Monday, 23 may, 2016

PDP crisis: Police take over party secretariat

ObiOra ifOh anD Dennis naku Sheriff

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ational secretariat of the Peoples Democratic Party,

PDP, was yesterday barricaded by heavily armed policemen allegedly on the directives of the Inspector General of Police, IGP.

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Stern-looking mobile and regular policemen turned back every visitor to the secretariat insisting that nobody is allowed

Leo Sta nE keh : INS IDE

…I’m still in charge –Sheriff

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NLC suspends nationwide strike P.4

N’Delta Avengers out to destabilise Buhari’s govt –MEND Vol. 6 N0. 1375

Monday, May 23, 2016

National Mirror Online

@NationalMirror

…opposes Biafra, demands release of the Okahs

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Dennis naku

PORT HARCOURT

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ovement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND, yesterday said the militant group, Niger Delta Avengers, is out to destabilise the government of President Mohammadu Buhari.

MEND also said it would adhere to the ceasefire the group declared in 2014, against what it termed key economic interest of the oil and gas rich region.

The group said its reCONTINUED ON PAGE 2>>

National secretariat of Peoples Democratic Party sealed as a result of leadership tussle, in Abuja, yesterday.

Monday May 30, 2016

PHOTO: ROTIMI OSASONA

Afe Babalola seeks return to regional govt P.13

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Monday, May 23, 2016

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

N’Delta Avengers out to destabilise Buhari’s govt –MEND CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

solve to respect the ceasefire was because it believed that President Buhari is barely a year in office and deserves more time to fix the country, which it said, was ran aground by the immediate past administration of Goodluck Jonathan.

MEND, in an electronic mail issued yesterday, dissociated itself from the Niger Delta Avengers, saying the emergence of the group has nothing to do with the Niger Delta struggle.

The statement, by its spokesman, Jomo Gbomo reads: “After a rigorous and robust analysis, debate and review of political events in Nigeria within the past 12 months; particularly as they affect the Niger Delta region, the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND, has resolved to continue to respect the unilateral ceasefire of hostilities declared May 30, 2014 against key economic interests of the Nigerian State.

“The painful but necessary resolution to respect the ceasefire was borne out of MEND’s belief that as President Muhammadu Buhari marks his first year in office, he deserves more time to stabilise the country that was ran aground by the ill-fated, corrupt and visionless immediate past administration of former President Goodluck Jonathan which pauperised the Nigerian people to the alarming degree we all experience today.

“The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta, MEND, wishes to condemn and dissociate itself from the recent activities carried out by a group known as the ‘Niger Delta Avengers’.

“Their sudden emergence has absolutely nothing to do with the Niger Delta struggle but rather a tool by certain elements to destabilise the current government.

“Going by their (Niger Delta Avengers) actions and subsequent statements, it has become very apparent on who the sponsors of these group are.”

On the activities of the State of Biafra, MEND said it was opposed to such secessionist stance, saying the Niger Delta region shall not be a part of such breakaway from the Nige-

rian State.

It said: “MEND serves notice to the international community that the Niger Delta region shall NOT be part of a secessionist Biafran State.

“Rather, the group (MEND) believes in one strong united Nigerian federation where the principles and ideals of resource control; true federalism; rule of law/respect for human rights; democracy; free enterprise and a vibrant civil society are well entrenched in the grundnorm and put to practice.

“However, MEND remains vehemently opposed to the fraudulent and unsustainable Presidential Amnesty Programme, PAP, headed by Brigadier General Paul Boroh (rtd), which still runs on the corrupt bureaucratic and operational template of the past administration.

“We have always made it very clear that unless the root issues which gave birth to the agitations in the Niger Delta region are addressed, in the form of a sincere dialogue, this programme will only continue to remain a mere cesspool of corruption.

“In order to create an enabling environment for dialogue on the Niger Delta question, MEND

L-R: Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Adm. Ibok Ibas; representative of Chief of Defence Staff, Maj-Gen. Barry Ndiomu; Chief of Naval Safety and Standards, Naval Headquarters, Rear Adm. Emmanuel Ofik; representative of Chief of Army Staff, MajGen. John Malu; representative of IGP, CP Adeyemi Ogunjemilusi and Commandant, National Defence College, Rear Adm. Samuel Alade, during an interdenominational church service in commemoration of Nigerian Navy at Diamond Jubilee Celebration at Our Lady Queen of Martyrs Catholic Church, Mogadishu Barracks in Abuja yesterday. PHOTO: NAN urges President Muhammadu Buhari to release the Okah Brothers - Henry and Charles who were arrested in 2010 on trumped-up charges.

“The release of Henry and Charles Okah will be key to any form of dialogue in helping to bring stability to the volatile region.”

Meanwhile, Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachukwu,

yesterday said the anticorruption posture of the Federal Government was responsible for the return of hostility and vandalism of crude oil pipelines and other national assets in the Niger Delta.

The minister, who accused the Niger Delta Avengers of lacking sufficient knowledge of President Buhari’s change agenda, said those who break

pipelines will soon realise the efforts of the Federal Government to fix the country.

Kachuikwu, who spoke in Benin, Edo State said: “We have hope that agriculture will take hold and we shall feed our children and our communities and feed our externality to make this country an economic hub that would make Nigeria, that giant again.

“I urge all of you to begin to look at the country where you do not spend all your time criticising people, criticising your leaders, criticising concepts and ideas, but empower yourself because you were here for a purpose and add value to Nigeria.

“It is not about me or the national chairman of APC, but, it is actually about you and the country, Nigeria.”

PDP crisis: Police take over party secretariat CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

entry.

Our correspondent, who was at the secretariat, was also turned back, as the security men said they were acting on ‘instructions from above’.

This may not be unconnected with the crisis that rocked the main opposition party at the weekend, which resulted in the emergence of three factions led

by Ali Modu Sheriff, Ibrahim Mantu and Ahmed Makarfi.

The two sides of Dalaba Street, leading to both the front and back gates of the secretariat were barricaded by stern-looking security operatives brandishing weapons.

Findings showed that police, Civil Defence Corps and private security guards manning the secretariat have been replaced with new ones, even as a source who did not want his name mentioned, revealed that the security men were deployed by the Makarfi-led

leadership.

Our correspondent gathered that some members of the ousted National Working Committee, NWC, were having a meeting at the Abuja residence of Modu Sheriff, who was the immediate national chairman, on the next step to take.

It was also gathered that the security barricade was to stop Sheriff and his supporters from having access to the secretariat to avoid confrontation with other factions.

But an indication that the crisis would linger for a long time also emerged yesterday with the declaration by Modu Sheriff that he will not quit office soon.

The ousted national chairman said the NWC was betrayed by his Deputy, Prince Uche Secondus, who he said colluded with the governors to continue with the convention after the NWC had taken a decision in difference to a court order.

Speaking to journal-

ists in Abuja, an aide to Sheriff, Inuwa Bwala said: “Naturally, you will feel betrayed if you are working with some people, only for them to go behind you to work against what you all agreed to do.”

It would be recalled that following the suspension of the national convention of the party and sack of Ali Modu Sheriff as acting national chairman on Saturday in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, a 7-man caretaker committee was put in place to manage the affairs of the party.

Bwala added: “Immediately the chairman (Sheriff) received another court injunction, he called a meeting of the National Working Committee and told them that it wasn’t safe to continue with the convention of the party, especially since the court had forbidden elections virtually into all the offices.

“He announced the suspension of the convention at a press briefing, only for

some people to go behind and claim that there was convention.

“There was no organ of the party that was represented at the convention.

Only Secondus stayed back. I was even surprised that he claimed that he is representing me.

“The convention was cancelled, and it remains cancelled until such a time the matters in court are resolved, for us to convene another national convention.”

Meanwhile, Chairman of the 2016 National Convention Planning Committee and Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike has explained that the party had to let Modu Sheriff go because his leadership was destabilising the party.

In an interview on Saturday night after the 2016 Port Harcourt convention, Wike said: “All along, the crisis has been about the former acting chairman whose emergence was strongly opposed.

“This is destabilising the party and so we had to let him go. What is important is the party and not the individual. No sacrifice is too much for anyone to make as far as PDP is concerned.”

The governor noted that he had no personal interest in supporting Senator Modu Sheriff as he was the best option at the time he emerged.

He said PDP will continue to grow from strength to strength as it remains the only hope for the country.

“We will not allow the PDP to die or suffer divisions under our watch.

History will never forgive us if we watch the party die,” he added.

The governor said leaders of the party would work towards maintaining unity amongst all members.

He said despite the challenges, the 2016 National Convention was successful as the party has been repositioned in the interest of the nation.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

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Monday, May 23, 2016

Good Health

Robots may replace surgeons soon!

Franka Osakwe

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an you imagine the operating theatre being run by robots instead of surgeons? Experts believe this could be the trend in the near future. This follows the first successful soft tissue surgery performed recently by an autonomous robot, giving rise to speculations that robots would soon be able to perform complicated operations without human assistance.

Researchers at the Johns Hopkins University developed a robotic surgical system called the Smart Tissue Autonomous Robot, or STAR, that can adjust to the subtle movement and deformation of soft tissue to execute precise and consistent suturing. Soft tissue normally move and change shape in complex ways as stitching goes on, requiring a surgeon’s skill to respond to these changes and keep suturing as tightly and evenly as possible.

The researchers tested their robot against manual surgery, a laparoscopy, by expert surgeons.

Laparoscopy is a surgery that enables a surgeon to look at the abdominal organs or the female pelvic organs.

Under supervision, STAR proved superior to all approaches

…now perform soft tissue, cancer operations

in suturing and reconnecting bowel segments, known as intestinal anastomosis, in experiments on pigs. The animals survived the operation with no complications, the researchers said Equipped with a robotic arm and surgical tools, STAR combines smart imaging technologies and fluorescent markers to navigate and adapt to the complexities of soft tissue. Robotic soft tissue surgery promises substantial benefits through improved safety from reduction of human errors and increased efficiency due to procedure time reduction, they said.

Dr Peter Kim, of the Children’s National Medical Centre, Washington DC, said: “Probably the

most surprising part was when you compare it to current standards of practice, the machine does it better. Just imagine having the best technology and technique available and having these intelligent systems. It will ultimately have better outcomes and save lives.”

He said with further development, autonomous robotic surgery may one day take human error out of the operating room, improving care for patients undergoing bowel surgery, tumour removal and other soft tissue surgery.

Meanwhile, a British hospital is using a state-of-the-art robot to perform surgery on cancer patients. The University Hospital of

Wales says the robot has helped to treat more than 350 patients in its first 18 months.

The hospital says the surgery, which has been described as the “gold standard” for prostate cancer treatment, has greatly improved outcomes since it was introduced in September 2014.

The ground breaking techniques of the £2.5m (about N875m ) robot make operations far less invasive, reduce blood loss and have helped to dramatically reduce patient recovery time.

Currently, the equipment is being used three days a week and solely on prostate cancer patients, but there is scope to use it for other procedures in the near future.

Krishna Narahari, a consultant urologist at Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, said the new robotic service was having a positive impact in many ways.

He said: “The procedure involves more precise surgery, which means patients not only have better experience but also have a quicker recovery and are less likely to suffer a complication.

“The success of the robot is also helping to raise awareness of prostate cancer among men, which is a very important message.

“Luckily, there are a number of options for prostate cancer, robotic surgery being one of them, but the really important thing is for it to be detected early.”

The innovative robot has three different components – the robotic cart, the surgeon console and the endoscopic stack or column.

Consultant urologists use the surgeon console to look at a 3D image of the prostate and operate controls for the robot’s arms as they remove the cancerous lump.

MrNarahari added: “Recovery from open surgery normally takes about three to four days. But with this machine, the majority of patients stay overnight – or are even discharged the same day.”

Dr Graham Shortland, the medical director for Cardiff and Vale UHB, said there is hope the technology will be expanded into other surgical fields.

He added: “Robotic surgery has been a great investment for not only men in Cardiff and the Vale but across Wales.

“It’s a great example of Shaping Our Future Wellbeing, our 10-year strategic vision, in action and our commitment to creating outcomes that matter to people, making better use of resources and excelling at teaching, research innovation and improvement.”

DID YOU KNOW?

Prolonged antibiotic treatment may impact brain function Low-salt diets may not be beneficial for all, study suggest

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ntibiotics strong enough to kill off gut bacteria can also stop the growth of new brain cells in the hippocampus, a section of the brain associated with memory, reports a study in mice published last week in Cell Reports.

Researchers also uncovered a clue to why-- a type of white blood cell seems to act as a communicator between the brain, the immune system, and the gut.

“We found prolonged antibiotic treatment might impact brain function,” says senior author Susanne Asu Wolf of the Max-Delbrueck-Center for Molecular Medicine in Berlin, Germany. “But probiotics and exercise can balance brain plasticity and should be considered as a real treatment option.”

Wolf first saw clues that the immune system could influence the health and growth of brain cells through research into T cells nearly 10 years ago. But there were few studies that found a link from the brain to the immune system and back to the gut.

In the new study, the researchers gave a group of mice enough antibiotics for them to become nearly free of intestinal microbes. Compared to untreated mice,

the mice who lost their healthy gut bacteria performed worse in memory tests and showed a loss of neurogenesis (new brain cells) in a section of their hippocampus that typically produces new brain cells throughout an individual’s lifetime. At the same time that the mice experienced memory and neurogenesis loss, the research team detected a lower level of white blood cells (specifically monocytes) marked with Ly6Chi in the brain, blood, and bone marrow. So researchers tested whether it was indeed the Ly6Chi monocytes behind the changes in neurogenesis and memory.

In another experiment, the research team compared untreated mice to mice that had healthy gut bacteria levels but low levels of Ly6Chi either due to genetics or due to treatment with antibodies that target Ly6Chi cells.

large worldwide study has found that, contrary to popular thought, low-salt diets may not be beneficial and may actually increase the risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and death compared to average salt consumption.

In fact, the study suggests that the only people who need to worry about reducing sodium in their diet are those with hypertension (high blood pressure) and have high salt consumption.

The study, involving more than 130,000 people from 49 countries, was led by investigators of the Population Health Research Institute (PHRI) of McMaster University and Hamilton Health Sciences.

They looked specifically at whether the relationship between sodium (salt) intake and death, heart disease and stroke differs in people with high blood pressure compared to those with normal blood pressure.

The researchers showed that regardless of whether people have high blood pressure, low-sodium intake is associated with more heart attacks, strokes, and deaths compared to average intake.

“These are extremely important findings for those who are suffering from

high blood pressure,” said Andrew Mente, lead author of the study, a principal investigator of PHRI and an associate professor of clinical epidemiology and biostatistics at McMaster’s Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine.

“While our data highlights the importance of reducing high salt intake in people with hypertension, it does not support reducing salt intake to low levels.

“Our findings are important because they show that lowering sodium is best targeted at those with hypertension who also consume high sodium diets.”

Current intake of sodium in Canada is typically between 3.5 and 4 grams per day and some guidelines have recommended that the entire population lower sodium intake to below 2.3 grams per day, a level that fewer than five per cent of Canadians and people around the world consume.

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Monday, May 23, 2016

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

NLC suspends nationwide protest We acted in the best interest of Nigerians –TUC President Olufemi AdeOsun, Justin tyOpuusu And OnAzenA Abbey

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igeria Labour Congress, NLC, has suspended its nationwide protest over the increase in the pump price of fuel from N86.50 to N145.

The protest, which was largely unsuccessful due to division within the labour unions, was called to impress it on the Federal Government to revert to the old price.

Rising from an Emergency National Executive Council, NEC, meeting yesterday, NLC President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, said the protest was suspend in deference to the intervention of well-meaning Nigerians, particularly, the Leader of All Progressives Congress, APC Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

In suspending the strike, Wabba expressed the readiness of NLC to return to the negotiation table in respect of the twin issues of the hike in pump price and increase in electricity tariff.

He, however, advised government to abide by the internationally acceptable rule of engagement.

He insisted that the action taking by congress was the right move and stressed that, moving forward, NLC would continue to resist any antipeople policy.

A communiqué read at the end of the parley said in part: “NEC after full consultation with its constituents, resolved to suspend with immediate effect, the action it commenced on Wednesday, May 18, 2016. The action is thereby suspended.

“Congress will resume negotiations with government on the twin issues of the hike in electricity tariff and an increase in the pump price of petroleum products and any other issue that may arise thereof.

“It similarly remains committed to genuine dialogue within the framework of interna-

tionally established and recognised principles of representation.

“The congress will continue to resist wrong legislations, policies and programmes and will always act in the best interest of Nigerians as it remains the only Pan Nigerian organisation not affected by religion, region, creed, partisanship and premedical sentiments.

“Congress urges the government to play by the rules in its engagement with its constituent parts, stakeholders and non-state actors as proof of its commitment to deepening our democracy and also in acknowledgement of the well-worn credo that what goes around, comes around.”

Also yesterday, President, Trade Union Congress of Nigeria, TUC, Comrade Bobboi Bala Kaigama said his union backed out of the strike in the best interest of the system and Nigerians.

Kaigama, who disclosed this at an interactive session with journalists in Jalingo, explained that Nigeria’s economy would have collapsed if the union insisted on the old pump price regime of N86.50 or embarked on strike.

According to him, the old price regime was not sustainable, given the facts and figures presented to them by government team during negotiation.

“Our economy is heavily dependent on crude oil sales and in the figures presented to us, NNPC made N550bn on sales of crude and only N50bn was remitted to federation account. The chunk of N500bn was used to import refined petroleum products.

“That was the reason why the three tiers of government in the last federation account meeting shared what was considered to be the least to be shared in the last 16 years.

“If we insisted on the N86.50, our members would not have received salaries in the next two months. So, when we saw

L-R: Director of ECOWAS Parliamentary Affairs and Research, Mr Bertin Some; Secretary to the Secretary-General of the Ecowas Parliament, Mrs Gbemi Aduloju and Secretary-General, ECOWAS Parliament, Dr Nelson Magbagbeola, at the closing ceremony of the presentation of country reports by members states at the 2016 First Extra-Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Parliament in Abuja, at the weekend.

this position, instead of remaining dogma, we opted for negotiation on how to move forward to avoid the collapse of the economy. So, we give it to Nigerians to judge,” he said.

Kaigama informed that the union signed agreement with government to address the issue of minimum wage and palliatives to cushion the effects of the increase.

“We also signed agreement for the reconstitution of the board of Petroleum Products, Pricing and Regulatory Agency, PPPRA, to include members of organised labour so that we can monitor the template for the distribution of petroleum products from depots to the retail outlet.

“Part of that agreement was that all refineries must be brought to life and enabling environment provided for modular refineries to operate around the existing refineries. These modular refineries would go a long way to help in the supply of our local consumption need,” he added.

He used the forum to advise state governors to look inward on how to improve on their Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, warning that the union will monitor closely the disbursement of bailout funds and would

report any state that diverted the funds to EFCC and ICPC. Meanwhile, National Chairman, All Progressives Congress, APC, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun and Edo State Governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, yesterday said increase in fuel pump price is a necessary sacrifice Nigerians must make.

They made this assertion at the child dedication and fund raising ceremony of the General Overseer, Rock of Ages Christian Assembly in Benin City, the Edo State capital.

Chief Odigie-Oyegun, who noted that Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, Dr Ibe Kachikwu has been under fire lately as a result of the increase, said Nigeria was indeed facing a difficult time.

Oyegun said subsidy removal was a necessary price to pay for the nation to survive and to achieve the change mantra of the Federal Government, adding that things will definitely get better progressively.

“No question, we are going through a very difficult time. No question that we could not have continued doing things the way we were. We would not have been here today, but for God himself

who gave us President Muhammadu Buhari,” he said.

Governor Oshiomhole posited that the fundamentals and economic indices are different from what they were a few years ago, adding it was a difficult pain Nigerians must undergo before reaping the gains.

According to him, it doesn’t make economic sense for the government to spend more than half its earnings just on fuel subsidy to the detriment of other development programmes.

“Leaders must see ahead of their followers, and when followers can’t see what leader is seeing, with time and consistency, the followers will see the benefits of the decisions the leader has taken.

“As many of you might have known, this is not my first time in the struggle against pump price increase. I have fought it over and over again, and at a point, God used us to shut down the country just to make a point to the then government in power, but the truth is that the fundamentals have changed.

“When a nation and a people could not for good reason trust the leadership, even when the leadership asks you to make a sacrifice, the first ques-

tion you ask is, if I make the sacrifice, what about you? Obviously, for a government that was sharing money for security services to party leaders, that government didn’t have the moral standing to call on Nigerians to make sacrifices.

“So, I think it was that thing that was missing, having a president that cares, a President that is not corrupt, a President that commands respect within the country and outside the country.

“When he asks you, change your ways of life, look at my own lifestyle, let us restart, we have all sinned in the past, let us repent so that we might not sin again, I think it makes sense to listen.

“There will be sacrifice, so, no pain, no gain.

I believe this is the time to accept a lot of pains, so that once free, the gains will come.

“I know under President Buhari the gains will come. I know that this time will come and go and Nigeria will maintain its progress.

“Under President Olusegun Obasanjo, we were talking of N20bn for subsidy. And Obasanjo would ask me, Comrade, N20bn can build XYZ road. I think the last one was about N40 to N45bn a year for subsidy,” he stated.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

News

Monday, May 23, 2016

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NOGASA orders members to ensure steady gas supply ObiOra ifOh ABUJA

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n an attempt to ensure that Nigerians do not suffer much from the recent increase in fuel price, Natural Oil and Gas Suppliers Association of Nigeria, NOGASA, has directed its members to ensure they sustain the full supply of oil and gas throughout the country especially within the industrial sector, to aid manufacturers and the construction companies.

The directive by the association is against the backdrop of the call for industrial strike by the

Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, which is protesting the recent hike by the Federal Government and insisting on a reversal to the old price regime of N86 per litre.

The Secretary, Board of Trustees of the association, Eddy Nwosu, during a press conference in Abuja yesterday, while advising members to go about their normal businesses, also urged them to shun any attempts from any quarters to sabotage the efforts of the Federal Government towards improving the lives of Nigerians through its various policies.

Nwosu further called for their understanding as regards the hike in the price of fuel, adding that the hard impact of the decision on the people would be temporary. He therefore urged them to support the decision and other policy directives of the government, saying its long term effect would be in the interest of Nigerians.

He also congratulated President Muhammadu Buhari and his junior petroleum minister, Ibe Kachukwu, for taking the step towards transforming the oil and gas industry.

“The removal of subsidy should be full blown to promote effective competition in the oil and gas sec-

tor. PPPRA regulating the importation of petroleum through their template is regulation in a deregulated sector. Also, we implore the Federal Government, as a matter of urgency, to repair the existing oil refineries and create an enabling environment for investors to build new refineries.

“These outlined factors, driven by demand and supply will determine the price and ultimately ease the suffering of Nigerians,” he said.

He urged oil and gas suppliers to go about their normal business as the Federal Government was making conscious efforts to reorganise the sector.

9,000 Nigerians studying in Malaysia –Envoy

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o fewer than 9,000 Nigerian students are currently studying in Malaysian universities, the country’s High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr Lim Juay Jin, has said.

Jin disclosed this in Ado-Ekiti on Sunday at the Afe Babalola University during a visit.

He spoke at a programme tagged ‘Diplomatic Talk,’ organised by the Department of International Relations and Diplomacy of the university.

Jin said the affected Nigerians chose to study in Malaysia because they realised that his country was “one of the top tertiary education destinations in the world.’.

He said the students were studying at all levels of education including undergraduate, masters as well as doctoral levels.

The envoy attributed the development to availability of facilities, affordable fees, friendly learning environment, quality tutors, good governance and stable economy.

Jin said the GDP of his country with a population of just 30 million people, stood at $237 dollars, while its per capita income was $8,800.

He said Malaysia was also doing well in the areas of agriculture, especially

palm oil, which he said, his country that gained independence from Britain in 1957, had been able to use to its advantage.

The envoy expressed the desire of his country to further deepen bilateral relations with Nigeria.

He said a total of 450 Nigerians had so far attended Nigeria/Malaysia Technical Cooperation Programme, TCP. Founder of the university, Afe Babalola, said it was unbelievable that Malaysia, a smaller country that could not compete with many years ago, had overtaken Nigeria.

He canvassed a return of the country to the days of smaller units of regional governance so that too much power would not be concentrated at the centre.

Babalola said that such smaller units would make Nigeria easier to administer.

“If we had maintained the regional government as they were in the 1960s, we would have developed even better than Malaysia.

“Our forefathers considered the population, land and resources as very large, that was why they introduced regional government.

“It has always been the smaller, the better,” he said.

Representative of the Minister of Information and Culture, Mrs Ayotunde Adesugba (right), watching historic pictures, while the DirectorGeneral National Commission for Museum and Monuments, Mallam Yusuf Usman (2nd-l) explains what are in the pictures, during the World Culture Day in Abuja at the weekend with them is Director of Entertainment and Creativity Services, Ministry of Information, Mrs Grace Gekpe (2nd-r)and other officials

Expert predicts rise in lending rate to 15%

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hief Executive Officer of Time Economics, Dr Ogho Okiti, has predicted that the Monetary Policy Committee, MPC, will tighten the Monetary Policy Rate, MPR, from 12 to 15 per cent.

Okiti made the prediction in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Sunday in Abuja.

He expressed the firm’s prediction ahead of the Monetary Policy Committee Meeting scheduled to hold between Monday and Tuesday.

It would be recalled that at the last MPC meeting in March, the MPC raised MPR by 100 basis points from 11 per cent to 12 per cent and raised the Cash Reserve Ratio by 250 basis points from 20 to 22.50 per cent.

The Liquidity Ratio was retained at 30 per cent and the asymmetric corridor was narrowed from +200 and -700 basis points to

+200 and -500 basis points.

“Following the decisions made at the last meeting along with the committee bias towards price stability, we anticipate that the committee will move toward further rate tightening by raising the Monetary Policy Rate.

“However, we expect they will make little or no adjustment to the Cash Reserve Requirements and the Liquidity Ratio, following very poor growth figures.

“In summary, we anticipate MPR to be increased by 200 basis points to 15 per cent, maintain asymmetric corridor of +200/– 500 basis points around the midpoint of the MPR and maintain CRR at 22.5 per cent.

“Also, the Liquidity Ratio will be maintained at 30 per cent,” he said.

Okiti said it was unlikely that the committee would make changes on the exchange rate, given

that there was already an expectation of devaluation.

He said the expectation was responsible for the further widening of the gap between the official and the parallel rates, adding that the committee was unlikely to bow to market pressures.

Okiti explained that the slowing economic growth, continued rise in inflation and fuel price would play a key role in the decisions the committee would take at its meeting.

“The meeting will hold amidst what is probably the most severe combination of shocks in the economy since the start of the century.

“The pace of economic growth in the first quarter of 2016 fell by -0.4 per cent from the 2.11 per cent and 3.96 per cent recorded in the fourth quarter, 2015 and the first quarter of 2016.

“Headline inflation in-

dex continued its northward movement for the third consecutive month to advance to 13.7 per cent in the month of April.

“The upward advancement in general price levels by 90 basis points were driven by marked increase in both food and core subindex.

“This increased by 13.2 per cent and 13.4 per cent respectively, compared to 12.74 per cent and 12.17 per cent recorded in March.

“These developments were largely driven by the worsening fuel scarcity which has had crippling effects on business operations and transport costs across the country,’’ he said.

Okiti said the foreign exchange situation, which continues to negatively impact on costs of imported goods, need to be improved and a strong fiscal policy blueprint should be provided to stimulate growth.

Photo

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Monday, May 23, 2016

NEWS

L-R: General Manager, Sales, MultiChoice Nigeria, Akinola Salu, presenting the Top performing Branded Stores Award to Amaka Adinnu. With her is the Marketing Manager, DStv, MultiChoice Nigeria, Chioma Afe, during the company’s Loyalty Reward 2015 at the weekend.

L-R:, Registrar, Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria, Alhaji Bello Kankarofi; President, Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN), Kelechi Nwosu; Speaker, Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly, Hon. Onofiok Luke; Group Managing Director, SO&U Limited, Mr Udeme Ufot, and Akwa Ibom State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Mr. Aniekan Umanah, at the AAAN’s welcome dinner hosted by SO&U Limited in Uyo, at the weekend.

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Chairman, House Committee on Capital Market, Hon. Tajudeen Yusuf (l), with the Acting Managing Director, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Mr Jones Afolabi, during the committee’s working visit to NAN headquarters in Abuja.

L-R, Managing Director, Lubcon Limited, Mr. Taiye Williams, official blender of Yamalube Engine Oil for Yamaha Products in Nigeria displaying Lubcon’s congratulatory message to the visiting President and CEO of Yamaha Motor Corporation, Japan, Mr. Hiroyuki Yanagi and other officials from JS Nippon and Yamaha Motor Corporation, Japan, at the official opening ceremony of CFAO Yamaha plant and showroom in Lagos, recently.

National News

Police present suspected suicide bomber to Ganduje

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ommissioner of Police in Kano State, Abbati Dikko, yesterday presented a woman (name withheld) suspected to have been kidnapped in Maiduguri to Governor Abdullahi Ganduje.

A mother of three, the woman told newsmen at the Government House Kano, that suspected Boko Haram members kidnapped her on the way to hospital in Maiduguri.

“On our arrival in Kano, the vehicle (in which she was conveyed) developed a problem. I gained my consciousness and found that my body was strapped with explosive belt.

“It is in the course of repairing the car that I learnt the kidnappers have stripped me of my cloth and explosive devices were strapped on me,” she said.

She said she eventually ran away before security men rescued her around 11 p.m. and was taken to Hotoro Police Station in Kano.

She said the kidnappers told her that she was to go to

the famous Kantin Kwari Market in Kano for “God’s mission.”

The commissioner urged the residents to be security conscious and report to the

police whenever they noticed suspicious movements.

Governor Ganduje also

urged the populace to be very vigilant, especially at markets.

He said if the woman had

not regained her consciousness, it could have been a different story.

Lagos govt to build DNA forensic laboratory within 15 months

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agos State Government yesterday expressed its readiness to build a DNA Forensic Laboratory within 15 months.

Commissioner for Science and Technology, Mr Olufemi Odubiyi, made the disclosure at the ministerial briefing marking the one year anniversary of Governor Akinwunmi Ambode.

Odubiyi said the government was working with the State Ministry of Justice to commence the laboratory to ensure that the criminal justice system caught all criminals.

The laboratory, he said, would be located at CMS area within the city of Lagos.

He said his ministry was also partnering with law enforcement personnel to ensure security across the state.

The commissioner said the Federal Government had installed and handed over 1,000 Closed Circuit Television, CCTV, cameras to the state.

According to him, the state government will also install 12,000 CCTVs to bring the total number of cameras to 13,000.

Odubiyi noted that the enabling infrastructure for the CCTV scheme was being put in place with the ministry’s Smart City Project.

“Enabling infrastructure to guarantee success of the CCTV cameras is critical, and this is where the Smart City Project will help in back hauling data to the command centre located in Ikeja.

“The project will also provide broadband deployment of fibers across the state,” he

said.

On the computer village located at Ikeja, Odubiyi said the plan to relocate the village was still ongoing in collaboration with other ministries.

He said government also had plans to carry out entrepreneurship training for some of the computer village technologists as had been done in the past.

The commissioner said the

ministry was also reviewing its Science and Technology Policy in collaboration with UNESCO in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs. He said in line with the new policy proposal, the ministry was partnering with the Lagos State University, Ojo with a view to commercialising some of its research works.

“This will further encourage and promote research activities in higher institutions and create employment opportunities for the citizens.

“Two of such research works have been identified like production and commercialising of body cream made from cultured catfish oil and control of insect pest on grains using essential oils from botanical plants.

Buhari cancels visit to Lagos

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resident Muhammadu Buhari has cancelled his scheduled visit to Lagos.

The president was scheduled to begin a 2-day visit to Lagos today as part of activities marking Governor Akinwunmi

Ambode’s one year in office, during which he was expected to commission some projects.

When contacted on phone last night, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina said the

President will be represented by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

He explained that since the President will be represented by the Vice President, it was not a cancellation.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Monday, May 23, 2016

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EASTER CELEBRATION 8

South West

Monday, May 23, 2016

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Buhari tasked on ways to move Nigeria forward Kemi Olaitan IBADAN

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rominent Nigerians that included renowned educationist, Prof. Bolanle Awe, in Ibadan at the weekend said the only way to get the country out of its economic, political and social doldrums is to get Nigerians to take the country seriously.

The gathering held at the International Conference Centre of the University of Ibadan. It was put together by the Readers’ Club of the Ibadan School of Government and Public Policy, ISGPP, to brainstorm on Nigeria through the reading of one of the recent books of poet and gubernatorial aspirant in Edo State, Odia Ofeimun, titled, ‘Taking Nigeria Seriously.’

Awe, who lauded what she called “extremely provocative” issues dealt with in the book, especially the issue of indigene/settlers, and education of children of tomorrow, said the removal of history from the curriculum of schools was capable of making Nigerians not to take their country seriously.

She said, “We should learn about our culture, tradition and be proud of them… If we do not know

history, how can you get far in life? America won’t give you a degree unless you learn American history.”

The Deputy Vice Chairman of the school and retired federal Permanent Secretary, Dr. Tunji Olaopa, said the club was one of the school’s efforts at “contributing to the knowledge industry in Nigeria,” stating that authors whose books stimulate discourses on Nigeria would be a periodic affair of the club.

Ofeimun, while kicking off the debate by reading from the 9-chapter book, said the bulk of the nation’s woes could be linked to the fact that Nigerians and their leaders do not take the country seriously in all their interactions with the nation.

According to him, the book, which he described as a “concise image of Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s views of Nigeria,” was a composite of all the articles he had ever written, his thoughts, beliefs and poetry, which he said seeks to look at the thoughts of Awolowo after he (Ofeimun) stopped being his Private Secretary.

