Friday, 18th march, 2016 by GLOBAL MEDIA MIRROR LIMITED

Major, one soldier killed as gunmen battle military in Rivers Dennis naku, PORT HARCOURT

Buratai

Vol. 6 N0. 1329

fierce gun battle between unknown gunmen suspected to be sea pirates and sol-

diers in Abonema, AkukuToru local government area of Rivers State has left two soldiers dead. This is coming barely 24-hours after the Caretaker Committee Chairman

Friday, March 18, 2016

Dasukigate

of Asari-Toru LGA, Soboma Jackrich was declared wanted by the Police. The Deputy Inspector-General of Police in charge of Operations, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2>>

National Mirror Online

Health workers shut down National Hospital

P.3

Oyewole

@NationalMirror

Metuh blasts judge, accuses him of bias

•CJN’s pronouncement will help anti-graft war –Lai Mohammed

L-R: President Muhammadu Buahri; Executive Secretary, World Muslim League, Saudi Arabia, Dr. Abdullah Bin Abdul Moshin al-Turki and Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, at the International Islamic Conference on Peace and Stability in Abuja, yesterday. PHOTO: NAN

N150

Doosuur iwambe anD Joel aJayi ABUJA

mbattled National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party, Chief Olisa Metuh, yesterday accused Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja of bias, saying he would not get justice if his trial continued in his court. Metuh, through his lawyers, further asked the Chief Judge of the FedCONTINUED ON PAGE 2>>

Oyegun’s fate still hanging as SGF visits party ahead of BoT, INEC meeting P.4 Jimoh Ibrahim sets template for PPP infrastructure development P.4

Ambode reopens Mile 12 Market

P.40

News

Friday, March 18, 2016

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Metuh blasts judge, accuses him of bias CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

eral High Court, Justice Ibrahim Auta, to withdraw his trial from Justice Okon Abang and re-assign it to another judge. Metuh is standing trial for allegedly obtaining the sum of N400 million from the former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasiki. At the resumed hearing yesterday, the prosecution counsel, Mr. Sylvanus Tahir, informed the court that they were ready to proceed with the trial but the defence counsel, Ifedayo Adedipe (SAN), told the court that he was aware that the court adjourned till today for the defence to open his case. However, the lead counsel of the defence, Dr. Onyechi Ikpeazu (SAN), had written to the court in a letter dated 16 March, 2016, that he would not be in court yesterday as he was due to undergo an eye surgery at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital. He prayed the court for an adjournment to any date deemed fit by the court for him to personally continue with the trial and the charges slammed against his client. Adedipe undertook that he would go ahead with the trial if the lead counsel (Ikpeazu) was unable to be in court on any day set aside by the court. In his submission, the prosecution counsel, Tahir, told the court that he was dumbfounded and baffled with the request for an adjournment by the defence. He argued that going by the record of the court, right from when this matter started, the defendant had been heavily represented by a legion of lawyers, including Adedipe (SAN) with Dr. Ikpeazu leading. Adedipe, he said, had been consistently in the league of lawyers in the defence team and wondered the impression that the case could not go on without the presence of the lead counsel. He noted that ordinarily, any lawyer on the defence would go on with the matter. “There is nothing we can do, we are very reluctant to agree with the request for adjournment, we

are comforted by Adedipe undertaking that in the event that the lead counsel did not show up at the next adjourned date, he will personally take over the trial,” he said. Before ruling on the application for adjournment, the trial judge asked the parties whether they were aware of a letter written by one of the defence lawyers, Emeka Etiaba (SAN), to the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, Justice Ibrahim Auta, for the transfer of the matter even when eight witnesses had been

called and the court had given judgement in a no case submission by the first defendant in the matter. The prosecution counsel told the court that he was not aware of the letter, but the defence lawyer, Adedipe said “Any letter written by any member of the defence counsel is taken to be the decision of the defence team. “I leave it at that,” Adedipe submitted. Justice Abang said, the CJ on March 16, 2016 forwarded Etiaba’s letter to him praying for a transfer

of the case. The judge said that in work with the circular and the National Judicial Council, which said that,”where there is a petition against a judge handling a matter, the judge will preside on the matter until the judge says otherwise. “I shall, on the basis of the circular from the NJC preside over this matter until otherwise said by the Chief Judge of this honourable court. “I am surprised that Etiaba did not serve the petition on the prosecution,”

he said and added that Etiaba’s action was contrary to Order 30 Rule 5 of the legal practitioners code of conduct rules. Abang said that Etiaba’s conduct is unethical as he ought to have served the petition on the prosecution before the judge takes his decision. Ruling on the application for adjournment, Justice Abang who said he feared no evil, noted that any decision he took on the matter was in line with the law. He pointed out that proceedings in the matter had

been adjourned three times at the instance of the defence. He however granted the application for adjournment at the instance of the defendant on ground of the inability of the lead defence counsel to be in court in line with section 293 (4) of ACJA. Justice Abang adjourned the matter to March 25, 2016, for the defence to open his defence. Etiaba had in a letter dated 11 March, 2016, requested the CJ of the FedCONTINUED ON PAGE 3>>

L-R: President, International Affairs, US Chambers of Commerce, Mr Scott Eisner; Minister of Finance, Mrs Kemi Adeosun; Executive Vice President and Head of International Affairs, U.S. Chambers of Commerce, Mr Myron Brilliant and Director, Policy Africa, U. S. Chambers of Commerce, Mrs Lala Ndiaye, during a courtesy visit to the minister in Abuja, yesterday.

Major, one soldier killed as gunmen battle military in Rivers CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Mr. Sotonye Wakama, told journalists in Port Harcourt on Wednesday that the CTC chairman was declared wanted following the discovery of arms in his residence. Jackrich, who is also known as Egberipapa, is a former militant leader who embraced the Federal Government’s amnesty before he was appointed the CTC chairman by the state governor, Chief Nyesom Wike. Jackrich’s mother who was kidnapped by unknown persons some two weeks ago is yet to regain her freedom. The Army said the soldiers died while trying to

rid criminal elements in that part of the state, although the identities and ranks of the victims were not disclosed, it was gathered that one of the deceased was a Major. Spokesman of 2 Brigade, Nigeria Army in Port Harcourt, Captain Eli Lazarus, confirmed the death of the soldiers in a statement on Thursday. Lazarus who said the incident occurred about 11 a.m. yesterday (Thursday), stressed that the troops displayed extraordinary bravery. The statement reads: “At about 11 a.m. today, troops on patrol in Abonema, Asari-Toru Local Government Area of Rivers State had fierce encounter

with unknown gunmen. “Our troops displayed extraordinary bravery. Unfortunately, an officer and a soldier who sustained various degrees of injury during the encounter lost their lives.” Lazarus, who is the Assistant Director, Army Public Relations, 2 Brigade Nigeria Army, Port Harcourt, however said the troops were on the trail of the hoodlums. “We are in pursuit of the criminals and we will surely get them. All law abiding citizens are urged to go about their lawful activities. The Army will continue to make sacrifices to ensure peace, security of lives and property of all,” the statement advised.

Meanwhile, Rivers State Commissioner for Information, Dr. Austin TamGeorge, has called for an independent international investigation into the killing of the two-soldiers. This is as he blamed the APC for sponsoring cultists for the gruesome killings as part of the plot to cause clashes between innocent Rivers people and the military. In an interview on Thursday evening in Port Harcourt, Dr. Tam-George expressed shock at the ungodly level the APC is willing to go in its bid to incite violence in the state. He commiserated with the families of the deceased and the military high command over the

unfortunate killings. The commissioner stated: “The Government and people of Rivers State are saddened by the unfortunate killing of the officer and soldier. We call for an independent international investigation to ascertain those behind the killings. “However, we strongly believe that APC sponsored cultists may be behind the killing of these soldiers in their ugly plot to pitch innocent Rivers communities against the military.” He said utterances of APC leaders and their relationship with cultists across the state indicate that they are sponsors of violence across the state.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

News 3

Friday, March 18, 2016

Health workers shut down National Hospital Marcus FatunMole ABUJA

atients at the National Hospital, Abuja, groaned for the third day yesterday as workers in the facility refused to work for four hours, in protest of alleged refusal of government to pay them a teaching allowance. When our correspondent visited the hospital at about 10 a.m., many patients and their families were left unattended to by the hospital. Even though doctors were on duty at various offices and sections of the hospitals visited, staff who were in charge of patients files among other support workers in the hospital did not work. Services were, however, provided at some sections of the hospital namely Intensive Care Unit and Emergency Ward. Cancer patients and HIV patients among others were attended to. Leaders of health workers at the hospital, Jelili Adewale, told National Mirror in an interview that non-payment of teaching allowance for workers on CONHESS seven and eight at the hospital led to the strike. The angry workers were clad in dark clothes and chanted different songs which disrupted the usual peace at the hospital. Their dressing was in honour of the late Minister of State for Labour and Productivity, James Ocholi, their leader said. Adewale said: “We are staging this protest, and this is the third day. We are doing this to press home our demands of restoration of teaching allowance for CONHESS seven and eight. This group of staff has been denied this allowance since June 2013. That means they have not been enjoying this allowance. It is an incentive for the extra duty we perform with our younger workers including medical and dental students in training, and doctors. “If the students who are staff do not receive this training, they will not get certified. In June 2013, this allowance was removed or was stopped. And, we have been dialoguing with our management to restore the teaching allowance. “In fact, in May 2015,

L-R: Former Director-General, Nigeria Tourism Development Corporation, Otunba Segun Runsewe; former Governor of Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan; Deputy Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria, Mrs. Sarah Alade; Minister of Solid Minerals and Natural Resources, Dr. Kayode Fayemi and Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief, New Telegraph Newspapers, Mrs. Funke Egbemode, during the New Telegraph Economic Summit on Nigeria Beyond Oil, in Lagos, yesterday. PHOTO: SAMUEL ADETIMEHIN when we were pressing home other demands, this allowance restoration was part of the demands. Other demands were addressed. But, this particular issue has not been addressed. So, from 2015 to now, we have been exchanging correspondences. We’ve been having some meetings and dialogue with government, but, it has not yielded any positive result. “And, the reason our management has been giving is that the IPPIS, that is the office that is for payment of salaries, stopped the payment of this allowance. We ask ‘what has the management been doing to ensure that we have the allowance restored?’ They claim they have been writing to restore the allowance. But it has been a one-way correspondence. They are not able to give us any positive response. They claim that office has not given them the reason. Two years ago, we protested the implementation of the skipping of CONHESS 10 and teaching allowance. The skipping of CONHESS 10 has been addressed up to a level that the unions have been a bit satisfied. But this second demand has not been addressed,” he added. He noted that the workers only suspended work for four hours - between 8 a.m. and 12 p.m. -to press home their demand within the three days.

Metuh blasts judge, accuses him of bias CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

eral High Court to re-assign Metuh’s case from Justice Abang’s court. Etiaba in the letter said that Metuh and the trial judge were called to bar together in 1988, and that Metuh was very worried because he feared that he might not get justice in his court. “At the point, this case was assigned to Justice Abang, the 1st defendant informed us (his lawyers) that he desired to be tried by any other judge apart from Justice Abang, but withheld the view that his opinion was premature as there was no fact to back it up. “Part of the fact relied upon by the defendant in requesting for a transfer of the case was the very stringent bail conditions granted by Justice Abang; part of the condition was that the two sureties must be properties owners in Maitama and must submit their certificate of occupancy,” he said. Etiaba said that Metuh spent nine days on Kuje Prisons as a result of the stringent conditions before the terms were varied and he achieved bail. He said that when Metuh’s plea was taken, the justice announced that the trial would commence

immediately on day to day basis. “All attempts made by his lawyers to urge the court to give him time to meet the conditions of his bail to come out, get the documents which he needed for his defence and to properly brief them failed. “His trial commenced with the court refusing to grant him the conditionally guarantee right to reasonable time to enable him prepare his case,” Etiaba added. Meanwhile, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has described the Chief Justice of Nigeria’s recent directive on the need to strictly administer the provisions of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act as the turning point in the country’s fight against corruption. The minister who stated this Wednesday night in Abuja while receiving a delegation from Deutsche Welle, the German International Radio, said with the pronouncement, there was no hiding place for corrupt persons in Nigeria. His words: “We are happy to report that yesterday the fight against corruption received a very robust support from the judiciary when the Chief Justice of Nigeria announced to the

world that henceforth, the Administration of Criminal Justice Act would become operational and with this, it means that the long delays and adjournments that have been associated with corruption trials will be a thing of the past.” Alhaji Mohammed described the development in the Judiciary as the biggest institutional support for the fight against corruption in Nigeria, adding that henceforth frivolous motions and unnecessary adjournments would no longer be impediments to the fight against corruption. Reiterating an earlier statement by President Buhari, he said the administration would fight corruption relentlessly and mercilessly, reasoning that that was the only remedy for the mal-administration, under-development and poverty that had plagued the country. Speaking on the economy, the minister said the Federal Government was courageously tackling the challenges of the economy and assured that there was light at the end of the tunnel. “The challenges are painful but the outlook is very bright. We know that with our discipline, we are going to manage cost, maximize our revenue,

block leakages and we are very confident that we will manage the economy in a manner that over 30% of it will be devoted to capital projects,” he said. Alhaji Mohammed therefore urged the Deutsche Welle to always project correctly the focus of the administration, which is the fight against terrorism and corruption and the revamping of the economy. In his remarks, the leader of the delegation and Head of the Hausa Service of Deutsche Welle, Mr. Thomas Mosch, commended the administration of President Buhari for being media-friendly. “I just wanted to use this opportunity to thank you for the good collaboration we have experienced so far since the new government came into office. We have not experienced any problem working here in Nigeria, because there were other times our experiences in Nigeria were not as easy for us,” he said. Mr. Mosche disclosed that the Deutsche Welle was collaborating with several Nigerian broadcast outfits in the exchange of programmes in the areas of the economy, education and promotion of African culture.

Photo News

Friday, March 18, 2016

L-R: General Manager, The One, Mr George Chidiac; Proprietor, Street to School, Mrs. Tosin Taiwo; Assistant Director, Street to School, Kennedy Osei; Blessing Innocent (young girl); Teacher, Street to School, Mrs. Ubana Bolanle and CEO COM FU, Mr. Mark Khoury, at the presentation of Laptop to Street to School in Lagos, recently.

L-R: Chief Marketing Officer, Nicon Insurance Ltd, Mr. Samson Davies; Borno State government officials and Assistant General Manager, Technical, Nicon Insurance Ltd, Mr. Sola Sholesi, at a dinner in Nicon Luxury Hotel, Abuja, recently.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

L-R: Executive Vice President, Africa, Middle East, Asia, MoneyGram, Grant Lines; Executive Director, GTBank, Wale Oyedeji; Chief Executive Officer, MoneyGram, Alexander Holmes and Vice President, Africa, China, Herve Chomel, during a strategic partnership agreement signing ceremony between MoneyGram and GTBank in Lagos, recently.

L-R: Head, Business Transformation, Diamond Bank Plc, Abimbola Oguntunde; Deputy Managing Director, Caroline Anyanwu; British Deputy High Commissioner, Ray Kyles; Managing Director, Digital Jewels, Adedoyin Odunfa and Head Corporate Planning, Diamond Bank Plc, Lanre Showunmi, at the presentation of Information Security Management System (ISMS) and Business Continuity Management System (BCMS) Certificates to Diamond Bank in Lagos, recently.

National News

Jimoh Ibrahim sets templates for PPP infrastructure development Chidi UgwU AbujA

hairman and Chief Executive Officer of Global Fleet Group, Barrister Jimoh Ibrahim, has listed conditions for effective implementation of Public Private Partnership, PPP, for infrastructural development in the country. The business mogul, who spoke at the Nigeria Public Private Partnership Conference 2016 recently, said insurance companies, banks and other private sector concerns could do more to partner with government in the provision of critical infrastructure if only the Federal Government could provide strong legal framework and remove bureaucratic bottleneck associated with government businesses. He noted that a strong legal framework would protect private investors, who partner with government to fund public infrastructure, stressing that situations where an

incoming administration cancels or revokes previous contracts or agreements is one scenario that scares away investors. “Insurance companies like Nicon Insurance Limited, banks and other private sector concerns can do more to partner with government in the provision of critical infrastructure in Nigeria, but this will be predicated on a number of things. “Government must be prepared to provide strong legal framework to protect private investors, who partner with government to fund public infrastructure. A situation where an incoming administration cancels or revokes previous contracts or agreements scares away investors. “There must be a proper alignment of interest between the public and private sector in the execution of projects. “Government must work hard on reducing bureaucracy in order to facilitate investment. For instance,

it took over three years for rehabilitation work on the Lekki-Epe Expressway in Lagos State to start; all because of bureaucratic and political bottlenecks, which prolonged the process of the PPP arrangement between private investors and Lagos State Government. “There must be the right revenue stream to pay for such investment on the long term. “Government must prioritise projects based on quantifiable public goals instead of white elephant projects. “There must the transparency in the whole process; from negotiations through to implementation and management of such projects. “The public sector must stop playing politics with economic situations that impact on the lives of the people both on the short and long terms. “Insurance companies like Nicon also have a significant role to play in covering and efficiently managing the risks

involved in these projects and protect the interests of all stakeholders,” he said. According to Ibrahim, the reality of today’s world is that government must seek strategic partners to work with in order to provide adequate public infrastructure, which will in turn drive investment to produce the wealth t the nation needs so urgently. He regretted that the quality of life in the country tells a sordid story, as it is predicated on inadequate or broken down infrastructure, abandoned projects, which impact directly on the lives of Nigerians regardless of their status. According to him, the infrastructure challenges facing the country is enormous, including poor power supply, dilapidated roads and security issues ranging from terrorism to criminality of various types. He expressed optimism that companies like Insurance companies also have a significant role to play in cov-

ering and efficiently managing the risks involved in these projects and protect the interests of all stakeholders, adding that proper and transparent

harmonisation of interests between the public and private sectors will yield the kind of results this nation has not seen since independence.

Oyegun’s fate still hanging

…as SGF visits party ahead of BoT, NEC meetings ObiOra ifOh AbujA

or the second time within a week, Secretary to the Government of Federation, SGF, Engr Babachir David Lawal, yesterday, held a closed-door meeting with the National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, John OdigieOyegun, over next week’s all important meetings of the party. There were strong speculations that the incumbent APC national chairman may be asked to step down during the all important meetings scheduled for next week. It was, however, gath-

ered that the frequent visit of the SGF was to provide a soft-landing for Oyegun. Babachir, who visited the APC national secretariat last week Friday and had meeting with some national officers, who were around, also visited yesterday with another closeddoor meeting with the national chairman and his deputy, South, Mr. Segun Oni, which lasted an hour. Oyegun had confirmed to newsmen when he resumed on Monday that “Yes, all the scheduled meetings of the party will run as planned, the caucus on the 21st, the BOT on the 22nd and NEC on the 24th. Everything will go as planned.”

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

News

Friday, March 18, 2016

Reps query CBN over secret employment …Approves ridesharing services in major cities ubong ukpong and george opara, abuja

ouse of Representatives yesterday queried alleged secret employment of about 909 persons by the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN. Consequently, it has mandated its Committees on Federal Character and Banking and Currency to investigate the recruitment exercise conducted by the Central

Bank of Nigeria, CBN. The said recruitment was alleged to have violated the Federal Character law, as due process was not followed in the exercise. It was also alleged that top officials in government and the elites secured slots and had their relations employed into the apex bank under the exercise. The decision to investigate the recruitment followed a motion on matters of urgent public importance

FG biggest culprit on environmental non-compliance —Yar’Adua Foundation was produced by Jacqueline

Livinus Menedi Yola

documentary film produced by the Yar’ Adua Foundation to serve as an advocacy tool to raise awareness on environmental threats, says the Federal Government is the biggest culprit when it comes to environmental non-compliance. Amara Nwankpa said the screening of the film at the American University of Nigeria, Yola, to a large audience, courtesy of the Atiku Centre and the Yar’ Adua Foundation, formed part of the focus of the Yar’ Adua NGO to make the environmental challenges in the Niger Delta come across as a common national problem we all face. Nwankpa, Director, Public Policy Initiative of the Yar’ Adua Foundation, in his contributions to discussion sessions at the event, said the environmental challenges we have in the country are going to have long term consequences, adding that concerted efforts need to be made to avert the looming danger. He explained that it was this concerns and disturbed by the environmental crisis in the Niger-Delta and the unique challenges its poses to security in Nigeria as well as its impact on global warming, which made the Yar’Adua Foundation to come up with the documentary film ‘Nowhere to Run’, highlighting the challenges from the perspective of affected communities. The documentary a 53 minutes feature length film,

Farris of the Yar’ Adua Foundation, directed by Dan McCain and narrated by Ken Saro Wiwa Jr., connects the dots between climate, environmental degradation and security. Professor Charles Reith one of the panelist, sharing his perspective on the film said the documentary presented its information in piecemeal which however, was necessary according to him because; “it tried to take up a wide range of issues affecting the environment”. Reith who is also an expert on desert ecology, noted that Nigeria has a depressing record on deforestation. Another discussants Dr. Friday Ogu, said the Federal Government needs to do a ho-

brought by Aliyu Madaki. Madaki in his motion said the recruitment exercise employed about 909 people, attracting negative reactions over the way it was conducted. “It lacks Federal Character, justice as stated in the constitution,” he said, recalling that when Nigerians got wind of the exercise the apex bank came out to deny the claim. However, the CBN speaking through its Acting Director of Corporate Communications, Isaac Okorafor, stated that it was not mandatory for the apex bank to ad-

vertise vacant positions for employment. Okorafor, while denying that relations of top officials in government and elite were favoured in the recruitment process, said the bank obtained waiver from the Federal Character Commission. Meanwhile, due to the failure of urban transportation system to take care of a growing population of city dwellers, the House of Representatives yesterday approved Ridesharing Services in major urban cities across the country. This followed the adop-

tion of a motion titled “Call for Ridesharing Services” sponsored by Hon Obinna Chidoka, representing Idemili North/South Federal Constituency of Anambra State on the floor of the House. Debating the motion, Chidoka noted that the growth in Nigeria’s major cities was essential to the country’s continued economic, social and political development. He further noted the failure of transportation systems to keep pace with rapid growth of urban population which affect is increase in traffic congestion and envi-

ronmentally harmful emissions by vehicles. The lawmaker therefore called for a shift towards technology enabled smart mobility that allows for a more efficient use of existing transportation infrastructure which he termed ridesharing services that connect passengers with independent transportation providers. He also hinted that smart mobility solution had already been embraced by governments across Latin America, Europe and AsiaPacific regions.

L-R: Regional Manager North-Central, Grand Cereals Limited (GCL), David Ochai; Minister of Interior, Abdulrahman Dambazau; Inspector General of Police (IGP), Solomon Arase and Marketing Manager, Grand Cereals Limited (GCL), Tope Banjo, during the unveiling of Binggo Dog Food made for the Nigeria Police, recently in Abuja.

Enabulele faults 11-year study plan for Medicine, Dentistry Marcus FatunMoLe abuja

ormer President of the Nigerian Medical Association, and Vice President, Commonwealth Medical Association, Dr Osahon Enabulele, yesterday faulted alleged decision of the National Universities’ Commission, NUC, to extend the years for studying Medicine and Dentistry in Nigerian universities from seven to 11. Enabulele said in a statement he made available to National Mirror that the decision conflicted with the powers of Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, MDCN, which “is pre-eminently vested with the power to determine the

standards of knowledge and skills to be attained by persons seeking to become members of the medical and dental profession and reviewing those standards from time to time, as expressed in section 1, subsection 2 (a) of the Medical and Dental Practitioners Act CAP M8 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004. Indeed, the MDCN has the imprimatur to regulate medical education, training and practice in Nigeria.” He added: “Such a policy initiative on medical/dental education curriculum development in Nigeria, which is bound to impact on the cost of training of a doctor and people’s proclivity for the medical profession, particularly so, with the

declining purchasing power of Nigerians and worsening misery index as a result of the very harsh and depressing economic situation currently being experienced in Nigeria, cannot be undertaken arbitrarily by the NUC. “This is because even though medical education in Nigeria seems to fall under two ministries, namely: Education and Health, the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) is pre-eminently vested with the power to determine the standards of knowledge and skills to be attained by persons seeking to become members of the medical and dental profession and reviewing those standards from time to time, as ex-

pressed in section 1, subsection 2 (a) of the Medical and Dental Practitioners Act CAP M8 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004. So, unless such a pronouncement on a change in medical education curriculum in Nigeria is made by the MDCN, any pronouncement made by any other body without the agreement of the MDCN is totally nugatory and an exercise in futility.” According to him, Executive Secretary of the NUC, Professor Julius Okojie, represented by Deputy Executive Secretary of the NUC Professor Chiedu Mafiana, had made the declaration in a lecture he delivered at the maiden matriculation and inauguration of the Uni-

versity of Medical Science, Ondo, Ondo State. Enabulele said the decision was “worrisome, convulsive, and capable of causing unnecessary tension amongst parents, students and other stakeholders.” He argued that what was known to the public before the pronouncement was on a proposed seven year MBBS/BDS programme that embraces a mandatory four-year programme, which leads to the acquisition of a B.Sc in either Anatomy, Physiology, or Biochemistry, before proceeding to acquire the MBBS or BDS. He therefore, called on the NUC to clarify its position on the matter.

News

Friday, March 18, 2016

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

FG unveils BoI’s N10bn youth entrepreneurship support scheme

…targets establishment of 1,200 enterprises, 6,000 jobs annually oluFemi adeosun AbujA

inister of Trade, Industry and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, yesterday formally unveiled Bank of Industry, BoI’s N10 billion youth entrepreneurship support programme. The programme is

aimed at developing the entrepreneurial capacity of youths within the age bracket of 18-35, with a view to funding their business plans. Under the scheme, each beneficiary is eligible to access a loan up to a maximum of N5 million for the procurement of machinery and equipment as well as working capital.

The loan is expected to be given out at a single digit interest rate of nine per cent, with a loan tenor of three to five years, inclusive of six months moratorium. It is expected that the programme would lead to the establishment and the expansion of an estimated 1,200 enterprises promoted by Nigerian youths across

the country. Speaking during the launch of the YES programme in Abuja, Enelamah underscored the significance of developing entrepreneurial spirit among Nigerian youths, adding that the initiative is coming at a time efforts are being made to diversify the nation’s economic base.

L-R: Governmental Affairs Representatives, Chevron Nigeria Limited, Mrs. Abimbola Dimas; Lagos State Commissioner for Energy and Mineral Resources, Mr. Wale Oluwo; Chairman/MD, Chevron Nigeria Limited, Mr. Clay Neff; Governor Akinwunmi Ambode and Director, Business Services, Chevron Nigeria Limited, Mr. Emmanuel Imafidon, during a courtesy visit to the governor by management of Chevron Nigeria Limited, at the Lagos House, Ikeja, yesterday.

Nigeria to earn more from extractive sector –Fayemi daRe akogun

inister of Solid Minerals, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, has said the country stands to earn more in foreign exchange if the extractive sector of the economy is properly harnessed. Fayemi disclosed this at the New Telegraph Economic Summit tagged, ‘Nigeria: Beyond the Oil Economy,’ held in Lagos yesterday. Fayemi noted that the sector was largely under-developed and under-harnessed despite the huge opportunities that abound in the sector. According to him, “a lot of exploration activities that are supposed to have taken place have not yet even started to determine the quality and quantity of these huge solid mineral deposits. “If you go to every part of this country, there are stones and mineral deposits in quantity and grade, waiting to be tapped to determine the commercial quantity and viability of these miner-

als deposits. “The government is committed to its role of stimulating the deepening of the industry as a facilitator and not necessarily as an active player. Those who genuinely and are concerned about wealth creation should see this sector as an avenue for the creation of wealth, empowerment and revenue generation for the government. “Prospective investors are therefore encouraged to engage current investors and other stakeholders in the industry to speak on business opportunities and process of exploiting them, which will in turn create jobs for the teeming populace. Fayemi disclosed that more than six million Nigerians are presently participating in the informal mining sector of the country, saying that “people just go with their hoes and shovels to dig out whatever minerals they believe is available on their land. These set of

people constitute about 80 per cent of mining activities carried out illegally in the country - without licenses to partake in mining activities,” he added. He therefore urged the

different state government of the federation to begin to create programmes that would lead to the harnessing of solid minerals deposits in their domain to boost their revenue drive.

Quoting the National Bureau of Statistics to paint a sordid picture of the unemployment situation in Nigeria, the minister said about 1.8m young Nigerians enter the already saturated labour market yearly. He lamented that job creation efforts in the country has failed to match up with the pace of the expanding working population. However, Enelamah expressed confidence that the YES initiative would complement the effort of government to significantly address unemployment situation among Nigerian youths in particular. Acting managing director, Mr. Rasheed Olagunju, in his speech, explained that the key objectives of the initiative, were to among others, create an interactive learning platform to train young aspiring entrepreneurs in entrepreneurship, business management and technical skills that will ultimately translate into improved efficiency and productivity, kindle the entrepreneurial spirit of the youths and act as an incubation centre where business ideas are nurtured to their full potential. Apart from that, Olagunju added that the YES-programme was also aimed at entrenching global best practices by inculcating a culture of innovation-driven

entrepreneurship and ethics in the programme participants, promoting self-employment among graduates of tertiary institutions, thereby changing their job-seeking mind-set and deepening financial inclusion by de-risking the young aspiring entrepreneurs and making them eligible for small business loans to be provided by BoI. He stated that, unlike in conventional loan arrangements, the YESprogramme was packaged with a liberal collateral requirement. According to him, fund shall be deployed to support the establishment and expansion of an estimated 1,200 enterprises promoted by Nigerian youths across the country. “The scheme is expected to create a minimum of 6,000 direct jobs and 30,000 indirect jobs annually, totalling 36,000 jobs,” he added. Also speaking, the principal private sector specialist of the African Development Bank, AfDB, Mr. Emmanuel Akinwunmi, noted that the initiative aligned with the bank’s youth development and inclusive growth strategy. He assured BoI of the continued support and encouragement of AfDB in the provision of necessary financing and non-financing resources in fostering youth entrepreneurship and SMEs development in the country.

Religious leaders must counter ideology that motivates insurgents –Buhari …says Boko Haram’ll become history By Rotimi Fadeyi AbujA

resident Muhammadu Buhari said religious leaders must intensify their efforts to send out the real teachings of their religion in order to counter the diabolical ideology that motivates insurgent elements. Buhari spoke yesterday in Abuja at the opening of the International Islamic Conference on Peace and Nation Building, which was a joint effort between Jama’atu Izalatil Bid’a Wa Iqamatis Sunna, based in Nigeria and the Muslim World League. The president noted that

in his inauguration address on May 29 last year, he said Boko Haram was a mindless, godless group that was as far away from Islam as one can think of. “I assured Nigerians that at the end of the hostilities when the group is subdued the government would commission a sociological study to determine the origin, the remote and immediate causes of the movement, its sponsors, international connections, if any, to ensure that measures are taken to prevent a recurrence of this evil. The outcome of the proceedings of this conference will be useful in that regard. “As we have had cause to mention earlier, our govern-

ment in joint cooperation with our neighbours has substantially degraded the attacking capability of the insurgents to a level

that has now compelled the insurgents to retreat. We will pursue them relentlessly until they become an item of history,” he said.

NEC holds 2-day retreat to stimulate economy Rotimi Fadeyi

ational Economic Council, NEC, will hold a two-day retreat, starting from Monday, March 21 to Tuesday, March 22. A statement issued yesterday by senior special assistant to the Vice President on media and publicity, Mr. Laolu Akande, said President Muhammadu Buhari would deliver the keynote

address during the formal opening session on Monday morning. Vice President Yemi Osinbajo as chairman of NEC, an advisory body to the President, would preside over the retreat with governors from the 36 states of the federation attending, including the Central Bank governor and the Budget and Planning minister, among other top government functionaries.

7 Friday, March 18, 2016 National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Table I

FEDERAL MINISTRY OF FINANCE, ABUJA

Summary of Gross Revenue Allocation by Federation Account Allocation Committee for the Month of January, 2016 Shared in February, 2016

NNPC Refund to FG

VAT

Net Statutory Allocation

4= 2 - 3

5 Exchange Gain Difference

NNPC Refund to FG

VAT

Total Net Amount

8 = 4+5+6+7

Total

=N= 155,434,237,389.65 104,000,506,656.30 77,805,401,223.46 22,736,190,278.93 3,225,095,898.05 4,313,104,970.31 2,873,915,225.67

Statutory

=N= 10,039,575,384.31 33,465,251,281.02 23,425,675,896.71 2,788,770,940.08 -

370,388,451,642.37

Beneficiaries

=N= 6,330,393,548.39 -

69,719,273,502.12

S/n

Exchange Gain Difference =N= 1,591,774,011.62 807,369,050.69 622,447,696.27 356,070,444.68 -

6,330,393,548.39

FGN (see Table II) State (see Table III) LGCs (see Table IV) 13% Derivation Fund

=N= 137,472,494,445.33 69,727,886,324.59 53,757,277,630.48 22,380,119,834.25 3,225,095,898.05 1,524,334,030.23 2,873,915,225.67

3,377,661,203.26

Cost of Collection - NCS Deductions: Cost of Collections - DPR Deductions: Cost of Collections - FIRS ADD TRANSFER TO EXCESS

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 290,961,123,388.60

Check!!

Less Deductions

Table II

8 REVENUE and SUBSIDY ACCTS 9 Total

Gross Statutory Allocation

Distribution of Revenue Allocation to FGN by Federation Account Allocation Committee for the Month of January, 2016 Shared in February , 2016

Beneficiaries

138,140,524,666.59

S/n

9,370,270,358.69

2,759,959,415.44 1,379,979,707.72 4,636,731,817.94 3,403,744,432.95 150,320,940,040.64

=N=

5,828,095,806.70

669,305,025.62 10,039,575,384.31

=N= 1,465,471,517.91

120,166,923.85 60,083,461.92 201,880,432.07 120,166,923.85 6,330,393,548.39

=N= 121,476,686,983.30

30,215,907.59 15,107,953.79 50,762,724.74 30,215,907.59 1,591,774,011.62

=N= 5,087,777,340.90

2,609,576,584.00 1,304,788,292.00 4,384,088,661.13 2,584,056,575.89 132,359,197,096.32

=N= 126,564,464,324.20

25,520,008.11 5,113,297,349.01

=N=

1 FGN (CRF Account)

2,609,576,584.00 1,304,788,292.00 4,384,088,661.13 2,609,576,584.00 137,472,494,445.33

=N= 2 Share of Derivation & Ecology 3 Stabilization 4 Development of Natural Resources 5 FCT-Abuja Sub-total

...............................

Kemi Adeosun Hon. Minister of Finance Federal Ministry Of Finance, Abuja. Nigeria.

The above information is also available on the Federal Ministry of Finance website www.fmf.gov.ng and Office of Accountant-General of the Federation website www.oagf.gov.ng. In addition, you would find on these websites details of the Capital and Recurrent allocations to all arms of Government including Federal Ministries and Agencies. The Budget Office website www.budgetoffice.gov.ng also contains information about the Budget.

Source: Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Friday, March 18, 2016

FEDERAL MINISTRY OF FINANCE, ABUJA

Table III

13=6+11+12

14=10+11+12

9,688,812,513.20

2,518,002,235.24

8,556,683,831.80

2,648,635,317.03

6=4+5

10=6-(7+8+9)

Total Net Amount

Total Gross Amount

Gross VAT Allocation

S/n

Distribution of Exchange Gain

791,091,741.04

8 Deductions

Net Statutory Allocation

=N=

799,183,319.41

External Debt

=N=

Gross Total

=N=

13% Share of Derivation (Net)

=N=

2,223,018,469.39

2,277,642,562.55

Gross Statutory Allocation

=N=

2,574,173,860.41

2,661,403,026.54

21,169,417.98

132,030,211.55

=N=

721,250,629.26

692,586,880.19 7,633,561,879.21

Other Deductions (see Note)

21,209,150.83

23,525,824.72

1,697,649,497.85

=N=

1,480,558,689.30

1,561,529,857.64

107,021,602.06

1,051,479,630.38

2,557,036,752.83

Contractual Obligation (ISPO)

330,357,169.14

365,826,488.16 0.00

2,984,326,465.67

=N=

0.00

3,061,663,326.79

2,102,936,076.36

=N= 20,798,221.88

17,933,975.83

No. of LGCs =N= 1,831,714,080.32 23,611,479.73

80,649,051.02

6,032,813,492.05

2,871,125,693.09

223,476,247.89

1,945,290,321.63

DISTRIBUTION OF REVENUE ALLOCATION TO STATE GOVERNMENTS BY FEDERATION ACCOUNT ALLOCATION COMMITTEE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY, 2016 SHARED IN FEBRUARY, 2016

Beneficiaries

1,831,714,080.32

1,721,814,073.74

S/n

=N= 2 ADAMAWA

1 ABIA

1,828,282,579.64

8,765,690,560.61

836,710,609.74

2,870,112,643.44

1,069,590,720.20

1,711,706,935.29

1,708,322,556.98

1,677,005,608.91

2,685,114,479.99

1,708,322,556.98

79,655,760.48

70,989,982.34

36,064,863.19

51,923,004.45

609,914,612.08

99,912,935.00

945,881,467.00

725,882,360.59

0.00

1,702,188,295.85

513,591,504.36

369,624,176.55

1,399,460,245.87

342,122,965.17

1,254,658,714.33

1,422,291,052.28

1,910,771,280.57

4,210,693,614.84

782,486,128.78

1,513,194,528.72

(739,326,086.30)

1,581,044,291.04

401,740,838.20

21,142,231.47

20,509,082.65

23,464,647.91

85,861,421.76

22,233,144.82

23,880,083.65

19,417,803.95

35,415,491.04

19,780,418.33

634,030,707.49

666,156,428.26

740,845,863.01

1,130,397,200.22

729,227,137.42

1,027,063,170.77

726,138,077.58

732,349,143.78

760,986,338.26

2,481,107,573.44

2,457,918,672.25

2,790,819,082.96

7,162,812,589.53

2,671,610,916.02

3,113,330,655.17

2,422,561,490.44

3,452,879,114.81

2,489,089,313.57

2,364,557,968.72

2,108,956,563.19

2,675,081,791.50

5,426,952,236.83

1,533,946,411.02

2,564,137,783.14

6,229,795.23

2,348,808,925.86

1,182,507,594.79

202,345,586.28

638,127,762.45

5,728,691,450.54

3,733,624,021.73

594,558,950.47

3,080,015,931.25

6,916,954,505.29

25,467,519.09

784,075,641.29

2,552,012,522.74

1,848,736,055.32

77,636,637.97

768,985,891.21

1,828,282,579.64

1,694,858,624.00

23,877,445.47

681,551,285.00

163,124,066.17

2,312,130,877.23

26,452,787.61

305,669,380.00

1,786,077,060.59

1,294,982,989.60

21,409,896.45

4 ANAMBRA

35,833,127.79

278,801,793.86

366,629,538.75

2,075,687,014.27

3 AKWA IBOM 2,199,485,197.96

1,241,107,428.57

195,775,446.94

2,199,485,197.96

472,247,451.38

682,879,845.68

21,302,537.22

0.00

5 BAUCHI 5,360,617,903.61

16,127,321.84

633,134,951.92

1,626,993,881.87

13,114,791.22

8 2,062,159,556.68

166,407,004.94

6,062,162,133.16

6 BAYELSA 2,284,577,252.43

2,167,149,723.56

2,062,159,556.68 1,849,051,341.29

8,576,656,879.55

2,094,670,366.40

23 -

2,302,005,179.92

1,376,976,264.34

7 BENUE -

868,000,107.81

3,148,264,752.68

2,372,200,276.15

2,284,577,252.43

112,939,408.35

637,898,761.63

2,305,640,759.09

1,595,251,558.89

1,849,051,341.29

5,081,222,617.00

760,852,134.04

2,609,146,241.62

1,399,702,671.49

19,047,893.31

642,473,386.35

2,390,363,568.76

1,098,907,642.20

29,935,045.03

738,523,570.44

8 BORNO

15,884,432.70

1,510,203,068.61

19,037,144.70

638,319,994.43

9 CROSS RIVER 7,595,717,363.39

112,217,416.04

1,303,883,187.33

21,411,744.27

1,867,025,912.85

0.00

492,188,722.17

715,465,733.28

20,054,450.07

22,638,040.32

398,791,720.25

936,877,114.39

1,612,264,961.44

10 DELTA

1,645,058,524.97

520,000,000.00

206,468,378.89

1,645,058,524.97

499,654,808.01

272,954,925.64

41,405,664.11

0.00

11 EBONYI

2,357,477,573.61

30,217,966.49

499,551,677.82

1,719,349,811.16

30,477,586.58

1,644,130,228.03

22,605,406.41

12 EDO -

1,849,210,926.91

1,644,130,228.03

1,731,989,124.26

2,299,871,068.62

16 -

2,911,146,156.00

13 EKITI -

771,636,821.53

2,776,529,371.32

1,849,210,926.91

25,351,907.27

2,882,327,493.05

1,731,989,124.26

1,502,882,339.82

802,186,553.16

578,157,397.25

23,809,957.26

2,858,012,009.93

0.00

1,950,532,860.89

3,388,961,632.45

14 ENUGU

33,117,690.13

89,972,595.59

951,834,579.26

15 GOMBE

2,114,157,427.20

0.00

27,896,134.28

1,911,811,840.92

15,825,526.14

1,878,281,296.39

3,863,834,809.34

2,056,330,982.62

406,509,873.54

4,210,707,738.81

16 IMO

0.00

1,260,294,115.87

2,056,330,982.62

124,439,748.98

33,771,376.22

2,409,230,918.91

2,569,769,317.25

17 JIGAWA

319,401,819.29

2,409,230,918.91

0.00

2,999,916,961.77

27,471,110.18

3,198,099,994.31

18 KADUNA

2,916,642,246.72

911,613,405.16

26,171,855.44

2,916,642,246.72

2,062,131,701.17

124,150,006.45

19 KANO

0.00

2,260,314,733.71

74,033,026.09

2,260,314,733.71

2,455,047,864.22

2,505,602,175.10

20 KATSINA

2,668,935,857.90

26,877,328.35

2,780,577,993.54

18,084,708.40

704,832,470.43

1,941,621,633.08

724,754,690.82

2,032,291,692.89

22,481,754.39

23,531,609.82

1,727,733,639.40

1,941,621,633.08

1,757,315,874.45

2,032,291,692.89

10,759,110.04

187,010,665.33

0.00

21 KEBBI

246,132,000.00

22 KOGI

0.00

23 2,000,000,000.00

19,522,388.43

2,372,642,119.22

2,169,171,504.92

1,815,013,883.77 377,218,633.57

2,973,293,229.08

2,323,709,763.01

6,612,898,271.75

1,636,800,060.07

769,985,867.04

608,346,791.51

2,312,005,043.80 2,463,293,588.46

25,219,759.45

19,634,592.18

8,990,116,905.32

1,577,436,492.73

1,541,190,121.23

656,252,713.98 -

73,651,865.25

34,331,521.02

6,498,301,198.80

1,636,800,060.07

503,071,387.00

101,637,860.22

18,952,269.75

2,463,293,588.46

23,927,857.61

18,568,876.85

28,522,118.06

2,178,087,602.59

1,695,728,379.32

86,074,954.89

1,139,808,900.04

23 KWARA

2,178,087,602.59

1,695,728,379.32

2,062,387,400.75

14,158,388.56

0.00

90,812,669.21

1,709,385,029.76

27 OGUN

1,677,005,608.91

1,920,150,633.78

33,672,056.85

0.00

89,972,595.59

336,070,833.44

32 RIVERS

31 PLATEAU

30 OYO

29 OSUN

1,825,934,634.48

1,771,253,161.34

2,026,508,572.03

1,983,061,252.18

1,920,150,633.78

1,825,934,634.48

1,771,253,161.34

2,026,508,572.03

26,577,009.13

12,891,275.62

3,963,492,715.36

33 SOKOTO

973,407,544.70

28 ONDO

2,062,387,400.75

5,946,553,967.54

24,924,622.25

0.00

34 TARABA

0.00

35 YOBE

97,391,269,884.59

126,736,696,935.21

1,622,777,644.73

33,465,251,281.02

2,552,965,704.69

1,163,439,495.35

701,955,104.35 62,762,579,108.22

21,187,258.25 16,666,671,281.16

899,635,282.13

24 LAGOS 25

477,468,771.60

26 NIGER

25 NASSARAWA

423,088,717.97

488,822,936.86 0.00

18,276,405.13

10,991,528,898.65

1,829,823,342.09

0.00

92,108,006,158.83

1,687,226,870.81

1,829,823,342.09

22,380,119,834.25

69,727,886,324.59

36 ZAMFARA

Total (States)

