Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Day 1: New Pope yet to emerge

Presidency tips Msheila, Ekunwe to replace Demuren

...voting continues today PAUL ARHEWE

WITH AGENCY REPORTS

Arinze

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hick black smoke emerged yesterday from the Sistine Chapel chimney, signal-

ling an inconclusive conclave to elect the next pope, in the first day of voting.

A total of 115 red-robed Roman Catholic cardinals will continue the voting

Vol. 3 N0. 576

process behind the heavy wooden doors of the Sistine Chapel today with the expectation of electing a new pope to tackle the strife and scandal rocking

...as stakeholders express shock

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CONTINUED ON PAGE 52>>

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Oyerinde’s murder:

N150

Oshiomhole, Adoke in war of words Minister has no respect for my office –Gov I’won’t join issues with him –AGF

ROTIMI FADEYI ABUJA

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empers rose yesterday at the Council Chambers of the Presidential Villa as Edo State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, and the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mohammed Adoke (SAN), engaged each other in a war of words.

The altercations nearly degenerated into fisticuffs shortly before the commencement of the National Council of State meeting.

Oshiomhole and Adoke had engaged each other in hot CONTINUED ON PAGE 2>>

Rumour of state pardon for ex-Bayelsa governor causes stir P.5

Oshiomhole

2015: Jonathan didn’t sign single-term agreement, says Clark P.4

Adoke

Alamieyeseigha

Ondo poll: Akeredolu, tribunal chairman disagree over witness’ evidence P.8

APC registration: ACN accuses PDP, INEC of sabotage ...blame your misfortune on carelessness –Ruling party

P.13

Ex-militants attack hotel, destroy property

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News

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Wednesday, March 13, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

CDS summons JTF commander, others over illegal oil business SOLA ADEBAYO WARRI

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ndications emerged yesterday that the Chief of Defence Staff, Vice-Admiral Ola Ibrahim, has summoned the Commander, Joint Task Force, JTF, Operation Pulo Shield, in the Niger Delta, Maj.-Gen. Bata Debiro and service com-

manders in the region to a meeting over illegal oil bunkering in the region.

It was gathered that the CDS, who supervises the JTF, had been under fire from the Presidency lately due to resurgence in crude oil theft in the oil-rich belt.

Ibrahim was reportedly warned by the Presidency to deal with the menace or

had his appointment reviewed.

Findings by National Mirror, however, revealed that the JTF commander and the service commanders in the region were hurriedly summoned to Abuja yesterday by the CDS for a two-day meeting.

It was learnt that all service commanders in

the oil-rich region were also invited to the emergency meeting apparently to brainstorm and work out measures to deal with the menace.

Investigation by our correspondent yesterday showed that the service commanders invited to the Abuja meeting include the Commading Officer, 3 Battalion (David

L-R: Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola; wife of the former Chief Judge of the state, Mrs. Hilda Adefarasin; member, Lagos State Judicial Service Commission, Mr. Kunle Uthman; the Chief Judge, Justice Ayotunde Phillips and Secretary of the commission, Rev. Olubukola Balogun, at the inauguration of the building named after Justice Adetunji Adefarasin in Lagos, yesterday.

Ejoor Barracks), Effurun, Lt. Col. Ifeanyi Otu and and the Commanding Officer, NNS Delta, Warri Naval Base, Commodore Mohammed Sani Garba.

It will be recalled that the Anglo-Dutch energy giant, Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, had last week raised the alarm that the activities of the oil thieves had impacted on its operations, especially in the Niger Delta.

The management of the oil conglomerate, therefore, threatened to suspend operations in the oil zone if the trend persisted.

The SPDC claimed it had lost 12.58 million barrels of crude oil from December 2011 to June 2012 due to illegal bunkering.

National Mirror gathered that the CDS acted on the prompting of the Presidency, which was said to be uncomfortable with the reports of illegal oil bunkering emanating from the oil majors.

Consequently, it was revealed that the Presi-

dency directed the CDS to ensure an end to the menace, which recently became an international embarrassment.

One of the sources in JTF told our correspondent last night that the commander of he agency and other service commanders were compelled to abandon other scheduled activities in their units yesterday to honour the impromptu summon of their superior.

“The CDS summoned the JTF commander and other service commanders in the Niger Delta to an emergency session in Abuja yesterday over the unabating oil theft in the region. The Presidency is breathing down heavily on the CDS over the report of the oil bunkering and it has directed the CDS to deal with the menace.

“The CDS must have summoned the meeting in yielding to the pressures of the Presidency to act accordingly,” the source, who craved anonymity, disclosed to National Mirror last night.

Oyerinde’s murder: Oshiomhole, Adoke in war of words CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

words over the poor handling of the investigation of the murder of the governor’s Principal Private Secretary, Olaitan Oyerinde, on May 4, 2012 in the heat of the governorship election campaign in Edo State.

But for the intervention of the Chief of Staff to the President, Chief Mike Oghiadomhe, and some governors, including Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta) and Ibrahim Dankwambo (Gombe), the two men would have engaged themselves in a fight.

Oshiomhole, who was visibly angry even after he was calmed down by the governors, continued to point his finger at Adoke, saying that the AGF had no respect for his office as governor The verbal war was first noticed by one of the protocol officers in the Council Chambers before the governors came over to calm them down.

Oshiomhole had consistently accused the police of complicity in the killing of Oyerinde, saying that the

force could not be exonerated in the murder.

The governor, while speaking with State House correspondents, who had to run after him as he came out of the Council Chambers at the end of the meeting, said that the issue was that Adoke should have known what to do about the case but was acting as if he had nothing to do with the matter.

“I simply asked him (Adoke) who referred the matter to him. Was it my attorney-general?

“The matter was referred to him by the Deputy Inspector-General of Police and I asked him who should know better?

“If the Deputy InspectorGeneral of Police referred a matter to the Federal Attorney- General, which ought to have referred it to the state, who is the one dragging him into the matter?

“Who is the one politicising the matter? Should we assume that the DIG did not know that the offence of murder is a state offence?

And if he knows it is a state offence, why did he refer

it to the Federal AttorneyGeneral?

“So, ideally, he should complain to the DIG who referred the case to him,” Oshiomhole said.

“The point is that I am a governor. I am elected; he has to respect my office even if he doesn’t respect my person,” he added.

“In any event, we are dealing with factual issues.

If a case was wrongfully referred to the Federal Attorney-General by the police, who is to blame?

“In any event, we also complained that this matter ought to have been referred to the Edo State DPP not the federal because it is a state offence committed in Edo State.

“It is like the case of a he-goat, when the family is happy they sacrifice the he-goat to celebrate, when the child is sick the native doctor says sacrifice the hegoat so that the child will be well, so head or tail the hegoat is in trouble.

“Here I am, my private secretary was killed, nobody seems to bother, I am doing my best to raise the

issue because that is the least I owe to someone who gave his life, and someone else who does not think life is important, for him it is a matter to trivialise and joke about.

“When it comes to the issue of life and death I don’t joke; you don’t joke with life and death.

“The essence of governance is to protect life and property, which is fundamental.

“Even in poverty, people need to feel safe and secure. Nobody has a right under our constitution to take the life of another, except if it has been confirmed by a court of competent jurisdiction.

“I was surprised that for the attorney-general it is something he can afford to joke with, telling me that my attorney-general didn’t know what to do.

“I always say to people today all of us are in power, tomorrow none of us will be in power. If we leave Nigeria worse off, we will wallow in a hopeless situation.

“If you build it and make it safe, we will walk in free-

dom, but let us all know that our next position is ex-this and ex-that. I am always conscious of that.

“Therefore, that should guide our conscience and the actions that we do and the ones that we abstain from doing.

“Left for me the issue of the death of any Nigerian and in particular someone who has worked with me is not something I can compromise; those who think they can compromise it, we leave them in the hands of God.” But Adoke said that he could not have disregarded the office of the governor.

“I will not disregard his office, he is my personal friend. I have the highest respect for him. He is a governor in this country but I will not join issues with him.

“I did not trivialise his office and I have no reason to trivialise his office. He is at liberty as a governor to say whatever he wants to say but I will accord his office the highest respect and I will not join issues with

him,” Adoke said.

It will be recalled that Oshiomhole, during the public hearing of the House of Representatives Committee on Public Petitions on the murder of Oyerinde, had accused the police of a cover-up and professional misconduct, insisting that the police did a shoddy job in the investigation of the case.

A Deputy Director at the Ministry of Justice, Mr. O. Olatigbe, who represented Adoke at the public hearing had said that the Ministry of Justice was confused as a result of the reports received from the police and the State Security Service, SSS, which appeared to have indicted different sets of suspects for the murder and that the ministry could not proceed further with the prosecution of the suspects because of the need to harmonise the two reports.

However, Adoke dissociated himself from the statement credited to Olatigbe, saying that it was a figment of his imagination and false.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

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Photo News

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

L-R: Prof. Jacob Olupona of the Weatherhead Centre for International Studies, Harvard University, United States; Ekiti State Governor and guest lecturer, Dr. Kayode Fayemi; wife of former Ambassador of the United States to Nigeria, Mrs. Arese Carrington and her husband, Ambassador Walter, at the lecture entitled: “Nigeria in the World Series” held in Massachusetts, United States, yesterday.

L-R: Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar; former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Chairman of Nigeria Maritime Expo Planning Committee, Mrs. Margaret Orakwusi, at the Expo in Lagos, yesterday.

L-R: Executive Secretary of Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Mr. Ernest Nwapa; Country Director, Oil and Gas Year, Ms. Loana Ocneriu and Head, Corporate Communications of Oando Plc, Mr. Meka Olowola, during the presentation of Company of the Year Award to Oando during the Oil and Gas Year 2012 awards in Abuja, recently.

L-R: Country Director, Action Aid of Nigeria, Dr. Hussaini Abdu; Anambra State Governor Peter Obi and Associate Country Director, Oxfam, Mr. Tunde Ojei, during the first annual National Dialogue on Poverty PHOTO ROTIMI OSASONA Eradication and National Prosperity held in Abuja, yesterday.

National News

Jonathan didn’t sign single-term agreement, Clark replies Aliyu EMMANUEL ONANI ABUJA

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jaw Leader and former Minister of Information, Chief Edwin Clark, has decried the statement credited to Niger State Governor Babangiga Aliyu that President Goodluck Jonathan signed a single-term pact with governors of the 19 Northern states.

Speaking at a press conference yesterday in his Asokoro, Abuja residence, Chief Clark said that Jonathan’s purported agreement to run for a single term of four years only existed in the fertile imagination of Governor Aliyu.

According to the octogenarian, Governor Aliyu’s assertion was a function of “insincerity and dishonesty to the purported agreement, which in the main, belies his obsession for the 2015 presidency.”

Clark said that the only credential the Niger State governor parades is the fact that he is a Northerner.

The Aliyu’s statement, Chief Clark said, was a product of “bare-faced lies and false propaganda simply because of your inordinate ambition to seek election as President of Nigeria come 2015, and the only qualification you think you have over the incumbent is that you are a Northerner who must rule at all time.”

The Ijaw leader said all Nigerians, irrespective of their origins or tribes, have equal partner in the Nigerian project, especially now that the country prepares to celebrate its centenary as an amalgamated entity.

He, however, added that the electorate, who voted overwhelmingly for President Jonathan in the last general elections, would still replicate the gesture in 2015, following his satisfactory performance.

Clark said that Jonathan, like all past leaders, “is entitled to a constitutionally guaranteed and a renewable term of four years, which no purported agreement could

thwart.”

To Governor’s Aliyu statement, Clark said: “As a rebuttal to your statement, I wish to repeat that there was no agreement between the governors of the 19 Northern states and President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan. You are a well educated person, but it appears you do not understand the correct

meaning of agreement.”

On the insinuation that only those that stand to gain from Jonathan’s undeclared intention will support his re-election bid, the former minister said: “I must say that your attack against me is most unfortunate and ridiculous. My Dear Chief Servant, I have always had a very high regard for you.”

Accusing Aliyu of perceived hatred for Jonathan, as exemplified in the last convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Clark asked rhetorically: “Was that why you directed your state delegates at the PDP presidential primaries to vote for Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and when he lost the ticket, you and your state

went ahead to vote for a rival political party, the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in the presidential election? You will recall that in the PDP presidential primaries held at the Eagle Square, you directed your state delegates to give Alhaji Atiku Abubakar 94 votes and a paltry 16 votes to President Jonathan.”

Senate faults immunity bill by Reps GEORGE OJI ABUJA

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he Senate has opposed the bill by the House of Representatives seeking immunity for members of the National Assembly.

The Senate said that the existing legislative powers and privileges act provide enough immunity for lawmakers, saying there is no need for further legal provisions for such.

Chairman of the Senate Committee on Information, Media and Public Affairs,

• Lauds Demuren’s sack as NCAA DG

Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, said yesterday at a media briefing in Abuja that the legislative powers and privileges act provide enough immunity for every lawmaker within the precincts of the National Assembly.

Abaribe, however, commended President Goodluck Jonathan for sacking the Director General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Dr. Harold Demuren.

It will be recalled that both the Senate and the

House of Representatives had, in different resolutions, asked the President to sack Demuren for acts of gross incompetence.

Abaribe said: “Nobody in this country is indispensable. We can always find professionals everywhere in all facets of our national lives.”

He said that it was wrong for people to expect the Senate to be confrontational to the executive.

The senator said such expectations, if met, would create crisis and work against

effective governance of the country.

Abaribe also commented on the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), which passed second reading in the Senate last week.

He denied the allegation that the bill split the Senate along North and South divide, saying contrary to such allegation, the bill united members of the upper chamber because they all agreed on the fact that it should be passed for the interest of the entire country.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

News

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

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Presidency tips Msheila, Ekunwe to replace Demuren OLUSEGUN KOIKI

AVIATION CORRESPONDENT

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ver 24 hours after the sudden removal of the Director-General of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, Dr. Harold Demuren, by President Goodluck Jonathan, aviation professionals and stakeholders are still in shock.

Those who spoke with National Mirror in Lagos yesterday described his sack, announced by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SFG, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, as a disservice to the aviation industry and Nigeria.

However, there were strong indications yesterday that the Federal Government was already shopping for a replacement for the sacked director-general.

Sources close to the Presidency disclosed that one of the likely candidates for the vacant post is an aircraft captain, Adamu Msheila, who runs an aviation training school, Mishaviation in Ghana.

Also, the immediate past Director, Airworthiness and Standards, NCAA, Mr. Patrick Ekunwe, is another candidate being touted by the Presidency.

Ekunwe, before his removal last year by the Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah, was a contract staff in the agency. He was brought into the system by Demuren.

Demuren began a long battle to save his job after the Dana Air crash of June 3, 2012 which killed about 163 onboard and on the ground at Iju-Ishaga Area of Lagos.

Immediately after the accident, some stakeholders in the sector, including National Assembly members, called for the immediate removal and criminal prosecution of Demuren, alleging that he was unfit to be the helmsman of the agency.

The Special Assistant to the Minister of Aviation, Mr. Joe Obi, confirmed the sack of Demuren, but declined to comment further.

Speaking on the issue with our correspondent, the President, Aviation Round Table, ART, Capt. Dele Ore, described the sacking of Demuren as barbaric and shameful to the Nigerian aviation industry.

He alleged that some powerful people both in

government and in the airline sub-sector ensured that Demuren was unjustifiably removed by the Presidency, adding that Nigerians love to bury their heroes.

He said: “It is wickedness of some human beings against another human being. The approval for this is barbaric, wicked and unjustifiable. It is very unfair.

Nigeria just like to bury her heroes. It’s unfair.

“Demuren has done more for this country to deserve this unjustifiable sack by the Presidency.”

Also, commenting on the decision, the National President of the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria, ATSSSAN, Benjamin Okewu, said that it was one of the saddest news he had received in recent times.

He, however, said that the government had the right to hire and fire, but called for caution in exercising this right.

“It’s one of the saddest news that I’ve heard long time in the aviation industry, most especially since I was elected the National President of the Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria in 2007 and I must say that up till now, I’ve not overcome the shock.

“However, I must say that the government has the responsibility to hire and fire; they have done their own and we are still watching.

“Just like you heard was the same way we got to know in the media. We are watching the development and by the grace of God, we will react at the appropriate time,” Okewu said.

He also refused to make any suggestions as to Demuren’s successor, saying it was too early to do so.

“Like I said, let us wait and see where the government is going before we start to talk. I know that the processes are there, which include making a representation to the National Assembly on who they want to appoint.

“Let’s wait till they go through the processes for appointing the new directorgeneral, then, we can now begin to advise,” he said.

The Assistant SecretaryGeneral, Airline Operators of Nigeria, AON, Alhaji Mohammed Tukur, said that the Federal Government was forced to sack Demuren

and had unfortunately bowed to the pressure from different quarters, despite all what he had done for the country.

He alleged that President Goodluck Jonathan was forced to sack Demuren by some members of the National Assembly and airline operators who felt they were close to the Presidency.

Tukur, however, warned that if Demuren’s successor was not given the free hand to work, Nigeria might lose its Category One Status.

He said: “It is unfortunate. The Federal Government was under pressure to sack him and they bowed to the pressure for reasons best known to them. He has served the country well and we are going to miss him.

“The pressure came from the National Assembly members and a particular airline which feels it is

close to the government at the moment and feels it has enough money to buy everybody over. He has served the country well and I pity Nigeria for his sack.”

Demuren was appointed as the NCAA helmsman by former President Olusegun Obasanjo after the Bellview and Sosoliso airlines crashes of October 22, 2005 and December 10, 2005 respectively.

He was given his appointment letter in February 2007 by the same government after bringing stability to the sector.

His appointment was renewed in February 2012 by President Jonathan even when he had indicated readiness to vacate the seat after his first tenure.

Before the Dana crash, which eventually caused Demuren his job, he and his team were able to keep the airspace safe for almost six

years without any crash.

Within the period, Nigeria achieved the United States Federal Airport Administration (FAA) Category One Status, which enables Nigerian carriers to fly directly to the US. Before then, direct flights had been halted for almost a decade, following the collapse of the former national carrier, Nigeria Airways.

In 2012, Demuren was named as the “Aviation Personality of the Year” by the International Air Transport Association, IATA, and even chaired the respected International Civil Aviation Organisation, ICAO, conference.

Demuren’s first term ended last year January after repositioning the aviation sector following the three devastating crashes involving Bellview in Lisa, Ogun State in October 22, 2005, So-

soliso’s crash in November same year and ADC’s plane crash in Abuja in 2006, killing over 300 souls onboard.

The battle to save his job reached its crescendo when the Chairman, Senate Committee on Aviation, Hope Uzodinma alleged that Dana plane crash was due to lack of safety oversight by the NCAA. But the preliminary report by the Accident Investigation Bureau, AIB, did not find the regulatory body culpable in its oversight function as the report attributed the crash to pilot error.

Demuren, a Russian and American trained aeronautical engineer, helped the country to attain America’s highest aviation safety status, the FAA Category One. He was reputed as a no nonsense administrator that put airlines on their toes during his tenure.

L- R: Speaker, Sierra Leone Parliament, Justice Abel Stronge; Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha; Chairperson, Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (Africa Region), Hon. Lindiwe Maseko and Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal, during a visit by CPA executive committee in Abuja, yesterday.

Rumour over state pardon for ex-Bayelsa gov, others

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nconfirmed report has it yesterday that former governor of Bayelsa State, Diepreye Alamieyeseigha and former Chief of General Staff, Gen. Oladipo Diya and other ex- convicts have been granted state pardon by the Federal Government.

They were alleged to have been pardoned during the National Council of State meeting presided over by President Goodluck Jonathan at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.

Although there were speculations that Jonathan would ask the council to ratify a presidential pardon

for the former Bayelsa State governor and others, but it could not be confirmed yesterday whether the council actually did.

Also, State House correspondents were not briefed at the end of the meeting.

But a human rights lawyer, Festus Keyamo, in a statement condemned the pardon.

He said: “The reports of state pardon granted today by President Goodluck Jonathan to convicted Ex-Governor of Bayelsa State, Diepreiye Alamieyeseigha and convicted ex-banker Shettima Bulama, purportedly on the advice of the Council of State typify the height of insensitivity of this

government to the feelings of Nigerians about the war against corruption.

“It is shocking, confusing and disheartening that at a time when the general mood of the country indicates that the war against corruption is insincere, slow and a sham, the President deems it fit to even rubbish the very little work that has been done by the anti-corruption agencies in securing the conviction of these individuals.

“It is also disturbing that at a time when Nigeria is still ranking very low in the Corruption Perception Index of Transparency International

the President has further damaged the image of the country by this singular act.”

Alamieyeseigha was impeached by the Bayelsa State House of Assembly in December 2005, following his arrest by the London Metropolitan Police over allegations of corruption and money laundering.

He was arrested, prosecuted and sentenced to two years in prison by a Lagos High Court after pleading guilty to the charges of money laundering and corruption.

Diya was convicted along with some military officers for an alleged coup against the late Head of State, Gen. Sani Abacha.

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News

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Courts remain shut as JUSUN’s strike enters day two

•Adopt another strategy, Fashola tells judiciary workers EMMANUEL ONANI, KAYODE KETEFE, WALE IGBINTADE AND MURITALA AYINLA

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ates of the Supreme Court, the Court of Appeal and the Federal High Court in Abuja remained locked yesterday, as the strike embarked upon by the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria, JUSUN, entered the second day.

A visit to the courts showed that judicial activities were still paralysed, as leaders of the union were at the various entry posts, ostensibly to ensure full compliance.

The ongoing industrial action has also impacted on the litigants, some of whom were bemoaning the unfortunate incident outside the premises of the Federal High Court.

One of the visibly angry litigants, who craved anonymity, said: “My case has been pending in this court for years and I don’t even know when the next adjourned date will be. It is really sad.”

It was, however, gathered from a highly-placed source at the Supreme Court that the lingering industrial dispute was purely between judiciary workers and the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission.

The source said the Chef Justice of Nigeria, CJN, Justice Aloma Mukhtar, had no major role to play in the pay increment crisis, adding, however that as the head of the judiciary, she would be happy to see that the crisis was resolved to enable federal courts resume sittings.

It was learnt that JUSUN’s

decision to embark on strike, was consequent upon the expiration of a 21-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to issue a circular for the implementation of the Consolidated Judiciary Salary Structure, CONJUSS. Already, the strike recorded its first casualties in the suspended President of the Court of Appeal, PCA, Justice Ayo Isa Salami and the convicted pension funds thief, John Yakubu Yusufu.

While Justice Adamu Bello was scheduled to de-

liver judgement on Monday, in a suit seeking an order of mandamus reinstating Salami to his position without President Goodluck Jonathan’s input, ruling on Yusufu’s bail application was also slated in the same court.

Meanwhile, Governor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State yesterday urged the judicial workers to call off the strike, saying their action would hamper the chances of those seeking justice.

Fashola also advised the worrying workers to adopt

other forms of negotiations.

Speaking at the dedication of the newly completed two-storey office complex of the State Judicial Service Commission named after the late Justice Joseph Adetunji Adefarasin, the governor appealed to the workers to embrace dialogue.

Fashola said the building showed the commitment of his administration to support a strong judiciary as a necessary and indispensable institution for the enthronement and defence of rights in a democracy.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

UNIABUJA: NUC redistributes engineering students IJEOMA EZEIKE ABUJA

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he National University Commission, NUC, has intervened in the lingering crisis which has crippled academic activities in University of Abuja, UNIABUJA, in the last one year by distributing the engineering students to other universities.

In the transfer arrangement, all the affected students will be transferred to six federal universities while those in final year would be

No PDP governor’ll defect to APC –Akpabio OBIORA IFOH ABUJA

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he Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Governors’ Forum has punctured claims by former governor of Zamfara State, Senator Sani Yerima, that some of the governors had concluded plans to join the All Progressives Congress, APC. Yerima (Zamfara West)

told a national daily in an interview last month that about 19 PDP governors had secretly contacted him and other senior APC members, in a bid to join the new mega party.

But the PDP Governors’ Forum said in a statement read by its Chairman, Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State, at the end of its meeting in Abuja on Monday night

that Yerima’s claim “is not true and false in its entirety”.

According to Akpabio, rather than defect to the APC, his colleagues were working round the clock and “determined to bring more governors into the PDP fold”.

He also disclosed that the PDP Governors Forum had set up a five-man security advisory committee to col-

laborate with the Federal Government in tackling the security challenges confronting the country.

The security advisory committee is headed by Governor Murtala Nyako of Adamawa State, while its members are Governors Ibrahim Shema (Katsina), Emmanuel Uduaghan (Delta), Rabiu Kwakwanso (Kano) and Theodore Orji (Abia).

L-R: President Goodluck Jonathan; Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Adoke; Senate President David Mark; Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal; former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon and former President, Alhaji Shehu Shagari, at the Council of State Meeting in Abuja, yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

Lives, investments safe in Nigeria –Jonathan Reps probe Yerima’s arrest ROTIMI FADEYI ABUJA

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resident Goodluck Jonathan yesterday told the international community that his administration would continue to do everything possible to enhance the security of lives and investments in the country.

Speaking at an audience with a 45-member trade delegation from the United States, Jonathan reaffirmed that the Federal Government was working hard to overcome Nigeria’s current security challenges, saying that an

intensive effort was underway to curb terrorism and other criminal acts.

The President also assured the delegation led by the President and CEO of the Corporate Council on Africa, Mr. Steve Hayes, and the Executive Vice-President of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, Ms. Mimi Alemayehou, that his administration would continue to empower the private sector to drive the agenda for national economic growth and development.

Jonathan told company executives on the

delegation with interests in aviation, power, food processing, ICT, construction, housing, textiles, infrastructure and finance that they could be very confident of the safety of their present and future investments in Nigeria.

He said the country already had one of the most liberal legal regimes for the movement of capital and profits.

In his own remarks, Hayes commended Jonathan for his efforts to promote greater trade and economic cooperation between Nigeria and the United States.

TORDUE SALEM ABUJA

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he House of Representatives yesterday passed a motion condemning the arrest and interrogation of Deputy Minority Leader in the Senate, Ahmed Sani Yerima (ANPP - Zamfara).

Yerima was a few days ago quizzed for several hours by the police for allegedly threatening to call for a protest if the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, refused to register the All Progressives Congress, APC. The police said his com-

ments on a Hausa radio programme on the APC issue were “inciting” and capable of causing violence in the country.

But a motion of “Urgent Importance” brought on the floor of the Green Chamber by Hon. Ibrahim Gusau (ANPP - Zamfara) said the senator’s arrest was in violation of his rights to opinion and expression, in line with Section 39 of the 1999 Constitution.

Gusau asked that the Committee on Police Affairs should investigate the possible motive for the arrest and report to the House in two weeks.

sent to the Federal University of Technology, Minna, and are expected to spend one year of rigorous practical work.

The Chairman of Task Team on UNIABUJA and Chairman of the Quality Assurance of NUC, Prof. Chiedu Maffiana, who briefed journalists in Abuja yesterday, said only the final year students would come out with a certificate bearing University of Abuja while the 400 and 300 level students would receive certificates bearing the names of the universities they were posted to.

Meanwhile, the three 300 and 400 level students would be distributed to Modibbo Adama University of Technology, Yola; University of Ilorin; Federal University of Technology, Akure; Ahmadu Bello University, ABU, Zaria and Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi.

Maffiana said the NUC would send the transcripts of the students to the aforementioned universities but warned that those who did not qualify would be distributed to other departments in UNIABUJA. The task team chairman said the 300 and 400 level students, now in the first semester, would only join the respective universities in the next academic session.

He said: “There are concessions we have given, first is that no student who has not gone through Joint and Matriculation Examination Board, JAMB, is expected to go into the new universities.

“However, we know that there was a time UNIABUJA had its remedial programme, we have decided that only students with requisite qualification will be transferred but we are going to urge JAMB to bend a little so as to accommodate the students whose regularisation has not been done yet.

“We are also warning that the students must be bound by the rules and regulations governing the students and activities of that university, they would go.

“One major issue the team discussed has to do with qualifications with which some of these students got into the university. As you all know, for such a science programme the students must have at least credit passes in five subjects. We have looked at their credentials and transcript for onward transmission to the absorbing institutions.”

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News

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Obasanjo canvasses int’l assistance to end piracy FRANCIS EZEM

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ormer President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has said that the high level of insecurity in Nigeria will continue to inhibit the anticipated inflow of both foreign and local investments needed to grow the economy, especially the worsening scourge of piracy attacks and sea robbery on Nigeria’s waters.

The former president, who spoke at the opening ceremony of the ongoing Nigeria Maritime Exhibition and Conference tagged; NIMAREX Expo 2012, with the theme: “Nigeria’s Maritime Industry: Invest Now,” in Lagos, noted that it was

high time the Federal Government and littoral states in the country considered the option of seeking international assistance to end the scourge.

“I want to make a request of the Federal Government and the littoral states and a serious one for that matter, that there should be urgent and concerted efforts at fighting the menace of piracy on Nigerian waters now,” he noted.

“Nigeria is hemorrhaged in all fronts now.

Boko Haram in the North, kidnapping at the centre and piracy in the Niger Delta region, despite the amnesty programme. Let us cry out for help to our trading partners because of the growing dimension

of these security challenges,” Chief Obasanjo insisted.

He noted that the situation has got to a point where the government would seek assistance from the country’s trading partners so that the problem does not escalate further than this.

According to him, the call for international assistance to end the worsening security crisis in the country was informed that by the fact that security is among the first consideration to be made by any potential investor before deciding his investment destination.

In addition to the menace of Boko Haram and increased cases of kidnap-

ping of both Nigerians and foreigners, there has been an upsurge in piracy and armed robbery attacks on Nigeria’s territorial waters, which security experts say remained unparalleled since 2010.

For instance, pirates penultimate week demanded a N200 million ransom for the release of six foreigners kidnapped.

Last month also, gunmen killed a Filipino crew member when they attacked a chemical tanker.

Reports also show that three crew members were kidnapped on February 7, from the British flagged cargo ship, Esther C, around 80 miles offshore, the furthest pirates have reached in the Gulf of Guinea.

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Terrorism: Army seeks control of explosive materials OBIORA IFOH ABUJA

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uthorities of the Nigerian Army have stressed the urgent need for better control of explosive ordnance and materials used for blasting by construction companies and quarries.

Director of Army Public Relations, BrigadierGeneral Ibrahim Attahiru, who stated this at a briefing yesterday said the same type of explosive materials is being used by terror agents in the spate of bombings in parts of northern Nigeria.

Attahiru added that concerted efforts are being made to rid the country of illegal arms and other dangerous weapons, including Improvised Explosive Devices, IEDs.

“This new drive is in line with the Chief of Army Staff ’s new strategy to counter precursor materials for the production of IEDs even before they are assembled,” the spokesman stressed.

General Attahiru decried a situation where terror agents use women and children as cover while carrying out their deadly missions.

He said some women and children that were arrested under such circumstances during a raid in Kaduna last week are being kept in safe custody pending when their families would come forward to claim them.

Attahiru announced the procurement by the army of 35 desert terrain vehicles for deployment to the ongoing military operations in Mali.

50, 000 babies born HIV positive in Nigeria yearly –Report MARCUS FATUNMOLE, ABUJA

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igeria has been described as the second most HIV/ AIDS burdened nation in the world even as report has shown that between 50, 000 to 100, 000 of babies born in the country yearly are carriers of the disease.

This report was made available yesterday by the National Steering Group of the ‘Global Plan Towards the Elimination of New HIV Infections Among Children by 2015 and Keeping Their Mothers Alive,’ at a meeting with the Minister of Health, Prof. Onyebuchi Chukwu, in Abuja.

The group was constituted by President Goodluck

Jonathan in April 2012, to help mobilise the national leadership for a global plan on Eliminating MotherTo-Child Transmission, eMTCT, implementation and keeping their mothers alive. It has since been working across states of the federation; seeking to end transmission of the scourge.

In a presentation titled: “Update on eMTCT in Nigeria, National Coordinator, HIV/AIDS Division of the Federal Ministry of Health and member of the group, Dr Evelyn Ngige, said global target was to reduce the number of new HIV infections among children by 90 per cent and reduce the number of AIDSrelated maternal deaths by 50 per cent.

Driver’s licence: Oronsaye, others commend FRSC

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ormer Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mr. Steve Oronsaye, has joined the league of Nigerians and public officers that have endorsed the Federal Road Safety Corps, FRSC, initiative to restore the integrity of the driver’s licence.

Oronsaye, who was at the FRSC headquarters in Abuja yesterday to process his driver’s licence, was tak-

en on a facility tour of the corps by the Corps Marshal and Chief Executive Officer, Osita Chidoka.

He was delighted with the level of deployment of Information and Communication Technology by the FRSC in road safety management.

The former head of the civil service was particularly impressed with the corps’ facilities for real time response to road traffic crashes in the country.

Activities at Ladipo Market as it re-opened for business in Lagos, yesterday.

PHOTO: YINKA ADEPARUSI

Reps condemn attack on Nigerian embassy in Senegal TORDUE SALEM ABUJA

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he House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, yesterday condemned a recent attack on Nigeria’s Embassy in Senegal, insisting that the attackers must be brought to book.

The House Committee on Foreign Affairs chaired

by Hon. Nnenna ElenduUkeje (PDP-Abia), headed the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs.

The committee arrived at the decision after they were briefed by the Nigerian Ambassador to Senegal, Mrs. Katyen Jackden,

on the Monday, March 4, attack.

The committee members were astounded that the attackers of the embassy were Nigerians, as they chorused that the destruction of the property on the premises and the pulling down and defacing of the Nigerian flag, were acts of treason that must be punished.

The committee also advised the Federal Government to take a decisive step on funding of Nigerian missions abroad or close down some.

Jackden, in her presentation, told the committee that she was preparing to receive the Liberian Ambassador “when at about

11.10 am, persons, who later turned out to be Nigerians attacked the embassy, causing the destruction of mission’s vehicles as well as vandalising the chancery building.

She, however, regretted the security implication of the current location of the country’s chancery, saying it contributed to the easy

Speaker Aminu Tambuwal

attack on the mission.

A member of the committee, Hon. Babatunde Adejare (ACN-Lagos), recalled that he had been to the mission in question and that the location of the Senegal mission was not good.

“The mission has no business being where it is now. Must we have a mission in every country? We would look deeply at the appropriation for the missions and if we want to keep them, we should, if we don’t want to, we should cancel them,” he said.

Another member, Hon. Patrick Ikhariale (PDPEdo), said the culprits in the attack on the embassy must be punished.

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South West

HAKEEM GBADAMOSI AKURE

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here was an altercation yesterday between the Ondo State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal and the candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, over the proceedings of the tribunal.

The argument between the Andovar Kaka’an-led tribunal and Akeredolu was over the recording of the evidence given by one of the witnesses called by the first respondent to

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Akeredolu, tribunal chair disagree over witness’ evidence the ACN candidate’s petition, Governor Olusegun Mimiko.

Based on the development, Kaka’an said the tribunal would not be intimidated to do its work.

Benson Aluta from ward 10, Unit 1, Ondo East Local Government was called by Mimiko to testify before the panel following which he was led in evidence by counsel to the governor, Abayomi Akanmode.

The witness, who was later cross-examined by the

counsel to the ACN candidate, Lasun Sanusi (SAN), informed the court that election was perfect and peaceful in his unit, saying there was no rancour or violence.

The evidence given by the witness, however, caused controversy among counsel while the chairman of the tribunal opted to read what was recorded for the witness as his evidence before the court.

But some people in the courtroom murmured in

disapproval against what was read by the tribunal chairman while Kaka’an said the tribunal members were not in the state for side talks but to do justice to the petition before them.

The chairman said the tribunal members were not afraid of being disqualified and called on those who held a contrary view about the handling of the proceedings to petition higher authorities.

However, while addressing the court, Akeredolu

insisted that what the tribunal recorded for the witness was out of context.

But Kaka’an said: “We are not here for side talk; we are here to do justice to the petition before us. Anybody that is not satisfied with our activities can petition the appropriate authorities, ours will not be the first tribunal members to be disqualified.”

However, one of the counsel to the respondents, John Bayeshea (SAN), apologised to the tribunal on

Akeredolu’s outburst, urging the tribunal not to allow itself to be distracted.

He said: “I am very sorry for what happened here today, our former president has not acted as a former president of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, but as a politician, I therefore apologise on his behalf.”

However, after about 20 minutes of argument, the respondent continued with his defence following which more witnesses were called to give evidence.

Marginalisation: YCE takes case to Yoruba in Diaspora

Oyo 2015: Ajimobi’s endorsement wrong, hasty –Senator

FEMI OYEWESO ABEOKUTA

KEMI OLAITAN

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oruba Council of Elders, YCE, yesterday said it had concluded plans to take the campaign against the marginalisation of the race to international arena by inaugurating the Europe and America chapters of the organisation.

The launch of the international chapters, according to YCE, was to further sensitise all sons and daughters of the race in the Diaspora on the degree at which Yoruba have suffered marginalisation in Nigeria.

This was disclosed in Abeokuta at a news conference jointly addressed by the Ogun State Chairman of YCE, Dr. Muiz Adeleke Omonayajo, National Executive member, Kadiri Adebisi, and the Diaspora Public Relations Officer, Gabriel Aramide.

