeared himself to the people who now see him as an unbiased leader.” The APC faithful thanked the Ben Ayade`s administration for involving the president in the ground breaking ceremony which Buhari personally performed and charged the people of Cross River to align with the party by voting candidates of the APC into office in future elections.

L-R: Chief Ofoni Edema, Chief Emma Jones, Chief. C.D. Ikomi, Chief.S.S.Rone and Prince Toritseju during the visit of the Itsekiri Nation to the regent over death of Olu of Warri, HRM. Ogiame Atuwatse II.

Investment: Australia, Cross River to explore opportunities RichaRd Ndoma CALABAR

s part of efforts to ramp up their economies, Cross River State and Australian governments are exploring possible areas of collaborations. Specifically, Australia, while taking advantage of the peaceful investment climate in the state, is looking at solid minerals, agriculture, fabrication as well as energy sectors in which to invest. Australian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Jonathan Richardson, who disclosed this when he paid a courtesy visit to Governor Ben Ayade in Calabar, said his country,

which had already pitched its business tents in some parts of the country was willing to collaborate with the state government to develop some identified sites and turn them to viable business ventures. The envoy maintained that Cross River today presents itself as a more secure and safest part of the country which made it more suitable and veritable ground for investment. He promised to take advantage of the peaceful nature of the state by attracting investors to the state. Richardson pointed out that a group of Australian businessmen will soon visit the state to concretise arrangement with the

formal signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to kick start various businesses of mutual benefits to both parties as well as create huge employment opportunities in the state. Responding, Cross River State, Professor Ben Ayade, said that the partnership with Australian government will serve as further boost to his economic agenda aimed at turning the state to an investment hub in sub-Sahara Africa. His words: “We would like to collaborate with the Australian government to explore the existing business opportunities in the state, with particular focus on the establish-

ment of a fabrication yard which are very few in the country and all located in Lagos,” adding that they want to take advantage of the huge market in that sector as well as explore vigorously the area of mining. Continuing, Ayade added: “From our investigation and findings, there is a huge deposit of gold and tantalite in commercial quantity in Uyanga, Akamkpa Local Government Area, which is why we are seeking competent miners to invest in this endowment to boost our revenue profile as well as create jobs for youths which is even more important to us as a government.”

Obong gives scholarship to indigent students CONTINUED ON PAGE 15

tainment in Nigeria today,” and thanked the royal father of the Efik kingdom for the scholarship scheme.

“With this bold step, it is necessary now for all to move away from rhetoric to action-oriented programmes such as this,” the ex-education commis-

sioner said. Speaking On behalf of other beneficiaries, Mr. Bassey Bassey Asuquo, student of Medicine of the University of Nigeria,

Nsukka, UNN, thanked the royal father for extending the help to them, and therefore promised to give back to society for showing them love.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Views

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Of immunity, impunity and ‘imuniti’ MADUKA ONWUKEME Continued from last Wednesday

Would you blame Saraki; transiting from the era when stealing was not corruption to an era of accountability is still a difficult process for many folks. A Word on the Immunity Clause

must state that I do not support the clamour for the removal of the immunity clause from the constitution. The immunity clause is to prevent the relevant office holders from being distracted with frivolous criminal or civil proceedings while in office and not a cloak of protection to engage in criminality or loot the treasury with reckless abandon. Immunity clause does not stop or prevent security agencies from investigating alleged criminal infractions, though they are precluded from making arrests. They could, however, in the course of investigation, question or interrogate the said office holder. The Supreme Court so decided when Gani Fawehinmi had sought to compel the then Inspector General of Police to investigate Bola Tinubu for alleged certificate forgery while the later was the governor of Lagos State. Furthermore, immunity could be waived by the said office holder like Al-Makura did albeit under public pressure. Public pressure could result in the resignation or impeachment of the said office holder to answer to the

charges against him. Moreover, office holders clothed with immunity hardly commit legal infractions alone. They are often aided by their appointees or security agents. How come such aides or security agents are never arrested and prosecuted as accomplices to the crime complained of, pending the time the governor would be arrested? In fact, such successful prosecution of the governor’s accomplice would make the governor’s conviction a walk in the park. We have a situation where security details meant to protect the governor and the law are used as errand boys by the governor. When would a security detail of a governor or any politician for that matter look such people in the face and refuse to carry out any instructions given to them where they are unlawful? When we create such a culture, the immunity clause will not be any limitation to enforcing obedience to laws. A question that begs for an answer is: What would happen in a situation where the security detail of the governor is in the same room with the governor, who is set to murder a third party? Should the security detail allow the commission of such crime because the governor has immunity?

‘Imuniti’ Our problem is not the abuse of the immunity clause provision but that we have allowed a union of immunity and impunity, whose result is imuniti (unarrestability). Prof Osundare was prophetic when he warned on the consequences of

IMMUNITY CLAUSE DOES NOT STOP OR PREVENT SECURITY AGENCIES FROM INVESTIGATING ALLEGED CRIMINAL INFRACTIONS such union in the same Christ’s School Distinguished Alumni Lecture. According to him: “No empire has ever risen and fallen without the active agency of impunity. No powerful individual has ever fallen without the active agency of impunity”. ‘Imuniti’ sunk us to the nadir of human existence as a nation. Even the defence of lives and properties suffered from the brazen pilfering of security funds with consequential severe collateral damages. Our military that once commanded the lofty heights in Africa would tactically maneuver into Cameroun while fleeing from “better armed” rag-tag insurgents. We didn’t need to ask what went wrong for too long as the revelation of how the military was used by politicians to rig the governorship elections in Ekiti State showed how deep in the woods we had gone with the bastardization of the Nigerian Army.

Defeating the duo of impunity and imuniti Muhammadu Buhari has started well in the fight against imuniti and one of its parents, impunity. The refusal of the presidency to interfere in the Saraki CCT affair

and the Buhari’s strong rhetoric against corruption is a clear sign of the shape of things to come. “If we don’t destroy corruption, corruption will destroy Nigeria”, so says Buhari and that nearly happened under Goodluck Jonathan. With the defeat of Jonathan, we managed to turn around a fight we had lost and now victory seems very close. We cannot afford to fail. Speaking about Jonathan, I shall conclude by quoting Prof. Osundare on the destructive interplay of impunity and imuniti, which characterized Jonathan’s administration lest we have forgotten, so we can say never again and join hands in their final defeat. “At the root of these anomies is the monster called impunity. Impunity is the vilest enemy of the rule of law, since by implication, it is actually tantamount to the rule of lawlessness. It is the blind bluster behind the I-don’t-give-a-damn braggadocio, the tragic demonstration of l’etat ce moir (I am the State), the practical indication of ‘tani yo mu mi’ (who will dare arrest me?); it is the sinful spouse of immunity. It was an uncontested truth that in Nigeria you could commit any crime and get away with it as long as you were in the President’s party, or so long as you knew someone who knew his wife.” Concluded Maduka Onwukeme, a Lagos based legal practitioner, wrote via madukaonwukeme@gmail.com

Nigeria and strategic geopolitical interest power play ALEX OSONDU ATAWA-AKPODIETE

n Friday, October 16, 2015, the United States Institute for Peace (USIP) hosted a conversation with the theme, “The Humanitarian Tinderbox: How Governments and NGOs Must Address the Global Aid Crisis.” The event, which took place at USIP headquarters in Washington DC, featured welcoming comments by USIP President Nancy Lindborg and introductory remarks by the President and CEO of World Food Program USA, Richard Leach. This was followed by a vibrant panel discussion with Philip Gordon, Senior Fellow of Council on Foreign Relations; David Miliband, President and CEO of International Rescue Committee; and Nancy Lindborg. James Fallows, a national correspondent with The Atlantic was the moderator. It is important to look at highlights of the conversation. Besides concerns on fragility and building resilience among youths involved in some of global conflicts, it was pointed out that confusion of refugees with immigration status was dangerous. In the eyes of Ms. Lindborg, conflict is natural, but the issue is its management. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) No. 16, ‘Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels’, was mentioned several times. A major question from a fellow participant was who will

enforce international humanitarian laws. There was a consensus that the targets of SDG No. 16 must bind the developed countries with the humanitarian community. David Miliband put at about $75 million the amount that should be invested in the humanitarian sector annually. If we compare what Facebook paid for WhatsApp, we will be saddened by the low global investment in humanitarian aid. Also, the human cost of conflict was said not to be taken seriously. Cost is said not to be an issue in military expenditures, but it is agonized when it comes to humanitarian issues. Sixty percent of donor funds was said go to protracted conflicts. It was revealed that there had been more progress with aids for natural disasters than conflict-induced disasters. It was also disclosed cussed that of the $22 billion in aid, three percent was given in cash. Some of the key points elucidated by Ms. Lindborg include that the system was broke and that the financing system needed to be overhauled. She pointed out that the duration of funding should be looked at so that the “dialing for dollars” can be better done, adding that structural problems must be tackled so that refugees can even receive their benefits in debit cards. She further pointed out that we should not be distracted by humanitarian crises, but rather be concerned about the issues behind them like bad governance and illegitimate governments. Philip Gordon warned that care be taken not to project the American aspirations on Europe and other regions. A negative cop-

WHEN…GLOBAL OIL BUSINESS WAS

AFFECTED, THE SUPER POWERS WILL NOT LOOK THE OTHER WAY ing strategy in some areas of the world, it was revealed, has women tying scarves around their stomach and pulling it tight to deal with hunger, so that their children can have enough to eat. Malnutrition was seen as a big issue for people displaced by conflicts. This, according to Richard Leach, is a failure of humanity and begs the question, “How do we rise to meet the challenge of the future and present.” Part of Mr. Miliband summation is that there are over six million refugees worldwide, all with different needs; and that 60 percent of the refugees are younger and more urbane. Additionally, there are more Muslim refugees, and thus the need for a reconciliation of Islam with modernization. It was also disclosed that there is a greater number of weak states in the world with South Sudan given as an example. Furthermore, international political system is seen as weaker and more divided today than any time since the end of World War II. In Philip Gordon’s presentation, he opined that when an issue is primarily humanitarian, the U.S’s involvement would be determined by her strategic geopolitical interest; which was why I asked why the US

sent troops to Cameroon to help fight Boko Haram, but was unwilling to assist Nigeria under former President Goodluck Jonathan. A follow-up interrogation was whether we were not inadvertently encouraging world leaders to wait for global problems to escalate to produce strategic geopolitical interests necessary for world leaders’ involvement. It is clear that the world is now involved in the Boko Haram insurgency because it is affecting the strategic geopolitical interests of the world powers. The world would not have encouraged the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua to offer amnesty to the Niger Delta militants if the crisis in the Niger Delta region had not involved issues affecting the strategic geopolitical interests of the world powers. When foreign workers of multinational companies were kidnapped and global oil business was affected, the super powers will not look the other way. Essentially, now that Boko Haram allegedly has ties with ISIS, Western power would become interested to contain it. So, the days of Boko Haram may be numbered. Prof (Rev.) Atawa-Akpodiete, a public affairs analyst, wrote via Profatawa@ gmail.com. Send your views by mail or sms to PMB 10001, Ikoyi, or our Email: mail@ nationalmirroronline.net mirrorlagos@ yahoo.com or 08164966858 (SMS only). The Editor reserves the right to edit and reject views or photographs. Pseudonyms may be used but must be clearly marked as such.

Editorial

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

All the Facts, All the Sides A PUBLICATION OF GLOBAL MEDIA MIRROR LTD BARRISTER JIMOH IBRAHIM, CFR PUBLISHER

SUNDAY OLAJIDE MANAGING DIRECTOR/CEO BEN MEMULETIWON ACTING DAILY EDITOR GBEMI OLUJOBI SATURDAY EDITOR AYO OLESIN SUNDAY EDITOR DOZIE OKEBALAMA COORDINATOR, EDITORIAL BOARD CALLISTUS OKE EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR OBIORA IFOH ACTING ABUJA BUREAU CHIEF AUGUSTUS IMEKAN ACTING HEAD, GRAPHICS

Again, NASS salivates for immunity

he lingering controversy on the need or otherwise for the Senate President and his deputy; Speaker of the House of Representatives and his deputy; and, perhaps, the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) to be shielded with the nature of immunity being enjoyed by the President, Vice President, Governors and Deputy Governors, is a crisp reminder of the low moments of the House of Representatives about three years ago, when it first toyed with the idea. The only difference then was that the CJN was not in the picture. Executive repression, harassment and blackmail are often cited as basis for the desperation. Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) says in respect of occupants of the offices of President, Vice President, Governor and the Deputy Governor: “Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Constitution, but sub¬ject to Sub-section (2) of this Section - no civil or criminal proceedings shall be instituted or continued against a person to whom this section applies during his period of office. A person to whom this section applies shall not be arrested or imprisoned during that period, either in pursuance of the process of any court or otherwise. No process of any court requiring or compelling the ap¬pearance of a person to whom this section applies shall

be applied for or issued”. Section 3 of the Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act also provides parliamentary immunity from proceed¬ings for the legislature. It says: “No civil or criminal proceedings may be instituted against any member of a Legislative House in respect of words spoken before that House or a Committee thereof; or in respect of words written in a report to that House or to any Committee thereof, or in any petition, bill, resolution, motion or question brought or introduced by him therein”. The judiciary enjoys institutional independence, too. In their capacities as law officers, judges, for instance, enjoy legal protection and personal independence in their utterances and actions in the course of discharging their official duties. It is also most improbable that members of the National Assembly do not understand the nature of immunity the Constitution confers on each arm of government before choosing to join the legislature. But in 2003, the House of Representatives flew a kite widely believed to be a ploy by the legislature to grant itself the kind of immunity reserved for the aforementioned leaders in the executive arm of government. Rep Ali Ahmed ( Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Kwara State),

October 27, 1999 Gunmen opened fire in the Armenian Parliament, killing Prime Minister Vazgen Sargsyan, Parliament Chairman Karen Demirchyan; and six other members. The incident occurred when a group of five armed men, led by Nairi Hunanyan, among others, killed the two de facto decision-makers in the country’s political leadership — Prime Minister, Sargsyan and Parliament Speaker, Demirchyan.

THE NATION IS PRESENTLY PERCHING ON THE EDGE OF THE PRECIPICE BECAUSE OF WIDESPREAD IMPUNITY IN THE POLITICAL SPACE IN RECENT YEARS early that year, we recall, sponsored “A Bill for an Act to Alter the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended) by providing immunity for members of the legislature in respect of the words spoken or written at the plenary session or at committee proceedings, to guarantee that freedom of speech, debates and proceedings in Legislative Houses are not impeached or questioned in any court or place out of parliament and for related matters”. The bill was consolidated with another similar one sponsored by Rep Raphael Igbokwe (PDP, Imo). In his lead debate on the consolidated bill, Ahmed said the objective of the proposed amendment was to alter the provisions of Section 4 (8) of the 1999 Constitution which says the jurisdiction of the courts cannot be ousted by the actions or proceedings of the parliament. Remember that the initiative did not enjoy the support of the Red Chamber (Senate), which

ON THIS DAY October 27, 2005 Riots began in Paris after the deaths of two Muslim teenagers. The series of riots led by mainly Arab, North African and black French second-generation immigrants occurred in the suburbs of Paris and other French cities. They involved the burning of cars and public buildings at night starting. They spread to poor housing projects (the cités HLM) in various parts of France; and a state of emergency was declared on November 8, 2005.

said through its Committee on Information, Media and Public Affairs Chairman then, Enyinnaya Abaribe, that the Legislative Powers and Privileges Act made sufficient provisions for the immunity of every lawmaker within the precincts of the National Assembly; and that there was no need for additional legal provisions for such privilege. In addition to the caustic public criticisms that assailed the plot, some senior members of the Bar that viewed it as unconstitutional, unethical and more of an ego trip than a piece of legislation meant to benefit the country and its citizens, threatened to challenge in court the bill which had passed through the second reading in the House. Eventually, the Reps tactically retreated. It is unfortunate that the matter was again resurrected lately by Rep Leo Ogor, possibly because of the ongoing travails of the Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, at the Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT). However, the NASS should be circumspect about resort to self-help. The nation is presently perching on the edge of the precipice because of widespread impunity in the political space in recent years. As a separate arm of government, the NASS should seek alternative ways of fencing off executive high-handedness without infracting the provisions of the Constitution.

October 27, 2011 Michael D. Higgins was chosen in the Irish presidential election as the ninth President of Ireland by the biggest vote in Irish history. Higgins (born April 18, 1941) is the ninth and current President of Ireland, in office since November 11, 2011. He is a politician, poet, sociologist, author and broadcaster. He served as a Teachta Dala (TD) for the Galway West constituency and was Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht from 1993 to 1997.

Business

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Drops in property prices spur market 29

Stakeholders set housing priorities for incoming minister 25

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Is there a Case for a Dual Real Estate System? 27 AIRLINESâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; FLIGHT SCHEDULES Med-View Airline

CBN headquarters

NDIC, CBN, EFCC rally on imperatives of e- payment security, efficiency As electronic payment (e-payment) fraud continues to be on the increase in Nigeria as the years roll by, experts have projected that with intensified collaborative efforts of financial sector operators, regulatory authorities and other key stakeholders the scourge of e-frauds in the nationâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s financial system will continue to be mitigated as the results of such initiatives continue to be felt in the industry in the years ahead. UDO ONYEKA reports

ayment intermediation and payment systems are the economic support mechanism used to transfer funds from individuals, firms and institutions. The payment system plays a very crucial role in any economy, being the channel through which financial resources flow from one segment of the economy to the other, according financial experts. The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN,

the apex financial services sector regulator has been at the forefront in the transformation of the payments system in the country. This has been demonstrated in various ways including the development of the Payments System Vision, PSV, 2020 document in 2007. The PSV 2020 is aimed at providing a roadmap for efficient payments system infrastructure that would be nationally utilised and internationally recognised.

NigeriaN baNks must Not oNly develop attractive electroNic fiNaNcial products for their clieNts but must put iN place, the highest possible security aNd

protectioN from attacks.

corporate coNtrols, such as, iNterNal audits, rotatioN of persoNNel, aNd physical & it security procedures must be coupled with iNteNsified fraud risk mitigatioN, assessmeNt aNd maNagemeNt

Payment system may be physical or electronic and each has its own procedures and protocols but e- payment is a payment that is initiated processed and received electronically. According to Director, Research, Nigeria Deposit of Insurance Corporation, NDIC, Dr. Jacob Afolabi, an electronic payments systems are therefore means by which monetary values exchange hands between transacting parties through automated processes and transmission over ICT networks within a defined regulatory framework. Even though standardisation has allowed some of these systems and networks to grow to a global scale such as credit\Debit cards and Automated Teller Machines, ATMs, there are still many country and product -specific systems. Payment systems are settled domestically using

clearing and Real Time Gross Settlement, RTGS, systems and internationally using swift network. However, e- payments with all its numerous advantages has several challenges facing it. The dependent on technology to drive electronic payments and banking has also exposed banks and other financial institutions to fraudulent activities of criminals, who in some instances are more sophisticated than operators in the financial industry. Notwithstanding efforts of financial sector regulators such as CBN, NDIC and Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, to minimise e- fraud the country it has remained on the rise. For instance last week the NDIC expressed concern over the high incidence of fraud and forgeries in the banking system. The Managing Director/ CONTINUED ON PAGE 20

Lagos- Abuja (Mon-Fri): 07.00, 08.50, 12.00, 16.30. Abuja- Lagos (Mon-Fri): 09.00, 14.00, 15.00, 18.30. Lagos-Yola (Mon-Fri): 8.50am. Yola-Lagos (Mon-Fri): 13.00. Lagos- PHC (Mon-Fri): 17.00. PHC-Lagos: 19.00. Abuja-Yola: 11.00. Yola-Abuja: 13.00. Lagos-Abuja (Sat): 08.00, 08.50. Abuja-Lagos (Sat): 10.00, 15.00. Lagos-PHC (Sat): 17.00. PHC-Lagos (Sat): 19.00. Lagos-Yola (Sat): 08.50. Yola-Lagos (Sat): 13.00

Dana Air Abuja-Lagos 9am, 1pm, 5.28pm daily Lagos-Abuja 7am, 11am, 1.23pm,3.30pm daily Lagos-PH: 7.20AM, Ph-Abuja9.54am, Abuja-ph: 3.30pm and Ph-Lagos: 5.28pm daily Lagos-Uyo: 9.20am, Uyo-Abuja: 11.07am, Abuja-Uyo 1.05pm, Uyo-Lagos: 3pm daily Weekends Lagos-Abuja: 7.02am, 9am, 3.30pm Abuja-Lagos: 9am, 2.20pm and 5.28pm Lagos -Phc: 11.07am Phc-Lagos: 1.05pm Phc-Abuja: 12.51pm Abuja-Phc: 10.50am Lagos-Uyo: 9.18am Uyo-LOS -3.03pm Uyo-Abuja: 11.07am Abuja-Uyo: 1.05pm

Aero Contractors Lag-Abj: 06.50, 13.30, 16.30, 19.45 (Mon-Fri/Sat/Sun), 12.30 (Sun) 16.45 (Sat) Abj-Los: 07.30, 13.00, 19.00 (Mon-Fri/Sat, 10.30, 14.30, 19.30 (Sun, 18.30 Sat) Lag-Benin: 07.45, 11.00, 15.30 (Mon-Fri/Sat/ Sun) 12.30 (Sun 15.30 (Sat) Ben-Lag: 09.15, 12.30, 17.00 (Mon-Fri/Sat/Sun) 17.00 (Sat) 14.00 (Sun)Lag-Owe: 7.45am, 2pm daily

Business News

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

NDIC, CBN, EFCC rally on imperatives of e- payment security, efficiency CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19

Chief Executive Officer, Alhaji Umaru Ibrahim, who noted this in an address presented at the 2015 workshop organised by the corporation for financial journalists in Ilorin, Kwara State pointed out that Section 35 and 36 of the NDIC Act, 2006 had mandated all deposit-taking financial institutions to send returns on frauds, forgeries and other financial malpractices to the corporation on monthly basis. According to the NDIC boss, banks are also expected to notify the corporation on any member of staff that has been dismissed or have their appointments terminated or advised to retire on grounds of financial infractions. He diasclosed: “A total of 10,612 fraud cases in banks were reported in 2014, as against 3,786 cases in 2013, which showed an increase of 183 per cent. The amount involved in 2013 was N21.80bn as against N25.61bn in 2014. The types and nature of frauds and forgeries were largely web-based, ATM card related, fraudulent transfer/withdrawal of deposits, among others.” Ibrahim, however, said the corporation in collaboration with the CBN had embarked on various public awareness initiatives with a view to drastically reducing the percentage of Nigerians who have no access to any form of financial services from 39 per cent to 20 per cent by 2020. “The attention of the regulatory/supervisory authorities and operators has been drawn to this onerous task of focusing our attention to massive public awareness; hence, the rationale behind bringing to the fore the issues of e-banking, capacity of micro, small and medium-scale enterprises in the mobile payments system and effective management of associated risks to mobile payment system and effective management of associated risks to this workshop”, he explained. The NDIC boss listed challenges confronting e-banking, mobile payments and deposit insurance to include inadequate and poor infrastructure arising from lack of constant power supply, poor linkage access roads to remote locations and inadequate telecoms services in most locations and high overhead cost on the part of operators relying on alternative power source to ensure effective and efficient service delivery. Experts have charged the Deposit Money Banks, DMBs, in the country to provide lasting solution to limiting the electronic frauds in the banking system. For instance, a senior detective, Bank Fraud Section, EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Shazali, said it was very interesting that the country has recorded a remarkable increase in the adoption of electronic transactions with volume and value accounting for 86 per cent and 82 per cent of all transactions respectively in 2014 up from a mere 6 per cent in 2013. However, he said this should serve as a pointer to the urgency required in developing rigorous standards for the monitoring and security of electronic banking transactions in Nigeria. With N80 billionn worth of daily transactions, he said it would be a remiss for Nigerian banks and authorities not to anticipate and adequately prepare for the huge risks that accompany electronic transactions. As banks becomes more reliant on tech-

Emefiele

Lamorde

nology to drives electronic banking, he said this also comes with sophistication of fraud, especially as banks expose sensitive information of customers online , which the hackers leverage on to carry out their evil act of defrauding unsuspecting bank customers. “Nigerian banks must not only develop attractive electronic financial products for their clients but must put in place, the highest possible security and protection from attacks. Corporate controls, such as, internal audits, rotation of personnel, and physical & IT security procedures must be coupled with intensified fraud risk mitigation, assessment and management,” he stressed. Banks, according to him, must ensure that their in-house Know Your Customer, KYC, procedures and processes are consistent across all their different platforms to ensure uniformity of information and allow for easier detection of identity duplication and theft and possible fraudulent activities by customers, saying, the Bank Verification Number, BVN, initiative by the CBN was particularly encouraging in this regard. While advocating for the creation of a financial regulator specifically assigned to monitor electronic transactions and investigate real and possible cyber attacks as it is being done in United Kingdom, among others, he said the recently passed Cybercrime Act, 2015, is a good development as it would regulate e-commerce and prosecute offender, while ensuring that cyber crime offenders are brought to justice. He equally charged banks to be careful in the way they recruit their workforce in order to avoid insider connivance in electronic fraud, stating that, if banks are stringent in their recruitment process, this will enhance the integrity of the banking system.

Also Director, Banking & Payment System Department CBN, Dipo Fatokun, presenting a paper titled; ‘Enhancing the capacity of Micro, Small & Medium Scale Enterprises, MSMEs, for job creation through Mobile a Payment System’ pointed out that given the fast growing level of mobile phone subscribers which presently stood at 120 million in the country, the need to promote financial inclusion via the use of phone became of utmost important. Fatokun who was represented by Assistant Director, Banking and Payments System Department, CBN, Shola Agbola noted that the need for e- banking became necessary to bridge the gap that exists between banking services and rural dwellers who may lack other basic needs like television or radio but must have access mobile telephone. According him, CBN saw the necessity of involving these rural dwellers into banking services using e-banking given the fact that most of these people are poor illiterates who neither have accounts with banks nor have requirements needed for opening of bank account. Giving an update on mobile money in the country, Fatokun disclosed that as at 30th of September 2015, agents enrolled into the business stood at 98,158 while total number of subscribers grew to 24.3 million. Total volume of transactions, he said increased to 76.9 million while value of transactions equally appreciated to N815.4trn. He highlighted some of the challenges that affect the MSMEs to include in the process of job creation through mobile payment system to include epileptic power supply, poor telecommunication connectivity, lack of synergy between mobile money operators and Telcos need for enhanced customer awareness.

Umaru

It has so far been observed that majorIty of the general publIc Is stIll very much In the dark about the advantages of the mobIle bankIng servIces,

mobIle payment systems and pass-through deposIt Insurance, whIch therefore calls for IntensIve

publIc awareness In order to ensure the success of the mobIle payment system In

nIgerIa

Corroborating Fatokun , NDIC boss noted that the success of the mobile money operators and e-banking cannot also be complete without mentioning the collaboration of all the key players, particularly the CBN, Nigeria Communication Commission, Federal Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Communication Technology, telecommunication companies and the media. According to him the NDIC’s role is to protect the interest of the subscribers of MMOs through reimbursement of their claims in the event of failure of banks where their MMOs maintain their pool accounts. “ It has so far been observed that majority of the general public is still very much in the dark about the advantages of the mobile banking services, mobile payment systems and pass-through deposit insurance, which therefore calls for intensive public awareness in order to ensure the success of the mobile payment system in Nigeria,” he said. Head, Financial Inclusion Secretariat, the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mrs. Temitope Akin-Fadeyi, said rising incidences of e- fraud was a serious challenge to financial inclusion. According to her to collaborative of efforts of the key regulators in the financial service would in no distance time reduce e- fraud to the barest minimum. She said the motive of the CBN for launching the Financial Inclusion Strategy was to reduce the percentage of adult Nigerians excluded from financial services, saying, from then till now; the number of those financially excluded has drastically reduced. While speaking on how e-banking can support financial inclusion, she urged financial institutions to understand the customers’ needs and know what products suits them, provide systems security, having multiple integrated channels, as well as provide good customers services. She, however, said the apex bank had done a lot of sensitisation to enhance financial inclusion in the grassroots, stating that the regulatory authority had currently carried out awareness in virtually each of the local governments in the three States of the federation, promising that the campaign would continue until all local governments throughout the 36 states of the federation are touched.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business News

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

NERC commences review of Discos’ applications on new tariff Udeme AkpAn

head of next month’s planned implementation of new electricity tariff order, the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC has started reviewing applications for tariff received from Electricity Distribution Companies, Discos, and electricity consumers nationwide. The Commission indicated that it is preposterous to speculate on the range of increase or the tendency in electricity tariff at this stage. The NERC Chairman, Dr. Sam Amadi, while making this clarification at the weekend, said that it would be at the end of the ongoing review exercise which will be concluded in a few weeks that the figures of increase or decrease would be clearer to anyone. He clarified: “Most of the news items are in the realm of speculative journalism. The final figure is not clear to anyone as some of the distribution companies are still providing clarifications sought by the Commission’s technical team working on their applications. Some of them are also making corrections to their applications on the basis of those clarifications.”

“We will not allow any frivolous claim by the operators to be passed to electricity consumers as tariff. That is a major reason we told them to consult with their customers after they submitted their applications to us,” Amadi added. According to him, the resort to public consultation has not raised the bar about how utility tariff is determined in the country but has also empowered the consumers who now have a say in how they are served by the service providers. Amadi urged consumers engage operators in order to bring about increase and quality services in the power sector, adding that the need for engagement is important because of several complaints that the Commission has received from consumers in recent times. He pointed out that distribution companies were given a uniform template for tariff application, part of which was for them to consult with customers before submitting same to the Commission, saying that the reports of the Discos consultation are on the websites of the individual Discos and on NERC’s website.

Ogun ‘ll remain Nigeria’s industrial hub –Amosun

gun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, has restated his administration’s commitment to ensure that the state remains industrial capital of the country. The governor, who stated this while commissioning the multibillion naira Flexible Power Cables Factory built by Coleman Wires and Cables located at Arepo, along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, congratulated the management and members of staff of Coleman Technical Industries Limited for the multinaira factory. Amosun described it as a further demonstration of his administration’s determination in providing conducive atmosphere for industrial growth in Ogun State. “This project is an enviable step which, no doubt, will facilitate the attainment of a self-reliant and self-sustaining economy,” Amosun said. He said that as a mark of the success of his administration’s industrialisation drive, not less than 70 factories have so far commenced operations in Ogun State since he assumed office on May 29, 2011. “It is heart-warming to note that today’s commissioning of

the Flexible Power Cable factory just ten months after we commissioned the Medium and High voltage power cable factory on Tuesday, December 2, 2014, is an attestation to the fact that Ogun State is blessed with the necessary resources and potentials for rapid growth of industries,” Amosun said. The Ogun State governor described the electrical products factory as one of the ways the organised private sector was identifying with the power sector reforms of the federal government. The Governor further assured investors that the provision of an enabling environment for businesses to thrive as well as adequate security would remain a top priority of the state government. Amosun also seized the occasion to remind all the industries operating in Ogun State to always be mindful of their corporate social responsibility to host communities while also urging the host communities to reciprocate by displaying a high level of cooperation, tolerance and understanding for the industries. Earlier, the Chairman of Coleman Wires and Cables, Asiwaju Solomon Onafowokan, urged the Federal Government to diversify the nation’s economy in order to get the teeming youth gainfully employed.