37 FCT

Note :

* Other Deductions cover; National Water Rehabilitation Projects, National Agricultural Technology Support Programme, Payment for Fertilizer, State Water Supply Project, State Agricultural Project and National Fadama Project

Source: Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation

Friday, March 18, 2016

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

FEDERAL MINISTRY OF FINANCE, ABUJA

DISTRIBUTION DETAILS OF REVENUE ALLOCATION TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT COUNCILS BY FEDERATION ACCOUNT ALLOCATION COMMITTEE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY, 2016 SHARED IN FEBRUARY, 2016 State

S/n

Local Government Councils

1 ABA NORTH 2 ABA SOUTH 3 AROCHUKWU 4 BENDE 5 IKWUANO 6 ISIALA NGWA NORTH 7 ISIALA NGWA SOUTH 8 ISUIKWUATO ABIA 9 NNEOCHI 10 OBIOMA NGWA 11 OHAFIA 12 OSISIOMA 13 UGWUNAGBO 14 UKWA EAST 15 UKWA WEST 16 UMUAHIA NORTH 17 UMUAHIA SOUTH ABIA TOTAL 1 DEMSA 2 FUFORE 3 GANYE 4 GIREI 5 GOMBI 6 GUYUK 7 HONG 8 JADA 9 YOLA-NORTH 10 LAMURDE ADAMAWA 11 MADAGALI 12 MAIHA 13 MAYO-BELWA 14 MICHIKA 15 MUBI NORTH 16 MUBI SOUTH 17 NUMAN 18 SHELLENG 19 SONG 20 TOUNGO 21 YOLA-SOUTH ADAMAWA TOTAL 1 ABAK 2 EASTERN OBOLO 3 EKET 4 EKPE ATAI 5 ESSIEN UDIM 6 ETIM EKPO 7 ETINAN 8 IBENO 9 IBESIKPO ASUTAN 10 IBIONO IBOM 11 IKA 12 IKONO 13 IKOT ABASI 14 IKOT EKPENE 15 INI AKWA IBOM 16 ITU 17 MBO 18 MKPAT ENIN 19 NSIT IBOM 20 NSIT UBIUM 21 OBAT AKARA 22 OKOBO 23 ONNA 24 ORON 25 ORUK ANAM 26 UDUNG UKO 27 UKANAFUN 28 UQUO 29 URUAN 30 URUE OFFONG/ORUK 31 UYO AKWA IBOM TOTAL 1 AGUATA 2 ANAMBRA EAST 3 ANAMBRA WEST 4 ANIOCHA 5 AWKA NORTH 6 AWKA SOUTH 7 AYAMELUM 8 DUNUKOFIA 9 EKWUSIGWO 10 IDEMILI NORTH ANAMBRA 11 IDEMILI SOUTH 12 IHIALA 13 NJIKOKA 14 NNEWI NORTH 15 NNEWI SOUTH 16 OGBARU 17 ONISHA NORTH 18 ONISHA SOUTH 19 ORUMBA NORTH 20 ORUMBA SOUTH 21 OYI ANAMBRA TOTAL

Gross Statutory Allocation =N= 57,163,098.37 95,369,182.95 67,102,720.34 68,370,404.41 62,230,458.43 64,267,978.25 62,357,152.79 60,802,112.30 65,596,820.63 66,567,499.98 72,796,885.87 70,090,460.09 53,522,621.36 50,571,566.51 52,659,813.87 78,498,800.93 67,827,568.92 1,115,795,146.00 69,559,385.18 84,977,041.27 72,357,974.99 63,350,449.68 62,687,540.10 67,022,013.70 73,003,042.15 76,367,271.96 66,397,543.33 59,450,268.17 60,414,765.51 59,149,944.72 68,585,632.56 66,489,708.90 63,447,180.32 59,108,977.91 56,174,631.78 63,636,609.96 80,100,540.53 68,628,610.21 66,506,301.04 1,407,415,433.99 63,861,771.25 49,863,173.89 65,833,515.59 50,468,867.28 67,821,870.38 59,114,399.96 67,046,025.21 53,720,564.56 62,344,573.95 67,828,010.22 52,202,314.87 61,745,958.07 61,763,366.92 63,699,725.01 58,195,941.30 59,420,987.73 55,465,959.91 68,911,163.67 57,501,263.92 60,500,916.98 62,929,741.04 54,089,759.50 56,480,231.12 57,851,641.47 68,162,049.31 50,774,367.78 62,300,563.90 50,792,449.15 66,241,507.77 54,811,586.68 82,850,386.07 1,874,594,654.47 93,188,267.90 61,285,908.71 63,045,868.89 76,203,231.97 57,873,875.51 66,625,735.90 61,747,027.24 55,209,514.64 61,320,515.21 97,011,265.58 67,422,946.73 82,431,321.72 60,565,981.42 60,051,530.97 72,074,986.72 68,869,689.34 57,693,776.79 59,781,260.50 64,558,685.41 65,331,757.28 62,728,107.75 1,415,021,256.21

Exchange Gain Difference =N= 661,883.20 1,104,265.89 776,972.64 791,650.97 720,557.42 744,149.57 722,024.40 704,018.81 759,536.04 770,775.40 842,904.55 811,567.24 619,730.65 585,560.81 609,740.32 908,926.19 785,365.55 12,919,629.65 805,418.00 983,936.80 837,822.46 733,525.64 725,849.91 776,038.15 845,291.60 884,245.53 768,807.49 688,366.01 699,533.78 684,888.60 794,143.06 769,874.67 734,645.67 684,414.26 650,437.89 736,839.05 927,472.50 794,640.69 770,066.78 16,296,258.54 739,446.16 577,358.44 762,276.70 584,371.67 785,299.57 684,477.04 776,316.17 622,022.60 721,878.75 785,370.66 604,443.01 714,947.46 715,149.04 737,569.85 673,842.34 688,026.97 642,232.28 797,912.34 665,798.77 700,531.32 728,654.32 626,297.46 653,976.38 669,855.74 789,238.45 587,909.02 721,369.17 588,118.38 767,000.78 634,655.39 959,312.57 21,705,658.76 1,079,013.40 709,620.62 729,998.94 882,346.14 670,113.18 771,449.70 714,959.84 639,262.94 710,021.32 1,123,279.33 780,680.49 954,460.28 701,284.69 695,327.94 834,545.78 797,432.11 668,027.85 692,198.52 747,515.63 756,466.91 726,319.63 16,384,325.25

Deduction =N=

Source: Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation

Value Added Tax -

=N= 21,228,479.81 37,112,282.75 24,377,385.35 25,477,177.69 22,760,055.49 23,550,369.63 22,597,835.49 21,577,621.82 24,062,183.51 24,941,364.68 28,139,824.90 26,858,934.59 19,979,822.63 18,787,247.08 20,277,903.76 26,910,547.76 22,789,025.14 411,428,062.05 24,860,863.98 26,218,270.31 24,049,312.12 22,337,642.62 23,162,750.46 24,737,052.61 24,302,307.04 24,269,521.63 25,764,395.72 21,474,477.60 22,580,244.61 21,394,748.30 23,499,139.81 23,608,240.42 23,395,863.26 22,284,523.23 20,365,898.97 23,295,297.91 25,485,744.85 18,423,727.45 25,581,640.91 491,091,663.81 22,837,455.88 18,893,817.95 24,517,745.78 19,599,331.85 25,527,466.11 21,146,873.47 24,353,417.07 19,638,744.63 22,737,593.43 25,375,438.20 19,516,188.45 22,476,665.75 22,482,640.43 23,037,632.65 20,834,483.25 22,232,105.68 21,076,281.92 24,792,831.93 21,307,185.59 22,292,254.10 23,298,911.78 21,078,541.25 22,048,346.72 20,245,299.81 24,522,615.89 18,529,061.44 22,232,105.68 19,052,372.81 21,793,644.76 19,426,819.34 31,396,958.16 688,300,831.79 34,508,920.41 23,621,905.09 24,329,075.83 30,232,759.10 21,577,310.55 25,415,211.77 23,876,908.30 20,762,645.84 23,867,921.18 37,552,039.03 26,350,775.81 31,094,116.66 23,377,596.05 23,834,683.90 27,654,912.13 27,063,519.57 22,196,568.19 22,784,998.51 24,579,560.38 25,322,277.93 24,359,852.94 544,363,559.16

Total Allocation =N= 79,053,461.38 133,585,731.60 92,257,078.32 94,639,233.06 85,711,071.34 88,562,497.44 85,677,012.68 83,083,752.94 90,418,540.18 92,279,640.06 101,779,615.31 97,760,961.92 74,122,174.63 69,944,374.40 73,547,457.95 106,318,274.89 91,401,959.61 1,540,142,837.71 95,225,667.16 112,179,248.38 97,245,109.58 86,421,617.94 86,576,140.47 92,535,104.46 98,150,640.79 101,521,039.11 92,930,746.55 81,613,111.77 83,694,543.90 81,229,581.63 92,878,915.43 90,867,823.99 87,577,689.25 82,077,915.40 77,190,968.64 87,668,746.92 106,513,757.88 87,846,978.35 92,858,008.73 1,914,803,356.34 87,438,673.29 69,334,350.28 91,113,538.07 70,652,570.81 94,134,636.05 80,945,750.47 92,175,758.46 73,981,331.80 85,804,046.13 93,988,819.09 72,322,946.33 84,937,571.29 84,961,156.39 87,474,927.51 79,704,266.88 82,341,120.38 77,184,474.10 94,501,907.94 79,474,248.28 83,493,702.39 86,957,307.14 75,794,598.20 79,182,554.22 78,766,797.03 93,473,903.65 69,891,338.24 85,254,038.75 70,432,940.34 88,802,153.30 74,873,061.41 115,206,656.80 2,584,601,145.01 128,776,201.70 85,617,434.42 88,104,943.67 107,318,337.20 80,121,299.24 92,812,397.37 86,338,895.38 76,611,423.42 85,898,457.72 135,686,583.94 94,554,403.03 114,479,898.66 84,644,862.15 84,581,542.81 100,564,444.63 96,730,641.02 80,558,372.83 83,258,457.53 89,885,761.41 91,410,502.13 87,814,280.33 1,975,769,140.61

State

S/n

Local Government Councils

1 ALKALERI 2 BAUCHI 3 BOGORO 4 DAMBAN 5 DARAZO 6 DASS 7 GAMAWA 8 GANJUWA 9 GIADE 10 I/GADAU BAUCHI 11 JAMA'ARE 12 KATAGUM 13 KIRFI 14 MISAU 15 NINGI 16 SHIRA 17 TAFAWA BALEWA 18 TORO 19 WARJI 20 ZAKI BAUCHI TOTAL 1 BRASS 2 EKERMOR 3 KOLOKUMA/OPOKUMA 4 NEMBE BAYELSA 5 OGBIA 6 SAGBAMA 7 SOUTHERN IJAW 8 YENAGOA BAYELSA TOTAL 1 ADO 2 AGATU 3 APA 4 BURUKU 5 GBOKO 6 GUMA 7 GWER EAST 8 GWER WEST 9 KATSINA ALA 10 KONSHISHA 11 KWANDE BENUE 12 LOGO 13 MAKURDI 14 OBI 15 OGBADIBO 16 OHIMINI 17 OJU 18 OKPOKWU 19 OTUKPO 20 TARKA 21 UKUM 22 USHONGO 23 VANDEIKYA BENUE TOTAL 1 ABADAN 2 ASKIRA UBA 3 BAMA 4 BAYO 5 BIU 6 CHIBOK 7 DAMBOA 8 DIKWA 9 GUBIO 10 GUZAMALA 11 GWOZA 12 HAWUL 13 JERE BORNO 14 KAGA 15 KALA BALGE 16 KONDUGA 17 KUKAWA 18 KWAYA KUSAR 19 MAFA 20 MAGUMERI 21 MAIDUGURI METRO 22 MARTE 23 MOBBAR 24 MONGUNO 25 NGALA 26 NGANZAI 27 SHANI BORNO TOTAL 1 ABI 2 AKAMKPA 3 AKPABUYO 4 BAKASSI 5 BEKWARA 6 BIASE 7 BOKI 8 CALABAR MUNICIPAL 9 CALABAR SOUTH CROSS RIVER 10 ETUNG 11 IKOM 12 OBANLIKU 13 OBUBRA 14 OBUDU 15 ODUKPANI 16 OGAJA 17 YAKURR 18 YALA CROSS RIVER TOTAL

Gross Statutory Allocation =N=

105,766,371.21 127,724,032.69 55,859,654.39 66,016,984.78 83,745,263.97 55,454,837.70 88,471,090.89 89,308,987.84 62,818,987.86 71,946,074.64 55,669,597.68 86,210,173.02 70,903,753.06 82,793,288.91 106,097,768.51 79,539,390.09 78,233,088.97 110,019,953.31 61,232,483.97 68,517,357.37 1,606,329,140.86 77,806,547.06 89,322,319.43 59,444,098.46 73,297,258.92 77,029,028.77 75,731,492.83 104,628,237.56 96,575,774.31 653,834,757.33 76,953,361.80 67,899,698.14 65,747,094.86 77,942,321.57 101,156,998.14 82,646,535.35 78,397,953.70 67,371,477.66 85,107,552.64 80,521,392.97 92,191,620.99 70,797,734.74 85,044,719.93 62,822,874.91 65,996,759.41 60,197,093.09 76,167,712.23 71,376,886.18 83,595,472.24 57,938,161.85 79,220,200.82 77,138,145.92 81,702,945.63 1,747,934,714.78 68,614,112.03 66,347,339.74 93,082,443.40 53,618,301.93 74,212,086.00 53,462,047.27 89,619,736.29 59,307,252.61 70,436,355.60 60,037,276.77 86,501,562.45 61,261,787.94 70,681,834.26 62,479,058.75 57,498,200.08 84,250,956.76 86,829,175.41 48,346,527.38 65,132,176.23 77,076,872.46 112,242,344.33 70,090,752.92 65,269,860.32 63,709,572.14 72,862,649.78 63,335,787.92 61,427,215.22 1,897,733,285.99 65,121,006.61 81,856,315.30 78,360,597.93 50,559,629.94 60,397,097.67 69,482,380.99 79,657,885.96 63,101,308.22 67,258,216.68 52,665,804.81 71,861,748.04 62,015,238.32 68,350,163.05 64,709,588.58 73,399,775.41 68,983,197.21 69,255,144.60 76,373,779.34 1,223,408,878.65

Exchange Gain Difference =N=

1,224,653.42 1,478,897.99 646,790.81 764,401.06 969,674.23 642,103.50 1,024,393.89 1,034,095.78 727,371.92 833,053.13 644,590.17 998,215.05 820,984.24 958,651.45 1,228,490.62 920,975.03 905,849.55 1,273,905.03 709,002.02 793,352.51 18,599,451.41 900,910.69 1,034,250.14 688,294.57 848,698.30 891,907.92 876,883.94 1,211,475.14 1,118,236.84 7,570,657.53 891,031.78 786,200.73 761,276.05 902,482.80 1,171,282.16 956,952.21 907,758.50 780,084.54 985,447.97 932,345.49 1,067,473.37 819,756.67 984,720.44 727,416.93 764,166.88 697,013.38 881,934.86 826,462.58 967,939.81 670,857.55 917,279.18 893,171.37 946,026.52 20,239,081.75 794,472.82 768,226.19 1,077,788.07 620,838.52 859,290.95 619,029.27 1,037,693.89 686,710.05 815,572.31 695,162.89 1,001,589.01 709,341.33 818,414.68 723,435.93 665,763.29 975,529.57 1,005,382.39 559,797.41 754,155.99 892,461.89 1,299,637.77 811,570.63 755,750.22 737,683.87 843,666.02 733,355.87 711,256.79 21,973,577.61 754,026.66 947,802.37 907,325.96 585,422.60 699,329.21 804,526.38 922,347.07 730,640.87 778,773.11 609,809.69 832,076.73 718,065.42 791,416.59 749,262.91 849,885.32 798,746.40 801,895.24 884,320.88 14,165,673.41

Deduction =N=

(6,066,891.24) (6,066,891.24) (6,066,891.24) (6,066,891.24) (6,066,891.24) (6,066,891.24) (6,066,891.24) (6,066,891.24) (6,066,891.24) (6,066,891.24) (6,066,891.24) (6,066,891.24) (6,066,891.24) (6,066,891.24) (6,066,891.24) (6,066,891.24) (6,066,891.24) (6,066,891.24) (6,066,891.24) (6,066,891.24) (6,066,891.24) (6,066,891.24) (6,066,891.24) (139,538,498.52) -

Value Added Tax =N=

32,605,174.03 40,858,562.00 20,293,876.17 23,643,058.89 28,697,685.40 20,581,463.96 30,444,449.85 28,641,001.29 23,946,662.83 27,613,156.10 21,984,257.75 30,925,536.83 23,477,173.76 29,294,650.98 35,505,553.11 27,814,889.30 27,110,680.79 33,658,524.56 21,825,451.85 25,678,214.45 554,600,023.88 24,843,672.19 29,121,741.38 19,433,477.12 22,126,549.99 24,586,459.86 24,948,957.04 31,589,734.63 33,293,320.75 209,943,912.95 24,426,540.96 21,245,452.50 20,303,662.74 25,673,641.71 33,466,577.93 25,065,028.03 23,661,631.75 21,577,925.67 26,727,845.76 26,775,743.59 27,931,768.17 23,933,554.84 30,376,917.08 20,408,596.13 21,907,386.40 19,034,269.92 23,992,448.08 24,314,327.50 28,582,907.50 19,436,531.33 26,336,830.80 24,901,452.43 26,999,065.95 567,080,106.72 20,229,794.80 22,133,206.23 28,755,306.69 19,165,298.24 24,040,132.17 18,518,978.82 26,826,691.16 20,517,432.80 22,870,601.81 20,002,255.02 29,072,918.48 21,240,669.89 25,804,017.34 19,719,436.93 18,252,478.13 23,060,686.89 25,435,495.27 18,036,737.08 20,397,386.99 22,240,649.99 41,382,760.33 21,695,347.80 21,056,910.94 20,715,350.23 27,102,731.26 20,210,665.79 20,337,087.94 618,821,029.02 22,621,756.28 22,939,217.45 28,977,657.29 16,977,594.88 20,664,673.17 23,845,862.05 24,697,278.56 24,358,429.05 24,972,866.78 19,378,059.23 23,504,451.97 20,890,706.73 24,009,588.27 23,390,129.80 25,013,735.58 23,982,325.67 25,214,866.29 25,937,500.90 421,376,699.95

Total Allocation =N=

139,596,198.66 170,061,492.68 76,800,321.37 90,424,444.74 113,412,623.60 76,678,405.15 119,939,934.63 118,984,084.90 87,493,022.61 100,392,283.87 78,298,445.60 118,133,924.90 95,201,911.05 113,046,591.34 142,831,812.25 108,275,254.41 106,249,619.31 144,952,382.89 83,766,937.84 94,988,924.33 2,179,528,616.14 103,551,129.93 119,478,310.95 79,565,870.14 96,272,507.21 102,507,396.55 101,557,333.80 137,429,447.33 130,987,331.89 871,349,327.81 96,204,043.30 83,864,460.12 80,745,142.41 98,451,554.84 129,727,967.00 102,601,624.34 96,900,452.71 83,662,596.63 106,753,955.13 102,162,590.81 115,123,971.29 89,484,155.01 110,339,466.20 77,891,996.73 82,601,421.45 73,861,485.15 94,975,203.92 90,450,785.02 107,079,428.31 71,978,659.48 100,407,419.55 96,865,878.47 103,581,146.86 2,195,715,404.73 89,638,379.65 89,248,772.16 122,915,538.16 73,404,438.68 99,111,509.12 72,600,055.36 117,484,121.34 80,511,395.46 94,122,529.71 80,734,694.68 116,576,069.94 83,211,799.16 97,304,266.27 82,921,931.61 76,416,441.50 108,287,173.22 113,270,053.08 66,943,061.86 86,283,719.21 100,209,984.34 154,924,742.43 92,597,671.34 87,082,521.47 85,162,606.24 100,809,047.06 84,279,809.59 82,475,559.95 2,538,527,892.62 88,496,789.55 105,743,335.11 108,245,581.18 68,122,647.42 81,761,100.05 94,132,769.42 105,277,511.59 88,190,378.14 93,009,856.57 72,653,673.73 96,198,276.74 83,624,010.47 93,151,167.91 88,848,981.29 99,263,396.31 93,764,269.28 95,271,906.13 103,195,601.11 1,658,951,252.00

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Friday, March 18, 2016

FEDERAL MINISTRY OF FINANCE, ABUJA

DISTRIBUTION DETAILS OF REVENUE ALLOCATION TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT COUNCILS BY FEDERATION ACCOUNT ALLOCATION COMMITTEE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY, 2016 SHARED IN FEBRUARY, 2016 Gross Statutory Exchange Gain Deduction Value Added Tax Allocation Difference =N= =N= =N= =N= 1 ANIOCHA NORTH 53,481,593.35 619,255.59 22,638,587.57 2 ANIOCHA SOUTH 58,292,814.76 674,964.02 24,440,680.54 3 BOMADI 49,830,750.43 576,983.01 21,731,491.10 4 BURUTU 71,615,798.75 829,228.91 27,908,101.61 5 ETHIOPE EAST 65,159,248.60 754,469.46 27,462,561.45 6 ETHIOPE WEST 66,745,272.02 772,833.79 27,603,142.07 7 IKA NORTH EAST 70,762,304.41 819,346.43 26,602,258.24 8 IKA SOUTH 66,552,982.54 770,607.30 25,544,740.50 9 ISOKO NORTH 62,621,452.04 725,084.68 24,618,966.89 10 ISOKO SOUTH 70,024,760.21 810,806.51 28,814,143.72 11 NDOKWA EAST 58,842,380.98 681,327.37 22,561,268.23 12 NDOKWA WEST 60,687,016.94 702,686.14 24,878,538.97 DELTA 13 OKPE 55,587,997.83 643,645.34 23,909,737.65 14 OSHIMILI NORTH 54,440,942.28 630,363.75 23,171,036.68 15 OSHIMILI SOUTH 59,074,701.64 684,017.38 24,892,496.62 16 PATANI 48,786,404.75 564,890.68 20,780,714.22 17 SAPELE 61,450,248.35 711,523.48 26,011,367.76 18 UDU 64,608,571.97 748,093.25 24,579,102.24 19 UGHELLI NORTH 84,376,914.47 976,988.02 33,499,294.23 20 UGHELLI SOUTH 66,886,883.93 28,104,412.41 774,473.50 21 UKWUANI 53,047,238.80 614,226.26 23,425,788.85 22 UVWIE 62,329,799.25 721,707.68 26,994,628.80 23 WARRI SOUTH 77,458,018.26 896,875.12 32,615,092.32 24 WARRI NORTH 63,743,409.95 738,075.67 24,274,795.40 25 WARRI SOUTH-WEST 61,215,507.79 708,805.46 23,239,569.74 1,567,623,014.28 18,151,278.80 640,302,517.81 DELTA TOTAL 69,514,308.82 804,896.07 (3,061,422.36) 23,386,401.43 1 ABAKALIKI 2 AFIKPO NORTH 65,273,826.75 755,796.14 (3,019,017.54) 23,631,815.03 3 AFIKPO SOUTH 65,835,743.89 762,302.50 (3,024,636.71) 23,654,960.63 4 EBONYI 63,484,053.40 735,072.62 (3,001,119.80) 22,136,940.94 5 EZZA NORTH 63,278,044.15 732,687.27 (2,999,059.71) 23,079,935.67 6 EZZA SOUTH 65,770,691.33 (3,023,986.18) 22,456,661.44 761,549.27 EBONYI 7 IKWO 76,848,042.43 889,812.30 (3,134,759.69) 26,543,490.77 8 ISHIELU 68,069,948.55 788,172.03 (3,046,978.76) 23,352,511.46 9 IVO 61,586,995.07 713,106.86 (2,982,149.22) 21,839,813.75 10 IZZI 85,544,069.74 990,502.34 (3,221,719.97) 27,520,927.76 11 OHAOZARA 66,363,811.91 768,416.92 (3,029,917.39) 23,230,909.22 73,227,368.69 847,889.05 (3,098,552.96) 25,626,352.83 12 OHAUKWU 13 ONICHA 80,202,138.24 928,648.89 (3,168,300.65) 27,659,299.26 904,999,042.95 10,478,852.25 (39,811,620.94) 314,120,020.19 EBONYI TOTAL 1 AKOKO EDO 83,266,864.53 964,134.91 30,140,610.62 2 EGOR 79,085,402.56 915,718.37 34,046,191.37 3 ESAN CENTRAL 52,332,259.40 605,947.62 22,268,095.73 53,877,602.94 623,840.93 22,972,806.31 4 ESAN NORTH EAST 5 ESAN SOUTH EAST 64,510,073.30 746,952.75 25,401,587.61 6 ESAN WEST 54,831,230.13 634,882.84 23,298,953.35 7 ETSAKO CENTRAL 54,881,662.96 635,466.79 21,729,119.66 8 ETSAKO EAST 63,667,304.41 737,194.45 24,310,832.60 9 ETSAKO WEST 70,073,683.10 811,372.98 26,902,185.35 EDO 10 IGUEBEN 50,988,887.38 20,477,148.80 590,392.91 11 IKPOBA OKHA 87,491,244.30 1,013,048.39 35,613,012.62 12 OREDO 90,042,409.66 1,042,587.96 35,792,001.88 13 ORHIONWON 70,575,895.25 817,188.02 26,154,497.26 14 OVIA NORTH EAST 67,306,481.83 779,331.96 24,705,111.04 15 OVIA SOUTH WEST 73,459,486.93 850,576.71 23,776,626.23 16 OWAN EAST 64,439,230.05 746,132.47 24,732,022.18 17 OWAN WEST 52,848,918.66 611,929.94 21,870,352.98 18 UHUNMWODE 65,765,147.55 761,485.08 23,046,460.51 1,199,443,784.96 13,888,185.07 467,237,616.08 EDO TOTAL 1 ADO EKITI 77,275,447.73 894,761.17 30,791,127.93 2 AIYEKIRE 58,801,393.95 680,852.79 22,736,460.71 3 EFON 56,066,302.35 649,183.56 19,661,159.17 4 EKITI EAST 57,891,500.94 22,222,437.71 670,317.27 5 EKITI SOUTH WEST 61,318,380.87 709,996.61 23,594,203.34 6 EKITI WEST 62,508,464.22 723,776.41 24,327,983.99 7 EMURE 51,507,362.67 596,396.26 20,009,748.91 8 IDO-OSI 63,452,950.41 734,712.48 23,284,775.35 EKITI 9 IJERO 67,892,134.81 786,113.15 26,412,242.35 10 IKERE 59,284,742.90 686,449.41 22,694,386.94 63,533,377.02 735,643.73 23,752,808.41 11 IKOLE 12 ILEJEMEJI 44,585,200.88 516,245.55 17,481,607.23 13 IREPODUN/IFELODUN 56,508,733.53 654,306.40 21,780,311.65 14 ISE/ORUN 55,143,320.91 638,496.49 21,007,369.26 15 MOBA 59,141,955.50 684,796.10 22,651,258.81 16 OYE 57,490,593.62 665,675.22 22,034,411.12 952,401,862.30 11,027,722.59 364,442,292.89 EKITI TOTAL Source: Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation State

S/n

Local Government Councils

Total Allocation =N= 76,739,436.51 83,408,459.32 72,139,224.54 100,353,129.27 93,376,279.51 95,121,247.88 98,183,909.08 92,868,330.34 87,965,503.61 99,649,710.44 82,084,976.57 86,268,242.05 80,141,380.82 78,242,342.71 84,651,215.64 70,132,009.66 88,173,139.59 89,935,767.47 118,853,196.72 95,765,769.83 77,087,253.91 90,046,135.73 110,969,985.71 88,756,281.02 85,163,882.99 2,226,076,810.90 90,644,183.96 86,642,420.39 87,228,370.31 83,354,947.15 84,091,607.38 85,964,915.85 101,146,585.81 89,163,653.28 81,157,766.45 110,833,779.87 87,333,220.66 96,603,057.61 105,621,785.74 1,189,786,294.45 114,371,610.06 114,047,312.30 75,206,302.75 77,474,250.17 90,658,613.66 78,765,066.32 77,246,249.41 88,715,331.46 97,787,241.43 72,056,429.08 124,117,305.31 126,876,999.49 97,547,580.54 92,790,924.83 98,086,689.87 89,917,384.71 75,331,201.58 89,573,093.14 1,680,569,586.11 108,961,336.83 82,218,707.45 76,376,645.08 80,784,255.91 85,622,580.82 87,560,224.62 72,113,507.83 87,472,438.24 95,090,490.31 82,665,579.26 88,021,829.17 62,583,053.66 78,943,351.58 76,789,186.65 82,478,010.41 80,190,679.96 1,327,871,877.78

State

ENUGU

GOMBE

IMO

JIGAWA

S/n

Local Government Councils

1 AGWU 2 ANINRI 3 ENUGU EAST 4 ENUGU NORTH 5 ENUGU SOUTH 6 EZEAGU 7 IGBO ETITI 8 IGBO EZE NORTH 9 IGBO EZE SOUTH 10 ISI UZO 11 NKANU EAST 12 NKANU WEST 13 NSUKKA 14 OJI RIVER 15 UDENU 16 UDI 17 UZO UWANI ENUGU TOTAL 1 AKKO 2 BALANGA 3 BILLIRI 4 DUKKU 5 FUNAKAYE 6 GOMBE 7 KALTUNGO 8 KWAMI 9 NAFADA 10 SHOMGOM 11 YAMALTU/DEBA GOMBE TOTAL 1 ABOH MBAISE 2 AHIAZU MBAISE 3 EHIME MBANO 4 EZINIHITTE MBAISE 5 IDEATO NORTH 6 IDEATO SOUTH 7 IHITTE UBOMA 8 IKEDURU 9 ISIALA MBANO 10 ISU 11 MBAITOLI 12 NGOR/OKPALA 13 NJABA 14 NKWANGELE 15 NKWERRE 16 OBOWO 17 OGUTA 18 OHAJI/EGBEMA 19 OKIGWE 20 ONUIMO 21 ORLU 22 ORSU 23 ORU 24 ORU WEST 25 OWERRI MUNICIPAL 26 OWERRI NORTH 27 OWERRI WEST IMO TOTAL 1 AUYO 2 BABURA 3 BIRNIN KUDU 4 BIRNIWA 5 GAGARAWA 6 BUJI 7 DUTSE 8 GARKI 9 GUMEL 10 GURI 11 GWARAM 12 GWIWA 13 HADEJIA 14 JAHUN 15 KAFIN HAUSA 16 KAUGAMA 17 KAZAURE 18 KIRI-KASAMMA 19 KIYAWA 20 MAIGATARI 21 MALAM MADORI 22 MIGA 23 RINGIM 24 RONI 25 SULE TAKARKAR 26 TAURA 27 YANKWASHI JIGAWA TOTAL

Gross Statutory Allocation =N=

72,016,868.84 60,679,387.64 82,135,982.53 77,210,840.78 74,653,991.22 71,777,444.57 72,472,674.82 78,438,428.13 71,373,192.25 66,745,890.42 69,878,460.63 67,847,086.57 87,870,852.71 60,291,764.87 66,733,233.44 75,774,696.77 62,751,921.48 1,218,652,717.65 100,121,795.78 72,711,701.52 73,182,730.05 79,742,459.55 77,560,455.29 84,453,483.39 66,219,335.09 71,032,434.58 64,759,029.61 61,415,741.50 83,822,526.91 835,021,693.27 65,523,748.68 61,661,150.32 56,647,456.15 60,248,939.48 64,605,317.93 64,821,647.11 58,018,792.99 61,453,918.02 69,140,628.00 61,110,638.50 75,377,407.81 64,017,684.43 57,831,918.60 56,279,876.60 50,136,448.79 54,347,255.68 63,801,728.72 69,057,863.75 60,504,793.72 53,752,171.67 59,120,002.65 57,510,940.15 55,627,920.23 57,546,351.06 58,073,353.48 61,780,176.59 55,267,597.58 1,633,265,728.68 57,714,746.04 68,259,878.51 84,712,370.82 64,075,005.79 54,981,944.46 53,935,827.44 75,711,094.30 63,541,974.67 55,658,552.89 58,800,231.52 81,794,533.77 60,475,896.55 51,051,514.42 70,168,677.49 78,921,798.76 57,842,078.81 61,207,884.00 63,838,753.00 65,954,790.05 66,525,080.37 62,320,661.30 57,164,194.87 70,152,957.38 51,878,705.23 65,113,970.08 59,220,825.78 54,875,476.85 1,715,899,425.15

Exchange Gain Difference =N=

833,872.85 702,597.80 951,040.59 894,013.09 864,407.70 831,100.59 839,150.56 908,227.15 826,419.81 772,840.95 809,112.53 785,591.54 1,017,443.82 698,109.57 772,694.40 877,384.19 726,595.37 14,110,602.51 1,159,295.71 841,918.21 847,372.18 923,326.34 898,061.23 977,874.60 766,744.05 822,474.23 749,835.38 711,123.94 970,568.84 9,668,594.70 758,689.95 713,965.49 655,912.65 697,613.70 748,055.58 750,560.42 671,791.16 711,565.98 800,569.27 707,591.19 872,784.04 741,251.45 669,627.37 651,656.50 580,522.65 629,278.97 738,750.93 799,610.96 700,576.20 622,388.58 684,541.91 665,910.81 644,107.59 666,320.83 672,422.91 715,343.68 639,935.47 18,911,346.24 668,270.65 790,371.20 980,872.22 741,915.17 636,627.94 624,515.10 876,647.75 735,743.28 644,462.29 680,839.33 947,087.01 700,241.61 591,118.06 812,472.91 913,824.03 669,745.01 708,717.18 739,179.63 763,680.92 770,284.23 721,601.87 661,895.90 812,290.89 600,695.98 753,945.19 685,709.33 635,395.16 19,868,149.79

Deduction =N=

(4,907,596.13) (4,907,596.13) (4,907,596.13) (4,907,596.13) (4,907,596.13) (4,907,596.13) (4,907,596.13) (4,907,596.13) (4,907,596.13) (4,907,596.13) (4,907,596.13) (53,983,557.43) -

Value Added Tax =N=

26,254,638.58 23,020,731.97 30,319,175.84 28,600,226.27 26,284,210.72 24,827,946.08 26,812,643.24 29,332,199.45 23,703,803.17 23,758,378.58 23,776,403.02 23,672,021.91 31,852,709.61 22,662,452.21 25,267,160.12 28,055,476.36 22,556,665.29 440,756,842.42 32,238,933.79 25,947,750.08 25,425,342.44 25,678,688.81 27,129,531.05 28,731,798.70 22,797,539.15 25,081,622.82 22,214,129.56 22,883,644.78 28,091,554.38 286,220,535.56 25,382,139.44 24,139,507.15 22,132,668.55 23,872,956.25 23,512,115.91 23,586,071.36 21,621,206.12 23,055,730.96 25,536,978.96 23,816,472.96 27,485,978.68 23,588,732.35 22,844,558.78 22,009,208.64 19,583,188.74 21,489,160.74 22,739,022.90 24,723,720.05 22,198,239.37 20,541,898.38 22,724,412.56 21,584,002.46 21,173,256.00 21,457,931.76 21,945,997.56 24,365,088.84 20,542,802.11 617,653,047.58 22,197,609.32 26,018,389.83 31,303,819.60 22,716,150.99 19,606,557.82 20,458,928.26 27,928,378.42 23,213,404.74 20,950,458.37 21,344,937.64 29,255,810.96 21,821,857.40 20,873,490.47 27,072,393.05 29,179,294.93 21,994,520.53 23,678,375.15 25,186,052.13 24,251,693.06 24,593,203.55 23,674,308.35 22,018,017.58 25,211,206.02 19,477,273.85 22,139,770.44 22,185,358.73 20,377,993.99 638,729,255.16

Total Allocation =N=

99,105,380.26 84,402,717.40 113,406,198.96 106,705,080.14 101,802,609.64 97,436,491.24 100,124,468.61 108,678,854.73 95,903,415.24 91,277,109.95 94,463,976.18 92,304,700.02 120,741,006.14 83,652,326.65 92,773,087.96 104,707,557.32 86,035,182.13 1,673,520,162.58 128,612,429.15 94,593,773.68 94,547,848.54 101,436,878.56 100,680,451.44 109,255,560.55 84,876,022.15 92,028,935.50 82,815,398.43 80,102,914.09 107,977,054.00 1,076,927,266.10 91,664,578.07 86,514,622.96 79,436,037.35 84,819,509.43 88,865,489.42 89,158,278.89 80,311,790.27 85,221,214.96 95,478,176.23 85,634,702.65 103,736,170.52 88,347,668.23 81,346,104.75 78,940,741.74 70,300,160.17 76,465,695.39 87,279,502.55 94,581,194.76 83,403,609.29 74,916,458.63 82,528,957.12 79,760,853.41 77,445,283.83 79,670,603.65 80,691,773.95 86,860,609.11 76,450,335.17 2,269,830,122.50 80,580,626.01 95,068,639.54 116,997,062.63 87,533,071.95 75,225,130.22 75,019,270.80 104,516,120.47 87,491,122.69 77,253,473.54 80,826,008.48 111,997,431.73 82,997,995.56 72,516,122.95 98,053,543.45 109,014,917.72 80,506,344.36 85,594,976.34 89,763,984.75 90,970,164.03 91,888,568.15 86,716,571.52 79,844,108.34 96,176,454.28 71,956,675.06 88,007,685.71 82,091,893.83 75,888,866.00 2,374,496,830.10

Friday, March 18, 2016

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

FEDERAL MINISTRY OF FINANCE, ABUJA

DISTRIBUTION DETAILS OF REVENUE ALLOCATION TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT COUNCILS BY FEDERATION ACCOUNT ALLOCATION COMMITTEE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY, 2016 SHARED IN FEBRUARY, 2016 State

S/n

Local Government Councils

1 BIRNIN GWARI 2 CHIKUN 3 GIWA 4 GWAGWADA 5 IGABI 6 IKARA 7 JABA 8 JEMA'A 9 KACHIA 10 KADUNA NORTH 11 KADUNA SOUTH KADUNA 12 KAGARKO 13 KAURA 14 KAURU 15 KUBAU 16 KUDAN 17 LERE 18 MAKARFI 19 SABON GARI 20 SANGA 21 SOBA 22 ZANGON KATAF 23 ZARIA KADUNA TOTAL 1 AJINGI 2 ALBASU 3 BAGWAI 4 BEBEJI 5 BICHI 6 BUNKURE 7 DALA 8 DANBATTA 9 DAWAKIN KUDU 10 DAWAKIN TOFA 11 DOGUWA 12 FAGGE KANO 13 GABASAWA 14 GARKO 15 GARUN MALLAM 16 GAYA 17 GEZAWA 18 GWALE 19 GWARZO 20 KABO 21 KANO MUNICIPAL 22 KARAYE 23 KIBIYA 24 KIRU 25 KUMBOTSO 26 KUNCHI 27 KURA 28 MADOBI 29 MAKODA 30 MINJIBIR 31 NASSARAWA 32 RANO 33 RIMIN GADO 34 ROGO KANO 35 SHANONO 36 SUMAILA 37 TAKAI 38 TARAUNI 39 TOFA 40 TSANYAWA 41 TUDUN WADA 42 UNGOGO 43 WARAWA 44 WUDIL KANO TOTAL 1 BAKORI 2 BATAGARAWA 3 BATSARI 4 BAURE 5 BINDAWA 6 CHARANCHI 7 DAN-MUSA 8 DANDUME 9 DANJA 10 DAURA 11 DUTSI 12 DUTSINMA 13 FASKARI 14 FUNTUA 15 INGAWA 16 JIBIA 17 KAFUR KATSINA 18 KAITA 19 KANKARA 20 KANKIA 21 KATSINA 22 KURFI 23 KUSADA 24 MAIADUA 25 MALUMFASHI 26 MANI 27 MASHI 28 MATAZU 29 MUSAWA 30 RIMI 31 SABUWA 32 SAFANA 33 SANDAMU 34 ZANGO KATSINA TOTAL

