Monday, April 1, 2013

Nigeria’s business environment remains unfriendly –LCCI UDO ONYEKA

Goodie Ibru, Chairman LCCI

T

he Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, LCCI, has said the business environ-

Vol. 3 N0. 589

ment in the country has remained very unfriendly.

The LCCI in its 2nd quarter 2013 aggregate Business Confidence Index, BCI, said even though the country recorded a modest improve-

ment of 16.5 per cent from the 10.5 per cent it achieved in Q1 2013, investors and business leaders are still wary about the state of the economy and the unfriendCONTINUED ON PAGE 5>>

Evil forces threatening Nigeria’s destiny –Anglican Primate

Monday, April 1, 2013

2015:

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PDP govs give conditions for reconciliation EXCLUSIVE

AYODELE OJO

Jonathan considers Tukur’s removal

DEPUTY EDITOR (POLITICS)

F

or peace and genuine reconciliation to reign in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, the state governors have given four conditions which President Goodluck Jonathan and the party’s stakeholders must embrace.

Specifically, the PDP governors are demanding for the removal of the National Chairman of the party, Dr. Bamanga Tukur, and dissolution of the National Working Committee, NWC. CONTINUED ON PAGE 2>>

Hotel deal: FAAN lies again, says Bi-Courtney P.6

THE

The boat of Olowogbowo Eyingbeti group at the Lagos Regatta festival, yesterday.

BUSINESS SECTION

FDI inflows prospect high in 2013 –FDC

‘Cabotage has not failed completely’ P.A4,A5

Easter Sunday attack:

15 die as JTF raids Boko Haram’s enclave in Kano No cause for alarm in Kaduna –Police

Free ree inside

PHOTO: OLUFEMI AJASA

Easter: Mandela remains in hospital

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Monday, April 1, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

15 die as JTF raids Boko Haram’s enclave in Kano AUGUSTINE MADU-WEST,

ROTIMI FADEYI AND AZA MSUE

A

bloody confrontation between the military-led Joint Task Force, JTF, and suspected militants of the Boko Haram sect on Easter Sunday left 15 persons dead, 14 of whom are members of the sect.

A soldier attached to the 3 Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Kano who was part of the JTF team that confronted militants at Anguwa-Uku area of the state capital also lost his life.

However, a timely interception of a car primed with explosives allegedly for suicide mission prevented what would have been another major tragedy in the troubled town.

Spokesman of the JTF, Captain Ikedechi Iweha, who confirmed the early hour’s battle with the terrorists, said 14 members of the sect were killed, while a soldier, who was hit by bullet at the Yan-Awaki (battlefield) also died on the spot.

Another soldier according to him, sustained gunshot injuries and has been admitted in the hospital for medical attention.

National Mirror gathered that most of the victims were blown up by explosives allegedly detonated by the militants when

the two buildings which served as their base in the area were surrounded by JTF personnel.

As at the time of this report, the security men were still combing the area in search of other members of the sect. This is even as some of the surrounding buildings identified as places of abode for the sect members were demolished.

The area has also been cordoned off by JTF, while panic-stricken residents remained indoors, as a house to house search for suspects continued.

At the end of the encounter, it was gathered that assorted dangerous weapons, including bomb making materials, 14 AK 47 rifles and 10 Improvised Explosive Devices IEDs contained in milk cans were recovered.

Thousands of panicstricken Christians stayed away from the Easter Church services despite huge security presence in the city and around the churches in the metropolitan city.

Our correspondent reports that churches located in flash points where terrorists attack have been prominent lately did not conduct services at all, apparently for fear of attack.

The low turnout of worshippers were felt at the Catholic churches of Our Lady of Fatima, St Louis

and St Thomases’ while St Stephen’s, St Georges and Holy Trinity, all Anglican churches suffered the same fate.

It was learnt there were no services at Hotoro, Mariri and Badawa areas of the city, which had become notorious for attacks.

Security in the city has been very tight during the Easter period as JTF and the police moved their men to the streets of Kano, vehicular patrol was improved, while armoured personnel carriers were deployed to strategic locations of the city.

Police in Kaduna State said recent happenings in

Kano would not affect the state as security agencies are on red alert during the Easter festivity.

In a telephone interview with National Mirror, the State Police Public Relations Officer, Mallam Aminu Lawan, called on residents not to panic.

Lawan said people should go about their normal businesses and always remain law abiding, as the police would not relent in the discharge of their duties.

His words: “Why should people begin to think that what happened in Kano State will happen or must happen in Kaduna? Prior to

the Easter celebration like any other festive period, we have put in place every measure that will guarantee the safety of lives and property of our people.”

It will be recalled that the Easter celebration of 2012 witnessed bomb explosions in Kaduna, which claimed several lives, a situation that perhaps may have left doubts in the minds of the residents.

Our correspondent, who went round the Kaduna metropolis yesterday, observed high turnout of worshipers at churches, although some of them expressed the fear of the unknown.

Security was heavy, par-

ticularly within the premises of worship centres, while armoured personnel carriers, were seen at various strategic checkpoints across the city.

The security personnel also searched vehicles, while operation ‘roll your motorcycle’ at checkpoints were also intensified and thoroughly enforced. Flash points areas were manned by well-armed security operatives to prevent any breakdown of law and order.

At Living Faith Church, Barnawa, a worshipper, Mr. Godwin James, said he decided to attend service not CONTINUED ON PAGE 5>>

L-R: President Goodluck Jonathan; former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon; his wife, Victoria and Senator Emmanuel Paulker during the Easter Church Service at Our Saviour’s Anglican Church Tafawa Belewa Square, Lagos, yesterday.

PHOTO: STATE HOUSE

PDP govs give conditions for reconciliation CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Also, the governors want a commitment that the existing state executives of the PDP will not be dissolved before the 2015 elections. As part of the demand, the governors want to be given a free hand in installing their successors.

More importantly, the governors want assurance of safety nets; that they will not be harassed and prosecuted after leaving office in 2015.

No fewer than 16 of the 23 PDP governors would be leaving office in 2015 after serving out two terms of four years each.

Most Nigerian governors after completing their terms have faced a raft of corruption cases brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commis-

sion, EFCC, and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related offences Commission, ICPC. A member of the reconciliation committee led by the party’s BoT chairman, Chief Tony Anenih, told National Mirror at the weekend that these were the aggregate views of the governors.

“In the last few days, we have met some governors, who were very frank about their reservations with the PDP. We have met with about five of the governors and the general consensus among them is that Tukur must go for peace to reign in PDP. “The governors also gave conditions such as allowing them to pick their successors in the 2015 election. The issue of life after

2015 is another major factor.

They want assurance that the government would not prosecute them after leaving office,” the source said.

Another highly placed source said that the governors are not bending on their opposition to Tukur.

According to him, they can’t trust the national chairman.

“If the governors can’t have control over their state party executives, then they are finished. So, they must fight it out. This is what is happening now,” the source said.

Even after Anenih and Governor Babangida Aliyu held a closed-door meeting last week, the Niger State Governor said Tukur remains PDP’s biggest headache.

Impeccable sources told

National Mirror that President Jonathan is giving the dissolution of the Tukurled NWC serious thought.

Already, associates and aides of the President, who are keen on his return in the 2015 elections are rooting for Tukur’s exit to bring the governors and other stakeholders on board of the Jonathan’s project.

A source also said that one of the reasons Jonathan’s aides are advancing for the dissolution of the NWC was that the composition of the national executives does not favour the President.

Until the removal of the National Secretary, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, and National Auditor, Bode Mustapha, former President Olusegun Obasanjo allegedly had six members of

the 12-member NWC in his camp. The Deputy National Chairman, Dr. Sam Jaja, is the candidate of Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State while the National Organising Secretary is the nominee of Vice-President Namadi Sambo.

The relationship between the Presidency and Tukur has since last week gone sour. A source in the Presidency told National Mirror that President Jonathan is unhappy over Tukur’s comments on the state of insecurity in the country.

In an interview with journalists, Tukur had declared that Nigeria is under siege.

He had said: “Today, there is fear everywhere, churches are being burnt, mosques are being at-

tacked, United Nations building bombed, motor parks are being bombed, people cannot go to motor parks again to travel for the fear of being attacked, security installations such as police stations, prisons are being burnt down and inmates released at will, nobody knows the next target of attack.

“Surely our nation is under siege. It is not the question of PDP, ACN, CPC or any political party or any religion, the truth is that Nigeria is under siege therefore all of us must come together and face this challenge.

“It is not about the PDP or President Goodluck Jonathan; this is a matter that should be of concern to everybody irrespective of CONTINUED ON PAGE 5>>

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

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Monday, April 1, 2013

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Photo News

Monday, April 1, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

L-R: Former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku, his wife, Bunmi; National Leader, Action Congress of Nigeria, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Anambra State Governor Peter Obi at the thanksgiving service in honour of Anyaoku, who clocked 80 at St. Andrew Anglican Church, Obosi, Anambra State on Saturday.

L-R: Senior Pastor, All Nations Sanctuary, Malaysia, Dr Jonathan David; Pastor Helen David; President, Caring Heart Foundation Mrs. Laide Bakare; General Overseer, Latter Rain Assembly, Pastor Tunde Bakare; Woman of Courage Award recipient, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin and Save Nigeria Group spokesman, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, at a reception in honour of Okei-Odumakin, yesterday.

L-R: Chairman, Seven Energy International; Mr. Phillip Ihenacho; Executive Director, Corporate Banking, UBA Plc, Mr. Ifeatu Onejeme and Managing Director, Accugas, Mr. Stephen Tierney, during the signing of Accugas $225m Refinancing & Expansion Facility arranged by UBA Plc and four other banks in Lagos, recently.

L-R: General Secretary, Ife Recreation Club, Prince Dosu Kolawole; Bar Manager, Prince Ade Adegoke; President, Mr Sooko Bunmi Adegoke; Secretary to the Osun State Government, Alhaji Moshood Adeoti; Governor Rauf Aregbesola and Ex-Officio of the Club, Mr. Bayo Adejumo, during a visit by the club’s executive to the governor in Osogbo, at the weekend.

National News

FIRS sets up committees on tax compliance TOLA AKINMUTIMI ABUJA

T

he Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) has constituted some committees with a mandate to appraise the tax system and come up with appropriate recommendations on how to ensure robust compliance by individual and corporate organisations.

Investigations by National Mirror indicated that at least seven of such committees had been constituted at the Technical and Policy Department of the agency to undertake a comprehensive study of the existing laws and implementation constraints and submit their recommendations to the management within the next few weeks.

Two of the committees are Tax Law Re-Drafting Working Committee and Administration of Presumptive Tax Regime Working Committee.

According to a source, the idea behind the initiative was to see how the existing tax laws could be made simpler to be understood by taxpay-

ers; ensure that that administrative bureaucracy that tends to make the administration of the laws cumbersome are removed in order to make the system more friendly and reduce to barest minimum incidence of double taxation.

In addition, the move is also intended to remove all perceived gender-related constraints in such a way that the burden of tax is equitably shared by payers and by implication, eliminate all suspicions that women bear the tax burden more, particularly in the rural areas where the larger economically productive actors are women.

The source said: “I can tell you that already FIRS has set up some working committees to take a critical look at the entire tax system, especially the provisions of the existing laws so that all gray areas that currently constitute challenges to effective administration of the laws are identified for necessary action by the management.

“It is supposed to be a holistic work which will involve top and middle level manage-

ment of the Department and other relevant ones and the Committees are expected to submit their reports within three months at most. I think they should be able to come up with their recommendations not later than June this year.”

National Mirror gathered that the new move was intended by the agency to further explore opportunities for improved

revenue generation capacity by tightening all sources of revenue leakages through tax evasion and other abuses, especially avoidable tax incentives from which the country is hardly benefitting economically.

It is reliably gathered the agency would, after the conclusion of the exercise, send its recommendations to the Federal

Government through the Ministry of Finance on how best to reduce leakages from the tax system and optimise the economy’s tax revenue potentials for national benefits.

“I don’t think the documents or recommendations will just be for internal use. I think the findings of the various working committees may be compressed into a single document after

a thorough analysis by the management and forwarded to the Federal Government for consideration.

“As you know, actions like these are aimed at achieving one goal; that is improved efficiency of the system. So, I think the management will find a way of getting to the government in form of a position paper or report for consideration”, the source said.

Presidency keeps mum on First Lady’s health status ROTIMI FADEYI ABUJA

T

he Presidency yesterday still kept mum over the health status of First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan.

Her media aides failed to come out with an official reaction to the news that broke on Saturday that she had been flown out of the country as her health had relapsed.

The First Lady’s Special Assistant on Media, Mr. Ayo Osinlu had earlier said that

an official statement would be issued on the matter, but the statement never came as at the time of filing this report.

On Saturday, Osinlu, in response to enquiries on the health status of the First Lady, had said that the trip of his boss to Europe was in order to care for an ailing elderly woman who helped to raise her.

But he failed to disclose the specific country where the foster mother was hospitalised.

Dame Jonathan’s ab-

sence was noticed during the Good Friday church service held at the Aso Villa Chapel. The service was attended by President Goodluck Jonathan and his mother, Madam Eunice.

In August last year, Dame Jonathan was flown to Germany for medical treatment and spent about seven weeks before returning to the country on October 17, after undergoing surgery and treatment for an undisclosed ailment.

The First Lady was also in Germany some weeks

ago for medical check up on the advise of her doctors.

However, in this latest trip, Dame Jonathan was said to be shuttling between Spain and Germany, while also contemplating receiving medical treatment from a United States of America based hospital.

She was said to have, a few days ago, left Abuja en route France where she was to receive an award.

But the trip was alleged to be a ploy to enable her shop for new doctors in Europe for her deteriorating health.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

News

Monday, April 1, 2013

5

Nigeria’s business environment remains unfriendly –LCCI CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

ly business environment.

BCI is a leading economic indicator designed to measure the degree of optimism on the state of the economy that business leaders are expressing through their investment disposition.

According to LCCI, business environment remains largely constrained by rising socio-economic uncertainties which have kept the BCI scores trailing far below the global optimum levels.

The report said the growth represents a sixpoint movement of the index along a positive trajectory and that the im-

provement notwithstanding, BCI scores for Q1 and Q2, 2013 continues to trail far below the 50 per cent global confidence threshold.

“The factors that weakened the index score includes: poor access to credit, inhibitive tendencies of monitoring and regulatory agencies, sustained insecurity situation across the country, dwindling public power supply and budget approval/implementation crisis.

“Macroeconomic factors such as exchange rate and inflation rate exerted neutral influence on the Q2, 2013 BCI score. The neutral impact of macroeconomic

prices on businesses at this time is informed by the relative stability achieved over the last few months,” LCCI said.

However, it said the downside remains the current stabilisation of prices through monetary tightening which has been achieved at the expense of investment, employment, output and growth.

The report said the real sectors – agriculture, manufacturing and solid mineral reversed the negative confidence they posted in Q1, 2013 survey by joining other sectors on the positive confidence trajectory, adding “notwithstanding, the real sectors remains at

the bottom leader with very low confidence levels at seven per cent, five per cent and two per cent scores respectively.

Also the report said hotel/restaurant, IT/telecoms, finance and professional services sectors continues to lead the sectors with the highest confidence levels at 35 per cent, 27 per cent, 21 per cent and 17 per cent respectively.

On regional BCI, the LCCI said businesses located in the South West are the most confident with BCI score of 38 per cent, followed by companies operating in the South East and South South with BCI score of 29 per cent and 19

per cent respectively.

“Expectedly, businesses located in North East, North West and North Central sustained negative confidence at BCI score of -2 per cent, -1.5 per cent and -0.1 per cent respectively.

“While we note the resilience of businesses operating in the southern Nigeria for keeping up amid increasing threats, the worsening security situation may have caused severe setback to businesses and potential investment particularly in the North and the country in general,” the report stated.

The chamber said with the progress made so far on the privatisation of the nation’s power sector, the commencement of the implementation of the 2013 budget across the states and the federation, and the new momentum given to the consideration of the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB, by the National Assembly, if sustained would affect the outcome of Q3

BCI. It would be recalled that LCCI bemoaned the retention of the monetary policy tightening by the CBN. In statement made available to National Mirror and signed by the Director General, Mr. Muda Yusuf, LCCI said: “The decision is a cause for concern because of its implications for operating cost and competitiveness, especially of domestic firms.”

It said as a result of the unchanged rate “the following business and economic conditions would persist; high interest rate, poor credit access, weak competitiveness of domestic firms, weak industrial capacity utilization and weak capacity to create jobs.”

The Lagos Chamber said even though it appreciates the value of macroeconomic stability which has been the main policy focus of the CBN, stimulating growth through better funding is paramount at this time.

PDP govs give conditions for reconciliation CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

Buildings belonging to suspected Boko Haram sect members destroyed during a Joint Task Force raid in Kano, yesterday.

15 die as JTF raids Boko Haram’s enclave in Kano CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

knowing what could happen.

He said: “My brother, we came to church with the fear of the unknown. You know these guys normally target festive period and big churches, but thank God the situation is normal and we will continue to pray that there will be peace in this country.”

As at the time of filing this report, the Easter celebration in the state was peaceful and calm although residents shunned some recreational parks in the city.

Meanwhile, President Goodluck Jonathan has assured that despite the spate of terrorist attacks in Nigeria, the country would remain united and stronger, saying that his government was committed to the fight against terrorism.

Speaking during the Easter Sunday service at Our

Saviour’s Church, Anglican Communion, Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos, Jonathan said his administration was working very hard to make sure that terrorism did not divide the country.

“We are here today because Christ was killed, buried and rose from the dead. We have hope that He will come again,” he said.

Jonathan said he decided to celebrate 2013 Easter with Lagosians, and to sincerely thank all Christians for their prayers.

“Through the various intercessory prayers, God has continued to stabilise the country. If not, it would have been worse,” Jonathan said.

He said that the country had challenges, “especially in these days of terrorism.”

The president said the government was working hard to check terrorism, adding that such incidents should make Christians

wonder the kind of social environment that existed during Jesus Christ’s time.

The President also assured that power outages experienced in the country now would soon be a thing of the past beginning from 2014 as his administration was making efforts to reverse the situation, saying that the process of the privatisation of the power sector would soon be completed to ensure total reform of the sector in order to guarantee stable power supply.

According to him, the country would only witness rapid progress and development when the people remain united, focused and determined.

He also observed that the resultant effects of the spate of terrorist attacks in the country could have been more devastating but for the fervent prayers of Nigerians for peace and

stability.

Jonathan therefore urged that the zeal for praying for the country amongst Christians should not be compromised; noting that Christ came to the world at a critical time of human existence and yet changed the world by preaching peace, unity and love which must be imbibed by Christians continuously in honour of Christ Jesus.

Earlier in his sermon, the Vicar, Rev Igein Isemede, reflected on the death and resurrection of Christ, stating that the facts were there for all to see on the biblical compilation regarding the life and times of Jesus Christ.

He also urged Christians to purge their hearts of any wrongdoing as the death and resurrection of their Saviour had atoned for them of their sins and afflictions.

political, ethnic or religious affiliations. The opposition, labour movement, religious leaders, traditional rulers, name it; we all have to come to fight the evil that is now manifesting everywhere in our land, those perpetuating this evil are within us in the society, it is not a matter of Mr. President or the PDP-led Federal Government alone.”

The Presidency sees this as an indictment on the Jonathan administration.

“The development is a source of worry for the President. Initially, he was not given in to the call for Tukur’s removal, but now President Jonathan is weighing the options. There is now 50-50 chance for Tukur’s removal,” the source said.

It was learnt that some close political associates of the President are already searching for the successor to Tukur. Initially, Ambassador Hassan Adamu was being considered by the president but the age factor has disqualified him. The Presidency is searching for a competent and experienced

administrator with vast political experience from the North East as Tukur’s replacement,” a source close to the President said.

It was learnt that two options are left for Tukur.

One, he may honourably resign before the mid-term convention or be removed at the convention in 2014.

“That is if he survives a vote of no confidence that may be passed on him at the National Executive Committee, NEC, meeting which he has refused to call.

Any time the NEC is called, the governors may finally move against the Tukur-led NWC,” a source said.

A senior member of the PDP told our correspondent that the mid-term convention may hold earlier to change the party’s leadership.

But the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Chief Olisa Metuh, said he was unaware of the plot to sack the party’s NWC. “I’m completely unaware of this plan. It is uncalled for. These reports are being sponsored. It is a coordinated attack on the leadership of the party. But there is no truth in it,” Metuh told National Mirror yesterday.

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News

Monday, April 1, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Ikuforiji, others’ trials suffer setback as judge retires EXCLUSIVE

KAYODE KETEFE

T

he suit against Lagos State House of Assembly Speaker, Mr. Adeyemi Ikuforiji, and two other high-profile cases pending before the Federal High Court in Lagos may suffer a setback as the trial judge, Justice Okechukwu Okeke, is due to retire in May. Our correspondent learnt that besides the charge against the Speaker, other cases that will suffer the same fate include the famous ‘My Pikin case’ preferred against Barewa Pharmaceutical Company and two of its top executives, Adeyemo Abiodun and Ebele Eromosele

accused of distributing adulterated drugs that resulted in the death of not less than 80 children in 2008.

Also to be affected is the case involving an expatriate Azim Aghajani (an Iranian), and a Nigerian, Ali Abass Jega, standing trial for importation of arms.

The implication of Okeke’s retirement is that the cases will start de novo, that is, all over again before a new judge.

It was gathered that for the administration of justice, this development means there would be excessivelyprolonged delay in the determination of the cases.

Specifically, there would be fresh arraignment of the accused, who would take fresh pleas while all the witnesses in the proceedings would be

recalled before the new judge to give fresh testimonies.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, had on March 1, 2012 arraigned Ikuforiji and his Personal Assistant, Oyebode Atoyebi, on an amended 20-count charge bordering on allegations of money laundering.

The commission alleged that Ikuforiji and his aide committed money laundering offences by accepting cash payment from the Assembly to the tune of N501 million without going through financial institutions.

The EFCC had started calling its witnesses in the case but Okeke’s impending retirement would put a stop to that.

Another case that may suffer setback is the “My

Pikin” case. It was instituted by the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control, NAFDAC, against three people for their alleged involvement in the production and distribution of an alleged killer teething mixture, “My Pikin” The accused, Abiodun, Eromosele and their company, Barewa Pharmaceutical Company Limited, were alleged to have manufactured an adulterated mixture with the intention to cause death or grievous bodily harm to members of the public in October 2008.

The anti-fake drug agency had also claimed that the accused conspired to distribute and sell the adulterated mixture to Roca Pharmacy of 34, Balogun Road, Agege, Lagos with the intention to cause

death or grievous bodily harm to members of the public.

At the last adjourned date on March 19, Okeke had granted accelerated hearing of the matter by scheduling the continuation of hearing for April 15, 16, 17, 18, and 19.

The case, which is nearing completion, may also start afresh as it could not be ascertained that it would be completed during the April accelerated hearing and before the judge’s retirement in May. Investigation by National Mirror showed that another high-profile case involving an expatriate Azim Aghajani, (an Iranian) and a Nigerian, Ali Abass Jega, standing trial on a five-count charge of unlawful importation of arms, firearms and other explosives including bombs, grenades, and rockets into Nigeria is also pending before Okeke.

Although the judge had completed the hearing and

already fixed his judgement for April 30, a few days before his retirement, it was learnt that if he failed to deliver the verdict on the day, the case might suffer the same fate like the other ones listed above.

Commenting on the ‘de novo’ legal principle by which court cases have to start afresh whenever the judges handling them could not continue by reasons of transfer, removal, death or elevation, an octogenarian lawyer, Pa Tunji Gomez, called for the modification of the rule on the grounds that it might cause injustice on the aggrieved party.

He said: “The de novo practice is an age-long practice meant to preserve justice in adjudication by ensuring that the same person who would pronounce judgement hears a case from beginning to the end. But I think it should be modified now to discourage a situation where it would cause injustice.

‘Yoruba leaders must support HID Awolowo now’ FEMI OYEWESO ABEOKUTA

Y

oruba leaders have been called upon to rally round the matriarch of the Awolowo dynasty, Yeye Hannah Idowu Dideolu (HID) Awolowo at her time of grief.

The National Coordinator L-R: Relatives of Gabriel Adaji, the slain member of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Edwin Umoh and Simon Adaji; Commandant General, NSCDC, Ade Abolurin and the Lagos Commandant, Adesuyi Clement, during a condolence visit to the family of Oodua People’s Congress, in Lagos, at the weekend.

OPC, Otunba Gani Adams, who made the call, said it was necessary so she might live a happy and healthy life. is consistent with its desire ment was misleading. port, Lagos.

Adams spoke with jourOLUSEGUN KOIKI The company’s Corpo- to misinform the public. nalists in Ikenne over the BASL built and is operating the domestic terminal, rate Communications Man- Our natural inclination is to weekend where he had gone he row between the known as MMA2 under the ager, Mr. Steve Omolale- ignore the ranting of FAAN. to pay condolence visit to “We are only constrained Mama Awolowo over the Federal Airports Au- Build, Operate and Transfer, Ajulo, carpeted FAAN for thority of Nigeria, BOT, concession agreement churning out lies to mislead to respond because some un- death of her son, Chief Olususpecting members of the wole Awolowo.

FAAN, and Bi-Courtney and according to regula- the public.

Omolale-Ajulo said it public can be misled by the Aviation Services Limited, tions, FAAN, as government He said: “It is rather unBASL, over the ongoing con- agency in charge of the air- was not true and chided the statement, on the assump- fortunate that we lost him at tion that a public institution this time because of Mama struction of a four-star hotel ports in the country, must agency for violating rule of like FAAN should not delib- and my concern is about her and a conference centre at provide for the terminal se- law.

He said: “The two state- erately distort the facts.” the Murtala Mohammed curity, marshals, fire cover age. For her to lose a son this On the alleged debt, time around, that means that Airport, MMA, Lagos, has and other services which ments issued by the FAAN the concessionaire ought to have been brought to our Omolale-Ajulo insisted the most of the Yoruba leaders deepened. attention. In the first state- company was not indebted must come close to her for While FAAN said the Fed- pay for.

General Manager, Cor- ment, FAAN claims that an to FAAN in anyway. eral High Court in Lagos had her to have a long life till her He said: “For the avoid- time comes.

Communications action of ours seeking to dismissed BASL’s applica- porate tion, seeking to restrain it of FAAN, Mr. Yakubu Dati, restrain it from interfering ance of doubt, we are not in “Uncle Oluwole was a and its agents from taking said in a statement yester- with our hotel and confer- any way indebted to FAAN. nice man, very reserved perOn the contrary, FAAN is son. He did not disappoint possession of the four-star day that Bi-Courtney made ence centre projects has hotel and conference centre, that application without been dismissed. They have indebted to us. The Federal his father when the father the latter said it was not true. notifying FAAN, “in its made the statement without Government and its agen- too was alive. For us to lose FAAN also said that traditional style of getting showing a copy of the court cies, including FAAN, owe him at this time; it is a great BASL owed it N1.9 billion, court injunctions behind ruling, the title of the case, BASL over N132 billion in loss and a shock to everyone debt incurred in the services the authority, in virtually all or even the date it was deliv- judgement debts. Our posi- of us and that was one of tion has been confirmed by the reasons why I am here to it rendered to the domestic the cases involving the two ered. the arbitral proceedings and sympathise with the family.”

“This is a figment of terminal of the Murtala Mu- organisations.”

But BASL said the state- FAAN’s imagination and it also court judgements.” hammed International AirAdams, however, dis-

Hotel deal: FAAN lies again, says Bi-Courtney

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agreed with the notion that Oluwole Awolowo’s death would have a negative effect on the political fortune of the Yoruba race.

He said: “Aside from the sons and daughters of Awolowo, there are a lot of Awolowo’s products in Yorubaland. We have a lot of people that shared the views and ideology of the late Papa Awolowo that will sustain his legacies.

“The important thing in this world is to build people that will follow you even after your demise, they will continue from where you stopped. Therefore, we don’t envisage any fear in Yorubaland that after the death of Chief Oluwole, as the first son of Awolowo, there will be problem with our ideology.”

Adams also applauded President Goodluck Jonathan for making a personal visit to the Awolowo family over the death of the publisher of the Nigerian Tribune, stressing that the visit further reinforced the respect Nigeria had for the late sage.

He said: “For the President to have come, it shows that the respect for the late Chief Awolowo is still there and I want to appreciate him for not showing nonchalant attitude to the Awolowo family.

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National News

Monday, April 1, 2013

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EASTER DAY CELEBRATION

L-R: Proto Presbyter, Methodist Church of the Trinity, Tinubu Square, Lagos, Very Rev. Stephen Tunde Adegbite; Prelate’s Chaplain, Very Rev. Dan Agbese; Prelate, Methodist Church, Nigeria, His Eminence Dr. Sunday Ola. Makinde and Bishop of Tinubu, Rt. Rev. Sunday Oluyemisi Ogunlere, at the Easter service in Lagos, yesterday.

Fun seekers celebrating Easter in Lagos, yesterday.

PHOTO:ADEMOLA AKINLABI

PHOTO: ADEMOLA AKINLABI

Evil forces threatening Nigeria’s destiny –Anglican Primate JOEL AJAYI ABUJA

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he Primate of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, the Most Reverend Nicholas Okoh, yesterday described the Boko Haram sect as evil forces challenging the destiny of Nigeria, saying that by the power of resurrection of Jesus Christ, it shall become a thing of the past.

Okoh disclosed this in his sermon titled: “Alleluia!

Christ is Risen,” at yesterday’s Easter celebration at the Cathedral Church of the Advent, Life Camp,

Gwarimpa, Abuja.

The Primate likened the killings in the northern part of the country to the situation in the time of Jesus Christ, “when the old order (the Roman Empire) was struggling with the new order, which was Christ Jesus,” adding that Christ prevailed, therefore, Nigeria will prevail over the forces of darkness.

The cleric expressed confidence that the deadly sect might for a while seem to be succeeding, “the mighty hands of God will cut them off,” he said.

He continued: “The

Invest in Nigerian youths, cleric urges WALE IBRAHIM LOKOJA

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he Superintendent of The Apostolic Church, TAC, Lokoja, Pastor Alfred Funsho Amode, has urged government at all levels in the country to invest in the future of Nigerian youths, saying that no nation can achieve greatness without absolute peace and maximum security of lives and property.

He made this call while speaking at the 13th Easter Youth Retreat organised by the headquarters of the church in Lokoja, Kogi State.

The cleric said the youth form the larger proportion of Nigeria’s population and that the future of the country lies in the ability and strength of

the youth. He said it has become necessary and expedient for government at all levels to critically look into the future of the youth to avoid the country being run aground in the future.

Pastor Amode, who said the theme of this year’s retreat is; “Godliness: A glorious living for the youth in this present world,” added that over 2, 000 youths across tertiary institutions in Kogi State would participate in the 13th edition of the retreat.

“We have established campus outreach and we have appointed a coordinator to re-engage our youths in Lokoja area, who are students in the various institution of higher learning in the state,” he added.

problem had been holding us down that we will not make progress, right from independence, if you consider the trouble we have gone through, the number of people that died during the civil war. And now some groups have decided that, there will be no rest, killing people unabated, something is instigating them. There is power that we do not see that is trying to hijack the destiny of Nigeria.

“We may look at them as foreign intervention, we make look at them as people from within, and there is evil force that is trying to hijack our des-

tiny. And it was like that in the time of Jesus, the old order was struggling with the new order - Jesus was representing the new order by bringing people to God, and this old order (the Jews and the Roman Empire) were pulling things down.

“At the moment we are going through a tunnel and it is very dark, we hardly see, some people are behind this, evil forces are behind this, but Jesus rose on the third day and overcame the power of death, this Boko Haram will become a history, he said.

Obi urges Christians to emulate Christ CHARLES OKEKE AWKA

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nambra State Governor, Mr. Peter Obi, yesterday urged Christians in the country to emulate the worthy legacy of Jesus Christ, who sacrificed his life for mankind.

He said it is high time that all Nigerians ‘emulate our Lord Jesus Christ at this Easter season and afterwards.’

According to the governor; “Easter is a period that calls for sacrifice just as our Lord Jesus Christ was exemplified when He shed His spirituality and assumed a human form in order to save humankind from sin and eternal damnation.”

He said this singular action culminated in our

lord’s death on the cross.

The governor, who reminded Christians and non-Christians alike that it was “the sacrifice and service offered by our lord that brought Him to a glorious resurrection and exaltation,” urging all to take a cue from Jesus.

To political and other leaders, the governor urged them to lead the life of Christ as they move to transform their constituencies, while displaying a high sense of humility, altruism and frugality.

In a related development Governor Obi also visited some hospitals in Onitsha and Awka where he interacted with sick inmates and settled the medical bills of indigent patients, who were discharged long ago, but could not pay their bills.

Northern govs call for prayers PRISCILLA DENNIS MINNA

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orthern governors yesterday called on Christians in the country to pray for a quick solution to the country’s security crisis.

The Northern States Governors Forum, NSGF, used the occasion of the commemoration of the resurrection of Jesus yesterday to call on Christians pray for a quick resolution of the security crisis rocking the nation at the moment.

The forum also urged Christians to imbibe the ideals of perseverance, sacrifice and commitment to the will of God which characterised the Lenten season.

Chairman of the forum and Governor of Niger State, Dr Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu, congratulated Christians and all Nigeri-

ans who are alive to witness this year’s Easter, reminding the faithful that; “we are alive today only by God’s grace and favour and not that we are in any way special before the almighty.”

In a statement signed

by Governor Aliyu’s Chief Press Secretary, Danladi Ndayebo, the forum called on Nigerians to be mindful of the need to continue to render selfless service to humanity which underscores the essence of Christ’s resurrection on Easter Sunday.

The northern governors also urged Nigerians to pray for and work towards peace, stability and the progress of the country, emphasising the need for Nigerians to support the actualisation of the nation’s transformation agenda.

The forum then wished Nigerians a memorable Easter celebrations.

Oshiomhole preaches sacrifice SEBASTINE EBHUOMHAN BENIN

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do State governor, Adams Oshiomhole, yesterday said Nigeria would attain its full potentials when her citizens resolve to live a life of sacrifice anchored on righteousness.

In a message signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Peter Okhiria and made available to journalists at the Government House, Oshiomhole said; “As we commemorate the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, who gave his life as a sacrifice for mankind, I enjoin Christians to toe the

footsteps of the lord Jesus Christ and emulate his spirit of peace, love, sacrifice and righteousness.

“The Bible teaches that ‘righteousness exalts a nation.’ We must therefore be ready to wear the garment of righteousness in our dealings with one another; we must imbibe the spirit of love for one another and forgiveness to heal the wounds of the nation.

“I urge the faithful to forget the past, forge ahead and live in peace, love and harmony with their neighbour in line with Christ’s teaching on the greatest commandment: ‘Love thy neighbour as thyself.’

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South-West

SURE-P is another PDP scam, says Bakare SINA FADARE

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ormer Vice-Presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, in the 2011 presidential election, Pastor Tunde Bakare, has said that the current Subsidy Re-investment And Empowerment Programme, SURE-P, is another drain pipe of the country’s economy embarked upon by the President Goodluck Jonathan administration.

Bakare, who disclosed this yesterday in Lagos during a press briefing to celebrate Dr Joe Okei-Odumakin, who was recently honoured by the United States for her dogged fight against human rights abuse, said that SURE-P is another monumental fraud to siphon tax payers money in the country.

The Latter Rain Assembly general overseer said; “It is unfortunate that the PDP government is that of ‘Ali Baba and the 40 thieves,’ adding that there is no way a leopard will change its skin.

“Instead of alleviating the suffering of the people, it is one of the numerous programmes embarked upon by the ruling party to pauperize Nigerians and a good avenue to perpetrate one of the highest corrupt tendencies in the land.”

He, however, noted that there is a ray of hope that Nigeria will work again and all those people who were connected with the failure of the immediate past and the current misfortune of the nation will soon meet their waterloo as the wrath of God is dangling on their heads.

Monday, April 1, 2013

Nigerians’ll resist fuel price increase –NLC ABIODUN NEJO ADO EKITI

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marting from the Federal Government’s denial of plans to remove fuel subsidy, the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC, has said any attempt to implement the policy overtly or covertly will be resisted by Nigerians.

NLC President, Comrade Abduwaheed Omar, said President Goodluck Jona-

than should forget the removal of oil subsidy, a policy which he said would deal a cruel blow on the already impoverished masses.

Omar told journalists in Ado Ekiti at the weekend that: “For government to be contemplating outright removal of oil subsidy at a time the economy is biting harder, is rather lamentable.

“Statistics have shown that out of the N1.3 trillion

ABEOKUTA

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ndication emerged over the weekend that the abandoned multi-billion naira Nigerian Pulp and Paper Mill Industry in Iwopin area of Ogun State would soon commence operation as the rehabilitation work on the mill is nearing completion.

The lawmaker representing Ogun Waterside/ Ijebu East and Ijebu North Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Abiodun Abudu Balogun, dropped this hint yesterday during the graduation ceremony of the train-

that government claimed to have spent on oil subsidy in 2011, only N270billion was appropriated with the rest going into the hands of major and minor oil thieves.”

He advised the Federal Government to plug the leakage, so that government could save funds and as well sustain the subsidy.

According to him, N270 billon is not too much for government to spend on 150 million Nigerians yearly to

make them live above the poverty line.

The labour leader expressed dissatisfaction with the dimension the prosecution of those accused of siphoning the N1.3trillion oil subsidy money had assumed.

He said the Federal Government was deceiving Nigerians with its handling of the matter as he alleged that the major actors in the looting of the funds were

neither punished nor included in the litigation.

Omar, who said states that had not begun implementation of the minimum wage should be ready for the NLC, said N18, 000 minimum wage was too meager to be considered problematic by any state in the country.

He reiterated commitment to the advocacy for a living wage for all workers in the country.

Governors tasked on domestication of FoI Act KEMI OLAITAN IBADAN

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L-R: Proto Presbyter, Methodist Church of the Trinity, Tinubu Square, Lagos, Very Rev. Stephen Tunde Adegbite; Prelate’s Chaplain, Very Rev. Dan Agbese; Prelate, Methodist Church Nigeria, His Eminence Dr. Sunday Ola Makinde and Bishop of Tinubu, Rt. Rev. Sunday Oluyemisi Ogunlere, at the Easter service in Lagos, yesterday.

PHOTO: ADEMOLA AKINLABI

PDP member shot dead, others injured in attack ABIODUN NEJO ADO EKITI

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here was tension in Erijinyan Ekiti at the weekend, following the shooting to death of a Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, member, Mr. Ayodele Jeje, by some

people alleged to be Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, thugs.

Others injured in the fracas include the mother of another PDP member in the community, Mr. Segun Adewumi, as well as his younger brother; who are being treated for gunshot

Iwopin paper mill commences operation soon –Lawmaker FEMI OYEWESO

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ees of the National Directorate of Employment, NDE, held at Abigi and Ijebu Igbo area of the state.

Balogun, who also empowered over 100 youths that underwent the six-month NDE training, also said that the mill would reduce over dependence on imported newsprint as well as unemployment in the country.

He said contracts between the Bureau of Public Enterprises, BPE, and the core investor to bring back the paper mill to life had reached advanced stage. Balogun said the process for its operation has got to 85 percent implementation stage.

“The BPE was ready to

fulfill its own part of the bargain towards ensuring that the paper mill is resuscitated. The process for its take-off had also got to a reasonable level now as compensation had been paid and it is my hope that when it eventually takes off, many of our unemployed youth will be engaged.”

It will be recalled that the paper mill was established by the Murtala/Obasanjo administration in 1976 while the Nigerian Newsprint Manufacturing Company, Oku-Iboku, Akwa Ibom State was established by the Babangida administration, but all are now in a state of disrepair.

wounds at an undisclosed hospital in Ado Ekiti.

Sources said a PDP leader in the state, Senator Clement Awoyelu, was not spared as his cars were vandalised in the attack.

The attack, which occurred on Saturday night ahead of the planned defection of about 1, 000 ACN members to the PDP billed for yesterday, had become a blame game for the two parties.

While the PDP said its members were attacked at a preparatory meeting by ACN thugs, the ACN said it was PDP factions that attacked each other.

State PDP Chairman, Mr. Makanjuola Ogundipe, said that Jeje, Adewumi and others were attacked during a preparatory meeting for a programme where Mr. Segun Adewumi was billed “to lead over 1, 000 members of the ACN to the PDP.” Ogundipe, in a statement by his media aide, Mr. Femi Omolusi, said “many were injured and cars were dam-

aged.”

The PDP boss called on the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Mohammed Abubakar and the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Sotonye Wakama, to intervene and bring the perpetrators to book.

But state ACN Chairman, Chief Olajide Awe, who hails from the community, said his party was not involved in the attack.

Awe said the build up to the crisis had started since Thursday when some PDP members who belonged to a former governor’s group clashed with members of another group in the party over a planned rally by the former in the community.

The ACN chairman said Adewumi once indicated interest to contest for the House of Assembly under the ACN in the 2011 general election.

“Since he was not allowed to contest based on the fact that he is still a serving civil servant in Lagos State, he has not been working with the ACN in the town.”

tate governors in the country have been charged to show commitment to accountability and transparency by domesticating the Freedom of Information, FoI Act. A legal practitioner and industrialist, Chief Adebayo Akande, gave the charge in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, while presenting a lecture entitled; “Nigeria’s Industrial Economy at a Full Circle: A look at Five Decades of Industrialisation,” at the Department of Sociology, University of Ibadan.

He expressed concern that only Ekiti and Lagos States have so far domesticated the Act, indicating that many of the governors still abhor transparency.

He also lamented that corruption continues to strangulate the country’s development, saying that those fighting corruption are not free from corruption.

Akande, who is the Chairman of WestMidlands Communications, said the poor in the country are bearing the brunt of corruption because government and some others have become plunderers.

He said it is a paradox that Nigerians living in poverty are on the rise while Nigeria’s economy is growing, saying; “this is not encouraging and more needs to be done to ameliorate the situation. Corruption is the greatest evil arresting the development of Nigeria. It is strangulating genuine economic ideas.”

While taking a historic look at the decades of industrialisation in the country, he said the economy has descended in the last 50 years, adding that this is reflected in the value of the naira to the dollar.

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OKAY OSUJI

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ake recruitment agencies are now cashing in on the high unemployment figure in the country to dupe unsuspecting job seekers.

Investigation has shown that hundreds of posters are daily being pasted at different locations in the Lagos metropolis and its environs, soliciting for prospective job seekers.

