Monday, July 30, 2012 by GLOBAL MEDIA MIRROR LIMITED

Subsidy fraud: My son is answerable for his actions –Arisekola

Dana crash: Family feuds delay compensation payment –Airline P.5

Quit now, ACN tells Tukur P.6

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Monday, July 30, 2012

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Nigeria needs alternative to PDP, says Ribadu AZA MSUE AND SINA FADARE

he presidential candidate of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, in the 2011 polls and former Chairman of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu, has called for a credible opposition to the ruling Peoples Democractic Party, PDP, in 2015. He spoke at the weekend in Kaduna during the

7th annual Ramadan lectures organised by the Nigeria Television Authority, NTA, and Federal Radio Corporation of Nigeria, FRCN. Ribadu, who is the Chairman, Presidential Task Force Committee on Petroleum, noted that the nation was in dire need of a credible alternative to the PDP. He said the ongoing merger talks among opposition political parties would be the only option

Subsidy fraudsters are govt sponsors –Bakare

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2>>

13 die in Ore-Benin Expressway auto crash

Air Force officer, orderly killed as police battle terrorists

Onolememen

P.11,12

Insecurity:

OBJ, IBB call for dialogue with militias

P.2

Nigeria’s Alade Aminu (right) blocks Tunisia’s Marouan Kechrid (8) during their Olympic basketball game in London yesterday. Nigeria won 60-56

Editors express concern over high spate of crime

P.7

News

Monday, July 30, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Nigeria needs alternative to PDP, says Ribadu CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

for Nigerians to confront the PDP. His words: “I am 100 per cent in support of the merger move by the opposition political parties in Nigeria. I believe that there is the need for all the political parties in Nigeria to come together particularly those who are in the opposition. “Nigeria is in dire need of a credible alternative to PDP. If the parties come together, chances are that they would be able to have a formidable party that will confront PDP and until that is done, hopefully, it will bring relief to Nigerians.” The former EFCC boss, who was retired prematurely as Assistant Inspector-General of Police, also noted that the Nigeria Police Force is in tatters and should be urgently fixed for the nation to overcome its security and internal challenges. The police must be reformed for peace to reign in Nigeria, Ribadu said. “The issue of security is very clear. We have a constitution in Nigeria that says the organ or the government agency that is responsible for ensuring that we have security, peace and stability is the Nigeria Police Force. Work on the Nigeria Police Force, fix the Nigeria Police Force, it is their own responsibility, no one else. “Today, however, the Nigeria Police Force is tattered. It is in bad shape. If we want to have peace, if we want to have a genuine sustainable peace in this country, law enforcement, rule of law, then fix the Nigeria Police Force,” he said. Commenting on the fuel subsidy scam, the former anti-corruption czar said only the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency, PPPRA, could tell Nigerians the true position of the much-talked about oil import fraud, saying that the organisation is directly responsible for importation of all petroleum products and subsidy payments. “The problem of oil subsidy fraud we are facing today is directly the responsibility of the PPPRA, as the regulatory

agency in the petroleum sector. “If you want to know what really happened in the whole oil scandal you just have to go to the PPPRA because they are the ones that approves the licences for people to import petroleum products,” he said. Meanwhile, Pastor Tunde Bakare of the Latter Rain Assembly, Pastor Tunde Bakare, has said that his message against perverse and corrupt leaders has not changed and that he would not tone down his message despite his being grilled by the State Security Service, SSS, last week in Lagos on the matter. Bakare said: “Whenever you ask the prophet to tone down his message, his God will respond on his behalf. The answer to tone down is tone up. “In the days of President Olusegun Obasanjo, the message that shook the nation was titled “No more walls” preached on March 7, 1999. Today the message is stronger and bolder.” The convener of the Save Nigerian Group, SNG, said that those who are in the helm of affairs of the nation are set of deceitful and insincere leaders who lacked the wisdom and political will to do what is right. “My message has not changed since the days of the military. A corrupt, perverse, wasteful, directionless and clueless government is offensive to me and should be offensive to every intelligent patriot in this nation. “The messages I preach are only biased in favour of righteousness, justice and truth. To this, I plead guilty because there is nothing anyone can do against truth, but for the truth. “If I am being asked to tone down my message because of perceived partisanship, those asking me to do so have only succeeded in precipitating a tone up and examples abound in scriptures which I encourage our security service agents and men of the armed forces and the police to read and meditate on in the pursuit of their lawful duties,” he added. Bakare also said that the recent arraignment of those involved in the oil

subsidy scandal was a mere charade, stressing that the brains behind the scam were those who sponsored the election of President Goodluck Jonathan and top members of his cabinet. The cleric, who spoke yesterday while delivering the second part of his sermon in his church tagged, “How to change government peacefully and make society better”, said that what was going on in the arraignment of the so-called subsidy fraudsters was a mere window dressing, and, therefore, would not tone down his preaching but tone it up. “The shenanigans and the charade going on in respect of the subsidy thieves, in my consid-

ered opinion are that the efforts of this government cannot deliver justice, neither are they meant to.” Bakare also berated the wife of the President for her activities. “Can you imagine that as the nation is bur ning, Dame Patience Jonathan, the First Lady, is busy pursuing and obtaining the status of an absentee Per manent Secretary? Does this make any intelligent sense except to political morons and imbeciles?” The cleric war ned the security agencies to re-channel their energies towards doing their primary assignment of maintaining

peace and providing security for Nigerians instead of arresting people for saying the truth. “Otherwise they are going to see the wrath of God. “Be careful how you carry out your assignment against genuine servants of God by any label, Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Teacher. Be careful not to obey the last order, especially if the last order is evil or against natural justice, you cannot obey such without bringing damnation upon your own head.” He challenged the security men to always obey the voice of God in their assignments because “it is wise to obey a

wise counsel than a foolish order that will lead to double condemnation.” “Don’t assume you will get away with the evil you perpetrate against the priests when you turn to do same with the prophet. Just remember that judgement eventually fell upon King Saul, his sons and servants,” he noted. Bakare likened a few intelligent technocrats who are sincere but find themselves at the corridor of power with somebody who put on a white garment and falls inside a pit. He noted that they had the opportunity to get out of the mess now before they were also consumed by the imminent prophetic revolution.

L-R: Acting Minister of Defence, Erelu Olusola Obada; guest lecturer, Prof. David Mba and the Commandant, Air Force Institute of Technology, Air Vice-Marshal Olusola Oshoniyi, at the 41st graduation ceremony of the institute in Kaduna at the weekend.

Insecurity: OBJ, IBB call for dialogue with militias AYODELE OJO

DEPUTY EDITOR, POLITICS

iqued by parlous state of insecurity in the country, former President Olusegun Obasanjo and ex-military President, Ibrahim Babangida have called for urgent steps to address the situation. Violent activities by various armed groups, especially in the North, have claimed dozens of lives in the past months threatening the continued peaceful co-existence of Nigeria. The ex-heads of state called for a process to kickstart dialogue with armed belligerents.

Obasanjo and Babangida in a joint statement titled, “A call for peace and dialogue” made available to National Mirror yesterday lamented the state of insecurity and loss of lives in the country. They described the security situation as unacceptable and unbearable. Obasanjo in an interview with National Mirror yesterday confirmed that he met Babangida last week to review the state of the nation. He said their position represents that of the country’s former presidents and heads of state. “Yes, Babangida and I met where we took the decision to issue the state-

ment. We are concerned about the development in the country. We can’t fold our hands and allow the situation to degenerate,” Obasanjo told National Mirror. According to them: “Unfolding events in our dear motherland, Nigeria, over the last few years are threatening to unravel the nearly a century old labour of our founding fathers and subsequent generations in building a strong, united, peaceful nation that can accommodate and cater for the needs and aspirations of our diverse communities. “Internecine crises are raging across the land

unabated with damaging consequences on the social, political and economic life of the nation. And in the process, untold hardships are being visited on all citizens in one form or another on a daily basis. “The loss of innocent lives being experienced by the day across the nation is simply unbearable. “Currently, the nation is gripped by a regime of fear and uncertainty that virtually all citizens have difficulties going about their normal day to day lives without great anxiety and trepidation. This cannot be allowed to continue!” CONTINUED ON PAGE 5>>

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Monday, July 30, 2012

Photo News

Monday, July 30, 2012

L-R: Vice-Chancellor, Osun State University, Prof. Sola Akinrinade; Governor Rauf Aregbesola; his Deputy, Mrs. Titi Laoye-Tomori; Chief of Staff to the governor, Mr Gboyega Oyetola and Ogiyan of Ejigbo, Oba Omowonuola Oyesosin, during the commissioning of College Library and Information Technology Building of the University, Ejigbo Campus, yesterday in Ejigbo.

