Binder1 by GLOBAL MEDIA MIRROR LIMITED

NNPC denies plan to reduce pump price of petrol to N57

Defamation: Lai Mohammed files N500m suit against Metuh

…moves to consolidate fuel supply

CHIDI UGWU ABUJA

Kachikwu

Vol. 5 N0. 1220

igerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, yesterday debunked reports that the pump

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

price of petrol would be reduced from N87 to N57 per litre. NNPC, in a statement CONTINUED ON PAGE 5>>

P.7

Metuh

National Mirror Online

@NationalMirror

N150

Ministerial nominees

Akeredolu, Oyinlola, Odimegwu make new list GEORGE OJI

...as Senate begins screening F ABUJA

ormer President of the Nigeria Bar Association, NBA,Mr.

Rotimi Akeredolu; former Governor of Osun State, Olagunsoye Oyinlola and former Managing Director of Nigerian Breweries CONTINUED ON PAGE 2>>

EFCC grills ex-Benue gov, Suswam, over alleged graft P.12

L-R: Member of a delegation from the Brethurst Foundation, Dr Greg Mills; former President Olusegun Obasanjo; President Muhammadu Buhari; Leader of the Delegation, Mr Jonathan Oppenheimer and Associate Member, Brenthurst Foundation, Maj.-Gen. Dickie Davis, during the visit of Brethurst Foundation’s delegation to President Buhari, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, yesterday. PHOTO: NAN

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Tribunal sacks Enugu Senator

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Buhari commended over Kemi Adeosun’s ministerial nomination ...may man Finance Ministry

Alamieyeseigha: Bayelsa declares 7-day mourning

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News

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Buhari commended over Kemi Adeosun’s ministerial nomination OBIORA IFOH AND AYO ESAN

resident Muhammadu Buhari has been commended for the nomination of Kemi Adeosun as one of minister nominees under the All Progressive Congress led government. National Mirror also gathered that Mrs Adeosun may be saddled with the responsibility of managing the economy of the nation, a responsibility which will see her confront the dwindling economy, inflation and ensure prudent fiscal management under the present administration. A group, Young Women in Politics in a Press conference in Abuja on Monday also called on the Senate to ensure that the nominee is screened and allowed to bow and go when the exercise commences today at the National Assembly. According to the group, Mrs. Adeosun, a former Commissioner for Finance in Ogun State was not a surprise inclusion in the ministerial list as her background and intimidating resume speak volume of her competence and ability to perform at the higher stage. Chairperson of the group, Hajia Bilkisu Abdullahi who led scores of other women to the conference salutes President Buhari for the nomination of three women in the cabinet but also demanded that more women should be considered for more ministerial slots when the second list is released. On Adeosun, Hajia Abdullah said, “the nomination of Adeosun, the only woman commissioner of Finance in Nigeria shows that President Buhari has the intention of rising above primordial sentiments of the men’s folk to pick the best manpower available who will effectively drive his economic programmes to a crescendo. “Adeola, an Economics graduate and a member of the Institutes of Chartered Accountants, England and Wales, as well as Nigeria, turned around the economy of Ogun State in just

four years. “It was under her watch that in spite of the dwindling revenue from the federation account, Ogun State government embarked on several gigantic projects. This is a state that was among the least earners from the Federation Account, without oil resources, yet she grew the internally generated revenue of the state to record such massive achievement. “Her courageous intervention through the Home Ownership programme in ensuring that obtaining C of O by land allottees was without any encumberances as was the case before. “Her efforts to stabilise the debt profile in the state stood her out as a very experienced fund manager and hence the need for President Buhari to consider her to similar portfolio in the federal executive.” Meanwhile, a presidency sources confirmed to National Mirror that Mrs Adeosun may have been tipped to oversee the finance ministry. According to the source, “the ministry is key to this government and the President has decided to work with experienced technocrat who is already tested and proved to be competent in financial matters to handle such a sensitive ministry.” Recall that the immediate past minister of Finance, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala who also doubled as coordinating head of the President Good luck Jonathan economic team was saddled with the responsibility of checking the dwindling economy, inflation and ensure prudent fiscal management of the past administration. Meanwhile, Ogun State chapter of the All Progressive Congress, APC has also commended President Buhari for nominating Adeosun. Speaking with the National Mirror, the party through its Publicity Secretary, Mr. Sola Lawal said the former Commissioner for Finance in the state, Mrs. Adeosun is the choice of the party and that though the party nominated her, the party is full of thanks to President Buhari for appointing her to the ministerial position.

Also, a legal practitioner in Abeokuta , the Ogun State capital, Barrister Mutiu Agboke said the appointment of any individual to occupy the position of the Minister is at the prerogative of Mr President guided by the constitution. “ I have gone through

the Curriculum Vitae of Mrs Adeosun and discovered that she is a thorough-breed professional with a global knowledge of the Accounting system. She has been in Ogun State for the past four years, and so far she has no record of misappropriation of funds

or any other misdeeds. “ I am well convinced that the experience she has got in Ogun with the global experience she had garnered, you will agree with me that she has all it takes to manage the national economy or any other position she might

be assigned to manage. “I want to commend President Muhammadu Buhari for being able to spot her as one of those deserve to serve in his cabinet. I assure you that this federal administration is on the right course,” Barrister Agboke said.

L-R: Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (House). Hon. Suleiman Kawu; Chief of Staff to the President, Mr. Abba Krari; Senate President Abubakar Bukola Saraki and Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Ita Enang, during the submission of second batch of Ministerial list to Senate President in Abuja, yesterday.

Akeredolu, Oyinlola, Odimegwu make new list CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Plc and immediate past Chairman of the National Population Commission, NPC, Festus Odimegwu, were among new ministers, whose names were forwarded to the Senate yesterday by President Muhammadu Buhari. The president had forwarded an additional list of 15 nominees to the senate for screening and confirmation as ministers of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in addition to the 21 names sent on September 31. The list was transmitted to the Senate President, Bukola Saraki by the Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari, in company of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (Senate), Senator Ita Enang and his colleagues in the House of Representatives, Abdurahman Sumaila. The new list, which was submitted to Saraki in his office by about 4:24p.m brings to 36, the

total number of nominees sent to the senate by the President for screening and confirmation. The transmission of the ministerial nominees for screening and confirmation is in line with the provisions of section 147(2) of the 1999 constitution as amended. Special Adviser to the Senate President on Media and Publicity, Alhaji Yusuph Olaniyonu, who confirmed the second list to newsmen explained that Saraki would not open the envelope until today during plenary when he was expected to read the list out to his colleagues. However, our correspondent gathered that Odimegwu, Akeredolu and Oyinlola’s names were on the submitted list. Odimegwu is from Abia State, while Akeredolu and Oyinlola are from Ondo and Osun states respectively. Meanwhile, the Senate Committee on Ethics,

Privileges and Public Petitions yesterday postponed further investigation on the petitions brought against the nomination of former Governor Rotimi Amaechi and Mrs. Amina Mohammed, as ministers. Amaechi’s petition, written by the Port Harcourt-based Integrity Group, was submitted to the Senate by Senator George Sekibo (PDP Rivers South East), while the one against Mohammed written by a Kaduna based lawyer was submitted by Senator Danjuma La’ah, (Kaduna South). While the integrity group sought the disqualification of Amaechi based on alleged mismanagement of N70bn Rivers State money as governor, Mohammed was accused of being nominated to represent Kaduna State when she is not an indigene. Amaechi, who appeared before the panel in company with his former Commissioner for Information, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari and two members of the

House of Representatives, informed the panel that the matter, upon which the petition against him was predicated, was already pending before a court of competent jurisdiction. The panel chairman, Samuel Anyanwu, explained that, “since the case is already pending before a court, as a very responsible committee, it is in our rule that we will not entertain any matter before the court since it would be subjudice.” Mohammed, who also appeared before the panel yesterday, having been summoned to defend the petition against her, urged the committee to disregard the allegations against her because she is not from Kaduna State, as contained in the petition. She said: “I was brought up in Kaduna. My father lived there but I have no connection with Kaduna State. I am indigene of Gombe State and the assumption is that I would be representing Gombe in the cabinet.”

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

NICON INSURANCE LIMITED INVITATION TO TENDER COMPUTER SOFTWARE FOR: AINSURANCE ACCOUNTING BRISK UNDERWRITING/CLAIMS MANAGEMENT CORGANISATIONAL INTEGRATION The NICON Insurance Limited is currently repositioning herself in the financial market and has decided to integrate her services to enhance efficiency and effectiveness. FOCUS OF BID The focus of the bid is to supply computer software that will address the following issues in NICON: A: Integrated Services B: Risk Underwriting/Claims Management C: Insurance Accounting. Bidding companies must have the capacity to supply software that will be used to deliver those objectives. Other miscellaneous services expected to be integrated include: i. One box email services for staff and Customer Loyalty Scheme. Successful company is expected to train every NICON staff in respect of software for a period of not less than three months. QUALIFICATION Company intending to bid must do a simple application attaching references from the previous jobs. It is important to note that bids that have evidence of financial patronage could be the priority of our consideration. Bid that have no previous reference done in the Banking or Insurance industry may not be considered. MODE OF PAYMENT Successful company is expected to be paid by our bank under the following terms: i. If they exchange Bank Guarantee for cash or ii. Nicon Insurance provide Bank Guarantee in exchange for service

A diagnose review of the problem in the Account, Risk Management and Integrated Services will be available for collection at the Managing Directorâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Office and every bidder is expected to obtain a copy for free before submitting their bid. Please contact the MD to collect a hardcopy or electronic address of the diagnose review report. CLOSING DATE This bid will close within two weeks of this publication and successful bidder would be contacted immediately. DURATION OF WORK The entire work is expected to be done within six months including training of staff on the usage of software. Please note that NICON Insurance will provide the computer hardware, and the software required for this bid must be in conformity with Mac Book which has largely been acquired by NICON Insurance for each staff. COST OF BID The cost of invitation to bid is free and you are not required to pay any money to anybody even after the success of your bid. NICON Insurance do not charge any fee for the purpose of invitation to bid. Any enquiry should be directed to the Company Secretary. Signed Company Secretary

Photo News

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

L-R: President and Chairman of Council, Nigerian Institute of Management (Chartered), Dr. Nelson Uwaga; Fellow of NIM/Osun State Deputy Governor, Mrs Grace Titi Laoye-Tomori and former President of NIM, Dr. Sally Adukwu-Bolujoko, during the Annual National Management Conference of the Nigerian Institute of Management (Chartered) in Abuja.

L-R: Leader of Brazilian Trade Delegation to Nigeria, Evaldo Silva Junior; Executive Secretary, Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission (NIPC), Uju Aisha Hassan Baba, and Nigerian Ambassador to Brazil, Adamu Emozozo, during the visit of Brazilian Trade Delegation to NIPC, in Abuja yesterday. PHOTO:NAN

L-R: Public Affairs Manager - West, Nigerian Breweries Plc. Tayo Adelaja; winner of Ibadan leg of the Gulder Ultimate Chase, Charles Ozoalor; Brewery Manager, Ibadan, Nigerian Breweries Plc. Goke Adeyemi and Senior Brand Manager, Gulder, Onyeka Okoli, at the presentation of a brand new car to winner of the Gulder Ultimate Chase, held at Trans Amusement Park, Ibadan, at the weekend.

L-R: Israeli Ambassador to Nigeria, Dr. Uriel Palti; National Vice President, Nigerian Association of Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Dele Oye and Director General, NACCIMA, Emmanuel Cobham, during NACCIMA business meeting with the Ambassador in Lagos, yesterday.

National News

EFCC arrests suspected internet fraudster over $267,000 scam

conomic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, yesterday said it arrested a suspected internet fraudster for allegedly defrauding a New Zealand woman of $267, 000 (about N52.59m). This was contained in a statement issued by the commission’s spokesman, Wilson Uwujaren, and made available to newsmen in Abuja. It said the suspect, 37-year-old graduate of Federal Polytechnic, Auchi, Edo State, defrauded the victim by claiming to be Christopher Williams from the United Kingdom. It said the complainant met the suspect in a dating site on the internet and allegedly fell in love with him. The statement said the suspect started collecting money from his victim after he claimed to be in possession of gemstone worth over $18,000 (about N3.55m), which

he claimed was inherited from his father. “The suspect hoodwinked the victim into

believing that he was coming to New Zealand to settle down with her. “The victim said the

money allegedly sent to the suspect was received in Malaysia and Nigeria by persons bearing differ-

ent names but claiming to be the suspect’s friends,” it said. The statement added

DSS parades kidnappers of Olu Falae Omeiza Ajayi ABUJA

acts have emerged about how a former Secretary to the Federal Military Government, Chief Olu Falae, paid a ransom of N5 million to secure his freedom from his abductors. Department of State Services, DSS, made the disclosure in Abuja yesterday, while parading

that the suspect would be arraigned in court as soon as investigations were concluded.

two of the suspected kidnappers. Falae’s kidnappers had reportedly demanded a ransom of N100m but his family could only immediately secure N2m, an amount his captors rejected. The 77-year-old was abducted in his farm in Ilado village in Akure, Ondo State capital, on September 21. Briefing journalists

on the kidnap incident, an official of DSS, Abdullahi Garba, who did not disclose his designation, stated that the abductors were “mere criminals.” “They had before now been linked to Boko Haram elements,” he added. According to him, the main suspect, who collected the N5m ransom, was on the run, even as he gave names of the

two suspects paraded as Abdullahi Usman (aka Kadiri) and Babawuro Kato. “It would be recalled that...Falae...was on Monday, 21st September, 2015, abducted by armed men in his farm... “Even though he has been released by his abductors who collected the sum of N5m ransom, two of the abductors were arrested by the Service on

5th October, 2015 at J. Zebra Hotel along Ganaja Road, Lokoja, Kogi State. “The Service wishes to state that the abductors were mere criminals. Investigations have further revealed that their action was not targeted at Falae as a statesman and prominent Yoruba leader,” he said. Both suspects however confessed to being part of the kidnap operation.

Baba made the disclosure at the Nigeria Brazilian Business Forum in Abuja yesterday. She said a lot of investors had thronged the country because of the present administration’s efforts to improve the business and investment

climate. “The Brazilians have been coming but had not really stayed, but now they are coming back because they believe that rule of law can now inspire investor’s confidence. “Also, with the fight

against corruption and insecurity, the business and investment environment is now right for any investor to have interest in this country. “The international community now believes that efforts are being made to curtail challenges

investors face in Nigeria,” she said. Baba said Nigeria had abundant opportunities for investment in priority sectors of agriculture, power, manufacturing, solid minerals, critical infrastructure and waste management.

Anti-corruption war attracts investors to Nigeria –NIPC

xecutive Director, Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission, NIPC, Mrs Uju Baba, has said that more investors have shown interest in Nigeria due to the current fight against corruption and insecurity.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

News

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

NNPC denies plan to reduce pump price of petrol to N57 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

in Abuja described the report as false and advised members of the public to ignore such tales noting that the price of petrol remains N87 per litre. The corporation also announced a major step

towards ensuring zero fuel queues throughout the country ahead of the forthcoming yuletide and beyond. The move kicked off yesterday with a meeting between the Group Managing Director of the Corporation, Dr. Ibe

Kachikwu and members of the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN alongside Depot and Petroleum Products Association, DAPPMA, at the NNPC Towers, Abuja. According to a statement by the Corporation,

at the end of the session, NNPC and the key downstream operators reached a consensus to work together to eliminate all obstacles that could hamper free flow of petroleum products across the country. Addressing the down-

L-R: President, Nigerian Society of Laparoscopic Surgeons (NISOLS) /Chief Surgeon, Lagoon Hospitals, Dr. Jimi Coker; Marketing Manager, Convidien Medtronic, U.S.A, John Monroe; Consultant Surgeon, U.K, Dr. Abuchi Okaro and Chief Medical Director Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Prof. Christopher Bode, during NISOLS and LUTH’s International Workshop on Core skills in Laparoscopic Surgery in Lagos, yesterday. PHOTO: SAMUEL ADETIMEHIN

stream stakeholders, Dr. Kachikwu stated that the issue of uninterrupted supply and distribution of petroleum products across the country is of utmost importance to the present administration. He noted that government is willing to do everything possible to ensure that members of the public do not go through any form of hardship in accessing petroleum products particularly PMS. On the protracted issue of outstanding payment to oil marketers, Dr. Kachikwu promised to work with other relevant Federal Government agencies to fast track the payment of the outstanding numbers, promising in the interim to arrange for a meeting with the concern creditors (bankers) to ease off pressure on marketers and extend the credit lines. He noted that several financing mechanism are being explored to offset the commitment to oil marketers. Hinting at the possi-

bility of exploring the monthly payment option, Dr. Kachikwu said: “In future we may explore some creative means to prevent backlogs.’’ Speaking on behalf of MOMAN, Femi Olawore, Secretary General of the major marketers commended the GMD for his support and pledged the readiness of the marketers to work assiduously with the Federal Government in ensuring zero fuel scarcity across the nation during the coming yuletide and even beyond. Olawore called on Dr. Kachikwu to facilitate the institution of a special committee to verify and authenticate the current national PMS consumption figure of 40 million litres per day. Also Chief Dapo Abiodun, Chairman of DAPPMA commended NNPC for what he termed improved services at various PPMC product loading facilities and urged the new management of the company to sustain the tempo.

E-passport, solution to human trafficking, says NAPTIP

ational Agency for Prohibition of Traffic in Persons and Other Related Matters, NAPTIP, yesterday described the introduction of e-passport as a solution to human trafficking. Commander in charge of Lagos Zone, Mr Joseph Famakin, told the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, yesterday in Lagos that before the advent of e-passport the traffickers disguised as victims’ benefactors. He identified human trafficking as the third most profitable business in the world after arms dealing and drug trafficking. “Human trafficking is the third most profitable business in the whole world; it comes immediately after drug and arms trafficking. But of the three, human trafficking is the easiest. “Why is it the easiest? Because what they carry is human cargo; you can work on the psyche of human cargo.

“Before government’s introduction of e-passport, you could tell a girl, say, ‘get a passport in the name of Mr. Famakin, if you are asked at the airport, claim that you are my wife’. “Because she believes that I am taking her there to assist her, she will tell the immigration officer exactly what I have told her. “So, it becomes difficult for them to detect that this is a victim. “Whereas in the case of drugs and arms, there are machines at each departure centre at the airport that will detect that you are carrying drugs if you pass through it with drugs. “The same thing as arms, but there is no machine that can detect a human cargo and say this is a victim of trafficking when you pass it. “However, the government is doing a lot. Introduction of e-passport that makes it impossible for people to have two passports or more is one

of the measures. “The aspect where women can no longer emboss the names of their children on their passport is a measure to curb trafficking because previously, a woman can put the name of any child and say, is my child, embossed on your passport. “Now, that child has to have her or his own passport. So, we have to go after the traffickers. “Having identified that this business as a multibillion naira business, if we allow traffickers to go scot free, then NAPTIP would not have done anything,” he said. Famakin said since its establishment, the agency’s Investigations and Prosecutions Department had prosecuted 276 Nigerians for human trafficking-related charges. The commander urged members of the public to adhere to the Child’s Rights Act to protect children from exploitation and abuse. “Internal trafficking is the trafficking within Ni-

geria, the movement of a person from one point to the other for the purpose of exploitation. “Once a person is moved from here to another place and is exploited, it’s human trafficking. And so, the internal trafficking mostly is for labour exploitation. “Our children are moved from different parts of Nigeria to the urban area for what we call ‘house-help’. “The Child Rights Act

states clearly that a child is only permitted to live within his immediate family environment and the only type of work he is allowed to do is the job that is agricultural in nature, the job that is not detrimental to the wellbeing and development of that child. “Furthermore, it must be a job that will not stop that child from going to school and so, when you see children that are brought from different

parts of Nigeria to Lagos for instance, and they are in the house of the privileged Nigerians as house help, it is an act of man’s inhumanity to man,” he added. According to Famakin, children under the age of 12 years old are prohibited from working while work engagement for children aged 13 and above must be properly documented in conformity with international labour standards.

Five policemen arrested over alleged murder

olice in Sokoto State have confirmed the arrest of five mobile policemen attached to the 7 PMF Command in Sokoto over the alleged murder of a man, Yahaya Shehu. Shehu was allegedly murdered by the suspects at Teke community in the SabonBirni Local Government Area of the state. NAN reports that the suspects were alleged to have tortured Shehu to death, a month ago, when

they were on patrol along the Isa-Sabon-Birni road. It was gathered that the remains of the deceased were found in a nearby bush the following morning. The deceased was said to have been arrested for an undisclosed offence together with his friend, Bashar Nahantsi, who reportedly escaped from the scene. The duo were said to have been on their way to Teke Market in SabonBirni Local Government

Area from Shinkafi in neighbouring Zamfara, when they were arrested by the mobile policemen. Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr Salisu Fagge, confirmed the arrest of the suspects, while addressing newsmen at the Sultan Abubakar III International Airport, Sokoto. ”It is true that the mobile police officers who were alleged to have killed the deceased had been arrested by the command.

News

Rotimi Fadeyi ABUJA

resident Muhammadu Buhari yesterday picked holes in the audit reports presented by the Auditor General of the Federation, Samuel Ukura, on the drying-up of Lake Chad. Specifically, Buhari noted that the reports did not reflect the feasibility study conducted by a team under the administration of former President Olusegun Obasabjo for which Nigeria committed $5 million. He, however, urged the National Assembly to expedite action on the Lake Chad Basin Water Charter which was adopted by the Heads of States and Government summit in April, 2012.

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Buhari demands Obasanjo’s report on Lake Chad The president expressed the commitment of the Federal Government to lead the war against insurgency in the Lake Chad Basin. Buhari said: “I have to digress here based on personal knowledge of this. I saw an article in a journal in 1978 that a professor at the University of London in 1925 had foreseen what we are just seeing. “I handed over the article to General Obasanjo and I understand that General Obasanjo took the initiative sometimes ago, it is on record that he is the only Nigerian that has presided over the country for more than 11 years. “He gave $5million to

the study, and the study was that unless some of the rivers from the Central Africa Republic are diverted to empty into Chad Basin, Lake Chad will dry up. “I understand that this report which was sponsored by Nigeria has been submitted. I am a bit disappointed that in the speech of the Auditor-General, there was no mention of this report, whether my own report was correct: that $5million was given,”

he added. Ukura, however, told the president that the feasibility report was not made available to him for the purpose of the audit report. In his own explanation on the report, Executive Secretary of the Lake Chad Basin Commission, LCBC, Ambassador Sanusi Imran Abdullahi, said the document in question was already in public domain. “The report is a public

document actually; it has been in the public domain since the study was concluded. Departments of government of Nigeria and other member states have received copies. “The situation is that the study had been completed. The cost estimate for the project is $14.5billion. We have been consulting the Congo Basin to allay their fears on the environmental impact assessment they want us to

add and we need some additional political support to be able to convince them that it is also in their interest to see that this water is diverted to Lake Chad. “We have made effort with the champion of Save Lake Chad, former President Obasanjo, to sensitise the international community, particularly Europe whom we perceived have some unfriendly attitude towards the transfer,” he added.

Safe School Initiative: FG’ll safeguard students, teachers –NEMA

ational Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, has expressed the continued supports of the Federal Government at safeguarding students, teachers and schools’ infrastructures as top priority of the administration towards the full realisation of Safe School Initiative in the country. Director General of NEMA, Alhaji Muhammad Sani-Sidi, gave the assurance at the Safe School Initiative Leaders Meeting held in Tehran, Iranian capital where he disclosed that the Federal Government had demonstrated that with the release of N3billion for the Presidential Initiative in the North East, PINE and N50 billion for the Victims Support Fund, VSF, to address the various emerging issues to mitigate the effects of the Boko Haram insurgency in Nigeria. In his presentation at the meeting titled an Overview of Safe School Initiative, SSI, he stated that Safe School Initiative in Nigeria had received $50 million being support from the Nigerian government, foreign governments and international donor agencies. In a statement made available by Ibrahim Farinloye, NEMA’s Public Information Officer, Sani-Sidi highlighted the major causes of threats to safe schooling and school infrastructures as flood, rain, windstorm and community strife’s. He said, however, that the catastrophic Boko Haram insurgency in the North East had become the single most significant

threat to schooling and school infrastructure. NEMA put the figure of displacement of people within Nigeria at two million while about fiftyseven thousand, seven hundred and forty-three displaced are located in Niger Republic, Cameroun and Chad. Sani-Sidi also revealed that 254 schools have been destroyed and in efforts to mitigate the effects of the destructions, two thousand and sixty-nine students from the high risk areas had been transferred to 43 Federal Unity Schools in the North Central, North West and part of North East. The students, he said, are gradually adjusting to academic life in the new schools. The Director General further acknowledged the contributions especially, saying that the student transfer component of Safe School Initiative was funded by the German Government through GIZ. On its part, United Nations Children and Education Funds, UNICEF, in collaboration with federal and state ministries of education is supporting education in IDPs camps through various interventions such as School-in-abag, 40 schools in a box, and distribution of 35, 800 school bags with learning materials. The United States of America’ International Development, USID, contributions include enrolment of 54,000 IDPs in non-formal learning centres and training of 394 teachers to manage the centres.

L-R: Head, Media Relations and Strategy, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Corps Commander Bizi Kazeem ; Corps Marshal/Chief Executive FRSC, Boboye Oyeyemi; Zonal Commanding Officer, Bulus Darwang and, Public Education Officer, Corps Commander Imoh Etuk, during an Operational Visit by the Chief Executive to the Rivers State Command in Port Harcourt, yesterday.

FG to review forex policy as Customs bemoans losses Francis Ezem

ederal Government has initiated some measures that could lead to tinkering with the country’s current foreign exchange policy. Giving the hint yesterday during an interactive session with stakeholders in the port industry, Comptroller General of the Nigeria Customs CGC, Colonel Hameed Ali (rtd), said that the foreign exchange policy regime, which restricted importers of some items from sourcing foreign exchange from official forex windows, was already taking huge toll on the revenue of the service. To ameliorate its hardship, the CGC confirmed that a committee had been set up to take a holistic review of the policy with a view to looking at its merits and demerits, but, however, urged the stakeholders to strictly comply with the policy for now. It was gathered that membership of the committee was drawn from representatives of the

CBN, Federal Ministry of Finance and top management of the service, among several other stakeholders. The customs boss noted that he shares the sentiment of the CBN which has maintained that the government needed to place such restrictions, especially items of imports that could be produced in the country in order to stop the depletion of the nation’s foreign reserves as well as the dwindling value of the local currency, the naira against internationals currencies, especially the dollar. He, however, lamented that the service was equally bearing the brunt of the policy, as its revenue had plummeted since it derives its statutory funding from the seven per cent cost of collection, which is going down due to the new policy, which led to the shrinking of the entire revenue of the service. Ali also disclosed that the service was working out an arrangement for some importers, who had earlier prepared their

Form M before the coming on stream of the new foreign exchange policy, whose consignments are currently trapped at the ports on account. President of National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders NAGAFF, Chief Eugene Nweke, one of the stakeholders that spoke at the forum, drew the attention of the CGC to the declining import volumes occasioned by the new policy, which needs to be reviewed urgently. He also drew the attention of the CGC to the delay in cargo release at the ports by customs, especially due to the breakdown of the scanners, which makes officers and men of the service to resort to 100 per cent physical examination of cargo with the attendant delays. The CGC had while reacting to the various issues raised by the stakeholders, assured that customs under his watch would ensure timely release of cargo, urging the agents to give him a little more time to begin to manifest

his three main agenda of restructure, reform and revenue for the service. He, however, warned that it is no longer business as usual, as he would not hesitate to prosecute anyone who engages in corrupt practices. Hameed warned that the service would rely on section 36 and other relevant sections of the Customs and Excise Management Act to punish both givers and receivers of bribe in the port industry. “I wish to build a long lasting relationship with the port stakeholders, which would be bonded under three words comprising Integrity, Honesty and Transparency and so anyone who do not imbibe these words would definitely not be my friend,” he warned. He further warned that the new management would not condone underdeclaration of cargo in any form, arguing that importers and their agents must be compliant in their declarations in the emerging new port order in the country.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

News

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Defamation: Lai Mohammed files N500m suit against Metuh D

We’ll continue to better the lots of Nigerians –NYSC

Matthew Irinoye

pokesperson of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Lai Mohammed, yesterday filed a N500m defamation suit against his counterpart, Olisa Metuh, of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. The suit that was filed at the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja, has yet to be assigned to a judge. Mohammed claimed to have been defamed by a press statement allegedly authoured and circulated on September 20 by Metuh. According to Mohammed, Metuh had in the statement accused him of embezzling funds meant for fencing an airport in one of the APC-controlled states in the South-West. Mohammed also alleged that Metuh said he (Mohammed) obtained money to supply ambulances to one APC controlled state in South-West but never did. Metuh had, in the statement, allegedly wondered where Mohammed then got the courage to speak on corruption when indeed the APC spokesman had mastered the art of corruption having been “a personal aide to one of the most corrupt politicians to ever bestride the political space of the country.” Mohammed, who said he was a one-time coordinator of the Bola Ahmed Tinubu Campaign Organisation, claimed that the statement

L-R: A former gubernatorial aspirant of Lagos State and representative of former Governor Babatunde Fashola, Olasupo Sasore; human rights activist, Ayo Obe and chairman, National Human Rights Commission, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, at the opening of ‘Fela Debates 2015’, in Lagos yesterday.

credited to Metuh was carefully calculated to inflict damage on his reputation and to lessen him in the estimation of the public. The portion of the said release attributed to Metuh read, “…our final word for the APC spokesman on this, is that being ethically challenged, includes embezzling funds meant for fencing an airport in an APC-led South-West state. “It also includes when one fraudulently refuses to supply ambulances after collecting monies from another APC South-West state.

“It is a comedy of roles when Alhaji Lai Mohammed speaks on corruption, a topic he practices and has well learnt, being a personal aide to one of the most corrupt politicians to ever bestride the political landscape of the country.” Mohammed alleged that Metuh had injured his character and reputation in a grave manner. He claimed that Metuh’s lawyer, Emeka Etiaba (SAN), had in a letter dated September 25 to the claimant’s lawyer, Wahab Shittu, admitted authoring the statement but denied refer-

ring to Mohammed. Mohammed, however, quoted Etiaba to have also referred to an earlier statement where Mohammed also attacked Metuh by stating that “the allegations of corruption hanging on his (Metuh) neck from within his own party is a clear indication that he is mortally afraid that the wind will soon blow hard enough to expose the fowl’s rump…” Mohammed, however, insisted that he made the said statement based on a petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Com-

mission written against Metuh on July 15 by the PDP, Nkwelle-Ezunaka Ward 1, in Oyi Local Government chapter of Anambra State. Mohammed is seeking an order mandating Metuh not to only retract his statement but to also tender apology to him in a widely read newspaper for seven consecutive days. He is also seeking an order of perpetual injunction restraining Metuh and his privies from further publishing or disseminating libelous materials against him.

N53bn indictment: Assembly approved withdrawal from Reserve Fund –Lloyd

ormer Majority Leader of Rivers State House of Assembly, Chidi Lloyd, said withdrawals made from the state Reserve Fund by the Governor Chibuike Amaechi administration was with the consent and approval of lawmakers. Lloyd, who was reacting to the indictment of Amaechi by the George Omerejiled Judicial Commission of Inquiry set up by the state government over allegation of misappropriating N53bn noted that the House of Assembly not only approved the withdrawals, but the spending was equally monitored. The former majority leader in a statement maintained that the government at the time decided to spend

from the Reserve Fund because of dwindling allocation from the federation account. He said: “Sometime in 2013, funds accruing to state governments in the country from the federation account began to dwindle as a result of mismanaged economy occasioned by monumental looting of public funds in high places. “Thus the Rivers State government like other states of the federation began to experience grave challenges in fulfilling its capital and re-current expenditure demands. After exhausting all available sources of funds, the state government was constrained to resort to the Reserve Fund. “Accordingly and in

strict compliance with extant laws, Governor Amaechi made two requests in writing to the House of Assembly for a resolution to access the fund. “The House after extensive deliberations gave approval for the withdrawal of the first tranche of N30 bn in February 2014 and another N19 bn in October 2014. “It is worthy of note that the House of Assembly did not stop at approving the said sums, but also ensured the funds were deployed for the purpose they were drawn and we were satisfied with deployment of the funds, having complied strictly with extant laws.” According to him, prior to the withdrawal, the total amount that had accu-

mulated into the fund was N53bn. Lloyd also maintained that the commission of inquiry that indicted Amaechi did not have the power to preside or make any pronouncement concerning the activities of the Amaechi-led administration. He said: “It is imperative to note that the George Omereji-led judicial Commission of Inquiry lacks the jurisdiction to inquire into Rivers State government finances or expenditure pursuant to the decision of Justice I.N. Buba of the Federal High court, Port Harcourt Division, in Suit No. FHC/PH/ CS/78/2007 delivered on March 20, 2007 in AttorneyGeneral for Rivers State and Economic And Finan-

cial Crimes Commission & 3 Ors. “Pointedly, the judicial commission of inquiry is pedestrian and its alleged findings grotesque, preposterous, absurd and antithetical with the magnanimity synonymous with good governance, fair determination of issues and totally perverse, especially when the Rivers State government is clearly aware that no one institution or panel is in-built with the powers to inquire into the expenditures of the government except in accordance with the judgement of Justice I.N. Buba. “It is worthy of note that, there is no appeal against the said decision, the judgement is valid and still subsists.”

irector General of National Youth Service Corps, Brig.-Gen. Johnson Olawumi, has said the scheme will not relent in its efforts to ensure its mandate is vigorously pursued to better the lots of Nigerians. Olawumi spoke during the flag-off ceremony of the health week under the NYSC Health Initiative for Rural Dweller, HIRD, at the ancient Mapo Hall, Ibadan. According to the Director-General who was represented by the Oyo State NYSC Coordinator, Mrs. Olufunmilayo Akin-Moses, the goal of the HIRD programme is to mobilise corps medical volunteers for the provision of health intervention through diagnosis, treatment, referrals and proper prevention mechanism. This, according to the Chief Executive Officer of the scheme, is to enhance the general well-being of rural dwellers across the nooks and crannies of Nigeria. Olawumi informed the gathering that the volunteer corps medical personnel who would form the core of the team would work as health agents in driving the wheel of the health initiative. The success of the programme which has been designed to address the health challenge of our people especially the poorest of the poor, according to the Director General, lies in the secured support of some stakeholders “who are either assisting with their personnel or providing other material support in the areas of drug, medical aid and equipment.” The NYSC boss promised that the scheme would continue to forge further collaboration with specific partners in the health sector who have shown genuine efforts in enhancing quality of life of the people. Olawumi reminded the people that the programme which is for the benefit of all and sundry should be embraced by all members of the community as the “NYSC shall be happy and motivated when we look back and watch the mustard seed being sown today blossom into an enduring and sustainable entity for the benefit of all in the community and its environs.”

South West

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Ambode tasks council bosses on roads revamp Francis Suberu

Suspected Abductor of Chief Olu Falae, Adbullahi Usman (L) and Babawuro Kato when they were paraded by officials of State security Services in Abuja, yesterday photo ROTIMI OSASONA

Ambode orders probe into LFTZ boss’ killing …we've arrested 10 suspects —CP Francis Suberu

agos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode yesterday expressed shock and sadness over the murder of Managing Director of Lekki Worldwide Investment Company, Tajudeen Disu, who was shot dead on Monday morning on his return from a peace meeting with protesting LTFZ host community. Amid confusion and sadness, the governor has ordered the police to go all out and ensure the per-

petrators of the murder were brought to book. Ambode stated this while addressing journalists at Lagos House, Alausa, Ikeja. He said Disu was shot by assailants during an official visit to one of the villages within the zone. The governor described the deceased as a man who was committed to promoting inflow of investment to Lagos State, and expressed concern over the motive of the killers. He directed the Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, to ensure that

no stone is left unturned to determine the events that led to the attack on Disu. He, however, urged residents of the area to remain calm as his administration would continue to give priority to securing lives and property in the state and make the zone safe for investors. Police commissioner Owoseni, on his part, assured people of the state that the police have swung into action to ensure the culprits were brought to book, adding that some suspects have been apprehended and investigation

was on-going to determine the sponsors of the killing, if any. “We have so far arrested 10 suspects and the arrests made are of those that are directly responsible. “We will do a diligent investigation. We will ensure that those behind it are arrested, not just the perpetrators. And there may be sponsors. We will go after these sponsors and ensure the investigation is carried out speedily, and diligently prosecuted,” the police boss assured.

Judge's absence stalls CBCIU suit Boladale Bamigbola Osogbo

bsence of the judge hearing issues relating to chairmanship of the Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding, CBCIU, Osogbo, a Category II Facility under the auspices of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, UNESCO, yesterday, stalled further proceedings on the matter. Nobel Laureate, Prof

Wole Soyinka, and former Osun State governor, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, have been laying claims on chairmanship of the centre. Though no reason was given for the judge's absence, it was learnt that the presiding judge was outside the state and the matter was adjourned till November 11. Soyinka had during the weekend, resigned his appointment as chairman, Board of Trustees of the Centre, but had his resigna-

tion rejected by Governor Rauf Aregbesola, saying that Oyinlola could not constitutionally remain as the chairman of the centre. Counsel to the centre, Adetunji Muraina, carpeted the governor for his purported statement on the matter, describing it as “contemptuous and unfortunate.” Muraina said Aregbesola's statement on the issue was contempt of the Federal High Court, Osogbo, currently sitting on the case.

"I read the statement purportedly made by Aregbesola. It was an unfortunate statement and contemptuous of the court because the issue he commented upon is the issue before the court. "A governor as the chief law keeper of the state shouldn't have made such an unfortunate statement. "He cannot usurp the powers of the court by making claims on what is legal and what is not. That is what the court is there to do," he said.

overnor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State has unveiled plan to commence reconstruction of two roads in each of the 20 local governments and 37 Local Council Development Areas, LCDAs, in the state, even as he charged Executive Secretaries of the local councils to ensure the projects meet international standard. Ambode, who spoke yesterday at the Lagos House, Ikeja, during the monthly meeting with Executive Secretaries of the 57 councils to review the progress report in their various communities, said the decision to embark on road rehabilitation was in line with reforms at the local government level. He noted that the first phase would commence with the reconstruction of 114 roads, two per local government, at the cost of N19 billion. While stating that execu-

tion of the project would be left in the care of the local governments, Ambode, however, tasked the Executive Secretaries to ensure that only the best contractors were engaged to ensure the prescribed standard was met on all the roads. He encouraged the councils’ bosses to create jobs in their areas to ensure jobs for their unemployed people. The governor said the ongoing reforms in the councils is geared towards making them more effective and to deliver better service to their communities, adding that the new structure which has become operational would go a long way to reduce cost of governance. The governor reminded the Executive Secretaries that the performance of the administration will be judged by their performance, urging them to improve on sanitation, primary healthcare delivery, primary education, local government roads and community security in their councils.

