Monday, August 20, 2012 by GLOBAL MEDIA MIRROR LIMITED

Fuel scarcity bites harder in Abuja

Subsidy trial: My son’ll face the music, if guilty –Tukur P.6

JOHN UWE ABUJA Alison-Madueke

Vol. 2 N0. 429

Eid-el-fitri tragedy:

uel scarcity bit harder yesterday as filling stations in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja, were shut, forcing motor-

ists to increase fares by over 100 per cent. The scarcity disrupted the Eid el-Fitri celebration.

THE

BUSINESS

SECTION

NATCOMS hosts first st national telecoms subscribers’ summit it Inflation rate rises to 12.8 per cent in July P.A4

Free inside nsi siide

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Monday, August 20, 2012

N150

My family swept away by ocean surge

...says man who loses wife, children at Kuramo Beach

DAYO AYEYEMI AND MURITALA AYINLA

32-year-old man, Mr. Tunde Kolawole, who is the father of a six- year-old girl found floating on the shoreline of Kuramo Beach yesterday, said that his family had been swept away by the ocean surge. The little girl was simply identified as Bisi. Kolawole said that his wife and another child were still missing. Until the unfortunate incident, the man and his missing wife work around Kuramo Beach where, he

Body of 6-year-old girl recovered, 12 still missing

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Muslim faithful at Ikeja prayer ground during the Eid-el- fitri celebration in Lagos, yesterday.

Moro

Jailbreak as explosion, gunshots rock Benin prison P.12

JTF, terrorists in Sallah day gun duel Muslims, Christians clash averted in Jos Celebration amid tight security in Borno, Kaduna, Yobe

3 ministers, 29 others killed in plane crash

P.2 P.49

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My family swept away by ocean surge CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

said, they had been living for years. Three more bodies of the victims of Saturday’ ocean surge, including that of Bisi, were recovered at the coastline of Kuramo Beach, Lagos, yesterday. This is coming barely 24 hours after a high seas marine surge and gale-force winds swept away shanties erected at the beach, leaving one of the residents dead and scores missing. The Lagos State government yesterday began demolition of shanties around the coastline and ordered an immediate relocation of residents of other seven coastal waterfront communities badly affected by the surge. They include Badagry and Ojo waterfront areas, Bar Beach, Kuramo Beach, Goshen Estate, Maiyegun and Alpha Beach to avert looming disaster. When National Mirror visited the communities, the residents were in sad mood, looking worried while the atmosphere was tensed. The victims’ relatives, neighbours and sympathisers sobbed even as they intensified search-and-rescue efforts. The officials of the Lagos State Emergency Management Authority, LASEMA, the Lagos Physical Planning and Urban Development Authority, the Central Business District and the Red Cross led volunteers in search of the missing vic-

tims Another resident, who simply identified herself as Mrs. Pascal, said the communities witnessed such violent surge about six years ago, adding that Saturday’s tidal waves were heavier than last year’s. “The one of last year was not as violent as this. We were just lucky to escape being killed by the surge because it became wild in the night when people were asleep. “If it had happened in the day time, many people would have been rescued,” she said. Meanwhile, LASEMA General Manager, Dr. Femi Oke-Osanyintolu, who led the rescue team, said the victims’ bodies had been deposited at Isolo General Hospital since nobody had come forward to claim them. He said: “In all, we were able to recover four bodies. One yesterday and three today, while we have also evacuated residents and demolished shanties erected on the coastline. “We have identified the relatives of the victims and advised them to come to Isolo General Hospital to claim the remains of their relations. The father of the little girl has also been told to meet the health officials at the hospital.” Osanyintolu said that divers and other rescuers were still searching for the 12 remaining bodies. National Mirror learnt that the ocean surge was

as a result of the seven days of high waves which hit the country’s coastline with Lagos, being the worst hit, due to its location. The disaster occurred at about 2a.m. on Saturday, while residents of the beach resort were asleep. Osanyintolu said that most of the victims were those occupying illegal shanties at the waterfront. In another development, experts have begun to link the development of Eko Atlantic City with the tragedy, despite Lagos State government’s assurance that the incident had nothing to do with the project. The former President of International Facilities Management of America, IFMA, Nigeria Chapter, Mr. Stephen Jagun, told our correspondent yesterday that it was high time developers of the Atlantic City produced the Environmental Impact Assessment of the massive project for members of the public not to doubt the safety of shoreline communities. He said: “There is no way you will block water that will not find its level. So, it is important the developers let us know what will be the impact of the project on the surrounding environment because in the last three years, there has been intensity of ocean surge in Alfa Beach.” But the Vice-President of Real Estate Developers Association of Nigeria, REDA, Dr. Olugbega Nubi, absolved the development

of Eko Atlantic City from the disaster, saying if not for the project, the whole of Victoria Island would have been swept away by now. He said that the surge that claimed lives at the Kuramo Beach was expected, based on warning signals around the world of impending increase in water level and global flooding. Nubi, however, blamed the authorities for not acting fast to relocate and demolish shanties at the Kuramo Beach. He said that people should be thankful that the incident was not much than that, noting that where such occurrence happened abroad, numerous people became casualties. The REDA president added that Eko Atlantic City” is a necessity and a project to save the entire Lagos Island.” This is not the first time Lagos is experiencing ocean surge. The first incident occurred in 2006, in which the entire Lagos Bar Beach was destroyed with Ahmadu Bello Way on Victoria Island nearly wiped off by incessant surge, while the adjoining properties were at the verge of

extinction until the Lagos State Government under former Governor Bola Tinubu intervened and gave Lagos Bar Beach a permanent solution. Also, two years ago, another surge occurred at Alfa waterfront community, destroying the beach and properties along the ocean shoreline. To put permanent solution to the environment degradation of the Alfa Beach, Lagos State government said it needed about N19.5bn to tackle the situation.

Red flag hoisted around the area already declared a danger zone.

JTF, terrorists in Sallah day gun duel OUR CORRESPONDENTS

un battle raged for hours in Kano yesterday as members of the Boko Haram Islamic sect attacked some checkpoints manned by members of the Joint Task Force, JTF. Casualty figure as at press time could not be ascertained, but the spokesman of the 3 Brigade of the Nigerian Army, Kano, Lt. Ikedichi Iweha, said no military personnel was hurt in the confrontations, which were prominent in Hotoro and Zaria road areas of the city. “We learnt that some reporters have posted on the

net that two soldiers were killed in the attack by the gunmen. This is grossly incorrect as no military man was injured, the only member who sustained slight gunshot injury in the foot was a mobile policeman, who is still on his duty post as I speak with you,” Iweha told our correspondent. He added that some of the attackers escaped with bullet injuries and that members of the task force, were on the trail of the injured suspects. The Emir of Kano, Alhaji Ado Bayero, has commended the efforts of the security agents in the state for ensuring a violence-free sallah celebration. He appealed to Kano resi-

dents to give maximum support to the security agencies to enable them perform their duty efficiently and effectively. “The police and other agencies have done well so far and they need 100 per cent of your support to protect your lives and properties,” Bayero said. He also shed light on the controversial suspension of major traditional sallah rituals like the traditional horse riding and the Dubar, saying “the body is no longer strong for some of these activities I have been conducting for over 50 years; sometimes you need rest.” The Emir’s clarification put to rest the speculation CONTINUED ON PAGE 5>>

About 20 kilometres of the coastline have been eaten up by massive erosion while environmentalists had warned that if the degradation was allowed to continue, the whole of Lagos State might be submerged by water. It will be recalled that the Federal Government, during the visit of President Goodluck Jonathan to the scene for critical assessment of Alfa Beach degradation last year, had promised to assist the state government to find lasting solution to the problem.

Shanties at the beach burnt after the ocean surge yesterday.

Residents packing their belongings after the demolition.

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Monday, August 20, 2012

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Monday, August 20, 2012

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EID-EL-FITRI CELEBRATIONS IN PIXS

L-R: Federal Capital Territory Minister, Sen. Bala Mohammed; Vice President Namadi Sambo and President Goodluck Jonathan, during Sallah homage to the president in Abuja, yesterday. PHOTO:STATE HOUSE

L-R: Former House of Representatives member, Hon. Labaran Danbata; former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mohammed Uwais and the Chief Imam of the Al-Bibiyya Islamic Society of Nigeria, Fuad Adeyemi, during the Eid-el-fitri prayer in Abuja, yesterday. PHOTO: ROTIMI OSASONA

Muslims during Eid-el-fitri prayer at Ikeja prayer ground, yesterday.

L-R: Niger State Deputy Governor, Alhaji Musa Ibeto; former Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar; Emir of Minna, Alhaji Farouk Bahago and former Military President, General Ibrahim Babangida, during the Eid-el-Fitri prayer in Minna, yesterday.

L-R: Former Oyo State Deputy Governor, Alhaji Kazeem Gbolarumi; Chairman, Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;odua Investment, Alhaji Sarafadeen Alli; former Governor Rashidi Ladoja and Alhaji Wasiu Abubakar, during the Eid-el-fitri prayer in Ibadan, yesterday.

PHOTO: YINKA ADEPARUSI

Muslim faithful at the Eid-el-fitri prayer at Ahmadu Bello Stadium prayer ground in Kaduna, yesterday.

L-R: Minister of Police Affairs, Navy Captain Caleb Olubolade (rtd); Deputy Chief of Staff to the President, Alhaji Mohammed Kachalla and former Minister of Sports, Mallam Seidu Samaila, during the celebration in Abuja, yesterday.

L-R: Former Amir, Ahmadiyya Muslim Jamaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;at Nigeria, Alhaji Hussain Sunmonu; Lagos State Missionary, Muallim Muhammad Qasim Oyekola; Justice Muftau Olokoba of the Lagos State High Court and Medical Director, Ahmadiyya Hospital, Apapa, Dr. Semiullah Tahir, during the Eidel-Fitri prayer in Lagos, yesterday. PHOTO: YINKA ADEPARUSI

Fun seekers at the Apapa Amusement Park, Lagos, during the Eid-el-fitri celebration PHOTO: ADEMOLA AKINLABI yesterday.

Muslims observing the Eid-el-Fitri prayers at Onitsha-South Stadium, Fegge, Onitsha in Anambra yesterday. PHOTO:NAN

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JTF, terrorists in Sallah day gun duel CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

that the action was in response to the security challenges. In Jos, what could have been a bloody clash between Christian and Muslim youths was yesterday averted by security agents. Although no life was lost, about 15 cars were damaged during the incident. National Mirror learnt that trouble started when some Muslim youths, who were returning from the prayer ground located around NEPA area in the Farin Gada suburb of the state capital, suddenly started hauling stones at the residents and destroying cars parked by the roadside. Eyewitnesses said that

the Muslim youths, who drove recklessly in open vans, also had their cars filled with stones, knives, cutlasses and other dangerous weapons. “‘They also chanted war songs, stopped at the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG, at Farin Gada and started breaking vehicles windscreens parked outside the church premises,” a source said. Angered by their actions, Christian youths in the area quickly mobilised to stop further damage to their properties. But the quick arrival of the security agents, who fired several gunshots to disperse the crowd, prevented what could have been a bloody clash be-

tween the two groups. The state Police Command confirmed the incident in a statement yesterday. The statement, signed by the command’s Deputy Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Danjuma Azikiti, regretted the incident in spite of parleys with religious leaders and the youths, including stern warning to both parties on the use of abusive and provocative languages. The statement urged the religious leaders and parents to call their followers, children and wards to order. The statement also called on law-abiding citizens to partner with security personnel to ensure an enduring and sustainable peace in the state.

At the time of filling this report, peace had returned to the area with tight security at strategic locations in the city. In Borno and Yobe states, the Eid-el-fitri prayer was held amidst heavy security as many soldiers were sighted on major roads in the states. In Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, vehicles were not allowed to park close to the praying grounds, making the Muslim faithful to trek some distance to perform the ritual of praying at the grounds. Vehicular movements were closely monitored on the roads leading to the prayer grounds throughout the period of the event. Though the situation

L-R: Head, Corporate Communication, MultiChoice Nigeria, Mr. Segun Fayose and winner, DStv monthly rewards competition draws, Mr. Deji Bamiro, during the prize presentation in Lagos at the weekend.

Fuel scarcity bites harder in Abuja CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Many Muslim faithful were seen carrying luggage in readiness to travel but could not. Worst hit by the fuel scarcity were the operators of gardens and resort centres that recorded very low patronage as picnikers could not get to their locations. The situation was worsened by the fear of Boko Haram sect’s attack. It will be recalled that fuel scarcity became noticeable in Abuja last week as National Union of Petroleum and Gas workers Nigeria, NUPENG, went on strike, withdrawing their tankers from roads to protest nonpayment of fuel subsidy to marketers. Motorists yesterday bought fuel from black marketers at exorbitant prices, raising fares and forcing some commuters to trek

long distances. Meanwhile, the Federal Government has accused the indicted oil marketers in the fuel subsidy scam as responsible for the fuel scarcity. It said that contrary to their claims, government had been paying fuel subsidy claims to genuine marketers “as and when due.” Making the allegation, the Minister of State for Finance, Dr. Yerima Ngama, said despite the threats by the indicted marketers, government would not succumb to their antics but focused on the current efforts to eliminate fraudulent practices in the fuel subsidy regime. He, however, debunked claims by the affected marketers that they had embarked on strike because the Federal Government had failed to pay them for

fuel imports. Describing the allegation as inaccurate, the minister said the Federal Government did not owe any marketer whose claims had been verified by the appropriate authorities. He said: “For instance, between April and May 2012, Batches D/12 and E/12 involving 14 oil marketers with a claim of N17 billion were fully settled through the issuance of Sovereign Debt Notes and other relevant documentation. “In addition, since the directive by the Coordinating Minister to the DMO to continue payments of all verified claims, N25.6 billion worth of claims have been fully settled with the issuance of Sovereign Debt Notes.” Ngama confirmed that in all, between April and August this year, in respect of

2012 PMS claims, Sovereign Debt Notes amounting to N42.666 billion have been issued to 31 oil marketers. However, he clarified that claims by marketers who have been recommended for further investigation by the Aig-Imoukhuede Presidential Committee have not been paid, adding that payments or sanctions to this category of marketers would be determined by the outcome of investigations. According to him, “Against this background, it is clear that the strike was instigated mainly by marketers who were indicted by the Aig-Imoukhuede Committee which investigated fuel subsidy payments. “Their obvious intention is to blackmail the Federal Government in order to escape sanctions for the crimes they have committed,” the statement said.

was reverted after the Eid prayer, the streets were largely deserted as many people stayed away. The traditional Durban at the Shehu of Borno palace was cancelled for security reasons. In Damaturu, the Yobe State capital, there was no difference from what obtained in Maiduguri as security operatives were on major roads and at the prayer grounds. There was also heavy security presence around many of the prayer grounds in Kaduna State. At the Sultan Bello Central Mosque, located at the Unguwar Sarkin, National Mirror noted that vehicles were not allowed to park near the mosque, while the roads leading to it were blocked. Worshipers had to park their vehicles from a distance and walk to the mosque. Stern-looking armed soldiers and police mounted road blocks leading to mosques. Chairman of the Kaduna State Council of the Nigerian Union of Journalists, Mallam Yusuf Idris, commended the security arrangement. He said: “All the roads leading to the mosque were blocked and vehicles were not allowed anywhere close to the mosque. I think this is a very excellent security arrangement and the security agencies must be commended. Everything went peacefully and we really thank God for that.” Also at the Murtala Square where the Eid-elfitri prayers were also held, there was heavy security as roadblocks were mounted along Independence Way and Wharf Road, allowing worshippers the use of one gate of the square. But at the prayer ground in Malali, near Capital School, there were no soldier or police, except the security provided by the worshippers. Also at the Sheikh Muhmud Gummi College ground at the Tudun Wada area of the metropolis, it was gathered that there was no security presence at the mosque and prayers were conducted peacefully. It was learnt that security agencies have been overstretched as they had to provide security to both

mosques and churches at the same time. Kaduna State Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, Mallam Balteh Abubakar Abdulrazaq, said that the command deployed security in mosques and churches. Muslims in Lokoja, Kogi State, also observed the Eid amidst tight security, while the JTF made a breakthrough in its search for weapons in Okene. Muslims in Lokoja observed the prayers in two places instead of the usual setting where adherents prays in five locations in the state capital due to the prevailing security challenges facing the state. National Mirror learnt that the JTF had recovered arms and ammunition from various homes in Okene. Also, a Honda car parked at a location in Oboroke Ihima by an unknown person yesterday was found to contain six AK47 ruffles and 11 fully loaded magazines. National Mirror learnt that because of the curiosity the car attracted, the Ohi of Ihima, Alhaji Abdulraheem Ahmed Ogido, alerted the police whose prompt response to the call led to the discovery of the arms cache. It was further gathered that the car was parked beside a lady who sells recharge card. Trouble started when another man came to pick the car and the lady alerted residents. The vehicle has been towed to Lokoja by the Divisional Police Officer, DPO, in charge of Okehi, along with a lady who claimed to know when the car was parked. The development caused apprehension in the area as people fled for safety. The police commissioner who confirmed the incident however said the car was abandoned by some criminals after having confrontation with his men. He noted that the police was already on the trail of the suspects and assured that there would be no hiding place for the criminals. It would be recalled that some gunmen also yesterday, engaged the police in a gun duel at Idare in Okene which lasted for several hours. Reports by: Augustine Madu-West, James Abraham, Inusa Ndahi, Aza Msue and Ademu Idakwo

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Subsidy trial: My son ’ll face the music if found guilty –Tukur OBIORA IFOH AND ROTIMI FADEYI

ational Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, yesterday said that the law should take its course in the trial of his son, Mahmud, for the alleged fuel subsidy mismanagement, stressing that if the court finds him guilty, he will face the music. Tukur spoke at the State House in Abuja, shortly after a visit of the Muslims community in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), led by Vice-President Namadi Sambo to President Good-

•ANPP calls for speedy trial of subsidy fraudsters

luck Jonathan. Answering questions from journalists, Tukur said his son was old enough to bear responsibilities for his actions. He, however, said that he was not bothered by the opinions and criticisms expressed on the issue by the public, but would wait for the outcome of the court decision. Tukur said: “He is my son, never disowned. My son is an adult; I can assure you it is only the court of justice that will determine it. It is not justice by public opinion; it is justice by the

court, that is it. As I have said, we must follow justice and whoever is found guilty will be so dealt.” Tukur’s son is facing trial with others for alleged involvement in fraudulent management of oil subsidy fund. On Eid-el-Fitri celebration, Tukur said the year was unique because the Ramadan month had five Fridays which he said it could take about 50 years to occur again.. He said the celebration was also unique because the day fell on a Sunday, a day when both the Muslims

and the Christians set aside to offer prayers for peace, unity and progress of the nation. Meanwhile, the All Nigeria Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP) has called on the Federal Government to be thorough in addressing the issue concerning the 21 firms being investigated under the fuel subsidy regime and to complete the prosecution of the Farouk Lawan and Femi Otedola saga, which it said has thrown dirt on the nation’s critical arm of government. ANPP also said that Nigerians are waiting to see

xxx L-R: Ln Andrew Amadasun; Region Chairman, Lions Club, Otunba Felicia Koleoso and Ln Blessing Umeabali, during their humanitarian visit to the Paediatric Unit of Lagos State University Teaching Hospital in Lagos, at the weekend. PHOTO: OLUFEMI AJASA

Patients accuse FCT hospitals of rip off OMEIZA AJAYI ABUJA

ome patients have accused the Health and Human Services Secretariat (HHSS) in the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA) of ripping them off while seeking medical attention. National Mirror learnt that some hospitals in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) asked patience to augment the shortfall in the 2012 budgetary allocation to health sector. Of the N306bn in the 2012 statutory budget of the FCTA, about two per cent or N3.48bn was allocated to health. Apart from being asked to pay registration fees, it was learnt that patients were goaded into buying prescribed drugs and other items from the hospitals as conditions for receiving proper medical attention by medical personnel. National Mirror inves-

tigations revealed that patients were forced to provide laundry items before they were admitted. “We are not supposed to allocate any bed to you unless you have bought and submitted these items which we will need to treat your patient,” one Mrs. Abubakar, Matron of the Gynaecology ward at the Wuse General Hospital, was quoted to have told a bewildered husband whose wife had been booked for admission.

Abubakar listed the items to include one pack of Latex glove, two packets of detergent, two bottles each of liquid Dettol and Morning fresh, toilet tissue as well as four polythene bags. One of the patients, who would not want her name mentioned, said that patients who failed to procure such items due to their limited financial strength, but lucky to be offered bed spaces were subjected to all manner of verbal assault

from Mrs. Abubakar, whose responsibility it is to ensure delivery of the items for the hospital use. But Mrs. Abubakar explained that the FCTA was battling to cope with the increasing number of patients seeking medical attention, adding that the administration had not been able to fulfill its contractual obligation to Paul Davies, a private firm in charge of cleaning the hospital since July, last year.

Runsewe urges youths’ empowerment IJEOMA EZEIKE ABUJA

he Director General of Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation (NTDC), Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, has called for the empowerment of youths in order to reduce insecurity in the nation. Runsewe made this at the closing ceremony of the DIGITEST peer group in

Abuja. He said any country that wants to develop should be ready to empower its youths. Runsewe said: “If you want peace in future, you should prepare the future”. He frowned at the level of immorality in youths, stressing that foreign countries were bringing bad culture into Nigeria. Runsewe, therefore, called on Nigerian to sup-

port ideas like the DIGITEST. The National Cordinator of the DIGITEST, Mrs. Ibukun Odusetu, said that the aim of the programme was to find solutions to unemployment through Information Communication Technology (ICT). She said the programme would make youths work hard when they reach adulthood.

the sincerity of the government in demystifying the corruption and the politics of fuel subsidy, which has a deep implication for the socio-economic well-being of the nation. In a statement, ANPP’s spokesperson Chief Emma Eneukwu said that this has become imperative considering that the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi OkonjoIweala, recently alleged that the fuel scarcity biting hard on Nigerians was caused by indicted oil marketers in the fuel subsidy scandal. The party said that it has observed with interest the publishing of the names of 21 firms being investigated under the fuel subsidy regime by the Federal Ministry of Finance. ANPP said: “Our party believes that considering the sins of people directly and indirectly connected with reaping Nigerians off of their commonwealth through the petrol subsidy fraud, which is a crime against every Nigerian citizen born and unborn, the Federal Government should move with unmitigated urgency to bring these culprits to book in order to assuage the innermost yearning of the Nigerian people. “Since the spontaneous

national reaction to the insincerity and insensitivity of the government towards its citizens in January this year, all eyes, both locally and of the global society, have been on the Federal Government, waiting to see how it will unravel the abyss of corruption in the oil sector starting from the handling of the subsidy thieves. “Recently, the government arraigned some oil marketers who allegedly defrauded the Federal Government of N304 billion in the oil subsidy scam at the Lagos State High Court, in which some high profile citizens were also involved; but contrary to expectation, the Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Adoke, in whose instance the arraignment of the accused was delayed till late to ‘enable him personally handle the cases’, was not in court to lead the prosecution team. What could be more depictive of government’s lackadaisical attitude to high profile corruption case than this? We believe that in a time such as the present, body language and perception is as is important as hard-core evidence; Justice must not only be done, but must be seen to be done.”

Mpape demolition: FG to compensate residents OMEIZA AJAYI

uccour might be on the way for would-be victims of a planned demolition of about 10, 000 houses in Mpape area of Abuja as the Federal Government has directed that affordable houses should be built for all those that may be affected by the exercise. The decision of the Federal Government was made known yesterday by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Senator Bala Mohammed, who played host to some residents of the FCT as part of the celebration of the Eid-el-fitr. He described the gesture as a palliative measure to cushion the effect of the exercises on the victims as he solicited for their understanding in the matter. According to him, the demolition carried out in the last three months was

not a deliberate act to inflict harm and impoverish those affected, but to implement the Abuja Master Plan and for security reasons, among others. The minister said that the administration would soon begin a registration exercise of all those that would be affected in order to develop a social housing for them, adding that an area had already been provided for this purpose. He described the impending demolition exercise as a necessary operation to rescue FCT and restore it to the path envisaged by its founding fathers. The Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA), through the Development Control Department, recently marked illegal structures in some villages within the Federal Capital City (FCC) for demolition. Some affected residents FCT Minister of State, Jumoke Akinjide

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EID-EL-FITRI CELEBRATIONS

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Wike commends Nigerian Muslims

L-R: Ekiti State Chairman of the Action Congress of Nigeria, Chief Jide Awe; Speaker, state House of Assembly, Dr. Adewale Omirin; former Head of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon (Retd) and Governor Kayode Fayemi, at a church service in Ado-Ekiti, yesterday.

Fashola tasks Nigerians on law, order MURITALA AYINLA

agos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, yesterday advocated a reorientation of Nigerians to enable them be of good virtues and respect law and order, stating that those virtues are currently missing among the citizenry. Speaking during a Tasfir and prayer session for the nation organised by the Lagos State Pilgrims Welfare Board in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Fashola said the citizenry need a lot of re-orientation about how to be their brothers’ keepers and be more sensitive to the well being of one another. Governor Fashola said Saudis, despite their nature,

are very law abiding people, who give utmost respect to their law enforcement agents, adding however that in Nigeria, once a policeman is not armed, the average Nigerian does not respect him. He added that traffic lights are in the streets of Mecca and are obeyed by everyone including Nigerian pilgrims. He said such people would resist attempt to be arrested by officials of Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) when they disobey traffic lights here at home. The governor said if Saudis adopt driving against traffic as a way of life, the several millions of pilgrims who throng the country yearly may not return there because of the effect of traffic bottle-

necks which may even prevent visiting pilgrims from driving out of the airport. He said despite the fact that Saudi Arabia has crude oil; the country still depends on tourism for most of its infrastructural developments and has been possible because the people respect law and order. Governor Fashola, who thanked the State House of Assembly for enacting the new State Traffic Law, added that if the new law is fully implemented and takes full effect in Lagos, the state will surpass the desired progress. He said each person should see himself or herself as the head of a home or a particular office and should not wait until the

government starts making public announcements before they do the right thing. Governor Fashola said if everyone does what is right in their homes and neighbourhoods, Lagos State will move to the next level. He urged Muslim pilgrims to take the best practices back home, adding that it was from the city of Mecca that Lagos adopted its waste clearing method which it has put to good use. In his sermon at the prayers, Sheikh Musa Yahya Agboola, the Director of the Darul-Falahi Arabic School urged all Muslims to imbibe good deeds because it is whatever deeds one engaged in that would be used to judge him on the day of judgement.

Activities cancelled in Gombe amid tight security DANJUMA WILLIAMS GOMBE

ctivities marking the Eid-el-Fitir celebrations in Gombe were yesterday held amidst tight security as the Eid-el-Fitr prayers led by the state Chief Imam, Khadi Abdullahi Maikano, was held at the Gombe Central Mosque in front of the Emir’s Palace instead of the central Eid praying ground situated along the Gombe Central market where the Chief Imam usually leads the

prayers. National Mirror observed that operations of the security agents were unusual as the main roads of the metropolis were blocked by the police thus, forcing worshipers to trek very long distances to their places of worship. Apart from the surveillance helicopter that was hovering around the town throughout the prayer period and beyond, army and policemen were seen all over the town as it was learnt that there was a security alert at the central Eid praying ground where the Emir of Gombe, Alhaji Shehu Usman

Abubakar, state governor and other prominent personalities usually converge to pray. Many Muslims expressed sadness for not being able to perform the prayers at the traditional Central Eid praying ground. A worshiper, who did not want his name mentioned, told National Mirror that he even had to forgo the prayers since he could not be allowed to offer the prayer in the traditional Eid praying ground. Most of the activities marking the celebration were not held like the Emir’s procession on a horse from the Eid praying ground to his palace, presenta-

tion of his goodwill message to the people and the Durbar at the Emir’s palace. However, the state governor, Alhaji Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, who was represented by his deputy, Mr. Tha’anda Jason Rubainu, at a banquet in the Government House after the prayers, congratulated the entire Muslim Umma in the state for successfully completing the Ramadan fast. While praying for peace in the state and country at large, he called for more prayers for peaceful coexistence among the different ethno-religious groups in the country.

inister of State for Education, Mr. Ezenwo Nyesom Wike, has commended Nigerian Moslems for the successful conclusion of the Ramadan fast and the celebration of Eid-el-Fitri. The minister noted that the unity shown by Nigerians led by President Goodluck Jonathan all through the Ramadan month indicated that what binds the country together was bigger than any other factor. He said that the nation will benefit immensely from the new found cooperation occasioned by the just concluded month of Ramadan. “I congratulate our

Moslem brothers and sisters on the successful conclusion of the month of Ramadan.” Wike urged Nigerians to leverage on the spirit of unity that ran through the Ramadan period to build the country. The minister particularly congratulated the Minister of Education, Prof. Ruquyyatu Ahmed Rufai and other Moslems in the Federal Ministry of Education for successfully participating in the fasting. He said the developmental processes already kick-started by the Jonathan administration in different sectors will transform the country in no distant future.

Ekiti assures residents of security A BIODUN NEJO ADO EKITI

esidents of Ekiti State have been assured of adequate security throughout the period of the Eidel-Fitri celebrations. Information Commissioner, Hon Funminiyi Afuye, said this in a statement yesterday that the Dr. Kayode Fayemi administration was collaborating with security agencies to ensure safety of lives and property during the holidays and beyond. Afuye urged the people of the state to cooperate with law enforcement agencies and report any suspicious movement to the relevant authorities.

The commissioner, who described Eid-elFitri as a “celebration of virtues of humility sacrifice, patience and selflessness learnt during Ramadan”, congratulated Muslims in the state for the successful completion of 30-day Ramadan fast. He advised Muslims to celebrate Sallah with moderation and use the occasion as an opportunity for sober reflection. Afuye’s words: “We urge residents of the state not to entertain any fear as the major praying grounds and places of leisure will be adequately protected to prevent any breakdown of law and order.

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South West

Monday, August 20, 2012

Public school: Ogun Assembly rejects bill on office holders’ children FEMI OYEWESO ABEOKUTA

gun State House of Assembly has thrown out a bill seeking to prohibit political office holders and public servants from sending their children to private schools. The bill entitled: “A bill for a law to make political office holders and

public servants to enrol their children in Ogun State public schools,” sponsored by the lawmaker representing Ogun Waterside, Hon. Harrison Adeyemi, was said to have been thrown out because of the procedural error on the part of Speaker Adekunbi Ishola Suraj. The bill was initially presented at the plenary

session of the House and had gone through first reading before it suffered a major setback when the Speaker called for the opinion of members of the House on it during the House sitting last Thursday. The bill had sought an enabling law which would fast-track and enhance the educational transformation agenda

of the present administration in the state under Governor Ibikunle Amosun and the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, government which has introduced free education policy as well as engaged in building model schools across the three Senatorial Districts of the state. Adeyemi, who is the chairman of the House Committee on Agricul-

ture and Forestry, had moved the motion for the second reading of the bill and had been seconded by Hon. Babatunde Edjunjobi representing Yewa South when it was thrown out. After the motion for the second reading, instead of calling for the opening of the debate on the bill, the Speaker called for the opinion of mem-

bers on it. All the other 24 lawmakers vehemently rejected the bill through their overwhelming “No” voice election. It was, however, learnt that the bill was deliberately killed because most of the lawmakers have their children in private schools, rather than because of procedural error on the part of the Speaker.

Accord Party has no deal with ACN –Ladoja KEMI OLAITAN IBADAN

xxx L-R: Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun; former President Olusegun Obasanjo and chieftain of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Chief Doja Adewolu, during a visit to the governor in Abeokuta, yesterday.

Lagos: Special court’ll try aspects of traffic law –Commissioner MURITALA AYINLA

he newly commissioned Special Offences Court in Lagos State was set up to try some of the cases prohibited by the traffic law and other environmentrelated issues. The Commissioner for the Environment, Mr. Tunji Bello, who said this, reaffirmed government’s determination to restore sanity to the state. Bello said the state was set to prosecute more environmental offenders with the establishment of more special courts in other parts of the state. He said: “The traffic law has environmental components because part of it covers environmental offences. So, we need to restore sanity in Lagos State. Other countries are making progress because there is law and order. We need to also equip our law enforcement officers and provide conducive environment for them to work.”

The commissioner disclosed that the Special Offences Court is under the Ministry of the Environment in collaboration with Ministry of Justice. He added that officials of the Kick Against Indiscipline, KAI, brigade would bring offenders, especially street traders for prosecution at the mobile court. Bello said the court would serve as a model for other zones in the state, adding that Lagos State

Government was determined to focus more on law and order in the coming years. Harping on the sensitisation of people to some of the new laws, the commissioner reiterated that the state was determined to enlighten the people before apprehending offenders. Bello explained that the setting up of a mobile court was not an instrument of oppression but that of law and order. The head of the court

is Mrs. Arinola OgbaraArowolo, a prosecutor in the Lagos State Ministry of Justice.

Bello

ormer Oyo State governor, Senator Rasheed Ladoja, said yesterday that the Accord Party, which he founded, had no working relationship with the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN. He made the disclosure at his Bodija, Ibadan residence while speaking with journalists after the Ramadan prayer at Agodi Praying Ground. Ladoja said though the party assisted Governor Abiola Ajimobi’s administration, pressure mounted on him by some ACN leaders made the governor to renege on his promise. “I believe as a gentleman, Ajimobi should live up to the promise,” Ladoja said. The former governor also said that discussions about his invitation to return to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, had not yielded any result because the conditions he gave had not been met. Describing the Accord Party as an alternative to the PDP or the ACN, Ladoja recalled how former President Olusegun

PDP guber candidate, Oke, promises life-changing projects in Ondo HAKEEM GBADAMOSI AKURE

he Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship candidate in Ondo State, Chief Olusola Oke, has promised that, if elected, his administration would embark on life-changing projects. Oke made the pledge yesterday at his house in Akure, the state capital, while speaking with journalists on his plan to transform the state and his wel-

fare packages for the people. The governorship candidate also disclosed that his government would scrap some of the projects initiated and executed by Governor Olusegun Mimiko’s administration. Oke pointed out that some of the projects were not sustainable and had little or no impact on the lives of the common man. He listed some of the projects to include the mega schools, the fountain and the dew spinners constructed at

two roundabouts within the metropolis. The PDP standard bearer said the idea behind the mega schools concept contradicted the United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, recommendation that primary school should be set up within 10 kilometres radius to the pupil’s home. He also pointed out that the system failed to make provision for mega secondary schools and mega universities. Oke said scrapping the

mega schools would be easy because none of them would have offered admission to any pupil by October 20 when the election would be held. He also condemned the construction of fountain and dew spinners by the Mimiko administration in the Alagbaka area of Akure, saying it was the primary responsibility of the local government. Oke also promised to revisit the Mimiko’s health policy, especially the Mother and Child project with a

Obasanjo, President Goodluck Jonathan, Chief Richard Akinjide (SAN), Chief Dejo Raimi, and others had asked him to return to the PDP, but that the discussion had stopped. He said: “For now, we are open to discussion on terms that will be acceptable to all parties. We are happy to be free in our party and we encourage other people of like minds to come and join us. We will be happy to receive them. “Let us get it straight away that we in the Accord Party have no working relationship with the ACN. We were invited by the ACN governor to stabilise the state so that he can be able to run a safe government. He has not yet told us that he does not need that again. “I am not unaware that some leaders are not happy with him and that they have even been mounting pressure on him by making things difficult for him to make him fulfil the agreement he had with us. “I sympathise with the governor, but at the same time, we had an agreement and I believe as a gentleman, he should live up to it.” view to making healthcare available to everybody, instead of restricting access to pregnant women alone. He pointed out that all other hospitals in the state had been neglected with many of them “begging for attention” at the expense of equipping the “Mother and Child” hospital. Oke commended Mimiko’s initiative in building modern markets across the state and promised to sustain the project by empowering the local governments to provide more for the traders.

South West

Monday, August 20, 2012

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Gowon seeks support for Fayemi’s govt ABIODUN NEJO ADO EKITI

ormer Head of State Gen. Yakubu Gowon has urged residents of Ekiti State to support the administration of Governor Kayode Fayemi so as to make the state the envy of its peers. Gowon, who said he was impressed by the performance of the governor in office in less than two

years, described Fayemi as the agent of change that the Ekiti people had been craving. The former Head of State spoke with journalists yesterday after a prayer session held for the governor at the Government House Chapel in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital. He lauded the governor for constructing roads, embarking on urban renewal projects and investing in

health and education sectors, among others. Gen Gowon said: “I have read a lot about the developments in the health and education sectors and I have seen quite a number of roads at various levels of construction going on in different parts of Ekiti. I have also seen quite a number of buildings that have come up since my last visit here. “I am certain there has

been a lot of development and progress in the state under Governor Fayemi’s administration. I must congratulate the people of Ekiti for giving him the needed support to achieve what he has achieved. And I urge them to give him more support so that he can do much more.” He also sought support for the governor in case he chose to seek re-election, saying: “I also expect that

the support will be given should he desire to go for a second term so that the state can witness more development.” Gen. Gowon, who was in the state ahead of the Nigeria Prays Crusade in Ado Ekiti, advised Nigerians to continue to pray for peace and tranquility in the country, saying such prayers, complemented with the steps taken by the government would address the insecurity threatening

the country. Fayemi had said earlier that Nigerians must not relent in their prayers for the country as he expressed optimism that the country would rise again. The governor, who said Nigeria Prays programme had had positive impacts on the country in terms of restoration and promotion of peace, urged them to maintain the tempo for the nation to thrive.

Lagos adds five more ambulances to its fleet pump and sphygmomanomMURITALA AYINLA

L-R: Executive Director, Union Bank Nigeria PLC, Alhaji Ibrahim Kwargana; Group Managing Director /Chief Executive, Mrs. Funke Osibodu; CEO, Nigeria Stock Exchange, Mr. Oscar Onyema and another Executive Director, Union Bank Nigeria PLC Mr. Philip Ikeazor, during a business visit to the NSE in Lagos, at the weekend.

Shell, First Bank reaffirm commitment to education development TUNBOSUN OGUNDARE

hell Petroleum Company of Nigeria Limited and First Bank Plc have restated their commitments to the development of education. The two corporate bodies said they were doing so, having realised that it was only through quality education that Nigeria could grow and develop its economy to compete favourably with the rest of the world. They stated this separately at the weekend in Lagos at the final stage of the inaugural robotic competition organised by Kresge Technologies Limited for secondary schools pupils. No fewer than 35 pupils participated in the competition tagged: “Exposure Robotics League” with a team of three students emerged overall winners. Shell’s Country Chair, Mr. Mutiu Suumonu, who spoke through Mr. Onuoha Okey, the firm’s operations manager, said the company had contributed and would continue to use a range of so-

cial investment programmes and initiatives as a way of contribution to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on education in the country. Lauding robotic education and congratulating winners of the competition, Sunmonu urged participants to use the knowledge and skills acquired through the contest in their studies. On his part, the Group Managing Director of First Bank Plc, Mr. Stephen Onasanya, represented by the Executive Vice-President and Head of

Private Banking, Mrs. Bernadine Okeke, said there was no alternative to socio-economic development than through sound education. Onasanya stressed that the bank would not renege in its commitment to partner any organisation, group of people or individual on the need to develop education. Speaking earlier, the organisers of the contest, who are a group of Nigerian students at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States, said the overall objective of the competi-

tion was to expose pupils at their early ages to computer programming, using robots to do critical thinking in solving problems. Their leader, Mr. Obinna Ukwuani, an Economic major in the university, said the introduction of robotic education to Nigerian pupils was for members of the group to contribute their own quota to the technological development in Nigeria, adding that it was high time Nigerians moved from studying to pass examinations to studying to solve societal problems.

Ogun to partner volunteers on emergency FEMI OYEWESO ABEOKUTA

he Ogun State Government has promised to partner with volunteers and organisations for the expansion of its emergency services. Governor Ibikunle Amosun spoke during the award ceremony of the Ogun State branch of the Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS) held at the society’s secretariat in Abeokuta, the state capital, at the weekend.