L-R: Priority Account Supervisor, DHL Express Ghana, Mrs. Emelia Egeme-Ari; Customer Care and Quality Manager, Anglophone Africa, Mr. Joseph Aghogban; Head of Customer Service, Sierra Leone, Mrs. Francess Sawyerr and Head of Customer Service, Liberia, Mrs. Juno Gono during the Company’s training for Anglophone Africa in Lagos at the weekend.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

L-R: Special Guest, Mr. Moses Onuwe; Deputy Director, Federal Ministry of Water Resources, Mrs. Boade Akinola; Author, Mr. Udeme Akpan; Guest Speaker Prof. Hilary Inyang and Editor, National Mirror, Mr. Seyi Fasugba, during the presentation of a book” Fundamentals of Energy and Environmental Journalism in Lagos at the weekend. PHOTO: ADEMOLA AKINLABI

L-R: Corporate Communications and Public Affairs, Nestle Nigeria Plc, Dr. Sam Adenekan; Category Business Manager Milo, Mrs. Doja Ekeruche; Managing Director, Mr. Martin Woolnough; President, Nigeria School Sports Federation, Mallam Muhammed Ibrahim and Secretary, National Collegiate Sports Federation, Mr. Lanre Balogun, during the 14th Milo Secondary Schools Basketball Championship press conference in Lagos at the weekend. PHOTO: BAYOOR EWUOSO

National News

Govt’s borrowing spree linked to real sector crisis TOLA AKINMUTIMI ABUJA

espite claims by the Federal Government that it is committed to revitalising the real sector of the economy by a combination of fiscal and monetary policies, indications are that the 15 months of President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration have left the manufacturing and other productive sectors of the economy worse than they were two years ago. Investigations by National Mirror showed that the increasing scrambling by the Federal and state governments for available funds in the banks through the sale of long term securities like bonds and Treasury Bills to fund their projects has continued to aggravate the crowding effects on the private sector, with its negative implications for manufacturers’ efforts to revive ailing companies in the country. For instance, with interest rates on bank credit hovering around 22 per cent and 28 per cent currently depending on the tenure of

loan, manufacturers are no longer capable of borrowing even as the banks prefer to stake the available funds on government securities in view of the prospects of returns and certainty of repayment. The government securities have returns of between 13 and 17 per cent, which make them more attractive to lenders, who are shunning loan applications by manufacturers due to perceived risks associated with lending to them. As at now, the domestic debt profile occasioned by sustained borrowing stands at about N5.21trn as the federal and state governments continue their borrowing drive to bridge the revenue shortfalls in their budgets. A reflection of the crippling effect of the high cost of funds in the real sector is that despite efforts of government to create enabling environment for businesses, total installed capacity utilisation in the sector based on figures by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, MAN, for the for the second quarter of 2012 stood at about 49 per

cent, compared to the 47.5 per cent in the preceding quarter. The value of industrial production showed similar marginal improvement, rising from about N130bn to N150bn at the end of the second quarter. Analysts, however, pointed out that the statistical growth has yet to reflect in job creation and other positive performance indicators that are crucial to financial stability and sustainable growth of the economy. The growth largely remains exclusive to the extent that the multiplier effects are lacking as the nation’s poverty level ranks among the highest in the world today. A financial expert, Dr. Boniface Chizea, argued that it would be self-delusion for policy makers to expect growth in the real sector when cost of funds is too high for manufacturers to afford, adding that government’s propensity to borrow from the same market remains a major factor why banks are not always eager to lend to real sector, which is perceived to be riskier.

“The fact is that many of the banks prefer to lend to the public sector entities because it is safer and repayment period is short. The banks know that when the monthly allocation is disbursed to the tiers of government, they will get paid and by implication make more profit as against the real sector, which has a longer repayment cycle. “There is no gainsaying the fact that high interest rate is not healthy for any economy or business. So, as long as governments continue to source money from the market and because there is minimal risk in lending to them, the banks would also prefer to do business with them,” he said. The Director General of the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry, LCCI, Mr. Muda Yusuf, said the credit and interest rate structure would continue to create distortions in the economy and undermine government’s efforts to make its growth inclusive. He said: “The credit situation has been further compounded by the fact that government treasury bills and bonds have returns of

between 13 and 17 per cent. The consequence is that available funds are being mopped up by government. It is clearly more attractive now to invest in government securities than invest in ventures that would create jobs. “Even banks now would rather buy treasury bills and government bonds than give loans to investors. This credit and interest rate structure would continue to create distortions in the economy, which will only perpetuate the phenomenon of jobless growth and further depress the stock market.” Also reacting a leading industrialist, Chief Molade Okoya Thomas, said “things are very tough generally now” The business mogul however said he would not like to comment further since he was carrying out some study on the business environment after which he would be in a position to speak elaborately on issues in the economy. Minister of Finance, Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala had warned during the 2012 budget briefing in Abuja

that government was becoming uncomfortable with the domestic component of the country’s debt in the light of the rising interest rates and other micro and macroeconomic indices that could threaten current drive toward macroeconomic stability of the economy. She said in view of the negative implications of the rising domestic borrowing for the health of the economy, government was determined to ensure that domestic debt, which currently stands at N5.96 trn is reduced to about N500bn in the Medium Term by 2015. The National Assembly has also lent its voice to the current clamour for reduction in government borrowing as a means of achieving the broad policy objectives of stimulating economic growth and fiscal stability. The Senate Committee on Local and Foreign Debts had last November raised the alarm over the growing domestic debt portfolio and called on the Executive to halt the drift towards economic strangulation and total collapse of the real sector.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

News

Monday, July 30, 2012

Dana crash: Family feuds delay compensation payment –Airline OLUSEGUN KOIKI AND TOBORE OVUORIE

he management of Dana Air has said that disagreements among some of the families of the June 3 crash victims were part of the reasons for the delay in the payment of the initial $30,000 compensation that was due by July 3. Speaking with National Mirror at the weekend, the airline’s Group Media Manager, Mr. Tony Usidamen, said that internal wranglings among victims’ families and incomplete documentation were part of the reasons the airline’s insurer was yet to complete the partpayment. He explained that some family members had tendered unverified documents which identified them as the nextof-kin to claim the money but were later exposed through its verification processes. Usidamen insisted that the airline had adequate insurance cover for the aircraft, adding that funds were also available to pay compensation. He could not, however, tell when the remaining balance of $70, 000 would be paid in line with the International Civil Aviation Organisation, ICAO, recommended standards and practices. The media manager said that the airline would follow strictly the ICAO convention on payment of compensations to

victims’ families. Usidamen explained that the airline had paid more than the seven families it initially advertised, but refused to give a definite figure. He said: “We have paid more than seven families, but as I’m talking to you now, I don’t have the exact figure with me and I don’t want to be misquoted in the media. “Definitely, we have paid more than 30 families. I will find out later from the insurer, but I can tell you that more people have completed the legal verification. I can confirm with the legal department. “It is the legal verification that is delaying the final payment to some families. Most people did not come out on time and we had some situations whereby two people came out from the same family, laying claim to the next-of-kin, which is why this legal verification is very important. “Some people will bring fake documents only for you to realise that the right person comes out later. We want to be sure that the right nextof-kin is paid. “Again, you must understand that a lot of people started coming close to the end of the 30 days deadline for the commencement of payment. The legal document is very necessary in order to ensure that the money goes to the right family. “The money is there, it is not an issue, it is just to ensure that its gets to the right family.

