Wednesday, February 6, 2013 by GLOBAL MEDIA MIRROR LIMITED

Delayed implementation of Budget 2013 imminent –Investigation TOLA AKINMUTIMI ABUJA

here are strong indications that hopes of a timely implementation of the 2013 budget may be dashed

Vol. 3 N0. 551

as structural adjustments of allocations to the ministries, departments and agencies, MDAs, by the National Assembly have sent executive back to the drawing board. National Mirror reliably

$620,000 bribe:

Reps visit Lawan in Kuje prison

gathered that the anticipated assent of President Goodluck Jonathan to the Appropriation Bill already passed by both chambers of the National Assembly might not be coming soon CONTINUED ON PAGE 5>>

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Wednesday, February 6, 2013

2015: 10 governors T endorse merger talks

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AYODELE OJO, OBIORA IFOH, MURITALA AYINLA AND A ZA MSUE

...as ACN, CPC, ANPP, APGA meet in Lagos

CNN debunks Jonathan’s improved power claim

Jonathan Obasanjo reconciliation, good omen –Tukur P.6 .

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he plan to wrest power from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the 2015 elections by the leading opposition parties thickened as 10 governors met yesterday in Lagos to endorse merger talks. Governors of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN; All Nigeria People’s CONTINUED ON PAGE 2>>

L-R: The governors: Kayode Fayemi (Ekiti); Abdulaziz Yari (Zamfara); Abiola Ajimobi (Oyo); Kashim Shettima (Borno); Babatunde Fashola (Lagos); Umaru Al-Makura (Nasarawa); representative of Yobe State Governor, Senator Jejere Alkali; Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun); Rochas Okorocha (Imo) and Rauf Aregbesola (Osun), shortly after the meeting in Lagos, yesterday.

AFCON 2013:

Nigeria, Mali in battle of P.27 the Eagles in Durban Kick off: 4pm

SURE-P spent N70bn in six months –Kolade ...berates N’Assembly over harsh comments

4 kids, 2 others die in Ogun auto crash

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Wednesday, February 6, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

SURE-P spends N70bn in six months –Kolade ROTIMI FADEYI ABUJA

hairman, Subsidy Reinvestment and Empower ment Programme, SURE-P, Dr. Christoper Kolade, yesterday said that his committee spent over N70bn within six months last year on projects. Kolade, who spoke with State House correspon-

dents after the presentation of the 2012 report on the activities of the committee to President Goodluck Jonathan, noted that though the committee was inaugurated in February 2012, its activities started in July when funds were released. He explained that out of the N180bn released by the government last July for the activities of the committee, it could only spend

N70bn. The former Nigerian High Commissioner to the United Kingdom also said that the focus of the committee for this year would be the provision of social safety nets for the people and other projects that would make meaningful impact on the lives of Nigerians, particularly on the health of women and children and employment for

the youth. Kolade added that the committee would also focus on provision of infrastructure, including construction of roads and rail lines to boost economic activities in the country. He, however, explained that the activities of SUREP were not a duplication of the work of Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, adding that SURE-

L-R: New Vice-Chancellor, University of Lagos, Prof. Rahman Bello; Registrar, Mr. Oluwarotimi Shodimu and Pro-Chancellor, Deacon Gamaliel Onosode, during the installation of Bello as the 11th vice-chancellor of the institution in Lagos, yesterday.

P was set up by President Jonathan to ensure that the funds saved from the removal of fuel subsidy were used in the provision of infrastructure and projects that would have impact on the lives of Nigerians. The chairman said the opinion expressed by the National Assembly that the work of the committee was a duplication of the activities of MDAs was not well placed. Kolade said: “Any Nigerian can have opinion about this, what people need to do is to study what is going on and see in what ways SURE-P is adding value to what is already on ground. “Nobody is denying that MDAs are working, that is what government is there for, but the President when he saw that there were going to be special funds from the subsidy withdrawal then decided that he would use these funds in a special way to intervene. “If, for instance, road contract was awarded say in 2006 and it is still not completed, but by putting some funds from SURE-P, you can accelerate the fin-

ishing of that road; these are special funds and they are special intervention funds. They cannot be compared with what is ongoing in the ministries because ministries are doing their normal work. “For example, the railway system, for years now, it has not been possible to move from Lagos to Kano by rail because there were gaps on the way, places where bridges were broken down. “The Nigerian Railway Corporation, NRC, has been doing its best to get those things repaired but with these special intervention funds in 2012, SURE-P constructed the bridges where they were broken down, repaired the roads where they should be repaired and now since end of November, it is possible to ride on a train from Lagos to Kano; that was not happening before.” On the allegation by the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, that the SURE-P funds to states are being distributed to members of the Peoples Democratic CONTINUED ON PAGE 5>>

PHOTO: YINKA ADEPARUSI

2015: 10 governors endorse merger talks CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Party, ANPP; Congress for Progressive Change, CPC and All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA met and unanimously endorsed the merger arrangement among the political parties. Also, several merger meetings were held in Abuja and Kaduna yesterday. The PDP, however, said it was unfazed by the development, saying the governors’ endorsement of the merger talks was not a threat to the dominance of the party. After a four-hour meeting at the Lagos State House, Marina, the governors said they took the decision to “rescue Nigeria” from her present situation and it is “the only way out of the political quagmire” under the PDP-led Federal Government. Present at the meeting were Governors Babatunde Fashola (ACN-Lagos), Ibikunle Amosun (ACNOgun), Kayode Fayemi (ACN-Ekiti), Abiola Ajimobi (ACN-Oyo), Rauf Aregbesola (ACN-Osun), Rochas

•They’re no threat to us, says PDP Okorocha (APGA-Imo), Umaru Tanko Almakura (CPC-Nasarawa) and Abdulaziz Yari (ANPP-Zamfara), Kashim Shettima (ANPPBorno) and Ibrahim Gaidam (ANPP-Yobe) who was represented by Senator Dejere Alkali. Shettima, who read the communiqué to journalists shortly after the meeting, said the governors reviewed the situation in the country and resolved to endorse the merger initiative with a primary intention to ‘fix Nigeria’. He said: “We, the Governors of Borno, Ekiti, Imo, Lagos, Nasarawa, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Yobe and Zamfara, rose from a meeting at Lagos House, Marina, today, Tuesday, February 5, 2013. Having reviewed the situation in our country, we resolved to rescue Nigeria. This is a task that must be done. “As progressive and patriotic leaders of our people across party, religious and geopolitical zones, we are

extremely concerned about the state of the nation and we put our heads together in the interest of our people to deliberate on what can be done to rescue our country. “As governors, we fully endorse the merger initiatives already commenced by our various political parties and we will put our full weight behind these efforts. “Nigeria is greater than all of us and we have a duty to make it work for our people and for the future of our children yet unborn.” Also briefing journalists after the meeting held behind closed-doors, Fashola said the discussion was essentially borne out of their concern for Nigeria, saying key decisions had been taken on the way forward. When asked if the merger would materialise this time in view of previous botched talks, Fashola dismissed insinuations that the plan would die before its arrival. He argued that the drive behind the merger would

produce some of the best hands the nation could boast of, saying Nigerians deserved better than what they were presently getting from the PDP-led federal government. Fashola said: “Well, scepticism is one thing; the commitment that we bring to the table will certainly override any scepticism. I am convinced that the full weight of 10 of us governors and many more who unfortunately could not make it today, is a much stronger force, the underlying reason is clearly how to make this country a better place. “This is not the best that this country can have and we intend to deliver Nigeria’s best.” Yari expressed optimism that the brains behind the merger would offer a better political option to what the nation had witnessed since the return to democratic rule in 1999. “The objective is to fix Nigeria in the right per-

spective, overthrowing the PDP is something else and if we, as opposition, say that we are right and you as journalists and many people outside here, go and ask them whether they are happy since 1999 till date or not. “So, it is a duty for all of us as leaders to drive our people right. And we believe the PDP has done less. “We have the idea, the knowledge and the progressive idea to move the country forward. So, if you say that we intend to get the PDP out of power, yes, we are ready to do that,” the Zamfara State governor stated. Okorocha said the merger was very crucial to save Nigeria from being turned into a one-party state, stressing that he had been part of the merger plan from the outset. He said: “The merger has become very necessary to save our democracy and the likelihood of turning Nigeria into a one-party state that does not augur well for democracy. “There-

fore, I personally fully endorse this movement and this new merger at least to rescue the nation, and we say we are on a rescue mission here and to make sure Nigeria gets better, the essence of this whole merger is to make Nigeria a better nation.” Amosun also expressed optimism that as the modalities for the merger unfolded, more people would soon join the move to dislodge the PDP-led Federal Government through the parties. “Many people will come on board once they see our sincerity. That is why we are not taking this lightly; we are very determined and I am sure that with the support of Nigerians, this merger will work,” he said. Fayemi said the merger aimed at rescuing the country from bad governance even as the governors had resolved to work in patriotism and serve the people of Nigeria. He added that the representation from the different CONTINUED ON PAGE 5>>

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Wednesday, February 6, 2013

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Wednesday, February 6, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

L-R: Senior Manager, Strategic Development, National Mirror, Alhaji Kayode Balogun; Sunday Editor,Mr. Bolaji Tunji; Editor National Mirror, Mr. Seyi Fadugba; Saturday Editor, Gbemi Olujobi; Mr. Jenarius; Head of Public Relations, Mr. Andrew Okereke and Globacom Head of Media, Mr. Robertson Odii during the visit. PHOTOS: BAYOOR EWUOSO Managing Director/Editor-in-Chief, National Mirror, Mr. Steve Ayorinde (left) and Regional Director-West Africa, Marketing Communication, Globacom Limited, Mr. Charles Jenarius, during a courtesy visit of the top management team of the newspaper to Glo office in Lagos, yesterday.

L-R: Executive Vice President, Institutional Banking Group, First Bank, Mrs. Bashirat Odunewu; Group Head, Energy IBG, Mr. Olalekan Adelekan; Chairman, Global Energy Group, Mr. Joe Obiago and Group Managing Director, First Bank Ltd. Mr. Bisi Onasanya at the First Bank IBG Customers’ Corum dinner held in Lagos recently.

National News

Constitution review: Reps hold face-saving meeting

TORDUE SALEM, ABUJA

embers of the House of Representatives Ad-hoc Committee on the Review of the 1999 Constitution yesterday held an emergency meeting to address some of the flaws in the report to be submitted to the general House. The decision of the House last week to postpone abruptly, a public presentation of the collated results on the review had fuelled suspicion. The Speaker, Aminu Wa-

ziri Tambuwal, who rose from a meeting of the principal officers that lasted over three hours, had appeared at the Conference Hall 231 venue of the presentation to announce the postponement of the event. He told the audience, comprising several stakeholders, that the cancellation was because the House needed to put certain things right. Yesterday’s meeting, according to a principal officer, who spoke to National Mirror, was to “tidy up on some aspects of the report that were not done right.”

Nigerians in the 360 constituencies across the country had voted for autonomy for the 774 local governments as well state Houses of Assembly. But, indications later emerged that the House Committee tinkered with the report to reflect otherwise. However, at an earlier meeting, Tambuwal was said to have queried the leadership of the review committee on an alleged failure to take its members along in arriving at the final report that would have been presented last week.

L-R: Chairman, Fountain University Convocation Organising Committee, Dr. Goke Lalude; Nasfat Dep Chief Missioner, Alh Onike AbdulAzeez; VC, Fountain University, Prof Bashir Raji; NASFAT President, Alh Sheriff M.Yussuf; Nasfat National Women Leader, Alhaja Nofisat Arogundade; wife of the Vice President, Hajia Amina Namadi Sambo; Women Leader, Nasfat FCT, Hajiya Faoziat Lawal; FCT Zonal Chairman, Barr. Shewudeen Giwa and Nasfat General Secretary, Alh Lukmon Folorunsho during a visit of the Nasfat and Fountain University officials to the wife of Vice President, recently.

FG moves to bar coverage of Thisday bombing case EMMANUEL ONANI ABUJA

he Federal Government yesterday applied to bar journalists from covering the trial of suspected bomber of ThisDay office in Kaduna, Mustapha Umar. This is even as the suspect was remanded in Kuje prison, after pleading not guilty to a one-count charge of alleged terrorism. The trial judge, Justice Adeniyi Ademola adjourned the matter till March 12 for trial. Justice Ademola, however, ordered the authorities of the prison to ensure that the suspect has access to his lawyers to enable them prepare his defence. Umar’s arraignment yes-

….Court remands suspect in Kuje prison terday, followed his inability to procure the service of a lawyer at the last adjourned date of January 29. Shortly after taking his plea, the prosecutor, Simon Labaran moved the controversial motion to bar journalists from covering the proceedings. His application was brought pursuant to section 31(3) of the Terrorism Prevention Act of 2011, which he insisted was for public safety and also the safety of Prosecution witnesses. The defence counsel, Felix Umai did not raise any objection to the move, in the face of reservations by Justice Ademola. Ademola observed that the case was one of public

interest, adding that the public reserved the right to be abreast of proceedings. Accordingly, he advised the prosecution to come by way of a formal application. He went further to suggest possible ways through which the identities of witnesses could be guarded. Umar was arrested in April 2012, shortly after he allegedly detonated some Improvised Explosives Devices, IEDs, at SOJ Plaza, housing ThisDay office in Kaduna. He was said to have successfully carried out the act, using a white Honda Academy car with registration number AL 306 MKA. The incident left about twelve persons dead and many more injured.

CNN debunks Jonathan’s claim of improved power supply

lobal news channel, Cable News Network, CNN, has debunked recent claims by President Goodluck Jonathan that power supply had improved in the country. CNN anchor, Christiane Amanpour, in a programme aired on Tuesday, had reported that contrary to Jonathan’s claim in a recent interview that the country’s power supply have been

improving, ordinary Nigerians think otherwise. In the interview also on CNN, part of which was aired, Jonathan had said: “That is one area that Nigerians are quite pleased with the government, that commitment to improve power. It’s working.” But in a CNN opinion sample, Lagos residents said generators remain the sure source of their power

supply. One woman told a CNN reporter during an “Open Mic” series conducted in Lagos that she owned three generators and that power supply was yet to improve. Another said the President’s claim was inaccurate. The report was apparently triggered by the comments of Nigerians posted online via twitter and Face-

book following a 35 minute power outage during the final match of the American Football League season known as the Super Bowl, played in New Orleans on Sunday. Some of the commentators had, in a tweet to Amanpour, jokingly asked that the Super Bowl be brought to Nigeria as there were enough generators to tackle any power outage.

According to a blog on Amanpour’s website, “While Americans waited 35 minutes for the Super Bowl’s lights to come on, Nigerians just chuckled. “They know all too well the problem of power outages: Nigeria has been plagued by rolling blackouts that last hours, sometimes even days.” Some of the tweets read: “Power outage at the Super Bowl

on Sunday. Suddenly, Nigeria doesn’t look as dark anymore” and “If they had the Super Bowl in Nigeria, the power coming back on would be the real surprise.” However, the Federal Government had insisted in recent weeks that the power situation was improving, with generation hitting the 5000 megawatts mark late last year.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

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Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Delayed implementation of Budget 2013 imminent –Investigation CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

as the Presidency, in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance and its agencies involved in the budgeting process, had ordered a thorough appraisal of the appropriation documents. The aim is to ensure that government’s plans to leverage the fiscal consolidation successes in the past two years are not jeopardised on the altar of politicking Our correspondent also learnt that substantial portions of the Bill had been returned to the MDAs as government prepared to finalise its modification and possible re-presentation to the National Assembly for reconsideration based on comments and recommendations by the executive. A source in one of the agencies under the supervision of the Ministry of Finance confirmed to our correspondent yesterday that the adjustment of the proposed figures was being undertaken to achieve a more efficient budgeting in terms of the set objectives of the Medium Term Expenditure Framework, MTEF, targets initially captured in the original Appropriation Bill forwarded to the legislature by the executive about three months ago. The source said: “The issue goes beyond the raising of the budget’s oil price benchmark. There are other fundamental adjustments in the Bill, which the executive has to critically look into before the President will give assent. “As it is now, rigorous

consultations are going on between the Finance Ministry and the chief accounting officers of the MDAs in order to align the figures with the MTEF projections and ensure macroeconomic stability. “That is the stage everything is now. I know the Minister of Finance is working tirelessly to get back to the Presidency with her findings but the truth is that the final document may not get back to the Presidency earlier than 20th of this month. “If that is the case, then you can look towards the end of the month for its being signed into law. That seems to be the most feasible time now.” Economic watchers have in the past few weeks been expressing concerns over what was seen as the President’s reluctance to sign the Appropriation Bill into law and the negative implications for current efforts aimed at achieving improved performance of the 2013 budget. Financial analysts had a fortnight ago expressed concern over the likelihood of the 2013 budget not achieving its key fiscal and economic targets unless the executive and the legislature take necessary precautionary steps to work on the Appropriation Bill in order to arrive at realistic positions of its income-expenditure projections. Analysts at the FDC bimonthly Economic and Business Update organised by Financial Derivatives Company Limited, FDC,

SURE-P spends N70bn in six months –Kolade CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

Party, PDP, and their cronies, Kolade stated that such allegations had nothing to do with his committee, stressing that “what the political party said is not something that we know anything about, the money that we are using for our projects, the funds that we are putting to the activities that this committee is overseeing are going specifically to contractors that are working on these projects, to people that are getting employed on these projects. “If there is a situation between political parties where they are alleging

that money is going from one place to another, they are not seeing it. Well, that is politics; it has nothing to do with our committee.” He expressed satisfaction with the performance of his committee since it was inaugurated by the President last year, saying that SURE-P hopes to initiate more projects and improve on existing infrastructure this year. Kolade, however, noted that according to the provision of the constitution, his committee or the Federal Government does not have authority to dictate how to disburse SURE-P funds allocated to states.

last month raised concerns about the stance of the legislature on the benchmark oil price and the executive’s oil production projections for the 2013. It predicted that using $80 per barrel benchmark and 2.53 million barrels per day for oil production might be unrealistic in terms of its macroeconomic policy thrusts. For instance, on the fiscal side, FDC argued that the controversy over the benchmark price of oil between the executive and the National Assembly was a proxy war between the governors and the President for political

considerations. It added that most projections point towards a softening of oil prices in the medium term, which meant that even $75 was too optimistic. “In our opinion, it is likely that the proposed 2013 budget may not achieve its fiscal consolidation and growth objectives. The President may be compelled to submit to the wishes of the legislators and increase the benchmark oil price to $80. “Consequently, spending will increase. If the oil price drops, savings obtained from crude oil sales would reduce and external reserves ac-

cretion would be negatively affected, which will make it difficult for the government to respond adequately to an economic crisis.” On the oil production projections of the budget and the implications for revenues and capital budget, FDC analysts noted that the proposed oil production level of 2.53mpbd for 2013 was too optimistic, considering the level attained so far in 2012. They added that with production currently at about 2.16mbpd and not likely to increase if the problems of oil theft and pipeline leakages are not addressed, the figures ap-

pear to be too optimistic. The analysts explained that revenue would be adversely affected if weakness in the global economy caused disruption to output levels with the likely attendant larger deficit gap and increase in domestic borrowing. They, however, concluded that though the proposed 2013 budget seemed promising in its quest to promote fiscal consolidation and growth, but that nevertheless, the poor performance of previous budgets made it difficult to believe that the proposed budget would be any different.

L-R: Bauchi State Commissioner for Health, Dr. Sani Malami; Governor Isa Yuguda and Chairman, State Mobilisation on Polio and Emir of Dass, Alhaji Usman Bilyaminu, during the launch of National Immunisation Plus Days in Bauchi, yesterday.

2015: 10 governors endorse merger talks CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

political parties and geopolitical zones was a proof that the merger plan would rescue the future of the country and the citizens. Senator Jejere said that the merger would end the reign of the PDP in 2015 and put the country on the right path. He stated that the PDP had not served the country and its people well since 1999 when it came to power. The senator, however, assured that the opposition parties had the requirements to serve the people and put the country on the right footing. But the PDP said the endorsement from the governors was a welcome development “as long as they are not out to deceive Nigerians.” PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, said: “We welcome

the merger as long as they play to the tenets of democracy. We do not want opposition that would dwell on deceit; we do not want an opposition that would heightened tension and we do not want opposition that will make utterances that will throw Nigeria into violence. “We want an opposition that will discuss issues like that of economy or there is an area which the PDP is not doing enough but could offer a better solution. “We want opposition to offer solutions to the issues on ground. That is how oppositions are run all over the world. We do not want those who will play mere politics.” Metuh said the parties in the merger arrangement must have something to offer that is different from what is obtainable now. “They must be able to

table and offer their programmes for Nigerians. Nigerians will not fall cheap to the political propaganda of the opposition in order to gain power through the ballot box. No, they want to see the alternative. “Nigerians want to see a viable opposition and the programmes of this so-called party and will be able to decide whether it is worth rescuing them. “PDP will not mind the outcome of 2015 elections as long as it is fair and people vote according to their conscience. What we do not want is for the people to be deceived. I would not want a political party that would come to the system and cause political tension,” Metuh said. The PDP top shot also insisted that the merger arrangement was not a threat to the dominance of the party in Nigeria’s political space.

“Their coming together is not a threat to the PDP. You are aware of what happened in Kano in the recent by-election where PDP won over 80 per cent of the vote. The PDP has directed our officials to make sure that this trend is repeated all over the country. “If this trend continues in at least two-thirds of each state in the country, PDP will have at least 80 per cent of the votes of Nigerians. That means we are going to win 2015 elections by a landslide. “So, we are not in any way threatened by the formation of any party. “We are the only party that accommodates all the various interests of this nation. We are the only party that promotes the unity of this county. We are the only party that is not owned by any individual in the counCONTINUED ON PAGE 16>>

National News

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Prof Nebo, Turaki get portfolios OMEIZA AJAYI ABUJA

resident Goodluck Jonathan yesterday named Mr. Kabiru Tanimu Turaki as the Minister of Special Duties, Office of the President and Prof. Chinedu Nebo Minister Power. Political pundits had predicted that Turaki would be sworn in as the substantive Minister of Defence but the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Sen. Anyim Pius Anyim, said in a statement yesterday that, “His Excellency, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan GCFR, has approved the deployment of the two newly appointed ministers as follows: Prof.

Chinedu Osita Nebo as Minister of Power and Mr. Kabiru Tanimu Turaki (SAN), Minister of Special Duties, Office of the President.” According to Anyim, the two ministers are to resume duties immediately. In another development, Anyim unveiled the Abuja Centenary City, which is planned to promote international and local business while boosting economic activities in the country. Presenting the models to potential investors, the SGF said: “The new smart city would be built on a stretch of 1,000 hectares of land in Abuja, making it the second but largest city development in history.

... Off to London, Paris ROTIMI FADEYI ABUJA

resident Goodluck Jonathan left Abuja yesterday night for London and Paris to confer with the British Prime Minister, Mr. David Cameron, and the Franch President Francois Hollande on matters of vital interest to the three countries. According to a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, the President

would be accompanied on the trip by his wife, Patience, and government officials. Jonathan’s discussion with Cameron in London would focus on the expansion of trade and economic relations between Nigeria and Britain as well as the enhancement of cooperation between both countries on the war against terrorism. He is also scheduled to attend the launch of the Olusegun Obasanjo Foundation in London on Friday.

Ogbulafor: Budget Office certified N107m projects –Witness EMMANUEL ONANI ABUJA

prosecution witness in the trial of former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Prince Vincent Ogbulafor, yesterday told a Federal Capital Territory, FCT, High Court that some of the contracts awarded by the accused were verified and approved by the Federal Government. Basil Momodi made the disclosure under cross examination by counsel to the second accused, Dr. Awa Kalu (SAN). The Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission, ICPC, is prosecuting Ogbulafor, who was Minister of Special Duties along with Emeka Ebilah

and Jude Nwokoro on a 17-count charge of conspiracy and award of fictitious contracts to the tune of N107 million. In his testimony yesterday, the witness told the court that the Budget Office actually certified the projects, even as he said some payment vouchers were made to the companies after verifying the projects.

Ogbulafor

L-R: President, Trade Union Congress (TUC), Comrade Peter Esele; Chairman, Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P), Dr. Christopher Kolade and the Special Adviser to the President on Technical Matters, Nze Akachukwu Nwankpa, at the presentation of 2012 SURE-P annual report in Abuja, yesterday.

Jonathan, Obasanjo’s reconciliation, good for Nigeria –Tukur OBIORA IFOH ABUJA

he National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Dr. Bamanga Tukur, has described the reconciliation of former President Olusegun Obasanjo and President Goodluck Jonathan as a good development for the party and the country. Tukur, who spoke with journalists yesterday in Abuja, said it depicted the desire of the leaders to advance nationhood. He said: “Obasanjo was the president before, today it is Jonathan. For him to really go and work with Jonathan and give Jonathan what he knew, so that

Jonathan will take what he knew and what he is doing today and help us move forward and also hand over one day to somebody is right and encouraging. Let us clap for them.” Obasanjo paid a surprised visit to Aso Rock Chapel on Sunday where he worshipped and prayed for the first family for God’s guidance. Both leaders also sat together at the commencement of the centenary dinner at the banquet hall of the Aso Villa on Monday. Disagreeing with critics of the centenary celebration, the PDP national chairman said it was a step in the right direction as it would help this generation and those of the future ap-

preciate the distance “we have come as a nation and why it was pertinent to not to compromise the nation’s unity”. He said: “There is one country and so there is no question of anybody asking or talking about whether we need to stay together or to stay apart. “You saw all our leaders who are alive. From Gen. Yakubu Gowon up to our present president were present; all of them without exemption. “We have seen also members of the National Assembly, all of them said yes. We thank God for the existence of Nigeria for 100 years as a country. It is a great Nigeria with good promise; that is important for us.

“Within these 100 years, we did very well, we even fought civil war and we resolved among ourselves to ensure that after all that, we still remain one united country. “I was a witness as a young person, when the British flag was lowered and Nigerian flag raised; I was there watching at Tafawa Belewa Square when our independence was handed over to us and today we are talking about our 100 years as a nation. “What we need to do now is to continue with that resilience to build a better, united and a prosperous country because we have every opportunity, education wise, resource wise and politically.”

Senators upbraid President for withholding assent to disability bill GEORGE OJI ABUJA

enators yesterday criticised President Goodluck Jonathan for not assenting to the disability bill, which was passed for the third time by the sixth National Assembly in 2009. The lawmakers were of the view that Janathan’s refusal to assent to the bill after it was passed by both chambers of the National Assembly was a mark of insensitivity. The bill was first passed by the National Assembly in 2000, and passed for the second time in 2006 and later in 2009. Senators reprimanded

the President while contributing to the second reading of the bill for, “an act to ensure full integration of persons with disability into the society and to establish a national commission for persons with disabilities and vest it with the responsibility for their education, health and the protection of their social, economic, civil rights and for other related matters.” According to the lawmakers, people living with disabilities suffer from immeasurable discriminations despite the provisions of Section 42 of the constitution, which abhor discrimination against all Nigerians irrespective of their physical disability,

sex, tribe, religion, etc. The bill, which was sponsored by Senator Nurudeen Abatemi-Usman, was supported by all the senators and it passed the second reading yesterday. It was committed to the joint committees on sports and women affairs for further legislative work. The senators, who jointly agreed to give the bill accelerated attention, also urged the Senate President, David Mark, to personally follow it up and ensure that the bill was signed into law by the President once the National Assembly completed its own work on it. In his presentation, Usman disclosed that about

22.5 million Nigerians are disabled and that the bill seeks to completely outlaw the discrimination of people on the grounds of disability in the areas of employment, housing, transportation and similar other spheres. According to him, it also aims at easing access to physical infrastructure by the disabled because accessibility of public buildings is a sore-point in the lives of people living with disabilities, particularly those using wheelchairs. Mark regretted that the bill has been in and out of the National Assembly since 1999 for one reason or the other and it still remains a bill.

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Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Minister tasks NECO board on certificate racketeering IJEOMA EZEIKE ABUJA

orried by the integrity of the results obtained by candidates who sit for the annual Senior Secondary Certificate Examination, SSCE, and the alleged reproduction of fake National Examinations Council, NECO, certificates, the Minister of State for Education, Nyesom Wike, yesterday charged the newly inaugurated governing board of NECO to stem the tide of the criminal practice. At the official inauguration of the 18-man board recently appointed through the office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Wike further described malpractice widely associated with public-based examinations as a clog in the wheel of Nigeria’s development. However, at the inauguration, which took place at the Federal Ministry of Education, Abuja, Ex-Minister of State for Education, Aishatu Dukku, was conspicuously absent with

no explanation given for her absence. An inside source, however, said her absence might not be unconnected with her high expectation that she would be made the chairman of the board owing to her former position as minister. Wike, at the event, warned the board members of the consequences of using their appointment as avenues to scramble for contracts from the management of the examination agency, noting that there should be synergy among them to improve the integrity of NECO and bring it to the level of other examination bodies. Meanwhile, the Minister of Education, Ruqayyatu Rufa’I, told members of the board to study the Act that provides for the constitution of the board for them to know what is required of them. She urged them to use their wealth of experience in their various fields of endeavor to add value to the services which the council provides to the general public.

Pension fraud: Court to hear convict’s bail application Feb 12 EMMANUEL ONANI ABUJA

Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, yesterday fixed February 12 for the consideration an application for bail filed by a convicted pension thief, John Yakubu Yusufu. The trial judge, Justice Adamu Bello, adjourned till February 12, shortly after Yusufu’s counsel, Theodore Maiyaki, moved the bail application. Meanwhile, Prosecuting Counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, inforned the court that he had filed his counter-affidavit to the motion for bail. Convicted Yusufu was charged over an “illegal act” of stealing pension funds meant for police retirees. Other co-conspirators still standing trial are: Esai Abubakar, Ahmed

Inuwa Wada, Atiku Abubakr Kigo, Mrs. Veronica Ulonma Onyegbula and Sani Habila Zira. Specifically, the convict pleaded guilty to counts 18, 19 and 20, where he was alleged to have connived with others still standing trial to convert N24.2 billion, N1.3 billion and N1.7 billion respectively. The offence, according to the commission, was committed between January 2009 and June 2011 at the Abuja Division of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory. Yusufu was on January 28, re-arraigned before Justice Adamu Bello, of a Federal High Court, Abuja, on a fresh fourcount charge bordering on his failure to disclose his assets as they relate to his interest in a company called SY -A Global Services Limited.

L-R: President, Christian Association of Nigeria, Pastor Ayo Oritsejafor; wife of Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mrs. Ekaette Akpabio and her husband, Governor Godswill Akpabio, during a banquet in Uyo, yesterday.

Nigeria has 1, 497 illegal entry routes, says FG OMEIZA AJAYI

he Federal Government yesterday disclosed that it has uncovered no fewer than 1, 497 illegal entry routes into the country, a development which has fuelled arms smuggling and the consequent rise in violent crimes and insurgency in the country. Speaking with some international journalists in Abuja yesterday, Interior Minister, Comrade Abba Moro, who said that Nigeria actually has 84 regular borders, lamented that these illegal entry routes have contributed to the current security challenges facing the country. His words: “Since I assumed office we have taken deliberate steps in conjunction with the National Boundary Commission, NBC, to identify our borders and the routes that lead to Nigeria from other countries, and I have repeatedly told Nigerians that in that process we have been able to identify 84 regular borders and over 1, 497 irregular routes into the country.” According to him, the current administration under the leadership of President Goodluck Jonathan would not just fold its arms as he announced that the Nigeria Immigration Service, NIS, under the purview of the Ministry of Interior has taken far reaching steps towards patrolling and controlling movement around the identified regular border routes.

He said the government was already considering adopting the Public Private Partnership, PPP, model to further demarcate Nigeria’s border posts with her neighbouring countries in order to ensure a better border management of the nation. “We are contemplating using the PPP model, to see how we can construct grad-

ers, around our borders, because as it is today, if you go to most of our land borders, you hardly can define when you are in Nigeria and when you are out of Nigeria, and that is because of lack of physical structures that will separate Nigeria from other countries. “So, this is what we plan to do and I hope that within this financial year, with the

arrangement we have put in place, construction work will start immediately in some of these borders, and of cause we are contemplating, giving the resources that will be given to us, that we should also complement the physical effort at patrolling our borders. We believe it will ensure a better border management for Nigeria,” he said.

This Day in African American History

February 6: On this day in 1820—Peabody Fund Established to Promote African Americans Education! The Peabody Education Fund organized to

establish a permanent system of public education in the South and to enlarge the number of qualified teachers in the region. The Peabody Fund allocated $2.1 mil-

lion in to promote African American education and the establishment and growth of public schools for African Americans, and some whites, in the South.

South West

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

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Court dismisses suit against Ajimobi, others KEMI OLAITAN IBADAN

yo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi yesterday recorded another victory as a Federal High Court sitting in Ibadan and presided over by Justice Abimbola Adejumo-Obaseki dismissed a suit filed against him and two others by a governorship aspirant, Prof. Olu-

wole Akinboade. The court dismissed the suit for lack of jurisdiction. Akinboade, a governorship aspirant in the last general elections, had sued Ajimobi, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). He told the court that Ajimobi was not duly

Lagos to residents: No flooding this year MURITALA AYINLA

he Lagos State Government has begun move to tackle flooding in some parts of the state. The state government has planned to construct drainage channels to solve the perennial flooding on Olaniyi Street in the popular Abule-Egba area and its environs. The government’s decision followed residents’ appeal to the state to tackle the flooding, which had claimed many lives and destroyed property worth several millions of naira. Speaking during an inspection tour of ongoing dredging and construction of drainage channels in Agege axis of the state, the Commissioner for the Environment, Mr. Tunji Bello, said that strategies had been put in place to curtail flooding this year, assuring that several ongoing projects would be ready before rainy season sets in. Acknowledging that the state government was aware of the destruction caused by flood in the area, Bello assured that lasting solution would be proffered to flooding on Olaniyi Streets and the other area where two kids were said to have been

drowned last year. Expressing satisfaction with the level of work done on some of the projects, the commissioner allayed fear that ongoing construction work would escalate flooding in their area. He said: “Last year, about 30 per cent of construction work was done, but now the story is different. I am impressed by the level of work done. I can assure Lagos residents that they will not experience flooding this year. “We thank God that our effort paid off last year; the flooding problem across major states didn’t get to Lagos. We can only try our best to combat flooding through execution of projects like this.” Meanwhile, the residents said that the flood sacked them last year as many were forced to flee their houses. Speaking with National Mirror, a resident, Mrs Bola Olaniyi, said the flood killed two kids on the night of July 12, 2012, adding that prior to the incident, people had lost property worth million of naira to the flood. The Permanent Secretary, Office of Drainage, Mr Muyideen Akisanya, however, assured that construction of drains channels would begin on Olaniyi Street in three weeks.

nominated by the ACN for the 2011 governorship election. He, therefore, urged the court to nullify Ajimobi’s nomination. But Justice AdejumoObaseki said that Section 87(1)(4) of the Electoral Act 2010 as amended gave political parties in Nigeria the power to pick their candidates to contest elective positions, adding that

Section 87( 9)(10) of the Act outlawed the court to adjudicate on the subject matter. The judge said that since the plaintiff admitted that he did not participate in the primary as governorship aspirant on the ACN platform because the primary did not hold, he lacked the power to institute the case under the law. Justice Adejumo-Obase-

ki said the plaintiff ’s position was tantamount to probating and reprobating because in evidence, he admitted that all the aspirants, including himself had agreed that the party’s governorship candidate for the 2011 election should be picked through consensus, but decided to file the litigation after the decision worked against him.

L-R: Oyo State Commissioner for Women Affairs, Mrs. Atinuke Osunkoya; wife of the state governor, Mrs. Florence Ajimobi and wife of the deputy governor, Mrs. Janet Adeyemo, at the Empowerment of Widowhood Support Scheme in Ibadan, yesterday. PHOTO: NAN

Ogun to probe MAPOLY management over illegal tuition fees FEMI OYEWESO ABEOKUTA

he Ogun State Government has said that the management of Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY), Abeokuta, would soon be invited to clarify allegations of illegal tuition fees as well as overcrowded lecture theaters leveled against it. The state Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mr Segun Odubela, who dropped the hint yesterday during a

parley with journalists in his office, explained that the government was not aware that the institution admitted more than the stipulated number of students. Acknowledging that the polytechnic was faced with some challenges, Odubela assured that the Ministry of Education would invite the institution’s management to clear air on the allegations. The commissioner also explained that the state government was not

aware that the polytechnic charges as high as N40, 000 as fee for collection of certificates. He said: “Of course, there are challenges, but I can tell you that as far as overpopulation is concerned, we are not aware. Now that you have said it, I assure you that we are going to ask the management to tell us if that is the position, but honestly we are not aware that lecturer theaters overcrowded. “On the issue of certificates, we are not aware of those challenges. Now

South-West Investment Forum holds today

he South-West Grassroots Business and Investment Forum aimed at actaulising economic development for regional growth takes off today in Osogbo, Osun State. The four-day programme will hold at the Centre for Black Culture and International Understanding behind the Osun State Secretariat along Osogbo-Gbogan

Road. The Osun State Commissioner for Regional Integration and Special Duties, Alhaji Bashir Ajibola, flayed those planning to appropriate the Centre as Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO). He told journalists yesterday in Osogbo that the Centre was not sealed up. The commissioner said: “What the government has

She added that the plaintiff ’s position in the case, according to Section 87 of 2010 Electoral Act as amended, was unconstitutional, unjustifiable, lacked merit and was then dismissed. The counsel to Ajimobi, Mr. Abiodun Amole, hailed the judgment and said that it would encourage the governor to concentrate more on governance.

done is to sanitise the management of the Centre in line with the government policy.” He said that pavilions had already been set up at the venue to host the regional programme being organised by Vintage Press Limited in collaboration with CEEDEE Resources. The opening ceremony of the proagramme will be chaired by former Minister

of Justice, Prince Bola Ajibola. Ekiti State Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, will deliver the keynote address. Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN); his Oyo State counterpart, Abiola Ajimobi and that of Ogun State, Ibikunle Amosun are Special Guests of Honour, while Governor Rauf Aregbesola of Osun State is the Chief Host.