The fake recruitment agencies ask for application fees ranging from N2,000 to N5,000 per applicant.

The most prominent

South West

Monday, April 1, 2013

Fake recruitment agencies invade Lagos areas where these posters are mainly pasted include Ojuelegba, Oshodi, Mile 2, Tejuosho Yaba, Palmgrove, Ikeja, Ijeshatedo, Maryland, Mushin and Okota.

Similarly, some of these so-called recruitment agencies advertise for high profile jobs such as managing directors, managers, assistant managers and supervisors.

A survey by our city correspondent shows that some of them always ask for advance documentation fees before forms are issued to

prospective applicants to fill.

Also, it was discovered that the fees vary with the types and classes of jobs being sought.

Moreover, it was found out that many of these agencies do not include official addresses, but rather demand that job seekers contact them through phone lines provided on the posters.

Some of the recruitment agencies require that job seekers submit their passport photos and private forwarding addresses for future contacts.

When our correspondent visited one of such agencies at Ojuelegba, some applicants were filling out job forms after paying N3,000 each as registration fees.

It was further learnt that the fees were not unconnected with a recent advertisement for existing vacancies at one of the unnamed new generation banks seeking graduates with Higher National Diploma, bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees.

On further inquiry, it was learnt that those to be recruited would undergo training

and tutelage for three months before deployment to the phantom bank’s branches.

Some of the applicants interviewed said they hoped to secure bank employment through the agency, even as they expressed some reservations on the genuineness and veracity of the advertisement.

They claimed that though they paid to get application forms, they were yet to be told the examination and interview dates, including the identity of the bank.

One of the applicants, Peter Isyiaku, said he had resigned to fate and hoping for the best, even as he saw the process as the only way of securing a job.

He said: “I have been walking the streets for over two years after completing the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, and responding to many applications from newspaper’s advertisements without success.

“I am not oblivious of the fact that many of these so-called recruitment agen-

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cies are fakes and only out to dupe desperate job seekers, I am only hoping the bank invites us for an interview.”

Even when officials of the agency declined request to our enquiries, they were busy collecting money and giving out application forms to job seekers who thronged the compound.

When contacted on the issue, the state Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Ngozi Braide, said even when no law banned individuals or groups from advertising job vacancies through any medium, it was proper that applicants be more reticent and careful while approaching such agencies.

She said: “It is usual for persons or institutions to advertise any legal products or services in any medium of their choice but our advice is for ‘buyers to beware’.

“They should make proper enquiries before entering into any agreement. Even at that, the law would go after anyone or agency that wilfully dupes unsuspecting job applicants whenever such is brought to our notice.”

Oyo: Investigate ex-SSG guard’s murder, ACN tells IG L-R: Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi; National President, Nigeria Labour Congress NLC, Comrade Mohammed Umar; National Deputy President, Comrade Promise Adewusi, and Head of Department, Administration and Industrial Relations, Comrade Emmanuel Ugboaja, during a courtesy visit to the governor, ahead of the NLC National Administrative Council meeting, in Ado-Ekiti, recently.

Don’t go on strike, labour unions warn Osun workers The NLC can only call you on strike on the basis of a collective decision by all constituent unions in its fold.”

Olatunji added that executives of unions, such as Nigerian Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE, Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, Medical and Health Workers Union of Nigeria, Nigeria Civil Service Union, Trade Union Congress, ought to have discussed the strike.

He said: “The state government, who is our employer, had at various times assured us that it is not opposed to our demand for implementa-

tion of the minimum wage for grade levels 08 and above and it has indeed informed us that in about four weeks, the result of the efforts will be made known to us.

“We therefore do not understand why a few persons are hell bent on stampeding us to go on strike which they are not mandated to call.

“We call on you to disregard the call to strike in question for the simple reason that it will lead us nowhere or achieve any meaningful purpose. It is our belief that the labour movement in the public service of Osun State is in dare need of self-healing.”

abour unions in Osun State yesterday called on workers to ignore the “call to strike” by some unknown persons who claimed to be acting under the umbrella of the Nigeria labour Congress, NLC, Trade Union Congress, TUC, and Joint Negotiating Council, JNC. The state Chairman of the Association of Senior Civil Servants of Nigeria, Comrade Akinyemi Olatunji, said this while addressing a press conference at the state NULGE Secretariat,

Osogbo on behalf of other unions.

He told the workers that: “The said strike is being masterminded by about three to four persons who neither constituted nor elicited the participation of the leaders chairmen and secretaries of unions before deciding on your behalf. This, to us, is not only undemocratic; it is insulting to our intelligence as equal partners in the labour movement.

“Most of the signatories to the notice of the strike in question are not your representatives as workers in the public service of the state.

OJO OYEWAMIDE

Appeal Court ruling has vindicated me –Oke

ADEOLU ADEYEMO OSOGBO

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AKURE

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he Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship candidate in Ondo State, Olusola Oke, said the Court of Appeal verdict, which restored the party’s name to his petition against Governor Olusegun Mimiko’s victory, had removed the impression that he was “a fatherless candidate”.

Reacting to the ruling at

the weekend, Oke said after studying the decision of the Court of Appeal, he would know whether to go back to the Ondo State Governorship Election Petitions Tribunal to present further evidence.

He said: “Two things have come out of the ruling. The first one is the rejoining of PDP into the case. You know it has its own political propaganda. The impression was given that I was a fatherless

candidate, that I have no platform. That impression has now been removed. That political stigma is removed.

“The other one is the restoration of the paragraphs struck out by the tribunal. We need to study the implication of the restoration of those paragraphs. If it requires calling fresh evidence, we will go back to the tribunal and urge them on the basis of the ruling to admit further evidence.

If we think that those paragraphs are already covered by evidence we have given on record, then there will be no need to reopen the case.”

Oke said the Court of Appeal ruling had solidified and consolidated his confidence that there were still men and women on the Bench who continued to maintain integrity and who constituted the hope of the common man in the country.

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ction Congress of Nigeria, ACN, has called on the Inspector General of Police, Muhammed Abubakar, to investigate the killing of the guard of an Accord Party member and former Secretary to the Oyo State Government, Mr. Ayodele Adigun.

ACN made the call in a statement issued by its state Publicity Secretary, Hon. Dauda Kolawole.

Kolawole said it was necessary to investigate the incident so that some people would not get away with the murder of the hapless night guard whom it said was probably sacrificed for political propaganda’s sake.

He said: “For close to two years now, after the exit of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, politicians who ruled the state for eight years and whose regime was renowned for spillage of blood and daylight murder of political opponents, Oyo State has witnessed peace and tranquillity.

“We need to invite the Inspector General to our state to investigate this murder.

We must get to the roots of this murder of the night guard.”

Kolawole said that apart from the unprecedented infrastructural development which the ACN-led govern-

ment had brought to Oyo State, peace was the party’s greatest achievement.

He said: “With the 2015 elections close by, the people of Oyo State, who are no fools, have been asking questions each time those agents of violence, who brought political murder, thuggery and violence to the lexicon of politics in Oyo State, ask voters to allow them return to Agodi Government House.

“Seeing that in the last two years or thereabout, there has been unprecedented peace and quiet in our state, we cannot rule out the fact that they may have martyred that hapless night guard to pollute our river of peace, in order to score a point that we are not different from them. This should be a great lead for the police investigators.”

Kolawole said in the history of politics and government in the state, no government had demonstrated commitment to tolerance and peace as the Governor Abiola Ajimobi government.

He added that the ACN government had raised the bar of governance “to such a level that all those politicians whose hands were soiled with the blood of the people can never get their votes again”.

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Monday, April 1, 2013

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ICPC verifies e-governance to fish out ghost workers

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he Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has begun a check on e-governance system’s mode of paying salaries with a view to uncover sharp practices in pay roll and fish out ghost workers in Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) across the country.

Chairman of ICPC, Mr. Ekpo Nta, dropped the

hint in his recent NTA International interview - Issues of The Moment programme.

He disclosed that operatives of ICPC were already in the fields visiting banks to check whether the “person whose name is on the nominal roll and on the pay roll in a particular ministry is the same person who is receiving it in the bank”.

Insisting that “clever internet experts” could

insert a fake name at the pay roll section, Nta said that ICPC operatives were currently carrying out authentication of what is on nominal roll and that of pay roll in some banks.

He said these checks were necessary because of the e-governance system of paying salaries had removed so many bottlenecks, as cashiers “now pay directly to the banks” Nta said: “In the past,

you had a whole lot of people involved up to the cashier to move money, but now the system has removed those elements of man to man contact.”

The ICPC Chairman said these checks by ICPC operatives were working well and called on the members of the public to avail themselves the opportunity by contacting the commission promptly.

He agreed that there should be a lot more of

Catholic Archbishop of Onitsha, Most Rev. Valerian Okeke and Chaplain of Onitsha Prisons, Rev.Fr. Pius Nwankwo (middle) with 31 inmates that were consecrated with the sacrament of confirmation in Onitsha, yesterday.

Group flays EFCC for poor handling of N150m fraud case OLUFEMI ADEOSUN ABUJA

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group under the auspices Kogi Lawyers in the Diaspora (LLTD) has flayed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for poor handling of corruption charges filed against two former Kogi State commissioners - Tolorunju Faniyi and Abiodun Ojo. The EFCC has been prosecuting the suspects for alleged N150 million fraud at the Federal High Court, Lokoja.

In a statement signed by its officials in Abuja, Adinoyi Malik and Olugbenga Samuel, the United States-based group regretted that “the EFCC sees Kogi as a very fertile ground to despoil, maraud and plunder.”

According to the group, it was unexplainable the sudden realisation by the anti-graft

agency the lack of evidence and substance to continue with a case of corruption it took to court in 2010.

The group’s statement reads: “This is the same way EFCC failed to investigate the immediate past governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris, who crudely accumulated wealth and property beyond his emoluments between 2003 and 2012.

“Where did Idris get the resources to own Gubabi Royal Hotel, Dreamland Suites, Summerest Hotel, Palmac Hotel, Executive Suite and Grand Ibro Hotel, formerly known as Ibro Hotel, among other property both in and outside Nigeria?

“But the EFCC chose to charge another former governor, Prince Abubakar Audu, to the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court after taking him before

four different courts and judges in Lokoja in the face of a pending charge duly initiated by the same EFCC at the High Court presided over by Justice S. T. Hussaini.

“We cannot continue this way; the only way to fight corruption is

to bring to justice those who have looted public funds. Their punishment will serve as a deterrent to others who may be nursing similar plans.

What has become clear in this circumstance is that EFCC is not performing.”

communication literacy to fully establish ways of reporting, adding that the ICPC had fully got involved in public enlightenment.

Nta said he had started clearing the perception that “you need to physically report infractions

to us” as this had slowed down ICPC activities.

“I want to use this opportunity to state that the moment you have any credible issue to send to us, go ahead and do it as we have a much more responsive system now,” he said.

Anambra 2014: Ngige motivates ACN excos with N15.5m, cars CHARLES OKEKE AWKA

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he Senator representing Anambra Central Senatorial District, Dr Chris Ngige, at the weekend gave N15.5 million and vehicles to the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) executive committees at the state and the 21 local government areas.

He also extended the largess to the 327 wards executives and committed chieftains of the party.

Sources said that Ngige showered the gifts on the ACN executives as part of measures to reposition the party.

But a source, who did not want his name mentioned, said that the senator motivated the party executive with the gifts to support his governorship bid.

Announcing the gifts during an interactive session he held with the party members and executives drawn from the 21 local government areas at his campaign office in Awka, the Anambra State capital, Ngige thanked the supporters for their steadfastness and urged them to continue to remain loyal to the party so as to achieve success in future elections.

However, details of the gifts personally distributed

by Ngige is as follows: the state executive committee led by Chief Jerry Obidike got N1 million, the 327 wards executives received N10 million, the 21 local government areas executive committees got N2.5 million, while women leaders shared N2.1 million.

Among those who received gift of cars were Chief Hyacinth Nweke, a key officer in the Ngige Campaign Organisation and Hon. Mrs. Callista Nwachukwu, a woman leader.

Others are Mrs Tina Akonobi and Mr. Kenechukwu Nzekwe.

The Chairman of Anaocha Local Government chapter of ACN was given a brand new bus in replacement of the one that was allegedly burnt by hoodlums during the last general elections.

Senator Ngige, however, reiterated his support for a single tenure of five years for governors and President.

Decrying bad governance in Nigeria, he urged the people to rise up and start querying their leaders on how they manage public funds.

Ngige said: “It is bad that in Nigeria, governors are not only accountable to anybody, they intimidate people during election, especially when they are seeking reelection.”

‘FG didn’t release money for centenary celebration’ TERH AGBEDEH

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he General Manager of the National Theatre, Mallam Kabir Yusuf, has said that the Federal Government would not release money to the organisation for the year-long centenary celebration already flagged off.

Mallam Yusuf, who was recently honoured in Lagos by the National Association of Nigerian Theatre Arts Practitioners (NANTAP) as an ambassador for theatre in the country, spoke to our correspondent in his office

in Lagos.

He said: “The Federal Government is not releasing money for the centenary because it said the celebration is going to be private-driven.”

Yusuf, however, that the National Theatre would embark on certain measures to raise money for its activities.

He said: “We have gold here and the land we have is the gold. We have a master plan agreed by the government and there are people investing. Already, before we have gone for adverts, we have over 1,000 applications, people looking to buy into it.

“There was a master plan

for the National Theatre consisting of a four-star hotel, shopping mall, offices all around. There is no theatre in the world that sits on its own, they are surrounded by hotels, drinking houses, discos, offices, banks, shopping malls, museums, art galleries, holiday inn, so tourists are attracted, they don’t go far away from the theatre area.”

Yusuf said the government had appointed a consultant to look into the National Theatre original master plan.

He said: “We told the consultant that we have a short

time. We must tidy up this thing before we advertise it.

We will generate the money within us and plough it back into the National Theatre.

“The Ministry of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation is taking part in the centenary and the minister called for our proposals, which we have sent to him.

“During the centenary event, we will host some exhibitions, fashion shows and films. We will also work with the National Film Corporation to host the first film critics, which is not being done in Nigeria.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

South South

Monday, April 1, 2013

11

Lack of diligent prosecution blamed for crude oil theft EMMA GBEMUDU YENAGOA

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hief of Naval Staff, Vice-Admiral Dele Ezeoba, yesterday blamed the high rate of crude oil theft and pipeline vandalism in the Niger Delta on lack of diligent prosecution of arrested suspects by the responsible agencies.

Ezeoba said this in Brass, Bayelsa State, shortly after visiting creeks and military formations under the Central Naval Command.

According to him, security personnel, including the navy had lived up to their billings by arresting suspected oil thieves,

stressing that prosecution agencies had failed to diligently execute their jobs.

The naval chief said the vandalisation of pipelines and stealing of products could be checked if the prosecution agencies arraign and jail the suspects linked with such illegal activities.

It was learnt that prosecution agencies that could arraign and prosecute suspected oil thieves are the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and the police.

Ezeoba raised fears that efforts of the navy and the Joint Task Force,

JTF, in battling the menace would amount to nothing without diligent prosecution of the offenders.

His words: “The law enforcement agencies that have responsibility for prosecution should ensure that those culprits, who have been caught and charged to court, are prosecuted and jailed.

“That will serve as a strong measure of deterrent for would-be perpetrators. What we find is that there is more of the surveillance and response, but that of enforcement is negligible. It is frustrating the efforts of the officers and men who put their lives on the line to fight this scourge.”

Earlier, in a courtesy visit to Governor Seriake Dickson in Yenagoa, the naval chief decried the lack of commitment by the multinational oil firms in fighting the scourge.

Ezeoba said oil firms must provide sustainable state-of-the-art security apparatus to aid proactive response to oil theft by security agencies.

“Instead of being proactive in the war against vandalism, security agencies are reacting to the situation. What we are doing now is that because of lack of commitment by the oil majors to provide state-of-the art 21st century security apparatus to make our

L-R: Abia State Governor, Theodore Orji; his Deputy, Sir Emeka Ananaba and Speaker, state House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Udeh Okochukwu, at the South-East Preachers and Leaders Seminar of the Church of Christ in Umuahia, yesterday.

Customs destroys N1.7m bus load of chicken RICHARD NDOMA CALABAR

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he Federal Operations Unit, Zone C, of the Nigerian Customs Service, NCS, in Owerri, at the weekend, destroyed a bus-load of frozen poultry chicken that was arrested along Odukpani Junction while on patrol near Calabar in Cross River State.

Reacting to questions by journalists at the Customs House near the Calabar Free Trade Zone, Head of the unit, Comptroller of Customs, Dimka Victor David, confirmed that the

bus was conveying 202 cartons of frozen chicken worth over N1.7 million.

According to him, his men on patrol had to confiscate the cartons of contaminated and contraband chicken and set them ablaze at their burning site within the Customs premises in the presence of State Security Service, SSS, the NDLEA, the state ministry of environment and other security agencies, because they were contraband.

He said his men from the Calabar office had to chase the J5 bus carrying the contraband with

registration number: LAGOS XW 871 EKY at about 9.00pm when the driver refused to stop for normal security search usually conducted by his men, disclosing that the driver had to abandon the vehicle and disappeared into the bush.

During a search, they discovered that the owners of the chicken merely used 20 bags of ‘animal feeds grains’ to block the 202 bags of frozen chicken which were neatly wrapped with black cellophane nylon.

The comptroller maintained that the contrabands which were to

expire in 2014 were produced by Friaves Industrial Dealimentos and imported from Brazil.

He warned those behind such crime in the country to desist, otherwise those caught would be dealt with severely by the law of the land.

“One thing most worrisome is that the sources of these contrabands are doubtful and hazardous. That is why Customs and other security agencies are alive to their responsibility in order to save our people from contamination and death, and also to help our local farmers grow,” he said.

actions proactive and preventive, we are being reactionary.

“That is germane to this fight so that we will deter would-be intruders and avert a situation where pipelines are already breached before we are called in to action. That is the mandate of the oil majors. They have to provide frontline security that will ensure the integrity of the pipe-

lines,” he explained.

Ezeoba noted that the navy had achieved 80 per cent surveillance of pipelines in the Niger Delta with its maritime patrol aircraft, helicopters and patrol boats.

The chief of naval staff, however, reminded that available naval capacity was not enough, adding that some pipelines were laid in inaccessible areas in the sea.

Cross River to spend N965m on LG poll RICHARD NDOMA CALABAR

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hairman of the Cross River State Independent Electoral Commission, CROSIEC, Mr. Patrick Otu, has said that the commission will spend N965 million on local government election in the state.

He also said arrangements have been concluded to conduct a free and fair 2013 local government election in the 18 local government areas of the state that will be to the satisfaction of every stakeholder so that the election tribunal may not have any work to do.

Otu, who stated this in an interview with our reporter at the mini-theatre of the state Cultural Centre in Calabar after announcing the notice of election for the 2013 local government elections slated for September 21, 2013 in the state with major stakeholders and political parties in the state.

He said N965 million has been set aside as budgetary provision for the conduct of the election in all the 18 local government councils in the state, including bye-elections and logistics.

According to him, Cross River State is one of the few states that have consistently maintained democratic principles in the conduct of elections, stressing that it is in Cross River State that democracy is taking its root today out of the 36 states of the federation while others are wallowing in caretaker committees.

He advised political parties in the state not see themselves as portfolio-

carrying farmers, but be seen as agent of social change capable of transforming the operations of the commission so as to take the commission to greater heights Otu said political parties wishing to participate in the 2013 local government elections and is genuinely registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, should within the next one week visit the commission and fill the required forms as required by the law.

He said only teachers of state government schools will be appointed as adhoc staff of the commission and that they shall present themselves for training and shall be employed for the purpose of the local government poll.

The CROSIEC boss said the commission shall without hesitation countermand the poll in any ward or local government area where a political party, person or persons try to subvert the rule by tampering with or otherwise changing or mutilating the list of Ad-hoc staff.

The commission chairman also said that political parties and candidates should of necessity comply with CROSIEC guidelines to forestall embracement as the commission shall not accommodate any form of irregularity from any party, agents, or individuals.

Otu said the commission shall invoke necessary and corresponding legal measures against all malpractices, violence and activities of political parties, groups and persons aimed at destabilising the election process.

12

North

Monday, April 1, 2013

Federal character: Senate probing 300 agencies for non-compliance –Kuta •Says Aliyu can’t intimidate him in political contest PRISCILLA DENNIS MINNA

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he Senate Committee on Federal Character said it was still investigating about 300 agencies and parastatals over allegations of non-adherence to the Federal Character principles in employment across the country.

The Chairman of the committee, Senator Awaisu Kuta, who disclosed this yesterday at an interactive session with journalists in Minna, said it followed petitions written against the

agencies and parastatals.

Kuta explained that out of the 300 organisations, 13 parastatals and agencies considered to be juicy had more petitions written against them.

He, however, regretted that lack of fund had been hindering the investigation of the committee.

Kuta, representing Niger East Senatorial District, also said that no aspirant could intimidate him in the contest for the senatorial seat in the 2015 general elections.

He said with over 30 years’ experience in politics, he understood the

Nigerian politics and could not be scared of any opponent eying the seat.

The senator was reacting to a question whether he would contest the election in case Governor Muazu Babangida Aliyu decided to run for the senatorial seat.

Kuta said he was never afraid of contesting the election, no matter the calibre of people battling for the seat.

He said: “I will go with the wishes of my people on the election as long as they give me the go ahead... Nobody can in-

timidate me at my age in Nigeria or in Niger State.

This is because Niger State belongs to us all.

Nobody is my senior in politics in the state. So, I cannot fear anyone or be afraid to contest.

“It is just that now, the whole system is bastardised with the president serving as president and as the leader of the party and the state governors also as governors and the leaders of the party in their states. But before, it was not like that. But by the grace of God, I will contest the election.”

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Gombe to engage 1,200 ‘Kalare’ youths DANJUMA WILLIAMS GOMBE

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ombe State Government said it would soon engage another set of 1,200 repentant Kalare youths after their recruitment and training at the state National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, Orientation Camp in Mallam Sidi.

The Acting General Manager of the Gombe State Agency for Social Services and other Related Matters, Comrade Babaji Hassan Dunama, disclosed this in an interview with our correspondent.

Dunama disclosed that all arrangements regarding the recruitment had been concluded.

He said this was part of government’s programme of positively engaging the youths rather than allowing them to be used as political thugs, popularly known as Yan-Kalare in the state.

The acting general manager said just like the first 1,200 youths that were trained last year at the NYSC Orientation Camp as Road, Environmental and Ward Marshals, the new set of

youths would be trained in the same field “due to the growing demands by many of these youths who have willingly forsaken their dangerous activities”.

Dunama, who is the immediate past state chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, said Governor Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo had given approval for the recruitment and subsequent training of the youths.

He explained that following the positive attitude exhibited by the repentant ‘Kalare Boys,’ which was testified to by the governor and some members of the public, the repentant youths, now called ‘Tolba Youths’ had made tremendous impact on the society.

He said the agency had been collaborating with organisations such as the Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, in the moulding and discipline of the youths.

According to him, the youths now help in monitoring crime by their peers in their various communities.

Kwara guber: ACN has no preferred candidate –Chair WOLE ADEDEJI ILORIN

K The Orchestra and Choir of The Apostolic Faith Church singing during the 2013 Easter Concert Programme entitled “I gave my Life for you,” at the church headquarters in Lagos, yesterday.

PHOTO:YINKA ADEPARUSI

Stop Fulani, Tiv killings, bishop urges Suswam HENRY IYORKASE MAKURDI

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overnor Gabriel Suswam of Benue State has been advised to proffer immediate solution to the ongoing killings between the Fulani herdsmen and Tiv farmers at Guma and Gwer west local government areas of the state.

The Catholic Priest in charge of Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Udei, in Guma council, Rev. Fr. Chris Utov, gave the advice in an interview with National Mirror shortly after celebrat-

ing Easter Mass to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Utov said the governor should involve the affected people in the crisis to hold meetings with a view to bringing a lasting peace to the area.

He suggested that a dialogue at the instance of the state should be held where all the parties concerned in the dispute should be involved with view to arriving at far-reaching decisions.

The reverend father emphasised the need for indigenes, includ-

ing traditional rulers, youths, religious and political leaders to show concern over the crisis which, according to him, has claimed over 100 of lives, properties and farm produce.

Utov also advised that government to raise a committee comprising of the natives to look for ways to end the bloody confrontation.

The reverend father, who said he had been serving in the area since 2007, disclosed that the government appeared not ready to find lasting solution to the crisis.

He said: “One can imagine that the people have deserted their abodes, especially at Yogbo, Anter, Uhembe and Gborgyo. The inhabitants have left these places for the fear of being attacked at night by the Fulani herdsmen.”

Utov urged the warring Fulani and Tiv to sheathe their swords in the spirit of Easter, noting that “there is nothing prayer cannot do”.

He enjoined the people to start afresh to be able o live together in peace and harmony.

wara State chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, said it had not picked anyone as its anointed candidate for the 2015 governorship election.

The state Chairman of the party, Kayode Olawepo, said this, also denied insinuations that the state ACN Caretaker Committee had been dissolved.

Olawepo described the purported dissolution reportedly ordered by a “dissident” stakeholders’ forum at a meeting in Ilorin as a ruse.

The chairman said the so-called ‘stakeholders forum’ was a group of nonconformists, confused and desperate politicians seeking relevance and defending the sole gubernatorial interest of a former candidate of the party.

He said: “This is to state for the umpteenth time that there is no crisis in Kwara ACN. There are no factions in the party but the existence of a dissident group that is seeking relevance and working for the sole interest of a former candidate of the

party.

“The pronouncement of the so-called stakeholders’ forum that it has dissolved the state caretaker committee further exposed these disgruntled politicians within our midst.

“What they have committed is a grievous act of anti-party and an affront on the national chairman and national executive committee of the party that has sole power to dissolve the caretaker committee in Kwara State and their nefarious activities have been duly reported to the national headquarters of the party.

“There are a number of other groups within the party like the G15, Integrity Group, Ifesowapo, among others, and none of them has been using the secretariat for any of its meetings.

“We have therefore reached out to the national headquarters of our party to secure for us a new and acceptable secretariat in Ilorin...

“Therefore, the party dissociates itself from the so-called stakeholders’ pronouncement; Kwara ACN has no candidate for the 2015 election.”

Monday, April 1, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

13

Politics

Attack on Yoruba: Knocks for Ahmadu Ali

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2015: ACN accuses PDP of using SURE-P funds for campaign FELIX NWANERI

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he Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) yesterday alleged that the SURE-P funds meant to cushion the effects of the fuel subsidy removal have become campaign funds for President Goodluck Jonathan and his party ahead of 2015 general elections.

The party, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said its position stems from the crisis rocking the Lagos State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) over the sharing of the funds.

It added that money being spent on fuel subsidies was in the past taken out of the Federation Account; hence funds accruable to SURE-P should have been divided among the three tiers of government in accordance with the revenue allocation formula.

“By virtue of the SUREP arrangement, part of the funds is now available for the Federal Government to share freely by approving contracts, programmes and activities in accordance with its whims and caprices.

The PDP-controlled govern-

ment has now seen the accruing huge funds as money which may well be spent with special favour for its cronies and party affiliates, without regard to the constitution. For President Jonathan, this is an impeachable offence,” ACN said.

Buttressing its point on the abuse of the fund, the party said most state coordinators for President Jonathan’s campaign in 2011 are also the current state coordinators for SUREP, adding that this is not a mere coincidence but a wellorchestrated attempt to give the Jonathan campaign an unfair head-start ahead of 2015 with public funds.

It said when it alerted the nation on the abuse of the SURE-P funds in a statement in February, the Federal Government as well as SURE-P managers rushed to deny any abuse of the funds and called it unprintable names, but “today, the truth has prevailed as the PDP members themselves have confirmed that the SURE-P funds are being shared among them across the federation.”

The party said: “Thanks to the alleged hijacking of the SURE-P funds meant for the PDP members in Lagos

Action Alliance expels erring members in Oyo KEMI OLAITAN IBADAN

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he Oyo State chapter of the Action Alliance (AA) has affirmed the expulsion of 13 erring members of the party in the state.

The party re-affirmed the expulsion of the 13 members at the congress held in Ibadan, the state capital, where a new executive for the party was put in place.

The expelled members were found guilty of antiparty activities by the state congress held on November 19, 2011 and recommended their expulsion to the national secretariat of the party.

The approval of the ex-

pulsion was conveyed in a December 12, 2011 letter by the National Chairman of the party, the late Senator Suleiman Salawu, to the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in Oyo State.

The state chapter, in a March 20, 2013 letter to the State Security Service (SSS) and another letter dated March 23 to the REC, also alleged that the expelled members were impersonating the executives of the party.

The party therefore called on the SSS to ensure that the said former members desist from the impersonation and alleged deliberate acts of misinforming the public as well as acts aimed at causing crisis in the state.

State by the Bode George faction and the crisis that it has generated, the nation can now see that the Jonathan administration has wilfully converted the money accruing from SURE-P to campaign funds.”

Citing a public statement by a faction of the Lagos PDP, which the party said, leaves no one in doubt that

the SURE-P funds have become a war chest for Jonathan, ACN called for an independent investigation into how the money accruing to SURE-P has been disbursed since the inception of the programme, with a view to establishing to what extent the funds have been abused and in order to prescribe the appropriate sanctions for

those found culpable.

Lagos PDP faction, according to the ACN in a statement issued at the weekend had said: “Bode Oyedele cannot coordinate Sure-P in Lagos State. We reject him. He has packed all Bode George’s agents as Sure-P beneficiaries. Is this the objective of Sure-P? Some local governments like Eti-Osa, Ajeromi,

Lagos Island etc. please find out how they got the beneficiaries.”

ACN insisted that the development is a very serious violation of the constitution, because the State Implementation Committee (SIC), a body not recognised by law, has been set up to distribute the SURE-P largesse to PDP members in all the states.

L-R: Vice-President Namadi Sambo, Secretary General of Muslim World Leads, Dr. Bin Abdul- Mushin Al Turki; Sultan of Sokoto, Sa’ad Abubakar III, and Speaker, House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal at the International Conference on Islam and Fundamentals of Peaceful Co-existence in Nigeria, at the weekend.

PDP cautions Aregbesola on ‘State of Osun’ SINA FADARE

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he People Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun State has warned Governor Rauf Aregbesola against the use of “State of Osun” instead of Osun State, cautioning corporate bodies, especially banks, and individuals not to transact business with the current administration under the name “State of Osun”.

The state chairman of

the party, Alhaji Ganiyu Ola-Oluwa in a press statement issued by the Director of Media and Strategy of PDP, Prince Diran Odeyemi advised Aregbesola to drop the name “State of Osun” and stick to the constitutionally recognised name, “ Osun State”.

Citing a recent judgement by a Lagos High Court presided by Justice Ebenezer Adebanjo, which dismissed a charge against a 20-year-old man, David

Monday, when his prosecutor referred to Lagos State as ‘State of Lagos’ which contradicts “Section 3 of the Constitution,” the party pointed out that what is applicable to Lagos is also applicable to Osun.

“This declaration by this judge is not restricted to Lagos State as it affects all states of the federation.”

“Lagos exists by virtue of Section 3 of the Constitution and it comprises of named local government areas. To

say The State of Lagos is to refer in my opinion to a state that belong to Lagos. It is not the same thing as Lagos State. It is for this reason that I do not accept that the party against whom the application is brought exists”.

Osun PDP therefore urged Aregbesola to digest this and have a rethink because the name “State of Osun does not exist as far as we are concerned and cannot be recognised now and in the future.”

Tinubu tasks Nigerians on accountability

N

ational Leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu has urged Nigerians to develop a new level of intellectual inquisitiveness that will empower them to hold their leaders accountable.

Speaking with journal-

ists, yesterday at the St. Andrew’s Anglican Church, Obosi, Anambra State, shortly after a thanksgiving service in honour of former Secretary General of the Commonwealth, Chief Emeka Anyaoku and his family, Tinubu said such will not only ensure

accountability by public office holders, but ensure the country’s unity.

He said: “Let’s question our leaders about the decisions they make and policies they implement especially when we sense that they are trying to divide this nation along ethnic

and religious lines.”

Tinubu described Anyaoku as a true Nigerian who has lived a life that gives meaning to the words of the country’s old national anthem, which states that “though tribe and tongue may differ, in brotherhood we still stand.”

14

Politics

The recent derogatory remarks made by the former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Ahmadu Ali, that Yoruba are ungrateful people has earned him condemnation from the race. SINA FADARE writes.

Monday, April 1, 2013

Attack on Yoruba: Knocks for Ahmadu Ali

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he recent remarks of Dr. Ahmadu Ali, former National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Yoruba race has once again threw him to where he belong; pool of controversy. In his military and political career, he had been enmeshed in controversies to the extent that he was nicked-name ‘Mr. Controversy’.

This time around, Ali chew more than he could swallow by referring to the Yoruba as ‘ungrateful people’ for failing to worship former President Olusegun Obasanjo, whom he described as the ‘god’ of the Yoruba.

Defending his former boss, Ali said: “This man (Obasanjo) kept the faith and voluntarily handed over to civilians. He could have said he wasn’t going. What can anybody do? After all, it is the gun that got them there. And you people still don’t recognise him, especially the Yoruba people who are totally ungrateful kind of people in this country. Put it like that. They are ungrateful.”

In the interview granted to a national daily, Ali further lambasted Yoruba leaders on the alleged role Obasanjo played in the conspiracy that denied Obafemi Awolowo the Presidency in 1979. “Don’t talk rubbish,” he retorted. “You are talking rubbish. That is the stupidity of the press and the self-appointed Yoruba leaders who are failures in their various fields of endeavour. They are just a total failure… Yoruba are another character.”

For having the audacity to denigrate the Yoruba people, Ali was given a hard knock on the head. Founder of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC), Dr. Frederick Fasehun, who carpeted him, said the former Minister of Education is suffering from oral diarrhoea.

According to Fasehun, Ali’s reckless statement has proved that the former Education Minister, whose mishandling of a students’ crisis led to the death of several youths in 1978, was as insensitive, reckless and narcissistic as ever.

Fasheun regretted that, it was foolhardy for Ali to sweepingly insult world-class Yoruba dignitaries whose shoe latchet he could not untie.

His words: “There are some leaders, who had accidentally found themselves in positions in our national life, but their poor performance made them materials that Nigerians would rather prefer to abandon on the rubbish dump of ignominy. Retired Colonel Ahmadu Ali is one such character.”

He pointed out that history will not forget in a hurry the role Ali played during his inglorious days as a minister.

“Ali may choose to cringe for presidential favours but not at the expense of the Yoruba people. Ali’s quest for relevance, through castigating the entire Yoruba nationality, is misguided, mischievous and suicidal.”

Fasehun advised Ali to face squarely the task of delivering his son, Mam-

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Ali

ALI MAY CHOOSE TO CRINGE FOR PRESIDENTIAL FAVOURS, BUT NOT AT THE EXPENSE OF THE YORUBA PEOPLE... CASTIGATING THE ENTIRE YORUBA NATIONALITY IS MISGUIDED, MISCHIEVOUS AND SUICIDAL man, who is currently facing prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for a N4.4 billion petroleum subsidy scam.

His words: “He who is incapable of putting his house in order should forget about putting the nation in order. Ahmadu Ali should first put his house in order before claiming any moral high ground against the entire Yoruba race.”

The OPC founder said that “the Yoruba people now know some of these characters involved in giving ungodly advice to the powers that be to marginalise our people. Payback time is just around the corner.

“When a flea perches on an elephant and the elephant fails to shake off the pest, the flea begins to assume an illusion of importance. This is why I find it necessary to respond to Ali’s flippancy and verbal diarrhoea,” he said.

Speaking in the same vein, a panYoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, berated the former military administrator, saying Yoruba do not venerate mere positions, but leadership through service to the community, adding that, that is why Obafemi Awolowo was highly respected despite contesting for the highest office in the land and lost, compared to Ali’s hero.

The National Publicity Secretary of Afenifere, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, said: “The difference is that as the Premier of the old Western Region, the late Awolowo used the resources of the region to banish ignorance through free education, eliminated diseases through free health, introduced a television culture to the Yoruba even before France and made the Yoruba aim for the sky by building the 25-storey Cocoa House in

Ibadan, among others.

“In contrast, the years Ali’s hero spent as a leader of Nigeria institutionalised corruption, which deepened poverty for all Nigerians, including the Yoruba. The poverty index in Nigeria was 45 per cent in 1999 and jumped to 67 per cent in 2007, despite unprecedented oil earnings in the same period. The culture of begging, which was alien in Yoruba land, became pronounced under the leadership of the man Ali wants the Yoruba to worship.

“Ahmadu Ali is free to build a shrine for his god in his Igala Kingdom, but he would never be the one to choose a hero for the Yoruba. Talking of gratitude, is there anything the Yoruba owe Ali? They remain ‘grateful’ to him in memory of Akintunde Ojo and other promising students who were murdered in cold blood during the ‘Ali Must Go” crisis of 1978, when Ali was Obasanjo’s Education Minister.”

If Afenifere see Ali’s vituperations as a heap of insult on Yoruba race, the General Secretary of Yoruba Council of Elders(YCE), Dr. Kunle Olajide sees Ali as a careless talker who did not know what he was saying.

Speaking to National Mirror on the issue, Olajide noted that Ali’s derogation of the entire Yoruba race was an irresponsible statement from someone who benefited immensely from the benevolence of a Yoruba man in virtually all his military and political career.

“It shows the tragedy of Nigeria as a nation for somebody who had spent about 25 years in top political positions and yet do not know what to say at a particular time, that is why we are where

we are today as a nation,” he said.

According to him, it is obvious that Ali was targeting another political favour from his master that was why he did not know when he opened his mouth too wide to abuse a whole race and described them as ungrateful people.

“That is why people like him cannot be taken serious because somewhere along the line he wants to please his boss and think it is the Yoruba race that he will use as scaffolding, it is nonsensical and uncalled for,” Olajide said.

He pointed out that Yoruba have produced some eminent leaders like the late sage, Chief Awolowo, Michael Adekunle Ajasin, Adetokunbo Ademola and so many others, “therefore if Ali is looking for a pot of porridge, he cannot rubbish the entire Yoruba because he wanted to please his boss.”

The YCE scribe regretted that such a careless statement which depicts high sense of irresponsibility was coming from a man like Ali. “This is the type of things you get in a country when people who do not merit a position given to them on a platter of gold. There is no doubt that Obasanjo has made his mark in the sand of time which posterity cannot ignore, but we equally have eminent leaders in the race whom we are proud of like Obasanjo,” he explained.

Also irked by Ali’s vituperations, the National Chairman of defunct National Action Council (NAC), Dr. Olapade Agoro, noted that the former Chairman of the PDP should be ignored because he made a political statement.

Speaking with National Mirror, Agoro said Ali was seeking political relevance that has eluded him in the recent time, adding that he was playing to the gallery to please Obasanjo.

Agoro said: “Ali was brought to the lime light by Obasanjo presidency and he should be grateful to him. What he said was not an indictment on the Yoruba race, but the man putting his money where his mouth is. He is a retired military officer who will always be grateful to Obasanjo who played a significant role in his military and political career, therefore all what he was saying was just to please his master.

“Who is Ali to tell us what we must know? It is on record that he has no significant relevance and has never said anything derogatory about Yoruba before, therefore this one from the blue, should be excused because he did not know what he was saying.”

The former presidential candidate noted that Obasanjo is a Yoruba leader of colour and charisma. “Politics aside, he is a man with a lot of respect. Whether we like it or not, he has made his impact in the sand of time and made Yoruba proud. If Jesus Chris did not please everybody, there is no way he could have pleased all the Yoruba. He has played his part well. Not the type of Ali could tell us what we must know and already know.”

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Monday, April 1, 2013

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Many faces of Nigerian VIP HeartBeat

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Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power - Abraham Lincoln

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n life’s trajectory, there are things that keep popping up and you just do not know what to make of them.

Specifically, I am talking about nuanced actions of men and women in power.

Robert Anson Heinlein, the man once described as the dean of American science fiction writers, captured this foible in this quote: Never underestimate the power of human stupidity.

If you are as cerebral and perceptive as the late Afrobeat king, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, such quaint behavior brings the best out of you. His best hits were influenced by the buffooneries of men in power. For the knowing among us, deep beyond the lyrics and instrumentations of Zombie, Alagbon, VIP/Authority Stealing and Unknown Soldier are allegories of man’s bestialities.

If you follow my flow, I have just laid the basis for my piece this week. The acronym VIP stands for Very Important Personality. However, space, time

I

am a painter’s son. From childhood, Baami (my father) imbued in me the love for paints and the brush. I saw him mix paints of different colours to get a different hue. I watched him sing as he climbed the ladders to paint storey buildings and high ceilings. I joined him cut stencils to make imprints and signs. I risked standing beside him as he poured lime (efun) into water, resulting in hot boiling mixture that bubbled, to whitewash or do preparatory coating. He taught me about the scrapper, the sand paper, the thinner, the turpentine and the poly filler. Painting is about aesthetics, bringing out the beauty in a concrete or a car. A home finishing is as fine as the ingenuity of its painter whose sense of colours and their combination guide the house owner.

He also imbued in me another form of aesthetics, the love for nature as he planted beautiful flowers in disused containers, placing them delicately on the windows of his rented congested parlour at our residence located in down town Oke Foko, Ibadan, Oyo State. He lived most of his adult life in Ibadan working as a painting craftsman at the Maintenance Department of the University of Ibadan, between 1957 and 1978. He enrolled me in Abadina Secondary School, UI in 1973 where I schooled among children of academics, although he was an artisan. But people saluted him as the Doctor and he him-

I AM HAPPY MY EDO STATE GOVERNOR ADAMS OSHIOMHOLE REFUSED TO BE PART

OF SUCH FOOLISHNESS.

HE IS A GENUINE VIP

and circumstances give VIP some weird meanings. Within the Nigerian context the late Fela extended the boundaries of its usage to capture the foibles and follies of men in power. And so for him VIP stands for Vagabonds in Power.

Get his message from these lyrics: Man get power Him no know hungry people Him no know jobless people Him no know homeless people Him no know suffering people Him go dey ride best car Him go dey chop best food Him go dey live best house Him go dey waka for road You go dey commot for road for am Him go dey steal money [Chorus] Na Vagabond in Power!

I say him be wrong man etc, etc.