The governor, who was represented on the occasion by the state Commissioner for Health, Dr. Olaokun Soyinka, stressed that his administration would not only train public officials, but all organizations that partner it, especially the Red Cross Society. Stressing that the Red Cross Society and the healthcare sector in the state have everything in common, Amosun assured that his administration would actively partner with the Red Cross by providing humanitarian

relief during disasters. Speaking further on the occasion which saw prominent indigenes and monarchs, including the Olowu of Owu Kingdom, Oba Adegboyega Dosunmu, the Olu of Ilaro and Paramount ruler of Yewaland, Oba Kehinde Olugbenle among others being awarded, the governor reiterated that partnering with the Red Cross Society becomes inevitable because it is part of the state’s Road Safety Coalition.

he Lagos State Government has added five more mobile intensive care units ambulances with enhanced capabilities to its fleets. The development is to facilitate robust access to emergency services during accidents. The Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, who commissioned and deployed the new ambulances for operations at the weekend, said that with the additional fleets, the total number of ambulances in the state’s kitty is now over 30. He added that the main goal of the state government was to reduce mortality and morbidity that result from road accidents and other disasters. Idris explained that the reason why the state government placed emphasis on emergency care was not far-fetched in lieu of the high mortality and morbidity rate being recorded on roads, homes and from other disasters such as fire and building collapse. The commissioner said that the government would continue to provide these services to reduce mortality and morbidity. The new mobile intensive care units are basically an upgrade of the older ones. They have extra equipment which include among other defibrillator, monitoring equipment, extra stretchers and wheel chairs, neck collars, twin cross main stretcher with matter, belts and floor fastener; two oxygen cylinders of 100 liters each, scoop stretcher, twice foldable reserve stretcher, extrication device, collar cerviflex, ventilator spencer 170, emergency case circulation, accu vacu suction

eter. Other features of the intensive mobile clinics are waste and quick boxes, pressure reducer, oxygen flow meter, sphygmomanometer cuff, loading device for accu vacu, head lock, T-strap, spine board, wheel caps, vehicle tool kit, siron, patient monitor, mask bag with oxygen cylinder, emergency case respiration and defibrillator. Idris said the government would continue to show commitment and also partner with private sector and other service providers to boost emergency services. Stressing the need to have emergency unit in hospitals, he said there was no point having ambulances when the ambulances to transport patients to hospitals are not properly equipped. The commissioner added: “The state government is building accident and emergency centres on some major highways to serve as emergency unit centres to quickly respond to road accidents and reduce mortality that result from road crashes.” Idris said the government had erected a functional accident and emergency centre at the toll gate end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway to provide emergency services on that corridor, adding also that plans are underway to erect another on the Badagry Expressway.

Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola

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South East

Monday, August 20, 2012

Chime votes N13bn for new secretariat complex DENNIS AGBO ENUGU

overnor Sullivan Chime’s administration in Enugu State has earmarked N13,602,668,883.68 for the construction of a new secretariat complex for Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs. The Commissioner for Information, Mr. Chuks Ugwoke, who disclosed this

at a press briefing, said the money was approved by the State Executive Council, SEC, meeting presided over by the governor at the Government House. The commissioner said that the new secretariat, when completed, would have four ‘functionally connected’ office building complexes and annexes. Ugwoke, who was at the briefing with his counter-

parts in the Ministry of Land, Dr. Chukwuemeka Ujam, and the Ministry of Chieftaincy Matters, Mr. Emeka Abugu, as well as the Special Adviser to the governor on Inter-Governmental Matters, Ms. Rita Mbah, said the new secretariat would address acute shortage of office accommodation facing the civil servants. He added that most of

the office buildings in the current secretariat were old and in a deplorable state. The commissioner promised that the new secretariat would provide improved and functional office accommodation which would engender improved productivity and service delivery. In another development, Ugwoke disclosed that the SEC also approved the

recruitment of 28 consultants for the seven district hospitals in the state. Those to be recruited, according to him, are seven general surgeons, seven consultants for Establishment and Gynaecology, seven paediatricians and seven internal physicians. Ugwoke said that the implication of this recruitment was that each District Hospital would have

a consultant in each of the enumerated specialties, adding that the gesture was in keeping with the government’s resolve to provide qualitative healthcare for the people. The commissioner also disclosed that the vacancies for the consultants would be advertised while recruitment would be carried out by the Civil Service Commission.

Soldiers rescue father, son from kidnappers in Onitsha NWABUEZE OKONKWO ONITSHA

oldiers attached to the 302 Artillery Regiment yesterday foiled a kidnap attempt and rescued a businessman and his son (names withheld) from the kidnappers’ grip in the commercial city of Onitsha, Anambra State. A witness said the bandits had trailed their victims to a filling station on Obodoukwu Road, Onitsha, tracked them down and were about to take them away before the soldiers rescued them. The witness said that on sighting the soldiers, the suspected kidnappers fled, leaving behind their victims and their operational vehicle.

Though no arrest was made, the Assistant Director, Army Public Relations, 82 Division, Enugu, Lt. Col. H. A. Gambo, said the gunmen left behind a 4x4 Sport Utility Vehicle, SUV, the businessman and his son. He traced the genesis of the attempted abduction to February/March when the kidnappers threatened the businessman with a series of text messages after seizing his phone months earlier which they used to extort money from the man. “They were accosted and blocked by the gang with a 4x4 Runner jeep near ACAP filling station along Obodoukwu Road in Onitsha. The hoodlums on sighting the soldiers who were on patrol took to their heel.

L-R: Bianca Ojukwu’s daughters, Chinaza and Chineme; Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu; Margaret Peter Obi and her husband, Governor Peter Obi; and Bianca’s sons, Afam and Nwachukwu; at a memorial service in honour of Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu at Nnewi, yesterday.

Obi to name part of Onitsha –Enugu Road after Ojukwu

overnor Peter Obi of Anambra has promised to rename the first three kilometres of the Onitsha -Enugu Road after the late Dim Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, the Ikemba Nnewi. The first three kilometres of the road stretches from the bridge-head in Onitsha to Upper Iweka flyover. Speaking at a memorial service in honour of Ojukwu at St. Michael Catholic Church, Nnewi, Anambra State yesterday, Obi said that President Goodluck Jonathan would perform the unveiling of the re-naming. He said: “Anambra State has concluded arrangement to name the most important road in the South East, namely entrance into Onitsha bridge-head to Upper

Iweka after Ojukwu.” The governor, according to the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, also urged Nigerians to start the immortalisation of Odumegwu-Ojukwu now that the mourning period was over. “We will keep the memory of Dim Ojukwu alive by emulating his life, which was devoid of greed and unbridled acquisition of material wealth and he embraced the virtue of selfless service to the people,’’ he added. In his sermon, Rev. Fr. Lawrence Anoyiba, the Vicar of the church, called on the people of the South East to uphold the legacy of the late Odumegwu-Ojukwu. Anoyiba noted that despite his wealthy background, Odumegwu-Ojukwu chose to live a humble life of selfless service and

patriotism. He said the Ikemba Nnewi used his personal wealth to fight for justice, equity and fairness. Reacting, the widow of the late Ikemba Nnewi, Ambassador Bianca Ojukwu, said she had received support and encouragement from the government and people of the state, the Igbo and Nigerians at large since her husband died. “These support and encouragement have made the experience less traumatic,’’ she said. Mrs. Ojukwu described her late husband as a man of peace who believed in justice, equity and fairness. She urged the country’s leaders to emulate Ojukwu’s ideal of transparency in public service.

Okorocha lifts suspension on 106 monarchs CHRIS NJOKU OWERRI

mo State Government has lifted suspension placed on 106 traditional rulers who were hurriedly given certificates and staff of office by former Governor Ikedi Ohakim. On assumption of office,

Governor Rochas Okorocha suspended the royal fathers for allegedly getting the certificates and staff of office through the backdoor. But after investigation, Okorocha discovered that the traditional rulers came in through due process. However, the lifting of the suspension did not

come on a platter of gold, as the royal fathers carried out a peaceful protest last Thursday, blocking the entrance to the new secretariat which Okorocha was about to inaugurate. With the new admission, the number of autonomous communities has risen from 531 to 637 in the state.

Gunmen abduct retired doctor in Enugu DENNIS AGBO ENUGU

wo days after the Vice-Chancellor of the Enugu State University of Science and Technology, ESUT, Prof. Cyprian Onyeji, was kidnapped, a retired medical doctor with the Niger Foundation Hospital, Mazi Jonah Ndubuisi Abah, was abducted. Abah was on his way to the morning mass at Mary’s Catholic Church, Trans-

Ekulu Enugu, when he was abducted about 5am on Friday. Abah retired as a medical doctor with the Niger Foundation Mission Hospital at Independence Layout, Enugu. It was gathered that Abah was with his wife and children inside his car when he was accosted by gunmen numbering about four. He was ordered out of the car and taken away by the men while his wife and chil-

dren watched helplessly. Investigation showed that Abah’s abductors were yet to establish contact with his family at press time. Operatives of the Police Anti-Kidnap Squad in Enugu were said to have swung into action to ensure the release of the doctor. The state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ebere Amaraizu, who confirmed the development, said the police were after the kidnappers.

South South

Monday, August 20, 2012

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JTF’ll deal with erring ex-militants, says Amnesty Office EMMA GBEMUDU YENAGOA

he Presidential Amnesty Office in Niger Delta yesterday warned that the Joint Military Taskforce (JTF) will deal decisively with “third phase” ex-militants threatening to return to the creeks, if they were not integrated into the amnesty programme. The agency warned that

any ex-militant who ran foul of the law would be handled accordingly by operatives of the JTF guarding oil installations in the region, saying that nobody would be begged not to go back to the creeks. Head of Media and Communications in the Amnesty Office, Abuja, Daniel Alabrah, who spoke in a telephone interview with National Mirror yesterday, said there was no third

phase amnesty programme for ex-militants in the region. His words: “The amnesty office does not have the mandate and power to implement the third phase. If they want to go back to the creeks, we are not the ones who will decide for them. Are we the ones who will tell them to go or not? If they feel that they are not satisfied or going back to the creeks is the best option for

them, well we wish them the best of luck. “What we know is that security agencies in the Niger Delta are aware of the situation and will carry out their duty to protect pipelines and to ensure law and order in the Niger Delta. Anyone who runs foul of the law would be dealt with accordingly. “If they clash with security agencies, it is not our business. If they are threatening, are we to start beg-

ging them not to go back to the creeks? We are not going to beg anybody, if they feel like going back to the creeks,” he explained. Alabrah said it was only President Goodluck Jonathan that has the power to implement a third phase amnesty and not the Amnesty Office that lacked the mandate and power to do so. His words: “We don’t have a third phase amnesty. Some of these boys are saying that

we should create a third phase. We have only first and second phase. They are saying so because of the problem they had with ex-militants in the second phase. “They are not the ones who will tell government to create another phase. Before the amnesty office will create the third phase if there is need for it, it is only the President that has the powers to make that pronouncement”.

Jailbreak: Explosions, gunshots rock Benin prison SEBASTINE EBHUOMHAN BENIN

Indian High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Mahesh Sachdeva (left) and Rivers State Governor, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, during the India Cultural Association day in Port Harcourt, yesterday.

Oil spill: A’Ibom youths protest against Mobil TONY ANICHEBE UYO

undreds of residents in Esit Eket Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State, at the weekend, staged a protest following the oil spill reported at the Qua Iboe Oil field operated by Mobil Producing Nigeria, an ExxonMobil subsidiary. The protesters, comprising of representatives of fishermen, youths and other groups affected by the oil spill, carried placards and sang solidarity songs to the local government secretariat in Uquo, Esit Eket. The angry protesters, who were prevented from gaining access to the complex by security men, blocked the gates until officials of the local government drew the attention of the vice chairman to the protesters. Spokesman for the protesters, Edoho Uqua Paul, who laid the grievances of the group before Mr. Enobong Asubob, vice-chairman Esit Eket Local Government, said the protesting youths would seek self help

if the council fails to prevail on ExxonMobil officials to take full responsibility for the spill. “It has come to our notice that the oil spill agency has ordered them to clean up the contaminated shoreline, but one week after, nothing has happened. “If Mobil dares the regulator, it means that they are up to something and we shall not allow them to get away with this, the pains that the spill has inflicted on

the fishing population along the coastline are unimaginable. “With the waters contaminated, you can no long have any reasonable catch and even when you catch anything the fish would be oil contaminated and poisonous for consumption so the reasonable thing to do is to leave the waters for a while. “We appeal to you to use your office to get Mobil to retrace its steps by withdraw-

ing the comments in the media that they do not know the source of the oil spill, we cannot be deceived,” Paul said. In his response, the vicechairman said he would convey the message to the Chairman of the council, Chief Ibanga Etang, who will take up the matter with the appropriate authorities. He commended their peaceful disposition and advised them to abstain from lawlessness.

can supply us with the medical teachers then we will be ready to establish it. Because it is not good to establish a medical school without qualified teachers,” he said. The governor said the state branch of the Nigerian Medical Association (NMA) will also contribute in providing teaching staff, pointing out that once the new college takes off, it will provide the required manpower to man the numerous health facilities being built by his administration. Explaining plans by his administration to evolve

tougher laws on waste management, Amaechi said the measure has become imperative due to the indiscriminate dumping of refuse along the roads and streets of Port Harcourt and other public places. He said once the laws were passed, offenders would be liable to two or three years imprisonment, stressing that “When we get it right, we can amend the law to six months or one month, but for now two to three years imprisonment for all those who dump wastes and refuse on the streets.”

Rivers, India to partner on new medical school

ivers State Governor, Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has hinted that his administration has commenced talks with the government of India on how to establish a new medical school in the state. Governor Amaechi made the disclosure while addressing the Indian community during the Indian Cultural Association Day celebration held in Port Harcourt yesterday. Amaechi said the collaboration is aimed at providing manpower for the school, “Once we are sure that India

here was pandemonium yesterday morning at Oko Central area of Benin City as residents and prison inmates of the Oko Medium Security Prison woke up to fearful and threatening sounds of explosions and heavy gun shots in an attempted jail break. While the lawless situation sent many out of their homes, with others running helter-skelter for safety, eye witness account said heavily armed men in a Coaster bus drove into the community at about 1.30 am when many of the residents and inmates were already sleeping. The invaders reportedly forced the gate of the prison open with explosives believed to be either bombs or grenades. National Mirror reliably gathered that while the operation lasted, sporadic gunshots rented the air, sending many people out of the comfort of their homes into different directions in a great escape from the ensuing chaos. Although, armed prison officials and policemen on duty in the area responded with their firepower, but it

was further gathered that they were over-powered by the superior firepower of the invaders, whose action ensured that scores of inmates escaped at the end of the shoot-out. When our correspondent visited the prison later yesterday, relations and family members of inmates were seen as they besieged the prison trying to know if their relatives were involved or not. Armed security men were also noticed to have condoned the prison premises, turning away visitors. Confirming the incident on his cell phone, Edo State Controller of Prisons, Mr. F. O. Ewulo, denied that the incident led to the escape of scores of inmates, but added that the incident was being investigated. On the other hand, Edo State police command spokesman, Mr. Anthony Airhuoyo, could neither confirm nor deny the jail break, but said the command was yet to be briefed by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in charge of Oko Central. However, an eyewitness account revealed that not less than 12 of those that escaped during the attack have since been arrested as at the time of filing this report.

Ogoni youths seek involvement in pipelines security CHINEDUM EMEANA PORT HARCOURT

goni Youths Council (OYC) have called for the engagement Ogoni youth leaders in the security of oil and gas pipelines in the Niger Delta region, especially those running through Ogoniland, just like other youth leaders in other communities have been involved. The youth group made

this call in a communiqué released after an extra-ordinary meeting of the OYC during the weekend. The communiqué, signed by Comrade Marvin Yorbana, president of the body and the youth leaders of the four Ogoni local government areas, urged the government, multinational corporations and other stakeholders to see Ogoni youth leaders as key players in the community security networks.

Monday, August 13, 2012

Will the court decide Oyinlola’s fate again?

he Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in Edo State at the weekend filed a preliminary objection to the petition of the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the July 14 gover-

norship election, General Charles Airhiavbere (rtd) at the Edo State Governorship Election Tribunal, challenging the re-election of Governor Adams Oshiomhole. Filing the objection on behalf of the ACN, Chief Ken Mozia (SAN), argued that the Electoral Act 2010

(Amended) did not prescribe the qualification to be met “by a candidate seeking to contest election to the office of the governor of a state.” As such, Mozia prayed the tribunal to disregard the PDP candidate’s claim that Oshiomhole did not have the educational qualification to contest as

governor of the state. The ACN counsel also argued against the claims made by Airhiavbere that despite the non-updating of voters’ register and that an agreement that the voters’ register used for the 2011 general elections be used, amended voters’ register was still used for the elec-

L-R: Governor Isa Yuguda and the Emir of Bauchi, Alhaji Rilwan Suleiman during the Eid-el fitri prayer in Bauchi, yesterday.

Tinubu tasks Jonathan on security, poverty AYODELE OJO

ational leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to work harder at improving the grave security situation and tackle poverty in the country. He also urged every stratum of the Nigerian society, particularly the elite, to cooperate and collaborate with the president to make the menace a thing of the past. “I said it before and I will say it again: the president, in dealing with this situation, needs every help he can summon. I, with my political associates, stand ready to be of help, if the president approaches us. We have, after all, no other

country to call our own,” Tinubu said in his sallah message. He, however, tasked the Federal Government to tackle the pervasive poverty in the country, as that remains the starting point to address the security challenges. “Our governments, at all levels, must show compas-

sion and tackle the mass poverty that ravages our land. We must work toward a society driven by equal opportunities, based on merit, to deliver development and mass prosperity. That is the starting point. But to get to that point, leaders at all levels must know that they exist only for the well-being of our people,” the former

ollowing the decision of the Akwa Ibom State governor, Godswill Akpabio, to negotiate and dialogue with its Cross River State counterpart over the oil well disputes, the Bakassi Peoples General Assembly has hailed Akpabio but with a caveat that the benefits that will accrue

from such dialogue, especially materially, should be devoted to improving the lives and welfare of the long neglected Bakassi people. The Assembly, in a statement made available to National Mirror yesterday and signed by its National President, National Vice President and Secretary General, Bassey Edet, Effiong Effiong and Ndabu Nakanda respectively, opined

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governor stated. Tinubu also asked Nigerians to seize the spirit of the just-ended Ramadan to devote themselves anew to their country. “We need to pledge ourselves anew to the cause of our country, now undergoing serious challenges. The time to make that move is now,” he said.

15 tion which contributed to his loss. He contested that Airhiavbere’s argument was not only false but totally untenable since it was a pre-election matter. Mozia stated: “Paragraph 13 (iii) of the petition, which raises the issue of the validity of the voters’ registers used for the conduct of the House of Assembly and National Assembly election in 2011 is incompetent as it contains matters that are irrelevant and raise pre-election matters not recognisable before this tribunal.” He went further to argue that the said voters’ register could have been used for the July 14 election “because presiding officers were required to put marks on them during the elections, which would render them unusable for other elections.” While arguing that no voters’ register was amended or altered as alleged, the ACN counsel stated that: “The 3rd Respondent (INEC), printed or produced copies of voters’ register from the Di-

that such settlement would further strengthen the historical bond between the two states and put smiles on the faces of the affected Bakassi people. “It is gratifying to note that Governor Akpabio is not averse to holding a dialogue with his Cross River State counterpart towards exploring an amicable resolution to the problem that has put a strain on the

rect Data Capture (DDC) machine used for the voters’ registration in 2011, which is usually referred to as the electronic version and a soft copy was made available to all the contesting parties by the 3rd Respondent before the election.” ACN also denied using thugs to harass and intimidate voters during the election as Airhiavbere claimed, adding that it does not have thugs registered as its members even as the personnel of security agencies including the police and men of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps in polling units as well as soldiers that were deployed to strategic locations on the roads throughout the state. Mozia maintained: “The petitioners are not entitled to the reliefs claimed or any relief at all. The petition should therefore be dismissed with substantial cost and the honourable tribunal should affirm the return of the 1st Respondent as the duly elected Governor of Edo State.”

...Why I supported Oshiomhole’s re-election – Ogbemudia SEBASTINE EBHUOMHAN

wo-time governor of the defunct Bendel State, Dr. Samuel Ogbemudia has disclosed that he had never stopped supporting Governor Adams Oshiomhole despite their party differences because, according to him, Edo State is greater than anybody or party. Ogbemudia stated this

76 oil wells: Bakassi Assembly hails Akpabio OLAJIDE OMOJOLOMOJU

NGF: A power block threatened by interests

Oshiomhole, ACN ask tribunal to dismiss Airhiavbere’s petition SEBASTINE EBHUOMHAN

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relationship between both states. “We are convinced that this fresh window of opportunity should be embraced not only in the interest of peace but also towards strengthening the historical bond between both states. However, the people of Bakassi believe the dialogue will be serving the cause of justice if we are part of this dialogue session.”

in a letter he wrote to formally congratulate Oshiomhole on his landslide victory at the July 14 governorship election in the state. He wrote: “I have always maintained in my dealings with you that the state is greater than an individual or political party. That was why I put partisan differences aside whenever the interest of the state is an issue. Thus, I have never hesitated to congratulate you and to lend my support in order that you may succeed in the greater interest of our dear state, especially now that you have declared ‘No victor, no loser’. My stand has often been based on my experience as a former public servant who has had the privilege to be exposed to the inner intricacies of statecraft including the awesome responsibility of a state governor.”

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he emergence of Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola as the National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), was not without a drama, though he never indicated interest in the top party position but his drafting into the race at the 11th hour ruffled not a few feathers. When it became obvious that the power brokers and kingmakers were behind his emergence, most other aspirants were naturally disillusioned as they had spent resources and time traversing across the country campaigning only to be told that a particular candidate has been favoured. Their disillusionment was clearly perceptible at the Eagle Square, venue of the March convention of the PDP where many of the aspirants would rather contest and fail than stepping down for the favoured candidate. In the end, he emerged the party’s scribe. But a group of PDP leaders in Ogun State last week approached the Abuja Division of the Federal High Court, asking it to sack the erstwhile governor of Osun State and National Secretary of the party, Oyinlola from office. The litigants who were led to court by the Chairman and Secretary of the Ogun State chapter of the PDP, Chief Adebayo Dayo and Semiu Sodipo, respectively, alleged that Oyinlola emerged as the national scribe of the party through a kangaroo process they said was perfected by former President Olusegun Obasanjo and former PDP National Vice Chairman (SouthWest), Alhaji Tajudeen Oladipo. They argued that in view of two separate judgements of a Federal High Court in Lagos that nullified the South-West Zonal congress that produced Oyinlola as candidate, his continued stay in office is illegal, null and void since his candidacy was annulled ab initio, noting that “something cannot be built on nothing.” Consequently, the plaintiffs through their counsel, Dr. Amaechi Nwaiwu (SAN), formulated three questions for determination by the court which are: “Whether the candidacy of Oyinlola as a nominee of the South-West Zonal chapter of the PDP and his consequent election to the office of National Secretary at the National Convention in March 2012 were not invalid, null and void by reason of the order and judgement of the Federal High Court made respectively on the 27th of April 27, 2012 in suit no FHC/L/CS/282/2012 and May 2, 2012 in suit no FHC/L/CS/347/2012 nullifying the South-West zonal congress of March 2012 from which Oyinlola emerged or ought to have emerged. “Whether the candidacy of Oyinlola as a nominee of the South-West Zonal chapter of the PDP and his consequent election to the office of National Secretary at the National Convention in March 2012 were not invalid, null and void by reason that he was not a valid nominee of the South West zone. “Whether the candidacy of Oyinlola as a nominee of the South West Zonal Chapter of the PDP and his consequent election to the office of National Secretary at the National Convention in March 2012 were not invalid, null and void in the combined circumstances of the said order and judgement of the Federal High Court.” They are also asking the court to compel the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to delete Onyinlola’s name from its records and replace same with another candidate that will emerge from a fresh zonal congress to be ordered

Monday, August 13, 2012

Will the court decide Oyinlola’s fate again? In 2010, the courts ended what would have been eight eventful years of Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola as governor of Osun State. Today, he is fighting yet another battle in the courts which might again decide his fate as the National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). OBIORA IFOH writes on the development. by the court. In an affidavit deposed to by one Miss. Abimbola Okuwoga, an assistant in the chambers of Nwaiwu, the plaintiffs told the court that Oyinlola was foisted on the party by ex- President Obasanjo. More so, they argued that Oyinlola was unanimously elected upon understanding that he was the nominee of the South-West. They said: “However, the South-West Congress conducted on March 21, 2012 was nullified by the order and judgment of the Federal High Court on 27th April and another on May 2, 2012 on the ground that it violated a Federal High Court order of February 16, 2012. “That the failure to properly nominate Oyinlola at the said congress was fatal to his candidacy.” They maintained that despite the order and judgements of the Federal High Courts, the PDP refused to comply with the various prohibitory and mandatory orders of courts of competent jurisdiction by allowing Oyinlola to remain in office, an action they said was capable of making the judiciary a subject of ridicule. In the suit, the plaintiffs are challenging the retention of Oyinlola as national officer. By the order and two separate judgements of the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos that nullified the South-West zonal congress that produced Oyinlola as candidate, the plaintiffs are contending that he has since ceased to be the national secretary. Besides, they pointed out that Oyinlola was foisted on them as the candidate by former President Obasanjo in concert with Oladipo. Consequently, the plaintiffs are asking the court to declare Oyinlola’s continuous stay in office as invalid, null and void since his candidacy had been nullified. Oyinlola, it is understood is unperturbed by the court verdicts as he has approached a higher court to overturn the verdict of the lower courts. He also has the backing of the national headquarters of the PDP headed by Alhaji Bamanga Tukur. It will be recalled that Ogun State PDP lost virtually all elective positions in the last general elections, a development that was generally attributed to the supremacy battle between the two major ‘drivers’ of the party, former President Olusegun Obasanjo and ex-governor Gbenga Daniel. Unfortunately for party enthusiasts, the crack has indeed widened to the extent that internal schisms within the two main factions have now led to the creation of at least four factions of the party in the state. Not surprisingly, peace has become a stranger to the PDP in the state. The four feuding drivers are; Obasan-

Oyinlola

THEY POINTED OUT THAT OYINLOLA WAS FOISTED ON THEM

AS THE CANDIDATE... THE PLAINTIFFS ARE ASKING THE COURT TO DECLARE

OYINLOLA’S

CONTINUOUS STAY IN OFFICE AS INVALID,

NULL AND VOID SINCE HIS CANDIDACY HAD BEEN NULLIFIED jo, who is until recently the Chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT) of the party; a party financier, Kashamu Buruji; former minister of Commerce and Industry, Jubril Martins-Kuye and former governor Daniel. The crisis in Ogun PDP even got worse when Obasanjo facilitated the emergence of Chief Bode Mustapha as the Transition, Reconciliation and Congress Committee (TRCC) chairman with the help of the then National Vice-Chairman of the party, Oladipo. Virtually all other factions were placated with the arrangement with exception

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of the associates of Daniel who defected to the Peoples Party of Nigeria (PPN). It will be recalled that though Daniel supported PPN during the last election he however did not renounce his membership of the PDP. The executive, which was inaugurated through an arrangement by the PDP’s National Executive Council (NEC) to harmonise the then two warring factions before the last general election was designed to accommodate the factions that then existed. While the chairmanship position of the harmonised committee was zoned to Obasanjo’s faction, Daniel’s faction was asked to produce the secretary with other 12 members; a proposition the group blatantly rejected and shunned. However, despite the rejection of the idea by Daniel’s faction, the other party formed the committee and took over the machinery of the party and this forced the faction to seek and got an interlocutory injunction from a Federal High Court in Lagos which issued a bench warrant on Kawu Baraje, former Acting National Chairman, and the zonal leadership of the party in the South-West. The Kuye-led faction on its part has also gone to court to stop the PDP from recognising any of its rivals as the legitimate executive of the party in the state. The applicants in the suit No. M/53/2011 are Senator Babatunde Osholake, Elder Yemi Akinwonmi and Mr. Adewale Sunmola, while the PDP, Baraje, Oladipo, Mr. Uche Secondus (former National Organising Secretary), the former Legal Adviser to the party, Olusola Oke are the respondents. Justice M. A. Dipeolu, who issued the interlocutory injunction, also restrained the National PDP and six others from constituting a transition committee, reconciliation group, harmonisation executive members of the Ogun State PDP to conduct primaries, congresses or undertake any other functions of the state harmonised executive member led by Senator Osholake, pending the hearing and determination of the suit. To buttress their case, the applicants presented six documents to prove that Senator Osholake was nominated as the chairman, Akinwonmi as Secretary and Sunmola as the Vice Chairman of the Ogun State harmonised executive committee as directed by the party’s National working Committee in a letter dated July 30, 2010. In his ruling, Justice Dipeolu submitted that the applicants have proved that they have a legal right to protect, adding that the applicants have also shown that there is a genuine dispute between the parties to be determined by the court and shown that the balance of convenience is on their side and more justice will be done if the application is granted. The implication of these rulings by the courts mean- that the zonal election which produced Oyinlola as the representative of the South-West can no longer be sustained since the executive of the Ogun State chapter which participated in the zonal election has been pronounced invalid at least for now until they are vacated. The onus is now on PDP to unleash its internal crisis resolution mechanism to fix the situation in the zone or stands to lose some members of the National Working Committee (NWC) from the SouthWest who by default or otherwise were elected into the NWC.

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Monday, August 13, 2012

NGF: A power block threatened by interests FELIX NWANERI writes on political manoeuvrings which have split members of the Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) along sectional lines, unlike in the past when they spoke in unison.

IT WAS SURPRISING THAT THE

GOVERNORS WHO WERE PART OF THE AGREEMENT ON THE NEED FOR STATE

here is no doubt that the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) is one of the most influential power blocks in the country. However, the recent discordant voices from the group, which hitherto spoke with one voice on issues of national concern, indicate that the political cord which bound members of the forum is fast breaking. Before now, the forum, comprising of governors of the nation’s 36 states (South – 17 and North - 19), was one group that couldn’t be ignored. Many are not in a hurry to forget the role it played when the country was embroiled with succession crisis in 2010 over the death of the then president, the late Umaru Yar’Adua. Members of the Adamu Ciroma-led Northern Leaders Political Forum (NLPF) will also attest to the governors’ political dexterity, especially those of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which saw the choice of Dr. Goodluck Jonathan against former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar as the party’s presidential candidate in the 2011 elections and his subsequent victory at the poll. Though some analysts expressed discomfort then over what they described as “absolute powers of a group unknown to the nation’s constitution,” a few others argued that the NGF, apart from being registered under Part C of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 1990, deserved commendation for the unison with which it approach issues, despite different sectional and political leanings of its members. Other issues which the NGF had in the past taken a common stand include revenue formula review; Sovereign Wealth Fund, new National Minimum Wage and even fuel subsidy removal (except governors on the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria). On the revenue sharing formula, the governors up till now still insist on a ratio that will see states take 42 per cent of the total revenue accrued to the nation, while the federal and local governments take 42 and 23 per cent, respectively. Their argument is that states, being closer to the people, bear more responsibilities than the other tiers of government. A common stand was taken by the governors when the fuel subsidy debate raged. They backed the Federal Government on the removal of the subsidy and even threatened a legal action against deductions from the Federation Account to offset the subsidy payment. On the minimum wage, the NGF was unequivocal and stated at inception of debate on the issue that state governors will not be able to pay unless the revenue allocation formula is reviewed. Some even went ahead to argue that the Federal Government lacks powers to fix salaries for states under the federal system of government

NORTHERN

POLICE AT A MEETING ATTENDED BY OF THE

36-MEMBER

FORUM A MONTH EARLIER ARE BACKING OUT Amaechi

Aliyu

which the country is practising. But unlike before, members of the NGF have allowed political party leanings and most worrisome, sectional interests to guide their positions on national issues. The raging debate on the contentious issue of state police, which many believe is the panacea to the worsening insecurity in the country, has split members of the forum along sectional divides. Whereas governors of the Southern states are in support for the idea, their Northern counterparts, apart from Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State have said no to it. Jang’s position may have stemmed from the fact that Plateau has for a decade been rocked by ethno-religious crisis. The divergent positions contradict an earlier stand by the NGF that it is high time the Nigeria Police is decentralised in line with the dictates of time. Little wonder why it was shocking to its chairman, Governor Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers State, when the Northern governors, led by Dr. Babangida Aliyu of Niger State, declared recently that they will never support state police. They took the decision after a meeting in Abuja attended by 18 out of 19 of them. A communiqué signed and read by Aliyu stated: “The forum is not in support of the creation of state police. It however resolved

to prevail on the Federal Government to embark on police reform that will assist the states in the control and management of police affairs on a sound philosophy of modern policing by amending the provision of Section 215 of the constitution.” To Amaechi, it was surprising that the Northern governors who were part of the agreement on the need for state police at a meeting attended by 31 of the 36-member forum a month earlier are backing out. His words: “Thirty-one out of 36 agreed on state police, Northern governors were present. Well, we don’t know what happened that some have withdrawn but we are meeting on Tuesday (August 7) and we will resolve the issues.” His optimism was however dashed as absence of key players in the Northern Governors’ Forum at the meeting stalled debate on the issue. Most of the governors were said to have travelled out of the country for the lesser hajj in Saudi Arabia. Amaechi, who read a two-line communiqué of the meeting however said: “Forum deferred debate on the issue of constitutional amendment until after the fasting period when all members would be back from the Umrah (lesser hajj).” Aliyu who was said to have gone to Saudi Arabia on Hajj was represented by his deputy, Ahmed Ibeto. So also were most governors of the core Northern states of Jigawa, Yobe, Borno and Bauchi. The governors of Kano, Katsina, Sokoto, Adamawa and Kebbi were the only ones present. To make matters more difficult, the deputies were not mandated by their bosses to speak on the issues as well as other critical constitutional issues concerning the region because they are too sensitive to be handled by them. While the Northern governors hinged their detour on state police on the fear that it could lead to the country’s disintegration, some analysts however believe that there is more than meets the eye to it. They said it cannot be unconnected to the politics of 2015 presidential election as the region has never hidden its interest in having back the Presidency which it lost to the South due to Yar’Adua death before his tenure elapsed. Already, there are plots by some political leaders and groups in the South to persuade President Jonathan to take another shot at the number one position. Their argument is that the President is allowed by the con-

stitution to run for second tenure since he is serving his first tenure. Jonathan is however yet to declare if he is interested or not though one Cyriakus Njoku, a member of the PDP has dragged the President to an Abuja High Court on the issue. While the court is yet to rule on Njoku’s suit, seeking to stop Jonathan from contesting the election, some prominent politicians in the North are however exploring other ways to stop him, should he go ahead with the bid. In the vanguard of the cause are the governors from the region. They are doubtful if Jonathan will abide by an alleged agreement with the NGF in 2010 that he will have a single tenure. Aliyu, it would be recalled had during a recent meeting of the Northern governors in Kaduna, vowed that the region will not allow the 2015 presidency to elude it. “We must be united more than ever to go into the 2015 elections as one entity with the aim of producing the president,” he told his colleagues. It is held in some political quarters that the governors are hoping to use the speculated presidential ambitions of some of them (Aliyu, Murtala Nyako and Isa Yuguda) as rallying points. However, it is clear that they will meet stiff opposition in the South-South, as some have commenced activities to counter all opposition to the President’s second term. The Ijaw National Congress (INC), the umbrella body of the President’s kinsmen, in its reaction to Aliyu’s pronouncement, accused the North of “moral deficit” in asking for the number one job in 2015. National Secretary of the congress, Mr. Robinson Esitel, who spoke on behalf of the group, insisted that “the issue of who would become the president in 2015 is a choice that would be made by Nigerians as a whole and not by a section.” He added: “The Ijaw nation insists categorically that Jonathan’s Presidency is not a presidency of four years, but a presidency of eight years under the constitution and subject to the good conscience of Nigerians.” Bayelsa State Governor, Seriake Dickson, a protégé of the President also believes that the clamour by the Northern governors amounts to regionalisation of the office. “The 2015 elections are still three years from now, clamour for it now is too early, it will overheat the polity and distract the President,” he said. While events of the days ahead will clearly reveal reasons behind the Northern governors volte-face on the earlier agreement by the NGF on state police and other national issues, the forum’s waning influence is nonetheless not surprising to some analysts, who argued that most of its members have hidden under the platform to perpetuate their selfish interests. National Secretary of the Conference of Nigerian Political Parties (CNPP), Chief Willy Ezugwu who shared this view told National Mirror that “the governors cannot speak with one voice again because some of them do not even believe in the forum. The NGF has never taken any decision that improved the lives of the people and that is why those of them who feel they were elected by their people always stick to their guns whenever national issues are discussed, others just hide under the forum to perpetuate hidden agenda.”

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Monday, August 13, 2012

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Minimum wage: Reprieve for Katsina govt After months of being at loggerheads with the Katsina State Government over nonpayment of the new minimum wage, the state workers finally agreed to a slash of their salary arrears from N11 billion to N2.4 billion, writes JAMES DANJUMA.

here is no doubt that the implementation of the N18,000 new national minimum wage is serving as a mixed blessing for the 36 states of the federation. While some states have begun its implementation, others are yet to begin full implementation. The non-implementing states are lamenting lack of financial capacity to foot the new wage bill, while some implementing states are already complaining about the huge drain the new wage is on their revenue. This is in contrast to the exhilaration expressed by Nigerian workers following passage of the new wage law by the Upper Chamber of the National Assembly on February 23, 2011. The Senate had approved the minimum wage for the Nigerian workers with the increase of the amount from N7, 500 to N18, 000. This is in addition to Section 2(1) of the National Minimum Wage which states that, “As from the commencement of this act, it shall be the duty of every employer to pay a wage not less than the national minimum wage of N18, 000 per month to every worker under its establishment.” Like many other states that have begun implementing the new wage, Katsina State had to go through processes before workers began to enjoy the new salary package early this year. The first was the negotiation stage between government and labour on the amount the minimum wage should be pegged at, then verification of workers at the state and local government levels, payment of the new wage proper and lastly, the payment of accrued arrears. Speaking late last year in an interview, Governor Ibrahim Shema said the state was one of the first in the country that agreed to pay the new wage after which a meeting was held between government and labour to assure the latter of government’s willingness to pay following the passage of the new wage law. Shema noted that he set up a committee to look into the potentialities of what should be done and made labour members of the committee, but that the committee came back with recommendation that was not acceptable due to the exclusion of local government workers. It was in the process of getting the committee’s second report that state labour went on three-day warning strike on June 14, 2011, then another seven days later that lasted four weeks, when compromise could not be reached on implementation of the new wage. The governor said N18, 295 as minimum wage was presented to labour, but they did not accept it, with complaint

Shema

Omar

that they needed a federal pay package. “So, I said they should be realistic on what is their real complain. They said there was discrepancy in the additions that were made at different levels or stages of salary earners, and they needed those to be addressed,” he said. He said the workers demanded for an increase for some levels which came to about N45 million in addition to what government had agreed to pay. “We agreed to that, but said we must be able to do a staff audit, we must be able to know the exact workforce in the state; everyone must open an account to get paid,” he noted. He said the state government agreed to commence payment of the new wage from December last year, with arrears to be paid from April 1, 2012, and that an agreement was signed between government and labour to that effect. At the end of negotiations, the least paid worker in the state got N18, 656 while the highest paid got N372, 562. Staff verification and data capturing committee was then set up by the state government to determine the number of workers under the state government and those under local government. The committee ended up unearthing sleaze in the process. According to Shema, one worker was found to be collecting salary of 40 people, another collecting salary of 20 people, with many of these people non existing. At the end of the exercise, a total of 20, 752 state workers were verified, while 1,037 were categorised as ghost workers, with estimated N1.5 billion to be paid them under the new minimum wage. Under the local government, a total of 30, 030 workers were biometrically captured, while more than 4, 450 staff members were said to be illegal workers, with estimated N1.6 billion to be paid genuine workers under the new wage. Before this, and as a way of accommodating the new wage, the state government had made adjustment in its recurrent personnel cost under the 2012 budget, by increasing it from N16.3 bil-

lion to N21.12 billion. Then came the issue of arrears payment, which a committee set up by the government to assess accumulated arrears of workers since implementation of the new wage, presented a report to government and pegged the amount to a little over N11 billion. The state government however lamented implications of paying the amount, saying such would impact negatively on state resources, especially considering the fact that such huge amount was going into the pockets of only about 10 per cent of the state’s population. The negotiation option between government and labour was adopted and it was agreed that the N11 billion in accrued arrears be slashed to N2.4 billion in the interest of the state. Speaking to newsmen on the issue, the chairman of the state chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Aliyu Matazu, said they accepted the N2.4 billion as salary arrears because the state government “cannot afford to pay the over N11 billion it owed workers.” He said government had “earlier stated it categorically that it cannot afford to settle workers the sum of over N11 billion as their salary arrears that accrued after implementation of the new wage in

THE NEGOTIATION OPTION BETWEEN GOVERNMENT AND LABOUR WAS ADOPTED AND IT WAS AGREED THAT THE

N11

BILLION IN ACCRUED ARREARS BE SLASHED TO

N2.4 BILLION IN

THE INTEREST OF THE STATE

January this year.” Matazu said that after labour and government met, and based on facts on ground, labour was “convinced that government could not pay the N11 billion arrears. We have reached an agreement through a negotiation and agreed on the N2.4 billion.” He however called on workers in the state to bear with the union because with exception of Katsina, no state in the federation has fully implemented the N18,000 minimum wage as the state had done. At a press conference recently, the state’s Finance Commissioner, Lawal Jari who read out the mode by which the arrears would be paid, said the sum of over N1.5 billion would first be paid to all categories of workers this August. Jari said the balance of N879 million is to be paid in September and October in two equal installments to local government councils and State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB) employees as final settlement of the arrears. However, as way of ensuring that the payment of the new wage does not impact negatively on the state’s income, the state government has intensified efforts at shoring up its resources through investments in banks and organised collection of Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). On this issue, Governor Shema reiterated that that the state needed to find a way to enhance its revenue, “because it is not practical to hinge payment of your staff salary to unstable income,” adding that such line of action need be taken to “ensure we accommodate and continue to pay the salaries.” To this end, Shema said that the state has been investing in banks in the last four and half years, and that the administration had made over N9 billion in interests from money deposited in commercial banks. He also said that the state would invest in other sectors including harnessing local mineral deposits in line with recommendation from a technical committee set up on the minimum wage implementation to ensure more income accrues to the state. In the area of IGR, the state has set target of generating N5 billion annually, with a special court set up to recover revenue from defaulters. The state’s finance commissioner, Jari who stated this, called on the Board of Internal Revenue (BIR) to also initiate ways to improve on the revenue generation process which would enable for less dependence on federal allocation. On the special court, the Executive Secretary of the state’s BIR, Aminu Abdulmumini said such action became necessary in view of refusal by some individuals and organisations to remit revenue to government which results to deficits in IGR. He explained that it was usually difficult to recover revenue from defaulters through the normal court, but that with the special court, such problems would be a thing of the past, adding that the state is envisaging a higher IGR than what it got last year due to the special court and organised revenue collection.

