Monday, January 7, 2013

FG begins payment of N161bn fuel subsidy arrears UDEME AKPAN

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arketers of petroleum products may soon flood the market with

Alison-Madueke

Vol. 2 N0. 529

imported fuel as the Federal Government has started the payment of N161bn fuel subsidy arrears for 2012.

The payment, which started last week, is targeted at en-

couraging major and independent marketers to import fuel and end the lingering problems with fuel supply that had enveloped the nation in the past six

12

DAYS TO GO From Sudan ‘57 to S’Africa 2013

P.54

CONTINUED ON PAGE 6>>

Monday, January 7, 2013

N150

2015: Buhari expresses fears over free, fair polls IF YOU WANT TO HAVE GOOD PEOPLE THAT WOULD REPRESENT YOU AND LEAD YOU, THEN IT IS COMPULSORY THAT YOU DO WHAT IGABI PEOPLE DID

JAMES DANJUMA KATSINA

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ormer military Head of State and Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, presidential candidate in the 2011 general election, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, has expressed doubts that the 2015 general elections will be free and fair.

He also called for resistance to the rigging plot of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, warning that any attempt to tamper with the electoral process would be catastrophic.

Buhari said this yesterday in his country home, in Daura, Katsina State, during the launching of an empowerment scheme programme organised by Senator Hadi Sirika (CPC, Katsina North) for the 12 council areas in the senatorial zone.

Speaking in Hausa, the three-time presidential can-

Govs’ll push against LG autonomy –Amaechi

P.13

L-R: Emeritus Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Bishop Kelvin Aje; President Goodluck Jonathan; Archbishop of Abuja Diocese, John Cardinal Onaiyekan; mother of the President, Madam Eunice Jonathan; Senate President David Mark and other Bishops at the 30th Episcopal ordination anniversary and celebration of the elevation of Onaiyekan as Cardinal of the Catholic Church, in Abuja, yesterday.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 5>>

THE

BUSINESS SECTION

Zero allocation to SEC will affect foreign investmentt inflow –Operators 83 vessels expected at Lagos ports this month P.A5

Free inside

JTF destroys 35 illegal refineries in Ondo P.10

15 die as fuel tanker, bus collide in Ogbomoso Three feared dead as car plunges into river

Dana crash: Reps to summon Aviation Minister

P.8,9 P.4

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Banking

Monday, January 7, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

2013: Stakeholders expecting dividends Nigerian businesses and business managers would want to have a cut in the monetary policy rate (MPR), among other measures, required to spur economic and business activities in the New Year. UDO ONYEKA writes.

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or the whole of last year, fears of an inflationary pressure and uncertainties in the foreign exchange market ensured the Central Bank of Nigeria kept the Monetary Policy rate at 12 per cent making borrowing expensive for government and other economic players.

However, analysts are seeing a different scenario playing out this year and have been bold enough to forecast drastic fall in inflation rate to the desired single digit going by the trends seen in the past year just at the outlook for other marco-economic indices remained positive.

According to Samir Gadio, an emerging markets strategists at Standard Bank, London, “If one factors in the benign month on month consumer price index (CPI) rates recorded lately and the forthcoming high base effects in the time series in early 2013 our projection suggest that inflation could even fall to a low of 6.1 per cent year-on-year in March 2013.”

Analysts from both the public and private sector seem to agreed that Nigeria would see higher growth, impressive equity valuations, robust reserves accretion, firm oil prices and slightly lower inflation this year even if they disagreed on the true effect of some government policies that have impeded the growth of the Nigerian economy such as the high interest rates.

Statistics from the CBN showed Nigeria’s foreign reserves which have moved in tandem with higher oil prices which went up to 34.9 per cent, has reached $44.34bn.

The analysts noted that foreign investors have continued to demonstrate confidence in the country’s economy in 2012. The equities market remained the most attractive investment to foreign investors, accounting for over 70 per cent of total capital investment in different sectors of the economy in the year 2012.

Data obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Statistics Database indicates that total value of capital imported into Nigeria stood at $12.64bn as at October 2012, out of which investments in equities accounted for $10.34bn with more expected to come this year.

The investment comprised $1.32bn in Foreign Direct Investment in equities, while $9.18bn was invested in equities portfolios.

The attraction of the stock market to foreign investor’s stems from the fact that the market made the highest return on investment at over 35.4 per cent last year and the outlook for this year is even better as confidence returns to the market amid concerns that about 70 per cent of investments remains hot money from abroad.

Nonetheless, Nigeria emerged the third most rewarding stock market globally in 2012 behind Egypt and Kenya.

Questions have been raised whether the current trend can continue or whether another bear market lie just ahead. According FDC report in the crash of 2008/2009, stocks, lost over 70 per cent of their value and now that recovery has begun despite increase in share prices in 2012 it remains over 50 per cent short of 2008 peak meaning there is growth for the Nigeria stock market.

According to a study by Meristem Research, the bulk of the returns came from NSE 30 selected stocks with 44.61 per cent YtD return, Food and Beverages 42.27 and Banking 23.91 per cent. This positive result analysts say is not unconnected with the reforms in capital market and the banking sectors.

This is the first time in four years that the Nigerian market is making a reasonable attempt to break the longdrawn recession that has seen investors lose a cumulative N8trn since March 2008.

These positive result analysts say are due to the reforms which took place in the financial sector.

However, for real sector players, the outlook does not seem bright if the CBN maintains its tight monetary policy stance which has resulted in difficulties in accessing affordable credit and has contributed the high cost of doing business.

According to Mr. Muda Yusuf, Director-General of Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) the cost

Sanusi

Emefiele

of funds in the economy is high and access to credit was even a more serious problem. The tight monetary policy stance of CBN was identified as a major factor that affected the credit conditions,” he added.

The aggregate credit extended to the private sector by Nigerian banks grew by a meagre 5.4 per cent to N15.4 trn from N14.6 trn between January and November 2012, according to data from CBN. In the same vein Nigeria’s official unemployment rate has increased in each of the three years since 2009. Nigeria’s unemployment rate rose to 23.9 per cent in 2011, compared with 21.1 per cent in 2010 and 19.7 per cent in 2009 according NBS data.

Many businesses could not hire new workers or expand their operations in the absence of a qualitative change to a more favourable interest rate environment. The high interest rate environment means that local lenders give out loans

Okonjo-Iweala

Oil and gas ports

at prime lending rates of between 23-30 per cent per annum for those who lucky to get it.

However the CBN had argued that there limits to which monetary policy influence the Nigerian business cost in the face of loose fiscal and structural deficiencies in the economy, such as infrastructural deficit especially energy.

Analysts say the high MPR and tight money environment have attracted dollar inflows to Nigeria’s fixed income market leading to reserve accretion and a bid for the naira.

Analysts however said that CBN may likely ease liquidity flow by cutting interest rates this year, provided oil prices remain elevated and global economic environment fails to deteriorate further.

But Financial Derivatives Limited, a financial research and advisory company in its December report noted that, noted that the monetary prescriptions by the CBN to stabilize the Naira exchange rate and overall lending rate were

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Monday, January 7, 2013

of financial sector reforms

Banking

3

THE APEX BANK IS EXPECTED TO PURSUE THE CASHLESS AGENDA WITH MORE VIGOUR

THIS YEAR, BUT IT SEEMS THAT APART FROM THE

ATMS,

BANK CUSTOMERS HAVE NOT BEEN ADEQUATELY EDUCATED ON THE USE OF OTHER CASHLESS CHANNELS

Onasanya

Oputu

Automatic Teller Machine (ATM)

THE AGGREGATE CREDIT EXTENDED TO THE PRIVATE

NIGERIAN BANKS GREW BY A MEAGRE 5.4 PER CENT TO N15.4 TRN FROM N14.6 TRN BETWEEN JANUARY AND NOVEMBER 2012, ACSECTOR BY

CORDING TO DATA FROM

CBN

achieving positive results and therefore requires to be susta ined.

The FDC stated: “The recent Monetary Policy Report (MPR) clearly evidences the fact that the CBN is seriously concerned about the risk of a potential depreciation in the Naira, as a result of the recent developments in the international commodity and financial markets.

This concern is understandable as the Nigerian economy is heavily dependent on oil, the possibility of a softening in crude oil prices with potential fiscal revenue losses could

lead to renewed pres-sure on the exchange rate.

“If the weakening in the naira persists, which we expect, then the nation’s forex reserves could deplete even faster than the CBN anticipates. The market would likely see such depletion as a sign of weakness which could lead to a further increase in currency speculation”, it added.

The FDC report however noted that the CBN may ease the liquidity in 2013 after careful observation of figures, trend and events.

The report said inflow from dividend payments may be reinvested into the market, and that a fiscal intervention is a recipe for a long term market recovery.

The FDC report also said that forbearance for stockbrokers might bring back dead stockbrokers which may not augur well for the market.

Similarly ratings of global rating agencies have suggested that the monetary and fiscal stance pursued by the financial sector regulators in 2012 were desirable for sustainable growth and improved competitiveness of the nation’s economy.

For instance, Standard and Poor’s, one of the world’s leading ratings agencies, upgraded Nigeria to BB- from a B+, while Moody’s, another renown global ratings firm, assigned Nigeria Ba3 rating, the first time ever it included Nigeria as part of its coverage.

These ratings are seen by financial experts as a welcome development, particularly for an economy that is trying to catch up in the league of emerging market.

However to put the country’s economy in a better stead financial experts have voiced out on the need to fast track the commencement of agency banking as a measure to deepen financial inclusion that will help drive penetration of banking services to the rural areas.

Speaking to our correspondent, the immediate past president of the Institute, Mr. Laoye Jaiyeola, said for a successful financial inclusion to be achieved, the CBN should come out with appropriate modalities for the establishment of agency banking in the country.

To facilitate the effective implementation of the proposed regime and achievement of the objective of financial inclusion, he charged CBN to brace up to train those to take up such responsibility and not involving people who are not adequately prepared for the financial inclusion.

According to him, the CBN has the responsibility to ensure that whoever is going to be incorporated into this must have bank mobilization, be appropriately coordinated and registered as this must be included the guideline.

He, however, suggested that like it is done in most countries, those banks will enter into an agency relationship with competent institutions that will do those works at the local communities and, banks and other financial institutions under CBN’s purview would be made to comply with the system.

Also, a former president of CIBN, Mazi Okechukwu Unegbue said agency banking as a means to attain financial inclusion is a vital aspect that CBN must improve on.

On the contrary, he urged that CBN need to focus on micro-finance bank because the sector has more impact at the grassroots unlike the conventional banks.

According to him, CBN should have the micro finance bank sector developed, arguing that the closure of MBFs was not the best approach insisting that the apex bank should have done what they did to the conventional banking by supporting them.

“The micro finance bank sector had problems not because they have not done well but due to the economic syndrome. Instead of closing them, they can support them by giving them more time to raise their capital or support them the same way they are dealing with capital market now. This is the only area you can go into and financial inclusion will be a very big success otherwise there will be problem as they understand the local environment better,” Unegbue insisted.

Also, the Chairman House of Representatives Committee on Banking and Currency, Mr. Jones Onyereri, who said agent banking was best for the economy, noted that to start its operation, stakeholders need to look deep into areas that will pose obstruction of any form and deal with this issue fir st.

On the cashless banking agenda, which has generated serious concerns amongst economic and financial analysts, the CBN had succeeded in kick-start the ‘Operation Cashless Lagos’ and has gradually been creating the necessary and institutional frameworks and structures, including the massive deployment of Point of Sales (POS) and Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) terminals in strategic locations to ensure the success of the programmes.

The apex bank is expected to pursue the cashless agenda with more vigour this year but it seems that apart from the ATMs, bank customers have not been adequately educated on the use of other cashless channels.

However with continuous and effective monitoring of banks by CBN , FDC noted that some of the risk expectations of 2013 include security unrest which is expected to continue, political interference and corruption and Government’s lack of political will to prosecute some urgent and vital policies.

Photo News

4

Monday, January 7, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Osun State Governor, Rauf Aregbesola (right) and Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade, during the official commissioning of Ori-Olokun Garden and unveiling of new logo for Ife Central Local Government in Ile-Ife, at the weekend.

Doyen of journalism, Chief Alade Odunewu (right) and Eng. Samuel Adegbayibi, at the burial reception in honour of late Mrs. Elsie Abimbola Aduke Odunewu in Lagos, at the weekend.

L-R: The Osile of Oke Ona Egba, Oba Dr. Adedapo Tejuoso and his Oloris, Omolara, Yetunde and Olabisi, during the first Sunday Service in the year 2013 in, Abeokuta, yesterday.

L-R: Commissioner of Police, Training Department, Mr. Aderemi Opadokun; representative of the Minister of Police Affairs, Alhaji Yakubu Muhammed; Chairman, Redbricks Consultants Ltd, Dr. Abdul-Ganiyu Obatoyinbo and Commandant, Police Mobile Force Training College, Ila-Orangun, Osun State, Mr. Jackson Eko, during a specialized training session at the college, at the weekend.

National News

Dana Airlines: Reps to summon Aviation Minister As FAAN denies borrowing $500m to acquire 30 aircraft

OLUSEGUN KOIKI AND TORDUE SALEM

T

he House of Representatives may summon the Minister of Aviation, Ms. Stella Oduah over the resumption of flight operations by Dana Airlines.

A Lagos-bound Dana airplane had on June 3, last year crashed few minutes to landing at the Murtala Mohammed Airport,

MMA, claiming all the 153 lives on board.

The crash led to an inquest by the House committee on Aviation. The report of the investigation had indicted the Ministry of Aviation, but specifically blamed the Director General of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority NCAA, Dr. Harold Demurren, recommending his sack and prosecution for “criminal negligence”.

The House report, which

Gunmen kill 10 in Zamfara

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unmen at the weekend hacked to death 10 persons during a raid on two neighbouring villages in Zamfara State.

Spokesman of the State Police Command, Mr. Hassan Usman Talba said the gunmen attacked Makera and Usu, killing 10 persons.

The dead were either shot or hacked to death.

The motive for the attack was not known, Talba said. It was also not clear whether the militant Islamist sect, Boko Haram or a criminal gang were

behind it.

“There was an attack in these villages in Zamfara and people were killed.

I think the number is around 10,” Talba said by telephone from the scene.

He said the prime suspects were gangs of Fulani herdsman, but that police were still investigating.

The Fulani’s semi-nomadic, cattle-herding way of life has led to decades of conflict with farming communities across central and the northern parts of the country that often erupts into violence.

was debated and passed for presidential consideration had also directed that the license of the airline should be withdrawn, but NCAA, in defiance, authorized the airline to resume operations, even as relations of the victims of the air crash are yet to be compensated.

Recommendation 11 of the report of the House had stated that “Dana’s current AOC should be revoked because it was not issued in compliance with NCAA Civil Regulations Guideline 2009.”

In an exclusive chat with

National Mirror yesterday, the Chairman of the House Committee on Aviation, Hon. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha said the Committee intends to look into the matter when it resumes next week.

“You know how the Committee works; all the breaches identified will be addressed by the Ministry.

The report as it is now is the property of the House, so the House would have a final say on that (resumption of operations),” she said.

Meanwhile, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, FAAN, yesterday de-

nied that the Federal Government borrowed $500m from China to acquire aircraft for domestic airline operators.

Speaking on the issue, the General Manager, Corporate Communications, FAAN, Mr. Yakubu Dati insisted that the agency did not borrow money from anywhere to acquire aircraft, adding that the agency was not planning to acquire aircraft for any operators.

Rather, he said that the Ministry of Aviation is making arrangements to facilitate the acquisition of 30 airplanes to boost the opera-

Fashola preaches religious harmony MURITALA AYINLA

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overnor Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State yesterday called for religious harmony among Lagosians, saying it is only through this that the state can progress.

Speaking at the 2013 annual thanksgiving service of the state government at the Lagos State House, Alausa, Ikeja, Fashola prayed

that the tragedies that befell the state and nation last year, such as the Dana crash and others would not occur in the new year.

He appealed to Lagosians and Nigerians to be security and safety conscious in 2013 to avert avoidable disaster that often claim lives.

He said: “Through this vigilance, we will be able to collectively address the issues of insecurity that

challenge the country in the just concluded year.”

The General Overseer of The Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye thanked God for the state for His manifold blessings last year while also advised the congregation to trust God more in the new year.

The clergy also implored Lagosians to pray like never before, adding that if they could stand by God, all

tions of domestic airlines.

He noted that modalities for those to benefit from the aircraft are being worked out by the government, which he said would help to checkmate the abuse of the fund by beneficiaries.

He said: “This strategy will plug the loophole that allows fortune seekers free access to these funds. Other strategies are being deployed to grow the domestic airlines. Princess Oduah’s successfully campaign for the removal of taxes and tariffs on commercial airline spare parts is being widely commended as a step in the right direction.”

their needs shall be met.

Other clerics such as Bishop Mike Okonkwo, Pastor Wale Adefarasin, Dr Ola Makinde and Pastor Sam Adeyemi prayed for the state and the nation at large.

The Thanksgiving service was attended by prominent sons and daughters of the state, religious leaders from different denominations, friends of the state and well wishers.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

News

Monday, January 7, 2013

5

Rise up against terrorism, Jonathan tells clerics ROTIMI FADEYI

WITH AGENCY REPORT

P

resident Goodluck Jonathan yesterday urged religious leaders to rise against the increasing wave of terrorism in the country, saying that no religion preaches or encourages violence or the killing of innocent people.

In apparent reference to the wave of killings being perpetrated by members of the Boko Haram Islamic sect in the North, the president said those who kill in

the name of religion could not lay claim to worshipping God. The President spoke in Abuja at a reception organised in honour of John Cardinal Onaiyekan on his 30th Episcopal Ordination and his recent elevation to the College of Cardinals by Pope Benedict XVI. “We believe that God created all of us and anybody who raises weapon to kill the very one created

by God cannot be said to be worshipping God,’’ he

said pointing out that the two major religions–Christianity and Islam– preach brotherhood love and coexistence.

The President also urged the church to champion the course of societal building through character moulding.

He noted that the church, the government and the political actors had the same responsibilities, stressing that the church was at the centre of society building.

The President explained

Travellers returning to Lagos from the Yuletide holiday at Berger motor park, yesterday.

that some of the challenges confronting the country were as a result of the character of the people, saying that if the church moulds the people especially the children, Nigeria would be a better country.

President Jonathan noted that the appointment of Onaiyekan to the position of Cardinal was a clear recognition by the Vatican of the immense contributions of the Church in Nigeria to the Catholic movement worldwide.

PHOTO: YINKA ADEPARUSI

Buhari expresses fears over 2015 elections CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

didate however called on Nigerians and CPC members to “work at ensuring free and fair elections, but that if some people would not allow for such to happen, then everyone should forget the entire process.”

Buhari warned that failure to ensure free, fair and peaceful elections in 2015 could have negative outcomes for everyone, including the ruling PDP. He said that in 2003, 2007 and 2011, he and his party had gone to court to fight alleged injustices perpetrated by the ruling party which led to the PDP winning the presidential elections.

According to him: “We went to court in 2003, in 2007 and the party went to court in 2011. I want us to be ready that in 2015, you should elect those to represent you and those that would lead you; anyone that tries to come in-between is on his own.”

He alleged that the PDP had cheated him and his party in past elections, especially in Adamawa, So-

koto and Kogi among other states, and that this showed the PDP was not out to ensure fairness in electoral contests.

“You know in 2003 that we went to court, we spent about 30 months in various courts but we were told that we did not win the election. In 2007 it was the same, and in 2011 also.

“The past elections in some states like Kogi, Adamawa, Sokoto and other areas were not free and fair polls.”

Buhari maintained that since PDP would not allow for fairness in elections, Nigerians and CPC members in particular should adopt what electorate did in Igabi, Kaduna State, where they struggled to protect their votes and ensure free and fair election.

He noted that PDP’s actions had confirmed that “they are not ready to ensure fairness; and since they would not ensure fairness, that is why we said, like what people in

Igabi did in Kaduna State, when there was to be an election, they readied and worked sweat and blood to protect their votes.

“If you want to have good people that would represent you and lead you, then it is compulsory that you do what Igabi people did. Therefore, I give the order that what is done in Igabi should be copied in all the wards across the country.”

He, however, said that the CPC and many people who hate injustice would work to ensure that what happened in previous elections does not repeat itself in 2015.

The retired general called on CPC members to, “elect competent people that would lead and rule you”, and not corrupt people that are insensitive to the plight of those they rule.

“If, however, you are comfortable with servitude, then go and continue living as servants. I will always work to ensure that schools, hospitals,

good roads and other infrastructure are available for you from our party’s public office holders.”

Senator Sirika said that Buhari would contest the 2015 general election despite reports to the contrary.

Sirika said the former Head of State had said he would not contest, but several Nigerians, especially within the CPC, wanted him to do so, and that he and other people with similar interest would work to see that Buhari contests the presidential election.

He said Nigerians were tired of those that could not take the country out of its present poverty, unemployment and state of insecurity and were desirous for a change.

“Such change is what the CPC and Buhari can bring to the country should he become president,” and that Nigerians should not relent in labouring to ensure they “are led by corrupt-free and trust worthy leaders.”

He described Onaiyekan as a humble man of great distinction, learning and knowledge “who always sees himself as a citizen, a messenger and servant of God.” “I see in his appointment a recognition for those who work and toil for peace, bringing hope to their people and building bridges for reconciliation among men.

“I also see it as a great privilege to our country at this time and in particular to me since I am serving as the President now,’’ he said.

Also speaking at the event, Senate President David Mark said that the National Assembly would soon enact a law against religious extremism in Nigeria.

He said that the National Assembly was willing to make the environment friendly by enacting laws that would fight religious intolerance and extremism in the society.

The Senate President said that the legislature was “holistically” looking at immorality in the society “without preference to any particular one.”

“We are ready to support religious activities that will foster unity in the country; we are ready to make laws that will fight religious extremism in the country,” he said.

He added that the issues would be addressed as they were presented to the National Assembly, noting that the Senate had already passed the bill on gay marriage and was awaiting the report of the House of Representatives before it would be sent to the executive.

Earlier in his homily at the church service, Onaiyekan reminded Nigerians of the need for religious tolerance and mutual respect.

He said that tolerance and mutual respect would help in building peace and harmony amongst Nigerians, irrespective of their background and status in the society.

The Cardinal spoke against what he described as ‘the religion of exclusion’.

Onaiyekan noted that true religion must embrace peace and be devoid of blood shedding.

He expressed regret that the country’s image abroad had been tainted with religious intolerance, killings

and shedding of blood.

“We must not allow this to continue. We have to strive to live in peace in our nation with our differences of tribe, culture, tradition, language and religion.

“We must see the image of God in everybody around us and apply the golden rule that we should do to others only what we can do to ourselves,” the cleric said.

In the same vein, the President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria, CBCN, Most Rev. Ignatius Kaigama, called on Nigerians to use religion to fight social and moral vices in the society.

Kaigama, the Archbishop of Jos, said that corruption, kidnapping, drug addiction and terrorism, could be fought, using the “instrumentality of religion.”

He decried the use of religion to cause disaffection, violence and destruction in parts of the country.

The Archbishop said that Nigerians possessed the capacity to use religion for the good of the society, the transformation of the economy and the moral development of the citizenry.

Kaigama urged Nigerians to take advantage of the positive image created for the country by Onaiyekan’s recognition by the Vatican and reverse all the negative stories told about their nation.

“Nigerians must ride on this wave of positive international recognition to correct the negative image of the country in the international community,” he said.

He advised the Cardinal not to relent in the good works that had earned him many accolades both within and outside Nigeria.

Kaigama urged the Cardinal to be more vocal in the church’s condemnation of sexual immorality, same sex marriage, corruption and other ills affecting different communities across the globe.

The mass, held at the Our Lady Queen of Nigeria Pro-Cathedral, was attended by Catholic faithful and the clergies in and outside Abuja; President Goodluck Jonathan; his mother, Eunice; some state governors and their deputies; some members of the National Assembly and the Federal Executive Council, FEC.

News

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Monday, January 7, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

FG begins payment of N161bn 2012 fuel subsidy arrears CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

months An official of the Ministry of Finance who confirmed the development at the weekend expressed government’s commitment to settlement of all genuine claims.

He said: “The government has started to pay the subsidy arrears because of its commitment to ensuring that marketers are empowered to sustain fuel importation into the country this year.”

The source added that this would go a long way to enhancing the movement of people and goods from one place to another as well as boost socio-economic development of the nation.

The Executive Secretary, Major Marketers Association of Nigeria, MOMAN, Mr. Timothy Olawore, also confirmed that many marketers had started receiving the arrears.

He said: “I can confirm to you that our members have started to get the subsidy. This would enable us to embark on fuel importation.”

Olawore said the marketers were unable to import fuel for some months because of the huge indebtedness to them.

This, he said, was worsened by the refusal of

banks to provide funds, owing to their poor credit rating.

Investigations showed that the present payment was made possible following the early verification of claims by the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory, PPPRA. PPPRA Executive Secretary, Mr. Reginald Stanley, whose duties include determining the pricing policy of petroleum products; regulating the supply and distribution of petroleum products, had told our correspondent that it had completed the verification of claims.

“We have completed the verification of claims for the payment of the N161bn subsidy arrears,” he said.

He said the Ministry of Finance would raise funds and effect payment since the National Assembly had already granted approval for the payment before its members went on holiday.

Stanley said that with the planned payment, the banks who were discouraged from granting loans, would now be encouraged, thereby boosting the supply of petroleum products.

He said: “The era of shortage is over because the Federal Government has also made provision for the payment of N971bn as fuel subsidy in the 2013

budget, meaning that it would be possible to sustain importation throughout the New Year.”

Prior to the development, only the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, had the financial muscle to import fuel into the nation. This, coupled with distribution problems, affected efficient distribution to many parts of the country.

For instance, the destruction of Arepo pipeline, which enhances distribution from Atlas Cove to Ejigbo, Mosimi, Ibadan and Ore depots, in August last year scuttled supply in

some parts of the nation.

The supply was also affected after the destruction of Ije-Ododo pipeline.

However, fuel supply has improved following the rehabilitation of the two major pipelines.

The Acting Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division of the NNPC, Mr. Fidel Pepple, who confirmed the development assured that with the restoration of the IjeOdodo pipeline and the NNPC system 2b pipeline, normalcy had been restored in the supply and distribution of petroleum products in the country.

ABUJA

T

here are plans for the full commencement of the exploration of the multibillion naira bitumen deposit in some areas in the South-West of the country.

There have been several failed attempts to tap into the mineral resource, which has been found in commercial quantity in the region.

However, the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Mohammed Sada, disclosed in an interview with our correspondent at the weekend that preparations were on to revive the bitumen project this year.

Sada said already, a draft copy of a document for request for proposal had been submitted to

President Goodluck Jonathan which, he said, was awaiting his approval.

He said: “We have prepared a document for request for proposal which we have submitted a draft to Mr. President, awaiting his approval. We have already done all the assessment of the companies.”

The minister said exploration of bitumen required much care and technology to protect the ecosystem.

According to him, bitumen is a heavier mineral and cannot be easily cleaned up if spilled.

Sada, who said that bitumen had a very high negative environmental impact, disclosed that efforts were being concentrated on putting mechanism in place to forestall a repeat of environmental challenges arising from

sically due to the activities of pipeline vandals, the closure of a number of filling stations due to the Christmas holiday and not shortage of petroleum products.

Pepple called on marketers to avoid the diversion of petroleum products to black marketers, adding that stringent punitive actions would be meted out to those found wanting.

He also advised marketers of petroleum products to team up with the NNPC to ensure sustained supply and distribution of petroleum products.

L-R: Jigawa State Governor Sule Lamido; his Niger State counterpart, Babangida Aliyu and Vice-President Namadi Sambo during the wedding of the daughter of the Minister of National Planning, Dr. Shamsuddeen Usman, in Abuja at the weekend.

PHOTO: NAN

FG’ll begin bitumen exploration this year –Minister CHIDI UGWU

He said: “I can affirm to you that our engineers from the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company Limited, PPMC, have finally fixed the IjeOdodo pipeline that was ruptured last Monday by activities of pipeline vandals.

“Going forward, the good news for Nigerians is that we have resumed pumping of petroleum products through the pipeline and system 2b is equally working after the restoration of the pipeline.”

He added that the recent fuel queues were ba-

exploration of oil in the Niger Delta region.

To this end, Sada said the Federal Government had signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, with a Canadian company which would avail it with the require technology for easy and safe exploration of the mineral.

He said: “Currently, the world over, there is a special technology used in extracting the resource, such that just to tell you in a layman’s terms, like we are sitting here, maybe under this office there is bitumen, you can be able to extract it while I am sitting in my office and be doing my work. That is how bitumen is being extracted now.

“Bitumen deposit is around Ondo. If you go to where they are, you will find out that there are

very rich farms of Cocoa and other vegetations. So, going to start opening up bitumen pits around that area is to destroy the ecosystem. And the problem you are going to have environmentally is going to be much worse than what you have in the Niger Delta.

“So this is one area that we have concentrated in making sure that we take care of. This took us to Canada. That is where you have the best technology because one of their major resources is the same bitumen but what they call it is tarsand.

“Because now they have latest technology that they can even extract certain types of oil from much lower level of the resource, so we interfaced with them and we had an MoU with a company that will avail us with the technology.”

Concern over whereabouts of Shell official, nine months after abduction SOLA ADEBAYO WARRI

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oncerns heightened yesterday over the fate of a top official of Shell Petroleum Development Company, SPDC, Nkpoikana Udoh, who was abducted in Port in April 2011.

National Mirror gathered that the whereabouts of the victim, a senior production engineer with the Anglo-Dutch energy giant, was yet to be ascertained, nine months after he was picked by some gunmen from his residence in Rumuodumaya area of the Garden City.

Family sources recalled that Udoh was heading home in his Lexus Sport Utility Vehicle, SUV, on the fateful day when some gunmen ambushed and whisked him away at the entrance into his resi-

dence.

Findings showed that Udoh was taken away from the scene in his SUV, which is yet to be recovered.

It was gathered that the gunmen, who initially established contacts with Udoh’s family and colleagues, stopped further communication with them after collecting the ransom demanded before his release.

Reports also indicated that the hoodlums also used the ATM card of the victim to withdraw money from his account many times before they went underground.

Already, members of the family and colleagues of the victim were worried about the failure of security agencies and the Rivers State government to release the oil worker unhurt from captivity.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

National News

Monday, January 7, 2013

7

FCTA arrested 11,350 traffic offenders in 2012 OMEIZA AJAYI ABUJA

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he Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, yesterday disclosed that in 2012 alone, it apprehended about 11,350 traffic offenders in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja.

The FCT Minister, Sena-

tor Bala Mohammed, made the disclosure in a statement signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Muhammad Hazat Sule, and made available to journalists in Abuja.

The minister disclosed that in 2012, his administration also impounded 1,231 commercial motorcycles (Okada) and were taken to

the Abuja Auto-Pound.

According to him, 9,143 motorcycles have been impounded since the inception of Okada ban on October 1, 2006 in Abuja.

The minister wondered why ‘Okada’ riders would not want to stay away from plying the prohibited routes in the Federal Capital City despite their continual arrest.

According to him, hard times await the motorcyclists this year as the officials of the Directorate of Road Traffic Services, DRTS, are more than ever prepared to stamp out Okada riders’ illegal activities in the restricted areas of the Federal Capital City.

Mohammed disclosed that the FCT Administra-

tion recorded 479 automobile accidents in 2012.

He, however, promised that Traffic Offences Mobile Courts set up last year would be encouraged to discharge their duties to sanitise FCT roads and reduce traffic bottlenecks being experienced in the Federal Capital City, especially during peak hours.

Mohammed warned that it would not be business as usual this year as all possible traffic offences in the FCT would be checked.

Describing the man-hour being wasted as result of traffic bottleneck as counterproductive, the minister called for cooperation and understanding of the motoring public.

SMS broadens participation in constitution review –Ekweremadu GEORGE OJI

ABUJA

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enate decided to embark on the ongoing Short Message Service, SMS, and online opinion poll to offer many Nigerians greater opportunity to participate in the constitution review process.

The Chairman, Senate Committee on Constitution Review, Ike Ekweremadu, who gave the explanation in Abuja at the weekend while briefing the media team of the committee, urged Nigerians to take advantage of the two platforms to air their views on critical matters on the constitution review L-R: Lagos State Deputy Governor, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire; wife of the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Folu Adeboye; her husband, Pastor Enoch Adeboye; Governor Babatunde Fashola and his wife, Abimbola, at the exercise.

Ekweremadu said the Lagos State Government 2013 Annual Thanksgiving Service in Lagos, yesterday.

Show leadership, end corruption, SERAP tells Jonathan ISE-OLUWA IGE ABUJA

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ocio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, SERAP, has told President Goodluck Jonathan that “rooting out high level official corruption, ending impunity of perpetrators, and turning around Nigeria will take more than mere promises and preaching of decency.”

The organisation, which asked the President to take bolder steps rather than sermonising, said eradicating corruption “requires strong leadership at the highest level of government.”

In a statement issued yesterday and signed by SERAP Executive Director, Adetokunbo Mumuni, the organisation said: “President Jonathan’s New Year statement promising that his administration would move faster in 2013 to meet the basic needs of the citizens is rather routine and rhetorical.

“What is required now is for this government to

act more and promise less.

The President must show strong leadership and lead by example if he is to earn the trust of Nigerians and convince them that he is truly committed to the fight against corruption.

“Half measures, which avoid public scrutiny of the President’s own asset declaration, and effective prosecution of corruption cases when they involve those connected with this government, are utterly inadequate and tend to throw the government into disrepute.

“The lack of accountable leadership – together with the deficit of transparency in the management of public finances and public spending – has continued to exacerbate the country’s growing poverty and underdevelopment.

“Ultimately, the responsibility for sorting out Nigeria rests with President Jonathan. The buck stops with him. Nigerians will judge him not by the number of promises he has made but by the number of roads

repaired, decent hospitals established, and how much difference he is able to make to ensure the enjoyment of other basic necessities of life for millions of impoverished Nigerians.

“Genuine fight against corruption can’t happen unless President Jonathan wants it, and leads by example.

“We are concerned that this government has continued to deny the endemic nature of corruption at the highest level of government. This attitude is aptly illustrated when in response to the courageous statement by Bishop of Bomadi Catholic Diocese, Vicarage Hyacinth Egbebor, underscoring the systemic nature of corruption in the country President Jonathan recently claimed that ‘most of these things we talk about corruption are not even corruption. It is true that most cases we talk about corruption as if corruption is the cause of most of our problems’.”

opinion poll was in keeping with the promise and commitment of the committee to popular participation, inclusivity, and transparency in the ongoing constitution amendment process.

The deputy Senate president said the major aims of the poll were to “demystify constitutionmaking, get more Nigerians involved, and correct the wrong perception of constitutionmaking as an elite’s affair.”

He said: “We want to discourage the usual situation where a vocal and privileged few expropriate the voices of the rest of the people, foist their personal opinions and narrow interests on the polity, claiming same to be the views of their people.”

TENDER NOTICE CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA ON BEHALF OF DMO NIGERIAN TREASURY BILLS Notice is hereby given by the Central Bank of Nigeria on behalf of DMO that the Federal Government of Nigeria Treasury Bills of 91, 182 and 364-day tenors amounting to N35,159,210,000, N50,403,148,000 and N80,845,406,000 respectively would be issued by Dutch auction on Thursday, January 10, 2013.

All Money Market Dealers should submit bids through the CBN TEMENOS INTERNET BANKING between 9.00a.m and 11.00 a.m. on Wednesday, January 9, 2013.

Each bid must be in multiple of N1,000 subject to a minimum of N10,000. Authorized Money Market Dealers are allowed to submit multiple bids. A bid may be for authorized Money Market Dealers own account, Non - Money Market Dealers or interested members of the public. The result of the auction would be announced by 11.30 a.m. on Wednesday, January 9, 2013. The Bank reserves the right to reject any bid.

Allotment letters would be issued for successful bids on Thursday, January 10, 2013, while payment for successful bids should be made to your account with the Central Bank of Nigeria not later than 11.00 a.m. on Thursday, January 10, 2013.

The Bank reserves the right to vary the amount on offer in line with market realities prevailing as at the period of auction of the Nigerian Treasury bills.

GOVERNMENT SECURITIES OFFICE CENTRAL BANK OF NIGERIA ABUJA.

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News

Monday, January 7, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Insecurity: Fear grips Delta judges, set for showdown SOLA ADEBAYO WARRI

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here is palpable fear among members of the bench in Delta State over insecurity in the state.

National Mirror learnt that judges of the various courts in the state are now living in fear due to incessant attacks on them by hoodlums within the nooks and crannies of the state.

No fewer than seven judges have either been kidnapped or attacked by gunmen in the state in the past one year.

National Mirror also gathered yesterday that some judges were mobilising their colleagues for a one-week warning strike to protest the pervasive insecurity in the state.

Reports said anonymous calls and messages were

• As three escape death by a whisker being passed around asking judges of the various courts in the state to stay away from work as from today.

The messages asked judicial officers to stay at home for one week apparently to force the state government and security agencies to address the situation.

But, National Mirror gathered that there was no official directive to that effect from the Registrar of the high court, in Asaba, the state capital.

Findings showed that the concern of the bench was accentuated by last Friday’s attack on three judges of the state’s high court in Eku, Ethiope East Local Government Area of the state.

The judicial officers were heading for a meet-

ing in Asaba, before they escaped death by a whisker.

It was gathered that Justice Oritsejemituale Jalogho-Williams of Kwale High Court, Justice Clara Achilefu of the Warri High Court 111 and Justice Ebiowei Tobi of Ughelli High Court 11, were driving in an official Prado Sport Utility Vehicle, SUV, with registration number DTSJ 21, before the encounter with the gunmen.

Reliable sources closed to the judges said the gunmen, who operated in a red Volkswagen Jeta car, ambushed their car at Eku Junction. But the driver of the SUV miraculously escaped as the gunmen opened fire on the SUV. The car was riddled with 16 bullet holes.

One of the judges, who

had a minor scratch, was given first aid at a medical centre in Eku. One of our sources said; “The driver of the judges’ SUV, who sensed danger, suddenly pulled back and made a quick detour. The hoodlums, who were baffled by the courage of the driver opened fire on the vehicle.

“One of the judges had a scratch but no penetration.

The incident was reported at Eku Police Station.

