Wednesday, August 15, 2012 by GLOBAL MEDIA MIRROR LIMITED

Ex-IGs meet Jonathan over insecurity, oppose state police ROTIMI FADEYI ABUJA

he Forum of Retired Inspectors-General of Police yesterday opposed the creation of

state police even as the presidential panel on the reorganisation of the CONTINUED ON PAGE 5>>

FG, labour meet on power sector privatisation today

Vol. 2 N0. 426

Two bombers die in Kaduna explosion

P.5

P.12

Yakowa

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

N150

STOP THE CROCODILE TEARS! –PART 1 How we paid Ray Ekpu, Dan Agbese, Soji Akinrinade and Yakubu Mohammed. /HWWHU RI FRQÀUPDWLRQ IURP RXU EDQNHU

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

HOW THEY RETIRED –THE TRUTH DǇ ĂƩĞŶƟŽŶ ŚĂƐ ďĞĞŶ ĚƌĂǁŶ ƚŽ ǀĂƌŝŽƵƐ ĐŽŵŵĞŶƚƐ ĂŶĚ ĂĐĐƵƐĂƟŽŶƐ ŽǀĞƌ ƚŚĞ ƉƵƌĐŚĂƐĞ ŽĨ Newswatch DĂŐĂǌŝŶĞ ďǇ ŽŶĞ ŽĨ ŽƵƌ ƐŝƐƚĞƌ ĐŽŵƉĂŶŝĞƐ͘ KƌĚŝŶĂƌŝůǇ͕ ǁĞ ŶĞĞĚ ŶŽƚ ƌĞƉůǇ ďƵƚ ďĞĐĂƵƐĞ ŝƚ ĐŽŶĐĞƌŶƐ ͚ŐĞŶƚůĞŵĞŶ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ƉƌĞƐƐ͛ ǁŚŽ ƉƌĞƐƵŵĂďůǇ ĂƌĞ ͞ŝŶŶŽĐĞŶƚ͕͟ ďƵƚ ŝƚ ŝƐ ŝŵƉŽƌƚĂŶƚ ƚŽ ŶŽǁ ůĞƚ ƚŚĞ ƉƵďůŝĐ ŬŶŽǁ ƚŚĞ ƚƌƵƚŚ ŽĨ ŚŽǁ ŵŽŶĞǇ ǁĂƐ ƚƌĂŶƐĨĞƌƌĞĚ ƚŽ ƚŚĞŝƌ ĂĐĐŽƵŶƚƐ ĨŽůůŽǁŝŶŐ ƚŚĞŝƌ ƌĞƟƌĞŵĞŶƚ ĨƌŽŵ ƚŚĞ ďŽĂƌĚ ŽĨ Newswatch͘

Letter of Retirement

Newswatch shareholding before the sales

^ŽƵƌĐĞ͗ WůĂĐĞŵĞŶƚ DĞŵŽƌĂŶĚƵŵ͖ EĞǁƐǁĂƚĐŚ ŽŵŵƵŶŝĐĂƟŽŶƐ >ŝŵŝƚĞĚ

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Conclusion Put together Ray, Dan, Soji and Yakubu hold 6.3 per cent of the total ƐŚĂƌĞƐ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ ĐŽŵƉĂŶǇ ǁͲƐƉĞĐŝĮĐĂůůǇ͗ 1. Yakubu Mohammed

1.8%

2. Soji Akinrinade

0.5%

3. Dan Agbese

1.8%

4. Ray Ekpu

2.28%

With this shareholding structure, the gentlemen above have no enough shares put together to be on the board of Newswatch in accordance with the ŽŵƉĂŶǇ ĂŶĚ ůůŝĞĚ DĂƩĞƌƐ Đƚ͘ dŚŝƐ ƉŽƐŝƟŽŶ ŝƐ ŝŶĐŽŶƚƌŽǀĞƌƟďůĞ͘ Why we bought Newswatch: ŌĞƌ ƚŚĞ ĚĞĂƚŚ ŽĨ ĞůĞ 'ŝǁĂ͕ ŶŽ ƐŝŐŶŝĮĐĂŶƚ ƉƌŽŐƌĞƐƐ ŚĂƐ ďĞĞŶ ŵĂĚĞ ŝŶ Newswatch Magazine, with the magazine publishing from a third party press ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ůĂƐƚ Ϯϴ ǇĞĂƌƐ͘ dŚĞƐĞ ĂƌĞ ďĞǇŽŶĚ ƚŚĞ ĐŽŶƚĞŵƉůĂƟŽŶƐ ŽĨ ĞůĞ 'ŝǁĂ ƐŝŶĐĞ the establishment of Newswatch. /ƚ ŝƐ ŽƵƌ ƚŚŝŶŬŝŶŐ ƚŚĂƚ ƚŚĞƐĞ ŶŽďůĞ ŝĚĞĂƐ ŽĨ ĞůĞ 'ŝǁĂ ŵƵƐƚ ďĞ ƐƵƐƚĂŝŶĞĚ͘ tŝƚŚ ϴ ŵŽŶƚŚƐ ƵŶƉĂŝĚ ƐĂůĂƌǇ ƚŽ ƚŚĞ ƐƚĂī ĂƐ Ăƚ ƚŚĞ ĚĂƚĞ ŽĨ ƉƵƌĐŚĂƐĞ ĂŶĚ ƚŚŝƌƚĞĞŶ ŵŽŶƚŚƐ ƵŶƉĂŝĚ ƐĂůĂƌǇ ĞĂƌůŝĞƌ ǁƌŝƩĞŶ Žī ďǇ ƚŚĞ ƐƚĂī͕ ĂŶĚ ŚĂůĨ ŽĨ ƚŚĞ Newswatch ŽĸĐĞ ĂůƌĞĂĚǇ ůĞĂƐĞĚ ƚŽ Ă ƚŚŝƌĚ ƉĂƌƚǇ ĨŽƌ ϱ ǇĞĂƌƐ ƚŽŐĞƚŚĞƌ ǁŝƚŚ ŽǀĞƌ EϱϬϬŵ ůŝĂďŝůŝƟĞƐ ĚƵĞ ƚŽ ƚŚŝƌĚ ƉĂƌƟĞƐ͘ tĞ ŝŶǀĞƐƚĞĚ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ŝĚĞĂƐ ŽĨ ĞůĞ 'ŝǁĂ ĂŶĚ ŶŽƚ ŝŶ ĂŶǇ ŵĂƚĞƌŝĂů ƉĂƌƟĐƵůĂƌ ƚŚĂƚ ĐĂŶ ďĞ ŽĨ ǀĞƐƚĞĚ ŝŶƚĞƌĞƐƚ͘ We thank our readers and friends of Newswatch worldwide and assure them that we will do our best to make sure that the magazine survives surgery while in the corporate theatre. tĞ ĚŽ ŚŽƉĞ ƚŚĂƚ ŚĂǀŝŶŐ ĐŽůůĞĐƚĞĚ ƚŚĞŝƌ ƌĞƟƌĞŵĞŶƚ ďĞŶĞĮƚƐ ĂŶĚ ƐŽůĚ ƚŚĞŝƌ ĞƋƵŝƟĞƐ ŝŶ ƚŚĞ ĐŽŵƉĂŶǇ͕ ƐŽŵĞŽŶĞ ǁŝůů ƚĞůů ŬƉƵ͕ ŐďĞƐĞ͕ ŬŝŶƌŝŶĂĚĞ ĂŶĚ Mohammed to stop the crocodile tears. ^ŝŐŶĞĚ͗ Management Global Media Mirror Limited

Photo News

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

L-R: Manager, Digital Media, Etisalat Nigeria, Mrs. Chinenye Faleye; Chief Commercial Officer, Mr. Wael Ammar; Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Steven Evans and Country Senior Officer, Nigeria, Alcatel, Mr. Hatim Zougari, at the official launch of Etisalat EasyAdz in Lagos, yesterday. PHOTO: YINKA ADEPARUSI

L-R: Managing Director, Unity Kapital Assurance plc, Mr. Kins Ekebuike; Chairman, Mallam Falalu Bello and Company Secretary, Mr. Umar Sambo, during the annual general meeting of the Company in Abuja, yesterday. PHOTO: ROTIMI OSASONA

L-R: Board Member, Rockefeller Foundation, Mr. Strive Masiyiwa; President, Dr. Judith Rodin and Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, during a meeting between Rockefeller Foundation and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in Abuja, yesterday.

L-R: Archbishop Ayoade Ladigbolu; his wife, Afolake; mother of the artiste, Mrs. Ebuoluwa Ogunleye; artiste, Mrs. Bukola Ladigbolu and Chairman of the ceremony, Very Rev. (Col.) Olu Keripe (rtd), during the launching and public presentation of the album, Eni ti Okan mi Yan, in Lagos yesterday. PHOTO: OLUFEMI AJASA

PHOTO: ROTIMI OSASONA

National News

Dana crash: Retired NAF boss blames air traffic controller FRANCIS FAMOROTI

retired Air Force Officer, Group Capt. Oladipo Ojikutu yesterday accused the air traffic control unit of the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, of withholding details of what happened between the tower and the pilot of the ill fated Dana plane that crashed at Iju-Ishaga, Lagos, last June 3. Testifying at the inquest proceedings of the coroner probing the circumstances that led to the crash, the witness also picked holes in the country’s emergency plan in case of major disasters. Ojikutu, with experience spanning 26 years as the NAF air traffic controller, told the coroner, Mr. Alexander Oyetade that he was disturbed by the silence of the Accident Investigation Bureau, AIB’s, report on the communication between the aircraft, Lagos and Kano control towers. “From the transcripts of the conversation between the control tower and the pilot of the ill-fat-

ed plane, there were gaps between what transpired,” he said. Ojikutu said the court was given just about 13 minutes excerpts of what was supposed to be about 44 minutes of the conversation between the tower and the pilot. The witness told the coroner that the withheld details of about 15 minutes recording would have provided clues as to what happened before the plane lost its two engines. Besides, he said the air traffic controller on duty did not respond immediately to the distress call from the pilot adding “when he ought to have taken charge of the emergency response, he handed over to a subordinate.” Ojikutu stated that the air traffic controller should have handed over to a superior authority, maintaining that the emergency operation during the crash clearly showed that the authority did not respond until it was too late. The witness told the coroner that it was saddening that virtually all emergency units that re-

sponded to the crash had no idea about how to put out an airplane fire. “We don’t fight aircraft fire with water. But from the video footages of that day, I noticed they were using water and that didn’t help a bit,” he said. Ojukutu testified that

the appropriate substance to be used was foam chemical, hence the rescue team’s inability to put out the fire. He said that the National Emergency Management Agency, NAMA, lacked sufficient manpower and added that the last

time the agency trained its officials was over 15 years ago. The witness also told the coroner that there were too many residential buildings close to the airport, noting that those structures constitute danger to safe landing of air-

craft. Ojikutu urged the coroner to recommend to the government, the demolition of all such buildings and compensate the owners. This, he said, would make Ikeja airport safer for landing.

Nigerians groan over looming price increases on wheat, flour products ELLA OLAMIJU

onsumers across the country have expressed concern at the sudden hike in the import duty on flour and wheat grains by the Federal Government, which is reminiscent of the recent subsidy removal on fuel. Government had through the 2012 Appropriation Bill launched a policy resistance against importation of wheat and flour in a bid to promote locally sourced cassava as a viable alternative by jacking up import duty on the two items by 100 per cent and 20 per cent respectively. Cassava displacement target rates of 10, 20, 30, and 40 per cents were an-

nounced by the Federal Government for the years 2012, 2013, 2014, and 2015 respectively. Government’s immediate goal is to achieve cut in wheat and flour import by 40 per cent in 2015. Reasons put forward by the government so far on the move include that the promotion of the use of cassava over its wheat and flour counterparts will achieve marginal growth in the nation’s Gross Domestic Product, GDP, save foreign exchange earnings from reduced importation of wheat and flour and boost employment rates. The inevitable consequence of government’s action is the looming upswing in prices of staple food items such as bread, noodles, biscuits, spaghetti,

pastries amongst others made from wheat and flour. Already, consumers are groaning under the weight of the imminent increase in prices of basic food items as market buzz have it that popular household food items as the mini noodles packs sold for between N30 and N35 will soon go up to N50 while its larger pack now N50 may be sold for up to N70. Also the loaf of bread currently being sold at N100 is likely to increase to between N130 and N140, spaghetti from N100 to about N120, while regular pack biscuits would no longer sell at its current price of N10. In his reaction, a businessman, Mr. Popoola Ajayi said “This is burdensome on the ordinary and family man. We have just survived

the agony of the oil subsidy removal and now this. Of course, the manufacturers have to sell and if we prefer wheat bread to cassava bread we have to pay, it is a sad situation.” However, it is doubtful if the government agenda at achieving economic rewards from the policy cut on wheat and flour will yield the desired results as it is on record that Nigerian consumers would rather pay more for trusted brands than gamble with government alternatives. There are indications that current figures on wheat importation may be bloated to make the case for import cut as a conflicting estimate of $1.8bn against government’s $4.2bn claim on wheat import is making rounds in the media.

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Wednesday, August 15, 2012

FG, labour meet on power sector privatisation today UDEME AKPAN AND MESHACK IDEHEN

he Federal Government will meet with the labour leaders in Abuja today to end a stalemate over severance package for electricity sector workers. Some of the workers will be disengaged following the ongoing privatisation of the power sector. Our correspondent gathered that all parties, including officials of the National Union of Electricity Employees, NUEE, and the Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Corporations, SSAEAC, are already in Abuja for the meeting. The meeting, which is being facilitated by the Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu, will also have representatives of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, in

attendance. The NLC officials had risen from a meeting on Monday in Abuja with a resolve to participate, but had earlier warned of a possible general strike if government could not reach an agreement with electricity sector workers. The workers had embarked on strike on Monday to protest the Federal Government’s ongoing privatisation of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN; alleged failure of government to implement agreements concerning terminal benefits for workers and alleged refusal of government to carry them along in choosing potential investors in the power sector. It was gathered that the NLC’s participation followed the invitation of the Wogu. Wogu had sent out invitation to the leadership of the organised labour for a

meeting over a one-week ultimatum issued by the NLC during its National Executive Committee meeting in Benin to resolve the matter or face industrial action. He, however, condemned the military takeover of PHCN’s corporate headquarters and other locations aimed at sustaining hitch-free operations. The Secretary-General of the Trade Union Congress, TUC, Chief John Kolawole, said: “The issue is clear to us, the issue is the severance package for our members. We have nothing against the programme of the government; what we have against them is that the welfare of the workers has not been taken care of.” A visit by National Mirror to some PHCN offices in Lagos revealed that most of the premises were deserted, while few workers reported for work in some others. Speaking with our cor-

respondent on the telephone yesterday, SSAEAC President, Mr. Bede Opara, said he was in Abuja for a meeting, promising to make details of the meeting available as soon as it was over. Efforts to reach the NLC Deputy President and General Secretary of NUEE, Mr. Joe Ajaero, were unsuccessful as calls to his telephone did not go through. A source in his office, however, disclosed that the NUEE general secretary had been in Abuja for some days, participating in meetings and negotiations geared towards resolving the impasse. NUEE’s North-West Zonal Coordinator, Mr. Joseph Ishaya, explained that part of the electricity workers’ grouses was the alleged mismanagement of the N331bn superannuation fund. He said that the money

L-R: Guest speaker, Prince Julius Adelusi-Adeluyi; South Korean Ambassador to Nigeria, Ambassador Choi Hyun and Mr. Paul Nnan Wobu, at a symposium to commemorate the 67th independence anniversary of the Republic of Korea in Lagos, yesterday.

was from the superannuation fund contributed for the workers by the PHCN management. Ishaya said the money, representing 25 per cent of the workers’ consolidated salaries, was supposed to be used for the payment of the workers’ retirement benefits. He added that NUEE members had been receiving 75 per cent of their consolidated salaries since they started working, while the remaining 25 per cent was paid into the superannuation fund. Ishaya vowed that the strike would continue because of the “inhuman manner” in which PHCN workers were being treated. He explained that the 2004 Pension Reform Act says that workers’ welfare and benefits must be negotiated to a conclusion before an organisation’s privatisation. “It’s like the government wants to sweep that aspect under the carpet. “Our fear is that we don’t know PENCOM. The agreement we signed stipulates that government should pay the workers off to enable the new companies to do whatever they want,” he said. The Minister of Power, Prof. Barth Nnaji had said on Monday that government had set up a panel to probe the management of the superannuation fund by union leaders, saying that the salary deductions were not remitted. Nnaji said: “There are lot of distortions out there. The workers are not getting it, it is unfortunate

that they are not getting the proper information. But I can promise you that this week we are going to release a lot of information pertaining to the main issue which the union was quarrelling about. That has to do with how much they are going to take. “They say it is N85,000. I cannot understand how they could say that. Many of the people who are junior officers, some of them with WAEC qualification are going to go home with N8m. “We just do not want to publish the tally sheet. Somebody, who is in the position of an assistant general manager could go home with N28m. What we are saying is that there is a range. “The highest officer could go home with N38m. So, anybody who is telling you N85,000 has a different mission. “The area of difference is that the union wants to be paid 25 per cent of the benefit at the point of severance. “That was an old policy before the 2004 Pension Reform Act. After the Act they continued to carry on with the 25 per cent. “They collected this money without remitting the money into the account, it was just written on paper. So, the workers had nothing in their account. “That is something we have now set up a panel to investigate and we have set up a panel headed by a former auditor-general of the federation. It amounts to fraud to have that kind of thing going on.”

Ex-IGs meet Jonathan over insecurity, oppose state police CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Nigeria Police Force recommended the scrapping of the Ministry of Police Affairs. The ex-IGs met with President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa on the growing insecurity situation in the country and proffered solutions to the problem. Led by Muhammadu Gambo Jimeta, who was the IG from 1986 to1990, the former police bosses said that they were disturbed by the clamour for state police, stressing that

its adoption could spell doom for the country and jeopardise the nascent democracy. They also called for better funding and improved welfare of the police. The retired IGs said that the establishment of state police would bring the country back to the days of ethnic militias where the Oodua People’s Congress, OPC, the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, and Egbesu held sway. They added that with

the political climate operating in the country, state police would only be a tool in the hands of political leaders at state levels. While the presidential panel, headed by Mr. Parry Osayande, a retired Deputy Inspector- General of Police, DIG, in the report submitted to President Jonathan yesterday recommended the scrapping of the Ministry of Police Affairs, the retired IGs kicked against the panel’s stand. They said that the ministry was necessary for

the effective administration of police affairs in the country. While supporting the existence of the Ministry of Police Affairs, Gambo noted that the office came into being when the country was under the parliamentary system headed by a prime minister, stressing that President Jonathan needed somebody to explain to the public, who is not a police officer, the validity of the policies that were carried out by the police. In an address earlier

presented to President Jonathan on the state of insecurity in the country, the Forum said that experience had shown that in tackling internal security problems, there was need to adopt a holistic overview of strategies and organisations responsible for the implementation of internal security management. It added that the police, the primary organ charged with the responsibility of the maintenance of internal security, needed to be well-positioned to

discharge its constitutional and statutory duties efficiently. The address was signed by the former IGs, including Alhaji Muhammadu Yusuf, Mr. Sunday Adewusi, Alhaji Muhammadu Gambo, Alhaji Aliyu Atta, Alhaji Ibrahim Coomasie, Mr. Musiliu Smith, Mr. Tafa Balogun, Mr. Sunday Ehindero and Sir. Mike Okiro. They said in the address: “The Forum is concerned with the current security challenges beCONTINUED ON PAGE 6>>

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Wednesday, August 15, 2012

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CPC expresses concern over sub-standard schools

he Director-General of the Consumer Protection Council, CPC, Mrs. Ify Umenyi, has expressed concern over the rise in sub-standard schools in the country. Umenyi expressed the concern at a roundtable with parents and guardians on “Choosing a good school for the child.” The roundtable was organised by Exam Ethics Marshals International in collaboration with the CPC and Public Complaints Commission. She said that cases of consumer abuses, associated with increase in substandard schools, especially those operated by private individuals or corporate bodies, were worrisome. Umenyi expressed regrets that entrepreneurial zealots had been lashing on employment opportunities in the education sector to

establish mushroom and sub-standard educational institutions. She noted that educational institutions which were supposed to serve as bedrock of sound educational background had become “just a means of livelihood.” The CPC DG said the development had resulted in poor service delivery, exploitation of consumers and poorly-baked school products, calling for concerted efforts to reverse the trend. “We in the CPC, the Federal Government’s apex consumer protection agency, feel very concerned,” she said, noting that enhanced efforts by regulating agencies would redress the situation. The CPC boss said the council was doing a lot to educate consumers on their rights by sensitising them through “Consumer Speaks” radio programmes

and “Learning for life” programmes in secondary schools. Umenyi said the council had so far established consumer clubs in 560 secondary schools across Nigeria as part of its sensitisation

effort to instil best ethical practices in youths. She urged people to always complain over disservice done to them, adding: “we will continue to partner other stakeholders to protect the rights of consum-

ers.” She also advised NGOs in the sector to carry out grassroots sensitisation of parents and guardians on what to look out for when choosing schools for their wards. Justice George Uloko,

Chief Commissioner, Public Complaints Commission, who was represented by Mr. Ogbunike Ohiagu of the commission, said that for education to achieve its aim it must be structured correctly.

NEWLY-PROMOTED POLICE OFFICERS

L-R: Deputy Commissioner of Police, Administration, Mr. Ayo Akinsanmi; Commissioner of Police, Lagos Airport Command, Mr. James Olatunji; Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Zone 2, Mr. Mamman Tsafe; Deputy Commissioner of Police, Lagos Airport Command, Mr. Haliru Gwandu and Deputy Commissioner of Police, Veterinary, Dr. Charles Ugamouh, after their decoration in Lagos, Yesterday.

Ex-IGs meet Jonathan over insecurity, oppose state police CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

devilling the country and appreciates the efforts put up by the government in tackling the challenges. “This new trend in crime and criminality requires the support and collaboration of all and sundry. “This has informed our collective decision to visit His Excellency to share our thoughts as retired IGs towards addressing the current internal security challenges. “In saying these, we are not unmindful of Mr. President’s efforts in addressing this disturbing phenomenon. “It is our humble submission that experience has shown that in tackling internal security problems, there is the need to adopt a holistic overview of strategies and organisations responsible for the implementation of internal security management. “Consequently, the Nigeria Police Force, which is the primary organ charged with the responsibility of the maintenance of internal security and therefore the first line of defence, need to be wellpositioned to discharge efficiently its constitutional and statutory duties. “Unfortunately, the force has not been prop-

erly positioned to meet these challenges. “Against this background, Mr. President, we are constrained to bring to your attention the following challenges presently confronting the Nigeria Police Force that require your immediate intervention for optimal results: I. Fiscal autonomy; II. Provision of funds; III. Relationship between the police; Ministry of Police Affairs and Police Service Commission; IV. Difficulties in accessing retirement benefits/mismanagement of the pension scheme; V. Provision of office and barracks accommodation; VI. Need to reinvigorate the intelligence/investigative arm of the police force; The retired IGs said they are disturbed by the current clamour for state police by certain segments of the society. The Forum stated: “We are of the opinion that the clamour is not in the interest of this nascent democracy as it will lead to a state of anomie. “It will be recalled that the military attempted introducing the localisation of police officers in their states of origin and the exercise boomeranged and failed. “The establishment of

state police will bring us back to the days of ethnic militias where the OPC, MASSOB, Egbesu, ECOMOG and Yankalare held sway. “Even in developed democracies such as the United Kingdom and the United States of America that are operating state and local police, they are now tilting towards a more centralised national police in dealing with contemporary challenges like terrorism and cybercrime. “Furthermore, putting into consideration the political climate operating in our country, a state police would only be a tool in the hands of political leaders at state levels. “The proliferation of security agencies to handle purely police matters is not in the best interest of security management of this country and in fact any country for that matter. “It is in this regard that it is recommended that the aspect of merging these outfits in Steve Oronsaye’s report with the police should be implemented. In the report submitted by Osayande-led committee yesterday, it said the Ministry of Police Affairs should be scrapped as it had no particular

assigned role in the 1999 Constitution. The report said that the ministry was neither in charge of operations nor appointment, discipline and promotion of the police yet, the budgeted funds was “unjustly” domiciled with it. But Osayande, while speaking with State House correspondents, said: “The ministry determines police projects and awards its contracts, including organising and running training programmes involving billions of naira with no input from the police who are the end users. “The result is that some of the projects being executed are not priorities to the police. This is an aberration which has led to abuse, misapplication and haemorrhage of the limited resources made available to the police,’’ he said. The committee recommended that the police should be empowered to determine its priorities, draw its budget, based on its needs and should be held accountable for the use of the funds. It faulted the “envelop system” of budgeting for the police whereby the Ministry of Finance provided a budget template rather than vesting the

fiscal and financial responsibility of the force on the Inspector-General of Police. The committee also noted that the carving out of integral units of the police as autonomous entities was an aberration and a violation of the Section 214 of the 1999 Constitution which provides that there should be only one police force for the country. It lamented that successive governments had been decimating the police by tinkering with its structure in the guise of responding to its failures and inadequacies. Osayande said that the intelligence arm of the police was carved out to create the State Security Service, SSS, while the Highway Patrol of the force was also carved out to create the Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC. Other agencies identified in the category were Independent Corrupt Practices and other related Offences Commission, ICPC, and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, carved out from the Criminal Investigation Department of the police and the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

“The committee, therefore, recommends that some of the duties taken away from the police should be returned as they are integral and still remain the constitutional duties of the Nigeria Police Force. “Consequently, the ICPC, FRSC and NSCDC should be immediately merged with the Nigeria Police Force,” he said The committee also recommended the revision of the salaries and overall welfare and condition of service of the police. It noted that the poverty of the ordinary policeman coupled with weak institutional governance predisposed him to engaging criminal and anti-social schemes for self-help and survival. The committee added that the staff of the parallel organisations carved out of the police were better remunerated and motivated than that of the police. “While the IG earns N711,498 per month, the SSS Director-General earns N1.336m per month and the Executive Chairman of EFCC earns N1.5m per month. “This disparity in salary does not reflect the higher responsibility attached to the Office of the IG,” he said.

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Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Book launch: Eminent Nigerians extol Obasanjo’s virtues FEMI OYEWESO ABEOKUTA

L-R: Executive Director, Civil Society Legislative Advocacy, Mr. Auwal Rafsanjani, Assistant Director, Federal Inland Revenue Service, Mr. Adamu Rimamtari and Chairman, Tax Justice Network Africa, Dr. Dereje Alemayehu, at the launch of the National Platform on Tax Justice in Abuja, yesterday. PHOTO: ROTIMI OSASONA

Ogoni declaration, Bayelsa anthem unconstitutional – NBA EMMANUEL ONANI ABUJA

he Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, yesterday declared as unconstitutional, null and void the declaration of selfgovernment for the Ogoni people of Rivers State by the Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People, MOSOP. The outgoing NBA President, Mr. Joseph Daudu (SAN), who said this at a press conference in Abuja, said the declaration, the adoption of a new anthem and the hoisting of a new flag by the Bayelsa State Government constituted an affront to the sovereignty of Nigeria as a nation. He therefore called on

President Goodluck Jonathan to act decisively to nip in the bud any further step aimed at undermining Nigeria. Daudu said that what the Ogoni community did by declaring self-government and the well-publicised action of Governor Henry Seriake Dickson’s government in Bayelsa State were calculated attempts to secede. The President and spokesman of MOSOP, Dr. Goodluck Diigbo, had on August 2 declared political autonomy for the people of Ogoni. Part of the declaration speech reads: “In order to make indigenous rights practicable in Ogoni, we have through a very transparent electoral college

process, beginning with community by community elections, set up 272 village councils, while the village councils in turn elected representatives for 33 district councils and the district representatives went on to elect representatives to serve at the centre as custodians of customs and traditions, otherwise called lawmakers.” But Daudu, who will be bowing out as the NBA president on August 31, after the Annual General Conference of the lawyers’ association billed to hold between August 25 and 31, said: “It is unconstitutional for any section of this country to seek to break away or take up any such actions. The Federal Government

must take necessary steps to nip such developments in the bud; the right to selfdetermination is unconstitutional and must not be encouraged.” Bayelsa State added a new twist to the controversy surrounding the re-branding initiatives by some states, when Dickson hoisted a new flag, adopted a new anthem and coat of arms, seen by some constitutional lawyers as an affront, since such rights were not guaranteed a state in the concurrent list. They argued that states like Lagos, Cross River, Ondo, Ogun, Osun, Ekiti did not hoist a new flag, which made their case different from that of Bayelsa.

Nigeria can lead Africa in food production – Rockefeller Foundation TOLA AKINMUTIMI ROTIMI FADEYI

AND

igeria has the capacity to be the agricultural hub of Africa and the continent’s leader in food security, President of the Rockefeller Foundation, Dr. Judith Rodin, has said. She said this after a session on financing agriculture with the Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina,

in Abuja yesterday. Dr. Rodin, who had earlier attended the weekly meeting of the Economic Management Implementation Team, EMIT, and shared ideas on how agriculture in Nigeria could be taken many notches higher, expressed confidence in the ongoing agricultural transformation agenda of the government to provide the needed leverage for sustainable growth of the sector. She was at the event with the Interim Chair of the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa, AGRA, Mr. Steve Masiyawa. Dr. Rodin said: “We are

here because we believe that Nigeria can take the lead in agriculture in job creation, production, processing, and diversification of the economy and overall contribution of the economy. The opportunities here are extraordinary. It is possible if the right things are done and we can see evidence they are being done.” She said the experience of the Rockefeller Foundation in helping to create the Green Revolution in Africa had convinced the foundation that Nigeria had what it takes to take the lead in Africa. In her remarks, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala described

the visit as “clear evidence that Nigeria is on the right path in agriculture and that the country’s efforts to improve productivity, diversity and food security are being recognised by the world”. Masiyawa said that Nigeria had the capacity to address the challenges in agriculture which it was faceing, adding that the work being done to improve the country’s agriculture could dramatically improve the economy. He urged young people to see agriculture as a viable career option because “there is money in agriculture.”

minent Nigerians, including former Head of Interim National Government, ING, Chief Ernest Shonekan, yesterday in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, extolled the virtues of former President Olusegun Obasanjo at the launch of a book written in his honour. The book entitled, “Olusegun Obasanjo: Passing the Torch,” launched at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, OOPL, examined the leadership qualities and achievements of the former president with emphasis on the need to raise patriotic leaders whose passion and seal are strong enough to make Nigeria stand tall in the comity of nations. The book also challenged those aspiring to leadership positions in the country as well as those who are thirsty for success and greatness in their areas of endeavour. In his remarks, Shonekan described Obasanjo’s accomplishments as a torch of progress which must be passed on to present and future generations.

Against the background of his sacrifices to the country, Shonekan, who was the guest of honour, said that Obasanjo had never hidden his passion to keep Nigeria united and was always ready to engage anyone against the country’s unity. In her speech, the First Lady, Patience Jonathan, described the book as a valuable resource and a befitting tribute to Obasanjo’s multifaceted achievements “etched deeply in the sand of time.” The President’s wife, who spoke through the Minister of Water Resources, Sarah Ochekpe, said that documenting, analysing as well as preserving achievements of Nigeria’s patriots like Obasanjo and others who had contributed so much towards national development would serve as enduring records. In his own remarks as the chairman of the occasion, the legal luminary and former Pro-Chancellor of the University of Lagos, Chief Afe Babalola, said that Obasanjo’s efforts to sustain the unity of Nigeria remained his greatest and unquantified contribution to the country.

Eid-el-fitri: Lagos offers free LAGBUS ride MURITALA AYINLA

o make the Eid-elfitri celebration memorable, the Lagos State Government has directed the management of its mass transit buses, LAGBUS, to provide free bus ride for the residents of Lagos on Sallah day. This is contained in a statement by the Public Relations Officer of the organisation, Mr. Durojaiye Olanrewaju. The Managing Director of LAGBUS, Mr. Babatunde Disu, according to the statement, said the gesture was part of LAGBUS contribution towards a successful Eid-elfitri celebration. According to him, the free bus ride will start from 6am to 10pm in the LAGBUS 46 routes in the state. Disu, who appealed to

the residents of Lagos to use public transport during the festive period and beyond, thanked the people for travelling in LAGBUS over the years. Meanwhile, the Lagos State Ministry of Tourism and Intergovernmental Relations has concluded plans to collaborate with the Nigerian Conservation Foundation, NCF, to develop the Lekki Conservation Centre. Governor Babatunde Fashola and top functionaries of the ministry have inspected the picnic and relaxation locations in order to enunciate the ministry’s plans for the development of the centre. The need to partner NCF, according to the state, arose from concern over low patronage at the Conservation Centre, adding that most animals within the location were rarely sighted.

South West

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Culprits in assault on Leadership photo journalist arrested

he man who initiated the assault on Leadership newspapers photojournalist, Mr. Benedict Uwalaka, last Thursday has been arrested by the police. He showed up at a Lagos police station yesterday after the police launched a man-hunt for him. He has been identified as Debayo Ogunshola, son of the owner of Lekan Ogunshola Memorial Morgue; concessionaire to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) morgue, Mrs. Taiwo Ogunsola. Debayo, alongside six

others are presently under interrogation at Area F police station. Meanwhile, LASUTH has invited Benedict Uwalaka to an investigative panel inaugurated to look into his maltreatment by workers of the morgue. According to a letter made available to Leadership newspapers, the panel will hold its sittings at 11.00 am on Friday, August 17, at the psychiatry head of department’s office. Debayo reported himself to men of the Area F police station, Ikeja at about 10.00

am and was immediately ushered into the office of the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of the station, Mr. Alabi Abiodun where he reportedly wrote a statement explaining his role in the shameful act. As at the time of filing this report, Abiodun told Leadership in a telephone chat that Debayo and six others were still undergoing interrogation on their roles in the incidence. However, Debayo in a chat with journalists admitted seizing his victim’s camera but denied joining other to

assault him contrary to what the photojournalist said. But, the morgue management yesterday failed to produce the other culprit believed to be a member of staff of the mortuary who inflicted bodily injuries on the photojournalist as he was yet to show up. Efforts by the victim to recognise the other culprit, known simply as Idowu proved abortive as the management said there was no one called by that name in its employ, prompting the police to order the seven suspects including Debayo to

write statements as the police begin its investigation. There was a mild drama as Mrs. Ogunshola, knelt down before Benedict Uwalaka, pleading on behalf of her workers, urging him not to press charges and that the matter be settled amicably. Apart from the parties, a director of the Office of the Public Defender, Lagos State Ministry of Justice Mrs. Ola Rotimi, who spoke with journalists, admitted that the victim reserves the right to either proceed with litigation or settle the matter out of court.

She said her office was interested in brokering peace as she would want the management of Leadership and that of the mortuary to mediate after which if it was unsuccessful, the case could go to court. “The matter could be settled if there is mediation between the two managements. Mr. Uwalaka should name his terms before the mortuary management in the interest of peace and if the mediation breaks down, he can now go to court. This is an option and he has a choice to accept or reject.”

Osun insists on ownership of cultural centre WALE FOLARIN OSOGBO

L-R: Executive Director, British American Tobacco (BAT) Nigeria Foundation, Mr. Gbenga Ibikunle; Oyo State Commissioner of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Rural Development, Mr. Abimbola Kolade and Operations Director, British American Tobacco Nigeria, Mr. Hugo Norman, during a courtesy visit to BAT Office in Ibadan, yesterday.