The YCE also said that the inauguration of the international offices would witness a two-day celebration of the Yoruba Day in London later in year.

Aramide disclosed that the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, and the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi, would lead other prominent traditional rulers from Yorubaland to the celebration in Central London.

To also ensure that the Yoruba Language does not go into extinction, particularly among those in the Diaspora, Aramide, who also doubles as the Yoruba Day coordinator, said the body had concluded arrangements for the construction of an educational centre where the language would be taught as well as a Yoruba Village.

IBADAN

Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi (2nd left) inspecting the parade of members of the Oyo Traffic Management Authority (OYRTMA), during the launch of a new uniform for the agency, yesterday.

Ondo, Ekiti NURTW members clash over dead member ABIODUN NEJO ADO EKITI

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ension has continued to mount in IkereEkiti following the death of a driver, Mr. Sunday Ajisafe, from the Ondo State branch of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW, during a fight with another driver.

There was heavy police presence in the town yesterday as vehicular traffic, business activities and human movements were almost grounded.

Members of the NURTW in the community yesterday

made bonfire at strategic locations as they mobilised against any intrusion from their counterparts from Akure in Ondo State.

Trouble started last Friday when the commercial driver from Akure was mandated at Ikere-Ekiti to pay certain amount as motor park due, which degenerated into an argument and later fisticuffs.

During the scuffle, Ajisafe, who allegedly received a blow, slumped and died before he could be rushed to the Specialist Hospital, IkereEkiti.

Angry colleagues from

Akure, who stormed IkereEkiti on Monday under the pretext of coming to remove the remains of their colleague from the mortuary to Akure, attacked the drivers and vandalised property in the town.

When officials of the hospital impressed on the drivers the need to conduct postmortem examination on the deceased, the NURTW members from Akure refused.

Witnesses said the drivers, in a bid to remove the corpse, allegedly assaulted nurses and other health workers in the hospital and as well raided some major

shops, especially those selling phones in the town.

The witnesses also said that while the drivers from Akure brandished dangerous weapons such as cudgel, cutlasses, axes and juju, their Ikere-Ekiti counterparts blocked the road leading to Akure.

However, the Akure drivers managed to escape with the body of their colleague.

The Chief Medical Director, CMD, of the Ikere Specialist Hospital, Dr. Mary Olaosebikan, confirmed the molestation and assault suffered by the hospital staff.

Osun promises to employ 6,000 teachers ADEOLU ADEYEMO OSOGBO

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sun State Government has said that the State Teaching Service Commission would soon employ about 6,000 qualified teachers.

The Deputy Governor, who doubles as the Commissioner for Education, Mrs. Titi Laoye-

Tomori, dropped the hint at Erin-Ijesa while addressing the people of the town.

Laoye-Tomori said the administration of Governor Rauf Aregbesola would ensure that the state primary and secondary schools did not produced half-baked students in terms of education to be imparted on them.

The deputy governor, who

said the 6,000 teachers to be employed would be deployed in primary and secondary schools, assured that all efforts would be made to develop the psychomotor, cognitive and affective domains of the students to make them effectively productive in the society.

Laoye-Tomori pointed out that if qualitative education

could be given to all in the state, the state would soon witness tremendous development.

She therefore pledged that government would see that all teaching methodologies, instructional materials and teaching aids expected to be used in schools by teachers to carry out effective teaching were applied.

chieftain of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, Senator Olufemi Lanlehin, has condemned the recent endorsement of Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi as the leader of the party in the state and its gubernatorial candidate in 2015 by some members of the party.

Lanlehin representing Oyo South in the Senate, who spoke with journalists after re-registering as a member of the ACN in his ward at Inalende, Ibadan, said the endorsement was unnecessary and hasty, adding that those behind it did not mean well for the governor.

He said: “They are merely deceiving him and a ploy to distract his attention. We are pleased with the performance of the governor. He should not allow himself to be distracted.

“Again, it is wrong to endorse anybody where everybody is qualified to contest for the same position. Give everybody a level playing ground to contest the position of his choice.

After contesting, if God says it is the governor that will be presented, no problem.”

The lawmaker said it was too early to start talking about second term when the governor had just spent two years of his tenure.

On the call on Ajimobi to be the leader of the party in the state, he said: “I am totally opposed to the call.

Leave him and let him continue with governance and let Chief Michael Koleoso be the leader of the party.”

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

South West

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

EKSU student killing: NANS petitions Jonathan ABIODUN NEJO ADO EKITI

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he National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has issued a 72-hour ultimatum to the Ekiti State Police Commissioner, Mr. Sotonye Wakama, to arrest and prosecute the policeman who killed the 28-year-old 400 level student of the state university, Ado-Ekiti.

The student, Mr. Seyi Fasere, was allegedly killed penultimate Thursday while returning to the school from his village by a policeman.

NANS said failure of the police commissioner to produce the killer officer would compel it to “stage a mass

•Gives police 72 hours ultimatum action and mobilise all our students across all the campuses to occupy the police headquarter until our demands are met.”

In a petition entitled: “Extra judicial killing of Seyi Fasere: We demand justice,” which was dated March 11, 2013 and addressed to President Goodluck Jonathan, with copies made available to National Security Adviser (NSA), Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi and the state Commissioner of Police, NANS Joint Campus Committee (JCC) said it would accept nothing short of justice in the matter.

In the petition signed by NANS JCC Ekiti Axis Chairman, Mr. Oluwadamilare Bewaji, and others, the association “demands that the National Headquarters of the Nigerian Police Force should immediately set up a panel to investigate the remote and immediate cause of the killing.”

The students’ body expressed its readiness to volunteer useful information to the panel with a view to get to the root of the matter.

Bewaji told journalists yesterday in Ado-Ekiti that NANS was not satisfied with the Ekiti State Police Command’s response on the

matter, saying all evidences pointed to the fact that the late student, who had gone to his Ilupeju-Ekiti home to collect his school fees was not a member of an armed robbery gang as the police had alleged.

It will be recalled that the commercial vehicle which the slain student boarded from his Ilupeju-Ekiti home to school in Ado-Ekiti ran into a robbery operation at Oye-Ekiti which forced the occupants of the bus to escape for their dear lives.

But Seyi was unfortunate as the police apprehended him, tortured him, tied his hands and later shot him

L-R: Former Osun State House of Assembly Speaker, Hon. Adejare Bello; Governor Rauf Aregbesola and Speaker, Hon. Najeem Salam, at a capacity-building programme on budget retreat 2013 held in Osogbo, the state capital, yesterday.

Traders commend reopening of Ladipo market FRANCIS SUBERU

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eactions have continued to tray the Monday reopening of Ladipo International Auto Spare Parts Market by the Lagos State Government, as traders expressed their gratitude for the gesture.

The traders said the government’s action had brought them back to life.

National Mirror noted that though the announcement on reopening of the market was made late on Monday, traders and buyers trooped into the market yesterday to fully resume commercial activities.

According to one of the traders, Ike Nwachukwu, the two weeks closure was like a life-long incident as it affected traders’ finances negatively.

Nwachukwu said that the

enthusiasm and willingness of the traders to get back to work reflected in quick resumption of commercial activities in the market.

He said: “When I received the information that the market has been reopened, I was happy. I have been staying at home for two weeks and I know how much I have lost in the process. But all that has gone and we thank God that everything has been resolved.

“We are in touch with our leaders and we understand that they are also in touch with the government and that an agreement has been reached on how to maintain good sanitation in the market. I am sure every trader in the market will comply with the agreement reached to make the environment cleaner.”

Another trader, who simply identified himself as

Ifeanyi, said recent events in the market, including its closure has political undertone.

Ifeanyi said: “I believe the market was shut to frustrate leaders of the market.

We have always made sure the market is neat and accessible to both buyers and passers-by. To me, there is no justifiable reason for the closure. However, I am grateful the market has been reopened for commercial activities.”

The Chairman of Ladipo Main Market, Mr. Kingsley Ikechukwu, praised Governor Babatunde Fashola for reopening the market, saying his action brought reliefs to the traders.

The chairman also signed an undertaking on behalf of other traders to comply with all the conditions given by the Lagos State Government.

dead on Thursday morning under the pretext that he was one of the armed robbers that attacked their station and a bank in the town.

The Transition Chairman Committee of EKSU Students Union, Mr. Adeoye Aribasoye, who lamented that senseless and extra-judicial killings by the police had taken the country back to the dark ages, suggested that comprehensive psychiatry test should henceforth be conducted on the police and prospective cops in Nigeria to ascertain their mental stability before enlistment.

Aribasoye said: “We have made our findings, and everything pointed to the fact that Seyi was never an armed robber. He only went home to collect his school fees and ran into a robbery scene on his way to Ado-Ekiti. Even the N100, 000 he was given by his parents while returning to school was not find on him after death.

“With the photograph we saw, Seyi’s hands were tied to the back while he was stripped naked before he was shot. With this, it was apparent that he was arrested at the robbery scene while scampering for safety and taken to the station to create the impression that he was a robber.

“After his arrest, we expected the police in a sane situation to prosecute him rather than to resort to summary execution”.

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Fraudster impersonates me on Facebook, says Taiwo Odukoya TEMITOPE OGUNBANKE

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he Senior Pastor of the Fountain of Life Church in Ilupeju, Lagos, Pastor Taiwo Odukoya, has alerted members of the public to be wary of certain impersonators using his name to demand for money on social media sites, especially facebook.

Pastor Odukoya, in a statement made available to National Mirror yesterday, disclosed that the fraudsters created a page on facebook with the title: “Pastor Taiwo Odukoya soliciting for money from unsuspecting members of the public while assuring them of prayers in return.”

While denying that he requested for money under any guise, the cleric asked members of the public to regard such appeal as false and fraudulent, saying: “Pastor Taiwo Odukoya will not ask for money from anyone.”

The statement reads: “An impostor on facebook with name ‘PASTOR TAIWO ODUKOYA’ has been soliciting for funds under the pretence of Pastor Taiwo Odukoya of the Fountain of Life Church.

“Please be informed that I, Pastor Taiwo Odukoya, would not ask for money from anyone for any project or prayer. This individual is a fraudster and needs to be apprehended.”

Oyo threatens to prosecute erring traffic managers

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overnor Abiola Ajimobi has threatened to prosecute any erring official of the Oyo State Road Traffic Management Authority (OYRTMA), just as he advised members of the outfit to make integrity their watchword in the discharge of their duties.

Ajimobi spoke at the launch of the newly-kitted OYRTMA cadets at the Agodi Secretariat in Ibadan, the state capital.

Addressing the cadets, the governor said reports reaching him indicated that some of the officials them in the habit of demanding and collecting bribes from hapless commuters.

Ajimobi warned them against involving any form of corrupt practice capable of tarnishing the image of the agency, stating that any official caught would not only be disengaged by the govern-

ment, but would be handed to security operatives.

He said: “You will continue to have our support as long as you are honest and you don’t take bribe. If you are caught, we will not only relieve you of your duty, we will also prosecute you. “We want the people of Oyo State to respect your organisation, and they can only do this if you don’t take bribe from them and you display integrity.’’

The governor reiterated his administration’s commitment to supporting the agency to ensure effective enforcement of traffic laws and maintenance of security on the roads.

Governor Ajimobi, who observed that the traffic management was one of the major problems confronting the state, stressed that the presence of OYRTMA officials on roads would check flagrant

disregard to traffic laws.

He also charged the organisation to work in collaboration with relevant security agencies such as the police, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) and ``Operation Burst’’ for effective training and performance of the officials.

While commending the agency for the level of enforcement of traffic laws so far, the governor charged it to improve on its revenue generation.

Ajimobi

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South East

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

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Okorocha runs Imo without due process –PDP CHRIS NJOKU OWERRI

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he Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday described the crisis rocking Governor Rochas Okorocha’s administration in Imo State as selfinflicted even as the party said the governor “is known for ruling the state without due process.”

The PDP said it has no hand in the face-off between the Imo State House of Assembly and the Deputy Governor, Sir Jude Agbaso, but the party said the governor has been governing the state as “if it is a military government.”

Reacting to the allegation yesterday, the state government described the PDP statement as the ‘reaction of bad losers.’

Addressing journalists at the state party secretariat in Owerri, the Imo State capital, PDP state Chairman, Chief Eze Duruiheoma, said the party or the Presidency as an institution, has no hand in the crisis, describing the face-off between the deputy governor and the state House of Assembly as self-inflicted.

NWABUEZE OKONKWO ONITSHA

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n Onitsha Magistrate’s Court in Anambra State, presided over by Magistrate E. O. Ughanze, yesterday adjourned further hearing till April 24, in an aiding and abetting charge preferred against a chieftain of the Movement for the actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra, MASSOB, Chief Arinze Igbani and two others, Ugwu Chikezie and Chukwudi Udemobi.

The police prosecution had, at the last hearing date, prayed the court to adjourn the matter sine die due to lack of evidence to continue further prosecution of the matter.

But the court ordered the police to issue a hearing notice to the state Directorate of Public Prosecution, DPP, to come in person and confirm that he wants the sine die adjournment because of the lack of prosecution evidence.

At the resumed hear-

•Party has nothing to offer –Govt “The crisis rocking the state government is selfinflicted and anybody that has been following developments in the state will know that there will be crisis sooner or later.

It is now known that a whopping N1.3 billion could

be signed across the counter by the state governor to pay a foreigner for doing nothing in a state ravaged by hunger and unemployment while indigenous contractors are left to die without payment.”

According to him;

“Something is definitely wrong with a system where the governor approves the payment of a whole contract sum without the certificate of performance. He added that more worrisome is the speed with which the government embarked on new

projects without designs and budgetary allocations.”

Duruiheoma continued: “The government has commenced 1,000 road projects without designs and asked contractors to execute it and majority of those projects were not captured in

L-R: Senator Usman Kumo; Senator Paulinus Nwagu; Minister of Police Affairs, Navy Capt. Caleb Olubolade (rtd); Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar and member, House of Representatives, Mr. Tobi Okechukwu, during the commissioning of the police intelligence school in Enugu, recently.

the state budgets and today, they have not been paid.

“We all have seen what we are talking about the government that refused to pay indigenous contractors but paid a Lebanese over a billion naira.”

He described the policies of Okorocha’s government as anti-people, saying; “money spent on these projects has not impacted positively on the lives of the people.

“Our fear about the government’s free education programme has been justified today and we are sure that there are more monies being paid to foreigners with no proof of work done. This administration is sick because things are terribly wrong with the state.”

Reacting, the state government through the Governor’s Media Aide, Mr. Ebere Uzuokwa, described the comment by the PDP as the reaction of bad losers.

His words: “What do you expect them to say, they know that they have nothing to offer the people having misruled the state for over 12 years.

We don’t want to join issues with them because they are bad losers.”

Court adjourns hearing against MASSOB chieftain to April 24 ing of the matter yesterday, the absence of the third accused person, Chukwudi Udemobi, stalled the sine die adjournment being asked for by both the prosecution and the accused.

When the matter was mentioned, Udemobi was conspicuously absent in court and on enquiry, the first accused, Igbani, told the court that the third accused had an accident and could not come to court as a result of injuries he sustained in the accident.

The court, therefore, adjourned the matter to April 24, to enable the third accused be in court before the issue of sine die adjournment could be considered.

The prosecution had arraigned the accused persons for allegedly committing felony to wit by aiding the escape of two armed robbery suspects, as well as aiding and abetting the same armed robbers to escape from the court on Decem-

ber 3, 2012 at the Onitsha Magistrate’s Court premises.

Both the prosecution and the accused had prayed the court to adjourn the matter sine die.

While the prosecution hinged his prayer on lack of evidence to continue

further prosecution of the matter, the defendants based their own prayer on being arraigned on mere trump up charges, just because they are members of MASSOB. The court had in the ruling, said that since the matter is now before

the high court and the high court had granted bail to the accused, the lower court would seek the views of the DPP to know his interest in the matter before any decision could be taken.

She, therefore, ordered the Anambra Assistant

Commissioner of Police in-charge of Operations to, as a matter of urgency, serve the DPP with a hearing notice, adding that the DPP should declare its interest in the matter and whether the matter should go on or not.

APC berates Iwuanyanwu over comment on party DENNIS AGBO ENUGU

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he All Progressives Congress, APC, yesterday berated a member of the Board of Trustees of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, over his comment that the APC cannot protect the interest of Ndigbo in the country.

APC described Iwuanyanwu and his cohorts in the PDP as “food is ready and share the money politicians,” who have helped to impoverish the Igbo other than ameliorate their tragedies.

The party said it was yet to locate any tangible project that the PDP has executed in the SouthEast in the last 14 years, in spite of the massive vote of Ndigbo to the party in every election since 1999.

The ACN said of all the promises made by the PDP, ranging from the second Niger Bridge, to the Coal-Fired-Power Plant, none has been implemented.

The new party concluded that it is the ‘APCphobia’ that has caught up with Iwuanyanwu and his colleagues in the PDP. In a statement by the Publicity Secretary, In-

terim Management Committee of the APC, Chief Osita Okechukwu, the party was of the opinion that Chief Iwuanyanwu should ask himself where the likes of Dr. Alex Ekwueme, the former vice-president, who almost laid his life for the formation of the PDP is today.

He wondered if Iwuanyanwu is not ashamed that Dr. Ekwueme, with his pedigree, recently lost the chair of the PDP Board of Trustees to a less than transparent character.

“We thought Chief Iwuanyanwu, like some of us, should be concerned

that the PDP did not deem it fit to assign any of the five prominent offices President, Vice-President, Senate President, Speaker or the PDP Chairmanship position to Ndigbo.

“It is our considered view that with Ndigbo personalities like, Dr Ogboninya Onu, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, Senator Chris Ngige, Chief Achike Udenwa, Ezikel Izuogu, George Mugholu, Peter Okonkwo, Annie Okonkwo, Okey Ezea, Osita Izunaso, Uche Onyeguocha and a host of others, Ndigbo are well represented in APC,” parts of the statement read.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

South South

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

11

Bayelsa community to sue Shell over neglect EMMA GBEMUDU YENAGOA

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ggrieved indigenes of Imbasi-Kiri in Nembe Local Government Area of Bayelsa State have threatened to drag Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) to court over alleged denial of their rights and privileges as an oil producing commu-

nity.

The community accused officials of the oil firm of colluding with some people to change the name of the community to Walter-Kiri.

The community’s grouse was contained in a petition signed by its representatives, Mr. Alfred Imbasi and Mr. Eteli Imbasi, which was addressed to the General Manager, Production of

Swamp1, SPDC East.

The community alleged that the company fraudulently named its location IX at Imbasi-Kiri after WalterKiri, a neighboring village.

The community asked the SPDC management to verify the claim and recognize it as the host of Location IX. It said: “Shell should change the name of the lo-

cation from Walter-Kiri to Imbasi-Kiri Location IX and refer to the map before the sitting of the oil location in the Nembe Creek Oil Field.”

The community also urged the payment of all outstanding compensations caused by damages done to economic trees, farmlands, fishing ponds and the local deity, Egbenfuei.

It appealed to the oil firm

to execute developmental projects such as building of hall, provision of water and electricity to assist the community.

The community regretted that several attempts to reach the oil company on the issue through letters on October 23, 2001, December 16, 2001 and December 15, 2003, were ignored.

Part of the letter read:

“With the timely intervention of the then Chairman, Nembe Chiefs Council, Chief Major P. Adukpo-Egi Ikata (Rtd) through a letter dated 20th, November, 2001, intimating your company (SPDC) that Imbasi-kiri is the rightful owners of Shell Location IX in Nembe Creek Oil Field ...yet your company failed to rectify the obvious anomaly.”

Amaechi didn’t shun PDP Governors’ Forum –Commissioner SAM OLUWALANA

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L-R: Delta State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman, Chief Peter Nwaoboshi; the state Deputy Governor, Prof. Amos Utuama and former Deputy Governor, Chief Benjamin Elue, during the presentation of staff of office to the Ugoani of Okpanam, Obi Michael Mbanefo Ogbolu, yesterday.

Ex-militants attack hotel, destroy property in A’Ibom TONY ANICHEBE UYO

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ormer militants have attacked PXIMAKO Hotel in Eket, Akwa Ibom State, where they were lodged for their documentation under the third phase of the amnesty programme.

The proprietor of the hotel, Mr. Akparawa Paulinus Okon, confirmed the incident and alleged that property worth several millions of naira were destroyed by the rampaging former militants.

Okon said they were

invited to the hotel by Air Commodore Ikpe, an official of the Inter-Agency Task Force set up by the Federal Government to carry out the documentation, who recently surrendered large cache of weapons, including six browning machine guns, rocket launchers and many AK-47 rifiles.

He said: “More than 800 dreaded men from the creeks of the Niger Delta have invaded my hotel and destroyed property worth several millions of naira both at the reception and in the rooms.

“They have destroyed all the television sets, gadgets and other electrical appliances. They were brought in by Air Commodore Ikpe, who negotiated 15 rooms and later changed to 10 rooms for three days, but I don’t know what I have done to deserve this kind of attack.

“As I am talking to you now, many security people, including military men, police and members of Joint Task Force (JTF) are moving into the hotel premises. Other guests that were also lodging in

Expect more projects –Akpabio tells residents TONY ANICHEBE UYO

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overnor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom State has reiterated his administration’s commitment to partner private investors in the industrialisation of the state.

Akpabio, while answering questions at the just-concluded good gov-

ernance tour /town hall meeting held at the Government House Banquet Hall in Uyo, the state capital, said: “We are working hard to bring industry to the state. We have been planning to establish at least one industry in each of the 31 local government areas of the state.

“We are partnering private investors. A team of investors from Ghana are

in the state. They are here to see the possible way they can partner with us.”

Assuring that his administration would execute more projects before the expiration of tenure in 2015, the governor said: “In the remaining two years three months of my administration, I am assuring you that I will do more than I have even done now”.

the hotel have parked out.

The militants have resisted the military men and the JTF have started firing tear gas into the air to bring the situation under control.’’

However, aggrieved youths from Akwa Ibom State have stormed the venue for the documentation and demanded that they be included in the amnesty programme.

The youths were prevented from attacking the leader of the ex-militants, Mr. Godsgift Egulea, who claimed that they were not ex-militants.

On Ibom Independent Power Plant (IPP), he said the project was ready for use and that the transmission was delayed by distribution of power in the country, which is the exclusive right of the Federal Government.

He said: “I desire to give my people at least one year of interrupted power supply before the end of my administration in 2015”.

ivers State Commissioner for Information, Mrs. Ibim Semenitari, has denied that Governor Chibuike Amaechi shunned the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors’ Forum’s meeting held on Monday.

She said that the governor was in England where he was one of the Speakers at the Commonwealth Observance Day held at the Westminister Abbey in London.

Amaechi arrived Abuja yesterday morning after the London event.

A statement signed by the commissioner reads: “Contrary to rumours and speculations in some quarters that the governor shunned the PDP governors’ forum, Governor Amaechi was one of the three high profile speakers at the Commonwealth Observance Day which had as its theme: “Opportunity

through enterprise”. Governor Amaechi was in the United Kingdom to make Nigeria proud at the historic event.”

Mrs. Semenitari added that since 1973, Commonwealth Day has been marked on the second Monday in March by a unique multi faith observance where globally recognised persons were invited to deliver evidencebased testimonials.

She said: “This year, Governor Amaechi was invited several months ago to speak alongside Virgin Atlantic’s Richard Branson and Rickel Patel, Executive Director of Avaaz, the largest online activist community.

“One wonders why mischief makers will insinuate that Governor Amaechi shunned the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors’ Forum when in actual fact he was flying the Nigerian flag at this historic global event.’’

Rivers IGR hits N9.5bn

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he Rivers State Government Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) has hit N9.5 billion, the highest since the commencement of Governor Chibuike Amaechi’s tax reforms.

The new tax regime introduced by the Rivers State Government in partnership with Skye Bank has continued to yield positive results with a monthly average of between N5 billion and 6 billion average, and now a whooping N9.5billion in February, 2013.

Amaechi’s spokesman, Mr. David Iyofor, told journalists yesterday in Port Harcourt, the state capital, the governor is excited because of the development.

Prior to Amaechi’s emergence as the governor, the state IGR did not go beyond N2.5 billion.

Since Amaechi began

the implementation of the new tax regime, the IGR has gradually increased.

Iyofor, however, said: “Governor Amaechi is very excited by this new development. He is very happy with this figure of N9.5 billion for the month of February.

Governor Amaechi is happy with what our partner in the tax project - Skye Bank - is doing with the state government. The governor has, therefore, urged the partner to continue on this path.

“He believes that the state can do even better than this figure of N9.5billion and has clearly told the partner to improve on it.

“This is a clear testimony of the benefits of Governor Amaechi’s initiated reforms in IGR in Rivers State. He strongly believes that with a robust tax reform policy, the state can do very well in generating robust revenue.”

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North

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Jos: Six soldiers injured as STF operatives, residents clash N

Measles kills 17 in Niger, says commissioner

JAMES ABRAHAM JOS

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ix soldiers attached to the Special Task force, STF, on Jos crisis, were yesterday injured after a clash with residents of two communities in Riyom Local Government Area of the state.

A source, who spoke to our correspondent yesterday in Jos, said several residents of Rim and Riyom Local Government Areas also sustained varying degree of injuries when the STF embarked on a house-to-house search for ammunition in the area.

The source further said that the residents, not supporting the search, clashed with the soldiers.

Another source, who gave his name as Yolpti, said that; “Residents resisted the search by the STF, and the soldiers confronted them and started maltreating the villagers.

Meanwhile, the STF has denied the rumours making the round that STF operatives maltreated some women in Rim, Riyom Local Government Area of the state.

STF in a press statement issued in Jos and signed by its Media Officer, Captain Salisu Mustapha, said the task force wishes to categorically debunk this malicious,

misleading and unwarranted lies aimed at tarnishing the image and the good work of the task force which is aimed at restoring peace and stability in the state.

According to the statement, what happened in Rim was the usual search operation that has been on going in recent times, adding that the women themselves, prevented the personnel from doing their work and started calling for their withdrawal

from Rim. He said the women became so violent and started hurling insults and stones and other dangerous objects at the STF personnel, injuring six officers in the process. He added that all efforts at warning and dialoguing with their leaders proved abortive.

The statement further said the operation was necessitated following intelligence reports of suspected arms

around the area and also due to some sporadic shootings going on around the area which the villagers were complaining about.

It added that the operation was conducted concurrently in three other surrounding villages of Rim namely Diyan, Rugga Fulani Rim and Rangwei, stressing that the operation was successful in the other three places except Rim, where the women refused their places to be searched.

o fewer than 17 persons have been reported dead following an outbreak of measles in Niger State, the Commissioner for Health, Dr Ibrahim Sule, has said.

Sule told journalists yesterday in Minna that at least 619 cases of measles were recorded across the state in the last two months.

He said the number of deaths jumped from the six recorded last month to its new peak of 17, owing to the increase in heat, a factor responsible for the spike in the

Project Manager, Gombe State Agency for the Control of AIDS, Dr. Sirajo Abdulkarim (left), presenting a set of laptops to the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Ishaya Kennedy, for presentation to 11 Local Government Agencies for the Control of HIV/AIDS in Gombe State, yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

disease.

The commissioner associated the new figure with the number of persons who formally reported the outbreak to the ministry with their authenticated record of deaths.

He said the outbreak of the disease was first recorded in January this year in Edati Local Government Area of the state.

Sule said the disease had spread to 14 other local government areas, including Bosso, Borgu, Chanchanga, Lapai, Mariga, Mokwa, Agwara, Gbako, Lavun, Munya, Shiroro, Rijau, Paikoro and Suleja.

He said the ministry had embarked on aggressive awareness and sensitisation at the local government level while the state would collaborate with development partners for the free treatment of the affected persons.

The commissioner said the ministry has also commenced surveillance on the diseases in a bid to curb its spread among the people.

Sule advised residents against treating victims at home, saying; “victims should be taken to hospital for treatment.”

He described measles as an infection caused by a virus and that it could affect all age-groups and could be contacted through sneezing and coughing, “reason why the disease is highly contagious.”

‘95, 300 women die from cooking smoke inhalation’ Jaji military cantonment porous, says Army PRISCILLA DENNIS MINNA

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he World Health Organization, WHO, has revealed that no fewer than 95, 300 women in Nigeria died from inhaling cooking smoke across the nation on annual bases.

Senior Gender Advisor, Nigeria Infrastructure Advisory Facility, NIAF, Hajiya Amina Salihu, said this yesterday.

Presenting a paper titled: ‘Elimination of Gender Violence Against Women’ at the celebration of the International Women’s Day in Minna, yesterday; Salihu noted that death from cooking smoke as a result of the use of fire wood is the third highest killer after HIV/ AIDS amongst them.

She said before now, nobody really knew the danger inherent in inhaling smoke from cooking, until

research showed otherwise that they can be plague with sicknesses as cancer, blindness, and bronchitis in the country.

Her words: “Nobody will think inhaling smoke from cooking could be dangerous. It causes blindness, cancer and even bronchitis. That is why we are looking for other ways of cooking that will not killer anyone. To prevent women from such danger, we are

creating awareness among them.”

Speaking also, the state Governor, Dr. Muazu Babangida Aliyu, represented by his deputy, Hon. Ahmed Ibeto, called for the reversal of the increasing trend of abuse against women in the country, where more twothird of them are believed to suffer physical, sexual and psychological abuse in the hands of their husbands.

AZA MSUE KADUNA

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uthorities of the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, AFCSC, Jaji, Kaduna State, yesterday raised the alarm over the porous condition of the military cantonment.

National Mirror investigations identified two porous routes linking the cantonment which were

suspected to have been used by terrorists in their recent attacks.

It will be recalled that two bomb blasts rocked Saint Andrew Protestant Military Church, Jaji, which killed 11 worshippers including military officers.

In telephone interview with National Mirror in Kaduna, AFCSC Public Relations Officer, Col. Mohammed Dole, while con-

Woman remanded for killing own baby JAMES DANJUMA KATSINA

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19-year-old woman, Amina Ibrahim, who was recently accused of killing her new born baby, has been remanded by a magistrate’s court in Katsina State.

The Senior Magistrate Court III ordered her re-

manded yesterday for “alleged criminal conspiracy and culpable homicide.”

Amina, who hails from Layin Baga village in Dandume Local Government Area of the state, was arraigned by the police command in the state.

Prosecuting Police Officer, Inspector Attine Ragiji, told the court that on Febru-

ary 28, 2013, the accused was delivered of a baby girl at a primary healthcare centre in Dandume and that she later killed the baby.

Ragiji further informed the court that upon being discharged from the hospital, Amina conspired with her mother, Aisha Muntari, and dumped the baby girl in a pit toilet in

their compound which resulted to her death.

Ragiji said the offence contravened Section 97 and 221 of the Penal Code Law of Nigeria.

Presiding Magistrate, Maryam Hamdana, ordered that the accused be remanded in prison custody and adjourned the case to April 8, 2013.

firming the porous nature of the cantonment, said the authorities are looking into the issue.

“The authorities are looking into the situation.

We are looking at how the cantonment will be fenced.

We will expedite action on it,” he said.

Jaji military cantonment is hosting the Armed Forces Command and Staff College, AFCSC; the United Nations Peace Keeping Mission, the Anti-Terrorism and Counter Insurgency Training Centre, among other military training centres.

The Birnin-Yaro, Kanazole roads linked the military cantonment and outsiders trooped in and out of the military formation, although comprehensive stop and search operation were observed at the main entrance along the Kaduna-Zaria Expressway.

Wednesday March 13, 2013

Yoruba should stop lamenting over marginalisation –Durojaye

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

13

Politics

PDP: Grappling with seasonal implosion

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15

APC registration: ACN accuses PDP, INEC of sabotage AYODELE OJO

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he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) yesterday engaged in war of words over the registration of the All Progressives Congress (APC), a coalition of opposition parties.

Specifically, the ACN accused the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and the PDP of working together to frustrate the emergence of the APC ahead of the 2015 elections.

The PDP was accused of sponsoring the African Peoples Congress (APC) as part of plots to truncate the merger.

“Clearly, INEC is on a

mission of mischief and its paymaster is PDP which has been having sleepless nights since the merger arrangement was announced,” ACN stated.

But the PDP described the dilemma of the APC as a product of political naivety and planlessness.

In a statement made available to National Mirror yesterday by ACN National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party lambasted INEC for engaging in bare-faced lies and manipulation of facts by claiming that the phantom APC has applied to the commission for registration.

ACN stated: “While the PDP has been quick to say it is not bothered by the coming together of the progressive forces, it has been

having sleepless nights and working round the clock to device measures to sabotage the merger.

“The plan to set up the phantom African Peoples Congress to create an acronym war is just a tip of the iceberg. In the days ahead, Nigerians should watch out for more devilish plans by the PDP. But we are comforted by the fact that the forces of darkness have never prevailed over the forces of light.”

The party said the claim of the electoral commission, as articulated by Mr. Kayode Idowu, the spokesman for INEC Chairman, is not supported by the relevant sections of the Electoral Act regulating the registration of a political party.

ACN insisted that as at

today no party with the acronym APC has applied to INEC to be registered, saying that even the African Peoples Congress - which is being sponsored by the PDP to lay claim to the acronymhas only written a letter of intent, which has not even been discussed by INEC, not to talk of the commission taking any decision on it.

“The statement credited to Mr. Idowu is therefore reckless and provocative and clearly betrays INEC as truly having merged with the PDP to frustrate the merger of the progressives under the banner of the All Progressives Congress (APC). One wonders who the spokesman is speaking for and what interest he represents. He

L-R: Secretary, Board of Trustees (BoT) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Walid Jibrin; Akwa Ibom State Governor and Chairman, PDP Governors’ Forum, Godswill Akpabio and Chairman of BoT, Tony Anenih, during a meeting of PDP governorsin Abuja on Monday.

OBIORA IFOH ABUJA

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he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has said that the inability of the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to secure necessary approvals from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for party registration before embarking on propaganda amounts to political naivety and planlessness.

The party also warned that APC will drive Nige-

should therefore be called to order before he sets the country ablaze.

“The INEC spokesperson who announced to the world that another political association has applied to be registered as APC is therefore definitely being paid by the PDP to mislead Nigerians, subvert extant regulations and scuttle the proposed merger of the ACN, ANPP, APGA and CPC. He should immediately be called to order before he sets the country ablaze,” ACN said.

In order to debunk INEC’s claim that the African Peoples Congress has applied for registration, it made reference to Sections 78 (1) and (2) of the Electoral Act that say: “A political association that complies with the provision of the Constitution and this Act for the purposes of registration shall be registered as a political party, provided that such application shall be duly submitted to the Commission not later than six months before a general election.”

“The Commission shall on receipt of the documents in fulfilment of the conditions stipulated by the constitution immediately issue the applicant with a letter of acknowledgement stating that all necessary documents have been submitted to the Commission.”

ACN said: “In this case the applicants on behalf of the phantom African Peoples Congress, the clients

of Legal World Chambers, have not submitted any of the documents stipulated by the Constitution to the Commission. They have only written a letter of intent and therefore INEC could not have issued them any letter of acknowledgment, not to talk of starting the process of verifying the documents.

“At this point they cannot even be regarded as applicants. Why then did INEC through its spokesperson gleefully go to the media to proclaim that another political association has applied to be registered as African Peoples Congress using the same acronym APC?” The party further called attention to Section 78 (6) of the Electoral Act, which says: “An application for registration as a political party shall not be processed unless there is evidence of payment of administrative fee as may be fixed from time to time by the Commission.”

ACN said it is aware that the applicants in question have not even paid any administrative fees and therefore INEC could not have commenced processing their application, because there is no application before INEC as they have only written a letter of intent.

Mohammed said what has emerged over the registration issue is that INEC is in cahoots with the PDP to stampede the merging parties to commit errors and also intimidate them to drop the acronym APC.

...Blame your misfortune on carelessness, PDP tells APC ria to socio-political and economic brink should it be entrusted with power.

A statement by the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh said the reality on the ground has shown that the leaders of the APC were all the while grandstanding; writing footnotes and glossary even when the first chapter of their history was yet to be successfully written.

According to the statement, “Nigerians are here confronted with an irony!

It is an irony of a political party who without adequate planning, without a solid working rhythm, yet wishes to be entrusted to its effete, shaky shoulders, the fate of over 160 million Nigerians.

“Fortunately, Nigerians are witnessing first hand, the thoughtlessness and carelessness of the self acclaimed political

Messiahs, a fore warning that the nation, her people and our democracy are all in jeopardy should they be entrusted with power.”

“How can a group who could not conclude the basic as in due registration of its name be able to manage the affairs of Nigeria at this moment of critical challenge?

“At the basics, the APC and its conjugants – the ACN, CPC, ANPP and others have once more

advertised their boastful and deceitful predilection. Who could imagine that their coalition was yet to be registered before its leaders started throwing red rag to the bull? ” PDP asked.

The PDP further said Nigerians have clearly seen the lies in the repeated claims by the coalition that some PDP governors and National Assembly members were planning to join them.

“How can a politician worth its onions leave a known, formidable and nationwide political party for a disparate and unregistered amalgam? This false claim is also a window into the minds of the leaders of the coalition.