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Monday, August 20, 2012

Gripping ‘voodoo’ dollars and 2015 presidency feuds HeartBeat

CALLISTUS

OKE

Callistusoke@nationalmirroronline.net 08054103275 (SMS ONLY)

ur dear Nigeria is a land of the weird and ghoulish, a land of the practicable and impracticable, a land of the possible and impossible, and it is yet a land of the shockable and unshockable. We went to London Olympics, we saw, but we never conquered. While millions of our compatriots have kept bemoaning our inexplicable decline into global sport irreverence, the only remonstration from the Presidency is a mouthed resolve to unveil the causalities of our abysmal performance. Those who did not expect even recriminations from the sports authorities were not disappointed, as none resigned for being part or cause of the national shame. Our participation in the Olympic Games is being officially treated, as usual, as another failed project. I know we do not have saints among our politicians; I also know our political leaders are not endowed with Solomonic wisdom. So in our type political culture, honour is in deficit. This is why President

Goodluck Jonathan would give his imprimatur to the gross embarrassment that is the raging feud over $15 million bribe money, and also the reason for the North’s grandstanding over the 2015 presidential mandate despite the orchestrated and artificiality of the turbulence surrounding the exercise of the 2011 presidential mandate given to Dr. Goodluck Jonathan. Methinks our president is too prone to accidents? If he is not relishing in his unbossable wife being made a powerful permanent secretary in his native Bayelsa State, it is about a super minister junketing to China, USA and Canada for ill conceived and ill motivated aviation road shows. Now it about his government wanting to expropriate the $15 million bribery exhibit money. When has Nigeria become a magical land where dollars grow on trees or astralterrestrial beings favouring people with dollars? How come we now have ‘ghost’ $15 million that is now at the centre of the current feud between Delta State and the Federal Government? There is no doubt Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, the erstwhile EFCC boss, is key to the resolution of the ‘ghost dollars’ quagmire. He told the whole world that Chief James Ibori offered him the $15 million to compromise the investigations into his inappropriate conduct while he was Delta State governor. Yes, Ibori denied offering Ribadu the money as he was wont to do when he knew the bribe offering

WHEN HAS NIGERIA BECOME A MAGICAL LAND WHERE DOLLARS GROW ON TREES OR

ASTRAL-TERRESTRIAL BEINGS FAVOURING PEOPLE WITH DOLLARS had become a public issue. However, the incontrovertible fact is that the money in question has a source. I think it is immoral for FG to latch on Ibori’s denial to say the money belongs to nobody. Ribadu is still alive, so the solution is political and not judicial. Do you fancy the brick brats over who wears the presidential cap in 2015? If you say our northern politicians are inordinate, you could be right. I think they are the worst crop of power mongers the country has. The oligarchic North is currently at its worst power mongering game. It is positioning itself for the kill over 2015 presidential election and in doing so, it wants all other potential claimants to know the race is not opened! Precisely, the political darts are directed at Ndigbo, that collective that has found it difficult to articulate its strategic interest in the Nigerian project, but always willing and ever satisfied at playing second fiddle

in the nation’s scheme of things. For the purpose of argument, let us foreclose a Jonathan second term bid, why would the Hausa-Fulani North believe it is its turn to produce the next President? Who told these power oligarchs the nation’s six geopolitical zone structure has been narrowed to a two way contest of North and South? It is common knowledge that the consensus among the nation’s power brokers to concede the 1999 presidency to the South West was a product of realpolitik as it was meant to compensate the zone for the June 12, 1993 debacle. By 2003 it was apparent that some interests in the North were feeling the impact of their powerlessness, which was why General Muhammadu Buhari was goaded to challenge Chief Olusegun Obasanjo for the big seat. Appeasement set in 2007 when Alhaji Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, an authentic northerner, succeeded Chief Obasanjo. The rest is history. Dr. Jonathan, as Vice President finished Yar’ Adua’s mandate and went ahead to get his own fresh mandate in 2011. Do we have a Nigerian law that denies Jonathan a second term? It is becoming clearer now why the Jonathan hate campaign is not abating in the North; we can no appreciate the political component of the growing insurgency in the North. Who will still want to crucify ex-NSA Andrew Azazi for his well articulated thesis on the causality of the insurgency in the North?

How effective is NASS budget oversight role?

senior public servant told me many years ago that politician-bureaucrats hardly propose policies they know would not be beneficial to them; the impact of such policies on the citizenry is secondary. That was why, as I said last week, Nigeria is a graveyard of sound policies. See the petrodollar war on the petroleum industry bill and government’s lack of interest in repealing 1955 Railway monopoly law to free citizens from transportation hassles and premature deaths on death-trap roads. See what has become of privatization programme of the federal government with key government revenue institutions being sold cheaply to official cronies. And see the dubious petroleum deregulation in practice today, it has become avenue of enriching a few through PPPRA, PEF, PSF. Government sets up regulatory agencies to check corruption and abuse of peoples’ right, and yet disables them from effective performance. The other day I wrote on “DPR: Oil watchdog or lapdog” in which the agency responsible for policing the revenue source for feeding 80 percent of Nigerians is deliberately denied financial and administrative autonomy to check oil thieves stealing $7 billion every year. DPR depends on regulated imperial NNPC to perform. Last week, the Federation’s Auditor General, Samuel Ukura, cried out that President Goodluck Jonathan administration apparently lacks the disciplinary muscle to whip NNPC into line for imperial insubordination, especially the expropriation of all it earns without appropriation by the National Assembly, as prescribed by the 1999 Consti-

tution. The NNPC expropriated $200m or N30 billion in one year as phantom security votes, which its officials could not explain the expenditure breakdown. If Presijo is afraid to apprehend, talk more of sanction, NNPC cabal, perhaps rightly or wrongly because of possible electioneering slush funds it has the capacity for, then is it the ineptitude NASS leadership, which sees and speaks no evil that would discipline leviathan NNPC? The lingering Reps’ furore over executive’s poor budget implementation was avoidable if NASS had not been infected with slumberbug, the Nigerian politician’s sleeping sickness. Budget performance row was avoidable if NASS had performed constitutional oversight functions over the more than 500 largely redundant and money-guzzling ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs). Yet, NNPC that manages over 80 per cent of the nation’s revenue earnings has been secretly audited, perhaps, once in 20 years, not every year as prescribed by the Constitution; yet the Presidency and NASS are comfortable faking ignorance and fooling public with deceitful propaganda. Rather than deal with the rogues in MDAs, previous administrations embarked on creating monstrous mushroom agencies, which Presijo is finding difficult to feed and still reluctant to shrink after a panel’s recommendation to scrap more than 120 federal parasitic agencies. However, one starved watchdog is the Fiscal Responsibility Commission established by law in 2007 as a back up to the Constitution’s provisions for accountability and transparency. The other, apart from DPR, EFCC, ICPC, Police, Code of Conduct Bu-

RATHER THAN DEAL WITH THE ROGUES IN

MDAS, PREVIOUS ADMINISTRATIONS

EMBARKED ON CREATING MONSTROUS MUSHROOM AGENCIES reau, National Bureau of Statistics, is the Federation’s Auditor-General’s office, which budget was slashed by NASS from N4.7 billion in 2011 to N3.3 billion in 2012 when it needed more funds. The Fiscal Responsibility Act provides that federal government must publish audited accounts of MDAs six months after the financial year ends and that by 2009 FG shall “publish in mass media” the audited account of the previous year. Therefore, the Accountant-General of the Federation ought to submit MDAs’ financial statements to the Auditor-General in conformity with Section 85(5) of the Nigerian Constitution. The Auditor-General is allowed to query failure of Accountant-General to furnish him, within statutory limit, MDAs financial statements for it to verify budget performance in compliance with Section 49(1) of Fiscal Responsibility Act 2007, which empowers the Commission to compel any person or government institution to disclose information relating to public revenue and expenditure and to investigate both. In spite of these fine provisions, FG’s accounts have not been audited since 2009.

Roadmap SONI EHI

ASUELIMEN

soniasuelimen@yahoo.com, 08023459055 (SMS ONLY)

Mr. Vincent Azie, a former Auditor-General, who boldly published the messy accounts of three arms of government, the executive, legislature and judiciary, was rudely sacked for exposing the rump of graft in them. The fear of incurring the wrath of politically exposed persons has been the bureaucracy’s wisdom of Satan. Since then, the nation’s financial watchdogs have become sissies, watching the body swagger of Mr. President before squealing or not. The paid watchdogs escape sanctions for incompetence or inaction because it suits the cabal. That is why 13 years of PDP’s civil service reform has deformed the polity. Bureaucrats are not swayed by Presijo’s statement that only incompetent heads of agencies would watch his body language before performing their duties. Sanction works. Send your views by mail or sms to PMB 10001, Ikoyi, or our Email: mail@ nationalmirroronline.net mirrorlagos@ yahoo.com or 08164966858 (SMS only). The Editor reserves the right to edit and reject views or photographs. Pseudonyms may be used but must be clearly marked as such.

Editorial

Monday, August 20, 2012

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

STEVE AYORINDE

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SM, STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT

FRANK OBOH

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HEAD, GRAPHICS

Worsening economy and social security programme for Nigerians

he compelling need to address the frightening level of poverty and violence in the country through the instrumentality of a state social security programme got a boost recently when the opposition All Nigerian Peoples Party (ANPP), called for its inclusion in the country’s constitution. The party argued through its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Emma Eneukwu, that growing incidents of suicide and other heinous crimes in the country are largely traceable to the poverty and unfulfilled aspirations of most Nigerians which result from the economic downturn in the country and the unfriendly environment that has made creativity and personal endeavours unrewarding. Eneukwu called on the National Assembly to make social security an enforceable right of the people that should be seriously addressed by the ongoing constitutional amendment exercise. The demand made by the ANPP had also been severally made in the past and seemed to be in tandem with the expectations of the majority of Nigerians. The over 12 years of the nation’s democratic experience have been quite frustrating for many Nigerians who have come to realize that the dividends of democracy as the leadership dishonestly understands it, is to satisfy the profligate lifestyle, taste and comfort of the ruling class at public expense; and subvert every legal or ethical rule. It cannot

WHILE THE PROVISIONS IN CHAPTER 2 OF THE SAME CONSTITUTION ARE IDEAL AND

COMMENDABLE, THEY ARE IN TRUTH NOTHING

BUT GLORIFIED, HOLLOW RITUALS THAT ARE NONJUSTICIABLE be disputed that the Nigeria of today stands out as one of the world’s most corrupt and lawless nations. Most Nigerians are poverty-stricken and materially wretched. Many are increasingly getting vulnerable as a result of worsening food prices, the effects of the global economic meltdown, low prices for farm produce, unemployment and underemployment, among others, now capped with grave insecurity, criminality, social unrest and chaos. There have been at best halfhearted efforts by the various tiers of government to address these problems; thus the aggravated violence and crime nationwide. We recognize the existence of such palliative gestures like the Poverty Alleviation Programme (PAP), which has been modified as the National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP); and similar measures before it. The President Goodluck Jonathan

administration has also packaged what it called the SURE-P (Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme). But the usefulness of all these and how the programmes impact on the distressing living conditions and general living conditions has been a sad tale for Nigerians. While it is true that huge votes are budgeted yearly for such programmes, nothing gets to the people in concrete terms at the end of the day. The nation’s resources might not be enough to achieve the grandiose social security schemes of the advanced world. But the Nigerian leadership which is reputed as resoundingly corrupt, wasteful and profligate to the extreme, if it curtails its excesses and embraces prudent funds management, can afford enforceable economic and social assistance to the people - the down-trodden, to cushion the effects of the vagaries and vicissitudes of life. Such schemes could cover the cost of primary education so that no Nigerian child drops out of school for the lack of funds to pay school fees. Loan, scholarship and bursary schemes could be made available to indigent students of tertiary institutions. Such schemes will ensure that fund does not constitute an impediment to the desire of the nation’s youths to acquire education. By the same token, health care delivery services should be programmed to grant more people, especially the aged, youths, and the

unemployed have easy access to medical attention. On the whole is the urgent need to have a second look at the issue of social security in the country with a view to making it a legally binding constitutional matter. Chapter II (16) (1) (a) and (b) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) on the Fundamental Objectives and Directive Principles of State Policy, under the document’s ‘Economic Objectives’, provides as follows: “The state shall within the context of the ideals and objectives for which provisions are made in the constitution, harness the resources of the nation and promote national prosperity and an efficient, a dynamic and self-reliant economy to every citizen on the basis of social justice and equality of status and opportunity”. While the provisions in Chapter II of the same Constitution are ideal and commendable, they are in truth nothing but glorified, hollow rituals that are non-justiciable. The critical issues contained in the said chapters of the constitution should be revisited and upgraded to justiciable statutes which could be seen and treated as part of human rights, just like the provisions on Fundamental Rights in Chapter IV of the Constitution. The nation can learn a lot more from the example of the European Social Security Charter of 1962, which has been a saving grace for many in the face of recurring and worsening global economic problems.

ON THIS DAY August 20, 1991 Dissolution of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR) and the August Coup: More than 100,000 people rallied outside the USSR parliament building protesting a coup to oust the then President Mikhail Gorbachev for presiding over the formal dissolution of the Soviet Union effective from December 25, 1991. The Soviet military and the Communist Party had attempted the coup to oust Gorbachev and re-establish an authoritarian and strong central regime.

August 20, 1998 The Supreme Court of Canada ruled that Quebec cannot legally secede from Canada without the federal government’s approval. Quebec is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level. Quebec is Canada’s largest province by area and its second-largest administrative division.

August 20, 2008 Spanair Flight 5022, from Madrid to Gran Canaria, skidded off the runway and crashed at the Barajas Airport. About 146 people were killed in the crash while eight more died later. Only 18 people survived. Spanair Flight JK 5022, was a McDonnell Douglas MD-82, with the registration EC-HFP. It was the first fatal accident for Spanair (part of the SAS Group) in the 20-year history of the company.

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Business Courage

Monday, August 20, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Cover

Weeding out the d The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), initiates moves to delist moribund companies from the daily official list several years after such companies ceased to exist as going concerns By Festus Okoromadu

‘

the Alternative Securities Market (ASeM) a.k.a second-tier market. Identified culprits whose shares are listed across the various sectors of the Exchange were placed on full suspension on September 5, 2011 for failing to make available their financial reports to the investing public as at when due. Up till date, only one of the companies in the black book of the NSE has been able to redeem its image. The exception is Costain West Africa Plc, which trades its business in the construction sector of the Exchange. It has been able to meet the condition by submitting its financial results, though belatedly. The companies which are still struggling to meet the basic post listing requirement, one year after they were blacklisted and which are among others that are moribund and whose management has been advised to commence a delisting process at the Exchange include Capital Oil Plc, Afroil Plc, Nigerian Wire Industries Plc, Aluminium Manufacturing Company of Nigeria (ALUMACO) Plc, Lennards Plc, and West African Glass Industries Plc. Others include: Union Dicon Salt Plc, Hallmark Paper Products Plc, Rokanna Industries Plc, and Udeofson Garment Factory Plc.

The immediate impact the removal of these 12 companies will have on the fortunes of the Exchange is that Market Capitalisation expected to hit a $1 trillion mark by 2016 will drop by 0.59 percent

‘

he restructuring process initiated by the management of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) may soon lead to the removal of about 10 moribund companies from the book of listed equities on the Exchange. Indeed, Business Courage reliably gathered that the NSE plans to publish the list of companies slated for delisting later this week. Upon the publication of the list, the affected companies are expected to be fully delisted, three months after the publication. This action is coming on the heels of the warning served some 14 companies last year about their refusal to comply fully with the post-listing rules of the NSE. To be able to exercise the delisting rule, the NSE had earlier sought permission from SEC to wield the big stick. To this end, the NSE in March this year announced the approval of the amendment of its Listing Rules by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the nation’s apex capital market regulator. According to the Exchange, a fundamental requirement to drive the repositioning initiative of the market demands a set of Listing Rules that are attractive to quality issuers on both the Main Board and

Oscar Onyeama

However, while these 10 equities have been earmarked for compulsory delisting by the NSE, two other companies have also applied for voluntary delisting of their shares from the market. They are, Pinnacle Point Group Plc, a South African Real Estate company which was listed on the NSE in March 17, 2009. It was reported to have commenced a liquidation process. Poly Products Plc, an Indian company listed on the Exchange is another company that has notified the NSE of its decision to voluntarily withdraw its listed shares from the floor of the Exchange. Its reason for this option was the harsh economic condition stifling its business. Business Courage checks show that the immediate impact the removal of these 12 companies will have on the fortunes of the Exchange is that Market Capitalisation expected to hit a $1 trillion mark by 2016 will drop by 0.59 per cent, as the computation of the total market capitalisation of the 12 quoted companies on the verge of delisting amounted to about N41.85 billion as at Thursday, August 16, 2012. A breakdown of the figures shows that the 10 companies being compelled by the NSE to delist contribute a total market capitalization of about N8.25 bil-

lion while the two leaving on their own volition has a market capitalization of about N33.60 billion. However, a capital market analyst who spoke under anonymity last week said the implication of the delisting moves that will materialise before long will mean that shareholders of those companies that will delist involuntarily will lose their investment in the companies. The reason he gave was that, most of the companies earmarked for the delisting are either no longer existing in practical terms or are not doing well. The exception, however, is Poly Products Plc, which is delisting deliberately and has to make provision for its shareholders before quitting the floor of the

Exchange. In the case of the equities that will undergo compulsory liquidation such as Pinnacle Points Group Plc, sources revealed that the “shareholders are likely not going to get much as legal rules governing corporate entities winding down is that the Ordinary Shareholders will be considered after all other obligations has been settled. If this rule is taken into consideration, then one can confidently say that shareholders of these companies may have nothing to take home; this is because, most, if not all of these companies are reported to be heavily indebted to banks. As commendable as the move of the NSE appears, some market

Business Courage A Publication of GLOBAL MEDIA MIRROR LTD BARRISTER JIMOH IBRAHIM, OFR PUBLISHER SEMIU SALAMI BAMIDELE OBAFEMI ADEJUWON OSUNNUYI FESTUS OKOROMADU TAYO ADELEKE

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Business Courage

Monday, August 20, 2012

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Cover

ead woods

analysts have raised some salient questions which include the appropriateness of the timing of the decision. Some also have expressed concern about the criteria used for selecting the companies pencilled down for delisting among the numerous defaulters and moribund equities. “How come a company like the Nigerian Sewing Machine Plc escaped the sledge hammer of the NSE?” another said. Business Courage also observed that while a company like Afroil Plc which was taken over by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 2009 has been pencilled down for delisting, its counterparts, Big Treat Plc and Mtech Plc which were equal-

Equity Name Capital Oil Plc Rokana Industries Plc Udeofson Garment F Plc West Africa Glass Ind. Plc Hallmark Paper Prod. Plc Afroil Plc Union Dicon Salt Plc Lennards Plc Nigerian Wire Ind. Plc Aluinium Man. Co. Nig. Plc Pinnacle Point Grp Plc Poly Products Nig. Plc

ly taken over by the SEC appear to have escaped the sledge hammer, as their names are conspicuously missing on the list of the companies that have been advised to delist there shares from the Exchange. Attempt last week to seek further clarification on the status of the companies from SEC was fruitless as officials of the public affairs section of the commission were not willing to comment on the issue. A few stock market pundits however wonder if the 10 companies listed for delisting are the only moribund companies existing on the floor of the NSE. Concerns have also been expressed about how long the delisting process will take among other is-

Nominal Value 0.25 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.2 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5 0.5

Current Value 0.5 0.6 0.5 0.63 3.22 20.71 4.22 3.48 2.58 7.75 7.28 1.5

Quantity on Issue 5,857,548,000 50,000,000 15,050,000 208,614,500 50,000,000 125,487,475 360,000,000 70,164,062 15,000,000 75,604,049 Sub-Total 4,579,782,814 250,000,000 Sub-Total Grand-Total

Market Capitalization 2,928,774,000.00 30,000,000.00 7,525,000.00 131,427,135.00 161,000,000.00 2,598,845,607.25 1,519,200,000.00 244,170,935.76 38,700,000.00 585,931,379.75 8,245,574,057.76 33,340,818,885.92 262,500,000.00 33,603,318,885.92 41,848,892,943.68

Remark

‘

Few of the companies earmarked for delisting by the Exchange are still carrying on skeletal operations while some others are seriously battling with internal crisis such as boardroom tussles and liquidity challenges

‘

Arunma Oteh

sues. Meanwhile Business Courage’s independent checks have revealed that a few of the companies earmarked for delisting by the Exchange are still carrying on skeletal operations while some others are seriously battling with internal crisis such as boardroom tussles and liquidity challenges. For instance, a visit to the Oba Akran, Ikeja office of Nigerian Wire Industries Plc reveals that the company is still running while available records from the NSE also shows that the company had on May 25, 2012 submitted to the Exchange its unaudited results for the second quarter period ended June 30, 2011. Although, the result indicated that the company posted a loss and that working capital was negative, the company’s fixed assets and net assets remain positive, indicating that the challenge may have to do with managerial inefficiency as well as lack of funds to operate. Further investigations reveal that quite a number of quoted companies which are still left on the NSE’s Daily Official List have not submitted any account to the Exchange in at least, the last five years, yet many of such were not included in the list of those earmarked for delisting. Companies in this category include Stokvis Nigeria Plc, Afrik Pharmaceutical Plc, West Africa Aluminium Products Plc, Rak Unity Petroleum Plc and Nigerian Sewing Machines Manufacturing Plc to mention but a few. Meanwhile, analysts have blamed the problem with some of the blacklisted and those also considered due to blacklisting to the refusal of their management or core investors to relinquish their position. Not being able to make available to the market of their performance as required by the rules is another challenge identified as the undoing factor plaguing these companies. Take for instance; while the general public may be ignorant

of recent developments in Stokvis Nigeria Plc, because they were not made available for public consumption, current situation in Nigerian Sewing Machines Manufacturing Plc is also shrouded in secrecy, as even many operators in the market are ignorant about the current status of the company. A recent visit by Business Courage to what remains as the company’s office in Sango-Ota in Ogun State to ascertain the current status of the company revealed that the place has been under keys and locks lock for quite a while. To worsen the situation, there was no one at hand to give information about the current status of the company whose shares shareholders still hold in their custodies. However, some residents of the community who offered to speak on the condition of anonymity said the company has not operated in the last 10 years. Another company which Business Courage paid an unscheduled courtesy visit to in the course of this investigation is Hallmark Paper Product Plc located in Mushin, Lagos State. Here, some skeletal operations were still on at the time of the visit, but staff of the company would not speak on any issue regarding the company as they insisted that only the Chairman/Chief Executive Officer could answer to enquiries about the company. However, the General Manager, Listings Sales and Retention, Taba Peterside, who earlier shed light on the amendments said that the new Rules determine quantitative criteria suitable for the NSE based on their comparison with other Exchanges and an analysis of current listed companies over a three-year period. She disclosed that the NSE also consulted widely with existing listed companies, prospects and other industry stakeholders before

adopting the newly introduced Rules. Peterside expressed the confidence that the new listing requirements will act as a major catalyst to attracting new companies to list on the Exchange. She explained that another highpoint of the new Listing Rules is the enforcement of Post Listing requirement by quoted companies. “In this regard, there is the need for listed companies to present to the Exchange quarterly unaudited results, quarterly forecast and projections as well as presentation of full year audited results not later than three months from the date of closing the year”, she said. She added that the initiative has to some extent, helped to ensure that quoted companies now provide information to the investing public through the Exchange. In ensuring that these rules which are believed to have the capacity to lead to increase participation of investors in the market, the Listing Regulation Department of the Exchange has in recent times embarked on publishing the list of defaulting companies and sometimes place them on suspension as punishment for failing to meet the rules. In addition, the management of the NSE on Tuesday August 14, 2012 took a step further by releasing another list of fifty (50) quoted companies with outstanding issues to settle with the market regulators. The list which was released by the Listings Regulation Department of the NSE identified forty-nine (49) to have breached the post listing regulations. However, Stanbic IBTC which completes the number is said not to have committed any offence but made the list because the bank is set to undergo capital reconstruction exercise in compliance with directives of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). BC

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Business Courage

Monday, August 20, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

News is to continuously advocate for policies and services that are Telecoms/ ICT Consumerfriendly in consonance with the United National General Assembly Resolution on Consumer Bill of Rights, while also supporting the achievement of the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) goals and objectives.

price of gas, and other services such as household repairs, catering, and household textiles

Imo State to construct new airport terminal By Olusegun Koiki

Inflation rate rises to 12.8 per cent in July By Tola Akinmutimi (Abuja)

Ogunbanjo

NATCOMS hosts first national telecoms subscribers’ summit By Adejuwon Osunnuyi

ll is now set for the first edition of the National Telecommunications Subscribers Summit to be hosted by the National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers (NATCOMS). In a statement in Lagos by President of the Association, Deolu Ogunbanjo, he said that the Summit with the Theme: Nigerian Telecomm Revolution: Consumerism as the last mile challenge, will be held at the Muson Centre in Lagos on September 28, 2012. According to him, the objective of the summit is to create an independent forum where subscribers will have firsthand knowledge about the service delivery processes of telecoms operators. He said that the event is a one-stop shop for the telecoms operators where common causes of network failure and several challenges in the industry will be examined and possible solutions proffered. Speaking further, he said the summit is meant to get subscribers input on how to address the myriad of challenges facing the industry, get them to consent to the line of actions that will be presented as a communiqué, which will be presented to the National Assembly as Action Plan for tackling the challenges of the industry. Ogunbanjo said available statistics showed that Nigeria is the fastest growing telecoms

market in Africa, having the most vibrant Subscriber’s structure in Africa, and that consumer ratio by subscriber is the highest in Africa saying, “subscriber’s impact on telecoms operators is about the highest in Africa.” He stated NATCOMS is hosting the summit because the telecoms industry is a huge source of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to the nation stressing, “It is today the highest contributor to our Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and currently tipped to increase following the landing of some submarine mobile cable.” Another critical reason for calling the summit, according to him was the major rift, which the issue of service quality has created in the past between key stakeholders in the industry. He explained further that NATCOMS is bringing together the operators to disclose to subscribers the service delivery process of telecoms services so that they can better appreciate the industry. Participants expected at the event are subscribers, telecoms regulatory agency, government at all levels, labour, lottery commission, Consumer Protection Council, Joint Tax Board, industry stakeholders, the judiciary, National Assembly members and gentlemen of the Press. The National Association of Telecommunications Subscribers (NATCOMS), was founded in 2002 as a nonaligned, non-profit-oriented, non-religious, non-political, independent and nongovernmental organisation. Its major aim among others

igeria’s inflation rate rose to 12.8 per cent yearon-year in July, a surging trend occasioned largely by persistent surge in prices of item classes such as oils and fats, gas, bread and cereals, meats, fish, fruits and other items with relatively smaller weights in the index such as repairs of household appliances, catering services and other miscellaneous services. The rate was 12.9 per cent in the preceding month. The report of the Composite Price Index, which measures inflation in the economy, released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) at the weekend, revealed that on a monthly basis, the yearon-year changes in the CPI have generally been higher compared to last year, due to base effects derivable from persistently higher prices this year as a result of various shocks to the economy such as the partial repeal of the fuel subsidy, the increases in electricity tariff structures and higher food prices due to a rapid draw down of pantries during the planting season earlier this year. Despite this surging inflationary trend, the Bureau noted however that a cursory look at the monthly changes over the previous three months revealed that “although the CPI has generally risen, its increase has been at a slower rate which suggests that prices may be easing across the economy” Expatiating further on the CPI changes, the agency stated that “the headline index recorded month-on changes of 0.75, 1.15 and 0.24 per cent in the months of May, June, and July, respectively. The Food sub-index recorded monthon changes of 1.2, 0.5 and 0.3 per cent during the same period, while the “Core” index was recorded at 1.1, 1.0 and 0.1 per cent. On a monthly basis, the composite CPI was higher by 0.24 per cent when compared with June 2012. “In July, the urban inflation rate was recorded at 15.6 per cent year-on-year while the rural index indicated a 10.7 per cent year-on-year increase. The Urban All Items

Okonjo-Iweala

index increased by 0.23 per cent month-on-month, while the corresponding rural index increased by 0.25 per cent, when compared with the preceding month. “The percentage change in the average composite CPI for the twelve-month period ending July 2012 over the average of the CPI for the previous twelve-month period was 11.6 per cent. The corresponding 12-month yearon-year average percentage change for urban and rural indices was 11.8 and 11.5 respectively” the report added. “Other notable increases were in catering services as well as the cost of some miscellaneous services, such as appliances, articles and products for personal care. However, while these items were responsible for the largest price rises, their contribution to the overall index is minimal given their relatively smaller weights in the index. On the Food Index trend during the month in review, the agency reported the Composite Food Index increased year-on-year by 12.1 per cent to 138.1 points, adding that this rate was higher than levels recorded in June of this year by 0.3 per cent due to increase in the prices of oils and fats, vegetables, soft drinks, as well as fruit classes. Other items identified as also partially contributing to the rise in Composite Food Index include, wheat, flour, and associated by-products due to increase the import duty on wheat grains and flour by 20 percent and 100 percent respectively in July. The average annual rate of rise of the index was 11.0 percent (year-on-year) for the twelvemonth period ending July 2012. The report also indicated that ‘All Items Less Farm Produce’ index which excludes the prices of agricultural products, rose by 15.0 per cent year-on-year compared to the month-on-month basis core index which increased by 0.1 percent in July 2012. The marginal rise in the Core index is partly attributable to higher

he Imo State Government has indicated its readiness to build an ultra modern airport terminal based on the Public- Private-Partnership (PPP) model. The Special Assistant to the Imo State government, Hon. Lisa Chinwe disclosed during a press briefing held at the state’s Liaison office in Lagos. Chinwe explained that the government of Rochas Okorocha was determined to making Imo State haven for its citizenry through the construction of several projects to which building a brand new airport terminal in the state is not an exemption. She said: “Most of these projects that the government is intend to embark upon including the building of a brand new airport terminal in the state will be on the PPP model. That is the plan of the government.” She explained further that when completed, the airport terminal would bring greater advancement in airport infrastructure and foster development in the state. The intention of the government is coming on the heels of the renewed call by the Chairman of BiCourtney Group Limited, Olawale Babalakin for more Nigerian private investors to consider entering into the PPP agreement with the government in order to foster development in the aviation industry. Enumerating the various laudable projects embarked upon by the administration of Okorocha, Chinwe maintained that the governor was on a rescue mission agenda to ensure that Imo State becomes a very vibrant state amongst other states in the country. “Governor Okorocha is doing everything possible to make Imo State good, in just one year in office, he has commissioned 1,000 new roads, he has built a new Deputy Governor’s office, he has also completed about 27 hospitals in the various local government areas of the state, he has paid off all the pension arrears, he has provided 100 cars for community policing and the most prominent amongst others, is the free education in the state from primary to secondary school, he is also giving the students stipends regularly to support them,” Chinwe said.

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Business Courage

Monday, August 20, 2012

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News

Okorocha

Rolling out the plans for the Imo State citizens based in Lagos, Hon. Chinwe said that the state government plans to create a data-base of the citizens based in Lagos, noting that Imo State indigenes are “the highest in Lagos and we will make sure that we make our liaison office strong in order to make the people feel what is going on in Imo State.”

TD, D-Link partner on IT security products Stories by Kunle Azeez

echnology Distributions Limited, Nigeria’s leading distributor of Information and Communication Technology products in West Africa and D Link, the leading end-to-end networking solutions have entered into a partnership to deepen the market share of the latter in the Nigerian market. D Link is also a provider for Business Wireless, Enterprise Switching, IP Surveillance, Network Storage, Network Security and Structured Cabling Solutions, as well as the leader in SOHO and SMB networking requirements The partnership, coming under D Link’s Partner Programme, was aimed at highlighting the appropriateness of the D Link security products and empowering partners to deliver value-added solutions and products to the SMB and SOHO user space, the program is in three parts of training, promotions and trade incentives. Territory Manager for West Africa at D-Link, Samuel Ediale, said the SME and Enterprise Solution Partner Program will run well into the fourth quarter of 2012. “We believe this partnership will help provide a platform for timely delivery of technology to the end-user, create value for our partners and afford us an opportunity to reward loyalty to the brand,” he said. Ediale said that both companies were prepared to partner with governments or stake holders to deploy the security equipment required to achieve optimal surveillance in all Nigerian cities. According to him, D Link

has the technology to resolve the mystery underlying the various terrorist attacks that have become a major source of worry to all. He said that the IP Surveillance cameras, recorders, servers are ideal for the Nigerian situation whether outdoors or indoors, noting that technology offers the most lasting solutions to instability, terrorism and crime. Speaking at the launch, the Executive Director, Marketing at TD, Chioma Chimere, said that TD remains committed to the vision of her founding fathers to be the preferred source of technology required for the transformation of Africa. “This lofty ideal, TD realizes by partnering with reputable Original Equipment Manufacturers to deliver development boosting best quality equipment when and where they are needed,” she said, calling on resellers to take advantage of the on-going partner program to get used to the attributes of D Link products. She assured them of the usual TD support and advised them to reach out to churches, schools, shopping malls, governments and the corporate sector and offer the D Link security solutions. In recent years, D-Link has been engaged in a process of transformation from a networking equipment vendor to an end-to-end solutions provider. The transformation came to fruition with the establishment of D-Link’s OneStop framework for business, a comprehensive solution that provides all of the critical elements of a networking and IP surveillance infrastructure. D-Link has been positioned in the Niche Players quadrant for the category of Wired and Wireless LAN Access Infrastructure, according to the latest report1 by Gartner, Inc. In a separate market share report2 by Gartner, D-Link also obtained the lead position in worldwide Wireless LAN stand-alone access point unit shipments for enterprises in Q1 of 2012.

Cisco unveils solution for SMBs

he global Information and Communication Technology, Cisco has unveiled a set of new solutions and developments that enable Nigeria’s Small and Medium Business owners and workers to collaborate remotely in more efficient ways. The introduction of the solution followed a new Cisco WebEx survey of small business owners, which showed that SMB owners will spend up to four weeks

working remotely during the July/August holiday months and use online tools and web collaboration to stay in touch The survey showed that 15 per cent of those surveyed intend to work remotely 36 days or more. Almost half of small business owners plan to work remotely for at least two weeks before the summer is out. In particular, the solution, featuring mobile, social, visual and virtual solutions provides even more ways to collaborate for customers in Nigeria Speaking on the survey, Cisco Business Development Manager, Emerging Africa, Bola Adegbonmire, said, “The survey results demonstrate the extent to which telephone and video conferencing have become ingrained in the work habits of small business owners, since nearly half of the survey respondents say traditional, in-person meetings are becoming less relevant.” He said it was clear that small business owners needed to stay “connected” to the office, even during the summer vacation season, and so “we are giving our customers in Nigeria the tools to not only meet, but also easily and efficiently manage content relevant for those meetings wherever they happen to be.” In the new solution, the Cisco Unified Communications Manager feature called Extend and Connect works with Cisco Jabber and is designed to bring any third-party phone,including phones at hotels, airports, convention centers, or even far-flung places like offshore oil rigs into the Cisco UC environment. The Next Generation Cisco WebEx Meetings give workers an easy way to collaborate directly from Web applications they use every day the enhanced Cisco WebEx Meetings Spaces help users manage the complete meeting lifecycle, including preparations, conducting and following up on meetings. The social collaboration feature of the new solution brings social capabilities, well known from the consumer world, to the devices and applications, including email and business productivity applications - which workers use most often. According to Bola, “In today’s supply-chain driven economy, communication and collaboration across teams and companies are key. Also, employees are asking for solutions for mobility and collaboration, while companies are looking for costefficient ways to make such technologies available. “With the start of summer, mobility is becoming even more important for employees. Latest solutions in communication and collaboration allow business people in Nigeria to stay

connected, be able to participate in meetings, take decisions without delay, whilst giving them the flexibility to work anywhere, from multiple devices.”

Firm promotes adoption for SME growth

s part of SAP’s continuing efforts to support small and medium-size entrepreneurs, NetServe Africa, a SAP channel partner has demonstrated support to growth of the Small and Medium Enterprises in Nigeria through innovative Information technology solutions. NetServe recently awarded the first prize winner of the 2012 Fate Foundation Annual Business Plan Competition with the SAP Business One solution. The competition included entrepreneurs, who have enrolled in the Fate Foundation entrepreneurs programme by giving them an opportunity to present their business plan to potential investors. Head, SAP Business One, West Africa, Lydia Oladokun, said, “SAP Business One includes all the processes you need to run your entire business new and existing. SAP Business One provides complete business management functions covering financials, sales, customers, inventory, and operations. The solution is designed specifically for small businesses, it is fast and easy to implement from two to eight weeks. Therefore we believe that this will help entrepreneurs who aspire to make their businesses flourish and become role models for others to emulate.” Managing Director of Netserve Africa, Adenusi Adebola, presented SAP Business One to the winner of the competition, the Chief Executive Officer of Macwills Security Limited, Sir William Park. According to Adebola, “Netserve has been in the IT business for some years and we know that for business to

FLIGHT SCHEDULE Air Nigeria International (Lagos - London) Los- LGW (VK293): Tue, Thurs, Fri & Sat 11.55pm LGW-Los (VK292): Wed, Fri, Sat & Sun 10.50am

Arik Air Los-Abj: 07:15, 09:15, 10:20, 15:20, 16:20, 16:50, 18:45 (Mon-Fri/Sat/Sun) Abj-Los: 07:15, 09:40, 10:20, 12:15, 15:15, 16:15, 17:10, (Mon-Fri/Sat); 12:15, 15:15, 16:15 (Sun) Los-PH: 07:15, 11:40, 14:00, 16:10, 17:15, (Mon-Fri) 07:30, 11:40, 15:50 (Sat) 11:50, 3:50, 17:05 (Sun) Abj-PH: 07:15, 11:20, 15:30 (Mon-Fri) 07:15, 16:00 (Sat) 13:10, 16:00, (Sun) PH-Abj: 08:45, 12:50, 17:00 (Mon-Fri) 08:45, 17:30 (Sat) 14:40, 17:30 (Sun) Abj-Ben: 08:00, 12:10 (Mon-Fri/Sat) 08:55, 12:10 (Sun) Ben-Abj: 09:55, 13:30 (Mon-Fri/Sat) 10:50, 13:30 (Sun)

Aero Contractors Los-Abj: 06:50, 13:30, 16:30, 19:45 (Mon-Fri/Sat/Sun) 12:30 (Sun) 16:45 (Sat). Abj-Los: 07:30, 13:00, 19:00 (Mon-Fri/ Sat) 10:30, 14:30, 19:30 (Sun) 18.30 (Sat) Los-Ben: 07:45, 11:00, 15:30, (Mon-Fri/Sat/ Sun) 12:30 (Sun) 15:30 (Mon-Fri/Sat/Sun) Ben-Los: 09:15, 12:30, 17:00 (Mon-Fri/ Sat/Sun) 17:00 (Sat), 14:00 (Sun) grow, you need to automate, manage your processes and have access to your business data immediately. This helps to organise business activities providing you with a better view of your total operations. “NetServe Ltd (SAP Partner) has been in partnership with Fate Foundation for some time now, and we are thrilled to present SAP Business One to the winner. We are confident that through the SAP® Business One application the winner, Sir William Park will be able to streamline his business processes, act on time, and accelerate profitable growth.” BC

From Left: Amobi Okeke, compere; Adebola Adenusi, William Park, business plan winner; Aiki Odiawa, Head of Advertising, Access Bank; Afolabi Imoukhuede, Ken Okolo and Daniel Bassey.