“We expect comments as it is done all over the world, the comments usually become part of what will be used by the regulator to make decisions. This is a real search for tariff regime that will enable investors recover prudent cost and at the same time provide incentives for quality service for consumers ’’ Amadi said. He said the Commission is duty bound to ensure that only the right cost is passed to the customer. In a presentation on electricity tariff determination, Mr. Aba Terab,

a Senior Manager in the Market Competition and Rates Division, explained components of electricity tariff ‘’as transmission charge for units of electricity delivered, cost of the bulk supply points, Disco’s cost of distributing through its network and retail cost, marketing, metering, billing and collection losses as well as capital expenditure for network reinforcements and new installations.’’ He explained that the objective

of the current tariff review was to achieve credible tariffs, address revenue shortfalls and enable Discos to meet their obligations to customers and to also firm up commitments between Discos and customers through ownership of the process and effective consultation. Terab pointed out that in considering the tariff, the Commission shall work with the Discos to minimise the disparity in tariff between the tariff classes amongst the Discos.

L-R: Founder/Director, Interior Designers Excellence Awards (IDEA), Ms. Titi Ogufere; Executive Director, Sterling Bank Plc, Mr. Abubakar Suleiman; Managing Director, Alan Caray Technical and Logistics Limited, Mr. Ronnie D’Souza and Board member, Interior Designers Excellence Awards (IDEA); Ms. Bunmi Ajagbe, during a media briefing to kickoff 2015 IDEA Conference supported by Sterling Bank in Lagos.

Interswitch processes $2.4bn payment in 2014 IsAIAh erhIAwArIen

he electronic payment systems in Nigeria witnessed huge growth last year with over $2.4 billion payment in transactions processed by Interswitch. That figure is a reflection of the success story it has recorded following the creation of several multi-channel payment system by Interswitch since it was formed in 2008. Speaking during an event to mark the integration of its multi-channel payment platform Quickteller, with Visa, Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Interswitch, Mr. Mitchell Elegbe, disclosed that the success of Interswitch is linked to the payment channels that it introduced into Nigeria, which were before nonexistence. According to him, Quickteller has more than three billion active users in Nigeria saying that with the integration all kind of payment can now be made in Nigeria and abroad using the Visa Card. He said that Interswitch had a very ambitious programme

especially with its expansion across Africa adding that its first target was East Africa where it acquired a majority stake in a leading payment process in the region. Elegbe said further that with the integration, Interswitch is confident of making every payment system in the country easier saying that it will stop at nothing in extending that proposition to its esteem customers. He explained that Visa cardholders will now be able to use their cards to buy airtime, pay bills and transfer funds across all Quickteller channels stressing that merchants on Quickteller can now expand their customer base by accepting all Visa card payments. “This new integration represents an exciting step forward for the Quickteller platform, already the most popular online payment platform in Nigeria. Visa cardholders will be able to use their cards for the full range of payment services offered. We are proud to partner with a globally recognised brand such as Visa as we continue to make everyday payments easy for our custom-

ers”, he said. Commenting on the development, Country Manager, for Visa in West Africa, Mr. Ade Ashaye, disclosed that one of Visa primary goals in Nigeria is the opening up the benefits of electronic payments through a number of different platforms in the bid to drive the government agenda of a cashless economy. He said: “We are delighted that from now on, our cardholders will be able to use Quickteller’s platform and its multi-channel offerings to make both physical and virtual transactions all over the country. The partnership is further evidence of our dedication to constantly improve our offerings to our customers in Nigeria.” Ashaye described the partnership with Interswtich as further demonstration of Visa’s commitment to working closely with financial institutions, mobile network operators, governments and nongovernmental organisations in developing countries to extend access to financial services and electronic payments, helping to drive economic growth and financial inclusion by migrating cash spend to electronic payments.

Business News

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

MTN reconnects 3.4m subscribers Kano State needs blueprint iSaiah ErhiawariEn

TN Nigeria has reconnected 3.4 million subscribers that were disconnected in August following directive of the Nigerian Communications Commission over what the regulator described as improper SIM registration. Report on the group’s third quarter results indicated that the 3.4 million subscribers were part of the 5.1 million disconnected subscribers at the end of August 2015. It reported that while management continued to engage with the regulator, performance was impacted by ongoing regulatory restrictions in the country. According to MTN, billable minutes of use increased almost 13 per cent yearly in Nigeria, adding that the South African operations saw billable minutes grow by over 41 per cent. Similarly, the group noted that in Nigeria, data revenue was also on the rise, recording an almost 17 per cent increase and contributing 21.3 per cent to the company’s global total revenue. “Data revenue growth was impacted by a steep decline in data tariffs as a result of aggressive competition. The effective data tariff declined almost 60 per cent yearly”, the Group said. The operator disclosed that digital revenue continues to gain traction in Nigeria, contributing over 10 per cent to total revenue and improving data speeds through aggressive 3G rollout in main

cities stressing that data remains a priority for MTN in the Africa’s biggest economy. According to the Group President and Chief Executive Officer, Sifiso Dabengwa, the performance indices reflected progress made in significant improvements of network quality following corrective measures taken by MTN Nigeria, adding that it is also strengthening its market position in the South African operation. Meanwhile the third quarter report showed that MTN South Africa increased its subscriber numbers by 2 per cent noting that the telco had overall subscriber growth of 0.9 per cent quarter-on-quarter for the group, while registered Mobile Money subscribers grew almost 13 per cent to 36.5 million across 14 operations. MTN South Africa’s subscriber base now stands at 29.1 million, after prepaid subscriber numbers grew by 3.1 per cent. The postpaid subscriber base, however, was not as healthy, with numbers declining by 2.6 per cent to 5.2 million. This was blamed on the “disconnections of approximately 90 000 low-cost router SIMs recorded on the Autopage subscriber base and low availability of handsets”. Dabengwa said Mobile Money and digital content revenue continued to gain healthy traction for the telco

and continued to increase their contribution to revenue. “However, aggressive price competition, weakening macro-economic conditions in most of our markets, and unfavourable exchange rate movements continued to impact financial performance for the quarter,” Dabengwa added.

on farming –Ganduje abdulgafar OladimEji k anO

ano State Governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has disclosed that there was the need for investors in the state’s agricultural sector to draw blueprints showcasing the proper and feasible channel to exploit its vast though untapped agricultural resources to realize food security, poverty mitigation and industrialization. The governor, who gave the charge while receiving a joint delegation from Dantata Foods Nigeria Ltd. and Thomas Agriculture,UK, led by Alhaji Tajuddeen Dantata at the Kano Government House, said that his administration was willing to assist in implementing realistic proposals in the agricultural sector considering its importance. He pointed out that Kano boasts of huge population, abundant water and agricultural potentials, adding that his administration is willing to provide an enabling environment for investors to fully develop these potentials for common good. “We have the potentials and with the efforts of the Federal government to tackle insecurity, investors now have nothing to fear

in terms of security. For instance, now that you are proposing to construct a modern abattoir, this will provide raw materials to our leather tanneries since we have the biggest tanneries in West Africa”, Ganduje said. He hinted that the state government was mobilizing farmers to form cooperative societies to create the platform for them to produce and sell their products at competitive rates likewise provide them with access to extension services from the prospective investors for enhanced productivity. In his remarks, the leader of the delegation, Alhaji Tajuddeen Dantata, said their consortium intended to invest in the agriculture value chain in Kano, especially in poultry and meat production in view to the increasing demand for beef and chicken by fast food companies. He said they were also looking into the perishable products market for local consumption and export and solicited the state government’s support in terms of land with access to water, to enable them settle down for business. Mr. Richard Thomas from Thomas Agriculture UK, explained that they would focus on large integrated agriculture to reduce the deficit between production and consumption.

TUC cautions electricity firms on tariff hike Sylva EmEka-OkErEkE L-R, Principal Partner, Bayom Associate, Mr Daniel Abayomi, Vice President, Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry Ltd Prof Adesoji Adesugba, Director, Corporate Affairs, Unilever Nig Plc, Mrs Soromidayo George and President of Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry Ltd Mr Tony Ejinkenye during a meeting between Unilever Nigeria and Abuja Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Abuja at the weekend photo ROTIMI OSASONA

Oyo State, builders endorse Vitapur’s building model

yo State Government and the Lagos State Chapter of the Nigerian Institute of Architects have endorsed the new pre-fabricated building by Vitapur Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of Vitafoam Nigeria Plc. Besides, they commended Vitafoam Nigeria Plc on its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policy which aims at addressing fundamental needs of humanity despite the inclement operating environment. Speaking at the Commisioning of the two pre-fabricated buildings donated to Government College at Ibadan by Vitafoam Group, Oyo State’s Executive Governor Senator Abiola Ajimobi who was represented by the Permanent Secretary,

Oyo State Ministry of Education, Mrs. Aderonke Makanjuola, described the gesture as a strategic way on the part of company to take care of one of the basic needs of the people. Senator Ajimobi explained that Corporate Social Responsibility was the hallmark of sacrifice that any organisation can give back to the society that had done well for them. He said, “I would like to say a big thank you to the Board, management and staff of the Vitafoam Group for donating these two Pre- fabricated buildings constructed by Vitapur Nigeria Limited along with full furniture such as Sofas, Kitchen cabinets, Ward robes Mattresses and Pillows supplied by other Vitafoam subsidiaries to

complement the edifices donated to the Government College Ibadan”. Similarly, former governor of Kano State, Senator Musa Rabiu Kwankwanso, also commended the company for the innovative pre-fabricated buildings and explained that it would be an option to the Federal Government in its efforts to address housing deficit in Nigeria In his keynote address, the managing Director, Vitafoam Group, Mr Taiwo Adeniyi explained that Vitapur Nigeria Limited had blazed the trail by acquiring a new state-of-the-art sandwich panel production line which can produce a maximum length of 14.7metre with varying thickness, the first of its kind in West Africa.

he President, Trade Union Congress, TUC, Comrade Bobboi Kaigama, has warned electricity Distribution Companies, DisCos, to discontinue the planned hike in tariff, saying that workers will resist any attempt by the distribution companies to hike the price. Citing media reports on planned 49.4 percent increment, he pointed out that the union understood that a number of proposals had already been submitted to the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, pursuant to this objective, adding however that in view of the present harsh economic realities in the country, the proposed increase is wrong and lacks human face. He explained: “Why must poor masses always pay for what the rich men consume? What sense does it make for a man, who earns less than N20, 000 per month to be made to pay over N8, 000 on electricity bill alone? Why should they pay so much for what they do not use regularly with officers of the

distribution companies rarely bothering to read the analogue metres? Surely, Nigerians deserve a much better deal. “They either assign tones to subscribers or enrol them on plans that attract daily, weekly or monthly deductions. We say no to this nonsensical idea. The N750 charge is fundamentally fraudulent and unjust and must be out rightly abolished. Anyone canvassing its sustenance or any increase in tariff does a grave disservice to the nation,” Kaigama added/ He said that TUC was informed that NERC was considering introducing measures that will facilitate reduction of the rate of fixed charge on consumers, adding that the implementation of the planned increase would amount to an invitation to anarchy, adding that it is totally oppressive, indefensible and retrogressive. “Little wonder that the NERC has been foot-dragging on the issue of making prepaid meters readily available to consumers of electricity because of the excessive billing they have been imposing on all and sundry. “

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Jobs & Career

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Workers’ rights violation: Labour leaders warn erring firms sylvA emekA-Okereke

orried by the growing violation of workers’ rights and privileges in the private and public sectors of the nation’s economy, stakeholders in the labour movement have moved to protect the rights of Nigerian workers. This is even as organised labour unions have also urged both the state and federal governments to protect workers from exploitation through casualisation as well as poor wages. Long before now, the International Labour Union, ILO, the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, the Trade Union Congress, TUC had warned operators in public and private sectors to respect the rights of workers under their employ, warning that labour unions will not close their eyes to such violations To make real its threat, some labour leaders recently stormed some erring firms in Lagos state, where they expressed their displeasures over abuse of workers’ rights, indecent work environment and inadequate pay contrary to International Labour Organisation’s, ILO’s stance. The President of the NLC, Comrade Ayuba Wabba said abuse of workers’ rights has remained a problem for work-

Buhari

ers, threatening to tackle some companies involved in such acts. He listed some of the violations as indecent work places; safety of workers, workers rights, social protection as well as promotion of social dialogue through collective bargaining, stressing that those issues must be addressed by labour leaders to improve workers welfare. Ayuba also noted that non-provision of social protection for the weak, vulnerable and unemployed were causing insecurity

Wabba

in the country, which is an indication that the youths are not well managed. Similarly, the General Secretary, National Union of Garment and Textile Workers of Nigeria, NUTGTWN and Chairman of the Industrial Global Union Nigeria, Comrade Isa Aremu frowned at job recruitment exercises in the country. He cited the case of ill-fated recruitment exercise by the Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, which claimed several lives, adding that such act would not bring de-

velopment to the country. “The International Labour Organisation (ILO) defines decent work as work that takes place under conditions of freedom, equity, security and dignity in which rights are protected and adequate remuneration and social coverage is provided equally for men and women” Aremu stated. He said apart from non-payment of salaries of workers, casualization of staff and outsourcing of workers under inhumane and criminal terms as seen in many commercial banks and government agencies have become the order of the day. “The rise of precarious employment has multiple consequences affecting our societies leading to deepening poverty, increasing inequality while the incidence of precarious work continues to grow at an alarming rate in all sectors of the economy,” he asserts. Similarly, the President of the Association of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions, ASSBIFI, Mr Sunday Salako,condemned a situation, where workers were treated with disdain, disclosing that indecent employment was still being promoted in the country due to failure to adhere to the principle of tripartism

NLC seeks relocation of OTUWA Secretariat to Nigeria ...as group’s President vows to reposition body Olufemi AdeOsun AbujA

igeria has called for the relocation of the Secretariat of the Organisation of Trade Unions of West Africa (OTUWA) to Nigeria with a view to making the body more responsive to issues affecting industrial relations at the continental level. Making this call at the just ended threeday Special Delegates Conference recently Abuja, the Deputy President NLC, Comrade Kiri Mohammed, said the move would enable the organisation to effectively discharge its responsibility in the atmosphere of peace, with the support from the two major labour centres in the country The NLC president, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, underscored the significance of the revival of OTUWA, insisting that it would not only lend credence to regional integration, but also ensure the unification of the various trade unions in the African continent. “For us the working people of Nigeria, the revival of OTUWA is a significant milestone that cannot be overlooked. The theme of this Conference, “Uniting Work-

ers to Promote Regional Integration in West Africa”, is germane, most especially at this time that regional integration and cooperation is a worldwide phenomenon, inspired by the success of the European experience. “The most compelling reason why the working people of the West African subregion must come together under a formidable trade union organisation, is that like the West African countries, they are very small, not only in population, but also in terms of economic output, so also are our trade unions or labour centres. “Since development requires the organisation of social and economic activity on a much larger scale, we must have large and big trade union organisations in the region to be able to engage meaningfully. This is because a big trade union organisation brings with it opportunities for a wide range of benefits associated with it; increased specialization, technical skills and capacity, competition, access to a wider range of technological knowledge, and greater sharing of ideas and experience in all areas of endeavour. “We must reflect on the fact that West African countries today are weakly inte-

grated nationally, regionally, and internationally. Ethnic and socio-political divisions are particularly dominant in the region. Our trade unions are small and labour centres significantly fragmented in many of our countries, and these are impediments to regional integration. Regionally, West African countries are divided by a wide range of institutional, legal, socio-economic and cultural barriers. At the international trade union level, West Africa is increasingly marginalized.”. Wabba added. Earlier in his speech at the meeting tagged “Renewal Congress”, the President of the association, Comrade Alex Bonney, explained that the special congress was aimed at repositioning the organisation to play its expected critical roles as a regional labour group, in the West Africa sub-region. Bonney, while delivering his speech said holding the special congress at this time was th greatest thing to happen to OTUWA and the region, adding that “today is a great day in the history of trade union development in the Economic Community of West African State (ECOWAS) as we gathere here in Abuja for the rejuvenation of Organisation of Trade Unions of West Africa.” He added that the sub-regional trade

unions had a key role to play in their respective Regional Eonomic Communities (RECs) to make sure that labour and employment issues become central to all socio-economic policies and programmes of their regional. For trade unions to play this critical role within the global community, Comrade Bonney said they must be strong, influential and adequately organised, adding that there was the need to consolidate and strengthen sub-regional trade union organisations for them to remain relevant in their respective RECs. Specifically, he pointed out that OTUWA, as one of the sub-regional trade union organisations in Africa, had a duty to contribute effectively to the ECOWAS’ regional integration process. He stated: “I was elected as OTUWA president in 2009, nevertheless, as I mentioned before that OTUWA was not forceful to engage the ECOWAS and its secretariat. Furthermore, OTUWA rarely organized trade union activities for its affiliates due to a number of reasons.” The meeting, which was attended by representatives of labour unions across the ECOWAS sub-region, is aimed at repositioning the organisation with a view to articulating the plights of workers drawn across the continent.

Jobs & Career

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

ATSSSAN lauds Perm Sec over stance on govt policies compliance Olusegun KOiKi

he Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, ATSSSAN, has lauded the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Aviation, Mrs. Binta Bello, for her insistence in compliance with the Federal Government’s policies. In a letter signed by its General Secretary, Captain Tarnorgu, the association specifically cited the implementation of eight years tenure limit

for Grade Level 17 and its equivalent by the ministry as one of the recent policy implementation, which had endeared Bello to the workers. Similarly, it also noted the insistence of the permanent secretary on the rightful placement of staff, stressing that this had increased the confidence of the workers on the minister. Tarnorgu declared that since taking over the mantle of leadership in the sector, Bello had stuck with standard, principles and ethics in the management of the industry.

The open letter stressed that it was rare for workers to openly appreciate officers in position of authority over handling of affairs in any government’s ministries or agencies especially in a sensitive sector like aviation. It reads in part: “The entire aviation industry under your watch has become more socially and administratively responsible to its onerous responsibilities to stakeholders and Nigerians. We are particularly happy with your in-exhaustive capacity to

quietly shoulder tasks and seamlessly carry along social partners for the common good of the industry.” He emphasized that maintaining and sustaining standards was crucial to safety in aviation, which he said had performed creditably well to handle. The association assured that the sector would soon experience improved operations following the Permanent Secretary’s discussion with the management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, to ensure the refining of Jet A-1 in Nigeria.

ILO, IOE launch campaign to end slavery

nternational Labour Organization, ILO, has launched a new global campaign to end modern slavery. Launched in partnership with the International Organization of Employers, IOE, and the International Trade Union Confederation, ITUC), the ‘50 for Freedom’ campaign was aimed at mobilizing public supports and influence in at least 50 countries to ratify the ILO’s Forced Labour Protocol by 2018. Global youth unemployment rate has stabilized at 13 per cent, following a period of rapid increase between 2007 and 2010, however it is still above the pre-crisis level of 11.7 per cent, according to the ILO’s Global Employment Trends for Youth 2015 report released. The report highlights a drop in the number of unemployed youth to 73.3 million in 2014. That is 3.3 million less than

the crisis peak of 76.6 million in 2009. Compared to 2012, the youth unemployment rate has decreased by 1.4 percentage points in developed economies and the European Union and by half a percentage point or less in Central and South-Eastern Europe (non-EU) and CIS, Latin America, the Caribbean as well as SubSaharan Africa. The remaining regions of East Asia, South-East Asia and the Pacific, the Middle East and North Africa saw an increase in the youth unemployment rate between 2012 and 2014, or no change in the case of South Asia. Because of a shrinking youth labour force, the youth unemployment rate remains stubbornly high despite a decline in the number of unemployed youth. In fact, the rate is expected to creep up to 13.1 per cent in 2015, according to the report’s projec-

tions. Almost 43 per cent of the global youth labour force is still either unemployed or working yet living in poverty. More young women and men in education but still facing a difficult labour market transition Global shares of youth in the total labour force, whether employed or unemployed, are decreasing over time. One reason is that more young people (although still not enough) are participating in education. However, millions of young people in low-income countries continue to leave school to take up jobs when they are too young. According to the report, 31 per cent of youth in low-income countries have no educational qualifications at all, compared to 6 per cent in lower middle-income countries and 2 per cent in upper middle-income countries.

South Africa bans public sector employment

outh African Government has placed a freeze on hiring of state workers, after being forced to use savings to pay for wage increases. The three-year public sector wage settlement entered into earlier in 2015 was higher than inflation, putting more pressure on public finances, according to the Finance Minister, Nhlanhla Nene. Disclosing this during his mini-budget speech

in Parliament, he said “the 2015 public sector wage agreement resulted in a 10.1 percent increase in the wages as well as the benefits of government employees this year. The main change in the fiscal framework by comparison with the February budget arises from this year’s settlement of salary adjustments and benefits for public servants. For the period ahead,

the improvement in compensation means that there is no room for expanding government employment. Nene said that a moderating factor was that the number of personnel employed on government’s payroll had declined since 2012, as the budgets that would have been available to fund vacant positions would now be required to compensate existing employees.

Workers exchanging ideas in office

Labour unions task global leaders on climate change

ith just a few days away from the muchanticipated 21st Conference on climate change (COP21), in Paris, about 200 trade union delegates from about 30 industrialised and developing countries gathered to carve out a common position that would be defended during the two-week conference. French Foreign Affairs Minister and President of the forthcoming COP21, Laurent Fabius handed a list of trade union priorities during a meeting in Paris on September 15, 2015. The banner in front of him reads, “Unions for Climate, there are no jobs on a dead planet.” Organised by the International Trade Union Confederation, ITUC, the two-day event showcased interventions by organisations outside the labour movement,

such as Greenpeace and the World Wide Fund for Nature, WWF. The aim is to build a broad coalition that will have a strong impact on the negotiations to reach an agreement that will prevent the atmosphere from heating up by more than 2°C. “It is the most significant challenge of the next 30 years,” Sharan Burrow, General Secretary of the ITUC, said during the opening session of a meeting which intended to prove that “climate change is a trade union issue”. Although only about a third of countries worldwide have submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs) so far, initial assessments seem to indicate that the planned carbon emission reductions will not be enough to remain

within tolerable limits, according to Merlyn Van Voore of the United Nations Environment Programme, UNEP. French Foreign Minister, Laurent Fabius, would preside over the COP21 and indicate that current country pledges on CO2 emissions will lead the atmosphere to warm by 3°C. He stressed, however, that a mechanism of periodical review every five years, to be negotiated in Paris, could help cool down the “curve” of global warming and bring it back to 2°C before it’s too late. But this will depend, according to Fabius, on the legally binding nature of the instruments put in place to regulate climate change, the investments in green technologies and the mobilisation of civil society, including trade unions.

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Real Estate & Environment

Stakeholders set housing priorities for incoming minister The senate will this week conclude the ongoing screening and confirmation of ministerial nominees sent to it by the Executive. As Nigerians await, with baited breath, the allocation of portfolios to the would-be ministers, Olufemi Adeosun, reports on the expectations of stakeholders in the housing sector from the new minister that will be appointed to oversee the affairs of one of the most critical sector’s to the nation’s sustainable development.

espite the huge potential of the housing sector in Nigeria, it has for a long time been plagued by policy inconsistency and lack of political will on the part of successful administrations to tackle head-on, some of the issues which have made it lie prostrate-unable to achieve it potential-as an engine of growth, and employment generation.

Thus, unlike other developed countries where housing and construction sector remains the mainstay of their economies, the sector is said to contribute a negligible 3.1 per cent to the Nigeria’s GDP, a country which prides itself Africa’s largest economy with a rebased GDP of $510 billion. Beyond this frightening statistics, the manifestation of the downturn in the nation’s housing sector, is visible on the streets as millions of Nigerians are without decent homes.

Nigeria’s real estate groans amid cash squeeze 30

According to financial analysts, at 1million unit cost, it would require N17trillion to bridge the housing deficit gap, put at 17million units. Stakeholders in the housing sector however said that the calibre of person that President Mohammadu Buhari appoints as the Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development would demonstrate his commit-

ment to the revival of the sector as well as his determination to address the myriads of challenges confronting it. According to the stakeholders, it beholds the incoming minister to create more conducive environment for actors in the sector, enhance capacity building for professionals, encourage production of affordable and quality

It Is no longer an Issue that the natIon’s housIng sector has been plagued by many challenges whIch have stagnated Its potentIal for energIzIng the economIc development and job creatIon opportunItIes

building materials and enhance access to credit facilities. Highlighting some of the priority areas that need immediate action, the Managing Director of an Abuja based housing development company, Aiben Investment and Property, Mr. Andy Elerewe, said that he would like the would-be minister to concentrate on three priority areas. He listed the priority areas to include re-visitation of the nation’s housing policy, overhauling of the mortgage system and addressing the core issue of access to finance. According to him, revisiting the nation’s housing policy template would include addressing the issue of Land Use Act which makes allocation of lands the exclusive preserve of the state governments, and resettlement and compensation policy, which he also noted, puts housing deCONTINUED ON PAGE 26

Accra has most expensive property –Report

Middle East property stronger amid oil price drop 29

Real Estate & Environment

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Stakeholders set housing priorities for incoming minister

CONTINUED FROM 25

velopers under the firm grips of the local inhabitants. He said,”It is no longer an issue that the nation’s housing sector has been plagued by many challenges which have stagnated its potential for energizing the economic development and job creation opportunities. One of the bane of the sector, to my mind, has been policy inconsistency and failure of successive governments to come up with bold steps capable of revamping the sector. “As we await the presidential proclamation on who heads which ministry, the expectation of stakeholders in the housing sector is to have a minister who will draw up achievable programmes in the short, medium and long terms. This will include, among other issues, the revisitation of the nation’s housing policy with a view to reviewing it to meet the current realities in the housing sector, addressing the issue of mortgage as well as the issue of access to finance. According to him, the issue of resettlement and compensation is affecting housing development, particularly in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. He lamented that the non-implementation of resettlement policy in Nigeria had left housing developers to the vagaries of local settlers who cease the opportunity at will, to set exorbitant financial conditions. “The issue of resettlement and compensation for the locals is threatening the foundation of housing development in Nigeria, and particularly, in the FCT. Initially, when you acquire a property or allocated a land, the resettlement arm of the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) wades in to determine compensation to be paid. There used to be a benchmark. But now, the settlers have formed unions and they now charge exorbitant compensation terms with a very dare effects on housing production cost,”he added. Elerewe also noted that the minister would need to sit down with the stakeholders in the housing sector with a view to redesigning a workable system that is realistic, and achiev-

Housing estate

able. According to him, the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), being the single secondary mortgage lender in the country has been constraint by low finance and as such could not meet the volume of loans applications with liquidity. He added that the development was not only impeding the performance of the bank, it was one of the major factors responsible for the putting on hold of Estates Development Loan(EDL) in the last two years. Elewere also linked the high rate of abandoned projects across the country to inaccessibility to finance. Commenting further, he stated,”The financial system in the country is not supportive of housing development. Government should come up with alternative funding model. Many of the abandoned projects we have across the country are due to lack of finance to carry them through. I can say without any contradiction that the needed foreign financial support is not coming either. “No private developer has had access to international funding for over a decade. Shelter Afrique that ought to lead the way comes up with stringent conditions difficult to be met by housing developers.World Bank does not directly finance housing, they

only give technical assistant in the area of capacity building. It is therefore important for us as a nation to look inward with a view to coming up with a financing model peculiar to our situation.” Also speaking, National President, Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria,(REDAN), Rev. Ugo Chime, stressed the need for the provision of an enabling environment for the growth of the housing sector, adding that government alone could not afford the funding requirement needed to meet the huge deficit put at 17million units. He explained,”The key thing is that it requires huge investment to meet the current housing deficit in the country. Even at 1million per unit, it would take 17 trillion to fund housing provision on a consistent basis and that is the Nigeria’s budget for four years. Consequently, what we need is the enabling environment. For instance, we need to work on our legal infrastructure. There is the urgent need to amend some aspects of the existing housing laws to bring them at per with modern needs. According to him, the housing sector has suffered for a very long time with little or no investment into it due to lack of political will on the part of the stakeholders to do the

The key Thing is ThaT iT requires huge invesTmenT To meeT The currenT housing deficiT in The counTry. aT

even

1million per uniT, iT would Take

17 Trillion To fund housing provision on a consisTenT basis and ThaT is The

nigeria’s budgeT for four years. consequenTly, whaT we need is The enabling environmenT

Commissioning of Bank of Industry-funded Solar power project in Osun State... recently

needful. He stated that the best way to address some of the challenges facing the sector was for all the actors to support the efforts of government aimed at revamping the sector. While it is the function of the minister to implement the programmes of government, the REDAN boss, argued that the power to put the sector on the path of greatness rest solely on the President. “The problem is supposed to be that of the President to direct the minister to do the needful. President Mohammadu Buhari must remember that the millions of Nigerians that voted him into power come from the lowest echelon of the societal ladder and as such, he should strive to protect their interest at all time, especially their rights to decent and affordable housing. “The issue of affordable housing is not in the good interest of our political elites. And they will not be able to move that something be done a out it as in other sectors that directly affect them. So, our expectation is that the President should take the issue of housing as a priority in line with his campaign promises.” To Abiodun Ipaye, an Abuja based estate surveyor and valuer, the calibre of person appointed to head the housing ministry would determine the seriousness or otherwise of the current administration to tackle head-on the lingering issue of homelessness in the country. According to him, the last two ministers that headed the ministry tried to work on policy issues, advising that it would be in the good interest of the incoming minister to complete the process. While acknowledging the huge potential in the housing sector, Ipaye reiterated that only an enabling environment that guarantees private sector participation, could unleash it for the benefit of the people. Note: Use a Housing Estate picture to illustrate Page 1 of this copy and President Buhari’s, Senate President’s, and Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria’s, FMBN’s MD pictures to illustrate Page 2

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Real Estate & Environment

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Nigeria ranks 5th in emerging market’s luxury property costs

MORTGAGE NOTES with Adenike Fasanya-Osilaja

SYLVA EMEKA-OKEREKE

Email: Nike@MVPSolutionsinc.com Fasanya-Osilaja https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=35277333

Is there a Case for a Dual Real Estate System?

was involved in a very enlightening discourse with a valued older financial guru recently who has been extensively involved in the Nigeria market, and he made a statement that really stuck with me. In his opinion, it will be almost impossible to have a unilateral mortgage finance system in Nigeria due to certain unique features of the Nigerian housing market. I was quite surprised to hear this because this person has been in the industry for over 30 years, so I asked for his reasons for such a drastic statement. He basically reiterated that the mortgage finance products in the Nigerian industry today, by their very nature can only be offered to a very select clientele, and that there would always be a vacuum in the higher property market. He went further to discuss his reasons: 1. The Purchase Price Dilemma: The prices of property purchased in Nigeria seem to automatically establish parallel pricing based simply on the mode of acquisition. Properties with a mortgage component seem to sell for lower prices than those purchased for cash. As is universally known, real estate has long been the preferred investment tool for ill-gotten gains. The danger with this scenario is the fact that the people who try to hide such illgotten wealth do not negotiate a realistic market based price for the properties they buy. As a result, similar properties in the same vicinity end up selling for wildly different prices. 2. The Mortgage Qualification Dilemma: If the typical upper level civil servant cannot afford to purchase the properties being sold by their own state, then the problem has not been solved. They would have been priced out of the market because they cannot (or should not be able

to) pay cash for their desired property. As a result, the “luxury market” should not even be considered at any point, in the development of a relevant mortgage industry in Nigeria. In fact, he felt that the mortgage financiers would be best advised to stick to trying to sell to the lower end of the market rather than trying to source both high and low markets. Indeed, if the NMRC tried to make a play for the upper price level properties, their funding would be used up in a jiffy. 3. The NMRC Guidelines (Implementation) Dilemma: One of the areas in which our company is training mortgage staff and consulting the most for them in, is in the practical applications of the NMRC guidelines. It is clear that the said guidelines will not work for every loan, but it is especially evident that they will not work for the luxury market. Again, the issue of debt ratio was his biggest concern. His contention was that if mortgage practitioners are forced to grant credit using the ratios set forth in the guidelines, no one would qualify for the higher priced properties. According to him, Nigeria is a market that must take into consideration the “doctrine” of “income derived from other sources” in the underwriting of most mortgage loans, even of the lower priced property market. Otherwise, most homeowners today would not have qualified for the purchases they made. The sheer amount of such “other income” for luxury properties, if they were subject to the same guidelines, would put them well beyond reach.