The summary is that they are waiting for decampees from the PDP to build their party, perhaps, register it for them. What an illusion! What a self delusion!” the party stated.

14

Politics

Wednesday March 13, 2013

Yoruba should stop lamenting over marginalisation –Durojaye Senator Olabiyi Durojaye recently clocked 80 years. He shares his reflections and the Nigeria of his dream in this interview with SINA FADARE. Excerpts: At 80, how will you describe the journey so far? Is there anything you think you could have done differently?

To be candid, I have no regret about the journey so far. I am grateful to God for giving me the opportunity to achieve the little I was able to achieve. It was a happy life for me. In my memoir, which I presented to the public recently, I admitted that I was guided by the hands of the Almighty to have traversed the journey with great success. I couldn’t have wished myself anything better.

What was going through your mind when you see the array of who-is-who in Nigeria that came to celebrate with you?

I was very delighted to the extent that my joy knows no bound. For instance, seeing my close friend, the former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, I was really happy. We have been friends since 1960.

God has spared us and though our thoughts have not always been combined, yet we are good friends despite all odds of life. It was a happy reunion for us. He was a good man, who did not allow his high position to stand between him and his old friends. It was a good gathering and I thank God for it.

The people of the South-West recently lamented that the zone has been marginalised in the political equation of the country, do you share this view?

There is no doubt about this. This is empirical. Just check the top 10 positions; you can easily see that it is a statement of fact. At the moment, Yoruba is not in the scheme of things, whichever way you look at it. This issue was discussed in Ibadan recently and it was discussed last year at the Yoruba Unity Forum.

But my point of view is not whether we are in number one, two or three, because wherever we are put, we are going to make an impact; the issue is that let the country be well administered. Let there be equal opportunity for all and security that will guarantee individual safety and liberty wherever one is in the country. Let there be good road and adequate electricity supply so that all could have sense of belonging.

Once we have a uniform playing ground, Yoruba will find their level. Their first talent and first choice is education. Education is the key that opens any locked doors; this is our heritage and place of pride.

We should not be lamenting whether we are given this position or the other, but let us assert ourselves once again in the field of education as it used to be in the past.

Once we have that, let anybody do whatever they want to do in terms of political position. The fact is that we have all it takes in any facet of profession. Yoruba will still hold their heads high among the comity of nations in any area of human endeavour.

The only lamentable thing that I no-

Durojaye

THE YORUBA HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED WITH EDUCATION. NOW, IT IS THAT EDUCATION THAT IS FAILING. THAT IS WHY PEOPLE LIKE ME ARE WORRIED. THAT IS THE AREA ALL OF US SHOULD BE CONCENTRATING ON INSTEAD OF LAMENTATION OVER MARGINALISATION ticed is the neglect of our base, which is education, not the other way round. That is why in the Yoruba Education Fund (YEF), which I am the chairman of the governing council, we are trying to rekindle the old glory in education. When you are intellectually sound, nobody can rubbish you, no matter the situation. We are trying to raise a huge fund to collaborate with the state governments in the South-West to rekindle education like it used to be during the days of the late sage, Obafemi Awolowo. That was why the man is like a deity and more relevant many years after he had gone.

All the three major groups that struggled for independence, the Hausa-Fulani, Yoruba and the Igbo, have their own peculiarities, strong points and scale of preference they can easily be identified with. The HausaFulani are known for their crave for political power and they don’t joke with it up till today.

That is their first choice or priority. The Igbo are commercially and economically pre-eminent. Wherever you go in this country and beyond, it is the Igbo who are at the centre of commerce and they don’t joke with it. The Yoruba have been identified with education.

Now, it is that education that is failing, that is why people like me are worried.

That is the area all of us should be concentrating on instead of lamentation over marginalisation. Once we establish our pre-eminence in education, whether we are in government or not, it is immaterial.

There is no way you can run a country ignoring the eggheads.

But if you look at the political circle, our

best are not there.

That is why we are passing through what we are facing now. We are not leaving politics out; Papa Awolowo did not leave politics but he used education as a foundation for political idea. That priority we should not abandon or let it suffer. It is funny and odd for others to think they can edge the intellectual from the political pot of this country, no way.

Do you subscribe to the conspiracy theory, which some people alleged edged out Yoruba from juicy political positions?

No. I do not believe in this theory. It does not matter. I was in the Senate for a term and I was able to make my impact there.

There should be a limit that we should lament on this positional issue. Let us go back to the drawing board and restructure our education, by so doing; nobody will be able to do without us. What we actually need is a constitution that will guide us well. The constitution we have now was fashioned by the military; there are a lot of loopholes. It does not reflect the yearnings of the people as such.

That was why from our days in the National Democratic Coalition (NADECO), we clamoured for a conference where we are going to discuss how we will like to be governed. Government is side tracking it. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo messed it up, now this government want the National Assembly to do it, no way, they can’t do it properly. It is the people who can produce the type of constitution they needed. What the National Assembly is doing

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

now is just an attempt to make law.

There is a difference between making law and making a constitution. The constitution is the foundation of any law. It is the fundamentals of the country. The National Assembly is too busy and will not be able to do a thorough work. We have two ways out; let us have a national conference. Let the representatives of the nationalities come together on a round table and discuss their fears and how they want to be governed. If they were put together

by Lord Fredrick Lugard for easy administration and called the entity Nigeria, it is necessary that we come together to determine our fate ourselves.

It is necessary to sit down and formulate how best we can work together. All the stakeholders, including the professionals should be involved. The only alternative to this, is let us adopt the 1960 Constitution which was the one put in place by the founding fathers of Nigeria. Our founding fathers had series of constitutions and eventually formulated a constitution; that is the second best alternative. Any other thing besides these two, we are just wasting our time.

What is your take on the merger of the progressive parties in order to challenge the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)?

I am sure it will work. If you sample the people’s opinion, you will realise that the people feel unsafe in the country and prefer to try another political party which can do it better. Look at the type of the news you people are bringing to us in the last two years, the situation is critical.

All the infrastructure, particularly road network, are collapsing, people are just dying cheaply. Look at the quality of education of our people, see the stuff which the universities are turning out, we cannot continue like this. Aside this, if you look around, you will see that industries are closing shops. Things are not just right and the giant party is in control.

We need an alternative to the ruling PDP. The All Progressive Congress (APC) is not to replace PDP, but to be a readymade alternative. If they can do it better than the PDP, let the people give them the chance and let us see what they have in stock for the people. If they do not do better, the people have the right to go back to the PDP. I have been saying it over the years that we need a two-party system.

People like us saw it long time ago that two-party system is the panacea to our political logjam. If you don’t know how to dance, look at your neighbour. Britain for many decades has been running a stable democracy. The United States has been running democracy for almost 250 years. They go to the poll every four years. They operate mainly on two-party system structures.

Even the largest democracy, India, equally manages on a two-party system. There are other minor parties in the respective countries, we can also emulate them.

With what is going on in the political space, some people believe that the 2015 elections may not hold, do you share this view?

No. I don’t like those who are pessimistic. Nigeria will remain the same after 2015, nothing will happen. The elections, like the previous ones we have had, will come and go and somebody will emerge as president. We need to have faith in God and have courage. All we want is that someone who will make Nigeria better should become the president.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

FELIX NWANERI writes on internal squabbles that have become part of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, whenever it is preparing for a major election.

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Politics

Wednesday March 13, 2013

he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), a centrist political party formed ahead of the country’s return to civil rule in 1999 after a long spell of military involvement in politics, remains the dominant party in the present political dispensation.

Winning the presidential elections in 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2011, the party, which prides itself as the largest political party in Africa, no doubt, controls more than twothirds of elective positions at the three tiers of government, though the opposition have consistently cried foul after each election.

But despite the seeming ‘absolute control’ of power, the party usually gets polarised close to general elections, especially over its presidential flag bearer, as already being played out in the build-up to the 2015 elections.

Two recent major developments in the polity – the “revelation” by the Niger State governor, Babangida Aliyu and the formation of the PDP Governors’ Forum – analysts say are indications of a looming crisis for the ruling party ahead of the elections.

Aliyu had claimed that President Goodluck Jonathan entered into an agreement with governors on the platform of the PDP to serve for a term in an interview with a Kaduna-based radio station, Liberty FM. He said it was on the basis of the said agreement that he and some of his colleagues supported the President in the 2011 presidential election.

His words: “What will be, will be in 2015.

We must remind people of the promises they have made. When he (Jonathan) was going to declare, governors of the PDP were brought together to ensure they were all in the same frame of mind. Some of us, given the PDP zoning, were expecting that the Northern states would produce the president for this number of years but God has done His own.

“At that discussion, it was agreed that President Jonathan would serve one term and we all signed and when he went to Kampala, he said the same thing. But for now, President Jonathan has not declared his candidacy and we must not be speculating based on who those are benefiting from such a thing. I believe that we are all gentlemen enough and when the time comes, we will all sit down and see what the right thing to do is.”

While the Presidency has challenged Aliyu to make public, the alleged pact, the outspoken Niger State governor has in turn alleged a plot to silence him. He also alleged that some political gladiators in Abuja have concluded arrangements to print posters with his portrait and a message, “Vote Babangida Aliyu for President,” and thereby pitch him against his party, which has placed an embargo on campaigns for the 2015 presidency.

In a statement by his chief press secretary, Danladi Ndayebo, Aliyu also claimed that some media houses have been commissioned to write negative reports against him as part of a grand design to discredit him.

The statement reads in part: “Governor Aliyu is a law-abiding member of the

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PDP: Grappling with seasonal implosion PDP and is very much aware of the party’s directive to members not to commence campaign for the 2015 presidential election. For the avoidance of doubt, Governor Aliyu has not declared for the presidency.

If anything, he is at the moment focused on delivering on the mandate given to him by the people of Niger State and would not be distracted.”

The other poser – the formation of the PDP Governors’ Forum-under the leadership of Governor Godswill Akpabio, is said to be a calculated attempt by the leadership of the ruling party and the Presidency to polarise the Rotimi Amaechi-led Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF).

Akpabio, a known ally of Jonathan, is believed to have what it takes to whittle the power and influence of Amaechi, who has been accused of working against the President’s re-election in 2015. The Rivers State governor is also said to be using his position to promote his ambition to serve as running mate to Governor Sule Lamido in the 2015 presidential election.

Expectedly, the power play has started manifesting with Akpabio vowing that all Judases in the party would be flushed out.

The governor, who spoke at a recent meeting with the PDP National Working Committee in Abuja, said: “What the PDP is trying to do now is to cleanse its house; to try to identify the ones they call Judases and say to them ‘go out, the train is moving.’ We will ask them not to remain standing otherwise we will crush them.

“There is an explosion of treachery, where there are more Judases than the number of disciples. We want to have good disciples. We know that even in Christendom when Jesus Christ had 12 disciples, there was only one Judas. But if the Judases were up to nine, then Jesus could have been in trouble, the gospel would have been in trouble today.”

The PDP National Chairman, Bamanga Tukur, who commended the emergence of the Akpabio-led group, noted that President Jonathan would now sleep well. “I can now tell Mr. President to sleep well. Now, if he has been sleeping for three hours before, I can even ask him to start observing his siesta regularly,” he said.

Will the President heed to Tukur’s advice and go to sleep? Analysts are of the view that acceptance of such counsel will amount to political suicide, as manoeuvrings in the ruling party over who flies its presidential flag is gradually gathering momentum.

Majority of the governors elected on the PDP platform are serving out their second terms and the presidency is likely to be their next target. Already, Governors Aliyu and Lamido are said to be interested in Jonathan’s job, while Amaechi has his eyes on the vice presidency.

With the second term bid of President Jonathan becoming clearer by the day despite the alleged pact, it is likely that the party is in for a replay of the intrigues that characterised its presidential primaries in 2003, 2007 and even 2011.

In 2003, for instance, a plot by some PDP governors to replace then President Olusegun Obasanjo with his vice, Atiku Abubakar, raised so much dust though Atiku later insisted on a joint ticket with his principal. The states were not left out, as those who contested the primaries with

Tukur

WHAT IS HAPPENING NOW WAS BOUND TO HAPPEN AND OUR MERGER COMING AT THIS TIME IS PROVIDING AN ALTERNATIVE FOR DISGRUNTLED

GOVERNORS, WHO ARE UNHAPPY WITH THE WAY THEY HAVE BEEN TREATED IN PDP

then incumbent governors were forced to quit the PDP for the opposition parties to actualise their dreams.

However, shortly after the polls, majority of the defectors returned to base.

While some of them were offered juicy appointments to calm frayed nerves, political watchers argued then that the reconciliation was a make-believe one, as the PDP is made up of politicians with divergent ideologies and that the relative peace would not stand the test of time. In line with their calculation, the bubble was to burst again in the build up to the 2007 general elections with the party witnessing more polarisation.

Several state chapters of the party saw the emergence of parallel executives that went as far as conducting their own congresses. The climax was the opening of a parallel national secretariat in Abuja by the Chief Solomon Lar-led faction. Lar is the first national chairman of the party. The group went ahead to announce a parallel National Executive Committee (NEC).

Some governors elected on the platform of the PDP then were said to have masterminded the plot and backed by the party’s members in the National Assembly, who stood against the botched third term agenda of Obasanjo.

The idea of a faction was said to have been considered as an option by the Lar group to win control of the party machin-

ery from the Obasanjo/Ahmadu Ali (then national chairman) faction, but the need to save the political careers of some PDP members of the National Assembly was largely responsible for it.

The Ali-led group was said to have concluded arrangements then to expel the affected lawmakers from the party over their refusal to support the stand of the party as regards the third term bid. The expulsion was due to be announced before the Lar group struck.

Reminiscent of the 2007 scenario and in line with the believe by many that internal squabbles have become part of the PDP whenever it is preparing for a major election, aggrieved members under the aegis of PDP Reform Group, led by former Senate President Ken Nnamani, emerged on the political scene in April 2010 (a year to the 2011 election), seeking a return to the ideologies of the party’s founding fathers.

But the then leadership of the PDP under Prince Vincent Ogbulafor rose against the ‘rebels’ and suspended them from the party. Among those affected then, apart from Nnamani were Adolphus Wabara, also a former Senate President; former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Bello Masari; ex-Governors Peter Odili and Achike Udenwa of Rivers and Imo states respectively.

While credit must be given to the party for the way it resolved these crises and many others in the past, Nigerians are however watching to see if the ‘Big Umbrella’ can withstand the current storm.

Already, the opposition parties’ alliance All Progressives Congress (APC), has expressed its preparedness to receive PDP governors sympathetic to Amaechi into its fold following the governors’ threats to leave the party.

National Publicity Secretary of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) – a member of the alliance - Lai Mohammed, who revealed this, said: “The four parties that formed APC; ACN, Congress for Progressive Change, All Nigeria People’s Party and All Progressives Grand Alliance are not the architect of PDP’s problems. In fact, the crisis PDP is facing today predates the coming together of these four parties.

But we will be the greatest beneficiaries of the disintegration of PDP. “On our own, we have not set out to destabilise the PDP, what is happening now was bound to happen and our merger coming at this time is providing an alternative for disgruntled governors, who are unhappy with the way they have been treated in PDP.” Mohammed said though none of the governors had officially discussed with the APC, they would be welcomed if they wanted to join the merger.

The aggrieved governors have cashedin on the ongoing review of the PDP’s constitution to threaten to leave the party if their views were not respected. At the 59th NEC of the party, which was also attended

by President Jonathan, they raised objections to a recommendation that membership of the NEC be increased.

Will they make good their threat or back out when the chips are down? Developments in the days ahead will determine, as politics has always remained strife of interest masquerading as a contest of principles.

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Politics

Wednesday March 13, 2013

Middle Belt no longer Nigeria’s sacrificial lamb –Omababa

YOU CAN’T CONTINUE TO LUMP US, THE

Barrister Abuka Onalo Omababa is the presidentgeneral of the United Middle Belt Youth Congress. In this interview with FELIX NWANERI, he speaks on the contentious issues of national conference, local government autonomy and regionalism. Excerpts:

Your group, The Patriots, recently called for a revolutionary approach to governance to save Nigeria from imminent collapse. What prompted such call?

Yes, I am a member of The Patriots that have the likes of Prof. Ben Nwabueze, Gen. Alani Akinriade, Adamu Ciroma, Felix Ibru and Ayo Adebanjo as members.

If you take a careful study of the country, you will observe that nothing is working.

Nigeria only exists in name without really being a country. Recently, we saw over 30 corpses dumped in a river in Anambra State, how do we kill our fellow citizens like that and still claim to be one. We have gone to a level where an average Nigerian is no longer sure of his safety; there is no hope for the youths and we are now a laughing stock before the international community. It is unfortunate that we have both human and natural resources in abundance but lack the leadership to manage them.

We should not continue to fold our hands and watch things degenerate further. It is high time we started gathering again at the Gani Fawehinmi Park at Ojota in Lagos and even the Eagle Square, Abuja to fight corruption, which is responsible for almost all our problems. It shouldn’t be only when there is an increase in the price of fuel that we should protest. We should occupy the Eagle Square and if possible, the Aso Villa to tell our leaders that we are tired of the cankerworm called corruption. Again, that is why some of us are insisting on a national dialogue because Nigeria, the way it is at present, is not a nation that we all craved for.

How then do you see the planned centenary celebration, given your belief that the present day Nigeria is not that country the people craved for?

I do not see what we are celebrating.

Are we celebrating hunger, political assassinations, Boko Haram insurgency or our bad roads? There is nothing to show that we have a reason to celebrate. There is no love amongst us; the leaders have destabilised us to the extent that all we see is tribal sentiment. There is no coherence among the various sections of the country for us to work together and achieve the desired greatness.

Some analysts believe that the ongoing constitutional amendment by the National Assembly will address the lack of coherence that you mentioned, while many insist on a national conference. On which side of the divide are you?

PEOPLE OF THE

MIDDLE BELT UNDER NORTHERN NIGERIA; AN ARRANGEMENT THAT WILL NOT ALLOW US TO PRODUCE THE PRESIDENT EVEN IF THE POSITION IS ZONED TO THE NORTH

Omababa

To me, the 1999 Constitution is not working at all. It has encouraged corruption in high places; it has also not protected Nigerians and to say it categorically, the country will not go anywhere with that constitution. So, the best thing for us to do is to sit down and come up with a people’s oriented constitution. Our sovereignty is not in the National Assembly.

Sovereignty continues to reside in us – the people. And that is why we are saying that we want to have a national conference in order to have another look at our union and determine how we want to live together as a people. You can’t continue to lump us, the people of the Middle Belt under Northern Nigeria; an arrangement that will not allow us to produce the president even if the position is zoned to the North. Nobody regards the people of the Middle Belt as capable of leading Nigeria. When there is going to be census or an election, we are together but when it comes to occupying the country’s number one position, we are not.

Look at the killings in Plateau, Benue and Nasarawa states, who are the ones perpetuating these evils? We should ask ourselves. Do you think that we want to continue to be the sacrificial lambs in this country? After telling ourselves that we will never go through the experience of a civil war again, some people are still killing their fellow citizens with reckless abandon. If it is not the Igbo, Yoruba or the people of the Niger Delta that are killing the Middle Belt people, then the question is: if we are brothers, why all these killings in the Middle Belt?

What exactly do we need; a new constitution or the will power to implement the existing one?

Yes, there is no will power to implement the present constitution that we have, but I am assuring you that the national conference that will come up with a people’s constitution, will ensure that whoever is in charge will have the political will to do

what is right. As it is now, the political will on the part of those in government is not there, and it is not something that you can just manufacture, but a brand new constitution that is fashioned by the people themselves will empower the president with the power to implement the laws to the letter.

Those opposed to the national conference have argued that only countries without governments convoke such conferences. They equally allayed the fears that such may lead to the disintegration of Nigeria.

If since 1960, we are still creeping, then there is need for a national conference.

Again, if they are talking about disintegration; we are saying that rather than the country to disintegrate, why don’t we have a conference to save it because the problems that are coming up daily are capable of breaking the country. People are dissatisfied with the system; there are grudges here and there. Are we going to continue to pretend that there are no problems until the country explodes? Is it when Nigeria explodes that we will call for a national conference?

Do you think the National Assembly lacks the capability to resolve these issues?

The members of the National Assembly as far as I am concerned have no right to say that our mandate belongs to them.

We have not ceded our sovereignty to the members of the National Assembly. We know that they exist, but we need to have a people’s constitution in which they too would be involved. We can’t continue to pretend to run a federal system of government when in reality, we don’t. We, the people of the Middle Belt believe that time has come for everyone to answer his father’s name.

When you say everyone should answer his father’s name, are you subscribing to the proposal for a return to regionalism?

I agree that we should return to regionalism, the Middle Belt want to be a federating unit, we want to have our own regional government, we want to control our resources, solid minerals and pay tax to the centre. The concentration of solid minerals in this country is in the Middle Belt and we believe that every region should

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manage its resources and contribute to the centre. We should allow the various regions to develop at their own pace because that is what federalism is all about.

Don’t you think your position will conflict with that of those calling for the creation of more states to correct the imbalance in the system?

The issue is not about creation of more states. If we return to regions, they can create the number of states they wish to correct any imbalance within their respective areas. True federalism will correct the imbalances in the system and at the same time allow resource control as well as ensure rapid growth of the regions. The absolute control of the nation’s resources by the centre is responsible for the crises in the polity. The centre has been made more attractive that everyone is struggling and killing in the process to control it. But the moment we make it less attractive through devolution of powers to the regions, you will see that there would be peace in the polity.

A contentious issue in the ongoing constitution amendment is autonomy for the local governments, which the state governors have vehemently opposed.

What is your take on the issue?

I see the local governments more relevant than the other tiers of government, so they must be granted autonomy. The administrations at the councils are ones easily assessable by the people. Those at the grassroots can easily walk into the office of their local government chairmen or councillors, which is not easy at the state or federal level. If we don’t develop the grassroots, it will be difficult to develop the country. So, I am in support of autonomy for the councils because it will also enable us to question how the people’s resources are being spent. A situation where funds meant for the local governments are channelled to them through the state governors who in turn, corner them under the guise of joint accounts does not make room for development at the grassroots. The local governments should have direct access to their funds in order to make meaningful impact on the lives of millions of Nigerians who live in the rural communities.

The battle for 2015 is getting more interesting, especially with the coming together of members of the opposition to form the All Progressive Congress (APC). Do you see the alliance working against the belief by some people that such has never succeeded in Nigeria’s political history?

I am not a politician but a national youth leader of the Middle Belt, so the feelings of the youths are what I will express. Their feelings are not about the 2015 elections. They want the country to assure them that there is hope; they want good education and job opportunities.

Elections come and go, but the people remain. So, we must look at issues that affect the people, most especially the youths and not the 2015 elections, if we are to achieve our developmental goals. Let us empower our youths by providing them with jobs. The government should also create the enabling environment that will attract investments. All these are what we should be bothering ourselves with and not the 2015 elections.

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Views

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

17

Capitalising on our new-found dawn DAVID ATTAH

T

he heroic victory of the Super Eagles of Nigeria at the recently concluded 2013 African Cup of Nations will continue to dominate national discourse for a long time as commentators on public affairs address issues connected with it from different perspectives. From what has been said so far, everybody seems to agree that the feat of the Super Eagles has ushered in a new dawn in the country. Observers also agree that football has become the greatest rallying point for Nigeria. It is also seen as our most precious national asset and a potent social leveller.

The veracity of this claim can be attested to from the way Nigerians irrespective of their situation in life trooped out enthusiastically to welcome home their heroes. Unlike our other national assets like oil, which drive groups apart, football provides a veritable rallying point in true love and friendship.

The question on the lips of concerned Nigerians therefore, is whether the heroism of our worthy patriots will sufficiently motivate and challenge policy makers and the rest of us to scale off our old skin or, it is going to be business as usual given our characteristic unwillingness to learn from history?

It is needless to say that any country that fails to learn from history is doomed to repeat the same mistake with disastrous consequences. God forbid it. We shall not have dusk at dawn this time around.

The Federal Government has a critical

role to play in this process as the prime mover of actions. Evidence abounds of promises made in the past but only kept in the breach. If our lads can defy all odds to conquer Africa, the rest of us too can do our best even if our best is not good enough.

The tendency is to feel that since we have lavished cash gift and other benefits, including national honours on our worthy soccer ambassadors, our duty to God and man is done. Far from it; we shall be all eyes down looking and will not hesitate to call offenders to order. It is a new dawn and everybody must imbue the spirit.

This is why this writer is happy that the Governor of Plateau State, Da Jonah Jang, captured the real essence of football being the greatest unifying force when he pointed out with a sense of nostalgia and pride that as many as five members of the victorious Super Eagles namely, Mikel Obi, Ahmed Musa, Onazi Ogenyi, Victor Moses and Sunday Mba, had their football roots in Jos. Until very recently, Jos was indeed, the soccer destination for Nigerian players. Apart from the beautiful weather, Jos was a place where Nigerians lived together in peace and harmony irrespective of their ethnoreligious differences.

With the benefit of hindsight and history, notable players who had come from the Plateau football stable, included famous names like Sam Garba, Christopher Udumeze, Austin Power, Mathematical Segun Odegbami, Garba Lawal, the three Atuegbu brothers, Lai Olagbenro, Sule Kekere, Nda Liman and Baba Otoo Mohammed.

Others were Akale Dafe, Okey Isima, Ar-

OBSERVERS ALSO AGREE THAT FOOTBALL HAS BECOME THE GREATEST RALLYING POINT FOR

NIGERIA. IT IS ALSO SEEN AS OUR MOST PRECIOUS NATIONAL

ASSET AND A POTENT SOCIAL LEVELLER thur Egbunam, Shola Popo, Sunday Daniel, Sani Ibrahim, Nakande, Batande and Adeyemi. The list is by no means inexhaustible.

These players were either playing for the famous Mighty Jets, Pen Powers, Dynamos, JIB Rocks, JUTH or the Plateau Highlanders. Many of them also played for the senior national team or in the age grade categories.

Jos has also produced coaches who made and still making their marks at the national level. They include James Peter, Garba Lawal, Bitrus Bewerang, Goalkeeper Dualong and Innocent Ogbe. Many of us who also had our career roots in Jos share the sense of nostalgia with Governor Jang and hope and pray that the glory days would return for Jos to regain its fame as a soccer haven and home to all Nigerians.

As people comment on various aspects of the Super Eagles’ example in the days ahead, it is difficult to ignore the arrow-

head, Steven Keshi, the man of the moment. Frankly speaking, this is the finest hour in his coaching career. The elements seem very well mixed in the personality of Okechukwu. It is hoped that the meddlesomeness of some over-zealous sports administrators and armed-chair critics will ease and let Keshi be.

In the days of old when football was played on amateur basis, the main interest was the love of the game and nothing else. Then television and telecast was not as pervading. Radio was the medium used then, and on match days people preferred to take with them their transistor radio to the stadium.

Adieu Okey Isima I received the sad news of Okey Isima’s death as I was finishing this piece. Curiously, Okey called a couple of months ago to say he would come to see me in Makurdi. He refused to disclose who gave him my phone number, but I guessed he must have gotten it from the newspapers. However, how many people would want to stay in touch after such a long break when he played for my team, the “Pen Powers” in the late 70s.

His demise is a huge loss to Nigeria. He was humble, loyal and very professional.

With the death of this lovely player, our new-found dawn has suffered a partial eclipse. Adieu, a great soccer ambassador.

Chief (Hon) Attah, david.attah@yahoo.com, was chief press secretary to the late General Sani Abacha

Memo to Honourable Minister of Finance YUSHAU A. SHUAIB Dear Madam Minister, CONTORVERSIAL CONTRACT APPOINTMENTS Continued from last yesterday

N

o sooner than the Yoruba allegation was made than the Northern Senators Forum (NSF) also publicly lamented gaping marginalization against the North over appointments and promotions in the military. According to these distinguished Nigerians, there are lopsidedness in employment and postings in the Nigerian Army in favour of the Igbo, which is clearly in the breach of the principle of federal character.

You should be aware that many Nigerians are referring to a book, ‘Chinua Achebe Teacher of Light’ which you co-authored where you expressed bitterness about how your tribe was dealt with before, during and after the civil war and insinuating that now that you are in authority, you are determined to correct all that you perceived as injustice against your people. Some insist that what you are doing now is promoting regional and ethnic agenda to the detriment of other groupings in Nigeria by manipulating appointments.

To drive the point home, your name has been lately mentioned as collaborating with another Igbo top ranking appointee in government to ensure the reinstallation of Ms

MY DEAR MADAM MINISTER, FOR THOSE OF US WHO STILL RESPECT YOU, WE STRONGLY

BELIEVE YOU SHOULD DISSOCIATE YOURSELF FROM CURRENT ALLEGATIONS OF

‘BIAFRANIZATION’ OF TOP PUBLIC OFFICES IN

NIGERIA

Arunma Oteh as Director General of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) despite the glaring allegations against her and consistent calls by the National Assembly for her removal. You stood your ground, damning all and today, she remains in the position.

While the debate on Oteh’s saga was yet to subside, a coalition of youths, led by human rights activist and President of Civil Rights Congress, Shehu Sani, queried the rationale behind the appointment of a new Chairman for the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) when a northerner, Kabir Mashi was already in the position and improving the revenue base of the agency, especially VAT collection for the Federation Account.

The group claimed that the committee that you set up was a smokescreen just to

give a semblance of due process and fairness whereas it was populated mainly by your Igbo kinsmen. They added that “We don’t believe there is transparency in the process, and we caution the President against the excessive ceding of his own power to the finance minister.”

They publicly criticized you of playing an ethnic game with many of the appointments made in the country since you returned to the saddle. Some of the other positions which were created and filled during this period include those of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Sovereign Wealth Fund, Nigeria Communication Commission (NCC) and even the recent appointment of a 40 year old lady as Director General of National Pension Commission (PENCOM).

People are wondering at the coincidence of only Igbos beating every other person at competitive interviews conducted by your nominated international consulting groups.

The only semblance of federal character principle in some of those institutions is the appointment of ceremonious but temporary chairmen who are merely figure-heads, with mandates for mere advisory roles.

The use of catchy phrases such as “best brains” foreign trained, and foreign-based to deprived qualified, competent and experienced Nigerians to aspire to top positions is quite inimical to the progress of our nation. The erroneous impression that some competitive and sensitive positions can only be filled by unique intelligent tribes must be corrected.

Experiences have shown that in practical

situations, some so-called foreign trained and bookish first class graduates could not do better than other Nigerians who have the competence and experience to prove their worth in difficulty terrain.

You should also note that blatant disregard to the sensitivities and sensibilities of others while arrogantly promoting only people from your ethnic group may expose them to hatred with potentially explosive consequences such as those experienced in the 1960s when most federal positions were occupied by the Igbos.

My dear Madam Minister, for those of us who still respect you, we strongly believe you should dissociate yourself from current allegations of ‘Biafranization’ of top public offices in Nigeria. We are in democratic government where policy issues should not be done in dictatorial manner of ‘we-are-now-in-power’.

I therefore urge you to ensure that appointment into important positions should be done in credible and transparent manners that can withstand public scrutiny.

Concluded.

Shuaib, Shuaibyashuaib@yahoo.com wrote from Finance Estate, Wuye, Abuja 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

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Wednesday, March 13, 2013

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HEAD, GRAPHICS

Killing of four Nasarawa State University students

A

peaceful protest over water scarcity and power outage staged recently by students of the Nasarawa State University, Keffi (NSUK) within the precincts of the institution turned violent and resulted in the killing, by yet unidentified gunmen, of four students; with several others injured and hospitalized. One eyewitness account gave the number of casualties as three persons namely: Emmanuel Buba, a 300 level Physics student; Aminu Usman, a 400 level Geography student; and another yet-to-be identified student. Subsequent reports, however, confirmed that four students lost their lives.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Nasarawa State Police Command, Michael Ada, confirmed the killings and the injured students receiving treatment from gunshot injuries; but denied that the police had any hand in the shooting of the students. He claimed that the police merely used tear gas canisters to disperse the protesting students who barricaded the Abuja-Keffi highway, caused traffic gridlock and breached the peace in the axis. The Army, Ada said, might have some explanations for the shooting that led to the fatalities. But while the Director of Army Public Relations,

NO ACADEMIC INSTITUTION IS

COMPLETE AND SAFE, THAT FAILS TO MAKE ADEQUATE PROVISIONS FOR INDISPENSABLE, BASIC AMENITIES Brigadier-General Ibrahim Attahiru, confirmed that it took the combined efforts of the 177 Guard Battalion troops from Shittu Alao Barracks and other security operatives drafted to the scene to quell the riot and restore normalcy, he denied allegations that the soldiers involved in the operation shot and killed the students. In other words, the police used tear gas canisters in dispersing the protesting students; and the soldiers did not shoot at them, but used bare hands or, perhaps, nothing at all to disperse “the rampaging students”, using Attahiru’s exact words. Quite incredible! Who then shot and killed the four students?

Of major concern and worrisome is the emerging penchant of university administrators to invite soldiers to handle students’ disturbances. Why did the authorities of NSUK invite

soldiers to quell the students’ uprising, when policemen trained to handle civil disturbances are not in short supply?

In December 2012, authorities of the University of Abuja similarly called in soldiers to evict students from the hostels; and the soldiers allegedly traumatized and dehumanized the students, according to reports. The root cause of NSUK students’ restiveness – water scarcity, portrays the mournful state of infrastructure and social amenities in most public tertiary institutions nationwide. Why should the management of the university allow water scarcity to reach such a crisis point that warranted the protests and confrontation with the nation’s security forces, whose appetite for extra judicial killing is legendary?

Although the Army and the police have denied complicity in the heartless killings, we do not believe that the students shot and killed themselves.

That is why the House of Representatives’ interest in investigating the matter is gratifying. Reports said the House has instructed its Committee on Army, Security and Police Affairs to carry out a thorough inquiry on the unlawful killings within two weeks and report back to it for further legislative actions. The Nasarawa

State House of Assembly and the human rights community all have likewise condemned the killings in no less strong terms and are insistent that appropriate steps are taken to bring the perpetrators to justice. Indeed, nothing but fishing out the culprits and bringing them to book would suffice in reining in the imprudent and brutal management of students’ crisis by the nation’s security agencies; when rubber bullets have been repeatedly recommended in such circumstances. The security forces should be restrained from handling civil protests with live bullets; especially when it is the fundamental right of citizens to protest against perceived injustices.

President Goodluck Jonathan should be commended for swiftly doling out N20 million to NSUK’s authorities in the aftermath of the crisis, to enable them quickly address the water problem. Water is a basic necessity that ought to have been put in place before the university commenced serious academic activities.

One bold statement made by the recent fracas and deaths in NSUK is that no academic institution is complete and safe, that fails to make adequate provisions for indispensable, basic amenities.

ON THIS DAY March 13, 2008 Gold prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange hit $1,000 per ounce for the first time. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. It is a chemical element with the symbol Au (aurum in Latin, meaning glow of sunrise) and atomic number 79. In chemistry and physics, the atomic number (also known as the proton number) is the number of protons found in the nucleus of an atom and, therefore, identical to the charge number of the nucleus.

March 13, 1997 India’s Missionaries of Charity chose Sister Nirmala to succeed Mother Teresa as its leader. Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, born Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu (August 26, 1910 – September 5, 1997), was an ethnic Albanian, Indian Roman Catholic nun. Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity, a Roman Catholic religious congregation, which in 2012, consisted of over 4,500 sisters and is active in 133 countries.

March 13, 1957 Cuban student revolutionaries stormed the presidential palace in Havana in a failed attempt on the life of President Fulgencio Batista. Batista (January 16, 1901 – August 6, 1973) was the elected President of Cuba from 1940 to 1944 and dictator from 1952 to 1959, before being overthrown as a result of the Cuban Revolution. Batista initially rose to power as part of the 1933 “Revolt of the Sergeants” that overthrew the authoritarian rule of Gerardo Machado.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

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Health & Wellbeing Don’t patronise commercial blood donors –LUTH CMD

Fibroid surgery, not death sentence –Gynaecologist

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Help, somebody!

TOBORE OVUORIE

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e was the youngest patient at the dialysis unit of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, Idi-Araba when National Mirror visited last Wednesday. At 20, Emmanuel Odutola requires a new set of kidneys to stay alive. Lying critically ill with bloated legs, hands, face alongside several needles piercing different parts of his body, he is obviously going through intense pains, not just from the dialysis needles, but more from the realization that his kidneys---the pair of vital organs he needs to clear waste products from his body-- have packed up and only a replacement would save him from imminent death. His main preoccupation is how to raise the sum of N8 million doctors say he will need for a kidney transplant.

“I want Nigerians to help me with a transplant; I’m an orphan and sincerely need help. I really want to live but do not have the money for the transplant. Nigerians should please help me” he struggled to mutter as this reporter walked towards him.

Since December 26th, 2012, Emmanuel has been undergoing dialysis, a blood cleansing procedure to remove waste products from his body since his kidneys can no longer perform that function. He has been undergoing the painful regimen at least three times a week, and spends not less than four hours at a stretch lying on the bed each time he undergoes the procedure.