Gross Statutory Allocation =N=

102,742,713.36 104,471,497.13 86,458,506.75 66,571,813.32 109,441,055.81 73,315,635.26 63,931,089.75 85,183,985.37 93,966,796.89 88,770,516.92 94,776,413.00 81,903,318.07 70,958,389.13 73,063,850.08 84,578,558.97 65,601,968.26 91,280,090.12 61,396,277.37 81,012,309.68 67,922,913.09 86,576,936.11 96,862,137.10 98,904,610.63 1,929,691,382.16 63,469,078.67 65,009,016.54 59,275,415.30 64,305,630.82 77,940,541.44 62,095,612.77 100,229,073.11 68,287,649.79 73,406,572.79 73,920,691.63 68,514,264.88 67,122,322.97 70,133,337.53 62,559,251.79 62,232,802.48 67,259,399.69 76,805,571.85 92,341,163.18 63,486,830.79 61,173,789.80 89,130,843.84 59,320,039.49 59,866,071.34 77,234,435.20 78,916,467.08 60,514,711.52 59,264,096.19 59,317,743.39 70,301,369.77 70,851,335.82 122,500,081.98 61,357,586.24 60,723,826.69 72,687,958.49 59,974,571.85 75,908,784.31 66,660,081.72 69,316,728.11 54,569,838.31 60,165,184.68 74,185,809.42 86,735,948.00 56,604,050.67 66,558,484.10 3,072,234,066.01 67,633,159.67 69,692,005.93 75,818,318.47 71,087,213.92 66,482,056.02 62,186,299.53 62,389,806.21 66,800,756.66 62,655,933.72 75,543,855.13 62,347,635.94 69,247,769.45 75,464,370.00 75,287,918.74 65,745,581.00 74,067,347.79 76,458,699.26 73,191,996.30 80,263,372.22 63,915,528.59 88,028,574.97 61,940,688.99 58,517,531.37 71,185,699.80 70,838,319.49 67,195,236.77 68,606,489.48 57,788,246.47 69,147,293.01 62,375,020.21 64,625,988.81 69,342,359.32 67,205,808.57 65,867,206.48 2,338,944,088.28

Exchange Gain Difference =N=

1,189,642.93 1,209,660.27 1,001,090.47 770,825.34 1,267,202.06 848,911.07 740,248.79 986,332.97 1,088,027.87 1,027,860.90 1,097,402.30 948,346.60 821,616.86 845,995.69 979,322.83 759,595.65 1,056,918.88 710,898.56 938,029.75 786,469.53 1,002,461.75 1,121,552.59 1,145,202.10 22,343,615.75 734,899.23 752,729.94 686,341.41 744,585.54 902,462.19 718,996.07 1,160,537.85 790,692.76 849,964.03 855,916.93 793,316.70 777,199.61 812,063.71 724,364.47 720,584.57 778,786.80 889,320.54 1,069,204.89 735,104.78 708,322.41 1,032,033.07 686,858.11 693,180.53 894,286.29 913,762.29 700,691.04 686,210.35 686,831.52 814,009.33 820,377.31 1,418,410.63 710,450.56 703,112.35 841,643.30 694,436.84 878,936.77 771,847.39 802,608.31 631,856.22 696,643.92 858,986.69 1,004,302.92 655,410.07 770,671.00 35,572,951.26 783,114.52 806,953.60 877,889.28 823,108.51 769,786.05 720,046.11 722,402.49 773,476.24 725,483.94 874,711.31 721,914.21 801,809.85 873,790.96 871,747.86 761,258.52 857,615.04 885,304.15 847,479.48 929,357.91 740,068.61 1,019,270.06 717,202.23 677,565.98 824,248.86 820,226.59 778,043.87 794,384.56 669,121.70 800,646.45 722,231.28 748,294.92 802,905.09 778,166.28 762,666.80 27,082,293.29

Deduction =N=

Source: Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation

Value Added Tax -

=N=

28,895,856.49 34,714,237.44 30,606,120.18 21,791,765.32 37,826,039.74 25,961,888.67 24,026,444.94 30,219,925.13 28,489,729.11 34,184,248.49 36,428,316.89 28,322,488.37 27,400,480.31 24,761,028.91 30,386,111.50 23,203,797.26 32,852,096.46 23,568,654.19 30,628,412.25 23,722,991.63 30,949,689.18 32,109,479.32 36,719,921.27 677,769,723.06 25,265,922.56 26,070,043.72 24,699,081.40 26,005,075.39 30,435,373.32 25,102,949.45 37,548,652.43 26,964,487.94 27,839,150.45 28,968,113.27 24,113,362.28 26,505,592.62 27,119,478.07 24,681,659.45 22,371,819.40 26,615,446.33 30,684,903.92 34,700,991.08 25,760,465.11 24,246,261.18 34,875,009.81 23,622,635.49 23,388,116.89 29,816,918.99 31,383,288.37 22,096,883.86 23,782,997.81 23,382,443.45 27,689,030.43 27,256,996.05 46,480,141.07 23,825,071.59 21,784,192.39 27,957,288.38 23,582,469.60 29,258,613.09 26,702,154.45 27,637,216.43 21,429,929.22 24,439,659.95 28,158,117.84 35,082,466.64 22,989,018.54 25,820,814.36 1,198,140,304.07 23,054,523.74 24,822,023.84 26,047,234.17 25,467,188.48 23,204,392.73 22,464,185.54 21,263,124.95 22,872,170.59 21,866,215.82 26,586,611.90 21,581,037.99 24,073,733.26 25,397,400.24 26,880,324.99 24,077,850.27 24,077,599.23 25,741,270.49 24,813,287.75 27,892,907.13 23,158,101.54 31,543,986.75 21,458,431.60 20,538,933.91 25,655,616.72 24,738,930.65 24,439,995.99 24,247,601.37 21,345,163.78 24,176,306.91 23,274,080.55 22,385,711.43 24,782,058.77 22,447,817.94 23,324,237.71 819,700,058.75

State

Total Allocation =N=

132,828,212.77 140,395,394.83 118,065,717.40 89,134,403.98 148,534,297.61 100,126,435.01 88,697,783.48 116,390,243.47 123,544,553.87 123,982,626.31 132,302,132.19 111,174,153.05 99,180,486.31 98,670,874.67 115,943,993.30 89,565,361.17 125,189,105.46 85,675,830.12 112,578,751.68 92,432,374.25 118,529,087.04 130,093,169.02 136,769,734.00 2,629,804,720.97 89,469,900.45 91,831,790.20 84,660,838.11 91,055,291.75 109,278,376.94 87,917,558.28 138,938,263.40 96,042,830.49 102,095,687.26 103,744,721.83 93,420,943.87 94,405,115.20 98,064,879.31 87,965,275.71 85,325,206.44 94,653,632.83 108,379,796.32 128,111,359.15 89,982,400.68 86,128,373.38 125,037,886.72 83,629,533.09 83,947,368.76 107,945,640.48 111,213,517.74 83,312,286.42 83,733,304.36 83,387,018.36 98,804,409.53 98,928,709.18 170,398,633.68 85,893,108.39 83,211,131.43 101,486,890.17 84,251,478.29 106,046,334.16 94,134,083.56 97,756,552.85 76,631,623.75 85,301,488.54 103,202,913.96 122,822,717.56 80,248,479.28 93,149,969.47 4,305,947,321.34 91,470,797.93 95,320,983.36 102,743,441.92 97,377,510.91 90,456,234.80 85,370,531.18 84,375,333.64 90,446,403.49 85,247,633.48 103,005,178.33 84,650,588.13 94,123,312.55 101,735,561.20 103,039,991.58 90,584,689.79 99,002,562.06 103,085,273.91 98,852,763.53 109,085,637.26 87,813,698.73 120,591,831.77 84,116,322.82 79,734,031.26 97,665,565.38 96,397,476.73 92,413,276.63 93,648,475.41 79,802,531.95 94,124,246.37 86,371,332.05 87,759,995.17 94,927,323.19 90,431,792.79 89,954,110.99 3,185,726,440.32

KEBBI

KOGI

KWARA

LAGOS

S/n

Local Government Councils

1 ALIERU 2 AREWA 3 ARGUNGU 4 AUGIE 5 BAGUDO 6 BIRNIN -KEBBI 7 BUNZA 8 DANDI KAMBA 9 DANKO /WASAGU 10 FAKAI 11 GWANDU 12 JEGA 13 KALGO 14 KOKO/BESSE 15 MAIYAMA 16 NGASKI 17 SAKABA 18 SHANGA 19 SURU 20 YAURI 21 ZURU KEBBI TOTAL 1 ADAVI 2 AJAOKUTA 3 ANKPA 4 BASSA 5 DEKINA 6 IBAJI 7 IDAH 8 IGALAMELA 9 IJUMU 10 KABBA/BUNU 11 KOGI 12 KOTON KARFE 13 MOPA-MURO 14 OFU 15 OGORI/MAGONGO 16 OKEHI 17 OKENE 18 OLAMABORO 19 OMALA 20 YAGBA EAST 21 YAGBA WEST KOGI TOTAL 1 ASA 2 BARUTEN 3 EDU 4 EKITI 5 IFELODUN 6 ILORIN EAST 7 ILORIN SOUTH 8 ILORIN WEST 9 IREPODUN 10 KAI AMA 11 MORO 12 OFFA 13 OKE-ERO 14 OSIN 15 OYUN 16 PATEGI KWARA TOTAL 1 AGEGE 2 AJEROMI/IFELODUN 3 ALIMOSHO 4 AMOWO-ODOFIN 5 APAPA 6 BADAGRY 7 EPE 8 ETI-OSA 9 IBEJU-LEKKI 10 IFAKO/IJAYE 11 IKEJA 12 IKORODU 13 KOSOFE 14 LAGOS ISLAND 15 LAGOS MAINLAND 16 MUSHIN 17 OJO 18 OSHODI/ISOLO 19 SOMOLU 20 SURULERE LAGOS TOTAL

Gross Statutory Allocation =N= 52,737,490.66 86,170,971.37 72,581,098.65 59,927,920.07 79,812,307.50 97,645,530.18 66,523,197.55 70,671,235.96 87,795,859.15 61,132,903.11 64,572,300.45 71,237,283.05 59,284,979.99 68,033,388.99 78,708,189.12 63,060,512.37 62,144,168.43 64,490,067.12 78,024,353.81 59,956,321.76 71,614,700.66 1,476,124,779.94 76,494,780.95 67,638,648.58 85,363,252.41 67,589,748.99 92,416,180.81 71,854,256.94 60,292,247.16 70,650,554.47 69,287,273.10 73,252,367.38 64,483,225.60 82,326,203.56 54,340,207.71 79,002,502.78 52,754,740.51 76,482,350.81 95,653,570.94 72,254,460.42 68,413,842.78 73,356,179.71 71,776,488.38 1,525,683,084.02 61,989,944.01 101,938,869.28 78,129,744.51 47,579,276.31 82,555,009.68 70,954,980.87 71,719,678.22 84,573,235.68 61,140,904.68 81,306,830.96 64,454,311.57 57,250,435.39 47,902,403.02 47,699,273.78 54,464,635.57 65,921,055.97 1,079,580,589.49 92,507,833.52 118,906,593.33 191,759,556.73 74,947,977.43 63,012,217.14 70,445,334.03 64,679,579.12 78,029,031.29 52,102,837.93 88,840,584.53 76,798,290.39 105,593,840.14 114,245,712.14 61,500,233.30 74,209,908.55 111,097,808.48 107,800,314.87 110,073,136.63 85,131,278.83 97,379,350.61 1,839,061,418.97

Exchange Gain Difference =N= 610,639.73 997,761.14 840,405.98 693,896.67 924,135.10 1,130,623.39 770,262.43 818,291.96 1,016,575.48 707,848.99 747,673.27 824,846.14 686,452.16 787,748.71 911,350.67 730,168.50 719,558.28 746,721.10 903,432.64 694,225.53 829,216.20 17,091,834.06 885,721.94 783,178.07 988,408.68 782,611.87 1,070,073.51 831,989.99 698,115.16 818,052.49 802,267.25 848,178.50 746,641.89 953,243.13 629,197.36 914,758.49 610,839.46 885,578.01 1,107,558.78 836,623.88 792,153.93 849,380.53 831,089.52 17,665,662.45 717,772.54 1,180,335.34 904,652.94 550,913.52 955,892.45 821,577.40 830,431.72 979,261.19 707,941.64 941,439.97 746,307.10 662,894.46 554,654.96 552,302.95 630,638.09 763,290.32 12,500,306.57 1,071,134.74 1,376,802.14 2,220,356.01 867,811.73 729,609.29 815,676.27 748,915.44 903,486.80 603,291.18 1,028,672.20 889,236.23 1,222,655.71 1,322,834.48 712,102.25 859,265.73 1,286,385.36 1,248,204.16 1,274,520.83 985,722.69 1,127,541.33 21,294,224.60

Deduction =N=

Value Added Tax -

=N= 18,581,006.21 24,508,337.15 25,083,412.31 21,157,346.96 27,208,840.71 28,745,336.71 21,366,912.50 22,512,242.92 28,583,819.62 21,354,410.87 22,850,941.81 24,976,370.21 19,556,535.32 23,030,985.42 24,089,406.89 21,532,847.84 19,784,175.51 21,652,341.37 22,811,328.20 20,278,215.99 23,580,354.41 483,245,168.92 25,849,375.54 21,839,162.64 29,120,837.26 22,726,427.20 28,767,327.20 22,130,767.02 19,705,048.37 23,129,441.72 21,719,066.62 23,000,207.96 21,516,781.15 25,501,287.87 17,908,729.25 25,346,046.70 17,687,063.73 25,739,170.37 31,777,158.34 23,738,557.48 21,140,326.32 23,179,799.71 22,734,309.76 494,256,892.17 22,131,027.52 26,299,443.82 25,898,286.97 18,536,933.27 26,127,885.26 26,040,926.10 26,260,884.57 34,091,978.38 23,244,375.85 22,017,006.59 21,245,218.97 20,285,354.56 18,675,957.46 18,782,346.87 20,515,254.09 21,422,199.93 371,575,080.21 180,527,780.01 191,782,564.28 221,586,108.24 173,409,731.19 168,348,627.93 169,540,098.92 166,543,522.52 171,884,381.23 163,333,866.07 178,918,081.67 173,160,200.59 184,327,473.42 190,843,084.06 167,950,734.56 173,387,338.71 189,217,168.74 187,463,023.80 188,639,784.03 177,652,605.02 182,738,711.55 3,601,254,886.54

Total Allocation =N= 71,929,136.60 111,677,069.65 98,504,916.94 81,779,163.69 107,945,283.30 127,521,490.28 88,660,372.48 94,001,770.84 117,396,254.25 83,195,162.96 88,170,915.53 97,038,499.39 79,527,967.47 91,852,123.12 103,708,946.68 85,323,528.71 82,647,902.23 86,889,129.60 101,739,114.65 80,928,763.27 96,024,271.27 1,976,461,782.92 103,229,878.43 90,260,989.29 115,472,498.35 91,098,788.06 122,253,581.52 94,817,013.94 80,695,410.68 94,598,048.69 91,808,606.98 97,100,753.85 86,746,648.63 108,780,734.57 72,878,134.31 105,263,307.96 71,052,643.70 103,107,099.19 128,538,288.06 96,829,641.78 90,346,323.03 97,385,359.95 95,341,887.65 2,037,605,638.64 84,838,744.07 129,418,648.44 104,932,684.43 66,667,123.09 109,638,787.38 97,817,484.37 98,810,994.50 119,644,475.25 85,093,222.17 104,265,277.52 86,445,837.64 78,198,684.41 67,133,015.44 67,033,923.60 75,610,527.75 88,106,546.22 1,463,655,976.28 274,106,748.28 312,065,959.76 415,566,020.98 249,225,520.35 232,090,454.36 240,801,109.22 231,972,017.08 250,816,899.31 216,039,995.18 268,787,338.39 250,847,727.20 291,143,969.28 306,411,630.67 230,163,070.12 248,456,512.99 301,601,362.57 296,511,542.83 299,987,441.49 263,769,606.54 281,245,603.50 5,461,610,530.11

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Friday, March 18, 2016

FEDERAL MINISTRY OF FINANCE, ABUJA

DISTRIBUTION DETAILS OF REVENUE ALLOCATION TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT COUNCILS BY FEDERATION ACCOUNT ALLOCATION COMMITTEE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY, 2016 SHARED IN FEBRUARY, 2016 State

S/n

Local Government Councils

Gross Statutory Allocation =N=

1 AKWANGA 63,715,434.85 2 AWE 71,818,799.55 3 DOMA 73,536,075.40 4 KARU 86,762,547.86 5 KEANA 61,952,192.94 6 KEFFI 58,255,772.64 25 NASSARAWA 7 KOKONA 66,562,452.62 8 LAFIA 104,154,187.26 9 NASARAWA 96,524,325.27 10 NASARAWA EGGON 73,839,639.25 11 OBI 70,678,804.02 12 TOTO 75,091,156.24 13 WAMBA 60,280,568.35 NASSARAWA TOTAL 963,171,956.26 1 AGAIE 66,282,964.82 2 AGWARA 56,908,444.70 3 BIDA 65,171,983.63 4 BORGU 106,090,415.78 5 BOSSO 63,681,377.03 6 EDATI 67,069,986.75 7 GBAKO 63,527,865.14 8 GURARA 56,766,172.47 9 KATCHA 61,253,967.95 10 KONTAGORA 67,457,825.39 11 LAPAI 65,892,446.73 12 LAVUN 76,673,823.34 26 NIGER 13 MAGAMA 78,542,445.97 14 MARIGA 86,967,332.78 15 MASHEGU 102,616,045.47 16 MINNA 64,990,046.41 17 MOKWA 88,211,047.64 18 MUYA 59,584,667.40 19 PAIKORO 68,575,089.45 20 RAFI 79,093,685.72 21 RIJAU 74,405,842.68 22 SHIRORO 87,959,106.38 23 SULEJA 64,326,703.21 24 TAFA 52,351,726.00 58,355,981.90 25 WUSHISHI 1,782,756,994.72 NIGER TOTAL 1 ABEOKUTA NORTH 65,517,121.61 2 ABEOKUTA SOUTH 67,636,403.23 3 ADO-ODO/OTA 103,959,390.84 4 EGBADO NORTH 68,354,172.19 5 EGBADO SOUTH 61,257,550.73 6 EWEKORO 46,597,074.59 7 REMO NORTH 45,393,784.93 8 IFO 101,929,820.32 9 IJEBU EAST 60,660,917.85 10 IJEBU NORTH 75,789,885.36 27 OGUN 11 IJEBU ODE 58,471,929.72 12 IKENNE 52,826,830.77 13 IJEBU NORTH EAST 47,637,016.19 14 IMEKO-AFON 54,764,799.73 15 IPOKIA 57,361,644.58 16 OBAFEMI/OWODE 69,551,166.60 17 ODEDAH 58,386,815.36 18 ODOGBOLU 54,264,471.06 19 OGUN WATERSIDE 51,542,684.51 20 SHAGAMU 69,908,914.07 OGUN TOTAL 1,271,812,394.23

Exchange Gain Difference =N=

737,751.75 831,579.43 851,463.52 1,004,610.92 717,335.43 674,535.12 770,716.95 1,205,986.18 1,117,641.12 854,978.44 818,379.59 869,469.57 697,979.93 11,152,427.94 767,480.81 658,934.60 754,616.92 1,228,405.49 737,357.40 776,593.62 735,579.91 657,287.25 709,250.78 781,084.35 762,959.05 887,795.04 909,431.55 1,006,982.09 1,188,176.26 752,510.29 1,021,382.89 689,922.19 794,020.98 915,814.28 861,534.43 1,018,465.70 744,829.54 606,173.02 675,695.42 20,642,283.86 758,613.22 783,152.07 1,203,730.66 791,463.01 709,292.27 539,540.75 525,608.03 1,180,230.56 702,383.94 877,560.06 677,037.97 611,674.19 551,582.08 634,113.65 664,182.14 805,322.84 676,052.44 628,320.42 596,805.24 809,465.14 14,726,130.67

Deduction

Value Added Tax

Total Allocation

=N=

(3,018,317.48) (3,018,317.48) (3,018,317.48) (3,018,317.48) (3,018,317.48) (3,018,317.48) (3,018,317.48) (3,018,317.48) (3,018,317.48) (3,018,317.48) (3,018,317.48) (3,018,317.48) (3,018,317.48) (39,238,127.24) (5,788,847.52) (5,788,847.52) (5,788,847.52) (5,788,847.52) (5,788,847.52) (5,788,847.52) (5,788,847.52) (5,788,847.52) (5,788,847.52) (5,788,847.52) (5,788,847.52) (5,788,847.52) (5,788,847.52) (5,788,847.52) (5,788,847.52) (5,788,847.52) (5,788,847.52) (5,788,847.52) (5,788,847.52) (5,788,847.52) (115,776,950.40)

Source: Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation

21,175,916.53 21,132,939.03 22,490,194.73 25,797,353.89 19,459,979.40 20,133,310.38 20,991,103.22 32,085,073.30 25,012,010.28 22,968,269.27 22,955,466.39 21,459,437.52 19,140,710.77 294,801,764.71 22,207,503.71 18,417,148.86 24,982,665.62 24,168,502.98 22,933,100.55 23,583,888.42 21,934,325.43 20,102,158.25 21,668,728.47 23,163,301.32 21,063,779.92 26,073,972.91 24,654,911.94 25,547,448.27 26,330,281.51 25,647,812.80 27,832,234.85 20,738,637.02 23,471,674.96 24,668,769.17 24,373,750.69 27,353,608.04 26,408,404.18 19,729,117.53 19,640,702.36 586,696,429.76 25,930,893.87 28,388,494.20 42,260,136.56 24,951,699.62 24,300,208.85 18,591,932.64 18,830,668.67 42,173,378.23 21,355,346.04 30,098,456.65 23,556,236.11 21,784,066.73 19,218,420.15 19,950,594.16 23,375,188.35 27,312,700.98 21,317,841.13 22,205,206.11 19,484,569.39 28,545,844.08 503,631,882.50

82,610,785.65 90,765,000.52 93,859,416.18 110,546,195.19 79,111,190.29 76,045,300.65 85,305,955.31 134,426,929.26 119,635,659.19 94,644,569.47 91,434,332.52 94,401,745.86 77,100,941.57 1,229,888,021.68 89,257,949.33 75,984,528.16 90,909,266.16 131,487,324.25 87,351,834.98 91,430,468.78 86,197,770.48 77,525,617.98 83,631,947.20 91,402,211.06 87,719,185.70 103,635,591.30 104,106,789.46 113,521,763.15 130,134,503.24 91,390,369.50 117,064,665.37 81,013,226.61 92,840,785.39 104,678,269.17 99,641,127.80 116,331,180.12 91,479,936.92 72,687,016.55 78,672,379.68 2,390,095,708.34 86,417,781.18 91,019,201.98 141,634,410.54 88,308,487.31 80,478,204.32 59,939,700.46 58,961,214.10 139,494,581.59 76,929,800.31 100,977,054.54 76,916,356.28 69,433,724.16 61,618,170.89 69,560,660.02 75,612,167.55 91,880,342.89 74,591,861.42 71,309,150.07 65,835,211.63 93,475,375.77 1,674,393,457.00

State

ONDO

OSUN

OYO

S/n

Local Government Councils

1 AKOKO NORTH EAST 2 AKOKO NORTH WEST 3 AKOKO SOUTH WEST 4 AKOKO SOUTH EAST 5 AKURE NORTH 6 AKURE SOUTH 7 IDANRE 8 IFEDORE 9 OKITIPUPA 10 ILAJE 11 ESE-EDO 12 ILE-OLUJI-OKEIGBO 13 IRELE 14 ODIGBO 15 ONDO EAST 16 ONDO WEST 17 OSE 18 OWO ONDO TOTAL 1 ATAKUMOSA EAST 2 ATAKUMOSA WEST 3 AIYEDADE 4 AIYEDIRE 5 BOLUWADURO 6 BORIPE 7 EDE NORTH 8 EDE SOUTH 9 EGBEDORE 10 EJIGBO 11 IFE CENTRAL 12 IFE EAST 13 IFE NORTH 14 IFE SOUTH 15 IFEDAYO 16 IFELODUN 17 ILA 18 ILESHA EAST 19 ILESHA WEST 20 IREPODUN 21 IREWOLE 22 ISOKAN 23 IWO 24 OBOKUN 25 ODO-OTIN 26 OLA-OLUWA 27 OLORUNDA 28 ORIADE 29 OROLU 30 OSOGBO OSUN TOTAL 1 AFIJIO 2 AKINYELE 3 ATIBA 4 ATISBO 5 EGBEDA 6 IBADAN NORTH 7 IBADAN NORTH EAST 8 IBADAN NORTH WEST 9 IBADAN SOUTH EAST 10 IBADAN SOUTH WEST 11 IBARAPA CENTRAL 12 IBARAPA NORTH 13 IDO 14 SAKI WEST 15 IFELOJU 16 IREPO 17 ISEYIN 18 ITESIWAJU 19 IWAJOWA 20 OLORUNSOGO 21 KAJOLA 22 LAGELU 23 OGBOMOSHO NORTH 24 OGBOMOSHO SOUTH 25 OGO-OLUWA 26 OLUYOLE 27 ONA-ARA 28 ORELOPE 29 ORI IRE 30 OYO EAST 31 OYO WEST 32 SAKI EAST 33 IFEDAPO OYO TOTAL

Gross Statutory Allocation =N=

67,386,572.94 71,284,186.94 72,573,169.80 53,828,765.22 56,406,031.48 86,682,805.80 61,049,102.61 61,507,250.47 73,946,734.02 80,241,280.86 61,396,558.03 63,549,462.01 59,057,556.71 73,859,533.64 49,018,244.92 81,013,816.67 65,275,157.80 76,585,054.35 1,214,661,284.27 47,862,076.59 47,996,336.33 59,795,372.94 52,857,788.01 50,020,052.34 56,970,382.78 47,749,645.23 49,590,457.94 48,774,676.00 55,368,895.49 58,626,281.75 67,758,471.45 63,160,668.97 55,056,541.60 43,264,600.65 55,750,532.59 49,151,716.98 51,241,197.07 54,300,009.09 53,737,883.24 58,142,364.39 52,773,838.88 64,892,840.69 53,813,264.55 70,898,306.42 48,528,237.64 58,697,217.29 58,885,421.40 51,891,340.38 57,733,001.40 1,645,289,420.09 56,820,248.66 65,985,259.29 65,728,528.42 70,420,384.88 71,448,544.72 73,434,560.52 79,613,369.53 58,592,518.27 69,536,953.79 72,801,995.25 52,653,008.40 54,910,790.14 53,829,222.40 79,950,604.03 54,518,842.74 57,209,786.95 74,745,551.56 64,630,623.67 59,331,857.50 53,573,284.17 66,162,690.43 61,284,159.89 63,444,500.87 54,313,119.62 49,701,853.61 65,882,637.88 71,780,975.37 54,977,402.80 66,116,698.23 55,824,554.06 56,068,253.18 55,795,989.53 64,315,460.46 2,075,404,230.84

Exchange Gain Difference =N=

780,259.32 825,389.23 840,314.17 623,275.44 653,117.23 1,003,687.60 706,878.68 712,183.50 856,218.47 929,102.12 710,901.81 735,829.97 683,818.86 855,208.79 567,575.13 938,047.20 755,811.56 886,767.20 14,064,386.28 554,188.02 555,742.60 692,361.92 612,032.64 579,174.91 659,651.77 552,886.19 574,200.70 564,754.88 641,108.39 678,825.19 784,565.48 731,328.20 637,491.68 500,954.52 645,527.31 569,120.58 593,314.37 628,731.90 622,223.13 673,221.98 611,060.60 751,384.76 623,095.96 820,921.17 561,901.40 679,646.54 681,825.73 600,842.28 668,482.02 19,050,566.81 657,913.39 764,033.72 761,061.07 815,387.39 827,292.30 850,288.09 921,831.62 678,434.24 805,158.27 842,963.71 609,661.52 635,804.05 623,280.73 925,736.41 631,265.75 662,423.80 865,467.87 748,348.59 686,994.95 620,317.26 766,088.17 709,600.37 734,614.64 628,883.71 575,490.53 762,845.48 831,141.47 636,575.35 765,555.63 646,384.39 649,206.15 646,053.64 744,699.36 24,030,803.63

Deduction =N=

(2,620,951.49) (2,620,951.49) (2,620,951.49) (2,620,951.49) (2,620,951.49) (2,620,951.49) (2,620,951.49) (2,620,951.49) (2,620,951.49) (2,620,951.49) (2,620,951.49) (2,620,951.49) (2,620,951.49) (2,620,951.49) (2,620,951.49) (2,620,951.49) (2,620,951.49) (2,620,951.49) (47,177,126.82) (2,734,288.18) (2,734,288.18) (2,734,288.18) (2,734,288.18) (2,734,288.18) (2,734,288.18) (2,734,288.18) (2,734,288.18) (2,734,288.18) (2,734,288.18) (2,734,288.18) (2,734,288.18) (2,734,288.18) (2,734,288.18) (2,734,288.18) (2,734,288.18) (2,734,288.18) (2,734,288.18) (2,734,288.18) (2,734,288.18) (2,734,288.18) (2,734,288.18) (2,734,288.18) (2,734,288.18) (2,734,288.18) (2,734,288.18) (2,734,288.18) (2,734,288.18) (2,734,288.18) (2,734,288.18) (82,028,645.40) (2,536,017.62) (2,536,017.62) (2,536,017.62) (2,536,017.62) (2,536,017.62) (2,536,017.62) (2,536,017.62) (2,536,017.62) (2,536,017.62) (2,536,017.62) (2,536,017.62) (2,536,017.62) (2,536,017.62) (2,536,017.62) (2,536,017.62) (2,536,017.62) (2,536,017.62) (2,536,017.62) (2,536,017.62) (2,536,017.62) (2,536,017.62) (2,536,017.62) (2,536,017.62) (2,536,017.62) (2,536,017.62) (2,536,017.62) (2,536,017.62) (2,536,017.62) (2,536,017.62) (2,536,017.62) (2,536,017.62) (2,536,017.62) (2,536,017.62) (83,688,581.46)

Value Added Tax =N=

24,475,831.67 26,402,940.97 27,190,895.36 19,807,400.21 22,275,644.50 33,402,801.65 22,146,963.02 24,521,922.03 27,395,691.21 30,260,021.40 23,450,044.98 24,348,355.17 22,957,410.31 27,234,324.74 19,422,410.13 29,911,431.67 22,944,105.36 26,658,697.29 454,806,891.67 19,193,029.68 18,813,763.25 22,918,165.16 19,175,406.90 18,920,805.35 22,364,177.09 19,576,312.71 19,184,896.09 19,104,564.31 22,026,934.22 23,764,761.75 24,810,731.80 23,083,949.88 22,162,343.48 17,227,963.61 20,224,841.25 18,482,695.88 20,718,781.31 20,566,602.79 21,367,008.61 22,577,106.53 20,547,624.40 24,975,914.03 21,217,089.41 22,100,688.84 19,212,911.80 21,982,751.73 22,829,047.09 20,542,603.67 23,234,571.98 632,908,044.57 24,388,240.15 28,263,545.86 26,172,057.64 23,214,341.74 31,788,805.81 33,055,135.98 34,240,230.63 25,325,159.80 31,009,236.05 31,839,615.66 22,822,071.59 22,727,330.30 22,836,230.07 31,609,515.31 23,587,583.29 23,804,830.56 30,551,344.87 24,111,045.29 22,822,121.80 21,756,671.30 27,743,297.14 25,080,298.48 27,628,974.96 22,713,422.86 20,924,484.22 27,830,055.46 30,959,681.38 22,895,474.76 25,214,402.35 23,869,748.69 24,491,817.95 23,185,773.75 24,784,727.72 863,247,273.40

Total Allocation =N=

90,021,712.44 95,891,565.65 97,983,427.85 71,638,489.38 76,713,841.72 118,468,343.55 81,281,992.81 84,120,404.51 99,577,692.21 108,809,452.89 82,936,553.34 86,012,695.65 80,077,834.39 99,328,115.68 66,387,278.69 109,242,344.04 86,354,123.23 101,509,567.35 1,636,355,435.40 64,875,006.11 64,631,554.00 80,671,611.84 69,910,939.36 66,785,744.42 77,259,923.46 65,144,555.95 66,615,266.55 65,709,707.00 75,302,649.91 80,335,580.52 90,619,480.55 84,241,658.86 75,122,088.58 58,259,230.60 73,886,612.97 65,469,245.25 69,819,004.56 72,761,055.60 72,992,826.80 78,658,404.71 71,198,235.70 87,885,851.30 72,919,161.75 91,085,628.25 65,568,762.66 78,625,327.39 79,662,006.03 70,300,498.15 78,901,767.22 2,215,219,386.07 79,330,384.59 92,476,821.24 90,125,629.50 91,914,096.39 101,528,625.21 104,803,966.97 112,239,414.17 82,060,094.69 98,815,330.49 102,948,557.00 73,548,723.90 75,737,906.86 74,752,715.58 109,949,838.13 76,201,674.16 79,141,023.70 103,626,346.68 86,953,999.93 80,304,956.63 73,414,255.12 92,136,058.11 84,538,041.11 89,272,072.86 75,119,408.57 68,665,810.74 91,939,521.20 101,035,780.60 75,973,435.29 89,560,638.59 77,804,669.52 78,673,259.65 77,091,799.30 87,308,869.92 2,878,993,726.41

Friday, March 18, 2016

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

FEDERAL MINISTRY OF FINANCE, ABUJA

DISTRIBUTION DETAILS OF REVENUE ALLOCATION TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT COUNCILS BY FEDERATION ACCOUNT ALLOCATION COMMITTEE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY, 2016 SHARED IN FEBRUARY, 2016 State

S/n

Local Government Councils

1 BARKIN LADI 2 BASSA 3 BOKKOS 4 JOS EAST 5 JOS NORTH 6 JOS SOUTH 7 KANAM 8 KANKE 31 PLATEAU 9 LANGTANG NORTH 10 LANGTANG SOUTH 11 MANGU 12 MIKANG 13 PANKSHIN 14 QUAN-PAN 15 RIYOM 16 SHENDAM 17 WASE PLATEAU TOTAL 1 AHOADA 2 AHOADA WEST 3 AKUKUTORU 4 ANDONI 5 ASARITORU 6 BONNY 7 DEGEMA 8 ELEME 9 EMOHUA 10 ETCHE 11 GONAKA 32 RIVERS 12 IKWERRE 13 KHANA 14 OBIO/AKPOR 15 OBUA/ODUAL 16 OGBA/EGBEMA/NDONI 17 OGU/BOLO 18 OKRIKA 19 OMUMMA 20 OPOBO/NKORO 21 OYIGBO 22 PORT HARCOURT 23 TAI RIVERS TOTAL 1 BINJI 2 BODINGA 3 DANGE-SHUNI 4 GADA 5 GORONYO 6 GUDU 7 GWADABAWA 8 ILLELA 9 ISA 10 KEBBE 11 KWARE 33 SOKOTO 12 RABAH 13 SABON BIRNI 14 SHAGARI 15 SILAME 16 SOKOTO NORTH 17 SOKOTO SOUTH 18 TAMBUWAL 19 TANGAZA 20 TURETA 21 WAMAKKO 22 WURNO 23 YABO SOKOTO TOTAL

Gross Statutory Allocation =N=

75,865,664.20 76,529,776.32 76,196,289.51 57,847,652.80 100,647,021.00 87,034,066.09 76,402,289.21 67,475,546.05 69,208,029.50 65,653,845.82 90,709,302.81 61,070,249.95 81,529,965.42 81,412,046.13 64,338,008.07 81,978,307.84 87,102,317.01 1,301,000,377.73 57,954,099.15 72,409,146.02 66,704,011.85 71,205,196.16 66,096,236.27 66,085,191.70 71,621,226.14 69,387,420.16 66,183,575.40 77,610,894.20 69,120,284.98 66,154,042.19 78,536,346.56 96,176,274.25 77,647,269.11 78,352,902.68 53,831,943.99 66,240,437.02 52,502,077.49 56,789,890.60 58,653,620.55 108,927,389.02 64,472,616.11 1,612,662,091.62 60,405,234.46 68,761,397.22 74,101,835.68 80,456,980.63 75,686,277.14 68,580,334.08 78,328,527.48 66,838,572.28 75,656,285.34 68,307,092.70 63,341,653.27 75,415,944.94 79,126,544.70 71,297,208.63 63,842,282.70 70,943,963.72 70,370,843.02 78,795,394.87 72,646,178.61 66,109,082.51 68,148,292.57 65,569,246.67 61,471,154.32 1,624,200,327.55

Exchange Gain Difference =N=

878,437.49 886,127.15 882,265.75 669,809.56 1,165,377.21 1,007,754.79 884,650.99 781,289.53 801,349.70 760,196.33 1,050,309.82 707,123.54 944,023.61 942,658.24 744,960.43 949,214.90 1,008,545.06 15,064,094.08 671,042.08 838,414.97 772,356.05 824,474.61 765,318.70 765,190.82 829,291.76 803,426.84 766,329.99 898,645.25 800,333.72 765,988.03 909,360.93 1,113,611.09 899,066.43 907,236.86 623,312.25 766,988.38 607,913.92 657,561.88 679,141.74 1,261,254.39 746,519.04 18,672,779.72 699,423.42 796,178.21 858,014.37 931,599.67 876,360.39 794,081.71 906,954.62 773,914.10 876,013.12 790,917.89 733,423.79 873,230.25 916,194.75 825,540.01 739,220.50 821,449.83 814,813.75 912,360.41 841,159.53 765,467.45 789,079.16 759,216.77 711,765.55 18,806,379.28

Deduction =N=

(1,564,740.79) (1,564,740.79) (1,564,740.79) (1,564,740.79) (1,564,740.79) (1,564,740.79) (1,564,740.79) (1,564,740.79) (1,564,740.79) (1,564,740.79) (1,564,740.79) (1,564,740.79) (1,564,740.79) (1,564,740.79) (1,564,740.79) (1,564,740.79) (1,564,740.79) (1,564,740.79) (1,564,740.79) (1,564,740.79) (1,564,740.79) (1,564,740.79) (1,564,740.79) (35,989,038.17)

Source: Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation

Value Added Tax =N=

24,994,447.22 25,576,451.00 25,154,458.09 20,492,603.80 37,748,774.87 31,594,155.19 24,524,054.41 22,291,132.04 23,256,067.40 21,532,046.88 31,002,461.39 21,085,502.58 25,818,751.74 26,082,039.17 22,799,883.28 26,638,738.43 24,313,986.79 434,905,554.28 30,172,200.70 34,323,245.26 29,632,923.39 32,394,479.11 32,850,914.27 32,612,830.94 34,340,717.42 31,384,055.88 31,937,190.42 34,324,701.27 33,289,124.15 31,325,915.75 36,572,133.57 45,136,104.30 36,008,355.06 36,059,666.99 25,549,909.81 32,947,613.65 26,839,385.58 29,407,241.28 27,960,064.18 48,968,231.67 27,714,550.16 761,751,554.78 20,594,469.10 24,128,013.26 25,088,982.24 27,786,172.11 24,473,942.01 20,118,352.65 26,937,215.77 22,876,996.34 22,656,786.84 21,580,089.89 22,044,056.15 22,810,521.79 25,744,338.98 23,174,424.77 20,561,884.52 27,011,924.33 25,107,458.55 26,614,533.04 21,037,599.30 18,754,017.70 24,339,536.90 23,470,346.99 21,095,739.43 538,007,402.65

Total Allocation =N=

101,738,548.90 102,992,354.46 102,233,013.35 79,010,066.15 139,561,173.08 119,635,976.07 101,810,994.61 90,547,967.62 93,265,446.60 87,946,089.04 122,762,074.02 82,862,876.07 108,292,740.77 108,436,743.54 87,882,851.78 109,566,261.17 112,424,848.86 1,750,970,026.10 88,797,341.93 107,570,806.24 97,109,291.29 104,424,149.87 99,712,469.24 99,463,213.46 106,791,235.31 101,574,902.88 98,887,095.82 112,834,240.72 103,209,742.86 98,245,945.97 116,017,841.06 142,425,989.63 114,554,690.60 115,319,806.53 80,005,166.05 99,955,039.05 79,949,376.99 86,854,693.76 87,292,826.47 159,156,875.08 92,933,685.31 2,393,086,426.13 80,134,386.19 92,120,847.91 98,484,091.50 107,610,011.62 99,471,838.76 87,928,027.65 104,607,957.09 88,924,741.94 97,624,344.51 89,113,359.68 84,554,392.41 97,534,956.20 104,222,337.63 93,732,432.62 83,578,646.93 97,212,597.10 94,728,374.53 104,757,547.53 92,960,196.66 84,063,826.87 91,712,167.84 88,234,069.63 81,713,918.51 2,145,025,071.31

State

S/n

Local Government Councils

1 ARDO KOLA 2 BALI 3 DONGA 4 GASHAKA 5 GASSOL 6 IBI 7 JALINGO 8 KARIM LAMIDU 34 TARABA 9 KURMI 10 LAU 11 SARDAUNA 12 TAKUM 13 USSA 14 WUKARI 15 YORRO 16 ZING TARABA TOTAL 1 BADE 2 BURSARI 3 DAMATURU 4 FIKA 5 FUNE 6 GEIDAM 7 GUJBA 8 GULAMI 35 YOBE 9 JAKUSKO 10 KARASUWA 11 MACHINA 12 NANGERE 13 NGURU 14 POTISKUM 15 TARMUA 16 YUNUSARI 17 YUSUFARI YOBE TOTAL 1 ANKA 2 BAKURA 3 BUKKUYUM 4 BUNGUDU 5 GUMMI 6 GUSAU 7 KAURA NAMODA 36 ZAMFARA 8 KIYAWA 9 MARADUN 10 MARU 11 SHINKAFI 12 TALATA MAFARA 13 TSAFE 14 ZURMI ZAMFARA TOTAL 1 ABAJI 2 ABUJA MUNICIPAL 3 BWARI 37 FCT-ABUJA 4 GWAGWALADA 5 KUJE 6 KWALI

Gross Statutory Allocation =N=

61,014,576.28 104,409,990.98 71,710,457.96 85,622,715.66 92,502,112.73 64,080,882.17 61,634,793.46 95,665,628.56 68,098,551.70 62,875,237.20 93,829,849.73 74,269,359.56 63,833,523.67 91,432,456.85 60,611,791.22 65,751,651.61 1,217,343,579.36 67,950,421.95 75,193,869.21 62,959,067.47 70,491,201.86 98,869,303.21 81,937,116.63 75,437,059.70 65,539,331.73 86,435,891.69 60,959,309.47 58,389,326.36 62,602,287.14 68,087,391.43 74,922,428.74 69,489,803.31 72,420,285.13 72,248,189.20 1,223,932,284.24 68,005,083.55 65,845,917.62 77,708,968.19 85,768,030.46 74,651,930.06 103,658,506.13 78,724,138.27 71,424,228.43 77,211,610.74 101,913,029.32 63,632,453.90 73,496,536.02 77,867,163.78 85,997,039.92 1,105,904,636.40 56,807,130.17 145,015,157.55 81,683,072.60 70,003,476.14 66,515,205.55 68,420,064.77 488,444,106.78 53,757,277,630.48