“The judicial officers in the state are worried about their safety. The Eku incident was the seventh attempt on the lives of the judges in the state in the past one year. I can tell you that these judges are now living in fear.

“Some traumatised judges were calling and send-

ing distress messages to their colleagues yesterday to stay away from work as from today, at least for one week but the action has no official backing.

“There is no directive from the registrar of the high court as regards the action. But the fact remains that members of bench in Delta State are very apprehensive of their safety in view of the secu-

rity situation in the state,” added the source, who did not want his name in print.

The Police Public Relation Officer, Delta State Police Command, Mr. Famous Ajieh, told National Mirror that he was aware of the attack on the judges.

Ajieh, in a telephone interview, however, said details of the incident were sketchy.

Three feared dead as car plunges into river SOLA ADEBAYO WARRI

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t least three persons were feared dead at the weekend when their vehicle plunged into a river in Agbarho, Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State.

However, two of the five occupants of the ill-fated vehicle survived.

Findings by National Mirror showed that the survivors swam into safety as the vehicle, a Volkswagen Audi car; with registra-

tion umber AH 489 KLK, plunged into Agbarho Bridge, few kilometres to Warri, the commercial capital of the state.

Officials of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) were at the scene yesterday as local divers combed the river for the missing passengers.

Commuters and passersby wept uncontrollably as the vehicle was recovered from the river.

Rescue efforts resulted in traffic gridlock on the East-West Road.

Oshiomhole sacks perm sec for dereliction of duty SEBASTINE EBHUOMHAN BENIN

L-R: Military Airport Commandant, Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Group Captain Adeniyi Amesinlola; Principal Staff Officer to Corps Marshal, Federal Road Safety Commission, Mr. Julius Asom; Corps Marshal, Mr. Osita Chidoka and Deputy Corps Marshal, Operations, Mr. Boboye Oyeyemi, during the arrival of the corps marshal on aerial surveillance in Abuja, at the weekend. PHOTO: ROTIMI OSASONA

January 9 Collective initiates annual lectures OLAJIDE OMOJOLOMOJU

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group of Nigerian professionals, the January 9 Collective (J9C), formed as a result of the fuel increase protests of January, 2012 has instituted an annual lecture series to stimulate healthy discourse on socio-political developments in the country.

Publicity Secretary of J9C, Wole Olagundoye, disclosed that the inaugural lecture with its theme “Elite, Leadership and National Transformation,” is scheduled for Wednesday, January 9, by 11.00am with leading poli-

ticians, professionals and opinion leaders as panellists and speakers.

The keynote speaker is Mr. Jimi Agbaje, the entrepreneur, pharmacist and politician, who made a mark with a sterling campaign during the 2007 Lagos gubernatorial elections.

Olagundoye said J9C aims to build a body of Nigerian professionals that is passionate about Nigeria and have a clear cut direction through constructive engagements on burning national issues, pursuing transparency, probity and accountability at all levels, promoting governance across all strata of governance and

ensuring best practices and excellence in their various professions.

Speaking about the formation of the group, he said: “January 9, 2012 was an important date for our country Nigeria and a lot of Nigerians as it was the day a huge majority of Nigerians came out and spoke with one voice against fuel subsidy removal.

“It will be recalled that the focal point of the fuel subsidy strive was the rallies at the Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park, at Ojota in Lagos, where thousands gathered in support of a cause they believed in passionately irrespective of gender

and class.

“A significant fall out of that important date was the coming together of some like-minded individuals, who met at the park and decided to crystallise their passion, vision and aspirations for Nigeria unto a veritable platform from where concrete and strategic steps can be taken in the pursuit of an ideal Nigeria of their dreams.”

The J9C is a non-partisan collection of professionals from different spheres of life, who staunchly believe in the Nigerian project and believe that her best days are yet in front of her.

E

do State Governor, Adams Oshiomhole, has approved the immediate retirement of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Environment and Public Utilities, Mr. H. A. Ikheloa, for dereliction of his official duty.

The governor also ordered the sealing off of the museum located inside the King’s Square in Benin City after ordering the immediate removal of the facility manager over illegally renting out of the space, operating a business centre on the rebuilt recreation facility and non-maintenance of same.

Oshiomhole’s directive for the immediate retirement of the permanent secretary was contained in a letter signed by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Prof.

Julius Ihonvbere and made available to National Mirror yesterday in the

state capital.

The letter, dated January 4, 2013 stated further: “The governor also approved the immediate suspension of Mr. Nicholas Osemwengie, Acting General Manager, Edo State Waste Management Board and the Director-inCharge of Street Lights in the Edo State Ministry of Environment and Public Utilities, Engineer Ejemai Martins. Their cases have been referred to the Edo State Civil Service Commission for further action.”

The governor’s action is not unconnected with the sorry state of the recreation facility during an unscheduled inspection of some projects and public places in the state capital last Friday.

The governor also queried the careless and wanton display of wares by mobile and stationery hawkers that had turned the newly constructed public walkways and roads in the capital city to shops.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

South West

Monday, January 7, 2013

15 die as fuel tanker, bus collide KEMI OLAITAN IBADAN

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bout 15 people died yesterday in a multiple auto crash on Ogbomoso - Oyo - Ibadan Road.

The accident, it was learnt, occurred when a fully loaded petrol tanker coming from Oyo/Ibadan end of the road collided

with an 18-seater commercial bus coming from Ilorin/Ogbomoso axis at a sharp bend around OdoOba village, about five kilometres to Ogbomoso.

The crash occurred where another fully loaded fuel tanker had broken down in the last one week.

A witness said the impact of the collision made the tanker to overturn and

exploded immediately.

The driver of the bus also lost control of the vehicle and in the process, flung its passengers out of the vehicle.

Only three people escaped from the 18-seater bus while the crash caused a traffic snarl on the Ibadan -Ogbomoso - Oyo Road.

It took men of the fire service a lot of time to

mobilise to the scene while men of the Nigerian Army and the National Emergency Management Authority, NEMA, were on hand to offer rescue operation and to ensure that the property of the victims were not tampered with.

Speaking with journalists, the spokesman of NEMA in the South-West, Alhaji Ibrahim Farinloye, said

the scene had to be cordoned off while traffic was diverted to alternative routes.

At press time, men of the Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, were having a hectic time maintaining traffic on the road while bodies of the victims and the survivors of the accident had been taken to Bowen University Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso.

Oluyole Club targets youth employment AFOLABI GAMBARI

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socio-cultural group based in Lagos, Oluyole Club, has disclosed plans to work in conjunction with the Oyo State Government to check growing unemployment among youths in Ibadan.

President of the club, Prof. Bashir Akande, who spoke with our correspondent in Lagos at the weekend, said the future of the ancient city rested on gainfully engaged youths.

He said: “As a club, we are working on a proposal that will be submitted to the Oyo State Government before the end of the first quarter of this year and we believe that the government will act upon it in the best possible way.”

Akande, who is in the final year of his four-year tenure, listed the club’s Annual Lecture scheduled for Ibadan on January 12 to include a lecture entitled: “An investor’s guide to investment in Nigeria,” to be delivered

by Dr. Olushola Dada.

He said: “Beneficiaries of our post-graduate scholarship scheme will also receive their awards on the day which will end with a dance party.”

Meanwhile, the Oluyole Club boss has expressed support for the creation of Ibadan State as agitators renewed call to give state status to the largest city in West Africa.

He said: “I think the arguments for the creation far outweigh the ones against it. The fact that Ibadan alone comprises 11 of the 33 local government areas of Oyo State suggests that it deserves the status of a state.”

Vehicles destroyed by bush fire at the car park of Ogun State Secretariat, Oke Mosan in Abeokuta, at the weekend.

Probe NDDC now, group tells EFCC OJO OYEWAMIDE AKURE

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he Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, has been asked to probe all financial transactions of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, under the leadership of Christian Oboh in the last one and half years.

The Niger Delta Youth Movement, NDYM, which made the call at the weekend, specifically asked the EFCC to summon the NDDC managing to explain why most of the commission’s projects in the Niger Delta region had been abandoned by contractors.

A national officer of NDYM and former president of the group in Ondo State, Apostle Bright Ojugbuyi, said in a statement the NDDC under Oboh had failed in the discharged of its duties to the people of the mandate areas.

He alleged that the administration of Oboh was the worst and most corrupt in the history of the commission due to ineffi-

ciency and allegations of financial misconduct now ravaging the commission.

Ojugbuyi also accused Oboh of running the commission as an extension of his private business by constantly disregarding the board’s resolutions and directives on issues bothering on the affairs of people in the Niger Delta.

He said the commission had derailed from its constitutional responsibility due to the alleged selfish interest of some greedy management members fond of enriching themselves at the expense of the objectives and the set goals of the commission.

Efforts to speak with Oboh on his mobile line were not successful as all calls made were not answer.

But a highly-placed NDDC official in the Ondo State office of the commission, who pleaded anonymity, said the allegations against the MD were not true but a figment of his imagination.

He said: “The Managing Director has directed all the state offices of the commission to compile the list of all contactors

that have completed their jobs for immediate payment and that we have done.

“As I am talking to you, majority of them have been paid while those that are yet to be paid will surely be paid.”

But Ojugbuyi expressed dismay over the alleged refusal of the NDDC MD to pay most of the contractors and consultants handling the commission’s projects in the Niger Delta region even after the completion and certification of their jobs by the board.

He said the group might carry out protests across the region if the issues that led to the stoppage of most of the commission’s projects were not addressed within two weeks.

Ojugbuyi, however, lauded the Federal Government amnesty programme under the chairmanship of Hon. Kingsley Kuku which, he said, had contributed immensely to the relative peace and economic lives of the people in the region.

He suggested that some of the former militants currently undergoing

PHOTO: NAN

training should be fully integrated into government ministries, so that efforts on them would not be in vain.

He said: “We have discovered that Christian Oboh has refused to learn from the mistakes and downfall of his predecessors and our findings have revealed that his deliberate refusal to pay the contractors and consultants their money after the completion and certification of their jobs by the board has been the cogent reason why these projects have been abandoned.

“The only thing the commission does now is to spend a hundred million naira to transport goods of one million naira value from Lagos to Port Harcourt on a daily basis.”

Oboh

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Lagos’ll soon provide free legal services for residents –AG MURITALA AYINLA

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he Lagos State Government said it had set up a committee to draft a manual on how free legal services for the residents could be structured.

The Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Ade Ipaye, who made the disclosure, assured the Lagos residents, especially the less privileged, of access to justice.

He said that access to justice by deserving, disadvantaged self-represented parties with meritorious legal issues was classified as a right for all Lagosians.

Speaking at the handing over of the Lagos Public Interest Law Partnership, LPILP, manual by the 12-man committee headed by Prof.

Lanre Fagbohun, the commissioner explained that the orientation of the state government had changed and more emphasis was now on rendering free legal services to the indigent and disadvantaged in society.

Ipaye said the committee would also look at how Pro Bono (free legal services) could be resourced, directed and supported to provide better access to justice.

He said: “This is a very delightful moment for me; I am indeed grateful. I am particularly happy that this is coming this year so that we will have a clear mandate to implement.”

In his remark, Fagbohun thanked the attorneygeneral for the honour bestowed on him and members of the committee.

He also commended members of the committee for their tireless efforts in ensuring that they presented something that the state would be proud of.

Fagbohun, however, said that a lot of kudos must go to Governor Babatunde Fashola (SAN) for this and other initiatives aimed at making Lagos safe and habitable.

Ipaye also said the planned weekend sitting by the magistrates in the state was to decongest the prisons and speed up the administration of justice.

With the sitting, expected to take off this year, the commissioner said anyone arrested on Friday might not necessarily have to spend the weekend in police custody or prison.

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South West

Monday, January 7, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

JTF destroys 35 illegal refineries in Ondo HALEEM GBADAMOSI AKURE

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o fewer than 35 illegal refineries and 18 local boats used by bunkerers in the creeks of Ondo State coastal areas were destroyed and set ablaze by the Joint Task Force (JTF) team in the state.

Also, more than nine barges used by the oil thieves in transporting the stolen crude products were destroyed.

The illegal refineries, which spread across the coastal areas, were destroyed in Akotogbo, Dababilebu and Obontoru com-

munities in the state.

About 1.650 million litres of crude oil had earlier been intercepted by a seaway security outfit operating in the creeks of the state with five barges laden with the product estimated to be billions of naira.

The illegal refineries were discovered by a private security outfit, Gallery Security Services Limited owned by an exmilitant, Chief Bibopiri Ajube, who alerted the JTF. The destruction of the refineries, which lasted for two days were, however, carried out under the supervision of the JTF which comprised soldiers

from the 19th Battalion in Okitipupa and naval officers from the Forward Operation Base at Igbokoda.

Speaking on the need to wade off the oil criminals from the coastal region, a senior army officer who led the operation, but who did not want his name in print, said the operation became imperative to show government’s seriousness in eradicating such illegal activities in the state.

He said the security agents will employ all available channels to flush out the hoodlums and their illegal activities from the high seas.

He commended

Ajube’s security outfit for its relentless efforts at ridding the Niger Delta areas of all forms of criminal activities.

His words: “Without the support of the Gallery Security Services, the operation of the JTF would not have been successful, because it was the firm that discovered the illegal refineries, the boats and barges being used by the criminals to carry out their acts.”

The officer, however, said that the exercise would be a continuous one and vowed that the task force would not stop until the Nigerian waterways

and pipelines are safe for legitimate businesses.

Speaking on the effort of the security outfit in curtailing sea crime, the operating manager of the company said; “Our company is registered with the Federal Government for the security of the riverside and to arrest all forms of criminal activities in the area by assisting government agencies like the army, the navy and the police.

“Most of the government security agents cannot come into the creeks, so we are assisting them to fish out the criminals out of our territory. It is a great joy that since the establishment of our company, we have been checking the hoodlums.

“We seized the barges, speedboats and engines at the Ondo State border from the hoodlums who were bringing them from

Delta and Edo States,” he added.

However, some residents of the areas lamented the activities of the oil thieves, saying their illegal activities have polluted the environment and that they need to travel scores of kilometres before they could get fresh water to drink and cook.

They explained that kerosene produced from the illegal refineries had led to the destruction of many lives and property in the area because of its crude means of processing which made it highly inflammable.

One of the victims, who is a fisherman, Mr. Aprebisekumo Epijowori, told the JTF at Akina Zion that the locally produced kerosene was responsible for the burns all over his body which had paralyzed one of his legs.

Public school enrolment soars in Ogun

E Ogun State Commissioner for Agriculture and Director-General of the Bureau of Lands, Mrs. Ronke Sokefun (right), handing over a cheque to Dr. Ade Onajobi, in compensation for the demolition of his property to give way for road expansion in the state, at the weekend.

S’West PDP yet to adopt candidate for BOT chair KEMI OLAITAN IBADAN

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he South-West chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), yesterday said its clamour for the zone to be honoured with the vacant position of the party’s Board of Trustees (BOT) chairman does not translate into the adoption of any candidate for the position, saying “we will abide by the overall decision of the party leaders.”

Zonal Publicity Secretary of the party, Hon. Kayode Babade, who said this in a release issued in Ibadan, said the clarification had become necessary to clear any misconception on the decision reached at the party’s joint meeting of the BOT members from the SouthWest and the Zonal Working Committee members held in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital last week.

His words: “Our appeal is simple, we are urging the national leadership of our party, the PDP to honour our zone with the position of the BOT chairman.

“That is different from saying that we have adopted a particular candidate from the South-West and that we have thrown our weight behind the candidate.

“We, however, maintain that as a deserving zone, the South-West would be highly honoured if it is considered in filling the vacant office of

the BOT chairman of our party, the PDP,” Babade said.

It will be recalled that the South-West zonal working committee of the party had held a joint meeting with the BOT members from the zone last week, where it urged that leadership of the party should be encouraged to elect the chairman of the BOT by consensus in the interest of peace, harmony and cohesion of the party at the highest level.

It was also resolved at the meeting that; “The

South-West would be highly honoured if it is considered in filling the vacant office of the BOT chairman of our party, the PDP.” Apart from the National Vice-Chairman (SouthWest), Chief Segun Oni, who led the Zonal Working Committee members, BOT members from the zone, who attended the meeting included Chief Richard Akinjide, Senator C. K. Awoyelu, Alhaji Shuaib Oyedokun and Chief Tunde Osunrinde.

nrolment figures for public primary and secondary schools in Ogun State have been on the upward swing since the advent of the Ibikunle Amosun administration, investigations have revealed.

Governor Amosun, during his inauguration on May 29, 2011, had declared free education in all public primary and secondary schools, insisting that “government owes the citizenry the duty to ensure that education at the two levels remains free to allow the children of the less privileged to benefit.”

The administration then followed up the declaration with the distribution of free instructional materials and textbooks to the pupils.

Parents responded positively to the development by sending their children to public schools, as figures gleaned from the Department of Planning, Research and Statistics of the state

NURTW crisis: ‘Hoodlums sponsored from neighbouring states’ HAKEEM GBADAMOSI AKURE

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he Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) in Ondo State, Chief Oladutele Obayoriade, yesterday accused non-drivers from the neighbouring states of the vandilisation and looting

of the union’s secretariat in Akure, last week.

Obayoriade said there was no crisis within the union that could account for the destruction but said last week’s crisis was designed to embarrass the union and discredit the peace being enjoyed by the union in the state.

The chairman, however,

told journalists in Akure yesterday that those behind the December 30, 2013 destruction have been apprehended by security operatives saying; “they were actually not members of the NURTW in the state.”

He alleged that the suspects, who were charged to court last week, had confessed that they were being

sponsored from some neighbouring states by an executive member of the union in the state to carry out the act.

The drivers’ union boss said the aim of the executive member was to violently install himself by force and to terminate his fouryear-tenure that was put in place in 2011 through a democratic arrangement.

Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, indicate that enrolment figures in the two tiers of education have risen significantly.

Enrolment for secondary schools, which stood at 292, 324 in 2010/2011 academic year, had risen to 387, 915 in 2011/2012 academic session.

Enrolment for primary schools equally jumped from 406, 890 in the 2010/2011 academic session to 506, 002 in 2012/2013 session.

Observers believe that this development is an expression of confidence by parents in the free education policy of the state government.

Special Adviser to the Governor on Education, Dr Tunji Abimbola, attributed the numerical increase to the total overhauling of the education sector, which was nearly comatose before the inauguration of the present administration.

He explained that the policy of free instructional materials and textbooks to pupils, continuous rehabilitation of school buildings, regular payment of teachers’ salaries, training and retraining of teachers, promotion of staff as and when due, restoration of running cost to government schools, among others, had combined to make public education attractive again to the citizens.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

South East

Monday, January 7, 2013

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2015: Ndigbo’ll provide qualitative leadership –Kalu F ormer Abia State Governor, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, has said that Ndigbo will provide qualitative leadership for Nigeria and Nigerians if given the opportunity to lead the country in 2015.

Kalu, the Protem Coordinator of Njiko Igbo, said he has no doubt that the economic fortune of the country would be turned around if a president of South-East extraction leads

Nigeria. The former governor spoke at a dinner with the Nigerian community in Belgium at Speidemberger Hotel Resort, Brussels at the weekend.

He said anyone who will emerge president from the South-East will have dynamic leadership qualities that can turn around the economy.

Kalu decried what he described as the unfair treatment meted out to Ndigbo

by the Federal Government when compared to other regions in all spheres of life.

Speaking on Njiko Igbo, Kalu described it as a nonpartisan and apolitical movement conceptualised to correct the anomalies Ndigbo have suffered over the years.

He said the association is not in competition with other groups, but is playing a complementary role to other established social,

economic and political and cultural bodies, with the collective interest of Igbo sons and daughters at home and in the Diaspora in mind.

He noted that what Nigeria needs at this critical period is dynamic leadership that will be responsive to the yearnings and aspirations of Nigerians.

He added that Ndigbo, having excelled in various fields of endeavour, with qualified people who can

bring their vast experiences in the private and public sectors into play if given the chance to rule the nation, should be given the nod to rule the country.

He said: “Igbos are the salt of the nation. Anywhere you don’t see Ndigbo, the economy is incomplete.”

Kalu said Njiko Igbo, in partnership with other stakeholders, is preparing a policy paper anchored on three focal areas - internal

Obi assures churches of sustained partnership

Group to name diagnostic centre after slain colleague

CHARLES OKEKE

DENNIS AGBO

AWKA

ENUGU

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nambra State Governor, Mr. Peter Obi, has assured churches in the state of sustained partnership in the process of governance in the New Year.

He also promised that his government will sustain the high tempo of developmental projects going on in various parts of the state.

Speaking during the dedication of St. Edward’s Catholic Church, Amawbia, yesterday by the Catholic Bishop of Awka, Most Rev. Dr. Paulinus Ezeokafor, Obi called on churches to be ready to work with him as they have always done, especially in 2013, his government has planned to execute projects that cut across all the sectors.

He commended the churches for what he called their wonderful collaboration in the area of education and healthcare delivery and pledged that he would not, for a moment, relent in his commitment to the state.

The governor, who also visited the Anglican Cathedral of St, Michael, Umukwu-Anam and Cathedral Church of St. James, Atani, used both occasions to restate the message of his renewed commitment to the progress and development of the state and partnership with the churches in governance.

The governor reminded the people that the future of the state lies on how much each and everyone contributed in making Anambra great, especially, by being responsive to ones civic duties to the state. He said the rehabilitation of schools would continue in 2013.

security, infrastructure and agriculture - for the nation.

He said this will serve as a manifesto for any Igbo presidential candidate in 2015.

He noted that the people of the South-East are not just clamoring for the zoning of the presidency to their region, but are ready to change Nigeria for better, adding: “We absolutely believe in pragmatic strategies for rebuilding the nation.”

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Parish Priest, St. Philips Anglican Church, Trans-Ekulu, Ven. Simeon Emelumadu (right) with church members during their 2013 anointing service in Enugu, yesterday.

PHOTO: NAN

Ministry concludes post flood assessment in South-East DENNIS AGBO ENUGU

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he Federal Ministry of Health taskforce on mitigation of health occurrences attributable to the 2012 flood disaster in Nigeria has concluded its post-flood assessment tour of the SouthEast states.

Briefing journalists on the taskforce’s findings in the zone, the Public Health Officer leading the committee for South-East assessment, Dr. John Onyeokoro, said the focus of the assignment was to see how the flood has affected the health of the communities so that the federal ministry of health with the mandate of the minister under the guidance of the Presidency, can intervene and provide useful materials that will ensure that the health hazards are mitigated.

Onyeokoro said the implication is that the com-

mittee will have to find out information concerning peculiar mortality and morbidity patterns that arose as a result of the flood. “Because of that, we went with questioneers,” he said.

He said in Imo State, about 28 communities were basically affected within three local government areas. He said there was a resurgence of water-borne diseases like typhoid and paratyphoid fever with an increase in malaria.

Onyeokoro disclosed that the state government had started fumigating all affected areas in Ohaji/Egbema Local Government Area with the hope that the Federal Government will come to their assistance so as to stem the tide of the water-borne diseases that arose out of contamination. “Most of the affected people reported that snakes now come into their houses from the bush but the distribution of health facilities

has been much.”

In Abia State, Dr. Onyeokoro said preliminary report indicates that communities were more affected than farm lands with critical cases in two local government areas and over 18 communities.

Onyeokore said Anambra State was part of their jurisdiction as the state was clustered with Delta and Edo States for a different group of committee.

The Assistant Director, Epidemic Control in the Federal Ministry of Health (FMH), Godswill Etim, who visited Ebonyi State, said the ministry directed the committee to appraise the effects of the 2012 flood with a view to providing further intervention.

Etim said the committee found out that the cause of flood in Ebonyi State was due to the overflow of Cross River into Ebonyi River which in effect overflew its banks and affected commu-

nities and farmlands in the area.

The committee also said it discovered diseases such as pneumonia, coughs, measles and malaria, which affected the displaced flood victims. It equally said that there is psychological trauma suffered by the victims as result of what they lost.

He said there was increase in malaria suffered by the people since they were no longer sleeping under mosquito-treated nets as a result of their dislocation from their homes.

He noted that the Federal Government, through the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), initially provided some relief materials as interim measure, adding that the second batch of such materials was on the way.

He said after harmonising their findings states, they will make their recommendations known to the minister for his intervention.

n association of people from the seven local government areas that make up Nsukka cultural zone, NsukkaUSA, based in the United States, have resolved to name the proposed N1billion diagnostic centre cited in Nsukka metropolis after one of its member, late Ogbo Edeoga, who was shot down at Aku in Igboettiti LGA on December 26, 2012.

“Whenever the medical diagnostic centre is completed, it would be named after our very dear Ogbo Edeoga, who was shot dead by bandits, for paying the supreme sacrifice in the course of this project,” said President of NsukkaUSA, Dr. Eddy Agbo.

Agbo made the disclosure at the project’s fund raising event that took place at Princess Alexandria Auditorium, University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN).

The slain Edeoga was said to be one of the motivating personalities behind the project and only returned in December after over a 20-year sojourn in the United States, to rally support for the project that the group felt was dearly need in the area for proper medical care in Nigeria.

Agbo said he was, however, shot dead by suspected armed robbers at about 7.00pm on December 26, 2012 when some members of the group were making arrangement for the event.

The armed bandits were said to have dispossessed him of his bag and ordered him to remove his waist band when one of the bandits allegedly thought that he was pulling up a revolver and shot him two times in the abdomen.

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South South

Monday, January 7, 2013

Contractors drag Delta lawmakers to EFCC for hijacking contracts AMOUR UDEMUDE ASABA

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ontractors executing projects of the Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, DESOPADEC, have taken the Delta State House of Assembly lawmakers to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for ‘hijacking’ contracts already awarded to them.

A three-page petition entitled: “Petition on Behalf of Concerned Contractors of Delta State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, DESOPADEC, in respect of the grave injustice and /or oppression as a result of hijacking of contracts by

some members of the Delta State House of Assembly,” accused the lawmakers of passing through the back door to grab the contracts.

The petition signed by Mr. Ikimi Oghenejabor of the Ikimi Oghenejabor & CO. law firm, made available to our correspondent yesterday in Asaba, was addressed to the DESOPADEC Chairman, Mr. Oritsua Kpogho; the EFCC; Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan; his deputy, Prof. Amos Utuama; the Assembly Speaker, Rt. Hon. Victor Ochei; and chairman, House Committee on DESOPADEC, among others.

The contractors said the petition was as a result

of the very cavalier and brazen activities of some members of the Delta State House of Assembly bent on manipulating and/or ensuring the re-award of contracts already awarded last year and for which tenders had been closed by your commission.

When contacted, the Chairman, House Committee on Information, Mr. Johnson Erijo, denied all the allegations.

But the petitioners said: “It will be recalled that before the recent dissolution of the Board of your commission, the commission had hitherto received and processed to finality and completion tenders in respect of jobs it publicly advertised for last year.

Uduaghan

“Our clients duly applied for the publicly advertised jobs, for which tenders were held and they paid all relevant statutory fees including logistics for the jobs they applied for and thereafter tenders were declared closed.

“Accordingly, the next process was for the letters of award to be issued to those who won their tenders for the execution of the jobs stated therein.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Dead pupil: Parents’ demands outrageous –Kingdom Heritage SEBASTINE EBHUOMHAN BENIN

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he management of Kingdom Heritage Model School, Benin, Edo State has accused the parents of the late Miss Imienfan Omokaro of trying to make money from the death of their daughter.

The two-year-old Imienfan was a pupil of the school until she was found dead in a bowl of water in the school premises about 3.30pm on November 1, 2012.

But in a reply to the lawyer of the parents from Faithful Stewards, a legal firm representing the school, signed by Miss Omoikhekpen Oguns and made available to National Mirror in Benin, the management said the demands by the parents “are gold digging and are incapable of being complied with.”

The school slammed the pupil’s mother, who was said to be within the school premises selling instead of picking her daughter as expected on the fateful day.

The school management also criticised the lawyer of the parents, Mr. Peter Uwadiae, for influencing the parents to turn down an offer of scholarship given to another of their children in the school before they later made a U-turn to demand about N1.3 billion for the death of the child even when the police were yet to make public the re-

port of their investigation.

The letter reads in part: “We are, however, at a loss as to the purport of your unreasonable demand because this sudden outburst is unnecessary, unwarranted and unsolicited as our client does not deserve the name calling and unnecessary media war mounted against her at your behest.

“However, we are aware that the police are still investigating this incident and we will not want to prejudice their report in this circumstance.

“This is without prejudice to the autopsy report by the police doctor which fact speaks for itself and will need no interpretation in the circumstance.

“You will, however, wish to note that prior to your participation in this issue, the parties (school and the biological parents of the child) agreed to await the report of those charged with the responsibility of ascertaining whether or not there was a crime or the circumstance that led to the unfortunate incident which report is still being awaited as at the time of this letter.

“Also for the records, little Miss Imienfan’s mother was in the school premises when the incident occurred but was too busy selling things to interested buyers than the real purpose she came to school, that is, to pick her daughter who is now the subject of this letter.

PIB: Group warns against sectional interest Sympathisers at the scene where a saloon car plunged into the Agbarho River in Delta State, at the weekend.

Yenagoa LG workers groan over unpaid salary EMMA GBEMUDU YENAGOA

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t least 1,400 aggrieved workers of Yenagoa Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, at the weekend, decried inability of the council Chairman, Michael Ogbolosingha, to pay their December 2012 salary.

Investigation showed that half of the council workers have not received their December salary, while seven other councils paid their workers.

Ogbolosingha had lost the December council primaries conducted by his party, the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, despite assurances from some party chieftains.

In an interview, a senior member of the council staff, who pleaded anonymity, regretted that the non-payment of salary made majority of the workers to observe bleak Christmas and New Year celebrations.

He said the council paid half of the workers and abandoned the others.

He added that top functionaries of the council were paid their December salary, while alleging that the chairman spent huge sums of money to buy hampers, cows and goats to appease his political associates and godfathers.

He said: “The chairman abandoned us despite buying many goats, cows, bags of rice and other gifts

for his political associates and godfathers.

“The council headquarters was used as a venue to distribute these items.

None of the gifts got to us.

This is the second time the council boss is finding it

very difficult to pay workers’ salaries.

“He paid the November salaries very late. But we were mostly affected by his delay to pay the December salaries. We had a very bad holiday.”

EMMA GBEMUDU YENAGOA

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Non-Governmental Organisation, NGO, Niger Delta Budget Monitoring Group, NDBMG yesterday cautioned some members of the National Assembly, believed to be championing sectional interest in

Edo revenue bill awaits Oshiomhole’s assent Revenue, provides for the Before it was passed, fiSEBASTINE EBHUOMHAN BENIN

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do State Governor Adams Aliyu Oshiomhole is expected anytime from now to assent to a new bill passed by the state House of Assembly in the final days of 2012.

The proposed law, known as the Bill for the Administration and Collection of Government

proper collection, administration and accountability for all revenue due to the government and for purposes connected therewith.

Government House sources said the bill was waiting on the table of the governor for his signature.

The bill was passed late December after a clauseby-clause reading and consideration by a Committee of the whole House.

nal amendments were carried out on some sections of the bill which has 75 paragraphs.

A section of the bill stipulates who should be appointed as the chairman of the Board of Internal Revenue.

According to the bill, the BIR chairman shall be appointed by the governor subject to the confirmation of the Assembly.

the Petroleum Industry Bill, PIB. The group, in a statement signed by its Executive Director, George-Hill Anthony, raised fears that the said lawmakers were pushing the country towards avoidable disaster.

Reacting to statements credited to some senators and political leaders opposing the passage of the PIB because of sectional interests, Anthony warned that some illwilled political strategists plotting to frustrate the bill were playing with fire.

The executive director said the PIB should be viewed as an instrument that could strengthen the bond of nationhood, adding that those reading ethnic meanings into the bill should be regarded as those calling for Nigeria’s destruction.

Monday, January 7, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

13

Politics

Jonathan’s 2015 posters: Distraction or test of will?

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Govs’ll push against LG autonomy – Amaechi AYODELE OJO

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hairman, Nigerian Governors’ Forum (NGF) and Rivers State governor, Rotimi Amaechi, has stated that the governors will continue to push against granting autonomy to the 774 local governments in the country.

Speaking with journalists at the weekend, Amaechi stated that their opposition is based on principles, as there is nowhere in the world where local council is regarded as a federating unit.

His words: “There is no country in the world that there are three federating units; there are only two all over the world. Why should you say that there must be third federating unit in Nigeria?”

The governor stated emphatically that autonomy for the local governments should not be a constitutional issue.

He said: “Of course yes, let a state governor or let

the states create as many local governments as they want to create. Don’t put it there as a constitutional issue. For instance you are accusing some governors of mismanaging resources, how? I have given example in Rivers State where not only do they (local governments) collect their money directly, they collect my N2 billion monthly as extra fund. Ask them. I pay the salaries of all their teachers and that is N2 billion per month if you take away that one, my wage bill will come down to N6 billion per month. I can’t beat that.”

Amaechi also denied accusation that the state governors are frustrating the ongoing constitution review.

Senator Smart Adeyemi had accused the state governors of frustrating the constitution review.

But the governor described this as untrue.

Amaechi said: “You want me to reply to all what people say on all subjects? No. The NGF is too big to begin

to reply everybody. If this person says this, then we reply, another person says something again. We won’t dignify these people with a response.

“Just tell me one role the governors are playing in the process. Are they legislative arm of government?

That question does not require an answer because

what he is saying is that the governors have constituted themselves into state Assemblies and the National Assembly too.”

When told that the governors have overbearing influence on the legislators to frustrate the constitution review, Amaechi fired back: “We have absolutely no influence on the legislators.

Did you watch 2012 budget presentation of Rivers State to the House of Assembly?

My Speaker blasted me openly and as he finished, we sat in the Government House and ate food together.

Many people were shocked seeing us eating together. I said there was no quarrel that he was only playing his role as a Speaker.

“He blasted me, saying that ‘you are doing well, you have so many projects that you are doing but you are not completing them; you have to complete them and consolidate them and stop this expansion of projects.

I said thank you sir, I came home and rested. If I controlled the House would he have said that?”

Gen. Muhammadu Buhari addressing supporters at an empowerment programme of Senator Hadi Sirika in Daura, Katsina State, yesterday. Behind him is former Speaker, House of Representatives, Aminu Bello Masari.

PHOTO: JAMES DANJUMA

2014: Fayemi’s endorsement not binding on ACN – Bamidele 2015: Lagos PDP denies ABIODUN NEJO ADO-EKITI

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member of the House of Representatives member from Ekiti State on the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Opeyemi Bamidele, has described as mere expression of opinion, the endorsement, last week, of Governor Kayode Fayemi by a section of the party members.

Bamidele said the endorsement was not binding on members and did not prevent other interested party members from challenging the governor at the primary ahead of the 2014 gubernatorial poll in the state.

In a statement made available to journalists in Ado Ekiti yesterday by his media aide, Bamidele urged Ekiti people to discountenance the publication that he had no interest in the 2014 governorship

election and the rumour that he had defected to the Labour Party (LP).

Bamidele described the rumour as “part of the evil machinations of my detractors in their attempt to denigrate my political career and put me to ridicule in the eyes of the public.”

The lawmaker emphasised that he still remained a leader in the ACN, even

in the face of the plethora of campaigns of calumny against his person by some people in the party.

He explained that only endorsement from ACN national leaders could deprive other party members the right to contest against the governor at the primary, adding that any endorsement at the ward, local government and state

levels, must be ratified by the national leadership of the party before it could be binding on all members.

Bamidele said: “But I want to say that other party members who are interested in the position can still show interest. The ACN is not a lawless party. So, I am confident that the rules will be followed strictly under this circumstance.”

Criticise with caution, Awoniyi warns opposition SINA FADARE

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ogi State Deputy Governor, Mr. Yomi Awoniyi, has advised the state chairman of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), Hadi Ametuo, to criticise objectively the activities of the state government.

Awoniyi stated this at the weekend when he received members of the state House

of Assembly from the five Okun speaking local government areas of the state, who were in his office on a sympathy visit on the recent auto crash involving the state governor, Idris Wada, in which he lost his ADC, ASP Mohammed Idris.

The deputy governor described Ametuo’s utterances on the state of health of Wada as misleading and unhealthy for the state, adding that he should always

crosscheck his facts before going to the press so as not to heat up the polityunnecessarily.

Awoniyi said that the absence of the governor has not in any way slowed down government business, noting that rather than seek cheap popularity, the ACN chairman should be matured and humane in his utterances, saying what happened to the governor could happen to anybody.

endorsing Obanikoro OLAJIDE OMOJOLOMOJU

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he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has debunked rumours making the rounds that it had endorsed Nigeria’s former High Commissioner to Ghana, Musiliu Obanikoro as its candidate for the 2015 governorship election in Lagos State.

The party alleged that the news was orchestrated by the ruling Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), “whose penchant for falsehood and mischief knows no bound” to cause disaffection within the party.

The party, speaking through its Publicity Secretary, Taofeek Gani, said: “We are saying emphatically that we have not endorsed nor focused on any particular person to be our governorship candidate. Presently, we are occupied with laying

the conducive environment for a free and fair primary as may be directed by our national headquarters.

“PDP is a fully democratic party and we don’t intend to deviate from that identity, especially in selecting our candidates at all levels.”

The PDP said that it was aware that the ruling ACN is uncomfortable with its rising popularity in Lagos, saying: “We cannot underestimate the desperation of ACN to hold onto power in Lagos State. Consequently, we shall intensify our prayers so that no harm will befall any of our wouldbe candidates” It advised the media to clarify matters relating to PDP from the state chairman or the Publicity Secretary alone and admonished any member of the party interested in any elective office to play according to the rules.

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Politics

Monday, January 7, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Jonathan’s 2015 posters: Distraction or test of will?

The build up to the 2015 presidency is gradually gathering momentum despite the belief by most Nigerians that it is too early to kick-start campaigns for a poll, more than two years away from now, writes FELIX NWANERI.

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he second term bid of President Goodluck Jonathan, despite his insistence that the 2015 election is not on his mind for now, is gradually becoming clearer with the recent emergence of his campaign posters on some major streets in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

The glossy posters, with a bold picture of the President had the following inscriptions: “2015: No vacancy in Aso Rock. Let’s do more;” “One good term deserves another; support Dr. Goodluck Azikiwe Jonathan for 2015 presidency.”

They were first pasted in the FCT’s neighbourhood and public facilities on New Year Day, but have spread to main areas of the territory and satellite towns.