Sadly, doctors at LUTH say the dialysis cannot sustain him; they have advised he undergoes kidney transplant as the kidney failure is at the end stage and cannot be revived. Unfortunately, though he has two willing donors, Emmanuel is an orphan who has been living from handto-mouth thus cannot afford the needed N8 million to keep him alive.

Going down memory lane, Emmanuel managed to whisper to our reporter by his bedside in the teaching hospital that “It started December 2012 when I was in a friend’s house. I discovered that I was vomiting; it was just a sudden thing, there was no symptom at all. I initially thought it was malaria or typhoid, so I went to Regina Mundi Hospital here in Lagos thinking I would be treated for malaria.

“On getting there, they discovered that my Blood Pressure (BP) was very high and when by the next day they still hadn’t been able to do anything about it and I wasn’t improving, I was referred to LUTH. That same day, December 26th, my friend and his mother brought me to the Emergency ward of LUTH, where the whole story changed. It was subsequently discovered I was not down with malaria, rather, my kidneys had problems, so I needed dialysis”.

Getting the money for that initial dialysis was an uphill task for his friend and the mother. They ransacked the whole of Lagos looking for who to assist or loan them N60, 000, fortunately, Miss. Miranda Onyedum, his friend’s aunt actually came to the rescue. However, reality later dawned on them that the battle for survival had only begun.

Miss Onyedum further told National Mirror: “I came to LUTH to pay for the first dialysis thinking it was a one-off thing. The first was N60,000. After I came back, it was then

20-year-old kidney patient cries out

Emmanuel undergoing dialysis at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH last week.

I got to know that it wasn’t a one-off thing, but I couldn’t leave him alone because nobody was there for him.

“He was admitted in LUTH in December 26th from my aunt’s house. He moved in with them because he had nowhere to stay after he was done with high school, at St. Theresa’s Minor Seminary, Oke Are, Ibadan. He was the Senior Prefect there and he and my cousin were classmates and friends. His grandmother, who is very old, has no accommodation, so he had nowhere to stay, thus, moved in with my aunt. I came to discharge him and took him to my house, since then he’s been living with me.

“I’ve been footing the bills ever since, we come here three times in a week, from Ajah. It’s really a pathetic story because a young man of this age without any root--- no parents, aunts, uncles, sisters or brothers, it’s a really a terrible condition, so I really wish and pray Nigerians would render urgent assistance and in good time because the suffering and crisis is too much for this young man”.

Emmanuel’s father died 12 years ago while his mother

You can assist Emmanuel Odutola by paying your donation into this account: Save Emmanuel, 1013320882, Zenith Bank Ajah. You can also reach Emmanuel on 08053283932 or Miranda on 07033582485.

also died six years ago. Before her death, he never lived with his dad because his parents were not married. But upon his mother’s death, he had on several occasions gone to his father’s people, but rejected repeatedly. They claim his father never told them about him.

However, with his present condition, and help coming from nowhere, Miranda sought elderly men in her church who are from Emmanuel’s hometown to go plead with the family. This was also futile.

Life, indeed, has not been palatable for Emmanuel. He is only able to pass out waste while on the dialysis machine or immediately after dialysis. A day after the transfusion, he finds it difficult to urinate or pass out faeces; the reason for his swollen body. Besides this, he encounters several other difficulties.

“He has difficulty in breathing at night; he coughs always, has chest pain, and is always crying at night. Sometimes we leave Ajah by 2am to come to LUTH when these crises get out of hand. The doctors are advising on transplant because he is at the end stage. Right now, the kidneys cannot be revived. We’ve been given transplant as the only option of saving him.

“The transplant outside the country without transportation is N7 million, depending on where it is done while at St. Nicholas here in Nigeria, it is N8 million. He has two people who are willingly to donate their kidneys but the money is the major challenge” Miranda added.

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Wednesday, March 13, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

International Women’s Day: Not so good news from Nigeria TOBORE OVUORIE

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t a time the world is celebrating tremendous strides in women’s health and equality, Nigeria has been rated among countries with high rate of violence against women, maternal mortality, and poor reproductive health.

As the 2013 International Women’s Day and mother’s day were globally marked respectively over the weekend, statistics from Africa Health, Human and Social Development (Afri-Dev) Alliance, and Africa Coalition On Maternal, Newborn And Child Health show that institutionalized violence through forced marriage of underage girls is now one of the strongest contributing factors to high maternal mortality, high HIV prevalence amongst young girls, child mortality, and high adolescent fertility in Africa among which Nigeria ranked high.

Latest research and scorecard by the health nonprofit groups which seek better welfare packages for women in Africa indicate that Nigeria is one of the 30 countries where between 30%-75% of underage girls are forced into marriage.

Nigeria again scored low in the category for adolescent, youth and reproductive health as she was grouped alongside nations with high adolescent fertility but which isn’t being properly managed as a result of forced marriages and other violence against women and the girl child.

“On maternal mortality, the 30 countries where between 30%75% of underage girls are forced into ‘marriage’ also include 26 of the 30 countries with the highest maternal mortality.

“These countries are Chad, Somalia, Central African Rep, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Sudan, Cameroon, Nigeria, Guinea, Niger, Zimbabwe, Congo, DRC, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Malawi, Tanzania, Zambia, Cote‘divore, Senegal, Gambia, Benin, Ethiopia, Uganda and Burkina Faso.

“On adolescent, youth and reproductive health, the 30 countries where between 30%-75% of underage girls are forced into ‘marriage’ also include 26 of the 30 countries with the highest ad-

olescent fertility.

“These countries are Niger, Chad, Mali, Mozambique, Liberia, Malawi, Uganda, Guinea, Zambia, Madagascar, Gabon, Sierra Leone, Cameroon, Dem Rep Congo,Cent. African Rep, Congo, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Somalia, Tanzania, Benin, Cote d I’vore, Ethiopia, Gambia, Zimbabwe, Senegal” the research result disclosed.

The result which was made available Friday during the sitting of the United Nations Commission on status of women at the UN headquarters, New York further revealed that over an estimated 37 million girls since year 2000 have been affected while these are undermining Africa’s investment in health, the efficiency of our health services and overall efforts of governments and development partners on maternal health, child health and HIV over the past 12 Years.

Indeed, from the capital city of Abuja to other state capitals such as Maiduguri, Borno state; Ilorin, Kwara state; Enugu, Enugu state; Minna in Niger state among others, Nigerian women and girls are daily faced with various preventable problems which often cost them their lives thus further frustrate prospects of the country achieving the MDG 4 and 5 respectively.

For instance, Nigeria’s fertility control status is at an abysmal level as the average total fertility for uneducated women is more than twice that of women who have had above secondary education. The 2008 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) report, however indicate that only 10% of married women of reproductive age use contraceptives in the country, well below the current Sub-Saharan Africa average of 17%.

WE NEED BOTH POLITICAL WILL AND FINANCIAL COMMITMENTS TO DELIVER THE SERVICES WOMEN WANT AND NEED

AGONY OF A MOTHER: More children still dying of preventable diseases in Nigeria.

Menard-Freeman

Recent analysis of the country’s total Contraceptive Prevalence Rate (CPR) indicated that good reproductive health practice is still poor in the country. It has also been discovered to be very low among teenagers though most of them are sexually active, with many of them giving birth to babies they never planned for.

Women’s health not being prioritized has however been discovered as a major reason for all these preventable but life costing challenges. In an exclusive interview with National Mirror, Lindsay Menard-Freeman, Advocacy and Communications Manager at Women Deliver, a global advocacy organization working to reduce maternal mortality and achieve universal access to reproductive health disclosed that: “Historically, women’s health issues have not been prioritized. In fact, progress toward MDG 5 has been the slowest of all the MDGs – and it’s not

for a lack of solutions that work.

“We know how to save women’s lives and increase access to contraceptives, but to do this successfully, we need both political will and financial commitments to deliver the services women want and need. For too long, maternal health and reproductive health have been seen as ‘women’s issues,’ but they are not.

They are everyone’s issues. It is up to all leaders- from Washington D.C. to Lagos – to ensure that these issues receive the attention and the funding they deserve”.

But the Federal Government however says it has made progress so far. In a publication titled “2010 to 2015: Achieving the MDGs” Dr. Shamsudeen Usman, Minister/Deputy Chair, National Planning Commission stated in his forward message that “The five key areas in which Nigeria has made remarkable progress are the eradication of extreme

poverty and hunger; the achievement of universal primary education; the promotion of gender equality and the empowerment of women; combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; and the achievement of a global partnership for development”.

But recent records dispute Dr. Usman’s claims as no fewer than 1,000 women and girls die daily as a result of pregnancy related complications. A woman’s chance of dying from pregnancy and childbirth in Nigeria is 1 in 18, while it is 1 in 10,200 in Netherlands and 1 in 17,400 for Sweden.

Again, the country still maintains its rank as one of the worst top 10 countries in the world with an under 5 mortality rate of 189 deaths per 1000 births.

Infant mortality rate of 90/1000 compared to 73/1000 in Ghana, 54/1000 for India and 2/1000 for Iceland.

To make a difference in the lives of girls and women in the country, Menard-Freeman advice that Nigeria: “Needs strong political will, real economic investment and extraordinary leadership – and when we have all three of these things, anything is possible. While achieving the MDGs in many African countries will be difficult, we must not let challenges deter us from achieving our common goals.

“We must hold our leaders accountable for the pledges they have made to girls and women in their countries and ensure that progress continues until all girls and women, everywhere, have access to the family planning and maternal health services they want, need and deserve.

“As we always say at Women Deliver, “‘investing in girls and women is not only the right thing to do; it is also the smart thing to do.’ We know for a fact that when we invest in girls and women, families, communities and nations thrive”.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Health & Wellbeing

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

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Fibroid surgery, not death sentence –Gynaecologist From the medical angle, what is the simplest way to explain fibroid?

It is a form of abnormality that we find in the uterine wall and usually, it is like a hard tissue inside the uterine wall. That is the simplest explanation that I can give to fibroid. Which means there is fibroid tissue in the uterine wall. You can call it uterine fibroid and when we have such a thing occurring in women, it can cause a symptom or may not even cause anything in the woman and that is why we need to educate our women to know that anybody that has uterine fibroid does not necessarily mean they have a spiritual problem. In whatever case, it is a medical problem that can be solved. We can’t really pin down the cause of uterine fibroid but we’ve discovered it in oestrogen which women secrete. There is a particular receptor which leads to fibroid. It grows bigger when there is oestrogen in the person. That is why fibroid will keep growing in any woman until the woman is no more menstruating because when the woman is no more menstruating, we expect that the oestrogen level of that woman will be very low and that uterine fibroid will start shrinking. Virtually all women have fibroid. From statistics, we discover that at least 3 out of every 10 women on the street have fibroid but the issue is that it is only when it starts causing problem that most of them will come to the hospital. Several of them will live with it and die with it without it causing any problem in them. The only period that we discover it is when we want to do operation for them on another thing, may be through caesarean section or if after death, there is now a reason for them to do autopsy and we start seeing the fibroid. Several women have fibroid and if it is not symptomatic, they live their normal life and there won’t be any problem. So, any woman with fibroid should not see herself as the only one that is having such an issue because most women have it but the only difference is that in some women, it may grow bigger and in the others it may not.

At what level does it become symptomatic?

Symptoms of uterine fibroid that are disturbing includes the fact that it may grow bigger such that some women may not be pregnant and their abdomen will be looking so big. There are some other things that could cause this like ovarian mass and some other ailments.

Some other symptoms could occur, for instance, when a woman starts bleeding more than necessary during menses. Usually some women may be seeing their period within 2 to 5 days but now, the patient now has to see it for one week. That is when we begin to suspect that the patient has fibroid. Sometimes, the patient may not even see it for a long time but the number of pad that she uses may be increasing. Some will even need to be transfused after menses and most of the time; anybody without fibroid may not bleed like that. Some of them come up with serious menstrual pain. The pains become excessively

Dr Gbenga Olorunfemi, a Senior Registrar at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), says contrary to the general belief in the country, uterine fibroid is not a spiritual problem, but a medical condition which can be easily managed, especially when reported early and handled by a competent medical practitioner. In this interview with LATEEFAH IBRAHIM-ANIMASHAUN, Olorunfemi dispels the fear that fibroid is always life threatening, especially when surgery is required. Excerpts bigger the women, the more oestrogen they produce.

What can we do to prevent the fibroid?

We can’t really pin down for now the dos and don’ts of fibroid So when does fibroid become dangerous?

When a patient starts having so much pain with menses, the abdomen growing big like a four or five months pregnancy, bleeding excessively during menses to the extent that she almost faints during her cycle and she has to use so much pad. When we notice and ask a woman about all these symptoms and she answers “no” to all these questions and she has all her children, we don’t even bother to tell her about it.

This means that the fibroid is not a problem to the person. We only treat a fibroid that is a problem to the person.

Olorunfemi

serious that she cannot go about her normal activities; it also causes painful sexual intercourse at times. Then, we start thinking of treating her.

There is also a myth that people with uterine fibroid cannot get pregnant but I want to say now that there are several women that have uterine fibroid and they are pregnant and have delivered.

Although there are some people that have uterine fibroid and because of this uterine fibroid, they are not able to get pregnant. The difference between the two cases is the size and location of the fibroid. At some points it affects the space in the womb such that the baby will not be able to stay. It also depends on the position of the fibroid. If it is lying in between the uterus, inside, it may prevent pregnancy but if it is lying just outside the peripheral, it may not affect pregnancy. Then we have cases where the fibroid blocks the tube. In this case, it can also prevent pregnancy and for that, we have to remove the fibroid. If those two factors are not there, several women can have fibroid and get pregnant. We have more people that have fibroid and conceive than those who are not able to conceive with the fibroid. At least, 70 percent of women that has fibroid will conceive. Only about 30 percent that have the fibroid in some certain locations may may not be pregnant.

These are the ones that we need to treat.

Does fibroid has any link with early or late marriage?

IT IS BETTER FOR THEM TO COME EARLY AND GO FOR THE SURGERY ON TIME BECAUSE WHETHER THEY LIKE

IT OR NOT, THEY WILL STILL COME BACK FOR THE SURGERY For us, when we talk about fibroid and marriage, we talk about it in the sense that if a patient has fibroid, we want to remove the fibroid when she is ready to get pregnant or ready to get married because if you remove it when she is not ready and she waits for another five or six years, the fibroid can grow again. That is why we advise women that they should do the fibroid operation when they are married or close to when they will get married so that by the time the fibroid is off, they can have their children. Even if it will re-grow, they would have had their children. We avoid a case where we start doing the fibroid operation twice before the person will get pregnant or marry. Apart from this, there is no serious relationship between marriage and fibroid.

Patients that are obese are also likely to have a bigger fibroid than patients that are not because they produce more oestrogen than the others because the

Why is the surgery so much dreaded by people?

Every surgical procedure in the world has its own complications but if you are trained as a gynaecologist, the complication will be less. Generally now, the complication level is very very low because we have some modern techniques. There could be excessive bleeding at times but I won’t say because of this complication; someone who needs the surgery should not have it. Just make sure you go to competent medical practitioners What is your general advice to women on fibroid?

When they hear about uterine fibroid they shouldn’t equate it with death because there are several women who have fibroid and they are living comfortably with it. Generally, my advice is that fibroid operation is very safe if you come for it early. The complication will be less than when it is very big. By the time you start having the symptoms I mentioned earlier, you should come to the hospital. Some will come and after telling them to come for the surgery, they run away and come back four years later. By the time they come back, the fibroid would have grown so big that the risk will be high.

If it is done early, complications will be low when compared to doing it when it is late. So, it is better for them to come early, believe God and go for the surgery on time because whether they like it or not, they will still come back for the surgery. That is the difference between us and the Europeans. They come early and they do the surgery very early without complication but we deal with big fibroids here because we wait till they grow so big. Come up for treatment as early as possible.

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National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

‘Mothers should be more concerned about menstrual pains’ SEKINAH L AWAL

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L-R: Chairman Ikotun-Igando Local Council Development Area, Mrs. Morenike Williams; Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Fashola; member Lagos State House of Assembly, representing Alimosho 1, Hon. Bisi Yusuf and Senior Sales Manager, Multi Pro-Enterprise (HYPO), Mr. Jude Nzeata, during the 2013 National Immunization Plus Day in Ayobo area of Lagos, recently.

Don’t patronise commercial blood donors –LUTH CMD TOBORE OVUORIE

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atients requiring blood transfusion services at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital, LUTH, Idi Araba, Lagos have been warned to desist from patronising commercial blood donors. The warning came on the heels of the arrest of a suspected tout within the hospital premises while attempting to supply a blood donor to a desperate patient in need of blood.

LUTH’s Chief Medical Director, Prof. Akin Oshibogun who gave the warning recently, noted that it is an entrenched policy of the health institution not to sell blood to patients.

“LUTH does not encourage touts. The hospital actively discourages commercial blood donors for many reasons. Blood donated by touts is often of poor value and a high percentage of it is rife with diseases, rendering the blood unfit for human usage. Even if donated, such blood will not pass stringent screening process and will be discarded.

“A voluntary blood donor suffers no adverse effect from donating a pint of blood which may save a life.

Every donor is tested and certified fit before donation.

“Because of these and many other undesirable reasons, relatives of patients are strongly warned against patronising commercial blood donors. No-

tices are also boldly pasted all over the Hospital, warning touts to keep off our premises.

“Sadly though, many relatives refuse to donate blood for their patients with the untrue excuse that they do not have enough blood to give away, a popular myth among many cultures in Nigeria.”

He said patients’ relatives are usually requested to donate blood for the treatment or surgery of their patients before treatment or elective surgery or after treatment in cases of emergencies.

Commenting on the arrested blood tout, 26-year-old Mordecai Chidi Nwosu from Anambra State, Oshibogun said he (tout) confirmed the illegality of his business to

which some Nigerians are drawn because of the prevailing poverty and rampant unemployment in the land.

“Another tout driven out of LUTH premises confessed that he now operates outside the hospital premises because of the security arrangement in place within the hospital. There is no known law against donating your blood for a fee; hence, it is difficult to successfully prosecute such habitual practice.

“It is our hope that the press will educate Nigerians on the advantages of voluntary blood donation and the inherent dangers of patronising commercial blood donors. LUTH shall continue to use its professional capabilities within the law to stave off the menace of touts in its daily operations,” he remarked.

IPAN, NAFDAC face-off: Minister sues for peace MARCUS FATUNMOLE ABUJA

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inister of Health, Prof.Onyebuchi Chukwu,has waded into the crisis between the Institute of Public Analysts of Nigeria (IPAN) and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), calling on the duo to sheath their swords.

This step, the Minister said, became necessary between the two institutions that are at loggerhead over alleged interference with each others’ responsibilities.

Addressing a delegation of IPAN, led by the Registrar/Chief Executive of

the institute, Prof. David Segun Oluleye, who paid him a visit in Abuja, recently the Minister noted that the dispute between the two agencies did not augur well for the health sector.

He added that the two agencies should strive to

resolve the issues causing disaffection between them.

While assuring them of his support, Prof Onyebuchi called on the two agencies to execute their mandates according to the acts that established them to ensure Nigerians have affordable and quality health

care services.

Earlier, in his address, Registrar of IPAN, Prof.

David Segun, said the purpose of the visit was to intimate the Minister on some pending issues IPAN had withNAFDAC and to find a way of resolving them.

clarion call has gone to mothers to be more concerned about menstrual pain and stop seeing it as a normal thing.

This appeal came from the Medical Director of Nordica Fertility Centre, Dr. Abayomi Ajayi and Chief Nike Osinowo while creating awareness on the need to be more enlightened about a medical condition called Endometriosis.

Osinowo, who is the face and living testimony of Endometriosis, urged mothers to endeavour to seek medical attention on time if their teenagers keep complaining of stomach ache before or during their menses. “There is nothing normal in pains, it only indicates that something is wrong, hence the need to be sure it is not Endometriosis. We need to do this on time in order to reduce the many adverse effects

Etisalat supports Ekiti healthcare delivery L ATEEFAH IBRAHIMANIMASHAHUN

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o aid healthcare delivery service in Ekiti state, Etisalat Nigeria has donated a 20kva generator to the General Hospital, Aramoko, Ekiti State The donation has been referred to as part of the community relations initiatives of the telecommunication company in the country to impact on the lives of residents of its immediate community.

Representative of the Director, Government and Regulatory Affairs, Mr. Abbas Ismail emphasized Etisalat’s commitment to empowerment and social responsibility, especially in the areas of health and education.

Universal blood donors take case to Bonny Cantonment BUKOLA ADEJOKUN

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call has gone to the Nigerian Army to help enlighten Nigerians on blood-related issues. This call was made recently by Prince Charles Anyasi, President and Founder of Universal Blood Donors Develop-

ment Centre (UNIBLOOD), an NGO fighting the cause of universal donors in Africa and the developing world.

Addressing the soldiers at the Nigerian Army School of Public Relations, Bonny Cantonment, Anyasi lamented the apathy on blood donations due to ignorance, noting that those

at the receiving end are universal donors who cannot receive blood from any other group, whereas they have the capacity to donate to virtually every human.

Anyasi, a universal donor, who had earlier led delegations to several other places, including the University of Lagos and JC International, gave the

of Endometriosis which include excruciating pains and infertility.”

According to Dr. Ajayi, Endometriosis affects over 70 million women worldwide and is more common than breast cancer and diabetes.

“Endometriosis is the presence of endometriallike tissue (the womb lining tissue) found outside the uterus, which induces a chronic, inflammatory reaction and is associated with pain, sub-fertility and impaired quality of life. The prevalence of endometriosis in the female population is said to be 8-10 per cent of women in reproductive years and 2050 per cent of those with infertility.”

Relating her experience, Osinowo revealed that Endometriosis is associated with severe dysmenorrhea (painful periods), deep dysparunia (painful intercourse), chronic pelvic pain, ovulation pain, infertility and chronic fatigue.

statistics of universal donors as 10per cent of the world population, 7percent of Americans and 2percent of Nigerians. This statistics, he added, presupposes that each time a donor needs to be transfused; relations and doctors go through stress in search of blood.

UNIBLOOD, he dis-

“We at Etisalat believe that a fine blend of good health, quality education and efficient social services will position Nigeria adequately among the committee of nations and help its citizens achieve their potentials,” he said.

The Chief Medical Director, General Hospital, Aramoko, Ekiti, Dr. Kayode Ogunjobi, expressed joy at the donation of the generator because the alternative source of power generation will help the hospital function better and save more lives of patients. According to him, “it is disheartening that in the past, we have had to use candles and lanterns to attend to patients in the hospital, but today we are glad that Etisalat has come to rescue us from that situation with this generator. closed, is collaborating with health institutions and government agencies to generate a common database for all universal donors in Nigeria. The presentation led to an interactive session during which Anyasi and Mrs. Olugbemisola Adewole, (UNIBLOOD) representative in Canada responded to questions from the audience.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

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Arts Lounge Malawi hosts AMAA 2013 nomination event

Watch movies and become a millionaire –Okorie

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AMVCA 2013: Works, personalities that counted Saturday March 9, saw a convergence of the best in Africa’s film industry as Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards, AMVCA held at the Eko Hotels in Lagos. But the list of winning artistes and works did not come as a surprise, based on their antecedents.

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Best Movie (Comedy) Tim Greene (Skeem) Best Movie (Drama) Obi Emelonye (The Mirror Boy) Best Movie (Overall) Sara Blecher (Otelo Burning) Best Television Series Godffrey Mwampembwa and Marie Lora-Mungai (The XYZ Show) Best Local Language – Swahili Sameer Srivastava/SanjniSrivastava (The Ray of Hope) Best Local Language - Yoruba Tunde Kelani (Maami) Best Local Language - Hausa Nura A Ali and Hafizu Bello (Faida)

NGOZI EMEDOLIBE he Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards finally held last week, perhaps holding the entire continent spellbound as viewers stayed glued to their TV sets in at least 50 countries.

Announced a couple of weeks ago, the award saw viewers of the pan-African network, Africa Magic, voting to choose their favourites in 28 categories. This is coming at a time when the industry appears saturated with award events, but the fact that it was dubbed ‘viewers’ choice’ makes it stand out with potentials of wide acceptability.

This concept, which highlights the power of the viewers, must have drawn Africa Magic into the frenzy of awards, although in actual sense, the viewers’ discretion only determined the winners in only six out of the 26 categories. The remaining categories were left for a team of professionals assembled from all over Africa, headed by Femi Odugbemi, a renowned film personality in the country.

After weeks of voting and judging, the elaborate event at the Eko Hotels and Suites, Lagos, unveiled a list of winning works and artistes, who by many standards have shown the potentials they are made off.

While it was not a very bright outing for Nigeria, considering that South Africa still dominated the haulage of awards in spite of the number of movies from Nigeria that screen on the Africa Magic bouquet, the event also saw many of the A-list actors in Nigeria playing the role of presenters, simply because their works were not nominated. But that has not, in any way, derided the works that came to the fore at this award event.

The Mirror Boy, produced by Obi Emelonye was obviously at the centre stage, taking away awards in three categories (see full list of winner included).

In all modesty, The Mirror Boy, deserved all the accolades it garnered at the

AMVCA WINNERS LIST

Akin Omotoso (L) giving a winner’s speech for Best Movie Director

A-LIST ACTORS IN NIGERIA PLAYED THE ROLE OF PRESENTERS AT THE AWARDS BECAUSE THEIR WORKS WERE NOT NOMINATED event, considering the uniqueness of the story which was set in the United Kingdom and Gambia and tried to merge the two societies.

Its suspense-filled plot is characteristic of Obi Emelonye, who as a writer and producer is known for his bias for suspense-filled stories.

His earlier works in Nollywood like Picture of a General and Who’s Next, which he directed also set a pace when they were released.

While The Mirror Boy also carted away some awards at the 2011 Africa Movie Academy Awards, AMAA, it also had very impressive outing at the 2012 Toronto Black Film Festival.

Another category that may have spelt success for this work is the Make-up artiste category, considering the skills of Gabriel Okorie, a man whose works include the famous Eziza, shot by Don Pedro Obaseki, which ultimately set his career on an upward swing. That Okorie lost this category to Jacqui Bannermen for Otelo Burning, may not be entirely a surprise, considering the numerous nominations Otelo Burning clinched during the 2011 Africa Movies Academy Awards, where it came out tops in terms of awards haulage.

The accolades that came the way of Otelo Burning, a story about the life of a train surfer, goes to show the slant between the jury in the AMAA and the jury of AMVCA. Both juries, by this, shared the same views which seem to be a credit to both awards. This aside, it also gives an insight into what the viewers are interested in watching. Set in Durban South Africa, Otelo Burning cleanly incorporates that emotions South Africans show when something has to do with their iconic hero, Nelson

Jackie Bannermen (R) won Best Make-Up Artist and Best Overall Film (Otello Burning)

Mandela. For sure, this clearly indicates that African film audiences are still captivated by the stories that really touch on the history and struggle for survival. Such stories abound in Africa and should get the writers’ wearing their thinking caps because Africa, as a continent, is a buffet of survival stories.

Another film that did not disappoint the viewers is Man on Ground, directed by Akin Omotoso. Aside availing the Best Director awards, it went ahead to clinch awards like Best Cinematographer, Best Picture Editor and Best Sound Editor, a clear testimony of the skills of the technical crew of this film.

Before the AMVCA, Man on Ground had shown impressive outings at the Berlinale and the 10th Tri Continental Film Festival, TCFF, where it clinched the Best South African Film category. Like The Mirror Boy, the film also shares the pleasure of telling a story relating to two different geographical locations.

At the local language category, which saw films like Maami, Ray of Hope and Faida winning under Yoruba, Swahili and Hausa categories, there is a slant of the viewers’ choice as well. Maami, may not have won at AMAA 2011, but it sure held a lot of promises where it narrowly lost to Aramotu, a film by Niyi Akanni.

The comedy category, which saw winners like Mercy Johnson and Hafiz Oyetoro, is also an indication of the place of Nigeria in the area of comedy. But the country would lose to Skeem, written by Tim Greene at the ultimate category, Best Comedy Movie.

For a while, the poor content on Nigeria’s television has been a source of concern and this came to the fore in the poor representation of the TV shows on the winning list of AMVCA. While the audience awaits a better AMVCA next year, considering the success the maiden edition recorded, one impression about this award ceremony being rival to the AMAA, should be discarded, because the two have clear cut mandates. While AMVCA celebrates old works, AMAA highlights new works, showing that the two can always remain complementary.

Best Movie Director Akin Omotoso (Man on Ground) Best Writer (Drama) Obi Emelonye and Amaka ObiEmelonye (The Mirror Boy) Best Writer (Comedy) Tim Greene (Skeem) Best Cinematographer Paul Michelson (Man on Ground) Best Short Film Ngendo Mukii (Yellow Fever) Best Art Director Anita van Hemert and Chantel Carter (Otelo Burning) Best Costume Designer Ngozi Obasi (The Mirror Boy) Best Make-up Artist Jacqui Bannermen (Otelo Burning) Best Lighting Designer Dave Howe (Otelo Burning) Best Picture Editor Aryan Kaganof (Man on Ground) Best Sound Editor Micheal Botha and Joel Assaizky (Man on Ground) Best Actor - Comedy Hafiz Oyetoro (House-a-Part) Best Actor - Drama OC Ukeje (Two Brides and a Baby) Best Actress - Comedy Mercy Johnson (Dumebi the Dirty Girl) Best Actress - Drama Jackie Appiah (Perfect Picture) Best Supporting Actor - Drama Matthew Nabwiso (A Good Catholic Girl) Best Supporting Actress - Drama Maureen Koech (Lies that Bind)

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Arts Lounge

MEMORABLE READS

LET’S

T AL K FAD

THOKOZANI MTHIYANE Visual artist

with

What are you reading right now?

I was reading There was a Country by Chinua Achebe but it was taken from me.

Fidelis Duker

I

Would you say you’ve seen any of that with your interaction with Nigerians?

I have heard people say terrible things that I won’t like to repeat because where I come from, if you were to say such things, it’s a criminal offence. I have heard people say things that are terrible.

M.I

and interact just like anybody else, the only difference is that, is there space or not for certain people to express themselves? That is the challenge that I find but there is no person that is a ‘nobody’.

MUSINGS BAB (Because Am Black) Hatred is a tree whose fruits; segregation and racism like cankerworm has rotted the human society.

being black in some quarters is equated to failure.

I’m called nigga, boy or John orange and banana peels; whatever these means some don’t even believe a black man is better than a monkey.

fidelisduker@yahoo.com; 08055662925(SMS ONLY)

Nollywood: The future is the global arena

How do you find the book?

The book is just saying, in Achebe’s opinion, that the Nigerian Civil War is not over. That’s what I find in the book.

Also, his tone is that the Igbo were much more victimised by the war. I haven’t finished the book, but he is implying so far that the Igbo people were victimised and even after the war, they didn’t see justice prevail. That is what concerns him.

You come across like a thinking person. Is this a product of your experience as a South African, maybe through apartheid, your travels or the books you’ve read?

I’d say mostly books that I’ve read and are reading. It stimulates thinking. Also, the people that I grew up around helps and when you come to a place like Nigeria, there are a lot of people that are thinking and there are a lot that you don’t know whether they are thinking. This is because other people are not allowed to speak in certain spaces. But each and everybody I meet, be it a maiguard or a street sweeper, a vendor or businessman or art collector, when you take your time

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

I was taught to be an inhabitant of the Third World.

Hence I’m third class in God’s earth.

They term my way of life fetish; but when I was not watchful, they stole the gods of my fathers.

I’m being called barbaric; But Lord knows my black mind never initiated slave trade.

And so my mental sky was clouded so early in life by negativities.

At age thirty a black man Is still been addressed As “Boy”.

Beneath the watchful eyes of the sun my sisters were dishonoured.

What become of my father My mother knew not till date

At school

Nor could I say

of the fate that befall my brother because his carcass was seen hung on a tree in a forest covered by fogs.

I was not spared; they striped me of my goal; like a candy, chaos and gaol were put in between.

And today they say the Blackman is always at war.

But how, why, and who taught us the act are the bugging questions on my lips.

In my heart I am humane than all my overlords: but I am the one that is been called cannibal because am black. © Matthias Pantaleon 2012

have wondered with keen interest in the last couple of years why Nollywood has not considered playing in the global arena as a major cinematic nation. It’s rather unfortunate that the film industry is rated as the second largest producers of movies after Bollywood and ahead of the world’s capital of film and entertainment called Hollywood.

Since the first film was screened at the prestigious Glover Memorial Hall in Lagos in 1906, the industry has failed to realise that the growth of the industry requires a sizeable measure of participation in the global film politics.

This can only be achieved if we have a convincing presence on the continental front as we savour the patronage of other nations as a major movie making nation in the world.

The essence of writing this story is our absence in the global cultural politics of the world. But, recently, I was elected as the continental president of the African Festival Network (AFRIFESTNET) which is the continental body responsible for the activities of all forms of festivals (theatre, heritage, film, music, arts) and other multidisciplinary festivals. Interestingly, my election as continental president can be referred to as divine because I was elected as the Vice President at the inaugural congress of the association in Accra, Ghana where Dr. Kwesi Owusu was elected president of the body. Shockingly, nine months after Owusu was impeached and via an overwhelming vote by the regional representatives, I was elected the continental president. In my humble opinion, this election is probably Nigeria’s closest forte to the international politics of film and culture.

Sadly, most of those occupying or operating in the political circle of the culture industry have been so bedevilled by crises upon crises in the last 10 years.

What you see is a sector where the crises for leadership has really affected the operations of the relevant organisation, from the Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria (PMAN) to Association of Nigerian Theatre Practitioners (ANTP) or is it the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) whose association has had several issues where the interference of the guild’s Board of Trustees have become an everyday occurrence. I still recall with nostalgia how gentleman actor Zack Orji was impeached for no reason by the Board of Trustees without recourse to the congress. Or is it PMAN where you have about three different presidents. The ANTP crises are so embarrassing that three years after the tenure of the Jide Kosoko-led Exco, the association has not been able to organise an election.

What these crises have caused the nation is that our practitioners do not un-

MOST OF THOSE OCCUPYING OR OPERATING IN THE POLITICAL CIRCLE OF THE CULTURE INDUSTRY HAVE BEEN BEDEVILLED BY CRISES IN THE LAST

10 YEARS

derstand that these crises within the industry also affect how we are perceived in the international arena. It is also a distraction and dissipation of energy which has negatively contributed to our inability to compete at major international film festivals, awards and we end up not benefiting from the opportunities that abound in the global arena. Until this year, there has not been a Nigerian on the jury of FESPACO; but this year we were lucky to have Victor Okhai (a Nigerian) was on the jury of the prestigious film festival. His involvement was able to convince the other jury members and organisers that there was a need to give Nollywood its pride of place by competing for the star prize in the film festival from 2015 with films of high quality shot on video.

Some school of thought will argue that do you need to play continental or global politics to excel as a filmmaker. I beg to differ because if you have a couple Nigerians who hold position in this decision making continental organisation, they would be able to influence and create opportunities for the filmmaker as they are in the centre of the politics.

For national pride too, they will not support policies that will affect the home industry.

The success of South Africa after their independence in1994 is their determination to put their money where their mouth is and happily the result was an Oscar award for Tsotsi and another nomination for Yesterday. These two films were carefully produced with a clear cut agenda to bring the South African into international arena. It was, therefore, not surprising when in 2006 the South African film industry hosted the congress of the Federation of the Pan African Cinema (FEPACI) in Tshwane Pretoria, South Africa.

On a final note, there are so many international bodies where Nigeria culture practitioners can begin to aspire to with a view of shunning this unfortunate practice of infighting within the guilds and associations at home. The truth remains that Nollywood must latch and consolidate on the global attention it is receiving by sponsoring its members to these global associations.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Arts Lounge

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

25

ARTISTE UNCENSORED Rowland Okorie started as a Nollywood actor in 1999. But passionate about contributing his quota to the movie industry, he is set to debut Know Your Movies, a new TV game show that would test the viewers’ knowledge of films shot everywhere in the world.

NGOZI EMEDOLIBE

R

owland Okorie could easily pass as a total show man; his endeavours in the business confirm so. His company, Equity Concepts Entertainment is not only a content provider, but also a marketing and artiste management outfit and has been in operation since 2007.

Rowland, who hails from Mbaise in Imo State, had his first crush with Nollywood in a movie, Conspiracy shot at Aba, Abia State where he grew up. “My journey started in 1999; then Nollywood had not really grown big. It is a movie called Conspiracy. This was my first time to see where movies are being shot. It was at Ogbo Hill, Aba. The movie featured Onyeka Onwenu, who acted as the mother of Charles Okafor and Obi Madubuogwu who was the producer. Then another movie shot at same venue is called Festival of Fire which featured Kanayo O Kanayo, Regina Askia and Saint Obi”.

His forage into the movies was, however, punctuated when he gained admission to study at the Imo State University where he read Education. Upon completing his studies, it dawned on him that he must go beyond the normal Nollywood. This quest has led him into areas like artiste management, production of radio and TV plays and recently the TV game show, Know Your Movies.