Baby, two others killed in Ibadan road accident Kemi Olaitan Ibadan

ngry residents of Apata, Ibadan, Ido Local Government Area of Oyo State, yesterday damaged no fewer than five trucks in protest against the death of a two-month-old baby and two other passengers in a ghastly motor accident at the Ibadan-Abeokuta Expressway. The violent protest, which attracted other motorists, was later brought under control by a team of anti-riot policemen from Iyaganku Police Station. Many sympathisers were at the accident scene rendering help to the injured. Speaking with journalists, Apata Unit Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, Matthew Cyril Sambo, described the accident as unfortunate, adding that apart from the dead passengers, six others were severely injured. He said those who sustained severe injuries have been taken to Alaafia Hospital, Apata, by his men for

urgent medical care. According to the FRSC boss, the accident occurred when the truck and the commercial bus had a headon collision. National Mirror learnt that the driver of the truck, who escaped the anger of the residents, was said to have attempted to overtake a vehicle when he ran into the commercial bus. As at the time of filling this report, the wreckage of the MAN diesel truck heavily loaded with granite with registration number Lagos XZ 320 EPE and the Toyota commercial Liteace.bus with registration Oyo GMD 25 X, were still at the scene of the accident. It was gathered that among the 12 passengers in the commercial bus, three persons including the baby and bus driver died as a result of the impact of the head-on collision. An eyewitness said the accident that occurred at Kilometre 6, Abeokuta road, Apata, opposite DeVine Hotel, Ibadan, also involved a commercial tricycle popularly called Keke Marwa, but none of its four passengers were injured.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

South West

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

nab suspected killer Traffic offence: LASTMA arrests Police of UNIBEN professor 10 military vehicles Patience Ogbo

agos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA, says it arrested and cautioned drivers of 10 vehicles belonging to the military on Bus Rapid Transit, BRT, corridor on Monday. General Manager of LASTMA, Mr Bashir Braimah, made the disclosure in a chat with newsmen during the authority’s “Operation Stand Strong” to bring sanity on the state’s roads. Braimah said the programme was aimed at removing lawless road users and promoting economic activities. “Those who have no business obeying our traffic laws should not be on our roads. We don’t want lawlessness

on our roads. “Whoever has no good intention should rather park his vehicle at home and allow those who have business in Lagos to continue with their businesses without hindrance. “Our focus this morning is to enforce law on BRT corridor and we have made a large number of arrests. People you expect to obey the law are the ones disobeying the law. “We have let them know that nobody is above the law,” Braimah said, while emphasising that if caught again they would be prosecuted. “There is law in Lagos, there is a government in Lagos and we shall maintain sanity. For today, the most

erring people on BRT lane are military officers. “Over 10 vehicles belonging to the military were found on BRT corridor and we are going to write the army authorities.” According to him, LASTMA impounded the vehicles of recalcitrant drivers and ticketed those who are civil. He said: “If Lagosians are saying they cannot be civil with us, we are going to show them the other side of the coin. “We are going to sustain this. It is a continuous process until there is sanity on our roads. “Violators, who thought they escaped would be tracked and arrested because we have photographs bearing their vehicle num-

bers.” Braimah added that the exercise was going on in all 40 zones in the state to bring sanity to the roads, saying that there would be no escape route for anybody, this is zero tolerance for lawlessness on Lagos roads, we are out now and we will not relent in this effort. “If drivers disobey traffic laws, they should know that they will be caught, if they are caught they will be embarrassed, they will be tried and then face the penalty.” The LASTMA boss, however, noted that road users who were compliant and road-friendly had nothing to fear, noting that the authority had started bringing human face to enforcement.

team of policemen attached to Iju Ishaga Divisional Police Station, Lagos State, have arrested one Lucky Amei said to be member of a gang that allegedly kidnapped and killed a University of Benin professor. It was gathered that the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Iju Police Station, Mr. Emmanuel Osuagwu, a Superintendent of Police, SP, got information that the suspect masterminded the kidnap and killing of Professor Paul Eriye in Benin City, Edo State. It was further learnt that the suspect was hiding at No. 61, Oluwatosin Street, Command area of Abule Egba, where he was arrested by a team of police detectives. Amei was alleged to have offered the police N1, 500, 000, which was turned

down and he was subsequently arrested and taken to the station for interrogation. According to police sources, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatia Owoseni, was contacted on the arrest and he ordered the DPO to immediately transfer the suspect to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, Ikeja, for further investigation. Lucky Amei is alleged to be the kingpin of kidnappers that abducted Professor Paul Eriye in his hotel room some months ago and killed him after collecting undisclosed amount as ransom and has since be on the run. Lagos State police spokesman, Mr Joseph Offor, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, DSP, confirmed the arrest, adding that investigation was ongoing as well as efforts to arrest other members of the gang.

Ekiti won't scrap free health mission —Commissioner Abiodun Nejo Ado Ekiti

E L-R: Managing Director, Arnergy, Limited, Mr Femi Adeyemo; Divisional, Head Large Enterprises, Mr Joseph Babatunde; Managing Director /CEO Bank of lndustry, Mr Rasheed Olaoluwa, and Osun State SSG, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti, during the commissioning of Bank of Industry funded low cost 24kw solar pv mini grid to Onibanbu idi ita village in Modakeke, Osun State.

LUTH restarts IVF at affordable rate Franka Osakwe

hree decades after it created and delivered the first test tube baby in West and East Africa, the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, Idi-Araba, has reopened its Assisted Reproductive Clinic. Now known as LUTH Assisted Fertility Clinic, AFC, the IVF clinic has been restructured with hi-tech modern equipment. Speaking with journalists at the opening of the clinic at LUTH last weekend, Professor Giwa-Osagie, one of

the pioneers of the first test tube baby, said the re-starting of IVF services at LUTH took this long because the management was putting in place an ideal structure. This, he said, include a sterile atmosphere for the laboratory and theatre; tiling of the laboratory and theatre; design of fee structure; acquisition of modern equipment; dedicated workforce and recruitment of patients. Professor Giwa, who is also coordinator of the clinic, explained that the hospital was setting a goal of producing not less than 200 babies per annum through IVF.

“I am proud that this is coming to be as there is no short cut in life. Good legacies are built through perseverance, consistency and determination. The reopening of this clinic put history in the right perspective. “This marks a return of IVF where it started in West Africa. We are set to charge lesser price than what obtains in the private sector. There are now about 45 IVF centres in the country,” he said. Going down memory lane, Giwa-Osagie revealed that the initial IVF programme at LUTH treated

20 patients between 1984 and 1994. “But we could not sustain it because of lack of institutional and government support. Today, the IVF services in Nigeria are largely provided by private hospital and few government hospitals. But LUTH IVF clinic will always be unique because it was the first in West, East and Central Africa. Only Egypt and South Africa were two African countries that had it before Nigeria in IVF history,” he said. Also present at the occasion was Professor Oladapo Ashiru- Professor Giwa’s IVF founding partner.

kiti State government has said it has no intention to cancel the free health mission, but rather explore more avenues to ensure wider access to healthcare delivery. Health Commissioner, Dr Olurotimi Ojo, assured that many Ekiti indigenes would continue to benefit from the free health programme in the lifetime of the present administration. Ojo at a press conference in Ado Ekiti to highlight activities of the ministry in the last one year, said despite the fact that the Ebola pandemic had receded in the country, the government had continued with advocacy programmes to make the fight against the scourge participatory and sustainable. Ojo added that the National Universities Commission and Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria had granted full accreditation to the departments of Ophthalmology, obstetrics and Gynaecology at the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital.

The commissioner said the administration had invested in procurement of new equipment and construction of new buildings to ensure other critical departments in the tertiary hospital were accredited, including the School of Nursing and Midwifery. According to him, the government is partnering with pharmaceutical companies in strengthening the drug mega depot in the state, so that drugs could be made available in all state-owned hospitals. Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Dr Modupe Alade, said the present administration had not abandoned the Oba Rufus Adejugbe Hospital built by Dr Kayode Fayemi’s administration. Alade assured that the health facility would be equipped to serve its purpose at the secondary level of healthcare delivery in the state. The SSG said the one year anniversary of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, administration would be marked with inauguration of people-oriented projects executed in different parts of the state in the last one year.

South East

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Support Buhari —APC tells South East govs

Tribunal sacks Enugu Senator

Emmanuel Ezeh

Enugu

ll Progressives Congress, APC, South-East zone, yesterday called on governors in the zone to support the programmes and policies of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration irrespective of party affiliations. The party said the governors should emulate Ebonyi State governor, Dave Umahi, who has expressed support for the President’s programmes to construct a progressive Nigeria. According to reports in the media, Umahi, who lost his mother recently, told a team of PDP delegation in the state that paid him a condolence visit at his home in Uburu, Ohozara Local Government Area, on Saturday that since Ebonyi State has a lot of challenges, it would make no sense for the state to embark on “senseless” opposition. Reacting in a statement, spokesman of APC Leadership Caucus in South-East zone, Mr. Osita Okechukwu, commended Governor Umahi for his disposition to Buhari’s Federal Government and urged other opposition governors to emulate him. He said: "We equally commend Governor Umahi for his pronouncement that his support for Mr President does not in any way mean that he was leaving his party, the PDP for us, this is a welcome development, because our dear country needs a strong opposition and constructive criticism to reinforce our fledgling democracy. We do not want a one party state; rather, we cherish two dominant political parties in a multi-party system. This is

the zenith of liberal democracy which stabilises, unites a country and provides the electorate with alternatives during the elections." Okechukwu hailed Umahi for exhibiting statesmanship, spirit of patriotism, far sightedness and concern for the wellbeing of Nigerians and Ndigbo in particular under the President Buhari-led administration. He added that "it is our considered view that Ndigbo and all hard working and enterprising Nigerians stand to benefit immensely from the transparent Buhari administration than the patronage system of yore. “Accordingly, we in the South-East APC enjoin other opposition party governors in the South-East to take a cue from their brother, Governor Umahi, who has shown that the interest of the people in Ebonyi State and Ndigbo is more paramount to him than political leanings. United Ndigbo will share the prosperity of President Buhari's good tidings. “Rather than dissipate energy in 'needless opposition,' we call on our governors, irrespective of the party they belong, to work with President Buhari to redress the infrastructure deficit in the South-East zone, revamp our abandoned coal deposits for electricity generation, reposition the second Niger Bridge contract and other employment generation federal projects. “For us, this is the best time to resuscitate numerous ailing industries in the South-East to harness fully, the economic potentials of our zone and create thousands of jobs for our teeming unemployed youths within the next four years.”

Enugu

enator Gilbert Nnaji, representing Enugu East Senatorial district, has been sacked by the National Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Enugu State. The judgement was given yesterday in favour of former governor, Chimaroke Nnamani, who contested on the platform of the People

for Democratic Change, PDC, against Nnaji of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. The panel held that the conduct of the election did not comply with the 2010 Electoral Act. According to Justice Matthew Aderawa, who delivered the judgement, "the first respondent, while trying to deny that irregularities marred the election, exposed more mutilations

Owerri

ppeal Court sitting in Owerri, Imo State capital, yesterday struck out an appeal filed by Dr. Alex Otti, governorship candidate of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, in the 2015 governorship poll. Otti was challenging the decision of a lower tribunal sitting in Umuahia, which refused him extension of time to call more witnesses

in a petition he filed against Governor Okozie Ikpeazu of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. Delivering judgement on the petition marked CA/ OW/EPT/GOV/5/2015, chairman of the appeal panel, Justice Jimmy Bada, agreed that the lower court did the right thing by refusing extension of time sought by the applicant. Bada, who solely delivered the unanimous judgement written by the fiveman panel, stated that it would amount to waking

were substantial to mar the outcome of the election. The petitioner has proven beyond reasonable doubt that the election did not comply with provisions of the Electoral Act 2010. "Based on the foregoing, we hereby void the election and order a fresh election." Our correspondent reports that thousands of supporters took over Enugu streets in celebration of the judgement.

L-R: Public Relations Officer, Nigeria Cassava Growers Association (NCGA), Enugu State chapter, Mr Shola Ulogho; Treasurer, Ms Eunice Onwurah; Chairman, Chief Romanus Ezeh, and Secretary, Mr Oliver Oguegbe, during a news conference on the forthcoming inauguration of NCGA ultra-modern office in Enugu, yesterday. PHOTO:NAN

Enugu guber: Ezea drops appeal against Ugwuanyi Emmanuel Ezeh Enugu

overnorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Enugu State, Barrister Okey Ezea, yesterday, discontinued his case against Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi.

This followed the formal withdrawal of his appeal pending before the Court of Appeal, Enugu, through his counsel. Enugu Governorship and House of Assembly Petitions Tribunal had dismissed his petition challenging the election of Governor Ugwuanyi of the Peoples Democratic

Abia guber: Appeal Court dismisses Otti’s plea Chris Njoku

of results in polling stations where he won. Ballot papers were not accounted for, which affected the outcome of the result. Irregularities occurred in the six local government areas that constitute the senatorial district. "Sufficient evidence was laid before this tribunal, showing that the first respondent inflated results while deflating the petitioners' result. These irregularities and non-compliance

up a dead person if after the parties had submitted final addresses, fresh witnesses are allowed. He noted that the application failed on the three grounds presented before the court, saying, “it is also wrong for the applicant to fail to front-load the pre-trial material from the lower tribunal,” adding that nonfront-loading of the pre-trial materials amounted to acceptance of the decision of the lower court. “The appeal court can only decide based on evi-

dence before it,” he said. The appeal chairman noted that the argument by the counsel to the first respondent, Chief Wole Olanpekun (SAN) that the decision to file appeal by the applicant was a ``mere academic exercise as well as probating and reprobating. “Though, counsel to the applicant noted that there would be life in the matter if the appeal succeeds, reopening a matter for fresh evidence when final addresses have been submitted is alien to our law.”

Party, PDP, for lack of merit, but not satisfied by the decision, Ezea headed for the appeal court to continue the case. But when the matter came up for hearing before the appellate court yesterday, Ezea through his counsel, Peter Ugwu, told the court that he had already filed a withdrawal notice before the court and requested the court to discontinue the appeal. Counsel for the respondents, Paul Onyia, raised an objection to the application on ground that his clients were not consulted, urging the court to compel the appellant to pay N1 million for time wasted. Respondents in the case were Governor Ugwuanyi, PDP; Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, and Enugu State resident electoral commissioner, among others. The five-man justices of the appellate court led by Justice J.H. Sankey, after

due consideration of submissions by the two parties, struck out the appeal and awarded N100,000 cost in favour of the respondents. Efforts to speak with the appellant’s counsel proved abortive as he declined comment when approached by journalists to ascertain the reasons adduced by his client for withdrawing the appeal. Ezea, who was not present in court, had contested the Enugu governorship seat four consecutive times on different political platforms but he has not been successful in all. It has been speculated that Ezea who hails from Igboeze South Local Government Area of Enugu North Senatorial zone, was eyeing the ministerial slot of his party for Enugu State and those who spoke on the new development said his decision to withdraw the appeal could be to woo Governor Ugwuanyi to support his ambition.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

News

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

We can win war against Boko Haram —Obasanjo

…wants Nigeria to tap from Colombia experience

Rotimi Fadeyi

ormer President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday said Nigeria can win the war against Boko Haram, stressing that the military was already having upper hand in the security measures taken so far. Obasanjo spoke with State House Correspondents after briefing President Muhammadu Buhari on the mission of his delegation to Colombia to study its 50-year experience in the fight against rebels.

The former president, who led a delegation of a foundation headed by him to the Presidential Villa, explained that Columbia's experience was important because the experience of the long period Columbia government has been fighting rebels would assist in tackling the present security challenge in the country. According to him, the foundation produced a book from its findings, which prompted him to bring members of the foundation to meet with President Buhari to discuss their experiences,

which could assist in defeating the Boko Haram. He noted that the ultimatum given by Buhari to the military to end Boko Haram insurgency in three months was realistic, saying if the nation could win the civil war, it was possible to defeat Boko Haram. The former president, however, said the three months deadline to defeat Boko Haram was not cast in stone. Obasanjo said: "If we won the civil war, we can win this one. But like Columbia, we are not waiting until we kill

off every insurgent to say we have won. "I believe that once the military has the upper hand, other measures that have to be taken will be put in place. "There will be measures of socio-economic development, education, employment. All that has to go into the process of eventually winning the war and saying, 'here is Uhuru', he added. Obasanjo, who was also accompanied by Columbia's Chief of Defence Staff, said Buhari was interested and excited about the experience from Columbia.

I've forgiven Shittu —Ajimobi Kemi Olaitan Ibadan

overnor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State yesterday threw his weight behind the nomination of Barrister Adebayo Shittu as minister by President Muhammadu Buhari, saying he has forgiven him. He said this when he received in his office representatives of the Nigeria Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, NSCIA, stating that he would never oppose Shittu’s nomination since it was the choice of the president. He said: “It is the president’s prerogative to select or nominate his ministers, but the practice had always been in consultation with the state.” Ajimobi, however, said

Buhari was the leader of the party and had told members to allow him select those who would work with him. “Shittu himself has come to me to apologise. He knew he was always against me and the party. He campaigned against us. To forgive is divine. If we all pray to God to forgive us our sins, then we should learn to forgive others. “A leader must learn to accommodate and forgive. I have forgiven him,” he said. Mr. Atilola Adewale, who spoke on behalf of the NSCIA delegation, said the delegation came to plead with the governor to support Shittu’s nomination as minister. “We ask that the governor forgives Shittu for whatever wrong he might have committed,” he said.

Osun tertiary institutions' students, police clash Boladale Bamigbola Osogbo

L-R: Head, High Value Experience, Airtel Nigeria, Sarwiyat Rahaman; Chief Sales Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Godfrey Efeurohbo and, Regional Operations Director, South region, Airtel Nigeria, Veronica Onoja, at Airtel's Premier customer forum in Port Harcourt, recently.

Osahon Julius Yenagoa

ayelsa State government yesterday declared seven days mourning in honour of the first civilian governor of the state, Chief Diepreye Solomon Peter Alamieyeseigha, who passed on last Saturday at the University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital. A Government House statement signed by Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Bayelsa State, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, also directed that flags in all public buildings and premises across the state be flown at half mast for the period. The 7 days mourning period and flying of flags at half mast takes effect from yesterday, while condolence

ome protesting students of Osun Stateowned tertiary institutions clashed with the police during a protest yesterday. The students, who embarked on the protest to Abeere, Osun Government Secretariat, starting from Fakunle Secondary School area, were demanding immediate reopening of their shut campuses since January. The protesters included students of Osun State Polytechnic, Iree, Osun State College of Technology, Esa-Oke, and Osun State Colleges of

Alamieyeseigha: Bayelsa declares 7 days mourning • APC berates Dickson, PDP over comments registers have been opened in Government House, the state secretariat complex and Ijaw House, all in the state capital. The government’s statement did not, however; state if the proposed Governor Dickson's campaign scheduled to take off this weekend would be affected by the 7 days mourning period as the late Alamieyeseigha has been playing a pivotal role in the reelection bid of the governor. Meanwhile, Bayelsa State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has described as laughable and shameful the accusation by the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, that the APC was behind

the death of Diepreye Alameiyeseigha. The party in a statement signed and issued by the state publicity secretary, Fortune Panebi, noted that despite claims by the Seriake Dickson administration that he has spent billions in upgrading and refurbishing medical facilities in the state, not even one hospital could attend to the late former governor of the state. The statement further stated that it was quite sad that a man like Chief D.S.P Alameiyeseigha could be treated with disregard by those he picked from obscure corners and brought to po-

litical limelight, adding that rather than lend a helping hand to the sick man he was given conditions to publicly endorse Dickson’s re-election bid before his medical request would be attended to. The party while commiserating with the family of the bereaved, noted that if Dickson was the peoples governor as he claimed, he would have responded before the health condition worsened, adding that Dickson was good at dragging feet when it comes to rendering assistance to Bayelsans except those for cheap political points. The party said the incident has once again exposed

the many lies and deceit of Dickson over issues concerning the Ijaw nation, noting that if the Governor General of the Ijaw Nation was treated shabbily and with disdain, anybody can fall victim of same incident from Dickson. The party advised Bayelsans to shun Dickson’s new strategy of saying Alaimeiseigha demise is a personal loss to him, adding that Diete Koki hospital was a world class hospital as at when Sylva was the governor of the state few years ago, but has now turned refuse dump site for the “restoration government”.

Education in Ilesa and IlaOrangun. The march, however, turned violent at the entrance of Osun State House of Assembly, when some anti-riot policemen stopped the protesters from moving towards the secretariat and fired canisters in their direction. The policemen, who were deployed in the area of the protest when the protesters started harassing passers-by and shop owners, were attacked by the students, who hurled stones at them. The students later regrouped near INEC state secretariat and set up bonfire, but policemen later moved to the scene and dispersed them. The protest, however, paralysed economic activities at Gbongan-Ibadan expressway as many commuters were stranded. During the melee, some of the students sustained injuries, while others were arrested and their buses seized by the police. Speaking, President of the National Association of Nigeria Students, NANS, Osun State chapter, Mr. Luqman Adekitan, faulted the action of the police, saying the protest was peaceful until the policemen came. Reacting to the development, the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Alhaji Gboyega Oyetola, explained that the state government was working tirelessly to ensure that normalcy returns.

North

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

We’ll sustain Lar’s legacies, says Lalong James Abraham, JOS

overnor Simon Lalong of Plateau State said the All Progressives Congress, APC, administration under his leadership would sustain the legacies of the first civilian governor of the state, Chief Solomon Lar. The governor also disclosed that his administration has concluded plans on a bill which would give legal backing to the re-naming of the state university after the late elder statesman and pioneer national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, who died a few years ago. Governor Lalong spoke during a thanksgiving service organised by the Lar’s family to honour his two years’ anniversary held at the COCIN Headquarters Church in Jos. Lalong, in his remark, promised to build on the solid foundation laid by late Chief Lar for the state which aims at creating a united and peaceful Plateau through religious and ethnic tolerance. He added that the execu-

tive bill which when passed into law would provide legal basis for the re-naming of the state university after Lar, would soon be transmitted to the state’s House of Assembly for deliberation. The governor said the late Chief Lar was an elder statesman who stood for justice and fairness in the state and the country at large, adding that during his (Lalong’s) tenure as Speaker he was arrested illegally, but it was the late Lar who stood by him. Wife of the late chief, Professor Mary Lar, said the aim of the thanksgiving was to appreciate God for his faithfulness to the family, advising Plateau State citizens to emulate her husband who stood for the peace of the state. Also, her daughter and member representing Langtang North and Langtang South Federal Constituency in the National Assembly, Hon. Beni Lar, describe her father as a peaceful man who stood for the unity of the state and the nation at large, and called on politicians in the state to love one another.

Ministerial nomination: Taraba APC commends Alhassan’s choice Justin Tyopuusu, JALINGO

araba State chapter of the All Progressives Congress, APC, has commended President Muhammadu Buhari for nominating Senator Aisha Alhassan to serve as a minister in his cabinet. This was contained in a press statement issued in Jalingo yesterday and sign by the chapter’s chairman, Alhaji Hassan Ardo, and made available to newsmen. The statement described Alhassan as an accomplished democrat and a mother, with vast experience that would assist in fast-tracking the change that Nigerian people voted for during the 2015 general elections. Meanwhile, Governor Darius Ishaku yesterday disassociated himself from a social media report credited to him that he rejected the nomination of Senator Alhassan as minister.

In a press released and signed by his senior special assistant on media and publicity, Mr. Sylvanus Giwa, Ishaku described the report as outright falsehood and a manipulation by mischief makers not only to pitch the President against the governor, but also to create ill-feelings among the people of the state. The statement added that the governor is preoccupied with his mission to rescue the state from insecurity, poverty, hunger and other challenges. “The public is also urged to be wary of social media reports cooked by sponsored agents of people bent on dividing us, using whatever method available to them. “Since the social media is not restricted to responsible and informed persons, well-meaning members of the public should verify their sources before spreading falsehood and overheating the polity,” the statement read in part.

L-R: Yobe State Governor, Ibrahim Gaidam; Permanent Secretary, Yobe Health Ministry, Alhaji Grema Mohammed Nguru; Violain Mitchell of Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and Alhaji Iya Dangote, at the signing of healthcare agreement document with Bill, Melinda Gates and Dangote Foundations, in Abuja yesterday.

Zamfara appeals N3bn judgement Wale Igbintade

amfara State government has appealed against the judgment of a Federal High Court in Lagos which ordered it to pay a bank debt of N3.1 billion from the federal allocation accruable to it. The judgment was entered in favour of Ecobank Nigeria Limited on September 30, 2015 by Justice Okon Abang. The judge who said he found that Zamfara State did not deny obtaining a loan from the bank and did not prove that it had repaid it, ordered the accountant general of the federation to deduct N3.1bn with interest from the allocation due to Zamfara State in the Federation Account. Dissatisfied, the state

government in its appeal, is praying the appellate court to stay the execution of the judgment pending the outcome of its appeal. The appellant argued that the lower court judge erred in his judgement, adding that unless there is a stay of judgement execution, the outcome of the appeal would become nugatory. Opposing the application, the bank argued that the six grounds contained in the notice of appeal “did not raise any recondite issue of law that could warrant the grant of stay of execution of the judgment of the court.” The bank urged the court to reject the application for stay of judgement execution, saying it is a grand design to frustrate the bank’s legitimate attempt to retrieve its depositors’ funds from Zam-

fara State. Justice Abang adjourned till October 23, 2015 to rule on Zamfara State’s application praying for stay of execution of the judgement. Abang, in the judgement had granted Ecobank’s claim of N3.1bn with a 30 per cent interest from March 1, 2013 till judgement day and 10 per cent thereafter until the final liquidation of the debt. Abang said Zamfara State had admitted obtaining a credit facility of N1.5bn in 2009 from the defunct Oceanic Bank Plc, which was later acquired by Ecobank. The judge said though Zamfara State claimed to have been paying back and had only an outstanding of N800m; the statement did not say how much it had already paid

and at what date its outstanding debt was determined to be N800m. Abang said he had no option, in the circumstances, than to “adopt the amount claimed by the plaintiff in its writ of summons.” Earlier in the ruling/ judgement, Abang had dismissed the preliminary objection of the state, its Attorney General and Ministry of Finance, challenging both the subject matter and territorial jurisdictions. The judge equally rejected the preliminary objections filed by the Federal Ministry of Finance and the Central Bank of Nigeria, which claimed to have been wrongfully joined because they neither stood as surety for the state nor were they signatories to the loan agreement.

to comment when prodded forward to confirm whether Suswam would be released on administrative bail or spend the night at the EFCC’s custody. Wilson stated: All I can tell you is that he reported today.” As at the time of filing this report, the ex-governor is still being drilled by the operatives of the anti-graft body. Suswam’s raw deal with the anti-graft body would not come to any watcher of events in Benue State as a surprise. His immediate successor, Governor Samuel Or-

tom, had upon assumption of office, vowed to probe the activities of the exgovernor from 2007 and up to 2015. In order to actualise that vow, Ortom recently constituted three probe panels to ascertain Benue’s assets, the funds that came into the state and how they were managed within the period under review. According to the governor, preliminary investigations carried out by his administration, showed that apart from the indebtedness of the state, it appears that the salary of workers was being spiked.

EFCC grills Suswan over alleged graft Olufemi Adeosun, ABUJA

conomic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, yesterday grilled former Benue State governor, Gabriel Suswam, over allegations of fraud. Suswam’s interrogation came barely three days that a former Commissioner for Finance under his administration, Mr. Omadachi Oklobia, was drilled over an alleged diversion of public funds, abuse of office, embezzlement and fraud. The ex-governor arrived the anti-graft agency

at about 10.am and he was still being interrogated by a team of EFCC operatives as at the time of filing this report. A source at the commission told our correspondent that Suswan was accompanied to the office of the anti-graft body by four people, presumably his close relatives and former aides. EFCC spokesman, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, confirmed that the ex-governor reported to the commission’s office to give explanation on the alleged deals. He, however, refused

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

SUPER TUESDAY Ebonyi can’t be regarded as educationally disadvantaged state –Umahi

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Politics

No geo-political zone can hold Nigeria to ransom –Okoye

Anxiety as pressure mounts over Ekiti council polls ABIODUN NEJO writes that time will tell whether history will repeat itself or not in the Ekiti Council polls scheduled to hold December 19 with the array of litigation against it.

kiti State is on the march again in the bid to conduct elections into its 16 local government areas. Local government elections last held in the state in 2008 during the tenure of former Governor Segun Oni. But since October 2010 when the elected council chairmen and councilors in the 16 council areas of the state were kicked out of office by the former Governor Kayode Fayemi administration following Oni’s removal as governor by the Appeal Court, the councils in the state have been headed by caretaker committees. The attempt by former Governor Fayemi in 2012 to conduct local government elections was stopped by an Ado Ekiti High Court that dissolved the then Ekiti State Independent Electoral Commission, EKSIEC, and subsequently restrained its members from conducting the local government election slated for February 4, 2012. Justice John Adeyeye had on February 2, 2012 delivered the verdict in a suit filed by the then opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP to challenge the eligibility of the electoral body which it said had members of the now defunct Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN to conduct the election and urged the court to declare the electoral body as composed then null and void. Adeyeye had declared that the former EKSIEC, being sympathisers, members or apologists of the ACN could not organise, conduct nor supervise any credible election in the state. With that, the Fayemi government and the EKSIEC had to go through appeals, thus leaving the councils in the hands of interim caretaker committees until October last year when the mantle of leadership changed in the state. However, the present PDP administration in the state, which stated its belief in democracy at all levels and the conviction that democracy at the grassroots should not be toyed with, set machinery in motion for the conduct of council election, beginning with the constitution in last month of EKSIEC chaired by Justice Kayode Bamisile (rtd). But no sooner that the electoral body settled down to business stating with notice of election than notices of litigations began to fly in. These include a legal suit by the opposition All Progressives Congress, APC challenging the composition of the commission and a threat by a faction of the PDP in the state to institute legal action against the EKSIEC if the electoral body recognized candidates presented by PDP State Chairman, Chief Idowu Faleye. With the development, fears are heightening daily as to whether there is/are substance(s) in the suits which is/are capable of truncating the election and dash again the hope of the people who are desirous of democracy at the grassroots. The EKSIEC Chairman, Bamisile, who had given no-

Awe

Faleye

With the development, fears are heightening daily as to whether

there is/are substance(s) in the suits which is/are capable of truncating the election and dash again the hope of the people who are desirous of democracy at the grassroots tice that the council election would hold in the 16 council areas on December 19, said at a stakeholders’ meeting with leaders of political parties, security agencies and others, that all stipulations of the Ekiti State Local Government Elections Law had been complied with in arriving at the date. Bamisile said: “We wish to seize this opportunity to assure all registered political parties in the state that EKSIEC, as the electoral umpire, would create a level playing ground for all

participants. “We would demonstrate and manifest positive neutrality, even handedness and what America labels as bi-partisanship. I hereby wish to admonish all political parties in Ekiti State to avoid any form of violence before, during and after the conduct of the election,” he said. While assuring that the commission will be fair to all parties in the election, Bamisile said neither he nor other members of the commission were card-carrying members or supporters of any political party as he challenged anybody who had evidence to the contrary to come forward with such. He said the coast was clear and that the commission was ready for the December 19 election as the case in court against EKSIEC to challenge the composition of the last EKSIEC had died a natural death following expiration of the five-year tenure of that EKSIEC. But the APC said it had dragged Ekiti State Governor and EKSIEC to court over composition of the electoral body, alleging that members of the electoral body as constituted by the governor comprised card-carrying PDP members. A statement by APC State Publicity Secretary, Taiwo Olatunbosun, said that while APC was ready to participate in the Local Government Elections, due process must be followed in the composition of the electoral body, saying such action was illegal and invitation to chaos inherent in the electoral umpire providing support for a contesting party to the detriment of others. CONTINUED ON PAGE 46

Politics

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

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Ebonyi can’t be regarded as educationally disadvantaged state –Umahi The Governor of Ebonyi state, Chief Dave Umahi in this exclusive interview with ALIUNA GODWIN, reflected on the state of education in Ebonyi and said the state cannot be regarded as educationally disadvantaged state. He also expresses the hope that the state is coming out of the woods. Excerpts Your government started with lots of promises including the eradication of poverty through empowerment of women. What are you doing to actualize these promises? We have decided that we will empower women, especially those that the Bible calls the widow of the widows. The commissioner for women affairs is getting the details to enable us build houses for widows, at least one per ward across the 171 wards of the state. It is our intention to help the widows that are poor and it is part of the commitment we made before God from the time we assumed office. You are just four months in office and there have been issues of depreciation in economy, with this, are there any plan to improve the state Internally Generated Revenue, IGR? Improving the state IGR, is our greatest concern. I have been discussing with my excos on the way forward to improve the state IGR. We meet one or two times in a week. It is our target to get at least N500m a day. That is why I have directed that our caretaker council chairmen and co-ordinators should go into farming as well as ensure that they generate money from markets around them. It was alleged that the various road accidents witnessed in the state capital was as a result of lack of flyovers and bad roads. What is your take on this? We are planning to have three flyovers; one at Vanco junction, one at the Akanu-Ibiam junction and the other at the Presco junction. But we will step down that of the Vanco junction because of lack of funds. We will start that of the Akanu-ibiam junction and Presco junction by next week. We have also advertised that of the international market. Without flyover at the international market, it will be difficult to use that market. We are also trying to de-congest the side of it which is the park because not all the vehicles will enter inside the market. The target is twelve months and we will achieve that. When we start any project, we may not have 100% of the fund but we have 100% idea of how to achieve them. No project that was started by us will exceed one day in terms of its time of completion. There have been allegations of illegal collection of funds by some ministries, how will you curb this? There is no moral justification to ask people to pay for sanitation when they have no clean environment; there is no reason to ask people to pay for water when there is no water. I have told commissioner for environment that you have no moral justification to ask people to pay for sanitation. If there is no water, you cannot collect money for water and that is my position. Electricity problem has crippled the business activities in the state and the people are also being extorted by staff of Enugu Electricity Distribution Company, EEDC. What is your plan to take care of this problem? I am quarreling with Enugu Electricity Distribution Company, EEDC, for asking us to pay for what we usually pay in the past. I told the manager, you can cut us off, but we will meet in the court. They were adding bills of some agencies and some private houses for us to pay and we said we can no longer pay. In fact, we cannot pay again until we have meters installed and when the meters are installed, and then we do a check, what the meter read for one month. We use it to do a backlog check,

I believe that a solid foundation has been laid for the state.

We are

now trying to establish what

I call programme

and system upon which

Ebonyi state should be built on

and then make claims on all that we have paid in the past, if they don’t agree, it is a private company and we shall meet in court. We are willing to do that. You have been accused of not carrying along the founding fathers of the state, how true is that? First of all, we need to ask ourselves what did our founding fathers, mothers and children fought for? I know whatever I achieve with you people; my wife contributed greater part of it. We don’t just call founding fathers without mothers’ support and ideas. Whatever we achieve is a collective action. We suffered great neglect and marginalization from Imo, Enugu and Anambra state before the creation of Ebonyi state. Our fathers and mothers came together and say no matter the level of the revenue we get, we can manage it by ourselves. And by the grace of God, today Ebonyi state is 19 years. Ebonyi state is regarded as educationally disadvantaged state, what vision do you have for this sector? The first civilian governor of the state, Dr sam Egwu did a lot of work. He came in a wonderful way because he looked at our educational backwardness and he built the first state university and gave free education to our people. I believe that a solid foundation has been laid for the state. We are now trying to establish what I call programme and system upon which Ebonyi state should be built on. We should have a programme for education such that in the next ten years, we will be able to surmount the challenges we are facing. When we started, we sent a delegation to study the educational programme of other states. When we saw the video clips in Exco, some of us wept. Somewhere in Ikwo, the children need to cross a bamboo bridge for them to go to school on daily basis. In many places, the children sit on the floor and no roof over their head. We are able to capture the status of our educational system. Education is very important and I think we must do something to ensure its stability. We need to know where we are and where we are going to enable us build our educational system. I was told today that the Federal University on Ndufu Alike Ikwo, FUNAI, has established school of Engineering resulting from our plea to do that. But I promised that I will be going there to teach them, especially the junior ones. I assure you that Ebonyi state is now improving and we can never be called or regarded as educational disadvantaged state. You recently created caretaker committee for Local

Umahi

Governments but people feel they may not achieve much, how will you react to that? Anybody that is trying to do any project in the local government areas, in terms of roads, water, electricity and other infrastructures should let us know of it.

My victory is God’s doing –Abiodun

andidate of the All Progressive Congress, APC, in the Ogun East Senatorial Election, Prince Dapo Abiodun, has described his victory at the Election Petition Tribunal, which nullified the election of Mr. Buruji Kashamu of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, as “God’s doing” In a statement in Iperu Remo, Ogun State, yesterday, Abiodun, also described the success of his petition as a victory for the people of his senatorial district: “Our people knew the social, political, economic, cultural, and even religious position and marks of our senatorial district in Nigeria, they knew the right and befitting candidate they voted for. My victory at the Tribunal, is therefore, the victory of the people of Ogun East Senatorial District, our party members and coordinators who worked tirelessly,” he said. The APC candidate re-

marked further that his victory not only came at the right time but also saved the Ogun East people from ridicule: “My victory, though delayed, came at God’s time, which is the best. It was to serve a purpose. God delayed the victory of Joseph in the Bible for the right time, just as He delayed President Muhammadu Buhari’s victory for the right time. “Our victory came at the right time, as it was eagerly expected all over the world. It also removed the tag of ridicule and stain, which our opponent’s false emergence placed on the good, morally upright and hard working people of Ogun East Senatorial District,” he added. He called on his followers not to lower their guards even as the full text of the judgment is being awaited, urging them to be law abiding. He commended the Tribunal judges for serving cause of justice, while not forgetting the judiciary workers.

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Tuesday, October 13, 2015

A PUBLICATION OF NATIONAL MIRROR NEWSPAPERS

Rape: Super, notorious cult leader bags 21 years jail term Osahon Julius YENAGOA

Bayelsa State High Court sitting at Yenagoa, on Friday, sentenced a notorious leader of a cult group, Mr. Super Ojo, popularly known as Bestman, to 21 years in prison for raping a lady (name withheld). Super, said to be the leader of a cult group, known as Bobos, was sentenced at State High Court 2, presided over by Justice Margaret Akpomiemie. The accused and nine other members of his

gang were said to have raped the lady at Akaba in Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State in 2011. The notorious rapist and gang leader was arraigned in the court on May 2014 on a four-count of conspiracy, rape, murder and membership of an unlawful group. The accused was said to have gone to the lady’s house with four other persons, dragged her out and forcibly took her to a bush where five other persons were waiting and repeatedly raped her one by one until she lost con-

sciousness. The lady was said to have been blindfolded as she was being gang-raped and after the assault, was given a machete cuts on her back as part of initiation into their cult. After the violent sexual assault, the lady was said to be abandoned in the bush where a Good Samaritan rushed her to the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa. At the FMC, the lady was reportedly rejected and thereafter, she was taken to the National Hospital in Abuja. It was learnt that up

till now, the lady is still discharging from her private part as the consequence of the gang-rape. A brother of the victim was said to have been murdered by members of the gang when he allegedly failed to heed their instruction to effect the release of a member arrested by the police. In her judgement, Justice Akpomiemie said she had carefully studied the arguments of both the prosecution and defence counsels as well as the testimonies of the victim. She said she was convinced that the allega-

tions against the accused had been proved beyond reasonable doubt by the prosecution with the exception of count 3. Akpomiemie also made reference to a medical report, which stated that the victim suffered bleeding from her private part, a situation which made the FMC to reject her and had her referred to the National Hospital for treatment. In sentencing the accused, Akpomiemie said Super was guilty of conspiracy as he conspired with others to rape the victim and therefore, sen-

tenced him to five years in jail for conspiracy without an option of fine. On the second count, which is the actual rape, the judge sentenced the accused to 21 years in prison bit however, struck out count three, on want of evidence to prove the case beyond reasonable doubt. On count four, which borders on membership of a cult, the judge found the accused guilty as charged and convicted him to two years in prison while ruling that all the sentences were to run concurrently.