Ondo: INEC raises the alarm over voters’ registration HAKEEM GBADAMOSI AKURE

he Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Ondo State yesterday said it has got wind of a fake voters’ registration exercise by a particular political party in the state. This was contained in a statement issued and signed by the commission’s Head of Public Affairs in the state, Mrs. Celina Beckley, who raised the alarm saying the exercise was illegal and contravenes the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended). The electoral body, however, warned the political party involved to desist from such act and disclosed that the security operatives have been alerted to monitor and deal with anyone or group of people caught in the act.

The commission in the statement said; “Our attention has been drawn to an on-going house-tohouse compilation of particulars of voters being carried out by a political party in the state. “INEC hereby states

that this exercise is illegal and contravenes the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended). Political parties and their members are warned forthwith to desist from this activity. “INEC will not condone any act that contravenes

the nation’s electoral law and the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. “The security agencies are on high alert and anyone caught carrying out this exercise will be dealt with accordingly.”

New traffic law: Enforcement won’t be aggressive –LASTMA MURITALA AYINLA

he General Manager of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Engineer Babatunde Edu, yesterday said traffic officials in the state would not be aggressive in the enforcement of the controversial traffic law. Speaking on the readiness of his agency to enforce the law, the LASTMA boss, who flayed the callous killing of two LASTMA officials by reckless motorists, said that the warped per-

ception of Lagos motorists about the traffic managers needed to be changed. Edu said: “LASTMA is embarking on a more scientific approach to ensure that the law is fully enforced. We are not going to be working alone, other sister agencies like the police will join hands with us to ensure that the law is obeyed. “We are taking record of offenders, by the time we make the evidence available to the court; the law will take its course on erring motorists. The evidence will be published in such a way that no matter how big you are,

if you go against the law, you will be punished for it.” Edu said LASTMA has invested in technology to apprehend traffic offenders, saying that self-discipline is what is required of the motorists rather than prosecution of the offenders.

Fashola

sun State government has insisted that it would not allow the former governor of the state, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, to convert the Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding (CBCIU) to a private property. The Director of Communication and Strategy, Mr. Semiu Okanlawon, who stated this yesterday in Osogbo, also denied the claim that the former governor sought audience with Governor Rauf Aregbesola on the issue. He said attempts by Oyinlola to hide under the cover of UNESCO to convert the centre to his own property have failed, adding that the claim by the Secretary of the former board of the centre, Mr. Femi Adelegan that Oyinlola sought audience on the issue must have been

made out of total ignorance or pure mischief. He reiterated the position of the government which debunked claims by Oyinlola that the centre does not belong to the state and therefore, the state cannot alter the composition of the board governing its affairs or even amend the law setting it up. His words: “Much more ridiculous is the desperate attempts by Oyinlola and his cohorts, to hide under the cover of a global organisation with its own integrity to subvert the people’s will. “The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) known the world over to be a credible organisation which follows procedures and can never be associated with the plot by Oyinlola to appropriate a public property as his own”.

Two brothers killed in auto crash KEMI OLAITAN IBADAN

ragedy struck at the Oke-Ogun area of Oyo State in early hours of Monday as two brothers were crushed to death by a hit-and-run driver. National Mirror learnt that the accident, which nearly paralysed activities in some major towns in the area, occurred at a dangerous bend between Okaka and Ipapo at around 8.30 am. It was gathered that the two brothers, from the Otun Compound in Saki, were riding on a motorcycle when the driver of the pick-up van veered off the

road and crushed them. It was further learnt that the deceased, who were in their early twenties, had travelled on the same motorcycle from Lagos to Saki to enjoy the weekend with their parents, and were returning to resume work for the week when they met their untimely death. An eye-witness said the accident occurred as a result of reckless driving on the path of the pick-up van driver, who wanted to overtake other vehicles. The eye-witness added that immediately the two brothers were knocked down, the driver of the pick-up vans and his other colleagues, reversed the vehicle and ran away.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

South West

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

2015: US prediction becoming a reality- Fasehun AYO ESAN

he founder and President of Oodua Peoples Congress, OPC, Dr. Frederick Fasehun, has said that the American prediction that Nigeria would breakup in 2015 was fast becoming a reality. He, however, warned that Nigerians must immediately review their individual contributions to this disharmonious situation and pull the country back from the brink. Fasehun, who spoke with

journalists in Lagos yesterday, said though initially “we rebuffed that American prophecy. But that Doomsday prediction has become a self-fulfilling prophecy. “The 2015 deadline for Nigeria’s breakup is fast becoming a truism, for the simple reason that Nigerians are propelling its fulfilment by their daily actions. The enemy within has found kindred spirit with the enemy without; and the home rat has invited the bush rat to wreak havoc on the home. And the evidence is blowing in the wind.

“It is becoming more and more embarrassing that our elusive search for elusive unity is yielding a hostility brought about by our mutual suspicions, religious variances, political divisions, ethnic chauvinism and economic subterfuge. All these attributes continue to fan our country’s socio-spiritual dichotomies.” He advised Nigerians to desist from acts which could lead to the disintegration of Nigeria, saying no country had ever survived two civil wars. “We have experienced

one. Another one will be Nigeria’s Armageddon,” he warned. Fasehun said it was time Nigerian leaders sat down at a conference to address the national question. He said: “We have been calling for a sovereign national conference to solve our national question but the powers that be have turned a deaf ear. If we don’t sit down together to negotiate our future, Nigeria will implode and pass into history. If we continue to patch this pseudo-federalism together by the glue

of the faulty 1999 Constitution, the ethnic nationalities will continue to wallow in suspicion, hunger, anger, poverty, ignorance and superstition.” The OPC founder also criticised the recently introduced cashless policy by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, saying it was the CBN Governor Sanusi Lamido Sanusi’s way of slowing down the South-West region economically. He said: “The implementation of the so-called cashless policy defies logic. The Western World took decades

of infrastructural preparation before adopting cashless economy. Credit was a way of life. Fraud had been tackled maximally. The Information Technology and internet backbone had been erected and perfected. Power problem was low. Automation had long been a way of life. In a classic trial-and-error mode, Sanusi scrapped ATMs in non-banking premises and, moments later, introduced a policy that needs those ATMs in non-banking premises as Point-of-Sales, POS, terminals.”

Nigeria’ll soon return to path of genuine progress - Cleric AFOLABI GAMBARI

igeria will soon overcome her current travails and begin the journey on the path to genuine progress. Executive Pastor, Dominion Faith International Church, Rev. Dele Olatona, said this in an interview with our correspondent in Lagos yesterday at an event to herald the church’s third annual Night of Bliss scheduled for August 18. Mrs. Olatona said it was time Nigerian leaders demonstrated responsibility to move the nation forward. She said: “God loves Nigeria and there is no doubt about this fact. So many things have happened in the past few years that suggested God’s love upon us as a people. It is just for us to seek God’s favour too by

doing the right things at all times as required by God.” According to Rev. Olatona, the theme of this year’s event, “Remember Me Oh Lord”, is a testimony to the reality on the ground which signifies that Nigerians need divine intervention in the malaise militating against concrete progress and development. “Many people today are facing all kinds of challenges and we want God to remember everyone in this hour of need. We also want to let Nigerians know that our country will resume the journey on the path to genuine progress soon,” she said. Activities lined up for the one-day event include show-casing talent of the church members in singing and art works, as well as lectures by pastors from other churches.

FRSC mobile court penalises 32 traffic offenders in Ekiti ABIODUN NEJO ADO EKITI

bout 32 people have been penalised in Ido-Ekiti in the Ido/Osi Local Government Area of Ekiti State by the mobile court set up by the Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, in the state. The Ekiti Sector Commander of the FRSC, Mr. Rindom Kumven, told journalists in Ado-Ekiti yesterday that the 32 traffic offenders were mainly motorists and commercial motorcyclists who were arrested for 42 offences. Kumven said the court presided over by Magistrate Adeosun at Ido Divisional Police Station discharged and acquitted only

one person, while others, who were found guilty, paid fines. He said 69 people were arrested by the FRSC and prosecuted for different traffic offences last month by a mobile court set up by the Ekiti Sector Command in Ado-Ekiti. The sector commander said FRSC was empowered by the law through the Establishment Act of 2007 to, from time to time, conduct a mobile court. According to him, setting up a mobile court in Ekiti would reduce drastically the rate of road crashes in the state and consequently increase safety of lives on the roads. He said such would make road users comply with traffic rules.

Minister of Water Resources, Mrs. Sarah Ochekpe and former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, at the launch of the book, “Olusegun Obasanjo: Passing the Torch,” in Abeokuta, yesterday.

L-R: Former Head of Interim Government, Chief Ernest Shonekan; former Governor of Cross River State, Mr. Donald Duke and Chief Afe Babalola, at the launch of the book

Ogun awards N500m contracts for purchase of agric equipment

gun State Government said it had awarded contracts worth over N500m for the procurement of land clearing and land preparation equipment to boost agriculture. The Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Ayo Olubori, said this during the signing of contract agreement between the Ministry of Agriculture and three companies at the ministry’s headquarters in Abeokuta. The commissioner said Dizengoff West Africa Nigeria Limited, one of the three companies, got a contract worth N189,810,000 to procure 30 MF 275 tractors, 50 Baldan AF-3 Bal-

dan ploughs, 15 Baldan SPA-20 harrows, two Baldan four-row planters with fertiliser applicators, two Jacto Boom Sprayers 400l and two Bladan RPU-1500 slashers. He added that Mantrac Nigeria Limited was commissioned to supply N319,660,000 worth of equipment, including new Caterpillar Track Type Tractors D8R, D7R with standard blade and serated blade and D6R with serated blade designed for land clearing in swampy areas, while Olude Gamu Limited would procure a Fleco TR8 Tree Pusher for the ministry worth N7,854,000. Olubori, who explained

that the state had not purchased land clearing equipment in 33 years, described the event as a demonstration of government’s commitment towards revitalising the agriculture sector. He said that the procurement of the equipment was to enhance land clearing operations, increase hectares of land cultivated by farmers and improve agricultural practices for production and industrialisation. The commissioner disclosed that the first set of equipment would be delivered within the next two weeks. He advised the companies to adhere strictly to

PHOTOS: NAN

quality specifications as contained in their letters of award. Speaking on behalf of the companies, Mr. Damisa Enahoro of Dizengoff West Africa Nigeria Limited appreciated government for the opportunity to participate in the development of agriculture in the state and assured that they would adhere to specifications as contained in their letters of contract.

Gov. Amosun

Court stops NAICOM, minister from sacking insurance firm’s management KAYODE KETEFE

judge of a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos, Justice Pat Ajoku, yesterday restrained the National Insurance Commission, NAICOM, from going ahead with its planned to sack the current management of Alliance and General Insurance, AGI, Plc. The court also restrained the Finance Minister, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and her ministry from either

approving the removal of directors and management of Alliance Insurance or ratifying the appointment of new directors and management to assume control over the company. The judge gave the order while ruling on an ex-parte motion filed by Alliance Insurance which prayed the court to give the restraining order in the interest of justice. Alliance General Insurance Plc is the plaintiff in the suit in which it joined NAICOM, Ministry of Finance, Minister of Finance

and the Attorney General of the Federation, Bello Adoke (SAN) as co-defendants/respondents. Justice Ajoku also restrained NAICOM from implementing a directive which purportedly suspended the insurance company from transacting insurance business in Nigeria for the next six months with effect from August 6. The order was sequel to a legal argument from the lawyer to the plaintiff (Alliance and General Insurance Plc), Mr. Ayodele Akintunde.

Akintunde had prayed the court to bar NAICOM from either sacking the management of the plaintiff company or appointing new directors to assume control and management of the company. Justice Ajoku ordered NAICOM to immediately remove from its website information regarding the suspension of the plaintiff from transacting insurance business in Nigeria for the next six months as well as to publish this development in the national newspapers.

South East

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Fire razes N500m property in Onitsha NWABUEZE OKONKWO ONITSHA

ire has gutted a fourstorey building and destroyed items estimated at N500m in the commercial city of Onitsha in Anambra State. The building belongs to a foremost transporter and Director of Psalm 121 Express Motors Nigeria Limited, Chief Amobi Ayika. A witness said the fire incident broke out in the late hours of Saturday when the occupants of the building were already asleep. Although no life was

•I’ve lost everything, owner cries out

lost, the cause of the disaster was not yet ascertained at press time. Confirming the incident, Ayika said he was in the village when he received a call that his house was on fire. The businessman added that he lost everything to the inferno. He said: “I travelled to the village on Friday and while I was in the village, some of my staff called me and told me that my house was on fire. I lost everything. Cash, property and most importantly all the original

documents of my vehicles and my wife’s credentials, including certificates of my children were all lost in the inferno. As it stands now, I don’t know where to go from here. This clothe I am wearing was given to me by friends because everything in this house was razed to ashes.” Calling on the government to come to his aid, he noted that the original particulars of his vehicles had been burnt, thereby jeopardising his transport business. The businessman’s wife,

Mrs. Edith Ayika, who was sobbing profusely, said the fire started about 11pm when everybody was already asleep. She said: “I was sleeping on this bench when I was alerted. Then, we woke up and tried to douse the fire but it was beyond our control. That was when we raised the alarm and people came. We called fire service but they told us they did not have water. But before fire fighters from Okpoko Fire Station could come, the fire had already razed everything down.”

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

We’ll sustain war on polio – monarchs, religious leaders M ARCUS FATUNMOLE ABUJA

raditional rulers and religious leaders in the South-East have promised to maintain the current success recorded in keeping polio out of the region by the National Primary Health Care Development Agency, NPHCDA. Eze Cletus Komuaya, who spoke on behalf of the leaders, made pledge in Enugu at a recent meeting of NPHCDA with religious and traditional leaders, including officials of the International Development Agencies. He described the stoppage of transmission of polio in the region in the past two years as a great feat and said the leaders would not rest on until polio was eradicated in the country. Komuaya added that both the traditional rulers and religious leaders in their communities were doing

everything possible to mobilise and educate their people on the importance of vaccination of all children against polio. The monarch commended the Federal Government for providing the agency with the necessary facilities and adequate funding for the purchase of vaccines and everything needed to eradicate the disease. He also said that with the current efforts in place, the country would defeat the scourge soon. In his response, the Executive Director, NPHCDA, Dr. Ado Muhammad, commended the leaders that despite the fact that the disease had not been reported in the region in the past two years, they were determined to ensure it would not resurface, through continuous enlightenment of the people on the need to vaccinate their children appropriately.

Obi promises more developmental projects

L-R: Papal nuncio to Nigeria, Archbishop Augustine Kasujja; Anambra State Governor Peter Obi and Francis Cardinal Arinze, at the requiem mass for Bishop Emmanuel Otteh, the Emeritus Bishop of Issele-Ukwu at St Paul Catholic Cathedral, Issele Ukwu, yesterday.

Abia threatens to punish youths over pipeline vandalism GEORGE OPARA ABIA

bia State Government has said that some unscrupulous youths from Ihie community in Ugwunagbo Local Government Area had been vandalising oil pipelines and scooping oil in Ukwa West area. It therefore called on traditional rulers and leaders in the community to call the youth to order as the government would not hes-

itate to deal decisively with anyone caught for vandalising the pipelines. The Commissioner for Petroleum and Solid Mineral Development, Chief Don Ubani, who disclosed this, said that despite warnings against oil pipeline vandalism, some people decided to test the might of the government. He said that the administration of Governor Theodore Orji had put in place security measures on the pipelines, warning that

“any person trying to experiment with the pipelines would only be subjecting himself or herself to avoidable self-destruction”. Ubani said security agencies had embarked on manhunt for the youth vandalising pipelines and scooping oil at Umuaka-Asa in Ukwa West Local Government, with a viewing to punishing the offenders. Describing the vandals as “heartless criminals,” the commissioner said the traditional rulers and lead-

ers in the community had a social and moral obligation to call the youth to order. He also warned that “the NNPC pipelines that channel petroleum products from Alesa - Eleme in Rivers State to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Depot, at Osisioma had become sacrosanct that any hoodlum who feels he could toy with pipelines would only be irresponsibly exposing himself or herself to unquantifiable danger”.

beaten up by a police officer attached to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, in Enugu. One of the task force personnel, Nwobodo Chukwaemelie, said they were trying to apprehend the officer for violating the traffic light at the Onitsha Road, Enugu when he sud-

denly attacked them with a stick. He added that the police officer later pulled a gun and marched the task force men to the SARS office. Chukwaemelie said that he stopped the police officer, who was in mufti, in a Toyota saloon car with registration number CK

176 ENU, when he beat the traffic light. He said to his surprise, the man alighted from the vehicle with his service pistol in one hand and a stick in the other. Chukwaemelie alleged that the police officer pounced on him and injured his hands and legs.

Police officer attacks task force officials in Enugu DENNIS AGBO ENUGU

hree members of the task force from the Enugu State Ministry of Transport deployed to monitor the traffic light violators narrowly escaped death yesterday when they were

C HARLES O KEKE AWKA

overnor Peter Obi has promised that his administration would execute more developmental projects in line with the philosophy of Anambra State Integrated Development Strategy, ANIDS. He made the pledge yesterday while inspecting the demolition of some structures to give way for ongoing projects in the state. Obi said that ANIDS was a strategy through which various programmes and projects of his administration were being executed. The governor added that he would double his efforts to make Anambra State stand on a sound footing. He said: “We are committed to the state and her people. We shall not relent in any way. Part of demolition of illegal structures was to make the entrance into

the state as beautiful as that of other states.” On President Goodluck Jonathan’s planned visit to Anambra State, the governor said the President would inaugurate some projects, including the three world class companies built in the state which had already provided jobs for thousands of people. Obi, who called on the Anambra citizens to love their state, appealed to those bent on propagating negative things about the state to realise that it was not about him, but about the future of a society their children would leave in. The governor also spoke on the crisis rocking his party, the All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA. Obi said he would not join the chorus of professional but selfish politicians using the little misunderstanding as another avenue to make money.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

South South

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

We’ll cripple oil facilities in N’Delta, says group EMMA GBEMUDU YENAGOA

jaw Youth Council (IYC) yesterday warned that militants in the Niger Delta would destroy all oil installations in the region, if any attempt was made to derail President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, by some mischief makers. The IYC alerted that full blown hostilities would re-

turn to the creeks, as the oil fields and wells would be taken over by militants to cripple the nation’s economy. Chairman, House Committee on Information and Public Affairs, Igali Robert, disclosed this to National Mirror in an interview in Yenagoa. He said it was a common knowledge that the House of Representatives stinks and it should

take steps to purge itself of corruption. His words: “Each passing day, you keep hearing of one scandal or the other. Rather than the House of Representatives look inwards and purge itself of fraudulent and corrupt tendencies, their current pastime is to throw tantrums and tirade at the executive for what they termed 2012 budget non-implementa-

tion.” Robert urged the lower chamber of the National Assembly to channel their energies into a more productive endeavour that would better the lots of the common man and project its image. He continued: “For those that have been following budget processes and implementation in this country, since the military era

to the present civilian administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, no past government at the federal level has implemented the budget the way this government has done.” The chairman regretted that the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godsday Orubebe, has admitted that he does not have the capacity to manage or complete the execution of the lingering

East-West Road project. Robert demanded for the resignation of Orubebe for a more serious-minded individual from the region, to ensure the completion of the road. “We are equally demanding that a very competent and capable road construction company should be given the job to handle rather than the present construction firm,” he said.

Security outfit kills man over missing cock EMMA GBEMUDU YENAGOA

L-R: General Officer Commanding 2 Division, Nigerian Army, Maj.-Gen. Mohammed Abubakar; Delta State Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan and Brig.-Gen. Obi Umahi, during a courtesy call on the governor in Asaba, yesterday.

‘Rising crude production, testimony to amnesty’s success’ CHINEDUM EMEANA PORT HARCOURT

he rising volume of crude oil production, as indicated in the figure 2.7 million barrels per day (bpd) announced recently by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), is a testimony to the fact that the Federal Government’s amnesty policy is working. According to Head, Media and Communications of the Amnesty Office, Mr. Daniel Alabrah, who made this assertion during a chat with journalists in Port Harcourt yesterday, it will be recalled that when the militants were having a field day, oil production in the country dropped to 800, 000 barrels per day (bpd). He added that the amnesty arrangement is still “on course”, irrespective of some challenges, pointing out that out of the 26, 358 former militants documented by the Amnesty Office, about 12, 000 have been trained successfully. “Amnesty is still on

course, the programme so far has been a success as you can see an increase in our oil production which is now about 2.7 million barrels per day. “From our statistics, about 800 persons may have missed out, but we will identify all of them. So the amnesty programme is on course; already, 26, 358 persons have been documented and out of that, 12,000 have been successfully trained,” he said.

“Those that are not within that number, it is true that they were not captured during the process but we have noted that and a process is on to rectify that, it is just that some of the boys are impatient,” he said referring to the recent protest by some youths claiming to have been left out of the programme. However, he condemned the action of the protesters, who also vandalised the Nigeria Union of Journalists’

(NUJ) office in Warri, Delta State, describing it in no uncertain terms as irresponsible and unacceptable. The head of media and communication at the amnesty office explained that the documented ex-agitators have gone through the first and second phases of the programme which are disarmament and demobilisation, adding that the next phase of re-absorbing them into normal societal living is a work-in-progress.

Uduaghan commends army’s role in checking crime

elta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, has enjoined the Nigeria Army to sustain its active participation in crime reduction so that the current low crime rate in the state will be maintained. The governor, who made the request when the General Officer Commanding 2nd Division paid him a courtesy call in Asaba, said the participation of the army in peace efforts, has drastically reduced piracy, illegal oil bunkering, kidnapping,

among others, in the state. He said the state was now enjoying peace because of the vigilance of the army and other security agencies in the country. Governor Uduaghan said Deltans are satisfied with the current low level of crime in the state and are prepared to cooperate with security agencies to ensure that the situation did not change. “I want to commend the Nigerian Army for its contribution towards the reduction of crime in the state. For

now, there is great reduction in piracy, kidnapping, illegal oil bunkering and armed robbery, among others. I attribute this to the army and other security operatives in the state,” he said. The governor said he was aware of the challenges facing the army and promised to provide logistic support to address those challenges. He assured the GOC that the army has the full support of his administration in handling security matters.

ontroversy yesterday continued to trail the killing of a young man, Odoko Iwama, by the Bayelsa State security outfit, “Operation Dou Akpo,” over a missing cock at Yenezuegene, Yenagoa. Odoko reportedly died on the spot last Friday and his corpse has been deposited at the morgue of the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa. The Hilux truck that killed him has been impounded at Ekeki Police Station while the complainant, Mr. Bomber is under police custody. Incidentally, “Operation Dou Akpo” meaning peace

was launched by the state government about a month ago to beef up the security network in the state. Odoko was survived by four children and hailed from Okodi in Ogbia Local Government Area of the state. Investigation by National Mirror revealed that the deceased rammed into the Hilux truck as he attempted to escape arrest from the policemen that stormed Otiotio Road of the state capital. According to an eye witness account and wife of the deceased, trouble started for Odoko, when his neighbour and trader, simply identified as Mr. Ifeanyi, lamented over his missing cock and pleaded that he should notify him if he comes across it.

Oyerinde’s murder: Detained activist applies to court for bail SEBASTINE EBHUOMHAN BENIN

n Edo State high court yesterday fixed tomorrow, August 16, 2012, for ruling in a case for bail brought by a detained activist, Rev. David Ugolor, who is being detained in connection with the murder of the Principal Private Secretary to Governor Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole, Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde. Substantiating the bail application before the Presiding Judge, Justice E. A. Edigin, counsel to Rev. David Ugolor, Mr. Olayiwola Afolabi, who led 12 other lawyers in the suit that was instituted against the Inspector-General of Police, the Nigerian Police Force and the Attorney-General of the Federation, prayed the court for an order granting the applicant un-

Oshiomhole

conditional bail forthwith from the respondents’ detention and custody pending the determination of the substantive suit. Afolabi, who expressed deep worry over the continued detention of Ugolor, averred that the respondents, in spite of the parade of the alleged killers of Comrade Olaitan Oyerinde, by the State Security Service (SSS) have continued to violate the fundamental human rights of the applicant.

North

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Explosion kills two bombers in Kaduna

•Police intercepted 963 explosives in eight months –Kano CP AUGUSTINE MADU-WEST AND AZA MSUE

wo suicide bombers on motorcycle died yesterday in Kaduna, when the Improvised Explosive Device, IED, they were carrying exploded. The incident occurred on Ali Alkali Road, near Lugard Hall Round of the Kaduna metropolis. A witness told our correspondent that two young men, who were on a Jincheng motorcycle were heading to the main Kaduna city when the device suspected to be bomb exploded and shattered them beyond recognition. The explosion also injured a passerby. Another witness said the explosion occurred about 4:30pm when people started closing from work. Security operatives, including police Anti-Bomb Squad cordoned off the area, even as the residents took to their heels after the explosion.

The acting state Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Mallam Balteh Abdulrazaq, confirmed the incident. He said: “Only two people died. They were carrying suspected Improvised Explosive Devices, IEDs, on a motorcycle this evening (yesterday). Our men have been deployed in the area to assess the situation.” Meanwhile, there was a strange development at the scene as swarm of bees took over the area, making it difficult for security men and officials of government agencies to immediately pick the corpses. In another development, police in Kano State said yesterday that they discovered 963 undetonated explosives in various parts of the state capital in the last eight months. The Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Idris, who disclosed this at a press conference at the Police Officers’ Mess in Bompai, added that his men also

L-R: Former Inspectors General of Police (IGPs), Chief Mike Okiro, Mr. Sunday Ehindero, Alhaji Ibrahim Coomassie and Alhaji Mohammed Gambo Jimeta, at a meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan at the State House in Abuja, yesterday. PHOTO: STATE HOUSE

intercepted two suicideprimed car bombs from terrorists. Idris told journalists that men of the Anti-Bomb Squad also intercepted a high calibre explosive in the premises of the Federal College of Education, Kano which was successfully detonated. The commissioner said the Improvised Explosive Device, IED, was concealed in an aviation gas

PHCN: NLC planned strike unnecessary –Northern youths WOLE ADEDEJI ILORIN

he youth wing of the Northern Union, NU, a political and cultural organisation formed by Dr. Olusola Saraki, has kicked against the planned industrial action by the

DFID donates N1.175bn medical equipment, consumables to Kano AUGUSTINE MADU-WEST KANO

he Department For International Development, DFIDfunded health programme, PATH2, has flagged off a health support programme for states with a donation of equipment, drugs and medical consumables worth £4.7m (about N1.175bn) to Kano State Government. The health programme designed by the United Kingdombased donor agency aimed to

improve quality data collection, planning and training of health personnel as well as to upgrade medical and nonmedical equipment in various communities. The Head of Northern Health Office of DFID, Mr. Ben Romfe, said at the event that the programme would assist the state government in overcoming health challenges in its communities through the provision of quality and affordable drugs to citizens. Romfe listed key challenges confronting the health sector

to include inadequate skilled workers and mal-distribution of health workers to deliver quality health services, delay in the passage of Maternal and Child Health, MCH, bill into law and the replication of the drug revolving fund scheme to cover other primary healthcare centres among others. He said that DFID, through PATH2, was always ready to collaborate with the government to improve health services in the state and therefore called for effective

management of the facilities donated to the state. The National Coordinator of the programme, Dr. Mike Egbo, said that 33kva generators, standard drugs and other consumables were purchased and donated to the state to assist it in the provision of effective healthcare delivery at various levels. In a speech during the ceremony, Governor Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso acknowledged the support to the state and promised effective management of the products.

Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, over the maltreatment of workers of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN. The workers had been at war with the Federal Government over privatisation process of the company and are threatening to shut down power plants across the country to press home their demands. However, the NU youth wing said in a statement in Ilorin yesterday, that the planned strike by NLC was not necessary. The statement signed the group’s National Coordinator, Mr. Kolo Majin Jerry, and Publicity Secretary, Mohammed Katum, accused the NLC of pursuing the selfish interest of PHCN workers alone at the expense of the generality of Nigerians. The group said no matter how genuine the intention of NLC might look, it would

certainly not enjoy the support and sympathy of the generality of Nigerians. The union accused the NLC of going to sleep when PHCN increased the tariff at a time it was expected to stand up and defend the people’s interest. It added: “NLC must know that power is an essential service that runs the economy for the benefit of the masses as it does not often time affect the elite and government officials who are at liberty to source their needed power from generating plants. “We advise the NLC to feel the pulse of Nigerians and it will be shocked of their response on this matter and not from the union point of view. We are aware of a very huge and endemic height of corruption by the high echelon of PHCN staff. Our position is that PHCN is a reflection of corruption and sabotage.”

Govt’ll come to your aid, Yuguda tells flood victims Niger: Response to disasters commendable –Stakeholders

overnor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi State has said that his administration would do everything possible to cushion the effect of the recent flood in the state on the affected people. He also disclosed that he had directed all the relevant agencies in the state to take urgent steps to repair all damaged roads, including the Federal Government roads. Yuguda, who went round the affected areas yesterday, sympathised with victims, assuring them that govern-

ment would come to their aid. The governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Ishola Michael Adeyemi, said in a statement that Yuguda, who visited Misau, Giade, Shira and Jama’are local government areas worst hit by the flood, directed that the culverts on the Misau - Hardawa and Zadawa roads be reconstructed immediately in order not to cut off the communities. At the Arobana Bridge on the Kari – Misau – Kano highway, the governor re-

gretted that four years after his administration worked on the road to salvage it from total collapse, the concerned federal authorities had not refunded the expenses of the state government. He, however, said “that will not stop us from salvaging it this time again because of our people”. Yuguda then directed the state Ministry of Rural Development in conjunction with other relevant agencies to mobilise to the site and salvage the bridge.

PRISCILLA DENNIS MINNA

ommunity leaders and other stakeholders in Niger State have commended the administration of Governor Babangida Aliyu over its quick response in providing assistance to victims of disasters. The people gave the commendation at a oneday training workshop organised by the Abuja zonal office of the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, and

the Niger State Disaster Management Agency in Minna. They said that aside the swift response, measures had been put in place to avert future occurrences. Most of those who spoke cited the Ward Development Programme initiated by the government as a channel through which victims could enjoy quick response at community level during disasters. A participant, who is the Village Head of Kpagungu, Alhaji Aliyu Ibrahim, said: “We want to commend

the state government for spending over N350m as compensation for victims of the January 2012 fuel subsidy riots in the state. It has also been involved in the sensitisation of the various communities to the need to be proactive in tackling the various disasters that could emerge.” The participants also appealed to the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, to always alert coastal communities when the spillway gates would be opened to discharge surplus water from the hydro dam.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Unending controversies of Ahmadu Alis

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Politics

Constitution review versus citizens’ participation

Stop condemning Jonathan’s govt, PDP tells opposition OBIORA IFOH ABUJA

he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has advised politicians to look more on the positive side of the government as well as carry out an objective assessment of President Goodluck Jonathan’s achievements rather than always condemning it. The party insisted that rather than brush the commendable achievements recorded by the Jonathan administration in the last 14 months, “effort by some desperate politicians to tar the PDP with non-performance brush is beclouding their vision to the commendable efforts of government.” National Publicity Secretary of the party, Chief Olisa Metuh, in a statement in Abuja said: “We have no doubt whatsoever that the President is on course and will continue to deliver on the PDP promises to the people of Nigeria. Quite a lot has been achieved in the

various sectors and there is no gainsaying the government needs the continued support and prayers of Nigerians to do more”. He explained that though it is the right of every Nigerian, especially those in the opposition, to assess and interpret government efforts to suit their purposes, “objectivity of criticisms is central to any collective effort towards building a better nation.” But in asking the opposition to critically analyse the government programmes, Metuh said: “Let’s remain partisan, let’s remain politically plural for that is the true essence of democracy but let the greater interest of the nation remain prime in all our engagements. “Mischief and deliberate misinformation calculated to bring the President to undeserving disrepute is a great disservice to the nation. We wish that those who have made this a hobby would quickly realise their mistake and retrace

Accept PDP’s decision on petition, running mate tells Airhiavbere SEBASTINE EBHUOMHAN BENIN

ajor General Charles Airhiavbere (rtd), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate in the July 14 governorship election in Edo State, has been advised to accept not only the result of the election but also the party’s decision against pursuing a petition at the tribunal. Airhiavbere’s running mate, Mr. Johnson Abolagba, who gave the advice said the former governorship candidate should respect the wishes of his political party, which has decided to accept the result so as to reposition the party for future elections. In a five-paragraph press statement made available to National Mirror in Benin City, Abolagba said he has accepted his party’s de-

cision in entirety as a loyal party man. He stated: “I, Johnson Abolagba, Edo PDP deputy governorship candidate in the just-concluded governorship election wishes to disclaim reports making rounds that I was a part of an Edo North PDP leaders’ meeting held on August 12, 2012 at Afuze which purportedly endorsed the decision to challenge the outcome of the election at the tribunal. “My loyalty to my party, the PDP, has never been in doubt and I am convinced, as a party man, that Edo PDP and the position it has taken regarding the election is superior to my individual ambition or the ambition of any member of the party. “I wish to insist that my decision to accept the result of the election is in strict obedience to the wishes of the party.”

from this untoward track that would least benefit the nation.” The PDP spokesman insisted that despite the security challenges in the country, the President has made significant strides in every sector of national growth. According to Metuh, “even though the issue of security as the President

admitted was not a major issue during his campaign, he has nonetheless been on top of the emerging security challenges while at the same time delivering on other sectors.” The statement further said that failed opposition politicians who claimed that it was their pressure that resulted in the ongoing

trial of persons indicted in the mismanagement of the petroleum subsidy by the House of Representatives are economical with the truth. “We do not allow the opposition to dictate the pace for us. However, we wish to state that the initiative is completely ours. We had on April 1 and May 4, 2012 un-

equivocally assured Nigerians that the PDP would not shield anybody indicted in the subsidy fraud or in other corrupt practices even if the person is a member of the party. “Our party also indicated clearly that due process must be followed to avoid making any Nigerian suffer unjustly.”

L-R: Secretary, Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP), Chief Willy Ezugwu; Chairman, Alhaji Balarabe Musa and Chairman, Progressives Action Congress (PAC), Chief Charles Nwodo at a press conference in Abuja recently on the state of the nation.

State police not answer to insecurity, says Lar JAMES ABRAHAM JOS

hose calling for the establishment of state police as a panacea to the security challenges facing the country have been advised to look elsewhere for solution. Pioneer National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and first civilian governor of Pla-

teau State, Chief Solomon Lar expressed the view yesterday in an interview with journalists in Jos, the Plateau State capital. Lar , who recently returned to the country after spending over three months in the United Kingdom for medical check up, said that those agitating for the enthronement of state police in the country should consult the histori-

cal past so as to be more enlightened on its harmful effects on the polity . “Let me tell you why we have the present system of police structure. It is because in those days, there use to be state police called Yandoka. And Yandoka men were molesting people. They were agents of operession. They were being used by chiefs and politicians. So, this was

FG tasked to fish out sponsors of terrorism OLAJIDE OMOJOLOMOJU

call has gone to the Federal Government to fish out the perpetrators and sponsors of the incessant spate of bombings and acts of terrorism that have led to the untimely death of hundreds of people and destruction of property worth millions of naira in

the Northern part of the country. The international coordinator of the Social Equality Justice and Peace Organisation (SEJPO), Chief Amechi Nnoli, stated this in a statement made available to National Mirror yesterday. He said: “The perpetrators of these evil acts must be brought to book in order to restore peace in the area

and Nigeria in general.” He expressed belief that the sponsors of these dastardly acts are powerful people who are hell bent on using the Boko Haram sect and the Fulani herdsmen as cover to achieve their evil goals of making the country ungovernable. He also called for the convocation of national conference concerning the nation would.

the situation from 1950s, 60s until the coming of the 1979 Constitution before we now said never again with the state police. We merged Yandoka with the Nigerian police as presently constituted. So, those who are calling for state police do not know what happened,” he said. Lar said the security problem and other socioeconomic challenges facing the country will be a thing of the past if Nigerians first deal with the issue of corruption. “Corruption is number one enemy of Nigeria. Nigerians should unite and kill corruption. When we fight corruption, everything will take shape.” He described the quest of some PDP supporters that the party will rule the country for the next 50 years, as “an insult, barbaric, an act of illiteracy and undemocratic reasoning.”