He called for a holistic tackling of the herdsmen attacks issue by President Muhammadu Buhari, stating that if not well tackled, it was capable of destroy-

Mob kills man for stealing goat in Ondo O jO O yewamide AKURE

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24-year-old man, Ilemobayo Anjorin, was beaten to death by an angry mob in Ondo town at the weekend for allegedly stealing a goat.

The deceased and one of his friends were said to have stolen the goat which belongs to a woman in the street.

It was learnt that while Anjorin was apprehended by the people around, his friend ran away.

He was reportedly beaten by the mob, mainly students of Adeyemi College of Education, before being rescued by the police and taken to a private hospital where he was confirmed dead.

A human rights activist, Otunba Muyideen Olamoyegun, condemned the attitude of the mob, saying such cases should be reported to the police.

ing the country.

“If we don’t deal with the issue of herdsmen, there may be no Nigeria tomorrow. Almost all Ni-

gerian groups are brought up not to take Nigeria seriously; they fight against themselves and the future of their children by feign-

ing to be fighting for the interest of their people.

The Fulani must be made to move to where they have cultural empathy

– dairy industries, cornbeef industries. Government must build a global industry around their cattle-rearing.”

L-R: Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi; his wife, Florence and wife of Governor of Osun State, Mrs. Sherifat Aregbesola, at a high-level meeting on female genital mutilation, organised by Access to Basic Medical Care Foundation and international development partners, in Ibadan, recently.

Oyo to invoke ‘no work, no pay’ rule Kemi Olaitan IBADAN

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yo State government yesterday threw its weight behind the decision of the Federal Government to deregulate the fuel pump price, saying it is the best solution for the country.

A statement issued by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Olalekan Alli, also warned public servants in the state bent on participating in the ongoing industrial action called by the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, to be ready to pay the price

of ‘no work, no pay.’

The government reminded its workforce that the National Industrial Court had ruled against the strike before the Comrade Ayuba Wabba-led faction of the NLC ordered its affiliate unions to embark on the action last week.

The SSG, who insisted that deregulation of the downstream oil sector is the best option open to the Federal Government in the prevailing circumstance, cautioned dissenters and non-conformists against testing the resolve of law enforcement agencies, who, he said, had the

constitutional mandate to crush any attempt to breach the peace of the land.

While urging members of the public to go about their legitimate duties and obligations without fear of intimidation and harassment, he warned individual or groups determined to hide under the guise of protest to foment trouble or engage in vandalism to have a rethink.

He, however, advocated the provision of palliatives by the FG to cushion the spiralling adverse effects of the new fuel pump

price regime on the citizens.

The SSG declared that change is an inevitable phenomenon towards the attainment of progress in the country, just as he urged the government and the NLC to consider each other as partners in service to and progress of the country.

He then advised labour leaders to embrace the Federal Government’s clarion call for further dialogue over the matter for genuine mutually beneficial interests to be further pursued.

Encourage SME’s to tackle economic woes, CBN urges FG, states BOladale BamigBOla OSOGBO

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ederal and state governments have been advised to encourage small and medium scale business owners’ in the country to tackle the current economic challenges.

Giving the advice at the graduation ceremony of the set of 75 Batch of CBN-Empowerment Development Committee (EDC)/Bethel-Joy Cooperative and Empowerment Scheme in Os-

ogbo, the Osogbo Branch Controller of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Mrs. Bola Adebayo, who congratulated the graduands on the successful completion of their four weeks intensive entrepreneurship programme on how best to succeed in business, also charged them to always apply the lessons learnt during the training in their businesses.

Speaking at the occasion, the Chairman, Nigeria Baptist Convention and Chancellor, Bowen University, Iwo, Rev.

Olumide Kehinde, told the apex bank and Osun Micro Credit Agency to provide the necessary support for the trained entrepreneurs to ensure success of the project.

He also urged the graduands to make honesty their watchword, admonishing them to take their destiny into their hands and liberate themselves and the nation’s economy from the shackles of poverty.

Earlier, the President and National Coordinator of Bethel-Joy Profes-

sional Awareness Initiative and Cooperatives Scheme, Ayo Afolabi, explained that the focus of the programme is to find ways of reducing poverty in the country.

According to him, “entrepreneurship plays a vital role in human and economic development of a nation,” adding that the ultimate goal is to become the financial non-government organisation with the least interest rate in the country.

Afolabi, who enjoined

the graduands to make judicious use of the opportunity brought to their door steps, then expressed readiness of Bethel Joy Cooperatives and Empowerment Scheme to further embark on programmes that would improve the well being of the citizenry.

The Special Adviser to the Governor on Vocational Education, Dr. Romoke Raji, at the occasion, assured of the support of the state government to the Bethel-Joy programmes.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

South West

Monday, May 23, 2016

9

Lagos to professionalise transport sector Francis suberu

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agos State Commissioner for Transportation, Dr. Dayo Mobereola, said government has held consultation with road transport operators on the need to rebrand and professionalise the road transport sector.

According to him, the present administration is determined to have public transportation system that supports its megacity status where tendencies for

…splashes N39m on needy

violence are curbed; drivers and conductors are retrained and registered.

He said the state government has plans to restructure garages in the state and introduce holistic ticketing system which people can download from the internet and use for any mode of transportation in the state without hitch.

Said he: “Lagos State motor garages will be restructured in such a way

that alcohol and illicit substances and other things that are not supposed to be sold at our garages will not be there. We are going to teach the transport operators in the state etiquette on how to behave and talk to commuters. As a matter of fact they too want a change.”

Meanwhile, the state government said it has disbursed N39 million to 248 vulnerable members of

the society who are in need of financial assistance as start-up capital for small and medium scale businesses.

Special adviser to the governor on Civic Engagement, Kehinde Joseph, who revealed this at a press briefing held at the Lagos State secretariat, Ikeja, said the funds were disbursed through the Office of Civic Engagement.

He explained that ad-

ditional requests for financial assistance from members of the public are being processed, adding that more people would benefit from the exercise soon.

Joseph emphasised that in line with the present administration’s inclusive governance policy, the Office has met with various groups and non- governmental organisations to promote activities related to volunteerism, commu-

Kidnapped nuns regain freedom in Ondo ojo oyewamide AKURE

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Afrobeat Star, Olando Julius performing at the Space Legend Series Music Concert in Lagos on Saturday.

Catholic bishop seeks release of abducted cleric abiodun nejo ADO EKITI

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atholic Bishop of Ekiti Diocese, Most Rev. Felix Ajakaye, has appealed to the captors of Vicar General of Diocese of Otukpo, Rev. Fr. John Adeyi to release him without further delay.

Bishop Ajakaye appealed: “The Catholic Church is pleading with the abductors of Fr. Adeyi to please release him so that he can continue his humble service to humanity as directed by God.” The cleric who, in a statement in Ado Ekiti, decried the rampant cases of kidnapping and other social vices in the country, appealed to government and security agents to do everything to ensure timely release of the servant of God from his captors.

Fr. Adeyi, the parish priest of St. Bernard Catholic Church, Okpoka, Okpokwu council area of

Benue State, was abducted on Sunday, April 24, 2016 when returning from an outstation of the parish where he had gone to celebrate mass.

The Catholic bishop lamented: “This unfortunate incident is not palatable at all. Indeed, apart from the described story of abduction, there are still other cases pending, both known and unknown. I humbly appeal to all sincere and purposeful Nigerians, within and outside government, and genuine friends of Nigeria to fashion out practical lasting solutions to this spate of abductions.

“We must stop chasing the shadows. Really, whenever somebody is abducted, it is sickening to hear state governors are prepared to give millions of Naira to anybody or group with any information on the whereabouts of the abducted. Let such

governors look inward and do the needful.”

According to him, as Nigerians, we need to make

our country habitable for all by ensuring true love, justice, peace, harmony and development.

nity building and participation in the political process.

Joseph said the state government would continue to encourage all well-meaning citizens to contribute their quota to governance in the state, assuring that the present administration has made good its promise to run an open and inclusive government through engagements.

fter spending one week in the kidnappers’ den, two Reverend Sisters, Apo Perpetual and Roseline Familade, were yesterday morning rescued by the police.

The two nuns and their driver, Zwugwa Zibai, were kidnapped on May 15, 2016 in Kajola village in Odigbo Local Government Area of the Ondo State while traveling to Ogun State for a programme.

They were rescued by a team of policemen in the state and the Intelligent Squad sent from Abuja by the Inspector General of Police, IGP, Solomon Arase.

State Police Public

Relations Officer, PPRO, Femi Joseph, confirmed the rescue of the victims, saying they are hale and hearty.

Joseph who declined to give further information about the rescue operation, said: “All what I can say for now is that the Rev. Sisters and their driver have been rescued by our men and the intelligent squad sent by the IGP from Abuja.

“We are still on the trail of the suspects. We will soon arrest them because we are presently combing the area where we rescued the victims.

“They kidnappers quickly abandoned their victims when they discovered that we were closer to where they hid them. No ransom was paid before we secured their release.”

Ekiti seeks arrest of killer herdsmen abiodun nejo ADO EKITI

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kiti State government has called for the arrest and prosecution of herdsmen who invaded Oke Ako in the Ikole council area of the state and killed two residents on Friday night.

The governor who described the invaders as agents of the devil who must be fished out and punished accordingly, warned that there could be reprisal attacks on herdsmen in the state if they did not desist from invading Ekiti communities and attacking the people.

Some herdsmen who had fallen out with the residents

over destruction of their farmlands with their grazing activities, had allegedly invaded the community on Friday night brandishing dangerous weapons, killing two persons and injuring four others. The governor, in a statement by his special assistant on public communications, Lere Olayinka, commiserated with the people of Oke-Ako, especially the families of the deceased and vowed to do everything possible to forestall a recurrence of such attack and safeguard the lives of Ekiti people.

He said the herdsmen were becoming major threat to the unity of Nigeria and its people and as well the ongoing drive for the revival of

agriculture.

The governor called on President Muhammadu Buhari to stop paying lips service to the herdsmen’s menace, saying “as patron of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria, MACBAN, President Buhari has the capacity to call the herdsmen to order.”

The governor said he has directed the police and other security agencies in the state to fish out the killer herdsmen.

This was as former House of Representatives member, Hon. Bamidele Faparusi, called on the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, to punish policemen accused of laxity in the

weekend killing by suspected herdsmen in Oke Ako. The residents had blamed the degree of the violence on the alleged insistence of the police to get N12,000 bribe from the people to fuel their van as the only condition to go to the scene of attack to rescue the people while the attack was on.

Faparusi, in a statement in Ado Ekiti yesterday, urged Arase to investigate the bribery allegation against some policemen in Ikole Divisional Police Station during the attack, describing the demand of N12,000 before they could move from Ikole to Oke Ako to quell the violence as a serious allegation that must not be trivialised.

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South East

Monday, May 23, 2016

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Buhari’s global acceptability’ll save Nigeria–Okorocha Chris Njoku Owerri

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mo State governor, Rochas Okorocha, said over the weekend that only a man with President Muhammadu Buhari’s strength of character, integrity and global acceptability could bail the nation from its current state of decay.

The governor who an-

nounced his withdrawal from the 2019 presidential race in favour of President Buhari’s re-election bid, insists that the President has so far justified the mandate given to him by the electorate through the implementation of not only his economic policies but his determination to rid the country of corruption.

One year in office: Ugwuanyi to commission road projects EmmaNuEl EzEh enugu

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nugu State Urban Renewal Committee has disclosed Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi’s desire to commission some completed roads in the state as part of activities marking his one year in office.

Speaking yesterday during an inspection tour of ongoing road projects in the state, chairman of the committee, Chris Offor, commended Governor Ugwuanyi for his development initiatives and commitment to his campaign promises to the people of the state despite the present economic challenges in the country.

Offor said governor was able to record remarkable feats in the state, especially in the area of infrastructural development because of his passion for good governance and steadfastness to ameliorating the sufferings of the people.

The committee chairman who expressed delight over the performance of the construction companies that have completed their projects for commissioning, noted that it was as a result of the importance the gov-

ernor attached to prompt delivery of dividends of democracy to the people of the state that made the successfully completion of the projects possible.

While disclosing that the Nike Lake Road and Amaeke-Ngwo-Nsude-9th Mile by-pass road constructed by Setraco Nig. Ltd and CCC Nig. Ltd respectively have been completed for commissioning, Offor called on other construction companies handling ongoing road projects in the state to increase their pace of work to ensure the projects are completed within the stipulated contract period.

He added that the governor is desirous of fulfilling his campaign promises to the people of the state and should therefore be encouraged to succeed.

The chairman who was accompanied to the sites by a technical member of the committee who is the state’s Commissioner for Science and Technology, Engr. Greg Nnaji, also identified some technical challenges in the area of quality assurance and control of the work done by the various contractors and offered advice on how to tackle them.

Okorocha who spoke while briefing newsmen on his stewardship and challenges in the past five years, stated that it would be in the best interest of the nation to allow the President lay a solid foundation for Nigeria as well consolidate the gains of his first term in office.

“I will not run in 2019 because President Buhari has all it takes to lay a solid foundation for this country as has partly been manifested in his fight against corruption, and for the first time, members of the international community now look at us as people who are serious to grow and develop.

“If you want to see what President Buhari

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Force, has begun an aerial surveillance of the three senatorial zones.

“This exercise will offer the platform to fish out would-be mischief makers and for officers to have proper sight of all the nooks and crannies of the state for effective crime prevention and control,’’ he said.

Amaraizu, a Superintendent of Police, noted that the Enugu State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Emmanuel Ojukwu, had earlier advised members of the public not to panic on sighting the he-

farm project and an Imo State-made fish dryer with a one million egg capacity incubator in Oguta Local Government Area as well as poultries in each of the 27 local government areas of the state.

He disclosed that 1,000 projects have already been completed in the state, including 600-kilometre roads, adding that his comprehensive qualitative education programme has reduced the level of poverty in the state from 57 per cent in 2011 to 19 per cent in 2016.

Okorocha who also spoke of 1,300 primary schools and 225 post primary schools established by his administration,

added that the demolition of shanties and illegal structures within the Owerri capital city and its environs was part of government’s measures to advanced the course of environmental beautification of the state.

Other accomplishments of his administration, he said, include the construction of a Marine University in Ohaji-Egbema Local Government Area, construction of an ultramodern General Hospital with 100 beds in each of the 27 local government areas of the state, among other projects, assuring that the proposed Imo International Cargo Airport would soon take off.

L-R: All Progressive Congress, Enugu State Chairman, Dr Ben Nwoye; Founder, Baywood Foundation, Chief Chris Baywood and Igwe of Nimbo Community, Enugu State, Igwe John Akor, during a sympathy visit to the Igwe on the recent herdsmen attack on the Community in Enugu, yesterday. PHOTO:NAN

TSA deployment: Enugu saves N1bn in a year–Commissioner

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nugu State government said it has saved N1bn in a year as a result of the deployment of the Treasury

Police begin aerial surveillance of Enugu o boost security in Enugu State, the police yesterday began aerial surveillance of the entire state.

Spokesman of the police in the state, Mr. Ebere Amaraizu, told the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in Enugu that helicopters are on an aerial monitoring exercise of the three senatorial zones.

“As part of measures to ensure that the entire state is safe and secure, the state command, through the AirWing of the Nigeria Police

has achieved or wants to achieve, just go look at the 2016 budget that had just been passed by the National Assembly; you will see that no government in the past had achieved 30 per cent of its budget compare to what the current administration has achieved in just one year,” he said.

Okorocha also announced plans to replicate the famous Alaba Electronic International Market, Lagos, in Imo State through a public-private partnership, PPP as part of his efforts to develop the state.

According to him, his administration has launched the first fish

licopters.

“It is the gesture of the Inspector-General of Police and government to ensure that the entire area is made safe.

“The command has mobilised security operatives, working in partnership with relevant stakeholders and police pilots, with a view to flushing out criminals from their hideouts in the state,’’ he said.

The state command currently has three helicopters and a heliport at its disposal in Enugu.

Single Account, TSA, in its financial management.

Commissioner for Finance and Economic Development, Mrs. Eucharia Uche-Offor, disclosed this to the News Agency of Nigeria. NAN, yesterday in Enugu.

She said the TSA has tremendously helped government in blocking financial leakages.

“In an effort to block the leakages, Enugu State started the use of the TSA model in the collection of its Internally Generated Revenue, IGR. “This was aimed to strengthen the pay-direct system that has been in use since 2009.

“This method has helped to block observed leakages and consequently brought

about increase in the IGR of the state.

“So, from the deployment of the TSA, we have saved up to N1 billion in the last one year of the Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi’s administration.

“Due to the usage of the TSA, we have really made tremendous savings in the state,’’ she said.

Uche-Offor said the TSA has helped the state to warehouse all its revenue receipts as well as understood the dynamics of cash inflow.

She said once the funds are warehoused, the ministry in the same vein, made immediate cash return to the accounts of ministries, departments and agencies which required cash for their daily functions.

“TSA has become a veri-

table instrument for cash flow and control mechanism of the state government, thus increasing financial discipline in the government system as a whole.’’

The commissioner said the state would soon stop all cases of multiple taxation.

“The state is working toward handling cases of multiple taxes through interagency collaboration and harmonisation of taxes payable by all concerned. Work on this is still in progress,’’ she said.

The commissioner said the state government has been able to meet its obligations, especially the payment of workers’ salary due to its uncompromising financial management and expansion of its revenue base.

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South South

Monday, May 23, 2016

11

Bayelsa youths nab pipeline vandals …Dickson promises reward

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L-R: Governors Seriake Dickson of Bayelsa State; Ben Ayade of Cross River State and Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State, during the PDP National Convention in Port Harcourt, at the weekend.

Group condemns renewed hostilities in Niger Delta AdeolA Tukuru AbujA

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oalition for a New Nigeria, CoNeN, has condemned the renewed attacks on oil installations by the Niger Delta Avengers, which it described as a dangerous threat to return to a dangerous past that was best forgotten.

The coalition urged Nigerians to join in condemning the attack in the strongest possible terms.

A statement signed by the Co-Secretary of the Coalition of 50 Civil Society Organisations in Nigeria, Godspower Amuna, yesterday in Abuja expressed concerns that the militants were doing longterm damage to their own environment in the course of fulfilling the region’s preelection threats to make the country ungovernable and that the local populations were likely to suffer more with further contamination and destruction of farmlands and fishing areas.

The statement noted that the drop in national revenue arising from the disruption of oil exploration is affecting all Nigerians including those in the oil producing areas whose wages and salaries were now being delayed.

It stressed: “These militants should ask themselves if these undesirable outcomes are satisfactory to them enough to rule out other means of making demands on the state. It is a matter of time before counter groups that are opposed to this destruction rise up and there will be no good ending in such a scenario.

“We suggest that the militants should stop the attacks and slink away now before things get ugly for them.

They should save themselves and the entire country a repeat of turning the Niger Delta into a theatre of war particularly when the people of the area have not fully re-

covered from the destruction caused by the Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND).

“We appealed to the Federal Government to not completely rule out a peaceful resolution of the renewed militancy in the Niger Delta, even as the directives are out

to fish out criminal elements that are sabotaging the country,” the statement said.

It urged youths in the areas to dissociate themselves from the resurgent militancy at every opportunity they have since there is no alternative to gainful employment and enterprise.

‘Lack of vision responsible for Nigeria’s economic woes’ Amour udemude AsAbA

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he current socialeconomic challenges faced in Nigeria have been attributed to lack of articulated and clear long-term vision of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.

This was made known at the weekend by the former Chief Economic Adviser to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Chief Phillip Asiodu, while delivering a lecture entitled; “Strong Institutions as a Panacea to Good Governance in Nigeria” at the second edition of the bi-annual lecture series in honour of the first Premier of the defunct Mid-West Region between 1964 and 1966, Chief Dennis Osadebey.

Asiodu, who was the chairman on the occasion packaged by a socio-cultural organisation working for societal progress, the Asaba Development (ASDEV) ‘81 Club, described Buhari as a man with impeccable personal credentials for probity who was elected on the promise of change particularly the end to corruption and re-introduction of good governance that

will pursue public interests.

According to the former economic adviser, “Buhari leads a party, which like the other political parties, has not articulated a clear long-term vision for Nigeria, nor a manifesto with clear programmers and projects for the transformation of Nigeria into a first world state. It has not explicitly adopted Vision 2020 even as a basis for further long-term planning.”

On how the nation gradually arrived at its present economic status, Asiodu, also a former Special Adviser to former President Shehu Shagari and chairman of Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs in 1983, noted: “Our population which was 40 million at Independence is now about 180 million and is projected to continue growing at 2.8% per annum over the next four years and more.

“The proportion of the population living at below poverty line in 1960 was about 20%. The proportion today is about 70%. In 1975, Nigeria was at about number 56 a low middle income country, today we are about number 158 and still a low middle income country but overtaken by so many countries. Nigeria’s

HDI (Human Development Index) ranking in 2011 was 156 out of 187 countries.

“Nigeria is still a monocultural economy exporting crude oil and LNG (Liquified Natural Gas) which account for 95% of our export earnings. Manufacturing contributed just under 4% to GDP, and export of manufactured goods less than 0.7% in 2011 and has fallen further. Only 40% of Nigerians living in urban centers have access to electricity.”

However, on the way forward, Asiodu while stressing the need for strong institutions which are very critical to the foundation for good governance, said the only way is a revolutionary approach towards building strong institutions, and tasked the President, as a matter of urgency and importance, to call the nation to order.

In his speech earlier, president of ASDEV ‘81 Club, Mr. Godfrey Ogbolu, noted the lecture series were to draw public attention to the contributions of the late Premier who died in 1994 to the growth of the Nigerian state with a view to making the government accord him the necessary respect.

group of armed youths from Ikienghenbiri community in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State have been arrested for allegedly vandalising a major oil pipeline with dynamites.

Reports say the group, which was led by Suoyou, Iyelawei and Fyneboy, vandalised the pipeline along the Azuzuama – Ikienghenbiri axis of the trunk line conveying crude oil from the Nigerian Agip Oil Company flow station at Tebidaba to Brass.

A statement issued on Sunday in Yenagoa by the Bayelsa State Commissioner for Information and Orientation, Jonathan Obuebite, said the pipeline vandals were apprehended by youths of Azuzuama community, who got wind of the planned action.

They were arrested with the support of operatives of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, and one of them was shot in the leg while trying to escape.

Obuebite expressed delight that the arrests were coming on the heels of Governor Seriake

Dickson’s meeting with Traditional Rulers and Chairmen of Community Development Communities, CDC, where the governor directly placed the responsibility of maintaining peace and safeguarding oil facilities in their domains on their shoulders.

The commissioner praised the youths of Azuzuama community “for their gallantry, patriotic disposition and commitment to the peace and economic well being of the state and Nigeria as a whole.”

According to him, Dickson would “invite them and reward them for responding positively to his clarion call when it mattered most.”

Obuebite also called on other communities to emulate the Azuzuama community, adding, “If every other community can act in like manner, the current wave of attacks on national assets and related criminal acts will be drastically minimised, if not completely eliminated.”

He reassured community leaders and youths of government’s preparedness to continue to support and partner with them in the protection of lives and property.

Police arrest 2 for arms possession in Yenagoa

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olice in Bayelsa State on Sunday said it arrested two suspected robbers with firearms.

Police Public Relations Officer in Bayelsa, DSP Asinim Butswat, disclosed this to News Agency of Nigeria in Yenagoa, the state capital.

He said a riffle and 197 rounds of ammunition were recovered from the suspects.

Butswat said two other suspects escaped but assured that police would apprehend and make them to face the

course of the law.

“On Saturday, policemen on routine Stopand-Search Operations along the Gloryland Drive, Yenagoa, flagged down a red Highlander jeep with REG No. SPR 386 AA. “A riffle with five loaded magazines containing 197 rounds of ammunition was recovered from the vehicle.

“The occupants of the vehicle, one James Ebi, 31, and Pinni Oyakemeagha, 34, were arrested, while two other suspects escaped,’’ Butswat said.

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Implement National Conference report, cleric tells FG

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L-R: Officials of Gabasawa Women and Children Initiatives, Mr Olubunmi Onaeko; Executive Director Victim Support Fund (VSF), Prof. Sunday Ochoche; another official, Mrs Doris Yaro and Borno State Commissioner for Health, Dr Haruna Mishelia, at the presentation of medical equipment and consumables to Borno Government in Maiduguri, yesterday. PHOTO:NAN

DPR warns against non-compliance with new fuel price in Niger

Priscilla Dennis MINNA

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epartment of Petroleum Resources, DPR, in Niger State has expressed dismay over non-adherence to the new petrol price regime of N145 per litre by some oil marketers.

It warned marketers to desist from sharp practices like diversion, hoarding, selling above the official price and underdispensing of the product or be ready to face the wrath of the law.

Controller of DPR, Abdullahi Jankar, who

handed down the warning at the weekend after a surveillance visit to Bida, Agaie and Lapai local government areas respectively, also reiterated the commitment of the department to ensure absolute compliance as stringent measures await defaulters.

Findings revealed that most of the filling stations visited were selling at between N150 and N170 per litre.

The DPR however forced them to sell at the approved rate of N145.

But it was learnt that the marketers either stopped

selling or increased the price immediately the DPR officials left those stations.

Jankar said government is doing all its best to find a lasting solution to ensure availability of the commodity in the country.

He stated: “One of the step was the recent partial deregulation that has started yielding result; hence our department will intensified its surveillance across the state to ensured full compliance, particularly in the hinterland where most sharp practices are being

carried out.”

He said the marketers are used to the period of non-existence of the DPR in the state; but warned that the right thing must be done henceforth or the law would catch up with any marketers that defaults.

The team sealed one fuel station in Agaiea and confiscated about 750 litres of petroleum product in plastic containers from some other stations.

While some of the stations caught selling above the normal are to pay N100,000, the fuel confiscated was distributed free to the public.

Kogi monarch, Obaro of Kabba passes on Wale ibrahim LOKOJA

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traditional ruler in Kogi State, the Obaro of Kabba, Oba Michael Folorunsho Olobayo, the Obaro Ero11 and chairman, Okun area traditional council, is dead.

Obadofin of Oweland, Oba Michael Yusuf, who is traditionally the second-in-command to the Obaro, made the announcement yesterday in Kabba.

The Obaro who joined his ancestors after a protracted illness, was aged 71 and spent 30 years seven months on the throne.

Oba Olobayo was a highly educated and profoundly charismatic

leader who ascended the throne of his forefathers on October 17, 1985.

His reign witnessed tremendous developments as the ancient town of Kabba went through various physical and aesthetic transformations.

The monarch celebrated his 70th birthday and 30th-year on the throne in a ceremony that drew the creme de la creme to the ancient town.

An astute administrator and a man of rich pedigree, Oba Olobayo was a graduate of the Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, where he studied History. He was a onetime district officer and rose to the pinnacle of the civil service before he

was called to the throne of his forefathers.

During an interview he granted Sunday Sun last year while celebrating his 70th year birthday, the late monarch narrated how he was terribly sick as an infant and his distressed mother who thought she would die secretly rushed him to a powerful herbalist.

He said the herbalist instead of attending to his mother, stood up and prostrated before him, pouring on him his traditional cognomen (oriki) even as he foretold that he would not only be healed of the ailment but that he would grow to rule his people as a king in the future.

He said his mother kept this secret to herself until he ascended the throne, and one his aunts who was privy to the development later hinted him of what transpired in 1945, the year he was born.

Catholic priest, Rev. Fr. Willy Ojukwu, has urged the Federal Government to implement the report of the 2014 National Conference, saying it is key to Nigeria’s unity and development.

Ojukwu, the parish priest of Holy Cross Catholic Church, Gwarimpa, Abuja, made the call in his homily during a mass yesterday.

He said the conference’s report contained ``valuable recommendations” that constitute the bedrock of the country.

“Federal Government should implement the report of the National Conference. I urged government to do so now because of the importance of its content.

“In that document, I am sure, lies the solution to most of the problems and major issues in the country.

“Now is the time for

government to look at the report and implement its recommendations,” he said.

The cleric decried the level of corruption in the country, adding that many Nigerians are deprived and in hardship amid affluence and wanton corruption among the elite.

He urged those in power to have the fear of God, adding that leadership is about service and humility, ``which have continued to lack largely in the governance in the country.”

Ojokwu prayed for peace in the country and urged Nigerians to continue to pray and support the present administration’s effort to rid the country of corruption.

He also called on parents to inculcate good virtues in their children ``so that they will be better citizens and leaders when they grow up.”

APC-led FG reduces corruption in Nigeria –Lalong

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overnor Simon Lalong of Plateau State said the All Progressives Congress, APC-led Federal Government has reduced the level of corruption in the country.

Lalong said this when he featured on a News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, Forum in Abuja yesterday.

He also said that President Muhammadu Buhari’s anti-corruption posture is bringing integrity back to the country.

“The issue of corruption has been reduced to a level in this country.

“In the past you saw what was happening - petrol no disclosure; they wouldn’t tell you how much we’re getting; but

today with the posture of our President, I think fighting corruption is rated very high outside.

“They may say we are still corrupt but nobody has said that our President is corrupt.

“When they cannot find anything bad against your leader, that in itself is an earned integrity for the nation.

“And secondly, some of the things he has been doing - the restructuring he has done. This is the first time we are seeing a bailout being given to states.’’

Lalong, however, appealed to Nigerians to be patient with the Federal Government, saying that things would soon get better.

Chibok girls’ rescue, top priority in Turkey’s summit –UN envoy

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nited Nations, UN, has pledged that the Chibok girls’ rescue would be accorded top priority at the World Humanitarian Summit holding in Istanbul from May 23 to 24.

UN Under-SecretaryGeneral for Humanitarian Affairs, Stephen O’Brien, told the News

Agency of Nigeria, NAN, yesterday in Abuja that the rescue of one of the Chibok girls renewed the hope of finding the other girls.

“I think in the light of one of the Chibok girls having been found, it is absolutely inevitable that there will be a lot of discussion and focus on the Chibok girls.

“Recognising that it is very welcome news that we have seen the return of one of the girls, very much gives us that sense of cautious hope,” he said.

He stressed that the rescue would gear the summit to focus on the fate of the other girls that are still being held captive.

Monday, May 23, 2016

Abiodun nejo Ado Ekiti

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ounder of Afe Babalola University, Ado Ekiti, ABUAD, Aare Afe Babalola (SAN) at the weekend insisted that return to regional government remained a viable way out of the country’s unpalatable social, economic and political situation.

Babalola said regional government which the country’s founding fathers put in place was necessary for good governance and development in view of the large number of diverse ethnic groups in Nigeria.

He spoke shortly after a programme tagged “Diplomatic Dialogue” organised by ABUAD Department of International Relations and Diplomacy with the Malaysian High Commissioner in Nigeria, Lim Juay Jin, as Guest Speaker.

Babalola said : “I have attended three conferences in Nigeria and return to regional government has always been my position. Nigeria consists of over 300 ethnic groups and with different religious bias, so what we need is confederation or loose federalism,

BAuchi

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he Bauchi state All Progressive Congress, APC has tackled a faceless political group for calling on the state assembly members through its self styled spokesman, Habila Zacheus to impeach Governor Abubakar of Bauchi state The party said such a faceless group is not in existent in its fold saying since the emergence of the party, there was no time the party recognize such group.

APC State Publicity Secretary, Auwal Aliyu who made the position of the party known in a statement made available to National Mirror said, the Party does not harbor such disgruntle elements that do not share same view with APC. Jallah stressed that the said faceless group who spoke through Habila Zacheus are agents of PDP sponsored to ridicule the APC and those elected under its folds.

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Politics

Afe Babalola seeks return to regional govt as solution to Nigeria’s woes where each region will be allowed to grow at its own pace and contribute to the centre.

“This has been the practice in USA, Australia and Canada. But in Nigeria, we have a central government, where only one person determines what happens everywhere. In the past, we had regional governments where each was allowed to develop and Nigeria was better off then.

“Nigeria has six geo-political zones and these can be allowed to function as component parts and Nigeria will be good for it. During the regional government, Nigeria was growing faster. Malaysia is a very small country with a population of about 30 million and this makes it easy to govern.

“If Nigeria has been operating the regional government, we would have developed even better than Malaysia. Our founding fathers considered the population, land and resources as very large, that was

Bauchi APC condemns call for Abubakar’s impeachment ezekiel TiTus

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

According to Jalla, the party including those elected officers have unequivocally disowned the said Habila Zacheus since the APC do not have any record of his membership.

The APC spokesman maintained that the state assembly and APC as a party have absolute and unflinching confidence and support in the governor’s ability to take the state out of past challenges brought about by PDP reign. “ Those sponsored against the APC administration are blowing the whistle of their sponsors and Zacheus appears to have been on the payroll of those who looted the nation treasury” said Jalla In another development, Jalla has dismissed an allegation and false statement by Ahmed Yerima, an House of Representatives member for Danbam, Misau that Governor Abubakar is running an exclusive administration in Bauchi state.

The APC spokesman described as unfortunate such utterances from a genuine APC member in the state.

why they introduced regional government. It has always been the smaller, the better”.

The Malaysian High Commissioner, Jin, in his address entitled: “Malaysia-Nigeria Bilateral Relations: Perspectives and Potentials,” said his

country had cordial relationship with Nigeria since 1965 when it established its mission in Lagos.

Jin, who listed areas of cooperation between the two countries to include education, agriculture, tourism, oil

and gas, mining and technical cooperation, said the two countries were looking at further strengthening the bilateral relations, closer collaboration in existing fields and establishment of new areas of cooperation. The Malaysian

envoy, who described ABUAD as a new face of Nigerian education, said Nigeria should have made very good exploit in eco and medical tourism, but for pervasive insecurity in the system.