Bayelsa oil communities blast SPDC over MoU Osahon Julius YENAGOA

Rivers State Deputy Governor, Dr. Ipalibo Harry Banigo, exchanging pleasantries with the President, Mothers Union/Women Guild of Niger Delta Diocese, Mrs. Victoria Ralph Ebirien, during a courtesy call in Government House, Port Harcourt.

Isoko nation accuses Delta, FG, oil companies of marginalisation Abdulgafar Oladimeji KANO

he Isoko oil producing communities in Delta State have accused the the state government, oil producing companies and the federal government of marginalizing them. The President-General, Isoko Development Union, Evangelist Prosper Akete, made the accusation while speaking to journalists as

part of activities marking the 2015 Isoko Day held in Kano. According to him, the present and previous Delta State governments had kept treating the Isoko nation unfairly by refusing to cede relevant political positions to persons who hail from Isoko land. He said the state government was in the habit of failing to take Isoko nation into considerations in the allotment of political

appointments. He stated further that they were not taken into confidence when crucial issues pertaining to the development of the state was been deliberated upon. “We are marginalised because we are a minority in Delta State “We are marginalized in Delta State, we are few, most of the things they do, they don’t consider us,” he said.

He alleged that the oil producing companies were unfair to their Isoko host communities in the areas of provision of employment, and development of critical infrastructure. He urge the federal government to bring to an end, what he described as unfair treatment meted to the communities by ensuring they are given fair treatment in the area of public employment, and

il producing communities from Ekeremor local government area under the Kou cluster communities in Bayelsa State have accused Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, of “hypocrisy and deceit” for not implementing the Memorandum of Understanding, MoU signed with them in 2013. They said it was unfortunate that the SPDC had continued to cheat the people of the communities while pretending be a responsible corporate citizen. Chairman of Kou Urban Foundation, which comprises Agge, Ogbeintu, Orobiri and Azamabiri communities, Mr. David Itiemoghan, in a press briefing in Yenagoa, said SPDC had agreed in the MoU, to fund develop-

Dickson

ment projects selected by the communities using the Community Development Board, CDB, but had failed to honour its agreement. Itiemoghan, who accused SPDC of bias in its relationship with the community, berated the company for paying lip service to its legal obligations. “Since 2013, SPDC has only paid one tranche of N125 instead of seven. In plain terms, instead of N675 million which should have been paid to Kou communities since 2013 to 2015, only N125 million was paid in 2013 and nothing has been heard from SPDC since then. “Now SPDC is inviting the host communities to deceive them gain. It will say many good things it will do to protect the environment and compensate the people affected by its activities but will not keep its promises.”

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Military silent over gunmen’s theft of weapons at post Osahon Julius YENAGOA

Vehicles on a bad potion at Ekpoma section of the Benin/Auchi/Okene highway yesterday.

PHOTO:NAN

UNICAL shuts school over protests Richard Ndoma CALABAR

he Management, University of Calabar, yesterday, announced the shutting down of the institution following student protest which broke out yesterday morning. The student led a protest marching through the major streets of the metropolis causing traffic hold up and leading to a breakdown of economic activities in the metropolis. A statement from the institution`s registrar, Moses Abang, said that all academic activities would resume on October 30. The statement urged all students staying in the campus to vacate the hostels

adding that the authority of the school had given students up six O`clock yesterday evening to vacate school premises to allow management resolve all pending issues which brought about the students protest. The protest, which reportedly began at about 5.30 am, created panic and confusion as civil servants and traders trying to find their way to work became stranded along the adjoining roads linking the institution, particularly the Etta Agbor and Mary Slessor roads due to road blocks mounted by the protesting students. The students carried placards with different inscriptions like “Ekpoke must go!” Ekpoke, give us water, electricity!”

The students were protesting against the alleged neglect of their welfare by the management of the university. One of the students, Mr. Emeka Ebere, of the Physics Department, said that the students had been staying without light and water in the hostels for more than three weeks. Ebere added that the school authority was doing nothing about their plight. Rats came to eat our legs when we slept because everywhere was unkempt and bushy,” he said. Another aggrieved student leader who did not want his name mentioned claimed that for over a month now, the university students had stayed without light nor water in the hostels.

He accused the institution management of doing nothing to alleviate the suffering of students. The angry student blamed the institution`s Vice Chancellor, Prof. James Epoke, and the entire school authority for not being concerned about students’ welfare. Another student from the English and Literary Studies, ELS, who gave his name simply as Jerome, accused the Vice Chancelor of putting up a nonchallant attitude over the students plight, claiming that students had to carry out their demonstration outside the university premises because “the last time we demonstrated within the school premises, they charged us for damages.”

VIO, DOPT to stop visually impaired from driving in C’River Richard Ndoma CALABAR

he Chief Vehicle inspection Officer, VIO, Engr. Paul Bepeh, and the Special Adviser to Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State, Mr. Gabriel Ogbulajah, has promised to stop people with visual impairment from driving commercial vehicles. Part of the reasons given by the VIO and the Department of Public Transportation, DOPT, as reasons for planning to stop the visually im-

paired was to enable the two agencies to reduce the high rate of carnage on the roads. The VIO and the DOPT bosses maintained that proper examination of sight would be conducted for commercial motorists before final decision is taken on who and who should be qualified to be on steering on our roads. The duo dropped this hint while speaking at the second day of the ember month workshop tagged “Say no to the devil”organised by the Department of Public

Transportation DOPT and VIO in Calabar for staff of transport companies like Akwa Ibom Stae Transport Company, AKTC, CALCULUS and Peace Mass. The duo stated that arrangement had be concluded to organise refresher courses for motorists to ensure that they became properly certified. Chief Vehicle Inspection Officer (VIO) and the DOPT bosses maintained that state government would soon introduce the use of drivers identification badges which would be compul-

sorily worn on their breast pocket to enable anyone who come in contact with them know that they are commercial drivers. On the issue of vehicle road worthiness, the duo maintained that a special centre would be established to ensure that faulty vehicles would be sent to the centre for proper calibration before such vehicles leave the centre. “We would have a special centre where faulty vehicles would be sent in there for proper calibration before they leave the centre,” the duo said.

op military men and commanders from the Joint Military Task Force, JTF, nicknamed “Operation Pulo Shield” and other security agencies in the state are yet to unravel the mystery behind the ease with which some gunmen carted away some heavy military weapon after killing a civilian at a military post at Kolo creek. Mum has been the word from top commanders of the military over the incident. Niger Delta Mirror gathered that the invasion of the military post, which was mounted directly close to the gas facility owned by Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), caught the soldiers unaware and led to the killing of an oil worker. The deceased oil worker, identified as Mr. Austin Ikechukwu Igwe, an uncle to the Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the chairman of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) on Youths Matter, George Turner, was caught in the cross fire while leaving the complex of the gas facility. The gunmen, was said to have arrived the area in a black coloured Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV) in a Commado style, taking the soldiers unaware and carted away arms and ammunition and zoomed off unchallenged. A military source said, “It was still a mystery how the gunmen stole the weapons. What we learnt was that the gunmen who rode in an SUV stopped close to the army post, walked majestically into the post and dismantled the General Purpose Machine Gun (GPMG). They took the GPMG and other riffles and ammunition, entered their vehicle and zoomed off ”. On the killing of the staff of the SPDC, the source claimed that the gunmen might have killed the civilian guard on a suspicion that he rec-

ognised them. The corpse of the deceased identified as Mr. Austin Igwe, was reportedly evacuated by policemen from Ogbia Division and soldiers of Operation Pulo Shield (OPS) and was later deposited in a mortuary. Relatives of the victim were said to have besieged the crime scene as they cried uncontrollably. One of them who spoke in confidence said: “We heard that unidentified gunmen had attacked Shell facility and that our brother who was on duty fell to their bullets, we got here and found out that it was true. The pain is too much to bear. This is tragedy for us. I am short of words.” Also commenting, Geroge Turner, in his post on the development said, “My uncle, Mr. Austin Ikechukwu Igwe, who works with SPDC Imiringi in Ogbia local Government Area of Bayelsa State, left his office in the early hours of today heading home to meet with his children who barely see their father because of the nature of his job was shot dead right in front of SPDC gate in cold blood.” Confirming the incident, the chairman, Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Ogbia Clan, Mr. Osanya B. Osanya, condemned the attack on the oilfield and stealing of army rifles. He called on security agencies to be vigilant especially in view of the coming elections in the state. He said some politicians were desperate and could do anything including sponsoring violence and bloodshed to win the election. “The leadership under my watch will, as a matter of importance, partner with security agencies to rid our council of criminality. We also advise our youths to be at alert and not to allow some politicians to use them as willing tools to destroy our council”, he said. The spokesman of OPS, Lt.-Col Isa Ado, could not be reached for comment on the incident.

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Tuesday, October 13, 2015

On federal character and nation building OLALEKAN WAHEED ADIGUN

n the late 1960s and early 1970s, African statesman, Mwalimu Julius Kambarage Nyerere of Tanzania strongly advocated what he called “nation building” for fragile post-colonial African states. The fragility of these states soon became obvious after independence. Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda of Malawi declared himself President-for-Life; in Lesotho, Prime Minister Leabua Jonathan voided the 1970 election, which he had lost; King Sobhuza of Swaziland abolished the Parliament and the Constitution and reinstituted a monarchy. This was also the period when Zambia and Malawi were dissolving the Central African Federation coinciding with the merger of Tanganyika and Zanzibar to form present-day Tanzania. Large number of African states soon fell into military dictatorship. Nigeria was one; she got a civil war to the bargain. There is the usual temptation to reduce the meaning of “nation building”, albeit incorrectly, to: national integration, national development, political development, or national consciousness. The term includes all these, but to reduce it to any of them is to commit the “reductionist” fallacy. Simply put, “nation building”can mean the systematic process of making a people, who hitherto are from different cultural, ethnic, religious, racial, or national backgrounds, to feel they belong together under a nation. Karl Deutch, in his book,

‘Nation Building’, identifies five stages of achieving this “systematic process”. First, the group exists as a tribe, with its distinct language and proud culture, and will resist any attempt to integrate it with other groups. The next stage is to incorporate them forcefully into other group with the use of naked force. The third stage is for them to minimally accept, often with the use of force or threat of it, the new arrangement by cooperating minimally. At the fourth stage, their level of resistance is reduced to the minimum and their cooperation and obedience have risen astronomically, though they still keep their cultural identities intact. The fifth is when the group becomes almost indistinguishable from other groups within the state. This is when total assimilation is achieved. The last two stages will require minimal use of force. As a post-colonial nation, the first three stages ended with colonialism. The last two have proven difficult in Nigeria either due to deliberate colonial policy or shameless neglect by leaders at independence. At this point, let us bring in a familiar concept, federal character. It was one of the post-civil war integration effort introduced by the Constitutional Drafting Committee (CDC) in 1978 and formed part of the 1979 Constitution. Despite it featuring in the 1999 Constitution under the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy in Section 14(3) “…to promote national unity and also to command national loyalty, thereby ensur-

RATHER THAN PROMOTE NATIONAL UNITY, THE FEDERAL CHARACTER HAS DISUNITED US THAN WE WERE BEFORE ing that there shall be no predominance of persons from few states or a few ethnic or other groups in government or in any of its agencies” only a few people have bothered about it until recently when President Muhammadu Buhari made some “key appointments” leading to public outcry in some sections of the country. We must be quick to admit that like many other provisions of the Constitution, the federal character was meant to correct some challenges experienced in the past, this writer argues it created further unexpected problems more than it could solve. Rather than promote national unity, the federal character has disunited us than we were before. In my understanding, federal character assumes that in appointing a person from any part of Nigeria into a position that person first and foremost must “carry his or her ethnic group along” in the scheme of things. Invariably, the appointee represents his “constituency” not necessarily his portfolio(s). It looks more like “just get someone to fill in that position so long as he comes from that state or region.” I will buttress this point with the composition of the Federal Executive Council

under President Goodluck Jonathan. Just in fulfilling section 14(3) of the 1999 Constitution, President Jonathan appointed Senator Musiliu Obanikoro as minister from Lagos. There is nothing wrong in that, but allocating Defence Ministry to someone with dubious expertise in that portfolio only makes mockery of the socalled federal character. Are we really serious about fighting Insurgency? There are those with the argument that federal character is to foster unity among Nigerians by giving every ethnic group a sense of belonging. This looks like a fine argument on its surface. The “sense of belonging” in this sense is that “our son” will be in government and “our people will be carried along.” If this is the “sense of belonging” they speak about with much approval, then I beg to disagree. Rather than federal character uniting Nigerians, it has done more division than the so-called purpose it is meant to achieve. It has in the process of its operations created a class of ethno-regional lords, local godfathers and their appendages to exploit national resources without any corresponding contributions! And that reminds me, how does Jonathan’s 16 years in political offices translate to improved infrastructure, for example water supply, in Otuoke? Did Obasanjo’s eight years as President in any way translate to good roads in Otta? Adigun, a Lagos-based political risk analyst and strategist, wrote via olalekan@olalekanadigun.com and can be followed on twitter @adgorwell

Nigeria and the challenge of nation building MARK DEBO TAIWO

t is quite appalling that at 55 years of nation building we are unable to get our acts right and bequest workable structures and institutions that can promotes and sustain decency and patriotism to future generations of Nigerians. Our rewards system is not in favour of hard work and probity. It’s the survival of the fittest; and winners take it all syndrome has been our predicament. Our lot as a country has been visionless and clueless leadership. It is mind boggling that corruption has taking over the entire fabrics of the nation that people are now stealing public funds in trillions and getting a gentle slap on their backs. The laws seems alive only for the weak and the poor, but alien to the big guys at the corridors of power. It only takes a man or woman to be an overnight billionaire if suddenly appointed a minister in this country. The way we handle our affairs show clearly that we are a nation in confusion and disorientation. We don’t have good structures to promote patriotism and nationalism; all that we are concerned about is how to make money out of every situation, and never how we can sacrifice and uphold the integrity of the nation. I was purely ashamed when in Dallas, Texas, USA this summer, I saw how the government over there makes life more

meaningful for the citizens, by the way the systems are being run. I travelled on the President George Bush TurnPike and saw the beauty of their spaghetti flyovers in layers. I imagined the comfort and pleasure I derived from plying the roads in Fort Worth, Texas. We can travel for hours nonstop without stress on all American roads. I recalled my experience when we traveled to Iowa State University, in Ames from Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was a three hours journey that was pi-quant and remarkable, in the sense that I never knew any road in Nigeria that one can travel for hours without potholes and stress; fear of accidents and possible breakdown of vehicles on the roads, plus the fear of ‘wetin you carry cops’ that litter our roads, or the likely incidents of armed robbery attacks. Americans really love pleasure and they make allowance for it in all facets of their national life. They care for lives and its sustainability, hence they lay premium on protecting lives. The environment in most American cities is superlative and thus enhances longer life expectancy. Their love for nature reflects in the way they cultivate the idea of clean environments with trees and grasses all over the place with no traces of dust anywhere at all. This will prevent many airborne diseases and increases the health chances of the citizens. Hardly can one find any smoke producing vehicle on any Ameri-

THE GOVERNMENTS AT ALL LEVELS SHOULD DECLARE STATE OF EMERGENCY ON OUR ROADS…

can road, and careless and senseless driving are minimised, because penalties are very heavy and strict on any traffic offenders. Americans have uncompromising standards when comes to the issue of safety on their roads, hence most of their vehicles are road worthy complete with good tires, well trained and licenced drivers behind the wheels. Now coming back home, it’s going to take eternity and divinity to restructure our society and get good orientation and workable ideas to lay strong foundations for development that will last till eternity. Ours is a society that lack conscience and commitment, both from the leaders and the led. What interest us mostly is what we can get and not what we can do to make Nigeria great. Little wonder that our legislators are the highest paid politicians in the whole world and they have little contributions to show for this. I wonder when we are going to celebrate uninterrupted power supply in this nation. With 55 years of working experience, we are celebrating mediocrity, jubilating over less than 5000mw of electricity supply, while the global standard is 1,000mw for 1,000,000 people, which

means Nigeria’s electricity need is about 160, 000mw to meet the global standard. This explain why majority of our young bodies are idle and non productive, and many big time manufacturers have moved out of the country to other neighbouring nations. Our roads speak volume of the type of human species we are made of. I cannot imagine governors seating over the affairs of their states and the workers under them would be owned six to eight months arrears of salaries. The governments at all levels should declare state of emergency on our roads so as to save more lives from being wasted through road accidents. The government should make it a point of duty to collect taxes from everyone that makes money on Nigerian soils both citizens and foreigners to rake in more money for the provision of social amenities and services to the citizenry. The anti-corruption of President Buhari is paying off at last. People now think twice before venturing into anything fraudulent. Pastor Taiwo wrote from Ogbomoso via taiwodebo@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 13, 2015

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Corruption: EFCC on special courts

he Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Chairman, Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde, added his voice lately to the clamour for special courts to fast-track the prosecution of corruption suspects. “I think it will be very helpful. It will improve the anti-corruption drive tremendously if dedicated courts or specialized courts are created; or we designate certain courts specifically for economic and financial crimes and corruption. I think it will also give room for specialization, making them proficient in what they do. In a situation whereby a judge listens to a case of divorce and then the next case is armed robbery, the next one is rape, then they go into corruption, he must have lost concentration because judges are human beings, no matter how good they are”, Lamorde stated. Our impression had been that the Federal Government had gone far with arrangements to establish special courts to handle the scores of cases of corruption still pending, as well as new ones now springing up. This stemmed from earlier reports that the Muhammadu Buhari administration was contemplating the setting up of such courts strictly for the purpose of

prosecuting public sector and other cases of corruption, including tax evasion. Former President Goodluck Jonathan, while swearing-in former Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Mariam Aloma Mukhtar, in 2012, suggested likewise when he said: “Our citizens complain of delayed trial particularly in cases of corruption, terrorism and other matters of serious concern”. Unfortunately, the suggestion was tactically declined by Mukhtar. But under the present Buhari government, the hope of the public was raised about the establishment of special courts in recent times, not just because of the President’s intense campaign against graft, but the need for swift dispensation of justice, considering how the conventional courts, in connivance with complicit lawyers defending persons docked for their heartless looting of state funds especially between 1999 and 2007, bungled the course of justice. Some of the suspects are still åwaxing stronger on the political stage instead of quietly retiring to private life or hiding their faces in shame. A lot of them believe judgement day will never come, even when Nigerians have never ceased to agitate for the conclusion of their

October 13, 1976 The first electron micrograph of an Ebola viral particle was obtained by Dr. F.A. Murphy, who was then working at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), a national public health institute in the United States. Ebola virus disease (EVD), Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF), or simply Ebola, is a disease of humans and other primates caused by an Ebola virus. Symptoms start two days to three weeks after contracting the virus.

SPECIAL COURTS… WILL GO A LONG WAY IN SHORTENING THE ITCHING FINGERS AND INSATIABLE GLUTTONY OF PUBLIC OFFICERS, ESPECIALLY prosecution and making them face the wrath of justice. The need for special courts to try corrupt persons deserves no further emphasis, for justice delayed, as the popular saying goes, is justice denied. We do not know the direction Lamorde was coming from when he made his recent case for special courts. It is, however, not improbable that the EFCC boss has not seen enough signs of the courts coming on stream soon. Nonetheless, we do not believe that the President Buhari administration, the judiciary and legislature have not realised the urgency for the establishment of such courts as yet. We also have no reason to discountenance the report, lately, by a national daily (not National Mirror), that majority of the judges nominated for placement as possible heads of special anti-corruption courts being contemplated by the government failed integrity

ON THIS DAY October 13, 2010 The 2010 Copiapo mining accident in Copiapo, Chile, came to an end when all the 33 miners affected arrived at the surface after surviving a record 69 days underground awaiting rescue. The mining accident, also known then as the “Chilean mining accident”, began in the afternoon of Thursday, August 5, 2010, as a significant cave-in at the troubled 121-year-old San Jose copper–gold mine.

tests conducted by the nation’s security agencies. The report did say 37 of such courts were underway to cover the nation’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja. Among the major criteria for nominating judges to the special courts were that they must be bold enough to deliver impartial judgements; as well as have tolerable numbers of judgements dismissed by the Court of Appeal. About 100 judges described as the best of the pack from the bench were reportedly selected from courts across the country by the leadership of the nation’s judiciary for screening by security agencies before they would finally be inaugurated. There is, consequently, every reason to believe that the heart of the FG is still upbeat in its desire to give the nation special courts which will go a long way in shortening the itching fingers and insatiable gluttony of public officers, especially, entrusted with public funds. We believe very strongly that the establishment of special courts by the Buhari administration to handle corruption and related cases would drive home the seriousness of the government to truly confront corruption and its purveyors.

October 13, 2013 The was a stampede on a bridge near the Ratangarh Mata Temple in Datia district, Madhya Pradesh, India, during the Hindu festival Navratri, which led to the deaths of 115 people, with more than 110 others injured. The stampede occurred during the Navratri festival dedicated to the worship of the Hindu goddess - Durga. About 500,000 pilgrims were estimated to have flocked to the Ratangarh Mata Temple.

Business

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

New tax regime hits prime property in UK

FHA to rehabilitate IDPs in North-east 30

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Buhari’s anti-graft war causes lull in Dubai’s property business 25

AIRLINES’ FLIGHT SCHEDULES Med-View Airline

Protesting workers

Tackling unemployment crisis through entrepreneurship initiatives Over the years, government has been putting efforts through various programmes and policies to create jobs for the teeming unemployed youths. Many of such initiatives have failed due to lack of proper direction and implementation. In this analysis by ABOLAJI ADEBAYO, experts and stakeholders speak on how Nigeria could wriggle out of the socio-economic crisis of joblessness, particularly among the unemployed youths.

hat Nigeria is going through one of its most challenging period of socio-economic distortions in the past few months is no longer to those who know how fiscal imbalances could undermine the most thought out policy measures for development. With declining revenues for an economy that is structurally defective from its chief foreign exchange earning sources, the past

10 months of the year have not only accentuated the problem of unemployment in the country but also portended grave social insecurity crisis for a government that came in with a strong determination to fix the economy, curb corruption, and prioritise youth development agenda in its economic revitalization agenda. President Muhammadu Buhari, had at the peak of the 2015 elec-

Unemployment is recorded to be highest amongst

Nigerian youth with the unemployment put at 48 per cent for those aged 15- 24 and 28.4 per cent for those aged 25-34

tioneering campaigns said if voted into office, one of the key issues that would be given urgent attention in his party’s change mantra is job creation. He promised to create three million jobs yearly as a strategic measure to bridge the yawning unemployment gap. Today, after nearly five months in the saddle, the President appeared to have met on ground what he bargained for with most of his economic measures yet to find real focus, even as the unemployment challenge keeps mounting by the day. Experts have, however, have identified entrepreneurship as one of the most feasible options open to the administration in its strive to create jobs and navigate through the challenges of

economic under-development and give Nigerians hope about the future many are looking forward to for improved dividends of democracy. Statistics provided by the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, LCCI, indicates that official unemployment rate was at a record level of 26.5 per cent in 2014 while it is estimated to hit 35 per cent in four years at the current growth rate. Unemployment is recorded to be highest amongst Nigerian youth with the unemployment put at 48 per cent for those aged 15- 24 and 28.4 per cent for those aged 25-34. Also, Trading Economics, quoting National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, stated that unemployment rate in Nigeria increased to 8.20 in 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

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Tackling unemployment crisis through entrepreneurship initiatives CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19 the second quarter of 2015 from 7.50 per cent in the first quarter of the same year. This statistics by the NBS has generated various controversy and disbelief of the accuracy of the real data though. Nonetheless, experts believed that the unemployment rate is too high and negatively impacting on the nation’s socio-economy. This has prompted intensified campaign for self employment among the teeming Nigerian youths. While the existing enterprises are not developing to accommodate more wore employees due to various challenges in term of infrastructure, many other investors and would-be entrepreneurs especially the youths are afraid to start up new businesses. The non-availability of jobs is not due to the inability to create jobs but failure on the part of the government to create enabling environment for such jobs create by private entrepreneurs to thrive. Experts have identified the challenges such as skill and human capacity issues; hash business environment – infrastructure lapses, policy and regulatory shortcomings; access and cost of funds; macroeconomic challenges including foreign exchange, interest rate and inflation; multiple taxation; inadequate incentives for entrepreneurial development among others. They believed that the job creation scheme of the Federal Government would be feasible if the obstacles to entrepreneurship in the country could be tackled head-on or at least reduced to the manageable level. While the government ceases to create new jobs, the corporate organisations also reduce their capacity intake rates due to the aforementioned challenges as many of them fold up in the face of the challenges, retrenching their workers to join the existing unemployment rate. With the rising challenge of getting a paid job, and corporate instability, many Nigerians are increasingly seeking alternatives. Despite the efforts of the past administrations to create jobs for the youths, with various intervention funds made available and youth empowerment programmes such as YOUWIN, and some others, but none was able to achieve any laudable feat. For instance, the Federal Government, under the former President Goodluck Jonathan, launched a programme termed National Schools Agricultural Programme, NSAP, initiative in 2014 targeted at creating more jobs through agriculture. In addition to existing initiatives geared towards economic development, the President had promised to increase food production and create 3.5 million jobs and boost domestic food production by 20 million metric tonnes by 2015 through its newly launched National Schools Agricultural Programme, NSAP. However, up till today, jobs have not been created through the programme, while the country still depends largely on im-

Buhari

Wabba

The orientation must start from the school, teach them the rudiment of business and how to manufacture, after their youth service, the government has to set them up in their areas of business learning and monitor them to grow to the point of manufacturing

portation of foods. Experts blamed the failure of such programmes on poor implementation. They however, said that the target of the jobcreation scheme by the present administration may not be achieved without proper implementation and involvement of the OPS as well as other government agencies. Since the previous administrations failed to achieve their job-creation aim due to lack of involvement of the proper private sectors in their policies and programmes, experts have advised the Buhari-led government to work hand in hand with the organised private sectors. Speaking on their role as agency, the Director General of Industrial Training Fund, ITF, Dr. Juliet Chukkas-Onaeko said that the role of the agency was to make sure the objective of the scheme was achieved by supporting the government. She said that the delay in the taking off of the scheme was due to the fact that the President was tackling the issue of insecurity first in order to be able to create enabling environment for job creation. The ITF boss said: “While the President is talking insecurity, ITF is to make sure the government succeed in its plan

of job creation. On our own part, we have been creating jobs through trainings and partnerships with entrepreneurs over the years and our efforts have yielded positive results.” While the President has not yet reveal the strategy and the sector(s) through which to create his intended annual 300 million jobs, experts have been suggesting the ways out. To create 300 million jobs annually, an agribusiness expert, Anga Sotonye proposed that the Federal Government should earmark a particular amount of money every year to empower about two million youths annually with N5 million each along agribusiness and agriculture value chains and other sectors such as Information and communication technology. According to him, at least 60 per cent of them would succeed and would be able to employ at least three additional persons. He said the multiplier effect would be more than the target of the government. He added that the government should not leave or send those who fail out of the business but verify the cause of their failure instead; retrain, reimburse and get them back into the business. He said that out of them, at least another 40 per cent would succeed. The Director General of Federal Insti-

tute of Industrial Research, FIIRO, Dr. (Mrs.) Gloria Elemo wanted research institutes like FIIRO to be involved in the scheme for provision of required equipment and machines as well as training. She also tasked government to partner with private organized sector, OPS, in the training aspect based on their experience. The Head, Public Relations and Membership services of Nigerian Association of Small and Medium Enterprises,Mr. Nerus Ekezie, also emphasised the need for a continual engagement of youths in business activities in every sector and in agribusiness in particular. Ekezie, who bemoaned the low level of youth engagement in paid employment, said that the situation posited a danger for the growth of the economy of the country. He said that the only thing left is to reorientate the youths and empower them economically as Nigeria seems to be losing direction on what to do with the potentiality of its youths to secure a better Nigeria tomorrow. He said: “If we fail to put our youths on the right path, engage them in business, empower them financially, we would be making a grave mistake of securing a great economic nation. “The orientation must start from the school, teach them the rudiment of business and how to manufacture, after their youth service, the government has to set them up in their areas of business learning and monitor them to grow to the point of manufacturing. “At least, everybody must know one aspect of agriculture or agribusiness and should be able to produce at least one thing for the nation.” Meanwhile, the Ekezie advised the youths to get the required knowledge and proper training of the business or artisan first and then look for finance through government intervention, while also advising the government to fully involve business organisations like NASME and others in its programmes.

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Business News

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

NPA seeks improved port infrastructure to facilitate export

he Managing Director of Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) Mallam Habib Abdulahi, has advocated for the provision of adequate port infrastructure by the Federal Government and the private sector to facilitate export activities through the nation’s seaports. He however pointed out that other factors which might be extraneous to the Authority are also critical towards achieving enhanced export activities in the nation’s seaports. Stressing that the provision of appropriate port infrastructure was necessary to enhance trade in the economy, Malam Habib assures that the Authority would encourage any effort designed to change the trade orientation of the nation from import dependent to export. The Managing Director was speaking through the General Manager Capital Project, Engr. Rufai Mohammed in a paper titled “Providing Enabling Port Infrastructure to Enhance Trade” at the just concluded two day International Seatrade and Investment Convention (ISIC) 2015, under the theme “Exploring New Trade Frontiers”. He reiterated that as globally accepted seaports accounts for

over 80 per cent by volume of International trade and commerce, emphasising that for a seaport to be competitive, it must have a robust infrastructural base amongst other requirements. He argued that with the major infrastructural improvements embarked upon by the Authority in its ports and harbour in all its four pilotage districts, coupled with the impending 25 year port master plan which has reached an advanced stage, the Organisation is being positioned to properly meet the demand of all categories of port users for both imports and exports. Malam Habib explained that mindful of the Federal Government determination of delivering an efficient port system for the overall good of the nation’s economy, the Authority was consolidating and entrenching the gains of the port reform by facilitating and synergizing the activities of the Private Terminal Operators, Shipping Lines, Freight Forwarders and other stakeholders, as well as improving the existing port infrastructure. The Managing Director who enumerated a number of completed and on-going capital projects embarked upon by the Au-

NIGALEX boss explains growth strategy

igerian Aluminum Extrusion s Limited (NIGALEX) has unfolded a set of strategy to boost its operation, reinforce its competitive edge and put the company on the greater path of profitability. Besides, the company has identified some of the problems militating against the manufacturers of aluminum products and appeals for immediate intervention by the Federal Government as a way of ensuring lasting solution. Addressing journalists at the company’s Head Quarters in Lagos at the weekend, the Managing Director and chief Executive Officer, Mr Iyiola Ishola explained that the company was currently on the next phase of its expansion drive, business growth and re-positioning for optimal performance. I what amounted to a forecast of the company’s strategic plan in the next five year. Specifically, Ishola identified the efforts being put in place in order to move the company to the next level. “We have commenced strategic popularization of our value through effective partnering with the press to create the needed awareness for the company’s products. We are ready to increase production output

through our installed capacity of 7, 5oo tonnage per annum and develop requisite channels to sell these outputs. We shall embark on effective logistical plans to enhance operation within the agreed date and time. We are already investing heavily in human capital with a view to building the required capacity with renewable knowledge, skills and the right attitude that meet the requirements of modern production process. “We shall pursue progressive expansion of our market and penetrate the market with our products as a gradual process of market dominance. We shall diversify the company’s products to cater for the various consumption strata in our economy. We shall upgrade the company’s production equipment processes and control for enhanced global standard. We shall initiate effective infrastructural development to ensure comfortable environment.’ Ishola said. In his clinical review of the operating environment, he pinpointed the challenges which have always impacted negatively on the operations of the companies in the sector such as low level of awareness of the major brands like NIGALEX, preference for cheaper but low quality products, unwholesome practices of some dealers and fabricators.

operational efficiency”, he added. In his goodwill message at the opening ceremony of the convention, the Managing Director had commended the conveyors of the event, being the first of its kind in nation’s mari-

thority explained that the projects were meant to add efficiency to the nation’s seaports as well as to make the system competitive, effective and user friendly. “Sustained efforts at providing the enabling port infrastructure has impacted on the overall port

time industry for their fore-sight and said the event would not have come at a better than now “as the nation strives to promote export trade, in that way changing the orientation of our nations sea trade which is import dependent”.

L – R: Ag. President ,Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) Mr. Oluseyi Abe, Registrar and Chief Executive (CIS) Mr. Adedeji Ajadi, and Director, Global Business Development ,Chartered Institute for Securities and Investment, UK Mr Kevin Moore during his courtesy visit to the Institute’s Secretariat in Lagos.

FBN Holdings, Fidelity Bank optimistic on market rebound Johnson Okanlawon

BN Holdings and Fidelity Bank have said that the full takeoff of new economic management team would spur activities in the stock market. Addressing stock brokers during the closing gong of Titanium sponsors of CEO dinner in Lagos at the weekend, they assured stakeholders that the capital market is well repositioned to leverage opportunities that would emerge from the new administration. The Group Managing Director designated, FBN Holdings Plc, Mr UK Eke noted that though the

global indices remained low, Nigerian economy remains resilience with sound bank fundamentals. He said, “ The government is taking shape and soon they will start supporting the CBN on its fiscal policies. “We are optimistic of the future. We have concluded our merchant banking plans and by the end of this year, we will commence operations. We have confidence in the market and this is a good time for investors to buy first bank shares.” The Group Managing Director of Fidelity Bank, Mr.Nnamdi Okonkwo explained that the bank has structured and upgraded its processes in order to continue to

deliver value to its shareholders. Okonkwo, who noted that the bank has consistently paid dividend to shareholders over the years, added that the dividend paid in the last financial year, amid harsh economic environment attested to the bank’s readiness to continually improve in its operations. He also explained that the successful conclusion of the bank’s N30 billion local bond issued this year is another evident of the bank’s commitment to continue to enhance profitability, pointing out that the bank put various measures in place before unveiling its new identity.

Daikin reiterates importance of Nigeria market in Africa David Audu

fter its debut in Nigerian market in October 2013, the air conditioner manufacturing firm, Daikin Industries Limited, has stated that Nigeria is the most important market to its brand in Africa. This was disclosed during the working visit of Mr. Sano Ryoji, Daikin’s President, Middle East & Africa in Lagos. The company said it would not take the company a long time to commence manufacturing activity in the country but the Japanese brand is looking at the completely knockdown

units (CKU) as the first option. Ryoji who spoke glowingly about the Nigerian market said that “Nigeria energy consumption is very central in the choice of an air conditioner. Closely related to the inverter advantage, is the fact that Daikin air conditioners have built –in protection against unstable power supply and blackout. This completely eliminates the need for an AVS device or stabilizer. The built-in voltage protection makes it possible for Daikin to operate as low as 198V and as high as 264V, without compromising cooling comfort. (The standard voltage operating

range is 220V-240V) The company, which also used the occasion to reassure Nigerians of the quality of Daikin airconditioners stated that Daikin high reliability continues with its auto-restart function which essentially stores all operating settings in the event of a power failure. At the onset of power, the unit restarts operation based on previously set mode, temperature, fan speed and swing. “Outdoor air has many atmospheric and corrosive pollutants such as dust, humidity, rain, etc., that damage the heat exchanger coils of air conditioners.”

Business News

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

We reversed restrictions on rice import Parliamentary to check smuggling –Customs Group seeks hike FRANCIS EZEM

he Nigeria Customs Service has said that its decision to remove the restrictions on the importation of rice through the land borders was part of measures to check the massive smuggling of the staple food, through which the Federal Government has lost huge import revenue. Under the new policy approved by the Comptroller General of the service Col. Hameed Ali (rtd) importation of parboiled rice would be through both the seaports and land border, both of which will attract 10 per cent import duty and 60 per cent levy, bring to a total of 70 per cent tariff. Similarly, in the new tariff regime, rice millers will enjoy preferential levy with valid quota allocation, which would however attract a duty rate of 10 per cent with a 20 per cent levy on rice importation, bringing to a total of 30 per cent tariff. The Federal Government had since 2007 restricted the importation of the product to the seaports alone, as it was believed that importation through land borders was fraught with massive fraud. National Public Relations Officer of the service, Mr. Wale Adeniyi, who made the clarification, disclosed that the Comptroller General of the service, Ali has also approved the removal of the restriction on the importation of the commodity.

According to him, the government imposed the restriction because the borders were believed to be a difficult terrain in terms of effectively monitoring and controlling the importation of the commodity a development that has proved to be counterproductive, as it has fuelled massive smuggling of the commodity over time He said: “Over the years, importation has been restricted to the seaports because the border authorities found it difficult to effectively monitor and control importation of rice”. “The decision to ban rice importation through the land borders has not proved to be an effective measure because smuggling of the product thrives with people using different means of conveyance including small trucks, bicycles and even animals; putting the smuggled products on donkeys and some actually carry it on their heads”, Adeniyi added. Investigations however showed that apart from checking the thriving smuggling of the commodity, the service believes that the new policy would enable it streamline its anti-smuggling war by focusing on prohibited items such as poultry products, which are also massively smuggled across unapproved border routes including the creeks and waterways. “These new measures will be for customs to streamline its anti-smuggling operations at the border areas and ensure that all those importers through the borders bring their rice through approved routes and pay their extant duty”, Adeniyi, a Deputy Comptroller of the service also said.

L-R: Business Executive, Commercial Banking, Sterling Bank Plc, Mr. Obi Egbarin; Executive Director, Sterling Bank Plc, Mr. Lanre Adesanya; General Manager, Lagos Waste Management Authority (LAWMA), Engr. Abdulwahab Ogunbiyi and Assistant General Manager, Adm and Human Resources, Mr. Segun Adeniji, during the Bank’s courtesy visit to the Executive Management of Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) in Lagos

SA ranks high on global shopping index

resident of the South African Council of Shopping Centres, SACSC, Nomzamo Radebe has said South Africa has the sixth highest number of shopping centres in the world, boasting almost 2,000 shopping centres with a floor area covering 23 million square metres. The figure was revealed as part of specially-commissioned research undertaken by Dirk Prinsloo of Urban Studies for the latest Shopping Centre Directory, published by SACSC.

It forms part of the wealth of research and information generated and shared by SACSC for stakeholders. The three-day SACSC Congress is the largest conference of its kind in Africa, and this year has attracted over 1,700 delegates from across the country, the continent and the globe. This is unsurprising, considering the significant and valuable role shopping malls and retailers play in the nation’s economy and society. Radebe said, “Retail and re-

tail property are among the most exciting and innovative industries in South Africa, across the continent and around the globe”. South Africa with an impressive career in finance and property brings her valuable experience, sharp focus and energised vision to driving South Africa’s shopping centre and retail industries into the future. Radebe, who took up her new position at SACSC in July, is already finding new ways to leverage on the council’s strong foundation.

in Tobacco tax

ax on tobacco should be raised to persuade more smokers to quit, a parliamentary group has said. The tax rate currently goes up by 2% above inflation each year, but the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Smoking and Health wants that increased to 5%. It says an extra £100m per year would be generated to spend on anti-smoking projects, and the rate of decline in smoking would be doubled. Tobacco manufacturers described the proposal as “counter-productive”. MPs recommended that spending on anti-smoking schemes should be increased from £200m a year to £300m, which would be funded by the increase in tax. In their report, which will be submitted to the Treasury’s Comprehensive Spending Review, they also said cutting the number of smokers would reduce demand on the NHS. Group chairman Bob Blackman, Conservative MP for Harrow East, called on Chancellor George Osborne to increase tobacco taxes and “invest in tobacco control in the forthcoming Spending Review”. He said: “Smokers don’t just die early, they suffer many years of disease and

disability before they do, putting pressure not just on the NHS, but additional disability and social care costs and reduced income tax. “Every pound invested over the next five years could deliver £11 to the public purse.” Andrea Crossfield, chief executive of Tobacco Free Futures, said there was “public support” for such a policy. Around a third of smokers would also support the move if the money was invested in helping people quit, she said. “What we need to see is fewer people smoking and that is a government ambition, to create a tobacco-free generation. “None of us want to see our children starting to smoke.” The Tobacco Manufacturers’ Association said tobacco tax had increased by more than 40% over the past five years - and that the UK had Europe’s most expensive tobacco. “Every time taxation is increased on tobacco it loses the Treasury millions that could have been spent on public services,” said its director general Giles Roca. Forest, an organisation that describes itself as the friend of the smoker, said higher taxes would lead to more people buying tobacco abroad or on the black market. (Source – bbcnews.com)

Berlin protest against TTIP trade deal

housands have protested in the German capital Berlin against a planned free-trade deal between the EU and US.