Politics

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Unending controversies of the Ahmadu Alis The Ahmadu Alis attracted another controversy to their long list of controversies penultimate week when Mariam, the wife of the former chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ahmadu Ali, stood surety for one of the suspects in the fuel subsidy regime scam in a Federal High Court in Lagos. OLAJIDE OMOJOLOMOJU looks at the various controversies trailing members of the family of the former PDP boss.

he Ahmadu Ali family, known to never shy away from controversy was in the news once again penultimate week when his wife, Mariam, a Special Adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan on Inter-Governmental Relations, stood surety for an accused, George Taylor, facing trial in the fuel subsidy scam before a Federal High Court in Lagos. Taylor, arraigned alongside Mamman, son of the former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ahmadu Ali and his oil company, Nasaman Oil Services for their role in the subsidy scam, had been inconsistent with his nationality before Mariam showed up to stand surety for him. In one breath, he claimed to have hailed from Okpe in Delta State and in another; he said that he was a Sierra Leonean. The three-count charge against Taylor and Mamman, Ali’s son, comprised the offences of conspiracy and obtaining N4.4bn from the Federal Government under false pretence. In applying for Taylor’s bail, his lawyer, Mr. Kolade Obafemi, prayed the court to accept “a reputable and responsible Nigerian in place of a blood relation” which the judge had earlier requested for. Obafemi added that Dr. Mariam Ali, the mother of the second defendant, Mamman Ali, is ready to stand surety for him and use her landed property in Surulere, Lagos, as part of the bail conditions. “Mrs. Ali is a reputable public servant and Special Adviser to the President on Inter-governmental Relations,” he pleaded. The arraignment of Ali’s son was one of the fallouts of perhaps the biggest scandal trailing the former national chairman of the PDP. Ali was indicted by the House of Representatives for the mismanagement of the subsidy regime. He was chairman of the board of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) and was recommended for prosecution on the basis of the discovery that his tenure at PPPRA witnessed a rapid expansion in the number of companies given permission to import fuel from six in 2006 to 141 in 2011. Curiously, many of the firms given the licence did not have the prerequisite requirements for such. This latest controversy about the president’s aide standing surety for the accused, however, has placed a big moral burden on the fight against graft by the

Ali

Nasir Ali

Jonathan administration. Perhaps, controversy has been trailing Ali since his days as the Federal Commissioner of Education during the Obasanjo military regime of 1976 to 1979. One would recall his days as Federal Commissioner of Education, which culminated in the famous ‘Ali Must Go’ riots of 1978 in which many students lost their lives, during demonstration by Nigerian universities students, calling for his head over obnoxious policies. Ali had rolled out military tanks to quell the students’ unrest and that action led to the untimely death of many students. He also shut the gates of the universities for many months. He was a senator in the Second Republic. He came back to limelight once again, during the second tenure of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, when in 2005, he was appointed as the national chairman of the ruling PDP after the unceremonious kick-out of former national chairman of the party and now a chieftain of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Chief Audu Ogbe. As controversial as his appointment was then, he forged ahead and made his mark on the ruling party. What is however debatable is whether those marks are negative or positive. A man known for treading where

Mariam

the angels feared, Ali was quoted in the heady days of the alleged third term bid of Obasanjo that there is the need for the 1999 Constitution to be amended to accommodate the third term agenda, saying that Nigeria would relapse “into imminent decay” should Obasanjo surrender power in 2007. He even went ahead to accuse journalists as the main enemies of the third term agenda. It is noteworthy that during Ali’s tenure as PDP national chairman, he tried unsuccessfully to whip national lawmakers into towing the line of the party, whether or not it went against public interest. Trudging ahead on his controversial move, the former national chairman of the PDP pushed forward his wife, Mariam as the party’s candidate for the Delta North Senatorial District in the 2007 elections. She lost the election to Senator Patrick Osakwe, who, goaded by the former governor of Delta State, James Ibori, decamped to the Accord Party (AP) to contest the election. Mariam was alleged to have been imposed on the senatorial district through the influence of her husband, who then the national chairman of the PDP. Allegedly irked by the imposition, Ibori bankrolled Osakwe’s election, Osakwe won that election, alongside many others who were denied PDP tickets, but later returned to the PDP. Mariam subsequently lost the battle to reclaim the Delta North senatorial ticket at the tribunal. Her petition was dismissed by the tribunal on the grounds that it was statute barred. The tribunal held that the petition was self defeatist and filed out of time. Her second attempt in 2011 also hit the rocks when she also failed to clinch the ticket the second time. She was floored by Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa twice in the primary election to pick the PDP candidates for the 2011 elections. Thereafter, she was appointed Special Adviser on Inter-Governmental Relations by the President. But prior to this appointment, Mrs. Ali had been enmeshed in serial controversies. Apart from the Delta North Senatorial District imbroglio, she was alleged to have engaged officials of

the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) in fisticuffs over the demolition of her house at Plot 1613, House 8, Asokoro District in Abuja. Trouble began when men of the FCDA went to pull down the fence of the house because it was alleged to be sitting on a water line. In what has best been described as a show of shame, Mariam visited the Wuse Zone 6 office of the FCDA with thugs and engaged in a fisticuff with the director in charge of the control department, Yahaya Yusuf. As if that was not enough, while she was dealing with Yusuf, her husband, Ali was at the office of the Federal capital Territory Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed, alleging that his wife had been locked up by some FCT staff at Zone 6. The house had remained controversial since the days of Nasir el-Rufai as FCT Minister, who first demolished its fence for the same offence before the demolition was reversed by Dr. Aliyu Modibbo Umar, his successor. Perhaps, the most controversial act of the former PDP boss came to the fore during the appointment into the boards of federal parastatals, which is always used to compensate party members who have not been elected or appointed into public office. In compiling the list, Ali nominated one Dr. M. N. Ali for the chairmanship of the Nigerian Ports Authority, while one Ali Ogala Adah was on the list for the board of the Nigerian Railway Corporation and on the list for the board of NICON Insurance was one Abdullahi Adejo Ali Obaje. It turned out that Dr. Ali was actually Mariam, Ali’s wife, while Ogala Adah was his son and Adejo Ali Obaje was his relative. When President Obasanjo discovered this anomaly, he promptly cancelled the list submitted by the PDP leadership and many political analysts attributed this to the beginning of the breakdown of the chummy relationship between Ali and Obasanjo. Not yet done with controversy, Ali, at the dawn of the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua presidency in 2007, was nominated as an ambassador and after scaling the screening hurdle in the National Assembly, he was assigned to South Africa, a posting he roundly rejected on the basis that there was nothing in South Africa and showed his preference for either the United Kingdom or the United States of America. Ali has also continued to fight back to be relevant in the scheme of things. That was why he, recently at a retreat for elected officials on the platform of the PDP chose to set the records straight, by emphasising that Obasanjo played no role in the emergence of Jonathan as Yar’Adua’s vice in 2007 or as president in 2011, debunking insinuations that Obasanjo foisted Jonathan on Yar’Adua in 2007. As the controversies continue to rage, it is expected that ‘Controversial’ Ali, who many believed to be the proverbial cat with nine lives would once again emerge unscathed from the rubbles and climb higher in the political rungs of the PDP, especially as he is seen as the hatchet man for the 2015 presidential ambition of Jonathan and the potential chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Politics

The Deputy President of the Senate and chairman of the Senate Committee on Constitution Review, Senator Ike Ekweremadu has consistently assured that the 1999 Constitution review process will be an all, inclusive exercise. GEORGE OJI reviews this assurance against the backdrop of past efforts on constitution making and amendment.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Constitution review versus citizens’ participation

ne of the reasons members of the civil society organisations in Nigeria have consistently pushed for the review of the 1999 Constitution is because the document was bequeathed to the rest of Nigerians at the twilight of the last military regime. The document was not debated, it was not participatory; it was merely foisted on Nigerians and therefore, devoid of the necessary popular input from the Nigerian people. However, because there was a unanimity of opinion to encourage the military to vacate the political scene at all costs then, the decision was reached, albeit informally, to let the military go and with times subject the constitution to a thorough review by the people. The short-lived 1979 Constitution before that of 1999, also suffered the same problem of exclusivity. In the case of the 1979 Constitution, before the political class and civil society community could put their acts together and commence the process of reviewing that ‘greatly flawed’ constitution, the military again struck. The Buhari/ Idiagbon regime, which took over the reins of power from the democratically elected government of President Shehu Shagari of the defunct Nigerian Peoples Party (NPN) suspended the constitution and expectedly governed the country through military decrees. Unfortunately, despite the agitations, the hues and cries by members of the civil society community, it took 10 years, from 1999 to 2010 before the first amendment to the 1999 Constitution could take place. Even at that, the amendment was only very limited in nature. That the amendment even took place was because there was a national consensus on the need for credible and fair elections in the country. So, the amendment that was effected in the constitution for the first time was merely limited to electoral reforms, just to pave the way for an improved electoral system before the 2011 general election. Worse still, because of time constraints, there was little opportunity presented to the larger Nigerian society to make inputs into the final process. What basically happened then was the demonstration of ‘understanding’ between members of the national and states assemblies as well as the electoral commission to fast-track the process without intense scrutiny and public contributions before the document was produced. It was against this background that the pledges coming from the leadership of the Senate, particularly the Constitution Review Committee that more Nigerians will be provided the opportunity to participate in the constitution review exercise is an all so gladdening piece of news.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Mark

A people-oriented constitution derives from the market men and women, students, trade unions, special interest groups, workers, the rich, the poor, as well as all segments of the society. It is broad-based and participatory. It takes care of the interest, differences, concerns and challenges of the people. Ekweremadu who heads the 48-member Senate Constitution Review Committee and has been in the forefront of pledging assurances whenever any occasion presented itself that the current constitutional review would enjoy widespread participation also did reiterate the promise in Asaba, Delta State last month during the opening of a two-day retreat of members of the committee. “The Committee also hopes and indeed calls on Nigerians to avail themselves of the opportunity of various public hearings that would be coming up at national and zonal levels to continue their inputs into the constitution amendment process. “Members of the Senate are also going to mobilise to the nooks and crannies of their constituencies through tours, town hall meetings, and village square meetings to ensure that the views of those in the rural areas count more significantly than ever before,” Ekweremadu assured. President of the Senate, David Mark, in an opening speech repeated the assurances made by Ekweremadu, concerning the neutrality of the Senate as well as the need to offer a wide spectrum of Nigerians the opportunity to contribute their inputs to the proposed constitution review. He said: “The constitution is for all Nigerians and not for senators alone! It is therefore the synthesis of the true will of the Nigerian people that will be reflected in the constitution. But what we will not allow is for a vocal minority to foist its dictates on Nigerians. The Senate will resist any such attempt. We will certainly not permit the thunder of a fraction to drown the voice of the nation.” Continuing Mark said: “The task however is not made any easier by the fact that ours is an inflexible constitution whose

Ekweremadu

IT IS THEREFORE, THE SYNTHESIS OF THE TRUE WILL OF THE

NIGERIAN

PEOPLE THAT WILL BE REFLECTED IN

THE CONSTITUTION.

BUT WHAT WE WILL NOT ALLOW IS FOR A VOCAL MINORITY TO FOIST ITS DICTATES ON

NIGERIANS

provisions cannot be altered by ordinary forms of legislation. Therefore, the success of the exercise requires the keen participation, commitment and co-operation of several stakeholders who must be carried along. These include the Houses of Assembly of the 36 states of the federation, the federal and state governments, and the general public. The Senate will therefore work with all these critical stakeholders to accomplish this historic task.” The popular participation of Nigerians in the constitution amendment this time becomes more imperative when viewed against the backdrop of the gravity of the 16 items the Senate constitution review committee has already listed for its attention and consideration during the review process. The 16 items, according to the Deputy Senate President, includes, but not limited to devolution of powers (It is expressed that the legislative list in our constitution is skewed in favour of the Federal Government and needs to be revisited to give our constitution a true federal character); creation of more states (because of the persistence to address obvious injustices, and imbalances of the past), recognition of the six geo-political zones in the constitution

and role for traditional rulers (to address the suggestion that the six geo-political structure and roles for our traditional rulers should both be expressed in our constitution). Others are the Local Government (The issue of Local Government creation, the place of Local Government in our Federal arrangement, the functions and powers of Local Government are yet to be settled); extracting the Land Use Act, NYSC Act and the Code of Conduct from the constitution (This is because amending any of them requires the same cumbersome procedure as amending any provision of the constitution hence no amendment has been made to any of them since they were enacted, in spite of the present realities that recommends each of them for an update, review or amendment. It is being suggested that taking them out of the constitution will create some flexibility in amending them in accordance with the dynamics of the society) and fiscal federalism (to work out the fiscal relationship that will drive competition and yet take care of all the component unit of our federation needs). Also part of the 16 items are amendment of provisions relating to amendment of the constitution; state creation, and boundary adjustment (to remove ambiguities); immunity clause (to address the issue of immunity from criminal prosecution and civil proceedings for the President, Vice President, Governors and their Deputies, which has been a subject of intense debate); Nigerian Police (Is the police force as presently structured meeting the challenges of our internal security? If not; why? Do we need state and local government police as was the case prior to 1966? If so how do we work it out to address the fears of those who are opposed to it?); Judiciary (what constitutional reforms do we put in place to ensure the free flow of the rivers of justice in Nigeria?) and executive (Do we revisit the term element of our executive offices? Single term or multiple terms? What of the system of government? Presidential or parliamentary? What of a hybrid?) The rests issues are rotation of offices (Will a constitutional provision of rotation, help to stabilise the country and its component units?); genders and special groups (do our women, the physically challenged, and any other special groups require constitutional protection or advantage?); mayoral status for the Federal Capital Territory Administration (As the case in similar cities all over the world, will Abuja be better off with a mayoral system, instead of a semi state?) and finally, residency and Indigene Provisions (does what we have in section 42 of our constitution sufficiently guaranty equality of opportunity to all Nigerians wherever they reside irrespective of their tribe, language, religion, sex, state of origin etc). The items no doubt bear directly on the structure, good governance, and health of the Federal Republic. They all have effects on the citizens. It is expected that the citizens will effectively participate in the ongoing efforts at reviewing the constitution.

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Views

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Strategic imperatives of Hillary Clinton’s visit PUBLIC DOMAIN

DELE

SETEOLU

deleseteolu@nationalmirroronline.net (08033137577 SMS only)

he United States Secretary of State, Mrs. Hilary Clinton, was last week on a visit to Nigeria and parleyed President Goodluck Jonathan. She admonished Mr. President to offer equal opportunities to the youths and fully implement the administration’s transformation agenda. Mrs. Clinton came against the backdrop of recurring security crises in the country. Barely a week before her visit, an attack on Deeper Life Bible Church, Okene, Kogi State claimed over 20 lives. On the wish list of Nigerian leader is that US should not label Boko Haram a terrorist organization. This could have been, presumably, to give the governing elite the window to deal with the country’s internal issues. The concern, however, is if the Nigerian state has the capability to deal with the security challenge. Mrs. Clinton was also in Ghana and South Africa. She urged Kenya to avoid the pitfalls of previous elections and Uganda to allow the culture of transparent elections to grow. The comments arose in the context of the election crisis in Kenya and the repressive nature of the Ugandan government. However, there is subsisting debate on

the continuing strategic relevance of Nigeria to the US. Our country, Gabon and Angola are viewed as the triangle for Africa’s oil export to America. Contrarily, there is the argument that oil is no longer a strong factor in America-Nigeria relations. The US and Japan have developed automobiles that thrive on electricity and gas; this discovery would likely reduce oil need in the immediate future. Energy experts argue that rare earth resources like uranium are gaining importance in America’s relations with Nigeria. On the whole, America-Nigeria relation is a lopsided one. There has been substantive withdrawal of American investments in Nigeria’s banking sector and she is reluctant to commit new resources in the country. The pertinent question is what has been the significance of America/Nigeria Bi-national Commission to enhancing trade and economic relations between the two countries? The US has failed to concretely intervene in Africa’s development deficit. She has been investing in the South-East Asia and Middle-East economies, but largely grandstanding on African issues. What did America contribute to restore peace in Liberia and Sierra-Leone, where she exploits mineral resources at the moment? Nigeria expended about $5bn towards restoring peace and stability in the two countries. It is ironic, however, that Nigeria has not harnessed the advantages of her pacification role in post war Liberia and Sierra Leone. Similarly, the American-African military high command in the Gulf of Guinea is largely promoting US strategic interests in the region without equal commitment

WHAT HAS BEEN THE SIGNIFICANCE OF

AMERICA/NIGERIA BINATIONAL COMMISSION TO ENHANCING TRADE AND ECONOMIC RELATIONS BETWEEN

THE TWO COUNTRIES? to injecting huge capital to assist the region’s development plan. It is important to emphasize, however, that the region will not likely develop on the basis of foreign hand-outs by donor countries.

Reflection on Nigeria’s social security scheme

The persistent socio-economic crises in the country have led to renewed campaign for social security scheme. The scheme is a safety net against harsh impacts of governments’ social and economic policies. This scheme is imperative against the backdrop of alienating state policies and the social cost of economic policy reforms on vulnerable Nigerians. The neo-liberal policy called Structural Adjustment Program (SAP) has further deepened the poverty gap in Nigeria. SAP led to state withdrawal from social provisioning on health, education etc. It also led to the virtual collapse of African kingship system and increased vulnerability of the working people, ur-

ban poor and rural peasants. The liberalization and privatization component of SAP led to job losses, industrial capacity under-utilization, and in some instances, business collapse. The work place is increasingly characterized by casual labor, which is devoid of job description, permanence, condition of service, and work place safety benefits. The Nigerian state has connived with foreign companies in the country to violate the rights of workers to dignity. The organized labor has responded through picketing and other forms of protest to draw attention to this negative aspect of globalization. The Jonathan administration has sustained the neo-liberal policy, which is attracting mass protests and criticisms. The January 2012 fuel price increase is anti-worker and anti-people. The government’s, Subsidy Re-investment and Empowerment Program (SURE-P) is hardly mitigating the backlash of the petroleum price increase. Meanwhile, recent United Nations Human Development Report on Nigeria indicates gloomy figures on life expectancy, literacy rate, maternal morbidity and infant mortality rate. The material poverty level is palpably high; the state should pursue social security scheme to obviate the deteriorating socio-economic conditions in Nigeria. The modalities and implementation strategies should involve the organized labour and civil society groups. Moreover, the access to housing and jobs should be enacted as rights and be justiceable. These developments should foster responsible and responsive government.

Wale Omole: Tribute to intellectual icon at 70 LEKAN FADEYI

itus Adebowale Omole (OFR), a professor of animal science and a twoterm vice chancellor of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, is an Omoluabi par excellence. He has continually unveiled himself as a fresh page of a highly interesting and unique book on the very contentious subject of surviving in the sometimes complex endeavour of human existence. Always ruled and guided by the conviction that his actions should deepen human integrity, the descendant of Biladu/Bilagbuyi ruling dynasty of Ilesa, Osun State, will pointedly move ahead to take steps, not minding whose ox is gored, the moment his conscience gives the go-ahead. Like the legendary Ogedengbe who gave birth to his progenitors, Omole is not only fearless but equitable and just at all times. A strong believer in bequeathing the highest standard of morals to the upcoming generations, his well brought up three biological children, in spite of progressing steadily in their individual fields of human endeavour, are keenly aware that one must keep striving to meet up with the very high standard of the no-nonsense disciplinarian that they have as a father – if one must continue to see his good side. He doesn’t believe in over looking mis-

QUINTESSENTIAL

OMOLE IS A LOVER OF ALL, PARTICULARLY OF THE YOUTH WHOSE LIVES HE WILLINGLY AND STEADILY WANTS TO MOULD deeds, no matter how many times he has offered corrections in the past. Omole is no respecter of socio-economic achievement whenever it comes to redirecting one’s steps so they will not falter. As a regular recipient of his well meant knocks, I am aware that whenever my telephone rings at night, I am in for a lecture on how not to take a wrong step in the highly knotty game of making it in life. I remember being summoned a number of times with that unmistakable dictatorial voice to receive bashings for steps, either wrongly taken or not adequately embarked upon. Each time that voice calls on me, it is first the fear, then the reassurance that one could still make it if you take to correction. All the time, you are reassured that nothing good comes easy and that you must strive on in life, not being laid back, and accepting the challenge that there is no option than

pushing oneself to be the best one can be. I have being privileged to watch this enigma lambast supposed big men and women whose journey to the top was propelled by quaint parameters. I have watched him confront human conspiracies at the detriment of his personal comfort and that of members of his family. I learnt not to build castle in the air for your children when, at a time during his reign as OAU VC, he ensured one of his daughters lived in the students hostel, rather than the VC’s lodge, to partake in the ‘coloured water’ that other students of that great university used at the time. One of the lessons I learnt from him, when he was VC is that a leader must be prepared to do everything to erect a lasting legacy. His detractors conspired and worked against his decisive and focused administration, but he got vindicated in all the snares. This brings to mind the biblical quote that though many are the afflictions of the righteous, HE delivereth him from all. I think this was responsible for Omole’s highly successful reign as the first alumnus to be VC of that institution. Omole is quick to forget wrongs done him. He has no time to carry on with anger. He threatens to abandon you if you are not learning fast; but he is in hurry to offer support during whatever storm threatens to consume you. He prides diligence; loves integrity; rewards loyalty; loathes dishonesty and laziness. He has no time for the saying:

jack of all trade, he was master of all. Whatever you get from him in terms of favour is not as a result of your being his friend or foe. Quintessential Omole is a lover of all, particularly of the youth whose lives he willingly and steadily wants to mould even as he rides on in life. To me and many other adopted children of this highly principled believer in the possibility of a great Nigeria if dialogue is allowed, the Yoruba’s adage, “obini o to on woni”, meaning literally that the nurturer supersedes the parents, is more than apt in the lesson of life which ends only at death. It is for this reason that one cannot help but join his family and friends to celebrate this epic man as he turns 70, but continues to lead life in the interpretation of his Alma Mater, the great Ilesa Grammar School, whose motto, “E Huwa Omoluabi”, means behave responsibly. This intellectual icon turned 70 on Monday August 13. Fadeyi, a journalist/PR practitioner, wrote in from Ado-Ekiti 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

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

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

STEVE AYORINDE

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MD/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

YELE AKINROLABU

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ED OPERATIONS

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GBEMI OLUJOBI

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SATURDAY EDITOR

LANRE OYETADE

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SM, STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT

FRANK OBOH

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HEAD, GRAPHICS

As FG, Delta State fight for Ibori’s bribe money W A n unusual legal tussle involving the Federal and Delta Sate Governments is currently playing out over who takes possession of the $15m bribe money which the erstwhile Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, claimed an undisclosed agent of the now convicted ex-governor of Delta Sate, Chief James Ibori, offered him in 2007 as bribe to compromise the investigation of allegations of stealing and money laundering he perpetrated against the state while he was in charge as governor between 1999 and 2007. A Federal High Court in Abuja had recently granted an interim order forfeiting the bribe money kept with the Central Bank of Nigeria since August 2007 to the FG. The presiding judge, Justice Gabriel Kolawole, ruled in FG’s favour after listening to an exparte motion brought on behalf of the applicants (the FG and the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice) by a police officer attached to the EFCC. The judge, however, fixed September 17, 2012, for further hearing on the matter to enable any “bona fide owner of the said sum” to come forward with reasons why the court should not make a final order of forfeiture of the bribe money in favor of the FG. The ruling has, however, drawn the flak of the Delta State Govern-

ment as well as some eminent indigenes who want the money returned to the state’s coffers. On July 27, 2012, a lawyer, Mr. Timipa Okponipere, for instance, filed a suit before an Abuja Federal High Court purportedly “for and on behalf of the government and people of Delta State”, challenging Justice Kolawole’s interim order. The lawyer prayed the court to hold that any application or order granting the money to any other entity other than the government and people of Delta State was illegal and of no effect. Ibori, Okponipere averred, was still the governor of Delta State as at April 25, 2007 when he allegedly offered the $15m bribe to the EFCC. Reports said yesterday that the state’s Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Charles Ajuya, on August 10, 2012, filed another suit in a Federal High Court in Abuja with averments that tallied with those of Okponipere. There were also indications last week that the EFCC might return to the court to challenge the moves by Delta State to claim the controversial $15m as the anti-graft agency’s lawyer, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs, was quoted as saying that the EFCC would contest the state’s insistence that the money be returned to it. The legal fisticuffs, however, appears quite embarrassing on the parts of both the FG and the Delta State Government. Not a few discerning Nigerians would view the scramble for the bribe money

HAT POSITIVE

IMPACT WOULD THE

FG’S VOLUPTUOUS

APPETITE AND LEGAL BATTLE FOR IBORI’S

BRIBE MONEY HAVE ON PUBLIC MORALITY AND CONFIDENCE IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR?

as the celebration of immorality by the feuding parties. There also seems to be no moral basis for the court case initiated at the instance of the FG in particular in respect of the money. It is public knowledge that the arrow head of the suit (Ibori) has been tried and convicted by a London court for theft and money laundering offences. He is currently serving his sentence in a London prison. The grounds for the FG’s suit include the following: that EFCC officials received the money from Ibori’s agent in 2007 as bribe to compromise investigation into fraud allegations against him; that the Commission on April 26, 2007, deposited the money with the CBN; that James Ibori had since denied ever giving the said cash to the Commission or any of its officers; and that the money has remained unclaimed and dormant

since it was deposited in the CBN strong room. Our position, however, is that the issue in contention borders more on morality than on law. Indeed, what positive impact would the FG’s voluptuous appetite and legal battle for Ibori’s bribe money have on public morality and confidence in the public sector? We think it is absurd, unethical and brazen intimidation for the FG to lay claim to money that does not belong to it, no matter how cash-strapped the government has become. The FG should play a fatherly role in this matter. The trial of Chief Ibori was on how he defrauded Delta State when he served the state as a governor. The victim of his action and inaction is therefore not shrouded in secrecy. The FG should tame its shocking gluttony and look elsewhere for sleaze monies. And we recommend that the EFCC’s diligent prosecution of the fuel subsidy and pension fraud suspects alone, among countless other scams dogging government ministries, departments and agencies (MDAs), would yield much more petro-dollars to the FG than the Ibori bribe money - except it allows the EFCC to bungle them as usual. What may be needed in resolving the issues at stake are more of administrative procedures than bitter litigations, to ensure that the $15m is transferred to the Delta State Government and that it is properly utilized.

ON THIS DAY August 15, 2007 An 8.0-magnitude earthquake off the Pacific coast devastated Ica and various regions of Peru killing 514 and injuring 1,090. The 2007 Peru earthquake hit the central coast of Peru on Wednesday, August 15, 2007; at about 23:40:57 UTC (18:40:57 local time) and lasted for about three minutes. The epicenter was located 150 km (93 mi) south-southeast of Lima at a depth of 39 km (24 mi). It was said to be a very strong earthquake.

August 15, 2005 Israel’s unilateral disengagement plan to evict all Israelis from the Gaza Strip and from four settlements in the northern West Bank began. The unilateral disengagement plan also known as the “Disengagement plan” or “Gaza expulsion plan”, and “Hitnatkut”, was a proposal by Israeli Prime Minister, Ariel Sharon, adopted by the government on June 6, 2004 and enacted in August 2005, to resettle all Israelis from the Gaza Strip and from four settlements in the northern West Bank.

August 15, 1975 Bangladesh’s founder, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman was killed along with most members of his family during a military coup. Rahman (March 17, 1920 – August 15, 1975) was a Bengali nationalist politician and the founder of Bangladesh. He headed the Awami League, served as the first President of Bangladesh and later became its Prime Minister. He is popularly referred to as Sheikh Mujib (shortened as Mujib or Mujibur, not Rahman), and with the honorary title of Bangabandhu.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Health & Wellbeing Every mother’s compulsory gift to her child

Only two Nigerian medical labs are ISO certified –Ujah

Keeping children warm prevents health hazards like cold

TOBORE OVUORIE

resident, Nigerian Medical Association (NMA), Dr. Osahon Enabulele, has warned Nigerians, particularly those living in Lagos and other Southern states to arm themselves against illnesses caused or aggravated by the intense cold weather which has enveloped parts of the country. Speaking an interview with National Mirror recently, he disclosed that except deliberate actions are taken by individuals to safeguard their health, many more Nigerians will come down with respiratory and other related diseases which accompany the prevailing weather condition. Already, there has been an increase in the number of patients attended to in some hospitals in Lagos and surrounding states. For instance, Dr. Abimbola Abiodun, a Physician with the General Hospital Agege, told National Mirror that: “The number of patients attended to have increased while most of the ailments, I believe is as a result of the weather condition”. Though she couldn’t give statistics of the number of such patients, she emphatically stated that: “I cannot really tell you the exact figures of cold related ailments we have had to treat here but I can say that there’s been an alarming increase which should call for attention”. According to her, there have been an up shoot of cases of feverish conditions which were triggered by the severe cold. “There have equally been unusual numbers of people coming in with prolonged cough, catarrh, fevers”. At the University of Ibadan on-campus clinic popularly known as “Jaji”, a senior nurse revealed that there have been more incidences of asthmatic students being rushed to the health centre. While speaking with National Mirror in an interview, the nurse who pleaded anonymity on the grounds of being a civil servant, said: “I believe you can hear someone coughing uncontrolled at the background; that is another student who is asthmatic

Even pregnant women need warm clothes

Asthmatics should pay extra attention to their health

Experts issue red alert for asthma, cold, respiratory diseases

that has been rushed here. Until this sudden change in our weather, I never knew we had so many students who are either asthmatic or living with sickle cell. Since the cold weather, they are either rushed in at any time of the day, particularly at night when the weather goes too cold or they voluntarily walk in for medical consultations. Some are PhD students in their third year that until this weather had stayed away from the clinic. We have been attending to them; have had to place some on oxygen and following them up”. Asthmatics and people living with sickle cell should particularly pay extra attention to their health. According to the NMA President, “they should be careful of what they wear and to prevent ailments such as malaria, cough, catarrh and cold, parents should wear their children warm clothes”. “The increasing frequency and intensity of extreme and unusual weather events, with attendant destruction of lives and property, are global events. However, people who have asthma are likely to get more attacks due to the windy nature which carries with it dust particles. Those with certain forms of allergy are also likely to be affected”. The cold weather, Abayomi Oyegoke, Chief Meteorological Officer, at the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, said is as a result of the ‘August break’ and is expected to last for three weeks after which there will be heavy rains in the southern part of the country. He predicted that the southern part of

Enabulele

the country would experience more rains after the cold weather, especially coastal areas like Lagos. “The cold is blowing from Europe through the Sahara desert. We expect light showers”, he stated. Children are however not spared by this weather as Dr. Efunbo Dosekun, a paediatrician and Chief Medical Director/Managing Director, Outreach Children’s hospital has advised that they should be kept extra warm during this season. “Children are easily exposed to various health hazards like malaria, cough, catarrh and cold. They should be kept warm and given clean water to drink because cholera frequently accompanies weather conditions as this”. She also noted that variations in tem-

perature and rainfall affect how much pollen is in the air. “This means the presence of high fever during this weather should be expected”, she added. “From exposure, one can have a very nasty cold, experience allergies and the likes. Though the weather is cool and has reduced the presence of heat, you must not expose yourself to the ailments that come with the weather”. It will be recalled that Lagos State recently experienced heavy downpours which led to terrible flooding, and damage to lives and properties. Enabulele further disclosed that “Cold, flu, food infection, water infection, cholera, among others shows their ugly faces during cold times as this and is caused by bacteria and viruses that can be carried either by a man or some animal. Its severe form can damage kidney, lever, meningitis and lead to respiratory failure”. “Cleanliness is very important during rainy season. Even if you catch a cold, you should clean your hands regularly and use a sanitizer always after that and increase water intake because this will help you drain toxins from your body. “Try to eat nutritious food and avoid eating out during rainy season. Prepare meal with full precaution and maintain health and hygiene throughout the house. It is very important to keep yourself protected during the rainy season because you can catch infection frequently. It is always better to take precautions and be prepared whenever you go out of your home” Enabulele concluded.

Health & Wellbeing

n most cases, HIV is passed from one person to another through unprotected sexual intercourse, during which the semen, vaginal fluid or blood of an infected person passes into the body of another person. HIV can also pass from one person to another through the use of non-sterile, HIVcontaminated needles and syringes (most often among drug users sharing needles and syringes), razor blades, knives or other instruments for injecting, cutting or piercing the body. People may also become infected by HIV through transfusions of infected blood. All blood for transfusions should be screened for HIV. HIV is passed to infants and young children primarily from the mother during pregnancy or childbirth or through breastfeeding. It is not possible to get HIV from working, socializing or living side by side with HIV-positive people. Touching those who are infected with HIV, hugging, shaking hands, coughing and sneezing will not spread the disease. HIV cannot be transmitted through toilet seats, telephones, plates, cups, eating utensils, towels, bed linen, swimming pools or public baths. HIV is not spread by mosquitoes or other insects. 2. Anyone who wants to know how to prevent HIV or thinks he or she has HIV should contact a health-care provider or an AIDS centre to obtain information on HIV prevention and/or advice on where to receive HIV testing, counselling, care and support. Supporting information you should know Information on HIV and on services

SCIENCE

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

How families can help HIV positive loved ones

Testing for HIV can help in early detection of infection

and education to learn how to prevent or reduce the risk of infection is increasingly available in almost every country. Information can be found at health centres, fixed and mobile HIV care units, testing and counselling centres, youth centres and in many schools. Information is also available through the internet and other media. HIV testing and counselling can help in early detection of infection. It can enable those who are infected to: get the support services they need manage other infections they might have learn about living with HIV

learn how to avoid infecting others. Anyone who thinks that he or she might be infected with HIV should contact a health-care provider or an AIDS centre to receive confidential testing and counselling. Anyone who lives in an area where HIV is prevalent and has had unprotected sex should be encouraged to be tested and counselled. Voluntary HIV testing and counselling can help people make informed choices about their health and their sexual behaviour. It can help couples decide whether or not to have children. If one partner has HIV there is a risk the other partner can

become infected while trying to conceive. If a couple is expecting a baby, testing and counselling can help them make decisions regarding the health of their baby. Counselling and testing can also help those not infected to remain uninfected through education about ways to avoid risk, including safer sex choices. There are many types of HIV tests. It is important to talk to a professional to learn about the type of test being used and its accuracy. If the result of an HIV test is negative, this means the person tested is not infected or it is too early to detect the virus. In adults, the HIV blood test may not detect infection for up to six weeks after exposure. Depending on the test, detection in babies may take up to 18 months after birth. However, early infant diagnosis (EID) can be conducted as early as six weeks. Families and communities should insist on and support confidential HIV testing, counselling and information. Confidentiality helps protect children, adolescents and adults from experiencing stigma, discrimination, exclusion and isolation. Counselling can help to empower women and adolescent girls, promote safer sex and condom use, and help detect and facilitate treatment of sexually transmitted infections – all of which can reduce the chances of HIV infection. If a woman or adolescent girl is diagnosed with HIV and has children or is pregnant, assistance may be required to help her protect, care for and support her children. Community support groups and NGOs often provide assistance.