Had people come in earlier, we would have finished payment, but we understand why some people did not come out on time. Some of them were still mourning.” On when the final payment would be paid, he said: “I can’t immediately ascertain that but I know that based on the convention, it is supposed to be paid only after the bodies have been properly identified. The funds are here in Nigeria and we are ready to pay the final amount when all the laid down procedures have been completed. “The payment is not an issue at all. We want to fulfill our obligations to the families as soon as possible. But some processes have to be

followed if not, it will create problems for us and the families in the future.” The Managing Director of Prestige Assurance, Mr. Anand Mittal, confirmed last night that additional compensation payments had been made but could not give an exact figure of the number of beneficiaries. When our correspondent called the office of Dana’s solicitors, Yomi Oshikoya and Co, in Lagos on Friday, a lawyer who claimed to be in charge of the payment declined to comment on the matter. Meanwhile, families of some of the victims of the crash have accused the Lagos State government and officials at the mortuary of the Lagos State University

Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) of not being straightforward. Speaking to National Mirror, some of the families, who did not want their names mentioned, said that “if care is not taken, this whole Dana mess will end like other plane crashes in which the truth was not revealed, bereaved families denied access to the corpses of their loved ones and compensations were never paid.” The families, therefore, requested the state government and its officials at the LASUTH morgue to investigate why some corpses were released to some families even when the DNA results were not yet out, while others who had identified their dead relatives beyond rea-

sonable doubts were told to wait for the release of the DNA results. Other allegations were that some families allegedly paid money to collect the corpses of their relatives while those who had identified theirs beyond every reasonable doubt were denied collection. The Commissioner for Information, Mr. Lateef Ibirogba, said Lagos State was only out to help the families of the victims. He said: “I don’t think anyone in his right frame of mind will say such. What would we gain? We are not Dana, we’re just the government on ground and don’t want anyone to be shortchanged.

L-R: Former Lagos State Governor Asiwaju Bola Tinubu; Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi and Ghanaian President, Dr. John Dramani Mahama, during a condolence visit over the death of President John Atta Mills, in Accra, Ghana, at the weekend.

Insecurity: OBJ, IBB call for dialogue with militias CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

The former leaders noted that the spate of insecurity had made people to question the rationale for the continued existence of Nigeria, but insisted that the continued existence of Nigeria is not negotiable. Part of the statement reads: “For us, and we believe for millions of other Nigerians, the continued unity of this nation is not only priceless but non-negotiable. “A deeply worrying trend that is emerging from this terrible situation is that a pervasive cynicism is beginning to set in, so much so that millions of true Nigerian patriots are starting to question the platform upon which the unity of this

country rests. “This is simply untenable. The people of this country must not allow whatever sense of frustration, fear and despair we are experiencing now to supersede our hopes for a collective destiny which lies in our continued existence as a nation.” They also urged the Federal Government to begin dialogue with armed militias. “As the holy month of Ramadan commences, Nigerians, wherever they are and whatever religion they profess, are accorded a great opportunity to turn the tide against insecurity, violence and hatred. “Religious leaders, in particular, have an even greater challenge to use

the immense virtues of this holy period to inculcate among the millions of citizens the spirit of mutual respect, humility and forgiveness. “Ample opportunities are, therefore, at hand to bring all armed belligerents to table for meaningful dialogue with the authorities for our future and that of our children and grandchildren,” they said. The leaders said that no development could take place in an atmosphere of violence and hatred. “We need to reiterate that no meaningful development can ever occur in an atmosphere of violence and hatred. History has shown that any

society that is built on the structures of violence and intolerance cannot prosper. “We need to appreciate that God in His infinite mercy has blessed our country with abundant resources and talents, but we need peace and harmony to harness them not just for our own well-being but also that of our children and grandchildren. We owe this future generations of Nigerians this much. “On our part, we are ready to do whatever is possible to promote the quest for peace and harmony. And we are ready to join hands with all patriots to sustain and further enhance the unity and progress of this country.” The former presidents

called on governments at all levels to scale up efforts at addressing the security challenges confronting the nation. The statement added: “While we are very much aware of the efforts various governments in the country are making to confront the escalating security challenges across the country, we believe that it is time that these efforts are scaled up to be more involving and inclusive. “In this regard, whatever robust security measures are put in place to contain the situation, as is normal in such circumstance; they must be complemented with an equally intensive process of community involve-

ment. We, therefore, urge all governments in the country, starting with all the 774 local councils to comprehensively engage their communities at the various levels, including elders, youth organisations, trade unions and associations, women bodies, the clergy and other community stakeholders. “We also call on the federal and state governments not only to encourage these grassroots engagements for peace and beneficial coexistence but should work out the framework to sustain the engagement. In all these efforts, it is important to emphasise that our diversity is a cause for celebration not a cause for lamentations.”

National News

Monday, July 30, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Hold Okonjo-Iweala for 2012 budget breach –Reps TORDUE SALEM ABUJA

he House of Representatives yesterday accused the Presidency of breaching the Appropriations Act, even as it said that the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi OkonjoIweala, should be held responsible for the breach. The House also dismissed a statement attributed to the minister that the 2012 budget was yet to be fully implemented because the National Assembly’s Constituency Proj-

ects stood as an obstacle. The House spokesman, Hon. Zakari Mohammed, said in a statement that the minister was breaching the budget law by using her own discretion to decide which aspect of the budget was implementable. He said: “The House of Representatives will like to restate its concern on the poor and selective implementation of the 2012 budget by the executive arm of government and the attitude of officials of government saddled with the responsibility of im-

plementing the Appropriation Act. “For the avoidance of doubt, Sections 6 and 7 of the 2012 Appropriation Act clearly say what officials of government and in this case the honourable minister of finance is permitted to do. “Section 6 of the Appropriation Act, 2012, states that: ‘The minister of finance shall ensure that funds appropriated under this Act are released to the appropriate agencies and or organs of government as and when due, provided

ister of Aviation in Abuja, Princess Stella Oduah, bemoaned the decay of critical infrastructural facilities among other constraints identified in the sector and called for the overhauling of the systems through a state of emergency programme. According to the document which summarised its recommendations, in all, the panel held a total of 35 sittings during which 98 persons were interviewed from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority, NCAA, the domestic airlines, other stakeholders in the sector and studied copious documents from both the enabling Act as well other relevant documents locally and internationally, before arriving at its 41 recommendations contained in the final report. The report says: “The Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, should empower commercial banks to create a window for long-term low interest funding for direct

lending to aviation. The industry will require at least N500bn for this purpose. “An aircraft leasing company with an initial investment of $10bn should also be set up by the Federal Government to acquire modern aircraft directly from major manufacturers and lease to qualifying Nigerian air operators at preferential rates. This will help in the reduction of operating cost and improvement of efficiency and competitiveness.” Specifically, the panel disclosed that its investigations on Dana Airline revealed that the management of the airline failed to observe standard and recommended practices, particularly the use of Technical Logbook, in the maintenance of its aircraft, adding that “it was also found out that in some instances, the surveillance by NCCA inspectors on the airlines’ maintenance practices were below expectation”.

Panel proposes $10bn leasing firm for aviation industry TOLA AKINMUTIMI ABUJA

he Technical and Administrative Review Panel on Domestic Airlines, TARPDA, has proposed the establishment of a leasing company with an initial investment capital of $10bn (about N1.62tn) to provide long-term funding support to operators to upgrade the quality of aircraft in the industry. The panel, which submitted its report to the government at the weekend, specifically put the responsibility of establishing the company on the Federal Government, even as it urged the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to also create windows of improved longterm lending to operators at low interest rates, among other revival palliatives recommended for the ailing sector. The Chairman of the panel, Group Captain John Obakpolor, while presenting the report to the Min-

that no funds for any quarter of the fiscal year shall be deferred without prior waiver from the National Assembly.’ “Mark and note the choice of the word ‘shall’, which is mandatory under the circumstance, not discretionary. This is what the minister is expected to do. It is not within her powers to pick and choose projects and programmes to fund as has been the case with the Appropriation Act 2012. Her piece meal and discretionary release of funds for projects