Speaker, House of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara (right) with President of NLC, Comrade Ayuba Wabba during a consultative meeting on fuel price increase at the National Assembly.

Edo 2016: PDP chieftains back Ize-Iyamu oArhe dickson BEnin

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head of the 2016 governorship election in Edo state, prominent Peoples Democratic Party, PDP chieftains from Edo North Senatorial District has unanimously pledged their support for Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu in his bid to clinch the PDP gubernatorial ticket in the forthcoming PDP primaries in Edo state.

More supports came the way of the aspirant, Ize-Iyamu, as a former member of the Senate, Senator Yisa Braimoh, weekend led some other PDP stalwarts in the Edo North senatorial district to endorse him.

Speaking on behalf of leaders of Edo North, , Braimoh pledged the 100 per cent support of the members and delegates of the Edo north senatorial district for the aspiration of Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu and assured that the delegates of the region have resolved to support and vote for Pastor at the forthcoming PDP prima-

ries.

Yisa Braimoh, who is a foundation member of the PDP and a member of the Nigerian Senate between 2007 and 2011, said Ize-Iyamu towered above other PDP governorship aspirants in terms of energy, intelligence, integrity, achievements and godliness, adding that “in about a month’s time, we shall confirm our statement with the result of the primaries.”

Yisa Braimoh at his residence in Ihievbe, Owan East Local Government Area when Ize-Iyamu and his supporters visited him, the former deputy governorship aspirant of the defunct National Republican Convention (NRC), said Ize-Iyamu has been tried and tested, hence the resolve by the entire leadership of Edo North PDP to endorse him.

Yisa Braimoh addressing the audience that consisted of PDP leaders in the Edo North

said, “I know there are four aspirants in the race. The Bible says we should knock and the door shall be opened unto us.

As a senator, none of the other aspirants has knocked at my door.

“The only one, who has consistently knocked is Pastor Osagie Ize-Iyamu. Good thing he is not an upstart politician.

He is a successful lawyer, farmer and politician. Look at his track record. Beyond envy, it is intimidating.

Paseda tasks Nigerian youths on spirits of patriotism Femi oyeweso ABEokutA

The governorship candidate of Unity Party of Nigeria, UPN during the 2015 general elections in Ogun state, Otunba Rotimi Paseda has called on Nigerian youths to imbibe the spirits of patriotism so that Nigeria can be great again.

Paseda, who spoke over the weekend at a public lecture organized by Youth in Good Governance Initiatives held at Oke-Ilewo, Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital, empha-

sized that unity among Nigerian youths remain the only panacea to confront the multifaceted challenges facing Nigeria as a nation.

Paseda, who spoke on the topic: “Youth in Governance, panacea to Nigeria problems”, noted that the present generation of youths in Nigeria has been initiated into the sinking polity of violently attacking political opponents.

He lamented that youths in Nigeria have allowed themselves to be subjected

to slavery by being used to perpetrate political violence, thuggery as well as other social vices, stressing that such make the future of the nation look bleak.

Paseda however enjoined Nigerian youths to always stand firm and upright in advocating for a collective goals rather than joining hands to glorify the nation’s problems manifesting in corruption, insecurity, bad leadership, poor education system, lack of infrastructure among others.

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Peace has brought investors back to Plateau State–Lalong

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lateau State Governor, Mr Simon Lalong has said that Plateau is now an investors’ delight as peace has now been fully restored by his administration in the state.

Lalong who was speaking at the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN forum in Abuja said old and new investors had been trouping into the state following the restoration of peace among the various tribes and communities across the state.

He said that the violence which, hitherto, characterised the state had driven away many of the investors who were uncomfortable with the volatile security situation in the state.

“What we are doing now is to consolidate on the peace that we have on the Plateau because areas that were seen as no go areas no longer exists on the Plateau.

“People now move in anywhere, it is the same Plateau that we are trying to bring back again; so, we take advantage of the nature that God has given us: the weather.

“Once you have peace, certainly, people will come to invest in your state. Recently I was in China and the Chinese are now flooding my state, we just signed an MoU with some last week.

“A lot of people are beginning to come back to Plateau.

Before now, when I came in, I was busy looking for investors and each time I go they will ask me, is there peace in your state.

“But now they are asking me when are we coming to your state, they are not talking about crisis again, they are asking me when are we coming to Plateau.

“So, the peace we have restored has introduced a lot of people and attraction to a lot

of investors and so many of them are coming.’’

On how he was able to restore the peace, the governor said that he resorted to community engagements to find the root of the incessant violent clashes between the communities.

He said that when he assumed office as the governor, many things had been destroyed, there was no peace while killings and crisis haracterised the state.

He said that structures and developments in the state were lopsided, ethnicity, religious differences taken to very strong heights while the education sector had collapsed.

Lalong said that he had to come up with a five-point policy trust to revive the state with peace and security at the top of the agenda.

“Security was number one.

If you do not have security, there will be difficulty in executing the rest of the pillar trust.

“I embarked seriously on security, to bring back security to the people of Plateau State.

“What I did was to first start with community approach, to go back to areas that were in conflict, to pick out from them directly the reasons for the conflict.

“So, when we brought out the reasons for the conflict, with the grace of God, and also with the cooperation of the people of Plateau State, we set up committees within the feuding communities supervised by government for them to bring out areas where they will also settle, especially around the Jos side.

“Within a very quick moment, the committees, that is between the Fulanis and the Biroms started settling, we realised that peace was getting

restored.”

He said that he was now working on how to consolidate on the peace, now being enjoyed in Jos. He said that in order to ensure that all forms of crises were averted, his administration had set up a Bureau for Conflict Management and Reconciliation.

“That bureau will be re-

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“I heard stories that in some states what they do is that when the money comes, they collapse it into one account and decide what goes into each local government.

“I fought against it as a Speaker, I cannot be part of it; so when the money comes, it is meant for the local government.

“The joint account is supposed to be part of the revenue that is supposed to come and 10 per cent of it is added to it.

“So, strictly speaking, talking about joint account, it is greatly abused, it is not that the concept is not good but it

doned their properties, they even said that they are not coming back to Jos. “As I am talking now, many people are coming back to Jos.” According to him, the bureau is expected to come up with further recommendations that will be implemented to ensure lasting peace in the state.

He said that for the first time, he had appointed a commissioner from Jos North, to appease the people of the area which was neglected in the past.

Lalong said that as part of efforts to ensure equity, fairness and justice in the state, all the 53 ethnic groups would benefit from appointments to be made by his administration.

New Commandant, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence (NSCDC), Plateau Command, Mr Samuel Olasupo (r) presenting souvenir to Gbong Gwom Jos, Da Jacob Gyang Buba during a courtesy call on Gbong Gwom Jos, in Jos, yesterday.

PHOTO:NAN

Plateau approves employment of 2,000 teachers P lateau State Government said it has approved the employment of 2,000 teachers on ad- hoc basis to address the dearth of teachers in primary schools in the state.

Governor Simon Lalong

… says I don’t interfere with LG funds

overnor Simon Lalong of Plateau State has decried the abuse of Local Government Joint Account by some governors, saying he does not interfere with funds meant for local governments in the state.

Lalong stated this at the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN Forum in Abuja.

He said that even though he did not support the local government autonomy, he abhorred a situation where a state governor would exercise undue interference in the joint account.

sponsible for initiating and also bringing out issues that will be a signal to crisis in the state.

“The House of Assembly passed a law and we have appointed people, so there will be a permanent bureau: that will also take the heat off me.

“A lot of people live in Jos but for the past years, a lot of people ran away and aban-

is abused.

“If it is properly used, there is no need to scrap it, but it is abused; so, there is a need to re-consider that issue.’’

Lalong said that the constitution had subsumed the local government into the state government, adding that true federalism should be canvassed instead of local government autonomy.

“For me, as for joint account, even as care taker committee in my state, I do not interfere with the accounts of local governments.

“They have their separate meetings and whatever is due to them goes to them.”

disclosed this when he featured on the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN Forum in Abuja.

He said primary schools in the state were closed down and in dare need of teachers for a long time due to non-payment of salaries before his assumption in office.

According to him, through the counterpart funding in the State Universal Basic Education Board, SUBEB, the government has been able to do a lot in primary schools.

“SUBEB is working very hard because they have done renovations; they have improved infrastructures in so many primary schools.

“It was when they did that and they said what we would need now is teachers. So, teachers were not teaching because they were not paid salaries.

“So, the first thing I did was to pay them their salaries. There were eleven months in my state but today, teachers are teaching.

“Although they still have some arrears of salaries we are hoping that we will be able to clear.

“We don’t have opportunities to employ them fully now; what we did in the interim was to approve the employment of about 2,000 teachers in primary schools.’’

According to Lalong, his administration has worked hard to provide infrastructure in primary schools through counterpart funding.

He further said that some primary school projects had been captured in the 2016 budget.

He added that many of the projects captured in the budget were started by his predecessor.

The governor assured that his administration, would ensure that it completed all abandoned projects with direct bearing on improving the livelihood of the people.

“We agreed to continue with some abandoned projects.

“In fact, you will find out that in some secondary schools, projects were started but an administration would come and say because the projects were started by its predecessor, it would not complete them.

“But I said that is nonsense for me.

“So we selected them like that and when we saw that some of the projects were dear to the people without regard to whoever was there or who is the contractor, I accepted and that was where my bailout funds went.”

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Monday, May 23, 2016

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On the travails of workers of Delta Steel Company BoBson GBinije

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hat iron and steel constitute the fundamental fulcrum on which technological development and advancement of a country can take place remains an unquestionable truism. From the Paleolithic age right to the Neolithic age and up to the Iron age the illusive variable for development has always been “iron”. Its discovery as a tool of civilization stimulated a sonorous Hosanna to the modern world.

The most viable paradigm for measuring development and growth in this modern world is sustainable industrialization, which cannot take place in the absence of iron and steel. It is in the recognition of this that most developed and developing countries like America, Japan, Peru, Brazil, Venezuela, etc make the establishment of iron and steel complexes imperative The Eastern Development Union (EDU) first initiated the idea of an iron steel and steel industry in Nigeria in 1963 and caused a preliminary survey to be carried out by the experts, who recommended that it should be established in Onitsha. But because of the large sum involved, the Eastern Development Union took the project to the National Economic Council (NEC). Other regions suddenly became interested in an iron and steel industry and vehemently opposed its siting at Onitsha. Subsequently, another set of experts were commissioned by the Federal Government in 1965 to survey once more the

feasibility of the project, and again Onitsha was recommended. The Federal Government under Tafawa Balewa accepted the recommendation but insisted on splitting the industry into two: Steel manufacture to be sited at Idah and casting and rolling at Onitsha. (The Economist, Feb.12, 1996, page 592).

The technological conceptualization of the iron and steel complex was a brilliant and laudable idea which took off very well, with adequate training and provision of manpower in every department of iron and steel complex management, production, maintenance, finance, raw materials and ergonomics. Under its pioneer general manager, the late Chief Fred Brume, the Delta Steel Company was heading towards becoming the hope of the long awaited break-through in industrial development for Nigeria. But given the Nigeria factor- The pull him down (PHD) mentality, hell was let loose.

From tribal wrangling to diabolical atrophy through inter-and intra personality clashes to atrabilious politicking the great Delta Steel Company Limited, Ovwian- Aladja, was murdered. It is no more. It has become Paradise lost.

Financial constraints that reared its head through fictitious contracts, gigantic hotel accommodation bills for all categories of staffers, overseas pleasures tips masqueraded as staff training programmes and overstaffing that precipitated indolence and conviviality during official hours. Raw material scarcity and shortage became the bane of Delta Steel Company Limited. No proper arrangement was made for adequate supply of

Lagos greenery and job creation Bilikis Bakare

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hese negative impacts of climate change to the human environment are in form of more frequent wildfires, temperature rise, erratic rainfall, sand storms, desertification and low agricultural yield. Others are longer periods of drought in some regions and an increase in the number, duration and intensity of tropical storms, drying up of water bodies and flooding which has become a global phenomenon. It had also been predicted that cities with high concentrations of people and buildings, particularly those along the coast, will be more adversely affected by climate change in the future.

In Nigeria, the aforementioned scenario aptly describes the situation the city of Lagos has found itself. The state of aquatic splendour, which also prides itself as the smallest but most populous and fastest growing urban centre in Nigeria, is perhaps one of the cities expected to be affected by climate change. According to the United Nations, the industrial activities that the modern day civilization depends upon in urban centers such as Lagos, have raised atmospheric carbon dioxide levels from 280 parts per million to 400 parts per million in the last 150 years.

Massive amounts of carbon are stored in tropical forests. When these areas are cleared, either for building of houses or industries, this greenhouse gas gets released into the atmosphere and accelerates climate change.

Studies have shown that deforestation accounts for 11 percent of all human-caused greenhouse gas emissions. In addition, studies have also shown that habitat destruction

StudieS have Shown that deforeStation accountS for

11

percent of all human-cauSed

greenhouSe gaS emiSSionS and land use changes are degrading and destroying wetlands and coastal forests — the natural buffers that help protect coastal areas against storm surges, rising sea levels and erosion. Furthermore, a stronger greenhouse effect will warm the oceans and partially melt glaciers and other ice, increasing sea level. Ocean water also will expand if it warms, contributing further to sea level rise.

As a result of the situation that the city of Lagos has found itself, it has positioned itself as a leader in safe guarding the environment.

This it has been able to achieve through its “Operation Green Lagos” initiative which was conceived to restore the lost glory of Lagos as a beautiful and healthy state, enhance the aesthetics of the environment, mitigate the impact of climate change and ensure environment sustainability in line with the Millennium Development Goal (MDG 7). The state has been hosting the climate change summit since 2008.

Confronted with these enormous tasks, the state government immediately commenced aggressive tree planting campaign to respond to the effects of adverse weather condition, as well as to complement the existing

retrenched workerS not paid their benefitS have paid themSelveS through vandalizing and pillaging of the exiSting StructureS raw material input, as an index of meeting and sustaining production. This brought in the era of unnecessary shut-down of plants, and the immense loss of man-hour.

Above all, it was the wicked politicisation of key positions which engendered and entrenched mediocrity and all its attendant evils. Under the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) government it was random selection of party faithful and stalwarts to be members of the Board of Directors. They were directors carnival, utter planlessness, graft and in-fighting. All these finally killed ergonomics and efficiency of workers, and labour could no longer be sustained, because of the afore-mentioned failures, and this whipped –up work to rule actions, and eventual shutdowns because of non-payment of salaries. And finally mass retrenchment with inability to pay benefits and pensions up till today by the new management.

Today, the power of words cannot describe the state of degeneracy into which the once beautiful permanent residential site, the satellite town and the industrial

landscaping and beautification programme of the state by the Ecology and Conservation Department of the Ministry of the Environment.

Furthermore, the state has demonstrated unwavering commitment towards this project by ensuring that all criminals hideout and open spaces were converted to parks and gardens. And in order to guarantee the sustainability of the project, the Lagos State Parks and Garden Agency was established.

The present Akinwunmi Ambode administration has demonstrated a better understanding of the Lagos Greenery programme by convening the first ever Greening Stakeholders’ Forum in November 2015. The Forum afforded experts from across the globe the opportunity to brainstorm and proffer the way forward on all issues affecting the state’s greening initiatives.

In furtherance of his administration policy thrust of massive investment on security, physical and social infrastructure with job creation, Mr. Ambode also initiated a job creation programme that will see the emergence of 114 Assistant Horticulturists who will be trained by the agency and on graduation deployed to all mini nurseries that will soon spring up in all the 57 LGAs and LCDAs as a pilot project. This, according to the governor, will substantially reduce the cost of managing the parks and gardens.

Currently, the Agency, through this laudable project has created over 96,484 jobs; planted 6,203,553 trees across the state; pruned 34,992 trees; felled 1,923 trees; established 313 parks and gardens with a large number of fun seekers visiting the two major public event parks in Ikeja and Victoria Island.

complex have plunged. Retrenched workers not paid their benefits have paid themselves through vandalizing and pillaging of the existing structures. Oliver Goldsmith, the English poet aptly describes this scenario in his poem, The Deserted Village: “Sweet Smiling Village. Loveliest of the lawn, thy, sports are fled and all thy charms are withdrawn.

Amidst thy bowers the tyrants’ hand is seen.

And desecration saddens all thy green: one only master grasps the whole domain. And half a tillage stints thy smiling plain! No more thy glassy brook reflects the day. But choked with sedges, works its weedy way, Along thy glades, a solidarity guest, the hollow-sounding bittern guards its nest; Amidst thy desert walks the lapwing flies, And tires their echoes with unvaried cries...”

The state of the workers in Delta Steel Company under its new management is better imagined than seen. With no salaries for upwards of nine months they are suffocating under the stranglehold of latent poverty. Most have resigned their fate to the Almighty, some have become peasant farmers, some have taken to menial jobs, their wives have become petty traders and their children casual labourers, while the plant is kept running with no production.

Finally, what a hideous and horrendous disgrace to the Delta State government, the present management of the company, the Nigerian Association of Engineers, commerce and industries, the Nigeria Labour Congress etc.

Chief Gbinije wrote from Warri, Delta State

In ensuring participation of all stakeholders especially the youths, various programmes were designed to inculcate tree planting culture among school pupils. For instance, the ‘Me and My Tree’ competition that was designed for both primary and secondary school students have seen some winners of the competition sponsored abroad by the state government for an exchange programme in Germany, South Africa and Singapore.

Also, the Green Club project was launched in 2015 in all the educational districts across the state to educate the youths on the importance of tree planting and renewable energy as a mean of combating the menace of climate change and global warming. These youths are expected to go back to their constituencies and share the knowledge acquired with family members and peers alike.

Taking a cue from the Lagos State example, all tiers of governments must collaborate with international agencies and other development partners to fund climate change projects in the country for sustainable solution to this global phenomenon.

Bakare is of the Features Unit, Ministry of Information & Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos 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.

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

Re-emergence of militants in Niger Delta

T

he Niger-Delta region, the nation’s petro-dollars cash cow, is in flames again. A new militant group - Niger Delta Avengers (NDA) - which says its mission is to ‘cripple Nigeria’s economy’ had last February, declared its ‘Operation Red Economy’ campaign against the nation. It has seized the destructive, violent initiative of its repentant predecessors and has truly been inflicting unimaginable harm on the Nigerian economy. A recent report revealed, for example, that militancy in the Niger-Delta denied the country revenues amounting to N58.5 billion ($295 million) as a result of the loss of 6.5 million barrels of crude in the early days this month (May) alone.

Last February, the Clough Creek Tebidaba Agip Pipeline Manifold in Bayelsa State was blown up

by NDA, followed in May by the group’s destruction of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation’s (NNPC) crude and gas pipelines that fed the Warri and Kaduna refineries, which crippled not just the supply of crude to Warri and Kaduna refineries, but the feeding of gas to Lagos and Abuja for electric power supply. The NDA also claimed it blew up Well D25, a major gas facility belonging to Chevron Nigeria Limited in Abiteye, Warri South-West Local Government Area and home to the Swamp Headquarters of Chevron. Also

ruined were other major pipelines in Abiteye, Alero, Dibi, Otunana and Makaraba flow stations that fed Chevron’s tank farm, thus putting the latter out of operation.

Reports say Nigeria’s crude oil production slumped to a 22-year low after Royal Dutch Shell PLC declared a force majeure on Bonny Light (crude brand) as a result of pipeline vandalism. Last February, the oil multinational stopped oil shipments after it suffered attacks on a key pipeline that supplied 250,000 barrels of crude per day to a terminal; and was forced to evacuate a major oil field following subsequent attack threats by militants.

Finance Minister, Kemi Adeosun, says Nigeria’s oil production has now dropped to 1.65 million barrels per day (mb/d), the lowest production in 22 years as a result of renewed activities of the militants, whereas the Federal Government premised the 2016 Budget on 2.2 mb/d.

With the NDA threat still lingering, recriminations on the group’s source of strength are also rife.

Some allege NDA wants to make Nigeria ungovernable for President Muhammadu Buhari, perhaps as a pay-back for the North-East driven Boko Haram insurgency that routed former President Goodluck Jonathan’s government and contributed to his loss of last year’s presidential election. Others say members of the NDA are common

A nAtion or

community stripped of leAders And elders cApAble of reining in the excesses of its strAying youths is As good or bAd As the deviAnt youths

criminals that hitherto survived on kidnapping expatriates, bombing oil installations and collecting ransom. Accusing fingers are also being pointed at former President Jonathan as a possible sponsor of the group believed to be embittered

by Buhari’s defeat of Jonathan in last year’s presidential poll.

A purportedly repentant exNiger-Delta militant leader, Chief Government Ekpemupolo (aka Tompolo), docked by the Federal Government for over allegations of fraud under the Jonathan administration; and who is widely believed to be supportive of the attacks on pipelines and oil facilities in the Niger-Delta, has dissociated himself from the activities of the NDA. Tompolo says the nation’s security agencies should investigate the activities of oil companies in the Niger-Delta region, alleging that oil servicing companies angling for (pipeline) repair contracts were responsible for the attacks. Indeed, so much suspicion is now dogging the

ON THIS DAY May 23, 1992 Italy’s most prominent anti-mafia judge, Giovanni Falcone, his wife and three body guards were killed by the ‘Corleonesi’ clan with a half-ton bomb near Capaci, Sicily. Giovanni’s friend and colleague, Paolo Borsellino, was also assassinated less than two months later, making 1992 a turning point in the history of Italian Mafia prosecutions. The Corleonesi is the name given to a faction within the Sicilian Mafia.

Letters tothe theEditor Editor Letters to

May 23, 2010 Jamaican police began a manhunt for drug lord, Christopher “Dudus” Coke, after the United States requested his extradition, leading to three days of violence during which at least 73 bystanders were killed. Christopher Michael Coke, also known as Dudus, (born March 13, 1969), is a Jamaican drug lord and the leader of the ‘Shower Posse’, a violent drug gang started by his father Lester Coke in Jamaica.

renewed wave of militancy in the Niger-Delta region. Five suspected NDA members were arrested lately after they bombed another Chevron pipeline in Warri South-West LGA, according to reports. Perhaps through the suspects, tangible information on the sponsorship of NDA will be distilled.

Our thinking, however, is that these are no times the Buhari government should rely on the whimsical show of state power alone in containing the renewed Niger– Delta militancy. The government, in order to save the nation from economic collapse and imminent disintegration, should take a penetrating look at the terms of the amnesty programme for ex-militants from the Niger-Delta axis, determine which areas had been undermined and reinvigorate them. That way, the government will be in a better stead to look eye-ball-to-eye-ball at the new faces of militancy in the axis and have the moral audacity to fully deploy the coercive forces of state to confront and possibly eliminate them. The government should, in addition, talk with Niger-Delta political and traditional leaders, especially, to unravel the sources of the re-awakened hostilities and how best to plug them. For, a nation or community stripped of leaders and elders capable of reining in the excesses of its straying youths is as good or bad as the deviant youths.

x May 23, 2013 The ‘Interstate 5’ bridge over the Skagit River collapsed in Mount Vernon, Washington, United States.

Three people in two different vehicles fell with the span; but they were rescued by boat and did not sustain serious injuries. The cause of the collapse was determined to be an oversize load striking several overhead support beams on the bridge, which led to an immediate collapse of the northernmost span.

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Accelerating economic growth through mechanised agric

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Accelerating economic growth through mechanised agric

The Federal Government decision to boost mechanised farming among rural dwellers with special fund for the provision of agricultural equipment to farmers across the country, in addition to several on-going intervention programmes such as Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme, CACS and Growth Enhancement Support, GES, among others are capable of transforming the agric sector. Udo Onyeka reports.

I

t is known facts that where enabling environment for farmers and agric sector investment is lacking such a nation will have no option than to rely heavily on importation of food and suffer the attendant effects of capital flight, unemployment, poverty and unavoidable hunger.

According to a report Africa spends over $35bn importing food annually. But analysts believe that given abundant endowment in Nigeria, the country should not be importing food.

Food and Agriculture Organisation, FAO, estimates that in sub-Saharan Africa, only 1 per cent of farm power is provided by mechanical means, with less than 10 per cent from draught animals and 89 per cent from human labour.

Nigeria is not an exemption.

“The current level of mechanisation in Nigeria is estimated to be 0.03hp/ha, as against the 1.5hp/ha recommended by FAO. The low level of mechanisation limits ability of farmers to

expand cultivated areas, perform timely farm operations and achieve economies of scale in raising food production.

Because farming is still done with rudimentary equipments, land and labour productivity is low, and this limits the interest of the youth in agriculture.

“This ugly trend could be changed if the government could do the needful”, analysts say.

President Muhannadu Buhari had, few weeks after taking over the mantle of leadership of this country said that his government will focus on agriculture.

Buhari who made this statement last year while declaring open the 55th Annual General Meeting of Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture, NACCIMA, in Calabar said agriculture must seen and be treated as business.

“Our goal will be to pursue government supported private sector agriculture value chain to make agriculture more productive, efficient and competi-

tive.

“To provide enough food for domestic supply and create jobs through agriculture value chain,” Buhari said.

Buhari noted that Nigeria had the richest agriculture based mineral resources in Africa which means it does not need to import agricultural produce if the right investments are made.

Analysts have said that for government to achieve this laudable objective of food security, mechanised agric is the only option.

They said the close collaboration between the government and private sector has become even more imperative, in view of the current administration’s on-going efforts at transforming the economy and developing its non-oil potential, especially agric potential.

Stakeholders have identified the Federal Government and Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development plan to encourage mechanised agriculture as germane in the drive for the country to feed its citizens

and become exporter of food and other agric products.

According to Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh who revealed the government’s plans to boost mechanised farming among rural dwellers in order to achieve the change mandate in the sector noted t focusing of more energy on developing and creating enabling environment for the rural areas to grow.

“Capitalism puts wealth in the hands of the drivers but the time to democratise capitalism, especially in the Nigerian agricultural sector is now. This government is committed to achieving an all-inclusive growth,” Ogbeh said.

The minister who spoke at the flag off of the second phase of Agricultural Equipment Hiring Enterprise AEHE in Ilorin, Kwara State recently, said it would be unthinkable and counterproductive to think of developing agriculture in Nigeria by continuing to distribute hoes, machetes, axes and ordinary and low yielding seeds to farmers.

While noting that agriculture has regrettably been seen to be synonymous with poverty, Ogbe said no country can practise agriculture sustainably without mechanisation.

“Although over 50 million hectares of arable land are presently not in use, the 40 million hectares in use are poorly developed and not very tractorable.”

“This flag-off serves as the commencement of the Buhari administration’s vision to aggressively commercialise and mechanise Nigeria’s agriculture by introducing about 2,000 units of tractors and various kinds of harvesting and processing equipment to mechanise our farming annually, while also building local content and capacity to sustain Continued on pg A4 UDO ONYEKA, EDITOR BUSINESS COURAGE udonyeka@gmail.com c

Global Media Mirror Limited

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Cover Continued from pg A3

Buhari

“Mechanised farming would ensure massive production of various crops for local consumption and exports. It will also enhance jobs creation for the teaming unemployed Nigerians and bring about food security. ``We are blessed with vast land needed to produce various crops to develop our economy, “he said.

Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme, CACS

As part of efforts to further enhance credit supply, which is vital to derive agric mechanisation, the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN has approved the extension of the terminal date of the Commercial Agriculture Credit Scheme, CACS, from September 30, 2016 to September 30, 2025.

This policy became effective from May 14, 2014. The CBN in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture had established the CACS for promoting commercial agricultural enterprises in Nigeria.

The CACS is a sub–component of the federal government’s Commercial Agriculture Development Programme, CADP. This fund complements other

‘

Emefiele

Ogbeh

special initiatives of the central bank in providing concessionary funding for agriculture such as the Agricultural Credit Guarantee Scheme, ACGS, which is mostly for small scale farmers, Interest Draw-back scheme, Agricultural Credit Support Scheme, among others.

The scheme is being financed from the proceeds of the N200bn three-year bond raised by the Debt Management Office, DMO. The fund is always made available to the participating banks to finance commercial agricultural enterprises.

In addition, each state government can borrow up to N1bn for on-lending to farmers’ cooperative societies and other areas of agricultural development provided such initiatives/interventions are in line with the objectives of CACS. The key agricultural commodities to be covered under the scheme are cotton, oil palm, fruit trees, rice, wheat, cassava and maize/soya.

Some others include beans, millet, tomatoes, vegetables, poultry, eggs production, meat, dairy and piggery.

The scheme regards a commercial enterprise as any farm or agro-based enterprise with

Capitalism puts wealth in the hands of the drivers but the time to democratise capitalism, especially in the Nigerian agricultural sector is now.

This government is committed to achieving an all-inclusive growth

‘

and advance mechanisation to suit best practices worldwide, ” he said.

National President, Agriculture and Allied Employees’ Union of Nigeria ,AAEUN, Comrade Simon Anchaver, said that the Agricultural Transformation Agenda of the last administration failed to yield much results because stakeholders were not carried along.

Anchaver tasked President Buhari to focus more on mechanised farming by improving funding of the National Centre for Agricultural Mechanisation, NCAM. The president also paid courtesy call on the management of NCAM led by the Executive Director, Engr. Ike Azogu.

He said government should continue to look into funding Nigeria’s foremost mechanisation institution considering the agricultural sector’s strategic role in the 21st century agrodriven economy.

“The leadership at NCAM needs more encouragement and proper funding by the federal government to enable it record more successes and be able to help in repositioning the country’s status on the food production index table among the comity of Nations.

“Oil prices instability and economic meltdown being experienced intermittently by even First World Nations is forcing global leaders to prioritise agriculture and our own President Muhammadu Buhari cannot afford to miss out on this juicy opportunity to revive agriculture so that it can be the new driver of our growing economy,” he said.

Executive Director of NCAM, Engr. Ikechukwu Azogu said it is a well-known fact that for decades, the agricultural sector has been neglected due to discovery of oil.

“Past leaders in the country had been making pledges with regard to revival of the sector but failed to achieve meaningful progress,” he said.

He urged the current administration to revive all the 37 Agricultural Development Programmes, ADPs and also join hands with the state governors to adequately provide the requirements of the ADPs. According to National Chairman of ADP Trade Group Forum, Comrade Jibril Abdul Nggada, ADPs are the engine room for the attainment of food security in Nigeria, noting however that the ADPs were confronted with a lot of challenges which hinder their effectiveness.

Also an Abakiliki based farmer Nnamdi Ezeugo has advised the FG on strengthening the capacity of mechanised farming in Nigeria.

He said this would effectively boost the all-year farming method for the production of assorted crops in the country.

agricultural asset, excluding land, of not less than N100m for an integrated farm with prospects of growing the assets to N250m within the next three years and N50m for non-integrated farms/agro-enterprise with prospects of growing the assets to N150m, except in the case of on-lending to farmers’ cooperative societies.

The Growth Enhancement Support, GES

The Growth Enhancement Support, GES, has been expanded beyond seeds and fertilisers, to provide subsidy to assist Nigerian farmers to access mechanisation services from the Agricultural Equipment Hiring Enterprises. Farmers would begin to receive their mechanisation support as electronic vouchers on their mobile phones which they will use to pay for mechanised services at the registered agric equipment hiring centres.

The GES scheme was introduced by the Federal Government to drive its Agricultural Transformation Agenda, ATA, and the process defines the mechanism that is farmer friendly, ensures real farmers get fertiliser and other inputs directly at substantially subsidised rates.

With the GES, the government withdrew from direct fertiliser purchase and the distribution, and introduced an alternative, transparent and efficient system of distribution built on the voucher system.

Under the scheme, registered farmers have been receiving e-wallet vouchers with which they redeem fertiliser and seeds from agro dealers.

Stakeholders have said that the distribution seeds to farm-

ers through the GES had tremendously assisted the farmers to boost their production and appreciate in yields.

They therefore called for sustaining the GES, which according them have been very helpful to farmers in the country.

Local Farm Equipments

Aside finance, availability of affordable farm equipments to drive mechanisation is another challenge facing farmers, however to address this problem there is the need for Government to support National Centre for Agricultural Mechanisation ,NCAM, Ilorin, Kwara Sta te.

The centre is capable of fabricating some agric equipment include; cassava peeling machine, cassava screw press, direct discharge multi-purpose milling machine, maize sheller and modified multi-crop thresher. Others include melon sheller, oil palm processing line, melon washer mechanical horizontal cabinet dryer, cyclonel, and motorised groundnut decorticator.

NCAM is one of the Agencies under Ministry of Agriculture . NCAM was established

by Decree No. 35 of 1990, now an Act of the National Assembly, with the overall objective of accelerating the pace of mechanisation in the agricultural sector of the Nigerian economy in order to increase the quantity and quality of agricultural products in Nigeria.

“The main function of NCAM is to make sure that there is a reduction in drudgery, through the provision of simple, efficient and cost effective machines and processes that will ensure food security and meet the industrial raw materials and export needs of the nation.

BC

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News Free Trade Zones account for over 60% of Nigeria’s FDI, says FG Francis Ezem

T

he Federal Government has said that its decision to introduce Free Trade Zones in the country has paid off, saying that these zones spread across the country account for more than 60 per cent Foreign Direct Investment FDI inflow into the country.

Managing Director of the Oil and Gas Free Zone Authority, Mr. Victor Alabor, who spoke in an interview in Onne, Rivers State at the weekend, attributed this success story to the consistent of government policy on these trade zones, which comes with both tax and fiscal incentives.

He also said that the ingenuity deployed in the management of these zones has also contributed in no small way in retaining the confidence of these investors, saying that there is a monthly stakeholders’ forum where the investors disclose their challenges, which steps are taken to address promptly.

Available records show that the Onne Oil and Gas Free Zone, one of the zones under the authority, which has variously been described as the fastest growing zone in the world, has attracted FDI worth over $60bn, N19.2tn to the nation’s economy since it was created in 1978.