The programme will feature the South-West states and private investors exhibiting agriculture products. There will be an investment workshop tomorrow to be facilitated by the Federal Institute of Industrial Research, Oshodi (FIIRO), Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria, Ibadan, and National Health Insurance Scheme, among others.

that you have mentioned it, we will find out from the polytechnic’s management.” Commenting on the visitation and fact finding panels set up by Governor Ibikunle Amosun shortly after the inauguration of his administration, Odubela explained that the state government may set up an implementation committee on some of the panels’ recommendations. He said some of the decisions contained in the panels’ report were already being implemented both at Olabisi Onabanjo University and Moshood Abiola Polytechnic. Odubela said: “There are different visitation panels and fact finding panels and you would observe that quite a lot of them are already being implemented. If you look at OOU for instance, the report of the visitation panel is already being carried out. “In some others, the government is still looking at them, look at MAPOLY, the report are already being implemented.

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Wednesday, February 6, 2013

South West

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

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2013 budget targets people’s empowerment –Ekiti ABIODUN NEJO ADO EKITI

kiti State Government said yesterday that its 2013 budget was targeted at empowering the people in a renewed bid to make poverty history in the state. The Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, Mr. Sola Folorunso, who said this while presenting

the analysis of the budget, added that it also aimed at completion of ongoing lifetransforming developmental projects. Folorunso listed objectives of the budget to include increasing effectiveness and functionality of the health sector, improvement in socio-economic infrastructure, improvement of education quality and provision of enabling environment for food security

and agro-based industries with “immense private sector participation”. The N97.6 billion budget approved by the state House of Assembly, christened: “Budget of Empowerment and Consolidation,” was signed into law by Governor Kayode Fayemi on December 31. It is made up of N48,465,677,012 recurrent expenditure and N49,164,768,881 capital ex-

penditure. Foloruso said the actual revenue realised last year was N68.033 billion representing 68.87 per cent of the budget. He said in view of the premium government placed on infrastructural development, N18.749 billion representing 19.2 per cent of the budget was earmarked for the sub-sector. The permanent secretary also disclosed that a

larger percentage of the bond secured by the government would be expended on construct roads across the 16 council areas of the state. He listed the roads to include Ijan – Ise – Uso Boundary Road (N68.8 million), Ikere – Igbara Odo Road (N90 million), Ikogosi – Ipole – Efon Road (N580 million) and Ikere end of dual carriageway Road – Ado Road (N600 million) Folorunso explained that

the N4.48 billion representing 30.86 per cent realised from the Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, was as a result of over concentration of government on tax system. Meanwhile, the Deputy Governor, Mrs. Funmi Olayinka, has called on indigenes of the state to key into real participatory governance by joining the present administration in raising the IGR.

Alleged $620,000 bribe: Otedola must be prosecuted –Group

Court orders Fayemi to pay ex-SUBEB chair’s entitlements

K AYODE FASUA

ABIODUN NEJO

group, Concerned Human Rights, Nigeria, CHRN, yesterday called for the prosecution of billionaire businessman, Mr. Femi Otedola, for the oil subsidy bribery scandal. The group’s National Coordinator, Comrade Declan Ihekaire, said at a press conference in Lagos that the alleged bribe Otedola offered the former Chairman of House of Representatives Committee on fuel subsidy regime, Hon. Farouk Lawan, was not a sting operation as the former claimed. Ihekaire said both the giver and taker of bribe were culpable and that Lawan was not caught by detectives at the point of offering the $620,000 bribe, to qualify it as a sting operation. He said: “Otedola should have been charged along as both the giver and taker of bribe are culpable. Though they claim that it is a sting operation, in the real sense of it, this case is in no way close to a sting operation, as Mr. Otedola is yet to deny his involvement in the subsidy loot.” Ihekaire, however, applauded Lawan’s trial, which he described as a way to assure Nigerians that the lawmaker was not untouchable as widely perceived. In the same vein, the CHRN coordinator recalled that the group had earlier warned that 2013 was going to be an unbearable one for corrupt leaders across the country. He said: “It will be recalled that on December 31, 2012, we displayed a (mock) coffin containing corrupt leaders and also warned that 2013 will be very dangerous for corrupt leaders and intending ones, in Nigeria.”

ADO EKITI

Ogun State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Alhaji Yusuph Olaniyonu (left) receiving a plaque from the Team Leader, Syndicate 7 of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, Jaji, Commodore Kenneth Atijohn, during a visit to the commissioner, yesterday.

Six die in Ota auto accident, says FRSC

t least six people, including four children and two adults, lost their lives in Monday night’s crash at Iyana Iyesi, Ota, in Ogun. The Ota Unit Commander of the Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, Mr. Adedeji Adewale, told the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, yesterday in Ota

that the accident involved an articulated vehicle and commercial motorcycles. Adewale blamed the accident on the recklessness on the part of the driver of the articulated vehicle, who lost control and rammed into the motorcycles and commuters at the scene. The unit commander

said the driver had no regard for the conditions of the road and the state of his vehicle. “He lost control and rammed into cyclists and passengers waiting for vehicles at Iyana Iyesi. Four children and two adults died on the spot while one person is currently receiving treatment.

“We have deposited the six corpses at the Ota General Hospital and the injured person is also receiving treatment at the same hospital,’’ Adewale added. He said the wreckage of the unmarked vehicle had been cleared off the road while his men were still at the scene to ensure free flow of traffic.

Acid attack: I’m innocent, Ondo commissioner insists HAKEEM GBADAMOSI AKURE

he Ondo State Commissioner for Natural Resources, Alhaji Lasisi Oluboyo, has once again denied pouring acid on a former member of the state task force on forest reserves, Adetutu Ajisafe, aka Pistol. The commissioner, who restated his denial yesterday in Akure while speaking with journalists, described the action as barbaric and inhuman.

Oluboyo said he was embarrassed by the report linking him with the attack and promised to assist the security agents in fishing out the perpetrators. He explained that the victim was a member of the former task force dissolved when he assumed duty as commissioner in 2011. The commissioner said it took the ministry two months to retrieve government properties in Ajisafe’s possession after the task force was dissolved.

Oluboyo recalled writing a petition to the state Commissioner of Police over impersonation by Ajisafe by carrying out some illegal activities in the state reserves “and using my name to collect money”. The commissioner said Ajisafe was arrested by the police sometimes ago when he illegally arrested some timber drivers and was discovered not to be a member of the task force while a pistol was also found on him He said: “Ajisafe illegally

arrested some timber lorries and took them to the security agents where it was discovered that he was not a member of the state task force. “I have never set my eyes on him for a long time. I don’t have cause to call him and wondered why he was claiming that I called him on phone to threaten him. Let the security agents investigate this. “I strongly have faith in the security agents that the perpetrators of the crime will be brought to book.”

n Ekiti High Court has ordered Governor Kayode Fayemi to pay salaries and entitlements of former Chairman of the State Universal Basic Education Board, SUBEB, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, till when his tenure would have expired. Adeyeye had filed a suit number HAD/133/2010, challenging his removal, claiming that his appointment was statutory with four-year tenure and could not be terminated. In his judgment yesterday, Justice Oluwatoyin Bodunde dismissed the preliminary objection raised by counsel to the state government and former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Dayo Akinlaja (SAN), that the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case. Bodunde, who held that the governor could terminate the appointment of political appointees, ruled that: “Since the government had by itself acknowledged the existence of a debt arising from that employment and the subsequent termination of same by the governor, their entitlements, which are acknowledged by documents issued by the Office of Auditor General of the State, must be paid.” Adeyeye, a Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship aspirant, who was appointed the Ekiti SUBEB chairman by former Governor Segun Oni on February 12, 2008, for a four-year term, was alongside other members of the board removed by Fayemi in 2010, shortly after the governor assumed office.

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South East

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

LG polls: Imo plans to dupe aspirants –PDP •As court stops elections

battle with the elected council chairmen over the issue of tenure.” Amajirionwu disclosed that the state government’s intention was to use the planned election to dupe unsuspecting aspirants. He said: “We are aware that the Imo State Independent Electoral Commission, ISIEC, has fraudulently collected as much as N350,000 from each community to create new wards, the same tactics the government is planning to implore to dupe aspirants in disguise that it is organising council elections. “We advise all Imo citizens to disregard the

planned election as there will be no such election in the state; the government is just busy collecting money from the aspirants.” Meanwhile, the Federal High Court sitting in Owerri, has adjourned till March 13, further hearing in a case filed by the PDP against ISIEC, after ordering the state government to stay action on the proposed local government elections. The case is challenging the right of ISIEC to conduct local government elections in the state while the issue of tenure of sacked council chairmen was still pending in the court. The plaintiff had urged the court to stop ISIEC and its Chairman, Mr. Teddy Akwari, from conducting the elections, insisting the proposed elections would be contempt of court.

Return of schools, great challenge to missionaries –Ex-VC NWABUEZE OKONKWO ONITSHA

ormer Vice-Chancellor of the Nnamrespondent in Owerri, the CHRIS NJOKU di Azikiwe Unistate PDP Publicity SecreOWERRI versity, UNIZIK, Awka, tary, Chief Blyden AmaAnambra State, Prof. Pita he Peoples Demo- jirionwu, said the planned Ejiofor, has described the cratic Party, PDP, council elections were a ploy return of schools to the yesterday accused to defraud aspirants. missionaries as a great the All Progressive Grand He said: “Governor Rochallenge to the church. Alliance, APGA-led gov- chas Okorocha is aware that Ejiofor was a key-note ernment in Imo State of no council elections will be speaker at the ongoing perfecting plans to dupe possible in the state when four-day National Conaspirants in the local gov- the administration has not ference on Education, orernment elections sched- settled the lingering legal ganised by the National uled for April. battle involving the local Association of Catholic This is as the Federal government chairmen and Diocesan Directors/SecHigh Court sitting in Ow- the state government. retaries of Education, erri yesterday granted PDP “It would also have NACDDED, at the Barelief for a stay of execution amounted to contempt of silica of the Most Holy for the proposed council elec- court since the state governTrinity, Onitsha Catholic tions. ment is still locked in a legal Archdiocese. Speaking with our corHe said the newly returned Catholic schools should, as in the past, be centres of excellence in discipline and studies. In the paper entitled; “Return of schools to voluntary agency: Its effects and challenges,” the former VC contended that how effectively and humanely the teachers were managed in this era would determine to a large extent the success of the newly returned schools’ apostolate, and the image and strength of the local church. He said: “For our church, the miracles of the schools of yesteryears in evangelisation are therefore not likely to be repeated today (may these words not be L-R: 1st Vice President, Enugu Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ECCIMA), Dr. Ifeanyi Okoye; President, Dr. blessed). Theo Okonkwo and Director-General, Sir Emeka Okereke, at a news conference on 24th ECCIMA International Trade Fair in Enugu, “Creeds are no more yesterday.

Youths abduct traditional ruler’s father GEORGE OPARA ABIA

rmed youths have allegedly abducted 70-year-old Chief Ekwueme Andrew, father of Eze Ekwueme P. Ekwueme of Ochia autonomous community in Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area of Imo State. Another member of the community, Mr. Chukwudi Ali, 54, was also kidnapped about 4.am on Monday. At press time, there were fears that Ali had been tortured to death. The crisis-ridden oilrich community is made up of five villages, namely: Umuokuzu, Ububo, Ugama, Umuodibe and Umuogwa.

The community plunged into crisis following the discovery of oil in the area in 2008 by Watersmith Petroman Oil Company Limited. In 2010, the community was granted autonomous status. Later, election was held which led to the emergence of the traditional ruler. All the developments came with high expectations which engendered unhealthy rivalry. Ugama farmland is where major oil wells are concentrated and the village where the monarch hails from with pipelines traversing other villages. According to sources, many people from Umuokuzu are not happy that an

Ugama man is occupying the traditional stool before an indigene of Umuokuzu. The aggrieved people believe that Umuokuzu is the most senior of all the villages and should be the first to produce the traditional ruler of the newly created autonomous community. With this, some people went to Oguta High Court to challenge the installation of the monarch. Besides, the youths of the community are polarised. One faction is said to be loyal to the monarch while the other is loyal to his opponents. The last straw that broke the Carmel’s back was the conduct of youths’ election in the community on Janu-

ary 19. A member of the faction loyal to the traditional ruler emerged as the youth president. This infuriated those in the opposing camp. The angry youths staged a violent protest, alleging rigging, manipulation and imposition. When our correspondent visited the community, armed mobile policemen with three Hilux vans were patrolling the area. Men, women and youths were leaving the community for Assa and Obile – the neighbouring autonomous communities. Also, many residential buildings, including the palace, were either torched or demolished.

changed in classrooms but in innumerable crusades, home ministries, employment markets and televangelism powered by prophets, pastors, healers, preachers and seers. “So, while educating the people, the church should always remember that, in the first decades of the Third Millennium, the battlefield where she wins or loses souls is not only in the schools but also in evangelisation strategy, mode of preaching, good works and superior organisation.” Earlier in his welcome address, the National Chairman of NACDDED, Rev. Fr. Richard Omolade, had commended the state governors who have returned schools to their original owner. Omolade said by so doing, the governor had taken the bull by the horn, despite great opposition. He also commended the governors who have not only returned schools, but also given funds for renovation of dilapidated structures and management of education. The cleric added that inasmuch as the church needed the schools, the schools must battle for governmental concern, funding, control, discipline, quality teacher, much of its focus would be diverted from critical areas of need such as teaching and learning.

Armed men murder PDP chieftain in Nsukka

rmed men have killed a Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, chieftain, Mr. Ejike Onah, popularly called “Papa Nsukka” in his Agbani Nguru community in Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State. A witness told the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in Nsukka yesterday that some yet-beidentified persons visited the deceased on Sunday night and inflicted machete cuts on his head and shoulder, and fled. He said: “Some members of his family raised the alarm which attracted villagers who rushed him

to St Michel’s Hospital at Obollo Road, Nsukka.” The witness, who sought anonymity, said Onah’s killing might not be unconnected with a land dispute he had with some people. The PDP Chairman in Nsukka Local Government Area, Mr. Alpho Nweze, who confirmed the murder, described it as unfortunate. He said: “The party will ensure that those behind the killing do not go unpunished.’’ When NAN visited the community, most of the residents had fled the town for fear of being arrested by the police.

South South

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

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Amnesty indicts police over violent deaths PRECIOUS-WERNER AHIAKWO PORT HARCOURT

non-governmental organisation, Amnesty International, yesterday indicted the Nigeria Police over the series of violent deaths in the country. The body said that hundreds of fatal shootings that occur each year leave families anguished and bereaved were usually not being investigated effectively by the police. The body

attributed this to a failure of the Nigerian justice system. Amnesty International Researcher, James Welsh, in a report issued yesterday in Port Harcourt identified Rivers State as one of the states where violent deaths in the hands of policemen are not investigated adequately. In the report titled; “Nigeria: No Justice for the Dead,” Welsh illustrates the gap in the investigation of deaths following police action in Rivers State

where basic techniques of crime scene protection and investigation are not applied and autopsies and inquests are either not carried out or are inadequate. “It is a sad truth that in Nigeria, the victims of police brutality and their families rarely receive justice, and in spite of the existence of domestic laws and international standards requiring the investigation of such deaths, the lack of proper autopsies and inquests mean the perpetrators of these crimes are

simply getting away with it,” he added. On how the investigations were conducted, Welsh said; “Medical and legal sources revealed that there is a practice of doctors signing death investigation reports without examining the body properly. “In my visit to the Braithwaite Memorial Hospital, BMH, in Port Harcourt, I found the mortuary overcrowded with bodies dumped in piles on the verandah and on benches.” Welch also recalled a

case of one Pastor Ken Neele, whose brother, Thomas Mmabu Neele, 20, was killed by the police’s stray bullet while taking his bath in his house, in November 2011. He said the police labeled his body “unknown corpse” at the BMH mortuary and has since refused to release the body to the family for proper burial. “In many cases, the identity of the deceased is not known to the police and bodies are registered as “unknown.” Little ef-

fort is made by police to identify them. Relatives are often left with no answers about the fate of their family members and rarely receive justice,” Welsh concluded. Amnesty International is calling on the federal and state governments to investigate all violent deaths in the country, to ensure that adequate autopsies are carried out by qualified personnel, and to hold those found guilty of such unlawful killings to account for their actions.

Bayelsa earmarks N20bn for post-flood challenges EMMA GBEMUDU YENAGOA

Health personnel at the launch of the 2013 National Immunisation Campaign at Essien Udim lga in Akwa Ibom State, yesterday.

Gunmen kill two soldiers, one civilian EMMA GBEMUDU YENAGOA

unmen in the early hours of yesterday killed two soldiers and one retired naval personnel in a gun battle along Akpelebiri-Angiama River in Sagbama Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. Reports said the incident is still generating tension in the locality even as it recorded other casual-

ties, which included two civilians who sustained varying degrees of injuries. The gunmen were said to have left the area in their speedboat with three of their colleagues that sustained bullet wounds. Investigation by National Mirror revealed that the soldiers were escorting a barge belonging to Sterling Global Oil Resources Limited when they were ambushed by the gunmen,

which resulted in a shootout. Our Correspondent gathered that the bodies of the dead soldiers and civilian have been retrieved and deposited in an undisclosed mortuary in the state. It was learnt that the escorted barge conveying some equipment was coming from Warri, Delta State and heading to Port Harcourt, Rivers State, when they were attacked.

NDDC builds new orthopaedic hospital in Rivers SAM OLUWALANA PORT HARCOURT

he Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, has commenced the construction of a specialist and orthopaedic hospital in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital. The hospital, comprising orthopaedic and cardiovascular units, when completed will deal with the correction of injuries

to the skeletal system, associated muscles, joints and ligaments while the cardiovascular unit will treat heart problems, said to be prevalent in the region. Briefing journalists at the project site along Moscow Road, Port Harcourt, Engr. King Babalola, said his firm has excavated and constructed 349 pads for the one storey orthopedic unit and has started blinding for the foundation of the four-storey cardiovascular

centre. “The foundation stage is the most difficult in building construction but going by the pace of work, we are sure of delivering on this project before the end of the year,” he assured. Meanwhile, the people of Etche, an oil bearing community in the state will soon be travelling to and from Port Harcourt with ease as the NDDC has commenced the dualisation of the 40 kilometre Igwuruta-

Already, operatives of the Joint Military Taskforce, JTF, have deployed five military gun boats to the creeks to track down the gunmen now at large. Contacted, spokesman of the JTF, Lt. Col. Onyema Nwachukwu, confirmed the incident, saying two soldiers and a civilian lost their lives in the attack. Nwachukwu said the soldiers escorting the barge ran into an ambush leading to a gun duel.

Amala road with bridges. Site Manager of the firm handling the project, Engr. Dyer, in a chat with journalists said the company has completed the asphalting of about 4.3 kilometres after clearing, excavation, mounting and grading on both side of the road. Commending the NDDC for embarking on the project, a tipper driver said the expanded road would enhance their sand tipping business.

he Bayelsa State PostFlood Management Committee yesterday said it has earmarked N20 billion to fix some infrastructure damaged by the flood that ravaged the state last year. Against this background, the Chairman of the committee, Chief Francis Doukpola, said the committee was expected to visit flood ravaged communities to assess the damages. Doukpola, who spoke at a news conference yesterday in Yenagoa, said the committee would distribute available relief materials to the affected communities, stressing that it would collaborate with community leaders to

enable the items get to the people directly. It will be recalled that the flood, which occurred between October and November last year, displaced over 30, 000 people in all the eight local government areas of the state. Management of floodrelated problems in the designated camps was fraught with sharp practices by some top government functionaries who were members of the flood committee headed by the state Deputy Governor, Rear Admiral John Jonah. Doukpola’s words: “The committee has decided to embark on a tour of the affected communities to have first hand information on the most pressing and appropriate areas for intervention.

Akpabio decries sanitation situation in LGs

kwa Ibom State Governor, Godswill Akpabio, has expressed his displeasure over the poor state of environmental sanitation in the local government areas of the state. Governor Akpabio, who bared his mind on Monday during a meeting with chairmen of the 31 local government areas in the state, directed the Chairman of Ikot Ekpene Local Government to stop motorcycle mechanics and block makers from working on the covered drains as wastes generated from repairs or block making could deface their aesthetic value. He mandated the Sure-P Committee in the state to employ 150 persons and post them to each local government area to handle environmental sanitation in the council areas. The governor, however, directed the chairmen to forward to his office the list

of development projects to be undertaken by them this year, comprising those that have been executed and completed and those that are to be executed to enable him to plan for the commissioning of the projects or attend their ground-breaking ceremonies where necessary. The governor pledged to hold a meeting with them regularly to enable them iron out their differences and problems with a view to finding lasting solutions to such in the overall interest of a stable polity and development. He also promised to assist local government councils overcome some of their teething problems, especially finance and to direct the state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice to send a legal amendment to the state House of Assembly to allow them access the one per cent Agricultural Funds now in a fixed deposit.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Politics

LG autonomy, a fait accompli –Okafor

2015: Storm against Governor Ajimobi

Jonathan administration, hallmark of incompetence –ACN AYODELE OJO

he Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) yesterday hit back at the Goodluck Jonathan administration describing it as “incompetent, clueless and inconsistent.” In a statement issued in Abuja yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed, the party also lambasted the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Doyin Okupe, for blaming the opposition for the failure of the Jonathan administration to make a positive impact on the lives of Nigerians. Mohammed said the likes of Okupe, rather than the opposition, have contributed in no small measure to the administration’s low esteem in the eyes of Nigerians, saying: “There is no point rummaging through the dictionary to define incompetence, as Okupe has done in his rambling state-

ment. All one needs to do to understand the meaning of incompetence is to look at the waffling Jonathan administration. “Touting President Jonathan’s impressive academic qualifications is also very cheap, as they have not proven to be an asset in the way and manner the President has steered the affairs of his administration, especially his articulation of his government’s policies and the projection of its ability. In any case, while a Doctorate degree in any field is something to be celebrated, it is not a pre-requisite for being a good leader.” The ACN insisted that the incompetence and cluelessness of the Jonathan administration have resulted in the country being bogged down by monumental corruption and unprecedented level of insecurity, such that the citizens no longer trust the government. “No administration in our recent history has been more a hotbed of corrup-

tion than the Jonathan administration, whether it is the fuel subsidy scam or the police pension scam, just to mention two. Even when a feeble attempt is made to prosecute those behind the scams, the majesty of the law is rubbished by incompetent prosecution that ensures that convicted persons get only a slap on the wrist. Under the Jonathan administration, the more money you steal, the less punishment you receive!

“Profligacy has also been the order of the day. If this government is not building a N2.2 billion banquet hall, it is spending N4 billion on the building of the African First Ladies Peace Mission office. The funds being wasted on these white elephant projects would have been better spent on creating jobs for our youths, millions of whom are roaming the streets daily in search of what to do to make ends meet,” the party said. Mohammed said one

area in which the Jonathan Administration’s incompetence is most glaring is the provision of security. His words: “While a security crisis of the scale perpetrated by Boko Haram may be unprecedented in our country, equally unfathomable is the government’s inability to rise to the occasion, to such an extent that even the President admits that his administration has been infiltrated by Boko Haram members! Of course,

there were also unprecedented cases of kidnapping and armed robbery, all of which have overwhelmed the clueless government. “Overall, a government that lies to its citizens by either saying it had been hailed for its anti-corruption effort by Transparency International when that is not the case, or giving an exaggerated amount of electricity that has been generated cannot get much respect from the people.”

Lagos PDP secretary buried amidst tears OLAJIDE OMOJOLOMOJU

he late state secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Lagos State, Fatai Agbabiaka that committed to mother earth yesterday at his Isolo, Lagos residence according to Islamic rites amidst tears from political associates and family members. Agbabiaka, aged 56 and a prince from the AlagbejiOkota-Adeola Olusi Olugbesa ruling house of Isolo in Oshodi-Isolo Local Government Area of Lagos, died on Sunday, February 3, after a brief illness and treatment in an Indian hospital. He was survived a wife and six children. Describing his death as a “sad and painful loss” to the leadership and generality of the PDP in the state, the state chairman of the PDP, Olatunji Shelle, in a statement yesterday, noted the leadership qualities of the late

politician, saying that his death was regrettable and that he would be remembered for being a bridge builder and resourceful team player during the short period he served as the party’s scribe. Shelle said: “He was a gentleman and core party leader who was pivotal in so many ways in really adding value to the cause of the current state executive and will be missed by all. His death is sad and painful loss to all of us in the party.” The remains of the late Agbabiaka had arrived at the Muritala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, yesterday aboard Emirates Airline at 12:45pm and was received by family members and party faithful, led by Shelle. Scores of PDP members paid their last respects to Agbabiaka after a funeral service conducted by the Chief Tafsir of Isolo Central Mosque, Ahmod Sadiq.

L-R: Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson; chairman, Bayelsa State Scholarship Board, Forster Ogola and Special Adviser to the governor on treasury and accounts Mr. Timipre Seipulou, at a press briefing on the governor’s scorecard scholarship.

Political campaigns banned in Oyo Agbado/Oke-Odo: Appeal Tribunal everything within the law to rule on jurisdiction February 20 KEMI OLAITAN to maintain law and order IBADAN

ard times now await political parties in Oyo State as the state police command have banned any form of political rally and campaign. The state Police Commissioner, Mr. Mbu Joseph Mbu, read the riot act while speaking with journalists at the state police headquarters in Eleyele, Ibadan, the state capital. According to him, members of any political party that violate the ban will not only be arrested but be prosecuted by the state police command. Mbu who was flanked by other senior police officers in the command, maintained that the state police command, will do

in the state. He said: “There is an Electoral Act as amended which stipulates when political parties can go on campaigns and rallies, they can only do this when there is an approaching election and this must be 90 days before the election. And since there is no coming election in the state, it is illegal for any political party in the state to embark on any form of rally or campaign. “This prohibition applies to all the political parties in the state and I am using this medium to warn members of the political parties to obey the prohibition in their own interest, failure of which the full weight of the law will be meted to them.”

WALE IGBINTADE

he Election Appeal Tribunal sitting in Lagos, yesterday fixed February 20 to rule on whether it has jurisdiction to hear an appeal filed by the chairman, Agbado Oke-Odo Local Council Development Area, Augustine Arogundade challenging the nullification of his election by the Justice Ade Awobiyi-led Election Tribunal. The 5-man Appeal Tribunal led by Justice Opeyemi Oke adjourned the petition having taken arguments from counsels to the parties. The lower tribunal had, in its judgment voided

the certificate of return issued to Arogundade, the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) candidate by the Lagos State Independent Electoral Commission (LASIEC), adding that the poll was won by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Busari Akande. In his Motion on Notice brought pursuant to Order 7 Rule (1) and (10) as well as Order 8, Rule (3) (19) of the Court of Appeal Rules 2011, the appellant through his lawyer, Yemi Osibajo (SAN), is asking for an order for extension of time within which he (appellant) may compile and transmit to the Appeal Tribunal the records of appeal in EPT\ IK\004\2011.

Politics

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

2015: Storm against Ajimobi’s re-election The second term ambition of Oyo State governor, Abiola Ajimobi, is tearing the ruling party, Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) apart. SINA FADARE reports that if the party fails to learn from history, there is danger ahead.

ince the ascendancy of Senator Abiola Ajimobi as the chief executive of Oyo State, there was this pretence that the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), on whose platform he rode to power in the state, is a united house. However feelers from some members of the party in recent times have demonstrated that all is not well with the party and this may have drastic consequences on the second term ambition of the governor. It all started with the Integrity Parliament Group that has disparaged the party’s leadership in the public with a call for the dissolution of the state executives from the ward, local government to the state levels. Ironically, Integrity Parliament was the name for the Senator Abiola Ajimobi’s Campaign Organisation (SENACO), consisting of his core loyalists with whom he moved from the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) to contest the governorship election on the platform of the ACN. National Mirror gathered that there was a cold war between the group and the original ACN members, led by the former governor of the state, late Lam Adesina; a cold war that he could not resolve before his exit. An informed source in the party told National Mirror that the cold war came into the open because of the failure of the governor to harmonise the groups and his taking care of his own group at the expense of the original members of the ACN, majority of who were not politically compensated. The group that consists of chieftains of the party like Busari Adebisi, the chairman of the State Universal Education Board; Lasisi Ayankojo, the chairman of the Local Government Service Commission; Bisi Akande; Kunle Sanda and Alhaja Ramota Balogun was called names by the leader of the party. However a group in the party, that goes by the name ACN Reformation Group, frowned at the naming of the governor as the leader of the party in the state after the demise of Adesina, noting that Michael Koleosho, who facilitated the choice of Ajimobi as the party’s candidate should be the leader of the party. In an advertorial published in the Nigerian Tribune recently, the ACN Reformation Group described the endorsement of Governor Ajimobi for 2015 and his being anointed as the state leader of the party as a macabre dance and called for restraint. The group said: “We also appeal to Governor Ajimobi to resist the temptation of riding a ‘bruised-nose horse’ that is being deceptively decorated for him by the lousy mercenaries, because such ride is always rough, bumpy and the end predictable! A word is enough for the wise!” The group demanded for the reconstitution of the government because there is lopsidedness in the distribution of political power, alleging that the governor’s friends, instead of party members are the beneficiaries of the spoils of office in the state. The group, which rejected any attempt by the governor and his surrogate to tinker with the present executives from the ward to the state level demanded for an independent inquiry into the state of affairs of the government and party in the state. Expectedly, in defence of the governor, particularly the second term endorsement, the Integrity Parliament, a relic of Ajimobi’s group that came with him from the ANPP and who are perceived to be at the core of political patronage in terms of plum positions in the Ajimobi-led administration and in a communiqué at the end of its meeting recently in Ibadan, urged the national leaders and executive of the ACN to dissolve

Ajimobi

T HE

PARTY WAS FORMED

BY AN AMALGAMATED

FORCES TO OUST THE NON PERFORMING PRECEDING GOVERNMENT AND AS A RESULT THINGS LIKE THESE

SHOULD BE EXPECTED , WE ARE SAYING THAT

ACN

“BUT O YO

EXECUTIVE REMAINS SACROSANCT

the party executives from the ward to state levels on the grounds that they were constituted in a “one-man show” and based on sentiments rather than reason and democratic norms. The promoters of the group threatened to form a parallel executive across the 33 local government councils and to also drag the Akin Oke-led executive to court, should the national body of the party ignore the call. Reacting to the allegation against his leadership, the state chairman of the party, Oke, described members of the Integrity Parliament as jokers who are unknown to the party in the state, noting that the current party executive was duly elected for a four-year tenure in 2010 at the Olubadan Stadium, adding that the group’s move “is an exercise in futility that will fail.” Oke explained that his leadership had dealt fairly with all concerned in the party and urged the group to allow Governor Ajimobi concentrate on the delivery of the dividends of good governance to the people of the state. The Oke led executive also called on the governor to caution and denounce those behind the group and rid his government of such people who are “overaged” and depreciating in value and knowledge. On the threat to institute an action in court, Oke said the group was free to approach the judiciary.

As the dust of who control what in the political scheming of the state was settling down, the ACN Reformation Group came out with another advertorial, saying: “The common denominator of these political apostates, whose ages range between 60 and 80 years, is that they are all sojourners and political returnees….who have been handsomely rewarded with plum political offices and patronage for doing a yeoman job of destroying the ACN. But their plot shall fail.” The Group pointed out that “the ACN as a progressive party is a message, and we implore the good people of Oyo State not to confuse the message with the messenger. Sometimes, some messengers misinterpret the message in an apostatic rendition, and this trait we have seen rearing its head within Oyo State ACN”. However, in another development, the governor was asked to relieve the members of the Integrity Parliament, described as agents of disunity as well as old and over-aged, of their various positions in the present administration in the state. The state Publicity Secretary of the party, Dauda Kolawole, who relayed their position in a release, stated that such “over-aged” people were no longer “appreciating in value and knowledge” and urged Ajimobi to replace them with vibrant youths. The party chaieftain maintained that there was no group known by the name ‘Integrity Parliament’ and charged members of the party not to allow themselves to be used against the party. “That the so-called Integrity Parliament members are the most beneficiaries of the present government, holding key governmental positions. Majority of them are over-aged, while the governor is advised to remove and relinquish them of their positions and replace them with younger blood, for they are no longer appreciating in value and knowledge, he added. However, federal lawmakers from the state have denied that there is disunity in the party, declaring their loyalty to the party’s state executive committee and Governor Ajimobi. Led by Kamil Akinlabi, the lawmakers claimed that the news of the purported division was the handiwork of disgruntled politicians, who are bent on causing disaffection in the state. The lawmakers therefore exonerated the governor of complicity in the matter, saying: “We believe that as the governor in place when we were nominated as candidates of the party, he could not be party to such things.” The lawmaker admitted that the party was formed by an amalgamated forces to oust the non-performing preceding government and as a result things like these should be expected, “but we are saying that Oyo ACN executive remains sacrosanct and we are passing a vote-of-confidence on it.” They further said: “We are saying it categorically that the governor is not behind the dissolution call. We have confirmed this from him.” Could it be that ACN have failed to learn from the political history of the state and how they got to power due to the irreconcilable crisis that engulfed the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which once occupied the Agodi Government House? Speaking to National Mirror on condition of anonymity about the cold war in the party, one of the National Assembly members agreed that the party is passing through a turbulent time, noting that this is understandable because of where the party is coming from. He counselled the governor not to be beclouded about his second term ambition, but rather try to harmonise all the warring factions, so that the party will remain a formidable force to tackle the greater challenges ahead. Political pundits are of the view that the way the elders in the party will handle the issue at stake will go a long way to determine the success of the party or otherwise as the march to the 2015 elections progresses.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Politics

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

The National Assembly is embarking on constitution review and one contentious issue in the process is the local government autonomy. The state governors are kicking against granting autonomy to the local governments, what is your take on this? My take on this issue is well known. The local government system in Nigeria needs to be strengthened; it needs to be independent and autonomous, to have the capacity to deliver its mandate to the people. From the provisions of the constitution on constitution review, for any review to scale through, it requires the endorsement of at least 24 Houses of Assembly. With the stranglehold of the state governors on the states Houses of Assembly, don’t you foresee that the local government autonomy may remain a pipe dream? Well, when we get to that bridge, we will know how to cross it. But I am full of confidence that the states Houses of Assembly would discharge their responsibilities according to the wishes of the people that elected them and bestowed on them the mandate to represent the people. I believe they are not going to disappoint the people, because this is what the entire Nigerian people want. All of us in public office took oath to discharge our responsibilities to our people. Nigerians have demonstrated in a very strong way during the public hearing on the constitution amendment held all over the six geo-political zones that what they want is autonomy for the local government system in the country. Nigerians want an autonomous local government system, a local government system they can connect to, a local government system that will continue to deliver to them those little dividends of democracy that would make life meaningful to them and a local government system that will improve the lives of the people and impact on the lives of the people, especially the people in the rural areas, who are not connected to the government at the centre. How has it been leading the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON)? It has been a challenging experience and it was coming at a time there was a clamour for a stronger and more effective local government system, so it is challenging, but at the same time, I enjoy the support of my colleagues across the country, as we have all been working together to ensure that the local government system assumes its rightful place in the governance of our people and to ensure that we increase our capacity to deliver on our mandate to our people. Can you be specific about those challenges you confront in piloting the affairs of the ALGON? The major challenge has been how to prevent the local government system from being strangulated. We have the challenge of state governments refusing to conduct regular elections to elect the administrators at the local government councils, according to the provisions of the 1999 Constitution. We are hopeful that all the local government councils in Nigeria would be under the control of leaders elected by the people rather than people imposed through the whims and caprices of one man. We are hoping that we would have a system that would give to the people the right to chose those who will lead them at the local

LG autonomy, a fait accompli –Okafor Nwabueze Okafor is the National president of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON). In this interview with OLAJIDE OMOJOLOMOJU, he bares his mind on the need for autonomy for local government councils, among other sundry national issues. Excerpts:

NIGERIANS WANT AN AUTONOMOUS LOCAL GOVERNMENT

SYSTEM... THAT WILL CONTINUE TO DELIVER TO THEM THOSE LITTLE DIVIDENDS OF DEMOCRACY THAT WOULD MAKE LIFE MEANINGFUL TO THEM AND... IMPROVE THE

LIVES OF THE PEOPLE Okafor

government level, which is the closest tier of government to the people. From available statistics, more than half of the states in Nigeria run the local government councils with appointed caretaker committees, instead of democratically elected administrators in accordance with Section 7 of the constitution. What is ALGON doing to arrest this development? We have been engaging in advocacy and we have been trying to meet with the affected governors of the states involved to appeal to them to ensure that the provision of the constitution, which they swore to uphold is adhered to and I can say that the advocacy is yielding results, as in the last few months, about six or seven states have conducted local government council election and in the coming weeks, more would also conduct elections to elect the people’s representatives to run the local government councils. More would still continue, as the provision of the constitution in section 7 was very unambiguous about the administration of the local government councils in Nigeria. The only system guaranteed by the constitution for the administration of the local government system is democratically elected administrators. So, we have been working hard, appealing to the state governors and also appealing to Nigerians to ensure that the local government system in Nigeria is run according to the provisions of the constitution. We are appealing to all stakeholders to ensure that there are democratically elected administrators at the local government system. Where do you hope to see ALGON by the time you leave office? I hope to see a stronger ALGON, because a stronger local government system would make for a stronger ALGON. We want a local government system that is so strong that it can meet the needs of the people and

cater for their welfare, a system that can take care of the infrastructural needs, providing public utilities for the people, good healthcare delivery system and good primary educational system and adequate environmental management for the people. It is my strong believe that we would have elected local government councils that are autonomous, receiving the resources and allocations directly from the federation account and given the latitude and the freedom to make plans and implement same. I want to see that kind of local system by the time we are leaving the leadership of ALGON. Presently, Nigerians are unanimous about having a local government system that is strengthened and virile that would provide those little things they want from government. Your state, Enugu has been in the news lately, with the long absence of the state governor, Sullivan Chime for over three months. And recently, a picture emerged showing the governor in the midst of his colleagues from Akwa Ibom, Benue and Rivers states. However, there has been insinuation that the picture was fake, what is your reaction to these developments? I think it would have been better to limit ourselves to issues affecting the local government system in Nigeria, but I can tell you with all sense of responsibility that the picture in question is real. I can assure you that the governor is getting better by the day and in a very short while; the governor is going to return to his duty post. I have spoken to the governor many times; he would return and resume his normal duties. That is all I can say about that. Are you in support of the clamour by the South-East geo-political zone for an Igbo president in 2015? As the National President of ALGON, I cover all the states of the federation and I am leading chairmen of all local governments from across the federation in all the geo-political zones of the country. I am clamouring for a very good and competent

and effective president that would meet the yearnings and aspirations of the Nigerian people, irrespective of which zone in the country he or she comes from.