4. The Goal/Specialization of the Mortgage Practitioners: He believed that forcing the entire market into a “one size fits all” mortgage guideline box could cause an upheaval in the industry. As it is, different companies have found their niches in the areas they are most comfortable operating. It would be a disservice to force anyone to operate outside of their specialization and emphasized that there would be a backlash from the industry if this was seen to be the case. I actually agreed with a lot of the issues the gentleman rose, but as always, my take on the matter is that we must start from somewhere. It is agreed that right now, the market is such a mess that any sudden changes might upset its fragility. The fact remains that the market has to be standardized and sanitized, and if we don’t start to work on it, it will only continue to get worse. So, my view is that we have toxxxxx start the process, watch its practical implementation, and amend as we move forward. Nothing is impossible, not even the standardization of the Nigerian mortgage system. I would really like to know what you all think regarding the above. Do you agree that a dual market is the only way out for the Nigerian mortgage industry? Have the NMRC guidelines forced you to alter your business model? How are you getting the job done? I look forward to hearing from you soon. In the meantime, please feel free to put up your comments and/or questions, and as always, make it a great day.

ABOUT THE WRITER Fasanya-Osilaja a lawyer and mortgage expert has owned and operated Marvel Ventures Mortgage, Inc. (www.marvelmortgage.com), a Chicagobased Mortgage Brokerage Company since 2000 and has worked in the US Mortgage industry since 1996. She also consults and facilitates industryrequired activities, from set up of mortgage organisations to documentation, training and compliance.

igeria has been ranked fifth in the cheapest luxury market in the emerging market with a value of $967.03 million per square. In a survey conducted by Lamudi, a global property firm, Angola ranked first with $4. 513 billion per square while Ghana trailed with $1.169 billion. Tunisia and Indonesia emerged 3rd and 4th respectively with $1.000 billion and $983 million with Nigeria coming 5thwith $967.03 million. Other countries ranked include, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast, Tanzania, Mexico, Colombia and Kenya Fast-growing Ethiopia is the cheapest place in the world’s emerging markets to buy luxury property, according to a new ranking. Top end real estate in the country costs around $448 per square metre while luxury property in Angola is ten times more expensive at over $4,500 per square metre. Africa’s second most populous country, Ethiopia is also one of Africa’s top economic performers. Its economy is expected to expand 8.6 percent this year and 8.5 percent in 2016, compared with 10.3 percent growth last year, the International Monetary Fund stated. While Ethiopia comes top in

the “cheap league”, Ivory Coast is next in line, with a square metre of posh home, costing around $483, and third is Tanzania, where classy real estate costs $549 per sq m. Prices for Angolan luxury property were pushed to extremes as a result of the country’s oil boom after the civil war ended in 2002. Last year in New York City ultra-luxury apartments reached an average cost of $1,297 per square foot or approximately $13,800 per square metre, according to one estimate while a square metre in London’s Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea would set you back $18,270, about £12,000. Meanwhile, Lamudi Nigeria has entered into a strategic partnership with leading mortgage bank, Imperial Homes Mortgage Bank Limited to improve and deepen access to affordable mortgage facilities. It said, through its online mortgage calculator, property buyers can search for properties on the website and also estimate their potential. According to it, the premium is only for its members in yearly subscription, basic yearly subscription, basic monthly subscription, premium monthly subscription, premium plus monthly subscription and premium plus yearly subscription members only.

Experts warn on panicky property buying

Cheap steel is not the only thing being dumped on the global markets by the Chinese, a leading British property expert has warned.

The warning focused on Chinese investors, who own property in London and are beginning to sell their investments as they seek to take their profits and run. Chinese buyers have invested millions of pounds in Britain’s property market, particularly in London, where prices have risen by an impressive 6.6 per cent during the past year to an average of £493,026. However, buying agent Henry Pryor said the tide has turned and the Chinese are more likely to be selling properties in London. He told Mail Online: ‘The first round of Chinese buyers, most of who bought off-plan, would like to crystallise their significant gains and these yet-to-be completed flats are popping up on Rightmove and Zoopla. ‘Those who own completed properties ‘shrink wrapped’ them rather than letting them out and one or two are being offered for sale. They are struggling to compete with the latest phase the developers have released, a problem that many buyers of the

newly built residential enclaves will face and one reason I am not advising clients to speculate in these quarters.’ He said: ‘I am loathing working for Chinese nationals, they have little understanding of the regulations that we operate in the UK, our antimoney laundering requirements and they are impatient and often aggressive dealers.’ British estate agents ran road shows in China to attract investors to buy property in London as many Chinese investors bought new build properties in London following a spate of road shows in China by London lawyers and estate agents. Pryor continued: ‘Many I fear will regret their long distance purchases, in many cases bought unseen. ‘These days the road shows have rolled on from the prime areas to the Chinese equivalent of Basingstoke where the first rush of Chinese buyers are now reselling their ‘investment grade’ London property. ‘Once the Dragon realises that London property has already seen its growth spike, interest will move on to some other international destination leaving thousands of square feet of expensive London property dark, unloved and depreciating.’

Real Estate & Environment

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Cool ceil

GO DARK Walls in the master bed room are covered in Donghia’s Sil k Texture II, and the ceiling is painte d in Benjamin Moore Regal Select in Night Horizon to dramatize the soa ring space in a Long Island Shingl e-style beach house decorated by Rob Southern.

Source: www.housebeautiful.com

Accra has most expensive property

“Building, selling or buying real property-seekers nline property portal, Lamudi Ghana has re- various locations. estate will likely be one of the big- tion they need to leased a comprehensive real estate market Managing Director of Lamudi Ghana, Akua gest decisions Ghanaians ever vestment decision report, showing that Accra in Ghana has the Nyame-Mensah outlined the importance of make. Lamudi’s publications equip to find their ideal most expensive and affordable property to buy. this report to the Ghanaian public. The market report focuses on Accra market, touching on key areas in the nation’s capital. The report indicates that Accra has a median house purchase price of approximately GH¢240,000 per bediddle Eastern investors’ Europe and more than US$3 billion for Middle Eastern capital but room, and a median apartment rental price of over these Midd have sustained their ap- flowed into London. Private wealth, competition from cash rich GH¢3,000 per bedroom per month. changing, petite for global proper- too, has made its way into Europe’s Chinese investors is forcing Areas such as Airport Residential and Trasacco is becomi are ranked as some of the most expensive locations ty assets, particularly in London, most prized property assets. these groups to step outside of ereign We However, while their preoccupa- their comfort zone, Moussalli to buy a house, with median prices reaching about despite lower oil prices, accordingly expl tion with European cities is well pointed out. ing to a new report. GH¢618,000 per bedroom. Meanwhile, areas such opposed t HSBC Tower, the New Scot- documented, Middle East sovereign as Dansoman and Kwabenya are ranked among the ‘During the global financial we’re seei more affordable locations in the capital, going for a land Yard site and the Savoy ho- investors are beginning to seek as- crisis Middle Eastern groups buy junio tel, all in London are just a few sets outside of Europe in a bid to were able to acquire property median price of roughly GH¢61,800 each. for examp Ghana’s real estate has been experiencing growth of the prestigious properties ac- ‘rebalance their portfolios’, accord- deals that no one else could. The firm quired by Middle Eastern inves- ing to Fadi Moussalli, head of JLL’s Today, there is far more liquidas well as challenges over the years. er oil pric The discovery of oil in 2007 led to a boom in luxury tors in the last year, the report International Capital Group, MENA. ity in the market, not just from steer the M ‘The region’s extensive purchas- Asia but from some US Prireal estate investment. However, properties catering from international real estate ment stra ing power has been fuelled by fiscal vate Equity Groups and other to the lower middle income segment have not seen firm JLL reveals. estate all The Sovereign Wealth Funds surpluses from hydrocarbon exports non-Arab Sovereign Wealth much investment. the final q The country already has a housing deficit of over of Gulf Co-operation Council and this has offered investors access Funds,’ he explained. effect of o 1.7 million units, with the gap widening each year. (GCC) countries are the region’s to deals in the world’s gateway citHe pointed out that trophy will undou The lack of real estate data is partly responsible for most prolific overseas investors ies,’ he said. assets may rub the egos of dle East’s Historically, the UK has received the region’s billionaires but and allocated US$4.5 billion to this situation. scale back The real estate market report is therefore a wel- global real estate in the final lion’s share of Middle East invest- suburban office assets and loGreen-Mo coming relief for players in the real estate industry. quarter of 2014, according to fig- ment, followed by France, Germany gistics facilities are also provMarkets r and the United States. These mature ing popular in this current cliIt aims to help real estate developers in their pricing ures from JLL. JLL. Of this, over 80% was spent in markets have provided a safe haven mate. The investment style of while educating the public on what costs to expect in

Middle East property stronger amid oil price

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Real Estate & Environment

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

ling ideas

LACQUER

In the kitch en of a New York apartment designed by Philip Gorrivan, iridescent mosaic tiles and a ceiling lacq uered in Benjamin Moore’s Oce anic Teal pick u p a color fr om the wallpaper in the hallway . Thonet barstoo ls by York Street Studio. Rom an shades in Homer wool in Verdigris by Gorrivan by High land Court.

y –Report

with the informao make better inns and, ultimately, l home,” she said.

e drop

dle Eastern groups is , too. ‘Buying smart ing a focus and Sovealth is now increasloring debt plays, as to direct deals and ing more and more or debt instruments, ple,’ added Moussalli. m believes that lowces will continue to Middle East’s investategy. Although real locations surged in quarter of 2014, the ongoing low oil prices ubtedly see the Mids global investment k, according to David organ, Global Capital research director at

GOLD LEAF

To make the Tony Duquette chandelier feel more at home, Ruthie Sommers had decorative painter Peter Bolton create an elaborate tree design in gold leaf on the dining room ceiling. Jacaranda and plum trees inspired the vibrant pink Penny Morrison fabric on the front of the chairs and the Claremont floral on the back. Rug from Melrose Carpet.

Property sales in Spain up by 8.8% R esidential property sales in Spain increased by 8.8 percent, compared to the same month a year ago, the latest data from the National Statistics Institute shows. The year on year increase in June is the fourth consecutive monthly rise following those experienced when home sales rose by 22 percent, 5 percent and 5.4 percent, respectively. The rising sales trend also ends 10 consecutive months of year on year declines and the growth is mainly due to the sales of existing homes while sales of new homes fell by 3 percent year-in, year-out. The highest number of home sales per 100,000 populations was in Valencia followed by the Canary Islands and the Balearics. In relative terms, the regions where home sales increased most years on year were Madrid with a rise of 30.4 percent, Extremadura up 25.7 percent and Navarra up 19.3 percent. The largest decrease was in Castilla-La Mancha with a fall of 21.6 percent followed by La Rioja where sales fell by 12.8 percent and Castilla y León where they were down by 10.3 percent. The figures come as a new report indicated that foreign demand for second homes on the Costa del

Sol has been strong this year. Overseas buyers regard property in the area as a bargain, according to the report from real estate consultancy Aguirre Newman. It also reveals that 90 percent of foreign buyers them can afford to buy without financing while local demand is hampered by lack of mortgage choice. There was a slight increase in the number of new developments being started on the Costa del Sol, according to the report, with four new developments being started in 2013. Not a single new development was started in the preceding three years. However, the number of new homes for sale fell by 18 percent in 2014; from 18485 to 16,508 homes, and 30% of new homes on the coast remain unsold. The average new flat for sale on the Costa del Sol is 127 square meters with two bedrooms and costs €196,956, whilst the average single family homes is 279 square meters and costs €393,520. That means prices have fallen 5.7% and 9.7 percent respectively in a year.

Real Estate & Environment

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Nigeria’s real estate groans amid cash squeeze SYLVA EMEKA-OKEREKE

igeria’s real estate operators are no longer finding it easy as exposure to capital market has lead to its current cash squeeze, according to experts. Experts had earlier warned that, unless urgent steps were taken by the Federal Government to stem the tide, the growing financial squeeze might worsen the situation and investors may lose huge investments. However, some analysts may have doused the tension,

saying the nation’s real estate sector might weather the storm. Experts had listed Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt among other states as likely viable states, despite the crisis; however, the prevailing situation has contradicted such predictions. Unfortunately, Nigeria and by extension, the real sector, according to some analysts are not immune to global financial crisis. Some factors, including crash in oil prices, fall in exchange rate as well as injection of bailout funds into the

system have contributed to the growing negative financial impacts of the economy and by extension, the real estate sector. With the current crisis in the banking sector, foreign investors have stopped investing in various sectors, including property developments. Already, Nigeria’s financial institutions are finding it difficult to secure credit to fund some of projects at home, just as banks have decreased ability to lend at attractive rates. Some local and foreign investors have abandoned some

housing projects due to financing concerns, creating more pandemonium to market stability. Increased investments from both foreign and local investors have created increased demands for prime residential and commercial property in the country. Recent survey by the Nigeria Institution of Estate Surveyors and Valuers shows that a number of houses put up for sale early last year, remained unsold. Property prices in prime areas have suffered a sharp drop in value up to 30-40 per ket has been experiencing a slump in demand at high end while yields have dropped as investors that had loan exposures on their real estate investments are being forced to sell.

cent as consensus in the market is not showing any solution in sight. An analyst, Mr Charles Malize had noted that banks can no longer advance more credit to housing speculators to complete their venture, leading to abandonment of some projects. According to Malize in his sector analysis said, ‘’with the excessive level of nonperforming loans of nine banks, there would be limited bank financing to purchase properties as investors’ confidence has been eroded’’. He noted that capital marBanks in a ‘recovery mode’ of outstanding debt as well as ‘lending mode’ are no longer financing real estate, hence, the squeeze is expected to be more as purchasing power is limited to transactions.

Africa attracts more increased foreign property

L-R: National Sales Manager, AJEST Nigeria, Abdul Akeem Wahab; Distributor, Uche Ezeaku; Country Manager, Theo Williams, and Head Marketing, Michael Daniels, during the company’s regional commercials, in Enugu, recently.

SA’s penthouse goes for $3.6m

oint Area Manager of Pam Golding Properties in South Africa, Mr Rupert Finnemore said the highest price an apartment has fetched in Sandton city centre is R43 million, about $3.6 million. According to a release from the agent, “most of the new residential apartment developments in and around central Sandton are now selling for approximately R35 000 per square metre and up to R60 000. At R85 500 per square metre, the penthouse at Michelangelo Towers is therefore one of the most expensive homes to ever go on sale in the area. According to his statement, “The price tag for this spacious three-bedroom penthouse is not surprising,” he comments. “Well situated Sandton homes in the upper end of the property market continue to show good capital appreciation. If one considers that

prices in the upper end of the residential property market on the Cape Atlantic Seaboard can range to over R100 000 per square metre, then we can see that this Sandton ‘sky home’, which has every convenience to hand and is situated within the very heart of South Africa’s richest square mile, is not unreasonably priced.” He noted that “The sectional-title penthouse, with its en-suite bathrooms, self-contained guest suite and three reception rooms, is approximately 618sqm in size and is packed with a number of outstanding features. These include a fitted bar, family room with advanced sound system, 3.5 bathrooms, staff accommodation and lock-up garage with space for approximately six vehicles. “The chef ’s kitchen is spa-

cious with state-of-the-art fittings and granite tops, while the dining and sitting rooms can be opened up to take advantage of the beautiful views that are on offer. Air-conditioning is provided throughout the apartment and the bedrooms are equipped with under-floor heating to ensure residents remain comfortable through the colder winter months.”

“The building itself is immaculate and offers residents the use of a gym, heated indoor pool and an outdoor pool, sauna/ steam room and 24-hour concierge services. As may be imagined, the security of residents is of paramount importance and the latest systems are employed to ensure their safety”,

n increased numbers of international investors are investigating opportunities in African real estate markets attracted by the continent’s startling economic and demographic growth prospects, it is claimed. According to a new Africa Report 2015 from international real estate firm Knight Frank, the population of Africa will quadruple to over four billion by 2100, with nearly one billion of these people in Nigeria alone. It argues that could be the single most important demographic trend that will shape the world over the course of this century and by 2100 nearly 40% of the world’s population will live in Africa, with the large majority of these being in the continent’s fast growing cities. Nigeria is now the largest economy in Africa with GDP estimated at $594.3 billion, followed by South Africa at $341.2 billion and overall Sub-Saharan Africa is one of the world’s most rapidly developing economic regions, and it is projected that 13 of 20 fastest growing global economies over the next five years will be in Africa. According to the report Luanda in Angola has one of the highest prime office rents in the world at US$150 per square meter per month, driven by demand from the oil and gas sector, and an extreme lack of availability. Luanda’s population is forecast to increase by more than 70% from 2010 to 2025 period, while Dar es Salaam, Kampala and Lusaka are expected to double. ‘Allied to strong economic growth, this is creating

increased demand for good quality real estate of all types,’ the report says. It also points out that the retail sector has seen a huge increase in activity as a result of the rise of the urban middle class and the expansion of South African retailers such as Shoprite and Pick n Pay into the rest of Africa. Modern shopping malls are a relatively new concept in much of Africa, but a spate of new malls has been developed in key cities such as Accra and Nairobi. ‘The growth of Africa’s cities and economies will do much to define the global socioeconomic landscape over the coming decades,’ said Matthew Colbourne, Knight Frank international research associate. ‘These major long term trends are driving the construction of high quality real estate across the continent. The most visible demonstration of this is the rise of the

modern shopping centre concept in cities such as Nairobi, Lagos and Accra, but there are development opportunities in all property sectors,’ he explained. ‘Large volumes of good quality commercial and residential property are needed to support the continuing African growth story, presenting excellent opportunities for global funds looking to diversify or enter into African markets,’ he added.

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Aviation

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Our advertising model has increased revenues for FAAN – Afromedia Director Afromedia Plc, is one of the many marketing communications concessionaires of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, and the first media company engaged by the Authority to lease spaces to advertisers and agencies to display their brand messages and advertisements especially through billboards at the airports nationwide. In this interview with OLUSEGUN KOIKI, the Associate Director, Sales and Marketing, Afromedia, MR. FEMI OLAIYA, speaks on the activities of the company, challenges confronting it and prospects of the Nigerian aviation industry. Excerpt: Revenue generation and accountability has been one of the major problems of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN. As one of its major concessionaires on advert placement, what is your contribution to the agency’s revenue drive? Our company, Afromedia Plc is the first advertising company for FAAN within the airport environment and what this implies is that we have a better understanding of the advertising opportunities at the airports. We understand what the advertisers want and we are innovative enough to develop solutions to deliver them. For instance, in the past, the approach was to maximise all available spaces there was for advertising. This created clutter and somewhat discouraged some advertisers from spending. We have moved to a new approach geared towards creating near exclusivity for the advertisers. You will agree with me that a happy advertiser will be willing to spend more money to advertise his or her products and that means more revenue for FAAN. In that regards, we have consistently increased revenue generation for the airport manager. Clients’ commitment to payment terms and pattern is one of the most difficult challenges media providers experience in this clime. How do you get back your advert costs from your clients without friction? At Afromedia, we subscribe to global practice in whatever we do and in this regard, which dictates that you have to pre-pay before your campaign is displayed by our company. Moreover, FAAN takes no prisoners when it comes to remitting their portion of the revenue. This approach has enabled us to carry out our work effectively without friction or crisis at all. Available statistics showed that currently about 60 per cent of FAAN’s revenue comes through adverts generated from the airports. As a major partner in the sector, how do you intend to grow this and ensure that FAAN is not shortchanged by advertisers? The statistics of 60 per cent of FAAN’s revenues coming from advertisements from the airport cannot be readily confirm to you by me, but what I can tell you is that there are two strategic approaches one can use to increase revenues at the airport. One is to increase the value you deliver to the advertisers and hence charge some more and secondly, seek for new advertisers who hitherto do not know about the premium appeal of advertising at the airport so that you can increase your occupancy rate. Our overall strategy for the airport is a careful mix of these two approaches, which we are convinced, will exceed FAAN’s expectations. Any shortchanging of FAAN or what have you, as a concessionaire to the agency, we already have agreed rates with FAAN, hence, the likelihood of the agency being short changed is practically impossible and doesn’t arise at all. What is your view on the quality of advertisements in the country, especially at our airports and what would you describe as your worst experience so far? At Afromedia, we are not into creating advertisements

in the past and this current agreement, considerations have been given to the needs of both parties in arriving at the commercial terms of our agreements, so lopsidedness does not occur. Both parties right from the outset till date have been keeping with the contractual agreement and I want to believe that we we continue to work in harmony with each other. As presently composed, is the country’s airports and the aviation industry at large lucrative for your type of business? Every economy has its own peculiarities and capacities. For a competitive airport like Heathrow and some other global airports, we are not able to charge up to a tenth of what advertisers pay in those economies. Nonetheless, compared to other locations in Nigeria, the airport is a premium site for advertising and more often than not attracts premium pricing.

Olaiya

As At 2013, According to MediA FActs, A reliAble publicAtion MeAsuring Advertising spend in

nigeriA, outdoor

Advertising spend wAs About

n23 billion. the

chAllenges we hAve in the industry As A whole Are inFrAstructurAl And econoMicAl for anyone or our clients; hence quality of advertisement is the purview of creative agency. We are a media house, advertisers and agencies lease our spaces to display brand messages and advertisements. So, I won’t be able to comment on quality of adverts in the country, but I want to say here that there is always room for improvement. Our worst experience in the sector was when our concession agreement was abruptly cancelled by government in 2012. The cancellation led to massive loss of clients and money for us and since that sordid experience, we are yet to fully recover from it. FAAN had in the past experienced some problems with some of its concessionaires over what it termed lopsided contractual agreements. What is your contract term with government and how have you been able to sustain your relationship with government agencies over the years? With respect to Afromedia’s dealings with FAAN, both

Apart from your organisation, PromoWorld is another company providing similar marketing communication services to FAAN. How would you describe your relationship as competitors? Afromedia and PromoWorld are not rivals. Rather, we are co-concessionaires and partners in progress with FAAN. Both organisations always put the interest of the advertisers and their brands ahead of any other consideration. What is the value of outdoor advertising media in the country? As at 2013, according to Media Facts, a reliable publication measuring advertising spend in Nigeria, outdoor advertising spend was about N23 billion. The challenges we have in the industry as a whole are infrastructural and economical. Once the economy is depressed, the ability of the brands to advertise is also affected. Deficient infrastructure raises the cost of service delivery, which may impact on service quality. For any profession to remain relevant today, innovation, research and strategic planning are very important. What is your position on these imperatives? At Afromedia, strategic planning is the core of our business model. A will to create and innovate, born out of a passion for collaboration as well as a commitment to excellence are some of our values. It should interest you to know that this business was founded in 1928 and these values have helped us to remain relevant and play hard in the market. Training and retraining of technical personnel is the inthing in sustainability of any business, how much do you earmark for training of your personnel annually and how often do you pursue this? As you said, training and re-training of personnel is very critical to the growth of any establishment and our organization cannot operate in isolation of the others. Training and retraining is given priority in our organisation. You cannot deliver tomorrow’s solutions with the thinking of yesterday.

Aviation

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Airside FAAN boss seeks improved collaboration among African airport leaders That second runway for Abuja Airport shegzzy4live2000@yahoo.co.uk 08186007273

he Managing Director of the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, Engr. Saleh Dunoma has tasked all African airport leaders to interact and collaborate with key stakeholders and professionals in the sector in order to move the industry forward in-line with international best practices. He also charged the continent’s airport leaders to evolve solutions that are flexible in their approach to the ever changing airport environment. He made this remarks at the plenary session of the 24th Airports Council International, ACI, Africa Conference held in Tunisia. Statement by the image maker of FAAN, Mr. Yakubu Dati said that interaction with major participants in the sector was necessary to enable the implementation of processes and pro-

cedures, in consonance with global trends in aviation management. He added, “Cost minimisation and efficiency must be the watchword of any meaningful innovation at the airports due to the current global economic and financial challenges.” Earlier at the opening ceremony, Tunisia’s Minister of Transport, Mr. Mahmoud Ben Romdhane while welcoming delegates identified the critical role of transport as a key driver. The President of ACI World, Angela Gittens said this year’s theme, ‘Leadership and Innovation in Airport Management’ was aimed at improving airport management, encouraging innovation in the sector and developing the leaders of tomorrow. Speaking separately, President, ACI Africa, Pascal Komla, and Secretary, Ali Tousi, said the event was a unique op-

Dunoma

portunity for airports and other aviation executives, experts and exhibitors from around the world to network, share information and forge a common vision for the future business of African airports. The statement added that Dunoma also attended to a retinue of investors and aviation stakeholders who thronged to the exhibition stand mounted by FAAN.

Boeing President to visit Lagos, others on fact finding Olusegun KOiKi

he United States of America, USA, Boeing Aircraft Manufacturing Company has unveiled plans to expand its business activities in Africa. The President, Boeing International, Marc Allen recently wrote the past Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, Dr. Harold Demuren, on how the company’s business could be enhanced in the continent. The letter dated 19th October, 2015, and signed by its Managing Director, Africa, Miguel Santos, declared that Boeing has decided to undertake a fact finding mission to Africa with stops in four major Sub-Sahara Africa cities including Lagos, Nigeria. Allen stated that the company intended to in each city meet with political, business leaders and hear, first hand, their views on the political and economic prospects of the continent in which it felt the former helmsman of the regulatory agency would be useful to it to achieve its set goals not just in the country, but in the continent as a whole. The letter added, “I believe that your views are critical for us to have an objective and clear understanding of where Africa is today and where it is heading. “Allen will be accompanied by Mr. Stanley Roth, Vice President Boeing International, Ms. Heather Pederson, Senior Director, Government Affairs, both based in Washington DC and myself.” Santos said that Boeing aircraft

The Managing Director, FAAN, Engr. Saleh Dunoma (3rd left) being hosted by the Nigerian Embassy in Tunisia. The Charge D’Affaires, Dr Joseph Apeh Omede (2nd left) received the team who were in Tunisia for the Airports Council International Regional Conference.

manufacturing company has had a presence throughout the African continent for several years, through its commercial airplanes and the African airlines that operate them,

stressing that Africa was undergoing a geo-political and economic transformation that would position the continent for the rest of the 21st century.

he plan to construct a second runway for the Nnamdi Azikiwe Airport, NAA, Abuja has been on for over seven years, but successive governments have been unable to walk the talk, rather, it has been from one crisis to the other. It is a known fact that the airport requires a second runway because of its status and growing traffic, which will be wholly supported by Airside. However, as necessary and urgent as the second runway might be to the nation, cautions should be employed by the sponsors of the project so that it would not end up in another round of crisis or drainpipe on the government. It would be recalled that the same runway project led to the removal of a minister, Mr. Babatunde Omotoba who allegedly inflated the contract from the initial N8 billion to N64 billon within a year! The Federal Airports Author-

Nigeria’s aviation sector’s penchant for poor performance

he Nigerian aviation industry, especially its airports, are known for few glories and several downs in spite of the several billions of tax payers’ money and Bilateral Air Service Agreement, BASA, funds spent on them since 2012 by the erstwhile Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah to “make them world class.” Last week’s report published by CNNMoney and released by The Guide to Sleeping in Airports, rightly rated the Port Harcourt International Airport, PHIA, Port Harcourt as the ‘worst in the world’ for the year 2015 while Lagos and Abuja Airports expectedly emerged as among the ‘worst in Africa’ in the year under review. The survey, which had qualifying responses from 26,297 well-travelled respondents, said the airport is riddled with unpleasant and unhelpful staff, corruption, a severe lack of

seating, broken air-conditioning and the fact that the arrivals hall is located inside a tent. Airside is not stunned with this report as it has been reported severally that the billions of naira purportedly spent on the so called renovation of or airports were diverted to private pockets. But, unfortunately, the culprits are still working the streets free. PHIA was one of the airports renovated by Oduah, but when genuine stakeholders and professionals speak against the corruption called remodelling, the protagonists of the white elephant projects usually have rehearsed answers for them. Airside is happy that the survey was not conducted by a Nigerian firm. So, any issue of bias or hatred can never arise. Passengers still identify and pick their checked in luggage on the tarmac at Port Harcourt Airport. Government should look into this and address it permanently.

airport is not just a passenger processing facility. “It is also a gateway, a first impression and in some way, the pride of the city. When people talk about how nice Singapore is or how nice Dubai is, in the same breath they mention is how good and well-laid out, well-structured the airport is.” The Chief Operating Officer, COO, BASL, Miss Adebisi Awoniyi said the opening of SPAR Shopping Mall at MMA2 was a dream come true and a testimony to what Bi-Courtney represents, which she pointed out are provision and promotion of people-oriented services.

She added that with the development, people could easily shop without having to interfere with their schedule, while noting that adequate measures had been put in place to ensure that clients had seamless experience shopping in and around the terminal. The Managing Director, Artee Group, the owner of the mall at MMA2, Madan Gopal said the partnership with BASL was first of its kind in the whole of Africa, adding that SPAR Group was out to satisfy the need of not only airport users, but also other interested members of the public in and around Lagos.

SPAR Shopping Mall opens at MMA2

PAR shopping mall has opened stores for business at the Bi-Courtney Aviation Services Limited, BASL, operators of the Murtala Muhammed Airport Two, MMA2, Lagos. A statement by the spokesman of BASL, Mr. Remi Ladigbolu, indicated that with the opening of the stores in the terminal, MMA2 became the only airport in the country with a shopping mall. It quoted the Chief Executive Officer, CEO, BASL, Mr. Christophe Penninck, as saying that the development afforded airport users the benefit of a world

class shopping experience, in an environment that guaranteed access to the best brands, best quality, best choice and best price. Penninck further noted that BASL has shown that MMA2 “is more than just a place where people transit through. We want to give airport users or passersby an opportunity to experience what airports are supposed to be in terms of customer experience. He said: “Amsterdam airport for ages, has been promoting the concept or idea of shopping where you fly from or fly to. Now, Nigerians do not have to be envious about that because that is exactly what we are doing here. An

ity of Nigeria, FAAN, in a statement last week said the government was ready to commence construction of a second runway for the airport. Although, FAAN in the statement did not state the amount of money that has been earmarked for the project, but information gathered by Airside revealed that a whopping N60billion has been earmarked for the construction. For instance, the State of Osun as it’s being called is constructing the Osogbo International Airport at a mere N10 billion, which includes the runway, terminal building, control tower, perimeter fencing, fire tenders and others, but the Federal Government wants to construct an ordinary runway at N60bn? Airside however trusts the government in power that any frivolous contracts would not be approved by it and every contract would be wellscrutinised. Let the contractor defend his quotation.