Like Fela, I know many faces of Nigerian VIP. With a central government, 36 state governments and 774 local govern-

ments, we have different hues of VIPs, but the biggest of them all is the federal VIP, which is the reason for the Minister of Information, Labaran Maku-activated Good Governance Tour bogey. Do the states need the endorsement of a federal minister? If yes, who then certifies governance at the federal level? People are saying they have not seen much of the dividends of democracy from many of the states, LGAs and federal.

I share Professor Wole Soyinka’s sentiments that the Good Governance Tour is not worth it. I am happy my Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole refused to be part of such foolishness. He is thus a genuine VIP. There are many like him among our governors. Some have question marks over them.

One in the latter group is Akwa Ibom State Governor Godswill Akpabio, whose middle name is donatus because he runs a government by donation! He has used donation to get sundry endorsements. Even his party, the PDP is celebrating what it calls his “genuine benevolence and kind heartedness”. The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, has dismissed genuine concerns about this brand of government as a “desperate attempt to disparage him and cause a division in the PDP Governors’ Forum”. Cheap and nonsensical grammar.

Akpabio was not the host governor of a PDP meeting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, yet acting on a dubious cue from a joke from Governor Emmanuel Udu-

aghan of Delta State, he rushed in N1 million each in aid of delegates of the six zones of the party for their lunch.

Money bag of South South. See how he put it: “My brother Uduaghan said you are hungry…To take care of your hunger, I am donating the sum each to the SouthSouth secretariat of PDP and I would want each of the chairmen to come and collect the sum at the end of my speech so that members could use that to buy Mr. Biggs”.

Some other of his “genuine benevolence and kind heartedness” gestures include begging multi-millionaire singer, 2face Idibia and his Akwa Ibom bride with a brand new SUV (or is it two?) and a sponsorship of at least 20 family members of Annie Macauley-Idibia to the wedding proper in Dubai, United Arab Emirate. Do you know this man with the itching spending fingers committed the 23 PDP governors to a donation of N230 million (N10m each) in aid of President Goodluck Jonathan’s drive to develop his Otuoke community?

Governor Akpabio has defended his actions, saying all such donations were captured in the state’s 2013 Appropriation Budget. I am not saying His Excellency is a liar, but for the several Doubting Thomas like me he should make public the budget as it concerns the sundry donations.

In deed we still have some money miss road Vagabonds in Power. Their days of reckoning will surely come.

Dimension of aesthetics self referred to himself as a philosopher. He died as a UI pensioner in 2000, while I was struggling as a writer in the dead National Concord. While he lived, I found in him love for the printed word.

Though, he never attended a formal western school in his life, he schooled himself in the three Rs - reading, (w)riting and (a)rithmetic - so he could fit into his environment.

When we consider the aesthetics of words, we want to see the colour and elegance in the writing; we want to see their symphony and presentation. We want to see the mood of the speaker or the writer. We want to see its simplicity, flow and cadence; its content and context and its meaning to make impact. We want to see realism and surrealism; we want to gauge its reach, perspective and depth. When we listen to music, we are not only interested in the sound or beat or the arrangement of its composition; we want to feel its elevating strength, we want see the mood of the composer and connect with his world and how he connects with ours.

The aesthetics of any piece of art is in the personality of the producer.

It comes with his vision, experiences, feelings and values; with his spirituality. The true and faithful artist makes meaning from the madness of the moment and tries to bring order into it with his talent. He sees colours and beauty from the darkness of the world

THE TRUE AND FAITHFUL ARTIST MAKES MEANING FROM THE MADNESS OF THE MOMENT AND TRIES TO BRING ORDER INTO IT WITH HIS TALENT around him, and with his efforts brings out hope. He also sees bullet, blood and tears from the revelry in his environment and cautions on its danger. But when the artist, as a man of aesthetics, gets disoriented and loses vision in the world around him, his work loses meaning and beauty.

Today, I see no meaning and beauty in many artworks I come across, whether as painting, music, sculpture, drama, film, poetry or essay. I read books now and I see the depravity of its writer’s mind. I watch drama, movies and films and see deviance in their plots. I see paintings, sculpture and some graphics and observed disorder and madness in the brains behind them.

I ask why? Has the modern artist lost human essence and so is now empty? Is the modern artist a lost soul? Does he no longer possess intellect, character and spirituality? What is the motivation of the

Mirror of the moment korewarith@yahoo.com, 08090585723 (SMS only)

ABDUL-WAREES SOLANKE

modern artist?

In their themes, I find only celebration of intoxicating wine, obscene women and obnoxious wealth.

I see their beauty now bloodied by the worms of the flesh, cancer of the brain, infections of the heart and afflictions of the soul. Yeepah! Most of today’s artists are in need of a messiah, in need of a redeemer, because when you come across them through their works, you see them as the sons and daughters of shaitaan. They need ruqyah to be exorcised of their afflictions that are also infecting our world with noxious notion and value of human beauty.

The real worth or beauty of a man as an artwork of the al-Khaaliq or the Potter lies in the purity of his soul, the perspicacity of his intellect, and the nobility of his character.

Solanke, korewarith@yahoo. com, is Head Voice of Nigeria Training Centre, Ikorodu, Lagos

Editorial

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Monday, April 1, 2013

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DON’T FLEX MUSCLES WITH ME, ?

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Prophet Timothy Oluwole Obadare (1927-2013)

alpurnia, the wife of Julius Caesar, did say when it mattered most to her in one of the popular Sakespeare quotes (Julius Caesar (II, ii, 30-31), that “when beggars die, there are no comets seen”, but that “the heavens themselves blaze forth the death of princes.”

So it came to pass that the death, on the night of Thursday March 21, 2013, of Prophet Timothy Oluwole Obadare, a renowned prince in God’s vineyard, the General Evangelist of the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC) and founder of the World Soul Winning Evangelical Ministry (WOSEM), at the age of 85, profoundly shocked Christendom.

Unlike Obadare’s 2010 ‘rumoured’ death, which turned out to be a hoax, the confirmed exit of the prodigious evangelist this time around shook the Christian community in the country to its foundations. The Tormentor-inChief of the rulers of darkness and their agents; and a reputable winner of souls for Christ, has, indeed, gone to join his creator; and not a few of those who partook in his spiritual nourishment are of the firm conviction that he is happier in his present place of abode.

Apostle Joseph Ayo Babalola (1904-1959) was unarguably the founder of the Christ Apostolic Church and therefore, the man

SHOULD HE BE HAVING SOME

REGRETS IN DEATH, THEY WOULD INCLUDE THE DEEP CRACKS AND LEADERSHIP TUSSLES…

HAUNTING THE

CAC MOVEMENT, WORLDWIDE who moulded the discipleship of Prophet Obadare. However, the uniqueness of the latter’s brand of evangelism, coupled with his incredible healing prowess, made Obadare the new face of CAC in Nigeria after Babalola’s demise in 1959, particularly beginning from the 1970s. It is little surprising, therefore, that he emerged the first General Evangelist of the CAC. Though an Ijeshaman from Ilesha, it was in Akure that God led him to establish the foothold of his ministry. There, he first established the CAC, Oke-Itura; and followed it up in 1974 with his founding of the World Soul Winning Evangelical Ministry (WOSEM), the denominational and evangelical arm of his ministry.

If soul winning is founded on

the word of God, the success of any serious evangelism must be anchored on the copious deployment of undiluted scriptural messages. With a sight disability, it is obvious that Prophet Obadare would need more than divine grace to grapple with this seemingly intractable challenge. Indeed, it was widely acclaimed that God used this servant of His to empirically validate the prophetic statement in Luke 1: 37 – ‘For with God, nothing shall be impossible’.

Though physically blind and with limited education, God gave Obadare the spiritual eyes and grace with which to read the Bible, as well as uncommon knowledge and wisdom to drive home his messages to his audience. He was revered for huge successes in winning souls, healing and deliverance. Much of his success was attributed to his wise deployment of the mass media, especially the radio and television, in passing his messages across. His early morning sermons and inspirational messages on radio and television were irresistible to his audience. Many, on his death, have been confessing that the messages were like the ‘Balm of Gilead’ for the troubled, tormented and spiritually disturbed. Obadare preached the Scripture as it is with incredible vigour and zeal.

He stood for the evangelism of liberation, conversion, reformation

and restoration; and never misled his followership with the theology of prosperity now common in so many houses of worship in the country. His ministry was a combination of social centre, liturgy, rescue mission and home to evangelical and discipleship training. Obadare complemented his radio/televangelism with explosive crusades where the afflicted, tormented, possessed and deprived thronged for salvation.

Eyewitnesses said his crusades were characterized by conversion, healing and deliverance.

Nonetheless, should he be having some regrets in death, they would include the deep cracks and leadership tussles, spanning roughly 23 years, haunting the CAC Movement, worldwide. The incumbent President of the CAC, Pastor Abraham Akinsoun, was quoted as saying, for instance, that unknown to many having knowledge of the crisis rocking the CAC, Obadare, towards the end of his life, took steps to correct past mistakes and redress the situation, but was restrained by the parlous state of his health.

It is, however, not impossible that the death of the evangelist could act as the catalyst that would unite the fractious walls of the CAC, worldwide. Such would, indeed, go a long way in confirming the saintly status of the departed man of God.

ON THIS DAY April 1, 2011 After protests against the burning of the Quran turned violent, a mob attacked a United Nations compound in Mazar-iSharif, Afghanistan, resulting in the deaths of thirteen people, including eight foreign workers. In July 2010, Terry Jones, the pastor of the Christian Dove World Outreach Center in Gainesville, Florida, United States, announced he would burn 200 Qurans on the 2010 anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks.

April 1, 2001 Same-sex marriage became legal in the Netherlands, the first country to allow it. As early as the mid-eighties, a group of gay rights activists, headed by Henk Krol – the Editor-in-Chief of the Gay Krant – asked the government to allow same sex couples to marry. Parliament decided in 1995 to create a special commission, which was to investigate the possibility of same-sex marriages.

April 1, 1992 The Bosnian war started. The Bosnian War or the War in Bosnia and Herzegovina was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between March 1, 1992 and December 14, 1995. The war involved several factions. The main belligerents were the forces of the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina and those of the self-proclaimed Bosnian Serb and Bosnian Croat entities within Bosnia and Herzegovina, among others.

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Business Courage

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Cover

The new

global bride

By Semiu Salami

I

n its March 2013 Bi-Monthly Economic and Business Update released last week, the Financial Derivatives Company Limited (FDC), a leading financial consulting consultancy, projected better Foreign Direct Investment (FDIs) inflows into the domestic economy this year. Despite the barrage of insecurity and other challenges being contended with in the country, FDC says Nigeria’s market size, commitment towards infrastructure development, and the potential for a stable macroeconomic policy in 2013 are positive indicators for foreign investors which could improve FDI inflows to Nigeria significantly.

The FDC report stated that in Nigeria, FDI rose by 17.24 per cent to $6.8bn in 2012, marking a huge support to government’s efforts to draw funds and investments to overhaul the country’s threadbare infrastructure. The increase notwithstanding, FDC says the growth in Nigeria’s FDI remains below par as a result of the country’s vulnerability to commodity price movements, insecurity and over-dependence on the oil and gas sector.

“Recent data from the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics shows an increasing rate of export over import in the last three to four quarters, which is an indication of the government’s commitment to diversify the economy and also partly explains the increase in FDI in 2012. We believe the FDI in Nigeria would have been significantly better in the absence of the high security challenges in some parts of the country”, the company added.

It attributed the slow growth in foreign investment inflows in recent years to mainly the uncertainties surrounding the country’s macroeconomic environment ,

noting however, that Nigeria’s improved macroeconomic out-look for 2013 and the persistent drive for fiscal discipline are good signs and a motivation for foreign investments inflows despite the security challenges.

Though FDC noted that foreign portfolio investments in the nation’s capital market have plummeted to an all high low of 39.3 per cent as at February this year, down from the 66.8 per cent volume in 2011, the firm said the fact that domestic investors’ participation has risen to 60.7 per cent shows the resilience of the Nigerian economy, adding that with a population of 163 million, a nominal GDP of $300 billion, external reserves of $49 billion, Nigeria is likely to be the next country to become a BRICS nation, to be coined BRINCS. Incidentally, however, the FDC report is more or less an affirmation of similar trend currently being experienced by some countries in the sub-Saharan Africa, where private equity investors and international commodity traders have suddenly switched their attention to.

For instance, in 2012, private equity investors funds is said to have completed $1.16bn worth of deals in sub-Saharan Africa, a near 10 per cent increase from the previous year.

Funds raised for the region also grew to $1.4bn last year, from $1.3bn the previous year, but still far below a 2008 peak, according to data from the Emerging Markets Private Equity Association.

Private equity investors are increasingly targeting sub-Saharan Africa, drawn by some of the fastest economic growth rates in the world and an expanding middle class. The region is projected to grow around five per cent in 2013, according to the International

A gas plant, one of the major attractions for investors

In spite of the increasing spate of violent crimes and unmitigated corrupt practices, Africa is fast turning into global investment hub,as more commodity trading houses and portfolio investors are expanding aggressively into the continent, driving some of the highest economic growth indices in the world Monetary Fund (IMF).

For instance, US private equity firm, Carlyle Group completed its first African deal in November 2012, paying $210m for a stake in Tanzania-based agribusiness Export Trading Group along with two other investors.

Last February, South Africa’s Ethos Private Equity said it had raised $800m for a new fund, one of the largest amounts secured by an Africa-focused fund. This was rivalled only by Helios Investment Partners which raised a $900m fund in 2011 after attracting more than $1bn in orders.

Private equity funds completed 61 deals in sub-Saharan Africa in 2012, EMPEA said, the highest since 2008 when there were 50 deals.

Although the total capital invested in the region increased last year, it was less than half that of 2007, when private equity funds completed $3.4bn of deals.

The amount of private equity capital invested in sub-Saharan Africa was comparable to Russia’s share ($1.24bn) but less than a quarter of the $5bn invested in Latin America.

EMPEA said emerging market private equity funds received 20 per cent of global private equity commitments last year, the largest share to date.

Some 161 emerging market funds raised a total of $40.3bn in 2012, up from 148 funds that raised $38.5bn in 2011 The Africa’s growth potentials have also caught the attention of wealthy Gulf Arab companies which are boosting their investment in Africa’s vast lands and untapped resources, marking a shift for investors who have traditionally directed their money towards assets in the United States and Europe.

Essentially, analysts say Africa has two special attractions for the arid desert countries of the Gulf: it is a source of food and arable land, and it is launching an infrastructure building boom that recalls the Gulf’s own construction spree in the past decade. The Gulf’s expertise in developing airports, ports and communications networks at

breakneck speed can be used in Africa.

The result, corporate executives say, is a flow of Gulf money into Africa that has accelerated over the past year, and which could become an important contributor to African growth.

“I can see Gulf investors warming up to Africa. Any opportunity there grabs their attention,” said Ahmed Heikal, chairman of Citadel Capital, one of the Middle East’s largest private equity firms with $9.5bn of assets under management, who emphasised that Africa is becoming more interesting because of the natural resources it has, its demographics and better governance.

Investment analysts posited that the timing of Africa’s economic boom is fortunate for the Gulf, as it

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Cover

Segun Aganga, Minister for Trade and Investment

Djibouti.

In addition to investments in Egypt and Nigeria, the United Arab Emirates’ telecommunications giant Etisalat has built sizeable stakes in Atlantique Telecom, which operates in about six countries in West Africa, as well as Tanzania’s Zantel and Sudanese fixed line operator Canar.

However, despite what many analysts have seen as the most audacious interest in the African economy by gulf companies, a few of them believe that gulf companies have sometimes overestimated the attractions of doing business in Africa. Etisalat’s chief executive Ahmad Julfar said in October that his company had no plans to fully exit any of its foreign markets, but the record of its African investments has not so far been impressive, partly because of fierce competition from other operators.

Excluding Nigeria and Egypt, Etisalat spent around $522m on its African investments, according to Reuters’ research, but those operations have made little contribution to its bottom line. They posted revenue of 689m dirhams ($188m) in the third quarter of last year but generated a net profit of just 4m dirhams - a profit margin of about one per cent, compared to 27 per cent for Etisalat’s UAE operations.

Another major focus of investment for Gulf firms is African agriculture; oil-rich, water-poor Gulf States such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar have been buying large areas of farmland overseas to ensure access to food supplies.

Qatar’s Hassad Food, an arm of the country’s sovereign wealth fund, agreed in 2009 on a $1bn farmland development joint venture with the government of Sudan.

Some other agricultural ventures, however, may risk involving Gulf States in the socio-political and water scarcity problems of African countries, if they displace local people from their land or disrupt local farming patterns.

“We are very concerned that the land deals will lead to increased violence at the local level, as we have seen already in several parts of Africa,” Henk Hobbelink, coordinator of GRAIN, an international, non-

profit organisation which supports small farmers, said last year.

In a research report published in late 2011, Standard Chartered said Gulf countries had tended to focus their agricultural investment on seven countries: Sudan, Mozambique, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Kenya, Mali and Senegal.

But it added that debate in those countries over the role of foreign investors was growing.

“Transparency, sustainability, and a meaningful return for local communities will be fundamental elements,” it said.

As long as African economies continue to grow considerably faster than much of the rest of the world, however, the trend of increasing Gulf investment in them looks set to persist.

“Investing in Africa is like diving into dark waters. There’s an equal chance of finding pearls or getting stuck with empty shells and garbage,” said an executive at one of the Gulf’s biggest familyowned conglomerates, declining to be named because of the political sensitivity of his remarks.

Perhaps, one of the major attractions for merchant and commodity traders in Africa is the oil.

However, there seems to be a paradigm shift in the way Africa and the rest of the world deal in the oil trade. Historically, merchant traders have been mostly concerned with shipping Africa’s oil onto global markets but now, the focus is seeing Africa as a destination market for fuels by investing in the storage and retail networks, a rather unfortunate situation foisted on the continent by largely corrupt political leaders and their private sector collaborators.

Analysts believe that some of the most alluring assets are in Africa’s fuel market, which, according to Ecobank Research, is set to grow by 40 per cent by 2020 to 4.3 million barrels per day.

“If you want to be in Africa, you have to be prepared to invest. SubSaharan Africa is growing at a very decent rate and the highest regional area in the world today,” said Graham Sharp, co-founder of oil trader Trafigura and a senior adviser to consultants Oliver Wyman, adding that “there are some great

‘

Investing in Africa is like diving into dark waters. There’s an equal chance of finding pearls or getting stuck with empty shells and garbage

‘

is occurring just as high oil prices give Gulf countries plenty of money to invest in it.

The Middle East’s oil exporters, according to the IMF estimates, posted a combined surplus in trade in goods and services of about $400bn last year and analysts say much of that money is being ploughed back into foreign assets; while the bulk still goes into Western assets such as US Treasury bonds, more is going to emerging markets such as Africa.

Although complete, timely data on Gulf investment in Africa is not available, analysts believe it follows the same general trend as bilateral trade, with a time lag.

Annual trade between the Middle East and Africa has grown fivefold to $49bn over the past decade, from $10bn in 2002, according to Standard Chartered Bank.

In the past, most Gulf investment in Africa have been in the north of the continent, because of linguistic, cultural and political ties. For example, Citadel Capital last year put together a $3.7bn financing package for an Egyptian oil refining project, with Qatar Petroleum International becoming a key shareholder.

Increasingly, however, Gulf investors are venturing into sub-Saharan Africa - in some cases, using North Africa as a base to do so.

Private equity firm Abraaj Capital invested $125m last year in Morocco’s Saham Finances, which has interests in insurance operations across Morocco and francophone West Africa. It aims to tap into an anticipated pick-up in demand for insurance in Africa.

In November, Abu Dhabibased asset manager, Invest AD launched a fixed income fund that will focus on Africa as well as the Middle East. Along with Morocco’s Attijariwafabank, it also said it would launch a fund to invest in African companies listed on stock markets.

Some of the Gulf’s big infrastructure operators have been players in Africa for years. Dubai port operator DP World, which has had a presence on the continent since 2000, now runs the port of Dakar in Senegal and port operations in Mozambique, Algeria and

Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Minister for Finance

opportunities there, but it’s not in the traditional trading business.”

Trafigura and commodity firm Vitol have both bought huge networks of oil service stations from oil majors BP and Royal Dutch Shell over the past few years.

Trafigura is now considering floating its subsidiary Puma Energy, an energy distribution company that has invested over $800m in Africa over the past 10 years.

One reason the fuel business is so attractive is that African countries have made slow progress in building their own refineries, leaving them increasingly dependent on imported fuels and the traders that can source and deliver them.

Trading houses have spotted this deficiency and, using their newly acquired service stations and storage assets, are extending their reach to landlocked interior countries such as Zambia and Uganda.

“Intra-regional flows of petroleum products in Middle Africa represent a major growth area, particularly with the advent of new oil producing countries ... and the increasing energy demand of Middle Africa’s consumer markets,” said Rolake Akinkugbe, Ecobank’s head of oil and gas research.

Trading houses are also using their growing cash reserves to start exploring and pumping oil, a sector long dominated by listed oil majors.

“They want deals that put more oil on their books to build trading mass, and that’s what they’ve always done,” said Gary Still, an executive director at UK consultancy

CITAC. “But we’re also seeing trading houses like Glencore and Vitol becoming very interested in the upstream. I think they’ve got the money for these projects and will go for it,” he added.

Glencore has signed a contract to export Chad’s oil in 2013 after it agreed to invest more than $300m in the central African country’s Badila and Mangara oilfields to boost oil exports via the Cameroon pipeline. Its warehousing and logistics unit Pacorini has also made its first break into Africa.

Vitol also signed a long-term contract with former French colony Gabon to export its oil.

In the more traditional business of trading, low margins are pushing traders to seek out higher oil volumes by negotiating for contracts with African governments and state oil firms.

Jean Claude Gandur, chairperson of AOG, stunned the industry when he completed a sale of his upstream business, Addax Petroleum to China’s Sinopec Group for $7.2bn in 2009.

Now, he plans to invest $400m in the African oil sector and aims to buy Nigerian acreage. The group’s expansion in Nigeria may benefit from having a former executive of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Afolabi Oladele on its board.

Swiss-based Mercuria also employed a son of the former Nigerian opposition leader Moshood Abiola to help with business development in West Africa.

Despite what some see as smooth oil deal, some cautious investors are mindful of the fact that most deals do not always go according to plan in a region plagued by corruption and oil-fuelled civil strife.

Gunvor, historically strong in Russian oil markets, hired a team of traders from Addax Petroleum in 2009-2010 to expand in West Africa.

It now accuses a former employee of fraud and embezzlement with respect to a Republic of Congo oil contract after Swiss authorities launched a money laundering probe. Gunvor itself is not subject to the investigation and is a plaintiff in the proceedings.

Trafigura, which corporate filings show gets nearly 30 per cent of its oil turnover from Africa, was locked in a legal dispute last year after buying a cargo of oil the South Sudanese government said was looted by its northern neighbour. The proceeds from the cargo, worth around €58m ($75m), were later seized by an English court to establish ownership.

Glencore was the first to secure an agreement to market newly independent South Sudan’s oil, but the deal was later scrapped after opposition from some South Sudanese officials.

In Nigeria, top trading houses like Mercuria and Glencore are owed dozens of millions of dollars for fuel deliveries that in some cases date back over three years.

“Africa can be a minefield,” said Akinkugbe at Ecobank, adding however, that “You have to do your homework and have a local champion who can help bridge the knowledge gap.” BC

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Asoluka

Cabotage has not failed completely, says Asoluka Stories by Francis Ezem

C

hairman of Oil and Gas Free Zone, Onne, Dr. Chris Asoluka has said that though the Coastal and Inland Shipping (Cabotage) policy has not achieved its primary objectives, it would also be wrong to say the scheme had failed completely.

The Federal Government had enacted the Cabotage Act, 2003, which provides that ships to be used in the nation’s coastal and inland waters must be built, owned and manned

by Nigeria, as part of government’s measures to stem foreign domination in shipping activities in the country by increasing indigenous participation.

The Act, however, has a waiver clause which allows foreigners to provide services statutorily reserved for Nigerians when it is proved that Nigerians lack the capacity to render such services.

But many stakeholders believe the scheme has failed since the industry is still largely controlled by foreign interests nearly 10 years after the legislation and should therefore be scrapped if need be.

But Asoluka, who spoke in an interview at a recent four-day training workshop entitled ‘‘Understanding the Cabotage and Local Content in the Nigerian oil and gas industry organised by the Nigerian Chamber of Shipping, said the scheme has not failed completely.

According to him, though the scheme has not failed in such a manner that would warrant calls for its scrapping, it has not achieved the desired goals of enhancing indigenous participation in the lifting of products within the coastal and inland waters.

“I do not agree that the policy has failed completely and should therefore be scrapped, but I am of the strong opinion that it could be made to work

given the various challenges of the indigenous operators within the context of the provision of the act”, he argued.

On the calls for the expunging of the waiver clause, which many believe has been grossly abused and therefore partly responsible for the failure of the scheme, he noted that the administration of the clause could be improved upon instead of outright scrapping.

“You see, there are still several services that Nigerians lack the capacity to provide and so in order not to create a vacuum, the waiver clause has to be brought in but I sincerely think that the problem lies with the administration of the clause not the clause itself”, he insisted.

“I think what should be done is to involve the stakeholders in granting the waivers to improve its administration because the waiver clause is important if the industry must succeed. If you remove the waiver clause, it might be a little rigid and we might not have the required capacity or competence to carry on with the business so the International Oil Companies will not function”, he said further.

Asoluka, who is also consultant to the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency as well as other government also disagreed with calls that the administration of the clause should be removed from the Minister of Transport and placed with the director general of NIMASA, arguing that there are certain pressures lower government officials might succumb to but which the minister will not.

President of the chamber, Mike Akhigbe, said that the full implementation of the Cabotage and Local Content policies would enable the country retain over 85 percent of her foreign earnings from oil and gas sector.

According to him, as a big oil producing nation and an oil based economy, the earnings in this sector no doubt galvanizes other sectors of the Nigerian economy. “This makes it very imperative that Nigeria harnesses her potential to be able to retain at least 85 percent of the foreign exchange earnings from the sector and determinedly reverse the existing trend,” he said.

of imported goods into the country, which might forestall its ability to meet its revenue target.

The PTML is a special Roll-On-Roll-Off Port, which accounts for over 75 per cent of brand new vehicles imported into the country.

The Nigerian Ports Authority had last year recorded a sharp decline in the volume of imported goods at the nation’s seaports as shown in the reduction of the number of vessels that called at the port, which it said was first of its kind in the last eight years especially after the reform of the ports.

Meanwhile, the management of the service had in January slammed the command a N90bn revenue target for the 2012 fiscal year, which translates to N7.5bn monthly.

Customs Area Controller in charge of PTML command, Z. A. Jibrin, who spoke to newsmen in Lagos, expressed fears that the current declining cargo volumes may work against the command’s zeal to meet its 2013 revenue target of N90 bn.

“The continued decline in the volume of cargo the nation’s seaports is a major challenge impeding the command’s ability to meet its revenue target”, he said.

“But we are however, optimistic that if there is an improvement in cargo volume as year 2013 progresses, the command will not only meet the target but will equally surpass it”, Jubrin assured.

Available records show that the command started on a bright note in terms of revenue generation for the 2013 fiscal as it generated N5.9bn and N5.2bn January and February 2013 respectively.

“In 2013, we started on a good note. In January, we collected N5.9bn and in February we collected N5.2bn and for the month of March, we are doing well and we hope to net not less than 7bn”, he said.

“Cargo volume drop is affecting us in the command and our revenue. The problem was

N90bn target: PTML Customs jittery over decline in cargo volume

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he Ports and Terminal Multi-Services Limited (PTML) command of the Nigerian Customs is currently jittery over the declining volume

Abdullahi

high in February. I hope the drop will not persist and if it does, it will affect our revenue target. But we are hopeful that it will subside. If it does, we shall meet our revenue target and even surpass it”, Jubrin further said.

The command generated a total of N71bn in 2012 fiscal year, which is about N20bn higher than the 2011, which the command believes was a good performance.

The immediate past port manager in charge of the Lagos Ports Complex, Apapa Joshua Asanga had while briefing the newly appointed managing director of the authority, Habib Abdullahi, raised fears over the sharp decline in the number of vessels that call at the ports.

Asanga had noted that that was the first Nigerian ports would experience such decline in cargo volumes even in the last quarter of the year, which was usually characterised by massive importation of consumer goods in preparation of the Yuletide and New Year celebrations.

The decline in the volume of cargo was blamed partly on the global economic down turn that engulfed even countries in Europe and America.

Other factors believed to be responsible for the decline cargo volume was the socio economic situation in Nigeria, characterised by increasing insecurity as well as some monetary policies introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria, which caused a lot of cash freeze and the attendant low purchasing power of the people.

Besides, some stakeholders blamed the cargo volume decline on the decision of the Customs management to impose a duty benchmark some imported items, which was part of the management’s strategies towards meeting the N1tr 2012 target, which most stakeholders believed was outrageous.

Under the policy, a total of 26 imported items were selected and they include complete knocked down and fully built air conditioners, different models of television sets, fully built and CKD refrigerator, car and truck tyres, aluminium coils both colour and ordinary, small generating sets and both CKD and fully built motorcycles.

Others are tomato paste, auto batteries, margarine, and motorcycle spare parts, wines, made up textiles, biscuits, granite tiles, candles, yeast, aluminium profiles and roofing nails.

The PTML-boss also discussed that the command in 2012 made several seizures, which include books, containers of used tyres, used cars, among several others.

The CAC also raised the alarm over the menace of touts milling around the satellite car

parks of the terminal at Mile 2, which he said constitutes one of the greatest challenges faced by the command.

He however assured that the command has no choice than to face the problem headlong.

Benue reiterates commitment to NEDEP

By Stanley Ihedigbo

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he Benue State government has reiterated its commitment to key into the newly introduced National Enterprises Development Programme (NEDEP) initiative of the Federal Government which is aimed at generating 3.5 million jobs.

The state Commissioner for Trade and Industry, Terfa Atoza Ihindan in a statement at the weekend, said that the Suswam administration has as one of its cardinal agenda, job/ wealth creation as such, it believes the coming of NEDEP was not only apt but in line with what the state govern-

Suswam

ment has already planned to do for the youths and women of the state.

He said the fact that the Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment, Bank of Industry (BOI), SMEDAN and the Industrial Development Fund (ITF) are collaborating to actualize this goal was a good omen for the country, adding that for the first time, there is going to be a synergy between these agencies towards achieving the same goal.

He added that the Benue Sate government’s partnership with the Bank of Industry (BOI) and the recent opening in the state of the CBN Entrepreneurship Development Centre (EDC) are all clear indications of the Suswam government desire to empower the youth and women through inculcating into them, the spirit of entrepreneurship and skills acquisition.

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News According to him , the state government has been partnering with some of these agencies in the area of skills acquisition, entrepreneurship training and Business Development Service (BDS) as well as access to finance, noting that by the time the programme comes on stream fully, the state would not be caught off guard.

He paid glowing tributes to the minister Dr. Olusegun Aganga for driving the process of developing the MSME sub sector of the economy which is generally believed to be the engine room of any national economy. Hon Ihindan also stated that he would also host a state stakeholders meeting to brief them on the importance and objectives of NEDEP so as to solicit their buy in.

“We shall also work on the presidential directive to all the states of the federation to key into the One Local Government One Product (OLOP) projects.

This is something we have to do urgently, as you may know in Benue State, we have lots of products, but we are going to look at the one we have comparative advantage and capitalize on,” he said.

Group seeks investment partnership with govt

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he Lagos State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Olushola Oworu, has described the desire by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) team to develop a unilateral and uniform Policy Framework Investment (PFI) for Lagos State Government and the Federal Government as a move that would help mobilise the quantum of investment across the country and ensure economic growth and sustainable development.

The Commissioner said this while inaugurating the Lagos State Task Team on OECD PFI, adding that the initiative would

Oworu

further complement the efforts of the present administration to make Lagos State the preferred investment destination in the continent. “The present administration in the State is receptive to this intervention because of the need to promote and institutionalise the existence of an investment climate that is supportive of business start-up and growth, particularly in the pursuit of its economic development agenda,” Oworu said.

She said that the team would among other things, provide a checklist of important policy issues for consideration by the State Government in creating an enabling environment that would be attractive to all investors, design policies and governance structures that would address obstacles militating against business growth and design a reform programme that would guarantee an effective implementation and monitoring of the policy framework.

Lagos State Manager of DFID-GEMS, Yemisi Joel-Osebor, said that the partnership would assist both the state government and the Federal Government to create enabling environment through coherent policies that would make businesses to thrive.

She maintained that lack of coordinated business policy will negatively affect investment growth and make business suffer and consequently add to the skyrocketing rate of employment in the country.

Akinwumi

“The state Ministry of Agriculture and some private nursery operators are currently raising 214, 288 improved high yielding tenera oil palm seedlings for farmers for expanded field planting in 2013. By 2014, the number of seedlings that will become available will significantly increase as more than five million nuts are raised,” he said.

Akinwumi said that the Federal Government was concerned about putting in place appropriate Common External Tariff to discourage the spate of importation of crude palm oil.

He said that with the establishment of ANCCIMA that covered five semi-urban communities, “Abia has what it takes to be a key player in the oil palm value chain under the Agricultural Transformation Agenda.

FG targets 13,000 Space technology is farmers for key to MDGs in Africa empowerment in Abia – Ewa

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he Federal Government is targeting 13,029 farm families for various support schemes in 2013, the Minister of Agriculture, Dr Adesina Akinwumi, has said.

Akinwumi said this in Ohafia during the inauguration of Abia North Chamber of Commerce, Mines Industries and Agriculture (ANCCIMA).

Represented by the Director of Cooperatives in the ministry, Dr Dickson Okolo, the minister said that farmers and out growers in the state would receive 3.9 million bundles of improved cassava cuttings from the Root and Tuber Expansion Programme (RTEP) and other bodies. “The fertiliser needs of cassava farmers in the state totaling 16, 286 metric tonnes will be addressed under the Growth Enhancement Support Scheme (GESS),” he said.

Akinwunmi said that the Federal Government had concluded arrangements to establish 15 demonstration and trial plots within the out growers network in the state.

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cience and Technology Minister, Ita Ewa has said that space technology is key to achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Africa.

Ewa who made this known at the 2013 National Space Dialogue and Media Conference organised by the National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA) in Abuja said the goals were achievable, particularly in countries where satellite solutions and products, were effective and efficient.

“I wish to state here that almost every aspect of human problems can be tackled with relevant satellite and sensor platforms and applications,’’ he said.

He, however, stressed the need for Nigeria to leverage on the spin-offs of the advances in space technology for sustainable management of its resources and wealth creation.

“This vision and resolution for space technology by Nige-

ria’s leadership has played a fundamental role in supporting and enhancing the know-how training and transfer (KHTT) among Nigerian Engineers and Scientists.’’

He added that Nigerian engineers and scientists trained during the 14 years of the space programme in Nigeria were currently not ranked among the best in Africa.

Ewa, however, urged participants at the conference to come up with knowledge that would help the general public to locate and apply available spin-offs of space technology for corporate and individual empowerment.

In his presentation, the NASRDA Director-General, Dr Seidu Mohammed, said the agency was committed to the use of satellite applications for national development.

Seidu said the development of Flood Plain Geospatial Information System for Nigeria was one of the targets of the agency for 2013.

He added that NASRDA and NEMA would also develop Flood Vulnerability Geospatial Information System for Nigeria in 2013 using Nigeria Sat-2 satellite.

The director-general, however, identified inadequate funding as a major challenge in the implementation of the space programme in Nigeria.

He, therefore, challenged the private sector to invest in the space sector of the economy, saying NASRDA had built sufficient capacity to be able to manage any demand placed on it. ``NASRDA is currently involved in aggressive marketing of satellite imagery in Africa and other parts of the world.’’

Seidu also stressed the need for the establishment and maintenance of a space-based integrated natural and artificial resource information system (IMSD) for rapid and sustainable resource mapping, planning, monitoring and management.

He said it was important for the agency to meet the needs of multi-thematic decision making for sustainable countrywide resource inventory, planning and development

Ewa

FDI inflows prospect high in 2013 – FDC

By Tola Akinmutimi, Abuja

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he Financial Derivatives Company Limited, a leading financial consulting consultancy, has projected better Foreign Direct Investment (FDIs) inflows into the domestic economy this year, despite the insecurity and other challenges being contended with in the country.

This is even as it disclosed that foreign portfolio investments in the nation’s capital market have plummeted to an all high low of 39.3 per cent as at February this year, down from the 66.8 per cent volume in 2011.

Giving the higher FDI inflows projection in its just published March 2013 BiMonthly Economic and Business Update, the company listed factors like Nigeria’s market size, commitment towards infrastructure development, and the potential for a stable macroeconomic policy in 2013 are positive indicators for foreign investors which could improve FDI inflows to Nigeria significantly.

Even then, it believes that despite the increasingly better investment climate, the country is yet to fully explore its FDI potentials as a result of the country’s vulnerability to commodity price movements, insecurity and over-dependence on the oil and gas sector.

The FDC report stated : “In Nigeria, FDI rose by 17.24 per cent to $6.8bn in 2012, marking a huge sup-port to government efforts to draw funds and investments to overhaul the country’s threadbare infrastructure. The increase notwithstanding, growth in Nigeria’s FDI remains below par as a result of the country’s vulnerability to commodity price movements, insecurity and over-dependence on the oil and gas sector.

“Recent data from the Nigerian Bureau of Statistics shows an increasing rate of export over import in the last 3 to 4 quarters, which is an indication of the government’s commit-ment to diversify the economy and also partly explains the increase in FDI in 2012. We believe the FDI in Nigeria would have been significantly better in the absence of the high security challenges in some parts of the country”, the company added.

It attributed the slow growth in foreign investment inflows in recent years to mainly the uncertainties surrounding the country’s macroeconomic environment , noting however that Nigeria’s improved macroeconomic outlook for 2013 and the persis-

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News tent drive for fiscal discipline are good signs and a motivation for foreign investments inflows despite the security challenges..

On the increasing domestic investment portfolio in the stock market, the company disclosed that foreign portfolio investors constituted as high as 66.8 per cent of trade in the Nigerian stock market over a year ago with domestic participation remaining as low as 33.2 per cent.

Abuja residents pick expensive Wuse Market for Easter shopping

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n spite of high cost of goods, Wuse Market remained the most patronised as Abuja residents shops for Easter celebration.

A survey conducted by the NAN in Wuse, Utako, Garki Modern and Garki International markets show that residents continued to throng Wuse which though had been adjudged to be most expensive.

Wuse market is recording the highest patronage though most customers complained that prices of foodstuffs were on roof top but traders explained that they sold at higher price market because of some challenges they were facing.

Danjuma Bala, a trader, said the profit he made at his Wuse market shop surpassed what he made at the Garki Modern market where he also had a shop. ``I sell a fowl for N1,800 here but in my shop at Garki I sell for 1,300, yet I get more patronage in Wuse.

Shops in Wuse are more expensive than in the other markets but the good thing is that I make my money back in no time.’’

Mohammed Jere, a trader in Wuse market observed that foodstuffs, including rice and palm oil, were expensive in the market because nobody sold them in wholesale in Wuse market.

Titilayo Michael, a customer

Wuse Market

at the Wuse market, corroborated that the prices of commodities were way higher at the Wuse market than in other markets but she shopped at Wuse market because of proximity.

Saffiyah Hassan, also a customer at the market, said that she preferred Wuse because she could get all she wanted and that she trusted the freshness of foodstuff in the market.

Compared to the Wuse market, the Garki International market seemed to record the least patronage. ``Obviously, things are cheaper in this market than in the Wuse market, but the irony is that it still does not witness as much patronage like the Wuse market does even with its high prices,’’ Phillips Jok, a trader in the Garki International Market regrets that there was little sales in the market during this period.

Jok said that foodstuffs were very cheap in the market but people did not like patronising it, stressing that people are judging the market from afar. ``Because the market is built in bricks and it has some facilities that other markets do not have, people just assume everything we sell here is expensive,’’ he said.

Another trader, Mariam Okoja, complained that although things were sold very cheaply at the market, the influx of customers was low as such making profit was very low.

She explained that there had always been low patronage in the market but that she expected it to be better due to the Easter celebration.

Shade Ademola, said that she preferred Garki International Market to the other markets. ``I shop here because it is cheap and organised. You don’t see wares littered everywhere like other markets, traders are put in check. This market has a police station, banks, a fire service, a clinic and lots more.

I am very comfortable with this market. Even if it was expensive, I will still shop here.’’

John Bernard, who patronises the market, believed that

it was less rowdy when compared to other markets.

Bernard stated that customers would not have to struggle for parking space in this market like the other markets, noting that the market needed publicity because a lot of people did not know about it. ``It is not all calibre of people that come to this market. The poor are always scared of coming here. The structures and environment looks like their markets in the states and even without checking it out, people just conclude it is expensive.

Aside the looks of the market, a lot of people do not know about it yet, the one people know is the Garki Modern Market, which some people call ‘Monday market’. I think the FCT authorities or who-so-ever is concerned should sensitise people on this market,’’ he said.

Unlike the Garki International Market, the Garki Modern Market, which shares boundaries with the International Market records a higher patronage than the International market although there is no price difference.

Halima Suleiman said that she had shopped in all the markets at a point or another but that Garki Modern Market seemed to be the cheapest of them all.

Buba

you must be cautious because grazing is just one aspect of the country’s economy. You must be careful, because tomorrow, the cocoa farmers will say that they want designated areas for cocoa production. The Beroms will want land in all states of federation for `Acha’ farming as well. In view of current trends, one wonders why our Fulani brothers must continue roaming all over the place. Must they continue like this?.’’

The Gbong Gwom noted that other countries had developed ranch fields with hi-tech breeding of the same cattle, and urged Nigeria to seek ways to emulate that.

Gbong Gwom advises NASS on grazing land TUC issues 3-day ultimatum to Aero bill Contractors over he Gbong Gwom Jos, Jacob TGyang Buba, has advised sacked workers

the National Assembly to be “very careful” in the handling of the grazing land bill.

Buba, who gave the advice on Friday in Jos, while interacting with newsmen in commemoration of Easter celebration, said that if not properly handled, the bill might cause more problems than the intended solution. “Before now, herdsmen used to live peacefully with farmers and there were defined routes for transiting from one community to another. Even if they are staying for some time, the local chiefs will direct them on where to graze and where not to,’’ he said.

The monarch said that the practice was possible because of the mutual respect and understanding between the natives and the herdsmen.