Last week, the Boko Haram sect announced a ceasefire, how would you react to this development? Every patriotic Nigerian would be happy with the announcement, because we all know that development would thrive better in a peaceful atmosphere and environment. Do you think the call by Northern leaders for amnesty for the Boko Haram sect members in the like of amnesty for Niger Delta militants justified? I think a ceasefire has been announced and I believe that after the ceasefire, there would be engagement between the Federal Government and the sect and I think the government is in a better position, after the engagement and consultation, to decide whether there is justification in the call for amnesty for the Boko Haram members or not. Of course, those calling for amnesty in the mould of the Niger Delta militants’ amnesty have their reason for such call, but whether such calls are justified or not would depend on how the government looks at the issues surrounding the activities of the sect, whether or not amnesty should be granted to members of the sect or not. They would see the entire picture and determine whether or not there is need for amnesty; they would consider the immediate and remote causes of their actions and determine the final course of action of government. As an outsider, I don’t have the true position of the whole scenario and so I cannot readily say that the calls for amnesty are justified or not. Corruption has been identified as the major factor militating against Nigeria’s development. Last year, many polls and the Transparency International (TI) rated Nigeria as one of the most corrupt countries in the world. Do you think the government is combating this enigma the way it should? The government is doing its best, I believe, because, for something that has become so endemic, so entrenched in our system, it is not something that we can expect to see results immediately. But from the cases that the government agencies fighting corruption have embarked upon, one can say that the government is trying its very best. We are moving, although we might not be moving as fast as Nigerians expected government to move, but given how entrenched corruption has been in the country, there is light at the end of the tunnel. What is ALGON doing about the issue of states/local government joint account? We have been advocating for the abrogation of section 162 of the 1999 Constitution, to abolish the state/local government joint account, so that every local government council can get directly from the federation account, whatever is due to it, without any intermediary, so that they can have the tools to deliver to their people, to carry out the enormous responsibilities that the constitution has bestowed on them.

News

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Khaki vs Suswam: Appeal Court reserves judgement T he Court of Appeal, Makurdi Division, yesterday reserved judgement for a later date in the appeal filed by a defeated Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship

aspirant, Terver Khaki, against Governor Gabriel Suswam of Benue. Khaki, who lost the PDP primaries, dragged the governor to court on the grounds that the primaries

were not properly conducted and that Suswam was not educationally qualified to contest the election. He had alleged that the governor forged his secondary school certificate.

Khaki said the conduct of the primaries was a “charade and stage managed.” However, when the case came up before the Federal High Court in Makurdi

in 2012, Justice Marcel Awokulehin gave judgement in favour of the governor on the grounds that the case was a pre-election matter and an intra-party affair. Dissatisfied with the judgement of the court, Khaki went on appeal. When the case came up before the appellate court on Tuesday, counsel to Suswam, Mr. Jibril Okutepa, filed a preliminary objection, arguing that the appeal was incompetent and should be struck out. However, counsel to

the appellant, Mr. Jackson Kargbo, said that all evidence pointed to the fact that the primaries were conducted “to fulfill all righteousness and concede victory to his client’s opponent.” After hearing arguments from the parties in the matter, a five-man panel presided over by Justice Jafa’ru Mika’ilu adopted their various briefs. The case was then adjourned for judgment at a later date which would be communicated to the parties.

Nigeria generated N5trn as revenue tax in 2012 –Minister

M L-R: Head, Global Markets, Stanbic IBTC Bank Nigeria, Mr. Sola Adegbesan; Managing Director, Mantrac Nigeria, Mr. Edmund Lawson and Ferdinard Van Noort of CAT Financial Services, during the launch of their collaboration agreement in Lagos, yesterday. PHOTO: OLUFEMI AJASA

2015: 10 governors endorse merger talks CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5

try. We are the only national party that gives room for religious tolerance.” At the end of yesterday’s meeting between the CPC and ACN in Abuja, it was agreed that an enlarged meeting of major opposition parties, including the APGA and ANPP will hold today. This is even as sources at the CPC headquarters revealed that former military Head of State and leader of the CPC, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, might have soft-pedalled on his initial stand that ANPP would not be part of the merger arrangement. Although, no statement was issued after the meeting, a source at the meeting said that the attendance was massive as most of the leaders of the parties, who were members of merger committees, were present. According to the source, “The ACN and CPC merger meeting was a success. It agreed to an enlarged meeting on Wednesday (today) with ANPP and APGA.” The source also said that the inclusion of APGA was based on a motion moved by former Anambra State governor and a serving senator, Dr. Chris Ngige. He said that Ngige had noted that for the merger to achieve its goal, it was

necessary to increase the spread and membership of the evolving party. The senator argued that the inclusion of both ANPP and APGA in the merger formation would boost the chances of the emerging party. Sources confirmed that Buhari would no longer stand in the way of the ANPP from joining in the arrangement. Former governor of old Kaduna State and Chairman, Conference of Nigeria Political Parties, CNPP, Alhaji Balarabe Musa, yesterday said the ongoing merger talks were bigger than the ambition of Buhari and former governor and leader of ACN, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. The CNPP leader said the opposition should not bring to bear their personal political interests for the merger to succeed in the overall interest of progressive Nigerians. In an interview with National Mirror in Kaduna, Musa stressed that the PDP’s plot to halt the exercise through its contracted agents would fail, adding that other political parties would join the merger before the 2015 elections. “The merger will succeed but my advice is that both Gen. Muhammadu Buhari

and Bola Tinubu should bury their political ambitions and interests and work for it to succeed. I can tell you the ongoing merger party talks are bigger than Buhari and Tinubu ambitions because Nigerians are waiting to see the positive outcome of the merger. Again, PDP agents will never succeed in their efforts to frustrate opposition merger.” In a related development, the ANPP yesterday sought the support of its members in the North- West on the plans to merge with other political parties. The Chairman of the party’s National Rebuilding and Interparty Contact Committee, Mallam Ibrahim Shekarau, told party members at a meeting in Kaduna that the ANPP would not accept any precondition for the merger. Shekarau and other ANPP leaders from the zone were in Kaduna to take a common stand on the matter. He said that the meeting was to aggregate the opinion of all stakeholders in the North-West that would guide the party in taking a final stand on the issue, adding that the merger would not be an “Abuja round table affair.”. The governor said that the essence of the interpar-

ty contact committee was to receive the endorsement of party stakeholders and generate ideas that would strengthen the party. “ANPP is presently undergoing transformation; if all opposition parties involved reached a successful conclusion, ANPP with definitely be transformed. “We would have had the interparty tour in all the states but because of the April deadline given by opposition parties, we have decided to have it in the four geo-political zones, simultaneously today. “After this, a conclusion would be drawn on the way forward with all the opposition parties involved,” Shekarau said. He said that the ANPP would undertake a national survey to determine its strength in each geo-political zone and ways to fund its activities. Shekarau added that it would also enable the party to identify party leaders that would be effective and versatile before and after the merger. Kaduna State Chairman of the party, Senator Muhammad Aliyu, pledged the support of party members in the zone to the ongoing unconditional talks for merger with other political parties.

inister of State for Finance, Dr Yerima Ngama, on Tuesday in London said N5 trillion was generated as revenue from tax in 2012. Ngama, who spoke against the backdrop of planned reforms in the insurance and tax sub sectors, made this known to newsmen at the UK-Nigeria Bilateral Banking, Finance and Investment Development Conference. He said the figures represented a new trend in the sector as compared to N454 billion generated in 2002, but decried the low level of compliance by individuals and companies in paying their tax. According to him, task revenue in Nigeria constitutes only seven per cent of the total value of the productivity of goods and

services. “The total task revenue to GDP ratio is only 7 per cent in Nigeria, If you go to other countries, it is up to 24 per cent; it has to do with the tax net, we have a lot of people and businesses who are not “Right now, we are not thinking of increasing any tax rate, we are thinking of widening the tax net so that more and more people can comply and pay their taxes and if that is done , we are sure of doubling the tax we are collecting. “Look at the trend in just 2002, the total taxes collected in Nigeria was N454 billion, but last year, we collected N5 trillion because of the reforms we have put in strengthening tax collecting agencies,” he said.

Jigawa Assembly shifts debate on 2013 budget

he Jigawa House of Assembly has shifted continuation of debate on the proposed N115 billion appropriation bill to February 12. The house had earlier fixed January 31 for the passage of the bill, but deliberation on it was postponed to Tuesday due to the inability of the Appropriation Committee to submit its report. The situation followed the adoption of a request by the Chairman, House Committee on Appropriation, Babangida Muhammad, who sought for some days’ extension. Muhammad, who spoke at the House plenary ses-

sion yesterday, said the committee could not finish its work on the bill and sought for one week extension. “The appropriation committee could not finish its work. I hereby move a motion for the bill to be submitted to the house on February 12. This is necessary to enable us to complete work on the bill,” he said. The house, presided over by the Deputy Speaker, Sule Udi, unanimously adopted the motion and fixed February 12 for the submission of the committee’s report. Lamido also submitted a N57 billion budget for the 27 local government areas of the state for consideration.

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Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Malian crisis and Boko Haram’s cessation of hostility PUBLIC DOMAIN

DELE

SETEOLU

deleseteolu@nationalmirroronline.net (08033137577 SMS only)

ou might have heard that Boko Haram has negotiated a ceasefire with the Borno State government, in a move generally perceived as a precursor to a subsequent dialogue with wider state actors. Sheikh Muhammed Abdulazeez Ibn Idris, commander of the sect’s North and South regions, disclosed the ceasefire was occasioned by the sufferings of the people. While bemoaning the recurring attacks by smaller groups in the guise of Boko Haram, the group commander urged the government to deal decisively with these groups that violate the ceasefire thereafter. The multiplicity of factions within Boko Haram, antecedents of the sect and the grounds for the present truce, raise fears on the sincerity of Boko Haram and therefore, the sustainability of the ceasefire. Furthermore, there are doubts whether Sheikh Ibn Azeez represents the dominant faction of Boko Haram. The timing of this ceasefire is also momentous; our reckoning is that Boko Haram

has declared ceasefire in the light of the Malian crisis. The Sahel region has been identified as terrorists’ enclave, where al-Qaeda trains terrorist groups; northern Mali seems to be a major operational and tactical base of terrorist groups. The Ansar Dine insurgents, a homegrown terrorist cell of al Qaeda bent on the imposition of Sharia law and establishment of a Tuareg Azawad homeland in Mali, have returned from adventurism in Libya and began fomenting new mayhem in Mali. The Tuareg dominated group has drawn fighters from neighboring countries such as Mauritania, Niger and northern Nigeria in Africa’s Sahel belt, America’s perceived Africa’s axis of evil. Borders of Mali, Niger, Mauritania and Libya are loosely patrolled and vulnerable to the infiltration of perceived terrorist organizations. The former fighters in Libya are also considered to have joined the Malian crisis on the side of insurgents. The crisis has drawn international attention in the form of intervention force. The African Union led intervention force has the mandate to enforce peace in Mali. The insurgents have been under pressures and attacks from French and Malian forces. The insurgents have also lost territories. The French, US and Russian involvement have increased the military pressure on the Islamists and Tuareqs. Boko Haram has now found northern Mali less conducive for its operations.

THE MULTIPLICITY OF FACTIONS WITHIN

BOKO HARAM,

ANTECEDENTS OF THE SECT AND THE GROUNDS FOR THE PRESENT TRUCE,

RAISE FEARS ON THE SINCERITY OF

BOKO

HARAM

The training and tactical operations of the sect will not likely hold amid the military operations of AU and other forces. The sect has negotiated a ceasefire in the light of the Malian crisis in the knowledge that the annihilation their patrons have suffered from intervention forces in Mali will curtail logistical support for it and jeopardize their Nigerian operations. There are fears that the group will likely make recourse to violence when the crisis in the embattled African country ends in favour of the interventionist forces.

Court verdict on police pension funds scam The court judgement on the perfidy in the police pension fund has drawn disgust

and anger in the polity. An Assistant Director in the Police Pension Office, Mr. John Yusuf, pleaded guilty before an Abuja High Court and was sentenced to two years in jail or an option of N750, 000 fine. This judgement suggests serious doubt on the willingness of the state to deal with political and bureaucratic corruption in Nigeria. Judgement as this is disgusting, reprehensible, anti-people and anti-Nigerian worker. It is similar to the ‘plea bargain’ that has enabled corrupt individuals to get light sentences in court. The pension scam creates reminiscences of the subsidy scam and the attendant consequences for the Nigerian people. The judgement is retrogressive and should be challenged by the Nigerian people. It is imperative to review the criminal justice system to impose harder penalties on corruption. Corruption has had devastating consequences on the society and should be seriously viewed. There are various documentations of corruption in Nigeria and their fallouts. The predatory nature of the political elite and non-autonomous nature of the state increase the problematic of corruption in Nigeria. A question that this spurs in the light of Rotimi Jacob’s public claim that the EFCC was not consulted on this is at whose instance is ‘plea bargain’ made with an accused party? The prosecution endorsed by the judge or only the judge?

Of change and accountability in Nigeria AL-AMIN ABBA DABO

IN NIGERIA, THE BANK ACCOUNT PROCLAIMS

Continued from yesterday

he lack of accountability is what venality thrives on and is the primary reason we find unprecedented levels of corruption in every one of our state institutions. From the top tiers of government to the lower ranks, funds are squandered and siphoned, projects abandoned, inflated contracts awarded and power abused. All these illegalities pass through either undetected or unpunished and even worse, considered customary. The introduction of the Freedom of Information bill passed in May 2011 made Nigeria only the second country to pass such a bill in West Africa. The Nigerian civil rights groups battled tirelessly for over a decade to see the bill come to fruition. Not surprisingly, Nigeria remains the most corrupt country in the region. A system with very little transparency is an incentive to fraudulent practices and it is a destined route to failure and further melancholy. Due to pitiable levels of accountability, we witness the ‘disappearance’ of billions of naira right under our noses (as seen in Nigerian Security Printing and Minting Company last year). We have witnessed mind-blowing swindling and immeasurable looting (such as the police pension funds and fuel subsidy scams); there is degeneration of public institutions and infrastructure

THE MAN. YOU ARE AS GOOD AS YOUR MONEY IS (such as the police colleges, educational institutions and state and federal roads). The list is interminable. The way forward? Our folded-arm approach has so far yielded no results. As concerned Nigerians, aspiring for change, little steps such as finding out how much is allocated to your LGAs, states etc. and enquiring through the Bureau of Public Procurement what the funds are being used for, could make a significant impact towards the push for transparent governance. You could also look at the nation’s budgetary allocations and proposals. It is worth noting that details on the budgetary proposals are very vague. An example is the one from the 2013 Ministry of Youth Development budget. For its NYSC scheme, N180 million and N203 million were proposed for ‘printing security documents’ and ‘printing non security documents’ respectively. What are security and non-security documents? Alas, the elusiveness. Regardless, these budget proposals could still be scrutinized. Many ministries propose hundreds of millions of naira for ‘on-going projects’ in different areas of the country. A citizen’s report on the progress of these so-called projects in your states could

shed light on the effectiveness of their implementation. These are few simple steps that could empower us and provide us with resources to hold public officials and institutions accountable. On a final note, let look at the root cause of most of our problems. The average Nigerian is stereotyped to want to ‘get rich doing the least work possible’. Coupled with widespread misgovernance and meagre transparency, public offices are seen as opportunities for self-enrichment and getting oneself to such position is nothing short of a do or die affair. In Nigeria, the bank account proclaims the man. You are as good as your money is. The youths are left with no examples to emulate, apart from those of the ‘Big Man’, who pompously flaunts his wealth. They are left with a voracious desire to make it to the top, not on the basis of merit or altruistic public service, but on that of ‘connection’ and malpractices. They are left with vivid memories of how amassed wealth has been and still is used as a potential safeguard against prosecution, regardless of one’s blatant criminality. They are left with the challenge of rescuing a society that if left unchanged, is guaranteed to plunge into anomie and unthinkable lawlessness. In the words of Barack Obama “change will not come if we wait for some other person, or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” We are the only ones that can change our nation. Individually and collectively, we have to make an effort.

In the words of Thomas Jefferson “it does me no injury for my neighbor to say there are 20 gods, or no god. It neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg.” Religious sentiments have hindered our prosperity for too long and distressed our peace. Let’s drop them. In the words of Franklin D. Roosevelt “the test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much, it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.” Let’s sort out our priorities and be altruistic in our daily activities. In the words of Voltaire “Don’t think money does everything or you are going to end up doing everything for money.” I will let you opine on this: Whatever the case, keep it legal and fair. Finally, in the words of Dr. Ahmed Musa, ‘Nigeria is the proverbial cat with 1000 lives’. We have undoubtedly exhausted 999 of those lives and are clinching unto the last. God Bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Concluded Abba Dabo, daboalamin@yahoo. com, wrote from Preston, the United Kingdom Send your views by mail or sms to PMB 10001, Ikoyi, or our Email: mail@ nationalmirroronline.net mirrorlagos@ yahoo.com or 08164966858 (SMS only). The Editor reserves the right to edit and reject views or photographs. Pseudonyms may be used but must be clearly marked as such.

Editorial

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

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

STEVE AYORINDE

MD/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

YELE AKINROLABU

ED OPERATIONS

SEYI FASUGBA

DAILY EDITOR

BOLAJI TUNJI

SUNDAY EDITOR

GBEMI OLUJOBI

SATURDAY EDITOR

DOZIE OKEBALAMA

COORDINATOR, EDITORIAL BOARD

ADESOYE ADEKOYA

CONTROLLER, PRODUCTION

CALLISTUS OKE

EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR

ISE-OLUWA IGE

ABUJA BUREAU CHIEF

KAYODE BALOGUN JNR

SM, STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT

FRANK OBOH

HEAD, GRAPHICS

Cargo airports and agric sector development

n recent weeks, officials of the Ministry of Aviation have been sensitising economic stakeholders to plans to build cargo terminals at 12 airports across the country to provide outlets for the export of perishable and non-perishable agricultural produce. This initiative cannot come at a better time given its potential impact to curb wastage in the nation’s agric sector. The initiative would also significantly increase farmers’ income and give fillip to government’s efforts to diversify the economy. Already, food production increased by some eight million tonnes last year and the Federal Ministry of Agriculture has set a target of 20 million tonnes by year 2015. This increasing level of production, if sustained, could easily transform Nigeria to a net exporter of food instead of a net importer. Currently, the country spends about $10 billion annually on food importation. Rice, wheat, sugar and fish are included in the list of food imported. The Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) has already said that it is working with farmers’ groups and airlines to identify which foreign markets that can be efficiently served. It has also created a cargo department to support the project. This will

THIS INITIATIVE CANNOT COME AT A BETTER TIME GIVEN ITS POTENTIAL IMPACT TO CURB WASTAGE IN THE NATION’S AGRIC SECTOR reverse the present situation where cargo planes fly into the country fully laden, but depart virtually empty. It gives the nation some comfort that this initiative is being based on the public private partnerships that will see FAAN building the terminals while private investors will provide refrigeration services, aircraft and other facilities to support the export drive. According to FAAN, some of the products that will be exported from the new cargo terminal will include tomatoes, lettuce, peppers, mangoes, oranges, carrots, groundnuts and cashew nuts. Exporting these produce will go a long way in arresting the current distressing situation, where fruits rot away on farms or in market places due to lack of storage and processing facilities, even though Nigerians and Nigerian companies spend

billions of naira importing tomatoes paste, canned fruit, fruit concentrates etc, for direct consumption and manufacturing. For the airport operator, the cargo export drive will help it triple its current revenue levels, according to the Minister of Aviation, Mrs. Stella Oduah. At present, the nation’s airports earn money from passenger traffic, which has seen marginal declines in recent months. The FAAN figures suggest that passenger movement declined by four percent to 6.8 million in the first half of last year. A similar trend was also observed in the cargo sector with a decline of 11 per cent to 78,600 metric tonnes in the first half of 2012 when compared with the prior year period. However, while the initiative appears good on paper, it could be a mere paper projection unless the government walks the talk. Several African countries, including Egypt, South Africa, Kenya and Rwanda, make billions of dollars annually exporting fresh produce that are in demand all year round on European dining tables. So our own initiative cannot be an exception. But for it to succeed, the government must negotiate clear and favourable terms for itself with the PPP entities that will actually operate the export

terminals, while providing failsafe guarantees that will protect their own interests. There are also issues of improved service delivery and security to be addressed at the airports to enable seamless movement of produce designated for export. There is also the issue of getting the produce to the export terminals in the first place. This requires a holistic and more aggressive approach to the issue of road rehabilitation and construction and expansion of the rail services across the country to allow for timely evacuation of farm produce. Again, we see a need for a coordinated approach to support farmers and traders in ensuring that produce designated for export meet the usually strict hygiene and packaging standards required in the international market. Most importantly, this initiative appears to provide a window for a renewed effort to strengthen the agriculture value chain through the development of agro-processing industries, especially small and medium scale enterprises, so that we can export not just fresh produce, but processed agricultural products. Our last wish is that Nigeria should seize this opportunity with both hands.

ON THIS DAY February 6, 2009 The U.N. Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, visited Iraq to congratulate its voters on the outcome of the nationwide local elections in which allies of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki swept themselves to victory. Mr. Ki-Mon said that the elections showed how far Iraq had come, adding that Iraqis still had a long way to ‘genuine freedom and security.

February 6, 1981 The National Resistance Movement (NRM) of Uganda attacked Kabamba barracks in the country to signal the start of a five year war that ended in the overthrow of Field Marshal Idi Amin on January 26, 1986. The Movement had its origins in young idealistic exiles in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania opposed to the tyranny of Idi Amin.

February 6, 1958 A British European Airways carrying players of Manchester United, its supporters and journalists, crashed just after takeoff from Munich Airport, Germany. The club was returning from a continental engagement in Belgrade, Yugoslavia. Eight players along with 15 others died in the crash. The Team manager Matt Busby and striker Bobby Charlton were treated in a hospital.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Health & Wellbeing USAID pledges support for mother, child HIV prevention

Say, what’s Nigeria’s health agenda?

INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ZERO TOLERANCE TO FEMALE GENITAL MUTILATION

60% of Nigerian women undergo female genital mutilation

A young girl in pain during FGM

L ATEEFAH IBRAHIM-ANIMASHAUN

s the world marks the zero tolerance to Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) today, statistics have revealed that an estimated 30,625 million women and girls, or about 60 percent of the nation’s total female population, have undergone one of the FGM procedures. According to the World Health Organisation, this procedures involves removal of the clitoris and labia and the sewing up of the vagina, leaving only a small opening for urine and menstrual blood – a process known as infibulations, removal of the tip of the clitoris, total removal of the clitoris and surrounding labials an intentional way to alter or cause injury to the female genital organs. Experts say the practice is associated with several complications including severe bleeding problems with urinating, and later cysts, infections, infertility as well as complications in childbirth and increased risk of newborn deaths. The President National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD), Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) Dr. Emeka Ugwu in an exclusive interview

with National Mirror said Female Genital Mutilation could be eradicated in Nigerian communities if only the Nigerian government could come out strong with a standard and do more in educating traditional rulers on the dangers it posed on Nigerian young females. Also, according to a Nigerian Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Coalition study, 33 percent of all households practice one form or the other of FGM. Some Nigerian experts however say, the actual incidence could be higher than these figures. Leaders of the Nigerian National Committee (also the Inter-African Committee of Nigeria on Harmful Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children [IAC]) have been conducting a state by state study of the practice. Research also revealed that about 140 million girls and women worldwide are currently living with the consequences of FGM and is mostly carried out on young girls between infancy and age 15 and it is estimated for 92 million with 10 years old girls and above have undergone FGM in Africa. . It is usually carried out by traditional circumcisers, who often play other cen-

tral roles in communities, such as attending childbirths. However, more than 18% of all FGM is performed by health care providers, and this trend is increasing. Nurses and pediatricians have long campaigned against this practice. They have campaigned nationwide starting with national workshops in Lagos. Trainers were trained who in turn conducted informational activities about

this practice at the state and local community levels. A variety of methods were used to get the message across as to the harmful effects. These included dramas, community mobilizations, national television talk shows, radio broadcasts, articles in newspapers, etc. The once taboo subject is now discussed in the open. FGM has no health benefits, and it harms girls and women in many ways. It involves removing and damaging healthy and normal female genital tissue, and interferes with the natural functions of girls’ and women’s bodies. Dr Ugwu said it could even lead to immediate complications which can include severe pain, shock, hemorrhage (bleeding), tetanus or sepsis (bacterial infection), urine retention, open sores in the genital region and injury to nearby genital tissue. The long term consequence of FGM includes recurrent bladder and urinary tract infections, cysts, infertility, increased risk of childbirth complications and newborn deaths AND the need for later surgeries. According to Mila Project, An FGM procedure that seals or narrows a vaginal opening (type 3 above) needs to be cut open later to allow for sexual intercourse and childbirth. Sometimes it is stitched again several times, including after childbirth, hence the woman goes through repeated opening and closing procedures, further increasing and repeated both immediate and long-term risks”

Expert canvasses increased campaign against cancer MARCUS FATUNMOLE ABUJA

n expert in the field of diagnosis and treatment of cancer and other tumours has called for strengthened campaigns on the dangers and prevention of the disease. Briefing newsmen in Abuja, yesterday to mark this year’s World Cancer Day, Chief Consultant Radiation Oncologist at the National Hospital, Dr Festus Igbinoba cautioned Nigerians to be mindful of the food they eat as one

of the best ways to be invulnerable to the disease. Cancer, he said, is caused by agents called carcinogens present in the environment which when avoided, reduces cancer risks, noting that substances such as tobacco, grilled meat and animal fat among others are major causes of cancer. “`When these carcinogens acts on the human body, eventually they act on the cells, the process through which CONTINUED ON PAGE 22

Health & Wellbeing

Emergencies: Preparedness and response (5)

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Wednesday, February 6, 2013

The Health Beat Sam Eferaro

eferaro@yahoo.co.uk 08094082123 (sms only)

Say, what’s Nigeria’s health agenda?

Playing with toys help young children adjust to stressful experience

egular routines, such as going to school and maintaining normal eating and sleeping schedules, give children a sense of security and continuity. Child-friendly schools and spaces can provide a protective and safe learning environment for all children coping with an emergency. With support from families and communities, teachers and school administrators can help: provide a safe, structured place for children to learn and play identify children who are experiencing stress, trauma or family separation and provide basic psychosocial support provide a daily routine and a sense of the future beyond the emergency ensure that children retain and develop basic literacy and numeracy skills provide children with life-saving health and security information and skills to reduce their risks provide a place for expression through play, sports, music, drama and art facilitate integration of vulnerable children into the school and community support networking and interaction with and among families provide children with an understanding of human rights and skills for living in peace build awareness with children on how to protect the environment and develop their skills to reduce disaster risks encourage children to analyse information, express opinions and take action on particular issues important to them. Teachers require support and training to understand and deal with children’s and their own stressful experiences, losses and reactions to emergencies. They need to know how to give emotional, mental and spiritual support to students and guide families on how to do the same with their children. Schools and communities can also help to organize fun activities for children outside of school time. Opportunities can be created

for organized non-violent play, sports and other forms of recreation. Communication and interaction among peers should be encouraged and supported. Use of arts such as drawing, or playing with toys or puppets, can help young children express their concerns and adjust to stressful experiences. Parents and other caregivers should keep children who become sick with the flu or other infectious disease at home or in their place of residence if displaced from their homes. In case of a severe epidemic that spreads rapidly from person to person, local authorities and education personnel need to make appropriate decisions regarding how to protect children. As a public health measure, classes may be suspended to reduce spread of the disease. In such cases, education can still continue by using alternative strategies. This requires good planning and follow-up by education personnel in collaboration with the students’ families. 10. Landmines and unexploded devices are extremely dangerous. They can explode and kill or disable many people if touched, stepped on or disturbed in any way. Children and their families should stay only in areas that have been declared safe and avoid unknown objects. Landmines are victim-activated explosive devices intended to kill or injure people or destroy or damage vehicles. Unexploded ordnance (called UXO) are any munitions, such as bombs, shells, mortars or grenades, that were used but failed to detonate as intended. Both landmines and UXO come in many different shapes, sizes and colours. They can be buried underground, placed above ground or hidden in grass, trees or water. They may be bright and shiny or dirty and rusty, but they are always dangerous and must be avoided at all times. Landmines are usually not visible. Special caution is needed near areas of military action or abandoned or overgrown areas. Dangerous areas are often designated by a marking such as a picture of a skull and crossbones, red painted stones or other common markings that draw attention and are easily recognized as hazard warnings by the local population.

ot too long ago, Nigerian coup plotters used our deplorable health care delivery system as an excuse for overthrowing the government of the day. Then we were told that our hospitals were mere consulting clinics. But then, they never did anything to turn the clinics to functional hospitals – except of course, when IBB got the late Prof. Olikoye Ransome Kuti to serve as health minister. Then we knew what it was for a government to have health care as an agenda. Our Primary Healthcare delivery system was revived and immunization programme became a priority while Nigerians were duly informed about their state of health. Of course, subsequent military regimes could not sustain that and health care became so relegated that it is not only the sick that trooped abroad for treatment, even care givers themselves fled the country in droves Today, we have an elected government in place. I honestly can’t say there has been a remarkable change over the years. Healthcare was not even in their agenda when they campaigned for our votes during the elections. For sure, we heard the rhetoric about providing good health care but it ended there. They never told us of any tangible policy or programme that would ensure that Nigerians have access to affordable quality health or even a programme to ensure that the prevalent diseases in the country are prevented. Before I‘m accused of writing from the point of ignorance, let me state that I’m fully aware of the National Strategic Health Development Plan (NSHDP) which is supposed to be a part of the National Development Plans and health component of the Vision 20:2020. I also have a copy of the current health minister’s Action-Push Agenda, which represents the policy thrust of his administration. Action Push promised us the passage of the National Health Bill which among other things is expected to clarify the roles and responsibilities of the different tiers of government towards achieving the goals and objectives of the National Health Policy, result in better funding of the health sector and also provide better service delivery. The health bill is also expected to ensure that everyone, young or old, rich or poor, have access to quality health. Please don’t ask me what has happened to the health bill. That is not the only promise in the Minister’s Action Push agenda. Our routine immunisation coverage is expected to have increased tremendously. Programmes to reduce the nation’s infant and maternal mortality (still one of the worst in the world) are expected to be in place. This means by now everyone

FOR THIS

GOVERNMENT,

DON’T THINK HEALTH CARE IS A PRIORITY should be talking about Vitamin A supplementation, de-worming for children, projects aimed at addressing malnutrition and campaign to reduce death associated with pregnancy and childbirth. Action Push agenda is supposed to lead to the upgrade of selected tertiary health institutions to world class such that by now, we should be having a substantial reduction in the number of people going to India and other countries for treatment. As I write this I’ve just got the news that a Lagos PDP big wig died in India yesterday from an undisclosed illness. He still couldn’t get good treatment here. We now have our own National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) as promised by Action Push agenda. Beautiful. But what exactly has been its impact? This should be a centre that should play a pivotal role in ensuring that state and local public health systems are prepared to respond to all types of health threats. If it is to function like the American Centre for Disease Control, then we are talking of a centre that should provide funding and technical assistance to strengthen various national and state health agencies to be able to respond to various health emergencies and emerging health challenges. It is therefore expected to have a very good budget and of course also well placed to work in collaboration with the public health department to create awareness on disease and health issues. Action Push is also expected to accelerated malaria treatment. Of course we all got free insecticide treated nets last year. I only wonder how many of the nets are really being used and how far we have gone in sanitising our environments to reduce the ever increasing menace of mosquitoes in our various communities. The minister certainly has a laudable intention in Action Push agenda, Some of the deliverables are actually on ground. My feeling however is that he and his ministry are on their own. Just take a look at the health budget for the last couple of years. For this government, I don’t think health care is a priority. Which is why Minister Chukwu’s boss does not seem to see much merit in his Action Push Agenda. I honestly don’t think this government’s priority includes a concrete health plan aimed at improving the terrible health indices we’ve heard since the military era.

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Health & Wellbeing

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Drug manufacturing still not feasible in Nigeria –PSN President According to the PSN president, Mr. Olumide Akintayo, drug manufacturing in Nigeria has been reduced to mere packaging and repackaging. In this interview with LATEEFAH IBRAHIMANIMASHAUN, he says Nigeria would not be able to produce her own drugs unless petro-chemical plants are built in the country. Excerpts. How will you access the Pharmaceutical industry today? Am sure you are aware that I took over the helms of affair of PSN in less than two months and that is certainly a short period in the life of any industry to make significant changes and bring in new initiatives. But I must say that the pharmaceutical industry in Nigeria is not specifically different from all the comatose industry or sectors we have in Nigeria. What we have in Nigeria is packaging and repackaging. Real industrial revolution cannot become a reality if we do not have a petrochemical industry and a Bezzaine plant. That is what we need as a precursor for primary manufacturing and we do not have that in Nigeria which poses a lot of impediments to serious industrial take off. Not just in the pharmaceutical industries but in fact, the totality of our industrial sector of the economy. There have been clamours to have some of our industries get endorsement of the WHO. We want them to be GMP compliant so that they can have this endorsement and at the last count, about 5 to 6 of our manufacturers in the pharmaceutical sector are well positioned to make things happen, we will continue to support and encourage them. We are also aware that there is a plan of the bank of industry to give a pharmaceutical fund of about 200 billion to sustain pharmaceutical activities in Nigeria. I must however say that sustaining the industrial rest on the Nigerian government. It is the Nigerian government and health institutions in Nigeria that can help with this most. If we do not patronize the local industry, that industry will not grow. if our local industries are patronized and we can increase capacity utilization, of course it will impact on the overall economy itself. Then if you boost capacity utilization, we can increase employment and a whole range of other things will follow. I do hope that the government will give necessary support so that these things will change. Do you agree that pharmaceutical industries are not accorded their due place in the scheme of things in the country? Sometimes, government officials are the biggest breakers of the law. They break laws more than the average people. Sometimes when you sit in luxurious the confines of your offices in Maitama district, Abuja, Victoria island or Ikoyi in Lagos, you may not know the full implication or the latitude of policies or laws you are turning out. So itb is always very important to consult and collaborate with the primary industry or primary stakeholders in the industry because it helps to do

the right thing to make decisions in the public interest. I want to say the PSN has always made it very clear that it is ready to collaborate with government. We have always said we will be there to build an invisible bilateral consortium with the federal government, state government or indeed the statutory agencies of government. So that we can together, evolve the best policies and laws that will work in the interest of the consuming public. It is not enough to conceive a brilliant idea, without taking into cognizance the peculiarity of the environment you want to implement the policy. That is why you experience a lot of policy summersault. That is why we have outright policy failure, systemic collapse and failure. This is because some of the policies we come up with are not well researched. I think, in some context, you are right when you say we are not given the right position and consulted adequately before some of the initiatives as conceived and when you do this, it is the system that ultimately suffers. The laws itself may not see the light of the day. When you make some high fallowing laws people will naturally find their ways arround it which makes them not to achieve. We will continue to consult the government are already reaching out to the government so that the current situation can be ameliorated. We hope to get result in the shortest possible period in the interest of the consuming publics What are you doing on the unregistered Pharmaceutical centres in the country? Most of these places are not actually pharmacies. They sell drugs in these places does not make them a pharmacy. That is the very first clarification I need to make. As far back as year 2000, in Lagos, I was the Lagos PSN then and we discovered that all the registered pharmacy including manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers were about 800 Ironically, in then 20 local government on Lagos, there were 112,000 drugs sellers all over the 20 local govern-

SOMETIMES, GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS ARE THE BIGGEST BREAKERS OF THE LAW.