DEPUTY EDITOR (POLITICS)

he Ibadan-based business mogul and Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland, Alhaji Azeez Arisekola-Alao, yesterday said that his son, Abdullahi, being tried by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for fuel subsidy fraud was answerable for his actions. Abdullahi, the Managing Director of Axenergy, is being tried for illegally benefitting from subsidy payment running into billions of naira. “Abdullahi Alao is an adult and a businessman doing business like every Ni-

gerian. He is answerable for his actions and transactions under the law of the land. “As an adult and a true Muslim, there is no doubt that he knows what is wrong and what is right,” Arisekola-Alao said in a statement. The younger Alao was docked at a Lagos High Court on Thursday. Also, the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, had distanced himself from the involvement of his son, Mahmud, the Managing Director of Eterna Oil and Gas, in the fuel subsidy scam. Meanwhile, the Action

Congress of Nigeria, ACN, has called on Tukur to step aside for now. The party, in a statement issued yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, said there was a moral burden on Tukur if he continued to stay in office. The party said: “It is important to say here that the fuel subsidy scam trial will be held in two courts: the court of law and the court of public opinion. While Alhaji Bamanga Tukur is not facing any charges in the court of law over the scam, he is definitely a star suspect in the court of public opinion. That is why many Nigerians are already in-

National Assembly. This has not been the case. “This is not to say that funds should be released and accessed by MDAs without due process and actual execution of projects. In other words, there should be value for money.” In disagreeing with the minister on the delay in the full implementation of the budget, Mohammed noted that constituency projects constituted just 10 per cent of the entire budget and could not be a hindrance to its implementation.

L-R: Assistant Director, Home Finance, Federal Ministry of Finance, Mr. Nasiru Nabage, Sokoto State Accountant General, Alhaji Aminu Abdullahi and Secretary, Federation Account Allocation Committee, Mr. James Nongo, at a sensitisation workshop for stakeholders in the North-West zone, in Kaduna, at the weekend. PHOTO: NAN

Presidency reconsiders Oteh’s recall, seeks independent opinion ROTIMI FADEYI AND TORDUE SALEM ABUJA

he Presidency may have rescinded its decision to reinstate the Director-General of the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC, Ms. Arunma Oteh, as it has asked for an independent

Fuel subsidy: My son answerable for his actions –Arisekola AYODELE OJO

contrary to the schedule approved in the Appropriation Act is unlawful. She is, in fact, apparently breaking the law. “What the law requires the minister to do is ensure that all funds appropriated for projects within a particular quarter are released to all the Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs, as at when due without preference. If the revenue target is not achieved in any particular period, it is the responsibility of the Hon. Minister to seek for waiver from the

sinuating that nothing will come out of the trial, especially as far as his son is concerned. This is an allusion to the influence bestowed upon him by his high office. “While we have nothing but absolute confidence in the ability of the judicial process to ensure justice, we believe that anything that can reinforce the impression of thwarted justice in the fuel subsidy scam trial should be removed. Tukur’s continued stay in office is one of such.” The ACN noted that the continued stay in office of Tukur would have negative effect on the outcome of the investigation.

opinion on the challenges facing the commission. A source at the Presidency told our correspondent that the decision was based on the workers’ outrage that greeted her return a fortnight ago, following the report of Price Water Coopers Limited, a renowned audit firm, on the accounts of the commission. “The President gave the directive for a fresh comprehensive report on Oteh in order to have a well-informed opinion of the matter and to be fair to everyone including the employees of the commission who protested her return as DG of SEC. “This fresh comprehensive report would finally determine the fate of Oteh as to whether she would remain as DG of SEC or vacate the seat finally. So, the matter is not closed yet as her reinstatement is not the end of the matter,” the source said. It added that President Goodluck Jonathan’s directive for a comprehensive report on the SEC was not because of the impeachment threat by the House

of Representatives. In the same vein, the House of Representatives has said it was maintaining its stand on its recommendation that Oteh face trial for alleged capital market offences. The spokesman of the House, Hon. Zakari Muhammed (PDP/Kwara), who made this known, said whereas the Presidency was free to review the House report; its decision on the matter remained unchanged. He said: “I don’t really want to comment on the President’s decision to set up a committee to provide details on the Oteh matter, but all I can say as the spokesman is that the President has the right to look at the issue administratively. “It is the normal practice for the executive to do that, but that does not affect our decision as a House (that Oteh be tried).” The House had two weeks ago, before its adjournment for an eightweek recess, called for the removal of Ms. Oteh.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

National News

Monday, July 30, 2012

Aviation workers raise the alarm over poor gadgets OLUSEGUN KOIKI

he National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE) has raised the alarm over the poor state of communication gadgets within the Nigerian airspace, warning that if not properly rectified, over-flyers will continue to avoid the country and might lead to another avoidable accident in the sector. NUATE also said that the inadequate communication gadgets lead to revenue loss to the country and further expose the country’s security situation to the outside world. A petition written to the Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Oduah, on July 18, 2012 and signed by NUATE President, Comrade Mohammed Safiyanu, complained about the state of the Total Radar Coverage of Nigeria facilities and safety of the airspace, which it said had deteriorated over the years. The current situation, the petition noted affects the communication be-

tween Air Traffic Controllers in the control tower and pilots in the air. The petition with reference number NUATE/ NP/001/28/05/2KI2 and made available to National Mirror over the weekend was received by Oduah on July 20, 2012. NUATE, in the petition called for the provision of Controller-Pilot-DataLink Communication (CPDLC), which it said would have been a remedy to the situation, stressing that the country’s neighbouring countries like Ghana have such facilities, which further made their airspace more valuable and safer. He emphasised that absence of CPDLC in Nigeria has made over flyers to abdicate the country’s airspace for other countries despite their longer distance to their final destinations. Safiyanu said over flyers avoiding the country’s airspace include Air France 889 from Kinshasa to Paris, Air France 995 from Johannesburg to Paris, Air France 900 from Yaoundé to Paris,

Air France 928 from Luanda to Paris, Air France 896 from Brazzzaville to Paris. Others are South African Airways 237 from London to Johannesburg, SAA 260 from Johannesburg to Frankfurt, SAA 261 from Frankfurt to Johannesburg, SAA 264

from Johannesburg to Munich and SAA 265 from Munich to Johannesburg. The NUATE president, in the petition advised the minister to call for the World, African and Nigerian navigational chart routes for details and urged her to consult foreign carriers involved

for more details on the degrading state of the safety tools. He also urged Oduah to contact the International Air Transport Association (IATA) for up-to-date information on the current situation while he equally urged her to call for all the air traffic control closed

logbooks for Lagos, Kano, Port-Harcourt and Abuja from January, 2012 till date. He explained that severally, air traffic controllers through the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA) do receive Air Safety Reports from airlines flying Nigerian airspace.

Editors express concern over state of insecurity SAM OLUWALANA

he Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) has expressed shock at the state of insecurity in the country, particularly the armed robbery attack on one of its members, Mr. Steve Nwosu, the Editor of Daily Sun who was robbed and shot by some hoodlums

last week in Lagos. The Editors said this in a communiqués issued at the end of its 2012 second quarter Standing Committee Meeting in Lagos, last Friday where it reviewed the Guild’s activities for the first and second quarters of 2012 and its programmes for the rest of the year. It also examined the state of the nation, espe-

cially in the areas of security and other burning national issues and expressed concern about the situation and other issues of national importance despite repeated assurances by the government. The editors, however, were happy with the will shown by the Federal Government to prosecute those indicted in the oil subsidy

scam, urging the government to observe due diligent in this direction. It also commends INEC for the peaceful conduct of the recent governorship election in Edo State while also advising it to note the noticeable lapses in the exercise to avoid recurrence in the forthcoming gubernatorial poll in Ondo State later in the year.

Nigeria must cease importation of fish –Minister several fish farm projects, MESHACK IDEHEN

he Federal Government has said it will soon commence moves to improve the production of fish in the country, in order to bridge the gap between the demand and supply of the product. Speaking in Lagos at the weekend, the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, said Nigeria is currently spending a huge amount annually on the importation of fish, adding that the practice will soon come to an end with the schemes the government is putting in place. The minister, who visited

Dr. Adesina

including the Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research (NIOMR), said that the country cannot continue to support the economy of other countries through the importation of fish despite the enormous local opportunities available in the country. The minister, while charging the management of NIOMR to play the role expected of it as the only research institute with marine fisheries mandate in Nigeria, said the importation of fish to Nigeria must stop to enable the nation strategise and get to the level of exporting cultured shrimps and other seafood. Adesina disclosed that the Federal Government has already committed 50 percent of the cost on the building of oceanography and fisheries deep sea research vessel for the purpose of exploring deep sea resources, saying also that the vessel will enable Nigeria improve in the production of fish beyond the level of 50 metres to 200 metres ocean depth.