Doctors can now detect hard-to-diagnose prostate cancer

esearchers have successfully developed and tested a new prostate cancer screening method that uses the combined power of a novel drug therapy and changes in PSA levels over time to identify men with a high PSA who are more likely to have aggressive prostate cancer despite negative biopsies. The new study by researchers at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, published in the Journal of Urology, shows that PSA can be a much more effective marker for prostate cancer when an additional drug therapy is used than it can as a stand-alone test, which is how it is currently used by physicians. “At a time when the value of PSA is being increasingly debated, we have shown that when used in a spe-

cific way, it can be of great value in identifying men with previously undetected prostate cancer,” says the study’s lead investigator, Dr. Steven A. Kaplan, the E. Darracott Vaughan Jr., Professor of Urology at Weill Cornell Medical College and director of the Iris Cantor Men’s Health Center at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell. “We have shown that using PSA with these drugs can help us differentiate prostate cancer from benign prostate disease in patients who are difficult to diagnose,” says Dr. Kaplan, who is also chief of the Institute for Bladder and Prostate Health at NewYork-Presbyterian/Weill Cornell. “It also demonstrates a better way to use both the PSA test and these powerful drugs.” Dr. Kaplan created the combination screening method

as a way to understand cancer risk in men who have consistently abnormal PSA readings despite one or more negative biopsies. This patient population offers physicians a “diagnostic dilemma” he says -- “despite the fact that biopsies are becoming more and more effective at detecting cancer in the prostate, a significant number of patients with prostate cancer continue to have negative biopsies.” He adds that the PSA (prostate specific antigen) test alone is not a good indicator of prostate cancer. “It measures multiple factors associated with prostate disease, including enlargement of the prostate and inflammation.” The research team decided to see what would happen to PSA levels after the use of two 5-alpha-reductase inhibitor drugs -- finasteride and dutasteride -- designed to reduce the size of an enlarged prostate.

Feeling fat may make you fat, study suggests

hey’re everywhere -- in magazines, on the Internet, on television -- people with super-thin bodies who are presented as having the ideal body form. But despite the increasing pressure to be thin, more and more of us are overweight. Now, researchers from the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) have found that normal weight teens who perceive themselves as fat are more likely to grow up to be fat “Perceiving themselves as fat even though they are not may actu-

ally cause normal weight children to become overweight as adults,” says Koenraad Cuypers, a researcher at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology. Cuypers and his colleagues at the Department of Public Health and General Practice in NTNU’s Faculty of Medicine have looked at data from the Nord-Trøndelag Health Study (HUNT) to examine the obesity problem from a new angle: Theirs is the first study to look at the relationship between perceived weights and actual weights in a longitudinal study of teenagers and

young adults. There are likely many different, and complex, reasons that explain why thinking you are fat as a teeneven if you are not -- may lead you to become fat when you are grown. One explanation may be related to psychosocial stress, which can be associated with gaining weight around the waist. Under this scenario, the psychosocial stress related to having (or not having) an ideal body type, along with the perception of oneself as overweight, can result in weight gain. –ScienceDaily

L-R: Corps Marshal/Chief Executive, FRSC, Barr. Osita Chidoka; Ogun State Deputy Governor, Prince Segun Adesegun; Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Hon. Surajudeen Ishola Adekunbi and Commissioner for Health, Dr. Olaokun Soyinka at the launching of the state ambulance services in Abeokuta recently. Photo: SEKINAH LAWAL

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Health & Wellbeing

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

BREASTFEEDING: Best source of nourishmenet for infants and young children

Mothers need not abandon breastfeeding when they return to work

Every mother’s compulsory gift to her child ...10 facts on breastfeeding

reastfeeding is one of the most effective ways to ensure child health and survival. Optimal breastfeeding together with complementary feeding help prevent malnutrition and can save about a million child lives. Globally less than 40% of infants under six months of age are exclusively breastfed. Adequate breastfeeding support for mothers and families could save many young lives. WHO actively promotes breastfeeding as the best source of nourishment for infants and young children. This fact file explores the many benefits of the practice, and how robust help for mothers can increase breastfeeding worldwide.

WHO recommends 1. WHO strongly recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life. At six months, other foods should complement breastfeeding for up to two years or more. In addition: •breastfeeding should begin within an hour of birth; •breastfeeding should be “on demand”, as often as the child wants day and night; and •bottles or pacifiers should be avoided. 2. Health benefits for infants Breast milk is the ideal food for newborns and infants. It gives infants all the nutrients they need for healthy develop-

ment. It is safe and contains antibodies that help protect infants from common childhood illnesses - such as diarrhoea and pneumonia, the two primary causes of child mortality worldwide. Breast milk is readily available and affordable, which helps to ensure that infants get adequate sustenance. 3. Benefits for mothers Breastfeeding also benefits mothers. The practice when done exclusively is associated with a natural (though not failsafe) method of birth control (98% of protection in the first 6 months after birth). It reduces risks of breast and ovarian cancer later in life, helps women return to their pre-pregnancy weight faster, and lowers rates of obesity. 4. Long-term benefits for children Beyond the immediate benefits for children, breastfeeding contributes to a lifetime of good health. Adults who were breastfed as babies often have lower blood pressure and lower cholesterol, as well as lower rates of overweight, obesity and type-2 diabetes. There is evidence that people who were breastfed perform better in intelligence tests. 5. Why not infant formula? Infant formula does not contain the antibodies found in breast milk. When infant formula is not properly prepared,

MANY MOTHERS WHO RETURN TO WORK ABANDON BREASTFEEDING PARTIALLY OR COMPLETELY BECAUSE

THEY DO NOT HAVE SUFFICIENT TIME,

OR A PLACE TO BREASTFEED, EXPRESS AND STORE THEIR MILK there are some risks arising from the use of unsafe water and unsterilized equipment or the potential presence of bacteria in powdered formula. Malnutrition can result from overdiluting formula to “stretch” supplies. Further, frequent feedings maintain the breast milk supply. If formula is used but becomes unavailable, a return to breastfeeding may not be an option due to diminished breast milk production. 6. HIV and breastfeeding An HIV-infected mother can pass the infection to her infant during pregnancy, delivery and through breastfeeding. Antiretroviral (ARV) drug interventions to either the mother or HIV-exposed infant reduces the risk of transmission of HIV through breastfeeding. Together, breastfeeding and ARV interventions have the potential to significantly improve infants’ chances of surviving while remaining HIV uninfected. WHO recommends that when HIV-infected mothers breastfeed, they should receive ARVs and follow WHO guidance for breastfeeding and complementary feeding.

7. Regulating breastmilk substitutes An international code to regulate the marketing of breastmilk substitutes was adopted in 1981. It calls for: •all formula labels and information to state the benefits of breastfeeding and the health risks of substitutes; •no promotion of breastmilk substitutes; •no free samples of substitutes to be given to pregnant women, mothers or their families; and •no distribution of free or subsidized substitutes to health workers or facilities. 8. Support for mothers is essential Breastfeeding has to be learned and many women encounter difficulties at the beginning. Nipple pain, and fear that there is not enough milk to sustain the baby are common. Health facilities that support breastfeeding - by making trained breastfeeding counsellors available to new mothers - encourage higher rates of the practice. To provide this support and improve care for

mothers and newborns, there are now more than 20 000 “baby-friendly” facilities in 152 countries thanks to a WHOUNICEF initiative. 9. Work and breastfeeding Many mothers who return to work abandon breastfeeding partially or completely because they do not have sufficient time, or a place to breastfeed, express and store their milk. Mothers need a safe, clean and private place in or near their work to continue breastfeeding. Enabling conditions at work can help, such as paid maternity leave, part-time work arrangements, on-site crèches, facilities for expressing and storing breast milk, and breastfeeding breaks. 10. The next step: phasing in new foods To meet the growing needs of babies at six months of age, complementary foods should be introduced as they continue to breastfeed. Foods for the baby can be specially prepared or modified from family meals. WHO notes that: •breastfeeding should not be decreased when starting complementary feeding; •complementary foods should be given with a spoon or cup, not in a bottle; •foods should be clean, safe and locally available; and •ample time is needed for young children to learn to eat solid foods. –Courtesy W.H.O

Health & Wellbeing

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

FG tasked on better health facilities ...As LUTH celebrates 50th anniversary TOBORE OVUORIE

L-R: Former Chief Medical Director, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Dr. Femi Pearse; current CMD, Prof. Akin Osibogun; Lagos State Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Tunji Bello and the Chairman, Publicity and Planning Committee of LUTH at 50, Prof. Gbemiga Ogunlewe at the tree planting event to commemorate LUTH at 50 yesterday.

xperts have appealed to the Federal Government to provide hospitals with adequate equipment and facilities in order to discourage medical tourism and encourage Nigerian doctors to stay in the country. They made the appeal in Lagos recently during a Tree Planting ceremony at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) to recognise and appreciate the efforts of past leaders of the hospital as it celebrates its 50th anniversary. Prof Oyekunle Akinosi, First Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee, LUTH said that there was a huge difference between

the health care system 50 years ago and what the country currently had. He added that at that time, wards were well stocked, instruments were up to date and injections and drugs were available. He added that medical tourism was also uncommon as the hospitals were well equipped to take care of the health needs of people without going abroad. “Then it was rare to have people going abroad for treatment, LUTH was a first class hospital and the staffs were determined and motivated. We still have quality health care practitioners in the country but they do not have the tools to work with. “If you go to the United Kingdom, you will see that health care takes first place

Why states shun Health Insurance Scheme –Expert MARCUS FATUNMOLE ABUJA

he essence of the National Health Insurance Scheme may not be realised, except the scheme is reviewed and made flexible to allow states of the federation make choices that are convenient for them. This view was shared by Managing Director of Ultimate Health Management

Organization, Mr. Lekan Ewenla, during an interview with National Mirror in Abuja over the weekend. According to him, “When the formal sector of the scheme took off in 2005, I remember when we started discussing the need for the state government to hold on to the programme, the main question on the lips of those governors was ‘we can’t afford it’. The next question we asked

ourselves then as HMOs was ‘must we sell Federal Government product to the state government?’ And, the answer was no. So, that means we should address affordability because the Health Insurance itself was introduced in the country to make health care affordable, accessible and equitable.” He reasoned that given inequitable resources available at the disposal of dif-

Lagos NAWOJ holds family week ...calls for establishment of crèches in workplaces SEKINAH L AWAL

s the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), Lagos State Chapter, begins its family week, a clarion call has gone to employers to provide crèches in the work environment to boost productivity. The Chairperson, Lagos NAWOJ, Mrs. Dupe Olaoye-Osinkolu made the appeal at the press briefing held at Ladi Lawal Press Centre, Alausa- Lagos. “We are the stronghold of every family. Our husbands look up to us for attention, we pamper them. Our brothers see us as

perpetual protectors, we strive to protect them. Our children believe so much in our power of creativity, always bringing something out of nothing, we struggle not to disappoint them. We always nurture them. Our multiple roles therefore behooves on us to lend our voices to policies and decisions that will benefit our families, ensure their comfort under any circumstance.” She urged employers to be more baby friendly by establishing crèches within the work environment so that nursing mothers can easily breast-feed their babies within a short time and return to their duties. “The establishment

of crèches in public and private workplaces would encourage mothers to adequately breast-feed their babies. By providing crèches for nursing mothers, their babies would become healthier and productivity would also increase.” She also called on husbands and other relatives to support nursing mothers to adequately breastfeed their babies because of the great benefits that it ensures for the entire family. “Breastfed children are healthy children, who don’t have regular appointments with doctors. Women in Nigeria are grateful for having gender-friendly governments at both federal and state levels.

ferent states in the country, it would be difficult for the states to adopt the programme. He added that “If we are to address the key issues here, we must begin with affordability. Right now, we market several products even to the people in the informal sector and it is as low as N15, 000.00 per person, per annum. We have products of N35, 000.00, we have N40, 000.00. There are those of N50, 000.00, N100, 000.00 and N200, 000.00 per person, per annum. That means the size of your pocket deter-

mines what you buy. Why don’t you adopt the same approach to the introduction of the social health insurance programme across the states in the country so that everybody can look at what is affordable to them?” “That means it is not compulsory that we must sell what Federal Government is giving its employees to the state employees. Let’s face reality, the salaries differ, the income differs, the budgets differ. Why must they (the state) buy?” he queried.

in the social services of the people. In the University of London medical school, there are at least five professors who are Nigerians and are heading various units in the hospital. They would have contributed immensely to the Nigerian health care system if they were here. We are therefore appealing to the government to provide our doctors with the wherewithal to show their expertise.” Prof Jonathan Soleye, Former Chairman, Board of Trustees, LUTH said that in order to improve health care in Nigeria, it was important to have leaders who were interested in the welfare of the people. He added that a government that was interested in the good health of its people would do everything possible to ensure quality health service delivery. “We hope that our leaders would be interested in our health so as to put things in place for us” he said. The Chief Medical Director of the hospital, Prof Akin Oshibogun however disclosed that due to the nation’s growing population, the hospital was faced with challenges which were not there 50 years ago. “We cannot compare the population of about N60million in the 60’s to the current population of about 160 million. The hospital is therefore under population pressure and there is a lot of demand on us” he explained.

Only two Nigerian medical labs are ISO certified –Ujah TUNBOSUN OGUNDARE

he Director-General, Nigerian Institute of Medical Research (NIMR), Yaba, Lagos, Innocent Ujah, has disclosed that only two out of the 5, 349 registered diagnostic laboratories in the country were International Standard Organisation (ISO 15189) certified. According to him, these two laboratories include NIMR’s Human Virology Laboratory and Path Care Nigeria Limited Laboratories. He said the interpretation of this situation was

that many health laboratories in the country are sub-standard and their services are taking huge toll on the health of Nigeria’s public. Ujah disclosed this recently in Lagos at the closing ceremony of Strengthening Laboratory Management Towards Accreditation (SLMTA) training programme organised by NIMR for pathologists and other laboratory scientists from health institutions across the country. A total of 24 of them participated in the two-week training programme funded by the International Associa-

tion of National Public Health Institutes (IANPHI) with resource persons from Kenya and Uganda. Speaking on the training, Ujah, a Professor of Gynaecology and Obstetrics said Nigeria could not afford to continue to lag behind in the provision of quality medical laboratory services to its citizenry. He noted that only accurate disease diagnosis on patients that could ensure appropriate case management, hence, the need for credible lab results that could contribute positively to improving health care delivery system in the country.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Arts Lounge

All I wanted is to be great –Osita Iheme

Now’s the time to embrace cultural revolution

OLUFEMI ROBINSON

Being young in the world of arts In a previous publication, Arts Lounge examined initiatives within the industry targeted at young Nigerians to aid their development of a keen art perspective from the formative years. Particularly, to encourage them to explore creativity beyond the realms of show business and entertainment. OYINKAN SOMORIN looks at two of such workshops tailored to meet the artistic aspirations of children during this summer holiday.

he holiday seasons are here again and children of school age are already enjoying the season where they are not subjected to the routine of classroom teachings and or be at the receiving end of floggings from their teachers. Though schools are ready to lure children back for holiday coaching, many would rather spend their holidays away from the school walls for a while. However, the Young@Art programme initiated and coordinated by visual artist Biodun Omolayo, has found a way to engage children in a creatively educative project while on schools holidays. The young lovers of art participate at the workshop cum playshop as a way to discover and build on the talent and creativity of the children. According to Omolayo, who revealed that the workshop which started in 2004 was borne out of his love for art and children. “What we do at this playshop is using the visual, performing and creative arts to develop the creativity of children. When you want to develop a child’s creativity the first thing is that the environment has to be friendly, we don’t flog in this place. It’s not like school whereby you are canned for something you did wrong; we don’t do anything like that here. What we do is the fact that we look at them and put them through different areas of art like painting, ceramics, sculpture, textile art, music, drama, dance, creative writing and other”. Omolayo, who also runs the ‘Biodun Omolayo Gallery within the National Museum premises in Lagos, started out as a banker before plunging headlong into the arts. He revealed that the workshop is a

product of his love for art and children. He explained that one other motivation for doing this project was for the purpose of surrounding himself with children he could influence positively. This he called the “creative thinking technique”, a session held with the children participants every morning. “It can also be called “a motivational talk about their different areas of creativity; what they can do with their minds and to find a solution when they make a mistake. We let the children know that a mistake can still be turned into art”. While speaking further, Omolayo said children should be encouraged to follow their heart desires academically “In terms of how Young@Art takes care of our children, first we talk to the children to help them identify their mistakes and afterwards, we encourage and show how to correct these mistakes on their own when next it occurs. We don’t speak words of insults to them; neither do we allow them to be brought down by their mistakes”, he informed Arts Lounge during a day-long visit to the ongoing workshop at the City Mall, Onikan, Lagos. The summer holiday workshop commenced in the first week of July and is to run through till August 31. Divided into two groups; the first group started in July and ended on August 3, while the second group started on August 6 to end on August 31. On September 3, the two groups will merge and have an exhibition of artworks done by the children for the year 2012. This programme is open to children between the ages of five to 16 years at three different centres:- National Museum centre, Ikeja centre and the City Mall centre.

Omolayo assists one of the children at the workshop

Young artists engrossed in their work

Arts Lounge also interacted with many of the children at the creative workshop. Making a comment on behalf of her co-participants, 10-year-old Efetobore Karkitie, who is also the class governor, said “Uncle Abiodun is a great teacher; he is fun to be with. He taught me so many things about art but my favourite is making cards. This place is a nice place to be, I will never forget Young@Art”. The wonder is in the level of talent displayed by these children as they concentrated over uncompleted pieces. Some of

the finished works are being laid up ahead of the final exhibition but the children are having so much fun just showing visitors who care to look at their works. Meanwhile, the National Troupe of Nigeria is also set to hold their third edition of the annual long vacation theatre workshop thanks to the success of its dramatised schools storytelling competition, dubbed the Children Creative Station (CSS). The first edition of the CSS for children between the ages of five to 18 was held in August

2010 and it has been designed to primarily expose participants to theatre practice and appreciation of drama in such a manner that their creative talents can be fully harnessed, nurtured and developed to realise their imaginative potentials. Artistic Director of National Troupe, Mr. Martin Adaji stated that the aim of this project was not only for fostering the imaginative skills of children which is in line with the Troupe’s objective of encouraging the development of children theatre. “We believe that by engaging them creatively, they will not only take their minds off certain known vices during the long holiday, but they will be able to harness and polish their individual creative talents”, Adaji said. Coordinator of the project and Director in charge of Drama of the National Troupe, Ms. Josephine Igberaese made it known that the children will be taking basic dance, music, drama and puppetry routines. She hinted that a special command performance, a product of the one-month intensive training will be staged to close the workshop as it was done the previous years. It would be recalled that the maiden and second edition closed with a command performance of Tolu Omojola’s Colours of the Rainbow and Noel Grieg’s Whispers in the Dark respectively which was staged before theatre goers, family, friends, teachers and students. This year’s edition will also take another closed performance by a play not yet disclosed to the public. The drama director also said that the 2012 edition will be much better in scope and content compared to the previous editions. “We have expanded the content to include voice training, pantomime and the usual storytelling, singing, dancing, acting and creative writing”, she said. So, for art-loving (and all) parents, it would be expedient to release children and wards to attend special programs specifically prepared to broaden their creative understanding and develop the next generation of renowned artists in the country.

Arts Lounge

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

VOICES

Bilikisu Sungbo: Time to embrace cultural revolution now OLUFEMI ROBINSON

nly last week I had a mild attack which nearly cost me my life. I had been running about trying to make some of our leaders understand that cultural revival can perform the same magic that the late Chief Obafemi Awolowo performed when he industrialised and propelled the then Western Region to the most envious position in the history of the country. I am with this write-up calling on our leaders to please listen to the voice of the people. We cannot continue to promise our people dividends of democracy without providing jobs. There are jobs which require little government involvement. It is on record that South West Nigeria has probably the largest cultural and historical monuments in Africa. The discovered or yet-to-be discovered historical monuments that have generated a lot of the myths and legends of Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Oyo, Ogun and Edo are enough tourism destinations to generate foreign exchange more than whatever agriculture policies we put in place. It is a business you do not need to wait for growing time. That is why it has become necessary for me to explain

FOR OVER 1000 YEARS, THE STORY THAT THE OCCUPANT OF A GRAVESITE IN OKE ERI IN IJEBULAND COULD BE THE LEGENDARY QUEEN OF SHEBA IN THE BIBLE HAS BEEN TOLD the need for the Bilikisu/Queen of Sheba workshop billed to take place on August 27 and 28 of 2012 even as I strain myself to type. For over 1000 years, the story that the occupant of a gravesite in Oke Eri in Ijebuland could be the legendary Queen of Sheba in the Bible has been told. Not only has the elderly occupants of the land confirmed that they heard the story from their fathers, there are historical and traditional dating that suggest this could be true. Unfortunately, traditional taboos which made Africa the “Dark Continent” in those days still tend to persist even today. If this story is true, think of the financial and scientific returns this would bring to the people of Ijebuland. For example, our fathers tend to guard information about the community as if it is a sole preserve of their family. Very often, they die without passing the knowledge to their siblings. The aim of the workshop is to create

a forum where we can ask questions and tell what we know about the Bilikisu Sungbo story so as to put to rest some of the speculations that have made possible treasure lands, ghost lands. Man would never have dared to travel to the moon if he had believed in the taboo that he would be disturbing heavenly spirits. Science teaches us to ask questions and find solutions. There is need to bring civilisation to the African continent by demystifying these taboos which still make it difficult for information to be obtained from our elders. The workshop is geared towards collating valuable information on the subject and obtaining contributions on how to encourage investment in tourism destinations in Nigeria. There is need to embrace cultural revolution now because this will encourage our youths to go back to their destinations to look after them. We must realise that functional tourism destinations are like farm settlements because they create

Robinson

jobs for the community and guarantee security and community friendliness. It may have been observed that the creation of Local Governments in Nigeria has not brought development to communities because there are no industries or traditional business developed in these communities. Some tourism destinations in the world do not need five star hotels, electricity and all. What they need is hospitality and new living experience. Traditional taboos have created bottle necks in every aspect of our life making foreign values take preference. Chief Robinson, author of the movie Bilikisu, is a veteran theatre practitioner and one of the cast of defunct hit TV series, Village Headmaster.

MUSINGS

MIDWEEK JUMP In-Short 2012 film fest receiving entries

M.I

Naeto C

Hennessey Artistry premieres M.I, Naeto C Bartender video

ennessy artistry in collaboration with Clarence Peter’s Montage is premiering the music video for Bartender a collaboration track by two of the country’s hip hop music frontliners: M.I and Naeto C. This event is to take place tomorrow, August 16 at Villa Picasso, Victoria Island, Lagos. With the video directed by Clarence Peters, Bartender, which is the official theme song for 2012 Hen-

nessey Artistry, had been released to the airwaves about a week ago and the two rap stars will soon embark on a club tour to promote the track supported by rising Nigerian artistes. The private screening to celebrate the completion of the music video will also feature a cocktail party. Fans and followers of music can look forward to seeing the video on public TV soon.

he 2012 edition of the International Short Film and Video Festival (In-Short 2012), which will hold from October 11 to 13 in Lagos, is receiving entries till September 15. It accepts short films of up to 60 minutes duration. In a statement released by Victor Okhai, who runs The International Film and Broadcast Academy (IFBA) and is founder of the festival, the entry form can be downloaded from the festival’s website. He explained that all entries by qualified filmmakers must be in DVD pal format accompanying the completed form. Apart from the form, filmmakers must enclose selection copies of the film, a short synopsis and complete cast list. Also to be included are photos from the film, photo of the director, original dialogue list, biography and filmography of the director. Failure to strictly adhere to the rules of the contest, clearly stated on the web site, will have the entry disqualified. The organisers stated that

along with its primary role as a film festival, In-Short, which is in its second year, is accompanied by additional programmes in the form of workshops, panel discussions, exhibitions, social happenings and other events. The competition part of the programme is open to independent and student films, shot not earlier than 2010. The festival accepts musical videos, TV commercials, fiction, documentary, animated and experimental films.

Okhai

The Tormentor lover There is this lady that I so much like and love and wanted her to like and love me as well. She said that she loves me, but I cannot see that in her action. She always breaks my body by the way she picks my calls and cut my calls. She would not want me be, and I won’t want her be. She treats me the way she feels is her way of protecting the ‘woman pride’. Her guess is that since I have not gone under her skin she has nothing to regret. But this is not the basis of my entreaty. I want to be hearing her voice first thing in the morning and last thing in the night. I want her company to make me happy. I am now regretting this general mindset of our ladies that it is not love unless you have pushed them to bed. Are you, and have you met this kind of lady? ©Odimegwu Onwumere 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Arts Lounge

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

ARTISTE UNCENSORED

All I wanted in life is to be great –Osita Iheme

MEMORABLE READS

EMMA OGUGUAH Filmmaker

Twelve years ago, he made good his plan to become an actor with a lowly role in Cold Blood. Today, he has become one of the most recognisable Nigerian actors, turning his diminutive nature into a virtue. Who is your favourite author? I have read lots of Chinua Achebe’s books. Somehow, I see myself set in the plots of his books. I relate with them easily. Take Man of the People for instance, you would relate with everything easily. I also admire the depth of Wole Soyinka’s books, but you actually need to think to be able to follow him, and find out what he is thinking or his state of mind. James Hadley Chase writes with so much ease that you also follow him and see yourself in his story. But on the contrary, you see Wole Soyinka in you. Both of them have made Nigeria proud though.

NGOZI EMEDOLIBE

nly a close encounter can unfold the creative depth of Osita Iheme, fondly called Paw Paw, following his character in a 2003 home video, Aki na Ukwa. The actor who hails from Mbaitolu in Imo State could be summarised as a ‘great being that arrived in a small package’. But it has never deterred him, because he was cut out for stardom from the onset. “I do not consider my size as a disadvantage. I do not even remember it when I am dealing with people, so I have a positive mental attitude towards everything I want to do. I knew I wanted to be great and something always told me I would be a great man. In those days, I had it at the back of my mind that I would be a great man”, he said. The search for greatness brought him to the movie industry in 2000 when the opportunity to face the camera came in a movie, Cold Blood, directed by Emma Ogugua, current acting National President of the Actors Guild of Nigeria, AGN. Though it made a crucial impact, it never landed him where he was aiming. It was a Herculean task but serendipity played a crucial role in launching him to stardom, when his paths crossed with Chinedu Ikedieze (Aki) in a low budget movie, Aki na Ukwa produced by Amayo Uzor Philips, one of the budding directors in Nollywood. It was a movie project no one believed in, nor cared to give a chance. Everyone involved in the project had something bigger he or she was pursuing. But when Aki na Ukwa saw the light of the day after dragging for many months, it became a hit, selling hundreds of thousands of copies. It changed the course of history for both the producers and the lead actors- Osita Iheme and Chinedu Ikedieze. They instantly became celebrities and roles started coming their way. “So many producers commissioned writers to do scripts with us in mind. Because of the success of that movie a lot of producers, with the plans to replicate what happened in that movie besieged us with movie roles”, he said. “It has continued till today”. And since then it has been a steady rise to the top for Iheme who was born in 1982, availing him one of the tightest schedules in the industry. However, in spite of the tight schedule which involves moving from one location to another, sometimes beyond the

Chidinma and Chidiebere

Iheme

IT IS A GOOD THING TO BE SO HONOURED BY

ONE’S PEOPLE;

I ASK

GOD TO GRANT ME THE ABILITY TO ALWAYS AFFECT MY SOCIETY borders of Africa, Osita has had to return to school for a degree in Mass Communication which he obtained from the Enugu State University. “Education is the foundation of everything; it is the pillar of success. That is why I made efforts to complete my degree in spite of the very tight schedule. It was not easy to combine, but I am happy I did”. Of course, he must have been spurred by his partner, Chinedu Ikedieze, who graduated from the Institute of Management Technology, Enugu. While their partnership blossoms, it has been subjected to several half-truths. But the basic fact is that the duo has an enduring screen relationship that metamorphosed into a business partnership. How have they sustained this? “When they want to refer to Aki in my house, they call him my brother. That is also the way they see me in his house. We got so close that we have a lot of things in common, including the Aki and Paw Paw Foundation, which was set up to take care of children. We were also living in the same apartment until he decided to get married”. How does he see the rumours which have trailed them over the years? “Well,

it is natural that when people do not have anything to say, they manufacture it. They said we were having a beef because the government gave him an award before me and that he married before me; all those things were fabricated. We are still as close as we have always been. And we still do a lot of things together”. His influence in the motion picture industry has not only earned him recognition all over the world but also a medal from the Federal Government of Nigeria, who in 2011 honoured him with Member of the Federal Republic, MFR. In 2007, he clinched the Special Life Achievement Award from the African Movie Academy Awards, AMAA. His kinsmen from Mbaitolu, however took another bold step on July 15, 2012, by bestowing a special recognition award on him while celebrating their cultural day at the Alvan Ikoku College of Education, Owerri, Imo State. Iheme was honoured for his contributions in human development in Mbaitolu Local Government Area in the area of an annual quiz competition for all secondary school students of Mbaitolu origin. Aptly known as Osita Iheme Quiz Competition for Secondary Schools, the theme was set as“Readers Are Leaders” and prizes included laptops, educational materials and cash rewards. Another programme is the scholarship awards which he offers brilliant students to study in universities of their choice. The award by Mbaitolu Students Union also confers patron status on the star actor. “It is a good thing to be so honoured by one’s people; I ask God to grant me the ability to always affect my society”.

What about the younger Nigerian authors? Yes, my wife is actually asking me to read Chimamanda Adichie’s books. She was at the University of Nigeria, my alma mater. My wife has a collection of her works and has been asking me to read and make some into movies. I promised her I would read all her works before the end of the year and check them out myself. Do you have budget for books? To be honest with you, I do not have. My wife does all that. She runs the house. If I make money, it goes to her and she buys. If you should write a book, what would be your theme? If I do not deal with horror, it would certainly be on the police. I like things that tend towards detective stuffs.

Arts Lounge

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

FAR AND NEAR

FG, South Korea signs cultural agreement ...as minister, Digitest fete children at culture night IJEOMA EZEIKE ABUJA

he Federal Government and the Republic of South Korea last Thursday signed a cultural and educational agreement that would help promote the economic development of both countries. The Minister of Culture, Tourism and National Orientation, Chief Edem Duke, while receiving the delegation at his Abuja office said signing the historic agreement was the culmination of a long-time partnership. “I believe this will enrich our friendship because as we aspire to translate culture as not only an enterprise but the foundation of the existence of our nations, today’s event will enrich us as stakeholders and members of committee of the two countries”, Duke stated. He described South Korea as a country that has redefined the position of culture in its national development and commended the country’s leaders for believing in the viability of collaboration between both countries. Responding, ambassador of the Republic of South Korea to Nigeria, Amb. Choi JongHyun said that the

official partnership will widen and strengthen bilateral ties between both nations. “I am pleased to represent my country in this very auspicious occasion; this agreement symbolises the strong ties between our two countries over the past two decades. I strongly believe that culture and art will provide a strong bedrock for stronger ties and partnership between Nigeria and South Korea”, Hyun said. He explained that the Korean Cultural Centre situated in Abuja is the first of its kind established in Nigeria by the South Korean government. It also happens to be the country’s only culture centre in the whole of Africa. It will be recalled that the cultural agreement between Nigeria and Republic of Korea was signed on the August 14, 1994 which led to several exchanges in arts and crafts exhibition and capacity building. Also in June 2010, the Korean Government sent another draft proposal agreement on cultural, educational and scientific cooperation between the two countries. The agreement has already been harmonised. Meanwhile, in a determined effort

to ensure the sustainability and revitalisation of Nigeria’s dress culture, the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation in collaboration with Digitest Nigeria, organised a ‘Cultural Nite’ last Saturday. At the event, children between the ages of eight and 18 were seen garbed in their traditional regalia. Duke said the event was aimed at attracting the young ones as well as exposing them to Nigeria’s culture. Duke revealed that the present administration was making efforts to ensure that Nigerians, especially the younger ones, value culture with a view of easy transition to the next generation. He enjoined the children to uphold the nation’s cultural heritage as well as explore their full potentials at their young age. Earlier, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry as well as the National Coordinator for Digitest, Mrs. Ibukun Odusote said the programme was aimed at developing the children along the lines of culture and communication. She however noted that the programme also focused on training the younger ones to be IT compliant in the present society.

Audio-visualists task government on archiving NGOZI EMEDOLIBE

he need for more attention by governments at all levels for audiovisual archiving and preservation has been highlighted in Nigeria. Rising from a one-day national conference on audiovisual archiving in Nigeria, held recently at the NICON Luxury Hotel in Abuja, participants discussed issues militating against the establishment, funding and promotion of audiovisual archiving in Nigeria and resolved that all hands should be on deck, along with appropriate legislations and funding, for the operations of audiovisual archiving in Nigeria to thrive, in line with global practices. The conference, organised by the National Film Video and Sound Archive, (NFVSA), established by the Nigerian Film Corporation, NFC, was intended to among others, create awareness on the need to preserve Nigeria’s audiovisual heritage, build the capacity of audiovisual archivists,

conservationists and curators. Formation of professional associations for archiving and preservation formed part of the objectives of the one-day conference with the theme: “Audiovisual Archiving in Nigeria – the Challenges and Prospects”. A communiqué capturing the issues germane to audiovisual archiving and preservation was issued at the end of the conference, which includes: That government should as a matter of urgency give speedy approval to the National Policy on Preservation and Conservation; that Government should make the NFVSA a legal depository for all audio-visual materials produced in Nigeria, about Nigeria and on Nigeria; that the NFVSA should be a National centre for the preservation of all audio-visual materials in Nigeria; that audiovisual archives and libraries in Nigeria should have written operational manual (policy) to guide its programmes and activities; all establishments that employ audio-visual archivists in Nigeria should as a matter of urgency

Afolabi Adesanya, MD, NFC

ensure that the archivists receive specialised training both within and outside Nigeria to equip them with the required knowledge and skills in film preservation, restoration, documentation and use; audio Visual archivists in Nigeria should form a National network of audio-visual archivists to enhance interrelationships and resource sharing. According to the Head of NFVSA, Mrs. Chinwe Oliwe, there is a renewed commitment of audiovisual professionals in Nigeria to address all issues inhibiting the effective policy takeoff. She assured that Nigeria’s audiovisual heritage (music, film, etc) would not be lost.