Insurance

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Tackling ethical issues in insurance penetration Isaac asabor

henever challenges facing the insurance industry are tabled for discussion at any forum, blames are seemingly apportioned to the insuring public for being responsible for the low level of insurance penetration in the country. Curiously, the reasons why the insuring public often becomes apathetic towards insurance products and services are hardly given adequate attention at such for a as experts always focus more on regulatory and policy challenges facing the industry. However, the trend was recently reversed by Lady Isioma Chukwuma, president, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN) when she looked into the challenges facing the insurance industry instead of apportioning blame to the insuring public for not subscribing to insurance policies en masse. Speaking on the theme, “The Nigerian Business Environment: Implications for the Insurance Industry”, she said practitioners in the industry should always practice insurance in line with the code of ethics of the profession. She further highlighted her professional view when she said “It is our collective drive to reposition the insurance industry and to reinforce the integrity of the profession. This can only be achieved by our individual and collective commitments to the ideals of ethical and professional best practices. Against the foregoing background, Lady Chukwuma charged members and the insuring public to imbibe the habit of reporting cases of professional misconduct to the institute. It can be recalled in this context that before the issue of ethics in the profession was brought to the fore by the president of CIIN that National Insurance Commission, NAICOM, never relented in its efforts to ensure that good ethical atmosphere prevail in the industry. Particularly from the tenure of the immediate past commissioner of NAICOM, Mr. Fola Daniel, the leadership of the apex regulatory body of the industry has taken various steps in order to ensure that insurance practice is carried out by practitioners in a qualitative and efficient manner. The laudable approach was without doubt embarked upon for the benefit of insurance consumers and the national economy. The positive innovations so far introduced in the industry by NAICOM include the introduction of a code of Business Ethics and Principles on Corporate Governance for the insurance industry. The NAICOM efforts toward this direction

Commissioner for Insurance, Kari

Isioma Chukwuma

The apaThy Towards insurance and The way and manner The profession is being addressed need a reThink from all of us have always been commended by experts and all stakeholders in the industry. Sir Joe Irukwu, an industry doyen, in one of his papers titled ‘Code of Good Corporate Governance for the Insurance Industry In Nigeria’ pointed out that the move by the regulatory body was in order but said it would be better if the principles are enforced. He said “Undoubtedly, if its principles are enforced, we will certainly have a first class insurance industry that would be as good as any of the best in the insurance world. “As a handbook on corporate governance, the code makes a strong case for good corporate governance and contains vital principles and practices designed for its promotion.”, he added. Mr. Femi Arokola, a car owner, who spoke to National Mirror said that what compelled him to subscribe to motor vehicle insurance policy was the compulsive order placed on the policy. He said: “I would not have bought the policy if not for it compulsory nature as I believe getting my claim in case of eventuality is not always rosy.” Arokola explained that the insuring public isalways skeptical and apathetic whenever the issue of insurance is being discussed, attributing the reason for the deep-rooted apathy to lack of insuring public’s the confidence in the industry. Also having an apathetic mindset towards insurance policy is, Mary Onyeulor, a textile trader, who vehemently rejected experiencing her shop being burnt by waving her right hand over her head and said “I reject it, I reject it, God forbid”,

immediately the issue of fire and burglary insurance was mooted to her by National Mirror correspondent. Speaking on behalf of the Shareholders at an event in Lagos early last year, The Executive Secretary of the Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Mr. Adebayo Adeleke, advised underwriting firms to improve on their product innovations and service delivery, to build credibility. More than a year since Adeleke bemoaned the low confidence reposed in the industry by the public, insurance business in the country is still characterized with bad ethical practices and unwholesome corporate governance occasioned by few bad eggs in the industry. While recently carrying out his first official assignment upon his confirmation as the commissioner for insurance by the federal government, Alhaji Muhammed Kari called for a collective effort towards the repositioning of the insurance industry. To this end he said, “We should not be unmindful of the perception of the insurance profession by the public. The apathy towards insurance and the way and manner the profession is being addressed need a rethink from all of us. We all know the “whys”, let us discuss dispassionately and agree on the “hows” of correcting the wrong perceptions.” Against the backdrop of the prevailing low insurance penetration, most experts in the industry have been calling on their professional colleagues to imbibe good ethical conduct at all times for the confidence which befits the indus-

try to be restored. Similarly, some watchers of the industry in the informal sector of the economy recently told National Mirror correspondent that the level of apathy concerning insurance industry is deeply rooted that concerted and elaborate campaign efforts would be needed to restore confidence in the insurance industry. As can be seen in the conduct of some professionals and other stakeholders in the sector, insurance associations and regulatory bodies, it is obvious that oars are not been rested upon as regards ensuring that good ethical conduct prevails in insurance business environment. The immediate past president of the Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers, NCRIB, M. Ayodapo Shoderu in April 2015 at the 2nd Annual conference and Exhibition of the Ghana Insurance Brokers Association (GIBA) held in Elmina, Ghana, tasked brokers to always embrace professionalism and ethics of the profession. Also, stakeholders in the industry believe that if the principles that are spelt out in NAICOM’s code of business ethics and principles on corporate governance for the industry are strictly enforced that the insurance industry would certainly be rated among the best in the world. According to Mr. Samuel Olayiwola, an insurance marketer, for the insurance industry to witness an enviable ethical standard that would enhance insurance penetration, unethical issues like rate cutting and overriding commission issues should be eliminated completely.. He described rate cutting as the unwholesome practice where an underwriter reduces the main interest rate in order to make rates charged by other competing companies to become unattractive, adding that the menace can make a company to be recording losses as premium generated, in most cases, may not be enough to pay claims. Speaking on the same issue at a different forum, commissioner for insurance and Chief Executive of NAICOM, Mr. Mohammed Kari lamented that the industry had “seen unbridled, unsustainable and technically unsound rates being offered by supposedly insurance professionals more out of the need to meet a target than to properly underwrite. Despite these flaws, experts and other stakeholders believe tackling ethical issues toward the enhancement of insurance penetration may not yield appreciable results except the code of ethics, which NAICOM released and became effective on January 1, 2010 to guide insurance operators, is strictly enforced.

Insurance

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Technology transforming insurance, broker channel – Experts

nsurers are falling further and further behind the current technology and digital capabilities and will require a major transformational improvement, speakers suggested on Thursday at the Insurance Brokers Association of Ontario’s (IBAO) Convention 2015. Speaking during the CEO Panel at the Sheraton Centre in downtown Toronto, Karen Gavan, president and CEO of Economic Insurance, suggested that insurers’ legacy platforms and technology have “perhaps precipitated some of the decline in the brokers’ prominence in the personal lines marketspace.” Gavan (pictured below) added that Economical has an advisory council of broker representatives for personal lines to help design their systems not to replicate what’s been done in the past, but to challenge the way things are done. “Our back office systems have been so horrible to deal with,” she said. “I think everyone up here is making huge investments in current technology and we really have to challenge the way we do things in the business. Technology has been a huge ball and chain for this industry and I think we have to think outside the box and not just incremental improvement, but major, major transformational improvement.” Another panellist, Jean-François Blais, president of Intact Insurance, told convention attendees that for Intact, technology used to be a back office function. “We used to use it as a large processing machine, but today technology is changing the customer experience,” Blais said. “This is very difficult

Sylvie Paquette

Greg Somerville

to forecast, but it’s going to happen and we will have to adapt and we will have to leverage it to make it a front office function.” Rowan Saunders, president and CEO of RSA Canada, argued that technology has created so much more power for the customer and that he believes that they “get disappointed when they interact with us in the P&C industry because their last transaction, if they’ve being using an Apple smartphone, is just an amazing experience. Even some of the financial services, like doing your banking online is a far easier, simpler process than interacting with us.” RSA Canada is modernizing their entire technology platform, Saunders (pictured left) added, whether that’s tools for brokers’ interactiveness or policy administration systems. He

acknowledged that technology is a big investment for insurers, but something that pays off in the end. “When I look around at brokers that I think I am very impressed with, [brokers] that are gaining share and that are evolving quicker than the channel generally, one of the things they do is they have a huge customer-centricity focus and they are technology saavy and investing,” he said. Greg Somerville, president and CEO of Aviva Canada, also agreed that investment is important, saying that his company is “looking to digitize our entire business, which includes providing the solutions that we think customers are looking for to the independent broker channel across Canada.” For Duane Sanders, president and CEO of Travelers Canada, the pace of change is no longer linear, it’s exponen-

tial. “It’s going to impact everything from transactional friction to how you sharpen your acquisition model to how you communicate with your customers, but at the same time, customer asset protection is going to be looked at differently, I think, as well,” Sanders suggested. “The things they want to protect, how they want to protect it, how you stay connected with them, is all going to drive, again, in a broader scale change, but probably technologydriven.” Added Somerville: “We can’t do what we want to do to digitize in a multi-distribution channel without investing in technology.” Sylvie Paquette (pictured right), president and CEO of Desjardins General Insurance Group Inc., told attendees that technology will impact customer interaction, transform the items being insured and affect future competition. Even social media may impact the insurance industry, she said. “Facebook knows so much about all of us, so that might be a future disruption within our industry.” P&C insurers are insuring things like cars and homes, and “they are being connected,” she went on to say. Technology is even as far-reaching as having cross-border implications, she said, using the example of a policyholder with a GPS-enabled car crossing the border. “You know that your insured is crossing the border,” she said. “You can send them a message saying, ‘You are now in the States.’ Either you say, ‘Don’t be afraid, you have all the coverage’ or ‘I am adapting your policy so you will have full coverage.’”

Airbnb introduces a broader insurance coverage policy for Canadians

irbnb is adding a new level of insurance coverage in Canada as part of wider support for people who list their properties through its service. The online accommodation provider announced Thursday that its Host Protection Insurance program, which launched earlier this year in the United States, would be rolled out in 15 more countries. The expanded coverage will provide compensation if a guest is injured at a property listed on Airbnb and brings a claim against the host. The insurance could also cover dam-

ages a guest causes to the surrounding area of a property - such as accidental water damage if a pipe burst affects a neighbouring apartment. Coverage, which comes at no additional cost to the host, tops out at $1 million, the company said. The Host Protection Insurance program, which will be provided through a partnership with a Lloyd’s of London participating insurer, comes after Airbnb spent four years on an agreement that satisfied the insurers, said Airbnb product lead Jonathan Golden. “The insurance industry is not fast paced, so it has taken time to educate

them on these platforms,” he said. “It has been a challenge to handle products like these (which are) unique and individual solutions.” Airbnb has been growing in popularity as the so-called “sharing economy” becomes more commonplace with the help of taxi-hailing service Uber and various other apps. Golden said Airbnb executives wanted to lineup a significant number of countries before it launched the expanded insurance coverage. Since its U.S. launch in January, less than 50 claims have been filed under the Host Protection program when

Donnell leaves Swiss Re to head NCCI ANV signs MGU partnership with PartnerRe

wiss Re US P&C reinsurance president Bill Donnell is leaving the company to head up the National Council on Compensation Insurance (NCCI). A Swiss Re spokesperson told The Insurance Insider that current managing director Keith Wolfe has been appoint-

ed interim head of US P&C at the reinsurer. Wolfe currently heads regional and national business in Swiss Re’s US P&C reinsurance division. Donnell will take the position of president and CEO of the workers’ comp body with effect from 7 December...

NV Global Services has agreed a deal with PartnerRe Wholesale to cover professional and financial lines for small and medium-sized enterprises. Under the three-year agreement the managing general underwriter (MGU) arm of ANV Holdings will write directors’ and officers’ (D&O), commercial, financial institutions’

D&O, professional indemnity (PI) and financial institutions PI. PartnerRe Wholesale will provide ANV with access to additional capacity and full-time support through a number of services including IT, marketing and claims management through the division’s innovative BindingAuthority+Plus. (Source – Insurance Insider)

factoring in all of the 8 million guest bookings, he said. Airbnb, which offers a substitute to hotels, has about 33,000 host listings across Canada. Few of those bookings have resulted in major issues for the company, but some of the higher profile problems have raised red flags for insurance companies. In May, a Calgary family discovered their home was trashed amid a “druginduced orgy” by hard-partying renters. Property damage was assessed at around $75,000, though Airbnb said it would cover the costs at the time. Governments across the country have started to voice concerns about the ramifications of an unregulated sharing economy. In Quebec, Tourism Minister Dominique Vien is pushing for a law which clearly differentiates between legal accommodation web sites like Airbnb and some of the smaller competitors who aren’t necessarily operating within requirements and paying taxes. (Source – Canadian Underwriter)

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Money

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Experts list benefits of risk management to financial system stability Analysts in the nation’s financial services sector believe that effective risk management is capable of tackling current and emerging risk issues and help maintain resilient and well- functioning financial system despite current troubling headwinds in the global financial system. UDO ONYEKA reports.

he reform in the banking industry and entire financial sector is specifically designed to ensure adequate supervision by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and imbibe in the financial institutions the culture of good corporate governance. However, for banks and other financial institutions to play by the rule of the game, analysts believe there is the need to develop internal control that test every action to be taken and by implication, assure effective is risk management in the organisation. As the world is changing so do business environment, therefore risk management stake should be very high considering new channels and high sophisticated ICT facilities available for electronic banking. Experts and operators agree that as the industry continues to evolve so do risks, there is a growing need for effective risk management in the financial sector’s ecosystem. Many analysts believe that weak management practices and corporate governance lapses on the part of both financial institutions and regulators is responsible for the near-collapse of the financial sector in 2008 and therefore support the need for a continuous self assessment by the operators on their level of adherence to good corporate governance principles. According to them, while the global financial markets have undergone farreaching changes in the last decade, spurred by deregulation and liberalisation as well as rapid developments in communication and internet technologies, banks operating in the country before the ongoing reforms never paid due attention to the potential risks and to evolve mechanisms and systems to control and manage them in line with the global standards and procedures. According to the former Managing Director Access Bank Plc, Aigboje AigImoukhede, who spoke at an investors’ forum recently in Lagos, if the situation that presented itself in 2008 when banks were falling over each other to do business with oil and gas presents itself again, then only very few banks may be willing to respond . Imoukhede, who said that banks had learnt their lessons, noted that banks now pay more attention to risk management. “Some lessons are learned through pains and I believe we have all learned that sound risk management is the secret of sustainable banking business,”

Emefiele

Agbaje

Some leSSonS are learned through painS and i believe we have all learned that Sound riSk management iS the Secret of SuStainable banking buSineSS he said. Senior Resident Representative, International Monetary Fund, IMF, Mr Scott Rogers, had said that the core business of a bank is to manage risk and provide a return to shareholders in line with the accepted risk profile, “ adding that the credit crisis and ensuing global recession seem to indicate that the banking sector has failed to tend to its core business. “If the banks had attended to risk management, then there would not have been the flood on the U.S. market of cheap short-term interest rate mortgages that led to the so-called housing bubble and the ultimate wave of personal bankruptcies and home foreclosures”. Rogers also said that the framework for risk management in a bank is fundamentally no different today than it was prior to the credit crunch and recession. He also believes a return to managing risks—not ignoring them or believing they can be passed off—is the cure for the ailment that has hit the economy so hard. Managing Director, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Mr Segun Agbaje said that if a bank was serious about risk management, then it will be serious from the top to down. “Leadership will espouse a culture of responsible risk management through

its behaviours and through the systems and programs it puts into place. In the run up to the financial crisis, organisations talked about good risk management; however, not all in leadership positions espoused effective risk management, which is evident in the dismal failures in the financial sector during the economic recession. A risk-management culture can be embedded in an organisation through training, communications and incentive” A Lagos based financial analyst, Dr Eric Ekeh, pointed out that risk was inherent in all business and financial activities, noting that in view of the threats posed to their survival, banks more than ever before are paying attention to risk management with the way they are conducting their businesses currently. He noted that the greater the risk associated with an activity the greater potential to generate a high return and attributed high interest rate especially at the retail subsector to the high risk involved. Even though taking risks can almost be said to be the business of banks and that a bank that is run on the principle of avoiding all risks or as many of them as possible will be a stagnant institution , analysts say banks that take them without recognising their extent or their existence will surely run into difficulty.

According to analysts credit risk is the major category of risk of banks. It occurs whenever there is a possibility that the customer cannot meet contractual obligations to the bank in terms of delivery of documents or commodities where the bank bears the whole risk or the payment of principal, interest fees or commissions. According to Managing Director, Financial Derivatives Company, FDC, Limited said risk management is the process of identifying, measuring, monitoring and evaluating business activities in an organisation such as a bank. He said it should be the bedrock of internal control in banks. Analysts have attributed the huge banks earnings in spite of challenges in the environment and stringent regulation to the reform in banking sector and effective supervision which brought risk management and good corporate governance to the fore. For instance the cumulative pre-tax earnings for Nigerian banks is in the neighbourhood of hit N600bn for 2012. The top eleven Nigerian banks, ranked by capital, as at September 2012, had a total profit before tax of N406bn in the first nine months of 2012, with N312bn or 77 per cent of the profits made by the top five banks. This is according to data from the Nigerian banking outlook 2013 report. These earnings figures have continued to increase in 2014 and 2015, notwithstanding the hash and unfriendly business condition in the country. CBN, Governor, Godwin Emefile said that risk managers have the responsibility to put in place measures to forestall a reoccurrence of issues that led to the crisis in the financial sector. He maintained that the objective of the CBN was to build a stable financial system. According to him, a sound financial system can only be achieved when substantial and fundamental economic reforms are implemented and sustained. He explained the apex bank would continue to enhance the quality of banks, establishing financial stability and ensuring that the financial sector contributes to the growth of the real sector. “We have learned from the past and would avert the dangers of the past by doing the right and insisting that all do what is right. We should also try to be vigilant risk managers ahead of any situation, so as to guide our institutions, our financial sector and economy as a whole,” he said

Global Business

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

VW may offer discounts to owners Britain’s first ‘million pound towns’ of cars with illicit software –DPA T

olkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) may offer VW owners in Germany discounts on new cars if they turn in certain old models affected by the emissions scandal that has rocked Europe’s biggest carmaker, German news agency DPA reported on Sunday. Volkswagen is battling the biggest business crisis in its 78-year history after admitting last month it installed software in diesel vehicles to deceive U.S. regulators about the true level of their toxic emissions. The group now expects the costs of the scandal, which include a recall of 8.5 million vehicles in Europe, to exceed 30 billion euros ($33 bln), German monthly Manager Magazin reported on Saturday. It is seeking ways to cut costs and stabilize sales to cope with the fallout of the scandal. Incentives for VW owners to buy new vehicles could help buoy sales figures and take pressure off VW dealerships to implement fixes quickly. The special offers may focus on the owners of vehicles with 1.6-litre diesel engines, which require costly hardware upgrades rather than just software fixes, sources at Volkswagen and VW dealerships said, according to DPA. The offer would be available only in Germany, where around 2.4

Volkswagen car

million cars with the cheating software were sold. Volkswagen said in response that it was common for Volkswagen and its dealers to consider special offers for existing customers, declining to comment further. The emissions scandal has wiped more than a quarter off VW’s stock market value, forced out its long-time chief executive and sparked investigations and lawsuits across the world. Volkswagen has said it will cut investment plans at its VW division -- the largest by revenue -- and speed up cost cutting to cope with the cost of cleaning up the emissions scandal. Manager Magazin said VW

wanted to freeze managerial promotions next year at its VW division and planned to re-use as many parts as possible in the next generation of its popular Golf model to save hundreds of millions of euros. The group has also suspended more than 10 senior managers, including several top engineers, as part of an internal investigation. Two people close to the matter told Reuters that Volkswagen has now also suspended Hanno Jelden, the head of powertrain electronics, a 22-year VW veteran with expertise in engine and transmission electronics as well as hard- and software control systems.

China premier says 7% growth goal never set in stone

hina has never said the economy must grow seven percent this year, Premier Li Keqiang said in comments reported by the government ahead of a key meeting this week that will set economic and social targets for the next five years. Li’s comments coincide with remarks by a top central bank official, who said on Saturday that China would be able to keep annual economic growth at around 6-7 percent over that period. The statements come at a time of growing concern in global financial markets over China’s once mighty economic juggernaut.

China President Xi Jinping

China cut interest rates for the sixth time in less than a year on Friday. Monetary policy easing in the world’s second-largest economy is at its most aggressive since the 2008/09 financial crisis, as growth looks set to slip to a 25-year-low this year of under 7 percent. China’s economy grew 6.9 percent in the July-to-September quarter from a year earlier, data showed last week. Speaking on Friday at the Central Party School, which trains rising officials, Li said the economic difficulties ahead for China should not be underestimated. His report to the annual meeting of parliament set this year’s GDP growth target at about seven percent. “We have never said that we should defend to the death any goal, but that the economy should operate within a reasonable range,” the central government paraphrased Li as saying in a statement released on its website late on Saturday. Chinese leaders will signal that growth is their priority over reform by setting a growth target of around 7 percent in the next long-term plan,

policy insiders say. The party’s central committee will meet from Monday to Thursday to set out the 13th Five-Year plan. The party’s People’s Daily on Sunday listed on its microblog what it said were 10 focus areas for the Five-Year Plan, including maintaining economic growth, improving the industrial structure and pushing forward innovation. It gave no details. Nevertheless, while the focus is on growth, China is still moving ahead on financial reforms. Besides cutting interest rates on Friday, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) said it was also freeing the interest rate market by scrapping a ceiling on deposit rates. The change, which Beijing had promised to deliver for months, will in theory allow banks to price loans according to their risk, and remove a distortion to the price of credit that analysts say fuels wasteful investment in China. It should also offer some reassurance to financial markets after they were unsettled by the chaotic responses to the country’s recent stock market plunge and then a yuan devaluation.

he towns of Virginia Water and Cobham, in Surrey, have become Britain’s first million pound towns - where average house prices are more than £1m. Beaconsfield in Buckinghamshire is also in the millionaire’s club, according to research by Lloyds Bank. They are the first towns outside London where prices have hit seven figures. The research was based on data from the Land Registry for the first half of 2015. Prices in Virginia Water home to the likes of Sir Cliff Richard and Sir Bruce Forsyth - average no less than £1.169m, making it Britain’s most expensive town outside the capital. No wonder that the town’s famous golf course, Wentworth, feels able to charge joining fees of £125,000. That is on top of the annual membership fee of £16,000. Cobham - familiar to Chelsea footballers and their WAGS - has average prices of £1.043m. And anyone wanting to buy in Beaconsfield, home to Pinewood Studios, can expect to pay £1.003m. “We’re seeing the emergence of towns where the average price is at least £1 million,” said

David Cameron

Sarah Deaves, private banking director at Lloyds Bank. “Whilst there are several London neighbourhoods where prices are already at this elevated level, outside of the capital this is a first.” However the figures also show a sharp slow-down in the number of homes sold for more than £1m. In the first half of 2015 there were 5,599 such sales, down from 6,303 in 2014. That amounts to an 11% fall. One reason for that is the change in Stamp Duty rates, introduced in December 2014. The buyer of a £1m house will now pay £43,750 in Stamp Duty, up from £40,000 previously.

Google’s new parent Alphabet reports steep profit gain

lphabet the new parent company of Google, has reported profits up almost 50% for the third quarter. Net income was $3.98bn, up from $2.74bn for the same quarter last year. Google’s revenue was $18.7 (£12.1bn) compared with $16.5bn. Growth came mainly from mobile searches and YouTube users. In August, the company created Alphabet as the new parent company of Google and its other diverse businesses. In January, Alphabet will report Google’s financial numbers separately from the other businesses, which include experi-

Google Chairman, Eric Schmidt

ments with self-driving cars, investing in startups, making Internet-connected thermostats and searching for cures to health problems. The break out of Google’s figures are expected to reveal how much money Google would have made if it had not diverted money into chief executive Larry Page’s so-called ``moon shots”. Alphabet shares were up 11% to $722.53 in after hours trading - a record, boosted by news of a large share buyback, which will means fewer investors in future who will therefore take a higher portion of any dividend payout. YouTube announced on Thursday a plan to offer a monthly commercial free subscription service that will compete with Netflix and Amazon prime. The company’s board approved a plan to buy back a precise $5,099,019,513.59 in shares starting in the fourth quarter. There has been speculation the number represented the square root of 26 - the number of letters in the alphabet. Chief financial officer Ruth Porat acknowledged that was indeed the reference during a postresults conference.

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Capital Market

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Oando record N69.8bn on rise in production Johnson okanlawon

ando, an energy group listed on both the Nigerian and Johannesburg Stock Exchange, has declared N69.8 billion gross earnings for the financial year ended December 31, 2014, an increase of 17 per cent when compared to N59.4 billion recorded in the same period of 2013. The company attributed the increase to its upstream sector where total production increased by 500 per cent to 9.1 million in the review period from 1.5 million in 2013. Speaking on the result, the Group Chief Executive of the company, Mr. Wale Tinubu, explained that the global industry clearly shaped financial outcome in 2014. He said, “We thrived in our operational achievements, with a five fold increase in total production over 2013, but this was adversely countered by the slump in global crude oil prices. In this new pricing reality we have provisioned for a number of write-downs as a result of reduced activity in the service sector as well as the value of reserves in our legacy portfolio. “We see this period as a time for prudent consolidation and will be focusing our energies on creating value through optimization of resources, via efficiency in our operations, deleverage and risk management - as demonstrated with our hedging instruments that yielded $234 million in proceeds, whilst, seeking the right opportunity to substantially ex-

Stock Exchange building, Lagos

pand our reserve and production base”. Although, he said, the weak oil price environment may minimize operational achievements, it is still imperative that 2014 was a transformational year for the company. “We evolved from a predominantly downstream company to a leading indigenous upstream company, consistent with our growth strategy. We are delighted with the development in our upstream business as evidenced by the increase of production from ~5,000 boepd in 2013 to ~51,000 boepd by the end of 2014 as well as an increase in our 2P reserves from

Guinness’ profit after tax drops by 76% in Q1

uinness Nigeria, a beverage manufacturer and a subsidiary of Diageo Plc, has announced its financial results for the first quarter ended September 30, 2015, showing a 76 per cent drop in profit after tax (PAT) during the period. This is even as the company’s revenue, which stood at N21.05 billion in the first quarter of 2013 increased to N21.74 billion, while cost of sales increased to N12.4 billion. The company’s profit after tax dropped 76 per cent to N362.3 billion on the back of high finance charges which gulped N929.8 million in the review period, including distribution and others expenses which stood at N8.00billion, from N7.83 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2013. Commenting on the re-

sults, the company’s Managing Director, Mr. Peter Ndegwa explained that sales continued to grow despite a challenging trading environment, being three per cent ahead of the same quarter last year. “Despite the sales growth, gross profit declined by 12 per cent versus the same period last year due to the impact of exchange rate devaluation, inflation, an increased share of value brands, together with the phasing of costs. “Marketing, distribution, administrative and other expenses at N8bn were two per cent ahead of the prior year. Reported operating profit at N1.4billion is 50 per cent below the previous year but is significantly impacted by the phasing of costs which is expected to reverse during the rest of the year,” he said.

18.9 mmboe to 430 mmboe in the same period,” he said. Nevertheless, he explained that the year turned out to be a challenging year for the industry as well as for the company as the country witnessed a sharp decline in global crude oil prices of over 30 per cent. According to him, this forced upstream players to record significant reductions in the fair value of their asset portfolios, leading the company to recognize about N76.9 billion of impairment charges in its exploration and production business.

“This impairment is as a result of lower oil prices leading to a reduced valuation of certain exploration and appraisal assets. “We prudently booked an additional N16.9 billion write down on under-lift receivables and Production Sharing Contract receivables in our exploration and production business,” he said. Tinubu disclosed further that the company’s energy services business realized impairments of N37.1 billion, as the current oil price environment brought about reduced drilling activity and in turn, reduced day rates accruable to rig assets, as well as a weaker market outlook. “In addition to the decline in oil prices there was a 8.4 per cent devaluation of our local currency (Naira) which has generated significant foreign exchange loss in our downstream business. The nature of the business makes us extremely vulnerable to foreign exchange risks as we import in dollar denomination and recover our costs in Naira. “The delay of payments of subsidies from the Federal Government has served to increase this vulnerability and led to a realization of N7.3billion in foreign exchange losses. We have braced ourselves for this new world order of low prices, reduced investments and industry shrinkage by implementing effective cost cutting initiatives, disciplined capex investments towards maintaining production levels and growth through merger and acquisition deals that create immediate value,” he added.

Nasdaq 100 index may rise with Apple earnings today

he Nasdaq 100 index, dominated by U.S. technology stocks, may set a record high next week, helped by good earnings from Apple Inc expected today. Technology shares led the U.S. stock market’s recovery this week from its worst correction in four years in August, thanks to gains in Alphabet, Amazon and Microsoft, after the three companies reported better-than-expected earnings results. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.9 percent to 17,646.70, the S&P 500 index recovered another 1.1 percent to 2,075.15, and the Nasdaq Composite closed the week up 2.27 percent at 5,031.86. Shares across Asia, Europe and the Americas all climbed, boosted

by Thursday’s message from European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi that he was ready to increase the ECB’s bond buying program, and by an interest rate cut by China’s central bank. Factors this coming week that may provide further support for U.S. stocks include a Federal Reserve policy meeting, which is not expected to raise interest rates yet, a report on U.S. third-quarter economic growth, and earnings from Apple. The Nasdaq 100 index, including Apple, is just 1.5 percent below its year high and 4.0 percent from its record high back in March 2000. Intel and Microsoft have seen their stocks recover more than 30 percent each since Aug.

