Monday, December 24, 2012 by GLOBAL MEDIA MIRROR LIMITED

Trawler owners lose N119bn to piracy in eight years EXCLUSIVE FRANCIS EZEM

Ibrahim

Vol. 2 N0. 519

he Nigerian Trawlers Owners Association, the umbrella body for indigenous industrial fishing companies, has said that its members have

lost a whopping N118.5bn in the last eight years. The association attributed the loss to the increasing menace of pirates and sea robbers in Nigeria’s territoCONTINUED ON PAGE 5>>

Jonathan denies rift with Obasanjo P.13

Jonathan

Monday, December 24, 2012

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FG bows to pressure on new revenue formula

...provides funds for review exercise Non-passage of SEC budget, threat to capital market –Stakeholders

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EXCLUSIVE TOLA AKINMUTIMI ABUJA

he Federal Government has finally succumbed to mounting pressure by state and local governments to provide funds for the completion of the new revenue sharing formula exercise. This would result in the Federal Government losing a substantial part of its accruable revenue from the Federation Account. This development came following serious misgivings in the polity about government’s reluctance to give in to pressure by other tiers of government over the proposed restructuring of the formula. National Mirror can auCONTINUED ON PAGE 2>>

THE

Abubakar

3 policemen docked over attempt to kidnap judge P.11

Group Managing Director, Access Bank, Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede and US Consular-General, Mr. Jeffry Hawkins, during the courtesy visit to Access Bank headquarters in Lagos recently.

BUSINESS SECTION

N1.3bn subsidy fraud:

Oil marketers seek outof-court settlement Foreign lines cart away $155bn crude freight P.A7

Bankers accept blame for e-fraud P.6

No force can stop Xmas celebration –CAN

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‘Amosun still repaying N89bn inherited debt’

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...pleads with Christians to attend service en masse Free inside

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Monday, December 24, 2012

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No force can stop Xmas celebration –CAN AUGUSTINE MADU-WEST AND AZA MSUE

he Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN, in the 19 northern states and Abuja yesterday declared that no force or evil plan could stop tomorrow’s Christmas celebration in the region. This is coming just as anxiety mounts in the North over the safety of Christians in the region as they celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. CAN, while calling on

security agencies to protect Nigerians during the celebration, appealed to Muslim leaders to prevail on the Boko Haram Islamic sect not to attack Christians during the Yuletide. Speaking with National Mirror in Kaduna, Northern CAN Public Relations Officer, Mr. Sunday Oibe, said Christians would not accept the killings of their members on Christmas Day, “which is a day of peace.” The association noted that the continued attack on Christians and churches was deliberate, adding, how-

ever, that it was impossible to wipe out Christianity from the region. Oibe also called on Christians to go about their normal activities during the Christmas and to worship God without fear. CAN appealled to the Federal Government to wipe out terrorism in the country, while expressing the fear that the present situation might degenerate into a religious war “which Nigeria may not survive.” The CAN spokeman said: “We are appealing to Boko Haram to shelve their threat

on Christians in the North during this Christmas celebration because they claimed to be working for Islam but Muslims celebrated their Sallah and there was no Christian attack against them. “We are also appealing to a respected Muslim leader in Nigeria, Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar III, together with good Muslim imams to please preach their message that would reach Boko Haram to drop their threat because Christians in the North are running out of patience

L-R: Founder, Living Faith Foundation Church International Bible Institute, Pastor P. Olaiya; President Goodluck Jonathan; Chaplain, State House Chapel, Abuja, Ven. Obioma Owuzurumba and Executive Secretary, Christian Pilgrims Commission, Mr. John Opara, during the Christmas carol service in Kaduna, yesterday. PHOTO: STATE HOUSE

“We can’t take the killings of our brothers, children and women in churches during Christmas anymore. “This period is special to Christians all over the world; it is a period of peace. But if Boko Haram goes ahead with their planned attack, according to security warning in the newspapers, it will be a declaration of war against Christians in Nigeria. “We are appealing to them because Christians have nothing against Muslims. “The continued onslaught against Christians and churches across the northern states is clearly some of the deliberate but impossible attempts to wipe out Christians from the region “We are assuring all Christians that the church will not allow that to happen. We are once again calling on the Muslim Immams and ulama in Nigeria to live up to their task by calling on all Islamic sects in the country to have respect for human lives and stop these attacks and killings. “We fear that the situation may degenerate into religious war which Nigeria may not survive as a country. “We call on Christians to

worship their God in heaven without fear because no force or evil will stop Christianity in the North and Nigeria at large. Every Christian should go ahead with their church activities, that is our message to them. “While commending security agencies for their good work, we call on them to protect the lives of Christians and other Nigerians during and after this season.” The leadership of the association in Kano State has also appealed to its members in the state not to be overwhelmed by the state of insecurity “as the Almighty God is in total control.” This is as churches in the troubled commercial city recorded depleted congregations during the Sunday service, following Saturday’s attempt to bomb the offices of two communication firms, MTN and Airtel. The attacks, in which the two suspected bombers were blown up, were believed to have created panic across the Christian community, resulting in the apparent boycott of Sunday’s service. Chairman of the Christian body in Kano, Bishop Ransom Bello, in a text message to National Mirror urged Christians to mainCONTINUED ON PAGE 5>>

FG bows to pressure on new revenue formula CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

thoritatively report that in line with the demands by the state and local governments for a fairer share of the revenues according to the Federation Account, the Federal Government has finally made adequate provisions for the review exercise in the 2013 budget. The exercise had started about 20 months ago but had been stalled due to paucity of funds. For instance, the capital budget provision in the just passed Appropriation Bill 2013 for the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, RMAFC, the body assigned the responsibility of reviewing the revenue sharing formula of the tiers of governments, indicated that a new revenue sharing formula would be adopted for the governments in the 2013 fiscal year.

The capital provision jumped from a mere N353.86m in 2012 by over N1bn. A further breakdown of the budgetary provisions for the RMAFC in the 2013 budget showed that it was only the capital budget that enjoyed such magnitude of increase even though the proposed recurrent expenditure dropped marginally from N1.98bn in 2012 to N1.93bn in the Appropriation Bill 2013 passed last week by both chambers of the National Assembly. The approved budget for the RMAFC in 2012 was N2.34bn while the 2013 budgetary provisions totalled N3.57bn Of the recurrent provisions in 2012, personnel costs stood at N1.55bn while overhead provisions was N426.9m. For the 2013 fiscal year, proposed recurrent expen-

diture totalled N1.93bn out of which personnel cost would gulp N1.37bn compared with the balance going to overhead. Investigations by National Mirror indicated that the Federal Government finally decided to support the sharing formula review exercise with the financial resources, ostensibly to placate state governors who had been angry over some recent fiscal measures embarked upon without due consultations with them. In addition, it was reliably learnt from government quarters that the move was also a calculated political strategy, to allow Abuja’s efforts at building up the Excess Crude Account, ECA, and the Sovereign Wealth Fund, SWF, to succeed. A source, who did not want his name mentioned, told National Mirror that

the decision of the Federal Government to provide fiscal backing for the proposed revenue sharing formula “was a tactical strategy to assuage the governors who were all bent to get the ECA totally shared, especially when the legal basis of its operations has been subject of controversy. “Apart from that, you will also note that over the past six months, the governors have been opposed to the modalities for setting up the SWF. “Even when there was a legislation to support its establishment, the governors have been challenging its constitutionality like the ECA and have been enraged by the way the management of the SWF was put in place without due consultations with them. “So, because of these knotty political problems, the Federal Government

would not want to keep creating the impression that it is always forcing fiscal policies on the other tiers of government. “What is intended by the adequate provisions for RMAFC in 2013 budget is to provide a soft-landing fiscal measure that will make the Federal Government lose some and win some in a political setting that will ensure that policies and programmes are implemented at all levels of government without inflicting more pains on the people,” the source said. Attempts to get the reaction of the RMFAC Chairman, Mr. Elias Mbam, on the implications of the budgetary provisions for the proposed revenue sharing formula were unsuccessful as several calls made to him were not responded to. It will be recalled that National Mirror had ex-

clusively reported the Federal Government’s initial lukewarm attitude to the proposed revenue sharing arrangement in view of the fiscal challenges it had been contending with in its efforts to match its allocations from the Federation Account and a few other revenue sources with growing expenditure needs was deliberate. Under the old revenue sharing arrangement, the Federal Government takes 52.68 per cent of the net statutory distributions while the states get 26.72 per cent compared with local governments’ 20.60 per cent. The mineral producing states also get 13 per cent derivation entitlements. From the Value Added Tax, VAT, over which many of the states have challenged Federal Government because they believe CONTINUED ON PAGE 5>>

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Monday, December 24, 2012

Photo News

Monday, December 24, 2012

L-R: General Manager, Regulatory, MTN, Oyeronke Oyetunde; Publisher, Encomium, Mr. Kunle Bakare; winner, MTN Business Grant Competition promo, Mr. Adetola Adebowale and General Manager, Consumer Marketing, MTN, Mr. Kola Oyeyemi, during the presentation of the winning prize in Lagos, at the weekend.

L-R: Head of Marketing, Nutricima Ltd, Mr. Wande Oluwasegunfunmi; IMC Manager, Mrs. Funsho Jacob; and Director of Higher Education, Delta State, Mrs. Mae Solomon, during the presentation of Nunu Custard Award by the Institute for Government Research and Leadership in Lagos, at the weekend.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

L-R: Deputy-Director, Finance Department, National Agency for the Control of AIDS, Dr. Ken Kalu; Director-General, Prof. John Idoko and Deputy Director, Admin and Support Services, Mr. Emmanuel Shenge, during the National HIV/AIDS Awareness Conference in Abuja, at the weekend. PHOTO ROTIMI OSASONA

L-R: Group Managing Director/CEO, Oando Plc, Mr. Wale Tinubu; Managing Director, Vetiva Capital Management Limited, Mr. Chuka Eseka and Chairman, Oando, Oba Michael Gbadebo, during the Completion Board Meeting of the company’s N52.9bn through Issue in Lagos, at the weekend.

National News

Lagos judiciary yet to re-assign Akingbola, oil marketers’ cases K AYODE KETEFE

wo months after the criminal trial of the embattled Managing Director of Intercontinental Bank Plc. Erastus Akingbola was stalled due to the elevation of Justice Habeeb Abiru of an Ikeja High Court to the Court of Appeal, the state judiciary is yet to re-assign the case file to another judge. Justice Abiru was sworn-in as a judge of the Court of Appeal, along with 10 others on October 5, 2012. The judge had been handling high profile cases, including that of Akingbola and some oil marketers indicted for fraudulent practices in the oil subsidy probe. Akingbola’s case for instance, had reached advance stage as the court, on October 22, adjourned the matter till November 15 for adoption of the final addresses by the parties, which was to be the last thing before judgment. The former bank chef was arraigned before Justice Abiru on May 31, 2011 and his trial commenced

on July 20, 2012. The case enjoyed an unusual speed compared to other cases involving former bank chiefs like Francis Atuche, Sebastian Adigwe and others, but that advantage now seems to have been nullified by the de novo principle. It was learnt at the Ikeja judicial division of the state high court that despite the fact that Abiru had resumed at the Appellate Court, the case file is still pending in his former court. Whenever Akingbola’s case file is re-assigned to another judge, the matter will however start de novo (afresh), such that the plea by the accused would have to be taken again and all the witnesses in the proceedings recalled. The same applies to the cases involving the oil marketers being handled by Abiru before his elevation. Meanwhile, the legal principle by which court cases have to start afresh whenever the judges handling them could not continue by reasons of transfer, removal, death or elevation has come under severe criticisms as some legal

practitioners now call for its relaxation, while others insist that the rule should continue to be applied as a result of its usefulness. The principle, which was inherited under the common law of England, operates whenever a new judge takes over and has to continue with an old case already partly-heard by his predecessor. Speaking with the National Mirror, an octogenarian lawyer, Pa Tunji Gomez, called for the modification of the de novo rule on the ground that it might cause injustice on the ag-

grieved party. Gomez said: “The de novo practice is an age-long practice meant to preserve justice in adjudication by ensuring that the same person who would pronounce judgment hears a case from beginning to the end. But I think it should be modified now to discourage a situation where it would cause injustice. “For example where the case is nearly completed, a party who brought a matter to court would have invested time not to talk of costs. If the litigants have to start all over again,

it would cause hardship. Thus I would want the rule to be relaxed such that if the parties agree that a new judge should continue where the old judge leaves the matter, then they should be allowed to continue with the matter.” Another lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, said that the implication of Abiru’s new assignment is that Akingbola’s case had been technically resolved in his favour. Falana said: “In other words, Akingbola has been discharged a second time due to no fault of his.

For now Abiru could no longer be said to be seized of the matter.” A former publicity secretary of the Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, and a member of the Osun State Judicial Service Commission, Mr. Murtala Abdulrasheed, said: “The primary obligation of the judge is to listen to all the parties in dispute. A judge who has par-heard a case as it were, cannot transfer his impressions and perceptions of the demeanours of the witness to the new judge; hence the principle of starting such part heard cases de novo.

Infrastructure deficit, insecurity top economic challenges says NACCIMA STANLEY IHEDIGBO

he Nigeria Association of Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, NACCIMA, has identified infrastructure deficit, corruption and insecurity as major factors that hindered economic growth this year President of NACCIMA, Dr. Herbert Ajayi, said this at a media briefing at the weekend to

round up the chamber’s activities for the year. According to him, the challenges arising from unfriendly operating environment and infrastructural constraints, particularly in the areas of energy and security, which when added up to other recurrent problem had eroded the profitability of many businesses. He said: “Presently, we are worried that in spite of the recent high tariff charged by Power Hold-

ing Company of Nigeria, PHCN, electricity supply is yet to reduce the burden of private generators for businesses and the citizens. The government’s intention to meet the 6,000mw to 10,000mw has been difficult to realise.” He said that the poor power supply had contributed as always to the high cost of doing business and that energy cost are now estimated at about 40 per cent since real sector operators depend mostly on

self provision of alternative sources of electricity through their own generating plants. The NACCIMA president however added that that the security challenges facing the nation are not insurmountable if government and its agencies remain focused, committed and intensified on-going partnership efforts with the private sector and also by making the country a safe haven for all Nigerians and foreigners alike.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

FG bows to pressure on new revenue formula CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

the tax is generated mainly from their domains as consumption tax. The Federal Government also enjoys 15 per cent of the net distributions while the states take 50 per cent and the local governments, 35 per cent. It is projected that a modification of the statutory component of the monthly revenues accruable to the Federal Government from the Federation Account down by just 4.68 per cent, which most analysts projected may be what the Federal Government may cede and get its share down to 48 per cent in the proposed formula, will affect its financing position negatively as the billions of naira lost by it would go to the states and local governments. Using the November 2012 distributions when the Federal Government got N190.36bn out of the N403.16bn shared as basis of calculation, it would imply that about N8.91bn will be deducted from its allocation and distributed to the state governments. If the VAT is also restricted, this would mean more fiscal pains for the Federal Government. An official of the Budget Office who spoke on why the Federal Government had been a little bit worried about the restructuring had confided in National Mirror that “the revenue sharing formula remains one of the major fiscal measures that require special approach in adopting in view of what it means to the political economy.” “If you understand what is going on now between some of the states over the issue of loss of oil wells, you will know what it means to change the formula even by the slightest percentage. “For the Federal Government that has been battling with deficit financing for years in the face of increasing needs for funds to attend to so many responsibilities, particularly capital projects execution, the idea is good but not totally desirable now. The Federal Government is in a dilemma on the issue. “If it decides to give all the necessary push and make the new formula come out as early as people would want, it will indirectly be hurting itself. This will mean losing more

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Monday, December 24, 2012

money to the states and local governments even when it hasn’t enough in its kitty to spend. So, this will now make you understand why the Federal Government may not be too enthusiastic about changing the old formula,” the source said. The Federal Government was said to have enjoyed some relief on the nagging matter when a few months back, the northern and southern governors were locked in fierce verbal war over the new revenue sharing formula issue since the feud would delay the project as the RMAFC will only work on socio-economic data and other inputs provided at the state and local government levels before its recommendations would be concluded. To worsen the situation, the RMAFC, which by the first quarter of this year had recorded some measure of success in its data gathering surveys on the agenda, is also said now to be completely overwhelmed by the fiscal and political intrigues between the subnational governments over the past months. According to the source, the challenges being faced by the Commission in its efforts to fulfil its statutory mandate were responsible for its refocusing its strategy on awareness campaigns and advocacy targeted at waking up the consciousness of state governors on the need for them to explore Internally Generated Revenue, IGR, potential within their domains. “If you look at what the Commission is doing in recent months, you will notice that it was no longer speaking much about the new formula but now tutoring the governors on how to explore economic opportunities in their states to improve their financial resource base. It is no longer about exercises or roundtable on the revenue sharing formula. “Even when the zeal is there, the political support to get the agenda concluded has fizzled out. But, as the Chairman of the Commission said, the agenda will only succeed if the executive and legislature give the necessary funding support to it. But what is more important and lacking now is the political support,” the source said.

Trawler owners lose N119bn to piracy in eight years CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

rial waters, which has also resulted in the deaths of 6,083 crew members within the same period. The Malaysian-based International Maritime Bureau, IMB, the global piracy watchdog, had for three consecutive years (2009, 2010 and 2011) rated Nigeria’s waters second most dangerous after Somalia in terms of sea robbery and piracy attacks. This development, which had many most liners declare Nigeria a high risk area with the attendant hike on insurance premium on Nigeria-bound cargo, had also compelled most American and European countries, including the United States of America and Britain, to issue security alerts to their nationals intending to travel to Nigeria. National President of the association, Mr. Joseph Overo, who spoke in an exclusive interview with National Mirror in Lagos at the weekend, said the direct financial loss covered the period between 2003 and 2011.

It was also gathered that in addition to the huge financial loss, due to these attacks, the area of operation of the members had been reduced by over 70 per cent as places like the Escravos, Forcados, River Ramos, River Dodo, Pennigton, Brass and several others in the Niger Delta region had been declared no-go areas because of the attacks. Figures released by the association showed that members lost N5bn in 2003; N6bn in 2004; N7.5bn in 2005 and N12bn in 2006. Other details showed that in 2007, members lost N13bn, N15bn in 2008 and N17bn in 2009 even as N20bn and N23bn were lost in 2010 and 2011, respectively, bringing the total to N118.5bn. The president, who also gave a graphic details of how the industry had fared in the last eight years, said in 2004, there were about 44 industrial fishing companies but regretted that this had presently reduced to only four operational firms, “as the others have closed shop because they could no

longer cope.” He added that during the period under review, there were over 250 fishing trawlers but which had reduced to a little above 100. Overo blamed this directly on the piracy and robbery attacks on trawlers, “a development that has apart from massive loss of jobs, has also led to death of crew, captains, sailors and other equipment.” Statistics also showed that the association lost 44 crew members in 2003; 121 in 2004; 374 in 2005 and 627 in 2006. Others include the death of 1,177 crew and other members of staff in 2007; 1,045 in 2008 while 1,265 and 1,430 deaths were recorded in 2010 and 2011 respectively in the uncontrolled piracy attacks on Nigerian waters. The NITOA-boss noted that the existing members had invested N40bn in offshore and seaborne assets and currently providing direct employment of up to 5,250 and another 300,000 indirect jobs for Nigerians. “The sector is a key play-

Queue returns to filling stations as fuel scarcity hits Lagos yesterday.

er in Nigeria’s quest for economic diversification and boosting non-oil exports. The Director-General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency, NIMASA, Mr. Patrick Akpobolokemi, had recently admitted that in the past eight years, maritime piracy had been on the increase around Africa despite growing national, regional and international efforts at improving the maritime security along sea routes. IMB report on piracy and armed robbery showed that there were 1,434 incidents of piracy in Africa between 2003 and 2011. Beginning from 2007, the number of attacks had been on the increase, jumping from 61 in 2006 to 293 in 2011. The reason for this astronomical rise was the outbreak of piracy off the coast of Somalia and Gulf of Aden, and attacks off the coast of Gulf of Guinea constitute a fair share in Africa; the Gulf of Guinea accounted for 427 of the 1,434 attacks in African waters between 2003 and 2011.

PHOTO:ADEMOLA AKINLABI

No force can stop Xmas celebration –CAN CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

tain a high spirit and believe that security is of the Lord. He said: “To shame the enemies and evil men in our midst, we should come out en masse on Christmas and offer prayers to commemorate the birth of our Saviour.” The CAN boss stated that from all indications and communications between his office and security agents, the Christmas cel-

ebration would be marked “in an atmosphere of peace and love.” He quoted security chiefs in the state as assuring that necessary steps had been taken to beef up security during the celebrations. Bello, however, admitted that there were isolated cases of attacks, but noted that such were not enough to justify boycott of Christmas service.

The security situation in Kano has heightened a few days to the Christmas and New Year festivities, with huge presence of soldiers and riot policemen in the streets of Kano. Our correspondent reports that apart from heavy vehicular patrol by the Joint Task Force, JTF, police armoured personnel carriers were spotted in sensitive locations in Kano, the state

capital. The Kano State Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Idris, has repeatedly warned potential troublemakers to keep off the streets of Kano or face the consequences of their action. He confirmed that Kano had been fortified with adequate security arrangement that would guarantee a hitch-free Christmas and New Year celebrations.

National News

nspector General of Police Mohammed Abubakar yesterday ordered a water-tight 24-hour security for all government installations and strategic facilities nationwide throughout the Christmas and New Year celebrations. Abubakar, who gave the order in his Christmas message, directed Assistant Inspectors General of Police, AIGs, and Commissioners of Police, CPs, in charge of the 12 zonal, 36 state commands and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, to personally take charge of

Monday, December 24, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Christmas: IG orders 24-hour surveillance

the security. He said they should ensure that other vulnerable points, including financial houses, shopping malls, motor parks, places of worship and recreation centres, were adequately protected before, during and after the celebrations. According to him, the measure is to ensure a crime-free Christmas and enable holidaymakers, worshippers and the general public carry out their ac-

tivities. He said: “In addition, Commanders of Police Highway Patrol Teams have been directed to ensure that motorised patrols on our highways targeted at crime and accident prevention are intensified to ensure a safe, secure and peaceful celebration. “Police men deployed on our highways have also been directed to render necessary assistance to travellers and road users,

especially accident victims and those who may suffer vehicular break down.’’ The IG warned highway patrol officers to comport themselves and act within the confines of the law and be firm. Abubakar, however, enjoined them to be polite, civil and professional, and respect the fundamental rights of the citizens at all times. He felicitated with Chris-

tians on the Christmas and noted that its significance was the birth of Jesus Christ. The police boss therefore urged them to emulate and imbibe the worthy virtues and teachings of Christ, and be open-minded to issues of peace, forgiveness and harmonious coexistence. He also urged Nigerians to appreciate and respect the diversities of the country, and leverage on same as

source of strength for national development. Meanwhile, the police have announced the sudden death of Mr. Muktari Ibrahim, the Assistant Inspector General of Police (AIG) in charge of Zone 6 (Cross Rivers, Ebonyi and Akwa Ibom states). A statement announcing the death yesterday, said that Ibrahim, aged 55, died at the University Teaching Hospital, Calabar, on Saturday after a brief illness.

UDO ONYEKA

of banking. He said: “NeFF is the convergence point to tackling e- fraud which is on the rise. The forum needs to look into the risk introduced by expanding payment systems.” In the same vein, the Executive Director, Zenith Bank, Mr. Andy Ojei, said there was the need to evolve an adequate initiative that would check e-fraud now that electronic banking was thriving. He said the e-banking channel for regulator, operators and customers was a win, win situation, adding that tackling e-fraud would make e-banking more appealing. Ojei said that for the fight against e-fraud to achieve the desired result, all hands must be on deck. However to reduce efraud to its barest minimum, the NeFF said it was working to develop a data base that would accommodate statistics on e-fraud, which would be ready in the first quarter of 2013.

Bankers accept blame for rising e-fraud

L-R: Wife of the Speaker, Lagos House of Assembly, Mrs. Mayowa Ikuforiji; representative of the Deputy Governor and Director, Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, Mrs. Folashode Ogunnaike; wife of Lagos State Governor, Mrs. Abimbola Fashola and Governor Babatunde Fashola, during the 2012 Christmas Carol in Lagos, at the weekend.

NEMA places search, rescue teams on alert OLUFEMI ADEOSUN ABUJA

he National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, has activated and placed its emergency Search and Rescue Teams on full alert in the event of any emergency situation during the Yuletide. The NEMA DirectorGeneral, Muhammad Sani-Sidi, disclosed this in Abuja at the weekend while receiving the communiqué of the 2012 Annual Media Retreat of Journalists and Information Officers on Disaster and Emergency Management in Nigeria. He said: “All search and rescue officers of the NEMA and those of other response agencies as well as trained emergency volunteers throughout the federation have been put on alert in case of any untoward development between the Christmas period and the New Year. “The activation of

search and rescue officers to be on full alert has been the tradition of the agency in its collaborative efforts with other agencies and volunteers in responding to distress situation.” The NEMA boss also decried the inability of the Nigerian Communication Commission, NCC, to provide the country with a three-digit National Emergency call line as obtained in other jurisdictions. He said: “We are waiting for NCC to work out the emergency toll-free number as soon as possible to help us on disaster management.” Sani-Sidi also noted that most states have lukewarm attitude to emergency management and combating disasters by not complying with legal mandates to establish their State Emergency Management Agencies, SEMAs. He said that most of those that were established were yet to become functional because they were

not adequately funded. The DG asked journalists to take governors and local government chairmen to task on the need to establish functional emergency management bodies. He said: “Every Nige-

rian now looks forward to NEMA to respond to emergencies and combat disasters whereas, only situations beyond the coping capabilities of state and local emergency outfits that could be referred to NEMA as the national body.”

perators of banks in the country have accepted culpability in the increasing rate of electronic fraud (e-fraud) in financial institutions. The Deputy General Manager/Chief Inspector, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Mr. Segun Fadahunsi, said the unhealthy competition among banks gave way to rising cases of fraud. According to him, in an effort to do business and keep customers, some banks do not cooperate or release information about their customers even when it is glaring that the customer has defrauded another bank. Fadahunsi, who spoke at the first annual meeting of Nigeria e-Fraud Forum, NeFF, said some banks would prefer to sit on monies supposed to be refunded to other financial institutions for several months. The banker advocated stronger regulation to compel banks play by the rules

Don’t reduce CBN gov’s powers, Ogwuma warns NASS TOLA AKINMUTIMI ABUJA

ormer Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, Dr. Alex Ogwuma, has cautioned the National Assembly on its current efforts to whittle down the powers of the CBN governor through planned amendment of its Act. Ogwuma said such move would be counter-productive for the economy in the long run. In a memorandum sent to the House of Representatives Joint Committee on Banking and Currency and Justice in respect of the proposed amendment

of the CBN Act 2007, the former CBN governor commended the legislature for the initiative targeted at amending the Act in furtherance of its statutory functions. He, however, noted that the key thrusts of the exercise must be critically pursued in consonance with global best practice in order not to turn it into legislative jeopardy for the economy. Ogwuma, who delved broadly on the proposed major amendments, warned that reverting to the old order when political considerations remained the primary agenda of past governments and their circumscription of the CBN

Board’s powers were too hurting to the economy to be re-enacted. He said: “Historically, measures to strengthen or circumscribe the autonomy of the CBN have been driven by stakeholders who desire to influence the outcome of monetary, credit and exchange rate policies of the bank to their advantage. “Generally, a relatively weak Central Bank will not have the power to say ‘No’ to politicians when the bank is called upon to print money they need to finance government deficits. Neither can a weak Central Bank be able to sanction a badly run commercial bank that has powerful political

stakeholders on its board. “Hon. Chairman, the performance of the Nigerian economy during the 1990s, as evidenced by the major macro-economic indicators, (GDP growth rate, fiscal deficit, external reserves and inflation) was lacklustre. “This was due partly to the balance of payments problems arising from shortfalls in crude oil exports and prices/revenue thereof. It was also because the CBN acted too little or too late in taking decisive actions, due to prescribed external/political authorisation required for its monetary and credit policy making processes.”

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Monday, December 24, 2012

First Lady lights first Nigerian National Christmas tree OMEIZA AJAYI

he First Lady, Mrs. Patience Jonathan, at the weekend in Abuja lighted the nation’s first ever Christmas tree with a charge to the political class, public servants and all Nigerians to re-dedicate themselves towards the pursuit of unity and peace in the country. At the event organised by the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), Mrs. Jonathan urged Nigerians to live in peace and harmony as she noted that Christmas was a season for peace, reconciliation and love. While she advised Nige-

•Urges politicians to shun divisive tendencies rians to support her husband’s administration to realise its transformational agenda for the country, Mrs. Jonathan added; “The significance of this ceremony will best be appreciated when we take into account that the Christmas season is a season of peace, goodwill and hope. “As we light up this Christmas tree, it is a symbol that peace is possible. We will leave here this evening with a message across the nation that peace is possible. Indeed, we can transform our weapons of destruction into instruments of nation-building to make our nation great again.”

Measuring about 21 metres high, the Christmas tree is strategically located at the Unity Fountain Park, sandwiched between the Transcorp Hilton Hotel and the Millennium Park and adorned in the national colours of green, white and green. Earlier in her address, Minister of State in the FCT, Olajumoke Akinjide, said the lighting of the Christmas tree had come to be recognised across the world as an opportunity to express and share the message of love, peace and goodwill to all men and women. “Christmas time is tra-

ditionally recognised and celebrated as a season of peace, goodwill and hope across national boundaries. It also offers us a unique opportunity to reinforce this same message of love, unity, reconciliation and peaceful coexistence. “It is consequently our anticipation that an annual lighting of the Nigerian National Christmas tree will play a similar unifying role for our people,” Akinjide noted. Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, His Eminence, John Cardinal Onaiyekan, who delivered the homily, urged Nigerians to banish all fears and put their trust in God.

New conveyor belt installed at Lagos Airport

•As MMIA records 4,664 passengers in one day OLUSEGUN KOIKI

s part of the ongoing remodelling of 11 airports in the country by the Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah, the extended wing of the Murtala Mohammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, yesterday commenced operations. Also, information gathered by National Mirror yesterday said that a newly acquired conveyor belt was installed yesterday to accommodate passengers arriving in the country for the yuletide season from both Europe and America. This was just as the terminal, in its over 30 years history, last Friday recorded 4, 664 passengers’ traffic departing and arriving the country. Sources close to the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) confided in our correspondent that three con-

veyor belts were procured in September by the agency as part of the ongoing remodelling of the airport. Investigation by National Mirror indicated that the contract for the procurement of the new conveyor belts were awarded in 2011 after Oduah was appointed the minister in the sector. However, as at the time of filing this report, the cost implication of the new conveyor belts could not be ascertained, but investigation revealed that it was procured from Netherlands while one of them had been put to use for the comfort of the travelling public. The delivery of the conveyor belts came after several complaints from passengers on the dilapidated nature of the conveyor belts at the international wing of the airport, which has caused users of the facilities a lot of man-hour delay at the airport.

Airtel strengthens network quality for Yuletide

A The choir performing at the Deeper Life National December Retreat in Suleja, Niger State, yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

‘Non-passage of SEC budget, a threat to capital market’ JOHNSON OKANLAWON

takeholders in the Nigerian capital market have said that the decision of the National Assembly to pass the 2013 appropriation bill without allocating funds to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is a big threat to capital market recovery and the development of the economy in general. In passing the N4.99trillion 2013 national budget last week, the House of Representatives ordered the withholding of funds to the commission over its earlier deci-

sion not to have anything to do with the apex regulator until its Director-General, Ms. Arunma Oteh, is removed. Speaking on the withholding of funds to SEC, market operators under the aegis of the Association of the Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria (ASHON), said the issue should be resolved so as to avoid jeopardising the entire economy. The Chairman of ASHON, Mr. Emeka Madubuike, who spoke on behalf of the operators, said starving SEC of funds means incapacitating the apex regulator of the Nigerian capital market.

He therefore, called for a dialogue between the National Assembly and the executive to amicably resolve the issue. “The issues the National Assembly is talking about should be resolved with the executive. We believe they are issues that could be resolved in the interest of the capital market in particular and the economy in general,” he said. He explained that institutions should be built and not individuals, noting that SEC is one of such critical institutions that must be built. According to him, if this issue is not resolved

as soon as possible, there will be a situation where the capital market does not have a regulator. The clause in that bill is very strong and it means SEC cannot even move and nothing can happen. “And this will not be in the interest of the market. For us as market operators, we believe that this issue should be resolved very quickly one way or the other. The National Assembly and the executive need to sit down and the overriding interest of the economy must be upper most in their minds so that this market can continue on the part of recovery.

s Nigerians prepare to mark this year’s yuletide season, one of Nigeria’s leading telecommunications services provider, Airtel Nigeria, has announced the roll-out of High Definition (HD) Voice Service, a network innovation that allows customers to experience exceptional voice quality across 3.75G locations in the country. With this new deployment, Airtel becomes the first mobile operator in Nigeria to launch HD Voice service in the country. The HD voice service will complement the operator’s HD data service, enabling telecoms consumers to enjoy a rich telephony experience. HD Voice enables mobile operators to clearly differentiate their service offering with high quality voice calls on mobile networks. With HD, customers can talk normally and be heard clearly, without having to raise their voice, even in noisy environments. Airtel says the service will enable more Nigerians enjoy a more fulfilling Christmas celebration

and enter the New Year in grand style as they connect to unite with friends, family members and loved ones across the country. Speaking on the network innovation, the Chief Operating Officer, Deepak Srivastava, said Airtel is committed to improving the quality and coverage of its network and also building the most robust network infrastructure in Nigeria. “We will keep raising the level of our investment in Nigeria. Today, we have the largest and widest 3.75G coverage in the country and we have recorded several milestones in network quality improvement and general customer experience. “Only recently, we recorded huge success in our 4G Trial test in Lagos and now we have deployed HD Voice service across key 3.75G locations in the country. Indeed, this demonstrates our commitment to Nigerians, testifying to our corporate vision of becoming the most loved brand in the daily lives of Nigerians,” he said.

South West

Monday, December 24, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Amosun still repaying N89bn debt inherited from Daniel –Commissioner FEMI OYEWESO ABEOKUTA

gun State Government said that it had made appreciable progress in the management and repayment of the state debt profile which stood at N89 billion in May 2011 now reduced to N63 billion. The Commissioner for Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, who spoke with newsmen in Abeokuta, the state capital, attributed the reduction to negotiations between the state and its creditors through the efforts of the auditors engaged for the exercise. Adeosun, who spoke against the backdrop of controversy surrounding the real financial status of the state, described as false, claims by the past administration that the total amount of debt left behind was N49 billion. The commissioner said N49.2 billion was the actual debt incurred by the immediate past administration of Gbenga Daniel as at March 2011, but incurred additional

loan of N4.3 billion between April and May 29th, 2011 before it left office. Adeosun also cited the case of unpaid pension arrears and the interest accrued on it all of which put the debt profile of the state at N89 billion as at December 2011 when Amosun took

over. She said: “Actually, the figure we met as at 31 of May 2011 was N51,452,172,805. Between 31 of March and 31 of May, they incurred additional debt of N4.3 billion. So, it is not correct and I want to quickly prove this if you don’t mind.

“When we came in, N51,452,172,805 was the figure that the Civil Service Commission gave me on my first day of resumption of this office. “So, it is dishonest for them to say it was N49 billion knowing well that that wasn’t the actual figure and knowing

L-R: Osun State Deputy Governor, Mrs. Titi Laoye-Tomori; Owa Obokun of Ijesaland, Oba Adekunle Aromolaran and Governor Rauf Aregbesola, at the Annual Iwude Ijesa Festival 2012 in Ilesa, Osun State, at the weekend.

Christmas, a celebration of promise kept –Obasanjo

•Tasks office holders on campaign promises FEMI OYEWESO ABEOKUTA

ormer President Olusegun Obasanjo over the weekend said that the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ at Charismas was a fulfilment of promise made by God to mankind. Obasanjo, who led oth-

er eminent citizens of the state to appreciate God for His kindness at the 2012 Ogun State Christmas Carol held at June 12 Cultural Centre, Kuto, Abeokuta, at the weekend, also tasked all political office holders to always fulfil their campaign promises to the people. The former presi-

dent, who said he was impressed by the performance of Governor Ibikunle Amosun in the area of infrastructural development, also said that God fulfilled the promise He made to mankind by giving away His son to bring humanity back to Him. Obasanjo, however, said it was important for ev-

Indigenous carriers such as Arik Air, Aero, Medview, Landover and the returning Chanchangi Airlines, were all fully booked with hundreds of passengers on the queue. One of the passengers with Aero at MMA2, Mr. Stephen Simon, said he was on his way to Asaba to visit his family members. Simon expressed surprise at the high volume of passengers at the terminal. He challenged the carriers to keep to their departure time as stipulated in their tickets. Simon, however, called for more carriers in the sector in a bid to cater for the travelling public. He said: “I’m travelling to

Benin. Actually, I am going to visit my family in Asaba, but I have to take Benin because that is the shortest possible place I can fly to, then I will take a bus to connect Asaba. “It is not impressive; it shows that the country is not even improving at all. The leaders are not really doing anything to improve the situation, we should have more domestic airlines flying and I want to believe that they can do this by reviewing the policies on aviation.” A passenger at the international wing of the airport, who simply identified himself as Mr. Godfrey, said he was travelling on Arik Air to Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo at 11am.

ery politician to fulfil the vows made. He said: “What the developing society needs mainly is infrastructure like good roads and basic things of life. As a president, governor or chairman of local government, once you were able to construct good roads, provide potable water and other infrastructure, you would

that they took additional loans between that March and May 2011.” Defending the 2013 budget before the state House of Assembly Committee on Public Account on Friday, Adeosun explained that the state government was making an appreciable progress on loan repayment. She explained that the debt inherited from Daniel’s administration was N26.5 billion cash based liability while the contingent liability was N22.8 billion. The commissioner disclosed that many transactions which were not part of the hand-over note were later uncovered during the auditing of the account which later put the debt profile at N51.452 billion as at May 31, 2011. Adeosun also said that Daniel’s administration had contracts with about six companies on the management of the state ecological fund who were to be paid 20 per cent of whatever fund that accrued to the state on such. have been able to solve 80 per cent of the people’s problem. “As a developing country, infrastructure matters; it is the basis on which other development stands. As a government, if you are constructing roads, do not forget water. We cannot talk of development if there is no electricity also. All of them are important factors of development.”

Don’t infringe on citizens’ rights, IG warns officers FEMI OYEWESO ABEOKUTA

he Inspector General of Police, IGP, Mohammed Abubakar, has warned officers and men of the force to desist from infringing on the rights of the citizens to gain the confidence of the public. Abubakar gave the warning while addressing the 526 recruits who passed out yesterday from the Police Training School in Iperu Remo, Ogun State. The IGP, who spoke through the state Commissioner of Police, Ikhemefuna Okoye, also warned the police recruits against corruption, stressing that the force could not afford to compromise its primary function of protecting lives and property of the people. The IGP also said that the changes in Nigeria’s democratic process imposed a huge challenge on the police officers for which they must not be found wanting. He said: “Our primary and sacred function of protection of lives and property must not be compromised. Corrupt practices must be absolutely avoided if we must have confidence of the citizens. “As police, we must take into cognisance, the fundamental human rights of every citizen which must not be infringed upon so as to gain the confidence of the public.”

Lagos Airport records high passenger traffic Ajimobi rolls out welfare package for workers OLUSEGUN KOIKI

he Murtala Mohammed Airport, MMA, Lagos yesterday was a beehive of activities as many passengers travelled out of the state ahead of the Christmas holidays. The two local terminals, the Murtala Mohammed Airport Two, MMA2, and the General Aviation Terminal, GAT, both in Lagos, were busy throughout the day. Also at the international wing of the airport, many passengers leaving the state for countries like United Kingdom, United States, Dubai, South Africa and Germany.

yo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi has approved free transportation service for the state civil servants to and fro their offices with effect from next month. Breaking the news to the workers during an interactive session he held with them at the House of Chiefs, Parliament Building, Ibadan, Ajimobi said his administration had purchased some buses for the purpose. He said the buses would be distributed to various locations to convey the workers to the state secretariat in the morning and return them to the same locations after close of work.