Exchange Gain Difference =N=

706,478.90 1,208,948.09 830,324.96 991,412.97 1,071,068.50 741,983.21 713,660.31 1,107,698.39 788,503.22 728,023.22 1,086,442.18 859,954.11 739,119.08 1,058,683.11 701,815.11 761,328.81 14,095,444.19 786,788.05 870,658.87 728,993.88 816,207.37 1,144,793.28 948,737.95 873,474.74 758,870.39 1,000,828.61 705,838.98 676,081.51 724,862.77 788,374.00 867,515.90 804,612.32 838,543.94 836,551.27 14,171,733.84 787,420.97 762,420.30 899,780.84 993,095.55 864,383.84 1,200,246.76 911,535.34 827,010.75 894,022.01 1,180,036.14 736,790.93 851,005.70 901,612.56 995,747.21 12,805,108.88 657,761.50 1,679,109.41 945,796.41 810,560.07 770,169.89 792,225.98 5,655,623.25 622,447,696.27

Deduction

Value Added Tax

Total Allocation

=N=

20,643,065.79 82,364,120.98 26,769,067.27 132,388,006.35 23,012,351.37 95,553,134.29 20,686,244.13 107,300,372.76 28,567,193.86 122,140,375.09 20,499,121.28 85,321,986.66 23,300,240.40 85,648,694.17 26,111,802.65 122,885,129.61 20,874,521.75 89,761,576.67 21,128,520.81 84,731,781.23 27,547,381.85 122,463,673.76 23,074,508.08 98,203,821.75 21,915,772.30 86,488,415.05 28,406,379.67 120,897,519.63 20,768,031.93 82,081,638.26 22,673,552.06 89,186,532.48 375,977,755.20 1,607,416,778.75 22,183,039.91 90,920,249.92 20,643,782.51 96,708,310.59 19,583,905.02 83,271,966.38 22,038,091.25 93,345,500.48 30,265,321.18 130,279,417.67 23,062,321.50 105,948,176.09 21,696,329.71 98,006,864.16 20,361,918.36 86,660,120.47 26,666,607.85 114,103,328.15 20,536,740.40 82,201,888.85 18,258,028.92 77,323,436.79 19,574,315.42 82,901,465.33 22,727,789.83 91,603,555.26 25,501,445.52 101,291,390.17 19,041,163.40 89,335,579.04 21,482,094.89 94,740,923.96 20,742,289.36 93,827,029.83 374,365,185.03 1,612,469,203.12 22,313,286.05 91,105,790.56 24,553,789.73 91,162,127.66 25,795,317.46 104,404,066.49 28,119,115.16 114,880,241.16 25,439,146.41 100,955,460.31 34,407,336.64 139,266,089.54 29,296,477.88 108,932,151.50 24,137,771.50 96,389,010.68 25,756,105.51 103,861,738.26 29,825,312.06 132,918,377.52 21,980,361.01 86,349,605.84 25,973,302.57 100,320,844.29 28,525,342.96 107,294,119.30 29,922,563.73 116,915,350.87 376,045,228.69 1,494,754,973.98 208,862,545.71 266,327,437.37 245,018,024.30 391,712,291.26 217,336,143.18 299,965,012.19 213,849,442.48 284,663,478.68 210,816,766.99 278,102,142.42 210,237,876.07 279,450,166.81 - 1,306,120,798.72 1,800,220,528.75 (637,232,146.38) 23,425,675,896.71 77,168,169,077.08

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Friday, March 18, 2016

Editorial

Friday, March 18, 2016

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

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

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

National Assembly and fiscal transparency I t does seem the National Assembly under the leadership of the Senate President, Bukola Saraki, and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, is predisposed to jettisoning its tradition of shrouding its fiduciary escapades in utter secrecy. The budget, salaries and allowances of NASS members are not part of what the lawmakers generously share with the public, though they proudly claim to be representing Nigerian people and national interest. It got to a point last year that a former Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC) - the body that fixes political and other public office holders’ pay - Mr. Hamman Tukur, publicly declared that the Commission under his leadership did not know the source of salaries and allowances of NASS members. Tukur told an online medium that the emoluments of NASS members were in excess of what RMAFC approved; and that the commission’s effort to checkmate the parliamentarians and subject their pay to scrutiny and approval by constituted authority, like other government outfits, proved abortive as the lawmakers resisted the attempt. Tukur’s information made many live with the strong suspicion that federal lawmakers have been defecating on the system of checks and balances, the hub on which the principle of separation of powers

under any democracy worth its name revolves, especially when it comes to inflicting maximum injury on the nation’s treasury. Indeed, critics say NASS prepares its own budget with utter impunity, debates it, approves it and passes it into law, with virtually no interference, modification or input from any other arm of government. Most of the bits and pieces of information available to the public on the remunerations of NASS members are painfully fished out of the springs of speculation. A very good example was when the news went viral a couple of years ago that Nigeria’s 109 Senators and 360 members of the House of Representatives were the highest paid in the world. Reports had it then that while an American Senator earned $174,000; and a Member of Parliament (MP) in the United Kingdom about $64,000 per annum, a Senator in Nigeria earned N240m (about $1.7m) in salaries and allowances; while a member of the House of Representatives cruised home with N204m (about $1.45m) every year. Just about the second quarter of last year, there was public outrage that NASS members would pocket N8.46bn as wardrobe allowance. But Saraki quickly countered via Twitter that the actual wardrobe allowance of each Senator was N506,600 per annum. “With the current challenges we are facing as a nation, RMAFC will be reviewing allowanc-

It does seem the NatIoNal assembly… Is

predIsposed to jettIsoNINg Its tradItIoN of shroudINg Its fIducIary escapades IN utter secrecy es to reflect the current economic trend”, the Senate President was quoted as saying. Following relentless public agitations against high cost of governance vis-à-vis the nation’s economic down-turn occasioned by falling oil prices, RMAFC widely perceived as permissive of out-of-this-world public officers’ pay, did indicate last year that it would release newly reviewed remuneration packages for all political office holders to reflect the prevailing socio-economic realities; perhaps in line with the principled position of the President Muhammadu Buhari-led Federal Government on zero-tolerance for public sector corruption and profligacy. Last Monday, the Senate President was also quoted as saying the budget breakdown of NASS would be published next week. Mohammed Isa, the Special Assistant to Saraki on Public Affairs told the

ON THIS DAY March 18, 1992 White South Africans voted overwhelmingly in favour, in a national referendum, to end the racist policy of Apartheid. Apartheid was a system of racial segregation enforced through legislation by the National Party governments, which were in power in the African country from 1948 to 1994, under which the rights of the majority black inhabitants of South Africa were curtailed.

Letters tothe theEditor Editor Letters to

March 18, 1996 A nightclub fire in Quezon City, Philippines, killed 162 people. Ozone Disco, located along Timog Avenue Corner, Tomas Morato Avenue in Quezon City, was opened in 1991 by Segio Orgaoow. Its building had previously housed a jazz club named ‘Birdland’. The disco was operated by Westwood Entertainment Company, Inc. It is officially acknowledged as the worst fire in Philippines.

media in Abuja that his boss made the remark when he hosted a team of editors from the London-based newspaper, ‘The Economist’. Saraki, who chairs the National Assembly, said publication of the details of NASS budget was in line with the anti-corruption disposition the 8th NASS and the anti-corruption resolve of the Buhari administration. “For the first time, we promised Nigerians that the Senate will disclose its budget breakdown, the committee will make its report available by next week. We are resolved to break the tradition of one line item”, Saraki said. He disclosed also that Senate’s recent unravelling of transaction frauds in the management of Treasury Single Account (TSA), which saved the country over N7bn, demonstrably buttressed the 8th NASS’ resolve not to indulge in dilatory acts that would hinder or water down any allegation of corruption. The penchant of NASS to recklessly approve outlandish pay for its members and its subversion of scrutiny and approval by constituted authority, in addition to past traces of corruption among its members, have done grave harm to the integrity of the federal legislature and rendered suspect its commitment to public good. But it is not too late to make amends and inspire public confidence and trust with its new transparency and, perhaps, accountability avowals.

x March 18, 2015 The Bardo National Museum in the Tunisian capital city of Tunis was attacked by three gunmen who took hostages. Twenty-one people, mostly European tourists, were killed at the scene, while an additional victim died ten days later. Around fifty others were injured. Two of the gunmen, Tunisian citizens, Yassine Labidi and Saber Khachnaoui, were killed by the police, while the third is still at large.

9 Friday, March 18, 2016 National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Beneficiaries

FEDERAL MINISTRY OF FINANCE, ABUJA

17 21 31 21 20 8 23 27 18 25 13 18 16 17 11 27 27 23 44 34 21 21 16 20 13 25 20 18 30 33 17 23 23 16 17 14 6

3 No. of LGCs

53,757,277,630.48

1,115,795,146.00 1,407,415,433.99 1,874,594,654.47 1,415,021,256.21 1,606,329,140.86 653,834,757.33 1,747,934,714.78 1,897,733,285.99 1,223,408,878.65 1,567,623,014.28 904,999,042.95 1,199,443,784.96 952,401,862.30 1,218,652,717.65 835,021,693.27 1,633,265,728.68 1,715,899,425.15 1,929,691,382.16 3,072,234,066.01 2,338,944,088.28 1,476,124,779.94 1,525,683,084.02 1,079,580,589.49 1,839,061,418.97 963,171,956.26 1,782,756,994.72 1,271,812,394.23 1,214,661,284.27 1,645,289,420.09 2,075,404,230.84 1,301,000,377.73 1,612,662,091.62 1,624,200,327.55 1,217,343,579.36 1,223,932,284.24 1,105,904,636.40 488,444,106.78

4 Gross Statutory Allocation =N=

622,447,696.27

12,919,629.65 16,296,258.54 21,705,658.76 16,384,325.25 18,599,451.41 7,570,657.53 20,239,081.75 21,973,577.61 14,165,673.41 18,151,278.80 10,478,852.25 13,888,185.07 11,027,722.59 14,110,602.51 9,668,594.70 18,911,346.24 19,868,149.79 22,343,615.75 35,572,951.26 27,082,293.29 17,091,834.06 17,665,662.45 12,500,306.57 21,294,224.60 11,152,427.94 20,642,283.86 14,726,130.67 14,064,386.28 19,050,566.81 24,030,803.63 15,064,094.08 18,672,779.72 18,806,379.28 14,095,444.19 14,171,733.84 12,805,108.88 5,655,623.25

5 Exchange Gain Difference =N=

Value Added Tax

Total Net Amount

8 (4+5+6+7)

411,428,062.05 491,091,663.81 688,300,831.79 544,363,559.16 554,600,023.88 209,943,912.95 567,080,106.72 618,821,029.02 421,376,699.95 640,302,517.81 314,120,020.19 467,237,616.08 364,442,292.89 440,756,842.42 286,220,535.56 617,653,047.58 638,729,255.16 677,769,723.06 1,198,140,304.07 819,700,058.75 483,245,168.92 494,256,892.17 371,575,080.21 3,601,254,886.54 294,801,764.71 586,696,429.76 503,631,882.50 454,806,891.67 632,908,044.57 863,247,273.40 434,905,554.28 761,751,554.78 538,007,402.65 375,977,755.20 374,365,185.03 376,045,228.69 1,306,120,798.72

=N=

(139,538,498.52) (39,811,620.94) (53,983,557.43) (39,238,127.24) (115,776,950.40) (47,177,126.82) (82,028,645.40) (83,688,581.46) (71,978,076.34) -

23,425,675,896.71

=N=

(673,221,184.55)

=N= 1,540,142,837.71 1,914,803,356.34 2,584,601,145.01 1,975,769,140.61 2,179,528,616.14 871,349,327.81 2,195,715,404.73 2,538,527,892.62 1,658,951,252.00 2,226,076,810.90 1,189,786,294.45 1,680,569,586.11 1,327,871,877.78 1,673,520,162.58 1,076,927,266.10 2,269,830,122.50 2,374,496,830.10 2,629,804,720.97 4,305,947,321.34 3,185,726,440.32 1,976,461,782.92 2,037,605,638.64 1,463,655,976.28 5,461,610,530.11 1,229,888,021.68 2,390,095,708.34 1,674,393,457.00 1,636,355,435.40 2,215,219,386.07 2,878,993,726.41 1,750,970,026.10 2,393,086,426.13 2,109,036,033.14 1,607,416,778.75 1,612,469,203.12 1,494,754,973.98 1,800,220,528.75 77,132,180,038.91

Deduction

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37

S/n

SUMMARY OF DISTRIBUTION OF REVENUE ALLOCATION TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT COUNCILS BY FEDERATION ACCOUNT ALLOCATION COMMITTEE FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY, 2016 SHARED IN FEBRUARY, 2016 S/n 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37

ABIA ADAMAWA AKWA IBOM ANAMBRA BAUCHI BAYELSA BENUE BORNO CROSS RIVER DELTA EBONYI EDO EKITI ENUGU GOMBE IMO JIGAWA KADUNA KANO KATSINA KEBBI KOGI KWARA LAGOS NASSARAWA NIGER OGUN ONDO OSUN OYO PLATEAU RIVERS SOKOTO TARABA YOBE ZAMFARA FCT, ABUJA Total LGCs

Source: Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Views

Friday, March 18, 2016

Debunking the poverty causative factor of Boko Haram Counter-terrorism Tips With

Ethelbert Oney ethelbertoney@zissltd.com, 08029929121 (sms only)

errorism is a complex phenomenon that predictions on its future developments are both fairly common and greatly expected. The track record of predicting Boko Haram, however, has not been good, and this is particularly due to major changes in its modus operandi. The Boko Haram-induced violence changes on a regular basis. It would, perhaps not be an exaggeration to state that these fast-evolving trends constitute a clear and present danger to Nigeria’s security. In addition to BH, three other local groups and hybrid organisations like the pro-Biafra agitators are also important future threats. An explicit prediction of events is that decentralisation of BH led to individualisation of actions or lone wolf terrorism as experienced since the later part of 2014. The better a target nation understands the roots of a terrorist group’s mindset, the better that nation may develop policies to effectively manage the risks they pose. We need to utilize the latest innovative conceptual methods and hi-tech-based systems that are grounded in the social and behavioural sciences if we want to

stay ahead of BH threats. There is a lot to gain from methodologically rigorous and analytically oriented approach that can help us fully understand the underlying conditions that gave rise to BH. In sum, a more systematic approach by a more mixed group of experts and scholars, in combination with new software systems, might enable us better understand how to assess, forecast and respond to the future BH or any other threats in the land. Investigating the BH mindset may be a necessary step towards actualising modern potential for uncovering the basis of their aggression and designing an optimum counterterrorism policy. Also the vulnerability of our agricultural sector in the northeast and the likelihood of BH attacking our nation’s food supply should be a very serious worry for the current administration. BH actions are not expected by its perpetrators to accomplish a political goal, instead they are meant to influence its target audience and changing that audience’s behaviour in a way that will serve the interests of its members and loyalists. Some strongly believe that peer influence was a major reason why people join BH, since joining increases their social standing. Membership of an organization is being associated with a fusion of the young individual’s collective identity and goals. It makes commonsense that individuals who harm innocent people are anti-social and sadists with several complications in life. Some antisocial individuals perhaps, use the moral cover

men do noT necessarily rebel merely because Their condiTions of life are inTolerable as many assumed of group affiliation to disguise their aggressive and remorseless drives. In a perfectly rational system, the basic idea of deterrence is to deliver a clear, credible message to the opponent that the cost of pursuing a certain course of behaviour outweighs its benefits. The most likely explanation for such unanticipated consequences is simply that the immense plasticity and variability of the human central nervous system often generate idiosyncratic and individualistic responses that defy predictions, not only because of incomplete information held by the actor but also because of impulsivity and emotional processes that overrule adaptive choices. Presently, it is still unbelievable the reason a very few individuals, among hundreds of thousands in virtually identical environment, joined the BH while others not. Men do not necessarily rebel merely because their conditions of life are intolerable as many assumed, it simply takes a rebel to be a rebel. Not only the counterterrorism experts but the political scientists and psychiatrists have offered diverse opinions regarding the

degree to which the roots of BH members’ aggression were born. Social learning may influence some young Nigerian Muslims toward terrorism. Having said that, questions should be asked as to why only a small minority amongst the millions exposed to extremist publications and the tens of millions exposed to public glorification of BH turn terrorists. Not everyone from those similar set up, although subject to the same or similar influences, becomes a terrorist. However, social learning probably helps animate the small minority who became members of the sect. With undiluted offensive as has been the case, we may never know their true reasons of turning a monster without looking back. This raises the question of how politically motivated the Ekomog boys used by the northern politicians reach the point of no return at which their potential energy was converted into violence against our beloved nation. Millions of Nigerians live in frustrating circumstances but never turn to become BH members or supporters, many terrorists do not belong to the desperate classes whose frustration they claim to be expressing, and terrorism does not uniformly appear to be an act of last resort by those who have exhausted alternate approaches. Frustration therefore, may plausibly play some part in the genesis of some violence, but not by itself sufficient to explain the Boko Haraminduced violence against the Nigerian state.

Ethical dilemma of beneficence and patient autonomy Victor ifedayo adekeye

edical ethics principles have the sole responsibility of providing guidance and limits to medical practitioners in their dealings with and treatment of patients. Some of these principles are beneficence and patient autonomy. Beneficence obligates every medical practitioner in the treatment of patients to only take decisions and actions that are of advantage to them. Beneficence preaches the prioritization of the patient’s benefits in decision making; it states that part of doing what is beneficial to the patient is the prevention of harm or possible future harm that can be envisaged and prevented. The principle of patient autonomy on the other hand is the right of patients to exclusively take decision with regards to the treatment administered to his/her health. It is founded on the fundamental right of every person to personal liberty. Patient autonomy mandates no interference from medical practitioners on the patient’s exclusive right to make the decision regarding his/her health. However, it is expedient to note here that the phrase “no interference” does not stop the medical practitioners from succinctly and carefully explaining the medical options, their procedures, risks, advantages and any other required information to the patient, so as to assist in the taking of accurate and apt decision beneficial to his/her health.

The principle of paTienT auTonomy… is founded on The fundamenTal righT of every person To personal liberTy Beneficence preaches the taking of actions that will benefit the patient. It also implies medical practitioners to turn down requests that are detrimental to the health of the patient. Beneficence indirectly equips medical practitioners with the power to take decisions as long as such decisions are beneficial to the health of the patient. This is, however, contradicting the ethical principle of ‘patient autonomy’, which places the decision over a patient health in the hand of the patient; it also obligates medical practitioners not to take any decisions/actions on the health of a patent unless such patient agrees to the taking of such action. The question to be asked at this junction is what happens when the decision taken by a patient is detrimental to his/her own health? Such decisions include Euthanasia, abortion, decline of required surgery or treatment among others. At this instance, what take precedence, the principle of beneficence or patient autonomy? Over the years, this has been a huge headache for medical practitioners, who have been bound to the Geneva Oath taken at their induction into the medical practice

to prioritize the health of patients over anything else. However, a patient empowered by patient autonomy has the power to refuse the medical decision/treatment deemed appropriate and beneficial to his health by a medical practitioner. In the situation of this exercise of the autonomy power by the patient, what takes precedence? Should the medical practitioner disregard the patient’s right to decide what treatment to be administered to him and take the best decision for his health as compelled by the beneficence duty or respect the right of the patient and breach the beneficence obligation? This issue has been succinctly dealt with by the Court of Appeal in the case of Medical and Dental Practitioner Disciplinary Tribunal vs Doctor John Emewulu Nicholas Okonkwo (2002) AHRLR 150, where the court held that patient autonomy is a constitutionally protected right of personal liberty which is guaranteed in Chapter IV of the 1999 Constitution. Thus when there is a clash between the provision of the constitution and any other principle of ethics, by the provisions of section 1(3) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, such other provisions becomes null and void. This decision of the Supreme Court puts ‘beneficence’ to the gallows. It is now an established principle of law that doctors are not obligated to do what they think is the best treatment for the patient unless such patient attests/agrees to the taking of such decision. I subscribe to this decision of the Court

of Appeal. It is alarming how much power medical ethics has placed in the hands of medical practitioners. What qualifies them to decide what is good for another human? Good beneficial is relative; it depends fully on the person at the receiving end. Sometimes, what the medical expert thinks is good for a patient is not what the patient thinks is good for her/him. A medical practitioner is only obligated to tell patients what is good for them and allow them choose whether to take such treatment or not. That chosen decision must be respected. Finally, in doing justice to the medical practitioners, this autonomy should also be extended to them, that is, they should be allowed the power to say no and refuse treating the patient if they are ethically conflicted with the decision of the patient. In such instance, such medical practitioner should be able to transfer the patient to another. The dilemma has been resolved by the Court of Appeal and it is thus safe to say at the clash of patient autonomy and other ethical principles, patient autonomy takes precedence due to its constitutional backing. Adekey is a Lagos-based medical legal practitioner. 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.

Mail Mirror

Friday, March 18, 2016

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Curbing domestic violence against women

D For Chidozie Nwigwe, a fallen budding star

N i g er i a n fami ly ba sed i n We s t Pal m B ea ch , S o u t h F lor i da , M r. & M r s. B e n jami n N w i gwe, re c e n t ly lo s t thei r s on, Ch i do z i e, a f t e r a ver y br i ef i l l n e s s. H e w a s a 19 ye ar s o l d col le g e s o p homo re a n d a r i sin g s t a r i n A mer i can foo t ba ll, clo s e ly watch e d by co a ch e s a n d teams a l i ke i n t h e i r h o p e of a fut ure dr aft i n t o p ro fessi o n al Am e r i c a n fo o t b all l e a gue. His death is a loss so g reat words cannot tr uly capture the anguish and g r i e f l e f t i n i t s w a ke. We w i l l f o r e v e r c h e r ish the joyful memories that this bright and energetic yo u n g man b ro u g h t i n t o o u r l ive s in his brief but eventful e a r t h l y s o j o u r n . We t a k e solace in the fact that he rest peacefully in a bett e r p l a c e. Chido zie’s parents are renowned phar macists i n F l o r i d a . T h e y h av e two other children in high school. Emma adoghe wrote via adoghe@gmail. com

omestic violence against women still thrives among us. In spite of the outcry by human right bodies, we still have some heartless people in our society who have no appreciation for the rights of others. We see some husbands, uncles and even male family members abusing women in all sort of despicable manners. Domestic violence is the willful intimidation, physical assault, battery, sexual assault and/or abusive behavior as part of a systematic pattern of power and control perpetrated by one intimate partner (particularly the male) against another. It is an epidemic affecting individuals in every community regardless of age, economic status, sexual orientation, gender, race, religion or nationality. Domestic violence occurs between intimate partners, in both current and former romantic relationships, whether cohabiting or not, regardless of marital status or sexual orientation of the couple.

Can’t cheat the nature.

Fathers rape daughters; husbands beat wives to stupor; very elderly men defile children as young as eight years, and wives stab husbands to death. These and many more have made headlines of various newspapers. Domestic violence can take many forms, including physical violence (aggression or assault, hitting, kicking, biting, shoving, restraining, slapping, throwing objects, battery and acid attacks); sexual violence (rape); psychological violence and emotional abuse. Domestic violence can be caused by a lot of things including disagreement with intimate partners; protracted period of unemployment; financial issues; desperation when partners threaten to leave; drunkenness; rejection of partners’ sexual advances; anger escalation; humiliation stemming from problems at work; jealousy and so on. The phenomenon has a significant impact on the lives of women and children with long-terms

costs facing our communities. The impact of this insidious violence is widespread and longstanding, generating profound personal, social and economic costs. Intimate partners’ violence (husband and wife) remains the leading contributor to death, disability, ill-health etc; and it is one of the greatest predictors of high prevalence mental health concerns such as depression. Along with depression, domestic violence victims may also experience Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which is characterized by symptoms such as flashbacks, intrusive imagery, nightmares, anxiety, emotional numbing, insomnia, hyper-vigilance, and avoidance of traumatic triggers. Children may develop behavioral or emotional difficulties after experiencing physical abuse in the context of domestic violence, or after witnessing parental abuse. Responses in children may vary from aggression to withdrawal to somatic complaints. In addition, children may develop symptoms of

PHOTO:ADEMOLA AKINLABI

Southern Nigeria Peoples Mandate’s position on restructuring

e of the Southern Nigeria Peoples Mandate (SNPM), a human rights organization, call on the Federal Government to stop the exportation of crude oil by both multinational and private oil companies. Nigeria is the only OPEC-member country that exports raw crude oil and imports refined petroleum product, a situation that encourages fraud as seen in the oil subsidy payment. This is the time for the FG to take the bull by the horn and stop the rapacious fraud in the nation’s oil sector. In today’s Nigeria, we have multinational and private companies that lift crude oil on daily basis, but the quantity of which the relevant authorities do not know. This is because there are no effective checks and balances in the

Letters to the Editor

sector. The much touted diversification of economy by President Muhammadu Buhari would not be realized without serious effort of curbing this criminality in the oil industry. We are, therefore, calling on Mr. President to make it mandatory that all those licensed to lift crude oil should be made to build oil refineries in the country instead so that our people can be employed and the issue of oil subsidy payment by the nation permanently resolved. This will also enable the country address the ravaging oil theft syndrome. It will be recalled that crude oil was first discovered in 1956 in Oloibiri, a small Ijaw town in the present Bayelsa State. Before this development, agriculture was the nation’s major foreign exchange

earner for the three regional governments. The three regions (later four in 1963) in the country were known to produce and export large quantities of agricultural produce. We had gigantic groundnut pyramids in the North and exportable quantities of oil palm and cocoa in the East and West respectively. The discovery of oil led to the total neglect of agriculture. The Federal Government must abolish the present 13 percent derivation principle for the oil producing states. Rather, the communities where oil is found should be allowed to control 10 percent of the revenue from their oil, while state and local government areas should get five percent each. When this is done, the challenge of Niger Delta militancy and oil theft will be a thing of the past because the peo-

ple from the area will now use the money they realize from oil to fast track their socioeconomic development. This will also save Nigeria billions of naira presently spent in securing oil pipelines. Since the geese laying the golden eggs should be taken of, we hereby call on the National Assembly to include communities, LGAs and states where oil is found in the sharing formula of revenues from their natural resources. If this is done, we strongly believe that every part of Nigeria will experience fast and rapid development because there will be serious competition among states, LGAs and communities. Augustine Chukwudum, President, South Nigeria Peoples Mandate (SNPM) and Ndigbo Unity Forum (NUF) Worldwide

depression, anxiety, or PTSD. Although women are the prime victims and will experience this long array of emotional illnesses, the impact on children, the community and society is also profound. Children are also principal victims of domestic violence. Witnessing or experiencing abuse or living in an environment where someone is being physically abused can be psychologically devastating for a child as he/she is susceptible to depression which leaves the people around him and his immediate environment unsafe. Such a child is also likely to have lower than usual intelligence quotients (IQ). Violent punishments lead to delinquency in adolescents and subsequently violent crimes; therefore these adolescents become socialized in violent behavior, and by default angry and confused. The anger may become directed towards parents, or other children and the possibility of these adolescents becoming troublesome, aggressive, or withdrawn, and isolated is very high. Victims of domestic violence, whether children or adults, suffer physical injuries such as minor cuts, scratches and bruises, others more serious ones are broken bones, internal bleeding, head trauma, to mention but a few. Also, victims often have low self esteem, having difficulties in trusting others; meanwhile the anger and stress experienced by these persons lead to emotional disorders, harmful health behaviour like excessive smoking, alcohol abuse, use of drugs and engaging in risky sexual activities. Domestic violence also has economic effects on the victims in which they often lose their jobs because of absenteeism due to illnesses as a result of the violence. Absences occasioned by court appearances can also jeopardize their livelihood. Victims may have to relocate many times to avoid violence. Moving is costly and can interfere with continuity of employment. Many victims have had to forgo financial security during divorce proceedings to avoid further abuse. As a result they are impoverished as they grow older. Most of the women experiencing domestic violence have varying responses and differences in who they report their abuses to. A large number of women report their abuse to family members and friends, while not many decide to go to the police to report such incident simply because they see it as not ideal for them to take their family matters to the police. Olamilehin Abisola Mercy, Department of Mass Communication, Federal Polytechnic, Bida

Send your letters The Editor reserves thethe right letters or or mails mailsto toPMB PMB10001, 10001,Ikoyi, Ikoyi,or orour our Email: Email:mirrorlagos@yahoo.com mirrorlagos@yahoo.comand andinfo@nationalmirroronline.net info@nationalmirroronline.netoror08056180209, 08054103275,07033375481 07033375481(SMS (SMSonly). only). The Editor reserves right to to edit and reject letters photographs. Psuedonyms may used, must clearly marked such. edit and reject letters or or photographs. Psuedonyms may bebe used, butbut must bebe clearly marked asas such.

Your

FRIDAY

Flavour

Friday, march 18, 2016

Asa

the final event. Modupe Thani, Head, Events and Sponsorship, Etisalat Nigeria revealed that the writers were showcased at the 2016 edition of Time of the Writer in University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, South Africa where they featured in a panel of literary giants as they also engaged in literary polemics that critically evaluated creative oeuvres and insights. There was also a presentation of the shortlisted books to City of Durban

Library by Etisalat Prize for Literature. The Etisalat Prize for Literature is arguably the first ever pan-African prize that celebrates maiden writers and debut fictional narratives from the continent. The Etisalat Prize for Literature celebrates new writers of African citizenship whose first fiction book (more than 30,000 words in length) was published in the previous 24 months. The prize accepts any printed production

P. 22. 27

Darey

Critics

igeria will be playing host to the grand finale of the 3rd edition of Etisalat Prize for Literature tomorrow19th March 2016 at the exquisite Intercontinental Hotel, Victoria Island Lagos. The Literature prize was established in 2013 to reward and celebrate African writers and give velocity to writers’ voices and also discover and encourage emerging creative writers in Africa. The Etisalat Prize for Literature is worth of £15,000 in addition to a fellowship at the University of East Anglia. This year’s edition comes with much excitement and tension as a winner will be announced amongst the three African writers who made the shortlist. The literary prize will reach its denouement as the creative masterpieces The Story of Anna P, as Told by Herself by South Africa’s Penny Busetto, Tram 83 by Democratic Republic of Congo’s Fiston Mwanza Mujila and What Will People Say? by South African, Rehana Rossouw will vie for the whooping £15,000 price. To thrill fans at the most prestigious Literature Prize in Africa and of course douse the tensions are Nigerian sensational multiple award winning singer and songwriter, Asa and another Nigerian Darey who will perform their songs as poetry and monologues by different artistes from the continent will lighten the audience at the event ceremony with the theme “Representing the Diversity of African Voices by showcasing the richness of Africa and how our diversity converges into one unique voice of the continent”. The Chief Executive Officer of Etisalat Nigeria, Matthew Willsher recently revealed that Asa’s performance will create a healthy environment and entertaining experience which will further underscore the growth of Africa’s creative abilities especially in the creative writing sector. On Tuesday this week, a build-up to the grand finale heralding tomorrow’s ceremony was held to bring the three shortlisted writers closer to the African public before

in book form from any literary type or genre, but must be written in English or published in English translation. Authors must be Africans and their publishers can be based anywhere in the world. Tomorrow will be the last public outing of the three shortlisted authors together in this year event. The three authors were recently at the Lagos book reading, as the final precursor to the Award Ceremony which provided the public ample opportunity to interact with the three literary masterminds/authors who one of them will emerge winner tomorrow. The winner apart from the £15,000, will also receive an engraved Montblanc Meisterstück pen and a high tech Samsung Galaxy Note device. The winner will also attend the Etisalat Fellowship at the University of East Anglia under the mentorship of Giles Foden and an Etisalat sponsored book tour to three African cities for the winning writer and shortlisted writers which will provide significant opportunities to meet other writers, publishers and work on a second book.

Arty News

IsIguzo DestIny

P.28. 29

Entertainment meets Literature at Etisalat Prize

P. 26. 31

16 PAGES OF ARTS, REVIEWS, LIFESTYLE AND BUZZ TO START YOUR WEEKEND

Inside FCT

VOL. 4 No. 827

WEEKEND STARTERS

ictor Ekpuk, a Nigerian-born artist based in Washington, DC, came to prominence through his paintings and drawings which refelct indigenous African philosophies of the Nsibidi and Uli art forms. Ekpuk re-imagines graphic symbols from diverse cultures to form a personal style of mark-making that results in the interplay of art and writing. His work frequent-

ly explores the human condition in society, drawing upon a wide spectrum of meaning that is rooted in African and global contemporary art discourses. This panel discussion - in conjunction with his solo exhibition opening April 2, 2016 in Lagos after a four-month residency with the Arthouse Foundation - explores Ekpuk´s artistic processes and cultural influences. On the panel to discuss Ekpuk´s art are artists and academics Chinwe Uwatse, Jerry Buhari, Kunle Filani as well as publisher/art patron Toyin Akinosho. It takes place on Saturday at Goethe-Institut, Lagos.

P.20. 21

he Ovie Brume Foundation is pleased to announce The Genesis, a charity art exhibition, taking place this Saturday, March 19th. The exhibition will feature 40 works from 10 of Nigeria’s leading artists including Abraham Uyovbisere, Ebenezer Akinola, Bimbo Adenugba and George Edozie. Proceeds from the exhibition will be used to fund the work of the Ovie Brume Foundation with youth all over the country. It holds at 23 Ikoyi Crescent, Ikoyi, Lagos beginning from 4pm.

Panel discussion on Ekpuk’s works

Art Man

The Genesis holds in Lagos

Art Man

Friday, March 18, 2016

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Cracking jokes without packaging

Micah Christian Aruocha popularly known as MC Ice Water (@McIceWater) is a spontaneous comedian and radio presenter. He is a popular with his radio programme and can crack your ribs when you meet him at ceremonies as an MC. A spontaneous comic, he, in this interview with ISIGUZO DESTINY talks about life in the entertainment industry. Excerpts:

People call anybody that can crack good jokes and amuse people a comedian, do you agree with that? It depends, if you crack jokes for a living without proper packaging as an artiste, well it might be said you a jester or a clown. You can’t remove the business and artistic aspect of it. Not until you fashion your trade and earn something from it to make ends meet, I don’t think you can be called a comedian. Take for instance the case of Olajumoke the bread seller, she has to pass through a kind of weaning or process to become a model. One may be able to crack jokes and make people laugh but the truth is that there should be a professional aspect to it like harnessing the ability or talent into an art or fashioning or horning the talent, for instance when a village clown is brushed up,of course you will be proud to say the person is a comedian. Someone said some where I think the formal Governor of Lagos State AsiwajuTinubu that leaders are not born but are made and he gave instances where this really fits in, you need to learn the ropes of leadership even when you have the qualities of a leader. It is the same for comedians. Some are born comedians, others learn and become very good at it. Apart from your presence on radio, you’ve not really stamped yourself as a stand-up comedian, why?

I should want to rest. I should want to have time for my family.

Mc Ice Water Yes, it’s for a reason. Everyone would not be everywhere at the same time. I have my crowd; I have those who love to listen to me. The last stand-up comedy I did I think was at Adeyinka’s show at Ibadan. I’m not so comfortable with being everywhere. When comedians go to fellow comedian’s show, it’s more like showing of love and not that the person will be paid. So most people just go there although some people pay like the one of Adeyinka I just told you about, he paid before we left the hotel, and some others do that too. I know Ali Baba would make sure everybody gets something but some may reject because they need a payback thing. So for someone that doesn’t do stand-up comedy show, he may come to these shows and won’t get anything or complimentary appearance in his own show because in the first place, stand-up comedy is not his real thing. So but as a comedian and MC, you would be paid. I try to put all my arts in one. Of course there are others that are straight jacket MC. But it seems the money and the fame is more with stand-up comedians? Yes it does. What I consider sometimes is that not of him that runs but of God that shows mercy. For stand-up comedians there are monies you would be able to make. You have the videos, YouTube, the CDs, and the shows and these things get you more popularity, and when you go for shows you charge what you want to charge. But some of the times I’ve been called upon to come and do stand-up comedy, I do it. It might not just be the ones that will go down to the market. I have my guys like Grand-commander that I groomed but it is not just what I do because the time is not there. Maybe one thing that

stands me out is that I have a regular job. 12 to 2 on Traffic radio, 2 to 4 on Eko FM and on Saturdays I go for my shows and Sundays I go to church and spend time with my family. You know one must spend time with the family. Unlike the regular comedians who doesn’t do any jobs during the week days and so on weekends they must be somewhere. They must go somewhere if not it will be as if they are not busy. They must update their social media and other stuffs. So different strokes for different folks. Something else gets them busy. There are some shows I will be like “wetinuna go do?” They will say “na person dey do event, we gats go show am love”. For me I will not go. It is not about self-worth here but it is about my timing.

If you crack jokes for a lIvIng wIthout proper packagIng as an artIste, well

It mIght be saId you a jester or a clown.

you

can’t remove

the busIness and artIstIc aspect of It

But do you think you have the qualities of being a stand-up comedian or is it the lack of these qualities that is truly deterring you from doing stand-up comedy? I started as a stand-up comedian over 9 years ago. But before then back at Olabisi Onabanjo University, like I said in a recent interview you have Baba T, you have one of the Yooruba actors that is very popular I can’t recall his name but he was like no 1 then and then Baba B who was much more spontaneous but didn’t become I comedian because the parents refused. He now works and would you now say he can’t do standup comedy?In fact when Sheyi Law started, most of his materials where from Baba B but now he has carved a niche for himself. All those jokes you hear about “who shit for class room, and stuffs, they are all Baba B’s materials. But you won’t see Baba B at most of these events. It gets to a point in life you might just decide to diversify, that doesn’t mean you are not good. In fact before I came on radio there was this show I had with Omobaba.You would not want to see me very spontaneous on jokes. I could be that bad. But for everything, time and chance happens to them all. You have always linked your inspiration to experiences, real life events and more specifically to God, but it seems every artiste see God as a source of inspiration and in your case as a comedian you also say so, is God a comedian? He is “nah”! It is even in the Bible, “He who sits in the heaven laughs”. It is in the book of Psalms. I might not be very specific with the chapter and verse. You must know that God created everything although there are some churches that will not say that because of some things that some comedians would say about women and obscenities, and they will later come to church and praise God. I think it is a plus that you believe in God. How about the experience aspect of your inspiration, can you comment on it? Yeah, there was one joke I wrote then about what was happening in Lagos State although it was an expensive joke. I should be able to be seen more like a LASTMA ambassador because I work with Lagos State radio station. But there was a time Ambode instructed that LASTMA should not impound any vehicle and around that time, I was travelling and something happened. I just took my phone and noted what happened and sent it out to one or two persons in the industry and they were impressed. I remember using that material at one of the TV stations anniversary ceremony and I got a standing ovation. The joke is about LASTMA people, you know when they arrest you they will take pictures and the area boys and the danfo drivers will be like “snap

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Art Man

Friday, March 18, 2016

is clowning —Mc Ice Water

EvEryonE would not bE EvErywhErE at thE samE timE. i havE my crowd; i havE thosE who lovE to listEn to mE. thE last stand-up comEdy i did i think was at adEyinka’s show at ibadan. i’m not so comfortablE with bEing EvErywhErE. whEn comEdians go to fEllow comEdian’s show, it’s morE likE showing of lovE and not that thE pErson will bE paid

Mc Ice Water

With Comedian Kofi me well” and even pose for them. Knowing full well the way people will want to make money especially when government doesn’t pay, the LASTMA guys at the end of the day will take the pictures and when they see the area boys and the drivers they will tell them “your pictures don ready o”. These are

MC ice on stage

part of the experiences. I got the joke from something that happened. I saw LASTMA people taking pictures of a traffic offender and the person wasn’t even bothered. The person just allowed them take his pictures and wasn’t bothered at all. So the inspiration came and I just took it from there. I went into my imaginative brain and I got the joke. Do you have particular focus on the things you talk about? Not really. I use what is happening around in the society, and I am always sensitive of the kind of audience I have. For instance my show on February 14th with couples, I tried as much as possible to surround my joke of couple’s issues including the fact that I can fart when I am with my wife. It helps when I know the theme of the event. Are you one of those entertainment artistes unemployment took to comedy? God forbid. I have always been employed. Well, I am not making jest of those that it happened to in fact it is even good because comedy has become a source of revenue generation. In fact as an undergraduate I do shows. I get paid for my jobs and I could have fun with that while I keep the monthly stipend my parents give me for my upkeep. I don’t even believe in the existence of unemployed. Which one do you think sustains the artistes most, talent or hard work? I think both. I think hard work drives the talent and when you don’t have the talent there’s nothing to work on. If I am to put it into percentage, I will give talent 60% and hard work 40%.

Most artistes are more married to their work rather than their family, which one are you more married to? Hmmmmmm. Well, I don’t know how to answer the question, for record purposes though, I love my family but at times the job is overwhelming. You make sacrifices sometimes. Sometimes you are in a dilemma, either to go make the money or stay with the family for particular events. Your children might need you and you have a work, and sometimes you may get somebody to take them were they want to go. Would you say your job comes first or your family? Your job provides for the family and puts food on your table while your family is you, and will always be there even when the jobs are no longer there. For me I think balancing it is the best. For me, deep down, I have more passion for my family but the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. I will always choose my family over my job. What do you think is wrong with you entertainers especially regarding your mar-

With family

riages and incessant divorces? Everyone have these challenges, bankers have it, and everyone have it. Marriages are initiated every day and divorces happen every day. It is not just restricted to celebrities or artistes. Artistes are human, we are fallible. People don’t take comedians serious. Recall what happened between Helen Paul and Gordon. Why is it this way? Maybe it is part of why I am not out for these stand-up comedy. When I’m holding on to the mic, I could be anything. When I’m not on stage I’m different. In fact I’m even a shy person. The issue of Helen Paul and Gordon is like when a handshake crosses the elbow, it means something else because it is no longer a handshake. So when they went beyond where they should, and started talking about husband and not getting endorsements it becomes personal. But I love the fact they worked on it, they went to the same place in another event and worked together and people paid to come and watch them. You said you are spontaneous, tell me a joke? If you have gone to interview a spontaneous boxer, would you have asked him to give you a punch?