The managing director, who also said that nearly 200 companies including some oil majors in the country operate in the Onne Free Zone, however disclosed that it has created in excess of 30, 000 jobs comprising both direct and indirect jobs for many Nigerians in addition to promoting technology transfer.

“One the greatest benefits the nation derives from these foreign direct investments is in the area of building infrastructure, which Nigeria is in dire need of because when these companies want to go return their home countries, they will not go with the infrastructure they have put in place”, Alabo also said.

On some of the challenges face by the investors at the zones, he listed the practice whereby some agencies if the government impose illegal tax on the investors, who are covered under the Free Trade Zones Act from paying such taxes, which serves as a disincentive to them.

He also listed the inability of the government to connect the facilities to the national grid, a development that has given rise to high cost of operation occasioned by the use of generating sets and buying of the Automated Gas Oil AGO, also known as diesel.

L-R: Executive Director, Corporate & Investment Banking, Sterling Bank Plc, Mr. Kayode Lawal; President & Chairman, Board of Directors, African Export-Import Bank, Dr. Benedict Okey Oramah; Managing Director & Chief Executive Officer of Sterling Bank Plc, Mr. Yemi Adeola and Executive Vice President- Corporate Governance, Legal Services & Executive Secretary, African Export-Import Bank , Dr. George Elombi after a meeting with the Board of African Export-Import Bank by the Executive Management of Sterling Bank Plc in Cairo, recently.

Investigations also show that in addition to enhancing inflow of FDI into the country, creation of jobs and transfer of technology, the zones many of which are oil and gas hubs as well as manufacturing hubs, promote trade and commerce in the country.

He therefore enjoined the government to replicate the success story of the Oil and Gas Free Zones in other segments of the nation’s economy with a view to enhancing technology transfer and createion of more jobs for the teeming youths of the country.

We can’t access forex to pay our debts, oil marketers tell FG

O

il marketers on Friday in Abuja called on the Federal Government to assist them in making foreign exchange available for the importation of petroluem products.

The marketers, under the umbrella of the Depot and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria, DPPMAN, made the plea during a meeting with the Minister of Finance held at the headquarters of the ministry.

News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, reported that the meeting, chaired by the minister, was attended by Chief Executive Officers of 46 major oil companies in the country.

It was held to discuss salient issues affecting the downstream sector of the petroleum industry.

The Chairman of DAPPMAN,

Mr Dapo Abiodun, told the minister that members of the association were currently having a tough time converting some of the Naira payments made by the government to dollars.

He said their inability to convert these payments from the Federal Government from Naira to dollar was making it difficult for them to meet their obligations to their foreign partners.

He said while the oil marketers would continue to do their best in importing petroleum products into the country, the unavailability of foreign exchange might make it challenging to achieve such objective.

NAN recalls that Federal Government had paid the oil marketers N48.2 billion minus Value Added Tax as the arrears of outstanding 2015 subsidy claims.

The amount, according to the Federal Ministry of Finance, is to enable them to import petroleum products and meet up

Dapo Abiodun

their other financial needs.

Abiodun said except the Central Bank of Nigeria provided foreign exchange to oil marketers, the payment made by the government for fuel imports would continue to sit in their Naira accounts.

“We want to thank you for the recent payment of about N42 billion but we want to emphasise the fact that this Naira payment will continue to sit in our banks.”

Obasanjo tasks stakeholders on maritime industry dev Udo Onyeka

F

ormer President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo has asked maritime stakeholders to creatively think of strategies that will grow the Nigerian maritime industry as a viable option to oil and gas.

Obasanjo who was the Chairman at the opening ceremony of a two-day stakeholders’ conference on the maritime industry tagged, “Building a Sustainable Maritime Industry in Nigeria” organised by the Federal Ministry of Transportation also said that most countries that have attained greatness utilised the availability of resources in their maritime environment.

The former President who highlighted the opportunities in the Nigeria’s maritime industry to include the vastness of its coastline and huge population called on the government to show more commitment by bringing in professionals to assist in running the affairs of the industry in order to make Nige-

ria a key player of maritime activity in the African region.

While bemoaning the level of underdevelopment in the sector over the years, Chief Obasanjo called on the Federal Government to put mechanisms in place to sanitize the sector for greater efficiency and productivity so that Nigeria does not give the “change” mantra a bad name.

In his keynote address, the Minster of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi reiterated the commitment of the Federal Government to revive the National Shipping Line without government equity contribution to be solely managed by the private sector.

The Minister who also identified corruption as one of the things bedevilling the growth of the maritime sector noted that President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration is determined to stamp out corruption in all sectors of the nation’s economy.

India firm to invest in Nigeria oil sector

A

New Delhi, India based Petroleum Company, Fox Petroleum Energy Trading Nigeria Ltd has said it would soon commence investment in the exploration and processing of crude oil in Nigeria.

The company’s representative in Nigeria, Mr Kabo Sunday, told the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in Abuja they would be investing billions of dollars in the Nigerian petroleum sector.

Fox Petroleum, an oil company with keen interest in oil and gas sector, power generation and distribution, is in joint venture with Newpal Nigeria Ltd. He said the company, which has as its Chairman/Managing Director, Mr Ajay Kumar, was already working with Federal Government`s institutions for the needed approval.

“Recently, Fox Petroleum signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, of a $1.3bn deal between an Indian arm of the companies and the government of Karnataka in India.

“Some of the objectives of the MoU were for Fox Petroleum to set up Floating Storage Re-Gasification Unit, FSRU, with Storage Capacity Plant of LNG in Karnataka, while creating 3,000 new jobs with a guarantee to hire 90 per cent local youths.

“We are also finalising our arrangements with relevant agencies and institutions to invest in the Nigerian oil industry to boost the sector and the county’s economy,’’ Sunday said.

He added that the company was already negotiating with the owner of a virgin oil bloc in the country for exploration.

“We are not just interested in exploration of crude oil. We also have special interest in contributing to local processing of the

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News products.

“What we intend to do after acquiring the bloc is to deploy our technical team to the site to determine the quantity of oil in the bloc so as to know the type and size of modular refinery to install.

Ecobank opens entry for Children essay competition

E

cobank Nigeria Limited has opened its annual national essay competition for children as part of activities to commemorate the May month dedicated to children around the world.

The Ecobank National Essay competition for children with the Ecobank MyFirst Account calls for entries from students between the ages 8 to 12 in category one and ages 9 to 14 in category two. Topic for the easy is “The need to imbibe the culture of savings at an early age”.

Prizes to be won include Laptops, Educational Tabs and several consolation prizes.

Announcing the competition in Lagos, Head Consumer Banking, Korede Demola-Adeniyi said Ecobank instituted the competition to commemorate the banking month as well as being part of the process to push the frontiers of academic excellence among the young ones in society.

According to her “the month of May is set aside by the Bank to celebrate childhood and how our children enrich our lives. We acknowledge the importance of our customers, young and old, to Ecobank’s ongoing success story. The bank, whose vision is to build a world-class panAfrican bank and contribute to the economic development and financial integration of Africa, sees educational development as fulcrum for positive integration”.

Damola-Adeniyi who wished all Nigerian children a happy may month celebration reiterated that Ecobank is committed to meeting customers life-long

Charles Kie

L-R: Chief Operating Officer, Royal FrieslandCampina, The Netherlands, Mr. Gregory Sklikas; Chairman Board of Directors, FrieslandCampina WAMCO, Mr Moyo Ajekigbe; Managing Director, Mr. Rahul Colaco; and Director, Mrs. Oyinkan Ade-Ajayi at the 43rd Annual General Meeting of the company held in Lagos, recently. banking needs with quality service and advices on the journey to financial independence.

NDDC re-branded for quality service, says acting MD

T

he Acting Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Mrs Ibim Semenitari, says the commission has been re-branded to deliver timely and quality services to the people.

Semenitari said this at the 43 Annual General Meeting/Congress of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria in Uyo on Friday.

Speaking on ``Communication as a tool for national development: A call to be fantastically conceptual”, Semenitari said the commission was driving on a new lane.

She said she was appointed when the people’s perception of the commission was negative and full of suspicion. ``Since I came on board, my communication has been unambiguous and focused. We focus on lifting the veil and inviting all stakeholders into the room. ``I have pursued new partnerships, engineered stronger collaborations and insisted on stakeholders’ participation. ``At the NDDC, we have taken steps forward. Our books are getting cleaner. We insist on timeliness and quality services from contractors”, Semenitari said.

She explained that the commission under her leadership was committed to bringing succour to the oil bearing communities through provision of infrastructure to meet their basic

needs.

The Acting Managing Director said she had inculcated the doctrine of accountability, transparency, partnerships and stakeholder engagements in the commission.

She asserted that communication was an essential tool for altering perception and making the people to appreciate the need for national development. ``Providing citizens with information on priorities, programmes and activities is a vital government function, which underpins state-society relation”, Semenitari said.

She urged the association to utilise all channels of communication to adequately project the positive image of Nigeria and the programmes of President Muhammadu Buhari.

‘IATA flags-off Aviation Day in Abuja’ Olusegun Koiki

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he International Air Transport Association, IATA, will on Monday commence a two-day seminar tagged ‘Aviation Day’ with the theme ‘Driving African Economies through the Power of Aviation’ in Abuja.

This is as the association has confirmed the lineup for the May 23 - May 24 event.

A statement by the Manager, Corporate Communications, IATA, Katherine Kaczynska said that Senior IATA officials would be joined at the event by the Minister of State for Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika, DirectorGeneral of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, Capt.

Muhtar Usman and the Deputy Regional Director of ICAO, Mr. Gaoussou Konate.

Other key participants are the Secretary-General of the African Civil Aviation Commission, AFCAC, Ms. Iyabo Sosina, along with regional stakeholders to address current issues affecting aviation in Africa.

Some of the issues to be looked at according to Kaczynska include public-private partnerships, aviation and tourism convergence, funding, safety and security, the proliferation of taxes and charges, next generation airports and market connectivity.

She added, “The confirmed provides a platform for Africa’s key stakeholders to debate the industry’s most pressing issues and align actions to address the challenges.

“IATA has repeatedly called on African Governments and organisations to focus not only on national issues, but also on the strategic development of panAfrican aviation in order for the continent to reach its full economic potential.”

The statement hinted that aviation in Africa carries over 70 million passengers a year, supports more than 6.9 million jobs on the continent and generates over $80bn in Gross Domestic Product, GDP.

BEDC to sign MoU with USAID to boost electricity

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enin Electricity Distribution Plc, BEDC, will today in Abuja take a bold step towards boosting access to electricity and improved services to customers in its franchise with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding ,MOU, with United States Agency for International Development ,USAID.

The pact will enable USAID through the Power Africa Project to officially commence its support for the development of Nigeria’s power sector through credit enhancement, grants, technical assistance and investment promotion efforts.

President Barrack Obama of United States had launched the Power Africa Initiative to bring together technical and legal experts, the privates sector and governments from around the world to work in partnership to increase the number of people with access to power in Africa including Nigeria.

BEDC management is expected to sign the MOU with USAID agents, Tetratech Inc. one of the contractual vehicles funded by the agency under the Power Africa Transactions and Reforms Program, ,PATRP; a five year USAID technical assistance project implemented

by Tetra Tech designed to bring more electricity to sub-Saharan Africa by utilising a transactioncentered approach.

Tetra Tech, as directed by USAID is offering to provide commercialisation assistance to BEDC for over a period of about two years focusing on management support to address losses, strengthen management controls and help with the required performance turnaround in its operations. It has engaged a team of professionals already on ground to man some strategic business units in BEDC for the implementation of the technical assistance.

Tetra Tech’s assistance to BEDC will help demonstrate and implement loss reduction strategies, as well as other improvements to allow for improved ways of managing the business to be rolled out through BEDC network and to provide a demonstrative effect for other utilities in the country.

The MOU signing ceremony which climaxes series of preliminary engagements on the part of the two parties will be witnessed by the Minister of Power, Mr Babatunde Fashola, and other dignitaries and top players in the power sector.

The MOU will set forth the scope and nature of Tetra Tech’s assistance to BEDC, together with its corresponding responsibilities and obligations.

Dignitaries from BEDC will include the Alternate Director representing the Bureau of Public Enterprises, BPE, on BEDC board, Mrs. Adelanke Omojola the Managing Director/CEO, Mrs. Funke Osibodu, Mr Abu Ismail Ejoor, Executive Director, other board members, and senior management team.

It will be recalled that BEDC in demonstration of its commitment to the provision of improved service delivery to its customers whilst ensuring that power supply connections to its network is not dangerous to the health and safety of the public had embarked on improvement exercises. BC

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage

Monday, May 23, 2016

A7 23

Companies & Markets

Sovereign Wealth Fund assets hit N358bn Stories by Udo Onyeka

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he Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority, NSIA, which manages Nigeria’s sovereign wealth fund can now boost of assets totalling about $1.8bn.

Revealing this during a visit to the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, Managing Director, Mr. Uche Orji in Lagos,noted that the assets include seed capital of $1.25bn and third party funds of about $550m.

Orji said the NSIA is shifting its focus from foreign investments to domestic investments, noting that the company led other investors in recent investments

in a dairy farm and tomato paste firm in the Northern part of the country.

He noted that by its mandate, the NSIA is to manage three funds, which include the Future Generations Fund, meant to preserve and grow the value of assets transferred into it by investing in a diversified portfolio of appropriate growth investments.

There is also the Nigeria Infrastructure Fund, which aims to invest in domestic infrastructure projects that meet targeted financial returns and contribute to the development of essential infrastructure.

This is to stimulate the growth and diversification of the Nige-

rian economy. There is equally the Stabilisation Fund, which acts as a buffer against shortterm macro-economic instability.

“We have five areas of immediate focus for infrastructure which are healthcare, agriculture, tolled roads, power and real estate. Our mandate is to manage the three funds by investment mostly in infrastructure,” Orji said.

While noting that the activities of NSIA could impact on the performance of the Nigerian stock market, Orji, however, ruled out the possibility of direct investment in the Nigerian equities market in the meantime, point-

Sterling Bank upgrades IT infrastructure for quality service delivery

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Orji ing out that direct investment in the stock market is not within the mandate of the company.

He expressed optimism that some of the investments the company is making in private equities will lift such companies to the position they can list on the NSE. BC

Diamond Bank supports MSME, empowers operators

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espite the harsh business operating environment, Diamond Bank has reignited confidence in the Nigerian economy with the resolve to continually support its development using the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, MSMEs, as predictable vehicles for sustainable economic growth. In a practical demonstration of this, the Bank in its Building Entrepreneurs Today, BET, initiative, gave N15 million grant to five budding MSME operators who showed exceptional entrepreneurial skills and productive business ideas.

Each of the five BET winners, which spread across different sectors of the economy and the six geopolitical zones, received N3 million to invest into their respective businesses. These financial injections into their businesses by the Bank, is expected to help strengthen man-

power, expand the product lines and create increased service and product values that would make the MSMEs competitive.

The Chief Executive Officer of Diamond Bank, Uzoma Dozie, told stakeholders, educationists, analysts, media executives, investors and industry captains who witnessed the cheque presentation ceremony in Lagos that because of the economic headwinds, young entrepreneurs need all the support and mentorship that they could get to enable them stand firm and add the necessary value to the economy.

According to him, Diamond Bank is very passionate about building these entrepreneurs because of the conviction that sustainable growth and development of any modern economy is hinged on a vibrant MSME sector. He added that the quality of business ideas and the huge

number of entries received by the Bank, is a strong testament of business versatility among Nigerian youths, which to him, should be harnessed to grow and develop the economy.

He said: “We had over 500,000 applications and after several screenings, were pruned to the final 15; this is just to show how creative Nigerians are. We decided to support small businesses because we know how difficult the business environment is, and it is the only way we can guarantee sustainable economic growth and development in this country.”

The BET, which started over five years ago, is a collaboration between Diamond Bank and the Enterprise Development Centre of the Pan Atlantic University.

With the BET initiative, every year, the Bank trains 50 entrepreneurs in a six months development programme at the Pan

Atlantic University and gives investment grants to the 5 most outstanding with a strong mentorship programme within the business year.

Speaking further, Dozie noted that each year, the BET programme has become more and more exciting with diverse innovative ideas emerging, stressing that the business environment in Nigeria was a tough one and needed lots of commitment and support for one to succeed.

Although, the previous BET 4 edition focused on three sectors of the economy, the Season 5 expanded the sectors with the addition of fashion, agriculture, information and communications technology and renewable energy. In this BET Season 5, Uchechi Arinze, Folarinyo Abiodun, Ayodeji Agboola, Emmauel Okiedesan and Hauwa Bello emerged the winners. BC

NAHCo boosts infrastructure with N1.4bn

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he Nigerian Aviation Handling Company, NAHCo, has so far invested N1.4bn to upgrade infrastructure and equipment after its privatisation Managing Director of the company Nobert Bielderman who gave the figure when he led other management staff of the company on courtesy visit to the Acting Director-General of the Bureau of Public Enterprises, BPE, Dr. Vincent Onome Akpotaire in Abuja, said NAHCo was poised to sustain its position as a leading success story of the privatisation and reform programme of the Federal Government.

BPE Head, Public Communications, Mr. Alex Okoh in a statement quoted Bielderman

as saying that having grown NAHCo’s revenue base from N3.5billion to N8.5billion in the last six years, the enterprise was determined to sustain the tempo, despite the current economic downturn.

He said the investments made in the acquisition of new equipment, human capacity development and good corporate governance would enhance optimal service delivery and shore up the firm’s revenue base.

According to him, the firm which was privatised through a public offer in 2006 and promptly listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE has recorded favourable profit margin for shareholders above the 50 kobo share price before privatisation. He assured the share-

Bielderman holders that management will sustain the prompt payment of their dividends.

He said the firm paid N26mil-

lion as taxes to the federal and state governments yearly and attributed this to the dividends of privatisation.

Responding, Dr. Akpotaire noted the giant strides NAHCo has made and said it was indeed a success story of privatisation. He promised to assist the firm to overcome some of its challenges.

He said though the Federal Government had no equity in the enterprise since its privatisation, the Bureau was keenly interested in NAHCo’s progress.

He applauded the company’s position on the NSE ratings and its second position on the Global Risk Rating Award. He however urged the company to do more in the area of Corporate Social Responsibility. BC

n line with its mandate to enrich the lives of its customers through efficient and prompt delivery of quality banking services, Sterling Bank has announced the conclusion of the upgrade of its information technology infrastructure.

About 24 months back, the Bank commenced the upgrade of its core and subsidiary systems, transiting to more robust, agile and flexible platforms that are more adaptable to the dynamic banking needs of customers and position the Bank for long term sustainable growth.

The Bank in a statement said the decision to upgrade the Bank’s IT infrastructure was informed by the need to improve the service delivery of the onecustomer bank adding that the upgrades would see the Bank improving customer experience.

It also stated that the upgrade was in line with the Bank’s mission to enhance stakeholders’ value as a financial institution of choice, stated that the upgrade, which gained traction two weeks ago, had become necessary in view of the need to meet customers’ expectations.

The Bank stated that “Sterling Bank would continue to demonstrate its commitment to enhancing customer experience in the provision of quality banking services as evidenced by its adoption of one of the best core banking software in the world”.

It added that “our decision to upgrade our IT infrastructure is in line with global best practice and this will place our institution at par with other global financial institutions. This will also enhance the Bank’s transaction processing capacity and speed”.

The Bank noted that in view of the fact that technology remains the backbone of the global banking system, the Bank, according to him, will remain committed to continuously making the necessary investments in IT infrastructure to ensure that it delivers its onecustomer experience to all its customers.

Sterling Bank Plc, “the onecustomer bank”, is a full-service national commercial bank with an asset base above N800bn with over 190 business offices and more than 800 ATMs nationwide. In over 55 years of service, Sterling Bank, formerly NAL Bank, has evolved from the nation’s pre-eminent investment banking institution to a fully-fledged commercial bank.

Furthermore, with a strong national presence, Sterling Bank is one of the top 30 most capitalised institutions on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. BC

A8 24

Business Courage

Monday, May 23, 2016

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Brand Watch

Expert cautions on spending at hard times Stories by David Audu

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s the current economic realities bit harder on households, a research expert have predicted that consumer spending patterns and behaviours has changed to reflect personal earnings.

Speaking on a new research on the impact of the economy on Nigerian consumers, Managing Director, The Nielson Company, Lampe Omoyele, said since 2014 till now, Nigerian households been faced with the realities of reprioritising their spending, as the dwindling value of the Naira have eroded their income, predicting that food items will now occupy top place on consumer list now more than ever because it is a need people cannot ignore.

“With the budget now signed, followed by the hike in the price of fuel, which will definitely push inflation to high double digits, we expect that people are going to prioritise what they spend on.

“Because food is a need, and in most cases salaries remain the same, it is going be a top priority, and this will also have implications for consumer goods manufacturers above other products”, he said Listing the items in order of priorities, he said research has shown that consumers will spend more money on food stuff, raw food, transportation, school fees to train their children, telephone airtime to communicate with friemds and relations; and also, fuel to move about and generate power for themselves

more than any other item.

He said this invariably means also that people will spend less on party clothing, hair do, certain food items, especially luxury item or cut down drastically on them, and also cut down on budget in going to eateries with family and friends.

Curiously, the data and research expert noted that people will still maintain expenditures on items such as detergents and cooking gas but will either drop or eliminate luxuries such as gold, jewellery, and certain imported food items.

He said the research also indicate that a lot of consumers are now shifting from premium brands to value brands, adding that this shift in consumption patterns cuts across different categories.

StarTimes wins fastest growing paytv award

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ne of Nigeria’s digital television platform, StarTimes, has clinched the fastest growing Pay TV award in Nigeria at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industries, LCCI, awards which held in Lagos recently.

LCCI said the objective of the annual awards is to recognize, celebrate and promote private and public institutions that have exhibited the core values of best business practices, growth through innovations, business sustainability and have impacted positively on the society.

Receiving the awards on behalf of the company, Marketing Director, StatTimes, Oludare Kafar expressed appreciation to millions of StarTimes subscribers who made it possible with a promise of better subscribers experience.

“As a business, we have embraced innovation and cutting edge global technology solutions to deliver compelling digital television experience to our mil-

Chief Nike Akande lions of subscribers. With very sharp picture quality, strong signals and rich channels that meet the entertainment need of every member of the family, we offer affordable bouquets of digital television as part of our commitment to guide Nigerians into full digitalization. We also engage in relevant collaborations with critical stakeholders

to achieve this.”

Kafar said the company has recently invested into sports content acquisitions and channels, and expanded entertainment horizon for sports loving Nigerians.

“With StarTimes, Nigerians are guaranteed of an ever increasing buffet of solid entertainment, be it sports, movies, drama, cartoons and music.”

He added.

Kafar noted further that StarTimes has grown from a 40 channel platform to offering over 100 quality channels. “We are committed to giving more to our subscribers with various life enriching engagements. For instance, we just launched new channels including ST Plus for Indian movie lovers, Jyb TV for kids, Emmanuel TV for religion, Orbit TV, People TV and DiTV for general entertainment and IDX for true life stories and crime documentary. We also just concluded our annual all expense paid trips for 3 to USA. We are truly committed to en-

Okhma Global retains marketing rights for Calabar festival

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Omoleye Explaining the implications of decline in consumer demands on corporate performance, Omoyele, noted that not only will it affect companies profit margins, especially fast moving consumer goods, FMCG, manufacturers, but it will also entails brands becoming more innovative, more customer value oriented and more willing to deploy customer friendly tools to retain their market share. BC

riching our viewers all round experience.

The marketing assured that the award would motivate them to continue to offere more robust experience for viewers.

He said StarTimes, with their partner channel will continue to provide an enjoyable experience for viewers. “So, we are really glad that our dedication has paid off in the form of being nominated for this award.

We will like to thank all those who participated in the award and we promise to do more and retain the confidence reposed in us,” he said.

The event, presided by the President, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry LCCI, Chief Nike Akande had in attendance former President, LCCI, Alhaji Remi Bello, and business leaders, CEOs, industry captains and top brands.

StarTimes is a leading digitalTV operator in Africa combining satellite and terrestrial DTV systems to provide an open and secure digital wireless platform. BC

Avaya appoints firm as distributor for Africa

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etermined to extend its reach on the African continent, business communications solutions provider, Avaya, has signed an agreement with a technology distribution company, Interdist, to market Avaya solutions across Africa.

A statement from Avaya said the two companies will focus on driving adoption of Avaya’s technology in 27 countries across the continent.

“Interdist together with Avaya

will offer unified communications and networking solutions covering Messaging, Platform, Infrastructure, Video Conferencing, Software Defined Networking, Ethernet Switches, Access Control, Wireless Networks and Network Management.

The statement explained further that Interdist main priority would be to focus on the solutions build to enable mediumsized businesses to digitally transform, while improving productivity and efficiency.

“Interdist holds strong positions in the majority of its markets and is penetrating strongly with Avaya in the African market in many countries such as Ghana, Algeria, Ivory Coast, Mauritius, Nigeria, Morocco, Kenya and Tunisia amongst others”.

Avaya provides business communication solutions, services and networking infrastructure technologies to private and public-sector organizations and enterprises of all sizes.

With digital transformation

topping the corporate agenda for organizations in Africa, Avaya will help to remove the uncertainty caused by digital disruption, with solutions designed to help businesses improve operational excellence, enhance customer satisfaction, and drive greater competitive differentiation, it noted.

Nearly 90 per cent of all Fortune 1000, 95 per cent of Fortune 500 and 97 per cent of Fortune 100 companies run Avaya solutions. BC

iding on the back of its marketing success in the 2015 Calabar Carnival Okhma Global, an event and destination marketing agency, has been confirmed to retain the rights to market the 2016 edition.

The chairman of the Cross River state Carnival Commission, Mr. Gabe Onah and the Special Adviser to the governor on Festival and Events, Mr. Ken Anklah, announced the retainership agreement with the agency recently.

The Cross River State government acknowledged that Okhma did introduce some innovative activities towards the funds drive for the carnival, oneof which was the CEO breakfast meeting with the governor which featured top CEO’s and business leaders from eighty-four organizations in Nigeria who were not only interested in investing in the carnival but also in the economy of Cross River state.

Speaking on the retainership, Managing Director of the agency, led by Mary Ephraim said the management is excited to be retained on this beat.

“Last year, we had challenges of having little time to work with. I recall we put together the CEO’s meeting with the governor barely fourteen days to the commencement of the carnival. Even though the turnout was impressive, few of them did mention the short time left to D-day. Many got involved, but promised bigger volumes this year.

“We are happy Governor Ben Ayade expressed satisfaction with our efforts. However, we promise all stakeholders that we would deliver even bigger this year.

“Also having worked closely with the sponsors and based on feedbacks, we have made suggestions to the carnival commissions about new tweaks and angles to existing events and new events that we believe would improve and ease revenue generation”, said the ebullient marketing expert, Mary Ephraim”, she noted.

With the theme ‘Climate Change’ the carnival seeks to draw attention to the challenges of global warming and its effect on the environment as well as preservation of future livelihoods.

With the carnival, participants and revelers attack the problem with creativity as their major tool.

“It is also noteworthy that with Cross River being a major tourism destination in Africa, preservation of its wild life and natural fauna becomes a task for accomplishment, which Governor Ayade is now spearheading”. BC

Sifiso-Dabengwa

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage

Monday, May 23, 2016

Vodacom equips female students with ICT skills Stories by Isaiah Erhaiwarien

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emale Nigeria students have been equipped

by Vodacom Business Nigeria with ICT skills that will enable them compete with their counterparts in other climes.

Twenty-five of the female students who are from Clemmy High School, Agodo-Egbe, Lagos, were drilled on Internet of Things (IoT) as part of its support for the Girls in ICT programme.

The students who were students from SS1 and SS2 learned how IoT is used in ensuring people’s safety and in securing property in today’s world.

They also toured the company’s facilities, exposing them to the importance of connectivity and data security to individuals and businesses in this milieu.

Clemmy High School recently emerged as winners of the App development and Quiz competition which was part of the Girls in ICT Day celebration last month, organised by E-Business Life.

Vodacom’s aim of training female students in particular is to demystify the myth that ICT is for males, predominantly; encouraging more female students to choose ICT as their course of study at tertiary levels of education. The training also

with Esther Ozue (ozueesther@nationalmirroronline.net) 08059234648 (sms only)

Tips to increase online sales

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ne of the core values of most companies is “test everything; assume nothing!” That’s because you can’t just figure out what strategy or angle is going to work best for you until you test it. This applies even to your star-performing strategies because there’s always room for improvement.

The bottom line is, testing is the only way to discover what works and what doesn’t on your website, and it’s the best way to start increasing your sales exponentially.

However here are few tips to help increase online sales:

Adebayo Shittu empowers female students to maximise their use of ICT, so that they are not left behind in the digital world.

Lanre Kolade, Managing Director, Vodacom Business Nigeria, urged ICT teachers to adopt fresh approaches to the subject to generate higher levels of interest among females.

He said “The choice of studying ICT depends largely on the student’s interest in science subjects at the secondary level of education. Teachers must begin to adopt innovative ways of teaching the subject so that more students, especially females will not only become interested in ICT but choose to work in ICT industries upon completing their studies.”

He equally advised the participants during the training to not be intimidated by physics, chemistry and biology but to enjoy these subjects and make them an integral part of their daily lives.

Miss Chidera Onyekuru and Miss Peace Agboola both SS2 students of Clemmy high school; and winners of the quiz and App development competition at the Girls in ICT Day celebration, were presented with brand new laptops by Lanre Kolade; for their brilliance and for Miss Agboola’s ingenious development of a Mobile App she named “Talk to me”. The app reads out loud text on a mobile device by waving the device with your hands. BC

Ericsson, stakeholders seek digital growth for Nigeria

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he SMART Africa Secretariat and Ericsson have entered an Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) partnership to meet the goal of developing a more connected and fully functioning knowledge-based society in Nigeria.

The partnership, which extends to other African countries, will ensure that Ericsson joins the Smart Africa Alliance as technical advisor and platinum private sector member collaborating with the Alliance to craft blue prints supporting the implementation of the SMART Africa vision and plan.

Established in 2013, SMART Africa is a bold and innovative commitment to accelerate sustainable socioeconomic development on the continent and usher Africa into the knowledge economy through affordable access to broadband and usage of ICT. This announcement follows the collaboration with the Government of Rwanda on key projects in the financial, transport, utilities and public safety and security sectors, founded on the Smart Rwanda Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2014.

The development of a smart

Technotalk

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Fredrik Jejdling city in Kigali, part of the Smart Rwanda initiative, aims to become a world-class reference model project for the Smart Africa Alliance.

Speaking about the partnership, Head of Region, Ericsson sub-Saharan Africa Fredrik Jejdling, said: “We are honoured and excited about working with various African countries to enable an information-rich and knowledge-based society.”

He added,”Our experience working on Smart Rwanda has provided an excellent platform to replicate and tailor similar solutions for other Member States and Governments. ICT

will change cities, countries and industries and ultimately lead to a truly Networked Society in Africa.”

The Smart Africa Initiative is geared towards connecting, innovating and transforming the continent into a knowledge economy thereby driving global competitiveness and job creation.

The initiative also aims at enabling Member States to become more competitive, agile, open and innovative smart economies with the most favorable business climates that attracts large-scale investments, rewards entrepreneurship and enables fast growth and exports, leveraging ICT innovations to transform African nations into smart societies.

Executive Director of Smart Africa Secretariat Dr. Hamadoun Touré, said that since inception of the Smart Africa Alliance one of its main principles has centred on the critical need to create an enabling environment for private sector involvement.

He said: “We realise that economic transformation must be driven by private companies focused on the use of ICT to increase access to markets and information for business.” BC

1: Feature different benefits in your headline.

Your headline has a huge impact on your sales. It’s often the first thing visitors to your site see so it must grab their attention and compel them to read your sales letter.

A successful headline should highlight a problem your target audience faces and stress the main benefit of your product or service in solving this problem 2: Establish a problem in your copy and show how you can solve it.

In the first few paragraphs that appear on your home page, you need to go into more detail about the problem you introduced in your headline showing your audience that you relate to them. (Only when your audience feels you understand their problem will they feel confident that you can solve it.)

Once the problem is established, you can then begin introducing your product or service as the solution to this problem by emphasizing exactly how your product or service will solve your reader’s problem, you’re guaranteed to see a boost in sales.

3: Add credibility to your copy and enhance your visitors’ trust in you.

It’s vital that your sales copy establishes your credibility: It’s through this process that your visitors come to trust you and feel comfortable enough to buy from you.

You can build credibility by including customer testimonials in your sales letter and by adding a section to your copy that outlines your credentials, experience and any background information that makes you qualified to solve your target audience’s problem. Your aim should be to effectively convince readers that you are the best person to offer them a solution to their problem.

4: Focus on your site visitors not yourself.

The most successful sales copy focuses on the reader.

Too often, business owners neglect this simple golden rule. Look carefully at your sales copy. Is it filled with references to “I,” “me” and “we”? Instead of using sentences like “I designed my time-management software with the busy homeowner in mind,” try “Your new time-management software will free up hours of time for you to spend with your family.” So try searching for “I,” “me” and “our” in your sales copy and replace them with “you” and “your.”

5: Instill urgency in your copy and convince readers they need to buy now!

It’s very important that your sales copy instill a sense of urgency in your visitors, compelling them to buy now. The best place to do this is toward the end of your sales letter, near the call to action (when you ask for the sale). You can achieve this by offering a limitedtime price discount where visitors must buy before a certain date in order to qualify for the discount and offer additional bonuses for free if visitors buy within a certain time frame.