Buba stated that there was public outcry of friction between the herdsmen and farmers across the country because there was no more regard for farm lands and the natives. ``If you want to legislate,

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he Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has issued a three-day ultimatum to of Aero Contractors to dialogue with its workers and resolve outstanding issues or face industrial action.

The warning is contained in a statement jointly signed by the TUC President, Peter Esele, and TUC General Secretary, Musa Lawal, on Friday in Lagos.

The statement said that Aero should ensure that contentious issues with the workers were settled with the unions within three days to avoid strike. ``Be it known to the Aero Contractor management that should it fail or neglect to meet all the demands within three days from today, the Congress shall promptly employ all lawful means and strategies including strike action to enforce compliance,’’ it said.

The TUC demanded that the arbitrary employment and promotion of new staff over and above older and more deserving and competent staff should be reversed.

The statement condemned

the company’s discriminatory reduction of salaries and allowances of workers who opposed anti-labour postures.

It also condemned the instigation and use of the police to harass and the unlawful arrests and detention of members of staff on false charges.

It stressed the need for fair and transparent disciplinary procedure.

The statement condemned the dismissal of about 642 staff without conforming to the rule of disengagement.

It advised the management to ensure that it paid the appropriate gratuities to any staff it wishes to disengage.

The statement urged the management to ensure the immediate and unconditional release of all staff detained by the police and return of their seized property.

Institute to distribute one million tonnes of hybrid cocoa pods by 2015 The Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN) would distribute one million tonnes of hybrid cocoa pods to farmers in 2015, Anna Muyiwa, Head, Crop improvement department, said on Friday.

Muyiwa, a plant biotechnologist, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja that the distribution was a requirement of the federal government’s Agricultural Transformation Agenda.

She said the agenda was designed to boost cocoa production and export, adding that the country had lost its position as largest cocoa producing country to Cote d’voire, and its annual production had drastically dropped.

According to her, production of cocoa is below the potential capacity with an annual production of 250,000 metric tonnes in 2010.

She observed that cocoa production was low, inefficient, poorly commercialised and unsustainable.

Muyiwa stated that CRIN had developed eight new varieties to address the challenges and added that the new varieties were high yielding, moderately resistant and with high butter content.

She explained that the hybrid would take between 18 and 24 months to fruit instead of the conventional varieties that would take between 60 and 84 months.

She explained that the varieties would help farmers to produce more and make more money within a short period of time.

According to her, CRIN has started the pods distribution to farmers in the 14 cocoa producing states.

She explained that farmers could replant the seeds from the pods in subsequent years even after the transformation agenda period. BC

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Global News

Al Hazeem

Kenyan Islamic bank gets $5m IFC facility to fund SMEs

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nternational Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has announced the investment of $5 million equity in Gulf African Bank to support corporate finance and lending to small and medium businesses in East Africa. The investment in Gulf African Bank marks IFC’s first engagement with an Islamic finance institution in SubSaharan Africa.

Gulf African Bank, one of Kenya’s only two Islamic banks, has 14 branches in Kenya, offering a range of Sharia’h-compliant banking products and services. The bank will use IFC’s financing to increase finance for retail and corporate customers, develop programmes for women entrepreneurs and extend more services to small and medium businesses.

Jamal Al Hazeem, Chairman of Gulf African Bank, said, “We are delighted

by IFC’s decision to take up a 15 per cent shareholding stake in Gulf African Bank.

This is a clear indication of their belief not only in our Bank’s future but the future of Islamic Banking in the region. In addition to the IFC partnership, the Bank is undertaking a rights issue simultaneously to increase its capital base by an additional Kshs 850M. We feel privileged that this is the first investment by IFC in an Islamic financial Institution in Sub-Saharan Africa. IFC’s involvement will open up more opportunities for Gulf African Bank’s growth and expansion and enhance our processes.’’

Gulf African Bank, which was established in 2007, has in the past five years greatly raised awareness in Kenya about Islamic banking. The bank’s shareholders are institutional investors from the Middle East and North Africa.

Oumar Seydi, IFC Director for East and Southern Africa, said, “IFC is committed to helping expand access to financial services in Africa. In Kenya, new financial market segments

like Islamic banks enhance competition and can help reach a greater number of small businesses and women entrepreneurs, who are often excluded from banking services. IFC looks forward to working with Gulf African Bank to extend services and offer clients a more diverse range of financial products.”

In addition to the equity investment, a further $3 million trade line will be made available to Gulf African Bank under IFC’s Global Trade Finance Programme. The Programme complements the capacity of banks to deliver trade financing by mitigating risk in new or challenging markets where trade lines may be constrained.

To date, IFC’s investment and advisory services have partnered with 11 banks and one microfinance institution in Kenya, to help them sustainably increase business with small and medium enterprises.

Geun-hye

more affordable to foreign buyers.

Meanwhile, the South Korean won has risen by nearly 10 per cent against the US dollar since May, making South Korean goods more expensive.

There are concerns that with Japan and South Korea competing in similar markets, South Korean goods may lose out as a result of fluctuations in the currency.

Meanwhile, policymakers have found it tough to boost domestic consumption in South Korea, which has also affected growth.

The ministry said that it would unveil stimulus measures, including a proposal for an additional supplementary budget and steps to spur the property market, to try to boost domestic spending.

“The government has decided to act in a more preemptive manner in response to the heightened macroeconomic uncertainties,” said Choi Sangmok, director general at the ministry.

Though the government did not give any details on the size of the budget, some analysts said it was likely to be about 10 trillion won ($9bn; £6bn).

Last year, the government announced two separate stimulus measures worth $12.2bn in an attempt to spur economic growth.

The measures included tax breaks on purchases of homes and cars.

South Korea lowers growth forecast as exports slow

IMF restates confidence in Lagarde

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outh Korea has cut its growth forecast for the second time in three months, amid a slowdown in its exports.

The finance ministry now expects the economy to grow by 2.3 per cent in 2013, down from its earlier projection of three per cent.

Exports, which account for almost half of South Korea’s overall output, have been hit by weak demand from markets such as the US and the eurozone.

The ministry said that it would unveil a series of stimulus measures in the coming days aimed at reviving growth.

South Korea’s economy expanded by two per cent in 2012, the slowest pace in three years.

South Korea’s exports have also come under pressure from the recent weakness in the Japanese currency.

The yen has dipped nearly 20 per cent against the US dollar since November last year, making Japanese goods

he International Monetary Fund (IMF) has said it continues to have “confidence” in its managing director, Christine Lagarde.

An IMF spokesman said the fund’s board backed Lagarde despite a French inquiry into alleged abuses of power.

The probe relates to her time as French finance minister and her involvement in the payment of compensation to businessman Bernard Tapie.

Lagarde, who took over as IMF chief in 2011, denies any wrongdoing.

Her Paris apartment was searched by police investigators two weeks ago.

“The executive board has been briefed on this matter, including recently, and continues to express its confidence in the managing director’s ability to effectively carry out her duties,” said IMF spokesman Gerry Rice at a press conference on Thursday.

Lagarde was involved in a dispute between French businessman Bernard Tapie

Lagarde

and the bank Credit Lyonnais in 2007.

She referred the case to an arbitration panel, after which Mr Tapie switched his support to Nicholas Sarkozy, then leader of Lagarde’s UMP party, in the presidential election campaign.

Tapie was later awarded 400m euros (£340m) in damages by that panel - a decision approved by Lagarde.

Lagarde has yet to be placed under formal investigation in the case and has denied any wrongdoing.

Lagarde replaced its disgraced former chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn less than two years ago and analysts say the case comes at a difficult time for the IMF which is also deeply involved in managing the continuing eurozone crisis, including the bailout of Cyprus.

Fallows

Google tests sameday deliveries

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oogle last week began testing a service for sameday delivery of toys, clothing, groceries or other items ordered online in what could be a challenge to online retail titan Amazon.

People living in San Francisco or a swath of Silicon Valley from the cities of San Jose to San Mateo were invited to take part in “a new experiment” that the internet colossus dubbed Google Shopping Express.

“It’s a local delivery service that we hope will make it possible for you to get the items you order online the same day, and at a low cost,” product management director Tom Fallows said in a blog post. The pilot will expand as

we work out the kinks.”

The service is part of an effort by the Mountain View, California-based firm to “bring the speed of the Web to the real world,” according to Fallows.

People enrolled in the test programme will be able to shop at a single online venue for products from retailers such as Target, Walgreens, American Eagle, Toys R Us, and San Francisco’s coveted Blue Bottle Coffee.

“So hopefully, no more trips across town for simple errands,” Fallows said.

Pricing for Google Shopping Express had yet to be determined so people testing the service were being offered six months of free, unlimited orders for same-day deliveries.

Amazon entices shoppers with a Prime service that offers free two-day shipping on orders along with online streaming of films and television shows for an annual subscription fee of $79.

Seacom cable repair operation continues

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able Company, Seacom was still working on repairing the damaged undersea cables that had disrupted internet services, a statement on its website said on Friday.

Internet service providers have been reporting cuts to their systems since 22 March and Seacom has had to reroute its disrupted lines.

International internet connectivity between SubSaharan Africa and Europe has largely been affected.

In the statement, posted on Thursday, Seacom said it was in the process of restoring transmission to affected customers. “We again apologise to those customers who continue to be impacted following the further fault on the restoration system SMW4,” said Seacom.

Earlier in the week, the company confirmed it had received reports about three people arrested for cutting Seacom cables in Egypt.

Seacom said it did not believe that the initial disruptions were a sabotage operation. “We think it is unlikely that the damage to our system was caused by sabotage. The reasons for this are the specific location, distance from shore, much greater depth, the presence of a large anchored vessel on the fault site which appears to be the cause of the damage and other characteristics of the event,” said Seacom.

The incident was still being investigated, stressing that full transmission would likely be restored by early April.

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Global News The Fed has said it would keep its policy of buying $85bn a month of Treasury bonds and mortgage-backed securities in order to lower borrowing costs for households and businesses.

Although US joblessness has fallen, the Fed said it wanted to see signs of a long-term trend of falling unemployment.

S&P 500 index reaches record high

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Jack DeGan

US economy grew faster than expected

T

he US economy grew at a faster than expected 0.4 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2012, the Department of Commerce has said.

The annualised figure was better than an earlier estimate of 0.1 per cent growth, reflecting increased investments in plant and equipment.

However, despite the upwards revision, the department warned that the economy remained “sluggish”.

The latest figures were a marked slowdown from the previous quarter.

An acute fall in defence spending and government expenditures hurt economic output, said the department.

“While non-residential fixed investment is higher than previously estimated, the revision to GDP [gross domestic product] has not changed the general picture of the economy,” said a statement.

The October-December figures came amid hopes that the US economic recovery is gathering steam, following a string of recent data showing rising home sales and an improving labour market.

“Fundamentally, the economy is improving and we are getting good earnings,” said Jack DeGan, chief investment officer of Harbor Advisory.

BMO Capital Markets economist Jennifer Lee described the revised fourth quarter rate as “still disappointing”, but said that the investment bank was expecting US GDP to increase by 2.2 per cent this year, the rate at which the economy grew last year.

In a report two weeks ago, the US Federal Reserve said that the economy had strengthened “moderately” but still needed stimulus measures to underpin recovery.

he S&P 500 index closed last Thursday night at a record high of 1,569, up six points or 0.4 per cent. The last time it broke into new territory was on October 9, 2007 when it closed at 1,565.

The Dow Jones index was also up 0.4 per cent, with a rise of 52 points taking it to a record 14,578.

The Nasdaq joined in the upbeat mood created by the smooth reopening of banks in Cyprus and generally positive economic news. It rose 11 points, or 0.3 per cent, to close at 3,268.

The S&P has been near its record high for several weeks, despite the still sluggish performance of the US economy. This means it finishes the quarter 10 per cent higher than its level at the beginning of the year and more than double its low point during the financial crisis.

Bruce McCain, chief investment strategist at Key Private Bank in Cleveland said that the new closing high “is a very appropriate punctuation for a great quarter that saw a lot of last year’s anxieties recede.”

However, Michael Mullaney, chief investment officer at Fiduciary Trust in Boston warned “we don’t know how long we’ll be at these levels.”

In relatively light trading, the biggest gainers in the Dow Jones were two IT companies - IBM and Hewlett-Packard, both up over one per cent. The biggest falls were by Chevron and JP Morgan Chase.

Mullaney

Blackberry reports 1m Z10 sales

M

obile phone maker Blackberry says it has sold one million of its new Z10 smartphones.

In better than expected results, the company said it made profits of $98m (£65m) in the quarter, after posting a big loss for the same period last year.

The Z10 handset is seen as crucial to the future of Blackberry, which has struggled to keep up with new Apple and Android phones.

It has been on sale for a month in the UK, Canada and other markets.

It went on sale with little fanfare two weeks ago in the United States, Blackberry’s most important market.

Analysts greeted the results cautiously, saying that it was too early to judge the success of the Z10 and its sister device the Q10.

Earlier in the week, Blackberry shares were hit when two major US brokerages expressed disappointment with the US launch of the Z10.

In a note to its clients Citigroup described the launch as “a big disappointment”.

The Blackberry results also showed the company lost three million users over the year. Its handsets are now used by 76 million people, down from 79 million 12 months ago.

In total, Blackberry said it shipped a total of around six million handsets in the three months to early March.

Cyprus will not leave the euro, says president

C

yprus has no intention of the leaving the European single currency, the country’s president says.

President Nicos Anastasiades said: “In no way will we experiment with the future of our country.”

He said the financial situation was “contained” following the 10bn euro bailout deal with the EU and IMF. Banks opened last Thursday for the first time in nearly two weeks amid severe new rules imposed as part of the bailout deal.

Queues formed of people trying to access their money, but the mood was generally calm.

By Friday, banks had returned to their normal working hours and there were no longer reports of big queues.

“We have averted the risk of bankruptcy,” Anastasiades said on Friday. “The situation, despite the tragedy of it all, is

Anastasiades

contained.”

He told a meeting of civil servants: “We have no intention of leaving the euro.”

But he accused other members of the eurozone of making “unprecedented demands that forced Cyprus to become an experiment”.

Cyprus needs to raise 5.8bn euros ($7.4bn; £4.9bn) to qualify for the bailout, and has become the first eurozone member country to bring in capital controls to prevent a torrent of money leaving the island and credit institutions collapsing.

As well as a daily withdrawal limit of 300 euros, Cypriots may not cash cheques and those leaving the country will only be allowed to take 1,000 euros with them.

Payments and/or transfers outside Cyprus via debit and or credit cards are allowed up to 5,000 euros per person per month.

Depositors with more than 100,000 euros will see some of their savings exchanged for bank shares.

Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides said on Thursday that such controls could gradually be lifted over the course of the month.

But many economists predict the controls could be in place for much longer.

Egypt seeks help as credit crunch bites

economy hooked on state subsidies but starved of tourism revenues since the political upheavals began.

Fuel shortages, tighter security at petrol stations and scuffles in the streets are becoming common in Egyptian towns as state importers struggle to meet demand for diesel and gasoline.

Though Egypt’s strategic importance means world powers seem unlikely to let its economy collapse, the credit crisis is now so acute that it can no longer buy crude in the market, leaving its oil minister scrambling to cut diplomatic deals with Libya, Qatar and Iraq, to add to an existing oil lifeline from Kuwait.

Fearing especially the unrest that might follow a shortage of subsidised bread, the government may prioritise fuel for the food industry.

Richard Mallinson, an analyst at Energy Aspects in London said: “The focus is probably on ensuring farmers get enough diesels ahead of the harvest season and bakeries don’t run out of fuel as this could trigger food shortage.”

Officials have sought to assuage worries on food, banking on a record wheat crop coming in from next month. But it concedes that fuel supplies are a difficulty.

“The major problem we are facing of course is in the fuel sector,” government spokesperson Alaa El Hadidi told Reuters. “This is being tackled and there has been gradual improvement.”

However, Egypt has not received a crude oil cargo from open market suppliers since January and, with money tight, the state grain buyer has not purchased wheat since February.

International trading houses Petraco and Arcadia were due to deliver crude after winning a tender, but the state importer, Egyptian General Petroleum Corp (EGPC) has cancelled both deliveries, several traders said. As a result, refineries are running well below capacity.

On Thursday, the oil ministry blamed repeated power cuts on a lack of funds to buy fuel for power stations. BC

E

gypt has hit breaking point in its ability to pay for imports of oil, wheat and other basic commodities, forcing it to call in diplomatic favours or seek easy payment terms from suppliers who hope for future advantage in return.

Two years after ousting Hosni Mubarak, new, Islamist leaders are struggling to win a credit line from the IMF as they try to manage the hopes of 84 million people with a depreciating currency and an

El Hadidi

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Monday, April 1, 2013

Business Courage

She started by training people on how to use computers during her National Youth Service Corps year and today, she sits atop Omatek Ventures Plc, a multi billion Naira holding company that manufactures computers and other electronic products. This is the story of Florence Omatule Seriki, Group Managing Director, Omatek Ventures Plc

By Semiu Salami

S

he actually desired a career in engineering, but clearly, that desire was not within the realm of computer engineering. She rather chose to read chemical engineering at the then University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife. Indeed, If anyone had predicted to Florence Omatule Seriki several years back then as a chemical engineering undergraduate that her future lies in computer engineering, she probably would have sneered at the idea.

However, rather than earn her living as a chemical engineer, Seriki, armed with hard work, determination and uncommon ability to identify opportunity, draws her fame and fortune from computer. Indeed, her first million came through computer training, an entirely different field from her course of study.

Seriki’s entrepreneurial adventure started way back in the 1980s as a youth corps member with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) when she took it upon herself to train her bosses on how to use computers. As the story goes, at that time, all directors in the corporation had computers on their desks but the systems were only used by their secretaries and whenever the secretaries were not available, the computers were allowed to gather dust.

That was the situation until Seriki summoned the courage and offered to train her boss on the use of computers. Impressed by her mastery, Seriki’s boss told another colleague and before long, she became the most sought after, as virtually everyone wanted to learn computer usage.

While training her bosses at NNPC, Seriki’s fame spread like wildfire in the corporate community and in no time, she got contracts to train executives in banks and oil and gas among others.

As someone with eyes for opportunities, Seriki saw through the opportunities provided and immediately set about floating a business to enjoy the extra income flowing her way as a young corps member. She employed people whom she had

Seriki

The Omatek

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A9 25

trained to be able to train the growing number of executives who sought the knowledge of computing.

In 1988, Union Bank of Nigeria gave her a space on the sixth floor at 409 Marina Office where all the bank’s executives, including the then managing director were given computer training on appointment. When the new generation banks started, Seriki expanded her scope to accommodate more bankers.

Before she finished her youth service, she opened an office in Lagos Island, employed and trained people who in turn train other people, starting with executives from NNPC, Shell and banks and in no time, what started as a mere extracurricular activity blossomed to become her pot of wealth.

As it turned out, Seriki’s uncommon knack for spotting opportunities and latching onto them has placed in her hands, Omatek Ventures Plc, an indigenous computers and accessories manufacturing company.

However, but for hard work and her undying crave for knowledge, Seriki too would herself, not have been able to acquire the skill, which today earns her a living and fame.

Even for her, the opportunity to learn computer usage presented itself during her final year in the university, where she was asked to conduct a research to study the growth of organisms. One of her lecturers had just returned from Manchester, United Kingdom with an old XP Windows computer which she had reasoned, would aid her research work. “I quickly attached myself to the lecturer and convinced him of the need for him to teach me how to use the Lotus application, which he did. Before I knew it, I could do micro programming in Lotus and I used the software to do my project,” she recalled. But then, while that endeavour facilitated the execution of her project, it also denied her the privilege of passing out with distinction. She was reportedly marked down for her decision to use personal computer rather than Fortran machine that was meant for engineering students at that time. She passed out with 3.8 cumulative grade point average when distinction was 4.1.

However, one thing that cannot be taken away from Seriki is the drive to continually take opportunities and break new grounds. After covering sufficient grounds in computer training, she moved on to computer vending when she realised that the executives and companies which her company, Omatek Ventures Limited was consulting for would need their Continued on pg A10

Business Courage

own personal computers (PCs).

“I realised many companies did not have enough computers. I saw an opportunity, so I started initially by buying foreign brands and selling to my customers,” she said.

Up to 1992, key computer buyers in Nigeria were banks and oil and gas companies.

They were buying only finished products. The oil and gas companies were buying only from their offshore companies. Therefore, there was no opportunity for Nigerians to sell to them. So, to tap into the opportunity, Seriki started a joint venture with two other Nigerians, got concessions for oil companies to do business with but were required to have off-shore affiliates.

As the computer training outfit blossoms, so her computer vending business and in no distant time, Omatek Ventures became a leading sales outlet for Compaq, IBM, Apple and Microsoft. Her high sales volumes which ran into over $1 million annually made Omatek a Premium Partner for Compaq, Senior Partner for IBM, Apple, and Microsoft.

Aggressive and insatiable, Seriki was determined to conquer her world. She was determined to take a plunge, moving from vending to manufacturing of computers, an adventure which many of her peers had thought was unattainable then.

In fact, the dream was then perceived as a child’s play by some who derisively tagged Seriki and her team as ‘the clone people’. But she remained undeterred and by 2000, the idea which started far back in 1993 when the first Omatek computers were launched at the then CTO, a flagship IT seminar and exhibition event organized yearly by the US Consular Office, came into being through Omatek Computers Limited, a subsidiary of Omatek Ventures.

Today, Omatek is the pioneer and the only factory on the African continent involved in the production of computers, casings and speakers from Completely Knocked-Down (CKD) components. Operating at 25 per cent capacity utilisation, the Omatek Computer factory rolls out per annum: 120,000 speakers, 120,000 casings and 48,000 fully-built PCs. Interestingly, the Omatek factory now assembles Other Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) brands for other brand builders both local and foreign.

These brands are customised in the OEM brand names. The Computer manufacturing firm is presently producing a lowcost PC for INTEL to fulfill the realization of CANI/GAPP initiative spearheaded by Intel and Microsoft, to digitally empower all Nigerians.

Like most business startups, funding was also a major

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Monday, April 1, 2013

Seriki was determined to conquer her world. She was determined to take a plunge, moving from vending to manufacturing of computers, an adventure which many of her peers had thought was unattainable then. In fact, the dream was then perceived as a child’s play by some who derisively tagged Seriki and her team as ‘the clone people’

challenge for Omatek as Seriki’s effort to raise the initial capital of N500, 000 was almost frustrated by the same banks that later jumped at her after she had succeeded. “The first time ever that we needed an overdraft and we approached an old generation bank, we were asked to produce our transaction history. At the end of the day, the bank did not give us the facility. So, I went to one of the new generation banks, GTBank.

GTB said they don’t know me and that I need to have a transaction history, need to have a bank statement and I am new.

They said it could be from any bank. Luckily, I had a transaction history, because I used to bank my money. So, when they saw two to three pages of trans-

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A10 26

action, in, out, they said they would give me N500, 000,” she recalled.

However, her major source of funding came through the Small and Medium Enterprises Equity Investment Schemes (SMEEIS) funds in partnership with Zenith International Bank and GTBank. By the time she graduated into computer manufacturing, things began to look up. Before then, Omatek was doing quality delivery per order, ploughed back its profits to grow the business and created tremendous relationship with its bankers.

So, when she “walked into the banks, they looked at me and said, Florence, we bought your computers, we have dealt with Omatek. They were ready to

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put their money down and help us through their SME scheme,” she narrated.

So far, Omatek Computers Limited has gone through three stages in its lifetime. First, it was collaborating with some of its foreign affiliates that would couple the computers up a little bit and then ship them down to the country for Omatek to complete the coupling. Three years after it commenced production via coupling, Omatek in 2003 graduated to a completely knocked down (CKD) factory with funding from two banks. The factories engaged in moulding, design, nails, screws etc to promote local content.

She added that every raw material in computer production is produced by different companies. The first and second factories of Omatek are the case and speaker factories while the third and fourth factories are the PC and notebook factories. These factories are graded in low level, middle level and high class level manufacturers.

For now, Florence Seriki’s dream of becoming a clear leader in the African ICT industry may appear lofty but it is being seen coming to fruition as the company gradually spreads its tentacles outside the shores of Nigeria. Already, Omatek has made its presence known in Ghana, where it equally manufactures computers, speakers and other electronic products.

It entered into partnership with the government of Ghana in its e-press consumer initiative to make computer acquisition easy and affordable. The pro-

gramme was launched in conjunction with Ghana’s ministry of communication under the umbrella of Ghana Government Assisted PC Programmei-Advance and comes with huge funding support from partnering banks which makes it easy for civil servants, corporate executives, corporate organisations, educational institutions, SMEs and students to acquire computers through a convenient payment plan.

Seriki and by extension, Omatek has scored many firsts over the years. She was the first indigenous computer company to list on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), the first in the African continent to locally produce computer casings and speakers from Completely Knocked Down process (CKD), locally produced home entertainment speakers and plasma and flat screens from Semi-Knocked Down (SKD) process.

The company was also the first in Africa to buy directly CKD process parts from frontline producers across the world.

And perhaps, the most outstanding of Omatek’s achievements was its becoming first in the continent to win Microsoft Systems Builder Award in 2005 for Central, West and East Africa. Seriki received the award at the Microsoft African Partner Summit, MAPS, in South Africa, having beaten contenders from 42 countries.

Seriki started gaining recognition way back in 1992 when she won the Young Entrepreneurship Award of the Nigerian American Chamber of

L-R: Dorothy Gordon, Abdul-Hakeem Ajijola, Seriki, Ibrahim Dikko at the Idlelo5 Conference in Abuja

Commerce. Touted as the “Africa’s Bill Gates in the Making”, Seriki has won a good number of laurels, in recognition of her contributions to the development of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in Nigeria and Africa at large.

She emerged the Best Woman IT of the Year (2003) Award conferred by the Nigeria Information Technology and Telecommunication (NITT) body; Africa International Role Model Leadership Gold Award for Excellence; Patriotic Achievers’ Award and the Woman of Merit Gold Award, to mention and a few others.

At a time, former president Olusegun Obasanjo reportedly referred to Omatek Computers as “a company that has done Nigeria proud and put Africa on the world ICT map” by winning the prestigious Microsoft Best Systems Builder Award for East, Central and West Africa in 2005.

Persons close to Florence Seriki said a cupboard in one of the side-rooms of Omatek factory in Lagos is overflowing with trophies the Company has been awarded over the years for its outstanding performance.

But then, the Seriki will not be swayed by the many accolades she keeps receiving both from within and outside the country as fondly pushes her dream of becoming the best in the field of ICT. Today, Omatek has kept enlarging its coast by diversifying its business into other related areas. The establishment of Omatek Engineering Services Limited, a full subsidiary of Omatek Ventures Plc, enables the group to open a new business line which offers an avalanche of services including disaster and data recovery, network optimisation and web security. The company works in partnership with a Chinese company, Kelog reputed to be one of the world’s biggest UPS manufacturers to produce a range of UPS, inverters and power backup systems that could be used for telecommuni-

Business Courage A11 27

Monday, April 1, 2013

‘

In spite of my busy schedule, I assist my children with their homework and cook my husband’s meals. A woman that wants to go to the next level must balance family life and business. Even if a woman is busy, the man married a wife and she is still the mother of her children. The home must never be sacrificed on the altar of success

cations applications, in homes, offices, server rooms, medical institutions, industries, large corporations, banks, Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) points and other mission critical environments, hotels, industries and factories.

Interestingly, Florence maintains a balance between business and family life. Unlike a good number of successful women entrepreneurs around the globe, playing her role as a wife and mother at home cannot be negotiated. This is what she said as regards life at home “In spite of my busy schedule, I assist my children with their homework and cook my husband’s meals. A woman that wants to go to the next level must balance family life and business. Even if a woman is busy, the man married a wife and she is still the mother of her children. The home must never be sacrificed on the altar of success”.

Howbeit, Seriki’s success story, apart from being aggressive and hardworking, will not be complete without the influence of friends who helped her redirect her energy properly.

One of such is Fola Adeola;

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the pioneer Managing Director of GTBank who convinced her to take a course at the Lagos Business School (LBS), to properly arm herself for the business world. The negotiation power is one of the weapons that Florence has wielded so far to get Omatek to where it is today, and that skill was learnt at LBS. Seriki narrates her own story thus “In 1993, a friend called me and said there is something called the Lagos Business School, so he said I should come and attend. When he said that it would cost N150, 000, I said that could bring in about four containers. And from nowhere, Fola Adeola called me too and said the same thing.

He said that some of those things I do that I can learn them there in the books I will buy. I went for the examination, was successful and that was how I got into the school.

I sat with other chief executives of companies. When I got there, negotiation was a course and that was how I learnt about my negotiations with the banks”.

After spending so much on personal development, Seriki would put her knowledge into

immediate use to make gains.

“I received big contracts from oil companies and I think of how I can fund it. So when I go to the banks, they tell me all their stories and I will go back and tell them the dynamics I think they should follow. We fight and fight until they know that their dynamics may fail.

Over time, I noticed that banks give us high account and attention, because they realized we know what we are doing. Like I always tell them here, if you are asked to take care of something and you say you are waiting for somebody, if that person doesn’t help you, you are the one to push, because I would push till I get what I want,” she said.

Besides help received from friends, the Omatek boss would readily acknowledge that some policies put in place by government has been very instrumental to the survival of the company.

Seriki attributed her company’s phenomenal breakthrough to two important interventions from government. First was the passage of the ‘Computers for All Nigerians Initiative (CANl)’ and the other being the exemption of Omatek from payment of duty for the importation of

computer components, as well as the cancellation of the Value Added Tax (VAT) on the export of the company’s products.

CANl, a government - private sector collaboration, is aimed at bridging the digital gap and promoting computer literacy in Nigerian society. Today, thanks to that bold step taken by the government and also owing to the unshaken sense of mission on the part of Omatek Computers, PCs were not only available locally at affordable prices, but there had also been a record rise in the number of Nigerians, who could boast of personal computers in their homes.

Over the years, Seriki has grown from making revenue of $1 million from selling foreignmade computers to establishing a company valued at over N10 billion within a period of 21 years.

Born on August 16, 1963 in Lagos to the Udebu family from Ebu, Delta State, Florence, the first child in the family of five girls, attended Reagan Memorial Baptist Secondary School, Sabo, Yaba between 1975 and 1980 and later proceeded to the Federal School of Science, Lagos for her A levels where she emerged the best overall in lower six form. BC

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Business Courage

Monday, April 1, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

ThebuddingEntrepreneurs

Living her

dreams She came from an average family background but certain unresolved issues almost put paid to her aspiration to attaining greatness. Rather than allow herself to be subdued, she picked up the gauntlet, rose to the challenge by fending for herself right from JSS2 level. Today, Ronke Kosoko, an economics graduate of the University of Lagos is not only living her dream, she is also making impactful contribution towards solving the unemployment facing the country through her Employment Clinic, an employment solutions company, which offers a wide array of bespoke and integrated services across industries

By Semiu Salami

S

ave for her tenacity and profound sense of vision, Ronke Kosoko would have become one of the many frustrated young Nigerians with inborn qualities but who could not find expression for such qualities.

She is from an average family background, not too rich but comfortable enough to provide for all she needed as a child.

Unfortunately, however, certain unresolved issues between her parents affected her upbringing as she; along with her other siblings, had to start catering for themselves at a tender age. In fact, Ronke started paying for her school fees from JSS2 class.

She attended Ansar-ud-Deen Comprehensive College, Ota, Ogun State, finished in 1999 and proceeded to the Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education where she studied Economics/Accounting. Thereafter, Ronke got admission to study economics at the University of Lagos.

After her university education, Ronke felt the need to convert her latent knowledge into practical reality rather than join the league of job searchers combing the streets looking non available job offerings. She knew she had competences in the area of advocacy and she set out early enough to pursue that dream.

To start off, she needed money for many things, like getting the company incorporated and other sundry things. That became the initial stumbling block, but determined to live her dreams, Ronke decided to put all she had into it.

Incidentally, at that time, she had accommodation challenge as her house owner had issued her a quit notice and so, she was caught in between using her savings to incorporate her dream company and be rendered homeless or use the money to secure herself another accommodation.

“My land-lady had given me a quit notice and I was putting money together to rent a new apartment but I also wanted to register the company. Well, I went for my dreams. I was almost homeless then but because I believed in my dreams, I went headlong to start.

I just did it and Employment Clinic is here today,” she said.

Ronke admitted that she realised that finances would be a major challenge, stressing that she had learnt a long time ago that “people can’t lift you above their level, that’s why some people feel intimidated around you when you share your great dreams and will do all they can to keep you on the same spot. So, I laugh every time someone tries to discourage me,” she said.

That resilience and early year challenge might have combined to be the unique strength that has continued to propel Ronke along her career path.

At start-up, Ronke Kosoko encountered enormous challenges but she never allowed that to chatter her dream of “redefining Africa’s employment profile.” She started Employment Clinic with the annual Employment Summit in tertiary institutions which later metamorphosed into an Employment Solutions Company, offering a wide range of bespoke and integrated services across several

Kosoko

industries.

Today, Ronke is an economist, employment solutions strategist and local content advocate who has within a short period, used her platform, Employment Clinic, to help people, organizations and government access information, and point out latent employment opportunities within industries.

Ronke’s Employment Clinic offers strategy, project execution,

issue resolution, policy development and recruitment services to the employment sector.

She says her ultimate goal is to redefine Africa’s employment profile. “Employment is a global issue but the Nigerian case is different because there are many fundamentals that were not being addressed.” With over 40 million unemployed Nigerians, Ronke says “we can no longer wait

for the government to be the only answer to our national problems especially with the spate of policy shocks and policy somersaults that continue to aggravate unemployment in the country. “ Author of “Get out of Unemployment”, a book that helps people address personal employment needs, Ronke offers consultancy services to clients seeking to identify, acquire and develop the best talent available. She is a passionate advocate of collective responsibility for national development, sharing and speaking with insight about issues affecting human, social and economic development.

As founder and executive director of Employment Clinic, she focuses on youth development from the entrepreneurial and employment perspective, providing thought leadership through her books, featured articles, newsletters and blogs. In addition, she has pioneered employment summits in tertiary institutions and at the state level. She also hosts The Employment Show showing on several stations across the country.

Ronke believes that Employment Clinic is actually playing the role of the government in a way.” Our educational system is raising uncompetitive graduates or those you might call ‘certificated illiterates’. So you have jobs being advertised every day, graduates coming out of the school in droves but they are not getting the jobs. Nigeria is becoming an industrialised nation, yet, unemployment still constitutes a major threat to the economy. The reason is that, government no longer

Management Principles

The Motivation Theories

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otivation is a complex phenomenon. Several theories attempt to explain how motivation works. In management circles, probably the most popular explanations of motivation are based on the needs of the individual.

The basic needs model, referred to as content theory of motivation, highlights the specific factors that motivate an individual. Although these factors are found within an individual, things outside the individual can affect him or her as well.

In short, everybody has needs that he/she wants satisfied. Some are primary needs, such as those for food, sleep, and water—needs that deal with the physical aspects of behaviour and are considered unlearned. These needs are biological in nature and relatively stable. Their influences on behaviour are usually obvious and hence, easy to identify.

Secondary needs, on the other hand, are psychological, which means that they are learned primarily through experience. These needs vary significantly by culture and by individual. Secondary needs consist of internal states, such as the desire for power, achievement, and love. Identifying and interpreting these needs is more difficult because they are demonstrated in a variety of ways. Secondary needs are responsible for most of the behaviour that a supervisor is concerned with and for the rewards a person seeks in an organization.

Several theorists, including Abraham Maslow, Frederick Herzberg and Clayton Alderfer, have provided theories to help explain needs as a source of motivation.

Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory Abraham Maslow defined need as a physiological or psychological deficiency that a person feels the compulsion to satisfy. This need can create tensions that can influence a person’s work attitudes and behaviours. Maslow formed a theory based on his definition of need that proposes that humans are motivated by multiple needs and that these needs exist in a hierarchical order. His premise is that only an unsatisfied need can influence behaviour; a satisfied need is not a motivator.

Maslow’s theory is based on the following two principles: *Deficit principle A satisfied need no longer motivates behaviour because people act to satisfy deprived needs.

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Business Courage A13 29

Monday, April 1, 2013

ThebuddingEntrepreneurs employs and even when they do, the thirty-six states we have in Nigeria can’t possibly employ one million people annually, yet we have over 40 million unemployed people,” she said.

Ronke says that with the government’s privatization programme, public servants will be downsized, just as the private sector is also downsizing. “The private sector wants to maximise profit and for such objectives to be achieved, they will have to employ the best brains; people with high cerebral and technical skills but our schools are not inculcating these skills. So, you find organisations coming in with huge foreign direct investments without any impact on the people because they don’t have the needed skills and expatriates come in to take the jobs, “she said.

She argued that the decision

by Employment Clinic to go into tertiary institutions is to prepare the undergraduates ahead for life after school. “In Brazil today, a fourteen year old goes straight into technical school to acquire industry specific training, same in China, a country with over a thousand technical schools. So, you have a 25 year old Asian or Brazilian who is an expatriate ready to be ‘imported’ to Africa while a 35 year old Nigerian is flaunting certificates with no job,” she said.

Ronke said that technical skills are in short supply in virtually all aspects of the economy, stressing that the industrial and economic revolution that is taking place around the world is private sector driven and the Nigerian case cannot afford to be an

Personal Finance Common threats to a family business

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Participants at one of her Employment Clinic

exception. “We have seen it work in the telecommunication sector.

It is also working in the power and energy sector, aviation, oil and gas, maritime, aviation, ICT and agriculture. But the question is, how many of our schools are raising people for those industries? So, you have economic growth that is not creating jobs because employers will not fold their arms and watch their investments rot away. That’s why you find organisations going abroad to recruit.”

Ronke said that her firm go into schools to enlighten undergraduates about opportunities across industries, teach them how to strategically position themselves for these opportunities while also talking to stakeholders and the government on how they can ameliorate the situation. “We are bridging the gap between the school system and the labour market, between employees and employers, between

*Progression principle The five needs he identified exist in a hierarchy, which means that a need at any level only comes into play after a lower-level need has been satisfied. These needs include: Selfactualization needs; Esteem needs; Social needs; Safety needs and Physiological needs Although research has not verified the strict deficit and progression principles of Maslow’s theory, his ideas can help managers understand and satisfy the needs of employees.

Herzberg’s two-factor theory Frederick Herzberg offers a two-factor theory as framework for understanding the motivational implications of work environments.

They include: *Hygiene factors which include salary, job security, working conditions, organizational policies, and technical quality of supervision. *Satisfiers or motivators, which include such things as responsibility, achievement, growth opportunities, and feelings of recognition, and are the key to job satisfaction and motivation.

Alderfer’s ERG theory Clayton Alderfer’s ERG (Existence, Relatedness, Growth) theory is built upon Maslow’s hierarchy of needs theory. Alderfer collapses Maslow’s five levels of needs into three categories thus: *Existence needs as desires for physiological and material wellbeing. *Relatedness needs as desires for satisfying interpersonal relationships. *Growth needs as desires for continued psychological growth and development.

This approach proposes that unsatisfied needs motivate behaviour, and that as lower level needs are satisfied, they become less important.

Higher level needs, though, become more important as they are satisfied, and if these needs are not met, a person may move down the hierarchy, which Alderfer calls the frustration-regression principle, a situation where an already satisfied lower level need can become reactivated and influence behaviour when a higher level need cannot be satisfied. BC

governments and the citizenry, between corporate/international organizations and Nigerian graduates as it relates to employment issues. To achieve this, we are working with stakeholders across industries, graduates and undergraduates, policy makers, partner organizations, industry stakeholders and the producers of human resources,” she said.

Ronke says her Employment Clinic educates, inspires and empowers the unemployed with knowledge, skills and strategies that will enable them escape unemployment and tap into available economic opportunities having discovered that the Nigerian educational system is the major cause of graduate unemployment in Nigeria as schools are not equipping undergraduates with what employers, industry and the economy need. The system, she said, is raising underclass graduates who are uncompetitive at the global level.

Ronke could better be described as a budding entrepreneur with a strong heart, one who “doesn’t see issues as challenges”. “I just deal with them.

I would say I have a very strong heart so I deal with anything that stands in my way. That’s how I’ve been able to overcome my startup challenges because they were really enormous. In life and business generally, you will always have issues but you must keep your head up or you get drowned.

So, my strong heart has been my greatest strength in addition to the God factor”.

Ronke says she is guided by the philosophies of believing in what you believe in; be convinced about your ideas and knowing the rules but be ready to break them when you should. She also strongly believes in being tenacious; surrounding oneself with the right people who want to see you grow and not those who feel intimidated by your positive energy and above all, a never give up spirit.

For her, material things and fame don’t define how successful a person is but it is determined by being successful in achieving all that you’re created to do with your life. “So, you can’t really measure success until your creator says well done, good and faithful servant, “ she said. BC

very business is faced with challenges. However, as a family business owner, you are faced with unique threats to your business that, if not recognized and addressed quickly, will drastically affect your success in the market place. Here are five common threats that every family business faces and tips on how to manage them.

Family Feuding There is simply no fun and games when it comes to family feuds in your business. Family businesses are faced with internal conflict that typically arises from the inability to separate your business and personal lives. Sometimes the feuding is due to the varied interests of each family member, personal egos or personal rivalries that spill into the business environment.

Regardless of the cause, if you do not find a way to stop the feuding, it will be absolutely impossible to define and achieve common goals for the business. In addition, excessive conflict in your organization can increase employee turnover and create a hostile work environment.

Nepotism Managing family is a delicate matter, and it is important to be aware that the fastest way to alienate the people that work for you is to create a company culture based on nepotism. Everyone wants to help out family, but hiring, promoting, and paying someone based on a familial relationship rather than on their actual merits and abilities, is a recipe for disaster.

You will quickly find that non-family employees will lose the motivation and desire to work for you. In addition, family employees may become complacent because they will not face consequences for non-performance. Ultimately, nepotism does not empower your employees, and as a result your bottom line will suffer.

Letting emotions run the business Separating your emotions from the business is not an easy task, especially if you are directly managing a family member. It is difficult for people to receive critical feedback from peers or their boss and even more difficult to receive it from someone they love.

Be aware that if you let emotions interfere with your business, it can make you appear weak to your employees and customers, and severely affect your ability to make sound business decisions.

On the other hand, if you are insensitive, you may appear cold and unapproachable. Lack of sensitivity with family employees can also cause problems at home if you are not careful. You will need to determine the right balance of emotion needed based on the dynamics of your business environment.