But the sudden appearance of the posters, when most Nigerians are still expecting the present admnistration to deliver on its promises, has sparked off a row between the opposition political parties and the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

While the former believes that it was a calculated attempt to rig the election ahead of time, the President and his party have denied approving them, saying those behind them are doing such on their own.

However, a school of thought believes that they are meant to test the political waters. According to members of this school, both sides of the divide – the President’s camp and even the opposition may be using the poster-game as a dummy to feel the people’s pulse concerning the rumoured second term bid by Jonathan.

They predicated their position on the subtle campaigns through media interviews by some of the President’s aides despite his (Jonathan’s) directive on the issue.

Jonathan, it would be recalled, had in May last year, warned those heating up the polity on the grounds that he wants to return to office in 2015 to hold their fire as re-election is not on his mind.

In a statement from the Presidency then, it said: “The pointless, diversionary and very distractive hue and cry about the President’s alleged ambition to seek a second term in office is becoming increasingly disturbing by the day… For the avoidance of any doubt whatsoever, President Jonathan wishes to reiterate that his primary concern and the focus of all his efforts now, just about a year into the four-year tenure for which he was elected in April 2011, is to deliver on his promise of positive national transformation.

“Nothing could be farther from President Jonathan’s mind at this point in time than the 2015 elections. The President has definitely not directed or authorised any individual or group to launch any campaign on his behalf. As he has repeatedly warned on many occasions, including the last national convention of the PDP, the inordinate ambition of a few self-centred Nigerians and their obsession with the

Jonathan‘s 2015 poster

politics of political succession in 2015 must not be allowed to distract the nation and its current leadership from the task of dealing with the much more urgent issues of development and the safety of Nigerians in all parts of the country.”

But some analysts maintained that Jonathan has not ensured strict compliance to this directive. They argued that like in the past, when Nigerians were said to have prevailed on sitting leaders to “continue with their good jobs,” some of the President’s aides have continued to carry out subtle campaingn for his second term.

An example was cited of Doyin Okupe, (Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs), who, in a recent media interview, said the wonderful performance of his boss at the end of his tenure will compel Nigerians to ask him to run in 2015.

“I am very certain in my mind that Nigerians are going to applaud him and even if he does not want to run for election, Nigerians are going to force him to run again because of the level of performance,” Okupe said in the interview.

Another side to the poster-game, the same political school opined; is that some members of the opposition could be using it to feel Nigerians perception of the PDPled government, as they intensify plans to forge an alliance to wrest power from Jonathan in 2015.

But despite the varied views, Jonathan’s spokesman, Reuben Abati, insists that the posters did not originate from the President, as he is focused on delivering on his mandate and would not be distracted by the politics of 2015.

He said: “Nigerians should take the President for his word and ignore any other information to the contrary,” even as he noted that Jonathan would not take any measure to halt further display of the posters, as the posters do not have the names of those promoting it.

Abati said: “Those pasting the posters are trying to express their own view. The President had stated that he will talk about

THOSE PASTING THE POSTERS ARE TRYING TO EXPRESS THEIR OWN VIEW.

THE PRESIDENT HAD STATED THAT HE WILL TALK ABOUT THE PRESIDENCY FROM

2014

his re-election in 2014. Those doing these do not have the consent of the president.

“We do not know those behind the posters, so the President cannot do anything.

Our appeal is that those behind this should allow the President to concentrate on the job at hand. The President’s main pre-occupation now is to continue to provide service and quality leadership.”

Similarly, the PDP, through its National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, said the party had nothing to do with the posters, even as he doubted the possibility of the President, authorising them.

“The leadership of the PDP is not in any way aware of the said posters if they exist at all. Though I speak for the party and not the President, I doubt if the President is even aware of the existence of such posters. He couldn’t possibly be involved in such things at this point in time,” he said.

The party however declared that it will not query the President over the issue, as he had disassociated himself from it, but warned its members not to see the development as an opportunity to start printing and pasting posters of other presidential aspirants.

“We will not encourage other politicians, who are interested in elective offices to start printing and pasting posters. The time for that has not come. When it comes, we will inform our members,” Metuh declared.

But the President and the PDP’s position, not withstanding, some opposition parties the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) and the All Nigeria People’s Party (ANPP) are of the view that the poster-game is just a ploy to cow Nigerians ahead of the 2015 presidential poll.

CPC’s National Publicity Secretary, Rotimi Fashakin said: “If Jonathan is interested in contesting the presidency in 2015, we say, ‘why not?’ However, what is of grave concern is the portent of the posters: ‘No vacancy in Aso Rock in 2015.’

“In the light of the foregoing statement, we are compelled to ask some pertinent questions: Is this the language of democratic practice? Is there not a fundamental defect in our political system where supposed leaders transform into monsters?

Have we not trodden this pathway before in which another leader of the same political stock as this President declared an election a ‘do or die’ process?

“Is the President likely to shed off civility and put on the garb of African leaders - in recent history - who have shown desperation in their final descent from power? Is this a feverish response from the Presidency to the impending merger of the major opposition parties? Is this a way of unduly overheating the polity, as an excuse for unleashing a very capricious onslaught on the opposition?”

The ANPP through its National Publicity Secretary, Emma Eneukwu said: “There is nothing wrong in President Jonathan displaying his posters for 2015 presidential election. May be he feels that he has done well enough to test his popularity in the country again. But Nigerians won’t be fooled the second time. The sentiment of fresh air, which was apparently his campaign slogan in 2011, turned out to be very hot air suffocating Nigerians. Jonathan has little occupying his mind but a second term. Nigerians are watching.”

Ironinically, the same view was held by some members of the President’s party - the PDP Youth wing (though Metuh described it as faceless) - which asked him to resign if he is bereft of ideas instead of denying sponsorship of the posters.

The group, in a statement signed by its Publicity Director, Bala Usman, said: “The event of the last few days has ignited outrage and public condemnation because of the deliberate and well-calculated commencement of a presidential campaign by President Jonathan even in the face of his so-called ban on political activities.

“This is an unwarranted test of the will and patience of Nigerians, who tried to exhibit high level of tolerance of an administration which seems in the last two years to have lost the focus of true leadership and proper understanding of the ideals of our party’s founding fathers.”

While the unfolding drama shows that the build up to the poll would be an interesting one, the CNPP National Publicity Secretary, Osita Okechukwu is of the view that the President is entitled to run, unless the court stops him and therefore can float posters to test waters. This, according to him “is the essence of democracy, where all the flowers are allowed to blossom.

What one will plead is that there should be free and fair election; that is to say that he should not use his high office to manipulate the electoral process.”

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

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Monday, January 7, 2013

15

Flawed New Deal HeartBeat

CALLISTUS

OKE

Callistusoke@nationalmirroronline.net 08054103275 (SMS ONLY)

N

igerians are routinely fed on promises, empty promises, by their leaders. Using the quantum of money at its disposal coupled with its primacy on fiscal and monetary direction for the country as guide, the Federal Government has a bigger responsibility to make the most profound impact on Nigerians. However, this has remained at the level of expectation since independence.

Our Federal Government has only earned notoriety for profligacy.

January I, 2013 offered President Goodluck Jonathan another opportunity to psyche Nigerians up once again with promises of more of the good things of life; similar to a father promising his children Christmas or New Year treat. Sample this: “We have in the last year achieved a lot in terms of the positive transformation of vital sectors of our national life such as public infrastructure, power supply, oil and gas, transportation, education, health and agricultural development. We will continue to work diligently in 2013 to ensure that our efforts in these areas are carried forward to full fruition in fulfill-

“

T

ment of our promise of better public services and improved living conditions for all Nigerians...

“As peace and security remain pre-requisite conditions for the full realization of our objectives, we will also do more in 2013 to further empower our security agencies who are working in collaborative partnerships with our friends in the international community to stem the scourge of terrorism in our country and enhance the security of lives and property in all parts of Nigeria”.

I doubt if the content of the President’s speech would have been the same where he to personally author it. Talking of “positive transformation of vital sectors of our national life” and promising to “work diligently in 2013 to ensure that our efforts in these areas are carried forward to full fruition” presupposes that real efforts were made in 2012 to better the lot of Nigerians and that in concrete terms the dividends were visible to Nigerians. You and I know this is not true.

I concede that there were good presidential projections in 2012 as encapsulated in policies and programmes, but they ended up mere projections as at year end. The poor nation’s road network tells the story; so is the non-passage of the PIB Bill or the embarrassing fuel shortages currently being experienced. There is no cheery news from the education, health, transportation and agricultural sectors. While there were flashes of creativity in arresting the pervasive insurgency in the country in the last two months of the year, the same cannot be said for the kidnap scourge.

I am not saying things cannot be better

PRESIDENT JONATHAN, SINCE OCTOBER 2011, HAS BREWED SOME SOCIOECONOMIC CONCOCTIONS THAT COULD PASS FOR OUR OWN

NEW DEAL

for Nigerians in 2013. But for this to happen, Mr. President must move from the conventional and predictable to the revolutionary. In world history, it is at a time like we are now that great leaders emerge.

Take the USA of the Great Depression period. On October 29, 1929 (Black Tuesday) the American stock market crashed to plunge the economy into economic seizure and set in motion the events that led to global depression. President Franklin D. Roosevelt appropriately responded to the challenges with series of ingenious economic programmes that focused on Relief, Recovery, and Reform (dubbed the “3 Rs”) - Relief for the unemployed and poor; Recovery of the economy to normal levels; and Reform of the financial system to prevent a repeat depression – in what is known as the New Deal. So impressed were Americans with the implementation that the Democratic Party was the tenant of the White House for seven out of nine presidential terms from 1933 to 1969!

The Labour Party of the United King-

dom adopted a variant of the New Deal in 1998 when it injected some dose of liberalism into its economic policies (such as guided privatization) to combat ravaging unemployment. The people appreciated it.

Professor Richard Layard of the London School of Economics, now a Labour peer in the House of Lords, the British Upper House, was the programme’s arrowhead.

President Jonathan, since October 2011, has brewed some socioeconomic concoctions that could pass for our own New Deal.

Eclectic in nature, our New Deal encompasses several socioeconomic programmes targeted at youth and women empowerment, general employment generation and wealth creation, all to be partly financed from the N50 billion job creation fund set aside in 2011 budget and partly from the savings from the removal of subsidy from petrol, which began in January 2012.

Among these programmes are the Youth Enterprise with Innovation in Nigeria initiative (YouWin), essentially a youth empowerment deal; Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) launched last year following the removal of fuel subsidy, and its offshoot, the Public Works, Women and Youth Empowerment Programme, launched in February 2012 to create 270,000 jobs nationwide by that year end. Then there is also the Young Women Empowerment Programme launched in September last year.

However, what have made Jonathan’s New Deal different are faulty conceptual frameworks and problematic strategic enforcement frameworks. And so with all the promised goody-goody Nigerians are still gasping for salvation!

Starving anti-graft agencies, fueling corruption

he strident cry of anti-graft agencies that they are being deliberately starved of funds challenges the trumpeted resolve of President Goodluck Jonathan to confront public sector corruption. The beauty of Presijo’s administration is that unlike the previous administration, he has allowed all arms of government to expose all hidden skeletons by not brazenly bribing them to keep quiet over the rots in government, which in the process masked corruption leprosy as rash, leading to deceitful chasing of shadow instead of substance.

That is why some persons may wrongly or rightly assume that the huge noise about corruption today signals that the plague is new. Not necessarily so. Previous administrations, military and civilian, have hired public relations hirelings to cover up rapacious corruption, which is why graft pandemic is now threatening the foundation of the nation. With little done to apprehend and jail all the different strands of the nation’s scammers connected with pensions, fuel subsidy, road privatization, ghost payroll, capital market etc, the corruption cancer is growing.

The good news is that the hesitancy of Presijo to sumptuously lobby the National Assembly, as done by his predecessors, has led to NASS’s exposure of bizarre and monumental corruption. This is honey for the nation’s health. That is, if the people are filled with holy anger to demand remediation. For the scriptures say; my people perish for lack of knowledge; and that the truth of the matter will set you free from the bondage of ignorance. Corruption was covered up under conniving military and civilian administrations. Presijo, I believe,

THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT THE HESITANCY OF PRESIJO TO

SUMPTUOUSLY LOBBY THE NATIONAL

ASSEMBLY, AS DONE

BY HIS PREDECESSORS, HAS LED TO NASS’S

EXPOSURE OF BIZARRE AND MONUMENTAL CORRUPTION is offering avenues for the truth to come out and set the people free from the hideous cabal in the bureaucracy bleeding the nation to death.

Anyway, the ability of Presijo to walk boldly this truth avenue remains in doubt because of his hesitancy to deal with rogues in the Presidency, his policy contradictions and summersaults, doublespeak, all of which give the impression of a hesitant, weak leader that pretends all is well when the polity is on fire. Such public relations gimmickry to keep talking in dire helpless crises that all is well is a ploy that will never get us out of Stone Age. This is after over 50 years of a supposedly wealthy, global oilexporting nation, whose citizens suffer leprosy, kwashiorkor, cholera, and other cheapdeath diseases, as in war-torn Sudan.

For now, the judiciary’s capacity and ability to fight public sector corruption is near nil. This is perhaps why EFCC frontally charged Presijo’s government of sabotaging its work via starvation of funds.

The EFCC and Auditor General of the Federation and other anti-graft agencies have complained bitterly that the Ministry of Finance, Budget Office, and NASS are starving them of funds. The nation’s Auditor General told NASS that its work for transparency and accountability in public finance management is being compromised seriously by miserly release of approved funds and gross underfunding.

A military governor in Lagos State once spoke in confidence that the magic of his success was providing hefty bribes upfront to oil the release of the state’s federal allocations from Federation Account by federal bureaucracy. A former minister of education, Professor Fabian Osuji, was sacked for allegedly bribing federal lawmakers with N50 million to unscrupulously up the ministry’s vote.

The plan by the Ministry of Petroleum Resources to spend N6.2 billion on awareness campaigns for the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), which has passed second readings in both houses of NASS, has fuelled suspicions of bribery to compromise the integrity of the bill. Multinational oil corporations (MOCs) that have pauperized an otherwise rich nation for over 50 years will continue bleeding the nation.

The MOCs are believed to be lobbying the death or sabotage of the PIB to continue 50 years of oil industry pauperization, via underpayments of oil revenues in terms of royalties, taxes, and oil blocks swindles.

Roadmap SONI EHI

ASUELIMEN

soniasuelimen@yahoo.com, 08023459055 (SMS ONLY)

With a watered down PIB, the oil industry watchdog, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR) or the proposed Petroleum Inspectorate Commission (PIC), would remain poorly funded, financially dependent on rotten NNPC, and too weak to monitor effectively the domestic and foreign oil cabals looting the nation in trillions of naira every year. The judiciary is too weak to fight corruption, as courts rooms and judges are grossly inadequate, tools of work obsolete, leading to prolonged adjournments. It is a truism that justice delayed is justice denied.

Undoubtedly, empowering anti-graft agencies would curb rampaging graft and free funds to redress gross infrastructure deficit that has made God’s oil blessing a curse by cursed leaderships.

Send your views by mail or sms to PMB 10001, Ikoyi, or our Email: mail@ nationalmirroronline.net mirrorlagos@ yahoo.com or 08164966858 (SMS only). The Editor reserves the right to edit and reject views or photographs.

Pseudonyms may be used but must be clearly marked as such.

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Sambo, Tambuwal, and Sultan on Islamic preaching

V

ice President Namadi Sambo, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Aminu Tambuwal, and the Sultan of Sokoto, Abubakar III, recently urged Islamic clerics to exercise restraint when preaching to the faithful. The trio made the plea against the backdrop of seeming provocative sermons by some clerics that heighten religious tension, especially in the North.

They made the admonitions at the commissioning of the renovated Ilorin Central Mosque in Kwara State.

Northern Nigeria has been a hot bed of religious crisis characterized by attacks on churches, mosques and clerics, especially since 2009. The Boko Haram organization has largely been fingered as responsible for the attacks. There had been attacks on churches in Niger, Kaduna, Kano, Borno, Bauchi, Yobe and Adamawa states by gunmen suspected to be Boko Haram sect members. The period 2011 and 2012 particularly witnessed attacks on the United Nations Building, Police Headquarters and the Special Anti-Robbery Squad complex, all in Abuja; as well as the Command and the Staff College, Jaji in Kaduna State, among others.

Therefore, the comments of the VP, Speaker and the Sultan were timely in the light of the security breaches the country has been passing through, and

THE SOCIO-ECONOMIC FORTUNES OR MISFORTUNES OF THE

NORTH ARE

VERY CRITICAL TO REDUCING OR

SUSTAINING ETHNORELIGIOUS CONFLICTS AND SECURITY DEFICIT IN THE COUNTRY which is still ongoing. The Sultan, especially, apart from being a widely respected spiritual leader in the country, is also an eminent opinion leader who relates with large congregations of worshippers. The views of Islamic clerics on national issues, especially religion, count to a large extent in the perceptions of such worshippers. Perhaps more importantly, Islamic religion preaches peace and good neighbourliness. It abhors violence and condemns the overt or convert use of violence to propagate Islamic faith. The peaceful nature of Islam is expounded in the Quran and the hadith of the holy prophet, Mohammed (PBUH).

There are, nevertheless, several Islamic clerics in northern

and southern Nigeria who are devoted to the correct teachings of Islam; and insist on good neighbourliness. Some of these clerics have been victims of attacks by gunmen suspected to be members of the Boko Haram sect for obvious reasons. The Boko Haram organization seems to have metamorphosed from a religious sect to a terrorist organization. Its world outlook is therefore, largely at variance with Islamic tenets.

The Utbah, a weekly Friday preaching to the Islamic faithful, is a critical component of the Friday prayer; and has been a useful medium for raising issues on the practice of Islam in Nigeria, admonishing adherence to the Sunnah of the prophet by worshippers and reviewing global developments as they affect the Islamic religion. We concede that certain Islamic clerics canvass fundamentalist arguments on the application of the Quran, hadith, and their perceptions of western politics and Islam. These views ought not to be canvassed when the country is undergoing serious security deficit and recurring ethno-religious conflicts as has been the case for some years now. The ‘hard’ preachers should rethink their styles to stem violence in the country. The clerics should bear in mind that they will account for their actions, inactions and thoughts on the ‘Day of Judgment’.

The Supreme Council for

Islamic Affairs and other Islamic organizations should play more pro-active roles in mediating the preaching at worship places, especially on Fridays. It is more imperative to play this role, as several sects with different persuasions and temperaments criss- cross Nigerian borders to canvass perceptions that are not Islamic. The Al-Shabab and Al-Qaeda are particularly noticeable in the North. They bring strong influences to bear on the consciousness of worshippers.

The challenge for Islamic leaders, therefore, is to reduce the influence of these organizations on the psychology of Nigerian Muslims in the North.

Besides, governments of the 19 states in the North should assist through direct and concrete interventionist roles to help redress the socio-economic problems afflicting the North, with a view to mediating the vulnerabilities of worshippers to the negative and often destructive influences of the several underground groups in that part of the country. In other words, the socio-economic fortunes or misfortunes of the North are very critical to reducing or sustaining ethno-religious conflicts and security deficit in the country.

In addition, the integration of elementary Islamic schools into the Western education curriculum in some states in the North is a positive development. It should be sustained with vigour.

ON THIS DAY January 7, 2010 Muslim gunmen in Egypt opened fire on a crowd of Coptic Christians leaving church after celebrating a midnight Christmas mass, killing eight of them as well as one Muslim bystander. The Copts are the native Christians of Egypt, a major ethno-religious group in Egypt and the largest Christian group there. Christianity was the majority religion during the 4th to 6th centuries AD and until the Muslim conquest of Egypt.

January 7, 1993 The Fourth Republic of Ghana was inaugurated with Jerry Rawlings as President. Jerry John Rawlings (born June 22, 1947) is a former soldier and the current African Union envoy to Somalia. Rawlings initially came to power in Ghana following a coup d’état in 1979 and, after initially handing power over to a civilian government, took back control of the country on the December 31, 1981 as the Chairman of the Provisional National Defence Council.

January 7, 1980 President Jimmy Carter authorized a legislation giving $1.5 billion in loans to bail out the Chrysler Corporation.

Chrysler Group LLC is an American automaker based in Auburn Hills, Michigan, a Detroit suburb. It was in a strategic global alliance with Italian manufacturer Fiat, since 2009. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925. Its core brands today are: Chrysler, Jeep, Dodge, Ram, SRT, Fiat, and Mopar vehicles and products.

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Monday, January 7, 2013

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Cover

The

battle over

cement market

By Salami Semiu

F

or almost a month now, there has been a raging war in the cement sub-sector of the construction industry between importers and local manufacturers over allegations of glut occasioned by massive importation of highly subsidised cements into the country. However, as the war of word rages, both the importers and local manufacturers are justifying their respective positions, thus leading to a near stalemate.

The situation has been worsened with the temporary shutdown of Dangote’s Gboko Plant which has seen several workers of the cement plant thrown out of job with many more threatened as a result of the glut in the market, reportedly occasioned by the massive importation of the product to the South Eastern part of the country by the Ibeto Group.

When the problem first surfaced, Dangote Cement was the first to cry out and justifiably so because the huge import from

Ibeto was meant for the South Eastern market where its Gboko Plant services.

Indeed, the cry from the Dangote Group was loud and as if that was not resounding enough, Lafarge Cement WAPCO Nigeria, the second largest cement manufacturer in the country, last week, added its voice, noting that it might also be forced to shut down its plant, if the importation of the product continues unabated into the country.

Both Dangote and Lafarge Wapco are insisting that the current combined production capacity of 18.5 million tons, which just 65 per cent of the present total installed capacity of the industry coupled with the on-going expansion and construction of new plants estimated to cost another $3.5 billion show that the nation no longer requires cement imports, as local demand is being effectively met and even surpassed.

Besides, as at the time Dangote Cement cried out, the inventory of finished products was already building up at its plants even as projects from its

investments of about N280 billion in additional capacity are already on stream, with lines 3 and 4 at Ibese and line 4 at Obajana expected to come on stream early this year.

Joseph Makoju, Chairman of the Cement Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (CMAN), who also doubles as Dangote’s Special Adviser, decried the glut situation saying the 18.5 million tons of cement production target reached by local producers was at risk, unless the Federal Government imposes high tariff on imported cement.

Makoju said that Nigerians were not feeling the impact of the reduction in price of cement as expected because of high cost of haulage and energy, adding that energy cost accounts for over 35 percent of production cost and the price of low pour fuel oil (LPFO) has jumped up from N25 per litre in 2009 to N107.76 per litre as at November 2012, an increase of 331 percent.

He advised that the Federal Government should impose the maximum tariffs and levies on imported cement to discourage

imports.

Makoju said this is one major way the government can encourage and protect local producers and save the country millions of naira in foreign exchange that would have been used to create jobs in other countries.

The CMAN boss said that the glut in the cement industry has assumed global dimension, noting that “this is why China, where most of our import comes from, export the product at highly subsidised cost to keep their factory running.

Production in countries such as China is comparatively lower than in Nigeria. All cement plants in China use coal which is very cheap when compared to Nigeria where Low Pour Fuel Oil (LPFO) is used,” Makoju said.

Makoju said that cement importation has been very attractive because it comes with paltry duty of 20 per cent and levy of 15 per cent and clinker at 10 per cent, a development that makes the landing cost of imported cement to be very cheap with a bag going as low as $35 per ton. “Local manufacturers

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Monday, January 7, 2013

A3 19

Cover

Aliko Dangote

Key stakeholders in the cement industry slug it out over alleged glut in the market, leading to total shutdown of some production facilities and its attendant loss of jobs, thus raising fears that the current level of sufficiency enjoyed in the country may be endangered Clatus Ibeto

are faced with many challenges, such as bad roads, haulage, energy cost. Energy cost alone accounts for over 35 per cent of production cost compared with less than 10 per cent in China,” he said.

The cement manufacturers are particularly pained, according to Makoju, because the development is happening at too early a stage in the investments circle when the investors are yet to recoup significant part of their investment; noting that the development has high potential to cripple the industry and has damaging multiplier effects on the economy in terms of number of job loss and the decline in all other economic

activities that are dependent on the cement industry.

In the same vein, Lanre Opakunle, Manager of Larfarge Ewekoro Plant II , disclosed that 50 per cent of Lafarge’s Shagamu plant had been shut down adding that the Ewekoro plant had cut production by 40 per cent in response to the glut in the market. At the moment, Opakunle said that the various Lafarge factories had excess cement and clinker inventory at their plants of about 300,000 metric tonnes, which cannot be absorbed by the Nigerian market because it is already over supplied.

Opakunle, who advised that the Federal Government should

do all within its power to ensure that local investors who have committed huge funds into actual cement manufacturing do not run into crisis, warned that using imported products to replace locally made ones portends various socio-economic problems including declining capacity utilization, increased unemployment and paucity foreign investment.

Opakunle said that the glut has led to a skeletal schedule at the Ewekoro plant as it could soon lead to the total shut down of the plant. “We do not have space in our strategic storage facility for more than 20,000 tonnes of clinker, which is only the output of four days

production and if things still do not change in the market, the factory may be forced to either scale down its production or shut down its production lines.”

In a swift reaction, however, the Ibeto Group has alleged an underhand dealing by the local manufacturers saying there was no way the volume of cement which is imported by it could have induced any form of surplus as being alleged.

Ibeto Group argued that a glut is an economic phenomenon that results when a market is excessively supplied with a particular product and the first evidence of such a situation is the drastic reduction in the price of the product and

that this has not been the case in the present situation with Cement in Nigeria which is still more pricy in Nigeria than any other nation in the world.

Executive Director, Strategy and Public Affairs of Ibeto Cement, Dr. Ben Aghazu accused the local manufacturers of insincerity and monopolistic tendencies and argued that all they wanted is to take “Ibeto Cement Company out of the market so they can dominate the SouthEast zone also and thus complete their monopolistic stranglehold on the entire cement market in Nigeria.”

Ibeto insisted that no glut existed in the cement industry in Nigeria as it was the only

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Monday, January 7, 2013

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Cover company importing bulk cement into the country. It would be recalled that the company was issued a guarantee to operate its proposed bagging plant in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, for at least 10 years in 2005 by the Federal Government, but the same government closed down the plant almost immediately it took off. Ibeto, according to Aghazu, went to court and it later secured approval to import 1.5 million tonnes of bulk cement annually from October 2007 to September 2017.

Analysts who spoke with Business Courage on the development last week blamed the Federal Government for the current challenge being faced by the operators in the industry. Part of the problems of the industry, according to analysts, is policy inconsistency by the Federal Government which keeps banning and unbanning the importation of cement such that both the importers and manufacturers have had to contend with problems at one time or the other. “For instance, in 2008, the government gave import licences to 13 local companies to import bulk cement. This was ostensibly to engender more competition in the industry and bring down the prices. Two years after, the government imposed a 35 per cent levy on importation quotas. This was to encourage local production of the product

News CRFFN to clamp down on illegal freight forwarders

By Francis Ezem

B

arring any last minute change of mind, the Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria has set February deadline for a total onslaught against unregistered freight forwarders.

CRFFN created in 2007 but commenced full operations early 2009, is the Federal Government’s apex regulatory body for the freight forwarding practice in Nigeria charged with the responsibility of determining who a freight forwarder is, register and set standards of practice as well as regulate the various freight forwarding associations in the country.

The council had last year successfully inducted over 4, 000 freight forwarders comprising both corporate and individual members, who are adjudged to have met the necessary criteria and

Opakunle

Makoju

and now, the policy direction is in favour of local production even when there is a subsisting approval for importation,” said the source who claimed that such policy summersault is detrimental to the growth of the economy.

A renowned financial expert and Chief Executive of Financial Derivatives,, Bismark Rewane, expressed worry that

government was yet to stop importation of cement despite the increased local production.

He described the development as being at variance with the backward integration policy in the cement sub-sector which is meant to encourage local production, generate employment and stimulate the economy. He expressed concern over the situation in cement industry and

urged for a concerted efforts to save the local manufacturers.

Only recently, Olusegun Aganga, Minister of Trade and Investment, flagged off a twoday workshop on enhancing the productivity of Nigerians industries where he spoke of an industrial revolution that will strategically position and empower the nation’s manufacturing sector as the key driver of

conditions for registration to practise in Nigeria as specified by the enabling Act. Registrar/chief executive officer of the council, Mike Jukwe, who spoke at the weekend, disclosed that the maiden register of freight forwarders comprising of all practitioners registered with the council as at December 31, 2012 will soon be published in the Federal Goovernment’s official gazette.

According to him, collection of council’s annual

identification cards, which is valid till December 31, 2013, is ready for collection at its offices in Apapa–Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt, warning that from next month, any freight forwarder operating illegally would be arrested. “The CRFFN enforcement teams along with law enforcement agencies will from February, 2013 carry out raids on quacks and those without the identity cards from the nation’s cargo ports for prosecution,” he said.

It was also gathered that with effect from April 1, 2013, the council will publish a list of defaulters, who would be made to face stiff sanctions as provided in section seven of the CRFFN Act, 2007 under the Annual Subscription and Other Fees Regulation of 2010.

The council had also warned that renewal of practicing licence will be subjected to participation in the Mandatory Continuing Professional Development (MPCD) Programme, which is to be organised quarterly

by the Nigerian Institute of Freight Forwarding (NIFF).

Jukwe

economic growth through job creation and increased contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

Those who spoke on the issue under anonymity last week were of the opinion that considering the government’s current industrialisation policy and the huge resources already committed by local manufacturers, government should do more to discourage the importation of cement into the country and encourage the local manufacturers. “Aside the huge employment potentials and the industrialisation of the country, the enormous foreign exchange saved from producing cement locally cannot be discountenanced,” said a source.

As a way out of the current situation, industry experts are already canvassing a deliberate policy to increase demand for cement by encouraging the use of concrete roads which are believed to be more durable and save substantial outflow of foreign exchange, while reducing the asphalt import.

Aside from road construction, with a housing deficit estimated to be between 16 and 18 million housing units in the country and over 80 per cent of Nigerians believed to be living in rented apartments, there is a clear indication that cement would remain a very key element in addressing the housing needs in the country BC

ATCON seeks FG’s collaboration to resuscitate rural telephony project

T

he Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria (ATCON) has urged the Federal Government to synergise with telecoms operators in order to resuscitate the National Rural Telephony Project.

Lanre Ajayi, President of ATCON, who spoke in Lagos ,said that this became necessary since the government had been unable to implement the project. He said that rural communities are yet to feel the impact of the phenomenal growth in the telecoms sector, adding that the synergy is necessary to bridge the digital divide between the urban and rural areas.

The government had in 2011, announced the suspension of the National Rural Telephony Project (NRTP) which was started in 2001,

Ajayi

due to the poor execution.

The first phase of the project was to cover 218 local government areas and provide over 636,256 Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) lines in all the council areas.

Ajayi said the development history of telephony in Nigeria showed that telephone service had always been targeted at the urban dwellers to

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Monday, January 7, 2013

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News the exclusion of the rural dwellers that form a major thrust of the economy. “The Federal Government should support telecommunications providers to reach the underreached and un-served areas through the Universal Service Provision Fund (USPF). In the implementation of rural telephony, Ajayi said that the government should provide operators with stable power supply, accessible roads and improved security of telecoms infrastructures. “Opening up the rural communities through integration into the national telephone networks will enhance exploitation of the economic potential of the communities and improve the standard of living of the rural dwellers,” Ajayi said.

The ATCON president observed that this would reduce significantly, the level of poverty and improve the national income profile.

He said the government should provide an enabling environment for telecoms operators to make the implementation of the abandoned project a reality.

Ajayi said that despite the fact that GSM service had reached almost every nook and cranny of the country, the rural communities are yet to fully enjoy the gains of telecoms service, noting that community telephony would encourage the growth of agricultural, extractive and manufacturing industries in the rural areas.

Zero allocation to SEC will affect foreign investment inflow - operators

Madubuike

the interest of the market,” he said.

Harrison Owoh, the Managing Director, HJ Trust and Investment Ltd., said that the decision would affect investors’ confidence in the economy, stating that the zero allocation would dampen the administrative and supervisory functions of SEC as well as productivity of workers.

He said that some programmes mapped out by the commission to boost local investor participation would be affected.

Gbadebo Olatokunbo, a shareholder, appealed to members of the National Assembly to forgive the commission’s director-general in the interest of the economy.

Olatokunbo said that they should support the capital market recovery through friendly pronouncements and avoid creation of confusion within investing community.

The National Assembly did not approve allocations to SEC in the 2013 Appropriation Bill in furtherance of its early position not to have anything to do with the commission until its Director General; Arunma Oteh is relieved of her position.

S

ome capital market operators have said that the zero allocation to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in the 2013 federal budget could affect foreign investment inflow.

The operators who spoke in Lagos last Friday said that the impasse might affect the confidence of foreign investors in the nation’s economy.

Emeka Madubuike, the Managing Director, Compass Securities Ltd., said that the decision of the National Assembly could scare away investors from the market.

Madubuike said that foreign investors would have doubts in investing in the market if the current impasse was not resolved immediately. “There will be chaos in the market if the issue is not settled in time as the capital market all over the world thrives on laws and regulations. Anything that is done to undermine SEC as an institution will not be in

Manager, Corporate Services (PEF) who made this known last Friday in Abuja said that the scheme tagged: ``Project Aquila’’, was designed to ensure the effective loading and delivery of petroleum products across the nation.

He added that it also allowed for the electronic payment of claims to the marketers which was hitherto done manually. Nnadi said that following the December 2012 deadline set by the board for all marketers to key into the scheme, it had stopped the processing of claims manually. ``It will now be very difficult for any marketer to get paid for the bridging claim if not registered with Project Aquila,’’ he said.

He, however, said that PEF would continue to process the backlog of manual claims for last year and expressed optimism that they would be cleared by March. He said that so far, over 22,000 trucks had been tagged across the major depots, adding that the board would continue with the tagging process, especially for marketers with new trucks.

Nnadi said that the management of the board, led by the Executive Secretary, Adefunke Kasali, was on tour of the South West zone to monitor the compliance level across the depots, pointing out that the sanction for marketers who failed to register their trucks under the scheme was that their bridging claims would not be reimbursed.

He stressed that so far, the scheme had helped a lot in monitoring and confirming the loading and delivery of petroleum products at depots with improved claims processing, among others.

He appealed to all marketers to key into the scheme in their own interest, stressing that tagging and registration were free of charge as long as the trucks had all the necessary documents

83 ships expected at Lagos ports in January

T

Kasali

Electronic loading of petrol trucks begins

T

he Petroleum Equalisation Fund (PEF) management board says it has started the electronic loading of trucks in the petroleum downstream sector.

Goddy Nnadi, General

he Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) has said that 83 ships would berth at the Lagos Ports between January 4 and 28.

It said in its daily publication, “The Shipping Position” that the ships would sail into the ports with cargoes like bulk wheat, steel products, petroleum products and containers.

According to the shipping position, other cargoes being carried by the ships are bulk sugar, new and used vehicles, rice, palm oil and general cargo. The document said that

Abdullahi-NPA-boss

10 ships were waiting to berth and to discharge their cargoes at the ENL Consortium, Ports and Terminal Multiservices Ltd., Josepdam and Apapa Bulk Terminal Ltd., respectively.

It indicated that the 10 ships were laden with rice, wheat, bulk sugar, fertiliser and containers. The report said that 16 fuel-laden ships were waiting to berth at various oil terminals in the Lagos ports. According to the document, the fuel being carried by the ships included aviation fuel, petrol, kerosene, diesel, ethanol and base-oil.

Iwuayanwu

Group expresses worry over consumers’ rights protection

By Stanley Ihedigbo

N

ational President of Consumer Right Advocacy Network (CRAN), Dr. Martins Iwuanyanwu, has expressed worry over the consumer’s right protection in the country, saying that some of government agency saddled with the responsible of consumer’s protection has failed on their duty.

Speaking at the one day capacity enrichment workshop and strategic dialogue with regulators in Nigeria, organized by his group, Iwuanyanwu , said that various event clearly exposes the lack of seriousness on part of many of the regulators as the rights of consumers are trampled upon.

He added that no consumer in Nigeria has raised the

issue of consumerism, yet there are many government regulatory agencies saddled with the responsibility to raise such awareness through enlightenment and education.

He further added that many of the consumers do not even know they have any right until the National Communications Commission (NCC) came up with Telecom Consumers Parliament , which has helped in so many ways to assist the people ask questions on their rights when trampled upon .

The CRAN President lamented that Nigeria markets are flooded with fake and adulterated products while service providers smile to the banks with money from consumers for services not provided or under provided.

In his remark, the Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Dr. Eugene Juwah , said that there is a paradigm shift from mere service provision to ensuring that consumer satisfaction ranks highest in priority, in the provision of ICT goods and services.

He added that one of the mandates of his agency is to protect and promote the interests of consumers against unfair practices from the service providers.

The NCC boss who was represented by Zonal Controller of Lagos Zonal Office, Okechukwu Aninweke , commended the group and others that have being championing and fighting for the consumer protection in the country .

Berger Paints appoints Alo, Nweke directors

By Johnson Okanlawon

B

erger Paints Nigeria Plc has appointed two new non- executive directors to enhance the composition of its board. The new appointees are Dr. Olademiji Alo and Nelson Chidozie Nweke.

Dr. Alo, former DirectorGeneral of the Financial Institutions Training Centre (FITC), is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel Management of Nigeria (CIPM) is presently the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Excel Professional Services Limited, a leadership and management consulting.

Dr. Alo had previously worked as Executive Director, Coopers and Lybrand Associates, now PriceWaterHouseCoopers.

On his part, Nweke, is the Managing Director of Neilville Nigeria Limited, a Lagos-based property and real estate development company. He is also a non-

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Monday, January 7, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Transportation

The return of

train services At last, the Nigerian Railway Service (NRC) resuscitates the Lagos-Kano train service thus raising the hope for the return of train services across the country; an initiative which many say would improve intra-city transportation and trade as well as reduce the carnage associated with road transportation

By Augusta Uchediunor

T

he resumption of direct train service between Lagos and Kano by the Nigeria Railway Corporation (NRC) had always been postponed several times in the past.

The delay in the resumption of the service, however, ended on Friday, Dec. 21, 2012, when a 20-coach passenger train left the Iddo Railway Terminus in Lagos for Kano.