Finally, following up with existing customers is very important because it helps you develop profitable, longterm relationships with them and allows you to offer BC BC “backend” products relating to their original purchase. BC

A10 26

Business Courage

Monday, May 23, 2016

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Leo Stan Ekeh:

Nigeria’s ICT trail blazer

He read economics for his first degree and bagged a post graduate degree in risk management but today, his career path has taken him outside the realm of economics into computer engineering where he is not just a player but a force to be reckoned with.

This is the story of Leo Stan Ekeh, chairman, Zinox Technologies and his pioneer exploits in bridging Nigeria’s digital divide.

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ll things being equal, a multimillion dollar digital plant, Africa’s largest digital computer assembling plant would take off in Nigeria in February 2012.

The IT manufacturing platform from which the rest of Africa would be supplied is a product of the entrepreneurial spirit of an individual whose passion appear to be more than being contented with profit making as a business person, but more by a commitment to transform the technological landscape of Nigeria. That project, the idea which Business Courage learnt had been in the works for about

five years and which was being held back by the poor state of electricity in Nigeria is Leonard Stanley Nnamdi Ekeh, a trained economist and risk manager’s contribution to the technological transformation of the country.

If the feat is achieved, as it is expected to, the digital plant would undoubtedly be a major breakthrough and a dream come true for a man who, even at infancy, had always seen himself as a big player. As a teenager, Stan Ekeh had a big dream, but that dream was not in the information technology realm. He had wished to own

the biggest transport company in Nigeria and that possibly informed his decision to read economics and risk management.

But his ambition changed as he grew up and today, he does not own the biggest transport company as envisioned in his dream but he is nonetheless about the biggest player in a different field; Information technology.

Stan Ekeh now sits atop one of Nigeria’s biggest and best multibillion information technology group with tentacles sprouting up in many West African countries.

Born on February 22, 1956 in Ubomiri, Imo State to a middle class family of four, Stan Ekeh attended Holy Ghost College, Owerri for his secondary education. After his secondary education, the young Ekeh proceeded to India for his university education, where he received a bachelor’s of science degree in economics from Punjab University. Not satisfied with first degree, Stan Ekeh left India for the Republic of Ireland and got admitted at the Cork City University, Ireland and later transferred to Nottingham University, UK where he earned a second degree in risk management.

However, as it turned out, his educational sojourn outside the shores of Nigeria, particularly in India must have had tremendous impact on his career. In fact, Stan Ekeh himself once admitted that studying in India was the turning point in his life because, as he puts it, he found the Indian economy ‘realistic’

unlike what obtains here in Nigeria. Being an IT hub, Stan Ekeh’s interest in information technology sprang out from his days in India and was therefore, not surprising that shortly after returning home, he established his first company, Task Systems Limited, an ICT Solutions company. The company was incorporated in 1987 but did not commenced business until 1989 and for over two decades, Task System has remained industry leaders, with the implementation of various information and communication technology, ICT projects in the oil and gas, banking, telecoms, manufacturing and government sectors.

The company was involved in the implementation and support of robust and major platforms like Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC’s Group Infrastructure Desktop (GID), Total Elf’s STEP Software deployment and management, Chevron’s Global Information Link (GIL) projects, Access Bank Blade Server Expansion Project and UBA IT Infrastructure Expansion Project.

Other major deployments and installations the company has been involved in include the National Population Commission’s Storage Works Project, Abuja Stock Exchange Clustering Solutions Project and various capacity building initiatives of the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID).

Task Systems Limited pioneered desktop publishing and computer graphics in Nigeria

and is believed to have helped computerized 95 percent of the print media, publishing houses and advertising agencies in Nigeria Today, Task System has a large bouquet of ICT solutions including networking solutions, convergence solutions, software development solutions, security solutions, enterprise application solutions, managed support services, power solutions, imaging and printing solutions.

Easily the most capitalized, most visible and most structured Nigerian ICT solutions company, with a network of branches, sister companies and a large customer base, Task System partners world class, global IT companies and Original Equipment Manufacturers, OEMs like HP, Microsoft, Cisco, NetApp, Dell, Acer, APC, Bit defender, Zinox, and Oracle to deliver best in class products and services.

Outside Task Systems, Stan Ekeh also established Technology Distribution, TD a firm that is fast emerging as number one ICT distribution company in West Africa, consistently winning highest industry awards and recognitions for market penetration, revenue, and preferred partner status to become the most decorated ICT Distributor in West Africa.

However, what appears to be the most outstanding contribution of Stan Ekeh to the ICT sector in Nigeria came with the establishment of Zinox Technologies in 2001. Zinox Tech-

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Ekeh

to sensitize and encourage human capacity development and e-learning. The scheme was designed to make available desktop computers and laptops at prices significantly below the prevailing market prices for people and offer bank financing for the purchase of PCs to be repaid at affordable rates over a period of 24 months.

Several other such initiatives of the company include building and equipping centres with thousands of computers and also empower academic and non-academic staff with laptops are currently going on in different parts of the country.

Students, professionals, entrepreneurs, private and public sectors are expected to take advantage of the scheme to own personal computers and accessories with flexible and instalment payment system.

The computerise Nigeria project, in Ekeh’s reckoning, is a way of giving back to the society, sensitizing Nigerians about computers, giving his firm belief that for Nigeria to play an important role in today’s globalization, the country should be “technologically driven because a technologically driven society is a decent society. It makes people to be focused or driving towards a positive ambition because if the country has more scientists, the tendency is that they will pay more attention to research most of the time.”

Instructively, while it is apt to say the coming of Zinox further raised the bar of national and international recognition for Ekeh, the name Zinox almost became his major albatross.

Owing to business politics and the Nigerian factor, the introduction of Zinox brand of computers and its vast acceptability almost turned the tide against the hard fighting Ekeh as critics alleged that most of his products were inferior and were a mere product of media hype.

Those close to the company

admit that the situation then created serious image problem for the company and almost undermined its corporate existence. Not one to be easily defeated, Business Courage gathered that while the controversy rages, Ekeh and his team at Zinox mere retreated, went back to the drawing board and later came out with more computer components that were to later prove cynics wrong that local other equipment manufacturers, OEMs could indeed, compete favourably with their foreign counterparts.

Zinox has over the years introduced specialised products to address specific Nigerian issues. The Zinox Whizkid Professional for instance is a notebook mini designed for the educational sector with content aimed at eliminating poor performance in WAEC, JAMB, and NECO examinations with commitment to refund candidates who failed.

The Zinox Legacy is another notebook designed as a souvenir, wrapped in a national symbol, running on 2.0Ghz, 2MB Ram and 320GB, while the Zinox Prestige is a notebook for professionals running on Core i7 processors, 4 MB Ram, and

‘

The computerise Nigeria project, in Ekeh’s reckoning, is a way of giving back to the society, sensitizing Nigerians about computers, giving his firm belief that for Nigeria to play an important role in today’s globalization, the country should be technologically driven

‘

nologies was established to manufacture Zinox Computers, Nigeria’s first internationally certified branded computers which was formally launched on October 9, 2001.

Zinox is a partnership between Stan Technologies of Nigeria, Mustek South Africa and Alhena Ventures of France.

Incorporated in 2000 by a group of information technologist mainly to structure a way of empowering local IT entrepreneurs, STAN Technologies is the promoter of the local manufacturing initiative.

Mustek, the second partner in the Zinox configuration which was founded in 1987 has remained the largest assembler, marketer and distributor of personal computers, data processing devices and allied products in South Africa. The group was listed in Johannesburg Stock exchange in April 1997 and has since made fundamental progress through acquisitions and diversifications towards becoming a leading facilitator of ICT. Mustek is the manufacturer of MECER brand of personal computers, Laptops, Servers and UPS. MECER brand controls over 29 percent of the South African market.

Alhena Ventures, the last of the Zinox musketeers is a French investment company with a large exposure in the communication industry in Europe and USA. The partnership with Zinox Technologies was her first step in investing in Africa.

Indeed, the story of Zinox is that of a spiritual mustard seed that is destined to challenge capitalist structures of the 20th century by promoting a knowledge economy through digital democracy. At inception, Zinox Technologies won the loyalty of many private organisations and entered into agreement with the Federal Government in training staffers of Federal Ministries and supply of Information Technology equipments to the Ministries and Parastatals to facilitate computer literacy in Nigerian Schools and among civil servants.

Today, Zinox Technologies has grown into an internationally recognized brand with its products actively deployed across West Africa. It has supported many landmark events such as the Commonwealth Head of Government Mission, CHOGM in 2003, All African Games, Abuja 2003, FASU-Bauchi 2004, 17th African Union Summit, Banjul – Gambia 2006, and the INEC rescue mission in December, 2006 when it provided 12, 000 systems for voters’ registration exercise.

Perhaps, what today remains the most outstanding contribution of Stan Ekeh’s Zinox to the Nigerian project is the Computerize Nigeria initiative, CANi, a Non Governmental Organisation, NGO set up in August 2000 by the board and management of Zinox Technologies

Business Courage

Monday, May 23, 2016

500GB hard disk.

The import of how Ekeh is well grounded in the business of ICT however came to fore when the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC opted for the use of direct data capturing, DDC machines for the conduct of the 2011 general. Zinox, like several other companies bided for the supply of the machines but only three, including Zinox won the contract. Of the three successful winners, Zinox was the only indigenous company in the list that had international players like the Haier Electrical Appliances Corporation of China and Avante of United States.

Again, the emergence of Ekeh’s Zinox as a winner in the highly competitive and rigorous bidding exercise was an attestation to the strong character, drive and vision to play in the big league. Zinox supplied 80,000 DDC machines, an effort considered an awesome accomplishment for an indigenous firm.

The INEC contract remains one of the most daring business decisions ever taken by the company. In winning the bid, each company had to present huge bonds to INEC before the contracts could be released. In the case of Zinox, it presented N750 million for the 80,000 units of the machines before it was allowed to sign the contract. It took Haier a long time before it could sign for its 20 units.

The bond, according to a financial expert, could in most cases liquidate a business if the body giving out such contracts suddenly withdraws the contract or the supplier could not cope thereafter. The bond is non- negotiable because the bank would not seek for advice of such a company before taking necessary steps for its money. “It was a great risk and even this type of bond is usually for business men with guts,” and analysts said.

A11 27

Indeed, those close to the Zinox boss admit that the INEC deal was very tasking, noting that Ekeh was exasperated during the period as he fully understands the implication that if the business went sour, he would lose everything he had ever worked for. “Chairman became jittery at a time but the support he got from his wife also helped him stood his ground to present that bond to INEC. I can authoritatively tell you that his weight dropped within a short while and he became sleepless because it was like going to hell without dying,” the source said.

Those close to Stan Ekeh says he is a humanist and philanthropist per excellence who devotes about 60 percent of his annual earning to charity and educating the poor.

Ten years after establishing Zinox Technolgies, the flagship of his business concern, Ekeh says that it has been ten tough years of struggles, but admits that the company has been able to succeed. ”We have gone through the storm of economy, we have passed through three different governments, and we have achieved a lot by adding value to the ICT world, which has no doubt strengthened the realm of knowledge.”

Ekeh however insists that the company has not achieved what it set out for: to make about 50 per cent of Nigerians computer literate.

While assuring that he, in his capacity will continue to pursue his agenda for an enlightened country, Ekeh wants the Federal Government to create digital activity, by putting as many states as possible on subsidised wireless rates, and brand its own USBs, so that students can also benefit. “It’s a knowledge economy, we need to expose our people to the world, they need to see hope, we need to confront the issue of youth unemployment,” he said.

He maintained that if the government provide subsidized internet access across the country, it would in turn create a remarkable networking opportunities for the poor especially the youths therefore leading to greater digital activities which would no doubt generate employment for the people and opportunities for the country in terms of direct foreign investment and income.

Stan Ekeh’s contribution to the development of ICT in Nigeria has not gone unnoticed and unappreciated. In fact, the ICT trail blazer as he is often called by his admirers has bagged over 60 awards. In October 2002, about a year after Ekeh’s Zinox launched Nigeria into the digital world through the launch of its brand of computers, former President Olusegun Obasanjo while honouring him with the national honour of Order of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, OFR, also awarded him the title of Icon of Hope.

BC

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Business Courage

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Monday, May 23, 2016

ThebuddingEntrepreneurs BUSINESS With Mamora Victor

Mamora is a system thinker and advisor whose belief and activator leadership strengths are directed towards improving workers perspective for city and enterprise development.

e-mail: olusegunmamora@gmail.com

O

ne of the reasons developed nations and developing economies treat people with disability respectfully, is because they know that economy and social growth cannot be achieved faster than the pace of people with disability.

For an example, if you have a person with disability crossing a road and vehicular movements have to be halted for a longer time to complete her crossing to the other side of the road then at that moment loss of man-hour is certain.

Therefore, the best decision is to design and build infrastructure for people with disabilities, which will help them move at the same pace every other person are moving while contributing to the economy of the society.

In another case, I read the story of a twin brothers who parted with life threatening disagreement and both met years later after each have built large agric businesses. At the reconciliation, both Israel Isaac and Esau Isaac thought me the need for consciousness of putting into consideration the importance of understanding workers vulnerability in driving business to success.

While Esau Isaac recommended fast movement of Israel Isaac team members and animals to join him at his own farm for celebration and merriment, Israel Isaac responded, “You know that the children are weak, and I must think of the sheep and cattle with their young. If they are driven hard for even one day, the whole flock will die; please, go on ahead of me and I will follow slowly, going as fast as I can with the livestock and children until I can catch up with you.”

Dear entrepreneur, the moral of these cases above is that business goal cannot be achieved faster than the vulnerability of the work team members whose weaknesses are louder than strengths. Vulnerable people are speed determinant in any system. They slow everybody down in business situations. A great leader recognises that every enterprise has vulnerable people therefore he designs programs and create environment to sup-

port such people to improve and build capability.

How do a business leaders and managers improve the situation of people who are open to fatal error and slow to business situation deliverables?

The first answer A business leader needs to recognise these set of people in the organisation. They are people who prior to employment did not have experience in the position they currently occupy in the organisation.

They are people who, though experienced, have a wrong job functions. They could be people who are facing challenges in their marriages. They could be people who just lost a love one to death. Some time these category of vulnerable people are great workers who now have too many deliverable per day.

They are people who waste everybody time on deliverables.

Many successful business leaders agreed that saving time is more important than saving money. Therefore, they invest in programs and business infrastructure that can increase productivity per time. They invest in such infrastructures that can help reduce loss of man hour. Leaders know that except vulnerable people are supported to develop and tap into their potential for quality decision making at work it may slow down business activ-

Everybody on the move ‘

ity and cost the business. So they invest in health insurance, support with housing loan and mortgage, provide staff bus and cars, sometimes subsidise food, and design programs for capacity building in form of training and seminars which takes us to the next answer.

The second answer Invest in human capacity building programs consistently. As the year is winding up you need to put in place plans to improve the ability of the workers to drive the business objective to success. How about encouraging your team members to look out for relevant certification programs, seminars and training that can enhance their decisional ability in the role they play on the team. May be you as a business leader will also have to look out for programs and seminars that can help improve your leadership skill.

In today’s business sphere, inability to make right decision at the right time before the competition access the same opportunity is one of the weakness and reason enterprise loose to their competitor.

The third answer You need to focus on what you can change because you cannot change every vulnerable situation or people. We need to recognise that nothing can be

they invest in programs and business infrastructure that can increase productivity per time. They invest in such infrastructures that can help reduce loss of man hour

‘

KLINIC

done to help chicken soar like an eagle. Some of your workers who have refused to improve on the team will have to be counsel to switch to another team or department and maybe to join another business organisation entirely. This will allow room for another person whose skill is set, passion and capacity is suitable for the enterprise business objective within the specific time targeted.

The Fourth answer You need to hire people objectively. Bring people on board when you are clear of the missing value you think should be

Motivational Business Quotes

Y

ou must be the change you wish to see in the world. – Mahatma Gandhi

Let’s be honest. There’s not a business anywhere that is without problems. Business is complicated and imperfect. Every business everywhere is staffed with imperfect human beings and exists by providing a product or service to other imperfect human beings. – Bob Parsons You need to be aware of what others are doing, applaud their efforts, acknowledge their successes, and encourage them in their pursuits. When we all help one another, everybody wins. – Jim Stovall The only way around is through. – Robert Frost You only have to do a very few things right

in your life so long as you don’t do too many things wrong. – Warren Buffett The noblest search is the search for excellence – Lyndon B. Johnson The man who does not work for the love of work but only for money is not likely to neither make money nor find much fun in life. – Charles M. Schwab You must remain focused on your journey to greatness. – Les Brown Far and away the best prize that life offers is the chance to work hard at work worth doing. – Theodore Roosevelt Where there is an open mind, there will always be a frontier. – Charles F. Kettering

BC

added.

For years, my aspiration has been to attend the Harvard University programs. This year, I attempted Harvard Kennedy (Harvard leadership school) and in the process of admission screening I went through series of learning objective interviews with three sets of questions spread over three months. In the end, the school recommended me for a program that best suite my learning object, vision, and passion. Although I had my different target course, but the series of learning objectives interview and due diligence points me to what I need to learn for my leadership focus now. Harvard is objective in admission processes and so should be for entrepreneur in recruitment processes.

It is important to hire team members objectively and by that decision among others so that your team members and you can be on the move to fulfilling the business objective at the same pace.

My encouragement for you is that, as you are thinking about strategies to expand your organisation service and to enter new markets next year do consider that some of your workers will need support, training, compensation and motivation to start the new business calendar on a great note and sustain the success to the end.

I believe you deserve appreciation for sustaining the enterprise through the challenge of the year. Whatever the lose your enterprise may have experienced this year, I believe your success next year will compensate for it on a greater scale.

That is what I believe for you as you take courageous step to plan, build capacity, and pray for favour in the next business year. I want to say thank you for keeping the hope of better society alive as your business employ people, keep food on the table of many families, help people build wealth, and reduces crimes on the street.

In this season, you need to be more courageous because it is your season of productivity. It is time to plan properly so that everybody on your team can be on the move at the same pace for next year business activities. BC

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage

Monday, May 23, 2016

A13 29

ThebuddingEntrepreneurs

serial

At just 25, she became the pioneer Executive Director of an indigenous non-governmental organisation - FATE Foundation. Ndidi Nwuneli, has spent the last decade trailblazing a successful career as a social entrepreneur. Apart from LEAP, a non-profit making organisation which she established in 2002, she also runs AACE Foods, a fast growing food processing company alongside other businesses For, in the resilience of Palestinian entrepreneurs who found creative ways to excel despite having to face up to odds greater than what “many face on the African continent,” Ndidi realized that what was crystallizing in her mind as her life mission was more than a downgraded career pathway or mere self-sacrifice, “it was an opportunity to live a fuller life -awakening, empowering, and guiding others to dare to succeed in life.”

Ndidi’s passion for helping people and societies developed at an early age through the influence of home-taught values received from her parents. “I was born the third of five children.

My parents—Prof. Paul Obuekwe Okonkwo, a pharmacologist from Awka, Anambra and Professor Rina Okonkwo, a historian originally from New York City exposed my siblings and I to the concept of patriotism and service from very young ages,” she recalls.

Her parents, who are both Ivy League graduates, chose to devote their lives to teaching in the Nigerian higher education system, fighting against all odds to ensure some level of excellence in their respective departments. According to Ndidi, “during the dark years of the late General Sani Abacha years, when many professors fled outside the country, my parents stuck it out, going for many months without salaries. Even with these challenges, holidays in our home were devoted to giving to others; trips to orphanages and other charity organizations formed a critical part of our socialization.”

Therefore, when Fola Adeola, the revered founder of Guaranty Trust Bank, placed a call in early 2000 to invite her to lead the newly established FATE Foundation, she accepted. From its inception, the Foundation was structured with a clear vision to train, mentor and support unemployed youth to become successful entrepreneurs who

could eventually employ others.

This vision was implemented by a carefully selected team and driven by their passion and capacity for excellence.

The result: by the end of July of the same year, FATE Foundation had launched its school of entrepreneurship, mentoring programmes and a range of support services. After two years of putting in place all the necessary operational and financial structures that would eventually lead the Foundation to become one of the most well-known non profits in Nigeria, Ndidi resigned to accompany her husband to the United States. While abroad, she continued her support for various FATE Foundation initiatives and helped to establish FATE Foundation USA. In FATE Foundation, Ndidi had helped to drive the vision of a great African, Fola Adeola.

‘

Ndidi’s passion for helping people and societies developed at an early age through the influence of home-taught values received from her parents

‘

N

didi Nwuneli’s acceptance to lead FATE Foundation in 2000 came at a steep cost for her. She had to resign a blossoming career at McKinsey & Company, a leading international management consulting firm, and take out a loan to repay McKinsey for advancing a portion of the fee for her MBA from the Harvard Business School.

Upon graduating from the Harvard Business School in 1999, she had spent the summer of that year serving as a consultant for the Ford Foundation office of West Africa, where she supported two of the Foundation’s microfinance grantees.

This experience, as she later admitted, crystallized her desire to establish a non-profit in Nigeria.

Ford Foundation may have provided the opportunity for the firming up of a desire to execute a career switch, but the seeds of that desire were sown much earlier by ‘a series of miraculous events.’ First, in April 1995, during Ndidi’s final year in the University, she received a DHL package from ARM, one of Nigeria’s leading asset management firms, inviting her to work with them for the summer.

“I have not been able to clearly trace how they found out about me because I never submitted a CV and would not have ordinarily contemplated a job in Nigeria during the dark Abacha years,” she recalls.

Venturing out on the ARM Nigeria excursion proved to be a voyage of self discovery. When she returned to the United States to continue her education after the internship in Nigeria, Ndidi volunteered for the Centre for Women & Enterprise in Boston in a deliberate effort to devote a portion of [her] studies to entrepreneurship and non profit management.

In the summer of the same year, she went off to work with the Centre for Middle East Competitive Strategy. It was another insightful experience that proved to be a very defining one.

But when she returned to Nigeria, she founded Leadership, Effectiveness, Accountability and Professionalism, (LEAP) Africa, an organization that gave vent to her personal vision of a lit pathway to Africa’s greatness.

LEAP’s birth is a narrative better rendered in the founder’s words. “LEAP was born during a family vacation in Guatemala in March 2002. As I toured the country with my husband, I asked myself a question— ‘Why is this country, one of the poorest in South America light years ahead of the average African nation?’ Propelled by my anger about the state of affairs of the African continent, and the realization that many of our so called ‘leaders’ were not addressing the challenges confronting the African continent, I felt a clear call from God to establish an organization that would inspire, empower and equip a new cadre of leaders in Africa.”

LEAP, from the very beginning, appeared set not just on advancing its expressed mandates but also on modelling the emerging and sustainable ways of doing business in Africa’s non profit circuit. A dynamic board, a dedicated team, a capacity to evolve and push through innovative programmes that were practical and relevant for the context in which each of them was to be deployed accompanied the LEAP vision statement.

Over the years, LEAP has matched word with action to eke out a niche for itself as a provider of leadership, life skills, ethics, and management training

programmes for young persons, social entrepreneurs, business owners and those in the public sector. It also conducts leadership research, organizes the annual Nigeria Youth Leadership Awards and, in collaboration with the African Leadership Institute, remains at the forefront of championing the Nigeria 2025 Scenario.

Young persons and entrepreneurs in nine Nigerian cities— Abuja, Awka, Benin, Enugu, Kano, Ibadan, Lagos, Port Harcourt and Onitsha and three African countries Ghana, Kenya and South Africa have benefitted from the programmes and short courses of LEAP Africa. Of the beneficiaries, about 10,000 have been supported through LEAP’s core programmes while about 30,000 have gone through the leadership and management training workshops across Africa. The direct result is about 500 life impacting projects instituted by various LEAP programme participants within their various organizations and the communities.

To reach even a greater number across Africa indirectly, LEAP has delivered some pioneering publications like Defying the Odds: Case Studies of Nigerian Companies that have Survived Generations and Get on Board: a Practical Guide to Building a Board of Directors in Nigeria. Others publications include: Rage for Change: A Practical Guide for Young Nigerians who want to make a Difference (2008) and Building a Culture of Ethics (2009).

In December, 2007, Ndidi stepped down formally from the day to day management of LEAP, that was at age 32. It was one more precedent demonstrating LEAP’s commitment to the deepening of the credibility of the African social sector circuit which, like other aspects of the public life of the African continent, had been sorely challenged by manifestations of the so-called founder’s syndrome.

Ndidi continues, however, to actively support the various initiatives of the organization.

Perhaps, her greatest motivation may be the knowledge that her work in Africa’s social space has been uniquely rewarding to her, but also to the young people in Africa who have been impacted by her work.

Ndidi embodies true characteristics of a social entrepreneur. She constantly seeks ways to change the status-quo and improve the lives of others.

She has co-founded two thriving companies: AACE Foods and AACE Consulting.

AACE Foods is a social enterprise motivated by two facts: the first is that 41 per cent of Nigerian children less than five years old are classified as stunted, 14 per cent are wasted and 23 per cent are underweight according to a Demographic and Health Survey published in 2008. BC

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Business Courage

Monday, May 23, 2016

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Commerce & Industry

SON to standardise accurate measurement for products Stories: ABOLAJI ADEBAYO

S

tandards Organisation of Nigeria, SON, has started the effort towards standardising measurement accuracy in all the goods produced in Nigeria in compliance with the internally acceptable measurement standards. It was revealed that lack of accuracy in the standard measurements of most of the Nigerian products led to their rejection in the international market. It was also revealed that the inaccuracy in the measurements was due largely to unavailability of laboratory to certify the international measurement standard of products coming from the country.

In order to achieve this feat, the Organisation has concluded its plan to complete the Nigeria’s National Measurement Institute, NMI, which would harbour standard laboratory by the end of this year, where the measurements of all goods in the country would be certified before being exported.

Speaking at the 2016 World Metrology Day, organised by SON with the theme “Measurements in a Dynamic World”, the Acting Director General of the Agency, Paul Angya, reflected on the vision of some countries to facilitate smooth trade among the various countries, and as such came together to sign a

treaty on global measurement standards on May 20th, 1875.

He added that the vision of that treaty has urged the SON to facilitate the establishment of NMI to reform the Nigeria’s industrial manufacturing and commercial trades among various countries of the world.

He said the accuracy in measurement is a key factor that enhances quality of products, noting that insensitivity to this factor has contributed majorly to the rejection of Nigerian products by the foreign customers.

In his presentation, the Director, Metrology and Instrumentation, SON, Engr. Obiora Manafa said the NMI, when established, would eliminate the incidence of inaccurate and short measures in trade, manufacturing. export and import activities in Nigeria.

He said, “In order to ensure accuracy of measurements in the country, SON in collaboration with UNIDO earnestly set in motion, the establishment of a National Metrology Institute, NMI, which will be the custodian of National Measurement Standards with the highest measurement reference in the country through traceability to the SI unit.

The NMI will be responsible for the dissemination of measurement standards and provide traceability and accuracy

of measurement to the industries, laboratories, trade and commerce, aviation, oil and gas, agriculture, health, education, automotive, mining, power and other sectors of the economy.”

Analyisng further, , Manafa said the functions of the Institute would include custody, development and maintainance of the National Measurement Standards; declaration of the country’s calibration and measurement capability, CMC, at the BIPM; participation in international inter-comparisons and organizing (together with the national Accreditation Body) the national comparison; development of metrology in the country by means of training, education and updating of staff of NMI and other calibration bodies to innovations in metrology; promotion and representation of the country in international and regional organisations such as Metre Convention, CIPM-MRA. He further said that the establishment of the NMI would boost the country’s export base by providing the required confidence and reliability in the export goods; improve the health of the citizens and ensure safe environment by providing accuracy in measurement; guarantee accurate and reliable measurements for the country.

He further hinted that it

F

Angya would ensure level playing field for commerce, control frauds and support global trade in measuring instrument, while also strengthening other components of the National Quality Infrastructure such as standardisation, accreditation, certification and testing.

Meanwhile, Manafa assured that the Nigeria’s National Measurement Institute would be the best among the ECOWAS countries and a reference point by others. He maintained that since it would be a continuous exercise, the maintenance of the institute is guaranteed. BC

FG tasks manufacturers on meeting global standards

F

ederal Government has urged the manufacturers to put in more efforts at raising the competitiveness of made-in-Nigeria products in the global market, saying the government was not insensitive to their plight in terms of infrastructure, foreign exchange, power as well as multiple taxation.

Speaking at the inauguration of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, MAN, Large Corporation Group, the Minister of State for Trade and Industry, Hajia Aisha Abubakar, disclosed that the sector has been declining in its capacity as a result of the challenges militating against its potential.

However, she assured that the government had been putting in place appropriate policies, programmes and projects aimed at strategically and effectively tackling some of the age long myriad of challenges confronting the sector.

According to her, the government felt the implication of the current foreign exchange policy on manufacturers in the country

particularly those that have ran out of stock of critical raw materials, assuring them that the policy would soon be amended.

The Minister also hinted that the government has created and is still creating enabling business environments to fix and fill in the gap created by industrial challenges, adding that the interest of the present administration was to have a visible and vibrant manufacturing sector that would be adequately empowered to produce goods for local consumption and for export.

Speaking on the inaugurated Large Corporation Group, Abubakar said she was confident of the Association and the Group’s ability to develop strategies for enhanced productivity.

She said, “I understand that this group will be an avenue to review, appraise government policies, programmes and activities to develop strategies for enhanced productivity. I commend the initiatives of MAN leadership for their choice of 50 big manufacturing companies in Nigeria coming together and also keying

Hajia Abubakar into the vision of the Ministry our objective of diversifying the economy.

This inauguration is the third main activity of MAN this year.

You have earlier inaugurated the SME Group and the MAN

First Bank seeks support for 2016 APRA Conference

Export Group. This is apt as I believe that smaller groups can provide more focus, will be easier to coordinate and make more impact for the economy. This platform, should therefore serve as a veritable medium not only for sensitization, cross fertilisation of ideas and dissemination of information but also interactive means for critical evaluation and assessing the level of acceptance of policies and programmes of the government. It will equally afford the opportunity for us to harmonize and jointly agree on the way forward, which will make the Nigerian manufacturers to remain competitive globally.”

Meanwhile, the President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, MAN, Dr. Frank Jacobs, urged the Federal Government to help the manufacturers by reversing the forex policy in their favour and also find a way of making electricity available for them as the association called for diversification of power energy to other sources such as solar and other renewable energy. BC

irst Bank of Nigeria Limited, a subsidiary of FBN Holdings Plc has thrown its weight behind 28th edition of the All Africa Public Relations Conference, APRA Calabar 2016.

The event themed ‘Leapfrogging Africa: The Role of Public Relations’ will convene over 500 practitioners in public relations, eminent media influencers, advertising, government officials, entrepreneurs, and other marketing communications professionals from across the African Continent and beyond to proffer resolutions to the many challenges facing the practice of public relations in the African continent.

The conference is scheduled for May 24 - 27, 2016, at Calabar International Convention Centre, CICC, Cross River State.

The Conference which is endorsed by the African Union Commission, AUC, will be declared open by the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari, while former President of Nigeria, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, will be Chairman of the Conference opening ceremony alongside a host of African Heads of Government, diplomats and captains of industry, eminent media influencers and stakeholders across the African sub-region and the world.

APRA Calabar 2016 will parade an array of renowned speakers, including, the Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Erastus Mwencha, Chairman, Dangote Group, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, President of International Public Relations Association ,IPRA, Bart de Vries, and President International Communications Consultancy Organisation ,ICCO, Maxim Behar.

According to the Group Head, Marketing and Corporate Communications, Mrs. Folake Ani-Mumuney, FirstBank would continue to support initiatives that will create opportunities for the advancement of the African continent.

“We will continue to drive the discourse on development of our continent to place Africa on the same pedestal with industrialized economies”, she added. BC

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage

Monday, May 23, 2016

NSE market summary

A15 31

The NSE All-share and NSE-30 indices Week ended May 13, 2016

Equities index rises marginally as OTC FGN bonds ticks higher

T

he Nigerian equities market closed in the positive territory amid pockets of bargain hunting activities. Financial services stocks dropped while investment volume and value increased 12.09 per cent and 31.51 per cent respectively.

Consequently, overall performance measures, NSE ASI and market capitalisation, rose by 32.6 bps each.

Gainers & Losers Shares of fast moving consumer goods maker, Unilever Nigeria, brewer of beer and malted drinks, Nigerian Breweries, and commercial bank, Stanbic IBTC, appreciated by N0.59, N0.50, and N0.71 to close at N31.00, N126.00, and N15.01 respectively. On the flip side, Guaranty Trust Bank depreciated the most by N0.77 to close at N20.20.

Market News

The Microfinance bank recorded a higher gross profit of N4.44bn in 2015 from N4.18bn in 2014. There was an abnormal increase in interest expenses and loan impairments by 22.30 per cent and

NSE trading hall

218.31 per cent respectively which had a bad impact on the profit after tax, dropping it to N584m in 2015 from N675m in 2014.

Interbank Money Market

Nigerian Interbank Treasury Bills True Yields, NITTY, generally increased across the tenor buckets – yields on 1 month, 6 months, and 12 months rose to 6.72 per cent, 10.48 per cent, and 13.47 per cent respectively. Nigerian interbank rates mellowed on financial system liquidity ease occasioned by matured bills worth N110.94bn – NIBOR for overnight, 1 month, and 3 months, and 6 months dropped to 9.25 per cent, 11.15 per cent, 12.76 per cent and 14.35 per cent

respectively.

FGN bond market – OTC NG & Eurobonds

Most Bond prices appreciated – 20-year, 10.00 per cent FGN JUL 2030 bond, and 7-year, 16.00 per cent FGN JUN 2019 debt, and 5-year, 15.10 per cent FGN APR 2017 paper fell

by N1.19, N0.15, and N0.02 respectively (corresponding yields rose to 14.00 per cent , 14.02 per cent , and 12.74 per cent respectively).