THEY

BREAK LAWS MORE THAN THE AVERAGE PEOPLE

Akintayo

ments are unregistered. That was ratio 1:115. There is tendency for one to go to some of this unregistered pharmacy and assume this is a pharmacy. Today, as at 2011, the list of registered pharmacy in Nigeria was about 3000 in the whole of Nigeria which involves manufacturers, wholesalers and retailer. Lagos state has hardly 1000 out of the whole of the figure which I sun even distribution. Which means that almost 40 percent of the pharmacies with man power registered in Lagos is 1000. What you have a lot of the time are not pharmacies. The real retail pharmacy that you should ideally have in Lagos should not be more than 500 to 600 which means we have some issues in the area of manpower. What I always an advice client to do is to have the numbers and email addresses of their genuine pharmacist like we use to keep the data of our regular clients and we encourage others to do that. Now, so such that if you speak to a regular pharmacy, every time you want to use drugs. That pharmacy is already conversant with your drug history and on that basis, he will be able to give you quality advice. On the use of our medication. So that’s the best. People assume that because they are airconditioned, they feel the drugs are likely to be expensive. The cheapness you seek when you go to charlatans and the quacks brings bitterness on the long run because you are not getting the proper drug usage of that medicine. Which brings about possible side effects? So the money you think you are saving will be used to buy trouble and you will spend more because you won’t get results. So we advice people to go to genuine centres. How can one recognize the genuine centres? There is this green cross emblem with PSN number. It is the right of the client to ask for the license of the pharmacist on duty. It is also their right to ask for the certificate of registration of that pharmacist

and this is one of the regulations of the Pharmaceutical Council of Nigeria that those pharmacies must display the original not photocopy at all times in a conspicuous location in the premises. So you can see it. What are you doing to bring them to book? It is not our responsibility of PSN to bring them to book. It is not our responsibility to bring an end to quackery but. All I can do is what I am doing.. The only things we can do is advocacy. are the pictorial of the federal and state task force which has the responsibility to ensure provision of the fake drugs acts which state that drugs sales are prohibited in premises and places are not registered. They have the power to impound and seize all forms of fake drugs. What can be done to ensure Local manufacturing of drugs in Nigeria There are so many problems in the country. You are talking of local manufacturing of drugs in a country when it does generate enough power. The manufacturing industry has to generate its own power with diesel power. So how is it going to stay competitive in the global arena? If you want to generate power with 159 naira per liter on the average. So there is no incentive to be a manufacturer in Nigeria. We don’t have a primary industrial base. I mean Bezzaine or petrochemical base. So we are going to import more which will mean that we are doing tertiary productions. Even the tertiary productions. The tertiary manufacturing is not even patronized by your own government. Because they will say they are not GMP compliant, WHO will not patronize the drugs too. Because of the harsh condition under is the entrepreneurs need to produce. The operational environment is so harsh. There is no how people will not cut corners because the essences of a business are to make profit. How are you going to make profit. How will you make profit? The government is not patronizing you. It is much cheaper to import anything.

Health & Wellbeing

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

USAID pledges support for mother, child HIV prevention TOBORE OVUORIE

he United State Agency for International Development, USAID, has expressed commitment at ensuring that pregnant women and People Living With HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) in Nigeria are provided with adequate medical services.

USAID Administrator, Dr. Rajiv Shah who spoke during an official visit to Island Maternity Hospital, Lagos, noted that his visit was in support of the foreign policy goals of the US to save one million lives. “The Agency will equip the hospital with necessary laboratory equipment that will help actualise zero infection of HIV from

mother to child, low maternal deaths which will also be extended to other government hospitals across Nigeria. “This hospital and its outstanding professional doctors and nurses have demonstrated a successful process, they went from 30 percent transmission to zero percent transmission and out of the 51 cases of

children who could have been infected, zero children were infected and if Nigeria can replicate what has happened in this hospital throughout this country, it will be well out of its way to achieving its goal of saving one million lives and the United States is proud to be the primary partner to help achieve that outcome.”

Shah said the US government will actively support Nigeria in activities like immunisation, providing treated bed nets and supporting families to protect children, as well as provide support to eradicate the transmission of HIV from mother to children. “USAID is strongly committed to the things that are most efficient

and effective to saving one million lives in Nigeria and across Africa. We have provided several hundred million dollars a year as investment to support the effort to save one million lives and we would continue to invest in that very high level and we are proud to be Nigeria primary health partner,” he explained.

Expert canvasses increased campaign against cancer CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19

Left to right: Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu; Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Deng Boqing; and Vice-President, Namadi Sambo while commissioning the newly built 150-bed Nigeria-China National Hospital in Jabi, Abuja. PHOTO: NAN

NAFDAC will boost local production of drugs –Dr. Orhii L ATEEFAH IBRAHIMANIMASHAUN

ational Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has expressed its intention to boost the capacity of local drug manufacturers in the production of a large percentage of drugs needed in the country so as to also stop the problem of drug counterfeiting. The NAFDAC DirectorGeneral, Dr. Paul Orhii, said this recently while inspecting the Central Drug Stores in Ekiti state where he expressed delight with the drug distribution network in the state. He said with improved local production of drugs, the problem of drug counterfeiting would be a thing of the past. He said, “About 70 per cent of the drugs used in Nigeria come from other countries like China and India. But what happens

to about 167 million Nigerians if anything happens and drugs could not come into Nigeria from these countries? “We have required some local pharmaceutical companies to upgrade their facilities in order to be able to produce more so

that Nigeria can become self-sufficient in drugs production.” He stated that Nigeria was the number one buyer of Chinese drugs in Africa and the fourth largest importer of Chinese drugs in the world. Orhii noted that the

agency had particularly gone to China and India to ensure that they do not allow fake drugs into Nigeria. The DG also canvassed stiffer penalties for fake drugs peddlers in order to deter people from engaging in the illicit business.

this agents cause cancer is regarded as carcinogenesis.These agents act on the DNA component of the cell and the cell begins to undergo mutation, when this mutation progresses, it eventually leads to cancer. “Apart from carcinogens which are found in the environment, some of them may be in form of the chemicals we are exposed to, infections, food we eat, water we drink, the kind of environment we live in, the kind of work we do, the kind of homes we live in, the kind of air we breathe in and even the sun. These carcinogens have the ability to induce or to initiate cancer,” he said. Igbinoba explained that beyond the carcinogens, other factors such as genetic disposition and the state of the protective genes determine if the cancer would eventually come to being.

Lagos State Assembly to regulate activities of fast food producers TOBORE OVUORIE

r Suuru Avoseh, member of the Lagos State House of Assembly, has disclosed that the House will soon enact a law which would check the excesses of fast food producers. Avoseh, who is the Chairman of the House Committee on Health Services, said most of the foods prepared by various restaurants were ``junk foods and these junk foods are harmful to hu-

man health,’’ he stressed. According to Avoseh, the House would strive to emulate the National Assembly which, he noted, was planning to ban the importation, distribution and consumptions of energy drinks in the country. ``For instance, the presence of caffeine in energy drinks is injurious to the human body; some people take these foods ignorantly, without considering its side-effects on their body. ``Most of the foods are junks, which are not good for our consumption,’’ he

added. Avoseh also noted that ``junk foods should not replace our normal meals, as most of them contain too much fat and sugar which are not only unhealthy but also addictive.’’ The lawmaker said that many people had been addicted to eating junk foods, adding that “such dietary habits often resulted in either obesity or diabetes, while posing serious health threats to the body”. He further reiterated that junk foods did not

contain the nutrients which the body needed to stay healthy. ``Fast foods do not have adequate an amount of protein and good carbohydrates which the body needs,’’ he added, stressing that “Nigeria is endowed with a wide variety of healthy foods which are good for human consumption”. He also noted that a lot of money was spent annually on the health sector because of diseases which could be prevented through purposeful policies and laws.

He said “there are many forms of cancers just as there are tissues in the body and to prevent cancers, one must avoid contact with the carcinogens that predisposes one to it. “The carcinogens we have you can start from the common one: ``tobacco” and it is the tar in the tobacco that make people susceptible to lung cancer. To avoid lung cancer one of the best things you can do is to avoid smoking, not just avoid smoking, stay away from smokers so that you don’t inhale cigarette smoke. “Alcohol again predisposes to cancer of the mouth, the pharynges, and the esophagus: alcohol is also noted for causing liver cancer from cirrhotic liver, cancer would develop. If you can avoid alcohol and tobacco, you have helped yourself a lot in avoiding a many of the cancers. Then, there are dietary components that also cause cancer like dietary fat: when you eat animal fat anyhow and you accumulate fat, your risk of developing cancer rises.” He said that other cancer causative agents include asbestos (a roofing material that predisposes to respiratory tract cancer) and Pylori, a bacterium which caused stomach cancer and contacted through sharing things with already infected people. He said those who are exposed to tar (coal tar), wood dust, dye, the Human Papiloma Virus (which causes cervical, vagina, vulva, head and neck and anal cancer) all predispose people to various forms of cancer.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Arts Lounge New book reflects 150 years of Lagos

Soundtrack work is lucrative in film –Chimere

TERH AGBEDEH

s the artist Yusuf Grillo a member of the Zaria Rebels? Are Nigeria art historians on the right path? How does one classify Nigerian art and why do Nigerian artists prefer to be recognised as global rather than as Nigerian? These questions came out of the paper delivered by Dr. Kunle Filani at the second edition of the quarterly OYASAF Lecture Series in Lagos on January 26. Titled: “Contemporary Art in Nigeria: Contextual Navigation through the Web of History”, so succinct was the lecturer that Mr. Toyin Akinosho, who is secretary general of the Committee for Relevant Art, CORA, declared that it was “10 papers in one”. Akinosho, however, pointed out that Grillo mentioned in Dr. Filani’s paper as being a Zarianist, was actually a year before that class famously regarded as the ‘Zaria Rebels’. “Grillo, according to Okeke (Uche Okeke-Agulu), was not a member of the Zaria rebels”, Akinosho stated. His statement elicited comments from many of those in attendance including Filani, who said that was news to him. “I’m surprised, this is the first time I’m hearing that Grillo is not a member of the Zaria Rebels”, Filani said. Chief Rasheed Gbadamosi, an art collector, who has invested so much in the Grillo name even naming an art pavilion after the great Nigerian artist, said some of the issues raised, “warrant us to get students and art historians who will amplify them”. “I want to provide N1m under OYASAF moderation to find some of the answers to the issues. One tiny one that I’ve stumbled on is the argument about who and who constitutes the Zarianists”, he declared. But there were many other issues. After listening to the exchange that ensued after the lecture, Professor Frank Ugiomoh of the University of Port Harcourt, UNIPORT, who had delivered the very first lecture in the series in October last year made a profound statement. He said: “I keep advocating that if we don’t interrogate ideology that occurred at various times in history against the forms they generate, we will have nothing to learn”. There was much to learn from the issues that came up though. For instance, Prince Yemisi Shyllon, whose OYASAF convened the event, adding voice to the Zarianist matter, said Akinosho’s position and that of Filani were different “so scholars should help throw light on where lies the truth”. He recalled that it was a scholar on fellowship at OYASAF that had made it easier to understand better the origin of ONA school of art. Dr. Kunle Adeyemi of the Yaba College of Technology, himself an artist, said, like many of the people who spoke, that art in Nigeria will go a long way with what OYASAF, VASON, Yusuf Grillo Pavilion are doing, “providing an avenue to discuss contemporary Nigerian art”. He said that because of the split identity

Grillo

L-R Dr. Filani and Prince Shyllon

Navigating Nigerian art history, Zarianists, among other issues consciousness that Filani mentioned in his paper, he doubted whether the art historians that went away to the West would tell those who pay them the truth when it comes to the place of Nigerian or African art. “He who pays the piper dictates the tune; those in the Diaspora have to eat and they need to play a level ground so their appointments may not be terminated”, he explained. For art collector, Sammy Olagbaju, there was no point quibbling over classification, whether this is Nigerian, African, Igbo or Tiv art. “The facts are that Yoruba art, Kanuri art, whatever, are major civilisations, so that is how I look at it”, he said. He was in agreement with Chuka Nnabuife, an artist and journalist, who said he had an axe to grind with classification and identification of Nigerian art. Our interrogation of this issue of progression of art, he said, tends to go the line that the Western scholars whom we challenge will prefer. “My worry is that we are trying to be correct. But what about going out of the box? If at this age of our art scholarship and the interrogation of issues we have not really situated our art history and connected with the findings in Esie, Igbo Ukwu, Nok, if we have not managed to connect our creative stream up to this moment then this generation has not done much”, Nnabuife said. He suggested that like the Japanese, Chinese and the Koreans have done, we can actually set our intellectual facility to trace our root towards where these art happen to be Nigerian. Poet and essayist Odia Ofeimun’s worry is about matching the forms in traditional African poetry to the poetry written today. He said this is because there are not enough enterprising literary critics. “I find that the descriptions you are all

IF AT THIS AGE OF OUR ART SCHOLARSHIP AND INTERROGATION OF ISSUES WE HAVE NOT REALLY SITUATED OUR ART HISTORY...THEN

THIS GENERATION HAS NOT DONE MUCH bothering about are actually part of the same tradition that you are critiquing. We are all still behaving like anthropologists; we have not reached that point of aesthetic insertion, which enables us to bridge the contexts that we are using within the various forms. We do need to go beyond anthropology”, he said. President of the Society of Nigerian Artist, SNA, Oliver Enwonwu, wondered what the common denominator in defining Nigerian contemporary art is and whether Nigerian artists want to be defined as such? “I think we should be engaged more in the content and that is the only way in which we can define ourselves, whether modern or contemporary artists and actually defining Nigerian art in itself. I think Nigerian art has been dealing with the wrong things that is why we are not being taken into the international scene”, he said. OYASAF, which stands for the Omooba Yemisi Adedoyin Shyllon Art Foundation organised the lecture in conjunction with WOTASIDE Art Studios run by the artist and teacher, Olu Amoda. Shyllon said at the event that the idea behind the lecture was informed by the re-

action from people to the effect that OYASAF was promoting scholarly activities by inviting scholars from different parts of the world to come and take from us without creating something within ourselves. If nothing else, the issues raised at the lecture and the quality of the members of the audience is justification enough for OYASAF to forge ahead with the lecture, which Shyllon said plans for the remaining three editions in the year have already been concluded. Filani’s paper dwelt on African art, globalisation, opening up and bringing our art into the international context. He looked at globalisation as having led to the increase in scholars interested in studying African art within African methodology. Not forgetting the contribution of people like Frank Ugiomoh, Babatunde Lawal and Ulli Beier, among others, as well as the interrogation of our creative history and those who have interrogated our creative history. An overview of Nigerian art history, what is Nigerian art? Is there something common that we can allude to as Nigerian art? What is contemporary as against what is modern art? The essence of continuity, what we have is Yoruba art, Igbo art and so on and so forth since art developed along ethnic lines in Nigeria. Classification of our art within the formal and informal school, those who went to university and those who did not but rather attended workshops. There is also the chronological approach which takes cognisance of the early, middle and late periods. Filani concluded his paper with a song which lesson he said is that art appreciation and perspectives in scholarship are most profound when acknowledged within expanded creative diversity.

Arts Lounge

VOICES

EVERY SCHOOL

LET’S

T AL K FAD

DESERVES A FUNCTIONING

with

LIBRARY FOR HOW ELSE CAN OUR CHILDREN LEARN TO APPRECIATE BOOKS

Discovering magic in words CHIKA UNIGWE

ome people say the novel is dead. There is nothing further from the truth. The novel will not die as long as story tellers live. The novel is too protean and too vital to cease to completely exist. On the contrary, it only grows more indispensable as the world becomes at once much more global and much more complex, as humans continue to seek answers not just to life but to the meaning of life. I am humbled to be a member of that group of people who call themselves ‘writers.’ I am grateful to those before me whose work opened up new worlds to me, whose beauty of craft entertained, provoked, challenged and showed me the endless possibilities out there. Writers whose astounding brilliance nudged me to seek knowledge. Writers who walked before me, clearing paths and showing me that it was possible to be this. My literary fathers and mothers: Achebe, Ekwensi, Soyinka, Wa Thiongo, Nwapa, Aidoo, Emecheta. I am grateful to my contemporaries for constantly setting the bar that high so that one never ever becomes complacent. I am mindful of all those on whose shoulders I have climbed on this journey. I am grateful to my alma mater, FGGC Abuja for providing me with a principal and English teachers who encouraged my love for writing and for gifting me with a well-equipped school library where I could escape to read and indulge in grandiose dreams of one day becoming a writer. It is one of my biggest sorrows to hear that the school library has not grown with time, but is in a much worse condition than when I was there many years ago. That is a huge tragedy, one I hope that we can still reverse. Every school deserves a functioning library for how else can our children learn to appreciate books. I am only here today, in this capacity, because I had from very early on, people who believed in my dream. Mortimer J. Adler, an American author and phi-

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

losopher, once said, ‘Reading is a basic tool in the living of a good life.’ While mindful of the opportunities I have had, the incredible good luck I have been blessed with, I am not unaware of many more people who have no access to the ‘good life.’ While doing research for On Black Sisters’ Street, I was confronted with young Nigerian women whose stories are far less fortunate than mine; women for whom the only viable option was selling sex in Europe. A few years ago, I taught in a school for newly arrived immigrants. One term, we had a 14-year-old Nigerian girl who was unable to read or write much beyond her name. And yet, she had been to school in Nigeria. Her tearful excuse was that she had gone to a local government school where teachers barely turned up and every year, she got promoted to the next class. That she was capable and willing to learn became immediately obvious to us in the manner with which she buckled down to learn in a language completely foreign to her. Winning this prize has taught me that wishes come true. That sometimes when we speak our wishes into the world, they become real. So, I would like to end by wishing that in the years to come that quality education for every willing Nigerian becomes a reality; that each school is equipped with a functional library; that many more of our young women do not end up like the women of On Black Sisters’ Street, forced by lack of opportunities to spend years indebted to a pimp, servicing the sex industry, often under very precarious conditions. Excerpts from the acceptance speech by Chika Unigwe at the award presentation for her book, On Black Sisters’ Street, which won the 2012 Nigeria Prize for Literature, last month in Enugu State.

Fidelis Duker

fidelisduker@yahoo.com

Nigeria’s Centenary: Why we must celebrate

he last couple of weeks have witnessed a lot of arguments on the proposed centenary celebration of our great country and I say it with every sense of responsibility that Nigeria is great nation with all the negativity the nation has been associated with in the last couple of years. It was on January 1, 1914, that the southern and northern protectorates of Nigeria were formally amalgamated into one country, which led to the establishment of what is today modern Nigeria. This amalgamation has led to our union as a nation. Some school of thoughts have argued on the rationale behind the celebration considering the fact that we have the annual independence celebration but if we must be sincere there is a need for the centenary celebration. There are not many nations that have remained as one entity 100 years after unifying two entities together; therefore not withstanding our problems, struggles and challenges that have affected our unity all this years, we have remained one indivisible country. It is public knowledge that several Nigerians have called for Sovereign National Conference because of our diverse ethnocultural identities but these callers have not considered that even with our differences, we have continued to live as one country. We have continued to survive our trying periods as we have gone through a civil war that lasted 30 months and came out as one country united in success and failures. It is, therefore, important that we see the celebration as our own golden opportunity of telling the world about our history, people, achievements and aspirations for another century. The National Assembly invited the office of the Secretary to the Federal Government to explain the rationale behind the celebration and if the FG was on another spending spree; but the organisers explained that the funding for the celebration would be sourced from the organised private sector. It is with this I will like to just mention 15 reasons why we must be proud to celebrate our existence as a nation because I do not know any other nation but Nigeria; and I am proud to be a Nigerian. For the under listed and other reasons, we need to celebrate this centenary: • The centenary will afford us the opportunity of confirming that Nigeria is not an accident and as Lord Luggard said at amalgamation “Nigeria is a product of long and mature consideration”. • We must celebrate our unity which is the symbol of our collective existence • We must celebrate that without Nigeria, we will not be the largest Black nation in the world and seventh most populous nation in the world

WE NEED TO CELEBRATE TO

RESTORE OUR HOPE, AROUSE OUR PATRIOTIC INSTINCTS AND CONSCIOUSNESS • We must celebrate the unity because if we do not, we are only promoting disintegration. • It is the amalgamation of Nigeria that has given us our vast resources that has made us play leading role in economic and political affairs of the comity of nations. • Nigeria has over 24 million pupils in primary school, six million in secondary schools and over 1million in tertiary institutions; this cumulative population of over 31 million is more than several nations’ population. This figure represents investment in human capacity development. • More significantly, the literacy level of Nigeria is 67%, which is about 100m literate Nigerians. This figure represents a major national accomplishment worthy of celebration, which does not undermine the problems of the educational sector. • It is also important to mention the global cultural expansion with the emergence of Nollywood which took off in 1992 and in less than 15 years, as reported by UNESCO, has grown to become the second largest producer of home video films globally. • Nigerian has received global attention through the inventions of traditional medicines which have been subjected to modern scientific testing and verifications in the area of sickle cell treatment through the use of bitter leaf by a Nigerian scientist. Another Nigerian scientist and his colleagues also discovered that the photochemical elements from “bitter leaf ” can help in the management of breast cancer, diabetes and prostrate health issues. • We need to celebrate to restore our hope, arouse our patriotic instincts and consciousness. • It will help to break our persistent national serotype of an uncultured, unsafe and corrupt people. • The celebration will afford us the opportunity of highlighting our achievements, successes and progress. My question then is why shouldn’t we celebrate our centenary? Is it because of the insecurity, corruption, poverty and unemployment? But we must realise several countries have similar problems and worst issues but 100 years of existence as one unified entity is what they wish for. Here we are celebrating it as one country. Congrats Naija.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Arts Lounge

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

ARTISTE UNCENSORED

Soundtrack work is lucrative in film –Chimere Films are incomplete without soundtracks. Chimere Emejuobi is one woman who has successfully bridged the gap between the images in Nollywood flicks and the sound.

I ENJOIN EVERY GIRL TO KNOW WHAT SHE WANTS WHEN SHE ENTERS THE FILM INDUSTRY limelight, which also earned her the sobriquet, “Nollywood’s queen of soundtrack”, is A Cry for Help, the movie that also shaped the acting career of Nkiru Sylvanus. This is because the emotions portrayed by the character were amplified by the soundtrack. While she would not disclose how much it takes to compose a soundtrack, Chimere says she is in a lucrative business. “Aside the money, I enjoy what I am doing. It pays the bill and I am so grateful to God for the talent because it is lucrative. I have earned very well and I often get engagements both locally and internationally. I have also been honoured in Nigeria and abroad for doing soundtracks”, she said. Perhaps, it was on account of this that she clinched the 2012 Nollywod and African Film Critics’ Awards in North Carolina, USA. Chimere says the award has left her with the impression that people are taking note of everyone’s activity in the industry. “I thank God for that award. Honestly, the day I got the call I almost wept because it left me with the impression that people are observing me from afar, without me knowing. In fact, I almost shed tears when my citation was read in North Carolina. Because of this, I have made a promise never to relent. I will continue to work hard”. Chimere has a lot of people to be grateful to for everything that has happened in her life. That is why she insists that any lady joining the movie industry should look beyond acting and Chimere identify with people who can tap into her talent “I will not begin to mention the names of people who helped in shaping my career. That would amount to a great disservice to some people. God was on my side and I had the ears of people who heard me sing and believed I could do this. It was not easy at the onset which is why I enjoin every girl to know what she wants when she enters the film industry. Anyone that has patience will definitely make it to the top.” While Nigerian men are usually sceptical about romance when it comes to women in Nollywood, Chimere who is still single says a career does not always influence the character of a woman. “It is not true that women in the movie industry do not make good wives. I do not believe that career always influences the character of a woman; there are good women in Nollywood”.

NGOZI EMEDOLIBE

t is easy to dismiss people involved in soundtracks, especially in the movie-making chain. They are neither a part of the cast nor are they an influential part of the crew. But they are always there, working subtly to bring about the emotions that make every movie memorable. Their job is essential in marrying the images in a film with audio recordings and like everything in the cinema business; it comes with a lot of creativity. Chimere Emejuobi, who hails from Owerri, Imo State has been involved in this endeavour since she joined the industry in the late 90s, and says that typical of every film project, the job of making the soundtrack starts from the script. “Of course, you cannot do a soundtrack independent of the script. You will have to read it thoroughly to understand where the story is going and what it is all about. When you have a grip of this, you then begin to compose words and sound that would suit the pictures. This requires creativity. The job of the soundtrack person usually comes at the editing level. You would work closely with the editor in the studio during the editing stage. Sometimes, you would also have to see some of the scenes and come up with words that suit the mood. I mean words and sounds that would make the movie impactful on the viewer”, she explained. Over the years, Chimere has had to make a detour to gospel music, an endeavour that has seen her recording three studio albums: A Cry for Help, Confidence and Worship Song. The fourth, African Praise is still in the works. But some of these works are, however, adaptations of the works she has done in movies in the past. Is she not violating the rights of the movie producers? “I usually retain the rights to my soundtracks in most of the movies I have done. But where a producer negotiates to own the rights, we would have to work it out through an agreement. It is my intellectual property. At the moment, I have a project to compile most of the soundtracks I have done in the past into a full musical album. The rights are mine”. For Chimere, the work that brought her to the

MIDWEEK JUMP MDSA holds creative art workshops

he Modern Day School of Arts, MDSA, has since Monday, been having free invitation only special creative art workshops that will be on till February 15. A statement from the organisation said it now provides workshops taught by leading professionals in fashion, creative writing, multiplatform communications, photography, web design and visual arts. “Our mission is to empower young people with an interest in Arts & Design to begin to live out their dreams right here in Lagos”, the statement said. The hands-on workshops are typically for a fee, but MDSA has invited select teams from companies in Lagos to participate free. Participants will get the best tools to enhance creativity.

Among those teaching the free workshops are: award winning poet and novelist, Toni Kan; artists Mudi Yahaya and Victor Ehikhamenor.

SB live in concert today

h e energ e t i c S e u n Bankole, AKA SB, would be performing live today at The Place, Isaac John Street, GRA Ikeja-Lagos. SB, a multi-talented artiste who shows vocal dexterity across different music genres including R’n’B, Soul, Hiphop and pop/soul classics, has

promised lovers of good music first-class entertainment. “I’m known as SB, the one who rocks the microphone from Nigeria to America. Tonight, you’ll hear the real groove and. some very percussive Tungba. The event is powered by Aristos Entertainment.

Mr. 2Kay rallies Iyanya, Burna Boy, others for Industry Nite

rafton records’ act, Mr. 2Kay and some of his close friends in the music industry will take over ‘Industry Nite’ today for a spectacular evening that will see him premiere his new video and celebrate his birthday with friends and fans. 2Kay will be joined by hitmakers Iyanya, Jaywon, Burna Boy and JMartins, as well as Chidinma, Ruggedman, Phyno,

Ill Bliss, Frank D’Nero, Tha Suspekt and Mbryo. The event will hold at the GET Arena, Lekki, Lagos with Larry D as host. The Port Harcourt-based 2Kay recently relocated to Lagos to continue work on his album and honour performance engagements. The event is supported by The Beat FM, Spinlet, Grafton Records and BlackHouse Media.

‘Vision of the Child’ closes registration

egistration for the ‘Vision of the Child’ painting competition, an initiative of the Lagos Black Heritage Festival, LBHF, in partnership with sponsors Diamond Bank, closes this Friday, February 8, while screening of candidates begins on Friday, February 15. With the 2013 theme set as “A

Thousand Faces of Corruption”, ‘Vision of the Child’ is planned to demonstrate the contestants’ power of observation as it would bring to the fore their perception of the society via their paintings. The competition is open to primary and secondary (public and private) schools in Lagos state. Contestants, accompanied by their teachers and parents/ guardians, are expected to interpret their idea of the theme with a set of brushes, canvas and easels at the venue of the competition, Freedom Park, Broad Street, Lagos. The prize for this year’s edition will serve to motivate contestants even further in striving for excellence in their artistic endeavours. Registration forms can be purchased at any designated Diamond Bank branches or can be filled and submitted online at the VOTC website.

Arts Lounge

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

FAR AND NEAR

New book reflects on 150 years of Lagos OLUFEMI AJASA

he new book, Sandbank City: 150 years of Lagos, was presented at the Wheatbaker Hotel, Ikoyi-Lagos last Thursday in an event that drew art professionals, enthusiasts, members of the academia and diplomatic corps who came to hear more about the history and roots of the emerging megacity. Written by Professor John Godwin and Architect Gillian Hopwood who had been in Nigeria since 1954, Sandbank City is an illustrated historical book which collects and portals the social, cultural, trade and architectural roots of Lagos. In a span of 60 years, John and Gillian had thoroughly, observed and documented the growth of Lagos from a small fishing community at the time the state barely had a population of 600,000 people, to a sprawling city that it is today. The 262-page book, which also recounts political issues that wheeled the city’s growth, derives its title from the fact that Lagos was originally perched on a sandbank at the estuary of the Ogun River where it flows into the Atlantic Ocean. Segmented into 10 parts, the book also offers firsthand accounts of visitors and Lagosians dating back to the 1800s. According to the authors, “the purpose of writing the book which all began from photography to the full-fledged compilation of Lagos history, is to document the city’s evolvement and architectural styles and some of the professionals involved in the building as well as the cru-

cial part played by the City Council and its engineering department”. Among those whose accounts feature in the book are Sir Richard Burton, Madam Efunroye Tinubu and Sir John Hawley Glover. There are also accounts by first settlers, slave traders, early Lagos personalities, traditional rulers and the general citizenry up to present times. The Lagos State Commissioner for Tourism and Intergovernmental Affairs, Disun Holloway, wrote the preface to the book. Speaking at the occasion, Chairman of the event, Chief Rasheed Gbadamosi, praised the authors for their resilience in researching and documenting the noteworthy work of art and said it is uncommon in human history for expatriates to capture accurate and inspiring memories of their sojourn for that long in a book. In the course of the presentation, excerpts of a short film on the authors, produced by documentary film maker, Sandra Mbanefo-Obiago, was shown which communicated the rationale behind writing of the book. The film x-rayed the couple’s lifestyle and the important contributions they have made in Lagos over the years. One striking scene in the documentary was the part where John sitting next to his wife and co-author, Gillian, said: “We just can’t give up the project. Not while we are still young, we will do it”. Gillian corroborated with a straight face “Yeah!”. Viewers could not help but laugh heartily while connecting the exaggeration of the duo’s youthfulness with grey hair on their heads and wrinkles on their

1954 Oshodi Street

L-R: John, Gillian and Alamutu at the book presentation

faces. However, this accentuates how passionate they are about the project. In the film, it was also stated that Lagos State Government had passed a law for the restoration of important buildings birthed out of a push by the authors. Member of the Presidential Committee on the Redevelopment of Lagos Megacity and the book reviewer, Architect Dada Alamutu, stressed the importance of the book in the cause of sustainable human development. She said the book advocates effective planning, communication, coordination and collaboration of all participants at all levels in the city. “The greatest strength of the book is the

British Council in 1st Lagos Theatre Festival

Sound Sultan, Kola Soul, others ‘fly with Eagles’

ritish Council Nigeria, in conjunction with three of Nigeria ‘s most exciting theatre companies and awardwinning British Nigerian actor, Inua Ellams, presents the Lagos Theatre Festival 2013. For two days, February 16 and 17, Renegade Theatre, Black Soul Performance Company, House of Tales and Fuel Theatre will bring to life amazing performances across a number of unconventional spaces namely; the Presidential Suite, Car Park, Petanque Area and Casa Chianti Restaurant at the Eko Hotel and Suites. “We’re infusing cutting-edge techniques and tools to bring theatre, historically a rich part of Nigerian culture, to an even wider range of arts consumers”, says Ojoma Ochai, Assistant Director of the British Council. “The idea is to create a platform for theatre away from conventional theatre spaces, which sadly are in short supply in these parts”.

difference critical personalities made, are making and can make over 150 years”. Alamutu further stated that: “Reading it reinforced my belief that although government is the key stakeholder in making cities work, experience has shown that politicians, professionals, the private sector, the academia, CSOs, NGOs, local communities and the individual all have a role to promote sustainable urban development. The influence of John and Gillian’s work transcends the shores of Nigeria; they have received various awards in recognition for their contribution to humanity”. Similarly, former Federal Minister of Petroleum, Chief Philip Asiodu, described the book as one that will remind the country of the need to bring back principles of planning ahead by studying the past and projecting into the future. “Fortunately, the book’s coming coincides with the Nigeria Centenary Project and I believe this monumental celebration will give us the opportunity to think, plan and compare our development with other great nations like Malaysia, Singapore, etc and strategise a workable plan in restructuring the country”, he explained.

TERH AGBEDEH

Ellams in an earlier performance

Renegade Theatre’s ‘The Waiting Room’ (directed by Wole Oguntokun) is an exciting, thoughtprovoking performance on the meaning of existence and pre-destination. It was the Festival play for the Lagos Book and Arts Festival, LABAF; The Festival of Nigerian Plays, FESTINA, and the Lagos State Government-sponsored Black Heritage Festival all in 2011. Black Soul Performance Company’s production of Pidgin English comedy Grip Am (directed by Deleke Gbolade), is an experimental reworking of Ola Rotimi’s classic, revolving around a scatter-brained trickster who uses his wits to con death into giving him and his ever-belligerent wife eternal reprieve. Strewn with brazenly loud eccentric action,

has gripped audiences into frenzied laughter over a dozen times since 2012. The magic continues at the Lagos Theatre Festival. House of Tales (led by Ifeanyi Dibia) makes an ambitious debut with Bode Asiyanbi’s 2011 BBC African Performance winning play ‘Shattered’, a deeply moving story which exposes the silence that often surrounds the issue of rape. Without preaching or condescension, ‘Shattered’ sheds generous light and heart on what is, across and beyond Africa, a truly complex issue. To complete the line-up will be the Nigeria premiere of ‘The 14th Tale’, by British-Nigerian playwright, poet and actor, Inua Ellams who was born in Nigeria and moved to the UK as a child.

he Guinness Fan Park at Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, has been agog with Guinness Nigeria providing the opportunity for football fans to watch games of the ongoing African Cup of Nations tournament in South Africa while being entertained by top Nigerian artistes. Among the artistes that have performed are Sound Sultan, Kola Soul, Waje and Duncan Mighty. Guests engage in activities including ball juggling, singing and dancing competitions. The park is to give millions of Super Eagles fans who come to sign the largest Super Eagles jersey in the world unveiled January 14, an opportunity to interact and engage in fun games. The said jersey is to galvanise Nigerians to show their

support for the Super Eagles by writing their goodwill messages and signing the huge jersey. Organisers said the goodwill messages will be collated and forwarded to the team in South Africa to inspire the footballers to greater heights. Waje, Illbliss and Flavour performed the theme song for the Guinness ‘Fly with the Eagles’ campaign produced by famous Music producer Cohbams Asuquo. Marketing and Innovation Director, Mr. Austin Ufomba, said the park is Guinness’ way of giving back to its numerous consumers; in this case particularly the ones who are ardent fans of the Super Eagles. “As you can notice, the concert-like atmosphere shows how well sports and entertainment can be combined to give our numerous consumers unique experiences”, he explained.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Today’s Matches Durban:

Mali

v Nigeria 4:00pm

Mbombela: B/Faso v Ghana 7.30pm

Drogba tips Nigeria

A battle of the Eagles in Durban Mali’s coach, Patrice Carteron (L) and Stephen Keshi dares each other

EVEREST ONYEWUCHI

oday’s semi-final match of the ongoing 29th Africa Cup of Nations at the Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban, South Africa, between Mali and Nigeria, is a battle of the Eagles. The Malian Eagles coached by Frenchman, Patrice Carteron, are primed to confront the more illustrious Super Eagles handled by Stephen Keshi, who is praying to become another Hassan Shehata, who won the cup as a player and coach for Egypt. Incidentally, Keshi led Mali to the 27th AFCON played in Angola, where they made one of the biggest comebacks in football, rallying from four goals down to draw with Malawi 4-4. To reach this stage of the competition, Nigeria drew 1-1 with Burkina Faso, played another one-all draw with Zambia and defeated Ethiopia 2-0 in their last group stage match. Last Sunday, the Super Eagles

EVEREST ONYEWUCHI

- MALI CAPTAIN, SEYDOU KEITA

AFCON SEMI-FINAL CLASH

ali’s coach, Patrice Carteron, has said that his side are underdogs in their Africa Cup of Nations semi-final match against Nigeria today, although they lead the Super Eagles in the FIFA World rankings. The Malian Eagles are 25th in the world and third in Africa, while Nigeria are 52nd on FIFA’s list and ninth in Africa. Carteron told BBC Sport, “Nigeria beat Ivory Coast, who everyone had thought would win that game. Now everyone thinks Nigeria will win the cup, so the pressure is on them.” He added, “They’ve got good young players like Victor Moses and Emmanuel Emenike and experienced players like John Obi Mikel - and they’ve got a good, experienced coach in Stephen Keshi. “But we have the faith and we are so motivated because we want to give so much to the Malian people. This semi-final is not the end; it is the start of something.” Carteron revealed that Mamadou Samassa, the goalkeeper who was suspended for the quarter-final against South Africa, will return to the starting line-up for today’s game. That is despite the heroics of his replacement, Soumalia Diakite, who pulled off two saves in the penalty shoot-out to see Mali through to the last four.