Ajimobi, who said that this was part of his administration’s welfare package for the state workforce in the New Year, also announced the payment of 13th month salary for the civil servants. He also announced that the workers should close for work today, by 12 noon to allow them prepare for Christmas. The governor also approved 100 per cent increment in car loans for the workers. He also disclosed that the taxes being deducted from the workers’ salaries had been reduced by 48 per cent. Promising more welfare packages for the civil ser-

vants, Ajimobi, however, charged them to generate ideas for his administration that would further help government’s revenue generation drive. The governor described government his as a knowledge-based administration, saying that more than 13,000 civil and public servants had been trained in the last 18 months to ensure improved productivity. Ajimobi directed the Ministry of Establishment and Training to put in place a well-thought out training scheme that would ensure that all categories of civil servants benefit from the training programme of his administration.

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South West

Monday, December 24, 2012

Fayose raising false alarm for sympathy –Fayemi’s aide ABIODUN NEJO ADO EKITI

enior Special Assistant to Ekiti State Governor on Internal Security, Mr. Deji Adesokan, has described as a ruse and an attempt to attract public sympathy, the allegations by former Ekiti State Governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, that his life was under threat. Adesokan said the “phan-

tom attacks” on Fayose’s loyalists at Oye, Ikere and IlaweEkiti last month during the former governor’s tour of local governments in the state were “arranged” to misrepresent the peace in the state and as well as attract police attention. The governor’s aide, who spoke during the Action Congress of Nigeria Day and donation of gift items worth

over N3 million to women and youths at Iyin Ekiti during the weekend, said: “We are familiar with Fayose’s decoy. He applied same in 2001 when he came to Ekiti to contest. “He is fond of making false alarm. He made those allegations against us so that he could have the kind of privileges he enjoyed then that made him win election in 2003. But I want to tell him

that Ekiti people are now wiser,” Adesokan said. According to him, Fayose came into the race barely three months ago and violence has started creeping into the state that has been enjoying relative peace since 2010, when Dr Kayode Fayemi became governor, adding that “this is enough to tell the whole world about who is actually causing trouble in Ekiti.”

The Fayose camp had accused Adesokan of masterminding the attacks, following which the state police command invited him for interrogations in connection with the attacks and the need for peace in the state. Adesokan, who said the “false allegations were made by Fayose so that police could beef up security around him”, assured Ekiti residents of adequate secu-

rity in the build up to the 2014 governorship election in the state. The former State Security Service (SSS) operative, who said he could not play politics with the security of lives and property in the state, said he was appointed by Fayemi to work in synergy with the security agencies for adequate security for Ekiti people and their property.

18,000 cases mediated in 2012, says Lagos AG MURITALA AYINLA

agos State AttorneyGeneral and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Ade Ipaye, has said that the Lagos State Citizens’ Mediation Centre (CMC) treated over 18,000 cases from January 2012 to date. This came even as 54 mediators in the state obtained internationally recognised mediators’ certificates after a six-week intensive training programme sponsored by the Justice for All (J4A) programme of the Department for International Development (DfID), United Kingdom. Congratulating the new graduates at a graduation ceremony held at the Lagos State Multi-Door Courthouse (LMDC) in Lagos, the Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Ade Ipaye, underscored the important role of the mediation centre in expanding access to justice, especially for the less-privileged in the society. He said apart from diffusing tension in the society, the state mediation centre also helps in relieving congestion in the formal courts. Ipaye said that in 2012 alone, the CMC had mediated over 18,000 cases, most of which were successfully resolved. On the trained mediators, he said the skills acquired would be useful in all directorates of the ministry as mediation is now being employed to resolve both civil and criminal cases as well as the various public petitions received by the ministry. He stressed further that the plea bargaining and victim compensation envisaged by the Administration of Criminal Justice

Law of Lagos State could not be successfully put to use without mediation skills. The attorney-general also said that his ministry had taken responsibility not just for defending and advising government but more importantly, for aiding citizens and furthering the cause of justice in society. He added that the ministry offers free legal advice and mediation services to the general public. Ipaye charged them to expand the scope of their knowledge by reading wide so as to be wisely guided in the course of mediating, urging them to always be objective and considerate. The Chairman Lagos Multi-Door Court House Governing Council, Hon. Justice Opeyemi Oke, in her goodwill message, said the objective of the training was to improve the effectiveness of mediation with emphasis on enhancing its ability to deliver high quality mediation services that meet the needs of users. She added that the training was also aimed at ensuring that mediation services were affordable, yet qualitative. Oke promised that the Lagos multi-door courthouse would ensure continued support for the CMC through structured follow up and mentoring. The National Programme Manager, J4A, Dr. Bob Arnot, in his remark, advised the graduands to put the skills acquired to use so that users of CMC would see an improvement in service, adding that it was expected that there would be an increase in the number of people using CMC but more importantly, an increase in the number of disputes that were successfully mediated.

L-R: General Overseer, Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye; Ekiti State Deputy Governor, Mrs. Funmi Olayinka and Governor Kayode Fayemi, during the “Lets Go A Fishing Service” in Ado-Ekiti, yesterday.

Canadians to invest in Oyo, says NURTW boss KEMI OLAITAN IBADAN

everal Canadian investors have concluded investment arrangements with the Oyo State government in the area of industrialisation following the on-going peace process across the state spearheaded by the present administration. National President of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Alhaji Najeem Usman Yasin, made this disclosure in Ibadan, the state capital, while per-

forming the inauguration of the newly-elected 21-member State Administrative Council (SAC) of the state NURTW led by Alhaji Taofeek Oyerinde (a.k.a. Fele). He said the Canadian investors are satisfied that the hitherto recurring crisis identified with operatives of the NURTW in Oyo State is now becoming a thing of the past. He said the investors formally gave their report to a Nigerian trade mission of which he was a delegate, to that country recently. Yasin while noting with

delight that the past six months of the caretaker chairmanship of Oyerinde in the state NURTW has succeeded in restoring the much-needed peace to the union in the state, described the formal inauguration of the newly-elected officers as historic because, according to him, much is expected from the transport union workers in the transformational and repositioning processes in the country. He said no one should claim to have monopoly of wisdom just as he emphasised that “the NURTW, as a registered trade union, is

not a personal property of anybody.” The union boss said everyone should strive to put in his best in whatever position of authority he finds himself, saying, “You should always do your best and leave the rest for posterity”. While pointing to Oyerinde, Yasin said by virtue of the oath of office he has just taken, he should henceforth see himself as the duly-elected Chairman of the NURTW in Oyo State and in effect, always endeavour to administer justice to all with the fear of God.

Traffic Law: Group faults Okada riders’ protest SINA FADARE

he Joint Action Movement (JAM); a pressure group has condemned the recent protest by some commercial motorcyclists otherwise known as Okada riders against the Lagos State Traffic Law, saying it was an illegal step. The group at rallies in Agege and Mile 12, over the weekend, warned the pro-

testers that they were toying with contempt charges with their actions, reminding them that “the matter has been adjudicated upon by a court of competent jurisdiction.” Addressing the rallies jointly, the National Coordinator of JAM, Kehinde Olaore and Kola Animasaun, President and General-Secretary respectively, wondered “why an aggrieved set of people, who

approached the court for adjudication, could thereafter engage in meaningless protest after the case has been thrown out!” The group dissociated its members from the protest which was put up by a group known as Joint Action Forum (JAF), admitting that; “We are a component part of the group before it decided to engage in activities that are inimical and detrimental to the corporate ex-

istence of the group on one hand and that of the country on the other. While pledging its support to the state on the Traffic Law, the group warned against lawlessness and advised the protesting Okada riders to be “rule of law and due process compliant.” Olaore, therefore, warned the Joint Action Forum to desist from misleading those they are expected to guide aright.

South East

Monday, December 24, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

SURE-P to employ 3,000 women, youths Speaking with journalists at the Federal Secretariat in Owerri, the Imo State capital, Chairman of the Committee, Dr Jasper Ndubuaku, said the scheme was designed to create short term employment for youths and women in rural communities across the state. According to him,

the programme, which will take-off before the end of the year, will be continuous, adding that the beneficiaries will be posted to their respective communities where they will be involved in community services. He also disclosed that unemployed graduates would be engaged in

the Graduate Internship Scheme (GIS) of the programme, where they would be engaged in vocational training, while allowances are paid to the trainees by the SURE-P. Also speaking, another member of the committee, Princess Miriam Onuoha, as-

sured that the communities will be involved in identifying areas of priorities where they need intervention. She added that the committee will also partner with the community’s project implementation body, adding that the empowerment programme was designed for the poor and needy, with 30 per cent reserved for women.

he Imo State Implementation Committee of the Subsidy Re-investment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P), has said that 3,000 women and youths, including the physically-challenged in

the state, would be employed under its Community Service Scheme (CSS) before the year runs out. The scheme is part of the Federal Government’s subsidy investment programme designed to create employment opportunities to Nigerians.

CHARLES OKEKE

Anambra probes botched congresses of National Youth Council

CHRIS NJOKU OWERRI

T AWKA

nambra State government has established a panel of inquiry to investigate the factors that led to the failure of the local government congresses of the National Youth Council of Nigeria, held in the state this month. The five-man panel of inquiry that was constituted by the Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Dr Edozie O. Aroh, is headed by Comrade Kenneth Ezekwelu. According to a press statement issued by Dr Aroh, the panel shall look in to the issues that led to the cancellation of the local government congresses of the youth council. Aroh had in the same press statement announced the establishment of a seven-man congress planning committee that will conduct elections at both the local government and state levels. The committee, headed by Comrade Uchenna Azom-Chine, is expected to conduct all the congresses before the end of January, 2013. The commissioner also directed all the past state executive committee members of the youth

council to hand over to the congress planning committee all the official documents in their possession immediately, adding that the full composition of the two committees and

their terms of reference will be spelt out later. Meanwhile, the state government has explained why work on many of the projects it is executing has stopped. The state gover-

nor, Mr. Peter Obi, speaking to journalists yesterday, said the stoppage of work at the various construction sites in the state was due to the Christmas holidays, which made the

companies to scale down their activities. Obi, who stated that the stoppage was not due to lack of funds, also assured that the contractors would promptly go back to work

as soon as the yuletide was over. He promised that all the projects initiated by his government will be completed before he leaves office.

L-R: Businessman, Prince Arthur Eze; traditional ruler of Nibo community, Igwe Ugonwanne Ngene Ezeike; traditional ruler of Ukpo community, Igwe Robert Eze and Group President, Azikiel Dredging Nigeria Ltd: Dr. Aruani Godbless, at the 21st Ofala Festival of the traditional ruler of Ukpo in Anambra State, yesterday. PHOTO: NAN

Suspected killers of two policemen, Elechi lifts suspension on three commissioners soldier arrested in Imo

CHRIS NJOKU OWERRI

hree suspected armed bandits that were part of a robbery gang that killed two policemen and one soldier in 2010 in Imo State have been arrested. This was disclosed in a release by the Imo State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Mr. Vitalis Onugu, while parading the robbery sus-

pects at the state police command. According to him, the armed bandits were arrested following a tip off by an anonymous source who named an informant of the gang. “We were informed of the suspicious movement of one Chukwuma Nwanjoku and he was arrested after being monitored for a while. “When we questioned him, he disclosed that he was an informant of

an armed robbery gang and had been providing information to the robbers, preparatory for an attack. “From the information he gave us, we were able to arrest the rest of the gang and the man who supplied them with arms. “The suspects have admitted that they are part of the gang responsible for killing two policemen and one soldier in Amaraku Junction in 2010,” Onugu said.

bonyi State Governor, Martin Elechi, has lifted the threemonth suspension placed on three commissioners in the state for improper dressing to a state banquet. The commissioners are; Chief Hycinth Ikpo, Culture and Tourism; Mr. Chukwuma Nwandugo, Works and Transport and Dr Ben Igwenyi, AttorneyGeneral and Commissioner for Justice. The News Agency of Ni-

geria (NAN) reports that the commissioners were suspended on November 24 and were barred from attending any state function during the suspension. In a statement made available to journalists and signed by Dr Onyekachi Eni, the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, the suspension was lifted on December 22. “The suspension was lifted in the spirit of Christmas and New Year

festivities and the goodwill that traditionally accompany the periods. “The lifting is in the expectation that appropriate lessons have been learnt from the incidence,” the statement stated.

Elechi

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

South South

Monday, December 24, 2012

3 policemen docked over attempt to kidnap judge SOLA ADEBAYO WARRI

hree policemen in Delta State have been arraigned before Magistrate’s Court 111, Warri, for alleged abduction threat and attempt

on the life of a High Court judge, Justice Elizabeth Ngozi Azinge. According to the charge NO: MW/355c/2021 made available to National Mirror yesterday, the suspects were remanded in Warri Federal Prisons on the or-

der of the presiding judge, E. A. Odjugo. Also arraigned and remanded in prisons custody on Friday was the driver of the judge, Matthew Igbon (29). The suspects are: Constable Maka Godfrey (29

years), Corporal Francis Okolie (30), Constable Asomuya Nicholas (28) and another policeman, Paul Yadi, now at large. The charges read thus: “That you, Nicholas Asomuya ‘m’, Matthew Igbon ‘m’, Godfrey Maka ‘m’,

Delta State Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan and widow of the former National Security Adviser, Gen. Andrew Azazi, Alero, during the governor’s condolence visit to the general’s Ikoyi residence in Lagos, at the weekend.

Ripples in Bayelsa SACA over missing N16m EMMA GBEMUDU YENAGOA

he alleged disappearance of N16 million from the coffers of the Bayelsa State Agency for the Control of AIDS, SACA, is generating ripples in the state. Investigation by our correspondent at the weekend showed that the money was the state’s counterpart

fund in the war against HIV/AIDS scourge. Individuals and groups have expressed concerns that the state was among those not benefitting from the World Bank fund to fight the scourge. It was, however, gathered that the Director-General of SACA, Dr. Temple Iluma, had accessed the fund a few days after Governor Seriake Dickson approved and directed the State Trea-

sury to pay it immediately. Dickson was said to have approved the payment during the celebration of the 2012 World Aids Day on December 1 in Yenagoa. It was learnt that the state was supposed to be benefiting N200 million yearly from the World Bank. A source in the agency, who pleaded anonymity, regretted that the outfit was enmeshed by allegations of

over-bloated population of registered Persons Living with HIV/AIDS, PLWHAs, in the state. Over the years, registered PLWHAs receive N10,000 monthly stipend from the state government which Dickson promised to sustain. Efforts by our correspondent to reach the SACA DG were fruitless, as all he did not pick calls to his phones.

Tricycle operators hail Okada ban in Delta

ricycle operators in Delta State have applauded the decision of the state government to introduce the tricycle. The operators also hailed the ban on commercial motorcyclists in some major towns in the state. The tricycle operators acknowledged that the short run benefits were encouraging and lucrative to attract more investment in tricycle business in the state. The state government on November 1 phased out commercial motorcycles popularly known as Okada in urban towns of Asaba, Warri and Effurun.

Prior to the ban, Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan’s administration provided palliatives by acquiring and distributing about 3,000 tricycles to former Okada riders through their association at N150,000 each in two phases. Some of the operators of the tricycle, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in Asaba, said they made on average N4,500 daily as against less than N2,000 as an Okada rider. One of the operators in Asaba, Mr. Joshua Adebayo, said: “I never knew that the tricycle business would be as lucrative as it

is today. “When the state government announced that Okada was going to be banned in Asaba, I was among those who kicked against it. “But with what I am seeing today, I must commend the state government for the initiative. Tricycle is far better, because we earn more, rest more and ride more comfortably with little or no stress. “At least on a daily basis, I go home with a minimum of N4,000 without much stress, unlike when I was using motorcycle for this business, I could hardly go home with N3,000.’’ Another tricycle opera-

tor, Mr. Kingsley Umukoro, said that apart from being more lucrative, the business was also more convenient and less stressful. Umukoro said the phasing out of commercial motorcycles had brought sanity and safe transportation system into the state. According to him, the ban on Okada has also reduced the rate of accidents on the highways because Okada accidents are becoming daily affairs. Meanwhile, some commuters commended the state government for the initiative, but appealed that more tricycles should be on the roads for people to use.

Francis Okolie ‘m’ and one Paul Yadi ‘m’ now at large sometimes in the month of September 2012 at Warri in the Warri Magisterial District did conspire among yourselves to commit felony to wit: Written threat to kill and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 516 A (1) of the Criminal Code Law Cap C 21 Vol. 1 Laws of Delta State 2006. Count II reads: “That you, Nicholas Asomuya ‘m’, Matthew Igbon ‘m’, Godfrey Maka ‘m’, Francis Okolie ‘m’ and one Paul Yadi ‘m’ now at large sometimes in the month of September, 2012 at Warri in the aforementioned Warri Magisterial District directly or indirectly cause a serving judge in the state (names withheld) to receive a written note of threat to kidnap and kill her and members of her family if a ransom of N20 million is not paid with a view to

cause reasonable apprehension and thereby committed an offence punishable under Section 323 of the Criminal Code Law Cap C 21 Vol. 1 Laws of Delta State 2006.” The suspects pleaded not guilty to charges against them and they asked for their case to be tried in the Warri Magistrates’ Court 1. But they had no lawyer to represent them when the matter came up. Igbon asked for access to a lawyer claiming that since their arrest, they had been denied access to relatives and lawyers with their phones taken away from them. The Director of Public Prosecution, DPP, Edema H. Eyefeugiren, who led a team of lawyers, asked for more time, saying they were not ready for hearing. The case was later adjourned till January 23, 2013 while the accused were taken to the prison.

MAN donates relief materials to Rivers flood victims JESSE OKEDI

PORT HARCOURT

he Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, MAN, Rivers/ Bayelsa states branch, has donated relief materials to the Rivers State Government for victims of the recent flood disaster that ravaged the state. The Commissioner for Special Duties, Emeka Nwogu, received the items, which comprise bags of rice, beans, noodles, tomatoes and several rolls of enamel plates, on behalf of the government. Handing over the materials, MAN Chairman, Emilia Akpan, said the donation was part of the association’s corporate social responsibility. Akpan explained that the association was moved to make the donation by the hardship being experienced by the victims. She said: “We hope the little we are able to bring to you will assist in alleviating the suffering of the victims. Some of our members have promised to donate more materials and I assure you that once we receive them, we will also bring them to you.” The MAN chairman also called on the government to

assist in growing the manufacturing sector through its policies and programmes to reduce the country’s dependence on imports for sustenance and creation of more job opportunities. She said the sector had the capacity to turn around the country’s economy only if the right things were done by government. The commissioner, who spoke through the Permanent Secretary in his ministry, Mina Benebo, promised that the materials would get to the right persons. He called on corporate organisations to partner the government in its quest to bring succour to the flood victims. The commissioner explained that the government ran 27 camps during the flooding period and that with the recession of the flood, it was faced with the challenge of resettling the victims and getting them working again. He said: “Government is still sending food to the flood victims but there is the greater need of resettling them. Government cannot meet their requirement alone; it still needs collaboration from corporate organisations and well-meaning individuals to achieve that.”

North

Monday, December 24, 2012

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Kaduna deputy gov may emerge amidst protests …as Southern Kaduna group kicks against Sambo’s candidate A ZA MSUE KADUNA

rotests loom in Kaduna State over the alleged endorsement of Vice-President Namadi Sambo’s candidate, who is also the state chairman of the party, Ambassador Nuhu Bajoga, as the new deputy governor. The new deputy governor will fill the vacuum created by Governor Mukhtar Yero following the death of Governor Patrick Yakowa.

Yero had at the meeting of the stakeholders of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in the state at the weekend said that a new deputy governor would be appointed very soon and called for assistance in the selection of the right person. Saturday Mirror had earlier reported that Bajoga, who hails from Southern Kaduna, would be picked as Yero deputy to pave the way for Northern Kaduna to produce the next candidate for 2015 polls. But a group, under the auspices of Coalition of

Concerned Southern Kaduna Professionals, on Sunday accused Sambo of imposing his ally on the Southern Kaduna, the late governor Yakowa’s zone. A statement signed by the Convener of the coalition, Dr. John Danfulani, said that the nomination of state PDP chairman for the post

would deprive the ‘mourning zone’ the opportunity to lead the party again. The statement reads in part: “We are reiterating our stand against VicePresident Namadi Sambo’s choice of over 63-year-old Ambassador Nuhu Bajoga, despite his so-called assurance of non-interference,

which we have unravelled from statements attributed to Bajoga himself in the media. “We are against the selection of the State PDP chairman because it is a calculated plot to deprive the Southern Kaduna from holding the chairmanship post that is of immense political value and significance.

“We are declaring our total resistance of this action. For Ambassador Bajoga, he should avoid being used as willing tool to further enslave our people. “We expect him to rise above a personal quest for political power in favour of the survival and preservation of the common heritage and dignity of the Southern Kaduna people.”

Police renew call for information on criminals

he police yesterday renewed calls on citizens of Borno State to supply vital information on suspected criminals and terrorists’ hideouts in the state. The Deputy InspectorGeneral of Police (DIG) in charge of Operations, Mr. Ibrahim Leha, made the call shortly after interacting with the officers and men of the police command in Maiduguri. Leha told journalists that the residents must cooperate with the police if they wish to overcome the current security challenges facing the state. “We want the residents to know that the police are here to help fight criminals and terrorists in the society. But the police cannot succeed in doing this without the support and cooperation of the citizens,” he said. Leha explained that the police could not operate successfully without the

people’s help. “People should know that the police are their friends. We must work together to fight the criminals and terrorists hiding among the people,” he said. Leha, however, acknowledged that the police had recorded some level of success in the state in the fight against crime. “I came here to see things for myself in both Borno and Yobe States. I must confess that from what I saw, there are lots of improvements in the police fight against crime in the states,” he said. Leha lamented that the security challenges in the state had almost crippled social and economic activities and urged the people to team up with the police and other security agencies in their quest to address the problem. He thanked other security agents for their support and cooperation with the police.

Bauchi State Governor, Isa Yuguda (right), condoling with the wife of the late former Kaduna State Governor, Patrick Yakowa, Amina, at their country home in Fadan Kagoma, at the weekend.

Kano drug market closure irreversible, says Kwankwaso AUGUSTINE MADU-WEST KANO

espite being a subject of litigation between his government and drug dealers in the state, Kano State Governor, Rabiu Kwankwaso, at the weekend, ruled out a possible reversal of his government’s decision for the drug dealers to vacate the Kano Central Market. The issue on the closure of the drug market heightened recently when the government gave a

December 31, 2012 deadline for the drug dealers to vacate the market. But the drug dealers protested against the order, resulting in artificial scarcity of drugs in clinics. The governor said he was not ready to rescind the decision, as it was taken in the interest of the state. Speaking during an interactive session with patent medicine dealers, top security officials and other stakeholders in the subsector at the Government House, Kano, the governor

Six FCT area councils share N2.37bn in November by the councils, the pres- ment and spending such understated OMEIZA AJAYI ABUJA

he Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) has disbursed a total of over N2.372 billion to the six area councils in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) as revenue allocation for the month of November 2012. The six councils are Abaji, Abuja Municipal, Bwari, Gwagwalada, Kuje and Kwali. Although, there have been unanswered public queries as to how past funds were administered

ent allocation represents an increase of over N160.914 million or 7.3 per cent over the N2.211billion paid in October 2012, to the area councils. Chairperson of the FCT Area Councils Joint Account Allocation Committee (JAAC) and Minister of State in the FCT, Olajumoke Akinjide, who disclosed this at the weekend during the committee’s meeting, again reiterated the need for the chairmen of the area councils to be more transparent in their approaches to develop-

allocations. Represented by the Permanent Secretary, FCT, Engr. Anthony Ozodinobi, the minister disclosed that the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) allocation accounted for N56.77 million of the total revenue allocation received from the FAAC. Akinjide gave the breakdown of the revenue allocation received from FAAC as; N890.69 million from Value Added Tax; N663.32 million from Statutory Revenue Allocation; N368.68 million from

account in Central Bank of Nigeria; N275.35 million non-oil excess revenue and N23.10 million from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation NNPC refund. In October 2012, FAAC had allocated to the FCT area councils N1.001 billion from the five per cent VAT, N761.91 million from Statutory Revenue Allocation, N228.48 million from Special Revenue Allocation, N23.10 million from refund by Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation and N56.77 million being the SURE-P allocation.

said NAFDAC had since set up a committee in the state to tackle illicit sale of drugs. He said the committee had confiscated and destroyed fake and adulterated drugs worth over N600 million recently and has also discovered and sealed warehouses containing similar medicines in the city. “No government can stop the sale of drugs, we are not fighting anybody. But what we are saying is that anyone who wants to sell drugs must abide by the rules. You can open a chemist or a mall to sell drugs but let it be duly approved by law in accordance with professional standards”, Governor Kwankwaso asserted. He said a situation whereby drugs are sold in the open in Sabon Gari market like vegetables or grains is not in line with best practices anywhere in the world, pointing out that this has given room to the sale of substandard, fake and expired drugs, which are inimical to public health. He said because some non-indigenes are engaged in drug business in the state, some people are

trying to bring ethnic dimension to the closure of the drug market, explaining that the action is not targeted at anyone, but in the best interest of the state and the country. Lamenting that empirical statistics have shown that Kano ranked number one in drug abuse in the country, the governor emphasised the need for everybody in the state to cooperate with NAFDAC and his administration to tackle the menace of unauthorised drug retail and drug abuse. Governor Kwankwaso warned that his government will take steps to ensure that nobody gives his warehouse for storage of drugs and other ulterior activities, disclosing that plans are in the pipeline to flush out hawkers of herbs and local concoctions without NAFDAC permit in the state.

Kwankwaso

Monday, December 24, 2012

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Politics

Okorocha, Ohakim’s endless power game

ROTIMI FADEYI ABUJA

he Presidency yesterday denied that there was any rift or misunderstanding between President Goodluck Jonathan and former President Olusegun Obasanjo, insisting that any impression of disagreement between the two leaders was created by people making use of the media to create a situation that does not exist. It also dismissed the recent comment by leader of the Niger Delta Volunteer Force (NDVF), Mujaheed Asari-Dokubo, that Jonathan may not rule

Jonathan denies rift with Obasanjo beyond 2015 because he is surrounded by greedy people, saying that it does not reflect the innermost feelings of Nigerians about the present administration and the president. Asari-Dokubo had recently in an interview said that greedy politicians surrounding the president were responsible for the seeming rift between Jonathan and Obasanjo. But the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Reuben Abati, while reacting to Dokubo’s position yesterday

maintained that “Obasanjo is a man for whom President Jonathan has the utmost respect and they have an excellent relationship.” According to Abati, Dokubo’s statement came as a surprise to the Presidency. He said: “President Jonathan has no problems at all with former President Obasanjo. He is a man for whom he has the utmost respect and they have an excellent relationship from what I can see. But of late we have seen in the media a situation whereby people are just bringing things

up to set up the two leaders and I believe that both leaders are experienced enough to know that sometimes people use the media just to create drama and you know drama is a very important element of politics and governance.” He stated that the leader of the NDVF got it all wrong, saying that his statement does not reflect the true position of things. He advised Asari-Dokubo to remain consistent, see the big picture and worry less about greedy people who are preventing

L-R: African Union (AU) representative, Dr. Kelechi Akabueze; Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman’s representative, Col. Mohammadu Amanga (rtd) and Programme Manager, International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance, Theophilus Dowetin, during the AU capacity building training for Electoral Management Bodies in Abuja recently.

Why govs oppose LG autonomy, state creation – Adeyemi GEORGE OJI ABUJA

enator Smart Adeyemi has given reasons why the state governors are opposed to state creation and autonomy for the local government councils in the country as well as the immunity clause. Addressing reporters at the weekend in Abuja, the lawmaker expressed concerns that the governors are out to frustrate the ongoing constitution review particularly as they affected some of the issues the governors are opposed to. The lawmaker said the governors were opposed to the issue of state creation because they believe it will

reduce their empires. On the issue of immunity, Adeyemi said: ‘They are against the removal of immunity clause because they don’t want their atrocities exposed while in office and they are against the autonomy of the state assemblies because they want to enslave them. “If we have governors who are progressives, the constitution amendment would be successful. They will not allow the constitution amendment to be successful. They are going to derail it.” The lawmaker said the fundamental aspect of the constitution amendment was the autonomy and that if the nation cannot get the

state assemblies to be autonomous, there will be no development and the standard of living of the people will be static. “The governors are already saying that they don’t want it. How can one individual be determining the freedom of a whole state? It is for the media and the civil society to rise up against the governors and allow people to have their freedom,” Adeyemi said. On whether the Senate is helpless, he said: “With the provision of the constitution handed over to us by the military, we have to obey and respect the content and spirit of the constitution. “We cannot amend the constitution without get-

ting two-thirds of the state assemblies concurring with us. And the governors are also saying that they don’t want the autonomy of local government. “Were the local governments created by state governors themselves? The local government reform of 1976 was meant to bring governance closer to the people, and subsequent constitution amendments recognised local government as the third tier of government. Adeyemi berated the governors for demanding for more powers from the Federal Government while at the same time blocking the freedom of the local government,

other Ijaws from reaching the president, saying that Nigerians know him as a very strong supporter of the Jonathan administration who has said a lot of positive things about the administration. Abati said: “I read that interview granted by Asari-Dokubo and I was quite surprised that he would talk like that because as he himself admitted in that interview, he is close to government and his interview was full of proverbs. So, I don’t know whether it is a wise thing for you to be a member of the house and then for you to stand outside and urinate into that same house. Doing so may serve the purpose of sensationalism and it may please some mischief makers, but the truth of the matter is that wise people may think that that is not really the right way to go. “In spite of the content of his interview, I keep saying it; there is no rift between President Jonathan and former President Obasanjo. The president has the utmost respect for the former president whom he regards as his father. He even calls him Baba. And I don’t think anybody can say he has any evidence anywhere where the president has been disrespectful to the elderly man. “So, those things that you see in the newspapers that President Jonathan and former President Obasanjo are quarreling are exaggerated. They do not reflect the truth. He (Asari-Dokubo) claims that there is a rift between President Jonathan and former President Obasanjo; so, you can see that the whole of that commentary is based on a wrong premise.” Reacting to Asari-Dokubo’s position that Jonathan chose to surround himself with greedy people who have denied other Nigerians access, Abati said: “What you just take from all that is this crab mentality theory of human rela-

tionship and I think that there is a lot of this crab theory at play in Nigeria both in terms of interpersonal relationship and in terms of how people respond to public issues. “What is that crab theory all about? If you put a number of crabs in a bucket and one of them tries to go to the top, the other crabs will be struggling to pull that one that is trying to go to the top down. They will keep reminding that top crab that you are one of us; this is where you belong and you cannot leave us; we are together. “I believe that he, having been a very strong supporter of the administration and has been on record as having saying a lot of positive things about the administration, having made whatever point he has now made, will also see the need to be consistent, honest and truthful, and to see the big picture and to worry less about greedy people who are preventing other Ijaws, as he seems to be making out, from reaching the president, because at the end of the day, President Jonathan is not running an Ijaw project. He is running a Nigerian project and I keep saying he is a man who is very conscious of his place in history. “At the end of the day, whether the people say they are being blocked from having access to him or even those of us who work for him it is important to remember that the only person that will be called to come and give account is President Jonathan. “That is the man Nigerians voted for and all of us, whether we are his kinsmen or his staff or his friends, I think we should focus more on the Nigerian project, the Nigerian assignment that President Jonathan has been given and worry less about insinuations like all these people are blocking me from having access.”

Politics

he Imo state governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, may have finally bowed to “pressure” to probe his predecessor, Chief Ikedi Ohakim; following the recent disclosure that his administration is ready to make public, the activities of the immediate past governor while in office. Okoracha stated this while hosting a group, the Joint Action Group (JAG), which had earlier issued him an ultimatum to probe the Ohakim administration, recently at the Government House, Owerri. He said: “Nobody has negotiated to cover the activities of Ohakim within the four years he governed the state, rather, it may interest you to know that the panel set up to look into his activities has just presented its report. Within the remaining 14 days of your ultimatum, we shall make his activities while he was in government known to the public. “I agree that it is worrisome that Ohakim carried out only three uncompleted projects in four years (2007 – 2011) and only 87 kilometres of uncompleted road projects. So, the money meant for the state must be somewhere and if that money is recovered, it will help make health care services free in addition to the free education programme. I urge everyone to be lawabiding, as the security agencies and other relevant authorities are set to ensure that the former governor faces the full wrath of the law.” JAG had before the visit threatened to halt social and economic activities in the state, if Ohakim was not probed within 21 days. The group in a statement signed by Mrs. Ngozi Amadi, said: “We shall adopt legitimate means to pursue justice, and resort to accepted traditional means in Igbo land to recover stolen goods, if nothing happens at the expiration of our ultimatum.” Besides JAG’s ultimatum, indication that Ohakim would be called to render account of his stewardship had earlier emerged during the 2013 budget presentation at the state Assembly, when Okorocha said he will not conceal the fraud perpetrated by past administrations in the state. He told the lawmakers that the former governor borrowed N6.4 billion from a commercial bank few days before he lost his re-election bid, adding that not only was the money not used for official purposes, it was equally not approved by the state legislature. Besides frivolous borrowings, Okorocha further alleged that his predecessor overvalued contracts, causing the state to lose billions of naira. He however noted that his administration had saved N5.7 billion from their re-negotiation. However, whereas most stakeholders in the state see the probe as long overdue, though Okorocha had assured at his swearing-in in May last year that his government was not interested in witch-hunting anybody, but will audit the state’s account, a few analysts are of the view that the probe may not be unconnected to politics, particularly the state’s 2015 governorship election. Ohakim and other leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the state are trying to rebuild what was left of the party that ruled the “Eastern Heartland” between 1999 and 2011 before the Okorocha-led All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) revolution that swept them out of the Government House. Besides JAG, other groups that have

Monday, December 24, 2012

Okorocha, Ohakim’s endless power game The planned probe of the administration of former Governor Ikedi Ohakim by the Imo State government has rekindled the political rivalry between Owelle Rochas Okorocha and his predecessor, Ikedi Ohakim, writes FELIX NWANERI.

Okorocha

Ohakim

OKOROCHA SHOULD GO AHEAD WITH THE INQUIRY IF HE HAS A CREDIBLE EVIDENCE OF LOOTING BY

OHAKIM, RATHER THAN MAKING MUCH NOISE OF IT, AS IMO PEOPLE CANNOT AFFORD TO WAIT TO RECOVER ALL LOOTED FUNDS, IF THERE WAS ANY backed the probe plan are the Campaign for Democracy (CD) and surprisingly, Ohakim’s kinsmen. Some political leaders in Isiala Mbano Local Government Area of the state (Ohakim’s home council) led by Senator Boniface Agunanne, during a recent visit to Okorocha, declared support for his programmes, including efforts towards recovering looted funds by the immediate past administration. The CD, through its chairman, SouthEast zone, Uzor A. Uzor, called for an investigation of projects claimed to have been completed during the Ohakim-led administration; over N300 billion he collected as federal allocation and the N60 billion bond for the dredging of Nworie River. But weighty as the allegations may be, members of the Ohakim camp – the leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Imo State and some of his supporters believe that Okorocha is on a vendetta mission. They said the recent noise about probing Ohakim has been triggered by the several problems being faced by the present administration in the state. “The probe is meant to serve two major purposes: one is to divert the attention of Imo indigenes and Nigerians from the rot in the state. The second is to continue the smearing of Ohakim’s name, which has been an obsession for Okorocha,” said a leading figure in the former governor’s camp. He added that indigenes of the state are

now familiar with Governor Okorocha’s governance by distraction. His words: “Every time his intrigues catch up with him, he reaches into his pocket of tricks and fishes out ex-Governor Ikedi Ohakim’s name. It is clear to all observers of the comical governance in Imo State that Okorocha has run out of fanciful ideas, ridiculous boasts and outlandish promises. The chickens have come home to roost and governance has screeched to a halt.” The state chairman of the PDP, Eze Duruiheoma (SAN), who expressed similar view, said the decision to probe Ohakim was a manifestation of Okorocha’s vindictiveness and a deliberate policy to intimidate the former governor. His words: “It means desperation and it shows that many people in Government House are just idle and whiling away their time hence they now want to keep themselves busy with trivialities and frivolities.” The State Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Blyden Amajirionwu, added: “Let Okorocha go ahead and probe Ohakim because Imo people are tired of hearing him say ‘I will probe Ohakim.’ While probing, he should also tell Imo people what he has done with the N13.8 billion that he inherited from him.” Ethelbert Okere, Ohakim’s media aide, in the same vein challenged Okorocha to make the report of his principal’s activities public, if he was not using the probe threat as blackmail to cover the inadequacies of his administration.

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His words: “It is unfortunate that Governor Okorocha is still talking about releasing the report of his probe panel in 14 days. Why 14 days? Who is afraid of a probe? The governor and his government should realise that Imo people cannot wait to recover any ill-gotten wealth, if there is any. They cannot wait for an extra day. “He has been talking about a probe since he came to office 19 months ago; yet nothing has come out of it. It is clear to all now that it is sheer blackmail. Whenever he realises that the people are getting disenchanted with his administration, he comes up with the story of a probe. He is in government now and who is stopping him? “It is laughable that the governor is travelling this road. He should face the task at hand. Why should anybody take serious a man who says his predecessor left only three uncompleted projects after four years in office? The good thing is that the people know the truth and cannot be led by the nose and fed with such diet.” But the state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Chinedu Offor, insists that the PDP is panicking and diverting attention because it knows that it really has skeleton in its cupboard. The probe, he said, is not a personal issue but a measure to unearth where the people’s money is. Absolving himself of the several allegations, particularly that of the N18 billion bond for the Oguta Wonderlake Resort, Ohakim explained that N13.5 billion of the borrowed fund was left behind by his administration for the completion of the project. He noted that the project was conceived to develop the area and create jobs for the residents. His words: “We embarked on the project to develop that area so that Imo would become a tourist state. We were able to raise N18 billion from the Nigerian Stock Exchange. We were among the first states to go to the Stock Exchange and raise that kind of money. “After renovating the Oguta Motel, we left N13.5 billion so that the project could go on. It is sad that when I went there few days ago the whole place covered with weeds. The N13.5 billion, I do not know what has happened to it. Landmark projects and initiatives must not be allowed to suffer on the altar of primitive politics.” Ohakim therefore urged his successor, Okorocha, to complete all the people-oriented projects he started rather than dissipating energy to fault his actions while in office. “I attracted N9 billion for the dredging of Nworie River with another N200 billion for construction of four flyovers across the state which his (Okorocha) government has abandoned. I am the architect of neatness in Owerri, capital city of the state. I made this state a tourist centre. I am not afraid of any probe because I can hold my hands up to say that I, Ohakim, did not run down the state.” While of the war of words rages, the question most analysts are asking is: Do the people Imo State deserve the distraction occasioned by the planned probe? The state chairman of the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP), Chief Vitalis Orikeze Ajumbe, perhaps has an answer. His position is that Okorocha should go ahead with the inquiry if he has a credible evidence of looting by Ohakim, rather than making much noise of it, as Imo people cannot afford to wait to recover all looted funds, if there was any.