Nigeria’s eurobond prices moved in mixed directions. The 10-year, 6.75 per cent JAN 28, 2021 bond dropped by $0.01 and 10-year, 6.38 per cent JUL 12, 2023 bond rose by $0.03. BC

Market Indicators for Week Ended 13-05-16 All-Share Index 23,686.67 points Market Capitalization 8,202,992,197,106.91

Cowry Research Market Insight

NASD WEEKLY MARKET SUMMARY-WEEK 3 Equity Report The Unlisted Security Index (USI) and the Market Capitalisation appreciated by 0.40% to close the week. The USI closed at 666.09 points as against the previous close of 665.83 points. The Market Capitalisation closed at ₦394.90 billion as against the previous close of ₦394.77 billion. The USI is calculated using the total Market Capitalisation approach.

Volume traded rose by 215.13% from 3.47 million units to 10.93 million units while the total value of shares traded also rose by 235.61% from ₦33.52 million to ₦112.51 million in 55 deals. Three (3) securities (CSCS, WAMCO and NDEP) were traded out of the 24 securities admitted to trade on the NASD OTC market.

22-Jan-16

1200.00

NASD Unlisted Securities Index

1000.00

800.00

600.00

400.00

200.00

21-01

14-01

07-01

31-12

24-12

17-12

10-12

03-12

26-11

19-11

12-11

05-11

29-10

22-10

15-10

08-10

01-10

24-09

17-09

10-09

03-09

27-08

20-08

13-08

06-08

30-07

23-07

16-07

09-07

02-07

25-06

18-06

11-06

04-06

28-05

21-05

14-05

07-05

30-04

23-04

16-04

09-04

02-04

0.00

Base date: April 1, 2015 = 1000

NASD MARKET STATISTICS WEEK 3 Unlisted Securities Index (USI-Pure Price)

TOTAL VALUE TRADED (₦)

WEEK 2 Change

666.09

% Change

USI

%change

0.26

h

0.04

15-Jan-16

665.83

394.77

0.13

h

0.03

18-Jan-16

665.83

0.00%

10,933,520

3,469,568

7,463,952.00

h

215.13

19-Jan-16

666.51

0.10%

112,511,615.69

33,524,367.60

78,987,248.09

h

235.61

20-Jan-16

666.51

0.00%

7.00

h

14.58

21-Jan-16

669.46

0.44%

(25.00)

22-Jan-16

666.09

-0.50%

NUMBER OF DEALS

55

48

3

4

21

20

NUMBER OF TRADED STOCKS NUMBER OF UNTRADED STOCKS

665.83

DATE

394.90

MARKET CAPITALIZATION (₦ 'BILLION) TOTAL VOLUME TRADED

UNLISTED SECURITIES INDEX

(1.00) i

OUTSTANDING OFFERS & BIDS GAINER(S) SECURITY CODE

CLOSE PRICE ( ₦ )

Central Securities Clearing System Plc

SYMBOL

P CLOSE ( ₦ )

5.60

CHANGE

5.57

%CHANGE 0.03 h

TOP 5 TRADED SECURITIES BY VOLUME SECURITY

TRADES

0.54

VALUE ( ₦ )

LAST BID PRICE (₦)

VOLUME OFFERED

LAST OFFER PRICE (₦)

SDACORN

416,800

0.35

SDAFRILAND

245,000

2.60

SDARMPROP

542,080

2.16

SDCAPDBETO

12,974

68.00

90,000

6.60

10,000

139.33

SDCSCSPLC

VOLUME

VOLUME BIDDED

SDDUFIL

200,000

5.55

1,000,000

9.00

10,000

117.55

CENTRAL SECURITIES CLEARING SYSTEM PLC

41

10,561,267.00

61,026,900.69

SDFCWAMCO

FRIESLAND CAMPINA WAMCO NIGERIA PLC

11

311,253.00

44,456,515.00

SDFOODCPT

999,000

0.75

3

61,000.00

7,028,200.00

SDGEFLUID

997,000

0.47

NIGER DELTA EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION PLC

SDIGIPLC SDNDEP

20,369,500

0.12

50,000

127.30

SDPARTNER

1,070,300

0.72

SDRSOURCE

933,200

0.48

Disclaimer SDTRUSTMB This document is provided for information purposes only. It is not a recommendation to buy, sell or otherwise deal in any security mentioned herein.

Kindly consult your NASD registered Participating Institution before making any decision on the OTC Market.

242,840

0.69

A16 32

Business Courage

Monday, May 23, 2016

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Behind d Wheels This page is open to sponsorship

More power for BMW’s compact M135i, M235i Stories by Adejuwon Osunnuyi

O

ne of the best-selling luxury automakers in the world, BMW is set to bless the M135i hot hatch and M235i Coupe and Convertible with more power and new names.

According to BMW, the M Performance Automobiles’ upgraded 1 Series and 2 Series models will enter production for market in July, before they arrive in a BMW showroom near you in the fourth quarter of this year.

The 1-series is a close relative of the 2-series coupe, which means it is based on a rearwheel-drive architecture with longitudinally mounted engines. The chassis carries over from the 2-series and is fitted with an aluminum, double-pivot, damper-strut front suspension and a five-link rear axle.

The M135i rolls on 225/40 front and 245/35 rear tires wrapped around 18-inch wheels.

The electromechanical power steering is tuned to be noticeably lighter than on bigger BMW models like the 5- and 6-series, which makes the car feel supremely agile. With its relatively short wheelbase, the M135i loves to rotate, yet it’s forgiving and easily controllable.

Curiously, turning off the

stability control system automatically puts the car in Comfort mode, but that’s not a bad thing: The more measured throttle mapping allows for easier modulation.

The sprint from zero to 60 mph takes less than five seconds, BMW says; top speed is governed at 155 mph.

Flogging this compact hatch on country roads is pure bliss.

The engine sings an artificially enhanced but beautiful song, passing maneuvers are handled effortlessly, and the shifter offers endearingly short throws.

The M135i’s performance shifter arrived with a recent update that also saw engine output climb from 315 to 322 horsepower.

For all of its sporting qualities, the M135i is a fine longdistance cruiser, as well. With its different driving modes, it can act as an especially wellbehaved compact, benefitting from the stiff architecture and the comfort features that are shared with BMW’s more upscale offerings.

BMW, of course, is particularly proud of its telematics and

connectivity systems. The 1-series is a prime example of what the future has in store: It’s fitted with a SIM card and, Tesla-like, can receive instant online system updates from BMW. Taking BMW’s smallest sports cars one step closer to the bahnstorming new M2 coupe, all three models score an extra 10kW of power and 50Nm of torque.

That brings the maximum outputs of the newly-named M240i Coupe and Convertible, and the M140i five-door hatch (the three-door isn’t sold here),

Ford recalls over 48,000 EcoSport SUVs in India

A

t least 48,700 units of Ford Motor Company’s EcoSport compact sports

utility vehicle were recalled in India to fix faulty fuel and brake lines and rear folding seats, the

automaker said Friday.

Ford India Private Ltd. said in a statement that a total of

48,000 EcoSport diesel vehicles made between April 2013 and June 2014 were being recalled.

It stated that the vehicles were being recalled to install a new bundle clip on the fuel and brake lines. ``Another 700 EcoSport vehicles fitted with a 60/40 rear folding seat, made between January and February 2016, were also being recalled.

“On certain vehicles, the 40-per-cent rear seat backrest might have been assembled with bolts that do not meet Ford’s material specification, potentially causing the bolts to break,” it said.

The company said there had been no customer complaints, accidents or injuries as a result of these concerns.

Launched in 2013 in India, Ford EcoSport is the automaker’s best-selling car in the country. BC

to 250kW at 5500rpm and no less than 500Nm between 1500 and 4500rpm — the same as the BMW 1 Series M Coupe built between 2011 and 2012.

For reference, the same twinscroll turbocharged 3.0-litre inline six-cylinder N55 engine in the M2 produces 272kW – just 22kW more – and 465Nm, which is actually 35Nm less.

The architecturally-similar twin-turbo S55 engine in the M3 and M4, meantime, offers 317kW/550Nm. Despite the extra power, which BMW says results in 0-100km/h acceleration that’s 0.3 seconds quicker than before, all three models are claimed to use up to seven per cent less fuel on Europe’s NEDC combined cycle.

In Europe, all four rear-wheel drive models are available with both six-speed manual and eight-speed automatic transmissions, and even the option of BMW xDrive intelligent all-wheel drive. Currently the M135i five-door and the twodoor M235i are available only in auto form.

The M140i hatch and M240i coupe now hit 100km/h in a claimed 4.6 seconds (auto) and 4.8 seconds (manual), with xDrive versions even quicker at 4.4 seconds. At the same time, fuel consumption falls to 7.8L/100km (manual), 7.4L/100km (AWD) and 7.1L/100km (auto).

The M240i Convertible is onetenth slower in all guises, and consumes 8.3L/100km (manual), 7.8L/100km (AWD) and 7.4L/100km (auto). BC

Monday, May 23, 2016

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

33

Law & Justice nationalmirrorlaw@yahoo.com

‘’I think we did our best to maintain the tradition of discipline, the tradition of diligence at the Supreme Court’’-

- Justice Emmanuel Ayoola, retired Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria

Industrial action: Labour must follow due procedures —SANs, others

xx

FG should develop national strategy to elevate provision of Legal Aid —Ayorinde 34

How Police Constable, Eze Ibe, killed two brothers 37

Would-be IS bride jailed for terror tweets 38

As the interim order restraining the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) from going ahead with their planned strike to protest the hike in price of petrol lapses tomorrow, the parties to the action are obviously ready for an engaging legal tussle on the issue writes WALE IGBINTADE.

NLC President, Ayuba Wabba

AGF, Abubakar Malami (SAN)

B

asically, the right of workers to embark strike is protected by the National Labour Relations Act (NLRA). However, not all strikes are deemed legal.

This is because, whether a strike is lawful depends on the purpose of the strike and whether the collective bargaining agreement includes a “no-strike” clause.

Last week, the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) and its counterpart , the Trade Union Congress (TUC) passed a joint resolution to embark on an indefinite strike unless the Federal Government reverses the its decision to increase fuel price.

But few hours before the commencement of the strike, the Federal Government through the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister for Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami (SAN), rushed to the National Industrial Court (NIC), Abuja with an ex-parte application seeking for an order of interlocutory injunction restraining

The labour had noT complied wiTh The laid down procedure for declaring a sTrike and had noT given The governmenT noTice of The plan To go on sTrike.

the respondents (NLC/TUC) from embarking on industrial action pending the determination of the originating summons.

The AGF also asked for an order of interlocutory injunction retraining the labour unions from demonstration or engaging in any act that may disrupt the economic activities of the nation pending the determination of the originating summons.

In an affidavit filed in support the motion, the AGF submitted “that if the planned strike is allowed to go on, the Federal, State and Local Government will lose revenue worth bil-

lions of Naira, thereby causing untold hardship and ‎unimaginable security problems/challenges across the country.”

The AGF also said that the labour had not complied with the laid down procedure for declaring a strike and had ‎not given the government notice of the plan to go on strike adding that government merely became aware of the plan through publication in the media.

Malami insisted that the FG had no issue or disagreement with labour concerning the welfare or rights or

condition of service with the different industrial unions and trade union congresses affiliated to NLC to warrant the threats to proceed on strike or causing a breakdown of law and order in the country.

The minister‎ asked the court to determine: ‘’whether the respondents (NLC, Trade Union Congress) have complied with the laid down condition precedent for embarking on strike‎ and ‘’whether indeed there exist in law and in fact the basis of which the respondents’ total closure of the economy can be CONTINUED ON PAGE 36

34

Law & Justice

Monday, May 23, 2016

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

FG should develop national strategy to Chief Bolaji Ayorinde, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) has 30 years’ post-call experience. A former ProChancellor /Chairman, Governing Council, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Oyo State and the current Chairman Legal Aid Council, in this interview with WALE IGBINTADE speaks on the appointment of SANs and the activities of the Legal Aid Council among others. Excerpts: It is a common practice in the United Kingdom to appoint Queen’s Counsel to the Bench but that is not the case in Nigeria? How will you react to this trend?

It is not compulsory but most QCs aspire to judgeship. In England by the time you take up appointment at the Bench, you find out that a lot of Queen Counsel attains the rank of QC between the ages of 40 and 45, so before they are 50 years old they would have practiced sufficiently at the highest level and they are willing to go to the Bench. The Bench will offer them a full career of another 25 years.

They are sure of a decent pension and in most cases, a knighthood from the Queen. So, it’s somewhere where they go for security after being in private practice but, there are still very high numbers of Queen’s Counsel that stay in private practice and don’t go to the Bench but it’s a natural flow.

Do you think most senior advocates want to go to the Bench?

I think it will change and the reason why that will change is the increase in numbers of Senior Advocates being appointed. In England, they could appoint every year sometimes 80 Queen’s Counsel, sometimes 60. Now, you can’t have 60 or 50 QCs running up and down the whole country every year. So, the Bench is a natural place for them to flow into.

Because, we still have restrictive appointment into the rank of Senior Advocate in Nigeria, the Bench is not a natural place to flow to but, if we increase the number, you will find out that SAN will begin to gravitate towards the Bench and the suggestion has been on for quite sometimes to encourage silks to take up judicial appointments.

The talk has always been restricted to getting them into the Supreme Court. I have always advocated that it should be open, it does not really have to be the Supreme Court, if you’re interested in the Bench you could still find your way to the Court of Appeal or even the High Court or the Federal High Court or even the National Industrial Court because these are places where most of the judicial decisions are going on day in, day out. These are places they really need your skills. A seasoned Senior Advocate sitting as a High Court judge has nothing new that will surprise him or her.

So, he takes the case and makes life easier for the appellate court or the apex court when the matter gets there.

As Chairman of the Legal Aid Council, what will be your recommendation to improve access to justice for the deprived in the society?

It is all about political will and allocation of

Ayorinde

The inabiliTy To access legal aid and supporT is The main cause of prison congesTion by awaiTing Trial persons resources. Politically, we must have a strong policy direction from the Attorney General of the Federation. The Attorneys General of the states will naturally take a cue from this direction. The policy direction must elevate Legal Aid to the level of a fundamental right of deserving citizens. It must not be seen as charity for the poor but a fundamental right.

We will then see a situation whereby Legal Aid becomes a must have. Unfortunately, the issue of Legal Aid was not even a campaign issue at the last elections.

However, the Government can still develop a national strategy that elevates the provision of Legal Aid to its rightful place. You cannot imagine the mileage that the Government and Nigerians will acquire from the legal progression. As for resources, even in these austere times, resources could be better allocated.

Once the structure is supported, more than half of the funding needed can be provided outside government and government will still get the credit. At this point the Attorney General of the Federation will do well to set up a high-powered committee comprising of all stakeholders to put together a national strat-

egy to improve on the current system. Such a committee will take advantage of both local and international contributions. I had the advantage of looking at the existing system in England and Wales. I was also privileged to be exposed to what some other African countries have been able to achieve. A comprehensive national strategy must include all Legal Aid service providers who may not even be lawyers, such as paralegals but who have sufficient training to assist indigent people with direction as to access to the justice system. It can only be achieved with a determined leadership from the Ministry of Justice.

What are the challenges facing the council?

I knew from the onset that the tenure was short and with the help of a very diligent management team led by the Director- General, we decided to raise the profile of the Legal Aid Council. Our yearly lectures and seminars touched on topics that exposed the all-important functions of the Council and its usefulness to the society at large. We embarked on a programme in collaboration

with the Bar to make pro bono work attractive to lawyers not only for the purpose of meeting set targets for qualification for the award of the rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria. We created Legal Aid Council partner firms. This work begun all during my tenure as Chairman. The LAC partner firms were to assist the Council with pro bono work. Being a Legal Aid Council partner firm was to be like a badge of honour for any law firm or establishment. They were to be allowed to use our crest in their offices and even on their stationeries. This is in line with international best practices. It would therefore be a great advantage for any law firm or organisation to have a relationship with the Council. Local and International clients hold such firms in very high esteem because of this status.

However, this innovation needs to be properly or adequately captured in a national strategy.

This innovation and many others need to be institutionalised. For continuity pro-bono work must be regulated so it is not abused.

The Legal Aid Council is well placed to do this but it must be backed up by deliberate political support. It must also be supported by stakeholders outside the Council. Regulation and thereafter monitoring of pro-bono work is very important. Constant review and improvement of the system is also important.

What will you suggest as solution to decongest the prison?

Our Prisons are over-crowded and underfunded. This makes nonsense of rehabilitation of offenders by the penal system. There

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Law & Justice

Monday, May 23, 2016

35

elevate provision of Legal Aid —Ayorinde are so many forms of custodial sentencing that we have not exploited. We have suggested in the past, daytime custody for certain lesser offenders who can report at detention centres during the period of the sentence. They could be made to do community work during the period. The consequences of absconding will be made grave. We need to produce sentencing guidelines for both the lower Courts and the Superior Courts of Record. We need to look at the fundamentals of our plea bargain regime and rules so that everyone understands the parameters. The inability to access legal aid and support is the main cause of prison congestion by awaiting trial persons. We suggested many reforms. No police station should keep any arrested person for 24 hours without access to a lawyer. Where an arrested or detained person does not have a lawyer, it should be the additional duty of the police to ensure that contact is made with the nearest Legal Aid Service provider. This duty must be documented as the Courts must enquire before any trial commences whether such persons were given access to counsel or whether counsel from a Legal Aid provider such as the LAC or Public Defender office was invited. In fact, the failure to do this ought to constitute a strong ground for a dismissal of the charges.

This is how you elevate Legal Aid to the status of a fundamental right.

What role should lawyers play in the battle against corruption in Nigeria?

Lawyers have always played a significant role in the fight against corruption. Now, there is a difference in fighting corrupt persons and fighting institutionalised corruption. In the fight against corrupt persons, you must ensure due process is strictly followed.

As the state brings down its full might on the defendants, the defendants must be allowed to also vigorously defend themselves. This is good for the integrity of the process. It is not the job of any lawyer to aid corruption but it is the duty of a retained counsel to put forward all legitimate defences. The system should be allowed to work properly and we should have fewer trials by the media.

These could even lead to a distraction from the main work of the prosecutors. With regards to institutionalised corruption, we need a total restructuring of the polity. There must be fairness and equity in the system. A

perception of unfairness weakens the system. Where the law does not apply equally to all, then the people raise all manner of excuses for their prosecution. They scream about persecution and we all get distracted. Corruption in the structure of our polity stems from the absence of checks in the system of governance. No executive office holder should have control over disbursements of favour or money. What we run now is governments of contracts. It should never be so. We marvel when we see in other climes how government officials even though respected, never have scores of people hanging around them like we do here. The answer is simple. Those leaders do not have the powers to dispense favour or public money. Once campaigns and elections are over, promises should become policies and the process of contracting, implementation, monitoring and remuneration must never be under the control of government officials. There are independent procurement agencies to do this worldwide.

They will have a professional reputation to maintain. Ministers and Governors will not be under pressure to satisfy their hangers-on because they will not have the capacity to disburse funds and favours. You will see that if we achieve this, only people with competing ideas will move near elective offices. There should never be unaccounted funds. Nothing like security votes. It amazes me how our leaders have so much control over public funds. It should never be so. This affects the systemic fight against corruption. We are too busy looking for and dreaming about Messiahs and Saints to rule us. Take access to public funds away from governors and you will find the right people. Water will find its level as they say. When it is so hard to take public funds then anyone who dares will be severely punished by the law.

What urgent steps can be taken by the government to improve the state of the country’s judiciary?

Again this is about not applying resources properly by Government. Law and order is most paramount in any civilised society.

Everything revolves around law and order.

The economy, social behaviour, everything you can think of. The physical structures in most courts are crumbling. This is a minus for litigants and lawyers. The Judicial system

Ayorinde

Once campaigns and electiOns are Over, prOmises shOuld becOme pOlicies and the prOcess Of cOntracting, implementatiOn, mOnitOring and remuneratiOn must never be under the cOntrOl Of gOvernment Officials. must not only be free of corruption, it must encourage confidence in the end users including foreign investors. In England, courts are structured to give users confidence. It is a deliberate system. Justice must be visible, it must be respected. This cannot be so where Court halls are of a poor standard. A lot of work needs to be done in the construction and maintenance of our Court buildings.

The Justices of the Supreme Court have been criticised by certain members of the Bar with regards to the judgments they delivered in some electoral appeals. What does it portend for our democracy when the apex court comes openly under criticism? The Supreme Court is the highest Court in the land. Lawyers rarely agree as to interpretation of the law. Criticism may come by way of intellectual discourse of decisions and this can even be documented in journals for continuing education. However, it is wrong for any lawyer to be disrespectful of the Supreme Court or indeed any Court. I have read one or two comments and I must say that they were in bad taste. Lawyers should restrict themselves to an intellectual analysis of the decisions without being disrespectful. Ours is a noble profession of very high ethical standards, behaviour and demeanour.

There has been suggestion that interlocutory appeals should be concluded at the Court of Appeal. What is your opinion on this?

I agree that our laws need to be amended to restrict the type of cases that go all the way to the Supreme Court. However, this calls for constitutional amendments. Delays have been greatly reduced by the front loading process introduced in the High Courts. We still

need to do more. We should be able to predict with some degree of accuracy the period of litigation. This is a question that most litigants will ask you. In particular, foreign clients are very pessimistic about litigation in Nigerian Courts. This is negative for the foreign investment drive in the country. I have advocated that trial dates once given ought to be sacrosanct. This now happens to a large extent in criminal matters under the Administrative Criminal Justice Act. A similar provision must be introduced in civil litigation.

This will improve the time spent at the trial stage. Again Judges must have the courage to make reports to the Legal Practitioners’ Disciplinary Committee regarding any counsel who fails to appear in Court without any reasonable excuse or who persists in filing unreasonable application to delay cases. This is done routinely in England. Laws on Educational Standards and provisions for Educational Institutions appear to be given more attention today, but Nigerian universities do not seem to reflect global best practices.

How would you react to the conflicting judgments emanating from the various Courts of Appeals?

You remember that a group of leading lawyers representing INEC held a press conference on this issue. They were very clear as to the interpretation of the decisions of the Supreme Court. There was no controversy.

INEC needs to be fiercely independent so as to maintain the trust and confidence of Nigerians. Nigerians are very conscious of their electoral rights now. The Supreme Court has made significant pronouncements and that is the law today.

36

Law & Justice

Monday, May 23, 2016

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

‘FG, NLC, TUC should sit on roundtable to resolve issues’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 33 justified’’.

Ruling on the application, the President of the court, Justice Babatunde Adejumo gave the restraining order after the Attorney -General of the Federation moved an ex-parte application.

In his ruling, Justice Adejumo declared that “It is the order of this court that none of the parties shall engage in any act, conduct, overtly, covertly on this matter pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice,” Justice Adejumo held: “The defendants are hereby restrained from carrying out the threat contained in their communiqué issued on May 14th pending the hearing and determination of the ‎motion on notice filed on May 16. It is the order of this court that none of the parties shall engage in any act, conduct, overtly, covertly on this matter pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice,” However, despite the court verdict, the NLC vowed to go ahead with its planned strike, but the TUC obviously opted out. The Ayuba Wabba-led NLC was reported to have told reporters at the end of marathon meeting with the representatives of the FG led by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation Babachir David Lawal that the labour body was going on with its planned indefinite industrial action.

But since it is within the rights of labour to go strike, can the court take away that right from the labour?

Speaking on the issue, Chief Gani Adetola-Kaseem (SAN) said ‘’It is one of the roles of the court to adjudicate on labour disputes. If a union decided to embark on strike, the employer can approach the court to restrain the strike action until the issues are determined.

Adetola-Kaseem

Adelodun

It Is wIthIn the rIghts of labour to go strIke and nobody can take that rIght from labour. but, there could be Instances where the court wIll feel that the strIke Is not justIfIed. Don’t forget that it is a national issue, even if there is a subsisting strike, the court can asked the unions to suspend it until the case is determined’’.

According to him, ‘’ the rights of workers to embark on strike is not at large, if it is at large then; it means that nothing can be done to cure it. Employers also have the right to abort the strike and one of the means is to approach the court’’. ‘’The National Industrial Court is within its jurisdiction to entertain such application

Bar

Jokes

The devil’s offer The devil visited a lawyer’s office and made him an offer. “I can arrange some things for you,” the devil said. “I’ll increase your income five-fold. Your partners will love you; your clients will respect you; you’ll have four months of vacation each year and live to be a hundred. All I require in return is that your wife’s soul, your children’s souls, and their children’s souls rot in hell for eternity.”

The lawyer thought for a moment. “What’s the catch?” he asked.

Talk to the judge A judge, bored and frustrated by a lawyer’s tedious arguments, had made numerous rulings to speed the trial along. The attorney had bristled at the judge’s orders, and their tempers grew hot. Finally, frustrated with another repetition of arguments he had heard many times before, the judge pointed to his ear and said, “Counselor, you should be aware that at this point, what you are saying is just going in one ear and out the other.”

“Your honour,” replied the lawyer, “That goes without saying. What is there to prevent it?”

What is the oldest profession?

A physician, an engineer, and an attorney were discussing who among them belonged to the oldest of the three professions represented. The physician said, “Remember,

brought by the AGF, so the other parties will have the opportunity to also express their position on why the strike ought to go on. It would be wrong for NLC not to obey court’s order. There must be rule of law otherwise there will be chaos in the society’’.

Another lawyer, Alhaji Adebayo Adelodun (SAN) said ‘’my take on the issue is that labour has not exhausted all peaceful efforts before resulting to go on strike. I think the strike is uncalled-for. As far as the court intervention is concerned, the constitution has

on the sixth day God took a rib from Adam and fashioned Eve, making him the first surgeon. Therefore, medicine is the oldest profession.”

The engineer replied, “But, before that, God created the heavens and earth from chaos and confusion, and thus he was the first engineer. Therefore, engineering is an older profession than medicine.”

Then, the lawyer spoke up. “Yes,” he said, “But who do you think created all of the chaos and confusion?”

Brainless Lawyers In a murder trial, the defense attorney was cross-examining the coroner: “Before you signed the death certificate, did you take the pulse, listen to the heart or check for breathing?”

“No.” “So, when you signed the death certificate, you weren’t sure the man was dead, were you?”

“Well, the man’s brain was in a jar on my desk, but I suppose he could have still been practicing law for a living.

Frozen crabs A lawyer boarded an airplane in New Orleans with a box of frozen crabs and asked a blonde stewardess to take care of them for him.

She took the box and promised to put it in the crew’s refrigerator. He advised her that he was holding her personally responsible for them staying frozen, mentioning in a very haughty manner that he was a lawyer, and proceeded to rant at her about what would happen if she let them thaw out.

Needless to say, she was annoyed by his behavior. Shortly before landing in New York, she used the intercom to announce to the entire cabin, “Would the lawyer who gave me the crabs in New Orleans, please raise your hand.”

Not one hand went up . . . . so she took them home and ate them.

Culled from Bar jokes.com

graded the National Industrial Court with the power to adjudicate on any labour or contractrelated disputes, so if the Attorney-General of the Federation approaches the court and the court has deemed it fit to issue an interim injunction, it would be wrong for anybody including labour to disobey the order of court.

Labour has a duty as a responsible organisation to go to the court and lay bare its own case. It is within the rights of labour to go strike and nobody can take that right from labour. But, there could be instances where the court will feel that the strike is not justified’’.

Speaking in the same vein, Dr Tunji Abayomi said ‘’Industrial action must follow certain procedures. Again, there is the question, whether this type of industrial action is within duty of a Trade Union? This is because the first duty of a Trade Union is the welfare of workers. But, Trade Unions in Nigeria are becoming more and more political. We elected a government to govern us for good or for bad and the Trade Union is neither elected or mandated or authorised by law to monitor on our behalf the choices of that government. So, apart from legitimacy under law, there is also the organic duty. But whether that organic duty covers the tendency of Trade Union that we see in the country is another thing entirely.

I raised this issue during Obasanjo’s regime when the NLC led by Adams Oshiomhole was leading so called protest. I think there is need for the court to give us some clarity as to the duties of Trade Unions under the Trade Union Act’’.

But former secretary, Nigerian Bar Association (NLC), Lagos branch, Mr. Ike Uko said ‘’the point is labour is free to exercise its rights to ask for better working conditions and I think labour is not likely to abide by the ex-parte order. They are likely to go on strike if they have made up their minds. It is a ritual that we are used to. The AGF should be talk-

LEGAL TIPS Right of Police to search people The Search of the person When a Police Officer makes a lawful arrest, he also has power to search the body of the person so arrested. However, he should not abuse this power. *Note that in searching the body of a woman, the search shall be carried out by another woman.

The Search of premises *Usually before any premises is/are searched, there must be a search warrant, authorising the search. If not, such search will be unlawful. *A search warrant may be issued on any day including Sunday or a public holiday. *A Magistrate or judge has the authority to issue a search warrant. *By Section 109(1) of the Criminal Procedure Act (CPA), Section 76(1) Crimi-

Bar

nal Procedure Code (CPC) , a superior police officer also has the authority but only in certain circumstances , (a ) namely when the thing to be recovered from the premises searched is a stolen property ; (b) The premises have been, within the preceding 12 months, in the occupation of any person who has been convicted of receiving stolen property or of habouring thieves or any offence punishable by imprisonment. *Although the law in Nigeria empowers law enforcement agents to conduct search and seizure in the performance of their respective functions, it should be noted that this power is not absolute.

Written by Francis Famoroti, Head, Judiciary. We welcome feedback and reactions from readers via our e-mail: franfamoroti@yahoo.com or nationalmirrorlaw@yahoo. com

Jokes

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Law & Justice

Monday, May 23, 2016

37

How Police Constable, Eze Ibe, killed two brothers FAMOUS CASES

W

hen the traders in Anikantamo Square of Lagos Island in the state opened their shops in the early hours of November 17, 1987, they were unaware that tragedy was in the offing.

They had hardly settled down with their trading activities when a fracas arose between a traffic warden, Owugo Ogali, and some motorists in the area.

In the process, the traffic warden was allegedly beaten up by the motorists. Another traffic warden, Sebastian Duru, who witnessed the incident quickly ran to Adeniji- Adele Police Station in Lagos and lodged a complaint.

Following the report made by Duru, instructed Police Corporal Nelson Ogunmola to accompany Duru to the Idumagbo junction on Lagos Island where the traffic warden was being beaten.

As Ogunmola was about to move to the scene in a car brought by Duru, a mobile police constable, Eze Ibe and another mobile policeman joined him.

When they got to the scene they saw a crowd of people but the violence that led Duru to make a complaint at the police station had abated.

Ogunmola saw the traffic warden who was beaten by the motorists. While he was talking to him, Ibe went into a different direction of the crowd. The police constable jumped over a gutter and got hold of a trader, Sule Dawodu and dragged him into the road. Saka Dawodu approached him and begged to let his brother go. The police constable ordered Saka to go away.

As soon as Saka turned his back to walk away, Ibe shot him dead. He then shot Sule too. The policeman was said to have fired two more shots at the scene.

According to the evidence adduced at the trial court, the police constable began waving his gun from side to side in a threatening manner and the crowd scampered for safety, including policemen and traffic wardens.

Ogunmola rushed in a taxi cab back to Adeniji Adele station to report his experience at the Idumagbo junction.

During the course of narration of the incident, Ibe resurfaced at the station and Ogunmola immediately identified him as the policeman who fired his gun at the scene of the killing.

He was arrested and disarmed. Shortly thereafter, the dead bodies of the two brothers were brought to the police station by a crowd of people.

The corpses were then moved to the Lagos General Hospital and later buried by their family according to Moslem rites.

Ibe was subsequently charged with two counts for the alleged murder of the two brothers. He was arraigned before

About twenty nine years ago, a Police constable, Eze Ibe killed two brothers, Sule and Saka Dawodu in Anikantamo Square of central Lagos. The policeman was charged with murder at a Lagos High Court and was convicted. He appealed against his conviction, which was quashed FRANCIS FAMOROTI, Head, Judiciary writes.

Muhammadu Gambo Jimeta, the then IGP

At the triAl, ibe

Bode Rhodes-Vivour, the then DPP, Lagos State

pleAded

AccidentAl dischArge of his rifle As A result of the struggle for possession of his rifle between him And some people in the crowd.

Justice Olaseinde Silva of the Lagos High Court for the offence contrary to s.

319(1) of the Criminal Code Cap 31, Laws of Lagos State.

At the trial, he pleaded accidental discharge of his rifle as a result of the struggle for possession of his rifle between him and some people in the crowd.

He testified that it was during the struggle that the gun exploded and killed the deceased persons after the bullet had brushed his neck.

But the prosecution contended that the accused was on a frolic of his own at the material time of the alleged murder and could not be said to have committed the offence in the course of his employment.

After the hearing, Justice Silva in his judgment found Ibe guilty of murder, convicted him accordingly and sen-

tenced him to death by hanging as prescribed by the criminal law.

Ibe appealed against his conviction and sentence at the Court of Appeal, Lagos.

Chief Milton Owhovoriole (SAN) led two others for Ibe while the then state Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Bode Rhodes-Vivour, appeared for the State cited as the respondent.

Delivering the lead judgment of the appellate court, Justice Eugene Ubaezonu affirmed the decision of the lower court and rejected the defence of accidental discharge canvassed by the appellant.

The judge said the issue of whether the appellant committed the alleged offence in the course of his employment or when he was on a frolic of his own was new to him the realm of criminal law.

He said’’ it makes no difference wheth-

er the appellant was acting in the course of his employment or on a frolic of his own. The principle of vicarious liability is unknown to the criminal law’’.