Organisers said 250,000 people took part in the rally; police put the figure at around 100,000. Opponents of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) say it is undemocratic and threatens consumer and worker rights. But supporters of the deal, which lowers trade barriers, say it would boost economies and create jobs. Hundreds of buses shuttled protesters to Saturday’s demonstration in the German

capital. “We are here because we do not want to leave the future to markets, but on the contrary to save democracy,” Michael Mueller, president of the ecological organisation German Friends of Nature, told AFP. The German government supports the trade pact, with Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel warning of “scaremongering” in a letter published in several German newspapers. Talks on the TTIP are due to finish next year. If agreed it would be the biggest trade deal of its kind. (Source – bbcnews.com)

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Jobs & Career

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

ILO raises concern over youth unemployment crisis Rapid changes in technology, in patterns of work and employment relationship, as well as new forms of start-ups, require constant adjustment to new labour market conditions and addressing skills mismatches. Providing youth the best opportunity to transition to a decent job calls for investing in education and training of the highest possible quality, providing youth with skills that match labour

Sylva Emeka-Okereke

nternational Labour Organization, ILO, has raised serious concerns over high level of unemployed youths, disclosing that it has remained above its pre-crisis level. It stated for millions of young people across the globe to find a decent job remained a major challenge. The global youth unemployment rate stabilized at 13 percent, following a period of rapid increase between 2007 and 2010, but it is still well above the pre-crisis level of 11.7 percent, according to the ILO’s Global Employment Trends for Youth 2015 report released recently. The report highlights a drop in the number of unemployed youth to 73.3 million in 2014. This 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 (nonEU) and CIS, Latin America and the Caribbean and Sub-Saharan Africa. The remaining regions, 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 and 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 projections. “Almost 43 per cent of the global youth labour force is still either unemployed or working yet living in poverty’’. “It is encouraging to see an improvement in the youth employment trends compared to the GET for Youth 2013’’. “But we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that recovery is not universal and that almost 43 per cent of the global youth labour force is still either unemployed or working yet living in poverty. It’s still not easy to be young and starting out in today’s labour market’’, Sara Elder, the report’s lead author stated 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 un-

Child labour

we shouldn’t lose sight of the fact that recovery is not universal and that almost

43 per cent of the global youth

labour force is still either unemployed

or working yet living in poverty. It’s still not easy to be young and starting out in today’s labour marke

employed, 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. The report also highlights a persistent gender gap with the rates of young women’s participation in the labour market being significantly lower than those of young men in most regions. They continue to be also more exposed to unemployment than their male counterpart. More young people in developed economies are now finding work but the quality of jobs is below their expectations. And still too many remain stuck in long-term unemployment. In the European Union, more than one in

three unemployed youth has been looking for work for more than one year. Meanwhile, developing economies continue to be plagued by structural underemployment, informal employment and working poverty. While working poverty (living on less than US$2 per day) has decreased over the past 20 years, it still affects 169 million (one in three) young workers in the developing world. The number increases to 286 million if the near poor are included (living on less than US$4 a day). The report offers new evidence on how young people move into the labour market based on data from recent school-to-work transition surveys (SWTS)* . For young people who aspire to a stable job, the transition period takes an average of 19 months. A young person with university education is able to move to a stable job in one-third of the time needed for a youth with primary education. In most cases the transition takes longer for young women than men. Time to scale up action: Investing in skills and in quality job creation

market demands, giving them access to social protection and basic services regardless of their contract type, as well as levelling the playing field so that all aspiring youth can attain productive employment regardless of their gender, income level or socioeconomic background. A combination of efforts that place priority on job creation and target the specific disadvantages of young people are required to reap the benefits of public and private investments and of other measures to restore economic growth. The Global Employment Trends for Youth 2015 report includes data from 30 school-to-work transition surveys (SWTS) from the Work4Youth project, a global partnership between the ILO and The MasterCard Foundation.

ILO DG - Guy Ryder

Jobs & Career

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

LCCI harps on benefits of entrepreneurship Abolaji Adebayo

he Director General of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, LCCI, Muda Yusuf, has identified entreprenueship capacity building as key to current efforts to revitalize the economy and address the worrisome unemployment situation in the country. According to him, the only available avenue for the youths to get employed is to be an employer, saying that the only sustainable and credible job is the one created by an individual. Yusuf projected that if entrepreneurship initiatives at the Organised Private Sector, OPS, and public sector are properly pursued with appropriate fiscal and monetary policy mea-

sures , more than 30 million jobs could be created if proper infrastructure and policies are put in place. Speaking on the role of Government towards creating jobs through entrepreneur, Yusuf said that both Federal Government and State Governments should strengthen their enterprise development initiatives such as promoting partnership and collaboration between the public and private sector; providing innovative credit schemes; and creating community investment trust and co-operatives that undertake economic activity in poor and rural areas. Other imperatives he identified for governments to pursue are; promoting the teaching of entrepreneurial skills in schools and colleges; using mentor-

Arunma Oteh nominated for Forbes Africa’s 2015 award Isaiah Erhiawarien

ormer DirectorGeneral of the Security and Exchange Commission, SEC, Ms. Arunma Oteh has been nominated for the Forbes Africa’s 2015 Person of the Year. Oteh who is currently the new Vice President and Treasurer of the World Bank, and wants to lend power to the elbow of women in Africa is nominated alongside President Muhammadu Buhari. Another Nigerian nominated for the award is Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie , famed Nigerian author, weaving stories that present a true African picture to the world. Public voting has already opened for the shortlist of the Forbes Africa 2015 Person of the Year nominees scheduled

to take place in Nairobi, Kenya at the end of November this year, which will attracted the highest calibre of nominees from across the continent. The award celebrates ‘The individual who, for better or worse, has had the most influence on events of the year gone by’. Commenting on the award, Managing Editor of Forbes Africa, Chris Bishop said that “Every year I get calls from around the world from journalists about the award. This is a prestigious award that draws the eyes of the world. What I love most about this award is that the winners use the status of it to carry out good work in Africa that improves lives.” Other nominees are Mohammed Dewji, Entrepreneur and philanthropist who

spent the year strengthening MeTL Group, his family business, which employs tens of thousands of Africans and trades across the continent. Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma , African Union Chairperson, working towards a united and strong Africa. She has pushed the cause of women and that of land rights in 2015. Public votes will make up a weighted portion of what will be the judging panels’ final decision on who will be the 2015 Person of the Year. The judges are Aubrey Matshiqi, South Africanbased political commentator, Chris Bishop, Managing Editor of Forbes Africa, Joseph Bonyo, Editorial Manager - East Africa for ABN, Methil Renuka, Editor of Forbes Woman Africa and Peace Hyde, West Africa media personality.

ing as a means of business skills development to encourage skill sharing and long-term personal relationship between mentor and mentee; development of clusters and industrial parks and enterprise zones; provision of market information as well as other relevant information; development of incubation centres and enterprise development centres; creation Business Job Centers (JBCs); Business advisory services, especially for small businesses. The LCCI boss said: “They should: provide vocational skills and incomegeneration opportunities for the marginalised, such as women, people with disabilities and the unemployed, educate informal traders and community members to enhance their business management skills and financial literacy, educate informal traders and community members to enhance their business management skills and financial literacy and create platforms for effective dispute resolution.” He further said that capacity build-

ing for enterprises; trade promotion and facilitation as well as support and incentives should be provided to enhance enterprise promotion activities. Speaking on the viability of OPS to create such jobs on behalf of the government, Yusuf said that the LCCI mentoring programme 2013 to date has produced 100 well mentored youth that have started their own businesses in different sectors of the economy. “They now employ between 4 to 15 other youth per business.” He added that through its vocational programme – German dual Vocational training (Phase1) 2014 to date, over 100 youths have been enrolled, trained and certified in the approved profession such as Mechanical construction and Electronics/electrics, Mechatronics (Industrial/Automobile); Masonry/ Bricklaying; Business Studies/Project Management; Metal fabrication and Welding, Carpentry and Joinery; Refrigeration and Air-conditioning works, Plumbing and Pipe fittings.

Workers in office

Unions must ensure decent workers treatment, says ICU

eneral Secretary of the Industrial and Commercial Workers’ Union, ICU, Ghana, Mr Solomon Kotei has urged trade unions to ensure that workers get decent treatment wherever they were employed. Kotei, who gave the reminder at this year’s observation of Decent Work Day in Accra, said the essence of the protest was to bring to the attention of the government, authorities in charge of labour issues, NGOs, the public, and workers, the injustice and deprivation being meted out to workers, who by no fault of theirs, had found themselves in indecent em-

ployment. The Day, which falls on October 7 of every year, is aimed at reminding Employers to be mindful of the International Labour Organization’s concept of ‘Decent Work,’ and make it productive. This year’s celebration was organized by the Industrial Liaison Council, Ghana (ILCG), whose tripartite membership comprise the ICU, the Ghana Mine Workers’ Union (GMWU), and the Ghana Transport, Petroleum and Chemical Workers’ Union (GTPCWU), on the theme: ‘From Decent Work to Precarious Work: The Case of the Ghanaian Worker.’

Kotei, who is also the Chairman of the ILCG, pointed out that the gradual and steady conversion of decent to precarious work, was becoming more and more worrying to trade union organizations, academics, and many labourfriendly organizations the world over. He said it was regrettable that Ghana’s laws were silent on what constituted decent work, thus opening the floodgates for this phenomenon to reach a fever pitch. According to him, the International Labour Organizations, ILO’s, concept of ‘Decent Work Agenda’

comprised four inter-related and mutually inclusive objectives, namely, creating employment, guaranteeing the recognition and respect of international labour standards, extending social protection, and promoting social dialogue. He explained that in line with the ILO’s concept, ‘Decent Work’ could be described as work that was productive, gave fair income, security at the workplace, and social protection for the family, equal opportunities and treatment, better prospects for personal employment and social integration, freedom to organize and participate in decision-making.

He was quick to point out, however, that the conversion of decent to precarious work had endangered work and deprived workers of their rights, like freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining. The ILCG Chairman described precarious workers as those who filled permanent job needs, but were denied permanent employee rights. “Globally these workers are subject to unstable employment, lower wages and more dangerous working conditions. They rarely receive social benefits and are

often denied the right to join a union. Even when they have the right to unionize, workers are scared to organize if they know they are easily replaceable, “Mr Kotei explained. He said the first indicator of precarious work in the country is earnings, adding that here we look at those who are poorly paid. This, he said, included those earning the minimum wage and less, and also those whose earnings were above the minimum standard, but below a designated level.

Touching on the form and shape of precarious work in the country, the ICU Secretary General said a lot of employers were using all kinds of subterfuge, like reorganization, amalgamation, takeovers, outsourcing to concentrate on core business, among others, to unjustly retrench workers. “They do this mainly to cut down on operational costs and maximize profits at the expense of workers.

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Real Estate & Environment

Buhari’s anti-graft war takes toll on Dubai’s property business As the President Mohammadu Buhari-led administration continues its crusade against fiscal indiscipline with unrelenting vigour in the nation’s public sector, Nigerian money bags, who have over the years been racing to Dubai as safe haven for property investments, are gradually weighing the risks of their adventures with many now lying low to escape the prying eyes of anti-graft crusaders. SYLVA EMEKA-OKEREKE reports.

rior to now, Dubai used to be safe haven for property investments. Nigerians as well as other investors in the African continent preferred to invest in the oil-rich country noted for its tourist attractions. This penchant for luxury apartments in Dubai made some foreign and local property agencies to open offices in the country with the plan of luring prospective investors into the emirate country with the propensity of growing property markets. National Mirror r had revealed that The First Group, a British-owned property development company with its headquarters in Dubai, is presently operating at the local wing of Muritala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos, where some daring marketing representatives approach unsuspecting travellers to convince them to buy property in Dubai. For instance, some notable foreign-based estate marketing agencies have shown strong presence in Lagos, Abuja, Port Har-

Nigeria’s real estate suffers amid liquidity squeeze 27

court and some parts of the country. National Mirror spoke to one of the marketing officials at the airport, where she disclosed that they have the mandate to bring over ten Nigerian investors into Dubai’s property market on monthly basis. Stella Uzoka, one of the foreign agency’s Sales Manager told National Mirror at the airport, that the group has various luxury properties in some prime areas across the globe with its speciality in Dubai property market. “Our group basically offers extremely, exciting investment opportunities in luxury hotel apartments in the world’s most lucrative property markets. Investment in Dubai property will offer you great opportunity to own one or more units of four or five-star luxury hotels as well as serviced apartments in Dubai”, she told National Mirror Uzoka however noted that those apartments would be owned by investors while the management would be vested on its best hotel management firm, Wyndham, stress-

ing that the company will manage the apartments in the most-simple and profitable ways. Further investigations reveal that some notable world-class footballers like Kanu Nwankwo, Michael Owen, Andrey Shevchenko, Svetlana Kuznetsova and Bryan Habana are ambassadors of the group due to their interests in the property deals. The group, according to the sales manager, has twenty-five years experience in property marketing with offices in Russia, Almaty, Saudi Arabia, Abuja and Lagos state. Already, the firm said, it is offering iconic hotels in Dubai Marina at a lunch price of $545,000 while its Jumerirah village property is selling for $350,000 with daily appreciation of over 10 percent. Its property investments, according to investigations, ranges from $300,000 to $450,000, rising up to $600,000 with a flexible payment plan, spread over twenty-four

New property tax hits prime property in UK

months. Investors would have two ways to recoup their investments, either through capital appreciation (increase in the value of property over time) or rent (rental income), which is paid twice a year. With such investment plan, the return on investment yearly, staggering between rental income and capital appreciation will be on an average of 20 percent, subject to market dynamics. This is in addition to its long-term, tax-free, secured investments. Another foreign-based property marketing firm in Lagos and Abuja is the Global E.V.C Limited. Its mandate like the First Group is to lure prospective investors in Nigeria and other countries of the world to acquire property in Dubai. ”With our presence in the country, Nigerian investors would have the rare privilege of acquiring new housing estates in Dubai”, the firm stated. CONTINUED ON PAGE 26

Egypt stalls $35bn housing scheme amid recession 30

Real Estate & Environment

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Buhari’s anti-graft war takes toll on Dubai’s property business

CONTINUED FROM 25 The company’s sales representative and holiday consultant in Nigeria, Mr Augustine Obadele told National Mirror on Burdillon road, Lagos, that its holiday ownership programme would offer families opportunity to travel to Dubai for holiday, where they would have the chance to inspect some prime properties in the country. The consultant stated thus, “Thanks so much for your interest in our holiday ownership programme. I wish, you and your family will use this opportunity to visit Dubai on holiday trip. We will be very pleased to offer you two nights, free-lodge in one of the best hotels in Dubai”. Reacting to the fresh interests in Dubai property markets by Nigerian investors, some experts noted with dismay that, in spite of the growing risks associated with global property markets, Nigerian investors are still scrambling for a slice of the cake amid Nigeria’s financial sector, being threatened by global financial and economic crises. A Lagos-based lawyer with special interest in real estate, Barrister Bobajo Omowole wondered why Nigerian investors should invest in foreign property without ascertaining the legal implications of such investments. He cited the case of his friend, who bought property abroad, but could not meet-up with the payment schedule, forcing the government of the country to take over the property. Urging Nigerian investors to be wary of the marketing gimmicks of those foreign firms, Omowole said such move is capable of ripping-off unsuspecting Nigerian investors, advising that instead of investing in properties abroad, Nigerian investors should take advantage of the shortfall in the property stock in Nigeria. ”Nigerians should not be deceived by the gimmicks of those foreign companies. I advise them that before they buy any property abroad, they should look at the legal implications of such investments as well as the payment schedule. They should consider whether they can meet up the payment plan or else, they will lose their investments. If they venture into such investment without first considering these major issues, the government of that country will take over the investment for inability to complete payments as scheduled”, he stated. Omowole further stated , “’I know that if a foreign investor want to buy a property in Dubai, the person must have a shareholder in that country, who will also collect his own

Housing estate

percentage from the investment. The percentage might be very outrageous”. While encouraging Nigerians to buy property in Nigeria, instead of abroad, the legal luminary revealed that the United Nations Education and Scientific Cultural Organisations (UNESCO) report revealed that Nigeria is having a shortfall of 17 million housing stocks, noting that the country needs about 1.5 million housing units annually in the next 15 years to be able to withstand the test of time. He chided the federal and governments for not addressing the problems of the shortfalls in the housing units, adding that the governments have failed in their responsibility to deliver housing units to Nigerians as expected. According to him, from 2005 till this fiscal year, the housing stocks are going up, noting that unless governments intervene, the verdict will remain the same. ”If I had wanted to buy property abroad, I

would have bought more than 20 units, but it does not worth it, so I encourage Nigerian investors to buy property in Nigeria, instead of going abroad to buy such property”, Omowole affirmed. Some experts, who also spoke to National Mirror in Lagos said, despite the fact that Nigeria’s economy is facing serious capital flight; many Nigerians are still going abroad to invest. Investigations have shown that local investors, who are trying to invest in global property market would surely move abroad to fulfil their dream of owning luxury apartments. While some investors regard getting property abroad as being risky, others regard it as not being risky, rather involves huge funds with attendant ability to pay as at when due. Currently, there is increasing numbers of local investors looking abroad for mortgages and they might likely get better deals while others might risk their hard-earned invest-

Investigation further shows that many property buyers are moving to Britain, United States of America, Australia and New Zealand with fresh mandate to buy or let mortgages for an overseas

property, thus gaining income while owning properties that are likely to appreciate in the long run

Units of houses

ments. For instance, in France, a 20 year fixed rate now stands at 3 percent, an all-time low. A French private finance research has shown a lax in banks criteria to include increased loan to value levels as mortgage products are opened to investors. Presently, many banks abroad are willing to welcome borrowers, who simply work for stock markets that are listed on premium exchanges. This will no doubt, means greater numbers of non-residents been able to access larger number of mortgage products. Investigation further shows that many property buyers are moving to Britain, United States of America, Australia and New Zealand with fresh mandate to buy or let mortgages for an overseas property, thus gaining income while owning properties that are likely to appreciate in the long run Some local investors in Nigeria and some other African countries are seeing Dubai as an ideal place to invest. Already, data has shown that foreign investors are spending about $35 billion on mortgages between March 2013 and September 2014, about 46 percent increase year-in, yearout. Rental properties in popular holiday destinations around the global are desirable elements of property portfolios that have potential for capital growth. With Nigeria’s economy wobbling and fumbling, many local investors are thinking abroad with the sole mandate of making their investments worthwhile and Dubai seems to be benefiting from these imbalance deals.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Real Estate & Environment

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Nigeria’s real estate suffers amid liquidity squeeze

MORTGAGE NOTES with Adenike Fasanya-Osilaja

SYLVA EMEKA-OKEREKE

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

The Women Have Arrived at the Table

irst let me inform you that I am now on twitter, with the handle @NikeFinancePro. Please follow me for industry updates, news, and my analyses on various topics. So, I was privileged to present a paper on the issues facing the African woman in the real estate industry today, before a gathering of distinguished, intelligent and accomplished women, at a real estate conference held very recently, in Lagos, Nigeria. To say that I was absolutely blown away by the quality of participants at this session would be putting it very mildly. It was the most gratifying feeling to be sitting in the midst of my industry colleagues of the same sex and heritage, and I left the session rejuvenated and empowered beyond my expectations. I therefore wanted to share some of the issues discussed, and will do so in the next couple of column articles. Let us start with some statistics: • Women CONTROL less than 2% of the Real Estate market in Africa, by some estimates. • According to the global entrepreneurship monitor, 21.5% of female run businesses operate within the real estate services sector. • Other than South Africa where there is an equal ratio of men to women in the real estate industry, there are far more men dominating the real estate market in other parts of Africa. • In the US, the ratio of real estate entrepreneurs is 11:1 men to women, according to some research studies. This huge divide can be a result of several factors: Societal Norms: It has always been assumed in Africa, that the job of the woman is to take the name of a man as a validation of her integrity. She is expected to have a career (or more accurately, a job), that ensures she is at home by the time the husband returns, and has his food ready, the children bathed, fed and ready for bed, the house spotless etc. etc. This is entrenched in our consciousness from childhood, and every societal signal outside the home

also reinforced the notion, and any woman who bucked the trend would usually be seen as “forward”. Business Terrain: Wo m en are held accountable to different standards, leading to a greater challenge in the market place. I call this the “Little Woman” concept, where the woman is supposed to play a support role in the industry, while the men are the real players. Absent from such reasoning is the fact that women have proven over and over their ability to complete the same tasks, apply the same level of intellect, and achieve similar results to our male counterparts, many times with better focus and far less fuss. As a result, while women face a glass ceiling in most industries, I say that in the African real estate industry, a woman is actually facing a “rock ceiling” or a “reinforced steel ceiling”. The first look, the first interview and the first call have traditionally gone to the man, leading to an almost discriminatory investor “profiling” with the woman having to settle for a less challenging or fulfilling position than she would have wished for. The real estate industry, far more than others, still operates in a “Good old boy” environment. Three main advantages were identified at the session, as the catalysts for the women who decided to take on this ultra-masculine industry. The first advantage was having parents who believed in equal opportunities for their children regardless of gender, and who supported and encouraged their daughters to be comfortable in their career choices, whatever it may be. The second was the development and nurturing of self-confidence through a mastery of their craft, keeping themselves at least 2 steps ahead of their male counterparts. The final advantage was self-motivation and the constant desire and effort to excel in their chosen field. The good news from the industry however gives one a lot of optimism for the continued ascension

of the female real estate professional. Women are not content to be showing agents, secretaries and interior decorators any more (NOT that these are not wonderful careers), but we want to hammer in the nails, work on the architecture, develop estates, and own large commercial complexes now too. Is this overambitious, or a logical progression of the emancipation of the human mind to ensure the selffulfilment every human being so craves? Women are increasingly becoming Fortune 500 CEOs in all areas of the economic sector. Forbes listed 26 female Fortune 500 CEOs in 2014, versus only 2 in 2000. We must learn to celebrate and mourn at the same time, I guess. We celebrate the big leap, but we mourn the still lamentable numbers in the above statistic. If nothing else drives home the need for us women to be much more visible in the industry, I don’t know what will. The ability to be a wife, mother, cook, cleaner (you get the drift), while surviving in the unfamiliar terrain of real estate construction, finance, sales and support, is a true testament to the intelligence and talent of xxxxx womanhood, and a source of continuous pride to me as a practitioner in the industry. I always say us women not only break barriers and achieve great feats; we do so in full make up and high heels!! In my next piece, I will therefore be discussing a few female trailblazers in the global industry, as well as a few from the Nigerian sector, who have made a positive impression on me. Until then, please feel free to share, comment, ask questions or add to the conversation. Have a great week, and remember to be gracious to all around you. Adenike Fasanya-Osilaja https://www.linkedin.com/ in/adenikenikefasanyaosilaja

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.

ontrary to speculations that the nation’s real estate sector was immune from global financial crisis, experts say the sector is currently undergoing serious liquidity squeeze. This is on the heels of high rent as well as lease deposits of two to three years on units in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt among other states. Some experts have blamed the blames on the global economic recession that had left capital markets in comatose as well as the recent banking crisis. According to the experts, Nigeria is not immune to the present global economic recession; hence the world has become a global village. With the exposure to the capital market, the real estate segment is proving to be a high risk relative to other sectors of the nation’s economy and the infraction is expected to worsen, if the current mess in the financial sector is not arrested on time. With these challenges, Nigeria’s financial institutions are finding it difficult to secure credit financing internationally to fund some of their projects at home with limited access to finance banks have a de-

creased ability to lend at attractive rates. Margin accounts are disappearing as banks have refused to reschedule loan facilities granted to investors, just as investors are under stress to trade their shares in order to satisfy margin calls. Some investors, for fear of losing their equity investment, exchanged their stock collateral with property collateral. This bubble trend seems to have burst and is expected to worsen. Banks no longer advance more credit to housing speculators to complete their venture, leading to the abandonment of projects. A typical example is the Banana Island and Lekki Phase One and Two Housing projects. Many of the houses in these and other locations are built with funds from the capital market. It has now become very difficult for the investors to service their bank loans, and in so doing causing a serious liquidity crisis for the banks. Some investors (local and foreign) liquidated their position and abandoned some of the projects due to financing concerns creating more pandemonium to market stability. Some organizations spend up to 30 percent of their total operating expenditure on real estate and facilities-related activities.

Flats increases by 35% in UK

n the UK, especially in London, flats and terraced homes have outperformed other house-types since 2009, with the average price increasing by almost £50,000 in the last decade, a new research conducted by Halifax has revealed. Ray Clancy, editor, Property Wire, an online property journal, explains that flats have increased in value by an average of £394 per month, the largest increase in cash terms of any property type. Clancy adds that the average price of a flat has gone up from £133,483 a decade ago to £180,799 currently; pointing out that this 35 percent increase in the average price of a flat is closely followed by terraced houses at 32 percent, while detached homes have recorded the smallest rise over the past decade at 17 percent. “Flats or terraces were the best performers in all but two regions over the last decade, with bungalows topping the performance table in the West Midlands and semi-detached houses top in the South East,” he said. “Whilst flats have increased most in price nationally since

2003, much of this rise can be attributed to the performance of flat prices in London where flats represent a relatively high proportion of the property market. Flats have outperformed all other property types in Greater London, East Anglia and Scotland.” Clancy notes that terraced homes were the best performing property type in a greater number of regions including the North of England, the North West, Yorkshire and the Humber, the East Midlands, Wales and the South West. All property types recorded substantial price falls during the housing market downturn between 2007 and 2009, but bungalows fared best. During this period, the average price of a bungalow fell by 21 percent to £180,271, terraced house prices were down 33 percent, and flat prices fell by 32 percent. The research points out that the tightening in credit criteria and the reduction in mortgage availability following the onset of the financial crisis made it more difficult for first-time buyers in particular to enter the market and they are major buyers of flats and terraced properties.

Real Estate & Environment

Tuesday, October 13, 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

Vitapur acquires new technology, to commission fab

itapur Nigeria Limited, manufacturers of rigid polyurethane products, has acquired a world class new sandwich panel to boost its production capacity and by implication, improve its contributions to current efforts targeted at bridging the housing deficit in the country.

This is even as the company, a subsidiary of Vitafoam Nigeria Plc, has concluded arrangements to commission two fabricated buildings at Ibadan, Oyo State this month in furtherance of its drive to deliver quality fabricated houses and other structure needs to the market. The newly acquired multi-million Naira equipment, the first of its kind in West Africa is expected to increase the company’s production capacity, enhance product quality, open a new vitsa of an array of innovative products in line with the global best practices and boost its profitability. Speaking at the commissioning of the new equipment in Lagos, the company’s Supervising Director, Alhaji Abbagana Abatcha, described the equipment as one of the best things that happened to Vitapur Nigeria Limited in recent times. Abatcha explained that the company had been operating with a network of professionals who consistently put quality products and competitive prices on the priority list. According to him, the new European manufactured panel could be used for prefabricated structure such as cold room, equipment shelter, wall cladding, quick shelter deployment, office partitioning, shopping malls, drop temp ceiling etc. He noted that in line with

its customer-focused approach, the company offers free professional advice to its clients. The new sandwich polyurethane panel has capacity to produce a length of 14 .7 millimeter with varying thickness of 40 to 150 millimeter. Besides, the panel can produce width in the range of 100 to 1200 millimeter. Its installed capacity is 1350 square meter in addition to the initial production capacity of 300 square meters, thus bringing the total capacity to 1650 square meter. The formal commissioning of the sandwich panel was done by former Chairman Vitafoam Nigeria Plc, Chief Samuel Bolarinde, who commended the board, management and staff of the company on the acquisition of this new equipment. Vitapur’s Head, Sales and Marketing, Mr Yemi Mofikoya explained that the new equipment is being used to produce sandwich polyurethane panels for walls, ceilings, roofs and floors application with an additional offering of a fire-rated product. In addition, he pointed out that the same production line can be used as insulation board (ISOboard) production. Mofikoya also stated that fabricated building is fire-rated as the building can be secured for ninety-minutes before it gets burnt in the event of fire disaster. According to him, the panels produced by Vitapur has acoustic sound and it’s insulation

reduces cost of logging among others. Vitafoam Nigeria Plc’s Chairman, Dr. Dele Makanjuola expressed optimism that the new equipment will take Vitapur to the global market. Vitapur’s sandwich polyurethane panels come as plain or ribbed while customized length and width can be produced according to client’s specifi-

cation. This ste satility. Also, th swing and slidi butes, Vitapur shop.that prov ries such as str and relevant in Among th nessed the cerem

New tax regime hits p

emand for prime properties for sale at £1 million and above is on the rise again in Edinburgh, after a sharp decline in activity immediately after the introduction of the new property tax.

The Land and Buildings Transaction Tax (LBTT), introduced on 01 April this year, is credited with leading to surge in demand beforehand and a dampening of demand afterwards. But now, according to Scottish property consultants CKD Galbraith, there are signs that prime property buyers are coming back

to the market, although the a data shows how strong the ef been. The first three months of 2 56 properties sold at £1 milli in Edinburgh alone and ther surge in the week before th duction of LBTT when 30 o sales were completed under Stamp Duty system. Under LBTT, the buyer p ferent rates of tax on the po the purchase price that falls various bands, rising to 12% portion of the purchase pri £750,000. Registers of Scotland rec dramatic decline in subseque

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Real Estate & Environment

Tuesday, October 13, 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.

bricated buildings

ems from the panel’s verhe company can produce ing doors. By this attristands out as one-stopvide necessary accessoripe curtain,, U-channels nstallation accessories. he dignitaries that witmony were the President

Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) Chief Femi Deru and some Directors and Management staffs of Vitafoam and Vitapur Limited.

Meanwhile, arrangement had been made to commission two new fabricated buildings erected by Vitapur at Government College, Ibadan.

prime property in UK

available at the £1 million mark from ffect has April until September with only three sales successfully 2015 saw completed in Edinburgh. ion plus ‘Our recent research shows re was a that buyer and seller confihe intro- dence is returning following of the 56 the introduction of LBTT in r the old April and the UK general election in May, with an increase pays dif- in the number of properties ortion of coming to the market in Eds within inburgh,’ said Jamie McNeill, % for the head of residential at CKD ice over Galbraith’s Edinburgh office. ‘We are currently handling corded a a number of private sales in ent sales

the £1 million plus market in Edinburgh and are experiencing a rise in the number of local, national and international buyers registering with our Edinburgh office looking for prime property in the city centre,’ he explained. ‘With the tax changes for properties over £1m, the number of sales at this level is considerably lower than at its peak in March this year, however we expect the number of transactions at this level to continue to increase throughout the remainder of the year,’ he added.

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.

Kenya launches first wildlife forensic laboratory K enya Wildlife Service has launched Eastern and Central Africa’s first Wildlife forensic and genetics laboratory. The lab, situated at KWS’ headquarters in Nairobi was launched by Cabinet Secretary for Environment and Natural Resources Prof. Judi Wakhungu. The lab has come to existence with the help of partners including WWF, the US Embassy in Kenya, Canada and Regional East Africa Community member states amongst others. Illegal wildlife poaching and trafficking has not spared Kenyan wildlife. A steady increase in poaching has been recorded since 2007 when Kenya lost 47 elephants and 5 rhinos to poaching. The scourge increased in 2012 to 384 elephants and 30 rhinos and continued to escalate in 2013 when 302 elephants and 59 rhinos were slaughtered by poachers. However, in 2014 the Kenyan Government instituted anti-poaching measures and with support from other conservation partners including WWF reduced poaching menace by 47 percent and 40.7 percent; an equivalent of 164 elephants and 35 rhinos poached. In 2014, a total of 1,430 suspects were arrested and

prosecuted for various wildlife law offences; and in the same year the highest penalty awarded to a wildlife criminal was 9 years imprisonment with an option of a fine of Ksh. 20 million. Despite the rise of wildlife crimes in Kenya a mere 503 cases prosecuted in 2014 in the 32 courts in Kenya, only 238 were concluded. Of the total cases prosecuted, only 229 were related to elephant and 5 to rhino poaching. This shows a gap in the enforcement of legislation that has been often attributed to lack of or inadequate evidence to prosecute the crimes. The Forensic Laboratory will contribute towards conservation and management of endangered and threatened priority species like the Black Rhino through DNA profiling among other key functionalities. Development of a genetic database for rhino and other key wildlife populations in Kenya will enable determination of random match probabilities between carcasses and confiscated wildlife products traceability to the scene of the crime; and therefore aid prosecutions in a court of law.

Real Estate & Environment

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

FHA to rehabilitate IDPs in North-east Olufemi Adeosun, Abuja

ederal Housing Authority, FHA, has expressed its readiness to rehabilitate millions of Internally Displaced Persons, IDPS, aimed at rebuilding the restive North-east states in the country. Managing Director of the Authority, Professor Mohammed AlAmin, who gave the assurance in Maiduguri, Borno state during this year’s World Habitat Day,

estimated the number of people in various camps in Borno state capital to two million. World Habitat Day is marked on first Monday in October every year to draw attention of the state to the right for adequate shelter. The FHA delegation visited the IDPs in Dalori camp, the National Youth Service Corps camp and the Yerwa Government Girls Secondary School, all in Maiduguri. Professor Al-Amin said the

FHA came to Borno state to empathize with the IDPs as well as use the occasion of the World Habitat Day to pass the message of hope that the Federal Government was committed to bringing the violence to an end and the reconstruction of the communities. He expressed regret at the painful effect of dislocation suffered by the people, who had lost their homes and their means of livelihood as well as the thousands of children whose educa-

House demolition

tion had been disrupted by the insurgency. The FHA chief executive said President Muhammadu Buhari had a personal and official passion about the rehabilitation of the destroyed communities and the quick resettlement of the IDPs to their normal lives. The Managing Director, who presented various relief materials to the IDPs, said the Authority was introducing a Rammed Earth Technology by which a four bedroom house could be

completed in four days. Receiving the relief materials, the Zonal Coordinator, National Emergency Management Authority, NEMA, Alhaji Mohammed Kanar said the FHA was the first organisation to visit the IDP camps in Maiduguri, lauding the Managing Director for his concern on the plight of displaced persons. The FHA boss and members of his delegation also visited the Borno State Governor, Alhaji Kashim Shettima and Shehu of

Borno, Alhaji Abubakar Ibn Umar Garbai El-Kanemi. The Governor was informed that the FHA decided to commemorate the World Habitat Day in Maiduguri in order to reassure the people of the state of the Federal Government’s committed towards restoring normalcy in the affected areas. He said it was to demonstrate that commitment that President Muhammed Buhari, in one of his first steps, after his inauguration in May this year, directed that the military’s command and control centre in the prosecution of the anti Boko Haram campaign be moved to Maiduguri. Responding, the State Commissioner for Works and Transport, Alhaji Ahmed Lawan, who stood in for Governor Shettima lamented that many communities in the state such as Bama, Monguno, Gwoza and Dikwa had

been totally destroyed. He said the state government had created a new Ministry of Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Resettlement to handle the post insurgency redemption of the damage. Governor Shettima said the state government had produced over one million blocks and was moulding 300,000 more per day towards the rebuilding of the affected communities. At the palace of the Shehu of Borno, Professor Al-Amin praised the traditional ruler for his concern and his efforts towards alleviating the suffering of the displaced persons. Responding, the Shehu said Borno, an ancient Islamic empire had never been subdued in spite of the Fulani invasion of the early 19th century and the Maitatsine crisis of the early 1980s.

Egypt stalls $35bn housing scheme amid recession

hen Abu Dhabi-run Contractor, Arabtec signed a deal with the Egyptian government for a high-profile housing project seen as a sign of the Gulf Arab state’s support for President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

But the project announced in March 2014 and a pillar of Sisi’s election campaign has stalled, possibly risking his reputation and highlighting Egypt’s habit of promising grandiose ventures and then struggling to deliver. Egyptians were promised one million homes by 2020 at a cost of about 280 billion Egyptian pounds ($35.76 billion) and a raft of other projects to help the economy get back on its feet after the political upheaval that followed the 2011 uprising. Sisi was counting on billions of dollars in pledges of help from Gulf Arab oil-producing allies, backers of the army’s overthrow of President Mohamed Mursi of the Muslim Brotherhood in 2013. Some of which this money has failed to materialise, and local banks are unable to finance the Arabtec project. “Egyptians want these projects now but in fact they

will take years to finish,” said a Western diplomat in Cairo. Egypt signed a memorandum of understanding for the project with Dubai-based Arabtec, which built the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa for Emaar Properties, but now it has ground to a halt. A source familiar with the matter pointed to disagreements over the contract and funding difficulties. Work has not started and Arabtec has yet to submit a building plan. Arabtec declined to comment, while Abu Dhabi officials could not be reached for comment. Abu Dhabi, the dominant member of the United Arab Emirates and home to the country’s federal government institutions, is the company’s largest shareholder in Arabtec through state fund Aabar, which holds a 36.1 percent stake. Abu Dhabi officials have been Arabtec’s chairmen since mid-2012; with the current board all part of the emirate’s

government and business elite. In the original announcement, Arabtec’s then chief executive Hasan Ismaik said the project owed much to Abu Dhabi’s crown prince “who has been very keen to mobilise all efforts to boost support to our brothers in Egypt through a multitude of humanitarian, economic and social initiatives”. UAE finances have also been hurt by a fall in oil prices. When, as army chief, Sisi toppled Mursi, he promised what he called a political roadmap to democracy. Parliamentary elections on October 18-19 mark the last step in that process. His performance on the economy will come under greater scrutiny as political turmoil eases. “At the moment, many ordinary Egyptians, due to the fear of political violence in the country, will be giving Sisi a lot of leeway – but eventually, the public will want to see results in eco-

nomic terms,” said H.A. Hellyer, non-resident fellow at the Brookings Centre for Middle East Policy. “If the results are not sufficiently big or don’t come quickly enough, be it on the Arabtec deal, the new administrative capital, or the Suez Canal expansion, Sisi’s popularity could suffer quite substantially as a result.” At an investment conference in March, Sisi said UAE businessmen Mohamed Alabbar, through Abu Dhabi investment firm Capital City Partners, would lead the construction of a new administrative capital. This would include an airport larger than London’s Heathrow and a building taller than Paris’s Eiffel Tower. Nearly four months after the initial memorandum of understanding was signed with Alabbar, Egypt’s investment minister said that his company would only take “part of the project” along with other investors, including China Construction, which signed a memorandum

of understanding of its own to study “building and financing” part of the project. Capital City Partners declined to comment. In another example of the difficulties faced by these projects, a year after announcing it would build Egypt’s first coalfired power station, Abu Dhabibased Al Nowais Investments said last month the paperwork still had to be finalized. “I don’t think the UAE is pulling out, but UAE companies who tried to jump on the bandwagon are finding it difficult to fulfil commitments that were not planned well,” said Mohammed Ali Yasin, managing director at NBAD Securities, the stockbrokerage arm of National Bank of Abu Dhabi. On the Arabtec deal, the parties disagree on profit sharing terms, the government’s return for providing the land and state insistence labour and materials be sourced mostly locally for a project that will provide very thin margins, said Allen Sandeep, director of research at Naeem Holdings in Cairo.