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Business Courage

Monday, August 20, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Global News

Schulz

Eurozone trade surplus rises to record high in June

he eurozone’s trade surplus hit 14.9 billion euros ($18.3bn; £11.7bn) in June up from 200 million euros a year ago. The surplus was the highest since the European Union’s statistics agency began collecting data in 1999. Germany, the Netherlands and Republic of Ireland recorded the biggest surplus among the 17-member euro area and the wider 27-member EU, said Eurostat. The EU’s trade surplus was 400 million euros, compared with a 15.3bn-euro deficit a year earlier The switch to a surplus was helped by increased exports to Asia and emerging markets including Russia, Japan, Brazil and South Korea. The data underlined the region’s dependence on external sources of growth as austerity measures in core eurozone countries have damaged household spending and business confidence. “Companies have to look for foreign buyers to replace austerity-hit domestic demand and wage restraint and leaner production improve competitiveness,” said Berenberg Bank analyst Christian Schulz. “Germany is still playing a big part. Although it has recently started losing competitiveness vis-a-vis its eurozone partners, the German economy continues to enjoy a high and still improving level of competitiveness at the global level,” he added. Earlier last week, Eurostat said the eurozone economy had shrunk by 0.2 per cent in the April-to-June period from flat growth in the previous first quarter. Capital Economics warned: “With global growth slowing, we don’t expect the resilience of the core’s exports to last much longer.

China eyes African Barrick Gold stake

hina’s state-owned miner, China National Gold, has held preliminary talks to buy a stake in African Barrick Gold

(ABG), one of Africa’s largest gold miners. Demand for gold in China has surged and it is expected to become the world’s biggest market for the metal this year. African Barrack has large reserves but has struggled to meet production targets. Barrick Gold, the parent of ABG, said the talks were at an “early stage”. “There can be no certainty that these discussions will result in the acquisition of all or part of Barrick’s holding in ABG,” Barrick Gold said in a statement. Last year, the company produced almost 688,000 ounces of gold. That was down from 701,000 ounces in 2010 and 716,000 ounces the year before. At the same time, its cost of production has gone up. According to the firm, it cost it $692 (£440) to produce an ounce of gold last year, a jump of more than 20 per cent from 2010. The firm has also been hurt by issues such as power cuts as well as theft of fuel. As a result, its shares have taken a hit, falling almost 30 per cent in the past one year. Analysts said that given these issues, the miner was a risky bet for potential suitors. “African Barrick has always looked like it offered good value albeit at a high risk, and if the potential acquirer can get the asset and is comfortable with the risk, you will be able to get a reasonable set of assets for a good price,” said Hunter Hillcoat an analyst with Investec

a company buys an interest from another in an existing field, often to help finance development. Ian Cooling, executive vice president at Anadarko, said the company was interested in South Africa because it was looking for frontier acreage and a country where there was potential to grow a business if the exploration work proved successful. “We think that South Africa provides all of that,” he said at the signing ceremony. He did not elaborate on how much Anadarko was planning to invest in the first, three-year-long phase of the exploration work. “Basically, if the potential is there, we will spend money,” he said. Explorers in South Africa’s offshore areas have had limited success, despite more promising finds along the coast of neighbouring Namibia and Mozambique, but South Africa is seen to hold good potential for shale gas and coal bed methane exploration onshore. Anadarko, along with other global players, has been very successful in exploration off the coast of Mozambique and the east African nation is now expected to become a major exporter of liquefied natural gas by the end of this decade. PetroSA’s Chief Executive Nosizwe Nocawe Nokwe and Anadarko’s Cooling declined to say if their partnership could possibly lead to PetroSA also participating in Anadarko’s Mozambican acreage. “When we finish the initial work (in Mozambique), we may be looking to farm down (sell a stake), but that’s in the future,” Cooling said. The Anadarko deal is part of PetroSA’s strategy to go into partnerships with global players to expedite work in its blocks. Early last week, the South African oil group signed a farm-in deal for crude oil and natural gas exploration in Block 1 with Cairn India Group.

Nokwe

PetroSA, Anadarko sign oil, gas exploration deal for S.Africa

outh African state-owned oil firm PetroSA and U.S.listed Anadarko Petroleum Corp have signed a deal for oil and gas exploration in blocks off the coast of South Africa, the companies said last Friday. Under the farm-in deal, whose value was not disclosed, Anadarko will hold an 80 per cent stake in Block 5/6 and Block 7 and will serve as operator, and PetroSA will hold the rest. Under a farm-in agreement,

IFC stakes $190m in Moroccan bank

anque Centrale Populaire, Morocco’s second-biggest lender by market value and which needs funds for an expansion plan, is to sell a five per cent stake to the International Finance Corporation for 1.74 billion dirhams. BCP said at the weekend that the deal valued its shares at 201 dirhams. The stock was unchanged at 198 dirhams at 1230 GMT. The company, which faces a shortage of liquidity in the domestic market, said the transaction will give it easier access to credit facilities that

IFC provides to small and medium enterprises. It was BCP’s second deal with a foreign partner since April when French cooperative bank BPCE agreed to buy 5 percent stake, also at 201 dirhams. In June, Populaire said it would pay 1 billion dirhams for a 50 percent stake in Ivory Coast lender Group Banque Atlantique which is active in Ivory Coast, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, Senegal, and Togo. Morocco raised 5.3 billion dirhams last year selling a 20 per cent stake in BCP to help fund a spending spree aimed at to winning over protesters inspired by the Arab Spring.

Ghana’s gold output rises in first half of 2012

The first Dreamliner arrived, it was a very proud moment for the company’s workers and many took photographs of the new plane. “As a continent this shows how much we are making progress as Africans... competing on the global stage and changing our image,” Ethiopian Airline head Tewolde Gebremariam told reporters at Addis Ababa’s Bole International Airport. The aircraft are supposed to cost $200 million each but correspondents say airlines rarely pay this price, especially for bulk orders. Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways are the only two airlines already operating Dreamliner aircraft. Ethiopian Airlines generally has a good safety record, apart from the 2010 crash of one of its aircraft off the coast of Lebanon.

hana’s gold production rose six per cent in the first half of 2012 to 1,616,501 ounces from 1,523,037 ounces a year ago, according to data from the chamber of mines on Friday. Gold revenues in Africa’s second biggest producer behind South Africa rose during the same period by 20 per cent to $2.69 billion from $2.23 billion. However, quarter-onquarter production fell marginally in the second quarter to 805,604 ounces from 810,898 ounces in the previous quarter, the chamber of mines said in the statement without giving further details.

Gebremariam

Ethiopia gets first Boeing 787 Dreamliner in Africa

thiopia has become the second country after Japan to take delivery of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. Ethiopian Airlines has bought 10 of Boeing’s flagship aircraft, which are built from lightweight material, rather than aluminium, to save fuel. The BBC’s Catherine Byaruhanga in Addis Ababa says that despite the pouring rain, a marching band gave a fitting welcome as the first plane arrived. Ethiopian Airlines is one of Africa’s biggest airlines.

Chua

Singapore exports rise in July

ingapore’s non-oil exports jumped in July as robust demand from Asia helped offset a decline in shipments to Western economies. Exports rose 5.8 per cent from a year earlier, boosted by rise in shipments to China, Hong Kong, South Korea and Taiwan. However, exports to the US and eurozone fell amid the ongoing economic issues in those regions. Analysts said shipments, which include electronics and pharmaceuticals, may slow in the coming months. “The concern is that going forward the US outlook is still rather uncertain given the fiscal headwinds and our view that Europe’s recession will probably deepen,” said Chua Hak Bin, an economist at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Singapore’s non oilexports are dominated by the electronics, petrochemicals and pharmaceutical sectors. Electronics shipments rose by two per cent from a year earlier and petrochemicals exports gained 11.6 per cent. Selena Ling, head of treasury and research at OCBC Bank, said that even though the growth in sectors such as electronics was not a sharp one “it looks like it has stabilised a little”. BC

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Monday, August 20, 2012

Business Courage

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By Bamidele Obafemi

A corporate

Savage

physiologist Babatunde Abayomi Savage progressively made his way to the very top at Guinness Nigeria Plc with dint of hard work and innovation. He has scored many firsts, serving at various levels in the company. Perhaps, the most outstanding achievement in the company was his role in the entry of Diageo Plc in the brewery giant, a move that has significantly impacted on the company’s fortune. Savage, chairman of Guinness Plc, is also a foremost investor in many other companies. Here is the story of a ‘Corporate Physiologist’ who bailed out Guinness out of its demoralising debt.

abatunde Savage, chairman, Board of Directors of Guinness Nigeria Plc, is undoubtedly one of Nigeria’s most outstanding chartered accountants, having distinguished himself as a tested corporate surgeon of sort. His voyage into the world of finance and accounting began when he joined Cooper and Lybrand now PriceWaterHouseCoopers in 1978, a year after he graduated from the University of Ibadan. Ironically, his mission to the University of Ibadan was not to pursue a degree in accounting or any finance-related discipline. Savage, who clocked 68 years last May, actually graduated with a B.sc in Physiology (the branch of medical science that studies the functions of living organisms or their parts) in 1977. Five years after he joined the foremost Cooper and Lybrand, Savage upped the ante of his intellectual capacity by successfully executing the last stage of the examinations of the Institute of Chartered of Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) to attain the status of a chartered accountant. Armed with this qualification in 1982, Savage left the audit profession to concentrate on pure accounting. Almost immediately, Savage resigned his appointment at PriceWaterHouseCoopers to pursue a career in the manufacturing sector of the economy. But little did he realised that the decision to join the employment of Guinness Nigeria Plc in 1983 would fetch him wealth and fame. Not long after he became a staff of the multi-billion dollar brewing giant, fortune began to smile on him, as he was elevated to the position of the accountant for the Benin plant (which was then the biggest in Nigeria). In 1989, he was moved higher up as the company appointed him its treasurer. In this capacity, just like those before it, Babatunde Savage proved his mettle. He was very instrumental to the bailout, which the brewery giant enjoyed through his partnership with banks, which pulled it out of its huge financial debts. After this, Savage was again rewarded, as he got promoted to the level of financial controller in 1992 and later director of finance in 1995. That was 12 years after he joined the company from the low level of the ladder. As the finance director at Guinness Nigeria Plc, Babatunde Savage was saddled with the responsibility of providing fiscal, strategic and operational leadership to improve efficiency and operating results of the Continue on pg A8

Business Courage

company. An Alumnus of the popular Igbobi College, Lagos (where he studied for his Higher School Certificate), Savage, due to hard work, was picked to be among a special team to redefine the history of Guinness Nigeria Plc between 1992 and 1997. As part of the team that spearheaded the re-structuring and re-engineering mission in the Guinness Nigeria Plc, Savage was singled out to have led the turnaround history of the company into a subsidiary of Diageo Plc. Diageo plc is a British multinational alcoholic beverages company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world’s largest producer of spirits and a major producer of beer and wine. The company acquired a controlling share of the equities of Guinness Nigeria Plc in a deal facilitated by Babatunde Savage. Consequent upon bringing Diageo Plc on board Guinness Nigeria Plc, Savage became the company’s Corporate Relations Director in 1999, in which capacity he served as the company’s External Ambassador. In 2005, however, Babatunde Savage was further promoted to the position of the Company’s Deputy Chief Executive Officer (DCEO), of a brewery which then had attained a height of N70billion turnover or annual revenue with annual profit of N17 billion. In May 2009, four years after his appointment as Deputy CEO, the Board of the Company led by Diageo Plc, resolved to further strengthen the capacity of Babatunde Savage in making decision for the company as he was selected to replace late Dr. Ralph Alabi, the former Chairman of the Board of Guinness, who directed the affairs of the of the Company for about 13 years. Savage, who has been in the saddle of decision making as Deputy CEO and Chairman of Guinness Nigeria Plc in the last seven years, was described by Ralph Alabi in his lifetime as a capable leader who can take the company to the heights which it has achieved in recent times. Dr. Alabi had described Savage as a worthy successor, a true Guinness man who understands the culture of the company. “Tunde will bring his wealth of experience to bear on the company, with his exposure; he is an excellent choice who will take Guinness Nigeria to greater heights”, he had predicted. Good for Savage and Guinness Nigeria Plc and stakeholders of the stout brewer, Savage has not disappointed in any way as the company has grown in leaps and bounds since 2005 when the physiologist-turned chartered accountant took over the mantle of leadership. Some of the significant progress which Savage has brought to the company in the last seven years includes the commissioning of a new brew house at the

Monday, August 20, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

they will increase their investment in Nigeria by N56 billion or 225 million pound sterling, with the intention of creating at least 200 additional permanent jobs in the country. The move, the company says, is part of Guinness Nigeria’s effort to expand the capacity of its brewing operations in Nigeria and extend its commitment to the development of the Nigerian economy. It was also reported that on completion of the expansion project, the company would create additional 200 permanent jobs in Nigeria. The investment is also to enable Guinness Nigeria Plc to retain its market share. According to the company, the expansion project became imperative in order for the Guinness Nigeria Plc to be able to meet the growing demand for Guinness Foreign Extra Stout,

Savage

Ogba brewery complex in Lagos. The commissioning in February 2011 was ably handled by Her Britannic Majesty’s Minister for Africa, Henry Bellingham. In his opening remarks before the commissioning ceremony then, the visibly delighted Savage, went down the memory lane to espouse the contribution of Guinness Nigeria as not only a strong brand, but also a strong company, providing direct employment for over 1,200 full time employees and over 700 temporary staff, while also providing a source of livelihood for over 28,000 Nigerians, through the company’s supply chain activities. As a significant contributor to the national income, Savage recalled that in 2010, for example, the company’s total revenue to government from excise duty, import duties, VAT, company income tax and PAYE taxes amounted to over N16 billion. Reminiscencing on the decision to go into business alliance with Diageo, Savage spoke glowingly about the single majority shareholder, Diageo, the parent company of Guinness Nigeria Plc, as a company that believes in adding value to where they work. Diageo as you know, he said, is in 120 countries of the world and here we are having a brew house, which is the most modern in Africa’ ‘We have a company that believes in long time commitment in the way we operate in Nigeria. This company believes in adding values to our communities, that is why today, we have been able to key in to the Diageo Water of Life projects, in which we have been able to put 10 Water Of Life projects all over the coun-

try’ We also have Guinness eye hospitals in Lagos, Onitsha and Kaduna’. Tunde Savage believes the fact that Guinness originates from the United Kingdom notwithstanding, the fact that the company has been able to adapt very well in Nigeria, transforming to a Nigerian business makes the story of the brewery giant very significant. “Although a UK investment in Nigeria, Guinness Nigeria today has become a truly Nigerian company so much so that Nigerians take pride in the fact that Nigeria is the second biggest Guinness market in the world, local stories demonstrating pride in the brand by the general populace and Nigerian Guinness is now being exported to the United Kingdom,” he said. Devlin Hainsworth, Managing Director, Guinness Nigeria Plc, says Guinness, which is to be the most celebrated business in Nigeria, along with its range of products, stand for so much power, greatness, communion-values that are so synonymous with Nigeria and Nigerians. He expressed delight that the investments guarantee the quality and the continuity of supplies, so it can meet the consumer demand so effectively and high quality here in Nigeria. Hainsworth said that Guinness is proud of its corporate reputation and “of course our people, we are very proud to have as our majority shareholders, Diageo, the world’s premium drink company and I am delighted’. Diageo Plc, majority shareholders in Guinness Nigeria Plc, whose decision to come into Nigeria to invest was prompted by Savage, declared last year that

Harp Lager Beer and its other brands sold nationwide. It said that the investment would include the upgrade of existing facilities as well as increase the brewing capacity of two existing factories in the country. Devlin Hainsworth, representatives of Diageo Plc in Guinness Nigeria Plc, said: “Nigeria is an exciting and vibrant place to do business, and the increased demand for our iconic brands such as Guinness and Harp requires us to invest in our breweries and infrastructure. Guinness Nigeria is a significant contributor to economic growth through paying taxes to government, generating capital growth and distributing dividends to our many shareholders and creating broad-based wealth through our extensive value chain. We are delighted that we will create a significant number of jobs for Nigerians

‘

As part of the team that spearheaded the re-structuring and reengineering mission in the Guinness Nigeria Plc, Savage was singled out to have led the turnaround history of the company into a subsidiary of Diageo Plc

‘

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Savage (left), Vice Chairman, International Chamber of Commerce of Nigeria (ICCN), Dr. Raymond Ihyembe, and Bismarck Rewane, during the recent meeting of ICCN

upon completion of the project. This investment underscores Diageo’s confidence in Nigeria and its people and is an affirmation of our belief in its future as a growth economy and prosperous nation.” Besides being in employment of the company for over two decades, serving in different capacities, Savage has demonstrated that his love for the company transcends earning salary and bonuses. He has personally committed his money into buying the shares of the company over the years and his investments in the shares of Guinness Nigeria Plc as at August 2011 showed that Savage is the second largest individual shareholder with 601,263 units of the company’s ordinary shares. However, Savage’s investments are not limited to Guinness Nigeria Plc alone, as he equally has substantial equity in many other companies, both quoted and privately owned. He is the Board chairman of Nigerian German Chemicals Plc and he is equally an independent board member of Mouka Foam Plc. He served as Director of Jos International Breweries Limited and non-executive director, East African Breweries Limited from 2002 to 2008. He served as a Member of Council of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) and Treasurer of Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN). Apart from being on the Board of quoted companies performing the dual roles of a Corporate Physiologist, analysing the anatomy of corporate organisations and enhancing their performance and as an

Business Courage

Monday, August 20, 2012

investor, Savage is also a Fellow of a number of professional bodies. He is a Fellow of both the Chartered Institute of Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN). He is equally the Chairman of International Chamber of Commerce Nigeria (ICCN), where he is playing very prominent roles of enhancing economic growth in Nigeria. ICC is the representative body for enterprises from all sectors in every part of the world, with the fundamental mission of promoting trade and investments across frontiers and help business corporations meet challenges and opportunities of globalisation. In Nigeria, the ICC is made up of business leaders and blue-chip companies who come together to set global standards and move the nation’s economy forward. ICCN is a distinct and independent body, different from other Chambers of Commerce in Nigeria in the sense that it provides platforms for members to tap international business practices and appointments within a broad network of over 120 countries with national committees linked to the International Chamber of Commerce Headquarters in Paris. Guinness Nigeria Plc by the promptings of Savage recently sponsored the 13th Annual General Meeting of ICC Nigeria an occasion where a non-executive board member of Guinness Nigeria Plc, Bismarck Rewane, delivered a lecture titled the ‘Economic Outlook and Implications for Business.’ Rewane’s lecture highlighted the various economic risks and opportuni-

ties for global business operations in emerging markets such as Nigeria. Also very recently, the Babatunde Savage led Board of ICC Nigeria launched in the new Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) rules which stakeholders say is a foundation for easy resolution of cross –border disputes in business. The rules, according to experts, addresses areas of concern to users, such as control of time and cost in arbitration, emergency arbitrator provisions and arbitration involving multiple parties. They also contain changes to facilitate handling of disputes arising under investment treaties and free trade agreements. Secretary-General, ICC Interna-

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tional Court of Arbitration, Jason Fry, said the goal of the new rules is to have simple guidelines for complex situations. The Chairman of ICC Nigeria said the revision of the rules was concluded after a study spanning four years by a special task force comprising members from various national committees among other stakeholders. “The new rules will meet the needs of those involved in international trade and allow participants to learn the basics about different amicable dispute resolution techniques, taking into account cross-cultural awareness and legal considerations”. Savage argued that building an arbitration-friendly commercial legal structure in the country will support business develop-

He has personally committed his money into buying the shares of the company over the years and his investments in the shares of Guinness Nigeria Plc as at August 2011 showed that Savage is the second largest individual shareholder with 601,263 units of the company’s ordinary shares

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ment opportunities and attract foreign investors. Speaking at the launch of the 2012 ICCN Rules of Arbitration in Lagos, Savage said “a nation focused on sustained economic prosperity and peace must encourage an equitable, transparent and fair governance architecture based on sound value system. “It is the desire of ICC globally to foster trade and investment across nations in an amicable, equitable and peaceful manner. In essence, ICC arbitration is one way to bridge the gap between investors or foreign companies and domestic entities by providing a neutral and independent mechanism for resolving disputes when they arise.” Before his appointment as Chairman of ICC Nigeria, Babatunde Savage had served as Executive Board member of the Chamber for many years and he has served the notice of his determination to ensure that Nigeria and Africa’s economy feel more impact of ICC as long as he continues to direct the affairs of the organisation. However, looking back to his days in executive capacities in Guinness Nigeria Plc and considering the level of success he helped the company to attain, the unassuming Savage simply believes that there was really no secret behind the achievements. But the Harvard Business School and Cranfield University trained boardroom maestro said what has made the difference for him and the company was the decision to be very transparent in all their dealings. “Your governing principle must be very clear here. You must ensure you do things correctly and rightly”, he said. Born in May 1954, Savage was admitted into Igbobi College in 1973 for the Higher School Certificate (HSC). After his HSC, he proceeded to University of Ibadan in 1974 and bagged Bachelor of Science (Bsc Physiology) in 1977. He has attended various local and overseas management-training courses in reputable institutions including Cranfield School of Management and Harvard Business School. Cumulatively, Savage is credited for the restructuring of the company’s finances from indebtedness to huge surplus in billions and maintained a triple “A” rating. He was also believed to have initiated and perfected the enactment of various favourable public policies affecting the Alcoholic Beverage Industry in Nigeria such as tax and tariff reviews. He led the company’s contributions to growth and development of the capital market through major initiatives and worked assiduously to make Guinness Nigeria, the most celebrated Business in Diageo International, which culminated in the winBC ning of the Company of the year

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10 Questions

We’ve learnt lessons from the market crash – Olushekun

Ariyo Olushekun, Managing Director/CEO of Capital Assets Limited and President, Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), is a long standing member of the council of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). In this interview with SALAMI SEMIU and BAMIDELE OBAFEMI, Olushekun, who is also the President of The Investment Club of Nigeria (TICN), bares his mind on how best the recovery process of the capital market can be achieved. He also spoke on his transformation agenda for CIS as well as other pressing investments matters. Excerpts...

hat informed the idea of TICN? The idea of The Investment Club of Nigeria (TICN), came up as a means of providing training to willing investors on the basic fundamentals of investing in the capital market. I think the effort was successful as far as getting people to show interest in the market was concerned. However, whether it was able to give the people the necessary back-up or sustain their interest is another issue. It also enabled the investors to diversify their investment. For instance, if 20 people could come together to make a little

contribution like N15, 000 per month for investment, that is a good way to start. You have not come with the N1 million you have saved over the years to invest in the market that is open to other vagaries and honestly. Without sounding immodest, such an amount in considerable terms really does not constitute a heavy burden on you. It is something that, l really don’t want to say you can afford to lose, but you may not feel too bad if you happen to lose N15,000 or N150, 000 contributed over 10 months. Even the chances of losing your financial contribution is very slim because you participate in

making decision about what to buy. TICN not train people to give their money to other people to manage; rather, it trained people to pull their money and even human capital together to choose what to buy, to choose when to sell and to manage their portfolio. So, it was tailored towards training people both theoretically and practically to manage their money. So, I think it did very, very well. It had over 30 Trusts with each having over 20 people. That really went a long way in getting people to come to the market and educate them on various investment opportunities that are available.

Four years after the bubble burst in the capital market, we are yet to get it right and return the market to the path of sustainable growth. What could be the problem? Yes, you are very much correct. Since 2008, it’s been four years and we are yet to get it right, and the reason is not far-fetched. We have been applying pills, doing one thing or the other at a time. The thing is that, to achieve the kind of recovery we want, we need to tackle the problem in a holistic manner. We should do so many things at the same time, and the combination of the effect will make the recovery process faster and make the market sustainable. If we apply a pill today and the other things that should follow that up are not applied, after some time, it will have no effect. So, we need to approach it in a holistic manner, that way, we can achieve result. And that is what is beginning to happen now. In recent weeks, there have been concerted efforts, and the government is really showing tremendous interest now towards achieving market recovery, and so, a lot of things are been worked on that when implementation starts, the only way the market can go is up. One other thing that has worked against the market recovery is the incidences of negative pronouncements in the past by key regulatory agencies like the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and even the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). Of course, that is changing now because in recent past, we have not had such negative pronouncements from anywhere. So, if that stops and we do other things that are necessary, the market will surely recover. The market is now very ripe for strong and sustainable recovery. You talked about pronouncements by regulatory authorities, are you saying the problem was that of the regulators than the market operators? If you say operators, you are indirectly talking about regulatory issues. Because if you say the operators are not doing what they should be doing right, then it means the regulators are not regulating very well. But the issues in not even that of the regulators or the operators, the issues are more of when you have a kind of situation that we had, and you ask, what are the things we need to put in the market that would create the kind of impact that we want? What are the things that we did wrong in the past that needed to be avoided now? What procedure did we have or did we not have in the past that we need now? What instruments were not present in the past that we need to create and operate now? I think those are the issues. In the past, we were doing margin trading but certain things to support margin trading were not available. We didn’t have the Market Makers, we didn’t have the security strength, we couldn’t short sell, and we couldn’t do some of those things that will put check on movement of cycles, things that could assist us in price

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We had instances of investors submitting multiple applications. People would create thousands of names and submit applications for thousands of non-existing applicants for a Public Offer. That disrupted the in-balance of those offers; they disrupted many things in the market

recovery. So, those are the things we need to put in place now, and you can see that efforts are being made to put in place some of these instruments. As at the time when all of these were happening, it was said that the market operators, particularly the stockbrokers benefited more from the status quo… That is not true. First, I would like to say that trading blames is not what we should be doing four years down the line. We should be worried about how to move the market forward. These things happened in other countries too, but four years down the line, they are not at the level of looking for whom to blame, they have corrected themselves and moved forward. If we want to situate blame, we can blame every participant including investors. We had instances of investors submitting multiple applications. People would create thousands of names and submit applications for thousands of non-existing applicants for a Public Offer. That disrupted the in-balance of those offers; they disrupted many things in the market. The Registrars had their blames too. Stockbrokers of course had their own blames. The Stock Exchange, SEC, everybody, even those who issued the stocks, they had their blames. How did they apply the funds that they raised? Some used the funds to build houses; they did not use them for productive activities. Most of them did not keep to the purpose of their offers or private placements. Everybody, you can name them, and I will easily tell you where they went wrong. But after four years, we cannot be talking about that. No. We must note what has happened and punish those that deserve to be punished but a lot of our energy should be focused on how to move the market forward. That is all we should be

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doing by now. All of us must be determined, we must realise that it is not in our ultimate interest to do those things again. We must realise that, we must begin to move forward in an organised manner, and then when our market begin returns to profitability, if we ever experience a boom again, we would understand better how to manage the situation. How soon are we going to experience another boom? I can’t say that. If anybody tells you that, he is not telling you the truth. Only God can say that, but the major lesson we must learn is that, what we are going to achieve in the future must be a solid growth based on solid premise. It should be sustainable. In the past, we were just achieving growth. What we claimed to be growth then was not a real growth, and that was why when the balloon was punctured, we had a burst and everything went down. So, that is the way l see it. Many operators have been agitating for forbearance for the market as it happened in the banking sector. In this case, who should actually get it, the stockbrokers or investors that lost money in the market? When you talk about forbearance, you are talking about restoration of losses. That is not what we are talking about. We are talking about loans, not even any kind of loan but margin loan. Margin loan by nature has procedure, it has arrangement. For instance, if l want to buy a stock worth a N100 million, l go to a bank for a facility, and the bank says, put down an equity, make a contribution of N50 million and the bank adds the balance. The arrangement is based on the understanding that the point when the stock is bought, the bank would hold the stock worth a N100

million for a loan of seventy million. Now, at that point, the bank had been covered up to 145 per cent of the loan or thereabout. The banks then tell you that in an event the value of the portfolio drops to N85 million, I will invite you to either add more cash or stock to restore my cover up to N100 million. If you don’t do so, by the time the value gets to N80 million, I will sell without recourse to you. And if the bank had sold at that point, it would have been able to recover its N70 million with accrued interest and still be able to return something to the broker that borrowed. The broker, on its side could have lost its equities, but would not have lost everything. So, it puts responsibility on the bank to ensure that they sold when they ought to have sold. The issue is, did they sell? Could they have been able to sell if they had wanted to sell? That was the point I made before that we were doing margin trading when the things to support it were not in place. If we had Market Makers in place, at the point the banks wanted to sell, the Market Makers would have bought. But whose responsibility was it to have realised that I won’t be able to sell this thing when I want to, it is the responsibility of the bank as at the time they were giving out the margin loan, but they didn’t know. Everybody rushed into margin trading without anyone knowing what their responsibilities should be. So, that happened. Now, the banks have been taken out. They have sold the margin loans to the Asset Management Company of Nigeria (AMCON), and they sold the margin loan based on the value of the stocks backing those margin loans. So, they have been taken care of. What did AMCON take over? It took over the burden of the bank as regards the bad loans. Should that affect the stockbrokers? They may also argue that they have lost their funds and that they should not have lost it if the banks had sold when necessary for them also to have gotten something back. So, that is the context within which we should be looking at the forbearance issue. It shouldn’t look as if some people are being favoured. Forbearance is necessary because brokers also have a role to play in market recovery, because if they have a clean balance sheet, they can recapitalise it to an appropriate level and be able to deploy the fund into certain proprietary activities in the market. You said that the government is working assiduously to restore market confidence. But how do you reconcile its decision on the leadership crisis in SEC, won’t the crisis have a negative impact on the market? Well, you see, I agree with you that what happened at SEC was an issue that can determine the level of confidence that investors will have in the market and therefore impact the level of market recovery. The process is for now not complete, the process of making the investigation and release of the report. I believe that the government should release the report. Government has seen something upon which it based the return of the Director-General (DG). It is in the same vein that the report should be released to the investors so that they would either understand or have reasons to hold a different opinion which will affect the market. Until that is done, it is really difficult to comment on whether the decision taken by the government to return the DG was right or wrong. But what is important now is that, we must make concerted efforts in moving the market forward. But I know the government is making other efforts like consulting with stakeholders. The Finance Minister has also set up a committee on the resuscitation of the capital market which comprise of the CBN, SEC, NSE, DMO, CIS and all the major stakeholders in the market. Lets us talk about the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS). You have the mandate to run it for two years, what will be your major preoccupations? One, we want to do whatever we can to make sure that the market comes back. We want to work with all other stakeholders to ensure that the market returns to the path of sustainable growth. The market recovery, which in a way has started, we want to see it built up to an appreciable level. But we want this to be done in a sustainable manner, which

is very critical, because if we do it in a way that is not sustainable, we will have another crisis, and that will be more devastating. Two, we are working at raising the profile of the institute. We have made contributions to the growth of this economy in the past but somehow, those contributions have not been linked to the Institute or appreciated as coming from it. So, we are working on quite a number of things that would make us get the appropriate recognition for our contributions to the national economy. We would also intensify our activities in ensuring market discipline. Before now, we have always taken the issues of market discipline very seriously, but we will intensify it. When we receive a complaint, we will investigate it thoroughly and when necessary, people are charged to the Tribunal and the people concerned will come with their lawyers to defend their position. We used to have an assessor that is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), but now, we have an assessor that is a retired Supreme Court Judge. That has raised the level of the tribunal, and most of the judgements we have come up with, none has been successfully challenged in the court. So, it tells you how thorough the job of the Institute has been in that area. Continuous updating of the knowledge of our members is also an area that we are looking at. We now run series of continuous development programme in the Institute and we would intensify that. We trained our people in recent time on security lending and we are putting in place arrangements to do a practical training on that. We are working on several things but credibility among other things is key for the Institute. Capital Assets is about 14 years old now, how has the journey been? The journey has been a good one. We are thankful to God for the kind of experience we have acquired. Our beginning was humble, yet we are not where we want to be, but we have made giant strides. We started purely as a stockbrokerage shop, but now, we do stock broking, securities trading, funds management, we are an issuing house, we do all aspects of investment banking as a fullfledged investment bank. So, we have come a long way. We have tried to institute a high level of integrity, we try to be careful in the way we carry out our transactions. We try to satisfy our clients, we delight them. When we need to be conservative, we are conservative. When the margin trading was going on, we didn’t participate. We did not borrow a kobo and we also advised our clients not to, and many of them were able to refer to the advice we offered them thereafter. We are not overtly aggressive and at the same time not too conservative. In the next five years, where does Capital Assets expect to be? You are talking as if you know what our plans are. In the next five years, we want to be seen as a very well established Islamic Investment bank. We really want to work in that area, because we feel there are lots of opportunities in this area that we need to capture and bring to this market. By not doing that, the market is actually losing. So, because of that, we commend the Stock Exchange for launching the Lotus Islamic Index, l think that will encourage more products to be developed that will serve that area and we would have more participants in the market because once people see that they can benchmark the performance of their Sharia compliant companies on that index, more people will join. A lot of Muslims right now feels that the market is not for them. That the market does not operate in line with the Sharia, and that is not true. You can still do the investments that are compliant with Sharia. Such people have a lot of funds that are not in the market, we want them to bring these funds to the market and l think it is also very important for every faith Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, whatever, if there is any peculiar thing that is keeping people of that faith together, to develop products that will bring them to the market. We must increase the depth of the market, and one way of doing that is to encourage companies to list. But that is not all, we need every person to come and put some money in the market. BC

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A deadly

virus

A new virus believe to target major infrastructures, particularly in the energy sector has been uncovered, raising fears among nations of an impending doomsday By Adejuwon Osunnuyi

new threat targeting infrastructure in the energy industry has been uncovered by security specialists. The attack, known as Shamoon, is said to have hit “at least one organisation” in the sector. Shamoon is capable of wiping files and rendering several computers on a network unusable.Last Wednesday, Saudi Arabia’s national oil company said an attack had led to its own network being taken offline. Although Saudi Aramco did not link the issue to the Shamoon threat, it did confirm that the company had suffered a “sudden disruption”. In a statement, the company said it had now isolated its computer networks as a precautionary measure. The disruptions were “suspected to be the result of a virus that had infected personal workstations without affecting the primary components of the network”, a statement read. It said the attack had had “no impact whatsoever” on production operations. On Thursday, security firms released the first detailed information about Shamoon. Experts said the threat was known to have had hit “at least one organisation” in the energy sector. “It is a destructive malware that corrupts files on a compromised computer and overwrites the MBR (Master Boot Record) in an effort to render a computer unusable,” wrote security firm Symantec. The attack was designed to penetrate a computer through the internet, before targeting other machines on the same network that were not directly connected to the internet. Once infected, the machines’ data is wiped. A list of the wiped files then sent back to the initially infected computer, and in turn, passed on to the attacker’s command-and-control centre. During this process, the attack replaces the deleted files with JPEG images - obstructing any potential file recovery by the victim.

Seculert, an Israel-based antivirus specialist, also analysed the malicious code and concluded that it had unusual characteristics compared with other recent attacks. “The interesting part of this malware is that, instead of staying under the radar and collect information, the malware was designed to overwrite and wipe the files,” the company said. “Why would someone wipe files in a targeted attack and make the machine unusable?” Shamoon is the latest in a line of attacks that have targeted infrastructure. One of the most high-profile attacks in recent times was Stuxnet, which was designed to hit nuclear infrastructure in Iran. Others, like Duqu, have sought to infiltrate networks in order to steal data. Stuxnet thwarted by control code update Iran’s nuclear enrichment efforts have been targeted by sophisticated cyber attacks Last month, German engineering giant, Siemens issued a fix for the software loopholes

Toure

used by the notorious Stuxnet worm. Stuxnet was discovered in 2010 after investigations into malfunctions at many industrial plants and factories. Iran’s nuclear enrichment efforts were hit hard by Stuxnet which targeted the devices that control delicate industrial processes. The fix comes as reports circulate of a fresh cyber attack on Iranian nuclear enrichment project. Stuxnet exploited loopholes in the software Siemens wrote to oversee the running of its programmable logic controllers - devices used in many industrial facilities to automate

a production process. When a controller was infected with Stuxnet, it made the motors it was typically connected to run out of control and burn out. This is believed to have been behind Iran’s need to replace many of the centrifuges it was using in its Natanz uranium enrichment plant. Siemens has issued advisories saying it has updated the Simatic code in the controllers to remove the loopholes. It is not yet clear who created Stuxnet, but security researchers say it is so complex and tightly targeted that only a nation would be able to marshal the resources to put it together. Stuxnet is just one of several similar malicious programs created to attack industrial control systems. Experts speculate that many were made to slow down and disrupt Iran’s nuclear production processes. Iran has regularly denied that the viruses have hit its nuclear programme. The Siemens update comes as security firm F-Secure received an email believed to have been sent by a scientist working at Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization. In the message, the scientist said its plants at Natanz and Qom have been hit again by a worm. Top F Secure security researcher Mikko Hypponen said it had not been able to confirm any of the details in the message. However, digital detective work did reveal that the message had come from within the Atomic Energy agency. On July 23, Iran issued a

statement saying it had successfully “confronted” sophisticated malware and thwarted all the cyber attacks against the nation’s infrastructure. Reza Taqipur, Iran’s minister of communication and information technology said it was sometimes hit by as many as two million cyber attacks a day, but its ability to deal with them was growing daily. Earlier in June, the United Nations (UN), has urged countries to seek a “peaceful resolution” in cyberspace to avoid the threat of global cyberwar. The comments by the head of the UN’s telecommunications agency came a week after Flame, one of the most complex cyberattacks to date, was uncovered. Dr Hamadoun Toure told the BBC that he did not suspect the US of being behind the attack, adding that developing countries were being helped to defend themselves more adequately against threats. Giving his first public interview about the attack, Dr Toure said the UN’s International Telecommunications Union (ITU), which co-ordinates the sharing of communication infrastructure across the world, had been following the threat since May. He said he did not consider Flame to be an act of cyberwar. “It hasn’t reached that level yet as it has been detected in time,” he added. When asked about the attack’s possible source, he said: “All indications are that Flame has been created by a nation state, that’s clear. “The ITU is not mandated to make a judge-

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Monday, August 20, 2012

Useful Android apps for business

Taqipur

ment on who is responsible. Our role is to work with partners to promote better co-operation.” However, Dr Toure said he had discussed the matter directly with some countries, but added: “I don’t suspect that the US is behind it.” He said that the media reports suggesting the US involvement in Stuxnet, a previous major attack, were “speculation”. He told the BBC that it was important for UN member states to work closely to defend themselves against the emerging cyberthreat. “There is a risk of cyberwar - but it’s not necessary. That’s what we’re trying to do: prevent. We’re saying the best way to win a war is to avoid it in the first place.” “As the UN, of course we are interested in making sure there is a peaceful resolution, and a peaceful approach to this. Our role is first to co-ordinate international efforts - not only sharing knowledge, but also training people, especially from developing countries because we want to avoid one country being a

weak link in the whole process. The characteristics of Flame have seen it compared to past attacks like Stuxnet and Duqu “Therefore, we’re trying to see that there’s a global effort to keep cyberspace free of politics, ideology and especially free of criminals.” He acknowledged that governments face a challenge in ensuring the safety of their citizens while preserving their freedom online - something Dr Toure said he considered a “basic right”. He added: “There is a fine line between security and freedom. Some people try to oppose them. We say no, we want both. You can’t be free if you’re not secure. You can’t have privacy without security - that’s why we want to have both.” Efforts to establish the source and full extent of the Flame attack are ongoing. Kaspersky Labs, one of the companies which first revealed the malware, said that the attack sought mainly to steal technical documents from Iran. BC

ake your Android id smartphone or tablet more useful on the job ob with ps one or more of these apps ess, for security, remote access, spam text control and more. As Android devices continue inue to invade the enterprise,, o workers are beginning to s, rely on them as much as, s if not more than, laptops on and desktops. In addition to basic email, plenty of other business-related tasks are moving to smartphones, including expense tracking, social media updates and even on-the-go invoicing. It can be tough finding the right app for the right task, but here are 25 essential business apps for Android PocketCloud Pocket Cloud provides secure remote access to a Mac or Windows desktop from your Android phone or tablet. You can access your files, photos and applications, like PowerPoint and Photoshop. Recently added features include an “explore” capability that provides a streamlined view of desktop file systems, so you can actually find what you’re looking for from that small smartphone screen. This feature also helps facilitate file sharing, especially when files are too large to email or download to your phone. A cloud storage component is still in beta. Mr. Number This app serves as a spam/nuisance filter for both your texts and calls. Mr. Number consolidates features that you used to have to cobble together through separate apps. It provides advanced Caller ID, so you know who’s calling, even from cell phones. Call blocking lets you block and even report annoying numbers that you used to have to go through your carrier to block, while text blocking allows you to banish spammy or just annoying... Auto Memory Manager Is your smartphone starting to get slow and sluggish? You could have memory issues. On PCs, it’s easy enough to add more RAM. On your phone, it is not the easiest chore. However, you can better manage memory with this app to help free up resources and boost performance. Brainshark At first glance, Brainshark is simply an easy way to view PowerPoints on your Android. Dig deeper, though, and it offers tools to create, share and track mobile presentations. The app also helps you transform static content, such as text-heavy PowerPoints, into voice-enriched video presentations that can be accessed on-demand.