25, while Amazon and Facebook rose 28 percent and 23 percent, respectively. But the ‘underperformer’ among these companies has been Apple, up only 14.8 percent from its Aug. 25 close, less than the Nasdaq 100’s 15.1 percent gain in that time. In contrast to Microsoft, Facebook, Alphabet and Amazon, Apple shares did not post record or multi-year highs this week, even though it rose 7.2 percent, the largest weekly gain in a year. On Tuesday, though, Apple is expected to report $51.1 billion in revenue, a 21.3 percent increase compared to the same quarter of last year. Earnings are seen at $1.879 per share. “The bar has been raised a bit on its earn-

ings report from where it was a week ago. The price action is telling you there’s more optimism built into it,” said Michael James, managing director of equities trading at Wedbush Securities in Los Angeles. Options market action shows traders expect Apple shares to move roughly 5.0 percent by the end of next week. The average move for the stock the day after its report in the last eight quarters was 4.4 percent, up or down. “Will an above-estimates from Apple and raised guidance help? Sure it will. But we could still get there without that happening,” said James of the possibility of the Nasdaq 100 hitting a record. (Reuters.com)

Features

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Fuel: Reward for Citizen Fadeyi who reported leakage in his well Elder Samuel Ibikunle Fadeyi is of Living Faith Church (a.k.a. Winners Chapel) in Dobi, Gwagwalada area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). He woke up one day to find fuel leaking into the well in his compound. He refused to take undue advantage of the situation but reported it to the appropriate authorities. In return, he got a reward, not only for himself, but for his community. Our correspondent, ROTIMI FADEYI reports.

or many people who had changed the course of history for the advancement of the human race, it was their honesty, integrity, hardwork and forthrightness that shot them into limelight and made them to stand out of the crowd. However, despite the honour, dignity and fame that follow these virtues, only very few in their lifetime are able to take this narrow path that lead to greatness and remarkable achievement since it requires a lot of sacrifice, patience, perseverance and even pains to get to such realm. This is because the narrow path is the terrain known only to those who had vowed to persevere and strive towards the realisation of the will, glory and purpose of God in their lives and all that He had deposited in them for the benefit of mankind. The story of Elder Samuel Ibikunle Fadeyi, of Living Faith Church (aka Winners Chapel) in Dobi, Gwagwalada area of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) is in line with one who has chosen the narrow path. He can be said to have displayed honesty, high moral standing, integrity, forthrightness and great service to the nation, humanity and above all to God. These are evident in a situation which he found himself. When Fadeyi woke up on that fateful Tuesday, January 7, 2014 to fetch water from the domestic well located in his home around Anguwan Science College area in Izom for household use, he was not prepared for what he discovered since he had been fetching water from the well before that day. On this particular day, however, Fadeyi was surprised that the bag used in fetching water brought out something oily that had the odour of petrol. He quickly poured away the oily water. Another attempt to fetch clean water from the well with the bag even produced more oily water and that made Fadeyi to think that something was wrong somewhere. It did not take long for Fadeyi, a 1981 Graduate of English Language from the University of Lagos to think that there could be a leaking oil pipeline somewhere through which the contamination was occurring. His thought was reinforced when he realised the fact that oil pipelines passed through Izom to supply some parts of the North of the country with petroleum products. For many other people who made such discovery of leaking pipeline or oil seepage, it would have provided the opportunity of a lifetime that they have struck gold. Quietly stealing the oil and making billion of naira from such illegal venture at the detriment of the nation and all Nigerians, would have given them comfort and the illusion that at last all their problems are over with the discovery of a goldmine in their backyard. But Fadeyi who hails from Owo, Ondo

We did the right thing and We got some cash cushion and a borehole that Will last longer than the proceeds We Would have got being a petroleum product thief State, as it is characteristic of him, chose to do the right thing inspite of the fact that the well in his home had become contaminated. After carefully assessing the situation and realising that it was a case of seepage of petrol into their domestic well, Fadeyi immediately informed the Hakimi and District Head of Izom, Alhaji Ibrahim Salihu. Fadeyi thereafter reported in writing and personally submitted it to the Izom Pump Station where he met the district head at the Pump Station who apparently came to report the same incident. Mallam Yusuf Zakari, the Izom Pump Station Superintendant, at that time, alerted the Kaduna Area Office and forwarded the report to them with dispatch. Though Zakari is now late, he was the one who acted on the report of Fadeyi and ensured that the management of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) as well as the Pipelines and Product Marketing Company (PPMC) Limited swung into action to tackle the pollution and avert disaster which would have occurred in the

community. Based on the report, engineers were deployed by the management of the NNPC/ PPMC to the community to carry out proper assessment of the situation in order to tackle the problem. The management also constituted a committee to look into it and urgently solve the challenge in the best way possible. Fadeyi told National Mirror that in order to destroy the petrol molecules, chemicals were poured into the contaminated well, adding that the well had been left like that since March 24, 2014 when the chemicals were applied. But the path of honour, dignity and love for one’s country taken by Fadeyi to officially report the incident to the appropriate authorities did not go down well with some members of his community who interpreted his action as dumb. He was dismissed as one who had just lost a good business opportunity through the well of fuel. It didn’t bother his antagonists that exploiting such opportunity for personal enrichment would

be criminal and illegal. Fadeyi said his family went through a lot of trauma during the period. He and his wife, Stella, tried to saveguard the contaminated well against possible night marauders who might attempt to fetch the product. He explained that at a point, some people were mocking them that their lives were in danger as they could no longer cook in their kitchen located close to the well. Doing their cooking might just be an invitation to fire outbreak. In fact, Fadeyi and his family had to relocate as their compound housing the well was put under lock and key. The commendable action taken by Fadeyi is coming into focus especially now that the President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration is also making efforts to sanitise the oil sector and tackle the problem of oil theft and pipeline vandalisation which had robbed the country of billions of naira for many years. Since coming into office on May 29, Buhari has lamented the rot in the oil sector and the massive corruption and stealing of crude oil by top government officials with impunity. In order for Fadeyi and his family to have access to water since their domestic well had been contaminated, the management of NNPC/PPMC provided the wherewithal and dug a borehole in Fadeyi’s house and another one for the community as a matter of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). They were also provided with some cash to compensate for the period during which they were not able to use the well. At the inauguration of the boreholes on June 18, Fadeyi compared the incident with three scenarios He said, “I want to compare it with three scenarios –someone found a purse full of cards – ATM card and other international card documents. He traced the owner to the Presidency. The owner rewarded him with a car, cash and unlimited access to him anytime. “The second scenario was that of one Josephine – a Cleaner at Murtala Muhammed Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, who found N12m passenger’s money. She reported it and surrendered the money to the passenger through her employer. It is believed that she was rewarded and got her names registered with the National Orientation Agency while the third scenario was the case of a young fellow who found a Blackberry, just a phone; destroyed all the vital details and almost ruined a career. He sold it for N9, 000. He got nothing except N9, 000 and curses that will avail.” “We did the right thing and we got some cash cushion and a borehole that will last longer than the proceeds we would have got being a petroleum product thief”, Fadeyi added.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Features

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Caring for children affected by insurgency Sani adamu

report of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) says the number of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs), as a result of the Boko Haram insurgency in the north-eastern part of the country, increased from 1.5 million to 2.1 million in July this year. Corroborating the report, the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) said that more than 1.4 million of the displaced persons were children. The UNICEF report also revealed that nearly 1.2 million of the affected children were under the age of 5. Besides, the UNICEF report claimed that more than 265,000 children were similarly affected by the insurgents’ activities in Cameroon, Chad and Niger. This upsetting scenario, perhaps, propelled the Kano State Government to establish a special boarding school to cater for the educational needs of some of the affected children. The school, located within Kano city, is currently home to more than 100 children from Borno, Yobe and Adamawa states who were displaced by the insurgency. The affected children are receiving education and psychological therapy, courtesy of the Kano State government. The special intervention programme is aimed at taking up full responsibility of 100 children, who are between the ages of 5 and 6 years. These are children whose parents are dead, displaced or missing as a result of the insurgency. The state government will take care of the children’s education, training, upbringing, feeding, clothing, security, health care and accommodation,’’ former Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso of Kano State said, while inaugurating the school. He pledged that the government would look after the children until they completed their basic education, while the security situation in the states affected by the insurgency had improved considerably to facilitate their safe return to the states. He recalled that the plight of the children, who have been deprived of parental care and concern due to the security challenges facing the area, was brought to his attention by NEMA and some concerned individuals. Kwankwaso, now a senator, urged the federal and state governments as well as other well-meaning individuals and groups to come to the aid of the orphans in order to make their lives more meaningful. Meanwhile, the Vice-President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has pledged that the federal government would cater for the needs of the displaced children. Osinbajo, who spoke during a familiarisation visit to the school in Kano, told the displaced children not to be despondent, stressing that the government would continue to look after their wellbeing. He pledged the commitment of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration to the Presidential Initiative for the North East (PINE), which was initiated to take care of all those who were affected by the insurgency. He cited an interaction which the Presi-

Children in IDPs camps

Part of the Plans is the education of children who are disPlaced. other asPects involve the resettlement of

the disPlaced Persons, the rebuilding of homes and bridges and the de-mining of farms dent had with the PINE Committee, chaired by retired Lt.-Gen. Theophilus Danjuma, in Abuja, saying that apart from educating the children, government was interested in rebuilding places ravaged by terrorists. He said that PINE was a big project with immediate, medium and long term plans. Part of the plans is the education of children who are displaced. Other aspects involve the resettlement of the displaced persons, the rebuilding of homes and bridges and the demining of farms,’’ he said. Osinbajo noted that the insurgents had planted mines in several farms in the North East, adding that a major plan of the federal government entailed the removal of all the impediments in the land. He said that government was carrying out comprehensive de-mining of the affected areas so as to enable the displaced persons to return to their communities to resume their businesses and economic activities, including farming, without any hitches. He described the school, established by the Kano State Government, as a creative and humanitarian project, given the circumstances behind the children’s displacement. He noted that the Kano State Government had demonstrated to others how to show concern for the future of the children. ``In spite of everything that has happened to them, it is obvious that the children’s future is bright,’’ he said. The vice-president, nonetheless, underscored the need to create more opportunities for the children, while thanking the proprietors of the school for giving the hapless children hope. Osinbajo stressed that the federal government would collaborate with the state governments to cater for displaced persons.

The vice-president, who interacted with the children and posed with them in a group photograph, assured them that their present condition would not affect their future. He prayed that the children would grow up to become leading citizens of the nation. In his remarks, the Deputy Governor of Kano State, Prof. Hafiz Abubakar, recalled that the school was opened on April 20, 2015, as part of the state government’s efforts to provide succour for children ravaged by insurgency in Borno, Yobe and Adamawa. He said that the school project, which started as an orphanage, had grown into a multipurpose centre which offered education and care to the pupils. Abubakar said that the school had Primary One and Primary Two pupils running full curriculum in primary education with full boarding facilities. A pupil of the school, Master Musa Seidu, thanked the vice-president for the visit and the Kano State government for taking good care of them in the school. Nevertheless, as part of efforts to add value to the initiative, the federal government has established special mobile classrooms to cater for the educational needs of the children of IDPs in the North-East. Inaugurating the mobile classroom programme at Dalori IDPs camp in Maiduguri, Osinbajo said that the scheme was part of the projects of PINE. These facilities would help school-age children in the IDPs camps to receive quality education before they could return to their respective homes in the liberated communities,’’ he said. Osinbajo, who was represented by one of his aides, Dr. Maryam Masha, said that the Boko Haram insurgency had taken a toll on the socio-economic life of the people.

He said that the federal government was obliged to fully support PINE’s efforts to provide special mobile classrooms for the children of the IDPs. The chairman of PINE, Prof. Adesoji Adelaja, said that the containerised classrooms were pilot packages equipped with tables, chairs and instructional materials, as well as solar panels to provide electricity. He said that each of the container-classrooms cost about N5 million, noting that PINE had long-term plans for education, youth development, agriculture, health, water resources and safety in the North East sub-region. This is just a pilot programme and a temporary measure to address the challenge of insurgency as it affects the education of many school-age children who were forced to flee their communities as a result of Boko Haram attacks,” he said. Adelaja noted that the mobile classrooms could be moved to other locations whenever the IDPs finally returned to their communities, urging donor agencies, well-meaning Nigerians and corporate organisations to facilitate the fulfilment of the project by donating more mobile classrooms. The special classrooms will also be replicated in Yobe and Adamawa states which are equally affected by insurgency in the sub-region,’’ he added. United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) representative, Mr. Frank Ndaieh, said that the education of the displaced children was important to the Fund. He said that education was the strongest weapon to fight poverty and underdevelopment, adding that education was also essential in efforts to promote economic growth, peace and stability. Ndaieh, however, underscored the need for the government to ensure that children had unfettered access to schooling as well as high-quality and functional education. In his remarks, Gov. Kashim Shettima of Borno State thanked the federal government, PINE, NEMA, UNICEF and other humanitarian agencies for their assistance to the victims of the Boko Haram insurgency in the North-eastern part of the country. Observers are, however, hopeful that the Boko Haram insurgency in the North East will soon come to a halt, while lasting peace returns to the country. Adamu writes for News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Global Business

China rebound rally won’t last, say Barclays, others

he rebound in Chinese equities spurred by the government’s efforts to boost growth will probably fade as the measures underscore fundamental weakness in the world’s second-largest economy, according to Barclays Plc, Blackfriars Asset Management Ltd. and BlackRock Inc. A $582 million exchange-traded fund tracking mainland stocks jumped to a two-month high in the U.S. on Friday as the People’s Bank of China, after the close of local trading, announced its sixth interest-rate cut since November. The gain pushed the advance from this year’s low in August to 23 percent. The rebound has been driven in large part by speculation that the government will move more aggressively to bolster an economy projected to expand in 2015 at the slowest pace in a quarter century. China has used a range of measures to try to control a drop-off in gross domestic product growth, which peaked at 14.2 percent in 2007 and will probably slow to 6.8 percent this year, according to economists surveyed by

Bloomberg. In addition to lowering interest rates and banks’ reserve requirements, the government has introduced targeted stimulus to the real estate, auto and casino industries. While data this month showed GDP increased 6.9 percent in the third quarter, the expansion was boosted by a surge in financial services because of an increase in securities trading. “I don’t think this is the start of a new move in Chinese equities higher,” Ajay Rajadhyaksha, head of macro research at Barclays, said by phone from New York on Friday. The country needs economic “growth numbers to improve sharply, and that does not seem to be happening,” he said. Price swings in the Bloomberg index of U.S.-traded Chinese companies are near the widest since late 2011 following a rout that pushed the gauge down 33 percent from its June peak. The Shanghai Composite Index plunged as much as 43 percent during the same pe-

Tony Hann

riod, wiping out about $5 trillion in market value. “Short-term the markets will take this positively,” Tony Hann, head of equities at Blackfriars Asset Management in London, which invests in Asian stocks, said by phone Friday. “Longer term, there are more issues that need to be solved before one could be uniformly bullish about China.”

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Singapore’s Tiger Airways cuts losses by 93%

he budget carrier said the improvement was largely due to selling its 40 per cent stake in Tigerair Australia. The stake in the loss-making subsidiary was sold for $1 to Virgin Australia in 2014. Group revenue for the quarter was up 12.8 per cent to S$167m. Tiger Airways is majority owned by flagship carrier Singapore Airlines. Chief executive Lee Lik Hsin said: “We are encouraged by the narrowing of losses in a seasonally weak second quarter.” Tiger Airways reported a loss of S$182.4m in the July to September quarter last year.

‘Peak quarter’ The improved earnings came as airlines around the globe benefit from the currentlow fuel prices helping profit margins. The results showed that traffic and passenger numbers also saw a slight increase. Tigerair recorded additional income from leasing aircrafts to its former Australian subsidiary and to Tigerair Taiwan, an affiliate majority-owned by China Airlines. For its outlook, the airline pointed to the next months as a peak quarter which traditionally sees increased travel during the holiday season.

UAW sets deadline for pact with GM

he United Auto Workers union set a Sunday night deadline for General Motors Co (GM.N) to agree to a new four-year contract, setting up a possible strike of GM’s U.S. operations. The current contract will expire at 11:59 p.m. ET on Sunday (0359 GMT Monday). The union could tell its 52,700 GM members to walk off their jobs at that time. However, if the union’s negotiators believe there is progress toward an agreement, the deadline can be postponed. GM and the union have been in talks since July and have for the last several days intensified negotiations to reach a deal. The UAW and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (FCAU.N) (FCHA.MI) have a new contract that goes into effect on Monday, while Ford Motor Co

Opel GM car

(F.N) has yet to enter intensified talks with the union. In a statement, GM responded: “We are working with them to address the issues and remain committed to obtaining an agreement that is good for employees and the business.” GM workers are prepared to strike at the Fort Wayne, Indiana plant that makes profitable GM pickup trucks, said Brian Hartman, president of the UAW local there. “We have everything ready to roll if it comes,” said Hartman, referring to a possible order to strike from UAW President Dennis Williams or Cindy Estrada, UAW vice president for GM affairs. Hartman said workers at the Fort Wayne plant were pleased that the Fiat Chrysler deal ratified this week gave a clear path for

workers hired after 2007 to reach top pay. But, he said, they want it to take four years not eight from hiring to reach top pay, which will be about $30 per hour by the end of the four-year Fiat Chrysler contract. “GM being in a different (more profitable) position than Chrysler, our members are looking for a bigger pie, not a bigger piece of the pie,” Hartman said, referring to words of Walter Reuther, UAW president from 1946 to 1970. It was only minutes before a strike deadline on Oct. 7 that Fiat Chrysler and the UAW reached agreement, averting the first strike on a Detroit automaker since 2007. In several concessionary contracts with the UAW since 2007, GM has lowered its average labor costs to about $55 per hour from about $75. GM executives have said the company must keep labor costs at a point where they do not threaten GM’s double-digit North American profit margins achieved this year. The UAW has said often “this is our time” to receive remuneration from concessions in 2007 and 2009 that helped GM to survive a bankruptcy in a government-sponsored bailout. However, GM executives have made clear that its continued health largely depends on its ability to keep labor costs competitive with foreign-owned companies with U.S. plants. The rivals have eroded the No. 1 U.S. automaker’ s market share for decades.

Aircraft

Fed’s next big decision may not be about rates – Yellen

ith policy makers seemingly making little progress on their path to raising rates, they’re also delaying resolving how they approach the $215 billion of Treasuries poised to mature and roll off the Fed’s balance sheet next year, and almost $800 billion through 2018. That’s creating uncertainty about a less-publicized issue for the central bank: how it plans to reinvest proceeds from holdings of government bonds amassed since the financial crisis, and whether it may do so in a way that addresses rising bondmarket volatility. Expectations for the removal of policy accommodation through higher interest rates have exacerbated a decline in liquidity in the market for U.S. government debt. To confront this, the Fed could restock its Treasury portfolio by buying older securities in the secondary market, rather than its customary method of buying new issues directly from the Treasury, according to Aaron Kohli, a fixed-income strategist at Bank of Montreal, one of 22 primary dealers that trade with the central bank.

“One approach benefits market liquidity in the short-term, the other doesn’t,” Kohli said. “If you suppress volatility, the market can become a lot easier to trade in the near term. They’ve talked a lot more about Treasurymarket liquidity and they’ve spent a lot of time investigating it.” The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose five basis points last week, or 0.05 percentage point, to 2.09 percent Friday in New York, according to Bloomberg Bond Trader data. The 2 percent U.S. security maturing in August 2025 traded at 99 7/32.

Janet Yellen

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

OsahOn Julius YENAGOA

n its determined bid to checkmate the inflow and proliferation of arms and ammunition in the Niger Delta and its environs, the Joint Military Task Force, JTF, using troops of the Sector 2 Command, has commenced massive raids on perceived militant and pirates camps recovering arms and ammunitions. Some of the notable areas raided by troops include Abonema general area in Rivers State where one AK 47 automatic rifle with registration number T94950 and twp magazine loaded with ammunitions were recovered. A statement by the spokesman of the military

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

JTF raids pirates, kidnappers …Recovers arms, arrests suspects outfit, Lt. Col. Ado Isa, said its men while escorting oil company workers from Tebidaba flow station encountered gun men suspected to be sea pirates. According to him, the gun men on sighting the troops discarded their weapon into the sea and escaped into the nearby bush. Consequently, two speed boats, one AK 47 riffle loaded with 41 rounds of ammunitions were recovered and presently in custody of OP Pulo Shield. He said, “A suspected sea pirates camp around

Ikembiri community in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State was also raided. The pirates fled the camp before the arrival of the troops. Items recovered at the camp include two pairs of camouflage uniforms, two sawing machine, one national identity card and a chain saw. “In the same vein, troops of Sector 2 in conjunction with Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) and Southern Ijaw Oil and Gas Task Force conducted a joint op-

erations at Gbenekrukru general area in Southern Ijaw LGA of Bayelsa State and destroyed 5 illegal oil bunkering sites where oil thieves operate with 4 drums containing crude oil, one metal tank containing Automated Gas Oil (AGO) and 5 Cotonou boats containing stolen products.” Other items he said was discovered at the site include 7 pumping machines and 24 empty tanks while the sites and the items were destroyed in line with the mandate of OP Pulo Shield. He confirmed that three

suspected criminals were also arrested in Nembe in possession of one locally made pistol and substance suspected to be cocaine. Lt. Col Ado said the suspects and the items were in the custody of OP Pulo Shield for onward transfer to relevant authority. “In the anti-illegal oil bunkering operation, troops of Sector 1 OP Pulo Shield carried out land trotting and sea patrol along Oboegungun, Otumara, Chanomi and Saghara communities near Escravos and discovered four illegal bunkering sites where oil thieves operates with 10 ovens, 8 dug out pits and 5 surface metal tanks filled with products suspected to be stolen crude. “Other items discovered includes 4 pumping machine and other illegal

bunkering equipment. “The sites and the discovered items were destroyed in-situ, “the statement further stated. He added that troops of the sector deployed at Ogirishi in Delta State arrested one Mr. Progress Ojusin and Mrs. Faith Binikuo riding in a red Audi car with registration number AA 630 GRE for illegal bunkering activities. Also apprehended by the JTF was a tanker loaded with suspected adulterated DPK at Aviele in Etsako West Local Government Area of Edo State while men of the sector also arrested two Mack tankers with registration number Lagos APP 521 XA and Lagos EKY 179 XQ along Benin-Lagos bypass at Ahor in Ununmwonde LGA of Edo State.

Ayade presents N350bn budget for 2016

G Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson (2nd right), makes the first deposit, shortly after officially commissioning the Izon-Ibe Micro-finance bank, while the deputy governor, Rear Admiral John Jonah (Rtd) (2nd left), and the Chairman, Bayelsa State Traditional Rulers Council, HRM King Alfred Diete Spiff (right), looks on with delight, at the bank’s premises in Ekeki, Yenagoa.

Engage N’Deltans in oil business, avoid militancy –IYC OsahOn Julius YENAGOA

he Ijaw Youth Council, IYC, has called on the federal government to have an economic blue print as an alternative for the people of the oil rich Niger Delta, who are involved in oil bunkering activities and illegal refining of crude before putting a final stop to it. The group maintained that the oil bunkering business and illegal oil refining was the only means of livelihood in the creeks since oil exploration had cripple all other economic activities in the creek as a result of incessant pollution of the waterways. President of the IYC,

Comrade Udengs Eradiri, who stated this in an interview with newsmen in Yenagoa, said though he had never encouraged any illegal oil activities, he said government should make concerted efforts in involving people to participate in the business of their resources. He stressed that when the people were denied access to their own resources, it would give rise to another form of militancy in the region. Eradiri also described as sad the spate of oil theft in the Niger Delta saying it was crime against humanity because the livelihood of the people was bastardised while the people were also killed and forced into a quest for survival .

His words: “I have said in the past that much as we support your war against oil theft, it must come with an economic plan as an alternative so that as you are going in to stop them from their way of life, you should provide an alternative. “ They are over five hundred youths. These same people are now coming to the society, that’s why you are seeing the increase in crime; robbery is going on, kidnapping is on the increase, they are kidnapping even icefish sellers now. “ When you destroy their means of livelihood and you don’t create any alternative, you are deliberately destabilizing the Niger Delta so that businesses would not come here. “They say oil theft is

economic sabotage, what of the illegal mining that are going on in the North? Is that not worst economic sabotage? At a point there was lead poisoning as a result of illegal mining, and the monies that they realized from illegal mining is huge. Why do we not have the JTF policing illegal miners, knowing full well that the monies realised from gold illegally mined is far much more than monies realised from stolen oil. “Retired Generals have mines of their own in the North, the statistics are there. Why are we not talking about those minerals in the North that are illegally mined to the pockets of individuals? Why is it that only Niger Delta oil is on the pages of newspapers?”.

overnor Ben Ayade of Cross River on Monday in Calabar presented a proposed budget of N350 billion for the 2016 fiscal year to the state House of Assembly. A total of N294.58 billion, representing 84 per cent of the budget is for capital expenditure, while N55.41billion, representing 16 per cent, is earmarked for recurrent services. Ayade said the increase in the budget size from N149.44 billion in 2015 to N350 billion in 2016 was due to funds from Foreign Direct Investment. According to him, N53.44 billion of the budget would be committed to regional development and N53.009 billion for social services. A breakdown of the budget shows that under recurrent revenue, N43.20 billion will come from federal sources, Capital Receipt; N284.44 billion, Personal cost; N27.31 billion. Ayade said that the budget tagged ‘’Budget of Deep Vision’’ would give priority to the economic sector in the state. ``We have created 12 new ministries to help drive the much economic vitality of the state to a

first class state. We also hope that these new ministries would create jobs for our teeming unemployed youths in the state. We are aware of the financial challenges before the state, but we must explore other means of generating revenue rather than depend solely on federal allocation. The 2016 budget of N350 billion would improve the economic status of the state and also improve on the welfare of all Cross Riverians,’’ he said. The governor said that the state would continue to collaborate with the private sector and donor agencies to enhance development in rural and urban areas. Earlier, Mr. John Gaul-Lebo, Speaker of the assembly, commended Ayade for initiating the 260 kilometre super highway, flagged-off by President Muhammadu Buhari. Gaul-Lebo said that the road, when completed, would attract more investors to the state, thus improving its revenue profile. According to him, the assembly has passed nine bills since its inauguration in June.

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Lay down arms, support Buhari, ex-militant leader urges followers OsahOn Julius YENAGOA

s Nigerians continue to search for total peace in the oil rich region of the Niger Delta, the leader of Ifalibabou Revolutionary Movement, IRM, a former militant group in Niger Delta, Gen. Keithy Sese, has urged his followers still in the creeks to drop their arms and engage the Buhari administration through lawful channels. In a statement issued on Sunday in Yenagoa, Sese, also known as Nomukeme said the Buhari administration was on course, adding that the group was convinced that the administration possessed the requisite toughness to muscle corruption

and corrupt practices out of the nation. “An aftermath of a keen observation, the group is noting for the first time in the nation’s democratic experience a government that is disciplined and orderly. We are now experiencing where government directives are being complied with swiftly. “The General Muhammadu Buhari’s administration’s fight against corruption is commendable because we believe it possessed the requisite toughness to muscle corruption and corrupt practices out of our system. Complete cleansing is what is urgently expected in this area. “The president’s choice of men in terms of appointment of Service

Chiefs is equally appreciable. Your choice of Major General Tukur Buratai, a soldier to the core as Chief of Army Staff is perfect. For the first time in the war against Boko Haram, we have an indigene leading the war from the Nigerian side against the Islamic insurgents,” Sese observed. While extending a hand of fellowship to the Buhari administration, Sese appealed to the president to rewrite the wrong done to his group by the immediate past administration of President Good luck Jonathan which excluded them from amnesty deal. He said that he and over ninety per cent of his group of about 3,000 members were shut out in the amnesty process by

former Niger Delta militant leaders who were in charge of the amnesty programme. “The group’s offence is making third and second phase amnesty a possibility. Some of our disenchanted former members are the army of youths responsible for the occasional breakdown of law and order at several instances in many parts of the Niger Delta in recent time. “We plead with the government to re-integrate all former members of this group who were shut out in the federal government amnesty process including the leader, Gen. Keithy Sese, also known as Nomukeme. In other words, the amnesty programme should be reviewed in favour of real fighters who

are yet to be integrated. “Government can do well by upgrading the amnesty programme from an avenue for the payment of monthly stipend and youths training to the original terms of the amnesty understanding. Construction of a Niger Delta coastal road, for instance, was a major factor in the Amnesty handout,” he stated. The group also threw its weight behind the candidacy of Chief Timipre Sylva and his running mate in APC for the December 5 governorship election in Bayelsa State. “Chief Timipre Sylva, we know was a potent

Edo promises to revamp abandoned farm projects

L-R: Managing Director, Accion Micro Finance Bank, Mrs. Bunmi Lawson (left) and Representative of the deputy governor of Rivers, Mr. Gilbert Nria, at the Commissioning of Accion Micro Finance Bank Complex in Port Harcourt.

force behind the late President Yar’Adua’s declaration of Amnesty in the Niger Delta and the process in general. Also we have observed the APC in Bayelsa State has a clear cut agenda to develop the oil rich but, incredibly under-developed,utterly abandoned and ecologically devastated people of the Bayelsa coastline and connect them to the rest of the country. “We believe in the ability of Chief Timipre Sylva to be able to massively engage our youths , especially from oil producing communities for sustainability and self reliance”, Sese maintained.

do State government has expressed determination to revamp most of its abandoned farm projects across the state. Mr. Joe Okojie, Commissioner for Agriculture and Natural Resources, disclosed this in Benin on Monday, when two youth groups presented AgroProject blueprint to him. The two youth groups are Edo Youth For Good Governance, (EYFGG), and Initiative for Youth Awareness on Migration Immigration Development and Re-integration (IYAMIDR). He said the planned programme was another source of shoring up revenue and increasing food production for the people. The commissioner said that among some of the legacies the present administration in the state

would like to leave behind would be to ensure that the state assumed its lost glory in rice production. Okojie called for supports of the stakeholders to enable the state government achieve its aim in rice production. Earlier, the president of EYFGG, Mr. Osaro Iyamu, lamented that youths in the state, who had embraced agricultural practices, were not getting the desired support from the government. He called for the support of the state government for the youth in term of equipment and grant to boost their farm production. Iyamu also urged the state government to put in place a friendly agricultural policy and revitalise the Agricultural Development Project (ADP) in the state.

Edo Assembly calls on NDDC to complete abandoned projects

he Edo State House of Assembly has called on the management of Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) to complete all abandoned projects in Uhunmwode local government area and across the state. The call is the outcome of a motion moved on Monday at plenary

in Benin by Mrs. Elizabeth Ativie, All Progressives Congress (APC) member representing Uhunmwode constituency. Moving the motion, Ativie expressed concern that 12 NDDC projects in Uhunwode and several others scattered across the state had been abandoned.

She said that enormous resources had been expended by the federal government through the NDDC to execute the projects without corresponding result. She said that all efforts by the leaders of the community where the projects were sited to get the contractors back to work had proved abor-

tive. The legislator urged the NDDC to mobilise its contractors back to site to complete all abandoned projects in the state to ameliorate the sufferings of the people. She called on the chairmen of the 18 local government councils in the state to furnish the constituency offices of

House of Representatives members and senators from the state on the progress of work done on the abandoned projects. Ativie urged members of the House of Representatives and senators from the state to follow up on the resolution by ensuring that work on all the abandoned projects were completed by the

NDDC. Lawmakers who aired their views supported the motion. The Speaker, Victor Edoror, directed that copies of the resolution be sent to the NDDC, senators, House of Representatives members, the chairmen of the 18 local government councils and the governor for action.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Politics

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

ke Buhari –Obiozor politically.

What would you say has been the reasons why our political leaders have failed to implement resolution of these conferences? Political interest, narrow, heightened level of political self-interest form section or groups and those who stand to benefit by the present confusion of the system do not want it to be implemented or redressed. That is even the dangerous part of it. It is not that they don’t know that certain things need to be redressed so that the country will have better future, stability, peace harmonious co-existence. They know but they refuse for it to be implemented because of self-interest and selfish reasons. For example, the 2014 National Conference, most of the decisions were based on consensus and yet some people do not want it to see the light of the day. That was exactly the same tragedy that brought the Aburi agreement to nothing. In recent years, we have been seeing people writing about what they did to sabotage the Aburi agreement, yet they were part of it but when they came back they decided it should not be implemented. Of course you saw the result which was civil war that almost divided the country and devastated the nation. So, it is a reality. We have those who are against the implementation of the 2014 Conference as well as those who are calling for it to be implemented from all over the country. How do we then forge ahead? In fact, we should sit down and have a real political system that complies with the aspirations of our various groups. That was why the conferences were held and that is the reason every regime, if you remember, when Murtala Mohammed came to power he had a political group, even when Yakubu Gowon came to power he instituted political reform group, when Obasanjo came to power it was the same and from that time till now every regime thinkers with the structure but very few implement anything decided. There seems to be some kind of deliberate act to twist history in the country? Of course when you twist history you wait for the verdict and that’s what I’m talking about. The verdict is normally harsh and real and it is given by the dynamics of the society itself. The society is not standing still it grows and more people get enlightened. Critical in the 2014 National Conference were issues that cause conflicts among Nigerians and within the society. What could be these issues? Structure of the federation is the issue. We have outgrown the structure that we inherited from the military, the kind of constitution that looks more like unitary system of government than a federation. We have outgrown the idea of high concentration of power at the centre. We should look back and reexamine the spirit that guided our founding fathers in establishing the Nigerian federation. What they established took the interest of diverse groups into consideration and built a federation based on contractual non-centralization. So, within each unit, there was autonomy, a level of legitimacy and indeed priority in their own development. You cannot decide development priority for everybody in a similar way because of the diversity which include geography, some of areas of Nigeria are more forest and more rain and they can grow different kinds of crops, why do you want to merge? Unity doesn’t mean uniformity. Unity means unity in diversity. The other thing that has been causing problem recently is the ideal of fiscal federalism. How was it before? What you call now derivation, what was it before? This is a new problem that developed as a result of the post civil war. Before then, the resources were shared in a way that took the interest of everybody into consideration, where it comes from, tax or the share to the Federal Government, to the local government and to the state. Things were well arranged by our founding fathers.