According to Okorie, the concept came like a divine revelation. “It started as a desire to be the biggest property in the entertainment industry. God woke me up in the middle of one night and in my dream he said to me ‘take, I have given you this to be what you have always wished for’. It was a vision from God, not by my thinking or by my being creative, lest I should boast. God is a perfect giver; when God gives you a thing, He will also set people around you to prove His word and to confirm that it is from Him. That morning as I woke up, I told my partner, Uche Onuigbo who is the Creative Director of my company (he was the one God sent to actually design the project the way it will work); we put heads together and worked it out. I call him the best creative director in the whole of Africa. This game show is for those who are movie fans -or just say it’s for movie freaks. I will not say I’m a

Okorie

Watch movies and become a millionaire –Okorie THIS GAME SHOW IS FOR THOSE WHO ARE MOVIE FANS -OR JUST SAY IT’S FOR MOVIE FREAKS great movie lover because I don’t really have that much time watching movies. For that reason I will say that this vision came from Almighty God. This game can be played in three platforms and we started working on the biggest interactive website just like Facebook for the game. It can be played on your mobile and also on your TV screen for all movie fans”.

Presently, the project is partnering with some institutions to bring this to reality. “So far, we have partnered with Ozone Cinemas to produce our pilot of what the show looks like. Then we started marketing. We discovered we needed some key players in the industry both in Nollywood and Hollywood. We partnered with Nigerian Copyright Commission, NCC, to protect our idea locally,

Association of Movie Producers, AMP, and some independent producers, so we can never lack local contents for the game show. We also went as far as partnering with some companies in the USA for license of Hollywood contents (movie clips) to avoid litigation of copyright issues. This has gained us the biggest global copyright protection with Format Recognition and Protection Association, FRAPA, based in Netherland, Holland”.

Of course, this would change the way people watch films, according to Rowland. “Ordinarily, you can watch movies without getting anything, but now you are winning N10 million just to remember what you have watched, names of actors, cast, storylines, speeches and dates. All these would form the basic question pattern of the show. Prizes would also be up for grabs as the show unfolds. With the increasing globalisation, the game show is fashioned in a way it would unite other film industries like Hollywood, Bollywood, Mexican and Chinese industries, because the content would be global”.

MIDWEEK JUMP 3-day home, office exhibition opens

T

he annual Home & Office Exhibition which showcases interior decoration, furniture, house furnishing and many more will hold from today to Friday at the Lagos Country Club, Ikeja. This was made known in a statement by the organisers, PR Distinction and NTA Properties Investment Ltd. Mr. Ben Murray Bruce, Chairman, Silverbird Group, will formally open the exhibition today at 11.00 a.m.

According to Mrs. Alero Edu, Head Consultant, PR Distinction, visitors should expect amazing deals at the fair as plans have been perfected with the companies exhibiting to sell products at discounted prices.

Mrs. Edu urged government agencies and functionaries, procurement managers, high

net worth individuals, estate developers and other relevant purchasers to visit the fair.

SandTex Portland Paints & Products Plc is the official partner in this year’s exhibition and visitors have been asked to watch out for the bumper packages during the fair.

Emissaries of an Iconic Religion at CCA Lagos

T

he ongoing exhibition by photographer, Adolphus Opara titled: ‘Emissaries of an Iconic Religion’, which opened at the Centre for Contemporary Art, CCA, Lagos, on Saturday will continue till April 21, Monday to Friday.

It is Opara’s first major solo exhibition and the curator, Jude Anogwih, has said it includes 15 images from the 20 strong “Emissaries” series made between 2009 and 2011, offering a unique and

One of the portraits at the exhibition

visually compelling photographic portrayal of the custodians of indigenous religious beliefs.

Anogwih further said that the works inform the sensitive debate surrounding the demonisation and denigration of traditional religion instigated by colonial and missionary rhetoric, and more recently by the most dominant and visible forms of the religious belief systems in Nigeria

and across the continent: Islam and Evangelical Christianity.

The exhibition is organised

by CCA, Lagos and supported by the British Council, London.

Director of CCA, Lagos, Bisi Silva said at a press parley a day before the exhibition opened that through this body of work, which pushes the boundaries of contemporary portraiture, Opara highlights some of the existing tensions between the cultures of animist belief and organised religion.

New deadline for poetry competition

P

oets who sent in entries for the Korea-Nigeria poetry feast competition that closed on February 28 will have to re-enter after a revelation that the email address provided by the organisers for submission of entries has been compromised.

A statement from the organisers expressed regret over the situation, while urging competing poets to resend entries to jesad007@yahoo.com by this Friday, March 15.

“We hereby wish to request that as many as possible resend their entries latest by Friday, especially for the submissions that came in late (between February 17 and now),” the statement read in part.

According to the organisers, the shortlist of 10 poems is due to be announced on Monday, March 18, while the prize giving ceremony comes up at the Korean Cultural Centre, Abuja on Thursday, March 21, which is marked annually as World Poetry Day. Arojah Concepts, in collaboration with the Korean Cultural Centre, organises the annual Korea-Nigeria Poetry Feast to commemorate the World Poetry Day.

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Arts Lounge

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

FAR AND NEAR

Malawi hosts AMAA 2013 nomination event ...as Bayelsa regains hosting right STORIES: TERH AGBEDEH

F

rom March 15, Joyce Banda, President of Malawi, will host filmmakers and celebrities from different parts of Africa during the African Movie Academy Awards, AMAA, nomination event in Malawi, just as the Bayelsa State Government will host the ninth edition of the awards.

Designed to celebrate and honour filmmakers and other professionals in the industry across Africa and in the Diaspora, AMAA, which has come to be known as Africa’s most prestigious motion picture award, will hold a nomination weekend from March 14 to 17.

During the period, the business and political community in Malawi, as well as celebrities from across Africa and their counterparts in the Southern African country will be hosted to a pre-nomination concert, the nomination event proper and post-nomination party.

Bayelsa State, which has hosted the seven previous editions of AMAA, will come alive again in April when statesmen, celebrities, local and international media executives and captains of industry converge on Yenagoa, the state capital for the awards.

In a joint statement signed by the Director General, Bayelsa State Tourism Development Agency, Mrs. Ebizi

Ndiomu-Brown and the Chief Executive Officer of Africa Film Academy, organisers of the awards, Ms. Peace Anyiam-Osigwe, the state government is determined to partner with the awards promoters to deliver a new and exciting experience to Nigerian and international visitors that will attend the awards.

“We are happy in Bayelsa to have AMAA return to its home. The story of AMAA and Bayelsa has been a story of partnership for socio-economic development of our state and people. We want to continue in this way. The Governor of this state, His Excellency Seriake Dickson, is poised to ensure that all visitors to Bayelsa for AMAA see a new Bayelsa, where he is leading a team of committed public servants to revamp the economy of the state through massive investment in infrastructure and other social amenities”, the statement said.

The Director of Administration of the organisation, Mr. Tony Anih said the government and people of Malawi are very excited with the prospect of having movie icons and other players in the motion picture industry coming to the country for the nominations.

AMAA nomination is an event where films that make it into the 25 categories of the awards are announced ahead of the main award ceremony. In the last six years, AMAA has deliberately moved the nomination events from one country to the other within the continent.

Anyiam-Osigwe

Playwrights hold first ever confab

T

L-R: Brand Manager, Chelsea Dry Gin, Kingsley Anuebunwa; Steve Onu (Yaw); Funke Akindele and lnnocent Oboh at the stage presentation in Lagos.

Day Lagos went to The Bar

T

he MUSON Centre came alive on the evening of March 3 when Steve Onu a.k.a Yaw and Funke Akindele, otherwise known as Jenifa, thrilled the huge Lagos audience at the event.

The Bar, a two-man satiric stage play, which starred the Olympic Torch-bearers, Onu and Akindele attracted the massive crowd to pure, undiluted entertainment from stand-up comedy, stage play to musical performances. The event was supported by Squadron Dark Rum and Action Bitters, both from the stable of Intercontinental Distillers Ltd, IDL. Written by Obi Martins and directed

by Bunmi Davies, **The Bar** is the fifth edition of Yaw Back2stage Project, a concept designed to revive live theatre in Ni-

geria. The play lampooned the good, bad and ugly events which happened from January 2012 to February 2013.

Some of the highpoints of the show were the musical performances by Olamide, Phyno and African China.

“As a brand, IDL is committed to promoting and validating the ‘Naija spirit’”, said Mr. Innocent Oboh, the Head, Marketing, IDL, while commenting on the two-man play.

He explained that the entertainment industry is one of the country’s vibrant sectors, boasting of quite a number of latent and refined talents. Adding that the company he represents is interested in the success of the industry, “which is why we are always on hand to give our support, by identifying with and celebrating Nigerian artistes”.

he first ever confab of Nigerian playwrights held at the Conference Centre of the Obafemi Awolowo University, OAU, Ile-Ife, Osun State from March 8 to 10. Organised by the university’s Institute of Cultural Studies and the Department of Dramatic Arts, more than one hundred playwrights were in attendance.

An initiative of renowned playwright, Femi Osofisan, the gathering had several themes necessary for an appraisal of the playwriting enterprise.

Apart from looking at themes like the state of playwriting in the post-military era and the playwright’s experience in contemporary society, the playwrights also made observations and recommendations to better the art.

The confab identified the crises and challenges confronting playwriting and playwrights such as crisis of relevance, visibility, fragmentation of community and of exhaustion; fund-

ing; language; censorship and tyranny in both the military and post-military eras, among others.

A major point of contention at the confab was the imitation of masters by younger playwrights who borrow creative idioms without understanding their true essence thereby producing works that do not adequately or authentically reflect their contemporary realities.

Among the recommendations the playwrights came up with are that playwrights make their plays relevant to the needs of the society, advocate the building of cottage theatres in all local government areas of the country, while a national community or organisation of playwrights should be inaugurated.

The confab observed a minute’s silence in honour of playwrights and theatre practitioners that have passed on. The next edition will come up at the same venue in 2015.

Lagos State Commissioner for Tourism and Inter-governmental Affairs Mr. Disun Holloway; Lagos Black Heritage Festival (LBHF) Consultant, Prof. Wole Soyinka; Boat Regatta Chairman, Mr. Jawando and Festival Ambassador, Erelu Abiola Dosunmu, at the LBHF 2013 press briefing in Lagos recently.

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National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Sport

As has been variously said, it’s not over until we have ended this second match with Arsenal

We were unlucky against Nembe City –Heartland Fc

- BAYERN MUNICH’S CAPTAIN, PHILIPP LAHM

30

Siasia to coach U-23 tteam

Super Eagles’ line-up: Right: Keshi

F

Forget AFCON win, Keshi charges Eagles very physical, commenced, Coach Stephen d C h St h physi h ical, l with wit ith h emphasis emph phasis ph i on Keshi, told the players to forget quick and simple play play. It It lasted about the triumph of the team for about out two hourss with all the e five coaches of the team playing at the last Nations Cup and conoaches s e t te am ll 24 invited home-based assi as sign ned roles. rol oles es. professionals for the centrate on picking a ticket for their assigned Meanwhile, the coaching the World Cup holding in Brazil anwh whil l e e, t he coach hing crew w upcoming World Cup has decided to replace injured next year. ecided o rep p la a ce qualifier, except injured Kano Keshi assured the new play- Umar with ith First Fi t Bank B k off Lagos L Pillars’ central defender, Zango central defender, Festus Ajah. ers that if they showed enough al Umar, participated inone training Super Eagles pose before their games at the South Africa 2013 Nations Cup p finals s Ajah is said to have imyesterday, as the Super Eagles readiness to break into the team pressed ed national team scouts in get ready for the Harambee they would be given the chance. some of his club’s games and Media Officer of the Eagles, Stars. now has an opportunity to make Ben Alaiya, said that the trainNational Mirror was inan impression at the national ing was intense, Spartan and mpression formed that before training

EVEREST ONYEWUCHI

A

team level. t l l He H was exexpected in in camp last night, on time o tim i e for this th mor ni n g ’ s training session.

Abedi backs sons’ Black Stars’ decision League: NRA president hails kick-off

G

hana’s legend, Abedi Pele, has backed the decision of his sons to temporarily quit the Black Stars, while expressing “disappointment” in the coach of the national side.

As many a father would do, the African football legend is standing behind his sons in these controversial times and is not bothered about the media circus.

“No. I am not bothered at all because I have also gone through all those hustles in the past. So, I take it to be one of those things,” the elderly Pele told Multi TV in Ghana’s capital.

His sons, Marseille-based duo of Andre and Jordan, have said they will not play for the national team for the foreseeable future following problems with the national team’s management.

“This is also an opportunity for them also to take things in their own hands and make their own decisions. But like you said occasionally father and mother will chip in a word or two. But for the moment, the children are doing the right thing.”

Abedi also confirmed that the players were largely acting on their own and also

that he had no animosity aimed at the Ghana coach.

“They are all my friends. (Coach) Kwesi Appiah is my friend. I played with him.

For now we’ve (Dad and Mum) not been telling them anything. It’s their decision and we just have to support them.”

Abedi Pele

P

resident of the Nigeria Referees Association (NRA), Ahmed Maude, yesterday, described the officiating in opening matches of the Nigeria Professional Football Leagues (NPFL) 2012/2013 season last weekend, as encouraging.

Maude made the remark in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, especially as several teams recorded away victories, which the president described as a sign of good things to come in the season.

“We have been doing very well, but this season will be better, the league starting late will put everyone on their toes, so there

is no room for any lapses from all quarters.

“It is commendable that we are recording away victories, which is good for the development of the league,’’ Maude said.

On security, he called on the NPFL to ensure that maximum security was provided for match officials at all venues, adding that since referees play critical role in matches, they must be protected from the ire of restive fans who might disagree with their decisions.

“The referees are ready to give their best and they should be encouraged, by providing adequate security for them; they should be protected from angry fans as the case maybe.”

ormer Super Eagles’ coach, Samson Siasia, coach been asked to take has b of the country’s charge o Olympic team.

Olym Siasia was fired in S October 2011 after he Oct failed to qualify Nifa geria to the 2012 g Africa cup of Nations in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.

He has since this dismissal not th worked even though wor he has been linked with jobs, from various coaching c India to Kenya.

K But MTNFootball.com reported yesterday that Siasia would handle the U-23 nateam. tional team have contacted Siasia “We hav vacant U-23 job, but he for the vac is yet to get ge back to us,” a top official stated.

NFF officia “He was on holidays in the States, but we hear he United Stat we will be expecting is back, so w response because we want his respons early so as to avoid the to start earl 2011.” pain of 2011 Siasia led Nigeria to the final Olympics in Beijing, of the 2008 O where the Eagles lost by China, wher goal to a Lionel Messithe odd goa inspired Argentina.

Austin Eguavoen resigned his post as coach of the Nigeria U23s after he failed to qualify the team for the All Africa Games and the London 2012 Olympics.

Siasia

Sport

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Wednesday, March 13, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Ribery’s ouster confirmed

B

ayern Munich play maker, Franck Ribery, will miss tonight’s Champions League tie with Arsenal.

The France winger strained ligaments in his left ankle on Saturday during Bayern’s 11th straight win, a 3-2 success against Fortuna Dusseldorf.

Bayern has a 3-1 advantage from the first leg, meaning Arsenal must score at least three times to deny its host a place in the quarter-finals.

No side has managed that this season against Jupp Heynckes’ team, though the manager must also do without the suspended Jerome Boateng and Bastian Schweinsteiger.

Natural replacement for Ribery, Arjen Robben, is however likely to make an appearance after shaking off a calf injury. Ribery

Arsenal players shape us yesterday as they look ahead of tonight’s game at the Allianz Arena

Wilshere missing as Gunners rumble

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here was one notable absentee as Arsene Wenger took his Arsenal side for training yesterday ahead of Wednesday night’s Champions League last-16 second leg clash against Bayern Munich.

Star midfielder, Jack Wilshere, has been confirmed to miss the game with an ankle.

Wilshere’s absence makes Arsenal’s chances of becoming the only

English team to reach this year’s Champions League quarter-finals all the more improbable against what is an excellent Bayern side.

The Gunners trail 3-1 heading to Munich, meaning they need to score at least three goals at the Allianz Arena to stand any chance of qualifying.

“Wilshere is out with an inflamed ankle, on the left side, not the right

Giroud banks on Miracle can save Arsenal’s attack us –Gervinho

A

rsenal striker, Olivier Giroud, hopes his side can breach Bayern Munich’s defence early on and be mistake-free in tonight’s Champions League clash to overcome the odds and advance to the quarter-finals.

The Gunners face a daunting task at the Allianz Arena after conceding three away goals in the last-16 first leg at the Emirates Stadium, with Lukas Podolski’s second-half strike giving Arsene Wenger’s team something to cling on to in Bavaria.

“We need to score an early goal. In football you never know. We need to believe and stay focused. But we need to correct our bad defensive behaviour as well,” Giroud said yesterday.

“I like to play against German teams because they are attacking all the time. There I get myself more possibilities to score.”

Today’s fixtures

Malaga

vs

FC Porto

Bayern

vs

Arsenal

side where he was injured before.

He will be out for three weeks,” the French man said yesterday.

Wenger, however, confirmed that left back Kieran Gibbs would feature in Munich, while midfielder Abou Diaby is also lined up for action.

“Sagna is not available, but Diaby is back in the squad. He is still a bit short of fitness but he is in it now.”

Porto leans on ‘away fea

F

C Porto hasn’t lost away from home this year, and keeping that streak alive today at Malaga will put the Portuguese club into the Champions League quarterfinals for the seventh time.

Two-time champion Porto won 1-0 in the first leg three weeks ago, but Malaga should have a full-strength squad, including Portugal left back Eliseu Pereira and midfielders Baptista and Francisco Portillo, all of whom have recovered from injury.

“Porto is a very respectable opponent that is very hard to beat,’’ Malaga forward, Javier Saviola, said yesterday.

“It’s a very physical team that doesn’t

allow the other and has very of which are c into rival terri For Porto, m should be bac that sidelined tral defender E back from a sh Porto also h side as the club games in Spain “We’re goin best we have reach the qua tain Sergio “D on Portugal’s n

A

rsenal forward, Gervinho, has warned Bayern Munich that miracles can happen as the Gunners prepare for the second leg of their UEFA Champions League clash today.

The Gunners were beaten 3-1 at Emirates Stadium in the first leg last month and travel to Germany for this return game with a mountain to climb.

Gervinho is under no illusions about the size of the task facing Arsenal but says a surprise comeback is possible if they can get off to a good start.

“We know it is not going to be an easy match. It is not easy to come back from 3-1 against Bayern Munich,” the Ivory Coast forward said yesterday.

“They are one of the best teams in the world with good players all over the pitch, so we are expecting a tough game, but we must remain confident.

“We scored at the Emirates against them. You never know, a miracle can happen. If we score an early goal it will put them under pressure.

“We just need to keep positive and give everything we have. We all know anything can happen in football. Personally, I still believe we can make it. I know it will be difficult, but I still believe in us.”

…Malaga seeks ‘home Malaga players in training as they map strategy for Porto tonight

M

alaga must overturn a 1-0 deficit at home to Porto today to take its maiden UEFA Champions League campaign into the quarter-finals.

Crucial to that could be winger Eliseu, brilliant in the group stage but ruled out of the first-leg defeat by his Portuguese compatriots three weeks ago due to injury.

“I’m already thinking about hearing the Champions League anthem tomorrow (today),” he said yesterday.

“It’s a very special feeling seeing the stadium with all the fans there, listening to the anthem. Hopefully we can have that feeling for much longer this season and for

many more yea Portuguese inte group stage goa “We are play we have to be physically. For m cial before goin and play.

“It is a motiv team like Porto for both sides. W history with Ma completely. The but we have to b believe we can w

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Sport

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

29

Tit bits...

Mikel

Koeman

Koeman denies City link

F

ats’

r team much room to play important players, many capable or reaching deep itory.’’ midfielder Joao Moutinho ck from a muscle strain him for two weeks. CenEzequiel Mangala is also houlder injury. has recent history on its b has scored in its last six n. ng to have to squeeze the and give everything to arterfinals,’’ Malaga capDuda’’ Barbosa, a winger national team, said.

eyenoord Coach, Ronald Koeman, says he knows nothing about links with a role at Manchester City.

The Dutch legend has impressed since taking charge at De Kuip, guiding the side to second last term and he was handed a longterm deal in the summer.

However, Koeman’s name has been strongly linked with City and reports claim that the Premier League club’s sporting director Txiki Begiristain, who knows him from their time together at Barcelona, is a confirmed fan.

Koeman admits that it is natural for managers, like players, to be linked with big moves but he knows nothing about City.

“Players who develop into internationals are in the spotlight, and it is logical that people look at trainers also,” he said yesterday.

“But I have nothing else to say, because I simply do not know about City’s reported interest.”

Koeman took the helm at Feyenoord in 2011 after stints in charge of Vitesse Arnhem, AZ Alkmaar, Ajax, PSV Eindhoven, Benfica and Valencia.

Bayern matches Man Utd

B

magic’

ars to come,” the 29-year-old ernational who scored three als added. ying an important game, so ready psychologically and me, I don’t do anything speng out on the pitch, I just go

vation to play against a great o. It will be a difficult game We want to continue writing alaga, so we are going for it ey’re an experienced team, be confident, work hard and win.”

ayern Munich has caught Manchester United and claimed third place in our European Power Rankings this week.

The German side, which is running away with the Bundesliga after another domestic win over the weekend, took advantage of Manchester United’s 55-point drop to jump one place.

United’s controversial defeat by Real Madrid at Old Trafford was enough to see the side slip, and with its Bavarian rival still in the Champions League, and likely to progress further still when it welcomes Arsenal tonight, the mere two points separating the teams is likely to be extended during the run-in to the end of the season.

Barcelona still tops the table, but once again Madrid has closed the gap after a bumper 58-point haul over the past seven days, including of course that result in Manchester. The gap between the two Spanish sides is now down to 112 points.

Meanwhile, Manchester City crept up into fourth place behind United, more by virtue of Borussia Dortmund’s minus-20 points than any of its own efforts, which saw it lose six points this week.

Elsewhere, Chelsea dropped 40 points and fell a place into 11th while Zenit St Petersburg was the week’s biggest losers, dropping 72 points, although the Russian club limited the damage by just falling one spot to 19th.

Chelsea midfielder, John Obi Mikel, has hailed Rafael Benitez’s half-time team talk as key to the Blues’ forcing a FA Cup quarterfinal replay against Manchester United.

The interim boss has endured heavy criticism during his short stay at Stamford Bridge and recently hit out at supporters for booing him instead of backing the team.

However, Mikel has come out in support of the Spaniard after Chelsea overturned a two-goal half-time deficit to draw 2-2 with United on Sunday.

Lloris

Tottenham Hotspur goalkeeper, Hugo Lloris, is not even contemplating the nightmare scenario of getting caught by Arsenal in the battle for a top four finish.

Third-placed Spurs missed the chance to move 10 points clear of their north London rivals in fifth when they lost 3-2 at Liverpool on Sunday.

Lloris was at fault for Liverpool’s second goal but the Spurs keeper warned his team-mates not to let the Anfield heartbreak ruin their season.

Tevez

Manchester City defender, Joleon Lescott, claims Carlos Tevez is ‘unplayable’ when he produces the form that destroyed Barnsley last weekend.

Tevez put aside his latest offfield problems; he was arrested on Thursday on suspicion of driving whilst disqualified, to fire a hat-trick past the hapless Championship side in a 5-0 FA Cup rout at the Etihad Stadium.

It was a performance for Lescott that rekindled memories of the excitement the Argentinian brought to the club when he switched from Manchester United in a controversial move in 2009.

Gerrard

Liverpool captain, Steven Gerrard, says the club must deliver “the perfect finish” to the season if they are to finish in the top five.

The Reds have not finished higher than sixth since 2008-09, but the new owners have made clear that a return to the Champions League is a priority. With Liverpool currently sixth, seven points behind fourth-placed Chelsea and having played an extra game, it would appear that the Anfield club may have to wait a little longer to achieve that aim.

Arteta

Arsenal midfielder, Mikel Arteta, believes that investment is needed this summer if the club is once again to challenge for major honours.

CAF President, Hayatou

Egypt crisis: Pharaohs, Warriors’ clash intact –CAF AFOLABI GAMBARI

WITH AGENCY REPORT

C

onfederation of African Football (CAF) yesterday confirmed that Egypt will host its World Cup qualifier against Zimbabwe over the March 22-24 weekend despite renewed disturbances in the North African country.

The Zimbabwe Football Association (ZIFA) had approached CAF last month to have the crucial tie moved to another country, citing the lingering political crisis in Egypt.

“If you watch television every day the turbulence in Egypt seems to be worsening by the day and as an association, we would be very comfortable to play the match at a neutral venue,” ZIFA President, Cauthbert Dube, had alerted at the time when protests marking the second anniversary of the uprising that toppled former President Hosni Mubarak had reportedly killed around 60 people.

“We want a venue that does not have these problems and endanger

our players and officials and we have a feeling that FIFA is taking serious note,” Dube added.

Interestingly last week, angry football fans torched the Egyptian Football Association (EFA) headquarters during protests against sentences handed down over riots at a match in Port Said in February 2012.

However, the EFA communicated ZIFA yesterday that freshly elected CAF President, Issa Hayatou, had insisted that Egypt would host the Zimbabwe tie in Alexandria despite the disturbances.

“President Issa Hayatou confirmed the Egypt versus Zimbabwe match would be played in Alexandria on March 22 as it was scheduled before,” the EFA said in a statement.

Zimbabwe must win the tie to keep alive any hopes of qualifying for the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil.

Egypt tops Group G with 6 points after wins at home to Mozambique and away to Guinea who lies second with three points while Mozambique stays bottom and tied on one point with Zimbabwe.

Tennis: Coach hails ward’s feat YEMI OLUS

M

ary Love Edward emerged the girls’ singles champion at the recent Central Bank of Nigeria Junior Tennis Championship and her coach, Kayode Savage, said the 7-year old worked hard for her crown.

Edward, who turns eight years March 15, was named the Most Valuable Player in the girls’ category as she defeated 12-year-old Bose Are 6-2 in the final of the girls U-12 event which took place at the Lagos Lawn Tennis Club, Onikan, Lagos Island.

Savage told National Mirror that his ward’s proved vital as she dominated in the event which saw her defeating much older players.

“She has actually featured in some tournaments which were even tougher than the CBN and she excelled there so I expected the same performance as well,” the coach said.

“This is a good start for us. I was particularly impressed that she just played her game and was not intimidated by the crowd. I just hope she can get more competitions so that she improves her play.”

Christopher Itodo defeated Saheed Oyekan 9-6 in the boys U-14 category while Kadijat Salami outclassed Blessing Dedakpoye 9-8 in the girls open category. Fortune Uche also beat Gabriel Friday 9-5 in the boys U-12 division as Joseph Imeh sent National Sports Festival semi-finalist Emmanuel Idoko packing in a straight set of 9-2.

30

Sport

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Nigeria Premier Nig League

Cricket

with

IIKENWA NNABUOGOR ikenwa.nnabuogor@gmail.com

We were unlucky against Nembe City –Heartland

H

Ottanwa

Wikki get Emir’s blessing

W

ikki Tourists paid a special visit to Emir of Bauchi Alhaji Dr. Suleiman Rilwanu Adamu, yesterday to seek spiritual blessing for the current season, National Mirror can exclusively report.

The whole team led by Coach Mohammed Pele, who stood in for chief coach, Yakubu Magajin, currently on Flying Eagles’ assignment, were received at the Emir’s palace by the Emir himself who only returned to the country from a trip abroad few days ago.

The team which had lost their first league game of the season were forced to break the annual tradition of the Palace visit occasioned by the Emir’s official trip abroad. They could only visit after they had played their first league game which they lost 1-0 at home to visiting defending champions, Kano Pillars.

It was their second visit this season after missing the Emir who was away in the country at the time of their first visit. The Emir, ex-player of repute, prayed for the team and gave them royal blessings for the remainder of the season.

Winger Ottanwa Louis Ottanwa told National Mirror that the Emir consoled them for starting the league on a losing note but

prayed for them to get good results in the remaining fixtures.

“It was a huge occasion yesterday at the Emir’s palace as we were received well by the Emir and his cabinet,” Ottanwa said.

“WE strongly believe that the royal blessing we received from the Emir will take us far this season.

We hope to better our last weekend’s performance and go on to also do better in the remaining fixtures.”

eartland FC players have told National Mirror that they were just unlucky to lose their league opener 2-1 at home to newly-promoted Nembe City FC last Saturday.

Midfielder Ikechuwu Ibenegbu, nicknamed ‘Mosquito’ says he’s yet to believe that they lost to Nembe City and blamed hard luck for their woes.

‘Mosquito’ said they threw everything at the stubborn newlypromoted visitors but kept losing chances to the chagrin of their fans cheering from the stands.

“It’s a still surprising to me that we lost to Nembe City because we did everything but the goals just refused to come,” he cried.

“Though, the game was well officiated, we just needed the luck to hit the ground running but that just didn’t happen for us.”

“We may have disappointed our teeming fans that came out to cheer us but they should also understand that such things can happen in a game of football.

Captain Chinedu Efugh refused to be moved by the shock result and philosophically conceded that they lost to a surprise side.

“That was a game of football

Akubike recuperates in Kaduna

V

eteran goalkeeper Uche Akubike is currently undergoing treatment for vein injury he sustained last season, in his private home in Kaduna, National Mirror can exclusively report. The former Super Eagles keeper has ruled out playing this season to allow his injury heal properly before packing his gloves and looking for a club next season.

Akubike had his veins on his left leg seriously cut in a league game for Enyimba against Kwara United in Aba last June.

He has since been receiving treatment in Kaduna with a view to returning to action as soon as he’s back on his feet again.

Heartland FC captain, Efugh

for you,” Efugh admitted. “We lost and that’s all. It wasn’t as if we lost to a better side but in football anything can happen.

“We did all we could to win but it didn’t happen but I must commend the fighting spirit of the team.

“We had our chances but we lacked the luck to put the chances away. Hard luck worked against us, otherwise, we would have at least salvaged a point.

National Mirror also learnt that the embattled Owerri-based side may have lost their first game due to lack of motivation from the state government. The players had complained of not receiving their entitlements for the new season and observed their pre-season build-ups on empty stomach.

The players were not happy with the situation and almost threatened to down tools just before the league started only to be persuaded to return to the pitch by the management. Some of the players told National Mirrror that they only received 20 percent part payment of their last season’s entitlements and were yet to receive any money this season.

Fixtures Today El-Kanemi

vs

Wikki Tourists

Kwara United

vs

Sunshine Stars

Kano Pillars

vs

Bayelsa United

Thursday, March 14 Enyimba

vs

Nasarawa United

Nembe City

vs

Rangers

Warri Wolves

vs

Heartland

Kaduna United

vs

Sharks

Gombe United

vs

ABS

Dolphins

vs

3SC

Lobi Stars

vs

Akwa United

Nigeria League Week 1 results Rangers

1-0

Enyimba

Heartland

1-2

Nembe City

Nasarawa

0-0

El Kanemi Warriors

Akwa United

1-0

Dolphin

Wikki

0-1

Kano Pillars

Sharks

2-1

Wolves

Sunshine

1-0

Kaduna Utd

3SC

2-0

Gombe

ABS

0-0

Kwara Utd

Bayelsa

1-0

Lobi

Isiocha rues disallowed goal

N

asarawa United’s new signing Eze Isiocha has blamed the referee for disallowing his goal in their league opener against visiting ElKanemi which ended goaless on Saturday. The former Bayelsa United striker, who was introduced in the second half, thought he had bagged the maximum points for his new side after beating an office trap to smash in the winner but had his celebration cut short by the assistant referee who disallowed the goal for an offside.

Isiocha said the centre referee had allowed the goal only for the assistant referee to raise his flag for offside.

“I was surprised when the referee changed his mind and blew it offside, dashing my hopes of scoring on my debut and giving my side an important victory before our home fans,” Isiocha regretted.

“It was a very good goal because the El-Kanemi defenders wanted to set an offside trap by pulling out from our free kick last in the game but I cleverly beat the trap to poke home only to be shocked that the goal was disallowed.

“This is one of the things that kill our football because the goal was a good one.

How could the officials not agree in the first place because the centre referee reversed his decision?

“I suspect foul play somewhere but there was nothing we could have done to get our robbed three points back.”

Isiocha returned home to continue his career after playing in India and Hong Kong.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

31

Business & Finance Labour issues would hinder new investors’ takeover of PHCN facilities President-General, Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEAC), Mr. Bede Opara

Government must effectively deploy the USPF to subsidise broadband services roll-out to the nooks and crannies of the country to enjoy full benefits of high-speed internet on the nation’s economic development FORMER EXECUTIVE VICE CHAIRMAN OF THE NCC, MR. ERNEST NDUKWE

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Nigeria’s import bill dropped by N4.26trn in 2012 TOLA AKINMUTIMI ABUJA

N

igeria’s import trade value dropped significantly last year to a cumulative value of N5.62 trn, as against the N9.89trn value of imported goods into the economy in 2011.

The figure represents 43.1 per cent decline.

The trend shows that efforts by the Federal Government to grow the economy by improving local capacity in the agricultural, manufacturing and other key sectors of the economy are yielding desired results.

The report of Merchandise Trade statistics released by the National Bureau of Statistics, NBS, listed beverages & tobacco, crude inedible materials, mineral fuel and oils, fats and waxes as contributing to the significant drop in the value of yearly imports An analysis of the merchandise trade value on import basis showed that Nigeria boiler, machinery and appliances still remained the largest contributors to the imports value.

The report stated:

“The total imports of Nigeria was valued at N1.29trn in quarter 4, 2012 indicating a rise of N21.6bn or 1.7 per cent when compared with the value of the third quarter of the same year. The value of imports totalled N5.62trn at the end of 2012 as against N9.89trn in 2011, a decrease of N4.26trn or 43.1 per cent “The structure of import trade according to SITC was still dominated by the imports of Machinery and transport equipments, manufactured goods and Com-

modities which accounted for 23.5 per cent, 12.4 per cent and 34.0 per cent respectively.

“However, commodities which contributed noticeably to the fall in the value of import trade in 2012 were as follows: beverages & tobacco, Crude inedible materials, mineral fuel and oils, fats &Waxes with N79bn or 1.4 per cent, N61.7bn or 1.1per cent, N49.4bn or 0.9 per cent, N10.9bn or 0.2 per cent respectively”, the NBS reported A further analysis of the import trend accord-

ing to sections showed that boilers, machinery and appliances still accounted for the largest share of Nigeria’s imports with N1.28trn or 22.8 per cent even as other major imports during the year include vehicles, aircraft and parts, vegetable products, base metals and associated articles and products of chemical and allied industries with N1.11trn or 19.8 per cent, N577.2bn or 10.3 per cent, N520.3bn or 9.2 per cent and N450.2bn or 8.0 per cent respectively.

At the end of 2012, Ni-

T

he International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group, has announced a N3.5bn Risk Sharing Facility and $50m loan to Access Bank Nigeria to help it expand lending to

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L-R: Executive Director, Market Operations Technology, Nigerian Stock Exchange, Mr. Ade Bajomo; Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Oscar Onyema; Managing Director, Nestle Nigeria Plc, Mr. Martin Woolnough and Executive Director, Business Development, NSE, Mr. Haruna Jalo-Waziri, at Nestle’s Bell Ringing ceremony in commemoration of the opening of the company’s N5.4billion distribution centre in Agbara, Ogun State, yesterday.

Access Bank, IFC partner on SMEs and women entrepreneurs JOHNSON OKANLAWON

geria’s imports according to broad economic classification revealed that goods not elsewhere specified accounted for N1.92trn or 34.3 per cent, followed by industrial supplies with N1.32trn or 23.5 per cent and capital goods and parts with N957.9bn or 17 per cent.

The report added: “Direction of import trade

by Economic region showed that Nigeria’s major imports came from Asian countries which accounted for N2.31trn or 41.2 per cent of the total imports.

SMEs, a quarter of which will be women-owned.

The Risk Sharing Facility is part of a $100m, threeyear joint initiative with The Coca-Cola Company to provide access to finance for thousands of women entrepreneurs in Africa and other emerging markets.

Under the joint initiative with Coca-Cola, IFC will work through its network of local and regional bank-

ing institutions to provide financing and business skills training to small and medium enterprises—or SMEs—that are owned or operated by women entrepreneurs across the CocaCola value chain, starting with an IFC investment in Access Bank.

Group Managing Director of Access Bank, Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, said, “Access Bank has

been a leader in supporting Nigerian women and their business enterprises. We are committed to finding new ways to serving this valuable client base and remaining at the forefront of making financial services more inclusive in Nigeria.”

IFC’s latest transaction with Access Bank extends a relationship that began in 2006. Access Bank was a pioneer in taking up an

IFC programme aimed at increasing loans to women entrepreneurs. It was recognised as the most active among IFC’s Global Trade Finance Program issuing banks in Africa in 2009, and was the regional winner of the Financial Times/ IFC Sustainable Bank of the Year Award in 2011. Access Bank is ranked in the top five banks in Nigeria, with subsidiaries in eight African countries and one in the UK.