Stuxnet damage iran nuclear program

Google Drive One of Android’s advantages has always been the tight

in integration with popular Google Apps, A such as Gmail and Google Docs. D However, raw storage has b been lacking. Drive integrates G Google’s office suite (word processing, c spreadsheets, presentations), along with up to 5GB of ti fr free storage. Drive also includes fe features that enable sharing and co collaboration. Users can set policies to control who can access various file les and what collaborators are able to d do to them. You are also able to trac track all changes that have been mad made on a document. Quic Quickoffice Q Quickoffice gives mobile workers on-th on-the-go access to Word, Excel and Power PowerPoint. Mobile editors provide a mobile mobile-optimized way to create, edit and shar share various documents. Features recently adde added include connections to cloud storage provid providers, a PDF annotation tool, spellcheck (English, French, Italian, German and Spanish) and external keyboard shortcuts for tablets. Evernote Evernote helps you stay organized across your various devices, from desktops to smartphones. Evernote lets you take notes, capture photos, create to-do lists and record voice reminders, and it makes all of these things completely searchable. This app helps you sync all of your notes across devices. The search feature even lets you search for text inside images. The Web Clipper add-on lets you save anything you see online, including links, text and video, into Evernote with one click Meshin calendar for Evernote Recall is an Evernote companion that adds context to your calendar. With this app, you can sync your calendar events with notes, images and audio on Evernote. You’re able to create and share an agenda, capture and read notes, and organize and tag notes for easy searching. OfficeDrop OfficeDrop turns your smartphone into a portable scanner. While any file type can be uploaded into OfficeDrop’s cloud filing cabinet, anything scanned by your phone is immediately converted into text-searchable PDFs. With this app, you can access and search any documents that you’ve scanned into the cloud, and you can share the document with select team members Expensify This app helps you track work expenses as you travel. It lets you use your phone’s camera to scan in receipts, and it’s smart enough to capture the date and amount charged for each receipt you upload. You are also able to track mileage and import expenses from bank and credit card accounts. While the app connects to QuickBooks, you can also file an expense report directly from the app itself. Skype Skype is a must for business users who travel overseas often, or for workers who must often collaborate with people overseas. The app will save you big time on your telecom Continue on pg A14

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bills, giving you the ability to make free calls, no matter where in the world you are, to other Skype users. The mobile app also lets you make video calls from your smartphone, share your screen, and send and receive instant messages. Quickbooks Mobile for Android If you already use Quickbooks for your small business accounting, Quickbooks for Android will help you streamline your bookkeeping by adding a mobile client to the mix. The mobile app lets you track sales, send out invoices, and see recent payments from your handset. SignEasy (formerly EasySign Mobile) SignEasy lets you electronically sign documents (and get documents signed) directly from your smartphone. Simply draw your signature on your touch screen, and then the app will let you resize it to fit any document. HootSuite HootSuite unifies your various social media profiles into one console. It lets you form groups of users you want to follow, schedule messages to post at a later time and even track analytics. The mobile app lets you do all of this from your handset. Yammer Yammer is a secure, private social network for the enterprise. With Yammer, employees are able to collaborate, share ideas and selforganize into teams. Yammer can also be used to improve relationships with customers and partners using one central repository. Yammer will be rolled into Microsoft’s Office cloud effort, filling gaps in SharePoint. Simple In/Out This is a digital in/out board for office workers. The app has a GeoFencing feature, so you can set your Android up to automatically check you in or out of your office as your phone enters or leaves. 1Password 1Password gives you an easy way to stop reusing passwords. The app saves your online user names

Android smartphone with keyboard

and passwords, as well as sensitive information, such as bank account and credit card numbers. Your data is then locked behind either a strong password or a PIN. The app requires a desktop version, and once the desktop app is in place, data can then be synched to mobile devices through Dropbox Lookout Mobile Security This app protects your smartphone against viruses and other types of malware. The app backs up your contacts, helps you remotely locate your device if you misplace it or if it was stolen. If your phone was stolen, you’ll want to upgrade to the premium version, which lets you lock and wipe your phone and even set off a “scream” alarm, which should be loud and intrusive enough to convince thieves to set down your phone and walk away. Herematch Have you ever left a networking event wondering why you haven’t met anyone that you can do business with? Herematch is intended to solve that problem. The app’s location-based services help you make new business connections in real time. The app can be linked to your LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook accounts, so that when you check into a place or event, your status will be automatically updated on social networks. When you are at a networking event, herematch shows you a list of people who have checked in using herematch and who match with you either because they need the services you provide or you need the services they provide. Divide Divide is an app intended for enterprise-wide use. For organizations struggling to secure Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) initiatives, developer Enterproid offers an elegant solution. Divide splits your phone into two containers, a work and a personal one. The app lets you switch between personal and work personas at the touch of a button. The work persona is containerized, encrypted, and can be managed by IT policies. The personal side, meanwhile, is kept completely out of the reach of IT. So, for instance, if IT tries to wipe your phone after you’ve left the company, your personal data won’t be lost. Mobile App Protection (MAP) Mobile App Protection helps protect users against rogue mobile apps that try to launch malware. The app automatically wraps security and usage

Monday, August 20, 2012

policies around individual mobile apps. MAP also allows the enterprise to add multiple layers of protection to any app that needs more security. This includes FIPS 140-2 certified encryption and NSA Suite B algorithms to protect both data at rest and in motion. MAP lets enterprises implement app access and usage polices to help address data-loss prevention concerns, and IT can enable any app to establish its own appspecific VPN connection. McAfee Enterprise Mobility Management (EMM) This is a cross-platform solution designed to bring the same level of security and control to mobile devices that IT applies to laptops and desktops, including the ability to identify, tag, and assign policies to both employeeand business-owned smartphones and tablets. McAfee EMM combines secure mobile application access, anti-malware, strong authentication and compliance reporting in this suite. Integration with McAfee ePolicy Orchestrator enables IT to implement persistent policies and simplify compliance management. BIG-IP Edge Client This is an SSL VPN solution that provides secure mobile access for all devices running Android Ice Cream Sandwich. To use this client, the enterprise must already have a BIG-IP Edge Gateway in place. With the combined solution, IT teams can implement customizable access policies to provide managed mobile connectivity for contractors, partners, or specific groups of employees. Organizations can also grant full network access or limited web access to specific applications, depending on... Citrix Receiver Citrix Receiver provides remote access to XenApp applications and desktops. If your company uses Citrix to host applications, you can use Citrix Receiver to check your email, review documents, tune into project dashboards, and approve expenses from your Android smartphone or tablet. Chatter This mobile collaboration tool from Salesforce.com “makes business processes social.” Users can share and collaborate on files, while also having the ability to comment on files, track versions and receive alerts the minute anything changes. Chatter feeds allow you to monitor sales deals, changes to customer information and project updates. Users can also create team groups, view colleague profiles and monitor both projects and work groups. BC

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Inlaks Computers delivers NNPC’s data centre By Kunle Azeez

igeria’s leading Information Technology provider, Inlaks Computers Limited, has completed the deployment of a state-of- the-art TIER 3+ Data Centre for the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). The infrastructural deployment places NNPC in the league of the best technology driven organizaBhatnagar tions in the world. Inlaks Computers is a specialized company that has the design of several mission critical Data Centres to its credit among the key ones are First Bank, United Bank of Africa (UBA), Multilinks and Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). NNPC brief for the project was for the deployment of an Independent and Scalable, Fault-tolerant Power System, Energy-Efficient Cooling System, Environmental-friendly Fire Detection and Protection System, Intelligent Physical Security System, Network Environmental Monitoring System and other accessories. The Data Centre has been fully operational for about 370 days in a preliminary work mode after completion without any unplanned down time. According to the Executive Director of Inlaks Computers, Rajiv Bhatnagar, who was present at the official commissioning of the centre in Abuja, Information Technology deployments were a crucial aspect of most regulatory corporations like NNPC as one of whose main concerns virtually 100 per cent uptime. Rajiv noted that big organizations around the world rely on their IT deployments to fast track their operations and places them ahead of their competitors. “Therefore, if an IT deployments becomes unavailable, an organization’s operations may be greatly impaired or completely halted.” he said. According to him, NNPC’s data centre became necessary to provide a reliable infrastructure for uninterrupted IT operations thereby minimising any chance of business disruption. He said information security is also a concern worldwide, and for this reason, a data centre infrastructure has to offer a secure environment that minimises security breach. “A data centre must therefore guaranty high standards for assuring the integrity and functionality of its hosted computer environment,” he said. Maning Director of Inlaks Computers, Femi Adeoti, emphasised that with effective IT infrastructure, management policy and eco-friendly system in place, NNPC can plan, predict and manage its systems better and realize benefits like simpler operating environments and better information management. “There is, of course, the benefit of decreased costs as well,” he said, while advising other companies in the country to emulate NNPC in this regard. According to Adeoti, “There is a trend to modernize data centres in order to take full advantage of the performance and energy efficiency increases of newer IT infrastructure and capabilities, such as cloud computing and managed data centre infrastructure which Inlaks as an organization is well positioned to offer the teeming business community in Nigeria and the West African Region.” He further pointed out that that in today’s business environment, organisations are experiencing rapid IT growth but their Data Centres are aging. He said Industry research company International Data Corporation (IDC) had put the average life span of a Data Centre at nine-years. Gartner, another research company, says Data Centers older than seven years are obsolete which explains why Nigerian organizations need to be proactive as far as deployment of efficient Data Centre is concerned. Speaking, the Group Managing Director, NNPC, Andrew Yakubu, said, “As a Group, the Data Centre will eliminate the prevalent duplication of efforts across the various Strategic Business Units (SBUs) and Corporate Service Units (CSUs) of our corporation by providing an environment for the central storage of business tools which will be accessible corporate-wide.” He described the centre as a highly secure, fault-resistant facility that will be available for use by the private sector and other industry stakeholders on commercial basis in view of the corporation’s commercial outlook. The NNPC boss therefore commended the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, for providing the extra impetus for the realisation of the project. Yakubu expressed hope that the new facility will help the corporation cut down its cost on acquiring related services from elsewhere. BC

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage A15 33

Monday, August 20, 2012

Reflections with Semiu Salamii 07043280449 sms only

Executive impunity and benefit of perpetual injunction

clearly do not understand why my mind sauntered to “Peter the Rock,” the strongman of Rivers State politics between 1999 and 2006 as I was ruminating over the subject of my column, Reflections, for this week. I must have reflected on the issue of corruption viz-a-vis the seeming failure of the country’s anti graft agencies, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent and Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), to bring top flight culprits to book, despite strings of incontrovertible evidences. I must have busied my mind, reflecting on the growing list of Nigerian “Executhieves” when the story of Dr. Peter Odili, the two-term executive governor of Rivers State and former presidential aspirant under the platform of the ruling Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), flicked through my mind. The choice of Odili, in this context is clearly not because he was the most alleged corrupt state chief executive Nigeria has produced since the coming of the current political dispensation, No. I think it has more to do with the novel concept, which Odili introduced. A concept that clearly indicates how best to get protection against prosecution, using the in-

strumentality of the law, even without firing legal assault. It is not just about the story of how he secured the lifeline, but more importantly, because of the fact that the knot which Odili tied at the Federal High Court in Port-Harcourt, Rivers State capital has proved so difficult to be loosened. For about six years now, Dr. Odili has successfully used the law to shut the door firmly against the operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), in the celebrated N100 billion allege fraud case uncovered after he left office in 2006. It would be recalled that following petitions from individuals and groups in Rivers State, the EFCC had carried out investigations into the management of the state’s resources in the eight years that Odili held sway and released a verdict towards the end of 2006, detailing how the state’s funds amounting to over N100 billion were diverted. The commission’s finding highlighted cases of large-scale fraud, conspiracy, diversion of public funds, foreign exchange malpractice, money laundering, stealing and abuse of oath of office against the former governor and some of his officials. However, while the hoopla over the

EFCC’s “earth shaking” discovery became public, Odili pulled a fast one. He approached Justice Ibrahim Buba, then of the Port Harcourt Federal High Court and “procured” a perpetual injunction that has since then, restrained the commission or its agents from taking any action against him. Since then, several attempts by the commission to vacate the order have failed. Though the EFCC has been contesting the court order, many believed that the commission has not been very decisive on the issue because of political interference. The case, which is now on appeal, came up in March this year and EFCC says it is not relenting in getting the order quashed for prosecution to begin in earnest but then, that the reversal has failed to come, more than four years after, only speaks volume of not only the competence of the commission’s legal team, but also on the disposition of the government to bring Odili to justice. In a country where corruption has become so endemic, I am not sure that many Nigerians would lose their sleep over an anti graft agency that is legally hamstringed, as it is now to try an individual who allegedly helped himself with

several billions of naira that could have been used to provide basic infrastructure to people yearning for the basic needs of life. And why would Nigerians be bothered that Odili secured a perpetual injunction anyway? What happened to other Executhieves that were equally investigated and which the EFCC actually commenced their prosecution? How many former governors that looted their states treasury were actually thoroughly prosecuted? As we speak, many of those governors, who the EFCC had established a prima facie evidence of treasury looting against are today sitting comfortably in the hallow chambers of the National Assembly as “distinguished” senators of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This is perhaps, the only country I have seen where we mouth anti corruption crusade, without actually engaging in the crusade to clean the system of this embarrassing national malaise. This is a country where executive impunity continues to thrive while lesser souls, who perhaps, forced by the unpleasant economic situation to engage in ‘minor thieving’ are awarded maximum penalty. This is a nation where injustice thrives and triumphs. What a shame! BC

BELIEVABILITY INDEX

NSE Lotus Islamic Index: How perfect is this concept? By Festus Okoromadu

he introduction of an Islamic Index into the Nigerian capital market is no doubt a noble concept. To a good number of operators in the market, the new index tagged NSE-Lotus Islamic Index (NSE-LII) could not have come at a better time. In fact, Oscar Onyema, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), while expressing optimism on the appropriateness of the product said it marks another milestone in the rebirth, growth and transformation of the Nigerian capital market. The introduction, he said was one of the many steps the Exchange was charting to bring to fruition, the vision of becoming the gateway to African markets’. ‘We remain committed to our promise of providing a first rate platform that will enable all stakeholders build and grow their businesses. The launch of an Islamic Index is a part-fulfilment of this promise,’ he added. Onyema expressed optimism that the launch of NSE-Lotus Islamic Index will bring on board various ethical investors who were previously not sure about the suitability of investing in stocks, to embrace the market and make the market more accessible and inclusive’. Market analysts have identified the benefits investors in the market stand to gain from the index to include diversification tool for ethically minded investors and portfolio managers both locally and from around the world and those who seek to profitably invest in an emerging African equity market. It is also expected to provide a reliable benchmark for Islamic and other ethical investments. The index will also serve as a general benchmark for ‘ethical’ funds and could

also be seen as a basis for creating Mirror Funds, Index Funds, Exchange Traded Funds, Index options, etc., which would broaden the range of financial instruments traded on the Exchange. It is also expected to reduce the research cost and time required by an investor to independently create a Shari’ah compliant equity portfolio. Tracing the historical background to the launch event, Onyema stated that the Exchange signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Lotus Capital Limited on June 6, 2012, to develop and manage the first index created to track the performance of Shari’ah compliant equities on the floor of the NSE. Hajara Adeola, the Founder/CEO of Lotus Capital Limited, stated that, though the Islamic Index was initially created in 2007, it became formally operational in 2009, noting that the index since inception performed impressively, even outperforming the NSE All Share Index in the face of the recent financial meltdown. According to her, the dearth of ethically inclined benchmark indices coupled with the need to promote Shari’ah compliant equity investments as a viable alternative investment product to both local and international investors spurred the creation of the index. She noted that in line with globally acceptable standards for indexes, the NSE-LII stock selection was based on the liquidity and market capitalization, among other factors. The selection guidelines applied, she said, ensured that companies included in the index are in sectors with strong and consistent demand and returns- such as Food and Beverages, Building Materials, Oil and Gas amongst others.

Speaking on the methodology used on screening the selected stock for the index, Hajara said, “In selecting eligible securities for our index, each company undergoes two-stage screening, which must be passed. Firstly, we performed qualitative screening, which basically eliminated any listed company that deals in alcoholic beverages, tobacco, conventional financial services such as banks and insurance companies, gambling and adult entertainment.” Companies which passed the initial filter are then evaluated on the basis of Islamic financial screening to eliminate those with unacceptable level of debt, cash and interest income. She stressed that only companies that pass the second stage were considered for further analysis. Other important criteria such as liquidity and market capitalization of the equities were, according to her, also taken into account. Other rules that usually guide the equity selection include the constituent stocks that are ranked based on the highest market capitalisation and average daily volume traded over a six-month period with a minimum average volume of 100,000 units. Each sector weight capped at 40 per cent and each component stock at 30 per cent. The index will rescreened, rebalanced and reviewed bi-annually, on the first business day in January and July every year; and the companies owned by a group should not control more than 40 per cent of the total index market capitalisation in order to manage key man and concentration risks. Accordingly, 15 stocks listed on the floor of the Exchange namely: Okomo Oil Plc, PZ Plc, Unilever Nigeria Plc, Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc, GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Japaul Oil Plc,

Cadbury Nigeria Plc, Dangote Flour Plc, Honeywell Flour Nigeria Plc, National Salt Company of Nigeria Plc, Nestle Nigeria Plc, Ashaka Cement Plc, Cement Company of Northern Nigerian Plc, Dangote Cement Plc and Lafarge WAPCO Plc, succeeded in making the debut NSE LII list. However, as full proof and rewarding as the NSE LII is said to be, even in the face of the Exchanges expressed desire to use it as one of the many steps to bring to fruition, its vision of becoming the gateway to African markets, some critics are already expressing doubt whether the stated benefits are achievable. First, critics think that the Exchange and Lotus Capital Limited are too conservative in terms of publicity to create the necessary awareness that can sell the products. Other noted that the performance past ethical funds, like the Lotus Capital Halal Investment Fund, an open ended unit trust scheme should be used as basis to determine the success level of the current initiative. Analysts say if the previous funds have not done exceedingly well in the market, what is the probability that the NSE LII will fare better? There are those who equally believe that designing products on the premises that interest free financial services primarily known as Islamic Finance is the world’s fastest growing financial sector with over $1.3trillion in assets worldwide growing at 15-20 per cent per annum does not necessarily imply that the Nigerian market will be the desired destination. However, while one cannot help but agree that the NSE LII remains a positive development, it should be noted that the index requires more than just a launch programme on the floor of the Exchange to make it achieve the desired results. BC

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Business Courage

Fidson declares N153m profit Stories By Tayo Adeleke

he unaudited second quarter 2012 result of Fidson Healthcare Plc (Fidson) for the period ended June 30, 2012 showed that its turnover improved by 47.5 per cent to N3.56 billion, compared with N2.42 billion in the corresponding period of 2011. Profit before tax (PBT), followed a similar trend, having increased by 216 per cent between 2011 and 2012 to N218 million compared to a loss of N188.6 million posted in comparable period 2011. The management made provision for tax, of N65.5 million, bringing the Profit after tax (PAT) to N152.84 million as against N188.6 million losses in 2011, representing a growth of 181 per cent. According to the Chairman of the company, Felix Ohiwerei, the company recorded a major improvement in its activities in the period under review, and as a result, it’s various strategic investments are beginning to payoff. A cursory look at the company’s profit margins reveal that the cost management strategies of the company have also started to yield the desired fruit. PBT margin increased to 4.29 per cent in second quarter 2012 from -7.81 per cent in 2011 and up from 1.17 per cent as at the end of the financial year in December, 2011. This shows that the company’s total cost as a percentage of turnover stands at 95.71 per cent, down from 107.8 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of 2011. The result also indicated that the percentage of turnover, PBT, and PAT in the six months period of 2012

Ohiwerei

compared to the full year 2001 in terms of turnover, PBT and PAT for the period ended December, 2011 are: 50.19 per cent, 89.69 per cent and 183.7 per cent respectively. This suggests that Fidson should surpass its previous year’s performance at the current run rate in FY 2012. The company’s fixed assets increased by 14.6 percent to N3.86 billion from N3.4 billion in 2011 while Net Assets increased by three percent to N5.25 billion from N5.10 billion as at 2011. However, Cash and bank balances dipped significantly from N21 million in second quarters 2011 to N11.6 million in Q2 2012. Stocks decreased by 28.9 percent to N630.7 million from N886.9 million during the review period. BC

Dantata

N25.99 billion from N8.37 billion in 2011 while intangible assets outgrew the preceding period’s figure by 48.5 per cent to stand at N241.497 million. Total Assets moved from N72.65 billion in 2011 to N76.79 billion, representing a growth of 5.7 per cent. Other areas that experienced growth include Working Capital, Shareholders’ Fund, Security Deposits, Total Liabilities and Trade Creditors accounts. Working Capital close at N4.44 billion from N3.37 billion while shareholders’ funds grew by 0.4 percent to stand at N23.24 billion while trade creditors close at N25.93 billion. BC

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Still on the PHCN labour crisis

MRS profit slumps in second quarter RS Oil Nigeria Plc, formerly Chevron Oil Nigeria Plc’s unaudited financial results for the six months ended June 30 2012 recorded major dip in most of its performance measuring indices. The company’s profit in the second quarter period fell short of the figure in first quarter, as it dropped by 34.96 per cent from N123 million in first quarter 2012 to N80 million in second quarter. From the report that it appears the oil marketing company will not be able to equal its full year performance for 2011, particularly if the current dwindling fortune continues till the end of the year. MRS recorded a drop of 70.4 per cent in profit before tax (PBT) in the review period. It fell from N904.99 million in 2011 to N267.796 million 2012. Operating profit closed at N241.62 million, down by 75.8 per cent from N999.1 million in 2011 while other income as well slump from N499 million in second quarter of 2011 to N205.58 million. However, turnover increased slightly by 6.6 percent from N35.6 billion in the half year of 2011 compared to N37.97 billion in the review period of year 2012. Details of the report showed that inventory grew by 210.7 percent to stand at

Monday, August 20, 2012

t was no surprise that the meeting between the Federal Government and labour unions last Wednesday to try to resolve the impasse over severance benefits for workers of the subsidiary companies Power Holding Company of Nigeria slated for privatisation ended in a deadlock. Facts that have emerged recently show that in spite of the various concessions given to labour by the government in the past 14 months of negotiations, the severance package issue is akin to the mythical Gordian knot and it will take a major shift of grounds from either or both sides for any progress to be made. What is clear, as I said earlier in this column, is that the power sector reforms are not negotiable being about the sure escape route from the chronic underdevelopment that has held this nation down for ages with the bonus effect of providing the Goodluck Jonathan administration with an opportunity to avoid a place in history as about the most lethargic government this country has seen in 52 years. Looking at the outcome of the negotiations between government and labour on this matter, one will give some commendations to the leaders of the two unions – the Senior Staff Association of Electricity and Allied Companies (SSAEC) and the National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) for extracting significant concessions from the government even though it must be understood that for the privatisation effort to succeed, encumbrances such as outstanding labour issues must be cleared in order to attract the right calibre of private investors to buy controlling stakes in the power companies. Some of the concessions, which are already known, include a 50 per cent pay rise across the board; regularisation of the appointments of 11,000 casual workers so that they can also enjoy severance benefits and payment of monetisation arrears from 2003 worth N52bn. The bone of contention is the monetary value of the severance or redundancy and pension benefits, as the government has insisted on sticking to the provisions and template provided in the Pension Reform Act 2004, while the unions insist that benefits must be based on the Defined Benefit Scheme that covered government workers prior to the commencement of the new pension regime as well as the generous provisions of the revised Conditions of Service 2010, which are at variance with the PRA. The unions insist that Chapter 13 of the CoS must remain in effect for up till June 30, 2012 and they be paid their gratuity which will be in cash upon retirement. The argument is that workers that have retired previously even after 2004 continue to enjoy these payments, albeit, illegally. Government, on the other had insisted on going by the PRA, which provides for a contributory pension scheme that is funded by 15 per cent of workers monthly salary with 7.5 per cent contributed by the employer and 7.5 per cent by employee, to be paid in individual Re-

tirement Savings Accounts. Section 9 (2) of the PRA allows the employee to bear the full burden if it so wishes. The only set of workers exempted is those that had three years or less to retire from the commencement date of the act. The problem here is that the superannuating fund from which the workers’ gratuity and pensions are to be paid under the old scheme is under funded to the tune over N160bn, according to the government. In effect, there is no money to pay and this only became obvious because there is now a requirement for mass payment of workers. The whole situation raised many questions and indeed all the parties – the government, PHCN management, union leaders and the workers themselves have a share of the blame. Why did the PHCN management not cut over to the PRA template since 2004/2005 in clear breach of the law? Why did the government, which owns the PHCN, not raise any eyebrows or move to enforce its own laws in an organisation with 50,000 odd workers in the past eight years only to bring it up after being confronted with a huge pension bill it cannot or does not want to pay? What was the thinking of the union leaders all along and why did workers decide to play the ostrich even though their collective future is at stake here. I am also shocked that the National Pensions Commission has kept quiet about this all along, and it does question its effectiveness as a regulator of the pension system. Most, curious is the operations the Superannuation fund, which the workers claim is funded by deductions of 25 per cent of their salaries, even though there is no evidence to support this. Indeed, the government has said that PHCN management merely made provisions for this over the years without making any deductions, and has ordered a probe, even if belated. How do we get out of this? Yes, government has the law on its side and has even agreed to pay the full outstanding contributions on behalf of PHCN workers from July 1, 2004 to June 30, 2012 and transfer accrued rights under the Superannuation Fund Schemes at June 30, 2004 to their RSAs, and also allowed an immediate withdrawal of 25 per cent of accrued funds. That does not sound like a bad offer, given the fact that the workers did not contribute to this fund. It is like having your cake and eating it. In any case, a substantial number of experienced PHCN staff will have to be retained under new and possible enhanced terms by the core investors, so I am unable to see what the real problem is. The ideal situation will be to allow individual workers to decide their own fate, and government needs to let everybody know what they will get now. The union leaders have not served their people well in this case, but are unable to admit it, which is why they have adopted blackmail tactics all along. PHCN workers are not above the law and Government should stickBCto its position. BC

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage A17 35

Monday, August 20, 2012

Nigerian Breweries, Premier Paints list new shares Stories By Festus Okoromadu

igerian Breweries Plc last week announced the supplementary listing of additional 142,092 Ordinary Shares of 50 kobo each, bringing the total outstanding shareholding of the company to 752,704,432. According to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), the listing of the supplementary shares follows the conclusion of the scheme of merger between Nigerian Breweries Plc and Sona Systems Associates Business Management Limited and Nigerian Breweries and Life Breweries Company Limited. Nigerian Breweries Plc had last year, announced its acquisition of Sona Systems Associates Business Management Limited

and Life Breweries Company Limited, by virtue of which the two breweries became a subsidiary of the former. The transactions had the approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Prior to the acquisition, Sona Systems had two breweries in Ota, Ogun State and Kaduna respectively while Life Breweries is located in Onitsha, Anambra State. Following the former’s completion of the acquisition processes, three brands, Goldberg (Lager) Malta Gold (Malt) and Continental Life (Lager) were added to the portfolio of Nigeria Breweries Plc. Similarly, Premier Paints Plc was reported to have added a total of 48,000,000 Ordinary

Shares of 50kobo each at N1.00 per share to its issued shares. The action brings the total number of the company’s outstanding shares to 123,000,000. According to the NSE, the new shares came on the conclusion of a special placements carried out by the company having obtained all regulatory approvals. Meanwhile, the shares of Starcomms Plc were placed on full suspension on Friday, August 17, 2012. The implication of this is that the equity will not be traded on the floor of the NSE until the suspension is lifted. According to the NSE, the suspension is coming on the heels of what it termed, ‘the potential capital reconstructing exercise by the company’. BC

NSE- Lotus Index dips by 0.76 per cent

s NSE- Lotus Islamic Index (NSE-LII) tests its popularity on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), for the third week running, the NSE-LII recorded -0.76 basis points depreciation to close the week ended August 17, 2012 at 1,343.27. The Index had opened the week at 1,353.62 to lose 10.35basis points. At 1,343.27 closing point recorded penultimate week, the index recorded a decline of 1.42 basis points year to date when compared with 1,362.62 points with which the equity basket opened trading after listing on the Exchange. Meanwhile, the NSE AII-Share Index (ASI) which opened the week at 23,239.03 depreciated by 0.42 points to close at 23,141.08 points on Friday. Similarly, the equities Market Capitalization

Market Indicators for Week Ended 17-08-12 All-Share Index 23,141.08 points Market Capitalisation N7,365,972,502,121.84 Stock Updates GAINERS

dipped by 0.41 percent during the week to close at N7.37trillion compared to the N7.40trillion opening value for the week. However, the Bloomberg NSE 30 Index remained flat at 0.00 points to close at 1,084.61, while, two of the five sectorial indices appreciated- The Bloomberg NSE Consumer Goods Index

NSE sheds N1.86bn

quities on the floors of The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE),last week closed trading in red, as profiteering outweighed bargain hunting activities. The market performance gauge, the NSE ASI, shed 42 basis points to close at 23,141.08 points amid declines in transacted volumes and naira votes by 17.12 percent and 4.42 percent to 1.13 billion shares and N7.61 billion respectively. The equities market capitalization opened at N7.4trillion depreciating 0.41 percent to close at N7.37trillion. Similarly, the market loss a total of N1.86 billion in one week as market turnover close at N7.277 billion last week, in contrast to a total of N9.136 billion in the previous week. Akin to previous week, the financial services sector was the most active during the week (measured by turnover volume), with 703.84 million shares worth of N4.92 bil-

lion exchanged hands by investors in 10,282 deals. Volume in the sector was largely driven by banking subsectors led by shares of First Bank of Nigeria Plc, Diamond Bank Plc and Zenith Bank Plc. Trading in the shares of the three banks accounted for 252.67 million shares, representing 41.13 percent, 35.9 per cent and 27.09 percent of the turnover recorded by the subsector, sector and total turnover for the week, respectively. Thirty three equities appreciated in prices during the week, higher than thirty one (31) of the preceding week. Nigerian Breweries Plc led on the gainers’ table by 1.94 percent to gain N2.31 followed by Cadbury Nigeria Plc by 11.16 percent to gain N1.68. On loser’s angle, twenty-eight (28) stocks depreciated in prices lower than thirty-six of the preceding week. Dangote Cement Plc led on the price losers’ table, dropping by -4.33percent to shed

rose by 1.01 points to close the week at 1,965.10, while the Bloomberg NSE Banking Index rose by 1.50 per cent to close at 360.13. But, the Bloomberg NSE Insurance Index depreciated by -0.20 percent to close at 124.44, Bloomberg NSE Oil/Gas Index depreciated by -1.81 per cent to close at 165.70. BC N4.98 followed by Mobil Oil Nig. Plc with a loss of N4.98. Meanwhile, Starcomms Plc shares were placed on full suspension on 17th August 2012. This is because of the potential capital reconstructing exercise by the company. There were also supplementary listing in share of both premier paints plc and Nigerian breweries. A total of 48,000,000 ordinary shares of 50kobo each at N1.00 per share of premier paints plc were added to the issued shares of Premier Paints Plc on Wednesday 15th August 2012 on the conclusion of special placing having obtained all regulatory approval. Similarly, a total of 142,092 ordinary shares of 50kobo each were also added to the issued shares of Nigerian Breweries Plc on the same Wednesday on the conclusion of the Scheme of Merger between Nigerian Breweries Plc and Sona Systems Associates Business Management Limited and Nigerian Breweries Plc and Life Breweries Company Limited. BC

COMPANY

OPENING PRICE

CADBURY

15.95

CLOSING PRICE 16.74

CHANGE 4.95

INTBREW

6.94

7.28

4.90

FIDSON

0.84

0.88

4.76

DANGFLOUR

6.13

6.40

4.40

LIVESTOCK

1.37

1.43

4.38

LOSERS COMPANY

OPENING PRICE

CLOSING PRICE

CHANGE

CONOIL

23.00

21.85

-5.00

ARBICO

14.83

14.09

-4.99

UPL

4.30

4.10

-4.65

MAYBAKER

1.75

1.67

-4.57

ROYALEX

0.53

0.51

-3.77

Inter-Bank Rates TENOR

RATE%(PREV) 09-Aug-2012

RATE%(CURR) 16-Aug-2012

OBB

14.0000 – 30.0000

14.0000 – 20.0000

CALL

25.0000 – 34.0000

12.0000 – 23.5000

Primary Market Auction TENOR

AMOUNT (N’mn)

91-Days

32,057

RATE (%) 14.50

09-Aug-12

DATE

182-Days

50,000

15.30

09-Aug-12

364-Days

90,000

15.38

09-Aug-12

Open Market Operation TENOR

AMOUNT (N’mn)

48-Days

17,315

14.10

RATE (%)

27-July-12

DATE

364-Days

60,000

15.60

26-July-12

182-Days

60,000

14.94

26-July-12

Wholesale Dutch Auction System AMOUNT OFFERED

AMOUNT SOLD

DATE

$200m

MARKET DEMAND $126m

$126m

15-Aug-12

$180m

$147m

13-Aug-12

A18 36

Business Courage

Monday, August 20, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

STOCKWATCH Stock Exchange weekly equities summary as at Friday, August 19, 2012 SECURITY

PRICE (=N=)

AGRICULTURE/AGRO-ALLIED Crop Production FTN COCOA PROCESSORS PLC NT OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. 29.60 PRESCO PLC 14.89 Fishing/Hunting/Trapping ELLAH LAKES PLC. NT Livestock/Animal Specialties LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC. 1.43 CONGLOMERATES Diversified Industries A.G. LEVENTIS NIGERIA PLC. 1.26 CHELLARAMS PLC. 5.81 JOHN HOLT PLC. NT S C O A NIG. PLC. NT U A C N PLC. 33.86 CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Building Construction ARBICO PLC. 14.09 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. 26.25 ROADS NIG PLC. NT Real Estate Development PINNACLE POINT GROUP PLC NT UACN PROPERTY DEV 9.70 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. NT GOLDEN GUINEA BREW. PLC. NT GUINNESS NIG PLC 242.20 INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. 7.28 JOS INT. BREWERIES PLC. 1.61 NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. 121.31 PREMIER BREWERIES PLC NT Beverages--Non-Alcoholic 7-UP BOTTLING COMP. PLC. 40.12 Food Products BIG TREAT PLC NT DANGOTE FLOUR MILLS PLC 6.40 DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC 4.50 FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. 52.00 HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC 1.99 MULTI-TREX INTEGRATED FOODS PLC NT N NIG. FLOUR MILLS PLC. NT NATIONAL SALT CO. NIG. PLC 4.67 P S MANDRIDES & CO PLC. NT U T C NIG. PLC. 0.90 UNION DICON SALT PLC. NT Food Products--Diversified CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. 16.74 NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. 500.00 Household Durables BETA GLASS CO PLC. 10.03 NIGERIAN ENAMELWARE PLC. NT VITAFOAM NIG PLC. 3.01 VONO PRODUCTS PLC. NT Personal/Household Products P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. 24.44 UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. 35.00 Textiles/Apparel UNITED NIG. TEXTILES PLC. NT FINANCIAL SERVICES Banking ACCESS BANK PLC. 7.60 DIAMOND BANK PLC 2.65 ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INC. 10.21 FIDELITY BANK PLC 1.31 FIRST BANK OF NIG. PLC 12.50 FIRST CITY MONUMENT BANK PLC. 3.05 GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. 17.81 SKYE BANK PLC 2.73 STANBIC IBTC BANK PLC 6.40 STERLING BANK PLC. 1.04 U B A PLC 4.33 UNION BANK NIG.PLC. 4.95 UNITY BANK PLC 0.50 WEMA BANK PLC. 0.50 ZENITH BANK PLC 15.39 Insurance Carriers, Brokers & Services AFRICAN ALLIANCE INS. COY. PLC NT AIICO INSURANCE PLC. 0.50 CONFIDENCE INSURANCE PLC NT CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INS. PLC 0.50 CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC 0.60 CORNERSTONE INS. COY. PLC. NT CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED INS. PLC 1.31 EQUITY ASSURANCE PLC. NT GOLDLINK INSURANCE PLC NT GREAT NIGERIAN INSURANCE PLC NT GUINEA INSURANCE PLC. 0.50 INTERCONTINENTAL WAPIC INS. PLC 0.53 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 1.67 MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC. 0.50 N.E.M INSURANCE CO (NIG) PLC. 0.50 NIGER INSURANCE CO. PLC. 0.50 OASIS INSURANCE PLC NT PRESTIGE ASSURANCE CO. PLC. 0.50 REGENCY ALLIANCE INS. COY PLC NT SOVEREIGN TRUST INSURANCE PLC 0.50 STACO INSURANCE PLC 0.50 STANDARD ALLIANCE INS. PLC. NT UNIC INSURANCE PLC. 0.50 UNITY KAPITAL ASSURANCE PLC 0.50 UNIVERSAL INS. COMPANY PLC 0.50 Micro Finance Banks FORTIS MICROFINANCE BANK PLC 5.75 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 NT NIG SEW. MACH. MAN. CO. PLC. NT NIGERIA ENERYGY SECTOR FUND NT ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC. 0.51 HEALTHCARE Healthcare Providers EKOCORP PLC. 5.05 Medical Equipment UNION DIAGNOSTIC &CLINICAL PLC NT Medical Supplies MORISON INDUSTRIES PLC. 7.39 Pharmaceuticals EVANS MEDICAL PLC. 1.20 FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC 0.88 GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER PLC 30.50 MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. 1.67

NOTE NT=Not Traded on 17-08-12

QUANTITY

52 WK HIGH

52 WK LOW

SHARES OUTSTANDING

EPS

MOV. (%)

NT 81 507 209 379

0.64 33.00 16.15

0.50 14.53 6.40

2 200 000 000 476 955 000 1 000 000 000

0.00 8.23 1.69

N/A 0.00 0.27

NT 29.60 14.85

4.26

60 000 000

0.00

N/A

871 130

1.49

0.48

1 199 549 736

0.04

4.38

1.37

392 949 100 NT NT 130 946

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

0.21 0.30 0.00 0.35 7.03

10.53 N/A N/A N/A N/A

1.14 NT NT 5.52 33.52

150 200 NT

26.00 95.49

14.09 95.49

148 500 000 196 876 000

0.00 4.50

N/A N/A

15.61 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

34 750 NT

62.26 8.69

21.55 3.01

1 200 000 000 20 000 000

4.11 3.66

0.00 N/A

26.25 NT

NT 58 085

7.28 20.15

7.28 8.82

1 375 000 000

0.00 1.66

N/A -1.52

NT 9.85

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

0.50

4 772 528 415

0.00

N/A

0.50

NT NT 79 527 780 500 200 946 968 NT

4.63 0.68 255.00 7.28 3.20 122.30 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 12.04 0.07 0.00 5.21 0.00

N/A N/A 0.00 N/A N/A 1.94 N/A

NT NT 242.20 6.35 NT 119.00 0.93

21 390

48.91

38.31

640 590 362

3.15

N/A

40.12

NT 2 833 183 3 583 136 626 869 1 026 212 NT NT 99 360 NT 890 218 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 1.21 21.48 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 40 000 000 1 233 375 004 360 000 000

0.00 0.00 0.59 3.60 0.36 0.00 1.20 0.81 0.16 1.13 0.00

N/A -1.69 0.00 0.00 1.02 N/A N/A -1.89 N/A 12.50 N/A

NT 6.51 4.50 52.00 1.97 NT NT 4.76 NT 0.80 NT

1 912 348 26 060

29.20 500.00

9.15 367.83

3 129 188 160 792 656 250

1.24 21.21

11.16 0.00

15.06 500.00

225 NT 93 340 NT

15.58 42.66 6.75 3.67

10.03 36.19 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 2.03 N/A

NT NT 2.95 NT

168 608 155 350

43.50 36.45

22.07 22.56

3 176 381 636 3 783 296 250

0.51 1.32

1.54 -1.41

24.07 35.50

0.97

0.57

843 284 027

0.00

N/A

1 653 138 18 189 356 6 566 987 3 036 723 16 096 079 1 187 180 14 086 507 3 278 219 2 559 171 6 811 402 3 640 065 1 316 746 20 000 280 596 18 476 466