MUSIC

Critics

Gospel meets poetry

Friday, March 18, 2016

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Adedayo Idowu has a new album. A five track work, it is a perfect blend of poetry and the Word. OlutayO IrantIOla

FILM

here is a general misconception that there are some vocabularies in English that cannot be translated or transliterated into Yoruba. This was one of the things addressed by Adedayo Idowu in his new work titled Konkonboto which he translated as the Gargantuan Genre. Adedayo Idowu has evolved with time because the opening track of the album has a contemporary tune with a slight blend of rap. The track, ‘Ori Mi ko Buru’ is a song of thanksgiving that God has prevailed in his life and that has not given the enemy an opportunity. The poet cum singer was also optimistic of his ascension with Jesus at his appearance and he urged all those who want to reign with Jesus to accept him and eschew sin. The second track which is 18 minutes long is an exposition on the happenings in the church. He made a reference to the past album titled ‘Ara Jesu ko ya’. In the track, he made it known that his song is used to address the decadence in the church. As a Yoruba man, he described the church as ‘a rotten orange’. The role that the church is expected to play in the society has been corrupted. The track makes reference to the Bible when Jesus sent out money changers in Mark 11:15. There are different analogies of the atrocities committed by Men of God. He rightly described that many followers of the ‘devilish’ ministers do not equally want the truth. He believed that the actual men of

Idowu Adedayo (Music) God will be known by their deeds. The poet gave a vivid description of the qualifications of a minister of God as written in the book of I Timothy, Chapter Three. Other atrocities committed in the church include abortion, adultery etc. He lampooned the

denominational segregation; he explained it in English, thus: ‘ Jesus Christ has nominated us for Heaven but we are denominating ourselves. Hence, we have innumerable denominations and the spirit of denominationalism

Inside ‘Beyond Blood’

has demoralized the church. Therefore, the church is critically sick and is drastically dying. Oh! Lord save the church’ He went to explain the trend of Pentecostalism that can be called Pente-rascalism. CONTINUED ON PAGE 27

And in fAirness, in the context of the AverAge quAlity of movies

Here is one of the contemporary Nollywood movies that seek to redefine the quality and dynamic of movies in the industry.

produced in

nollywood, this

is A well thoughtout movie.

yvOnne anOruO

the production quAlity

eginning from the upscale society of Lagos, traversing through the streets of London, and then right back to Lagos, it explores a plethora of thematic concerns; telling tales of family and parenting in the very Nigerian sense of it, of vibrant family weddings, of culture and arranged marriages, homosexuality, human trafficking, prostitution and love. The dialogue is noteworthy, not just because of its remarkable wit, but because of the fluidity of code switching from Yoruba to Pidgin English on to English language proper, French and back. It attempts to cut a picture of the reality of

i like

A scene in Beyond Blood the average Nigerian home. Moji (Kehinde Bankole), a Harvard-trained lawyer who converts the building gifted her by her father to a rehabilitation centre, “The Mansion”, to the chagrin of her family, is the lead character and through her life and interactions, the themes take form and the plot advances. Ladi’s character — natural and well

delivered by Wole Ojo — is the voice of reason in the home, and central to the Dosunmu family. Carol King as Moji’s mum could not have been done better. Joseph Benjamin also had a good control of the Akin Pedro character. That said, I found bits of the movie confusing and incoherent. The movie starts up

building diverse issues that are not immediately resolved but left for a later time, which is tolerable. But it very easily gives off the feeling that the movie is caught up with many thematic issues, many of which are ultimately skirted over without in-depth development. The story around the rehabilitation of prostitutes cum HIV patients could have been better developed for instance although one can argue that this subject is not the movie’s major preoccupation, which might not be the CONTINUED ON PAGE 27

Friday, March 18, 2016

Jumaada al-Thaani 9, 1437A.H.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Call to Worship

On the authority of Anas bin Malik, the servant of the Messenger of Allah, the prophet said: “None of you [truly] believes until he wishes for his brother what he wishes for himself.”

RELATED BY BUKHARI AND MUSLIM

‘Restore MSSN activities in UNILAG’

tudents of the University of Lagos on Wednesday protested the suspension of the Muslim Students’ Society of Nigeria’s branch in the institution by their management. Our correspondent gathered that UNILAG management had suspended activities of the MSSN and also dissolved its executives recently over a petition by a group seeking to be part of the MSSN leadership. During the protest, the students accused the management of ‘unnecessary’ involvement in their activities, alleging infringement on their freedom of association by some lecturers identified as Dr. Ismail Musa and Prof. M A Bidmus. They also alleged that after the handing over of all the society’s asset to the staff advisers as ordered by the university management, Islamic activities remained paralysed in the university. The students marched peacefully from

the mosque to the university’s gate and later to the Division of Student Affairs demanding for the restoration of their society and its activities. Among the inscriptions on the placards displayed by the students are “Bring Back our MSSN-UNILAG, we say no to discrimination; return our original MSSN; MSSN is a student body: vested interest Keep off; we demand freedom of association, Dr. Musa keep off from MSSN; DSA, Enough is enough; Let our MSSN-UNILAG live.” One of the students, who identified herself as Sherifah explained that the students suspected foul play from members of the committee set up to review the society’s bye-law and decide on the mode of electing new executives. She said, “Despite turning down the voice of the majority when a congress was called, they still want to impose leaders on us. At that congress which has the presence of Dr. Musa and a representative of

Mr. Kayode Sofola (SAN) assisted by (from right) Mr. Afolabi Sofola; Chief Imam of Ikenne Alhaji Hussein Lawal; Mudir (Rector) Markaz Arabic and Islamic Institute, Agege, Sheikh Habeebullahi Adam; Mrs. Sofola and Mrs. Darlin Sofola during the opening of Kehinde Sofola Hall built by the Sofolas for the institute in Agege, Lagos recently.

Place your adverts here for optimal reach Zakat Is 2.5% Of YOur tOtal Wealth, knOWn as nIsab. after havIng fulfIlled all OblIgatIOns, paY YOur Zakat

Terrorists hijacked my peaceful religion

the DSA, a motion for the adoption of the reviewed bye-laws was moved. While 23 voted NO to the adoption, 116 voted YES that the review be adopted. Yet, the two university officials imposed the vote of the 23 students on us. “We will not allow that to happen this time around. The association is meant for students and not management. We have our legitimate right to make decision provided such decision does not contradict the school rules and regulations.” Another student, identified as Akeem wondered why the management wanted a staff to be a signatory to the account of a students’ association, noting that would forfeit the essence of having the society as a training ground for future leaders. “The situation here is terrible. It is unfair for anyone to make attempt to impose leaders on students. A congress should be called for us to decide what we want. Dr. Musa should stop forcing us to accept Salafis, Shia movement or Islamic studies students as our leaders,” he pleaded. On his part, spokesperson for the protesting students, Alaba Ojo, described the suspension of MSSN activities as a tool to deny Muslim students of proper enlightenment about their religion.

In his lamentation, he said, “Every group on campus is functioning without undue interference from the school management. Why is it MSSN activities that they suspended, why did that happen when fresh students were newly admitted, why didn’t management ask other clubs to subject its constitution to it? It appears to me that management is trying to deny Muslim students of the right.” A newly admitted student added, “What I was told was not what I met. I was told that MSSN will help me to grow both in academics and morals but that is not happening. There is no more tutorial classes, welfare, and scholarship for Muslim students. Not even a forum at the faculty level. The painful thing is that some Muslim students have to join churches tutorials and other programmes in the absence of MSSN’s.” Responding to the agitations of the students, Dean of Student Affairs, Prof. Gabriel Babawale, assured that a congress would be called to resolve the challenges facing MSSN in the university. “The university is supportive of MSSN. Your grievances have been received and we are going to call a congress latest next week Thursday. Hold me responsible if it does not happen,” he said.

Students of University of Lagos during the protest on Wednesday.

Al- Quran 49:13 “O mankind! We created you from a single (pair) of a male and a female, and made you into nations and tribes, that ye may know each other (not that ye may despise (each other). Verily the most honored of you in the sight of God is (he who is) the most righteous of you. And God has full knowledge and is well acquainted (with all things).”

Don warns against drug abuse

MKAN hosts centenary AYAAG 24

Call to Worship

Friday, March 18, 2016

Jumaada al-Thaani 9, 1437A.H.

Terrorists hijacked my peaceful religion

his is quite painful! It is our fervent prayer that Allah the Most-High, will put an end to all these senseless killings. The most painful aspect is the idea of addressing the terrorists as Islamists or Jihadist. Not only did they destroy lives and properties, but they also hijacked the peaceful religion of Islam because many non-Muslims can easily put on Hijab or shout Allahu Akbar to perpetrate evil. Such is the value of a single human life, that the Quran equates the taking of even one human life unjustly, with killing all of humanity. Thus, the Quran prohibits homicide in clear terms. Islam enjoins upon all Muslims to work actively to maintain the balance in which God created everything. Terrorizing the civilian population can never be termed as jihad and can never be reconciled with the teachings of Islam. On sanctity of human life, it is clearly stated in Qur’an 6:151 that; “…take not life, which

God hath made sacred, except by way of justice and law: thus doth He command you, that ye may learn wisdom.” Just two days ago, two female bombers killed at least 22 worshippers in an attack on a mosque in Maiduguri with another 17 people reportedly wounded. It was reported that one of them blew herself up inside the mosque and the second one did so outside as survivors tried to flee. How can a true Muslim do that? Can we just imagine how evil-minded these terrorists are? Unfortunately, they will be claiming to be fighting for Islam. Where is the meeting point here? The US military calls Boko Haram the most violent armed group in the world and some people are still calling for gentleman treatment of those who looted the funds meant to buy arms for fighting the insurgents. This is the time to create special courts to try all corruption cases in order to ensure speedy

trials. Some 20,000 people have been killed and about 2.3 million displaced since it started its violent campaign in 2009. Children have been particularly targeted by Boko Haram and have often been the victims of sexual abuse, forced marriage, and abductions. At least 86 people, including a number of children, have been killed in a series of attacks. They also tried to storm a camp home to some 25,000 refugees, but were repelled by troops. Witnesses said that they heard the screams of children burning to death as huts and homes were razed to the ground. The UN children’s agency says up to one million children have been forced out of school. This is not Islam and has nothing to do with Islam. As we all continue our prayers for an end to the senseless killings, all hands must be on deck to ensure the success of the ongoing fight against corruption for better days ahead.

This is The Time To creaTe special courTs To Try all corrupTion cases in order To ensure speedy Trials

Healthy Corner Dr. Yahaya

Male infertility in focus (2)

Known causes of male infertility hose affecting sperm production: Common genetic problems, Undescended testes (Failure of the testes to descend into the scrotum at birth), Infection, Torsion (testes twisting in the scrotum). Varicocoeles (engorged dilated veins or blood vessels in the testes), Drugs and Chemicals, Radiation, unknown causes. Blockage of Sperm transportation: Infections, Prostate related problems, absence of vas deferens (these are the tubes that transport sperms) vasectomy (Operation of male sterilization and or permanent contraception whereby vas deferens: the tubes that transport sperm from the epididymis to the ejaculatory duct in anticipation for ejaculation) are severed or cut and tied, so as to prevent sperm from reaching the ejaculates hence preventing fertilization. Sexual problems : Retrograde

ejaculation, here the fluid containing sperm are discharged directly into the bladder instead of penis and vaginal, failure of ejaculation (no ejaculates), no penile erection or unsustainable erection, less frequent intercourse, spinal cord injury, after prostate surgery, nerves damage, drugs Hormonal problems: Pituitary tumors or growth, Absent of fertility hormones, Androgenic steroids abuse especially in Athletes, Sperm antibodies resulting from vasectomy, injury or infection of the epididymis:!a structure in the scrotum which is essential for sperm storage and maturation. Management: History and Physical examination are essential Seminal Fluid Analysis When the above is abnormal, endocrine evaluation and Sperm Chromatin Structure and DNA Evaluation: The goal of which is to identify and correct specific causes of Infertility when possible. Individual, whose infertil-

ity cannot be corrected, may be overcome with Intrauterine Insemination and different types of Assisted Reproductive Technology. ART. Patients with Male factor infertility may require Intracytoplasmic injection of a single sperm into their wives’ eggs (ICSI Procedure) It is also essential to include genetic screening to prevent transmission of genetic disease to the unborn child. This may require Blastomere Biopsy and Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD) to identify the embryos affected by the disease. It is only the normal Embryo that will be transferred into the womb. Sometimes, with an infertile man without sperm in his ejaculate, we may be able to aspirate sperm from the testes (Testicular Sperm Aspiration TESA). This sperm is then injected into the egg for fertilization. We can also select normal sperm without Vacuoles, chromatin damage or DNA fragmentation and inject into the egg in a process called IMSI and PICSI. Individual whose infertility can neither be corrected nor overcome by ART, Donor Sperm or Adoption may be Options. Concluded •Dr. G. L. Yahaya is a Reproductive Physician and Medical Director of Continental Specialist Clinic. Phone Number 08075004277, 07081312295.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

THE PLATFORM with

Sekinah Lawal t: 08055102994 e: sakinah207@yahoo.com

Al Hayyu House wins FIEF Academy’s CCR

he First Islamic Educational Foundation (FIEF) Academy recently held its annual Cross Country Race, CCR, at the school premises with Salaudeen Muhideen of Al Hayyu (Green) House winning the race. The event was well-attended by parents and other invited guests. According to the school’s Head of Administration, Mrs. Mariam Williams, the race is one of the major sports programmes of the

school which has been going on for decades. “It is organised with the sole aim of broadening the students horizon on sports and prepare them for the future,” Mrs Williams said. One of the parents who participated in the race, Mr. Sheni Ogunlende said such exercise prevents obesity and it is good for all. Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld from Glo Mobile.

Don warns against drug abuse

isturbed by the increasing cases of kidney related diseases, Lagos State Commissioner for Home Affairs, Dr. AbdulHakeem AbdulLateef has warned against drug abuse and advocated increased awareness on the need to protect Kidneys among Nigerians. Making the appeal in Lagos recently, Dr. AbdulLateef noted that even children now suffer kidneyrelated diseases, attributing most cases of kidney failure to drug abuse and flagrant disregard for medical prescriptions. “Unregulated consumption of herbs (Agbo, Opa Eyin etc) also contributes to kidney crisis. I implore Nigerians to desist from self

medication. Herbs is good but it becomes a problem when it is used indiscriminately.” The Commissioner advised Clerics to join in the campaign against drug abuse with a call on operators of pharmaceutical shop to stop selling drugs without prescription note issued by a qualified medical doctor. He frowned at hawking of drugs on the streets and motor parks noting that most drugs are meant to be kept under certain temperature to retain its efficacy. Dr. AbdulLateef implored Nigerians to maintain healthy weight, eating of balanced diets and also warned against excessive consumption of salt and tobacco.

MKAN hosts centenary AYAAG

embers of the male youth wing of Ahmadiyya Muslim Community in Nigeria also known as Majlis Khuddamul Ahmadiyya Nigeria, MKAN, is set to host Muslim youths across Africa and the world in its centenary project tagged Ahmadi Youths All African Games, AYAAG, 2016. The event will draw participants from 20 African countries and beyond. During the period, peace trek, excursions, visitations to the paramount ruler of Ijebu land, governor of Ogun State and other prominent religious leaders, capacity development programmes and award nights have been put together to make the event very memorable. Essence of the game

The 10-day youth sports fiesta will take place at Dipo Dina International Stadium, Ijebu OdeOgun State from tomorrow to 29th March as part of contributions towards supporting the needy, enhance quality of lives, stem the menace of crimes, achieve peaceful coexistence among inter-faith bodies and showcase talents among African youths,” MKAN President, Abdul Qadir Abdul Rafi noted. As a centenary project, all supports have been given to the sporting activities. Proceedings of the games will also be on MITV and Muslim television Ahmadiyya, MTA International satellite channel and streamed live on www.mta. tv. Both local and international journalists will cover the events.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Friday, March 18, 2016

IN HIS LIGHT

with

USTAZ

A. ZAFARAN e-mail: zafabumuneeb@yahoo.com

The Islamaphobic media (2)

hese attacks, biases will breed nothing but widening of gaps of intolerance. The tide is already changing. An instance is how youths have engaged the Lagos State government on the issue of Hijaab even to the level of Appeal Court. These coming youths are more informed and aware of how their fathers suffered in the hands of Christian missionaries when they had to change their names from Rasheed to Richard as an example. Some of them attended public schools where enmity against Islam is not hidden. It is really high time Muslims returned and lived by the ideals of Islam. They should be consistent in their practice of Islam. The well-to-do and the few politicians should know that Allah will take them to account in the hereafter. One of the greatest services our rich men can render to Islam in the modern times is to invest more on media to enlighten and counter attacks on Islam. Let our Ramadan media patronage be around the year. There may perhaps be the need to boycott media platforms that are acrimonious to Islam. The Islamaphobic media (2) Our belief in the divinity, naturalness and universality of Islaam is unflinching. The growing massive Islamaphobia is only reaffirming our faith in the potency and viability of Islaam. The consistent unfriendly and unfair reporting and news by most of the media will only put Muslims on call. Nobody can extinguish the light of Islaam because its foundations are divine. “They intend to put out the light of Allah with their mouths but Allah will complete his light even though the disbelievers hate (it).” (Q61:8) History is a witness of what Islaam and Muslims have suffered in the hands of all non-Muslims. The havocs of the crusaders and the tartans failed to nip Islaam in the bud. The abundant voluminous sponsored apologetic and orientalistic books

Jumaada al-Thaani 9, 1437A.H.

by intellectually skewed individuals have not changed the goal post of Islaam. The establishment of schools within and outside Muslim lands by the westerners has only befogged few ones like them. Deliberate sponsoring of Muslims for Islamic studies in the West has failed to fight Islam from within. Attacking Islamic values and some other aspects like the Hijaab, position of women in Islaam, Jihad, life of Muhammad and his wives, etc were merely intellectual exercise. International double standards on Islamic issues as in Palestine versus Jewish terrorism, as in the toppling of democratically elected government in Egypt, satanic destruction of Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria with massive propaganda based on even spurious nauseating polemics, etc will not last forever. Because Muslims are involved, it pays; on one hand, it will provide economic gains for the world powers; it will weaken the Islamic strength, it will slow down strategic development, it will make Jewish enclave exist without any challenging power. The third world war is already being fought but this time around not two armies facing each other. It is a serialized war and it is the most terrible. The mastermind orchestrates the war and makes its adversary pay and fight the war in its own land. This is purely the case in the US-twice-led war against Iraq. Afghanistan too because of one man was turned a bloodbath of innocent souls. That of Syria is another model and many more are likely to follow. That of Egypt would have been like Syria but because the Muslim Brotherhood applied wisdom, while thousands of their members were terribly massacred so as not to plunge the country into endless war. Turkey is another hotspot, attempts to engineer its war has been failing, at least for now. Islamaphobia is a model of the war and where Muslims are in majority, attempts are made to subject them to unislamic ways of life. This thrives due to majority ignorant Muslims, ineptitude of Muslims in power and selfish incapable scholars. This is where we are. But what has the world gained with this war strategy? Nothing but continual insecurity and turbulence. You cannot set your neighbour’s house on fire and remain safe. We need a world of peace for all. We need a world of non-religious interference. We need a world where the super powers should not feed on the poor nations. We need a world of justice to all. We need a world of Muslims and Christians living by the true teaching of their scriptures. To be continued

L-R: Central Missionary Ijebu Circuit of Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at Nigeria, Ogun State, Maulvi Aliu Giwa; President, Engr. Musliu Ali; Admin Manager, Otunba Dipo Dina Stadium, Mr. Orokade James; Chairman, Jasal Planning Committee, Alhaji Mufadilu Bankole and Amir, Dr. Mashhud Adenrele Fashola, during the inspection of Otunba Dipo Dina Stadium for Ahmadi Youth All African Game (AYAAG), as part of 100 years Ahmadiyya anniversary celebration in Nigeria.

Bypass pointless discussions (3)

n individual who saw him do this said that only a few days ago you were praising the eggplant and now you are saying such bad things about it. The servant remarked that, look, I am a servant of the king not of the eggplant. This is the character we see displayed by the Muslims today. Muslims should display the most robust character and actions but we witness they are the most defamed. There is no question of them being established on the truth. Wherever Muslims see even an iota of benefit, they turn towards that direction. The leaders and the citizens are alike. Forming a relationship with Allah makes one resolve their affairs. This relationship only increases with righteousness. We Ahmadis who claim that we have accepted the Messiah (as) have to adopt teachings of Islam & reform their lives. We have to form a bond with God and live our lives accordingly. If we are righteous and have fear of God, only then can we witness success. Angels will help us Insha’Allah. All of us need to think about how to establish righteousness and form a bond with God. When a worldly individual can benefit by his worldly relationship with a worldly person then the relationship with the Divine can help us thousand - 100 thousand fold more than this. An individual was going on a journey and left some money with another. Upon his return, the individual said no such money was left with him. Ultimately the individual complained to the King and the King decided to help him and told him to follow a set of steps that would make this individual think that he has good connection with the king. The king started having a lengthy discussion with the individual. When the man who had been entrusted with the money saw this he decided to return the money. Why should we worry about opposition of the world? We should focus upon developing our love with God. True success is to leave yourself at the threshold of the Divine. A true believer is akin to a truthful friend. Once a father remarked to his son that none of your friends are truth-

Call to Worship

Every Friday with

Khalifatul Ahmadiyya ful. They are here to take advantage of you. The father said I have only found one truthful friend throughout my life. The father wanted the son to test his friends. When the friends realized the son is no longer being supported by his father they distanced themselves from him and abandoned him. The son approached his friends and none wanted to meet him. The son told his father all of them were disloyal. The father said now I will introduce you to my friend. He arrived at his friends house in the dead of night and knocked on his door. But the friend did not come for a long time and the son thought that his father’s friend also was the same. But after a long time the father’s friend came and when he did he explained the delay was due to him thinking that he may need to help his friend and so he came with a sword, a bag of money, and his wife so as to be able to offer him whatever assistance he may be in need of. He brought a sword in case his friend was in danger. He brought the sum of money to financially assist him. He brought his wife in case his friend was sick. The father remarked I mean no trouble. I am only here to teach my son a lesson. This was example of a good friendship. Our friendship with God should be far greater. Believers should pray to God sincerely. God has made many items for our comforts. God fulfills our wishes without measure and if he does not fulfill a single wish, we become dismayed. Those who do not pay dues of worship, should evaluate themselves. Those who fail to give precedence to faith should evaluate themselves. Those who have come to western nations for sake of Ahmadiyyat but have not paid dues should evaluate themselves. We should prepare ourselves for sacrifices for the sake of God. Wherever true love exists, rationale is not sought. When we makes claims of obedience, they do not seek clarification. When God reveals, true believers willingly accept and make plans how to accomplish God’s plans. To be continued

L-R: Finance Secretary, Ahmadiyya Muslim Jama’at Nigeria, Alhaji Abdul Ganiyu Idris; Ustaz Aliu Akewugberu; Sadr, Majlis Khudddam ul Ahmadiyya Nigeria, Bro. Abdul Rafiq AbdulKadir and Missionary-in-Charge, Maulvi AbdulKhalique Nayyar, during the inspection of Otunba Dipo Dina Stadium for Ahmadi Youth All African Game (AYAAG) as part of 100 years Ahmadiyya anniversary celebration in Nigeria.

Arty News

Friday, March 18, 2016

PSLC unveils drama on autism

ommunication is one of the vital essences of existence. And for those faced with autism, a mental condition, present from early childhood, characterized by difficulty in communicating, interacting with other people, Patrick’s Speech and Languages Centre, PSLC has been at the forefront of providing adequate training for them to ease their predicament. The country’s premiere school for autism has begun a six-month plan of activities for

the celebration of its 10th anniversary. The programme which will come to a climax on Sunday September 11 with a dance drama, documentary and a handbook on autism recently started in Lagos, with a 4-day training tagged “Healthy Relationships and Autism: A Guide to Adulthood” facilitated by a notable American expert in the field of autism in adulthood, Dr. Lawrence R. Sutton. According to the Founder and Proprietress of PSLC Mrs. Dotun Akande, the

choice of training to kick-start activities for the anniversary was informed by the need to rebirth Patrick’s history to sensitise parents on different issues and support them with ideas about autism. She added that the objective is to help affected children live independent lives in the society and create opportunities where the society will be able to absorb some of them by giving them jobs, understanding their needs and creating an enabling environment for the families through consistent training to teachers in government owned special schools. Other activities lined up for the anniversary include an Autism Awareness Walk in April, in partnership with Vlisco; a workshop on nutrition, behaviour, speech and language, work programme uniquely developed in Patricks, vocational education, learning difficulties, self-help skills, occupational therapy as well as physical activities; plus a variety of trainings slated for each month before September. The banker who gave up her flourishing career to doggedly delve into the mysterious world of autism to help her affected son and others said events such as Patricks’ annual Talent in Autism Show will soon kick-start. She therefore called on government to consider seriously the plights of family with children living with autism for them to be assisted with all available supports to enable them become independent adults who will be useful to themselves and society at large.

Chinwetalu Agu sizzles in ‘Tears of a King’

hiwetalu Agu has explained what motivates his preponderant slang in movies. The veteran actor disclosed this at a location, where he is currently filming. Speaking, Chiwetalu Agu stressed that as a professional actor, it will be unprofessional to suffer the emotions of his audience who all are watching to be entertained. According to him, “I’m known in my movies as a wicked man, but then, it shouldn’t just be about being wicked for me. This is a movie and I need to lighten up the mood of movie-buffs by being comical indirectly, at least to entertain them at some point. “Since I started acting, I discovered such

and I felt I should accommodate it. As it stands now, I’m more like a father, a teacher and in fact, a professor in acting. If you can observe, when scripts come from my children, I try to add good lines to them, so they can be entertaining and informing,” he said. Seen at the set of an ongoing movie set in Owerri, Chiwetalu is among the cast of Tears of a King, a film starring other top Nollywood acts like, Vitalis Ndubuisi, Joyce Kalu, Mimi Orjiekwe, Fredrick Leonard, Dike Osinachi – Egbeigwe Apama, Jazzy Okey, Kay Samuel, Prince Paris, Conac Umez, George Chibueze Ogudoro among others. Produced by Chima Ewurum of Kingces Productions, it’s directed by Chidi Anyanwu.

Music: Bolaji Promotions celebrates 25 GbenGa OGunbufunmi

ome Thursday, March 24, 2016 all roads in Ibadan, Oyo state lead to the popular showbiz spot, Top One Garden Podo Village, Ibadan, where an international music promoter, composer and marketer, Mr. Bolaji Omotosho, the big boss of Bolaji Music Promotions International celebrates his 25years in music industry, as it will be an ending celebrations and glass clicking all the way along side (music, dance and comedy). According to the convener, Bolaji Promotions Int’l, the ceremony which will be 3-in-1 (25years in music promotions, award presentations and launching of new music studio), will attract dignitaries from all walks of life, with over 30 musical artistes billed for the

event with Saheed Osupa Olufimo (The Lord of Music) leading others, likeMuri Thunder, Saridoh 2 Kamoru, Adisa Lemmy, Waheed Larondo, Saheed Magic Logo, Yoyo Ife, Sodiq Akorede, Senior Prefect,S-Code, Small Doctor Ibadan, Fatimo,Cinderalla, Dasola Abeke, Saidat Rofiat among others. Powered by Olufimo Fans’ Club Oyo State Chapter and YOHAIB HOFT AFRICA Culture and Arts Entertainment based in United States of America (USA). Dignitaries and Showbiz personalities expected are - Hon.Wale Akinwale (Minority Leader Osun House of Assembly), Chief Banjo Oloke Modakeke a.k.a Dealer, Alfa Shasha Akure, ElHajj Gasali a.k.a KESCO Lagos among others, while the father of the day is Olukoyi of Ikoyi-Osun Oba Yisau Bamitale Otunla.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Saheed Osupa thrills at ‘Ikale Night’

he city of Lagos will be agog today Friday , 17th of March, as Saheed Osupa entertains guests who will troop to Big Soul Hotel and Hotel Garden. Osupa known for his Excellency music has promised the people of Ikale within Lagos and outside a very good outing Meanwhile, at the event, a police officer, Bode Ojajuni will be honoured for his exemplary role amongst Ikale sons and daughters living in Lagos. In a statement issued by Prince Temidayo Monilari, the chairman planning committee of the event, he said, “CSP Bode Ojajuni has been a very wonderful son to our great land in Ikale. He is to be awarded as Ikale man of the year. This honourable group in Lagos did a research on him and some other notable sons and daughters of our great land and we have come up with an idea of celebrating them in this year’s Ikale night. “This Friday 18th March will mark the eleventh Ikale Night celebration; it will take place at Big Soul Hotel & Garden. Lots of activities have been earmarked; amongst those to be honoured are the following; His Royal Majesty, King Michael Obatuga Adetoye, The Jegun of Idepe-Okitipupa, SP Princess Regina Mogbojuri; Pastor John Egbont’Olorun and Otunba Steven Fasawe.” Prince (Gen) Olu Bajowa OFR, the grand patron of the group in Lagos in his goodwill message give thanks to God for the eleventh Ikale night coming up; he also implore government to assist the people back home with the restoration of their electricity that has been out of place for some years now.

Chinwetalu Agu in Tears of a King

ADU inaugurates new exco

lor Community in Lagos under aegis of Alor Development Union (ADU), Lagos Branch of Idemili South Local Government Area Anambra State has elected new officers. The election held at Alor Christian Center Alafia, Orile-Iganmu, Lagos. The electoral committee led by Ichie Sunday Omakagu. Chief Emmanuel Ojukwu was elected as Chairman to serve another three years. Others officers elected were Chief Chijioke Uzokwe (Vice Chairman); Engr.Damiona Nwaogbo( Secretary General) ; Engr. Marcus Mbaekwe ( Assistant Secretary) ;Mr. Chibuike Nwoye (Treasurer) ; Chief Mallison Ukatu (Financial-Secretary) ; Mr Tochukwu Uzochukwu ( Assist- Secretary) ; Mr. Emmanuel Udodinma Social /Publicity- Secretary) ;Mr. Azubuike Onyechi Chief Provost and Mr. Chijioke Akubue as Provost. The other members of electoral Committee were Chief Nnaemka Ngige SAN as

Secretary, Ichie Godwin Nwaoye and Ichie Samuel Udoh Member. The officers were also inaugurated at the Alor Christian Center, Alafia Orile Iganmu Lagos. The event was attended by Chief Uzoma Igbonwa Former President of Alor People’s Convention, Chief John Obiekwe amongst others. Rendering his stewardship earlier, as the chairman of the union in the last three years, Chief Emmanuel Ojukwu appreciated the cooperation of elders and leaders of the community for the confidence they responded in his team as they were able to play their role creditably. He said that in the last three years, his term was able to tell that the Lagos branch were rapacious in the governance of the community welfare and increase the numbers of members especially the youths were proud to participate.

Artman In The House

Friday, March 18, 2016

this is an original work oF a gospel perFormer-poet who has rendered his poetry in a corrective way For everyone who wants to hear the truth in tunes CONTINUED FROM PAGE 22 According to him, anointing oil as written in the Bible was used just twice for healing. The church is being humiliated because of the glory attributed to the ministers. The third track is a contemporary Apala gospel titled, Eni Taye Ye Lo Datunbi. This track is a reminder of the need to be born again and concentrate on making heaven. He mentioned that his joy is filled whenever he is in the house of the Lord which is in tandem with the words of David in Psalms 122:1. As for the poet, there is no reason to be enticed for material gains. He noted that the stings of sin are very disastrous; he mentioned different sins and Bible characters that had unfortunate end like Samson. The fourth track is titled ‘Ayipada Tooto’ is a called to the change that God is expecting from man. He said the change that every man needs is to change to godliness and righteousness while Nigerians need to change from being corrupt. In his exact words, ‘the honourables dishonouring themselves’; the respected disrespecting themselves; the exalted debasing themselves; the valued devaluing themselves; the graced disgracing themselves falling from grace to grass; exhibiting shows of shame; they need to change’ The track is an address of the political situation of the country. He implored political leaders to have a change of attitude; women to have a change of attitude. Other people that were not left out include students; teachers; masters; traditional rulers; traders; fuel attendants; journalists; civil servants and nomadic Fulani cattle rearers which he addressed in Hausa language and virtually every strata of the society. He implored everyone to turn to God. The final track of the album is an encouragement to everybody titled ‘Erin’ however with moderation. The song is equally a plea that God should make use rejoice. The benefits of laughter were enumerated. He summed it up with the Biblical example of Abraham who laughed. This is an original work of a gospel performer poet who has rendered his poetry in a corrective way for everyone who wants to hear the truth in tunes. He crossed was able to code mix in a very attractive way. This is a great piece of music is recommended to everyone who has the desire for ingenious and meaningful music. This is another quality product from OKEHO!

BOOK

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Aroma of a Burning Bush

Aroma of a Burning Bush by Samuel Osaze roused, then doused, a certain suspicion of mine.

bow to the masters: in the last two centuries, such luminaries as Walt Whitman, D.H. Lawrence, T.S. Eliot and Langston Hughes profusely produced free verse, which of course are global classics. However, that form, or ‘formlessness,’ has grievously degraded poetry. A certain obnoxious notion has obviously taken root. It is that, if words were set out in short lines, however uninspired, or bland or clumsy, the presentation merited the designation ‘poetry’ and all objectors deserved denunciation as stultifying arch-traditionalists. The global spawn of this concept is work that is sometimes baser than doggerel, instantly assimilable, pedestrian, posing no intellectual challenges. Samuel Osaze in Aroma of a Burning Bush establishes that free verse can be superb poetry. Insightful, a veritable wordsmith, he proves that free verse need not be facile or flimsy. He invests the form with profundity and lush lyricalness. The topics in the collection are many and varied. The work embraces the public and the private, the romantic and the elegiac, gratitude to benign mentors and clash of elements, verses ‘Soyinkaian’ and some ‘Okigbotic.’ The poem Say Yes I do recalled the secondary school love-letter of a generation ago, and also Shakespeare’s 18th Sonnet, Shall I compare Thee to a Summer’s Day?... The eulogies in Osaze’s collection prompt the reflection that poets are famously introspective, retrospective, melancholic, preoccupied with bereavement. The sneer of John Donne’s 17th century classic, Death Be Not Proud, is echoed in Dylan Thomas’s 20th century declaration, And Death Shall Have no Dominion. Alfred Lord Tennyson’s renowned In Memoriam, his eulogy of his idolised friend Hallam is like a widow’s grieving for her husband. Isn’t Thomas Gray immortalized by his morbid musing on death, Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard? Felicitous phrases and delightful alliteraCONTINUED FROM PAGE 22

case. There were also completely redundant scenes and plot twists that were difficult to piece into a coherent picture. The scene where we had to literally follow Moji to make a withdrawal from an ATM machine, save for perhaps sponsor credits, had no particular relevance to the development of the plot. Again, I find not only abrupt but similarly irrelevant, the death of Uncle Georgy (Francis Onwochie) as well as the entire scene of the argument between the Dosumu’s (Moji’s parents) over Uncle Georgy’s having a second family. Altogether, they did not in any way deepen my experience of the movie, instead, they made its running time longer and the movie a chore. Meanwhile, in resolving the problem between Moji and Benjy, the suspense element was overstretched such that the intended ef-

Felicitous phrases and delightFul alliterations abound in

aroma oF a burnish bush tions abound in Aroma of a Burnish Bush. From the beginning of the collection comes: A lonely leaf protests in vain awaiting fume of full flame awe of helpless veils the arsonists’ face for the mild fire is gone wild. In the poem, To the Slave Driver, under (viii) is the phrase ‘throes of trauma.’ Under (xi) comes ‘a flourishing flag of freedom.’ In Bird of Sorrow comes ‘mad on mud bed..’ In A Gaze from an Angelic Face is: ‘... excavate me To the surface, in picnic of fresh breath...’ In Fire and Water comes, ‘Your fiend,

Inside ‘Beyond Blood’ fect was lost. In the end, we did not need to be told, we could already imagine the worst possible scenario. Similarly, the character Tunji (Deyemi Okanlawon) remained a mystery and a foil throughout the movie, despite the movie’s resolution. Of which I do think the ‘badness’ of Tunji is exaggerated because I cannot possibly imagine that his antics in the movie are enough for an entire family to disown a son. There is more to it than the movie let us into, obviously. Another instance I find hard to tie back is the characterisation of Akin Pedro. He is portrayed as the son of a Nigerian migrant who abandons his foreign wife. His being grounded in his culture (as demonstrated by his understanding of Yoruba given the circumstance) is questionable. As far we were told in the movie, he did not know who he

your friend,’ and in Dear Retribution ‘As Python pounces on its prey.’ Take me to my Destiny asserts the importance of the spirit, its potential to remain unshaken by crushing obstacles. It echoes the classic Victorian paean to valour, William Erenest Henley’s Invictus. Out of the Night that covers me Black as the pit from pole to pole I thank whatever gods may be For my unconquerable soul... It matters not how strait the gate How charged with punishments the scroll I am the master of my fate I am the captain of my soul. This is echoed in a 20th century disavowal of timidity, Maya Angelou’s Life Doesn’t Frighten me. Shadows on the wall Noises down the hall Life doesn’t frighten me at all... Some suppose that poetry is invariably civil, beguiling, unobtrusive. Aroma of a Burning Bush, whilst manifesting considerable charm, features other elements. The collection is audacious and combative, neither quailing at unpleasantness nor shrinking from the unpalatable. was in every sense of it, and arguing otherwise is based on an assumption of the directorial intent. This notwithstanding, I must say that I remain impressed with the general outcome of the movie. Not that I had any clear cut expectations about the movie prior to seeing it, but it did raise my awareness to how much is being done to raise the bar of excellence in Nollywood. Clearly, it surpassed any expectations I could have had, even though I am still trying to find out the import of the title and what is beyond blood. Albeit a tad lacking, there was a fairly good attempt to sync all the sub-plots and twists at the end. And in fairness, in the context of the average quality of movies produced in Nollywood, this is a well thoughtout movie. I like the production quality — the colours, sound and lights worked, as did the cast.

Inside FCT

Rotimi Fadeyi

or Nigeria which is regarded as the most populated nation in the Africa continent, six years of violent attack by the deadly Boko Haram sect especially in the North East had left many people displaced There are still an estimated 3.5 million Nigerians who are internally displaced. And up till today most Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) continue to live in dire conditions while for many, prospects for lasing solutions remain inaccessible. Many of the victims of insurgency run for their dear life to seek refuge in the nation’s capital city of Abuja and some other neighbouring states. Majority of those displaced have found refuge among host communities, while some live in camps with support from the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), many others are at the mercy of Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) religious bodies and the charity of individuals over the years. It is estimated that over 10,000 IDPs estimated are located in 31 recognized and nonrecognized camps or settlement in the FCT. For many of them, the situation has not been a pleasant experience and they continue to face risks to their lives, safety, security and dignity. They are frequently exposed to gross abuse of human rights, especially when it comes to the issue of women, teenagers and unaccompanied children. Sexual and genderbased violence is widespread, even in areas of different IDPs camp. Inside FCT gathered that the suffering and

Friday, March 18, 2016

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Rape, hunger hit FCT’s IDP camps

IDP camp

harsh living condition faced by IDPs in the camps have now been compounded by other problems including issue of hunger and poor health. However, an alarming dimension to the problems in the camps is the incidents of rape of young girls by hoodlums who take advantage of innocent girls resulting in unwanted pregnancies Narrating her ordeal, a 12 year old girl from Gworza, Esther Isaiah who was raped sometime last year is now a nursing mother stated that her problem was now complicated. She told Inside FCT that sometime in February last year, she was raped when she was

She told InSIde FCt that SometIme In February laSt year, She waS raped when She waS Sent by her mother to go and FetCh water From the nearby Stream sent by her mother to go and fetch water from the nearby stream which was not too far from the camp, She explained that the ugly incident happened on her way back to the camp after fetching water, adding that three of her friends were also victims. “And when I got home, I explained what

happened to my mother but she couldn’t do anything and after four months, I discovered that my stomach was getting bigger day by day that is the situation I found myself and I went through three days labour in one of our batcher house before God delivered me. although I have the baby boy but I cannot say this is the father”, Esther said.

FCT students shine at debate competition Regina otokpa

our primary schools in the Federal Capital Territory recently emerged victorious at the annual debate competition organised by the Mastering Debate Concept in Abuja. This year’s competition which involved ten primary schools; five contemporary schools and five Islamic schools held the chairman, judges, fellow students, families, the organiser and even the media spell bound for more than two hours as two students from each school strived to offer a superior argument over their counterparts. Having met the judges’ criteria after a keenly contested competition, MaterMisericordia primary school emerged back to back winner of the competition with 16.5 points, Glorious Star International Academy and AlHiddaya International Academy tied for the second position with 16.1 points while ECWA International School secured the third position with 16 points. According to the Director General Heritage Centre and Chairman of the 2016 debate competition, Dr. Katch Ononuju, he was impressed with the use of words employed by the students in driving their points’ home and the level of research employed by the teachers. Speaking to the students he said: “ I am more than impressed, I believe the future of Nigeria is safe in your hands by what I have heard so far. Commending the initiative of engaging

ahmed SpeakIng to InSIde FCt

maIntaIned that the annual CompetItIon waS ConCeIved aS a platForm to harneSS the potentIal oF the younger generatIon Islamic schools in the competition given their ability to debate and argue excellently against their counterparts, he called for more platforms especially within the remote areas of Northern Nigeria to create a wider platform for people to express their feelings and settle all differences off the streets. “I am most impressed with this very young people in Islamic schools marshaling out their position through this debate, it tells me that there is hope for our tomorrow as people of one nation. I believe this is the future. “It is beautiful, instead of the Muslims taking their anger to the streets let them send these children who have impressed us today to further debate and tell the country through their colloquial expression what is in their mind. “This is a beautiful thing but this must be sustained, this is Abuja a metropolis let us take this into the inner recesses of northern Nigeria to bring out and also to teach people there is nothing wide of the mark in being expressive in English and this is one of the things that I have been saying. The National Coordinator, Mr. Akinsola

Students debating Ahmed speaking to Inside FCT maintained that the annual competition was conceived as a platform to harness the potential of the younger generation. He stressed that the judges were selected from different neutral schools every year from within Abuja to ensure fairness in the delivery of the final judgment by the end of the competition. To this end, he expressed surprise over the emergence of Mater Misericordia Primary school as back to back winner of the competition, saying “ I don’t know how they did it but the competition is very fair and I know that for them to have emerged overall winner of the competition again means that they are very good because I try as much as possible to ensure that I

have nothing to do with the compilation of results. Whatever you see here is based on merit.” A teacher from the one of the schools that emerged victorious at this year’s competition, Lawal Omobolanle expressing delight with the competition, called on the organiser to extend the competition beyond the FCT. “This competition can become a national competition, the organizers should strive to get more sponsorship, contact relevant ministries and agencies, carry more schools along to ensure that this debate competition metamorphoses to become a national event just as they have the International Spelling Bee competition in the United States that is making waves.”