Observers recall with nostalgia that the last time a direct train journey between Lagos and Kano took place was over 10 years ago. The rail line from Lagos to Kano, also known as the Western Line, covers a distance of 1,126 km and traverses Abeokuta, Ibadan, Ilorin, Jebba, Minna and Kaduna, before terminating in the ancient city of Kano.

The Port Harcourt–Maiduguri route, known as the Eastern Line, passes through Aba, Umuahia, Enugu, Markurdi, Lafia, Kanfachan, Bauchi, Gombe and Potiskum, before ending in Maiduguri. The line, which is currently undergoing rehabilitation, may be inaugurated this year. Similarly, direct train service from Port Harcourt to Maiduguri has also been in

limbo just like the Western Line.

Observers attribute the development to the utter neglect of the transportation sector by successive governments, which had also affected shipping, aviation and other services in the sector. Therefore, it was a thrilling moment for the NRC on Dec. 21, when it simultaneously commenced the haulage of petroleum products from Lagos to Kaduna. The corporation had earlier acquired pressurised tank wagons for the purpose and it moved 30 tankers of diesel from Ebute-Metta in Lagos to Kaduna. Earlier, in 2011, the NRC had reintroduced the Lagos-Ilorin passenger services. This was in addition to the introduction of a 30-km mass transit service between Lagos and Ijoko (Ogun), the service which has become quite popular among workers and traders, as it is believed to transport more than 12,000 persons on daily basis.

At the launch of the resuscitated Lagos-Kano train service, the Minister of Transport, Idris Umar, said that the revival of the service reflected the commitment President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration to revamping the run-down facilities of the transport sector, par-

ticularly the railways. Umar, who launched the service and undertook a ride with passengers from Iddo to Ikeja, stressed that the government was making tangible efforts to re-establish a vibrant railway system in

Umar

Nigeria because of its importance to the country’s economic growth. Although efforts to resuscitate railway transportation began before the inception of the current federal administration, one of its programmes

-- the Subsidy Reinvestment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P) – has committed about N1 billion to the project in recent times.

Dr Christopher Kolade, the Chairman of SURE-P, who spoke at the launch of the Lagos-Kano train service, said that the intervention was a confirmation of the determination of the Jonathan-administration to revive railway transportation to enable it to contribute to the country’s economic growth. Kolade, who was represented by Chike Okogwu, a member of SURE-P committee, said that the intervention was a potent avenue of investing the Federal Government’s savings from the partial removal of the

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Business Courage

Monday, January 7, 2013

A7 23

Transportation

Kolade

subsidy on petroleum products and providing vocational training in rail tracks’ maintenance.

He stressed that the successful inauguration of regular rail services between Lagos and Kano also vindicated President Jonathan’s establishment of the innovative socio-economic intervention programme. Kolade pledged that the fruits of SUREP’s intervention in critical sectors of the economy would become visible to Nigerians in the years ahead.

In his remark, Adeseyi Sijuwade, the Managing Director of the NRC, said that the successful re-introduction of the Lagos-Kano train service was a promise made and kept by the Federal Government. Although Sijuwade had earlier assured the nation that the train service

Sijuade

would commence in July, its five-month delay was attributed to the heavy flooding across the country, which adversely affected rail tracks and washed off a bridge on the 1,126km-rail line earlier in the year. He also said that N67 billion had been set aside for the rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt-MarkudiMaiduguri rail line, adding that its inauguration would soon come up and be celebrated as that of the Lagos-Kano line. ``Already, we move about 12,000 commuters daily within Lagos and about 4,000 from Lagos to Ilorin on Tuesdays and Fridays. The Ilorin-Lagos train trip is on Wednesdays and Sundays,” Sijuwade said shortly before the launch of the Lagos-Kano service. Observers note that the revival of train

services on the Western Line is expected to reduce the heavy presence of haulage trucks on some major highways, particularly the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway, where articulated vehicles had continued to be a major cause of accidents.

Transportation experts said that the reduction of heavyduty and overloaded trucks on the highways will also prolong the life-span of the roads. The observers stressed that the railways will, once again, be used to move export-bound goods to the ports of Lagos -- Apapa and Tin Can Island Ports -- as well as distribute imports from the ports to the hinterland.

Sharing similar sentiments, Sijuade said that ``Apart from moving passengers, the Western Line will also move ce-

ment from Dangote and Lafarge works to different parts of the country. Also, the haulage business will receive a big boost because the railways can move big freight from one part of the country to the other,’’ he added.

Rail transportation began in Nigeria in 1898 with the construction of a 32-km line of the 1067mm gauge from Iddo (Lagos) to Otta (Ogun). This was further extended to Ibadan, covering a total of 193km in 1901. Rail lines’ construction in the country continued in a systematic manner: the 295km Ibadan-Jebba line (19071911), the 562-km Kano-Borno line (1909-1915), the 252-km Jebba-Minna line (1922-1927) and the 179-km Kafanchan-Jos line.

The statistics on passengers and freight traffic show that the NRC in 1964 moved 11,288,000 passengers and 2,960,000 tonnes of freight but the figures had dropped to 4,342,000 passengers and 1,098,000 tonnes of freight by 1974. Thereafter, passenger traffic gradually rose to 6.7 million in 1978 and reached a peak of 15.5 million in 1984.

However, this declined again to three million in 1991 and 1.6 million in 2003. The decline in service delivery is also reflected in freight traffic fluctuations; from three million tonnes in the 1960s and 1970s to less than 100,000 tonnes in recent times.

As a large employer of labour, the NRC had about 45,000 workers between 1954 and 1975 but currently, the corporation has only 5,000 people in its employ. The NRC once had as many as 200 locomotives, about 54 shunters, 480 passenger coaches and over 4,900 freight wagons. The protracted neglect of the railway sector by

successive governments led to a situation in which some of the wagons were more than 50 years old as at 1993.

In the same vein, the track conditions have limited trains to a speed of 35km per hour, although a source said that the trains could make up to 70km per hour. However, Sijuwade stressed that all these would soon change. He gave the assurance that under the new arrangement, the Nigerian Railways would become more efficient and will be well-managed.

Besides, the NRC chief said that the introduction of the standard gauge rail system would begin after the rehabilitation and effective running of the old narrow gauge tracks.

Observers note that the introduction of the standard rail track system would revolutionise rail transportation in the country, as the system could accommodate bullet trains that could make up to 300km per hour. This, in essence, means that a trip from Lagos to Kano will be accomplished in less than 12 hours, unlike what happened on Dec. 21 when the train, which left Lagos around 11 a.m. got to Kano at 9:00 p.m. the next day -- 34 hours!

Observers are, however, happy to note that the historic Lagos-Kano train journey was given adequate security cover because of the growing menace of suspected terrorists, particularly in the Kano axis.

Besides, the service offered is also affordable as a trip from Lagos to Kano costs N1,500 for the economy class, while for each of the passengers in the first class compartment, which has superb facilities, the journey costs N6,000. BC * Uchediunor is staff of News Agency of Nigeria

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Monday, January 7, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

News

Nweke

Oladimeji Alo

executive director on the board of Premium Pension Limited and Intercontinental Homes (Savings and Loans).

Nweke retired from Intercontinental Bank Plc as a Regional Chief Executive (South-South) in 2008. He had served the bank in various capacities such as assistant general manager, deputy general manager and executive director respectively.

drilling of 10 solar boreholes and 20 hand pumps in Jibia and Kaita local government areas.

According to him, the government will spend N35 million on the installation of street lights in Jibia, Magama, Dankama and Kaita towns, stressing that he would collaborate with the Federal Government to provide the dividends of democracy to the people of his constituency.

Dana Air resumes operation, slashes air fares

D

Shehu Shema, Katsina State governor

FG spends N100m on rehabilitation of Jibia dam

T

he Federal Government has spent N100 million on the rehabilitation of Jibia Dam in Katsina State, to enhance irrigation activities in the area.

A member of the House of Representatives representing Jibia/Kaita Federal Constituency, Suleiman Salisco, who disclosed this last Friday while speaking with newsmen in Katsina, said that the Federal Government had already installed water pumping machines, generators and constructed water canals in the area.

Salisco said that the dam project would not only create employment opportunities for the people of the area but also enhance agricultural productivity in the state and the country at large.

The legislator said that the government had also awarded N70 million contract for the

ana Air, the operator of plane that crashed in Lagos on June 3, 2012, killing about 153 passengers and crew members resumed operation on Friday, seven months after the revocation of its licence. Kayode Adeniran, the Station Manager of the airline at the Nnamidi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN). He said that one of the airline’s refurbished planes, MD 83, which made the first flight, departed Abuja for Lagos at about 7.20 am local time with 90 passengers on board.

It will be recalled that the aviation authorities revoked the Dana Air operation licence following the June 3 crash.

Adeniran said that the company had slashed its flight rate to woo customers and had also trained its entire staff to ensure safety. He

DANA aircraft

said that the airline decided to reduce its flight rate to a minimum of N9, 000 and maximum of N22, 000 to regain customers’ confidence in them.

Adeniran said the airline had perfected all necessary standards required by the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority. Four airplanes had been added to the functional two the company had before the crash. ``Our aim is to give our customers safety assurance of the standard that we laid down in 2008 when we first started operation in Nigeria. ``All our staff had gone through so many trainings on safety issues.

You cannot see any mistake from any of the Dana staff henceforth because the management so much believes in training of staff. ``Boeing of America came to inspect all our aircraft, the NCAA certified it before we were allowed to resumed operation and we are ready to provide safety at all time.

He said the airline insurance company had paid most of the families of victims of the crash except those that had yet to provide genuine evidence.

James Shallangwa, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Head of Commercial, said nothing was wrong in the way the government allowed the airline to resume operation.

He said most countries in the world had also experienced plane crashes without grounding the company.

Tony Usidamen, Dana’s Head of Corporate

Communications, had earlier told journalist in Lagos that the resumption came after necessary approval had been received from the Federal Government.

Aba to get stable electricity supply in 2013- Govt.

T

he Abia Government has said that the problem of unstable electricity supply in Aba would be addressed during the year. The Chief Press Secretary to Abia Governor, Ugochukwu Emezue , made the promise in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Umuahia.

He said the state and Geometrics, a private electricity firm, were currently working together to ensure that Aba Electricity Company became functional.

He said the project would enable Aba and neighbouring communities to receive uninterrupted power supply when completed and described the project as a priority for the year.

Emezue said tackling the problem of unstable electricity supply in Aba was in line with

Gov. Theodore Orji’s plans to restore the lost glory of the commercial town. “The state is equally constructing 16 roads, in addition to another 10 attracted from the Niger Delta Development Commission by the state in Aba. Gov. Orji believes that when all these roads are completed, most of the small scale entrepreneurs and bigger industries that made Aba the envy of other cities in Nigeria would come up again,’’ he said.

He said that the governor would also sustain his policy on security due to the gains already recorded in the investment sector. “Abia is one of the most peaceful states in Nigeria today because of comprehensive approach adopted by Gov. Orji in handling security matters. All departments of security from Abia State Vigilance Service, the Police, Army, Civil Defence, State Security Service to other Paramilitary are given adequate support and the state is really getting results,’’ he said.

He commended the efforts of Abia Vigilance Service at the grassroots, which were helping to expose hoodlums in their hiding places. He advised other states to emulate Abia in the formation of state vigilance services to help tackle rising security challenges in the country. BC

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Business Courage

Monday, January 7, 2013

A9 25

s r e r a e b h c r o t e Th

In the past few years, majority of them have been playing key roles in shaping the economic life of the country and it appears Nigerians would still have to live with them for many years to come. They are men and women of immense wealth and power, whose influence transcends their area of operations. To a large extent, their actions (and inactions), their successes and otherwise, determine the direction of the national economy

By Salami Semiu

I

t is an exclusive list of sort.

They are small but highly powerful set of individuals who, like they say, have the country by the balls. Few are within the government while bulk of them play from outside the precinct. However, whether officially in government or they run their own personal businesses, these set of Nigerians are generally regarded as the power behind the throne. When they sneeze, the entire country catches the cold and with the exception of few of them, this group of individuals are the pseudo-government.

For those of them serving in government, they occupy such strategic positions that make them the pillars upon which the country’s economic policy is rested. For their counterparts in the private sector, they are the leaders of businesses, super industrialists, men of sound ideas and great entrepreneurs, who by virtue of their massive wealth and economic activities, most times play roles that ordinarily ought to be the reserve of the government.

The economic lives are boundless. They operate in virtually all sectors of the economy, be it in the financial services, oil and gas, aviation, manufacturing, telecommunications, power, real estate, hospitality as well as the media. Besides holding sway in Nigeria, majority of them have equally spread their tentacles with offshore investments in other parts of the globe.

In no particular order, Business Courage presents a brief dossier of Nigeria’s men and women of immense wealth and power who would shape the

Dangote

economy of Nigeria in 2013 and beyond.

Aliko Dangote For many reasons, Aliko Dangote, President of the Dangote Group of Companies can be described as the patriarch of this group. For his cheer wealth and entrepreneurial acumen, Dangote has, over the years made himself an irresistible suitor by various government.

The Forbes-listed-richest black African runs a highly diversified conglomerate with interests in sugar, flour milling, salt processing, cement manufacturing, textiles, real estate, telecommunications, pastas as well as oil and gas.

He presently has the largest cement manufacturing plants in Africa with most of the plants situated in Nigeria and the rest spreading across South and Eastern Africa. He is also believed to be the major producer

of sugar and has also made significant incursion into other areas of consumer products like pastas, flours and fruit juices.

His businesses compete favourably with foreign manufacturers of similar products for the Nigerian market and have built factories and established production plants across the country.

Dangote is a critical member of the President Goodluck Jonathan’s Economic Management Team (EMT), an amalgam of public/private sector operators charged with the responsibility of chatting sound economic management for the country.

A philanthropist per excellence, Dangote played a major social role in 2012 when he facilitated a fundraiser for victims of the widespread flooding that occurred in some parts of the country where he donated N200 million and has continued to encourage his fellow business

persons to contribute significantly to the fund.

Though Dangote’s influence will be felt in many ways in 2013, like it has always been in previous years, one area where the activities of his business will help the economy this year is in the area of employment generation. As one of the major employers of labour, Dangote’s businesses like the ever growing cement plants and his sugar factories are bound to help raise the state for higher employment generation.

However, there seems to be a snag in this, already, cement, one of Dangote’s major lines of business is believed to be presently in distress, as a result of what industry operators called glut occasioned by massive importation of bagged cement into the country. Jobs are already being lost as some plants have been temporarily shut down while others are operating far

Sanusi Lamido

below installed capacities.

Sanusi Lamido Sanusi The effervescent governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is one man that will clearly play more critical roles in shaping the economy this year, either in his macro-economic management functions or on a broader economic sphere.

Whichever way the nuances, actions and inactions of Sanusi Lamido is evaluated in the past years, the indubitable fact still remains that the CBN governor will remain a recurrent decimal in the permutations towards getting Nigeria out of the woods.

Although Sanusi often goes off track, like he did several times last year, his office confers on the Kano prince so much power that his opinion and input, like it or hate it, counts on issues that bother on the economy.

In the financial sector, particularly the banking sector where he holds the sway, the CBN governor will continue to bestrode the sector like a colossus.

Sanusi is reputed to have jokers, like the botched attempt to introduce the N5, 000 denominations in 2012; it may not be completely out of sync if the CBN governor unleash new policy regime to keep the banking sector under check and makes the sector more disposed to providing funds for the pubContinue on pg A10 lic.

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Business Courage

Monday, January 7, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

she remained one of the most controversial ministers in the cabinet, Alison-Madueke’s staying power remains very elastic.

Indeed, she remains highly influential, no thanks to the portfolio she currently holds and her closeness to the president.

In 2013, Diezani Alison-Madueke would continue to court controversies especially on issues such as deregulation and fuel subsidy. But the biggest issue on her table is the muchtalked-about and amended Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB).

Ovia

Elumelu

Tony Elumelu Tony, as he is simply called, will certainly play more critical roles in reshaping the economy this year. Already, the shape of what to expect in 2013 was already set last year with Tony’s initiatives coming from all fronts.

His Heirs Holdings Limited, an African proprietary investment firm that focuses on creating economic and social value in Africa, via long-term investment in a number of sectors including financial services, natural resources, infrastructure, healthcare and real estate, has already made remarkable incursion.

The Tony Elumelu Foundation, an African based and funded philanthropy, whose mission is to identify and assist entrepreneurs and the leaders of Africa’s increasingly confident private sector, serves as a source of policy development, and work to ensure that the private sector drives economic growth across Africa has equally set traceable standards that it intends to follow this year .

Tony, hitherto, one of the country’s top bankers, has since expanded his frontiers, particularly with his acquisition of majority stakes in the Transnational Corporation (Transcorp) Plc, a mega investment vehicle which he co-founded.

He is expected to play key role in the power generation with his company’s emergence as one of the winners of the power generation companies in an auction process conducted by the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) in 2012.

Like Dangote, Elumelu is also a member of the Economic Management Team and through this forum, he is certain to be a major factor in the direction in which the economy will move in 2013.

Dr. Ngozi Okonjo- Iweala Touted as Nigeria’s Prime

Minister, Dr. Ngozi OkonjoIweala is certainly not in an enviable position, given the various criticisms which most government actions and inactions have attracted.

In 2013, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala, finance minister and coordinating minister for the economy, would still be the anchor person in the battle to reduce the high recurrent expenditure at Federal level, fight to reduce the corruption in the subsidy process and battle to save some of the country’s oil receipts for a rainy day under the Sovereign Wealth Fund.

For Okonjo-Iweala, the past year has been a year of battles and it is certain to get more daring this year as she fights a gradually more lonely battle to keep the treasury from falling completely into the hands of those who would finally empty it.

The battle against the former World Bank Managing Director

Okonjo-Iweala

went personal last year with the kidnapping of her mother and it appears that those who are not comfortable with her handling of the economy may further put the heat on her this year, especially as it is often perceived that the government under which she serves appears to have little or no liver to fight the corruption monster.

All the challenges, notwithstanding, the presence of Okonjo-Iweala in the government of President Jonathan will continue to be the needed elixir in steering the economic ship. In 2013, more would be expected from the revered economist and what she has to offer and the atmospherics with which she has to express herself will determine, to a large extent, how the economy with run.

Diezani Alison-Madueke She is believed to be one of the few most trusted allies of President Jonathan. Though

Alison-Madueke

Jim Ovia Jim Ovia, former founding managing director of Zenith Bank and currently, chairman of the fast-growing Visa Communications, operators of Visafone, is expected to play more active role in shaping the economy this year.

Besides the fact that his impact is expected to be greatly felt in the telecoms sector where his company, Visafone is already soaring higher to becoming the fourth largest telecommunications outfit in Nigeria, Ovia, like his co-private sector operators, is also expected to make meaningful impact through his membership of EMT. Though a relatively low profile player, Ovia’s contribution towards reshaping the telecom sector would perhaps be more pronounced given his dual role as chairman of the Nigeria Software Development Initiative (NSDI) and National Information Technology Advisory Committee (NITAC).

Dr. Jimoh Ibrahim The group chairman of the Global Fleet Group is also one key individual whose action would determine the shape of things to come in 2013.

Though he has decidedly kept away from the government, preferring to focus his attention and energy into re-energising his vast growing con-

Ibrahim

glomerate, the strategic moves which the acclaimed corporate surgeon would make this year would play decisive role in the economy this year.

Though Dr. Ibrahim made a tactical withdrawal from the aviation sector last year, citing highly inclement operating environment and disloyal and compromised workforce, there are strong indications that Air Nigeria, which for the better part of last year remained the beautiful pride of the country, may return to the skies.

Until Dr. Ibrahim wilfully temporarily suspended the operations of Air Nigeria, the airline had become a reference point in the aviation sector, particularly with the huge success it recorded on its international routes barely one month after it began international operation.

Besides the aviation, Ibrahim is also set to take the country’s media landscape by surprise with the expected debut of Newswatch Newspapers and the return of the repackaged, reinvigorated Newswatch Magazine. When the two publications hit the newsstand, Dr. Ibrahim would have set an unprecedented record in the newspaper business.

Already, National Mirror, which started operation two years ago, has drastically helped reshaped the media landscape with its robust package which has within such a short period, become readers choice newspaper.

Cletus Ibeto Cletus Ibeto is an acclaimed entrepreneur and founder of the Ibeto Group, with such subsidiaries as Ibeto Group Homes, Ibeto Industries and Petrochemicals, Unionparts, Odoh Holdings, Kings Palace Hotels, Palmex Agencies and Ibeto Cement.

However, of all his business concerns, the only one that would probably cause some

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Ibeto

stirs and have impact on the economy this year, is the Ibeto Cement.

Already, tongues are already waging that the current glut being experienced in the cement industry, is caused by massive importation of bagged cement

by Ibeto.

Though the company has a licence to import 1.5 million tonnes of bulk cement annually up till September 2017, stakeholders in the industry are already canvassing that the government place a ban on cement importation because as they claim, it negates the country’s backward integration policy.

For now, where the pendulum will swing will determine the place of Ibeto in the Nigeria economy in 2013. What is however certain is that, no matter what the government decides, the man, Ibeto, would remain a critical element that would shape the economy this year.

Business Courage A11 27

Monday, January 7, 2013

Folawiyo

nical Committee set up by the Federal Ministry of Finance to conduct a detailed review of all subsidy claims and payments made in 2011.

For some time now, AigImoukhuede has become a notable face around the corridors of power and has played key roles in certain key economic decisions.

Though Aig- Imoukhuede as Access Bank boss expires this year, when he would have reached the mandatory 10 years stipulated by the Central Bank, there are rumours that the Delta-born lawyer turned banker is positioning himself for a major government assignment within the financial services circle when he leaves office as Access Bank chief executive.

He is a member of the all powerful EMT and he is also the Chairman of the Friends of the Global Fund for Africa, a foundation that focuses on the eradication of HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

Otudeko

Tunde Folawiyo He is one of the most respected players in the corporate world, not just because he is the son of the late Wahab Iyanda Folawiyo, but having been able to add value to his father’s business empire.

An economist and lawyer, Tunde is the Group Executive Director of the Yinka Folawiyo Group. He pioneered the group’s entry into the oil and gas, telecommunications and banking sectors.

Though he is not as feasible as his other contemporaries, his position as the arrowhead of a group of company with meaningful impact on the Nigerian economy makes him a force to reckon with.

Wale Tinubu Passionate about his Oando and indeed the oil and gas sector, British-trained lawyerturned oil magnate, Adewale Tinubu has since become denominating name in the industry.

His group’s operation in both the upstream and downstream sector of the oil and gas industry has placed serious responsibilities on his shoulders.

Obafunke Otudeko Oba Otudeko is a multidimensional investor and entrepreneur. Besides being one of the richest and very powerful men in the country today, Otudeko has in the past years, played several interventionist roles such that he remains one of the key people that shape the future of the country’s economy.

Otudeko has carved out a niche for himself by becoming a foremost entrepreneur with interest in the key sectors of the economy. He is the chairman of Honeywell Group, which comprises eight major companies that engages in oil and gas, flour milling, engineering, high sea trawling, real estate and marine transportation.

He is also a core investor in

Ladi Balogun Ladi, the youthful managing director of First City Monumental Bank, is perhaps, the most highly visible of the Otunba Subomi Balogun’s sons.

With the seamless way he led the consummation of the merger deal between the old FCMB and FinBank and the strong and visible roles which the bank is playing in the retail realm of banking, Ladi looks good to be counted among the list of Nigerians whose activities would impact on the economy in 2013.

Aigboje Aig- Imoukhuede The Group Managing Director of Access Bank has lately become a major actor in the country’s economic landscape.

Last year, Aig- Imoukhuede was appointed by President Jonathan as head of 15-member Committee to verify and reconcile the findings of the Tech-

Aig-Imoukhuede

Tinubu

Opeke

First Bank Nigeria Plc where he was once chairman of its board and one of the largest investors in Guinness Plc. As a former president of The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Otudeko is clearly one of the people to look up to in 2013.

Funke Opeke Funke Opeke, chief executive officer of Main Street Technologies is also one of the key persons, whose activities would have tremendous impact on the economy in 2013.

Really not for her person but for the importance of the company which she suprintends, Opeke’s MainOne is expected to play a defining role in the the effort to broaden broadband technology in the country.

The company’s Main One submarine cable system links countries in West and Central Africa with each other and connecting in Europe with other existing cable systems linking the Americas and Asia. BC

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Business Courage

Monday, January 7, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

ThebuddingEntrepreneurs

Nigeria’s internet entrepreneur Motivated by failure in his earlier business adventure, Seun Osewa at age 23, founded Nairaland.com which has since grown it to become one of the most popular website in Nigeria. Now, the website currently has about 650,000 user accounts. Seun, now 30, also runs Nairalist.com, a Nigerian classified ads site

By Adejuwon Osunnuyi

J

ust like the stories of many in his mould, the journey to the top of entrepreneurship cadre, especially in Nigeria, has not always been that of bread and butter. Business is usually tough and certainly not for the weak- hearted. But as it is widely acknowledged, only those who can persevere, be focused, determined and courageous can go on to breast the tape.

These are, perhaps, the attributes that have seen 30 yearold Seun Osewa go through the thick and thin to attain his present status as an investor-entrepreneur, programmer, Webmaster and founder of most visited website in Nigeria today, the NairaLand.com.

Today, Seun makes money daily from adverts, google adsense, adwords and so on as his Nairaland forum is said to be the Facebook of Nigeria.

Unknown to many, Osewa’s success story was actually motivated by past failure. Sometimes in 2003, he attempted to start a web hosting business but that endeavour failed due to lack of viable income model. Three months after he started the business, he could only boast of one customer, hence, he ran out of capital and the business died. Though he admitted that “It would probably have succeeded if I had managed my capital more wisely or raised more money as I got many hosting requests I couldn’t satisfy later that year.”

After that failure, he spent several months researching business ideas and presenting them to friends and family, for the possibility of funding them, but to no avail. He did this for less than two years.

Undaunted, Seun further gave his entrepreneurial spirit further push and decided to instal the Simplemachines Forum and opened Nairaland to the public on March 25, 2005 after working on it for about two weeks. That was about 14 months after Mark Zuckerberg launched TheFacebook.com.

Seun followed the dictum

that a great way to start a business is to “try and provide solution to something you need, or want to be solved.” For Seun, having realised this great business insight, he needed to create a product that would solve a need. That was the beginning of Nairaland which he said he built to solve a real and complicated problem for Nigerians. He realized the need for “a more general-purpose Nigerian forum with a strong bias towards issues of interest to Nigerians at home.”

Due to the failure in his first start-up for lack of consistent cash-flow, the first question Seun asked himself was “Where’s the money?” Hence, from day one, he knew he had to create a viable Income model for his new business. He knew if he could attract enough traffic to the site, he could make money from Google adverts. So, his primary target was to attract enough traffic to the site through great content, better organization and great guestfriendliness.

Eventually, he decided to start a web forum, because it was the only idea that required no additional capital: “I already had Internet access and a $15 per month VPS graciously paid for by a family friend. I created three forums in November 2003 (one for higher institution students, one for IT discussions, and one to cover the emerging GSM industry; the Mobile Nigeria Forum at MobileNigeria. com).

When the Mobile Nigeria Forum took off, he re-launched it in February 2005 with the assistance of one John Sagai Adams, who posted a link to the forum on his mailing list and participated enthusiastically in those early days. Other mobile enthusiasts like Yomi Adegboye, he revealed, pitched in to make the site a success. In a month or so, the forum had about 300 members, but the growth potential didn’t satisfy Seun.

He decided to start Nairaland when he noticed two odd things about Mobile Nigeria.

The first thing was that despite its narrow focus, it was the only Nigerian community that gave

voice to Nigerians at home. As he noticed, most other Nigerian sites were owned and dominated

by Nigerians in the US or UK as they covered only issues of interests to Nigerians abroad.

Secondly, according to him, the off topic section of the forum, covering topics outside telecoms, like romance and jokes, was becoming more vibrant than the Mobile Nigeria Forum itself, suggesting the need for a more general-purpose Nigerian forum. “This gave me the confidence to take forums like Naijaryders and Talknaija head on by starting a general purpose discussion forum with a strong bias towards issues of interest to Nigerians at home. I felt that such a site could attract enough traffic to make enough money from Google adverts. That’s why I started the Nairaland Forum.”

Like he had envisaged, today, he has over about 650,000 user accounts. While about 30,000 were logged on in the last 30 days, most Nairalanders, according to him don’t even bother to login or register. “They just read the site like a newspaper site and search it with Google.

Our daily visitor count is much higher,” he said.

Interestingly, Seun himself could not say the particular tip-

Osewa

Management Principles

A Model of Effective Management

G

ood management means understanding how teams operate. It’s worth remembering that teams usually follow a certain pattern of development: forming, norming, storming, and performing. It’s important to encourage and support people through this process; so that you can help your team become fully effective as quickly as possible.

When forming teams, managers must create a balance so that there’s a diverse set of skills, personalities, and perspectives. You may think it’s easier to manage a group of people who are likely to get along, but truly effective teams invite many viewpoints and use their differences to be creative and innovative.

Here, your task is to develop the skills needed to steer those differences in a positive direction. This is why introducing a team charter and knowing how to resolve team conflict is so useful for managing your team effectively.

Selecting and Developing the Right People Finding great new team members and developing the skills needed for your team’s success is another important part of team formation.

Delegating Effectively Having the right people with the right skills isn’t sufficient for a team’s success. Managers must also know how to get the job done efficiently. Delegation is the key to this. Some managers, especially those who earned their positions based on their technical expertise, try to do most of the work themselves. They think that, because they’re responsible for the work, they should do it themselves to make sure it’s done right.

Effective managers recognize that by assigning work to the right people (not just those with the most time available), and clearly outlining expectations, teams can accomplish much more. But it’s often difficult to trust others to do the job. As a manager, remember that when your team members have the right skills, training and motivation, you can usually trust them to get the work done right.

Motivating People Another necessary management skill is motivating others. It’s one thing to motivate yourself, but it’s quite another to motivate someone else. The key thing to remember is that motivation is personal. We’re all motivated by different things, and we all have different levels of personal motivation. So, getting to know your team members on a personal level allows you to motivate your people better. Providing feedback on a regular basis is a very powerful strategy to help you stay informed about what’s happening with individual team members.

Managing Discipline and Dealing with Conflict Sometimes, despite your best efforts, there are problems with individual performance. As a manager, you

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Business Courage A13 29

Monday, January 7, 2013

ThebuddingEntrepreneurs ping point that helped launch Nairaland into the mainstream in the Nigerian internet community but recalled that it got about 30 registrations a day from its coverage of the Gulder Ultimate Search. “I remember when the Job section became so popular that most Nigerians at home thought Nairaland was a job portal. It was a bit annoying, but I embraced it,” he said.

Though it is generally believed to be the leading most visited website in the country, Naijaland currently has NaijaHotJobs, NigeriaBestForum, Goal.com, and Jobberman among others to contend it.

Seun believes that compared to Nigerian forums that preceded Nairaland: local point of view, better organization, more serious topics, and guest-friendliness are what have been able to set Nairaland apart from other Nigerian online forums over the years.

Like most entrepreneurs, some of the initial challenges he encountered when he first started out was the issue of electricity. “I had to get an inverter with my last savings to run MobileNigeria, he noted.

The young entrepreneur agreed that Nairaland has actually become a cash-flow positive as he makes from the business slightly more than the basic needs of the site -Internet access and hosting such that he seems not ready to look outside for investors. For instance, about two years ago, when MIH Internet Africa, the owners of Dealfish

Personal Finance Setting financial resolutions for the New Year

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id you make any resolutions concerning your personal finances last January? If so, how did you do? Did you attain your financial goals, or was it a total financial washout for you? While Dec. 31 is a day to reflect on the year gone by, January is a time to look forward to the New Year, use this opportunity to review your financial scorecard for the past year and make any possible improvements where necessary for the New Year.

The good news about New Year’s resolutions is that you get to make new ones each year. It’s even better if you can keep the good ones from the past year. In this article, we provide some New Year’s resolutions to help you improve your finances.

Osewa

and Kalahari in Nigeria made an offer to acquire a stake in Nairalist, Seun rejected the offer. The deal, according to people close to him, would have fetched Nairalist close to $200,000 (about N30 million). In the same vein, he has also turned down an offer of about $1 million for the purchase of Nairaland, the largest online forum in Nigeria.

His preoccupation, for now, is to attend to the various challenges facing the site stressing that “Facebook has one employee for every 300,000 monthly active users while Nairaland has one employee (me!) for just 30,000 active users, so I think the priority for now should be to

have to deal with these promptly. If you don’t discipline, you risk negative impacts on the rest of the team as well as your customers, as poor performance typically impacts customer service, and it hurts the team and everything that the team has accomplished. It’s very de-motivating to work beside someone who consistently fails to meet expectations, so if you tolerate it, the rest of the team will likely suffer.

Team performance will also suffer when differences between individual team members turn into outright conflict, and it’s your job as team manager to facilitate a resolution.

However, conflict can be positive when it highlights underlying structural problems – make sure that you recognize conflict and deal with its causes, rather than just suppressing its symptoms or avoiding it.

Communicating An element that’s common to all of these management skills is effective communication. This is critical to any position you hold, but as a manager, it’s especially important. You need to let your team know what’s happening and keep them informed as much as possible.

Team briefing is a specific communication skill that managers should improve. Also, develop the ability to facilitate effectively, so that you can guide your team to a better understanding and serve as a moderator when necessary.

Planning, Problem Solving and Decision-Making Many managers are very comfortable with planning, problem solving and decision making, given that they’re often skilled specialists who’ve been promoted because of their knowledge and analytical abilities. As such, one of the most important issues that managers experience is that they focus so intensely on these skills when they think about self-development that they fail to develop their people skills and team management skills. Make sure that you don’t focus on these skills too much!

Avoiding Common Managerial Mistakes Good communication helps you develop facilitation skills, and it also helps you avoid some of the most common problems for managers. Some of these common mistakes are thinking that you can rely on your technical skills alone, asking your boss to solve your problems, putting your boss in the awkward position of having to defend you, and not keeping your boss informed. BC

make Nairaland 10 times more efficient.”

Seun’s initial dream with MobileNigeria was to make more than N60, 000 a month, which seemed like a reasonable salary at that time, and then use any extra income as capital to start a more promising business. “This was reasonable to me; after all, the total capital I wasted in my failed hosting business was under N60, 000. Nairaland flew past this target within the first year, and continues to grow,” he confessed.

Apart from the desire to create a place where Nigerians at home could feel at home, Seun didn’t have lofty visions for Nairaland. His ambition was to remain number one. “I just wanted to succeed at something for once, and I thought this was the cheapest thing I could try,” he revealed.

Though Nairaland is a social network forum, Seun said he is not in a hurry to make it become a social networking hub, adding that if he got five naira every time a developer offered to help him make Nairaland like Facebook, he would be rich enough to buy the moon. “But here’s the thing. You can’t beat Facebook even if your website is perfect.

Social networks benefit from ‘network effects’, which means the bigger they are, the better the experience. Facebook has grown so big that the only thing other social networks can do is die. MySpace, Hi5, and even Google’s social network (Orkut), and Microsoft’s Live Spaces have been beaten and are still losing members every day. If Google and Microsoft can’t beat them, I don’t think I should waste my time,” he said.

However, there’s an element of Facebook he would like to incorporate, though and that is the ‘social graph’. According to him, “It’s the reason why Facebook can have 500 million users on the same site and yet, unlike most big forums, doesn’t feel over-crowded. The social graph approach scales so well.” BC

Rebalance your investment portfolio The previous year was no different than any other year; with some sectors performing better than others. Chances are that the sectors that performed the best last year may not enjoy a repeat performance this year. By rebalancing your portfolio to its original or updated asset allocation, you take steps to lock in gains from the sectors with the best returns, and purchase shares in the sectors that have lagged behind last year’s leaders.

Set yearly budget for big-ticket expenses Whether it is going on an international vacation or purchasing a high-value item for your house, you should plan in advance to make sure you don’t run short of funds when you need them. When the year begins, make a plan of your likely big-ticket expenses during the year, and plan your investments accordingly.

Joint budgeting with your spouse If you have planned your finances individually and have not involved your partner, then this is the time to change. Planning financial matters as a family, taking into account both your income as well as your spouse’s and keeping in mind both the short term as well as long term goals can go a long way in helping you lead a stress-free married life. Joint planning also helps in making better use of the money you earn.

Retirement Planning Individuals, especially in their 20s, do not take retirement seriously and ignore saving and investing for this purpose. If you haven’t yet thought about this, now is the time. It is never too late to start planning for those golden years, and the earlier you start off the better. Even if you already have your retirement plans in place, try and boost the contribution towards this, as inflation and increased cost of living can get the better of you.

Reduce debt on your books Although this is easier said than done, outstanding debt can be reduced by making effective use of bonuses, windfalls or any one-time gains you receive this year. Instead of splurging this money on luxuries, which may not be an immediate necessity, use this to part pre-pay outstanding mortgage loans or vehicle loans to reduce your interest outflow over the long term.

Start a contingency fund If you do not have an emergency fund in place which has at least six months of your expenses, then this is when you should start planning for it. A contingency fund is very important to take care of life’s uncertainties and it is highly recommended to have this in place at the earliest.

The Bottom line Be cautious about setting too many or unrealistic financial goals. Otherwise, you may be unable to accomplish any of them. Take this opportunity to restate your financial resolutions simply and clearly for the New Year and rest easy knowing that this is one resolution you can keep. It may be a good idea to maintain a checklist to keep track of how you are doing throughout the year, so that you can make any necessary modifications. BC BC

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Business Courage

Monday, January 7, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

How telecoms industry would far Informa Telecoms & Media, a leading provider of business intelligence and strategic services to the global telecoms and media markets, reveals its top 10 trends that could make 2013 another tough year for the telecoms industry but the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC) says the year would be better than the past

By Adejuwon Osunnuyi

F

or the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Nigerians would have every reason to smile as the year 2013 is going to be a year of better performance as far as service delivery in the telecom industry is concerned.

While the success recorded so far in the telecom industry was almost marred last year with series of challenges arising from poor quality of service especially in terms of voice and data delivery, the commission has said it would strive to pursue efforts that will help maintain the tripod upon which the industry stands; government, consumers and the operators.