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‘14-day cargo dwell time not feasible now’

FG forecasts 500% increase in broadband penetration

FG begins rehabilitation of depots, other downstream infracstructure

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Business Finance

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

‘14-day cargo dwell time not feasible for now’ FRANCIS EZEM

T

he Association of Registered Freight Forwarders has said it takes between 21-30 days to clear a consignment from Nigeria’s seaports, an indication that the cargo dwell time is still high and not anything near international standards.

Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Port Reforms Prof Sylvester Monye had last year claimed that it takes about five days to clear a consignment from most Nigeria’s seaports, which he attributed to the efforts of the committee at making the ports work.

National President of the association, Dr. Frank Ukor, who spoke in an interview, noted that as presently constituted, Nigeria’s clearing process cannot guarantee cargo delivery within three weeks.

“It takes between 21-30 days to clear goods from Nigeria’s seaports, given that such consignment has Letter of Credit and there is no discrepancy in the declaration by the importer”, he noted.

According to him, it is practically impossible to take delivery of a consignment from any of the seaports in 14 days when the Nigeria Customs Service does 100 per cent physical examination on over 80 per cent of the cargo that enters the country while the scanners lie idle.

“The essence of the Destination Inspection scheme is to employ modern techniques in cargo inspection to facilitate efficient release of consignments but in a situation whereby the service insists that over 80 percent of the cargo are examined physically, there cannot be efficiency’, he said.

It was gathered that the service

does these days is to re-route most of the consignments to the red channel, which implies physical examination under the guise that the importers are not compliant “These days, it is not even advisable for someone’s consignments to enter green channel because that will mark the beginning of the person’s problems. The aim of the Destination Inspection regime is that when a cargo enters the green channel, the owner takes delivery immediately but today, if it enters green, that is the beginning of your problem”, he warned.

“This is the situation because Customs officers will tell the importer that there is an image we saw in the scanned consignment and so there is need to position it for physical examination”, he further lamented.

He also noted that depending on the risk associated with a given consignment, the systems

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FG inaugurates supervisory board for TCN CHIDI UGWU ABUJA

I

n its bid to achieve better service delivery in the power sector, Federal Government yesterday inaugurated a seven man supervisory board for the Transmission Company of Nigeria (TCN).

Inaugurating the members of the board, the Minister of Power Professor Chinedu Nebo, said the board became necessary in order to provide the approved guidelines to Manitoba Hydro International with a view to realising the objectives of government in revamping the power sector.

The board is comprised of Mr. Hamman Tukur as chairman and Akinsola Akinfemiwa as Vice chairman, other members include the managing director of Mani-

toba Hydro, Don Prieston, Ms Larai Shuibu, Mr. Ewesor, Dr. Sam Egwu and the Director of Human Resources of Bureau of Public Relation Enterprise, (BPE).

The minister said the supervisory board reports to the minister of power on policy issues relating to its assignment.

Nebo charged stakeholders in the power sector to cooperate with the board to ensure that the nation’s common goal of delivering power for household utilisation commercial activities as well as industrial and economic development activities.

He said there is a humongous task for the TCN but expressed optimism that the calibre of people on the board would deliver on the enormous task.

“I want to clearly state that looking at the calibre of the mem-

bers of this board, I have no doubt in my mind that this board will deliver on the enormous task of overseeing the operations Manitoba Hydro to deliver on the aspirations of government in all areas of results. It is what you evacuate and give to the distribution companies that they will give to Nigerians, so you will supervise this work to give Nigeria a most virile, potent and a most adequate transmission network,” he said.

The minister said that consequent upon President Goodluck Jonathan’s recognition of the need to revamp and restructure to make it more efficient, Manitoba Hydro of Canada was offered a three year management contract for TCN in September 2012, to work with in-house team and take control of the daily operations of the company.

automatically routes the consignment to red, which is 100 percent physical inspection, green, which is scanning and yellow, which is partly scanning and partly inspection, but regretted that the service now routes every consignment to physical examination..

The ARFF-boss regretted that before now, consignments belonging to most corporate importers, especially members of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria go through the green channel, which implies that they leave immediately because of their high level of compliance are now also subjected physical examination, wastes a lot

of time.

Investigations also showed that apart from problems associated with physical examination, most of the terminal operators lack the capacity to adequately handle the volume of cargo that comes through their terminals, which also results to build up of cargo.

It was gathered that it sometimes takes over 14 days for a clearing agent to secure a date with the terminal operator to position his container for examination due to a combination of lack of the needed plants and equipment and the general capacity to handle such volume of cargo.

FG lauds OLAM on rice production STANLEY IHEDIGBO

T

he Presidential Committee on Benchmark on Rice has commended Olam Agro Technical Processing Company on local rice production, as they visited the farm in Doma, Nasarawa State.

According to a company statement, the visit had been instigated by the need to ensure food availability in the country on the one hand, and also to encourage firms which are striving to make this a reality in the country.

It stated that what attracted the committee to visit the company was the ambitious rice farm of a local production, the Olam Agro Technical Processing Company was into.

Speaking after the tour, the committee Chairman, Mallam Dhiru Ado-Kurawa, stated that they has the general responsibility of monitoring rice in the country and regulating the price

for rice imports, adding that the company championing local cultivation of the staple on a highly mechanised large scale is commendable .

“We have been part and parcel of government encouraging rice production in Nigeria and monitoring the existing rice producers. I am very impressed by what I have seen here in this farm especially because Nigeria consumes 5.2 million metric tonnes of rice yearly and if we are serious and really mean business, we can cultivate all the rice we need here in the country and have the surplus to export.”

He said a lot of business people import because it is very easy to get banks to support them with letters of credit while they just sit back in their air-conditioned offices and place orders.

He added “I am very pleased that Olam is part and parcel of the government’s effort to make sure that we eradicate the import ation of rice.”

NIGCOMSAT, Newtec deal to boost ICT penetration KUNLE A ZEEZ

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he Nigerian Communications Satellite (NIGCOMSAT) Limited has sealed a partnership with Newtec of Belgium to deepen access to Information and Communication Technology in the country.

The partnership specifically aims to drive Ka-broadband service, as part of NIGCOMSAT’s move to leverage satellite technology to provide ubiquitous access to broadband services in Nigeria.

The services will ride on Nigeria’s premier communications satellite, NigComSat 1R, which was launched on December 19, 2011 in Xichang, China.

NigComSat 1R has quad bands of C, Ka, Ku and L. The Newtec deal with NIGCOMSAT was sealed after a series of meeting between Newtec

Chief Executive, Mr. Serge Van Herck and his NIGCOMSAT counterpart, Mr. Timasaniyu Ahmed-Rufai.

According to a joint statement by the two companies, which was signed the Head, Corporate Communications, NIGCOMSAT, Mr. Sonny Aragba-Akpore, the two company would provide a Ka broadband platform including terminals to offer Business-to-Business (B2B) and B2C broadband services.

The broadband platform will enable optimal and cost effect voice, data, video, Internet service solution over Nigeria via the NigComSat-1R satellite.

Commenting on the partnership, the statement quoted Ahmed-Rufai as saying that high speed and reliable Internet will transform the economy and lead to more and better opportunities for many individuals.

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Wednesday, March 13, 2013

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FG forecasts 500% increase in broadband penetration KUNLE A ZEEZ

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he Federal Government has said going by the quantum of efforts currently being put in place to drive initiatives that can encourage deployment of high-speed internet to Nigerian populace, the country is forecasts to achieve a 500 per cent increase in broadband penetration by 2015.

The target was made by the Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson, during an Information Communication Technology forum in Lagos.

The minister, who noted that the current state of broadband penetration in Nigeria is estimated at between six per and 10 per cent, stressed that attaining the benefits derived from broadband

connectivity will require not only industry collaboration but significant investment in time and in money.

She said with low broadband penetration rates and high cost of access to broadband, the government has realised that significant work still remains to be done and significant investments are still required to be made.

According to her, “The industry landscape has changed since the early days of liberalisation– the competitive landscape has changed, the technology continues to evolve, consumers are getting more demanding for bandwidth and industry priorities for infrastructure are now more focused on broadband employment, raising new challenges for our network operators and infrastructure providers.”

She said this has made the government to continue to be alive to its responsibilities in developing the appropriate policy, legal and regulatory framework to attract the necessary domestic and foreign direct investment to fuel the data/internet revolution that the country needs.

Johnson said President Goodluck Jonathan had taken a holistic approach at driving broadband with the inauguration of a Presidential Committee on September 20, 2012 with the mandate to produce a broadband strategy and roadmap.

She said: “The end result of deliberations over the last five months is a roadmap with clear time bound phases that will deliver our policy objective of a 500 per cent increase in broadband penetration by 2015.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Nokia appoints Imudia MD for West and Central Africa STANLEY IHEDIGBO

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orld leading phone manufacturing company, Nokia has announced the appointment of Mr. Nick Imudia as Managing Director for its West and Central Africa operations.

Covering a territory that includes Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Cameroon, Liberia, Chad, Niger, Benin and Togo, Imudia will be based in the Nokia office in Lagos.

According to the statement, Imudia joined Nokia in 1998 and has held several senior positions within the organisation over the past 15 years, including Senior Manager for Retail IT Products and Systems, based out of Singapore; Director of Consumer and Marketing Solutions and Head of Sales and Marketing Solutions.

Prior to his move to West Africa, Imudia was based in Finland as Director for the Sales and Mar-

keting Capability Unit, a role in which he held global responsibility for all of the processes, tools and systems for the Nokia sales and marketing function.

In his new role, Imudia will assume overall responsibility for driving the Nokia business in West Central Africa, managing the local team to deliver on sales, marketing, customer care, logistics, retail execution and developer engagement. In line with the global Nokia strategy, Imudia will focus on delivering great mobile products and services to our customers and consumers.

“Nokia is the market leader in West and Central Africa, with a recognised and respected brand,” Imudia said.

“My goal is to retain our high brand preference by serving the needs of our valued consumers.

This will be achieved by working closely with our partners, operators, distributors, wholesalers, and retailers across the area to build a profitable business together.

DHL extends service centres to 1,000 KUNLE A ZEEZ

D L-R: Regional Manager, Enugu, Diamond Bank, Mr. Gozie Okoye; Senator Ben Collins Ndu; Executive Director, Regional Business South, Diamond Bank, Mr. Victor Ezenwoko and ED, Business Banking, Mrs. Ifeoma Agbai- Eleanya during the Customers’ forum of the bank in Enugu recently.

Management blocks planned Aero Airlines workers protest OLUSEGUN KOIKI

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arely 24 hours to the expiration of the 21-day ultimatum given the management of Aero Airlines to reverse the redeployment of its drivers and the commencement of planned protest by the unions, the airline’s management has sent a court summon restraining the staff from embarking on the protest.

National Mirror gathered that the airline had sent a letter to the unions from the National Industrial Court (NIC), restraining their members from embarking on the protest.

It will be recalled that activities was recently disrupted at Aero Airlines by the industry unions over the redeployment of the airline’s drivers by the management without their consent.

The disruption of work by the leaderships of the unions; the Air Transport Senior Staff Services

of Nigeria (ATSSSAN) and the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), led to the engagement of stern looking police officers by the airline’s management to man their exit and entry points.

The unions had accused the airline’s management of an attempt to strategically lay off the workers by outsourcing the transport division of the airline to another company without their consent.

According to the unions, no fewer than 41 drivers were issued redeployment letters to another company known as Remlord Tours and Car Hire Services, which allegedly belong to a member of the airline’s management.

Among those affected was a staff who had worked in the airline for 22 years. The redeployment of drivers cut across all the airports the airline has staff.

But the Ag. Managing Director of the airline, Obaro Ibru, said there were no plans to ease out

any worker, but the management wanted to cut cost.

A source close to the unions confided in our correspondent that the leadership of the unions had forwarded the letter to their lawyers for appropriate advice, but insisted that there was no going back on the planned protest today.

The source said, “The essence of the NIC is to restrain us from carrying out our protest on Tuesday (today) after the 21 days ultimatum we issued them, which will elapse today. We met with the workers and the workers said there was no going back on the protest.

“Left for me, I don’t mind being charged for contempt of law.

Since it is what the workers want, there is no going back. The workers must tell us what they want, which they have done. There is no court that can restrain anybody from protesting, it is not a strike, and we didn’t say we wanted to strike.”

HL Express, the world’s leading international express services provider, said it has expanded its network of DHL Service Points in Sub-Saharan Africa from the initial 300 to over 1,000, in just a few months.

The move, according to the company, is an aggressive expansion into the market which is aimed to further cement the company’s leading position in Africa but also to offer local consumers and small businesses an efficient, convenient way of shipping overseas.

The logistics and express company, which is present in 52 Sub-Saharan Africa markets,

has been looking to improve access for cash and account customers, creating enhanced accessibility for customers and increasing connectivity between African markets and the over 220 countries and territories that DHL currently serves worldwide.

Managing Director of DHL Express Sub-Saharan Africa, Mr. Charles Brewer, said, in the company’s recent 2012 Global Connectedness Index, which measures the state of globalisation around the world, Sub-Saharan Africa remained the globe’s least connected continent.

“However, it did average the largest increase from 2010 to 2011 and boasted the top five ‘gainers’, Mozambique, Togo, Ghana, Guinea and Zambia.

Intel, W-TEC train Nigerian women on entrepreneurship KUNLE A ZEEZ

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ntel Corporation, a global information technology firm, has engaged Nigerian women in a three-day technology and entrepreneurship training as part of its commitment to nation building in commemoration of the World Women Day celebrated recently.

The free training was organised in partnership with the Women’s Technology Empowerment Centre (W-TEC) to encourage women seeking to, or already fully engaged in entrepreneurial activities beef up their skills especially in areas of technology enabling them compete favorably and profitably with their counterparts around the world.

Expressing gratitude to Intel for

their initiative, Executive Director, The Women’s Technology Empowerment Centre, Oreoluwa Somolu, stated that she was excited about the partnership with Intel Corporation seeing that the issues regarding women were more often than not regarded as trivial and not relevant to the development of the nation.

“Entrepreneurial forces are relatively strong in this country with women being at the hub of entrepreneurial activities. The lack of jobs and the rise in poverty leave few other options for the average Nigerian more so the Nigerian woman. However there appears to be a critical role and place of technology in entrepreneurship towards the advancement of the nation, for which the woman plays a critical role,” said Somolu.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

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Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Energy Week

udemea@rocketmail.com 07031546994

FG begins rehabilitation of depots, other downstream infrastructure The downstream sector of the petroleum industry, involving refining, distribution and marketing of petroleum products was almost crippled by vandalism and irregular maintenance. UDEME AKPAN reports that efforts targeted at improving distribution have started.

Tankers loading at a fuel depot.

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ith infrastructure, including 21 petroleum products depots and about 5120 kilometres pipelines, many watchers of the nation’s downstream sector, involving refining, distribution and marketing did not expect Nigeria to experience much instability in products distribution.

This hope becomes more concrete as many of the depots, including Aba, Enugu, Markudi, Warri, Benin, Mosimi, Ejigbo, Ibadan, Ore, Ilorin, Kaduna, Minna and Suleja are interlined. More than that, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), through its subsidiary, the Pipelines Products Marketing Company (PPMC), also operates a fleet of marine vessels dedicated to moving products such as petrol, kerosene and diesel along the nations’ coastal water – from Port Harcourt and Warri to Lagos and from Port-Harcourt to Calabar.

Products moved into Lagos through the coastal vessels are usually discharged at the Atlas Cove, where they are received into storage tanks for on-

DESPITE THE FACILITIES AND LOGISTICS ARRANGEMENT, IT HAS NOT ALWAYS BEEN POSSIBLE TO MOVE PRODUCTS FROM ONE PART OF THE NATION TO ANOTHER ward pumping to Mosimi depot near Sagamu in Ogun State from where the products are further pumped to other depots such Ibadan, Ilorin and Ore. The corporation also has a throughput agreement with some private depot owners for use of their storage tanks and load out facilities for product reception and distribution to independent and major marketers.

Despite the facilities and logistic arrangement, it has not always been possible to move products from one part of the nation to another as a result of many reasons. First, for inexplicable reasons, some past administrations had abandoned the depots, jetties and pipelines. Second, frequent vandalism of basic infrastructure, especially pipelines affected maximum utilisation of the depots and jetties.

For instance, authoritative report documented that the nation recorded over 774 break points within three months from August to October 2012 from Atlas Cove to Ilorin depot. Between Atlas Cove and Mosimi depot, the nation recorded 181 break points, from Mosimi to Ibadan, another 421 raptured points and from Mosimi to Ore, it recorded 50 vandalised points. It also recorded 122 break points between Ibadan and Ilorin.

Consequently, it resorted to trucking as alternative means of moving products at higher cost. The process was not only expensive but also less effective with the attendant operational hazards. Records indicated that with the incessant attacks on the nation’s vast artery of pipelines about 70 percent products distribution is

through trucking or what is known in the industry parlance as bridging into the hinterlands. This requires massive fleets of petroleum product trucks of up to 1,212 trucks load out from the depots daily. This deteriorating state of affairs made many people and institutions to lose hope that efficient fuel distribution would ever be accomplished in the nation.

However, things seem to be looking up as the government through NNPC has embarked on the rehabilitation of many downstream facilities. The Group Managing Director of the corporation, Mr. Andrew Yakubu, who confirmed the development stated that: “So far, the aggressive facilities rehabilitation programme has witnessed the revamping of the hitherto comatose PPMC Benin Depot - re-commissioned complete with the rehabilitation of the 89.9km WarriBenin pipeline; Aba Depot has also been re-commissioned with the recovery of the Port Harcourt - Aba pipeline to reCONTINUED ON PAGE 36

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National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

FG begins rehabilitation of depots, other downstream infrastructure CONTINUED FROM PAGE 35 store product supply to the depot. Also, the Okrika PPMC Jetty has also been rehabilitated and re-commissioned while rehabilitation and expansion of the Atlas Cove Jetty is also ongoing.

He unfolded short and long term measures being implemented to improve the operational capacities of downstream facilities in the industry. These included the immediate mobilisation of engineers to site to clamp and fix the ruptured points to restore pumping of petroleum products in keeping with his promise that no part of the country would suffer fuel scarcity on account of the incident and clearing of the Pipeline Right of Way to make the area accessible and difficult for oil thieves and vandals to carry out their nefarious activities in hiding.

Yakubu disclosed that platforms have been provided for security men to effectively monitor the movements in and around the area. A new technology has been deplored to make the pipeline inaccessible to oil thieves and vandals. The GMD boss remarked that: “It also heralds the introduction of the state-of-the art Horizontal Direct Drilling System (HDD), designed to re-direct the pipelines and ensure that vandals and hackers to gain easy access to the pipelines by burying them deeper into the ground.

Besides, the rehabilitation of depots and product supply pipelines, the government has embarked on aggressive expansion of NNPC Retail Limited. This is targeted at increasing its retail outlets across the country in order to expand its product dispensing capacity. He also affirmed that fuel supply has remained stable and the NNPC via PPMC has evolved adequate measures to avert potential reemergence of fuel queues anywhere in the nation.

Yakubu stated that the project has the support of President Goodluck Jonathan and top leadership of the security agencies and appealed to state governments, local government, communities and

Jonathan

other stakeholders to join hands with the NNPC to stamp out pipeline vandalism for the growth of the economy. The GMD confirmed that the refineries were running at different levels of effectiveness, noting that TAM for Port Harcourt Refining Company has been scheduled for April this year.

The Managing Director of PPMC, Mr. Haruna Momoh, stated that with the 258 tanks in the 21 depots and a holding capacity of 2.6 billion litres of petroleum products and with the over 5,000km network of pipelines across the country, the NNPC is ready to constantly wet the nation with products.

He assured consumers that NNPC would continue to do all within its ability to ensure that fuel queues remain a thing of the past. Speaking on behalf of the Chief of Army Staff, Brig. Gen. Emeka Okonkwo said it is the duty of the army to support civil authority and that the army is in Arepo to re-establish the right of way of the NNPC pipeline from Mosimi to Ibadan within ninety days assuring that the military engineers would deliver on its mandate. The management of the NNPC mobilised

Yakubu

Haruna Momoh

THE OKRIKA PPMC JETTY HAS ALSO BEEN REHABILITATED AND RE-COMMISSIONED

WHILE REHABILITATION AND EXPANSION OF THE

ATLAS COVE JETTY IS ALSO ONGOING

the Nigerian Army, Nigerian Police and the Nigerian Civil Defence Corps to the NNPC System 2B artery in Arepo ensured that security is improved in the area and other locations.

A visit to Arepo showed that the swampy terrain has been opened up, making it possible for security and other personnel to monitor the area unlike in the past. This has attracted the comments of some stakeholders. For instance, the National President of Oil and Gas Service Providers Association of Nigeria, (OGSAN), Mr. Colman Obasi stated in a telephone interview that the

measure would assist to achieve stability in fuel distribution in the nation.

He remarked that: “Many of the nation’s downstream infrastructure are located in remote areas, including Villages in the Niger Delta and other parts of the nation. Obasi called for the paying of increase attention to these and other people as provided for in the new Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB). Specifically, Obasi stated that the allocation of 10 per cent funds to host communities in the new PIB may likely encourage residents in such communities to assist in watching over such facilities.

Consequently, he tasked legislators who disagreed over some issues in the bill to forget their differences in order to complete work on the PIB. Obasi also called on stakeholders to mount a major campaign against willful destruction of the facilities. These and other suggestions should not be dismissed with the wave of the hand for a reason. Refining, distributing and marketing petroleum products require and will continue to depend on massive infrastructure which should not only be established but also be maintained.

Promote investment through regulation, infrastructure and security – US senator tells FG

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he Federal Government has been urged to improve on regulation, provide more infrastructure and security in order to attract and retain investors in the oil and gas industry.

The Energy Consultant and Wyoming (USA) State Senator, Dr. Cale Case who made the call stated that: “Hand in hand with the regulatory, contractual and participation environment, security concerns are of paramount importance, especially as firms consider on-shore investments.

In his paper scheduled for presentation in April, which copy was made available to National Mirror, Case stated that anyone making a substantial investment in Nigeria must consider the possibility of damage to infrastructure and threats (some deadly) to personnel.

He maintained that: “Theft of oil is well documented, especially in the Niger Delta region, as is violence against workers and the destruction of infrastruc-

ture. No one knows the extent of the problem, but it is widely acknowledged to be substantial.

Case stated that some reports estimate thievery at an astonishing $1 billion or more per month, while others guess a still astonishing $500 million per month.

He stated that: “Irrefutably dampening the enthusiasm of investors, frequent kidnapping of oil workers and the far less frequent murder create international headlines and drive home the lack of security. Electricity assets are not immune to theft as is well documented in the distribution network.

Higher voltage theft occurs as well, although the extent of this problem is not known.

He remarked that theft of natural gas is possible, but the more likely result is a damaged pipeline, creating a dangerous situation and a loss of gas.

According to him this type of environment is not exactly conducive to

fostering investment in the energy sector by domestic or international companies.

However, Case noted that lack of security is not a ubiquitous problem as investments can be made safely in some areas, a fact known more clearly by firms with experience in working in Nigeria.

He admonished stakeholders, especially investors to begin where it is safe to do so and to attempt to make new areas safer.

Case stated that: “One cannot help but wonder if the ingenuity of the thieves can be harvested for good. According to some reports, oil theft occurs out of a frustration with unemployment and lack of economic development in areas where oil is produced.

He remarked that oil theft and refining provides a way to create employment and realise a return on a resource which is fervently (all be it advanta-

geously) believed to be “theirs”.

The senator noted that the PIB would, to some extent assist to address this unrest by directing increased revenue to the Delta region to assist in economic development efforts through the creation of a “Petroleum Host Communities Fund”.

He remarked that sometimes owners of new investment face the official or community demands for compensation with the law, at least partially, on their side.

Case stated that: “Official shakedowns via permitting and right of way costs as well as frequent out and out extortion for bribes, side-payments and favors create a lack of incentive to invest in the power sector. This is especially true as developers face a fragmented system of local and state government jurisdiction. Multinational oil companies are not immune from special requests to make investments when it otherwise would not be warranted.”

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Energy Week

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

37

OPEC daily basket price falls to $107.06 a barrel UDEME AKPAN

WITH AGENCY REPORT

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he price of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC basket of 12 crudes has dropped from $107.31 to $107.06 per barrel over the weekend, 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).

This implies less foreign exchange generation for major crude oil producers and exporters, including Nigeria whose projection is based $79 per barrel this year.

Brent crude declined to its lowest level this year, erasing this week’s advance, as flows increased through a North Sea pipeline after a five-day halt.

It is not only OPEC basket. Available figures showed that the prices of other crude oil grades also slide marginally at the volatile market.

For instance, Brent futures dropped as much as 1.8 percent to the lowest since Dec. 26. The Brent Pipeline System in the North Sea is “approaching” its targeted flow rate of 80,000 barrels a day.

Bloomberg stated that the system had an unplanned halt on March 2.

West Texas Intermediate crude was little changed; paring losses after the U.S. added more jobs than forecast last month.

It stated that Brent for April settlement decreased as much as $2.01 a barrel to $109.14 on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange. It traded for $109.95 yesterday and is down 0.4 percent this week. The volume of all futures traded was more than three

Oil storage vessel

tional payrolls numbers,” said Andrey Kryuchenkov, an analyst at VTB Capital in London. “We shall have to wait and see what happens next, but there’s no doubt this is a macro-driven session.”

Employment rose 236,000 last month after a revised 119,000 gain in January that was smaller than first estimated, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. The median forecast of 90 economists surveyed by Bloomberg projected an advance of 165,000. The jobless rate dropped from 7.9 percent.

Oil prices are “at a reasonable level and will stay at this level” in the first half of the year, Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi said today in Tehran, according to the official Islamic Republic News Agency.

Indian refiners including Mangalore Refinery & Petrochemicals Ltd. (MRPL) may be forced to halt purchases of Iranian crude as local insurers refuse to cover the risks for any refinery using that oil, a company executive said.

times the 100-day average. The European benchmark grade was at a premium of $18.66 to WTI futures.

The agency maintained that WTI for April delivery was 27 cents down at $91.29 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The contract rose $1.13 to $91.56 yesterday, the biggest gain since February 11 and the highest close since February 28. Futures are up 0.9 percent this week, the first weekly advance in three.

Taqa said yesterday it had started restoring the flow “of an estimated 80,000 barrels a day of crude” to the North Sea Brent pipeline, which accounts for about 10 percent of U.K. oil production. The company can’t yet say when the targeted flow- rate will be reached. Brent is one of four North Sea grades that make up the Dated Brent pricing benchmark.

Payrolls increased more than forecast in February and the jobless rate unexpectedly fell to a five-year low of 7.7 percent, a sign U.S. employers were undaunted by the budget impasse in Washington.

“There was an immediately positive reaction from the market in response to excep-

Source: Oilprice.com

Power: FG seeks partnership with USAID CHIDI UGWU, ABUJA

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he Federal Government has called on the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), to assist the nation in its quest to provide improved

power in the country.

Minister of Power, Prof. Chinedu Nebo made the call when the US AID, led by the US Ambassador to Nigeria, Ambassador Terence Mcculley, paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja.

He reiterated government’s commitment to the implementation of the reform

agenda, adding that despite the challenges confronting the reform process, the only way forward was to ensure its completion.

Nebo pointed out that the national grid will never go round every community in Nigeria and therefore, stressed that renewable energy must be made a

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

significant part of the energy mix to ensure the provision of electricity for all.

On his part, Ambassador Mcculley stated that a new energy initiative for Africa will soon be released.

He expressed pleasure at the privatization programme, describing it as a step in the right direction as government alone cannot adequately cater for the power needs of the people.

In the same vein, the minister also met with the Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Ambassador Chris Cooter and stated that the Federal Government is interested in capacity building to meet up the challenges of the privatisation process.

He, therefore, called on the Canadian government to collaborate with the National Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN), to ensure the training of the nation’s teeming youths so as to provide the needed manpower for successful implementation of the power sector reform.

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Energy Week

CHIDI UGWU ABUJA

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frican nations, including Nigeria have commercial reserves of nenewable energy resources, including wind, biomass and solar. Unfortunately, they are not properly harnessed for commercial applications to meet the various needs as a result of some factors, especially inadequate funding, lack of basic infrastructure and inconsistent policies.

But things seem to be changing for good as many nations; particularly Nigeria is set to boost investment in the sector, thus, raising hope that the nation could become a leading producer in the coming years.

The Minister of Power, Professor Chinedu Nebo who confirmed the development reiterated Federal Government’s resolve to explore the abundant renewable energy sources in 2013.

Already, Nebo stated that the Climate Investment Funds (CIF), has sealed an agreement to boost investment with $50 million (N7.8 billion). Also, at the Africa Carbon Forum in Senegal’s capital Dakar recently, United Nations officials, World Bank specialists, and business leaders exchanged strategies for “Clean Development Mechanism” (CDM), projects in the continent - greenhouse gas-reducing initiatives that industrialised countries can support as a way to compensate for their excess emissions. The event focused on the possibility of future CDM projects under a successor agreement to the Kyoto Protocol, especially if the United States joins the market.

Africa is said to be the least beneficiary from the $7 billion annual CDM market. Since the European Union began trading “carbon credits” through its Emissions Trading Scheme in 2005, only 27 of the 1,156 CDM projects included under the scheme have been registered in Africa, Yvo de Boer, executive secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), told the carbon forum.

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

FG moves to boost renewable energy

Nebo

THE WORK TO IMPROVE ENERGY EFFICIENCY AND INCREASE THE USE OF RENEWABLES IS IN LINE WITH THE

NIGERIA’S NATIONAL POLICY FRAMEWORK But a recent World Bank report provides further evidence of the continent’s potential in renewable energy. According to the report, Sub-Saharan Africa could provide more than 170 gigawatts of additional power-generation capacity - more than double the region’s current installations - through 3,200 “low-carbon” energy projects, such as combined heat-and-power, biofuels production, mass transportation, and energy efficiency.

He reiterated that in Nigeria, the exploration and utilisation of such energy sources as mini hydro, solar wind, coal

and bio mass would ensure the provision of electricity to the rural dwellers as well as reduce carbon emission.

Nebo, while addressing some members of the German Parliament led by the German Ambassador to Nigeria Mrs. Dorothee Janetzke-Wenzel said Nigeria has abundance of both natural and human resources which have not yet been tapped optimally to boost the renewable energy. He lamented that the power situation in Nigeria is far below expectation and urged the German Government to assist the country in the area of power supply.

The Minister of State for Power, Hajiya Zainab Ibrahim Kuchi stated that government has done a lot of feasibility studies on mini-hydro power in the country and as such needs private investors to implement the projects.

Kuchi emphasised the need of using waste to energy as this would help provide electricity as well as clean-up the environment.

The German Ambassador to Nigeria,

Mrs. Dorothee Janetzke-Wenzel said members of the German parliament were in Nigeria for a fact finding mission targeted at ascertaining the power sector situation as well as possible areas of investment.

Members of the parliament said the German Government is interested in the positive development of Nigeria, and electricity is catalyst to the development of any country. The Climate Investment Funds funding, being provided under the CIF’s Clean Technology Fund (CTF), is designated to stimulate alternative and efficient ways to generate electricity and to reduce dependence on energy sources which contribute significantly to greenhouse gas emissions, according to a release on the African Development Bank Group website.

The funds would be used to stimulate investment in downstream opportunities that would lead to greater energy efficiency through a range of technologies, including industrial energy efficiency investments, renewable energy, renewable-based hybrid systems, and cleaner fuels and combustion processes.

The CTF money would complement support provided through the AfDB private sector window, to help the country address energy efficiency in critical sectors such as power, agribusiness, transport, telecommunications, and education, by targeting local financial institutions to invest and support the shifts to clean, efficient and affordable energy in the sectors.

The work to improve energy efficiency and increase the use of renewables is in line with the Nigeria’s national policy framework designed to lead the country to an ambitious set of energy goals, including rural energy scale-up and actions to ensure energy efficiency through a combination of regulations and incentives at the national scale.

ES, NCDMB wins award of excellence

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he Executive Secretary, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Engr. Ernest Nwapa has been conferred with an Award of Excellence by the South-South Youth Assembly.

Speaking at the award conferment ceremony held recently in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, the National President of the group, Comrade Ovie Afor explained that the Executive Secretary was chosen in recognition of the remarkable achievements the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board had recorded, not only in the implementation of the Nigerian Content Act and but also in the development of young people in the country.

Accepting the award, Nwapa enthused that the honour would spur him and the dedicated staff the board to focus on the lofty mandate set for the board by the Federal Government and people of Nigeria.

He asserted that Nigerian Content is an important programme to the nation and if well implemented, will ensure that a lot of economic problems are mit-

igated, hence the huge responsibility on the board to make the initiative a reality.

The executive secretary who noted government’s concerted efforts to diversify the economy, stated that the oil and gas industry will remain the main stay of the Nigerian economy for a long time, thus the need to maximise the resources from the industry as a spring board to other sectors of the economy.

He frowned at the over emphasis on social employment, urging oil bearing communities to focus on getting their people involved in productive employment, which the Nigerian Content Act is promoting.

According to him, the Nigerian Content Act had helped Nigerians to get into businesses they did not ordinarily believe they would, urging the youths to focus on innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship rather than getting paid jobs, which unfortunately are not always available.

Dwelling on the implementation strategies of the Nigerian Content Act, the Nwapa said the Board was stimu-

Oil workers on duty

lating equipment components manufacturing, which will ensure capital retention, technology transfer, capacity development and training. He emphasized that equipment ownership and training were some of the areas the Board is giving prime focus, as well as the maintenance equipment like rigs, vessels and other hi-tech industry assets.

He harped on the need for peace which is necessary to attract investment, adding, “It is a challenge and I expect youths in the South-South can come together and enthrone an atmosphere of peace and tranquility in the region and give government some years to see if it will live up to its billing and if the foreign investors will listen to the people’s agitations.”

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Energy Week

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

39

Meters: PHCN battles to meet consumers’ demand STORIES: UDEME AKPAN

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he Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) has intensified efforts to install new meters for consumers who have paid for the facility in different parts of the nation.

Investigations showed that the moves are targeted at achieving accurate billing as well as satisfy the consumers who have at various times agitated for the meters.

At Ikeja Electricity Distribution Plc, consumers were seen making efforts to get the meters installed for them.

A consumer who preferred not to be named told National Mirror that: “I have been on this since last year because my bills were becoming high.

He said the new meters would enable him to reduce his monthly bills, thereby using such savings on other things.

A source in the company said: “We are not providing the meters to everyone. We are asked to ensure the meters are provided for those who paid. Later, we will decide on the next thing to do.”

National Mirror learnt that many consumers who have been waiting for months to get the new meters are compelled to continue using the old meters whose reading is based the estimation of PHCN officials that have no scientific or proven basis for their calculations.

Consequently, the monthly bills of consumers, including households and industries have risen by over 150 per cent in the past six months as a result of the guesswork.

Electricity 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 (DISCOs).

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 in the past.

Besides, many consumers said they were compelled to pay additional N100 in some parts of Lagos, including Ikotun District of PHCN. An angry consumer who preferred not to be named said: “I do not see why I should be made to pay additional N100 in the process of paying my normal monthly tariff. This is to say the least, most unwarranted.”

Already, small scale industries have stated in their petitions to the Nigeria Association of Small and Medium Enterprises (NASME), that the high cost of the new Multi Year Tariff Order 11, introduced last June was counter-productive on their operations.

A recent NASME sponsored study confirmed that several negative implications of the new tariff on small scale business operators whose activities have assisted in various ways to reduce unemployment in the country.

The Executive Secretary of the organization, Mr. Eke Ubiji who confirmed the development said NASME is ready to engage with relevant government institutions, especially Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), in order to

Transformer line

change the situation.

Consequently, NASME has called for the creation of separate classifications specifically for NSMEs aimed at enabling them to reduce the high operational cost. It further called for the elimination of all fixed charges.

NASME stated that: “In the medium to long term future, NASME recommends that the fixed charge is completely eliminated and all charges become variable based on consumption.”

The organisation explained that this would ensure that its members only pay for what they consume and ultimately encourage energy conservation in the nation.

Total signs agreements with oil communities

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otal has signed partnership agreements with communities in Abia and Rivers States that traverse the Northern Option Pipeline (NOPL).

The agreements cover scholarships, skills development infrastructure and employment opportunities.

The agreements are between Total and Idu Obosiukwu and Etche/Ikwerre,ObioAkpor/Owaza cluster communities on the NOPL project.

The five year partnership agreement with Idu Obosiukwu consists of: Post primary 45 persons, post secondary, 41 persons; post graduate (local) 4 persons; and post graduate (foreign) 2.

In the area of Skills Development, 65 persons are to benefit from the programme in five years from 2012 to 2016.

The firm is to invest N200 million on infrastructure development to be executed in five years; and Employment slots for 3 community indigenes into the company within the duration of the Agreement.

The Director, Rivers State Ministry of Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr. Edward Teneilabe and the Special Adviser on Oil & Gas to the Abia State Governor Chinwe Nwanganga commended the company for its transparent dealings with the communities which has engendered peace and also boosted the image of Total.

They used the opportunity to call for the strict implementation of projects and programmes.

The Executive General Manager JV Onshore, Mr. Jean-Claude Vachet stated the provisions contained in the agreements are far reaching with potentials to transform the lives of community members.