Essien-Nelson

Essien-Nelson out with new book TERH AGBEDEH

ola Essien-Nelson, a consistent blogger for the past three years has released a new book titled: The Diary of a Desperate Naija Woman in the Year 2011, her fourth book and her third in the diary series. It will be the last in the bestselling motivational series since the first edition was published in 2010. The new book is available at Terra Kulture and Laterna Bookshop, all based on Victoria Island in Lagos and also online. Since the writer posted her first blog in January 2009, the blog not only provides her with an outlet to air her heartfelt views but also an avenue to serve as a balm to troubled souls. Essien-Nelson draws from her everyday happy and not so happy experiences to produce pieces that encourage as well as share practical life tips to inspire her readers. At the end of the year in the last three years, the best of these pieces are compiled into a book. Readers will learn from the writer’s matterof-fact handling of issues in her home and environment. They will also deduce the love she has for writing and her desperation to be Christ-like in whatever situation. The pieces are at times funny, sometimes drawing tears and those who read between the lines will find a woman struggling to connect with her true Christian self. Born in Kano State, Essien-Nelson completed secondary school at Queens College in Lagos and graduated with first class honours in French from the University of Uyo (UNIUYO), Uyo, Akwa-Ibom State in 1987. The writer went on to obtain a master’s degree in French/English translation from the University of Ibadan (UI), Ibadan, Oyo State in 1990. Her first book in the diary series was titled: The Diary of a Desperate Naija Woman in the year two thousand and 9, The Diary of a Desperate Naija Woman in the Year 20-Ten was to follow and then this latest and last Diary.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

FG tasked on Okwaraji memorial

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Sport

Even as today’s match in Niamey is a friendly, I hope to give it my all as I have always done - SUPER EAGLES STRIKER, UCHE KALU

Homeless World Cup: Nigeria unveils team list A FOLABI G AMBARI

A Okon

Japan 2012: Okon axes four players A FOLABI GAMBARI

alconets Chief Coach, Edwin Okon, has dropped four players from the final squad of 21 for the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup which gets underway in Japan on Sunday. Spokesperson for the team, Ejiro Femi Babafemi, said goalkeeper Bidemi Aluko, defensive midfielder Prudent Ugo, forward Chisom Henry and midfielder Ugochi Okafor failed to make the list announced by the team’s technical crew few hours after its final training session in Namhae, Korea. “The team was moved to tears as the dropped players got their verdict,” Babafemi said. “However, each member of the technical crew summoned the courage to offer words of encouragement to the affected players,” he said. According to the spokesperson, Assistant Coach, Florence Omagbemi, also spoke to the affected players. “I know this is a very hard decision to take. I want to however appeal to you all that even though you won’t be in Japan please always put the team in prayers,” Babafemi quoted Omagbemi as saying. The team departed Korea for Japan yesterday while the axed players boarded the flight to Lagos.

fter three weeks of trials in Agege, Ikorodu and additional three-day trials at the Astro Turf 2000 Ikoyi, the Women’s team to represent Nigeria at the Mexico 2012 Homeless World Cup scheduled for October 6 to 14 at the Zocalo Square, Mexico City has been selected. Sarah Iloduba, Toyosi Alogba, Nimot Ahmad, Peace Ozehudu, Sudan Abidoye and Omolara Kolawole were picked from the three centres in Lagos for their skills, commitment and intelligence on the pitch and during the educational and interactive sessions. Regina Otu, Glory Henshaw, and Edikan Udoh, chosen from the implementation of the Community Connects for Youth Leadership football tournament held in Cross River State in December 2011, will join with the Lagos players for the World Cup. Organisers said yesterday that Rita Monday, Funmilola Adediran, Ololade Fadoyin and Damilola Omotosho from Lagos and Uduak Jimmy and Ruth Unwana from Calabar were placed on standby. Meanwhile, final preparation for the competition will resume on September 10 till the team departs Lagos for Mexico on October 1.

Super Eagles Coach Stephen Keshi, briefing the players after the team’s last training session in Niamey yesterday.

Niamey friendly: Maigari harps on Eagles’ win …Glo also urges squad AFOLABI GAMBARI

resident of Nigeria Federation (NFF), Alhaji Aminu Maigari, said an emphatic win by the Super Eagles over the Mena of Niger in today’s international friendly at the Stade Seyni Kountche in Niamey will help the confidence of the home boys ahead of the Afcon 2013 qualifying match against Lone Star of Liberia in Monrovia September. Spokesman for the federation, Ademola Olajire, told National Mirror yesterday that Maigari made the winning call from Saudi Arabia

Eagles to get ‘special boots’ for Monrovia IKENWA NNABUOGOR

he Super Eagles will appear in special boots on the artificial turf of the Monrovia stadium ahead of the September 9 African Nations Cup qualifier fixture against Liberia, National Mirror learnt yesterday. Arrangements have been concluded by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) with the kit sponsor, Adidas, to ship in special boots meant for the artificial turf. It was further learnt that Super Eagles coach Stephen Keshi was part of the NFF team that visited Adidas headquarters in

Germany for talks on the boots’ procurement ahead of the crucial match, sequel to Keshi’s concerns on how the foreign-base Eagles would struggle on the Monrovia turf. Interestingly, the national team will also be the first to get customised boots and kits from the kit sponsor. The Eagles’ foreign legion struggled to with the artificial pitch in Rwanda during a 2013 Nations Cup qualifier in February while the players from the Nigeria Premier League shone as they are used to playing on the surface at home. Keshi would, however, observe his overseas stars in training on the Abuja astro turf before herding them to Liberia.

where he is performing the lesser Hajj. “It is a friendly match, but the factors underlining the match means that our boys have to go all out as that will determine if some of them would get invitation to play against Liberia,” Maigari said. “I want the Eagles to know that the Menas are not pushover, considering that they were at the last Afcon finals in Gabon/Equatorial Guinea while Nigeria was absent,” the NFF boss added. Today’s encounter, scheduled to start at 3.30pm Nigerian time, is the fifth the Super Eagles would engage in this year after the goalless draw with Angola in Abuja on January 11. Meanwhile, telecommunication operator, Globacom, yesterday advised the Super Eagles to reinvent their legendary might by posting a win over the Menas. “It is important to go for victory in this encounter to help the team gain confidence ahead of the crucial African Cup of Nations qualifier against Liberia scheduled to hold in Monrovia in September,” a Globacom statement said in Lagos, adding that more friendly games were needed to put the national team in good shape. The Super Eagles are launching a double assault for qualification for both 2013 Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa and the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, a development that Globacom relishes in supporting the team as the official major partner of the Nigeria Football Federation and the official sponsor of the country’s national teams.

Sport

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Modric angers Stimac

roatia’s Head Coach, Igor Stimac, is disappointed that Luka Modric has not been playing for Tottenham Hostpurs this summer, but expects him to join Real Madrid before the transfer window closes. The unsettled playmaker has been the subject of intense transfer speculation, but as of yet no club have met Spurs’ asking price the club is demanding for his signature. Modric refused to travel to the United States for Spurs’ tour and has not been picked by new boss Andre Villas-Boas for any of the club’s other pre-season games since. “I don’t like the situation that he is in at all,” Stimac said yesterday. “But I feel confident he will end up signing for Madrid before the market shuts,” the coach added. Spurs already appears to be planning for life without Modric as Gylfi Sigurdsson was signed from Hoffenheim earlier this summer and the club has launched a bid to sign hardworking Rennes midfielder Yann M’Vila.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Tit bits...

Kakuta Chelsea’s bustling striker, Gael Kakuta, admits he must leave Stamford Bridge for the sake of his career. The player has said for the umpteenth time that he wants to leave Chelsea with Marseille keen to sign him. “My decision is final. This is an important time in my career. It’s better for me to leave the club and find one where I could play more matches. I need to play,” he said.

Sahin

Liverpool is battling Arsenal for Real Madrid midfielder Nuri Sahin. According to various reports yesterday, Liverpool will rival the Gunners for the unsettled Madrid player. The Reds are looking to capitalize on manager Brendan Rodgers’ good relationship with former Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho to swing the deal in their favour.

Henriquez

Kompany wants RVP company Robin van Persie

anchester City captain, Vincent Kompany, believes the signing of Arsenal forward Robin van Persie would strengthen the Eastlands club. The Premier League champions have been heavily linked with a move for the 29-year-old Holland international but face stiff competition from rivals Manchester United. Van Persie scored 30 league goals last season and Kompany acknowledges that, wherever the player ends up, he would be a welcome addition to the team. “It’s very easy to say you want to play next to Robin van Persie,” Kompany said yesterday. “Robin is a great player and has proved it so many times last season and any team he would play for he’d make it stronger.” Meanwhile, reports yesterday said that Arsenal was on the brink of selling its want-away star to Manchester United with both clubs ready to start serious talks with United boss Alex Ferguson hoping to seal a £22million move before the weekend’s Premier League opener.

But United and Italian side Juventus have yet to improve offers of £15m. Van Persie, 29, was jeered by his own fans in Sunday’s win over Cologne in Germany and is now desperate for a move to be completed. Modric

Friendly: Walcott in Lions’ withdrawal

ngland winger, Theo Walcott, has pulled out of the country’s squad for today’s friendly with Italy in Berne. The Arsenal star is suffering from a bruised thigh and has been withdrawn as a precautionary measure. Walcott was used as an impact substitute during this summer’s European Championship, coming off the bench to score against Sweden in the group stages. The 23-year-old may have been in line for a start given the absence of several senior figures in Roy Hodgson’s experimental squad ahead of next month’s World Cup qualifier in Moldova. But Walcott will rejoin his club team-mates with a view to getting fit in time for the Premier League opener against Sunderland at the Walcott Emirates Stadium on Saturday.

Manchester United may sign Chilean whizkid Angelo Henriquez this week. Reports claimed yesterday that Henriquez has remained in Europe following his U-20 international commitments for a medical with United. The Reds’ interest in the Universidad de Chile striker is well documented and, after his exploits at the Milk Cup, it’s claimed the youngster could move a step closer to moving to England.

Cleverley

Manchester United midfielder, Tom Cleverley, found his Olympics campaign inspirational. Cleverley was part of the Team GB squad which reached the quarterfinals. “The way sport was showcased in the Olympics was an example for everyone in every sport; the sportsmanship, the respect we had for everyone,” the 23-year-old midfielder said. “It was unbelievable, something I look back on, even now, as being just amazing. I got to speak to other athletes from different sports.

Niang Everton has invited Caen striker M’Baye Niang for trials. The 17-yearold will spend a few days at the club’s Finch Farm training base while David Moyes ponders a bid. Arsenal has already had an offer of £5m rejected by the relegated French side, while AC Milan was confident earlier this week of securing a loan deal for the season.

The Sam Okwaraji’s bust outside

FG tasked IFEANYI EDUZOR

resident of the Lagos State Town Develop Evangelist Tony Ohak the Federal Government to geria international, Sam O the National Stadium Surule Ohakwe, who made this nual Sam Okwaraji Memor ceremony organised by the gos to honour Imo indigen their endeavours, said the g would motivate other athle the country. Sam Okwaraji, collapse playing for Nigeria in a W against Angola at the Natio gust 12, 1989.

Cricket: Ind IFEANYI EDUZOR

xecutive Committee dian Cricket Federat upgrade the sport in the Nigeria Cricket Federa roots programmes. ICF spokesman in Nige told National Mirror yester edition of the Lagos cricket was organised to get the bes for the Lagos Asians Cricke Cricket Club before the Nige commneced. “To have two Indian clubs is a huge advantage,” Sha mending the NCF’s gesture and as well as enabling the to use the cricket oval for tr tivities. “The NCF is doing very w velopmental programme,” h “ This second edition of ball competition was orga cricketers that perform we gos Asian cricket club and R in the coming season of th mittee league and other leag He stressed that the comp

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

FOLABI

“Aside from the Lagos State government that erected Okwaraji’s statue at the entrance of the stadium in 2008, no other government has deemed it necessary to honour him,” the association boss stated. Chairman of the occasion, Dr. M.I. Okoro, expressed regrets that successive Nigerian governments had not adequately compensated Okwaraji family’s since the death of the late national hero. “It is unfortunate that 25 years after the death of this illustrious son of the country who died serving his fatherland, no effort has been made by the Federal Government to mark his remembrance,” Okoro said. Highlights of the ceremony include the award of excellence to former national sports stars Henry Nwosu, Chioma Ajunwa, Tina Iheagwam, Emmanuel Amuneke and Stella Mbachu.

dia, Nigeria sign pact

members of the Intion have pledged to n collaboration with ation through grass-

eria, Jaydeep Shan, rday that the second softball competition st that could feature et Club and Redbull erian Cricket league

all cricket lovers together irrespective of their nationality, adding that teams taking part in the competition were from different areas of Lagos State. “We feel it is too early for the Indian community to establish another cricket club in the country because they want the two existing ones to be a force to be reckoned with in the country’s cricket leagues,” Shan said. “If there is a possibility, we will form another team which can represent their community right from the second division.”

s in Nigerian league an said while comtowards their clubs e Indian community aining and other ac-

well in terms of dehe further said. f Lagos cricket softanized to get some ell to feature for LaRedbull cricket club he Club cricket comgues next season. petition would bring

AMBARI

IFEANYI E DUZOR

d on Okwaraji memorial

ed and died while World Cup qualifiers onal Stadium on Au-

Lagos mobilises for Fed Cup 2012 B’ball: Ujiri pledges development A G

e the National Stadium, Lagos is the only monument to his supreme sacrifice

State branch of Imo pment Association, kwe, has appealed to immortalise late Nikwaraji, by naming ere, Lagos after him. s call at the 1st Anrial Lecture/Award e association in Lanes who excelled in government gesture etes to sacrifice for

Sport

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Sport Minister, Bolaji Abdullahi

bout 5,000 students from across many schools in Lagos will mobilized to watch this year’s final of the Federation Cup scheduled for the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos on August 26. Secretary of the Local Organising Committee (LOC) for the final, Oluyomi Oluwasanmi, told National Mirror in Lagos yesterday plans had already been finalized for the task, adding the students had looked forward to the event. “We want to ensure that this year’s Federation Cup final is glamorous with a mixture of sports and entertainment,” Oluwasanmi said. “We also want to work with chairmen of the 57 Local Councils and LCDAs in the state so that the stadium can be filled up and the glamour associated with the competition can be restored,” the LOC boss added. “Some legends of the com-

Jonathan

G Gov. Fashola

petition would also be honoured during the final and an electrifying atmosphere will be guaranteed.” Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola, recently donated a new silver trophy to the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) in his effort to help the competition to regain what he called its lost glory. Some top artistes are expected to thrill fans during the final while fans would also enjoy free raffle tickets to see the encounter. The Federation Cup is the oldest competition in Nigeria and has produced great players for the country.

eneral Manager of Denver Nugget Basketball Club, Masai Ujiri, has expressed optimism that the ongoing Top 50 basketball camp will be sustained even as he announced that about 120 Nigerian youths have secured scholarship in American Universities through the camp since inception in 2004. The week-long camp, which dunked off at the Indoor Sports Hall of the National Stadium, Lagos on Monday was organized by Nestle Foods in conjunction with coaches from the NBA, to enable youths from across different states of the federation to learn the basic principles of basketball. “The camp has helped to impact basic basketball skills to the youths while also enabling them to work as a group to achieve broader goals as well as have meaningful means of livelihood in future,” Ujiri said. The Nuggets boss, who was a former national team player, noted that concerted effort was needed to the sport forward in tune with the status of other nations at the moment. “Nigeria boasts of talented players but the game is retrogressing because the right people are not managing it,” Ujiri observed. “It is important that professionals are allowed to manage the game as is done in other parts of the world as that is the only way to improve the game.” According to the NBA developmental coach, players who represented Nigeria at the London 2012 Olympics must be encouraged to participate in African championships to ensure the country’s dominance of the game in Africa.

Sambo

Bayelsa set for Goodluck/Sambo Cup A FOLABI G AMBARI

he Bayelsa State government has reiterated its plan to stage a memorable Goodluck/Sambo Peace Cup as the competition enters its second year. The annual football competition, which will have male and female U-18 footballers jostling for honours at the Samson Siasia Sports Complex Yenagoa from September 1 to 7, is organized by Sports Friends of Goodluck/Sambo (SFOGS). Organiszing Committee’s Director of Publicity, Comrade Franklyn Igho, said the event was packaged to engage the youths in Yenagoa and environs in positive pursuit of excellence on the football pitch. “We have designed this

competition with the intent of appreciating the contributions of our youths to the stability of democracy in the country through football,” he said yesterday. “We also aim to promote peace and unity among the participants as well as help to identify football talent for the future,” he added. Igho disclosed the organizers’ plan to accommodate competitors from all the country’s geo-political zones in subsequent editions. Among the dignitaries expected at the opening ceremony are the Senate President, David Mark; Minister for Niger-Delta, Sir Godsday Orubebe; elder statesman, Chief Edwin Clark; and Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson who will be the Chief Host.

Ujiri

Sport

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Nigeria Premier Nig League

Cricket

with

IIKENWA NNABUOGOR ikenwa.nnabuogor@gmail.com

Defiant Sharks embark on strike

Champions League: Sunshine set for ‘Aso Storm’

AF Champions League contenders Sunshine Stars will depart Lagos this morning to Algeria ahead of their group’s tie against ASO Chlef on Friday. The team which had been camping in Lagos since last week, made up of 18 players and seven officials, was joined yesterday by Super Eagles players – Azuka Izu and defender Godfrey Oboabana, who had been training with the Eagles in Abuja. Both players were permitted to join their mates at Sunshine to help out with their crucial CAF Champions League date in Algeria on Friday. Sunshine Stars claimed a much deserved 2-0 victory in the reverse fixture a fortnight ago at Dipo Dina Stadium, Ijebu Ode. Sunshine Stars are currently second on the log with four points behind

run away log leaders with nine points and a point in Algeria will only brighten their chances to advance to the semis. Izu, who netted the team’s second goal in the reverse fixtures, is confident that his side will prevail over the Algerians who he described as a team playing for pride. “ASO Chlef are just playing for pride and I don’t see them stopping us from reaching our target, which is getting at least a draw. “They’ve got nothing to play for as it seems they are mathematically out of the race. Our main target is to get to the semi-finals and I don’t see them stopping us. “I know the mentality of the Algerians having played there for two years with JS Kabylie and nothing short of a draw will be good for us.”

Izu Azuka

Segun Atere

Atere in transfer limbo K wara United striker Segun Atere has got his transfer to an unnamed Egyptian second division club scuppered due to paperwork issues, National Mirror can exclusively report. Competent sources whispered to National Mirror that the lanky former 3SC star is holed up in Ilorin due to his inability to get his clearance papers from Kwara United to begin his contract at the Egyptian side. Atere had travelled to Egypt soon after Kwara United were dumped out of the Federation Cup group stage and penned a six-month contract with the conviction that his international transfer certificate would be sent to the club immediately. The former KAA Ghent of Belgium star, the source revealed, had told the Egyptian club that he was in the possession of his clearance papers which made the signing of the contract easy

Egyptian authorities turn ex-Ocean Boys star back

ormer Academy star Yemi Olanrewaju, has had his chance at some top Egyptian clubs end abruptly following the refusal of the youngster’s entry into the Land of Pharoahs at the Cairo International airport by Egyptian immigration authorities for not possessing yellow card certificate. Olanraweju, who returned to Lagos last week, had been invited for two week’s trial with some top Egyptian clubs includ-

ing Zamalek but was forced to return home without kicking a ball. The 19-year old former Ocean Boys midfielder’s pleas to allow him entry despite presenting them with his official invitation by the top club fell on deaf ears as he was asked to board the next available flight back to Lagos. The agent that brokered the deal quickly showed up in the airport to stand for his player but the authorities refused all

entreaties forcing the player to return home. “My matter was made worse by tales of some Nigerian players who entered Egypt illegally,” Olanrewaju lamented. “The immigration officials educated me on the importance of the yellow card vaccine certificate, maintaining that Egypt as a nation does not joke with it. “There was nothing I could do about it. I was so disappointed because the clubs were so eager to see me on trials.

with the conviction that his transfer would be hitch-free. Atere was said have pocketed part payment of the deal including added bonuses should he help the team win promotion to the top flight. But the striker got the rudest shock of his life when his club said they were not aware of his transfer moves, adding that they were not officially informed by the club and refused to send his clearance papers.

layers of Nigeria Premier League (NPL) club, Sharks have embarked on a strike with just over 24 hours to their league game against Wikki Tourists in Port Harcourt. Coaches of the club arrived at the Sharks Stadium on Tuesday ahead of the day’s morning training session only to be told that the players have decided not to train. “We are owed so much money. No member of the club has received a single match bonus. We are also owed 100 percent of our signing-on fees this season,” an angry player of the club, who pleaded anonymity, told SuperSport.com on Tuesday. Club secretary, Cyril Dum Wite denied knowledge of the strike while efforts to reach the Rivers State Sports Commissioner, Fred Mbombo Igwe, proved abortive. Head coach of Sharks, Imama Amapakabo however confirmed that the players had indeed refused to train on Tuesday. “I have done my job and my team list for the game is out. We have appealed to the boys as we prepare for the game against Wikki (Tourists on Wednesday),” Amapakabo said. Sharks are currently in 8th place on the NPL standings with 52 points from 35 matches.

NPL Table Pos Team

Pts

Lobi Stars

Enugu Rangers

Sunshine Stars

Kano Pillars

Enyimba

3SC

Akwa United

Sharks

-1

Dolphins

Gombe United

-4

Kwara United

-7

Heartland

Warri Wolves

Wikki Tourists

-11

Jigawa

-14

ABS FC

Kaduna United

-6

Niger Tornadoes

-8

Rising Stars

-11

Ocean Boys

-23

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business & Finance We’re satisfied with the level of IFRS implementation so far

If we can grow economy every year, our debt to GDP ratio can drop to less than 10 per cent even if we are still borrowing, because it means you have more capacity to carry that debt very comfortably

President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Doyin Owolabi

DIRECTOR-GENERAL, DEBT MANAGEMENT OFFICE, DR. ABRAHAM NWANKWO

42-43

PIB not likely to be passed this year – Senator UDEME AKPAN

he Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) may not be passed into law this year as previously anticipated as legislators have indicated that they would require considerable time to consider all the clauses especially those considered to have conferred too many powers on the Minister of Petroleum. The legislators are presently on vacation .which would end in September, this year. Confirming the development, the chairman of one of the key Senate committees, who preferred not to be named said lawmakers should not be blamed for any delays in the passage of the bill as it was sent to the National Assembly at the time the legislators were about going on

recess. He said, “The bill came to us at the period we were set to embark on vacation. That explains why nothing has been done on the PIB. In fact, the bill has not been formally laid at the floor of the House.” The senator said the

new PIB would be introduced to the lawmakers when they return from their vacation. He said, “The two Houses – Senate and the House of Representatives would take a closer look at the bill. We would like to start all over again on the PIB, meaning that it

may take some time to pass it into law.” He said the PIB is of high national interest which demands serious scrutiny to ensuring that it is passed in a form that would be acceptable to all stakeholders as well as enable the government to

accomplish set objectives in the petroleum industry.” The House of Representatives spokesman, Zakari Mohammed had said; “We will not be subjected to pressure to pass the PIB. It will not get a speedy passage but a thorough passage.”

he Central Bank of Nigeria has warned banks to desist from collecting cash and lodgement from petrol stations, supermarkets and other merchant customers as

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Aero Contractors

L-R: Representative of Dizengoff W.A Nigeria Ltd, Mr. Damisa Enahoro; General Manager, AgroService Corporation, Mr. G.T Lawal; Permanent Secretary, Ogun State Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. Ayodele Koleade and Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr. Ayo Olubori, during the signing of contract agreement for the procurement of agric equipment yesterday.

CBN warns banks against cash collection at supermarkets, petrol stations ADEDEJI ADEMIGBUJI

FLIGHT SCHEDULE

it contravened the Financial Industry Policy on Retail Cash Collections and Lodgements. CBN in a circular yesterday said some banks have been reported for offering cash collection and movement services for supermarkets and petrol stations. This warning came after the CBN sent a draft copy of a whistle-blowing procedure to banks and other financial in-

High fuel price forces Delta to suspend Abuja flights

stitution which asked banks staffs to reportsany illegal practices within the banking sectors to either internal or external whistle-blowing mechanism. The CBN directed all supermarkets; petrol stations and other merchant customers to engage the services of CBN licensed Cash-In-Transit companies to aid cash movement to and from their banks at a mutually

agreed terms and conditions. “Bank will cease cashin-transit lodgement services to merchant customers. In this regard, customers should engage the services of CBN licensed Cash-InTransit (CIS) companies to companies to aid cash movement to and from their banks at a mutually agreed terms and conditions,” CBN said. It stated further that,

NLC wants overhaul of budget processes

“Contravention of this policy shall attract a fine of N1.0m per specie movement.” The apex bank also accused some banks of allowing their customers to withdraw and deposit cash above the CBN free limits without charging the processing fees. The apex bank, however, threatened to sanction any bank that contravenes the retail cash policy with a fine of N1m.

Los-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) Los-Ben: 07:45, 11:00, 15:30, (Mon-Fri/Sat/ Sun) 12:30 (Sun) 15:30 (Mon-Fri/Sat/Sun) Ben-Los: 09:15, 12:30, 17:00 (Mon-Fri/ Sat/Sun) 17:00 (Sat), 14:00 (Sun) EXCHANGE RATES WAUA

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OIL / GAS FUTURES ICE BRENT

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How high oil prices encourage pipeline vandalism

Business Finance

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

High fuel price forces Delta to suspend Abuja flights OLUSEGUN KOIKI

ne of the two United States airlines flying into Nigeria, Delta Air Lines is suspending its flight operations to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja from the 27th August, 2012. A source close to the airline confided in our correspondent yesterday that the suspension of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport (NAIA), Abuja flight may not be unconnected with the skyrocketing price of Jet A1 otherwise known as aviation fuel. Also, our correspondent gathered that the fluctuating passenger traffic in Abuja was also responsible for the suspension of the flight to the airport by the airline management. National Mirror gathered that the last eastbound service of the airline would be on 27 August, 2012 while last westbound service would be on 28 August, 2012. However, the source said that the airline would continue to operate a daily nonstop service from Lagos to Atlanta, adding that any passenger who requested for a refund would be obliged by the airline. For those who had booked beyond the suspension date, the air-

L-R: Representative of Sub-Saharan Africa Transport Programme, Mr. Per Mathiasen; Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Commission, Mr. Osita Chidoka and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Sen. Pius Anyim, during Mathiasen’s fact finding visit to Nigeria on road safety, yesterday.

line said that, “Passengers and cargo shippers impacted by the change will be given the option of being re-accommodated on Delta’s nonstop service from Lagos to the United States or on flights operated by Delta’s joint venture partner Air France who operate daily service between Abuja and the U.S. via Paris CDG.” Confirming the suspension of the Abuja flight operations of

the airline, the media consultant, Delta in Nigeria, Topcomm, Mr. Tope Ogbeni-Awe in a statement stated that “Due to persistently high jet fuel prices and fluctuations in passenger demand, Delta is suspending its service between Abuja, Nigeria and New York JFK. “The last eastbound service will be 27 August 2012 and last westbound service will be 28 Au-

gust 2012. Delta will continue to operate a daily nonstop service from Lagos to Atlanta.” Delta for about two years running has been operating direct flight operations to New York JFK from Abuja while it commenced the Lagos-Atlanta flight operations in December 2006. It will be recalled that the skyrocketing price of Jet A1 has become a major issue among air-

line operators in the domestic scene in the past 24 months. Just recently, the General Secretary of Airline Operators of Nigeria (AON), Capt. Mohammed Joji disclosed that the price of Jet A1 has increased by 62, 000 per cent in the country in the last two decades. According to Joji, a litre of aviation fuel in the 90s was 31k, but is today N170 and N190 per litre depending on the litres and the airport an airline is buying from. He decried that the skyrocketed increased of 62,000 per cent was the highest anywhere in the world and described the situation as disgusting and unacceptable to the operators. He said, “There is nowhere in the world that the percentage of aviation fuel has increased to that level in the spate of two decades. This can only happen in Nigeria and no one is blinking an eye. This situation is not helping the Nigerian airline operators to grow. The government is not assisting us and this is quite most unfortunate.” He posited that despite the massive increase in the price of the product per litre, the operators had not increased the airfares by 62,000 per cent, maintaining that if they do, the volume of passengers patronising air transport in the country would reduce.

Growth in mining, quarrying sector Nigeria, South Korea trade volume hits N310bn has slowed –UNIDO report K A STANLEY IHEDIGBO

rowth in global production from activities relating to mining and quarrying - a sector that includes the mining of coal and the extraction of crude petroleum and natural gas – has slowed down, according to a report released by the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO), yesterday. World Statistics on Mining and Utilities 2012 shows that the total world production of the mining and utility sectors slowed to a growth rate of 1.9 per cent per annum between 2005 and 2010, compared to an average annual growth of 2.7 per cent between 2000 and 2005. In industrialised countries, output from these sectors rose at the marginal rate of 0.3 per cent per annum between 2005 and 2010, compared to 0.8 per cent over the previous five years. In developing countries, growth slowed to 3.6 per cent per annum between 2005 and 2010, compared to an average annual growth of 5.0 per cent between 2000 and 2005. Mining and quarrying produce goods through the extraction of minerals, such as coal and iron ore, petroleum and natural gas, as well as through the quarrying of stone, sand and other materi-

als. Utilities are products, such as electric power, natural gas and water, which are supplied to consumers via permanent infrastructure, such as lines and pipes. The mining and utilities sectors are classified as industrial activities according to United Nations recommendations for industrial statistics. UNIDO’s World Statistics on Mining and Utilities 2012 shows that while the utilities sector continued to grow at a healthy rate thanks to an increased demand for electricity and water supplies, mining activities have only shown a modest growth rate. However, in contrast to the overall slow pace of mining activities globally, a rapid growth in mineral products was observed in a number of countries belonging to the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS. Mining and quarrying are also playing a dominant role in the natural resource-based economies of Africa. In Angola, Equatorial Guinea and the Republic of the Congo, its share of GDP is more than 50 per cent. Conversely, in many traditionally oil-producing Gulf countries, the mining sector’s share of GDP is decreasing, as a result of effectively implemented industrial diversification policies.

UNLE

ZEEZ

olume of bilateral trade between Nigeria and South Korea has reached and surpassed $2bn (about N310bn) since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1980. This was disclosed by the Nigeria’s Ambassador to South Korea, Mr. Desmond Akawor, during a symposium on New Flows of Foreign Directive Investment from Republic of South Korea organised in Lagos yesterday. The event was put together by the Nigerian Institute of Inter-

national Affairs, in collaboration with Random Dynamic Resources Limited, publishers of Research Intelligence Magazine, to commemorate the 67th Independence Anniversary of the Republic of Korea. Delivering a speech at the forum, Akawor said, though the volume of trade between the two countries has recently hit $2bn, the trade volume was far below expectation, noting that there were huge opportunities that Nigeria can tap into to boost Foreign Direct Investment from South Korea. He said, “The new major areas of FDI from Korea where we can leverage the opportunities to

building our economy are in the areas of power; shipyard building such as the Ibaka Deep Seaport, Brass LNG/Shipyard and Koo Oil& Gas Complex; agriculture; iron and steel development; security; construction industry; oil and gas; refinery and PetroChemical industry, Diaspora fund remittance,” among others. Akawor, who argued that Nigeria has a lot to gain by ensuring and sustaining congenial working relations with Korea, also recommended a number of measures that needed to be taken by Nigeria’ government to unleash the huge potential in the bilateral tries.

Price of beans rises by over 100% STANLEY IHEDIGBO

rice of beans, an important source of protein in Nigeria, has risen by over 100 per cent in Lagos. The soaring price, according to traders who spoke to National Mirror in markets across the city, is due to the insecurity challenges in the northern region, where most of the food products come from. At Oshodi, some traders said that they could not sell below their regular profit margins, as

the food item had been purchased at higher rates from their suppliers from the North who managed to bring the products in Lagos. A milk cup and another measure of beans called olodo, which was initially sold for N20 and N100 respectively, now sells for between N40 and N200, while a bag that sold for N8,000, now sells for between N13,000 and N15,000. A trader, Samuel Okafor, said, “It is too expensive, we don’t make enough gain when these items are too expensive because the customers will be complaining”.

For Mrs. Adijat Isiaka, who sells beans at Ikotun Market, said that the price will likely goes up , because all the big traders that travels to the northern region to buy in huge quality have refused to travel to buy bags beans as usual. One of the buyers, a primary school teacher, Mrs. Ugochi Ojii, lamented the increase in price while adding that the food item is the only affordable protein food the poor people in country have access to in order to balance their diet.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Business & Finance

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

NLC wants overhaul of budget processes MESHACK IDEHEN

he President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Mr Abdulwaheed Omar, said the congress is calling on the Federal Government to immediately commence the process of overhauling the entire budget process in the country. In the same vein, the NLC said the government criminalise wilful budget offences through the amendment of the Appropriation Act. Speaking through a statement that was made available to journalists on Tuesday, the NLC President described the current face-off between the National Assembly and the executive arm of government on the implementation of the budget as healthy for democracy, adding the development would bring about adequate checks and balances in the system. According to Omar, a perform-

ing budget was necessary for the growth of any economy, while also charging the National Assembly to continue to perform its lawmaking and oversight functions as prescribed by the constitution, saying though that this should not be tainted by partisan politics especially when national interest is at stake. He condemned the rising incidence of corruption in government and government’s ambivalence towards it, warning that this is capable of destroying the nation, saying government should demonstrate the necessary will and skill to combat corruption in all its ramifications. Specifically, the NLC president wants the government to use the pending cases of Halliburton, Siemens, pension fund, and oil subsidy fraud among others, to prove it is committed towards combating the scourge. On the crude oil theft in the

Niger Delta, Omar called on government take necessary action to stop the heinous crime warning that should government fail to act within a reasonable time, it will mobilise its members to stop oil production. “The congress acknowledges that illicit activities in the form of occasional illegal bunkering and pipeline vandalism have been familiar features of oil production in the Niger-Delta, but wishes to reiterate that the same cannot be said to be the situation at the moment as nearly 50 per cent of Nigeria’s crude is stolen by the high and the mighty. “The congress is outraged by this heinous crime and calls on President Goodluck Jonathan to speedily take the necessary action(s) to stop this show ofshame. The congress warns that in the event the President fails to act within a reasonable time, it will take all the steps necessary, including mobilising its members to stop oil production,” he said.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Etisalat targets 13 million subscribers with mobile ad KUNLE A ZEEZ

tisalat Nigeria, the country’s fourth largest telecoms has introduced a permission and preferencebased mobile advertising service, in collaboration with Alcatel-Lucent targeted at the over 13 million active subscribers on the telecoms company’s network. The company is to deploy Alcatel-Lucent’s Optism, the software-based mobile marketing solution which allows subscribers to share their interests and preferences with their mobile operator and ‘opt-in’ to receive personalised, relevant advertising and special offers on their mobile phones from their favourite brands. On behalf of Etisalat Nigeria, Alcatel-Lucent has created a local ecosystem made up of key players in the advertising

Tantalizers rewards customers with easy win promotion STANLEY IHEDIGBO

Head of Retail Oando Plc, Mrs. Williams Olaposi Ajoke (right) and Princess Teju Olateru-Olagbegi of Adetom Visions Limited, during the launch of ‘the O-Gas at your doorstep’ initiative with 24 tricycles given to distributors in Lagos, yesterday.