The appeal court affirmed the decision of the lower court and dismissed the appeal. Justices Ibrahim Sulu-Gambari and Niki Tobi, who equally served on the panel concurred with the lead verdict and dismissed the appeal.

In his concurring verdict, Justice Tobi made the resounding remarks as follows: ‘’One of the functions of the Police in this country, and indeed in any democracy, is the protection of the citizen and the prevention of crime. It is therefore paradoxical that the appellant, a police officer, instead of assisting in the dispersal of the crowd and arresting the suspects, took the uncouth and irregular action of killing the Dawodu brothers. There is evidence that after the gun shot, the appellant waved his rifle from side to side.

This was an apparent show of ‘victory’ in a situation where there was no ‘war’ between the deceased persons and the appellant.’’

Dissatisfied further, he filed an appeal at the Supreme Court, which eventually quashed his conviction. The apex court eventually commuted his death sentence to jail term.

38

Law & Justice

Monday, May 23, 2016

Uganda’s opposition leader to remain in detention till June 1 ganda’s main oppo-

U

sition figure Kizza Besigye has been ordered detained until June 1 on charges of treason, a judicial official said, days after he was accused of unlawfully declaring himself president.

Reuters says that Besigye lost to veteran leader Yoweri Museveni in presidential elections in February, but said the vote had been rigged. He was detained last week, then charged on Friday with being sworn in as president in a mock ceremony, a charge sheet showed.

The conduct of the election and treatment of opponents has drawn criticism from Western donors, who also value Uganda as an ally in the fight against Islamist militants. Ugandan troops are part of an African force battling al Shabaab in Somalia.

The opposition has staged sporadic protests since the vote, leading to clashes with police and dozens of arrests.

“He appeared (on Wednesday) and the treason charges were freshly read to him again. He was thereafter remanded,” Solomon Muyita, spokesman for Uganda’s judiciary, told Reuters.

He is expected to return to court on June 1, Muyita added.

Besigye, a perennial loser to Museveni, has been detained many times over the years. He was also charged with treason in 2005.

If found guilty, Besigye

UGANDA

Ugandan Opposition leader, Kizza Besigye could face the death penalty, although Uganda has not carried out an execution in years.

His lawyer, Moses Byamugisha, and allies said Besigye appeared without legal representation and said he was taken to court ahead of schedule early in the morning before being swiftly returned to Luzira maximum security prison near Kampala.

A government spokesman denied any such tactic.

Museveni was named winner of the election with 60 percent of the vote while Besigye came second with 35 percent.

The government denied charges that the election was rigged. But European Union monitors said the poll was carried out in an intimidating atmosphere orchestrated by state actors.

The United States has voiced concern about the harassment of opposition figures.

Court gunman’s widow dies three months into life jail sentence

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he widow of a man who killed his former daughter-in-law at a Delaware courthouse has died behind bars while serving a life sentence on federal cyberstalking charges.

According to Associated Press (AP), The Bureau of Prisons website says seventy-one-year-old Lenore Matusiewicz died May 6. Her brother, Tom Kula, said that he was notified of her death May 7.

An emergency sentencing was held for Matusiewicz in February as she lay gravely

USA ill at a Philadelphia hospital.

Matusiewicz, son David and daughter Amy Gonzalez were all sentenced to life in prison after being convicted of conspiracy and cyberstalking resulting in the 2013 death of David’s ex-wife, Christine Belford.

Thomas Matusiewicz fatally shot Belford and a friend as they arrived for a child support hearing. He then traded gunfire with police before killing himself.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Would-be IS bride jailed Court for terror tweets

A

woman who said she wanted to marry “Jihadi John” has been jailed for four years and six months for sharing so-called Islamic State propaganda.

Zafreen Khadam, 32, was found guilty of 10 counts of disseminating terrorist publications after a trial at Sheffield Crown Court.

She shared links to execution videos and terrorist magazines online under usernames such as PrincessKuffar.

Prosecutors said Khadam, of Vincent Road, Sheffield, had “glorified” IS. Barrister Simon Davis told jurors Khadam at one stage described Kuwaitiborn Mohammed Emwazi nicknamed Jihadi John - as “kind of scary” but said she

ENGLAND

Khadam “would marry him”.

He told the court she set up 14 Twitter accounts and used Whatsapp to share videos, including one showing the beheading of Kurdish fighters and another of a Jordanian pilot being burned alive.

She also shared links to seven issues of “terrorist publication” Dabiq and a

speech entitled What is Terrorism?.

Mr Davis said: “The prosecution case is that this defendant was disseminating terrorist information or propaganda, or spreading the word.

“Our case is that her intention was to encourage people to commit, prepare or instigate acts of terror.”

Kahdam, who worked as a make-up artist, told the court she had become interested in IS after reading an article about a footballer who had gone to join the group.

She told the court: “It was always about understanding them. I never supported them in my heart. It was an act.”

Detective chief Supt Clive Wain, head of the

North East Counter Terrorism Unit, said it was clear Khadam “openly demonstrated support for Daesh and their ideology”.

He said that during the investigation police reviewed hundreds of hours of videos and about 20,000 social media postings.

He said that officers were concerned that had she not been arrested, she may have attempted to travel to Syria.

He said: “Khadam has not disputed posting the information, claiming she did so out of curiosity and the belief that she did not consider it to be terrorist material.

“Yet this material glorified terrorism and delivered powerful messages, encouraging terrorist acts and calling upon others to kill.”

Briton in kidnap plot in Beirut denied bail

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British “child recovery specialist” who allegedly led a plot to kidnap two Lebanese-Australian children in Beirut in the midst of a custody dispute has been denied bail.

The Guardian says Adam Whittington, who investigators allege was paid $A115,000 (£57,300) by Australia’s Nine Network to orchestrate the kidnapping, will remain in jail pending the referral of the case to trial, the source said.

Whittington is jailed in a suburb of Beirut along with Craig Michael, a British-Cypriot accomplice, and two Lebanese men who

AUSTRALIA allegedly carried out the actual kidnapping.

The children were snatched last month while they waited for their school bus with their grandmother. Their father, Ali al-Amin, had taken them to Lebanon and refused to bring them back to Australia, where their mother, Sally Faulkner, lived.

Faulkner was approached by Nine Network, who offered to pay Whittington’s fee in exchange for filming the operation in Beirut, investigators say. After the children were kidnapped they

Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull were to be taken to Australia.

Both Faulkner and the Nine Network crew, including anchor Tara Brown, were granted bail and released last month after a

custody agreement was reached between Faulkner and Amin.

Whittington has remained in jail, and his family has accused Nine Network of abandoning the man, a former Scotland Yard detective, after securing deals to free their own crew.

The source said Judge Rami Abdullah, who was tasked with investigating the case, was likely to conclude his investigation on Thursday and refer the case to Lebanon’s prosecutor general, in preparation for issuing a formal indictment that paves the way for a trial.

2011 shooting: Ex-Police officer charged with murder

A

former St. Louis police officer was ordered held without bond Monday after being charged with firstdegree murder in a 2011 shooting of a 24-year-old man after a chase.

Associated Press says St. Louis Circuit Attorney Jennifer Joyce said in a statement that Jason Stockley was on duty when he first fired at Anthony Lamar Smith after police say Stockley witnessed a drug deal. Joyce alleges that during an ensuing pursuit of Smith’s car at speeds exceeding 80 mph, Stockley can be

USA

heard on his in-car video telling his partner he was “going to kill this [expletive], don’t you know it.”After Stockley and his partner in their police sport utility vehicle forced Smith’s car to stop, prosecutors allege, Shockley approached Smith’s car and fired five times into its driver’s side, striking Smith with each round and killing him Lab tests showed that a gun found in Smith’s vehicle had Stockley’s DNA on it, Joyce said, suggesting that Smith

was unarmed. A judge on Monday ordered Stockley held without bond, and he was in custody in the Houston area, where he now lives.

Online court records don’t show whether Stockley has an attorney. Joyce said he left the St. Louis police force in 2013.Smith’s death came less than three years before a white police officer in the suburb of Ferguson fatally shot black 18-year-old Michael Brown, who was unarmed in August 2014, enflaming tensions between police and minorities and stoking the “Black Lives Matter”

movement. Activists as late as last month were pressing for charges against Stockley, who is white, in the death of Smith, who was black.

Federal prosecutors who reviewed the circumstances of Smith’s death at the request of St. Louis police declined in 2012 to charge Stockley.

But in March, Joyce said her office gave the matter a fresh look, given unspecified “additional evidence” developed by St. Louis police and the FBI.Joyce said she plans to present the case to a grand jury in coming weeks, adding that the U.S. Justice Department also is reviewing the matter.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Law & Justice

Monday, May 23, 2016 2016

Redefining liability under law and frivolous petitions bill Ayokunle Akinpelu

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he use of technology as a means of communication is undoubtedly ascertaining the freedom of expression as enshrined in sec. 39 (1) Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFRN) 1999 3rd Alteration. The right to the expression of opinions is inclusive of the right to receive and impart ideas and information without any form of interference. The constitution in order to ensure the practicability of this right, provides that everyone is entitled to own, establish and operate any medium for the dissemination of information, ideas and opinions provided that the certain requirements are met for the ownership of television or wireless broadcasting station. The right to freedom of expression is however not an exclusive right but that which has been qualified by common law principles of libel and defamation. Succinctly, a right to the freedom of expression is not liberty to defame and publish false denigrating statements about others. Technological advancement especially the advert of the social media has created new platforms for the freedom of expression has enshrined in the constitution. Unfortunately, while the right to freedom of expression is being promoted by the use of various social media platforms, there is an increasing trend for the publication of libellous and defamatory statements across the internet. It is against the backdrop of this phenomenon that it becomes crucial that an examination of the liability regime of libel is considered especially with the intention of the upper legislative house to prescribe the “Frivolous Petition Bill” which has now been dubbed “Anti-Social Media Bill” by the populace.

Nigeria as a sovereign state is entitled to make it own laws free from the influence of any other state. However, while a sovereign state is free to make its own laws, internationalization as a feature of the internet makes it extremely difficult to define internet liability within the territorial borders of a state. The internet is a world without borders, where anonymity and multi-jurisdictionality makes it difficult for national laws to function without international cooperation. Publication of defamatory statement need not to have been published within the state borders of an injured party before it becomes accessible. While the “Frivolous Petition Bill” is an attempt to codify the challenges arising from the use of the internet as a medium of expression, it may nevertheless not be the best approach to solving the challenge.

The bill seeks to criminalise maliciously made statements on social media sites as well as requiring an oath before any petition can be submitted against any person for the purpose investigation and inquest.

Particularly, governmental agencies cannot receive petitions or complaints without any supporting affidavit. The bill if properly passed into law would be valid, that which must be enforced by the execu-

One ObviOus defect with the frivOlOus PetitiOns bill is the failure tO take

intO cOnsideratiOn that the internet PrOvides fOr new actOrs that were absent frOm the traditiOnal methOd Of PublicatiOn. tive and interpreted by the court vis-a-vis other laws. While there are no questions on the authority of the upper legislative house to make laws for the governance of the country, such laws should not constitute an administrative encumbrance on the executive. Assuredly, it is easy to get anyone arrested within Nigeria when the proposed law is breached, but how enforceable is the law at the international level, when the alleged wrong-doer cannot be arrested without international collaboration? Does the proposed law also cover complaints made to security agencies for the commission of crimes and infractions on laws? Would it invariably be the case, that security agencies would not be able to conduct investigations on reported crimes without obtaining an oath from the compliant? While there are no contentions about the need for the creation of new regulations within the digital environment for libels and defamation, the new legal order need not criminalise such conduct to arrive at an effective legislation.

One obvious defect with the Frivolous Petitions Bill is the failure to take into consideration that the internet provides for new actors that were absent from the traditional method of publication. The bill has rightly provided that persons who breach the proposed law should be held liable as provided for under the principles of criminal justice but the challenge with the provision is that communication made on the internet is anonymous and coupled with the global challenge of cat-fishing (online impersonation). Identification of the wrong-doer therefore becomes an arduous challenge to the victim while apprehension is almost impossible for the security agencies. As regards enforcement at the international level, except for few states that do not place premium on the right to freedom of expression, most states has not criminalised this type of breach, hence persons outside Nigeria would never be held liable when they breach this law; no justice for the state, no justice for the victim once the wrong-doer is not within the territorial border of the Nigerian State.

Assuming but not conceding the ob-

vious challenges outlined above are not present, the Frivolous Petition Bill in itself would still have to contend with the Sec. 39 (CFRN) 1999 3rd Alteration. The Constitution provides exclusively for the right to the freedom of expression, while also creating exceptions where necessary.

The requirement of the bill as provided seems to negate the provisions of the Constitution and subject to the interpretation of the courts, it may not stand. Sec. 1 (3) (CFRN) 1999 3rd Alteration provides that any law which contradicts the provisions of the Constitution is to the extent of it contradiction void and the provisions of the Constitution shall prevail. Certain provisions of the proposed law, especially the requisition of an affidavit and/or criminalization of publication made without an affidavit are seemingly a contradiction of the letters and the spirit of Sec. 39 (CFRN) 1999 3rd Alteration, and may be declared void by the court.

In arriving at a regulation that would be effective, it is crucial that the new actors in the digital environment be considered and responsibilities be created to effectively curtail the new challenges created by the use of technology for information dissemination. The new actors in the digital environment are the internet service providers and the website owners. Internet service providers depending on the type of service provided can be used to effectively curtail the excesses of persons who maliciously abuse the right to freedom of expression as enshrined in the constitution. Website owners who also provide platforms for comments and message posting can also be held responsible as a check to the abusive use of the internet, especially with the publication of defamatory statements. Creating of liabilities for third parties such as internet service providers and website owners is premised on the fact that they can take down such defamatory statements and on the other hand they pass on data to the sites where the defamatory statements can be accessed. Within the European legal framework, service providers are not out-rightly liable for the defamatory statements published

39

on the internet by some other persons; they only become liable upon receiving notice of the defamatory statement and a refusal to take such notice down.

Hence, the underlining principle within the European jurisdiction is “Notice and Take-down”. While in the United States of America, the Communication and Decency Act governs internet liability for defamatory statements. The provisions of the Act allows for service providers to be able to remove contents which in their opinion are abusive and obscene.

Both jurisdictions by their legal framework have effectively protected the right to freedom of expression but at the same time checked the abusive use of the internet to defame other persons.

Crucially, under the legal framework of both jurisdictions, an injured party is not viewed as a victim for whom the state obtains justice. An injured party, who has been defamed, is entitled to bring a civil action against the service providers and/or the website owner under the legal principle of secondary liability and where the wrong-doer is ascertainable, against the wrong-doer as well. Rather than criminalization which is a chill on the right to freedom of expression, the European Court of Justice within the European Union expanded the jurisdiction for which a Court can assume jurisdiction in order to appropriately cater for defamatory liability in the digital age. According to European Court of Justice established judicial precedents, an injured party can file a suit in the court with jurisdiction where the publisher resides or carries on his trade; in all jurisdictions where publication was distributed and in the state where the injured party’s aggregate interest lies. However, while the adjudicating court in a jurisdiction where the publisher resides or carries on his trade and/or the injured party’s aggregate of interest lies, such an adjudicating court shall have the right to award damages in respect of all the liabilities.

But, where the injured party sues in jurisdictions where the publication was distributed, then the adjudicating court shall only award damages in respect of the damages arising from that state.

While, there are no guarantee that defamatory statements would still not be published on the internet, criminalization of such publication would be encumbering the criminal justice system.

Expanding the liabilities of new digital actors would be creation of new rights and liabilities that adequately cater for the damages suffered by an injured party from the defamatory statement, while at the same time not constituting an administrative encumbrance on the executive who are responsible for the implementation of the law. Redefining of liability for defamatory publication in a digital era need not have a chill on the right to freedom of expression, as expressed in the Frivolous Publication Bill.

Akinpelu, Nigerian lawyer writes from Netherlands.

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Monday, May 23, 2016

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Community Mirror It seems to me the time has come for us to re-examine the legal and constitutional framework for policing in Nigeria.

– SPEAKER HOUSE OF REPS, HON. YAKUBU DOGARA

RRS nabs phone thieves, recover 65 mobile phones Dare akogun

O

peratives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS)of Lagos State Police Command, have arrested a burglar, a phone dealer and 9 phone users over 65 stolen phones valued at N2.5 million, which were carted away at a burgled shop in Ogba area of the State .

The suspected burglar, one Musa Abdullah, 30, who hails from Kano, was arrested on Friday at Abattoir Agege along with a phone dealer over stolen 65 phones belonging to one Nelson Mendie, a phone seller in Ogba, Ikeja.

Nelson had lodged a complaint at Ogba Police Station, that his shop was burgled and 65 mobile phones were taken from his shop leaving behind all the phones packs and their accessories.

According to Nelson, “After reporting the case, someone told me that Rapid Response Squad is very good at tracking lost phones and cars. I just picked up what he said because there was no suspect” “I reported the case to RRS on Thursday last week. I gave them some of the phone packs. On Friday, they invited me to their office to come and see the suspects.

I saw 15 of my stolen phones. I am very surprised. But as it is now, I want my money back because

those who bought the phones have been using them,” he added.

In his confessional statement, the suspected burglar said that he broke the shop’s locks and burglary with a stick.

According to him,” I broke into the shop around 1:30 a.m. I took all the phones . I left the phones packs with accessories in order to make carrying the phones easier for me. I sold all the phones at Railway Line Market, Agege for N150, 000:00, “ he confessed.

The buyer of the stolen phones, Yusuf Ibrahim, stated that he bought 15 phones with no accessories from Musa for N150, 000:00.

“The phones are very expensive phones. Some of the phones cost nothing less than N75, 000:00 each. I sold the phones to 15 people because I sell second hand goods. I regretted buying the phones from him”, he said.

Confirming the arrest of the suspects, the acting Police Public Relations Officer, (PPRO), in Lagos State, DSP Damasus Ozoani, stated that the force is on its guard and poised to rid the state of criminals.

The suspects have been transferred to Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) for further investigations and prosecutionm.

T

he Lagos State chairman of Medical and Health workers Union of Nigeria, MHWUN, Comrade Issah Attah has called on the Federal Government to increase the worker’s salary as proposed by the labour union because the situation on ground against the backdrop of the hike in pump price of petroleum has put untold hardship on the Nigerians workers.

Attah who disclosed this yesterday in Lagos at the MHWUN State Secretariat, Ojuelegba at a press conference noted that the effect of the recently increased pump price of petrol has hit the workers like a thunderbolt,“therefore required an urgent incentive like increase in workers’ wages in order to cushion the effect.

According to him, “MHWUN is in line with the Comrade Ayuba Wabba led Nigeria Labour Congress, adding that no matter the ploy used by the Federal Government to break the rank and file of the union by using divide and rule method will not be acceptable in any form.

“We are resolute, determine and ready to defend the right of the Nigerians workers to the end, no matter any method used by the government to divide us.

Let the power that be listen to all our grievances as tabled by Wabba”, he said.

He lamented that any time

there was increase in pump price; it was the workers that feel the impact more because they usually have a fixed salary that cannot be easily adjusted according to the cost of goods in the market.

“The Federal government cannot run away from dialogue with the labour union at a time like this so that the plight of the Nigerian workers can be addressed and necessary step taking to ameliorate the precarious situation,” he added.

R

The suspects Musa Abdullah and Yusuf Ibrahim, with the stolen phones

Epe youths benefit from Reps member empowerment scheme Dare akogun

N

o fewer than 129 youths have benefited from a vocational training initiated by the lawmaker representing the Epe Federal Constituency in the Federal House of Representatives, Abuja, Mr Wale Raji, that would make them self-reliant.

This was was the disclosed by the lawmaker during his first constituency town hall meeting held at Epe over the weekend.

Hon. Raji while speaking at the event dislosed that the initiative tagged “Hon Wale Raji Youth Empowerment Scheme” (YES) is his response to checking the high rate of youth unemployment in Nigeria.

“The rate of youth unemployment at 40 per cent is worrisome, more so as youths account for 70 per cent of our population. If 40 per cent of 70 per cent are unemployed, it calls for concern of everyone.

Ketu residents commend Lagos govt, police on security abolaji aDebayo

Health workers advises government to alleviate workers hardship ebere nDukwu

Amongst the 15 phones recovered so far include; 2 Samsung Galaxy Cone (G355 H), 2 Samsung Galaxy Tab 4, Microsoft Lumia 430, Tecno Phantom A3, Infinix Joypad 8, 2 Infinix Note 2, 3 Infinix Hot, Infinix Hot Note, Nokia 225, 2 g Five Z.

“I am aware of the high rate of unemployment in Epe, Eredo Local Council Development Area and Ikosi-Ejirin LCDA. I am of the opinion that we should do something to support the government. That is why we are having this talk with LASTVEB on skills acquisition,” he said.

Hon. Raji disclosed that a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Lagos State Technical and Vocational Education Board (LASTVEB) to train the youths in technical and vocational trades “About 134 youths started the training which includes barbing/ hair dressing, masonry, electrical installation, shoe making, mobile phones repair, painting, photography and vulcanizing.

“They also gain entrepreneurial/financial training, health and safety and project management skills by undergoing a three months rigourous training out of which 129 graduated. The graduation ceremony is slated for next month where each graduands

will be presented with a little start up capital in order for them to put the training to judicious use,” he added.

In his remarks the Arolugbade Elepe II, the Oloja of Epe Kingdom His Royal Majesty, Oba Kamorudeen Ishola Animashaun who was filled with joy praised Raji for the initiative aimed at preparing youths for opportunities that would come when the state government implements its master plan of massive development for Epe. “If you have seen the master plan for Lagos, Epe is the new Lagos. We don’t want to sit and wait for development to happen.

We want to start identifying and training young people for opportunities coming. That is why this collaboration is dear to our hearts,” he said.

He praised Raji for being the first House of Reps member to initiate such programme and the town hall meeting which he described as a first of its kind.

esidents of Ketu area of Lagos have commended the Lagos Command of Nigeria Police Force, and the Lagos State government for their efforts towards restoring peace and unity in Ketu and its environs.

In a statement yesterday, the Public Relations Officer of Community Development Committee, Ketu, Mr Jamiu Babatunde commended the newly transferred Division Police Officer, DPO, CSP Aniefiok Wilson Akpan for his resilience in combating traffic theft and robbery within the community.

He said the residents were always amazed with the attitude of CSP Akpan for taking his time despite tight schedule to control traffic in Ketu area in order to ease gridlock and ensure free flow traffics.

Babatunde, on behalf of the community residents, also commended the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase as well as the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, Mr. Fatai Owoseni for considering posting a workaholic and dedicated DPO to Ketu in order to curb the activities of hoodlums who engaged in terrorizing the community.

He said since the DPO was transferred to the area, the community has been witnessing peace and tranquility while hoodlums have chased out of the area thereby bringing the desired calm to the community.

He particularly commended the Lagos State Government for its timely intervention in the recent face off between the Hausa and the Yoruba at Mile 12 market in the State.

41

Monday, May 23, 2016

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

World News

I honestly think Donald Trump deserves our respect for making it through the US election primaries as he has done.

–BRITISH PRIME MINISTER, DAVID CAMERON

Austria presidential vote: Run-off race too close to call AfolAbi GAmbAri

WITH AGENCY REPORT

Norbert Hofer (left) is up against Alexander Van der Bellen, who has the support of the Greens. board for Freedom Party success in the next parliamentary elections, scheduled for 2018.

The presidents of the European Commission and the European Parliament, Jean-Claude Juncker and Martin Schulz, have both expressed concern

over a Hofer victory.

Austria is faced with a stark choice for its head of state: a Green Party professor, Alexander Van der Bellen, or Norbert Hofer of the far-right Freedom Party - a soft-spoken, charismatic gun enthusiast who won

Taliban leader killed in U.S. drone strike

T

he United States has killed the leader of the Afghan Taliban in an air strike in a remote border area just inside Pakistan, Afghanistan said on Sunday, in an attack likely to dash any immediate prospect for peace talks.

The death of Mullah Akhtar Mansour could trigger a battle for succession and deepen fractures that emerged in the insur-

gent movement after the death of its founder, Mullah Mohammad Omar, was confirmed last year, more than two years after he died.

Mansour assumed the leadership in July 2015, replacing Taliban founder and spiritual head Mullah Mohammad Omar.

Saturday’s strike, which U.S. officials said was authorised

by President Barack Obama

and included multiple drones, showed the United States was prepared to go after the Taliban leadership in Pakistan, which the Western-backed government in Kabul has repeatedly accused of sheltering the insurgents.

It also underscored the belief among U.S. commanders that under Mansour’s leadership, the Taliban have grown increasing close to militant groups like

Russia may use force on cease-fire violators in Syria

R

ussia on Monday warned the United States that it will start responding unilaterally to cease-fire violations in Syria if the U.S. refuses to coordinate rules of engagement against viola-

Mobilization forces chant slogans against the Islamic State group

Austria concert: Deadly gun rampage in Nenzing A gunman has opened fire at a concert, killing two people before shooting himself dead, police in the in Austrian town of Nenzing say.

Eleven other people were injured after the man opened fire at about 03:00 local time (01:00 GMT).

The man, 27, had earlier reportedly argued with a woman in a car park.

He went to his car to get the gun and appeared to shoot randomly at a crowd of about 150 at the concert, hosted by a motorcycle club.

The man then returned to the car park where he killed himself.

State broadcaster ORF said the weapon appeared to be a rifle.

Some of those injured are said to be in a serious condition.

P

artial results in Austria’s run-off presidential election, which pitches the far right against an independent, suggest it is too close to call.

Norbert Hofer of the Freedom Party and Alexander Van der Bellen were each on 50%, with 94% of the vote counted.

For the first time since World War Two, both the main centrist parties were knocked out in the first round.

A key issue in the campaign was Europe’s migrant crisis, which has seen asylum-seeker numbers soar.

About 90,000 people claimed asylum in Austria last year, equivalent to about 1% of the Austrian population, and the Freedom Party ran an anti-immigration campaign.

The presidency is a largely ceremonial post, but a Hofer victory could be the spring-

WORLD BULLETIN

tors. The U.S. State Department insisted that Moscow and Washington were working constructively to monitor the truce and warned Russia against taking unilateral action.

The Russian military has accused the U.S. of dragging its feet on responding to Moscow’s proposals on rules for joint monitoring of the Syria cease-fire and response to violations. It said that further delays are leading to civilian casualties.

Lt. Gen. Sergei Rudskoi of the Russian General Staff said in a statement on Monday that if the U.S. fails to respond to its proposals on a joint response, the Russian military

will have to start unilaterally using force against those who break the cease-fire, starting Tuesday.

The Russian Foreign Ministry issued a separate but similar statement.

In Washington, State Department spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. and Russia were working together to collect and analyze information about cease-fire violations, and that any unilateral Russian action to punish transgressors goes against “the spirit of the cessation of hostilities.”

“There has been coordination,” Kirby told reporters, saying these matters “continue to be discussed in a constructive manner.” But

a decisive victory in the first round of voting in April.

Support for the Freedom Party has risen because of deep frustration with the established parties and, more recently, because of fears about the migrant crisis. al Qaeda, posing a direct threat to U.S. security.

A wreckage he said no action has been taken against truce violators thus far.

“Our expectation is that Russia will refrain from unilateral actions,” Kirby stressed, saying the cessation of hostilities is holding despite some breaches. There is “no reason for anybody to say that there needs to be unilateral action taken.”

In Geneva, the U.N. special envoy for Syria, whose office is helping monitor cease-fire violations in Syria, said he was “extremely supportive” of U.S. and Russian cooperation to help bolster a peace process for the war-torn country.

Staffan de Mistura pointed to the unprecedented “operation center” that is designed to help the two powers’ military and civilian experts to “cooperate in containing the crisis.”

Kang Sok Ju, North Korea diplomat in Nuclear Talks, dies at 76 Kang Sok Ju, who led North Korea’s talks with the United States over the Asian country’s nuclear-weapons program for most of the last quarter century, has died of cancer. He was 76.

Kang, who served as North Korea’s first vice minister for the foreign ministry and vice premier of the cabinet, died of esophageal cancer on May 20, the official Korean Central News Agency reported. As the chief negotiator for Pyongyang, Kang attended the talks with the United States in the early 1990s to freeze the regime’s nuclear arms programs, according to South Korea’s Unification Ministry. Kang couldn’t be actively involved in the latest diplomatic issues for North Korea because of health problems.

White House on lockdown after report of nearby shooting Law enforcement officers shot a man who brandished a gun near the White House over the weekend while President Barack Obama was out golfing, and the man was taken to hospital in critical condition, officials and witnesses said.

The Secret Service, which protects the president, briefly locked down the White House as a precaution, and Vice President Joe Biden was secured within the White House complex during the lockdown, a White House spokeswoman said.

The shooting took place just off 17th and E streets, near what is known as the South Lawn outside the executive mansion, which serves as the home and offices of the president.

42

North

Monday, May 23, 2016

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Bello declares war on kidnappers WALE IBRAHIM, LOKOJA

W

orried by the spate of abductions in Kogi State, Governor Yahaya Bello has declared total war on kidnappers and cultists that have laid siege on the state, warning them to steer clear or be crushed.

The governor, who gave the warning at the weekend in Lokoja following the kidnapping of a traditional ruler of Ellete Community, Aminu Ahmed Aku in Ajaokua Local Government Area of the state by yet-to-be identified gunmen.

The monarch was reportedly kidnapped by suspected hoodlums along Ajaokuta- Lokoja road while coming from Adogo, headquarters of the local government area at about 9p.m. on Friday.

Bello, while receiving the sad news, expressed optimism that the situation would soon change given his efforts to re-

duce crime rate in the state.

He vowed to ensure that those behind the recent dastardly acts are fished out and made to face the full weight of the law.

He said the kidnapping of the monarch ranked among the high profile cases of such acts in a very short time.

The governor further disclosed that he has donated 12 operational vehicles to law enforcement agencies in the state to help them combat crimes.

He also urged the security agencies to step up action by embarking on aggressive manhunt for the criminals, who he said had constituted themselves into a threat to life, peace and security of the state through kidnapping and cultism.

The governor equally charged the community leaders in the state to close ranks with one another by being vigilant and report any suspicious activities to law enforcement agencies in

Judicial officers regain freedom in Kogi WALE IBRAHIM, LOKOJA

K

idnapped Area Court judge, Mr. Timothy Salihu, and former Inspector of Area courts, Alhaji Aliyu Okeme, have regained their freedom from their abductors.

A statement signed by the Public Relation Officer of Kogi State High Court, Mr Saqeeb Saeed, which copy was made available to newsmen in Lokoja yesterday, stated that the two judicial officers have been released.

Saeed explained that the duo was released about 3p.m. on Saturday around Itobe in Eastern Senatorial District of the state.

According to him, Salihu is an Area Court officer but served as member of Upper Area Court in Idah, while Okeme is a retired Inspector of Courts now in private practice as a lawyer.

The two judicial officers were on Thursday kidnapped by yet-to-be identified gunmen and taken to

unknown destination.

Police public relations officer, Mr. Willy Aya, confirmed the release of the kidnapped duo from their captors yesterday.

their areas.

It would be recalled that the state was almost run over by kidnappers

last year till early this year.

Immediately after his inauguration on Janu-

ary 27, the governor swung into action to reduce the crime rate through effective mobil-

L-R: Secretary, Yobe State SUBEB, Bukar Dapchi; Mr.Mohammed Amin Hassan and the Permanent Secretary, Yobe State Ministry of Education, Grema Modu, receiving from the Head, Government and Community Relations, Etisalat Nigeria, Mohammed Suley-Yusuf, Back-to-School kits donated by Etisalat Nigeria to primary schools in Damaturu recently.

NGO earmarks N20m for Borno IDPs non-gover nmental organisation, Peace Rehabilitation and Reconciliation Initiative, PRRI, has earmarked N20 million for assisting Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, who are returning to their liberated communities in

Borno State.

The money, which would be used to empower about 1,000 IDPs, is to provide relief materials along with the disbursement of N10 million cash, where each IDP is entitled to N10,000 and a bag of maize.

Flagging off the distribution and disbursement at the weekend, Executive Secretary of PRRI, Dr. Sam

Ode, former Minister of Niger Delta, said the first phase distribution of 250 bags of maize along with a cash transfer of N10,000 gesture for farming IDPs in camps, is a continuous process targeting 1,000 beneficiaries across the North East region, especially Borno.

His words: “To demonstrate our love and concern

The bridge project is one of the 32-road contracts awarded in October 2012 by Yakowa, but was abandoned.

National Mirror gathered that after the governor died in an ill-fated helicopter crash near Nembe, Bayelsa State on December 2012, most of the roads contracts, including that of RomiKaratudu-Kakau, were abandoned by the successive government of Ramalan Yero.

Chatting with the site engineer, Joseph Onche, he said completion of the 190 metres bridge project, which is part of the six kilometres Romi-KaraduKakau Yakowa road project, was made possible by

Governor el-Rufai, who “mobilised us contractors back to site.”

Onche said: “We returned to site November 2015 after Governor el-Rufai checked the work and saw that there was need to complete the work. I think he understood the importance of the road to people of area.

“Since then, his government has been responding well, as to making the payments.

“We returned to site November last year and

by February we completed it for use.”

While pointing out that failure to release funds by the former Governor Yero’s administration stalled completion of the

project, he noted: “Even at that, we were still on site trying to work, with hope that the government then would consider us for payment, which never came.”

One of the Karatudu residents, Sati Habila Shok, narrated the hardship they faced when the bridge and road was abandoned, saying the completion of the bridge has made movement and transportation easy.

“We used to pass through Goni-Gora, when we had to go to Romi, which is a stone-throw from here. This is because the makeshift iron bridge was damaged by last year’s flood. We can’t thank elRufai enough for completing the bridge,” he said.