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Inside FCT

Friday, March 18, 2016

Karava: FCT suburb lacking infrastructure

Karava community

AdeolA Tukuru

arava community is a settlement in Bwari area council and one of the many suburbs in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT). Whereas, its nearest neighbours dazzle in the splendour of city life, Karava is the proverbial resident that lives by the riverside yet washes its hands with spittle. The natives in the community are dominantly farmers. Most residents are of average livelihood, and therefore, poor. But to them, poverty, not opulence and crass display of illicit wealth, is a cherished virtue, something that the majority delight in and would proudly proclaim. Residents of the community have been neglected by the FCT authorities even though they are willing to cooperate and work with the state for the good things of life. The community lacks the essentials of communal life while healthcare for the teeming population of the area is a wild dream. Not deterred by limited resources and the obvious lack of government’s attention, they opted to take the bull by the horn by singlehandedly building a clinic to cater for their healthcare needs. Karava community, despite their frustration with the government’s failed effort to provide them with basic essentials for their everyday life, have opted not to depend on the state for everything, although they never fail to pay their taxes as demanded by law. A traditional chief and community

leader in the area, Samuel Malle told Inside FCT that a survey recently with the DEVCOM, a non-governmental organisation in commemoration of the International Women’s day decried that pregnant women in the community are subjected to giving birth at home due to lack of health care centres in the community. “The only clinic close to the community is located at Sabongari . It is always busy. Even when the clinic adopts the first come first serve approach the situation hardly improves because it means that patients would have to leave their homes as early as 4a.m. to beat the crowd. “The plight of women and children in the community is better imagined. Child birth is an ordeal, traditional birth practice is often the mainstay with its attendant consequences”, Malle said. He pleaded with the government to come to their aid, saying they just need help to complete or even upgrade the health project that they had started. “Pregnant women, because our community does not have a clinic usually go to Sabongeri or Kuchiko which is some miles away from our community. It was same for ante-natal because of lack of a primary health centre. Almost everyone,

particularly women are subjected to this ordeal. If only we had ours, even if it is a makeshift clinic we will be content with it:, Malle said. He explained that a lot of women are suffering especially during labour adding that some of these women trek a very long distance from the community to Sabongeri or Kuchiko primary health centre before they could have access to health care personnel. According to him, because of the poor health situation in the community, over five babies have died unattended to after delivery .“In sort our people have suffered so much, especially when they are sick. They can’t afford to patronise quality hospitals in the city centre because of the high cost of medical care in such hospitals. Some have been compelled to resort to traditional medical services and have fallen into the hands of quacks. “It has been very difficult for us. It is an irony that we reside within Abuja, a modern city, yet we are far from modernity because the state seems to care little about us. It is sad that here there are no access roads, access to medical care is prohibitive, there is nothing to make us feel the impact of government. It makes us won-

It has been very dIffIcult for us. It Is an Irony that we resIde wIthIn abuja, a modern cIty, yet we are far from modernIty

der what kind of life our leaders really want us to live.” When asked if the Chairman of the Area council, Peter Yohanna, was aware of their plight, he explained that they have made several appeal to him and even mobilised themselves to his office but all their efforts have not yielded fruit. According to him, the community demands accountability from their leaders who had promised them so much before the elections, “we voted for these leaders in order for them to provide basic amenities, but today, it is like they want us to return to the days of our forefathers. Those promises are empty, we have not seen anything”. Another resident of the community who also a pregnant woman, Kande Moses said she is yet to register for an antenatal because she lacks the strength to trek from the community to Sabongari where as Primary Health centre is located. According to her, it would take over an hour to cover the distance from the community to where the health care centre is located. Kande, who is already a mother of three said she would like to give birth in the hospital if given the opportunity but they lack access to hospital in the community, adding that the process of giving birth at home is painful and very risky especially when she bleeds after delivery. “I bleed a lot after delivery, when we call a doctor from the chemist in town, it takes him hours to come down to the community because of the distance of the road to the community”, she said.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Capital Market

Friday, March 18, 2016

Access Bank declares N65.9bn profit in 2015 Johnson okanlawon

ccess Bank has announced a profit after tax of N65.9 billion for the financial year ended December31, 2015, an increase of 53 per cent when compared to N43.1billion recorded in the same period of 2014. It proposes a final dividend of 30 kobo per share bringing the total dividend for the year to 55 kobo. The bank’s gross earnings totaled N337.4billion in the review period, up 38 per cent from N245.4 billion recorded in the corresponding period of 2014, with interest income and noninterest income contributing 62 per cent and 38 per cent respectively. According to the result presented to the Nigerian Stock Exchange yesterday, interest income grew by 17 per cent to N207.8 billion in 2015, from N176.9billion in 2014 as a result

of improved income from lending activities and increased yield on investment securities. Further analysis showed that non-interest income stood at N129.4billion, up 89 per cent in the review period, from N68.4billion in 2014, largely attributable to strong gains on forex trading income, which reflects management’s ability to diversify the bank’s revenue sources. The bank’s operating incomeincreasedtoN234.8billion in 2015, up 39 per cent on the back of increased earnings compared with N168.4billion in the corresponding period of 2014. Profit before tax for the period rose to N75.0billion, representing a 44 per cent year-onyear growth when compared to N52.0billion in 2014. The Group Managing Director of the bank, Mr Herbert Igwe, noted that the results reinforce our resolve to gener-

ate sustainable returns despite challenging market conditions. He said, “We achieved strong financial progress in 2015 as the Group recorded a 44 per cent growth in profit before tax to N75 billion from N52 billion in 2014, with significant contribution from our securities trading business.” Guided by a robust risk management framework, he explained that the bank diversified business model yielded positive results as it grew the business cautiously and recorded sound prudential ratios. “During the year, we successfully raised capital by way of Rights Issue which has significantly strengthened our capital base and now provides us with sufficient headroom to harness opportunities in key growth sectors of the economy. “In addition, the recent upgrade of our national scale credit rating to ‘A’ by Fitch Ratings – even in an extremely difficult environment – will enable growth in the market share of our customers’ businesses and

solidify our position as a top player in the industry. “We also made remarkable headway in redesigning our systems and processes to enhance service delivery across all customer touchpoints, with emphasis on tailored customer interactions. Leveraging innovation, we introduced products and solutions which have enhanced our brand equity and recorded significant customer adoption and migration to our digital platforms,” he added. In the coming year, he stressed that the bank will remain resilient in the execution of its bold strategy for increased growth and profitability. “Though market conditions will remain challenging, we will focus on innovation, proactive risk management and data analytics as catalysts for diversifying income streams and enhancing retail expansion, so as to maximize shareholder value in 2016 and beyond,” he said.

UBA expects loan growth in 2016 after drop in 2015 Johnson okanlawon

he United Bank for Africa, UBA, expects loan growth of 10 to 15 per cent this year, reversing a 3.3 per cent decline last year. The bank had originally forecast loan growth last year of five to eight per cent but that did not materialise. Loans grew 14 per cent in 2014, the bank told reuters. “Because of uncertainty in the macro-environment we decided to be very cau-

tious in the growth of risk assets,” Chief Executive Phillips Oduoza, who is due to retire by July said, explaining the drop in loans last year. “For this year we see a positive outlook but we will continue in our conservative approach to risk creation,” he added. The bank declared a gross earnings of N314.8 billion for the financial year ended December 31, 2015, an increase of 9.8 per cent when compared to N286.6 billion recorded in the

same period of 2014. The bank’s profit after tax margin rose to 18.95 per cent in the review period, from 16.71 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of 2014. According to the result presented to the Nigerian Stock Exchange, return on average equity stood at 19.95 per cent, from 19.15 per cent recorded in the same period of 2014. Analysis of the bank’s balance sheet showed that cost to income ratio dropped to 65.04 per cent from 68.59 per cent in

2014, while loan to deposit ratio stood at 49.80 per cent, from 49.40 per cent recorded the preceding financial year. The bank’s recorded a 25 per cent growth in its profit after tax to N60billion, translating to a 20 per cent return on average equity. The pan-African financial services group with operations in 19 African countries also grew its operating income by 10 per cent to N205bn in December 2015, from N186bn in December 2014.

Africa set for $3.1bn boom in IPOs

aw firm Baker & McKenzie forecasts that African initial public offers, IPOs, of shares will raise over $3.1 billion in 2016 with 15 IPOs in the pipeline. The firm says in a press release that Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa are likely to be the busiest exchanges, despite the commodity price headwinds. The 15 IPOs in the pipeline are set to beat the total raised in 2015 by 21 African IPOs by $1.5bn, doubling the total raised that year. The last time initial share offers raised this much capital was in 2010, when $4.4bn was raised. Deals include, Tanzania’s Dar es Salaam Stock Ex-

change plans to self-list this year. Botswana Telecommunications Corporations Limited, Botswana’s biggest IPO so far, closed on 4 March Egypt has been building up a backlog of delayed deals and many could come to market in coming months, including retail, financial services and food sectors. Egyptian government is also rumoured to be preparing the first privatizations of state owned enterprises since the programme was stopped in 2011, after a boom 2004-2006, when privatizations helped annual economic growth of 7mpercent. One example could be state-owned United Bank of Egypt, a lender with assets of $3.6bn.

Nigeria’s pipeline looks reasonable for later in the year in the tech, teleco and transport sectors. South Africa will see 2 or more deals, after 9 IPOs in 2015 Mauritius continues to act as Africa’s offshore financial centre; equity offerings include rights issues and private placements as well as IPOs. Rwanda predicts 3 IPOs this year Blue line is a West African train project, which aims to list in Paris, promoted by French tycoon Vincent Bolloré Markets are watching with keen interest the progress by the East African Securities Exchange Association, seeking to fast-track integration

of their markets, which may unlock demand among issuers while increasing liquidity. Rate (%) Inflation

8.2

MPR

Crude oil price

$58.96

Source: NSE

Inter-Bank Rate Naira

US Dollar

N197.00 Market indicators All-Share Index 25,923.77 points Market capitalisation 8.92trn

Stock Updates GAINERS COMPANY

OPENING

CLOSING

CHANGE

% CHANGE

UNITYBNK

0.67

0.70

0.03

4.48

FIDELITYBK

1.18

1.23

0.05

4.24

96.05

100.00

3.95

4.11

TRANSCORP

1.09

1.13

0.04

3.67

NPFMCRFBK

1.05

1.08

0.03

2.86

NAHCO

3.91

4.00

0.09

2.30

UBA

3.60

3.67

0.04

4.21

DANGSUGAR

5.75

5.98

0.23

4.00

ACADEMY

0.53

0.55

0.02

3.77

FIDELITYBK

1.16

1.20

0.04

3.45

CHANGE

% CHANGE

LOSERS COMPANY

OPENING

CLOSING

AGLEVENT

0.80

0.76

-0.04

-5.00

CAVERTON

1.60

1.52

-0.08

-5.00

UBN

5.98

5.71

-0.27

-4.52

WEMABANK

0.93

0.89

-0.04

-4.30

BETAGLAS

47.50

45.50

-2.00

-4.21

INTBREW

19.05

18.50

-0.55

-2.89

NESTLE

715.00

700.00

-15.00

-2.10

CONTINSURE

0.92

0.91

-0.01

-1.09

GUINNESS

114.00

113.00

-1.00

-0.88

LIVESTOCK

1.19

1.18

-0.01

-0.84

FGN Bonds

Offer

Bid

Description

Price

Yield

Price

Yield

15.10 27-APR-2017

1.13

106.13

9.24

106.28

9.10

16.00 29-JUN-2019

3.30

115.88

10.20

116.18

10.10

15.54 13-FEB-2020

3.93

113.23

11.27

113.53

11.18

16.39 27-JAN-2022

5.88

120.58

11.47

120.88

11.41

14.20 14-MAR-2024

8.01

112.64

11.72

112.94

11.67

12.50 22-JAN-2026

9.87

104.56

11.70

104.86

11.65

Closing Market Prices of March 10, 2016

Treasury Bills Maturity Date

Bid

Offer

Exchange

Rates (N)

9-Jun-16

5.69

5.77

WAUA

270

USD

197.00

8-Sep-16

7.65

7.95

EURO

214

2-Mar-17

8.26

8.99

CFA

0.32

YEN

1.64

Tenor

Rate (%)

SWISS FRANC

202

O/N

5.0983

POUNDS STERLING

293

7.8136

9.2168

SDR

273

11.0593

NIBOR

CBN Clearing Rates of January 7, 2016

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Arty News

Friday, March 18, 2016

29 31

My plans for Nwa Ada Anambra pageant—Famous Gold Nwamaka Joy Ononenyi, is the Chief Executive Officer of Famous Gold, a platform which lures Igbo girls back to loving their culture,through a pageant, Nwa Ada Anambra 2016. The 25 year old graduate of Law explains her vision in this interview.

When did the idea of Famous Gold start? It started last year August, 2015. It started as I told you before, that it came as a result of the need to restore the dignity of Igbo woman’s norms, values and creativity in cooking and dressing; to add colour to our young girls’ life and make them responsible members of Igbo tribe, in their looks, pride, language, fashion, and character including attitude, so it as I was tinkering on what to do that the Famous Gold came to me, and my mind said to me why not use this name and float a pageant for young girls of Igbo origin in trying to re-fashion them back to their culture. Why Famous Gold, one expected you to give it an Igbo name since it’s all about promoting Igbo culture? Yes, the name of the pageantry is not in English and that is why we came up with Nwa Ada-Anambra, and the platform Famous Gold was as a result of my name when I was in the University, so I don’t want to lose it that is why I in incorporated it as a name of the platform. Explain the concept of Nwa Ada Anambra beauty pageant? It started from when I observed the way and manner our young girls dress and makeup this time, I never liked it and decided to think on what to do to bring them closer to our culture, just like the way our mothers were trained by their parents. I discover that there was a sharp difference between us of this age and our mothers in terms of dressing, cooking, speaking and other cultural values imbibed by our parents which is a shift from what we are doing today. So, this motivated me to start thinking on what to do to inculcate those values in our present day girls and in so doing bring our culture back to the modern Igbo girls. We don’t know how to cook, we don’t know how to dress any longer, we based on these English people’s way of dieting-Spaghetti, noodles, and others; and our girls don’t know how to cook our local foods again. Tell an igbo lady to cook Oha soup, or olugbu soup, you will be surprised what she will tell you because she knows only how to prepare cornflakes. It’s these things that formed the basis of the pageant in order to bring them home, so that they will know whom they are and where they are coming from that is why the theme of the pageant is: Mara Onye Ibu. I would want to know the category of girls you are looking at for this pageant?

Ononenyi The class of people that we are targeting are the class of ladies and girls who can speak Igbo language fluently without fault, who can interact in Igbo language and write it well, the category of girls who can cook Igbo delicacies without supervision, we are looking at Igbo girls no matter where she resides whether in the city of village but can represent Igbo culture by dressing in Igbo attires, knows the Igbo names for different types of wrappers, name Igbo foods and cook them, and project Igbo culture, norms and traditions fluently, these are the types of girls that will participate in the pageant. The girls will be able to mention the type of Igbo food she could be able to cook, and mention the ingredients used in cooking such dishes. The pageant is purely Igbo affairs, nothing European about it. The questions to be asked to the pageants are going to be in Igbo language and they are expected to answer it in Igbo language, too.

Do you have the state endorsement? Yes, the Anambra State government is aware and the State Commissioner of Culture and Tourism is also a partner in the programme, even though they have not responded to our letter, they are aware and they are partners.

When is the pageant coming up? May 27th 2016 and it is happening in Anambra State.

How is the dress code like? We don’t need that swim trunk pants, and body showing dresses, because it’s not our Igbo culture, its going to be like real Igbo woman dressing and make-up with local make ups.

So, what is the level of your preparation, so far? We are marvelous in our preparation, we are on the move and everything is going well. As God will have it, we have our sponsors and they are incredibly doing well. We also have partners who are partnering with us and we have gone far.

How many girls have enrolled so far? We have about 20 girls already and we are still looking for more, and more are still coming. What are criteria for being a participant? We don’t look at ages, we don’t look at complexions, we don’t look at height, and we also don’t look at facial appearances or beauty; but said once the person is from 18 years and above, she is qualified. Particularly, we are look at their fluency in Igbo language, their dressing, and their comportment and character behaviours.

What preparations have you on that day? With the help of my able and hardworking governor, His Excellency, Chief Willie Obiano, security of the pageants are guaranteed because with what he has been able to do

As NwA AdA ANAmbrA stAte, the wiNNer is AutomAticAlly AN AmbAssAdor of both ANAmbrA ANd igbo culture

in terms of security in the Anambra State, I don’t think there will be security problem. Right now Anambra is safe and I can assure you that it’s the safest state in Nigeria. What are going to give the winners that will emerge from the contest? We have a car for the first prize, the second prize is refrigerator and the third winner is going to go home with a laptop. What would Nwa Ada Anambra State be doing for the Anambra State and Igbos that one year reign? As Nwa Ada Anambra State, the winner is automatically an Ambassador of both Anambra and Igbo culture. She is always in Igbo attires; speak the language in all her functions in the state. She will also be dressing in Igbo attires always anywhere she is going, either in state functions, local government and cultural events in Anambra State and elsewhere. Do you believe in the extinction of Igbo languages and culture? I don’t believe so because I have strong conviction in the fact that culture is inherent, is not something you borrow or learn. It is born with you and again that sums up our vision and mission in coming up with this pageant, so as to sustain the language and culture and bring back our values to the present generation of Igbo youths. What is your advice to those young boys and girls of Igbo extraction who have lost their identities? My advice to them is that they should sit down and reflect on their background, ask questions about their values.

Friday, March 18, 2016

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Elizade opens N394m showroom, to assemble JAC cars E

lizade Nigeria Limited said it was fully set to commence assembling of JAC brand of vehicles in the country. The Managing Director of the company, Mr. Demola Ade-Ojo, said this in Lagos at the launch of an auto centre exclusively meant to market the JAC brand of vehicles. He said the company had already secured the support of the JAC management to ensure the smooth commencement and success of the assembly operations. According to him, as part of the preparation for the project, his company had submitted an application to the National Automotive Design and Development Council and was expecting to be granted an auto manufacturer

status. The automobile investor said that the new venture was being undertaking with the Elizade Autoland name in partnership with a Chinese auto manufacturer, JAC Motors. Ade-Ojo revealed that the new auto centre worth over $2m (about N394), saying it was meant to provide an easy sale and a hassle-free maintenance arrangement for the JAC vehicles. He said it took Elizade three years before the official launch because the firm had to subject the JAC brand to numerous tests to ensure it would not be a disappointment to Nigerians willing to use it for everyday vehicular needs. “This journey started three years ago; it is a journey to make life better for Nigerians and other people willing to experience what we have discovered to be a gem in the global automobile in-

Ade-Ojo

dustry,” he said. Under Elizade Autoland, the company would market and provide after-sales for the JAC brand. It also plans to market other vehicle brands with the assur-

ance that customers will get the same level of performance, customer service and professionalism that the Elizade brand name is known for. Also, the founder, Elizade Nigeria Limited, Chief Michael

Ade-Ojo, expressed delight at the prospects of partnering with JAC as he recalled that the JAC venture seemed like the venture he undertook with Toyota over 40 years ago, when the latter started making affordable and cheaper cars without sacrificing good performance. Ade-Ojo said: “You will agree that I have built a solid reputation for the Elizade brand over the past 45 years. The last thing I would then want to do is to disappoint my customers who have come to trust that we will offer them nothing but good vehicles – passenger and commercial, and a reliable service that can keep them contented. “With this in mind, we evaluated the JAC brand. And after this launch, I want to assure you that this is a journey we intend to see to the end, when the JAC brand is ranked top alongside brands like Toyota.”

FRSC maintains stance on fake driver’s licence

he Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) has reiterated the fact that motorists who are not having genuine drivers licence should consider themselves not having any drivers licence. The commission’s Head, Media Relations and Strategy Mr Bisi Kazeem stated this while speaking on the backdrop of that Late Mr James Ocholi’s driver who was said not to be having any driver’s license record with the commission. According to him, the news making round in the social media that Mr Taiwo Elegbede, driver of the ill-fated vehicle that claimed the lives of Ocholi and his family members has a driver’s license is not true. ``Elegbede is not captured in our driver’s licensing data, so the license he claimed to have expired must be a fake one. ``Our license procedure includes physical presence and biometric capturing of applicants, which is permanently stored in our data bank, for the purpose of verification. ``We always tell members of the public to visit our licensing centres spread across the country and desist from patronizing touts while applying for their driver’s license.

Oyeyemi

``Elegbede cannot be called a competent driver if he does not have a genuine driver’s license, which he can only acquire showing mastery of basic driving principles. Also, reacting to the claim that the vehicle was not originally that of their ministry, Kazeem said ``A good driver must perform a routine check on his vehicles before driving out, it is not an excuse to say because the vehicle was provided by another office and he should ignored a check on it.

“In fact, the maintenance department could not claim in-culpability as a result of receiving the vehicle from another agency or department, the more reason , why proper check should be carried out as the vehicle is changing hands.” He said. Kazeem said the commission wished the driver speedy recovery while, and urged members of the public to only engage the service of a genuinely licensed driver’s, to avert road carnages. It would be recalled that Ocholi, his wife and a son died in an

accident along Kaduna-Abuja Highway on Sunday, March 6, while the driver and the Orderly sustained serious injuries. Mr Boboye Oyeyemi, corps marshal of the commission, had said the driver was not captured in the commission’s data during his briefing to President Muhamammadu Buhari recently. Oyeyemi had also said the drivers in Federal Ministries Department and Agencies should come for adequate training on convoy driving by the commission.

Tinted glass permit: Group calls for extension of deadline

s the deadline given by the Nigeria Police Force for all motorists using tinted glass vehicles to re-validate their permit ends this weekend, the Guild of Motoring Correspondents (GMC) has called on the Police to extend the time. The deadline is Friday, March 18. According to the Chairman of GMC, Mr. Frank Kintum, “though the re-validation is a welcome idea, the time frame given motorists to re-validate

is too short, being less than three months”. Kintum advised the police to extend the duration for at least six another months, and liaise with the FRSC for the collection of relevant data, as well as publicise the exercise as much as possible. He observed that there was no enough publicity to motorists by the police as many motorists using tinted glass vehicles are still largely unaware that there is a directive to that

effect from the Police. Kintum added “as far as I know, there is only one biometric capturing centre in the whole of Lagos and so much queue and motorists can only be attended to on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays”. He said, “We expected the police to have relied on the data already obtained by the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), because FRSC gets all this data when you apply for a driver’s licence. So why

subject motorists to another round of bureaucracy? I remember the Presidency asking security agencies to harmonise the collection of data, so why did the police refuse to heed the advice? “My worry is that immediately after this deadline, many motorists may be subjected to harassment, intimidation and extortion from some unscrupulous law enforcement agents who would capitalize on the situation”, he said.

Friday, March 18, 2016

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Politics

PDP has overcome its challenges —Sheriff abiOdun nejO ado EkItI

eoples Democratic Party, PDP National Chairman, Alhaji Ali Modu Sheriff, said yesterday that the party had overcome its challenges and is repositioning for victory in the 2019 general elections. Sheriff, who said that the victory of the party in the recently held rerun elections held in parts of the country was pointer to that fact, encouraged members to be hopeful as the party was already winning more elections than the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC. The PDP boss spoke in Ado- Ekiti during a visit to Ekiti State to boost the morale of members in states ahead of the forthcoming National Convention of the party. Sheriff, who was at the Palace of the Ewi of Ado Ekiti, Oba Rufus Adejugbe and the PDP State Secretariat, said: “Contrary to the views in some quarters that the PDP is crippled, it is rather waxing stronger. The statement that our party is in critical condition is not true

because since I came into this party, we have conducted about four elections, and all these elections we have won. “We have won two in Kogi, one in Benue. We won in Akwa Ibom, and Bayelsa.A party that is crippled doesn’t win an election. Our party is standing and that is why we are winning all the elections. We are repositioning the party. We lost some elections, that is normal. When you are having challenges and you are busy tackling them, you would be waxing stronger, so, what is happening to PDP today is making us stronger and better than what it was in 1999. “Our party had a problem and this problem has been surmounted. The problem we have was losing the Presidential election and almost all the elections after that, we have been winning”, he said. The PDP boss, who decried corruption, however, urged President Muhammadu Buhari not to be selective in fighting the anti-corruption war. He said: “In PDP, we want the anti-corruption war to be all-inclusive. We want the Federal Government’s anti-

Oyo Assembly recommends life jail for kidnappers Kemi Olaitan

Ibadan

yo State House of Assembly has prescribed life imprisonment for those found guilty of kidnapping in the state.. The Chairman of the Committee on Judiciary and Justice, Hon. Olukayode Akande, who submitted his report on Oyo State Kidnapping (Prohibition) Bill, 2015, said the House after reading the bill for the third time must passed it without further delay. According to him, the punishment of life imprisonment has been recommended for anyone found guilty of successful kidnapping in the state. Akande said the House

prescribed 20 years imprisonment for anyone who aid kidnapping while 15 years imprisonment awaits anybody that harbour a kidnapped person. He said for anyone that lie or give a false information of being kidnapped, it is seven years imprisonment. He said, “For anybody that is found guilty of a successful kidnapping, it is a life imprisonment. For anyone who aid kidnapping, it is 20 years imprisonment, for anybody that harbor a kidnapped person, it is 15 years imprisonment and for anybody that provides an aid to kidnap anyone is 25 years, for anyone who provides information that led to successful kidnapping or abduction is 10 years imprisonment.

corruption crusade but it should not be one-sided. Corruption in any society is evil and should be tackled, but the fight against corruption should be taken to all the political parties, APC, APGA, PDP, no exception. Our party is a law abiding party. The anti-corruption law itself was put in place by our party”.

According to him, those leaving the party because it lost election are not real politicians, adding: “A true politician does not leave his party. Sheriff said the opposition to his emergence as PDP boss was normal in politics, saying: “Democracy is government of the

people, by the people and for the people. There is no way you would not have opposition in democracy”. He assured that “In keeping PDP together, I am not going to insult anybody. We will only do this by allowing the people to choose their leaders through credible elections”, he said.

He promised that the PDP will remain a strong party in Nigeria through proper rebranding and by bringing aggrieved members back to rejoin the fold. He lauded the efforts of the state governor, who he described as pillar of support in his emergence as PDP acting chairman.

L-R- Speaker,House of Reps, Rt. Hon Yakubu Dogara with Governor, Rotary International District 9125, Dr Mike Omotosho during the unveiling of the Prototype of the World thickest book “My dream Nigeria’’ in Abuja yesterday photo ROTIMI OSASONA

Oyo lawmaker seeks support for rainstorm victims Kemi Olaitan Ibadan

member of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Hon. Bimbo Olawunmi Oladeji has charged the state government on the need to quickly come to the aid of rainstorm victims in Ogbomoso and other parts of the state. The lawmaker representing Ogbomoso North State Constituency made the call on the floor of the house yesterday while moving the motion titled, “Need to render succour to victims of rainstorm in Ogbomoso, Oyo, Ibarapa and other affected parts of Oyo State.” In the motion seconded by Hon. Adeniyi Fatai Adesina, representing Ibadan South East 1 State Constituency, she said a terrible and disastrous rainstorm occurred last

Saturday and caused huge damage to lives and property of the people in Sabo, Abogunde, Isale Afon, Saja-Isale Ora, Masifa, Aguodo, Aduin and Oke - Ado areas of Ogbomoso. According to her, during the incident, a boy died instantly at Ori Oke Community High School, Apake while another boy died last Monday with another person who was seriously injured still receiving treatment in the hospital. While raising an alarm that this negative act of nature has become worrisome and cause of concern to the people of Ogbomoso, she said it has become an annual occurrence rendering many of the residents homeless while some are also maimed. She then disclosed that the Nigerian Meteorological Agency ,NIMET in its

Seasonal Rainfall Prediction (SRP) for the year 2016, said there would be an occurrence of above normal rainfall in some states of the country including Oyo State. The lawmaker who maintained that it is pertinent to render assistance to the victims and families of those that lost their lives in the incident, also enjoined the state government to be adequately prepared to forestall future occurrence given the prediction by NIMET. Speaking on ways to assist the victims, she urged the State Emergency Management Agency,SEMA to visit the affected areas and provide relief materials to the victims, implored the Ogbomoso North local government to assist victims hospitalised by underwriting their medical bills and encouraged government agencies, pri-

vate organisations and residents of Ogbomoso to plant trees within their premises, be it educational, official, commercial or residential to serve as wind breaker. Others include urging the Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources to also encourage tree planting by making the seed available to people at low cost and also create awareness on the celebration of “World Tree Planting Day”, charging the Ministry of Environment to sensitize members of the public to stop dumping their refuse in drainages, river valleys and by the road side as well as embarking on dredging of rivers to prevent flood during the raining season. The House then mandated the Committees on Environment and Special Duties to visit the affected areas and report back as soon as possible.

Politics

Friday, March 18, 2016

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Ohuabunwa alleges fresh plot to truncate Abia North senatorial rerun GeorGe oJi abuJa

enator Mao Ohuabunwa who was sworn-in at the senate on Wednesday as the senator representing Abia North senatorial district following his success at the March 5, rerun election has raised the alarm of a plot by one of his opponents in the election to use the judiciary to truncate his electoral victory. This is coming barely 24 hours after the Abia State chapter of the Inter Party Advisory Council of Nigeria, IPAC appealed to all the contestants in the election to accept the result of the poll in good faith in order o move the zone forward. IPAC in a statement, urged the losers in the rerun poll to accept their defeat in good faith and, “Mao Ohuabunwa who won the election to be magnanimous in victory”. Ohuabunwa who spoke to some newsmen yesterday at the National Assembly, alleged high level gang-up by some of his opponents in the

last rerun to truncate his victory again. The lawmaker however expressed confidence in both the Judiciary and the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC which upheld his election. Ohuabunwa who is the chairman of the senate committee on primary health and communicable diseases also told journalists how the activities of some compromised collation agents deployed by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC almost marred the poll result. He specifically asked the nation’s judiciary, “especially the Appeal court, not to allow the hallowed institution of justice to be used to truncate the deepening of our democracy and electoral process.” The lawmaker said, “This call has become necessary as some of our opponents in the last rerun election are already going about insinuating and bragging that they will deploy their financial muscles and use the Appeal Court to short-change and truncate the mandate of the

Taraba Assembly returns Abel as Speaker Justin tyopuusu Jalingo

embers of the Taraba State House of Assembly in the early hours of yesterday voted in Hon. Abel Diah of Mbamga State Constituency as Speaker barely three months after he vacated the seat, following Appeal court ruling that nullified his election . Abel was elected Speaker at the inauguration of the 8th Assembly in June last year, but stepped aside in December, following the Appeal Court ruling in Yola, Adamawa State, which ordered rerun election in eight poling units of his constituency. In the rerun election conducted on February 20, Abel of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP defeated his main challenger, Mr. Emmanuel Bongo of the All Progressive Congress, APC to retain his seat in the house. At the resumed sitting of the house in Jalingo yesterday, Clerk of the house, Ismaila Ukwen Tentason citing Order 2, Rule 9 of the

House Standing Order declared the seat of the speaker vacant. Ukwen told members that the Speaker, Hon. Mark Useni in a communication to the house has resigned his position as speaker, citing personal reasons which he did not disclosed. The outgone Speaker, Mark Bako Useni of Takum II then nominated Hon. Abel Diah of Mbamga Constituency and was seconded by Hon. John Bonzena of Zing State Constituency and members unanimously adopted the nomination. In his speech shortly after his swearing in as speaker, Abel thanked his colleagues for finding him worthy to serve them again and commended the house for its unity and maturity. He commended the outgone speaker for his role in stabilising the house, describing him as a symbol of unity. He reminded members on the need to work tirelessly in supporting the governor in his rescue mission, saying the house has no reason to fail.

people of Abia north.” According to him, “The task of securing our democracy is a task for everyone and the judiciary must stand up to be counted on the side of what is fair and right.” While commending the INEC for the solid preparation put in place to ensure

credible poll, Ohuabunwa. “advised the INEC to be weary of the quality of collation agents and officers they deployed in elections, so that such officers will no longer reflect the quality of people we saw deployed in the last rerun election at the communities on Nkpa, Umuime-

nyi ward and Bendel local government whose decisive collusion and unwholesome attitudes almost marred the outcome on INEC commitment to conduct a credible rerun election in Abia north.” He however assured the people of Abia north of qual-

ity and resourceful leadership representation in the senate, saying, “I must equally thank the good people of Abia north for their resilience and for coming to revalidate the mandate which they so generously gave to me in the first election held last March.”

L-R: National Commissioner, Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Anthonia Simbine; Guest Lecturer/former Minister of Information, Prof. Sam Oyovbaire; Chairman of the occasion/former United Nations Under Secretary (Political), Prof. Ibrahim Gambari and former President, Nigerian Political Science Association (NPSA), Prof. Okwudiba Nnoli, during the Annual Billy Dudley Lecture in Abuja yesterday.

Gender equality bill: Oduah flays senate, urges understanding GeorGe oJi abuJa

he senator representing Anambra North Senatorial district, Senator Stella Oduah has criticized members of the red chamber of the National Assembly for shutting down the gender equality and opportunity bill. The bill, which was sponsored by Senator Biodun Olujinmi from Ekiti South, seeks to promote equal opportunities, advancement of all persons, prohibition of violence against women amongst many others. When the bill was read for the second time in the senate on Tuesday, it was opposed by many senators mainly from the northern zone of the country. Opposition to the bill, which was spareheaded by the likes of Senators Ibn Na’allah (Kebbi South), Ibrahim Gobir (Sokoto East), Emmanuel Bwacha (Taraba South) and the former Zamfara State governor, Sanni Yerima was mainly on the grounds that it was both anti-lslamic and unconstitutional. But Oduah while reacting to the development in a state-

ment yesterday in Abuja, urged understanding from Nigerians, particularly her colleague senators that the bill is not an issue bordering on patriarchy, as women are first of all human beings, who have rights before their ultimate role as mothers and therefore should be allowed equal opportunities. The lawmaker who appealed for a re-launched of the bill, urged that it is pertinent that all the stakeholders join forces to enlighten Nigerians on how vital the bill is to our progress as a modern State. She recalled that as a na-

Henry iyorkase

Makurdi

arely three months in the saddle as the chairman of the Benue State Local Government Service Commission, Prof. John Ortyoyande has disclosed that he has been inundated with 24 petitions bordering on illegal recruitment and other administrative offences in the state. Prof. Ortyoyande who made the disclosure in a chat with National Mirror in Makurdi observed that the petitions bordered on il-

tion, Nigeria endorsed the, “United Nations Convention On The Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women,” noting that it is time, we domesticated it in Nigeria. Oduah urged that Nigerians must see mainstreaming of women programs not as favours, but as what is right, and that we should go beyond empowering of women to empowering the society since it is not in doubt that Nigeria has untapped potentials in women which we must explore. According to her, “Women have wonderful innate

skills and we must provide enabling environment for growth and full development of their potentials.” She described as unacceptable, the fact that we are still discussing equal right for women in 2016, even as she emphasized the indispensable role of women in nation building. Finally, Oduah observed that, “It is also no longer news that women are the bedrock of governance and should be allowed equal opportunities to represent the true meaning of their existence.”

We received 24 petitions on wrong recruitment — Benue LGSC legal appointment of officers dations but surely people will into various cadres, protocol officers such as DGSAs and internal auditors. “Within three months, we have received 24 petitions regarding illegal appointments of various cadres, protocol officers such as DGSAs, cashiers, treasurers, internal auditors among others. “As a result of this we have constituted a committee on illegal promotions and appointment of staff and the report is already out. We will sit and look at the recommen-

be affected”. He explained that the commission had collected a comprehensive data of all local government staff in the state for the purpose of fishing out ghost workers out of the system. Ortyoyande who is the former Centre manager of National Open University of Nigeria, NOUN further warned that those found culpable in ghost workers racketeering would be sanctioned.

Friday, March 18, 2016

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Maritime

Boosting Nigeria’s trade revenue through innovative equipment investments High cargo dwell time, general cumbersome cargo procedure and attendant massive revenue loss have remained major features of Nigeria’s import and export regime due to paucity of modern trade equipment. FRANCIS EZEM reports that Federal Government needs to invest on modern trade technologies and solutions to boost the industry’s revenue and other developmental potential for the economy.

o say that Nigeria’s import and export procedures, especially at the seaports and land borders are archaic is to state the obvious. It is also a common knowledge that it takes over 44 signatures for an imported consignment to be released while it takes about two in Denmark and not more than five in countries like Singapore and even neighbouring Republic of Benin. This accounts for why the nation’s over 40-day cargo dwell time has remained about the highest in the world. The basic fact remains that Nigeria has yet to deploy modern import and export processing equipment that would enhance efficiency and boost revenue. It was probably in realisation of the economic dangers associated with this that the Federal Government in 2006 signed an eight-year Build, Own, Operate and Transfer BOOT, contract with three service providers under the Destination Inspection, DI, scheme. Under the contract, Cotecna, SGS and Global Scansystems would provide the Computerised Risk Management System for all imports into the country as well as provide both fixed and mobile scanners, which were handed over the Nigeria Customs Service at the expiration of the contract. These scanners were abandoned shortly after takeover, as the service resorted to 100 per cent physical examination on over 90 per cent of cargo imports with the attendant waste of time and revenue loss. President of the Council of Managing Directors of Licensed Customs Agents NC-

MDLCA, Mr. Lucky Amiwero , who commented on the total absence of modern trade tools in the country, observed that manual inspection of imports and exports apart posing a great risk to national security, also impedes trade facilitation efforts of the government. He said: “The scanners handed over to Customs have all collapsed, as a result, all processes relating to scanning in the ports are now done physically, bringing us back to complete manual era with lengthy, cumbersome and costly process at the ports”,. Investigations show that it takes less than five minutes to scan a 40-foot container while it takes a minimum of eight hours to do 100 per cent physical examination on the same size of container in addition to labour cost associated with emptying and reloading after the examination. President of National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders NAGAFF, Chief Eugene Nweke, while reacting to the manual nature of customs operations, insisted that the expected speedy clearance of cargo would remain elusive. According to him, the port efficient seaports in the country including those of Singapore, Malaysia, Antwerp, Belgium,

Adeosun among others adopt modern trade tools and equipment, arguing that there are limits to what can be achieved manually in terms of efficiency. “Expectations that Nigeria’s ports will be competitive, userfriendly and achieve reduced cost of doing business will continue to be elusive as long as the relevant agencies still retain their manual and slow method of processing cargo, which is not in tandem with global trade best practice”, he warned. Only recently, five containers of brown beans exported to the Netherlands were returned because the consignment could ne meet international standards. Minister of State for Agriculture, Mr. Heineken Lokpobiri, who inspected the five containers at the Ports and Multiservices Ports Terminal Limited PTML in Apapa, recently said it was a national embarrassment for Nigeria’s exports to be rejected due to poor inspection. The European Union had in reaction to repeated cases of export of Nigeria’s substandard

The days where CusToms opens suiTCases To searCh wiThouT informaTion are over. so, we really need To invesT in equipmenT ThaT CusToms needs To improve iTs performanCe and aCquiring suCh equipmenT should be seen as a form of invesTmenT…

Ali exports due to lack of proper inspection occasioned by the lack of necessary equipment at the ports, placed a blanket ban on such export products. While reacting to last year’s blanket ban placed on the export of Nigeria’s beans into any European nation by the European Union, the Minister said: ““This ban is embarrassing to the country but there is need for the country to put strict measures in place for the future” He also argued that the EU was only concerned about the quality and standard of goods exported into the community, warning that if appropriate measure were not put in place, it might extend such ban to other agricultural products from Nigeria. In what appeared a reaction to all these national embarrassments that the Comptroller General of Customs, Col. Hameed Ali (rtd) told the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun that the service would require not less than N20bn to acquire equipment for cargo inspection at the nation’s airports, seaports and land borders. Some of the equipment listed by the CG are scanners and others that will enhance the functions of the service, as the will ease the operations of officials and boost revenue generation. “These equipment will enhance trade facilitation and the moment; we can make a seamless operation for traders and passengers. They will want to fly from our airports, they will

also want to do business with us and that will improve revenue generation.”, the CG had told the Minister. The CG while justifying the urgent need for these new equipment, insisted that high definition scanners, which are more sophisticated than the ones they inherited from the service providers, adding that it was in the interest of the nation’s economy that modern equipment are deployed for her international trade processes. The Minister, who was at the ports to access the operations of the service, said such assessment had become expedient to evaluate the type equipment at the disposal of the service, which constitutes one of the biggest revenue generating and security agencies of the nation, especially given current realities in the crude oil market. The Minister said: “The days where Customs opens suitcases to search without information are over. So, we really need to invest in equipment that customs needs to improve its performance and acquiring such equipment should be seen as a form of investment because we know that the increase in operational efficiency will invariably boost revenue collection”. It is therefore expected that the Minister will match her words with action, especially given government’s projection of N1.45 trillion revenue in the 2016 budget partly from customs and excise tax.

Business Maritime

Friday, March 18, 2016

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

I am in NIMASA to serve Nigeria, humanity –Peterside T he newly appointed Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency NIMASA, Dr. Dakuku Adolphus Peterside, has said that he came to the agency with the aim to serve the nation in

Amaechi

particular and humanity in general. Peterside, who was appointed Thursday, last week, assumed duty earlier in the week, immediately went into series of closed door meetings with members of the se-

nior management of the agency, promising to bring his wealth of experience to bear on the development of the maritime industry. The new NIMASA CEO, who observed that he was aware that there were competent hands in

Dakuku

Leadership uncertainties stall activities at MAN, Oron STORIES: FRANCIS EZEM

trong indications emerged that there is currently an uneasy calm at the Maritime Academy of Nigeria, MAN, Oron in Akwa Ibom State, following the death and burial of its late rector, Dr. Joshua Okpo. The late rector went to Abuja on the invitation of the National Assembly to defend the academy’s 2016 budget proposal when he died even before the budget defence took place. Only recently, the bursar of the academy, Mr. Folorunso Kayode was allegedly invited and questioned by operatives of the Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department of the Nigeria Police following allegations of N4.5m fraud. But in a quick response, head of media of the academy, Mr. Sidi Nkpandiok, who spoke in a telephone interview, said all was well with the academy, as full operational activities are in full swing after the death of the late CEO. Competent sources hinted that all had not been well with the academy following the decision of FG to appoint Mr. Anayo Ishiodu, a top management official of the academy as the Acting Rector. The source also disclosed that the decision of the Acting Rector to take some drastic policy decisions, which involved the suspension of some senior members of staff, which has given rise to infighting among the top management staff.