So, when people ask what the problem is, Nigerian problem is known but we don’t want to solve the problem because there are those who are beneficiary of the present confusion and the issue is, this selfishness leads to more problems. And the more problems are the dangers of possible disintegration and conflict. A few years ago nobody ever thought we can have terrorism in Nigeria today we have full fledge terrorism which is just not terrorism anymore, we have promoted it to insurgency and as a matter of fact, this insurgency until recently would have led into war. In other words the country was already heading to war before the new administration heightened the attempt to curtail the insurgency. What will be your advice to President Buhari? Like I said earlier, something is extremely important about Buhari’s presence as President of Nigeria. We have to go back to 1999 to begin to analyze it. In 1999, the country after many years of military rule said, we want to return to civilian rule and all that, where are the political leaders? They looked around, it became difficult for them they went back to a man who left office 20 years earlier in 1979, which was when Obasanjo left office, they took him and he became President. After two terms of relative stability and international recognition, I will even say international appreciation, the man left the scene when it seemed stability has returned to Nigeria. Then towards the end of the next eight years, in fact the first four years tragedy struck, the country drifted and nobody knew who was running Nigeria and then next four years President Jonathan who started acting then became President. Within that four years, towards the end, it seemed everything has fallen apart. There was widespread national and international perception of weakness, things fallen apart. Boko Haram, in fact Nigeria has never been so unsecured, even during the period of civil war, those who were around said the country was more unsecured than it was during the civil war. No section of the country was at peace. Now next election, the country was in trouble again about leadership, they looked for a man who left office 30 years earlier in 1985, General Muhammadu Buhari in 2015 was elected President. You have to ask yourself, what is the mystery, what kind of country is this? This is a nation looking backwards for leadership because there is nobody in front or present. In other words Nigeria becomes for me a country whose past is better than the present and whose future is a case of doubt and speculations. A country whose future is frightening, it’s just unfortunate. So the issue here is, if Buhari succeeds to do those thing that we have been yearning for, institutionalising governance, enhancing the process of democracy, restructuring Nigeria, succeeds to do for Nigeria what Charles de Gaulle did for France, what Ataturk did for Turkey, the kind of foundation Mandela did for South Africa, if he does that for Nigeria, after him who again in Nigeria can we look at for the past since our pattern is to look for the past for leaders? After him which other Nigeria could either be loved or hated or feared that can attract attention of all Nigerians for better or worst. I don’t see any. That means we have run out of leadership, a nation without heroes is heading towards unmitigated tragedy. So who is Buhari for Nigerians? Historically, he is Nigeria’s last centurion and every effort should be made to help him to succeed because failure is not an alternative for Nigeria. If he succeeds the country we stand, if he doesn’t then you will hear from everywhere, to your tenth o Israel! By last centurion I’m alluding to the last defender of the Roman Empire and this is the Nigerian unity. The country’s unity has all the time been an aspiration and never an achievement. Every regime works on the Nigerian unity, if he doesn’t succeed now, based on the pattern we have established in the last 16 years and now to 20 years, that nobody in front can hold us, we always go back and at the back who is that Nigerian that can be either beloved or feared, who if he speaks the whole country listens either because you fear or love him? After Buhari nobody is like that again.

Guber poll: Tribunal decides Ladoja, Ajimobi fate today Kemi Olaitan IBADAN

xpectations are high in the camp of both the All Progressives Congress, APC and the Accord party, AP on the likely outcome of the tribunal’s judgment today on the winner of the April 11, 2015 governorship election in Oyo State . The governorship Election Petitions Tribunal, sitting in Ibadan, the state capital, after four months of legal fireworks, fixed today to decide who actually win the poll between former governor of the state, Senator Rasheed Ladoja and the incumbent, Senator Abiola Ajimobi. It will be recalled that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC had returned Ajimobi as the winner of the poll. But dissatisfied with the outcome of the election, Ladoja, who contested on the platform of the Accord, challenged the validity of the victory of Ajimobi of the All Progressives Congress, APC before the tribunal, joining the APC, the state Resident Electoral Commissioner and INEC in the petition. Speaking yesterday, the Director General, Ladoja Campaign Organisation and former Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Hon. Adeolu Adeleke, said “We are expecting the declaration of Senator Rashidi Adewolu Ladoja as the duly elected governor in the April 11, 2015 governorship election. by the tribunal “. The state Director of Publicity and Strategy of APC in the state, Mr. Wale Shadare, on his part, said Governor Ajimobi and APC are sure of victory, though not pre-empting the judgment that would be delivered today. He described Ladoja as a comedian, saying he raised so many issues, that he could not proved before the tribunal. The tribunal was inaugurated in June with Justice F.C Obieze as chairman as well as Justices I.M Muhammad Karaye and J.E Ikede as members. But the tribunal did not commence the pre-hearing session before Justice Obieze proceeded on retirement as a result of attaining 65 years.

The pre-hearing session commenced in July when new chairman, Justice Mohammed Mayaki, who was appointed by the President of the Court of Appeal, resumed to lead the panel. Ladoja, who claimed that he scored the highest number of votes with 25 per cent in 22 of the 33 local government areas of the state, asked the tribunal to declare him winner of the election or order a rerun. The lead counsel to Ladoja, Mr. Richard Ogunwole (SAN), in the petition marked EPT/IB/ GOV/22/2015, contended that election took place in 23 local government areas and in some units in the remaining 10 local governments, adding that the election was fraught with non-compliance with the Electoral Act 2010 (As Amended). He alleged that there were cases of non-accreditation of voters, deliberate refusal to use the smart card readers, over-voting, multiple thumb-printing of ballot papers, ballot stuffing, ballot paper and boxes snatching and so on. He tendered close to 200 exhibits and called many witnesses in support of his petition during the hearing session. The lead counsel to Governor Ajimobi (first respondent), Chief Wole Olanipekun (SAN) told the tribunal that the petition was grossly incompetent and there was no substantial evidence in it, urging the panel to dismiss it. According to him, Ladoja did not emerge as governorship candidate of the Accord Party through party primaries and so, he was not qualified to stand for the election. But Ogunwole asked Olanipekun to provide a proof that Ladoja did not emerge through party primaries or the party did not conduct primaries. However, the lead counsel to APC (second respondent), Chief Rotimi Akeredolu (SAN),and lead counsel to the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) (third respondent) and the INEC(fourth respondent), Mallam Yusuf Ali (SAN) defended the results announced by the electoral umpire as credible.

Politics

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Tribunal dismisses Ogboru, O’tega petitions as LP, APC head for Appeal Court amour udemude ASABA

elta state Governorship Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Asaba, Delta state capital has dismissed the two petitions filed by the Governorship candidates of the Labour Party, Chief Great Ogboru and Chief O’tega Emerhor of the All Progressives Congress, APC challenging the election of Mr. Ifeanyi Okowa as the duly elected governor of the Delta State in the April 11, 2015 election. It would be recalled that the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC had declared Mr. Ifeanyi Okowa of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP as winner of the April 11, 2015 governorship election with 724,680 votes to defeat Chief Great Ogboru of Labour Party who polled 130,028 votes and O’tega Emerhor of the All Progressive Congress, APC with 67,825 votes.

Following INEC’s declaration, Ogboru and Emerhor went to the tribunal to challenge the declaration of Mr. Okowa by the commission. Delivering judgment yesterday on the two petitions, the three-man panel led by the chairman, Justice Nasir Gunmi said the petitioners failed on their parts to prove their allegations of corruption and substantial breach of the Electoral Act and electoral guidelines beyond reasonable doubt and therefore dismissed the petitions for what he called lack of merit. Delivering judgement in petition number EPT/DT/ GOV/23/2015 between Ogboru and Okowa, Justice Gunmi stated that the petitioners failed to prove allegations of corrupt practices, breach of Electoral Act, overvoting and manipulation of election result saying that there was no credible evidence provided by the petitioners to support

the allegations and held that the petition “is bound to fail, and has failed. It is hereby dismissed. The petitioners are to pay cost of N50,000 each to the three set of respondents.” While on Emerhor’s petition marked EPT/DT/ GOV/32/2015, the tribunal also held that the petitioners relied heavily on the use of card reader as basis for nullifying election result. According to the tribunal, the petitioners were unable to prove that the first respondent (Okowa) was credited with votes in excess of accreditation during the election.

The tribunal held that the petitioners were also unable to discharge the burden of proof placed on their shoulders by the provisions of Sections 136 and 137 of the Evidence Act. “The petitioners having not proved the toxic votes credited to the first respondent, the issue of whether the first respondent was returned by valid votes becomes a non issue. The concomitance of the conclusion by the tribunal is that this petition is without merit, it is bound to fail, and it failed. It is hereby dismissed. “It follows that the election and return of the first

respondent as the duly elected governor of Delta State is affirmed. The three sets of respondent are entitled to N50,000.00 each as cost of prosecuting the petition,” the tribunal held. Meanwhile, reacting to the judgment, the Delta state chairman of Labour Party, Chief Tony Ezeagwu said the judgement was unexpected and his party is heading to the Court of Appeal. On their parts, the Delta state chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Prophet Jones Erue, Director General of the Emerhor campaign organisation, Hon. Benjamin Ob-

galor and the running mate to O’tega Emerhor, Ogbuefi V.O.T. Abanum described the judgement as a miscarriage of justice. Addressing a press conference at the state APC secretariat in Asaba shortly after the judgement, the trio disclosed that the judgment was not the reflection of Deltans but rather a bought justice by the PDP, adding that they are heading to the court of Appeal to appeal against the judgement. They however appealed to all APC supporters in the state to remain calm as the change they have always clamoured for will come.

Pwajok loses bid to unseat Lalong at tribunal James abraham JOS

he hope of the Governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in Plateau state during the April 11 election, Mr. Gyang Pwajok to upturn the victory of the All Progressives Party, APC Candidate, Mr Simon Lalong was yesterday dashed as the election petition tribunal dismissed his petition for lack of merit. Pwajok, through his counsel, Sony Odey , had asked the tribunal to nullify the governorship election on the ground that it was marred by irregularities. The petitioners brought many witnesses including forensic evidence to prove that the election which brought the APC candidate to power was characterized by massive rigging especially in seven out of the seventeen Local Government Areas of the state including , Mangu ,Pankshin, Jos North ,Shendam, Wase ,Jos East and Kanam. During the trial, the Appeal Court, asked the Governorship Election Pe-

tition Tribunal not to admit in evidence the report of the forensic experts and other witnesses presented by the petitioner. The petitioner however appealed the court verdict at the Supreme Court but the apex court could not decide on the matter until yesterday when the tribunal ruled in favour of the APC and its candidate While delivering the judgment yesterday at the High Court 6 ,Chairman of the three member Tribunal ,Justice Johnson Candide said the petitioner could not prove any case of malpractice out of the 89 wards in the 7 local governments brought before the tribunal He said that the presentation of the 32 witnesses brought by the petitioner was so poor that the tribunal lack the power to nullify Governor Simon Lalong victory of 11th April,2015. The judge held that the allegations of irregularities and non-availability of election materials in the affected LGAs were also not proved by the petitioners and therefore upheld the election of Lalong.

L-R: Delta State Governor Ifeanyi Okowa; his wife Dame Edith; Deputy Governor Kingsley Otuaro And His wife Ebi Otuaro, during the thanksgiving victory of the election Tribunal, in Delta.

Tribunal upholds Dankwambo’s election again Williams attah GOMBE

or the second time in two weeks, the Governor Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Gombe under Justice A.A. Nwobodo has again thrown out the petition filed by the African Democratic Congress,ADC against the election of Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo of Gombe State yesterday. The Tribunal under Justice Mohammed Sirajo last week dismissed similar petition filed by the All Progressive Congress, APC for lacking in merit, making it the second time that the petitions against the Governor were thrown out within two weeks. However, in yesterday’s judgment, Justice A.A. Nwobodo, who chaired the tribunal dismissed the petition for lack of merit

and the inability of the petitioner, Abubakar Ja’afar of the ADC to prove beyond reasonable doubt that the election conducted did not conform substantially with the Electoral Act 2010. During the over two hours ruling, Justice Nwobodo said, “On whichever way one decides to look at it, this petition is bound to fail and has indeed failed. We hereby dismiss the case for lack of merit,” he said. The petitioner had among others pleaded that the certificate of return given to Governor Dankwambo by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC be declared null and void and of no effect on the grounds that he was not truly elected by the majority of lawful votes and that the election did not conform to the 2010 Electoral Act as amended. Justice Nwobodo said

allegations of alteration, non-authentication and mutilation of figures on form EC8A which are criminal in nature need adequate proof which the petitioner could not convince the tribunal. Reacting, Aliyu Usma Barde who held the brief for Samuel Peter Kagbo, counsel to the petitioners said he could not say anything because “I need to consult with the client while calling on the client to be patient and abide by the judgment for now until a further step is being taken”. Barrister Yaro Achana Gaius, counsel to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP said “The tribunal judgment, not only in this case but also in the first one is justice to the people of Gombe state. According to him, “It is only a confirmation of the

mandate given by the people of Gombe state to the Governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo. “They have done justice in accordance to what they know, they have done justice in accordance with the pleadings before the court and they have also done justice in accordance with the evidence before the court”. Also reacting, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Abubakar Sadiq Wada commended the tribunal, saying yesterday was his happiest day because of the judgement. According to him, the dismissal of the petitions of APC and ADC would afford Governor Dankwambo the opportunity to continue on building the peoples capacity and the development of Gombe state.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Politics

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Federal character respected in allotting chairmanship of committees –Spokesman

he principle of federal character was adopted in allotting chairmanship positions for standing committees in the House of Representatives, Hon. Abdulrazak Hamdas, Chairman, Committee on Media and Public Affairs, has said. Hamdas (APC Adamawa), told newsmen in Abuja yesterday that due process was followed to ensure that all the 360 lawmakers

were carried along. The lawmaker decried agitations by some legislators that plum committees were given to opposition parties. “In sharing these committees, due process was actually followed. “We statistically ensured that every member of the House of Representatives has at least two Grades A committees “If you have two Grade

A committees, if you are chairman or deputy chairman, you are still relevant in the system,” he said. Hamdas explained that the issue of belonging to two plum committees was not limited to lawmakers of any particular party, adding that it cut across all the political parties. “It cuts across all the political parties and was done in the interest of the country.

“We want to ensure that all sections of the country and all the parties are also carried along,” he added. It would be recalled that in the sharing, APC got 48 chairmanship position, PDP got 45, while APGA and SDP got one each. Hamdas said the leadership of the House also ensured that APC got 54 deputy chairmanship slots while opposition parties had the remaining shared

among them. “This is done with a clear interest of pan Nigerian situation, so this idea of saying certain people are not carried along is not true; due process was actually followed. It is with fairness and the interest of Nigeria. “Part of the reason why we are doing this is to ensure that the leadership of the House runs an all inclusive administration with all

Nigerians having a sense of belonging,” he said. The House spokesman explained that the Standing Rules of the House supported that certain committees were allotted to some regions. “Like the petroleum upstream and downstream which used to be for the south; it’s a convention and we will not change it and that is why this has been allocated to them,” he added.

Buhari on course with INEC boss appointment –Ekiti APC Chief Abiodun nejo ADO EKITI

resident Muhammadu Buhari has been advised to ignore the criticism of the Ekiti State Governor over the appointment of Prof Mahmoud Yakubu as the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission. An All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain in Ekiti State, Mr Olusegun Osinkolu, said the governor lacked the moral justification to condemn the President of being sectional in view of alleged lopsided appointments that had happened in the State under his watch. Osinkolu said the litany of attacks being launched against Buhari was a ploy

by the governor to hijack the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) at the centre for him to actualise his Vice Presidential ambition in 2019. The governor had last week condemned the President of being sectional for appointing a Northerner from Bauchi State to succeed Prof Attahiru Jega from Kebbi State as INEC chairman, describing this as the highest point of lopsidedness and marginalization of the southern region. Osinkolu said: “President Buhari enjoys the constitutional right to appoint whoever he thinks could sustain the legacies of the immediate past Chairman, Prof Jega”, adding that the govenor’s vituperations should not in any way deter CONTINUED ON PAGE 46

Supporters of Plateau State Governor Simon Lanlong celebrating the governor’s victory at the Election Petition Tribunal, in Jos, yesterday.

Nnamani vs Nnaji: When father, son fight to the finish CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13 allege non-compliance was substantial enough to invalidate the Election. He said that the petitioner must not only show substantial non-compliance but must also show the figures, that is, the affected or omitted; stating that the petitioner must not only assert, but must satisfy the Court, that the non-compliance affected the result of the election to justify its nullification. In his final address to the court, Mr. O. Jolaawo of Rickey Tarfar and Co, Counsel to Nnamani, maintained that Nnaji was not duly elected or duly returned as the winner of the election having not scored the majority of the lawful votes cast at the election; and that it was Nnamani, who ought to have been returned as the winner having polled the highest number of lawful votes cast. He submitted that given the state of pleadings and the evidence led by the petitioners, the allegations of irregularities and non-compliance with regulations in the election have been proved as required by law, stating that non-compliance with the Electoral Act implies conduct of an election contrary to the Election Act. The court, after reviewing the issues raised by both parties, observed that the irregularities and a non -compliance with the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended) cuts across the entire Enugu East Senatorial District.

It noted that “It is important to state that some of the irregularities shown in Exhibit PW5A and in the above cross examination of the respondent’s witnesses are gross and fundamental. Irregularities such as absence of accreditation go to the root of valid elections. “It is trite that no lawful election can take place without strict compliance which effect on the results of the election must be separately proved by the petitioners’ non-compliance arising from non - accreditation of voters is so fundamental and the effect it has on the result of the election lies in the fact of its occurrence. You must have an election lawfully so called to be able to talk of the result of that election. Election results ensue from lawful votes cast by voters in a manner recognized by the law. “Any election that occurred without accreditation of voters is a complete nullity as same had proceeded in complete and flagrant violation of the principles of the Electoral Act which the law itself jealously protects in Section 146(1) of the Electoral Act, 2010.” The tribunal further stated that the respondents in an attempt to fault and discredit that inspection and forensic report, only paraded more polling units’ results which were also fraught with mutilations, cancellations and alterations that were not included in the challenged report.

“We are of the view that such additional discovery only further strengthenf the irregularities and noncompliances with the electoral Act, 2010 in the conduct of the election”, adding that “there was no single incident form tendered before this tribunal by the respondents”. The tribunal led by Hon Justice M. O Adewara, in its verdict maintained that “the Elections held on the 28th March, 2015 for Enugu East Senatorial District was not conducted in substantial compliance with the Principles of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended) and that the non-compliance has substantially affected the results of the Election. “That the Election is hereby declare null and void. “That the 3rd Respondent, Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC is hereby ordered to conduct a fresh Election for Enugu East Senatorial District of Enugu State.” As soon as the news of the judgement filtered into town, there was a spontaneous reaction across the Enugu metropolis. Jubilant residents took over Enugu, the State capital, such that vehicular movement was crippled for more than five hours. Although Nnaji has since gone to court, it has remained on the lips of residents of the State, who are anxiously awaiting the outcome of the appeal

Politics

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

UPN, Ogun govt bicker over removal Over 400 groups endorse Dickson of HID Awolowo’s memorial billboard G Femi OyewesO ABEOKUTA

nity Party of Nigeria, UPN and Ogun state government yesterday bickered over the removal of the giant memorial billboard of Yeye Oodua and late matriarch of Awolowo dynasty, Mama HID Awolowo by the Ogun state Signage and Advertising Agency, OGSAA. While the leadership of the Ogun state chapter of UPN is accusing the Ibikunle Amosun -led government of political vendetta, the state government maintained that it removed the billboard because it constituted an environmental and health hazard to the public. Ogun UPN had yesterday in Abeokuta, the state capital staged a protest over the

removal of the Awolowo’s memorial billboard, located along Sagamu-Benin expressway by OGSAA.. The UPN deputy governorship candidate in the April 11 election, Alhaja Aminat Olatunbosun, who led the protest, accused Governor Ibikunle Amosun of masterminding the removal of the billboard on political ground. Olatunbosun, who spoke with journalists in Abeokuta, explained that her political party paid all the charges levied by OGSAA before the billboard was erected in honour of the late HID Awolowo who died on September 19. Flanked by other protesting-banner carrying members of UPN, Olatunbosun alleged that shortly after the installation of the billboard, operatives of OGSAA,

backed by armed policemen, removed the billboard “for no just reason.” She added that when UPN officials enquired about the billboard’s removal, they were told that it was based on “order from above.” She further accused the state government of breach of contract and demanded the immediate re-installation of the billboard. Reacting to the matter however, the governor’s Senior Special Assistant on Media, Mr Adejuwon Soyinka said Amosun was not in any way connected with the billboard’s removal. Soyinka explained that the OGSAA officials removed it as a result of the health and environmental hazards constituted by the billboard. He said owners of the

billboard have been contacted and instructed to ensure safety of the people around the area, noting that it will be restored as soon as those environmental issues are properly taken care of. The governor’s aide also advised residents of the state to always ensure compliance with the extant laws when embarking on any project. Also speaking in the same vein, the General Manager of OGSAA, Akin Bandele explained that the removal of the memorial billboard was not politicallymotivated. Bandele explained that the billboard had constituted health and environmental hazards, adding that it would be restored once the concerned outdoor agency fixed it.

overnor Seriake Dickson’s re-election bid received a boost on Monday as over 400 coalition of Non Governmental Organizations and civil society groups mobilized support for him at a mega rally tagged: ‘Operation Reject Sylva and APC’ in Bayelsa. The groups with over 5,000 membership from all the eight constitutionally recognized local government areas of the state converged on the popular Peace park in Yenagoa, to demonstrate their support and readiness to ensure that the governor is reelected for another 4-year term. Commending the efforts of the Governor Dickson led administration, especially in the areas of peace and security, education, primary health care and job creation; the groups said this necessi-

tated their call for his reelection. Speaking on behalf of the leaders of the various groups represented at the occasion, the former Speaker, old Rivers State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Joseph Kemeagbeye, said the groups would not rest on their oars until the set goal of returning Dickson is achieved. Describing the developmental strides of the present administration as unprecedented, the former lawmaker said if Dickson could achieve so much in less than four years in office, then giving him another opportunity, Bayelsa would rank as one of the best among the comity of states. He said, “while other states are taking both local and foreign loans, Dickson is busy repaying debt owed by the immediate past administration.

We’ll evict PDP from Alagbaka Government House –APC chairman OjO Oyewamide AKURE

hairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Ondo state, Isaac Kekemeke, has said the party will work hard to dislodge the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, government from the state in the 2016 gubernatorial poll. Kekemeke said the party had realised the mistake it made in the April 11 House of Assembly poll which led to the defeat of many candidates of the party, adding that APC would no longer make public its strategies. He spoke in Akure, the state capital, while naming the conference hall of the

state party secretariat after a chieftain of the party, Dr. Taiwo Malumi. According to him, the hall was named after the medical practitioner because of his contributions to the development of the party in the state. The chairman urged all disgruntled members of the party to eschew internal wrangling and devote their energy to fighting PDP in the state. Kekemeke carpeted the state government, saying it had impoverished the people of the sunshine state. He said after the PDP government had misappropriated the resources of the state, it now placed a huge debt burden on the citizens.

Buhari on course with INEC boss appointment –Ekiti APC Chief CONTINUED FROM PAGE 45

the Presidency from doing what is right and just. “The same man that is crying hoax, describing Buhari as a sectional leader has committed more grievous sectionalism in Ekiti as he called it. “His Chief of Staff, Chief Dipo Anisulowo, hails from his neighbouring Are town among over 20 other juicy positions allotted to indigenes of his Afao Ekiti countryhome, which is half a ward. What could have been more lop-

sided than this? “It smacks of ignorance for a governor to be ranting over non-issues when his colleagues are thinking of how to embrace the change in the system and bring dividends of democracy to the people. “The governor of Cross River State, Prof Ben Ayade had last week flagged off 260 kilometres super highway in his State. President Buhari was there despite that that State is being controlled by the opposition” he said.

L-R: Imo State Governor Rochas okorocha; Chairman, Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission, Mr Elias Mbam and other members of the commission, during the visit to government house in Owerri, yesterday.

Osun Assembly constitutes standing committees

sun State House of Assembly has eventually constituted its 23 Standing Committee. The Speaker, Honourable Najeem Salaam named the committee at the plenary on Tuesday. The sixth Assembly was inaugurated on June 2, 2015 by Governor Rauf Aregbesola. Announcing the names of the committee members and chairmen, the speaker said all the committees were important depending on the efforts put into it. Salaam said the committees would further assist the house in its oversight functions on Ministries

Deparments and Agencies (MDAs) of government. Shortly after the announcement of the committee, the Chairman, House Committee on Information and Strategy, Honourable Olatunbosun Oyintiloye said the assembly would be more critical in its oversight functions. He said the officials of MDAs should buckle up and be more dedicated to their jobs, as the house would not take negligence for answer. According to him, the supervision machinery of the Assembly would be strengthened to further en-

sure quality service delivery to the people of the state. Promising that the people would be given appropriate information on the activities of the house, he urged the people to exploit the feedback mechanism that has been put in place by the house for free-flow of information. “For us in Osun Assembly, information is power and because we believe that governance is about participation, it is important for the people to also give us appropriate and adequate information that will enhance our legislative performance, giving the fact that we are

their representatives. “The house is blessed with brilliant people who are highly resourceful and with wealth of experience from different professional background. With the constitution of the Committee and its leadership, in coming days we will be able to project the activities of the assembly in better lights. As an arm of government and elected representative of our people, the house shall step up its game to continue to serve the common interest, we will continue to listen to our people and keep in touch with our constituency”, he said.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Capital Market

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Equities slide 0.6%, as Diamond Bank profits dip 21% Johnson okanlawon

rading in equities continued on a negative note on the Nigerian Stock Exchange yesterday, as more investors sold their holdings. Specifically, the All Share Index depreciated 0.61 per cent to close at 29,828.95 points, compared to the decline of 0.05 per cent recorded on Friday to close at 30,011.89 points. Market capitalization shed N63 billion to close at N10. 25 trillion, compared to the drop of N5 billion recorded on Fri-

day to close at N10.31 trillion. Wema Bank Plc led the gainers’ table with five kobo or 5.26 per cent to close at N1.00 per share, followed by Continental Insurance Plc with four kobo or 4.21 per cent to close at 99 kobo per share. African Prudence Plc appreciated five kobo or 1.89 per cent to close at N2.70 per share, while Dangote Sugar Plc dipped 10 kobo or 1.56 per cent to close at N6.49 per share. Conversely, Oando Plc shed 96 kobo or 9.64 per cent to close at N9.00 per share, while Okomu Oil Plc depreci-

ated N2.56 or 8.38 per cent to close at N28.00 per share. Paints Manufacturing Company Plc declined six kobo or five per cent to close at N1.14 per share, while Stanbic IBTC Plc shed N1.15 or five per cent to close at N21.85 per share. A total of 366.9 million shares valued at N5.24 billion were traded in 2,976 deals Meanwhile, Diamond Bank yesterday declared a profit after tax of N15.9 billion for the three months ended September 30, 2015, a decline of 20.9 per cent when compared to N20.2 billion re-

corded in the same period of 2014. The bank’s gross earnings however rose 3.3 per cent to N156.5 billion in the review period, from N151.6 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2014. According to the result presented to the Nigerian Stock Exchange, earning per share dropped to 69 kobo, from N1.39 per share in the nine months of 2014, a dip of 50.5 per cent, while operating expenses increased to N74.4 billion, from N71.4 billion stood in the third quarter of 2014.

FBN Holdings gross earnings up 16.9% in Q3

BN Holdings has announced gross earnings of N390.0 billion for the third quarter ended September 30, 2015, up 16.9 per cent from N333.6 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2014. According to the result presented to the Nigerian Stock Exchange yesterday, the group profit after tax however dropped by 9.7 per cent to N50.2 billion, from N55.6 billion recorded in the same period of 2014, while total assets remained flat at N4.3 trillion. Commenting on the results, the Group Managing Director, First Bank Limited, Mr. Bisi Onasanya said the

bank returned a 23.5 per cent decline in profit before tax to N56.8 billion, compared to N74.3 billion posted in the same period of 2014. He explained that the period was particularly difficult for the bank following a series of policy compliance measures testing operating model and complicated by the tough macro-economic and sociopolitical environment. He said, “We acknowledge these challenges and are instituting stronger measures to improve risk management capabilities, improve processes and drive operational cost efficiency through effective and value based cost management

cost management initiatives including re-inventing and transforming the culture and customer service experience for all target segments.” On the group performance, he explained that given the current credit environment, it will focus on loan and remedial management as it further diversify loan book, reduce sector concentrations and rebalance the portfolio to higher yielding, short tenured assets to optimise yields in the near term. “We are not engaging in further transactions in the upstream oil and gas segment and are reducing exposures to the downstream sector in

Johnson okanlawon

hairman of Conoil Plc, Dr Mike Adenuga, has described the 2014 operating year as very challenging for petroleum sector downstream companies. Despite this, he restated the company’s Board and management’s determination to ensure value for shareholders’ investments. Reliving the challenges bedeviling the industry at the company’s 45 th Annual General Meeting held in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Adenuga projected that the future of the company and the nation’s economy remained bright. He explained that conscious efforts will be directed at achieving better execution of company’s policies, especially in the areas of marketing and customer management. Adenuga said that greater

he explained that the company would consolidate its leadership position in the lubricant market by offering bouquet of quality lubricants to consumers as well as building new production lines to increase capacity. He said: “As the leader in the aviation jet fuel market, we are boosting our fuel dispensing capacity by acquiring additional state-of-the-art bowsers to meet the growing list of our local and international clientele of airlines.” Adenuga also promised that the company will leverage on its well-established distribution strength, bringing delightful innovations into marketing and distribution of its products by giving greater value to its teeming customers and shareholders. While commending the staff for their commitment to corporate objectives, the industry chieftain assured

Source: NSE

Inter-Bank Rate Naira

US Dollar

N196.95 Market indicators All-Share Index 29,828.95 points Market capitalisation 10.25trn

Stock Updates

a controlled manner, including reduction in credit lines for some operators; outright cancellation of lines for some marginal players; and have tightened the risk acceptance criteria and put a freeze on term exposures,” he said. He explained that the institutional, corporate banking, public and retail banking loan book now constitutes 41.9 per cent, 30.5 per cent,5.7 per cent and 13.8 per cent of the loan book, compared to the same period in 2014, which stood at 39.1 per cent, 31.0 per cent, 6.9 per cent and 16.1 per cent with the total foreign currency loan book at 47.0 per cent.