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Monday, December 24, 2012

Waiting for the next air crash victim(s) HeartBeat

CALLISTUS

OKE

Callistusoke@nationalmirroronline.net 08054103275 (SMS ONLY)

hree air crashes within one year, with the last claiming two major political players, Governor Patrick Yakowa of Kaduna State and former National Security Adviser, General Andrew Azazi alongside four of their aides, now is the time to shake off the prevalent suffocating culture of impunity among the political actors. After the Bayelsa debacle penultimate Saturday, what Nigerians expected from the political authorities is a strong resolve to be serious for once by taking reactive and proactive actions to stem the tide. However, since the occurrence of the saga, only perfunctory actions have been seen – declaration of days of mourning, commiserations, eulogies, promises of action, ultimatums and condolences visits to relatives of the deceased. The only main action – composition of an investigating team by President Goodluck Jonathan – has elicited disdain because its rule of engagement would end up creating a strong opaqueness round its activities. Last Monday, the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Dele Ezeoba led the federal government’s investigation team into

t is becoming clearer that government’s pretence of selling public utilities to the private sector to manage is just a conduit to transfer the nation’s commonwealth to a few political cabals to chop and leave misery and pain to the electorate. Many government enterprises sold to members of the ruling party cronies have been shut after the beneficiaries made killing profits from not operating the enterprises. Although the government is yet to finalize the privatization of electricity generation and distribution, electricity distribution companies (DISCOs) are making killing profits from charging for electricity not supplied. There is so much confusion orchestrated by the power cabal in the power sector so much that even dumb Nigerians are hitting the streets with protests countrywide over crazy billings for unsupplied power. From Iyesi, Ota in Ogun State to Yola, Maiduguri and Uyo, there have been massive protests at PHCN offices, with officials explaining that the fledgling DISCOs still under squinting and confusing PHCN unbundling were responsible for the crazier bills, worse than hated PHCN. When we complained why a one-room landowner should be made to pay N5,000 in Iyesi, Ota, one bill distributor remarked that consumers asked for the sale of PHCN and therefore, they should get the smoke, not the fire of DISCOs mad billings. Since two months, residents are stalling PHCN or DISCOs disconnection gangs, as each resident owes about N17,000 in four months of crazy billings, as opposed to payable N1,000 to N1,500 per month. Sam Amadi, the chairman of Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission

Yenagoa to begin its assignment. The team has the mandate to unravel the circumstances surrounding the crash. Though all the members are not made public, the inclusion of the Chief of Naval Staff in the team and his choice as the head is problematic. Why should he be in the team to probe the crash of a helicopter under his charge? What quality of report is expected from such a team? Even before the investigation team has begun its assignment, the Nigerian Navy had come up with a statement that the helicopter was airworthy. Talking of preemptive statement? President Jonathan might have the discretionary power in matters like this, he should exercise them with circumspect. This year alone he made three questionable calls on issues of national importance. The first was the appointment last June of the managing director and CEO of Access Bank Chief, Mr. Aigboje AigImoukhuede, as chairman of the Subsidy Review Committee. A serious point of objection to his choice was that his bank is a major financier of oil importers. Many believe there is a likely conflict of interest in the appointment. The second was last month appointment of the Minister of Labour, Emeka Wogu, as chairman of the White Paper Review Committee on the Nuhu Ribadu-led Petroleum Revenue Special Task Force Committee Report. After the appointment, a whiff of rumour swirled round the minister’s alleged stake in Pinnacle Contractors Limited, a company that was illegally paid N2.7 billion oil subsidy. And now this latest one. America’s insightful author, Jim Collins, is expansive in his deposition that disciplined

NIGERIA IS A DEVELOPING

DEMOCRACY, WE EXPECT THE TWIN PRINCIPLES OF FULL DISCLOSURE AND OPENNESS IN ALL ASPECTS OF OUR NATIONAL LIFE actions are consistent with disciplined thoughts from disciplined people. No disciplined action in this case. Perhaps, Mr. President would have to tell Nigerians how he hopes to elicit the right information needed to substantially fix the rot in the system when the team he has assembled for the job is circumscribed at birth. Captain Dan Omale, a seasoned aviator, has given indications that the committee report would not be made public because the aircraft involved is a military one! Why would the military retain such privilege in a democratic dispensation? Why would a military aircraft perform civil duties if any untoward developments in the course of these assignments would not be subjected to rigorous and open scrutiny? The rule of engagements involving the deployment of military aircraft in the country is part of the relics from the military era. Nigeria is a developing democracy, we expect the twin principles of full disclosure

and openness in all aspects of our national life. The Convention on International Civil Aviation (Annex 13) is explicit in what constitutes aviation accidents. The one that happened in Bayelsa penultimate Saturday is within that definition. Our own Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB) exercises authority only over civil aircraft. Why exclude military aircraft from the radar of the agency? It is nothing but the sustenance of the status quo of impunity. The governors planned engagement of a consultant to represent them in the presidential probe into the helicopter crash and its call on President Jonathan to make the ongoing investigation open and transparent is a well loaded decision. If they have their suspicion, they had better team up with the National Assembly to rattle the federal executive out of its amnesia. Elsewhere in the UK, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch (AAIB) is not precluded from conducting investigation into accidents involving military aircraft. We need the same mechanism here. My heart warmed to the Senate with its down to earth denigration of the Presidency’s inability to come up with far reaching solutions to the problems of the nation’s aviation industry and the management of the nation’s airspace. It equally called for the release of past reports of investigation into air crashes. The nation needs this type of legislative activism. It is the only way forward. One thing is sure: the sustenance of the usual inertia means a short wait for the next victim(s) to be known. Did you just say God forbid?

Wither power sector reforms? RESEARCH HAS SHOWN THAT RESIDENTIAL CONSUMERS ACCOUNT FOR 15 PERCENT OF

PHCN DEBTORS, INDUSTRIAL

CONSUMERS 25 PERCENT AND GOVERNMENT

INSTITUTIONS 60 PERCENT (NERC) who ought to caution against this inciting billings is more or less image maker for the DISCOs. He has made bogus pronouncements such that I wonder if he thinks Nigerians are a bunch of idiots, all because he was hired from abroad to come and hoodwink Nigerians over dubious privatization. The other day, Amadi explained that the DISCOs were ignorant of how to bill correctly under the Multi-Year Tariff Order (MYTO) introduced last June to increase electricity price in a season of no-electricity, in anticipation of the private sectors’ investments. Amadi said wrong classification of consumers by DISCOs was responsible for the crazy bills in six months. Consumers are classified as residential, commercial, industrial, and special to ensure low-income users do not pay with their blood.

The other day, I said the current dubious electricity tariff hike is one plot by the political cabal to promote and provoke hate against Presijo. Research has shown that residential consumers account for 15 percent of PHCN debtors, industrial consumers 25 percent and government institutions 60 percent. How does killing 15 percent residential consumers bail out PHCN or DISCOs too scared to confront these MDAs, which have refused blatantly to pay their bills? The MYTO, Amadi said, is to attain cost-effective pricing to woo private sector investments in generation, transmission, and distribution. He lied that lack of cost-reflective tariff rather than unbridled corruption and political ineptitude, contributed to poor electricity supply, claiming wrongly that investors who showed interest in managing electricity were discouraged. Why can’t these so-called rogue investors invest in foundational, virgin power projects, instead of waiting for ready-made, rogue auction-sale of public utilities to buy and make killing profits? Instead of telling Wale Babalakin to create a new Lagos-Ibadan expressway from virgin land, FG concessioned the road in use and the company could not in five years mobilize enough funds to even patch the road. This is a classical example of fraudulent government privatization of its firms and facilities. Amadi says the DISCOs would be educated on correct billings. However, would the collected jumbo billings for unsupplied electricity now be refunded? Amadi has said repeatedly that prepaid meters are free, yet he is incapacitated to redress reports that between N25, 000 and N75, 000

Roadmap SONI EHI

ASUELIMEN

soniasuelimen@yahoo.com, 08023459055 (SMS ONLY)

is collected and admits FG’s policy confusion on whether prepaid meters are free or paid for. The DISCOs are exploiting the policy confusion to either sell prepaid meters through third-party PHCN contractors or hoard them. The same is true of the bogus lie given for the 13 price increases in petroleum products in the 13 years of PDP maladministration, and we are still far from the shores of genuine deregulation. The question is, since Babangida’s gimmickry of “appropriate pricing” of petroleum products and Jonathan’s deceitful “deregulation”, how many refineries have been built in Nigeria by the so-called investors, now exposed as briefcase fuel subsidy rogues? How many licensed petroleum products refiners have been established by the anticipatory approval of fuel price increases in the past 20 years? 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, December 24, 2012

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All the Facts, All the Sides All the Facts, All the Sides

A PUBLICATION OF GLOBAL MEDIA MIRROR LTD A PUBLICATION OF GLOBAL MEDIA MIRROR LTD BARRISTER JIMOH IBRAHIM, OFR PUBLISHER BARRISTER JIMOH IBRAHIM, OFR PUBLISHER

STEVE AYORINDE STEVE AYORINDE YELE AKINROLABU YELE AKINROLABU SEYI FASUGBA SEYI FASUGBA BOLAJI TUNJI BOLAJI TUNJI GBEMI OLUJOBI GBEMI OLUJOBI LANRE OYETADE DOZIE OKEBALAMA DOZIE OKEBALAMA ADESOYE ADEKOYA ADESOYE ADEKOYA CALLISTUS OKE CALLISTUS OKE ISE-OLUWA IGE ISE-OLUWA IGE KAYODE BALOGUN JNR KAYODE BALOGUN JNR FRANK OBOH FRANK OBOH

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Archbishop Abiodun Adetiloye (1929 - 2012)

he demise of retired Archbishop and Primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), Dr. Abiodun Adetiloye in the early hours of Friday December 14, 2012 in his country home, Odo Owa, Ekiti State, reminds one of the critical roles outspoken men of God play in times of national crisis. When the presumed winner of the annulled June 12, 1993 presidential election, the late Chief Moshood Abiola, was about being arrested by the General Sani Abacha military junta on charges of treason if he went ahead with plans to set up a “government of national unity” to coincide with the first anniversary of the poll in 1994, Adetiloye not only stood firm in his support for June 12, he led prayers for the “peaceful restoration” of democracy. The activist cleric had vociferously used the pulpit to clamour for good governance in the country, even under the military, particularly when the then administrations of Generals Ibrahim Babangida; and later Abacha resorted to the capricious use of brute force to suppress the agitation for the reversal of the annulment of the June 12 election results.

ADETILOYE NOT ONLY STOOD FIRM IN HIS SUPPORT FOR

JUNE

12, HE LED PRAYERS FOR THE “PEACEFUL RESTORATION” OF DEMOCRACY His Anglican constituency flattered him as ‘an evangelist simpliciter’ and ‘a silent reformer’ because he took the church in Nigeria through phenomenal reforms, challenging existing orthodoxies in the process. The introduction of new evangelism, reworking of a new curriculum for the training of the clergy and the eradication of secret societies and cults in the church were achieved during his era, for example. Under the fallen Archbishop, the Anglican Church grew from 27 dioceses in 1986 to 76 in 1999. The fallout was the division of the church in Nigeria into three ecclesiastical provinces in 1997. Born in Odo-Owa in the Ijero Local Government Area of Ekiti State on Christmas Day (December 25, 1929), young Abiodun was

to contend with the harsh reality of having no father to lean on for support three years later, when his father died. Undaunted, however, he had his primary school education at Ijero-Ekiti between 1937 and 1944. He took to teaching after his primary education, and acted as an ‘agent’ at St. Paul’s Church, Ara-Yero, during the period. He enrolled at Melville Hall (Anglican Training College), Kudeti-Ibadan in 1951 for his pastoral training; and King’s College, London for his Bachelor of Divinity programme. He was thereafter ordained a deacon in Lagos in 1953 by Archbishop Leslie Vining, the first Archbishop of West Africa (Anglican Communion). He was a curate at St. Peter’s Church, AkeAbeokuta (1953-1956); before moving to Lagos as chaplain to Archbishop Vining. He thereafter proceeded back to the United Kingdom for a post graduate programme in Wycliff Hall, Oxford. On his return in 1961, he was posted to Immanuel College of Theology, Ibadan as a lecturer, and served in the capacity for over four years. On August 10, 1966, Adetiloye was appointed the vicar/provost

of the Cathedral Church of St. James, Ibadan. Though he got married in 1967, he only enjoyed the marriage for 11 months when, suddenly, his wife took ill and died. The only son of the said marriage, Adeola, later qualified as an engineer and is currently teaching at the Federal Polytechnic, Ado Ekiti. A higher responsibility came his way in August 1970 when he was elected Bishop of the Diocese of Ekiti. Fifteen years later, he got his transfer to the Diocese of Lagos as a Bishop. And on December 26, 1986, he became the second Primate of the church in Nigeria and Archbishop, Metropolitan Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion), succeeding Archbishop Timothy O. Olufosoye . He retired in December 1999 after 13 years in office. We agree with all whose visage of the late Archbishop Adetiloye is that of a man who lived his life for humanity and the service of God; and who stood for a better Nigeria. It gladdens our hearts that he lived long enough to see that his anti-military struggles yielded dividend, with the dawn of democracy in 1999. We join members of his family and all Nigerians in mourning the loss of this great man of God.

ON THIS DAY December 24, 2008 Lord’s Resistance Army, a Ugandan rebel group, began series of attacksonDemocraticRepublicof theCongo,massacringmorethan 400. The Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA), also known as the Lord’s Resistance Movement, is a militant group/cult operating in northern Uganda, South Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and the Central African Republic.[6] It has been accused of widespread human rights violations, including murder, abduction, mutilation, childsexslaveryandforcingchildrentoparticipateinhostilities.

December 24, 1994 Air France Flight 8969 was hijacked on the ground, over thecourseof threedays.Threepassengerswerekilled,aswereallfour terrorists. Air France Flight 8969 was an Air France flight that was hijacked on 24 December 1994 by the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) at Algiers,wheretheykilledthreepassengers,withtheintentiontoblow up the plane over the Eiffel Tower in Paris. When the aircraft reached Marseille, the GIGN, an intervention group of the French National Gendarmerie,stormedtheplaneandkilledallfourhijackers.

December 24, 1979 The first European Ariane rocket was launched. Ariane is a series of a European civilian expendable launch vehicles for space launch use. The name comes from the French spelling of the mythological character Ariadne. France first proposed the Ariane project and it was officially agreed upon at the end of 1973 after delicate discussions between France, Germany and the UK.

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Nigerian Lawmakers in session

By Salami Semiu

fter months of arguments over the crude oil price benchmark and threats not to endorse the Federal Government’s spending plan for 2013, the National Assembly last Thursday approved N4, 987,220,425,601 as the nation’s budget for next year. The fiscal plan comprises N387.976 billion for statutory transfer; N591.764 billion for debt service; N2.386 for recurrent (non-debt) expenditure while the balance of N1.621 trillion is for contribution to the development fund for capital expenditure. The budget which was passed at separate sittings by both the Senate and the House of Representatives, is N62 billion higher than the N4.924 trillion originally presented to

the joint session of the National Assembly by President Goodluck Jonathan last October. In the passed budget, the recurrent expenditure was slashed by over N100 billion and while capital projects allocation was increased by the same figure. In the original proposal, President Jonathan had set aside N2.41 trillion for recurrent expenditure, but the lawmakers slashed it to N2.38 trillion. Similarly, they raised capital vote to N1.62 trillion, up from Jonathan’s N1.54 trillion. The sum of N591.7 billion was earmarked for debt servicing, while N387.9 billion was allocated to statutory transfers. The law makers also increased the crude oil benchmark from the Executive proposal of $75 to $79 per barrel. The Chairman, House Committee on Appropriations, John

Enoh, in justifying the reasons why the House rejected the $75 crude oil benchmark proposed by the Executive, explained that the House was concerned about cutting the deficit and reducing borrowing to fund the budget. According to him, the extra $4 to be saved from raising the benchmark to $79 will be used to “bring the deficit of N1.03 trillion down to around N887 billion,” adding that the budget passed by the National Assembly reflected a debt to Gross Domestic Product ratio of 1.8 per cent, as against the 2.7 per cent in the Executive proposal. So, going by the work done on this budget, domestic borrowing has now dropped to a little above N500bn”, he said. Enoh said that all figures in the budget were agreed by both the Senate and the House, adding that there would be no need for any harmonisation

committee by both chambers any longer. The aspect of capital expenditure of the budget shows that the Works Ministry has the highest allocation of N168.17 billion followed by Water Resources Ministry, which gets N84 billion while the Power Sector receives N73.14 billion. However, on the recurrent

expenditure profile, Education got the highest allocation of N361 billion, followed by N300 billion for Defence/ MOD/Army/Air Force/Navy, N295 billion for Police formation and commands, N219 billion for Health; N79 billion for Youth Development; N66 billion for NSA, N52 billion for Petroleum Resources; N47 billion

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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Will the 2013 Budget make any difference?

Ekweremadu

For the first time in several years, the National Assembly, last Thursday, passed the 2013 Appropriation Bill into law well ahead of the new year with minimal adjustment which experts say are not strong enough to warrant the usual executive/legislative logjam. But then, there are concerns whether the 2013 budget will break the jinx of poor implementation and set the country on the path of strong economic recovery for Foreign Affairs; N32 billion for Agriculture and Rural Development, while N23 billion is for the Presidency. From the N388 billion approved for Statutory Transfer, the National Assembly also got N150 billion, Universal Basic Education was appropriated N76 billion; National Judicial Council got N67 billion, Niger Delta Development Commission got N61 billion; Independent Electoral Commission got N32 billion, while the National Human Rights Commission got N1.35 billion. The sum of N543 billion was set aside for domestic debts, N48 billion for foreign debts, N274 billion for Subsidy Re-Investment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P); N66 billion for Presidential Amnesty Programme; N24 billion for stipends and allowances of 30,000 Niger Delta ex-militants; N38 billion for

re-integration of transformed ex-militants and N546 million is for re-insertion/transition safety allowances for 3,642 ex-militants (3rd phase); N45 billion for PHCN privatisation, N20 billion refund to States for federal road projects, N50 billion for public service wage adjustment for MDAs (including arrears for promotion and salary increases) among others. Chairman of the Senate Committee on Appropriation, Ahmad Maccido, said the chamber discovered that in the process of putting the budget together, the conceptualisation of the budget left some issues hanging. He specifically said that some new projects were included in the budget proposal as ongoing projects while some ongoing projects were omitted. “Conceptualisation of the budget by the Executive is still a big issue that we must con-

front as representatives of the people. There should be a verifiable template for budgeting especially on capital projects. If the painful sight of abandoned projects in Nigeria will be a thing of the past, then ongoing projects must be properly defined. A situation where projects not found in 2011 and 2012 budgets are found in 2013 as ongoing is very misleading. In the same vein, a situation where uncompleted projects are not included in the budgets of succeeding years is wasteful,’’ he said. “A situation where projects not found in 2011 and 2012 budgets are found in 2013 as ongoing is very misleading. In the same vein, a situation where uncompleted projects are not included in the budgets of succeeding years is wasteful,” he said. Maccido said that the exec-

Okonjo-Iweala

utive must be more thorough in compiling annual budgets, adding that it was noticed that some critical areas were still underfunded. Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, who presided over the session, said the Executive must begin the implementation of the budget on January 1, 2013 and should ensure that it was fully implemented within the fiscal year. “This should challenge the Executive to properly implement the budget. There should be no more excuses. The 2013 budget

should be fully implemented. The committees of the National Assembly should from January 1, 2013 begin their oversight of the implementation of the budget,” he said. The National Assembly however inserted a clause into the Appropriation Act to make it compulsory for all unutilised funds budgeted in 2012 to be rolled over to 2013. “All unutilised, unexecuted and unimplemented capital expenditure component of the 2012 Appropriation Act shall be rolled over and shall be con-

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Business Courage

Monday, December 24, 2012

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Cover strued to form part of the 2013 Appropriation Act, provided that the unutilised capital expenditure component of 2012 Budget shall lapse on the 12th day of April, 2013,” it said. The passed Appropriation Bill also stipulates that in the event that the need arises to vire amounts within the heads of expenditure to which sums have been appropriated, such virement shall only be effected with the prior approval of the National Assembly. Specifically, the relevant clauses state that: “Amounts appropriated under this Act shall be released from the Consolidated Revenue Fund of the Federation and applied only for the purpose specified in the schedule to this Act’s virement. “The Accountant-General of the Federation shall immediately upon the coming into force of this Act maintain a separate record for the documentation of revenue accruing to the Consolidated Revenue Fund in excess of the oil price benchmark adopted in this budget. Such revenues as specified in Subsection (1) of this section refer to revenues accruing from sales of government crude oil in excess of $79 per barrel, the Petroleum Profit Tax and Royalty on Oil and Gas.” It would be recalled that the lawmakers had initially threatened not to pass the budget on the grounds of alleged “poor implementation” of the 2012 budget. In fact, Business Courage reliably learnt that the issue of whether or not to pass the budget dominated a lengthy closed-door session which the lawmakers had last Wednesday where they reportedly reviewed their stance and came to the conclusion that Nigerians might blame them for delaying the 2013 budget. The Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Zakari Mohammed, who admitted that the 2012 budget had dominated discussions at the closed-door session, noted that the session resolved that to ensure a comprehensive implementation of the 2012 budget, the capital component should be extended to April 2013. “We resolved that the 2012 budget should not stop us from passing the 2013 budget. We opted for a roll-over, which the Executive did not want. If we didn’t do that, by December 31, they will start talking about mopping up the unspent funds for 2012. But, for us, implementing the budget and touching lives are most important,” he said. Mohammed said that the lawmakers had to abandon their threats not to pass the budget unless the 2012 budget was fully implemented because Nigeria deserved to be kept

moving. Expectedly, the passage of the 2013 budget has continued to elicit reactions both from politicians and finance experts. The experts who spoke in separate interviews in Lagos at the weekend, however, urged President Goodluck Jonathan to ensure proper implementation of the budget for the benefit of Nigerians. Victor Ogiemwonyi, Chief Executive Officer, Partnership Investment Company, lauded the harmonious relationship between the executive and lawmakers which he said saw the early passage of the budget, stressing that the passage of the budget in December 2012 would allow early implementation in 2013. “Though, the benchmark price for oil is slightly higher than the one proposed by the executive, many analysts believe it is still realistic as oil price still hovers around 100 dollars per barrel. The chance of revenue falling below the projected seems remote. We, however, should focus on the details of the budget to make sure that the extra revenues the lawmakers have added to it is is not used to fund pet projects that do not add value to the economy,” he said. Okeowo Oderinde, immediate past President of Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), said that the budget was a mere proposal, adding that the implementation had always been the problem. Oderinde said that the executive should commence implementation of the various aspects of the budget to better the lots of Nigerians. Muda Yusuf, DirectorGeneral, Lagos Chambers of Commerce and Industry, also commended the National Assembly for passing the budget before the end of the year, noting that the last time this happened was in 2006 because of the pending elections in 2007. “We note, however, that the adoption of different oil price benchmarks by the National Assembly and the executive arm resulted in a differential of about N60 billion. While the legislature is concerned about deficit reduction, the executive is worried about savings and building of buffers, especially in the light of developments in the global economy and the risk of oil price shocks. Both positions are valid and patriotic,” he said. According to him, a budget is not cast in stone, but added that both sides should show some understanding. “If, in the course of time, the underlying assumptions call for a review of the budget, it should be done. Just as there can be supplementary budget, there could also be a revision of the budget as circumstances demand. The president should assent to the

bill as passed, based on this understanding,” Yussuf said. While Ayo Teriba, economist and Managing Director of Economic Associates says the early passage “Will reduce uncertainty over the outlook of the economy and make planning easier,” Femi Muibi Saibi, postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Johannesburg, noted that his research and observation of the budget in the last few years, show that in the years that the budget has been passed early, the executive has always come up with a supplementary budget at the end of year. Addressing reporters shortly after the two chambers passed the 2013 Appropriation Bill, Special Adviser to the President on National Assembly Matters; Senator Joy Emodi said that by passing the budget ahead of the new fiscal year, the lawmakers had reciprocated the initiative and desire of the president for the early presentation and passage of budgets in Nigeria. “This is a pivotal moment in our nation’s history as it is the first time since 1999 that the budget of a succeeding year has been passed in the preceding year. This is traceable to the leadership shown by Mr. President through dialogue, early presentation as well as the hard work, commitment and team spirit shown by the leadership and entire members of the National Assembly,” she said. However, what some analysts considered to be the downside of the passed 2013 Appropriation Bill was the exclusion of the consideration of the budget of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the insertion of a clause which many have seen as a deliberate attempt to strangulate Arunma Oteh, Director General of SEC, who has being having running battle with members of the House of Representatives. The House kept its word not to have any dealings with the SEC until Oteh was removed from office, by stating in the passed Appropriation Bill that the agency must not spend any funds in 2013 without appropriation by the National Assembly. A clause dedicated to SEC in the bill reads, “All revenue however so described, including all fees received, fines, grants, budgetary provisions and all internally and externally generated revenue shall not be spent by the Securities and Exchange Commission for recurrent or capital purposes or for any other matters, nor liabilities thereon incurred except with the prior appropriation and approval by the National Assembly.” At a news conference after the plenary, Mohammed, justified the inclusion of the contro-

Oteh

Emeka Ihedioha, Deputy Speaker, House of Rep

versial clause. According to him, it was in line with an earlier resolution by both chambers that the parliament will have nothing to do with SEC until Oteh was removed from office. “We want to see which money will be used to run SEC in the years ahead. It is a resolution of the House that Oteh should go and we will continue to keep the situation that way. Oteh must go; if she doesn’t go, we will not

have any dealings with SEC or touch their budget. We are on the same page with the Senate on this and it is only a matter of time.” Although SEC, like the CBN has some level of financial autonomy, the inclusion of the clause which seem to strangulate SEC and render Oteh ineffective, may be the last straw by the National Assembly to push out the embattled director general. BC

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Monday, December 24, 2012

A5 21

News Recently, the Association of Mass Communications Students 92 Set (AMACOS 92 Set) of Ogun State Polytechnic, Abeokuta, now Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, celebrated its 20 years anniversary during which they presented some equipment to the school and honour some of their past lecturers.

L-R, Bidemi Oshunbiyi, Prof Lai Oso, Dean, School of Communications, LASU and wife and Prof. Bayo Oloyede of the Redeemers University (extreme right) and wife during the get-together to mark the anniversary in Lagos.

Babs Bello (L) receiving his gift from Kunle Adams, President, AMACOS 92 Set

FG inaugurates 1126km, Lagos-Kano rail service

he Federal Government has inaugurated the Nigeria Railway Corporation’s LagosKano intercity passenger train services and haulage of petroleum products. The Minister of Transport, Sen. Idris Umar, said at the event that the government was still committed to revamping the transport sector, particularly railway services, because of its importance to Nigeria’s economic development. The NRC revitalised the Lagos-Kano intercity train services is to complement the existing Lagos- Ilorin and Minna-Kano intercity train services. Umar said that ``This segment holds the key to the development of the economy of the nation from the commercial port city of Lagos to the commercial hub of northern Nigeria in Kano. This is vital to the start-off of the transformation of the Nigerian economy.” Umar who said that the Federal Government had also awarded contracts for

Umar

feasibility studies to open up other railway routes, explained that the government was also rehabilitating the Eastern Railway Line from Port Harcourt –Maiduguri with spur lines from Kuru-Kafanchan – Kaduna and Kuru-Jos. The minister also said that government was repairing the Zaria-Gusau-Kauran Namoda Rail Line, adding that the government was modernising the Project Phase I, Addendum 1, Abuja-Kaduna (Idu) Standard Gauge Rail Line (187km) The minister further said that the government was repairing the existing 254km and completing the remaining 22km Standard Gauge Rail Line of the Central Rail Line from Ajaokuta-Warri with station buildings. The Managing Director of the NRC, Adeseyi Sijuwade, said that Lagos-Kano route covered a stretch of 1,126km. Sijuade said that the rehabilitation was much awaited, and hoped that train services on the route would improve Nigeria’s economy. He said that NRC transported 450,000 litres of diesel last Friday from Lagos to Offa, through the route, to mark its inauguration. “Today, we celebrate a successful completion of track and signalling rehabilitation of the Western Rail Line and the re-commencement of passenger and freight rail services on the Lagos-Kano corridor,’’ he said. He hoped that the recommencement of train services on the route would provide employment opportunities and enhance trade and commerce, as well as reduce accidents on the roads. He urged the Federal Government to adequately fund the corporation for the maintenance and operation of the newly rehabilitated rail lines to ensure that the NRC did not relapse into dilapidation

Madu

Nigeria’s non-oil export hits over 250, 000 MT per annum By Francis Ezem

major player in Nigeria’s non-oil export sector, has said that at over 250, 000 metric tonnes of agricultural and other non-oil exports per annum, the sector is grossly under-developed due to the over-dependence on revenue from the oil and gas sector, which had made the country a mono-product economy. Programme Director of the Multimix Academy, a global trade, logistics and supply chain management firm, Dr. Obiora Madu, who spoke in an exclusive interview, said that the sector is still grossly under-developed. According to him, due to the high quality of Nigeria’s non-oil exports, there is still a huge gap in the international market supply. “That means that if Nigeria doubles her output now, the market would still absorb it, but does the government and managers of the economy have any strategy towards that?”, he questioned rhetorically. On whose responsibility it is to put the strategy in place, he said: “It is on the part of government, it is about the policy framework, about the value chain, it is about ensuring that the value chain works; you have the input suppliers, the farmers and the protectors etc. So if you have

sound policies and incentives, the work will be easy to do. The exporter is not a farmer, he cannot go to the farm, he cannot increase the output, and he can only increase the quantity that is being exported based on availability” While making a strong case for the government to come up with a policy framework and strategy, he argued that a national policy or strategy of expanding the volume and national export would also expand the earnings of from non-oil export and therefore diversify the economy. On the low level of development of the non-oil export sector, he said: “I think God has been very kind to Nigeria and in the process; she became lazy.. In terms of acceptability, Nigeria’s non-oil exports rank among the best in the world. So quality is not an issue at all, if there is any problem, it will because of her image in the international community” On the contribution of the sector to the national economy, he raised fears that Nigeria’s economy might be heading for serious trouble if urgent measures were not taken, as its non-oil export sector contributes far less than 10 percent to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). “The non-oil sector, which has been neglected completely by succeeding governments in the country accounted for over 93 percent of the nation’s GDP in 1960, when she attained political independence from Britain”, he regretted. I think that less than 10 percent contribution to the GDP by the non-oil sector is too bad because earnings from this same sector in 1960 was in excess of 93 percent of the entire economy, so if you look at that and look at where the economy is now, you will know that something has gone so wrong”, he noted. He also said that the situation is more dicey when you consider that the United States of America, which is the largest consumer of Nigeria’s crude oil, has cut down on the quantity she purchases. “I can bet you that this is likely

going to continue because people continue to talk about renewable energy here and there”, he observed further. He warned that if managers of the nation’s economy had not been thinking before now, this is the right time for them to begin to think of how to diversify the economy, adding that the next place is agriculture; that is non-oil export. Obiora, who doubles as the chief executive officer of the academy noted that apart from agriculture, there are many solid minerals that exit in the country but are yet to be discovered. Citing the example of the United Arab Emirates, he noted that just like Nigeria, the country has crude oil in commercial quantity but decided eight years ago to develop the biggest Free Trade Zone in the world because of the fear that oil might finish one day or there might be discoveries that would de-emphasise the use of oil energy, which is happening currently. While reacting to Nigeria’s failure to optimally utilize the benefits offered by Africa’s Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA), which was a window opened by the US government, he noted that the Act was not for Nigeria to sell her crude oil since the US will always buy Nigeria’s oil but rather to boost export of agricultural produce. According to him, more than 10 years after the enactment of the Act, crude oil still constitute more than 99percent of Nigeria’s export to the US, which he regretted is not a healthy development. “The main reason why AGOA was created was to open the market duty –free quota for Nigerian exports with over 6,500 items including computer cables and all manner of things but Nigeria has failed to utilise that opportunity”, he lamented. He regretted that more than 52 years after independence when non-oil export earnings accounted for over 93 percent of the GDP, the sector is still grossly under-developed with the resources untapped.

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Business Courage

Monday, December 24, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

News Wife of the governor of Ekitit State, Bisi Fayemi recently visited the Corporate Headquaters of FM Best Bargain Store, Lagos to flag off the Christmas and New year sales

R-L: Bisi Fayemi, wife of Ekiti State Governor, Kayode Fayemi, Folake Jamiu, Managing Director, FM Best Bargain Ltd. and Mojeed Jamiu, Deputy Chief of Staff to Ekiti State governor, at the event.

IPMAN attributes incessant fuel scarcity to pipeline vandalism

lumide Ogunmade, the Chairman, Western Zone of Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria (IPMAN), has attributed the incessant fuel scarcity to pipeline vandalism in parts of the country. Ogunmade, who spoke in Lagos at the weekend said that pipeline vandalism was the biggest threat to the country’s socio-economic development. He said that the capacity of the NNPC to supply petroleum products was being undermined by acts of oil pipeline vandalism. ``The menace does not only disrupt our operations, it also brings huge losses to the nation’s economy,’’ he said. Ogunlade decried the loss of oil revenue to government to execute development projects, adding that it was also costing enormous funds to repair the damaged pipelines. The chairman, however, advised the government and NNPC to evolve new strategies to check the menace, saying that culprits should be punished to deter other saboteurs. Ogunmade assured Nigerians that the association would ensure that petroleum products were distributed equitably across the country during the holidays. He said that IPMAN members would distribute the products once the NNPC and PPMC made them available during the yuletide season. Ogunmade lauded the government for repairing the ``System 2B Network’’ to ease effective distribution of petroleum products in

the western zone. “We have started receiving petroleum products at NNPC Ejigbo and Mosinmi in Ogun state, while we have been assured that Ibadan, Ore and Akure depots will follow shortly. We have equally constituted a task force to monitor the sale of the products during the period,’’ he said. Ogunmade assured of the association’s commitment to sustain products supply and urged NNPC to increase allocation to IPMAN members. “We have put in place adequate measures during the festive period to ensure that our members sell petroleum products to customers. We have also instructed our members to ensure 24hour product distribution to customers during yuletide and New Year holidays. They are were also warned against hoarding,” he said

L-R: Mrs Fayemi, Chioma Omirin, Wife of Ekiti State House of Assembly Speaker, Modupe Owolabi, Wife of Ekiti State.SSG, and Modupe Adaramodu, Wife of the state chief of Staff at the event.

especially from restive community youths, but would also help to facilitate the early completion of the road contracts in the area. “Government should give us adequate security because most of the time we get attacked in most of the remote places we go for inspection. We see some youths ganging up as youth members and attack us; if we had security, all those things will not come up. We need adequate security to work and insecurity makes us not to supervise most of the road projects very well; we come and go instead of residing in the particular locality close to the site. “I remember when Setraco (Construction Company) was working for us in Anambra state; the community gathered together and assisted and welcomed them; the reverse is the case in this part of the country,” he said.

Lack of security affects roads construction in Rivers - FERMA

he absence of security for contractors handling road projects was responsible for late completion of road project in Rivers, an official of the Federal Roads Maintenance Agency (FERMA) has said. Benedict Amarube, an engineer with the agency, who disclosed this in Port Harcourt last Friday, said some roads projects, which were supposed to have been completed, had been abandoned by contractors due to sustained attacks from hoodlums. He said the provision of security to contractors at project sites would not only help reduce such attacks

Tafawa-Balewa

NAPEP’ll support agriculture to fight poverty

he National Poverty Eradication Programme (NAPEP) has said that it is committed to supporting agricultural production for effective implementation of poverty eradication policies in the country. The agency in a statement stated that NAPEP

Coordinator, Mukhtar TafawaBalewa, said that the support would enhance employment opportunities for youths and women in 2013. ``NAPEP is committed to focusing on agricultural support in 2013 as a way of reviving production as well as providing an all year round employment for the teeming unemployed youths and women. The commitment will also ensure effective formation and implementation of poverty eradication in the country`s policies,’’ the statement quoted Tafawa-Belewa, as saying. According to the statement NAPEP activities will be based on Agro-focusing on the promotion of irrigation activities that will engage the youths and women. It pointed out that the agency was bracing itself to the task of increasing the involvement of people in agriculture through enhancing their capacity to produce more and get involved in sustainable economic activities. The statement added that NAPEP was working to build partnerships with relevant Ministries, Department and Agencies (MDAs), including professionals that would offer critical expertise needed for the initiative to succeed. It said that NAPEP had collaborated with the National Assembly as the representatives of the people, along with State Governments and other relevant agencies in the fight against poverty. It stated that one of the laudable projects the agency executed in the 2012 budget was the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) Scheme for 27 states of the federation. The statement added that other states not captured in the programme would be involved in 2013, noting that capacity building for NAPEP`s staff were also given priority in 2012.

It said that NAPEP had embarked on various programmes ranging from Promise Keeper Programme, Village Solution, Youth Development and Farmer’s Empowerment Schemes among others. The statement also noted that one of the fundamental priorities of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) was aimed at eradicating poverty in the society. It added that MDGs were designed to arrest the ``intergenerational transfer of poverty, an area that was important to NAPEP.’’

Oshiomhole

Oshiomhole signs N149.5bn 2013 budget

he Edo Gov. Adams Oshiomole has signed the N149.5 billion Appropriation Bill for 2013 into law. Oshiomhole, who commended the leadership of the House of Assembly for the speedy passage of the bill, said the assembly’s alteration of the original estimate added value to the final approval. It would be recalled that the governor, in November, presented a budget estimate of

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Business Courage

Monday, December 24, 2012

A7 23

News N150.45 billion to the house for consideration and approval. ``We acknowledge that the Assembly scrutinised and altered the original document because what I am signing is exactly not the same document we proposed to the House. I will say that it is a clear demonstration of the essence of separation of powers and that the document is in fact much better. It also goes to show that the Assembly is not a rubber stamp but one that has added value to the original proposal,’’ he said. Oshiomole added that the quick passage would enable his administration commence infrastructure development, especially road construction in 2013.”With the passage, the executive will have no excuse not to commence work in earnest in 2013. And the challenge for us now, is to be a little more aggressive to realise the revenue projection aspect of the budget,” he said Aside the federal allocation, the governor explained that the state government should be able to improve drastically its local revenue generation profile through the land use charge. Oshiomole assured the House leadership that the administration would not disappoint the people as government would intervene in all sectors of the economy. “After four years, we will now work at a faster pace to achieve greater level of efficiency and cut that level of wastages for the people to get quality value for their money,’’ he said.

Labour cautions FG against sacking PHCN workers without payment of entitlements

he National Union of Electricity Employees (NUEE) has warned that no staff of the Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) should be sacked without payment of their entitlements. Joe Ajaero, General Secretary, NUEE, who gave the warning in an interview, said that workers of the company should not be disengaged if their severance packages were not paid. He was reacting to a statement by Dr Dere Awosika, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Power, that the Ministry would start issuing disengagement letters to PHCN workers on Dec. 17. Awosika had said at the 5th Power Summit in Lagos that the Ministry would start issuing letters of disengagement to the PHCN

Awosika

workers from Dec. 17 to Dec. 21, “since the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE) was working out the total cost of their disengagement.” Ajaero said that representatives of the Federal Government and the union had last week signed an agreement on how to pay pension and gratuities to PHCN workers. He said that the government and labour unions in PHCN had agreed on payment of gratuities and pensions to the workers, as plans to transfer the ownership of PHCN to successor companies reached a climax. NAN reports that the Ministry had announced that the Federal Government would disburse N170 billion as severance package to workers of PHCN. It would be recalled that the Energy Sector Power Reform Act of 2005 (ESPR) splintered PHCN into 18 successor companies for sale in the ongoing power sector reform.

Only Lagos, Rivers viable for state creation ...NISER

esearchers at the Nigerian Institute of Social and Economic Research (NISER), Ibadan, Oyo State have said that only Lagos and Rivers States are viable to justify creation of new states from them. NISER’s latest research findings made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ibadan last Friday indicated that majority of the 36 states generated less than 10 per cent of their total revenue. “Only Lagos State generated more than 23 per cent of its total revenue. On economic viability of states as presently constituted, results reveal that only Lagos and Rivers states had Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) to Recurrent Expenditure (RE) ratio of above 50 per cent. No

other state had IGR to RE ratio anywhere close to 50 per cent. Further analysis conclusively indicates that economic viability does not feature in the prevailing clamour for new states “the report stated. Among the recommendations of the Institute was that economic viability should be the major consideration in state creation. It said the creation of new states out of the existing ones should be considered only if existing states from which the proposed ones would be created were economically viable. Apart from this, the Institute advised that states should take advantage of their natural resource endowments to diversify their revenue base. “Employment generation should be accorded priority. The multiplier effect of employment generation is increased tax base which should enhance the revenue base of the states and, if efficiently utilised, will enhance the viability of the states” the report said. The report also noted that the increasing demand for new states in the country and anxiety over the viability of existing ones remained a paradox. It said that there was currently a demand for creation of 42 states even as the existing states could hardly implement the minimum wage of N18,000 for workers in public and private sector as provided by the law as at March 2011.