It was gathered that most management staff of the premier maritime academy had questioned the choice of the acting rector by the Minister, which is believed to have polarized the executive management the more. Nkpandiok, while dispelling the rumours of the infighting, disclosed that the acting rector had been ill for over three weeks, which has made the registrar of the academy, Mr. M.A. Nkpandiok to stand in for him. According to him, recently, members of the House of Representatives Committee on Maritime, Safety, Education and Administration visited the academy in line with their oversight functions; the registrar was on ground to receive them on behalf of the acting rector. He also disclosed that the members of the committee at the instance of the registrar visited the acting rector at the hospital, an indication that there is no rift among them. On the alleged invitation of the bursar by Police operatives over alleged N4.5million fraud, the image maker, disclosed that there was N2.5 million contract approval by the late rector for the conversion and renovation of some kitchens of the academy, which were converted to one-bed room flats numbering eight, which covers tiling and furnishing among others. It was further gathered that the current management also approved additional N4.5 million for

the completion of the renovation of the eight apartments, shortly before he took ill. Investigations also showed that some staff who were displaced from the kitchens converted to residential apartments had taken the management to the Public Complaints Commission CPC, which directed the management of the academy to address the complaints by the affecting members of staff by relocating them to other places. Nkpandiok, who also confirmed this development, however disclosed that the affected members of staff would have since been resettled but for the ill health of the acting rector. “I do not know where the media is getting these stories of infighting among top management of the academy. There are almost 40 of such top management staff, if one or two of them have a disagreement on an issue, that cannot be interpreted to mean that the entire management staff are at war with one another”, the image maker had argued. He disclosed that there were plans to address the media on some of these issues as well as the policy thrust of the new management but that the acting rector insisted that he would only address the media after the burial of his late boss. It was gathered that the acting rector took ill shortly after the burial of the late rector, which he has yet to recover from at the time of filing this report.

the agency, solicited their support and cooperation as well as those of other stakeholders in his bid to reposition the agency for greater efficiency and productivity. According to him, such improved efficiency and productivity would ultimately bring about the growth and development of the nation’s maritime industry, insisting that he accepted the new job primarily to serve the country and humanity. “I am in NIMASA to serve the nation and humanity and so I am ready to partner all stakeholders with a view to positively impacting the maritime industry and the Nigerian economy at large”, he said emphatically. The Federal Government had Thursday last week appointed Peterside as the Director General of NIMASA for a four year term to replace Mr. Haruna Jauro, who was appointed about s seven months ago on acting capacity. Peterside was at various times the Chairman, Opobo-Nkoro Local Government Area of Rivers State, Senior Special Assistant to the Governor of Rivers State on Works,

Executive Director of Development and Leadership Institute DLI, and Commissioner of Works in Rivers State and was elected in 2011 to represent Andoni/Opobo-Nkoro Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives. He was the governorship candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress in River State in the 2015 general elections, holds a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) degree in Management Sciences (Organisational Behaviour) from the University of Port Harcourt with an MBA in Business Administration and Bachelor Degree in Medical Laboratory Sciences (B.MLS) in Haematology both from the Rivers State University of Science and Technology. The new NIMASA CEO has also attended high level management trainings at prestigious institutions including the Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University, Kellog School of Management Chicago, J. Mark Robinson College of Business AtlantaGeorgia all in the United States as well as the Galilee College in Israel amongst others.

Greek fleet grows despite economic woes

conomic woes at home and abroad have failed to slow the growth of the Greek controlled fleet and today its carrying capacity is larger than ever and seems to be growing. According to the latest annual survey by the London-based Greek Shipping Co-operation GSCC), the size of the Greekowned fleet from March 2015 to February 2016, has risen to 4,092 vessels of 321m dwt, a growth of 6.1m dwt in carrying capacity and 2% in ship numbers, including 347 vessels of various types on order from shipyards. Share of the world fleet in the hands of Greek owners remained virtually identical to last year with 7.6 per cent of ships by number and 13.5 per cent in gt terms, and 15.8 per cent of dwt

compared with 15.9 per cent a year ago. Greek crude oil tanker tonnage increased by more than 1.5m dwt during the period but as a percentage of the world fleet dropped from 26.6 per cent last year to 24.8 per cent. Greek owners posted net increases in tonnage in every sector in which they are active, and with the exception of crude carriers they gained share in terms of the world fleet in the other sectors. “Despite the adverse market conditions, the slight increases and decreases are encouraging,” said the GSCC. “On the one hand, with the exception of the oil tankers, the cargo ship and passenger ship types, present a slight decrease while the other cargo ship types remain almost unchanged.”

Maersk to hike Asia-Northern Europe freight rates

anish liner major Maersk Line plans to raise freight rates from Asia to Northern Europe by $ 400 per 20-foot equivalent unit TEU, from April 1, 2016, the company announced Tuesday. The rate increase will also be introduced on the Far East Asia to Mediterranean service worth $ 500 per TEU, excluding Japan and Syria. The increase would take rates up by 190 percent on the current level, Reuters reports, deeming it as “loss-making.” Maersk follows in the footsteps of its counterparts Med-

iterranean Shipping Company (MSC) and France’s CMA CGM that also announced rate hikes from Asia to Northern Europe worth USD 500 per TEU, taking effect on April 1. The world’s largest container shipping company, Maersk Line, has been affected considerably by the market downturn in the second half of 2015 as the company’s average freight rates dropped by 16 per cent between 2014 and 2015. This resulted in a revenue drop of 13 per cent, which was only partly offset by Main Menu

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business News

Friday, March 18, 2016

Subscribers scramble for Ntel special numbers SEC DG, Gwarzo, re-elected IsaIah ErhIawarIEn

ubscribers are scrambling for the special numbers of the ntel network advertised on the social media by NATCOM, the consortium that bought the moribund Ntel have created a hiccup on the system of the company. A source, within the organisation, told National Mirror that the ambushing of its network by millions of Nigerians who were desperate to register their preferred number is creating serious jobs for the engineers. Although the source did not give further details about the impact of the huge numbers struggling to register across the country at the same time through the link provided, it however assured that the engineers are up to the task. The source disclosed that the company could at the appropriate time issue a statement on that, saying that Ntel is amaze

at the passion of Nigerians for the new brand, Nigeria’s advanced 4G/LTE network operator. Reacting to upsurge in the number of potential subscribers, a legal practitioner, Zika Ngonadi, said that she had made several attempts trying to register her desired number without result while another lover of the brand, Muhammad Aminu, a civil servant in Kaduna State, who successfully registered commended the company. “We hope they will work to serve for the betterment of the Nigerian citizens in global communications”, she projected. While calling for support for Ntel, Mr. Bamigbade Ayotunde, a staff of the Obafemi Awolowo University urged the new operator to be committed to the quest of the consumer noting that it was time the excesses of the foreign network operators are curbed. Under the terms of campaign, the first batch of subscribers

(hundreds of thousands) to reserve their numbers on the network, and subsequently Sim-activate after launch, will be recognised as pioneers on Nigeria’s newest mobile network marking them out as among the first to reap the company’s promise of abundant broadband on it’s pure-play Advanced 4G/LTE network. In his statement announcing the opportunity, Kamar Abass, Chief Executive Officer of Ntel, indicated that the new operator “is a proudly Nigerian company that is fully committed to empowering Nigerians through a technologically advanced pureplay 4G/LTE network.” Abass, who was the former managing director of Ericsson Nigeria said that Ntel will be offering pioneer status to the first batch of subscribers on its network, saying that “those who reserve their numbers, and subsequently SIM-activate with us will be the vanguard of a select corps of privileged subscribers.”

Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Fidelity Bank Plc, represented by the Regional Bank Head, North West, Fidelity Bank Plc, Nasiru Sama teaching Financial Education to students of Hilltop Model School, Minna, Niger State at weekend.

Trade Fair: Coalition of South-South Chamber targets 500 exhibitors OlUfEmI aDEOsUn, ABUJA

ver 500 local foreign exhibitors are expected at the forthcoming, maiden edition of the Coalition of SouthSouth Chamber of Industry, Mines And Agriculture [FOSSCCIMA], trade fair, the Chamber President, Prince Billy Gillis-Harry, has said. The theme of the trade fair is: “Growing the south-south economy to establish enduring peace and security of the region to impact Nigeria” and it is scheduled to hold next month in Port Harcourt. Gillis-Harry said that the fair which would attract different companies from across West Africa to showcase their products is expected to provide jobs for over 250 youths in the area, adding that children are not left out of the fair as over 1000 schools are expected to

participate to showcase their talents He explained: “It is a multisectoral trade fair which will provide an ideal and perfect business matchmaking platform for manufacturers, importers, service providers, traders, investors and visitors to meet and discuss business opportunities. It will showcase products from the manufacturing industries ranging from food and beverages, garments, textiles and fashion accessories, footwear, gifts and decorative items toys, health and beauty products. ``It will also showcase other products which include household and kitchenware, jewelry and stationery, industrial equipment, electronics, communication equipment and accessories to banking and financial products, insurance,” he added

He said that level of interest from the business community towards the forthcoming Trade fair was encouraging despite growing concerns about the rapid decline in our foreign exchange earnings occasioned by the global fall in oil prices. Billy-Harry said projected that over 500 companies from across the country and the West African sub-region, especially those with existing businesses and business interests in the region, would participate at the fair. He said that with the theme of the trade fair in mind, FOSSCCIMA was organizing the ‘Nights of stars’ a talent hunt project to identify, showcase and most importantly, enable potential young change makers from the region to actualize their talent in the now money-spinning Nigerian entertainment industry.

AMERC Chairman

ChIDI UGwU, ABUJA

he Director General of Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mr. Mounir Gwarzo, has been reelected as Chairman of the Africa Middle East Regional Committee (AMERC) of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). The AMERC comprises securities regulators who are IOSCO members within the Middle East and North Africa as well as subSaharan African regions. He would serve for another term of two years. Gwarzo’s re-election demonstrates Nigeria’s growing influence and improved image in the international community as well as a strong indication of the support he enjoys among peer regulators following a successful first tenure. It would be recalled that in February 2015 members of the regional body elected Gwarzo as Chairman of AMERC during their 34th annual meeting in Muscat, Oman to complete the outstanding term of his predecessor. Upon his election, the SEC boss outlined to members his agenda for the regional committee pledging to focus on advancing issues that improve voice, visibility and inclusiveness for African/Middle Eastern markets while working towards more cooperation, especially to boost capacity building and cooperation.

This agenda aims to tackle three major challenges facing the frontier and emerging markets within the AMERC region which are dearth of capacity, inadequate visibility and poor level of integration. The re-election demonstrates members ‘desire to see Gwarzo continue to lead the Committee to keep addressing these challenges. AMERC members had for years been yearning for the inclusion of Arabic as one of the official languages of IOSCO since about 50 per cent of the member countries within the AMERC region are Arabic-speaking nations. Gwarzo promised to vigorously advocate the adoption of Arabic by the IOSCO Board, which would engender greater visibility and participation in IOSCO’s decision-making. He underscored the importance of Arabic-speaking member jurisdictions who regulate capital markets worth trillions of dollars in combined capitalization. This led to the IOSCO Board recent approval the adoption of Arabic as one of its official languages, a decision that pleases countries like Saudi Arabia and the UAE but also elevates the inroads non-interest finance could begin to have on the global financial system. In the area of capacity building, Gwarzo’s first tenure has been resourcefully rewarding as he championed ideas within the IOSCO Board that will enhance the capacity of AMERC markets.

GTB launches MoneyGram’s receive services JOhnsOn OkanlawOn

oneyGram and Guaranty Trust! ban yesterday launched MoneyGram’s receive services across the bank’s networks. A statement by the bank indicated that the service will be available through MoneyGram’s cash to account service. The bank explained that customers in Nigeria can now receive money from friends and family in 129 countries directly into their personal bank accounts within minutes. “These funds can be accessed as customers would normally do on all deposits into their accounts either in person, online or through an Authomated Teller Machine,” the bank said. The Chief Executive Officer of MoneyGram, Mr. Alex Holmes and the bank’s General Manager, Operations Division, Mr. Tayo Asupoto,

made the announcement during a signing ceremony in Lagos. According to them, the remittances are crucial to Nigeria’s economy, as Nigerians living abroad sent more than $21 billion back into the country in 2015. “MoneyGram’s account deposit service makes it easy and convenient for both the sender and the receiver to transfer and receive funds. We are pleased to work with GT Bank and we are proud to be connected to almost 1.5 billion bank accounts in five of the world’s largest remittance receive markets — Nigeria, China, India, Mexico and the Philippines,” said Holmes. “This collaboration with MoneyGram is a reflection of the bank’s commitment to building strategic partnerships that birth innovative financial solutions and provide our customers with a superior banking experience,” said Asupoto.

Business News

Friday, March 18, 2016

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Expert urges banks on long term investments Johnson okanlawon

eposit Money Banks in the country have been urged to make long term investments in infrastructure in order to fasttrack the development of the nation’s economy. The Director General of West African Institute for Financial and Economic Management, Prof. Akpan Ekpo, gave the advised yesterday in Lagos. Ekpo, who was a keynote speaker on the topic,” The Ni-

gerian Economy in Distress: Policy Choices for Buhari Administration,” at the inaugural launching of Centre for Financial Journalism, said that most banks are declaring profits because they did not invest for long term, but short term like treasury bills. According to him, the only way to provide liquidity into the system is for the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to reduce Monetary Policy Rates, MPR, to encourage banks lend to manufacturers, particularly the private sectors.

He explained that the movement of macroeconomics variables such as the rates of inflation and unemployment, lending rates, growth in Gross Domestic Products, GDP, and investments/GDP ratio as well as deficit/GDP ratio would suggest whether an economy is performing satisfactorily or not. “In addition, indices like money supply/GDP, credit to the private sector/GDP, capacity utilization would indicate the performance of the financial sector.

“In certain instances, the macroeconomic management includes the strength of the financial sub-sector which is perceived to be the hub of any economy,” he added. On the policy choices for Buhari administration, he said investments in power, particularly would enhance growth and generate employment, creates new micro and small scale industries as well as sustaining the existing ones.

2016 World Water Day to focus on economic growth –FG Regina otokpa, AbujA

L-R: Managing Director/CEO, Mobil Oil Nigeria, Mr. Tunji Oyebanji; President, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Chief Dr. Mrs. Nike Akande; Executive Vice Chairman, Techno Oil Nigeria; Managing Director, Petrowest Energy Resources, Mr. Reginald Stanley and Chairman, LCCI Petroleum Downstream Group, Mr. Ken Abazie during a Business Clinic on Petroleum Downstream on Tuesday in Lagos.

Union Bank upgrades branches, assures improved services ebeRe ndukwu

n its bid to ensure simpler and smarter banking system for its customers, Union Bank Plc has upgraded its branches in different parts of the country. Unveiling the new system in Owerri, Imo state, the Executive Director, Corporate Banking, Emeka Okonkwo, said the new package would afford customers quality, reliable and secured effective services. “We are here to formerly unveil our newly-upgraded branches, which are part of our transformation journey. The journey started two years ago and we want to assure our customers that we are a simpler and smarter bank. We have refurbished over 60 branches across the country and a lot has gone into the innovative propositions we are offering’’, he said. The transformation of the

bank, according to him, is in response to customers’ desire and commitment to serve its customers better. The bank’s Transformation Director, Joe Mbulu, urged customers to partner with the bank in utilizing e-banking platforms, saying that customers can do banking transactions from the comfort of their homes, using computers and mobile devices with Union online as well as mobile banking platforms. Assuring customers of fast, secure and convenient banking services, Mbulu said the ebanking platforms were created to make banking simpler and smarter for customers to ensure that they have more time to engage in those things that matter most to them. Commenting on the new platform, the Deputy Vice Chancellor, Imo State University, Rev. Professor Jerome Okonkwo said the bank has been resilient

and reliable even in the face of the storm. He said: “The bank has survived great storm and we thank them for being so reliable and now has become simpler and smarter.” Briefing newsmen, the Executive Director and Chief Risk Officer of the bank, Kandolo Kasongo said the transformation of the bank is an evidence of good things to come. “As you can see, there is a difference between what you see today and what was here before. We present a simpler, smarter bank. Beside the ambience being more comfortable for our customers, it also demonstrates the fact that we have invested in technology. “Customers can come in and come out in short time; get attended to with more improved services, and at the same time (we) have a brand identity that is more vibrant than we had before,” Kasongo added.

He noted that the release of the fund for infrastructure in the 2016 budget would enhance liquidity in the system. Ekpo, who said that relevant macroeconomic and social indices show that the Nigerian economy is in distress, noted that the high rates of unemployment combined with reduced output in two quarters of 2015 suggest an economy in the sphere of stagflation, a prelude to recession.

he Federal Government has disclosed that this year’s World Water Day scheduled to start next week would focus on sustainable economic growth. A statement released by the Director of Information, Ministry of Water Resources, Mrs. Margaret Imoh, indicated that the theme for the celebration ‘Water and Jobs’ would help to proffer future solutions to water related issues with a focus on the role of water in creating an enabling environment for quality jobs and livelihood. Imoh stated: “The Federal Government of Nigeria is set to mark the 2016 World Water Day. It is an annual event celebrated all over the world on every 22nd of March. . “In 1993, the United Nations General Assembly designated 22 March as the first World Water Day. 23 years on, World Water Day is celebrated around the world every year,

shining the spotlight on a different issue. It’s a day to celebrate water. It’s a day to make a difference for the members of the global population who suffer from water related issues. It’s a day to prepare for how we manage water in the future. “This year’s World Water Day theme is: Water and jobs, it focuses on the central role that water plays in creating and supporting good quality jobs. Also, it focuses on how enough quantity and quality of water can change workers’ lives and their livelihoods and to transform societies and the nation’s economies”, she added. Imoh explained further that there would be a sensitisation walk anchored by the minister, Engr. Suleiman Adamu and the Permanent Secretary, Mrs. Rabi Jimetta to flag off the day’s activities on Monday from the Federal Secretariat to the headquarters of National Television Authority by 8 a.m

Quadrant partners MSL Group on strategic marketing

ublicis Groupe has announced an equity partnership with the communications arm of The Troyka Group, the first wholly integrated marketing communications service provider in West Africa, including a total of six agencies. The agencies are, Insight Communications, The Thinkshop, All Seasons Media, Media Perspectives, The Quadrant Company, and Hotsauce. The Quadrant Company, Nigeria’s first full-service public relations agency, will align with MSL Group, the Publicis Group’ss strategic communications and engagement consultancy, and will operate under the name of

Quadrant MSLGROUP with Bolaji Okusaga remaining as managing director. With 40 employees in Lagos, Nigeria, Quadrant MSLGROUP offers specialist services in the West African region. In 2012 it was honoured as the Holmes Report Sabre Awards African PR Consultancy of the Year. The move further cements the MSLGROUP’s ambitions in Africa and strengthens its presence and capabilities in West Africa specifically. The Quadrant Company has worked together with us and our Publicis Groupe sister agencies for a number of years, and as such this is a natural next step.

Friday, March 18, 2016

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Cashew farmers seek improved funding to boost forex earnings StorieS: AbolAji AdebAyo

he President, National Cashew Association of Nigeria, NCAN, Pastor Babatola Faseru, has declared that the cashew industry required about N100 billion to fund production and boost foreign earning potential of the industry. Speaking at the just concluded National Cashew Festival Awards in Ilorin, Faseru said Nigeria needed to increase its cashew production, provide high-yielding seedlings to farmers and offer mechanization support. He noted that cashew currently catered for the living expenses of over 300,000 families in Nigeria, with 175,00 tonnes estimated as the annual production figure. Referring to the export performance of the industry, Faseru pointed out that the foreign exchange earned by the country through cashew kernels, cashew nut shells, liquids and allied products last year was put at $253 million. According to him, Nigeria remains the sixth largest cashew producer after Cote d’Ivoire, India, Vietnam, Tanzania and Guinea Bissau. He said, however, that the cashew industry has many challenges, which have been threatening its development. These include shrinking of cultivation areas and unstable outputs. The cashew farmer and agric businessman noted that ageing trees and abnormal weather patterns have decreased yields, and many growers prefer other crops for higher profits, thereby reducing the area of cultivation of the nut. To solve these problems, he said a smart strategy needed to be deployed to enable the industry develop in a sustainable manner in the coming years. Faseru urged the government to support farmers in planting new cashew trees to replace old ones, make policies that encourage firms investing in deep processing, and strengthen inspection of exports. Modern technologies and equipment, he advocated, should also be used. According to him, the farmers plan to increase the volume of fully processed nuts to satisfy the requirements of customers, add more value, and boost domestic consumption. He underscored the association’s cashew value chain programme, which targets raising the value of exports, promoting consumption both in the domestic and foreign markets and building brands for the country’s cashew products. For the programme to be implemented from this year to 2020, to achieve the target of 500,000 tonnes, he urged the government to support the cashew industry to boost its economic growth.

He further appeal to the government to create the enabling environment to attract investments that would allow the sector to take advantage of the opportunities created by rising global and domestic demand, adding that the government should al-

locate sufficient funds and put forward necessary schemes to increase production of cashew nut. Considering Nigeria’s stake in global cashew trade, Faseru requested the government to do more in ensuring the country’s leadership in the world

market. He therefore called on domestic cashew businesses to ensure quality control and stick to delivery dates, and for producers to use sound cultivation techniques to improve the quality of nuts.

From left; The Vice President Africa Region of the World Bank, Mr. Mukhtar Diop, the Honourable Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh and the Country Director for Nigeria, Mr. Rachid Benmoussad during a meeting between the World Bank team and the ministry in Abuja.

Nigeria’s livestock feed production ranks 40th globally

s part of evidence that Nigeria has improved drastically in animal feeds and livestock production, ALLTECH Global Feed Ranking Report for 2015 rated Nigeria’s animal feed sector as the 40th in the world; moving 11 steps forward from its previous ranking of 51 out of 130 leading animal feeds countries in the world. Nigeria is estimated to have produced 3.8 million metric tons (MT) of animal feeds in 2014. According to the Chief Executive Officer, Nigeria Institute of Animal Science, Dr. Oyedele Oyediji, the country has significantly improved in the livestock sector between 2014 and 2015; particularly in the area of aquaculture production. Oyediji, who disclosed this, said in the poultry meat sector, the Nigeria Customs Service has succeeded in curtailing smuggled frozen poultry meat into the country through land borders. He said Nigeria was now rated as one of the largest emerging animals feeds producers in the world with a better opportunity to penetrate the international animal feeds export market. “Nigerian animal feed productions estimates are obtained from statistics computed by the Nigerian Institute of Animal Science, (NIAS, and are made available to local and international organizations for planning and business purposes. Nigeria, through the Nigerian Institute of Animal Science, is a mem-

ber of the FAO/IFIF International Feed Regulators Meeting, IFRM,” he said. The industry expert said that NIAS statistics in 2015 showed that Nigeria hit 5.3 million MT of animal feeds as it produced 3.2million MT of egg; 1.1million MT of chicken meat, 647,750million MT of aquaculture, 265,000million MT of Pork, 53,000million MT of milk and 41,250million MT of beef among others. In addition, he hinted that at the coming 5th Global Food and Feed Congress to be held in Antalya, Republic of Tur-

key in April 2016, Nigeria will be presenting a report of the International Feed Industry Federation (IFIF), Global Animal Nutrition Train – the trainer program- that was sponsored by IFIF in Lagos, 2015. Oyediji also explained that technical capacity was built for the Nigerian feed industry in 2015 by the International Feed Industry Federation on the implementation of the FAO/Codex code of practice on good animal feeding.

FG tasks ECOWAS member-countries RCoE Action Plan implementation

s ECOWAS decision makers and head of national institutions of the National Centres of Specialization (NCoS) of the West Africa Agricultural Productivity Programme, WAAPP, converged in Abuja to deliberate on a regional action plan for the transformation of the NCoS, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Shehu Ahmed, has charged delegates to match their words with actions. He reminded them that days were gone when Africa countries would attend workshops and failed in the implementation of the outcomes.

Ahmed, who was represented by the Director of Agriculture in the ministry, Mr. Babatunde Azeez, urged ECOWAS member countries to improve the institution and governance of the Regional Central of Excellence (RCoE) if the region is to compete favorably in this era of rapid economic and technological change He said the centres did not only require capital investment but appropriate mechanisms for institutional and governance of the centre must be put in place and advised the delegates not to treat the workshop like other workshops which achieved no positive results.

South West

Friday, March 18, 2016

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Ekiti Assembly expresses fear over safety ...drags DSS to NHRC Doosuur Iwambe ABUJA

embers of Ekiti State House of Assembly, yesterday, expressed fear over the safety of some of their members, who they alleged are currently being detained in the custody of the Department of State Security Services, DSS. Speaking yesterday during a visit to the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, office to submit a protest letter to Executive Secretary of the commission, Professor Bem Angwe, the assembly members said it was unfortunate that their members have been arrested without being charged to court as required by law. While lamenting that the arrest of their members has affected the work of the house, the lawmakers wondered why a nation will be run like a banana republic in a democratic setting. The lawmakers led by Deputy Speaker, Segun Adewumi, who was accompanied by Dr. Samuel Omotosho, Chairman, House Committee on Health, and Gboyega Aribisogan, House Committee on Information, urged the commission to come to the aid of Ekiti State House of Assembly and defend their rights. Omotosho, who spoke on behalf of other members, said their arrest have affected the work of the house. ‘’This commission should rise and defend the rights of these persons. “The DSS is a creation

of the law and should not behave as if it is above the law by disobeying the law that created it. ‘’We are not in a banana republic where anybody can do anything and get away with it. “As it is now, we don’t know where they are kept. Their family members are worried and they have remained incommunicado. We have asked if they are dead and nobody is talking to us. The right to life and human dignity of our colleagues are being threatened. “Arresting and detaining them without charging them to court is a breach of their fundamental human rights,’’ Omotosho said. In the petition before the commission, they accused the Federal Government of plan to arrest and intimidate lawmakers in the state to submission. According to them, the arrest and detention is to silence the voice of oppositions in the state. ‘’The DSS invaded the House of Assembly on March 4, 2016 and arrested four lawmakers. “They can’t be reached by their family members and their colleagues. No charge has been preferred against them,’’ he said. Meanwhile, Mr. Lambert Okpara, who received the petition on behalf of the chairman of the commission, promised to act swiftly on the petition and investigate the allegation contain therein. “We will look into the petition and act on the complaints. We will also invite you to substantiate the allegation raised in the petition”.

L-R: Olubadan of Ibadan, Oba Saliu Adetunji; representative of Ooni of Ife, His Royal Majesty Adebowale Olafare and Oyo State Deputy Governor, Moses Alake, at the 2016 Ibadan Day Festivals. PHOTO: ABIOLA ABDULHAMMED.

Ambode re-opens Mile 12 market

FrancIs suberu

ollowing a meeting and agreement reached with stakeholders involved in the operation of Mile 12 market, which was closed early this month due to clashes, the Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, has ordered immediate re-opening of the market. According to a statement released by Mr Steve Ayorinde, Commissioner for Information & Strat-

egy, the re-opening was as a result of the outcome of stakeholders meeting held between market men/women, traditional leaders in the community, residents and community development associations. Some of the major agreements arrived at with a consensus among the various stakeholders include: relocation of the market to another suitable location as the existing market can no longer contain the traders. The leaders and traders also consented to ban on the use of commercial mo-

ice President Yemi Osinbajo (SAN), and Minister for Power, Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola (SAN), will join other eminent Nigerians to unveil Professor Ben Nwabueze’s (SAN) new project and legacy, Ben Nwabueze Centre for Studies in Constitutional Law and Related Subjects.

The centre, which will be launched on Thursday, March 24, at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, NIIA, Victoria Island, Lagos, will birth with the topic ‘The Code of Conduct enshrined in the Constitution of Nigeria and its crucial importance in the fight against corruption’ with a subsidiary topic ‘the adequacy or otherwise of the Statute Laws on Corruption’. Thecentre’sExecutiveDirec-

was shut by the governor on March 3, 2016, after a clash between residents and okada operators in Mile 12 area. Ayorinde further stated that stakeholders agreed it is only in an atmosphere of peace that their various businesses and trades can thrive. He assured that Lagos is a home for all, and the state government will continue to provide the enabling environment for every investor to thrive, as the promise of the governor to run a 24/7 economy is sacrosanct.

…asks Nigerians to stand against corruption FrancIs suberu

agos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, has called on all Nigerians to join President Muhammadu Buhari in fighting corrup-

tion. Speaking through Chairman of Lagos State Universal Basic Education Board, Dr Ganiyu Oluremi Sopeyin, on Wednesday at Lagos Island Club public interest symposium on how to fight and win cor-

Osinbajo, Fashola to speak at Nwabueze Centre unveiling ebere nDukwu

torcycle popularly called Okada as a means of commercial transportation in the area. Other resolutions reached include peaceful co-existence among all ethnic groups in the market and environs, removal of all shanties and illegal attachments/structures within the market area, market operation to be confined within the market and no street trading as well as maintaining a clean and hygienic environment. It would be recalled that the Mile 12 market

tor will be Adaeze Nwabueze, the founder’s daughter and a legal practitioner. Nwabueze, who disclosed this at a press briefing in Lagos yesterday, said the aim of the centre was to enlighten and educate the public, legislators, judicial officers and politicians on the importance of the constitution and the rule of law in promoting the administration of justice and government in Nigeria. According to him, the cen-

tre will be a non-government and non-partisan organisation with a vision to achieve its aims through series of conferences, lectures, training programmes and awards. While maintaining that his hope for a strong and united society is everlasting, the legal luminary said he remains optimistic that despite the challenges facing the country today, “that Nigeria will one day achieve its status as an iconic state.”

ruption, the governor noted that the fight against corruption must be a collective effort, including the civil society. According to him, institutional analysis of corruption indicates where the remedies lie, adding that greater transparency, accountability and meritbased human resource management in public administration are principles, which if implemented, make it possible to curb corruption. “It is important that our institutions are strengthened to sustain the capacity to identify acts of corruption and ensure that people who indulge in or benefit from such acts are made to face the wrath of the law.” Furthermore, “it is

also very important that we must as a people who bear the consequences of corruption, take firm position against corruption. We must demand accountability, transparency and probity from those we have given the responsibility to manage our common wealth,” he said. He stressed further that all Nigerians must play their roles as expected, genuinely and patriotically if our nation must join the league of developed countries that are committed to the socio-economic wellbeing of their citizenry. He emphasised that we all need to do more in terms of sacrifice which would spur our nation on the path of corrupt-free society and sustainable development.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

South East

Friday, March 18, 2016

Imo bans heavy duty trucks within Okigwe Chris Njoku Owerri

mo State government yesterday banned heavy duty trucks plying Okigwe Local Government Area and OkigweOwerri road, respectively, following constant road accidents in the area. Issuing the ban, Secretary to the State Government, SSG, Sir Jude Ejiogu, noted with dismay the activities of heavy duty truck drivers in the council area, which he said have claimed lives of many innocent citizens due to careless driving. Following reports on this

issue, he said in a statement made available to National Mirror that the state government has decided to ban movement of tankers, trailers, tippers and other heavy duty trucks within Okigwe town and environs with immediate effect. In the light of this, the state government warned operators of these vehicles to use alternative routes, and stop packing along the Enugu-Okigwe-Umuahia expressway to avoid road accidents, as government would not hesitate to impound vehicles packed in any such unauthorised places.

Another 2 killed as Ebonyi, C’River communal crisis resumes AliuNA GodwiN AbAkAliki

o fewer than two persons, one Mr. Elijah Nomeh, and Mr. Agashi Onuenyim, were yesterday reported killed by suspected warriors of Adadama in Abi Local Government Area of Cross River State, who invaded Ochienyim community in Ikwo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, following a resurgence of communal crisis. It was gathered that the fresh attack on the people of Ikwo resulted in burning down 10 houses with properties worth millions of naira carted away, while more than 150 persons were also displaced following attack on the people of Ochienyim community, which had lingered for many years. Addressing newsmen on the attack of the community, a youth leader and relation to one of the deceased, Mr. Samuel Nomeh, said at about 9am, some militants numbering over 20, fully armed with sophisticated weapons, invaded their community, shooting sporadically, burning houses and carting away properties of the people of Ochienyim. “This is the fourth in the series of attacks by the people of Adadama community against our people since the Assistant Inspector General of Police, AIG in-charge of Zone 6, called a meeting of the two communities and advised a ceasefire. “On February 17, 2016, the people of Adadama invaded

our community with dangerous weapons but fortunately nobody was killed. We reported the invasion to the police. On the 19th, they also invaded our community but we were able to resist them, because of the appeal of the AIG. We usually report the matter to him and usually we get assurance that such would not happen again; but to the surprise of many, on March 8, 2016, they came in shooting and burnt six houses that fateful day. “While we were still trying to recover from the shock of the invasion, they invaded our community again, killing two persons, burnt 10 houses, looted our livestock and household appliances and displaced more than 150 persons, especially women and children.” Mr. Nomeh further recalled that on October 24, 2015, the militants also attacked the community, shot a police officer, burnt 20 houses and abducted some persons from the community. He accused some top government officials in Cross River State of sponsoring the militant, arguing that the type of sophisticated weapons the militants were brandishing could not be accessed from an open market. Another displaced victim and a mother of seven who is currently taking refuge in a primary school building with her children, Mrs. Mary Ogeji, regretted that in all the attacks, the people of the community have remained calm, hoping that the relevant authorities would come to their rescue.

L-R: Senior Director, Macro Economics and Fiscal Management, Mr. John Panzer; Country Director for Nigeria, Mr. Rachid Benmessaoud; Vice President Yemi Osinbajo; Vice President, World Bank African Region, Mr. Makhtar Diop and IFC Country Manager for Nigeria, Ms Eme Essien, after a meeting at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, yesterday. PHOTO:STATE HOUSE

Imo sets up committee to tackle illegal child adoption, trafficking Chris Njoku Owerri

mo State Deputy Governor, Prince Eze Madumere, has expressed worry over mounting irregularities in the process of child adoption in the state. Following the development, the state government yesterday set up a 10-man committee to investigate the anomalies. Inaugurating the Committee on Modification of Child Adoption Procedure in his office, Prince Madumere said the objective of the committee was to ensure there is absolute respect for dignity of human life and promotion of a responsible society. Madumere disclosed that the committee was set up as a result of petitions and complaints from members of the public, indicating staggering irregularities in the process of child adoption in the state. He said the complaints were even more worrisome following the global trend in child trafficking and other related problems associated with human trafficking and slavery. He, however, regretted that the first response of the government in the face of real threat to the dignity of human beings led to temporary suspension of child adoption in the state.

Okoroacha According to him, the intention of government is to ensure the security and safety of children involved in the transaction to ensure that unscrupulous elements in the business are checked, apprehended and chased out of the state. Continuing, he stressed that the administration of Governor Rochas Okorocha is not limited to building infrastructure but also the security of life and property as well as restoration of societal values. He expressed gratitude to Governor Okorocha for approving the request by the Ministry of Health, Social Development and Women Affairs to set up the committee to critically look at the whole idea of adoption and ensure that its success is beneficial to the society at large. The deputy governor

also recalled with regrets the unfortunate stories of make-shift homes where unlicensed medical personnel assembled young girls and encouraged them to get pregnant for cash and bear children who would eventually be sold in the name of adoption. He further charged the committee to forestall all the irresponsible fall-outs and ensure that couples who are genuinely in need of children to adopt are identified, properly screened and served. He emphasised that strict attention must be paid to the welfare of the child and his future. He therefore urged the committee to ascertain the root cause of the widespread anomalies associated with child adoption and proffer solutions; review subsisting applications and determine their genuineness or otherwise; make recommendations on the best methods to ensure that adoption laws are not violated; and make recommendations on ways to strengthen existing legal framework on adoption in Imo State, among other recommendations. Prince Madumere also advised the members to be free to co-opt other persons who they deem fit to assist them to discharge their duties effectively.

Members of the committee are Bishop Stanford Nwogu, president of the Christian Association of Nigeria as chairman; Commissioner for Health, Social Development and Women Affairs, Mrs. Ngozi Njoku, is the secretary; chairman of Red Cross, Imo State, Prince Keke Chima; Taiwo Frederick Lakanu, Commissioner of Police, Imo State; commandant of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps, Imo State; Attorney General of Imo State; Udechukwu Chukwu of NAPTIP; Chief Orikeze Ajumbe, Commissioner for Internal Resources, chairman of the Nigeria Bar Association, Owerri Branch, Comrade Obinna Aharanwa; and principal secretary to the deputy governor of Imo State, Mrs. Adaugo are members. Responding, Bishop Nwogu thanked Governor Okorocha and his deputy, for finding them worthy to serve the state especially to deliver on such a sensitive responsibility. He commended the state government for being responsive to the challenge to curb the anomalies in the procedures of adoption, which he said would have ruined the state.

South South

Friday, March 18, 2016

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Wike alleges plot to arrest Rivers PDP chairman

.Says party will sweep re-run poll Dennis naku

Port Harcourt

ivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, has alleged moves by the police to arrest Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the state, Chief Felix Obuah, 48 hours to the re-run elections.

He said such move was politically motivated and aimed at giving advantage to the party’s main opposition, the All Progressives Congress, APC. The governor also said

by declaring the Caretaker Committee Chairman of Asari-Toru Local Government Area, Sabomabo Jackrich, wanted, few days to the elections, the police may have been influenced by political considerations. Speaking in Port Harcourt on Thursday during a radio phone-in programme, Wike said the planned politically motivated arrest of the PDP chairman will be resisted by the people. He said the police high

command brought in policemen from Abuja to disobey court order restraining security agencies from arresting PDP leaders before the elections. He said he had given the security agencies all the logistics support required for the elections as Chief Security Officer of the state, pointing out that the security agencies have a duty to work within the confines of the law. “Today, we received

information that policemen from Abuja are in the state to arrest the PDP state chairman. If the police want to arrest PDP leaders 48 hours to the election, the action is simply politically motivated,” he said. He described as unfortunate reports credited to President Muhammadu Buhari on the violence in Rivers State, noting that the president never contacted him for explanation on the security situation in the state. The governor said PDP was prepared for

the rerun elections, but the APC and the Federal Government are not prepared as they are merely interested in antics that would not work. On the petition written by Rivers State Government to embassies of 50 countries, Wike said it was a confirmation of the readiness of the PDP to participate in credible polls. He said already the United States, Britain and Canada amongst other countries have requested meetings with him on the issue. He added that the government has uncovered

plans by some politically motivated individuals to ensure that card readers fail in parts of the state, especially in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area. Wike said that PDP will win the rerun elections because the party started preparing since December last year when the elections were nullified by the court of Appeal. He said: “APC cannot win any elections in Rivers State. Do a local government by local government analysis and you will understand why the people prefer the PDP.”

Navy warns oil thieves, sea pirates

…intensifies waterways patrols By eBiowei L awaL

igerian Navy has vowed to intensify operations and tackle all forms of economic crimes in the waterways of the Niger Delta as the command resolved to fight any acts of illegality in its operational domains.

Bayelsa State Governor Seriake Dickson (left) congratulating Mr. Ebarakumo Otobo (right) shortly after being inaugurated as Coordinator of Bayelsa State Volunteers at Government House, Yenagoa, yesterday.

Amaechi faults Wike’s 2-day public holiday Dennis naku,

Port Harcourt

inister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has faulted the two-day public holidays declared by the Rivers State Governor, Barrister Nyesom Wike in the state.

Amaechi said the public holidays involving private interests such as banks and businesses was an illegality. Wike in a state broadcast on Wednesday said the work-free days was to enable workers and residents travel to their respective local government areas to vote. But Amaechi in a similar broadcast on Thursday said the work-free days was extended to banks and other private concerns. He said, “The Rivers

State government has declared a two-day ‘public holiday’, for Thursday and Friday. To this effect, the state government has directed non-Rivers State Government establishments and institutions such as banks, businesses and schools to ensure compliance. “It is, however, sad to note that the state government is extending the public holidays to private institutions. This, from the constitutional point of view, is an illegality, which clearly shows that the incumbent governor has neither regard for the people nor care for their well being. “This flows from the sudden declaration of a two-day public holiday without considering the attendant economic hardships and consequences it would inflict on the peo-

ple and the state, respectively,” Amaechi said. He, however, said the people now “have a chance to vote and your vote will count, choose wisely, vote APC” in this Saturday’s re-run poll. The minister recalled that” last time the elections were held, members of the All Progressives

Congress, APC, were brazenly, crudely and violently prevented from exercising their inalienable rights to elect those they wanted. “Those same characters and forces that stole our votes by violently denying us the right to vote the last time are at it again.

The Navy also regretted that economic crimes such as pipeline vandalism, crude oil thefts and sea pirates have not only led to significant loss in revenue accruable to government, but have also led to damage of strategic oil installations, thereby impacting negatively on Nigeria’s economy and security. Speaking shortly after the end of its three days operation, Codenamed “Exercise Projector”, Flag Officer Com-

Delta Assembly suspends council chairman for misconduct

elta State House of Assembly on Thursday suspended Mrs Nkechi Chukwurah, Chairman, Ndokwa East Local Government Council, for a period of three months over alleged misconduct. The suspension of the council chairman was sequel to a motion moved by Mr Azuka Azaka, lawmaker representing Ndokwa

West constituency during plenary in Asaba. Azaka said the motion was in line with Section 31 of Delta State Local Government Law 2013 as amended. ``I move that this House suspend Mrs Nkechi Chukwurah for a period of three months with immediate effect. `` Vice Chairman of the council is expected to take

over as acting chairman to ensure peace and order in the local government. ``The three months suspension of the chairman will also enable the House Committee on Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs to carry out thorough investigation of the alleged impeachment notice against the chairman,’’ he said.

manding, Central Naval Command, CNC, Rear Admiral Apochi Suleiman, said the navy was capable of demystifying the creeks and would suppress the miscreants. “There shall be no hideouts for these miscreants anymore in our operational domain.” He noted that Nigeria has over the years been confronted with challenges of curbing illegal oil bunkering, pipeline vandalism in Niger Delta communities. On the exercise conducted by the command, the FOC said, ‘’it is a choke point strategy in accordance with the directives of the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ibok Ete Ibas, to degrade the miscreants and their hideouts. Rear Admiral Suleiman said its objectives was to conduct a riverine operation within its areas of operations including creeks and hideouts of suspected criminals. The exercise, he said, will suppress the activities of the criminals because their actions dwindles our economy and also impacts on individuals and properties. Suleiman insisted that the operation will equally reduced the criminal activities in the country and increase the revenue base of the nation

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

North

Friday, March 18, 2016

Kogi judiciary holds valedictory service to honour Ocholi …Bello, CJ, Ohinoyi, Iziyon others eulogise late minister Wale ibrahim LOKOJA

ogi State judiciary has held a valedictory court session in honour of the late Minister of State for Labour and Productivity, James Eneojo Ocholi, who died with his wife and son in a ghastly motor accident at Kaduna-Abuja highway penultimate Sunday. Chief Judge of Kogi State, Justice Nasiru Ajanah, has formerly granted order of leave to release corpses of the Ocholis to their family for burial, sequel to an application filed by way of motion by Mr. Olorungbogun, acting solicitor general of the state. He stated that the motion on notice was brought in pursuant to inherent jurisdiction of the court. The motion sought an order of the court to grant release of the corpse of Mr. Ocholi to family members for committal to mother earth. Olorunbogun pointed out that the application was supported by a 20-paragraph affidavit deposed to by E. O. Akpan of Ocholi Chambers and in compliance with order 40, Rule 1 of the High Court civil pro-

cedure rule with one issue for determination. Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, described the late Ocholi as one who was never afraid to die, adding that the late minister would be remembered for the legacies he left behind. He described him as a legend and living icon who succeed early in Life. Bello pledged to immortalise him and his wife, adding that the state government would be close to the family he left behind. In his tribute, Justice Ajanah stated that everything Ocholi achieved was through dint of hard work. “Where do I start from? It was way back in October 1991, after the new states were created that I met this young lawyer. I had just been posted to Ankpa in Kogi State as resident High Court judge. Most of the cases before me then were being handled by Ocholi. The dedication, industry and professionalism with which he handled the cases marked him out as special breed. Whether he won or lost any of his cases you knew that he worked hard and presented the facts and ex-

PHCN, others evade N300m tax in Benue henry iyorkase MAKURDI

hairman of Benue State Internal Revenue Service, BIRS, Mrs. Mimi Adzape Orubibi, has raised the alarm over tax evasion by the Power Holding Company of Nigeria, PHCN, and others, amounting to about N300 million. Mrs. Orubibi, who spoke with National Mirror yesterday in Makurdi, said other organisations that evaded the remittance of tax to the state include Benue State University, Federal University of Agriculture, as well as some commercial banks operating in the state. She said concerted efforts were being made to recover the debts from the organisations but their body language shows they are not disposed to remitting the cumulative tax to the state’s treasury. She, however, stated that

failure to remit the funds would give the commission no other alternative than to apply the existing law with a view to garnishing their accounts. “In order to augment the efforts of the state government, we have put in motion every machinery towards ensuring that these funds are recovered; come rain or sunshine they must cough out the funds,” she said.