Aviation

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

National carrier gap undermining tourism industry’s growth – Akinboro The Managing Director, Scribe Global Services, Mr. Oluwagbemi Akinboro, in this interview with OLUSEGUN KOIKI speaks about the negative impact of absence of national carrier on tourism industry, particularly on how the carrier would have helped in boosting its revenue potential. Excerpts: Sir, what is your assessment of the travel industry in Nigeria? Travel industry is still at infancy level in Nigeria. There are still a lot more to do concerning the industry as most travellers are still in the old traditional way of just wanting to travel and book hotels, but travel business worldwide has gone beyond that to a total package service that involves everything ranging from tours, hotels, pleasure and having a company dedicating aircraft for just holidays, car rental, escort services, family settlement programme, expatriates programme where experts are brought all over the world on behalf of a company to access their business and help them grow. Globally now, the travel industry is huge and fast growing in Asia, Europe and America and Australia, but in Nigeria, we are still struggling to move to the next stage. There has not been significant growth in the sector right now because the government is not doing enough to help the travel industry. One major challenge is the absence of a national carrier for Nigeria, which has enabled foreign carriers to continually dominate our airspace and cart away billions of naira from our economy annually without reciprocity from us. Nigerians are regularly exploited by these carriers, but on a second thought, you can’t blame them because they are in the business to make money. The airlines too argue that they pay lots of taxes flying into Nigeria, which they have to add up to their tickets. The actual fare is not so expensive, but the taxes when added up to the fare make it expensive for an average traveller. Also, we still need to expand our tourism potential in this country. There are several tourism areas Nigeria can showcase to the world, but these are flagrantly abandoned. The ones that are available are not been properly packaged while those in charge are not seeing new ideas in the industry. It is a undeniably a huge market and Nigeria is large. We have great tourism sector in Kenya, South Africa, Tanzania and Ethiopia. Those countries have well packaged tourism that attracts people to their countries and earn billions from tourism alone annually, but in Nigeria, what do we earn from the sector yearly? Some airlines, especially foreign carriers, recently cancelled commissions hitherto paid travel agencies, what is your view on this? There is little or nothing we can do about this development because it is their business. Inasmuch as they see our economy as a growing economy and as a business based area, the individual agency operator will have to adjust since we don’t have our own airlines to compete with them, they are the ones airlifting our passengers. Whatever they throw at us we grab. The economy itself has not been encouraging full participation of agencies, but not all of them have cancelled commissions paid to agencies. The fact is that some of them still give, but have drastically reduced their commissions. The truth as it is right now is that without their planes, we can’t fly our clients anywhere. Then, how do you react to the planned re-establishment of national carrier for Nigeria? Personally, I would say a national carrier as far as a country is concerned is inevitable because when you go to other countries you see their national carriers flying their flags, but the same cannot be said of this country. It’s a sad story

ing its business? This is very important to the growth of the business in its entirety. Traditionally right now in the country, some agencies just want to ask about your travel plans, which is from destination A to B. I strongly believe that the travel business has grown beyond that globally. There should be a different way of doing business. The travel business goes beyond ticketing and reservation. Right now, travellers want to have a whole hotel to themselves, their own dedicated aircraft, package holiday, safari, game reserve, boat cruising and lots of things that can be brought together in this business and enhance operations.

Akinboro

Nigerians are regularly exploited by these

carriers, but on a second

thought, you can’t blame them because they are in the business to make money that our national carrier became extinct due to some government policies, but if I would suggest, there is an every need to have a national carrier. But, having said that the national carrier when put in place should not be fully dependent on government and should not be owned 100 per cent by the government. There should be private-public-partnership in the national carrier. Let it be run like a business and not like government organisations where government can control the Chief Executive Directors, CEOs. If you run it as a business concern, put qualify people there and not because of my closeness to the Minister of Aviation. National Association of Nigeria Travel Agencies, NANTA, recently called for agencies to merge and consolidate their businesses for improved performance, what do you think are the benefits of this option? Merger and consolidation is good for the industry, but companies coming together too must have same orientation and belief. Banks merged for better performances and coordinated services. Personally, I would say for the agencies, it is for them to improve their perform and take the business to another level. If five or 10 agencies can come together and pull their resources together, they can take the travel business from the level we are now to another stage and they would even been able to negotiate more with their clients especially airlines. Consolidation of companies means bigger money, more creativities, innovations and risk sharing. On the long run, it makes the travel business a lot stronger. With zero commission, is your company thinking of diversify-

What is your relationship with airlines? We have a good working relationship with both local and international carriers. We have to have it at the back of our minds that these people are businessmen who are into the game to make money, create employment and grow their own operations. Once you are able to sell their tickets well in the range of millions monthly, you are well appreciated and encouraged, but if the reverse is the case, there is no way you can be their friends. We still have some agencies that get as high as 15 per cent commission from airlines, depending on your performance overtime while some get zero. It’s a situation of ‘let me see what you have and I will give you support.’ If Emirates for instance don’t see you bring certain millions in a month, they won’t care about you, but once you can meet their expectations, they will have a round table talk with you on how to grow your business and theirs. It is a mutual benefit for both parties. How has the exchange rate affected your business with the devaluation of naira against major currencies? Well, if you ask me, the dollar is the determining factor of any business in Nigeria, particularly the aviation industry where everything is dollar denominated. The fuel is dollar denominated, the maintenance of the aircraft is dollar denominated, the service charges and others. The moment the dollar starts going stronger against the naira, definitely, the cost of air travels would go high and this is something that we as travel agencies cannot control. It is forces of the market; demand and supply. So, we cannot control that unless if the government do something to bring the exchange rate down. Airfare is high now and it will continue to go high until maybe there is an intervention from the government to bring down the rate of the dollar, but that notwithstanding, Nigerians are people that love travelling. Still, a good number of Nigerians irrespective of the dollar and airfare still travel. If you go to the airport, you see people still travelling not minding the cost of tickets. One thing we have discovered in this industry is that Nigerians are very likeable people in terms of traveling. They travel quite a lot and some of them would have saved their money for a very long time to go on vacation with their families and all that and some in the government circle even travel abroad for training. What we are saying is that irrespective of the exchange rate of naira to the dollar, people do travel, but the volume might be lower than when the dollar was a little bit lower than as we have it now.

Aviation

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

FG ‘ll address labour issues in aviation sector – Perm Sec Stories: Olusegun Koiki

Lagos Airport

the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, ATSSSAN, at the Administrative Staff College of Nigeria, ASCON, in Badagry, Lagos. Illoh described the current industrial relations system in Nigeria as chaotic, lawless, crisis-ridden and strike prone, stressing that the aviation sector was one that had been badly hit by industrial unrest hence the need to redefine industrial relations in the sector. He said the contribution of the aviation sector to the growth of

Nigeria Gross Domestic Product, GDP, was unquantifiable and bemoaned the negative impact on productivity visited on the industry by incessant labour unrest. He further appealed to labour leaders to pursue all necessary avenues and statutory procedures to settle disputes and not allow them to snowball into deprivation of the country of revenues. The guest speaker and Director, Department of Trade Union Services and Industrial Relations in the ministry, Mrs. Comfort Dike said the workshop was organised to foster relationship between trade union leadership, management and government.

Air France long-haul capacity to decline by 10%

he Chief Executive Officer, CEO, of Air France, Mr. Frédéric Gagey has said that the airline’s long-haul capacity would reduce by about 10 per cent between now and 2017. The airline also said that its Air France-KLM’s passenger network business, capacity would fall by about 2 per cent within the same period, compared with a previous expectation of around 3 per cent growth. Speaking at the Central Works Council, a progress update on the Perform 2020 plan, Gagey said that the current situation had now forced the airline to launch a restructuring plan of its long-haul network. The long-haul fleet he said would be scaled back by 14 aircraft, from 107 in operation during Summer

Air France aircraft

Airside shegzzy4live2000@yahoo.co.uk 08186007273

Extortion by security operatives in NAHCO warehouse

he Federal Government said it is committed to reducing relentless strike action threats by the industry unions in the country’s aviation industry. The Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity, Dr. Clement Illoh said it is collaborating with relevant stakeholders and professionals to ensure a conflict-free business environment in the sector. Illoh informed that labour laws with appropriate sanctions and policies had been put in place and were being vigorously enforced to promote social justice and industrial peace between workers and management of various parastatals. Illoh stated these at a threeday workshop on ‘Redefining Industrial Relations in the Aviation Industry’, organised recently by Safecrest Services Limited as parts of a training programme for members of

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2015 to 93 in Summer 2017, saying that this adjustment would mainly be made via the accelerated retirement of Airbus A340s, which will not be replaced by Boeing 787s as had been initially planned. He declared that in 2016 and 2017, the related capex reduction could reach up to 200 million euro. He added, “This reduction in activity will result in estimated overstaffing of 2,900 people, comprising approximately 300 pilots, 900 cabin crew and 1,700 ground staff. In segments where consultation, negotiations enable the achievement of the Perform 2020 targets, the adaptation in staff will take the form of voluntary departures. “In the other segments, compulsory redundancies cannot be ruled out. The restructuring charges will be recorded once the pace and

conditions for these departures has been determined.” He said that the airline may be forced to close five of its routes and cancellation of 35 weekly frequencies by 2017. Gagey hinted further that the closure of its routes and frequencies by the airline would be determined by the areas the airline had highest losses, which are principally in Asia and the Middle-East. The airline observed that Air France-KLM maintains all its financial targets set for the current year and for 2017 within the framework of the Perform 2020 plan.

he Nigerian Aviation Handling Company, NAHCO, Plc is a major ground handling company in the country’s aviation industry, but the unwholesome practices ongoing in its warehouse cannot be overlooked by a wellmeaning aviation enthusiast. As expected, all the security agencies that are detailed in the warehouse to ensure proper declaration of consignments, prevent stealing and ensure security are at the warehouse, but regrettably, rather than perform their duties, are believed to be compromising on their primary duties. Airside disguised as one of the clearing agents in the warehouse for two days last week and was appalled by the high level of graft among the security agencies in collaboration with the supposed clearing agents. For instance, at the entrance, we have the personnel of the Nigerian

Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, whose work is to ensure that drugs are not hidden inside consignments. Also, we have the anti-bomb squad whose duty is to frisk consignments and environs against planting of bombs in cargo. Next are the State Security Service, SSS, Nigerian Police, Customs and other personnel who line up pretending to perform their duties. Genuine agents were compelled to pay between N500 and N10, 000 depending on your consignments, bargaining power and familiarity with the corrupt officers. Anyone that proves stubborn is “dealt with” by the officers and eventually, such a clearing agent is forced to dance to their tunes. Airside will publish very soon and narrate the graphic details of his 48 hours experience in NAHCO warehouse. Readers should watch out.

Nigeria airlines and flight schedule reliability

viation industry worldwide relies on timeliness; on-time departure and on-time arrival, but in most cases, the reverse is the case with the Nigerian airline sub-sector. The nation’s carriers delay or cancel flights without any tangible reasons and lack the courtesy to apologise to their clients who already have scheduled appointments elsewhere. Also, they display arrogance to the extent that they care less about the Passengers Bill of Rights Policy made public about two years ago by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA. Just about two weeks ago, a particular airline (names withheld), which was scheduled to depart Lagos to one of the Northern States

disappointed its passengers. First, the flight that was scheduled for morning was delayed for 30 minutes, later by another 20 minutes and before long extended to three hours. Expectedly, some of the passengers became enraged while others demanded for their money. Eventually, the aircraft departed and Airside later got to know that it adopted the delay tactics because of insufficient passengers. Also, most of the carriers that depart Lagos to Abuja early morning delay departures as a result of low load factor. Airside appeals to NCAA to critically monitor these airlines and ensure that they keep to time and stop unnecessary delay of passengers who in most times have appointments to keep in other cities.

NAMA boss seeks new procedures to ensure fiscal prudence

he Managing Director of the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency, NAMA, Engr. Ibrahim Abdulsalam said that the management has taken steps to block financial leakages in the system. Abdulsalam believed that the blockage of leakages by the agency would further strengthen processes and procedures towards effective revenue generation and collection of revenues at the various airports across the country. Abdulsalam spoke at the commencement of a two-day interactive meeting of senior staff of Accounts and Commercial Departments of the agency, which took place at the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, Training School at the

Murtala Muhammed International Airport, MMIA, Lagos over the weekend. The NAMA boss charged staff of the agency to devise new initiatives of improving the revenue base, stressing that there was the need for a working synergy between both departments to thrive in the general interest of the agency in particular and Nigeria as a whole. He also wanted the participants to employ their professional expertise to effectively review the revenue Standard Operating Manual, SOM, in order to meet industry best practices and also make for effective service delivery. He added, “We all have to align all the agency’s operations to embrace the fiscal policies of the President

Buhari-led administration like the Treasury Single Account, TSA, which are geared towards promoting transparency and accountability in the public sector.” Meanwhile, efforts by NAMA to implement the Performance Based Navigation, PBN, in the nation had received a major boost with the publication of PBN Area Navigation, RNAV, Approaches for 15 airports in the country. Ag. General Manager, Public Affairs, NAMA, Mrs. Olajumoke Adetola in a statement said that the publication enables duly equipped aircraft with necessary approval from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, to fly PBN procedures into the airports without the use of ground Navigational aids.

Insurance

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

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Ignorance, bane of motor vehicle insurance penetration That the Nigerian insurance industry has been facing myriad of challenges over the years is well known. These cut across issues of corporate governance, public perception, application of the marketing concept in the insurance market, manpower development, staffing among others. In this analysis, ISAAC ASABOR, takes a cursory look at the issues and how to deal with the challenges, using experts’ views as hub of the report.

s explained on Wikipedia, “Vehicle insurnce is insurance purchased for cars, trucks, motorcycles, and other road vehicles. Its primary use is to provide financial protection against physical damage and/or bodily injury resulting from traffic collisions and against liability that could also arise there from. The specific terms of vehicle insurance vary with legal regulations in each region. To a lesser degree vehicle insurance may additionally offer financial protection against theft of the vehicle and possibly damage to the vehicle, sustained from things other than traffic collisions”. Against the foregoing background, it is not an exaggeration to say that most motor vehicle insurance policy holders, particularly those in the commercial transport sub sector, are at the moment misusing the purpose of the motor vehicle insurance policy that is made compulsory for all vehicle owners in Nigeria. With the purpose of the policy, as explained in the foregoing definition, the primary motivating factor for purchasing the Motor Vehicle Insurance would have been hinged on the fact that it offers financial protection in the case of accident resulting from traffic collisions and against liability that could also arise there from. Investigation carried out by National Mirror shows that what actually motivates commercial vehicle operators, particularly in Lagos, is that of using the policy to evade arrest or monetary extortion by traffic policemen assigned to maintain law and order on various roads and streets. It is therefore not a surprise that most commercial transport operators see the policy as one of the “particulars” that policemen often demand from them whenever their vehicles are stopped for search at traffic checkpoints. Mr. Ignatius Ibekwe, a commercial bus driver that plies Apapa/Oshodi route in his response to National Mirror correspondent on what he understands about Motor Vehicle Insurance policy said the policy “is a “particulars” that any driver need to have.” Asked if he is aware of the benefits that are inherent in the policy, he replied that he is aware only that

Commissiioner for Insurance, Mohammed Kari

NCRIB, Mr. Ayodapo Shoderu

It is therefore not a surprise that most commercial transport operators see the policy as one of the particulars obtaining indemnity from concerned insurance company whenever there is the vehicle insured is involved in an accident is usually difficult to the extent that the insured would begin to contemplate leaving the issue to God.” According to Mr. Ibekwe, since it is made compulsory for vehicles owners the only option left is to procure fake motor insurance policy that is usually not difficult to obtain. He said “with N5,000.00 anybody can purchase a Motor Vehicle Insurance from touts.” In his response to same issue, a private car owner, Mr. Edmund Ochei, said commercial motorists and owners have for many years being in the habit of seeing Motor Vehicle Insurance Certificate as a document needed to evade arrest and harassment at police checkpoints or other similar checkpoints. To him, the certificate is essential at traffic checkpoints but that is not the essence of Motor Vehicle Insurance Policy. He reasoned that Third Party Insurance, which is most commonly purchased by commercial vehicle owners, has for long been subjected to misuse due to its affordability when compared

to Comprehensive Insurance. Asked on what should be done to disabuse the minds of people who usually see insurance companies as unreliable, particularly when it comes to paying claims, he opined that more efforts should be put into the activities of ensuring that commercial vehicle operators begin to buy genuine insurance cover instead of fake insurance cover which is usually sold right away at a cheaper price without obligation or any stated condition to pay premium in due course. According to him, most commercial vehicle owners and some motorists that own private vehicles erroneously believe that insurance companies do not indemnify policy holders whenever the need arises. Also, the level of apathy concerning insurance in the industry is deeply rooted that concerted and elaborate campaign efforts would be needed to disabuse the apathetic mindsets which people have overtime developed towards buying insurance cover, particularly that of Motor Vehicle Insurance in this context. He added that even if some insurance com-

panies have been adopting the campaign strategy of publicizing events that were primarily organized for the payment of claims to beneficiaries, they should go further in ensuring that more publicities are carried out through the media. Apart from regular mentioning of their achievements in the media, insurers should also endeavor to ensure that events that are related to the publicity of payment of claims should be organized and carried out at motor parks, with key offers of National Uniion of Road Transport Workers, NURTW and National Union of Road Transport Owners, NURTO, honored to occupy seats at the high table. In its determination to ensure that ignorance and quackery in respect to motor vehicle insurance are eliminated, The Nigeria Insurers Association (NIA), the umbrella body of insurance companies in Nigeria sometime ago declared that licensing offices are not empowered by the law to provide insurance to motorists. Recently, the same association intensified its awareness by taking genuine motor insurance policy campaigns to the grassroots. The move was seen by many as an effort in the right direction towards the elimination of quacks who are by each passing day becoming ubiquitous in the industry, particularly within the axis of licensing offices. The innovation, which is applauded by many, is driven by an electronic platform called Nigerian Insurance Industry Database. NIID is an electronic platform designed by the NIA to store data of insured vehicles, aid verification of genuine policies and curb the menace of fake insurance certificates. A campaign flier at the time of the campaign was designed by NIA to address some frequently asked questions on how the SMS verification process works. Beyond the campaign efforts of the association and individual insurance companies, Mr. Niyi Odubiyi, a Risk Analyst, said what was needed to change the mindsets of motorists toward the patronage of genuine motor vehicle insurance cover is to go the extra mile by convincing them that insurance companies pay claims whenever it is necessary to do so.

Insurance

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

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NICON settles over N400m outstanding claims Stories: Isaac Asabor

n its determination to comply with the National Insurance Commission’s (NAICOM) September 30 deadline for payment of all outstanding claims by insurance companies, the Management of NICON Insurance Ltd, said it has settled all outstanding claims totaling N400 million in the company’s files. The payment, according to the company is in fulfillment of the target set for the new management under the directorship of Bayode Samuel by owners of the company. According to the Managing Director, the payment of the outstanding claims is a Key Performance indicator

for the company since the new management took over the affairs of the company. To this end, he said, “Claims settlement is pivotal to the business of insurance and anything short of this is unethical. That is why in our unwavering quest for alignment with operational and regulatory standards, we have settled and disbursed in excess of N400 Million naira to all our numerous clients across Nigeria on outstanding claims due under the defunct National Insurance Corporation under my leadership”. With the payment of the outstanding claims, Bayode said the company has no doubt joined every other liquid player in the industry poised to clean its books as directed by the regulator.” He also disclosed that NICON In-

surance has been repositioned to leverage on the strategic opportunities that were unexploited in the insurance industry through various alliances that have diverse stakeholders across insurance and financial companies through the introduction of insurance benefits to virtually all sectors of the economy. To this end, he urged the insuring public to take advantage of the positive development in NICON Insurance of today by insuring their general and life assurance businesses with NICON Insurance. He also backed his assurance with the fact that the company has the biggest asset base in the insurance industry in excess of N40 Billion Naira, with over 42 branches nationwide and six regional offices.

Commissioner for Insurance, Mohammed Kari

Insurers urged to embrace new roles in rapidly changing economy

nsurers and their commercial customers must adapt their strategies to keep pace with the rapidly changing global economy. Technological developments are not only increas-

Buhari

ing the risks that companies face but are also changing the relationship between risk managers and the insurance market, several industry experts say. To remain relevant, insurers must move away from solely offering financial protection and instead offer a range of services that help organizations grow their business, they said during various panel sessions at the Federation of European Risk Management Associations’ 2015 Risk Management Forum in Venice, Italy, this week. The nature of global business is changing as start-up companies turn into global giants in just a few years, said

Anthony Baldwin, managing director and head of distribution, EMEA at American International Group Inc. And some of those relatively new companies, for example Google Inc., are looking to compete in the insurance sector, he said. To stay in the game, “we need to fundamentally change how we approach the industry and marketplace,” he said. Insurers need to recruit employees with nontraditional skills, such as data scientists, and enter into partnerships with more companies outside of the financial sector to offer more relevant services to their policyholders, Mr. Baldwin said. The global economy is seeing rapid and fundamental

changes, agreed Paolo Ribotta, head of global corporate and commercial at Generali Group. As a result, policyholders “are asking more and more how can we help them in value creation,” he said. To help meet those demands, insurers need to focus more on providing services rather than their traditional role of providing contingent capital after a loss, Mr. Ribotta said. As organizations become more concerned about the risks they face, the role of the risk manager is becoming more important, said David Batchelor, president of Marsh International, a unit of Marsh L.L.C. “Creating value and re-

maining relevant is key to the risk manager’s role,” he said. With the growing interest of boards in risk management, risk managers should formalize their insurance strategies, said Alexander Mahnke, CEO Insurance at Siemens Financial Services, the financial services unit of Siemens A.G. in Munich. “You have to write it down, and it has to be logical, and you have to have it signed off by the board,” he said. With the insurance strategy formalized and approved by the board, risk managers do not need to seek board approval for individual insurance buying decisions, Mr. Mahnke said. (Source – Businessinsurance.com)

Towers Watson shareholder says Willis merger ‘destroys’ value

riehaus Capital Management L.L.C., a leading Towers Watson & Co. shareholder, has said in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that the merger agreement between Willis Group Holdings P.L.C. and Towers “destroys substantial shareholder value.” Driehaus, which in its filing said it owns 1,000,113 shares of Towers Watson, is urging shareholders to vote against the proposal. The investment firm says the merger is “highly valuedestructive” and takes issue with the fact that Towers did not negotiate a “go shop” period in which to seek a superior offer from the marketplace. Analysts suggested that the merger has potential to create

value. “I think that Towers Watson management has an appropriate, in my view, perspective on the value that will emerge at Willis as it executes on its Operational Improvement Program,” said Meyer Shields, managing director at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Inc. in Baltimore. “The market clearly didn’t see this in the immediate aftermath of the announcement, but I think it reflects good long-term thinking,” added Mr. Shields. A Willis spokeswoman referred inquiries to Towers Watson as Driehaus is a Towers shareholder. “We remain confident in the significant value creation potential of the Willis/Towers Watson merger, which is

expected to deliver approximately $4.7 billion in incremental value to shareholders. Towers Watson continues to have positive conversations with its shareholders, who have benefitted from the Company’s proven track record of delivering value through organic growth and successfully executing value-creating transactions. We strongly believe the Willis/Towers Watson merger is in the best interest of all shareholders and remain committed to completing the transaction,” a Towers Watson spokesman said in an email. Driehaus also says that the Wills offer, at 9% below market value, compares unfavorably with the July 2010 Aon Hewitt deal. On July 12, 2010, Chicago-based insurance broker,

Aon Corp., announced that it had agreed to buy Hewitt Associates for $4.9 billion in cash and stock — which commanded a change of control premium of 42.1%, according to the Driehaus filing. The investment firm has previously reached out to Towers shareholders recommending they reject the Willis deal. When the deal was first announced June 30, Standard & Poor’s Financial Services L.L.C., placed Willis under review with negative implications extending its CreditWatch with developing implications on Willis Group Holdings. In a Sept. 30 note, S&P said it was extending for 90 days the review with developing implications

“We continue to review the company following its announcement on June 30, 2015, that it entered into a definitive agreement for an allstock merger of equals with Towers Watson in a transaction valued at approximately $18 billion,” S&P said in its Sept. 30 note. “We will continue to monitor developments relating to this transaction and expect to update or resolve the CreditWatch listing within the next 90 days following discussions with management on the combined group’s prospective corporate strategy, competitive position, earnings and cash flow metrics, and financial risk profile,” said S&P. (Businessinsurance.com)

Money

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

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Banks, telecoms, others rally to expand non-cash transaction channels Udo Onyeka

o doubt there has been increasing awareness concerning the cashless project, even though there are also challenges facing it. The growing awareness on the policy has resulted in the increase of online and other non cash transactions in the country’s payment system. According to Nigerian Inter Bank Settlement System, NIBSS, transactions under its NIBSS Instant Payment, NIP and Nigerian Electronic Fund Transfer, NEFT, have increased significantly to about N40bn daily as at last year and may have continued to increase. NIP and NEFT are products used by corporate organisations to make payment for huge transactions electronically, in line with the cashless policy. Data gathered from NIBSS also shows that as a result of the cashless policy, Point of Sale, PoS and Automated Teller Machines, ATM, usage have continued to record huge volume and value. Analysts believe that if not the challenges facing the policy it would have made much more progress than it has recorded. Experts have pointed out infrastructural deficit as major obstacle to this project. They have said there is the need to put in place infrastructure in the form of magnetic card readers and the technology that makes them work. It was in order to tackle lack of adequate infrastructure and the cost of providing it the Group Managing Director, Computer Warehouse Group, CWG, Dr. Austin Okere; had in an interview advised financial institutions to go into what he called ‘shared resource’. He said that with financial institutions pulling their resources together it would be cost effective to provide certain services. The cash-less policy, as explained by the CBN is aimed at empowering the previously unbanked populace to open accounts and perform e-transactions across the nation without having to visit their bank branches. But a Director in Lagos state Ministry of Education, Mrs. Grace Oladimeji, at a forum in Ikeja, Lagos noted that Persons With Disabilities ,PWDs, are not been taken into consideration in the cashless project. For instance she said most of the Automated Teller Machines, ATMs, are not positioned in a way a person on a wheelchair could go on his or her own withdraw money. Also she said there was nothing wrong incorporating braille facility in ATMs so that the blind or visually impaired could make use of the ATMs.

CBN Gov, Emefiele

Former Minister of ICT, Johnson

Total value of Mobile Money transactions currently stands at N228m and is expected to increase to N151bn by 2015, while total volume of non-store shopping increased from N62bn in 2011 to N77.5bn in 2012. This figure will increase to N658bn by 2015 According to Mr. Jude Ezenwa, a member of the civil society organisation “the cashless and financial inclusion policy of the CBN would achieve much more if persons with disabilities are catered for in the project. “In Lagos it is estimated that PWDs are about 10 per cent of the population of the state. So imagine throughout all the 36 states of the federation”, he said. In order to improve the quality of services of financial institutions in delivering electronic products to customers, it was gathered the Bankers’ Committee last year planned working with the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC and other service providers to ensure that some of the challenges are addressed. According to the former Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson, the Federal Government has always encouraged the telecoms on the need to provide the necessary network that would drive cashless the project Johnson said an important area where government aimed to drive financial inclusion is through mobile money initiative, whose transactions has been recording steady growth since the issuance of operating licences to companies willing to play in the mobile money space in the country. Even though many have said that Mo-

bile Money is not making much impact and has not been patronised by many because a lot of people do not understand how it works due to lack of enlightenment, Mrs. Johnson early in 2014 said it was not doing badly and backing her claim with figures. According to her “Total value of Mobile Money transactions currently stands at N228m and is expected to increase to N151bn by 2015, while total volume of non-store shopping increased from N62bn in 2011 to N77.5bn in 2012. This figure will increase to N658bn by 2015,” she said. She explained that mobile money, which is being supported by telecommunications infrastructures would play significant role in driving financial service inclusion in Nigeria. Many analysts agreed with the minister that the growth in the telecoms sector is capable of driving the cashless policy. It was also gathered that the Federal Government has begun reforming the NIPOST to ensure it complements the target of the government to ensure that about 80 per cent of adult Nigerians have access to financial services by 2020. Mrs. Johnson had said that one of the measures being taken by the Federal Government through the ministry was an ongoing effort to reform NIPOST to spearhead financial inclusion in the country.

GTBank MD, Segun Agbaje

“We are reforming the NIPOST to transform it into a financial and digital inclusion tool that will reduce the proportion of adult Nigerians excluded from financial services from 46.3 per cent as at 2010 to 20 per cent by 2020,” she said. She said as part of measure to achieve the target, the ministry was working to develop about 3,000 postal outlets of NIPOST located across the country to transform the outlets into becoming venues for financial and economic inclusion. Notwithstanding network failure at ATMs many times stakeholders say number of transactions carried out by the banking public on the over 80,000 Automated Teller Machines, ATMs, being used by banks in Nigeria has been on the increase. Chief Executive Officer of InterSwitch, Mr. Mitchell Elegebe, said, the increasing figures associated with different payment channels was an indication that more Nigerians were developing card culture in line with the CBN’s cashless policy aimed at reducing the quantity of physical cash in circulation. However, analysts have said that much is still needed to be done as the country was witnessing adoption of the cashless economy. According them to boost e-payment transaction volumes, there was the need to address the challenge of poor awareness on the part of the operators, especially in the informal sector, adding that there were also challenges with inter-operability of networks from the telecommunications operators. According to industry analysts, the increase in the volume of ATM transactions over OTC transactions was an indication that the economy is recording faster adoption of electronic channels of financial transaction in recent years.

Global Business

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Banks take spotlight as earnings season heats up

he financial sector, recently a weak performer in the stock market, will garner the majority of investor attention next week as a number of big banks post their quarterly results. Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Bank of America Corp, Wells Fargo & Co, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase & Co - the five biggest U.S. banks by market cap - are due to report results as the sector has trailed the market in recent weeks and earnings estimates have fallen. Financial companies are expected to show earnings growth of 8.4 percent, behind only telecoms and consumer discretionary companies in expected growth for the quarter. However, that growth is down from the 14.8 percent expected at the start of the quarter, and down by half from the 17.8 percent growth expected at the start of the year. In the last 30 days, banks have seen their estimates steadily lowered, with Goldman the biggest victim. Its estimates for the quarter are down by 25 percent in that time period. While the broader market has recovered from losses sustained in the latter half of August, banks have struggled. The Fed’s decision not to raise rates, coupled with economic concerns and worries about

trading revenues, have tethered shares of the big banks. The S&P 500 financials index has underperformed the broader market, and has slumped 5.6 percent this year so far, compared with a 2.2 percent decline in the S&P 500. In the last month, the S&P 500 has gained 2.2 percent, but the five biggest financial institutions are all flat or down. The banks give an idea of the activity of mid- and small-sized business, which can help gauge the health of the broader economy, according to Kim Forrest, senior equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh. “Some people are saying we are in a recession, other people are saying it’s that summertime lull and I don’t think anyone knows,” said Forrest. The U.S. Federal Reserve’s decision not to raise interest rates in September is also likely to impact trading desks at the banks, which could weigh on their bottom line, as well as desks that did not anticipate the strong rebound in equities. The market expects bigger swings than usual this quarter. While the typical bank share move after earnings is about 2 percent, swings one-and-a-half times that are expected this earnings season. “Participants are bracing for a bit more volatility than in past

Obama

quarters,” said Fred Ruffy, strategist at options analytics firm Trade Alert in New York. The S&P 500 has gained in seven of the past eight sessions and was on track for its biggest weekly percentage gain of the year. Investors will also look next week to data on inflation - one of the conditions the Fed accounts for when deciding on interest rates - with the release of the producer and consumer price indexes. The week also includes retail sales and consumer sentiment data. Overall, third-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies are expected to decline 4.5 percent, according to Thomson Reuters data. That compares with just a 0.3 percent decline that had been forecast in July.

UAW leaders send Fiat Chrysler pact to workers for vote

.S. union United Auto Workers’ leaders on Friday approved a tentative four-year contract with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (FCHA.MI) (FCAU.N), sending the proposed agreement to 40,000 workers for a ratification vote. The new deal, if ratified, would reshape the way in which UAW workers at Fiat Chrysler are paid, gradually eliminating a contentious two-tier pay structure. UAW President Dennis Williams admitted he made some false steps that helped lead to the landslide loss for a previous proposed contract in

Fiat van

a worker vote. The rejection almost led to a strike at Fiat Chrysler’s U.S. operations that was called off minutes before a strike deadline late Wednesday night. Williams said he misread the intensity for which lower-paid secondtier workers wanted a clear path toward top pay rather than a bridge closer to it, and he should have allowed more time before holding the previous ratification vote. Friday, in his first hours as marketer-in-chief for the new deal, Williams told reporters in a telephone press conference, “It’s one of the big-

gest contracts we’ve ever negotiated” with the company. Several hundred of the UAW’s local leaders from its branches, mainly in the U.S. Midwest, met in Detroit on Friday. They gave the new contract and its negotiators several spontaneous standing ovations, Williams said. It will take eight years from being hired to reach top pay rather than a shorter period for UAW workers prior to the 2007 creation of the two-tier structure. A health care co-op to pool workers at the Detroit automakers, cited as a reason for rejection of the previous proposal, is not included in the new deal, Williams said. The deal is now richer in that it raises the top pay for newer secondtier workers to about $29 from about $19 currently, and from the top pay of $25 proposed in the rejected contract. Fiat Chrysler is financially the weakest of the Detroit Three which also includes General Motors Co (GM.N) and Ford Motor Co (F.N). Its labor costs are lower than GM’s or Ford’s in large part because it has a higher percentage of second-tier workers.

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Fear and respect – VW’s culture under Winterkorn

ike many chief executives, Martin Winterkorn was a demanding boss who didn’t like failure. But critics say the pressure on managers at Volkswagen was unusual, which may go some way to explaining the carmaker’s crisis. Three weeks after it admitted to cheating U.S. emissions tests, Europe’s largest carmaker is under pressure to identify who exactly was responsible. Volkswagen (VOWG_p.DE) has declined to comment on whether the firm’s culture or the management style of Winterkorn, who resigned last month, had been a factor in the cheating. Lawyers for Winterkorn did not respond to a request for comment. But now that VW’s problems are

coming out into the open and Winterkorn has gone, some executives are declaring that the company needs to change its approach. “We have to streamline our processes,” Volkswagen Group of America CEO Michael Horn told a U.S. congressional hearing when asked about what the revelations said about VW’s integrity. “This company has to bloody learn and use this opportunity in order to get their act together, and 600,000 people worldwide have to be managed in a different way,” he said. “This is very, very clear.” Bernd Osterloh, a member of VW’s supervisory board, was even more precise in a letter to staff on Sept. 24, a week after U.S. regulators revealed the cheating.

Volkswagen car

Dell to use VMware to help pay for EMC deal – Sources

ell Inc is planning to use equity in cloud software company VMware Inc (VMW.N) to help pay for its acquisition of EMC Corp (EMC.N) in a deal valuing the data storage company at more than $55 billion, according to people familiar with the matter. While the bulk of its offer will be in cash, Dell also plans to pay EMC shareholders with “tracking stock” that follows the value of the 20 percent of VMware that EMC does not own, the people said on Friday. A deal could be announced as early as next week, assuming that financing arrangements and the remaining negotiations are completed, the people said. The sources asked not to be identified because the negotiations are confidential. Dell, EMC and VMware did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Computer

EMC shares ended trading on Friday up 2.5 percent at $27.86 after tech website Re/code reported that Dell was offering $27.25 a share for EMC in addition to stock in VMware. An acquisition of EMC would strengthen Dell’s presence among corporate customers at a time when Michael Dell is trying to transform his three-decade old PC company into a provider of complete enterprise computing services. EMC has been under pressure from Elliott Management Corp to spin off VMware. The activist investor has said EMC’s structure of combining several businesses obscures “enormous” value. Dell - which has about $12 billion in debt, according to Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi - went private in 2013 in a deal worth $25 billion, less than half EMC’s current market capitalization.

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Capital Market

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Operators urge investors on collective investment scheme opportunities Johnson Okanlawon

perators in the capital market have called on local investors to access capital using the Collective Investment Scheme, CIS, option. The scheme is a type of investment that involves collecting money from different investors and then combining all the money collected to fund the investment. It is sometimes called “Mutual funds”. Explaining the benefits of the scheme, the Group Chief Executive Officer, United Capital, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Sanni, said that investing through fund managers remained a better option for retail investors because the fund managers are better placed to maximize investments opportunity the way an individual investor cannot. She observed that investors tend to shun the CIS due to inadequate knowledge, urging the fund managers to do more to create awareness of how the market could be accessed through the CIS. According to her, funds pooled through the fund managers have separate custody just as the pension fund, adding that there is also a separate trustee that handles any complain or challenges from the fund manager to the regulator. The Managing Director of Cranes Securities Limited, Mr. Mike Ezeh, pointed out that CIS remained a very good investment option to explore in the capital market. He encouraged investors to take advantage of the depression in stock prices to buy units of well-managed mutual funds in order to benefit from the capital appreciation over time. Ezeh explained that while investors

SEC DG, Gwarzo

Stock Exchange building

Most quoted companies on the Nigerian Stock Exchange are doing very well; they have good fundamentals, so I think this is the time for investors to buy into companies that are trading below their true value rarely patronize mutual funds in Nigeria, participation in some other financial markets is higher through mutual funds rather than by direct investment in equities. He said in Brazil, 10 million more investors participate in the market through mutual funds, while only 500,000 invest directly in the market. Explaining how CIS works, Ezeh said by pooling funds of several individual and corporate investors, it gives investors access to investments that they will ordinarily not have access to. “Unlike equities, a CIS is generally not traded on a Stock Exchange but investors buy and sell units to/from the fund manager at any time. Shares are created and sold to new investors on a continuous basis so you can either invest a lump sum or on a regular monthly basis,” he said. According to him, the operation of the entity is based on the principle of the diversification of risk. The Managing Director of StanbicIBTC Asset Management Limited, Mr. Olumide Oyetan noted that collective investment scheme or mutual

funds sector has the potential to reach heights previously thought impossible. He stated that while the America control over 56 per cent of the $34 trillion global mutual funds’ assets, Africa has less that three per cent, pointing out however that the CIS sector in Nigeria has witnessed massive growth in the last 10 years but that a lot still needed to be done to take the sector to the next level. On how to grow the sector, he said, more institutional investors must be attracted and more products that meets the needs of pension fund administrators created. He called on investors to take advantage of the downturn in the capital market to buy stocks with good fundamentals with the prospects of higher returns. Oyetan said: “Most quoted companies on the Nigerian Stock Exchange are doing very well; they have good fundamentals, so I think this is the time for investors to buy into companies that are trading below their true value. “Despite the depreciation in the price of crude oil, Exchange Traded

Funds, ETFs, mirroring oil have doubled in the last three months. This tells you investors in oil ETF know what most of us don’t know. They are betting on oil ETF because they know the price of crude oil will soon hit an all-time high again.” He said that the Institute was a unique investment window because it allows its investors to benefit from the returns earned on choice real estate properties. In the opinion of Partner, Probitas Partners LLP and Director, Kord Capital Limited, Kazim Yusuf, “whether any particular feature is an advantage for you will depend on your unique circumstances. According to him, for some investors, mutual funds provide an attractive investment choice because they generally offer professional management features, including research and monitoring of the performance of the securities the fund purchases, amongst others. He said: “Diversification is an investing strategy that can be neatly summed up as don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Spreading your investments across a wide range of companies and industry sectors can help lower your risk if a company or sector fails. “Some investors find it easier to achieve diversification through ownership of mutual funds rather than through ownership of individual stocks or bonds”, the expert added. Yusuf noted further that some mutual funds can take care of investors who do not have a lot of money to invest by setting relatively low dollar amounts for initial purchases, subsequent monthly purchases, or both. He explained that mutual fund investors can readily redeem their shares at the current net asset value plus any fees and charges assessed on redemption — at any time. Despite the benefits of mutual funds, the investment expert however noted that they also had the flip slip which investors must be conscious of. He clarified: “But mutual funds also have features that some investors might view as disadvantages, such as costs despite negative returns, investors must pay sales charges, annual fees, and other expenses regardless of how the fund performs. “Depending on the timing of their investment, investors may also have to pay taxes on any capital gains distribution they receive-even if the fund went on to perform poorly after they bought shares”, Yusuf said.