Oil marketers seek out of court settlement over N1.3bn subsidy fraud case

wo oil marketers, Aro Bamidele and Abiodun Bankole, last Friday said they were in talks with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), regarding the N1.3 billion fuel subsidy charge preferred against them. They made this known through their counsel, Anthony Idigbe (SAN), at the resumption of their trial before Justice Lateefat Okunnu of a Lagos High Court in Ikeja. The oil marketers were arraigned alongside their company -- A.B.S Investment Company Ltd., -- on Oct. 5. The defendants are facing 18- count charge bordering on conspiracy, obtaining money by false pretence, forgery, uttering among others. The EFCC had alleged that the defendants had fraudulently obtained N1.3 billion from the Federal Government for the purported

importation of 30 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS). They had pleaded not guilty to the charge and were granted a N100 million bail each, with three sureties in like sum. However, during Friday’s proceedings, Idigbe told the court that the defence, having studied the charge, was discussing with EFCC. He asked the court to give the defendants time to conclude their talks with EFCC in order to resolve issues contained in the charge. EFCC counsel, Taiwo Ogunleye, confirmed the development and did not oppose the adjournment made by the defence.

Foreign lines cart away $155bn crude freight By Francis Ezem

marine engineer and one time major operator in Nigeria’s shipping industry, Raymond Dokpesi, recently took a swipe at the Federal Government over its failure to ensure the growth and development of indigenous capacity in the industry, saying foreign shipping liners carted away staggering $155billion crude oil freight between 1999 and 2011. Dokpesi, who spoke during the N100 million permanent secretariat fund raising dinner organised by the Nigerian Association of Master Mariners (NAMM) in Lagos, lamented that successive governments in the country have not shown sufficient commitment to develop the industry, which he believes can fund the annual budget if the potentials are tapped. According to him, between 1999 and 2011, Nigeria exported over 1.3 billion metric tonnes of crude oil, which amounts to about $155 billion in terms of freight rate, regretting that foreign shipping companies lifted all at the expense of the indigenous shipping companies. “Over 800 million metric tonnes of dry cargo have been shipped into the country between the review period and Nigerians have benefitted less than one percent in terms of the freight component”, he further lamented. “In the same period, Nigeria has spent over $225 billion as freight payment on imported goods comprising of containerised and Roll-OnRoll-Off cargo, which has been transferred out of the country and yet a government claims it is committed to providing employment”, he regretted. “A government that says it has the responsibility to grow

the economy; a government that says it is committed to transforming the entire economy is also looking the other side while the maritime industry is dying,” he stated. Dokpesi also said it was unfortunate that the International Oil Companies (IOCs) had misled the Federal Government through their cartel in the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) to believe that indigenous ship owners do not possess the sophisticated vessels that could guarantee safety of crude oil export and therefore allow the industry to be dominated by foreigners. He lamented that Local Content Act of 2010 which gave 40 per cent right of participation to indigenous shipping companies in the oil and gas sector had not been implemented nearly three years after. Chairman of Indigenous Ship Owners Association of Nigeria, Isaac Jolapamo had said recently that only the development of indigenous fleet would make the country a truly maritime nation. He had noted that following the liquidation of Nigeria’s former national carrier, the Nigerian Shipping Line, which at one time had over 25 ships on her fleet, the country has found it extremely difficult to re-build her fleet, a development that makes it difficult to train her seafarers after their cadet training. He had warned that current efforts of the government at developing the maritime nation might not yield the desired results unless Nigeria develops her indigenous fleet. According to him, currently Nigeria as a major crude oil exporter and member of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries and an import-dependent nation has a lot of cargo but unfortunately cannot determine the terms of lifting these abundant cargoes because she does not own ships. “It is only when a country has sufficient ships that she can rightly be described as a shipping nation, not even membership of the International Maritime Organisation”, Jolapamo had said. BC

Dokpesi

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Monday, December 24, 2012

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Global News

Fundanga, Bank of Zambia governor

Zambia to cap commercial lending rates at 18.25 per cent

ambia has capped lending rates at 18.25 per cent to make borrowing from commercial banks more affordable, the central bank said on Friday. “This cap is arrived at by adding a factor of nine per cent to the policy rate which currently stands at 9.25 per cent,” the Bank of Zambia said in a statement. It said this was effective from Jan. 2. The Bank of Zambia said the measure would apply to new loans, while existing loans would run on existing terms. The central bank increased its benchmark interest rate by 25 basis points in October, saying its monetary policy committee had noted upward risks to inflation. It left the rate unchanged at 9.25 per cent in November. Annual inflation quickened to 6.9 per cent in November, mainly due to higher food prices, the latest data from the Central Statistical Office shows.

Kibaki

Kenya devolution move stokes fears of graft, budget strains

enya will launch a devolved system of government next year to try to hasten rural development, but many fear the main result will be to spread the chronic corruption that plagues national politics to a local level. Politicians are billing devolution as a radical reform designed to prevent a repeat of post-election violence in 2007/8 in which more than

1,200 people were killed after a disputed presidential poll. Under the reform, the country’s new constitution calls for 47 regional counties to be created with the aim of taking more decisions at a local level and of tackling corruption, unemployment and the broken education system which is dragging down east Africa’s biggest economy. The new county governments are due to start work immediately after elections in March 2013, and each one will be allocated funds from the national budget to pay for projects to improve the lives of local people across the country of 40 million people. However, many doubt the new system will bring about change. “Right now, there are those embezzling, stealing money. If these ones get back into county government, then it will make no difference,” Schuaga M u geche, 39, said at a car repair shop in the hilly town of Limuru, near the capital Nairobi. Mugeche said he feared devolution would simply increase the opportunities for officials to misuse public funds. “The problem is corruption. You elect someone, and before long he has a big stomach,” said vegetable vendor Mama Wambui. The government has made great strides in some respects, connecting most residents in places like Limuru and other far-flung rural areas to the electric grid, providing running water and free primary education, and building hundreds of homes. But President Mwai Kibaki’s government has been embroiled in several corruption scandals and some of his ministers have resigned only to be later cleared and reinstated. While ordinary Kenyans are worried about graft, the government is concerned that development expenditure may be diverted to pay for the costly new county officials. Policymakers also fret that government borrowing could rise. The cost of paying a new layer of officials comes at a time when Kenya is struggling to cover civil service wages after agreeing huge salary increases for teachers, doctors and the police. Some counties have already angrily complained that their proposed budgets are too small and asked for more cash, raising tensions in the run-up to the polls. The county budgets are calculated according to their respective economic potential and population sizes. Despite the new expenditure, Finance Minister Robinson Njeru Githae has said he plans to make sure borrowing does not rise above 50 percent of the country’s gross domestic product of $33.6 billion, close to the government’s current borrowing levels. The treasury has put the

cost of setting up a devolved government at 260 billion shillings or 18 percent of the current national budget. Those funds are needed to pay for 350 lawmakers, up from 222 previously, 68 new senators and 47 governors and their staff. Kenyan MPs are already among the best paid in the world, drawing about $13,000 a month, most of that in taxfree allowances, a huge figure in a country where an unskilled urban labourer can earn as little as $60 a month. Although Kenya’s national budget has been self-funded since 2005, much of it has been raised through debt. “We have a self-imposed limit (on borrowing). More than that and it becomes unsustainable,” Githae told Reuters at a meeting to discuss the 2013/14 (July-June) budget.

Ramaphosa

South Africa’s Ramaphosa may ease investor concerns- S&P

he election of Cyril Ramaphosa as deputy president of South Africa’s ruling African National Congress will probably help ease investor concerns about government policy, according to Standard & Poor’s. While the party avoided any shift toward a “populist” stance at its conference and rejected nationalization of mines, it has to be more specific about how it will tax mining companies, Christian Esters, a credit ratings analyst at S&P, said, insisting that South Africa remains on a negative credit rating outlook, he said. “You could argue that it should create some comfort for investors that the ANC policies will be mindful of business needs,” he said about Ramaphosa’s election. “The mining industry is probably still looking for more clarity on the tax regime and regulation.” South Africa’s credit rating has been cut twice this year as the slowing economy, rising unemployment and strikes fuelled investor concern that the government would boost spending on grants to the poor, widening the budget deficit. S&P and Moody’s Investors Service have a negative outlook on BBB and Baa1

ratings, respectively. Both are investment grade. Cyril Ramaphosa, the second-wealthiest black South African and ANC’s newly elected deputy president believes that South Africa’s creditrating downgrades should be reversed after the ruling African National Congress adopted clear policies. “I’m sure the downgrade will turn into an upgrade,” Ramaphosa told businesspeople in the central city of Bloemfontein last Friday, stressing that “We deserve that, we’ve got great policies and there’s even a determination to implement those policies.” Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s have downgraded the nation’s debt since Sept. 27 and warned of further cuts, citing pressure on the ANC government to boost spending and after the worst mining strikes since the end of apartheid curbed economic growth. Africa’s biggest economy is forecast to expand 2.5 per cent this year, the least since a recession in 2009, and too slow to slash a 25.5 per cent unemployment rate, according to government estimates. While Ramaphosa’s election will probably help ease concerns about policy, there are still downside risks for the mining industry and economic growth, Christian Esters, a credit analyst at Standard & Poor’s, said that “The mining industry is probably still looking for more clarity on the tax regime and regulation.” Zuma reiterated that the government’s National Development Plan, spearheaded by Manuel, would be the basis of the government’s economic policy going forward. The plan sets out the investment needed in roads and rail projects, health, education and other services to boost growth and investment. It also calls for a review of labour laws to encourage hiring and create 11 million new jobs by 2030, and for wage increases to be linked to productivity, proposals opposed by the unions. The ratings companies said the government needs to tackle the high jobless rate as it faces rising anger among poor shantytown residents over a lack of housing, water and other services. South Africa had a record 113 township protests in the first seven months of the year, according to Johannesburg-based research group Municipal IQ.

European downturn hits steel maker

teel firm, ArcelorMittal is to write down the value of its European business by about $4.3 billion (£2.6bn) because of the economic downturn on the continent. The world’s largest steelmaker said steel demand in Europe had fallen by eight per cent this year, and by about 29 per cent since 2007.

The eurozone returned to recession in the third quarter of 2012, after the bloc’s economy contracted by 0.1 per cent. This followed a 0.2 per cent contraction in the previous three months, as the region struggled to cope with the debt crisis. Announcing the impairment charge in goodwill in its European business, Arcelor blamed the “weaker macro economic and market environment in Europe”. In contrast to the decline in European markets, the company said that steel consumption in the US was up eight per cent this year. ArcelorMittal has been trying to cut back its European capacity, but ran into a political storm in October after announcing a plan to close two furnaces at its steel plant in Florange, France. The move provoked an angry reaction from the French government, which accused the firm of breaking a 2006 commitment to keep the blast furnaces running, a claim denied by ArcelorMittal. It also criticised the firm for refusing to sell off the site as a whole. France’s minister for industrial recovery, Arnaud Montebourg, accused the steelmaker of “lying” and “disrespecting” the country. However, he retracted a remark that ArcelorMittal was no longer welcome in France.

Blackberry records sharp drop in profit

lackberry-maker, Research in Motion (RIM) has seen its profits plunge, and reported the first fall in quarterly subscription numbers in the company’s history. The Canadian firm made a net profit of $9 million (£5.5m) in the three months to 1 December, down from $265 million a year ago. During the quarter, its global subscriber base fell to 79 million from 80 million. RIM hopes to revive its fortunes with a new operating system. The Blackberry 10 system will be introduced from 30 January on a new range of handsets. RIM’s revenues for the quarter totalled $2.7 billion, down 47 per cent from a year earlier. The company has struggled in recent years to compete with the popular iPhone and Android handsets. Analysts said the results were broadly as expected, but that the fall in subscriber numbers was a concern. “The one troubling metric is their subscriber base - it came in at 79 million, so they actually lost subscribers this quarter,” said Mark McKechnie, research analyst at Evercore Partners. “They’ve been able to offset losses in the US by gaining subscribers internationally, but it looks like this quarter they just weren’t able to do that.” BC

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Monday, December 24, 2012

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A steely entrepreneur She has remained a strong force to reckon with in the field of accountancy and capital market operation. Princess Agnes Adenike Adeniran, the quintessential woman of Nigeria’s capital market has indeed excelled in the field largely dominated by men. This is the story of the uncommon zeal, courage and determination, fully backed by integrity and service excellence of the Princess of the accounting profession By Adejuwon Osunnuyi

Adeniran

he is suave, simple, unassuming but very principled. These are attributes which Princess Agnes Adenike Adeniran, former President, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) combined, which perhaps stand her out in the late 90s and early 2000s when she was very active on the trading floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). Indeed, those privileged to have worked closely with her at the time would attest to her mastery of the operations of the stock market, her dedication to the ideals of the market and indeed, her forthright position on issues bothering on ethics and professional etiquette. Born on November 15, 1940, at Owu-Ijebu, in Ijebu East Local government of Ogun State, the versatile and hardworking woman actually shot into public limelight when she emerged as the 33rd president of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN). Besides, she was also the president, International Federation of Women Accountants, which she also

introduced into Nigeria during her tenure as the ICAN boss. Princess Adeniran was the first female President, Association of Accountancy Bodies in West Africa. Married to Abraham Adetola Adeniran and blessed with three children, Princess Adeniran attended St. Michael’s School Owu-Ijebu between 1948 and 1953. In 1954, she proceeded to Local Authority School, Megbon, Akure, Ondo State, where she finished her primary education. In 1955, she returned to Ijebu, but this time, IjebuOde, where she got admitted into Muslim Girls School. She spent only one session in the school and by 1958, she moved to Colony Teacher Training College, Igbogbo, Ikorodu, Lagos State, where she was trained as a teacher. After leaving the Teacher Training College in 1960, the young Princess Agnes Adenike proceeded to Catford College of Commerce London where she was tutored in Accounting. After leaving Catford College, she moved to Staffordshire College of Commerce, Wood-Green Wednesbury near Birmingham for higher degrees. Princess Adeniran started

her working career as a school teacher between 1958 and 1964 after which she was engaged as an Officer with the Metropolitan Hospital Board, London between 1964 and 1965. After a one year sojourn at the Metropolitan Hospital Board, London, Princess Adeniran began her accounting career in 1967 when she joined Her Majesty Customs and Excise, Accountant and Controller Division, London started as an Assistant Accountant. In 1970, three years after, Princess became a qualified accountant. A year after she became a qualified accountant, Princess Adeniran returned to Nigeria in 1971 and joined Co-operative Bank Plc as an Accountant. Her brilliance shown like thousand stars such that, barely a year after she joined the bank, she was promoted as an assistant branch manager, Marina branch in 1972. She was in this position till 1977 when she was again promoted as a branch manager, Lagos branch. Princess Adeniran served as the bank’s branch manager till 1979 when she decided to quit. From Co-Operative Bank, Princess Adeniran joined NigContinue on pg A8

Business Courage

Monday, December 24, 2012

member of the Dominion Group has a team of core professionals with wide experience in pension administration, finance, investment, and stock-broking. As one of the foremost stockbroking houses in the Nigerian capital market, it has a trading booth on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange which it uses exclusively and enables it to trade uninterrupted every working day. Dominion Trust Limited is active on both the market for new issues (primary market) as well as in the secondary market. It has successfully raised funds for some quoted companies in the market in the capacity of the lead party, Issuing House

‘ bel Merchant Bank Limited as an Assistant Chief Accountant between 1983 and 1986. However, by 1987, while she was promoted to the position of General Manager, she decided it was time to move again, but this time, it was a lateral movement as she became the General Manager, Nigbel Securities Limited, a subsidiary of Nibel Merchant Bank Limited in 1988. One year in the saddle, Princess Adeniran, once again, bid the firm farewell, but this time, the resilient Adeniran chose not to move into another paid employment. She took the decision to toe the path of entrepreneurship, banking on the training experiences she had accumulated over the years, particularly while at Nigbel Securities. So, in 1989, Princess Adeniran announced her arrival in the entrepreneurial corridor with the establishment of Dominion Trust Limited, a stock broking and financial advisory services company. Dominion Trust Limited was incorporated in 1989 as a Finance/Investment Company and a year later, it was licensed by the Securities and Exchange Commission as an Issuing House, Broker, Dealer, Dealing member of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. Today, Dominion Trust remains one of the pillars in the stock market with strong IT Support, active in primary and secondary issues and hav-

ing branches in Port Harcourt, Abuja and Ibadan. Dominion Group, today, consists of Dominion Trust Limited, Dominion Finance Limited and DTL Ventures Limited, with a vision to be one of the best and the first choice in the area of financial asset management. Dominion Trust Limited, a

Adeniran (3rd from right) at a book presentation

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or Stockbrokers to the Issue. In the secondary market, it manages portfolio for investors running into several millions of Naira just as it engages in execution of specific mandates to buy or sell. What makes DTL unique, according to Adeniran is the company’s swift response to clients’ instructions and its functional research department which drives its entire operation. Also worthy of mention is its core values of Professionalism, Integrity and Passion. The Dominion Trust Limited has maintained its vision to be the first choice in Financial Asset Management with its mission to render value-adding

Dominion Group, today, consists of Dominion Trust Limited, Dominion Finance Limited and DTL Ventures Limited, with a vision to be one of the best and the first choice in the area of financial asset management

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financial asset management services to its select clientele through well motivated and skilled manpower, delivering superior returns to its shareholders, using the latest technology available, whilst remaining a responsible corporate citizen. The company is reputed for facilitating the listing of any willing company on the Nigeria Stock Exchange ensuring correct and complete documentation necessary for the exercise while it also has a strong corporate finance department consisting of highly qualified and motivated staff striving to drive its Issuing House functions. These include optimizing its clients’ choice of solution to their finance needs, capital restructuring, debt refinancing, mergers and acquisition, capital raising (Equity & Debenture) as well as consultancy. It has a well structured operations department with a dedicated trading booth on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, a remote trading engine on its office premises supported with a highly developed state of the art technology ensures efficient and prompt execution of clients’ mandates which can be viewed on line. This is enhanced by a reliable operating system which is linked directly to the Marketing Department. Its financial advisory services section also boasts of a highly developed functional research department wish gives well

guided investment advice to clients based on their needs. The level of advisory obligations is however a function of the level of investment in its care. It has daily, weekly and monthly reports which are sent to all clients to assist them in optimizing their investment decisions. The portfolio management is a scheme which enables the firm to create value for its clients’ investment through careful analysis of the market. The decision making is aided by the well guided analysis done by the research department and also years of experience in the industry. “Our portfolio management functions could be either discretional or non discretional which is designed to eliminate avoidable risk and to adjust to clients’ specific requirement for their portfolio according to the level of their risk tolerance. Discretionary portfolio management is when the clients trust our judgment and decisions in managing their portfolio without their consent while non discretionary is when we need the client’s consent before any execution.” stated the Dominion Trust boss. Adeniran stressed that the company’s mission is to create value added Financial Asset Management services to its select clientele through a well motivated, professional manpower and deliver superior returns to its shareholders using up to date systems and software. According to her “In our strive to attain both our mission and vision, we operate in full compliance within the rules and regulations of all the regulatory authorities as well as professional ethical standards expected of a very responsible corporate citizen. This has sustained us all the years even during very difficult and challenging political and economic circumstances and environment.” According to Adeniran, Dominion Trust initially dealt only in money market, but within months, it was registered with the NSE as a licensed stockbroker and later with Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). She, however, acknowledged the confidence that the shareholders reposed on the company to take care of their investment. “We were characteristically forward looking in our operations as we were both reactive and proactive. Dominion Trust was able to discern, early enough, the need for re-

Business Courage A11 27

Monday, December 24, 2012

structuring in order to be well positioned for the future challenge. Thank God it has paid us well,” she said. The company is populated by a board of directors, whose wealth of experience and expertise span various facets of the Nigerian economy, in determining the policy framework of the company. Besides Princess Adeniran who shares the board herself, the company also has Adesupo Odukoya, a fellow of the Nigerian Institute of Surveyors, a licensed surveyor with wide experience in surveying both in public and private sectors. Odukoya had worked with the Federal Ministry of Works, Survey Division between 1969 and 1975 where he left as a Senior Surveyor. He joined Geodetic Surveys Limited, Lagos in 1975 as Chief Licensed Surveyor and became a Director of the Company in 1976. He later set up Map Data Services – a firm of Licensed Surveyors and Surveying Engineers in 1976 with another Nigerian. Other members of the board include Olusegun Olusanya, himself a fellow of the Institute of Chartered and Certified Accountants who has served in various Federal Government Ministries like Finance, Defence, National Planning and Cabinet Office where he left as Chief Accountant in 1979. He joined Savannah Bank Plc in 1980 and served in several capacities until he left as Deputy General Manager in 1982. He had at various times

‘

We were characteristically forward looking in our operations as we were both reactive and proactive. Dominion Trust was able to discern, early enough, the need for restructuring in order to be well positioned for the future challenge. Thank God it has paid us well, she said

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served as an Executive Director in AfriBank Plc, Nigerian Merchant Bank Limited, and Union Bank Plc. He was also on the board of Gateway Bank between 1989 and 1992. He is currently on the Board of Standard Alliance Insurance Company Limited and Tripple Gee and Company Plc. The board also has Olusola Adekanola, a renowned tax consultant, administrator and owner of Olusola Adekanola & Co, a firm of Chartered Accountants and Tax Practitioners. Adewale Olumuyiwa Dada, a chartered banker and a chartered accountant with extensive exposure in banking and finance is the managing director. He joined the services of

Co-operative Bank Limited in 1977 and worked in virtually all departments of your Bank in its Lagos Branches. He rose progressively in the establishment until he left in July 1990 as an Accountant. He joined Dominion Trust Limited in August 1990 and qualified as a Stockbroker and an Authorised Dealer of the Nigerian Stock Exchange in 1997. He is highly experienced in Finance, Investment and Accounting. In January 2004, he was appointed the Acting Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of Dominion Finance Limited, a member of the Dominion Group. Princess Adeniran, former chairman Ogun state Invest-

ment Corporation between 1991 and 1992, has also served in various committees of states and Federal Government, spanning through Privatization and Commercialization of government parastatals and the National Economic Intelligence Committee. She was a member of the Sub-Committee of Technical Committee for Privatisation and Commercialisation for Delta Steel Company, Aladja, Jos Steel Rolling Company, Jos, Kastina Steel Rolling Company, Katsina and Oshogbo Rolling Company. As a firmed believer in the empowerment of women, she also served as member, Board of Family Economic Advancement Programme (FEAP), a pet project of Maryam Abacha, widow of former Head of State, late General Sani Abacha. The FEAP was established in 1988 in reaction to the increasing level of poverty occasioned by the implementation of the structural adjustment policies imposed by international multilateral and bilateral lending institutions on Nigeria. Before it was later scrapped by former President Olusegun Obasanjo, FEAP was designed as a microcredit scheme to provide investment opportunities that would lead to economic growth. Thus, it was aimed at stimulating appropriate economic activities at the grass roots level. Like other poverty alleviation programmes before it, FEAP was designed to reduce the rural to urban migration that leads to the congestion of the cities and impoverishment of the rural areas, where women are always at the receiving end. At the corporate board level, Princess Adeniran is also a consummate boardroom player. She served as chairperson of Law Union & Rock Insurance Plc and was a former non-executive director of Skye Bank Plc. Princess Adeniran is also a qualified professional Dealing Clerk and Stockbroker of the Nigerian Stock Exchange. She served as a member of the Governing Council of ICAN for over 20 years and also a member of the Council of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers of Nigeria for several years. She was involved in the cross debt reconciliation of all Federal Government’s parastatals as a basis for Federal Government’s Privatization and Commercialization Scheme. BC

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Business Courage

Monday, December 24, 2012

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ThebuddingEntrepreneurs

A budding entrepreneur

with strong heart She came from an average family background but certain unresolved family issues almost put paid to her aspiration in attaining greatness. But rather than allowing herself to be subdued by the issue,she picked up the gauntlet and started to fend for herself, including paying her school fees right from JSS2 level. Today, Ronke Kosoko, an Economics graduate of the University of Lagos, is not only living her dream, she is also making impactful contribution towards solving the serious employment challenges facing the country through her company, Employment Clinic, an employment solutions company which offers a wide array of bespoke and integrated services across industries By Salami Semiu

ave for her tenacity and profound sense of vision, Ronke Kosoko would have become one of the many frustrated young Nigerians with inborn qualities but who could not find expression for such qualities. She is from an average family background, not too rich, but comfortable enough to provide for all she needed as a child. Unfortunately, certain unresolved issues between her parents affected her upbringing as she; along with her other siblings had to start catering for themselves at a tender age. In fact, Ronke started paying for her school fees from JSS2. Ronke attended Ansar-uddeen Comprehensive College, Ota, Ogun State and finished in 1999 from where she proceeded to Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education where she studied Economics/Accounting. Thereafter, she went to the University of Lagos for her BSc Economics. After her university education, she felt the need to convert her latent knowledge into practical reality rather than combing the streets in search of non available job offering. She knew she had competence in the area of advocacy hence she set out early enough to pursue that dream. To start off, she needed mon-

ey for many things like getting the company incorporated and other sundry things. That became the initial stumbling block. However, determined to turn her dreams into reality, Ronke decided to put all she had into it. Incidentally, at that time, Ronke’s house owner had issued her a quit notice and so, she was caught in between using her savings to incorporate her dream company and be rendered homeless or use the money to secure herself another accommodation. “My land-lady had given me a quit notice and I was putting money together to rent a new apartment but I also wanted to register the company. Well, I went for my dreams. I was almost homeless then but because I believed in my dreams, I went head-long to start. I just did it and Employment Clinic is here today,” she said. Ronke admitted that she realised that finances would be a major challenge, stressing that she had learnt a long time ago that “people can’t lift you above their level, that’s why some people feel intimidated around you when you share your great dreams and will do all they can to keep you on the same spot. So, I laughed every time someone tried to discourage me,” she said. That resilience and early year challenge might have combined

Kosoko

to become the unique strength that have continued to propel Ronke along her career path. At start-up, Ronke Kosoko encountered enormous challenges but she never allowed that to chatter her dream of redefining Africa’s employment profile. She started Employment Clinic with the annual Employment Summit in tertiary institutions which later metamorphosed into an Employment Solutions Company offering a wide range of bespoke and integrated services across several industries.

Today, Ronke is an economist, employment solutions strategist and local content advocate who has within a short period used her platform, Employment Clinic to help people, organizations and government access information, and point out latent employment opportunities within industries. Ronke’s Employment Clinic offers strategy, project execution, issue resolution, policy development and recruitment services to the employment sector. She says her ultimate goal

is to redefine Africa’s employment profile. “Employment is a global issue but the Nigerian case is different because there are many fundamentals that were not being addressed.” With over 40 million unemployed Nigerians, Ronke says “we can no longer wait for the government to be the only answer to our national problems especially with the spate of policy shocks and policy somersaults that continues to aggravate unemployment in the country. “ Author of “Get out of Unemployment”, a book that helps people address personal employment needs, Ronke offers consultancy services to clients seeking to identify, acquire and develop the best talent available. She is a passionate advocate of collective responsibility for national development, sharing and speaking with insight about issues affecting human, social and economic development. As founder and executive director of Employment Clinic, she focuses on youth development from the entrepreneurial and employment perspective, providing thought leadership through her books, featured articles, newsletters and blogs. In addition, she has pioneered employment summits in tertiary institutions and at the state level. She also hosts The Employment Show showing on several stations across the country. Ronke believes that Employment Clinic is actually playing the role of the government in a way.” Our educational system is raising uncompetitive graduates or those you might call ‘certificated illiterates’. So you have jobs being advertised every day,

Management Principles

Career Advancement Tips

any career experts agree that the best time to look for a new job is while you are still comfortably in your old one. If you’re starting to feel unchallenged in your present position, you may be ready for a promotion to the next level. If there aren’t many career advancement opportunities where you work, the best next job may be waiting for you elsewhere. Nowadays, it’s up to you to take control of your professional future and make sure that you are progressing wisely down the right career path. Here are 10 proven strategies to help you get started. Talk to your boss Sit down and have a very direct and pointed conversation with your boss about your future in the company. Stress that you want your job performance to meet the company’s goals. Share your own career goals. Your boss will respect this display of confidence and maturity. Ask for more work Volunteering to help out other departments or teams -- or simply asking for more responsibilities -increases your value within the organization. Asking for additional work shows an interest and desire to help your department and company to succeed. It also puts a spotlight on your value to the business. Volunteer for boards If you have your career set on something beyond what you are doing in your present position, seek out opportunities to volunteer or serve on advisory boards, where you can build a reputation as someone who is passionate and dedicated to your particular target industry. Sharpen your people skills Strong interpersonal skills play a crucial role in gaining the respect of your boss and co-workers; they will also attract the notice of outside influencers who might open new doors of opportunity for you. Be friendly, outgoing, and personable. Listen carefully to people, and practice being a clear and effective

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Business Courage A13 29

Monday, December 24, 2012

ThebuddingEntrepreneurs

Participants at the clinic

graduates coming out of schools in droves but they are not getting the jobs. Nigeria is becoming an industrialised nation, yet, unemployment still constitutes a major threat to the economy. The reason is that government no longer employs and even when they do, the thirty-six states we have in Nigeria can’t possibly employ one million people annually, yet we have over 40million unemployed people,” she said. Ronke says the government is privatising, which means public servants will be downsized, just as the private sector is also downsizing. “The private sector wants to maximise profit and for such objectives to be achieved, they will have to employ the best brains; people with high cerebral and technical skills but our schools are not inculcating these skills. So, you find organisations coming in with huge foreign direct investments without any impact on the people because they don’t have the needed skills and expatriates come in to take the jobs.,“

she said. She argued that the decision by Employment Clinic to go into tertiary institutions is to prepare the undergraduates ahead for life after school. “In Brazil today, a fourteen year old goes straight into technical school to acquire industry specific training, same in China, a country with over a thousand technical schools. So, you have a 25 year old Asian or Brazilian who is an expatriate ready to be ‘imported’ to Africa while a 35 year old Nigerian is flaunting certificates with no job,” she said. Ronke said that technical skills are in short supply in virtually all aspects of the economy. According to her, the industrial and economic revolution that is taking place around the world is private sector driven and the Nigerian case cannot be an exception. “We have seen it work in the telecommunication sector. It is also working in the power and energy sector, aviation, oil and gas, maritime, aviation, ICT and agriculture. But the question is how many of

communicator. Be innovative Never be afraid to think outside the box and put your business acumen to work. Stay on the lookout for creative solutions to problems that will make you -- and your boss -- look good. Find a mentor Develop mentoring relationships, either inside or outside of your company. Recent studies have shown that four out of five promotions are influenced by a mentor higher up in the company. Mentors are also great sources of information and career guidance. Sell yourself Learn the fine art of self-promotion. If you have had major accomplishments or created successful programmes, make sure people know about it -- especially those in influential positions who could help you advance professionally. Let it be known that you are seeking a promotion or the next step up in your career. Keep learning A proven way to advance in your career is to be continually acquiring new knowledge. Stay on top of trends or developments in your field and make sure that your current résumé reflects those needed skills. Expand your network Strengthen your personal network by joining professional organizations, attending industry conferences, or even volunteering. The more people who are aware of your strengths and abilities, the better your chances of hearing about any new opportunities that might arise Build your reputation In business, your reputation is the most valuable thing you own. Be known for being dependable, professional, and cooperative. Act and look the part by dressing professionally. Make a name for yourself by attending conferences, delivering speeches, or writing articles. BC

our schools are raising people for those industries? So, you have economic growth that is not creating jobs because employers will not fold their arms and watch their investments rot away. That’s why you find organisations going abroad to recruit,”. Ronke said that her firm go into schools to enlighten undergraduates about opportunities across industries, teach them how to strategically position themselves for these opportunities while also talking to stakeholders and the government on how they can ameliorate the situation. “We are bridging the gap between the school system and the labour market, between employees and employers, between governments and the citizenry, between corporate/international organizations and Nigerian graduates as it relates to employment issues. To achieve this, we are working with stakeholders across industries, graduates and undergraduates, policy makers, partner organizations, industry stakeholders and the producers of human resources,” she said. Ronke says her Employment Clinic educates, inspires and empowers the unemployed with knowledge, skills and strategies that will enable them escape unemployment and tap into available economic opportunities having discovered that the Nigerian educational system is the major cause of graduate unemployment in Nigeria as schools are not equipping undergraduates with what employers, industry and the economy need. The system, she said, is raising underclass graduates who are uncompetitive at the global level. Ronke could better be described as a budding entrepreneur with a strong heart who doesn’t see issues as challenges. “I just deal with them. I would say I have a very strong heart so I deal with anything that stands in my way. That’s how I’ve been able to overcome my start-up challenges because they were really enormous. In life and business generally, you will always have issues but you must keep your head up or you get drowned. So, my strong heart has been my greatest strength in addition to the God factor”. She is guided by these philosophies of believing in what you believe in; be convinced about your ideas and knowing the rules but be ready to break them when you should. She also strongly believes in being tenacious; surrounding yourself with the right people who want to see you grow and not those who feel intimidated by your positive energy and above all, a never give up spirit. Ronke believes that material things and fame don’t define how successful a person is. For her, success is determined by being successful in achieving all that you’re created to do with your life. “So, you can’t really measure success until your Creator says well done, good and faithful servant.” BC

Personal Finance How to improve your financial status

ersonal finance refers to managing your own money. It takes into consideration money that you earn and money that you have to spend. Since you have different needs for money, you have to be strategic in how you utilize it to avoid getting into financial trouble. Also, good financial management will help you to secure your financial future and live a comfortable life. To manage your finances, it is important that you know how much money you usually have to spend. To calculate your total income, take into consideration your different income streams and add them up. Then deduct your taxes to get your net income. Next, calculate how much money goes to meeting your daily expenditures. Come up with an estimate of how much you spend on expenditures within a given time period. Expenditures can be classified into expenses which are constant such as rent, expenses which vary such as entertainment and emergency expenses which occur occasionally. To find your true financial standing, subtract your expenditure from your income and see whether you have a surplus or deficit. If you have a deficit, then it means that you have a financial problem. To prevent it from escalating, you should take the necessary steps to reduce your spending. This includes coming up with a spending plan and sticking to it to ensure you do not go over your budget. If you have a surplus in your balance, this provides you with an opportunity to save and invest your funds for a financially secure future. It is recommended that you consult a professional to advise you on the best ways to manage your money especially if you do not have good financial skills. As much as it is good to save, it is better to invest your money than let it idles in your bank account. This is because investments help to multiply your finances and improve your financial standing. Explore various investment options. You can make property investment or choose to engage in the stock market. By all means, do not borrow money unless you have no choice. You can get into problems by borrowing money as most lenders charge high interest rates. Do not borrow money to spend on personal needs which will not provide you with a financial return. Instead, invest the money in an income generating venture to get money to repay the loan. It is always advisable to set aside money for emergency use during a rainy time. This means that you should have enough money saved up that can meet your expenses for at least six months in case something happens to your cash flow. This will help you cope with sudden occurrences and prevent you from getting into financial trouble in case something happens. Other tips to keep in mind include learning to live within your means. Avoid comparing yourself with others and gauging your financial standing based on others people’s financial status. Again, you have the option of seeking further training and getting more education to further your career and increase your earning potential. Though it may seem inconsequential at first, you can take some simple steps. This includes buying items in large quantities especially if you have a large family. Alternatively, you can avoid withdrawing money too many times using the ATM and instead make withdrawals once or twice within a month. BC

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Business Courage

Monday, December 24, 2012

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The new e-Payment

scam

While the fraudulent transactions through the Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), are said to be on the decline, there are fears that the recent increase in e-payment channel may have raised the stake for a new e-fraud called ‘card not present’ By Adejuwon Osunnuyi

he fear of fraudulent activities that are usually associated with transactions through the Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), over the years, might have made many Nigerians not to be too enthusiastic about the “Cashless Policy” of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN). Their reasons may not be far-fetched. In the last three years alone, reports have it that over N80 billion might have been lost to ATM fraud. An analysis of the types of frauds and forgeries that are usually associated with the epayment or e-transaction as the case maybe, showed that the commonest types have been ATM fraud; fraudulent transfers/ withdrawals; lodgement of stolen warrants; presentation of forged cheques; suppression of customer deposit; granting of unauthorized credits; loss of money to armed robbers and outright theft. While the electronic fraud which has almost marred the success of the electronic payment scheme is said to have been perpetrated by outsiders, more disturbing facts revealed that in most cases, bank workers are feared to have been largely involved. For instance, the Nigerian Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) in its 2010 report, said that over 600 bank employees were said to have been involved in the ATM fraud. Of the total, core operation staff such as supervisors, officers, accountants, managers, executive assistants, clerks and cashiers are said to have account-

ed for about 80.11 per cent. But going by CBN’s report, especially against the backdrop of conscious efforts in making the nation’s economy go cashless, a situation whereby most transactions are done with cards rather than cash, since the movement to EMV chip based cards from the magstripe based cards, ATM related frauds seems to have drastically reduced. According to the apex bank, fraudulent transactions through the ATMs have been reduced by 99 per cent within the last one year. EMV stands for Europay, MasterCard and VISA. It is the global standard for inter-operation of integrated circuit cards and also used for authenticating credit and debit card transactions. Nigeria migrated to this platform in October 2010. To CBN, since the beginning of the cashless policy, fears of fraud which many stakeholders have expressed in the past might have gone with the wind as the use of ATM, Point of Sales (POS) terminals and mobile payments have increased tremendously. According to data from CBN, volume of electronic transaction has increased from N167.96 million in the first half of 2011 to N185.07 million in the first half of 2012. However, despite the CBN’s position that the rate of the electronic fraud has decreased in recent time, reports indicate a contrary position. Experts said last week that whosoever thought the migration to EMV chip based cards from the magstripe based cards has been able to stop the then rising cases of bank frauds in the country might have been proved

A new dimension to e-fraud

wrong, going by new findings which suggest that the ever unrelenting fraudsters have now developed new ways to fleece unsuspecting bank customers of billions of Naira from their accounts. Experts in the electronic payment industry have cried out that new e-fraud called ‘card not present’ has also been on the increase. Emmanuel Obaigbona, a deputy director at the CBN and chairman, Nigerian e-Fraud Forum, NeFF, warned that though fraudulent transactions through the ATMs have been reduced by 99 per cent within the last one year, the ‘card not present’ fraud has assumed a new dimension, as a result of the introduction of cashless policy which has led to the introduction of more e-payment channels. Obaigbona who spoke at the Annual General Meeting of NeFF recently said that the ‘card not present’ fraud, which means other forms of e-payment crime other than through the ATM, however blamed the emergence of ‘card not present’ fraud on the inability of banks to disclose and share information of related fraudulent cases with one another. According to Obaigbona, the introduction of NeFF, which comprises senior e-banking officials of the various banks, became necessary as it has been discovered that fraud incidences had negatively impacted con-

fidence in the entire system and not just on the banking institution. “By the time we move to the EMV technology, we discovered that ATM fraud has drastically reduced by 99 per cent. But then, in line with the CBN desire to promote electronic payment, there was the need to introduce the cashless policy. And with the increase in e-payment channel, there has been an increase in e-fraudulent attack,” he said. He said that since NeFF was formed a year ago, it had noticed that there was need for the industry to do something because crime has now migrated from ATM to ‘card not pres-

Agbaje

ent’ fraud. “We discovered that in the cause of doing this, same style of fraud was committed in different banks. That is, the kind of crime perpetrated in ‘Bank A’, is same done in ‘Bank B’. This was because the banks were not sharing information. So, there was need to bring the industry together in information sharing. Obaigbona also noted that there is the need to strengthen the legal framework against electronic fraud, noting that the present legal framework does not discourage fraudulent activities within the banking system. “We had a case of where someone defrauded a