11.10 9.27 17.05 3.20 16.12 8.30 17.81 10.17 11.38 2.91 4.40 10.07 1.92 1.75 16.70

4.76 2.01 9.97 1.14 8.50 3.04 11.64 2.73 6.40 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 32 632 084 358 16 271 192 202 29 146 482 209 13 219 334 676 18 750 000 000 12 563 091 545 32 334 693 693 13 509 726 273 33 675 576 085 12 821 249 880 31 396 493 790

0.63 0.00 2.61 0.19 1.37 0.60 0.59 0.39 0.54 0.43 0.01 2.20 0.00 1.34 1.41

1.33 -2.21 -1.16 0.00 3.48 -1.29 0.62 -4.55 2.40 -4.59 0.70 1.43 0.00 0.00 2.60

7.50 2.71 10.33 1.31 12.08 3.09 17.70 2.86 6.25 1.09 4.30 4.88 0.50 0.50 15.00

NT 637 054 NT 1 000 6 904 677 NT 217 755 NT NT NT 7 100 470 960 400 NT NT 1 551 606 500 050 51 050 1 000 206 500 88 504 NT 5 776 NT 88 504 106 160 NT 4 000 36 000 20 000

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 0.09 0.00 0.06 0.10 0.01 0.27 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.06 0.00 0.02 0.02 0.10 0.00 0.08 0.10 0.25 0.01 0.02 0.11 0.03 0.10 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.01 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 1.21 N/A 0.00 N/A N/A 0.00 N/A 0.00 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

NT 0.50 NT 0.50 0.63 NT 1.29 NT 0.50 NT 0.50 0.55 0.50 NT NT 0.50 NT 1.65 NT 0.50 0.51 NT 0.50 NT 0.50 NT NT 0.50 NT 0.50

50 000 NT 1 000 440 000 NT

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 0.10 0.00 0.00

N/A N/A N/A N/A

NT NT 0.50 NT

NT NT NT NT 534 200

0.61 2.02 0.15 552.20 0.66

0.50 2.02 0.15 555.20 0.50

3 778 005 975 1 333 333 333 5 880 000 2 500 000 3 608 657 661

0.00 0.00 0.00 12.68 0.05

N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

0.50 NT NT NT 0.53

5.31

5.05

498 600 908

0.12

N/A

0.50

3 553 138 528

0.00

N/A

0.50

338

10.54

7.39

152 178 750

0.00

N/A

7.39

130 128 718 100 105 661 284 381

1.45 3.20 29.65 5.61

0.50 0.76 19.30 1.62

486 473 856 1 500 000 000 956 701 192 980 000 000

0.19 0.27 2.41 0.21

14.29 2.33 4.99 -2.34

1.05 0.86 29.05 1.71

N/A=Not Avialable

SECURITY

PRICE (=N=)

NEIMETH INT PHARM PLC 0.83 NIGERIA-GERMAN CHEMICALS PLC. NT PHARMA-DEKO PLC. NT 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. 13.12 TRIPPLE GEE AND COMPANY PLC. 2.41 Processing Systems CHAMS PLC 0.50 E-TRANZACT INTERNATIONAL PLC NT Telecommunications Carriers STARCOMMS PLC 0.50 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 9.50 BERGER PAINTS PLC 7.27 CAP PLC 25.32 CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC 4.30 DANGOTE CEMENT PLC 110.02 DN MEYER PLC. 0.58 FIRST ALUMINIUM NIGERIA PLC NT IPWA PLC NT LAFARGE WAPCO PLC. 43.25 PAINTS & COATINGS MANFACT.PLC 2.20 PORTLAND PAINTS & PRDT NIG. PLC NT PREMIER PAINTS PLC. NT Electronic and Electrical Products AUSTIN LAZ & COMPANY PLC NT CUTIX PLC. 1.58 NIGERIAN WIRE AND CABLE PLC. NT NIGERIAN WIRE IND. PLC NT Packaging/Containers ABPLAST PRODUCTS PLC. NT AVON CROWNCAPS & CONTAINERS 2.19 GREIF NIGERIA PLC NT NIG. BAGS MANFACT. COY PLC 1.57 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. 5.98 Metals ALUMACO PLC NT ALUMINIUM EXTRUSION IND. PLC. NT Non-Metallic Mineral Mining MULTIVERSE PLC 0.50 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 0.60 Integrated Oil and Gas Services OANDO PLC 14.00 Petroleum &Petroleum Products Distributors AFROIL PLC NT BECO PETROLEUM PRODUCT PLC 0.50 CONOIL PLC 21.85 ETERNA PLC. 2.50 FORTE OIL PLC. 10.42 MOBIL OIL NIG PLC. 111.51 MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC. 32.29 TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. 128.01 SERVICES Advertising AFROMEDIA PLC 0.50 Apparel Retailers LENNARDS (NIG) PLC. NT Automobile/Auto Part Retailers R T BRISCOE PLC. 1.72 Courier/Freight/Delivery RED STAR EXPRESS PLC 2.65 TRANS-NATIONWIDE EXPRESS PLC. NT Employment Solutions C & I LEASING PLC. 0.50 Hospitality TANTALIZERS PLC 0.50 Hotels/Lodging CAPITAL HOTEL PLC NT IKEJA HOTEL PLC 1.22 TOURIST COMPANY OF NIGERIA PLC. NT TRANSNATIONAL CORP. OF NIG.PLC 1.00 Media/Entertainment DAAR COMMUNICATIONS PLC 0.50 Printing/Publishing ACADEMY PRESS PLC. 1.64 LEARN AFRICA PLC 1.94 STUDIO PRESS (NIG) PLC. NT UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC. 4.10 Road Transportation ABC TRANSPORT PLCPLC NT Specialty INTERLINKED TECHNOLOGIES PLC NT SECURE ELECTRONIC TECH.PLC NT Transport-Related Services AIRLINE SERVICES AND LOGISTICS PLC 1.64 NIG. AVIATION HANDLING COY PLC 5.90 ASeM CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Property Management SMART PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC 1.08 CONSUMER GOODS Food Products MCNICHOLS PLC 1.02 Personal/Household Products ROKANA INDUSTRIES PLC. NT 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 FUND2 638.00

QUANTITY

52 WK HIGH

52 WK LOW

SHARES OUTSTANDING

EPS

MOV. (%)

22 549 NT NT

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

5.06 N/A N/A

0.79 NT NT

1 361 000

0.52

0.50

2 960 000 000

0.08

0.00

0.50

500

0.50

2 941 789 472

0.04

N/A

0.50

0.91

4 966 666 668

0.00

N/A

5 199 100

18.28 3.59

13.12 2.41

108 000 000 492 825 600

1.82 0.00

N/A N/A

13.12 NT

10 000 NT

0.50 4.97

0.50 4.04

4 620 600 000 4 200 000 000

0.00 0.00

N/A N/A

NT NT

2 307 692

1.47

0.50

6 878 478 096

0.00

N/A

0.50

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 2.23 NT

NT 46 640 7 100 72 644 30 247 1 017 607 1 487 NT NT 481 144 750 NT NT

3.32 30.00 12.57 43.98 15.49 132.51 3.51 0.75 0.99 48.05 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 1.60 0.15 1.76 1.83 8.01 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.74 0.16 0.39 0.00

N/A 0.42 -0.27 4.98 -1.83 -4.33 N/A N/A N/A 0.58 N/A N/A N/A

NT 9.46 7.29 24.12 4.38 115.00 0.54 0.50 NT 43.00 2.12 3.31 NT

NT 350 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 -4.82 N/A N/A

NT 1.66 NT NT

NT 5 310 NT 1 217 143 NT NT

3.98 6.91 15.03 3.60 1.86 0.63

3.98 2.19 13.28 1.60 1.05 0.63

25 000 000 683 974 528 42 640 000 6 215 000 000 240 000 000 199 066 550

0.00 0.15 0.90 0.22 0.30 0.00

N/A N/A N/A -11.80 N/A N/A

NT 2.19 NT 1.78 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

625

9.20

5.70

393 120 000

0.93

0.00

5.98

NT NT

7.75 12.39

7.75 10.55

75 600 000 100 000 000

0.00 0.13

N/A N/A

NT 10.55

26 090

0.50

4 058 989 226

0.00

N/A

0.50

NT NT

3.22 1.38

50 000 000 220 000 000

0.04 0.00

N/A N/A

NT NT

3 199 837

1.87

0.54

6 262 701 716

0.16

-1.64

0.61

1 228 877

78.97

13.95

2 262 711 568

7.47

-0.07

14.01

NT 200 188 241 125 571 226 155 84 278 9 060 14 180

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 5.98 0.88 0.00 13.06 4.08 11.22

N/A N/A -5.00 -6.72 0.00 -4.28 N/A 0.00

NT 0.50 23.00 2.68 10.42 116.49 NT 128.01

450

0.72

0.50

4 035 497 307

0.00

N/A

3.48

0.19

N/A

286 492

3.65

1.12

980 294 400

0.22

1.18

1.70

526 200 NT

3.67 6.40

2.11 3.28

589 496 310 198 819 763

0.63 0.26

0.00 N/A

2.65 NT

40 000

1.64

0.85

865 808 912

0.20

N/A

300 000

0.75

0.50

3 211 627 907

0.01

N/A

0.50

NT 154 300 NT 4 369 959

8.00 2.59 4.76 1.82

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 7.02 N/A -4.76

NT 1.14 NT 1.05

100

0.50

8 000 000 000

0.00

N/A

0.50

11 700 86 000 NT 546 718

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 -2.38

1.64 1.81 NT 4.20

0.80

0.50

1 507 000 000

0.00

N/A

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

272 999 1 568 071

2.78 11.75

1.54 5.15

634 000 000 1 230 468 750

0.38 0.81

N/A 2.08

1.64 5.78

600

1.43

1.04

45 000 000

0.12

N/A

1.08

5 000

1.02

201 885 335

0.00

N/A

1.02

0.60

30 000 000

0.00

N/A

0.50

24 898 850

0.00

N/A

NT 14 000

1.88

1.63

125 005 250

0.00

N/A

NT 1.63

0.50

6 650 000

0.00

N/A

NT 5 000 NT NT

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

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

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage A19 37

Monday, August 20, 2012

Cutix Plc: Making steady progress toward healthy liquidity By Tayo Adeleke

ne unique thing about Cutix’s financial year ended April 2012 was the significant improvement it achieved in its balance sheet. For instance, the proportion of debts to equity funds fell from 65 percent in 2010 to 37 percent in the review year. This implies that the rate of the company’s exposure to borrowed funds has reduced greatly. This could also be attested to by the improvement in working capital, which outgrown previous year’s by 17.2 per cent to close at N251 million from N214.1 million in 2011. In general, the future outlook of the company depends mainly on the management cost effectiveness, diversification of product line, and aggressive marketing strategy. Following the private placement in the mid-1983, 18 founding shareholders emerged for Cutix Ltd, which took over the business of the cables division of Adtec Ltd. The start-up capital was N400, 000.00. Cutix Ltd had been incorporated earlier in 1982. Soon after the economy was liberalized in 1986, the company went to the capital market, through the Second Tier Security Market, to raise funds. The public issue, which made Cutix the first private company east of the Niger to be quoted on The Nigerian Stock Exchange, was concluded on August 12, 1987. After the public issue, the company became Cutix Plc. The amount of new capital raised by Cutix since inception to April 2008 stood at N264, 198,304.00 from both the private and public issues.

Strategic Initiatives The company recently procured a new piece of land adjacent to the head office where a permanent head office complex has been completed and commissioned. The existing factory has also been extended to create room for the installation of more machinery. The company’s water plant and a 1000KVA generator have been commissioned. The company has also acquired new delivery trucks to serve its distributors spread across Nigeria. There are also sales offices of the company at Nnewi, Aba, Abuja, Kaduna, Lagos and Uyo. Performance It can be said that Cutix plc audited report for the year ended April 2012 witnessed a mixed performance with

a declining profit margin occasioned by huge cost of sales which impacted negatively on the profit. The company recorded a drop in profit before tax for the second consecutive period after 2010 outstanding performance when the figure stood at N212 million. Pre-tax profit initially increased by 58 percent to N212 million in 2010 as against N134 million in 2009 but later declined by 41 per cent to N125 million in 2011 before it fell to N119 million in 2012(lowest figure in the past four years). Similarly, net profit has been on a downward trend in recent time. The figure fell from N138 million in 2010 to N84 million and N79 million in 2011 and 2012 respectively. The company’s net profit margin as well has been on a descending trend over the past three financial years as a result of increasing production costs, evidenced by the upward trend in the ratio of cost of sales to turnover. Its profit margin declined from 9.94 percent in 2010 to 5.02 percent in 2012, while gross profit margin fell from 37 percent in 2010 to 31.6 per cent in 2011 before it closed at 27.8 percent in the review period. Return on Equity (ROE) closed at 15.46 percent in 2012 from 16.94 percent in the previous year. Liquidity There was an improvement in the liquidity position of the cable manufacturing company Financial Data for Cutix Plc

from its previous year as a result of decline in short term borrowing. However, it could not meet its financial obligations as at when due as both current and quick ratios fell short of acceptable figure of 2.0;1 and 1.5;1 respectively for a company with strong assets. Current ratios moved from 1.3:1 in 2011 to 1.43:1 in 2012 while quick ratios inched up to 0.66:1, an improvement from previous year’s figure. This upward trend is attributable to a decrease in current liabilities. It was also observed that the company gave its debtors more cushion during the year as payment day stood at 23 days (debtors number of days), up from 16 days in 2011 while creditors number of days rose to 31 days from 29 days in 2012. These observations therefore suggest that the company has not been efficient in its debt recovery approach. Capital Adequacy Cutix’s balance sheet has a mixed performance as at April 2012 compared to its status as at the end of 2011. The proportion of debts to equity funds fell from about 65 per cent in 2010 to 39 per cent in 2011 and 37 per cent in 2012. Shareholders’ funds also currently stand at N511.2 million against N495.6 million recorded in 2011. Inventory also moved to N335.4 million from N334.6 million in 2011. Interest expenses dropped from N38 million in 2011 to N35 million. However, cost

2012=N=(‘Nm)

2011=N=(‘Nm)

Turnover

1,573

1,436

Cost of sales

1,135

983

Gross Profit

438

453

Profit Before Taxation

119

125

Profit After Taxation

Shareholders fund

511

496

Interest Expenses

Current Asset

618

575

Current Liabilities

432

440

Fixed Assets

326

361

Current Assets-stocks

283

240

Trade Debtors

101

Trade Creditors

Return on Equity(%)

15.46

16.94

Gross profit Margin(%)

27.84

31.55

Profit Margin(%)

5.02

5.85

Pre tax Profit Margin(%)

7.57

8.7

Current Ratio

1.43

1.31

Quick Ratio

0.66

0.55

Debtors(No of days)

23.44

15.5

Creditors(No of days)

30.87

28.96

Earnings per Share(kobo)

14.95

15.96

Dividend Per Share(kobo)

Profitability Ratios

Liquidity Ratios

Investment Ratios

Ifeanyi Uzodike, Curtix MD/CEO

to income ratios increased by 3.75 basis points to 72.2 per cent from 68.45 per cent posted in 2011. Fixed assets also dropped by 9.54 per cent to N325 million from N360 million in 2011.

15 kobo from 16 kobo in 2012, the company still proposed dividend payout of 12 kobo per share in its financial year ended April, 2012. It will be recall that the same 12 kobo was paid in the previous year.

Value for Investors Cutix Plc has ensure that returns are distributed fairly to all stakeholders over the years. The company takes into account the interest of all the stakeholders. Cutix Plc has been paying regular dividends to its shareholders since it became publicly quoted with the dividends paid between 1997 and 2012 totaling about N368.5 million. Despite the fact that Earnings per share (EPS) dropped marginally to

Prospects By and large, the performance of Cutix in 2012 is commendable, but the management needs to deal with its high operating cost to avoid continuous slumps in the company profit margin in future. As observed from the company business strategies, the prospects of the company sales are bright as various initiatives embarked upon are expected to improve its profit level. BC

Monday, August 20, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Monday, August 20, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Law & Justice nationalmirrorlaw@yahoo.com

“Section 182 (1) (i) of the constitution is not to be used as an instrument by politicans to hinder the emergence of their opponents adversaries as governor.”

JUSTICE GEORGE OGUNTADE, RETIRED JUSITCE OF SUPREME COURT

State police: Discordant tunes from temple of justice Fed Govt’s Transformation Agenda in all sectors has failed –Shittu 42

The existence of a centralised police force is one of the items on the Exclusive Legislative List of the federation. KAYODE KETEFE, Assistant Head, Judiciary, highlights the divergent views of some lawyers on the call for a decentralised policing system as a panacea to insecurity challenges in the country.

F How Akintola won £1,000 libel suit 44

Nigerian couple jailed for beating their children 41

Senate President, David Mark

our notable lawyers, including a Senior Advocate of Nigeria Mr. Gani Adetola-Kazeem (SAN), have expressed divergent views on the mounting calls for the decentralisation of the policing system in a bid to tackle the rising security challenges in the country. Some of the lawyers who spoke to National Mirror in Lagos canvased for the creation of state police in the federation while others either opposed the call or merely argued that the centralised policing system should be reformed and not abolished. Besides Adetola-Kazeem, other lawyers included a chieftain of the Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, the immediate past Chairman of the Ikeja Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Mr. Adebamigbe Omole and a lecturer at the Faculty of Law, University of Lagos, Mr. Wahab Shittu. Adetola-Kazeem in an interview with our correspondent opposed the idea of state police and advocated for the reform of the present policing system. He said he would rather want the existing police structure to be reformed and its operational efficiency overhauled. According to him, “The issue of centralised police we have is historical. In the First Republic, each region had its own police system, but we also knew how they used this to intimidate, harass and persecute opponents. “After the collapse of the First Republic, there were series of probes and things like that, and state police and local government police were abolished, it was for good reason that they said there would not be state police and

Speaker, House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal

EVEN WITHOUT STATE POLICE, THERE ARE SOME STATES THAT YOU CANNOT SPEAK AGAINST THE GOVERNORS IF YOU VALUE YOUR LIFE local government police anymore. You can see the attitude of some of the governors, they behave like tin gods, imagine if they have a force that they control, you can imagine what they can do to their opponents. “As of now, even without state police, there are some states that you cannot speak against the governors if you value your life; it is as bad as that. So, what we have now is a product of history; a product of experience of the past, the police system could be reformed. You can, for instance, send policemen to their own indigenous area, the terrain of which they are familiar with. For the stated reason, I support the present centralised police system, though it can be improved upon to ensure its efficiency, like posting policemen to the area they are familiar with.” Chief Adebanjo however said, “With the problem we are having in the country there is justification for state police. State police can be a better security arrangement against anything. What is happening now is that somebody from Zaria, Kaduna State is being asked to go and be a policeman in Osogbo, Osun State. There is no way he will understand the

native language and economy of the place he is posted to”. Omole said, “In actual fact, the problem we have with the Nigerian Police is that it has been over-centralised; every order comes from Abuja from the Inspector-General of Police (IGP). A Commissioner of Police cannot take any action unless he gets a directive from the IGP. That is why we have this problem of policing. “The allegation that the state police system may be abused by the governors and employed for political purposes is not convincing. After all, under the present system the police are being manipulated at the federal level by the Federal Government, nobody is talking of abandoning the police at the federal level. So, let us have the state police”. Shittu said, “There are certain aspects in the Exclusive Legislative Lists that may need to be transferred to the Concurrent Legislative List. For instance, item like state police needs to be transferred to the concurrent list. With the state police there will be more effective policing as each area would be focused on its peculiar challenges. We should stop deceiving ourselves that we are practising federalism.’’ The Nigerian Bar Association has consistently made its view known on the issue of state police. For example, the President of the association, Mr. Joseph Daudu SAN, revealed the NBA stance during a Criminal Justice Reforms Conference which held in Abuja in July last year. Daudu said, “Time has come for immediate decentralisation of key criminal justice institutions, such as the Nigerian PoCONTINUED ON PAGE 40

Law & Justice

Monday, August 20, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Lawyers disagree on centralised policing system CONTINUED FROM PAGE 39 lice Force, the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Nigerian Prisons Service in order to facilitate grass root and comprehensive approach to the enforcement and administration of criminal justice. “The introduction of state police and community policing is to reflect true federalism as effective policing must be rooted in the community, because most crimes are local in nature.” A former president of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu SAN, had also recently lent his support to state police when he said, “The state cannot depend on the federal police for effective community policing. It is an aberration in a federal system. If the government can entrust huge sums of money as security votes to state executives with nothing to show for it, it should not be difficult for them to allow state and community police to function”. Indeed, one of the most enduring agitations in the dynamics of constitutional amendment in Nigeria is the demand for a decentralised policing system which allows each state of the federation to have its autonomous police outfit. Nigeria Police Force was established in 1930 and has since then undergone several changes but has remained a centrally-controlled outfit with jurisdiction all over Nigeria and it boasts of exclusive policing powers. Under the 1999 Constitution, Section 214 establishes the NPF while Section 4 of the Police Act invests the NPF with wide latitude of powers and responsibilities. Section 4 states, “The police shall be employed for the prevention and detection of crime, the apprehension of offenders, the preservation of law and order, the protection of life and property and the due enforcement of all laws and regulations with which they are charged, and shall perform such military duties within or without Nigeria as may be required.” Apart from the police, other statutory institutions which help in different aspects of maintenance of law and order in the

Adetola-Kazeem (SAN)

country include key criminal justice institutions such as the FRSC, Nigerian Prisons Service, Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP). The NPF of today is a unitary organisation centrally controlled from Abuja but which is delimitated into state commands and a multiple of states called zonal commands. The fact that NPF has not been able to cope with the problems of insecurity in the land is well-known. A fact that is well-evinced by the countless numbers of unresolved killings, successful bank robberies, incidence of rape with impunity, trafficking in persons, looting and destruction of properties, terroristic acts like the recurrent onslaughts by the Boko Haram sect. The combined protective efforts of the NPF and other forces like the State Security Service have proved futile in the face of the overwhelming insecurity problem facing the nation. These forces are yet to prove equal to the challenges of insecurity let alone overcome it. It is against this background that many stakeholders in the criminal justice system have over the years been making calls for

Daudu (SAN)

THE STATE CANNOT DEPEND ON THE FEDERAL POLICE FOR EFFECTIVE COMMUNITY POLICING the adoption of state policing system. The stakeholders hinge their argument on the fact that under a true federalism every state should ideally have her own police formation that is responsible for the maintenance of peace and order in the state. This does not exclude the operations of a central policing system. This argument may appear valid because in many other federations of the world, like the United States, Germany, India and Canada and Australia there is dual policing system with the central one charged the overall jurisdiction of the entire nation while the federating states have their own autonomous forces. Most of these countries even have well-developed system of community policing. But here in Nigeria, it has always remained a matter of intense controversy with the people polarised into proponents

and opponents of its establishment. A case in point is the recent stout opposition by the Northern Governors Forum to its existence. It would be recalled that governors of 36 states of the Federation met in Abuja last month and reportedly agreed to a proposal that the 1999 Constitution be amended to provide for the establishment of the state police to curb the menace of intractable insecurity in the country. However a few days later, the 19 northern governors held a separate meeting where they vehemently opposed the idea of state police. Nonetheless, the said governors suggested amendment to the constitution to allow the governors to give orders to commissioners of police in their respective states as against the existing position under Section 215 of the 1999 Constitution that gives the state police commissioners the discretion to refer any order given by governors to the president for approval. The communiqué issued at the end of the said 19 governors meeting read in part “The forum is not in support of creation of state police. It, however, resolved to prevail on the Federal Government to embark on police reform that will assist the states in control and management of police affairs, and sound philosophy of modern policing by amending the provision of Section 215.” Only last Tuesday, the Forum of Retired Inspectors- General of Police paid a visit to President Goodluck Jonathan where former police bosses opposed the creation of state police but rather called for reorganisation and overhauling of the force. The forum stated, “Putting into consideration the political climate operating in our country, a state police would only be a tool in the hands of political leaders at state levels” Even as the 1999 Constitution is now in the process of being amended, it is doubtful if enough support would be mustered across the length and breadth of Nigeria to procure the requisite overwhelming endorsement by stakeholders to change the constitution and allow the operation of state police.

Group chides Kano Govt over outrageous fees KAYODE KETEFE

group, Lawyers in the Media (LIM), has called on Kano State Government to reverse its recent policy of demolishing outdoors billboards belonging to members of the Outdoor Advertising Association of Nigeria (OOAN), in the state. LIM, which is a group within the Nigerian Bar Association, also condemned the astronomical increment of fees imposed on the open door advertisers by the state government describing it as callous, arbitrary, illegal and a calculated attempt to frustrate the entrepreneurial initiatives of the OOAN members in Kano State. These condemnations were contained in a communiqué issued at the end of a one-day conference jointly held by LIM and OAAN in Lagos recently. The conference had the theme, “Outdoor media: Right to property and rule of law” A copy of the communiqué jointly

THERE ARE TOO MANY LAWS ON OUTDOOR ADVERTISING signed by the Chairman of LIM, Mr. Charles Odenigbo and the President of OAAN, Mr. Charles Chijide, was made available to National Mirror. The conference which attracted numerous stakeholders within the advertising and the media enterprises was convened to deliberate on the propriety of the Kano State government’s policy of massive destruction of outdoor billboards of OAAN members and its imposition of what the advertisers called “exorbitant fees” on outdoor advertisement. LIM maintained that the said destruction of the outdoor billboards by the officials and agents of the state government constituted a breach of the victims’ constitutionally guaranteed right to own immoveable properties as well as the right to impart and receive ideas

and information which are provided for under sections 43, 39 and 22 of the 1999 Constitution. Part of the communiqué reads, “Unless the highhanded policy of the Kano State government is urgently reversed, the business survival of members of the OAAN, which provided employment for thousands of Nigerians, would continue to lose their multibillion investments reversed. “It is inimical for any government to stifle business endeavours all in a bid to generate revenues and that the on-going onslaught by the Kano State government against the outdoor practitioners is callous, anarchical and absolutely reprehensible. “Lawyers in the Media also condemned the blatant refusal of the Kano State government to obey an interim order restraining it and its agents from further demolition of the billboards and ordering the parties to maintain status quo.

“Consequently, the said state government and its agents are called upon to heed the order of a court of competent jurisdiction to allow democracy to thrive. The government and its agents are called upon to compensate all the victims of the callous destruction of the outdoor billboards in accordance with the constitutional rights to compensate for alienation under Section 44 of the 1999 Constitution. In his speech at the conference, the President of OAAN, Chijide, said, “There are too many laws on outdoor advertising. For a government that is encouraging investments, one would expect them to make the practice of our business a little more stress-free. Now that the country is going through constitution review, we call on Lawyers in the Media to use the platform of their association to execute the reforms so that the government can get our association properly recognised and adequately catered for.”

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Law & Justice

Monday, August 13, 2012

Nigerian couple jailed for beating their children Foreign

wo cruel parents convicted of a decade long campaign of abuse against their six children were jailed for seven years each. According to mailonline, the Nigerian couple, ,” who claimed their kids were possessed by evil spirits, were found guilty after Coronation Street star Michelle Collins gave evidence against them. They beat their children with brooms, hoovers and wires and even gave their baby a morphine overdose just days after her first birthday. The plight of the children was so bad that Coronation Street actress Michelle Collins, who met them at a church lunch, took them to the cinema ‘because she felt sorry for them’ Five of the children were finally rescued after their eldest daughter threw a heart-wrenching SOS note out of a window. But it wasn’t until their one-year-old baby was given a morphine overdose over a year later that police reopened the case which led to their prosecution. The plight of the children was so bad that Miss Collins, who met them at a church lunch, took them to the cinema ‘be-

United Kingdom cause she felt sorry for them’. She gave evidence as a prosecution witness during the trial of the parents, both 40, who cannot be named to protect their six children. But the parents claimed they were victims of a conspiracy - and even alleged Miss Collins was involved in a witch hunt against them and wanted to ‘steal’ their children. One of the youngsters, a baby at the time, had been allowed to stay in the home despite the fact the five other children had to be rescued. Sentencing them to seven years behind bars each, Judge James Patrick described it as ‘shocking mistreatment’ that they had tried to cover up with a ‘web of deception’. Judge Patrick said: ‘No-one who sat through this trial could help but be moved by the fact that these intelligent, charming, fun, lovable children continue to love you despite what you put them through.’ The married couple denied the allegations claiming they were victims of a racist witch-hunt but were found guilty of cruelty to a person under 16. They argued the children had been ‘brainwashed’ into making the allegations by the police, the council and Miss Collins who they said ‘wanted to steal’ them, Wood Green Crown Court heard. But Judge Patrick noted: ‘You alleged a

conspiracy involving a well-known actress, who had done nothing but show your family generosity and kindness, a member of a housing charity, social workers and foster carers. ‘Those who had taken the trouble to support you were repeatedly accused of dishonesty, lying, and conspiracy to rob you of your children when the reality was that both of you were lying - in fact they ware

Tutu calls for saving Regional Human Rights Court

Indian S’Court orders interim ban on tiger tourism

India

ourism destinations deep inside India’s tiger parks will be closed indefinitely after the Supreme Court of India imposed an interim ban on all tourism activities in core areas of tiger forests, CNN reports. “(Until) final directions of the court, core areas in tiger reserves will not be used for tourism activities,” the court said in the order issued, according to a report by the Times of India. The decision also imposed a fine of 10,000 rupees ($178) on six states that did not comply with the court’s previous decision in April, which required that all states must identify core zones and buffer zones of their tiger reserves as part of a rolling effort to regulate where tourist attractions can be located. India is home to the world’s largest population of tigers -- 1,706 of them -according to the World Wildlife Fund. That number has dropped from more than 100,000 at the beginning of the 20th century due to poaching and habitat encroachment. Read more: Photographer documents trafficking of endangered animals There are 40 tiger reserves across the country, according to the National Tiger Conservation Authority of India. Tiger reserves are set up throughout India to

Joseph and Gloria Musa with children

simply seeking to give your children stability.’ The abuse came to the attention of police in April 2010 when their nine-year-old wrote an SOS note and threw it out of her bedroom window. The heart-breaking plea read: ‘My mum is the worst mum ever because she can’t cope with five of us, her broken hand and being pregnant. She always leaves me out so I always starve and I am forced to work. ‘If I don’t get enough house work done, I am beaten without mercy with the wooden end of a broom. I have scars all over me to prove it. I can’t stay here. I would like a new mum.’ It was found by a neighbour who called the police, and when officers attended the address they found the children living in messy conditions with ‘dirty’ and ‘dishevelled’ clothing. Revealing scars the eldest said her mother had hit her with a cable, a broom, and a hoover and her father had dangled her by her feet down the stairwell of the house, tied her hands behind her back and her legs together ‘to get the devilish spirits out’, prosecutor Emma Smith said. Her sister, who was seven at the time, had a stick shaped bruise of her thigh and after a few months in care, she drew a series of pictures showing her dad beating her and her being left home alone and including a speech bubble saying ‘I’m hungry.’

A tiger at Ranbhome Park, India.

provide a protected environment for animals still in the wild. Resorts and villages were set up for tourists, local as well as foreign, to see the tiger habitats and perhaps catch a glimpse of the big cat. Now the future of tiger tourism is in question. The ban is in place while the court considers a claim filed by a local environmentalist alleging that ecotourism was hurting the habitat and breeding grounds of the endangered species. The court is expected to release its final ruling on August 22. Ecotourism promises to bring travelers closer to nature with minimum environmental impact. The court is investigating whether tourism in India’s tiger parks is in fact low impact. Toby Sinclair, vice president for the Ecotourism Society of India, told CNN he believes the government is allowing too many visitors into the parks. “The eco in ecotourism has changed to economy,” Sinclair said. Last April the court ruled that all states must identify core zones and buffer zones of their tiger parks as part of a rolling effort to regulate where tourist attractions can be located, according to the Times of India report.

Zimbabwe

obel laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu has joined calls for the full reinstatement of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) human rights court, as part of a growing international campaign. This campaign is being led by the top legal and human rights groups in the region, who are urging SADC leaders to reinstate the court and strengthen its human rights mandate. According to Allafrica, the court has been suspended for close to two years after it ruled against the Robert Mugabe regime in 2008. The ruling was the result of a landmark legal challenge by Zimbabwean farmers who were challenging the legality of the land grab campaign. The Tribunal ruled that the campaign was unlawful and ordered the then ZANU PF government to compensate those farmers who lost land in the exercise, and protect the remaining farmers from further attack. But the government ignored this ruling, as well as the contempt of court orders that followed, despite the Tribunal having

Tutu

international jurisdiction. And instead of taking action against this blatant disregard of the court, SADC leaders stepped in and suspended the Tribunal. On August 17th and 18th the SADC Heads of State will meet at a summit in Maputo, Mozambique, at which the Tribunal’s future role, notably its human rights jurisdiction, will be decided. There are concerns that the court will be reinstated, but with a limited human rights mandate that only serves to protect the rights of Southern African governments and not their citizens.

Brief

Jonathan, others to attend NBA conference next week

resident Goodluck Jonathan is expected to declare open the 52nd Annual General Conference of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) next week in Abuja. A statement by the NBA Conference Planning Committee said the keynote address would be delivered by the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto diocese, Bishop Mathew Hassan Kukah. The conference with the theme, “Nigeria as an Emerging market: Redefining our Laws and Politics of Growth”, is expected to draw lawyers from the 91 branches of the NBA in the country. The highpoint of the conference billed to hold from August 27 to 31, 2012 will be the formal hand over from the outgoing NBA President, Mr. Joseph Daudu (SAN), to the new President, Mr. Okey Wali (SAN), on August 31. Some state governors notably, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), Mr. Godswill Akpabio, Mr Liyel Imoke and Gabriel Suswan, who are also members of the NBA, are expected at the conference.

Law & Justice

Monday, August 20, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Fed Govt’s Transformation Agenda

Mr. Wahab ‘Kunle Shittu, is a Lagos-based lawyer and lecturer at the Department of International Law and Jurisprudence, Faculty of Law, University of Lagos. He spoke with the Assistant Head, Judiciary Desk, KAYODE KETEFE, on the administration of justice and corruption in the Judiciary among other issues. Excerpts.

How will you assess the Nigerian democracy from 1999 till date? Are we getting things right? I think any assessment of Nigerian democracy has to be based on certain underlying fundamentals. It is after assessing the said fundamentals that we can be able to arrive at correct assessment of our journey so far. The first fundamental is constitutionalism. Secondly, adherence to rule of law, others are respect for fundamental rights, respect for due process, due and fair electoral process. Zero tolerance for corruption, transparency and accountability and above all, good governance. Of course, all these are interrelated. These are the fundamentals of a good democratic tradition. The assessment of our democratic practice must be based on how we have fared on all these parameters. We must also ask the question “what is the attitude of the political class to the issue of good governance an entrenchment of good democratic tenets? Can we describe the political class as genuine democrats? Is their attribute of the political culture to those who subscribe to the democratic tradition? Can we reasonably say today that our political elite qualify as democrats? Let me start from the last poser. I think it can be said without any fear of contradiction that our politicians have not generally conduct themselves as democrats. Let us ask ourselves some similar posers. Is our kind of democracy devoid of sentiment, hypocrisy, and deception? Are we practising democracy the way it should be practised? Is the political power and by extension sovereignty springing from the people? Are we making the people the prime focus of governance? The answer to all these posers may not be in the positive. This is because we are not engaging in politics of ideas where emphasis is placed on having good manifesto and the votes are solicited on the soundness of the manifestoes. Nowadays, people are more concerned about the amount of money you have in your pockets. The political space has been heavily monetised and all the actors are aware of that fact. How do we overcome the challenges of insecurity using law as an instrument of social engineering? I think the starting point is to investigate the insecurity challenge and appraise the matter from the multidimensional perspective. Some have attributed this challenge to religious sentiment, others said, political sentiment, others, still attributed it to ethnicity. The truth is that there are elements of all these inherent in the problems. I think it is for the government to now adopt a multi-faceted approach in dealing with the problems, having in mind that many of these variables might have contributed to the problem. More fundamentally, it behoves the government to address the fundamental problem of poverty, ignorance, disease and the general state of underdevelopment which are at the roots of the problem. The problem of poverty for instance is pervasive in the entire country, being extant in the East, West, North and South. The gap between the rich and the poor is too wide. The resources of the country is concentrated in the hands of the very few. This has led to bottled-up tension over the years. This has also been fuelled by some opportunist members of the political elite who see the political powers as a do- or- die thing. You should also see the way in which our federation is configured and see the contradictions inherent in it. What is your view on the problem of our fiscal federalism? If you look at the 1960 and 1963 constitutional

Shittu

I THINK IT CAN BE SAID WITHOUT ANY FEAR OF CONTRADICTION THAT OUR POLITICIANS HAVE NOT CONDUCT THEMSELVES AS DEMOCRATS arrangement, you would agree with me that each of these is very different from our present constitution in a fundamental way. This was reflected in the economy of each of these regions. That is why you saw the West being noted for Cocoa and there were groundnut pyramids is the North. In contrast to the system of that era, we say today that we are practising federalism when indeed what we are practising is unitary system of government masquerading as federalism. If we need to move the country forward, we must revert to true federalism. All the states should be allowed to maximize the resources at their disposal so that they can produce in the area where they have comparative advantage. Nearly all the states of the federation have one or more resources. But there is undue focus on oil. We must tinker with our constitutional framework so that we address this lopsided nature of making the centre too powerful at the expense of other federating units. There are certain aspects in the Exclusive Legislative Lists that may need to be transferred to the Concurrent Legislative List. For instance item like state police need to be transferred to the concurrent list. With the state police there will be more effective policing as each area would be focused on its peculiar challenges. We should stop deceiving ourselves that we are practising federalism. How would you assess the human rights records of President Goodluck Jonathan? Well, I think one is facing some difficulty in being able to assess the administration of President Goodluck Jonathan in realistic terms. This is because never in the history of this country have we had it so bad in terms of our security. Given the present challenges, it will be very difficult to pass judgment. But even then, if you look at the matter from the perspective of transformation agenda under which the

regime rolled into power, you would want to ask yourself this question: Have we really had transformation in the aviation sector, in the health sector, and in all other sector of the economy? the answer would be definitely no. This is because Nigerians are still groaning in poverty and underdevelopment. Never in the history of our country had there been such security challenges as this government have been made to grapple with since it came to power. Do you believe the allegation of corruption in the Judiciary is real? I will answer that by asking another question. Is there really a general decay and corruption in the Nigerian society? This question is pertinent because the Judiciary is a reflection of the society. You cannot have a Judiciary outside the society from where it springs from. My verdict is that there is decay and general breakdown in nearly all the socio-economic sector; there is breakdown in institutions, there is breakdown in societal values, there is breakdown in traditions as well as ethical and moral values. All these were emanations of the failure of leadership as the bane of our society and the Judiciary also, being an integral part of the society could not be an isolated island from the decay. But this is not say that the entire Judiciary is corrupt. There are certain elements in the Judiciary who can hold their head high anywhere. So I will not pass a general verdict of condemnation on the Judiciary. There are upright, honest and people of integrity within the Judiciary. In blaming the Judiciary I don’t think it is proper to isolate only the judges for blame, I think it is a collective thing, it is a stakeholders problem. Some of the judges, some of the lawyers and some of the police prosecutors, the registrars, the prison officers etc all have part of the blame to share. It is this massive erosion of values that lies at the heart of the problem. What is your comment on the issue of corruption in the Judiciary? I will answer that question by asking another one. Do you think there is a general decay in the society? You cannot have a judiciary that is different from the society it springs from. My verdict is that there is breakdown in nearly all

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Law & Justice

Monday, August 20, 2012

in all sectors has failed –Shittu

the sectors of the economy. There is breakdown in the institutions; there is breakdown in the societal tradition, there is breakdown in ethical and moral values as well as in personal behaviour. All of these are orchestrated by failure of leadership corruption and indiscipline. Given this scenario and the Judiciary being an integral part of the society is also affected. This is not to say that the entire Judiciary is rotten or corrupt. There are still many people of principles and integrity in the Judiciary. There are certain elements within the Judiciary that can hold their heads up anywhere. So, I will not pass the verdict of condemnation on the Judiciary. There are still people who are honest, principled and upright and discharge their functions conscientiously and meritoriously. In passing the judgment on the Judiciary, I think we should not also isolate the judges for blame; it is a stakeholder’s problem. Every of the stakeholders have a part of the blame. Some of the judges, some of the lawyers, police prosecutors, prison officers, even court registrars. In short there is massive institutional breakdown. How do we stem the tide of corruption in the Judiciary? One fundamental problem is the undue delay in the administration of justice and that can be addressed through a qualitative reform process that is tailored to address both the systemic failures and the question of integrity. We need to undertake holistic review of the institution and structures that constitute the administration of justice in order to block all loophole or leakages. I would also recommend the establishment of the Judiciary Performance Monitoring Committee to monitor and assess the performance of judges, both in terms of their professional commitment and ethical integrity. We also need to monitor the activities of our lawyers to ensure that those who violated ethics are brought to book. Another way to address the problem is to ensure that only people with proven track record of excellence and integrity are appointed to the bench. The bench should also be adequately remunerated in terms of welfare packages. What is your view on James Ibori’s saga that was freed at home and jailed abroad? Under our own system Ibori escaped while he was he then jailed in the United Kingdom, the answer to this apparent contradiction is simple, while the Judiciary in advanced country appeared to be working our own appeared not to be working, because of some of the factors that I have highlighted. If we strengthen our institution and moral values, we would be in a way close to our destination. But we need good leadership to reform positively.