Dr. Eugene Juwah, Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, while taking stock of the year 2012 said Nigerians should watch out for a better 2013 as the commission would focus its energies on number portability; the conclusion of SIM card registration exercise and the auctioning of broadband spectrum licenses. In the same vein, NCC maintained that said it will pursue aggressive broadband deployment in more cities and communities across the country.

Juwah, who was represented by Reuben Muoka, Head of Media and Publicity at a media parley in Lagos, said “All these are activities, which the commission has lined up for this year especially within the first quarter of the year.” According to him, this is more so as “they are meant to cushion the effect of the challenges of poor service quality that rocked the telecoms industry last year.”

Juwah noted that the commission would as from this year; instil stiffer regulations that would attract sanctions to any operator that fails to meet the standards set out by the NCC in maintaining best service quality. He explained that NCC had commenced another round of quality test on all networks as earlier promised, and that any operator that fails the commission’s Key Performance Indica-

tor (KPI) test standard, would face outright sanction.

However, to stakeholders in the telecom industry, while they look forward to the fulfilment of the many promises and implementation of programmes in the new ICT National Roadmap unveiled by the Ministry of Communications Technology last year, the take-off of Mobile Number Portability (MNP), issuing of new telecom licences, implementation of a new national broadband policy, activation of the $15 million Nigerian Software Fund and Students Computer Ownership Scheme as well as the conclusion of the Simcard Registration exercise should take top priorities.

Chairman of Association of Licensed Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria, ALTON, Engr. Gbenga Adebayo said the industry expects the government to pay serious attention to security of telecommunications infrastructure with enactment of a law that will make ICT infrastructure Critical National Infrastructure as well as address multiple taxations imposed on telecom companies by federal, state and local governments.

However, Informa Telecoms & Media, a leading provider of business intelligence and strategic services to the global telecoms and media markets does not share these optimisms as it projects that 2013 promises to be another tough year for the telecoms industry.

In its Top 10 trends for 2013 for the telecoms and media, Mark Newman, chief research officer at Informa Telecoms & Media reckons that 2013 will be another tough year for the telecoms industry with a continued emphasis on cost control. “For operators, the migration to a data-centric business and revenue model will continue apace. And we see risks for those operators that do not invest properly in building wide-area networks that can deliver high-quality data services,” he said.

According to him, “When it comes to new services, there will be a continued usage migration to smartphones and tablets but both established and new play-

GSM Village, Ikeja

ers are trying to figure out how best to monetize mobile usage.

Don’t be surprised to see some of the disruptors being disrupted by new technologies and business models in 2013,” he added Revealing how telecoms industry is expected to fare in 2013, it says Wi-Fi might become a victim of its own success, adding that “There will be a shift in operator sentiment away from public Wi-Fi as it becomes evident that the growing availability of free-to-end-user Wi-Fi devalues the mobile-broadband business model.” He said that mobile operators will respond

Newman

by articulating the value of their cellular networks better, but others not affected by this trend will double down on their public Wi-Fi investments to continue to propel the deployment and monetization of Wi-Fi. Second on the list of the prediction trend is the fact that Facebook might continue to have tough time translating its popularity on mobile devices into revenues. Although its most recent financial results showed some improvement in mobile advertising revenues, the firm said it didn’t believe that this alone will be enough to sustain and grow its mobile business.

He said that there are three new monetization strategies currently available to Facebook: (1) develop new premium services to sell to its existing customers; (2) take a share of revenues from third-party content providers that develop services on its platform; or (3) expand into the device or device software business. “We believe that the first two are Facebook’s preferred options and that billing and marketing / distribution relationships with operators, particularly in emerging markets, could bring tangible benefits. With regards to the devices business, we expect Facebook to emerge as a strong backer of the new Mozilla mobile operating system which is expected to challenge Android in the lowcost smartphone device sector,” Informa Telecoms & Media revealed.

To the over the top OTT messaging services, especially WhatsApp, it revealed that the hype bubble around WhatsApp will continue to expand in 2013, especially driven by frequent acquisition rumours, but the emergence of early anecdotal evidence that some consumer segments are starting to migrate their attention and usage to alternative services, both old and new, will start to dampen expectations and highlight the fickle and fragmented nature of consumer behaviour.

According to Informa, content providers will continue to spend on infrastructure and maintained that Google, Netflix

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Business Courage A15 31

Monday, January 7, 2013

e in 2013

et al will continue to invest heavily in extending their infrastructure closer to users in 2013 as it recommends that operators consider these proposals carefully and recognize where they are likely to gain more from reduced costs and increased network efficiency than lose out in terms of uncertain revenues from so-called two-sided business models.

While it stated that subsidies would be under the microscope, but not necessarily for the right reason as handset-financing models established themselves in Europe in 2012 and will continue to spread globally in 2013, it maintained that a reduction in subsidies and changes to traditional ways of retailing devices will come at a cost to operators.

“Physical and online retailers, such as Amazon, as well as device-platform owners, such as Apple or Google, will accelerate their own initiatives to disrupt traditional device distribution models. Every slip in the share of devices sold through operator channels will serve to further erode the balance of power between operators and Internet and platform owners at the negotiating table,” it said.

On issues surrounding sharing of network, Informa revealed that the logic of network-sharing will increasingly be questioned by the industry given the core strategic importance of a differentiated network platform.

“In Europe, especially, we expect more operators to forsake dividends and free cash-flow in

order to ramp up investments into network infrastructure in the hope of establishing a competitive advantage built upon network quality of experience.

However, despite this reversal of attitude by some, networksharing and operator consolidation will sweep through emerging markets, especially in Africa.”

Boosted by a lack of any negative customer feedback about interim voice for LTE solutions (such as falling back to circuitswitched 2G and 3G networks), Informa stated that more operators will join Verizon Wireless and EE in pushing out their timelines for the commercial deployment of VoLTE. A business case that looks to be based solely on spectrum efficiency will struggle to gain enough executive support to justify a rushed investment plan.

In essence, Application programming interface, API, is expected to become the new currency of the digital economy.

According to Informa, APIs will become the leading currency of the digital economy – speeding service activation, configuration, customer experience management and time to revenue.

“Whether directly monetized or not, APIs are the new “interconnect standard” among digital service stakeholders.”

In the same development, Gartner, a research firm has also revealed that global IT spending is projected to reach $3.73 trillion in 2013, a 4.2 per cent increase from $3.58 trillion in 2012.

According the latest report from Gartner, much of this spending increase is the result from projected gains in the value of foreign currencies versus the dollar, adding that in constant currency, spending growth in 2013 is expected to be 3.9 per cent.

Juwah

Technotips

The 2013 outlook for IT spending growth in US dollars has been revised upward from 3.8 per cent in the Q3 2012 forecast. “Uncertainties surrounding prospects for an upturn in global economic growth are the major retardants to IT growth. This uncertainty has caused the pessimistic business and consumer sentiment throughout the world,” Richard Gordon, Gartner managing vice president said.

However, much of this uncertainty is nearing resolution, and as it does, Gartner expects accelerated spending growth in 2013 compared to 2012, he added.

Worldwide devices spending which includes PCs, tablets, mobile phones and printers, is forecast to reach $666 billion in 2013, up 6.3 per cent from 2012. However, this is a significant reduction in the outlook for 2013 compared with Gartner’s previous forecast of $ 706 billion in worldwide devices and 7.9 per cent growth.

The long-term forecast for global spending on devices has been reduced as well, with growth from 2012 through 2016 now expected to average 4.5 per cent annually (from 6.4 per cent). These reductions reflect a sharp reduction in the forecast growth in spending on PCs and tablets that is only partially offset by marginal increases in forecast growth in spending on mobile phones and printers. “The tablet market has seen greater price competition from Android devices as well as smaller, low-priced devices in emerging markets,” Gordon said.

Worldwide enterprise software spending is forecast to total $296 billion in 2013, 6.4 per cent up from 2012. This segment will be driven by key markets like security, storage management and customer relationship management.

Beginning 2014, markets aligned to big data and other information management initiatives, like enterprise content management, data integration tools, and data quality tools will see increased levels of investment, Gartner said. The global telecom services market continues to be the largest IT spending market. From $ 1.66 trillion in 2012, this segment is estimated to grow 2.4 per cent to $ 1.7 trillion in 2013.

Gartner said growth is expected to be predominately flat over the next several years as revenue from mobile data services compensates for the declines in total spending for both the fixed and mobile voice services markets. BC

Seven reasons why your kids should play video games

C

onventional wisdom m suggests that time spent playing g video games is time wasted. The common percepmes exercise the tion is that few video games brain and, if there is any physical activity involved, it’s usually the occasional wave of a controller rather than n anything that will work up a sweat.. And shouldn’t kids be outside playing, rather than sitting in front of yet another screen?

Not so fast, say many parenting experts and e conresearchers. Studies have sistently shown that the benefits utweigh of video gaming can far outweigh the perceived negatives. Although ainly be video gaming should certainly d reasons supervised, there are good why you should let your kids spend ing cities a few hours a week building or battling aliens. Here’s why: 1. Video games teach problem solving. Video games get kids to think. There are dozens of video games that are specifically geared towards learning, but even the most basic shooter game teaches kids to think logically and quickly process large amounts of data. Rather than passively absorbing content from, say, a TV show, a video game requires the player’s constant input to tell the story.

2. Video games are social. The stereotype of the pastyfaced adolescent sitting in his mom’s basement playing video games on his own is as outdated as Space Invaders.

Many games have thriving online and offline fan-bases, and a community component that strongly encourages social interaction.

3. Video games provide positive reinforcement. Most video games are designed to allow players to succeed and be rewarded for that success. Different skill levels and a riskand-reward gaming culture mean that kids are not afraid to fail and will take a few chances in order to achieve their ultimate goal.

4. Video games teach strategic thinking. Video games teach kids to think objectively about both the games themselves and their own performance. While there are many games that place a premium on strategy, most set an overall goal and give the gamer numerous ways in which he or she can achieve that goal. Players also get instant feedback on their decisions and quickly learn their own strengths and weaknesses.

5. Video games build teamwork. The vast majority of video games are now designed with cooperative play options.

Whether it’s fighting off alien invaders, solving puzzles, or being on the same bobsleigh team, video games offer kids a wealth of opportunities to constructively work together.

6. Video games improve hand-eye coordination. Video games have been found to improve the balance and coordination of numerous patients from stroke victims to those suffering from Parkinson’s disease. There have even been studies that suggest that surgeons who regularly play video games make fewer mistakes in the operating theatre than non-gamers. Even if your child is super-healthy and has no desire to be a surgeon or watch-maker, good hand-eye coordination is an invaluable skill to have.

7. Video games bring families together. If you can’t beat them, join them. Video games aren’t just for kids anymore.

Ask your kids to teach you a few moves and you might find that Family Fun Night is every bit as enjoyable as those games of Clue and Monopoly used to be when you were a kid! BC

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Business Courage

Etisalat renews call for broadband development Stories by Adejuwon Osunnuyi

E

tisalat Nigeria, has again thrown its weight behind the campaigns for increased broadband awareness, access and development in the country.

Speaking on the topic, ‘Investing in Broadband Infrastructures in Nigeria: The Experience of a Foreign Investor’, Director Regulatory Affairs, Etisalat Nigeria, Ibrahim Dikko, expressed concern that despite the investment of four major operators in high-capacity fibre-optic cable, pricing still presents an obstacle to rapid growth because of inland transmission cost. “With transmission cost of data from Lagos to Abuja being over ten times higher than Lagos to London, the impact of broadband is currently not felt in Nigeria,” he said Dikko emphasised the importance of a nationwide inland transmission network to facilitate broadband growth in the economy. “The capacity provided by the subsea cables is mostly concentrated along the shores of the country. To fully realize the benefits of the subsea cables, concerted effort has to be made to provide infrastructure that will make the capacity available inland”, he stated.

According to him, “Research shows that broadband is key to the development of African economies creating positive social, micro-economic and macro-economic impacts. The social impact makes possible an improvement in social links, creation of social capital and empowerment. The micro-economic impacts include improved market information flow, increase in business productivity and job creation. At the macro-economic level, it

Dikko

Monday, January 7, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

boosts GDP.” He suggested that to achieve the broadband target in Nigeria, the government should release low frequency mobile spectrum using innovative auction methods that focus on deployment and not necessarily revenue generation, address multiple taxation and expedites approval of permits and Rights of Way. Subsidy rural infrastructure to stimulate the fast deployment of infrastructure to the more rural areas will help and the development of local content development is key to stimulating the use of broadband internet.

MainOne to build 600 rack data centre

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ainOne Cable Company has said it is considering the idea of a high standard data centre in Nigeria which could accommodate 600 racks by the end of 2013.

Funke Opeke, CEO, who gave this hint said that the data centre would fully be operational by 2014 as it will host data from telecoms operators and Internet Service Providers (ISPs) who till now have been hosting their data from outside the country.

Explaining that “The Data Centre will boost infrastructure in the country,” she added that the data centre would have full capacity to host large and small volume of sensitive data from small and big organisations.

The data centre will be made with full capacity as the fibre optic cable used by the company has brought the country a huge amount of bandwidth capacity.

This entails the ability to host large volumes of data from each organisation. This will also enable Nigerian companies to divert their data back within the country, which will help to keep the business within the Nigeria’s economy.

Commenting on the company’s plan, Babatunde Dada, MainOne’s chief financial officer, said that the data centre

such as North America, China, the developed economies of Asia, and Western Europe, Mawston said.

South Korea’s Samsung Electronics is forecast to sell 290 million smartphones this year, up from a projected 215 million in 2012, the research firm said. Apple’s smartphone sales are projected to reach 180 million this year, up 33 percent from last year, slightly trailing Samsung’s 35 percent increase.

This will give Samsung a 33 percent share of the 2013 smartphone market, up from last year’s estimated 31 percent, while Apple will hold 21 percent, versus last year’s 20 percent.

Opeke

is specifically aimed at serving Nigerians.

He said the company will continue to develop its business, while it awaits government conclusion to open up the broadband business market that will allow MainOne to provide cheaper broadband capacities to Nigerians.

bution to the mobile financial sector and are poised to make considerable market impact in the future.

The inaugural Kalahari awards are dedicated to acknowledging creativity, commitment and excellence in the mobile financial services across Africa.

Samsung phones MobileMoneyAfrica opens registration for to widen lead over Apple in 2013 Expo/Awards

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ll is now set for the Third MobileMoneyAfrica’s annual event taking place on February 6-7 at the Lagos Oriental Hotel, Lagos as the organisers said registration is now open to intending participants.

Details at www.mobilemoneyexpo.com said that the theme of the event is ‘Promoting interoperability’: Unlocking the growth of mobilemoney.

As a leading continental event in the mobilemoney ecosystem calendar, the two day summit brings all stakeholders from technology, application providers, financial institutions, micro finance, regulators, agency network and mobile network operators together to deliberate on issues in the ecosystem in Africa and proffer solutions to industry challenges.

The two-day event offers high level engagement, interactions, plenary with top level executives from the mobile financial industry across the world addressing the industry most challenging issues – inter-operability across mobile money schemes at country, regional and continental level.

The 2013 event is packed with workshops and sessions by leading subject matter experts to keep you up to date with mobile financial services developments across Africa.

The event is expected to also host the inaugural mobile money Kalahari awards to be given to organizations that have made significant contri-

S

amsung Electronics Co. Ltd. is expected to widen its lead over Apple Inc in global smartphone sales this year with 35 per cent growth, helped by a broad product line-up.

Apple, returning the offensive, could roll out a smaller, cheaper “iPhone Mini” this year to grab market share by targeting demand from users of lower-end smartphones, Strategy Analytics said.

“We expect Samsung to slightly extend its lead over Apple this year because of its larger multitier product portfolio,” Neil Mawston, executive director at Strategy Analytics said.

Global smartphone shipments will jump 27 percent to 875 million shipments this year, slowing from last year’s torrid 41 percent pace as growth eased in many key markets

Mawston

Nokia Siemens merges Africa, Middle East Operations

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okia Siemens Networks has reorganised its Middle East and Africa businesses into one division combining its Asia operations in a bid to serve multinational customers better.

Specifically, the new regional structure will help NSN to provide a more integrated service to operators that address African and Middle Eastern markets, as well as those that are either based or have operations further afield in Asia, like Bharti Airtel and Etisalat, for example.

Ashish Chowdhary will be in overall charge of the Asia, Middle East and Africa (AMEA) business, while Igor Leprince, who has been running NSN’s Middle East business, will run the newlycombined Middle East and Africa (MEA) division.

Leprince said Nokia Siemens Networks has identified “increasing demand from operators for advanced mobile broadband technologies including TD-LTE and FDDLTE” in the MEA region Indeed, Vodacom in October launched South Africa’s first LTE service, and on Wednesday, Bahrain’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) revealed plans to auction spectrum for what it terms as “post-3G services”. It has proposed 24 January as a date for launching an invitation to tender (ITT).

“With our focus on being the world’s specialist in mobile broadband through product innovation and quality processes, we are absolutely committed to helping our MEA customers realise their vision of becoming advanced mobile broadband providers,” Leprince said. BC BC

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Business Courage A17 33

Monday, January 7, 2013

The Stock Market last week

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ctivities on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) closed Friday on a positive note with All share Index appreciating by 0.34 per cent to 28,538.06 as against 28,441.39 Thursday. The stock market opened for four days last week as a result of the public holiday to mark the New Year celebration.

Meanwhile, a turnover of 972.737 million shares worth N8.509 billion in 13,745 deals was recorded last week in contrast to a total of 571.077 million shares valued at N5.246 that exchanged hands previous week in 7,579 deals.

The Financial Services sector was the most active during the week (measured by turnover volume) with 654.080 million shares worth N5.765 billion exchanged hands by investors in 8,625 deals Volume in the sector was largely driven by activity in the shares of Zenith Bank Plc, First City Monument Bank Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc and FBN Holdings Plc. Trading in the shares of the four banks accounted for 308.139 million shares, representing 47.11 per cent and 31.68 per cent of the sector turnover and total turnover traded during the week respectively.

The Conglomerates sector boosted by activity in the shares of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc followed on the week’s activity chart with a turnover of 166.455 million shares valued at

to close at N9.121 trillion. All but one of the sectoral indices appreciated: the Bloomberg NSE 30, Bloomberg NSE Consumer Goods, Bloomberg NSE Banking, Bloomberg NSE Insurance, and Bloomberg NSE Oil/Gas index appreciated by 2.61 per cent (+47.12per cent YTD), 1.54per cent (+43.46per cent YTD), 8.31per cent(+31.26 per cent YTD), 3.56per cent (-14.41per cent YTD) and 0.84per cent (-30.10 per cent YTD) respectively.

However, NSE Lotus II depreciated by 1.06per cent (+42.88 per cent YTD).

Nigerian Stock Exchange floor

N174.680 million in 458 deals.

The Consumers Goods sector (measured by turnover volume) was third with 61.541 million shares valued at N1.731 billion traded in 2,261 deals. The top three sectors accounted for 883.808 million shares valued at N7.723 billion traded in 11,457 deals, thus accounting for 90.86 per cent, 90.76 per cent and 83.35 per cent, of the volume, value and number of deals respectively.

Also traded during the week were 438 units of NewGold Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) valued at N1.108 million

exchanged hands in four deals in contrast to a total of 213 units valued at N539.090 million transacted last week in 2 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 appreciated by 2.41per cent to close at 28,538.06.

Also, Market Capitalization of the listed equities appreciated by 2.41 per cent

Top Ten Most Traded Stocks

Top Ten Most Traded Sector

Top 10 Gainers of the week

Top 10 Losers of the week

Summary of Price Change A review of the equity price movements indicated that fifty-one (51) equities gained while twelve equities recorded price declines and prices of one hundred and thirty-two equities remained constant. When compared with the preceding week, thirty-one equities gained while twenty –one equities recorded price declines and prices of one hundred and forty-three equities remained constant.

Report on the OTC Market for FGN Bonds A turnover of 23.931 million units valued at N24.756 billion in 40 deals were recorded in contrast to 113,423 million units worth N126.041 billion in 515 deals recorded in the preceding week ended December 28th, 2012. BC

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National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Behind d Wheels This page is open to sponsorship

The luxury cars for 2013 door hot hatch powered by a turbocharged 1.6 litre engine with 132kW and 240Nm. As with Ford’s Focus ST, the Fiesta ST will only be available with a six-speed manual transmission.

Audi A3 Sportback 2013

Audi

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udi’s calendar for 2013 includes an all-new A3 hatch and several performance cars that will have wellheeled petrol heads readying their chequebooks.

The new A3 Sportback will arrive in May, followed by the regular version in July. The cars will be available with a range of four petrol and diesel engines ranging from 77kW to 132kW, as well as manual and dualclutch transmissions.

The German manufacturer’s year starts with a storming new diesel engine option for the A6 and A7 that kicks out 230kW and 650Nm. The 3.0TDI bi-turbo donk has plenty of poke and will be an option through Audi from January.

The high-performance S3 version of the new hatch will arrive in October and is expected to use a highly tuned version of the 2.0 TFSI engine in the TTS and previous S3.

February will see two of Audi’s hottest cars arrive. The new RS4 Avant is a 331kW station wagon that puts its power through a seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox and all-wheel-drive.

As with its arch-rivals the BMW M3 and Mercedes-Benz C63 AMG, the RS4 has a naturally aspirated V8 and performance to rival just about anything with four doors.

BMW BMW’s year will start with a six-cylinder hybrid version of the 7-Series luxury sedan this month. A new 3-Series touring (wagon) will hit showrooms before April, followed by the 3-Series GT four-door coupe after June.

The Z4 convertible is set for a facelift in July and could get updated engines and BMW’s latest fuel-saving technology.

The brand has not yet revealed a release date for its stunning new 4-Series coupe, which

has been sold until now as a 3-Series coupe.

The 4-Series is longer, wider and lower than its predecessor and will be available with a range of petrol and diesel engines, though performance enthusiasts will have to wait until 2014 to drive the replacement for BMW’s M3 coupe.

BMW insiders suggest that there could be a special edition of the current, V8-powered M3 sold in 2013 before it is replaced by a turbocharged six-cylinder model in 2014.

The M division will also release a V8, twin-turbo version of the 6-Series Gran Turismo in July, with the new car sharing its 412kW power plant with the M5 sedan and M6 coupe.

The M5 might benefit from a facelift for the 5-Series range which will happen after September.

Ford Ford is launching two important new cars in 2013, the Kuga small SUV and Fiesta hatch.

The all-new Ford Kuga should arrive in May, when buyers will be able to choose between a 2.0-litre TDCi diesel engine or the 1.6-litre EcoBoost petrol unit.

Ford’s Fiesta city car is also in line for an August update that will see it receive a turbocharged 1.0-litre EcoBoost engine. It will also bring Ford’s Sync connectivity system to the Fiesta line.

June will see the local debut of the Ford Fiesta ST, a three-

BMW V8-powered M3

Geely China’s Geely will introduce the EC7, a four-cylinder medium-sized hatch and sedan. The cars will go on sale nationally in the second half of 2013. It’s a significant move for Geely, which until now has only sold cars in Western Australia.

Honda The Jazz Hybrid will go on sale in February, looking quite similar to existing petrol models.

Final specification for the car has not yet been confirmed, but its fuel use should be close to the Honda Insight’s 4.3L/100km.

The Hybrid CR-Z coupe is in line for a minor facelift in April, while Honda will introduce a diesel version of its Civic hatchback in March that will be one of the most fuel-efficient cars on sale.

The 88kw 1.6-litre turbo diesel engine uses just 3.6L/100km of fuel.

A new Accord sedan is also due in June.

Hyundai Hyundai is launching just one new car in 2013, a wagon version of its i30 hatch. The i30 tourer will be available before Easter, priced from only $29,990.

The car will share the i30’s petrol and diesel engines and be available in both manual and automatic forms.

Infiniti Australia’s newest luxury car brand will sell a sedan to rival the Audi A4, BMW 3-Series, Mercedes-Benz C-Class and Lexus IS. Infiniti says the allnew Q50 sedan will be built on a front-midship platform and feature a range of petrol and diesel four-cylinder engines.

Jeep Jeep will launch face lifted versions of its Compass, Patriot and Grand Cherokee SUVs in 2013. The range will come in for mid-year updates, and it appears that only the Wrangler will miss out on a refresh in 2013 as there is rumoured to be an allnew Cherokee by the end of the year.

Kia Kia will bring in a new version of its Rondo MPV in April, giving families another choice of seven-seat motoring.

The brand will also introduce an all-new Cerato sedan in May, followed in July by a five-door hatchback version that should be its biggest seller here. A replacement of the two-door, fourcylinder Koup is due in late November.

Land Rover Land Rover will launch its new Range Rover flagship in February 2013. Extensive use of aluminium has made the new car up to 420kg lighter than the outgoing model, despite being no less luxurious.

car has plenty of potential.

Lexus has not revealed exactly how much power the sedan will have, but the IS350’s V6 makes 233kW in the GS350 and should kick out more than 200kW in the IS350, mated to an eight-speed automatic gearbox. The smaller IS250 will have about 150kW. Mazda Mazda now has only two models which have not been updated with the brand’s Skyactiv engine technology.

The Mazda2 and Mazda3 will soon receive an updated look as well as new engines and gearboxes to bring them in line with competitors.

Mazda2 will be released in the third quarter next year. The car should feature a range of updates including a change away from the current car’s dated four-speed auto gearbox.

The small car range will benefit from styling changes that bring it into line with the svelte new Mazda6.

Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz is off to a

Mercedes-Benz 250B hatch

The 4WD is available with three petrol and diesel engines with power ranging from 190kW to 375kW. The brand will also release a new Range Rover Sport in October, with the full range of engines led by a Supercharged V8 with 375kW. Lexus Lexus’ local plans for 2013 revolve around one model line, its small IS250 and IS350 sedans.

The IS Series is by far Lexus’ best selling model, but 2012 sales of the ageing range are down by between 17.8 per cent (IS350) and 32.6 per cent (IS250C).

The brand promises that its new car will be dynamically superior to BMW’s 3-Series, and our preview drive found that the

running start with the new turbocharged B250 hatch going on sale in time for 2013, leading a range of new metal that will keep the brand fresh.

The brand will show its face lifted E-Class sedan at the Detroit motor show in January, before the car goes on sale locally in June.

The revised car will use single-unit headlamps in place of the quad-light look used by the E-Class for almost 20 years. The two door, four-seat E-Class cabriolet and coupe will adopt the new look in September.

A new 245kW twin-turbocharged, 3.0-litre V6 petrol engine will be available with the new E400 model, which should dash to 100km/h in less than six seconds.

Mercedes-Benz will launch the CLA, an all-new small se-

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Business Courage A19 35

Monday, January 7, 2013

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dan in the second half of 2013.

The CLA will take design cues from the bigger CLS sedan and will offer the option of a 155kW, 2.0 litre turbo engine and sevenspeed dual-clutch transmission.

A new A-Class hatchback will arrive in March, offering drivers the opportunity to stay in touch with social media when behind the wheel.

Mercedes-Benz will target more blue-collar brands such as Ford and Volkswagen with the new A-Class, which could surpass the C-Class sedan as the manufacturer’s most popular model.

Mitsubishi Mitsubishi returns to the city

The 2013 SSS will be powered by a turbocharged 1.6-litre, four-cylinder engine and is expected to have about 140kW of power. Nissan uses the same engine in its Juke, an odd-looking SUV that will finally make it to Australia in August.

Nissan’s new Patrol 4WD will touch down in February, but only in V8 form. It will be joined by the latest evolution of Nissan’s GT-R supercar, which has been tweaked for even more speed and will go on sale from February as well.

The Pathfinder ute is also in line for an upgrade in the second half of 2013.

Nissan’s Altima sedan, a replacement for the Maxima, will

Mitsubishi Mirage

car segment in January with the new Mirage. The 1.2-litre, threecylinder hatch will be available in three trim levels priced from $12,990.

A much-needed automatic variant of the diesel ASX SUV will arrive in May, and a rangeextender hybrid variant of its Mitsubishi Outlander will arrive in June.

The Outlander PHEV is a plug-in hybrid matched to a diesel engine with a longer range and lower emissions than the regular diesel SUV. Nissan Nissan is set for a huge year, starting with the all-new Pulsar sedan in February and following with the Pulsar Hatch in May or June.

The hatch range will include a modern take on the Pulsar SSS theme, a hot hatch that was popular in the 90s.

Nissan Patrol Review

go on sale in the new financial year, well after its V8 Supercar racing debut in February’s Clipsal 500.

Peugeot Peugeot will introduce a face lifted version of its RCZ coupe in May. The stylish two-door will adopt a look already seen in Europe that is similar to the new 208 hatch.

The French manufacturer’s latest hot hatch will go on sale in August in the form of the 208 GTI. Powered by a turbocharged 1.6-litre, four-cylinder engine with 147kW, the little lion will take on Ford’s new Fiesta ST and the Volkswagen Polo GTI when it arrives.

Peugeot’s 5008 MPV will be available from June. The sevenseat SUV is sold overseas with a choice of six petrol and diesel engines which may make it to Australia.

Skoda Skoda’s new Rapid will arrive in sedan form around Easter. The Rapid is smaller than Skoda’s Octavia sedan and will be available with a range of Volkswagen-sourced petrol and diesel drivelines.

The Rapid may also arrive in hatch form, but Skoda can’t say if it will be here in 2013. The same goes for the new Skoda Octavia, which has been caught testing overseas and will be launched in Europe early in the year.

Toyota Toyota will launch its all-new RAV4 in February. The new car has a range of four-cylinder engines, with the thirsty 200kW V6 used in the current RAV4 swapped for a fuel-efficient 2.2-litre four-cylinder diesel turbo diesel that should give the car sub 6L/100km fuel use figures.

Other models will use a Corolla-sourced 102kW 2.0-litre petrol-fuelled four to drive the front wheels, while the Camry will donate its 2.5 litre, 133kW engine for use in all-wheel-drive cars.

Volkswagen Volkswagen is set to have a busy year with the launch of its new Golf and Beetle. The larger but lighter seventh-generation Golf will arrive between May and June, powered by a choice of petrol and diesel power plants.

Launch engines are expected to include a 1.4-litre, 103kW, 250Nm petrol engine and a 2.0-litre turbo diesel with 110kW and 320Nm. A successor to Volkswagen’s successful Golf GTI hot hatch is not expected to go on sale in 2013.

The next-generation GTI will once again be powered by a turbocharged, four-cylinder engine, and an optional limited slip differential could help the GTI return to the top of the hot hatch totem.

The new bug will be released in February with the brand’s petrol-powered, four-cylinder 118TSI engine.

Volvo Volvo’s new V40 hatch will be available in Australia from March. The small car will bring a raft of new safety technology to the small car segment, including pedestrian airbags and the ability to tell your phone where you left the car.

It has a range of four- and five-cylinder petrol and diesel engines, with maximum power varying between 85kW and 190kW. It might be joined by the soft-road V40 Cross Country, a tougher version of the V40 which would not be available until the second half of 2013. BC

Autocare Car odours that could cause problem for your car

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ome car problems give you no warning whatsoever. But fortunately, other problems announce themselves with definite odours.

Here is a checklist of car odours that may be no big deal, or may require that you put down the keys, call a tow truck and let a professional handle your auto care needs.

Burning coolant You could have a blown head gasket, which causes coolant to mix with your fuel. If this is the case, you may notice thick, sweet-smelling, whitish smoke coming from the tailpipe. At this point, you may need professional auto care, so see your mechanic.

Exhaust You may have a leak in your exhaust system, like a hole in your muffler, tailpipe, or exhaust manifold or exhaust pipe.

Once again, it may be time for professional auto care.

Burning trash Is your engine burning oil? If your car is older, you may have worn piston rings. These rings seal gaps between pistons and engine cylinders. If they wear down, oil can leak out of the cylinder walls. The oil burns, and exits the tailpipe in smelly, blackish puffs of smoke. Don’t take chances. See your auto care technician.

Hot oil If oil is leaking, it may boil onto engine components and bake. Start by checking to see if your oil cap is loose.

Fresh asphalt This could be a sign of an overheated engine. Something is melting down, like plastic parts under the hood. If that happens, a chain reaction may result, making the engine hotter and hotter.

Raw fuel Is the fuel cap loose? Did you overfill the tank? If neither of these is possible, don’t risk starting the engine. You may have a severed fuel line or leaky fuel-injection system. You’re going to need professional auto care, so your best bet is to have it towed to a technician you trust.

Rotten eggs This could indicate a plugged or damaged catalytic converter or a too-rich air/fuel mixture. Call your mechanic, since this is a sign of electrical malfunction.

Burnt toast A burnt toast smell could mean the electrical insulation is burning. Again, call your mechanic for a professional auto care opinion. You may have an electrical malfunction.

Burning plastic This may be as simple as a plastic bag caught under the car. Use a flashlight to check. If that’s the case, you’ll probably just have to wait for the plastic to burn off.

Burning rubber A rubber hose may be resting on the exhaust manifold, or a belt may be shredded by a jammed pulley. If a belt is loose or worn, it is usually indicated by a squeal. Turn off your engine and inspect the hoses and belts and replace as necessary. Could the smell be from your brakes? As mentioned above, after a long, steep descent, it’s not uncommon to smell your brakes. Try using a lower gear. If you smell your brakes during normal driving, get them checked immediately. BC

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Business Courage

Monday, January 7, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Wema Bank declares N1.8bn loss N60bn phones for in nine months farmers, scandal in the brew

Stories By Tayo Adeleke

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ema Bank Plc last week released its nine months financial report indicating a loss of N1.8 billion, despite achieving growth in gross earnings.

The bank had also posted N10.09 billion loss after tax at the end of financial year ended December 2011.

The bank posted a loss after tax of N1.8 billion as against a profit after tax of N1.2 billion in the corresponding year.

Basic earnings per share stood at -14 kobo compared with nine kobo in 2011.

However, details of the Wema Bank’s third quarter financial performance shows a growth of top line indices from comparable nine months period ended September 2012. The bank posted interest income of N16.44 billion, 105 per cent increase from N8.01 billion in 2011 and a net interest income close at N7.1 billion, up from N3.5 billion in 2011.

Balance sheet recorded a mixed performance as a growth of 17 per cent was recorded in loans and advances having posted N78.48 billion against N67.1 billion in 2011. The bank was able to increase its customer deposits by eight per cent to N162.69 billion against N150.05 billion in 2011.

Fixed assets dropped to N13.2 billion from N13.48 billion while cash and equivalents dropped by 16 per cent to

Q Segun Oloketuyi, Managing Director, Wema Bank Plc

N20.01 billion. Shareholders’ fund has deteriorated significantly in the review period, crashing to N3.17 billion, 94 per cent drop from N49.31 billion in 2011.

The bank has put the non performing loan (NPL) for the third quarter of 2012 at 4.5 per cent, attributing it to an aggressive focus on loans books cleaner efforts and better risk management strategies.

Wema Bank recently declared its intention to inject N35 billion fresh capitals into its business, the additional capital which the bank says will enable it seek regulatory approval for a National Banking License. BC

Lekki LCDA to boost tourism potential in 2013

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ukandas Ogidan, the Chairman, Lekki Local Council Development Area (LCDA) has said that the council had made plans to boost the tourism potential of the area in 2013.

Ogidan said that tourism was one important sector that the council had taken seriously in order to make the local government attractive to local and international tourists. ``A lot of development projects have been put in place to boost tourism in the local government and consequently encourage investors in the tourism industry. ``The local government is equally making frantic efforts in ensuring that tourism and resort centers in the area have pleasurable accommodation, security and proper infrastructural facilities,’’ he said.

Ogidan said that places of interest that could be developed into profitable and enjoyable tourist attractions were many in the area. ``The local government is blessed with tourist sites like lagoons, creeks, Islands, historical centers, that attract tourists to the area.

The Local government is also blessed with a natural beach. The beach is well maintained and always clean, beautified with natural coconut trees, which form shades or canopies for the tourists or visitors,’’ he said.

The counil boss said that so many resorts, such as Eko tourist centre, hermitage resort centre, and a host of others, have also sprung up in the local government, adding that the council would continue to deliver its mandate in ensuring that its richness in tourists’ potential was well developed and tapped. BC

Women association spends N1.5m on construction of chicken slaughter slab

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group, Women Entrepreneur Group, under Bauchi State Fadama III Project, has spent N1.5 million on the construction of a modern chickens slaughter slab.

The Chairperson of the group, Hajara Abubakar, made the fact known on Friday in Bauchi when she visited the State Coordinator of the Fadama III Project, Dr Ali Garba.

The group is among 97 Fadama community associations that benefited from over N313 million disbursed by the project in the past. Hajara, who led other members of the association on the visit, explained that the fund

was allocated to the association by the Fadama III project.

According to her, the construction of the slab has improved sanitary condition of chickens consumed in the state, adding that the project had also improved the income of members of the association.

Responding, the State Coordinator, Fadama III project, Dr Garba, urged other associations to emulate the gesture by the group which he commended for the establishing the slab at Muda Lawal Market within Bauchi Metropolis, which was yielding the desired goal. BC

uite a number of Nigerians will agree that the Minister of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Dr Akinwunmi Adesina, in one of the very few square pegs in square holes in President Goodluck Jonathan’s cabinet.

Clearly passionate about his job, Adesina also comes with a strong pedigree in the agricultural sector and before his appointment, had worked with various institutions including the United Nations and the Rockefeller Foundation working in various countries developing successful agricultural initiatives and programmes.

Since his coming, he has implemented some significant initiatives geared towards transforming the agricultural sector.

For one, he has been able to break the backs of the evil fertiliser mafia that had cheated farmers for years by selling subsidised inputs at commercial rates by ensuring that fertiliser now gets directly to the famers who now enjoy the subsidy.

Adesina has outlined a clear road map for the commercialisation of agriculture with a target of increasing food production to 20 million tonnes annually by 2015 and generating some three million jobs in the process across the entire agric value chain.

This minister has also revamped the cassava initiative started by President Olusegun Obasanjo as Nigeria is now a major exported of cassava chips apart from the cassava bread initiative..

Under his watch also, the agric sector has seen some eight billion dollars of new investments in 2012 alone.

The minister has also developed a new initiative tagged “Nigerian Agricultural Entrepreneurs “ aimed at producing about 760,000 young commercial farmers across the country who would require some N3trn in fresh loans from the banking sector to take off.