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bank of millions of naira. When he was taken to court, he was given an option of N5, 000 or three months imprisonment,” he said. Segun Agbaje, Managing Director, GTBank said that since the introduction of a particular payment system in 2011, e-fraud has assumed an inter-bank situation as he also blamed the lack of co-operation by banks in mitigating against fraud as the reason for its escalation in other e-payment channels. “In a situation where a fraudster committed a fraud in bank ‘A’, even when bank ‘B’ is notified, such fraudulent account might not be sanctioned. Also, some banks delay, withheld or reduce the total cash that has been channelled to their banks fraudulently by scammers. Some even underreport a crime, therefore undermining the tackling of fraud. The question is why an organisation must protect fraudsters?” he asked. Aside the “card not present” fraud, another fraud being perpetrated going by the daily growth in sophistication, include situation where fraudsters now do “reverse transfer of funds.” This is a situation where the fraudsters reverse the process a customer would normally perform to transfer funds from his/her bank account through the e-banking portal to that of a beneficiary. Often times, when such transactions are small, customers

Business Courage A15 31

Monday, December 24, 2012

are not alerted that such has taken place only to be discovered later, and in many cases, it is done on several customer accounts simultaneously. According to experts, most Nigerian banks either hide or under report incidences of frauds and forgeries from the regulators whenever they do occur. Some of the unreported cases are discovered accidentally long after they happened, or the truth found out about others that were previously under-reported. The thinking is that, the banks erroneously believe that reporting such could invariably de-market the affected institutions, according to Obaigbona. Obaigbona said the apex bank may consider imposing sanctions on banks found to have hidden or under-reported frauds and forgeries. According to him, “fraud is an international phenomenon and especially, the aim (reporting to the regulator), is to be proactive. We want to be able to nip whatever problems there are in the bud before it gains ground. I am not particularly happy that many banks are not giving us accurate statistics! I don’t know why they are scared, it is not de-marketing, but to save the industry… one institution suffered fraud recently, but reported something very minimal. We are looking at imposing sanctions for wrong information, because you are not helping the industry by doing that,” he said. In a related development, Oluseyi Akindehinde, chief technical officers and partner at Digit Encode, consultants to the CBN, lamented the challenges often encountered while seeking data on fraud and forgeries from the banks.“Internal fraud cases have been rising in the last three months,” he said, noting that data could only be obtained from eight banks in the quarter between April and June, out of which only about five were received directly and the others stumbled upon. What has been discovered, he said, is that external fraud vectors such as phishing, an electronic mail scam where fraudsters attempt identity theft through obtaining personal information like usernames, passwords and credit card details by masquerading to be institutions they are not. Akindehinde noted that phishing accounted for 73 per cent of total frauds, and the rest- internet bank. In all, he stressed that internal sources (bank staff) were responsible for nine per cent of the number and the rest- external parties. He explained that about N1.15 billion was lost by eight banks that reported fraud in the second quarter of 2012 and that the figure could be much more when the true and entire industry picture is obtained. Of this amount however, those

perpetuated with staff connivance accounted for N900 million or 78.26 per cent, while the external resulted in N250 million loss to the affected banks. Oshioke Ojior, Chief Risk Officer of Interswitch, also agreed that the fraudsters are now modifying their approach. He however said the increase in frauds in the months of May, June and July which have always recorded higher cases of fraud in the global web environment, may not be unconnected with the fact that people traditionally travel for summer during the period. Niyi Ajao, Executive Director, Operations of NIBSS also lamented that “fraud attempts we are hearing about now are too sophisticated,” but expresses worry that the “banks are not forthcoming with accurate disclosure so that we can work together to enhance controls.” Femi Olalokun, Executive Director, Operations and IT and Chief Operating Officer, UBA Plc, also spoke on the need to constantly contain fraud in the industry for the economy to enjoy the benefit of the ongoing cashless policy initiative, which according to him, presents huge opportunities. He said that as technology keeps innovating, there is need for all stakeholders to get involved in the value chain by establishing standards for each participant in the transaction space to guarantee such transactions and get customer buy-in. NeFF, he said, needs the encouragement of stakeholders to deliver on its mandate, just as “collaboration is critical among all stakeholders as the various parties come together to provide the platform for electronic transactions. Issuers, Acquirers, Switchers and Processors all have to integrate to provide service to the public. A chain is as strong as its weakest link.” However, the CBN said that, despite the increase noticed recently in the electronic frauds, it will continue to build confidence in the nation’s electronic banking system. The apex bank said it has set up a help desk in the CBN to address cases of ATM or other related frauds. According to CBN, “In order to sustain public confidence in the Nigerian payment system, the CBN has directed that henceforth, all complaints on card transactions should be treated and responded to within 72 hours of receipt of the complaints by banks.” While advising respective banks to open similar help desks to assist their customers who are daily victims of card frauds, CBN warned bank customers not to divulge their passwords or any other banking details to anyone through the internet and urged the general public to disregard any e-mail or website that links the CBN with such transactions. BC

Technotips

Tech Tips for Parents

he steps you can take to ensure that your children are safe and act responsibly in today’s digital world will vary dramatically on how old they are and how much exposure they have to technology. But if your children are still young, and they are starting to show an increasing interest in gadgets, games, and the Web, then it’s definitely time to put your digital parenting plan into action! Here are nine tips to help you get started: 1. Get In The Game! Make an effort to understand the basics of the technology that your child are (or will be) using on a daily basis. Technology is such a big part of kids’ lives that no parent can afford to just step away from their responsibilities in this area. You may be doing a fantastic parenting job in all other aspects of your children’s lives but without understanding at least the basics, you cannot be part of their ever-expanding digital world. It’s not difficult to grasp some fundamentals and get up-to-speed. Plus, it’s fun and educational that’s why your kids love it so much! 2. Open a dialogue. Talk to your kids about technology and in particular about Internet safety. Agree on a set of rules for using the computer and going on the Internet. Surf the web together. Stay involved; your child’s tech and online activity will increase and become more complex as they get older and technology continues to evolve. Keep the conversation going. 3. Be informed. Know what technology your child uses, what games they play, which web sites they visit, and with whom they are communicating. For young children, give them an approved list of web sites. 4. Be interested. Ask your child what he is doing, what programs he is using, what sites he’s visiting. Ask him to show you how his tech toys work and what he and his friends do with them. 5. Help your child understand what inappropriate behavior is. If you or your child encounter inappropriate behavior - whether it’s violent video games, cyber-bullying, or online predators - don’t just let it go. Act on it, whether it’s talking to your child, bringing the subject up with another child’s parents or reporting it the appropriate authorities. 6. Buy a family computer and keep it in a public place in the home. Encourage your children to regard it as a resource for everyone to use. Give each of them separate IDs and passwords, so they have a sense of ownership and privacy. 7. Never give out personal information over the Internet. Explain to a child that he or she must never give out personal information. Family e-mail addresses, phone numbers, names, birth dates, home addresses, family details, photos, etc. should all be jealously guarded. Although social networking sites ask for and encourage sharing this information, your child should know that protecting his own and his family’s identity should be one of his top priorities. 8. Empower yourself. Use Internet filtering or monitoring software. You don’t have to check in on what your child is doing every day, but the fact that you can - and they know you can - helps set the right tone for responsible behaviour. 9. Set a good example. It’s no good setting limits on your kids’ screen time if you spend all day with your eyes glued to your laptop or firing off hundreds of texts from your iPhone. Similarly, don’t ban devices from the dinner table if you reach for your smartphone every time it buzzes. Children take their lead from their parents’ behaviour and interacting with technology is no different. BC

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Business Courage

MTN localises campaign against multinationals’ trend Stories by Adejuwon Osunnuyi

gainst the trend for multinationals to always produce generic campaigns for use across their markets, often with minimal or no localisation, leading telecommunications company, MTN, has done the complete opposite with its latest global brand campaign. MTN’s campaign, “Welcome to the New World” launched recently consists of 17 commercials – designed to speak to MTN’s individual markets and customers, and capture the essence of each, across Africa and the Middle East. The television commercials are complemented by a wide range of extensive countryspecific print, outdoor, online and mobile campaigns. All executions are in the markets’ dominant languages, notably, English, French, Kinyarwandan (Rwanda), Pashito, and Farsi - and feature local models and personalities. Executive for Group Marketing at MTN, Jennifer Forrester, says the global campaign’s objective is to celebrate the beauty and uniqueness of the people in MTN markets, particularly their vibrancy, spirit and creativity. “We spent huge amounts of time looking at the people, the clothing and the setting, so that we get every bit of detail right. This was very important to us. We wanted the international community to see these countries, the way we see them, “says Forrester. To develop the campaign strategy, MTN roped in its creative agency, Metropolitan Republic, which also executed the Pan-African part of the campaign. Another creative outfit, TBWA was brought in to produce the Middle East and North Africa part of the campaign, based on the strategy and creative concept devel-

Brett Goschan, MTN Nigeria CEO

Deep

oped by Metropolitan Republic. “We were briefed to develop a campaign that not only firmly positioned MTN in the mind of the consumer, but also builds brand affinity with Africa’s younger population,” says Alison Deep, CEO of Metropolitan Republic Group. “We knew we needed to find a big idea that will not only answer to the strategic intent, but also resonate with such diverse markets, taking cultural, language and religious diversity into consideration.” She says a key challenge was obtaining the buy-in from all 21 of MTN’s diverse markets. “This was a real challenge because we were not always able to engage with the operating companies face-to-face due to time considerations and language differences.” Deeb says a combination of market research that indicated MTN’s customers are incredibly proud of where they come from, and MTN’s business strategy– which centres on sustainable growth in the digital space – gave Metropolitan a sound basis. “In MTN context, it is the now non-existent belief that there’s a so-called ‘first world’ that leads the way, and a third world. For MTN, there’s just one world and it’s a brand new world made possible by its innovative products and services – particularly in the digital space.” Forrester says the campaign communicates the beginning of a new chapter for MTN, both as a business and brand. This year, the mobile operator became the first African company to crack global research group Milward Brown’s BrandZ™ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands listing, coming in at 88th position. “Therefore instead of being just a global brand, we wanted to start behaving like one,’ says Forrester. “For us, it was important that we launch a brand campaign that would be part and parcel of MTN’s long term strategy, as well as move MTN from its current reality to a desired and defined future state. We believe this campaign achieves that.” Deeb says there are few

Monday, December 24, 2012

multinational companies that have managed to take a central idea from business to brand, and also have the same idea celebrated at an individual country level. “With this campaign, if you are sitting in Uganda, you will get to feel that MTN gets you in Uganda. The same applies to the Middle East markets. I think MTN has really struck on to something very unique,” she says. Adds Forrester: “There are thousands of songs about New York, which to most people is where everything happens,” says Forrester. “We want people to also have that same feeling about our markets, where they write about Kampala in that way, or Lagos, Accra or Khartoum; because we feel that this is where the new world actually is.” The campaign will be rolled out in all of MTN’s 21 markets, starting with the English and French Pan-African markets early in December, followed by Middle East in early 2013.

Signal Alliance harps on use of technology to foster a culture of collaboration

ignal Alliance, an end-toend IT Company which specializes in systems integration has advocated for the use of technology to foster a culture of collaboration in light of an increasingly mobile, social, visual, and virtual world. At the 2012 Cisco Collaboration Forum hosted by Signal Alliance at the Victoria Crown Plaza Hotel, Victoria Island Lagos recently, the IT firm said there is need for today’s businesses to close the collaboration productivity gap created by today’s borderless enterprise with its highly distributed, mobile, and empowered workforce. Speaking at the event which was hailed as a resounding success by all who attended the event and regarded as one of the latest additions to Signal Alliance portfolio of customer engagement forums, Desmond Omovie, Marketing Communications Manager, Signal Alliance Ltd said Technologyenabled collaborative solutions are keys to enabling collaborative business processes and putting people back at the centre of work. “Today’s businesses need to close the collaboration productivity gap created by today’s borderless enterprise with its highly distributed, mobile, and empowered workforce. Technology-enabled collaborative solutions are keys to enabling collaborative business processes and putting people back at the centre of work” Omovie said. The seminar was designed

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to explore the use of technology to foster a culture of collaboration in light of an increasingly mobile, social, visual, and virtual world. Customers from the financial, Oil and Gas, Insurance, Manufacturing and Public sector share and discuss challenges, while trends, solutions, and best practices, as well as communication capabilities that are shaping the collaboration experience were presented to address these issues. Key areas explored during the forum includes how Cisco technologies including unified communications, business video, and Web 2.0 applications make collaboration possible, and close the gap by eliminating the barriers of distance and time so organizations can shorten decision times, accelerate innovation and build agility, productivity, and competitive advantage. Signal Alliance has grown to be a most vibrant, forward moving ICT company in Nigeria with offices in Lagos and Abuja FCT. It has solid industry experience spanning across the major sectors of the Nigerian industry. Signal Alliance also provides its customers with specialized services and solutions to meet their organization’s ICT expectations. With major strategic partnerships with World industry giants such as Microsoft, Cisco and CA Technologies, Signal Alliance prides itself on its ability to gain a thorough understanding of clients’ businesses and using appropriate technology as a bridge between where the client is and where it wants to go.

Airtel Nigeria completes LTE trial

obile service provider, Airtel Nigeria, has taken a giant stride in its quest to pioneer innovation and lead a new phase of telecoms revolution in the country as it announces the successful completion of the Long Term Evolution (LTE) trial in Lagos, the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria. LTE, widely accepted as the true 4G, is a standard for wireless communication of high-speed data for mobile phones and data terminals. It is based on advanced network technologies with a central focus of increasing the capacity and speed using a different radio interface together with enhanced core network. With the successful completion of the first 4G LTE trial in Lagos, Airtel says it is ready for test in the other major cities across the country including Abuja and Port Harcourt. The company added that the Lagos trial threw up exciting results as data users could open up simultaneous HD

Swaroop

Videos on Youtube without buffering. Download speed, under ideal conditions was 37 Megabits per Second (Mbps), while under non ideal conditions, was 32 Mbps; Upload speed was – 10.6 Mbps. Measurement under non ideal condition was done using www.Speedtest.net. Speaking on the success of the trial, the Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Airtel Nigeria, Rajan Swaroop said Airtel is committed to strengthening its position as a true pioneer of innovation in the Nigerian telecommunications domain, saying this is in line with its overall corporate vision of becoming the most loved brand in the daily lives of Nigerians. “At Airtel, we pride ourselves as leaders and we are passionate about continuously creating the next innovation to empower telecoms consumers and enrich the lives of our customers across the country. In the coming weeks, we shall take this success story to other parts of the country so that Nigerians will benefit from this innovation when finally unveiled,” said Swaroop. LTE is a truly global mobile phone standard for advanced mobile broadband. There is use of different frequency bands in different countries, which will mean that only multi-band phones will be able to use LTE in all countries where it is supported. In February this year, Airtel Nigeria took a significant step to deepen its network capacity and quality when it announced the roll-out of widest 3.75G services across the 36 States in Nigeria and the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. With the pan-Nigeria launch of 3.75G services, the widest and largest in the country, the company has improved customers’ experience with high speed mobile broadband and internet access, empowering telecoms consumers to watch live TV, download music, make video calls as well as send and receive emails using enabled devices. BC

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Business Courage A17 33

Monday, December 24, 2012

Reflections with Semiu Salamii 07043280449 sms only

Recycling same old rot R ecently, when the Transparency International (TI), the global anticorruption watchdog came out with its 2012 Corruption Perception Index, which placed Nigeria far below smaller neighbouring countries like Republic of Benin and Togo, several rebuttals were issued. Various government officials rejected the report and condemned it as a mere reflection of the negative mindset of the Nigerian media, stressing that the report failed to take into cognisance, the spirited efforts of President Goodluck Jonathan administration to fight the corruption menace. They argued that while the issue of corruption predates the Jonathan administration, they insisted that it is only the current government that has taken the most decisive action to stem the tide, citing the endless probe into the fuel subsidy fraud as a key pointer to the administration’s zero tolerance to corruption. Though all the arguments put forward by government foot soldiers and sponsored commentators may have succeeded in convincing a few, last week’s appointment of certain individuals with badly stained reputation into the boards of some Federal Government parastatals

and corporations has clearly exposed the Jonathan administration as the harbinger of corruption, not in any way different from the governments before it. Last Thursday, the largely discredited Edo politician, former chairman, Board of Trustee, Peoples Democratic Party and estwhile works minister under former President Olusegun Obasanjo was named as Chairman of the Board of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA). Of all the appointments announced by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Pius Anyim, none is as controversial as that of Anenih. Strictly speaking, it wouldn’t have matter whatever position President Jonathan had decided to offer Anenih, who carries the notorious sobriquet of “Mr. Fix It”, courtesy of his political dexterity at ensuring that he determines, almost with ease until the current comrade governor of Edo State, Adams Oshiomhole cut him to size. Where the worry lies, and I honestly think many well meaning Nigerians really have genuine reason to worry, is the less than honorary and the very shameful conduct of Anenih as a cabinet minister under Obasanjo. Anenih was indicted by a National

Assembly Committee for mismanaging over N300 billion that accrued to the Works Ministry during his tenure as minister. His tenure as works minister saw no major road in the country repaired or constructed. The LagosIbadan Expressway and the Benin-Ore Expressway were in deplorable states during Anenih’s tenure as minister. For President Jonathan to appoint Anenih as NPA board chair, an agency of government considered lucrative and as the hotbed of corruption after the oil and gas sector is to say the least, a deliberate affront on the collective psyche of Nigerians and a clear case of insensitivity of a government that is willing to hang on to anything to sustain itself in power. The NPA, no doubt, has served as agency of choice for PDP leaders since the return of democracy in 1999. A former Deputy National Chairman of the party, who once held the position, Bode George, was eventually convicted and jailed for two years for contract splitting running into several billions of naira. It is not unlikely that President Jonathan may have given Anenih the plum job as compensation for his been schemed out of contention for the PDP

BOT chairmanship position, but it is rather unfortunate that a government that came to power on the premise of fresh breadth could so brazenly chose to mortgage our common wealth to a few selfish individuals with no clear record of genuine service to the nation. From what the president has done, it clearly shows that there is no marked departure from the past where sharing of national wealth is based on pure political patronage. In a saner society, where the people cherish good governance, uphold integrity, abhor self enrichment and above all, respect rule of law, the likes of Anenih should be rotten in jail for the huge economic crimes they have wrought on the people. So, for a government that rode to power on the crest of popular support, based on the assumption that things would be better than it used to be, where people had placed so much hope on the government to now turn around celebrate those who would have been treated as common criminals elsewhere is to say the least, a betrayal of public trust. With the appointment of Anenih as Chairman, Board of Nigerian Ports Authority, President Goodluck Jonathan has simply shown that his mouthed anti corruption crusade is not only a charade but also a deceit and clearly, a betrayal of the trust of the people who damned all consequences to elect him into power. BC

The Stock Market last week

turnover of 1.293 billion shares worth N13.725 billion in 20,499 deals was recorded last week in contrast to a total of 1.929 billion shares valued at N14.640 billion that exchanged hands the previous week in 22,650 deals. The Financial Services sector (measured by turnover volume) accounted for 952.745 million shares valued at N7.857 billion traded in 11,975 deals. Consumer Goods sector (measured by turnover volume) followed in the activTOP 10 PRICE GAINERS COMPANY OPEN OKOMU OIL PALM PLC GTB INTER BREW PRESCO PZ CUSSONS NATIONAL SALT DANGOTE CEMENT CONOIL BOC GASES FBN HOLDINGS

35 21.5 14.2 15.51 27.05 6.5 121.5 20.05 5.68 15.5

CLOSE GAIN % (N) CHANGE 38 33.35 15.9 16.6 28 7.14 122 20.5 5.96 15.73

3 1.85 1.7 1.09 0.95 0.64 0.5 0.45 0.28 0.23

8.57 8.6 11.97 7.03 3.51 9.85 0.41 2.24 4.93 1.48

ity chart with for 81.616 million shares valued at N4.377 billion traded in 4,295 deals. The Industrial Goods sector (measured by turnover volume) was third with 72.867 million shares valued at N265.817 million traded in 1,057 deals. The top three sectors accounted for 1.107 billion shares valued at N12.499 billion traded in 17,327 deals, thus accounting for 85.63 per cent, 91.07 per cent and 84.53 per cent of the volume, value and number of deals respectively. Similarly, the Banking subsector of the Financial Services sector was the TOP 10 PRICE LOSERS COMPANY OPEN NIGERIA BREW NESTLE GUINNES 7-UP BOTTLING UACN LAFARGEWAPCO OANDO TOTAL JOHN HOLT UNILEVER

CLOSE GAIN (N) 165 144.3 -20.7 710 700.06 -9.94 265 261 -4 44 42 -2 43.98 42 -1.98 60 58.05 -1.95 14.03 12.45 -1.58 121.68 120.57 -1.11 4.57 3.57 -1 47 46.5 -0.5

% CHANGE

-12.55 -1.4 -1.51 -4.55 -4.5 -3.25 -11.26 -0.91 -21.88 -106

most active during the week (measured by turnover volume); with 695.408 million shares worth N6.525 billion traded in 8,731 deals. Volume in the Banking subsector was largely driven by activity in the shares of Zenith Bank Plc, UBA Plc and Guaranty Trust Bank Plc. Trading in the shares of the three banks accounted for 343.272 million shares, representing 49.36 per cent, 36.03 per cent and 2.50 per cent of the turnover recorded by the subsector, sector and total turnover for the week, respectively. Also traded during the week were 638 units of NewGold Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) valued at N1.636 million exchanged hands in 4 deals in contrast to a total of 880 units valued at N2.300 million transacted last week in 6 deals. There were no transactions through the stock market in the FGN Bonds, State/Local Government Bonds and Corporate Bonds/Debentures sectors. PRICE MOVEMENT The NSE All-Share Index dropped by 1.02 per cent (+32.18 per cent YTD) to close at 27,402.06. Also, Market Capitalization of the listed equities depreciated by 1.03 per cent (+34.02 YTD) to close at N8.755 trillion. Likewise, the Bloomberg NSE 30, Bloomberg NSE Consumer Goods, Bloomberg NSE Insurance, Bloomberg NSE Oil/Gas and NSE Lotus II Indices depreciated by 1.40 per cent (+41.38% YTD), 5.83 per cent (+40.11per cent YTD), 0.73 per cent (-20.05 per cent YTD), 2.91per cent (-30.39 per cent

YTD) and 0.39 per cent (41.93 per cent YTD) respectively. However, the Bloomberg NSE Banking index appreciated by 3.29 per cent (+20.70 per cent YTD). Summary of price change A review of the equity price movements indicated that forty (40) equities gained while thirty five (35) equities recorded price declines and prices of one hundred and twenty (120) equities remained constant. When compared with the preceding week, forty four (44) equities gained while twenty-five (25) equities recorded price declines and prices of one hundred and twenty-nine (129) equities remained constant. BC

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Business Courage

Monday, December 24, 2012

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New Audi A5: A combination of beauty,

udi is refreshing the A5 model series. Advanced technologies are being added to the Sportback, Coupé, Cabriolet and S5 models in the areas of the engine, quattro drive and infotainment for even more efficiency, sportiness and intelligence. The updated design visually underscores the technical expertise involved in these versions. The A5 models are now more distinctive than ever. The rear lights and the headlights have been redesigned and are optionally available in xenon plus technology with homogenous LED daytime running lights. New colours and materials accentuate the interior, and many details of the operating concept have been fine-tuned. Each of the four TDI diesel and three TFSI gasoline units in the new engine line-up include forced induction and direct fuel injection. The new 1.8 TFSI features a number of groundbreaking innovations. Fuel consumption has been reduced by 11 percent on average. The start-stop system and the recuperation system come standard with all engine-transmission configurations. Each engine is matched with the ideal drive train – sixspeed manual, multitronic, seven-speed S tronic, frontwheel drive or quattro drive. When combined with S tronic, the quattro drivetrain uses the crown-gear centre differential and torque vectoring; the sport

differential is the perfect complement. The chassis has been more finely tuned, with the optional Audi drive select system and dynamic steering making the A5 even more fun to drive. The electromechanical power steering is new to the A5 family. The new A5 is a highly intelligent car. Its driver assistance systems have undergone intensive further development. The range of infotainment options now includes the Bluetooth online car phone, which delivers a number of special services and connects the A5 to the Internet. Exterior design and body Ever since their debut, the models of the A5 family – the Sportback, Coupé and Cabriolet – have impressed with their elegance. The flowing silhouettes, the sharp lines and the muscular surfaces make strong statements. The product improvement adds sharp new accents to the design. The upper corners of the single-frame grille in high-gloss black are bevelled. The grille’s lateral bars and the Audi rings appear to be sculpted. The new bumper features pronounced air inlets with massive struts, revamped grilles and flat fog lights. Sharply chiselled edges give the engine hood a threedimensional look; the entire front end appears even flatter and wider. The headlights have also been updated. Their lower edge forms a wave; their interior has

been restructured. With the optional xenon plus headlights, the LED daytime running lights form a narrow, homogenous clasp framing the headlight. Audi also offers the adaptive light system with dynamic cornering light and turning light. The rear lights have also been redesigned and are optionally available with continuous LED light strips. The bumper includes a number of additional details. The product improvement has added a millimetre (0.04 in) to each of the exterior dimensions. The A5 Sport back is 4.71 meters (15.45 ft) long; the Coupé and the Cabriolet 4.63 meters (15.19 ft). The range of colours has been reshuffled and now comprises 16 colours. The fully automatic acoustic top of the A5 Cabriolet is available in four colours. The S line exterior package is available for those who appreciate an even more dynamic look. Interior design A harmonious balance of proportions and surfaces, fine materials and top-quality fit and finish: The interior of the A5 models reflects the Audi brand culture. It is now more elegant than ever – with new steering wheels, including an option for a flattened ring, new steering column stalks and with narrow chrome clasps framing the control elements. A button is used to directly adjust the optional seat heat-

ing and seat ventilation in three stages. Also updated were the ignition key, the selector lever for the automatic transmission, the button for the optional Audi drive select system and the controls of the high-efficiency air conditioning and multifunction steering wheel. All displays are now illuminated in white. Another attractive option is the S line sport package. It drapes the interior in black and accentuates it with elegant applications. A sport suspension lowers the vehicle body by 10 millimetres (0.39 in), and 18-inch wheels round out the package. Buyers looking for that special something will find many more customization options in the Audi exclusive range, including the stylish Audi exclusive line with twotone seat coverings. Engines The A5 family sets new standards for sportiness and efficiency. All engines feature forced induction and direct injection for tremendous pulling power. Even the entry-level engine produces 320 Nm (236.02 lb-ft) of torque. The start-stop system and the recuperation system are standard with all engines – no other manufacturer takes such a rigorous approach. The line-up comprises three gasoline engines and four TDI units. CO2 emissions have been reduced by as much as 22 percent. The completely redesigned

1.8 TFSI showcases the full extent of Audi’s expertise. Groundbreaking innovations can be found in the control of the valves and their lift, the thermal management concept, the injection system, the turbocharger and the integration of the exhaust manifold. In the A5 Coupé, the high-end four-cylinder unit consumes on average just 5.7 litres of fuel per 100 km (41.27 US mpg). This bestin-class value corresponds to 134 grams CO2 per km (215.65 g/mile) and is 21 percent lower than before. With 125 kW (170 hp), the 1.8 TFSI accelerates the A5 powerfully. The output of the 2.0 TFSI remains unchanged at 155 kW (211 hp). New to the Audi A5 line-up is the 3.0 TFSI, a supercharged V6 producing 200 kW (272 hp). The diesel engines are also impressively efficient, and the four-cylinder units feature modifications in numerous areas. Equipped with the 130 kW (177 hp) 2.0 TDI and a manual transmission, the A5 Coupé consumes on average just 4.7 litres of fuel per 100 km (50.05 US mpg) – a CO2 equivalent of 122 g per km (196.34 g/mile) and a milestone in the coupe segment. Three V6 diesel units round out the lineup on the top end. The 3.0 TDI with 150 kW (204 hp) is the most fuel-efficient six-cylinder unit in its class

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Business Courage A19 35

Monday, December 24, 2012

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power and efficiency

Autocare Ways to protect your engine

ngines need a regular check-up and maintenance to keep them in good running condition. Most car owners don’t take time thinking about their engines. We hop into the car, turn the key and head out to wherever we’re going. When we do notice the engine, however, it’s usually when we hear it making sounds we’re not accustomed to hearing or when the car feels a little different than it did before. Here is a list of ways to help you take proper care of your engine and to keep it from creating serious problems. Stay on top of these suggestions and your engine will run better, last longer and keep you from shelling out more cash later on down the road. Change the oil regularly Changing the oil regularly is one of the most important things you can do for your engine. Your engine can’t function without it and if you go too long between oil changes, it can cause permanent damage to your engine over time. Keep the cooling system working The easiest way to protect your engine from overheating is by making sure you have the proper amount of coolant (radiator fluid) circulating throughout your engine. The cooling system includes the radiator, thermostat, water pump and coolant. The coolant circulates through your engine when the thermostat determines that the engine is getting hot and needs to be cooled down. The water pump then pulls coolant from the radiator, sends it into the engine block and then back out to the radiator to be cooled back down.

worldwide. In the A5 Coupé with multitronic, it consumes on average 4.9 litres (48 US mpg) of fuel and emits just 129 grams CO2 per km (207.61 g/ mile). The second variant of the 3.0 TDI produces 180 kW (245 hp). Arriving somewhat later is a particularly low-emissions clean diesel model that will make the A5 the first coupe on the market to meet the Euro 6 diesel standard. Drive train Audi offers the ideal drive train for each engine. A manual six-speed transmission and the continuously variable multitronic are available for models with front-wheel drive. The quattro models come with a manual transmission or the lightning-fast, seven-speed S tronic. All of the transmissions shine with their convenience and precision, high efficiency and wide gear spread. The long ratios in the upper gears reduce fuel consumption. Members of the A5 family equipped with quattro permanent all-wheel drive and the S tronic transmission also feature the crown-gear centre differential with torque vectoring. During normal driving, the mechanical component sends the engine’s power primarily to the rear wheels. If necessary, it redistributes the power lightningfast and smoothly. Up to 70 percent can flow to the front

axle, 85 percent to the rear axle. Torque vectoring uses targeted, minor braking interventions to make the handling even more precise. Chassis The A5 models set standards for sporty dynamics, luxurious ride comfort and excellent driving safety. Most of the components of the five-link front suspension and the trapezoidal-link rear suspension are made of aluminium. The rear suspension bearings and the damper tuning have been updated for more precise handling and even greater comfort. Audi drive select can be combined with additional modules, if desired. These are the sport suspension with damper control, the sport differential and dynamic steering, which sleeplessly varies the steering ratio by nearly 100 percent as a function of speed. Another new standard feature in the A5 model series is the electromechanical power steering. An electric motor generates the right amount of boost for the speed being driven. The electromechanical power steering features a direct ratio, reacts instantly and provides precise road feedback. It intervenes slightly to support the driver when braking on a surface with less grip on one side of the car.

The system reduces fuel consumption by up to 0.3 litres per 100 km and up to 7 g CO2/ km (11.27 g/mile) because it consumes no energy at all while driving straight. Assistance systems The assistance systems in the Audi A5 model series use a variety of technologies to make driving even more controlled. Some of them have been improved with new functions. Among the standard features is the new driver information system with recommendations to take a break. It uses steering motions and additional parameters to detect when the driver is getting tired and issues an appropriate warning. Audi side assist supports the driver when changing lanes by using radar to monitor the space behind the car. Audi active lane assist – a new feature in the A5 – helps the driver to maintain the lane. A camera detects the lane markings and the system makes slight corrections to the electromechanical steering, if necessary. The adaptive cruise control uses radar technology to maintain a constant interval between the A5 and the vehicle ahead. At speeds below 30 km/h (18.64 mph), it initiates maximum braking in the event of an impending collision. BC

Keep the engine breathing Aside from fuel, air is the next essential ingredient in keeping your engine running. Cars need a constant flow of air without restriction and without debris. Air filters keep all the outside junk like bugs, leaves and dirt from getting inside of your engine. Over time, these filters can get clogged with dirt and need to be replaced. Depending on your driving habits and road conditions, an air filter can usually last a long time. Check for leaks It’s a good idea to occasionally check under the car to see if anything is leaking. You don’t have to be a mechanic to spot a leak. In fact, sometimes, you don’t even need to see it -- you can just smell it. Oil is the main fluids you want to make sure aren’t leaking out of your engine. Intense heat and pressure will eventually cause engine hoses to fail. Rubber engine hoses that are old and cracked can leak oil or other fluids that your engine requires. Other areas that often leak are where two parts join together with a rubber seal and silicon. When you park your car, occasionally check under the car to see if anything is leaking. If you can stay ahead of a minor leak and have it taken care of before it turns into a major problem you could save yourself a big headache later on. Don’t run on low fuel Petrol has a certain amount of sediment in it that settles on the bottom of your fuel tank. After years of driving around and many fill-ups, there can actually be a fair amount of junk at the bottom of your fuel tank. Your fuel filter will catch a lot of this sediment and keep it out of your car’s fuel lines and your engine. However, if you consistently run your car all the way down to empty, you’re pulling from the bottom-of-the-barrel and all the extra junk that’s accumulated there. If the sediment gets through the fuel filter (some of it can) it can get into the engine and cause internal damage. It puts debris in areas where it shouldn’t be and causes your fuel system and other parts of your engine to work harder. Keep your belts on If your belt breaks while you’re driving, it can cause major damage to the engine. The function of a belt can vary from car to car, but some of their main responsibilities are running the fan, water pump, alternator and air conditioner. You don’t need to know what all those things are, but you do need to know that the belts on your engine run at least some of them. If your engine is on, then your belts are running. Check your belts by turning them over slightly to see if they have any visible cracks in them. BC

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Business Courage

NSE reviews market indices, becomes effective January 2 Stories by Tayo Adeleke

s a prelude to the year-end review of The NSE 30 Index and other Sectorial Indices, the Index Committee of The Nigerian Stock Exchange has undertaken a pseudoreview of the indices and released the names of the likely incoming and exiting equities. According to a statement last week, barring unforeseen circumstances, the composition of the indices will become effective on Wednesday January 2, 2013. “The pseudo review of NSE 30 and Sectorial indices which is done twice yearly in June and December is a run-up to the actual review to be undertaken at respective month ends,” the statement said. “The Committee has recommended that the number of stocks comprising the NSE Consumer Goods Index be increased from 10 to 15; NSE Insurance Index be increased from 10 to 15 while the NSE Oil/Gas Index will have seven stocks as against the current five. The NSE 30 Index and the NSE Banking Index retain their 30 stocks and 10 stocks respectively. As the Committee explained, this is to allow for adequate portfolio diversification. “The breakdown of the likely composition of the indices shows that the NSE 30 Index may have GlaxoSmithkline Consumer Plc; Union Bank of Nigeria Plc; International Breweries Plc; Julius Berger Nigeria Plc; 7-UP Bottling Co. Plc and Sterling Bank Plc as likely incoming stocks while Law Union & Rock Ins. Plc; Transnational Corporation of Nig. Plc; National Salt Co. of Nig. Plc; Oando Plc; Dangote Flour Mills Plc and Mobil Oil Nigeria Plc are listed as likely exiting stocks. “Under the NSE Consumer Goods Index, the following stocks are listed as likely incoming: International Breweries Plc; National salt; Honeywell

Flour Mills Plc; VitafoamPlc; UTC Plc; Multi-Trex Integrated Foods Plc and Northern Nig. Flour Mills Plc while 7-Up Bottling Plc; Cadbury Nigeria Plc; Dangote Flour Mills; Unilever Nigeria; PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc; Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc and Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc are listed as likely exiting. “The NSE Banking Index has Union Bank; Diamond Bank; Sterling Bank Plc; Unity Bank Plc and Wema Bank Plc as likely incoming while FBNH; Stanbic Holdco; Fidelity Bank Plc; First City Monument Bank Plc and Skye Bank Plc are listed as likely exiting. Niger Insurance Plc; Cornerstone Insurance Plc; Standard Alliance Ins. Plc; Lasaco Assurance Plc; Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc; Linkage Assurance Plc and Prestige Assurance Plc are in the stocks listed as likely incoming stocks for The Insurance Index while Unity Kapital Assurance Plc; Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc.; Goldlink Insurance Plc; Aiico Insurance Plc; Wapic Insurance Plc; Continental Reinsurance Plc and Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc are listed as likely exiting stocks. “The NSE Oil/Gas Index has MRS Oil Nigeria Plc; Japaul Oil & Maritime Services Plc; Eterna Plc; Beco Petroleum Products Plc listed as likely incoming stocks while Forte OilPlc; ConoilPlc; Mobil Nigeria and OandoPlc are listed as likely exiting stocks.” The Nigerian bourse began publishing The NSE 30 Index in February 2009 with index values available from January 1, 2007. On July 1, 2008, the NSE developed four sectorial indices with a base value of 1,000 points, designed to provide investable benchmarks to capture the performance of specific sectors. The sectorial indices comprise of the top most capitalized and liquid companies in the sector. BC

Standard Alliance boosts operations with IT, grows premium by 39 per cent

tandard Alliance Insurance Plc last week said it had acquired a new sophisticated, robust and state of the art software package (TURNOUEST) in a bid to boost its insurance business in the country. Disclosing this at the company’s 16th Annual General Meeting held in Lagos, Managing Director of the Company, Tom Imokhai said its strategic focus is to increase the market share both locally and internationally. Speaking on the financial performance of the company, the chairman said that its gross premium grew by 23 per cent from N3.883 billion in 2010 to N4.765 billion in 2011, while underwriting income grew to N4.253 billion in 2011 as against N3.541 billion, this representing an increase of 20.1 per cent. The chairman added that underwriting profit stood at N2.729 billion in the year under review when compared with N1.754 billion in 2010, adding that profit After Tax for the year stood at N223.6 million compared with a loss of N8.6 billion recorded in the corresponding year 2010. Meanwhile, the management’s investment in Information Technology has started yielding desirable results as the company’s unaudited nine month results for period ended September 2012 shows a 39 per cent increase in gross premium having moved from

Tom Imokhai, MD, Standard Alliance Insurance

N3.6 billion to N5.0 billion. The gross premium has already over shot its 2011 financial year audited figure by 10 per cent. Nine months underwriting profit closed at N3.2 billion, up from N2.73 billion in financial year 2011 and net profit stood at N464 million. On the future of the company, the Vice Chairman, Olorogun O’tega Emerhor, said that with the new law of “No premium, no cover” the company was ready to take opportunities provided to boost its business. He added that all outstanding premiums would be recovered and all businesses from next year will be cash and carry, adding that dividend in future was very sure. BC