The bridge at Shoyinka street in Oko-Oba area of Lagos, washed away by flood at the weekend.

PHOTO: NAN

‘Telecoms lottery, others can earn Nigeria N300bn annually’ KUNLE AZEEZ

he National Lottery Regulatory Commission (NLRC) has projected that Nigeria has the potential to generate N300bn annually through lottery activities by telecoms companies and other business organisations if the rules and regulations guiding lottery are followed and lottery activities are rid of fraudulent practices. Director-General, NLRC, Dr. Peter Igho, said this during a recent visit to the Commissioner of Police, Special Fraud Unit, Mr. Tunde Ogunsakin. Igho, who said the aim of the visit was to strengthen partnership with the police towards ensuring that

• Partners police to tackle fraud fraudulent activities in lottery business is addressed, said Nigeria can earn huge revenue for good cause from lottery. He said unlike gambling, which is illegal and only benefits a few individuals, lotteries, all over the world, are legitimate and have been a reliable source of revenue for many countries to implement social projects that benefits the whole citizens. He, however, said that Nigeria has yet to enjoy the full benefits from ongoing lotteries in the country “because many people do it fraudulently and they don’t do it with transparency and honesty.” He said a survey carried out by the commission

had shown that Nigeria’s telecoms revolution had opened a new vista for organisations to engage in lottery without recourse to the provision of the Nigeria Lottery Act, NLA, 2005, which give NLRC the power to regulates transparency in lottery business. He said only people with credible characters should run lottery business. He said it was amazing how companies had left their primary business to focus on running promos and lotteries to make money for themselves rather than doing so in a mutually-beneficial arrangement as stipulated by the law. While explaining part of the ongoing restructuring at

the NLRC, the DG said the body has increased the size of its headquarters in Abuja and increased regional offices to 14, coupled with the education of the businesses on the rules and regulations guiding lottery business while ensuring close monitoring of lotteries by telecom firms and other oganisations in the country. He also stated that though, NLRC had continued to enjoy the cooperation of the police; the commission wanted such cooperation strengthened in order to tackle fraud in lottery business. Reacting, Mr. Ogunsakin promised to partner with NLRC in ensuring transparency in lottery business.

South West

Monday, July 30, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Oyo to dredge 38 streams to check flood KEMI OLAITAN IBADAN

yo State Government said it would dredge 38 streams across the state to prevent flood, following warning by the National Emergency Management Agency, NEMA, that the SouthWest would still experience a lot of rain. The Commissioner for Environment and Habitat, Mr. Wasiu Dauda, who

made the disclosure while speaking with journalists in Ibadan at the weekend, said the dredging would cost over N300m. He said the government had already dredged 43 streams in its bid to ensure a flood-free period throughout the raining season. The commissioner said the government was leaving no stone unturned to prevent a repeat of the August 26, 2011 flood disaster in any part of the state.

Dauda disclosed that Governor Abiola Ajimobi held a meeting with stakeholders last week on how to curb flooding in the state. The decision to dredge 38 more streams, according to him, was taken at the meeting. The commissioner added that the World Bank had also signified its intention to assist the government in finding lasting solution to the problem of flooding in the state, especially in

Ibadan. He said that the appropriate authorities in the state would soon commence the removal of structures blocking free flow of water in the flood prone areas. Dauda said that officials of the ministry were moving round markets and other important places across the state to educate the people on the need to stop dumping refuse in the streams. On the threat by the

women sweepers to stage a nude protest over alleged cut in their salary and the non-payment of their June salary, the commissioner denied the allegation. According to him, there are two categories of sweepers totalling 1,500. Sweepers in the first category, he said, were employed by the Sanitary Inspection Unit of his ministry, while those in the second category were employed by contractors

handling the supervision of some routes in the state capital. He disclosed that while those directly employed were earning N7,200 monthly salary, those in the other category were being paid N6,000 per month by their supervising contractors. Dauda attributed the non-payment of their June salary to the recent transfer of the sweepers to the State Waste Management Authority.

‘Leaders must drive Nigeria’s growth’ KEMI OLAITAN IBADAN

L – R: Former Minister, Commerce and Tourism, Chief Bola Kuforiji-Olubi; Dr. Harold Sodipo; Ogun State Governor Ibikunle Amosun and the deceased’s son, Mr. Dapo Sodipo, during the Memorial Service in honour of the late former Minister of Youths, Omooba Adedamola Harold Sodipo, held at the Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Diocese of Egba (Anglican Communion), Ikereku, Abeokuta... yesterday.

Emulate Awolowo, HID charges politicians FEMI OYEWESO ABEOKUTA

ife of the late sage and the matriarch of the Awolowo dynasty, Chief H. I. D. Awolowo, has asked Nigerian leaders in all strata to ensure that they leave good legacies behind which generation yet unborn would be proud of. She gave the charge while hosting the National Chairman of the All Nigeria People’s Party, ANPP, Ogbonnaya Onu, who paid her a courtesy visit at the weekend in her Ikenne residence in Ikenne Local Government Area of Ogun State. Mrs. Awolowo urged those in position of authority, particularly politicians, to emulate her late husband, Chief Obafemi Awolowo, who left the good legacy of a united Nigeria. Earlier in his speech, Onu had blamed the myriad of problems, particularly the insecurity challenges which he described as selfinflicted, on those in positions of authority.

•ANPP chair seeks adoption of UPN programmes The ANPP chairman, who eulogised the virtues of Chief Obafemi Awolowo, also disclosed that his party was already considering adopting the progressive philosophy of the late sage, particularly on the conviction that Nigerians must enjoy free, qualitative and compulsory education at all levels. Onu, who attributed insecurity and religious acrimony as the major challenges facing the country to poor level of education, called

for the adoption of the five cardinal programmes of the defunct Unity Party of Nigeria, UPN, He said: “With these, the country may be free from the myriad of problems facing it.” The chairman promised that the political class would do whatever it could for the unity of the country, adding that Nigeria had the potential to lead the world. “Our governors have been working; we have viable economy, arable land and wonderful Nigerians.

We’ll provide sound education, says Aregbesola WALE FOLARIN OSOGBO

G HID Awolowo

Our problems are self-inflicted; we can solve them if we are serious,” Onu added.

Self-reliant graduates, our target –FUOYE VC ABIODUN NEJO ADO EKITI

roducts of the newlyestablished Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, FUOYE, would be job-creators and self-reliant. The Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Chinedu Nebo, said this during the orientation programme organised for the students at the weekend on the campus of the institution at Oye-Ekiti.

However, to achieve these objectives, he said all the students must take courses in entrepreneurial or skill acquisition programmes, irrespective of their disciplines. The students, according to him, must also be computer literate and proficient in Information and Communication Technology, ICT, to be able to interact and compete favourably with their peers in any part of the globe.

he Commandant General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, Dr. Ade Abolunrin, at the weekend charged Nigeria’s leadership to develop a sustainable national agenda which would move the country forward. He gave the charge while delivering the second personality lecture of the Faculty of Education, University of Ibadan, entitled; “Civil Populace, Internal Security and National Development: Any Hope?” Abolurin said such an agenda and development plan would work only if it reflected the wishes and aspirations of Nigeria, Nigerians and the federating units. He said only people-

oriented policies could ensure security which had eluded the country, adding that there must be sincere efforts to wipe out corruption, eradicate poverty and make human beings the central concern in the quest for national development. The NSCDC boss linked the insecurity challenge in the country to the gradual erosion of core values among the people. He said: “I do not see it as a failure of governance or ineptitude of our security agencies, rather this menace crept in through a gradual erosion of our core traditional values; a collapse of our collective ideals and belief systems. We are no longer our brother’s keepers, problems are no longer shared; communal living is no longer fashionable as we drift towards individualism”.