Williams attah GOMBE

onsidering rising cases of acute malnutrition in Gombe State, a high-powered advocacy team from the Federal Ministry of Budget and National Planning in Abuja and Save the Children, last week spent four days in the state meeting major stakeholders to push for concerted actions to be taken to save dying children. According to leader of

pressed opinions as only a professional would. “It was very apparent that he was cut out for a small environment like Ankpa. “Our solace lies in the fact that it is not how long a person has lived on this earth but what legacy he left behind. Ocholi lived a

pious and fulfilled life. He was a true to himself and his creator,” he stressed. Chief Alex Iziyon who represented the league of SANs, described late Ocholi as man of honour and integrity, adding that he has adopted what the league put together as service of son in Abuja.

In an emotion laden speech, Iziyon queried: “Where were the soothsayers who warned Julius Ceaser not to come to Capitol. Why have the soothsayers not warn Ocholi about the idels of March and warned him not to travel to Kaduna?” Also speaking, J. K. Gadzama who represented the Class of 1986 Law School, described the late

Ocholi as very brilliant lawyer who was passionate and dedicated about his profession. Speaking on behalf of Kogi State Traditional Council, its vice president, the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland, Alhaji Ado Ibrahim, described late Minister of State as a man with voice of wisdom, noting that he left behind an indelible mark on the sand of time.

L-R: Acting Managing Director, Bank of Industry,BoI, Mr Waheed Olagunju; Kaduna State Governor, Nasir el Rufai and Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Dr. Okechukwu Enelamah, during the launch of Youth Entrepreneurship Programme in Abuja, yesterday. PHOTO: ROTIMI OSASONA

Niger repatriates 300 illegal immigrants Priscilla Dennis MINNA.

iger State Command of the Nigerian Immigration Service has arrested no fewer than 300 illegal immigrants, who flooded the state without proper travel documents. Parading the irregular immigrants at the state command, Comptroller of Immigration in Minna, Mr. David Adi, revealed that most of those arrested are from Niger Republic and other coun-

tries. Idi told newsmen that initially about 500 persons were arrested, but after conducting a screening exercise, it was discovered that 300 of them are illegal immigrants, who have no travel documents, hence the need to repatriate them back to their countries. The comptroller, who assumed charge of the Niger command last month, explained that when he assumed office, he noticed the presence of a large number

of illegal immigrants and immediately swung into action to rid the state of them. He hinged the success of the exercise on intelligence work done by his officers in Chanchaga, Bosso, Kotangora, Bida, Suleja and Paiko local government areas of the state, adding that “we have arrested over 500 persons out of which 300 are illegal immigrants. “Most of the people misinterpreted the provisions of the ECOWAS protocol which stipulates that mem-

bers of a community or a country can come into Nigeria. Now, the law at the same time said they must have their travel documents, and must come in through approved entry points. They must also have visible means of livelihood. “But, what we are seeing is that most of these people do not have travel documents; some of them just hold nylon bags and come into the country. For goodness sake, if security is compromised, how do we get such people?”

Stakeholders warn Dankwabo over 42.9% acute malnutrition rate in Gombe the team, who is deputy director in charge of food and nutrition in the Federal Ministry of Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Roselyn Gabriel, the case of acute malnutrition in Gombe State, which is at a rate of 42.9 per cent, is alarming and very unacceptable. She said an aggressive approach must be used in addressing malnutrition in the state if the future of

children in the state is to be assured. This is apart from the plump nuts that are being used in three local government areas of the state. “Stunting is what is actually used to assess malnutrition rate of any community. As it is in Gombe State, it is 42.9 per cent, which is very high and I must be very honest with you that an aggressive approach must be used in

addressing malnutrition,” Mrs. Roselyn said. During the advocacy visit, the team took its advocacy to the Mai Kaltungo, Engr. Saleh Mohammed, the acting Secretary to the State Government, SSG, the state House of Assembly as well as some health facilities and other ministries to advocate practical attention for malnutrition in Gombe State.

The traditional ruler said lack of basic amenities in his area like good roads are denied his people, especially women, from assessing health facilities. “We have very difficult terrain; we lose a lot of women especially during child birth; my people are just fighting for their survival; but I will keep on talking to the government,” he added.

44 44

Friday, March 18, 2016

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

I’ll always remember Ocholi for his loyalty –Buhari Rotimi Fadeyi ABUJA

resident Muhammadu Buhari yesterday said the late Minister of State for Labour and Employment, James Ocholi, was loyal to Nigeria, the All Progressives Congress, APC, and the present administration in which he had served for just about four months before he died. In his tribute to the late minister, which he personally signed, Buhari said Ocholi was one of his right hand men in the quest to reposition the country and fashion a land of peace and prosperity, where no man is oppressed. “How do I begin to pay this tribute to a man who was the epitome of civility, the archetype of intellectualism, and the paragon of loyalty? How do I begin to mourn James Ocholi, whom you can describe as one of my right hand men in the quest to reposition our country, and fashion a land of peace and prosperity, where no man is oppressed?” Buhari asked. “A lot has been written about Ocholi since the tragic event of March 6, 2016, which took the life of our Minister of State, Labour CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as IKENNA KINGSLEY EZE, now wish to be known and addressed as IKENNA KINGSLEY EZEAKU with date of birth 16/7/1982. All former documents remain valid. General public take note. CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as ORUH NKEIRUKA MODESTA, now wish to be known and addressed as UDEZE NKEIRUKA MODESTA. All former documents remain valid. General public take note. CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as AFOLAYAN OLABISI ELIZABETH, now wish to be known and addressed as OGUNGBIRE OLABISI ELIZABETH. All former documents remain valid. General public take note. CHANGE OF NAME

MOWOE: Formerly known and addressed as MOWOE OGHENEDAJI OPEMIPO, now wish to be known and addressed as MOWOE-OYETUNDUN OGHENEDAJI OPEMIPO. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

and Employment, his wife, Blessing, and his son, Joshua. And a lot more will be written, for Ocholi was no mean man. He was a man among men, an Iroko in a forest of trees. How are the mighty fallen!” “Among many other positive and pleasant things, I will always remember Ocholi for his loyalty to our beloved country Nigeria, loyalty to our party, the All Progressives Congress, and loyalty to our administration, in which he had served for just about 4 months, before death took him” “In 2011, Ocholi ran to be governor of Kogi State on the platform of our then party, Congress for Progressive Change, CPC. I believed so much in him, and in his ability to add value to the governance of his state, that I followed him round the state on campaign. “We visited all the local governments, visited the paramount rulers, and urged the people to vote in a worthy man as governor. But politics is a peculiar game in Nigeria. The best often does not win. Ocholi did not win. But he bore it gracefully.” “In 2015, he threw his hat into the ring again. CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as SHADE OBASOYIN, now wish to be known and addressed as OBASOYIN FOLASHADE OMOLADUN. All former documents remain valid. General public take note. CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as IBIANG EBRI EFFIOM, now wish to be known and addressed as EFFIOM EBRI IBIANG. All former documents remain valid. General public take note. CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as MISS. ADEDEJI ADEBISI GRACE OLUWATOMISIN, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. ADEBISI ADEBISI GRACE OLUTOMISIN. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note. CHANGE OF NAME

ADENIYI: Formerly known and addressed as ADENIYI BLESSING now wish to be known and addressed as ADENIYI IBUKUN. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

He sought to be governor on the platform of All Progressives Congress, APC, a party he had helped midwife. He still did not win at the party primaries, and eventuality he bore gracefully again” When the APC was being negotiated into existence among the Legacy Parties, Ocholi did a yeoman’s job, contributing his quota to the legal processes. This he did under a junior lawyer, who was not a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) like

him then. “But what mattered to Ocholi was the birth of a strong, solid party, which could wrest power at the centre, and bring change to our country. Hierarchy is important in the legal profession, just as it is in the military. But Ocholi subordinated pride and ego, served under his subordinate, and APC was born. Dream became reality” “Steadily but surefootedly, he was part of the Change Cabinet, resolved to bring

Boladale BamigBola

1999 to 2003. “It is on record that during the PDP era, the state was at a time in the top 10 position in academics, the state university was ranked high and also Lautech University ranked the best state university. “That Governor Aregbesola saw the need to make amend is note worthy and commendable, but we still see it as part of means to waste already depleted resources of the state.”

our country out of the woods, and pedestal Nigeria among the greats in the comity of nations” “Then the unthinkable happened. The Grim Reaper harvested Ocholi. What a pity, sad

and tragic. But we have this consolation: the departed has taught us fidelity, commitment and loyalty to party, to government, and to God. He will be sorely missed,” the President said.

Mass failure: Group backs Osun’s committee on public examinations OSOGBO

group within Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Osun State chapter, The Integrity Group, yesterday applauded the committee set up by Governor Rauf Aregbesola to look into the mass failure of students in public examinations in the state. In a statement signed by the chairman and secretary of the group, Mr Bimbo Oyedele and Bamidele Adeniyi respectively, said what Osun State is witnessing in the education sector now, is similar to the failures and educational backwardness of the state between CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as FRANK BASSEY EFFIONG, now wish to be known and addressed as OTU BASSEY. All former documents remain valid. General public take note. CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

WEEKES: I; formerly known and addressed as Ijeoma Aline Eluemunor Weekes, now wish to be known, called and addressed as IJEOMA ALINE ELUEMUNOR ODIANA. All former document remain valid. General public should please take note. CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as FALADE JOSEPH, now wish to be known and addressed as FALADE AYORINDE LAWRENCE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note. CHANGE OF NAME

The late Ocholi

PUBLIC NOTICE

REFORMED EVER-CHRISTIAN CHURCH

Reverend Isaiah Ochigbo

The general public is hereby informed that Reverend Isaiah Ochigbo (picture above ) is no longer the General Secretary and Secretary of Registered trustees of Reformed Ever-Christian Church. Consequently, the said Reverend Isaiah Ochigbo can no longer transact any business whatsoever on behalf of the Reformed Ever-Christian Church. Signed: Management Reformed Ever- Christian Church P.O.BOX 77 ANKPA, KOGI STATE. CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as SILAS COMFORT IMAOBONG, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. AKINDELE COMFORT IMAOBONG. All former documents remain valid. Zenith Bank plc and general public take note. CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as ADEYEMI OLUSHOLA KAFAYAT, now wish to be known and addressed as ADEYEMI OLUFUNMILAYO OLUSHOLA. All former documents remain valid. General public take note. CORRECTION OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as EKPO IKOI USANG, now wish to be known and addressed as IKOI EKPO USANG. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

Formerly known and addressed as EMMANUEL OBIDIGBO OGBUACHI, now wish to be known and addressed as EMMANUEL OBI OGBUACHI. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

Formerly known and addressed as ZOUSU WILLIAM JOSEPH, now wish to be known and addressed as JOSEPH MAUTIN ZOSU. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

This is to inform the general public that my name was mistakenly written as AYINDE OMOWALE, instead of KAMORU AYINDE. that henceforth i wish to be known and addressed as KAMORU AYINDE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CONFIRMATION OF NAME JOSEPH: This is to confirm that Joseph Ruth and Ifeoma Osahon refer to one and same person. Henceforth wish to be known and addressed as Ifeoma Osahon. All documents reflecting any of the Stated names remain valid and should be treated as one person. Banks and the general public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME ALIYU: This is to confirm that Aliyu Mofolorunsho Bakare and Ali Bakare refer to one and same person. Henceforth wish to be known and addressed as ALI MOFOLORUNSHO BAKARE. All documents reflecting any of the Stated names remain valid and should be treated as one person. Banks and the general public take note.

ODUNUGA: Formerly known and addressed as ODUNUGA HANNAH ADURA now wish to be known and addressed as AKINWALE AYOMIKUN HANNAH. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

Formerly known and addressed as ADEBAYO OLUWATOYIN TOMILOBA, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. ADESANYA OLUWATOYIN TOMILOBA. All former documents remain valid. General public take note. CHANGE OF NAME

RICHARD: Formerly known and addressed as t now wish to be known and addressed as RICHARD MATHIAS now wish to be known and addressed as ISAAC JOHN UZORKWE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

AUGUSTINA: Formerly known and addressed as AUGUSTINA EBERE UDEH now wish to be known and addressed as EBERE MONDAY. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

.YAKUBU: Formerly known and addressed as YAKUBU IDAYAT ASHAKE now wish to be known and addressed as YAKUBU IDIAT ASHAKE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note

CONFIRMATION OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

I formerly known as ISIAKA AMIDULAHI now wish to be known and addressed ISIAKA AHMED ADURAGBA. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Friday, March 18, 2016

CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly known and addressed as BAMISAYE TITILOPE ADENIKE now wish to be known and addressed as OSO TITILOPE ADENIKE. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

Formerly known and addressed as GABRIEL IDOWU FAYORI. Now wish to be known and addressed as PASTOR GABRIEL IDOWU OLUYORI. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

Formerly known and addressed as MISS. OLADEJO YEMI BUSIRAT. Now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. FALEGAN YEMI STELLA BUSIRAT. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME This is to certify and confirm that UBOH GIBSON ONYEMAECHI is one and same person as EKAEZE GIBSON ONYEMAECHI. Now wish to be addressed as EKAEZE GIBSON ONYEMAECHI born on 21st day of April, 1985. All former documents remain valid. Eco Bank Plc., ACCESS Bank Plc. and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME I formerly known and addressed as MISS. ADENIYI RONKE, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. ADEDIRAN ADERONKE KARIMU. All former documents remain valid. AUTHORITIES OF OYO STATE JUDICIARY, GTB, ZENITH BANK PLC, FIRST BANK PLC, and general public take note.

l, formerly known and addressed as MUSA IDRIS G. now wish to be known and addressed as HASSAN BALA WASAGU. All former documents remain valid, SKYE Bank, Ministry of Science and Technical Education Birnin Kebbi and the general public should take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME OKEKE: I, formerly known and addressed as MR OKEKE AZUBUIKE BARTHOLOMEW now wish to be known and addressed as MR. MADUBUKO AZUBUIKE JAMES BARTHOLOMEW. All former documents remain Valid.General public take note.

TIJJANI: formerly known and addressed as MRS AMINA IBRAHIM TIJJANI, now wish to be known and addressed as MISS AMINA MOHAMMED RAJI.All former documents remain Valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME TAJUDEEN: formerly known and addressed as MISS TAJUDEEN ABIBAT OMOLARA, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS OLUKOTUN OMOLARA ELIZABETH ABIBAT. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

Formerly known and addressed as OLAYINKA. OLUWAPAMILERIN, now wish to be known and addressed as OLAYINKA. OLUWAPAMILERIN MUTIU. All former documents remain valid, Skye Bank Plc,Diamond Bank and general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

l, formerly known and addressed as Mr. EKWE RICHARD NDUBUISI. now wish to be known and addressed as Mr. JOSEPH RICHARD NDUBUISI. All former documents remain valid, the general public should take note.

EMOKA: formerly known and addressed as MISS EMOKA ENUMA LORETTO now wish to be known and addressed as MRS MADUBUKO ENUMA LORETTO. All former documents remain Valid.General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME Formerly known and addressed as OMERAKWA EBUBE WISDOM CHUKWUEMEKA and JOSEPH CHUKWUEMEKA WISDOM, now wish to be known and addressed as JOSEPH CHUKWUEMEKA WISDOM. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

Formerly known and addressed as ODIA REBECCA IRETI, now wish to be known and addressed as, ODIA REBECCA EITAFO. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as MUOMELIRI CHIBUEZE, now wish to be known and addressed as MUO CHIBUEZE MARTINS. All former documents remain valid. General public take note. CHANGE OF NAME

MBAH: I, formerly known and addressed as MBAH CHIOGO OKORONKWO DAVID, now wish to be known and addressed as MBAH DAVID OKORONKWO. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note. CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as JAMES LUKA BARSHEP, now wish to be known and addressed as NAPKUR LUKA BARSHEP. All former documents remain valid. General public take note. CHANGE OF NAME

MADU: I, formerly known and addressed as MADU OBINNA .T., now wish to be known and addressed as MADU ONYEKA HILLARY. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note. CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as PIUS PETER ODION, now wish to be known and addressed as ODIA PETER ODION. All former documents remain valid. General public take note. CHANGE OF NAME

I, formerly known and addressed as MISS OGUNSAKIN ELIZABETH O. now wish to be known and called as MRS SUNDAY ELIZABETH OYELERE O. All former documents remain valid, general public should please take note.

Formerly known and addressed as MISS AFOLABI ADEJOKE NIKE, now wish to be called and known as MRS DAUDA ADEJOKE ASIAT. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME Formerly called and known as MRS OGUNTOYE AYOOLA, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS OGUNTOYE AYOOLA WURAOLA. All former documents remain valid, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (GTBank) and general public should please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME This is to certified that Oladosu Isaac Segun and Oladosu Segun Re Elijah, is the same one person as Oladosu Isaac Adebayo, that henceforth wish to be addressed and known as Oladosu Isaac Adebayo. All former documents remain valid, Banks and general public should please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as MISS ADEKUNLE RUKAYAT ADEWUMI, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS FAYOMI RUKAYAT ADEWUMI. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CONFIRMATION OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

I Formerly known and addressed as MISS DAUDA KUBURAT TUNRAYO, But now i wish to be known and address as MRS. OSOBO KUBURAT TUNRAYO. All former documents remain valid. General public to take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CONFIRMATION OF NAME This is to confirm that EKEBALAM OGOCHUKWU .A. And EKWEBALAM OGOCHUKWU FAVOUR refer to one and same person. Henceforth wish to be known and addressed as EKWEBALAM OGOCHUKWU. A. All former documents remain valid. Authorities concerned and General public should please take note.

OBTTER: FORMERLY known and addressed as NGWOKE JUDE NOW wish to be known and addressed as NGWOKE JUDE OBTTER. All former documents remain valid. Authorities concerned and General public should please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME AUDU: FORMERLY known and addressed as DANASABE AUDU NOW wish to be known and addressed as ABDULKARIM DANAZUMI. All former documents remain valid. UBA and the General public should please take note.

I formerly known as OGUNDIPE OLAWUMI EUNICE, now wish to be addressed as ADEOJO OLAWUMI EUNICE. All former documents remain valid. First bank, Access bank and General Public please take note. CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME ODUENI: I, formerly known and addressed as MISS ODUENI VALENTINA ONOKUREFE of Oviri Olomu, Ughelli South, Delta State, now wish to be known, called and addressed as MRS. OBI VALENTINA ONOKUREFE of Ukwani Local Government Area of Delta State. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

I formerly known as UGO IGWE ROMANUS now wish to be known and addressed UGO IGWE NWORIE. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

LOSS OF DOCUMENT This is to notify the general public of the loss of my Nigerian International Passport No. A00043918 belonging to MISS GLORIA PRIYE WHITE of 22, Medical Center Road, Topa, Ajara, Badagry, Lagos State. All effort to trace the said passport proved abortive. If found please return to the owner.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as MISS AKISANYA BILIKIS OLABISI, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS HADAINA BILIKIS OLABISI. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I formerly known, called and addressed as HUSSEIN SHEHU, now wish to be known, called and addressed as OSENI ADEMU. All former documents remain valid. First Bank of Nigeria Plc and General public please take note.

ONYECHE: FORMERLY known and addressed as MISS ONYECHE ADOGA NOW wish to be known and addressed as MRS ONYECHE ABAH. All former documents remain valid. The Nigeria Police and General public should please take note.

This is to confirm that CHIZOBA GLORIA OGUZIE is the same person as OBI CHIZOBA. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as MISS ILESANMI MARYAM OMOWUNMI, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS BADARU MARYAM OMOWUNMI. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

I, KOLAWOLE ELIZABETH KEMI is the same person bearing KOLAWOLE ELIZABETH. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

MARIAH: FORMERLY known and addressed as MISS SANNI ASABE MARIAH NOW wish to be known and addressed as MRS ONISAROT ASABE MARIAH. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

MICHEAL: I, formerly known and addressed as MICHEAL ALOYSIUS CHIDERA, now wish to be known, called and addressed as ABONYI ALOYSIUS AZUBUIKE. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly addressed and known as JIMOH AKANJI ADEBAYO, now wish to be known and addressed as JIMOH SALAMI ADEBAYO. All former documents remain valid, general public should please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I formerly known and addressed as MISS NSUNGUSI MANDU OKON, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS UMANHONLEN SIMEON MANDU. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

IBRAHIM: FORMERLY known and addressed as IBRAHIM IDA NOW wish to be known and addressed as IBRAHIM SULEIMAN. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note. AGNES: I formerly known and addressed as MISS PIUS AGNES PRINCESS, now wish to be known and addressed as MISS. ABU EGAJAYAN AGNES. All former documents remains valid, The General Public. Please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME OZOMADU: I, formerly known and addressed as MISS OZOMADU OGOCHUKWU THERESA, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS ILOEJE OGOCHUKWU THERESA. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

ADDITION OF NAME That I was formerly known and addressed as ANIH CHRISTIANA FLORENCE that I now wish to add OGECHUKWU to my former name that I now wish to be known and addressed as ANIH CHRISTIANA OGECHUKWU FLORENCE. All former documents remain valid. Banks and general public should please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME Formerly known and addressed as ADENIYI OLUWATOYIN AANUOLUWAPO, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS OLASUPO OLUWATOYIN AANUOLUWAPO. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

AMADI: I, formerly known and addressed as AMADI MARIA NKEM, now wish to be known and addressed as AMADI MARIA NKEMDILIM. All former documents remain valid. BANKS and general public should please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME Formerly known and addressed as ADENIYI OLUWATOYIN AANUOLUWAPO now wish to be known and addressed as MRS OLASUPO OLUWATOYIN AANUOLUWAPO. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

Formerly known as NUHU SAHEED KOLAWOLE, now wants to be known as KOLAWOLE NUHU AKANNI. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

Formerly known and addressed as ISHOLA FOLAHAM OLAIFA, now wish to be known and addressed as ISHOLA SAMUEL OLAIFA. My date of birth 03/02/1961 not 03/02/1966. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

UZOWULU: I, formerly known and addressed as UZOWULU MARIA CHINWE, now wish to be known and addressed as UZOWULU MARIA ADAEZE. All former documents remain valid. Banks and general public should please take note.

Formerly known and addressed as SAKA LATEEF BELLO, now wish to be called and addressed as FOLORUNSHO OLUWAFEMI ADURAGBEMI JOSHUA. All former documents remain valid, general public should please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME I formerly known and addressed as Adebola Omotola Oluwasheyi, now wish to be known and addressed as Agbobamu Omotola Oluwasheyi. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as OLASUNKANMI MARIAM OLAITAN, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. OGUNDOKUN MORIAM. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

Formerly known and addressed as ALATE OWO JAMIU, now wish to be known and addressed as ALATE JAMIU ABOLORE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

Formerly addressed and known as MISS FALOPE TOYIN FLORENCE, now wish to be called and addressed as MRS ADEYEMI TOYIN FLORENCE. All former documents remain valid, general public should please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as CHIDIEBERE ONWUCHEKWA EKEBISI, now wish to be known and addressed as CHIDIEBERE ONWUCHEKWA EKE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

Formerly known and called as Miss OKIKIADE ADEKEMI DAMILOLA, now wish to be addressed and called as MRS ABIMBOLA ADEKEMI DAMILOLA. All former documents remain valid, general public should please take note.

I formerly known and addressed as MISS ESOHE FRANCA AIKORIOGIE, now want to be known and addressed as MRS ESOHE FRANCA OKUNWE. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as Lawal Olanrewaju Taofik, now wish to be known and addressed as Awwal Olanrewaju Tawfeeq. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

SHITTU: FORMERLY known and addressed as SARATU SHITTU BELLO NOW wish to be known and addressed as SARATU SHITTU. All former documents remain valid. FIRST BANK PLC and General public should please take note. CHANGE OF NAME

KODAOLU: I, formerly known and addressed as KODAOLU MARIAM AYANFUNMI, now wish to be known, called and addressed as OKE MARIAM AYANFUNMI. All former documents remain valid. That the change of name is needed by the attention of Access Bank Plc on account number 0039016670 for BVN excercise. General public and Authorities

CHANGE OF NAME

ADENEKAN: I, formerly known and addressed as ADENEKAN ADEBISI DEBORAH, now wish to be known, called and addressed as ZOSU ADEBISI DEBORAH. All former documents remain valid. General public and Authorities Concerned should please take note.

OLATUNJI: I, formerly known and addressed as RASAQ YUSUFF OLATUNJI, now wish to be known, called and addressed as ADIGUN YUSUFF OLATUNJI. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

CHANGE OF NAME Formerly known and addressed as PAUL OKEY CHIMA DANIEL, now wish to be known and addressed as SIMON CHIMA DANIEL. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

Formerly known and addressed as ANUMA VERONICA N., now wish to be known and addressed as CHUKWUDI VERONICA NONYELUM. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

NNEKA: FORMERLY known and addressed as MISS EZEANI GLORIA NNEKA NOW wish to be known and addressed as MRS PETER GLORY NNEKA. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note. CHANGE OF NAME

I, FORMERLY KNOWN AND ADDRESS AS DAVID WILLIAMS, NOW WISH TO BE KNOWN, CALLED AND ADDRESSED AS NURUDEEN ADEYEMI SUBAIR. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. THE GENERAL PUBLIC SHOULD PLEASE TAKE NOTE. CONFIRMATION OF NAME

This is to confirm that NKWOH CHIDIEBERE ADONIS is the same person as NKWOH CHIDIEBERE VITALIS. All former documents remain valid. General public take note. CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as NEWMAN EGIEKHINA ANTHONIA ODIOR, now wish to be known and addressed as EGIEKHINA ANTHONIA ALIBA. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as MISS OSINEYE TEMITOPE YETUNDE, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS SOBOWALE TEMITOPE YETUNDE. All former documents remain valid . General public take note. CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as IGBEKELE PHOEBE TITILOPE, now wants to be known as ODETOLA PHOEBE TITILOPE. All former documents remain valid. General public and NBRRI should take note. CHANGE OF NAME

EVANERO: FORMERLY known and addressed as MISS FRANK QUEEN NOW wish to be known and addressed as MRS FRANK QUEEN EVANERO. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note. CHANGE OF NAME KENNETH: FORMERLY known and addressed as UGWU KENNETH FREDRICK NOW wish to be known and addressed as KENNETH CHUKWUEMEKA UWAKWE. All former documents remain valid. Authorities concerned and General public should please take note. CHANGE OF NAME

I formerly known as ONYEKONWU MALACHY MADUBUOBI now wish to be known and addressed ONYEKONWU MALACHY KENNEDY. All former documents remain valid. The general public should please take note. CHANGE OF NAME

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Dimgba Cynthia Chizoba now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. EGESI CYNTHIA CHIZOBA. All former documents remain valid. General public take note. CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as Theresa Nneka Ilono, now wish to be known and addressed as Theresa Nneka Okwuegbulem. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

Friday, March 18, 2016

13 Nigerian athletes chase 47 dollars at World Indoor

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Sport

On learning that Chelsea fans wanted Matthew Harding to replace him as club chairman – So what? Ninety-nine per cent of all Iraqis voted for Sadam Hussein

–Ken Bates (1995)

uper Eagles captain, Ahmed Musa, has assured Nigerians that they do not have any reasons to be afraid going into two AFCON 2017 qualifiers against Egypt later this month as the target remains to win the games. Nigeria will host Egypt on March 25 in Kaduna with the return leg in Alexandria four days later in qualifying matches that could well determine the overall winners of the group. Egypt are top of the qualifying group with six points from two matches, two points more than Nigeria, with only the group winners guaranteed automatic qualification to Gabon 2017. The build-up to these matches has been noisy with both teams bullish of their chances and But CSKA Moscow star forward, Musa, has now restated his belief that Nigeria will triumph over the seven-time African champions. “I am calling on Nigerians and football fans to support us and keep praying for us as we will make the nation proud with victories over Egypt,” Musa told AfricanFootball.com. Musa added, “We are not afraid of Egypt. Why should we? We have top quality players who will do Nigeria and Nigerians proud in both games. There is no reason to panic or fear Egypt, instead they should be the ones who should be afraid of us.”

Amoo assures on Brazil friendly

...as U-23 team travels Sunday IfeanyI eduzor

-23 caretaker coach, Fatai Amoo, said his Olympics bound team is ready to face its Brazilian counterpart in an international friendly next

Super Eagles Captain, Ahmed Musa

Kaduna battle

No shaking, no fear, says Ahmed Musa

week. Nigeria’s U-23 team will on March 24 play their Brazilian counterparts in a warm-up game ahead of the Rio Olympic Games slated for August this year. The Dream Team VI is one of the African teams that will represent the continent at the 2016 Games. In a telephone interview with National Mirror, Amoo noted that he is not under any pressure ahead of the game, just as he stated that pressure is normal in the career of any coach. “We are preparing very well ahead of the international friendly. I’ll do my best for my country to make sure we perform well against the South Americans, which will help us in a tremendous way as we prepare for the Rio de Janeiro Olympics. “I am not under any pressure going into this game. It is normal to be under pressure but you must understand that pressure is my middle name because every coach accepts pressure as part of the game, but I am assuring Nigerians that we are not going to disappoint them. “When you talk of pressure, you must realise that people want you to win and will not accept excuses for failure and that is the more reason we are taking the game serious for Nigerians to know that we are fully prepared ahead of the Olympics.” According to the former 3SC and Sunshine Stars coach, having worked with Coach Samson Siasia, he is in a better position to take the team to greater height, assuring that he is capable of handling the team. Amoo noted that as the team is set to travel out of the country on Sunday, all the players are responding well to training and they are equal to the task of sizing-up the Brazilians.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Sports

Friday, March 18, 2016

Senator Ogba decries scrapping of NSC

Former DG NSC, Yakmut, in the cold

Joel AJAyi ABUJA

hairman of the Senate Committee on Youth and Sports, Senator Obinna Ogba, has expressed his displeasure over the scrapping of National Sports Commission (NSC) by the Federal Government, saying the decision will pose a very huge blow to sports development in Nigeria.

The senator stated this in Abuja when he paid a solidarity visit to the NFF in preparation for the forthcoming 2017 AFCON qualifier between Super Eagles and Pharaoh of Egypt. Ogba maintained that the decision to scrap the NSC would not bring development, but pull Nigeria’s sports backward. Asked if the Senate was consulted before NSC was scrapped, he replied, “Not at all, I think it’s a

rumour. There is no written document that backs the scrapping. “I am very disappointed and this is what we face when those who don’t know the ingredients of the game call football are at the helms of affairs. Without missing words I feel very disappointed because it is pulling Nigeria backward.” The senator added, “NSC should be allowed to stay and form as a parastatal under the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports. There is nothing wrong about it. “We still have the bill (to) legalise the NSC and we are still on it and nobody has put a stop to it; the bill is not dead and the bill when passed NSC will come to limelight. “The moment that bill is signed into law there is nothing anybody can do about it.” Speaking on the invitation of former Super Eagles Coach, Sunday Oliseh, by the House of Representatives, Ogba, who is also Chairman of the Ebonyi State Football Association explained, “Although our colleagues in the House of Reps invited Oliseh, but for me, I don’t see any reason to invite him because he doesn’t have respect for the country. So for the Senate, there is no issue.”

More pressure on Wenger to quit

Wenger

eturning to London after Champions League elimination at Barcelona’s hands, Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, faces more uncomfortable questions than ever before about his stewardship of the club. A season that was still full of hope at the turn of the year is now unravelling in all-toofamiliar fashion, with Arsenal out of Europe, out of both cup competitions and trailing Premier League leaders, Leicester City, by 11 points, albeit with a game in hand. The Gunners remain on course for a top-four finish, but Champions League qualification is losing its consolatory effect on the club’s fans, many of whom have come to see it as a

ITF/CAT Junior: Osewa faces Seychelles’ Laporte in today’s final ifeAnyi eduzor

igeria’s Micheal Osewa yesterday, reached the final of the Boy’s U-14 event at the 39th ITF/CAT African Junior Championships in Pretoria, South Africa with a 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 win over Ryan Randiek of Kenya. He will now meet Damien Laporte of Seychelles, who defeated South Africa’s Khololwam Montsi in today’s final. The semi-final clash at the University of Pretoria High Performance Centre saw the two players going head-to-head for the second year running, with Osewa outplaying his East African rival with a 6-2, 6-3 triumph at the quarter-final stage of the tournament held in Tunisia in 2015. The match was going with the serves until the ninth game when Randiek broke the Nigerian before sealing the set 6-4 on his serve. Nigeria’s coach, Mohammed Ubale, had expressed worries over Osewa’s inability to win the

opening game which he pointed puts him under pressure, but just like he did in the round of 16 clash against the number one seed, Younes Adnan, of Morocco and Jason Espitalier of Mauritius in the quarter-final, Osewa kept his composure to level the

match by winning the second set 6-4 to force the game into a rubber decider which he won 6-2. An elated President of the Nigeria Tennis Federation (NTF), Sani Ndanusa, who watched the match alongside several other federation bosses who are in

Pretoria for the Annual General Meeting of the Confederation of African Tennis (CAT), told National Mirror that Osewa’s feat has helped broke the jinx of players from North Africa who have always proved a barrier to Nigeria’s quest to rule Africa.

sign of the culture of mid-level achievement that Wenger has allowed to take root at the Emirates Stadium. “I think the natives have turned. There’s more people who want the boss out than want him in,” former Arsenal striker, Ian Wright, said on BT Sport after Arsenal’s 3-1 loss to Barcelona on Wednesday, which completed a 5-1 aggregate defeat. “I’m not sure if he still will be there in the summer, if they don’t win the league.” With Chelsea floundering, Manchester City fatally inconsistent and both Liverpool and Manchester United in transition, this season had held the promise of a first league title for Arsenal since 2004. Instead they have failed to grasp the nettle, with outsiders Leicester and - worse - arch rivals Tottenham Hotspur, surging past them to fight out the most improbable English title duel in recent memory. “This was the perfect year for Arsenal to win the Premier League and they’ve missed it,” said Emmanuel Petit, another former Wenger protege.

13 Nigerian athletes chase dollars at World Indoor

Oghene Egwero for 60m dash

he International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) yesterday released entries of athletes participating at the World Indoor Championships holding in Portland, Oregon. The IAAF named 13 Nigerians for the meet that began yesterday and runs till March 20 with various prize monies for participants. The top six athletes and team in the event would be awarded prize money. The top place winner will take home, $40,000, second, $20,000, third place, $10,000 and the fourth place winner gets $8,000. Fifth position will get $6,000 and six place, $4,000, while any athlete

that breaks the world record would be awarded with $50,000 dollars. Ogho-Oghene Egwero made the 60m dash, Stephen Mozia in the Shot put, Tosin Oke and Olu Olamigoke are to feature in the Triple Jump. Orukpe Eraiyokan and Samson Oghenewegba will feature in the 400m. In the men’s 4x400 relay team are Orukpe Eraiyokan, Noah Akwu, Abiola Onakoya and Isah Salihu. Lindsay Lindley will feature in the 60m hurdles, Patience Okon in the 400m, Doreen Amata in High Jump, while Claire Uke would participate in women Shot Put.

WORLD RECORD

Pogo stick jumping - fastest mile

Vol. 05 No. 1329

Friday, March 18, 2016

N150

The fastest mile jumping on a pogo stick is 9 min 56 sec and was achieved by Fred Grzybowski (USA) in Wooster, Ohio, USA, on 4 November 2014.

Three unlucky ‘okada’ thieves

ometime in 2011, yours truly had a stint with the government of former Governor Theodore Orji of Abia State that necessitated one’s shuttling between Lagos, where my family was domiciled; and Umuahia, the Abia State capital, to attend to family exigencies, on the one hand; and the call of duty in one’s state, on the other. During one of such trips from Umuahia to Lagos by road, I arrived late (about 11pm) at Ojota. The Lagos State Government had not banned or restricted commercial motorcycles’ (okada) operations then. Looking at the time, I felt my best bet to get home quick was to pick an okada, at least from Ojota to Maryland; and perhaps, from Maryland to Ikeja, from where I could easily connect my final destination. I then beckoned on an okadaman and we set out for the journey from Ojota to Maryland. Midway, I instructed the oka-

anchester City star, midfielder Yaya Touré, is set to make his return to the Côte d’Ivoire national team, as the Elephants prepare to face Sudan in a double header in Group I of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) quali-

FRIDAY WITH Dozie Okebalama

dozieokeama@yahoo.co.uk 08164966858 (SMS only) daman to take me to ‘Ikeja Underbridge’ through Ikeja GRA. As we entered the GRA and he was meandering through the unlit streets enroute Ikeja Underbridge, I did not quite realise in time that he was controlling his okada with his right hand; and was rummaging through my bag, which he had quietly zipped open, with his left hand. On a number of occasions, the okada would swerve dangerously off the road and he would apologise to me. But after one more dangerous swerve, I was compelled to monitor him closely to know whether he was feeling sleepy or was on the spell of drugs. Behold, what I noticed was his busy left hand right inside my travelling bag. We were very close to Police College Ikeja when I caught him in the act; and I shouted on him and asked him to stop and drop me. But he refused. I guess he was agitated that I would hand him over to the police. I tarried and followed him until he got to Ikeja General Hospital axis, where he quickly dropped me near a filling station, handed my bag over to me and hurriedly bolted, not caring to collect the N500 he charged me for the trip. I couldn’t heave the sigh of relief until I checked my bag and discovered he did no harm, since most of the things in the bag were dresses and toiletries. The little cash I had was in my jean trouser pockets. When a year later, former Governor Babatunde Fashola’s government in La-

Preference or symPathy for commercial okada has become a grave risk gos unleashed the Lagos Road Traffic Law 2012, which restricts okada operations in at least 492 of the 9200 roads in Lagos metropolis to curtail their flagrant infraction of road traffic laws, okada-facilitated crimes and the okada menace generally, my mind raced to that my encounter with the thiefcum-okadaman that took me from Ojota to Ikeja Underbridge in 2011. Few days ago, a news item reported this way by Nigerian Tribune: “Unlucky thieves snatch bag, only to discover two ‘fufu’ raps, soup” ( Monday, March 14, 2016, page 6), proved yet another quick reminder of my nasty okada experience of 2011. Three members of an armed robbery gang, according to the report, arrested for snatching a bag from a victim thinking it contained money and other valuables, not only discovered the bag they stole had just two wraps of fufu and soup in it, but ended up in the hands of operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) in the Ajegunle area of Apapa, Lagos. Their names were given as Emmanuel Ashaolu, Ikenna Bright and Daniel Dali, all of them young men that ought to

be in school. The shout for help by the victim attracted the RRS team which pursued and caught one of the thieves initially, and later rounded up others. One of the bandits, Dali, said they never operated with guns. “We snatch bags, phones and other belongings and escape with okada. We have choice routes - Boundary, Mile 2, New Roundabout, Wilma and Ajegunle”, he said. Bright’s confession appears no less scary. He said: “Several boys do this business in Ajegunle. I know of a team that lives in different hotels, sleep in day time and operate at night. This is the only job they do to survive”. More tips for the police there, but that is one of the realities Lagos residents have been putting up with. When Fashola’s government descended on commercial okada operations in 2012, many complained of the hardship of commuters in the state who relied on okada for easy access to their homes and places of work, the hectic traffic situation in town, as well as millions of jobless youths, even adults, and their families sustained by okada business. Indeed, the Fashola administration sent many families that relied on okada for survival in Lagos back to the villages or other alternative vocations. The hot chase, beastly treatment and confiscation of okada by the police also evoked public sympathy. What seemed like respite only came their way after Fashola left office. But with most of them still committing the havocs that drew the wrath of the Fashola government, like operating on highways, driving against traffic and engaging in all manner of criminal activities, the present Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, is said to be seriously contemplating a blanket ban on commercial motorcycles in Lagos metropolis. Should Ambode go ahead with the ban, there will be gnashing of teeth, but preference or sympathy for commercial okada has become a grave risk.

Sport Extra

AFCON qualifier: Yaya returns to Côte d’Ivoire fiers. Elephants coach, Michel Dussuyer, announced his 24-man squad yesterday, welcoming back the 32-year-old who had decided to take a break from international duty after

claiming continental glory at the 2015 AFCON in Equatorial Guinea. Also back in the squad are ADO La Haye defender, Wilfried Kanon, and Bournemouth winger, Max Gradel, the latter

having been sidelined for six months with a knee ligament injury before making his return to action with the Cherries a few weeks ago. Dussuyer can also rely on the majority of his key

players, including Keeper Sylvain Gbohouo, rightback Serge Aurier, midfielder Geoffroy Serey Die and attacking quartet Seydou Doumbia, Wilfried Bony, Gervinho and Salomon Kalou.

Toure

Printed and published by Global Media Mirror Limited: Head Office, Mirror House, 155/161 Broad Street Lagos; Abuja Office: NICON House, Central Business District Area, Abuja. Email:mail@ nationalmirroronline.net. MD/CEO: Sunday Olajide: 08060852080; Acting Editor Daily: Ben Memuletiwon 08050498541; Adverts Hotline: 07066178740. ISSN 0794-232X.