Losing non-family employees There are two main reasons non-family employees will leave: limited growth opportunities and family conflict. Most employees want to advance within a company. Unfortunately, in most family businesses, there are often limited opportunities for advancement, because family employees occupy all leadership positions within the company. Without opportunity to advance or take on a leadership role, many talented and ambitious employees will move on. Another problem is that non-family employees will leave because they feel as if they are always in the middle when a family feud breaks out.

As a business owner, you need to realize that every business needs a good mix of people to help you grow. Non-family employees add balance to the organization because they have the ability to view the business from an unemotional position. If given the opportunity, they can offer valuable input on how to make the company better.

No succession plan There is going to come a time when someone retires, leaves, or perhaps passes away. If you do not have a plan, you are setting your business up for failure.

It is estimated that less than 33 per cent of family businesses survive the transition from first generation ownership to second generation ownership. Sometimes, this is due to the family not having interest in running the business, but in most cases, it is due to the lack of creating a plan. A succession plan is absolutely necessary to ensure the business lives on from generation to generation.

Tips to manage threats to family business •Clearly define the goals of the company and make sure everyone is on the same page.

•Outline each family employee’s role and responsibilities and hold them accountable.

•Keep an open line of communication at all times.

•Address all concerns quickly and in a non-emotional manner.

•Create a fair promotion and salary system that is based on individual merit and ability.

•Provide opportunities for advancement in your business for nonfamily employees.

•Be prepared and create a succession plan to ensure your business lives on after you are gone. BC BC

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Monday, April 1, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

No number porting yet The much anticipated mobile number portability (MNP) programme scheduled to have commenced last week suffered yet another shift in date, but both the Ministry of Communication Technology and the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), insist there is no going back. However, there are still divergent views that number porting would not address the thorny issue of poor quality of service Johnson

By Adejuwon Osunnuyi

T

he much awaited mobile number portability (MNP) programme scheduled to have commenced last week has suffered yet another shift. All things being equal, however, the project should kick off in threeweeks time. The new extension, Business Courage gathered, was at the instance of the GSM operators which had requested for a further three week extension to resolve some issues bothering on harmonisation of various networks links and data between the regulator-clearing house and the telecoms operator.

The operators were said to have insisted that it was relatively better if there were still challenges and they were resolved amicably before venturing into fully with the tendency of it becoming a flop.

“MNP is not easy the way people see it. It involves several upgrading of facilities, including billing systems; setting up of routers, Operation Support Systems (OSSs) and internal business processes, such as customer care, and other management systems, among others.

Today, we have about 113 million active mobile phone users. That is a huge data you know,” one of the operators’ representatives was quoted to have said.

Director of Public Affairs at the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Tony Ojobo, while confirming the shift in date for the commencement of the MNP, said that the extension was to guard against any loopholes in the final take off of the scheme. “We have postponed the kick-off of MNP in Nigeria to April. The telecoms operators have asked for three weeks extension to be able to put things in order. The situation now is that the operators are testing their various links, crossing from telecoms

company A to B. The present situation is to ensure that the proper process ahead of take off. We want to ensure it is seamless,” he stated.

According to him, the operators already have routing numbers, a unique number that uses the format of a telephone number, but actually represents an entire telephone switch through which multiple telephone numbers are routed.

A close source to the appointed clearing house for MNP, Interconnect Clearing House also said that the major challenge delaying the commencement revolved around the hamonisation of the data from the Subscribers Identification Modules (SIM). He said the Interconnect Clearing House appointed by the NCC to create a unified interface billing system is rounding off exercise by bringing service providers networks on the MNP platform.

MNP or number portability, as it is largely referred to, is a scheme which allows subscribers to retain their mobile numbers when they wish to change from one mobile network to another. Under the MNP, a customer can, for instance, retain his MTN number when switching to the Etisalat network. This means that, he will make calls and send messages at Etisalat’s tariff but whenever he calls anyone or sends text messages, it is the MTN number t h a t would be displayed.

With the poor service quality that has continued to bedevil the telecoms sector thereby forcing many users sub-

scribing to more than three service providers as the case may be, the MNP seems to be the best option in putting the operators on their toes by improving on the quality of service to avoid losing their customers to competing network operator(s).

Reuben Muoka, Head, Media and Public Relations, of the Nigerian Communications Commission NCC had reiterated that the MNP would enable a subscriber to move from the service of an operator that failed to give him satisfactory service to another that offered him best service and reduced tariff.

While the essence of the exercise, as it is currently being practised in South Africa and in most countries in Europe, is to give subscribers the choice to move from their original network to another network, in search of better service quality, the subscriber also has the choice of returning to the initial network, if the service later improves.

Against the background of incessant complaints of poor Quality of Services (QoS) rendered by network operators, Mouka said that the commission strongly believes that when fully operational, MNP will tremendously impact on the quality of services offered by service providers, as the MNP is part of NCC’s plans to offer choice to customers as a matter of priority.

The three week extension for the implementation of the MNP was not the first time the take-off of the project would be postponed. First muted in early 2011, the project was expected to have commenced in June last year but was postponed to December and later shifted to the end of March,

this year.

Despite the repeated delay, however, the Minister of Communications Technology, Omobola Johnson and Ojobo had repeatedly assured Nigerians on the implementation of the MNP project.

Johnson had reiterated that “We are going ahead with MNP because it will increase competition in the industry. It, however, does not stop the service quality issue because we have a nationwide service quality issue, which cuts across networks. We are doing a lot of other things to improve telecoms service, by creating an enabling environment for network operators to rollout infrastructure, and reduce bottlenecks on right of ways, wilful destruction of telecoms facilities, among other measures.”

Johnson said the MNP would give subscribers the choice to select networks that offer best telecoms services, as she insisted that Nigerians have to embrace it, since it was the best option in a bad situation, adding that her ministry is working on this with the state authorities, agencies of government, NCC and the telecoms operators to ensure that quality of telecom services improve in 2013. “MNP will definitely give consumer varieties of choice. However, it is the best of bad situation kind of thing, but the major issue is for us to improve on our infrastructure and improve services, so that we don’t have to be moving from network to network,” she said.

Clearing air on the modus operandi for the MNP, Head, Public Relations at NCC, Reuben Muoka Muoka submitted that operators of Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), like Visafone, Capcom, and Intercellular, would not be part of the exercise at the moment, because of the different technology that they operate. He said NCC would begin with GSM operators, and later include the CDMA opera-

tors, if that of the GSM operators becomes successful.

In order to have a hitch-free MNP regime, NCC had rolled out guidelines for the planned introduction of the number portability across networks. The new rule exempts subscribers from paying any fee that may be charged by telecoms operators, when subscribers make request to telecoms operators, asking for number porting from one network to another.

According to the guidelines released on the NCC’s website recently, a service provider is responsible for maintaining appropriate records to satisfy the billing and audit requirements of Mobile Number Portability (MNP). NCC submitted that services and traffic terminated to ported numbers on an individual recipient operator’s network must be charged the same rate as for traffic and services terminated to non-ported numbers of the same recipient operator.

Neither recipient operators nor donor operators may make a charge to the customer for porting their number, the document stated.

To port from one service provider to another, Ojobo explained, “You go to the customer service centre of the network you want to port to. You will need a photo ID, and fill in forms and all of this data will be captured in the centre database,” he said.

He noted that this tied in to the country’s SIM registration exercise, run last year, adding that in the next month, there will be verification of all the SIMs that have been registered during the SIM registration exercise. “If any discrepancies are discovered during registration exercise, the affected subscribers will be notified

by SMS and be requested to go to a service centre to clear up problems,” he said.

Ojobo said the process of porting would take a maximum of 48

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Juwal

hours from initiating the process to the point where the number is functional through the new service provider.

Industry experts believe that the benefits of the MNP as being practiced in advanced countries are immense for any telecom market. According to experts, it would not only create an atmosphere for competition, operators can be free to roll out better packages for subscribers without restrictions, within limit anyway.

New entrants are also better positioned to compete favourably as they can be judged by the quality of their service and products.

In the long run, the customer, as king, benefits the most as he enjoys increased choices, ability to retain his number, improved service and lower tariffs. Invariably, the MNP will likely put a stop to subscribers moving about with multiple cell phones at a time.

President, National Association Telecoms Subscribers, Deolu Ogunbanjo, said the decision of NCC to commence Number Portability this month would not only drive quality of service, but would also make the subscribers feel as king, in their choice of porting their GSM numbers from one network to another at will. According to him, telecoms subscribers anticipate that it would lead to improved service and address the multi-SIM scenario among telecoms subscribers, “since one single SIM can now be used to initiate calls from any of the networks.”

But there are many who are already raising eyebrows with the MNP in the country. According to them, while the plan is good on paper, it may be very difficult to implement. The industry experts maintained that while in the last ten years of GSM operation in the country, though remarkable, its astronomical growth has not been

Business Courage A15 31

Monday, April 1, 2013

matched with quality service delivery. According to them, as long as the real problems causing operational hiccups inherent in the GSM service delivery in the country are not addressed, it would only be like movement without motion.

Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, President, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON), said that the situations in the country do not make Nigeria yet ripe for the MNP. “I can’t assure you that it will improve quality of service and I will tell you why. If one network goes down for whatever reason, I don’t have any guarantee that the other networks will have enough headroom to accommodate the capacity of the network that has gone down. The biggest network will naturally have the larger problem because it carries more loads and any impact on its network will impact other networks,” he said.

According to him, “It is like having traffic problem on the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos, it will impact other smaller road networks in Lagos. If the biggest player has some glitches and subscribers migrate to the smaller players, the smaller players will not have enough headroom. It is a simple logic and I think before the issue of number portability is made into law, they must review our network capacity, the stability of our network as well as the impact, otherwise, we may end up taking decisions that will impact negatively on what we currently have.”

He noted that the MNP should only be done after due consultations with stakeholders because “They are the ones who know what they have and what issues and challenges they are facing.”

Adebayo explained that, if you look at the problems confronting the industry today, number portability will not solve those prob-

lems. “When a state government on a revenue generation drive, like it happens often, shuts down telecoms cell sites, and some of these sites are hub sites connecting 50 other cell sites, what happens?

You compromise quality of service for millions of subscribers. Until a law is passed that on no account should any base station be shut down, there will continue to be these challenges,” he reasoned.

According to him, “The operators are ready for the number portability, but the industry is not ripe for it. And there are two separate things. Whether we are ready or not is one problem. Whether the industry is ripe or not for number portability is another problem. I would say the operators are ready for number portability but given the circumstances that the industry is facing, it is a bit doubtful if the industry as a whole is ready for number portability. But there is a way around it and that is that all stakeholders must come together and agree on the modus and the terms of number portability.”

Adebayo stressed that “There is the regulation, there is the policy, there is the technical and there is the commercial. So, the policy is okay. There is a legal framework to do number portability. Regulatory is the guiding line on what to do and how to do number portability.

And there is the technical, which is the handshake between the various network operators. Can we say all networks are one network because we are one uniform or common network? So, there has to be that handshake. Then, there is the commercial part of it. The technical has legal implication and commercial implication because when I port into your network, you want to see who I am. Legally, do I have the right to port into your network? Commercially, am I a credible client? And when I do carry traffic on your network, which I am porting as a guest, what is the sharing formula between the host network and the guest network.

These are the elements and the parameters that need to be agreed upon by stakeholders,” he said.

Engr. Titi Omo-Ettu, Chief Executive Officer, Telecom Answers Associates and immediate past president of the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria (ATCON), noted that although the number portability scheme would go a long way in engendering healthy competition among the operators, while providing a choice for subscribers, he was not certain whether it would help in addressing quality of service on its own.

Omo-Ettu reasoned that the current situation where many subscribers already have multiple SIM cards, where they can use another SIM to make call if service on one is not satisfactory, may slow down the adoption of number portability by the subscribers. “Number portability can help us maintain service stability but whether it can help us improve on the quality of service, I don’t know because, of what importance will it be for a subscriber switching from one network to another when quality of service on all networks of the operators is below expectation,” he submitted. BC

Technotips

Useful iPad tips and tricks

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ith great new features like two video cameras, a faster processor and a Retina display, the new iPad is the world’s best tablet device.

Here are some of the useful iPad tips that cover everything from customising your Home screen through to getting more from built-in apps like Mail and Safari. *Create folders iOS now supports folders. To create a folder all you need to do is tap and hold on an app until they all start to jiggle, then drag the app over another icon and release.

Your iPad will create a folder with both the apps in. The folder will be named according to the category of the apps it contains, but you can rename it as you like. *Access all running apps Double-clicking the Home button shows you all the apps that are running on your iPad in a bar along the bottom of the screen. To switch to a running app just tap on it here in this bar. Just swipe the screen downwards to remove this bar. *Orientation Lock or Mute The internet got mightily upset when Orientation Lock was replaced with Mute on the iPad during the last iOS update. Apple listened, and now you can head to Settings > General to choose between Lock Rotation and Mute. *Passcode Denied… DELETE ALL! If you’re carrying around sensitive data, you can now enable a feature that’ll erase all the data on the device if someone inputs the incorrect passcode 10 times. Navigate to Settings > General > Passcode Lock > Erase Data. *Home Sharing First, turn on Home Sharing in iTunes (Advanced menu) and on your iPad (Settings > Music/Video and enter your Apple ID). Next, launch the Music or Video app on your iPad. In the Music app, tap the “More” button at the bottom; find the little house with “Shared” next to it. Tap on that and then on one of the Shared Libraries. It might take a few seconds to update, but then you can listen to all of that Library’s media on your iPad. For video, tap the Shared tab at the top of the screen. *Control iPad notifications By going to Settings > Notifications, you can decide which apps can pop up alerts, which have notifications at the top of the screen, and which appear in Notification Center. This means you can make sure that noisy apps don’t clog things up for you, and you notice the important things. *Go VPN The iPad supports a VPN connection. To configure it, go to Settings, then General > Network. Select the VPN and move the slider to On, then add a VPN configuration with your server and account details. *Stop asking to join Wi-Fi networks If you’re fed up of getting bugged by messages asking if you’d like to join this or that Wi- Fi network all the time then head to Settings, Wi-Fi and turn off Ask to Join Networks. You can still join any network that will have you from this same screen, it just won’t bug you constantly when the opportunity arises. BC

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Jameel

Globacom begins multi-billion naira network expansion Stories by Kunle Azeez

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igeria’s leading telecommunications operator, Globacom, has commenced a massive network expansion and technical network upgrade project running into several billions of Naira that will significantly enhance the quality of customer experience on the network.

The company’s Group Chief Operating Officer, Mohamed Jameel, said the move which will see Globacom investing upscaling its network with latest technology in telecommunications, was part of the 10th anniversary celebration of the telecoms operator.

Jameel explained that the project, which has already started, involves network upgrade and overhaul of infrastructure across the country as well as expansion and densification projects that will on completion within the next one year enable the network to cater for its existing and potential subscribers.

“The project includes building of new switches, increasing of mobile switching centres to ease congestion and construction of additional 4,000 km of optic fibre cable which will complement the existing fibre optic facility which is the most extensive fibre coverage of Nigeria.

Glo has state-of-the-art IP/ MPLS and TDM technologies (30 gigabyte capacity) to meet requirements of enterprise customers, video, voice and data services. The TDM network is being upgraded to a fully integrated Generalised Multi-protocol Label Switching (GMPLS),” Jameel said.

He said part of the upgrade also includes the installation of new base stations and densification of existing ones, setting up of three new mini call centers across the country to take care of vast increase in subscriber figures and upgrade of the radio access network which will ensure that data customers enjoy unparalleled speed and

reliability.

“We are building a brand new network based on latest technology and adequate capacity to cater for our growing subscriber base. The project will include the optimization of the existing Base Transceiver Stations (BTS) both 2G and 3G for High Speed data transmission, full integration of our backbone infrastructure with the Glo 1 international submarine cable and upgrade of the high capacity IP-based radio access network which will ensure that our data customers enjoy unparalleled speed and reliability.

“We are also deepening network reception across the country as we accelerate the pace of planned rollout of base stations. Virtually every Nigerian community will benefit from the network upgrade. All major cities and medium-size cities will have 3G coverage to ensure that the quality of high speed internet service and data transfers will be similar to what you will find anywhere in Europe or America,” he added.

CSR: MultiChoice increases resource centres to 244

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s part of its ongoing Corporate Social Responsibility initiative, Nigeria’s leading provider of premium pay entertainment, MultiChoice said it has added 43 new resource centres to existing 201 to bring the number of its educational resource centres to 244 in 24 states across the country.

Disclosing this during the commissioning ceremony of 11 new MultiChoice Resource Centres (MRC) in Benue State, which completed the Phase Eight of the MRC project, the Managing Director, MultiChoice Nigeria, John Ugbe, said that the Benue launch happened almost 10 years after the inaugural launch of the project in Abuja in 2004 to commemorate what was then MultiChoice’s 10th anniversary in Nigeria He listed the beneficiaries of the audio-visual learning aid in Benue State to include Government College, Makurdi; Government Model Secondary School, Makurdi; Government Girls Secondary School, Makurdi; Mt. St. Gabriel Secondary School, Makurdi; Special Science Senior Secondary School, Makurdi and Tilley Gyado College, Makurdi.

Others are Government Secondary School (North Bank), Makurdi; NKST Secondary School, Makurdi; Mt. Carmel College, Makurdi, Community Secondary School, Makurdi and Methodist High school, Igumale.

Ugbe, who was represented by the company’s General Manager, Trade and Distribution,

Monday, April 1, 2013

Akin Salu, said, “The resource centre initiative is our corporate social investment project that has grown from only four centres at inception to 242 schools in 24 states of the federation.”

He stated that MultiChoice’s strong conviction that the technological, economic, social and political advancement of any country has a direct correlation with its level of educational development.

According to him, “The future of a country is intrinsically tied to the quality of education that the youths are exposed to is the belief that underpins the company’s rollout of the audio-visual learning aid across the country. He further said that MultiChoice plans to have the resource centres in all the states of the federation.”

The media being deployed for each of the project MRC include a television set, a HD PVR decoder, satellite dish, a generator, stabilizer, a set of chairs and desks for the laboratory, among others.

Managing Director, Innovative Technology Literacy Services Limited, the managers for the RCC project, Ronke Bello, described Benue State as a lucky beneficiary of the MRC project in this phase.

“The MRC is designed to grant beneficiary schools access to the special MultiChoice Education Bouquet with the aim of integrating the programmes into their curriculum to further enhance the teaching and learning processes in the classrooms,” she said.

Ugbe

Samsung service centres in Nigeria hit 33

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s part of efforts to provide its local customers with world-class service, Samsung Electronics West Africa has stepped up its nationwide market expansion drive in Nigeria, with the opening of a new, fullfledged service centre in the country.

Strategically located in the heart of Lagos at Ojuelegba Road, Yaba, Samsung’s Smart Care Service Centre provides

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

consumers with instant access to service, repairs and enquiries on Samsung’s full range of audio-visual, mobile and computing devices in a standalone location.

The customer service centre is the latest in the series of Samsung’s roll out of new, modern service centres all over Nigeria and brings the total number of the company’s customer service outlets in the country to 33, with 13 centres in Lagos alone.

Speaking at the launch of the service centre recently, Managing Director, Samsung Electronics West Africa, Brovo Kim reiterated the company’s commitment to providing its customers with sound, convenient and impeccable aftersales service infrastructure.

“Given the overwhelming support that we have received from our customers, we have embarked on a plan to roll out customer service centres in strategic locations across Nigeria. Today, we are happy to deliver to our customers our Yaba service centre, which has been designed to meet the latest global standards.

“We have always applied a customer-centric approach to our business - with us, the customer comes first. Our customers in Yaba and its surrounding communities can now enjoy peace of mind and rest assured that a service centre that can handle both major and minor repairs for their mobile and computing devices, as well as their home appliances, is just around the corner,” Kim said.

In addition to conducting immediate face-to-face repair work, the centre also boasts a product display area for customers to view and experience the latest range of products in Samsung’s stable.

On his part, Samsung Electronics’ West Africa’s Service Manager, Raymond Olatokun said, “Since our customers are our first and foremost concern, we are always looking for the best ways to serve them wherever they are. With that in mind, we have inaugurated our 33rd Smart Care Service Centre in Nigeria, demonstrating our commitment to widen our service coverage in the country and also ensure customer satisfaction. We look forward to the opening of more centres in the country in the near future,” he said.

Nigerian software developers compete in Microsoft 9jApps initiative

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ost budding young software developers are to compete for best innovation in software development as Micro-

Kim

soft Nigeria formally opened this year’s edition of 9jApps contest.

The challenge is designed to empower local developers to take advantage of Microsoft’s new tools and resources to develop locally appealing and locally-relevant apps for the Windows platform, utilizing Visual Studio 2012 and the Windows Phone SDK, in addition to the Windows Azure SDK. The 9jApps contest will run for three months teeingoff in March and climaxing at the end of June, 2013.

This contest is intended to empower the next generation of Nigerian developers, by helping them drive innovation and grow the local software economy.

This push for economic development through African innovation is one of the key drivers of the Microsoft 4Afrika Initiative, launched continent-wide in February this year.

Microsoft is committed to working with Africa’s students, entrepreneurs, and independent developers to help them create the next generation of world-class African apps on the Window Platform, to bring relevant content and new business opportunities to people across the continent.

Speaking on the contest, Country Manager, Microsoft Nigeria, Emmanuel Onyeje, said, “Nigeria is blessed with enormous talents, and Microsoft is proud to be able to help these talented developers to acquire new skills that will help them explore their potential and reach new heights.”

Developer and Platform Evangelism Lead, Microsoft Nigeria, Oyeshina Oyetosho, added, “This is not development for development’s sake.

This contest is about giving developers the skills and tools they need to help them publish their apps to the Microsoft Store so they can monetize their innovation and share it with the world. The Microsoft 4Afrika Initiative is rooted in the belief that African innovation can and will shape the future, so it is our hope that contests like this one can help fuel that cycle”.BC

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Business Courage A17 33

Monday, April 1, 2013

Reflections with Semiu Salamii 07043280449 sms only

Much ado about number portability

M

id last week, when most subscribers had anxiously awaited the take off of the much celebrated mobile number portability (MNP) programme, the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) shifted the goal post again.

Rather than the previous March end date, the NCC says it was compelled to review the commencement date upward in difference to the request for a three week extension sought by all the Global System of Mobile Communication (GSM) operators.

That Mobile Number Portability (MNP), is a scheme which allows subscribers to retain their mobile numbers when they wish to change from one mobile network to another.

Under the MNP, a customer can, for instance, retain his MTN number when switching to the Etisalat network. He will make calls and send messages at Etisalat’s tariff, but whenever he calls anyone or sends text messages, it is the MTN number that would be displayed.

In other climes where mobile number portability is operational, the very essence of the exercise is to give subscribers the choice to move from their original network to another network, in search of better service quality, while the subscriber also has the choice of returning to the initial network, if the service later improves.

This is essentially why many Nigerians seem to have bought into the MNP concept, especially in our situation where critical issue of poor quality of service has been the major albatross of all the network operators. The logic is that, with number portability, the network that will attract the highest number of patronage, particularly with regards to voice calls and short messaging, will be the one that is capable of guaranteeing quality, uninterrupted service to the subscribers.

Incidentally, frequent postponement of the exercise is beginning to send wrong signals to the subscribers, who are assuming, justifiably so, that it is either the mobile operators are not yet ready to offer the service or are out rightly not disposed to the implementation. The curious aspect of it all is that, for the concept to work, all the telcos, except those on the CDMA platform are to fully subscribe to the idea.

The MNP idea was first mooted in early 2011 but has since then, suffered several postponements. Until the recent extension, mobile number portability was to have commenced in June last year but was later postponed to December and later moved to first quarter of 2013.

The NCC has rationalised the reason behind the current

postponement, attributing it to issues bothering on harmonisation of various networks links and data between the regulator-clearing house and the telecoms operators.

“MNP is not easy the way people see it. It involves several upgrading of facilities, including billing systems; setting up of routers, Operation Support Systems (OSSs) and internal business processes, such as customer care, and other management systems, among others. Today, we have about 113 million active mobile phone users. That is a huge data you know,” says Tony Ojobo, NCC’s Director of Public Affairs who insisted that “it was relatively better if there were still challenges and they were resolved amicably before we venture into it fully and everything becomes a flop.”

Nice argument though it seems. It is however curious why the NCC failed to ensure that all that was needed for the seamless take-off of the project was in place before announcing to the whole world the date for the commencement of the project? Besides, what is the guarantee that the new date of April would also not end up like those before it?

The incessant shift in date of the take-off of the MNP, despite the insistence of the NCC and the Communications Technology Minister, Mobola Johnson of the government

determination to get the project running, may just be a confirmation of the fears expressed by certain stakeholders who have cautioned that unless the various operational hiccups inherent in the GSM service delivery since its inception in the country are addressed, it would only be like movement without motion.

Contrary to the belief that MNP would address the issue of poor quality of service and engender competition, some stakeholders insist that the biggest network will naturally have the larger problem because it carries more loads and any impact on its network will impact other networks.

This is why I align myself with the position of Gbenga Adebayo, President, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nigeria (ALTON) that the issue is like having traffic problem on the Third Mainland Bridge in Lagos, it will impact other smaller road networks in Lagos. If the biggest player has some glitches and subscribers migrate to the smaller players, the smaller players will not have enough headroom. “It is a simple logic and I think before the issue of number portability is made into law, they must review our network capacity, the stability of our network as well as the impact, otherwise, we may end up taking decisions that will impact negatively on what we currently have.” BC

Unity, Wema, Skye Banks lift stock market by 47.65 per cent

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rading on the floor of the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE), closed with the NSE All-Share Index appreciating by 29.37 points or 0.09 per cent to close on Thursday at 33,536.25. Also the market capitalization of the listed equities on the main board increased by 0.11 per cent to close at N10.733 trillion, while the Bloomberg NSE 30 Index appreciated by 5.53 points or 0.35 per cent to close at 1,602.88.

All the NSE sectoral indices appreciated during the week; Bloomberg NSE Consumer Goods, Bloomberg NSE Banking, Bloomberg NSE Insurance, Bloomberg NSE Oil and Gas and NSELotus II advanced by 1.98 per cent, 1.58 per cent, 0.63 per cent, 1.18 per cent and 1.69 per cent respectively.

A turnover of 1.612 billion shares worth of N13.542 billion in 23,021 deals were transacted this week on the TOP 10 PRICE GAINERS: Company Nestle Nigeria Plc Okomu Oil Palm Plc Total Nigeria Plc UACN Plc 7-UP Bottling Coy Plc Guaranty Trust Bank Plc Ashakacem Plc UACN property Dev. Co. Plc Livestock Feeds Plc Zenith Bank Plc

Open 860.00 61.00 161.00 53.05 47.50 24.90 23.91 14.24 2.21 21.00

Close 950.00 72.50 169.05 55.00 49.00 26.10 24.50 14.80 2.67 21.30

floor of The Exchange in contrast to a total of 1.561 billion shares valued at N16.636 billion that exchanged hands last week in 25,255 deals.

At the close of trading activities for the week, the Financial Services sector accounted for 1.347 billion shares valued at N8.138 billion exchanged hands by investors in 15,076 deals. The Consumer Goods sector (measured by turnover volume) followed in the activity chart with 76.335 million shares valued at N3.518 billion traded in 3,337 deals.

The Banking subsector of the Financial Services sector was the most active during the week (measured by turnover volume) with 945.036 million shares worth N6.661 billion exchanged by investors in 11,558 deals.

Volume in the Banking subsector was largely driven by activities in the shares of Unity Bank Plc, Wema Bank Gain (N) 90.00 11.50 8.05 1.95 1.50 1.20 0.59 0.56 0.46 0.30

% Change 10.47 18.85 5.00 3.68 3.16 4.82 2.47 3.93 20.81 1.43

Plc, and Skye Bank Plc. Trading in the shares of the three banks accounted for 450.287 million shares, representing 47.65% of the turnover volume recorded by the subsector for the week.

During the week were also 234 units of NewGold Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) valued at N575.812 executed in 5 deals compared with a total of 192 units valued at N476.541 million transacted last week in four deals.

Also, 3,500 units of FGN bonds valued at N4.009 million were traded during the week in 11 deals in contrast to 700 units valued at N1.992 million transacted last week in 18 deals.

Thirty-four equities appreciated in prices during the week higher than twenty-two equities of the preceding week. Thirty-seven equities depreciated in price lower than forty-five equities

TOP 10 PRICE LOSERS: Company Dangote Cement Plc PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc Nigerian Enamelware Plc Cement Coy of Northern Nigeria N. Nigeria Flour Mills Plc Forte Oil Plc International Breweries Plc Presco Plc Eterna Plc Viafoam Nigeria Plc

Open 155.00 39.50 33.96 12.09 24.60 14.33 21.85 25.10 3.63 3.86

Close 148.50 36.71 32.27 10.44 23.80 13.65 21.20 24.63 3.30 3.61

Loss (N) -6.50 -2.79 -1.69 -1.65 -0.80 -0.68 -0.65 -0.47 -0.33 -0.25

% Change -4.19 -7.06 -4.98 -13.65 -3.25 -4.75 -2.97 -1.87 -9.09 -6.48

of the preceding week, while one hundred and twenty-six equities remained constant during the week in contrast to one hundred and thirty equities of the preceding week. BC

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Business Courage

Monday, April 1, 2013

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2014:

Mercedes Benz S. Class Ahead of the Pack

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s the word suggests, a “flagship” is the standard bearer for a brand.

It is the benchmark by which all others are measured. In the case of Mercedes-Benz, the 2014 S-Class, soon to be unveiled in New York, is the pinnacle. This is especially true now that Maybach has set sail into the forgotten realms of automotive nomenclature. This is as good as it gets from Mercedes, and up until now few details on what we can expect have been forthcoming.

Officially, details of the exterior shape and engine performance are still being kept under wraps. What is known and can be reported on are the design elements inside the car, that area in which most people spend the majority of time and therefore find most useful driving the car daily or on a long road trip. Rest assured, front and back seat occupants will lack for nothing.

Luxury is the order of the day with the 2014 Mercedes-Benz S-Class saloon. Calm solidity is how the company describes the interior experience. Natural wood is used as accents for the doors, centre console and dash.

Metalized surfaces add richness and style to the passenger experience. If that wasn’t enough, seats are designed as the peak of automotive design and function. There are over 100 power switches that activate functions throughout the interior. A Business centre console treats rear seat passengers as equals.

Two colour displays replace the standard gauge and centre console arrangement found in most luxury vehicles. The left side highlights typical driving functions such as speed, engine RPM, etc. The right side

provides adjustment for heating and cooling, along with a worldclass audio system. The desire is to group controls in a logical fashion, allowing the driver and passenger to focus on the road ahead and spend less time looking at a screen.

Seats offer massage designed to mimic a hot stone treatment, plus ventilation to keep things warm or cool as necessary. A total of five different seating options are available for the rear. Heating options also add warmth to the steering wheel, armrests and door centre panels. Other features include a newly designed automatic climate control system, active perfuming system and concert hall sound quality.

Indeed, the all-new 2014 Mercedes-Benz S-Class, designated W222, is one of the most highly anticipated debuts of its model year. Every generation of the flagship sedan has broken new ground in technology and innovation for the entire industry, and the German automaker appears determined to raise the bar much further with its latest arrival as it promises to deliver “the best automobile in the world.” Mercedes-Benz has just released nearly two dozen interior images of the new sedan, showing off style in design, craftsmanship in execution and pioneering advancements in technology.

Unlike all previous generations, the 2014 model completely discards a traditional instrument cluster and replaces it with two high-resolution colour displays in 8:3 format with a screen diagonal of 12.3 inches (the outgoing model’s gauges were a mix of digital and analogue). The left unit displays traditional analogue gauges

(digitally, of course) while the right unit is reserved for infotainment and comfort settings with the automaker’s all-new mBrace2 – a cloud-based entertainment and information delivery system that is rolling out this year.

Passengers will be pampered with “energizing” massage, active seat ventilation with reversing fans, heated seats, heated steering wheel and heated armrests (door and centre). A total of 14 separately actuated air bladders in the backrest of the seats will provide six different massage programmes. There are also “belt bags” (airbags in the seatbelt webbing – not unlike the Ford Explorer) and “cushion bags” (airbags to prevent occupants from sliding beneath the belt).

Mercedes calls its newly developed climate control “thermotronic,” as it features completely autonomous adjustment options for driver and passenger. It also includes improved filtering utilizing ionization, and an “active perfuming system,” as part of its “air-balance” package, to individually customize the smell of the vehicle interior – finally making those pine tree car fresheners obsolete.

This pursuit of the best or nothing is particularly noticeable in the interior, whether it is the seats or the air conditioning, the controls or the design, the infotainment or the comfort and safety in the rear – new ideas and their painstaking realisation underpin the high standards that the engineers have set for the Mercedes-Benz flagship model – and for themselves.

The new S-Class features highly sophisticated, automatic climate control functions. The

seats likewise lay claim to being the benchmark in automobile engineering. In both, cases this is accompanied by maximum operating convenience, ensured by numerous actuators and electric motors.

Visual breadth and calm solidity With its clear-cut architecture, the interior design of the new S-Class is the embodiment of a classic, serene and yet ultra-modern sedan. The interior space derives its expressiveness from a distinctively flowing, sensual and elegant style.

Horizontal features and lines create an ambience characterised by visual breadth and calm solidity, where high quality and elegance go hand in hand with clarity and functionality. The interior concept of the S-Class combines driving, spatial and operating comfort at the highest level.

The perfectly coordinated use of materials and colours produces an exclusive interior seemingly cast from a single mould. There is generous use of wood trim, especially in the dashboard and centre console.

Metallised switch surfaces with pearl-effect paint finishes in three colour shades to suit the interior colour particularly highlight the outstanding quality.

Passengers in the rear are also seated in first-class – the design and exclusivity of the seats, door panels and all controls are to the same, high standard as the front. As an additional individualization feature, the “First Class Rear” incorporates a Business centre console combining personal comfort with practical convenience (integration of a telephone handset, additional stowage compartments, folding table, etc.).

For the S-Class, the constantly increasing need to integrate additional functions into the vehicle led to a further development of the entire operating logic. The aim in designing the control and display features was to group controls and display functions together in a coherent manner in terms of both design and functionality. Apart from the new displays, the metallised switch surfaces and solid aluminium controls are visual highlights of particularly high quality.

With numerous world firsts such as the Energizing massage function on the hot-stone principle or active seat ventilation with reversing fans, MercedesBenz has raised the seating and climatic comfort in the S-Class to a new level. There is a choice of five different rear seat variants including an Executive seat with a backrest angle adjustable by up to 43.5 degrees, allowing occupants in the rear to concentrate on work or relax in comfort.

Working together with physiotherapists and psychologists, the seat specialists at MercedesBenz have developed a unique massage function with 14 separately actuated air cushions in the backrest, as well as an integrated warming function. There is a choice of six massage programmes, two of them using the warming function.

New backrest concept Two rear seat variants (static bench seat or individual seats with 37-degree adjustment) are available for the standardwheelbase S-Class, and no less than five for the long-wheelbase version. Unlike the conventional trailing backrest design, the backrest is adjusted sepa-

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Business Courage A19 35

Monday, April 1, 2013

Behind d Wheels This page is open to sponsorship rately so that the legroom and seat reference point remain unchanged.

The cushion can be separately adjusted for angle and horizontal position.

The maximum backrest angle of the reclining seat on the front passenger side is increased from 37 to 43.5 degrees, giving it the largest backrest inclination in the luxury segment. The reclining seat behind the front passenger seat features a calf support which is freely adjustable for length and angle. In combination with the heel rest on the forward-folding chauffeur seat, this allows a reclined position that sets new standards in the automobile sector with respect to sleeping and resting comfort.

Three new features improve safety in the rear: in the belt buckle feeder an electric motor automatically raises and lowers the buckle. The belt bag is an inflatable seat-belt strap that is able to reduce the risk of injury to passengers in the rear in a head-on collision by lessening the strain on the ribcage.

The reclining seat is fitted with a cushion bag as standard. This prevents the occupant from sliding under the belt in the event of an accident. In this way, Mercedes-Benz has been able to design a comfortable reclining seat which provides a higher level of accident safety than a seat with a trailing backrest.

The newly developed climate control unit of the thermotronic automatic climate control included as standard has a mass flow regulating concept, whose automatic operating principle meets individual comfort requirements for every occupant.

New features include complete-

ly autonomous adjustment options for the driver and front passenger sides, also for the individual automatic modes with their climatic settings of “Focus”, “Medium” and “Diffuse”.

As a world first, the new SClass Sedan has an “active perfuming system” as part of the air-balance package. ‘Active’ means that the perfuming system is switched on and off manually, with manual adjustment of the intensity. The perfume atomisation system individualises the smell of the vehicle interior. It neither changes the interior smell permanently, nor are perfume molecules deposited on fabric surfaces or clothing.

Another feature of the Air balance package is improved filtering of the outside air fed into the vehicle interior by the climate control system, and of the air re-circulating in the interior in air re-circulation mode. The filter system is now even more efficient, and is able to reduce the peak levels of certain gaseous emissions while lowering their concentration below the perception threshold. Ionisation is another component of the Air - balance package, the air from the climate control unit being conducted into the interior via an ioniser. In a combined operating mode this renders certain viruses, bacteria and spores inactive (cleaning effect). At the

same time the air can be freshened by an increased concentration of negatively charged oxygen ions (relaxing effect).

Multimedia features A completely new multimedia generation with intuitive operation and particularly tangible functions thanks to visualisation and animations celebrates its debut in the new S-Class. Other innovations include the multi-user system, which allows independent access to the media sources of the entertainment system from any seat. The new S-Class is also the first sedan car to be equipped with the unique Front bass system as standard. The woofers are installed within the body shell and use the almost 40-litre space in the crossmember and side member as a resonance chamber.

Several hundred developers worldwide contributed to the new Mercedes-Benz multimedia generation, compiling more than 30 million lines of programming.

The centrepiece of the new Comand Online system is the Intel Atom, a processor whose performance fully equals that of components in the latest laptops.

Numerous new functions extend the multimedia options available, and transform the S-Class into a communication centre or a concert hall as required.

The new S-Class is the first vehicle worldwide to offer a genuine multi-user system for entertainment functions. This means that there is independent access to the media sources of the entertainment system from any of the four seats – i.e. radio, TV, internet, navigation, DVD player and USB-connected devices. BC

Autocare Do-it-yourself routine checks

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otorists these days have little understanding of their vehicles, and many drive their car to work without ever knowing that there is something wrong with it.

Sometimes, the pressure of one tyre may be much lower than the others - but the driver does not notice it. In some cases, there is hardly any lubrication oil left in the engine - but the driver keeps on using the vehicle because he or she doesn’t know what is happening.

In the past, anyone who wanted to drive an automobile had to learn how to look after it, including topping up the battery with distilled water, using the jack and changing a wheel, checking the level of the engine oil and the coolant and so on.

These were things that drivers in those days had to be capable of doing themselves, no matter whether they were male or female.

The modern lifestyle has everyone in a hurry, and with the “make more money” philosophy, people let money do their work for them. These days, people buy a car and leave the maintenance to a service centre. They are willing to pay more money than they have to, just for the convenience. This means that having an automobile these days is another way of increasing your expenses.

Many of the things that people expect a service centre to do are jobs that don’t require any special skills or training. And they take just 10 to 15 minutes per week.

For example, pop the car’s hood open every weekend and pull out the engine oil dip stick. If the oil level is between the “min” and “max” marks, then there’s enough oil there. But if the level is closer to the “min” mark and the engine is often used at high revs or is driven uphill, more engine oil should be added, so that the level reaches the “max” mark. This is fine if the engine oil you add is of the same brand as that already in the engine.

After the engine oil, the level of the transmission fluid can be easily checked although it is rather difficult to add more fluid. You can have this done at a service centre by telling the mechanic how much extra fluid is needed.

Then, there is the power-steering fluid, which can also be easily checked. In some vehicles, you can see the level on the reservoir - which is similar to the coolant reservoir, but smaller.

In some cars, there is a small dip stick on the reservoir, just like that for the engine oil. If the level is low, add transmission fluid that has an ATF label. But if the level is low, it suggests fluid is escaping, so after topping up the reservoir, you should try to locate the leak.

With brake fluid, if the level has not dropped much, then you don’t need to add any more, since the level usually drops as the brake pads begin to wear down. When you have the brake pads replaced, it will rise again to the original level, so if you have added more fluid, it will overflow. However, if the brake-fluid level is lower than the “min” mark, then you should take the vehicle to a mechanic as soon as possible.

The next thing to check is the coolant level. Open the radiator cap and reservoir and add clean water to the required level. Then check the battery. If you have one of those batteries made of clear plastic that lets you see the cells inside, use a piece of cloth to clean the side of the battery so you can clearly see the liquid levels. If the level is low on any or all of the cells, then add distilled water.

Then check the windshield-washer fluid level as well as that for the headlamp washers.

As you can see, the basic checks on a vehicle are very easy and do not take much time. No matter who you are, if you want to drive, then you should be able to carry out these checks. BC

A20 36

Business Courage

Insurance, petroleum sectors lift ASI by 19.4 per cent in Q1

By Johnson Okanlawon

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rading in equities on the Nigerian Stock Exchange closed on bullish note in the first quarter of the year, as the gains recorded mostly in insurance companies lifted the benchmark index.

Specifically, the All Share index rose by 5,457 points or 19.4 per cent to close at 33,536.28 points, from the opening figure of 28,078.81 points.

Market capitalisation appreciated by N1.86trn in the review period to close at 10.7trn, from N8.87trn at which it opened the year in January 3, 2013.

The Insurance index rose by 30.42 per cent to close at 154.53 points, from 118.49 points at which it opened the year, followed by the Oil and Gas index with 29.6 per cent to close at 198.20 per cent, from 152.92 points recorded in the beginning of the year.

Lotus Islamic index gained 25.6 per cent to close at 2,221.15 points, from 1,769.07 points at which it opened the year, while the Consumer Goods index appreciated by 17.3 per cent to close at 983.67 points.

The NSE 30-index increased by 19.9 per cent to close at 1,602.88 points, from 1,336.07 points, while the Banking index added 21.4 per cent to close at 412.35 points, from 339.63 points at which it opened the year.

Analysts said compared to other frontier and emerging markets, the in-

creased returns on investments in the Nigerian equity markets were higher, which led to increased investments by both foreign and local investors.