The Northern Option Pipeline Gas project is a 50km pipeline which transverses 49 communities from Rumuji in Rivers State to Owaza, Abia State, a key infrastructure within Nigerian Gas Master Plan to allow the supply of up to 300 million standard cubic feet of gas per day (mscf/d) of domestic gas to the Alaoji Power Plant through Imo

Water project

River node.

Idu Obosiukwu, is one of the company’s host communities in Oml 58 in the JV Onshore Assets.

Total stated that it has been serving the Nigerian hydrocarbons industry for nearly half a century, in partnership with the Nigerian Government and in different equity associations with other private companies.

It stated that: “Our company is the country’s fourth-largest oil and gas producer through its involvement in more than 50 permits, including nine as operator.”

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 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.

OPEC increases oil output to 3-month high

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he Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), boosted its crude production to the highest in three months in February, this year.

The organisation confirmed that it pumped 30.31 million barrels a day last month, according to its monthly oil market report.

This level which showed an increase from 30.24 million in January and highest since November, according to OPEC estimates based on secondary sources.

Brent crude prices have fallen 1 percent this year on renewed concern that the European debt crisis will crimp global growth and depress oil demand.

The North Sea grade traded near $110 a barrel yesterday on the ICE Futures Europe exchange in London. OPEC’s 12 members kept their collective output target of 30 million barrels a day unchanged at their last meeting in December.

Saudi Arabia, the world’s largest crude exporter, increased output to 9.12 million barrels a day in February from 9.08 million the previous month, OPEC said. The kingdom said in its direct communication with the group that it pumped 9.15 million.

Iranian production in February was unchanged at 2.7 million barrels a day, OPEC said. The country’s own estimate was 3.7 million, which would put it as the second-biggest producer.

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Energy Week

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

The Kwale oilfield incident: Nigeria –Biafra War (1) Ossie

Esiemokai

BY THIS ACT OF CONQUEST, THE OIL FIELDS IN THE SOUTH

E-mail: anthonyossie52@yahoo.com Tel: 08023021212 (SMS only) he ensuing political and ethnic angst in Oil terrains tend to put the life and limbs of oil workers in the way of harmful warlords, drug lords, ransom kidnappers and even renegade bunkerers and sea pirates. Specific examples that underscore the point above include the Nigeria – Biafra Civil War, the Angolan Civil War and the perpetual free-for-all mayhem happening in the Congo.

In that unfortunate country, wherein Joseph Conrad had depicted the Heart of Darkness during the shameful, crime against humanity rule of the Belgian King Leopold I, whose ‘farmland’ it was.

In the DRC rebel groups (indefinite number), lethal blood diamonds overlords, neighboring states’ armies and even renegade deserters carve out a piece of mineral rich fiefdom and settle down to furious mining through forced labor from the forest dwellers with institutionalized indiscriminate rape of the womanhood as a pastime.

In the course of the Nigeria-Biafra War fought between 1967 and January 1970, two incidents come to mind and worth narrating to underpin the above point of oil workers getting in the way of another man’s war. One was the near fatal harm that befell the expatriate community working for Shell-BP and quartered in an expansive, well manicured estate in Port Harcourt in 1967 and 1968.

Even the oil production and refinery capacity was severely damaged either by design or collaterally. The other is what we would relate as the Kwale Oil Field Incident. While it is basically a replica of the In-Amenas terrorist act in Alge-

T

OF THE REGION CAME

BIAFRAN CONTROL. OIL, AS UNDER

STRATEGIC SCHOLARS HAVE ALWAYS SHOWN US IS A POWERFUL WEAPON OF WAR ria forty three years later, we would use the term then in use and call it hostage taking. The omnibus word – terrorism – gained ascendance with the Palestinian action against the Israeli Olympic Team in Munich in 1972. Later, Herr Baader and Ulriche Mienhoff of Germany and Carlos catch-me-if-you-can ‘The Jackal’ along with the Italian Red Brigades lent the term some morbid chic.

The Kwale episode got the State of Italy, the Vatican and even the Pontiff embroiled in the Biafran civil war raging in a far off African country. It was an incident that stretched the limits of Italian diplomacy; tested the Vatican’s influence in a real situation and demonstrated the clout of the few African countries that supported Biafra could exert on the encircled State and its leadership. When on the night of August 12 -13 1967, the Biafran forces over-ran the then Mid-West State of Nigeria.

It was an incredible case of lightening operation reminiscent of the Werhmacht overrun of Austria in 1939. As the secessionists’ intelligence chief and others later revealed in various memoirs and accounts, it took weeks of meticulous planning and ‘test’ runs. One of them re-

vealed that for seven straight weeks, Biafran Intelligence sent someone to travel the Onitsha to Lagos route every day. The agent was to report on access, natural or un-natural obstruction(s) and military or police checkpoints.

This writer, then a college student at St. John’s Fugar in the northern part of the region went to bed on the night of 12th August, under the might of the Federal Government of Nigeria and woke up the next morning under the governance of the Biafran expeditionary forces! The occupation or liberation soldiers were in his age group and he had narrowly escaped conscription by hightailing it from his previous secondary school, Stella Maris in Port Harcourt a few months back. By this act of conquest, the oil fields in the south of the region came under Biafran control. Oil, as strategic scholars have always shown us is a powerful weapon of war. In this incursion, the military advantage gained in that strike was frittered away by its commander.

This writer through the auspices of his now late senior brother David’s Telefunken transistor radio was opportuned to listen live, to the Biafran brigadier’s broadcast to the region late afternoon on August 14, 1967.

Even in the ears of a fifteen year old, he sounded contradictory in comparison to two previous broadcasts he was privileged to listen to. One was a repeat of aspects of the Nzeogwu broadcast the previous year and the other was the epochal Lt. Col Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s declaration of the independent State of Biafra on the 30th of May, 1967.

There was a heart-wrenching finality to the declaration (actually a repeat morning broadcast recorded at about 5am that day) wherein the logicality of the decision; the consensus and assent of the polity with the path chosen;

the diction and cadence of delivery made it one of the hallmark speeches of the 20th century. The broadcast which came on as the writer prepared to leave for school as a day student caused him to be punished for lateness to classes. This act of excision of a Region of Nigeria wherein his childhood lay was benumbing to say the least.

For the rest of the period of war, the radio’s dial remained on Radio Biafra, which in itself was a possibly treasonable and dangerous undertaking to which the listeners were not contemplative or probably oblivious. Oftentimes, our guardian David would listen to the Biafran news broadcast and immediately switch to Radio Nigeria to hear their version of the same events in the war fronts. For our money Radio Biafra was by miles the more interesting, even if not entirely credible! Goebbels had a point: the repetition of lies make them have a semblance of credibility. We can only add, based on our experience in the war that the mode of delivery, the forcefulness of elocution of falsehood as truth, helps develop gullibility. What with ace-broadcaster, the intrepid Okonkon Ndem, now late, holding forth?

The credibility of the new Republic’s broadcasts took a nose-dive when after we had seen pictures of jubilant Federal soldiers swarming Asata, Ogui, Uwani and Coal Camp in the Daily Times newspaper, Radio Biafra was still telling us listeners “this is Radio Biafra broadcasting from Enugu …” right even after the mining city’s liberation on October 4,1967. Nothing rang true anymore and for the rest of the war, we took in their information content with much more than a pinch of salt. We were doing so in the spoonfuls.

But we listened till January 1970 when, one afternoon, it suddenly went silent mid-sentence.

FG considers alternative funding of electricity meters

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he roll out of electricity meters is set to receive a major boost as the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), gives the go ahead to commence implementation of an alternative funding scheme that will see to the rapid deployment of electricity meters.

This hope becomes apparent following the adoption of NERC recommendation to the Presidential Action Committee on Power (PACP).

The Chairman/CEO of NERC, Dr. Sam Amadi who made a presentation to PACP was told to go ahead with the implementation of the scheme known as “Credit Advance Payment for Meter Installation – CAPMI”.

The scheme was designed as an alternative for customers who are willing to advance money to their distribution companies for speedy installation of prepayment meters.

NERC stated in a statement that: “One of the top priorities of the commission is ensuring that the huge number of unmetered customers is reduced

as rapidly as possible, and within the shortest possible time.

It stated that by doing so, the menace of ‘crazy billing’ and other commercial losses will be greatly curtailed.

The commission stated that: “In June 2012, NERC had announced that customers were no longer required to pay for electricity meters because the new tariff, at the time, had incorporated the cost of the meter in the fixed charge component of the bill.

According to the commission, this unfortunately, has not worked as well as the commission had expected, and nine months after the announcement, an unacceptable number of Nigerians still remain without meters. This prompted NERC to act quickly in coming up with customer centered alternatives.

It explained that CAPMI is an optional scheme that has been designed to allow willing customers advance money to their distribution company in exchange for the installation of meters.

The commission stated that: “Once meters have been installed under this

Electricity meter

new scheme, customers are then refunded for the cost of the meter by way of monthly reductions on the fixed charge element of their electricity bills over time.

It added that NERC has developed processes that ensure that the advance payments will be secure, and made in a transparent manner to dedicated bank

accounts in selected banks.

The commission has also developed guidelines for the procurement and installation of the meters by accredited vendors and installers. Local manufacturers of meters will be given priority over importers, all of whom will be subject to strict guidelines and standards set by the commission.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

41

42

Executive Discourse

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Labour issues would hinder new Many stakeholders have said that the protracted negotiations and counter negotiations between the Federal Government and workers in the power sector is one of the reasons the power sector reforms is still dragging. The President-General of the Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEAC), Mr. Bede Opara, in this interview with UDO ONYEKA and MESHACK IDEHEN insists that the new investors would not be allowed to take over any PHCN facility until all outstanding labour issues are addressed.

Excerpts.

Do you entertain any fear that the new investors coming into PHCN will not attach importance to staff welfare, right and privileges?

Electricity workers will always continue to prevail on both the government and the new investors to appreciate that labour; which in this particular instance means both workers within and outside the power sector is the most important resource in any industry or workplace.

The interests of the Nigerian workers remain paramount to us, either as labour unions, or as critical stakeholders in the nation’s power sector, because without the workers, including those in the power sector, the question to ask is where the companies operating in the sector will go? This point is also more important due to the fact that no matter the type of machines the new investors will install, it is human beings that are going to operate them. So what that boils down to, is that if you treat the workers right, they also will treat the machines right.

Therefore, we as the leadership of the workers in the power sector have reasons to talk to other stakeholders, and we will continue to talk to them, so that we can understand ourselves better and avoid any communication gap which can be counter-productive to the objectives of the reforms in the immediate and long term.

Part of these challenges of trying to secure the future of thousands of workers in the power sector in Nigeria are also reasons why I am seeking re-election as the President- General of the Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Employees.

Critical stakeholders within and outside the sector have also severally said that if I leave at this point in time, that there might be a disconnect from what we are doing and what we are going to face in the near future as a union.

You and I know that dealing with government is not the same as dealing with private sector operators. Therefore, we have to use every strategy we know or have learnt, to go to work and ensure that there is industrial harmony between the workers and the new investors in the power sector; that even if there is need for any worker to leave the organisation, that we will be able to find a way to get him or her back to work through outsourcing or any of the options available.

Would it be right to assume that electricity workers are entertaining fears that the Federal Government may back out of the series of agreement it has reached with labour, particularly the on-going reforms in the power sector and privatisation of PHCN in particular?

Yes, and that is the truth. We entertain and keep entertaining such fears, and that is why we keep saying we will not let go until every worker in the electricity sector has been paid his appropriate due.

Promising us that the new investors would retain every worker is impracticable. It is simply not possible. If a man buys a company, you do not tell him who to employ and who not to employ. But because workers in the sector know the stuff they are made

THE INTERESTS OF THE

NIGERIAN WORKERS REMAIN PARAMOUNT TO US, EITHER AS LABOUR UNIONS, OR AS CRITICAL STAKEHOLDERS IN THE NATION’S POWER

SECTOR, BECAUSE WITHOUT THE WORKERS, INCLUDING

THOSE IN THE POWER SECTOR, THE QUESTION TO ASK IS WHERE WILL THE COMPANIES

OPERATING IN THE SECTOR GO? off, considering the training and world class expertise they have received, we believe that the best hands will still remain in the system, irrespective of which investors take over the system.

Recently, you were quoted as saying that no new investor would be allowed to take over any of the PHCN facilities until all labour issues are settled?

Again, Yes. I did. I said that and I stand by that comment. The question to ask is why did I say so?

We as unions representing workers in the power sector have been negotiating with the government over the years, and we know that government officials are experts in violating agreements.

Nevertheless, and be that as it may, electricity workers are appealing that this latest agreement between the government and the industrial unions in the nation’ power sector is implemented to the letter.

You will recall that in some of the recent negotiations that the Federal Government’s side was led by no less a person than the Secretary to Government of the Federation, Senator Anyim Pius Anyim who in every sense of the word is President Goodluck Jonathan’s spokesperson. We appealed to him (Anyim) to make sure that the agreement does not go the way of previous ones, whereby, we keep struggling to get government to honour its own side of the agreements. But if he (Anyim) reneges, we will fight him. However, we know that Senator Anyim will not fail because he is an honourable man.

What would you say are your achievements so far as President- General of SSAEAC and contribution to the development of power sector?

Four years ago, when I assumed the leadership of our union, I had promised on behalf of my colleagues in the executive committee at that time, that we would build SSAEAC as a socially responsive and effective organisation. I promised to build a union which would command respect and the trust of the general public.

Four years down the line, I want to say with ev-

Opara

ery sense of modesty that through hard work, collective commitment, courage and unity of purpose, we have been able to build a union that is not only respected by government, but other employers of labour within and outside the power sector. Today, SSAEAC is respected as a voice and player to be reckoned with in the Nigerian economy and comity of trade unions. We have demonstrated purposeful leadership, defended and placed the interests of senior electricity workers on the front burner of public policy, among others.

And do not forget that we are still evolving as a union. This is the first executive committee of our union. Before now, we were operating as a branch or an appendage of SSASGOG. Following the registration of SSAEAC as an industrial union, we held our first Triennial Delegates conference in 2009. I inherited four junior staff at inception. But between then and now, we have employed a General Secretary who is a lawyer, two other professionals that retired as senior managers from the services of PHCN. We employed them to strengthen the administration of our national secretariat. We also employed five other graduates who are working in the secretariats in Lagos and Abuja.

Furthermore, we have opened branch offices in different parts of the country just as we are putting

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Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Executive Discourse

43

investors’ takeover of PHCN facilities

I WANT TO SAY WITH EVERY SENSE OF MODESTY THAT THROUGH HARD WORK,

COLLECTIVE COMMITMENT, COURAGE AND UNITY OF

PURPOSE, WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO BUILD A UNION THAT IS NOT ONLY RESPECTED BY GOVERNMENT, BUT OTHER

EMPLOYERS OF LABOUR WITHIN AND OUTSIDE THE POWER SECTOR.

in place other structures in line with the unbundling of PHCN. The whole essence is that as PHCN is unbundling, we are also unbundling as a union by creating branch offices. For each unbundled company, we also set up immediately, a branch unit of our association with a branch chairman who will in turn, report to the President-General of our union.

What is the rationale behind your committing N42 million towards the building of a new national secretariat and what are the features of the project?

We are still talking about the achievements of this leadership. It will interest you to know that the renovation of our national secretariat was not one of the promises that I made when I was running for the office in 2009. But somewhere along the line, we realised that it had become imperative to have a befitting national secretariat for our great union. Yes, on completion, the project would gulp N42 million.

But I can tell you without fear of contradiction, that the figure is very conservative. I say it is conservative because the project is being executed through direct labour. Some of our members offered free consultancy services for the project without charging us a kobo. Yet, if the figures given by contractors who wanted to handle certain aspects of the job are anything to go by, then, the entire project would go for over N60 million.

On the imperativeness of the project, I just want to say that the office structure we were using before was too small. That was before the PCHN management gave us this place. When we moved into the building which was constructed more than 50 years ago, we discovered that they were failures in certain places due to age. We decided that we would make maximum use of the structure by renovating

and reinforcing it. This is to avoid the incidence of collapsed building because we are an engineeringbased organisation. What non professionals do, we cannot afford to do them here. We decided therefore to consult experts in civil engineering.

You talked about the uniqueness of the project.

We are building an ultra modern secretariat. And what you are seeing is the first phase of the project.

The next phase would consist of a multi-purpose conference centre and state-of-art ICT equipment whereby we can talk or communicate with anybody in any part of the world from here. With this edifice firmly in place, I want to assure you that the days of desperately searching for convenient venues to hold our activities are over.

What are you promising your members in the next four years if you get a second mandate as President-General of SSAEAC ?

As I said earlier, our association is still evolving. If I am given a second mandate, I will strive to consolidate on the achievements we’ve recorded so far and also move the association to the next level.

There is no doubt that we are going to deal with a lot of challenges. But they will not be insurmountable.

44

Global Business

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nited Kingdom industrial production unexpectedly fell in January as factory output slumped, fueling concerns that Britain may slip into a triple-dip recession.

Production fell 1.2 percent from December, when it jumped 1.1 percent, the Office for National Statistics said yesterday in London. The median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of 29 economists was for a 0.1 percent increase. Manufacturing also unexpectedly declined, by 1.5 percent. The pound fell.

The U.K. economy shrank in the fourth quarter and the Bank of England has forecast that growth will remain “weak” in the near term. As manufacturers battle a continued slump in the euro area, the U.K.’s biggest trading partner, as well as lackluster demand at home, today’s data have fueled concern the economy will fall into its third recession in five years.

“A dire set of U.K. data,” said Ross Walker, an economist at Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc in London. It leaves a “decline in first-quarter gross domestic product looking more likely than not. Sustainable recovery and macroeconomic rebalancing feel as

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

U.K. industrial output unexpectedly falls on oil, gas

UK Prime Minister, David Cameron

distant as ever.”

The drop in manufacturing output in January compared with economists’ forecast for an unchanged reading. The statistics office said respondents to the survey didn’t cite heavy snowfalls that month for the slump. Nida Ali, economic adviser to the Ernst & Young ITEM Club, said it may

Japan’s fiscal impasse threatens stimulus to spur growth

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apan’s political gridlock threatens to curtail the government’s ability to apply fiscal stimulus as a rebound falters in the world’s third-largest economy.

Opposition parties in the upper house of parliament stymied legislation approved in the lower house August 28 that enables the issuance of 38.3 trillion yen ($490 billion) of deficit- financing bonds, seeking to force Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda into an early election. The government could hit a spending ceiling as soon as October, according to the Finance Ministry.

The freeze may suspend outlays from this year’s budget for the first time, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc., and limits Noda from proceeding with the supplementary spending package he mooted in July. With economists increasingly seeing an economic contraction this quarter, the deadlock adds to risks facing global expansion that include a so-called fiscal cliff of spending cuts and tax increases in the U.S. at year-end.

“The impasse on deficit-covering bonds may delay the compilation of a stimulus package and would be a drag for the economy,” said Taro Saito, Tokyo-based director of economic research at NLI Research Institute and a past winner of a Japan Center for Economic Research award for accuracy in forecasting. “This is not as severe as the U.S. fiscal cliff but could be said to be Japan’s fiscal slope.”

Japanese stocks headed for a fourth day of declines, the longest losing streak in more than a month, on pessimism about the global expansion. The Nikkei 225 Stock Average was down 0.4 percent Monday in Tokyo. The yen was at 78.37 per dollar, about 4 percent from its postwar high, underscoring the threat to exporters of a strong currency.

Besides exchange-rate appreciation, Japan’s manufacturers are facing diminishing demand abroad, hurt by the European crisis, China’s slowdown and stunted

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partly reflect the impact of the “sharp” increase in December.

The pound dropped as much as 0.6 percent yesterday It fell to as low as $1.4832, the weakest since June 2010, and was trading at $1.4895 yesterday. in London, down 0.1 percent on the day. Government bonds rose, pushing the 10-year gilt yield down five ba-

Hong Kong may boost spending on poor as income gap widens

H

Yoshihiko Noda

American growth. A government report yesterday showed capital spending rose 6.6 percent in the second quarter from a year before, less than the 7.8 percent median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey.

This report spurred economists to cut forecasts for Japan’s second-quarter gross domestic product, initially reported at an annualised 1.4 percent gain. Officials may pare that calculation to 0.9 percent on September 10, according to the median of seven projections in a Bloomberg survey.

sis points to 1.96 percent.

“It is quite early in the flow of first-quarter data, but the data so far suggest that first-quarter growth may well be negative, or at best flat,” said Michael Saunders, an economist at Citigroup Inc. in London.

Reports from Markit Economics last week showed factory output shrank in February and an index of construction reached the lowest in more than three years. Still, services strengthened and the three surveys point to “modest” growth in the first quarter, Markit said.

This production data showed that mining and quarrying fell 2.4 percent in January from December, while electricity and gas rose 1.2 percent. Oil and gas dropped 4.3 percent because of the closing of the Schiehallion platform, operated by BP Plc. (BP/) The ONS said the suspension will continue for four to five years as a new production and loading vessel is built. Oil and gas output also plunged in September and October 2012 when the Buzzard platform in the North Sea was temporarily shut.

ong Kong’s government may boost spending on the poor and elderly in its first budget under Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying as record home prices and falling ratings add pressure to narrow a widening income gap.

The government may report a surplus of HK$55 billion ($7.1 billion), boosting reserves to a record HK$724 billion, according to Marcella Chow, an economist at Bank of America Corp. in Hong Kong. The budget, presented by Financial Secretary John Tsang, will probably trim one-time measures and focus spending on alleviating poverty and helping the aged, Chow said.

Hong Kong’s doubling of a propertysales tax last week underscored Leung’s failure to tame a market that has surpassed its 1997 high, spurring warnings of a bubble and stoking social tensions. Leung, may need to refocus on his campaign promises to make housing affordable and narrow the rich-poor gap as opposition efforts to oust him over illegal additions to his home contribute to record-low popularity ratings.

“The government needs to spend more to tackle the deep- rooted issues in Hong Kong such as the wealth disparity,” said Kevin Lai, an economist at Daiwa Capital Markets

Hong Kong Ltd. Leung “still has a long way to go. Most of the pledges he made in his election platform don’t look to be fulfilled soon.”

Tsang will give his latest estimate on the budget surplus for the fiscal year ending March 31 and outline the following year’s budget. The government will also announce fourth-quarter and full-year data on gross domestic product.

Leung Chun-ying

South Africa’s economy expands 2.1% in fourth quarter

S

outh Africa’s economy, the continent’s largest, grew at a faster pace in the final quarter of last year than the previous three months as manufacturing and agricultural output expanded, the statistics agency said.

Gross domestic product rose an annualized 2.1 percent from 1.2 percent in the third quarter, Statistics South Africa said in a report released yesterday in Pretoria, the capital. The median estimate of 20 economists in a Bloomberg survey was for growth of 1.7 percent. The economy grew 2.5 percent for the whole of last year, down from 3.5 percent in 2011.

South Africa’s economy is expand-

ing at less than half the pace President Jacob Zuma said is necessary to slash a 24.9 percent jobless rate, the highest of more than 30 emerging- market nations tracked by Bloomberg. Work stoppages that began at platinum mines in August spread to gold shafts, while thousands of truck drivers went on strike last quarter over higher pay, disrupting output.

“While better than expected, overall growth remained sluggish over the final quarter,” Adenaan Hardien, chief economist at Cadiz Holdings Ltd. (CDZ) in Cape Town, said in e-mailed comments.

“The manufacturing sector performed better than was expected. Although mining remained a drag on overall GDP, it

was less so than over the third quarter.

Transport and financial services also performed better. We expect growth to continue its recovery through 2013.”

Mining strikes cost the economy more than 10 billion rand ($1.1 billion) in lost output and exports and shaved about 0.5 percentage point off GDP last year, according to estimates from the National Treasury.

Mining fell an annualised 9.3 percent in the fourth quarter, while electricity slumped 2.2 percent, the statistics agency said. Manufacturing expanded by 5 percent, agriculture by 10 percent, finance by 2.9 percent and transport by 1.9 percent.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Global Business

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

45

Truck stocks buoyed by growth in U.S. economy

S

hares of companies that own and operate their truck fleets are outperforming those that act as brokers for trucking services, driven by stronger U.S. freight activity.

Stocks of so-called asset-heavy carriers -- which include Werner Enterprises Inc. (WERN) and Knight Transportation Inc. (KNX) -- have until recently been weighed down by an outlook that’s “too pessimistic” for rate increases and freight volumes, said Todd Fowler, director and analyst in Cleveland with KeyBanc Capital Markets Inc., the investment banking arm of KeyCorp. This means there’s a greater potential for a positive surprise from these companies this year compared with the past three, as gains in manufacturing and housing fuel better-thananticipated earnings growth, he said.

“The freight market right now is relatively balanced from a capacity standpoint,” Fowler said. As the economy expands, trucking capacity probably will tighten and asset-based carriers will have “leverage on pricing, so they’d be most likely to benefit.”

Obama

The for-hire truck-tonnage index, a measure of industry volume, rose 4.6 percent in January from a year ago, the biggest gain on a seasonally-adjusted basis since July 2012, according to data from the American Trucking Associations in Arlington, Virginia.

Based on “channel checks” with com-

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

J

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.

Shinzo

“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.

Banks’ debt addiction said to face scrutiny at Basel meetings

A

planned international limit on bank indebtedness will be on the agenda of every meeting of the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision this year as regulators seek to wean lenders off their addiction to debt, according to three people familiar with the talks.

Regulators are preparing to fight lenders over the details of the socalled leverage ratio as they seek to toughen rules on the minimum amount of capital they must use to back their investments. The Basel group, which brings together supervisors from 27 nations, will meet in the Swiss city tomorrow, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the meetings are confidential.

Concerns over how banks calculate reserves has led U.K. bank regulator Adair Turner and U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. board member Jeremiah Norton to call for tougher leverage ratios. Global supervisors in 2010 included a draft leverage ratio in an overhaul of rules, known as Basel III, drawn up in response to the financial crisis that followed the collapse of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. “Early on, banks did not see it as such a big danger, or as a priority for lobbying, because it looked less likely to be implemented in the EU than other parts of Basel III,” Philippe Lamberts, the lawmaker leading the work on the Basel III rules for the European Parliament’s Green group, said in a telephone interview.

pany contacts and spot rates, “which are a leading indicator for contractual pricing,” Fowler said he is more confident now that freight activity will support low single-digit rate increases this year. One such proxy -- an index of truckload revenue per loaded mile excluding fuel surcharges -- rose 1.6 percent in January from a year ago, following a 0.6 percent increase the prior month, according to data from FTR Associates in Bloomington, Indiana.

That could help bolster the Bloomberg U.S. Truckload Trucking Index (BNUSTLIX) -- made up of Werner, Swift Transportation Co. (SWFT),

Heartland Express Inc. (HTLD) and six other companies -- which has outperformed its so-called asset-light peer index by 13 percentage points since January 14. In the previous three years, the owner-operator companies lagged behind the Bloomberg U.S. Non-Asset Based Trucking Index (BNUSALT) -which includes C.H. Robinson Worldwide Inc. (CHRW) and Landstar System Inc. (LSTR) -- by 37 percentage points.

“This is a great place to be fishing if you’re trying to find value in a cyclical industry,” said Martin Leclerc, principal, chief investment officer and portfolio manager at Barrack Yard Advisors in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, which oversees $350 million in assets.

As trucking rebounds along with the U.S. economy, asset- heavy carriers offer investors “more bang for the buck” because their fixed-cost structures provide more earnings leverage compared with companies that lease vehicles to other businesses and have larger variable costs, he said.

Investor preference appears to be changing as the underperformance of the asset-heavy stocks compared with the broader market has “really slowed,” according to Jim Stellakis, founder and director of research at Greenwich, Connecticut-based research company Technical Alpha Inc. and also a chartered market technician.

46

Capital Market

National Assembly may postpone hearing on CISI bill today JOHNSON OKANLAWON

I

ndications emerged yesterday that hearing on the bill to establish Chartered Institute of Securities and Investment, CISI, by the National Assembly may be postponed today.

The bill seeking to replace the current Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers with the establishment of the CISI is being sponsored by the former Chairman, Senate Committee on Capital Market, Senator Ganiyu Solomon.

National Mirror gathered from the market operators that hearing on the bill may be delayed to give time for interested partners who are currently against the bill.

“The hearing should take place today (Wednesday) but we have asked for more time, as some of

the stakeholders are complaining that they have not been properly consulted, “a source in the market said.

According to him, the bill is for the good of the financial market, as many mushrooms association are springing up, adding, “The CISI will be the major umbrella for the different association.”

Also, a doyen in the Nigerian capital market and the former President of Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria, Alhaji Rasheed Yussuff, noted that as the Nigerian Bar Association is the umbrella body of the lawyers, the CISI will be the umbrella body of different association in the financial market.

He said, “Some people think that with the establishment of CISI, the others association will stop to exist, no.”

Asset Custodians and the Certified Financial Analysts Society of Nigeria have faulted the new bill seeking to establish the CISI. The asset custodians, under the aegis of the Association of Asset Custodians of Nigeria, said that the bill violated the constitutional freedom of all practitioners in the market.

In a letter to the National Assembly’s Committee on Capital Market, the AACN said the bill violated the constitutional freedom of association by forcing practitioners in the market to belong to an institute that was being sponsored by stockbrokers, with whom they did not have anything in common.

The letter said, “The law makes it an offence to operate in the market unless

we belong to this institute being sponsored by a rival trade group. No major stakeholder was consulted by the CIS in lobbying for this bill that has significant implications on our survival and the well-being of the market.

“It violates the principle of fairness and fair play for a subset of the market to go behind everyone else and lobby for a bill that would force everybody in the market to come under its own umbrella without any discussion or consultation with those it seeks to appropriate.”

The association stated that the stockbrokers did not fully understand the market intricacies and challenges faced by the other trade groups that were specialists in their various fields in the market.

It added that CIS would not bring any value to those other bodies except to extract value by extorting membership fees from them.

ASI rises by 1.4% on blue chips gain DAMILOLA AJAYI

T

rading in equities continued on bullish note on the Nigerian Stock Exchange yesterday, as more investors took position on stocks with good earnings.

Specifically, the All Share Index rose by 1.4 per cent to close at 33,351.71 points, compared to the increase of 0.13 per cent recorded the preceding day to close at 32,890.36 points.

Market capitalisation added N15bn to close at N10.7trn, higher than the

increase of N1bn recorded the preceding day to close at N10.5trn.

The sectorial indices was led by Consumer Goods with 3.5 per cent to close at 988.67 points, followed by the Oil and Gas Index with 3.07 per cent to close at 204.22 points.

The NSE 30-Index gained 1.5 per cent to close at 1,597.62 points, while the Insurance Index increased by 1.3 per cent to close at 158.16 points.

The Banking Index added 0.57 per cent to close at 417.64 points, while Lotus Islamic Index increased

by 0.02 per cent to close at 2,094.81 points.

Guinness Nigeria Plc led the gainers’ table with N24.87 or 9.38 per cent to close at N289.90 per share, followed

by Unity Bank Plc with seven kobo or 9.21 per cent to close at 83 kobo per share.

Oando Nigeria Plc rose

by N1.60 or 8.76 per cent to close at N19.80 per share, while Nigerian Breweries Plc increased by N10.50 or 6.48 per cent to close at N172.50 per share. Forte Oil Plc appreciated by 65 kobo or five per cent to close at N13.65 per share.

On the flip side, DN

Meyer Plc lost 24 kobo or 10 per cent to close at N2.16 per share, while Presco Plc shed N1.49 or 5.89 per cent to close at N23.80 per share.

Royal Exchange Plc dropped by four kobo or five per cent to close at 76 kobo per share, while John Holt Plc dipped by nine kobo or 4.97 per cent to close at N1.72 per share.

Premier Breweries Plc fell by four kobo or 4.94 per cent to close at 77 kobo per share.

A total of 474.7 million shares valued at N4.83bn were exchanged in 6,492 deals.

European shares flat on mixed earnings

E

uropean shares hovered just shy of almost five years high yesterday, as results from Antofagasta and auto maker Audi painted a mixed earnings picture, although charts showed investors were still prepared to buy market dips.

Miner Antofagasta was the top riser in Europe after the firm unveiled plans to more than double its dividend payout for last year, much more than expected, on the back of higher profits.

The firm’s stock rose five per cent in volume 164 per cent its full-day average for the past 90-days, Thom-

son Reuters data showed.

The stock topped the panEuropean FTSEurofirst 300 index, which was flat at 1,194.64 points , after swirling around the gain line for most of the morning.

Capping the index was German auto firm Volkswagen , down 1.4 per cent, as results from its main profit driver, Audi, showed the world’s second-largest luxury carmaker is grappling with stagnant earnings.

The FTSEurofirst 300 was hovering just below a high of 1,197.73 hit on Friday and previously last seen in 2008.

Charts showed that each

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

market dip was rapidly bought into, in a sign of underlying appetite for equities as monetary stimulus from central banks drove down returns on bonds and cash.

“These corrections are limited and short-lived because simply people understand (we are) in an environment of big opportunities,” William de Vijlder, chief investment officer at BNP-Paribas Investment Partners, said.

According to him, the expected return structure has now moved more in favour of equities compared to other asset classes, so that would justify having strate-

Source: NSE

Source: Afrinvest

Market indicators All-Share Index 10,672.3 points Market capitalisation 33.4 trillion

Stock Updates GAINERS COMPANY

OPENING

CLOSING

CHANGE

GUINNESS

265.03

289.90

24.87

UNITYBNK

0.76

0.83

0.07

OANDO

18.20

19.80

1.60

NB

162.00

172.50

10.50

FO

13.00

13.65

0.65

NNFM

22.32

23.43

1.11

UPL

4.50

4.72

0.22

MAYBAKER

2.28

2.39

0.11

MANSARD

2.55

2.67

0.12

WAPIC

1.30

1.36

0.06

LOSERS COMPANY

OPENING

CLOSING

CHANGE

DNMEYER

2.40

2.16

0.24

PRESCO

25.29

23.80

1.49

ROYALEX

0.80

0.76

0.04

JOHNHOLT

1.81

1.72

0.09

PREMBREW

0.81

0.77

0.04

TRANSCORP

1.62

1.55

0.07

WEMABANK

1.25

1.20

0.05

MULTITREX

0.76

0.73

0.03

CORNERST

0.54

0.52

0.02

FTNCOCOA

0.58

0.56

0.02

Primary Market Auction gically more equities.

Annual returns offered by euro zone shares are 9.2 per cent higher than those offered by Germany’s 10year government bonds, Datastream data showed.

Daily charts on the euro zone Euro STOXX 50 index, down 0.1 per cent at 2,716.35 points, also pointed to more upside as momentum on the index, as shown by its moving average convergence/divergence (MACD) indicator, picked up.

“The daily MACD is turning positive and is above its signal line,” Nicolas Suiffet, an analyst at Trading Central in Paris said.

TENOR

AMOUNT (N’mn)

RATE (%)

DATE

91-Days

32,488.72

11.95

7-Mar-13

182-Days

20,000.00

13.80

7-Mar-13

364 -Days

57,119.37

15.57

7-Mar-13

Open Market Operations TENOR

AMOUNT (N’mn)

RATE (%)

DATE

355-Days

75,273.10

15.37

14-Mar-13

97-Days

63,681.60

13.37

14-Mar-13

Wholesale Dutch Auction System AMOUNT OFFERED

MARKET DEMAND

AMOUNT SOLD

DATE

$180m

N/A

$180m

11-Mar-13

$150m

N/A

$150m

6-Mar-13

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Capital Market

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Stock exchange daily equities summary Equities as at March 12, 2013 1st Tier Securities

Sector

Company name

1st Tier Securities No Of Deals Quotation(N)

Sector

Company name

No Of Deals

Quotation(N)

Quantity Traded

Value of Shares(N)

47

Cocktail

48

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

FOR YOUR SUCCESS

WITH DR. DEJI FOLUTILE

Today's Tonic (110) “It is those very things that we are most afraid to do that provide the greatest liberation and growth for us.” –Jack Canfield * * * Conquer Your Fears Fear is the wicked tyrant that keeps people away from launching out to fulfil their dreams in life.

Fear of this and that is the prison that keeps locking many people away from their rightful places.

I once read the story of a man that fell into a well. Before he got to the bottom of the well, he hung onto a rope. He looked down and saw the water. He did not want to get drowned.

He began to shout for help. No one answered. After 8 hours of shouting with no help, he decided to brave it and jumped down. Alas, the water below only reached his knees. FEAR NOT! TEL 08104942999 E-MAIL deji.folutile@gmail.com Follow me @TwitterOWOTIDE

Police find marijuana in ice cream truck

P

olice in Texas said they pulled over an ice cream truck with expired registration and discovered suspected marijuana.

The El Paso County Sheriff ’s Office said deputies pulled over the purple ice cream truck, which had a cracked windshield, in Alameda Saturday and one of the two occupants fled on foot before being caught by deputies, the El Paso Times reported Monday.

Deputies said Elijah Sanchez, 19, was found carrying two Tupperware containers filled with a substance believed to be marijuana.

Investigators found more marijuana inside the vehicle and Anthony Arellano, 29, was also arrested.