Features

ith recent developments in Calabar, the capital of Cross River State, the average Christian will swear by the Holy Bible that indeed, the end time is here. How else would they have described a situation where some individuals who are supposed to be regarded as a mean of God, but found to be a regular face in brothels, patronising prostitutes. How else would they have described the situation that has made a Deaconess the sponsors of whores? Only recently, news became rife about an incident that shocked many. Like a script best meant for a Nollywood movie, a pastor was reported to have visited a brothel notorious for harbouring prostitutes. The supposed man of God was not in the brothel to preach the words of God to make the prostitutes change their ways. Rather, he was there to do those things he was supposed to preach against – patronize the harlots. Said to have been a regular face at the hotel, the pastor simply identified as Effiong ran into a scandal when he did not play the game by the rule. For one reason or the other, the pastor abandoned his “regular customer” for another member of the prostitution ring in the hotel. To him, he was only enjoying his fundamental right to choose from the whole lot, but he got it all wrong. His customer got wind of the development and became jealous. She would not let the experience go without a fight, so she blew her top and fought dirty. Said a source: “Trouble started when he (the pastor) went to the hotel with his bible pretending to want to preach as he had always done whenever he was there on escapades. But unfortunately for him on that fateful day, his regular woman was engaged with another man and instead of waiting for her, he went straight to patronise a lady whom he had always admired in the same hotel. He was busy enjoying himself when his regular woman came out and was told that the pastor was with another woman in one of the rooms. “Unknown to him that even prostitutes also get jealous when they find their ‘regular customers’ with another woman, he landed himself in a big problem. The lady went to her colleague’s room and banged on the door, accusing the woman of snatching her man. “The one inside was not happy with the accusation, so she opened her door in anger and engaged the other in a fight. When other prostitutes heard what happened, they gathered and descended mercilessly on the pastor, beating him up. It took the intervention of other patrons of the hotel to get him out of the clutches of the women who were busy insulting him, calling him unprintable names.” The pastor is not the only one engaged in the unholy practice. With the increase in the business of prostitution in Calabar, not a few men patronise the brothels that litter the length and breath of the state. For instance, barely two weeks ago, a married man was caught red handed in an uncompromising position with a girl in a popular brothel - Peace Garden - when a task force set up by Governor Ben Ayade stormed the place which is located along Muritala Mohammed Highway, Calabar, around the Flour Mills Junction. The task force is made up of well armed policemen, the Navy and men of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

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In Calabar, Ayade takes battle to prostitutes, patrons RICHARD NDOMA writes on the battle by the Cross River State government to cleanse the state of prostitution and other criminalities.

The front view of Peace Garden Hotel

This place has become a Sodom and Gomorrah in Cross River and the raid was carried out to stop prostitution and criminality in the state headed by the Cross River State Security Adviser, Jude Ngaji. This man was said to have left Port Harcourt for Calabar with food stuffs such as garri, yams, rice, palm oil and provisions for his daughter who was in one of the Deeper Life Church secondary schools in Akpabuyo Local Government Area in Cross River State. He was said to have decided to stay the night over at the hotel when he was whisked away alongside the prostitutes at the hotel when the task force carried out a raid. In fact, no fewer than 54 prostitutes and 56 men were taken away. Another amazing story is that of a 60 years old grandmother, one Mrs. Offiong Edem Umoh who claimed to be a deaconess with Apostolic Church, New Obutong Parish. She was said to have been arrested along with the prostitutes for allegedly abetting their nefarious activities. But what could a deaconess have in common with prostitutes? That is the question that begged for answer. However, in her defence, the deaconess said the brothel was owned by her children who were said to be doing some other businesses in their home state, Akwa Ibom.

One of the prostitutes countered her, arguing that Deaconess Umoh operated a shop where she sells alcohol, hard drugs like Indian hemp among other things. Deaconess Umoh also denied the allegations. She said she only sells drinks and provisions. During a visit to her shop, our correspondent saw on display, packets of condom for sale, however. Her denials appear not strong enough to convince many as they continue to wonder why she would be allegedly involved in an act considered to be immoral and against the principles of Christianity in which she is said to hold the revered position of a deaconess. As though the evidence against Umoh was not enough, a source close to the woman said the grandmother still had three other functional brothels in three different locations within Calabar, stressing that the brothels in questions were being coordinated by three different women. The source said that the aged woman has an aide, a woman who goes to the South East to bring in young girls for prostitution under the excuse that they had a good paying job of nannies for them. The source said upon arrival in Calabar, Umoh would provide accommodation and feeding for them and later initiate them into the business of prostitution. During the raid by the Cross River State task force otherwise referred to as “Operation Skolombo”, three Close Circuit TV cameras were found at different locations of the brothel, for the monitoring of the activities of the girls by Umoh. A source told our correspondent that the monitoring was to prevent the sluts from engaging in any deep conversation with their clients or exchanging telephone numbers with them. But fielding questions from journalists, Mr. Ngaji, the State Security Adviser to Governor Ben Ayade accused the 60 years old grandma of turning the hotel to “Sodom and Gomorrah.” He stated that the brothel was being

used in the perpetration of all sorts of criminalities like the sale of hard drugs and use as a haven for all sorts of criminalities in the area. ``Given the tourism status of Cross River State, the present administration led by Governor Ayade frowns seriously on this despicable act where under-aged girls are engaged in prostitution. Some of the girls found in this notorious hotel are as young as 12 years of age.” Ngaji said the development was annoying and vowed to take drastic and decisive measures to stem the tide. He however stated that the governor had directed that the place be raided and shut down forthwith. Consequently, the governor has warned that other persons or groups involved in this unwholesome practice should, in their own interest, desist forthwith or face the wrath of the law’’, he warned. The State Security Adviser maintained that his office, in collaboration with security agents in the state, were assiduously working to ensure that criminals and prostitutes were shown the way out of the state. ``In collaboration with the office of the Area Command in Calabar, we used 11 trucks in conveying the girls and men to the Command. Each time you pass here at night, you find under-aged girls of about 13 and 14 years standing by and waiting for men. This place has become an area of concern to the state and people of Cross River as it sometimes serves as criminals’ den. ``This place has become a Sodom and Gomorrah in Cross River and the raid was carried out to stop prostitution and criminality in the state. ``There is no law that legalises prostitution in Nigeria. The girls will be tried in court and we will ensure that they are returned to their respective states,’’ Ngaji said. The SSA urged teenage girls in the country to get themselves engaged in meaningful ventures like pursuing academics matters rather than getting themselves engaged in frivolities like prostitution.

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Features

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Saving lives through a heart foundation Kanu Heart Foundation spreads its safety net to Akowonjo, a Lagos suburb, to commemorate World Heart Day penultimate week and left members of the community grateful for the foundation’s generosity. AFOLABI GAMBARI reports

he decision by management of the Kanu Heart Foundation (KHF) to make the 2015 World Heart Day community-based could be understood in the foundation’s resolve to make Akowonjo community in Alimosho Local Government Area of Lagos State its epicenter. Of the 57 local councils and local council development areas in the state, Alimosho is the most populated. According to coordinator of Kanu Heart Foundation, Pastor Onyebuchi Abia, the decision was taken after a careful consideration. “We want to reach out to the people as much as possible and when we considered how far this objective can be attained, it did not take us too long to settle for Akowonjo,” said Abia, who is a seasoned journalist and sports administrator. “We decided to kill two birds with one stone, as it were, by commemorating the momentous World Heart Day and serving the community. “In the process, we also seek to increase the awareness of our foundation through our activities during the period.” The KHF collaborated with Vikram Hospital, India for the three-day programme staged from September 28 to 30 with the Christ the King’s Catholic Church, Akowonjo as venue. Day 1 was kick-started by Pastor Abia who, in company with five doctors from the Indian hospital, enjoined all and sundry to avail themselves of the opportunities offered by the period to improve their healthy living. Soon after Abia’s address, which dwelt extensively on the heart foundation’s journey from inception in 2000, the doctors commenced heart screening and consultation at no cost whatsoever to the beneficiaries. About 50 volunteer nurses from the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) and another 15 members of the Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Inspired Nurses Africa, also conducted blood pressure checks and health counseling for the hundreds of people who thronged the venue, which turned the large hall to a veritable hive of activities. But if it was thought that the programme was meant to benefit only the Christians in the community, it would be grossly mistaken. For, it was not the building that mattered but all those who needed care. Muslims dressed in veil as well as hijab also visited the church hall inside a large expanse of land with a surrounding fence. Ajarat Azeez, in a black veil, told National Mirror that the community could not have had it so timely. “I think a programme as this can enlighten us more on the need to cater to our health adequately,” she said, adding, “It does not matter whether it is taking place in the church premises. After all, in this community, we have lived for one another.”

I particularly appreciate the counseling aspect which,

I must say,

has enriched my knowledge of

healthy living.

now understand how to handle pressure that comes with keeping a family with less stress in A volunteer checking a benefiary’s blood pressure

the quest to avoid heart-related troubles

One of the Indian doctors scanning a baby’s heart

The first day was wrapped up by lectures on healthy living, dieting and nutrition and cardiology which preceded general discussion. Day 2, September 29 which was the World Heart Day, commenced with consultations and heart screening, after which all participants embarked on Heart Walk from the church premises to Dopemu Roundabout, a walk of about 10 kilometer which saw the walkers bringing vehicular traffic along the route to a halt as they drew attention with dance and songs in uniforms commemorating the day. Back at the take-off point, participants listened to a lecture on “Exercise and Heart” while more screening and consultations continued as the day rounded off. Day 3 commenced with consultation

and screening, after which general discussion took over the church hall as participants took stock of their efforts in the past 72 hours. For a resident, Mr. Ojuolape Yusuf, it would be hard to forget the experience easily. “I am proud to say that my entire household benefited from the programme,” Yusuf enthused. “I particularly appreciate the counseling aspect which, I must say, has enriched my knowledge of healthy living. I now understand how to handle pressure that comes with keeping a family with less stress in the quest to avoid heart-related troubles,” he added with smiles on his face. An Inspired Nurses Africa staff, Olajumoke Yemitan, expressed delight at providing service to a community in

need. “Personally I feel fulfilled to have educated members of the Akowonjo community on the need to preserve their health so that they can stay productive for the society,” she said. A volunteer staff from LUTH, Sunday Akinwale, beamed with satisfaction: “For me, seeing people of this community flock into the church and seeing them happily leaving the premises gave me much fulfillment and I think I will be willing to do this again and again.” The KHF coordinator, however, viewed the stock taking from a somewhat dreadful dimension, even as it also projected some relief. “We discovered during the heart screening that a number of people have heart ailments that they have carried and are ignorant about the ailment,” Abia revealed. “We have noted the sufferers and as a foundation, we will swing into action immediately by sourcing funds that will enable us arrange treatment for them in India and elsewhere. “We also discovered during the blood pressure checks that a number of people read above 200 and the counselors did their best to educate the affected on how best to keep the pressure within normal range.” On the target for 2016, Abia also said: “We are looking at expanding the scope for the next World Heart Day as we discovered that some of those who benefitted from this programme came from far places. We will come up with our resolve in due course.”

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Global Business

Exclusive: GE nears deal to sell over $30 billion of loans to Wells Fargo – Source

eneral Electric Co (GE.N) is in advanced talks to sell a specialty finance portfolio, worth more than $30 billion, to Wells Fargo & Co (WFC.N), according to a person familiar with the matter, as the industrial conglomerate returns to its roots. Wells Fargo has so far outbid other parties for General Electric’s vendor financing, commercial distribution finance and direct lending assets, the person with direct knowledge of the situation said on Friday. A deal could be announced by the time Wells Fargo publishes its thirdquarter earnings on Wednesday, the person added, cautioning that the negotiations were ongoing and could still fall apart. The source asked not to be identified because the matter is confidential. GE and Wells Fargo representatives declined to comment. The sale of the loans would leapfrog GE well past its target of shedding about $100 billion worth of finance assets by the end of this year. The company unveiled its latest

GE product

divestment agreement on Monday - for its North American corporate aircraft financing portfolio - bringing its total deals to date related GE Capital to $97 billion. GE announced in April it would sell off some $200 billion in GE Capital financing assets as it focuses more on its manufacturing of industrial goods, setting off a series of transactions for the U.S. conglomerate. GE Capital’s commercial dis-

tribution finance offers lending to dealers and manufacturers of durable goods, such as boats, recreational vehicles and off-road vehicles. Direct lending provides asset-based loans and equipment leasing to a range of mid-size and larger companies. Vendor finance allows larger networks of equipment dealers networks to offer third-party financing to buyers of equipment such as office imaging, construction, material handling and technology.

Central bank cavalry can no longer save the world

n 2008 central banks, led by the Federal Reserve, rode to the rescue of the global financial system. Seven years on and trillions of dollars later they no longer have the answers and may even represent a major risk for the global economy. A report by the Group of Thirty, an international body led by former European Central Bank chief JeanClaude Trichet, warned on Saturday that zero rates and money printing were not sufficient to revive economic growth and risked becoming semipermanent measures. “Central banks have described their actions as ‘buying time’ for governments to finally resolve the crisis... But time is wearing on, and (bond) purchases have had their price,” the report said. In the United States, the Federal Reserve ended its bond purchase program in 2014, and had been expected to raise interest rates from zero as early as June 2015. But it may struggle to implement

IMF MD, Lagarde

its first hike in almost 10 years by the end of the year. Market pricing in interest rate futures puts a hike in March 2016. The Bank of England has also delayed, while the European Central Bank looks set to implement another round of quantitative easing, as does the Bank of Japan which has been stuck in some form of quantitative easing since 2001. Reuters calculates that central banks in those four countries alone have spent around $7 trillion in bond purchases. The flow of easy money has inflated asset prices like stocks and housing in many countries even as they failed to stimulate economic growth. With growth estimates trending lower and easy money increasing company leverage, the specter of a debt trap is now haunting advanced economies, the Group of Thirty said. The Fed has pledged that when it does hike rates, it will be at a slow pace so as not to strangle the U.S. economic recovery, one of the longest, but weakest on record in the post-war period. Yet, forecasts by one regional Fed president shows he expects negative rates in 2016. Most policymakers at the semiannual IMF meetings this week have presented relatively upbeat forecasts for the world economy and say risks have been largely contained. The G30, however, warned that the 40 percent decline in commodity prices could presage weaker growth and “debt deflation”. Rates would then have to remain

low as central banks would be forced to maintain or extend their bond programs to try and bolster growth and the price of financial assets would fall. That is not just a developed-world problem. In China, credits to stateowned enterprises and increasingly by the shadow banking sector have been a driving force in an investment splurge in the world’s second largest economy. According to an IMF report issued this week, there is “excessive” lending of $3 trillion in emerging market economies, an average of 15 percent of gross domestic product, which runs the risk of unwinding should economic conditions worsen. “Capital losses would affect many investors, including banks, and the process of extend and pretend for poor loans would have to come to a stop,” the G30 report said. Even in a more benign economic outlook, central banks will have a tough time exiting easy money policies and may face demands to hold rates low. The IMF has repeatedly urged the Fed not to hike rates yet. None of the world’s major central banks are remotely close to hitting their inflation targets and many of them are haunted by memories of high inflation. The European Central Bank was born with, and still has, a sole inflation mandate. With the consequences of an exit from easy money so unpredictable, the G30 said the risk was of exiting too late for fear of sparking another crisis.

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Fed’s Fischer says 2015 U.S. rate rise ‘an expectation, not a commitment’

.S. Federal Reserve policymakers are still likely to raise interest rates this year but that is “an expectation, not a commitment”, and could change if the global economy pushes the U.S. economy further off course, Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Stanley Fischer said. “Both the timing of the first rate increase and any subsequent adjustments to the federal funds rate target will depend critically on future developments in the economy,” Fischer told a group on the sidelines of the International Monetary Fund meeting in Peru. He said “considerable uncertainties” surrounded the U.S. economic outlook, particularly the drag on exports from slowing global growth, low investment caused by the decline in oil prices and what he called a “disappointing” recent drop in U.S. job growth. He said he felt the U.S. economy was still generating enough jobs to continue making progress towards the Fed’s goal of maximum employment and that inflation would eventually rise. Based on that, he said, the U.S. central bank should be able to keep on track with an initial rate hike expected in October or December. But he also cautioned the group

Fed Reserve Chair, Janet Yellen

that the United States is now more exposed than ever to international events and that developments in China and elsewhere had already influenced the Fed to delay a widely expected rate increase in September. “We do not currently anticipate that the effects of these recent developments on the U.S. economy will prove to be large enough to have a significant effect on the path for policy,” he said. “That said, recent employment reports have been somewhat disappointing and, as always, we are closely monitoring developments that could affect our sense of the economic outlook and the risks surrounding that outlook.”

AB InBev may raise bid for SABMiller – Source

rewer Anheuser-Busch InBev (ABI.BR) may raise its takeover offer for SABMiller (SAB.L) ahead of Wednesday’s bid deadline, a source close to the matter said on Sunday. An offer in the range of 43 to 44 pounds per share is a possibility, the source said, adding that AB InBev was unlikely to go as high as 45 to 46 pounds, as some analysts have suggested. The brewer of Budweiser and Stella Artois is willing to walk away from what would be the biggest-ever UK company takeover, noted the source, who declined to be identified

David Cameron

as the matter is private. Following three rejections -- at 38, 40 and 42.15 pounds per share -- many analysts expect AB InBev to sweeten its offer this week ahead of a deadline for a formal bid set by UK regulators at 5:00 pm on Wednesday. AB InBev Chief Executive Carlos Brito, who went public with the most recent bid last week after getting frustrated by SABMiller’s response, called the 42.15 price “full”. He never called it final, and sources familiar with the matter saw that as leaving open the possibility of an improved offer. SABMiller on Friday announced an accelerated costsavings drive, which analysts saw as a defensive move to drive up the offer price. Two of its largest institutional shareholders also came out in support of the board’s rejection of AB InBev’s bid, saying it was too low. At 43 pounds per share, SABMiller would be worth 69.6 billion pounds ($106.51 billion).

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Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Navy uncovers 50 illegal refineries in Niger Delta Osahon Julius YENAGOA

he operatives of the Central Naval Command, Bayelsa State, said it has uncovered 50 illegal refinery camps operated by oil thieves in the oil rich Niger Delta communities and set ablaze 150 drums of stolen gasoline. The command said it also seized wooden boats, known as Cotonuo boats containing over 150 drums of illegally refined automated gaso-

line. Speaking shortly after the destruction, Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) Central Naval Command, Rear Admiral Apochi Suleiman, said the operation was the largest discovery of illegal refineries in the region. Rear Admiral Suleiman said the camps were scattered over 3 nautical miles within the creeks of Asiagbene in Burutu Local Government Area of Delta State. He said the discovery was made possible

through the constant patrol established by command within the area. According to him, a combined patrol team from Nigeria Naval base Brass, Yenagoa and Naval base Delta carried out a patrol of the creeks on Saturday night when the camps were discovered and a badge laden with drums of illegally refined AGO arrested. The FOC also said the criminals, on citing the Navy abandoned a 40 horse-power speed boat and escaped arrest.

Rear Admiral Suleiman said that his men went almost 2 to 3 hours into the creek before the site was uncovered, stressing that criminals believe in concealment and that it was part of his command’s job to unveil their concealed area. Rear Admiral Suleiman reiterated his command’s strategy to make the illegal activities in waterways unattractive for criminals, advising them to seek for a better and legitimate job, rather than the illegal act.

L R: Executive Director, Think Nigeria First Initiative(TNFI),Abubakar Tsanni; Patron of TNFI, Dr. Ahmed Iliyasu Sardaunan Misau and Elder Statesman, Chief Edwin Clark when the TNFI delegation paid a courtesy visit to the Elder statesman Edwin Clark in Abuja at the weekend.

Imuekemhe retired when Edo people needed him –Oshiomhole Sebastine Ebhuomhan

overnor Adams Oshiomhole has praised the former Secretary to the Government of Edo State (SSG), Dr. Simon Imuekemhe, for voluntarily retiring from public office at a time that Edo State people actively sought, consulted and relied on him. Oshiomhole stated that Imuekemhe retired from the alluring glee and razzmatazz of public office even against popular calls by the public urging him to continue in office in line with the sit-tight syndrome associated with public office service in Nigeria. The governor also de-

scribed the smooth and soft talking public servant as a man of absolute trust and high credibility, who repeatedly shunned overtures that the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) made to him to swap allegiance and expose vital information of his administration with a view to not only embarrassing the All Progressives Congress (APC)-elected government of Edo State but also ensuring its fall. Governor Oshiomhole spoke at the launching and presentation of Imuekemhe’s book on public administration in Benin City, Edo State. The governor, whose kind words almost drew tears from the eyes of Imekemhe and his family

members, said by not swapping his allegiance for pecuniary benefits and filthy lucre, Imuekemhe not only prevented him as a political leader from falling into the trap of the opposition PDP and his adversaries but also saved his job as the governor of a highly enlightened Edo State. Oshiomhole jovially recalled an incident that occurred seven years ago when he had just assumed power after a tortuous 18-month victorious legal tussle, an incident that had innocuously made him to label Imuekemhe of ‘guilty of bad behaviour’. According to Oshiomhole, Imuekemhe, as Head of Service, told him after Appeal Court declared him

winner of the election in November 2008 not to accept his housing, transport and related allowances payment that were usually collected by past administrations of the state. The allowances covered the period of 28 days he and other members of his administration had lived at a rented apartment in the GRA area of Benin City before eventually parking into his official quarters in the Government House at Dennis Osadebey Avenue. Oshiomhole said when he sought clarifications, Imuekemhe sincerely advised him not to take the money in order to keep his name and integrity from being dragged in the mud in the future.

A’Ibom floats credit scheme, donates bus to traders’ union

kwa Ibom State Government has boosted its drive towards the realisation of the vision for wealth creation by presenting funds to its citizens to enable them break even in their various enterprises. The fund which is made available through the Micro Scale And Medium Enterprises is to cater for one thousand beneficiaries who are mostly traders. The percentage of disbursement is sixty five for Women while the Men will access the remaining thirty five. Speaking at Ibom Hall, Venue of the presentation, Governor Udom Emmanuel said that the loan which is revolving and interestfree, would boost working capital of the traders and enable them excel in their businesses. He announced plans to organise training workshop on entrepreneurial development and financial management, to equip the traders with requisite skills that would facilitate their business undertakings. He also donated a Toyota Hiace bus to the traders association. Governor Emmanuel charged the beneficiaries to be prudent in the management of the fund to enable other beneficiaries access the loan. He solicited their partnership in the administration’s determination to create wealth and improve the living conditions of its citizens. Setting the tone for the occasion, the Commis-

sioner for Finance, Mr. Akan Okon, stated that the loan was sequel to the Central Bank directive for the empowerment of Entrepreneurs which he described as the engine room for economic growth. He thanked the Governor for keeping his campaign promise with the traders and warned them against diversion of the funds to other needs. The State President, Conference Of Traders Association, Obong Christopher Usoro, in his speech pointed out that the traders had never had it so good as the governor decided to provide them with capital for their businesses. He commended Governor Emmanuel for including them in his development agenda and supported the gesture with a presentation of an Award of Excellence, on behalf of the traders, to the governor. In a goodwill message, the President Akwa Ibom Traders Network, Mr. Moses Sambo and his counterpart in the Market Women Association, Madam Magdalen Udom, noted that the governor had established a long lasting relationship with the traders by looking into their welfare and equipping them for their businesses. Sambo assured that the funds would be properly utilised in the interest of the traders association and pledged their continued support to the administration.

Tribunal upholds PDP candidates’ victory in C’River Richard Ndoma CALABAR

he election tribunal sitting in Calabar yesterday upheld victory for all PDP candidates who ran in March 28 National Assembly election in Cross River State. The tribunal upheld victory of PDP candidates for the State Assembly election too. Also, the tribunal also disqualified itself and

rendered all its proceedings and judgement null and void but went ahead to read judgment in favour of all PDP candidates saying that the issue of jurisdiction was academic incline. Despite its disqualification yesterday, the tribunal went ahead to deliver judgment on the five cases it had at its disposal on grounds of “mere academic exercise” and the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) won in all.

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

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I’ve learnt a lot working with Oshiomhole –Ogie

How did you get into politics despite studying Law and practicing as a lawyer? Politics is a vocation for me; not a profession. Everyone of us has a business, but because we are human beings, we are interested in what happens around us. That is how I got involved in politics. Especially, the coming of Adams Oshiomhole into the politics of Edo State made me to become involved in politics at a higher level. Ordinarily, as an indigene, you should like to know what is happening around you, those in governments, what they are doing and what they are not doing. How would you describe working with Governor Adams Oshiomhole for more than seven years now? Can we really tell the story (of my experience) in one or two hours? Oshiomhole is an enigma. When you work with him, you are like somebody in a school because at the end of the day, you would have learnt one thing or two from him. He is a man who has seen virtually all sides of life. I have learnt a lot from him. Even coming in as a lawyer, I have been in practice for over 20 years now. But in the last seven years, I have seen another aspect of life working with him. That has challenged me to learn more and to see things from different angles. Oshiomhole is a man who has passion for the downtrodden. You can’t take that away from him. He is a man who tries to be fair. He is a man, who, if he felt he has offended you, will be quick to say: sorry. He has no airs. If you have a superior argument as against his own, he is humble enough to accept that you are right and he is wrong. Such leaders are not common. What would you explain as being your biggest challenge or demand of working successfully with Oshiomhole? If you are working with Oshiomhole, you must be on your feet for 24 hours. And to be his Chief of Staff, you have to be on your feet 24/7. You know he has a passion for infrastructural development. Again, being the Commissioner for Work, I have to be on my feet for 24 hours. As Chief of Staff and now as Commissioner for Works, how would you describe your duties? As Chief of Staff, I would be the first person to meet him in the morning in his office and also the last person he stays with before the close of the day’s work. That means you have to be abreast of developments in the state so that if there are issues you need to discuss with him, you have the right information to assist you to reach a decision. But as Commissioner for Works now, my roles are much more defined, unlike that of Chief of Staff that has to do with everybody and everything. How is Edo State Government coping with servicing its infrastructural projects such as Central Hospital, Second East Circular Road and several others on the face of the paucity of funds from national economic recession? Yes. Many journalists including ordinary people keep asking these questions that most of the states are unable to pay salaries while work is on-going in Edo State. It’s simple: sew your coat according to your cloth. That is Oshiomhole’s policy. Secondly, and more importantly, at the beginning of this administration there were a lot of changes; people did not understand what he was doing until now. Before now, the recurrent expenditure was 70 per cent while capital expenditure was 30 per cent. But the governor reversed this: first, to 50—50 and now 70—30. This was a big difference from the past. On the issue of taxation, when we came in, the IGR was about N200—250 million per month. Then, we started tax review and there was hue

Mr. Osarodion Ogie is the Commissioner for Works in Edo State. A lawyer, former Chief of Staff to Governor Adams Oshiomhole and a leader of the state-ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), he speaks on a number of issues in this interview with Sebastine Ebhuomhan

Ogie

and cry. The PDP was calling us names. But today, our monthly IGR is about N1.5 billion. What is the effect of that; you may ask? Even when federal allocation has dropped, we have enough to pay our workers and still with enough to do these jobs. If we had not taken those initial steps, with the cost of running government, we will not have that reserve to service capital projects. If we had not gone on tax drive, we would not have had the resources to work on Second East Circular Road

You can see other states are crying for

bailout.

Workers and civil servants in Edo State have been paid up to date. This was only possible because of savings made in the cost of running government and the tax drive we started

today. You can see other states are crying for bailout. Workers and civil servants in Edo State have been paid up to date. This was only possible because of savings made in the cost of running government and the tax drive we started. As the Commissioner of Works in Edo State today, if you drive round the state, you will find that the state of most of the roads in most of the communities of the state are in very a bad state, making endangered species of inhabitants of the communities. What are you doing to tackle this problem in Oghede and other communities? I do not know the areas you have visited. I wish you could visit every part of Edo State. However, the promise of Oshiomhole was not that he was going to construct every road but that he would do so much to take Edo State to a higher level. And in truth, he has done just that. Yes, we have not reached Jerusalem but we have left Egypt. Let me remind you that when we came to power, across the 18 local government areas, there was a breakdown of infrastructure. But I can tell you today that we have constructed roads across the 18 LGAs, especially in the rural areas. At Oghede, yes, they are entitled to good roads. They are citizens of this state. But so also are the people in Uromi, and the people in Ewohimi, the people in Okpela, the people of Evboghare, the people of Uronigbe etc. We have been able to reach most of these areas. Our promise is that we will continue to work for the people of this state until the end of the second term of this government and in the next government.

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Politics

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

No geo-political zone can hold Nigeria to ransom –Okoye How will you asses President Muhammadu Buhari’s appointments so far amidst public outcry especially from South-East and South South? My opinion is that, I know President Buhari very well; I know that he is a man of justice, and he is a man of integrity and he is a man of fairness. I believe that if any geo- political zone has been excluded from the appointments he has already made, the exclusion was not deliberate. Now, you will also know that there are some key appointments which the president is expected to make. Some of these key appointments are not appointments that are directly recognized by the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Some of these key appointments are in relation to those who are going to work personally with him. Some of them are going to be his personal staff. Some of them are going to be his just personal advisers. I think that we can only begin to judge him based on some of the appointment that are constitutionally recognize and constitutionally protected. So, I believe the president when he says “yes, I know that some of the appointments that have been made are not balanced. In subsequent appointments, we are going to balance out issues so that all the geopolitical zones in Nigeria will feel a sense of belonging and a sense of presence in the government.” I think that rely on section 14 sub section 3 of the constitution, the president will make subsequent and future appointments in such a way that the gender diversity of Nigeria will be taken into consideration. I want him to make appointment in such a way that persons with disability will be taken into consideration. And also we want him to make appointments in such a way that all the states of the federation and all the geo- political zones will feel a sense of belonging and feel a sense of ownership in all the governance processes in Nigeria. So, I think that in terms of the appointments that have been made, the appointments have not balanced out. I believe the president when he said he will balance the appointment so that everybody and zones will feel happy with the government in terms of ownership of the process. You said some appointments are on the way, especially in the South East geo political zones. MASSOB group had threatened that Ndigbo should not accept any appointment from Buhari’s government. How do you look at the issue? No geo-political zone has the capacity to hold Nigeria to ransom. And no political zone has the capacity to hold the president to ransom. The constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is very clear. The constitution made it possible for the Nigeria people to elect the president who shall nominate people as associate and run with the person as a vice president for the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Secondly, the constitution gives the president right to go before the senate and ask for a number of special advisers that will assist him in the performance of his duties. That is the constitutional right of the president. And that is the constitutional responsibility of the president. The constitution has also said that the president has the right to nominate ministers that will assist him in performing his functions. Those ministers will be confirmed by the senate. The caveat is that the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria says that in making appointments, in terms of those who are going to assist you as ministers, that you should make sure that at least you get one person each from each state of the federation into your cabinet. That is the exclusive reserve and preserve of the president. No socio- cultural group and no political group has the right to insist or to direct to command anybody not to accept any appointment made by the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This is because some appointments are made at the discretion of the president. The only thing is that the consti-

Barrister Festus Okoye, is a constitutional lawyer and Executive Director, Human Rights Monitor. He was a member of the Electoral Reform Committee set up by the Federal Government in 2007 and a member of 2014 National Conference, representing the civil society . In this interview with AZA MSUE in Kaduna, Okoye said no geo-political zone or group has the capacity to hold Nigeria to ransom adding that, President Mohammadu Buhari has the right to appoint anybody he wants in his government. He also speaks on other issues as they affect the country. Excerpts: to impose anybody on the president or insist that anybody the president appoint to any position, should not accept such a position. They don’t have the right to do that, they don’t have the constitutional mandate to do that. And I think that they don’t have even the locus to do that.

Okoye

No socio- cultural group and no political group has the right to insist or to command anybody not to accept any appointment made by the president of the

Federal Republic of Nigeria

tution has given the president some guidelines on how to make appointments and it says in making appointment, you make sure that you carry all the geopolitical zones on board, you carry all the agents on board, you take into consideration the gender equation in Nigeria. Take into considerations, the interest of persons with disability. Also you make your appointment in such a way that the appointments you make shall command national loyalty thereby ensuring that there will be no predominant of persons from a few states or from a few ethnic or sectional groups in the government or any of these agencies. This is the command that the constitution has made to the president. So, I don’t think that any ethnic militias or ethnic pressure group hass the right

Some groups are calling on the acting Chairman of INEC to step aside. How do you see the calling? For me, I think the debate relating to whether her nomination as acting Chairman is constitutional or legal has been laid to rest. It has been laid to rest in the sense that the constitutional provisions and legal provisions give the president the right and the mandate to appoint an acting chairman for INEC. What Nigerians are saying is that she is being left in acting capacity for too long. And as today, there is only one national commissioner remaining in the INEC. So, I think that if the president finds the acting chairman worthy to be made the substantive chairman of INEC, her name should be forwarded to the council of states and to the senate for confirmation, and that the remaining component of national commissioners should be appointed. We also have 17 vacancies at the state level. In other words, the president needs to make 17 appointments in the electoral commissioners. These appointments should be made as quickly as possible so that the electoral management body can settle down and begin to plan for the 2019 elections and for the other elections coming up. So, the issue of setting down, or setting aside the acting chairman of INEC as far as I am concerned does not arise because the president has the right, the capacity and the mandate to appoint an acting chairman of INEC pending the appointment of the substantive chairman of INEC. How would you describe the administration of President Buhari? I think that the Nigeria people have confidence that the president they elected have the courage, has the stamina, has the integrity to get certain things done in Nigeria. But you must realize that there are very, very serious challenges on the way the country has been run and that these challenges have to be tackled systematically. My own take is that those who have put their confidence in President Buhari, for this particular moment , the person who have the courage, the international will, the desire to effect some fundamental changes in the Nigeria federation, is the president. We can only hope and pray that God will give him the energy, the wisdom, grace and stamina to tackle the mirage of challenges facing the people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria because the ordinary people have the confidence in him to deal with some of these challenges, the middle class have confidence in him to deal with some of these challenges. But you must also realize that yes, an individuals can make a difference and that difference will be bigger and will be more holistic when it is done by collective. So we expect the key stakeholders in the Nigeria federation, the APC as a political party to lead this process of change so that the change they promised the Nigerian people, the Nigerians will begin to witness that change in no distance future.

Politics

Wale Ibrahim LOKOJA

ogi State National Assembly Election Petition Tribunal sitting in Lokoja has upheld the election of All Progressive Congress, APC Senatorial Candidate in March 28, general election, Senator Dino Melaye representing Kogi West Senatorial District at the National Assembly. The immediate past Senator, Senator Smart Adeyemi who lost the election

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Tribunal dismisses Adeyemi’s petition, upholds Melaye’s election

has dragged Melaye to Tribunal claiming that Melaye was not qualify to contest the senatorial seat election because APC failed to conduct valid Primary election, that he has majority of total vote cast and call for re run election in 21 wards of Kogi West senato-

rial district. The Tribunal Chairman Justice Bassey Ikepeme who delivered the judgment of the tribunal in Lokoja yesterday dismissed the petition filed by Senator Smart Adeyemi and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP as lacking in merit.

Adeyemi had in the petition joined Melaye, APC and INEC as 1st, 2nd and 3rd respondents and sought five reliefs including nullification and withdrawal of Melaye’s Certificate of Return and declaring him (petitioner) as winner with the highest

Some Permanent Secretaries welcoming the Deputy Governor of Bauchi State, Nuhu Gidado (right), during inspection visit by the Deputy Governor to Bauchi State Recycling Plant in Bauchi yesterday. PHOTO: NAN

Ministerial screening: Group urges Senate to confirm Shittu Kemi Olaitan IBADAN

s the Senate today begins the confirmation of ministerial nominees, a nongovernmental group, Oyo State Coalition group in support of Barrister Adebayo Shittu, has called on the upper legislative house, to confirm his nomination as a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The group, made up of trade groups, professionals, artisans, elderly and the youths, through its spokesperson, Mr. Ismail Adewoyin, said the choice of Shittu is a blessing to the

Oke-Ogun area of the state. The group displayed various placards with varying inscriptions such as “Bayo Shittu: a team player, a democrat, please confirm him”, “we thank President Buhari for nominating Shittu as minister”, Oyo state supports Shittu as Minister”, Oyo State fully endorse Shittu as minister”, “distinguished senators, we count on you for Shittu’s confirmation”, “Bayo Shittu, Mungode Shugaban Kasa Muhammad Buhari”, “we thank Governor Ajimobi for his support”, “Bayo Shittu is an asset”, among others. Adewoyin said, “we

plead with the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly to confirm his nomination and urge all and sundry to support him so that together with his other colleagues, the effort of our able President Buhari at transforming Nigeria will quickly become a mission accomplished. “As a grassroot politician, Bayo Shittu is a team player with ardent desire to bring rapid development to the community. Many indigent students and parents have benefitted from his generosity just as he had put his legal services at the disposal of a number of people who were not in a position to pay

for such services. “We’re here because we believe that Barrister Shittu will bring immense value to governance going by his antecedents and philosophy. “He believes that our people here are suffering mainly because those who should use the available resources to better the lot of the people have disappointingly failed to do so. His mission in politics therefore is to redress this anomaly and ensure that those in position of authority use available resources to improve human welfare and enhance the quality of peoples’ lives.

Promote Awo’s ideals, group tasks ministerial nominees Ayo Esan

he All Progressives Congress Action Group in Ekiti State has asked the Ministerial nominees from the South West to promote the ideals of the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo whose political thoughts remain one of the driving pillars of APC in the region. In a statement signed

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by its spokesperson, Segun Dipe, the group said the ministerial nominees should particularly work harder to ensure the total return of the entire South West to the progressive fold. The AG also described as unwarranted, “reports that some members of our party were writing petitions against the Ministerial nominees from the region. At this point, it is unwar-

ranted for anyone or group to write petitions against any of the Ministerial nominees. The nominees deserve the full support of all APC. “We oppose any attempt to scuttle the screening process of the ministerial nominees. ‘We are aware that the state Governor Mr. Ayodele Fayose has said he would support the Presidential nominee, Dr John Kayode Fayemi of Ekiti State.