Sport

We will have no choice than to give our very best in this game with Nigeria and make no costly mistakes

Enyimba depart Otta camp Thursday

Pressure on Super Eagles – Carteron

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

igeria Football Federation (NFF) president, Alhaji Aminu Maigari, has urged the Super Eagles to make President Goodluck Jonathan realise his desire to watch the final of the ongoing Nations Cup in South Africa by beating Mali in today’s semi-final match. President Jonathan had while on a visit to the Eagles at their training session in Abuja last year, told the players and their technical crew that he would at-

played their biggest game in this competition by eliminating the big but proud Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire 2-1 in an epic quarter-final match-up. Mali pipped Niger 1-0, lost with the same margin to the Black Stars of Ghana and drew 1-1 with DR Congo and finished second in Group B with just four points behind Ghana. The Malian Eagles sent hosts Bafana Bafana of South Africa packing 3-1 via penalty shootout after their quarter-finals pairing ended 1-1 in regulation and extra time. Three previous encounters between the contending Eagles (two of them won by Nigeria and the other drawn) have produced only four goals, but the Super Eagles look to go on rampage at the Moses Mabhida Stadium this evening. Yakubu Ayegbeni scored the only goal in Mopti to hand Nigeria the bronze medal at the expense of the host nation at the 2002 finals and Austin Okocha’s thunderous free-kick from 35 yards made it 2-1 in another

bronze medal match in Monastir at the 2004 finals in Tunisia. It was a scoreless draw when both teams met in the group phase in Sekondi at the 2008 finals in Ghana. But that is as far as statistics and history go. Whoever will triumph in Durban today must show tactical discipline, character and resilience known for West African football. Mali is more at home, having tackled the Bafana at this stadium, however the Nigerians arrived in Durban on Monday to a glorious welcome by residents of the city (Nigerians and other nationals) who desire to be compensated for the disappointment of Super Eagles’ group stage elimination from the FIFA World Cup finals in 2010. Needing only a win to reach the knock-out phase of Africa’s first World Cup, and backed by vociferous spectators at the Moses Mabhida Stadium, the Eagles could only force a 2-2 draw with Korea Republic and went out with a limp.

‘Beat Mali, bring Jonathan to final’ tend the grand finale of the 29th AFCON if they qualified for the championship match. Yesterday, Maigari reminded the Eagles of the Jonathan’s desire to be among the dignitaries at the State Box of the National Stadium in Johannesburg on Sunday. “I have just spoken to the Head Coach (Stephen Keshi) and the Captain (Joseph Yobo), and they have assured me that they will fulfill Mr. President’s desire.

It is rare to have this kind of support from a Head of State. “On our part, the NFF has motivated the team enough to do Mr. President and the nation proud by not only winning on Wednesday (today), but lifting the trophy on Sunday,” NFF spokesman, Ademola Olajire, quoted Maigari in a statement sent to National Mirror. Earlier, the Nigerian High Commissioner to South Africa, Ambassador Soni Yusuf, had re-

iterated the desire of Jonathan to be present at the final. “The President watched you and was excited that you showed true character of the Nigerian and his Private Secretary just called to say you should just fulfill your own part of the bargain and leave the rest to Mr. President,” the envoy said. Team skipper, Joseph Yobo, said after the win over Cote d’Ivoire the players had resolved to fulfill the promise they made

frican soccer icon and Cote d’Ivoire’s retiring skipper, Didier Drogba, is convinced that Nigeria’s Super Eagles will win the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations holding in South Africa, going by the superb performance of the team so far in the tournament. Drogba stormed the dressing room of the Eagles after Sunday’s match to felicitate with his former club teammate, John Mikel Obi, and Victor Moses, whom he says are being missed badly by Chelsea of England. “You guys should go and win the cup guys because you have shown the character of a champion,” Drogba said in impeccable English as he hugged Coach Stephen Keshi, Mikel and Moses.

Drogba

to Mr. President when he visited them in training in Abuja. Yobo added that he was also delighted to learn that business mogul, Aliko Dangote, was expected to cheer the Eagles in the final and urged all others to join in supporting the Eagles ahead of the semi-final clash against Mali. National Mirror was informed that President Jonathan last night spoke to Coach Stephen Keshi and each of the players ahead of today’s game, to reiterate his resolve to be at the Sunday’s closing ceremony.

Sport Tit bits...

Blanc AS Roma management wants Laurent Blanc as coach after the dismissal of Zdenek Zeman over the weekend. Reports said yesterday that Roma’s board is however in no rush to appoint the Frenchman and is happy to play out the season with caretaker coach Aurelio Andreazzoli, before moving for Blanc. Blanc, who previously coached Bordeaux and France, is ready to return to management this year and has been brushing up on his English in the hope of landing a Premier League job.

Kagawa

Manchester United has announced that the club will take on Yokohama F. Marinos on its 2013 offseason tour. United will meet the JLeague club in Yokohama’s Nissan Stadium on July 23 which gives star midfielder Shinji Kagawa the chance to return to visit his homeland. United’s Chief Executive, David Gill, insisted it was a great opportunity for the famous club to expand their global fan base.

Mourinho

Real Madrid coach, Jose Mourinho, is unhappy with the form of strikers Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema. According to reports, Mourinho is disappointed with both attackers, after they failed to impress since the winter break. At this stage last season, the pair had contributed 34 goals between them. But this time, they have managed just 21.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Friendly: Cole gets Gerrard backing

ngland captain, Steven Gerrard, says fans should respect and support centurion Ashley Cole if he plays against Brazil in today’s friendly. The Chelsea’s 32-year-old left-back will earn a 100th cap if he steps out against the five-time World cup winner. Cole has not always received a warm welcome from his country’s supporters but Gerrard, who won his 100th cap against Sweden in November, said: “I think it’s very important the Wembley crowd respect what Ashley has done for England. “He’s probably been the most consistent player I’ve played with during my time. It’s going to be Ashley’s night and let’s hope the fans make it as well.” The Liverpool midfielder admitted players get used to criticism from on and off the pitch and use it as a motivational force to boost their performance.

Eto’o foresees Anzhi glory

Sagna denies PSG link

A Xavi blow for Catalans

arcelona midfielder, Xavi Hernandez, has been ruled out for 15 days due to a hamstring injury. The 33-year-old tore his left hamstring late during Sunday night’s 1-1 draw against Valencia. As a result, he will also miss Spain’s friendly international against Uruguay today, in addition to La Liga games against Getafe and Granada. However, the Catalans are hopeful that the playmaker will regain his fitness in time to take part in their UEFA Champions League tie against AC Milan at the San Siro. Xavi has made 33 appearances in all competitions for Barcelona this season, scoring six goals.

rsenal full-back, Bacary Sagna, has denied speculation suggesting he is being tracked by Paris St Germain. The France international, who is being strongly tipped to be the next high-profile departure from the Emirates, has hinted in the past that he may be open to offers while a dip in form has left his position in the Gunners side under scrutiny. “I am 100 per cent devoted to Arsenal,” Sagna said yesterday. “I have never had any contact with PSG,” he added.

ameroun legend, Samuel Eto’o, is confident that Anzhi Makhachkala has a good chance of winning its first Russian title, according to local reports yesterday. “We are currently at the very beginning of the remarkable project called Anzhi Makhachkala,” Eto’o said. “We already managed to achieve some local success but I’m confident that Anzhi have tremendous opportunities for further progress.” Eto’o, 31, who joined Anzhi in 2011 in a 21-million-euro ($28.5 million) transfer, added that he was hopeful that Anzhi could clinch a success both in the UEFA Europa league and the Rus-

sian championship. “There’s nothing impossible in football. We should remain modest but keep on working and believe in what we’re doing. If we get the chance to win the Russian league we’ll never turn it down as it can become a remarkable event in the history of our club.” A title for Anzhi, currently second in the Russian league, would be a remarkable turnaround for the club, which was founded in 1991 but has enjoyed little success. The Russian top flight resumes on March 9 after the winter break but before that Anzhi meet Bundesliga outfit Hannover in the last 32 round of the Europa league.

T/Tennis: Anthony leans on home league YEMI OLUS

Gbenga Anthony

ational table tennis player, Gbenga Anthony, has opted to spend the 2013 season playing on the domestic scene rather than in the Portuguese league. The Unioa Sebastiano Tenis de Mesa player has plied his trade in Portugal for more than two years alongside compatriots Seun Ajetunmobi, Aruna Quadri, Tajudeen Salau, Kazeem Nosiru, Bode Abiodun and Jide Ogidiolu. He spent the first year of his professional career with CTM Mirandela which later went into relegation before his move to Sao Sebastiao. Poor finances of the club however forced the former Asoju Oba champion to return home. “My club is still expecting some

money from the government but since they knew that it would be difficult to fulfill their financial obligations to us, they let us know the state of things,” Anthony told National Mirror yesterday. All preparations would be geared towards the 2013/2014 season by which I would return to Portugal,” he added. Anthony, who also plays for the Nigeria Securities and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), has featured in a number of events since his arrival mid-last year including the Lagos Table Tennis League, the Asoju Oba Table Tennis Championship and Reach Out Nigeria (RON) Championships in Uyo, Akwa Ibom. He also featured in the NSCDC trials held in Abeokuta, Ogun State two weeks ago.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Sport

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Nigeria Premier Nig League

Cricket

with

IIKENWA NNABUOGOR ikenwa.nnabuogor@gmail.com

ABS offers replica kits for sale

bubakar Bukola Saraki Football Club has taken delivery of the first batch of its OWU branded replica jerseys, ahead of the commencement of the 2012/2013 season. It would be recalled that the only privately owned Nigeria Premier League club signed up with OWU Sports Kit manufacturing company last year in Lagos. The replicas arrived Ilorin on Sunday, with the players jerseys for the new season which is expected to

kick off on February 16, 2013, according to the League Management Committee. ABS Fans, Supporters and others can apply to buy the replica(s), which is available now in three colours of Red, Yellow and Blue, for just N1, 500 only. Fans who bought the replica jerseys will be entitled to Fan Identity, which will entitle them to watch the club’s first game of the season at home for free. The fans will also get other gift items and souvenirs.

Heartland expect tough Sharks’ challenge

eartland manager, Nduka Ndubuisi, is confident, Sharks will give his wards quality challenge in this weekend’s pre-season friendly at the Dan Anyiam Stadium, Owerri. Both sides are using the encounter to further strengthen their teams ahead of the start of the 2012/13 NPL season on February 16. Ndubuisi says his wards are not resting on their past achievements but he wants to present a squad that will be convincing in their campaigns this season. “We’ll engage Sharks in a friendly match this weekend in Owerri and I believe the Port Harcourt side will give my team the toughest challenge ever in all their past build-up matches. “It has not been long we finished the NPL pre-season Super Four tournament in Kano which we won, we don’t want to live on the victories so far achieved but to further strengthen the team for the challenges ahead. “We have a crowded schedule so we must be sure of the materials we’ll use to prosecute the assignments. That’s why we’ve constantly engaged the team in friendly games to avoid loss of form. “I think the team are almost near perfection and by the time we’re done with the matches lined up, we’ll

beat our chests that we have a team that can challenge for laurels, locally and on the continent,” said the former Plateau United coach to supersport.com. Heartland have spent one week out of their two-week closed door camping at Avu, Imo State and there are plans to engage the side in a friendly with teams from Warri and Enugu. The encounters will take place in Owerri.

Andrew Abalogu (left)

Enyimba depart Otta camp Thursday

Chinedu Efugh

nyimba will depart their Temperance Hotel, Otta camp to Aba on Thursday ahead of the new season which will start later this month. Enyimba have thus ended their two-phased camping which lasted for about two months in total. The People’s Elephant rounded off their pre-season training with a friendly game against FC Ebiede at the Agege Stadium, yesterday, before they departed to their base. Enyimba were in smoking form, winning all their eight friendly games while at their Otta camp. Star midfielder Amanfor Chime, who scored three goals in their build-ups, was not available for selection in the friendly against Ebiede due to malaria. He’s expected to be back on his feet when the new season starts. Meanwhile, Enyimba will return to Aba

without their new signing Andrew Abalogu, who has jetted out to Norway to begin a trial with top division side Sandnes Ulf. Abalogu left the country last Sunday to try his luck with the Norwegian side. Abalogu has had very little to do for his new club since his acquisition from ABS in the closed season as he was not available for selection for friendly games due to one reason or the other. Just before the Christmas, he was permitted to travel to Aba to see his sick mum and just before he departed to Norway, he was also given some days off to return for some personal reasons. He netted nine times for the Ilorin side last season, catching the eye of Enyimba officials who wasted no time in bringing him to his home town club.

Nassarawa United deny Peruvian tour

assarawa United players have expressed shock over reports in the local media that they are on a pre-season friendly tour of Peru in South America, describing the story as fake and funny, National Mirror can exclusively reveal. A local website had reported that the Lafia-based side were in Peru for series of friendly games against top sides Club Universitario de Deportes and CNI Iquitos and even lost 2-0 to Club Universi-

tario de Desportes on Sunday. Nassarawa United players, who didn’t want their names in print told National Mirror that they had been in their base in Lafia, preparing amidst unpaid wages ahead of the new season which is expected to kick off this month. The players wondered where the story of their trip to Peru came about, lamenting that they were yet to receive their sign-on fees, not to talk of embarking on a long trip to South America.

“I’m not aware of any trip to Peru as the team is currently in Lafia under very harsh conditions preparing for the new season,” one of the players said. “I’m very sure the management is up to something because this is absolutely absurd. We have heard rumours about the trip to Peru but I can confirm to you that we’re in Lafia. “I have also heard in some quarters that we are travelling to Egypt but nothing like that has happened.

“I should be forced to think that the management have something up their sleeves that the players are not aware of.” “This is the biggest lie of the year!,” thundered another player. “We have been used for some gimmick by the management because we have been battling to get our salaries since late last year.” The website also reports that they will play their second friendly game against CNI Iquitos on Sunday before they are expected to return to Nigeria.

Alphonsus Dike

Sport

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Irabor hails Mba, others

We can dim Black Stars –Kabore

AFOLABI GAMBARI

ead of Interim Management Committee (IMC) of the Nigeria Premier League (NPL), Hon. Nduka Irabor, has commended the performance of the NPL players in the Nigerian team campaigning at the Africa Cup of Nations in South Africa. Warri Wolves’ striker, Sunday Mba, scored Nigeria’s winning goal against the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire in their AFCON quarter final match on Sunday after Russia-based Emmanuel Emenike netted the first in the 2-1 victory that sailed the Super Eagles to a semi final clash with Mali today. Godfrey Oboabona, Azubuike Egwueke, Reuben Gabriel, Ejike Uzoenyi and goalkeeper Chigozie Agbim are the NPL players that made the Nigerian 23-man list to the Nations Cup finals. “The performance of Oboabona, who has started every game for Nigeria, and Mba shows the level of talent in our league and if we can all join hands and revive the league, the sky will be the limit for our football,” Irabor, who is a seasoned journalist, said, adding, “I am positive that we can build a team that will surpass the feats of the 1994 Eagles if we work together.” The NPL interim boss however urged Nigerians and the corporate community to cooperate with the IMC to ensure the revival of the local league, even as he enjoined the Eagles to work hard to defeat Mali in today’s encounter. “If the lads can replicate the resource with which they beat Cote d’Ivoire, Mali will also fall,” he submitted.

Mba

Seydou Keita (12) is swarmed by team mates at the Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban (below) where Mali defeated host South Africa in the quarter final on Saturday, and where the Eagles will host the Super Eagles today

We’re ready, Keita dares Keshi

IKENWA NNABUOGOR

ali captain, Seydou Keita, has hit hard on Super Eagles’ coach, Stephen Keshi, saying the former Mali coach has no clear knowledge of the Mali team as was variously reported yesterday. The former Barcelona midfielder said the Malian Eagles had changed since the Nigerian coach left in the wake of their debacle at the Angola 2010, arguing that Keshi lacked adequate knowledge of the squad. “People keep saying that Nigeria will beat us because their coach Keshi knows the in and out of Mali team, but that is not true,” Keita said. “We’ve had three coaches after Keshi’s departure and that should tell you a lot of transformation has taken place. Keshi, with all the respect I have for him, will meet a different team on Wednesday and not what he left behind. So tell him we have changed.” The Malian Eagles finished third in the previous AFCON editions under French coach Alain Giresse, and brought their peculiarity of knocking out host nations to the ongoing tournament where they defeated South Africa on penalties like they did to Gabon last year. The 33-year-old Keita, who now plays for Chinese side Dalian Aerbin, believes they could have an edge if Wednesday’s clash runs into penalties. “I’m not saying we are the best penalty shooters, but we have had some luck in the exercise recently and we hope this will follow us, especially at these times when our people back home need joy and relief from the ongoing war,” he said. The Super Eagles trained only once yesterday ahead of their semi-final clash with Eagles of Mali at Moses Mabhida Stadium, Durban today. The Eagles could not train on Monday due to their

late arrival in Durban and the downpour in the city the moment the team arrived, as officials opted to shift the training to late yesterday. Meanwhile, Super Eagles coach, Stephen Keshi, described midfielder Ogenyi Onazi as “black Frank Lampard” after the 19-year-old Lazio player’s performance so far in the AFCON. “Ogenyi has the qualities to progress well in the young team I have assembled in these two years. He is growing visibly and in less than two years can become one of the most important men of international football market,’’ Keshi told Italian daily, Gazetto Delo Sport ‘’We were stronger, but went home because the Italian football is full of tactics and discipline. Onazi has grown in the Eagles school of 1994,’’ Keshi added.

ifteen years after the first Africa Cup of Nations semifinal of their history in 1998 at home, Burkina Faso has once again made it into the final four of the continental competition. The Stallions beat Togo 1-0 in the quarterfinal on Sunday evening in Nelspruit thanks to a Jonathan Pitroipa goal in extra time, and before that had ended first in their group which comprised amongst others Nigeria and Zambia, the current African champion. It is therefore quite an astonishing feat that Paul Put’s men have accomplished so far, given that no one would have predicted to see the Stallions still alive at this stage of the competition. Although Burkina do not always shine offensively, since the injury of their star striker Alain Traoré against Zambia, they provisionally possess the best defence of the tournament, having conceded only a single goal in their first match against Nigeria. For Burkina midfielder Charles Kaboré, the Stallions are where they belong in this semifinal group. “We have worked hard to get here. The technical staff, the directors, gave a lot of themselves. Everyone invested in it. And if we are here today, it’s because we deserve it,” the Olympique Marseille player told journalists in Nelspruit yesterday. “This hurdle is not insurmountable. We are going to have to give the best of ourselves, go to battle. They have very good players who play in the big championships.

Raise our flag, Appiah charges team

hana Coach, Kwesi Appiah, has tasked his players to etch their names in the country’s football folklore by winning the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations as the ex-Black Stars’ captain leads his side to face an impressive Burkina Faso side in today’s semi-final clash in Nelspruit. The Black Stars will be seeking qualification to the grand-finale after being shocked by Zambia at the last edition in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea. “I keep telling the players that I was lucky to be one of the players that played in 1982 that won the Cup,” Appiah, who is a member of Ghana’s 1982 Nations Cup

winning squad, said yesterday. “My name is written in the books in Ghana as a medal winner. They also need to write their names and not for me. “It’s one of the major motivational factors that all the players also want to get their names written so that in future they can boast that they were part of the team that won in South Africa. That’s something they are looking up to.” Ghana comes up against the Stallions who have recorded two draws and two victories in the tournament. But the Black Stars beat the Stallions 1-0 in Angola three years ago in a final Group match.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business & Finance Food fortification in Nigeria has not achieved desired level President , Nutrition Society of Nigeria, Professor Ignatius Onimawo

“The micro finance bank sector had problem not because they have not done well, but due to the prevailing economic situation.” FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE CIBN, MR. OKECHUKWU UNEGBU

42-43

Nigeria’s exports lift foreign reserves by 32.6% JOHNSON OKANLAWON

he country’s foreign exchange reserves have climbed to their highest in more than three and half years, hitting $46.09bn as at February 4, this year, an increase of $11.34bn or 32.63 per cent when compared to $34.750bn recorded on February 3, 2012. The reserves rose by $1.75bn or 3.95 per cent this year, from $44.34bn on a month earlier, while it appreciated by $9.68bn or 26.6 per cent in the last six months. It stood at $36.41bn on August 3, 2012. The last recorded date when reserves were this high was January 26, 2009, when they stood at $50.58bn, but after that there was a blackout in the data for six months, during a time when former President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua was sick and Nigeria’s currency was falling sharply. The next available data after that period is

July 1 of the same year, by which time reserves had fallen to $43.31bn. The Central bank Governor, Mallam Lamido Sanusi had on January 21, said the increase in the level of foreign reserves was driven mainly by proceeds from crude oil and gas exports. Sanusi said the reduced funding of the official twice-weekly foreign exchange auction on account of the huge

inflow of foreign portfolio investments also contributed to the growth in the reserves. According to him, the current foreign reserves level could finance about nine months of imports. The Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of finance, Dr. Ngozi okonjoIweala had on January 19, this year said that that the country has been building buffers against

economic shocks. She noted that on the back of greater efficiency in the management of the resources, foreign reserves soared from $32.6bn at the end of 2011 to about $44.6bn. Okonjo-Iweala added that the Excess Crude Account, ECA, balance has also improved from $4.57bn in August 2011 to about $9bn and the Sovereign Wealth Fund is up and running and

reight Forwarders under the aegis of National Association of Government Approved Freight Forwarders have said that Ni-

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L-R: Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Airtel Nigeria, Mr. Segun Ogunsanya; Chairman, Dr. Oba Otudeko and Group Chairman and Founder, Mr. Sunil Bharti Mittal, during a dinner hosted in honour of the visiting Group Chairman and Founder of Airtel in Lagos recently.

High cargo handling charges mar hub port realisation’

FRANCIS EZEM

will oversee the $1bn set aside by the government. According to the minister, Nigeria has started a massive investment in agriculture, housing, solid minerals, the creative industry, and other sectors, “in an effort to limit our dependency on oil revenue, and create jobs. It is a fact, that our present growth rate is being sustained by the activities of the non-oil sector”.

Arik Air

geria’s dream of achieving a hub seaport status for countries in the West and Central African subregion would continue to prove elusive due to the prevailing exorbitant cargo handling charges. The Federal Government had in 2006 privatised the nation’s seaports, which stripped the Nigerian Ports Author-

ity of its cargo handling functions and gave same to private terminal operators, which it believed would enhance efficiency, drastically reduce cost of operation and therefore make the ports a hub for neighbouring countries. But the nation’s seaports have unfortunately been ranked among the most expensive in terms

of cost of operation due to these exorbitant cargo handling charges by the private terminal operators as well as other associated fees and charges, some of which are imposed by the Federal Government itself, more than six years after the concession. President of the association, Mr. Eugene Nweke, who spoke in

Lagos, observed that Nigeria being surrounded by land- locked nations, should ordinarily serve as a transit port to these nations, thereby attaining the envisaged hub port status. “But due to high cost of terminal handling charges occasioned by exorbitant fueling/gassing cost of running the terminal equipment, this has not been achievable”, he regretted.

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Again, electricity workers threaten to scuttle reforms

NEXIM recovers N1.3bn loans

FG issues PHCN marching order on electricity

Business Finance

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Again, electricity workers threaten to scuttle reforms MESHACK IDEHEN

ollowing the rumours that a new minister for power will soon be announced, workers in the electricity sector said they are appealing to the Federal Government to make sure that the agreement with workers does not go the way of previous ones, adding that the sector workers will continue to struggle to get government to honour its own side of the agreements. However, the workers said

should government renege on the agreements, that they are ready to “fight”, saying also that the presence of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Senator Pius Anyim has been a restraining factor in holding back the workers. The National President of the Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEAC), Mr. Bede Opara,who spoke with journalists on Tuesday, said the workers in the sector’s fear remain about the move by government

to hand over facilities of Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN), without concluding labour issues. Opara said the union is warning that any attempt by government to short-change workers will be highly resisted by the unions, stressing that no investor will be allowed to take over PHCN facilities without the payment of workers entitlement. He said the workers are afraid that the Federal Government may back out of the agreement reached with the

unions towards the end of the privatisation programme in the sector. According to him, the unions have been negotiating with government over the years, and because workers believe that government officials are experts in violating agreements, they keep entertaining such fears, adding the union will not let go until every worker has been paid his due. He said further that promise that the new investors would retain every worker is impracticable and not possible, because “If a man

buys a company, you do not tell him who to employ and who not to employ”, adding though that electricity workers are of the opinion that the best hands will still remain in the system. “We will always prevail on them to appreciate that labour is the most important resource in any industry or workplace. The interests of Nigerian workers remain paramount because without the workers, where will the company go? No matter the type of machines you install, human beings are going to operate them.

Mashi restates commitment to FIRS’ core values TOLA AKINMUTIMI

ABUJA

L-R: Executive Secretary, MTN Foundation, Ms Nonny Ugboma; Deputy Governor, Abia State, Chief Emeka Ananaba and Director, Mr. Dennis Okoro, at the commissioning of the upgraded Science laboratory of Ibeku High School, Umuahia, one of the four beneficiaries of MTNF laboratory upgrade in Abia State, yesterday.

British Airways’ boss decries global high passenger duty OLUSEGUN KOIKI LONDON

he Chief Executive of British Airways, Mr, Willie Walsh yesterday warned that the high passengers’ duties collected by governments from air passengers may crippled the global aviation industry in the next couple of years if not reversed quickly. Also, he said that global economies would witness limited growth in 2013, but assured that the year would be better than 2012. Delivering a welcome address yesterday at the commencement of the Business Travel Show 2013 at Earl’s Court in London, Walsh decried that passengers’ duties had continue to rise in the industry in the past 20 years despite the complaint of the airlines against the charges. Apart from the Netherlands Government, which he noted cut some of the charges in 2009, he emphasised that no government anywhere in the globe

had hearken to the voice of the airline operators on the excessive charges. He explained that the cut in the passengers’’ duties by the Dutch government had helped tremendously in boosting the country’s economy between 2010 and 2012. He stated that the governments all over the world had hinged the high passengers’ taxes on environmental performance from the airlines, but noted that none of the charges collected was ever diverted for environmental reasons by the governments. He said, “The airlines will keep the pressure on, if not, it will continue to rise astronomically. The charges are challenge on business, passengers and travel industry. If we continue to shout and show evidence, the governments will listen. The high taxes are very damaging to our business. “Despite the argument of the governments especially the United Kingdom government that the taxes are for environ-

mental, not a single penny goes to environmental issue. If the governments grow the economy, global aviation industry will grow.“ Besides, he declared that the global economies would witness limited growth in the year, saying that the UK’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would grow by only 1 per cent, 2.7 per cent in United States of America (USA), adding that the Asian and African growth would continue from where it stopped in 2012. On the operations of BA, Walsh, informed that the airline increased its daily flights globally from 600 to 680 in 2012 with new services to different routes, adding that the airline still hoped to expand its operations to key economies in the world in 2013. But stated that the airline (BA) still required assistance from the UK government, stressing that the current government policy on aviation was not favourable to the sector in UK.

he Acting Executive Chairman of Federal Inland Revenue Service, (FIRS), Alhaji Kabir Mashi, has restated the revenue agency management’s determination to continue to uphold the vision, mission and core values in current reform drive to fully transform its operations the Service and make the service one of the most disciplined institutions in the country. Mashi, who gave the assurance in Abuja, expressed satisfaction with the success being made to boost its revenue generation and remittance capacity. He said the corporate objective of the FIRS for 2013 is to increase filing compliance by 10 per cent and urged all members of staff to key into it aggressively by setting target goals and then working to achieve them with tenacity and enthusiasm.

The tax expert commended the employees for their dedication to duty which saw the total revenue collected rising to N5.007 trillion in 2012. The collection represented the highest cumulative tax collected in the history of the FIRS .Out of this sum, N1.806 trillion (36.07 per cent) came from non-oil taxes while Oil taxes contributed N3.201 trillion representing 63.93 per cent. Also compared with the N715.4billion seen in 2011, Companies Income Tax (CIT) returned N847.5 billion in 2012. Value Added Tax (VAT) was N710.5billion against N659.15billion in 2011, while Education tax (EDT) recorded N188.43 billion against the N130.74 billion in 2011. National Information Technology Development Fund (NITDF) accounted for N9.13 billion against the N8.67 billion it returned in 2011.

FG to partner DFID on housing delivery

he Federal Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development is to partner the UK Department for International Development (DFID) to draw a road map on housing delivery in Nigeria. Speaking at the opening of a three-day strategic planning workshop on “The Imperative for Change’’, the minister, Ms Amal Pepple, said the partnership would address critical issues and re-invigorate the ministry to attain efficiency. According to her the workshop will also enable the ministry to deliver its mandate more professionally, ethically and competently. She said that DFID, through its Federal Public Administration Reform (FEPAR) programme, would assist in the improvement of land administration in Nigeria. Pepple said the programme would also assist in the provision of appropriate policies and the legal and regulatory frame work

for effective delivery of affordable houses. She said that the workshop was designed to develop and strengthen institutions responsible for housing delivery and improving indigenous capacity and promoting professionalism and excellence. The minister said further that the workshop would improve the mortgage system, mobilise resources for sustainable housing delivery and create an enabling environment for private sector investment in housing development. “The ministry needs policies to promote the development of functional towns and cities for national economic growth,’’ she said. The Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Alhaji Ibrahim Sali, who acknowledged the role of the DFID-FEPAR reform programme in the civil service, said the programme would help in ensuring effective civil service delivery.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Finance

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

NEXIM recovers N1.3bn loans TOLA AKINMUTIMI

ABUJA

he Nigeria Export Import Bank (NEXIM) Bank said it achieved a cumulative loan recovery of N1.3 billion as at the end of last year, an amount that has reduced substantially its non-performing loans to the barest minimum. Disclosing this in Abuja, the bank’s Managing Director, Mr. Roberts Orya said although loan recovery remain a major challenge in the banking sector to be a challenge but the success achieved by the management during the 2012 operational year was due to sustained aggressive measures put in place to recover the delinquent loans. He said in that regard a Remedial Management Department had been specifically created to intensify the bank’s debt recovery drive and ensure that its portfolio remains healthy.

Orya explained: “Alarming decline in the quality of risk assets as the bank’s total loan portfolio as at 20th August 2009 was N14.6 billion out of which 72 per cent was non performing and within that category N10.03 Billion or 69.05 was classified as completely lost”. He pointed out further that the various initiatives embarked upon by the management had positively impacted on the bank’s operations by turning around its fortunes and making it a profit-making organisation. Specifically, Orya disclosed that this translated to impressive performance in year 2010 with an audited profit of N189.00 million as against the loss of N5.460 billion incurred in 2009. This, the NEXIM Bank boss, said was a complete departure from the past, particularly with the sustained impressive per-

formance in 2011 and last year. He said the audited accounts of the two years were being computed. “The bank has been able to leverage on its Balance Sheet to secure lines of credit from institutions like the African ExportImport Bank (Afrexim), The Export-Import Bank of India while it has collaboration arrangements with United States Export-Import Bank and other EXIM Banks. “Also, we supported Nigerian exporters majorly the small and medium enterprises (SME’s) with some engaged in Greenfield projects, to the tune of N23.33 Billion and issued Guarantees valued at $27.3 Million between 2009 and August 2012. These interventions were in our target sectors with high growth potentials of Manufacturing, Agro - Processing, Solid Minerals and Services (MASS Agenda)

ICAN appoints new registrar, partners Ekiti on anti-corruption MESHACK IDEHEN

he Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, (ICAN), said it has appointed a new Acting Registrar, Mr. Olusoji Olumide Odukoya, following the retirement of Mr. Olutoyin Adeagbo Adepate as Registrar and Chief Executive on January 7, 2013, and that the appointment which was approved by the Council of the Institute took effect January, 14, 2013. According to ICAN, Odukoya, prior to his appointment, was the Deputy Registrar, Administration Services. He is also an astute and experienced administrator, having attended the Yaba College of Technology and the Ogun State University, Ago Iwoye, where he obtained his HND in Accounting in 1983 and MBA (Accounting and Finance) in 1997 respectively.

ABUJA

Lack of infrastructure delaying take-off of LFTZ – MD

he Managing Director, Lekki Free Trade Zone (LFTZ), Mr Chen Xiaoxing, on Tuesday said that lack of some basic infrastructure was delaying the take-off of the project. Xiaoxing told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Lagos that poor power supply and lack of access roads to other parts of Lagos State were delaying the inauguration of the project. He said that lack off-shore facility was also delaying the commencement of the 600 million dollar (N90 billion) project. The LFTZ boss said that the idea of the zone, sited on 16,500 hectares of land in South-East of Lagos, was conceived in 2004. He said the zone was planned as a vehicle to fully

utilise investment and tourism potentials in Lagos. “We are faced with obvious infrastructural challenges to get this project on full steam, `` he said. He told NAN that the zone would have capacity to accommodate over 70 companies. “We expect the Federal Government and the Lagos State Government to work together and address the burning issues affecting the zone’s takeoff. “There is no doubt that Nigeria will enjoy immense commercial and economic benefits when the zone is fully in operation,’’ he said. LFTZ boss said that those who would invest in the zone would have access to markets in the West African sub-region. “There are other benefits to

invest in the zone. Companies there will enjoy tax holidays; generate maximum profit through access to Nigeria’s abundant natural resources. There will also be optimum opportunity to exploit and exchange ideas in the buy and selling of petroleum products, natural gas, timber, rubber, cocoa, gum Arabic, sesame seeds and agro products. “The zone will be a world of opportunities for entrepreneurs,`` the LFTZ boss said. NAN recalls that Mr Olusegun Aganga, Minister for Trade and Investment, had said that the zone would be the biggest of the 19 free trade zones that Chinese investors were engaged in outside China. Aganga expressed optimism that LFTZ would be the most successful in Africa

Deputy Director, Corporate Affairs of ICAN,Mr. Dayo Ajibotosho,said in a statement made available to National Mirror on Tuesday, that the newly appointed registrar is a Fellow of the institute, that and Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers, (CIS), as well as a full member of the Nigerian Institute of Management, (NIM). According to Ajibotoosho, Odukoya before his current appointment also Before his new appointment, also has served in as Director, Examinations where he made contributions to the Directorate, including the elimination of manually generated examination dockets; posting of the examination results on the ICAN website; introduction of online registration for professional examination; as well as introduction and review of the credit system. He was also Director, financial services.

15 get PTDF Int’l certificate for drilling CHIDI UGWU

L-R: President, National Cashew Association of Nigeria (NCAN), Mr. Tola Faseru, MD, Sahara Group Tonye Cole, Chairman, CASON, Emmanuel Ijewere and Publicity Secretary, NCAN, Mr. Sotonye Anga at the 2nd National Cashew Stakeholders’ Forum in Lagos recently

etroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF) has said that fifteen Nigerian graduate Engineers who successfully participated in PTDF Drilling Engineers Training Programme will tomorrow be issued with International Well Control Forum Certification in drilling and related operations. In a statement, the Head, Press and External Relations Mr. Kalu Otisi said the programme which was conducted at the French Institute of Petroleum, France has qualified the participants to practice globally as oil drilling engineers. According to statement, the Certificates which were issued by the International Institute of Petroleum will be presented to the trainees in an award

ceremony scheduled to hold in Abuja. Mr. Otisis noted that the certificate award ceremony will have in attendance representatives of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), NNPC, Society of Petroleum Engineers (SPE), the Nigerian Society of Engineers (NSE) and other related stakeholders. The PTDF spokesman said the Drilling Engineers Training Programme is part the Fund’s capacity building programme specifically to fill identified skills gap and ensure the domestication of Nigerians in the drilling engineering sector with the ultimate aim of promoting Nigerian Content in the petroleum industry. “This programme is important in view of the local content aspiration of the Federal Government in the oil and gas industry”

Tax concessions will aid growth of young entrepreneurs – Expert

resident, West Africa Union of Tax Institutes, Mr Kunle Quadri, yesterday urged the Federal Government to give tax concessions to budding entrepreneurs to facilitate their growth. He told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), in Lagos that ``indigenous entrepreneurs will enjoy more reward from their businesses if tax holidays are part of the incentives they get from the government``. According to Quadri, a nation’s tax system defines the

growth rate of businesses in the country. He said that many young entrepreneurs would have additional funds to plough into their businesses if they were given tax concessions. The expert said that the different tiers of government in the country should improve on enforcement of their tax laws to generate more revenue to fund their infrastructure development. “It also behoves on our governments to increase public enlightenment on the benefits of paying tax,” he said.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Energy Week

udemea@rocketmail.com 07031546994

Electricity meter

he Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, (NERC), Dr. Sam Amadi has, at different occasions, expressed his concern for consumers of electricity in the nation. This is based on at least a reason. Amadi believes that consumers should be kings, particularly because without them, operators would not be in business. Contrary to his great expectation, the electricity distribution companies, DISCOs continue to exploit consumers through sharp practices, including what has come to be known as crazy billing and provision of meters. These exploitative ways and means got to climax a few weeks ago when PHCN virtually stopped the issuance of new pre-payment meters to consumers in all parts of the nation as well as raised its estimated tariff by over 150 per cent without any explanation. Consequently, consumers who live in two-bedroom flats that used to pay about N5,000 monthly tariff now pay between N12,000 and N15,000, depending on the policies and practices of the distribution companies. Consumers who live in three-bedroom flats and duplexes pay between N16, 000 and N20, 000 per month against about N7, 000 they used to pay. These bills include Value Added Tax and “meter maintenance charge ” even though most consumers do not have meters. Industry sources remarked that PHCN officials had deliberately stopped

PHCN gets marching orders on electricity supply Electricity consumers are set for war against electricity distribution companies DISCOs, over lack of meters and high bills. UDEME AKPAN reports that the swift intervention of NERC may assist to achieve stability in the sector. the issuance of pre-payment meters after a noticeable drop in revenue as consumers adopted measures to reduce their tariff. Many consumers who have been waiting for months to get the new meters are compelled to continue to pay estimated bills which are based the guesswork of PHCN personnel. This, however, does not take cognisance of consumers, who for days or weeks or those who do not have

high-power consuming appliances. Besides, many consumers are compelled to pay additional N100 for a token in order to pay bills under a “cashless ” policy being introduced by PHCN in partnership with a local firm in some Lagos districts. Expectedly, the angry consumers have not been mute. While some groan, others have taken to the streets, protesting the massive exploitation of the DISCOs. For

THE PROTEST COULD HAVE GOT OUT OF CONTROL WITHOUT THE TIMELY INTERVENTION OF THE

POLICE.