Monday, December 24, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Give us more seats our local airlines

y experience last week, trying to return to Lagos after a short trip to Abuja forces one to reflect still on the parlous state of the nation’s aviation industry and the grave implications for business growth and economic development. Students of history will recall easily that the great nations of this world – the United States, Canada, Great Britain, China, Russia and the rest - owe their status largely to the ability to explore internal resources and transport people, raw materials and good across their domains from points where they are available or produced to areas of need. Modern economies rely of the speed and ease of the aviation industry to facilitate trade, exchange expertise and generally oil the wheels of progress. Here, we cannot move despite the obvious need to do so as a large country. I was miffed on getting to the airport only to be told that my flight had been cancelled without notice “for operational reasons” and along with dozens of other passengers had to collect a refunds that did not quite match the initial fare and waited for another five hours to get another flight. Going by road was no option as I had learnt in mid-October when this same “flight crisis” prompted some of my colleagues and I to charter a vehicle at Abuja and embark on a dangerous 12-hour journey to Lagos. The severe shortage of seats in the airline industry has been an issue for over two years now and the exit of Air Nigeria and Dana Air, for different reasons around the middle of the year, have only made matter worse. What we now have is a situation where travelers cannot be sure of boarding flights even if they have tickets and airlines exploiting the situation to charge whatever fare they deemed fit. Some have gone back to the practice of declaring flights full even while seats are available only to sell tickets at exorbitant rates through touts who are back in full force even if FAAN will not admit this. Desperate passengers almost come to fisticuffs trying to buy tickets. The government had tried to address the problems of the airlines with its intervention funds for some carriers that quickly went into debt repayment and failed to create the additional seats needed. It has also belatedly removed duty from the importation of aircraft and spares and started an infrastructure renewal drive that is geared towards

improving airport user experience but the main issue remains unsolved. The industry is clearly in need of new investments and many entrants have due to limited funds opted for old inefficient aircraft that burn lots of fuel and require more frequent maintenance, but what can we say of some of the large carriers like Arik Air which took the scene by storm some six years ago with new aircraft but is now under the virtual control of the Asset Management Company of Nigeria on account of huge unpaid debts. Some elements within the government are pushing the idea of floating a new national carrier that will be large and strong enough to service the market. Another set has proposed to buy at least three aircraft each for operating airlines in a sort of fleet renewal exercise and a senior FAAN official has already started talking to aircraft suppliers, yet some other stakeholders insist that all private operator need to thrive are waivers on the myriad charges airlines have to pay to government agencies and lower fuel prices. Yet what actually is actually required is an objective assessment of what factors continue to militate against success of the operators. In an industry where demand for services cannot even be met with current capacity, the conventional thinking would have been that airlines are making loads of cash, but recent media reports indicated that over 18 aircraft had been abandoned in overseas maintenance hangers by local airlines due to their inability to pay the required charges. Yet, while the local airlines are moaning about costs and other issues, foreign airlines are falling over themselves to get a slice of the Nigerian market considered rather lucrative by any measure. British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Emirates, Air France, Lufthansa, Delta Air Lines, Qatar and the rest rake in billions from Nigeria yearly though just one of two of them has any interlining relationship with the local carriers. Since throwing money at it has not solved the problem, it would seem appropriate to do a proper rediagnosis of the Nigerian situation. Is it a problem of policy, finance or management or a combination of some or all? We need an urgent response to a situation where we have just about 60 aircraft available for scheduled services locally, while the fleet of private charter operators and private jet ownership is on the rise. BC

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage

Monday, December 24, 2012

A21 37

FBN Capital wins ‘Best Debt House’, raises N58bn for three states Stories by Tayo Adeleke

BN Capital Limited has been awarded the “Best Debt House in Nigeria 2012” for the third year running at the EMEAFinance Africa Banking Awards. The African Banking Awards is regarded as the industry standard for banking excellence. FBN Capital won the 2010 and 2011 editions of the “Best Debt House”, and was again recognized as “a leader of local currency issuance in Nigeria”, having raised a combined N58 billion for Ondo, Ekiti and Benue State Governments in the 12 months to June 2012 alone. It was also applauded for supporting corporate borrowers, particularly Lafarge Cement Wapco Nigeria where the sum of N11 billion was raised in the local debt markets. According to Chris Moore, Publisher and CEO of EMEAFinance Magazine, FBN Capital has been at the forefront of bringing Nigerian sovereign, sub-sovereign and corporate debt to the attention of international investors and the larger global financial community. Last year they completed N1.7trillion issuance for the Asset Management

Okeowo, NSE Deputy MD, FBN Capital

Corporation of Nigeria, and worked on Nigeria’s debt of $500million Eurobond issued in January 2011. Bayelsa State Government’s N50 billion issuance, which was recognized as EMEA Finance’s Best Bond in Africa in our Achievement Awards 2010, is another landmark transaction delivered by the firm. “In previous years like the period from 2009 to 2010, FBN Capital was an adviser on seven of nine bond issuances. The Firm’s outstanding work in the debt area has seen it win a number of

additional EMEA Finance house and deal awards including our ‘Best Local Currency Debt House in EMEA’ in our Achievement Awards 2011”, Moore noted. More recently, in the final quarter of 2012, FBN Capital successfully concluded Bond Issues of N80 billion Series 1 for Lagos State in the N167.5 billion Debt Issuance Programme, N30 billion Tranche 1 for Osun State Government in the N60billion’s Debt Issuance Programme, and N940 million Series 1 for C&I Leasing Plc. Speaking on the award, FBN Capital Deputy Managing Director, Mr. Taiwo Okeowo said the award is a tribute to FBN Capital’s strength in the Debt Capital Markets space, and a testimony to its strong deep understanding of client’s needs and investor preferences. “This award is a challenge for us to do even better and surpass the record we have set in the industry. Given the calibre and expertise of our team, I have no doubt that we are going to receive more recognition in every area we operate, as we continue to build the Investment Banking and Asset Management business of this Group”, he said. BC

DAAR Communications records N4bn loss

welve months after the end of the 2011 financial year, the board of DAAR Communications Plc, owners and operators of Ray Power and African Independent Television, submitted its 2011 audited results, which in any case, gave no cause for cheer to investors. According to the results for financial year ended December 2011, turnover rose by N320 million to N5.14 billion from N4.82 billion at the end of financial year 2011. This increase could not lift the company out of its recent losses as loss after tax for the period, fell to N4 billion deficits, representing a decline of about N2.45 billion from N1.57 billion loss in the corresponding period of 2010. The company, according to

details of the result, could have closed in positive territories, but for the huge administrative expenses and interest charges posted within the period. Admin expenses increased from N1.5 billion in 2010 to N3.43 billion in 2011, representing a 141 per cent increase while interest paid on borrow funds also moved from N1.95 billion to N3.03 billion. Details of the results showed a weak balance sheet. A breakdown of the company’s balance sheet shows fixed assets dropped to N21.5 billion from N22.3 billion in 2010 while stocks fell to N161 million from N232.9 million in 2010. Trade debtor went down by 42 per cent to stand at N1.7 billion from N2.93 billion. Similarly, total assets closed the year at N24.7

billion, down from N26.25 billion in 2010. Total liabilities increased to N15.26 billion from N12.9 billion, shareholders’ funds dropped by N4 billion to N9.39 billion in 2011 while working capital stood at a negative figure of N8.5 billion. It would be recalled that during the last Annual General Meeting (AGM), the chairman of Daar communications, Raymond Dokpesi had assured the shareholders of a profit regime from 2013 onwards. He explained that the infrastructural challenge such as unstable exchange rate, inflationary impact, security challenges and unstable power supply which characterised the business environment in recent time impacted negatively on its operations. BC

Prices of highly capitalised stocks dip on NSE

ctivities on the Nigerian Stock Exchange closed, on Friday, on a bearish note as stocks of some highly capitalised companies recorded price losses. NewGold led the price losers’ chart as it dropped N40 to close at N2,518 per unit, Nigerian Breweries share price dipped by N9.73 to close at N144.30 per share, while Total lost N6.34 to close at N120.57 per share. 7UP depreciated by N2 to close at N42 per share, while ConOil fell by N1.02 to close at N20.50 per share. On the other hand, Nestle led the gainers’ chart with a gain of N10.06 to close at

Oscar Onyema, NSE DG,

N700.06 per share. Guinness followed with a gain of N5.89 to close at N261 per share. GTBank share price grew by 86k to close at N23.35 per share, International Breweries appreciated by 67k to close at N15.90, while NASCON rose by 64k to close at N7.14 per share. Besides, the All-share

index at the end of trading depreciated by 106.04 basis points or 0.39 per cent to close at 27,402.05 points. This was against the 27,508.09 points recorded on Thursday. The market capitalisation of all listed securities dropped by N34 billion to close at N8.755 trillion when compared with N8.789 trillion transacted on Thursday. In all, investors bought 217.86 million shares worth N2.4 billion traded in 3,711 deals. This is against the 3,711 million shares worth N2.8 billion traded in 3,728 deals on Thursday. BC

Market Indicators for Week Ended 21-12-12 All-Share Index 27,402.06points Market Capitalisation N8,755,229,703,085.08 Stock Updates GAINERS COMPANY

OPENING PRICE

CLOSING PRICE

CHANGE

NESTLE

690.00

700.06

10.06

GUINESS

255.11

261.00

5.89

GUARANTY

22.49

23.35

0.86

INTBREW

15.23

15.90

0.67

NASCON

6.50

7.14

0.64

LOSERS COMPANY

OPENING PRICE

NEWGOLD

2558.00

CLOSING PRICE 2518.00

-40.00

CHANGE

154.03

144.30

-9.73

TOTAL

126.91

120.57

-6.34

7UP

44.00

42.00

-2.00

CONOIL

21.52

20.500

-1.02

Inter-Bank Rates TENOR

RATE%(PREV) 14-Dec-2012

CALL

13.500 – 14.2500

RATE%(CURR) 21-Dec-2012 10.2500 – 10.7500

OBB

11.3000 – 14.0000

10.1500 – 11.7500

Primary Market Auction TENOR

AMOUNT (N’mn)

RATE (%)

DATE

91-Days

33266.32

11.67

19-Dec-12

182-Days

78238.55

11.70

19-Dec-12

364-Days

69358.57

11.79

19-Dec-12

Open Market Operation TENOR 119-Days

AMOUNT (N’mn) 100,000

RATE (%) 13.40

DATE 20-Dec-12

126-Days

100,000

13.45

20-Dec-12

113-Days

100,000

13.60

28-Nov-12

Wholesale Dutch Auction System AMOUNT OFFERED

AMOUNT SOLD

DATE

$300m

MARKET DEMAND $300m

$300m

19-Dec-12

$200m

17-Dec-12

A22 38

Business Courage

Monday, December 24, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

African Alliance Insurance: Moving out of troubled waters By Tayo Adeleke

frican Alliance Insurance (AAI) Plc has improved its ability to convert revenue to profit after recording losses for three consecutive years. Its unaudited nine months results for period ended September 2012 revealed that net profit moved to a positive figure, coming from a loss position at the end of financial year ended December 2011. It moved from N1.1 billion deficits in audited year 2011 to a nine months profit of N70.5 million of 2012. The liquidity of the company’s balance sheet and profitability ratios indices have also improved. Based on the AAI present performance, market watchers and financial analysts expect the company to return to profitability at the end of current financial year. African Alliance Insurance Plc was incorporated as a Private Limited Liability Company on May 6th 1960 and was the first indigenous insurance to carry out the business of Life Assurance in Nigeria. The company was originally set up in partnership with Munich Reinsurance Company of Germany, one of the largest reinsurance companies in the world. Munich – Re still provides technical support to

African Alliance Insurance Financial Data

the company on a need basis. In 2005, African Alliance became the first licensed Takaful (Islamic Insurance) Operator in Nigeria, a concept borne out of the desire to satisfy the needs of the Muslim community in Nigeria through a robust selection of Sharia’h compliant insurance and investment products based on the concepts of “Al-Mudarabah” and “Al-Tabarru”. Following its’ successful recapitalization in 2007, African Alliance currently has a shareholders’ fund of about N 7.92 billion, while the company’s gross premium income and asset base currently stand at about N2.4 billion and N 14.18 billion respectively (figures as at September 2012). Business strategic African Alliance has 100 per cent equity in Axiom Air Limited, a Cargo Airline Company and Frenchies Foods (Nigeria) Limited, a Restaurant and Catering Services Company. The company’s marketing efforts are coordinated through a network of 16 branch offices manned by experienced managers and sales personnel for effective field coverage of the entire country. The core

Q3 2012 =N=(‘Nm)

Q3 2011 =N=(‘Nm)

Audited 2011 =N=(‘Nm)

Gross Premium earned

2,395,388

1,382,653

1,827,926

Reinsurer

-68,508

-11,052

-22,682

Net Premium Income

2,326,880

1,371,601

1805244

Profit Before Taxation

108,871

-391,700

80,910

Profit After Taxation

70,504

-392,814

230,556

Investment Income

161,822

18,570

174,249

Commission Earned

17,182

2,813

5,774

Acquisition Expenses

-61,852

-55,875

-38,862 1,097,861

Underwriting Profit/loss

108,871

-391,700

Shareholders fund

7,597,470

7,526,966

Maintenance Expenses

-238,025

-207,291

Current Asset

13,655,509

12,970,248

Current Liabilities

6,585,415

5,958,032

Current Assets-stocks

11,354,904

10,707,563

Trade Debtors

256,392

122,366

Trade Creditors

897,265

635,161

PAT Growth (%)

-117.95

-270.38

Return on Equity (%)

0.93

-5.22

Gross profit Margin (%)

97.14

99.2

Profit Margin (%)

2.94

-28.41

Pretax Profit Margin (%)

4.55

-28.33

Profitability Ratios

-279,805

Alphonse Okpor, MD African Alliance Insurance

competencies of the company are a creative combination of Protection (Term Assurance and Group Life), Savings and Investment Products, which the insurance company has established a solid reputation for excellent customer service over the years. Performance It is commendable that against the back drop of challenging business environment, particularly the poor performance that pervades the insurance industry in the recent times, the African Alliance Insurance Plc managed to keep its head above the waters in the last unaudited report for period ended September 30, 2012. A financial test carried out by Business Courage revealed that the company recorded an impressive performance, having grown its gross premium earned by 73 per cent from N1.38 billion in 2011 to N2.4 billion in 2012. Similarly, net premium income rose from N1.37 billion to N2.33 billion, showing a comparative increase of 70 per cent against the 2011 results. The income attributed to commission within the review period stood at N17.18 million from N2.81 million. The recent surge in the capital market also helped the insurance company get more income from investment which grew significantly by 771 per cent to stand at N161.8 million in third quarter 2012 compared with N18.57 million in 2011. Underwriting profit moved to a positive figure, having recorded loss in the previous year. It moved from N391.7 million deficits in 2011 to a profit of N108.87 million. The company’s stringent control

on administrative cost has returned it to profitability in the review period. Profitability Profitability indices of the company improved greatly at the end of the nine month ended September 2012. The figures recorded are impressive compared with the previous year’s results. Return on equity (ROE) grew to 0.93 per cent from -5.22 per cent in 2011, while gross profit margin stood at 97per cent in 2012 from 99 per cent. The company was able to take in more for shareholders and record profit despite increase in operational expenses and taxation in 2012 financial year. Profit/loss before tax margin stood at 4.55 per cent in 2012 up from -28.33 per cent in the preceding year while profit margin/loss margin stood at 2.94 per cent from -28.41 per cent in 2011. Profit attributed to equity holders of the company was N70.5 million against losses of N392.8 million in third quarter of 2011. However, the company has not been profitable to its teeming investors in recent time in term of dividend payment and bonus issue as a result of continuous losses. It would be recalled that the company recorded losses in both 2010 and 2011 audited financial year. Liquidity Ratios During the third quarter ended 30 September 2012, African Alliance Insurance cash flow from operations closes at a positive figure. It moved from N752 million in 2011 to N900.69 million in 2012, a 20 per cent increase. This impressive figure resulted from the increase posted in net cash generated from operating activities which moved from

N5.6 million in 2011 to N295.5 million, net cash flow from investing activities (up from –N31.7 million to N30.18 million), net cash flow from financing activities which stood at N189.8 million and cash and cash equivalent which closed at N385.2 million from N26.8 million in 2011. In addition to this improvement, in the last two years, the company got the wherewithal to meet its current liabilities despites drop in both current and quick ratios. As a result, current ratio dropped to 2.07:1 from 2.18:1 in 2011, as nine month ended September 2012, the company’s quick ratio stood at 1.72:1, compared with 1.80:1 in 2011. Both figures are above regulatory standard of 2.0 and 1.5 respectively. Insurance debtors increased by N134 million to N256.39 million. The management has not done well in this area. It needs to work hard on collection of premium receivables and strategies to make brokers pay promptly. Shareholders’ funds closed at N6.37 billion while insurance creditors (outstanding claims) increased from N635.16 million to N897.27 million. This shows that the company has not been paying its claims as at when due to insured. Assets Quality The company’s asset seems moderate. AAI’s total assets had a marginal increase from 2011 figure. It grew by five per cent to N14.18 billion from N13.48 billion in 2011. Current assets stood at N13.66 billion in third quarter of 2012, up from N12.97 billion in 2011. Financial assets moved to N2.3 billion while investment in subsidiaries closed at N4 billion. Fixed assets increased from N314.8 million in 2011 to N327.4 million in 2012. Total liabilities also increased to N6.59 billion from N5.96 billion. Shareholders’ stood at N7.6 billion in 2012. Future The company’s future is hinged on quick introduction of more new products, market expansion and business diversification. With the 100 per cent ownership in Axiom Air Limited and Frenchies, if properly managed, the company’s gross earnings is expected to inch up appreciably in years to come. Moreover, the company also has strong assets that could cater for its liabilities, ensuring long term survival of the company. However, there is need for the management to ensure that claims are settled promptly in order to sustain confident in the company and attract more customer. BC

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage A23 39

Monday, December 24, 2012

STOCKWATCH Stock Exchange weekly equities summary as at Friday, Dec 21, 2012 SECURITY

PRICE (=N=)

AGRICULTURE/AGRO-ALLIED Crop Production FTN COCOA PROCESSORS PLC 0.50 OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. 38.00 PRESCO PLC 16.60 Fishing/Hunting/Trapping ELLAH LAKES PLC. NT Livestock/Animal Specialties LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC. 1.44 CONGLOMERATES Diversified Industries A.G. LEVENTIS NIGERIA PLC. 1.35 CHELLARAMS PLC. NT JOHN HOLT PLC. 3.57 S C O A NIG. PLC. NT U A C N PLC. 42.00 CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Building Construction ARBICO PLC. NT CAPPA & D’ALBERTO PLC. NT Building Structure/Completion/Other COSTAIN (W A) PLC. NT G CAPPA PLC NT Non--Building/Heavy Construction JULIUS BERGER NIG. PLC. 33.00 ROADS NIG PLC. NT Real Estate Development PINNACLE POINT GROUP PLC NT UACN PROPERTY DEV 11.00 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 261.00 INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. 15.90 JOS INT. BREWERIES PLC. NT NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. 144.30 PREMIER BREWERIES PLC NT Beverages--Non-Alcoholic 7-UP BOTTLING COMP. PLC. 42.00 Food Products BIG TREAT PLC NT DANGOTE FLOUR MILLS PLC 8.00 DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC 6.00 FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. 65.00 HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC 2.05 MULTI-TREX INTEGRATED FOODS PLC 0.95 N NIG. FLOUR MILLS PLC. NT NATIONAL SALT CO. NIG. PLC 7.14 P S MANDRIDES & CO PLC. NT U T C NIG. PLC. 0.73 UNION DICON SALT PLC. NT Food Products--Diversified CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. 29.00 NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. 700.06 Household Durables BETA GLASS CO PLC. NT NIGERIAN ENAMELWARE PLC. NT VITAFOAM NIG PLC. 3.79 VONO PRODUCTS PLC. NT Personal/Household Products P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. 28.00 UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. 46.50 Textiles/Apparel UNITED NIG. TEXTILES PLC. NT FINANCIAL SERVICES Banking ACCESS BANK PLC. 9.05 DIAMOND BANK PLC 4.80 ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INC. 10.62 FIDELITY BANK PLC 2.29 FIRST CITY MONUMENT BANK PLC. 3.34 GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. 23.35 SKYE BANK PLC 4.12 STERLING BANK PLC. 1.69 U B A PLC 4.52 UNION BANK NIG.PLC. 7.36 UNITY BANK PLC 0.50 WEMA BANK PLC. NT ZENITH BANK PLC 18.20 Insurance Carriers, Brokers & Services AFRICAN ALLIANCE INS. COY. PLC NT AIICO INSURANCE PLC. 0.59 CONFIDENCE INSURANCE PLC NT CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INS. PLC NT CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC 0.75 CORNERSTONE INS. COY. PLC. NT CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED INS. PLC 1.27 EQUITY ASSURANCE PLC. 0.50 GOLDLINK INSURANCE PLC NT GREAT NIGERIAN INSURANCE PLC NT GUINEA INSURANCE PLC. NT INTERCONTINENTAL WAPIC INS. PLC 0.58 INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INS. PLC NT INVESTMENT AND ALLIED ARN. NT LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. NT LAW UNION AND ROCK INS. PLC. NT LINKAGE ASSURANCE PLC NT MANSARD INSURANCE PLC 1.71 MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC. 0.50 N.E.M INSURANCE CO (NIG) PLC. 0.56 NIGER INSURANCE CO. PLC. NT OASIS INSURANCE PLC NT PRESTIGE ASSURANCE CO. PLC. 0.51 REGENCY ALLIANCE INS. COY PLC NT SOVEREIGN TRUST INSURANCE PLC NT STACO INSURANCE PLC 0.50 STANDARD ALLIANCE INS. PLC. 0.50 UNIC INSURANCE PLC. 0.50 UNITY KAPITAL ASSURANCE PLC NT UNIVERSAL INS. COMPANY PLC NT Micro Finance Banks FORTIS MICROFINANCE BANK PLC NT NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC 1.03 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. 0.50 DEAP CAPITAL MGT & TRUST PLC NT FBN HOLDINGS PLC 15.73 NIG SEW. MACH. MAN. CO. PLC. NT NIGERIA ENERYGY SECTOR FUND NT ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC. 0.50 STANBIC IBTC HOLDINGS PLC 11.00 HEALTHCARE Healthcare Providers EKOCORP PLC. NT Medical Equipment UNION DIAGNOSTIC &CLINICAL PLC 0.50 Medical Supplies MORISON INDUSTRIES PLC. 4.25 Pharmaceuticals EVANS MEDICAL PLC. 0.87 FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC 1.05 GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER PLC 45.10 MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. 1.55

NOTE NT=Not Traded on 21-12-12

QUANTITY

52 WK HIGH

52 WK LOW

SHARES OUTSTANDING

EPS

MOV. (%)

70 000 320 820 26 800

0.64 34.01 16.15

0.50 14.53 6.40

2 200 000 000 476 955 000 1 000 000 000

0.10 6.73 2.75

N/A 11.76 9.14

0.50 34.00 15.21

4.26

60 000 000

0.00

N/A

716 000

1.70

0.48

1 199 549 736

0.11

4.35

1.38

9 000 NT 95 000 NT 556 630

2.54 7.60 8.82 8.28 42.50

0.74 5.81 5.32 5.52 28.70

2 191 895 983 963 900 300 389 151 408 821 666 666 1 600 720 323

0.08 0.24 0.00 0.35 6.89

4.65 N/A N/A N/A N/A

1.29 NT 4.81 NT 42.00

NT NT

26.00 95.49

14.09 95.49

148 500 000 196 876 000

0.00 4.50

N/A N/A

NT NT

7.97 14.46

2.46 14.46

920 573 765 125 000 000

0.00 0.00

N/A N/A

NT NT

27 770 NT

62.26 8.69

21.55 3.01

1 200 000 000 20 000 000

4.93 4.73

0.00 N/A

33.00 NT

NT 13 757

7.28 20.15

7.28 8.82

1 375 000 000

0.00 1.66

N/A 3.87

NT 10.59

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

6 500

0.50

4 772 528 415

0.00

N/A

0.50

NT NT 102 026 938 175 NT 2 179 271 NT

4.63 0.68 265.00 12.83 3.20 138.85 0.97

2.23 0.68 186.00 5.23 1.61 72.50 0.93

900 000 000 272 160 000 1 474 925 519 2 112 914 681 562 000 000 7 562 562 340 126 000 000

0.00 0.03 9.46 0.25 0.00 5.08 0.00

N/A N/A 13.38 N/A N/A 2.87 N/A

NT NT 230.19 13.60 1.53 140.28 NT

354 105

48.91

38.31

640 590 362

2.69

N/A

40.00

NT 194 134 11 106 005 37 545 632 100 70 000 NT 638 706 NT 778 056 NT

0.50 19.90 16.20 95.00 6.60 2.70 43.96 6.70 5.66 0.88 4.22

0.50 4.15 3.64 52.50 1.91 1.00 20.41 3.86 5.66 0.50 4.22

2 000 000 000 5 000 000 000 12 000 000 000 1 879 210 666 7 930 197 658 3 722 493 620 178 200 000

0.00 0.00 0.91 3.79 0.51 0.00 2.50 1.07 0.08 1.13 0.00

N/A 3.23 4.35 -1.52 3.02 N/A N/A 15.16 N/A 14.06 N/A

NT 7.75 5.75 66.00 1.99 NT 18.43 6.20 NT 0.64 NT

40 000 000 1 233 375 004 360 000 000

391 844 456 537

29.20 684.00

9.15 367.83

3 129 188 160 792 656 250

1.35 25.43

6.23 7.68

27.30 650.11

NT NT 358 000 NT

15.58 42.66 6.75 3.67

10.03 34.39 3.01 2.66

63 360 000 819 000 000 300 000 001

3.90 1.61 0.54 0.00

N/A N/A 5.87 N/A

NT NT 3.58 2.88

990 657 1 352 084

43.50 41.60

22.07 22.56

3 176 381 636 3 783 296 250

0.70 1.44

1.16 -0.75

27.68 46.85

0.97

0.57

843 284 027

0.00

N/A

16 280 943 9 416 211 4 251 099 21 984 202 2 188 147 9 122 529 9 434 583 4 243 541 12 154 732 336 725 3 220 000 NT 18 556 930

11.10 9.27 17.05 3.20 8.30 20.30 10.17 2.91 5.21 10.07 1.92 1.75 18.20

4.76 2.01 9.97 1.14 3.04 11.64 2.73 0.97 1.64 1.96 0.50 0.50 11.70

17 888 251 479 14 475 243 105 9 873 614 567 28 974 797 023 16 271 192 202 29 146 482 209 13 219 334 676 12 563 091 545 32 334 693 693 13 509 726 273 33 675 576 085 12 821 249 880 31 396 493 790

1.42 0.90 2.81 0.43 0.60 2.10 0.71 0.54 0.67 0.00 0.00 0.00 2.09

1.00 10.34 -3.45 10.10 -0.89 20.67 6.19 14.19 0.44 0.82 0.00 #VALUE! 5.26

8.96 4.35 11.00 2.08 3.37 19.35 3.88 1.48 4.50 7.30 0.50 0.50 17.29

NT 5 983 000 NT NT 1 106 420 NT 2 093 774 100 000 NT NT NT 705 150 NT NT NT NT NT 2 138 000 50 727 5 397 128 NT NT 703 225 NT NT 10 000 12 220 500 50 000 NT NT

0.50 1.01 0.64 0.50 1.20 0.50 3.51 0.50 0.69 0.50 0.50 0.80 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.61 0.50 1.93 0.50 0.66 1.11 0.50 2.35 0.50 0.52 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50

0.50 0.50 0.61 0.50 0.61 0.50 1.31 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.95 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50

20 585 000 000 7 809 391 256 211 626 000 6 000 000 000 10 372 624 157 8 820 010 363 5 100 846 808 8 847 298 420 4 549 947 000 3 827 485 380 720 000 000 5 061 804 000 6 420 427 449 28 000 000 000 7 323 313 227 3 437 330 500 4 083 713 569 10 000 000 000 7 998 705 336 5 332 830 881 5 649 693 923 5 003 506 791 2 508 315 436 6 668 750 000 5 203 757 266 6 141 087 609 8 493 173 450 2 581 733 505 13 000 000 000 16 000 000 000

0.00 0.05 0.00 0.05 0.14 0.02 0.28 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.02 0.00 0.00 0.03 0.16 0.01 0.37 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.04 0.09 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.02 0.00

N/A 0.00 N/A N/A 0.00 0.00 0.00 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.00 N/A N/A N/A 0.00 -9.52 N/A 12.00 N/A N/A 0.00 N/A 0.00 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

NT 0.54 NT NT 0.67 0.50 1.20 0.50 NT NT 0.50 NT 0.50 NT 0.50 NT 0.50 1.89 0.50 0.50 NT 0.50 0.51 NT NT 0.50 0.50 0.50 NT NT

NT 60 000

6.00 1.15

0.00 1.00

NT 54 000 15 000 000 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 0.02 0.00 0.00

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

NT 0.50 NT NT

54 000 NT 17 105 805 NT NT 20 437 206 804

0.61 2.02 17.01 0.15 552.20 0.66 11.38

0.50 2.02 8.50 0.15 555.20 0.50 6.40

3 778 005 975 1 333 333 333 32 632 084 358 5 880 000 2 500 000 3 608 657 661 18 750 000 000

0.00 0.00 3.03 0.00 12.65 0.00 0.87

N/A N/A 5.71 N/A N/A N/A -6.54

0.50 NT 14.88 NT NT NT 11.77

5.31

5.05

498 600 908

0.12

N/A

12 000

0.50

3 553 138 528

0.00

N/A

0.50

50 000

10.54

7.39

152 178 750

0.06

N/A

4.25

100 000 330 900 300 284 232 045

1.45 3.20 39.00 5.61

0.50 0.76 19.30 1.62

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

0.00 0.44 2.62 0.20

-27.50 2.94 -0.88 6.16

1.20 1.02 45.50 1.46

N/A=Not Avialable

0.01 0.07

6.00 1.15

SECURITY

PRICE (=N=)

NEIMETH INT PHARM PLC 0.95 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 NT Electronic Communications Services MTECH COMMUNICATIONS PLC NT IT Services NCR (NIGERIA) PLC. NT TRIPPLE GEE AND COMPANY PLC. NT Processing Systems CHAMS PLC 0.50 E-TRANZACT INTERNATIONAL PLC NT Telecommunications Carriers STARCOMMS PLC NT Telecommunications Services IHS NIGERIA PLC PREF SHARES NT IHS PLC NT MTI PLC NT INDUSTRIAL GOODS Building Materials AFRICAN PAINTS (NIGERIA) PLC. NT ASHAKA CEM PLC 17.99 BERGER PAINTS PLC 8.56 CAP PLC 28.00 CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC 5.30 DANGOTE CEMENT PLC 122.00 DN MEYER PLC. NT FIRST ALUMINIUM NIGERIA PLC NT IPWA PLC 0.50 LAFARGE WAPCO PLC. 58.05 PAINTS & COATINGS MANFACT.PLC 1.89 PORTLAND PAINTS & PRDT NIG. PLC NT PREMIER PAINTS PLC. NT Electronic and Electrical Products AUSTIN LAZ & COMPANY PLC NT CUTIX PLC. 1.53 NIGERIAN WIRE AND CABLE PLC. NT NIGERIAN WIRE IND. PLC NT Packaging/Containers ABPLAST PRODUCTS PLC. NT AVON CROWNCAPS & CONTAINERS 1.99 BETA GLASS CO PLC. NT GREIF NIGERIA PLC NT NIG. BAGS MANFACT. COY PLC 2.30 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. 5.96 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 0.56 Integrated Oil and Gas Services OANDO PLC 12.45 Petroleum &Petroleum Products Distributors AFROIL PLC NT BECO PETROLEUM PRODUCT PLC NT CONOIL PLC 20.50 ETERNA PLC. 1.81 FORTE OIL PLC. 7.75 MOBIL OIL NIG PLC. 109.25 MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC. NT TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. 120.57 SERVICES Advertising AFROMEDIA PLC NT Apparel Retailers LENNARDS (NIG) PLC. NT Automobile/Auto Part Retailers R T BRISCOE PLC. 1.34 Courier/Freight/Delivery RED STAR EXPRESS PLC 3.00 TRANS-NATIONWIDE EXPRESS PLC. NT Employment Solutions C & I LEASING PLC. NT Hospitality TANTALIZERS PLC 0.50 Hotels/Lodging CAPITAL HOTEL PLC NT IKEJA HOTEL PLC 0.80 TOURIST COMPANY OF NIGERIA PLC. NT TRANSNATIONAL CORP. OF NIG.PLC 0.92 Media/Entertainment DAAR COMMUNICATIONS PLC 0.50 Printing/Publishing ACADEMY PRESS PLC. 1.62 LEARN AFRICA PLC 1.92 STUDIO PRESS (NIG) PLC. NT UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC. 4.47 Road Transportation ABC TRANSPORT PLCPLC NT Specialty INTERLINKED TECHNOLOGIES PLC NT SECURE ELECTRONIC TECH.PLC NT Transport-Related Services AIRLINE SERVICES AND LOGISTICS PLC 3.70 NIG. AVIATION HANDLING COY PLC 5.30 ASeM CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Property Management SMART PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC NT CONSUMER GOODS Food Products MCNICHOLS PLC 0.97 Personal/Household Products ROKANA INDUSTRIES PLC. 0.60 HEALTHCARE Pharmaceuticals AFRIK PHARMACEUTICALS PLC. NT INDUSTRIAL GOODS Electronic and Electrical Products NT ADSWITCH PLC. 1.63 NATURAL RESOURCES Metals W.A. ALUM. PRODUCTS PLC. NT OIL AND GAS Petroleum & Petroleum Products Distributors ANINO INTERNATIONAL PLC. NT CAPITAL OIL PLC 0.50 RAK UNITY PET. COMP. PLC. NT UNION VENTURES & PET. PLC NT SERVICES Apparel Retailers UDEOFSON GARMENT FACT. NIG PLC NT Food/Drug Retailers and Wholesalers NT JULI PLC. 2.76 ETF’s Sector ETF NEWGOLD EXCHANGE TRADED FUND 2 638.00

QUANTITY

52 WK HIGH

52 WK LOW

SHARES OUTSTANDING

EPS

MOV. (%)

91 000 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

3.26 N/A N/A

0.92 8.17 NT

660 000

0.52

0.50

2 960 000 000

0.10

0.00

0.50

2 941 789 472

0.00

N/A

0.91

4 966 666 668

0.00

N/A

NT NT

18.28 3.59

13.12 2.41

108 000 000 492 825 600

0.00 0.01

N/A N/A

14.40 NT

200 000 NT

0.50 4.97

0.50 4.04

4 620 600 000 4 200 000 000

0.00 0.04

N/A N/A

0.50 NT

1.47

0.50

6 878 478 096

0.00

N/A

NT NT NT

2.25 3.50 0.50

0.00 2.46 0.50

4 400 000 000 4 893 594 400

0.00 0.00 0.00

N/A N/A N/A

NT NT NT

NT 1 663 853 30 627 25 351 25 230 2 929 NT NT 30 000 122 729 8 000 NT NT

3.32 30.00 12.57 43.98 15.49 132.51 3.51 0.75 0.99 56.50 3.36 5.28 13.40

2.86 9.10 7.27 14.50 4.20 95.00 0.93 0.50 0.91 37.00 0.52 2.27 10.93

260 000 000 2 239 453 125 217 367 585 560 000 000 1 241 548 285 15 494 019 668 242 908 200 2 109 928 275 513 696 000 3 001 600 004 792 914 256 400 000 000 75 000 000

0.00 2.14 1.09 2.28 1.47 8.33 0.00 0.00 0.00 4.10 0.26 0.23 0.00

N/A -6.69 1.78 3.93 7.72 0.41 N/A N/A N/A -1.59 N/A N/A N/A

NT 19.28 8.41 26.94 4.92 121.50 NT NT 0.50 58.99 NT 4.18 NT

NT 66 900 NT NT

2.00 2.50 0.73 2.58

2.00 1.33 0.50 2.58

510 396 608 2 220 000 000 15 000 000

0.03 0.11 0.00 0.00

N/A 0.66 N/A N/A

NT 1.52 NT NT

NT 390 NT NT 7 664 697 NT NT

3.98 6.91 12.71 15.03 3.60 1.86 0.63

3.98 2.19 9.53 13.28 1.60 1.05 0.63

N/A N/A

42 640 000 6 215 000 000 240 000 000 199 066 550

0.00 0.05 0.05 0.90 0.24 0.22 0.00

N/A -0.43 N/A N/A

NT 1.99 NT NT 2.31 NT NT

NT NT

8.69 0.14

8.26 0.14

265 409 280 2 918 000

0.00 0.00

N/A N/A

NT NT

25 000 000 683 974 528

327 752

9.20

5.70

393 120 000

0.76

-0.17

5.97

NT NT

7.75 12.39

7.75 10.55

75 600 000 100 000 000

0.00 0.43

N/A N/A

NT NT

70 000

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

1 747 007

1.02

0.54

6 262 701 716

0.13

1.82

0.55

2 578 665

24.80

10.94

2 262 711 568

1.73

5.06

11.85

NT NT 347 664 130 780 6 994 12 431 NT 1 132 657

20.71 0.70 41.89 5.59 28.69 163.50 72.00 240.00

20.71 0.50 19.61 2.12 9.12 111.51 32.29 125.00

125 487 475 3 716 976 579 693 952 117 1 249 162 828 1 080 280 628 300 496 051 253 988 672 339 521 837

0.00 0.00 0.47 0.61 0.00 6.11 3.62 14.63

N/A N/A 9.68 37.12 -12.33 -5.00 N/A -3.30

NT 0.50 18.69 1.32 8.84 115.00 26.32 124.68

0.72

0.50

4 035 497 307

0.00

N/A

3.48

0.19

N/A

1 041 600

3.65

1.12

980 294 400

0.21

-4.96

1.41

65 020 NT

3.67 6.40

2.11 3.28

589 496 310 198 819 763

0.58 0.25

-0.99 N/A

3.03 NT

1.64

0.85

865 808 912

0.08

N/A

0.50

70 000

0.75

0.50

3 211 627 907

0.01

N/A

NT 1 411 720 NT 11 406 647

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 -18.37 N/A -5.15

NT 0.98 NT 0.97

150 000

0.50

8 000 000 000

0.00

N/A

0.50

7 000 162 081 NT 11 500

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 -1.76

1.79 1.81 2.65 4.55

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

77 000 1 094 509

2.78 11.75

1.54 5.15

634 000 000 1 230 468 750

0.38 0.81

N/A -8.30

2.60 5.78

1.43

1.04

45 000 000

0.12

N/A

11 000

1.02

201 885 335

0.00

N/A

0.97

500

0.60

30 000 000

0.00

N/A

0.60

0.50

24 898 850

0.00

N/A

NT 500

1.88

1.63

125 005 250

0.00

N/A

NT 1.63

0.50

6 650 000

0.00

N/A

NT 20 000 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

Monday, December 24, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Monday, December 24, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Law & Justice nationalmirrorlaw@yahoo.com

“A free press and an independent judiciary must work together to foster a society committed to the rule of law.” FORMER CHIEF JUSTICE OF NIGERIA, JUSTICE DAHIRU MUSDAPHER

2012 in review: Trying period for justice administration As the curtain draws on the year 2012, KAYODE KETEFE, Assistant Head, Judiciary Desk, reviews the events of the year and reports that the year exhibits historical values from judicial perspectives.

Empower states to have Appellate courts –Odunaiya 44

Land Use Act: Need for title document regulations 43

s it always happened every year, the year 2012 also has its fair share of judicial landmark judicial events and activities. The year would go down as one which harbours normal occurrences in the judicial parlance, as well as some events which could be considered eccentric and historic. Notable among the high-profile cases and judicial events that characterised the outgoing year are the following.

Al-Mustapha, Shofolahan to die by hanging The year 2012 began with a great handout from the Judiciary in the form of an historic judgement delivered on January 30, 2012 in the case of the former Chief Security Officer, CSO, to late Head of State, General Sani Abacha, Major Hamzat Al-Mustapha and a protocol officer in the MKO Abiola campaign organisation, Lateef Shofolahan, whose case had a spanned a whopping 11 years. The two accused were sentenced to death by hanging for the conspiracy to murder and murder charge by Justice Mojisola Dada of the Lagos High Court. In her judgement, Dada held that AlMustapha and Shofolahan, were guilty of conspiracy and murder of the wife of late presidential candidate, Moshood Abiola, Mrs. Kudiratu Abiola. The judge held that “Evidence was manifestly heavy that they killed Kudiratu Abiola. In view of this, they are guilty of conspiracy and murder,” “The prosecution has proved its case beyond all reasonable doubt. In view of this, they should be hanged.”

Supreme Court reinstates Kwara CJ

How domestic workers killed Oboh, female pilot 46

The Supreme Court in February 17, 2012 ordered the reinstatement of former Chief Judge of Kwara Justice Raliat EleluHabeeb. The judge had been sacked in 2009 by former Governor Bukola Saraki. The apex court overturned the decision of the former governor and ordered that Justice Elelu-Habeeb should to return to her duty post. The Supreme Court also laid down the principle that state governors have no power to remove judicial officers. Elelu-Habeeb was removed from office on May 4, 2009 by the state executive council following the recommendations of Governor Saraki. The decision was an endorsement of the decision of the Federal High Court, Ilorin, which had held that“the House

Mukhtar

Adoke

of Assembly cannot remove the CJ from office without recourse to and input or participation of the National Judicial Council (NJC).”