We in APC-AG do not trust Mr Fayose’s words. However, we believe that he is not in any vantage position to stop the nominee from scaling the hurdles.” The group added that the greatest challenge before Ekiti people now is to retrieve the state from a bad administrator who has brought ridicule to the state and her people through his self-serving economic policies.

number of valid votes cast. He based the petition on three grounds including: Substantial non-compliance with the provisions of the Electoral Act 2010 (As amended); 1st respondent not duly elected by the majority of lawful votes cast and non-qualification to contest the election at the time he (1st respondent) did. The petitioner also alleged malpractices, falsification of results and fraudulent allocation of votes to the APC in collusion with the INEC officials among others. The Tribunal faulted fundamental questions for determination of the petition and held that no credible evidence was adduced to prove substantial noncompliance with section 131 of the Electoral Act. 2010 as amended. Ikpeme held that petitioner also failed to prove alleged malpractices and all the criminal connotations beyond reasonable doubt or that their existence, if at all, vitiated substantially, the outcome of the election. On non-conduct of party primaries as alleged by

the petitioners, the tribunal held that Melaye was a product of a validly conducted APC primary which took place on December 8, 2014 at Kabba Township Stadium witnessed by INEC and result, fully attested to by INEC. “We have no reason to doubt its authenticity. There is evidence that there was an APC primary. We therefore find and hold that Dino Melaye was validly and constitutionally elected in the Kogi West Senatorial District election of March 28, 2015. “The petition is hereby dismissed as lacking in merit and the parties are to bear their own costs.” The petition which was earlier dismissed on June 18, on technical grounds as Adeyemi’s counsels failed to submit their response to a preliminary objection filed by the respondents’ counsel. The tribunal ruling was subsequently quashed by the Court of Appeal in Abuja which directed that the petition be retried with accelerated hearing and determined on the substance of the matter rather than technicalities.

Tribunal upholds APC Reps election in Bauchi Ezekiel Titus BAUCHI

he National and State Assembly Tribunal sitting in Bauchi has upheld the election of Hon. Shehu Aliyu Musa, member representing Bauchi Federal constituency. Musa won the election to represent the Constituency on the platform of the All Progressive Congress, APC in the March 28, election. The judgement followed a petition dated 22nd May 2015 by the PDP candidate, Hon. Aminu Mohammed Danmaliki who was defeated during the March 28 elections that Musa does not qualify to contest the March 28 election. Danmaliki also claimed that the accused was not nominated through due process as there was no

party primaries. Part of the prayers of the petitioners is to nullify the election of Musa as he said his election as APC candidate did not follow due process. Dismissing the petition against Musa, chairman of the Tribunal, Justice Hajara Tani Dami-Gwadah said the petition lacks merits Dami-Gwadah said that the petitioner has no moral justification to seek for any compensation as to the cost of the case She stressed that though the petitioner initially had the right to approach the tribunal for the course of justice, but did not proved his case beyond reasonable doubt . Counsel to Musa Barrister Izi Busy expressed appreciation to the judiciary saying his client is ready to prove its case at the appeal court.

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Politics

Tuesday, October 13 , 2015

Group faults Mohammed’s critics, laud Saraki Ebere Ndukwu

L-R: Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode; State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni and Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Tunji Bello, during a press conference with government house correspondents on the murder of the Managing Director, Lekki Worldwide Investment Limited, Mr. Tajudeen Disu, at the Lagos House, Ikeja, yesterday.

Leaders must bridge gap between people, system –Babalola Ayo Esan

People’s Democratic Party, PDP stalwart in Oyo State and governorship aspirant in the 2015 general election, Engineer Femi Babalola {Jogor} has said that there is a wide gap between Nigeria’s vast population and the political system and that this has stalled socio-economic development in the country. Babalola who disclosed this on Monday at the 50th Anniversary Lecture of the Department of Nursing, University of Ibadan therefore called on leaders in the country to bridge the gap between the people and system. In the lecture titled Population, Power and Politics: Necessary Tools for Development, Babalola said that the Nigeria population was not as productive as those of China and India because power and politics have not been brought to bear on the population, adding that, the President Muhamma-

du Buhari administration should fashion an alchemy that would make population, power and politics facilitate economic development of the country.

Tracing Nigeria’s political development since independence in 1960, Babalola said that Nigeria was doing very well in the period before the civil war with the economy growing at 6 per cent per annum with inflation kept at the minimal two per cent and with the people enjoying appreciable standard of living until the issues of population power and politics became unmanageable, threatening the unity of the country. He identified absence of population strategy, lack of functional education, poor political leadership, politicization of population and poor patriotic motivation of Nigerians as reasons why Nigeria population is not driving development as in the cases of China and India. Speaking further, Babalola said that popula-

tion growth should be key strategic focus for government and that government should be able to establish which population is required to grow the economy. “The federal government should have clear population strategy and decides what size of population the country really needs to translate development. The country needs not to live up to the projection that its population would surpass that of the United States in 2035 when in land mass and resources Nigeria is not up to the US”, he cautioned. He charged that Nigeria schools have devoted so much time to literacy education when in actual fact, knowledge system must be entrepreneurial. He said that flawed political process and resultant inept conduct of power have encouraged ethno-regional considerations and politicization of population in Nigeria saying this has hampered a clear cut strategic positioning of the nation’s

vast population for development, Babalola said President Buhari should fall back on the widespread enthusiasm that ushered him to office to find ways to coordinate power and politics to harness the potential of the Nigeria’s vast population as China and India have done. He enjoined the federal government to invest the mounting subsidy on petroleum on agriculture, education, healthcare and infrastructure instead, saying that way jobs could be created thereby enhancing Nigerians purchasing power. According to him, Nigeria population would only be viable if it is skilled and has high purchasing power. He said that power should be exercised in the overall interest of the country, and advised that Nigeria should play inclusive politics in which the old and the new breed politicians carry the people along to ‘excavate and build on the identifiable shared values that bind the nation’.

group, Kwara Movement For Good Governance, KMGG has condemned the criticism by some individuals and group on the appointment of National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Alhaji Lai Mohammed as a ministerial nominee by President Muhammadu Buhari. In a statement issued on Monday and signed by its convener, Ismail Shehu, the group described those picking holes in the appointment as mischief makers and attention seekers, adding that, their opinion does not reflect the general feelings of Kwarans both at home and in the diaspora. While hailing Senate president, Bukola Saraki for endorsing the nomination of Mohammed, the group said it is confident that the other two senators from Kwara, Sha’aba Lafiaji and Rafiu Ibrahim will toe the same path. “We strongly believe that those against the nomination of Alhaji Lai Mohammed as ministerial nominee are doing so out of ignorance or just to get a five minutes publicity in the media”. “It is hypocritical for some elements under the guise of Kwara South APC Youths to say Lai Mohammed has contrib-

uted nothing to the development of the party in the state and never voted in Kwara in the last general elections. That is pathetic, to say the least”. “It is noteworthy to inform these young elements in politics and whoever is goading them that Lai Mohammed’s role as the mouthpiece of the APC does not allow him to be in his home state at all times. Despite his busy itinerary, he still finds out time to connect with developments in Kwara APC and the state in general. One of such is the annual Lai Mohammed Ramadan Lecture with the 9th edition held in Ilorin, the Kwara state capital last July”. “To those who claim that he does not deserve the slot of Kwara state because he opposed the emergence of Senator Bukola Saraki as President of the Senate, we will appeal to them to stop crying more than the bereaved. Not only has the Senate president publicly endorsed Lai’s nomination, he has enjoined Kwarans to support this illustrious son who has been making our dear state proud”. “ We salute Mr. President for nominating Lai Mohammed into his cabinet and we enjoin Nigerians and all lovers of Kwara to support him with their prayers as he prepares for the great task ahead” the statement said.

Mohammed

Kogi guber: INEC recruits 13,052 ad-hoc staff Wale Ibrahim LOKOJA

he Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC has disclosed that it has recruited 13,052 ad hoc staff for the governorship election holding in Kogi State on Nov. 21.

The state Secretary of the INEC , Mr. Mailafia Adison who disclosed this in Lokoja yesterday stated that the ad hoc staff included 12, 536 poll officials and 255 supervisory presiding officers. He explained that others are 239 registration collation officers in the 21

registration areas and one state returning officer. He pointed out that all the ad hoc staff were picked after a thorough screening to ascertain their suitability for the jobs, adding that, training of the ad hoc staff will commence in few days. Adison who spoke at a forum organized by the

INEC for the civil society organisations, youth groups and the people living with disabilities said that additional 584 voting centres had been created out of the polling units with more than 1, 000 registered voters. The INEC Secretary stated that with this de-

velopment, the designated voting centres for the election had increased from 2,548 to 3, 134. He maintained that INEC is ready to conduct a free and fair election, urging people living with disability to come out and vote as adequate measures had been put in place to make

the process all inclusive. The INEC Deputy Director in charge of voter education and publicity, Mrs Rose Oriaran-Anthony charged election observers to take the coming election seriously and carry out the assignment with patriotism and high sense of responsibility.

Politics

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Ministerial nomination: Bent canvasses support for Muhammed Obiora Ifoh ABUJA

ne time Senate Committee Chairman on Environment and Ecology, Senator Grace Bent has berated those behind moves to stop the Senate from endorsing President Muhammadu Buhari’s nominee from Kaduna State, Mrs. Amina Muhammed. Bent urged the Senate to disregard the petition against the nominee and to endorse her for appointment as a Minister during screening on Tuesday. She said in the event that the Senate bows to vendetta and mischief by the oppo-

nents of the nominee from Kaduna state, Nigerian women would revolt and have a rethink about the seriousness of the country to embrace them in the task of developing Nigeria. Senator Bent told National Mirror that the issue of non-indigeneship of Kaduna raised by opponents and critics of Mrs Muhammed is unholy, impious and debasing for women in Nigeria whose contributions to national growth and development have been unequalled. Bent identified those behind the plot to deny the Kaduna state’s nominee of ministerial appointment as high-handed, mischie-

vous and ignorant political elites who she said, have nothing to offer and hence, do not wish Nigeria well. The Senator said Nigerians should at all times be ready to tap from the intellectual property which, according to her, Mrs Muhammed is imbued with and should jettison cheap blackmail and sentiment so far raised to deprived the nominee of her constitutional right as a Nigerian. She said the constitution of Nigeria accords every right to any Nigerian woman to serve the country in any capacity notwithstanding her marital affiliation or state of origin, quoting

section 42 (2) to buttress her argument. “What the ill-informed opponents of Mrs Amina Muhammed were trying to do is to deprive this hard working, intelligent and committed woman of an opportunity to extend her service to Nigeria. “I reckoned that as a former Presidential Adviser on Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) she was excellent in dedicated service, making great impacts, which were reckoned with internationally. Nigeria should continue to tap from her intellectual property rather than willfully deciding to dump her like a used pack.

L-R: Omasan Buwa; Chief (Mrs.) Rita Lori Ogbebor and Ete Harriman Ayida, during a meeting of Itsekiri Professionals in Warri.

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Bayelsa polls: DPC promises free education Michael Ogbonna

he Democratic People’s Cong ress, DPC, gover norship candidate in Bayelsa State, Barrister Henry Apeli has promised to of fer free and qualitative education to primary and Junior Secondary School students if voted into of fice in the guber natorial election in the state. He also promised to build more technical, vocational and marine institutions in the state and ensure that all courses of fered by the Niger Delta University at Wilberforce Island are accredited by the Nigerian Universities Commission, NUC. Addressing jour nalists in Abuja, Bar r. Apeli said education, ag riculture, transportation, youth and women empower ment would be the centrepiece of his gover nment if elected in the forthcoming gover norship poll in the state. He promised to build more towns and development centres for rapid industrialisa-

tion of Bayelsa State, stressing that the state is blessed with abundant human and natural resources which previous gover nments failed to har ness. He said he is going to attract foreign investment to the state and re-orientate the people’s mindset from a petroleum-based to a diversified economy that would alleviate the suf ferings of the people. He said h is g ove r n me n t wou l d be g e n de r frie n dly an d canvasse d for 50 pe r ce n t af fir mative action eve n as h e ch ose Mrs. Se iye f a Fe te pig i Ech e s as h is r u n n in g mate. Apeli urge the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to be neutral and provide a level playing field for all the political parties participating in the election. He enjoined the commission to use card readers in the election and opposed the use of incident for ms by electoral officers which he said encouraged rigging during the last general elections.

Anxiety as pressure mounts against Ekiti council polls CONTINUED FROM PAGE13 Olatunbosun alleged that the six members of the Bamisile-led EKSIEC were PDP members and as well friends and business associates of the governor. According to the APC spokesman, the party, in a suit filed by its counsel, Abiodun Fasakin and Tajudeen Akingbolu, is of the view that composition of the EKSIEC contradicted the constitutional requirement for a non-partisan electoral body that wanted to organise credible and acceptable elections. According to the APC spokesman, in the originating summons before the State High Court, Ado-Ekiti, in which the state Attorney General and House of Assembly were joined, the defendants are to appear before the court within seven days after service of the summons on them. Among others, the party wants the court to determine whether a member of a registered political party having interest in a pending election to local councils, is eligible to be appointed as member(s) and/or chairman of the electoral body for the purpose of conducting local councils elections in Ekiti State. It also wants the court to determine

whether the electoral body could be reconstituted in view of the pendency of a matter involving the EKSIEC before the Supreme Court in APPEAL NO: SC.695/2013: PDP & ANOR vs EKSIEC & 8 Ors. APC is urging the court to declare the appointment of the EKSIEC chairman and members null, void, illegal and unconstitutional and as well restrain the body from conducting the council election slated for December 19. Similarly, the Olatunde-led faction of the PDP in the state had threatened to drag the EKSIEC to court if it recognised the candidates presented by PDP State Chairman, Chief Faleye, for the election. The faction, in a petition to the EKSIEC Chairman, cautioned that Faleye and other caretaker committee members were impostors and that the commission should stop relating with them in matters concerning electoral issues. In the petition entitled: ‘2015 Local Government Election TimeTable’, dated September 21, 2015, signed by Oluwatobi Fatoki of Lekan Olatawura Chambers in Ado Ekiti, Olatunde cautioned the commission against recognizing candidates of the PDP presented through Faleye,

failing which it would take legal action against the Commission. The petition reads in part: “Our clients came about the Notice of Election to wit: the Ekiti State 2015 Local Government Election as scheduled in your time table published in the national daily on September 10, 2015. “Our clients hereby wish to lodge their reservations to the extent that their rights as the State Executive Committee is for a four-year tenure, which will lapse March, 2016 as they were duly elected into their respective offices in March, 2012. “In respect of our client’s rights, a faction of the executive committee of the PDP, spearheaded by Mr Idowu Faleye sprang up as the factional acting Chairman. As a matter of fact, the said division in the party affecting our clients’ vested rights is already a subject of litigation before Ekiti State High Court via suit number HAD/15/ 2015. “Our clients were the SWC before the matter was lodged in court of justice and they still remain in that position till 2016. We hereby advise that you maintain the status quo and do not reckon with any other faction except that of our clients as

the court has not decided otherwise. “Most obliged as you follow the paths of law and justice as our clients shall not hesitate to file an action against your office, if you go contrary to maintaining the status quo before suit number: HAD/15/2015”, it concluded. It would be recalled that the PDP in the state recently set up a disciplinary committee, which indicted five members of the Olatunde faction who were consequently expelled for anti-party activities and gross misconduct. Governor Fayose had said repeatedly that his insistence that the local government election must hold in the state was based on the need to lessen the burden on the state government and bring governance closer to the people in the grassroots. The governor, who maintained that nothing would stop the council poll from holding, advised: “As the election approaches, let us talk to our children who are contesting not to cause trouble. They all have right to those positions, but only one person can occupy a post at any given time. Once a person has emerged through a credible process, others should support him or her”.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Capital Market

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Market capitalisation up by N22bn Johnson Okanlawon

rading in equities commenced the week on an optimistic note, following a major rally in the banking and oil and gas stocks amidst positive investor sentiments. The All Share Index appreciated 0.22 per cent to close at 30,231.16 points, compared to the increase of 0.14 per cent recorded on Friday to close at 30,165.22 points. Market capitalisation gained N22 billion to close at N10.39 trillion, compared to the increase of N15 billion recorded on Friday toclose at N10.38 trillion. Research analysts at

FSDH Securities Limited, an investment frim, attributed the appreciation recorded in the Index to the gains recorded in the share prices of some highly capitalised stocks such as Guaranty Trust Bank, FCMB Group, Zenith Bank, PZ Cussons and Forte Oil, amongst others. On the sectorial indices, the Premium Index appreciated 0.32 per cent to close at 1,617.13 points, while the Main Board Index gained 0.17 per cent to close at 1,437.98 points. The Alternative Securities market remained flat at 1,205.90 points, while the NSE 30-Index rose 0.24 per cent to close at 1,372.13 points.

The Banking Index was up 0.89 per cent to close at 315.99 points, while the Insurance Index added 0.45 per cent to close at 137.31 points. The Consumer Goods Index lost 0.47 per cent to close at 776.70 points. FCMB Plc led the gainers’ table with 13 kobo or 6.22 per cent to close at N2.22 per share, followed by Evans Medicals Plc with three kobo or five per cent to close at 63 kobo per share. NAHCO Plc added 21 kobo or 4.87 per cent to close at N4.52 per share, while Transnational Express Plc appreciated five kobo or 4.63 per cent to close at N1.13 per share. Unity Bank Plc gained

seven kobo or 4.32 per cent to close at N1.67 per share. Conversely, Cutix Plc shed nine kobo or five per cent to close at N1.71 per share, while Honeywell Plc lost 13 kobo or 4.73 per cent to close at N2.62 per share. Learn Africa Plc depreciated four kobo or 4.35 per cent to close at 88 kobo per share, while NEM Insurance Plc declined three kobo or 4.29 per cent to close at 67 kobo per share. Flour Mills Plc dropped 63 kobo or 2.86 per cent to close at N21.37 per share. A total of 134.6 million shares valued at N1.48 billion were traded in 2,900 deals.

CBN pegs exchange rate at N196.98 to dollar Johnson Okanlawon

entral Bank of Nigeria, CBN, yesterday strengthened its exchange rate, pegging it slightly to N196.98 against the dollar on the interbank market from N197 it set last week. Traders said the regulator sent a message an-

nouncing the adjustment which is the eighth since the bank introduced tight currency controls in February. The bank has resisted calls to further devalue the naira in the face of a plunge in vital oil revenues. It devalued the currency last November and later pegged the exchange

rate in another de facto devaluation. It instead resorted to rationing dollar supply by restricting access to hard currency for import of certain items, frustrating businesses. Vice President Yemi Osibanjo has said that the country will keep the currency restrictions for now

to preserve the country’s foreign reserves but will eventually relax them. On the parallel market, the naira closed flat at N224 to the dollar. The bank has been selling dollars twice a week to the parallel market since July, traders said, citing that the regulator is keen to narrow the spreads in both markets.

European stocks slump after one month rally

uropean shares were slightly lower yesterday after reaching one-month highs in a rally last week, with civil aerospace stocks leading the fallers and German utilities soaring after concerns over nuclear costs eased. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index and the euro zone’s blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 index both fell around 0.2 per cent. The two indexes are up more than four per cent so far this month. Traders said it was no surprise that some investors were taking profits following last week’s gains, while Japanese markets were closed for a holiday and the United States was celebrating Columbus Day. “The market is consolidating after last week’s rally, also because of the holidays in the United States and Japan,” ActivTrades chief market analyst Carlo Alberto De Casa said. He said investors would be focusing on Chi-

nese trade balance data, but most of all on US economic statistics later this week, for more indications as to when the Federal Reserve will increase rates, the main focus for markets in recent weeks. E.ON and RWE both rose more than 10 per cent in their biggest one-day bounce in seven years after the German government concluded that they had set aside enough money to decommission their nuclear plants. Several brokerages including Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse, Equinet, Societe Generale and DZ Bank upgraded either their ratings or target prices on Germany’s utilities as a result. The stocks pared gains and were up 5.9 and 8.8 per cent respectively as some analysts suggested remaining cautious. “This is not the end of the German nuclear decommissioning story,” said Investec analysts in a note, noting that a further

examination will now take place and that other unresolved issues were still pending. Rolls-Royce and Safran both dropped more than four per cent, hit by weekend media reports of a European regulatory investigation into the airline maintenance market. The two engine makers confirmed on Monday they were in the process of filling out questionnaires sent to them by the European Commission regarding aviation equipment servicing contracts. Fiat Chrysler rose 0.7 per cent after disclosing pricing for the initial public offering of Ferrari, which could value the luxury sports car unit at close to $10 billion. Biotechnology group Novozymes fell 3.8 per cent after Goldman Sachs downgraded its shares to sell from buy. The strong gains for E.ON and RWE helped the German blue-chip index

DAX outperform Europe. The index, which remains some 20 per cent below a record high reached in April, was little changed. Hampstead Capital hedge fund manager Lex Van Dam said the DAX now looked in better shape. “Finally some good news out of Germany, with the utilities RWE and E.ON leading the way. I am quite constructive on the market,” he said. 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

Source: NSE

Inter-Bank Rate Naira

US Dollar

N196.95 Market indicators All-Share Index 30,231.16 points Market capitalisation 10.41trn

Stock Updates GAINERS COMPANY

OPENING

CLOSING

CHANGE

% CHANGE

FCMB

2.09

2.22

0.13

6.22

EVANSMED

0.60

0.63

0.03

5.00

NAHCO

4.31

4.52

0.21

4.87

TRANSEXPR

1.08

1.13

0.05

4.63

UNITYBNK

1.62

1.69

0.07

4.32

25.00

26.00

1.00

4.00

254.98

264.99

10.01

3.93

ABCTRANS

0.53

0.55

0.02

3.77

COSTAIN

0.54

0.56

0.02

3.70

RTBRISCOE

0.56

0.58

0.02

3.57

CHANGE

% CHANGE

LOSERS COMPANY

OPENING

CLOSING

CUTIX

1.80

1.71

-0.09

-5.00

HONYFLOUR

2.75

2.62

-0.13

-4.73

LEARNAFRCA

0.92

0.88

-0.04

-4.35

NEM

0.70

0.67

-0.03

-4.29

FLOURMILL

22.00

21.37

-0.63

-2.86

ACCESS

5.20

5.07

-0.13

-2.50

VITAFOAM

5.55

5.42

-0.13

-2.34

OKOMUOIL

28.66

28.00

-0.66

-2.30

DIAMONDBNK

3.05

2.98

-0.07

-2.30

FBNH

6.30

6.18

-0.12

-1.90

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 13, 2015

Stock exchange daily equities summary Daily Summary as of 07/10/2015 Printed 07/10/2015 14:32:05.005

Equities as at October 12, 2015 Daily Summary as of 07/10/2015 Printed 07/10/2015 14:32:05.005

Daily Summary (Bonds) No Debt Trading Activity

1st Tier Securities Sector

Company name

Activity Summary on Board EQTY AGRICULTURE Crop Production OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. PRESCO PLC Crop Production Totals Fishing/Hunting/Trapping ELLAH LAKES PLC. Fishing/Hunting/Trapping Totals

Livestock/Animal Specialties Daily Summary as of FEEDS 07/10/2015 LIVESTOCK PLC. Printed 07/10/2015 14:32:05.005 Livestock/Animal Specialties Totals

Daily Summary (Equities) Daily Summary (Equities)

No Of Deals

Quotation(N)

No. of Deals 9 2 11

Current Price 27.50 30.55

Quantity Traded 37,650 13,000 50,650

Value Traded 1,006,183.00 390,350.00 1,396,533.00

Symbol ELLAHLAKES

No. of Deals 1 1

Current Price 4.26

Quantity Traded 20 20

Value Traded 81.00 81.00

No. of Deals 12 12

Current Price 1.72

Quantity Traded 217,200 217,200

Value Traded 372,004.88 372,004.88

267,870

1,768,618.88

Quantity Traded 2,352,988 20 13,688,561 Quantity 984,330 Traded

Value Traded 2,423,577.64 75.20 31,247,471.16 28,700,219.14 Value Traded

Symbol LIVESTOCK

Symbol AGLEVENT CHELLARAM TRANSCORP UACN Symbol

No. of Deals 4 1 64 102 No. of Deals

Diversified Industries Totals

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

UACN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENT CO. LIMITED Real Estate Development Totals CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Totals CONSUMER GOODS Automobiles/Auto Parts DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC CONSUMER GOODS Automobiles/Auto Parts Totals Beverages--Brewers/Distillers

Activity Summary on Board EQTY

CHAMPION BREW. PLC. GOLDEN GUINEA BREW. PLC. GUINNESS NIG PLC Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. PREMIER BREWERIES PLC Beverages--Brewers/Distillers Totals Beverages--Non-Alcoholic 7-UP BOTTLING COMP. PLC. Beverages--Non-Alcoholic Totals Food Products Daily Summary as ofFLOUR 07/10/2015 DANGOTE MILLS PLC Printed 07/10/2015 14:32:05.005 DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC NASCON ALLIED INDUSTRIES PLC U T C NIG. PLC. Food Products Totals

Activity Summary on Board EQTY Food Products--Diversified CONSUMER GOODS CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. Food Products--Diversified

Personal/Household Products P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. Personal/Household Products Totals CONSUMER GOODS Totals Daily Summary as of 07/10/2015 FINANCIAL SERVICES Printed 07/10/2015 14:32:05.005 Banking ACCESS BANK PLC. DIAMOND BANK PLC ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INCORPORATED FIDELITY BANK PLC GUARANTY BANK PLC. Activity Summary TRUST on Board EQTY SKYE BANK PLC STERLING BANK PLC. FINANCIAL SERVICES UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC Banking

UNION BANK NIG.PLC. UNITY BANK PLC BANK Stock PLC. Exchange © Published byWEMA The Nigerian Banking Totals Insurance Carriers, Brokers and Services AIICO INSURANCE PLC. CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC GREAT NIGERIAN INSURANCE PLC GUINEA INSURANCE PLC. CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INSURANCE PLC LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. LINKAGE ASSURANCE PLC AXAMANSARD INSURANCE PLC Daily Summary as of 07/10/2015 MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC. Printed 07/10/2015 N.E.M14:32:05.005 INSURANCE CO (NIG) PLC. NIGER INSURANCE CO. PLC. PRESTIGE ASSURANCE CO. PLC. SOVEREIGN TRUST INSURANCE PLC WAPIC INSURANCE PLC Insurance Carriers, Brokers and Services Totals

17,025,899

62,371,343.14

Page 17,025,899

14 1 of 62,371,343.14

Current Price 0.56 14.46

Quantity Traded 732,910 20 732,930

Value Traded 434,450.02 274.80 434,724.82

Symbol JBERGER

No. of Deals 5 5

Current Price 40.00

Quantity Traded 17,318 17,318

Value Traded 661,728.00 661,728.00

Symbol UAC-PROP

No. of Deals 7 7

Current Price 8.17

Quantity Traded 14,330 14,330

Value Traded 117,950.96 117,950.96

764,578

1,214,403.78

Quantity Traded 2,053 2,053 Quantity Traded

Value Traded 1,026.50 Value1,026.50 Traded

Daily Summary (Equities) Symbol DUNLOP Symbol CHAMPION GOLDBREW GUINNESS INTBREW NB PREMBREW

Symbol 7UP

No. of Deals 2 2 No. of Deals 7 1 105 16 130 1 260

Current Price 0.50 Current Price 4.50 0.97 149.50 17.30 141.00 2.95

11,920 1,000 412,296 Page 549,718 1,199,113 100 2,174,147

Value Traded 2,532,753.72 2,532,753.72

No. of Deals 17 26 76 8 19 (Equities) 1 147

Current Price 2.60 6.60 21.60 2.76 7.10 0.50

Quantity Traded 90,941 9,218,473 848,323 53,767 677,530 1,894 10,890,928

Value Traded 230,658.52 60,766,522.95 18,815,731.88 141,407.21 4,801,471.00 947.00 84,756,738.56

Symbol CADBURY NESTLE Symbol

No. of Deals 16 43 No. of Deals 59

Current Price 21.90 Current830.00 Price

Quantity Traded 469,789 77,434 Quantity Traded 547,223

Value Traded 10,309,418.50 64,300,648.71 Value Traded 74,610,067.21

Symbol VITAFOAM VONO

No. of Deals 20 3 23

Current Price 5.51 1.01

Quantity Traded Page 901,500 102,020 1,003,520

3Value Traded of 14 4,974,255.00 102,939.20 5,077,194.20

Symbol PZ UNILEVER

No. of Deals 29 27 56

Current Price 25.05 46.50

Quantity Traded 162,162 272,543 434,705

Value Traded 4,064,895.69 12,516,971.36 16,581,867.05

15,065,834

423,191,744.60

Symbol No. of Deals Current Price ACCESS 146 5.34 DIAMONDBNK 56 3.12 Daily ETISummary (Equities) 69 18.50 FIDELITYBK 72 1.50 GUARANTY 208 23.04 SKYEBANK 50 2.26 STERLNBANK 20 2.13 UBA 169 Current Price 4.32 Symbol No. of Deals UBN 41 5.89 UNITYBNK 58 1.54 WEMABANK 37 1.00 926

Quantity Traded 40,060,591 3,860,575 3,000,155 5,831,687 75,817,902 1,109,619 29,635 23,883,018 Quantity Traded

Value Traded 208,974,266.48 11,656,715.91 55,502,477.31 8,744,474.18 1,815,604,669.86 2,509,049.52 61,082.71 103,619,989.81 Value Traded

Symbol AIICO CONTINSURE GNI GUINEAINS HMARKINS LASACO LINKASSURE MANSARD MBENEFIT NEM NIGERINS PRESTIGE SOVRENINS Daily Summary WAPIC

567

Value Traded 1,052,311.81 3,876,464.00 1,000.00 10.00 5,000.00 2,250.00 2,650.00 259,415.98 1,616,858.00 888,682.16 4,180.00 131.50 50.00 16,315.00 7,725,318.45

Symbol FORTISMFB NPFMCRFBK Symbol

No. of Deals 2 6 No. of Deals

Current Price 5.42 1.07 Current Price

Quantity Traded 220 Quantity106,480 Traded

Value Traded 1,251.80 113,565.86 Value Traded

Mortgage Carriers, Brokers and Services ASO SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC RESORT SAVINGS & LOANS PLC Mortgage Carriers, Brokers and Services Totals

Symbol ASOSAVINGS RESORTSAL

No. of Deals 4 2 6

Current Price 0.50 0.50

Quantity Traded 7,800 1,100 8,900

Value Traded 3,900.00 550.00 4,450.00

Other Financial Institutions AFRICA PRUDENTIAL REGISTRARS PLC CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED PLC FCMB GROUP PLC. STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC UBA CAPITAL PLC Other Financial Institutions Totals

Symbol AFRIPRUD CUSTODYINS FCMB STANBIC UBCAP

No. of Deals 46 9 58 24 59 196

Current Price 2.68 4.02 2.26 22.80 1.40

Quantity Traded 888,303 25,343 2,398,183 630,733 2,045,285 5,987,847

Value Traded 2,384,650.48 102,922.54 5,425,828.99 14,380,347.20 2,826,643.21 25,120,392.42

178,715,036

2,256,813,090.61

FINANCIAL SERVICES Totals

106,700 Page

1,215

NATURAL RESOURCES Activity Summary on Board EQTY Chemicals NATURAL B.O.C.RESOURCES GASES PLC. Metals Chemicals Totals ALUMINIUM EXTRUSION IND. PLC. Metals Totals Stock Exchange © Published by The Nigerian

Current Price 3.72 0.50

Quantity Traded 20 20,000 20,020

Value Traded 70.80 10,000.00 10,070.80

Symbol EVANSMED

No. of Deals 12

Current Price 0.61

Quantity Traded 325,300

Value Traded 198,331.47

Page

No. of Deals 4 9 9 4 1 39 41

Value of Shares(N)

Quantity Traded 22,466 100,518 72,465 6,000 1,750 528,499

Value Traded 72,102.90 3,713,759.84 91,678.60 5,640.00 3,622.50 4,085,135.31

548,519

4,095,206.11

Symbol OMATEK

No. of Deals 1 1

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded 20 20

Value Traded 10.00 10.00

Symbol CWG TRIPPLEG

No. of Deals 1 1 2

Current Price 2.67 1.69

Quantity Traded 1,800 1,000 2,800

Value Traded 4,806.00 1,610.00 6,416.00

Daily Summary (Equities) Symbol No. of Deals Current Price CHAMS 1 0.50 Daily Summary (Equities)

Quantity Traded 1,424,000 1,624,000 3,048,000

Value Traded 712,000.00 4,872,015.00 5,584,015.00

ETRANZACT

7 8

3.00

Symbol ASHAKACEM Symbol BERGER CAP CCNN DNMEYER IPWA PAINTCOM WAPCO

11 Current Price No. of Deals 16 Current Price 22.00 No. of Deals 12 9.90 51 37.08 7 8.32 3 0.73 1 0.50 3 1.20 41 98.00 134

77,441 Quantity Traded 22,841Page 367,460 35,238 9,000 20 60,020 412,634 984,654

5,590,441.00 Value Traded 1,704,977.04 Value Traded 14 7 215,240.85 of 13,698,736.39 294,443.07 6,300.00 10.00 72,024.00 40,375,818.69 56,367,550.04

Symbol CUTIX

No. of Deals 8 8

Current Price 1.82

Quantity Traded 101,476 101,476

Value Traded 183,707.80 183,707.80

Symbol AVONCROWN BETAGLAS

No. of Deals 5 3 8

Current Price 1.52 42.70

Quantity Traded 567,082 10,430 577,512

Value Traded 861,964.64 423,145.10 1,285,109.74

1,663,642

57,836,367.58

Daily Summary (Equities)

Symbol BOCGAS Symbol ALEX

3,050,820 Quantity Traded

150

No. of Deals 5 No. of Deals 5 1 1

Current Price 4.39 Current Price 9.84

Quantity Traded 1,625,733 Quantity Traded 1,625,733 800 800Page Page 1,626,533

Value Traded 7,136,967.87 Value Traded 7,136,967.87 7,480.00 14 8 of 7,480.00 9

14 of 7,144,447.87

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded 400 400

Value Traded 200.00 200.00

Integrated Oil and Gas Services OANDO PLC Integrated Oil and Gas Services Totals

Symbol OANDO

No. of Deals 100 100

Current Price 10.01

Quantity Traded 968,589 968,589

Value Traded 9,878,102.59 9,878,102.59

Petroleum and Petroleum Products Distributors

Symbol CONOIL ETERNA FO MOBIL TOTAL

No. of Deals 1 11 59 12 13 (Equities) 96

Current Price 27.41 1.84 253.65 145.07 154.90

Quantity Traded 20 222,280 295,124 600,422 5,505 1,123,351

Value Traded 520.80 410,495.20 75,206,439.63 87,146,936.32 812,190.45 163,576,582.40

Symbol SEPLAT

No. of Deals 31 31

Current Price 230.00

Quantity Traded 836,905 836,905

Value Traded 191,748,130.80 191,748,130.80

2,929,245

365,203,015.79

Exploration and Production Activity Summary on Board EQTY SEPLAT PETROLEUM DEVELOPMENT COMPANY LTD OILExploration AND GAS and Production Totals

Daily Summary

OIL AND GAS Totals Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © SERVICES Automobile/Auto Part Retailers R T BRISCOE PLC. Automobile/Auto Part Retailers Totals

228

Page

Symbol RTBRISCOE

No. of Deals 1 1

Current Price 0.56

Quantity Traded 3,000 3,000

Value Traded 1,620.00 1,620.00

Courier/Freight/Delivery RED STAR EXPRESS PLC TRANS-NATIONWIDE EXPRESS PLC. Courier/Freight/Delivery Totals

Symbol REDSTAREX TRANSEXPR

No. of Deals 10 4 14

Current Price 3.98 0.98

Quantity Traded 128,869 121,750 250,619

Value Traded 516,125.21 124,185.00 640,310.21

Employment Solutions C & I LEASING PLC. Employment Solutions Totals

Symbol CILEASING

No. of Deals 5 5

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded 129,900 129,900

Value Traded 64,950.00 64,950.00

Symbol IKEJAHOTEL

No. of Deals 4 4

Current Price 3.60

Quantity Traded 33,250 33,250

Value Traded 113,715.00 113,715.00

Symbol

No. of Deals 1 2 3

Current Price 0.62 0.92

Quantity Traded 5,000 52,000 57,000

Value Traded 3,250.00 47,900.00 51,150.00

Symbol Symbol ABCTRANS

No. of Deals No. of Deals 3 3

Current Price Current Price 0.53

Symbol NSLTECH

No. of Deals 1 1

Current Price 0.50

Quantity Traded Quantity107,000 Traded 107,000 Page Quantity Traded 20 20

Symbol AIRSERVICE NAHCO

No. of Deals 4 17 21

Current Price 1.85 4.45

Quantity Traded 25,800 45,244 71,044

Value Traded 49,129.22 200,214.54 249,343.76

Symbol

No. of Deals 1 1

Current Price 3.21

Quantity Traded 1,000 1,000

Value Traded 3,050.00 3,050.00

652,833

1,180,858.97

Symbol ZENITHBANK

No. of 2,495 Deals 234 234

Current Price 16.30

222,310,809 Quantity Traded

3,186,409,538.33 Value Traded

30,516,022 30,516,022

501,905,364.55 501,905,364.55

Symbol FBNH

No. of Deals 258 258

Current Price 6.15

Quantity Traded 9,144,402 9,144,402

Value Traded 56,328,434.09 56,328,434.09

39,660,424

558,233,798.64

Daily Summary as of 07/10/2015 Hotels/Lodging Printed 07/10/2015 14:32:05.005 IKEJA HOTEL PLC Hotels/Lodging Totals Printing/Publishing ACADEMY PRESS PLC. LEARN AFRICA PLC Activity Summary on Board Printing/Publishing Totals EQTY SERVICES Road Transportation Road Transportation ASSOCIATED BUS COMPANY PLC Road Transportation Totals Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © Specialty SECURE ELECTRONIC TECHNOLOGY PLC Specialty Totals Transport-Related Services AIRLINE SERVICES AND LOGISTICS PLC Daily Summary as of 07/10/2015 NIGERIAN AVIATION HANDLING COMPANY PLC Printed 07/10/2015 14:32:05.005 Transport-Related Services Totals Support and Logistics CAVERTON OFFSHORE SUPPORT GRP PLC Support and Logistics Totals

Daily Summary (Equities) ACADEMY LEARNAFRCA

CAVERTON Daily Summary (Equities)

Activity Summary SERVICES Totals on Board PREMIUM FINANCIAL SERVICES

EQTY Board Totals Banking

ZENITH INTERNATIONAL BANK PLC Banking Totals Other Financial Institutions FBN HOLDINGS PLC Other Financial Institutions Totals FINANCIAL SERVICES Totals Daily Summary as of 07/10/2015 Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © Printed 07/10/2015 14:32:05.005 INDUSTRIAL GOODS Building Materials DANGOTE CEMENT PLC Building Materials Totals INDUSTRIAL GOODS Totals

492

Page Symbol DANGCEM

No. of Deals 40 40

Daily Summary (ETP)

Exchange Traded Fund

PREMIUM Board Totals TRADED FUND (ETF) NEWGOLD EXCHANGE VETIVA GRIFFIN 30 ETF

Equity Activity Totals Exchange Traded Fund Totals ETF Board Totals

Traded Fund ETPExchange Activity Totals 14

Quantity Traded

Current Price 3.15 36.96 1.26 0.97 2.14

No. of Deals 1 1

Name

No. of Deals 1 1 2

Quotation(N)

Symbol JAPAULOIL

CONOIL PLC Daily Summary as of 07/10/2015 ETERNA PLC. Printed 07/10/2015 14:32:05.005 FORTE OIL PLC. MOBIL OIL NIG PLC. TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. Petroleum and Petroleum Products Distributors Totals

114,817.66 14 of

Symbol EKOCORP UNIONDAC

No Of Deals Symbol FIDSON GLAXOSMITH MAYBAKER NEIMETH PHARMDEKO

Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © NATURAL RESOURCES Totals OIL AND GAS Energy Equipment and Services JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SERVICES PLC Energy Equipment and Services Totals

831,507 4,901,320.48 7,530,210 11,394,219.37 903,566 Page 4 879,846.45 of 14 162,858,465 2,223,848,112.08 Quantity Traded 1,216,945 3,879,664 2,000 20 10,000 4,500 5,300 103,838 3,225,516 1,263,988 8,360 263 100 32,630 9,753,124

HEALTHCARE Healthcare Providers EKOCORP PLC. UNION DIAGNOSTIC & CLINICAL SERVICES PLC Healthcare Providers Totals

INDUSTRIAL GOODS Totals

Quantity Traded 13,258 13,258

Current Price 0.87 1.00 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 2.49 0.52 0.70 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50

Micro-Finance Banks FORTIS MICROFINANCE BANK PLC FINANCIAL SERVICES NPF MICROFINANCE Micro-Finance Banks BANK PLC Micro-Finance Banks Totals Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange ©

Daily Summary as of 07/10/2015 Packaging/Containers Printed 07/10/2015 14:32:05.005 AVON CROWNCAPS & CONTAINERS BETA GLASS CO PLC. Packaging/Containers Totals

53,747.00 960.00 61,053,228.62 14 2 of 9,474,641.40 169,049,239.34 281.00 239,632,097.36

No. of Deals 20 8 1 1 1 1 2 6 12 18 2 1 1 (Equities) 5 79

Activity Summary on Board EQTY

Electronic and Electrical Products CUTIX PLC. Electronic and Electrical Products Totals

Current Price 195.70

Symbol DANGFLOUR DANGSUGAR FLOURMILL HONYFLOUR NASCON Daily Summary UTC

Processing Systems CHAMS PLC E-TRANZACT INTERNATIONAL Activity Summary on Board EQTY PLC Processing Systems Totals Activity Summary on Board EQTY INDUSTRIAL GOODS ICT Building Totals Materials INDUSTRIAL GOODS ASHAKA CEM PLC Building Materials PAINTS Published by BERGER The Nigerian StockPLC Exchange © CAP PLC CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC DN MEYER PLC. IPWA PLC PAINTS AND COATINGS MANUFACTURES PLC LAFARGE AFRICA PLC. Building Materials Totals

No. of Deals 20 20

Food Products--Diversified Totals Household Durables Published by The Nigerian Stock Exchange © VITAFOAM NIG PLC. VONO PRODUCTS PLC. Household Durables Totals

Daily Summary as of 07/10/2015 IT Services Printed 07/10/2015 14:32:05.005 Daily Summary as of 07/10/2015 COMPUTER WAREHOUSE GROUP PLC Printed 07/10/2015 14:32:05.005 TRIPPLE GEE AND COMPANY PLC. IT Services Totals

171

No. of Deals 16 1 17

Company name

HEALTHCARE Pharmaceuticals FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER NIG. PLC. MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. NEIMETH INTERNATIONAL PHARMACEUTICALS PLC PHARMA-DEKO PLC. Pharmaceuticals Totals

ICT Computers and Peripherals OMATEK VENTURES PLC Computers and Peripherals Totals

171

Symbol COSTAIN GCAPPA

Daily Summary as of 07/10/2015 Printed 07/10/2015 14:32:05.005 Real Estate Development

Current Price 1.03 3.95 2.26 29.07 Current Price

Sector

HEALTHCARE Totals

Daily Summary (Equities)

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

Value of Shares(N)

Symbol OKOMUOIL PRESCO

AGRICULTURE Totals CONGLOMERATES Diversified Industries A.G. LEVENTIS PLC. Activity Summary onNIGERIA Board EQTY CHELLARAMS PLC. TRANSNATIONAL CORPORATION OF NIGERIA PLC CONGLOMERATES U A C N PLC. Diversified Industries

Quantity Traded

1st Tier Securities Activity Summary on Board EQTY

Name LOTUS HALAL EQUITY ETF

Symbol NEWGOLD VETGRIF30

Daily Summary (ETP) Symbol LOTUSHAL15

Current Price 167.00

Value Traded Value Traded 56,710.00 56,710.00 11 of 14 Value Traded 10.00 10.00

Quantity Traded 255,327 255,327

Value Traded 42,573,728.66 42,573,728.66

255,327

42,573,728.66

40 No. of Deals 532 1 1 3,027 3

Current Price 2,183.00 13.98

276

559,084.30

276

559,084.30

Quantity Traded 10

Value Traded 96.50

Current Price 9.65

Quantity Traded Value Traded 39,915,751256 600,807,527.30 558,848.00 10 139.80 262,226,560276 3,787,217,065.63 559,084.30

3 No. of Deals 1

Page

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

North

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Police arrest man over murder plot

A cross-section of beneficiaries of NYSC Free Health Treatment for Rural Dwellers in Dutsen-Kura Village, Kafur Local Government Area of Katsina State, yesterday. PHOTO:NAN

10m northern Nigeria children out of school –UNICEF JAMES DANJUMA KATSINA

nited Nations Children Education Fund, UNICEF, has disclosed that 10 million northern Nigeria children were outof-school. The fund’s Field Officer in Katsina State, Shehu Mohammed, stated this yesterday during flag-off of this year’s school enrolment campaign in Kankia council area.