Rockefeller Foundation pledges support for Nigeria’s agric agenda TOLA AKINMUTIMI ABUJA

he Rockefeller Foundation, one of the world’s foremost philanthropic organisations committed to grassroots socio-economic development, particularly in developing countries, has endorsed the ongoing Agricultural Transformation Agenda of the Federal Government. It also pledged its readiness to partner the country in ensuring that the objectives of the agricultural value-chain programmes are achieved. The President of the Foundation, Dr. Judith Rodin, who made the pledge yesterday during her courtesy visit to the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, described the current initiatives of the government to develop the agricultural sector as a desirable option for achieving improved food sufficiency, job creation and open opportunities for Nigeria to

become a leading food exporting countries in the world. Describing the current agenda as key to opening the country to development opportunities from the global environment, Rodin described the seed and fertiliser components of the cassava, rice, cocoa, sorghum agricultural value chains as well as bringing in the private sector in playing pivotal roles in the ATA as desirable for improving and sustaining productivity. She explained: “The cornerstone of providing economic opportunity, this is not only about reducing hunger, this is not only about food security, but is really the baseline of what it takes to promote economic opportunities for individual people and therefore growth for a country and recognition that the country is a place of opportunities. “I think the agricultural innovation that we have seen under this minister is a really extraordinary. He is reining the same ideas

that he created for us at Rockefeller Foundation and through the Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa to Nigeria, creating the understanding that one must develop the entire value chain, one must bring seed and fertiliser of high quality to small holder farmers, one must focus on water management and soil fertility. “But those alone are not sufficient without also focusing on output markets and focusing on kinds of the government policies that are necessary and importantly, focusing on how to bring the private sector”. She restated the foundation’s commitment to support the country in the development programmes under the ATA, adding that the medium and long term vision of the Foundation is to sustain its support to Nigeria and other African countries in their efforts targeted at poverty alleviation crystallise their agricultural revolution programmes.

value chain while positioning Etisalat Nigeria as the enabler of interactive dialogues with a large group of mobile phone users with very detailed consumer profiles. Because Optism is a fully hosted, full-service solution, it provides a fast, efficient go-tomarket with a low cost of entry. Speaking at the launch of the launch of the service christened EazyAdz in Lagos yesterday, the Chief Commercial Officer of Etisalat Nigeria, Mr. Wale Ammar, said Optism would empowering the telecoms company to achieve a number of exciting and important objectives. He said, “First, we are bringing the power permission-based mobile advertising to the Nigerian market with our EazyAdz service. For our subscribers, this is a service that is respectful of their choices as well as being enjoyable and engaging.

s a way of identifying with its teeming customers, Tantalizers, Nigeria’s foremost Quick Service Restaurant, Rewards customers with its 2012 National Promotion tagged, Easy Win Promo. According to the Executive Director, Marketing/Franchise, Mr. Olumide Ale, this year’s promotion which runs from July through the month of September is one of Tantalizers’ way of showing appreciation to its loyal Customers while, also tying it in with its philosophy of passionately keeping the promise of ‘every bite, a promise kept’. This is reflected in the sea-

son relevance gifts on offer across the nation. The promo modalities would ensure that a lot of customers win these items. Ale revealed that the winning would be instantaneous with gifts such as Umbrellas, Family slice bread and hot tea/ coffee. From a minimum purchase of N1,200 and above customers get a free cup of tea while purchases of N2,500 and above entitles customers to a free family sliced bread and with a purchase of N4,00 and above customers gets a branded umbrella. He stated that it is the belief of Tantalizers thatthe promo will re-emphasize the brand’s passion towards ensuring total customer delight.

Opeke, Elegbe, others get business leadership awards KUNLE A ZEEZ

he Chief Executive Officer, Main One, Ms. Funke Opeke and the Managing Director, Interswitch, Mr. Mitchell Elegbe have been honoured with West Africa Business Woman of the Year award and West Africa Business Leader of the Year in the 2012 All Africa Business Leaders Awards, AABLA for West Africa region. The AABLA, an initiative of CNBC Africa serves as a platform to discover business leaders that are creating a culture of entrepreneurship, developing best practices and carving powerful and sustainable business models in the Nigerian and global economy. According to the organisers, to emerge winner in the West Africa

Business Leader of the Year category, the candidate would have exemplified qualities such as outstanding leadership in business, achieved positive financial results, increased shareholder value, provided sound management, proven corporate governance, demonstrated innovation, demonstrated best business practices and accountability, integrity and vision. Other winners and categories were the Managing Director of Nestoil, Mr. Ernest Nnaemeka Azudialu, who won the West Africa Entrepreneur of the Year; former Managing Director of GTBank, Mr. Tayo Adenirokun who was bestowed with the Lifetime Achievement Award while the West Africa Young Business Leader of the Year was won by Mr. Elikem Nutifafa Kuenyehia of Oxford & Beaumont.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Energy Week

udemea@rocketmail.com 07031546994

Vandalised pipeline

How high oil prices encourage pipeline vandalism The Federal Government and others have made efforts to tackle pipeline vandalism without much success. UDEME AKPAN reports that the development, fuelled by high prices of crude oil and petroleum products has impacted negatively on the industry and economy of the nation.

ipelines occupy prime place in pepe troleum operations. For instance, exploration and producing companies depend on pipelines to move crude oil from producing fields to export terminals. The pipelines are also utilised to move crude to refineries for processing as well as convey refined products from the plants to depots. Despite their importance, investigations showed that most pipelines are in very bad conditions as a result of constant vandalism. In other words, it has become impossible to move crude oil and refined products from one part of the nation to another because of constant attack. The incidence seems to have reached an alarming proportion following the present relative high prices of both crude oil and petroleum products in the global market. Investigations showed that many operators are worried about the trend, particularly because of implications on the industry and economy of the nation. The incidences have impacted negatively on the nation, especially in terms of cost. As at last year, the cost of vandalism and oil theft was put at over $12 billion (N1.87 trillion). The Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, who made

THE POLICE ACTED ON AN INTELLIGENCE REPORT THAT A MAJOR SYNDICATE HAD BEEN LIFTING SEVERAL TANKERS FROM THE BUSH this known at a stakeholders meeting on the rising insecurity in the sector in Lagos explained that $5 billion was spent in the last one year on pipeline repairs, while the amount lost to crude theft was valued at $7 billion. The minister remarked that the meeting was convened in order to strengthen partnership with leadership of security agencies in curbing the problem. As she puts it, “In the last six months the level of oil theft in the country is become alarming and has necessitated the need for this round table with all stakeholders. It will be very productive if we open up discussion to provide solution on the situation we have found ourselves.” Alison-Madueke said that the meeting would evolve a short, medium and long term solutions to tackle the issue as oil theft was taking its toll on the economy of the nation. She thanked the service chiefs for the support and expressed optimism that the problem would finally be addressed with their support.

However, security agencies have not been folding arms. A few days ago, the police arrested five suspects who specialise on the trade in Ogun and Oyo states. During the arrest, five tankers loaded with petrol were seized from the vandals. One of them known as Ismaila Sulaiman confessed on interrogation that some wealthy Nigerians are behind their illegal operations. Exposing their operations, Suleiman is said to have disclosed that they usually use some instrument to drill holes on pipeline before siphoning products into tankers. As he puts it, “It is a very big business sponsored by rich Nigerians. We load more than 10 tankers before we relocate to another spot for fear that law enforcement agents might trace us. I do not know how they got wind of this deal because we normally have a strong security arrangement.” Confirming the arrest, the Assistant Commissioner of Police, Friday Ibadin,

who heads the Task Force is said to have remarked that, “The police acted on an intelligence report that a major syndicate had been lifting several tankers from the bush. Detectives led by Oyo Sector Commander, Xpress Onioigue, successfully raided the areas and recovered five tankers filled with petrol.” He hinted that the Force is currently trailing other vandals whose activities have been made to them. Ibadin solicited for the co-operation of the public, especially in terms of information to ensure that culprits are brought to book. The incidence is not limited to the two States. Pipeline vandalism has also taken place in other parts of the nation. In fact, from Bayelsa to Abia and from Enugu to Kaduna and Bauchi, many cases of vandalism have been recorded. Expectedly, concerned parties are worried. One of them is the member, House of Representatives, Mr. Daniel Reyenieju who has cautioned residents of Warri Federal Constituency in Delta State to desist from tampering with the pipelines. Reyenieju, remarked that, “our ecological and economic, present and future are constantly being undermined and endangered as a result of the current surge in CONTINUED ON PAGE 36

Energy Week

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

How high oil prices encourage pipeline vandalism

Jonathan

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 35 crude oil theft and crude ‘refining’ being carried on by some miscreants.” He stated that, “Because of sheer greed and the propensity to get rich at all costs, they go to the ridiculous end of busting pipes and siphoning crude oil for sale and ‘refining,’ and in the process, much of the crude oil is spilled into waters and lands, thus endangering our present and future, economically and ecologically. The lawmaker added that, “It is clear that the diesel produced from crude processes of refining have destroyed a lot of engines since they are not up to standard. In the process, we undermine ourselves economically as such engines will have to be replaced. This is most wicked and anyone caught in this criminal act will be prosecuted.” Reyenieju is not alone. President Good-

Olorunshola

Yakubu

IT IS CLEAR THAT THE DIESEL PRODUCED FROM CRUDE PROCESSES OF REFINING HAVE DESTROYED A LOT OF ENGINES SINCE THEY ARE NOT UP TO STANDARD luck Jonathan is also bothered. Speaking at the opening of the Presidential Maritime Security Retreat in Abuja, Jonathan challenged those who indulge in the “embarrassing” act to bury their heads in shame. The President stated that, “All over the world ,it is only in Nigeria that crude oil is stolen. We are not the only oil producing country, why is it that it is only in Nigeria that people steal crude oil? This must stop.” He maintained that, “In fact, if we have

NOSDRA investigates Obite gas leak

he National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), have started to investigate activities that led to Obite gas leak. Executive Director of the agency, Mr. Peter Idabor said the investigation would enable it get to the root of the matter as well as invoke appropriate sanction where necessary. The gas leak started on March 20 at Total’s Obite field. Moved to curb environmental consequences, Total Exploration and Production Nigeria Ltd (TEPNG), was forced to shut the gas plant. Reuters stated that, “The incident reportedly occurred and was noticed on March 20 in Ogba/Ndoni/Egbema Local Government Area of Rivers State, raising fears of continued exposure and contamination to residents.”

Obite Gas Plant

In a press statement, Total’s External Communications Manager, Charles Ebereonwu, had said that the incident did not made any negative impact on the host community, and that efforts were underway to fix the cause of the leakages and ensure minimal impact on the environment. He said then that, “All necessary means to ensure the protection of nearby communities and personnel and to limit the impact on the environment have been immediately mobilized,” he said, adding that “strict” monitoring of the environment is ongoing and a safety perimeter established. Ebereonwu stated that domestic water analysis and air quality controls are being processed on a daily basis and have revealed no hydrocarbons or toxic elements. He said, “Since March 20th, federal and local authorities have been informed of the

been doing well, by now, Nigeria is supposed to have the best academies and institutions that will train Nigerians in the oil and gas sector because these are areas that in the 50s, we were leading.” The President explained that the cost of piracy to the economy was unacceptably high, stressing that pirates frustrated fishing activities and threatened investments in the West African Coast while higher insurance premium and charges on ships sailing along the Gulf of Guinea impacted evolution of the situation. TEPNG reiterates its regrets regarding the trouble the situation has caused and will continue to communicate with stakeholders, including meetings and forums with the communities and regular briefing to the authorities.” But Nnimmo Bassey, Executive Director Environmental Rights Action / Friends of Earth, Nigeria dismissed those claims, stating that, “The leakage from the gas plant is extremely polluting and harmful to the environment and the people.” Bassey wondered why the gas leakage which has remained untraced could be described as “harmless” by the oil firm and what roles the regulators were playing in the face of the obvious pollution. He challenged the Federal Government to wake up and regulate the oil industry and wield the big stick to sanction defaulting operators that pose threat to the Niger Delta environment. NOSDRA has the mandate to restore and preserve the environment by ensuring best Oil field, storage and transmission practices in exploration, production and use of oil in the quest to achieve sustainable development in the nation. The National Oil Spill Contingency Plan itself is mandatory for all parties to the International Convention on Oil Pollution Preparedness and Response Co-operation (OPRC 90) to which Nigeria is a signatory. The National Oil Spill Contingency Plan is a blueprint/manual for checking oil spill through, containment, recovery, and remediation/restoration.

Ahmed

negatively on the economy and image. Specifically, the President stated that pipeline vandalism and crude oil theft resulted in serious loss of revenue to government even as maritime environmental degradation from such disasters affected the well-being of Nigerians. Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), the highest producer and victim, stated in its briefing notes that, many years of oil and gas operations in the Niger Delta have generated billions of dollars in revenue for the government. Frustrated by the lack of benefits from oil production, the firm stated that, communities have targeted the operations of energy companies, including the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited demanding better public ser-vices and a greater share of government revenues. It maintains that, “The unrest has turned into a worrying criminal movement, which feeds on massive theft of crude oil. Heavily armed and well-organised groups attack oil and gas facilities in the delta, shut down operations, kidnap staff and sabotage pipelines. Rival gangs and ethnic groups have clashed in several of the delta’s towns. Barges take stolen oil to tankers waiting off-shore for export. There is also a massive illegal refining business based on stolen crude oil.” The firm remarked that these affect the nation’s total output. For instance, it maintained that, “In 2010/2011, there were 237 reported incidents of crude oil theft from SPDC facilities that involved vandalism, spills, fire or arrests (there were 187 in 2009/2010). In 2011, authorities arrested 145 people and seized among others 18 tankers, 22 vehicles, 16 barges, and 35 locally made boats. The firm’s narration has it that following a series of attacks, it was forced to shut down most of its Western Delta operations in early 2006. The operations which are still subjected to various attacks were restarted in September 2007. In 2011, criminal gangs kidnapped 19 SPDC employees and contractors (26 in 2010). One fatality was recorded in December 2010 when a contractor-employee was killed during an abductionrelated incident near Imo River in the Eastern Delta Operations. However, the Federal Government’s Amnesty programme in the Niger Delta is generating a more enabling environment and this has resulted in a signifiCONTINUED ON PAGE 37

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Energy Week

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Oil price hits 3-month high on supply concern that underpin Brent will sink to a record low in September due to oilfield maintenance and natural decline. Output from 11 North Sea production streams is set to fall by 17 percent. On Monday, the premium at which the nearby Brent contract, currently September, trades against the second month LCOc1-LCOc2 jumped to $2.02, the highest since October 2011. Supply concerns and the prospect of further government stimulus including a further round of quantitative easing by the U.S. Federal Reserve is likely to support a continued premium for prompt supplies, say analysts. Analysts said, “Exacerbated by the recent structural supply shortage in the North Sea, Iran and other countries, we could see a period of super-backwardation, analysts at Bank of America Merrill Lynch said in a report. They said “We also believe that further unconventional monetary easing will likely keep prices supported.” However, the price of Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) basket of 12 crudes stood at $108.39 per barrel on Thursday, compared with $108.36 the previous day, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations. The new OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Oriente (Ecuador), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Qatar Marine (Qatar), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela).

UDEME AKPAN WITH AGENCY REPORT

he prospect of generating substantial foreign exchange for the execution of the nation’s 2012 budget has increased as crude oil prices continue to rise at the international market. For instance, the price of Brent, a benchmark for other crude grades rose above $114 per barrel on Monday, the highest in more than three months. The market situation is said to be fueled by as concern about supplies and hopes that governments will roll out more stimulus measures trumped signs of weakening fuel demand. Supply of the North Sea crudes underpinning the Brent crude contract is set to hit a record low. Iranian output has been curbed by sanctions and an intensification of debate in Israel on whether to go to war with Iran over its nuclear work added to concern about disruption in Middle East supply. Brent crude hit $114.28 a barrel, the highest since May 4, and by 0852 GMT was up 80 cents at $113.75. U.S. oil rose 28 cents to $93.15. “We are seeing prices rise despite weak growth outlook numbers on Friday,” said Ben Le Brun, a Sydney-based market analyst at OptionsXpress. “The Israeli comments, what you see in Israeli media, are a concern.” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that most threats to Israel’s security were “dwarfed” by the prospect of Iran obtaining nuclear weapons, which local media reports said Tehran

Alison-Madueke

had stepped up its efforts to achieve. The supply concerns countered forecasts of weakening oil demand which have weighed on prices. The International Energy Agency on Friday cut its 2013 oil demand forecast by 400,000 barrels per day, citing a slowdown in global economic activity. Brent is being supported in particular by a drop in supply, sending the price of immediate supplies to a widening premium to oil for delivery later, a structure known as backwardation. Output of the four North Sea crudes

How high oil prices encourage pipeline vandalism CONTINUED FROM PAGE 36 cant increase in Nigeria’s oil and gas production and provided better access for inspection and maintenance of assets. The oil giant surmised that, “The Niger Delta continues to be a challenging place to operate for many reasons. There is a fundamental lack of basic infrastructure in many areas and poverty, lack of employment opportunities, widespread criminality and other factors are all contributing to the social and economic crises on the Niger Delta.”

However, the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), that the law mandates to promote transparency and accountability in the management of the nation’s oil, gas and mining revenues feels something drastic should be done. The Executive Secretary of the agency, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, remarked that the increasing rate of oil theft and illegal refining calls for urgent attention. She made it clear that, “The increasing rate of stealing of crude oil through illegal oil bunkering activities in the creeks; activi-

ties of oil thieves; proliferation of illegal refineries; pipeline vandalism and environmental pollution in the Niger Delta have risen to alarming proportions.” In any case, hope does not seem to be lost as some stakeholders have shown interest to confront the perpetrators. However, the National President of Oil and Gas Service Providers Association, Mr. Colman Obasi observed that the incidence would reduce if those who reside in such communities are involved in watching over the installations, especially pipelines. Source: Bloomberg

Energy & Oil Prices OIL ($/bbl) Nymex Crude Future Dated Brent Spot WTI Cushing Spot

PRICE*

CHANGE

% CHANGE

TIME

92.83 114.02 92.73

0.10 0.95 -0.14

0.11% 0.84% -0.15%

07:31 07:41 08/13

PRICE*

CHANGE

% CHANGE

TIME

302.95 299.07

1.12 0.00

0.37% 0.00%

07:31 07:30

PRICE*

CHANGE

% CHANGE

TIME

2.75 2.78 2.96

0.02 -0.06 -0.03

0.62% -2.11% -1.00%

07:30 08/13 08/13

PRICE*

CHANGE

% CHANGE

TIME

33.09 59.29 44.42

4.45 3.34 -15.75

15.54% 5.97% -26.18%

08/13 08/13 08/13

OIL (¢/gal) Nymex Heating Oil Future Nymex RBOB Gasoline Future

NATURAL GAS ($/MMBtu) Nymex Henry Hub Future Henry Hub Spot New York City Gate Spot

ELECTRICITY ($/megawatt hour) Mid-Columbia, firm on-peak, spot Palo Verde, firm on-peak, spot BLOOMBERG, FIRM ON-PEAK, DAY AHEAD SPOT/ERCOT HOUSTON

Source: Oilprice.com

OPEC to trim exports on refinery maintenance The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries will reduce shipments by 0.4 percent this month as refiners in Europe and the U.S. perform maintenance, while higher demand within the Middle East limits exports, according to tankertracker Oil Movements. OPEC, responsible for about 40 percent of global supplies, will ship 23.73 million barrels a day in the four weeks to Aug. 25, compared with 23.82 million a month earlier, the researcher said in its weekly e-mailed report. The data exclude Angola and Ecuador. Middle Eastern fuel demand typically rises at this time of year because of higher electricity use for air conditioning, Oil Movements said. “Late August is on the edge of the maintenance season for refiners in the west, and of course it is the summer season in the Middle East, so volumes available for export go down,” Roy Mason, the company’s founder, said today by telephone from Halifax, England. OPEC lowered demand estimates for its crude this year and next in its monthly oil market report today, amid slowing growth in global consumption and higher output from other producers.

Energy Week

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Solid minerals sector has great potential –Shehu The Nigerian mining sector is currently undergoing surgery. It is believed that if well managed, it will compare favourably with the petroleum industry in the next few years. In this interview with JOHN UWE and MARCUS FATUNMOLE, President of Miners Association of Nigerian (MAN), Sani Shehu, shares among others, the ongoing trends in the sector. Looking at the mining sector, would you say it contributes enough to the national economy? The potential of the mining sector to contribute substantially to the national economy is there, but I cannot say that the sector is contributing enough because for the sector to contribute enough to the national economy, the sector needs to be supported to an optimal level to enable it contribute what is expected of it. When the sector enjoyed that kind of support in the 60s, 70s, maybe 80s, it proved that it had the potential to support the national economy. We all know that in those years, tins and columbites contributed a lot to national growth. In addition to tins and columbites, a lot of minerals of high values have been discovered in the country. Now, if few minerals could contribute to the economy in the past, and now we have higher value minerals added to them, it is logical for one to demand that government should develop the sector so that the sector will in turn support the government. In monetary terms, do you say the sector could contribute to the economy in any way today? The sector did that in the past, it still has the potential to support the economy through the generation of foreign exchange. Remember that most of these minerals are exportable minerals and therefore have the capacity to support the Federal Government with foreign exchange. The sector also has high potentials to provide employment for millions of unemployed Nigerians that are roaming the streets. Given the necessary support, the sector is capable of providing economic support for the country and also provide jobs for Nigerians. What are the objectives of your association? The objectives of Miners Association of Nigeria are: first, to unite all miners in Nigeria under one umbrella. Two, to support such membership from the level they are to the next level. The artisanal miners, who are largely informal, we grouped into cooperatives. The small miners, we tried to assist them to become small scale miners or mid-term miners as they call them. We also made sure that the relationship among miners is mutual. We ensure good relationship between miners and mining communities. Part of our aims also is to ensure smooth relationship between the miners and the government. We also encourage a kind of mutual working relationship between our members and government institutions that are relevant to our operations. Some of them include Nigeria Shippers’ Council, Nigerian Export Promotion, Raw Material Research and Development. We liaise between these institutions and our members. Above all, we encourage legality among our members, insisting that for a miner to be a member of Miners Association of Nigeria, we have to make sure that he/she is a licensed miner. These are some of the many objectives of Miners Association of Nigeria. Would you say government gave your association sufficient support? It is difficult to talk of enough support because support has to be gradual. Enough support is achieved overtime. Government is supporting miners, but we still demand for more. We have both institutional and legal support. Before now, we were confused over the laws that would regulate the institution. Today, we are happy to state that now the Mineral and Mining Act and Mining regulation are all in place. Before now, to get a license that would enable you work legally was a problem because the system was so confused. But, now, the mining Cadastral office is there. Though, they are yet to attain perfection, but, at least they are better than what we used to experience in the past. The Nigerian Geological Survey Agency is also there, they help us with data, though at a cost. But, it is better you pay and get what you want than you not paying and you do not get what you want. The Sustainable Mineral Man-

I think the answer is yes, it has achieved its purpose. How? If I can remember correctly, there are two main objectives for that project. First is the improvement of governance that affects the mining sector. Second is poverty alleviation through the provision of machineries to the artisanal miners. Those who break stones with hands were provided crushers. All they need to do is to break those stone with the crushers. That is, crusher replaced manual breaking of stones. When you do it manually, it is not possible for you to crush one ton a day, with crusher, you can crush 30 tons a day. That will lead to additional income and reduction of poverty. That is for the crusher. For the sand people, who had the sand but did not have the vehicles to move the sand to places where they could sell; they were given tippers. Now, if before you could not deliver a tipper truck within a day to a destination, with the tipper truck given to you, you can deliver ten trucks. That also will increase your revenues and reduce poverty. Even the mining communities, which used to have challenges of infrastructures, they had many of these addressed through this Sustainable Mineral project. So, to that extent, I can say very clearly that the purpose for which it was established has been met. If the first phase has met its objectives, are you in support of calls for renewal of the project? Yes.

Shehu

agement has also done a lot, especially in assisting the artisanal miners. They provide facilities and help group them into cooperatives. But the support is not sufficient. We have not had any funding opportunity from the government, except from the World Bank assisted programme. The issue of satisfaction does not arise because what they have done only affect the last tier of miners. We are only calling on the government to arrange a funding strategy that will affect the lives of other categories of miners. Who is funding those that have cooperatives? It is a World Bank programme; it is the ministry. Artisanal miners in Nigeria are of small percentage of what we are. They are a category. Apart from artisanal and small scale miners, the small-scale miners do not even benefit from that grant; it is the artisanal miners who usually have small liability companies. The grant target is for only those who are formed into cooperatives. So, critically speaking, those who benefitted are usually the artisanal miners and mining communities. Now, we are making a case, we are appealing to the government to arrange another funding initiative that will affect small-scale and medium scale miners because these two categories of miners are the ones that employ labour. What is your view on the proposed Solid Mineral Development Fund? Solid Minerals Development Fund is one of the best things that will happen to the mining sector. I remember the provision of such fund has been enshrined in the Mineral and Mining Act. What the President is doing is only to obey the law. We believe the setting up of the Fund is going to be a solution to our funding problem. I want to advise that the representation of Miners Association of Nigeria should be at that Fund. We don’t want it to be a purely government affair. There are ways by which miners can assist the government to do things right. Since we are dealing with all categories of miners at the grassroots level and at the medium level, it is very important for the miners to be represented at the Fund, so that it can now liaise between the government and the players. If that happens, believe me, mining will never be the same in few years to come. Do you think the World Bank Sustainable Mineral Management project has achieved its purpose?

Why? I do so because of the reason I have highlighted here. You see, performance is very important. When you are given a target, you performance will be adjudged in relation to the target given. Once your performance is below average, it is likely that your target will be renewed. The point I am making is this: even those that are employed on probation level, the confirmation of their appointment is subject to their performance. So, since the project has performed well, we are not only supporting, we are advocating that the programme should be renewed so that they can continue with the good works they have been doing. What is the disposition of banks to funding mining projects? Their response is always very poor, except for First Bank which made an attempt. Their responses are generally very poor. The banks are used to lending money to traders who borrow on short-term basis. Unfortunately, mining is not that type of business. Mining is a business that you have to do it stage by stage. It has long gestation period. That period is full of activity. You have to explore, you have to design the mine among others before you start exploitation; all that is money. All these will take five to ten years and our banks don’t seem to be comfortable with this kind of period. Most of them confessed that they don’t actually understand the sector; and it is difficult to fund a sector which you don’t understand. All of these, however, lie with the government. I think the government should be able to sensitize the financial institutions because it cannot do the sustainable funding alone. There is no country in the world where government sustainably financed mining. Usually, government facilitates, or it creates enabling environment that the financial institutions will now fund the sector sustainably. Since the sector is now being rejuvenated, government has to do a lot to assist the miners and also assist the financial institutions by giving them training and enough sensitization that will enable them understand the sector and be willing to fund it. What is the response of your association to NEITI that has made its audit reports known? NEITI is an organisation that is working with Miners Association of Nigeria. Even the auditing you are talking about, Miners Association actively participated in assisting the auditors to do their work. Miners Association of Nigeria and NEITI are partners in progress; we are always working together towards realizing the NEITI’s objectives which we share very much. Part of NEITI’s objectives is to ensure that apCONTINUED ON PAGE 39

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Energy Week

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Fuel subsidy may rise to N75 per litre despite deregulation UDEME AKPAN

he Federal Government subsidy on petrol may rise from the present N72 to N75 per litre as a result of increase in the prices of crude oil, and by extension, the prices of petroleum products imported into the country. Crude oil prices have risen from about $100 to $108 per barrel. Market watchers speculated that prices would be excess of $120 in the coming weeks as doubts are expressed over additional supply to the volatile market. This means that the cost of importing products into the nation would continue to rise, thereby putting pressure on the government presently subsidizing some products, especially petrol to make them affordable to consumers. Latest statistics of the Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) showed that total cost of importing petrol into the nation amounted to N169.13 while subsidy stood at N 72.31. The agency puts the landing cost, including cost and insurance, trader’s margin, lightering expenses, Nigerian Ports Author-

ity charge, financing, jetty depot thru put charge and storage charge at N153. 64 while distributors margins, including retailers, transporters dealers, bridging fund, marine transport average and administrative charge at N15.49. The Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), Mr. Reginald Stanley did not pick calls or reply text messages over the weekend. But a source in the agency said the high government subsidy remained a source of worry to the organization. He said “the partial deregulation was carried out to among other things enable government reduce its commitment into subsidising petrol. Stanley But the government still commits more funds into funding the subsidy because of rising crude oil prices at the global market.” The source said, “Rising prices of crude enables the nation to generate more foreign exchange. But the high price of crude leads to high prices of petroleum products, part of which is imported from the global market.” Consequently, fears have heightened again that the funds set aside for payments of fuel

subsidy in the 2012 budget may be exhausted before the end of the year. The Central Bank Governor, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi had warned that, “With oil prices where they’ve been since the beginning of the year, I’m sure that we will be exposed to that amount long before the year runs out.” He said: “If I was asked for advice, I’d simply say pay what you have in the budget and simply stop paying. (If not) They take the money from the excess crude account (or) you’ve got to borrow money.” Meanwhile, the Federal Government has directed banks to refund excess charges on loan collected from importers of petroleum products under the Petroleum Support Fund (PSF) scheme. The directive followed joint petition to the Ministry of Finance by the Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN), Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers and Independent Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN) over the arbitrary charges that range between N7 and N8 per litre being charged by marketers contrary to the requirement of N2.75 per litre contained in the

CSR: NDDC inspects development projects

he Niger Delta Development Board (NNDC), has embarked on extensive tour to inspect projects being implemented in the region. Some members of the NDDC Governing Board have embarked on a tour of the Commission’s project in Rivers and Akwa-Ibom states. The team, led by the Bayelsa State Representative on the Board, Edi Orubo inspected the Buguma-Edo-Abonemma road, Buguma Shore-Protection, the reclamation of 150 hectares of land in Ogu-Bolo and RSUST hostel project in Rivers State.

Oboh

The board members also visited the University of Uyo, hostel project, the 30 kilometre

Nsasak Junction-Okon Essien Udim road; the 33.5 kilometre Ikot-Akpan-Udoh road; Iko-Atabrikang-Opolom-Iwuo Achang road with a 600 metre bridge in Ibeno and the Uquo-Odoro NkitNtak-Inyang road in Akwa Ibom State. Speaking at the end of the exercise, Barr. Edi Orubo disclosed that the present Board would strive to ensure the completion of the Commission’s on-going Projects across the region. The Bayelsa State representative commended the pace of work at the various site visited especially on the hostel projects

Fuel pumps

PSF implementation guideline of the PPPRA. A source close to the Federal Ministry of Finance disclosed that the directive is part of the action being taking by the government to sanitise the process for payment of subsidy to petroleum marketing companies participating in fuel importation under the PSF scheme. This, according to the senior official, will reduce the stress of funding fuel importation allocation with loans being raised from banks by petroleum marketing companies. The source added

that the directive is a follow up to the threat of fuel shortage in the country as a result of the refusal of banks to provide fresh loans for marketers. This, according to him, is a follow up to the information provided by importers participating in third quarter import allocation of the PPPRA that some of the banks are set to raise the margin to N10 per litre before they will approve fresh loan even though the minimum interest rate these banks are charging marketers on loan for fuel importation under the PSF scheme is 18 per cent.

where he said “it will alleviate the accommodation difficulties facing the students”. While urging the contractors to prioritise early completion of projects in line with the Dr. Christian Oboh’s led administration desire and specifications, he warned that the Commission will not tolerate delays as payment are being made as and when due. Accompanied by the Akwa Ibom State Representative, Engr. Imabong Johnson, Cross River, Dominic Aqua Edem and Rivers, Prof. Ibitamuno Aminigo, the Bayelsa State Representative, urged contractors to ensure the availability of local

content in their work plan and sued for peace in the region. The contractors at the various site assured the NDDC team of their willingness to deliver on time in line with best engineering practices. Recently, Oboh said the Commission has a huge burden on its shoulders to develop the Niger Delta Region, and therefore, cannot leave the task of supervision in the hands of few. He said this during an induction course for the Commission’s newly recruited engineers, explained that “this is why for the first time we have taken this large number of engineers”.

Solid minerals sector has great potential –Shehu CONTINUED FROM PAGE 38

propriate revenues are generated from the extractive industry and also being used appropriately. In fact, we are happy with NEITI as an institution and we are working with them and we will continue to work with them in order to achieve our collective objective. Do you think Nigeria as a nation possesses the will to organize the mining sector in a very attractive form for investors? I think Nigeria does. It is just that mining is an international business. Of course, there is local content in it, but, generally all over the world, when you talk about mining, it is an international business. In most cases, the country with mining does not possess the technology to transform the mineral to the end users. Usually, a particular mineral in a given country is exported to another country. Those countries that have the technologies to transform the minerals, in most cases, do not have the mineral deposit. So, you mine it somewhere and sell it in another place. Now, those advanced countries at a point in time in history had minerals, it is like they have exhausted their minerals. The

miners are there; they have to go to other countries with mineral deposits and mine. But, for them to do that, there must be a set of regulations that conform to international best practices. Part of what attract these miners is the presence of these laws. That is why I had earlier appreciated the presence of the Nigerian Mineral and Mining Act. It is this law that attracts foreign investors. We can now say that Nigeria has what it takes. Apart from the tax holiday, investors are now allowed to take their investments and profits wherever they deem fit. They can repatriate their profit percentage; I think all these serve as good attraction for investment. Even those who import their machineries and other earth-moving equipment; there is a waiver to the import duty. This is also included in the Mineral Act. So, I can say confidently that Nigeria has what it takes to attract foreign investors. The only challenge is the current security issue which we are praying desperately and also believe it will soon end. We are really talking to the investors, some of them are even willing to; but the issue of security is of concern to all of us. But like I said, by the grace of God, the challenge of security will soon end, they will come and we will partner with them to mine for mutual benefits.

Are you sure that insecurity has affected investment in the sector? Yes. Is it true that some people use mining explosives to produce bombs? The truth is this, commercial explosives which miners use are highly controlled explosives. There are procedures that govern the acquisition of these explosives. You go through the ministry, the ministry knows whether you are a miner or not. From there, you begin the process for acquisition which is very stringent. It is made in such a way that for you to eventually get an explosive, you must be a miner. As for those who thought that mining explosives are used for nefarious motives, I don’t think that there has ever been a time where a miner was accused of using explosives other than for mining purposes. And, besides, we have been reading in the newspapers how these bombs are being manufactured locally; we have also heard of local bomb manufacturing outfits in Kogi, Plateau among others. So, these bombs are locally manufactured. I want to say with all emphasis that miners acquire these mining explosives legally and use them legally. They are also always at alert so that other people do not pose as miners to get explosives for these nefarious activities.

Energy Week

NNPC commits to FOI Act The Management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, over the weekend pledged its commitment to abide by the spirit and letters of the 2011 Freedom of Information Act in all its operations so as to entrench a culture of probity and accountability. Speaking at the Induction Ceremony for newly recruited Graduate Trainees held at the NNPC Towers in Abuja, Group Managing Director of the Corporation, Engr. Andrew Yakubu, stated that ahead of the signing into law of the then FOI Bill by Mr. President, the NNPC had taken bold measures to open its operations to public scrutiny. ``Long before the Freedom of Information Act came into force, the NNPC has been maintaining an open door policy which sees it volunteering information to its various publics through press releases, advertorials and presentations at different forums including hearings at the National Assembly,’’ the GMD stated. He informed that with the formal signing of the FOI Bill into law by Mr. President last year, the NNPC Management swiftly established a Task Force with the goal of examining the new law and advising Management on how best to comply with the provisions of the law. ``We have since internalized the contents of that report and as a Corporation; we are ready to ensure that our actions and processes live up to public scrutiny. Under my watch as GMD, I intend to abide by this principle,’’ Engr. Yakubu affirmed. On the 2010 NNPC Recruitment Exercise which ultimately led to the employment of 595 new staff, the GMD described the process as the most painstaking and transparent recruitment ever conducted in the history of the Corporation.