Judge in the state. Justice Phillips succeeded Justice Inumidun Akande who retired on June 7, 2012 upon the attainment of the statutory retirement age of 65. Aged 63 on appointment, Phillips was born on July 26, 1949 and joined the Lagos State Ministry of Justice in 1989. Phillips was appointed a judge on February 18, 1994 and was cleared by the Lagos State House of Assembly for the position of Chief Judge on June 7. Phillips is now the 14th Chief Judge of Lagos state.

Female cops reprieve for on marriage A new dawn promising a better social justice and gender equality in Nigeria unveiled on May 16, 2012 recently with an unusual judicial decision. This was a judgment delivered by Justice Stephen Adah of a Federal High Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, which invalidates a requirement by a regulation in the Nigerian Police Force that mandates young policewomen who want to get married to first obtain permission of the Commissioner of Police in their respective jurisdiction before marriage. The judge, who held the regulation to be unconstitutional, therefore declared it null and void. The suit had been been filed by the Executive Director of a Lagos-based non-governmental organisation, Women Empowerment and Legal Aid (WELA), Mrs. Funmi Falana.

Lagos gets new CJ Lagos State got a new Chief Judge on June 14, 2012, when the Governor Babatunde Fashola SAN swore-in Justice Ayotunde Phillip who became the fourth woman to occupy the office of the Chief

Oil marketers’ charged with fraud Following the probe of the House of Representatives’ Ad-hoc Committee on Fuel Subsidy payments that unearthed the shady dealings involving some individuals and companies in Nigeria, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) The alleged fraudulent oil marketers were said to have collected an aggregate sum of N13.4 billion from the Federal Government as subsidy payment for oil they putatively imported from abroad at a cost above the subsidised domestic price of oil, but which they never delivered. Since then, there have been multiple cases at different courts as the EFCC made CONTINUED ON PAGE 42

Law & Justice

Monday, December 24, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

‘Judiciary remains susceptible to executive pressure’ Nigeria, Justice Mukhtar. The new Justices are: Ibrahim Bdliya, Abiriya James-Shehu, Obietonbara Daniel-Kalio, Onyekachi Otisi, Stephen Adah, Tinuade Akomolaje-Wilson and Fatima Akinbami, Habeeb Abiru, Peter Ige, Tijani Abubakar and Emmanuel Agim. The 12th judge, Justice Ifeoma Jombo-Ofo unfortunately was not sworn-in on that day.

Jombo-Ofo: a revisit of gender equality

Jombo-Ofo

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 41 arraignments upon arraignments of the indicted oil marketers. Those already arraigned included No less than 20 independent oil marketers were indicted in the scam. The EFCC began the prosecution of the indicted marketers in July this year. Those already arraigned included the son of an Ibadan business mogul, (Alhaji Abdul-Azeez Arisekola Alao ), Abdullahi and the son of the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) (Ahmadu Ali) Mamman Nasir Ali. Other persons arraigned included two Managing Directors of two oil companies, Dr. Patrick Ifeanyi Uba (Capital Oil and Gas Ltd) and AbdulKabir Aliu as well as Aro Samuel Bamidele, Abiodun Kayode, Ifeanyi Anosike, Emeka Chukwu and Ngozi Ikeoma, Alhaji Adamu Aliyu Maula, George Ogbonna and Emmanuel Morah.

Aloma Mukhtar, first female heads Supreme Court “I have the honour to forward the nomination of Honourable Justice Aloma Mariam Mukhtar, CON, CFR for confirmation as Chief Justice of Nigeria,” with this words contained in a letter dated July 3, 2012, President Goodluck Jonathan nominated Justice Mukhtar to the Senate as the new Chief Justice of Nigeria, to replace Justice Dahiru Musdapher, who retired on July 15, 2012 Justice Mukhtar, aged 68 at the time of her appointment in July 2012 replaced Justice Musdapher who retired as the CJN on 15 of July. Mukhtar was appointed to the Supreme Court in 2005, setting a record as the first woman to enter the Nigeria’s apex court. Justice Muktar had earlier made history as the first woman to be appointed into Appeal Court, Nigeria’s second highest court. By her appointment, she became the 13th head of the nation’s

Al-Mustapha

THE EFCC BEGAN THE PROSECUTION OF THE INDICTED MARKETERS IN

JULY

THIS YEAR judiciary since the appointment of Chief Justice Adetokunbo Ademola, the first CJN who held the post from 1958–1972.

Wali emerged NBA President On July 17, 2012, the Nigerian Bar Association got a new President in the person of Mr. Okey Wali SAN. Wali’s emergence stemmed from his popularity culminating in the support he drew from almost all the diverse interest groups within the NBA, especially the Eastern Bar Forum and the Arewa Lawyers Forum, which both openly announced his adoption ahead of the delegates’ conference. There was also significant support for Wali in Egbe Amofin.

Lagos makes new controversial Traffic Law A new vista in public administration and social order was opened in Lagos State on August 2, 2012, when Governor Babatunde Fashola, SAN, signed a new Lagos Traffic Bill into law. The new law tagged: “Lagos State Road Traffic Law, 2012, repealed the Road Traffic Law Cap. R10 Vol. 17 Law of Lagos State, as amended, in 2004. The law seeks to eradicate diverse antisocial, abnormal and dangerous practices associated with the traffic operations in the state which incidentally is the most populous state in Nigeria; it envisages a condition of free flow and orderly transportation in the state as part of the megacity blueprint project for the state. Under the new law, any motorist/ Okada rider caught driving against traffic is guilty of an offence and

liable on conviction to one year imprisonment as first offender and three years terms of imprisonment (which may come in form of community service) for repeated offence(s). Driving of unregistered or unlicensed vehicle constitutes offence punishable with N20, 000 fines. If the offence is repeated the sanction becomes N30, 000 fines or three year imprisonment or both! The law also bans activities of National Union of Road Transport Workers across the various motor parks in the state.

NJC makes volte face on salami On 18, October 2012, the repressed issue of the former President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Isa Ayo Salami’s reinstatement burst to the fore once again as NJC a body statutorily charged with appointment, discipline and dismissal of judicial officers, held an important meeting in which the possibility of his reinstatement was discussed. The meeting, which was held behind closed- door and presided over by the incumbent CJN, Justice Mukthar, had long deliberation on the nagging issues of Salami. Salami, would officially reach the retirement age on October 14, 2013 – a day he would attain the statutory retirement age of 70, having been born on October 15, 1943 in Ganma, Kwara State. The suspended appellate court boss has, however, been suspended since August 2011, being a fallout from the protracted dispute he had with the erstwhile Chief Justice of Nigeria, (CJN), Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu

Court of Appeal gets 11 new justices The numerical strength of the second highest court in Nigeria, the Court of Appeal was expanded on November 5, 2012 with the swearingin of 11additional justices. They were sworn-in by the Chief Justice of

A drama that was to usher in sustained controversy on gender question in judicial appointment happened during the swearing-in ceremony of the new justices of the Court of Appeal by the CJN, Justice Mukhtar who refused to swear-in Justice Jombo-Ofo as a Justice of Court of Appeal. The discretion of the CJN to exclude Jombo-Ofo was rested on the assumption that she was ineligible by virtue of her being nominated by a state which is not her state of origin (Abia) but a state of origin of her husband. However on November, 21, the The National Judicial Council directed the CJN, to swear-in Justice Jombo-Ofo as a Judge of the Court of Appeal.

The AGF says Police may lose power to prosecute On October 11, 2012, The Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Mr. Mohammed Bello Adoke, said that a plan is in the offing towards amendment of the constitution and the Police Act to deprive the police of the prosecutorial powers. Bello made this disclosure delivering this at a lecture in Abuja which was organised by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). Under the proposed dispensation, the Nigerian police will no longer handle the responsibility of prosecuting criminal suspects. The lecture also addressed other issues relating to administration of justice like torture, extra-judicial killings and national security. The AGF also admitted at the forum that the police extra-judicial killings, mostly of detainees, had claimed over 7,195 lives in the last four years.

Nigerian Judiciary: 2012 assessment from United States A United States Department’s country’s Report on Nigeria for 2012 contains some serious and unflattering depictions of the Nigerian Judiciary. The reports stated inter alia, “Although the constitution and law provide for an independent judiciary, the judicial branch remained susceptible to pressure from the executive and legislative branches and the business sector. “Political leaders influenced the judiciary, particularly at the state and local levels. Understaffing, underfunding, inefficiency, and corruption continued to prevent the judiciary from functioning adequately.”

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Law & Justice

Monday, December 24, 2012

Land Use Act: Need for title document regulations HAKEEM MURI-OKUNOLA

he promulgation of the Land Use Act (LUA), CAP L5, Laws of the Federation (LFN), 2004 which came into force on 28th day of March, 1978 introduced a uniform statutory regulation of ownership and control of land rights in the different states of the Federation, vesting in the Governor of each state “all land comprised in the territory of each state in the Federation” with statutory power given to the Governor of each state to hold such land in trust to be “administered for the use and common benefit of all Nigerians” in accordance with the provisions of the Act (Section 1 of LUA). As part of such uniform statutory regulation above referred to is the power granted the Governor of each state to grant statutory right of occupancy to any person for all purposes and for the Governor when granting such rights to issue Certificates of Occupancy as evidence of the grant of such rights (See Sections 5 and 9 of LUA). Of very much relevance to why we are is the provision of section 34 of the Land Use Act (i.e. the provision of the Act with the head note “Transitional and other related provisions”) which provision is to address basically two issues i.e. (I) the position of those who immediately before the commencement of the Act had vested rights in pieces or parcels of developed land (II) The position of those who immediately before the commencement the Act had vested rights in parcels/portions of land that are undeveloped. In the case of those with developed land as mentioned here, the person in whom the land was vested shall continue to have right over such land as if he “was the holder of a statutory right of occupancy issued by the Governor” and the Governor ‘if satisfied ‘that the land was so held as envisaged by the provision of the Act, shall issue a certificate of occupancy on the application of such holder (see section 34, subsections 1 to 4 of LUA). In the case of a person who immediately before the coming into force of the Act had vested rights in parcels of undeveloped land, such a person is only entitled to continue in the exercise of right over not more than half an hectare of such land (the rest is forfeited to the state, to be administered/managed in line with the provisions of the Act). In this case of undeveloped land also, the holder is treated by the Act as if he “was the holder of

a statutory right of occupancy granted by the Governor” and if the Governor is ‘satisfied’ that the size of land (1/2 hectare) envisaged by the Act was so vested in the applicant immediately before the commencement of the Act, he shall be issue to such applicant a certificate of occupancy (see section 34 (5), (6) and (9). However, in the two cases above, no land (whether developed, undeveloped, in part or in whole) shall be transferred to any person except with the prior consent in writing of the Governor (see section 34 (7) and (8), 22 of the Land Use Act). Clearly the intention of the Land Use Act in the two scenarios

THIS FRAUDULENT PRACTICE OF BACKDATING OF LAND

TRANSACTION DOCUMENTS HAS BECOME RIDICULOUS above was to create as the head note of the section indicate, a transitional situation or opportunity for a person deemed to be a holder of statutory right of occupancy to formally apply for a cer-

tificate of occupancy and where he fails to do so, he remains without a formal grant of such right, without a Certificate of Occupancy as evidence of such a right (see section 9 of the Land Use Act). Incidentally, the definition of ‘transitional’ is – “temporary, or in the process of changing from one situation, form or state to another” (Macmillan English Dictionary for Advanced Learners, 2007 Edition, page 1593); unfortunately the statute (i.e. LUA) does not have any time line for the transition envisaged by the Act. It is within the backdrop of the above comments in mind and the reality of the experience of officials of Land Bureau that one can

appreciate the need for the Land Use Act (Title Documentation) Regulations, 2012. Experience at lands bureau In an application for Certificate of Occupancy in respect of privately acquired land at the Lands Bureau, one of the documents that would be required to be submitted was ‘land purchase receipt or agreement’. To be continued next week Muri-Okunola, Permanent Secretary, Lagos State Lands Bureau delivered this paper at the Stakeholders’ Meeting on Land Use Act (Title Documentation) Regulations, 2012 in Lagos recently.

Law & Justice

Monday, December 24, 2012

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Empower states to have appellate Chief Victor Odunaiya is a former Chairman, Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja Branch and a one-time lecturer, Nigerian Law School. He was trained in University of London and was called to the Nigerian Bar in 1974. In this interview with KENNY ODUNUKAN, the 77-year old lawyer speaks on justice administration and corruption in the judiciary, among other issues. Excerpts:

Can you compare the practice of Law in the past with the present? Well, there is no difference from what is obtainable in the past and now except some of the facts that we have more materials upon which lawyers can rely upon to support their cases. In the past, the materials were limited by which the court can use but these days, we have number of books, number of articles, novels or journals and so on and so forth that a judge can use to widen or express his view on any given subject, because for a case ,there must be an issue, the issue is what the Judge will look into and see which of the two parties was able to properly ventilate his grievances and then he will make a decision. What is your opinion on criminal justice administration, especially prison congestion in the country? There are more crime springing up these days because there are many avenues to commit crimes these days’ like now we have the computer fraud and the rest of it. They use the computer and mobile phones to defraud people, Using technology to commit further crime therefore government needs to employ more lawyers who will be experts in computer science ,who will able to read and interprete computer technical languages which are being used daily to propagate fraud. Those lawyers need to be trained specially on those areas so as to be able to beat some criminals. Then in so doing you cannot continue to use the conventional court maybe there is need for technical courts to be establish at the criminal level. Can you explain what is meant by technical courts? When I say technical courts, technical courts are courts that deal with the aspects of technology. The older lawyers for instance, not all of them can operate the computers, not all of them can speak the computer language and so the younger ones are so vast in technology. They can use blackberry, they use internet and so on. In doing so they need to train them vis-à-vis the type of offences that are coming up now from the use of computers, internets and so on and so forth.so, once lawyers are trained in those things or the language of those things,they will be able to meet up the tactics in use by this so called Yahoo boys. What are the solutions to the problems of prison congestion? There may be need for the introduction of suspended sentence when somebody is a first offender and he is below the age of 25. If he is sentenced to any terms of imprisonment, the court may suspend it and it is suspended for one year or two years. If he does not commit any further offence or similar offence, he could go scot –free with that. But if he does commit an offence within a suspended terms and imprisonment, then, they will bring back the old judgement into account so he would be sentenced to a longer period of time if he commits similar offence within next two years. So that is suspended sentence. Secondly, they can introduce fines that that people will be able to pay although there are some offences that people are fined so much for example, if a person is fined one million or alternatively, asked to go to 10 years imprisonment. That will

THERE MAY BE THE NEED FOR THE INTRODUCTION OF SUSPENDED SENTENCE WHEN SOMEBODY IS A FIRST OFFENDER

Odunaiya

somehow reduce the tension in the prison. Another thing is that all offences carrying penalties of two to three years should be subject to automatic suspension that will reduce prison congestion or traffic offences that often take the commuters to prison could be reduced to payment of fines only and they can be given time up to seven to 10 days within which to pay their fines that will reduce prison congestion. During the period of finding their money to pay the tax, they are kept in police custody; that will also reduce prison congestion. There must be regular visits by the Chief Judge as it is being done now by Justice Ayo Phillips, Lagos State Chief Judge to release offenders that they believed have suffered enough punishment or stay more than normal in the prison custody or basically for health reasons and some reasons known to them. What innovations do you think should be put in place towards the Justice sector reform? Justice administration is on the concurrent legislative list. The Federal Government can make laws relating to justice administration and at the same time the state government can make laws relating to the administration of justice in their own states and for this also even the local governments which are responsible also can make bye-laws which can be enforced at the local level, so the most important is that because of the current population in Nigeria ,the Federal Government should increase the numbers of Judges at the federal level for example at the Supreme Court, at the Court of Appeal ,and the Federal High Court. Now currently I think within each state, there is a limit. When you look at the numbers of cases in court, there is no reason they cannot increase the numbers of Judges. For example in Lagos State, Port Harcourt, Abuja and other centres like Enugu that the current number of Judges from current six to 12 because of the numbers of cases that goes before Federal High Court, commercial cases or cases involving individuals and federal government or federal agencies. Then at a state level, Lagos for example, has about 52 Judges and yet they cannot cope because of the increase in the number of people committing offences or going to court to exercise their right over many things. I think also the only thing that can be done to let the people have the impact is devolution. That is the federal government should allow the state more powers to enact laws regarding issues of appointments. Secondly, Lagos state has 20 local government areas and with the proposal made by the former Governor, Asiwaju

Bola Tinubu making it 57 local government areas, At least they should establish Judicial division in each of the local government areas, there should be at least High court in each of the 20 local government areas, in Lagos. There should be magistrate court in each of the local governments so that people will not need to be travelling to Ikeja or Lagos all the time,Epe will have Judicial division and other areas within Epe, then Ifako, Iju-ishaga should have their own Judicial divisions within their local governments. All of these areas, Alimosho ,Apapa, Surulere and others should have at least a minimum of six Judges dealing with civil matters and another six dealing with criminal matters. so that is when there could be speedy trial of cases coming before the court and then instead of cases lasting five ,ten years and so on ,so forth ,the period will be minimized. All the same for purposes of appeal, Lagos has a Court of Appeal. There are two courts in Lagos state. the Nigerian Bar Association has already agitated for more courtrooms in the divisions in Lagos at least if Lagos will have 10 courts in court of Appeal divisions, it is not sufficient ,Ibadan likewise has only two courts and the number of cases handled by these courts are too much to handle. These courts should be increased to about 10 so that they can adequately handle the pressures on them. In the alternative, while Lagos will have more or about 10, Ogun State, Oyo State, Osun state should all have a Court of Appeal at the federal

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Monday, December 24, 2012

courts –Odunaiya

I BELIEVE IF 20 PEOPLE APPLY

FOR SAN AWARD AND THEY ALL MET THE CRITERIA THEN THOSE WHO ARE SENIOR AT THE BAR SHOULD BE CONSIDERED FIRST

level. The Federal Government should fund that. Each city should have a Court of Appeal sitting there and In the past, it has been done before on circuit basis that is, they move from one city to another. From Ibadan to Abeokuta, from Abeokuta to other places. Instead of moving them about like that they could have Ogun state Court of Appeal, Oyo State Court of Appeal, Osun state Court of Appeal and with a minimum of five courts, you will discover it will be easier to complete an appeal within a period of two years rather than currently in the three or four years basis sometimes. Corruption in the Judiciary is a recurring problem, what is your take on this? Well, It is neither here nor there, but the public too are guilty of it, they are one alleging the cases of corruption in Judiciary but if they do not offer these Judges ,they will not take it, sometimes they are force on them, sometimes it is the political class that are forcing the things on the Judges, You must do this or else we will deal with you ,you must do that. Sometimes they make decisions and before you know it they have broadcasted it. Sometimes the Judge may not have taken any thing and you will hear that so he has taken some bribe and so on. We practitioners, we know those who are corrupt and those who are not corrupt. Nobody has been able to come out except for the alleged recent one involving Justice Ayo Salami. Compare the quality of modern day judges with the judges of the olden days. Do they share the same trait? Well, we still have very good judges notwithstanding to the fact that some of them are not good, I believe we still have good Judges. Like I said before, there are materials upon which many of them could read, consult and increase their research ability and we need to commend Judges in Lagos state, they have research assistants to assists in looking for materials in which they will base their judgements. There are more quality judgements that are written now than before. Some lawyers have been saying that the powers exercisable by the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) as the National Judicial Council (NJC) chairman are wide? What is your position on that? I do not agree with that position, the powers conferred on CJN are not too much; it is only the question of our own assumption of the way of the CJN is exercising its powers. If he exercises or take decisions that are suitable to us ,we would not complain but he takes decision that are adverse to us then we would start to complain, no he should not have done that! He should have done that! You see Nigerians are never satisfied with anything. They go to any length to criticise you, at the same time they have forgotten that Justice is not one way but two ways. There are always two sides to any matter; the Judge has to look into both sides properly. The CJN is doing what is he is supposed to do under the constitution, he sits as the chairman of the NJC when they consider issues affecting the judiciary including approval of appointment of Judges. They look back at the record of the proposed person to see whether he is suitable or not, that is where they come in. So it depends, but when someone who has done something wrong somewhere

before even when someone did something in Britain and he believes people will not it and then when the information comes in, then you will now say how did they get that he was seeking so,so,so.there were opponents that were involve in so and so no they have more access to information about individuals now through internet and computers, through cooperation from other countries. We are in the commonwealth, there is cooperation within commonwealth Judges as have to they can information about you ,it is not difficult, like I studied in Britain, if I want apply to be a Judge, I must have filled the colleges I went to in Britain. There is nothing wrong with the CJ or any authority whatever to find out about me that I was in that college; what was my character .It is the cumulative result of my resume that will informed them whether to approve or not approve any applicant so to say. As a senior lawyer, do you think the award of Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) should be scrapped? The disciplinary committee of the Bar has the last say as to whom they will award the rank,well,as far as I am concerned whether I am awarded the SAN or not,I go to court ,I know I do excellently well, that’s all I know, I have defeated many SANs at trials even up to Supreme court so am not afraid of anybody but I honestly believe that the criteria that are now being used to award SAN is rather unnecessary. First of all, when we started practising, our seniors were paying us N400. I am not quarrelling with the fact that there must be a befitting office but you now beginning practice look for duplex, simply because one or two lawyers were able to use duplex. It is not the duplex that brings the knowledge of the practice, it is your brain, your devotion to work and the ability to deliver in the court that is what makes a lawyer. When people apply to the rank of a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, generally it is being done yearly and you have about 30 people that meet that criteria, in order to make the final list, they must look at their ages at the Bar, the type of contributions they have made in their society and their locality and other things they have been engaged in within their community what I mean for example is various held position in the league of bar ,they could have been a leader of the bar, a lecturer, they could have been so so chairman and other things that contribute to the development of Law in their country. They should look into all that, not just the fact that this is the son of so, so and so or this is the relation of that or well connected to this and that. Seniority should be a criteria, I believe if 20 people apply and they all met the criteria then those who are senior at the bar should be considered first. Then the remaining set should be considered the following year, but sometimes they will just take someone who is just ten years at the bar and make him senior advocate and while people who have spent 30 years at the bar are probably denied and you discovered that this applicants with thirty year experience at the bar are more qualified, sound, better and knowledgeable

Law & Justice

than the ten year applicant. It is widely believed that they do not follow proper criteria. When you applied for the award of SAN, you were you wrongfully denied? Yes, I thought so I believe I should be given that the SAN award some years ago. I believe that in 1989 when I applied for SAN, I ought to have been given the award. Apart from the fact that I submitted cases required in the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal, I had 18 good Judgements from the High Court. I really worked so hard and was denied. I was persuaded to apply thereafter. I have done three times and was still denied. I have made up my mind that I am not going to apply again in 2006, I know the numbers of cases I submitted, apart from that, I had written four law books, which are being used in court, I had served as a lecturer for 10 years in Nigerian Law School, what else do they want? I have been chairman on different occasions at the bar. But that is not the issue I am satisfied with myself, I am happy I am doing what I love to do best.curently there is no one that face me in the court that I cannot face, so what else do I want. Am contended with the level I have reach so far. I won’t apply again, I am over 70 , what else do I want? Is the NBA really doing enough in terms of championing the rule of law in the country? Oh yes, they have done a lot, they are championing the rule of Law, it is not in their realm to implement the law, they have cried, shout and done all sorts but the rule of law must prevail. The police and rest of them frustrate the enforcement of the rule of law. Corruption comes into play here, where there is corruption, there will distortion of facts and all these things work against the rule of Law. Which case of all the cases you have handled has remain memorable? I have done so many and I am proud of them because I usually take my case seriously ,the one I can remember is the one on Itele land, along Ayobo-Aiyetoro-Ota, Ogun state, I won it against a formidable team of lawyers, I was in the party of oppressed, eventually ,we won in all the three courts, the High Court, Court of Appeal and the Supreme Court. The people were violently dealt brutalised and sent parking from their homes. They have written the Governor of Ogun state, the the security adviser and the Attorney General on how to re-instate them. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has taken parcels of their land without paying compensation as far back 1987.I wrote several letters about it and he replied he will pay them and asked us to meet at Abeokuta and he did not turn up .Uptill today he has not paid anything.I am waiting for remaining cases to be completed and then we will cry to the world for help. Some of these people have died in process, some have died in exile and I was even threatened but I did not mind. Since Justice Isa Salami was suspended as Appeal Court president, it appears that there is a succession crisis in the Judiciary. So far, two Justices have been appointed in acting capacities, one after the other in the last one and half years. What is your opinion on this? The fact of the matter is in court, therefore I cannot comment on it, but as an individual, Justice Salami has the right to ventilate his grievances before the court. Acting judges are waiting for the proper thing to be done. So you act for a period of time. But I will say it is more political that any other thing. We have the distractor fighting against each other, wanting to make a name above each other. Can you comment briefly on Justice Joseph Oyewole’s travails in Lagos judiciary? That is what I am saying, when you have someone being proposed and yet not given, it is political. The fact is that he gave judgement against former Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain, Chief Bode George ; is that why they should crucify him, the question is, is he qualified or not ? The Judgement he gave, was he true or not? The government in power just want people to rubber stamp what they want to do even when they know glaring that it is wrong. You want somebody just to be their rubber stamp that is not possible. Then why are we in a federation. We are a federal state. Everyone has the right to express their views. Granted Oyewole is from Osun, but he has served in Lagos, They recognise his competence that is why they allow him to serve in Lagos. If that is case, why crucify him? We are looking for people of integrity, dynamite, people who express their minds without fear or favour. If they have any information against him why can’t they come to the press to say this is our information?

Law & Justice

About 14 years ago, a female pilot, Captain Hadiza Oboh, was murdered in her Ikoyi residence, Lagos allegedly by her domestic workers, who thereafter stole her property and personal belongings. FRANCIS FAMOROTI, Head, Judiciary writes.

Monday, December 24, 2012

How domestic workers killed Oboh, female pilot HAVING KILLED OBOH, THE

he first and only female pilot with the defunct Nigerian Airways, Captain. Hadiza Lantana Oboh had a promising career in the aviation industry. Oboh, was reputed to have first checked out as a Flight officer with Nigeria Airways on Boeing 732, in the mid ‘80s. Unfortunately, her rising profile was cut short by some greedy domestic workers she employed. The workers snuffed life out of her in her 43A, Bourdillon Road, Ikoyi residence sometimes in 1998. Being a single lady, who was comfortable in every respect, the domestic staff orchestrated a plot to kill her and take over her property. They succeeded with their diabolical plan. Prior to her death, Oboh was said to be ever lively. On that fateful day, she left the airport and drove straight to her residence. Barely 30 minutes later, she arrived her residence, her gateman, otherwise known as mai gadi, Abdullahi, among other four persons were at the gate. Sensing that madam had arrived, they rushed and flung the massive gates open. Oboh drove in and parked her Santana car in the compound. She entered the tastefully furnished duplex building and went into her bedroom while one of the domestic workers carried her flight bag. On the few occasions that the domestic workers had had access to the captain’s bedroom, they had noticed that foreign currencies littered the room. That fateful day was not an exception as the worker that followed her into the expansive house had also noticed some foreign currencies. Beside the currencies, the workers were privy to the fact that Oboh had several wears, expensive laces, gold chains, rings, bracelets, state of the art electronic gadgets and shoes, among other costly items in her wardrobe. This obviously brought diabolical thoughts on their minds. The gateman‘s petty trading spot at the entrance of the gate became a meeting post for the domestic servants, who hatched plans on how to murder their employer. According to accounts of the incident, one of the masterminds of the plot was Peter Iduwu Eche, who hails from Benue State. Though trained as an auto electrician, he was employed as a gateman and gardener in January 1993. He was recruited when Oboh sacked Abdullahi for gross misconduct. Peter lived in a single room boy’s quarter as a service occupant inside the compound. However, it was after Peter left for his village that the female pilot re-employed Abdullahi, pending Peter’s return. When Peter returned, Abdullahi co-opted him into the plot to kill Oboh ‘’because she get plenty money and property’’. Peter quickly accepted the overtures to join the group and Abdullahi arranged

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ASSAILANTS DUMPED HER BODY IN A SEPTIC TANK IN THE COMPOUND

Tsav

FAMOUS CASES for four assassins, obviously those who often met him at his petty trading spot. As planned, the killers lurked around when Oboh drove in on the fateful day. The unsuspecting pilot, after relaxing for a while in her room, stepped into her kitchen to prepare a dinner she never lived to eat. Peter opened the gate for the four killers to sneak in and murder her employer. The killers came in through the rear kitchen door. Abdullahi sprang from behind and threw a rope noose round the pilot’s neck. As he tightened the rope, others attacked her. Having killed Oboh, the assailants dumped her body in a septic tank in the compound. They sealed the tank with cement and went on looting spree of the

deceased’s personal belongings. Abdullahi, Peter and others looted the pilot’s belongings including her car, which they converted into an unpainted taxi. After the looting, Peter moved from the boy’s quarter and took over the expansive building. Each time, any visitor asked about her madam’s whereabouts, he was always quick to respond in pidgin English that ‘’Madam don travel and we no know when she go return.’’ To the assailants, the female pilot had gone on a trip that she would never return. Luck, however, ran out of them when the policemen on guard at the next compound to Oboh’s residence noticed strange movements in and out of the premises. The security men asked for the late pilot’s whereabouts and the domestic workers claimed that she had travelled. Curiously, the security agents moved against Peter and others and they were arrested by men of Ikoyi Police Station. When the Police swung into action, they initially investigated the case of stealing and unlawful removal of property. They did not doubt the statement made by Peter that the late pilot had travelled outside the country. Dissatisfied with the slow pace of investigation, the then Police Commissioner, Alhaji Abubakar Tsav, later called for

the case file. Having studied the file, he referred it to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, Yaba. Tsav, who had a press briefing with the media, at that time said beyond the issue of theft of the female pilot’s property, it was necessary for the police to unravel the mystery surrounding her whereabouts. When the SCID took over the case, its crack team detectives, led by Samuel Okaula, then an Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) visited on a series of occasions the late pilot’s residence during the course of his investigation. It was during one of such visits that Okaula, now Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), noticed fresh cement patch on a septic tank. He also saw a half bag of cement next to it, and he quickly suspected something sinister about the freshly patched septic tank. According to the Polis, a publication of PGM publications, the police officer rushed back to the SCID, Panti cell to further interrogate Peter. The next day, Okaula and his team, again visited the late pilot’s residence and he ordered that the septic tank be opened. Immediately this was done, the discovery was horrific and shocking; the late pilot’s decomposed body was found in the tank. After the recovery of the corpse, the police were sure that Peter, Abdullahi, Itoro Akpan, a driver of the late pilot, and one Denise Osama, said to have received some of the looted goods were in their net. Indeed, in Peter’s confessional statement, he said ‘’When I hear madam dey shout and plead with them not to kill her, I cry, but I no follow kill her o ‘’. On June 1, 1998, the four suspects were arraigned at the Chief Magistrate’s Court in Lagos, for conspiracy, armed robbery and murder. While the police were awaiting advice from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), it was learnt that the High Court ordered the release of two of the accused on bail with two sureties, who were alleged to have given fictitious names and addresses to the court. The Ministry of Justice, however, later advised that the suspects be re-arraigned for conspiracy, armed robbery and murder. Sadly, efforts to re-arrest the suspects proved abortive because they had bolted away. Their sureties had also used fictitious names and addresses to process the court bail.

Monday, December 24, 2012

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World News

I won’t run for Italian premier –Monti

“Russia has publicly said that it doesn’t invite President Assad. If there is anyone willing to provide him guarantees, they are welcome!” - RUSSIAN FOREIGN MINISTER, SERGEI LAVROV

WORLD BULLETIN

Mandela’s stay in hospital extended

Kenya arrests 56 for tribal killings

ormer South African leader Nelson Mandela will probably spend Christmas Day in a hospital because his doctors want to be satisfied his health has improved satisfactorily before sending him home, a South African media outlet reported yesterday. Presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj said the physicians caring for Mandela had given no indication of an “imminent discharge” from a hospital in Pretoria, the capital, according to IOL, a South African news website. “At this stage there is no update on his condition and his doctors have given no indication” about when Mandela could be discharged, IOL quoted Maharaj as saying Saturday. IOL is owned by Independent Newspapers, a national group that publishes 15 newspapers. Mandela was hospitalized on Dec. 8. He was diagnosed with a lung infection and also had gallstone surgery; officials have said his condition has improved and that he was responding to treatment. President Jacob Zuma acknowledged several days ago that Mandela’s condition had been serious. “They (the doctors) say there is no crisis, but add that they are in no hurry to send him home just yet until they are satisfied that he has made sufficient progress,” Maharaj said, according to IOL. “We urge the public to continue supporting Madiba,” he said, using Mandela’s clan name, an affectionate term. Maharaj appealed for people to “understand that he is 94 years old and needs extraordinary care.” The Sunday Times, a South African newspaper that is not part of the media group that owns IOL, also said Mandela was likely to spend Christmas in hospital care. It did not cite a source. The newspaper quoted Maharaj as saying that rumors of a rapid deterioration in Mandela’s health were “completely false and baseless.” South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu said he is praying for a prompt recovery for Mandela. Radio 702, a South African station, on Sunday broadcast an interview with Tutu in which he said he exchanged telephone text messages about Mandela with the antiapartheid icon’s wife, Graca Machel. Tutu and Mandela are Nobel laureates because of their role in the struggle against white minority rule. Mandela was imprisoned for 27 years and served one five-year term as president after he was elected in South Africa’s first democratic elections in 1994.

Mandela and his wife Graca Machel, in a picture dated 16 May, 2011. Photo: AP

Policemen standing guard near a poster outside the constitutional court put up by supporters of President Morsi Photo: Reuters

Egyptians back new constitution in referendum PAUL A RHEWE

WITH AGENCY REPORTS

n Islamist-backed Egyptian constitution won approval in a referendum, rival camps said yesterday, after a vote the opposition said would sow deep social divisions in the Arab world’s most populous nation. The Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, which propelled President Mohamed Morsi to power in a June election, said an unofficial tally showed 64 percent of voters backed the charter after two rounds of voting that ended with a final ballot on Saturday. An opposition official also told Reuters their unofficial count showed the result was a “yes” vote, while party spokesmen said there had been a series of abuses during the voting. The main opposition coalition, the National Salvation Front, responded to the defeat by saying it was moving towards forming a single political party to challenge the Islamists who have dominated the ballot box since strongman Hosni Mubarak was overthrown two years ago. Members of the opposition, taking heart from a low turnout of about 30 percent of voters, pledged to keep up pressure on Morsi through peaceful protests and other democratic means. “The referendum is not the end of the road,” said Khaled Dawoud, a spokesman for the National Salvation Front. “It is only the beginning of a long struggle for Egypt’s future.” The referendum committee may not declare official results for the two rounds until Monday, after hear-

ing appeals. If the outcome is confirmed, a parliamentary election will follow in about two months. Morsi’s Islamist backers say the constitution is vital for the transition to democracy, nearly two years after Mubarak was ousted in a popular uprising. It will provide the stability needed to help a fragile economy, they say. The constitution was “a historic opportunity to unite all national powers on the basis of mutual respect and honest dialogue for the sake of stabilizing the nation,” the Brotherhood said in a statement. The opposition accuses Morsi of pushing through a text that favours Islamists and ignores the rights of Christians, who make up about 10 percent of the population, as well as women. They say it is a recipe for further unrest. The opposition said voting in both rounds was marred by abuses. However, an official said the overall vote favoured the charter. “The majority is not big and the minority is not small,” liberal politician Amr Hamzawy said, adding that the National Salvation Front would use “all peaceful, democratic means” such as protests to challenge the constitution. The vote was split over two days as many judges had refused to supervise the ballot, making a single day of voting impossible. During the build-up to the vote there were deadly protests, sparked by Morsi’s decision to award himself extra powers in a November 22 decree and then to fast-track the constitutional vote.

At least 56 people have been arrested on suspicion of killing 32 villagers, including women and children, in the Tana Delta region in Kenya’s southeast coast, police say. “We launched a major overnight man-hunt for the attackers and arrested 56 suspects who we believe were involved in the attacks,” Robert Kitur, chief of the Coast region deputy police, said on Sunday. Police sent an additional team of 200 paramilitary officers to the region to disarm the fighters, and said among the dead were six women and 13 children. The violent clashes on Friday saw semi-nomadic Orma pastoralists being attacked by Raiders, settled farmers from the Pokomo ethnic group, with guns, machetes and spears. Up to eleven Pokomo had also died which authorities described as a reprisal raid following a series of clashes in August in which more than 100 people have died.

Somali troops free 22 hostages held by pirates Twenty-two hostages seized by pirates nearly three years ago have been freed, the authorities in Somalia’s semi-autonomous region of Puntland say. They said their maritime force began the operation to free the hostages - and their ship - nearly two weeks ago. The hostages are showing signs of having suffered physical torture and illness, their statement said. Successful pirate attacks off the coast of Somalia have decreased in the last two years. This is due to the increased use of private security guards on ships and better co-ordination between naval patrols in the area, BBC says. It is rare for Somali forces to move on pirates in this way, BBC says.

Mali Islamists destroy Timbuktu mausoleums A tourism official says that Islamist extremists destroyed four mausoleums in Timbuktu yesterday. The director of Mali’s Timbuktu tourism office, Sane Chirfi, said that Ansar Dine rebels linked to alQaida in the Islamic Maghreb tore down the mausoleums, which were historic but not included on the United Nations list of World Heritage sites. The mausoleums housed the remains of Muslim scholars and teachers who are revered by the Timbuktu population. Since taking control of Timbuktu earlier this year, the Islamists have destroyed seven of the 16 mausoleums listed as world heritage sites. Some date back to the 14th century.

World News

Syria government says its forces still strong

yria’s information minister yesterday distanced the government from comments by the country’s vice president that neither the rebels nor the forces of President Bashar al-Assad could win the civil war. Last week Vice President Farouq al-Sharaa said in a newspaper interview that the country needed a government of national unity since neither side could win militarily. “There are 23 million people in Syria with their own personal opinions, this was one of those 23 million,” the information minister, Umran Ahid alZa’bi, told a news conference in the Syrian capital Damascus.

Monday, December 24, 2012

I won’t run for Italian premier –Monti

fter keeping Italians, and the rest of Europe, in suspense for weeks, caretaker Premier Mario Monti on Sunday ruled out running in February elections but said he would consider leading the next government if political forces sharing his reform-focused economic agenda requested it. The decision by Monti positions him to take the helm again without having to get into the nitty-gritty of campaigning — thus preserving his image as someone above the political fray who can make tough decisions imposing austerity measures. His previous such measures have boosted confidence in Italy’s finances, and fellow European leaders have made it no secret that they want his policies to stay in place. Silvio Berlusconi, the scandal-tainted ex-premier considering another run, commented scathingly on

Venezuela rules out fresh elections

V Monti Monti’s openness to another term. “I had a nightmare — still a government with Monti,” the media mogul said in an interview on state TV. He has said in the past that he would run again if Monti did not, but made no commitment Sunday about his own political future. Monti, who after his resignation Friday is continuing in a caretaker role in charge of a non-elected government tasked with rescuing Italy from economy, ruled out heading any

ticket — even a center-right grouping that Berlusconi said he would be willing to back. But the 69-year-old economist made it clear he was willing to take another turn in power. “If one or more political forces is credibly backing (my) agenda or even has a better one, I’d evaluate the offer,” Monti said during a news conference. “To those forces who demonstrate convincing and credible adherence to (my) agenda, I will be ready to give encouragement, and if necessary, lead” the country.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

enezuela will not call fresh elections if Hugo Chavez’s cancer prevents him from taking office by January 10, the head of Congress said, despite a constitutional mandate that the swearing-in take place on that date. “Since Chavez might not be here in on January 10, [the opposition] hopes the National Assembly will call elections within 30 days. They’re wrong. Dead wrong,” said Diosdado Cabello, the National Assembly’s president and one of

Chavez’s closest allies, during a ceremony to swear in a recently elected governor. “That’s not going to happen because our president is named Hugo Chavez, he was reelected and is in the hearts of all Venezuelans.” He suggested Chavez may need more time to recover from his surgery. Officials in recent weeks have recognised his condition was serious, and the garrulous leader’s unusual silence has sparked alarm even among supporters. Chavez is recovering in Cuba from a six-hour cancer operation that followed his October re-election. The socialist leader has not been heard from for nearly two weeks, raising doubts as to whether he will be fit to continue governing.