Mohammed lamented that the current figure was well above the 8.7 million children a study conducted in 2012 listed as out-of-school. He said most of the children were girls; and that majority of them live in rural areas. He listed poverty, socio-cultural and economic environment as some of the factors responsible for poor enrolment of children in schools. Mohammed, however,

said the organisation was collaborating with DFID for massive enrolment of children into schools in five states of the country. He identified the states to include Bauchi, Niger, Sokoto, Zamfara and Katsina. He said the programme, under the Girl Education project, would ensure enrolment of one million girls in schools. He called on states in the North to recruit qualified teachers, construct

additional classes and provide teaching materials for quality teaching and learning in schools. Governor Aminu Bello Masari had earlier assured that his administration would introduce measures to transform education sector in the state. Masari said girl-child education would be given priority to minimise street trading and abuse of the youngsters as well as help improve living standard of families.

Presidency commends Reps over amended rules

The statement said the new rule would help to streamline activities of the agencies in relation to the parliament. It stated that a situation where two or more committees of the house would invite the same ministry or agency over same issue did not augur well for the government. The statement said the new rule would help to reduce to the barest minimum, frosty relations be-

tween the executive and the legislature. It called on the National Assembly to come up with a unique channel for issuing invitation to federal ministries and parastatals. “On many instances, such invitations did not get to the affected ministry of parastatal on time. “There is therefore the need to also use one single channel for invitation of government agencies by National Assembly committees,’’ it added.

auchi State Police Command said it apprehended a 40-year-old man on Saturday, who was allegedly hired for a fee of N50,000, to abduct and kill one Tahiru Sulaiman of Nabordo town in Bauchi State. The arrest is contained in a statement issued by the command’s Public Relations Officer, DSP Haruna Mohammed, and made available to the News Agency of Nigeria on Monday. It said the culprit (name withheld), a resident of Gulawa village in Toro Local Government Area of Bauchi, was hired by a 25-year-old resident of Zaranda vil-

Group decries rot in Kogi OMEIZA AJAYI ABUJA

n Abuja-based good governance advocacy group, Positive Transformation Ambassadors, has decried the growing rot in the affairs of Kogi State and its poor rating in various performance and development indices. While it lamented that Governor Idris Wada’s administration had been unable to evolve wellthought out development plans let alone executing them, the group urged voters in the state to queue behind the All Progressives Congress, APC, and its candidate, Abubakar Audu, in the November 21 gubernatorial poll. At a news conference in Abuja, president of the group, Yunusa Ikojo, said the last 12 years of the Peoples Democratic Party’s administration in the state amounted to a colossal waste of public resources “hence the

residency yesterday commended House of Representatives for amending its rules on issues related to the summons of departments and agencies of the executive arm by its committees. This is contained in a statement by Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters (House of Reps), Kawu Sumaila, in Abuja. The House had on Thursday approved amendments

to its Standing Orders, making committees to hold joint sittings on matters that affect same agencies but under the oversight purview of different committees, instead of holding separate sittings. The new rule 112(2), Order XVII says that committees of the House shall hold joint hearings and joint oversight activities where necessary, to ensure efficiency and avoid overlap of responsibilities.

WOLE ADEDEJI

Tribunal rules on Saraki’s election today

ILORIN

ational Assembly Election Petitions Tribunal sitting in Ilorin, Kwara State, will this morning give ruling in a petition filed against the election of Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki, as senator representing Kwara Central district. His Peoples Democratic Party, PDP opponent, Abdulrahman

Abdulrasaq, had filed the petition calling for cancellation of the number three citizen’s election as senator last March. The three-man tribunal panel is headed by Justice Josiah Majebi. The PDP candidate, in a petition marked NAT/ LEG/EPT/IL/2/2015 is challenging Saraki’s vic-

tory, claiming that he won majority votes and therefore be declared winner. It was gathered yesterday that the tribunal would on the whole give four rulings today, including the petition filed by Lola Ashiru of PDP against Rafiu Ibrahim, APC (Kwara South senatorial district); while two others, Baba-

tunde Olusola vs Olufunke Adedoyin, daughter of Prince Samuel Adedoyin, the business mogul, and Tajudeen Abioye, PDP vs Tope Olayonu, APC. They are all House of Representatives cases. Sources at the tribunal told National Mirror that all the lawyers in the suits that had been awaiting the

lage in Bauchi, to carry out the crime. The command said the culprit, who posed as a member of a vigilante group before abducting his victim, had already received N5,000 as advance payment, before police waded in and rescued the victim following intelligence report. It listed the items recovered at the scene of the crime to include one red Boxer motorcycle, one cutlass and the sum of N5,000, being the advance payment. It said the sponsor of the crime had also been apprehended and investigation into the matter had commenced.

ruling date since September 4 had all been communicated to. While adopting his final written address, counsel to Saraki, Mallam Yusuf Ola-Olu Ali (SAN) had asked the tribunal to dismiss the petition, saying the petitioner failed to prove his case beyond reasonable doubt. Ali also observed that a

need for the people to go for a result-oriented candidate like for mer Gover nor Abubakar Audu, whose achievement is yet unequalled by successive gover nments.” According to him, the group arrived at its decision after careful analysis of problems confronting the state. Ikojo said Kogi State is sick and needs urgent medical attention, adding that Audu holds the solution to the myriads of problems bedeviling the state. “Kogi State at the moment is just like a sick patient lying in a coma. She needs a doctor with the medical expertise and experience to provide the remedy to her severe ailment. The alarming degree of economic morbidity and socio-political devastation in Kogi today requires a pragmatic and visionary leader like Prince Audu to salvage it from its present predicament.

Forensic Report tendered in evidence was dated March 28, 2014, a year before the contested poll was conducted. “The date shows the document was prepared in anticipation of the election,” he said. He also averred that the four-volume forensic analysis suffered “incurable and fundamental afflictions.”

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

51 47

World News

Well, I watched President Obama’s performance in the 60 Minutes Interview and I thought it was terrible because it’s nothing positive. –US REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL ASPIRANT, DONALD TRUMP

Afolabi Gambari

WITH AGENCY REPORT

group of civil society organisations in Tunisia has been awarded the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize, signaling progress for the Arab nation at a time when Iraq and Syria are trapped in intractable civil wars. Egypt is run by its army while Libya has all but disintegrated. But in the midst of all the Middle Eastern chaos, Tunisia has somehow kept its democratic development on track, the country holding two competitive and peaceful general elections since the overthrow of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 2011. Strong forces oppose Tunisian democracy. In March this year jihadists killed 22 people in Tunisia’s National Museum. Three months later 38 were murdered in the Sousse beach massacre. But while the jihadist challenge has been both deadly and spectacular, those using violence have enjoyed little popular support. Arguably, a greater threat to political reform has come from the divisions between three powerful elements of Tunisian society: All three groups have had good reason to fear each other. In the post-Ben Ali period the Islamists in Ennahda, Tunisia’s version of the Muslim Brotherhood, had genuine anxieties about being thrown back into the prisons from which thousands of their activists emerged during the Arab Spring. For their part, the secularists feared that, whatever the Islamists said in public, secretly they wanted to create an Islamic state in which European lifestyles would become impossible. Meanwhile, the elite families who benefited from decades of cronyism in the Ben Ali era, worried about being held accountable for their ill-gotten gains. Some Tunisians have accused the old elite of wanting to defend their economic interests by restoring paternalistic, authoritarian rule. Anti-terror legislation, for example, has been used to close down civil liberties. The Nobel Committee has given the credit to the National Dialogue Quartet. Drawn from four civil society groups-unions, lawyers, employers and human rights activists-it became active at a crucial moment in 2013 when the assassination of two prominent, left-wing politicians threatened to spill over into a broad civil conflict. The murders were taken as a sign that the Islamists in the country would stop at nothing to achieve political dominance.

Tunisians keep ‘Arab Spring’ alive

AFRICAN BULLETIN

Al-Shabaab chief nabbed in Somalia A top al-Shabaab commander and two other senior members of the Islamist group have been captured by Somali and African Union troops in the Horn of Africa country, intelligence sources said yesterday. The three were captured near the central town of Elbur late on Sunday, senior Somali intelligence officer Mohamed Hasan also said. They included top commander Ali Yusuf, also known as Ali Ganey. He is thought to be responsible for the killings of civilians and attacks against Somali and AU troops in the area, Somali military commander Mohamed Kahiye added. The AU has more than 22, 000 troops in Somalia to help the government battle al-Shabaab, which has campaigned for nearly a decade for a state governed under the strictest interpretation of Islamic law.

Zimbabwe ‘won’t charge ‘Cecil’ killer’ File copy of the Tunisia ‘Arab Spring’ in 2011

Ugandan troops set for S/Sudan withdrawal

gandan troops will start leaving South Sudan by the end of this week, according to the head of the Ugandan force in the country. This was a key rebel demand during drawn-out talks which led to a peace deal in August. All foreign forces were meant to have left byOctober 10. Meanwhile, a rebel leader has said the deal was unlikely to work, stressing he might take up arms again. Tens of thousands of people have died since the civil war be-

gan in 2013. Uganda’s Defence Minsiter, General Katumba Wamala, insisted that all soldiers should be out by November 1. Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Henry Okello Oryem, also added in a statement that Uganda’s intervention helped to stop what was likely to be the worst genocide in the region. Uganda has not revealed how many troops it has in South Sudan, where it is supporting the government. South Sudan gained indepen-

Law suits dog SA miners

outh Africa’s gold mining industry is facing its biggest ever lawsuit, as over thirty companies are being taken to the high court over health complaints. The Legal Resources Centre is representing thousands of mineworkers suffering from the deadly lung disease-silicosis. They allege that the companies failed to protect them from silica dust while working underground. If successful the suit would cost the struggling industry millions of dollars. Protesters have gathered out-

side the courthouse carrying placards asking for “justice for South African gold miners”.

South Afriacn President, Jacob Zouma

dence from neighbouring Sudan four years ago making it the world’s youngest country. Two years later, in December 2013, a conflict erupted after President Salva Kiir accused Riek Machar, his sacked deputy, of plotting a coup. Machar denied the allegation, but then formed a rebel army. Much of the fighting has been carried out along ethnic lines, between Machar’s Nuer group and Kiir’s Dinka, the two dominant ethnic groups in South Sudan.

The mining companies are hoping for an out of court settlement.

Zimbabwe has called off its request for the extradition of Walter Palmer, the U.S. dentist who shot and killed Cecil the Lion. Palmer’s documentation for a visit to Zimbabwe this year was in order, Environment Minister, Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri, told reporters in the capital, Harare yesterday. “He is free to come, not for hunting, but as a tourist,” MuchinguriKashiri said. Cecil, 13, was killed in July outside Hwange Park where he was a star attraction among tourists. In July, Muchinguri said Palmer should be extradited to face charges. “The US dentist’s extradition was being sought so that he could be held accountable for his illegal action,” the minister added. At the time, Muchinguri referred to Palmer, who has faced a huge internet backlash over the killing, as a “foreign poacher”.

Elephants suffer cyanide death Officials have confirmed that eleven elephants have been poisoned by cyanide in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe, the same park where an American dentist killed Cecil the Lion in July, sparking international outrage. Three other elephants were found poisoned in Matusadona National Park in western Zimbabwe. The Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority and Zimbabwean police said they have arrested five suspects. A source in the national parks office said the elephants in Matusadona were poisoned deliberately, probably with orange peels laced with cyanide. Those in Hwange were poisoned using a salt lick spiked with the same poison.

World News

he Islamic State (IS) group is the prime suspect in the Ankara bombings that killed nearly 100 on Saturday, Turkish Prime Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, said yesterday. No group has said it carried out the attack, but the government believes that two male suicide bombers caused the explosions, hitting a peace rally. The official death toll is 97 but rally organisers have put the figure at 128. Funerals for more of the victims were held yesterda, with some mourners expressing anger at the government. Saturday’s twin explosions ripped through a crowd of activists outside the main railway station in the Turkish capital. They were due to take part in a rally calling for an end to the violence between Turkish government forces and the militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). There is anger in Turkey that authorities were unable to prevent such a major attack - and some skepticism from opposition groups about the government’s claims. Davutoglu said authorities were close to identifying one of the suicide bombers, using DNA tests, and that this would help to pinpoint which group was responsible. He had previously said that IS, the PKK and far-left groups were all capable of such an attack. The situation in Turkey

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

ISIS to blame for Ankara bombing –Turkish PM

Police relax Assange guard Police are no longer guarding WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange around the clock, London’s Metropolitan Police said yesterday, although they said they are deploying a number of overt and covert tactics to arrest him. Assange has been holed up in London’s Ecuadorian Embassy for more than three years to avoid extradition to Sweden, where prosecutors want to question him over 2010 rape allegations. The Australian has not been charged and denies the allegations. Assange has said he fears Sweden would extradite him to the United States, where he could face the death penalty if he is charged and convicted of publishing government secrets through WikiLeaks. The Metropolitan Police Service said it remained committed to executing the arrest warrant and presenting Julian Assange before the court.

Plane crashes in Singapore

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu

was tense even before the Ankara bombings. The ceasefire with the PKK had broken down and there had been clashes between the militants and security forces, killing at least 150 since July. Some local media have implicated the brother of a man who carried out an IS bombing in the southern border town of Suruc in July, which killed more than 30 people. Turkey announced after the

Suruc bombing that it would allow its southern Incerlik airbase to be used by the USled coalition targeting IS in Syria. Turkey, a NATO member, shares a long land border with its unstable southern neighbour. “These attacks will not turn Turkey into a Syria,” Davutoglu also warned yesterday, adding, “The bombings were an attempt to influence elections due on November 1, af-

ter a vote in June left no party able to form a government.” Many of the victims were activists of the pro-Kurdish HDP party, which says it is now considering cancelling all election rallies. It believes its delegation at the march was specifically targeted. The HDP gained parliamentary seats for the first time in June’s vote, depriving President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s AK Party of its majority.

ried about recent violations of Turkish airspace by Russian jets.” The main battlefront is currently close to the key highway that links the capital with other major cities, including Aleppo, as Assad’s forces are

believed to be seeking to cut off rebels in Idlib. Meanwhile, Russia’s security services said yesterday that they had arrested a group of Russian citizens with links to IS. The FSB security agency said in a statement that some of those detained had been through IS training camps in Syria and were suspected of planning a terror attack. Explosives and bomb-making equipment were found at an address in Moscow used by the suspects, the agency said. Several countries, including the UK and Turkey, have described Russia’s support for Assad as a mistake. Russia said on Sunday its aircraft had carried out more than 60 missions over Syria in the past 24 hours, and that IS was its main target of the attacks which started on September 30.

Putin defends Syria support ussian President Vladimir Putin yesterday defended his country’s military operations in Syria, saying the aim is to stabilise the legitimate authority of Syrian President Bashar alAssad. “Russia wants to create conditions for a political compromise in Syria, Putin told Russian state television. The EU’s foreign Affairs chief, Federica Mogherini, has also called Russia’s role a game-changer. “It has some very worrying elements,” Mogherini said as EU ministers discussed Syria yesterday. Several of the foreign ministers stressed that air strikes should only target so-called Islamic State (IS) fighters and other Islamist terrorists. The US and UK governments have accused Russia of attacking what they called mainly

WORLD BULLETIN

moderate anti-Assad groups, rather than the jihadists. “The interventions against Daesh (IS) have to be clearly against Daesh and other terrorist groups, as defined by the UN,” Mogherini added, stressing, “I am especially wor-

President Vladimir Putin

A Singapore Airlines jet faceplanted when its forward landing gear retracted on the tarmac at Singapore’s Changi Airport Sunday. The Airbus A330-300 was undergoing a landing gear check when the incident occurred, according to a Singapore Airlines statement. It had been in service with Singapore Airlines since May 2009, and recently arrived in Singapore from Shanghai’s Pudong Airport. It was due to depart for Hong Kong Sunday. An alternate aircraft was used for the Hong Kong flight. “Maintenance work was being carried out to rectify a defect, and the gear retracted during the subsequent system check,” the airline said. “There were no passengers or crew on board at the time. One engineer who was on the aircraft was not injured. The statement said that details of damage to the aircraft were not immediately available, and that an assessment would be carried out after it had been removed from the gate.

Two men queried for child rape Indian Police are questioning two men in connection with the rape of a four-year-old girl in the capital, Delhi. The city’s Deputy Commissioner of Police, Vijay Singh, said no arrests had been made yet. The child is in intensive care after being found unconscious by railway tracks on Friday night and had surgery for extensive injuries, according to doctors. The attack raises fresh questions over women’s safety in Delhi after a 2012 gang rape and murder shocked the world. The girl, who was found near her home in a poor neighbourhood in the north of the city, was slashed and had severe injuries on her body. Her family alleged she was lured with an offer of food or sweets by a group of men. Delhi Commissioner for Women, Swati Maliwal, who visited the child in hospital, described her injuries as horrific.

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Oduduru sets sight on Rio Olympics 55

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Sport

We have not reached a crisis point with Lionel Messi’s ouster for eight weeks. We will cope without him -Barcelona Coach –Luis Enrique

Amuneke’s Golden Eaglets

FIFA U-17 W/Cup:

It’s win or nothing, NFF charges Eaglets Joel Ajayi ABUJA

our days to the kick-off of the 2015 U-17 FIFA World Cup in Santiago, Chile, the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) has set a target “of the trophy or nothing” for the Coach Emmanuel Amuneketutored Golden Eaglets. The NFF seemingly gave the charge through its Executive Committee Member, Hon. Sulieman Yahaya-Kwande, who spoke to National Mirror in Abuja. Kwande, who is also a member of the House representatives, told our correspondent at the Abuja National Stadium moments after the U-20 national women’s team, Falconets, qualified for the final round of the African qualifying series for the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup, courtesy of a 4-1

aggregate defeat of their opponents from the DR Congo, that Golden Eaglets must defend the cup their compatriots won in 2013 in UAE. “I have always said that the primary objective of the team participating in the tournament is to lift the tournament trophy. It is more or less a mandate we have handed to the team. “As you all know, we always have confidence on our junior team. I want you to understand that we are defending champions and we will not settle for the less,” the NFF board member said. He added, “I don’t think Amuneke and his technical crew have an excuse, with robust programmes and support we gave them, we charge them to go all out there and defend the trophy we won two years ago in the United Arab Emirates, coupled with the fact that they have

been in camp for long, we don’t expect nothing from them than to enter final and win the cup.” Meanwhile, Golden Eaglets played their second and last warm up match before heading to Santiago for the 16th edition of the FIFA U-17 World Cup against the U-20 side of Argentine top side, Racing Club de Avellaneda yesterday at the club’s central training pitch at Tita Mattiussi located in Greater Buenos Aires. The Eaglets last Wednesday beat their Argentinean counterparts 2-1 at the AFA Training Centre. Meanwhile, Amuneke has yet reiterated that the best players have been picked to represent Nigeria in Chile, with the Golden Eaglets playing their first match against the USA on Saturday at the Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos in Santiago.

Klopp

Klopp focuses on new football brand at Anfield

eveloping a recognisable brand of football this season is the only target that Liverpool’s owners have set new manager, Juergen Klopp, the German told Bild last weekend. The former Borussia Dortmund manager was unveiled as Brendan Rodgers’ successor last Friday and sparked excitement by saying he could win Liverpool the Premier League title in the next four years but, in an interview with the German paper, called for patience because of the enormous challenge he faced.

“There is no doubt, this is a huge challenge, for me and my coaching team,” he said. “Liverpool have not had any success for a long time and they’ve changed the manager all the time. And now they have appointed a German who is no miracle worker. Progress is not possible without a bit of time.” Klopp, who has reportedly signed a three-year contract, also said Fenway Sports Group, the club’s owners, did not expect him to deliver either a trophy or Champions League qualification in his first season.

Sports

Euro 2016

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Late Felix Okugbe

Bale

Wales relies again on Bale tonight R

eal Madrid have not asked for Gareth Bale to be rested for today’s Euro 2016 qualifier against Andorra in Cardiff, says Wales boss, Chris Coleman. Bale played 90 minutes in last Saturday’s defeat by Bosnia-Herzegovina despite having only just returned from injury. Real team-mate, Cristiano Ronaldo, has been released by Portugal for their game in Serbia but Bale is with Wales.

“There’s been no demand from Real Madrid on if he starts how long he will play,” said Coleman. “Real Madrid have always been first class.” Bale suffered a calf injury while playing for Real’s Champions League win over Shakhtar Donetsk on September 15. He missed his club’s next three games, but returned as a late substitute in the Madrid derby on October 4. The 26-year-old showed no ill-

effects last Saturday as Wales lost 2-0 in Bosnia but still qualified from Group B, and insisted after the game he was determined to play again today. Portugal have also qualified so have decided they can do without Ronaldo, but Coleman revealed the only contact from Real since Saturday was a congratulatory text message from manager Rafael Benitez to Wales assistant manager, Osian Roberts.

Chevron MD pledges support for Nigerian sports Everest Onyewuchi

he Chairman/Managing Director of Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL), Mr. Clay Neff, has promised that his company will continue to support sports development in Nigeria. Neff made the pledge last Sunday at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club (LLTC) Onikan, Lagos, during the closing ceremony of the 16th NNPC/Chevron Junior Tennis Masters Tournament that was won by Godgift Timibra. Represented by Mr. Jeff Ewing, Director DW and PSC, the Chevron MD said the company’s support for sports development in Nigeria is premised on the vital role that sports play in improving the health of the youth and in enhancing their competitive spirits. “In addition to the Junior Tennis Masters, we also pioneered the annual Junior Tennis Clinic, a holiday coaching clinic which benefits over 100 boys and girls between the ages of eight and fourteen, from different primary and secondary schools in Lagos State. Those who qualify are selected to graduate into representing Lagos State in the NNPC/ Chevron Junior Tennis Masters Tournament. The long term benefit of this initiative is the nurturing of skillful tennis players that can earn a sustainable living from tennis and also bring glory to Nigeria.

...as Timibra wins 16th Junior Masters “We are motivated to make these social investments because of our belief in giving our youths a future to live for and a cause to dream. The future of Nigeria belongs to the youths and as one of the corporate bodies responsible for the key resources of our country, we are convinced that investments in the youths are not only priceless, but noble and inspiring,” the Chevron boss added. Our correspondent reports that the final won by Rivers State born Godgift Timibra was filled with suspense, excitements and actions as Timibra battled with John Dickson from Bauchi State at the LLTC. Timibra came from 2-5 set down set to edge Dickson 7-6, after both players tied on 6-6 set. Speaking after the game, the champion expressed his delight, but said he was surprised to emerge victorious. “I feel very happy to win the NNPC/Chevron Junior Masters Tennis finals. I did not believe I could win it, but I stepped up my game and by God’s grace I won, ” he said. Timibra, who was the 3rd runner up at the 15th edition of the tournament said he plans be like top tennis players such as Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Dickson, however, expressed sadness for not taking his chances after leading 5-2. “After leading 5-2, I relaxed my play thinking the game was over; I should have finished the game,” Dickson said with regrets. Timibra outclassed Christopher Otodo of Kaduna State in the semifinals, while Dickson booked his final tickets after defeating Tochukwu Eze of Imo State in the semis.

NOC president ‘heartbroken’ over Okugbe’s death

he Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) President, Engr. Habu Gumel, has said he is “heartbroken” after learning the news of the death of President of Archery Federation, Dr. Felix Okugbe. Okugbe died last week at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) following a spine surgery complications. “Okugbe devoted his life to sports and to making people happy and making Team Nigeria work better,” Gumel said. “He had a brilliant mind, a big heart, and an insatiable appetite to give back. I’m indeed saddened by the loss of such hardworking man’’, Gumel who is a member of the International Olympic Committee, IOC, said. The news of the death of the Archery Federation president has left the NOC Secretariat at the National Stadium, Lagos like a graveyard. NOC scribe, Hon. Tunde Popoola, was too shocked that he continued asking, “Why, why, why?” He could not hold back tears for Okugbe who toiled to ensure that Nigeria becomes a member of World Archery as a means of putting Nigeria in front during international competitions. Meanwhile, the family of the late Felix Okugbe has announced October 22 to October 23 for the burial of the broadcast journalist in his compound in Lagos.

Director Deepwater and Production Sharing Contracts, Chevron, Mr. Jeff Ewing (m) with the winner, Godgift Timibra (l) and runner-up, John Dickson (right) at the closing ceremony.

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Sports

Tuesday, October 13, 2015

World bits… Fraser to become UK Athletics Vice President

Mercyjacob_26@yahoo.com Tel: 08063056537

lympic 400m finalist, Donna Fraser, will become vice president of UK Athletics at the federation’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) on December 4. Fraser, who was fourth in the 2000 Sydney Games and competed at three other Olympics, replaces Jason Gardener, who as announced last week, will fill the presidency role. On welcoming her appointment on to the UK Members Council, she said, “I am thrilled and absolutely honoured to be offered this role. It’s something that I never thought would come my way but I think I can do a great job for the sport and it is really

Divine

Oduduru sets sight on Rio Olympics A

fter he almost missed out in the last edition of the African Games, held in Brazzaville, Congo as a result of illness, Nigerian 200m fastest man, Divine Oduduru, is hopeful that he will win a medal in Rio 2016 Olympics. According to the multitalented youthful athlete, he has already started training ahead to get himself prepared so as to be able to make the list of selected athletes for the next summer event. “I am very grateful to God who made it possible for me to make the African Games in Congo; sincerely speaking I have almost lost hope because I could not make it to that Warri final trial as a result

of illness. Even when the list was released my name wasn’t there before I was later called to camp. “Though I did my possible best to win a gold medal at the event, but I lost it to the Ivorian who ran 24.2while I ran 23.3 to win a silver medal. “But I hope to make it up in Rio 2016 Olympics if I am opportune to make the list,” Oduduru said. He added, “One thing that helps me in life even when am down is refusal to give up and with the encouragement of those around me, especially my coaches it keeps me moving. So I believe with good training and determination, come next year’s Olympics I will win a medal.”

Oduduru, however, encouraged his follow male athletes to forget about what happened in Congo Brazzaville and plan towards the Olympics, insisting that they would bounce back. “The male athletes did not do badly at the African Games: why it seems that the female won more medals than us was because they are more in number than us. Notwithstanding, we have learnt our lessons. We are going to bounce back,” he promised. Oduduru won the silver medal in 200m in 2014 IAAF World youth championship in Oregon, USA and capped it with gold in the Africa junior championship in Mauritius.

Star Quote…

I am now a legend. I’m also the greatest athlete to live. I am in the same category as Michael Johnson

Usain Bolt at the 2012 Olympics

good to be involved in this way. “I have always stayed involved in the sport since retiring and still attend events and club nights, and this allows me to be further reconnected with athletics. “I think I can bring something to the UK Members Council. I am still in touch with so many within the sport and people are really open and honest with me about their thoughts and I hope I can represent them well “It is such an exciting time with Rio next year and then our London World Athletics Championships in 2017 – I know we can take the sport to another level.”

Chumba wins slow Chicago Marathon

enyan, Dickson Chumba, pulled away from compatriot Sammy Kitwara and comfortably won a slow Chicago Marathon in a sweep for the African nation last Sunday. Chumba, wearing a bright yellow singlet, clocked 2hrs 9mins 25secs as the runnerup, Kitwara, recorded his fourth consecutive top-four finish, placing 25 seconds behind. Chumba broke up a tactical race with a surge after about 30km and gradually increased

his lead over Kitwara. “The race was good, but the pace was slow to 30km,” said the 28-year-old, who won the Tokyo marathon in 2014 and finished third there this year. Kenyan Sammy Ndungu took third in 2:10:06, followed by Ethiopian Girmay Birhanu Gebru and surprising American Luke Puskedra. Kenya’s world half-marathon record holder Florence Kiplagat claimed the women’s race, breaking away at 40km to win in 2:23:33.

Rio 2016: Suspected drug cheats to get medals at a later ceremony

orld Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) President, Sir Craig Reedie, has promised that any athletes denied medals at the for thcoming Rio 2016 Olympics due to dr ug cheats will have their own for mal awards ceremony at a later date. Although there has not been an established policy for reassigning medals in these types of instances, Sir Craig believes it is impor tant that clean athletes get “their moment in the sun”. “We are going to make sure that when the medals are re-awarded, they are presented properly,” said

the Briton, who is also vicepresident of the Inter national Olympic Committee (IOC). Approved by the IOC, next year’s Olympic Games will be the first to benefit from the recommendation. Jamaica’s Danielle Williams, winner of the women’s 100metres hurdles gold medal at the Inter national Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) World Championships in Beijing earlier this year, has given her backing to the move. “Hopefully I will never be in that position, but I actually do think that’s a good idea,” she told the BBC’s World Service.

WORLD RECORD

Largestdribbling dessert pizza Fastest marathon two basketballs

N150

Vol. 05 No. 1220 Tuesday, October 13, 2015

The largest dessert pizza has a total surface area of 14.28 m² (153.71 ft²) and was prepared by the Record Pizza Men team

Bleaching as symptomatic of Nigeria’s problems L ast week, I was at a higher institution in America. As I was strolling down one of the streets, I was impressed by the different shades of people. There were white, black, inter-racial, Asian and Indian students walking all over the campus. Their complexions were all natural and I could not see any appearance of chemical skin color alterations. My mind went back to my beloved Nigeria. In fact, some weeks back, I was in an office when a middle-aged lady walked in. Her face was shining and very fair, but her knuckles were “speckled”. Unfortunately for her, I was seated and saw her very dark ankles. I was saddened and wondered who

Guest Columnist

Alex Osondu Atawa-Akpodieete

has deceived this woman and many Nigerian women that only fair is beautiful. Whatever happened to “black is beautiful.” We are still a nation suffering from the vestiges of colonialism. Although we gained our independence 55 years ago, we are still laboring under mental slavery. In fact, you only have to enter an office in Nigeria with an Indian, Asian or Caucasian to see the differential treatment that will be meted out to you and your foreign counterpart. Those of us that have studied and worked abroad know that no race is superior, and we have all been created equal by Almighty God. So, why are our women obsessed with bleaching? I should say that I have been informed that many men (and couples) also bleach, including commissioners and governors. Bleaching is a deceptive practice. If a man meets a young lady and she is “shining”, he may discover after they are married that she is actually darker than most Nollywood actresses used to be. In a country where authenticity seems to be scarce, then these women may be trying to fit in. I should say that everyone is entitled to be attracted to people of opposite sex with a particular pigmentation or complexion, but it is an insult to Almighty God that created you to want to artificially alter your own complexion. I will be bold to proffer that bleaching is inapposite to Christianity. The late moon walking American music star should be a written epistle on the vanity of the surgical alteration of what God has created It will amaze some Nigerians to learn

IT IS AN INSULT TO ALMIGHTY GOD THAT CREATED YOU TO WANT TO ARTIFICIALLY ALTER YOUR OWN COMPLEXION that a few whites wish they were “darker” and patronize sun tanning salons to be more like us. Our dermatologist says that “It is a supreme irony of the modern age that while the dark-skinned races want to increasingly become “white,” the Caucasian woman desires to acquire a tan in the sunny beaches of Africa, Asia and the Caribbeans in order to get a shade darker and appear healthier.” This just exemplifies further man’s insatiable proclivity for artificial “beauty.” How does bleaching relate to the major problems facing Nigeria? We are sometimes concerned about just the surface solutions to our problem. You cannot bleach your inside and bleaching will definitely not change that primitive “igbotic” accent. Neither will it change your reasoning. In fact, those that bleach face some further unique problems. They smell when they are bleaching and try unsuccessfully to cover up with colognes and perfumes. Also, when they run out of money, their normal complexion returns, but in a damaged form. Of course, there is the skin cancer

susceptibility. The following is from an article by one Dr. Sylvester Ikhisemojie, published in the June 1, 2014 edition of The Punch: “There is a lot of evidence to support the suggestion that bleaching may be a harmful process. Among the poor, what is frequently available are cheaper products that contain hydroquinone and mercurious chloride, both of which are harmful. The latter contains a heavy metal, namely mercury, which is slowly absorbed in the system with no hope of eventual excretion. A slow poisoning thus results with permanent injury to the kidneys, the brain and the heart. “A failure of any of these organs has no hope of repair except by having an organ transplant. Even so, the brain cannot be transplanted. That is not to mention the initial damage to the skin that reduces its quality and its ability to protect the individual from simple injuries and microbial invasion. On the other hand, it is often frustrating to have to suture skin lacerations in the emergency room of a woman who has bleached her skin red or pink in an effort to become more attractive. The wounds take longer to heal and the eventual result of such healing is poor.” As with bleaching, Nigeria does not need temporary and surface solutions to our problems. Some of the quick-fix solutions end up exacerbating our condition. We must dig inside and deal with our underlying issues of corruption, ineptitude, lack of meritocracy, visionless and rudderless leadership and the decline in our moral values. Let us collectively work for a better Nigeria, while still maintaining our authentic selves. We need lasting solutions. According to Dr. Ikhisemojie, bleaching “is thus a practice that needs to stop... As the maxim goes, a word is enough for the wise.” Rev. (Prof.) Atawa-Akpodiete, a public affairs analyst, wrote from Washington DC, USA via Profatawa@gmail.com

Sport Extra

razil still produces the world’s best footballers but the growing influence of agents on leading players has created a mountain of woes for the national side, Pele said yesterday. The legendary Brazilian,

Why Brazil is struggling –Pele the only player to feature in three World Cup-winning teams, said the passion for football was as strong as ever but acknowledged the “Selecao” were struggling with a host of problems.

“We have not lost passion for football,” Pele said in the eastern city of Kolkata at the start of a visit to India. “Individually we have the best players but as a team we’ve a lot of prob-

lems. In my time the players belonged to clubs but today players are managed by their agents,” Pele was quoted as saying by the Press Trust of India news agency.

After their 7-1 World Cup semi-final humiliation by Germany last year, Brazil were eliminated from the Copa America in June at the hands of minnows Paraguay.

Pele

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