Shirororo power station not shut down Federal Government has confirmed that the Shiroro Power Station is still generating electricity, contrary to speculation that it was shut. The Ministry of Power said while it is true that a few of the workers were outside the plant gates displaying placards, it is false in its entirety to imply that the station was shut down as a consequence. It maintained in a statement that, “We would like to restate, as one of the newspaper reports accurately observed, that the essential workers at the power station were still at their duty posts ensuring steady supply of electricity to the national grid.” Spokesman of the Ministry, Mr. Ogbuagu Anikwe stated that the ministry is aware that there are some elements viciously opposed to improved electricity supply and are working in cahoots with forces benefitting from the corrupt and decadent order which has for decades kept the nation down, impeded economic growth and adversely affected social life. He said “We are beginning to wonder if these unpatriotic elements are not hiding under the canopy of labour activism to actively and secretly promote the business interests of a notorious cabal in the power sector.” Anikwe said the government remains resolute in the determination to end forever the electricity blight. It has consequently taken all appropriate measures to safeguard the huge electricity assets across the country and the dedicated men and women who work day and night in these facilities to ensure that constant and quality electricity is available to every Nigerian as of every right.

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

India demands more oil from Nigeria, other nations

ndia has increased crude oil importation from Nigeria and other West African nations following increased economic activities. Reuters that captured the development maintained that, “Nigerian oil differentials were buoyant at the start of the week due to strong demand from Asian buyers via a series of tenders and to a shortage of supplies left for September.” It quoted traders as remarking that, “Spot trade was subdued as traders mulled offers. India’s Mangalore Refinery and Petrochemicals (MRPL) have two tenders open to buy crude oil for loading in late September and early October.” The agency also quoted a trader as stating that five to eight of the nation’s cargoes were left for September loading, indicating that supplies will probably be sold out before the October programme is released. Traders said lower North Sea crude oil flows due to maintenance work on the Buzzard field have also helped boost demand for West African grades, traders said. The Qua Iboe crude oil grade was offered at around dated plus $1.80 a barrel. Bonny: One of the only remaining grades from the September loading programme, traders said. Shell lifted a force

Oil storage vessel

majeure on this grade in late July, but unreliable supplies in recent months may have deterred buyers. In Angola, all of the 49 Angolan crude cargoes scheduled in September were reported sold or taken home to stem-holders’ systems. Loading programmes for October are not due until late next week. Traders said India’s state-run Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd re-issued a tender to buy crudes for September loading after cancelling it earlier this week. However, Asia is set to import record volumes of oil from West Africa this year as increasing supplies of high quality crude drive down its export prices and some buyers shun their traditional supplier, Iran.

A Reuters survey of trade and shipping sources shows end-consumers in China, India, Indonesia and other Asian countries have bought around 1.74mn barrels per day (bpd) of West African crude for loading in the first nine months of this year, up around 8% from the same period in 2011. “This year is going to see another record,” said a senior crude oil trader at a large European refiner. Strong economic growth in China and other industrial economies across Asia is driving a rapid increase in demand for crude oil. West African crude oil is typically “sweet”, containing low levels of corrosive sulphur compounds, and much of it is also relatively heavy, meeting Asian de-

mand for heavy industrial fuel oil and distillates such as kerosene. Africa’s two biggest oil producers, Nigeria and Angola, have been well placed to meet this extra consumption and exports from the West African region to Asia have risen by more than 50percent over the last five years, Reuters data shows. In the last year, this trend has been accelerated by a big jump in US output of light, high quality crudes. This new domestic production has supplanted oil that used to be imported from Africa and also forced down global spot prices of some grades of West African crude oil. At the same time, many oil refiners that used to take Iranian oil have been scared off by the US and European Union campaign against the Islamic Republic and have instead taken attractively priced oil from Africa. “The US will import much less crude oil from Africa this year and Asia is taking many of those barrels,” said Carsten Fritsch, oil analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt. “Asian buyers are also replacing Iranian oil with West African barrels because, with all the political problems and the extra insurance costs associated with Iranian oil, it is much easier for them to look elsewhere.”

MAN seeks to join National Economic Management team JOHN UWE AND MARCUS FATUNMOLE

iners Association of Nigeria (MAN), has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to include the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Mohammed Sada, in the National Economic Management Team. The call was made by the President of the body, Sani Shehu, in an interview with National Mirror at the weekend in Abuja. According to Shehu, the prospects of the sector are convincing enough to have warranted the representation of the Ministry in the Team. His words: “President Jonathan as a visionary leader has been focusing on the transport sector; the Rail is now under reformation, the Power Sector is receiving serious attention, the Agric is under the favour of Mr. President. So, we are appealing to the President to, as a matter of priority, put Solid Minerals in his key priority areas for development. We are calling that the Minister of Mines and Steel Development should be made to be a member of the Economic Team of the President so that Solid

Minerals will be given the opportunity to contribute to national economic growth.” Shehu, who argued that industrialisation of the world, is dependent on minerals and steel, appealed to government to give the sector the attention it deserves, as according to him, only the sector and very few others in the country can solve high rate of unemployment and underdevelopment in the country. Speaking on the potentials of the sector, Shehu said: “The potentials of the mining sector to contribute substantially to the national economy is enormous, but I cannot say that the sector is contributing enough because for the sector to contribute enough to the national economy, the sector needs to be supported to an optimal level to enable it contribute what is expected of it to contribute. When the sector enjoyed that kind of support in the 60s, 70s, maybe 80s, the sector proved that it had the potentials to support the national economy.” He said, “We all know that in those years, tins and columbites contributed a lot to national growth. In addition to tins and columbites, a lot of minerals of high values have been discovered

Sada

in the country. Now, if very few minerals could contribute to the economy in the past, and now we have higher value minerals added to them, it is logical for one to demand that government should develop the sector so that the sector will in turn support the government.” The National Economic Management Team was restructured by Jonathan at the inception of his tenure last year to help in the direction of the nation’s economy.

Chaired by the President and led by Minister of Finance, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, other members of the team include, among others, embattled businessman Femi Otedola, Ministers of National Planning, Shamsudeen Usma; Trade and Investment, Olusegun Aganga; Power, Prof. Barth Nnaji; Petroleum Resources, Dizeani Allison-Madueke; Agriculture, Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina; Works, Mike Onolememen; Education, Rukiyyatu Rufai and Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Executive Discourse

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re satisfied with the level of IFRS The newly elected President of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), Mr. Doyin Owolabi, has undoubtedly put in many years of contributions to moving the profession forward. A thoroughbred professional and strong advocate of professional discipline, Owolabi in this interview with TOLA AKINMUTIMI speaks on issues affecting the profession generally and his vision for the institute. Excerpts: It is natural for any person assuming position of leadership in professional bodies like yours to have some dreams about where he would like the body to be during or after his stewardship. Having been part of the Council for many years, one would like to have an insight into what your agenda are for the ICAN during your tenure? I was invested just a little over a month ago. For any man with a vision that he has come this far, he must have a purpose for being there, he must have his plan for the membership of the Institute. Of course, broadly speaking the purpose is to move the Institute to the next level in its bid of bid of being a world-class professional institute. The plans are numerous but I will just be brief. One, is to ensure that those outstanding programmes from my predecessors in office are continued with along the path of glory for the Institute and that new programmes Council has introduced under my leadership we begin to pursue in good time. For the old programmes, over vision is having a good relationship with sister Institutes all over the world and, of course, ensuring that as a proactive professional Institute, anything that relates to accountancy, anything that relates to commerce, anything that relates to the economy will be adequately addressed by the Institute. We shall continue to do that. For the new programmes, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve had a very good relationship with tertiary institutions in Nigeria. This we intend to strengthen further. This year we are putting in place, a forum for Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities as well as a forum for the Rectors of Polytechnics in the country. You may be wondering are we trying to chew so much? The answer is No. we believe these are things that are necessary. The products of this level of education constitute the inputs into our own professional examinations and we need to talk to the people who take care of them to the extent that they will know where their products are very good but probably still need more attention and where they are average, they can be given a lot of attention and where they are bad or fair, or very bad, and need so much attention. We believe that we must continue to work with these tertiary institutions in the development of manpower for the Nigerian economy. We also have in focus, the Whistle Blowers Act, the Bill of which we want to put in place in the next one or two months. The Whistle Blowers Act you, will agree with me, has become necessary at this stage of our national life when virtually the whole world sees Nigeria as a corrupt nation. We know that it is only Nigeria that is corrupt. Forget about the Western Press, everywhere you go to you witness some elements of corruption. It now becomes a relative term when you are talking about how bad it is. It is bad in Nigeria and we have been making conscious efforts in the past to arrest it and we want to continue in making these efforts. But we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t want to sit on the fence again just preaching the gospel of integrity, of ethics, of probity. We want to hold the Bull by the horn and this bull is the bull of corruption. Could you give an insight into the key provisions of the Bill, which you think could help in tackling the pervasive vice of corruption that has become so endemic in the Nigerian system? The legal framework is being prepared and I will not want to preempt what it will come up with at the end of the day. But, one thing I can assure you is that, one, the Institute is very serious about this. Two, we have some private members who are ready

Owolabi

to finance the sponsorship of the bill to a large extent. The lawyers have been paid, the documents have been prepared and filed. All these will cost money. Apart from the Institute, we have some private members of the Institute; we have some practicing firms; we have some members of the industry that are ready to finance it. Mind you, the Whistle Blower Bill or Act, when it is eventually passed will not be for Chartered Accountants alone, it is meant to protect every Nigerian that desires to join hands with ICAN in fighting corruption. Joining hands with ICAN infighting corruption does not mean that ICAN wants to enlist soldiers against corruption. In a way, yes, because the moment you enlighten them that look, come out, talk to the relevant authority about what has happened that

led to this or that led to that or that is likely to lead to this, they will come out boldly knowing full well that now in Nigeria, they are being protected by the law; they cannot lose their jobs as a result of their actions. Recently, there was this furore in respect of the roles played by Akintola Williams Deloitte and Adekanola and Co in the fuel subsidy saga which culminated in their sack by the Federal Government. Has ICAN really looked into the issue? Our disciplinary procedure says that a member or a member firm must be reported. Nobody reported it to ICAN officially. However, as good corporate citizens, we read of these members firms on newspapers; it was a celebrated case as at that time, and we felt we should move in immediately. We moved

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Executive Discourse

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

implementation so far – ICAN boss in; we’ve been working on it. And, I must say that the facts are being revealed to us. We are happy about what and what we’ve been able to discover on the situation at hand on that case. I wouldn’t want to preempt the end result of that case; but I want to assure the public that ICAN is on top of it. We are working seriously on it. Now, considering the increasing relevance of technology to auditing and accounting practice and the IFRS implementation process at some public sector entities since January this year, how would you assess the global financial reporting standard’s implementation in the country so far? You see, the implementation of the International Financial Reporting Standard at the national level cannot be divorced from the implementation from all over the world and I can tell you that all over the world, it is still evolving. So, in Nigeria it is still evolving. But, I am very happy with the roles being played by ICAN, regulatory authorities such as the Central Bank of Nigeria regarding IFRS; we are taking it very seriously. And, so far so good, we’ve been able to follow the roadmap drawn for Nigeria. However, like I started saying about IFRS initially, all over the world, it is still evolving. IFRS in its statement in 2011 may not be the same in 2012. A farmer in Australia, for instance, may wake up today and support his idea that the valuation for his livestock has suddenly changed and support his beautiful idea with facts and figures and people say “yes, it is true”. Automatically, it will change the relevant standards regarding the farmers’ account on valuation of his livestock. So, it is still evolving. But, one thing we are fully sure of is that by the time it has fully metamorphosed into stable standards all over the world and we fully adopt it, the comparability of financial statements, cross-border transactions and trade will be highly enhanced. How would you rate the available local capacity for the implementation of the IFRS in view of the fact that in the past two years ICAN has been trying to update its members on emerging developments on the novel financial reporting standard? Yes, we keep exposing them from time to time. We hold lectures for them, both centrally and at district level. Apart from that, we go into certification of our members who are IFRS compliant. All this helps the economy because we are fully aware that by the time it takes off, every Chartered Accountant must be IFRS compliant. Mind you, our accountancy profession hinges a lot on law, accounting standards and written guidelines. So, you cannot afford to neglect any of those principles and standards. Now, let us look at the problem of indiscipline among your members. I know that you have a lot of mechanisms to deal with erring members. In the last one or two years, we have not heard so much about disciplinary actions taken against ICAN members. Does this imply that your members are no longer infringing on any of the principles or rules guiding the practice of the profession? The fact that the public or the press has not heard so much about disciplining erring members does not mean that we are not doing anything. A lot is being done in-house. Members reported to the Institute for one mistake made or professional misconducts are being investigated. Those already investigated that have bad cases are being reported to the Tribunal. Those at the Tribunal are being tried, but we must give room to fair hearing in order to have a good judgment. The disciplinary procedure of ICAN starts from investigating level up to tribunal level. Once the Tribunal passes its judgment, and the Tribunal, statutorily having been seen as equivalent to a High Court, cannot pass a faulty

WE BELIEVE THAT WE MUST CONTINUE TO WORK WITH THESE TERTIARY INSTITUTIONS IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF MANPOWER FOR THE

NIGERIAN ECONOMY. WE ALSO HAVE IN FOCUS, THE WHISTLE BLOWERS ACT, THE BILL OF WHICH WE WANT TO PUT IN PLACE IN THE NEXT ONE OR TWO MONTHS judgment. If thereafter a party is not satisfied and goes to the Court of Appeal, our Tribunal is not just chaired by the President of the Institute; it is not just being manned by a Chartered Accountant but there is somebody, an Assessor that represents the Supreme Court as an Advisor to the Tribunal and each time the Tribunal sits, this person is in attendance. Secondly, whereas we do not allow the use of lawyers at investigation level because we are just gathering fact at that level, we don’t want anybody to distort the gathering of facts by blowing one grammar or bringing in one technical jargon or the other. At Tribunal level, people are allowed to

bring in their lawyers to defend them so that there is fair hearing and there is good judgment. Once you are not satisfied, you cannot go to a lower court than the Court of Appeal. I remember two or three years ago, there was this urgent push for the amendment of the ICAN Act. What is the state of that initiative now? Permit me with due regards; it was not an urgent push. Saying that it was an urgent push presupposes that there must be some extraneous factors that were making everybody to run. No. However, there was the need and there is still the need for its review. The ICAN Act came into existence in 1965. It was a law of Parliament. 1965 till date, a lot things have happened that have affected the profession, I mean the practice of accountancy in Nigeria. So, there is the need to review the Act. It is just like any other enabling statute in Nigeria being reviewed. Is there still any bill in the National Assembly on that agenda? There is a bill in the National Assembly. It has gone through public hearing and we are still working on it. Hopefully, it should be passed before the end of this Assembly. What is your relationship with other professional bodies? It has been very cordial. Could you describe, in real terms, your relationship with ANAN, CITN and other sister professional bodies? I remember those days, there was the silent or subdued misgivings between ICAN and ANAN and CITN, amongst others bodies. What is the relationship like now and there some areas you think could be tinkered with to make professionals collaborate better and share a common vision for national development? Yes, there were some issues that we resolved concerning the enabling statutes of these professional bodies. Most of these issues have been materially resolved. The outstanding ones that are too material are standing between us and progress. That is why at the time the International Federation of Accountants, to which ICAN belongs as a Foundation member, says ICAN, can you sponsor or mentor the sister Institute in Nigeria, ANAN, which has applied for membership into EFAC? We are gladly to pick it up. We relate with them today very cordially. As you see CITN, Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, today, that was one of its definitional problems. All over the world, the definition of accountancy concerning the rules and duties includes taxation. If you look at CITN and ICAN, you will discover that CITN is majorly dominated by members of our Institute. But, when some of them became the vanguard of saying no, they either belong to us or they don’t practice taxation. We had to put it to our members who are not willing to join any other profession bodies to perform their duties. That was precisely what we did. They are also happy to note that as at today, ICAN members practice their profession inclusive of taxation. So, nobody is disturbing the other. The few other things that are left to be discussed are being discussed. In other words, the position of CITN in those days that your members cannot engage in taxation practice unless they are members of the Institute has been ironed out. Are you saying that you don’t need to become a CITN member now before you can engage in professional tax practice in the country? Precisely, particularly with the Federal Inland Revenue Act.

Global Business

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

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German growth slowed less than forecast in second quarter

he German and French economies slowed less than forecast in the second quarter, fending off a debt crisis that has dragged at least six of their euro-area neighbors into recession. In Germany, gross domestic product rose 0.3 percent from the first quarter, when it gained 0.5 percent, the Federal Statistics Office in Wiesbaden said yesterday. Economists predicted a 0.2 percent increase, according to the median of 40 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. French GDP was unchanged in the quarter, better than the 0.1 percent decline economists had predicted. While the euro region’s two largest economies defied the debt crisis in the first half of the year, the worsening turmoil is starting to take its toll by eroding demand for their exports. Italy and Spain are in recession and euro-area GDP dropped 0.2 percent in the three months through June, the European Union’s statistics office in Luxembourg said today. “For Germany, the outlook remains pretty robust,” said Christian Schulz, an economist at Berenberg Bank in London. “For France, the outlook is less rosy as a

German Chancelor Angela Merkel

number of the components that have prevented it from contracting will be hit by austerity measures, plus the country is losing competitiveness.” The euro rose after the reports and traded at $1.2357 in Frankfurt, up 0.2 percent yesterday. European stocks gained, with the Stoxx Europe 600 Index (SXXP) climbing 0.6 percent.

Hungarian economy slips into second recession in 4 years

ungary’s economy entered its second recession in four years before a resumption in talks over an International Monetary Fundled bailout loan. The economy contracted a preliminary 0.2 percent in the second quarter from the previous three-month period, when it shrank a revised 1 percent, the Budapest-based statistics office said today. Gross domestic product fell 1.2 percent from a year earlier, compared with the 1.3 percent median forecast of 13 economists in a Bloomberg survey. Hungary joined the Czech Republic in recession as Romania returned to growth after two consecutive quarters of decline. Hungary resumed talks with the IMF and the European Union in July after a seven-month delay as it

seeks about 15 billion euros ($18.2 billion) to reduce financing costs and protect against contagion from the euro area’s debt crisis. “The figures aren’t surprising,” the Economy Ministry said in an e-mailed statement today, citing the slowdown in Hungary’s export markets which caused a “temporary loss of momentum.” IMF and EU officials are focusing on untangling policies that contributed to the downgrade of Hungary’s credit to junk as recessions in the euro region sap demand for the country’s exports. They include the flat personal income tax, which cut revenue without lifting consumption and prompted the Cabinet to close budget holes using extraordinary industry taxes that reduced investment and halted economic growth.

Indian inflation eases more than estimated to a 32-month low

ndian inflation eased more than estimated in July to a 32-month low, in a sign that faltering economic growth may be cooling price pressures. Bonds rose. The benchmark wholesale-price index increased 6.87 percent from a year earlier, after climbing 7.25 percent in June, the Commerce Ministry said in New Delhi yesterday. The median of 29 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey was 7.2 percent. Reserve Bank of India Governor Duvvuri Subbarao refrained from joining a wave of rate cuts from China to Europe last month as he tackles what is still the fastest inflation among the biggest emerging markets. The slowest economic growth in nine years may help counter the climb in costs, which has been fanned by a weaker rupee, food prices and gaps in infrastructure underscored in July by the nation’s worst power outages. “On the surface, this number increases the scope for a rate cut but it is not a game

Subbarao

changer as core inflation has moved up and pressures still exist like food prices spiking up later, oil remaining high, the rupee remaining weak,” said Vishnu Varathan, an economist at Mizuho Corporate Bank Ltd. in Singapore. Varathan added he is looking for no more than a 25 basis points interest-rate cut in September.

In Germany, second-quarter expansion was driven by consumption and net trade, with exports rising more than imports, the statistics office said. That compensated for a decline in company investment, particularly in plant and machinery. From the same quarter last year, the economy grew a work-day adjusted 1 percent. “The latest German GDP data are re-

markable,” said Andreas Rees, chief Germany economist at UniCredit Bank AG in Munich. “One is inevitably tempted to ask whether the German economy can continue its decoupling action from the rest of the monetary union in the second half. Keep in mind that about 40 percent of all German exports are shipped to euro-zone countries.” The Italian economy contracted 0.7 percent in the second quarter, extending a recession that started last year, while Spanish GDP fell 0.4 percent. Portugal’s recession deepened, with GDP dropping 1.2 percent for its seventh straight decline. The European Commission forecasts a 0.3 percent contraction for the 17-nation euro economy this year. By contrast, the Bundesbank in June raised its 2012 growth forecast for Germany to 1 percent from 0.6 percent, citing domestic consumption. Still, Moody’s Investors Service on July 23 lowered the outlook on Germany’s Aaa credit rating to negative, citing the risk that Greece could leave the euro and an “increasing likelihood” that countries such as Spain and Italy will require support.

Currency flows reversing China to Colombia as trade slows

ust three months after the biggest developing economies sold dollars to support their currencies, policy makers from Colombia to China are moving to weaken exchange rates and revive exports as the International Monetary Fund forecasts the slowest trade growth in three years. Colombian Finance Minister Juan Carlos Echeverry urged the central bank on Aug. 3 to boost minimum dollar purchases from $20 million a day, saying the country needs “more ammunition” to drive down the peso in the global “currency war.” The Philippines banned foreign funds from deposit accounts and unexpectedly cut interest rates in July as the peso hit a four- year high. In China, authorities lowered the yuan reference rate to the weakest since November, which according to Citigroup Inc. will create “headwinds” for other Asian currencies. After spending more than $59 billion in foreign reserves in May and June to stem currency depreciation, developing nations are reversing policies as the European debt crisis outweighs the risk of faster inflation. South Korea and Chile may weaken exchange rates to make their exports cheaper, according to UBS AG. The IMF estimates global trade will expand at the slowest pace since 2009. “Policy makers will become more aggressive,” said Bhanu Baweja, a Londonbased strategist at UBS. “The currency strengthening is in contrast with the state of the economy. That argues for much weaker foreign-exchange rates.” Options traders are bracing for wider currency swings in some emerging markets in coming months. The gap between implied volatility on one-year and threemonth options for the South Korean won widened to a 10-year high of 2.85 percentage points on July 12, from 1.96 percentage points two months earlier, according to

Carlos Echeverry

data compiled by Bloomberg. Bank of America Corporation. lowered its end-September forecast for the yuan on July 25 to 6.45 per dollar from 6.30, saying “downside growth and disinflationary risks” may prompt China to let its currency depreciate. The new forecast represents a 1.4 percent decline from yesterday’s close. “People aren’t expecting currency appreciation from emerging Asia anymore,” said Albert Ma, a Taipei-based bond fund manager at PineBridge Investments LLC, which oversees $67 billion of assets globally. “These countries are mainly exportoriented. They’d want their currencies to be weak when the global economy is going this bad.” Just three months ago, policy makers were taking steps to prop up exchange rates when emerging-market currencies, as measured by JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s ELMI+ Index, lost 5.9 percent in May, the most since September.

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Global Business

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

etail sales in the United States probably rose in July for the first time in four months, alleviating concern that the expansion was foundering, economists said before a report yesterday. The 0.3 percent increase in purchases would follow a 0.5 percent drop in June, according to the median forecast of 85 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Another report may show prices paid by producers rose last month. Improved sales at merchants such as Gap Inc. and TJX Cos. indicate American households are looking beyond the global economic slowdown as hiring improves. At the same time, joblessness in excess of 8 percent is keeping consumer spending from surging, consistent with the Federal Reserve’s view that economic growth will “remain moderate over coming quarters.” “Consumers are cautious,” said Kevin Cummins, an economist at UBS Securities LLC in Stamford, Connecticut. “Despite a better report than the prior couple of months, you can’t get too excited about spending because the third quarter is still starting off at a pretty slow pace.”

Retail sales in U.S rose first time in four months

Obama

The Commerce Department will release the figures at 8:30 a.m. in Washington. Economists’ estimates ranged from a decline of 0.2 percent to a gain of 0.7 percent.

Clegg to have role in picking new BOE chief

eputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg will have a say in the appointment of the next Bank of England governor, boosting the chances of candidates who take a tough line on banks such as Financial Services Authority Chairman Adair Turner and the former civil-service chief, Gus O’Donnell. The involvement of the Liberal Democrat leader stems from the 2010 coalition agreement with Prime Minister David Cameron’s Conservatives, according to two officials with knowledge of the process. A Liberal Democrat official who asked not to be identified because the discussions have yet to begin said the party sees the appointment as the most significant of any that the government will make. The decision on who should replace King, who is due to retire in June 2013, is complicated by the fact that Britain has a coalition government for the first time since 1945. The Liberal Democrats, the junior partners, have been outspoken in their calls for curbs on executive pay and protection for the retail operations of banks in the wake of 2008 financial crisis. “This is one of the areas where the Lib Dems will be very proactive and sensitive,” said Bill Jones, professor of politics at Liverpool Hope University. “It’s a very delicate subject because of the excesses of the banking industry. They will want someone who is not tainted, so O’Donnell and Turner should be involved.” King, 64, is retiring after completing the maximum tenure of two five-year terms. Liberal Democrats say the choice of successor is more important than ever because the next governor will serve a single eight-year term under legislation to expand the bank’s powers beyond monetary policy to cover financial regulation. The search will begin as soon as next month and the successful candidate may

Clegg

be announced by the end of the year. There will be a proper selection process and the best person for the job will be appointed, whoever he or she is, the Treasury said in a statement.

The report will also show the retail sales category used to calculate gross domestic product, which excludes sales at auto dealers, building material stores and service stations, rose 0.5 percent in

July compared with a 0.1 percent decline the prior month, according to the economists surveyed. The pickup in retail sales last month follows a quarter in which household spending grew at the slowest pace in a year. Consumer purchases, about 70 percent of the economy, expanded at a 1.5 percent annual rate from April to June, according to Commerce Department data. In July, same-store sales at the more than 20 companies tracked by Retail Metrics Inc. rose 4.4 percent, almost four times analysts’ estimates, after a 0.3 percent gain in June. Sales at Gap, the biggest U.S. specialtyapparel retailer, climbed 10 percent last month from the same period in 2011. Macy’s Incorporated, the owner of its namesake and Bloomingdale’s department stores, posted a 4.1 percent increase.

France avoids GDP contraction

rance’s economy unexpectedly percent in the second quarter from the avoided its first quarterly con- first, when it dropped 0.8 percent, totraction in more than three years day’s data showed. Public sector expenas both companies and government in- diture advanced 0.5 percent and exports increased 0.2 percent from the previous creased spending. Gross domestic product was un- three months. Imports jumped 1.8 perchanged in the second quarter from the cent in the second quarter. first, national statistics office Insee in Paris said yesterday in an e-mailed statement. Economists forecast a 0.1 percent decline, according to the median of 26 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. GDP rose 0.3 percent from a year earlier. The figures offer some respite to President Francois Hollande as he seeks to cut France’s budget deficit in the face of recessions in neighboring Italy and Spain. France’s three- year economic expansion has set it apart from its southern neighbors, where Europe’s sovereign debt crisis has driven up borrowing costs. In Germany, GDP rose 0.3 percent in the second quarter from the first, a report showed yesterday. “Investment by non-financial corporations is recovering after having dropped at the beginning of the year,” Insee said. “In the public sector, investment is rising, returning to normal after being hurt by harsh weather in the first quarter.” Gross fixed capital formation rose 0.6 Hollande

Euro-area economic output contracted on Spain

he euro-area economy shrank in the second quarter after the worsening debt crisis and tougher budget cuts forced at least six nations into recessions. Gross domestic product in the 17-nation currency bloc fell 0.2 percent from the first quarter, when it stagnated, the European Union’s statistics office in Luxembourg said yesterday. That’s in line with the median estimate of 35 economists in a Bloomberg survey. The contraction was softened by strongerthan- forecast growth in Germany, the region’s largest economy. Europe’s slump is deepening as gov-

ernments struggle to restore investor confidence and companies eliminate jobs. While Germany’s economy helped to support the euro region in the first half, surveys are weakening, with a gauge of investor confidence dropping in August. The Bank of Japan cited the euro turmoil among risks to its economy. “The ongoing recession in large parts of the periphery will continue to hold back euro-zone growth,” said Martin Van Vliet, an economist at ING Bank in Amsterdam. “Any recovery will likely remain sluggish and fragile. There are a lot of things that could go wrong on

the crisis resolution that could derail the envisaged recovery.” The euro advanced 0.1 percent against the dollar and traded at $1.2346 as of yesterday in Frankfurt. Stocks rose after data showed Germany’s economy grew 0.3 percent in the second quarter and as investors awaited a report that may show U.S. retail sales climbed following a threemonth slump. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index (SXXP) gained 0.4 percent, while Germany’s DAX Index jumped 0.8 percent. Standard & Poor’s 500 Index futures expiring in September added 0.2 percent.

Capital Market

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Foreign reserves rises 0.73% in one month ADEDEJI ADEMIGBUJI

he country’s foreign reserves rose by $267m or 0.73 per cent in a month, from $36.429bn in July 13, 2012 to $36.696bn on Monday. Analysts attributed the increase to the Central Bank of Nigeria’s liquidity tighthening and the recent rises in crude oil price. The CBN raised cash reserve ratio from eight per cent to 12 per cent as it also reduced the net foreign exchange open position to one per cent from the three per cent, but retained

monetray policy rate at 12 per cent on July 24. Meanwhile, the naira snapped four days of gains, paring an earlier rise, as foreign-exchange sales from oil companies operating in the West African nation waned. The currency fell 0.3 per cent to N158.2 per dollar yesterday on the interbank market. The naira has risen 2.6 per cent this year, the strongest performance in Africa after Zambia’s kwacha, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. “The supply from oil companies is drying up and as such the rates are

moving up,” Femi Okegbenro, the chief dealer at First Securities Discount House Limited said. “The naira had gained on the back of oil companies’ sales of dollars and we expect to see more volatility in the foreign exchange market from such periodic flows.” The naira had its best five-day performance in more than a year last week as the Central Bank of Nigeria increased lenders’ reserve requirements to 12 per cent of total assets from eigth per cent after its monetary policy committee meeting on July 24, when it held interest rates

at 12 percent. A week later, it restricted access to twicea-week foreign-exchange auctions to prevent dealers from buying foreign currency using naira purchased from the central bank at a discount. Yields on the nation’s 16 per cent domestic debt due 2019 fell two basis points, or 0.02 percentage point, to 16.49 per cent, according to Monday’s prices on the Financial Markets Dealers Association website. Borrowing costs on $500m of Eurobonds due 2021 were little changed at 5.14 per cent.

Source: NSE NIBOR QUOTES 13 AUGUST & 14 AUGUST 2012 30.00 29.00 28.00 27.00 26.00 25.00 24.00 23.00 22.00 21.00 20.00 19.00 18.00 17.00 16.00 15.00

13-Aug-12

Equities shed 0.6% on profit taking JOHNSON OKANLAWON

rading in a equities closed on bearish note on the Nigerian Stock Exchange yesterday, as some investors took profit from the gains recorded in the last three days. Specifically, losses recorded by blue chips companies dragged the All Share index to 23,125.32 points, from 23,273.56 points it closed the preceding day, a decline by 0.64 per cent. Market capitalisation dipped by N47bn to close at N7.36trn, as against the appreciation

by N11bn recorded the preceding day to close at N7.41trn. The NSE-30 index shed 0.44 per cent to close at 1,081.30 points, followed by insurance index with 0.9 per cent to close at 126.46 points. Lotus Islamic index dropped by 0.45 per cent to close at 1,347.54 points, while the banking index depreciated by 0.29 per cent to close at 354.52 points. The consumer goods index rose by 0.2 per cent to close at 1,954.52 points, while the oil and gas index appreciated by 0.8 per cent to close at 168.87 points.

Cement Company of Northern Nigeria Plc led the gainers’ table with 21 kobo or 4.91 per cent to close at N4.49 per share, followed by Custodian Insurance Plc with six kobo or 4.88 per cent to close at N1.29 per share. UTC Plc and Continental Insurance Plc gained four kobo and three kobo or 4.76 per cent to close at 88 kobo and 66 kobo respectively. AG Leventis Plc appreciated by five kobo or 4.55 per cent to close at N1.15 per share. On the flip side, ARBICO Plc lost 78 kobo or five per cent to close at N14.83 per share, while BAGCO Plc fell eight kobo or 4.88

per cent to close at N1.56 per share. Cutix Plc dipped by eight kobo or 4.82 per cent to close at N1.58 per share, while Union Bank of Nigeria Plc shed 24 kobo or 4.69 per cent to close at N4.88 per share. Airservice Plc depreciated by seven kobo or 4.27 per cent to close at N1.57 per share. Transaction volume in equities dipped by 1.3 per cent, as a total of 206.94 million shares worth N1.35bn were exchanged in 3,753 deals, compared to 209.74 million shares valued at N1.61bn traded in 3,306 deals the preceding day.

14-Aug-12

Source: Afrinvest

Market indicators All-Share Index 23,125.32 points Market capitalisation 7,360 trillion

Stock Updates GAINERS COMPANY

OPENING

CLOSING

CHANGE

FLOURMILL

50.40

52.00

1.60

% CHANGE 3.17

GLAXOSMITH

29.00

29.51

0.51

1.76

24.01

24.44

0.43

1.79

INTBREW

6.07

6.30

0.23

3.79

CCNN

4.28

4.49

0.21

4.91

NASCON

4.75

4.87

0.12

2.53

PAINTCOM

2.20

2.29

0.09

4.09

UACN

33.52

33.60

0.08

0.24

120.00

120.07

0.07

0.06

CUSTODYINS

1.23

1.29

0.06

4.88

CHANGE

% CHANGE -2.17

LOSERS COMPANY

OPENING

CLOSING

DANGCEM

115.00

112.50

-2.50

ARBICO

15.61

14.83

-0.78

-5.00

UBN

5.12

4.88

-0.24

-4.69

GUARANTY

17.70

17.50

-0.20

-1.13

UAC-PROP

9.85

9.70

-0.15

-1.52

UnityKapital approves N130m dividends

DANGSUGAR

4.69

4.55

-0.14

-2.99

ETERNA

2.55

2.45

-0.10

-3.92

BAGCO

1.64

1.56

-0.08

-4.88

TOLA AKINMUTIMI

CUTIX

1.66

1.58

-0.08

-4.82

UBA

4.40

4.33

-0.07

-1.59

ABUJA

nityKapital Assurance Plc ended its 36th Annual General Meeting in Abuja yesterday with the approval N130m as dividends to its shareholders for the financial year ended December 31, 2011. Also, the shareholders approved the additional benefits of a bonus of one new share for 15 shares held by the shareholders as proposed by the Board during the meeting. During the year under review, the company posted a profit before tax of N514.2m, a feat which the shareholders described as remarkable in view of losses recorded prior 2011.

The company declared a profit before tax of N514.2m in 2011, compared to the loss of N6.6m in the same period of year 2010, an increase of 7,749 per cent and a profit after tax of N413.6m, compared to a loss of N190.234m recorded in the preceding year. Shareholders commended the turnaround from losses to profitability which has been attributed to the new policy of ‘cautious dynamism’ being implemented by the management under the leadership of the Managing Director, Mr. Kins Ekebuike. The company’s chairman, Dr Falalu Bello, said it recorded gross premium income of N1.97bn in 2011, compared to N941m in 2010,

just as it also paid gross claims of N166.5m, while shareholders’ funds grew to N8.42bn from N8bn. Meanwhile, the shareholders have urged National Insurance Commission to ensure that premiums are paid directly to the underwriters and they in turn should within 30 days pay the commission back to the brokers. They also decried the low interest rate paid by the Central Bank of Nigeria for statutory deposit of insurance companies domiciled with the apex bank. The shareholders implored the insurance industry regulatory authority to review the policy regarding how it takes for

insurance brokers to remit funds collected to the underwriters saying the current 90 days was too long. A shareholder, Mr. Olatunji Sikinsmon, implored NAICOM to make it a policy that clients should pay directly to the underwriters and within 30 days, the underwriters should pay the commission or fees back to the brokers. Acording to him, all insurance companies should persuade the CBN to pay interest rate above the Monetary Policy Rate, adding, “What the CBN is paying is a peanut. If we can deposit N256m in the CBN and they pay us rates far below the MPR it does not augur well for the business.”