2014 was challenging for petroleum marketing firms – Adenuga attention would be devoted to cutting costs of operations in the different segments of the company’s business, while maintaining and improving on the quality of its products and services. According to him, the operating environment in 2014 was a very difficult one for operators in the downstream sector as they relied mostly on importation of petroleum products to meet domestic demands due to lower output from the local refineries. This, he stated, came at a high cost due to depreciation value of the Naira and high bank charges. Reiterating the challenges all major marketers are battling with, he stated that N264 billion was outstanding subsidy claims as at December 2014, also comprising of foreign exchange differentials and bank interests. As part of the strategy to shore up its bottom-line, the

that “as we look forward to our employees’ unrelenting dedication to our corporate goals, we will continue to give priority to their professional fulfillment, their work-life balance and their ability to contribute equally as part of a diverse workforce.” Rate (%) Inflation

8.2

MPR

Crude oil price

$58.96

Exchange

Rates (N)

WAUA

270

USD

196.95

EURO

214

CFA

0.32

YEN

1.64

SWISS FRANC

202

POUNDS STERLING

293

SDR

273

GAINERS COMPANY

OPENING

CLOSING

CHANGE

% CHANGE

WEMABANK

0.95

1.00

0.05

5.26

CONTINSURE

0.95

0.99

0.04

4.21

AFRIPRUD

2.65

2.70

0.05

1.89

DANGSUGAR

6.39

6.49

0.10

1.56

BERGER

10.34

10.50

0.16

1.55

FLOURMILL

21.00

21.30

0.30

1.43

ZENITHBANK

17.70

17.90

0.20

1.13

WAPCO

97.50

98.00

0.50

0.51

SEPLAT

234.50

235.00

0.50

0.21

ETI

18.10

18.11

0.01

0.06

CHANGE

% CHANGE

LOSERS COMPANY

OPENING

CLOSING

OANDO

9.96

9.00

-0.96

-9.64

OKOMUOIL

30.56

28.00

-2.56

-8.38

PAINTCOM

1.20

1.14

-0.06

-5.00

STANBIC

23.00

21.85

-1.15

-5.00

CHAMPION

4.60

4.37

-0.23

-5.00

GLAXOSMITH

39.99

38.01

-1.98

-4.95

LEARNAFRCA

0.81

0.77

-0.04

-4.94

STERLNBANK

2.14

2.04

-0.10

-4.67

PORTPAINT

3.53

3.37

-0.16

-4.53

MANSARD

2.65

2.53

-0.12

-4.53

FGN Bonds

Bid

Description

Offer

Price

Yield

Price

Yield

15.10 27-APR-2017

1.58

100.50

14.71

100.65

14.60

16.00 29-JUN-2019

3.75

103.87

14.60

104.17

14.50

15.54 13-FEB-2020

4.38

102.57

14.71

102.87

14.61

16.39 27-JAN-2022

6.33

106.62

14.73

106.92

14.66

14.20 14-MAR-2024

8.46

97.31

14.76

97.61

14.70

10.00 23-JUL-2030

14.82 68.00

15.58

68.30

15.51

Closing Market Prices of September 23, 2015

Treasury Bills Maturity Date

Bid

Offer

24-Dec-15

10.92

11.21

31-Mar-16

12.73

13.60

01-Sep-16

12.45

14.08

NIBOR Tenor

Rate (%)

O/N

5.6250

14.4108

15.7014

16.7205 The Fixings of September 23, 2015

Capital Market

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Stock exchange daily equities summary Daily Summary as of 26/10/2015

Equities as at October 26, 2015

Printed 26/10/2015 14:32:41.041

Daily Summary as of 26/10/2015 Printed 26/10/2015 14:32:41.041

Daily Summary (Bonds) No Debt Trading Activity

1st Tier Securities Sector

Company name

1st Tier Securities

Daily Summary (Equities)

No Of Deals

Quotation(N)

Quantity Traded

Value of Shares(N)

Livestock/Animal Specialties LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC. Livestock/Animal Specialties Totals

Symbol OKOMUOIL PRESCO

Symbol LIVESTOCK

No. of Deals 52 13 65

Current Price 28.00 30.50

No. of Deals 6 6

Current Price 1.70

AGRICULTURE Totals

Daily Summary as of 26/10/2015

Quantity Traded 615,013 95,146 710,159

Value Traded 17,383,168.32 3,045,928.12 20,429,096.44

Quantity Traded 52,902 52,902

Value Traded 85,702.74 85,702.74

763,061

20,514,799.18

Quantity Traded 3 16,536,630 46,424 16,583,057

Value Traded 11.88 33,326,167.65 1,302,063.52 34,628,243.05

Packaging/Containers AVON CROWNCAPS & CONTAINERS BETA GLASS CO PLC. Packaging/Containers Totals

Symbol SCOA TRANSCORP Daily Summary UACN

Activity Summary on Board EQTY

CONGLOMERATES Totals CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Building Structure/Completion/Other COSTAIN (W A) PLC. Building Structure/Completion/Other Totals Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange ©

No. of Deals 1 173 (Equities) 25 199

Current Price 4.16 2.01 29.00

199

16,583,057

INDUSTRIAL GOODS Totals INDUSTRIAL GOODS OIL AND GAS Electronic and Electrical Products Energy Equipment and Services CUTIX PLC. JAPAULand OILElectrical & MARITIME SERVICES Electronic Products TotalsPLC Energy Equipment and Services Totals Packaging/Containers Integrated Oil and Gas&Services AVON CROWNCAPS CONTAINERS OANDO PLCCO PLC. BETA GLASS Integrated Oil and Gas Services Totals Packaging/Containers Totals

34,628,243.05

Symbol COSTAIN

No. of Deals 5 5

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded 97,800 97,800 Page

Value Traded 48,950.00 48,950.00 12 1 of

Infrastructure/Heavy Construction JULIUS BERGER NIG. PLC. Infrastructure/Heavy Construction Totals

Symbol JBERGER

No. of Deals 9 9

Current Price 39.99

Quantity Traded 47,987 47,987

Value Traded 1,914,131.73 1,914,131.73

Real Estate Development UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT CO. LIMITED Real Estate Development Totals

Symbol UAC-PROP

No. of Deals 11 11

Current Price 8.20

Quantity Traded 134,473 134,473

Value Traded 1,104,294.18 1,104,294.18

280,260

3,067,375.91

Quantity Traded 321,800 42,225 10,038,800 200,826 10,603,651

Value Traded 1,406,266.00 5,790,185.30 170,658,375.70 27,138,987.60 204,993,814.60

Quantity Traded 4,745 4,745

Value Traded 910,988.52 910,988.52

CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Totals CONSUMER GOODS Beverages--Brewers/Distillers Daily Summary as of 26/10/2015 CHAMPION BREW. PLC. Printed 26/10/2015 14:32:41.041 GUINNESS NIG PLC INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. Beverages--Brewers/Distillers Totals Beverages--Non-Alcoholic Activity Summary onCOMP. BoardPLC. EQTY 7-UP BOTTLING Beverages--Non-Alcoholic Totals CONSUMER GOODS Food Products DANGOTE FLOUR MILLS PLC Published by The NigerianSUGAR Stock Exchange © PLC DANGOTE REFINERY FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC NASCON ALLIED INDUSTRIES PLC N NIG. FLOUR MILLS PLC. Food Products Totals Food Products--Diversified CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. Food Products--Diversified Totals Household Daily Summary as Durables of 26/10/2015 VITAFOAM NIG PLC. Printed 26/10/2015 14:32:41.041 Household Durables Totals Personal/Household Products P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. Personal/Household Products Totals

Symbol CHAMPION GUINNESS INTBREW NB

Daily Summary Symbol 7UP

Insurance Carriers, Brokers and Services AIICO INSURANCE PLC. CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC ActivityCORNERSTONE Summary on Board EQTYCOMPANY PLC. INSURANCE AXAMANSARD INSURANCE PLC FINANCIAL SERVICES Insurance Carriers, Brokers and Services MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC. N.E.M INSURANCE CO (NIG) PLC. WAPIC INSURANCE PLC Insurance Carriers, Brokers and Services Totals

Quantity Traded 918,074 Page 2,754,835 466,914 490,765 729,340 5,562 5,365,490

9,836,072.60 1,351,624.09 5,347,239.96 47,555.10 36,636,103.80

Symbol CADBURY NESTLE

No. of Deals 34 15 49

Current Price 20.00 830.00

Quantity Traded 70,666 5,425 76,091

Value Traded 1,398,839.85 4,433,517.15 5,832,357.00

No. of Deals 7 7

Current Price 5.33

Quantity Traded 3,660 3,660

Value Traded 18,890.38 18,890.38

No. of Deals 27 5 32

Current Price 25.00 42.85

Quantity Traded 233,952 35,350 269,302

Value Traded 5,981,677.29 1,439,098.50 7,420,775.79

16,322,939

255,812,930.09

Symbol VITAFOAM

Symbol

PZ Summary (Equities) Daily UNILEVER

349

Processing Systems E-TRANZACT INTERNATIONAL PLC Processing Systems Totals

Exploration and Production SEPLAT PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LTD Exploration and Production Totals

Daily Summary as of 26/10/2015 Employment Solutions Printed 26/10/2015 C & I 14:32:41.041 LEASING PLC. Employment Solutions Totals Hotels/Lodging IKEJA HOTEL PLC TRANSCORP HOTELS PLC SERVICES Hotels/Lodging Activity Summary on Board EQTY Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © Hotels/Lodging Totals

Activity Summary on Board EQTY

SERVICES Printing/Publishing Printing/Publishing

LEARN AFRICA PLC Printing/Publishing Totals

No. of Deals (Equities) 4 28 1 8

Current Price 0.86 0.99 0.50 2.53

Quantity Traded 35,332 14,311,492 1,994,504 271,720

Value Traded 31,352.20 14,168,377.08 997,252.00 691,285.60

Symbol MBENEFIT NEM WAPIC

No. of Deals 1 13 4 59

Current Price 0.50 0.71 0.50

Quantity Traded 7,000 729,698 172,615 17,522,361

Value Traded 3,500.00 519,085.59 86,307.50 16,497,159.97

Symbol NPFMCRFBK

No. of Deals 2 2

Current Price 1.05

Quantity Traded Page 1,200

Value Traded 12 4 of 1,210.00 1,210.00

Symbol AFRIPRUD CUSTODYINS FCMB STANBIC UBCAP

No. of Deals 33 5 35 26 83 182

Current Price 2.70 4.20 2.10 21.85 1.33

Quantity Traded 1,285,638 1,572,000 1,367,202 1,663,542 4,320,869 10,209,251

Value Traded 3,443,811.91 6,600,650.00 2,872,180.93 37,087,809.40 5,875,340.21 55,879,792.45

99,437,273

426,956,793.10

Quantity Traded 745,566 460,707 116,700 300

Value Traded 424,972.62 17,534,017.87 142,774.00 672.00

Quantity Traded 1,323,273 Page

Value Traded 12 518,102,436.49 of

EVANSMED GLAXOSMITH MAYBAKER PHARMDEKO Symbol

15 10 9 1

0.57 38.01 1.22 2.14

No. of Deals 35

Current Price

Value Traded 71,669,177.60 78,764,591.56 12 3 of 7,144,883.22 1,163,688.57 110,279,206.09 1,991,628.46 3,005,716.08 56,199,025.92 20,170,552.68 460,186.92 3,729,973.58 354,578,630.68

1,323,273

18,102,436.49

SERVICES Automobile/Auto Part Retailers R T BRISCOE PLC. Automobile/Auto Part Retailers Totals Courier/Freight/Delivery RED STAR EXPRESS PLC Daily Summary as of 26/10/2015 TRANS-NATIONWIDE EXPRESS PLC. Printed 26/10/2015 14:32:41.041 Courier/Freight/Delivery Totals

Symbol Daily Summary AIICO CONTINSURE CORNERST MANSARD

Symbol No. of Deals Current Price Daily Summary (Equities)

Quotation(N)

Road Transportation ASSOCIATED BUS COMPANY PLC Road Transportation Totals Daily Summary as of 26/10/2015 Printed 26/10/2015 14:32:41.041 Transport-Related Services AIRLINE SERVICES AND LOGISTICS PLC NIGERIAN AVIATION HANDLING COMPANY PLC Transport-Related Services Totals Support and Logistics CAVERTON GRP PLC Activity SummaryOFFSHORE on Board SUPPORT EQTY Support and Logistics Totals SERVICES SERVICES Totals Printing/Publishing LEARN AFRICA PLC Printing/Publishing EQTY Board Totals Totals Road Transportation ASSOCIATED BUS COMPANY PLC Road Transportation Totals Published byTransport-Related The Nigerian StockServices Exchange © AIRLINE SERVICES AND LOGISTICS PLC NIGERIAN AVIATION HANDLING COMPANY PLC Daily Summary of 26/10/2015 Published by The as Nigerian Stock Exchange © Transport-Related Services Totals Printed 26/10/2015 14:32:41.041 Support and Logistics CAVERTON OFFSHORE SUPPORT GRP PLC Support and Logistics Totals

No. of Deals 12 12

Current Price 1.69

Quantity Traded 30,968 30,968

Value Traded 49,858.48 49,858.48

Symbol ETRANZACT

No. of Deals 16 16

Current Price 2.85

Quantity Traded 499,100 499,100

Value Traded 1,352,588.00 1,352,588.00

530,068

1,402,446.48

Quantity Traded 86,754 75,038 127,983 121,967 215,000 107,050 10,196,309 10,930,101

Value Traded 1,960,170.93 786,299.30 4,840,513.76 965,268.44 245,100.00 360,703.50 999,235,553.29 1,008,393,609.22

Symbol ASHAKACEM BERGER CAP CCNN PAINTCOM PORTPAINT WAPCO

No. of Deals 16 3 11 20 2 3 25 80

Current Price 23.00 10.50 38.00 7.96 1.14 3.37 98.00

Page

Value of Shares(N)

No. of Deals 10 10

Current Price 1.68

Quantity Traded 67,327 67,327

Value Traded 113,862.60 113,862.60

Symbol AVONCROWN

No. of Deals 15 2 17

Current Price 1.52 45.15

Quantity Traded 68,327 6,432 74,759

Value Traded 102,499.66 285,902.40 388,402.06

DailyBETAGLAS Summary (Equities)

11,072,187

1,008,895,873.88

No. of Deals Current Price Quantity Traded No. of Deals Current 1.68 Price Quantity67,327 Traded 10 0.50 5,000 10 1 67,327 1 5,000 No. of Deals Current Price Quantity Traded No. of Deals Current 1.52 Price Quantity68,327 Traded 15 9.00 232,832 226 45.15 6,432 232,832 1726 74,759

107

Value Traded Value Traded 113,862.60 2,500.00 113,862.60 2,500.00 Value Traded Value Traded 102,499.66 2,095,958.00 285,902.40 2,095,958.00 388,402.06

Symbol CONOIL ETERNA FO Symbol MOBIL JAPAULOIL MRS

No. of Deals Current Price Quantity Traded 107 11,072,187 1 27.41 2,000 2 1.71 3,600 290.00 Quantity Traded 104,588 No. of Deals53 Current Price 154.00 28,499 114 0.50 5,000 49.66 6,600 11 5,000

Value Traded 1,008,895,873.88 52,080.00 6,168.00 30,175,103.90 Value Traded 4,170,421.20 2,500.00 311,388.00 2,500.00

Symbol OANDO

No. of Deals 26 26

Current Price 9.00

Quantity Traded Page 232,832 232,832

2,095,958.00

No. of Deals 1 (Equities) 2 53 14 1

Current Price 27.41 1.71 290.00 154.00 49.66

Quantity Traded 2,000 3,600 104,588 28,499 6,600

Value Traded 52,080.00 6,168.00 30,175,103.90 4,170,421.20 311,388.00

Symbol Symbol CUTIX JAPAULOIL Symbol Symbol AVONCROWN OANDO BETAGLAS

Symbol CONOIL Daily Summary ETERNA FO MOBIL MRS

Value Traded 12 7 of 2,095,958.00

Symbol TOTAL

No. of Deals 14 85

Current Price 150.01

Quantity Traded Page 11,741

Symbol SEPLAT

No. of Deals 17 17

Current Price 235.00

Quantity Traded 62,044 62,044

Value Traded 14,539,062.30 14,539,062.30

456,904

53,113,488.30

157,028

129

Value Traded 7 1,760,806.90 of 12 36,475,968.00

Symbol RTBRISCOE

No. of Deals 5 5

Current Price 0.53

Quantity Traded 37,659 37,659

Value Traded 19,533.72 19,533.72

Symbol REDSTAREX TRANSEXPR

No. of Deals 2 1 3

Current Price 4.25 1.22

Quantity Traded 21,751 1,000 22,751

Value Traded 93,530.30 1,210.00 94,740.30

Symbol CILEASING

No. of Deals 4 4

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded 22,543 22,543

Value Traded 11,271.50 11,271.50

Symbol

No. of Deals 2 1

Current Price 3.44 6.42

Quantity Traded 10,000 834

Value Traded 32,700.00 5,087.40

Daily Summary (Equities) Daily Summary (Equities) IKEJAHOTEL TRANSCOHOT Symbol

No. of Deals 3

Current Price

Quantity Traded Page 10,834

Value Traded 8 of 12 37,787.40

Symbol Symbol LEARNAFRCA

No. of of Deals Deals No. 5 5

Current Price Price Current 0.77

Quantity Traded Traded Quantity 519,000 519,000

Value Traded Traded Value 399,940.00 399,940.00

Symbol ABCTRANS

No. of Deals 3 3

Current Price 0.51

Quantity Traded 39,945 39,945

Value Traded 19,972.50 19,972.50

Symbol AIRSERVICE NAHCO

No. of Deals 1 15 16

Current Price 1.85 4.40

Quantity Traded 1,300 53,615 54,915

Value Traded 2,509.00 238,609.97 241,118.97

Symbol CAVERTON

No. of Deals 1 1

Current Price 3.05

Quantity Traded 4,352 4,352

Value Traded 13,926.40 13,926.40

Symbol LEARNAFRCA

40 No. of Deals 5 2,2945

Current Price 0.77

Quantity711,999 Traded 519,000 519,000 147,481,021

838,290.79 Value Traded 399,940.00 399,940.00 1,823,332,677.27

Symbol ABCTRANS

No. of Deals 3 3

Current Price 0.51

Quantity Traded 39,945 39,945

Value Traded 19,972.50 19,972.50

Symbol AIRSERVICE NAHCO

No. of Deals 1 15 16

Current Price 1.85 4.40

Symbol CAVERTON

No. of Deals 1 1

Current Price 3.05

Daily Summary (Equities)

SERVICES Totals

Page Quantity Traded 1,300 53,615 Page 54,915 Quantity Traded 4,352 4,352

12 9 of Value Traded 2,509.00 238,609.97 12 10 of 241,118.97 Value Traded 13,926.40 13,926.40

711,999

838,290.79

2,294

147,481,021

1,823,332,677.27 Value Traded 3,181,738,424.46 3,181,738,424.46

Activity Summary on Board PREMIUM EQTY Board Totals

FINANCIAL SERVICES Banking ZENITH INTERNATIONAL BANK PLC Banking Totals

Other Financial Institutions FBN HOLDINGS PLC Other Financial Institutions Totals Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange ©

Symbol ZENITHBANK

No. of Deals 250 250

Current Price 17.90

Quantity Traded 177,670,575 177,670,575

Symbol FBNH

No. of Deals 419 419

Current Price 5.75

Quantity Traded 41,756,613 41,756,613 Page

FINANCIAL SERVICES Totals INDUSTRIAL GOODS Building Materials DANGOTE CEMENT PLC Building Materials Totals

669

Symbol DANGCEM

INDUSTRIAL GOODS Totals

Equity Activity Totals

Daily Summary as of 26/10/2015 Printed 26/10/2015 14:32:41.041

Value Traded 237,787,425.85 237,787,425.85 12 10 of

219,427,188

3,419,525,850.31

Quantity Traded 10,850 10,850

Value Traded 1,781,800.80 1,781,800.80

10,850

1,781,800.80

682

219,438,038

3,421,307,651.11

2,976

366,919,059

5,244,640,328.38

No. of Deals 13 13

PREMIUM Board Totals Symbol TRIPPLEG

Quantity Traded

Symbol CUTIX

OIL AND GAS Totals

Value Traded 2,386,816.99 217,666,795.06 of 12

Quantity Traded 14,296,909 27,540,680 Page 394,817 790,132 4,529,354 953,364 1,465,856 14,121,570 3,513,468 311,061 3,787,250 71,704,461

ICT Totals INDUSTRIAL GOODS Building Materials ASHAKA CEM PLC BERGER PAINTS PLC CAP PLC CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC PAINTS AND COATINGS MANUFACTURES PLC PORTLAND PAINTS & PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC LAFARGE AFRICA PLC. Building Materials Totals

Petroleum and Petroleum Products Distributors CONOIL PLC ETERNA PLC. FORTE OIL PLC. Activity Summary Board EQTY MOBIL OIL NIGon PLC. MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC. OIL AND GAS Petroleum and Petroleum Products Distributors TOTAL NIGERIA Published by The Nigerian StockPLC. Exchange © Petroleum and Petroleum Products Distributors Totals

Current Price 5.00 2.84 18.11 1.47 24.20 2.08 2.04 3.97 5.75 1.50 1.00

1,311

No Of Deals

Integrated Oil and Gas Services Totals

No. of Deals 169 30 30 29 239 36 232 186 67 12 38 1,068

1,200

Petroleum and Petroleum INDUSTRIAL GOODS Totals Products Distributors CONOIL PLC OIL AND GAS PLC. ETERNA FORTE OIL PLC.and Services Energy Equipment MOBIL OIL NIG PLC. JAPAUL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC MRSEquipment OIL NIGERIA Energy andPLC. Services Totals Integrated and Gas Services Daily Summary as ofOil 26/10/2015 Published byOANDO The Nigerian PLC Stock Exchange © Printed 26/10/2015 14:32:41.041

Symbol ACCESS DIAMONDBNK ETI FIDELITYBK GUARANTY SKYEBANK STERLNBANK UBA UBN UNITYBNK WEMABANK

HEALTHCARE Totals ICT IT Services TRIPPLE GEE AND COMPANY PLC. IT Services Totals

Current Price 196.00 Current Price 2.62 6.49 21.30 2.71 7.33 8.99

FINANCIAL SERVICES Totals HEALTHCARE Pharmaceuticals EVANS MEDICAL PLC. GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC. Activity Summary on Board EQTY MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. PHARMA-DEKO PLC. HEALTHCARE

No. of Deals 9 9 No. of Deals 18 39 46 12 18 1 134

Micro-Finance Banks Totals Other Financial Institutions AFRICA PRUDENTIAL REGISTRARS PLC CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED PLC FCMB GROUP PLC. STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC UBA CAPITAL PLC Daily Summary as of 26/10/2015 Other Financial Institutions Totals Printed 26/10/2015 14:32:41.041

Current Price 4.37 142.20 17.00 135.01

Symbol DANGFLOUR DANGSUGAR FLOURMILL HONYFLOUR NASCON NNFM

Activity Summary on Board EQTY

CONSUMER GOODS Totals FINANCIAL SERVICES Banking ACCESS BANK PLC. DIAMOND BANK PLC Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED FIDELITY BANK PLC GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. SKYE BANK PLC STERLING BANK PLC. UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC UNION BANK NIG.PLC. Daily Summary as of 26/10/2015 UNITY BANK PLC Printed 26/10/2015 14:32:41.041 WEMA BANK PLC. Banking Totals

No. of Deals 5 36 7 70 118 (Equities)

Daily Summary (Equities)

Activity Summary on Board EQTY

Printed 26/10/2015 14:32:41.041 CONGLOMERATES Diversified Industries S C O A NIG. PLC. TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC U A C N PLC. Diversified Industries Totals

Company name

INDUSTRIAL GOODS Electronic and Electrical Products Daily Summary as of 26/10/2015 CUTIX PLC. Printed 26/10/2015 14:32:41.041 Electronic and Electrical Products Totals

Activity Summary on Board EQTY AGRICULTURE Crop Production OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. PRESCO PLC Crop Production Totals

Sector

Activity Summary on Board EQTY

Current Price 163.01

Daily Summary (ETP) Exchange Traded Fund Name LOTUS HALAL EQUITY ETF Exchange Traded Fund Published byName The Nigerian Stock Exchange © NEWGOLD EXCHANGE TRADED FUND (ETF) VETIVA BANKING ETF VETIVA CONSUMER GOODS ETF VETIVA GRIFFIN 30 ETF VETIVA INDUSTRIAL ETF Exchange Traded Fund Totals

Daily Summary (ETP) No. of Deals Current Price Symbol LOTUSHAL15 Symbol NEWGOLD VETBANK VETGOODS VETGRIF30 VETINDETF

9.56

No. of Deals 1 1 1 1 1 6

Current Price 2,237.00 3.18 7.58 13.69 21.22

Quantity Traded 10 Quantity Traded Page 51 10 10 10 10 101

Value Traded 95.60 Traded12 11Value of 114,087.00 31.80 75.80 136.90 212.20 114,639.30

ETF Board Totals

101

114,639.30

ETP Activity Totals

101

114,639.30

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

North

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Niger Assembly walks out CPS over misinformation PRISCILLA D ENNIS MINNA

Tricycle and motorcycle operators queue for petrol at a filling station on Awalah road in Bauchi, yesterday. PHOTO:NAN

Anti-graft war should not be selective –Anglican Diocese WILLIAMS ATTAH GOMBE

nglican Diocese of Gombe has commended the determination of President Muhammadu Buhari’s fight against corruption and impunity, but cautioned that the fight must not be selective or political witch-hunt. In a communiqué issued after its first session of the Sixth Synod of the diocese held in Gombe over the weekend at the New Generation Faith Anglican Church, Federal Low-cost, Gombe, the diocese said the fight against corruption should be total

against any corrupt persons irrespective of political affiliation. The communiqué, which was signed and made available to newsmen by Bishop of Gombe, Rt. Reverend Henry Ndukuba, said there should be concerted effort to empower the youth as the future of this country lies on them. It said in order to tame the monster of unemployment and effects of the dwindling oil prices, there is need to diversify the nation’s economy by exploring and expanding agriculture and manufacturing, power generation, transmission and distri-

bution and the revival of textile and other industries. While commending the Nigerian Armed Forces and other security agencies in their fight against insurgency, cattle rustling, pipeline vandalisation, kidnapping and other acts of economic sabotage, the Anglican Communion called on them to double their efforts to combat the aforementioned problems, especially the recent upsurge in kidnapping. The communiqué also noted and commended the economic policies of the present administration and called on all and

Kaduna okays Drug Control, Witness Protection Bill AZA MSUE KADUNA

aduna State Executive Council yesterday approved a draft Bill on Drug Abuse and Witness Protection. Addressing journalists after the meeting, Amina Dyeris-Sijuwade, Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, said it also reviewed progress in the recruitment of 2,550 youths for KASTELEA jobs. She said: “These two bills signal government’s intention to adopt new approaches to fighting crime, uphold the rule of law and rescue young people from the ravages of drug abuse.” The attorney-general explained that the drug control law provides measures to prevent substance

abuse as well as the treatment of addicts and substance abusers. She said: “The bill provides guidelines for voluntary treatment and clear processes, including judicial review, for initiating and managing involuntary treatment. All these safeguards are to ensure that the rights and dignity of persons under treatment are protected.” On the Witness Protection Bill, Dyeris-Sijuwade described it as an important advance for the rule of law, as it “provides conditions and procedures for ensuring special protection for persons in possession of important or sensitive information, against intimidation or threat to life that may arise from their cooperation with the public prosecutor.”

She said that the Executive Council noted that fear is one of the major weapons criminals used when they erect hurdles against justice: “This bill seeks to remove the fear that criminals implant in potential witnesses,” she added. Council also approved the operational structure and staffing plan for KASTELEA, the state government agency that is being prepared for traffic and environmental enforcement duties “The council noted that 18, 270 persons applied for KASTELEA jobs, and confirmed that 2,550 persons would be recruited from the final shortlist. The new personnel would be chosen on the basis of 10 youths per ward, after physical and medical screening”

sundry to give the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Governor and his team the necessary support so as to prevent the country from sliding into recession. It said the administration of Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo in Gombe State, must be commended for its efforts in ensuring the protection of lives and properties of the people of the state, but added that there are still pockets of the dreaded Yankalare political thugs and other miscreants whose activities in Gombe metropolis still needs to be faced headlong.

embers of Niger State House of Assembly yesterday walked out the Chief Press Secretary to the state governor, Dr. Ibraheem Dooba, for refusal to disclose the source of his information confirming to journalists that his principal, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, had forwarded list of commissionernominees that turned out not to be true. The House allegedly summoned Dooba, following media report credited to him that the list of commissioner-nominees has been sent to the Assembly since Thursday last week. Speaker of the House, Ahmed Guni, after a closed-door meeting in an interview with newsmen explained that as representatives of the people, members decided to invite the chief press secretary to explain the source of his information. “We drew his attention to so many mistakes he had made in the past that damaged the image of government, but in his usual stubbornness, he refused to tell us the source of his information and we walked him out of the meeting.”

According to Guni, the false information given by the governors’ aide on the list of commissioner-snominees being sent to the Assembly was embarrassing to members and the state as a whole. “We have been receiving calls from people over the stories in newspapers”. Also, reacting to the issue, the Minority Leader of the Assembly, Bello Agwara, said the CPS has made a lot of mistakes that were not too good for the image of the state. “Therefore, it is the responsibility of the assembly to protect the image of the state government.” Similarly, Dooba in an interview with journalists at the assembly premises explained that he was invited by the house over the list of commissioner nominees that he said had been forwarded to the house, saying though, he actually confirmed the story, there was nothing like that. According to him, “I told them that I actually confir med the story on the papers that the list was out, but unfortunately there was nothing like that and I have apologised to them for the misinformation.”

Nigeria’s security challenges will soon be over –Dogara UBONG UKPONG ABUJA

peaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, has expressed hope that Nigeria’s security challenges would soon be over, even as he called for fervent prayers to ensure stability of the country. A statement issued by Special Adviser on Media and Public Affairs to the Speaker, Turaki Hassan, said the Speaker was in Israel for a special pilgrimage programme tagged “A day with Jesus for Nigeria in Israel,” organised by the Nigerian Christian Pilgrims Commission, NCPC. At the event held at the

International Conference Centre, ICC, Jerusalem, Dogara emphasised the importance of prayers in the affairs of a nation and individuals. He said it was only through prayers that Nigeria would be able to overcome the many challenges facing it as a nation. He further said the only way for man to connect with God and tap into His blessings was through prayers. Nigerians, according to the Speaker, must embark on spiritual revival for God`s intervention in the affairs of the country. He hinted that happenings in the country especially the security challeng-

es in the North East will soon be overcome, but that it takes prayers and God`s intervention to tackle it. The Speaker also called on all Nigerians to unite and support President Muhammadu Buhari to lead the country out of the present security and economic challenges. Dogara also led special prayer session at the Wailing Wall, and other holy sites in Jerusalem. State governors from Nigeria present at the prayer session include Ayo Fayose, Sameul Ortom, Simon Lalong, Plateau, David Umani Ebonyi and Deputy Governors of Adamawa Marthins Babale his is Imo counterpart.

National Mirror National Mirror Tuesday, 27, 2015 47 Tuesday, February 4, October 2014 www.nationalmirroronline.net www.nationalmirroronline.net

Community Mirror I will not appear before the panel because Wike failed to comply with the laws setting up an administrative panel. –FORMER GOVERNOR OF RIVERS STATE, CHIBUIKE AMAECHI

Matthew IrInoye

Lagos State High Court in Epe has granted an interlocutory injunction restraining CMB Building Maintenance and Investment Company Limited from harassing and restricting the movement of homeowners within the Pearl Garden Estate situated at Sangotedo Village in Eti-Osa Local Government Area of the state. The court further restrained the defendants and their agents from interfering with the rights of the homeowners in providing safe and drinkable water for themselves and their family members. Justice Abisoye Bashua granted the injunction on Monday while delivering a ruling in an application filed by some homeowners against CMB (property and the estate management agents) and the Oyetubo Jokotade Estate Resource Limited (previous landowners). The judge said the order would subsist pending hearing and determination of the substantive suit. He held that the claimants in their affidavit supporting the application provided sufficient proof of ownership of the property through the deed of purchase assignment. In addition, several homeowners had obtained their individual Governor’s Consent and the defendants in their submission did not deny the established legal rights of the homeowners which entitles them to the restraining orders sought. According to him, this prompted the court to exercise its discretion in the favour of the claimants - Pearl Garden Estate Homeowners- in order to protect their established legal rights in the interest of justice. The Judge, however refused the claimants request for the suspension of the demand and collection of N650,000 reticulation charges and the unilaterally imposed N35,000 security fees on the homeowners by CMB. According to the court, the validity of the N650,000 reticulation charges and the unilaterally imposed N35,000 fee by CMB were part of disputed issues, which are to be determined in the substantive suit, hence the court cannot make any pronouncement on them at the stage of interlocutory proceedings. Bashua thereafter adjourned

Court restrains CMB from harassing Pearl Garden homeowners the matter till December, 10 for case management and directed all parties to make appearance in court unfailingly on the said date. It will be recalled that the substantive N100 million suit was instituted by Messrs Fran-

cis Adesuyi, Felix Obiakor, Martin Ajayi-Obe and Peter Afenotan in representative capacity on behalf of themselves and all interested homeowners within the Pearl Garden Estate. The Claimants had dragged the defendants before the court

People buying cooked corn at Marina in Lagos Island.

over the alleged incessant harassment, molestation and imposition of arbitrary charges on homeowners and residents of the estate particularly the reticulation charges contrary to the express terms of their contract.