Meristem Nigeria Limited, an investment firm, noted that apart from the attractiveness of the returns from the equities market, the yields from the bond market were also an upside for the equities market.

The firm added that the absence of the declining yield expectation in the last few weeks had made investible funds to find their way into other high return investible financial assets such as the equities market.

The firm said, “Considering the sensitivity of yields to bond prices, the uptrend in yields in the previous week suggests possible profit-taking within the fixed income arm.

While the equities market remains relatively bullish at the moment, funds may be finding their way to the equities market from the fixed income market.

“The nature of the attractiveness of return on investment in Nigeria relative to other emerging and frontier markets lends credence to huge funds flow to equities as an alternative asset.

The low price to earnings multiple, robust revenue growth potential and higher earnings growth are some of the factors that make equity investment attractive in Nigeria,” the firm added. BC

NSE extends reports’ filing date for listed firms

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he Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), has said that it will be granting all listed entities an extended filing date from the due date of the required financial periodic submissions.

NSE which was not specific on how long the extension would be, said in a statement that it was taking the decision in response to the challenges being experienced by listed entities in meeting their regulatory periodic filing obligations with The Exchange for fiscal 2012 Audited Accounts and 2013 Interim Accounts.

“The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has confirmed on Thursday March 28, 2013 that it will exercise discretion by granting all listed entities an extended filing date from the due date of the required financial periodic submissions,” the statement said.

“This is coming as an intervention by The Exchange to ensure listed companies present this statutory requirement accurately. The new announcement offers a fresh assurance to businesses and advisors affected by the early adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and levels of regulatory approvals which now includes Financial Reporting Council (FRC).”

The General Manager, Legal and Regulation Division of The NSE, Tinu Awe, stated that “The Exchange is in consultation with FRC and other Primary Regulators. While we believe that the timely disclosure of financial information is critical to stakeholders in the capital market as well as investors, the challenges which the entities are facing are germane.”

Awe explained that during this period, The NSE will not apply the tag

Awe

Below Listings Standard (BLS) beside the names of entities on the X-Compliance Report which is published on the website.

She mentioned that The Exchange will also forbear from imposing sanctions in terms of financial penalties.

The Nigerian bourse introduced the X-Compliance Report in mid-2011 as a transparency initiative of The Exchange designed to maintain market integrity and protect the investors by providing compliance related information on all listed companies.

Companies listed on The Exchange are required to adhere to high disclosure standards which are prescribed in the Listing Rules of The NSE. Financial information, which is periodic disclosure and on-going material events disclosure are also to be released to The Exchange in a timely manner to enable it efficiently perform its function of maintaining an orderly market. BC

Monday, April 1, 2013

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CBN and the interest rate conundrum

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or the 11th successive time, Central Bank of Nigeria has retained the benchmark Monetary Policy Rate at 12 per cent at its last Monetary Policy Committee Meeting held a fortnight ago.

The apex bank also retained the banks’ Cash Reserve Ratio at 12 per cent and Liquidity Ratio at 30 per cent as well as Net Open Position at one per cent Opinions had been divided on what the CBN’s action would be at that meeting given the fact that inflation rate had been in single digit for at least two month preceding.

This was seen by some a signal that the apex bank should begin some monetary easing by dropping the rate to 11 per cent as one analyst wrongly predicted it would or at least ease the banks’ cash reserve ratio requirements.

The key argument in favour of monetary easing was that this would boost economic growth by making it easier for businesses to have access to credit at more affordable rates but members of the Monetary Policy Committee led by Governor Lamido Sanusi appear to remain unconvinced that much had changed since October 2011 when the apex bank had hiked the MPR by 275 basis points to 12 per cent since October 2011 and adjusted other monetary policy tools including the banks’ Cash Reserve Ratio and Net Open Position citing the need to contain the socalled excess liquidity in the banking system, inflationary pressures and discourage speculative attacks on the naira.

While Sanusi had acknowledged some slowdown in economic growth, he is not buying the argument that it has anything to do with interest rates. For him and other CBN eggheads, businesses are suffering due to infrastructure issues among others.

However, the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry has maintained that while the sustained monetary policy tightening might have effectively moderated inflation and stabilised the exchange rate, this has been at the expense of stimulation of growth and employment generation.

The problem the CBN has apparently is trying to strike a balance between stimulating growth, which is will argue s not its core function and controlling inflation rate.

Sanusi has explained that the MPC decision was based largely on the need to see a longer track record in holding inflation at single digit inflation before embarking on monetary easing and has indeed forecast an average of 9.6 per cent inflation rate for this year while at the same time not sending signals that it was in favour of higher inflation if it cut rates immediately.

But the argument o those seeking lower rates remain just as valid. How can any company borrow at 28 per cent and hope to make any profit if it not just a mere trading concern? Manufacturers and other players in the real sector need a break and the banks need to function effectively as lenders to productive activ-

ity instead of just focussing on the creation of nominal wealth by trading in money and capital market instruments.

As it is, the CBN has been squeezing banks for funds deposited largely by the government, so it is easy to predict which way interest rates will swing when the monthly allocations from the Federation Account is released and when they are taken out of the system.

Many economic players will argue that they have not had any feel of the excess liquidity scenario. Rather, it has been a case of government dumping money in banks and going round to mop up the same funds at high interest through the CBN’s Open Market Operations instruments, Treasury bills and FGN bonds.

It is scandalous that a government that is not at war, which has reserves in excess of $49bn will go a borrowing its own money at anything between 10 to 15 per cent to fund items that ordinary Nigerians cannot see.

It is easy to understand the frustrations of the organised private sector, which has criticiced theCBN stance.

According to the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), the decision to sustain the tight monetary regime may further depress the already slowed economic activities.

“The consequence of this is the perpetuation of depressed economic activities, which had manifested in low sales, weak consumer demand, huge inventories by manufacturers”, it said shortly after the MPC meeting.

“High cost of funds, which impede competitiveness of firms, high risk of loan defaults, poor access to credit, weak financial inclusion, limited capacity of firms to retain or create new jobs are part of the consequences of the Monetary Policy Committee’s decision”, it added.

The issue really is that that while the CBN may be looking at the so-called big picture, the small and medium enterprises sector that is globally acclaimed to be the engine of growth in any economy needs access to credit at affordable rates. But what has continued to happen is that it is the big borrowers that have retained the interest of the banks despite the huge defaults that necessitated the creation of AMCON. It is a paradox of sort that while the CBN is complaining of excess liquidity, some segments of the system are starved of funds.

My own take is that the CBN may be acting too cautiously in the circumstances. It has said it is comfortable with reserve levels and has a single digit inflationary outlook for the year, while the economy is enjoying in inflow of funds right now. It should ease the rates and see what happens. If there are adverse reactions, it has two month top reverse it. The bank is not the only stakeholder in the economy and while it has done rather well in the last three and a half years that Sanusi has been in the saddle, it may need to change course slightly to accommodate other interests. BC

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Business Courage

Monday, April 1, 2013

A21 37

CBN begins gradual phase out of COT

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ffective Monday, April 1, 2013, deposit money banks (DMB) and discount houses are expected to commence gradual phase out of Commission on Turnover (COT) charges on debit transactions on current account, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has said.

From the effective date, the charge will drop to N3 from the current charge of N5 on every N1000. It will drop to N2 in 2014 and further to N1 in 2015.

It will finally cease by 2016.

The CBN said banks should not charge COT on returned outward clearing cheques, reversal of transactions and all bank induced debits.

This is contained in the revised Guide to Bank Charges released by the CBN on Thursday.

The CBN said there will be no charge on debits representing transfer to other accounts in the same name, in the same branch or at another branch of the same bank.

Furthermore, facility restructuring fee in lending is negotiable, subject to a maximum of 0.50 percent on the outstanding amount being restructured (one off charge).

Management fee, which covers processing and appraisal fee (one off charge), is negotiable subject to one percent of the

Tunde Lemo, Deputy Governor, CBN

principal amount granted.

According to the CBN, penal rate for late repayment of loan/ advances (default or penalty rate) shall attract one percent flat on unpaid instalment per month in addition to charging current rate of interest on outstanding debt.

Also the CBN said seven days shall be allowed within which there will be no penal charge on late repayments.

Interest on savings deposits accounts shall attract minimum of 30 per cent of Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) per annum.

In a circular signed by Nwoha I.T, acting director, financial policy and regulation department, CBN, the Guide to Bank Charges, first issued

in 2004, was meant to provide a standard for the application of charges in the banking industry, and to minimise conflicts between banks and their customers.

The CBN observed that over time the various charges in the guide had become out of tune with current realities in the market, and some provisions/ terms in it allowed room for ambiguity and conflict.

Part of the circular reads: “The revised Guide to Bank Charges is hereby issued, to serve, as regulation on applicable charges for bank services and products offered to customers. It replaces the Guide to Bank Charges issued in 2004”. BC

Shareholders approve Transcorp’s rights issue

S

hareholders of Transcorp at an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) last Thursday in Lagos approved the company’s proposed rights issue.

In February, the firm in a notice to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) said it intended to increase its Authorised Share Capital from N18 billion to N22.55 billion Ordinary Shares of 50 Kobo each through the Rights Issue.

For the firm to increase its Authorised Share Capital, it intended to create nine billion new Ordinary Shares of 50 kobo each and to authorise the directors to issue up to 13 billion Ordinary Shares

Elumelu, Chairman, Transcorp

of 50 kobo each from the Company’s Share Capital by way of Rights Issue.

Transcorp said it would

use the net proceeds from its planned rights issue to finance its investments in power projects. The Rights issue may likely open in the second quarter (Q2) of year 2013.

Transcorp Energy Limited, the energy subsidiary of Transcorp, had earlier signed a partnership agreement with Symbion Power, a US-based energy company, which would lead to a significant increase in power production, for the benefit of the nation.

At the close of trading on the floor of the stock exchange last Thursday, Transcorp shares gained N0.08 kobo to close at N1.49 kobo per share after it opened at N1.41. BC

Inter-bank rates ease on T-bill repayments

N

igerian inter-bank lending rates eased to an average of 10.25 per cent last week, from 10.66 per cent the previous week due to a big cash inflow from matured treasury bills, traders said on Thursday.

They said over N260 billion were repaid this week, boosting liquidity to help lower the cost of borrowing between banks.

“We have over N500 billion

cash balance”, one dealer told Reuters, pointing out that the inter-bank market opened on Thursday with a cash balance of about N240 billion in addition to the N260 billion from matured treasury bills”.

Traders said the central bank withdrew debt notes initially offered at an open market operation (OMO) owing to a disagreement on yield levels because the market was

awash with cash.

The secured Open Buy Back fell to 10.1 percent, from 10.50 per cent last week, 1.9 percentage points below the central bank’s benchmark rate of 12 percent.

Overnight placement eased to 10.25 per cent against 10.6 per cent, while call money fell to 10.40 percent compared with 10.75 per cent the previous week. BC

Market Indicators for Week Ended 28-03-13 All-Share Index 33,536.25 points Market Capitalisation N10,733,286,294,647.17 Stock Updates GAINERS COMPANY

OPENING PRICE

CLOSING PRICE

CHANGE

UNITYBNK

0.79

0.84

6.33

TRANSCORP

1.41

1.49

5.67

TOTAL

161.00

169.05

5.00

JOHNHOLT

1.63

1.71

4.91

LIVESTOCK

2.55

2.67

4.71

LOSERS COMPANY

OPENING PRICE

CLOSING PRICE

CHANGE

ROYALEX

0.84

0.76

MAYBAKER

2.30

2.19

-9.52 -4.78

AFRIPRUD

1.70

1.62

-4.71

JAPAULOIL

0.68

0.65

-4.41

IPWA

0.71

0.68

-4.23

Inter-Bank Rates TENOR

RATE%(PREV) 22-Mar-2013

RATE%(CURR) 28-Mar-2013

CALL

10.1500 – 10.7500

10.0500 – 10.2500

OBB

10.1000 – 10.9000

10.1000 – 10.7500

Primary Market Auction TENOR 91-Days

AMOUNT (N’mn) 31838.51

RATE (%)

DATE

11.00

27-Mar-13

182-Days

59081.14

11.15

27-Mar-13

91-Days

20,278.04

10.45

21-Mar-13

Open Market Operation TENOR

AMOUNT (N’mn)

RATE (%)

DATE

183-Days

50,000

12.50

27-Mar-13

37-Days

40,000

11.10

26-Mar-13

65-Days

40,000

11.20

26-Mar-13

Wholesale Dutch Auction System AMOUNT OFFERED

MARKET DEMAND

AMOUNT SOLD

DATE

$300m

$300m

$300m

27-March-13

$300m

$277m

$277m

25-March-13

A22 38

Business Courage

Monday, April 1, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Cadbury Nigeria: Returning to profitability F

By Tayo Adeleke

inancial analysis carried out on the financials of Cadbury Nigeria Plc for the year ended December 2012 has revealed an average performance. The company recorded a marginal growth in majority of its measuring indices. Revenue amounted to N33.55 billion in 2012 as against the N34.1 billion recorded in 2011.

Both liquidity and assets quality of the company recorded an impressive growth in the review year. The liquidity ratios shows that the company is liquid enough to meet its financial obligations as at when due.

However, profitability ratios nosedived as a result of huge distribution and marketing expenses that moved from N3.93 billion in 2011 to N5.03 billion.

Cadbury Nigeria is a member of the Cadbury Schweppes Group, a major player in the global confectionary and beverages markets. Cadbury initial objectives in the 1950s to source cocoa and prospect for a market in Nigeria led to the establishment of a manufacturing facility in Ikeja, Lagos Nigeria. The company has since grown organically to become one of the leading manufacturers in Nigeria.

The company had acquired a state-of-the-art 3.6MW gas powered generator to meet its energy needs. The cost of acquiring and maintaining this equipment added in no small measure to the operating costs.

Board Changes Emil Moskofian was recently appointed as its new Managing Director to replace Alan Palmer who resigned on May 31, 2012.

A British National, Moskofian was educated at University of London, England, where he bagged a BSc in Nuclear Engineering in 1988. He became a member of the Chartered Institute of Accountants in 1990. Until this appointment as an Executive Director and subsequently the Managing Director of Cadbury Nigeria Plc, Moskofian was the Regional Managing Director, Africa and Turkey, IFFCO – a leading manufacturer and marketer of fast moving consumer goods in the Middle East and Africa (based in UAE) between July 2010 – December 2011.

Financial Performance Cadbury Nigeria Plc recorded an impressive earnings growth in its audited results for the year ended December 2012. The audited report shows that the company posted N33.6 billion revenue, an increase of 39.2

per cent compared with N24.1 billion in the corresponding period of 2012. The company’s chairman, Atedo Peterside, explained that the company has been recording profitability in the last three years due to concerted efforts put together by the management to identify the causes of the previous problem that led to company bad runs in the last five years.

Gross profit stood at N11.1 billion from N11.2 billion in 2011. The company was able to manage its cost effectively during the period as operating expenses declined significantly from 2011 figure by 30.8 per cent to N2.17 billion from N3.14 billion in 2011.

Consequently, this translates into an improved bottom line indices during the period. Cadbury’s profit before tax (PBT) increased significantly by 9.07 per cent between 2011 and 2012 to N5.51 billion from N5.05 billion in 2011. Net profit closed at N3.46 billion in 2012 while distribution expenses increased by 27.9 per cent to N5.03 billion.

Profitability Ratio Cadbury Nigeria Plc recorded a declined performance in its profitability ratios indices.

Return on Equity closed at 17.24 per cent, an increase of 4.89 basis points from 22.13 per cent. The profit before tax (PBT) margin in the financial year ended December 2012 decreased over the financial year 2011. The PBT margin decreased to 16.43 per cent in 2012 from 20.96 per cent as at financial year ended, Cadbury Financial Data

company to transact its daily activities. The bank overdraft remained at N1.5 billion, the same figure for the previous year. Working capital increased significantly to N9.3 billion in 2012 from N6.4 billion in 2011.

Assets Quality Cadbury Nigeria’s balance sheet showed a strong assets base in the review period, as fixed assets had 14.5 per cent increase to close at N13.94 billion from N12.18 billion in 2011. The company’s cash and cash equivalent stood at N17.24 billion, up from N12 billion in 2011 while intangible assets closed at N54.64 billion.

Receivable and financial assets was N6.27 billion, up from N5.28 billion posted in 2011 while the company had no deferred tax assets in the review period. These entire figures helped the company to boost its total assets which climbed to N40.16 billion in 2012 from N33.66 billion achieved in 2011. Shareholders’ funds closed moved up to N20.04 billion from N16.59 billion in 2011.

Moskofian

2011. Profit margin currently stands at 10.30 per cent down from 15.22 per cent in the corresponding year of 2011.

Similarly, gross profit margin dropped to 33.08 per cent from 46.28 per cent.

Liquidity Ratio Cadbury’s liquidity ratios show strong performance between 2011 and 2012. This

2012=N=(‘Nm)

2011=N=(‘Nm)

% CHG

Turnover

33,550,501

24,110,547

39.15

Cost of sales

22,453,202

22,951,350

-2.17

Gross Profit

11,097,299

11,159,197

-0.55

Profit Before Taxation

5,511,518

5,053,022

9.07

Profit After Taxation

3,454,991

3,670,555

-5.87

Operating Expenses

2,174,326

3,143,973

-30.84

Distribution Expenses

5,030,985

3,932,696

27.93

Shareholders fund

20,039,356

16,589,171

20.8

Current Asset

26,164,355

21,423,667

22.13

Taxation

Current Liabilities

5,374,717

4,871,165

10.34

Fixed Assets

13,937,517

12,175,982

14.47

Current Assets-stocks

24,120,500

18,744,938

28.68

Trade Debtors

6,266,805

5,280,522

18.68

Trade Creditors

14,742,485

12,196,016

20.88

Return on Equity (%)

17.24

22.13

Gross profit Margin (%)

33.08

46.28

Profit Margin (%)

10.3

15.22

Pretax Profit Margin (%)

16.43

20.96

Profitability Ratios

Liquidity Ratios Current Ratio

4.87

4.4

Quick Ratio

4.49

3.85

Debtors(No of days)

68.18

79.94

Creditors(No of days)

239.65

193.96

implies that the company could easily meet up with its financial obligations as at when due during the period under review.

As at financial year ended December 2012, the monetary value of the company’s readily available assets (current assets) are far greater than its short term debt obligations as the current ratio increased from 4.40:1 to 4.87:1 in 2012.

The strong liquidity position is also reflected in its quick ratio which increased sharply from 3.85:1 in 2011 to 4.49:1 in 2012. Trade debtors closed at N6.27 billion from N5.28 billion in 2012 while trade creditor stood at N14.74 billion.

Thus, the company’s debtors made payment within 68 days (trade debtors) while it took the company 240 days to pays its creditors. Consequently, this makes funds available for the

Investment Ratios In the light of the company’s increased earnings in 2012, shareholders of Cadbury Nigeria Plc got a dividend of 50 Kobo each. This is in line with management’s promise to its shareholders during the last annual general meeting that it will pay dividend by the end of 2012 financial year.

Prospects Barring unforeseen circumstances, it could be said that Cadbury Nigeria Plc is fully back to profitability, having posted profit for four consecutive years. Analysts are optimistic in the new management to return the company to its deserved position. However, the task before the new managing director is to find lasting solution to the company’s continuous huge operating cost. BC

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage A23 39

Monday, April 1, 2013

STOCKWATCH Stock Exchange weekly equities summary as at Friday, Mar 28, 2013 SECURITY

PRICE (=N=)

AGRICULTURE/AGRO-ALLIED Crop Production FTN COCOA PROCESSORS PLC 0.53 OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. 72.50 PRESCO PLC 24.63 Fishing/Hunting/Trapping ELLAH LAKES PLC. NT Livestock/Animal Specialties LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC. 2.67 CONGLOMERATES Diversified Industries A.G. LEVENTIS NIGERIA PLC. 1.70 CHELLARAMS PLC. NT JOHN HOLT PLC. 1.71 S C O A NIG. PLC. NT U A C N PLC. 55.00 CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Building Construction ARBICO PLC. NT CAPPA & D’ALBERTO PLC. NT Building Structure/Completion/Other COSTAIN (W A) PLC. NT G CAPPA PLC NT Non--Building/Heavy Construction JULIUS BERGER NIG. PLC. 53.00 ROADS NIG PLC. 10.07 Real Estate Development PINNACLE POINT GROUP PLC NT UACN PROPERTY DEV 14.80 Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) SKYE SHELTER FUND PLC NT UNION HOMES REAL ESTATE INV NT CONSUMER GOODS Automobiles/Auto Parts DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC 0.50 Beverages--Brewers/Distillers CHAMPION BREW. PLC. 4.78 GOLDEN GUINEA BREW. PLC. NT GUINNESS NIG PLC 265.00 INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. 21.20 JOS INT. BREWERIES PLC. 1.33 NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. 163.20 PREMIER BREWERIES PLC NT Beverages--Non-Alcoholic 7-UP BOTTLING COMP. PLC. 49.00 Food Products BIG TREAT PLC NT DANGOTE FLOUR MILLS PLC 9.09 DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC 8.49 FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. 77.28 HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC 2.94 MULTI-TREX INTEGRATED FOODS PLC NT N NIG. FLOUR MILLS PLC. 23.80 NATIONAL SALT CO. NIG. PLC 9.20 P S MANDRIDES & CO PLC. NT U T C NIG. PLC. 0.77 UNION DICON SALT PLC. NT Food Products--Diversified CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. 35.00 NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. 950.00 Household Durables BETA GLASS CO PLC. NT NIGERIAN ENAMELWARE PLC. NT VITAFOAM NIG PLC. 3.61 VONO PRODUCTS PLC. NT Personal/Household Products P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. 36.71 UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. 53.75 Textiles/Apparel UNITED NIG. TEXTILES PLC. NT FINANCIAL SERVICES Banking ACCESS BANK PLC. 10.20 DIAMOND BANK PLC 7.00 ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INC. 14.00 FIDELITY BANK PLC 3.04 FIRST CITY MONUMENT BANK PLC. 4.80 GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. 26.10 SKYE BANK PLC 6.23 STERLING BANK PLC. 2.77 U B A PLC 8.00 UNION BANK NIG.PLC. 10.15 UNITY BANK PLC 0.84 WEMA BANK PLC. 1.72 ZENITH BANK PLC 21.30 Insurance Carriers, Brokers & Services AFRICAN ALLIANCE INS. COY. PLC NT AIICO INSURANCE PLC. 0.91 CONFIDENCE INSURANCE PLC NT CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INS. PLC NT CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC 1.05 CORNERSTONE INS. COY. PLC. 0.50 CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED INS. PLC 1.95 EQUITY ASSURANCE PLC. NT GOLDLINK INSURANCE PLC NT GREAT NIGERIAN INSURANCE PLC 0.50 GUINEA INSURANCE PLC. NT INTERCONTINENTAL WAPIC INS. PLC 1.39 INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INS. PLC 0.50 INVESTMENT AND ALLIED ARN. NT LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. NT LAW UNION AND ROCK INS. PLC. 0.50 LINKAGE ASSURANCE PLC 0.50 MANSARD INSURANCE PLC 2.63 MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC. NT N.E.M INSURANCE CO (NIG) PLC. 0.84 NIGER INSURANCE CO. PLC. NT OASIS INSURANCE PLC NT PRESTIGE ASSURANCE CO. PLC. 0.71 REGENCY ALLIANCE INS. COY PLC NT SOVEREIGN TRUST INSURANCE PLC 0.50 STACO INSURANCE PLC NT STANDARD ALLIANCE INS. PLC. 0.50 UNIC INSURANCE PLC. 0.50 UNITY KAPITAL ASSURANCE PLC NT UNIVERSAL INS. COMPANY PLC 0.50 Micro Finance Banks FORTIS MICROFINANCE BANK PLC NT NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC 0.99 Mortgage Carriers, Brokers &Services ABBEY BUILDING SOCIETY PLC NT ASO SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC 0.50 RESORT SAVINGS & LOANS PLC 0.50 UNION HOMES SAVINGS&LOANS PLC NT Other Financial Institutions CRUSADER ( NIG) PLC. NT DEAP CAPITAL MGT & TRUST PLC 2.02 FBN HOLDINGS PLC 19.80 NIG SEW. MACH. MAN. CO. PLC. NT NIGERIA ENERYGY SECTOR FUND NT ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC. 0.76 STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC 13.20 HEALTHCARE Healthcare Providers EKOCORP PLC. 4.80 Medical Equipment UNION DIAGNOSTIC &CLINICAL PLC 0.50 Medical Supplies MORISON INDUSTRIES PLC. 2.23 Pharmaceuticals EVANS MEDICAL PLC. 1.75 FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC 1.69 GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER PLC 47.51 MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. 2.19

NOTE NT=Not Traded on 28-03-13

QUANTITY

52 WK HIGH

52 WK LOW

SHARES OUTSTANDING

EPS

MOV. (%)

Previous

1 753 700 2 384 808 440 790

0.64 34.01 16.15

0.50 14.53 6.40

2 200 000 000 476 955 000 1 000 000 000

0.10 6.73 2.75

N/A 18.85 #VALUE!

0.53 61.00 25,1

NT

4.26

4.26

60 000 000

0.00

N/A

NT

2 513 951

1.70

0.48

1 199 549 736

0.11

20.81

2.21

210 862 NT 159 558 NT 123 149

2.54 7.60 8.82 8.28 42.50

0.74 5.81 5.32 5.52 28.70

2 191 895 983 963 900 300 389 151 408 821 666 666 1 600 720 323

0.08 0.24 0.00 0.35 6.89

4.29 N/A N/A N/A N/A

1.63 NT 1.56 NT 53.05

NT NT

26.00 95.49

14.09 95.49

148 500 000 196 876 000

0.00 4.50

N/A N/A

NT NT

NT NT

7.97 14.46

2.46 14.46

920 573 765 125 000 000

0.00 0.00

N/A N/A

NT NT

343 758 5 000

62.26 8.69

21.55 3.01

1 200 000 000 20 000 000

4.93 4.73

0.00 N/A

53.00 NT

NT 72 625

7.28 20.15

7.28 8.82

1 375 000 000

0.00 1.66

N/A 3.93

NT 14.24

NT NT

100.00 50.00

97.00 50.00

20 000 000 250 019 781

11.75 0.75

N/A N/A

NT NT

200 000

0.50

0.50

4 772 528 415

0.00

N/A

0.50

2 500 NT 97 669 710 461 3 000 852 299 NT

4.63 0.68 265.00 12.83 3.20 138.85 0.97

2.23 0.68 186.00 5.23 1.61 72.50 0.93

900 000 000 272 160 000 1 474 925 519 2 112 914 681 562 000 000 7 562 562 340 126 000 000

0.00 0.03 9.46 0.25 0.00 5.08 0.00

N/A N/A 0.00 N/A N/A 0.08 N/A

4.78 NT 265.00 21.85 1.33 163.07 0.77

38 070

48.91

38.31

640 590 362

2.69

N/A

47.50

NT 1 626 397 4 340 414 204 380 2 057 520 NT 176 506 1 027 010 NT 273 894 NT

0.50 19.90 16.20 95.00 6.60 2.70 43.96 6.70 5.66 0.88 4.22

0.50 4.15 3.64 52.50 1.91 1.00 20.41 3.86 5.66 0.50 4.22

2 000 000 000 5 000 000 000 12 000 000 000 1 879 210 666 7 930 197 658 3 722 493 620 178 200 000

0.00 0.00 0.91 3.79 0.51 0.00 2.50 1.07 0.08 1.13 0.00

N/A -1.20 2.29 0.36 -1.34 N/A N/A 2.68 N/A -1.28 N/A

NT 9.20 8.30 77.00 2.98 NT 24.60 8.96 NT 0.78 NT

40 000 000 1 233 375 004 360 000 000

195 419 157 622

29.20 684.00

9.15 367.83

3 129 188 160 792 656 250

1.35 25.43

0.14 10.47

34.95 860.00

NT NT 157 150 NT

15.58 42.66 6.75 3.67

10.03 34.39 3.01 2.66

63 360 000 819 000 000 300 000 001

3.90 1.61 0.54 0.00

N/A N/A -6.48 N/A

NT NT 3.86 NT

255 405 82 096

43.50 41.60

22.07 22.56

3 176 381 636 3 783 296 250

0.70 1.44

-7.06 0.47

39.50 53.50

NT

0.97

0.57

843 284 027

0.00

N/A

NT

16 946 889 13 421 357 19 230 748 13 641 906 15 776 024 17 001 942 74 904 148 8 506 252 26 122 078 1 940 169 34 446 323 29 371 232 16 996 980

11.70 9.27 17.05 3.20 8.30 20.30 10.17 2.91 5.21 10.07 1.92 1.75 21.10

4.76 2.01 9.97 1.14 3.04 11.64 2.73 0.97 1.64 1.96 0.50 0.50 11.70

17 888 251 479 14 475 243 105 9 873 614 567 28 974 797 023 16 271 192 202 29 146 482 209 13 219 334 676 12 563 091 545 32 334 693 693 13 509 726 273 33 675 576 085 12 821 249 880 31 396 493 790

1.42 0.90 2.81 0.43 0.60 2.10 0.71 0.54 0.67 0.00 0.00 0.00 2.09

0.39 -1.55 1.38 -3.80 0.00 4.82 -0.80 1.47 -0.12 -0.49 0.00 17.01 1.43

10.16 7.11 13.81 3.16 4.80 24.90 6.28 2.73 8.01 10.20 0.80 1.47 21.00

NT 17 001 380 NT NT 2 524 310 3 028 915 10 683 096 NT NT 10 000 NT 1 263 300 127 000 NT NT 123 965 123 965 305 800 NT 13 410 084 NT NT 9 776 000 NT 25 000 NT 60 000 708 026 NT 3 627

0.50 1.01 0.64 0.50 1.20 0.50 3.51 0.50 0.69 0.50 0.50 0.80 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.61 0.50 1.93 0.50 0.66 1.11 0.50 2.35 0.50 0.52 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50

0.50 0.50 0.61 0.50 0.61 0.50 1.31 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.95 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50

20 585 000 000 7 809 391 256 211 626 000 6 000 000 000 10 372 624 157 8 820 010 363 5 100 846 808 8 847 298 420 4 549 947 000 3 827 485 380 720 000 000 5 061 804 000 6 420 427 449 28 000 000 000 7 323 313 227 3 437 330 500 4 083 713 569 10 000 000 000 7 998 705 336 5 332 830 881 5 649 693 923 5 003 506 791 2 508 315 436 6 668 750 000 5 203 757 266 6 141 087 609 8 493 173 450 2 581 733 505 13 000 000 000 16 000 000 000

0.00 0.05 0.00 0.05 0.14 0.02 0.28 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.02 0.00 0.00 0.03 0.16 0.01 0.37 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.04 0.09 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.02 0.00

N/A 0.00 N/A N/A 0.00 0.00 0.00 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.00 N/A N/A N/A 0.00 4.78 N/A -4.55 N/A N/A -2.74 N/A 0.00 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

NT 0.92 NT NT 1.05 0.50 1.97 NT NT 0.50 NT 1.40 0.50 NT NT 0.50 0.50 2.51 NT 0.88 NT NT 0.73 NT 0.50 NT 0.50 0.50 NT 0.50

NT 15 000

6.00 1.15

0.00 1.00

NT 10 000 610 000 1

1.51 0.50 0.50 0.99

1.33 0.50 0.50 0.50

4 200 000 000 8 679 148 676 13 175 732 404 7 812 500 000

0.03 0.02 0.00 0.00

N/A N/A N/A N/A

NT 0.50 0.50 NT

NT 900 20 651 193 NT NT 465 813 183 703

0.61 2.02 17.01 0.15 552.20 0.66 11.38

0.50 2.02 8.50 0.15 555.20 0.50 6.40

3 778 005 975 1 333 333 333 32 632 084 358 5 880 000 2 500 000 3 608 657 661 18 750 000 000

0.00 0.00 3.03 0.00 12.65 0.00 0.87

N/A N/A -0.10 N/A N/A N/A 0.00

NT 2.02 19.82 NT NT 0.84 13.20

100

5.31

5.05

498 600 908

0.12

N/A

4.80

3 500

0.50

0.50

3 553 138 528

0.00

N/A

0.50

3 057

10.54

7.39

152 178 750

0.06

N/A

2.23

3 918 762 618 749 21 676 398 859

1.45 3.20 39.00 5.61

0.50 0.76 19.30 1.62

486 473 856 1 500 000 000 956 701 192 980 000 000

0.00 0.44 2.62 0.20

3.55 3.05 0.00 -7.98

1.69 1.64 47.51 2.38

N/A=Not Avialable

0.01 0.07

NT 1.04

SECURITY

PRICE (=N=)

NEIMETH INT PHARM PLC 0.87 NIGERIA-GERMAN CHEMICALS PLC. 8.17 PHARMA-DEKO PLC. 2.30 ICT Computer Based Systems COURTEVILLE BUSINESS SLN PLC 0.50 Computers and Peripherals OMATEK VENTURES PLC 0.50 Electronic Communications Services MTECH COMMUNICATIONS PLC NT IT Services NCR (NIGERIA) PLC. 18.45 TRIPPLE GEE AND COMPANY PLC. 2.29 Processing Systems CHAMS PLC 0.50 E-TRANZACT INTERNATIONAL PLC NT Telecommunications Carriers STARCOMMS PLC NT Telecommunications Services IHS NIGERIA PLC PREF SHARES NT IHS PLC NT MTI PLC NT INDUSTRIAL GOODS Building Materials AFRICAN PAINTS (NIGERIA) PLC. NT ASHAKA CEM PLC 24.50 BERGER PAINTS PLC 10.60 CAP PLC 37.10 CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC 10.44 DANGOTE CEMENT PLC 148.50 DN MEYER PLC. NT FIRST ALUMINIUM NIGERIA PLC NT IPWA PLC 0.81 LAFARGE WAPCO PLC. 76.00 PAINTS & COATINGS MANFACT.PLC NT PORTLAND PAINTS & PRDT NIG. PLC 1.45 PREMIER PAINTS PLC. NT Electronic and Electrical Products AUSTIN LAZ & COMPANY PLC NT CUTIX PLC. 1.80 NIGERIAN WIRE AND CABLE PLC. NT NIGERIAN WIRE IND. PLC NT Packaging/Containers ABPLAST PRODUCTS PLC. NT AVON CROWNCAPS & CONTAINERS 1.90 BETA GLASS CO PLC. 9.49 GREIF NIGERIA PLC 12.68 NIG. BAGS MANFACT. COY PLC 2.70 POLY PRODUCTS (NIG) PLC. NT W A GLASS IND. PLC. NT Tools and Machinery NIGERIAN ROPES PLC NT STOKVIS NIG PLC. NT NATURAL RESOURCES Chemicals B.O.C. GASES PLC. 7.94 Metals ALUMACO PLC NT ALUMINIUM EXTRUSION IND. PLC. NT Non-Metallic Mineral Mining MULTIVERSE PLC NT Paper/Forest Products HALLMARK PAPER PRODUCTS PLC. NT THOMAS WYATT NIG. PLC. NT OIL AND GAS Energy Equipment and Services JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SER. PLC 0.65 Integrated Oil and Gas Services OANDO PLC 16.80 Petroleum &Petroleum Products Distributors AFROIL PLC NT BECO PETROLEUM PRODUCT PLC 0.50 CONOIL PLC 23.94 ETERNA PLC. 3.30 FORTE OIL PLC. 13.65 MOBIL OIL NIG PLC. 124.00 MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC. 24.88 TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. 169.05 SERVICES Advertising AFROMEDIA PLC NT Apparel Retailers LENNARDS (NIG) PLC. NT Automobile/Auto Part Retailers R T BRISCOE PLC. 2.19 Courier/Freight/Delivery RED STAR EXPRESS PLC 3.78 TRANS-NATIONWIDE EXPRESS PLC. NT Employment Solutions C & I LEASING PLC. 0.58 Hospitality TANTALIZERS PLC 0.50 Hotels/Lodging CAPITAL HOTEL PLC 6.27 IKEJA HOTEL PLC 0.93 TOURIST COMPANY OF NIGERIA PLC. NT TRANSNATIONAL CORP. OF NIG.PLC 1.50 Media/Entertainment DAAR COMMUNICATIONS PLC 0.50 Printing/Publishing ACADEMY PRESS PLC. 2.05 LEARN AFRICA PLC 1.93 STUDIO PRESS (NIG) PLC. NT UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC. 4.50 Road Transportation ABC TRANSPORT PLCPLC 0.61 Specialty INTERLINKED TECHNOLOGIES PLC NT SECURE ELECTRONIC TECH.PLC NT Transport-Related Services AIRLINE SERVICES AND LOGISTICS PLC 5.27 NIG. AVIATION HANDLING COY PLC 7.49 ASeM CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Property Management SMART PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC NT CONSUMER GOODS Food Products MCNICHOLS PLC 0.97 Personal/Household Products ROKANA INDUSTRIES PLC. 0.60 HEALTHCARE Pharmaceuticals AFRIK PHARMACEUTICALS PLC. NT INDUSTRIAL GOODS Electronic and Electrical Products NT ADSWITCH PLC. 1.63 NATURAL RESOURCES Metals W.A. ALUM. PRODUCTS PLC. NT OIL AND GAS Petroleum & Petroleum Products Distributors ANINO INTERNATIONAL PLC. NT CAPITAL OIL PLC 0.50 RAK UNITY PET. COMP. PLC. NT UNION VENTURES & PET. PLC NT SERVICES Apparel Retailers UDEOFSON GARMENT FACT. NIG PLC NT Food/Drug Retailers and Wholesalers NT JULI PLC. 2.76 ETF’s Sector ETF NEWGOLD EXCHANGE TRADED FUND 2 638.00

QUANTITY

52 WK HIGH

52 WK LOW

SHARES OUTSTANDING

EPS

MOV. (%)

Previous

2 500 5 234 18 040

1.96 12.91 4.28

0.76 8.59 3.50

1 925 717 268 153 786 012 100 000 000

0.09 0.00 0.00

1.16 N/A N/A

0.86 8.17 2.30

212 000

0.52

0.50

2 960 000 000

0.10

0.00

0.50

1 000

0.50

0.50

2 941 789 472

0.00

N/A

0.50

NT

0.91

0.91

4 966 666 668

0.00

N/A

NT

2 300 1 146

18.28 3.59

13.12 2.41

108 000 000 492 825 600

0.00 0.01

N/A N/A

18.45 NT

13 873 NT

0.50 4.97

0.50 4.04

4 620 600 000 4 200 000 000

0.00 0.04

N/A N/A

0.50 NT

NT

1.47

0.50

6 878 478 096

0.00

N/A

NT

NT NT NT

2.25 3.50 0.50

0.00 2.46 0.50

4 400 000 000 4 893 594 400

0.00 0.00 0.00

N/A N/A N/A

NT NT NT

NT 2 285 093 72 412 19 754 665 620 121 595 NT NT 1 112 980 535 711 NT 300 NT

3.32 30.00 12.57 43.98 15.49 132.51 3.51 0.75 0.99 56.50 3.36 5.28 13.40

2.86 9.10 7.27 14.50 4.20 95.00 0.93 0.50 0.91 37.00 0.52 2.27 10.93

260 000 000 2 239 453 125 217 367 585 560 000 000 1 241 548 285 15 494 019 668 242 908 200 2 109 928 275 513 696 000 3 001 600 004 792 914 256 400 000 000 75 000 000

0.00 2.14 1.09 2.28 1.47 8.33 0.00 0.00 0.00 4.10 0.26 0.23 0.00

N/A 2.47 1.44 0.27 -13.65 -4.19 N/A N/A N/A 0.00 N/A N/A N/A

NT 23.91 10.45 37.00 12.09 155.00 NT NT 0.81 76.00 NT 5.20 NT

NT 6 600 NT NT

2.00 2.50 0.73 2.58

2.00 1.33 0.50 2.58

510 396 608 2 220 000 000 15 000 000

0.03 0.11 0.00 0.00

N/A -0.55 N/A N/A

NT 1.81 NT NT

NT 1 711 23 600 50 2 717 101 NT NT

3.98 6.91 12.71 15.03 3.60 1.86 0.63

3.98 2.19 9.53 13.28 1.60 1.05 0.63

N/A N/A

42 640 000 6 215 000 000 240 000 000 199 066 550

0.00 0.05 0.05 0.90 0.24 0.22 0.00

N/A 0.00 N/A N/A

NT 1.90 9.49 12.68 2.70 NT NT

NT NT

8.69 0.14

8.26 0.14

265 409 280 2 918 000

0.00 0.00

N/A N/A

NT NT

25 000 000 683 974 528

67 936

9.20

5.70

393 120 000

0.76

0.00

7.94

NT NT

7.75 12.39

7.75 10.55

75 600 000 100 000 000

0.00 0.43

N/A N/A

NT NT

NT

0.50

0.50

4 058 989 226

0.00

N/A

NT

NT NT

3.22 1.38

3.22 1.38

50 000 000 220 000 000

0.04 0.00

N/A N/A

NT NT

7 958 889

1.02

0.54

6 262 701 716

0.13

0.00

0.65

984 374

24.80

10.94

2 262 711 568

1.73

0.36

16.74

NT 10 000 13 661 111 352 262 867 23 661 18 112 266 387

20.71 0.70 41.89 5.59 28.69 163.50 72.00 240.00

20.71 0.50 19.61 2.12 9.12 111.51 32.29 125.00

125 487 475 3 716 976 579 693 952 117 1 249 162 828 1 080 280 628 300 496 051 253 988 672 339 521 837

0.00 0.00 0.47 0.61 0.00 6.11 3.62 14.63

N/A N/A 0.00 -9.09 -4.75 0.00 N/A 5.00

NT 0.50 23.94 3.63 14.33 124.00 24.88 161.00

NT

0.72

0.50

4 035 497 307

0.00

N/A

NT

NT

3.48

3.48

0.19

N/A

NT

273 080

3.65

1.12

980 294 400

0.21

-2.67

2.25

263 322 NT

3.67 6.40

2.11 3.28

589 496 310 198 819 763

0.58 0.25

0.00 N/A

3.78 NT

5 818 800

1.64

0.85

865 808 912

0.08

N/A

0.59

400

0.75

0.50

3 211 627 907

0.01

N/A

0.50

10 000 97 000 NT 27 080 317

8.00 2.59 4.76 1.95

3.00 1.16 4.31 0.50

1 548 780 000 2 078 796 396 1 772 884 297 25 813 998 283

0.18 0.92 0.00 0.22

N/A 8.14 N/A 0.00

6.27 0.86 NT 1.50

10 000

0.50

0.50

8 000 000 000

0.00

N/A

0.50

52 200 202 132 NT 33 718

3.68 8.00 2.92 6.82

1.64 1.94 2.78 3.09

403 200 000 771 450 000 425 641 111

0.14 0.29 0.01 0.50

N/A N/A N/A -4.66

2.05 1.93 NT 4.72

1 276 243

0.80

0.50

1 507 000 000

0.00

N/A

0.55

NT NT

5.15 1.88

4.90 0.80

236 699 511 5 631 539 736

0.00 0.03

N/A N/A

NT NT

835 003 189 823

2.78 11.75

1.54 5.15

634 000 000 1 230 468 750

0.38 0.81

N/A -2.60

5.00 7.69

NT

1.43

1.04

45 000 000

0.12

N/A

NT

11 000

1.02

1.02

201 885 335

0.00

N/A

0.97

500

0.60

0.60

30 000 000

0.00

N/A

0.60

NT

0.50

0.50

24 898 850

0.00

N/A

NT

NT 500

1.88

1.63

125 005 250

0.00

N/A

NT 1.63

NT

0.50

0.50

6 650 000

0.00

N/A

NT

NT 20 000 NT NT

0.21 0.50 0.31 0.63

0.21 0.50 0.31 0.63

24 200 000 5 857 500 000 15 000 000 98 600 000

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

N/A N/A N/A N/A

NT 0.50 NT NT

NT NT 16 000

0.50

0.50

20 000 000

0.00

N/A

3.05

2.76

194 700 000

0.00

N/A

NT NT 2.76

100

2 706

2 422

0.00

2 638.00

40

Monday, April 1, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Monday, April 1, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

41

Law & Justice nationalmirrorlaw@yahoo.com

“More than ever before in the history of Nigeria, the scourge of terrorism poses great challenges to the Nigerian State” FORMER CHIEF JUSTICE OF NIGERIA, JUSTICE DAHIRU MUSDAPHER.