How will you react to the new Lagos Traffic Law? There is no doubt that our society requires some measures of discipline in order to move forward as no society can actually progress in an atmosphere of relative indiscipline. Having said that, I think it is also fair to consult widely all the stakeholders before enacting into law any such far reaching provisions with their serious punitive implications. I am not too sure whether sufficient consultations by way of referendum and stakeholders meeting were done in this case to sensitise the road users, drivers, road transport associations, among other stakeholders. Where you don’t have adequate consultation, whatever law you put in place is likely to be resisted since where people don’t have adequate information or their consent not obtained, they may not be cooperative. In promulgating any law, regards should not only be had to legal implications, you should also look at the socio-economic, cultural and religious factors. That is why in advanced climes, there is this regulatory impact assessment that is normally conducted in order to determine the various implication of a particular policy. Such regulatory impact assessment would examine political, economic and social implications of such law. All the variables would have been factored in before the law is enacted. Given our culture of indiscipline I am not too sure

I WOULD ALSO RECOMMEND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE

JUDICIARY PERFORMANCE MONITORING COMMITTEE

TO MONITOR AND ASSESS THE PERFORMANCE OF JUDGES whether our people would quickly adjust to this new rule. I understand that the National Union of Roads Transport Workers is already kicking against the law, so what I would say is that since the law has already been passed, it is binding on everybody. It remains the law and everybody is bound to obey it. The Chief Judge of Lagos State, Justice Ayotunde Philips has been criticised by a section of the human rights community for her presence at the signing ceremony of the Road Traffic Law by Governor Fashola. What is your view on this? I think that those who think the Chief Judge of Lagos State ought not to have attended the signing ceremony of the controversial law have a legitimate concern. As you pointed out, one of such stakeholders who objected to the CJ attending the ceremony is a Lagos-based nongovernmental organisation, Access to Justice and the position of that organisation is understandable. Given that fact when a law is enacted by the Legislature, it is also subject to being challenged by aggrieved party (ies) in our law court. The CJ is being the Head of the Judiciary might be called upon to assign such cases, she might also hear such case. It might be a legitimate concern that her attendance might prejudice the mind of a potential aggrieved person about the possibility of obtaining justice in that court. When various arms of government conduct their affairs, they should do so to enhance the impartiality and their independence of the process. A person may have good intention but the impression that would be created in the minds of the public should also be taken into consideration in the conduct of public affairs. That is

why one is inclined to say that Access to Justice’s view is right when it says the Chief Judge ought not to attend the signing ceremony. What is your opinion on the call for the reformation of the National Judicial Council in order to reduce the power of the CJN? The best way to appreciate the issue is to look at the faceoff between the former Chief Justice of Nigeria and the suspended President of the Court of Appeal and then use it as a test case to be able to pronounce on the unsuitability of the present arrangement. I also understand that the former CJN also raised concerns on the lopsided nature of appointment into the NJC. I think all that should be addressed as part of the holistic reform package in order to ensure that no one individual is, by virtue of his position has overriding influence on the activities of the commission that is charged with the responsibility of ensuring this orderliness, integrity and discipline in the profession. NJC should be constituted in a manner as to guarantee its independence and impartiality. As a law lecturer, do you subscribe to the view that the quality of our legal education is declining? It depends on the perspective under which one is looking at the issue, on the present generation of lawyers who are being trained, are they exposed to far more materials in terms of the technology revolution that has taken place like ICT as evinced in the internet and allied facilities. This of course is an advantage over the lawyers of the past generation. If you use that as assessment, you would say that the present generation should rank higher compared to older generation. However, given the culture of erosion of values which I referred to in the past and the fact that the present generation of the students is reluctant to embrace pupilage, you may count that as some deprivations and disadvantage against the present generation. The older generation understudied the senior colleagues for 10, 12, 15 years before setting out on their own. The trend this day is that lawyers hardly want to stay for up to two or three years. The mentoring system has a lot of role to play in churning out quality lawyers. To that extent, one can say that the old “brigade’ seems to be better than the present.

Law & Justice

Monday, August 20, 2012

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How Akintola won £1,000 libel suit

hief Samuel Akintola was a Premier of the defunct Western Region of Nigeria. By his conspicuous facial marks, it was not in doubt that he was a native of Ogbomosho in the old Western Region. However, Akintola felt maligned when he read a publication titled: “Among Nigerian Celebrities” where a publisher and the Publicity Secretary of a political party, the National Council of Nigeria Citizens (NCNC), Mr. Fred Anyiam published a statement that he was a son of Chief Sawe of Ilesha and one Madam Alice. The politician through his private secretary, Ade Oladeinde, wrote to the publisher complaining about the alleged libel and demanded an apology in two prominent national newspapers at the time, the Daily Service and the West African Pilot. Anyiam failed to comply with the terms set out by Akintola’s lawyer towards reaching “an accord and satisfaction’’ on the matter. Irked by this development, Akintola filed a writ of summons before the high court on the November 8, 1960 which reads as follows: The plaintiff claimed against the defendant the sum of £20,000 being damages for printing and publishing a libel of and concerning him in a booklet entitled, Among Nigerian Celebrities at page 39 in respect of a sentence that the plaintiff is a “Son of Chief Sawe of Ilesha and Alice.” Akintola also claimed that the defendant had by this publication falsely and maliciously cast an unwarranted and unjustified doubt upon his paternity and his parentage. In his statement of claim, the then premier averred that his father, Solomon Akintola and his mother, Mobolade Akintola (née Oyeniya) were both natives of Ogbomosho adding that it was false and malicious to describe him as a “son of Chief Sawe of IIesha and Alice.” Akintola contended that by the publication of the said words, the defendant meant and was understood to mean that he was not the son of his parents, i.e., Solomon Akintola and Mobolade both of whom were natives of Ogbomosho. But in his statement of defence , Anyiam denied the alleged libel but pleaded further that if the said words were libellous then, he would contend that the plaintiff ’s right of action had been discharged by an apology, which he had published on the front page of the West African Pilot newspaper of October, 1960. At the hearing of the matter, Akintola gave evidence and called three witnesses, namely, Bolade Ogunfowokan, a clerk in the Chambers of plaintiff ’s Solicitor, Jacob Adeyemo Oroge, a Customary Court President at Ikirun and Victor Ladipo Lajide, a building contractor at Ogbomosho. Akintola, in his evidence, admitted knowing Anyiam and said he saw the publication on at page 39 of the booklet entitled, Among Nigerian Celebrities, concerning his parentage. He gave his father’s name as Solomon Akintola of Ogbomosho and his mother’s as Mobolade Akintola also of Ogbo-

About 52 years ago, the Premier of the defunct Western Region, Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola dragged a publisher, Fred Anyiam before a Lagos High Court for an alleged libellous publication that he was not a native of Ogbomosho and that the defendant cast doubts on his parentage. FRANCIS FAMOROTI, Ag. Head, Judiciary writes that the court gave its verdict in the politician’s favour with an award of £1,000 compensatory damages.

FAMOUS CASES THE LIBELLOUS PUBLICATION Akintola

mosho. He denied knowing Chief Sawe of IIesha or Madam Alice. When asked how he came to be concerned about the publication in the booklet, Exhibit A, he explained that many of his friends called his attention to page 39 of the booklet wherein his parents were mentioned as Chief Sawe of Ilesha and Alice and they felt that he (the plaintiff) must have been deceiving them about his parentage. The politician said he confirmed to them that his ‘’father’s name is Solomon Akintola and his mother’s Mobolade Akintola.’’ Under cross-examination, Akintola told the court that the reaction of his friends was that he had been deceiving them. He claimed that these friends had been voting for him from year to year as a son of Ogbomosho. Besides, the politician said he was dissatisfied with the apology contained in the West African Pilot because it was insufficient and was published without the consent of his solicitors as per the draft attached to the letter of October 21st, 1960 addressed to the defendant by his solicitors. He said he was also worried that Anyiam did not stop distributing the booklet and that the publisher failed to correct the publication in the second edition of the booklet as he promised. Oroge, one of the plaintiff ’s witnesses, said he was shocked when he read page 39 of Exhibit ‘A’ concerning the plaintiff ’s parentage, as he had always known him to be a native of Ogbomosho. The witness said after reading the publication, he had a doubt in his mind as to whether the plaintiff was still the son of Solomon and Mobolade Akintola of Ogbomosho. The last of the plaintiff ’s witnesses, Lajide, told the court that Akintola

PORTRAYED THE POLITICIAN AS AN IMPOSTOR AND NOT REALLY A NATIVE OF

OGBOMOSHO

had represented Ogbomosho in the Regional and Federal Legislatures since 1951; that the plaintiff had always shell himself as a native of Ogbomosho and that he knew his parents (Solomon and Mobolade Akintola) very well. Lajide said after reading page 39 of the alleged libellous booklet containing a biographical note of Akintola in October 1960, during the Independence celebrations, his reaction was that the politician was an impostor and that he was not a native of Ogbomosho. He said the publication had made him to have doubts about Akintola’s parentage. Anyiam in his evidence said in March 1960, he sent Akintola a circular letter which is headed, “Some Nigerian Celebrities’, Publication of ” requesting for a brief history of himself and his latest photograph for inclusion in the publication. The defendant said in reply, Akintola’s Private Secretary, Ade Oladeinde, by a letter Ref No. PS.73/ dated August 4, 1960, wrote to him stating that he had been directed by the premier to send a short note and his photograph for use in the publication. Part of the letter reads; ’If however you want a block of the Hon. Premier please contact the Amalgamated Press Limited, 5/7 Apongbon Street, Lagos, to lend you one. A copy of this letter is being sent to the Amalgamated Press Limited for information.’’ Anyiam said following the receipt of the letter, he contacted the Amalgamat-

ed Press Limited and a young man who was the source of a slip of paper bearing the incorrect names of the plaintiff ’s parents. He said that a large quantity of the publication had been sold and he had no deliberate intention to damage Akintola. Anyiam’s counsel submitted on his behalf that the words in the offending publication were not per se defamatory of the plaintiff, that the birth of the plaintiff from his known parents was not attacked; that the court should consider the circumstances of the publication; that the offending passage at page 39 of the pamphlet was a mere mistake which anyone could have made. The counsel submitted that Akintola’s right of action was discharged by reason of the publication of an apology contained in the West African Pilot of October 26, 1960 and further submitted that there was ‘’sufficient Accord and Satisfaction’’. Chief Rotimi Williams, for the plaintiff, replied to all the points canvased by the counsel for the defence and argued that the publication had greatly disparaged Akintola. Reviewing the evidence adduced by the parties, Justice Sigismund Lambo noted that the young man from the Daily Service was not called as a witness and the piece of paper from which the libellous information was obtained was not produced in court. The court said it never occurred to Anyiam to telephone Akintola for further information about his parentage, although he could have done so if he had wished. Delivering judgment in suit No LD/405/60 cited as [1961] ANLR 529 on July 17, 1961, Justice Lambo declared that he was satisfied from the evidence of the plaintiff and his witnesses that the libellous publication portrayed the politician as an impostor and not really a native of Ogbomosho. The judge said the defence of mistake or absence of malicious intention could not avail the defendant. According to the judge, “ The plaintiff is a politician. I hold that nothing can be more damaging to him, as a politician, than an imputation that he has dishonestly induced the people of a constituency to cast their votes for him over a number of years. The judge said, “From the facts before the court, therefore, the inference, in my view, is irresistible that the defendant acted maliciously when he described the plaintiff as a son of Chief Sawe of Ilesha and Alice, and I so find. For all the above reasons, I hold that the publication in question is a libel on the plaintiff as by it, the defendant has falsely and maliciously cast an unwarranted and unjustified doubt upon plaintiff ’s paternity and parentage.” The judge said, “After anxious consideration, however, I have reached the conclusion that I must award to the plaintiff a sum of £1,000 for damages. Defendant will, therefore, pay this sum to the plaintiff. The defendant must also pay the plaintiff £105 for costs and £35-14s-8d for disbursements.”

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Law Report

Law & Justice

Monday, August 20, 2012

he Federal High Court enjoys exclusive jurisdiction on all matters where the Federal Government or any of its agents is a party. It was therefore wrong for the trial court, High Court of Lagos State, to have assumed jurisdiction in the first place, to decide on the matter which clearly and unambiguously is within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal High Court. So held a Justice of the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, Justice Sidi Dauda Bage, whose lead judgment was unanimously supported by two other justices of the court. Facts: The background facts are that, about the 4th of May, 1988 Francis Bruce Ltd (hereinafter referred to as ‘’the contractor ‘’) was awarded a Water Project Contract under the National Rural Water Supply programmed by the 1st Respondent/ Plaintiff. A term of the contract was for the contractor to submit the Advance Payment Guarantee from a bank approved by the first Respondent/ Plaintiff before funds could be given to it to mobilise to site and commence the contract. The contractor approached the Appellant and obtained the Advance Payment Guarantee dated 10th day of June 1998 as requested by the 1st Respondent. The said contract between the 1st Respondent and the contractor also provided that the contractor shall subcontract the job to the 1st Respondent appointed sub-contractor pursuant to which term the 1st Respondent appointed Messrs A. Micheletti Nig. Ltd the 2nd Respondent to undertake the rural water contract. Upon the appointment of the 2nd Respondent, the 1st Respondent directed the Appellant to pay N28,842, 833.75 to the 2nd Respondent’s banker, United Bank for Africa Plc (The 3RD Respondent / Third Party). The 3rd Respondent thereafter executed a back to back Advance Payment Guarantee dated 6th of August 1988 in the said sum in favour of the Appellant for the benefit of the 1st Respondent. The term was also replicated in the Advance payment Guarantee executed by the 3rd Respondent on behalf of the 2nd Respondent for the funds advanced to it as the appointed subcontractor for the benefit of the 1st Respondent. At the time of instituting this action at the lower court, the 1st Respondent was aware that the parties in this action were embroiled in Suit No. PHC/323/2001 pending at the High Court of Rivers State Port Harcourt Division, where the 2nd Respondent as Plaintiff in that case sued the Appellant, the contractor and the 3rd Respondent amongst other defendants. the subject-matter of this suit at Port Harcourt inter alia concerned Advance Payment Guarantee executed for the National Rural Water Supply Programme Contracts LOT RV 2/A, the continued subsistence of the contract and the Advance Payment Guarantee where the 2nd Respondent was the Respondent subcontractor . The certified copy of Writ of Summons and the endorsed particulars of claim in Suit No. PHC/323/2001 dated 15th February 2001, are set out on pages 107 to 109 of the Record of Appeal. In spite of the above surrounding facts, the 1st Respondent went ahead and filed this suit at the High Court of Lagos State on the 6th of September 2001 in utter disre-

State High Court can’t adjudicate in matters involving Fed Govt IN THE COURT OF APPEAL HOLDEN AT LAGOS ON THURSDAY THE 19TH DAY OF JANUARY, 2012 BEFORE THEIR LORDSHIPS HELEN MORONKEJI OGUNWUMIJU JOHN INYANG OKORO SIDI DAUDA BAGE

JUSTICE, COURT OF APPEAL JUSTICE, COURT OF APPEAL JUSTICE, COURT OF APPEAL

APPEAL NO: CA/L/442/ 2006 BETWEEN: FIDELITY BANK PLC …………………………………………………..…..……..APPELLANT AND PETROLEUM (SPECIAL) TRUST FUND, AMICHELETTI PLC UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC ……………………………RESPONDENTS

Justice Aloma Mukhtar, CJN

gard to the terms of the Advance Payment Guarantee and the subsisting suit at the High Court of Rivers State, and also subsequently fled a summons for judgment which the lower court heard and ruled upon. The said ruling of the court is the subject of this appeal. Upon the receipt of the record of appeal, the Appellant filed an amended brief of argument, pursuant to an order of this court made on the 4th of November, 2010. The respondent filed its brief of argument dated and filed the 9th of February 2011. From the appellant’s brief of argument three (3) issues were formulated for determination of the appeal. Issues Two of the issues are: Whether the trial court was right in entering judgment against the appellant in the full sum of the guarantee with interest as claimed by the plaintiff in spite of evidence before the court showing that some work had been done by the contractor. Whether by virtue of Section 251(1) (a) (p) (q) (t)(r ) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, the

High Court of Lagos State had the requisite jurisdiction to hear and determine the claims before it as it were in this matter. Justice Sidi Dauda Bage delivering judgment: This is an appeal against the ruling of the High Court of Lagos State, delivered by Hon. Justice K.O Alogba of the Commercial Division, in suit No. LD/2124/2001, of the 7th of November, 2003. The ruling was in favour of the 1st Respondent,( as plaintiff in that court). By a summons for judgment dated the 22nd day of January, 2002, the plaintiff (1st Respondent) prayed for leave to enter judgment for plaintiff against the 1st Defendant/ Respondent for the sum of N36, 053,542.19k with interest at 21 per cent per annum from 2nd July 2001 until judgment and payment. In support is a verifying affidavit dated 22nd January, 2002, to which documents marked Exhibits 11 to 17 were annexed, as well as a further verifying affidavit dated 23rd April 2002 to which document marked Exhibit JP was annexed. The appellant the 11th of January 2002, then as the sole defendant, applied by motion on notice dated and filed on 11th Janu-

THE HIGH COURT OF LAGOS STATE HAD NO JURISDICTION TO ADJUDICATE AND RULE ON THIS MATTER ary, 2002 made an application to the court seeking to join the following persona s defendants, in the action: ( a )A.Micheletti Limited (b) Francis Bruce Limited ( c ) Mr. Francis .M. Bruce By order of the court made on the 15th January, 2002, A . Micheletti Nig,. Ltd and Francis Bruce Ltd were joined as 2nd and 3rd Defendants respectively and the Plaintiff/1st Respondent amended its writ of summons and statement of claim accordingly to reflect the new parties. Also the appellant (1st Defendant) by another motion on notice dated 11th of January 2002 and filed on the same day, applied for a third party notice to be issued on United Bank for Africa Plc, the said application was also granted by the court on the 15th January 2002 and the writ of summons amended accordingly. In the instant appeal before the court, it is no doubt that the Petroleum (Special) Trust Fund, the 1st Respondent is an agency of the Federal Government. The Supreme Court, in its decision of Oloruntoba-v-Dopemu (2008) 7 NWLR (Pt 1085) 1 AT PP 25-26 stated categorically that the aim of section 251(1) (p) (q) and ( r) of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria , 1999 was to vest exclusive jurisdiction in the Federal High Court in matters in which the Federal Government or nay of its agents is a party . The present appeal concerns a transaction involving the 1st Respondent an agency of the Federal Government and the Appellant. It was therefore wrong for the trial court, High Court of Lagos State , to have assumed jurisdiction in the first place, to decide on the matter which clearly and unambiguously is within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal High Court. In sum therefore, the High Court of Lagos State had no jurisdiction to adjudicate and rule on this matter which is subject of this appeal. Having resolved all the issues in this appeal in favour of the appellant and against the respondents, the appeal is hereby allowed. This court makes the following orders: The ruling of Alogba .J of High Court of Lagos State in Suit No. LD/2124/2001 delivered on the 7th of November, 2003 , is hereby set aside. This suit is to be heard a fresh before a judge of the Federal High Court . No order as to costs. Justices Ogunwumiju and Okoro concurred with the lead judgment. Appearances: Essien Udom for the Appellant with him Inyang Udoema Mrs. O. Badewole for the 1st Respondent Oreoluwa Omotayo (Miss)for the 3rd Respondent .

Law & Justice

Monday, August 20, 2012

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Celebrating law school classes VINCENT UKO

I O

“

rdinarily, I am a shy person. Shortly after my call to Bar, I was appearing with my principal, Mr. Femi Falana in the court. One day, we went to the Federal High Court, Lagos, before Justice Rebecca Olomojobi. After a while, Mr. Falana told me he was coming and left the courtroom. When our case was called, I had no option than to take over, it was a Fundamental Human Rights case on the right to property and I was familiar with the case. I was already moving the motion when Falana came in, he watched me

Adaramoye

My principal’s confidence rubbed on me – Steve Adaramoye for about three minutes and left. I did not know that the lot would eventually and naturally fall on me to handle the matter. Marcel Awokunlehin, now a judge of Federal High Court was the counsel on the other side representing the Board of Customs and Excise. We won the case in part

because the court ordered the return of our clients seized property. I think Femi Falana is a good lawyer to emulate. He thinks like a lightning speed and you know, ‘’FF ‘’ had confidence and that rubbed on me during my first solo appearance.’’

Bar Jokes

A most unusual defence

lawyer defending a man accused of burglary tried this creative defence. “My client merely inserted his arm into the window and removed a few trifling articles. His arm is not himself, and I fail to see how you can punish the whole individual for an offense committed by his limb.”

“Well put,” the judge replied. “Using your logic, I sentence the defendant’s arm to one year’s imprisonment. He can accompany it or not, as he chooses.” The defendant smiled. With his lawyer’s assistance he detached his artificial limb, laid it on the bench, and walked out.

How long have I got left?

man woke up in a hospital bed and called for his doctor. He asked “Give it to me straight. How long have I got?” The physician replied that he doubted that his patient would survive the night. The man then said “Call for my lawyer.” When the lawyer arrived, the man asked for his physician to

stand on one side of the bed, while the lawyer stood on the other. The man then laid back and closed his eyes. When he remained silent for several minutes, the physician asked what he had in mind. The man replied “Jesus died with a thief on either side, and I thought I’d check out the same way.”

Tricks of the trade

here was a loser who couldn’t get a date. He went to a bar and asked this one guy how to get a date. The guy said, “It’s simple. I just say, I’m a lawyer.” So the guy went up to a pretty woman and asked her out. After she said no, he told her that it was probably a good thing because he had a case early in the morning. She said, “Oh!!!! You’re a law-

yer?” He said, “Why yes I am!”, so they went to his place and when they were in bed, screwing, he started to laugh to himself. When she asked what was so funny, he answered, “Well, I’ve only been a lawyer for 15 minutes, and I’m already screwing someone!” Culled from Lawyers’ Jokes. Com

t has become traditional for old school mates to come together after leaving school to reminisce about their school days and life afterschool in the work world and society generally. This re-union are called severally as alumni Association, Old Boys or Girls Association, Classmates, etc. In this article, the writer wants to take a roll of Nigerian lawyers as per their year of call-tobar and making a comparative analysis of one law school classes and another scatting reference would be made to the various law faculties that produced them and maybe extend it to drawing a line between lawyers who trained in Nigerian Universities from those who obtained their qualifications from offshore. This study becomes necessary because of the various claims and counter-claims by some law school classes either in print or oral private and public discourses, celebrating the achievement of their law school class. There is a contention between lawyers called to bar in 1986 and 1988 on who is the millennium law class. The 1978 set of lawyers in its notice of their re-union, weeks ago said they have produced 20 Senior Advocates, four (4 ) Supreme Court Justices, 15 Court of Appeal Justices, 20 Chief Judges of states and four presidents of the Nigerian Bar Association. This writer was opportuned to escort a friend to the Silver Jubilee re-union of the class of 1986. In their welcome address, they said they have among their number 24 Senior Advocates, some Justices of the Court of Appeal, the Head of a Court, two Governors. The 1988 group contests the title of the millennium class with the 1986 set. Millennium here refers to those who were called to bar on the centenary (100 years) of the history of legal profession in Nigeria. The first lawyer, an English man was enrolled in Nigeria in 1886 but the first Nigerian Native Lawyer was enrolled in 1888. In this regard, both 1986 and 1988 classes maybe correct in their claim to be millennium lawyers because 1986 marked 100 years after the first lawyer was enrolled and 1988 a century after the first Nigerian Native Lawyer was enrolled! 1988 law school class boasts of having three (3) Governors as their members. They include the present governor of Lagos State, Babatunde Fashola, SAN, the governors of Akwa Ibom State, Chief Godswill Akpabio and the present governor of Cross River State, Mr. Liyel Imoke .Apart from the State Chief Executives, they also have a chief Judge in Ekiti State and about three (3) Senior Advocates and one Justice of the Court of Appeal. They also have a serving minister in Emeka Wogu, Esq and former Minister in Chief John Nwodo. These are the celebrated law school classes who seem to be blowing their own trumpet. There may be other quiet achieving law school classes who have not been so pronounced. Before finding out the details of other law school classes, one may want an acceptable definition of a law school class. Is it applicable only to those who came to law school in a particular year and got called to bar that same year or does it refer only to those who were enrolled in a particular year irrespective of when they attended the law school? Where do we place those who could not pass the law school examination in their year but were called subsequently? 1978 had about 361 students while 1986 had 1,466 students. If we take making silk and becoming an appellant judge as the yardstick for

THE 1988 LAW SCHOOL CLASS BOASTS OF HAVING THREE

GOVERNOR AS THEIR MEMBERS

measuring a successful lawyer, we may have to match the number of the great members of these classes with the total population to really score a class for good or bad. Do we rate 1985 and 1986 classes great because they have Queens’ Counsel in Professor Fidelis Oditah, QC, SAN, (PhD Oxford) and Dr. Oba Nsugbe QC, SAN, PhD respectively? Even 1981 has two of its members in Dr. Ibrahim Tanko Mohammed and Kayode Ariwoola as Supreme Court Justices and three justices of Court of Appeal and 16 SANs in a class of 519 members. 1977 class has the following of its members in the Supreme Court Bench namely: Mary Ukaego Peter-Odili, N.D Mohammed in the Supreme Court Bench. 1972 class produced the first Nigerian University- trained Attorney General in Kanu Agabi. What of the 1968 class that produced such eminent jurists like the suspended present of the Court of Appeal, Justice Isa Ayo Salami, his predecessor in office Umaru Abdullahi, Justice Ogebe of the Supreme Court and the two immediate past Chief Justices of Nigeria, Justice Aloysius Katsina -Alu and Dahiru Musdapher are members of a small law school class of 117 members. Even Justice Olufunlola Adekeye of the Supreme Court belongs to this same class. My pupil master, late Babasola Orobiyi-Rhodes, SAN, Aliyu Salman, SAN, were of the same class. There were also three Court of Appeal Justices in Ibrahim Kolapo Gambari “the Emir of Ilorin” and Raphael Olufemi Rowland. Is there really any magic in having the figure 8 as the last figure in any law class? Otherwise, how do you explain the great success achieved by the 1968, 1978 and 1988 classes? Even the relatively young 1998 set of the law school are making marks beyond their years in our bar politics having produced two National Publicity Secretaries, and Chairman of one of the three most prominent branches. I think the success achieved by any set is a mere happen-chance and is not the outcome of any conscious efforts to excel. However, it depends on your definition of success whether you see it as a lazy man’s estimation of a worker’s success or belief that the harder you work, the luckier you become or mere good luck and or miracle. Otherwise, how will one explain how out of 29 lawyers called to bar in 1947, three of them became Supreme Court Justices in Agbaje, Chukwunweike Idigbe, Michael Oguejiofor Ajaegbo and four (4) took silk in H.O.O. Davies, QC, R.A. Fani-Kayode, QC, SAN, T.O.S, Benson, SAN, and Chief G.C.M. Onyiuke, QC, SAN. The 1953 class of 41 members produced three (3) Supreme Court Justices in D.O. Coker, Uche Omo and B.O. Kazeem and two Court of Appeal Justice in A. Ajose-Adeogun, A.A. Ademola and two Senior Advocates in Adeniran Ogunsanya and E.A. Molajo. The list is endless. The class of 1970 produced the first made in Nigeria SAN in Solomon Asemota, who made the silk in 1986. VINCENT UKO, Notary Public for Nigeria, was former the National Assistant Publicity Secretary of the Nigeria Bar Association.

Monday, August 20, 2012

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Community Mirror “Senator Saraki is a man for whom I retain the highest regard and I am happy to state that the feeling is reciprocal.” KWARA STATE GOVERNOR, ABDULFATAH AHMED

Court remands siblings in prison custody WALE FOLARIN OSOGBO

or allegedly buying a stolen vehicle from an armed robbery suspect, two brothers, Akeem Ayinde, 45 and Akeem Ademola, 35 have been remanded in prison custody by an Os-

ogbo Magistrates’ court. They were said to have bought the vehicle from one Najeem Nurudeen, 25 who was also ordered to be remanded along with them. According to the charge sheet, the suspects were also alleged to have produced a fake affidavit as oath sworn to before a court to

Residents decry indiscriminate land sale MURITALA AYINLA

esidents of Shagari Low Cost Housing Estate, Ipaja have appealed to the Federal Government to stop the indiscriminate land sale and other amenities meant for the residents by land speculators and ministry officials. They alleged attempt by some officials of the Federal Ministry of Lands and Housing to sell a portion of the road in the estate, saying the residents are tired of indiscriminate selling of government properties meant for their convenience. According to one of the estate leaders, Mr Adewale Adepoju, the latest attempt to sell the road on AB Street could lead to serious clashes, if the authorities do not wade into the matter on time. He said: “After selling all the properties, including overhead water tank serving the residents, the officials now want to sell the road. How can someone sell a road where residents pass? Is this not a clear departure from the estate’s plan going back to the 70’s?” He said apart from blocking

the road, the sale could lead to environmental hazard and flooding, as the flow drain would be blocked during building. “We are appealing to the Federal Government to come to our aid. We are not trouble makers and we don’t want any crisis. They have been selling some parcels of the land and all the infrastructure but the intending road sale will be the last straw. The Lagos State government should also intervene though the properties belong to the Federal Government, but the residents vote and pay their tenement rate in Lagos”, Adepoju said. He added that government white paper in 2001 on the recommendations of the Commission of inquiry for investigation of federal government landed property, had indicted officials of the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing supervising the estate for distorting the master plan. Also speaking, Lawal Abass, decried the way properties are sold in the estate without their knowledge. The community has therefore appealed to the Lagos State Government to wade into the matter, as it would have nega-

Man killed over N50 AUGUSTINE MADU-WEST KANO

he Kano State Police Command said it has arrested a 20 year old man, Ibrahim Musa, for allegedly killing his friend, Yakubu Ahmed, 21 following a quarrel over N50, just as the command has nabbed two personnel of Stanbic IBTC Bank for alleged fraud. The bank staff allegedly paid out N21.8 million in their custody to a customer without authorisation. Speaking in Kano, the Com-

missioner of Police, Ibrahim Idris, also lamented the cases of rampant rape in the state, saying two persons , Alhassan Uba, 35 and Yusuf Isah, 30-raped a 10 year old girl, even as the motorbike used in the act was also recovered. On the alleged fraudulent transfer of money by the staff of Stanbic IBTC, Idris noted that on July 25, 2012, the bank General Manager discovered that the sum of N27, 850,000 was missing and immediately invited the police who arrested the suspects who are being interrogated.

obtain their drivers’ licenses. Nurudeen and others now at large, were said to have in March, 2012 at Isale Oba, Iwo in Osun State while armed with cutlasses and gun, conspired and robbed one Mr. Amukamara John of his Toyota Carina E Saloon car. The charge sheet stated further that Najeem and others after carrying out their operation drove the alleged stolen vehicle with registration

number Lagos LC 771 KJA to Osogbo where the two siblings reside and kept it in their custody. Police prosecutor, Mr Olusegun Elisha, told the court that Najeem and others at large committed an offence contrary to Section 6(b) and 10, and punishable under Section 1, (2) (a) and (b) (i) of the Robbery and Fire Arms (Special Provision) Act Cap R11, Laws of Federation of Nigeria, 2004, while

On-going repair work on the collapsed Abakpa-Nike bridge, Enugu.

the two siblings contravened sections 5, 117, and 519 of the Criminal Code Cap 34, Vol. II, laws of Osun State of Nigeria, 2003. The presiding Magistrate Mr. Olusola Aluko, did not take the plea of the three accused persons due to the gravity of the crime allegedly committed. He ordered that they be remanded at Ile-Ife Prison and adjourned the case to August 30 for mention.

PHOTO: DENNIS AGBO

Okada operator jailed for rape FRANCIS FAMOROTI

n Ikeja Chief Magistrate’s Court has sentenced a 45 year-old commercial motorcyclist, Alabi Bakare to five years imprisonment with hard labour for raping three minors. Trial Chief Magistrate, Mr. A.O Issac, who gave the verdict, declared that the convict was guilty of sexual assault preferred against him by the police. Prosecuting police officer, Assistant Superintendent of Police, ASP Berth Nwaokoye, had arraigned Bakare on charges of having carnal knowledge of a five

year-old girl, Alimotu Kazeem. He alleged that Bakare believed to have two wives, had also defiled two other girls whose names were given as Jumoke, 4 and Azeezat, 3 respectively. Bakare had been arraigned on a one count charge of having an unlawful sexual intercourse with five -year old Alimotu,even as he pleaded not guilty to the charge. The prosecutor said the convict who lives in Mowe, Ogun State committed the offence on August 3, 2012 at 7 pm at no. 19, Oluwakemi Street, Alapere, Ketu. According to the prosecutor, the offence is punishable under Section 137 of the Lagos State Criminal Laws Vol. 44 No. 11 of

2011. Nwaokoye, told the court that police investigation showed that Bakare had been habitually and sexually assaulting female minors over a long period until he was apprehended by law enforcement agents. The prosecutor said his nefarious act was revealed when one Mr. Kehinde Ogundare of the same address, caught him having sexual intercourse with Alimotu,as he promptly reported the case to police leading to the convict’s arrest. He said Bakare being a commercial motorcyclist who normally takes children to school every day had access to the female minors.

Cocktail

Monday, August 20, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Oddities

Four bears break into Five family members get married same day cabin, drink 100 beers

mother bear and her three cubs broke into a Norwegian cabin this week, reportedly drinking more than 100 beers, eating all the food and even knocking over a wall. “They had a hell of a party in there,” owner Even Borthen Nilsen told The Local. “The entire cabin was destroyed.” Nilsen says paw prints on the cabin windows and bear excrement outside the dwelling leave little doubt they were responsible. And besides, your average criminals don’t typically break down a wall when the front door will work just

fine. His mother and grandmother were first on the scene, finding the entire cabin ransacked, including a set of destroyed appliances. “The beds and all kitchen appliances, stove, oven and cupboards and shelves were all smashed to pieces,” he said. ABC News adds that along with the 100 beers, the family of bears also reportedly ate all of the food inside the cabin, which included chocolate spread, honey (of course) and marshmallows. You know, just the bear essentials.

t’s a mega wedding day for a Mesa, Ariz., family with five siblings walking down the aisle on the same day. The East Valley Tribune (http://bit.ly/ P39zqT ) reports the five

Waldie children all got engaged within a few months of each other. While trying to plan wedding dates with out-of-state family and guests, dad Doug Waldie suggested they all marry

on the same day. So five of the eight Waldie children got married Friday at a Mormon church in Mesa: 28-year-old Emily, 26-yearold Bradford, 25-yearold Sydney, 24-year-old

Walker and 20-year-old Brooke. Each ceremony was separate, but the reception was scheduled for all five couples Friday night at the Falcon Field Air Force Museum.

‘If I see you, I kill you’, league player tells referee

Swiss second division player has been banned for 10 league matches after telling the referee he would kill him after being sent off in a game. The Swiss Football League (SFL) said in a statement that FC Wil’s Adis Jahovic, furious at being

dismissed in the first half, told the official: “If I see you after, I kill you.” The incident happened against FC Biel on August 5. The SFL said Macedonian Jahovic had been guilty of “threatening the referee and serious unsporting conduct.”

Andee Waldie, right, helping paint a directional sign with her brother Bradford and soon to be sister-in-law Megan, in Mesa, Arizona PHOTO: AP

Monday, August 20, 2012

World News Assange urges US to end Wikileaks witch-hunt 50

“South African police had no right to fire live ammunition at the men (striking miners)” EX-AFRICAN NATIONAL CONGRESS YOUTH LEADER, JULIUS MALEMA

Sudan’s plane crash kills 32, including three ministers

hirty two people including three Sudanese government minister and other officials were killed when a plane taking them to an Islamic festival crashed in the south of the country yesterday, state media said. The plane went down in mountains around Talodi, a town in the border state of South Kordofan, while taking a delegation there to celebrate the Eid al-Fitr festival marking the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, state news agency SUNA said. The country’s Guidance and Endowments (religious affairs) Minister Ghazi al-Sadeq was killed in the crash, along with Mahjoub Abdel Raheem Toutou, the state’s minister for youth and sports, and Eissa Daifallah, the state’s minister for tourism, antiquities and

wildlife, it said. Several people associated with the country’s military, state security and state media also died in the crash, the agency added. Abdel Hafiz Abdel Rahim, a civil aviation spokesman, had earlier told Reuters that 31 people had been killed including the crew, but had no details of their identities. The report did not say whether the plane involved belonged to state-owned Sudan Airways or another carrier. There have been several crashes in recent years involving Sudan Airways, whose fleet has been degraded by years of U.S. sanctions and other problems. A Sudan Airways cargo plane crashed while taking off in the United Arab Emirates in 2009 and an-

Somali parliament votes for president today

embers of Somalia’s new parliament hold a vote to name a new president of the fledgling government today, which marks the end of eight years of rule by a U.N.-backed leadership structure known as the Transitional Federal Government. A committee tasked with the selection of the new parliament members released a list of the new 215-member parliament Sunday. The parliament will eventually have 275 members, but it currently has enough members to hold a vote for president by secret ballot. Security has been tightened across the capital ahead of the vote with police and military troops patrolling the streets The U.N. and other international partners helping the political process said Sunday that Somalia faces an unprecedented opportunity for greater peace and

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stability. “The conclusion of the Transition should mark the beginning of more representative government in Somalia,” a statement from international partners, including the U.S. and EU, said. “Whilst Parliament remains a selected rather than elected body, it is essential that it cuts its ties with the past of selfinterest and warlordism, and is populated by a new generation of Somali politicians, including the proper representation of Somali women.” Somalia devolved into anarchy in 1991 and hasn’t had a fully functioning government since. But life has improved remarkably in Mogadishu over the last year, and the international community — if not Somalis themselves — hold out hope that the new government will expand its powers and provide services to the country.

Fire fighters putting out flames from the crashed plane in Sudan, yesterday

other cargo plane crashed shortly after takeoff from Khartoum in 2008. Oil-producing South Kordofan borders South Sudan, which seceded in July last year. An insurgency broke out in South Kordo-

fan shortly before South Sudan’s independence. The Sudanese government accused rebels of killing a state official and seven other people there in July, but there was no indication the insurgents were

PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

involved in the plane crash. A spokesman for the main rebel group in the area, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement North, said they had nothing to do with the incident.

Striking South Africa miners given ultimatum

orkers at an embattled South Africa mine have vowed to prolong their wildcat strike, saying that returning to work would be “an insult” to 34 colleagues killed by police, even as the mine operator threatened to fire them over the walkout. “Expecting us to go back

is like an insult. Many of our friends and colleagues are dead, then they expect us to resume work. Never,” said worker Zachariah Mbewu yesterday, adding that no one would return to work as long as they were still in mourning. The scene of Thursday’s bloodshed, the worst police violence since apartheid,

Striking miners reacting as they are addressed by former ANC Youth League President Julius Malema outside a South African PHOTO: REUTERS mine in Rustenburg, yesterday.

was deserted as workers at a hostel of the London-listed Lonmin platinum mine said they would press on with their wage demands. “Some are in prison and hospitals. Tomorrow we are going back to the mountain [the protest site], not underground, unless management gives us what we want.” Platinum producer Lonmin has given striking workers a final ultimatum to end their stay-away by Monday or face being fired. “The final ultimatum has been extended to Monday 20th following Thursday’s events,” spokeswoman Gillian Findlay said on Sunday. “Employees could therefore be dismissed if they fail to heed the final ultimatum.” Fiery former ruling party youth leader Julius Malema fanned workers’ anger with a speech on Saturday attacking President Jacob Zuma, who he wants voted out in the African National Congress (ANC) year-end party elections.