Adesina is also working on creating marketing cooperatives that will be run as private concerns to replace the marketing boards of old with a view to ensuring that farmers get fair and commercial returns for their output instead of being subject to the dictates of mercenary produce buyers who take advantage of the inadequate storage facilities to force farmers to sell off produce at rock bottom prices.

The minster has also introduced the Growth Enhancement Support, GES, a high impact initiative that has seen an additional seven million tonnes of food produced last year alone and indeed contributed to mitigate the impact of massive flooding in many parts of the country.

Under the GES, farmers get subsidised inputs such as improved seedlings and fertiliser to boost production and reduce costs via an electronic wallet system that ensures that the input gets to farmers and not traders.

Now it seems that in spite of his stellar performance so far Adesina may be falling into the trap set by civil servants who do not like the way he has blocked the many loopholes in the agric ministry with the proposal to buy 10 million mobile phone handsets for farmers to support the GES. One is unable to see the logic in ministry, having tried so much to improve the lot of farmers through the initiatives enumerated above with clear results, to now descend into arena of computer village traders by dealing in handsets.

It is befuddling that the ministry is now planning to spend N60bn on importation of 10 million mobile handsets from the US and China for distribution to so that they can receive the necessary codes to collect subsidised inputs at their local GES centre as well as information on weather, prices and the rest.

How can anyone believe that an average farmer cannot afford a mobile phone worth N6,000 when beggars on Lagos streets carry one or two phones?

I will bet six months wages that this plan is a result of pressure by some vested interests to find a way to loot public funds.

What farmers need, and Adesina knows this more than I do, is the right policy framework and support to modernise their operations to bring efficiency, lower costs and increase returns. In short, farmers want a better life out of the stereotypical poverty stricken existence that most have been confined to and which has prevented young persons from going into agriculture despite the vast potential for huge profits.

What they need is extension services, improved seedlings, agricultural equipment, pest control chemicals, water supply storage and preservation facilities and access to markets among other necessities.

As widely acknowledged, Nigeria has no business with food importation at least for staple with virtually all grains able to grow here, yet we import chicken and turkey and even canned tomatoes from Italy while our produce waste away on farms or on the y to cities.

Adesina should focus on his winning strategies and move quickly with the marketing board plan and others he has enumerated.

This mobile phone procurement matter is a trap designed to rubbish an otherwise brilliant outing so far as minister and he should just dump it. It is the stuff scandals are made off. It is easy to predict that if the plan sails through, farmers will still complain that they have not befitted, there will be issues with distribution, and most will end up not being imported at all or end up as gifts to friends, mistresses and family members of those in charge of distribution.

Minster Adesina needs go watch his back on this. BC

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage

Monday, January 7, 2013

A21 37

NSE names Stanbic IBTC Nigeria’s leading stockbroker

By Johnson Okanlawon

S

tanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Limited, a subsidiary of Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, has confirmed its position as the country’s foremost stockbroking firm in 2012.

According to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), the top ten stockbrokers accounted for 66.09 per cent of the total value traded last year, with Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers leading the table and accounting for 16.96 per cent or N223.3 billion of the total value of business conducted on the Exchange during the period.

The firm has been the nation’s leading stockbroking firm in Nigeria for the last eight years.

Chief Executive Officer of Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Limited, Oladele Sotubo, who expressed satisfaction with the company’s performance during the period, said it confirms its outstanding work in the Nigerian capital market, part of which involved transactions in the 40 most capitalized stocks quoted on the Exchange.

He said the company will continue to work with regulators and operators to establish a world-class capital market in Nigeria by highlighting

David-Borha, CEO, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc

and implementing strategies that would help investors derive optimal value for their investments.

He added that Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers is capable of executing trades for clients not only in Nigeria, but also in other countries across the world including Kenya, Ghana, South Africa and as far away as New York, London, Dubai and Singapore, among many others.

“The firm looks forward to an enhanced performance in 2013 as the capital market is still in a recovery mode, with

a significant number of listed equities still reflecting sound fundamentals,” he stated.

Chief Executive Officer of Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, Sola David-Borha, stated that Stanbic IBTC will continue to spearhead efforts aimed at actualizing Nigeria’s developmental aspirations, and will leverage Standard Bank Group’s in-depth knowledge of emerging markets and understanding of investor behaviour to provide clients with equity offerings customized to meet each client’s unique needs.

She recalled that the recent appointment of the firm as stockbroker to the Federal Government on FGN Bonds as well as market maker by the Exchange clearly demonstrates recognition of the company’s ability to deliver on its mandates as well as the Stanbic IBTC Group’s overall leadership in the various market segments.

The Exchange also gave the award of the broker dealing firm for 2012 to the Stanbic IBTC Stockbrokers Limited, in addition to the EmeaFinance Magazine Award for the Best Brokerage House in Nigeria. BC

Market Indicators for Week Ended 04-01-13 All-Share Index 28, 538.06 points Market Capitalisation N9,121,232,078,283.99

NSE index appreciates by 0.34 per cent

C

umulative value of equities on the Nigerian Stock Exchange rebounded last Friday as the All Share Index appreciated by 0.34 per cent. The market indices had depreciated by 0.21 per cent on Thursday.

The All-Share Index grew by 96.67 points to close at 28,538.05 against 28,441.38 recorded on Thursday. Also, the market capitalisation of listed securities grew by N31 billion to close at N9.121 from the N9.090

trillion posted on Thursday.

Presco led the gainers chart with N1.88 to close at N20.72 per share. Nestle followed with a gain of N1.10 to close at N701.10 per share, while FBN Holdings appreciated by 60k to close at N16.98 per share.

Forte Oil also rose by 38k to close at N8.11 per share, while Diamond Bank gained 32k to close at N5.42 per share. On the other hand, NewGold led the price losers’ chart with a loss of N64 to close at N2, 495 per unit

Afromedia’s woes deepens

T

he poor performance of Afromedia Plc has refused to abate as its losses increased significantly to N4.4 billion in financial year ended September 2012 from N301 million losses in 2011.

The company recorded a turnover of N1.64 billion, representing a decrease of 49 per cent when compared to N3.24 billion achieved during the previous year. It posted a pre-tax loss of N4.3 billion, compared to the previous year’s losses of N410 million, a significant decline of 967 per cent.

Profit after tax went down from N440 million in 2010 to N301 million and N4.4 billion

losses in 2011 and 2012 respectively. The company’s chairman, Onaolapo Soleye attributed the recent decline in profitability to the challenges of the stiff competition and intense regulatory demands.

The Out-of-Home media advertising industry, he said, faced severe business conditions in the past year, stressing that this was largely due to pressures from advertisers, who were cutting down their advertising budget to ask for reduced prices.

Unlike previous year when the company paid dividend despite recording losses, the company did not propose any dividend for review year. It will

Guinness dropped by N3.75 to close at N273 per share, while Julius Berger lost N1.17 to close at N38.48 per share.

Nigerian Breweries dipped

by N1.15 to close at N149.06 per share, while NASCON lost 20k to close at N8per share.

In all, investors exchanged 233.81 million shares worth N1.6 billion in 2,875 deals on Friday against the 289.43 million shares valued at N2.5 billion traded in 4,511 deals on Thursday. BC be recalled that since the listing of the shares of Afromedia Plc on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) in May 2009, investors have not received the expected returns from the company in terms of dividend payment and share price appreciation.

For instance, at the end of the financial year 2009, five kobo dividend was approved for shareholders while the board decided not to pay dividend in 2010 despite growing its profit by 29 per cent.

Details of the company’s balance sheet shows a 10 per cent drop in fixed assets to close at N1.72 billion while long time assets dropped by 48 per cent to N327 million. Current assets closed at N1.97 billion, down by 67 per cent from N5.92 billion in 2011. BC

Stock Updates GAINERS COMPANY

OPENING PRICE

CLOSING PRICE

CHANGE

PRESCO

18.84

20.74

FIDELITY

2.48

2.72

1.88 0.24

AIICO

0.66

0.72

0.06

DIAMONDBANK

5.10

5.42

0.32

AIRSERVICE

4.18

4.40

0.22

LOSERS COMPANY

OPENING PRICE

CLOSING PRICE

CHANGE

PHARMDEKO

2.60

2.47

FIDSON

1.14

1.09

-0.05

34.65

33.48

-1.17

CONTINSURE

0.79

0.77

-0.02

NASCON

8.20

8.00

-0.20

JBERGER

-0.13

Inter-Bank Rates TENOR

RATE%(PREV) 28-Dec-2012

RATE%(CURR) 03-Jan-2013

CALL

10.2500 – 11.0000

10.2500 – 10.5000

OBB

10.2500 – 11.7000

10.1500 – 10.5000

Primary Market Auction TENOR

AMOUNT (N’mn)

RATE (%)

DATE

91-Days

31838.51

11.69

27-Dec-12

182-Days

94790.28

11.75

27-Dec-12

364-Days

40536.7

11.79

21-Dec-12

Open Market Operation TENOR 139-Days

AMOUNT (N’mn) 50,000

RATE (%) 13.32

DATE 04-Jan-13

132-Days

50,000

13.28

04-Jan-13

119-Days

100,000

13.29

03-Jan-13

Wholesale Dutch Auction System AMOUNT OFFERED

AMOUNT SOLD

DATE

$300m

MARKET DEMAND $300m

$300m

19-Dec-12

$200m

$200m

$200m

17-Dec-12

A22 38

Business Courage

Monday, January 7, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Ikeja Hotel: When huge operating expenses impair earnings

By Tayo Adeleke

F

inancial analysis on Ikeja Hotels Plc for the financial year ended December 2011 shows a rather unimpressive performance against previous year. The company posted loss of N2.46 billion for the period compared to N2.22 billion profit the previous year. Both profitability and liquidity ratios nosedived in the reviewed year.

However, the noticeable positive area from the results was the improvement achieved in the balance sheet. For instance, the proportion of debts to equity funds fell from 128 per cent in 2010 to 49 per cent in the review year.

This implies that the rate of the company’s exposure to borrowed funds has reduced greatly. This could also be attested to by the improvement in working capital which outgrown previous years by 25.2 per cent to close at N1.22 billion from N973.7 million in 2010.

Ikeja Hotel Plc, formerly Properties Development Limited, was incorporated on November 18, 1972. It owns the Sheraton Lagos Hotel, a core investor in Capital Hotel Plc (Owners of Sheraton Abuja Hotel) and a core shareholder in the Tourist Company of Nigeria (Owners of the Federal Palace Hotel & Casino, Lagos).

Performance Although the audited results of Ikeja Hotel Plc recorded a turnover of N11.94 billion, an increase of 56 per cent over N7.66 billion in the preceding year, the management could not Ikeja Hotel Financial Data

Inventory also moved to N411 million from N203 million in 2010. Its investments dipped significantly to N798.7 million from N4.84 billion in 2010. However, cost to income ratios increased by 4.09 basis points to 55.08 per cent from 50.99 per cent posted in 2010.

Fixed assets also increased significantly by 459 per cent to N3.41 billion from N610.19 million in 2010.

earn profit for its stakeholders due to huge amount declared as amortisation which stood at N3.92 billion in year 2011.

Though, details of the write off was not stated, it is suspected that it might have been used to clear the company’s term loan.

The company posted a loss of N2.46 billion, representing 211 per cent decline over the N2.22 billion profit recorded in 2010. Earnings per share during the period fell from 107 kobo in 2010 to loss per share of 118 kobo in 2011. At the end of the year, shareholders’ fund stood at N1.29 billion, compared with N2.01 billion at the end of 2010.

Profitability Expectedly, profitability nosedived during the review year. Ikeja Hotel’s profit margin dropped significantly to a negative figure of 21 per cent from 28.97 per cent in 2010.

Gross profit margin fell from 49 per cent in 2010 to 44.9 per cent in 2011 while pre-tax margin as well dipped by 44.82 basis points to -17.11 per cent.

The company recorded a Return on Total Assets (ROTA) of -18.42 per cent and a Return on Equity (ROE) of -191 per cent in the 2011 financial year.

These are significant drop over 17.06 per cent and 109.4 per cent recorded in the preceding financial year respectively.

As observed above, a trend analysis of the growth in the company’s ROTA and ROE is related to that of profit after tax (PAT). This implies that, the company is not making an optimum use of its assets as 2011 =N=(‘Nm)

2010 =N=(‘Nm)

Gross Earnings

11 942 843

7 664 306

Cost of sales

6 578 538

3 908 148

Gross Profit

5 364 305

3 756 158

Profit Before Taxation

-2 043 465

2 123 658

Profit After Taxation

-2 456 380

2 220 722

total assets

13 334 190

13 016 561

Shareholders fund

1 288 412

2 029 987

Current Asset

9 126 188

7 565 051

Current Liabilities

7 110 784

4 637 240

Ibru

reflected by the ratios. This is a key area that the management needs to look and improve on.

Liquidity There was no improvement in the liquidity position of the hospitality company from its previous year as a result of increase in bank overdraft and trade creditors. As a results, it could not meet its financial obligation as at when due as both current and quick ratios fell short of acceptable figure of 2.0;1 and 1.5;1 respectively for a company with strong assets. Current ratios moved from 1.63:1 in 2010 to 1.28:1 in 2011 while quick ratios fell from 1.59:1 in 2010 to 1.23:1 in 2011, a declined performance from previous year figures. This downward trend is attributable to increase in current liabilities in the review period.

It was also observed that the company gave its debtors

more cushion during the review year as payment day stood at 55 days (debtors number of days), up from 43 days in 2010 while creditors number of days rose to 35 days from 10 days in 2010. These observations however suggest that the company has not been efficient in its debt recovery approach.

Capital Adequacy Ikeja Hotel’s balance sheet has a mixed performance as at December 2011 compared with its status as at the end of 2010. The proportion of debts to equity funds fell from about 128 per cent in 2010 to 49.19 percent in 2011. This implies that the company ‘s equity is strong enough to absorb borrowing funds and its exposure to term loan has reduced. Shareholders’ funds also currently stand at N1.29 billion, a drop against N2.03 billion recorded in 2011.

Value for Investors Ikeja Hotel Plc could not generate profit for its shareholders in the review year. This shows the company’s inconsistency in this area.

It would be recalled that the company declared profit in the previous year and consequently paid N22.31 million as dividend to shareholders. The current earnings per share (EPS) stood at a negative figure of 118 kobo compared with 107 kobo in 2010. However, investors can take solace from the company’s clean debt portfolio. The management has reduced the term loan to N17.54 million from N2.36 billion in 2010.

Prospect On future outlook, its chairman Goodie Ibru observed that the board and management remained steadfastly committed to its medium term strategic intent to be foremost company in the hospitality industry, pledging that efforts would be made at ensuring implementation.

However, the management needs to watch its growing cost to income ratios as a result of huge expenses. In general, experts believe that the future outlook of the company depends largely on the management cost effectiveness, diversification of business line, and aggressive marketing strategy. BC

Fixed Assets Current Assets-stocks

8 715 730

7 362 228

Trade Debtors

1 796 189

904 319

Trade Creditors

629 850

102 729

Sales Growth(%)

55.82

PAT Growth (%)

-210.61

Cost of sales (growth)

68.33

Profitability Ratios Return on Equity(%)

-190.65

109.4

Gross profit Margin(%)

44.92

49.01

Profit Margin(%)

-20.57

28.97

Pre tax Profit Margin(%)

-17.11

27.71

Return on Assets (%)

-18.42

17.06

Current Ratio

1.28

1.63

Quick Ratio

1.23

1.59

Debtors(No of days)

54.9

43.07

Creditors(No of days)

34.95

9.59

Liquidity Ratios

BC

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage A23 39

Monday, January 7, 2013

STOCKWATCH Stock Exchange weekly equities summary as at Friday, Jan 04, 2013 SECURITY

PRICE (=N=)

AGRICULTURE/AGRO-ALLIED Crop Production FTN COCOA PROCESSORS PLC 0.50 OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. 44.62 PRESCO PLC 20.72 Fishing/Hunting/Trapping ELLAH LAKES PLC. NT Livestock/Animal Specialties LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC. 1.46 CONGLOMERATES Diversified Industries A.G. LEVENTIS NIGERIA PLC. 1.41 CHELLARAMS PLC. NT JOHN HOLT PLC. 3.07 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. 33.48 ROADS NIG PLC. NT Real Estate Development PINNACLE POINT GROUP PLC NT UACN PROPERTY DEV 11.80 Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) SKYE SHELTER FUND PLC NT UNION HOMES REAL ESTATE INV NT CONSUMER GOODS Automobiles/Auto Parts DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC 0.50 Beverages--Brewers/Distillers CHAMPION BREW. PLC. NT GOLDEN GUINEA BREW. PLC. NT GUINNESS NIG PLC 273.00 INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. 16.50 JOS INT. BREWERIES PLC. NT NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. 149.06 PREMIER BREWERIES PLC NT Beverages--Non-Alcoholic 7-UP BOTTLING COMP. PLC. 42.00 Food Products BIG TREAT PLC NT DANGOTE FLOUR MILLS PLC 8.23 DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC 6.60 FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. 65.00 HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC 2.15 MULTI-TREX INTEGRATED FOODS PLC NT N NIG. FLOUR MILLS PLC. 18.38 NATIONAL SALT CO. NIG. PLC 8.10 P S MANDRIDES & CO PLC. NT U T C NIG. PLC. 0.83 UNION DICON SALT PLC. NT Food Products--Diversified CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. 29.00 NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. 701.10 Household Durables BETA GLASS CO PLC. NT NIGERIAN ENAMELWARE PLC. NT VITAFOAM NIG PLC. 3.85 VONO PRODUCTS PLC. NT Personal/Household Products P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. 27.56 UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. 47.15 Textiles/Apparel UNITED NIG. TEXTILES PLC. NT FINANCIAL SERVICES Banking ACCESS BANK PLC. 9.46 DIAMOND BANK PLC 5.42 ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INC. 11.14 FIDELITY BANK PLC 2.72 FIRST CITY MONUMENT BANK PLC. 4.70 GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. 25.15 SKYE BANK PLC 5.15 STERLING BANK PLC. 1.98 U B A PLC NT UNION BANK NIG.PLC. 7.50 UNITY BANK PLC 0.50 WEMA BANK PLC. 0.52 ZENITH BANK PLC 19.79 Insurance Carriers, Brokers & Services AFRICAN ALLIANCE INS. COY. PLC NT AIICO INSURANCE PLC. 0.72 CONFIDENCE INSURANCE PLC NT CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INS. PLC NT CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC 0.77 CORNERSTONE INS. COY. PLC. 0.50 CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED INS. PLC 1.44 EQUITY ASSURANCE PLC. NT GOLDLINK INSURANCE PLC NT GREAT NIGERIAN INSURANCE PLC NT GUINEA INSURANCE PLC. NT INTERCONTINENTAL WAPIC INS. PLC 0.63 INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INS. PLC NT INVESTMENT AND ALLIED ARN. NT LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. 0.50 LAW UNION AND ROCK INS. PLC. NT LINKAGE ASSURANCE PLC NT MANSARD INSURANCE PLC 1.91 MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC. NT N.E.M INSURANCE CO (NIG) PLC. 0.61 NIGER INSURANCE CO. PLC. NT OASIS INSURANCE PLC NT PRESTIGE ASSURANCE CO. PLC. 0.52 REGENCY ALLIANCE INS. COY PLC NT SOVEREIGN TRUST INSURANCE PLC NT STACO INSURANCE PLC NT STANDARD ALLIANCE INS. PLC. NT 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 1.18 Mortgage Carriers, Brokers &Services ABBEY BUILDING SOCIETY PLC NT ASO SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC 0.50 RESORT SAVINGS & LOANS PLC 0.50 UNION HOMES SAVINGS&LOANS PLC NT Other Financial Institutions CRUSADER ( NIG) PLC. NT DEAP CAPITAL MGT & TRUST PLC 2.02 FBN HOLDINGS PLC 16.98 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. NT Pharmaceuticals EVANS MEDICAL PLC. 0.87 FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC 1.09 GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER PLC 45.10 MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. 1.70

NOTE NT=Not Traded on 04-01-13

QUANTITY

52 WK HIGH

52 WK LOW

SHARES OUTSTANDING

EPS

MOV. (%)

Previous

70 000 225 966 2 927 600

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 6.52 26.34

0.50 41.89 16.40

NT

4.26

4.26

60 000 000

0.00

N/A

NT

281 000

1.70

0.48

1 199 549 736

0.11

2.10

1.43

9 000 NT 95 000 NT 101 732

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

#VALUE! N/A N/A N/A N/A

NT 3.40 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

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

69 318 NT

62.26 8.69

21.55 3.01

1 200 000 000 20 000 000

4.93 4.73

1.45 N/A

33.00 10.07

NT 14 693

7.28 20.15

7.28 8.82

1 375 000 000

0.00 1.66

N/A 0.00

NT 11.80

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

0.50

4 772 528 415

0.00

N/A

0.50

NT NT 139 377 422 850 NT 317 905 NT

4.63 0.68 265.00 12.83 3.20 138.85 0.97

2.23 0.68 186.00 5.23 1.61 72.50 0.93

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

0.00 0.03 9.46 0.25 0.00 5.08 0.00

N/A N/A 0.32 N/A N/A 2.80 N/A

NT NT 272.12 15.99 NT 145.00 NT

421

48.91

38.31

640 590 362

2.69

N/A

42.00

NT 256 349 4 065 071 35 523 2 994 378 NT 3 156 590 130 NT 173 223 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 0.37 10.37 0.00 2.38 N/A N/A 0.00 N/A 15.28 N/A

NT 8.20 5.98 65.00 2.10 NT NT 8.10 NT 0.72 NT

40 000 000 1 233 375 004 360 000 000

209 976 42 239

29.20 684.00

9.15 367.83

3 129 188 160 792 656 250

1.35 25.43

0.00 0.16

29.00 700.00

NT NT 1 092 852 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 1.85 N/A

NT NT 3.78 NT

114 252 174 043

43.50 41.60

22.07 22.56

3 176 381 636 3 783 296 250

0.70 1.44

-1.57 1.40

28.00 46.50

NT

0.97

0.57

843 284 027

0.00

N/A

NT

7 107 828 20 542 250 1 466 261 31 838 912 25 058 296 16 454 091 2 808 080 14 940 819 NT 2 353 076 1 246 653 4 284 851 41 912 853

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

4.53 9.49 1.27 20.35 36.23 9.35 20.33 17.86 #VALUE! 2.04 0.00 #VALUE! 6.23

9.05 4.95 11.00 2.26 3.45 23.00 4.28 1.68 4.41 7.35 0.50 NT 18.63

NT 8 025 584 NT NT 368 000 200 000 1 915 311 NT NT NT NT 827 188 NT NT 27 809 NT NT 5 059 586 NT 13 317 800 NT NT 1 529 355 NT NT NT NT 2 000 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 4.37 N/A 10.91 N/A N/A 1.96 N/A 0.00 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

NT 0.61 NT NT 0.78 NT 1.33 NT NT NT NT 0.58 NT NT NT NT NT 1.83 NT 0.55 NT NT 0.51 NT NT NT NT 0.50 NT NT

NT 3 750 000

6.00 1.15

0.00 1.00

NT 54 000 100 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 0.50 NT

NT 2 000 11 884 889 NT NT 206 406 76 268

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 8.71 N/A N/A N/A -0.27

NT NT 15.62 NT NT 0.50 11.03

NT

5.31

5.05

498 600 908

0.12

N/A

NT

5 000

0.50

0.50

3 553 138 528

0.00

N/A

0.50

NT

10.54

7.39

152 178 750

0.06

N/A

NT

100 297 080 44 299 165 150

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

0.00 0.93 0.00 14.86

0.87 1.08 45.10 1.48

N/A=Not Avialable

0.01 0.07

NT 1.18

SECURITY

PRICE (=N=)

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QUANTITY

52 WK HIGH

52 WK LOW

SHARES OUTSTANDING

EPS

MOV. (%)

Previous

91 000 NT 50 100

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

0.00 N/A N/A

0.95 NT 2.60

5 002 000

0.52

0.50

2 960 000 000

0.10

0.00

NT

1 100

0.50

0.50

2 941 789 472

0.00

N/A

NT

NT

0.91

0.91

4 966 666 668

0.00

N/A

NT

7 200 NT

18.28 3.59

13.12 2.41

108 000 000 492 825 600

0.00 0.01

N/A N/A

NT NT

16 787 800 NT

0.50 4.97

0.50 4.04

4 620 600 000 4 200 000 000

0.00 0.04

N/A N/A

0.50 NT

NT

1.47

0.50

6 878 478 096

0.00

N/A

NT

NT NT NT

2.25 3.50 0.50

0.00 2.46 0.50

4 400 000 000 4 893 594 400

0.00 0.00 0.00

N/A N/A N/A

NT NT NT

NT 462 283 3 000 15 137 483 166 91 780 NT NT 500 1 263 213 50 000 460 420 NT

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

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

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

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

N/A 2.45 4.91 0.00 5.85 -2.42 N/A N/A N/A -7.41 N/A N/A N/A

NT 17.95 8.56 28.00 5.30 128.10 1.55 NT 0.50 59.40 1.89 4.16 NT

NT 15 000 NT NT

2.00 2.50 0.73 2.58

2.00 1.33 0.50 2.58

510 396 608 2 220 000 000 15 000 000

0.03 0.11 0.00 0.00

N/A -4.58 N/A N/A

NT 1.53 NT NT

NT 14 919 NT NT 1 687 966 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 2.13 N/A N/A

NT 1.90 NT NT 2.35 NT NT

40 NT

8.69 0.14

8.26 0.14

265 409 280 2 918 000

0.00 0.00

N/A N/A

7.85 NT

25 000 000 683 974 528

52 500

9.20

5.70

393 120 000

0.76

0.00

6.25

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

0.50

4 058 989 226

0.00

N/A

0.50

NT NT

3.22 1.38

3.22 1.38

50 000 000 220 000 000

0.04 0.00

N/A N/A

NT NT

2 863 876

1.02

0.54

6 262 701 716

0.13

7.14

0.56

2 170 125

24.80

10.94

2 262 711 568

1.73

1.55

12.22

NT 2 000 30 527 111 317 56 661 18 641 NT 74 076

20.71 0.70 41.89 5.59 28.69 163.50 72.00 240.00

20.71 0.50 19.61 2.12 9.12 111.51 32.29 125.00

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

0.00 0.00 0.47 0.61 0.00 6.11 3.62 14.63

N/A N/A 0.00 14.57 4.92 0.00 N/A 0.00

NT NT 20.50 1.99 7.73 109.25 23.76 120.57

NT

0.72

0.50

4 035 497 307

0.00

N/A

NT

NT

3.48

3.48

0.19

N/A

NT

232 646

3.65

1.12

980 294 400

0.21

3.33

1.50

12 300 NT

3.67 6.40

2.11 3.28

589 496 310 198 819 763

0.58 0.25

0.00 N/A

3.00 NT

NT

1.64

0.85

865 808 912

0.08

N/A

NT

70 000

0.75

0.50

3 211 627 907

0.01

N/A

0.50

100 568 500 NT 30 702 332

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 15.19 N/A 4.85

NT 0.79 NT 1.03

5 000

0.50

0.50

8 000 000 000

0.00

N/A

0.50

4 800 3 317 NT 10 000

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 #VALUE!

1.62 1.92 NT NT

NT

0.80

0.50

1 507 000 000

0.00

N/A

NT

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

235 500 2 689 104

2.78 11.75

1.54 5.15

634 000 000 1 230 468 750

0.38 0.81

N/A 9.83

3.80 5.39

NT

1.43

1.04

45 000 000

0.12

N/A

NT

11 000

1.02

1.02

201 885 335

0.00

N/A

0.97

500

0.60

0.60

30 000 000

0.00

N/A

0.60

NT

0.50

0.50

24 898 850

0.00

N/A

NT

NT 500

1.88

1.63

125 005 250

0.00

N/A

NT 1.63

NT

0.50

0.50

6 650 000

0.00

N/A

NT

NT 20 000 NT NT

0.21 0.50 0.31 0.63

0.21 0.50 0.31 0.63

24 200 000 5 857 500 000 15 000 000 98 600 000

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

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

NT 0.50 NT NT

NT NT 16 000

0.50

0.50

20 000 000

0.00

N/A

3.05

2.76

194 700 000

0.00

N/A

NT NT 2.76

100

2 706

2 422

0.00

2 638.00

40

Monday, January 7, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Monday, January 7, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

41

Law & Justice nationalmirrorlaw@yahoo.com

“A man’s good name is worth much more than six months’ salary.”

RETIRED JUSTICE OF THE SUPREME COURT, CHUKWUDIFU OPUTA

Lagos Judiciary’s mandatory ADR: Lawyers express mixed feelings 90% of criminal cases don’t end in conviction –Ubani 42

State High Court can’t decide matters where FG is a party 45

How a kolanut farmer slaughtered his wife over pregnancy row 46

A new era began in the administration of justice in Lagos State on December 31, 2012, as the state’s new High Court Civil Procedure Rules became operative from that day. A cardinal requirement in the new law is the provision that all cases must be subjected to Alternative Dispute Resolution screening before they could proceed to litigation. Assistant Head of the Judiciary Desk, KAYODE KETEFE takes a look at the new law and reports lawyers’ reactions to the development.

O

n December 31, 2012, the very last day of last year, the administration of justice in Lagos took another leap in the quest to bring it in consonance with the ever changing modern standards justice dispensation, with the coming into effect of the new Lagos State High Court Civil Procedure Rules. With that development, the former High Court Civil Procedure Rules which was famous on accounts of its revolutionary innovations when it came into effect in 2004 was rested. One of the cardinal provisions of the new rules is the provision mandating a plaintiff to seek preliminary settlement, through the mechanism of Alternative Dispute Resolution, before enjoying the benefits of adjudication, if applicable.

The revolutionary provisions making the ADR mandatory for all cases is contained in the Order 3 Rule 11, of the 2012 Rules which provides that “All Originating Processes shall upon acceptance for filing by the Registry be screened for suitability for ADR and referred to the Lagos Multi Door Court House or other appropriate ADR institutions or Practitioners in accordance with the Practice Directions that shall from time to time be issued by the Chief Judge of Lagos State”.

Accordingly, every originating court process is now required to be screened for suitability for ADR. If it is adjudged to be suitable for the alternative treatment, the administrative judge would assign the matter for the ADR. The Lagos State Judiciary already has a vibrant through its Multi-Door Courthouse, which provides dispute settlements through the means of consultation, reconciliation and arbitration.

Fashola SAN

Lagos State CJ, Justice A. Philips

ALL ORIGINATING PROCESSES SHALL UPON ACCEPTANCE FOR FILING

REGISTRY, BE SCREENED FOR SUITABILITY FOR ADR AND REFERRED TO THE LAGOS MULTI DOOR COURT HOUSE

BY THE

Under the rules, where reconciliation is attained, the settlements would be entered as consent judgment of High Court of Lagos State.

If the reconciliation however fails, the cases would be remitted into the litigation pool of cases.

The rationale behind this new innovation is to decongest the court by ensuring that only deserving matters go for litigation.

It is assumed that if matters that could be disposed through alternative means are taken off the list of pending cases for adjudication, a lot of judicial time would be saved and there would be opportunity to address the deserv-

ing cases more expeditiously.

It is well-known that the biggest problem facing the administration of justice in Nigeria today is undue prolongation of court cases with many cases spending seven, eight or even ten years before they are decided. It is noteworthy that it was the desire to drastically reduce the time being spent in litigation that made the 2004 Rules to introduce a number of innovations like the frontloading of all the testimonies of witnesses, pre-trial conference, among others. The latest innovation, therefore, is intended to consolidate on the achievement of the former rules.

Lagos AG, Ade Ipaye

The new rules also make provisions to remedy some observed lacuna in the preceding rules.

For example under the upfront filing requirements of the 2004 rules, it is mandatory for a party filing a pleading to file alongside such pleading a list of witnesses, written depositions of witnesses on oath, list of documents to be relied on at the trial and copies of the documents. The said rules did not make express provision on what is to be done where it is not possible to frontload a witness statement on oath. The 2012 rules, in its Order 3 Rule 2 (1) (c), however make provisions on such contingencies, by among other things, creating clear-cut exceptions to the rule of frontloading, when the witnesses’ testimony on oath cannot accompany the originating processes.

This new rules also introduces a pro-active regime of costs imposition.

It is a known fact that our CONTINUED ON PAGE 44

42

Law & Justice

Monday, January 7, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

90% of criminal cases don’t end Mr. Monday Onyekachi Ubani, a human rights lawyer and social critic is the chairman of Ikeja branch of the Nigerian Bar Association.

He spoke recently with KENNY ODUNUKAN on diverse issues, including rule of law and administration of justice in Nigeria. Excerpts:

There have been persistent complaints by various stakeholders on the problems rocking justice administration in the country. What do you have to say on this?

To be candid with you, there are hiccups here and there on the issue of administration of justice in this country. One of the issues revolves around infrastructures in our courts; we do not have sufficient court rooms in most of the states. Most of the courtrooms that we have are not well equipped, some are not air-conditioned, and some does not have fans. Some does not even have chairs. Sometimes, there is no power supply, there are times when cases have been postponed due to the fact that there is no power and it has happened several times.

Another issue relates to quality of personnel who are administering the Judiciary. The Lawyers also contribute to delay in Justice, offcourse, you know that Justice delayed is justice denied .There are lot factors responsible for. This emanates both from the Bar and the Bench. Let me give you a typical example with respect to criminal prosecution in the magistrate’s court usually handled by the police. A complainant would bring a matter before the police station and then the police would investigate. The accused and the complainant would make statements. Immediately the case is charged to court, the IPO investigating the matter would not come any further, the complainant has to go and meet him and most time mobilise him financially for the IPO to come and of course if he does not come, there is a problem with the evidence because he has to tender the statement of the accused persons. Sometimes the IPO are transferred outside the jurisdiction and so if the complainant does not have money to bring the IPO down from where he is to the court, the case will just die a natural death.

Sometimes, the IPO may be transported from wherever he is to the court and the court may not sit that day. If he comes twice and perhaps the court did not sit consequently, he may feel frustrated and when you don’t succeed in tendering a case against the accused in criminal prosecution in your efforts to proof the case beyond reasonable doubt, there will be problem.

With the problem of non-attendance or inefficiency on the part of the IPO, the case is struck out and so you have 90% of criminal cases not ending in conviction!

Cases are struck out for lack of diligent prosecution. Also in civil cases, you file a case in court now and find out that cases are not assigned on time, sometimes it takes up to 6 months for a case to be assigned.

Services of court processes is also a big issue, most times the sheriff tells you that you have to give him a certain of amount of money which often is subject to his whims and caprices.

Sometimes, he can just wake up and say this is how much you will pay especially when the defendant cannot be served personally and you have to do that by substituted services. Then ,you have to go to court and get an order of the court to paste and the sheriff will tell you that you have to pay N20,000 for him to go paste and take photographs and put evidence of that in the file, so we have problems with the issues of services and issues of assigning cases When those cases are assigned, you come to the court sometimes the judges are not there and there is no prior information to that effect. Sometimes the judges are there and want to continue with the cases but lawyers play pranks and then ask for unnecessary adjournments. If you look at the whole picture clearly everyone is a contributor to the delay in administration of justice in Nigeria. All stakeholders are blamable.

What is your opinion on misinterpretation of court ruling and judgments?

More often than not, the police are guilty of misinterpretation of court rulings or judgments. If a judgment is given, the police have no right to misinterpret or give a different interpretation from the judgment already rendered. What the police are supposed to do is ensure a lawful execution of the court judgments that has been given by a court of competent jurisdiction. It is however sad that in most cases, the police becomes a clog in the wheel of progress. They begin to misinterpret the

Ubani

NO INSTITUTION IN NIGERIA IS ISOLATED FROM CORRUPTION BECAUSE IT IS SYSTEMIC judgments; they begin to give different meaning to the ruling of the court and then you have to spend a lot of money subject to their dictates to carry out execution, they will tell you that you have to pay certain amount of money. They will levy you for them to accompany you to go and execute a judgment. Police are sometimes hindrance in the administration of Justice.

Corruption in the judiciary has been a recurrent problem, what is your opinion on that?

No institution in Nigeria is isolated from corruption because it is systemic, it is in the system, and the operators of the system are its by-products. Albeit I am not saying that the entire Judiciary are all enmeshed in corruption, there are still many men and women who are still very competent, who are still very upright, who are honest and who have integrity as people who administered justice, but we also have some rotten eggs in the judicial system and these are the people we must find out and chase them out of the system. There are those who take money in order to give “justice”. Sometimes, lawyers also collaborate with them. They collect money from clients and say that they are going to do this and that .Most times, they might not even render proper accounts to the judicial arm, you know they will take some and remit the other. Obviously there is something wrong: we have the issue of man-knowman syndrome, .They are all there, we cannot deny that they are not there. But what we are saying is that by and large, the percentage of those who are corrupt in the judiciary is not up to 50% because if it is up to 50% ,I tell you the truth, Nigeria government will certainly collapse.

You know everything revolves around the judicial arm of government. The point is this, there is a problem, there is corruption in the Judiciary, there is corruption even at the bar, there is corruption in the banking sector, there is corruption at the presidency, there is corruption at the Governor’s offices, there is corruption in the ministry, there is corruption even

in the church, there is corruption all over in this country as I speak to you. There is no institution in this country that is isolated from corruption. The point is that we must try to sanitise the system for the well-being of the society because if everyone, every system, every agency is enmeshed in corruption, that country is a failed state and there is no way a country will succeed if the fundamental objective of the country is corruption. So we must try as much as possible to get rid of those who are corrupt in the system.

Some lawyers have been clamouring for reduction in powers of the Chief Justice of Nigeria as National Judicial Council chairman, what is your view?

The point is that power corrupts and when the power becomes very absolute, it corrupts absolutely, nobody in any civilised nation should be given so much power that is absolute.

Power also intoxicates .why people noticed that particular defect is that there was a Chief Justice of Nigeria that abused the power when he got there and people are beginning to take a look at the powers of the CJN with respect to who will recom-

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Monday, January 7, 2013

in conviction –Ubani

Law & Justice

43

THE COMMUNITY LAW INTRODUCED IN LAGOS IS COMMENDABLE AS IT REDUCES THE PRESSURE ON PRISON CONGESTION merit, if it is for someone that really deserve it and the persons has really done enough to contribute to the development of Law ,then, I am for retention. I am for it because we must have a way of knowing those who are good in whatever profession they are in. So if somebody has done so much and contributed so much to the development of law, for God sake ,give it to him.