N’Assembly should decentralise prison services –Erokoro 42

Justice Phillips.

Lagos AG, Ade Ipaye

Controversy trails Lagos Magistrates’ Courts Law four years after

Why S’Court remitted 55 year-old case to high court for re-trial 46

Indian land case lasts 135 years in court 47

Despite the purported suspension of the implementation of the 2009 Lagos State Magistrates’ Courts Law, controversy is still raging over whether this law or either of the 2003 and 2007 amended versions are effectively in operation. FRANCIS FAMOROTI and WALE IGBINTADE report.

F

our years after the enactment of the Lagos Magistrates’ Court Law 2009, the legislation is still being dogged by controversy.

Investigation by the National Mirror showed that two lawyers who featured prominently in court when the controversy began have, again, disagreed over which of the three enactments; the 2003 law, the amended 2007 version or 2009 Magistrates’ Court Law is the effective law in operation in the state.

It was learnt that barely one year after the new law was enacted by the state House of Assembly in 2009, the implementation of some of its provisions pitched the state government against the then state Chief Judge.

This resulted in litigation at the Lagos High Court and the Court of Appeal and following the intervention of elders of the Bar and former CJ of the state, the parties agreed to withdraw all pending matters in court and explore out-of-court settlement of the case.

But fresh investigation by the National Mirror has revealed that the parties have again disagreed over which of the 2003, the 2007 amended law or 2009 Magistrates’ Court Laws is in operation.

Lagos lawyer and Executive Director, Lawyers League for Human Rights (LLHR), Mr. Jiti Ogunye, who initially filed the suit that

THE MAGISTRATES’ COURTS LAW 2009 STILL REMAINS SUSPENDED AND IT HAS BEEN KEPT IN ABEYANCE challenged the constitutionality of the law told our correspondent in an interview that the old magistrates’ court law was in operation while the new 2009 law had been suspended.

According to him, ‘’ the Magistrates’ Law Court 2009 is currently before Lagos State House of Assembly to effect necessary amendments and until that was done the law could not be in operation.’’

But Mr. Wale Adesokan, counsel to the Lagos State Chief judge argued that the 2009 law and not the old law was being operated in the state.

He said ‘’ It is the Magistrates’ Court Law 2009 that is still in operation and it is no longer under suspension. At the stakeholders’ meeting, it was decided that the matter be resolved amicably. So what we have is partial implementation of the law’’ The Magistrates’ Court Law, 2009, is formally published as Law No. 16 under the State Government Notice No 53 in the Lagos State

of Nigeria Official Gazette No. 53 Vol. 42 of 26th October 2009.

Section 94 of the 2009 Law repeals the Magistrates’ Court Law M1 of 2003 and the Magistrate Court (Amendment) Law 2007.

But, shortly after the law was enacted, Ogunye challenged its constitutionality at the high court.

The claimant had in his suit urged the court to set aside the new law or in the alternative, declare the law as illegal on the grounds that it violated the principle of separation of powers as enshrined in the 1999 Constitution.

This culminated in the order suspending the operation of the law by Justice Aishat Opesanwo of the state High Court.

The trial judge agreed with Ogunye and suspended the operation of the law by the state government.

Dissatisfied with the ruling, the then Lagos State Attorney-General appealed to the Court of Appeal, Lagos against the order suspending the law.

So far, it was gathered that there are conflicts arising from which of the three laws is effectively in operation in the state.

Ogunye said ‘’the Magistrate Court’s Law 2009 still remains suspended and it has been kept in abeyance. He said parties in the suit CONTINUED ON PAGE 44

42

Law & Justice

Monday, April 1, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Mr. Paul Erokoro is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), who has vast knowledge in constitutional and administrative laws. In this interview with EMMANUEL ONANI, he speaks on the concept of plea bargain and the proposed death penalty for terrorism and allied offences among other issues. Excerpts.

The congestion in prisons is alarming despite the government’s efforts to decongest them. What is the way out?

First of all, there are too few prisons; ours is a highly-criminal society and only about one per cent of crimes that are committed get prosecuted or even less than that, perhaps only about one per cent of that get reported at all. So, there is a huge number of people, who supposedly can’t get convicted and sentenced to terms of imprisonment. So, there ought to be more prisons. Now, as with everything in Nigeria, the prisons are on the exclusive legislative list, meaning that only the Federal Government can legislate on them and perhaps build prisons, although, as we have seen with airports, state governments can make efforts and build and the federal government will take over. But, this is not something that should be on the exclusive legislative list at all, and I am glad that it is being looked at now by the National Assembly. I hope that states will be able to build correctional centres, actually that is what they should be called. The concept of prison is anachronistic now; we wouldn’t see them anymore as prisons in the sense of a place purely of punishment.

A prison or a correctional centre should be a place that should really be correcting, where society gives you a chance to get back into society as a useful citizen – where you are taught skills, the duties of a citizen, teach you that the ways that brought you to prison were the bad ways and you should change them.

So, if the states are allowed to build prisons, I am confident that there will be many more prisons to deal with the large number of persons that are in today’s prisons. The second point is that, too

many people go to prisons for offences that really should not be imprisonment offences. In private practice, we see people go to prison for stealing small sums of money, a cock or hen, digging a few tubers of yam from the farm and so on, and people go to prison for that. So, there ought to be better, non-custodial ways of dealing with punishments.

Community service, for instance, is an area that is quite fertile for restitution. Those, I think, are some of the reasons the prisons are still so congested.

Obviously, you have others. Most of the people who are in prison are people who have not been tried. Again, most of them are what they call the awaiting trials, some would be there forever because their case files are lost and they are now in limbo, because without the case file, they cannot be released or prosecuted. A lot of them remain there for periods longer than they would have been, if they had been tried and convicted. There are a whole lot of problems that are associated with this and yet, the Federal Government insists on holding on to every little bit of authority that it can hold on to, when it clearly cannot manage these things.

Are you suggesting that the prison management should be ceded to states?

It should be a shared responsibility.

Let the Federal Government keep the prisons that they have, but make it concurrent such that, if states want to build prisons they should be allowed to do so, along with a whole range of things in which power should really move from the centre to the states. The Federal Government has garnered so much authority, so much power, at the expense of

Erokoro

THERE HAS TO BE LEGAL FRAMEWORK TO DEFINE THE RULES AND ALSO DEFINE WHAT SORTS OF OFFENCES CAN ADMIT OF PLEA BARGAIN the states and local governments that it truly cannot function; it can hardly do any of things because the country is just too vast. You remember that a few years ago, the federal government had to set up a panel to identify federal government properties; it didn’t even know the properties it owned in the country. So, prisons should be a shared responsibility.

What is your take on the concept of plea bargain?

Plea bargain is a useful tool in the administration of justice. Many people see plea bargaining as something that enables corrupt people avoid punishment, but it’s not so. The truth of the matter is that, the administration of justice, as the name implies, is concerned with the best way to get the justice system to function efficiently. A plea bargain is essentially a discussion between the state and somebody who is accused of an offence. The state thinks that the man is guilty of a very serious offence and the state is not sure they will be able to prove it. They might be able to prove it, but is

not sure that it can prove it fully. On the other hand, the state might be sure they can prove it, but when the state looks at the length of time it will take it to prosecute the case, the resources it will take, the man-hours it will take, the risk of failure, perhaps it hangs on the thread of one witness who is not very well or whose veracity might be doubted and so on. And, the state says to the accused person, why don’t we do a deal? Plead guilty to a lesser offence, accept to go to prison for a particular period or accept to pay a particular fine, that you will have a conviction and then, we will drop this bigger offence. Now, it may sound like compromising with criminals, but if you look at the other side, these criminals could go scot-free or he may never be convicted for that matter. Look around the country, how many governors have been convicted outside plea-bargain? Not a single one. How many ministers, how many senior people who were charged with offences have been convicted? None, or let’s say just a few – may be Bode George, Lafiagi of the NDLEA. But, in each of these cases of clear convictions, there is a pretty rotten smell of politics, so we don’t know whether the convictions were convictions properly so called, or whether there were other influences, or whether they were targeted and set up and so on, we don’t know that; the public is not convinced. The point is that, plea bargain is necessary, but there has to be a legal framework so that we do not have

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Law & Justice

Monday, April 1, 2013

the kind of thing that happened concerning the former governor of Edo State, for example, where it was thought that there was a plea bargain. The man was accused of crime involving huge sums of money and he ended up paying is it three million naira and going to prison for few months. Or, the former InspectorGeneral of Police, who went to prison for six months, or Mrs. Ibru, the former Managing-Director of Oceanic Bank, who reportedly returned assets worth N91 billion naira? So, there has to be legal framework to define the rules, define what sorts of offences can admit of plea bargain. If that is done, I think there is nothing wrong with plea bargain.

What is your view on Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR), in relation to the administration of justice?

This is an idea that the legal system in Nigeria has embraced, and perhaps, one of the success stories of reform. Alternative Dispute Resolution is a very important part of our justice system. By the way, ADR has always been here, it is just that we did not recognise it.

There was always native arbitration, for example, where most matters were settled through arbitration, conciliation, reconciliation and so on. It is just that the process was not formalised in the past. What happens now is that rules of court recognise it and there are enabling statutes that brought it about. Interestingly, even the Court of Appeal rules now have provision for an alternative dispute resolution. It is a very important adjunct to the justice delivery system. It saves time, it gives opportunity for reconciliation between parties, since litigation seems to be so extreme, it is faster, it saves cost, and a lot of other advantages, particularly now that the process has become quite sophisticated; you have arbitration in its various forms (full arbitration, documents only, you have some that are arbitration pure, mediation, etc). We even have centres now with specialists in the area. So, it is a very important part of the justice delivery system and it has helped decongest the courts.

What approach should the Nigerian Bar Association adopt in addressing complaints arising from the recent increases in practising fees?

There are two sides to every story, obviously. I have always advocated that the Nigerian Bar Association should as much as possible be financially selfsufficient. I am opposed to the Nigerian Bar Association soliciting for funds from government departments and so on, or from institutions that we ought to be looking at. Our motto is, “Upholding the rule of law”, and if we are doing things and then say for example, MTN is giving us money, tomorrow if MTN is not acting in public interest, is anybody going to believe that the NBA is actually doing the right thing in any position it takes?

What about government? If government is funding you, is that law no longer applicable that he who pays the piper calls the tune? It may be that the leadership of

43

IF A STATE GOVERNOR CAN GIVE TO THE

NIGERIAN BAR ASSOCIATION N100 MILLION, I WILL LIKE TO KNOW WHETHER THAT MONEY WAS BUDGETED FOR THAT PURPOSE AND IF IT WAS NOT

BUDGETED FOR, WHERE DID HE SOURCE IT

?

the NBA is courageous enough to collect money and yet not be beholden, which will mean that we are really not human beings. That’s almost impossible. So, we must find other ways of getting enough revenues to run our activities without needing to trivialize the association or appear beggarly or be complicit in the slush funds that government seems to be able to keep.

If a governor of a state can give to the Nigerian Bar Association N100 million, I will like to know whether that money was budgeted for that purpose and if it was not budgeted for, how are they able to do it? And, if they can give the NBA a N100 million, can they also give that to engineers, to tailors, doctors, mechanics etc.? Because of that, the leadership of the NBA (and it didn’t even start with the present leadership, I think it was J.B Daudu who, as president pioneered it)…

I support it, although it can be revisited in terms of the particular amount that were mentioned. Something can be done, perhaps for those who cannot afford it.

However, the point must be made on the concept of young lawyers and so on. A lawyer is a lawyer and a lawyer must be able to meet his financial obligation.

Young lawyers pay rent, don’t they?

Do they say to their landlords: “we are young lawyers, we can’t pay rent”? Young lawyers carry on their other responsibilities; take care of themselves, eat, cloth

themselves. So, the responsibility to the association is the first professional duty, and I think that every lawyer must strive to meet that. The plea of poverty, while understandable, is not good enough. But ways can be found to ameliorate these problems; seniors can assist, law chambers where juniors are working, should be able to assist. The practice fees have to be reasonable, and take into account the nature of the time we are living in. It is expensive to run the association today, and members of the association must endeavour to keep the association afloat, or who is going to do it for us? If young lawyers can’t find money to run the NBA or contribute towards running it, who then will? Should we look for young engineers to do it? We must find ways to make it possible for young lawyers to earn more money, so that they can afford to pay the fees that are necessary.

Another way too is that, the NBA must become creative in getting money.

In other jurisdictions, the bulk of the money that runs universities, that runs

the bar associations, that runs other charities, come from grants, donations etc. The Ford Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates’ Foundation, were all set up by human beings who had enough and are donating to worthy causes.

Recently, the National Assembly passed the Anti-Terrorism Bill into law, prescribing capital punishment for convicted terrorists. Do you subscribe to this form of punishment, in view of the crusade against death penalty by human rights and other international organisations?

If there are crimes that require death penalty, terrorism should rank among them. But, I am personally opposed to death penalty and I always have been, not because the crimes are not serious enough, I am uncomfortable with the taking of human lives, whether by individuals or by the state. Sometimes, the crimes are so heinous that you really feel that death penalty is the only deterrent, but empirical evidence has not always borne this out. For instance, we have been executing armed robbers (I think we started in 1970), and yet armed robberies have not decreased, but have rather been on the increase. So, I am not sure that a death penalty will actually act as a deterrent as it was supposed. Now, it might assuage some primitive feelings in the victim and the family of the victim, but in my view, that feeling is primitive. But, my biggest reason for objecting to a death penalty is that, it is so absolutely final, irreversible and we have seen again and again that lots of times innocent people have been sentenced to death, the evidence appears to be clear.

But, advances in technology subsequently show that it is not so. For example, since the perfection of the DNA technique, hundreds of people have been released from death row in countries like America, UK and other places, who had lots of innocent people executed by legal injection, electrocution etc.

44

Law & Justice

Monday, April 1, 2013

‘The LSHA is yet to amend 2009 law’

Shasore

Ogunye

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 41 were advised to file notice of discontinuance following a stakeholders’ meeting held at the conference hall of the Chief Judge of Lagos State.’’

He disclosed that the meeting was at the instance of all the branches of the Nigerian Bar Association [NBA] and had in attendance, some past Presidents of NBA, retired Lagos Chief Judges among others.

The LLHR Director further said Chief Babatunde Benson (SAN) was the chairman of the meeting, adding that it was agreed that he (Ogunye] should discontinue his suit challenging the constitutionality of the law while the then Lagos State Attorney -General and Commissioner for Justice, Supo Shasore [SAN] should also discontinue his appeal pending before the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division.

He also disclosed that a technical Committee was set up to review the Magistrates’ Court Law 2009 and make

Judicature

IT IS THE MAGISTRATES’ COURTS LAW 2009 THAT IS STILL IN OPERATION AND IT IS NO LONGER UNDER SUSPENSION recommendations on areas of the law that needed to be amended.

According to him, the Magistrate Law 2009 is currently before Lagos State House of Assembly to effect necessary amendments and until that was done the law could not be in operation. ‘’The Magistrate Court’s Law 2009 generated a lot of controversy and that controversy was further heighten by the steps we took when we filed an action in court challenging that law. The action we filed led to the suspension

Akanbi, anti-graft jurist

Court of Appeal that Akanbi had no vaulting ambition of aspiring to the HEAD, JUDICIARY Supreme Court Bench or to become ustice Mustapha Adebayo Akanbi, a the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN). retired President, Court of Appeal, is As a retired Justice of Abuja High one the best minds that ever adorned Court, Justice Abdul Fatayi Kuti puts the Appellate Court Bench. it, ‘the fact he (Akanbi) stepped aside He is widely regarded as a man of impecand retired at 65 years instead of 70 cable integrity, an intellectual by all measures mandated for judges of the Supreme and an untiring judicial activist.

Court and Court of Appeal cast him in He was appointed Judge of the Federal Revthe mould of outstanding jurists and enue Court, now known as the Federal High incorruptible judges. ‘’ Court in 1974. Akanbi was elevated to Court of In an interview with the Justice ObAppeal Bench in January 1977 and after a disJustice Akanbi servatory journal published in August tinguished service period of 25 years; he voluntarily retired as 2006, Akanbi himself was worried that ‘’people will talk about President of the Court of Appeal in 1999. judicial corruption but they don’t have the courage to come out It was in recognition of his distinguished career, as a forth- and lay complaints.’’ right and incorruptible judicial officer, that he was appointed It is noteworthy also that Akanbi’s legal expertise was in the year 2000 by the President Olusegun Obasanjo as the tried in many sensitive commissions and he conducted such Chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Re- investigations with ruthless efficiency, remarkable astutelated Offences Commission (ICPC), a body vested with the stat- ness and wit. utory responsibility of combating the malaise of corruption The jurist who was conferred the title; Wakilin of Ilorin is within the Nigerian polity. On completion of the first term of today, the founding Chairman of the Board of Trustees and office in year 2005, he politely declined the opportunity offered the prime mover of the Mustapha Akanbi foundation. him to serve another term of five-years. He is a well-respected Just last week, Akanbi at the annual MMA Akanbi lecture nationalist and jurist and an embodiment of piety. He is a Com- blamed the nation’s leaders for lack of political will to mander of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFR). tackle the menace of corruption.

His globally acknowledged courage, patriotism, and above Born on September 11, 1932 at Accra, Ghana, to Musall compassion for human advancement are worthy of celebra- lim parents from Ilorin in Nigeria, he worked as an execution. tive officer in the Ghana Civil Service after completing While serving as a judge, Akanbi was known to take inde- his secondary school. He was also active as a trade unionpendent positions on most of the controversial cases he had ist. When he moved to Nigeria, he worked in the School handled. He had been known as a fiercely independent jurist, Broadcasting Department of the Ministry of Education. a fact that was fully vindicated by his later appointment as Akanbi obtained a scholarship to study law at the Institute Chairman, Anti-Corruption Commission. of Administration, now Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, folBesides, he did not bend under pressures to the whims and lowed by his legal studies in the United Kingdom. caprices of an indulgent executive organ of government.

He was called to the English Bar in 1963, and was called to Similarly, sources say during his days as a Justice of the the Nigerian Bar in January 1964.

FRANCIS FAMOROTI

J

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

of that law by Justice Opesanwo. Following that suspension, there was protest by the Magistrates who embarked on a strike, which was very unprecedented.

“At a point, there was a meeting of former Chief Judges of Lagos State, former Attorneys- General, the Judicial Service Commission and Bar leaders who interfered in the matter and the matter was arbitrated. The law was examined by a committee set-up by that body and all our complaints against that law were taken care of.

In his reaction, Adesokan who was the counsel to the Chief Judge and Justice Opeyemi Oke [4th and 5th defendants] respectively in the matter disagreed with Ogunye, saying that the Magistrate Court’s Law 2009 is being implemented partially.

According to him, “the law is still there, it is in the process of being amended by the Lagos State House of Assembly. It not everything in the law that the State has infrastructure for; hence they have not been able to implement the law to the full’’. ‘’But, It is the Magistrate Court’s Law 2009 law that is still in operation and it’s no longer under suspension. At the stakeholders’ meeting, it was decided that the matter be resolved amicably. So what we have is partial implementation of the law’’.

Prior to this development, the ex-State Attorney-General, Mr. Supo Shasore (SAN), had urged a Lagos High Court to dismiss the suit filed by Ogunye, challenging the legality of the state Magistrate Court Law 2009.

The court declined to dismiss it and instead ruled in Ogunye’s favour when it suspended the operation of the 2009 law.

This made the state Attorney- General to lodge a notice of the appeal at the Court of Appeal.

The Lagos AG had faulted the claimant’s suit on the grounds that since the operation of the new law had commenced before the action, the case raised hypothetical questions and constituted gross abuse of court process.

The AG had also stated that the trial judge misdirected herself in law in suspending the implementation of the 2009 law.

However, it was gathered that following the intervention of the elders of the Bar, former Chief judges of the state and ex-Attorneys- General of the state, the parties to the action agreed to withdraw their notices of appeal and all pending applications at the trial and appellate courts.

Already, the 2009 law is before the state House of Assembly, which is expected to review the purported offending provisions of the law.

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS

ISSUES IN CHILD RIGHTS ACT, 2003 •

Every child has the right to personal identity and record and also the right to a name and registration of birth. Accordingly, it is imperative that every parent registers the birth of every child with the National Population Commission and obtain a birth certificate for the registration.

•

A child should not be subjected to any form of discrimination merely by reasons of the belonging to a particular community or ethnic group or his place of origin, sex, religion or political opinion. Therefore, he should be treated equally irrespective of where they come from, or on account of their gender. It is illegal for instance, to deny a girl child education on account of her sex.

•

It is illegal to give children tattoo, facial or skin marks.

•

Every child has the right to free and compulsory education up to Junior Secondary School level.

•

It is an offence to use a child for buying, selling, hiring or otherwise dealing in children for the purpose of exploitation and that a child should not be made to hawk, beg for harms, guide beggars or engage in prostitution and sexual behaviour

•

Every child is immune from being recruited into any of the branches of the armed forces and that the government or any other relevant agency is under the obligation to ensure that no child is directly involved in any military operations or hostilities.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Law & Justice

Monday, April 1, 2013

45

Events Lagos State Judiciary inaugurated the High Court restaurant in Lagos recently.

Below are the judges and judiciary workers at the event.

Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Ayotunde Philips and Justice Funmilayo Atilade

Justice Philips (middle) with some judiciary workers.

The Lagos Court of Arbitration (LCA) organised a twoday training in Lagos recently. Below are the judges and other participants at the session.

L-R - Justice Yetunde Idowu, Justice Atilade , Justice Phillips and Justice Hafiz Dabri

L-R: Justice Olaide Olayinka, Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye, Justice Phillips and Justice Idowu

Ibru’s properties: Five PHCN workers drag AMCON to Appeal Court K AYODE KETEFE

F L-R : Lagos High Court judges, Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye, Justice Raliatu Adebiyi, Mr. Charles Nairac, Partner of White & Case LLP, ) Justice Funmilayo Atilade, President of Lagos Court of Arbitration (LCA), Mr. Babajide Ogundipe, Justice Opeyemi Oke, Justice Kazeem Alogba and the Executive Secretary/ Chief Executive Officer of the LCA , Megha Joshi during the training.

A cross-section of participants on the front row, (second left), Justice Opeyemi Oke, Mr. Nairac, (fourth left) Justice Atilade, Mr. Ogundipe, Ms. Joshi, Justice Oke, and Justice Kazeem Alogba.

ive workers of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) have dragged the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) before the Court of Appeal, Lagos division, to stop their ejection from a PHCN’s property forfeited to the Federal Government by the former Managing Director of Oceanic Bank, Mrs. Cecilia Ibru.

The five workers / appellants are Mr Afolabi Dada, Mr Charles Amadi, Mr Lawan Mohammad, Mrs. Comfort Odili-Iwuafor and Mr Anthony Abikoye.

In a Notice of Appeal filed at the appellate court by the workers, they faulted the decision of Justice Okechukwu Okeke, of the Federal High Court in Lagos for refusing to vacate his earlier order granting leave to AMCON to take over the property.

In the suit the workers had instituted at the lower court in which they joined Mrs. Ibru, and Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) as corespondents, they had sought an order setting aside the execution levied on the property, by which they were forcefully ejected, on the grounds that suits involving the property were pending in court at the time of the execution.

They had further contended that the

property allegedly acquired by Ibru, was at all material times, the property of PHCN and so, Ibru had no right to forfeit same to the Federal Government.

AMCON had on March 6, 2013, forcefully ejected the PHCN workers from the property, which is located at No 5A George St. Ikoyi Lagos.

But Justice Okeke refused to vacate the order, on the grounds that the order had already been executed and that it would be wrong to prevent a completed order.

It was this refusal that prompted the present appeal by filed by the workers, through their lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana SAN. In the appeal, Falana contended that Justice Okeke erred in law, because there were exhibits before him to show that the ejection order was obtained by fraud, as there were three pending suits on the subject-matter.

He, therefore, urged the appellate court to stay further execution of the order, and also restrain AMCON and Deputy Sheriff of the Federal High Court from demolishing the property It would be recalled that Mrs. Ibru forfeited N191 billion worth of assets to the Federal Government through AMCON as part of the plea bargain arrangement between her and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

46

Law & Justice

Monday, April 1, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Why S’Court remitted 55-year-old case to high court for re-trial The Supreme Court in 1990 set aside a judgment of an Onitsha High Court in Anambra State delivered about 55 years ago on the ground that the trial judge in the matter delivered his verdict two days after he was elevated to the Court of Appeal, writes FRANCIS FAMOROTI, Head, Judiciary .

I

t is trite law that without jurisdiction, a court lacks all powers known to law to adjudicate over a matter.

Thus, where a court has no jurisdiction over a matter, it is a futile exercise trying the issues in such matter. This is because the exercise of jurisdiction where there is none will result in a nullity.

When a disputed land tussle began between two neigbouring communities in 1958 in Onitsha in the former Eastern Nigeria, the parties did not envisage that the case would be remitted from the Supreme Court back to the High Court for re-trial.

The neigbouring communities, Aboh Ogidi and Umeri-Ogbunike both in Onitsha, the former Eastern Nigeria had been embroiled in a land dispute involving the declaration to title in the area about 55 years ago.

This resulted in a suit initiated at an Onitsha High Court by Obi Okudo and two others for themselves and on behalf of the people of Aboh Ogidi against Obianwuna Ogbuanyinya and five others and on behalf of the people of UmeriOgbunike in 1958.

The Aboh Ogidi people were the plaintiffs while the Umeri- Ogbunike people were the respondents. Specifically in that case, the plaintiffs claimed against the respondents, a declaration of title, damages for trespass and an order of injunction restraining the respondents (appellants) from further interference with the ownership of the land.

The suit dated April 28, 1958 was given a writ of summons number O/71/58.

The action was filed in a representative capacity with both parties representing their respective communities of Ogidi and Ogbunike.

In the court’s records, the sum of £33:3:6d was paid with the application for the writ of summons while a revenue collector’s receipt was issued to the plaintiffs.

According to the apex court judgment, on October 6, 1958, Ogbuanyinya, who was the first appellant before the apex court appeared in obedience, no doubt, to a writ of summons served on him and asked for pleadings which were ordered.

On February 8, 1965, on application by the plaintiffs, 2nd and 3rd plaintiffs were added to the suit. On February 9, 1960, barely two years after the suit was filed, the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th defendants were joined on the application of the defendants. The case was in abeyance during the civil war period and resurfaced thereafter in Anambra State High Court

Justice Belgore

FAMOUS CASES in 1976 before Justice Phillips Nnaemeka-Agu, J. (as he then was), with 1st and 2nd defendants reported dead.

Both sides canvassed arguments and made oral addresses through their lawyers.

Justice Nnaemeka- Agu (as he then was) on June 17, 1977 delivered a judgment in favour of the respondents.

It eventually turned out that Justice Nnaemeka-Agu (as he then was) delivered judgment, which was incompetent as he was then functus officio, having been appointed sometime in 1977 to the Federal Court of Appeal.

Nnaemeka-Agu was appointed a judge of Court of Appeal two days before he delivered the judgment of the high court.

The argument of counsel to Ogbuanyinya and his Umeri-Ogbunike communities was that the Supreme Court should declare the said judgment null and void because on the date in question, the judge had been appointed to the post of a judge of Court of Appeal, consequent upon which he lacked jurisdiction to deliver any judgment as a judge of the High Court of Anambra State.

Though the facts showed that on the said date, the justice was not aware of the said appointment to the Court of Appeal.

Above all, the Gazette publishing the appointment came out in October 1977.

Justice Karibi-Whyte

The counsel for the defendant/ appellant directed the court to a decision reached in a judgment delivered by the Court of Appeal in Sodeinde.v. Oyo State on a date after a judge had been transferred to Ondo State as a Chief Judge following the creation of the State.

In 1981, when the matter came up at Onitsha for trial de novo, G.R.I. Egonu, S.A.N. for the defendants raised a preliminary objection that the action was incompetent and it was not properly before the court.

Besides, he argued that no writ of summons signed by a Judge of the then High Court of Eastern Nigeria or any other valid writ of summons was issued to commence the above action or alternatively, there was no evidence of such a writ of summons.

This objection was refused by the High Court. The Court of Appeal, Enugu also dismissed on May 4, 1988, the appeal against the ruling of the high court refusing the preliminary objection.

On appeal, the decision was sustained but on further appeal to the Supreme Court, on issue of jurisdiction of the court and on grounds that the judgment of the Anambra State High Court, it was declared null and void. The apex court hinged its decision on the premise that the said judgment was delivered by Justice Nnameka- Agu who had seized to be a judge of the High Court of Anambra State on the date he delivered his judgment.

The Supreme Court set aside the judgment and remitted it for trial de novo.

Justice S.M.A Belgore who dismissed the appeal on April 30, 1990 with N500.00 costs to the respondents later deferred the reasons for his judgment till July 6, 1990.

On July 9, 1990, the jurist in his lead judgment gave reasons for his dismissal of the appeal and other justices namely, Augustine Nnamani, Adolphus KaribiWhyte, Abdulganiyu Agbaje, and Abuba-

NNAEMEKA-AGU WAS APPOINTED A JUDGE OF

COURT OF APPEAL

TWO DAYS BEFORE HE DELIVERED THE JUDGMENT OF THE HIGH COURT kar Wali concurred with the verdict.

In effect, the Supreme Court held that the contents of the Gazette of October 6, 1977 could only have no other meaning than the appointment of His Lordship as Justice of Court of Appeal was intended to and did take effect from June 15, 1977.

Justice Nnamani added his voice on the issue of writ that ‘’In my view the situation is that a suit which was properly commenced is being challenged on the ground that there was no writ of summons duly signed by a Judge.’’

According to him, ‘’ No one noticed the defective writ. The question of the defective nonexistent writ did not arise throughout the proceedings in the High Court before Nnaemeka-Agu, J. Although it was raised as an alternative ground in the first appeal, it was neither argued there nor in the Supreme Court.

Then there was the joining of the suit by the defendants 2,3,4,5 and 6. This to my mind is a proper case in which the presumption of regularity must be upheld. It was for the appellants to rebut it and show that no writ duly signed by a Judge was issued.

They failed to rebut the presumption.

These were the reasons for my dismissal of this appeal on April 30, 1990 as earlier mentioned. One can only hope that this tactical skirmish having now ended, this 1958 case can proceed to trial for there must be an end to litigation.’’

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Law & Justice

Monday, April 1, 2013

Indian land case lasts 135 years in court

Foreign

India

M

illions of cases are pending in courts throughout India, a state of affairs which has led to the creation of fast-track courts, most recently in the Delhi gang-rape case.

Some trials have lasted for decades, and sometimes for more than a century. BBC Hindi reports on one such long-running case.

A court case about a piece of land in Doshipura, Varanasi, first started when India was under British rule and Lord Lytton was its Governor-General, Rutherford Hayes was the 19th president of the US and the Wright brothers were still 25 years away from flying their first aeroplane.

Today, President Barack Obama is the 44th US president, Pranab Mukherjee is the 13th president of independent India, and a man landing on the moon is old news.

Yet, the Doshipura court case, which has been pitting Shia Muslims against Sunnis over two acres of land (87,000 sq ft) for more than a century, is one of the oldest in India.

It began in 1878 - long before India became an independent country in 1947 - and until now, no settlement has been reached.

Jaffar Imam is a Shia Muslim. His father, grandfather, great-grandfather and

President Mukherjee

their fathers before them fought this case: “They had to, so now we have to fight,” he says.

The other party in the case is Khalilur Rahman, an 80-year-old Sunni Muslim.

Bar Jokes

Had a Long Day In Court?

A

New Yorker was forced to take a day off from work to appear for a minor traffic summons. He grew increasingly restless as he waited hour after endless hour for his case to

be heard. When his name was called late in the afternoon, he stood before the judge, only to hear that court would be adjourned for the rest of the afternoon and he would have to return the next day.

“WHAT FOR?!” he snapped at the judge

T

he Judge, equally irked by his tedious day and the sharp query, roared out loud, “Twenty dollars, contempt of court!

That’s why!”

Then, noticing the man check-

ing his wallet, the judge relented: “That’s all right. You don’t have to pay now.”

The guy replied, “I know – I’m just seeing if I have enough for 2 more words!”

Don’t Over-bribe Your Judge

T

aking his seat in chambers, the judge faced the opposing lawyers.

“I have been presented by both of you with a bribe,” the judge began. Both lawyers squirmed uncomfortably. “You, Attorney Leoni, gave me $15,000. And

He says: “We don’t want to contest this, but if someone comes at you, what do you do?” No solution.

It is believed that the maharaja of Benares (as Varanasi was then known) was the original owner of the land.

The Shias say the maharaja gave them the land as a gift out of religious duty; the Sunnis say the plot is actually an old cemetery and the Shias have no religious authority over it.

The Sunnis says the plot contains the uncemented graves of two Sunnis.

The case has been through dozens of courts, but no effective solution has ever been found.

In most courts, the Shia claim has been accepted, while the Sunni claim has been rejected.

In 1976, the Sunnis took the case to India’s Supreme Court. On November 3 1981, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the Shias.

The Supreme Court directed the administration in Varanasi to construct a boundary wall around the plot and relocate the two graves elsewhere.

But the government of the state of Uttar Pradesh, where Varanasi is located, told the court that removing the

Wal-Mart brawl with the new lover of his estranged wife led the Arkansas Supreme Court to suspend a trial judge for 30 days in October. On April 5th police were called in to intervene when a spat between the two men escalated into a scuffle that sent them down on the floor on April 5th. The fight started when Circuit Judge Sam Pope of Hamburg, Ark., spotted his estranged

F

our aides of Zimbabwe’s Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai have regained their freedom on bail more than a week after their arrest drew criticism of President Robert Mugabe’s security forces in an election year.

The four, along with prominent human rights lawyer Beatrice Mtetwa, had been arrested for breaching Official Secrets law.

Critics accuse Mugabe of using state security to intimidate and crack down on opponents. The 89-year-old leader, who

you, Attorney Campos, gave me $10,000.”

The judge reached in his pocket a pulled out a check, which he handed to Leoni. “Now, then, I’m returning $5,000, and we are going to decide this case solely on its merits.”

wife and her new admirer, identified as Bill Murray, in the Crossett, Ark., Wal-Mart and the two exchanged words eventually calling each other “ass-hole” and throwing punches.

The state’s high court suspended the judge for misconduct and ordered him to attend anger management classes.

Culled from Bar Jokes.Com

graves could lead to violence and so far, nothing has been done.

The Supreme Court has now asked the state government why the ruling of the highest court in the land has been left hanging for 32 years. It seems to want to settle the matter through negotiations.

Mr Imam says each time the Sunnis lose, the court says the land should be given to the Shias. But the Sunnis say the graves cannot be destroyed.

The Shias say that Mughal emperor, Shah Jahan first buried his wife, Mumtaz Mahal in Burhanpur, and later shifted her grave to the Taj Mahal in Agra.

If her tomb could be removed, they ask, then why can’t these be relocated?

But Mr Rahman says: “From the beginning, the courts were angry about this case. We are ready to have both Sunnis and Shias use this land for religious purposes.”

Mr Imam counters by saying: “Even the highest court of the land is not being respected here. We are not going to allow Sunnis to carry out religious rituals on this piece of land.

“We are a minuscule minority and there are hundreds of thousands of Sunnis in this area; that’s why nobody listens to us. But we have full faith in the judiciary,” he adds.

Zimbabwean court grants Tsvangirai’s aides bail

Love-triangle Brawl

A

47

President Mugabe

Zimbabwe has ruled the southern African nation since independence from Britain in 1980, denies the allegations.

The detention came a day after Zimbabweans overwhelmingly voted for a new constitution that seeks to curb the presidency and expand civil liberties.

“I am of the firm view that granting bail with strict conditions will meet the justice of this case,” High Court Judge Chinembiri Bhunu said

when overturning last week’s decision by a lower court to deny the four bail.

The bail for the four was set at $500. Mtetwa was granted bail for the same amount.

Mugabe agreed to share power with Tsvangirai four years ago after a violent and disputed election and the uneasy coalition has managed to stabilize an economy wrecked by hyper-inflation.

The two bitter rivals will face each other for the third time in a presidential poll later this year.

48

x

Cocktail

Monday, April 1, 2013

FOR YOUR SUCCESS

WITH DR. DEJI FOLUTILE

Today's Tonic (120)

Begin with the end in mind.

–Stephen Covey Life Is A Self Fulfilling Prophecy One of the profound wisdom that is helping me daily is the statement that the best way to predict the future is to create it. We are created to be co-creators with God! Whatever I won’t become, no one can make me become it. There is so much more I can be if I am willing to cooperate with my core being where impossibility is nothing.

I can predict my future by creating the future I desire. I can imagine a better future no matter what I am going through right now. I can make positive choices. I can dream better dreams. I can make solid life impacting decisions. I can develop life changing habits. I can create a better me - starting NOW! TEL 08104942999 E-MAIL deji.folutile@gmail.com Follow me @TwitterOWOTIDE

Moscow man strips to protest long winter

W

eather forecasters reassured Russians spring was on the way after a Moscow man picketed their offices in his swimming trunks.

The unidentified protester stood in front of the Hydro-Meteorological Center Friday holding

a sign that read “Let Summer Come Faster” as unusually cold weather lingered into April.

Forecasters said the protester was correct that winter should have begun winding down in March, but they said things were about to change for the better.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Oddities

Obese airline passengers should pay extra –Economist

A

irlines should charge obese passengers more, a Norwegian economist has suggested, arguing that “pay as you weigh” pricing would bring health, financial and environmental dividends.

Bharat Bhatta, an associate professor at Sogn og Fjordane University College, said that airlines should follow other transport sectors and charge by space and weight.

“To the degree that passengers lose weight and therefore reduce fares, the savings that result are net benefits to the passengers,” Bhatta wrote this week in the Journal of Revenue and Pricing Management.

“As a plane of a given make and model can accommodate more lightweight passengers, it may also reward airlines” and reduce the use of environmentally costly fuel.

Bhatta put together three models for what he called

“pay as you weigh airline pricing.”

The first would charge passengers according to how much they and their baggage weighed. It would set a rate for pounds (kg) per passenger so that someone weighing 130 pounds (59 kg) would pay half the fare of

260-pound (118-kg) person.

A second model would use a fixed base rate, with an extra charge for heavier passengers to cover the extra costs. Under this option, every passenger would have a different fare.

Bhatta’s preferred option was the third, where the

same fare would be charged if a passenger was of average weight. A discount or extra charge would be used if the passenger was above or below a certain limit.

That would lead to three kinds of fares - high, average and low, Bhatta said.

A passenger waiting for a delayed flight at Heathrow airport’s terminal four in London.

PHOTO: REUTERS

Monday, April 1, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

49

World News

Pope pleads for peace in Easter message

“People must not panic; the former president is doing very well so far.”

50

– SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT, JACOB ZUMA

Tension in Kenya after court ruling on vote •Post election death toll now five

PAUL ARHEWE

WITH AGENCY REPORTS

K

enyan police deployed forces yesterday in the capital and the lakeside city of Kisumu to contain the continuing threat of violence after five people were killed in riots Saturday, officials said, but the country remained mostly peaceful after a court upheld Uhuru Kenyatta’s election as president.

Rowdy youths in Nairobi’s slums were still trying to protest the Supreme Court’s ruling against Prime Minister Raila Odinga’s challenge to the validity of Kenyatta’s win, Nairobi police officials said yesterday.

At least three people rioting in Nairobi’s Dandora slum were shot dead by police on Saturday, police said, bringing to five the number of people killed in postelection violence since the court’s verdict was given on Saturday. Two people were killed and five seriously injured Saturday in riots in Kisumu, Odinga’s hometown, said Ole Metito, police chief for Nyanza

province.

The incidents on Saturday threatened to disrupt the peace across most of Kenya, which five years ago degenerated into deadly violence stemming from a disputed election. But police said the heavy presence of forces Sunday in trouble spots — especially slum areas where many of Odinga’s supporters live —was likely to deter protesters still angry over Kenyatta’s court victory.

An unexploded bomb was discovered inside a minibus at a Nairobi bus stop on Sunday, police said.

“There is tension obviously, but with the deployment of officers we have done we don’t anticipate anything,” said Moses Ombati, the deputy police chief for Nairobi.

Although Odinga accepted the court’s decision, some of his supporters reacted angrily to his loss, taking to the streets and engaging the police in running battles.

“There was chaos in places where people were throwing stones. Now we have officers mon-

F

it was unfortunate that Mandela could not be with his family at home during Easter.