PHOTO: YINKA ADEPARUSI

RRS nabs supplier of adulterated water Dare akogun

en of the Lagos State Rapid Response Squad, RRS, have arrested two men who allegedly specialised in dispensing adulterated jar and sachet water. The operatives, it was revealed, acted on a tip-off that led to the arrest of the suspects, Chukwuma Uzor (48) and OfonimeIkpe (44) and three other accomplices at 3, Adesola Street, AgoPalace Way, Okota, Lagos. Mr. Sunday Nnaduaga, producer of the water, which the arrested suspects were adulterating, according to the RRS, said one of the suspects, Uzor Chukwuma, had once worked for him as a marketer but absconded after sometime. According to him, “I just noticed that he stopped coming to office and efforts to reach him via his mobile phones proved abortive as all his lines were switched off. “Sometime ago, a friend of mine hinted me that he saw him

distributing dispensable water to our customers mostly banks and other big companies in Lagos. “Since that day I started to keep tab on him until I caught him redhanded selling produced water with several registered names in an unkempt environment. “Afterwards, I hinted RRS team on patrol which led to the arrest of the two suspects”, he narrated. He added that this criminal

Prostitute dies in Enugu after taking on 3 customers eMManuel ezeh ENUGU

Enugu State Police Command yesterday confirmed the death of a commercial sex worker simply identified as Roseline. It was gathered that the deceased died on Sunday morning at a brothel in Obollo-Afor, Udenu Council Area, after marathon sex with three customers. The spokesman of Enugu State Police Command, DSP Ebere Amaraizu, who confirmed the incident, said one Ikechukwu Oga has been arrested in connection with the death. A source disclosed that Ikechukwu had gone in for his turn after two other customers, adding that in the process Roseline died. Also, according to Amaraizu, Ikechukwu, who is now the suspect, “had gone to a brothel where he met with the commercial sex worker at Obollo-Afor and agreed to a sex deal.”

act has greatly affected his water business because customers have seized to come. While confessing to the crime, one of the prime suspects, Chukwuma, noted that he decided to use the brand name because it has a ready-made market. “We had many customers particularly new generation banks that patronize us. Before now, I had worked as a marketer for him

but he was paying me poorly despite all the huge sales I made for him. “The only way to make my own sales was to use his brand name which is acceptable to many people. “ he stated. His accomplice, OfonimeIkpe, who also adulterated another brand of table water, said that he only accommodated him to produce the water in his factory.

day, it is disheartening that in spite of government‘s awareness campaign on the danger posed by these stray animals in the society, the menace is still on the rise. The commissioner revealed that the state government would send Agric-Marshals to all local government areas and local council development areas in the state as part of its stray animal control policy to put an end to the ongoing menace. He said the state government is concerned and would no longer tolerate the habit of releasing herds of cattle at night along major roads and highways in the

metropolis. Suarau urged residents not to panic but move to a safe place when they come across stray animals such as cows, horses, dogs, pigs, rams, goats, monkeys etc. He also enjoined all residents to cooperate with the authorities to rid the state of stray animals while advising owners of such animals to take adequate care of them to avoid confiscation. The Commissioner advised residents to call any of the following dedicated lines for immediate response if accosted with any of these stray animals; 08077775657, 08057761762, 07033348402 and 08023934920.

Lagos govt to prosecute owners of stray animals

FrancIs suberu

agos State government has once again restated its commitment to prosecute owners of domestic animals and pets that stray within the metropolis. Commissioner for Agriculture, Hon. Toyin Suarau, who made this known over the weekend, said the state government would no longer fold its arms and allow the menace to continue. According to Suarau, who met with Oko-Oba Animal Market Cattle dealers in Agege on Satur-

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

World News

Afghan earthquake claims 180 lives

The US have accused us of killing the wrong terrorists. But we have killed terrorists, anyway. –RUSSIAN LEADER, VLADIMIR PUTIN

S/Africa students increase protest momentum AfolAbi GAmbAri

Al-Shabaab faction backs ISIS

MTN bags record fine

Crowd of students gather at the Parliament in Cape Town in protest yesterday

of which was free education for all. They believe this will help them out break the cycle of poverty and unemployment. Last week police used stun grenades and water cannon to stop a group of students breaking into government buildings

in Pretoria. Universities had said they needed to increase fees to maintain standards, and that they had been hit by a reduction in government subsidies. President Zuma however agreed to provide more govern-

Comair plane in near-fatal landing

mergency crews were called to help a British Airways flight after its landing gear collapsed soon after touching down in Johannesburg. But the 94 passengers and six crew on board flight BA6234 disembarked safely. The Boeing 737-400 plane owned and operated by South African franchise Comair - had flown to OR Tambo International Airport from Port Elizabeth on Monday. Comair said in a statement that the plane experienced a landing gear problem shortly after touching down, at around midday local time (10:00 GMT). “The aircraft was on the runway for a short period perform-

AFRICAN BULLETIN

A high-ranking member and spiritual leader of Al-Shabaab yesterday pledged allegiance to ISIS, a move that further fractures the Somalibased jihadi group and spreads the reach of ISIS farther into Africa. The report that formerly UK-based Abdul Qadir Mumin had sworn loyalty to ISIS came from a source familiar with Al-Shabaab and was supported by a U.S. intelligence source, who said Mumin’s pledge came in a video that is expected to be released online. In the video, Mumin, along with several other jihadis based in Somalia’s Central Region, swear their allegiance to ISIS. Some known Al-Shabaab members have already done so online. The Al-Shabaab-linked source said that members of the group now fear for their lives as other political leaders systematically try to root out possible ISIS supporters within their ranks.

WITH AGENCY REPORT

ome South African students yesterday continued university fee protests, despite President Jacob Zuma agreeing on Friday to freeze increases. Wits University in Johannesburg, where the protests began, the University of Cape Town and the University of Western Cape remain closed. According to reports, the students said a number of their other demands had been overlooked, including racism at the country’s previously white institutions and free education for the poor. They also demanded that exams, which they were due to take this week, be postponed indefinitely. During the nationwide demonstrations, it became clear that the protests were not just about fees but also often unaddressed challenges in South Africa, including racial inequality. “Our parents were made promises in 1994. We’re just here for the refund”, one of their most popular placards read. Education is one area where students say it is most evident that the playing field is not level between black and white people. They want the government to honour the promises it made when it took power in 1994, one

51 47

ing standard landing procedures when the crew noticed an unusual vibration which was followed

The crashed Comair yesterday

shortly by the collapse of the left landing gear,” the company said. Passenger Warren Mann said:

ment money for universities in a private meeting with student representatives and university management on Friday. But some students continued protesting, angry that Zuma spoke on television, rather than speaking to the crowds directly.

“When it came into land, it felt like the touchdown was a bit harder than normal - then it felt like a piece of something had fallen off. “Oxygen masks came down and the plane was at an angle as we touched down. “We could smell something burn and fire crews were soon at the plane to deal with the engine. “Only afterwards did we find that the left landing gear had broken off.” Airports Company South Africa, which owns the airport, said the runway was temporarily closed, causing some delays. Comair operates regional and local flights in South Africa. It uses British Airways-branded planes but its pilots and cabin crew are not from British Airways.

Telecom company MTN Nigeria has been fined a record $5.2bn by Nigeria’s Communications Commission (NCC). MTN was fined for non-compliance with a deadline set by the NCC to disconnect all non-registered sim cards. The move follows accusations by mobile phone users that the regulator had failed to bring operators to account for poor services to subscribers. MTN Nigeria said it was studying the letter sent to it by the regulator and will respond soon. A senior official of the company said it was in talks with the regulator over the fine and hoped to resolve the matter. Reports said some Nigerians say they wanted the regulator to address poor network signals provided by telecoms companies in the country.

Ethiopia gets first African metro In Addis Ababa, a city of over 4 million people, the more traditional way of getting around has been in mini vans -- a cross between a bus and a taxi, that picks people up and drops them wherever they want to go. But now, a newly opened urban metro service is set to transform the way people in Ethiopia’s capital get to work. The $475 million Light Rail Project is a joint venture between Ethiopia and China and the first of its kind for the city and sub-Saharan Africa.. “There has been a lot of positive economic development in the last 20 years,” CEO of Ethiopian Railways Corporation, Dr. Getachew Betru, said yesterday. The energy used for the metro service is generated from big dams, located all over the country.

World News

he powerful earthquake that struck northeastern Afghanistan yesterday also rattled people in Pakistan, India and Tajikistan, killing dozens, collapsing structures and creating panic. The panic in itself was deadly -- in one northern Afghan town, 12 schoolgirls died in a stampede as they tried to evacuate their school during the quake. The girls, between 10 and 15 years old, were crushed in their Taluqan city school’s stairwell, between the first and second floors, local police spokesman, Abdul Khalil Asir, said. Early reports from Afghan, Pakistani and Indian officials put the death toll more than 180, with hundreds of others injured. At least 146 deaths have been reported in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas that border Afghanistan, according to district coordination officials. Afghan officials report at least 34 deaths in that country’s northeastern provinces. One death has been reported in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir. Yesterday’s magnitude-7.5 earthquake was more powerful than a similar, magnitude-7.6 quake in nearby Kashmir that killed more than 70,000 in 2005. But unlike the quake 10 years ago, this one happened deep inside the earth, some 223 km (139 miles) below the surface. Earthquakes at this depth typically cause less damage on the surface than shallower quakes, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The epicenter of the earthquake, near the Afghan city of Jarm, is a rural and sparsely populated area. Many people in this region live in mud brick buildings prone to collapsing. The mountainous region and poor infrastructure make assessing the aftermath difficult. First responders scrambled to the affected areas, as many of the villages most violently shaken by the quake are not easily accessible. Additional reports of fatalities and damage are expected to continue trickling in. Some 60 miles southwest of Kabul, in the town of Ghazni, there were reports that the historic gate had collapsed, accompanied by photos on social media.

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Afghan earthquake claims 180 lives

Paramedics attending to a victim of the earthquake yesterday

Britons perish in boat mishap

ive Britons were killed when a whale-watching boat sank off the coast of western Canada, UK Foreign Secretary, Philip Hammond, said yesterday.

The boat carrying 27 people sank near Tofino, a popular tourist area on Vancouver Island, on Sunday afternoon, killing a woman and four men. Officials said 21 people had

The sunk British boat

New video shows ISIS raid

mid the incessant crackle of gunfire, the soldiers usher the cowering men through darkened rooms. The men are barefoot, most of them wearing long robes, some with large stains. As voices holler at them in the darkness to move quickly, they hurry across the debris-littered floor past the gun-wielding soldiers. The frantic scene is from a newly released video showing parts of the mission in northern Iraq on Thursday in which U.S., Kurdish and Iraqi forces freed around 70 hostages from an ISIS-controlled prison.

The rescue of the hostages, who the Pentagon said were facing “imminent mass execution,” cost the life of one of the U.S. soldiers taking part in the operation -- Master Sgt. Joshua L. Wheeler. A member of the U.S. Army’s elite Delta Force, Wheeler was the first American to die in combat in Iraq in nearly four years. His death has raised questions about the nature of U.S. involvement in the fight against ISIS. The new video showing scenes from the raid near Hawija, in northern Kirkuk province, was released by the Kurdistan

been rescued and one was still missing. The cause of the accident remains unknown but sea conditions at the time of the incident were said to be calm. Barbara McLintock from the British Columbia coroner’s office, said the victims ranged in age from 18 to 76. Three were tourists on holiday from the UK, while two were British nationals living in Canada - one woman from British Columbia and a man from Ontario. The boat, Leviathan II, made a mayday call before sinking about 8 miles (12km) west of Tofino. A dive team from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are searching for the final missing person while Canada’s Transportation Safety Board have begun an investigation in Tofino. “It is with deep sadness that I can confirm five British nationals have lost their lives when the whale watching boat they were on sank off Western Canada on Sunday,” Hammond said. “My thoughts are with the family and friends of all those affected by this terrible accident,” he added. Within 30 minutes of the mayday call, a rescue helicopter and boat were on the scene. Other boats in the area also responded to the call for help. Lieutenant Paul Trenholm, from the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre in British Columbia, said people from the nearby indigenous First Nation villages had been first on the scene. “Without the assistance of the First Nation community this could have been much worse,” Trenholm said.

WORLD BULLETIN

Conservatives hold sway in Polish poll Poland’s parliamentary election has seen the Eastern European nation edge further to the right, according to an exit poll released yesterday. An exit poll by Ipsos for Poland’s TVP and TVN24 puts the centrist-right Law and Justice, the PiS, ahead with 37.7 per cent of the vote. The PiS is led by Jaroslaw Kaczynski, twin brother to former Polish President Lech Kaczynski, who died in a plane crash in 2010. Analysts said the party was more conservative on immigration than incumbent Prime Minister Ewa Kopacz ‘s Civil Platform Party, known as the PO for its name in Polish, Platforma Obywatelska, which the exit poll suggested trailed the PiS with 23.6 per cent. Writing for The Conversation last week, University of Michigan Professor of History Brian Porter-Szucs said the PiS called for more social spending, taxing of the wealthy and re-nationalization of key assets.

Processed meats cause cancer –WHO Processed meats as bacon, sausages and ham do cause cancer, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Its report said 50g of processed meat a day, less than two slices of bacon, increased the chance of developing colorectal cancer by 18 per cent. Meanwhile, it said red meats were “probably carcinogenic” but there was limited evidence. Processed meat has been modified to either extend its shelf life or change the taste and the main methods are smoking, curing, or adding salt or preservatives. Simply putting beef through a mincer does not mean the resulting mince is “processed” unless it is modified further. It is the chemicals involved in the processing which could be increasing the risk of cancer. High temperature cooking, such as on a barbeque, can also create carcinogenic chemicals.

Drugs: Saudi-bound jet held in Lebanon The Lebanese authorities have foiled an attempt to smuggle a huge quantity of drugs to Saudi Arabia, officials said yesterday. Five Saudis, reportedly including a prince, were detained at Beirut’s airport after two tonnes of pills branded as Captagon were found in cases due to be loaded onto a private jet. It was the largest drug smuggling operation yet uncovered at the airport. Captagon pills, which typically contain amphetamine and caffeine, are consumed widely in the Middle East. The drug has helped fuel the conflict in Syria, generating millions of dollars in revenue for producers inside the country as well as being used by combatants to help them keep fighting. Reports said 40 bags of Captagon pills were found by inspectors from the Gendarmerie in cases due to be put on board a jet bound for Hael, in northern Saudi Arabia.

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Eaglets in for tough test against Aussies, says Amuneke 54

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Sport

Retirement? Not for me, especially now that I am enjoying myself doing what I know how to do best –Brazil Legend, Ronaldinho

I have nothing against Oliseh –Emenike

l Ain of United Arab Emirates (UAE) striker, Emmanuel Emenike, has maintained that his decision to quit international football had nothing to do with Coach Sunday Oliseh. Emenike has announced he will no longer be available for selection by Nigeria to join Lille goalkeeper, Vincent Enyeama, who has also called time on his Eagles career. Oliseh recalled the striker even after he had declared after taking over the team he would only call up players who are playing regularly in the top leagues in the world. Speaking to africanfootball. com, Emenike said, “I have absolutely nothing against the coach (Oliseh),” said the 28-year-old Emenike, who has gone more than two years without scoring a goal for Nigeria. “As for me, I still remain loyal to Coach Sunday Oliseh and I want to believe he under-

Emenike

stands my decision. “My decision has nothing to do with the coach, who is a brave man, a technically sound person, my decision has nothing to go against his vision for the Super Eagles. “Me out of the team will equally ease pressure on the coach and it will enable the younger players to fight harder for the team.” The 2013 AFCON top scorer has equally thrown his weight behind the Super Eagles to qualify for both the 2017 AFCON and 2018 World Cup. “Nigeria have produced lots of talented goal poachers like Julius Aghahowa, Victor Agali, Yakubu Aiyegbeni, Samuel Okwaraji, Obafemi Martins, Ike Uche, Rashidi Yekini just to mention a few. I believe with God on our side, the team will fly higher without Emenike,” he predicted. “I will be glad to see them qualify for both the AFCON and World Cup in 2018.”

CHAN: NFF pays Eagles qualification bonus

he home-based Super Eagles B, who in Burkina Faso on Sunday night qualified for the 4th African Nations Championship (CHAN) holding in Rwanda early next year, were paid full qualification bonus by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF). In a statement yesterday, the NFF said each player of the team who drew goalless, but

qualified following the first leg 2-0 win in Port Harcourt, was entitled to the sum of $1,000 with each of the coaches earning more. “However, NFF 2nd Vice President/LMC chairman, Shehu Dikko, who led the Nigeria delegation to Ouagadougou, announced to the group that NFF President Amaju Pinnick had directed that players and

officials be paid the full bonus, with the other half serving as qualification bonus,” the statement said. The joyous delegation returned to Nigeria in the early hours of yesterday, aboard the same Arik Air Bombardier Jet that flew them from Port Harcourt to Ouagadougou last Friday night. The Super Eagles Team B join hosts Rwanda, Morocco,

Tunisia, Angola, Zambia, Uganda, Ethiopia, Mali, Guinea, Gabon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Niger Republic and Zimbabwe. Host of the inaugural edition of the competition in 2009, Cote d’Ivoire, will play Ghana on Friday, while Cameroun will tackle Congo in Pointe Noire on Saturday, for the remaining two spots.

Emenike

Sports

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Eaglets line-up

Chile 2015:

Eaglets in for tough test against Aussies, says Amuneke

olden Eaglets Head Coach, Emmanuel Amuneke, has admitted that their FIFA U-17 World Cup Chile 2015 Round of 16 opponent, Australia, would be a hard nut to crack tomorrow at the Estadio Sausalito in Vina Del Mar. The Aussies showed some remarkably tenacity to advance from the tournament’s supposed group of death (Group D) where they lost 4-1 to Germany, drew goalless with Mexico and edged Argentina 2-1. “We have been looking forward to the team we are going

to play and today (Sunday), we realised it would be Australia. At this stage, everybody that has qualified must be respected,” explained Amuneke. “They (Australia) are a very good side because we saw their match against Argentina; they are a very good side and we have to respect them.” While Nigeria have not lost a second round match in the championship’s history, Australia were beaten 4-0 by Uzbekistan in their last Round of 16 appearance at Mexico 2011. Yet, Amuneke insisted the Eaglets must be at their best as Chile 2015 enters the knockout

stages. “We have to keep working hard and prepare our players physically and psychologically for the match (against Australia) especially after losing our last group match to Croatia. We have to let the players realize that the stage we are in now is crucial and it needs high level of concentration from them. “It is a welcome development (Eaglets versus Australia) and before Wednesday, we would evaluate our players and see their state of mind but hopefully, all of them would be ready to play on Wednesday,” Amuneke assured.

GOtv Boxing; Ottoh wins N1m jackpot IfeanyI eduzor

ightweight boxer, Ottoh ‘Joe Boy’ Joseph, was last Sunday night adjudged the best fighter of the 4th edition of GOtv boxing night to win the N1million jackpot and the Mojusola Ogunsanya trophy at stake at the championship. He achieved the feat by recording a unanimous points deci-

sion against Nurudeen ‘Prince’ Fatai in their lightweight challenge contest. The boxer who won all the eight rounds on the judges’ cards dominated his opponent from the first round to the final round to guarantee him the prize money at stake at the biggest professional boxing championship in the country. Ottoh told National Mirror that the jackpot would spur him to win

international laurels for the country, even as he dedicated the victory to his coaches and fans. “I am very happy winning the jackpot because all the boxers that participated in the championship had their eyes on the prize money and I want to dedicate the jackpot to my coaches and numerous fans who stood by me. “Having won the money, I am now more challenged than ever

‘Countries should pay for players on duty’

ountries should pay players’ wages when they are on international duty, West Bromwich Albion manager, Tony Pulis, has said, while blaming Salomon Rondon’s dip in form on the time the striker spent playing for Venezuela. Rondon, West Brom’s record signing, scored the winner in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Norwich City, marking just the second time the Venezuela international has found the back of the net in 10 appearances for his club this season. Pulis, who has previously questioned the need for international friendlies, blamed his misfiring striker’s international committments for his lack of killer instinct in front of goal. “We think Salomon will score lots of goals but he goes away again next month for a third time and we will have the situ-

before to train harder and win continental title for the country and by the grace of God I will not disappoint the country,” he promised. Promoter of the fight, Jenkins Alumona, noted that the involvement of the title sponsor of the competition, GOtv, has changed the face of professional boxing in the country, adding that plans are at advanced stage to organise another championship before the end of the year.

ation where the season is four months old and he will have been away for two months,” Pulis was quoted as saying by the British media. “He has to fly 22 hours each way to South America. He just has not had enough time to rest and pick up his performances and he has struggled a bit. “It has got to the stage where it has to be looked at because they are away for so long. “My argument is that if international teams want these players, particularly for friendlies, then they should pay their wages for those weeks they are away,” the former Stoke City manager added. Meanwhile, defender Johnny Evans has said he hopes the Baggies can build some momentum after chalking up back-to-back wins in the league for the first time this season.

Awogu GM, SuperSport West Africa

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Sports

Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Mercyjacob_26@yahoo.com Tel: 08063056537

Nigeria will fall short in Rio –Ali

ormer Nigerian Sprinter and Athletics Federation Board member, Yusuf Ali has stated that it would not be easy for Nigerian track and field athletes to scale through the fire power of the Jamaican and the World fastest 100meters athlete Usain Bolt when the hostilities kick off in Rio next year. According to him the Nigerian athletes may have chance in the women 4x4 ,long jump and hurdle but to measure up with Bolt is a complete dream. “It is not going to be trouble free for Nigerian athletes in 2016 Olympics especially the male athletes , they have not been doing too well in recent times, that is not to say they would be a total failure, at least they still have their strength in relay but to compete with Usain Bolt will be a tall order.

What Nigeria track and field athletes are going through cut across other sports all over Nigeria, infact it is a systemic problem that needed to be dealt with if we are expecting our athletes to do well in Brazil. Some of the athletes like Blessing Okagbare who are doing pretty well is basically from their own personal effort not that of the federation or the ministry. If we want athletes to

stand the chance of competiting favourably with other World athletes our leaders needed to stop depending heavily on football and give attention to the other sports. My advice for our athletes is to start getting prepared for the Games on their own as little as they can, train always in other to be feet it is the only way through which they can be remain relevant. Ali

Blessing

World bits… Teenager takes silver in Doha

Runner-up faces fraud charges for cheating at Nairobi Marathon

man was arrested and will face fraud charges for cheating his way into second place at Kenya’s Nairobi International Marathon. Police and race officials said the man, identified as 28-year-old Julius Njogu, hid among a group of spectators before joining Sunday’s race near the finish. Njogu claimed second place in a sprint finish after breezing past another competitor in the final stretch at Nyayo National Stadium. He was in line to claim around $7,000 in prize money before being caught out and disqualified. Officials said they became

Aliyu

suspicious because Njogu showed no signs of fatigue and was not sweating when he had supposedly just run 42 kilometers (26 miles). They discovered that he’d run barely one kilometer after emerging from a bunch of onlookers and joining the leading group of runners just outside the stadium. Through the final few meters, Njogu jogged easily past a weary-looking Shadrack Kiptoo to cross second. Joshua Kipkorir won the men’s race in two hours, 13 minutes and 25 seconds. Elizabeth Rumokoi won the women’s title in 2:29.32. Television images showed Njogu arguing with race offi-

cials, and even removing his running shoes in an apparent attempt to show organizers blisters on his feet to prove he’d run the entire course. “I followed the leading team from start to finish and I didn’t see him,” said race director Ibrahim Hussein, a former Boston and New York Marathon champion. “He will not be recognized and I’m so disappointed that one can cheat in this modern age. He didn’t finish second.” In 2013, two athletes were disqualified at the Nairobi marathon after also attempting to cheat their way to podium finishes in the women’s race.

Star Quote…

Ask yourself: ‘Can I give more?’. The answer is usually: ‘Yes’.

Paul Tergat

Kenyan professional marathoner

ifteen-year-old Noelle Lenihan from Charleville in Co Cork has sensationally won discus silver at the IPC Paralympic Athletics World Championships in Doha today. The teenager, who was making her major championship debut, showed a complete absence of anticipated nerves in recording a lifetime best throw of 30.68metres with her very first attempt. Impressively she followed this up with another lifetime best and new F38 world record of 31.64m with her second throw. This mark was the best of her six attempts and secured her the much coveted silver medal be-

hind F37 reigning Paralympic champion Na Mi of China with a winning mark of 33.59m. ReneeDanielle Foessel took bronze with 30.39m. Reacting to her medal win Lenihan said: “I got a PB, world record and silver medal in my first major championship. I turn 16 in a few days’ time so naturally I’m going to gain more experience and improve my explosive power which can only results in further improvement. “But for today I’m delighted. My dad, who’s my coach, and my older siblings are all here in the crowd supporting me which is very special.”

USA break world record, win mixed 4x100m relay

issy Franklin ended her wait for gold at the world swimming championships on Saturday by anchoring the USA to mixed 4x100m freestyle relay victory in a new world record time. Franklin touched the wall at three minutes, 23.05 seconds, just 0.05secs ahead of Femke Heem-

skerk, to set a new record as the Netherlands took silver while Canada claimed bronze at 0.54. Having finished the Barcelona world championships with six golds two years ago, this was Franklin’s first win in Kazan after silver in the 200m backstroke, plus 200m freestyle and 4x100m freestyle relay bronze medals.

Kenya duo to defend New York titles

enyas Wilson and Keitany will return to NewYork on Sunday to defend their marathon titles, hoping victory will help secure them places in the 2016 Rio Olympics. Former Olympic bronze medallist Kipsang, 33, will be competing in his first marathon since he was forced to retire with exhaustion in the world athletics championships

in Beijing. “My training has been going on very well, and I hope to run a good race in New York,” Kipsang told AFP before his departure for the US. “I hope the weather will be more favourable than in Beijing, where the conditions were too hot and humid for my liking. I like running in New York City...I think the roads suit me very well.”

WORLD RECORD

Largest dribbling cooking vessel Fastest marathon two basketballs

N150

Vol. 05 No. 1229 Tuesday, October 27, 2015

The largest cooking vessel has a volume of 23,616 litres (5,194.79 UK gal; 6,238.69 US gal) and was constructed by Union Energy Corporation Pte. Ltd. (Singapore), in Singapore, on 1 August 2015.

How far away is Made-in-Nigeria phone?

he manufacturing sector in Nigeria has suffered as much neglect as have agriculture, health, education and all the rest. Indeed, there is a total absence of hi-tech industrial complex, which causes the country to be absolutely import-dependent for technological hard and soft ware. Compounding such a dreary situation is the lack of infrastructure such as constant electricity, which would have been a motivating factor for foreign investors interested in filling the vacuum of providing hi-tech manufacturing services. Statistics released by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), and published by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), indicate that there are about 151 million active mobile phone lines as at August, 2015. Tak-

Guest Columnist

Abubakar Rabiu

ing that as a basis, it can be estimated that about the same number of Nigerians own mobile phones. This is a crude assumption as it is a known fact that a sizeable fraction of this number owns multiple phones or single phones with dual or triple sim capacities. The point, however, is that every single one of these phones are imported into the country. So are their spare parts and accessories. One and a half decades after the debut of mobile communications services, therefore, it is about time Nigerians start asking: “Whence or whither the Made-in-Nigeria phone?” It is a pertinent question to ask given the government’s declared objective of diversifying the economy and reforming revenue earning institutions such as the NNPC, FIRS, Customs and the NCC. Besides, it is high time Nigeria took advantage of the complete valuechain of the ICT sector like India and China, countries which now manufacture and import there ICT wares, both standard and substandard, to Nigeria. Developed countries like South Korea, Germany, the USa, Canada and the Scandinavian are making huge fortunes supplying high quality ICT devices to Nigeria’s huge market. Online shopping and the virtual capacity of users to order these state-of-the-art devices whet the appetites of the growing middle and upper classes, resulting in substantial sale turnovers in spite of the high prices of such devices. Nigeria imports an average of four million mobile phones monthly, according to the Ministry of Communications Technology. If we hypothetically spread this figure equally between India, China, Korea and the US and

IT IS HIGH TIME NIGERIA TOOK ADVANTAGE OF THE COMPLETE VALUE-CHAIN

OF THE ICT SECTOR LIKE

INDIA AND CHINA

Western Europe combined, it will give a quota of 1million phones to each. If again hypothetically each of such phones costs $5.00, it means about $20 million worth of phones passes through the Nigerian market every month. Such a large market will be the toast of phone manufacturers across the world. While we may own the phones, the Koreans, Chinese, Indians, Americana and Europeans own the money and the jobs… Phone manufacturers cutting across Apple, Samsung, Blackberry, Microsoft, Tecno, Huwaei, and other less known brands or franchises have identified Nigeria as a viable market. However, their attraction to this market has not gone beyond sales to the next level, which in this writer’s opinion, is supposed to be the setup of assembly plants preparatory to full scale manufacturing. It bears repeating, therefore, that one principal way Nigeria can lay claim to full ownership of its ICT industry and full membership of the global ICT community, is for the local content component of the sector to become active. In this context, local component is meant home-grown ICT human and technical capacity to be fully functional in the ICT value chain. The grounds for this have been anchored in

the establishment of the Digital Bridge Institute (DBI), with branches in Abuja, Kano and Lagos. DBI is an institute that is open to the public for Information and Communications Technology (ICT) training, and it is managed by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC). DBI was founded in May 2004 with the ambition to be a world-class training institute for human capacity development in communications technology. Broadly, its goals include serving as a focal point for human resource development and workforce capacity building, as well as, research on matters relating to telecommunications in Nigeria, and Africa in general; offering a comprehensive portfolio of handson engineering and technical training programmes for professionals and practitioners in the telecommunications and IT industry; focusing on educating and training manpower in all spheres of IT at post graduate and diploma levels; educating and training policy makers, regulators, legislators, economists, accountants, and other high-profile professionals in the development of national policies regarding telecommunication regulation, legislation, interconnectivity, billing, costing, tariffs, charges, license management, spectrum management, business opportunities, venture financing, multilateral trade agreements, global information society initiatives, future trends and analysis; providing capability to formulate and implement pilot projects demonstrating the application of ICT in the relevant fields of importance in Nigeria and Africa; and having state-of-the-art multimedia training facility that can support videoconferencing, E-learning and in-class training options. Under this new dispensation, therefore, it is time to give life to the DBI and launch Nigeria into its deserved ICT value added incentives, objectives which tally with the Federal Government’s desire to diversify the economy, create jobs, and move the country to the next level. Rabiu, an ICT professional, wrote from Kaduna.

Sport Extra

ichel Platini has had a first procedural appeal against a 90-day ban from all footballing activities rejected, representatives of the UEFA president revealed yesterday. Infantino joins suspended UEFA boss, Michel Platini,

FIFA Election: UEFA scribe challenges Platini in the bid to replace outgoing president Sepp Blatter, 79. “This decision is not that of the (FIFA) appeals committee, for which no date has yet been communicated to Platini,” the Frenchman’s

counsel said in a statement sent to AFP. His lawyers added that they are “convinced the appeals will eventually show his complete integrity and restore all his rights.”

Platini maintains he will stand for election, despite FIFA saying it cannot recognise its vice-president’s candidacy while his 90-day ban is in place. Infantino joins suspended UEFA boss, Michel Platini, in

the bid to replace outgoing president Sepp Blatter, 79. Infantino is one of nine candidates to say they will stand, with the deadline for applications ended 11pm last night.

Platini

Printed and Published by Global Media Mirror Ltd: Head Office: Mirror House, 155/161 Broad Street, Lagos Tel: 07027107407, Abuja Office: NICON Insurance House, Second Floor, Central Business District Area, Abuja Tel: 08070428249, Advert hotline: 01-8446073, Email: mail@nationalmirroronline.net.Acting Editor: BEN MEMULETIWON. All correspondence to PMB 10001, Marina, Lagos. Printed simultaneously in Lagos, Abuja and Akure. ISSN 0794-232X.