Just like Femi Falana (SAN)was given recently, you know the level of contribution the man has made to the development of law and of the nation, you know what Gani Fawehinmi did with legal profession, you know these are men that have contributed a lot ,their lives is Law, They eat law, chew law, they drink law and you see what they have done nationwide .If such people should be given SANship ,then you feel proud that they are SAN because they justify it .SAN should not be given somebody you don’t even know his name, his contribution to development of law. Unfortunately, cases have been arranged for such people and you see them in the Supreme Court even though they have not been known for anything before. They have not done anything to enhance legal profession, they have not even attended bar conferences, they have not been in the midst of lawyers and then, all of a sudden, then become SANs. So, what I am saying is that if you keep awarding it to people that don’t merit it, then it is better we abolish it.

mend those constituting members of the NJC Many of these people now resolve that if this former occupier has abused the powers, we should not allow somebody else to abuse further. So I believe that power corrupts and I also believe that when it becomes absolute, it does corrupt absolutely.

Checks and balances must be put in the system in order not to allow one man to be too powerful, not even the president, not even the CJN, not even the Speaker, not even the Senate President, not even the Governor. Every arm of government must be in the business of checking the excess of power. Any system that is subject to abuse is subject to collapse. I support those taking a look at the powers of any person who is heading any arm of government.

Is NBA really doing enough to uphold and champion the rule of law in the country?

On several occasion, we have championed the rule of law.

We have always made our voices heard .If you remember, during Justice Ayo Salami/Katsina-Alu saga, we made our stance known, not only to the NJC but also to the Federal Government, We have not hesitated to go court and even the street for protest, whenever there are abuses of law in any matter. Expectation on us to be crusader of rule of law is high and we will continue to meet up that expectation.

Some lawyers are clamouring for the abolition of the award of SAN, what is your opinion on this?

The issue of award of SAN is controversial, there are people who believe proper criteria are not been adhered to. In fact people believe they just make somebody who is not worthy to be SAN, a SAN and you would discover the person lack in character, learning, wisdom, and experience. You just give it for political consideration order than merit. Then if you can not in any way modify it to adapt to international best practices, the way it is been done in the United Kingdom, where we borrow it from, then we should do away with it, but if we agree that whoever becomes a SANs must be excellent person and complete person, then it is fine. If all the good criteria are complete in him and the man qualifies to be given a SAN, for God’s sake, you can give him.

However, if you are giving him the rank of of SAN apart from what he has contributed to the development of law and the legal profession, then, I think those who probably who opposed to retaining it, then it should be throw away but if it is for

How would you compare the quality of modern day judges with those of the olden days?

The point is that we must also de-emphasise the issue of appointing judges from the Ministry of Justice, hitherto, we use to appoint Justice from the Bar, and those are experienced lawyers who have mastered the art of either acting for the plaintiff or defending cases, lawyer who have practiced in the length and breadth of this country, who are very familiar with the law ,who are really proficient and efficient, who are very knowledgeable, who are really very experienced in the legal profession. There was a time when we used to appoint such lawyers from legal profession and we used to have the best, but now it is a situation where the Ministry of Justice is the only recruiting point and most of them may not have the requisite experience.

The issue of character is not been talked about, it is a case of who know whom, If the governor recommends, if the minister recommends, if the speaker recommends then the person is taken, not minding the character of that individual, so that has also contributed to the low-quality of Judges at the benches. We still have brilliant judges who are also from the Ministry of Justice, who are very, very good, and thorough; they are very knowledgeable, they are very intelligent and versatile; they are very conversant with the law, they have contributed to the law and development of legal profession.

But majority who are from there are really not impressive. So, what we are saying that opportunities must be given to lawyers who are at the Bar, who practice the law.

Also , those who are experienced at the magistrates should be elevated to the high court of Appeal .You know, merit should be a priority because a man that has no integrity should not be at the Bench because this is the mountain of Justice where Justice is dispense and so when you bring a man of corrupt nature, a man that is evil , a man that lacks integrity to come and man the Bench, you’re putting a very dangerous man in a very sensitive position and such person will end up messing up the entire system, so you must bring out the best to be at the bench, because that particular position is a very exalted position ,it is not meant for any person, it is not for any Tom ,Dick and Harry. It is meant for people who have passed through fire and the process of purification. They drink justice and think justice.

What is your take on community law in Lagos and prison congestion?

The community law introduces in Lagos is commendable as it reduces the pressure on prison congestion . When an accused is convicted of minor offences , he should not be allowed to populate our congested prison but allow some to do community work by cleaning the environment ,cutting grasses or doing some other things that will enhances the community rather than letting them go to prison, spending money in feeding them, putting on pressures on the systems .Lack of accommodation is on the prison, you know they are not expanding our prison the ones that will have are the one built by the British masters hare are no adequate infrastructures in the prisons, so there are no rooms for more people there ,they packed them like sandin,99 standing, 21 sitting and there are no sufficient ventilation, they don’t have adequate facilities and they end up becoming more hardened criminals.

The community law is a modern trend all the world. Lagos has blazed the trail by adopting it into their legal system. I hope the state government ensures its implementation from time to time.

What can you say on the issue of quack lawyers?

The Bar and Bench must come together to rid the legal profession of quacks. Quacks are the most dangerous element in any profession be it medicine or law. Imagine a quack lawyer handling a very sensitive matter like a murder case or defending a murder case! Wherever a quack lawyer is suspected, he should be reported immediately. It is imperative on the litigant who discovers these people to immediately report. Any one however who claims to have gone through five years of study in the university and has not passed through the Law School is not a lawyer. The procedure is that you have to go through the Law School and called to the Bar before you can practice the legal profession.

44

Law & Justice

Justice Musdapher

Monday, January 7, 2013

Omole

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Nwobike, SAN

‘Lagos makes another revolutionary innovation’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 41 judges use their discretion in fixing costs against an erring party in favour of the aggrieved one. In so doing the judges tend to have become “too liberal” over the years by often times fixing a costs that appear too low and which would neither constitute a punishment to the erring party or do justice for an aggrieved party.

For example, in cases where a prosecution’s absence has to induce an adjournment, judges have been known to impose a cost as low as of N1000! The provision of Order 49 of the 2012 Rules seems to have taken care of this over-liberal cost regime by expressly stating that the judges must ensure “reasonableness of costs” payable to the receiving party.

The rules provide that the principle employed in fixing costs should take cognisance of right of the party requiring compensation to be ‘indemnified for the expenses which he has been necessarily put in the course of the proceedings, as well as compensated for his time and effort in coming to court.” The rules specifically give instances requiring imposition of costs to include the following. (a) The cost of legal representation and assistance of the successful party to the extent the judge determines that the amount of such cost is reasonable; (b) The travel and other expenses of parties and witnesses to the extent that the judge determines that the amount of such expenses is reasonable, and such other expenses that the judge determines ought to be recovered, having regard to the circumstances of the case.

There are many other major and minor modifications of the old rules in the 2012 rules but the most important innovation still remains the mandatory requirement of ADR screening for all cases.

This new development for ADR was sequel to sustained agitation over the years by numerous stakeholders that the place of ADR should be promoted in our justice administration.

It will be recalled that the former Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Dahiru Musdapher, while delivering the National Mirror second Anniversary Lecture which held on December 20, 2012, made a call for employment of ADR in order to decongest the court. The jurist said “When we were being trained for law, I remembered one of things they taught us was that once you are briefed by your clients, the first thing to do is to write a letter to the adversary party to see how could settle the matter amicably without going into trial.

“It is not every case that should proceed to trial. But it is not so this day. Your duty as a lawyer is to help your clients solve their problems and not necessarily go to adjudication”

THE LATEST INNOVATION, THEREFORE, IS INTENDED TO CONSOLIDATE ON THE ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE FORMER RULES National Mirror also sought the views of some senior lawyers on the cardinal provision on ADR in the new Lagos State High Court Civil Procedure Rules 2012.

In his own view, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Dr. Joseph Nwobike, said “My view of this is that it is the duty of the court to encourage the party to embrace ADR, since it would save the time and resources that would be spent on litigation.

“I think this is what the new Lagos State High Court civil Procedure Rules seem to be promoting and to that extent, the innovation is welcome. Having said that, I think the court has no power to impose ADR on parties, it can only encourage them to go for the alternative measures in deserving cases.”

A former Second National President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Mr. Adekunle Ojo, opined thus “Personally, I am not averse to parties going for ADR. We all know all the advantages that will come from such alternative means of resolving disputes.

“But my grouse with the new rules is that we already have a procedure called Pre-Trial Conference under the old rules under which many preliminary issues like amicable settlement are done. As a matter of fact judges are required to encourage amicable resolution during the PTC. Given that, I think a mandatory requirement that all cases should be screened for ADR would amount to duplication of efforts.

“By and large, I have two reservations concerning this provision of the new rules. Number one, the screening and other administrative aspects of the mandatory ADR should come at no cost to the litigants who would have already paid all the filing and other fees. Otherwise, it will shoot up the cost of getting justice and this would not be fair.

“Secondly, I believe, this ADR thing should come before the PTC and not after the PTC. If the ADR is done and the matter becomes settled, that is the end of the matter. But if you make a litigant to undergo the rigour of the PTC only for the matter to be remitted for ADR, that would be wasting of time and other resources.”

In his own view, a former Chairman of the Ikeja branch of the NBA, Mr. Adebamigbe Omole, said “The new inno-

Ojo

vation is a good idea. The ADR seems to be what the world is moving towards. There are certainly many advantages in incorporating ADR formally into our system of justice administration. Let us wait and see how this new regime would turn out.

“However, My only concern is that of quality manpower.

It is one thing to get a good idea; it is another to implement it well. Do we have enough ADR professionals who would attend to large number of disputes that would be referred to them? Will all the cases be properly screened before decisions are taken whether or not they should go for ADR? “You would recall that under the old rules we have the provisions on Pre-Trial-Conference, which are meant to reduce the time of litigation by enabling the parties to first of all sort out some preliminary issues. But what happened, we realised the many PTCs were not well-handled and the intended benefits were lost.

“Under the rule for instance, the PTC is supposed to last for three months, but we have many cases of PTCs going on for up to a year or even two years! That is what I mean when I talk of issue of manpower that will handle the implementation of the new rule” Another Lagos-based constitutional lawyer, Mr. Yahaya Oladeji, said he was not impressed by the new innovation.

He said “while one is not unaware of the good intention of the lawmakers for making this provision in the new rules, nonetheless, making ADR compulsory is tantamount to detraction of the rights of individual to have free unfettered access to the court recognised under section 36 of the 1999 Constitution.

“It also remarkable that section 6(6) of the Constitution vests the judicial powers of the federation on the Nigerian Courts and not on the ADR institutions. So I don’t think the recourse to ADR should be made mandatory. What if the CJ adjudges a matter to be deserving of ADR and the parties themselves would prefer litigation? Why making ADR mandatory?”

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Law Report

T

Law & Justice

Monday, January 7, 2013

he Federal High Court enjoys exclusive jurisdiction on all matters where the Federal Government or any of its agents is a party. It was therefore wrong for the trial court, High Court of Lagos State, to have assumed jurisdiction in the first place, to decide on the matter which clearly and unambiguously is within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal High Court. So held a Justice of the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, Justice Sidi Dauda Bage, whose lead judgment was unanimously supported by two other justices of the court.

Facts: The background facts are that, about the 4th of May, 1988 Francis Bruce Ltd (hereinafter referred to as ‘’the contractor ‘’) was awarded a Water Project Contract under the National Rural Water Supply programmed by the 1st Respondent/ Plaintiff. A term of the contract was for the contractor to submit the Advance Payment Guarantee from a bank approved by the first Respondent/ Plaintiff before funds could be given to it to mobilise to site and commence the contract.

The contractor approached the Appellant and obtained the Advance Payment Guarantee dated 10th day of June 1998 as requested by the 1st Respondent. The said contract between the 1st Respondent and the contractor also provided that the contractor shall sub-contract the job to the 1st Respondent appointed sub-contractor pursuant to which term the 1st Respondent appointed Messrs A. Micheletti Nig. Ltd the 2nd Respondent to undertake the rural water contract.

Upon the appointment of the 2nd Respondent, the 1st Respondent directed the Appellant to pay N28,842, 833.75 to the 2nd Respondent’s banker, United Bank for Africa Plc (The 3RD Respondent / Third Party). The 3rd Respondent thereafter executed a back to back Advance Payment Guarantee dated 6th of August 1988 in the said sum in favour of the Appellant for the benefit of the 1st Respondent.

The term was also replicated in the Advance payment Guarantee executed by the 3rd Respondent on behalf of the 2nd Respondent for the funds advanced to it as the appointed subcontractor for the benefit of the 1st Respondent.

At the time of instituting this action at the lower court, the 1st Respondent was aware that the parties in this action were embroiled in Suit No. PHC/323/2001 pending at the High Court of Rivers State Port Harcourt Division, where the 2nd Respondent as Plaintiff in that case sued the Appellant, the contractor and the 3rd Respondent amongst other defendants. the subject-matter of this suit at Port Harcourt inter alia concerned Advance Payment Guarantee executed for the National Rural Water Supply Programme Contracts LOT RV 2/A, the continued subsistence of the contract and the Advance Payment Guarantee where the 2nd Respondent was the Respondent sub-contractor . The certified copy of Writ of Summons and the endorsed particulars of claim in Suit No. PHC/323/2001 dated 15th February 2001, are set out on pages 107 to 109 of the Record of Appeal.

In spite of the above surrounding facts, the 1st Respondent went ahead and filed this suit at the High Court of Lagos State on the 6th of September 2001 in utter disregard to the terms of the Advance Payment Guarantee and the subsisting suit at the High Court of Rivers State, and also subsequently fled a summons for judgment which the lower

45

State High Court can’t decide matters where FG is a party IN THE COURT OF APPEAL HOLDEN AT LAGOS ON THURSDAY, THE 19TH DAY OF JANUARY, 2012 BEFORE THEIR LORDSHIPS HELEN MORONKEJI OGUNWUMIJU JOHN INYANG OKORO SIDI DAUDA BAGE

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

APPEAL NO: CA/L/442/2006 BETWEEN: FIDELITY BANK PLC

......................................APPELLANT AND

PETROLEUM (SPECIAL) TRUST FUND, UNITED BANK FOR AFRICA PLC .................... RESPONDENTS

Justice Aloma Mukhtar, Chief Justice of Nigeria

court heard and ruled upon.

The said ruling of the court is the subject of this appeal.

Upon the receipt of the record of appeal, the Appellant filed an amended brief of argument, pursuant to an order of this court made on the 4th of November, 2010. The respondent filed its brief of argument dated and filed the 9th of February 2011.

From the appellant’s brief of argument three (3) issues were formulated for determination of the appeal.

Issues One of the issues is: Whether by virtue of Section 251(1)(a) (p) (q) (t)(r ) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, the High Court of Lagos State had the requisite jurisdiction to hear and determine the claims before it as it were in this matter.

Justice Sidi Dauda Bage delivering

THE HIGH COURT OF LAGOS STATE HAD NO JURISDICTION TO ADJUDICATE AND RULE ON THIS MATTER judgment: This is an appeal against the ruling of the High Court of Lagos State, delivered by Hon. Justice K.O Alogba of the Commercial Division, in suit No. LD/2124/2001, of the 7th of November, 2003.

The ruling was in favour of the 1st Respondent,( as plaintiff in that court). By a summons for judgment dated the 22nd day of January, 2002, the plaintiff (1st Respondent) prayed for leave to enter judgment for plaintiff against the 1st Defendant/Respondent for the sum of N36, 053,542.19k with interest at 21 per cent per annum from 2nd

July 2001 until judgment and payment. In support is a verifying affidavit dated 22nd January, 2002, to which documents marked Exhibits 11 to 17 were annexed, as well as a further verifying affidavit dated 23rd April 2002 to which document marked Exhibit JP was annexed.

The appellant the 11th of January 2002, then as the sole defendant, applied by motion on notice dated and filed on 11th January, 2002 made an application to the court seeking to join the following persona s defendants, in the action: ( a )A.Micheletti Limited (b) Francis Bruce Limited ( c ) Mr. Francis .M. Bruce By order of the court made on the 15th January, 2002, A . Micheletti Nig,. Ltd and Francis Bruce Ltd were joined as 2nd and 3rd Defendants respectively and the Plaintiff/1st Respondent amended its writ of summons and statement of claim accordingly to reflect the new parties.

Also the appellant (1st Defendant) by another motion on notice dated 11th of January 2002 and filed on the same day, applied for a third party notice to be issued on United Bank for Africa Plc, the said application was also granted by the court on the 15th January 2002 and the writ of summons amended accordingly.

In the instant appeal before the court, it is no doubt that the Petroleum (Special) Trust Fund, the 1st Respondent is an agency of the Federal Government. The Supreme Court, in its decision of OLoruntoba-vDopemu (2008) 7 NWLR (Pt 1085) 1 AT PP 25-26 stated categorically that the aim of section 251(1) (p) (q) and ( r) of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria , 1999 was to vest exclusive jurisdiction in the Federal High Court in matters in which the Federal Government or nay of its agents is a party . The present appeal concerns a transaction involving the 1st Respondent an agency of the Federal Government and the Appellant.

It was therefore wrong for the trial court, High Court of Lagos State , to have assumed jurisdiction in the first place, to decide on the matter which clearly and unambiguously is within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Federal High Court.

In sum therefore, the High Court of Lagos State had no jurisdiction to adjudicate and rule on this matter which is subject of this appeal.

Having resolved all the issues in this appeal in favour of the appellant and against the respondents, the appeal is hereby allowed.

This court makes the following orders: The ruling of Alogba .J of High Court of Lagos State in Suit No. LD/2124/2001 delivered on the 7th of November, 2003, is hereby set aside.

This suit is to be heard afresh before a judge of the Federal High Court .

No order as to costs.

Justices Ogunwumiju and Okoro concurred with the lead judgment.

Appearances: Essien Udom for the Appellant with him Inyang Udoema Mrs. O. Badewole for the 1st Respondent Oreoluwa Omotayo (Miss) for the 3rd Respondent .

46

Law & Justice

Monday, January 7, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

How a kolanut farmer slaughtered his wife over pregnancy row Twenty years ago, a community in Odoliwu village, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State was stunned when a kolanut farmer brutally murdered his pregnant wife on alleged grounds of adultery. The man was nailed by water-tight circumstantial evidence. He fought all the way from the High Court to the Supreme Court. The Assistant Head of the Judiciary Desk, KAYODE KETEFE recasts the story of how the man’s battle to save his neck from the hangman’s noose collapsed at the apex court.

P

ius Nweke, a peasant kolanut farmer in Odoliwu village, Ogun State had been living peacefully with his wife, Josephine, in the adjacent Oribe village for many years. All of a sudden, their happy union was rocked with a controversy when Nweke discovered his beautiful wife was pregnant. Despite the protestations by Josephine that her husband was responsible, Nweke insisted his wife must have had a concubine who impregnated her. The two parties being illiterates, who were not informed on how Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) test could resolve the controversies, resorted to swearing and curses.

Nweke, who believed the dowry he paid on his wife had entitled him to exclusive ownership over the latter’s body, soul and spirit, resolved to avenge himself of the perceived cheating. Thus, on November 11, 1992, he lured his wife to their joint kolanut farm in Oribe village.

When they got to the farm and were alone, Nweke pounced on Josephine, stripped her naked and drew a knife.

The terrified wife started screaming at the top of her voice, this did not stop the enraged Nweke from slashing her throat like a ram.

As he was not seen by anybody when he committed the murder, Nweke thanked his stars and returned home in complete oblivion of what fate had in store for him.

At the trial of Nweke before the Ogun State High Court for the murder of his wife, two of their neigbours who had seen both the husband and wife on the way to the farm and exchanged greeting with them testified. These were Taiwo Hassan and Olusola Kadiri (who were PW3 and PW4 respectively, among the seven witnesses called by the prosecution).

The two testifying neigbours claimed that they and the Nwekes had known one another before the day of the incident as they lived in the same village. They added that about one hour after exchanging greetings with the couple on their way to

FAMOUS CASES the kolanut farm, they heard a loud noise from the direction of the couple’s farm.

On their way to find out what the cause of the noise was, they met Nweke coming back alone from the farm. They asked the kolanut farmer about the cause of the noise and the whereabouts of his wife, the man first launched into passionate ranting of how his wife had been a troublesome woman and how she had been unfaithful and got herself impregnated by another man.

He concluded by telling his neigbours that his wife had departed the farm by another route.

The two neigbours were naturally suspicious, but did not raise any alarm.

Nweke followed them to their hut where he requested they should give him water to drink. Nweke who had all along been carrying a load on his head and had a machete in his hand, put down the load to drink the water they gave him. This was the moment the two neigbours no-

ticed that Nweke had in his luggage the same clothes and pair of slippers the deceased wore on that very morning when she had exchanged greetings with them in the company of her husband. At this point, Nweke noticed that they had become suspicious of him, he gathered up his luggage, bid them farewell and hurriedly left.

Having decided to know what took place, the two neighbours went to Nweke’s farm to conduct a search during which they discovered the dead body of the deceased with her throat slashed. She was naked and lying in a pool of blood.

They reported the incident to the police.

The corpse of Josephine was later taken to the State Hospital Mortuary, IjebuOde where a post mortem examination was conducted.

On getting to his house on the day of the incident, Nweke was restless and later ran away for some days before he was eventually apprehended by the police.

In his statement to the police, he denied knowing anything about the death of his wife. When asked why he fled on the heels of the murder, Nweke said he travelled to their hometown in the East. “I went to my hometown. I did not know that my wife was already dead. I had thought she had travelled home, that is why I went to look for her.”

During the trial at the High Court, the doctor who conducted post mortem test on Josephine’s body (PW1) testified as follows: “The corpse of the deceased had a deep cut in front of the neck. On the chest, there was nothing significant. The examination of the abdomen revealed

THE EXAMINATION OF THE ABDOMEN REVEALED THAT THE DECEASED

WAS PREGNANT.

ON OPENING THE ABDOMEN, I FOUND A DEAD MALE BABY that the deceased was pregnant. On opening the abdomen, I found a dead male baby. There was no fracture of the leg.

My opinion as to cause of death was loss of blood due to the cut throat” An argument put forward by Nweke’s defence team that “It is possible for anyone to sustain the cut found on the corpse by falling on a sharp object” was rejected by the judge, who consequently convicted him and sentenced him to death by hanging.

The judgement was affirmed at the Court of Appeal. The convict further appealed to the Supreme Court.

In a lead judgement delivered on February 9, 2001, by Justice Michael Ekundayo Ogundare, the Supreme Court unanimously affirmed the death sentence on the Appellant in the following words: “In my respectful view, the facts proved against the Appellant are so cogent, unequivocal, and conclusive that they point irresistibly to the Appellant as the person who killed his wife on November 11, 1992.”

Monday, January 7, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

47

World News

Assad calls Syrian rebels enemies of God

48

“The countries of the euro, they’ve got to change to make their currency work - the need to integrate more, they need to make changes to all their systems more.”

- BRITISH PRIME MINISTER, DAVID CAMERON

WORLD BULLETIN

Ghanaian president to be sworn in today, calls for unity

‘Mandela has recovered from infection’

G

hanaian president John Dramani Mahama, who won the country’s December 7 election is due to be sworn in today along with a new parliament.

Mahama was a former vice president who took office in July after the death of President John Atta Mills.

Meanwhile, Ghana’s president has called for political unity, reaching out to rivals who are contesting his election due to suspicions of vote rigging.

“For the long-term survival of our nation, we must agree and commit to a multi-partisan process,” Mahama said in a speech to parliament. “Whatever our differences, whatever our politics, we must pull together and rise to meet these challenges.”

International and local election observers said the December election - in which Mahama won 50.7 percent of the votes - was free and fair despite delays and technical problems that forced voting into a second day.

Ghana’s main opposition party launched a legal challenge on December 28, saying the poll involved enough irregularities to affect the outcome.

The opposition NPP party, whose leader, Nana Akufo-Addo, came second with 47.7 percent, has threatened to boycott Mahama’s inauguration.

Ghana is one of Africa’s fastest growing economies and has maintained three decades of peace, making it a favourite among international investors and an anomaly in a region better known for coups and civil wars.

Mahama said economic growth in the cocoa, oil and gold exporting nation was between 8.5 and 9 percent in 2012, but that political unity was required to ensure the rising productivity resulted in development.

Ghana became Africa’s newest oil exporter in 2010 with the start up of Tullow Oil’s offshore Jubilee field, propelling economic growth to 14.4 percent in 2011.

Mahama said he expected 2012 growth to be between 8.5 and 9 percent.

“We have not only held down inflation and maintained macro-economic stability, but we have also worked to ensure discipline in the government’s fiscal regime to avoid unbudgeted expenditures that could distort the economy’s performance,” Mahama said.

Inflation in Ghana has held under 10 percent.

Mahama

Government security forces in a pickup truck drive past a demonstration by merchants calling for peace, in Bangui, CAR. Photo: AP

South Africa sends troops to Central African Republic PAUL ARHEWE

WITH AGENCY REPORTS

T

he South African presidency announced yesterday that it was sending 400 army troops to Central African Republic to help the country’s army as it faces a threat from a coalition of rebel groups.

Sending soldiers to Central African Republic is part of South Africa’s efforts “to bring about peace and stability in the region,” said the announcement by President Jacob Zuma’s office.

Central African Republic’s neighbouring countries, Cameroun, Gabon and Republic of Congo already have sent about 120 troops each to help stabilize the country confronted by the rebellion.

Chad, a long time ally of President Francois Bozize’s government, also has provided hundreds of forces who are fortifying the road to the capital, Bangui, to prevent rebels from reaching the seat of power, a city of 700,000.

The South African National Defence Force troops will “assist with capacity building of the CAR Defence Force and will also assist CAR with the planning and implementation of the disarmament, demobilization and re-integration processes” to deal with the country’s rebels, said Zuma’s statement.

The rebels had pledged to halt their advance pending peace talks in Gabon that are due to start Tuesday. However, residents say rebels seized two more towns over the weekend, though they are not en route to the capital.

A dozen towns have come under rebel control since the rebel alliance calling itself Seleka began its offensive on Dec. 10.

Negotiations between the rebels and the Bozize government are set to begin in the nearby country of Gabon on Tuesday.

Rebels in the Central African Republic have taken the southern town of Alindao around 100km from the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo, a government spokesman has confirmed.

The military advance on Saturday came after the UN Security Council called on rebels to halt their offensive and withdraw from other towns and cities they had seized earlier.

“There’s certainly a big rebel presence in the [Alindao] area and no resistance from government forces,” said Al Jazeera’s Andrew Simmons, reporting from the capital, Bangui. “[Government troops] have probably moved out of the area altogether, even as more and more [foreign] troops reinforce the government army.”

The Council said in a statement that the rebel advances “gravely undermine” the country’s security and stability, “constitute a threat to the civilian population, and hinder the provision of humanitarian assistance”.

Rebels calling for President Francois Bozize to step down have seized almost a dozen towns in a month, but they halted their advance on Bangui on December 29 pending negotiations.

The Security Council called on all parties to seek a peaceful solution and engage in negotiations scheduled to be held in Libreville, Gabon, starting on Tuesday “without preconditions and in good faith”.

It encouraged the government, armed groups, the political opposition and other interested parties to use the talks “to negotiate a comprehensive political solution”.

Pakistan’s UN Ambassador Masood Khan, the current council president who read the statement, was asked whether the talks would definitely take place given uncertainty about participation of all the rebels and other groups.

Former South African President Nelson Mandela has recovered from a lung infection and surgery to remove gallstones, the government says, in a report from the BBC. “President Mandela has made steady progress and... continues to improve,” President Jacob Zuma’s office said.

Mr Mandela, 94, spent almost three weeks in hospital last month, and has since been receiving treatment at his home in an East Cape province village.

It was his longest stay in hospital since he left prison in 1990.

Mr Mandela served as South Africa’s first black president from 1994 to 1999 and is regarded by many as the father of the nation.

His health has been a cause of concern for many years. He first contracted tuberculosis in the 1980s while detained in Robben Island prison.

Sudan, South Sudan to pull troops from border Sudan and South Sudan have agreed to set up a demilitarized zone along the two countries’ disputed border, an African Union mediator said.

President Omar Hassan alBashir of Sudan and South Sudan President Salva Kiir reached the agreement Saturday at a meeting in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, The New York Times reported.

Both side side they would carry out the terms of a September agreement, in which they said yes to withdrawing forces from the border. Neither side has pulled away from the border yet; instead they accuse each other of supporting rebels in and near the border region.

Eight killed in Zimbabwe bus crash Zimbabwean police say eight people died in a bus crash that has brought the traffic accident death toll during the holiday period to the highest on record in the southern African nation.

Police officials in the second city of Bulawayo said Sunday that eight died and 57 were injured Saturday in western Zimbabwe when their bus, headed for neighbouring Botswana, veered off the highway and overturned.

The driver was among the injured.

The central police traffic command said 209 people have died in accidents since Dec. 15. In the same holiday period last year, 147 people died. Bus accidents, common in Zimbabwe, are blamed on poor vehicle maintenance and speeding.

48

World News

Briefs Plane carrying Italian fashion guru, five others goes missing Rescue crews have used boats and aircraft to search for a small plane that disappeared off Venezuela carrying the CEO of Italy’s iconic Missoni fashion house and five other people.

By yesterday, more than a day after the BN-2 Islander aircraft disappeared from radar screens on its short flight from the Venezuelan resort islands of Los Roques to Caracas, no sign of the plane had been found, officials said.

“We have no other news’’ about the plane carrying 58-yearold Vittorio Missoni, the head of the company; his wife, Maurizia Castiglioni; two of their Italian friends; and two Venezuelan crew members, said Paolo Marchetti, a Missoni SpA official.

He spoke briefly to reporters as he left company headquarters in the northern Italian town of Sumirago on Saturday afternoon.

Missoni’s younger brother, Luca, who is active in the familyrun business, was reportedly traveling to Venezuela on Saturday to monitor search efforts.

Italy’s avalanche kills two skiers

Two Italian skiers have died in an avalanche in north-eastern Italy, in the same valley where six Russian tourists were killed a day earlier.

The accident took place in the Fiemme Valley, in the province of Trento.

The two men who died were both locals and expert skiers, one of the them working at an Alpine police training centre.

Their bodies were located, buried in the snow, thanks to a special mountain beacon that each had been carrying.

The incident comes hours after a group of Russian tourists died when the snowmobile they were travelling in overturned on an unlit black run on Mount Cermis, in the same area.

The four women and two men were killed when they were thrown into a deep ditch late on Friday as they attempted to return to their hotel in the dark.

Four die in Colorado shooting Four people have been found dead following a shooting incident that triggered a stand-off with police in Aurora, in the US state of Colorado.

Police say they went to a townhouse after shots were heard there overnight.

Officers later entered the home.

Following a gunfight they found the suspect dead, along with three people apparently killed earlier, police say.

Aurora, near Denver, was the scene of a mass shooting at a cinema in July, in which a gunman killed 12 people.

He opened fire at random during the premiere of the Batman film The Dark Knight Rises. Suspect James Eagan Holmes is currently being tried on murder charges.

Monday, January 7, 2013

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Assad calls Syrian rebels enemies of God S tanding defiantly against pressure to step down, Syrian President Bashar Assad called on the Syrian public to fight rebels he deemed “enemies of God.” In his first public speech before the nation in months, broadcast live on state television, Assad said “this is a conflict of those who wanted to take revenge against the people, to fragment Syria, Those are the enemies of the people and the enemies of God. And the enemies of God will go to hell,” CNN quoted him saying. “We are in a state of real war, in every aspect of the words. And when we’re in a state of war, all of our politics has to be concentrated on winning this war,” he said.

He denied his country’s armed forces are behind attacks that have claimed some 60,000 lives according to United Nations estimates, since the uprising against

the r e gime b e -

Assad gan in March 2011.

“Many have fallen on the trap that the conflict is between the government and the opposition. ... The conflict, ladies and gentle-

men, is between the homeland and its enemies -- between the people and the killers and the criminals,” he said in Sunday’s speech.

“We meet today and suffering

Father of Indian rape victim wants her named T he father of an Indian woman whose brutal rape and torture provoked a global outcry has said in an interview that he wants her name to be made public so she could be an inspiration to other victims of sexual assault.

“We want the world to know her real name,” the woman’s father was quoted in Britain’s Sunday People newspaper.

The 23-year-old physiotherapy student died on December 28 in a Singapore hospital, two weeks after a gang rape on a moving bus in New Delhi that ignited protests across India and neighbouring countries, and prompted government promises for tougher punishments for offenders.

“I am proud of her. Revealing her name will give courage to other women who have survived these attacks. They will find strength from my daughter.”

“My daughter didn’t do anything wrong, she died while protecting herself,” he added.

“I am proud of her. Revealing her name will give courage to other women who have survived these attacks. They will find strength from my daughter.”

Indian law generally prohibits the identification of victims of sex crimes. The law is intended to protect victims’ privacy and keep them from the media glare in a country where the social stigma associated with rape can be devas-

tating.

The father later told Reuters he had no objections to the media using his daughter’s name, but did not elaborate. There have been growing calls in India to name the victim.

Politician Shashi Tharoor last week questioned the merit of keeping her anonymous, and suggested naming new anti-rape legislation after her, a proposal her father supported.

The British paper named the father and his daughter, saying that the father had given permission, but added that it would not publish a photo of her at the family’s request.

Citing the same law, Delhi police have started legal proceedings against TV network

Zee News after it ran an interview with a friend of the victim who was with her during the attack.

He accused the police of responding slowly and failing to cover the victim and himself after they were thrown from the bus without clothes and bleeding.

Five men have been charged with her gang rape and murder and will appear in a New Delhi court on Monday.

Despite huge public pressure to move quickly, it might take several weeks to formally begin the trial against the five men, a public prosecutor in the case, Rajiv Mohan, told Reuters. He said the case could be concluded within four to five months.

A j u ve n i l e

Protesters participating in a prayer meeting for the 23-year-old rape victim in New Delhi.

Photo: Getty Images

is overwhelming Syrian land,” the Turkish Hurriyet Daily News quoted him saying. “There is no place for joy while security and stability are absent on the streets of our country. The nation is for all, and we all must protect it,” he said.

Assad said he rejects all dialogue with “puppets made by the West,” in order to resolve the situation, but said plans to restore peace would require regional powers to stop funding the opposition. He said the army would then halt all military operations but would reserve the right to defend state interests, the BBC said.

Assad said a conference of national dialogue between “Syrian individuals and political parties” would be created to form a national charter to be put to a referendum which would result in the establishment of a new government, the BBC said.

India, Pakistan in border dispute

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ndian and Pakistani troops have clashed near the Line of Control in the disputed Kashmir region.

Pakistan said Indian troops had raided a military post in the Haji Pir sector of Pakistaniadministered Kashmir, killing a soldier and injuring another.

An Indian army spokesman said it had responded to a “ceasefire violation” but did not cross the Line of Control.

Kashmir is claimed by both nations in its entirety and has been a flashpoint between them for more than 60 years.

Exchanges are not uncommon but rarely result in fatalities.

The Pakistani military said in a statement that Indian troops had “physically raided a checkpost named Sawan Patra”.

The Haji Pir Pass is just south of the main road from Muzaffarabad in Pakistan-controlled Kashmir to Srinagar in Indian-administered Kashmir.

“Pakistan army troops effectively responded to the attack,” the Pakistani statement said, adding that Indian troops had left behind weapons as they retreated.

One Pakistani soldier was killed and another critically injured, it said.

Indian army spokesman Col Jagadish Dahiya told Reuters news agency it had responded to a “ceasefire violation” by Pakistan.

He added: “None of our troops crossed the Line of Control. We have no casualties or injuries.”

Monday, January 7, 2013

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Community Mirror “Media organizations should endeavour to provide a good insurance policy that would cover the lives of journalists.”

Monarch honours indigenes at cultural festival

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PRESIDENT, NIGERIAN UNION OF JOURNALISTS,(NUJ) MOHAMMED GARBA

Katsina to spend N300m on boreholes

Man dies after sex with concubine

JAMES DANJUMA

esidents of Eruoba Street in Akure, the Ondo State capital, were thrown into confusion at the weekend, as a 50-year-old electrician, Mr. Bimbo Adeloye, died after sex with a woman believed to be his concubine.

KATSINA

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he sum of N300 million has been released by the Katsina State Government as counterpart funds for the construction of 354 boreholes in six local government areas in the state.

The Commissioner of Water Resources, Jamilu Danmusa, said the benefiting councils under the Sanitation, Hygiene and Water in Nigeria (SHAWN) project include Dutsinma, Kaita, Bakori, Faskari, Mai’adua and Sandamu.

Danmusa was speaking at the presentation of motorcycles and hand pump maintenance equipment to 10 selected communities in Dutsinma Local Government Area.

He said the gesture was meant to express the administration’s commitment towards ensuring availability of potable water to the people.

He said the ministry is executing seven semi-urban water schemes and efforts are being made to identify other locations to provide these basic amenities as a way of improving their living condition.

OJO OYEWAMIDE AKURE

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ABEOKUTA

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series of fire last weekend ravaged shops in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital,even as other blazes threatened houses at Alowonle; Abeokuta Grammar School, as well as Trade Fair Complex at Oke - Mosan in the metropolis.

In Adigbe area, six shops in the house of a landlord identified as “Baba Ologodo” were completely gutted, as the fire also affected a petrol filling station, allegedly belonging to the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Hon. Suraj Adekunbi.

Speaking with Community Mirror at scene of the fire incident, the Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Kareem Olanrewaju, said the cause of the fire could not be ascertained,even though it started from a furniture shop belonging to one Adisa Ibrahim.

and informed the police who helped in rushing the deceased to the State Specialist Hospital where he gave up the ghost. His corpse has been deposited in the morgue.

Community Mirror gathered that the woman, in her early 30’s who works with a Federal security organization, is reportedly married, while her husband

A group of young men trying to push a distressed truck off the road on the Marina bridge in Lagos.

Fire ravages shops, houses in Abeokuta FEMI OYEWESO

Adeloye, a native of Owo, was said to have left his home on Ijoka Road for the woman’s residence where he met his untimely death.

It was learnt that the deceased started gasping for breath after some bouts of sex, somersaulted and hit his head on the floor.