“I’m not happy about it,” Hyar said. “We’re praying for him to get better as soon as possible.”

Mandela was admitted to a Pretoria hospital near midnight Wednesday. It was his third trip to a hospital since December, when he was treated for a lung infection and also had a procedure to remove gallstones. Earlier in March, he spent a night in a hospital for what officials said was a scheduled medical test.

Mandela

Tanzania pulls 29 bodies from collapsed building

R Supporters of losing presidential candidate Raila Odinga protesting in front of riot police guarding the Supreme Court in Nairobi, Kenya PHOTO: AP

itoring the general situation,” Metito said.

Kenyatta, who is to be sworn in on April 9, said late Saturday that he would be a president for all Kenyans and urged them to move past the election and build a nation “at peace with itself.” He repeated the same message during a Easter Sunday church service.

The March 4 election was described by many as the most complicated in Kenya’s history. It pitted Kenyatta against Odinga, whose disputed loss in the 2007 election triggered postelection violence that

Mandela remains in hospital on Easter ormer South African President Nelson Mandela remained in a hospital on Easter Sunday while receiving treatment for a recurrence of pneumonia, the government said.

South African presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj said there are no updates on 94-year-old Mandela since an official statement Saturday on his condition. That statement reported the anti-apartheid leader was breathing without difficulty after having a procedure to clear fluid in his lung area.

Many South African congregations celebrating Easter included Mandela in their prayers.

“The whole world must come together and pray for him,” Zacheus Phakathi, a security guard, said at an outdoor service on a hill overlooking Johannesburg.

In Pretoria, the capital, Henry Hyar, a restaurant waiter, standing by a hospital where Mandela is believed to be, said

WORLD BULLETIN

Mandela became South Africa’s first black president in 1994 after elections were held, bringing an end to the system of white racist rule known as apartheid. After his release from prison in 1990, Mandela was widely credited with averting even greater bloodshed by helping the country in the transition to democratic rule.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate has been particularly vulnerable to respiratory problems since contracting tuberculosis during his 27-year imprisonment for fighting white racist rule in his country.

killed more than 1,000 people and displaced hundreds of thousands.

Kenyatta faces criminal charges at the International Criminal Court for allegedly encouraging that violence, the reason many Western governments have said they may have limited contact with Kenya’s new president. His win may complicate Kenya’s relationship with the U.S., which had warned of “consequences” in the event of Kenyatta’s victory. The White House on Saturday congratulated him and urged Kenyans “to peacefully accept the results of the election.”

Helicopter crash in South Africa kills five

F

ive South African air force members died in the weekend crash of a helicopter that was patrolling in an antirhino poaching operation, the South African military said Sunday.

The crash happened Saturday evening in South Africa’s Kruger National Park and that the crew was among those killed, the military said.

The helicopter was on a scheduled patrol of the park and an investigation has begun to determine the cause of the crash, the military statement said. It identified the aircraft as an Agusta A109 light utility helicopter.

South Africa is struggling to stem rampant poaching of rhinos, whose horns are sold to buyers in Asia.

The number of rhinos poached in South Africa since the beginning of the year has increased to 188, including 135 in the Kruger park alone, South African authorities said last week.

Also last week, South African media quoted authorities as saying three rhino poachers from neighbouring Mozambique were shot and killed by game rangers in the Kruger park.

Rhino horn is made of keratin, a tough protein found in human fingernails.

escue workers have pulled 29 bodies from the rubble of a collapsed building in Tanzania’s commercial capital Dar es Salaam, a senior official said yesterday.

The building of more than 12 storeys, which had been under construction near a mosque in the Kariakoo district around the city center, caved in on Friday morning. Several cars were crushed and boys playing soccer nearby were among the dead.

“We have now recovered a total of 29 bodies from the rubble of the collapsed building,” Dar es Salaam Regional Commissioner Said Meck Sadick told Reuters.

He said workers were now reaching the basement where there was a store for equipment and more bodies might be found.

He said digging would continue until all bodies were recovered.

Tanzania’s buoyant economy has fuelled a building boom, especially in Kariakoo and the city center. But the speed of construction has raised concerns about safety standards.

Mali’s Islamic extremists attack Timbuktu

T

imbuktu has been hit by a prolonged battle between Islamic extremists and the Malian and French armies, residents and a Malian military spokesman said yesterday.

Fighters linked to al Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, or AQIM, attacked the city in northern Mali late Saturday night and have continued fighting Sunday, said Capt. Samba Coulibaly, spokesman for the Malian military in Timbuktu.

The attack started Saturday night at about 10 p.m. local time when a jihadist suicide bomber blew himself up at a Malian military checkpoint at the western entrance to Timbuktu, he said.

“The jihadist was on foot and died on the spot, but his explosives lightly injured one of our soldiers,” said Coulibaly.

“The jihadists are a few.

They sneaked into the military camp and the city of Timbuktu.

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World News

Monday, April 1, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Pope pleads for peace in Easter message

P

ope Francis delivered a plea for peace in his first Easter Sunday message to the world, decrying the seemingly endless conflicts in the Middle East and on the Korean peninsula after celebrating Mass at an outdoor altar before more than 250,000 people in flower-bedecked St. Peter’s Square.

Francis shared in his flock’s exuberance as they celebrated Christianity’s core belief that Jesus Christ rose from the dead following crucifixion. After Mass, he stepped aboard an open-topped white popemobile for a cheerful spin through the joyous crowd, kissing babies and patting children on the head.

One admirer of both the pope and of the pope’s favourite soccer team, Ar-

gentina’s Saints of San Lorenzo, insisted that Francis take a team jersey he was waving at the pontiff. A delighted Francis obliged, briefly holding up the shirt, and the crowd roared in approval.

Francis has repeatedly put concern for the poor and suffering at the center of his messages, and he pursued his promotion of the causes of peace and social justice in the Easter speech he delivered from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica, the same vantage point above the square where he was introduced to the world as the first Latin American pope on March 13.

The Roman Catholic leader aimed his Easter greetings at “every house and every family, espe-

A

‘Nuclear weapons are North Korea’s life’

top North Korean decision-making body issued a pointed warning yesterday, saying that nuclear weapons are “the nation’s life” and will not be traded even for “billions of dollars.”

The comments came in a statement released after North Korean leader Kim Jong Un presided over the plenary meeting of the central committee of the ruling

Workers’ Party. The meeting, which set a “new strategic line” calling for building both a stronger economy and nuclear arsenal, comes amid a series of near-daily threats from Pyongyang in recent weeks, including a vow to launch nuclear strikes on the United States and a warning Saturday

Pope Francis, holding the pastoral staff, celebrates the Easter mass in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican, yesterday.

PHOTO: AP

cially where the suffering is greatest, in hospitals, in prisons.” Francis prayed that Jesus would inspire people to “change hatred into love, vengeance into forgiveness, war into peace.”

that the Korean Peninsula was in a “state of war.”

Pyongyang is angry over annual U.S.-South Korean military drills and a new round of U.N. sanctions that followed its Feb. 12 nuclear test, the country’s third.

Analysts see a full-scale North Korean attack as unlikely and say the threats

As popes before him have, he urged Israelis and Palestinians to resume peace talks and end a conflict that “has lasted all too long.” And, in reflecting on the two-year-old Syrian crisis, Francis asked, “How

are more likely efforts to provoke softer policies toward Pyongyang from a new government in Seoul, to win diplomatic talks with Washington that could get the North more aid, and to solidify the young North Korean leader’s image and military credentials at home.

North Korea made refer-

much suffering must there still be before a political solution” can be found?

The pope also expressed desire for a “spirit of reconciliation” on the Korean peninsula, where North Korea says it has entered

ence to those outside views in the statement it released through the official Korean Central News Agency following the plenary meeting.

North Korea’s nuclear weapons are a “treasure” not to be traded for “billions of dollars,” the statement said. They “are neither a political bargaining chip

“a state of war” with South Korea. He also decried warfare and terrorism in Africa, as well as what he called the 21st century’s most extensive form of slavery: human trafficking.

The first pontiff to come from the Jesuits, an order with special concern for the poor, and the first pope to name himself after St. Francis, a medieval figure who renounced wealth to preach to the down-andout, Francis lamented that the world is “still divided by greed looking for easy gain.

Earlier, wearing creamcolored vestments, Francis celebrated Mass on the esplanade in front of the basilica at an altar set up under a white canopy. He frequently bowed his head as if in silent reflection. nor a thing for economic dealings to be presented to the place of dialogue or be put on the table of negotiations aimed at forcing (Pyongyang) to disarm itself,” it said.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

North

Monday, April 1, 2013

51

Northern govs keeping mum over Plateau crisis –Group JAMES ABRAHAM JOS

A ment

group known as Northern Youths for the Advanceof Peace, Har-

mony and Development (NYAPHD) has flayed the leadership of the Northern Governors Forum for “keeping mum” over the lingering crisis in Plateau State.

In a statement signed

yesterday in Jos by NYAPHD President, Mr. Melvin Ejeh, the group said that it “is sad for the 19 northern governors to have kept quiet and do nothing when innocent lives and property are be-

ing destroyed on daily basis in Plateau State.”

The group said that such “deafening silence”

by NGF showed that the governors were not interested in peace in the North.

The group’s statement reads: “We are particularly worried about the deliberate silence by Governor Babangida Aliyu, the Chairman of the Northern Governors Forum (NGF) and other notable leaders in the North over the incessant barbaric killings of innocent people in Plateau State on a daily basis.

“We are shocked that the NGF leadership has neither condemned nor do anything to bring solution to the Plateau crisis “We are shocked about this open hatred and grand conspiracy by some people against the person of Governor Jonah Jang

and the good people of Plateau State.

“We view this as a deliberate act aimed at blackmailing the governor and the people for no unjustifiable reason.

“We sympathise with the government and people of the state, and call on the NGF Chairman, Governor Babangida Aliyu, to convey a high power meeting of the northern governors and stakeholders to address this incessant killings.

“We further call on the Plateau State youths to rise up and defend themselves because they are not chickens as enough is enough.”

Nigeria needs N500bn to tackle hypertension –Expert WOLE ADEDEJI ILORIN

N Adamawa State Governor Murtala Nyako (right) presenting a souvenir to former Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Alhaji Isa Sali, during a reception in honour of the latter in Yola, at the weekend.

PHOTO: NAN

LG poll: Wada asked to reconstitute KSIEC WALE IBRAHIM LOKOJA

A

head of the forthcoming local government election in Kogi State, a Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) chieftain, Mr. James Ocholi (SAN), has asked Governor Ibrahim Idris to re- organise the State Independent Electoral Commission (KSIEC).

Ocholi, who contested the last governorship election in the state on the platform CPC, said that re-organising the electoral commission would ensure the peaceful conduct of the local government poll.

Addressing journalists after the inauguration of the merger committee of the party at the weekend in Lokoja, the state capital, Ocholi alleged that KSIEC chairman and four other members were card-carrying members of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He said that the parties in the merger talk had already dragged KSIEC to court, asking for its reconstitution or put the election on hold until the right thing is done.

Ocholi said: “I am aware that the parties in the merger - CPC, the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Kogi State have already gone to court on this matter. We are asking among other things that the election be put on hold until the commission is properly constituted.

“The chairman of the commission and four of its members are members of the PDP. The chairman was the candidate of the PDP in the last general election.

So, he cannot supervise any credible election.”

Ocholi stressed that Governor Wada “must dem-

onstrate integrity by overhauling the electoral body,” adding that “failure of which will just be a mockery of democracy.”

According to him, the All Progressives Congress (APC) - the new merger political association - is waxing stronger.

He said APC would win the Presidency and Kogi State governorship election in 2015.

Ocholi, however, said that many PDP members had decided to join the CPC because they were not happy with the underdevelopment of the state.

He, therefore, asked the CPC supporters to welcome

the PDP members as brothers when eventually joined the party.

Ocholi said: “I am aware that some members of the PDP, who are not happy with the underdevelopment in the state, are planning to join us. So, you must not shut the door against them.”

Earlier in his remark, CPC Chairman in the state, Muhammed Kassim Mabo, assured that the party would win future elections.

He thanked Ocholi and the member representing Lokoja/Kotonkarfi Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Buba Jibril, for their support for the growth of the party.

‘Katsina spends N4bn annually on fertiliser’ JAMES DANJUMA KATSINA

T

he Katsina State Government spends N4 billion annually on the purchase of fertilizer for farmers.

The Commissioner for Agriculture, Alhaji Musa Adamu, said the government decided to invest

the amount in fertilizer because majority of the people of the state are farmers.

Adamu said the administration of Governor Ibrahim Shema first spent the amount on fertiliser in 2007 when it was inaugurated.

He said that the administration would continue

to spend the amount on the product so as to enhance food production till 2015.

According to the commissioner, the government recently bought N100 million worth of grains from farmers as one of ways to encourage them to produce more food.

Adamu said: “Farmers

igeria will require N500 billion to treat the growing cases of hypertension alone because of its notoriety.

The country trails behind the United States which spends 20 trillion naira alongside other developed countries because hypertension-related cases had attained one of the world’s most killer diseases.

A professor of medicine at the University of Ilorin, Ibraheem Adeola Katibi, made this submission at the weekend while delivering the 126th inaugural lecture of the institution entitled: “The choice is yours, but the burden is ours.”

Prof. Katibi said that hypertension-related diseases are mostly caused by sufferers through their eating and drinking habits and that this is

had complained that their produce was not being patronised. The government, therefore, decided to buy the substantial part of their produce so as to keep the farmers busy.

“The importance of food availability in a state or country is an issue that cannot be over emphasised, and that Katsina State will continue to work at ensuring adequate food

common among women, the aged and obesities.

High records also are both in Nigeria and the United States.

According to him, hypertension afflicts over one billion people worldwide and between 19.3 to 34.8 per cent of Nigerian population live with hypertension translating into a total figure of about 40 million people.

Prof. Katibi said: “The unfortunate thing about it is that the choice to be hypertensive is that of the patients, but the burden of treatment lies with the people who are denied basic necessities of life that the funds used to treat them could have provided.

“Stroke and heart attack, which are both quick to kill, are devastating complications of hypertension with over 16 million stroke cases alone which gives strong 30 per cent chances of the cases to die later in the hospital.” security for its people.”

He said about 27 dams across the state had been rehabilitated to ensure an all-year-round food production, adding that irrigation equipment had been purchased and sold to farmers at subsidised rate.

Adamu said that free seeds had also been distributed to farmers for this year’s farming season.

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Monday, April 1, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Community Mirror “The nation’s leaders have not been quiet about what is happening on the Plateau, Maiduguri, Yobe and Kano and even the kidnappings in some parts of the country. ” SPEAKER, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, AMINU WAZIRI TAMBUWAL

FRANCIS SUBERU WITH AGENCY REPORT

T

he Police have arraigned a 26-year-old man, Ejiro Ogban, before an Abuja High Court on a two-count charge of armed robbery.

Prosecutor Babajide Olanipekun said Ogban, of Mashafa Road, Mpape Village, Abuja, conspired with Frank Akangee, now at large, with others to commit the crime.

He told the court that the offence was committed on September 28, 2012 at No 8, Matada Street, Wuse Zone 3, Abuja. According

Man arraigned for robbery

to him, the offence is punishable under Section 6(b) of the Robbery and Firearms Special Provision Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004.

The prosecution said the accused robbed one Usman Abdulrahaman, Abdullahi Hassan and Usman Abdullahi of No. 8, Matada Street, Wuse Zone 3, Abuja, while armed with a locally made pistol.

Olanipekun said, the accused stole two vehicles, including a white Nissan Sunny car with reg-

istration Number NUS 973 AP valued at N1.3 million and a Golf 3 car with registration Number JJ 679 AT. Other items stolen by the accused were six suits and other apparels, a Nokia E63 cell phone, another Nokia handset, three passport wallets with union membership identification cards, a Samsung handset and N123, 000 cash.

The police said, the offence was punishable under Section 1 (1) 2(a) of the Robbery and Fire Arms Spe-

SPIRIT OF EASTER; Parents and their children buying toys from roadside traders at Oshodi, Lagos.

cial Provisions Act of the Laws of the Federation, 2004.

The accused pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Olanipekun prayed the court for a short adjournment to enable him produce his witnesses in court.

Justice Maryanne Anenih granted the application and adjourned to April 24 for further hearing, even as she ordered Ogban to be remanded at the Kuje Medium Prison till next adjourned date.

PHOTO:ADEMOLA AKINLABI

Lack of patriotism blamed on corruption Obi calls for cooperation on road expansion FRANCIS SUBERU

A

Lagos based chartered accountant, Mr. Adekunle Oshinoiki has identified lack of patriotism at all levels as the major factor responsible for corruption in Nigeria.

Oshinoiki who stated this in Lagos recently, noted that lack of patriotism in the presidency, judiciary, legislature, financial institutions, academia and other sectors of the economy has brought the country to its current state.

“The founding fathers of Nigeria recognised the importance of patriotism as a strong tool for the fight for independence which they used constructively to achieve their goals.

“It is not found in the records

that Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, Alhaji Amadu Bello, Chief Anthony Enahoro and others thought of the need for self gratification, when they fought and secured independence for Nigeria.

They constructed a strong ship socially, economically and politically in which the nation could have sailed smoothly to greatness, had the captains, who took over from them been able to read the compass effectively and accurately.

Our nation’s ship began its drift on the turbulent waters when we threw patriotism to the winds,’’ he noted.

Oshinoiki, who expressed worries over the level of corruption at all levels, pointed out that only a patriotic mind would run the economy successfully.

T

he Anambra State Governor Peter Obi has urged residents of Onitsha, to co-operate with the government in the effort to re-plan and expand existing roads and drainages. ‘’The re-planning and expansion would allow the drainage systems have the capacity to hold large volumes of water as well as have efficient flow; which will put an end to flooding in Onitsha,’’ Obi said The governor said this while inaugurating the commencement of roads and drainage projects in Housing Estate, Fegge in Onitsha.

He appealed to residents of the estate to be patient with the government, as some houses and fences will be pulled down to give way for the new roads and drain-

ages to be built in the estate.

Community Mirror recalls that the estate was among the few communities in Onitsha threatened by last year’s nationwide floods.

Reacting, President-General of the community, Chief Ikechukwu Odimegwu, thanked the governor for embarking on the projects.

He said the inauguration showed that he is a caring governor. ‘’We are happy as this is the first time the state government is coming to the estate in the past 20 years.’’

On the issue of the demolition prior to the projects, he said those to be affected must bear with the government and community, even as it was better that few pay the price for development.

Residents commend Abuja council for clean up OKAY OSUJI WITH AGENCY REPORT

R

esidents of Abuja Municipal Area Council have commended it for cleaning up the environment, as they said the council has demonstrated sensitivity to yearnings of the people.

A civil servant residing at Nyanya, Mrs Josephine Danjuma, said the area has taken on a new and positive look.

“They have cleared the refuse dumps site near Nyanya market. I did not know there is a big drainage facility there; previously refuse and wastes used to cover the entire facility meant to speed the flow of water.

AMAC has tried but I hope the effort would be sustained, so that people will not go back to throwing refuse there again, ‘she said.

Mr Kazeem Johnson, a resident of Karu said: ``you’ll think you are somewhere else but Karu; honestly they have really tried and that is what we want and how things ought to be.

People should be able to feel the presence of their local councils, neglect of the environment should be strongly discouraged.

FCT should be a model for other states and I sincerely hope that this effort should be carried to all areas in the FCT.’’ Mrs Evelyn Olaifa, who lives in Garki, said the clean up exercise was commendable and praised the head of the ongoing operation, Hajiya Memuna Abubakar.

“I congratulate her and those working with her and believe they will keep up the tempo. ``I appreciate the new look of Garki and I learnt the cleanup will continue and cover other areas under the council”, Olaifa said.

Meanwhile, an official of AMAC who pleaded anonymity said the exercise was tagged ‘Operation Clean up AMAC’ and all the areas under the council will be covered.

He said that designated dump sites had been located at Ajata on Orozo- Karshi road and another at Gosa, on Airport Road.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Monday, April 1, 2013

Uche grabs 16th goal in Turkey 55

53

Sport

I need to be able to demonstrate there can be a meaningful life outside cycling. I’m working at it.

Disgraced cycling star, Lance Armstrong

Obajimi advocates athletes’ diversity YEMI OLUS WARRI

I

L-R: Winners of Medley Relay Girls final Ofonime, Odiong, Adewunmi Adewale, Deborah Francis and Abimbola Junaid at the Warri Township Stadium, yesterday

Nigeria scoops gold, as AYAC ends

YEMI OLUS WARRI

T

eam Nigeria called Egypt’s bluff on the final day of the Africa Youth Athletics Championships yesterday by amassing eight gold medals as curtains came down on the maiden event.

Nigeria finished at the top of the medal table with 13 gold, 10 silver and 12 bronze medals after four days of competing against their African counterparts who came from different regions of the continent.

The gold medals were won in the boys and girls 200m, 400m hurdles (girls), re-

lay medley (girls), 110m hurdles, javelin (girls), and triple jump (girls).

100m champions, Divine Oduduru (boys) and Deborah Adewale (girls) made it a sprint double as they captured the 200m titles in 21.53sec and 24.4sec respectively while Gloria Nathaniel impressed in the girls 400m hurdles as Abdulaih Bashiru dominated the 110m hurdles.

Egypt placed second with eight gold, six silver and two bronze medals while Ethiopia shot up to third position on the final day with 6 gold, 13 silver and six bronze medals.

Nigeria had earlier won the boys and girls 100, triple jump (boys) and long jump

(boys) but surprisingly placed third in the boys relay medley as Gambia once again took the lead, as they did in the boys’ 400m, while Ethiopia came second.

The Warri Township Stadium witnessed an impressive crowd who cheered the athletes to victory in their various events as songstar, Olamide, thrilled the crowd with his performance.

Dignitaries who graced the closing ceremony include Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, Presient of the Confederation of African Athletics, Kalkaba Malboum, President of the Nigeria Olympic Committee, Engineer Sani Ndanusa, among others.

Medals Table

Contract: ASEC threatens reprisal on Kayode

O

fficials of ASEC Mimosas yesterday said a FIFA ban will be demand on Flying Eagles striker, Olanrewaju Kayode, if the player fails to rejoin the Ivorien club immediately.

According to ASEC, the 20-year-old striker still has a year left on his contract with the club, but he has refused to team up with the side.

MTNFootball.com also said yesterday that a top official of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) confirmed that ASEC had lodged a formal complaint on AYC 2013 flop Kayode whose absence could not be unconnected to interests of some unnamed European clubs for his services “ASEC have informed us that Kayode still has a valid contract with them till next year” the official said.

A representative of Kayode, who was in Algeria for the AYC which ended on Saturday, told MTNFootball.com that the lingering issues would be resolved.

“Kayode has several offers after the AYC but

Olanrewaju Kayode

we will resolve the case before we take up any of the openings presented to the player after the tournament,” the agent said.

The former schoolboy international, who recently underwent trials with Dynamo Minsk of Belarus in Turkey, left Algeria immediately after Nigeria’s third place triumph over Mali on Friday.

Gold Silver Bronze Nigeria

13

10

12

Egypt

8

6

2

Ethiopia

6

13

6

Kenya

5

4

2

Gambia

2

0

0

Eritrea

1

1

0

Morocco

1

0

2

Uganda

0

1

0

B/ Faso

0

1

1

Namibia

0

0

2

Mauritius

0

0

2

Benin

0

0

2

Zimbabwe

0

0

1

Togo

0

0

1

Mozambique 0

0

1

Botswana

0

1

0

nternational Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) certified instructor, Rotimi Obajimi, says Nigeria stands to lose its domination in the sprints and jumps to the North and East Africans unless the country’s athletes are exposed to diverse events.

The Ethiopians, well known for their domination in the long distances, won medals in the 100m, 200m and other short distant events of the just-concluded African Youth Athletics Championships in Warri, Delta State while Egypt also won gold medals in the girls’ long jump and 100m hurdles, a situation considered by athletics watchers as “encroachment”.

“With the way things are going around in the world and particularly the IAAF programme is that these young athletes are being given a broad athletics background across as many events as possible,” Obajimi told National Mirror yesterday.

Lad’s family hails UCH AFOLABI GAMBARI

F

amily of the ailing former Super Falcons coach, Jossy Lad, has commended the management of University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan for the efforts to revive its bread winner who has been receiving treatment for a heart-related illness.

Lad’s son, Wale, who spoke on behalf of the grateful family, specifically thanked the UCH’s Chief Medical Director, Professor Temitope Alonge, who he said had shown particular interest in the 72-year-old coach and former international who captained the Shooting Stars to win Nigeria’s first continental trophy in 1976.

“The CMD has made it a daily routine to visit and examine our dad to know his state of health, even as he sometimes offset the medical bill,” the son remarked.

Meanwhile, sequel to the recent visit to the bed-ridden Lad by Sports Minister Bolaji Abdullahi who donated N500, 000 for the former’s upkeep, the National Sport Commission (NSC) has collaborated with an Ibadanbased radio station, Splash FM, to launch an appeal to good-spirited Nigerians to raise funds for the coach’s treatment.

According to the Zonal Coordinator, South West Zone of the National Sport Commission, Dr. Steve Olarinoye, the collaboration was conceived at a meeting held with the Chairman and founder of Splash FM, Chief Adebayo Akande, where it was resolved that there was an urgent need to save Lad’s life.

National Mirror learnt yesterday that Akande also ordered that a bank account be opened in Lad’s name, with a member of the family, Splash FM accountant and the NSC coordinator as signatories.

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Monday, April 1, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

UCL: Desailly, Ljungberg lead Trophy Tours

Freddie Ljungberg

AFOLABI GAMBARI

F

ormer France captain, Marcel Desailly, will lead the UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour in Kinshasha, Democratic Republic of Congo on April 6 and 7 as sponsor Heineken continued the tour after it launched the event last week in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Marcel Desailly

Vidic eyes FA Cup triumph

Vidic

M

anchester United defender, Nemanja Vidic, is determined to ensure the FA Cup is part of this season’s trophy haul when he

heads off on his summer break.

The Red Devils’ captain has yet to win the world’s oldest cup competition.

United has also yet to win the FA Cup in the reopened Wembley Stadium after suffering losses to Everton, Chelsea and Manchester City.

“You want to be there for the big games and once the season is finished, and you are going home or on holiday, you want to see what you have won and that is the thing that has always pushed me,” the 31-year-old Vidic said yesterday.

“Over the last few years in England the semifinals and finals have always interesting because Chelsea, Manchester United, Manchester City and Arsenal have always been there and they are the teams who are always watched.

“People always want to see them, especially when they are fighting for a trophy. It makes them important games.”

United faces a tough hurdle in the FA Cup quarter-final replay against Chelsea today at the Stamford Bridge. The first game tied 2-2 after the Red Devils incredible surrendered a 2-0 lead at Old Trafford last month.

Ronaldo tipped for Blues’ switch

R

eal Madrid Coach, Jose Mourinho, is sensationally aiming to return to English football by taking Cristiano Ronaldo with him to Chelsea.

Mourinho reportedly agreed terms with Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich last week as he prepared grounds for his return to the club he left in hazy circumstance in 2007.

Latest reports revealed that relations have now healed between the Blues’ owner and the

charismatic Portuguese gaffer.

Mourinho will however remain at the Bernabeu until the end of the season–by which time he hopes to have landed the Champions League as a farewell present.

According to the reports, Mourinho will do his best to lure the former Manchester United star away from Spain, knowing that the 28-year-old is not content at Madrid and will test the water with a £60 million offer.

Ronaldo

European football legend, Clarence Seedorf, who currently plies his trade in the Brazilian league, and Brazil legend, Bebeto, had spearheaded the tour which attracted huge fans in the South American city.

The Ghanaian-born Desailly would be expected add glamour to the two-day trophy tour of the Congolese political capital after his exploits at England club Chelsea during his active playing days.

Former Sweden international, Freddie Ljungberg, will also be the face of the tour in Jakarta, Indonesia when the dog-eared trophy arrives in the Asian country on April 13.

Ljungberg had variously starred for Arsenal in the Champions League and was a star in the 2006 final where the London club lost 2-1 to eventual winner Barcelona, after which the Swede also switched to the Spanish club.

“The Tour is a travelling exhibition that focuses on current players, coaches and matches to promote the competition and its history,” Marketing Director of Nigerian Breweries Plc, Mr. Walter Drenth, explained in Lagos at the weekend, saying the annual event was designed to globalise the Heineken brand and the lucrative competition.

“It is also aimed at bringing the Champions League trophy closer to the fans while offering them a unique experience to share the history and heritage of the competition which highlight players and clubs who have participated over five decades,” Drenth added, stressing, “It will also motivate the stakeholders to share UEFA values of Fair Play and Respect.

Heineken has sponsored the UEFA Champions League since 1994 and the trophy, which toured Mexico, Kenya, Tanzania and China last year, was presented to the Nigerian fans in 2009 when over 7, 000 fans watched the display on Victoria Island in Lagos.

‘Gerrard’s replacement unknown’

Gerrard

L

iverpool Manager, Brendan Rodgers, admits the Reds will have to go outside the club to find a quality replacement for captain Steven Gerrard.

Gerrard, who made his Kop debut in 1998, will be 33 on May 30. But the England midfielder has shrugged off his old injury problems by playing every minute of every Premier League game this season.

“He is an incredible player and I have never thought about replacing him because if we look after him I know he has a good few years left in him yet,” Rodgers said yesterday.

“There becomes a time where every player stops and the next one comes in, and it will be up to us to look over the next number of years to bring in the dynamic player that can fulfill what Steven has done.

“But it’s not in my thinking now, purely because I don’t need to think about it.”

Ibadan set for NAPPS fiesta

D

isturbed by the dearth of competitions in private schools, the National Association of Proprietors of Private schools (NAPPS), Ibadan North chapter, has concluded plans to organize NAPPS 2013 Sports Fiesta for schools in the state.

Chairman of the Planning Committee, Issac Friday, said yesterday that the event resulted from the desire to give their wards the platform to display their talent in a competitive atmosphere where outstanding individuals will be discovered and nurtured.

The fiesta will feature athletics where pupils would compete in 75 meters, 100m, 200m, 800m, 1500m and 4x100m relay.

Other track and field events include javelin, short put, discus, high jump, tug-of-war, pick the ball and football.

Participants have been classified into three categories which comprise Junior for pupils from ages 6 to10 years, Intermediate for junior secondary school students with ages 11 to 13 years and the Senior for senior secondary schools students from ages of 14 to16 and above.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Sport

Monday, April 1, 2013

55

Uche grabs 16th goal in Turkey IKENWA NNABUOGOR

...Ogbu, Eneramo also hit target

I

n England, the Eagles duo of Mikel Obi and Victor Moses were action for Chelsea but lost to ambitious Southampton 2-1 at St.Mary’s Stadium on Saturday. The 2013 AFCON champions were on the starting line up but it was only Moses that saw 90 minutes of action. Mikel was pulled out in the 72nd minute for Brazilian midfielder Ramires. Mikel was only playing his 19th game of the season and still yet to find the target for his first English Premiership goal. Moses, who has netted just once, failed to find the back of the net in his 17th league appearance.

At the Goodidon Park Victor Anichebe was involved with his Everton side as they claimed a hard fought 1-0 against Stoke City on Saturday. It was also a rare 90 minute outing for the Nigerian who has always battled injury worries, as he put up another competent display. That was Anichebe’s 11th start of the season. Anichebe has thus far netted five times in 18 league appearances for Everton.

Still in England, it was yet another substitute appearance for Osaze Odewmiwgie as the former Lille of France star was introduced in the 70th minute as West Borm lost 3-1 at West Ham on Saturday evening.

‘Osaz’ replaced Argentine midfield Claudio Yacob as the Baggies trailed 3-0 before Scottish midfielder Graham Dorrans pulled one back from the spot after on-loan Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku was upended in the West Ham’s vital area. That was his 23rd league outing this season with just five goals to his credit.

In France, John Utaka was on for start to finish in Montpellier’s 1-0 loss at PSG on Friday night as PSG opened up a seven point gap on the top of the log. Utaka, a summer transfer target for top spenders in France and the Gulf was once again not lucky to add to his five goal tally in the French Ligue One, having gone eight games without scoring. His last strike for the defending league champions was in their 2-0 over Sochaux in January 26. He has so far scored five goals in 25 league appearances this season. He started in 20 of them and he has also been cautioned just thrice.

In Belgium, young Nigerian striker Derek Ogbu was on target for his side OH Leuven’s 3-1 home win against Waasland Beveren in their first mid-table play –off game. Ogbu struck in the 52nd minute off an assist from Belgian star Karel Geraerts, to put his side 2-0 up. His modest side that barely stayed up in the top flight last season, made the game safe in the 75th minute before the visistors managed to pull one back in the dead. The victory shot Leuven to the top of the Group B play-off standings after just one round of games. The Enuguborn striker was scoring his eighth goal of the season, in 27 appearances so far this season.. He has so far been in the referees’ books four times.

It was still going down the drain for big Nigerian striker Michael Uchebo who faltered badly again as they lost 1-0 in the two-team relegation play-off game involving fellow relegation candidates Germinal Beerschot. It was the first leg of the play off whjich also saw Uchebo turn for the en-

Kalu Uche (facing camera) celebrate with team mate.

Ogbu D Derick

goal.

Michael Eneramo celebrating yet another goal

IN THE NETHERLANDS, SUPER EAGLES’ NEW BOY, KENNETH OMERUO, WAS ON FOR 90 MINUTES AS HE WAS HANDED HIS FIFTH STRAIGHT FULL TIME APPEARANCE AFTER THE

2013 AFCON

tire 90 minutes for the woeful strugglers..

The former VVV Venlo striker has so far played 29 times for his new club, scoring just on two occasions. But he has continued to keep a blemish-free season, without any card. Beerschot were however without their on-loan Nigerianstriker Kennedy Nwanganga.

In Russia, Victor Obinna Nsofor saw gjust 45 minutes of action for Lokomotiv Moscow in their 2-0 loss at Rubin Kazan on Saturday. Nsofor, tipped for an Eagles’ return was introduced at the start of the second half. Nsofor has so far scored two goals in 19 league outings for his side. He has seen yellow only once.

In the Netherlands, Super Eagles new

boy Kenneth Omeruo was on for 90 minutes as he was handed his fifth straight full time appearance after the 2013 AFCON, as ADO Den Haag were pummelled 4-0 at RKC Waalwijk yesterday. The former youth international was in commanding role at the rear for mid-table side as usual, but couldn’t prevent the visitors’ strikers from making hay. The Super Eagles revelation has so far played 21 games so far this season and gone into referees’ books five times.

In Turkey, Istanbul BB new signing Simon Zenke failed to re-enact his last week’s scoring form last Saturday, losing 2-0 at league leaders Galatarsaray. Zenke was pulled out in the 86th minute. He has so far appeared in eight league games since his winter transfer move from AS Nancy. He had earlier played for Samsunspor in both the Turkish top flight and first division.

Still in Turkey, former Esperance of Tunisia striker Michael Eneramo returned to his scoring ways after three weeks of firing blanks by hitting the target for Sivaspor in their 3-2 victory over Yusuf Ayila-less Orduspor on Saturday. It took Eneromo just five mutes to put his side in front before the visitors drew level 11 minutes later. However, Eneramo and Sivaspor came from a 2-1 deficit to end the tie 3-2. The Kaduna-born star was on for 90 minutes. He has so far netted eight times in the league in 25 outings and

seen yellow five times.

Out-of-favour Eagles scoring machine Kalu Uche continued to make bold statements for his much awaited Eagles’ return by netting his 16th goal of the season and helped Kasimpasa claim 2-0 victory at Busarspor and shot themselves to surprise third position on Sunday. Uche made victory certain for the Turkish Super League’s surprise side in the fourth minute of the added time, to maintain his second-place at the top of the scorers’ chart in Turkey, just two short of Galatarsaray hit man Burak Yilmaz. He was on for 90 minutes and has now netted seven goals in his last 10 appearances for his club.

Uche has also maintained a stainless record with no red and yellow cards.

Still in Turkey, former school boy international Promise Isaac was on for 90 minutes target for Antayalspor that lost 2-0 to Trabzonspor on Sunday. He has scored netted seven times in 22 appearances so far for his side. He has also been red carded once and seen yellow once.

In Ukraine, young defender Michael Odibe was from start to finish for his side Arsenal who failed to hold on to a goal lead to end it 1-1 against visiting Tavriya.

Odibe has now made four straight appearances for Arsenal after returning on loan from Dnipro.

Still in Ukraine, Eagles striker Brown Ideye failed to hit the target again since his returned from AFCON as he fired blanks again in Dynamo Kiev’s 2-0 away victory at Chornomorets. Ideye, who lasted the entire duration of the game, is yet to add to his 13-goal return this season. He has so far made 20 league outings. He, as well as his compatriots – Taye Taiwo and Lukman Haruna – all started the game but it was only Haruna that did not finish the game.

WORLD RECORD

Most expensive bathtub Vol. 03 No. 589

Monday, April 1, 2013

N150

The most expensive bathtub is £530,000 ($845,000) which was cut from a 10 ton (20,000 lbs) Amazonian crystal stone and is on sale at Harrods store in London, UK. It is 2 m (6 ft 6 in) long and weighs more than 2 ton (4,000 lbs) when full.

Reengineering politics for national renewal Continued from last Tuesday

A

s professionals we must always be mindful of the ethics of our various professions and be properly guided by restraint, circumspection and objectivity.

A case in point is the drama unfolding in the power sector. Our own government has assured us that by the end of this year, power generation would increase from 4, 000 megawatts to 14,000MW and then to 20,000MW by 2015. Hence, we should get ready to dump our generators and diesel into the Atlantic Ocean.

However, our friends and clients in the power sector have confided in us that the obstacles are enormous and that based on the unresolved issue of gas supply as well as logistics and technical problems related to transmis-

Guest Bashorun JK Columnist Randle sion, there is no way the target could be accomplished this year.

Clearly, both cannot be right. We are in a quandary and such a highly sensitive issue deserves to be treated with utmost caution without compromising our integrity and professionalism. The restraints which are obligatory on professionals may not necessarily apply to politicians!

Thankfully, every now and again politicians share the same concerns which have been agitating the minds of professionals. At a seminar recently held in Lagos, Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi zeroed in on the increasing cost of governance in Nigeria, which he described as “very saddening and worrisome”. I find it difficult to believe that the President of Institute of Quantity Surveyor, Mr. Agele J. Alufohai, would fault the governor’s candour.

In Lagos, it is not just the cost of governance that should be of concern to us. Even more sensitive is the delicate issue of religion which had hitherto been a “non-issue” and we pray that it will continue to be so. I must confess that I was severely jolted by the publication in Daily Independent of February 7, 2013 headlined “2015: Let A Christian Be Lagos Governor”. The statement was credited to Archbishop Magnus Atilade, chairman, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), South West Zone.

It would indeed be a very grave error to permit what has always been a “Blue Line” in Lagos to deteriorate into a “Red Line”. Danger. Lagosians have always seen each other as brothers and sisters within the same family and with each free to pursue his or her own

AS PROFESSIONALS WE MUST ALWAYS BE MINDFUL OF THE ETHICS OF OUR VARIOUS PROFESSIONS religious convictions without any hindrance or interference. It is a very precious gift from the Almighty. We cannot afford to destroy it.

The question that is often asked is whether professionals who veer into politics perform any better than the non-professionals for whom politics is their real profession. I have neither empirical evidence nor compelling statistics to enable me to deliver judgment.

However, we can draw a lesson from Switzerland where political office holders are mostly (except for a tiny few) part-time politicians. They are not paid salaries or excessive allowances. Indeed, only a handful are provided with official residences. Their tradition is that politicians are to serve and not be served.

In the case of Singapore, the politicaleconomy is anchored on the overriding principle of “Singapore Plc” whereby every citizen is deemed to be a shareholder.

The first Prime Minister and founding father of the nation, Lee Kuan Yew, had instilled discipline, integrity and accountability by ensuring that politicians, civil servants, judges and legislators are all well paid. In exchange, the state is entitled to superlative performance and honesty.

It would appear that much of what is wrong with us is not only the win-at-all-cost syndrome, but the urge to cut off the heads of our opponents, be they political or mere professional rivals/competitors. If this remains unchecked, it is not only the professionals who would suffer but our entire nation would end up on a slippery slope to perfidy, perdition and damnation.

It bears repetition that the professionals cannot afford to constitute themselves into elite of privileges and entitlements. The consequences could be as devastating as what we witnessed in 1972 when Cambodia fell under the iron fist of the deranged dictator Pol Pot who was so infuriated by what he perceived as the superior airs and arrogance of the professionals that he herded all the doctors, engineers, architects, surveyors, accountants etc from the cities into the wild countryside to farm. Many of the victims had never set foot on any farm. Millions of lives perished.

However, if professionals genuinely wish to serve, they should be encouraged to do so, not subjected to unmerited hostility. Several decades ago, the Senior Partner of Peat Marwick Mitchell (now KPMG) Chartered Accountants, made the point that our lives as professionals are divided into four quarters. The first twenty-five years are devoted to learning and acquiring skills. The next twenty-five are consumed by our discovery that there is a great deal more to be learnt!

What should follow in the next twenty-five years after that is a conscious effort to give back to society.

I believe that is what most of us in this magnificent hall are. With age comes wisdom and humility together with a deep sense of gratitude to the Almighty for not only shielding us through the vicissitudes of life but also granting us the grace and fortitude to resist the temptation to venture into full time politics!

Concluded Bashorun Randle (OFR, FCA) delivered this address during the Presidential Award of the Nigerian Institute of Surveyors held recently in Lagos

Sport Extra

W

orld number one, Serena Williams, was delighted to bag a record-breaking sixth Miami title after fighting back against Maria Sharapova.

Williams struggled with her serve in the opening hour and lost the first set, but

Tennis: Serena revels in Miami record win roared back to beat the Russian 4-6 6-3 6-0 and become only the fourth woman in the Open era to win the same WTA tournament six times, the 31-year-old joining Martina Navratilova, Chris Evert

and Steffi Graf on that illustrious list.

“I finally have some record,” Williams said yesterday.

“I can’t seem to catch up with Margaret Court or Steffi

or anything. I’m really happy to have something right now, so it’s exciting.

“Maria played really the best I have seen her play, and I think she was moving unbelievable and she was hitting

winners from everywhere.”

World number two Sharapova has lost to Williams in their last 11 meetings and has not beaten the latter since her two victories NFF President, Aminu Maigari in 2004.

Serena Williams

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