Nebo said one of the major policies of the university was the focus on the character and all-round development of students in addition to learning. He said: “We encourage their lecturers to post assignments for the students on the web, while students are expected to access them through the same process and go a little bit by doing a lot of researches on their own through the internet.”

overnor Rauf Aregbesola has restated the commitment of his administration to the development of qualitative and sound education in Osun State. He said this at the inauguration of a library of the College of Agriculture, Ejigbo campus of the University of Osun, UNIOSUN. The governor also debunked the allegation that his administration was planning to reduce or cancel any of the six campuses of the university. Aregbesola said the era of empty political promises to the people had gone for good, adding that he had reservation on the establishment of the university at the time it was established by the immediate past government because at

the time, the state had challenges with basic education at the primary and secondary levels. The governor promised that the government would use the available resources at its disposal judiciously to develop and promote all the campuses of the university. He said: “The cost of running a university is enormous. It is a moneyguzzling institution without corresponding revenue coming to the covers of the government. “We will join you to make the university great. We have many things to do. We must ensure that we equip pupils from primary and secondary schools with sound education before sending them to this university. “That is why we earmarked N30bn to make basic education functional and appreciative.”

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

South West

Monday, July 30, 2012

464 Lagos retirees to get N2.8bn

Corruption: Priest wants traditional oath taking for public officers

MURITALA AYINLA

WALE FOLARIN

agos State governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN) will redeem Retirement Bond Certificates worth N2, 788,368,394.27 to 464 retirees who have served the state diligently for the better part of their lives. Director-General of the Lagos State Pension Commission, Mr. Rotimi Adekunle Hussain, who revealed this, said the 464 retirees would be presented with the Retirement Bond Certificates on Wednesday,

August 1, 2012. Hussein said the exercise is a follow-up to the fifth Retirement Bond presentation ceremony, adding that the Retirement Bond Certificate represents accrued pension rights made up of gratuity and pension entitlements before March 31, 2007 when the Contributory Pension Scheme commenced in the state. He added that payment into the Retirement Benefits Bond Redemption fund set aside for the redemption of accrued pension rights is also religiously pursued.

The Director-General’s words: “In the same vein, a pension fund was also created and was funded monthly with a view to ensuring that funds are made available to meet unforeseen pension liabilities that may arise when, for example more than those projected to leave service voluntarily choose to do so.” Stressing the commitment of the state government to the administration of the Contributory Pension Scheme in Nigeria, the director-general emphasised that the state had already redeemed the Re-

tirement Bond Certificates worth N7, 544, 922, 856, 70k into the Retirement Savings Accounts of 1, 471 retirees in five batches. Hussain encouraged the retirees to endeavour to follow and understand fully, the procedure of retirement benefit documentation in order to facilitate quick access to their RSA, urging them to carefully weigh the two exit options of Programmed Withdrawal by the Pension Fund Administrators and Annuity for Life by Insurance Companies and make the best choice.

L-R: Chairman, Ojokoro Local Council Development Area, Hon. Benjamin Olabinjo; Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Aderemi Ibirogba; his Environment counterpart, Mr. Tunji Bello, during the environmental sanitation monitoring exercise in Lagos, at the weekend.

Ogun restates commitment to infrastructural development FEMI OYEWESO ABEOKUTA

gun State government has reiterated its commitment towards creating an enabling environment even as it pledged to build necessary infrastructure for business to thrive in the state. State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Otunba Bimbo Ashiru, gave the assurance over the weekend during a meeting with the members of the Ogun State Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (OGUNCCIMA) led by their President, Bayo Ikujenyo. The commissioner’s assurance was coming against the backdrop of the alleged threat by industrialists in the state to close factories and relocate their businesses due to the sorry state of infrastructure in the state. Ashiru said the present administration in the

state was not oblivious of its promise of creating what it called ‘Ogun Standard’ which ensures the survival of every business through the provision of necessary infrastructure. Speaking further, the commissioner said contrary to the claims in some quarters, the bad roads leading to the Agbara Industrial Estate

and such other areas belonged to the Federal Government; stressing that the state government had taken it upon itself to rehabilitate such roads in order to make them motorable. The commissioner also disclosed that the state government has embarked on the rehabilitation of other federal roads in the

state as part of its efforts to attract more investors. He, however, enjoined investors and companies already operating in the industrial estates within the state to pay their taxes and levies regularly to enable the state government raise funds for the provision of needed infrastructure in such industrial areas and the state at large.

Monarch commends Aregbesola on council creation WALE FOLARIN OSOGBO

he Ataoja of Osogbo, Oba Jimoh Olanipekun, has commended the Osun State governor, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, for embarking on the process of creating more local government councils in the state. The monarch, who gave the commendation in his palace while addressing members of the Osogbo Solidarity Support Group (OSSG), who paid him a courtesy visit, described the move as a welcome de-

velopment which would further enhance the growth and development of the state. His words: “The governor’s intention to create more local government council is a laudable one. It is a unique move that must be commended and we must salute the governor for his vision and foresight.” The royal father also commended the governor for the construction of the Ayegbaju international market in Osogbo, the state capital, saying that the move showed the commit-

ment of the governor to the growth of the state. Describing the move as a step in the right direction, Oba Olanipekun said the market will go a long way in transforming the state capital from a glorified local government area to a modern state capital. Speaking on the occasion, the President of the OSSG, Alhaji Kamorudeen Yusuf Efe, urged the monarch to impress the need to contribute to the progress and development of the town by the indigenes both at home and abroad.

OSOGBO

enowned Ifa priest, Chief Ifayemi Elebuibon, has recommended traditional oath taking for public officers as a panacea to corruption in the country. Elebuibon, who made the recommendation while speaking with journalists at the inauguration of Araba palace and the installation of chiefs of Araba palace at the House of Culture, Elebuibon Estate Osogbo, said the move would go a long way in curbing corrupt practices among public office holders. According to him, the rate at which corruption pervades every facets of our society makes it imperative to compel civil servants and political office holders to take their oath of office the traditional way, adding that the move would instill fear into such office holders and make them to serve the people sincerely. He lamented that corruption has dented the

image of the country to the extent that Nigerians abroad and those holding important international positions as well as other hard-working and honest Nigerians can no longer walk with their shoulders high. The traditionalist, who is the Araba of Osogbo also pointed out that since independence, corruption has contributed immensely to the lack of growth and development in the country. He added that rather than helping to curb corruption, the civil service has contributed to the perpetration of the shameful act through their collaboration with politicians in their bid to corner the resources of the people. His words: “The situation in the country is very disheartening, you wake up daily and hear of billions that are misappropriated and the people are living in abject poverty. If we want to eradicate the menace, we should go back to our root and make traditional oath taking into public office a national affair.”

Cleric urges Jonathan to arrest Boko Haram sponsors HAKEEM GBADAMOSI AKURE

he Anglican Bishop of Owo Diocese, Rt. Rev. James Oladunjoye, has urged President Goodluck Jonathan to arrest the sponsors of the dreaded Islamic sect, Boko Haram, to save the nation from disintegration. The cleric said the inability of the Federal Government to arrest the sponsors of the sect with a view to bringing them to justice may spell doom for this administration. Oladunjoye stated this in a charge he read at the weekend during the third session of the 10th Synod held at the St. Paul’s Church, Ijagba in the Ose Local Government Area of the state. He said even if the country breaks up, members of the deadly sect would still be terrorizing Christians and southerners in their midst and the problem could lead to a full blown war when the attacked decides to carry arms against their aggressor.

Jonathan

Oladunjoye’s words: “The sponsors of Boko Haram are no longer in government or in the corridors of power which they believe is their birthright. They are those that had been pushed away from controlling the national cake. “We have said it with all emphasis, that the sponsors of this sect are well known to those in government especially the President. “What the President seems to have forgotten is that the country does not belong to the Muslims alone and if he continues to keep quiet on these atrocities, it can lead to disintegration under his tenure.