Primary Market Auction TENOR

AMOUNT (N’mn)

RATE (%)

DATE

91-Day

32,057.31

14.70

9-Aug-12

182-Day

50,000.00

16.10

9-Aug-12

364 -Day

60,000.00

9.05

9-Aug-12

Open Market Operations TENOR

AMOUNT (N’mn)

RATE (%)

DATE

195 Days

26,036.45

16.39

9-Aug-12

181-Day

11,644.09

16.40

9-Aug-12

Wholesale Dutch Auction System AMOUNT OFFERED

MARKET DEMAND

AMOUNT SOLD

DATE

$180m

N/A

$147m

13-Aug-12

$350m

N/A

$318m

8-Aug-12

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Capital Market

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Stock exchange daily equities summary Equities as at August 14, 2012 1st Tier Securities

1st Tier Securities Sector

Company name

No Of Deals

Quotation(N)

Quantity Traded

Value of Shares(N)

Sector

Company name

No Of Deals

Quotation(N)

Quantity Traded

Value of Shares(N)

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

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Wednesday, August 15, 2012

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Community Mirror “The constitution and Electoral Act gave INEC the power to de-register political parties and we have commenced that process and it is ongoing.” CHAIRMAN OF INEC, PROF. ATTAHIRU JEGA

Birth defect: Doctor accused of negligence MOJEED ALABI

medical doctor with the Lagos State Government, Dr. Damilola Adeyemo, has been accused of allegedly sedating and abandoning a pregnant woman due for caesarean section in the operating theatre, an action which it claimed negatively affected the baby. Mrs. Funmilola Adesanya, was reported to have been transferred from Somolu General Hospital to the Island Maternity, on June 22, 2011, for urgent caesarean section, having noticed that her cervix could not allow for normal delivery. According to her husband, Mr. Adebiyi Adesanya, the transfer became necessary, as doctors to perform the operation at the Somolu hospital were unavailable. He said: “Dr. Adeyemo who was presented with the referral letter, declined to attend to my wife for unknown reasons, and kept murmuring and nagging at us. “We got to know that her objection stemmed from the reason that there were usually many referral patients from Somolu General Hospital to Island Maternity. We begged and even informed her that my wife was an employee of the government, yet, she refused to listen or budge. Later, she prescribed a drug which I later found out to be a sedative. I warned against administering the drug on my wife, except she was willing to immediately operate on her. When my mother noticed the anxiety, she pleaded that I go home. Coming back the next day, I discovered my wife was sedated and rather than receiving the good news of her safe delivery, I met my wife lying on the same bed and now on medical oxygen,” Adesanya explained. Mrs Adesanya’s father revealed that when doctors at Somolu General Hospital asked that her daughter be brought back, it was discovered that the operation was yet to be performed almost 24 hours after it was recommended. “We initially wanted to go to Lagos University Teaching Hospital, Idi Araba, when Dr. Adeyemo refused attending to her, but she made matters worse by declining to release the referral letter to us. So, when the hospital in Somolu requested we convey her back,

we requested for an ambulance which was turned down. We later hired a private car which was risky, because she had been disconnected from the oxygen cylinder,” Adesanya reiterated. Hours later, the operation was carried out, even as the husband claimed that doctors confirmed that his wife had been subjected to prolonged labour, which affected her health and the child. He said the baby, Nicole Oluwasemilore Adesanya, was unable to cry for more than 24 hours after birth, and was only moving her limbs. Both parents revealed that nothing untoward was noticed until three months after the de-

livery, as the baby could not move her body without being aided. She was said to have later develop seizures which doctors confirmed resulted in severe birth asphyxia, leading to cerebral palsy. In a petition to Lagos State Government, and copies which were made to the Health Service Commission, Ministry of Health, Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, among others, counsel to the Adesanyas, Mr. Don Akaegbu from chambers of Comforter’s Law Firm, urged concerned stakeholders to intervene and restore the baby’s health through adequate medical intervention which doctors said will include brain scanning.

“There is no telling what my clients have been and presently going through, on account of the unethical and unprofessional behaviour of Dr. Adeyemo and Island Maternity. The situation has robbed them of every vestige of peace, money and health, as the innocent child constantly falls into seizure, and her parents spend their earnings on her,” the counsel wrote. In a swift reaction, the Health Service Commission has set up a panel of enquiry to look into the matter, as it has convened a meeting between the accused doctor and hospital, including the family and legal team. When Community Mirror

Gully erosion threatening the Old Community Road, Aperin in Ibadan, Oyo State.

called on chairman of the committee and Director of Medical Services at the commission, Dr. Onayiga, she declined any comment but rather said the panel is already carrying out the assignment of identifying source of the problem and will submit its report to the appropriate authorities. Also, Dr. Adeyemo refused to comment when called, as she said the matter was already before the panel. Meanwhile, counsel to the Adesanyas’ has called for speedy action on the matter, saying that if the panel did not address the matter diligently, it would approach a competent court of law to seek redress.

PHOTO: YINKA ADEPARUSI

Ohanaeze inaugurates media forum NGOZI EMEDOLIBE

he apex socio-cultural group uniting Igbo people, Ohanaeze Ndi Igbo, has inaugurated a media arm, to be known as the Ohaneze Media Forum, (OMF). The information disseminating arm is charged with the mandate to help in repositioning the Igbo race for the challenges of governance, national integration and cultural revival.

The President of Ohaneze Ndi Igbo, (Lagos and the Diaspora), Chief Oliver Akubueze, while commending the forum, tasked them to use their good offices to further educate Nigerians that Ndi Igbo mean well for the country, which is why they are seen living and transacting businesses at everywhere in the world. “Today is historic in the life of Ndi Igbo, because we have decided to come together to give more bite to our collective desire to become once again relevant

in the scheme of things in our country. I will congratulate the members, and remind you that Ohaneze Ndi Igbo, umbrella body of all Igbo people, decided to make you a member of the forum because of your professionalism and commitment to the Igbo cause, which you have exhibited over the years. “I am happy that this forum is made up of men and women of integrity, who Ndi Igbo can be proud of. The job on your hands is actually a tasking one, and you

are expected to use your good office to uplift the place of the Igbo in Nigeria and the world. This is in recognition of the fact that the media is essential to good governance, democracy and development. With the help of this forum, the cries, desires and aspirations of Ndi Igbo will no longer be swept under the carpet as has been the case. The forum will be our voice to tell other Nigerians to see us as people committed to equity, justice and unity of Nigerian.”

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

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Ramadan Special

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Jonathan breaks fast with Muslim diplomats

resident Goodluck Jonathan has called on Muslims to use the remaining period of the Ramadan to seek Allah’s intervention in the various challenges confronting nations of the world. Jonathan made the call during the breaking of Ramadan fast with Muslim members of the diplomatic community at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

The President called on his guests and Muslims across the world to pray for divine intervention for nations facing civil strife, political instability and financial crisis. ``I wish to call on you while praying during this period, and especially during the Night of Majesty, to pray for peace and security to reign and for Allah to guide the leaders and give them wisdom to work for

the development of their respective countries,’’ he said. He said that Muslims should also use the period to show compassion and forgiveness as well as pray for the world to surmount the challenges of conflicts and wars. He noted that such prayers were imperative in order to achieve global peace and harmony. The President noted that the month of Ramadan was

a time for self denial, spiritual rejuvenation and recommitment to righteousness. The Acting Dean of the Diplomatic Corps and Ambassador of Guinea in Nigeria, urged Jonathan not to be discouraged by the spate of insecurity in the country. He assured the President that victory would be certainly recorded at the end of the day.

NGO donates largesse to 4000 Almajiris JAMES DANJUMA KATSINA

o less than 4,000 Almajiris have received largess worth millions of naira in Katsina State from a Non Governmental Organisation (NGO), Service to Humanity Foundation. The NGO, which is pet project of the wife of the state governor, Mrs. Fatima Shema donated food items, clothes and cash in the way of assistance to selected

almajiris from the 34 council areas. Speaking while distributing the largesse, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Almajirai, Lawal Mani Gambarawa said the foundation had before now, been assisting almajiris as way of alleviating their living condition. Gambarawa said the distribution of the clothes, food items and money was to enable the Quranic

pupils celebrate the forthcoming Ed-el-Fitr, and commended the foundation’s chairperson, Mrs. Shema for her concern at improving the welfare of almajirai. The special assistant however appealed to head teachers of Quranic schools to ensure proper use of clothes and food item, and called on wealthy individuals to come to the assistance of the almajiri

child in the state. Gambarawa assured that government will continue with its programme in the training of almajirai to make them self reliant. Responding, head teachers of benefiting Quranic schools expressed appreciation for assistance to their pupils, with some of them offering prayers for continued peace and stability of the nation.

Night of Majesty: Imam prays for peace, unity in Nigeria

Muslim scholar, Sheikh Oluwatoyin Salati on Friday night prayed for peace and unity in the country. Salati conducted the prayer during the Lailatul Quadri (Night of Majesty) was organised by NasirLahi-L-Fatih Society of Nigeria (NASFAT) at Utako, Abuja. The Lailatul Quadri is a night in Ramadan that is said to be greater than a thousand months. The night is said to be within the last 10 days of Ramadan, the odd days of the Muslim fasting month between the 21st and the 29th day of the month. The scholar, at the occasion, said that the security challenges in the country needed fervent prayers. ``The only thing we need in this country now is prayer, and this should be done by everybody, irrespective of religion, race or colour. We should all stand up and pray. ``The power of prayers should never be underestimated because it can solve all problems within a twinkle of an eye.

L – R: Mallam Ahmed Maruf, Administrative Secretary, Zakat & Sadaqat Foundation and Hon. Abdul Baqi Ladi Balogun, representing Ajeromi Ifelodun Constituency II, Lagos State House of Assembly hosting Iftar Soim (feeding the fasting Muslim) in his constituency.

L-R: Hajiah Fatimah Oladeji, Alhaja Muslimat Kazeem Popoola, Hajiah Mujidat Ajisefini, the awardee Alhaji Abdur Raheem Ajisefini and Alhaja Muinat Adewunmi-Adegbesan during an annual Ramadan Lecture/Award presentation by Alade Market Muslim Brothers and Sisters Association (AMBASIS)held in Ikeja.

Day 27

Ramadan: Muslims urged to pay attention to last days

uslim Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN) Ogudu Ojota Central Branch has enjoined fasting Muslims to increase in acts of worship and good character as the fast goes to an end to earn the pleasure of Allah. This was disclosed by the Naibul Amir of the branch Ustaz Abdul Hakeem Ayanwale who said this during the iftar programme organised for students within the area as he advised that the last ten days determines the efficiency of the 30days long fast. He urged Muslims to emulate Prophet Muhammad by secluding themselves to the devotion of Allah within these last days while reciting the Quran, seeking forgiveness, engaging in more acts of charity and observing prayers in the night. He said towards the end of the fast, there is tendency that Muslims will to relent in their efforts towards attaining the paradise of Allah but urged them never to allow Shaytan as this is the time to intensify rather

than relax. The Amir of the branch, Mallam Abdul Hafeez Akinyanju urged Muslims to prepare for the Eidl Fitr by eating moderately and to wear the best of all cloths to the prayer ground as it was exemplified during the life of holy Prophet Muhammad. He reminded them of the dangers of committing sin on Eid day while he added that Muslims are allowed to eat before going to the prayer field during Eidlfitr and not allowed during Eidl Adha. The Public Relation Officer of Kosofe Area Council, Ustaz Abdul Fattah Abdul Azeez advised youths within the area to remain committed to the welfare of the people of their environment after the fast and enjoined them to always encourage good and forbid evil when there is no fast. He told them to remain glued to listening to the word of Allah, as he stated that this will elevate their souls and will also safeguard them from falling prey to the plots of Shaytan.

North

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

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Kumuyi visits Kogi, commiserates with members ADEMU IDAKWO LOKOJA

ogi State Deputy Governor, Chief Yomi Awoniyi, has assured adherents of the two religions in the state of adequate protection and right to freedom of worship as entrenched in the 1999 Constitution. The deputy governor stated this when he received in audience, the General Superintendent of the Deeper Life Bible Church, Pastor William F. Kumuyi, who was in the state, to condole with members of his congregation who were

recently murdered during a church service. Awoniyi said a lot of findings have been made on who the criminals were, noting that the incident had no sectarian or religious undertone. The deputy governor added that the incident was a manifestation of the sinful inclination of some criminals, seeking to reap where they did not sow, but were driven by their greed, avarice and lust; adding that no stone will be left unturned until the perpetrators are brought to book. He said the recent inci-

Pastor Kumuyi

dent has marked a turning point for several things that have gone wrong in the state concerning security, while assuring that security agents are confronting the situation in very commendable ways.

The deputy governor also added that the state is safe and on course for development, urging all affected persons to resist the temptation of retaliation, as doing so would mean that the designs of the enemies of the state and country have succeeded. The deputy governor promised that all those involved will be brought to book no matter how highly placed. Earlier in his speech, Pastor Kumuyi, expressed thanks for the steps taken by the state government, saying the attack was premeditated,

he called on government and security agencies to be alert and responsible to its duties. Kumuyi also commiserated with families of members who lost loved ones and used the occasion to pray for the nation, asking that God grant the leaders the courage and fortitude to overcome the security challenges currently facing the nation. The highpoint of the General Superintendent’s visit was the visit to the Federal Medical Centre, Lokoja, where eight of the injured persons are still receiving treatment.

Forum flays call for removal of FCT minister EZEKIEL TITUS BAUCHI

he Dhuori Historical Renaissance and Development Forum (DHIRADF) in Alkaleri Local Government of Bauchi State, hometown to FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed, has condemned recent calls from some quarters for the immediate removal of the minister. Coordinator of the forum, Mr. Joshua Ray Maina, made the condemnation while briefing journalists in Bauchi yesterday. He said the forum wouldn’t have ordinarily responded to the call but for the fact that the FCT minister has been accused of using ethnicity to advance his cause and knowing very well that he is our son, we are bound to respond. According to Maina, the reasons fabricated to effect the removal of the minister are obviously malicious, erroneous and implicative. The DHIRADF coordinator said those behind the call should know that the FCT minster is not representing the North-East alone but Nigeria, adding that if the minister was not found wanting in any way, then there was no reason demanding for his removal. On the accusation that his aides have houses in different locations in Abuja, Maina said “they should go and verify if it’s out of corruption and then present their findings to the relevant authorities for necessary action.”

Scene of the bomb blast that killed two persons along Ali Akilu Road, Abakpa, Kaduna, yesterday.

Jurist links poverty with low budget implementation JAMES DANJUMA KATSINA

ormer Katsina State Grand Khadi, Isah Moh’d Dodo, has said that the poverty situation in the country could be linked to the inability of the three tiers of government, to fully implement their yearly budgets. Dodo, who spoke during a Ramadan lecture yesterday said the three tiers of government were only using their budgets to divert money to unimportant projects rather than using same to improve lives of the citizenry. The former grand khadi also said that the budget prepared by government in the past, has failed to address the problems bedeviling the country despite the huge amount involved. He said Nigerians usually have high expectations

on governments’ yearly budgets, but that their expectation was always dashed due to non-implementation of the budgets. Dodo accused national and state assemblies of not playing their constitutional roles as regards budget implementation.

He alleged that the national and state assemblies have allowed the executive arm to siphon money into their personal pockets out of the money budgeted for ministries and parastatals. He called on Nigerians to hold their representa-

tives at national and state assemblies responsible on the poverty situation in the country. On security, Dodo called for continued prayers from Nigerians, noting that prayers remain the only solution to the security challenge in the country.

Education: Stakeholders warn mischief makers to steer clear IGBAWASE UKUMBA LAFIA

takeholders in education in Nasarawa State yesterday warned mischief makers in the state to steer clear of teachers’ activities aimed at complementing the efforts of the state government to uplift the standard of education in the state. State Chairman of Education Secretaries Forum, Yusif Abdullahi, handed down this warning in Lafia, the state capital, while addressing journalists. His words: “Those mischief makers who are hell bent on derailing the good intention of Governor Umaru Tanko AlMakura’s administration by fabricating false information should desist henceforth and go on self exile to save their dignity from plunging into the mud.” He noted that the state government’s efforts on the plight of education in the state is very conspicuous as the Nasarawa State Universal Basic Education Board has concluded plans to award contracts to deserving firms that will rescue the state’s education sector from its decades of decay. Abdullahi also noted with satisfaction the prompt and up to date payment of not only primary school teachers’ salaries in the state by the government, but with the new national minimum wage.

SSS arrests fake NIA officer EZEKIEL TITUS BAUCHI

he Bauchi State command of the State Security Service (SSS) have arrested a 25-year-old man, Ibrahim Aminu, who claimed to be a student of College of Legal and Islamic Studies, Misau, in Bauchi State that has been parading himself as a legal practitioner and a staff of the National Intelligence Agency (NIA). He was arrested yester-

day based on a tip off by officials of the SSS Bauchi State command. He was alleged to have defrauded two men of N193, 000 after impersonating as a member of the National Bar Association (NBA) Gombe State branch. Parading the suspect before journalists, Assistant Director of the SSS in the state, Mr. Olu Justin, said 83 passports, a forged stamp of Providence Chambers, Dutse, Jigawa State and one University of Maiduguri identity

card were found on him. Justin explained that the suspect was found impersonating a staff of the NIA and collected money from unsuspecting people on the pretence that he would help them get a job and in the end disappear without trace. The SSS said the suspect would soon be handed over to the police and warned members of the public to be wary of the types of Ibrahim Aminu, who go about looking for whom to defraud.

Fielding questions later, Aminu, who said he was married with a daughter and was expecting his second child, regretted his actions, saying he was pushed into defrauding people because of hardship. Aminu, who spoke impeccable English claimed to be a student of the University of Maiduguri, but was forced to drop out as a result of financial difficulties, said he is a student of College of Legal and Islam Studies, Misau.

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News

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

FG sets up committee on private sector-driven hospitals MARCUS FATUNMOLE ABUJA

he Federal Government yesterday inaugurated a 20-man committee that will, among others, help unlock the private sector potentials in establishing world-class hospitals and diagnostic centres in each of the geo-political zones of the nation before 2015. Inaugurating the com-

mittee in Abuja, Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, said shortage of funds had made it difficult for many of the government owned tertiary health care facilities in the country to keep with global best practices. The minister observed that “the associated failure to provide high-end medical services in many instances coupled with globalization, has result-

ed in loss of patients to medical tourism with its attendant capital flight from the economy. In the circumstance, it is quite obvious that government alone cannot provide all the health facilities needed to provide adequate health care services to the teeming population, now at over 167million people.” Meanwhile, Chairman, House Committee on Health and Chairman

of the Committee, Hon. Ndidi Elumelu, while decrying the dearth of some facilities required for the treatment of some specific ailments at the nation’s public hospitals, said “even when the facilities are there, our attitude to patients also does not encourage Nigerians in high positions to patronise such hospitals.” Elumelu also remarked that establishing specialist hospitals would not

come cheap, stressing that the National Assembly might not be bold enough to allocate huge sum of money for just a Specialist Hospital when the nation is confronted with other important projects calling for attention, hence the resolve to seek help from the private sector. Membership of the committee that are drawn from health professionals and organised investment and business circles

include; Mr. Tony Elumelu (Chairman); Dr. O. Olowu (Secretary); Dr. Ebun Sonaiya; Dr. Ibrahim Wada-Nisa; Dr. Yemi Onabowale; Prince Mike Chukwu; Dr. Adeniyi Ogunkoya; Dr. Folabi Ogunlesi; Prof. I. Akinsete; Mr. Ifeanyi Okoye; Dr. Charles Cudjoe; Mr. Andrew Ali; Dr. Zainab Shinkafi-Bagudu; Mr. Wale Shonibare; Mrs. Clare Omatseyi; Dr. W. Balami and three others.

Female banker charged for traffic offence KAYODE KETEFE

35-year-old female banker, Mrs. Yinka Johnson, who was alleged to have killed an official of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASMA), Mr. Hameed Balogun, while driving against the traffic in Ajah area of the state was yesterday arraigned before an Igbosere Magistrate’s Court. However, contrary to earlier indications, Johnson was arraigned on one-count charge of reckless driving against traffic and not manslaughter. The defendant (Johnson) pleaded not guilty when the charge was read to her. A police prosecutor, Inspector Agoi Oluwagbemileke, told the court that Mrs. Johnson was arrested on August 10 at 8.30 am at Mega Chicken area of Ikota in Lekki, Lagos for recklessly driving a range rover Jeep with registration number CY 276 LSD. The prosecutor said the defendant was caught driving on a one way traffic without reasonable consideration for other road users. The offence is punishable under Section 29 (1) of the Lagos State Road Traffic Laws of 2003. Oluwagbemileke argued that; “the accused refused to obey government officials

who are trying to stop him from taking the road.” But, the defence counsel, led by Mr. Emeka Okpoko, however, urged the court to grant her bail arguing that traffic offence was a bailable one. In applying for bail, Okpoko urged the court to grant her client bail in liberal terms on the grounds that the offence was not severe. He added that the defendant being a banker will not abandon her job and run away, adding that she is a nursing mother. He further told the court that the defendant would always be available to attend to court proceedings if granted bail. Okpoko said contrary to newspaper publications, the charge before the court showed that the defendant was not the one that killed the LASMA official. The trial magistrate, Mr. Jacob Adegun, granted her bail in the sum of N50, 000 with one surety in like sum. The court then adjourned the matter till September 5, 2012. Johnson, who is an employee of Stanbic IBTC, was arrested by a traffic official for contravening the law. It was gathered that the LASTMA official was crushed to death at about the same time Johnson was alleged to be speeding while driving against the traffic.

L-R: Panelists: Project Manager, British Council, Mrs. Sephora Imomoh; Consultant, XLR8, Mr. Melvin Awolowo and Project Coordinator, Style House Files, Ms. Oyinkansola Momoh, at the auditioning for the MTN Lagos Fashion and Design Week 2012 in Abuja, yesterday.

Terrorists are anti-Islam, says varsity don KEMI OLAITAN IBADAN

university scholar and Chief Imam of the University of Ibadan Mosque, Prof. Abdulrahman Oloyede, yesterday came hard on terrorists troubling the country, saying that the incidents of bombing and unwarranted killings known with the terrorists are against Islamic tenets, a religion that is anchored on peace and peaceful coexistence. Oloyede, former Head of Department of Arabic and Islamic Studies at the premier university, made the assertions in Ibadan, while delivering the second annual Ramadan lec-

Anyim lauds FRSC over road safety management OLUSEGUN KOIKI

ecretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, has described road safety management as a critical component of national growth, which underscores

the huge investment by the Federal Government on road construction and rehabilitation, across the country. Anyim made this declaration while receiving a road safety specialist from the Sub-Saharan Africa Transport Programme, Mr. Per Mathiasen, in Abuja, yester-

day. An on-line statement signed by the Deputy Public Education, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Mr. Bisi Kazeem, said that Anyim lauded the traffic agency for its giant strides over the years in showcasing best road safety practices to the

ture organised by the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Oyo State Council, during which he emphasised the need for circular education among Muslims to further equip them for social development and economic emancipation. While addressing the forum, which was graced by dignitaries including the Onitede of Tedeland, Oba Abdul Rauf Oladoyin Bamigbade; legal icon, Prince Lateef Fagbemi (SAN); the founder of Shafaudeen in Islam, Prof. Sabitu Ariyo Olagoke; the Chairman, Oyo SUBEB, Dr. Busari Adebisi and Chairman, Ido Local Government, Prof. Niyi Olowofela, among others, he said the insecurity problem is socio-political and not religious. outside world, adding that it has become a model for other African countries to follow. His words: “I feel so overwhelmed that the FRSC is going to be presented as a case study to other African countries at the Sub-Saharan Africa Transport Programme (SSATP) workshop in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia later in the year.”

He charged religious clerics in the country to emphasise the areas that can develop their followers while also urging leaders in the country to see democracy as an opportunity to develop their followers through the provision of basic amenities for the people. Oloyede quoting copiously from the scriptures including

the Holy Quran and the Holy Bible, said it would be wrong to describe the Boko Haram insurgency as a jihad because, according to him, “Jihad does not simply mean insurgency, but propagating religion through various means including social work, philanthropy and fighting injustices in the society.”

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

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World News

“It was my gun. I showed her the gun that I had bought for her. She lived with her mother and our two daughters, so I wanted her to have it as I’m worried about them” – Thai lawmaker Boonsong Kowawisarat, who shot his ex-wife

WORLD BULLETIN Afghan suicide bombers kill 38, injure 100 Islamist suicide bombers targeted markets crowded with Ramadan shoppers and a major provincial hospital in Afghanistan yesterday, killing at least 38 people and wounding close to 100. The bloodshed underscored a surge in fighting ahead of a withdrawal by most Western combat troops and handover to Afghan forces winding up in 2014. NATOled forces have been struggling to eliminate Taliban insurgent bastions, especially in the east. Suicide bombings in markets in the southwest province of Nimroz killed at least 28 people - 18 of them civilians and three policemen - and wounded over 70, police said, in the deadliest day of violence in the normally peaceful region since 2001.

Assad’s rule disintegrating – Ex-Syrian PM President Bashar al-Assad controls less than a third of Syria and his power is crumbling, his former prime minister said yesterday, in his first public appearance since he defected to the opposition this month, Reuters has reported. Riyad Hijab told a news conference in Jordan that the morale of Syrian authorities was low after grappling for 17 months to crush a popular uprising and an armed insurgency against Assad. “The regime is collapsing, spiritually and financially, as it escalates militarily,” he said. “It no longer controls more than 30 percent of Syrian territory.” Hijab, a Sunni Muslim, was not in Assad’s inner circle. But as the most senior civilian official to defect, his flight after two months in the job looked embarrassing for the president.

Ugandan helicopter wrecks found in Kenya The wreckage of two Ugandan helicopters that went missing on Sunday has been found in a remote area of Kenya, Kenyan officials have said. Two bodies have been recovered and eight other people on the aircraft have been rescued, the officials added. Both attack helicopters were part of a contingent being sent to reinforce the African Union (AU) force in Somalia. A Ugandan spokesman suggested bad weather caused the crash and ruled out an external attack or mechanical fault. A third helicopter on the same mission made an emergency landing in Mount Kenya on Sunday.

PAUL ARHEWE

WITH AGENCY REPORTS

n Egyptian court is to hear the first legal challenge to a decree issued by Islamist President Mohamed Mursi that removed curbs on his powers imposed by the army. The challenge was filed in Egypt’s administrative court by Mohamed Salem, a lawyer who has already tried to have Mursi’s children, two of whom hold Egyptian and U.S. passports, stripped of their Egyptian nationality. “He (Mursi) wants to bring back the totalitarian regime and create a new dictator, but from the Brotherhood,” Salem told Reuters on Tuesday. “He was sworn in based on the constitutional declaration.” The military leadership that took control of Egypt after the overthrow of autocratic leader Hosni Mubarak issued its constitutional declaration in June, before Mursi won the first presidential election since Mubarak’s departure. The declaration reined in the presidency’s powers, including giving the army legislative power in the absence of parliament. The generals dissolved parliament on the basis of a court order. Mursi’s counter-decree, issued on Sunday, handed him as president the lawmaking powers taken by the army and, in principle, control over army affairs. He also stripped the military leadership

President Mursi faces lawsuit over curbs on military power • Egypt gives Sinai attackers death sentence

L-R: Ex- Defence Minister, Hussein Tantawi receiving a high medal from Egyptian President Morsi at the Presidential Palace in Cairo yesterday. PHOTO: AP

of its right to choose a new body to rewrite the constitution if the existing constituent assembly fails in its task. The courts have proved a crucial battleground in Egypt’s transition to democracy and on several occasions have determined the path of political feuds between elected Islamists and the military, which ruled Egypt for 60 years.

Mursi was the Muslim Brotherhood’s candidate for the presidential election. Meanwhile, a court in Egypt has sentenced 14 members of a militant Islamist group to death for attacks in the town of al-Arish in the Sinai Peninsula last year. Several policemen and soldiers were killed in the attacks, which targeted a police station and a bank.

The sentences must be approved by Egypt’s most senior Muslim cleric. There has been concern over increased lawlessness in the Sinai peninsula since the revolution which overthrew President Mubarak in February 2011. The court found the men committed the attacks as part of an illegal organisation, Al-Tawhid wa al-Jihad.

Couple win £148 million in UK’s lottery

couple who won £148m on the Euromillions lottery have said it was lifechanging “not just for us, for everyone”, BBC has reported. Adrian Bayford, 41, and his 40-year-old wife Gillian, of Haverhill, Suffolk, won the UK’s second biggest ever lottery prize

Bayford and his wife Gillian

in Friday’s lottery draw. Speaking at a media briefing, Mrs Bayford said they would share the money with people who had supported them. They have a six-year-old daughter Aimee and a son, Cameron, aged four. Mr. Bayford, who co-owns Suf-

PHOTO: DAILY MAIL

folk Music Centre in Haverhill, said he convinced his wife that they had both forgotten to buy a ticket when they watched Friday’s draw. He then went and checked the ticket he had bought, with Mrs Bayford describing him as “going a bit pale”. She said: “I checked the numbers on my phone, the TV, the internet - and we just looked at each other and giggled.” Mrs. Bayford, a health care assistant at the children’s ward at Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, said they did not sleep that night. The couple, who have been married for eight years, spent the night on the internet deciding how to spend the huge jackpot, the result of 14 rollovers. Mrs Bayford said she planned to quit her job but her husband, originally from Hayle in Cornwall, said he wanted to return

to the business he started as a market stall. “I find it hard to take in the actual quantity of it,” added Mrs Bayford. Sitting side by side, they seemed happy to speak about what their lives had been like and how it might change now. Despite their newly-found riches, Gillian confessed it might be hard to kick old habits, revealing that she had already bought another lottery ticket. “We have always worked and saved up for holidays or things that we need. We have lived within our means and been comfortable but we have been like ships in the night to earn the income we needed. “It will be fantastic to spend more time as a family now. “This money has come at the right time for us and is going to benefit the whole family.”

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

WORLD RECORD

Water speed record (fastest boat)

Vol. 02 No. 426

Wednesday, August 15, 2012

N150

The official world water speed record is 275.97 knots (511.11 km./h, or 317.58 mph) by Ken Warby in the unlimited-class jet-powered hydroplane Spirit of Australia on Blowering Dam Lake, New South Wales, Australia, on 8 October 1978.

Celebrating gloom and mediocrity

nfortunately, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), organizers of the Olympic Games, does not award medals for poor performance, buck passing and never-ending excuses for failure, else Nigeria would have hauled the largest number at the just concluded London games. Fortunately, when Frenchman, Pierre de Coubertin launched the modern Olympics on November 25, 1892, he was oblivious of such laggards and spoilsport like Nigeria. He was only driven by a burning desire to empower youths at the time with the capacity to exploit the miracles of the industrial revolution, while dispersing its benefits to all corners of the globe. Coubertin must have envisaged a population that is healthy, energetic and vigorous to carry out this task. Moreover, he observed that the defeat of his country, France, by the Germans during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870, was not due to lack of military skills but

Okay Osuji (okayosuji@nationalmirroronline.net) 08034729256 (sms only)

rather to the soldiers “lack of vigour”, which was emphasized in British, German and American schools. Today, these countries and other emerging ones that appreciate the benefits accruing from building a well rounded society, have not allowed any occasion for showcasing the talents of their citizens in this regard to pass them. They know that sports like diplomacy is also war by other means, and the only place they can display their national prowess and superiority is at the Olympic Games, where every nerve and sinew of their athletes are exerted to win laurels in order to proudly hoist their countries flags and play the anthems for global recognition and admiration. During the cold war era, it was an article of faith for the contending NATO and the Warsaw Pact military blocs to outdo each other in all international sports to prove the superiority of their ideologies. The import of such rivalry was never lost on their allies, who saw in the victory of any side an affirmation in the wisdom of their political cause. Rather than abate, this rivalry has become more pernicious and pronounced, as these gladiators spend enormous resources to enable their athletes acquire world beating skills that will put them ahead of the pack. When the Olympic torch was extinguished last Sunday in London, the medals table became the glaring yardstick for distinguishing those who were “tourists” from the serious “athletes”. While Nigeria and other

THE OLYMPIC METAPHOR PERVADES ALL ASPECTS OF OUR NATIONAL LIFE freeloaders made the former list, the likes of USA, China, Britain, Russia, South Korea, France, South Africa and Jamaica belonged to the latter. The saying that “a country deserves the leadership it gets” rings true here, as the quality of governance cannot be divorced from the output of the citizens. It is a question of “garbage- in, garbage-out.” The Olympic metaphor pervades all aspects of our national life, which over the years have oscillated between spiritualism and metaphysics. In China, children as young as three years are spotted for their innate sporting capabilities and then put through their paces to make them super athletes. Those wunderkinds who swept the medals in swimming, badminton, table tennis and weightlifting at the London Olympics, attested to the meticulous planning and discipline that went into making them world champions. Jamaica, with a population of only three million, has established an enduring image of a country that produces the fastest humans in the world. Today, Jamaicans proudly walk the face of the earth, not as fraudsters and unrepentant

scammers, but because they come from the same country with speed demon Usain Bolt, who has become the country’s most visible personality on the world stage. His magical performance on the tracks was all that was needed to reassure Jamaicans that they can attain greater heights and belong to the world’s sporting elite. Such feel good factor is capable of harnessing a country’s potentials to pursue its grand vision. No country is reckoned with just because it assumes the world should look its way without producing concrete reasons for earning the respect. Incidentally, Nigeria is always calling herself the “Giant of Africa,” but fails to impress on anyone why it deserves such sobriquet. In London, South Africa won four gold medals to redeem the image of the Africa continent, and her contingents shone like million stars in all the sport they participated. The perennial successes of Kenyans, Ethiopians and Algerians in the long distance races were vividly on display in London, as they did not disappoint their countries and compatriots. Curiously, in the Nigerian corner, all that was heard were murmurs and buck passing from officials and sports authorities on why the country deserved to fail. Now, the blame game has started and everyone is pleading alibi for what went wrong. The London debacle only reveals a tip of the wider rot in the country, both in politics and economy. Since return of the country to so-called democratic governance, the people are yet to see any difference between the hushed military era and today’s political chatterbox. The nation’s priorities have remained stuck in the past. For more than 25 years, the country is yet to boast of adequate power supply, while the roads and other infrastructure that make for efficient administration, remain a distant dream. Is it any wonder that there is a correlation between a country’s sporting prowess and its administrative efficiency? If in doubt, check the 2012 Olympics medals table and the quality of life in the respective countries.

Sport Extra

ondon 2012 Organising Committee Chairman, Lord Seb Coe, has asked the British government to capitalize on the success of the Olympics by investing in sport at grassroots level. “The challenge now for national governing bodies,

LOCOG boss seeks grassroots development and everyone who is interested in promoting sport, is converting all medals won into more people kids playing sport, and the ability of clubs at community level to absorb that demand,” Coe

said yesterday in London. “I am very happy to play my part. But we certainly need some grown-up conversations about how we deliver these things, and I am pleased the Prime Min-

ister understood this when we spoke,” the LOCOG boss added. PM David Cameron has already responded to Britain’s success by stating that there will be no cuts to fund-

ing for Olympic sports before 2016 Games in Rio, even as UK Sport will receive £125m annually for the next four years to maintain funding at the same level as the run-up to London.

Seb Cole

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