Monday, December 24, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Community Mirror Police arrest 2,000 suspects, recover 4,000 arms in Ogun

Honestly, I have not been impressed with the security system of the country and I believe that a lot has been said and done on this.

FORMER GOVERNOR OF ABIA STATE, ORJI UZOR KALU

Pipeline vandals arrested in Ogun FEMI OYEWESO ABEOKUTA

he Ogun State Command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defense Corps said it has arrested three suspected pipeline vandals at Fowoseje village,along Imobi Road, Ogbere in Ijebu East Local Government Area of the state. According to the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of NSCDC in the state, Kareem Olanrewaju, the suspects were arrested following intelligence reports on their activities in the area. Olanrewaju, who gave the names of the three suspects as; Kareem Rasaki ,31 Babatunde Akeem, 34 as and Owetuowetu Godbless, 30, also added that the Corps intelligence officers deployed in the area, had monitored the movement of the suspects for weeks before their eventual arrest. Olanrewaju, further stated that some of the items recovered included a Mercedes Benz truck, with registration number, Lagos XR121AGL, 552 plastic containers, a long hose, big funnel with which they allegedly siphoned petrol from the pipelines, two plastic buckets as well as two sledge hammers. The PRO said one of the suspects was arrested at the site, while the other two were apprehended following information

Nomadic Fulani herdsmen with their children on donkeys, migrating along the Kiyawa-Jihun-Gujungu road in Jigawa State.

gathered from their investigations. The driver of the truck identified as Kareem Rasaki, was said to have confessed to the crime but claimed ignorance of the action which he said was on the orders of his boss.

Poor families to receive cash transfer in Gombe DANJUMA WILLIAMS GOMBE

total of 1, 500 family heads, in rural communities of Gombe State will benefit from the Millennium Development Goal (MDG) Conditional Cash Transfer Scheme (CCT) of N180, 000 for one year. According to Special Adviser to the Governor on MDG’s, Alhaji Mohammed Audi Adamu, a monthly N5, 000 cash and deposits of N10, 000 will be paid into the account of each beneficiary every month. He explained that the CCT is a programme for the year 2011, aimed at reducing the poverty level of the less privileged in the societyand with special focus on the physically challenged, aged, widowed and the extremely poor heads of families or households. He said beneficiaries were selected after rigorous screening by local communities, through a committee of wards, village heads, a pastor, Imam, education secretary of the area and some other leaders of the community, while an identity card was also given to each of them. Adamu said the programme is not only to empower them, but that after the first six months, beneficiaries will receive

the sum of N60, 000, to enable them set up business ventures that would generate continued income for their family. He stated that all beneficiaries were asked to submit names of next of kin, so in case of any unforeseen event, they will continue with the programme for the benefit of other dependants. For the MDG’s 2012 programmes and projects, the Special Adviser revealed that they have already received N600 million counterpart funds from the state government out of the N1.2 billion while the remainder is being expected from the Federal Government through the office of the Senior Special Adviser to the President on MDG’s. He said they plan to expend N1.2 billion on the provision of three farm centres for the senatorial zones, in Kupto town for the northern zone, Ladongor town for the southern zone while Wajari town will be cited for the central zone. Other projects include 30 hand pump boreholes for the 11 local government areas of the state, with three in each local government area, while type A and B Primary Health Care centres would be constructed in Nyuwar and another in the northern part of the state.

He said the truck owner; one Babatunde Akeem, had asked him to accompany Godbless to scene of the vandalized pipeline with others now at large. Olanrewajuhowever, stated that the state Acting Commandant of NSCDC,

JAMES DANJUMA KATSINA

mir of Daura, Alhaji Farouk Umar Farouk, has assured non indigenes that they would not be discriminated against in Katsina State. The Emir, who stated this at the occasion of the 2012 3rd Girls Holiday Camp at the NYSC orientation camp, reiterated that non indigenes play vital role in economic development of the state. He said that despite security challenges in some parts of the country, the state has continued to remain one of the most peaceful due to cordial relationship between host communities and non indigenes. He said that traditional rulers would continue to play their role for continued peace and understanding among their subjects, even as he commended the government for effort towards ensuring peace among host communities and non indigenes. He said for meaningful development in any society, peace and harmony must prevail, especially between peoples of different cultures, religions and ideals. He stated that the state was able to

PHOTO: NAN

Mr. Dele Adetarami, has directed that the suspects be charged to court immediately, stressing that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) had been informed of the development so as to fasttrack repair of the pipeline.

Emir assures non indigenes of equal treatment in Katsina get to the present level of development due to wise and meaningful efforts on the part of government, traditional rulers and other stakeholders. In her speech, wife of the Governor, Mrs. Fatima Shema, commended organizers of the event which would help train selected girls on different handcrafts. Mrs. Shema, represented by wife of the Speaker, state House of Assembly, Mrs. Rukaiya Gwajo-Gwajo, called on parents to complement effort of government in educating and training the girl-child to make her become morally sound and able to meet challenges of life. The event, with theme “Girl -child, a vehicle of Peace and Human Development”, is an annual programme organized to train girls from government-owned public secondary schools on skills acquisition.

Community Mirror

Monday, December 24, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Police arrest 2,000 suspects, recover 4,000 arms in Ogun FEMI OYEWESO ABEOKUTA

he Ogun State Police Command has said it recovered more than 4, 000 arms and ammunitions, while over 2, 000 suspects were also arrested for various offences in the past 12 months. The Commissioner of Police, Ikhemefuna Okoye said this, while parading some armed robbery suspects at Eleweran, Abeokuta, even as they included 18

suspected kidnappers and 11 suspected rapists. Okoye, who also paraded another 13 suspects, whose offences range from armed robbery to murder, said that, 3903 ammunitions and 139 arms were recovered by officers and men of the command. The CP said that among the suspects was a gang that carried out many of the robberies at the Ijebu Ode axis in recent time.

The police boss noted that among those arrested were 331 armed robbers, while 43 were suspected cultists, adding that 708 have been charged to court from among the 2000 suspected criminals this year. He also displayed an improvised bullet-proof vest made of sack and cello tape and a wooden AK-47 rifle, allegedly used by the criminals to harass innocent citizens. “You can see this improvised bullet-

proof vest we recovered from some of the suspects. They use it to terrorize and rob innocent people of their money and other valuables”. “Yuletide season is here with us, while we assure citizens of a watertight security, as they go about their legitimate endeavours, we advise criminals-minded individuals and their cohorts to relocate or face the unpalatable consequences of their acts”, the CP said.

Kidnapping: Fear grips Ondo State residents OJO OYEWAMIDE AKURE

ew hours to Christmas, palpable fear has gripped residents of Ondo, following rumours of kidnappers invading the state. There have been incidents of kidnapping in Akure, the state capital, and Ondo in the last two weeks, a development that gave the impression that the state may not be safe during the yuletide. The kidnapping attempts were, however, foiled by the police. Recently, the younger sibling of the Deputy Governor, Alhaji Ali Olanusi, was kidnapped by some hoodlums on Oba Adesida Road, Akure. It was gathered that Idris Olanusi, was held captive for four days in a thick forest near Idoani town in Ose Local Government Area of the state. The victim was later rescued by detectives from the anti-robbery

section who stormed the kidnappers’ den and arrested three of them. Community Mirror learnt that a day before the abduction of Olanusi, the police had thwarted the kidnap of one Alhaji Adeyinka Yusuf of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, Mega Station, Akure. Security officials were said to have rescued Yusuf when some gunmen attempted to force him into the booth of their car. Also, a woman identified as Adesope, was recently kidnapped by hoodlums in an unregistered Honda Accord salon car in Ondo town, but officers from Fagun Divisional Police Station rescued her from abductors. Parading some suspects, the Commissioner of Police, Danladi Mshelbwala, said the command was determined to make the state unsafe for kidnappers and other criminals.

Groundnut hawkers drinking from a public tap at Dutse Model International Secondary School in Jigawa State.

LG boss bags House of Reps award DENNIS AGBO ENUGU

he House of Representatives has awarded the Chairman of Uzo-Uwani Local Government Council in Enugu State,

Man burns father’s house over NI,500 SEBASTINE EBHUOMHAN BENIN

Magistrate’s Court sitting in Benin City, Edo State has sentenced a 25-year old man, Trust Olitan, to five years in prison for burning his father’s house following a refusal to give him N1, 500. Community Mirror learnt that Chief Magistrate Peter Edo Asemota sentenced Trust after pleading guilty to the one-count charge. According to the prosecutor, Supol O. S. Ogah, the accused person committed the offence in contravention of the law of the land on December 14, 2012 at No. 6, Ore-Oghene Lane, Off Lane 3, Benin City. Ogah, even as the accused person had earlier beaten his father, Mr. Sunday Olitan for not giving him N1, 500. Ogah added that the accused also destroyed some window panes, bulbs and other facilities in the house when his demand was not met. He said that Trust Olitan poured kero-

PHOTO: NAN

sene round the house before setting it ablaze, a charge to which the accused person pleaded guilty. He said that only the concerted efforts of neighbours saved theentire building from being reduced to ashes. In spite of the guilty plea, the Magistrate noted that the accused person did not show enough remorse throughout the trial and if allowed to go home, might set the remaining structure on fire again, especially if the father is unable to meet his financial demands. In his judgment, the Magistrate said it was sad that the convict could resort to the wicked and despicable act only because of his father’s refused to give him N1, 500 on demand. He said, “He told the police that he is a furniture maker at Okada Junction on Benin—Ore Road. One therefore expects a responsible son to pay homage to his father from time to time, especially at this end of year period, rather than engaging in lawlessness.”

Mr. Cornell Onwubuya, as the best performing council chairman in the South East. Onwubuya, also bagged the award of excellence as the 3rd overall best performing local government council chairman in the country, after direct field assessment of physical projects and non-physical programmes undertaken at the third-tier of government by the House through its committee on State and Local Government Affairs. The performance awards were conferred at the Nigerian Local Government Development Award dinner in Abuja, where the House reported on the performance of the 774 local governments in 2012. Speaking at the occasion, Chairman of the House Committee on States and Local Government Affairs,

Mr. Rasak Adewusi, observed that the 2012 Local Government Development award was a viable means of encouraging excellence, performance and efficiency at the grassroots. Managing Director of Messrs SEGNIP Promotion, Engr. Kayode Adegboyega, a firm that conducted the field assessment across the federation, said that the awardees were carefully selected after painstaking and thorough analysis of projects and non-physical programmes, with a view to determining their impact and sustainability based on available resources and needs. The Uzo-Uwani council chairman was selected based on projects executed in line with the needs of the people with available resources and their

impact on the council. The projects include 4.5 kilometers asphalted Akiyi-Ogbosu-Eziora road in Umulokpa, the construction of the Chairman’s residential quarter and a council hall. The award recipient, Mr. Cornell Onwubuya, stated that despite the paucity of funds and peculiar challenges in the collection of internally generated revenue, “my passion for improved living condition of the people whose mandate I hold in trust, has continued to drive my efforts towards total transformation of the area as evident in projects executed across the 16 electoral wards in the council.” He expressed gratitude to the stakeholders, staff of the council and the Enugu State Government for making the local government system function without interference.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

North

Monday, December 24, 2012

Resign or face impeachment, PDP tells Al-Makura IGBAWASE UKUMBA LAFIA

he Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has asked Governor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State to resign his office or face impeachment over his alleged hearing impairment. The state PDP Chairman, Chief Yunana Iliya, who made the call, said it was based on the fact that Al- Makura lacked the capability to govern the state because of his alleged disability. This, according to him, was attested to the governor’s alleged attempt to evade questions at a town hall meeting during the good

governance tour of the state. Iliya spoke at the weekend in Lafia, the state capital, while addressing journalists on the state of affairs of the state. The chairman contended that the constitution was clear on physical disability. He said: “The constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is very clear and unambiguous on this and indeed apt. I therefore wish to call on Governor Al-Makura to honourably resign his office in keeping with the relevant provisions of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria or the state Assembly brings to bear on him, the effect of provisions of Section 189 of the constitution,

so as to stand our state on equal footing with comity of states in the country.” When contacted yesterday, the Senior Special Assistant to the governor on Public Affairs, Abdullhamid Kwarra, told our correspondent on phone that he was hearing the impeachment threat for the first time hence could not comment on it. But Iliya recalled that during the good governance tour by the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Labaran Maku, the governor was unable to provide a answers to questions raised by observers and watchers of events during the town hall meeting.

He said: “Unfortunately, not a single answer could be exhumed save for the escapist excuse that the Congress for Democratic Change, CPC, governor is physically disabled and incapable of answering questions due to hearing impairment.” The chairman, however, alleged that it had come to the knowledge of the PDP that the Al-Makura government had concluded negotiations to obtain a loan of over N30 billion. Iliya, therefore, called on the state House of Assembly to resist any temptation or inducement to approve or support the plan by the CPC government to take the loan.

Internal security operations require regular updating –Ihejirika PRISCILLA DENNIS MINNA

he Chief of Army Staff, CAS, Lt. General Azubuike Ihejirika, said the security challenges confronting the country required regular updating of existing internal security operations. Ihejirika said this at the passing out ceremony of officers trained in basic counter-terrorism course at the Nigerian Army Training Centre, NATRAC, in Kontgora, Niger State at the weekend. According to him, against this backdrop, the Armed Forces is set to train officers to the position of Major in counter-terrorism and special operations. He explained that the country was currently faced with the issues of terrorism, kidnap, armed robbery, assassinations and insurgency, among many others, which informed the decision to embark on the training. Ihejirika, who spoke through the Commander, Corps of Artillery, Major General A. K. Kwaskebe, noted that: “These chal-

lenges call for regular review of existing internal security operations and by implication, our training focus and priority.” He also announced that the Nigerian Army had set up a Civil Military Affairs, where its programmes would be made known to Nigerians as well as the restructuring of the office of Nigerian Army Transformation into Army Transformation and Innovation Centre. The CAS also disclosed the establishment of the Nigerian Army Dog Centre to complement the efforts of its officers in identifying contraband items. He added that the step was taken to raise the combat efficiency in solving contemporary challenges bedevilling the country.

Ihejirika

40th day fidau for Saraki WOLE ADEDEJI ILORIN

T L-R: Sen. Bukola Saraki; Kwara State Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed; wife of the late Olusola Saraki; Florence and daughter, Sen. Gbemisola, at the 40th day Fidau prayer in remembrance of the late Olusola Saraki, in his residence at Ilorin, yesterday.

Pursue unity, Ahmed charges Nigerians at Christmas WOLE ADEDEJI ILORIN

overnor Abdulfatah Ahmed of Kwara State has called on Christians to use Christmas, which is the celebration of the birth of Jesus Christ, and the New Year to reflect on national rebirth, transformation, peace and unity of Nigeria. In his Christmas and New Year message in Ilorin yesterday, Ahmed urged the people of Kwara State in particular and Nigerians to use the season to show love, particularly to the needy. In the message signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Wahab Oba, the governor said Nigerians must

always project the virtues of humility, self-denial and brotherliness, which are the hallmarks of the teachings of Christianity and other religions. He said: “I do believe that at this period, more than any other time in our national history, Nigeria needs God’s favour which we can get through fervent prayers, show of compassion for others and unity against hatred and avarice. These are the lessons we should take away from this festive season.” Ahmed commended Christian religious leaders in the state for promoting religious harmony as evident in their preaching. He charged them to imbibe the virtues this sea-

son and beyond. The governor promised that his administration

would continue to be fair and just to faithful of all religions in Kwara State.

he 40th day fidau (prayer) was held in Ilorin yesterday for the late the political kingmaker of Kwara State, Dr. Olusola Saraki. An Islamic cleric, Sheik Abdullahi Adamu-Thani, who preached at the prayer, enjoined political class in the country to emulate the virtues of the late Saraki who he said lived an exemplary life characterised by humility, generosity and

Plateau by-election: Senator, lawmaker head for court JAMES ABRAHAM JOS

enator Gyang Pwajok representing Plateau North and Hon. Kaneng Danfulani representing Barki Ladi state constituency said they were preparing to approach the Appeal Court to reclaim their mandates. The judgement of Justice Adeniyi Ademola of the Federal High Court in Abuja last week, which nullified their election, is already raising dust across the state. Both lawmakers won the

October 6 by-election conducted by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to fill the vacuum created by the death of Senator Gyang Dantong and Hon. Gyang Fulani. Confirming the readiness of both lawmakers to seek redress, Pwajok, who spoke with journalists in Jos at the weekend, said his lawyers had concluded arrangements to appeal the case. He said: “We have initiated an appeal on this issue. There is no cause for alarm. In fairness, I have expected the judge not to overstep his bounds on jurisdictional is-

sues that ordinarily he admitted are largely within the responsibilities of the electoral tribunal. “I am sure all these will become clearer during the hearing. As it is, it does not affect my election as a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria because the law is very clear. “As far as there is no final decision arrived at by a court of competent jurisdiction, I remain a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. The judgement is subject to the interpretation of the superior court.”

love of his people. The prayer session held at the Sarakis’ house at Ilofa Road, GRA, Ilorin, marked the last funeral rites of the late politician. It was graced by the state Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed, Senator Bukola Saraki, first son of the late politician and his siblings as well as Mrs. Comfort Morenike Saraki while the Chief Imam of Ilorin, Alhaji Muhammed Bashir Solihu, led the prayer. “If our political leaders shun accumulation of material wealth just like the late Saraki did, the country will be a better place for us all to live,” Adamu-Thani said. He noted that the late Saraki “was not selfish, greedy and stingy like most politicians of today.” The cleric reminded those in positions of authority of the inevitability of death. Also, the Chief Imam of Offa, Sheikh Hussain Salman, urged followers of the late politician to sustain the legacies their leader left behind. He cautioned them against internal wrangling “so that what the late politician laboured for, for decades will not go in vain.”

Cocktail

Monday, December 24, 2012

FOR YOUR SUCCESS

WITH DR. DEJI FOLUTILE

Today's Tonic (68) “Just as it is necessary to breathe out regularly in order to receive fresh air into the lungs, so it is necessary to give regularly if you wish to receive regularly.” –Catherine Ponder *** Life is full of paradox. You must die before you can really live. If you are afraid of pains, you can’t have gains. Many times you have to lose in order to gain. And you must give before you can get. Once you make up your mind to be a blessing to people on constant basis, you will discover that there is really no lack in the world. Nature is full of abundant resources and looking for channels to pass them through to mankind. Those who resolutely resolve to be a blessing to others will always be blessed. It is a law of the universe. TEL 08104942999 E-MAIL deji.folutile@gmail.com Follow me @TwitterOWOTIDE

Dead passenger found inside underground train

65-year-old man thought to be sleeping while sitting upright on a Berlin underground train as it cross-crossed the German capital was actually dead, police said yesterday. “It’s tragic,” a Berlin police spokeswoman said. “We don’t know how long he was sitting dead on the train nor do we know the exact cause of death yet. There are no indications of foul play. He seems to have died of natural causes.”

The man was found in the U-8 underground train line that runs all night at the Weinmeisterstrasse station at 5:45 a.m. when a rail worker tried wake the man up by gently shaking him. Medics were called in but could only pronounce the man dead. A preliminary investigation showed no indications of the man being murdered. A more detailed autopsy is planned for Monday.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Oddities

Celebrations in Mexico as world survives end of days

ens of thousands of mystics, hippies and tourists celebrated in the shadow of ancient Maya pyramids in south-eastern Mexico on Friday as the Earth survived a day billed by doomsday theorists as the end of the world. New Age dreamers, alternative lifestyle gurus and curious onlookers from around the world descended on the ruins of Maya cities to mark the close of the 13th bak’tun - a period of around 400 years - in the Maya Long Calendar. Dismissing a widely disseminated myth that the Maya had predicted some kind of apocalypse on December 21, 2012, they celebrated what they hope is the start of a new and better era for humanity. After the sun rose in Mexico and the world continued to spin, the visitors to the Maya heartland gave thanks. “It is a transformation, the dawning of the age of Aquarius,” said Jonah Bolt, 33, a radio show host from North Carolina who had brought a large quartz with him to “download” energy from the sacred spot.

“We hope that everyone’s intention and love and light focused on this day will just help awaken others to just a better way of living.” The end of the 13th bak’tun in the 5,125-year-old Maya calendar had inspired pockets of fear around the world that the end was nigh or that lesser catastrophes lay in store. A U.S. scholar said in the 1960s that the end of the 13th bak’tun could be seen as a kind of Armageddon for the Maya. Over time, the idea snowballed into a belief by some that the Maya calendar had predicted the Earth’s

destruction. Fears of mass suicides, huge power cuts, natural disasters, epidemics or an asteroid hurtling toward Earth had circulated on the Internet, especially in recent months. In the end, there were no reports of natural or manmade catastrophes linked to the doomsday predictions. To the people congregating in the imposing ruins of the city of Chichen Itza, a focal point for the celebrations in Mexico, it was a day for celebrations. “It’s not the end of the world, it’s an awakening of

consciousness and good and love and spirituality - and it’s been happening for a while,” said Mary Lou Anderson, 53, an information technology consultant from Las Vegas. Around 50,000 people visited Mexico’s main archaeological sites by early afternoon, authorities said. A few minutes before the north pole reached its position furthest from the sun on Friday, a spotlight illuminated the western flank of the Temple of the serpent god Kukulkan, a 100-foot-tall (30-meter) pyramid at the heart of Chichen Itza.

People performing a ritual in front of the pyramid of Kukulkan in Yucatan State, Mexico, on Friday. PHOTO: REUTERS

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Monday, December 24, 2012

Ronaldo eyes Man United return

Sport

My commitment to my club is not in question and should not be subject to any questioning –Real Madrid’s coach, Jose Mourinho

SA dispute stalls printing of tickets

Sports Minister, Bolaji Abdullahi (left), addressing Super Eagles’ players and their coaches during their training at the weekend in Abuja

SA 2013: I won’t miss Osaze, Taiwo, says Keshi EVEREST ONYEWUCHI WITH AGENCY REPORT

uper Eagles’ coach, Stephen Keshi, says he will not miss any player who did not make the team’s provisional list for the 2013 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) beginning in South Africa on January 19. Keshi spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Abuja, in reaction to the barrage of criticisms which have trailed his provisional list of 32 invited players. According to Keshi, the omission of the likes of Osaze Odemwingie and Taye Taiwo is not intentional, but for the good of the country. “We don’t need Osaze right now; that is all. He is not a bad player and there is nothing personal about it. It is just that at this point in time, there are some players that were not called and we don’t have anything against them. “We also did not invite Obafemi Martins, why are Nigerians not talking about him? These players are not the only Nigerians playing; this is what we want for now. “All we want for now from Nigerians is to support the players that are there in prayers,” Keshi said. The former Togo and Mali coach added that Martins was not in the list because he did not live up to expectation when he was given the opportunity to prove his worth in the new Eagles squad in the friendly against Venezuela, played in Miami, Florida.

Keshi pointed out that he was more comfortable dealing with the players he was familiar with. “Martins is a good player and has done so well for this country. However, I have some other players I have used before and I think I have confidence in them, not that I don’t have confidence in Martins, but his time will come. He is still a young man and is still playing.” President of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Aminu Maigari, backed Keshi in his decision. Maigari said that his board had vowed not to meddle in Super Eagles affairs. “Actually the duty of the NFF board is

to regulate, we don’t impose players on the coaches. And I was able to attend part of the last segment of the technical committee meeting with the coaches themselves,” Maigari said. “At the meeting, I asked why Osaze was not invited and the committee said it had also asked similar question, but the coach gave his reasons and they were convinced. I was satisfied too, because I feel it is not my right to come and say the coach must bring back a particular player.” At the same technical committee meeting, Keshi had reportedly stunned the members when he revealed that Osaze had allegedly proposed himself as team skipper.

ispute over the naming right of the FNB Stadium, venue for the opening and final matches of the 29th Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) is stalling the printing of tickets for the two matches. The orgainsers are still unable to print the tickets because of the disagreement between the Department of Public Works and the First National Bank (FNB). News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that though the stadium is government-owned and was previously known as Soccer City during the World Cup, FNB purchased the naming right from 2007 to 2014. But one of the requirements of CAF was that the venues for the matches of the continental tournament should be brand-free. During the World Cup, the bank waived its naming rights owing to a similar requirement by FIFA. South Africa’s Minister of Public Works, Thulas Nxesi, disclosed that FNB wanted a further two years added to the rights agreement to waive the rights.

‘Uplift of Abuja stadium to begin Jan’

he Federal Government has directed the commencement of renovation works at the Abuja National Stadium. Sports Minister, Bolaji Abdullahi, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Abuja that works would begin in the New Year since the contract has been awarded to Julius Berger Nigeria PLC. “Of course, we have concluded arrangements with Julius Berger to bring alive the pitch of the mainbowl and training grounds of the stadium in January, after the holidays. “If we are able to get the pitch up and running at least, the Super Eagles and other national teams will have good grounds to train. Nobody can say we do not have a field where they can play anymore,” Abdullahi said. Super Eagles’ coach, Stephen Keshi, had complained last week that the uneven surface of the training pitch was affecting negatively the practices of the team towards the Nations Cup.

Super Eagles don’t have leadership –Odemwingie

saze Odemwingie has added fire to the debate over his 2013 AFCON exclusion by saying the Super Eagles have lacked “a good captain for many years.” The West Brom attacker, Taye Taiwo and Obafemi Martins were, at the weekend, left out of a preliminary 32-man squad released by Coach Stephen Keshi. Keshi has since defended his decision while also revealing that Osaze asked to be made team captain. “This might sound disrespectful but Eagles had no good captain for many years. Everyone looking only after himself,” Osaze said yesterday on his Twitter handle. “On my non-inclusion to the Eagles list, I am not surprised. Not surprised Keshi and NFF couldn’t tell me themselves. No personality!

“We talk through press, hahaha how come I am the only stubborn one, but no ex-Eagles player was sent off from the team with respect?” Osaze maintained that his being left out had nothing to do with football. “Keshi has no footballing reasons not to invite me, but he is not saying the truth. He is still in my plans he said haha coach u no dey my plans.” He dared anyone who wishes to join issues with him on this matter. “To some who wanna put mouth here, please act like men. When two men talk 3rd has nothing to do. So Ikpebas and the rest talk to me face2face.” His tweets did not spare the Nigeria Football Federation. “NFF spokesman told MTN he is arrogant? I am arrogant? Why did country’s president (Jonathan) threat-

en to close down our federation for two years? “Why didn’t Lagerback continue with Super Eagles after World Cup? Chop and run was his plan and they knew it.”

Odemwingie

Sport

Monday, December 24, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Nadal nears return, wary of odds

ormer world number one and current French Open champion Rafael Nadal will grace the courts at the Qatar ExxonMobil Open 2013 and begin his comeback from injury. Nadal, who has been absent from the ATP Tour since his shock second round loss to Lukas Rosol at Wimbledon, has not played any tennis due to knee tendonitis and in the process had to opt out of defending his Olympic Gold Medal at the London Olympic Games. He will be playing at the ExxonMobil Open for the sixth time in his career. He will be the top seed in the absence of Roger Federer, another regular at the Event, who has opted not to play an ATP Tour event before the Australian Open. The Spaniard, who won a seventh French Open crown in May, has won eleven Grand Slam major titles in his career. Nadal has admitted he does not feel he is ready to win at the upcoming Australian Open and it will probably take until the clay court season for him to be challenging for the Major Titles once more. But he has a habit of stating this and then going on to win the Majors. Other entrants at the event include fellow Spanish player, David Ferrer, French player Richard Gasquet. However, after a seven-month hiatus nursing a hurt knee, Nadal is wary about his upcoming return to the tennis court and believes it may be some time before he is back in top form. “I have my doubts and it’s normal,” he opened up at the weekend. “We are talking about a knee, so of course I am afraid to see how it is going respond. But I can only trust my doctors and believe in myself and that everything will be all right.” The 26-year-old is set to play an exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi on Thursday. It will be his first action since he was sidelined with tendinitis in his left knee after a secondround loss to 100th-ranked Lukas Rosol at Wimbledon in June. The injury which prevented Nadal from defending his Olympic singles gold also had to pull out of the US Open and Spain’s Davis Cup final against the Czech Republic, which his teammates lost without him. The 11-time Grand Slam winner and former number one player said his knee had improved over the last two months after making frustratingly little progress during the summer. Even so, he acknowledged that he may have to skip some more events to get back to full speed. “I’m prepared to accept that at the start my knee might not respond well and I may have to take it easy, mixing periods of play and rest for the first three months,” he said yesterday. Nadal said that he wanted to play at Indian Wells and Miami with the

Spanish giant, Rafael Nadal, is being awaited on the courts after his long layoff. But although he is fast regaining competition fitness, he is, nonetheless, conscious of his chances at regaining his revered place

Rafael Nadal smashed all comers, until he succumbed to injury

goal of being completely fit by April to play at Monte Carlo, a clay-court tournament he has dominated for eight consecutive years. The Abu Dhabi tournament features a six-man field that includes top-ranked Novak Djokovic and number three Andy Murray of Britain. Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal says he never lost faith that Andy Murray would eventually win a grand slam, suggesting that tennis was indebted to the Scot. Murray landed his first major title at the US Open in September after a dramatic five-set victory over Novak Djokovic. Nadal believes Murray’s victory at the London 2012 Olympics was the trigger to success in New York. “I really thought Andy would win the US Open because tennis owed him something. That was my feeling,” Nadal said. “The Olympics was a big change and with the calm of winning that gold medal at home, you go to a grand slam final and you feel that Andy, before the match, believed he was the favourite. “If you really believe in yourself, it doesn’t matter if you were leading by two sets to love and the opponent comes back. I really felt Andy would win, even though you know how much a great champion Novak Djokovic is and how many matches he had saved in difficult circumstances.” •Culled from ESPN.com

Nadal during an exhibition game in Amsterdam last month

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Sport

Monday, December 24, 2012

Ronaldo eyes Man United return

Ogundele eyes national call YEMI OLUS

ational Sports Festival’ s table tennis women singles champion, Rashidat Ogundele, has set her sights on higher goals after her feat at Eko 2012. The former Asoju Oba champion defeated Lagos State’s Aminat Fashola 4-0 in the final to retain the title she won last year in Port Harcourt, led Delta State’s women’s team to a gold medal at the festival. Ogundele told National Mirror that she hoped to compete in the next All-Africa Games, Commonwealth Games, World Championships as well as the Olympics in 2016. “I want to represent Nigeria

eal Madrid winger, Cristiano Ronaldo, is sensationally pushing for a return to his former club Manchester United whose coach, Alex Ferguson, recently admitted the wish to have him back at Old Trafford. Ronaldo, 27, has already told friends and former Red Devils team mates he wants to “come back home”. The exit of the Portugal international, who announced his wish after Madrid was pitted against United in the Champions League second round tie next February, could cost club president Florentino Perez his re-election this summer, even as Madrid will demand around £122m for its prize asset. Ronaldo is keen to move back to a club where he is loved like no one else and not just another star, as he seeks another working relation with Ferguson.

at international competitions and that is my focus right now,” she said. The Delta State athlete, however, admitted facing challenges due to combination of motherhood with her career. “I just had to endure and kept training because I had to up my game but things are much better now. “I just need to continue training hard because at the moment, I do not lack anything in terms of finance or facilities.” EPL Results Swansea

1-1

Man United

Chelsea

8-0

Aston Villa

Wigan

0-1

Arsenal

Man City

1-0

Reading

Liverpool

4-0

Fulham

Cristiano Ronaldo

Kids excite at squash tourney

ookie Lanre Iliyas has emerged the winner in male category while Joke Adegbile won in female category of the KAYROM LEE Squash Competition held at the Obafemi Awolowo Stadium Ibadan at the weekend. The event was organised by

KAYROM LEE which has partnered the Southwest Zone of National Sports Commission (NSC) in sports development over the years. According to the organisers, the tournament is aimed at developing squash and creating awareness for the sport at the grass-

Apa United raises promotion alarm AFOLABI GAMBARI

he management of Apa United of Otukpo has contended that the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) is out to deny the club its earned promotion to the National League. The team’s coordinator, Abel Oyillo, expressed surprise at the attempt by the league’s Organising and Disciplinary Committee (O&D) to stop them from playing in the National League after the club had completed registration formalities for the new season. “This is inexplicable after

they have awarded us full points in the disputed match with Bida Lions,” Oyillo said yesterday. “This development is enough for our sponsor to lose interest because he decided to identify with the team to empower the youths and discourage them from social vices,” the coordinator added. Oyillo also contended that Bida Lions had no intention of playing in the league but to sell off its promotion slot. “It’s baffling why the NFF has encouraged this anomaly at a time when the fixtures have been drawn and we are preparing for the game against Gateway,” he submitted.

roots. Ilyas, a new entrant into the game who at the second edition of the tourney defeated much experienced Adeyera Damola 9/3, 9/2 in the semi final before beating Adebayo Adekunle in the final by 9/6, 9/1 points to claim top prize in male category while the female winner, Joke Adegbile, subdued hard fighting Mercy Ademoyegun by 10/8 9/5 in the women finals. Zonal Coordinator of National Sports Commission Zone 1, Dr. Steve Olarinoye, who was represented at the occasion by an NSC official, Mrs. Mojoyegbe, commended the organizers for complementing efforts of the commission. “You have proved to be a worthy example of a public private partnership in sports development,” Olarinoye said. The CEO of KAYROM LEE, Mrs. Romoke Ayinde, pledged to drive squash awareness in secondary and tertiary institutions across the zone. “We will ensure constant competitions among the schools,” Ayinde noted.

Rashidat Ogundele

Skye soars’ in Bankers Cup

efending champion Skye Bank has been in a superlative form in the ongoing Bankers Cup in Ibadan. Skye Warriors defeated UBA 5-0 in the opening match, edged Guarantee Trust Bank 1-0 in the second game before beating Enterprise Bank 5-1 at The Polytechnic, Ibadan North campus over

the weekend. Technical Adviser of Skye Bank, Saliu Idris, said his team was committed to repeat the feat of 2011, saying the management’s support for the team would be reciprocated. “We want to win back-toback and we won’t rest on our oars until we achieve the victory,” Idris said yesterday.

WORLD RECORD

Smallest colony Vol. 02 No. 519

Monday, December 24, 2012

N150

The smallest colony in the world is Gibraltar (since 1969, the City of Gibraltar), with an area of 5.8 km² 1440 acres/21/4 miles².

A professor’s abuse of intellectualism

he piece “Ogbeni, Softly…softly”, in the November 27, 2012 edition of a national daily (not National Mirror), authored by Professor Niyi Akinnaso, appears on the surface as an advisory effort. Its opening makes some pretentious acknowledgement of the good sides of Rauf Aregbesola government in Osun State. However, this is only a veiled ground for a diatribe that is fraught with innuendoes and fallacies. Akinnaso told his readers that his encounter with Aregbesola in Osogbo left him with no contradictions on the passion the governor exudes in his hurried but focused determination to make a showpiece of this small corner of the globe as testament to the fact that the Black man is not after all, an inferior being. He, however, descended into an abysmal level of disputations over such issues as the governor’s belief in regional integration, proposal for a collectively owned regional university in the South West, creation of an identity for the state, ethical re-orientation for Osun

Guest Columnist

Semiu

Okanlawon

people and declaration of the Hijrah holiday. In his handling of these issues, Akinnaso demonstrated nothing but acute lack of sense of history. The proposed pan regional university he dismissed as “Utopian and impractical.” Without sounding uncharitable, I wish to educate Akinnaso on the proposed university collegiate system. The idea is nothing new. British West Africa developed university on that basis. Whereas Legon University, Ghana was for Humanity and Arts, while University College Ibadan was for Medicine and Classics. The proposed regional university will enable the six governments to leverage on global fund sourcing to build a world class university that will meet the human capital requirement of the region and nation. The collegiate system is better than a miniature, under-developed university structure that we have now. Assuming he really contests this fact let him check on the Tribhuvan University, Nepal. It has a student population of over 290,000 with more than 4,400 courses taught. It is instructive to note that Aregbesola only came up with a proposal, which could be contested or modified. This is the hallmark of scholarship and intellectualism. What scholarship dictates is ‘let a thousand ideas flourish; the best will prosper.’ It amounts to intellectual deceit for anybody to claim that an idea is wrong simply because he disagrees with it. What scholarship demands is the expansion of the

WHAT SCHOLARSHIP DICTATES IS ‘LET A THOUSAND IDEAS

FLOURISH; THE BEST WILL PROSPER’

market place of ideas where the best will emerge for the benefit of humanity. Akinnaso also has problem with Osun’s flag, anthem and crest, all paraphernalia of identities and re-orientation, which the administration has employed in reawakening a new sense of patriotism in the people towards mobilising them for the task of total transformation of the self and the state. Where is federalism if we are corralled into a single monolithic mindset of symbols and colours? That was not our heritage and we cannot abandon the basis of our nationhood. Nigeria is a FEDERATION of nationalities now broken into unviable states. This is an indisputable fact. We therefore, need to ask families that have logos and anthems why they so do. If schools, societies, corporate organisations and others have such symbols, we don’t know where Akinnaso comes with his idea that it is a demonstration of exuberance for a governor to cause his state to have such paraphernalia of identities and patriotism. Or do we need to remind him that since Osun blazed that trail,

other states have followed with fanfare. As to the “State of Osun” or “Osun State”, we believe that the issue has been well rested. It is not and cannot be an indication of secession. Even the agency that was reported to have prepared a security report has denied having anything to do with it. So, on what basis would Akinnaso be hanging his argument over the secession issue? His previous writings have shown continual, albeit indecent attacks on perceived foes of Governor Segun Mimiko of Ondo, his pet. Nobody opposes him for his zeal of an attack dog for Mimiko, but after the recent election that gave victory to his camp, we had thought the season of bragging had ended. Let he be told that while he continues his unending attacks, Aregbesola and his party have moved on to something more engaging. It has been said times without number that there is no personal animosity against Mimiko. The contest for political power is the main essence of popular democracy and the case of Ondo cannot be an exception. In another reckless reference to the role of the National Leader of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, played in the emergence of Aregbesola as governor of the State of Osun, Akinnaso wickedly twisted a statement by the Governor during one of the rallies in Ondo. Aregbesola could not have solely given Asiwaju Tinubu the glory for his emergence as governor. While the contribution of his mentor is acknowledged, the preference of Osun electorate for him made his governorship possible. Aregbsola has therefore, worked tirelessly to give the dedicated voters in the state positive governance for investing their energy in his governorship. To be continued Okanlawon, a Director at Bureau of Communications and Strategy, Office of the Governor of State of Osun, wrote from Osogbo

Sport Extra

Eagles’ AFCON list and Technical Committee’s gaffe

bafemi Martins, Osaze Odemwingie and Taye Taiwo may have been effectively excluded from the Nigerian team to South Africa 2013. The Technical Department of the NFF and the Eagles’ crew have defended the decision to shut out

the players. But it has not extricated the committee from sheer negligence in its statutory duties, being the final authority on which players are invited and for what purpose. Evidence shows that Newcastle striker, Shola Ameobi, does not

merit an invitation on account of his inconsistent performance for his club since August. Likewise Millwall defender, Danny Shittu, who has struggled to settle in at his club after a long lay-off. A focused technical committee should have left the duo to im-

prove on their performance under close monitoring. But nothing emphasised the committee’s negligence than its decision to invite 32 players to compete for spots to a major competition that is barely three weeks away; an indicaNFF President, Aminu Maigari tion that Nigeria is not ready. Chris Green

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