South East

Monday, July 30, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Gunmen abduct Anambra traditional ruler

unmen yesterday kidnapped Robert Chukwudilim Eze, the traditional ruler of Ukpo community in Dunukofia Local Government Area of Anambra State. Eze, who is also related to Chief Arthur Eze, a business magnate, was abducted around 11.20a.m. in

his palace, after attending a church service at St. Mary’s Anglican Church, Upko. A witness told the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, that the traditional ruler had just alighted from his black Hilux security van when the assailants abducted him. The witness said that

four gunmen stormed the palace in a green jeep and shot at the vehicle when the traditional ruler, his driver and his personal assistant refused to open the vehicle’s door. The Hilux van was riddled with bullets, while two of its tyres were deflated, apparently punc-

tured by the bullets. Besides, there were also some royal beads scattered on the ground, while some bullet shells had been picked by the Divisional Police Officer in-charge of the area, who was conducting preliminary investigations. Confirming the inci-

dent, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Raphael Uzoigwe, said the command had launched an investigation into the matter. He said: “The kidnap was carried out by four men who operated in a jeep after the traditional ruler attended a church

service at St. Mary’s Church. “Nobody was shot or killed; the gunmen only shot sporadically into the air to scare people away. “We are making arrangements to liberate the traditional ruler; we have begun combing the area.”

Oil workers resume, as Warri Refinery remains shut •PTD begins loading of petroleum products SOLA ADEBAYO WARRI

il workers under the aegis of the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, yesterday resumed operations, hours after the suspension of the nationwide strike embarked upon in solidarity with independent petroleum products marketers over unpaid subsidy claims, among other issues affecting the oil industry. The strike was called-off after a meeting between the Federal Government delegation and labour leaders in Abuja on Friday night. Consequently, the Petroleum Tanker Drivers, PTD, a strategic wing of NUPENG, resumed normal loading of petroleum products across the country yesterday. Also, members of Depots and Petroleum Products Marketers Association of Nigeria, DAPMAN, and Jetty and Petroleum Tank Farm Owners of Nigeria, JEPTFON, have returned to their duty posts.

Investigation showed that all public and private loading depots and jetties, which were deserted since Thursday when the strike commenced, came alive yesterday. In Warri, Delta State, our correspondent, who visited Warri Refinery Depot, operated by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, reported that tanker drivers and oil dealers resumed normal loading and supply of petroleum products across the country. However, in-house engineers yesterday continued the battle to bring Warri Refinery and Petrochemical Company, WRPC, back on stream, five days after it was shut down. Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Independent Petroleum Marketers Association of Nigeria, IPMAN, Delta State chapter, Chief Akpos Edafevwotu, hailed the speedy resolution of the impasse. Edafevwotu, in an interview with our correspondent, confirmed that IPMAN had resumed steady supply of petroleum products to the public.

Court hears N970m suit against bank today WALE IGBINTADE

he National Industrial Court, NIC, sitting in Lagos will today begin hearing in a N970m suit filed by former employees of the Zenith Bank over alleged termination of their appointments. The presiding judge, Justice F. I. Kola-Olalere, had, in a ruling, dismissed the request of the bank seeking stay of proceedings and described the application as an abuse of court process. The bank had, in a preliminary objection, chal-

lenged the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the suit, contending that the case did not disclose any reasonable course of action. But, Mrs. Kola-Olalere held that the court had jurisdiction to hear the suit and declared that the objection raised by the bank lacked merit. Counsel to the bank, Mr. Kola Awodeyin, SAN, then appealed against the ruling and urged the court to stay proceedings, pending the hearing and determination of the suit at the Court of Appeal.

L-R:General Manager, Interfact, Mr. D. Deshmanker, Anambra State Governor Peter Obi, Managing Director, SABmiller, Nigeria, Mr. Johan de Kok and Business Development Manager, Peter Stuttart, during the inspection of ongoing work at the site of the brewery construction in Onitsha, Anambra State, at the weekend.

No plans to expel Obi, says APGA DENNIS AGBO ENUGU

ll Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA, said at the weekend that the crisis rocking the party was not a signpost to its breakup. The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Bernad Akoma, who said this in a statement, disclosed that the crisis would make the party stronger, focused and more united at the end. He said that APGA, from inception, was a party built on a solid spirit of being ones brother’s keeper. Akoma also disclosed that contrary to specula-

tions in the media of a grand design to do away with some of the party leaders, APGA had no intention to expel the arrowheads of the party, especially Governor Peter Obi of Anambra State. He said: “The leadership of the party has not at any level discussed, conceived nor muted the idea to suspend not to talk of expelling Mr. Peter Obi from the party, despite the seeming disagreement now rocking the party. “We, the members, recognise the fact that APGA as a party has stood on a tripod of three personalities which include Mr. Peter Obi, our late leader Dim

Chukwuemeka Odimegwu Ojukwu and of course our National Chairman, Sir Victor Umeh. “The party, at all times, has accorded due regard and maximum respect to its leaders and this does not include rewarding them with expulsion. The crisis in the party now, which is a mere family squabble, has not degenerated to the level of throwing over board the huge contributions invested by these individuals as to denigrate them with threats of suspension or expulsion from the party.” Akoma noted that publications in some media about plans to expel Obi from the

party could best be described as the figment of the writers’ imagination, stressing that Obi remained a strong factor and a pillar of the party from which APGA drew its strength and inspirations. “Even in the face of the present bickering in the party, the National Chairman, Victor Umeh, in a show of large heart, has continued to extend invitation to Obi for the party’s forthcoming National Executive Council, NEC, meeting scheduled for August. “This further demonstrates that the party has no problem with its governor in Anambra State,” he added.

UNN moves to boost livestock production DENNIS AGBO ENUGU

aculty of Veterinary Medicine of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN, will soon acquire diagnostic equipment to boost sustainable livestock production in rural areas. The institution’s ViceChancellor, Prof. Barth Okolo, said at a workshop organised by the faculty that his administration had approved the purchase of

new diagnostic equipment for the Veterinary Teaching Hospital. He said every step made to improve livestock was a step in the right direction. The Vice-Chancellor, who spoke through the Dean of the faculty, Prof. C. N. Uchendu, said the workshop was timely considering the great potentials which the university had in the area of research and personnel. He described the Veterinary Teaching Hospital as

a one stop facility which helps to teach farmers the current trends in livestock production and the only channel through which the public can benefit and improve their livestock production. The Director of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital who is also the Coordinator of the workshop, Dr. C. A. Eze, noted that this was the first time the hospital was organising the event. He said the workshop came at a time when vet-

Education Minister, Prof. Ruqayyatu Rufa’i

erinary profession and other allied professions as well as stakeholders in the livestock industry were required to partner to make agriculture a business for sustainable economic development nationwide.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

South South

Monday, July 30, 2012

13 die in Ore-Benin Expressway auto crash OLUSEGUN KOIKI AND SEBASTINE EBHUOMHAN

t least 13 people were burnt to death in a fatal accident that occurred early yesterday morning on the busy Ore-Benin Expressway, according to the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC). The FRSC Deputy Corps Public Education Officer, Mr. Bisi Kazeem and the Unit Commander of FRSC Toll Gate Office, Mr. Ameen

Adewale, said the accident occurred at about 7.45 am around Kilometre 53 at a point before Ofosu town in Edo State. The accident reportedly involved two vehicles: a fully loaded Toyota Hiace bus with the inscription: Anambra Mass Transit Company with registration number: Lagos YB 610 EPE and an Iveco truck with registration number: Lagos AAA 962 XB. The bus was heading to Awka from Lagos while the truck was heading to Lagos

from an unknown destination. While FRSC officials at the scene said a total of 16 people, all male and most of whom were passengers of the bus, were involved in the accident that left 13 people dead while the life of three other passengers were said to be hanging precariously on life support facility. It was reliably gathered that the accident resulted from traffic rule violation as the bus driver was said to be driving against the traffic. National Mirror learnt

that as the bus drove against the traffic, facing the Iveco truck that was descending a slope as a result of which there was a head on collision. Kazzem said both the dead and the injured were taken to Shiloh Hospital in Ugbogui town for treatment while the corpses of the dead passengers were deposited at the hospital mortuary for embalmment and identification. He added that one of the injured passengers is being

kept alive by an oxygen support machine as at the time of filing this report. “It is unfortunate that the avoidable accident was caused by the driver of the Anambra Mass Transit bus, who without any reason drove against traffic on the Benin-Ore lane. In his violation of road ethics, he rammed into an oncoming Iveco truck descending a slope and that action resulted in a head-on collision. “The bus was coming

from Lagos carrying traders dealing in electronics. Thirteen out of the 16 passengers in the bus died instantly including the driver. Two other passengers in the truck survived the crash, which occurred about a kilometer away from the boundary between Ondo and Edo State before Okada town,” Kazzem said. The accident resulted in a gridlock for much of the morning before FRSC officials cleared the road to ease the traffic.