Both men were charged with possession of less than 2 ounces of marijuana. Sanchez was also charged with evading arrest and detention.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Oddities

US loses $433,982,548 because of Daylight Savings Time switch T he annual switch to Daylight Savings Time reportedly continues to be a costly endeavour, resulting in a net loss of $433,982,548 for the U.S. economy.

The Lost-Hour Economic Index breaks down the economic loss state-by-state, across the top 360 metropolitan areas, saying it’s due to a number of factors, including fatigue. Some markets in Hawaii and Arizona were excluded from the methodology because they do not participate in Daylight Savings Time.

All in all, the annual spring forward is a step back to our bank accounts. Though, the actual per capita numbers are not as stark as the totals suggest. Still, in this economy, every dollar counts. Maybe even more than that lost hour of sleep.

According to the Index, Morgantown, WV suffered the greatest loss per capita, with each person losing about $3.38 during the time switch. Least affected?

Provo-Orem, Utah, where each per-

son only lost about $.97 cents during the time change.

En masse, the New York/Northern New Jersey/Long Island area was most affected, losing an estimated $29,682,674.

All in all, a pretty expensive time-change for what is supposed to save energy. Maybe the conspiracy theorists are right and Ben Franklin has been laughing in his grave for centuries.

President Barack Obama high fives a youngster at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in St. Paul, Minn., recently.

PHOTO: WHITE HOUSE

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

49

Community Mirror “The issue of 2015 is not in the agenda for now because we have not concluded the agenda for 2013 not to talk of 2014 and then 2015.”

FG distributes grains to Abuja flood victims

NATIONAL CHAIRMAN OF PDP, ALHAJI BAMANGA TUKUR

50

Female NYSC member decamped for not wearing trousers FRANCIS SUBERU

T

here was a stir at the Ogun State National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, camp in Sagamu on March 8, 2013, when a female member, Miss Tolu Ekundayo, was thrown out, following her refusal to wear trousers and knickers provided by the agency.

On the fateful day, Tolu, had earlier pleaded with the Camp Di-

rector, Mrs. Franca Ifon and State Coordinator, Mrs. Ike Anosike, for her to wear a short skirt she brought from home, but was turned down.

She claimed that her inability to wear the camp trousers and knickers was because as a Christian, her denomination forbids her from doing so, even as she cited instances when considerations were given to Catholic reverend fathers and sisters including female

Muslims at orientation camps.

At a press briefing organised

by Apostle Paul Adenuga of the Faith Revival Apostolic Church, Idimu, Lagos, Tolu, claimed that no sooner than she got to the parade ground in skirt, than camp officials accosted her.

She said: “I got there on Tuesday, March 5, but completed official registration in the afternoon of March 7. After, I got into my white shirt and skirt, though, I

was assigned all the official kits by the NYSC, I had sewn those I preferred to wear while in the camp.

My skirt had underneath pants to allow for free participation in all physical exercises. When I got to the parade ground, two male soldiers accosted me and I told them my Christian denomination and belief did not allow for wearing of trousers or knickers.

They directed me to the Camp Director and on my way, two sol-

The Chairman, Transition Committee, Oyo East Local Government, Hon. Mutahir Adegboye Adekunle distributing food items to beneficiaries in the community.

LG boss distributes food items to flood victims

T

he Chairman Transition Committee, Oyo East Local Government of Oyo State, Hon. Mutahir Adegboye Adekunle, has called on beneficiaries of food items and other relief materials to victims of the flood disaster in the council area to ensure their judicious use and not sell them for money.

He said this last week, while presenting food items and other materials to the victims at the council headquarters.

The victims who included widows, the aged, farmers and vulnerable persons received the items donated by

the Federal Government to cushion the effects on them from last year’s flooding in Oyo State.

The committee chairman said: “I wish to admonish the beneficiaries of today’s gesture to be judicious in using the food items allocated to them and not convert same for commercial gains, so that the purpose of the donation would not be defeated.”

He appealed to residents in the council area to continue to demonstrate their unalloyed support for the Ajimobi-led administration at the state level and the grassroots administration in the council.

diers stopped me to ask why I was wearing skirts, and before I could explain, they ordered that that I frog jump and join the parade. I did as directed.

After the swearing –in ceremony the next day, I posed for photographs and in the process, one of the officials asked why I was in skirt, I said my religious denomination does not permit me wearing trousers or knickers.

That evening, an old man asked why I was in skirts and I explained, but he exclaimed that other Pentecostal Christians were here and they wore trousers.

“He took me to the Camp Director and without hearing my explanation, ordered that I returned all NYSC kits in my possession, after which I was sacked from the camp”.

Speaking on implication of the action, a lawyer, Barrister Sunday Fatade, said there is no section in the Act establishing NYSC, which states that a female member cannot wear skirts or must always be in trousers.

He said: “When a law is made, the functionality should be looked into. In this case, it is not expressly stated on the specification of uniforms to be worn at NYSC orientation camps. But, the constitution guarantees freedom of worship and religion. Meanwhile, her refusal not to put on trousers is not promoting any negative act. It is just an expression of her faith”.

However, all attempts to get the head of Public Relations of Ogun State NYSC, Mrs. Tarkighir Diana, proved abortive, as several calls to her cell phone did not go through.

Murder: Why we did not perform autopsy –IPO WALE IGBINTADE

A

n investigating Police Officer ,IPO, Inspector, James Nworu has told a Lagos High Court why the police did not carry out autopsy report on one Jide Aroyehun who was allegedly stabbed to death by his inlaw, Margret Samuel.

Inspector Nworu who stated this while giving evidence in a murder charge against Margret Samuel, said family of the deceased insisted he should be buried in line with Islamic tenet.

Led in evidence by the

state prosecutor, Mrs. Christiana Odutola, Nworu told the court that the case was initially reported at Ajah Police Station and later transferred to the State CID Panti for further investigation.

He added that his team of investigators met with the defendant (Margret) and the scene of the incident was visited while a kitchen knife allegedly used to stab the deceased was recovered.

However, when the defendant was asked to identify the knife, she said it was white in colour and not brown as one presented by the police.

Margret was alleged to

have been invited by her sister, (wife of the deceased) over a misunderstanding with her late husband.

On arrival at their house at Abraham Adesanya Estate, Ajah Area of Lagos State, she confronted the sister’s late husband accusing him of maltreating her.

The late Aroyehun was said to have got annoyed and beat her for the effrontery and while defending herself grabbed a kitchen and stabbed him on the chest.

The deceased was immediately rushed to the nearest clinic but was confirmed dead by the doctor.

50

Community Mirror

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

FG distributes grains to Abuja flood victims OMEIZA AJAYI AND JOEL AJAYI

T

he Federal Government has distributed 15, 000 bags of assorted grains to farmers in 24 communities of Abaji and Kwali Area councils of Abuja whose lands were ravaged by last year’s flood.

Inaugurating the ceremony at Tunga Maje Village, Minister of State in the Federal Capital Territory, Olajumoke Akinjide, commiserated with the farmers on their losses, assuring that the government would strive to cushion

the consequences.

She said it was in view of the importance which government attaches to agriculture that it embarked on the distribution to encourage those who were affected to keep them on their farms, thereby boosting agricultural production and ensuring national food security.

Akinjide, also revealed that the Federal Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, has allocated 8,400 bags of maize and 6,600 bags of guinea corn to the FCT for distribution to 642 flood

Land scam: Groups demand justice in Anambra CHIDI NWAFOR

AWKA

T

wo groups in Awka, the Anambra State capital have protested against those they said have taken over their ancestral lands under guise of being government agents.

The groups, Awka Development Union, under Engineer Tony Okechukwu and Okwanka, under the leadership of Engneer Kenneth Adigwe, went on protest against the activities of alleged land grabbers.

It would be recalled that areas of Awka were donated to successive governments for developmental purposes, when it was made the state capital. But the groups are now agitating for review of the pact as they claimed that most of the lands have been converted to private use.

The aggrieved indigenes, marched round the ancient city, calling on the state government to honour the agreement reached with the Awka community and put such lands for developmental purpose,even as they alleged ongoing scam in the allocation.

Spokesperson for the group and president of Okwanka, Kenneth Adigwe, claimed that government lands have been given to private developers. Adigwe claimed, that their grievances stem from the alleged 62,218 plots of lands valued at N249billion which was initially earmarked for housing estates but have

been taken over by land speculators.

Speaking at the rally, Adigwe said that the land grabbers are gradually making the indigenes, strangers and settlers.

“Many of our people are migrating to neighbouring towns and becoming refugees in their own heritage,” he said.

Waving placards, the protesters gave the state government a two-week ultimatum to stop those they tagged ‘cabals’ from their shady deals.

Comrade Obi Ochije, who also addressed the protesters at the popular Aroma Junction, alleged that some persons sold a large expanse of land belonging to Ezinano Community to some unnamed developers without recourse to the original owners.

Ochije said, “The youths have been restive over the issue and that is why we decided to embark on this peaceful protest. We do not want to cause any violence.”

In his reaction, an official of government, claimed that the protesters were preempting the administration,as Governor Peter Obi is determined to right all wrongs of successive administrations, not only in Awka, but all over Anambra State.

According to him, “The protest is unnecessary ,as the governor has assured the parties that he would ensure justice is done to all concerned,”.

affected farmers which will serve as a relief to the victims.

She described the distribution of relief material as the commitment of the federal government to transforming agriculture sector in the territory.

Akinjide, explained that the question of agricultural development and food availability will continue to be a top priority of the FCT Administration, especially during period of economic difficulties.

“The role of government in the development of agriculture is no longer ambiguous.

It is to provide a condu-

cive environment for all operators in the sector”, she added.

Akinjide, appealed to the stakeholders to see the development of the sector as a joint responsibility.

A Director in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Charles Momo, had earlier explained that as a result of the overflowing of two main rivers in the area, about 734 hectares of farm land comprising of rice, cowpea, guinea corn and yam were washed away in Abaji and Kwali area councils respectively.

According to him,

the effects of the flood in 2012 are enormous such that farmers on their own cannot bear the losses and the relief materials is timely and appropriate, as it shows love and concern as well as commitment towards the development of farming in the country.

He said arrangement is in place to sensitise FCT farmers on the need to insure their crops and livestock

against natural disasters, as well as to collaborate with the Nigerian Meteorological Agency, NIMET, to get necessary climatic data to organise awareness campaign for the benefit of all.

Momo urged farmers not to be discouraged but to continue their farming activities for the development of the sector and attainment of national food security.

Wednesday March 13, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

51

World News

Day 1: New Pope yet to emerge

52

PAUL ARHEWE

WITH AGENCY REPORTS

R

elatives sang hymns and songs from South Africa’s anti-apartheid struggle Tuesday as forensic scientists exhumed bodies believed to belong to two young activists last seen 24 years ago at the home of Winnie Madikizela-Mandela.

The discovery has forced a new police investigation into the fate of the two in the late 1980s, when the then wife of Nelson Mandela was becoming increasingly militant and accused of killing out of hand people she accused of spying for the apartheid government. Capt. Paul Ramaloko said the Hawks, the police priority crime investigative unit, opened two murder dockets in the case early this year.

South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission in the late 1990s found that MadikizelaMandela was responsible for the disappearances of 21-year-old Lolo Sono and his friend Sibuniso Tshabalala, 19. They were messengers for the armed wing of the African National Congress and wanted to become freedom fighters.

Madikizela-Mandela has denied all knowledge of the two.

But her chief bodyguard, Jerry Richardson, told the commission that he and a colleague had killed the two on her orders.

“Iran is constructing long-range missiles equipped with nuclear warheads. It can reach the far corners of the world, including Europe” –ISRAELI PRESIDENT, SHIMON PERES

Bodies exhumed in killings tied to Winnie Mandela

Richardson was head of the Mandela United Football Club, a crowd of young men who acted as Madikizela-Mandela’s bodyguards and also as vigilantes who, some charge, she used to get rid of enemies.

Nicodemus Sono, father of the missing man, told the commission that Madikizela-Mandela had come to his home with his son, face bruised from beatings, in November 1998. She had de-

manded photographs and documents, telling the father that his son was a spy for the apartheid police.

Sono had begged her to give him back his son. But he said she had driven away saying “the movement” would decide what to do with him.

In 1991, Madikizela-Mandela was sentenced to six years’ jail for kidnapping and assault in the death of 14-year-old James Seipei

“Stompie” Moeketsi, who also had last been seen at her home and who was beaten to death. She appealed, the assault conviction was overturned and the sentence reduced to a suspended jail term.

On Tuesday, in a cleared site amid gravestones peeping above knee-high grass and wild yellow flowers, forensic scientists dug into raw red clay and got out paint brushes to recover two skeletal remains.

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Six killed as police, Catholic sect clash in Burundi

At least six people have been killed and 35 wounded in clashes in northern Burundi between police and a Catholic sect, an official has said.

The violence broke out after police tried to block followers of 30-year-old Zebiya Ngendakumana from praying in Kayanza region, the official added.

Ngendakumana says she sees visions of the Virgin Mary on the 12th day of each month.

The authorities are worried her sect could threaten public order.

The sect, formed more than a year ago, has developed a following across the country and in neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo.

Kayanza Governor Athanase Mbonabuca said hundreds of sect members, some “armed with clubs and stones”, resisted police attempts to prevent them from meeting on a hilltop on Tuesday, the day Zebiya Ngendakumana said she would see her visions, AFP news agency reports.

CAR rebels seize two towns, threaten new offensive

National Prosecuting Authority worker digging up a grave for exhumation of two bodies that are believed to be those of young activists as police officers watch at Avalon Cemetery in Johannesburg, yesterday.

PHOTO: AP

Venezuela to probe Chavez cancer poisoning accusation enezuela will set up a formal inquiry into suspicions that the late President Hugo Chavez’s cancer was the result of poisoning by his enemies abroad, the government said.

The accusation has been derided by critics of the government, who view it as a typical Chavez-style conspiracy theory intended to feed fears of “impe-

WORLD BULLETIN

rialist” threats to Venezuela’s socialist system and distract people from daily problems.

Still, acting President Nicolas Maduro vowed to push through a serious investigation into the claim, which was first raised

by Chavez himself after he was diagnosed with the disease in 2011.

“We will seek the truth,” Maduro told regional TV network

Venezuela’s acting President, Nicolas Maduro, talking to supporters after he registered as a candidate for the April 14th election outside the national election board in Caracas.

PHOTO: REUTERS

Telesur late on Monday. “We have the intuition that our commander Chavez was poisoned by dark forces that wanted him out of the way.”

Foreign scientists will be invited to join a government commission to probe the accusation, the OPEC nation’s acting leader said.

Maduro, 50, is Chavez’s handpicked successor and is running as the government’s candidate in a snap presidential election on April 14 that was triggered by his boss’s death last week.

He is trying to keep voters’ attention firmly focused on Chavez to benefit from the outpouring of grief among his millions of supporters. The opposition is centering its campaign on portraying Maduro, a former bus driver, as an incompetent who, they say, is morbidly exploiting Chavez’s demise.

“They’re attacking him saying he isn’t Chavez. Of course

Nicolas isn’t Chavez. But he is his faithful, responsible, revolutionary son,” senior Socialist Party and campaign official Jorge Rodriguez told reporters.

“All these insults and vilification are going to be turned into votes for us on April 14.”

Running for the opposition’s Democratic Unity coalition is a business-friendly state governor, Henrique Capriles, 40, who lost to Chavez in a presidential vote last year.

Yesterday was the last day of official mourning for Chavez, although ceremonies appear set to continue. His embalmed body was to be taken in procession to a military museum on Friday.

Millions have filed past Chavez’s coffin to pay homage to a man who was adored by many of the poor for his humble roots and welfare policies, but was also hated by many people for his authoritarian style and bullying of opponents.

Central African Republic rebels have seized two eastern towns and may resume an insurgency against the central government if it fails to free hundreds of political prisoners as agreed in a peace deal, a rebel spokesman said on Tuesday.

Seleka insurgents in the landlocked nation came close to capturing the capital Bangui and overthrowing President Francois Bozize late last year before striking an accord in January under which some of their leaders joined the government.

The pact, signed in Gabon’s capital Libreville, saw Seleka fighters lay down their guns in exchange for a government promise to free prisoners and order the withdrawal of foreign African troops reinforcing the national army.

South Sudan, Sudan reach deal to resume oil flow Sudan and South Sudan have agreed to resume the flow of southern oil exports through pipelines in Sudan within two weeks, more than a year after Juba shut down its entire output.

An African Union mediator announced the deal yesterday, which resumes trade between the two countries after South Sudan shut down its 350,000 barrel-per-day output in January last year in a dispute with Khartoum over fees.

The armies of the two countries have also agreed to withdraw troops from contested border areas, in the latest attempt to set up a buffer zone after fighting last year.

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World News

WORLD BULLETIN

Helicopter crash in Afghanistan kills five Americans

Five U.S. military personnel were killed in a helicopter crash in southern Afghanistan, the Pentagon said yesterday, although there were no immediate details about the cause of the crash.

The NATO-led International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan said the crash occurred on Monday. It happened on the same day that two U.S. troops and five Afghan police and soldiers were killed by a person in an Afghan military uniform in the restive east of the country.

“The cause of the crash is under investigation, however initial reporting indicates there was no enemy activity in the area at the time of the incident,” ISAF said in a statement.

The Pentagon said all five killed in the crash were Americans.

New Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel left Afghanistan earlier on Monday after a difficult first trip to Kabul.

His visit was marred by a suicide bomb attack near where he was holding a meeting, and differences with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who accused the United States of colluding with the Taliban.

Helicopter crashes are not uncommon in Afghanistan and the Taliban and others often claim to have shot them down.

Last August, 11 people, including seven U.S. soldiers, were killed when a Black Hawk helicopter crashed in southern Afghanistan.

Azerbaijani editor sentenced to nine years in jail

The editor of an independent Azerbaijani newspaper has been sentenced to nine years in prison for bribery in a trial dismissed by his supporters and rights group as politically motivated.

A court in the Caspian nation’s capital of Baku on Tuesday found Avaz Zeynalli, editor of the Khural newspaper, guilty of bribery, extortion, contempt of court and tax evasion.

Zeynalli told the court that he is being persecuted for his journalism.

Charges against the editor were brought following complaints by a deputy in the ruling New Azerbaijan Party. That deputy is now under arrest and suspected of extorting $1 million from a university rector.

Azerbaijani journalists, activists and politicians have petitioned the country’s president to release Zeynalli, arguing that he is being punished for his paper’s critical reporting.

Israeli army helicopter crash kills two pilots

An Israeli military helicopter crashed yesterday during training, killing two pilots, the army said.

According to a military statement, the army lost contact with the Bell AH-1 Cobra helicopter in the middle of the night as the aircraft was en route from a routine training flight back to an air base in southern Israel.

The military said it was investigating the crash, and has grounded all similar helicopters until it can determine the cause of the crash.

The two pilots killed in the crash were reservists, the army said.

Wednesday March 13, 2013 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 the Roman Catholic Church.

No conclave in the modern era has chosen a pope on the first day, and some cardinals speculated earlier this week that it might take up to four or five days to pick the man to replace Pope Benedict, who unexpectedly abdicated last month.

The doors were shut at 5.34 p.m.(12.34 p.m. ET), and the master of ceremonies, Guido Marini, said “Extra Omnes” (Latin for “Everyone Out”), asking all those not associated with the gathering to leave the room, dominated by Michelangelo’s 16th century fresco masterpieces.

Smoke from a chimney on the chapel roof will announce the outcome to the outside world.

Black smoke means an inconclusive vote and white smoke signals the election of a pontiff.

The average length of the last nine conclaves was just over three days and none went on for more than five.

Thousands of faithful huddled in St. Peter’s Square to watch the smoke pour out of the narrow flue in the rain-laden gloom following a day rich in ritual and pageantry.

After praying for divine guidance, the red-hatted cardinals took a solemn vow, in Latin, never to divulge any details of their deliberations. They then secluded themselves behind the chapel’s heavy wooden doors.

The so-called “Princes of the Church” will spend the night in a Vatican hotel before returning to the frescoed Sistine Chapel on Wednesday to continue their votes, with two rounds set for the morning and two for the afternoon.

Until they chose a new pontiff, their only communication with the outside world will be the

Day 1: New Pope yet to emerge

Cardinals attending a Mass for the election of a new pope celebrated by Cardinal Angelo Sodano inside St. Peter’s Basilica, at the Vatican, yesterday.

PHOTO: AP

smoke from the Chapel chimney - black when voting sessions end with no result and white when a pontiff is elected.

Whoever becomes the 266th pontiff in the Church’s 2,000-year history will face a daunting array of problems, including sex abuse scandals, infighting within the Vatican bureaucracy and the spread of secularism in its European heartland and beyond.

No clear-cut front runner has emerged, with some prelates pushing for a strong manager to control the much criticized central administration, known as the Curia, while others want a powerful pastor to promote their faith across the globe.

Italy’s Angelo Scola and Brazil’s Odilo Scherer are spoken of as strong contenders. The former would return the papacy to Italy after 35 years in the hands of Poland’s John Paul II and the

German Benedict XVI. Scherer would be the first non-European pope since Syrian-born Gregory III in the 8th century.

Earlier, on a day rich in ritual and pageantry, Italian cardinal Angelo Sodano called for unity in the Church, which is beset by sex abuse scandals, bureaucratic infighting, financial difficulties and the rise of secularism.

“My brothers, let us pray that the Lord will grant us a pontiff who will embrace this noble mission with a generous heart,” Sodano said in his homily at a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica ahead of the conclave.

No obvious front runner has emerged since Benedict’s departure, with some prelates calling for a strong manager to control the much criticized Vatican bureaucracy, while others want a powerful pastor to promote their faith across the globe.

Man sets himself ablaze in Tunisia

A

man has set himself on fire in central Tunis, just hours before the country’s legislators were to vote on a new government entrusted with pulling the country out of a deep political crisis.

Yesterday’s gesture recalled the self-immolation of Mohamed Bouazizi, whose death ignited a revolt in the North African coun-

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

try that echoed across the Arab world.

“This is a young man who sells cigarettes because of unemployment,” the man shouted before immolating himself on Habib Bourguiba avenue, according to a witness.

Security forces and bystanders tried to extinguish the flames before the man was rushed to hospi-

Paramedics rushing the man to hospital, yesterday.

PHOTO: REUTERS

tal, witnesses said.

“His life is not in danger but he has third-degree burns to the head and the back,” said an emergency services spokesman.

Officials named the man as 27-year-old Adel Khadri and said he hails from an extremely poor family in Jendouba in northwestern Tunisia.

Interior ministry spokesman Khaled Tarrouche attributed Khadri’s desperate action to his economic situation.

“He is unemployed and came to Tunis a few months ago. He was very fragile, psychologically broken, and that is why he set himself on fire.”

In December 2010, street vendor Bouazizi died of his injuries after setting himself alight on December 17, 2010 in the town of Sidi Bouzid after a policewoman confiscated his fruit cart.

Bouazizi’s fate sparked protests that ended with the overthrow of autocratic President Zine al-Abi-

Italy’s Angelo Scola and Brazil’s Odilo Scherer are spoken of as possible front runners. The former would return the papacy to Italy after 35 years in the hands of Poland’s John Paul II and the German Benedict; Scherer would be the first non-European pope since Syrian-born Gregory III in the 8th century.

However, a host of other candidates from numerous nations have also been mentioned as “papabili” - potential popes - including U.S. cardinals Timothy Dolan and Sean O’Malley, Canada’s Marc Ouellet and Argentina’s Leonardo Sandri.

“He must be a great pastor with a big heart, and also have the capacity to confront the Church’s problems, which are very great,” said Maria Dasdores Paz, a Brazilian nun who attended the Mass in Rome. “Every day there seem to be more.” dine Ben Ali and inspired rebellions elsewhere in the Middle East.

Economic and social difficulties were the key factors that brought down Ben Ali’s regime and two years since his ouster unemployment and poverty continue to plague the North African country.

The simmering discontent has in the past few months sparked strikes and protests which often degenerate into violence.

Two members of a rap group, Sabrine Klibi and Mohamed Hedi Belgayed, were arrested on Monday for a music video insulting police. Their arrest provoked a strong reaction from activists.

Tunisia is also struggling to emerge from a political crisis exacerbated by the daylight murder on February 6 murder of Chokri Belaid, a leftist opposition leader.

Later on Tuesday, prime minister-designate Ali Larayedh was to seek a vote of confidence on his new cabinet line-up from legislators in the National Constituent Assembly.

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Wednesday, March 13, 2013

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Wednesday, March 13, 2013

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We’ll rescue Kwara from despondency –APC WOLE ADEDEJI ILORIN

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L-R: Senator Gyang Pwajok representing Plateau North Senatorial District, Chairman, Peoples Democratic Party, Plateau State chapter, Dr. Haruna Dabin and the senator’s wife, Bridget, during the inauguration of Senator Pwajok Constituency Office in Jos, yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

Five die in Borno gun attacks AUGUSTINE MADUWEST AND INUSA NDAHI

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our suspected terrorists have been killed during an attack on a police station in Borno State.

The incident occurred at Gamboru Ngala police station, about 100 kilometres away from Maiduguri, the state capital.

However, five policemen were said to have been injured in the gun battle between the police and the terrorists.

The incident, a reliable source told our correspondent on phone, occurred at 5:33pm on Monday, when the gunmen who rode in three vehicles, attempted to burn the station but were repelled by policemen on duty.

Gamboru, which has witnessed a series of attacks, killings, bombings and kidnapping, shares an international boundary with Chad

•Terrorists invade Kano school, shoot teachers

and Cameroon.

Confirming the incident on telephone, the state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Gideon Jubrin, said the gunmen launched a failed attack on Gamboru police station.

He said: “Yes we received a distress call that suspected Boko Haram terrorists on Monday evening, between 5pm and 6pm laid siege to Gamboru police station, but our men repelled the attack by killing four of the suspected terrorists.”

In a related development, gunmen shot and killed one person yesterday in Biu Local Government Area of the state.

Biu, which has also witnessed many attacks and killings, is about 187 kilometres away from Maiduguri.

When our correspondent visited the area, security vehicles were busy patrolling

the streets, while soldiers at major check-points embarked on stop-and-search of vehicles.

Jubrin said he was not aware of the attack.

Also yesterday, gunmen raided Dan Maliki Primary School in Hausawa quarters in Kano, the Kano State capital, and shot some teachers.

The victims, including the headmaster and three teachers, were rushed to the Mallam Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital for treatment.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Magaji Musa Majiya, who confirmed the incident, said the gunmen raided the school on motorcycles and fled after the attack.

Majiya also said that two of the victims had been treated and discharged from the hospital, while bullets were extracted from the body of

the headmaster.

He, however, said the headmaster was responding to treatment.

The police spokesman said the gunmen invaded the school about 8.30am when the teachers and pupils were on the assembly ground.

According to him, operatives of the Joint Task Force, JTF, have cordoned off the area, while security men have spread their dragnet in an effort to track down the gunmen.

A witness said the terrorists ordered all the teachers to lie face down before opening fire on them.

But Majiya said no pupil was hurt, adding that the headmaster and teachers were the only victims of the attack.

Gunmen have laid siege to Kano State in the last six days.

Bauchi teachers protest ‘illegal’ detention of colleagues EZEKIEL TITUS BAUCHI

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he face-off between the Academic Staff Union of Secondary School Teachers, ASUSS, and Bauchi State Government has deepened.

Hundreds of teachers yesterday took to the street to protest the unlawful detention of 11 of their colleagues by the police for more than one week.

The protesters, who chanted solidarity songs, carried placards with inscriptions such as: “No WAEC, NECO and JAMB,” and “No N18,000 minimum wage in Bauchi.”

The union members, who besieged the palace of the emir of Bauchi, demanded the intervention of the emir to release the detainees.

The ASUSS Chairman, Comrade Abdullahi Ningi, told journalists that the union was not happy with the illegal detention of its members.

Ningi accused the state police commissioner, the attorney-general and commissioner for justice, and the commissioner for education of being responsible for the plight of the detained teachers.

He said: “Members of the union are in the emir’s palace to seek justice over the deten-

tion of our members.

“Last week, over 200 teachers converged here at the emir’s palace to seek the release of our members, but the emir pleaded with us to exercise patience.

“So we came back again to remind him of his promise and he has assured us that he was doing everything possible to see that our detained members are released. Since we respect him as a royal father, we are giving him the benefit of doubt.”

Ningi regretted that the state educational sector was now in a shambles, saying that the quality of education, especially at the secondary

level, had dropped drastically because the state government was only interested in playing politics with the sector.

He said: “The educational system in the state is really sick because you can see what the commissioner for education is hammering on.

“He is insisting that the state must sit for NECO, WAEC and JAMB examinations, forgetting how the students are going to perform during the exams.

“It is not about sitting for the exams, but are they being given quality education that will equip them to sit for these exams?”

he Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, and All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP, in Kwara State yesterday announced their fusion into the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Ilorin.

The three parties through their spokesman, Deacon Gbenga Olawepo, said at a press briefing that their mission was to rescue the state from the claws of despondency and despair.

Olawepo, who is the state chairman of ACN, was supported by the chairman of CPC, Alhaji Suleiman Buhari and that of ANPP, Taiye Eleja.

He said the parties had unconditionally agreed to pool their talents, energies and material resources together to rescue Kwara State from its parlous state.

“Today’s historic outing is a product of rigorous inter- and intra-parties consultations, meetings and deliberations, and a painstaking assessment of the dire state of our state in the hands of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, vis-à-vis the ongoing realignment of our different progressive parties.

“We are convinced that beyond doubt that at no time in the history of our state has drastic change become more urgent than now,” Olawepo said.

The spokesman also ac-

cused the PDP of in the state of aggressively pursuing an elitist democracy.

He said: “For long, tortuous and harrowing years, the political landscape in the state has been dogged by the near absence of a formidable alternative to the ruling PDP. “This unfortunate situation has regrettably bolstered the PDP to aggressively pursue an elitist democracy where the interest of the people is clearly subsumed in the self-aggrandising proclivity of the political elite in the state.

“And this prevailing socio-political and economic order of motion without movement in the state is a fallout of this ugly development.

“We hasten to say that God Almighty has thrust on our laps the onerous but surmountable task of rescuing our people once and for all from the PDP dungeons.

“We believe that posterity would not forgive us, the opposition leaders and all stakeholders of good conscience, if we allow personal agenda to mar this renewed bid.

“We want to assure Kwarans that we are not driven by a rapacious bid to grab power by all means but by the commitment to arrest the current drift in the state and rescue Kwara State from despair and hopelessness that has so far characterised the PDP government in the state since its unfortunate inception.

Al-Makura swears in first female SSG IGBAWASE UKUMBA LAFIA

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overnor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State yesterday sworn in Hajia Hadiza Abdulmumini as the first female Secretary to the State Government, SSG. Abdulmumini, who until her new appointment was the permanent secretary in charge of the Ministry of Education, was sworn in at the Government House, Lafia.

She was appointed following a major cabinet shakeup in January.

In the cabinet shuffle, all members of the State Executive Council, the erstwhile SSG, Hamza Elayo, and special advisers were dropped.

Al-Makura is yet to reconstitute the dissolved state executive council and special advisers.

The governor said during the swearing-in ceremony that the government was meticulous in its selection of the SSG. He said: “I need to add that the new SSG is a time-tasted academic and resourceful bureaucrat whose impressive track record has eminently qualified her for the new assignment.

“The burden of building Nasarawa State requires patriotism, selflessness, honesty, team spirit and commitment.

“As a public officer, she is expected to imbibe these qualities in the conduct of her duties for the good of the state.”

Al-Makura, however, called on the people of Nasarawa State to support and cooperate with the SSG to enable her successfully discharge her responsibilities.

WORLD RECORD

Fastest transistor Vol. 03 No. 576

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Wednesday, March 13, 2013

N150

In 2007 Northrop Grumman (US), a company specialised in aerospace, electronics, information systems, shipbuilding and technical services, announced they had created a transistor with an operating frequency of over 1,000 gigahertz.

A country and its oil blocs

hose who watched the funeral of the late Venezuelan President, Hugo Chavez, would have been more convinced that the world still has heroes. The serpentine queues and genuine sights of grieving adults and children did not put doubts in the minds of anyone that while he lived, Chavez was a leader of immense proportion who loved his people with all his heart. And so in death, Venezuelans did not miss any opportunity to show him their love and appreciation for all he did for them and country. Hundreds of thousands waited patiently in line for hours and days to file past the casket of this rare brave man of Latin America, and to salute his Spartan courage.

Many had fainted while filing past the body lying in state and had to be rushed to hospitals to be revived. The genuine show of emotion was so overwhelming that fellow presidents who came for the funeral could not but weep openly. If Wil-

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

liam Shakespeare were to be alive today, he would have eulogized Chavez as another ‘Julius Caesar’. Definitely, “the angels themselves blazed forth the death of this prince”. Since then, I have been asking whether Nigeria could ever produce a man that would be so genuinely loved and mourned by the people. The more I think, the more I realised that it is not only a tall ambition but also a distant dream.

Reason is that Nigeria was not built on a foundation of justice and truth and therefore, lacks any tradition that imparts an enduring civic culture of love and patriotism for the country. And because our rulers are more like local chieftains than national patriots, it is difficult to extricate their rule from the stranglehold of their ethnic groups.

From inception, Nigeria was designed to be run like tribal fiefdoms by cunning political and military overlords. So, all policies and actions of a ruler unmistakably mirror the thought patterns of his ethnic nationality.

Any incumbent in power sees it as an opportunity to employ state paraphernalia to serve the narrow interests of his family, friends and tribal group.

If not, why should a small coterie of privileged persons from a section of the country have control of more than 80 percent of the country’s oil blocs not owned by international multinationals? It is such injustice that had always brought to the fore the issue of equity and fairness. Following the revelation by Chairman, Senate Committee on Rules and Business, Senator Eta Inang that northerners control 83 percent of oil blocs

WHY SHOULD A SMALL COTERIE OF PRIVILEGED PERSONS FROM A SECTION OF THE COUNTRY HAVE CONTROL OF MORE

80 PERCENT OF THE COUNTRY’S OIL

THAN

BLOCS NOT OWNED

BY INTERNATIONAL MULTINATIONALS?

not owned by international oil companies, the country has been abuzz with more questions than answers. Before now, not many Nigerians knew who controlled the vast oil wells and where the proceeds go.

For long, we have been fed with cockeyed stories of fiendish multinationals stripping our commonwealth and carting away unholy profits to their home countries. Nigerian are always regaled with such dinner gossips of uncontrolled oil spills in the Niger Delta from leaking pipelines owned by these heartless imperialists, whose only interest is the mindless exploitation of our crude oil.

Moreover, the usual cocktail of lies is that these foreign oil companies are so cruel that

they have impoverished all communities in their areas of operation. Now, we know better that a small group of local predatory capitalists is part of the reckless environmental degradations going on in that part of the country. Definitely, we are now wiser as to how these people came by sudden staggering wealth without any history of industry and enterprise.

Incidentally, some of them are continually hailed as public spirited philanthropists in the mould of Bill Gates of America and Mohammed Ibrahim of Sudan. The question is how did these super rich Nigerians get such pricey piece of national estate without due process? Who allocated them and what price was paid? Intriguingly, it would take an eternity to get any of the answers to these questions because those in authority when the deed was done were of the impression that they reserved the right to share the booties to anyone or group they fancy without being called to account. Such sense of entitlement is responsible for the lopsided nature of the allocation and the short shrift which the people of the Niger Delta are getting from the resource in their area.

Painfully, it goes without saying that the vast majority of people in the same zones with those who got these oil largesse for a song, still live in abject poverty and perpetual want. It is such Ponzi schemes by past administrations that enabled a few to want to keep the country permanently under their thumbs. Unfortunately, Nigeria has remained stuck in the medieval age in spite of such oasis of wealth by barons who raided our commonwealth.

Hugo Chavez employed his country’s oil wealth to vastly improve millions of Venezuelans. Many of the rural poor can now read and write, while education remains free from primary to university. He succeeded in building the largest social housing in the history of Latin America, making it easier for thousands of his fellow citizens to have decent roofs over their heads. Such could never happen in Nigeria where those in power are always busy impoverishing the masses. That is why no one mourns them when they die.

Sport Extra

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NP Paribas Open defending champion, Roger Federer, yesterday eased into the fourth round at Indian Wells with a 6-3 6-1 victory over Croatian Ivan Dodig.

Federer, seeded second behind world num-

Tennis: Federer cruises in Indian Wells

ber one Novak Djokovic, needed just 61 minutes to oust 60th-ranked Dodig who gave Federer a helping hand, his sixth doublefault the most untimely, bringing proceedings to a close.

“It’s not the first time it’s happened in my career, so I know how to deal with it,” the Swede, who admitted tohaving a slight issue with a back strain, said.

“I’m walking fine, I have a day off tomorrow

(today) and everything is all right,” he added.

“It’s just something you learn to deal with. I’m not worried at all as I know I will recover.”

Federer, who is seeking his first title of 2013, will

meet fellow Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka who knocked up veteran Lleyton Hewitt 6-4 7-5 tomorrow.

Champions League Results Barcelona

4-0

AC Milan

Schalke

2-3

Galatasaray

Roger Federer

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