THE YOUTHS, WHO CARRIED PLACARDS WITH VARIOUS INSCRIPTIONS, WERE PROTESTING WHAT THEY TERMED ILLEGAL BILLINGS AND EXTORTION BY THE

PHCN OFFICIALS

instance, a few days ago, the youths of Omu-Aran, Irepodun Local Government Area of Kwara State took to the streets, protesting alleged extortion by the PHCN. The protest could have got out of control without the timely intervention of the police. The youths, who carried placards with various inscriptions, were protesting what they termed illegal billings and extortion by the PHCN officials. The protesters, who had gathered in front of the community ’s Post Office reportedly, took to the streets, chanting war songs and holding placards with different inscriptions. Some of the inscriptions on the placards read: “We are tired of crazy bills ”, “Stop this extortion now ” and “Omu-Aran no go gree. ” The policemen, along with some officers of the National Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), it was CONTINUED ON PAGE 36

Energy Week

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

PHCN gets marching orders on electricity supply

Jonathan

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 35 learnt had to form a barricade to prevent the youths from entering the building. The leader of the youths, Mr. Wasiu Awoniyi, explained that they embarked on the warning protest after several meetings to resolve the issue with PHCN proved abortive. As he puts it: “We have been looking up to the elders and elites in the community for a peaceful resolution of this ugly phenomenon without any breakthrough. That is why we took it upon ourselves to embark on this awareness and warning protest. ” Awoniyi remarked that: “Our resolve is that no monthly PHCN bill should go beyond N1, 500 for an apartment and N2, 000 for artisans and other skilled persons. We are giving PHCN management up till February to make necessary adjustment and correct the situation in the interest of peace. ” The cries of consumers have not fallen on deaf ears. NERC has stepped in to tackle these and other concerns. From all indications, electricity consumers may be in a position to heave a sigh of relief as NERC has directed electricity distribution companies to meet the yearnings of consumers or be sanctioned. The commission has started considering some options capable of assisting to boost availability of electricity meters in the nation. The options include customer financing and the use of accredited meter vendors. NERC also resolved to ensure standardization and efficiency in the deployment of the meters and to that end a public notice will soon be issued for all vendors of meters to apply for certification of their products in line with the metering code. The commission also plans to send a letter to the Bureau of Public Procurement, (BPP), in order to fast track a No Objection Certification for various vendors. Investigations showed that although the nation has two meter manufacturing

Kuchi

firms in Lagos and Kaduna, they have not been able to flood the local market with adequate meters. Minister of State for Power, Hajia Zainab Ibrahim Kuchi, who encouraged consumers to pay for the new meters explained that they would be compensated in future. She remarked that such customers would get energy credit and reduction in their fixed charges over time. This voluntary option seems to be a good development, particularly for Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) whose operations were to a great extent crippled as a result of many factors, especially irregular supply and crazy billing. Consequently, NASME has called for the creation of separate classifications, specifically for NSMEs, to enable them to reduce the high operational cost. It also called for the elimination of all fixed charges. “In the medium to long term, NASME recommends that the fixed charge is completely eliminated and all charges become variable based on consumption, ” it said in the report. The organisation explained that this would ensure that its members only pay for what they consume and ultimately, encourage energy conservation in the nation. It also made a case for the introduction of a unified standard for information shown on payment receipts, explaining that the minimum information requirements for each distribution company to be the same, in order to improve transparency. NASME added: “Distribution companies should be mandated to set up structured and effective complaint and resolution channels with stipulated resolution timelines. An authoritative study conducted by the organisation showed that many industries have closed shops as a result of poor supply of electricity which compelled them to take to the use of generators at higher cost. The cost which is reflected in the prices of various goods

Lambo

Amadi

IT ALSO STATED THAT; “THERE SHOULD BE AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS AND SENSITISATION

MYTO 11 TO MSMES USING GRASSROOTS/PRACTICAL METHODS. NASME ON

CAN PROVIDE INPUT ABOUT APPROPRIATE CONSULTATION MECHANISM FOR

SMES

and services make them uncompetitive at the global market. The NASME stated that the high cost of the new Multi Year Tariff Order 11, introduced in June last year was counter-productive on the operations of its members. The Executive Secretary of the organisation, Mr. Eke Ubiji who confirmed the development said NASME is ready to engage with relevant government institutions. The organisation explained that this would ensure that its members only pay for what they consume and ultimately encourage energy conservation in the nation. It also made a case for the introduction of a unified standard for information shown on payment receipts, explaining that: “The minimum information requirements for each distribution company to be the same, in order to improve transparency. ” NASME further called for the restructuring as creation of complaint channels in distribution firms so as to enable service providers respond to complaints. It stated that: “Distribution companies should be mandated to set up structured

and effective complaint and resolution channels with stipulated resolution timelines. Appropriate penalties should be established with supervision by NERC. ” It also stated that; “There should be awareness campaigns and sensitisation on MYTO 11 to MSMEs using grassroots/practical methods. NASME can provide input about appropriate consultation mechanism for SMEs. ” Stakeholders, including the National President of Oil and Gas Service providers Association of Nigeria, OGSPAN, Mr. Colman Obasi stated that there was a great need for the various hurdles to be removed so as to enable small and medium scale business operators have constant electricity at affordable cost to power their operations. He stated that: “Small and medium scale businesses are very central to the economy of the nation, particularly in terms of employment, technology transfer and capacity building. These and other reasons explain why the government and others should ensure they have access to stable power supply Obasi stated that with stable supply at affordable cost, the operators would be in a position to export their products and services to the global market, thereby generating additional foreign exchange for into the nation. He stated that: “We should not only be thinking about crude oil and gas, we should consider the small and medium scale business in particular and non oil sector in general as an instrument targeted at diversifying the economy of the nation. ” The National President who appreciated the step taken to tackle issues asked for the cooperation of relevant people and organizations, especially the DISCOs. This seems to be very important as they occupy a prime place in the sector. Indeed the DISCOs should wake up to provide electricity with a human face, knowing that the world is watching.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Energy Week

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

OPEC daily basket price hits $112.30 per barrel UDEME AKPAN

WITH AGENCY REPORT

he price of Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC basket of 12 has risen from $111.43 to $112.30 per barrel, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations. The new OPEC Reference Basket of Crudes (ORB) is made up of the following: Saharan Blend (Algeria), Girassol (Angola), Oriente (Ecuador), Iran Heavy (Islamic Republic of Iran), Basra Light (Iraq), Kuwait Export (Kuwait), Es Sider (Libya), Bonny Light (Nigeria), Qatar Marine (Qatar), Arab Light (Saudi Arabia), Murban (UAE) and Merey (Venezuela). The new price recorded over the weekend showed an excess of over $33 per barrel in excess of the $79 reference price of the 2013, meaning that Nigeria would be in a position to generate adequate foreign exchange for the execution of this year ’s budget. During its last meeting, the conference reviewed the oil market outlook, in particular the supply/demand projections for 2013. A statement issued by the organization stated that ministers noted that the price volatility witnessed throughout 2012 remained a reflection of increased levels of speculation in the commodities markets, exacerbated by geopolitical tensions and, latterly, exceptional weather conditions. It stated that: “The conference observed: the mounting pessimism

Oil storage vessel

market balance and reasonable price levels for producers and consumers. In taking this decision, member countries confirmed that they will swiftly respond to developments that might have a detrimental impact on an orderly oil market. ” The cartel stated that since it is vital to remain vigilant in the face of the uncertainty surrounding the outlook for the world ’s major economies, as well as the implications of the enduring weaknesses in the international financial system that are expected to continue to pose downside risks for both the global economy and the oil market. The conference directed the secretariat to maintain its close monitoring of developments in supply and demand, as well as non-fundamental factors, such as macroeconomic sentiment and speculative activity, keeping member countries abreast of developments at all times.

over the global economic outlook, with downside risks continuing to be presented by the sovereign debt crisis in the Euro-zone; high unemployment in the advanced economies, especially the Euro-zone; and inflation risk in the emerging economies. Indeed, the biggest challenge facing global oil markets in 2013 is uncertainty surrounding the global economy, with the fragility of the Euro-zone remaining a major concern. The conference noted that, although world oil demand is forecast to increase slightly during the year 2013, this is likely to be more than offset by the projected increase in non-OPEC supply and that projected demand for OPEC crude in 2013 is expected to contract to 29.7 mb/d. It maintained that: “Given the demand uncertainties, the Conference decided to maintain the current production level of 30.0 mb/d. The Conference also agreed that member countries would, if necessary, take steps to ensure

Labour, Power Minister trade blames over meter scarcity

he National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE), has blamed the Federal Government for the inadequacy of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) to ensure effective metering of its customers across the country. The National Secretary of the union, Joe Ajero put the blame on the government on Friday during the official commissioning of the National Power Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN), facilities at Akangba and Ijora in Lagos. Ajero said the inability of the Federal Government to build a meter manufacturing companies in the country caused the inconstancy pronouncement by the NERC on pre-paid meter

payment saga. He added that most of the meter that in use in the country are being imported by government which he said contributed immensely to scarcity. ``The country would no longer continue to import meter to customers, Nigeria as big as we are, we should at lease have two to three meter manufacturing companies in Nigeria. ” According to him, ``Government should urgently find lasting solution to the issue of metering manufacturing companies before the sector is finally handed over to the investors, ’ ’ he advised. On payment pension, Ajero said that over one year now, workers who had retired from the power sector had not received their pension and gratuity, which he alleged that

many of those who should have witnessed their entitlements had died without enjoying the fruit of their labour. ``A demoralised workforce cannot move the power sector forward, when a worker is demoralised on all aspects of his duty, there is no way he or she can be active on duty. Ajero however, urged government to urgently look into the payment of retirees ’ gratuity and pension, adding that it is alarming that pensioners have not been paid in the last one year now. Hajia Zainab Ibrahim Kuchi, minister of State for Power, however debunked the allegation, adding that Nigeria has two metering manufacturing companies in Lagos and Zaria in Kaduna. Speaking on the pre-paid metre payment; Kuchi said that the reversal was indeed nec-

Energy & Oil Prices

Source: Bloomberg

OIL ($/bbl) Nymex Crude Future Dated Brent Spot WTI Cushing Spot

PRICE*

CHANGE

% CHANGE

TIME

85.95 111.01 85.54

0.41 0.90 -0.74

0.48% 0.82% -0.86%

07:42 07:52 10/29

PRICE*

CHANGE

% CHANGE

TIME

310.55 275.30

-0.97 -0.38

-0.31% -0.14%

07:37 07:41

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

NATURAL GAS ($/MMBtu)

PRICE*

CHANGE

% CHANGE

11:19

New York City Gate Spot

3.77 3.43 3.57

-0.03 0.09 0.11

-0.84% 2.69% 3.18%

07:43 10/29 10/29

ELECTRICITY ($/megawatt hour)

PRICE*

CHANGE

% CHANGE

TIME

% CHANGE

09/24

Nymex Henry Hub Future Henry Hub Spot

Mid-Columbia, firm on-peak, spot Palo Verde, firm on-peak, spot

32.95 35.23

-0.40 -0.76

-1.20% -2.11%

10/26 10/29

BLOOMBERG, FIRM ON-PEAK, DAY AHEAD SPOT/ERCOT HOUSTON

30.25

2.04

7.23%

10/26

Source: Oilprice.com

essary when government could not afford to buy the metre, adding that the money was not included in the appropriation bill. She said that any customer who wishes to pay for the meter now would be compensated over time. In return for paid meters, such customers would get energy credit and reduction in their fixed charges over time. ``Willing customers can advance money to the distribution companies after which a meter will be installed on their premises within a stipulated time frame. ``In exchange for this advance, the DISCOs will in turn, reduce the customer ’s electricity bills on a monthly basis to the tune of the amount originally advanced by the customers, ’ ’ she said. She said that the commission would accredit meter vendors to supply and install meters directly to customers. It will recalled that NERC promised to make electricity distribution companies (DISCOs) to meter all customers who had previously paid for meters pre-July 1, 2012 and were yet to receive them within 45 days, while punitive action has also been rolled out for distribution companies which fail to obey this new directive.

Energy Week

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Afren makes three oil nds in Nigeria, Iraq STORIES: UDEME AKPAN

fren Plc made three oil finds in Nigeria and Iraq in 2012. Two of the finds were made in Okoro and Ebok. The firm that confirmed the development stated that Okoro Field Extension encountered 549 ft of net oil pay. It stated that the first production well onstream at 5,000 barrels per day, BPD. Afren that stated that Ebok North Fault Block encountered 370 ft net oil pay added that another find was made in the Kurdistan region in Iraq during the period under review. It maintained that: “Simrit-2 in the Kurdistan region of Iraq encountered 1,342 ft of net oil pay; tested 13,584 bopd from Triassic reservoirs, nine further DST ’s ongoing Afren stated that seismic data acquisition and ongoing prospect maturation has upgraded Afren East Africa Exploration prospectivity. It stated that 3,483 km 2D seismic, 2,262 km2 3D seismic and 1,193 km gravity and magnetic data acquired in 2012. It maintained that 14 well E&A drilling campaign targeting net Pmean resources in excess of 670 mmboe Okwok-10 appraisal well (Nigeria), Simrit-3 exploration well (Kurdistan region of Iraq) and Paipai exploration well (Kenya) currently drilling The firm stated that 2012 net production

Okoro Field

WE ARE FINANCIALLY WELL POSITIONED WITH ROBUST CASH FLOWS, A STRONG BALANCE SHEET AND THE NECESSARY FINANCIAL CAPACITY AND FLEXIBILITY TO OPTIMALLY EXPLORE AND DEVELOP OUR HIGH QUALITY PORTFOLIO OF GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES WELL INTO THE FUTURE in line with guidance at 42,830 boepd; FY 2013E net production estimated to average between 40,000 boepd to 47,000 boepd (ex-

cluding Barda Rash). It stated that progressing field development plans for Okoro Field Extension, Ebok

Conoil lubricant export drive gets a boost

onoil, Nigeria ’s leading petroleum product manufacturing company ’s drive to export its lubricant brands to the West coast, got a major boost recently when the company was admitted into the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS). Its admission into the scheme would afford the company the opportunity to export its high grade, proudly made in Nigeria motor engine oils to established markets in the subregion duty free. The scheme was adopted by ECOWAS member states to eliminate trade barriers and facilitate trade integration, improve the foreign exchange earnings of companies of member states and create more jobs in their respective countries. It would be recalled that the Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC), had earlier certified the quality of Conoil lubricants as export compliant. A statement by the company proffered that the ETLS admission qualified Conoil to participate in ECOWAS Export Expansion Grant Scheme (EEG) and enjoy at least 30 percent rebate on its yearly export earnings. Conoil ’s foray into the export market came from an exhaustive business research, which revealed a viable market for the

company ’s brand of engine oil in the sub-region, the statement added. Its flagship lubricant brands, Quatro and Golden Super Motor Oil, hold top positions in the Nigerian market and are adjudged the brand of choice. Quatro, the company ’s premium grade, which has the American Petroleum Institute ’s (API) seal of excellence, earned the prestigious “Lubricant of the Year ” award for several years in Nigeria. Quatro contains highly refined paraffin base oils and

Mike Adenuga

hi-tech additives that ensure minimal fuel consumption and protect car engine from rust. The Golden Super Motor oil on the other hand, has antiwear/high detergency and oxidation resistance additives that ensure a longer engine lifespan. Also available are wide range of industrial lubricants for applications in manufacturing, textile, cement, breweries, oil exploration and producing companies, and transmission oils for the gear system of vehicles. The company currently controls about 30 percent of the nation ’s lubricant market and has also committed substantial investments to upgrade and expand its lubricant blending plants at its depots at Apapa, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Kano with a view to meeting and surpassing c u s t o m e r s ’ ever increasing demand for its quality engine oil.

North Fault Block and Okwok offshore Nigeria Record 2012 financial results expected; 2012 sales revenue of approximately $1,500 million forecast; realised average oil price of $107/bbl ($3.50/bbl average discount to Brent) It stated that 2012 full year capital expenditure of $520 million; forecast 2013 capital expenditure of approximately $620 million. Afren maintained that net debt at 31 December 2012 was approximately $488 million (31 December 2011: $548 million) Chief Executive of Afren, Osman Shahenshah is said to have remarked that: “2012 saw record production and financial performance combined with significant exploration success in Nigeria and the Kurdistan region of Iraq. In 2013, we expect to further grow our reserves base through a multi-well exploration and appraisal drilling campaign in both established and new basins, while continuing to grow our production base. ” He said: “We are financially well positioned with robust cash flows, a strong balance sheet and the necessary financial capacity and flexibility to optimally explore and develop our high quality portfolio of growth opportunities well into the future. There is much to look forward to in 2013 and beyond. ”

NNPC denies owing FG $8.27bn

he Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), has denied owing the Federal Government billions of dollars. The Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) audit stated that NNPC owed N1.3 trillion ($8.27 billion) from crude oil sales between 2009 and 2011, echoing conclusions to several probes last year into the country ’s opaque oil and gas sector. But NNPC said in a statement that: “The report contains fundamental inaccuracies which are misleading and constitutes misinformation to the generality of the public. ” It maintained that the firm paid back N928 billion of this debt in first quarter of 2012, within its allowed 90 day payment period. Reuters stated that it was disputing the remaining N377 billion debt; because it had never been reimbursed an equivalent amount that it had been owed for domestic fuel imports between 2004-2005, which it said should be deducted from the total owed. Transparency International ranks the NNPC, which is at the heart of Africa ’s biggest energy industry, as one of the least transparent oil companies in the world. The company denied several other points in NEITI ’s audit, including that it underpaid the government N98.3 billion by applying

favourable exchange rates when calculating crude oil sales. The NNPC said it always uses the official exchange rate. NEITI ’s audit said NNPC owed $4.84 billion in dividends and loan repayments from the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) export business between 2009-2011, and a further $3.99 billion in NLNG funds from previous years going back to 1999. Meanwhile, the World Bank has thrown its weight behind NEITI to enable it realise improved transparency and accountability in the nation. World Bank Country Director for Nigeria, Africa Region Marie Francoise Marie-Nelly who visited the new Chair of NEITI Ledum Mitee promised to assist the agency meet some of its challenges. The Country Director promised to assist NEITI conduct a Scoping Study on the extractive revenue streams to the various tiers of government from the Federation Account. This study becomes imperative in view of NEITI ’s determination to urgently conduct a resource allocation, disbursement and utilisation audit in 2013.The bank will also consider the request of NEITI to assist in the conduct of a study on the metering infrastructure in the oil and gas sector; the lack of an authentic study in this regard has deprived the nation of huge revenues in taxes and royalty calculations.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Energy Week

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Akpabio, others to speak at NOG

FG raises hope on adequate power supply

UDEME AKPAN

he Executive Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Chief Godswill Akpabio is among speakers at this year ’s Oil and Gas Conference, NOG which begins in Abuja this month. The governor, it was learnt will focus on topical issues, especially investment opportunities in Akwa Ibom State which is one of the states with huge reserves of crude oil and natural gas in the nation. A state House source in Uyo who confirmed that the interest of the governor is to attract more investors to the state said: “There are large deposits of oil and gas both on and off-shore. Plus other mineral resources such as limestone, clay, gold, salt, coal, silver nitrate and glass sand. ” The source said crude oil was discovered at Ikot Akata in what is now Akwa lbom State in early 50s following exploration for petroleum which began in Nigeria in 1937. He said commercial discovery was, however, made at Olobiri in what is now Bayelsa State, with production beginning in 1958. The source said: “In Akwa lbom, offshore production of crude oil, condensate and gas by Mobil Petroleum Nigeria Limited, now Exxon/Mobil, has rendered the state the largest petroleum producer in Nigeria. The Qua lboe Terminal (QIT) on the Akwa lbom coast is one of the largest production facilities in the Niger Delta. Other oil-producing companies operating offshore in Akwa lbom State are Elf and Addax. He stated that the state is endowed with various minerals resources. It is the third largest producer of petroleum in Nigeria. Other, resources include limestone, clay, natural gas, salt, coal, giver nitrate and glass sand. The source said: “Our soil is host to a number of mineral resources that can be commercially exploited. There are both the metallic and non-metallic minerals which have been fairly distributed across the various local government areas of the state. ” He remarked that a number of studies have been undertaken by the Federal Government owned Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), on their uses and application. These studies are readily available to investors.

n ensuring sustainability and improvement in the power sector, the Minister of State for Power, Hajia Ibrahim Zainab Kuchi, on Friday said the Federal Government will improve and ensure adequate power supply in the country. Kuchi gave this assurance during the official commissioning of Power System Training Simulator and Mechanical Training Workshop at Ijora and upgraded 36-room Executive Hostel at Akangba Regional Training Centre in Surulere in Lagos. She said that government has intensified its effort to ensure more power plants come on stream before the end of the year to boost power supply in the country. The minister said one of the key priorities of the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan is the provision of adequate, reliable and affordable power supply to the people of Nigeria. ``I want to assured Nigerians that the current improvement in power supply witnessed nationwide would be continuous improved upon towards delivering the promise of the Federal Government to Nigerians. She said that in delivering these promises, it is common knowledge that the most important resource would be human capital. ``We are therefore, here to witness an investment in the development of human capacity required to drive the provision and sustenance

Power transformer

WITH A 10-PERSON PER SESSION CAPACITY PER WEEK, THE INSTALLATION OF THE POWER SIMULATOR WILL ENSURE AN ANNUAL TURNOUT OF 520 WELL SKILLED

ENGINEERS AND TECHNOLOGISTS of electricity supply in Nigeria. ``Federal Government, in pursuit of the Power Sector Reform agenda had long realised the gap in human capital bedeviling the industry, in this regards, effort was made to consolidate the stranded erstwhile PHCN training centre into a national training institutions, ’ ’ she said. According to the minister, a

major impediment that had continued to plague the development of the Nigerian power sector had been the dearth of skills required to undertake some of the basic tasks of maintain the power assets. ``Today, we usher into the history of the Nigerian power sector, an important and landmark occasion in the development of

Lagos State attributes impact in electricity to policy consistency CHIDI UGWU, ABUJA

he Lagos state Government has attributed its impact in electricity sector to policy consistency in the past few years. Governor Babatunde Fashola said the feat in the drive for stable power within the past few years is a testament of well organised policy pursued with utmost commitment and consistency. Fashola remarked that though the power project was first mooted by past administrations, the consistency in policy formulation has enabled the government to take the sector to greater heights. He said: “Regrettably the initiative suffered needless political interference and Lagos still bears the financial and econom-

ic scars for it. One can only imagine what type of Lagos and indeed Nigeria we would be living in today if 13 years ago that project had been allowed to proceed as conceptualised. The level of development we would have attained; the volume of manufacturing and various types of economic activity that would be thriving today; the ideas and innovations that would have sprung out of the type of enabling environment that constant power supply engenders ” In a recent forum in Abuja, Babatunde Fashola said his government developed the most extensive power development plans in order to achieve stable power supply in the commercial capital of the country. “Lagos State currently has one of the most extensive pow-

er utility development plans in the country. The plan includes implementing Independent Power Projects, Energy Development and Public Lighting. In the last three years, we have successfully commissioned two power plants (the Akute Power Plant and the Island Power Plant) and one transformer factory, the El Sewedy transformer factory at Badagry ”. According to the governor, the Akute Plant powers about 80 per cent of the water supply in Lagos, while the Island Power Plant provides electricity to health facilities, schools, court buildings and public lighting within the Lagos Island Central Business District. He stated that the Alausa Power Project is under construction, adding that once completed, it will supply elec-

the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry. ``The facilities we are here to commission for Nigerian Power Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN) would provides a power system training simulator, Mechanical training workshop and Executive hostel, ’ ’ she added. Kuchi, however, lauded Jonathan ’s support to the ministry of power and all associated MGDs for the discharge of the ministry mandate. Also speaking at the commissioning, Mr. Reuben Okeke, the Director General of National Power Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN), said that the newly installed Electric Power System Simulator which was acquired at N132 million marked the theoretical approach to training in power engineering to more practical approach where experimentations can be taught and simulated in real life incidence. Okeke said the power simulator allows technologies, engineers and electrical system operators to gain knowledgebased learning and skills-based training in all aspects of electric power system. ``This would further add to the learning potential of our institute and bring us nearer to the dream of being a world class power system training institute. ``With a 10-person per session capacity per week, the installation of the power simulator will ensure an annual turnout of 520 well skilled engineers and technologist, ’ ’ he said. tricity to the heart of government in Lagos – The Alausa Secretariat, while the Ikeja GRA IPP, will power government establishments within the Old Secretariat amongst others, is currently at procurement stage. Fashola said through these power plants, Lagos has witnessed vast improvements in its ability to deliver services to Lagos citizens, one of the most visible of which is in the area of public lighting. Last year for instance, the Lagos State Electricity Board added 50mw of well-maintained public lighting to the existing extensive lighting network across Lagos. It is our target to light up our streets, bridges and public places to reduce security risks. But, the governor said this was not without challenges. According to him, apart from relying heavily on generators to power the street lights, the extremely high level of vandalism to public lighting equipment, theft of cables and power theft from illegal connections make all the efforts a daunting task.

Energy Week

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Addax to invest $400m in Nigeria, other African nations STANLEY IHEDIGBO

WITH AGENCY REPORT

ddax & Oryx Group Ltd has concluded plans to invest $400 million in Africa after failing to sell oiltrading and downstream units last year. The Malta-based company, which has offices in Geneva, is investing the money over five to six years in downstream energy infrastructure and networks, to refocus the business away from a Swiss oil trading unit dwarfed by competitors, Jean Claude Gandur said. Bloomberg that confirmed the development quoted him as stating that: “Either you belong to the three or four very large trading companies and you concentrate on your trading activity, or you better find a new model, and that ’s what I ’m developing today, ” he said in a phone interview from Geneva yesterday. “It ’s more downstream than trading. ” Gandur worked in the Zug, Switzerland, office of Philipp Brothers before setting up a Geneva oil-trading firm named after two types of African antelope, the addax and oryx. The largest independent energy traders, including Glencore International Plc (GLEN), Vitol Group and Trafigura Beheer BV, all have offices in Switzerland. AOG is investing in liquefied petroleum gas networks in Africa to add to four terminals, two lubricants factories and fuel stations across 22 countries, according to Gandur.

26 countries publish resource revenues

wenty six nations, including Nigeria published their resource revenues last year. The Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, EITI said: “the 26 countries – with almost half a billion inhabitants - published how much they received from their natural resources in 2010. All combined, the revenues disclosed in the EITI reports is close to $ 1 trillion. The agency that made it known in a statement that the total number of published EITI reports increased by 50per cent stated that some countries have already disclosed their 2011 figures, including Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Norway, Republic of Congo and Timor-Leste. It stated that Ghana, Mauritania, Nigeria, Yemen and Zambia are yet to disclose numbers from 2010, but are expected to produce the reports within the first half of 2013. EITI stated that currently, 37 countries are implementing the EITI standard, which requires full disclosure of all payments to the government from oil, gas and mining companies.

He expects the LPG market to grow 12 percent to 15 percent a year in Tanzania and 10 percent to 15 percent a year in Ivory Coast. The fuel reduces societies ’ dependency on charcoal and restricts deforestation, he said. AOG, which also has businesses in upstream energy and real estate, said in May it wouldn ’t pursue the sale of its Geneva trading unit and African downstream oil and gas unit after the expiration of an exclusivity agreement with Emerging Capital Partners, a Washington-based investment firm focused on Africa. Gandur, who lives in London and has a personal fortune of about $2 billion, according to Forbes, said he terminated the process because the buyer was too slow to complete the deal. AOG is closely held and doesn ’t provide detailed information on the size of its energy businesses. After selling Addax Petroleum Corp., an exploration and production unit, to China ’s Sinopec Group for C$8.3 billion ($8.3 billion) in 2009, AOG plans to sell shares to the public in another upstream business, Oryx Petroleum, on the Toronto stock exchange this year, Gandur said. AOG has spent $450 million on real estate in cities including Geneva, London and New York and plans to invest another $300 million, Gandur said. The commercial property and retail acquisitions are longterm investments to provide an income for philanthropic activities, he said.

Tanker vessel at berth

Addax Petroleum began operations in Nigeria in 1998 by signing two Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs) with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). Our average annual production was 8,800 barrels per day (bbl/d). Since this acquisition, Addax Petroleum has driven its growth by acquiring oil properties deemed by others to have limited remaining pro-

duction potential and using its strong inhouse technical and operational expertise to grow reserves and production in a cost effective manner. In Nigeria, Addax Petroleum ’s producing assets include 11 field complexes with around 60 production wells in concession OML123, 2 fields with 20 producing wells in concession OML 124 and 2 fields with 14 production wells in concession OML126.

NEITI signs new audit contract UDEME AKPAN

he Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI), has signed a contract for the conduct of the audit on fiscal allocation and statutory disbursements. The signing of the contract marks the formal commencement of the audit, expected to be concluded within a period of nine months. Explaining the objectives, the Executive Secretary, NEITI, Mrs. Zainab Ahmed said the Audit will cover fiscal allocation and statutory disbursements of extractive industries revenue funds from the Federation Account to the three tiers of government. Zainab stated that the audit which is first of its kind by NEITI will in the meantime; cover only states that benefit from the 13per cent derivation as well as other agencies that directly receive allocations from the Federation Account. They include the oil producing states of Abia, Akwa-Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Imo, Ondo and Rivers. Others are Niger Delta Development Commission

(NDDC), Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), Central Bank of Nigeria (Development of Natural Resources), Federal Government of Nigeria (Share of Derivation & Ecology), and Administration and Application of Excess Crude Oil Account. Zainab also stated that the audit would cover the period 2007-2011. “In line with the provision of Section 2 and 3 of the NEITI Act, the decision

Zainab Ahmed

by NEITI to implement this part of the law is not only legal but imperative in view of the mutual suspicion and distrust that has existed among federal, states and local governments over who gets what, why and how. ” The executive secretary further explained that the audit will also provide baseline information required for planning and development, reduce friction and promote public trust

through provision of timely and current information and data that would form the basis for revenue allocation, disbursements and application in Nigeria. She reassured the covered entities that the audit is not intended to ‘ ‘witch hunt ’ ’, but targeted at ensuring that the revenues from the sector to the recipients are prudently managed to address the developmental needs of Nigerians, and reduce poverty. She urged the auditors to be courageous, independent and apply the highest level of integrity and professionalism in carrying out the assignment. “We in NEITI expect the states, local governments and agencies involved to cooperate with the auditors as is required by law. ’ ’ An indigenous professional Audit firm SIAO Partners was engaged, through an international competitive bid process, to conduct the audit. The Federal Executive Council presided over by President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan had in November 2012 approved the conduct of the Audit, and promised to give NEITI the support to carry out the project.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Executive Discourse

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Food fortification in Nigeria has Nutrients fortified food is gradually gaining prominence in the country like in other developed climes, and Nigerians need to key into it to become more healthy and productive. President of the Nutrition Society of Nigeria, Professor Ignatius Onimawo, in this interview with MESHACK IDEHEN, says the policy of government on cassava flour for making bread and confectionaries is in the right direction. Excerpts.

Is Nigeria on the right path with food fortification policy of government, and would the policy help address the nutritional deficit said to be massive amongst the populace? Yes, the country is on the right path with its food fortification policy, considering that food is fortified for so many reasons. When you observe a gap in particular micro nutrients as relate to deficiencies that you find in the populace, then you can begin to think of ways by which you can remedy that. Also important to note however, is that there are different levels of fortification. There is supplementation fortification in which the micro nutrient in question is given in the form of capsules or tablets, or added in some food for children. This though is not sustainable because it is expensive to import such micro nutrient dense, either powders or capsules into the country. The second option in fortification is that a particular good look is given to what experts in the field believe is available to the majority of the people. This option can be made even easier if you have a centrally processed food system like you have in developed countries, since it is easier for people to make that demand. While it can be said that the policy will go a long way to help address the noticed nutritional deficiency amongst the populace, it is regrettable that many of our foods in Nigeria are not centrally processed. The only foods that are fortified right now are the flour, the wheat flours, the maize flour in form of semolina, you also have the vegetable oil, the sugar and then you have the salt that is iodized. How well would you say foods consumed in Nigeria are processed or fortified, and what can be done to make these foods more fortified and nutritious? The foods consumed in Nigeria are centrally processed to a very small extent, therefore is easier to use them more as vehicle for fortification. But you also know that many Nigerians do not eat these foods as stable. Therefore we are thinking of a situation where you have small holders within each community; i.e for instance, where they make maize flour within a community, where they do rice mill and those kinds of small holders within communities you can give them the fortificant just like was demonstrated in Adamawa State sometimes ago. Such move could help to add to the nutrients that are deficient in the food, particularly micro nutrient which is the major focus of food fortification. As regards what can be done to make these food more fortified, something happened recently in Nigeria which we need to celebrate, which is the issue of bio fortification where cassava that contained yellow flesh was found to contain adequate beta carotene which are the major source of Vitamin A. I was at the celebration at Umudike, Abia State when it was launched and what that showed was that, there is no home in Nigeria where cassava products are not consumed. If we can develop that in such way that the cassava is naturally fortified with Vitamin A, it will become our source of carbohydrate foods, may be for garri, or whatever way you wish to prepare your food with cassava products, then indirectly, you are taking in may be enough Vitamin A that you do not need to bother so much about other source because

FOODS WITH LOW GLACEMIC INDEX ARE FOODS THAT DIABETICS ARE ADVISED TO CONSUME AND CASSAVA IS NOT AMONG THE HIGH

GLACEMIC INDEX FOOD. cassava products are well known in Nigeria and there is no where they are not consumed. It is breakthrough in a way for Nigerian people, and it is one of the ways by which nutritional deficiency can be addressed. What about issues being raised that comparing quality of wheat flour with cassava flour even if cassava is naturally fortified is almost impossible and that cassava, a staple food can lead to diabetes. Is that the right thinking? I must say that I was alarmed when I watched on the television where a motion as it where was moved in the Federal House of Assembly and some information was provided to the extent that cassava was food that will lead to increase in diabetes. There were a lot of information that were given which to my mind should not have been because in the first instance, the prevalence that was quoted from that report that the diabetes rate in Nigeria is between 20-30 percent is completely not true. Diabetes rate in Nigeria is less than 10 percent. Infact, we have not done a recent survey that was just a projected percentage. The last survey that was done was around 1992 and it was not even a nationwide survey and put the diabetic rate at 2.5 percent from 1992 till now, there is projection that it must have increased up to the point of about 9.5 percent. The notion that cassava flour when added to wheat flour to make bread will increase the rate of diabetes is completely untrue because when we talk about diabetes, there two things you talk about. The Glacemic Index and the Glacemic Load. Foods with low Glacemic Index are foods that diabetics are advised to consume and cassava is not among the high Glacemic Index Food. In fact, wheat flour has high Glacemic Index from between 70-72 while cassava has a Glacemic index between 46 and 60.That is the range for cassava. Having that at the back of our minds , it then means that when you mix cassava flour with low Glacemic Index with wheat flour that has high Glacemic Index the blend that will come with the glacemic Index will come down. In essence, if we are going to attack diabetes, then the mix of cassava flour and wheat flour is the right step to start with because by the time you combine cassava flour with that wheat flour, the Glacemic Index of the overall product will come down because that of white bread is 70 as at now. So when you bring cassava flour into it, it may bring it down to about 60 or 60 point something thereby giving a better product that will now fall within the range of medium Glacemic Index food. Right now, bread as it is, is in high Glacemic Index group. So with the coming of cassava flour, you can bring it down to a medium Glacemic Index food. What is your advice to the government and the people in that regards especially on the need to accept naturally fortified food, particularly cas-

sava? My advice is that the policy of government on the inclusion of cassava flour into wheat flour for the production of bread is a step in the right direction. My thoughts initially was that the arguments were going to be may be the crumb structure of the bread, may be the weight of the bread. I though these were going to be issues because of the fact that there were no glutin in cassava flour. Even then, the American government has shown that even in such situations where you use a product that do not contain glutin, you should add about 5 per-

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Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Executive Discourse

not achieved desired level’

Onimawo

THERE IS NEED FOR NUTRITION EDUCATION IN

NIGERIA. THE

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SHOULD PARTNER WITH

NUTRITION SOCIETY OF NIGERIA AND OTHER

THE

INSTITUTIONS SO THAT WE CAN TAKE THIS MESSAGE TO THE GRASS ROOT AND TO EVERY

NIGERIAN

cent soya beans flour to that particular formulation, then the loaf file improves and therefore, the crumb structure of the bread also improves and we have communities in Nigeria to do soya beans . Benue State is an example. Another advice I would give especially to the government is to enhance the production of these products. I think is another opportunity for government to encourage soya beans producers so that they include five percent soya beans flour along with the 40 percent of cassava flour to the wheat flour to produce our bread. And that is where we have several advantages. One, the Glacemic Index will be lower because the GI soya bean is lower than that of cassava. So GI will be low and soya bean contain a lot of protein and protein will be good in bread and the crumb structure will be fine and the taste will be better and it will be more nourishing than the other way.