WORLD BULLETIN

Deadly blasts hit Tripoli on Muslim Eid Twin car bomb blasts killed two people in the Libyan capital at dawn yesterday on the first day of the Muslim Eid al-Fitr holiday and officials blamed loyalists of now slain dictator Muammar Gaddafi. Tripoli’s security chief Colonel Mahmud al-Sherif told AFP the bombs were detonated by remote control and struck near a military academy and the interior ministry. “They were two car bombs detonated by remote control,” Sherif said, adding that four people were also wounded in the first blast. The attacks struck on the first day of the Eid al-Fitr festival that ends the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan. The first car bomb blew up at 6:00 am (0400 GMT) near a military academy on Omar al-Mokhtar Avenue -- a main Tripoli thoroughfare that was closed briefly to traffic -- and the second near the interior ministry. Reporter for the news agency said checkpoints were set up on other major streets in the city centre.

Egypt’s president to visit Iran end of August Egypt’s Islamist President Mohamed Mursi will visit Iran to attend the Non-Aligned Movement meetings on August 30, Egyptian state news agency MENA said, the first such visit by an Egyptian head of state to Tehran since the Islamic revolution. MENA quoted sources at the Egyptian presidency saying on Saturday that Mursi “will participate in the summit” on his way back from China. A spokesman for Mursi was not immediately available for comment. Egyptian media reports have suggested Mursi might send his newly appointed deputy, Mahmoud Mekki, instead. Since Egypt’s Hosni Mubarak was toppled in a popular uprising last year, Egypt and Iran have signalled interest in renewing ties severed more than 30 years ago after Iran’s Islamic Revolution and Egypt’s recognition of Israel. However, with the West pushing Iran to halt its disputed nuclear programme and the United States being a major donor to Egypt’s military, any improvement in ties could become a tricky path to tread.

World News

Monday, August 20, 2012

Assange urges US to end Wikileaks witch-hunt

ulian Assange has urged the US to end its “witch-hunt” against Wikileaks, in his first public statement since entering Ecuador’s London embassy, BBC has reported. He also called for the release of Bradley Manning, who is awaiting trial in the US accused of leaking classified documents to the Wikileaks site. Assange spoke from a balcony at the embassy and thanked Ecuador’s president, who has granted him asylum. He faces extradition to Sweden over sexual assault

claims, which he denies. The 41-year-old said the United States must also stop its “war on whistleblowers”. He added: “The United States must vow that it will not seek to prosecute our staff or our supporters. “The United States must pledge before the world that it will not pursue journalists for shining a light on the secret crimes of the powerful. Assange also said the United States was facing a choice between re-affirming the “revolutionary values it was founded on”

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Julian Assange is seen on the balcony of the Ecuador’s embassy yesterday in London, England. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

or “dragging us all into a dangerous and oppressive world in which journalists fall silent under the fear of prosecution and citizens must whisper in the dark”. The show for today is over, but the stand-off at the Ecuadorean embassy and

the diplomatic row over Julian Assange’s fate are not. Britain says it won’t grant the Wikileaks’ leader safe passage so he can go to Ecuador, but it has had to back away from a warning it made last week that it could find a legal basis to enter the embassy and arrest Assange. That deeply riled not only Ecuador, but other countries in South America. It also provoked doubts about its legality. Given the potential international ramifications, it’s highly unlikely British police will storm into the ground-floor mission. But neither is it likely that Britain or Sweden will give the guarantees that Ecuador and Assange want - that he won’t face onward extradition to the US.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Chinese protest against Japan over disputed island

nti-Japanese protests have taken place in cities across China after Japanese nationalists raised their country’s flag on disputed islands. Thousands of people took to the streets in Shenzhen, Guangzhou and a number of other cities demanding that Japan leave the islands in the East China Sea. In Shenzhen, some demonstrators attacked Japanese restaurants and smashed Japanese-made cars. The islands are known as Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China. Early yesterday, at least 10 activists swam ashore after a flotilla carrying about 150 people reached the Japanese-controlled islands.

The Japanese activists raised their country’s flag after they landed Japan’s coast guard is questioning the activists, who had earlier been denied permission to visit the islands. However, as news of the action spread, angry protests broke out across China. In the south-eastern city of Shenzhen, a Japanesebranded police car was overturned and smashed with a metal bar. Footage carried by Hong Kong Cable TV showed other Japanese-branded cars and restaurants being damaged. Protesters waved Chinese flags, burned images of the Japanese flag and shouted slogans denouncing Japan’s claims over the islands.

Chinese looking at overturned Japanese cars after an antiJapan protest in Shenzhen, China’s Guangdong Province yesterday. PHOTO: AP

Syria’s president makes rare public appearance

yrian President Bashar al-Assad performed Eid prayers in a Damascus mosque on Sunday, state television showed, his first appearance in public since a stunning July bombing in the capital that killed four of his top security officials. Assad, battling a 17-month-old uprising against 42 years of rule by his family, was accompanied by his prime minister and foreign minister but not his vice president, Farouq al-Shara, whose reported defection was denied the previous day. His administration shaken by the July 18 attack and defections including that of his last prime minister, Assad’s recent appearances had been restricted to state television footage of him during official business. Most recently, he was shown swearing in the new prime minister a week ago. Syria’s civil war has intensified since the au-

dacious attack that killed members of Assad’s long inaccessible inner circle including his defence minister and brother-in-law. With diplomatic efforts to end the war hampered by divisions between world powers and inter-Arab rivalries, Syria faces an intense conflict that threatens to destabilize the Middle East with its sectarian reverberations, pitting a mainly Sunni Muslim opposition against the Alawite minority to which Assad belongs. In the footage broadcast on Sunday, Assad sat crosslegged during a sermon in which Syria was described as the victim of terrorism and a conspiracy hatched by the United States, Israel, the West and Arab states but which would not “defeat our Islam, our ideology and our determination in Syria”. Eid prayers mark the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

News

Monday, August 20, 2012

EID-EL-FITRI CELEBRATIONS

Jonathan hinges Nigeria’s development on unity ROTIMI FADEYI ABUJA

resident Goodluck Jonathan has said that Nigeria will not record meaningful progress and development without unity. Jonathan spoke yesterday when the Vice-President, Alhaji Namadi Sambo, led Muslim clerics and others to pay him Sallah homage at the State House, Abuja.

Jonathan said that the Sallah period was a moment not just for Muslims, but all Nigerians to reflect on the unity of the country. He said: “There must be unity and peace, and for us to progress, we must unite, for us to progress, there must be peace.” The President said the nation would overcome all the challenges contracting it through prayers. He praised Sambo and other government func-

tionaries for their commitment his administration’s transformation agenda. Speaking earlier, Sambo noted the steps that Jonathan had taken to ensure the progress of the country. He prayed for good health and wisdom for the President to be able to transform the country. Sambo recalled his trip to Saudi Arabia for Lesser Hajj, saying that Nigerians have been praying for

the President as well as the peace and stability of the country. The vice-president said: “We will continue to support you, Mr. President, to deliver the transformation agenda. We assure you of our loyalty and we pray that this country will be transformed under your leadership.” Present at the event were Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Chairman, Alhaji Baman-

ga Tukur; Senator Philip Aduda, who represented the Senate President; the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed and Minister of Police Affairs, Navy Captain Caleb Olubolade. Others were Ministers of State for Finance, Alhaji Yerima Ngama; FCT Minister of State, Ms. Olajumoke Akinjide; Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Alhaji Bello

Isa. Also with them were Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshal Mohammed Dikko Umar; Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Mr. Muhammed Abubakar; former Speaker of House of Representatives, Hon. Ghali Na’Abba; former Minister of State Foreign Affairs, Alhaja Salamatu Ibrahim; former PDP Chairman, Alhaji Ahmadu Ali and top presidential aides.

Let’s unite to fight nation’s enemy, CAN tells Muslims AUGUSTINE MADU-WEST

Youths protesting alleged oil spillage in Esit Eket, Akwa Ibom State, yesterday.

Aregbesola flays killing, bombing of churches WALE FOLARIN OSOGBO

sun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola has condemned the killing and bombing of churches and other violent activities by a terrorist group in the North. Aregbesola described the violent activities as unjustifiable and against the tenets of Islam. The governor spoke yesterday at the Eid-il-Fitri prayer in Osogbo, the state

capital. He stressed the need for the terrorist group to desist from its dastardly acts because Islam does not support violence. Citing a story in the Holy Quoran where Prophet Mohammed entered Jerusalem and refused to invade a church, Aregbesola pointed out that this was an example of how Muslims should relate with Christians, adding that Muslims are not allowed to kill other people except in war situation that could re-

sult from exchange of firepower. He further explained that even in such situations, Muslims are forbidden from killing prisoners of war as the blood of such victims would count on the head of those who took their lives, adding that Prophet Muhammed cautioned that no tree should be cut down except when roads are to be constructed not to talk of killing human beings in war. Aregbesola urged the Muslim community to de-

Bauchi celebrates amid tight security EZEKIEL TITUS BAUCHI

nlike Kano, Sazzau and other emirates in the North, Bauchi yesterday celebrated the Eid-el-fitri festival with the usual traditional durber (horse riding) amid tight security. The event, held at the palace of the Emir of Bauchi,

Alhaji Rilwanu Suleiman Adamu, paralysed commercial and other activities in the city as traders closed shops to witness the ceremony. Although armed security agents were deployed in the city, especially the flash-points to prevent breakdown of law and order, Eid-el-fitri prayer was observed at the Bauchi Central Mosque, instead of the usual praying ground lo-

cated at the Liman Mahmood Street. In his Sallah message, the Emir of Bauchi, Alhaji Adamu called on the people to use the festive period to pray for peaceful co-existence of the country. Earlier in his sermon, the Chief Imam of Bauchi, Malam Bala Ahmad Baban Inna, urged wealthy individuals to assist the needy.

mand explanation from those who have been hiding under the banner of Islam to violate the sanctity of human lives. Earlier, the President of the League of Imams and Alfas in the South-West, Edo and Delta states and Chief Imam of Osogbo, Sheikh Mustapha Ajisafe, urged Muslims to continue to live in harmony with one another.

he Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has called on Muslims to partner with it so as to fight the country’s enemies. This call was made in Kano by the Chairman of the Kano State chapter of CAN, Bishop Ransome Bello, in his goodwill message to Muslims over the Eid-el-fitr celebrations. Bishop Bello said: “Only a consolidated unity between Christianity and Islam can move the nation to greater height. To achieve this, the leadership of both religions should have a platform for dialogue and other issues agitating the minds of their followers.” He congratulated the Muslim community on the Sallah celebration, adding that it was devoid of violence and other rancorous issues. Bishop Bello said: “I want to, on behalf of Christians in Kano State, commend our Muslim

counterpart for the successful completion of the Ramadan and joyous Sallah celebration, that it ended on a sound note with no significant record of conflict bordering on religion is a healthy development.” He, however, appealed to religious leaders to be mindful of the sermon they preach, noting that as a role model of their followers, their actions would impact on their conduct. “So they should avoid comments with the capability to incite their respective public,” the cleric said. Bishop Bello sent a message of peace to members of the Boko Harm sect, pleading with them to embrace dialogue, while urging the government to respond favourably if they show willingness for such gesture. He also pleaded with the Federal Government for more job creation for youths, noting that most of the violent crimes committed against the nation involve jobless youths.

Amosun promises execution of life-changing projects FEMI OYEWESO ABEOKUTA

gun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun yesterday assured that his administration would continue to executes meaningful and life-changing projects as well as initiate programmes that would engender development. Amosun, who spoke after the Eid-el filtri prayer at the Lantoro prayer ground, reiterated that the government,

within shortest distance, would spread the developmental projects across the nooks and crannies of the state. The governor, who prayed to God for the acceptance of sacrifices, prayers and supplications offered by Muslims throughout the country, stated that the people of the state, irrespective of their religion, would not be taken for granted in the distribution and initiation of programmes by his administration. He said: “We, as government, will continue to initi-

ate programmes that will engender development; our people will not be taken for granted, our people will continue to enjoy progress, peace and harmony. I congratulate all the good people of Ogun State, may Allah accept our prayers and supplications”. Meanwhile, the Chief Imam of Egbaland, Liadi Orunsolu, has on Nigerians to embrace peace and unity, saying it was high time for Muslims and non-Muslims to co-habit in peace and harmony.

North

Monday, August 20, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Strike looms over unpaid salaries of Kwara LG workers WOLE ADEDEJI ILORIN

he feud between Kwara State government and local government workers in the state over unpaid salaries reached its peak at the weekend as the local government workers issued a 14-day ultimatum after which they threatened to embark on an indefinite strike action. The workers from the 16 local government councils under the aegis of the Nigeria Union of Local Government Employees (NULGE) are demanding for their June and July salary arrears. The said government had been inconsistent in explaining away the cause of the unpaid salaries which is already generating curiosities among members of the public. The workers, rising from a meeting on the eve of the Eid-el-fitri holiday accused the government of failing to address issues concerning their salary arrears and

other issues bothering on their welfare, threatening to down tools at the expiration of the ultimatum. In a communiqué entitled; “The Strangulation of Local Government System in Kwara State: The Position of Nigeria Union of Local Government Employers” was signed by the NULGE secretary in the

state, Comrade Abayomi Afolabi. They lamented that the councils are “grossly underfunded and cannot meet up with the statutory challenges associated with the third tier of government.” They added; “NULGE observes that part of the reasons for the above is the issue of the exploitative

Joint Account forced on them by the state government which has not been beneficial to them and the local government system in the state. They added that in-spite of the short-fall in the federal allocation, the usual detrimental deduction from the local government allocations are still being

made leaving the local councils financially incapacitated. “That the constitutional roles of local government council as a third tier of government have been usurped by the ministry of local government, chieftaincy affairs and community development; thus reducing local gov-

How police averted protest over killing of teenager AUGUSTINE MADU-WEST KANO

L-R: Chief Imam of the Muslims Council of Nigeria, Ustas Marouf Raji; Sheik Daniyalu Shitabey and Ustas Surajudeen Badawi at a sermon in Kaduna, yesterday. PHOTO:NAN

US behind terrorism to break Nigeria – Sheikh Gumi A ZA MSUE KADUNA

n Islamic scholar and Head of Muslim group, Izalatul Bidi’a Wa’ikamatul Sunna, Sheikh Ahmed Gumi, yesterday accused the United States (US) of being behind the activities of terrorists in the country allegedly to break up the country over its oil resources. Sheikh Gumi said the emergence of the terrorists group, was meant to cause confusion among Nigerians even as he advised Muslims and Christians not to engage in violence, but should

come together and fight a common enemy. Gumi, who said this while playing host to Christian, Muslim Youths Peace Initiative of Nigeria during the Sallah celebration in Kaduna, said Islam is not against technology and knowledge as been preached by the terrorists. The Islamic scholar, who raised the alarm over being listed by the group for attack over his stand against the sect’s ideologies, has security operatives around his family house. His words: “They are external forces trying to divide Nigeria.

America wants to break us and take away our oil resources, just like during the time of slavery. Religion is not dividing us. America and other Western forces are behind Boko Haram. A group suddenly came out and said they are Boko Haram, which we don’t know.” Sheikh Gumi added; “America doesn’t want us to be together again but our leaders don’t care about it; what bothers them is how to collect their dollars and pretend that all is well. Nigeria leaders are not thinking about the common citizens. Boko Haram said

6-year single term proposal viable, says Ali EMMANUEL ONANI ABUJA

n Ilorin-based legal practitioner, Mallam Yusuf Ali (SAN) has thrown his weight behind the proposal for a single term of six years for the president and governors, saying it will reduce the “national acrimony” often associated with general elections. In a telephone conversation with National Mirror

ernment council to mere appendages of the state contrary to the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. “This is evident by recent development where local government council chairmen go cap in hand to the ministry for approval and release of fund to run their councils.”

yesterday, Ali noted that given the “plurality” of Nigeria and the attendant clamour for power shift by the various geo-political zones and ethnic nationalities in the country, a constitutional provision for a single term of six years will ensure that within 36 years, political power would have gone round all the zones, thereby engendering an atmosphere of equity and justice. His words: “A single term of six years will reduce

the national acrimony that arises at every national election and given the plurality of our society, a single term of six years will make it go round the six geo-political zones.” He added that, “Because people don’t feel the impact of governance that is why they advocate for change,” pointing out that “A man that is unable to achieve good governance in six years will not be able to do anything for himself in 60 years.”

they want to attack me, how can a group say such a thing.” Also, addressing the youths, former governor of Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarebe Musa, called on government to engage religious leaders in the fight against insecurity

facing the nation. Alhaji Musa noted that; “This is important because they are the ones who have more links with the grassroots. If we continue with Muslim and Christian solidarity, peace may return to the contry,” he said.

Terrorism: CAN wants end to killings in north PRISCILLA DENNIS MINNA

he Niger State chapter of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) has called on Nigerians, irrespective of religion, to team up and stop the killings in northern Nigeria. In a statement signed by the state’s Chairman of CAN, Rev, Musa S. Dada, to congratulate the state governor, Dr. Muazu Babangida Aliyu and Muslims in the state on the Eid-El-Fitri celebration, stressed the need by all concerned to eschew violence, hatred, ethnicity and corruption in order to move the nation forward. The body called on

well meaning individuals who are members of the Islamic faith to further promote peaceful co-existence and good neighbourliness all over the state and beyond with members of the other faith, adding that, “there can be no meaningful development and even progress without peace.” The statement read in part; “Islam we know stands for peace, therefore, every genuine Muslim must be a promoter of peace and love at all time. And reading from Prophet Muhammed’s letter to Christians in Mount Sinai, in 628 AD, it further confirmed to us that the Prophet was tolerant of others and believed in freedom of religion.”

uthorities of the Kano State police command acted swiftly at the weekend to avert what would have been a violent protest in the commercial city of Kano, when a 12-year-old boy was shot dead by the police. The incident could have marred the Eid-el-Fitri celebrations in the metropolis. Trouble started when a trigger-happy police sergeant allegedly shot and killed one Mohammed Hassanu, 12, in the state capital on Saturday night. The disaster, which occurred in the densely populated part of the city, Gwale, generated intense fear and panic as residents protested the shooting incident. The command’s arrest and detention of the suspect; and the publicity that followed the arrest, calmed frail nerves. The command, in an official statement released by the acting Public Relations Officer, Majiya Magaji, said the authorities have initiated orderly trial against the suspect, whose name they gave as Laminu Adamu, attached to Gwale police division. The police statement said the victim died shortly at the Murtala Mohammed Specialist Hospital, where he was rushed to for treatment, when the unfortunate incident occurred.

I.G. Abubakar.

Monday, August 20, 2012

‘Osaz’ scores in bleak weekend for Nigerian players

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Sport

Now is the time to stick with one coach, we can’t be changing coaches all the time. If a coach sticks with the team andd get a good pposed to be stable base, Nigeria will get back to where it’s supposed - SUPER EAGLES STRIKER, VICTOR ICTOR ANICHEBE

Minister orders Eagles to win 2013 AFCON IKENWA NNABUOGOR WITH AGENCY REPORTS

uper Eagles have been ordered to win next year’s Africa Cup of Nations even if it means that coach Stephen Keshi is fired to achieve

Nigeria’s Ngozi Okobi (10) celebrates her goal with team mates yesterday. The womens’ U-20 team beat Korea 2-0 yesterday in Saitama to go top of the group.

Falconets off to World Cup winning start IKENWA NNABUOGOR

igeria began her 2012 FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup campaign on Sunday with a 2-0 win over Korea in Saitama to go top of Group B. In the other game of the group, Italy and Brazil played a 1-1 draw. Falconets coach Edwin Okon restated the team’s target to become the first African team to win a FIFA women’s tournament. “We give God the glory for this victory. It’s a good start for us and we are happy. Like I said before we came for the World Cup, our target is to win the cup this time and I think we have started well,” an elated Okon declared. Nigeria’s next game will be against

Brazil on Wednesday. Ngozi Okobi opened the scoring on the quarter-hour mark, while Desire Oparanozie extended the advantage midway through the second period. The Nigerians, backed by a buoyant and colourful band of supporters, went ahead following smart work from Francisca Ordega on the right side of the box, with the midfielder playing a perfect low ball across the face of goal for Okobi to score. With Okobi, Ordega and Oparanozie all dangerous in possession, Nigeria proved a regular threat, although Korea Republic, with their short-passing game in evidence, proved a tough opponent for the 2010 runners-up. However, Korea suffered a massive

blow in the latter stages of the first half with midfield schemer Yeo Minji, the 2010 FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup adidas Golden Ball winner, forced off with injury. Nigeria claimed a deserved second goal with Ebere Orji’s cross into the penalty area finding Oparanozie, who scored with a stylish header. Late chances went the way of Esther Sunday, but Nigeria had to make do with a 2-0 victory. Nigeria line up : Ibubeleye Whyte, Gloria Ofoegbu(C), Ugo Njoku, Cecilia Nku, Esther Sunday, Desire Oparanozie, Ngozi Okobi (Asisat Oshoala 76’), Fasilat Adeyemo, Josephine Chukwunonye, Francisca Ordega, Charity Adule (Ebere Orji 52’)

this. Sports Minister Bolaji Abdullahi gave the ultimatum. He is under fire after a disastrous showing by the country at the recently-ended Olympics in London, where Nigeria failed to win a single medal. MTNFootball.com gathered that Abdullahi invited top officials of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) on Friday and read the riot act, insisting that everything be done for the Eagles to win at South Africa 2013 even if it means sacking the current coach would guarantee this success. “The minister ordered that everything be done to make sure Nigeria are champions at the next AFCON in South Africa,” a top source informed MTNFootball.com “He went as far as saying that if they need to do away with the present coach of the team to ensure this, then they should go ahead and do so.” The source added: “It was a serious meeting and the minister was very clear and direct about what he expects from the NFF.” President Goodluck Jonathan has expressed disappointment at the country’s performance at the London Olympics and demanded for drastic changes in the sports ministry. Nigeria last won the Nations Cup 18 years ago and they face Liberia in a final elimination for a place at next year’s tournament beginning on September 8 in Monrovia. The Eagles, African champions in 1980 and 1994, failed to qualify for the 2012 AFCON in Gabon and Equatorial Guinea leading to the dismissal of coach Samson Siasia. Keshi, who has a four-year contract and has been given a semi-final target at the AFCON, has done the minimum to get the team to the final round of the qualifiers for the 2013 edition of the tournament. However, there are still some reservations as regards his insistence on working mostly with players from the Nigeria Premier League ahead of their Europe-based colleagues.

Kaita denies match-fixing accusation

ani Kaita has shot down claims by a top FIFA official that he reported match-fixing concerns over a 2010 World Cup match against Greece. Former FIFA security chief Chris Eaton recently told Channel 4 Television that Nigeria international Kaita reported to the corruption unit concerns of match-fixing for a 2010 World Cup Group B match between Nigeria and Greece, which ended 2-1 in favour of the Greeks

with Kaita sent off in the first half. “I never spoke to any FIFA official about the game,” Kaita specially informed MTNFootball.com “The only comments I made as regards that game had to do with my disappointment after I was sent off and they were mainly to Nigerian reporters at the tournament.” Kaita received death threats and hate mail back in Nigeria after his 33rd minute exit for an attempted foul on a Greece player was blamed

for the Eagles loss. Nigeria surrendered their lead soon after Kaita was dismissed before Greece went ahead to record their first-ever win at the World Cup. The defensive midfielder has not featured for his country since that incident. FIFA have already dismissed the Channel 4 report that the match in question was investigated for fixing.

Abdullahi

Sport

Monday, August 20, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Super Eagles, my target – Kingsley Onuegbu National Mirror discovers Nigerian’s newest sensation Kingsley Onuegbu who threatens to light up the German Bundesliga for his newly-promoted club SpVgg Greuther Fürth. Ikenwa Nnabuogor opens up the rising star. You are expected to make your first ever Bundesliga debut against mighty Bayern Munich this weekend. How are you looking up to the huge game, Kingsley? You can imagine how I’m feeling expecting to play against the 22-time German Bundesliga champions considering where I am coming from. The feeling is enormous to say the least and the preparation leading up to the game has been superb. We spent some weeks in Austria for our pre-season build-ups and I must confess that it was hectic. My brother and mentor, Larry, just called me few minutes ago urging me to go tear Bayern net this weekend. So, I got a huge task on my hand on Saturday. The game will be played at home and our fans have been waiting for the game. We have tried to put smiles on their smiles by winning promotion to the Bundesliga for the first time since the birth of the club in 1903. I play in the attack and this is my third season and as usual, I will be expecting to hit the target or at least disturb the Bayern defence and assist my partners to score. It wont be easy for me but God on my side, I will be at my best. How was the journey to the Bundesliga like? Never in the history of the club and the city of Furth has SpVgg Greuther Fürth played in the Bundesliga, so the journey was tough. But we won promotion at the end of last season by being of Bundesg champions p liga 2. We beat Eintranct Frankfyrt w i t h just two points to win t h e league t i t l e a n d

Kingsley Onuegbu

won promotion for the first time. The city erupted and the fans partied for several weeks. It was like a fairy tale for them. The club campaigned since inception in the lower leagues until this seasn, so you could tell how the journey was for us. You’re unknown in Nigeria, where are you coming from? I’m still unknown but I must assure you that my name will be on the lips of every Nigerian very soon. I’m one of the three Nigerians playing in the Bundesliga now and I’m deeply honoured for it. The season will soon begin and with time Nigerians will start clamouring for my inclusion in the Super Eagles. I have been playing in Germany for the past five years. I came through the ranks from the fifth division to the top flight where I am now. I was club top scorer for three seasons in my previous clubs. I’m glad for getting this far. I was only in Germany for vacation when I was spotted by a scout playing in the park. I signed for SC Idar-Oberstein in the fifth division and emerged top scorer for two seasons before I moved to third division club, Eintracht Braunschweig, spending three seasons and finishing club’s top scorer. What are your targets? Since I arrived Germany, I had always dreamt of playing for my country and I know the dream will soon become a reality because many Nigerians will get to watch me this season in the German top I was born p flight. g and bred in Kaduna where wher I honed my football skills. Super Eagles Eag coach Steabout phen Keshi has made inquiries inq I’m very me and I’m happy about this. t optimistic, he will invite invit me soon. I have played all my career in Germany and playing in the English PremierEngl ship won’t be a bad idea. idea My brother, Larry, who also owns an academy back in Nigeria, is also working on my w movement to England. How do you play since sinc Nigerians are yet to know you? I’m full of skill, power and speed and complementing those attributes with my good height makes hei me a complete m sstriker. I score goals too and I’m a fighter who hates to lose. My work rate is high too.

Utaka sets new record in China Utaka celebrates his record goal.

Utaka enters the history books in China for scoring 10 goals in 10 games in a row and smashing an age-long record. He tells Ikenwa Nnabuogor he can do it again elsewhere. You set a new record in the Chinese Super League by scoring 10 goals in a row in 10 games. How does it feel? It feels great to achieve such a feat considering the fact that this is my first season in China. I have done well for my club and the fans are crazy about me. The media in the whole of China celebrated me and it was like I had won a presidential election. I felt great and proud as a Nigerian. So, it’s great to have scored 15 goals now, with the last coming in our 2-1 win on Saturday. Never in the history of the Chinese Super League has it happened before. Were you aware you were setting a record going into the last Saturday’s game? The media were proclaiming me the potential record setter and the campaign had been on for some time. So, I knew I had a task to fulfil and I’m happy it came to pass. The previous record had been unbeaten for a long time. I’m still grateful to God for giving me this opportunity. I targeted one goal going into the last game and I was happy when I converted from the spot in the 90th minute. I had assisted Seydou Keita for our first goal with a blind pass earlier and looked forward to this effort which God gave

me. I feel fulfilled. You are not new to setting new records. You did in Belgium and Denmark. What’s it about you and new records? How do you do this? Like I said earlier, God has always been my secret. I also help myself by training alone and improving on my goal scoring skills. Besides, I’m very ambitious and I love giving myself tough challenges and working very hard to achieve them. I also like to make statements wherever I play with a view to bettering my previous performances. You are on 15 goals as the race to the top scorer award continues as the Romanian striker on 18 goals, puts up stiff challenge. Are you threatened? No, I can’t be. He’s just three goals better than I am and we still got about eight games to go. I take the game one at a time, give my 100 percent and challenge for the award. Your goals have largely kept your club on the log after being relegation-threatened for the better of the season. What is your expectation? I want to continue scoring to help my club avoid relegation and that’s my ultimate target. What about returning to Eagles? You still give a thought despite playing in China? I read in the media that Eagles coach Stephen Keshi mentioned that he will give a chance. So, I can’t rule it out. Playing in China is out of the question. Good players can be got anywhere. So, it doesn’t matter where one plays.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Sport

Monday, August 20, 2012

‘Osaz’ scores in bleak weekend for Nigerian players IKENWA NNABUOGOR

t was a great afternoon for Super Eagles striker Osaze Odemwingie, as he began the 2012/2013 English Premiership season on a goal scoring note for his English club West Bromwich Albion who upset Liverpool 3-0 at the Hawthorns on Saturday. Odemwingie, who remains the club’s leading in his two year spell at the club so far, scored from the spot for his side’s second goal after Hungarian striker Zoltan Gera had opened scoring with a thunderous shot from the edge of the vital area. Odemwingie had stepped forward for the second time of asking to send the frustrated Reds keeper Pepe Reina the wrong way few minutes after strike partner Shane Long had missed from the spot. On loan striker from Chelsea Romelu Lukaku compounded the multiple English champions’ woes with the third goal. Odemwingie, playing behind the top striker, Long, lasted the entire 90 minutes. Super Eagles midfielder John Obi Mikel was in superb form for Chelsea, as they humiliated Wigan 2-0 before their home fans yesterday. Mikel continued his usual 90-minute performance with yet another assured outing. However, it was not the case for compatriot Victor Moses who was, as usual, in the thick of the action for Wigan in the Chelsea visit that saw the Latics cheaply capitulate 2-0 at home. Moses, a serious transfer target for the Blues, was on for 90 minutes. Still in England, former youth international Sone Aluko was on for start to finish on his debut for the Npower Championship side, Hull City as they managed a slim 1-0 victory over visiting Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday. Aluko, who returned to England after goal-filled seasons in Scotland at Aberdeen and Glasgow Rangers, could not find the scoring range. He has vowed to help The Tigers win promotion to the Premiership. Hull City that once had former Eagles skipper, Austin ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha, were relegated from the Premiership two seasons ago. Compatriot Seyi Olofinjana did not see any action as he sat on the bench for 90 minutes. The former Eagles midfielder had suffered injury that kept him out of the game for long. He only managed to play three times last season. Former Eagles defender Danny Shittu was in action on his debut for his new club Millwall but could do just little to prevent a 2-0 home loss against Blackpool on Saturday. Shittu, who played his first league game since 2010/2011 season, was pulled out at the start of the second half. He had spent the entire 2011/2012 season not kicking a ball for Queens Park Rangers. In France, Eagles striker John Utaka was, as usual, on a superb form for defending league champions Montpellier as they lost 2-1 at Lorient, with the Nigerian-born Swiss international Innocent Emeghara, not listed for the hosts. The former Portsmouth star had a hand in his side’s lone goal as his pass was directed into the hosts’ net in the 37th minute by new Argentine striker Emmanuel Herrara before Lorient squeezed the victory with two late goals. Utaka, who scored seven goals as Montpellier won their first ever league title last season, has played in all two games thus far. In Belgium, the goals continued to dry up for Nigerian players as the season entered his third week with no Nigerian get-

Odemwingie celebrates his spot kick at the weekend

WAS A GREAT AF -

TERNOON FOR

SUPER

EAGLES STRIKER OSAZE ODEMWINGIE AS HE BEGAN THE

2012/2013 ENGLISH P REMIERSHIP SEASON ON A GOAL SCORING NOTE FOR

ENGLISH CLUB WEST BROMWICH ALBION WHO UPSET LIVERPOOL 3-0 AT THE H AWTHORNS ON SATURDAY. HIS

Michael Odibe

ting on the score sheet. Things particularly have not been going well for Club Brugge Nigerian top scorer, Joseph Akpala, who has yet to register his name on the score sheet.. He was not listed last Saturday as Club Brugge hammered Germinal Beerschot 3-1 to go top of the log. Akpala, who netted 15 goals last season to finish club’s top scorer, has played three games thus far, started in two of them, and got last minute substitution in one. Still in Belgium, two Nigerians clashed on Saturday as OH Leuven managed to edge Cercle Brugge 3-2 at home. Neither Leuven’s top scorer Derrick Ogbu nor Cercle Brugge new signing Michael Uchebo were on the score sheet. Ogbu made the starting line up for the hosts but was pulled out in the 71st minute for Cameroon’s debutting starlet Christian Pouga, while Uchebo, playing his fourth game of the season, was introduced

in the last seven minutes. Last season’s Champions League group campaigners Genk played their Nigerian import Kennedy Nwanganga for only 14 minutes as they came away with a point in 1-1 draw at Lierse on Saturday. The former Inter Turku of Finland striker was exchanged for Belgian striker Jelle Vossen. Nwanganga, who failed to get on the score sheet last season in 23 games, has thus far played three games. In Russia, Emmanuel Emenike, tipped to return to Eagles for the crucial September 8 Nations Cup qualifier tie against Liberia, was in action for Spartak Moscow as they came from behind to beat visiting Rubin Kazan 2-1 on Saturday. He fired blanks and was pulled out in the 70th minute. He has played in all five games in the Russian Premier League, finding the back of the net only once. He has also gone into the referees’

books twice. Last season, he powered home 12 goals in his debut season. Missing in action for Rubin Kazan was another player tipped for an Eagles’ recall, Obafemi Martins. Martins is yet to kick a ball for his club this season as rumours of him wanting away continue to mount. He could only manage eight league appearances, scoring once, last season. In the Netherlands, former schoolboy international, Uche Nwofor was in action for VVV Venlo, who were disgraced 3-1 at home by Utrecht. The former Rangers striker lasted 90 minutes on the pitch and failed to reenact his smoking pre-season form that saw him score goals for the Venlo-based club that barely escaped relegation through play-offs. Nwofor, who is the only Nigerian remaining at VVV, has played in all two games thus far in the new season. On loan Chelsea defender Kenneth Omeruo was in good form at right back for ADO Den Haag as they were forced to a 2-2 draw against visiting RKC Waalwijk. The former Flying Eagles central defender, deployed at right back at Den Haag, playing his first game this season, lasted the entire 90 minutes but not without a blemish, getting into the referee’s books in the 79th minute. The 19-year old star tipped for greatness, joined the Dutch side on loan last season to gain regular playing time and experience before returning to the Stamford Bridge. In Turkey, 10-cap Super Eagles striker Michael Eneramo was action for his side Sivasspor as they claimed vital 1-0 away win at Gaziantepspor on Saturday. The former Esperance striker only rejoined his team on time for the league opener. He had earlier been a transfer target for top spenders including Trabszonspor. He was on for 78 minutes Surprising, Eagles captain Joseph Yobo was on the bench for 90 minutes for Fenerbache, as they forced newly-promoted Elazıgspor to 1-1 draw on Saturday. That was the first time the former Everton defender would sit on the bench for the Turkish giants since he arrived first on loan at the start of 2011/2012 season. He has since been acquired on permanent basis. He made whooping 39 appearances as they narrowly lost the league title to Galatarsaray last season. In Ukraine, Taye Taiwo was in action for 90 minutes for Dynamo Kiev as they surprisingly lost 1-0 at Vorskla on Saturday. It was Taiwo’s costly mistake that gifted the important goal for the lowly team. The former Marseiile left back miscued a low cross into the path of Artem Gromov who punished the Dynamo defence for the only goal of the day in the 25th minute. The on-loan AC Milan star was playing his third league game since he arrived on loan. Last season’s 12-goal hero and the current season’s second top scorer, Brown Ideye failed to add to his sixth goal in the game after coming on at the start of the second half. One-cap Super Eagles youngster Michael Odibe returned to Dnipro’s starting line up and posted a commanding performance in the heart of the defence as they gained a point in a goalless draw at Kryvbas, to maintain their third spot on the log. The 23-year old defender lasted 90 minutes as he played his third game in the six-week old Ukrainian Premier League.

WORLD RECORD

Sharpest object man-made Vol. 02 No. 429

Dangers of emerging Republic of Lagos

common constitutional argument in Nigeria is centred on the power relations among the constituent units of the federation. The preferred option is that the states ought to be the strongest tier of government as is the case with most federations around the world. The super strength of Nigeria’s Federal Government is seen as odd by many. Its preponderant status consequently emasculates the states and their capacity to carve out unique identities for themselves. This accounts for the repeated clamour for decentralisation of the police force and many federalised institutions in the country. The counter argument against this perceived purist stance by “pragmatists” is that the states in Nigeria are not mature enough and cannot be trusted to acts in the interest of all were they to be left fully to their own de-

N150

Monday, August 20, 2012

Scientists at the National Institute for Nanotechnology and the University of Alberta (both Canada) have created a tungsten needle that tapers to a thickness of just one atom. The breakthrough, announced in May 2006, should allow the construction of better super high-resolution electron microscopes.

helsea midfielder Frank Lampard believes Eden Hazard’s debut will be a warning to Premier League sides this season. The Belgian was a £32million summer signing from Lille and made an instant impression as the European champions won 2-0 at Wigan in their opening fix-

Guest Columnist

CHARLES OMOLE

vices, and also that the governors might become mini emperors, exercising total powers for self-interest at the expense of opposition. There are clear signs that the fears are not imaginary. Many will recall the effect of the declaration of Sharia in many northern states during Olusegun Obasanjo administration and how that affected not only the Muslims, but most non-Muslims in those states. By the way this is not a Boko Haram phenomenon, although that has exacerbated the problem. But these are not my focus primarily in this article. The fundamental principle of a federal republic is that citizens can travel and live freely anywhere in that country without being made to feel like foreigners. So a Hausa man can move from Kano and reside in Lagos (or travel through it) without any problem at all, and more importantly, without having to feel he is in another country completely and vice versa. This is where Lagos and its government need to be careful not to create a de facto immigration border on the Lagos end of the expressway for Nigerians coming into Lagos. I have joined many to commend the progressive stance of the Fashola Administration. However, I am beginning to feel that a primordial case of a Tale of two Cities seem to be emerging and getting worse by many of the new legislations coming into effect in the state. In the past few years, Lagos has enacted many new laws that make demand, not just on Lagos residents, but all that pass

THE FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLE OF A FEDERAL REPUBLIC IS THAT CITIZENS CAN TRAVEL AND LIVE FREELY ANYWHERE IN THAT COUNTRY WITHOUT BEING MADE TO FEEL LIKE FOREIGNERS through the state’s territories, even for one day. Like I said earlier, many of the key national institutions in Nigeria are centralised, ostensibly to help create a commonality across the nation. For instance, the FRSC issues driver’s licence. This allows you to drive anywhere in Nigeria like a lawyer, who after finishing Law School, is certified to practice anywhere in Nigeria. But with many local legislations coming from Lagos State covering many of these same areas, it is becoming a burden operating in the state, a sharp contrast to the situation in other parts of the nation. For instance, Lagos has enacted a law making it mandatory for all commercial and official drivers driving within the state’s territory

to be certified by the state’s driving agency. This on the face looks good, but if you are a commercial driver based in Rivers State and coming to Lagos for just one day on business, what are you going to do? Will you be expected to go through the process of certification first before you can drive within the state, even though you are not a resident? Now there are new laws making it illegal to eat, make a phone call etc while driving in Lagos. This may be a good and progressive stance, but it will criminalise in the state what is perfectly legal in the other 35 states of Nigeria. So a non-Lagos driver coming from Kano will now have to behave substantially differently only in Lagos. Accordingly, you will have to rush and finish that meat pie you are eating as you approach Berger Bridge on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. I am not saying there is anything iniquitous with many of the forward-looking statutes that have been enacted in Lagos. What I am doing is to sound a warning that this could create unwittingly a Republic of Lagos within the Nigerian nation state - a state where Nigerians will have to behave significantly differently from all other states. I am also warning that it could become counterproductive for Lagos residents if other states in Nigeria decide to enact anti-Lagos legislations. For instance, what if each state decides to do exactly what Lagos is doing. That will mean a Lagos resident will need to obtain certifications from ten different states before he can drive from Lagos to Kano. What if other states decide to bring laws that prescribe what you can and cannot do while driving in their states? That will mean a driver from Lagos will have to adjust his behaviour markedly at the border of each state or risk arrest. To be continued Omole, Charles@Prodelinternational. com, a business consultant and corporate strategist, operates from Lagos and abroad

Sport Extra

Lampard sends Hazard warning ture. Hazard created the first goal for full-back Branislav Ivanovic with a clever turn and weighted through-ball and winning the penalty which Lampard converted. Lampard said: “He was brilliant. It’s a young age to come into

the Premier League, no matter how good of a player you are. “He showed the quality he has with the spin and the ball to put Ivanovic through and he showed great speed to get away from his man for the penalty. He was great to play with.”

Lampard was happy to start the season with a win, adding: “It was a great start to the game. You always want to get a win on the opening day of the season. “Coming here, with the way they finished last season, was alNFF President, Hazard Aminu Maigari ways going to be tough.”

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