Sources said the woman reportedly raised the alarm

Olanrewaju, also said the fire later extended to other five shops, even as the timely intervention of the agency and State Fire Service prevented the filling station from being completely razed.

At the Abeokuta Grammar School in Idi - Aba, the fire destroyed chairs packed in front of the students’ hostel while threatening other buildings.

It took the efforts of the school Principal, Mr. Segun Obadimu, hostel staff, as well as students to put off the fire.

Fire firefighters who arrived at the school two hours later complained of lack of water to fight the blaze.

The fire that engulfed the Trade Fair Complex at Oke Mosan was alleged to have been caused by unidentified persons who were hunting in the vicinity.

Although no lives were lost, a security official said the fire burnt the perimeter fence of the complex and the police station before it was eventually put off.

works in another state.

Eyewitnesses claim Adeloye was a victim of the dreaded Yoruba traditional spell called Magun,which is believed to mysteriously cause the death of anyone who sleeps with a woman laced with it.

Presently, the woman is in police custody helping in investigations.

PHOTO:ADEMOLA AKINLABI

LASTMA promises better service in New Year MURITALA AYINLA

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he Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), has promised to establish and maintain cordial relationship with motorists, adding that enforcement of traffic law in the New Year would be devoid of rancour and aggressiveness.

In a New Year message signed by the Public Relations Officer, Bola Ajao, the agency’s General Manager, Engr. Babatunde Edu, promised that officials will be more courteous in dealing with road users, adding that obedience to the rule of law and respect for motorists would be their watchword, even as he stated that they would be firm, but unaggressive in implementation of the traffic law.

Edu said: “We wish to remind motorists in Lagos, that the organization is committed to highly mobile, efficient and effective

traffic management in line with the best global practices in 2013.

“The experience of 2012 would serve as a guide, and impetus to deliver better and efficient services. The agency has strategically positioned the personnel to move it forward, in order to achieve the set objectives of free accident and traffic flow in Lagos.

This is in conformity with the state service delivery.

As professional traffic managers, we have mapped out strategy that would increase the level of voluntarily compliance through awareness, sensitization and public enlightenment.

The agency is more determined to enhance sanity, decency, orderliness and safe road usage”.

The LASTMA boss added that in the New Year, the agency is determined to identifying more areas of traffic gridlock with a view to unlocking them.

“We shall continue to implement policies on safety in order

to reduce road accidents to the barest minimum. This is possible and achievable. To this end, the performance evaluation training of staff will continue with a view to acquiring traffic management skills to enable them discharge their duties and responsibilities.

He urged motorists not to be afraid of traffic officers, but accord them due respect and report anyone that is overzealous to the organization for appropriate sanction.

“There should be no need for violence; traffic managers have been empowered with modern professional tools such as the auto inspector, digital camera and human capacity training which make it easier to effect arrest of offenders at home,” he said.

Edu reaffirmed the readiness of the government to sanitize the agency by ensuring that only diligent, dedicated and disciplined officers are posted on the roads.

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Monarch honours indigenes at cultural festival ABIODUN NEJO ADO EKITI

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he Alaaye of Efon Alaye in Ekiti State, Oba Emmanuel Aladejare, has admitted the Yoruba Council of Elders (YCE) chieftain, Dr Kunle Olajide, and others into the community’s Hall of Fame for their pioneering roles in their chosen careers.

Others admitted alongside Olajide, during the 2012 Efon Day Celebration were a community leader, Chief Jacob Elekolusi; and former university don, Dr Isaac Bolarinwa Balogun.

Speaking at the induction ceremony, Oba Alade are said “admission into the Hall of Fame is consciously guided and bestowed on selected pioneer achievers in their occupa-

tional disciplines and vocations.

Those already admitted are recognized achievers in their occupation or careers, also, those being admitted now are, undoubtedly, deserving pioneers and first line achievers in their fields and occupational attainments”.

Olajide, who is the first indigene to become a medical doctor, was also decorated as the first Aare of Efon Kingdom at the king’s palace.

Other indigenes included Mr Johnson Olamide Oni, an Assistant Commissioner of Police; and Dr. Bababunola Balogun, medical practitioner; were conferred with honorary chieftaincy titles.

Speaking at the occasion, President of Efon Development League, Chief Patrick Ojo, said the honour is meant to enable younger ones become more focused and see the recipients as role models they should emulate.

Ojo said: “The youth are the future; we are essentially laying a solid foundation. We encourage them with role models; and make efforts to redirect and re-orientate them from the path of hooliganism to be good role models. We encourage them through scholarships granted either by individuals or the league”.

The league boss described Efon Day as a rallying point for the people, saying: “It symbolizes our collective struggle, the attendant successes and our dream of a better tomorrow.

We are celebrating the progress we have made so far in Efon. We have been blessed with a traditional institution that enhances growth.”.

The event was graced by dignitaries including Ekiti State Governor’s wife, Mrs Bisi Fayemi; Senator Babafemi Ojudu; and Efon Council Chairman, Dr Adio Folayan; among others.

A caravan of camels plying Kiyawa-Jahun-Gujungu road in Jigawa State.

PHOTO: NAN

Gombe flood victims cry for assistance DANJUMA WILLIAMS GOMBE

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onths after flood ravaged many parts of the country, the remaining 115 persons at the Lawanti refugee camp in Gombe State are now crying for help.

Speaking on the development, team leader of the Task Force on Flood Disaster Intervention deployed to Gombe by the

Federal Government, Mr. Durojaye Adebayo, said there is urgent need to relocate the victims to more conducive environment, even as he appealed for prompt release of funds to agencies charged with resettlement of displaced persons.

According to him, of the three camps, only that in Lawanti is still operating, because the refugees have nowhere

to go as their houses were submerged and destroyed by the flood.

He said last year’s flood which affected all the 11 local government areas of the state caused more havoc in eight local governments, adding that 32, 215 houses were damaged with 44, 856 persons needing assistance, while 350 people were recorded as internally displaced.

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North can’t get Presidency with Boko Haram, says ex-gov A ZA MSUE KADUNA

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ormer military Governor of the defunct North Western States, Alhaji Usman Faruk, has asked the North to forget 2015 presidency if there was no end to Boko Haram insurgency.

Faruk said if urgent steps were not taken, the insurgency in the region would consume the whole

country.

He added that the Federal Government must dialogue with the sect for peace and unity.

Addressing journalists in Kaduna yesterday, the former governor described Boko Haram activities as terrible, noting that despite several security meetings being held in the North, there was no positive result yet.

According to him, some

governors in the region no longer spend time in their states for fear of attacks by the sect.

Faruk’s views came on the heels of agitations by the North for presidency in 2015, as the region’s prominent leaders and groups have commenced consultations and are scheming against President Goodluck Jonathan, who may seek reelection.

Faruk, who left govern-

ment over 37 years ago, dismissed claims that terrorism in the North was to scuttle Jonathan’s administration.

He added that the expected results from the National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd), were not forthcoming.

The former governor called on government to double its efforts against terrorism.

Farouk, who is the chair-

Representative of Bauchi State Governor, Alhaji Bappah Azare (left) presenting relief materials to Chairman, Gamawa Local Government Area, Alhaji Kabiru Gamawa, during the distribution of items donated to the state by the Presidential Committee on Flood Relief and Rehabilitation at Kubdiya in Bauchi State, at the weekend.

Police arrest FUTMINNA student for beheading girlfriend PRISCILLA DENNIS MINNA

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olice have arrested a 500 level student, of the Federal University of Technology, FUT, Minna, Godwin Idoko, for allegedly decapitating his lover at Rafin Yashi area, a suburb of Minna, the Niger State capital, on New Year Day. It was learnt that Godwin, who brought his girlfriend, identified as Hanatu, into his house for three days under a questionable circumstance, murdered her

and took off with her head.

It was also gathered that both lovers stayed in doors from December 30, 2012 to January 1, 2013, until when the neighbours heard the scream of a lady, followed

by Godwin’s suspicious moves afterward.

Some of the neighbours, who spoke with our correspondent, said the suspect came with his girlfriend to the compound and stayed indoors until he killed the lady.

One of the neighbours, who did not want his name in print, said: “The two

came in on 30th of December and Godwin introduced her as Hanatu and didn’t go out, until the day we heard the painful scream from the house and saw him rush out with a bag. Then we became suspicious and forced his door opened and saw the headless body of the girl in her own of blood in his room.”

He said the people contacted the police who later discovered Hanatu’s head in an uncompleted building.

Later, the suspect was arrested by the police while the

body of the victim was deposited at the Minna General Hospital morgue.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Pius Edobor, confirmed the incident.

He explained that the suspect was with the police and had confessed the killing of his girlfriend.

Edobor, however, said the command was yet to find out the reason behind it.

He said the FUT management had been informed of the development in order to ascertain the suspect’s state of mind before the crime was committed.

We must field credible presidential candidate for 2015 –Group

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group, under the aegis of Concerned Arewa Patriots, CAP, has called on the North to field a credible candidate to contest the Presidency in 2015.

The North-West Coordinator of CAP, Mr. Maiyaki Idris, made the call in Kano yesterday while addressing journalists.

He said: “CAP hereby

appeals to the North to passionately address the crucial choice of a presidential candidate with credible standards devoid of ethnic, political and religious sentiments.”

The group appealed to politicians from the North to ensure the selection of an “incorruptible, sellable, and reliable” candidate.

It said the candidate must be someone whose

track record of nationalism and performance could never be in doubt to vie for the Presidency in the next general elections.

Idris said the group had set the machinery in motion to mobilise all wellmeaning northerners, including all former heads of state in galvanising support for the idea.

He said: “We also have in

mind the federal and state legislators, both present and past ones, and we believe they can support the idea.”

The coordinator said the group would focus on programmes aimed at promoting the region’s socioeconomic and political growth, as well as its development and that of the country as a whole.

man of the newly established Non-Governmental Organisation, Northern Development Focus Initiative, NDFI, averred that his group’s security summit in Kano this month would harmonise reports of previous meetings on how to end Boko Haram insurgency in the region.

He said the summit would be attended by former Heads of State, Gen. Yakubu Gowon, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, and former President Shehu Shagari, among others, to ensure permanent peace in the region.

He said: “We should not talk of 2015 presidency. We have to save Nigeria first before 2015 because if there is Boko Haram there will be no president; North can’t get it.

“We have a terrible problem in our hands. We are yet to solve it and people are talking about presidency, how? If this problem is not solved, it will consume Nigeria.

“Some governors now don’t meet, they don’t sleep in their states; they relocate to 10 places before day break. Most governors in the North don’t hold their state executive council meetings again.

“Without solving Boko Haram insurgency, I don’t think there will be president again in this country.

We must safe Nigeria first before 2015 presidency we are talking about.

“The insecurity is terribly bad beyond what we are thinking because I chaired one of the investigation panels in my home state, Gombe, when Boko Haram bombed a police station. It was then that I discovered that the insurgency is more than the way the government is handling it.

“Since the beginning of Boko Haram, some elders have held over 10 meetings to find solution but up till now no solution has been put on paper.

“We now come out with our new group, Northern Development Focus Initiative, to harmonise the results of all the meetings to make recommendations in Kano State in the next two weeks.

We will collect all the information that will solve the insurgency.

“Generally speaking, we now realise that Boko Haram will consume Nigeria if we are not careful. It (Nigeria) will crumble in our faces.

Government should do more; the way its handling insecurity is far behind the problem.

“Most of our leaders don’t see the high level of insecurity in the North because they only read it or hear it, but I was opportune to chair one of a police station bomb panels in Gombe State when my governor invited me.”

Promote peace, Etsu Nupe urges religious leaders PRISCILLA DENNIS MINNA

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he Etsu Nupe, Alhaji Yahaya Abubakar, has called on religious leaders across the country to focus on national issues or challenges confronting their communities, while preaching peace, a veritable tool for national development.

Abubakar made the call at the graduation ceremony of 70 students of Madarasat Tahfizil Quran Wa Tarbiyatul-Islamiya School and the school’s N20 million fund raising held in Bida, Niger State.

According to him, since the two major religions, Christianity and Islam, preach peace, it is important for the leaders of both religions to join hands and speak

on issues that will promote Nigerians’ unity, instead of the ones that will tear them apart.

Abubakar also stressed the need for dialogue in resolving issues by aggrieved persons, instead of confrontation by some disgruntled elements out to frustrate the Nigeria’s bid to enjoy true democracy for their selfish purposes.

He said: “Both Islam and Christianity abhor violence as such their adherents should practice their teachings to the followers.”

The royal father also enjoined wealthy Muslims in the country to assist in building mosques and schools by ensuring that their children and wards were sent to schools to acquire western and Islamic education.

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No church was attacked in Gombe in 2012, says Dankwambo DANJUMA WILLIAMS GOMBE

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ombe State Governor, Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, has joined the Christian community in the state in celebration over a successful transition into the New Year. The governor was thanking God that no church building was destroyed or attacked in the year 2012.

Dankwambo, who expressed happiness when the Christian community in the state led by its Chairman, Reverend Abare Kalla, paid him a Christmas and New Year homage at Government House, Gombe, charged Christians never to allow themselves to be intimidated in any way nor be deterred from advising his government objectively, sincerely and truthfully.

The governor, who was also full of joy that not only was 2012 non-violent in the state, thanked God that no church was attacked or destroyed and prayed for the sustenance of the 2012 spirit of togetherness saying; “That is the life of truth that God expected from all humanity.”

He encouraged Chris-

tians to continue with the spirit of togetherness in this New Year which prevailed in the state in 2012 for the good of all and for peaceful coexistence in the state.

The governor used the occasion to express his administration’s determination to see that the state ceases to be listed bellow any state in the country in terms of development by the time he leaves office.

According to him, the success so far achieved in less than two years of his

four-year tenure, is just a little of what he planned for the state as a substantial part of the blue print of the development expected to feature in the state after his four-year tenure, was yet to come.

Dankwambo said it is not only development that could bring popularity to a leader, but the ability of the leader to embrace and remain firm on the principles that ensure justice, fairness, sincerity and honesty.

“Leadership is a privi-

JOS

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takeholders in Plateau State have set agenda for the new Commissioner of Police in the state, Mr. Chris Olakpe.

The new police boss took over from Mr. Emmanuel Ayeni last December and has since resumed duties.

Some of the stakeholders who spoke with National Mirror at the weekend listed their expectations from the new police commissioner, whom they noted is coming at a time when the state is still facing some security challenges.

Chairman of the Association of Local Government of Nigeria (ALGON) in the state, Hon. Emmanuel Loman, said Olakpe must first of all

other and Christian faithful at the occasion.

The state CAN chairman said the Christian community in the state was well embraced by the governor in a manner that has never been witnessed in the history of the state.

He said the CAN centre still needs the governor’s attention and the community looks forward to the day that the governor would oblige to address the Christian community at the centre.

Director, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and member, Presidential sub-committee on flood, Mr. Itua Aikhoje (left) and Deputy Governor, Operations, Central Bank of Nigeria and member of the sub-committee, Mr. Tunde Lemo, at a news conference in Jos, recently.

Stakeholders set agenda for new Plateau CP JAMES A BRAHAM

lege from God and is not for life, as such, any leader who fails to utilise the opportunity he has to discharge his responsibilities which goes with the privilege, the leadership would be taken away from him because God would not be happy with such man.

The occasion witnessed the rendition of songs by the women fellowship and the New Life Band for All to the satisfaction and appreciation of the governor, the state CAN Chairman, Rev. (Dr.) Abare Kalla and

tackle the spate of attacks occurring in some local council areas.

“That should be his first priority. As a senior police officer, we expect he should bring his wealth of experience, exposure and impeccable credentials to bear by bringing to an end the activities of gunmen who kill innocent people without any justification.”

Loman, who is also the Chairman of Barki Ladi Local Government Area, also advised the new commissioner to do more of work and less of talk, saying he should learn from his predecessor, whom he said employed the principle of fairness in his dealings with people and ensured that peace was sustained in the state throughout his tenure.

Chairman of Plateau Indigenous Professionals, David Dakwal, said Olakpe has to start from his immediate constituency by ensuring that officers and men under his command maintain strong professional ethics in the discharge of their responsibilities.

“I believe that whenever somebody says he is a professional, he should not be seen as doing something outside the ethics of his profession.

So, he must work on them and ensure that his men act within the sphere allowed by the profession.”

He urged him to also look at how to strengthen relations between the police and the various communities in the state so as to enhance the confidence that is necessary for security breakthrough in the state.

Health workers remind Yero of 30% CONHESS AZA MSUE KADUNA

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he National Association of Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM) at the weekend reminded the new Kaduna State governor, Alhaji Mukhtar Ramalan Yero, of its 30 per cent Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) payment for more productivity.

State chairperson of the association, Comrade Cecilia Musa, gave the reminder in a condolence letter to the governor over the demise of his predecessor, Governor Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa.

She also declared the union’s unflinching support to the new administration.

Musa while also congratulating Governor Yero over his divine elevation, called on him to sustain the security, unity and development of the state for better socioeconomic development.

Her words: “We condoled with the new governor, Alhaji Mukhtar Ramalan Yero, over the demise of the former governor, Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa. We also congratulate you on your divine elevation. All the nurses and midwives of Kaduna State pledge their unflinching support for your administration.

Farmers in flood-ravaged area want FG’s assistance

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armers in Ibaji Local Government Area of Kogi State have appealed to the Federal Government to provide more seedlings and relief materials to cushion the effects of the 2012 flood disaster in the area.

The farmers, in separate interviews in Ibaji yesterday, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that they lost all their crops and granaries to the disaster.

NAN reports that Ibaji Local Government Area was the worst hit in the state by the 2012 floods.

This led the Federal Government into evacuating all residents to Idah town in the state.

The area is a border riverine community between Kogi and Anambra States, comprising no fewer than 34 villages with farming as their ma-

jor occupation.

A farmer at Odeke village, Mrs. Eke Emeje, told NAN that she left grains she recovered from her granary behind during their evacuation of the area because rescue boats refused to carry goods.

“I waited for three days with some grains I took from my granary, but the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) refused to take

Jonathan

any goods. So, I had to leave everything to save my life.

“At the camp in Idah, we were not given enough food and when the flood receded we came back home to see that all our farms and granaries had been washed away.

“Now, we are hungry and there is famine in our land. The farming season is approaching and we have no seeds to plant.

“Most of our houses collapsed and we are living in danger. Government should save us from starvation,” she pleaded.

Pastor Jude Atta of the Glorious Faith Ministry, Idah and a cassava farmer at Ugwoda, told NAN that he lost about five hectares of cassava farmland to flood. He said he presently has no cassava stems to plant in the new cropping season.

Monday, January 7, 2013

FIFA Player honour set for grabbing

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Sport

A replay is not exactly what I am looking forward to with the two Chelsea games in mind and league games –Swansea boss, Michael Laudrup

U-12, U-15 handball events postponed YEMI OLUS

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Mikel Obi (right) and his team mates rehydrating with water after yesterday’s morning training at the Super Eagles’ Faro, Portugal camp.

I’m ready for Nations Cup, says Mikel EVEREST ONYEWUCHI

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igeria and Chelsea midfielder, Mikel Obi, has declared his fitness and readiness to make an impressive outing at the imminent Africa Cup of Nations finals in South Africa.

Mikel spoke before the Super Eagles’ yesterday’s morning training at their Browns Sports and Leisure Club camp in Faro, Portugal.

Team Media Officer, Ben Alaiya, informed National Mirror that the Chelsea star was one of the first players to step out in the chilly weather for training, with temperature at 10 degrees celcius.

Asked to react to talks that his English club did not list him for Saturday’s FA Cup match at Southampton, Mikel smiled before saying, “I’m

...Eagles’ camp full, bubbles okay. I had a knock two weeks ago and was told to rest for sometimes, but now am fit and I actually started training two days ago with the Chelsea first team. So there is no fear about any injury. I’m ready for the Nations Cup.” A full house of invited players was at the morning training, as the last set of players arrived the Faro camp of the national team early on Sunday.

The last two players to arrive were Villareal of Spain hitman, Ikechukwu Uche and Israel-based goalie, Austin Ejide.

By lunch time yesterday, 31 players including injured Rizespur of Turkey striker, Uche Kalu, were in camp battling for shirts.

Coach Stephen Keshi took time of to drill the players on fitness and game reaction for over an hour.

At the end of the exercise it was obvious that all the players are primed for action in the AFCON. Keshi again drummed it into the ears of the players that they should not pressurise themselves but must be aware that Nigerians are very expectant of a super outing at the South Africa 2013.

Responding on behalf of his team mates, skipper Joseph Yobo declared that they’re in camp to make sure that the glory days of Nigerian football are returned with a major trophy.

“We are here, ready to don the colours of our nation

and we will not relent until we reach our goal. Luckily, we have a coaching crew that understands us well and I’m sure the players are ready to deliver,” Alaiya quoted Yobo as saying.

andball Federation of Nigeria (HFN) has announced the postponement of the National U-12 and U-15 Handball Championships earlier scheduled to hold from January 18 to 27 in Isanlu, Yagba East Local Government Area in Kogi.

The events will now hold from February 7 to 17, even as other information contained in earlier correspondences remaine the same.

Secretary General of the federation, Mr. Olusola Luke, said at the weekend that the shift was at the instance of the sponsors to presenting a better championship.

“We have considered that bearing in mind that the competition is the first in the federation’s programme for this year,” Luke said.

“The host will provide accommodation for all the participants while teams will be responsible for their feeding and transportation to and from Isanlu,” he added, stressing, “This clarification is in order to avoid unnecessary inconvenience during the event.”

Luke, however, insisted that only payment of the annual affiliation fee could guarantee participation at the championships while teams’ registration fees, licence fees for players and officials must be borne by participants in the tournament.

Nigeria, Cape Verde to clash at Algarve

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t has now been confirmed that the Super Eagles will clash with the Blue Sharks of Cape Verde at the Algarve Stadium in Faro, Portugal on Wednesday.

Kick-off time for the match is 8pm Portuguese time, which will be 9pm in Nigeria.

According to Jairo Parto of Euro Data Sport Ltd, the official match agency of the Nigeria Football Federation

(NFF), the match is being organised in association with Browns Sports Leisure, Algarve, where the Eagles are presently preparing for the Nations Cup and it’s to toughen both sides for the finals in South Africa.

The match will coincide with the day Nigeria and the other 15 finalists will submit their lists of 23 players each to the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

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Group A: South Africa, Morocco, Angola, Cape Verde Group B:

Ghana, Mali, Niger, DR Congo

Group C:

Zambia, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Burkina Faso

Group D: Cote d’Ivoire, Algeria, Tunisia, Togo PAST HOSTS

Players of the Chipolopolo of Zambia, celebrating with the Unity trophy after winning Gabon/Equatorial Guinea 2012

AFCON: From Sudan ‘57 to South Africa 2013

EVEREST ONYEWUCHI SPORTS EDITOR

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he 29th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) that kicks off in Johannesburg on January 19 is the second time South Africa will be hosting the tournament.

Emerging from apartheid in 1994, South Africa under President Nelson Mandela hosted the continental showpiece in 1996.

The AFCON was first organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in 1957 in Khartoum, at which three countries – host Sudan, Egypt and Ethiopia – competed.

South Africa that was earlier entered to participate was eventually excluded because of its apartheid policy.

The championship is a biennial competition, but CAF is holding the 29th edition a year after Gabon and Equatorial Guinea co-hosted the last one in 2012 so it will not be coming up in a FIFA World Cup year.

AFCON has gone through various formats of four-nation, six-nation, becoming an eight-nation championship at the sixth edition held in Ethiopia in 1968.

At Senegal ’92, the 18th edition was played on 12-nation basis, with the current 16-nation format emerging at South Africa ’96.

But only 15 finalists eventually played in the Rainbow Nation because the defending champion, Nigeria, pulled out on the eve of the kickoff of the competition over political and diplomatic differences between

its military regime headed by late General Sani Abacha and President Mandela.

Unfortunately, the 27th edition held in Angola in 2010 was also played by 15 nations instead of 16, as Togo withdrew a few days to kickoff because of shock and trauma its national team suffered after two of their members died in an attack by gunmen while crossing the DR Congo border into Angola.

The history of the Nations Cup is to a large extent, the story of the Pharaohs of Egypt, Black Stars of Ghana and Indomitable Lions of Cameroun, who have in-between them won the competition 15 times in the last 28 editions.

Three times back-to-back winner, Egypt, has hosted the champion-

ship four times and won seven times since its inception, while Ghana has won four times and has hosted it four times, at different editions.

Cameroun only hosted the 8th edition in 1972, but the Indomitable Lions have won the championship four times at Cote d’Ivoire in 1984, Maroc ’88, Ghana/Nigeria 2000 and at Mali 2002.

Past winners and always cup favourites, Egypt, Cameroun and Nigeria, were surprisingly missing at the last edition co-hosted by Gabon and Equatorial Guinea, which was won by Zambia.

Unbelievably, the Pharaohs and Indomitable Lions will still not be part of this African party beginning on the 19th of this month in Mandela’s country.

The Maghreb reunite

S

outh Africa will be venue for the reunion of the three nations of the historical Maghreb, Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco, for the first time at an Africa Cup of Nations since the 2004 finals in Tunisia.

During that year, the Eagles of Carthage were triumphant on home soil when they beat the Atlas Lions 2-1 in the final.

Since the creation of the continental competition in 1957, the three North African countries have only crossed paths four times during the finals; in 1998 in Burkina Faso, in 2000 in Ghana and Nigeria, in 2002 in Mali and in 2004 in Tunisia.

During the 2006, 2008 and 2012 edi-

tions, the Algerian Desert Warriors were eliminated in the preliminary round, while Morocco did not manage to secure a ticket to the Angolan AFCON in 2010.

All three have won the African tournament once, with Morocco being crowned in 1976 in Ethiopia and Algeria and Tunisia in 1990 and 2004 in front of their home crowds, and will undoubtedly be in search of a second trophy on their visit to the southernmost tip of Africa.

Interestingly, Algeria and Morocco will both be making their 15th appearance in this 29th edition of the AFCON, just one less than their Tunisian neighbour.

1957:

Sudan

1959:

Egypt

1962:

Ethiopia

1963:

Ghana

1965:

Tunisia

1968:

Ethiopia

1970:

Sudan

1972:

Cameroun

1974:

Egypt

1976:

Ethiopia

1978:

Ghana

1980:

Nigeria

1982:

Libya

1984:

Cote d’Ivoire

1986:

Egypt

1988:

Morocco

1990:

Algeria

1992:

Senegal

1994:

Tunisia

1996:

South Africa

1998:

Burkina Faso

2000:

Ghana/Nigeria

2002:

Mali

2004:

Tunisia

2006:

Egypt

2008:

Ghana

2010:

Angola

2012:

Gabon/E’Guinea PAST WINNERS

1957:

Egypt

1959:

Egypt

1962:

Ethiopia

1963:

Ghana

1965:

Ghana

1968:

Congo-Kinshasa

1970:

Sudan

1972:

Congo

1974:

Zaire

1976:

Morocco

1978:

Ghana

1980:

Nigeria

1982:

Ghana

1984:

Cameroun

1986:

Egypt

1988:

Cameroun

1990:

Algeria

1992:

Cote d’Ivoire

1994:

Nigeria

1996:

South Africa

1998:

Egypt

2000:

Cameroun

2002:

Cameroun

2004:

Tunisia

2006:

Egypt

2008:

Egypt

2010:

Egypt

2012:

Zambia

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Sport

Monday, January 7, 2013

55

FIFA Player honour set for grabbing Coaches, players and administrators weigh the chances of contenders for the Ballon d’Or whose ceremony is holding today in Zurich, Switzerland ON CRISTIANO RONALDO… ortugal have a national team called Cristiano Ronaldo and a group of players who run after him.

–Carlos Queiroz

P

“Cristiano is a phenomenon. His style of play is unique. He is a player who, every day, wants to be better than he was yesterday.

He’s ambitious, with a huge ability to score goals and a very big influence in the dressing room. He is the greatest forward to ever wear the shirt of Madrid.”

–Emilio Butragueno “He’s an unbelievable player. We have a pantheon of great players and Ronaldo definitely compares with any of them.

Although he had a natural talent, he is in many ways manufactured himself–he practised and practised. He had a bit of the Eric Cantona about him in that way. He was definitely good value for Madrid.”

–Sir Alex Ferguson “The same thing happens to Ronaldo as it did to Beckham–people criticise them because they are envious that they’re very good-looking. But for me, Ronaldo’s the ideal player. He’s fast, tall, is good with his head, is technically good, takes penalties and good free-kicks, and is a leader. I think Cristiano Ronaldo is a phenomenon.”

–Ruud Gullit Cristiano Ronaldo had been struggling for form at international level for years. The world’s best player, along with Lionel Messi, seemed frustrated and petulant when playing for Portugal. But after a superb couple of games, Ronaldo started playing - scoring three goals and bringing Portugal to an unexpected semi-final. It is always great to see the best in a superstar. He has shown his countrymen that he deserves a monument in Lisbon.

–Diego Maradona “Messi is a great player, but Cristiano is absolutely tremendous. He is the best in

FIFA will announce today who is the World Player of the Year 2012 among Andres Iniesta (l), Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo

the world because he’s the most complete player. He is fast, powerful, scores goals, has so much quality and always helps his team out defensively if required. He is the perfect ten. I have never seen such a perfect football machine. Football has changed a lot, and I doubt that players such as Pele, Di Stefano and Maradona could do what Cristiano does now with such intensity.”

–Nuno ON ANDRES INIESTA… he press often ask me about whether Messi or Ronaldo is the best, but for me something is very clear: Andres Iniesta is the number one. He is able to do even more difficult things on the pitch.

‘T

FA Cup: Laudrup rues Arsenal replay

M

ichael Laudrup was delighted after Danny Graham’s late equaliser against Arsenal kept Swansea in the FA Cup. But the Swansea manager says he could have done without a replay at the Emirates Stadium on 15 or 16 January in the midst of a busy schedule.

“The last thing I want is to lose. It puts one more game on the table for us in January when we already have a lot of games, but every footballer likes to play games,” Laudrup told BBC Sport.

As well as Premier League games against Everton, Stoke and Sunderland in January, Swansea faces a two-legged Capi-

tal One Cup semi-final against Chelsea.

“A replay is not exactly what I am looking forward to with the two Chelsea games in mind and league games. It is very tight but when you have been in this profession at the highest level you always want to play and win,” Laudrup added.

2–2

Arsenal

Mansfield

1–2

Liverpool

“There is not as much talk about Iniesta as there is about Messi, but I would like him to win the Ballon d’Or. He deserves it for his career with Barcelona and Spain, and for his virtues. He does everything right: he sets up chances like only a few can and he also scores regularly. Iniesta is a magician who always knows what to do when he gets the ball.”

–Luis Fernandez He is the enlightened one, someone touched by a magic wand. He commands so much respect on the pitch. As a football lover, I am proud to have played with him.

He makes the difference and does things that no one else can do.

–Sergio Ramos I watch Iniesta and realise that, even at my age, I could be learning new things.

–Juan Roman Riquelme When he has the ball, it’s like everything else stops–like the camera is going in slow motion. I’ve been playing with him since we were 15, and I have never, ever seen him play badly.

–Fernando Torres ON LIONEL MESSI… ou cannot compare anyone to Messi.

Cristiano Ronaldo is a great human footballer, but Messi is a Martian. He can run even faster with the ball than he can without it. It’s as if he’s playing another sport. It’s almost impossible to do the things he does at that speed.

Y

RESULTS Swansea

He is magic with the ball and so influential.”

–David Silva

Michael Laudrup

–Alfio Basile My record stood for 40 years–85 goals in 60 games–and now the best player in the world has broken it. I’m delighted for him.

He is an incredible player, gigantic. He’s such a nice and modest professional, and I hope he gets one or two more goals in 2012 and that he can then hold on to the record for the next 40 years. He’s fantastic. He only has one defect and that is that he doesn’t play for Bayern Munich!

–Gerd Muller Some people do not like Ronaldo because he is a great player, good-looking and has sex with all the ladies. People get jealous.

The only bad thing about Ronaldo’s life is Messi. If it was not for him, Ronaldo would have been the best player in the world for five years in a row now.

–Luiz Felipe Scolari Messi is a God–as a person and even more so as a player. I hope that he wins the World Cup with Argentina. To the Gods of the world, all I ask is that you give him that chance.

–Samuel Eto’o Like Michael Jordan in basketball, Messi is dominating his sport. Very few people in history have managed to dominate their sport the way Jordan and Messi have. I feel sorry for those who want to compete for Messi’s throne–it’s impossible, this kid is unique. He doesn’t just score lots of goals, but he scores lots of great goals, each one being better that the last.

–Pep Guardiola

WORLD RECORD

Most expensive dress sold at auction

Vol. 03 No. 529

S

N150

Monday, January 7, 2013

The ivory rayon-acetate dress worn by Marilyn Monroe in The Seven Year Itch (USA 1955) raised $4.6 million (£2.8 million) at an auction held at The Paley Center for Media in Los Angeles, California, USA, on 18 June 2011.

Ending insurgency in the North

haring her experience of a visit to “Boko Haram torn Maiduguri” in an article titled “Inside the lion’s den of Nigeria’s Boko Haram”, Ms Yvonne Ndege, the ebullient face of Aljazeera (English) in West Africa and co-recipient of the silver prize of the 2009 United Nations Foundations Award, turned out a sharp and succinctly objective piece that reads in part: “During my five days there, I found Maduguri under siege by Boko Haram fighters and the Joint Task Force. The city has been enmeshed in road blocks, checkpoints and sandbags on virtually every major road and intersection. The city was patrolled by heavily armed military personnel donning ski masks, poised to fire at any moment”.

She was perfectly right. There are road blocks, checkpoints and guard duty posts strategically located in identified red spots in different parts of Maiduguri. Such strategic points are usually reinforced with sandbags to serve as cover and parapet from terrorists’ fire. However, what Yvonne failed to observe and report was that the checkpoints and roadblocks never cover all the nooks and crannies of Maiduguri

Sagir

Guest Columnist

Musa

metropolis. Areas without static deployment are often covered with mobile patrols. In terrorist environment, no amount of troops’ presence can guarantee ideal security since terrorists always maximize the use of surprise to circumvent counter measures.

Even though there are road blocks, checkpoints, guards, detection devices and mobile patrols, the elements of surprise can still be employed to overwhelm the human factor and undermine the hard ware in a fortified security system. Time, as is said, is the terrorist’s best friend, and even a well protected and hardened target will experience slackened security measures during long periods of terrorists’ inactivity. Unless a suicide attack is planned, terrorists will want to strike when security is laxed.

That might explain many terrorists’ attacks in several places in northern Nigeria and Borno State in particular. Hence, troops are trained to be more watchful during terrorists’ inactivity. My concern is strongly about the incessant callous, brutal, barbaric and impious killings of people in some states of the North -Eastern part of Nigeria, particularly in Maiduguri.

More worrisome is the inhuman way the terrorist perpetrates their dastardly acts.

Recall in April 2012, seven persons were in the day time shot dead in Monday Market, Maiduguri. In July 2012, nine construction workers working at Shehu of Borno’s Central Mosque, Maiduguri, were massacred, and a suicide bomber strapped with explosives detonated bombs very close to the Shehu of Borno and the Deputy Governor of Borno State immediately after the Friday congregational prayer. Five people

TIME, AS IS SAID, IS THE TERRORIST’S BEST FRIEND, AND EVEN A WELL PROTECTED AND HARDENED TARGET WILL EXPERIENCE SLACKENED SECURITY MEASURES DURING LONG PERIODS

OF TERRORISTS’ INACTIVITY lost their lives in the process. Similarly, a respected elder statesman, Major General Muhammadu Shuwa (retd) and a business mogul, Alhaji Girgir were in the day time separately shot dead at different locations in the metropolis.

Many security personnel lost their lives through improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and ambushes. The IEDs were buried in the middle of roads or by the road sides and detonated on the unlucky mobile JTF’s troops on sight. These killings mainly occurred in the day time with many committed in the markets, worship centres and in family homes. Unfortunately, unlike in Kano, Bauchi, Kaduna and Plateau states, all these sacrilegious acts elicited not a passive or active resistance from the locals,

who most times were witnesses of these inhuman acts.

What I routinely hear is the hollow, emotive and baseless accusations against those that are daily staking their lives for the sake of the nation. It is normal that in an effort to stem crime and criminality, some communities in Nigeria have since devised neighborhood surveillance, alarm systems and other resistance measures to assist themselves and security agencies in combating insecurity in their respective domains. This is totally lacking in most crises pruned states of the North East, particularly Borno State.

Therefore, there is the need to remind the local communities to rise to the daunting challenge, by henceforth resolving to resist attempts to annihilate their communities. This could be by pre-empting terrorists acts by way of giving timely and accurate information to security agencies, and where possible react to this madness since the Task Force/ security agencies cannot be everywhere at the same time.

Recently, the Commissioner of Police, Imo State, while briefing newsmen in Owerri, said an Owerri-based retired police officer was arrested for armed robbery on 29 December, 2012 by the victim, who successfully disarmed him and later raised alarm that attracted his neigbours. This feat can be replicated anywhere, especially where there is putative religious and conscientious commitment amongst the people.

However, let me unequivocally state that combating Boko Haram’s insurgency will require military, political and communal solutions. The military’s role is simply to restore law and order, protect lives and properties of citizens and help create an enabling environment for political solution to take place. This the JTF has creditably achieved.

Concurrent actions should now take place to end the menace. The time for political solution is now. But security agencies must still remain in a staging position to act decisively whenever the need arises.

Lt Col. Musa is the spokesman of Maiduguri-based Joint Military Task Force

Sport Extra

W

orld number three, Andy Murray, yesterday completed a fine start to the new season by winning the Brisbane International title, the British star successfully defending the title he won last year after edging past promising Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov 7-6 6-4.

Having beaten the 21-year-old

Tennis: Murray clinches Brisbane title the only other time they had met in Bangkok in 2011, confident Murray did not have it all his own way against an opponent ranked 48 in the world.

First-time finalist Dimitrov got off to a storming start, win-

ning eleven of the first 12 points and breaking Murray in game two to go 3-0 up.

But Murray broke back as Dimitrov served for the set at 5-3, then forced a tie-break which he took to love.

Dimitrov blasted a forehand winner down the line to hold serve for 2-2 as the second set went with serve.

“Everyone will agree Grigor played some extremely exciting tennis, it was a very tough match,” NFF President, Aminu Maigari Murray said.

Andy Murray

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