I also want to state an advice, that there is need for nutrition education in Nigeria. The Federal Government should partner with the Nutrition Society of Nigeria and other institutions so that we can take this message to the grass root and to every Nigerian, even to the National Assembly. It is good that the National Assembly raised this issue and think perhaps the legislature has this interest of Nigerians .They didn’t want Nigerians to become diabetic and, now that the information has come, it is good that they too be informed about this so that they will be better placed to serve the Nigerian public. What do you think stakeholders should be looking at with respect to nutrition, health with specific reference to this issue of cassava flour and food fortification? There is need for us (all the stakeholders) to have a common ground to look at some of the issues. A lot of researches have been done on the possibilities of trying to look at the value chain of these agricultural products, especially cassava and sorghum and how it can advance food fortification and nutrition for the people. If you take sorghum which is one of the crops that the Minister of Agriculture is looking into, you will see that we have done some researches on sorghum where sorghum have been used to produce breakfast cereals that looked like Quaker oat. It was better nutritionally and the taste was nice. But they are all on the shelf, because there is no collaboration between research institutes, universities and the industries and the public. So that gap has been there. Stakeholders need to keep looking at how efforts can translate to possibilities and into nutritional realities. What has happened in the past is the neglect of nutrition issues by past government. As a society,

we have made and will keep making attempts just like we have done in the past to convince the government to look into the issue of nutrition and how it can be improved upon. Unfortunately though, other important stakeholders are yet to key fully into these initiatives and remain committed to it. For example, during the Obasanjo’s regime just about the time he was about going, he promised Nigerians, infact he made a pronouncement that he has formed National Nutrition Council which is to be inaugurated thereafter. As we speak now, five years after, that council has not been inaugurated. Meanwhile, that council was supposed to be a hub that will link to other stakeholders in the area of nutrition. Within the National Assembly there are various sub-committees. These are important stakeholders. There are some on health. They are also critical stakeholders. This is time for them to engage professional associations to have nutrition society, food science society and other societies that are professionally based. This is a matter of science not a matter of conjecture. It is not a matter of what a particular person thinks. It is all about what science says. This is the issue. There is need to have committee on nutrition because the whole world have realised that nutrition is development because If a child is not properly nourished, that child is going to face challenges that will in the longer term, affect his country. Our legislatures may not be aware of this, so I believe this is an opportunity to draw their attention. Now that awareness is being raised, what effort is the Nutrition Society of Nigeria is making to put things in proper perspective? The minister announced that he wants to upgrade the nutrition desk of the agric ministry to a programme. Now when that begins to happen, how would you want the Nutrition Society of Nigeria and then the professionals generally in this area to work with the ministry to making things happen in the right way? When we were looking at the Nigerian Agricultural Investment programme some time ago, that took us to Dakar, Senegal to look at the agric programme under NEPAD, the reason for that meeting was to look the nutritional component of the programme, because we found that the agric ministry’s programme has not been well articulated when it comes to the issue of nutrition. So if the minister wants to make nutrition aspect a programme, it is a very good development and I think that this so good. We as a society will encourage the minister to do so and we as a society are ready to cooperate and collaborate. We are ready to give him the data of nutritionists in Nigeria, their profile and those that can really work in that arm of the ministry because we have found out that in communities where foods are produced, are the same communities where we have the greatest issues of malnutrition. So it’s a paradox. People don’t know what to eat, how to prepare it and so on, so that they could derive the full benefits of the foods they are producing in their communities. We need this kind of information, and see it as a welcome development for agric ministry to begin to take nutrition as a major component. The essence of nutrition is to ensure that we have better lives. As a nutrition expert, what would you say are the advantages of cassava flour in bread? Cassava has many advantages. We can look at it as a dilution factor. The level of gluten can be reduced to become highly diluted, and will have no negative effect on those who suffer from allergy. So, it is a double advantage. Lets look at the taste, structure and the weight. Every country has its own bread. When I went to Morocco, the bread they made from corn flour that is what they eat. So, why must we eat American bread? The Italian don’t eat American bread.

Global Business

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

U.K. economy faces risk of prolonged stagnation - NIESR

ritain’s economy will grow more slowly this year than previously forecast and stagnation may persist, according to the National Institute of Economic and Social Research. The institute sees the economy expanding 0.7 percent this year instead of the 1.1 percent forecast in November, and 1.5 percent in 2014, it said in a report published in London yesterday. It also said Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne should relax his fiscal squeeze to help the recovery. The economy shrank 0.3 percent in the fourth quarter and is facing the threat of a triple-dip recession. With gross domestic product more than 3 percent below its 2008 peak, NIESR said the U.K. is in the slowest post-recession recovery in 100 years and it doesn’t expect GDP to regain its previous peak until 2015. “The concern should not be whether or not the economy shrank slightly at the start of 2013 to fulfill the ‘technical’ definition of recession, or whether there is slight growth,” NIESR said. It should be on “the broader question of whether stagnation persists throughout 2013.” The institute also forecast that net debt

Osborne

will peak at about 85 percent of GDP in the 2016–2017 fiscal year. That compares with the Office for Budget Responsibility’s projection in December that debt will reach its highest point in 2015-2016 at about 80 percent and then start to decline.

BOJ’s $267bn JGB buys spur record win streak

Shinzo

apanese government bonds are headed for the longest run of annual gains on record, buoyed by central bank purchases almost equivalent to Malaysia’s economic output. The bonds have returned 2.1 percent

on an annualised basis in 2012, set for a ninth year of gains that’s the longest streak since at least 1986, a Bank of America Merrill Lynch index shows. Ten-year yields have declined 22 basis points to 0.76 percent. U.S. Treasuries are poised to post a third annual gain with a 2 percent return, while the benchmark rate has fallen 10 basis points. The Bank of Japan (8301)’s JGB holdings increased 22.6 trillion yen ($267 billion) in 2012 as it sought to pump funds into a deflation-plagued economy that contracted for two quarters through September 30. With incoming Prime Minister Shinzo Abe planning a “large-scale” extra budget to bolster growth, analysts forecast the 10-year yield will rise to 0.99 percent by the end of 2013, a Bloomberg survey shows, which would still be the third lowest globally. “Public-works spending will kick-start the economy” under an Abe administration, said Koichi Kurose, chief economist in Tokyo at Resona Bank Ltd., which oversees about $178 billion. “But the BOJ will increase asset purchases to keep a lid on borrowing costs.”

Spanish unemployment to swell as public jobs vanish

erez de La Frontera, a Spanish town of 214,000 in southern Andalusia, is negotiating with unions to fire 13 percent of the 2,000 government workers who absorb 80 percent of its budget. “It’s not easy because these are people and families,” said deputy mayor Antonio Saldana. With a quarter of Spain’s workforce already jobless, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy’s efforts to retain investor confidence by shaving more than twothirds off the nation’s budget deficit by 2014 will worsen the highest unemployment rate in the European Union. Tenyear yields at 6.86 percent mean “we can’t finance ourselves,” Rajoy said on September 1. “There’s going to be less hiring and

more firing for the spending cuts to be made,” said Ricardo Santos, an economist at BNP Paribas SA in London who sees unemployment climbing to 27 percent next year from 24.6 percent currently. “The more unemployment persists, the more difficult it’ll be for the government to meet budget goals and implement reforms.” Television stations, airports, hospitals, schools, fire brigades and social services from Spain’s southernmost tip to the Balearic islands in the east are reducing headcount as Rajoy tasks regions and municipalities with shouldering 60 percent of the cuts needed to reduce the budget shortfall to 2.8 percent of gross domestic product in the next two years.

After the economy stagnated in 2012, the institute said a balanced recovery depends upon a resumption of consumer spending, corporate investment and a pickup in exports. “Such a recovery would best be supported by a significant increase in public-

sector net investment, with looser fiscal policy in the short term while demand remains weak,” it said. “At the same time, a new and credible fiscal framework should underpin a continued commitment to fiscal consolidation over the medium to long term.” As the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee begins its two-day meeting tomorrow, NIESR economist Simon Kirby said it will leave its bond-buying stimulus program on hold as “MPC members have been highlighting concerns about the effectiveness of asset purchases.” All 43 economists in a Bloomberg News survey also forecast that the MPC will leave the target for QE at 375 billion pounds ($590 billion). The central bank will announce the decision at noon on February 7. Separately yesterday, the British Retail Consortium said retail sales rose 1.9 percent in January from a year earlier on a like- for-like basis. Total sales increased 3 percent. The BRC said the figures may indicate that ``the mood is lifting a little for customers and retailers’’ after a subdued Christmas.

RBA sees scope to ease further after holding rate at 3%

ustralia’s central bank held its benchmark interest rate at the half-century low reached in 2009 and said it has room to cut to a record as a weak labor market contains inflation. Bond yields and the local currency fell. “The inflation outlook, as assessed at present, would afford scope to ease policy further, should that be necessary to support demand,” Governor Glenn Stevens said in a statement yesterday in Sydney after leaving the overnight cash-rate target at 3 percent. “Looking ahead, with the labor market softening somewhat and unemployment edging higher, conditions are working to contain pressure on labor costs.” The nation’s currency weakened as Stevens’s statement indicated a willingness to underpin growth and repeated concern about the local dollar’s sustained strength. The Reserve Bank of Australia chief said the economy will likely expand “a little below trend” in the coming year, a less optimistic view than the one he released two months ago. “We expected that recent optimism around the world economy would not be sufficient to change the bank’s clear bias to further cut rates,” said Bill Evans, chief economist at Westpac Banking Corp. (WBC) in Sydney. “There was considerable encouragement in the statement for our near-term view that they will decide to cut rates by 25 basis points at the next meeting.” Yesterday’s decision to pause was predicted by 24 of 28 economists surveyed by Bloomberg, with the rest forecasting a 0.25 percentage point cut. Supporting his case, Stevens said demand for some durables has improved, house prices have increased and there are signs housing construction is reviving. “On the other hand, the exchange rate remains higher than might have been ex-

pected, given the observed decline in export prices, and the demand for credit is low, as some households and firms continue to seek lower debt levels,” he said. Australian government three-year bond yields fell nine basis points to 2.85 percent, heading for the steepest decline since September. Traders are pricing in a 55 percent chance he’ll cut rates in March, according to swaps data compiled by Bloomberg. The so-called Aussie bought $1.0408 yesterday in Sydney compared with $1.0445 before the decision was announced. Australia’s jobless rate probably rose to 5.5 percent in January, matching the highest since April 2010, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey ahead of the government’s monthly employment report Feb.ruary 7.

Stevens

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Capital Market

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

SEC extends Oando Rights Issue JOHNSON OKANLAWON

he Securities and Exchange Commission has extended the Oando Rights Issue to February 20, due to the industrial action of the Nigerian Postal Services. In a notice to investors yesterday, the company said Rights circulars for 66 per cent of shareholders could not be dispatched as schedule owing to the industrial action. The notice explained that an application was made to the SEC to extend the acceptance period and it has been approved. The company is shopping for N54.6bn from existing shareholders through

a Rights Issue of 4.548 bn ordinary shares at N12 per share. The offer opened December 28, 2012 and is expected to close on February 20, 2013. Meanwhile, shareholders have endorsed the N54.6bn Right Issue of the company, even as they advised other investors to take advantage of the offer to increase their portfolios to reap the benefits of the huge investments inherent on the offer. The National Coordinator, Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria, Mr. Sunny Nwosu, urged shareholders to embrace the issue. According to him, while the management of the company strives to make right investments, govern-

ments ’ policies have not really helped in realising the benefits of some of those investments as quickly as expected. “I believe that going forward, Oando ’s performance will improve significantly. My plea to the Federal Government is that it should have the political will do take some decisions that would make investments in the oil sector profitable. The issue of subsidy removal, for instance, should be addressed once and for all, ” he said. The President of Nigeria Shareholders Solidarity Association, Mr. Timothy Adesiyan, noted that the price of the issue is very attractive, considering the assets and future prospects of the

company. Group Chief Executive of Oando Plc, Mr. Wale Tinubu said, “We count on the consistent support of our shareholders to seize the opportunity to take up their rights and benefit from the higher margin value creation the upstream offers. ” He added that the net proceeds of the offer would be used to repay part of loan used to acquire upstream assets and swamp drilling rigs, part-financing of acquisition of upstream and midstream assets by Oando ’s upstream subsidiary, Oando Energy Resources and investment in working capital to support increased level of business.

NSE index breaks 33,000 point psychological line JOHNSON OKANLAWON

he equities market on the Nigerian Stock Exchange continued the gaining trend yesterday, with the benchmark index notching 1.16 per cent higher. The index was mostly lifted by stocks within the financial services and the consumer goods sectors. Specifically, the AllShare Index rose by 1.16 per cent to close at 33,064.37 points, compared to the rise of 0.84 per cent recorded the preceding day to close at 32,685.03 points. Market capitalisation appreciated by N121.4bn to close at N10.6trn, higher than the increase

of N87.4bn recorded the preceding day to close at N10.5trn. “We expect the market to sustain the current bullish momentum through the week, ” analysts at Meristem Securities Limited, an investment firm, said in a note to investors yesterday. On the sectorial indices, the NSE 30- Index gained 1.11 per cent to close at 1,590.53 points, but the Oil and Gas Index lost 0.16 per cent to close at 180.01 points. The Consumer Goods Index appreciated by 0.76 per cent to close at 964.68 points, while the Insurance Index added 2.10 per cent to close at 147.30 points. The Banking Index increased further by 1.80 per cent to close at 420.65

points, while the Lotus Islamic Index rose by 2.20 per cent to close at 2,071.47 points. Union Bank of Nigeria Plc led the stocks of 60 companies that added value to their share prices by 87 kobo or 10 per cent to close at N9.57 per share, followed by Dangote Sugar Plc with 77 kobo or 9.95 per cent to close at N8.51 per share. Wema Bank Plc gained 10 kobo or 9.90 per cent to close at N1.11 per share, while Fidson Healthcare Plc rose by 13 kobo or 9.85 per cent to close at N1.45 per share. Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc increased by N7.17 or 9.85 per cent to close at N79.99 per share. On the flip side, Eterna Oil Plc dropped 23 kobo

or 4.97 per cent to close at N4.40 per share, while Forte Oil Plc dipped by 87 kobo or 4.96 per cent to close at N16.67 per share. John Holt Plc shed eight kobo or 4.94 per cent to close at N1.54 per share, while Livestock Plc declined by 11 kobo or 4.62 per cent to close at N2.27 per share. Nigerian Breweries Plc fell by N4.65 or 2.79 per cent to close at N162.00 per share. Transaction volume in equities increased by 24.6 per cent, as a total of 720.04 million shares worth N6.55bn were exchanged in 8,396 deals, compared to 578.03 million shares valued at N4.38bn traded in 7,740 deals the preceding day.

European shares stage recovery on corporate earnings

uropean stock markets staged a tentative recovery yesterday after a sharp sell-off a day earlier as investors waded through a stack of earnings reports, with ARM and BP both enjoying strong gains. British chip designer ARM was among the top FTSEurofirst 300 risers, up 3.8 per cent after it unveiled a better-than-expected rise in pre-tax profit in the fourth quarter, boosted by rising sales of smart phones and tablets using the firm ’s technology. Index heavyweight BP advanced 1.5 per cent after its fourth-quarter profits exceeded analysts ’ expec-

tations, helped by a record performance from its refining division. Sector peer BG Group, however, was a major drag, off 2 per cent, as it warned it would miss a mediumterm production target. The FTSEurofirst 300 was up 0.6 per cent at 1,157.62 points, recouping some of a 1.5 per cent drop seen on Monday when political uncertainty in the euro zone ’s big debtor states prompted investors to lock in profits on indexes trading close to multi-year highs. A corruption scandal in Spain and polls showing Italy ’s former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi regaining

ground before elections this month triggered fresh concern over potential threats to euro zone stability and growth. “We would normally expect clients to really start buying following such a big fall but that hasn ’t been the case at all today, ” said Angus Campbell, head of market analysis at Capital Spreads. “Our clients feel that with the Italian election looming in a few weeks ’ time ... they ’re just remaining really quite cautious. ” The euro zone ’s blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 climbed 1.1 per cent to 2,652.84, having erased all its gains for the year with a 3.1 per cent fall on Monday.

GFT markets technical analyst Fawad Razaqzada remained constructive on the index. “The technical picture still looks bullish to me as long it holds above 2,600/10 (resistance in September), ” he said. Razaqzada sees nearterm resistance around the 2,670 area, followed by 2,700 - both intra-day support levels. Elsewhere among the fallers, KPN slid 22.2 per cent after the Dutch telecoms group announced plans to cut its debt with a 4 billion euro ($5.4bn) cash call to shareholders, as it posted a fourth-quarter net loss.

Source: NSE NIBOR QUOTES 04 FEBRUARY 2013 & 05 FEBRUARY 2013 20.00 19.00 18.00 17.00 16.00 15.00 14.00 13.00 12.00 11.00 10.00 9.00 8.00 7.00 6.00 5.00

4 -Fe b -1 3

5 -Fe b -1 3

Source: Afrinvest

Market indicators All-Share Index 10,578.9 points Market capitalisation 33.1 trillion

Stock Updates GAINERS COMPANY

OPENING

CLOSING

CHANGE

UBN

8.70

9.57

0.87

DANGSUGAR

7.74

8.51

0.77

WEMABANK

1.01

1.11

0.10

FIDSON

1.32

1.45

0.13

FLOURMILL

72.82

79.99

7.17

AIICO

0.92

1.01

0.09

UNITYBNK

0.72

0.79

0.07

TRANSCORP

1.57

1.72

0.15

ROYALEX

0.65

0.71

0.06

PRESTIGE

0.78

0.85

0.07

LOSERS COMPANY

OPENING

CLOSING

CHANGE

ETERNA

4.63

4.40

17.54

16.67

0.23 0.87

JOHNHOLT

1.62

1.54

0.08

LIVESTOCK

2.38

2.27

0.11

166.65

162.00

4.65

LEARNAFRCA

2.25

2.20

0.05

STERLNBANK

3.00

2.94

0.06

DIAMONDBNK

7.47

7.40

0.07

Primary Market Auction TENOR

AMOUNT (N ’mn)

RATE (%)

DATE

91-Days

39,057.21

12.75

7-Feb-13

182 Days

50,000.00

15.30

7-Feb-13

364 -Days

67,219.06

16.90

7-Feb-13

Open Market Operations TENOR

AMOUNT (N ’mn)

RATE (%)

DATE

73-Days

112,862.21

13.46

7-Feb-13

344-Days

16,905.50

15.55

7-Feb-13

Wholesale Dutch Auction System AMOUNT OFFERED

MARKET DEMAND

AMOUNT SOLD

DATE

$150m

N/A

$150m

4-Feb-13

$180m

N/A

$120m

30-Jan-13

Cocktail

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

FOR YOUR SUCCESS

WITH DR. DEJI FOLUTILE

Today's Tonic (91) Without overcoming bees, you cannot get honey. –East African proverb *** MY NOTE: Just like no one can walk without shaking his or her head, we cannot go through life without obstacles and challenges. But we can choose to press through difficult situations and emerge winners at the other side. The joy of a better tomorrow is a strong stimulant to weather the storms of today. TEL 08104942999 E-MAIL deji.folutile@gmail.com Follow me @TwitterOWOTIDE

Girl, 7, steals mom’s car, goes for drive

olice in Pittsburgh say a 7-year-old girl stole her mother’s car Sunday mor ning and drove about a half-mile, crashing into several cars along the way. The girl’s mother called emergency dispatchers at 9:11 a.m. after her daughter disappeared along with her

car, the Pittsburgh Post Gazette reported. KDKA-TV, Pittsburgh, said the girl planned to drive further to visit her father, but came to a stop about half a mile away from her home after hitting several cars. No one was hurt during the girl’s outing.

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Oddities

White House releases photo of Obama with gun

he White House has posted a photo of President Barack Obama firing a gun, days after skeptics doubted his claim of skeet-shooting at Camp David, Md. The photo shows the president, just after pulling the trigger, firing at clay targets in August, The Washington Post reported. The president’s shooting abilities became an issue when he was asked in an interview with The New Republic if he had ever used a gun. “Yes, in fact, up at Camp David, we do skeet shooting all the time,” he responded. Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., suggested on CNN this week the president was being deceptive. “If he is a skeet shooter, why have we not heard of this? Why

have we not seen photos?” she asked. “I think he should invite me to Camp David, and I’ll go skeet shooting with him.

And I bet I’ll beat him.” “One picture does not erase a lifetime of supporting every gun ban and every gun control

scheme imaginable,” the National Rifle Association said Saturday in a statement issued to NBC News.

President Barack Obama firing a gun during target practice at Camp David August, 2012.

PHOTO: WHITE HOUSE

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North

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Lassa fever claims medical doctor •As Nasarawa gets FG support to curb outbreak A

$620, 000 bribe: Lawmakers visit Lawan at Kuje prison TORDUE SALEM ABUJA

MARCUS FATUNMOLE AND HENRY IYORKASE

fresh outbreak of Lassa fever in Benue State has claimed the life of a medical doctor while two of his children were confirmed to be suffering from the disease. Reports from the state said medical experts are battling to save the lives of the children, who were said to be on the danger list. The Chief Medical Director, CMD, of the Benue State University Teaching Hospital, BSUTH, in Makurdi, Prof. Abraham Malu, disclosed this yesterday while receiving donated drugs and other essential items from a delegation of the Federal Ministry of Health in Abuja. Malu said the victims, who are already responding to treatment were children

of the deceased medical doctor that died a few weeks ago from the deadly illness. He, however, denied that any member of the hospital’s workers has so far been affected by the disease after it was first reported. He commended the swift intervention of relevant agencies, who responded with proactive measures to protect workers at risk of infectivity. In his remark, the leader of the delegation from Abuja, Dr. Okpikpi Okpako, said the team was in Makurdi, to present drug items and protective masks to patients and health workers in response to the outbreak of the epidemic in the state. Okpikpi noted that the Minister of Health, Prof. Oyebuchi Chukwu, is very concerned about curtailing the spread of Lassa fever and advised members of the public to seek medical atten-

tion from clinics and hospitals immediately they notice symptom of fever instead of resorting to over-the-counter drugs for self-treatment. Meanwhile, a Federal Government delegation was yesterday dispatched to Nasarawa State to help checkmate the recent outbreak of the disease that has claimed two lives in the state. The team, drawn from the Federal Ministry of Health and led by the Director, Institute of Lassa Fever Research and Control, Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, Edo State, Dr. Danny Asogun, donated drugs which include Ribavirin (both tablets and injectables) and Personal Protective Equipment, PPE, to the state Ministry of Health for prompt treatment of affected victims of the disease in the state.

delegation of members of the House of Representatives from Kano State, yesterday paid a solidarity visit to Hon. Farouk Lawan, at the Kuje Prisons in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT. The 23 members of the house from Kano State are made up of 13 PDP; 8 ANPP; 2 CPC and one ACN member. The members embarked on the solidarity visit from the National Assembly complex at about 1.00pm yesterday. One of the lawmakers on the delegation confirmed to our Correspondent that they were on their way to the prison to see Hon. Lawan. The embattled lawmaker has been in the House since 1999. Lawan, who was suspended as the chairman of the House Ad Hoc Committee on the investigation of the body that monitored the fuel subsidy regime along with the secretary of the committee, Mr. Boniface Emenalo, are on trial for alleged ac-

L-R: Chairman, Plateau Traditional Council of Chiefs, Gbong Gwom Jos, Da Jacob Buba; Commander, Special Task Force, Maj.-Gen. Henry Ayoola and Emir of Wase, Alhaji Mohammadu Haruna, during the special task force’s sensitisation peace tour in Kuru, Jos, yesterday.

ceptance of a bribe from business mogul, Mr. Femi Otedola. Lawan and Emenalo were remanded in Kuje Prison last week Thursday on the orders of Presiding Judge, Justice M. N. Oniyangi, who ordered their detention until February 8, when their trial on the case would be heard. Lawan and Emenalo were charged to court by the Attorney-General of the Federation on a four-count charge under the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission, ICPC, Act. It was alleged that they conspired to corruptly obtain $3 million from the Chairman of Zenon Petroleum and Gas, Mr. Femi Otedola, as inducement to

remove the name of the company from the House Ad Hoc Committee on Monitoring of Fuel Subsidy Regime’s Report, thereby committing an offence contrary to Section 26 (1) © of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000 and punishable under Section 8 (1) of the same Act. Emenalo too, was charged for failing to report the offer of inducement to other members of the committee to which he was a secretary and for demanding and collecting gratification of $120, 000 dollars from Otedola. Recall that Otedola has also filed a civil suit against Lawan and the Speaker of the House, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, in a N250billion case.

Army Corporal kills police inspector

n army corporal attached to the Special Task Force, STF, maintaining peace in Plateau State, on Monday, allegedly killed a police inspector at a check point in Mikang, in the state. Plateau State Police Command Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Mr. John Onuigbo, confirmed the incident to the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, yesterday in Jos. He said that the incident happened at about 2.00pm on Monday. “Preliminary investigation revealed that the two men had a ‘little altercation’ that led to the shooting,” he said. “The matter is already under investigation at the State Criminal Investigation Department, SCID, Jos. We want to find out why the corporal shot the inspector.

“The army corporal has been arrested and he is in detention with the appropriate authority. “As soon as the matter is completed, he will be charged to court,’’ the police spokesman said. The police official, however, did not give the identity of the persons involved. “Such details will be made public in due course,” he said. Efforts to speak with STF spokesman, Capt. Salisu Mustapha, proved abortive as calls to his cell phone were neither picked, nor returned. An STF source told NAN that the spokesman was on the entourage of the STF Commander, Maj.-Gen. Henry Ayoola, on a peace sensitisation tour of some crisis-prone communities in the outskirts of Jos, the state capital.

2015 guber poll: Group vows to support Yero DPR to enforce N97 per litre of fuel in Benue A ZA MSUE KADUNA

group under the auspices of the Dynamic Forum For Yero, DFFY, yesterday declared that its members are ready to support Kaduna State governor, Mukhtar Yero in the 2015 governorship election in the state. The group said it is planning to hold youth and women workshops to commemorate Governor Yero’s 100 days in office, saying the state’s opposition parties are too weak to challenge the

governor if he intends to contest. The group’s Chairman, Mr. Philip Joseph, stated this while speaking with journalists in Kaduna. He urged people of the state to support Yero’s transformation vision for rapid development in all sectors. Joseph, a onetime former governorship aspirant in the state, said the group has resolved to support the present administration of Yero in the state, adding that their stand was borne out of the governor’s desire for positive development since he assumed office after the demise

of the former governor, Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa. The group said: “The government of Mukhtar Ramallan Yero, apart from being a government of continuity as proclaimed by the governor himself, has demonstrated that he is capable of taking Kaduna State to greater heights as evidenced by the achievements he has recorded since his assumption of office. “The group is packaging a special workshop for various youth and women societies in the state to commemorate the 100 days in office of the governor.”

HENRY IYORKASE MAKURDI

he Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, in Benue State has threatened to deal decisively with any marketer who sells fuel above the regulated price of N97 per litre. State Controller of the DPR, Mr. Abdulrahaman Mohammed, issued the threat yesterday in Makurdi and warned that anyone who fails to comply with this order would have himself to blame. He said the DPR has been mandated to ensure strict compliance of the new price

regime, pointing out that no one will be spared if caught. The controller further emphasised that in order to ensure compliance by the marketers in the state, over 200 personnel of the department have been deployed to comb the nooks and crannies of the state with a view to ensuring that petroleum dealers adhere to the laid down rules and regulations of the body. On those marketers suspended from the sales of their products in the face of enforcing the new order, he said anyone with useful information leading to where petroleum products are

hoarded should report to the body, pledging to protect the identity of the informant. He said his men would not relent in ensuring that black marketeering is completely wiped out in the state and its environs and therefore sought the cooperation of all to accomplish the task of ensuring compliance with the new price regime in the state. Meanwhile, over 30 filling stations who could not comply with the directive have been shut down thereby causing artificial scarcity while long queues of motorist have since resurfaced in Makurdi metropolis and its environs.

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Shettima’s wife gives N100, 000 each to 40 violence victims’ widows INUSA NDAHI MAIDUGURI

he wife of Borno State Governor, Hajiya Nana Kashim Shettima, has given N100, 000 each to the 40 women whose husbands killed during the violence perpetrated by members of the Boko Haram Islamic sect. She also gave money to those whose houses were burnt by members of the violent sect. Presenting the money to the widows at the Multi-Purpose Hall of the Government House yesterday in Maiduguri, the state capital, Hajiya Shettima said the gesture was aimed at assisting those who lost their husbands in the crisis. She said as a woman, she deemed it necessary to assist the women in the state through her pet project called “Support for Women, Orphans and Tsangaya (SWOT)” by empowering them. The governor’s wife said: “Most of these women are facing a lot of challenges in taking care of their children and families. The exercise will be a continuous one and that very soon the second phase of programme will commence throughout the state.” Also speaking, the state Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, Hajiya Inna Galadima, said that the Ministry of Women

Affairs and Social Development, in collaboration with Office of the First Lady, decided to assist the needy members of the society, especially those who lost their husbands and houses in the insurgency perpetrated by the Boko Haram members. She, however, advised the beneficiaries to use the little money given to them to set up small businesses. Hajiya Galadima said the ministry officials went to houses of the beneficiaries in Jere and Maiduguri Metropolitan Council (MMC) before they selected those entitled to the gesture. She said that the condition the ministry officials met the widows was pathetic. The commissioner said that the N100, 000 giving to the 40 widows was not enough, but it would help in meeting their immediate domestic needs. Also in his address, the Chairman of SWOT Foundation, represented by the Vice-Chairman, Abba Jida Harun, advised the widows to believe in God as the major provider of their needs. He said: “The condition we found ourselves in Borno State can only be alleviated by seeking forgiveness from Allah.” Harun, therefore, urged the beneficiaries and the people to pray for the restoration of peace in the state.

Nasarawa police launch conduct code IGBAWASE UKUMBA LAFIA

he Nasarawa State Police Command yesterday launched code of conduct for its personnel as directed by the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr. Mohammed Abubakar. The state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Abayomi Akeremale, read the provision of the code and the derivable values to the Area Commandants and Divisional Police Officers at the police officers mess in Lafia, the state capital. Akaremale said the launched code of conduct would reposition the police for robust service delivery.

He said: “Our people will be more responsive to the callings of members of the public and they are going to add values to their performances by participating in all efforts to address the causes of crimes in the society and to ensure that every criminal act is investigated to bring the perpetrator to justice in a fair and professional manner.” Akaremale said that the Nigeria Police Force would partner with other security agencies for the protection of lives and property. He added that the police would also work hand in hand with other security agencies on information and intelligence gathering and sharing.

L-R: Secretary, North-West Zone, National Rebuilding and Inter-Party Contact Committee of All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), Mr. George Moghalu; Chairman, Malam Ibrahim Shekarau, and former Zamfara State Governor, Senator Ahmed Sani, at a meeting in Kaduna, yesterday. PHOTO: NAN

Again, illegal cement factory discovered in Kogi

OYEWALE IBRAHIM LOKOJA

arely one week after the discovery of illegal cement factory at Zango in Ogaminana in Adavi Local Government Area of Kogi State, the police have discovered another illegal cement factory at Aku village along Lokoja -Okene Road. The factory, which was located in about 600 metres from the main road, is being used for repackaging of adulterated cement. The Kogi State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Mohammed Katsina, said yesterday that the second illegal cement factory was uncovered through the intelligent report by

•Two suspects held

security personnel. Katsina explained that owners of the illegal factory allegedly bought Dangote Cement in large quantity and brought the item to the bush where they mixed the original cement with sound before it was re-bagged for the public to buy. The police boss said: “The Ambush Squad of the state police command arrested two suspects in connection with the discovery. We have begun investigation and we will not stop until we get to root of the matter to bring those behind rebagging Dangote Cement to book.” Katsina, however,

asked members of the public to stop patronizing those behind adulterated cement. Speaking with journalists, one of the suspects, Rasheed Wasiu, who hails from Sagamu in Ogun State, said he was recruited into the illegal business by one Baba Ayo. Wasiu said that after his secondary school education, he was introduced to Baba Ayo who trained him on how to re-bag adulterated cement. The second suspect, Waheed Adebayo, said that things became tough for him after his secondary school education. He said that he could not continue with his

education because his parents were poor and as a result, he was desperately seeking a job. Adebayo, who hails from Osun State, added that he was linked up with Baba Ayo who brought him and his accomplice to the illegal factory. He pointed out that they were paid N30 per bag, adding that they could only re-bag 40 bags per day. Items found at the big factory are one generating set, about 25 bags of re-bagged cement with fake Dangote bags, several fake empty bags with inscription Portland Cement, Dangote Cement, Gboko Plant, Funnels and others.

Money laundering: Court grants Lamido’s son bail AUGUSTINE MADU-WEST KANO

he Federal High Court trying Aminu, the eldest son of Jigawa State Governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido, for money laundering in Kano yesterday granted the accused bail. Aminu was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) at the Malam Aminu Kano International Airport on December 11, last year for attempting to trans-

port $50, 000 out of the country. The accused only declared $10,000 to the Nigerian Customs. After considering the bail application, Justice Fatu Riman said that its opposition by the prosecuting counsel, S. H. Sa’ad, would not tamper with investigation because the accused was initially granted administrative bail by EFCC on December 13, 2012. Despite enjoying the administrative bail conditions, Justice Riman

acknowledged that the accused did not jump bail and had been reporting to the EFCC whenever he is requested to do so, which the EFCC did not oppose to. After having established that the accused person would not tamper with investigations, Justice Riman granted the bail application. The judge said that the accused person only failed to appear in court on January 19, 2013, which was evidently established was due to his ill-health.

He, however, granted him bail with conditions, which include the accused depositing N8 million and two sureties, who must be civil servants on Grade Level 14, will deposit N4 million each and must be backed by evidence of tax clearance for the last three years, including an evidence of landed property within the court’s jurisdiction and to surrender their international passport. Justice Riman, therefore, adjourned the matter till March 18 and 19.

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Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Judiciary workers set for strike over pay •Give FG 21-day notice T he Judiciary Staff Union (JUSUN) yesterday gave a 21-day strike notice to the Federal Government over non-implementation of the Consolidated Salary Structure (CONJUSS) for its members. The strike notice is contained in a communiqué issued and jointly signed in Abuja by the

union’s National President, Mr. Marwan Mustapha, and the General Secretary, Mr. Issah Adetola. The communiqué stated that the decision was reached after the union’s National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Minna, the

Niger State capital. It said that unless steps were taken toward implementing the CONJUSS, the union had no choice but to shut down all courts. It said that failure to comply with the notice could lead to an industrial crisis in all the federal courts in Nigeria.

It also condemned the alleged deliberate attempts by government agencies and stakeholders to frustrate the implementation of the scheme. The union said: “National officers will be overseeing the full compliance by JUSUN members during the strike, until government fully complies with the sal-

Scene of an accident along Idiroko Road in Ota, Ogun State, in which eight people were killed, yesterday.

10 suspects freed after 10 years in detention WALE IGBINTADE

Lagos High Court Judge, Justice Deborah Oluwayemi, yesterday freed 10 suspects who have been in detention for over 10 year without trial. The suspects are Segun Lasisi (detained for eight), Iyete Abure (seven years), Abdul-Azeez Audu (seven years), Emmanuel Ezekiel (six years), Mohammed Sakariaya (eight years), Soji Awakan (six years) and Babatunde Alani (six years). Others are Kingsley Ogbaka and Victor Ekpo who were detained for 11 years each, while John Obasi was held for 10 years. In his ruling, Justice Oluwayemi noted that the detainees had been in custody for so long without the Commissioner of Police sending their case files to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Ministry of Justice for prosecution. The judge said that their detention without trial violated their rights and con-

travened Section 265 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Lagos State. Justice Oluwayemi had directed the state AttorneyGeneral and Commissioner for Justice, Mr Ade Ipaye, to clarify why the inmates, held at the Kirikiri Maximum Prison, were not charged to court. But an Assistant Chief State Counsel in Ministry of Justice, Mrs Rotimi Odutola, said some of the remaining inmates have been charged to various courts. She also admitted that the case files of eight of them were not forwarded to DPP’s office for advice. Mrs Odutola said two of the inmates, Awakan and Alani, had no case to answer based on legal advice by the DPP on September 2007 and November 2008. It will be recalled that the detainees were among the 106 applicants, who, through their lawyer, Mr Ahmed Adetola-Kazeem of the Prisoners’ Rights Initiative (PRAI), prayed the court to free as no case had been lodged against them.

ary structure. “NEC also urged all states that have not complied with the payment of CONJUSS to commence the payment to avoid disruption of judicial services. This is because JUSUN will pursue the implementation of the salary structure in all the states of the federation.”

PHOTO: BAYOOR EWUOSO

Cynthia: Court rejects suspect’s request for indefinite adjournment

KENNY ODUNUKAN

n Ikeja High Court yesterday struck out an application by Olisaeloka Ezike, one of the suspected killers of Cynthia Osokogu, daughter of General Frank Osokogu (rtd). Ezike was praying the court to suspend the trial indefinitely pending when he would be able secure a fair hearing. Ruling on the applications for stay of proceedings and bail brought by Ezike, Justice Olabisi Akinlade held that the court was not bound by the public opinion or publication of the press, but by a court of competent jurisdiction or tribunal established by the law.

At the resuming hearing of the matter, Ezike’s counsel, Mr Olukayode Dada, moved the applications and he urged the court to stay his client’s arraignment pending when he would be given fair hearing. Besides, he prayed the court to grant a request admitting him to bail. The defence counsel alleged that his client had been persecuted by media report and various negative online publications, adding that the immediate arraignment of the suspect would constitute an abuse of court process. He said Ezike’s arraignment would also constitute a serious prejudice against him and that a foreknowledge of the facts of the matter by the court could adversely influence its deci-

sion. But the Lagos State Attorney-General, Mr. Ade Ipaye, opposed the application, saying all the allegations in the request were mere opinions and not statement of facts. He added that the press or the public could prosecute an accused person and the accused person could be arraigned without any breach to his constitutional right. Ipaye said the suspect could not be arraigned at his leisure time, saying: “That does not allege that his presumption of innocence has been reversed by the constitution.” He said Section 115 of the Administration of Criminal Justice of Lagos State provides that the court should not grant bail to a suspect alleged to have committed murder. by the police officers. Rattled by the superior fire power of the police, the robbers fled, abandoning the items with which they attempted to loot the machines. The police spokesperson, Ngozi Braide, said two long gas cylinders, one iron rod, one big spanner, one hose and some ammunition were recovered at the scene.