InusA ndAHI, MAiduguri

A

Residents elated as el-Rufai completes Romi-Karatudu bridge

A zA MsuE, KAdunA

K

aduna State governor, Nasir el-Rufai, has completed one of the abandoned projects, the Romi-Karatudu killer bridge awarded by the immediate past administration of late Patrick Yakowa, after years of neglect.

The bridge had killed about three school children crossing to Romi.

Some of the residents, who spoke with our correspondent who was on assessment tour in the area, commended el-Rufai and the contractor, TigerCat Construction Company, for completing the bridge this February.

isation of security agencies in the state, in a bid for them to take drastic and positive measures.

to IDPs in Borno camps, before they return to their communities, these relief materials along with a cash transfer of N10,000 each to the displaced persons, is the beginning of our humanitarian assistance and intervention.

“Besides these direct cash transfers, we are also going to train youths in various skills and trades; so that they become self-reliant and employed. This training commences in two weeks.”

He said details of the selection and screening for the take-off of the skills acquisition training programme, was being worked out in conjunction with the various States Emergency Management Agencies, SEMAs, in the North-East.

Executive Chairman of SEMA, Ahmed Satomi, at the flagging off said the NGO led by Ode has exhibited real commitment and concern for the plight of Borno IDPs in camps.

He however noted with concern that out of the 21 former ministers including the serving Minister of Power State, Mustapha Baba Shehuri, all from Borno, Ode has surpassed them with “real committed humanitarian interventions and assistance” to IDPs in the state.

Monday, May 23, 2016

Mourinho is best man for Man U job- Neville

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

43

Sport

I am looking forward to the forthcoming Olympics and if I am invited, I will do my best to make a meaningful contribution – Iwobi

47

Joseph Yobo in action for Nigeria

Testimonial Game: Infantino writes Pinnick, congratulates Yobo F

ootball’s world governing body, FIFA, has congratulated former Nigeria captain Joseph Yobo for his service to the beautiful game, ahead of his testimonial game coming up

on Friday, 27th May 2016 in Port Harcourt.

Reacting to a letter from the NFF informing the world body about the coming event, FIFA, in a letter personally signed by

its President, Gianni Infantino and addressed to NFF President Amaju Pinnick, said.

“Many thanks for your letter dated 17 May 2016 and inform-

Flying Eagles arrives today

T

Nwakali all came close to puthe victorious Nigeria ting Nigeria in the lead in the U-20 squad to Saturday’s first half, but failed.

2017 Africa U-20 Cup Defensive midfielder Chukof Nations qualifying match wudi Agor scored the match’s against Burundi in Bujumbura only goal in the 68th minute will return to the country on as the Flying Eagles, made up today, aboard an Ethiopian Airlargely of last year’s FIFA U-17 line flight from Addis Ababa.

World Cup champiCoach Emmanuel ons, dominated in Amuneke led the Flyall aspects. ing Eagles to a 1-0 The secwin over the Young ond half Swallows of Bubelonged rundi in a second to the Flyround, first leg ing Eagles. qualifier at the Nwakali Stade Prince and ChukLouis Rwagasow u e z e re. were imKingsley Mipressive chael, Samuel with some Chukwueze and neat dribbles Amuneke captain Kelechi

and runs and their efforts finally paid off as Chukwudi Agor capitalized on good work by the duo and sold a dummy before unleashing a grounder from the edge of the box that sailed into the opponents’ net for the only goal of the match. The score line stood that way at full time and gave the few Nigerians present at the stadium cause to celebrate. The second leg will take place at the UJ Esuene Stadium, Calabar on Saturday, 11th June at the UJ Esuene Stadium, with the overall winners setting up a clash with Sudan for a place at the final tournament in Zambia next year.

Nigeria is the defending champions having won the continental crown a record seven times.

ing us of the testimonial match in honour of former international player and Nigeria Captain Joseph Yobo.

“On this occasion, allow me to congratulate and send my best wishes to Joseph Yobo for his future activities.”

The testimonial which will be played at the Adokie Amiesiamaka Stadium, Port Harcourt is expected to attract some of the World best footballers and former team mates of Yobo in the Super Eagles.

Some of the players expected to be part of the match such as John Terry, Didier Drogba and Samuel Eto’o are expected to storm Nigeria on Thursday in honour of Yobo.

Among some of his team mates expected to play in the game is former Super Eagles goalkeeper and captain, Vincent Enyeama and striker Emmanuel Emenike of West Ham who are set to don the colours of Nigeria again in his honour.

Enyeama who threw in the towel last year after having issue with former Eagles Head

Coach, Sunday Oliseh, has already announced that he will wear his gloves again play for the Nigerian team against Yobo’s friends.

And to show how importance the NFF attaches to the game and respect for the former national team captain, it has released Super Eagles’ skipper John Mikel Obi and his assistant, Ahmed Musa to honour Yobo in Friday’s testimonial game, leaving them out of the international friendly with Mali in France on the same day.

Joseph Yobo represented Nigeria at both U-20 and senior levels, captaining the Super Eagles at the 2010 and 2014 FIFA World Cups and featuring in six Africa Cup of Nations finals. He won 100 caps for the senior team, with his last match being the FIFA World Cup Round of 16 defeat by France in Brasilia in 2014.

His testimonial game will feature a “Team Joseph Yobo” (comprising of Super Eagles’ players of Yobo’s generation and a Rest of The World squad.

44

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Banks and the general public take note.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as AKPOR OVIE ISIOMA, now wish to be known and addressed as OKONYE ISIOMA. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as Miss Nwosu Joy Chika, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Akinyemi Joy Chika. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I formerly known as Miss Regina Ifenayinwa Okafor now to be known and addressed as Mrs Regina Ifunanya Okafor Okeke. All former documents remain valid, general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

YOHANA: I, formerly known, called and addressed as YOHANA ZAKARIYA WULUSHA, now wish to be known, called and addressed as YOHANA ZAKARIYA YARIMA. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

OGOCHUKWU: I, formerly known and addressed OGOCHUKWU ONWUHA DAVID, now wish to be known and addressed as ONWUHA METE DAVID. All former documents remain valid.

Banks and general public should please take note.

CORRECTION OF NAME

This is to inform the general public that my name OZOAGU CALISTUS AMANDI, was wrongly written in my account but now wish to be corrected and addressed as OZOAGU CALISTUS AMAUCHE. All former documents remain valid. Banks and general public should please take note CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as NNAMDI NNEKA BLESSING, now wish to be known and addressed as NNADI NNEKA BLESSING. All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as OGUNBANWO ELIZABETH ADEBUSOLA, now wish to be known and addressed as FATOLA ELIZABETH ADEBUSOLA. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I formerly known and addressed as Miss Akande Hannah Oluwakemi now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Robinson-Ighalo Hannah Oluwakemi. All former documents remain valid. General public to please note.

CHANGE OF NAME

GLORIA: Formerly known as AMAKA CHUKWU now wish to be known and addressed as GLORIA UZOAMAKA CHUKWU. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME/CORRECTION OF DATE OF BIRTH

FESTUS: Formerly known and addressed as FESTUS CHINEDU now wish to be known and addressed as OKPARA CHINEDU. My date of birth was wrongly written as 16 /07/ 1994 instead of 16 /07/1987. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as YUSUF JAMIU AKOREDE, now wish to be known and addressed as ATANDA JAMIU AKOREDE. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

AYO: Formerly known and addressed as AYO TAJUDEEN now wish to be known and addressed as AINA TAJUDEEN ADISA. All former documents remain valid. General public take note

CHANGE OF NAME

We Formerly known and addressed as MISS. ODUMBO ADENIKE ESTHER, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. OPAYEMI ADENIKE ESTHER. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as Adewunmi Serifat Adeyinka, now wish to be known and addressed as Folawiyo Serifat Adeyinka. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I formerly known and as Hammed Tayo Ajibola now to be addressed as Hammed Abimbola Yusuf. All former documents remain valid, general public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I FORMERLY KNOWN AS MISS GANIYU TAIWO JULIANA NOW WISH TO BE KNOWN,CALLED AND ADDRESSED AS MRS OKEDIJI TAIWO JULIANA ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID GENERAL PUBLIC TAKE NOTE. CHANGE OF NAME

OHANWOKO: I, formerly known and addressed as MISS OHANWOKO JOSEPHINE EKWUTOSI, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS CHUKWU JOSEPHINE EKWUTOSI. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I formerly known and addressed as JOY OBIAGELI NWOKOLO now wish to be known and addressed as JOY OBIAGELI NWOKOLO –OJO. All former documents remain valid.

Benue State University (BSU) Makurdi and general public should take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

OBICHUKWU: I formerly known and addressed as CHINYERE BLESSING UZOETUE, now wish to be known and addressed as CHINYERE BLESSING OBICHUKWU. All former documents remains valid, the general public please take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME

This is to confirm that am the same person bearing ADEOGUN YAKUBU TUNJI and ADEOGUN YAKUBU OGUNTUNJI. All former documents remain valid.

General public take CHANGE OF NAME

I , AJALA JIPEREDIN, female is also known as AGALA JIPELEDIN. That both AJALA JIPEREDIN and AGALA JIPELEDIN is the same person, that I want my BVN to read AJALA JIPEREDIN. All formers documents remain valid. General public please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

I WAS FORMERLY KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS NAMA RABIU BARAU YARO, AT UNITY BANK AND ANOTHER ACCOUNT AT FIRST BANK WITH ABDULLAHI RABIU YARO. BUT NOW CHANGE TO RABIU BARAU YARO. ALL MY RELEVANT DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. FIRST BANK AND UNITY BANK. GENERAL PUBLIC SHOULD TAKE NOTE. CHANGE OF NAME

UWALAKA: Formerly known and addressed as Uwalaka Phoebe Nkechi now wish to be known and addressed as Nwahiri Phoebe Nkechi . All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

CHANGE OF NAME

PETER: Formerly known and addressed as PETER AKOH BENEDICT now wish to be known and addressed as PETER JOHN . All former documents remain valid.

General public take note CHANGE OF NAME

Formerly known and addressed as BOLANE LYDIA ABORISADE now wish to be known and addressed as BOLANLE LYDIA BELLO. All former documents remain valid. General public take note

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

News

Monday, May 23, 2016

Navy can contain maritime crimes –CNS

C

hief of Naval Staff, CNS, Vice Admiral Ibok Ibas, said Nigerian Navy has in its 60 years of existence developed capacity to address Nigeria’s maritime crimes and related threats.

Ibas stated this at an interdenominational church service for Nigerian Navy’s diamond jubilee in Abuja yesterday.

The CNS said the navy has developed capacity both in platforms and requisite expertise to secure the nation’s oil infrastructure and contain piracy in Nigeria’s maritime territory.

“Over the years, commendable successes have been made by the Nigerian Navy to build its capacity to discharge its duties as enshrined in the laws.

“These efforts have made the navy to be less-dependent on foreign sources for partnership as reflected in the modest achievement of local construction of boats or seaward defence platforms.

“Over time, these investments have fully been justified, more importantly in the navy’s policing role of the maritime-based national resources,” he said.

Ibas said the navy has grown in the past 60 years from a modest force of 25 men to over 25,000 men and women, and from nine assorted boats to over 200 platforms.

He added that the navy’s diamond jubilee would showcase what the force has achieved over the years, partly, to guide the younger

generation of officers and ratings in their future engagements.

The CNS urged officers and men of the force to be more dedicated to their duties in order to justify government’s huge investment in the navy so far.

Ibas identified the resurgence of militancy and the high rate of piracy in Nigeria’s maritime territory as some of the challenges confronting the navy and urged government to improve funding of the force.

Lt.-Cdr. Robert Oparaji, the acting Director of Roman Catholic Chaplaincy, Nigerian Navy, in a sermon, urged officers and men to rededicate to servig the nation.

He said tasks assigned to the Nigerian navy would hardly be achieved if of-

ficers and men relax in the discharge of their responsibilities.

“As the country battles insurgency in the North East and militancy in the Niger Delta, soldiers and officers must strive to be more committed in their duties.

“This demands a disciplined mind, discipline in ethos and total discipline in our operations because that is the only way that we will be able to effectively fulfill our mandate,’’ he said.

Oparaji urged leaders at all levels to be sincere and prudent in the management of the little resources allocated to them.

He said their leadership of the various institutions should inspire improved dedication and commitment in their subordinates.

The climax of the service

was a special thanksgiving led by the CNS and accompanied by his wife, representatives of the service chiefs and other senior officers.

In a related the development, Defence and Police Officers’ Wives Association, DEPOWA, held a thanksgiving service to mark the end of its 2016 week celebration.

President of DEPOWA, Mrs. Omobolanle Olonisakin, urged wives of officers and men of the armed forces to rededicate their families to God as their husbands confront security threats in the country.

She said the prayers of the women and their children remained key in the successes recorded by the men in the various conflict theatres across the country.

Olonisakin pledged the association’s continued sup-

Fuel strike: UniAbuja issues ‘no work, no pay’ warning to ASUU, others Regina OtOkpa

F

ollowing the recent industrial action undertaken by the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, management of the University of Abuja has threatened to enforce the ‘no work no pay’ directive by the Federal Government on any staff who joins in the strike.

A statement released over the weekend from the office of the vice chancellor, Professor Michael Adikwu, called on staff of the institution, especially members of

the local branch of Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities, ASUU, Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, SSANU and Non-Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities, NASU, who opted to join the Ayuba Wabba-led faction of the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, to resume duties.

The statement further urged the striking workers to take into cognisance the wider support the Federal Government is enjoying on the deregulation policy from majority of Nigerians who are not in support of the ongoing strike and return to

work.

The statement reads: “While we appreciate the reasons adduced by a faction of labour for going into the strike and considering the fact that concerted efforts are being made by government and all concerned to address the issues, we call on our staff on sympathy strike to resume work immediately in order to sustain the tremendous progress we have jointly made so far in stabilising the institution.

“We may be forced to comply with government directive on the strike if they fail to heed this appeal.’’

Pastor gives 32 cars, money to celebrate birthday

S

enior pastor of Champions Royal Assembly, Kubwa, Abuja, Joshua Iginla, yesterday, gave out 32 cars out of which were 16 SUVs to celebrate his birthday.

Iginla also gave out money running into several millions of naira to the aged, widows, orphanage homes and scholarships to orphans from nursery to university level.

News Agency of Nigeria reports that six Nollywood actors and actresses got Hummer jeep 3 series, Mercedes G-Wagon and Mercedes CLS 550.

They included Jide Kosoko, Francis Duru,

Alex Usifo, Ngozi Osondu, Thelma Nwosu and Sunday Omobolanle, popularly known as Babaluwe.

Artisans got generators and cash gifts while the widows got deep freezers, rice and cash gifts ranging from N150,000 to N1.5 million.

Treasure Orphanage Foundation, Nyanya, Divine Wound Orphanage, Kubwa and Christ Home Foundation, Kuje, got N1.5 million each and rice while some orphans in the homes were awarded scholarships from nursery to university.

Iginla said he has 782 widows and orphans he caters for. ``It doesn’t matter to

me if I trek home as I have given even the car that I personally drive. ``I can only drive one car and live in one house at a time. This understanding is what has taught me that when I die, others will inherit my assets. ``The beauty of life is not in its duration but its donation. I have not seen some of the beneficiaries before in my life or spoken to them. ``I’m seeing many of them for the first time today.

I am seeing Jide Kosoko for the first time,” he said.

Iginla also said he gave cars to the Nollywood actors because many of them are poor but that people er-

roneously think they are rich.

According to him, the fruit of the Nollywood artistes are being reaped by pirates.

He therefore challenged government to do something to arrest the situation. ``The Nollywood actors and actresses are our ambassadors; they have projected the image of this country positively,” he said.

Kosoko who confirmed he was meeting Iginla for the first time, commended him for his philanthropy.

Iginla had, in 2015, given 18 cars and millions of naira as birthday gifts to people to celebrate his birthday.

port to the families of deceased officers and men of the armed forces.

45

CHANGE OF NAME

FOLAMI: Formerly known and addressed as Folami Muritala O. now wish to be known and addressed as Folami Muritala Olaonipekun.

All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

PUBLIC NOTICE

COMMON GROUND FOR COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION The public is hereby notified that the above named Organisation has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under part ‘C’ of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, of 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Mohammad Ahmad Ibrahim 2. Lukman Siji Sadiq 3. Umar Isa 4. Sani Umar 5. Yusuf Muhammad Sani AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE: 1. To provide assistance to the needy and the poor in the community 2. To provide assistance to the orphans and widows living in poverty Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the Registrar-General Corporate Affairs Commission, plot 420 Tigris Crescent off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days of this publication SIGNED: SECRETARY

PUBLIC NOTICE

REACH THE REST CHRISTIAN MISSION This is to inform the general public that the above named has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission Abuja, for registration under part “C” of the Companies and allied Matters Decree 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. REVEREND OLARINRE JAMES OLAWALE- PRESIDENT 2. REVEREND OLATUNJI JOHNSON OLUSOLA 3. REVEREND ABIOLA OLUFEMI OMOLADE 4 MR. OGUNTONA BENSON OLUWAGBEMIGA 5 MR. ADEJUMO JOHN ABIODUN - SECRETARY 6 MR. OLAPADE ADEMOLA JOHN - TREASURER AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE : 1. To proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ especially to the unreached people.

2. To mobilize and motivate planters and missionaries with both materials and spiritual resources for the great commission 3 To provide support to the less privileged such as motherless babies homes as the Lord provides Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the Registrar-General Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420 Tigris Crescent off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days from the date of this publication SIGNED : TRUSTEES

PUBLIC NOTICE

ETERNAL CROWN BIBLE MINISTRY This is to inform the general public that the above named Association ( Church) has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja under part ‘C’ of CAMA, LFN 2004 for the change of it’s name from ETERNITY CROWN BIBLE MINISTRY to ETERNAL CROWN BIBLE MINISTRY .

TRUSTEES ARE : 1. Pastor Goodness Ihedioha 2. Philip Ihedioha 3. Collins Duru 4. Marie Amadi.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES : 1. To preach the gospel of salvation.

2. To serve God and humanity. *The constitution of the association (Church ) shall be amended to reflect the new name.

Any objection to the above changes should be forwarded to the Registrar- General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, Off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

SIGNED : PASTOR GOODNESS IHEDIOHA (CHAIRMAN ) 08035949377

PUBLIC NOTICE

AL-USWAT WELFARE SOCIETY OF NIGERIA This is to inform the general public that the above named Society has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Abuja for registration under part ‘C’ of the Companies and Allied Matters Act. 1 of 1990 as amended in 2004.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. SHEIKH MUHAMMAD S. SIDDIQ - (CHIEF MISSIONER) 2. HADJ SYED OLAGOKE YUSSUF - (PRESIDENT) 3. NADHIR O. SIDDIQ - (SECRETARY) 4. USTADH NURUDEEN A. RASAQ - (TREASURER) 5. HADJ FATAI O. DUNMOYE - (PATRON) AIMS AND OBJECTIVES : 1. To propagate the ideals of Islam.

2. To practice the doctrine of Holy Prophets of ALLAH and their (SUNA).

Any objection to the above registration should be forwarded to the Registrar- General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, Off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

SIGNED: SECRETARY

46

Sports

Thursday, March 5, 2015 Monday, May 23, 2016

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Mourinho is best man for Man U job –Neville ITTF confirms ‘Team Nigeria’ for Rio Olympic Games

T

he International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) has formally confirmed Team Nigeria as one of the 16 countries that will compete in the men’s team event of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil.

In the list released by the world table tennis ruling body, Team Nigeria will fly Africa’s flag in the event alongside world and Asia champion, China as well as Germany, United States, Australia and host nation, Brazil.

Other nations that made the list based on their world rating are Japan, Hong Kong, Portugal, , Korea Republic, France, Sweden, Austria, Poland, Chinese Taipei and England.

With this development, aside Segun Toriola and Aruna Quadri who have qualified to play in the singles event, the team will have Bode Abiodun, who is the third highest ranked Nigerian in the world as the third player to complete the required number of players expected to form a team for the Olympic Games.

However, in the women’s team event, Egypt will represent the continent alongside, China, Germany, United States, Australia and host, Brazil. Others are Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, Korea Republic, Chinese Taipei, Korea DPR, Netherlands, Romania, Poland and Austria.

M

anchester United have “got to be the best” and appointing Jose Mourinho as manager will help achieve that success, says former defender Phil Neville.

Van Gaal, 64, two seasons into a three-year deal, said last week expectations at Old Trafford were “much too high”.

But Neville, 39, said he “disagrees with that”, adding: “At the moment, Jose is the best man for the job.”

The former England international, who played for United from 19952005 and was first-team coach under

David Moyes in 2013-14, said “For as long as I’ve known it you’ve got to be the best at Manchester United.

“Mourinho is a proven winner.

United fans want a team challenging for the league title, they don’t want a team finishing in seventh or fifth.”

The Portuguese won three Premier League titles in two spells at Chelsea and has also won domestic leagues in his homeland, Italy and Spain.

Mourinho was sacked in December after champions Chelsea made a poor start to their title defence, losing

Ibrahimovic

nine of their first 16 matches, while he was involved in a high-profile dispute with club doctor Eva Carneiro, who was dismissed and pursued a constructive dismissal case against the club.

“When Jose finishes at a club there is a pattern where he falls out with players, gets disgruntled and the team dips,” Neville said.

“I can’t see him staying for too long at United; maybe two or three years seem to be his shelf life at a club but as long as he brings success United fans won’t be unhappy”, he concluded.

Handball: Adelaja High School wins Opeifa Cup IfeanyI eduzor

A

rchdeacon Adelaja Senior High School, Bariga has won this year’s edition of Opeifa handball championship, tagged “Opeifa Cup” organized for public secondary schools in Lagos State.

In an entertaining finals decided last Saturday at the Indoor Sports Hall Mobolaji Johnson Sports Centre, Rowe Park, Yaba, the school defeated hard fighting Mainland Senior High School 13-12 penalty after the game ended 11-11 at regulation time to emerge winner of the championship.

Also, Ikosi High School defeated Barrel Avenue High School to win the third best team of the championship while in the women category; Aiyetoro Girls High School defeated CMS Girls School to lift the female trophy.

The junior male category was

won by Herbert Macaulay Junior Secondary School while Bariga Junior High School came second with Mobolaji Bank Anthony Junior High School taking the third position.

Orile Girls Junior High School emerged winners in the junior girl’s category; St Francis Junior High School came second while Bariga Junior High School came third.

Presenting trophies and prizes to the winners, sponsor of the tournament, Kayode Opeifa who was former Lagos State Commissioner for Transport expressed happiness at the success recorded at this year’s championship which marks another successful year of hosting the competition even as he commended the students to exhibiting spirit of good sportsmanship throughout the duration of the championship. “ I must have to thank Lagos State education authority for their wonderful support and most especially, the Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Sports, Deji Tinu-

bu for his support the programme”, he stated.

Opeifa while appealing to corporate organizations to take the issue of sport sponsorship serious stated that he decided to embark on the sponsorship of the tournament to enable Nigerians realize that there is need to develop other sports apart from football.

A total of 103 secondary schools took part in the weeklong championship aimed at discovering talents at the grassroots.

Opeifa

Ibrahimovic ends PSG career with Cup win

Z

latan Ibrahimovic marked his last match for Paris St-Germain with two goals as they beat Marseille in the Coupe de France final.

PSG have won the domestic clean sweep of trophies two years in a row now.

Blaise Matuidi’s early goal for PSG was cancelled out by Florian Thauvin, but Ibrahimovic then scored from the spot.

The Swede, leaving after four years in France, set up Edinson Cavani for the third, then slotted in the fourth before Michy Batshuayi’s consolation.

Ibrahimovic, 34, is PSG’s alltime top scorer with 156 goals in 180 appearances, and leaves for Euro 2016 amid much speculation as to which club he will join next.

Ligue 1’s top scorer and player of the year had been a doubt for the final, having barely trained all week because of a calf problem.

The charismatic forward, though, was able to play, and made a significant impact in the second half before being substituted to a standing ovation in the final minutes.

PSG have now won the season-opening Trophee des Champions, Coupe de la Ligue, Ligue 1 and Coupe de France two years in a row.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Sports

, May4,23, 2016 ThursdayMonday September 2014

ITTF World Tour: Olah beats Egyptian Assar, claims Nigeria open title IfeanyI eduzor

F

inland’s table tennis champion, Ola Benedek proved book makers wrong when he defeated top seed Assar Khalid of Egypt by 4-1 to emerge winner of this year’s ITT Nigeria Open championship concluded yesterday at the Indoor Sports Hall of Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.

The game which lived up to ex-

pectation, saw the Egyptian combing good strokes and serves to dominate the first set which he easily won by 11-7.

However, his European counterpart came back strongly in the second set winning it by 11-9 and went ahead to dominate the other three sets which he won 12-10, 11-7 and 11-5 to emerge winner of this year’s championship.

He told National Mirror shortly after the victory that hard work and concentration gave him vic-

tory even as he commended his opponent for giving him a good fight.

In the women singles, Shao Jieni of Portugal recorded a 4-1 defeat of 11-8, 11-4, 9-11, 11-6 and 11-9 over Pergel Szandra of Hungary to win the women’s event.

Portugal’s Carvalho Diogo and Chen Diogu recorded a 3-2 victory

Sanusi, Abubakar, Jibril back from FIFA seminar

over Russian Buken Andrey and Flatov Vasilu in the men’s doubles event just as Ermakova Irina and Kulikova Olga of Russia recorded a 3-0 victory of 11-4, 11-3 and 11-7 over Nigerian Funke Oshonaike and her Cameroonian counterpart Hanffon Sarah in the women’s doubles event.

Africa’s World Cup seeds to be announced in June

W

orld football governing body FIFA will next month announce the top five seeds for the African zone of the 2018 World Cup qualifying tournament with Nigeria most likely to miss out.

FIFA will announce the top seeds between June 8 and 10 ahead of the main draw on June 24 in Cairo, Egypt.

The qualifiers to be played on a league basis of 20 teams divided into five groups will begin in October with the winners of the five groups qualifying for Russia 2018.

Experts say the current FIFA rankings will be one of the yardsticks to be used and this will most certainly work against Nigeria, who are now a disappointing 14th ranked team in Africa and are not likely to achieve any remarkable jump by the June rankings.

Africa’s top five ranked teams by this month are Algeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Senegal and

Egypt in that order.

Previous World Cup records will also be taken into consideration and this could well help Nigeria’s cause after they reached the Round of 16 in Brazil two years ago.

With the seedings, Africa’s top teams will avoid themselves on the road to the next World Cup in Russia.

Infantino

Shobowale delighted to sign 2-year Al Hilal deal

F

ormer Kano Pillars winger Azeez Shobowale said he is delighted to join Al Hilal after he penned a two-year deal with the Sudanese giants.

“It’s a great feeling for me to join such a great team, Al Hilal. I want to thank Al Hilal for the Love and respect they have shown me since I arrived Sudan, it shows I am at

home here,” Shobowale said.

“My goal with Al Hilal is to win the Sudan Premier League and the African Champions League Insha Allah.”

He further thanked Kano Pillars management for not making it difficult for him to take his career elsewhere.

“I wish to thank Kano Pillars

47

management for their efforts and sacrifices for the deal to go through,” he said.

“I thank them for having my career’s interest at heart. I appreciate the Pillars fans for their support while I was with the team, I can’t forget them. Shobowale has been assigned jersey number 22.

Sanusi

T

he General Secretary of Nigeria Football Federation, Mohamed Sanusi, Chief Operating Officer of the League Management Company, Mallam Salihu Abubakar and NFF’s Club Licensing Manager Nasiru Jibril are back in the country after being part of a two –day FIFA Club Licensing seminar in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

The seminar was attended by representatives of FIFA member associations and clubs from East, West and North Africa, and held at the African Union headquarters in the Ethiopian capital. It was the latest in a series of such seminars as FIFA works to implement a global licensing system, in conjunction with the confederations, to professionalize clubs in all key areas, including technical, commercial and governance perspectives.

Officials from Nigeria were joined by those from host Ethiopia, Egypt, Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Somalia, South Sudan, Tanzania and Sudan at the seminar that was held in conjunction with CAF. Representatives of CAF, members of African national leagues, clubs and club football experts from Asia, Europe and the Americas were also in attendance, “This is an important initiative that is providing all participating members associations, as well as the clubs, leagues and players in attendance, with the basic tools required to implement club licensing, “said Nigeria’s Salihu Abubakar.

WORLD RECORD

Most pierced man Vol. 06 No. 1376 Monday, May 23, 2016

N150

The most pierced man is Rolf Buchholz, from Dortmund, Germany, who had 453 piercings, including 158 around his lips, as of August 5 2010.

Of fuel price hike, labour rhetoric and economic fundamentals

T

hat the administration of Alhaji Muhammadu Buhari has increased the pump price of premium motor spirit (PMS) from N86.50 to N145 per litre is a settled economic policy. All post increase activities, including labour activism to force a review, and recriminations, real or imagined riots and protests from other members of the civil society fall within the realm of politics and would be addressed politically by the Nigerian state.

However, I must admit that the Buhari administration took the nation by surprise.

The announcement of the increase by the Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Emmanuel Ibe Kachikwu, caught the nation napping. Reactions from the National Assembly are indication that they were not sounded out by the Presidency. Should a fundamental economic engineering process have been kept away from such

‘FANTASTICALLY

HeartBeat Callistus Oke

Callistusoke@nationalmirroronline.net 08054103275 (sms only) anthonykila@mail.com a strategic arm of government? And the more important question: Is the fuel price hike strategic to aligning the market forces in the nation’s oil industry to other variables to usher in a state of equilibrium in the downstream sector of the industry?

There were unmistaken signs from Kachikwu’s body language and his philosophical conviction that the fuel price increase remains the only solution to the unending disequilibrium in the nation’s fuel supplydemand mix. He believes that with the NNPC/Federal Government’s apparent inability to meet the foreign exchange needs of oil marketers, the price increase would be the motivation necessary to nudge the big oil marketers to accept the option of turning to independent sources for their foreign exchange needs. With the Buhari administration’s rigid position of no deal on fuel subsidy, the new pump price, it is believed, would leave the oil marketers a margin of profit after all their transactions to flood the country with fuel!

The price increase might have been meant to solve the persistent disequilibrium in the fuel supply-demand mix, but has it occurred to the federal authorities that other socioeconomic challenges would inevitably emerge from the implementation?

Already the NLC, NUPENG and PENGASSAN expressed very strong sentiments on the imperative of a new national minimum wage of N56, 000. This is coming at a time when about 26 states are in arrears of salary obligations to public servants and have expressed their inability to pay the subsist-

Up till two weeks ago, i woUld still have likened

BUhari to the late hUgo Chavez of venezUela ing N18, 000 minimum wage.

The truth of the matter is that Nigerians are already depressed as it is. The inflationary rate of 13.7 percent, the highest under this democratic dispensation, tells the story. Every imaginable household item, including foodstuffs, is already carrying prohibitive price. Electricity tariffs were recently upped even when power supply dipped. The multiplier effects of the energy crisis in the country will further depress the economy and assault both the formal and informal sectors of the economy.

If you must know, the new fuel price increase has one unintended consequence: an assault on Nigerians’ popular imagination of the ideological conviction of Mr. President. If before now you were asked if you thought Buhari belonged to the right or left or centre of the East-West ideological continuum, you would have had an unequivocal answer like: “I would place him as a Marxist, or at worst a populist socialist. He has always projected himself as a pro masses leader”.

My own take? Buhari used to cut the

image of a radical that would be comfortable in the companies of Jerry Rawlings of Ghana, Thomas Sankara of Burkina Faso, Kemal Ataturk of Turkey and Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt; all super nationalists with unpretentious preference for authentic indigenous brew of political and socioeconomic recipe for curing the ills and challenges of their countries.

Up till two weeks ago, I would still have likened Buhari to the late Hugo Chavez of Venezuela, who refused to be persuaded to administer Western type recipe for the economy of his country. I remember that during the buildup to the March 28, 2015 presidential election, Buhari as the APC presidential candidate, regaled Nigerians with exploits of his anti-West policy preferences when he was Nigeria’s military leader between December 31, 1983 and August 27, 1985.

So, you would guess the shock treatment I received when his government embraced the neoliberal offerings that hasve now underscored his ideological somersault that has now underlined his being in concubinage with the Washington Consensus.

For Mr. President now, populism is alien to a leader fighting the biggest battle of his burgeoning political career. We must remember there are phases in the life of a man, particularly a leader.

Dr. Kachikwu believes the N145 per litre for PMS would be the right motivation for recreation of a near perfect competitive market situation in the oil sector. Such optimism might be vitiated by all oil marketers’ inability to source foreign exchange at the same cost. Some will get it cheaper; some costlier.

And the less efficient players might be edged out in no time. The result would be the foisting of oligopolistic competition in the downstream sector of our oil industry. When that happens the emergence of another oil cabal calling the shots will be our lot.

The situation will get worse by the likely free rein of the oil cabal in the in the absence of functional public refineries to act as bulwark.

Sport Extra

w

Heptathlon champion, Hill returns to competitive action

O

lympic heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis-Hill made her first competitive outing of the athletics season at the Loughborough International yesterday.

The athlete threw moderately in the javelin 41.69m compared with a personal best of 48.33m but appeared to be free of an Achilles injury that ruled her out of the in-

door season.

There are 12 weeks to go before Ennis-Hill defends her Olympic title in Rio. “My Achilles actually feels really good,” she

said.

“The work I’ve done with the medical team and the rehab and just making sure we get it right has really worked.”

Ennis-Hill’s hampered

preparations have forced her to pull out of the highprofile heptathlon at the Hypo-Meeting in Gotzis next weekend. She has already qualified for Rio 2016.

Ennis-Hill Emenike

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