Police foil bank robbery in Lagos FRANCIS SUBERU

nti-robbery police officers in Ikorodu area of Lagos State on Monday stopped some robbers attempting to break the Automated Teller Machines (ATM) belonging to Odogun-

yan branch of a bank. It was gathered that the police officers, acting on tip-off, stormed the bank, just as the robbers were attempting to loot the machines. According to sources, on sighting the police officers, the robbers opened fire on them, but were overpowered

Lekki toll: Lagos denies proposing N500 levy KAYODE KETEFE

he Lagos State Government yesterday denied planning to impose N500 toll at the new Lekki-Ikoyi Bridge. This was disclosed before a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos by the state government’s lawyer, Mr. Olarewanju Akinsola, in a preliminary objection and counter-affidavit filed before the court. Akinsola urged the court, presided over by Justice Saliu Saidu, to dismiss the plaintiff’s suit on the grounds that it was premature. He told the court that the project was yet to be completed by the contractors since they had not yet handed over the completed project to the state government and, therefore, no decision to impose the N500 had been taken yet. Akinsola told the court that the suit filed by the applicant was like “jumping the gun,” as the government was yet to make decision on whether or not to collect toll on the bridge. He added that the case is therefore “premature and devoid of basis”. In his ruling, Justice Saidu said he would treat all respondent’s processes together. The judge consequently adjourned the case till March 21. A Lagos-based lawyer, Mr. Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, had sued the Lagos State Government for the proposed collection of N500 toll on the newly constructed LekkiIkoyi Suspended Bridge. The applicant, through his counsel, Mrs Oreka Adegboruwa, is seeking an injunction restraining the government from collecting any toll from motorists on the bridge. The Attorney-General of the Federation and the National Inland Water Ways Authority (NIWA) are joined as co-respondents in the suit. In his originating summons, Adegboruwa contended that the toll of N500 per vehicle was uncalled for in view of the hardship, hunger and unemployment in Nigeria.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

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Community Mirror Ekiti is witnessing transformation –LG boss

“Judges are no respecter of status and all men and women are equal and common before the law.”

EDO STATE GOVERNOR, ADAMS OSHIOMHOLE

Herbalist held with human tongue, arm FEMI OYEWESO ABEOKUTA

he Ogun State Police Command has arrested a herbalist identified as Chief Dandola Owotomo, popularly called “Amuludun Isese” in connection with the shocking revelation and discovery of kidnappers’ den cell at Idode - Imomo in Ijebu North East Local Government Area last week.

The 65-year-old herbalist was arrested at his residence in Oke Agbo, Ijebu Igbo by police officers from Atan division, following a tip- off that he was among the suspected ritualists over the disappearance of a-70 year old herbalist, Kehinde Rabiu. Amuludun Isese, who was arrested after a search on his house where a shrine was uncovered with fresh human parts, was

said to have been caught with human tongue, arm and female private parts. Community Mirror recalled that a kidnappers’ den was recently uncovered in the same area, after the mysterious disappearance of Kehinde Rabiu, leading to the arrest of three suspects. A police source said the arrest was made possible with the cooperation of the community, particularly

Chairman of the IdodeImomo Community Development Association, CDA, Pastor Kola Olugbode. “We went to Ijebu Igbo with the support of the CDA Chairman after we got a tip-off. When we got to the man’s house, it was an eyesore; we discovered a calabash in one of his rooms where a fresh human tongue, arm and female private parts were kept at a shrine drenched

with what looked like human blood”. When contacted, the command’s Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Muyiwa Adejobi, confirmed the arrest of the suspects, even as he stressed that the Commissioner of Police, Ikhemefuna Okoye, has shown much interest in the case and had ordered that investigations commence to get to the root of the matter.

“Three men have been arrested by the police, Kehinde Rufai, Debo Ileyemi and one David from Delta State and they are still in police custody. Community Mirror, however, gathered that residents of Idode-Imomo have started relocating from houses in the area to neighbouring towns such as Atan, Eruwon, Odosimadegun and Ijebu- Ode, for fear of kidnappers and ritualists.

Tension, anger trail cleric’s abduction EMEKA ODOGWU

NNEWI

Members of the Association of Motor Mechanics and Transportation, Adeniji Adele, at the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, as they await judgement on the quit order from the Lagos State Government yesterday. PHOTO :ADEMOLA AKINLABI

Olowogbowo residents petition govt over illegal gate FRANCIS SUBERU

ome aggrieved residents of Olowogbowo Area on Lagos Island, have petitioned the Lagos State Government in respect of a gate erected on Wiwo Onatere Street. The petition, a copy of which was made available to Community Mirror, was signed by 56 property owners in the area. It was gathered that the gate was erected by Prince Samuel Adedoyin, owner of Beni Hotels on Wiwo Onatere Street, behind Elephant House, Broad Street, Lagos Island; even as the residents said it

restricted them from freely accessing Broad and Bankole streets in the area. The petitioners claimed they have written to Prince Samuel and the local council authority to no avail. The petition reads in part: “In order to forestall any civil disobedience by the youths in Olowogbowo Community, we informed the Chairman of Lagos Island West Local Government, Hon. Wasiu Esinlokun, who immediately yielded to our call by visiting the street with his cabinet. On assessing the situation, the entourage con-

demned the illegal action and promised to act by placing notice on the gate with subsequent action of removing same after seven days. The information reaching us, thereafter, was that Kabiyesi Oba Rilwan Akinolu, has restricted the chairman of Lagos Island West Local Government from taking any action in demolishing the illegal gate on the street. Since the directive from the Kabiyesi, the Chairman has not taken any positive action, hence the need to inform your Excellency.” The petitioners alleged that if allowed to stay the gate would completely cut

the street from rest of the community, thereby blocking human and vehicular movement to and from the street, even as they requested that the gate be totally removed.

ension and anger have gripped members of the Anglican community in Anambra State, following the kidnapping of a clergy with the Anglican Diocese on the Niger, Revd. James Achigbu. Rev. Achigbu of the St. Paul’s Anglican Church, Umunachi in Dunukofia Local Government Area of the state, was driving home with his wife, Uju, after visiting St. John’s Parish, Eziowelle in Idemili North Local Government Area, when a gang of kidnappers attacked and whisked him away. Confirming the incident in Onitsha, the Anglican Bishop on the Niger, Rt. Revd Owen Nwokolo, lamented the incursion of kidnapping into Christendom, even as he said the church is praying for the kidnappers to release him unconditionally. Bishop Nwokolo, who spoke through the Vener-

able in-charge of the Ogidi Archdeaconry, Ven. Obi Ubaka, said the kidnappers should have released him having realised he is a clergy, pointing out that the church has no money to pay ransom. According to him, “Rev. Achigbu was with his wife when he was kidnapped between Eziowelle and Umunachi communities, by unknown gun men and since then, we have not found the car in which they were travelling,even as the kidnappers are demanding ransom but we are not a business organization and have no money to pay. His wife was left on the road while one of the kidnappers drove in her husband’s car. They took Rev. Achigbu to unknown destination. They should not have kidnapped him in the first place”. We are a church and known for prayers and we have been praying for his release. The Church will continue to pray until they release him to us”.

Grandpa kills 27-year-old man

73 year old grandfather has been arrested by men of the Edo State Police Command in Benin City for using a kitchen knife to stab to death a 27 year old man, Gabriel Amayahu Aigbosuria. The suspect, Pa. Williams Omobude Uwadia, was arrested at the scene of the crime shortly after the alleged murder was

committed. Eyewitnesses told Community Mirror, that the suspect had, earlier in the day, had a disagreement with the deceased following which he went to the nearest Police Division in Benin City to arrest his victim. The situation made the police to accompany him, but unknown to them he had a kitchen knife on

him. As the policemen were trying to mediate in the matter, the suspect was alleged to have suddenly brought out a knife and stabbed the 27-yearold man. The complainant then turned accused as he was immediately arrested by the police and transferred to the state CID, Benin City for further investigations.

Community Mirror

HAKEEM GBADAMOSI AKURE

he Chairman of IseOrun Local Government Area of Ekiti State, Hon. Femi Ajayi, has said the past two years has witnessed remarkable transformation in infrastructural development of the state. Ajayi, who attributed this to the political ingenuity of Governor Kayode Fayemi, said through road construction, provision of health facilities, education, empowerment and training of women and other infrastructure, the local government has been able to touch peoples’ lives. Hon. Ajayi, who was chairmanship candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), said he inherited N30million debts from the immediate past administration which he settled. He listed road construction as one priority project of his administration saying “we embarked on road construction immediately I assumed office. We constructed and tarred the 500 metre Erinwa road on Oluremi Street, then another 500 metre road in Orun Ekiti was completed. Even when they were awarded and contractors were already on site before we came into office, no appreciable work was done. We also graded 10 kilometre road within the local government.” Ajayi, said his administration embarked on health programmes by upgrading the health centres in the local government, to provide free health ser-

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Ekiti is witnessing transformation –LG boss

vices which is one of the cardinal programmes of Governor Fayemi, disclosing that two health centres were completed with each at Oke Yard and Obada. “We also renovated and fenced the health centre at Afolu, including construction of staff quarters. When I visited the place, I noticed the staff was sleeping inside the health centre, so we sought approval for construction of staff quarters. We are also carrying out renovation work at the Orun health centre. We also provided ‘First Aid’ boxes, and equipment for the health centres, especially for child delivery and we did this to complement the efforts of the state government, as we also provided dental equipment to support what Governor Fayemi is doing,” he said. He said, in order to provide hygienic water, five boreholes were sunk at various locations, and with regular power supply, even as he listed benefitting communities to include Egbira Ise, Oladoyinbo, Aba Oshogbo also called Aba Ojomu, Aba Onisu on Ikere road and Osi Ilofa. According to the chairman, the administration has gone into partnership with Guinness Plc and as part of Corporate Social Responsibility, CRS; the company has sunk boreholes to be commissioned soon by the state government He maintained that the issue of insecurity in the

Ajayi

area has become a thing of the past, saying it is the primary functions of a responsible government to its citizens. “Sometime in 2011, we had security challenges on Ikere, Ise, Emure roads, as armed robbers waylaid travellers and residents of these communities. Thank God, that with combined efforts of the local security agencies and government, we have been able to secure the roads and insecurity has become a thing of the past, as people now sleep with two eyes closed. I must commend the state police command for their cooperation in the maintenance of peace and order in the local government,” he said. He commended the governor for distributing laptops to senior secondary

Traditional ruler calls for Yoruba unity HAKEEM BADMUS AKURE

call has gone to traditional rulers in Yoruba land to work towards, transformation and promotion of culture and customs of the race. This call was made by the Olugbo of Ugbo Kingdom, Oba Fredrick Obateru Akinruntan in Igbokoda, Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State at the first coronation anniversary of the Odoka of Ogbaro dynasty, Oba Obafemi Modimu Ogbaro. Akiruntan, said his emergence as ruler of the Ugbo kingdom has brought unity among the tradi-

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tional rulers which he said can be replicated in Yoruba land. He maintained that unity of traditional rulers would enhance peaceful co-existence that would usher in development in the region, even as he commended traditional rulers in the area for their support and called for cooperation among rulers and their subjects. He said” the presence of these monarchs at the occasion showed there is unity among us, it shows the spirit of togetherness and I am sure, if we continue, our kingdom will witness unprecedented development. I am happy and over-

whelmed by the turn out of sons and daughters who have travelled down to witness this occasion” he said. Speaking, the traditional ruler of Ogbaro, the Odoka of Ogbaro dynasty, Oba Obafemi Ogbaro, said his enthronement as ruler of the town would strengthen the relationship among the traditional rulers in the kingdom. The monarch said, he will build bridges between the old and the younger generation in Ugbo kingdom and Ondo State as a whole. Some of the traditional rulers at the occasion were Amapetu of Mahin, Oba Omowole and Olu of Igbokoda, among others.

school students, pointing out that the administration knows the value of education and has been striving to give the best to students in the state, even as he lauded Governor Fayemi for renovating secondary schools in the local government. The chairman said his administration has been able to pay bursaries to students from the local government from 2009 till date, pointing out that N12 million was released out by the administration for bursary, while N2 milion has been deposited into coffers of the scholarship board jointly run by the state and all local councils in the state. On sanitation, Ajayi said the council acquired five plots of land for dis-

posal of refuse, while waste bins have been placed at the local government from where refuse trucks pick them up. He however commended people for observing the environmental laws and keeping the council clean. In the bid to increase Internally Generated Revenue,IGR, the council embarked on agricultural production, and venturing into fish farming, even when it recorded some losses but said maize and cassava will soon be harvested, as he believed they would bring in more money to the council. “I can say we will make profit on this venture and I am optimistic we are going to make enough money from cassava project”. He also pointed out that his administration has encouraged local farmers through distribution of implements, while many have benefited from the FADAMA scheme, which till then was alien to them. Speaking on women development, he said, his administration has trained more than 100 women on different vocations including tie and dye, soap making and others saying “ there are always periodic training and we usually empower them in order not to make them redundant, even as adult education programme would be instituted to encourage them to read and write.” Ajayi, however said funding has been a major challenge, even as he commended the state gov-

ernment, saying despite the small allocation, the level of development in the state is far ahead others with higher allocation. He said Governor Fayemi has shown the will to work and develop the state. He said, if the allocation is increased, the state would witness more developmental projects. He sees no need for the clamour for local government autonomy, if governors would give local councils their due saying “like what Fayemi is doing, once the state allocation comes in, it is distributed to all local governments equitably. The government does not interfere but only supervises and investigates to what use the monies are put”. Ajayi, said the governor’s zeal for development encouraged him to replicate same in the local government. “Fayemi has brought many developments in the shortest possible time in comparison with past administrations in Ekiti State. That people can now differentiate between this administration and others, is a manifestation of his landmark achievements. For example, the capital, Ado Ekiti, is wearing a new look including many other communities in the state. Much transformation has taken place and you can see the governor is well prepared for governance and knows what to do, even as the people are always appreciating this,” he said.

Monarch sets agenda for Ohanaeze Ndigbo DENNIS AGBO ENUGU

he traditional ruler of Ibeagwa-Nike in Enugu East Local Government, HRH Igwe Emmanuel Ugwu, has suggested areas of core Igbo interest which the new leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo should take as priorities. According to him, the apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation is to ensure that the Igbo language and culture does not diminish further but should rather be guarded and sustained. Igwe Emmanuel Ugwu also said that the body is the better placed to settle disputes among the Igbo, adding that if it does that, it would reduce the workloads

on traditional rulers. The monarch gave the advice when the state leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, paid a courtesy call to confer him as patron of the body for Enugu East Senatorial zone, in recognition of his commitment to peace and tranquillity in his kingdom and the state. Igwe Ugwu, pledged that he would ensure that the organisation is made more relevant. “We need to change our orientation on agreeing to leadership and unity of purpose. We shall make Ohanaeze Ndigbo better and placed in a better position to settle disputes because it has the calibre of persons. You have given a responsibility and I will not disappoint”, he said. He promised to be a good

father to the state chapter and to share in their happiness and sorrows. The new state Chairman of Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Enugu, Chief Eric Ebe, said why the traditional ruler was chosen as patron was because of his impeachable leadership qualities which are acknowledged by all and sundry in the state. Chief Ebe, who issued certificate to the monarch, said they are confident the traditional ruler would employ his wisdom to take care of Ohanaeze Ndigbo. “It is now under your care to ensure that Ohanaeze Ndigbo succeeds. It would involve travelling to places and investitures on Ndigbo at home and in the Diaspora,” Ebe said.

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Community Mirror

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Etikan calls for installation of Oba-elect

Chieftaincy tussle tears Uzo-Uwani apart

HAKEEM GBADAMOSI

DENNIS AGBO

AKURE

he people of Etikan kingdom in Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State have called on the state government to immediately install the Olikan elect, as approved by the town’s kingmakers and local government to forestall breakdown of peace in the community. The people also called on the Olugbo of Ugbo kingdom, Oba Fredrick Akinruntan, to intervene and plead with the governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko to speed up action on the installation. The leaders said this at a meeting with Oba Akinrutan in Igbokoda, headquarters of the local government, saying that a condition for peace to reign is the installation of the Olikan-elect, Adedoyin Oyetakin. Leaders at the meeting included, High Chief T. Y. Megbalewon from Ikumapayi family, High Chief Atilere Iwalewa from Kogun ruling house, Most Rev. Christopher Ikuesan of the Mafemiwa ruling house, Aseph Oyetakin, Akinmuliyah Adebayo of Ojabogun family. Others include the Olu of Igbokoda, Oba Afolabi Odidiomo and chairman of the local government, Banji Okunomo. According to them, the only thing that could guarantee lasting peace was the enthronement of an Oba in the community. Speaking, Oba appreciated how the

ENUGU

People Waiting To Buy Kerosene at NNPC retail station in Dutse, Jigawa, yesterday.

issue was being handled by the community leaders, saying that the monarchs were determined to sustain the prevailing peace. He assured the people that Oyetakin’s selection would be approved with the instrument of office presented to him,even as the traditional ruler, said necessary steps would be taken to make the state government install a ruler in Etikan to

PHOTO: NAN

further strengthen peace of the riverine community. . It would be recalled that there had been crisis in Etikan over the selection of a new Olikan, with the kingmakers nominating Oyetakin as Olikan-elect. Some hoodlums invaded the community last December over the choice killing the first son of Olikan- elect, Orioye Oyetakin.

ome residents of Iggah Community in Uzo-Uwani Local Government Area of Enugu State have disassociated themselves from the recent installation and coronation of one Chief Herbert Ukuta as the new royal father of the community. In a statement co-signed by Elder Paul Ekwuobi (the eldest man in Iggah), Comrade Vitalis Aniekwe (President General, Iggah Town Union), James Obiora (President General, Iggah Progressive Union) and Barr. Vincent Okonkwo, it said the installation of Ukuta as traditional ruler of the community did not follow any known Iggah customs and traditions. The statement also alleged that the emergence of the embattled traditional ruler violated the existing agreement reached by people of Iggah on selection and installation of a new monarch for the community. The statement reads in part: “The people of Iggah had agreed and enshrined it in its constitution that there should be rotation among the four quarters of the community to fill vacant Igwe stool. Presently, it is the turn of Asadu Quarter to fill the vacant Igwe stool not the Ogboche Quarter where Ukuta hails from.” The statement urged the general public to disregard the coronation, alleging that there was never anything like that as the coronation was done without the knowledge of the community.

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

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World News

“Rwanda is dismayed by these acquittals. It is wrong to acquit the two former Cabinet ministers, just like all the other acquittals the tribunal has made. We are totally disappointed” –Rwandan Prosecutor General, Martin Ngoga

War in Mali: Chadian army enters rebel’s stronghold in Kidal •Four terror suspects arrested in Paris PAUL ARHEWE, WITH AGENCY REPORTS

ome 1,800 soldiers from Chad have entered Kidal, the last major town in northern Mali under rebel control, the French military says. French-led forces captured Kidal’s airport last week but have not yet secured the town itself.

After Islamist fighters fled, separatist Tuareg fighters took control of the town. UN, European and African officials are meeting in Brussels to discuss how to finance and organise rebuilding Mali. One question is how to hold elections, which have been set for 31 July. French special forces have had control of Kidal airport for several days.

Some Chadian soldiers seen in Northern Mali.

But the Tuareg rebels did not want Mali’s army, which has been fighting alongside the French forces, to enter Kidal - accusing its soldiers of killing Tuareg civilians in other towns they have recaptured with France’s help. Meanwhile, French anti-terror police have arrested four suspects in the Paris region in a crackdown on Islamist militant networks operating in West Africa. Three of those detained

PHOTO: EPA

are Franco-Congolese and the fourth is from Mali, a police source told AFP. Interior Minister Manuel Valls warned of jihadist networks planning attacks in France or seeking recruits there. The French military is engaged against Islamist militants in Mali. Few details of the arrests were given but Mr Valls said they were connected to the arrest of “an individual a few months ago on the border between Mali and Niger”. A police source quoted by reporters identified the suspect as a Franco-Congolese man who was arrested in Niamey, the capital of Niger, while attempting to purchase a four-wheel drive vehicle with a false driver’s licence. He was reportedly attempting to reach Timbuktu in Mali, to join the al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb group. “We have to continue dismantling these networks that want to either commit attacks on our soil or take individuals overseas to carry out jihad,” Mr Valls said. A “handful” of French nationals had already joined groups linked to al-Qaeda but there was “no direct threat”, he added. “There are threats on the internet, on social networks, callin The talk in Brussels is of rebuilding the army, reconciliation and a roadmap to elections.

Somali journalist sentenced over rape report

Mogadishu court has sentenced an alleged rape victim and a Somali journalist who interviewed her to one year in prison each, court officials say, in a decision that has enraged press freedom groups. Abdiaziz Abdinur Ibrahim, the freelance journalist, and the 27-year old unidentified woman who claimed to have been raped by security forces, faced charges including insulting a government body, making false accusations and seeking to profit from the allegations. Yesterday’s ruling was based on alleged medical evidence that showed the woman was not raped, Somali officials said. Ibrahim, who has been under detention since January 10, will begin serving his sentence immediately. The woman is to begin her sentence after nursing her baby. “The court finds that he offended state institutions by making a false interview, and enter-

ing the house of a woman whose husband was not present,” said Judge Ahmed Adan. The journalist’s arrest followed increasing media attention on reported sexual abuse by Somalia security forces. Earlier in January, Universal TV - a local television station - and Al Jazeera’s website separately published stories about allegations of rape in the city’s crowded camps for displaced people. Ibrahim had not been involved with either story, does not work for either organisation, and had not published anything of his own investigation before he was detained. Human rights groups said the trial was politically motivated, designed to cover up rampant sexual abuse of women by Somali security forces. The court’s decision was “a terrible miscarriage of justice and sends a chilling signal to victims of sexual assault”, Daniel Bekele, Africa director of Human Rights Watch, a non-governmental or-

ganisation, said after the verdict. The trial of the alleged rape victim, her husband, and the freelance journalist on charges of insulting a government body, sparked international concerns over sexual violence and press freedom in the country. “Journalists should be allowed to report freely on issues of public interest and should never face reprisal for their reporting. We trust that you will help us in

bringing this matter to his attention,” said Joel Simon, executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), in the statement sent on Friday. But Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, Somali president, told Al Jazeera on Sunday that his government “is the only government that has proven” it is dedicated to improving the lives of women in the nation, he will not directly interfere in the ongoing court case.

The trial of the journalist and the alleged rape victim has raised international uproar. PHOTO: REUTERS

WORLD BULLETIN

Obama urges Kenya to shun election violence United States President Barack Obama is urging citizens in his father’s homeland of Kenya to reject intimidation and violence in next month’s national elections. Obama released that message in a YouTube video yesterday in which he used Swahili greetings — the common language in Kenya — to open and close his message. Kenya goes to the polls on March 4 to vote for president and other offices. It is the first national election since the 2007 presidential vote devolved into nationwide violence that killed more than 1,000 people. Obama said the elections are a moment for the people of Kenya to come together and show the world “that you are not just a member of a tribe or ethnic group, but citizens of a great and proud nation.”

Microsoft, Huawei launch phone for Africa

Chinese phone maker Huawei and Microsoft are combining forces to sell a new smartphone in Africa, which they say is the world’s fastest growing mobile phone market. The two companies launched the Huawei 4Afrika yesterday. The phone runs Windows Phone 8 and comes pre-loaded with applications designed for the African market. According to the GSM Association, Africa is the world’s second largest mobile market by connections after Asia, and the fastest growing mobile market in the world. The phone will initially be available in Angola, Egypt, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria and South Africa later this month.

Ivory Coast extradites two former Gbagbo aides

A spokeswoman for Ivory Coast’s civilian prosecutor says that a former security official and a former student leader allied with ex-President Laurent Gbagbo were arrested in Ghana Monday and extradited to Abidjan early yesterday morning. Jean-Noel Abehi was a top gendarmerie official based at Agban military camp in Abidjan, and JeanYves Dibopieu was a leader of the Student Federation of Ivory Coast, a group implicated in rights abuses before and during Ivory Coast’s 2010-11 post-election violence. Habiba Coulibaly, the spokeswoman, said she could provide no information on charges facing the two men. The post-election conflict erupted after former President Laurent Gbagbo refused to cede office despite losing the November 2010 election to current President Alassane Ouattara. The U.N. estimates that more than 3,000 people died over five months of fighting.

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World News

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Iranian president in Egypt on historic visit M ahmoud Ahmadinejad arrived in Egypt yesterday on the first trip by an Iranian president since the 1979 revolution, underlining a thaw in relations since Egyptians elected an Islamist head of state. President Mohamed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood politician elected in June, kissed Ahmadinejad as he disembarked from his plane at Cairo airport. The leaders walked down a red carpet, Ahmadinejad smiling as he shook hands with waiting dignitaries. Visiting Cairo to attend an Islamic summit that begins on Wednesday, the president of the Shi’ite Islamist republic is due to meet later on Tuesday with the grand sheikh of al-Azhar, one of the oldest seats of learning in the Sunni world. Such a visit would have been unthinkable during the rule of Hosni Mubarak, the military-backed autocrat who preserved Egypt’s peace treaty with Israel during his 30 years in power and deepened ties between Cairo and the West. “The political geography of the region will change if Iran and Egypt take a unified position on the Palestinian question,” Ahmadinejad said in an interview with Al Mayadeen, a Beirut-based TV station, on the eve of his visit.

Kuwait sentences three former MPs for emir insults

hree former Kuwaiti opposition lawmakers were sentenced to three years hard labour yesterday for insulting the country’s ruler in the latest crackdown on perceived political dissent in the Gulf nation, a defence lawyer said. The sentences are part of an escalating backlash from authorities as the oil-rich country faces growing political unrest. Kuwait has the Gulf ’s most free-wheeling political system and a vibrant press, but denouncing the Western-backed emir is illegal. The charges against the former parliament members — Falah al-Sawwagh, Bader alDahoum and Khaled al-Tahous — stem from speeches made at rallies opposing changes to Kuwait’s voting rules. Defence lawyer Khaled alJuaisri said he planned to appeal. A statement by Kuwait’s information minister, Salman Al Sabah, stressed that the country’s judiciary grants fair trials to “all citizens, regardless of their position.” On Sunday, rights groups say a Kuwait court sentenced a Twitter user to five years in prison for a post considered offensive to the emir. Similar sentences have been issued recently in Kuwait and other Gulf countries.

He said he wanted to visit the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian territory which neighbours Egypt to the east and is run by the Islamist movement Hamas. “If they allow it, I would go to Gaza to visit the people,” Ahmadinejad said. Analysts doubt that the historic changes that brought Morsi to power in Egypt will result in a full restoration of diplomatic ties between states whose relations were broken off after the

Iranian revolution and the conclusion of Egypt’s peace treaty with Israel in 1979. At the airport the two leaders discussed ways of boosting relations between their countries and resolving the Syrian crisis “without resorting to military intervention”, Egyptian state media reported. Egypt is concerned by Iran’s support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, who is trying to

crush an uprising inspired by the revolt that swept Mubarak from power two years ago. Egypt’s overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim population is broadly supportive of the uprising against Assad’s Alawite-led administration. The Morsi administration also wants to safeguard relations with Gulf Arab states that are supporting Cairo’s battered state finances and are deeply suspicious of Iran.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad posing for photograph with Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi, yesterday in Cairo. PHOTO: AP

N’ Korea threatens stronger measures than nuclear test

orth Korea stepped up its bellicose rhetoric yesterday threatening to go beyond carrying out a promised third nuclear test in response to what it believes are “hostile” sanctions imposed after a December rocket launch. The North frequently employs fiery rhetoric aimed at South Korea and the United States and in 2010 was blamed for sinking a South Korean naval vessel. It also shelled a South Korean island in the same year, killing civilians.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. PHOTO: AP

It did not spell out the actions it would take. The North is not capable of staging a military strike on the United States, although South Korea is in range of its artillery and missiles and it can hit Japan with its missiles. “The DPRK (Democratic Peoples’ Republic of Korea, or North Korea) has drawn a final conclusion that it will have to take a measure stronger than a nuclear test to cope with the hostile forces nuclear war moves that have become ever more undisguised,” the North’s KCNA state news agency said. The United States and South Korea are staging military drills that North Korea says are a rehearsal for an invasion, something both Washington and Seoul deny. The North successfully launched a long-range rocket in December in violation of U.N. resolutions that banned it from developing missile or nuclear technology after nuclear tests in 2006 and 2009. The North says that it has the sovereign right to launch rockets for peaceful purposes.

Its widely trailed third nuclear test was announced in response to the sanctions agreed in January, although satellite imagery indicates that the isolated and impoverished state has been readying its nuclear test site for more than a year. While most experts believe the North will stage a test, the timing is not known. It could come around February 16, the anniversary of former leader Kim Jong-il’s birth. Another unknown is what the North will use as fissile material. In the past it has used its diminishing supply of plutonium stocks, but is believed to have enriched weapons grade uranium that would give it a second path to a nuclear bomb. U.S. nuclear expert Siegfried Hecker, who visited a North Korean nuclear facility in 2010 believes the North could stage two explosions, one using plutonium to as to perfect its capacity to design a warhead small enough to be mounted on a missile, and a second using highly enriched uranium.

Six Spanish tourists raped near Mexico’s resort

ix Spanish tourists have been raped near the Mexican resort of Acapulco, local authorities say. Several armed masked men entered a building where the women were sleeping, and attacked them after tying up other people staying there, police said. The tourists had been staying in small shacks on Playa Bonfil. The BBC’s reporter in Mexico says it is one of the worst cases of

sexual violence against tourists in the country in recent years. Police quickly sealed off the scene following the attack which happened in the early hours on Monday, south of Acapulco. Local media reported that several other people in the same group, including a Mexican woman, had been tied up and gagged while the attack took place. After the ordeal the women went to the nearest police sta-

tion accompanied by local tourism officials. Violence is common in the state of Guerrero, our correspondent says, although Acapulco and its surrounding beaches are generally thought to be safe. However, several powerful drug cartels operate in the mountains of the state, particularly the Familia Michoacana and their rivals, los Caballeros Templarios.

WORLD BULLETIN

Bangladeshi politician gets life jail for 1971 war

A Bangladeshi court has sentenced a senior opposition official to life in prison for mass murder and crimes against humanity during the 1971 liberation war against Pakistan. Abdul Quader Molla, 64, the fourth highest ranked leader of the country’s Jamaat-e-Islami party, has been found guilty of rape, genocide and murder, by the controversial International Crimes Tribunal. Six leaders of the party are on trial before the much-criticised domestic court based in Dhaka. They too have been accused of committing atrocities during the nine-month war against Pakistan. Molla has been tried on six counts, including playing a role in the killing of 381 unarmed civilians, the prosecution says. He denies the charges. Meanwhile, Jamaat announced a nationwide strike on Tuesday and said it would resist at any cost a “government blueprint” to execute its leaders. Riots rocked Dhaka before the verdict as police clashed with protesters near Old Dhaka after they smashed cars and autorickshaws. “We fired several rounds of rubber bullets to disperse them,” police inspector Mizanur Rahman told AFP. Security was tight in the capital with more than 10,000 policemen on patrol. Schools were closed and many shops and businesses shuttered. Motorways linking Dhaka with other cities were largely empty.

Facial reconstruction shows UK’s king Richard III features

A facial reconstruction based on the skull of Richard III has revealed how the English king may have looked. The king’s skeleton was found under a car park in Leicester during an archaeological dig. The reconstructed face has a slightly arched nose and prominent chin, similar to features shown in portraits of Richard III painted after his death. Historian and author John Ashdown-Hill said seeing it was “almost like being face to face with a real person”. The development comes after archaeologists from the University of Leicester confirmed the skeleton found last year was the 15th Century king’s, with DNA from the bones having matched that of descendants of the monarch’s family. Richard was killed in the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, at the age of 32 and after just two years on the throne, having been challenged by the forces of Henry Tudor, the future Henry VII. Dr Ashdown-Hill, who wrote The Last Days of Richard III, said: “The most obvious features in portraits are the shape of the nose and the chin and both of those are visible in the facial reconstruction.” Richard III Society member Philippa Langley, originator of the search, said on a Channel 4 documentary earlier: “It doesn’t look like the face of a tyrant. I’m sorry but it doesn’t.

WORLD RECORD

Most participants at a Summer Olympic Games Vol. 03 No. 551

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

The most participants at a Summer Olympic Games celebration is 10,942 athletes, from 204 countries, at the games held in Beijing, China in 2008.

Umbrage over missing billions

ike determined gladiators, the war of words between former Vice President of the World Bank and ex- Minister of Education, Mrs. Obiageli Ezekwesili and incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan’s media assistants, seems to be heating up with no sides desiring a truce. From the look of things, it has become a media battle, tinged with accusations and counter accusations, misinformation, disinformation, half truths, angst and bile. The ruckus is traceable to allegations by Mrs. Ezekwesili that the late President Umaru Yar’Adua and President Jonathan had between them squandered $67 billion from the country’s external reserves within five years. Making the allegations at the last convocation ceremony of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), Ezekwesili insisted that the money in question was made up of $45 billion in external reserves and $22 billion in

N150

ouble Olympic champion Rebecca Adlington has announced her retirement from competitive swimming. The 23-year-old from Mansfield made her declaration yesterday, six months after collecting a

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

the Excess Crude Account. But trust the ferocious courtiers at Aso Rock to come in defence of their principal. Like angry “dogs of war”, they have been barking and baying for her blood. The first to advance was the Minister of Information, Labaran Maku, who accused Ezekwesili of not only being economical with the truth but peddling fiction. Before Nigerians could understand what the hullabaloo was all about, Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Doyin Okupe, weighed in to insist that at no time did the country’s foreign reserves rise up to the claimed $67 billion. In fact, if we are to believe him, records from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) under the watch of another knight in shining armour, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, showed that in December 2007, the external reserves was $51.333 billion. In September 2008, it was $60.081 billion and by January 2009, it stood at $50.108 billion. For January 2010, it came to $42.075, while it was $33.246 billion as at February 2010 and later rose to $43.830 by December 2012. Likewise, as at January 2013, the figure stood at $45.3 billion. All these statistics look and sound brilliant and are capable of making doubting ‘Thomas’s dismiss Ezekwesili’s claims with a wave of the hand. Not to be outdone, the President’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Rueben Abati, took on all those who served in the Obasanjo administration, calling them killjoys and died-in-the-wool alarmists fighting to belittle the achievements of the present

LIKE ALL THINGS NIGERIAN, THE MATTER HAS BECOME SUBSUMED IN THE SHENANIGANS OF POLITICS,

INNUENDOES AND CRASS NAME CALLING government in order to bring the image of President Jonathan to public odium. As it now stands, it has become very difficult to sieve the veritable truth from a rum mix of crude passion and emotions. Matters are not helped by the fact that all the President’s men are refusing to take up the challenge of a public debate by Ezekwesili, where, as she puts it, “all the hidden truths would be laid bare”. And for this, the country and citizens may never know who among them the purveyor of truth is. Like all things Nigerian, the matter has become subsumed in the shenanigans of politics, innuendoes and crass name calling. At end of the day, the cloak and dagger fashion of running the country’s finances will remain a fiercely guarded secret, even as the looting would be intensified. In fact, Mrs. Ezekwesili claims are not new, as Nigerians had always known that

their leaders have a propensity for stealing the country blind and helping themselves to the proceeds to the detriment of our collective welfare and development. Curiously, what Jonathan’s Rottweilers are doing is not to debunk any lies in the allegations, but defending their right to manipulate financial figures to make the Presidency look good. If not, why did they challenge Ezekwesili to show proof of what use she put the N452 billion given to the education ministry during her tenure? Moreover, the President’s foot soldiers had not forgotten that between 1999 and 2007, the country spent a whopping $16 billion on phantom electricity projects that only succeeded in reducing the output from 3,400MW to 2,800MW by the time Jonathan assumed office in 2010. To them, it was a case of pot calling the kettle black. With the magic year of 2015 fast approaching and given President Jonathan’s avowed determination to go for a second term, anyone or group wanting to remind Nigerians that their leaders are irresponsible kleptomaniacs is bound to have a hail of verbal insults hurled in their direction. As good students, those now manning the artillery positions at Aso Rock learnt the tricks from their immediate past predecessors, who were in the habit of abusing anyone that dared call to question the impunity and recklessness of their employer. Today, Abati and his colleagues are painfully reminding yesterday’s gladiators that they do not have a monopoly of fighting and deriding other Nigerians while at the corridors of power without expecting same while out of office. But it is a crying shame that even by Okupe’s magical figures, the country and citizens have remained underdeveloped and wretched. The cost of governance in Nigeria remains one of the highest in the world, while our Human Development Index (HDI) is stuck at the bottom 10. In all truth, Nigerians are not enamoured of their orchestrated denials to know that the administration has been recklessly spending our external reserves with nothing to show for it.

Sport Extra

Swimming: Adlington calls day in the pools brace of bronze medals at the London Olympics. Her biggest moments however came four years earlier in Beijing when she won gold medals in the 400m and 800m freestyle events.

In winning the latter she also set a world record time of eight minutes, 14.1 seconds, knocking more than two seconds off Janet Evans’s time which had stood for more than 20 years. Adlington was also suc-

cessful at the World Championships, winning the 800m freestyle gold in 2011 when the event was staged in Shanghai. “I hate the word retire. I love swimming but as a competitive element and

elite athlete I won’t compete anymore,” she said, adding, “I’ll always be swimming, even when I am 90 years old.” On her successes in the pool, she submitted: “Beijing changed my entire life.”

Lance Armstrong

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