Rights group condemns African first ladies’ summit AMOUR UDEMUDE ASABA

Delta State Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan, during the inspection of the de-flooding process in Warri, at the weekend.

Dickson canvasses private-sector driven economies in Africa EMMA GBEMUDU YENAGOA

ayelsa State governor, Seriake Dickson, has advocated for private sector driven economies to foster rapid development among African countries. Dickson said economic relations in the continent should go beyond the formal government to government framework, stressing that diplomatic relations should support and deepen economic policies. The governor, who spoke at the weekend in Yenagoa, at a business meeting with a South African delegation led by the wife of its President, Nompumelelo Zuma, reasoned that the essence of African unity would be lost, if the process of economic regional integration was not targeted in making life meaningful for an average man. While stressing the need for mutually beneficial trade relations between Bayelsa State and South Africa, Dickson called for the harnessing of Africa’s re-

sources to liberate the continent from the shackles of under-development. His words: “My decision to visit South Africa shortly after my election was informed by the fact that Africa has come of age .There is nothing the continent cannot achieve if both Nigeria and South Africa agree to work together. My administration is commit-

ted to encourage private sector participation and diversify the state’s economy by veering into tourism, agriculture and aqua-culture. “A bill seeking to establish the Bayelsa State Development Corporation to manage the assets of government will be forwarded to the legislature within the shortest possible time to underline the state’s com-

mitment to making massive investments in every sector of the economy.” The governor said when established, the corporation would establish offices in South Africa, Brazil, United States of America, United Kingdom and India, to adequately explore business opportunities in these countries to the full advantage of the state.

‘Development in aviation sector, vindication for Akpabio’

he massive ongoing development projects being embarked upon by the Akwa Ibom State governor, Chief Godswill Akpabio, especially in the aviation sector, have been described as world class and of immense national interest with great relevance to the people. This disclosure was made by the Special Assistant on Media to the Akwa Ibom State governor, Mr. Jackson Udom, following the recommendation of the Technical Administrative Review Panel set up by the Federal Government to

investigate the June 3, 2012 Dana plane crash in Lagos, that government should fast-track the completion of the Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility at the Akwa International Airport, Uyo. According to Udom, “The recommendation of Air Commodore John Obakpolor on the MRO facility in Akwa Ibom is a vindication of the efforts of Governor Akpabio in the aviation sector in the state. “The recommendation shows that all his projects are of international standard and they are impor-

tant not only to the state but also the country. You will recall that the governor not only built the airport from the scratch, he approved the overhaul of the MRO facility and has promised that it would be completed any time soon.”

Akpabio

he forum for Justice and Human Rights Defence (FJHD) has condemned in its entirety the hosting of the African first ladies summit in Abuja, describing it as a jamboree and a waste of public funds by the Presidency. A statement signed by the group’s National Coordinator, Mr. Oghenejabor Ikimi and made available to National Mirror in Asaba said; “FJHD condemned in its entirety the African first ladies summit in Abuja when youth unemployment, pandemic poverty, insecurity, public infrastructural decay, hunger and official corruption etc;

have reached their zenith nationwide.” The group called on President Goodluck Jonathan to wake up from his slumber by urgently rolling out the blue-print of its transformation agenda for implementation for the benefit of the downtrodden and traumatised masses of the nation or in the alternative tenders his resignation forthwith before he is disgraced out of office. The group also called on all erring state governors of the federation, whom they said have failed to democratise local government areas in their various states to toe the line of Section 7 of the 1999 Constitution before they incur the wrath of the people.

Delta govt to demolish structures on waterways

he Delta State government yesterday said it will step on toes in its bid to de-flood the oil city of Warri and other floodprone areas of the state. To this end, the state government said it will demolish houses and other structures on natural waterways to achieve this. Speaking to journalists at the weekend in Warri while monitoring the last sanitation exercise, Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan said: “We will step on toes of anybody in our desire to de-flood Warri and other parts of the state; we must get it right this time around, hence we are ready to step on toes of anybody obstructing the free flow of water in our cities and towns.” According to the governor, “If you have built on natural water channels, we will come after you and pull down your structure. I have directed the Commissioner

for Environment, who is going around with me in the monitoring exercise to bring down all structures blocking easy flow of water and nobody can intimidate us. “I am happy with the way the environment commissioner is going about the directive I gave him. What we are doing is for the good of our people and there is no stopping us.” Addressing the residents of Otirikpen Street, off Odion in the McDermott Road area of Warri, Governor Uduaghan said: “Most of the flooding that we have in this environment is manmade. People just open their eyes and build structures on natural waterways. Others dump their refuse right on the drainage. Of course water will always find a way to go through and that is what has been happening. And it has no way to pass that is why the whole place is getting flooded.

North

Monday, July 30, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Gunmen kill Air Force officer, orderly, driver, others AUGUSTINE MADU-WEST KANO

n unidentified Air Force Officer, his driver and orderly were among five persons killed in Kano yesterday in separate operations by suspected Boko Haram

terrorists. The gunmen, on motor bikes were said to have ambushed an air force staff car belonging to the Air Force Director of Finance. It was, however, not certain as at press time whether the director was in the car when the gun-

Tivs in South-South lend support for Tiv state CHINEDUM EMEANA PORT HARCOURT

s the arguments for the creation of more states in Nigeria continued, the Tiv community in the South-South has expressed its support for the creation of a state for the Tiv from the present Benue State. Speaking at a civic reception by Mzough U Tiv (MUT) in the South-South in honour of five of its sons who have excelled in their careers, Engr. Ben Akaakar, President-General of the Tiv group in the SouthSouth said the creation of a state for Tiv people is also an aspiration for Tivs in the southern part of the country. He said Tivs are about the fifth largest tribe in Nigeria, scattered in several

states, but don’t have a state of their own, describing it as an anomaly. “The Tiv group in the South-South, we have an aspiration. The Tiv people are now in five different states of the country and Tiv, being about the fourth or fifth largest tribe in Nigeria, are the only people who don’t have a state of their own. “This is an anomaly in present day Nigeria and we will like that to be corrected, if the constitution is going to be amended.” He said the Tiv should have two or three states of their own so that they can also develop the place and contribute more to the Nigerian project. Also speaking on the imperative of a state for the Tivs, Mr. Sebastian Hon SAN, said he supports the struggle 100 percent.

Heirs Holdings appoints new senior executives MESHACK IDEHEN

an-African proprietary investment company, Heirs Holdings, has said it has made executive level appointments in three key subsidiaries, including the appointment of a Group Chief Operating Officer, as part of the new operating structure of the company. The company said also that the new appointments underscore Heirs Holdings’ focus on the financial services, energy, agribusiness, real estate and hospitality sectors, including its commitment to attracting senior management talent, even as the firm continues to deploy its proprietary capital across Africa. A statement made available to National Mirror by the company said those appointed include the Chief Operating Office, (COO), Mr. Adim Jibunoh and Chief

Executive Officer of Heirs Alliance, Ms Angela Aneke, while the new Chief Executive Officer of Heirs Estate is Yinka Ogunsulire. Samuel Nwanze will become the Chief Executive Officer of HH Capital, the company’s arm responsible for proprietary investments. According to the statement, the new COO has over 27 years of experience in the financial services industry, and has strong leadership skills. He was also the former Managing Director of Continental Trust Bank until 2004, prior to which he was an executive director at Standard Trust Bank (now UBA Plc). Ms. Aneke on her part has over 27 years of banking experience that spans Citibank, Ecobank, and United Bank for Africa (UBA). She has also served as a non-Executive Director on the board of UBA Group, and was until 2010, an Executive Director at UBA.

men struck. Military sources said the affected personnel were in Kano to attend the burial of the elder brother of the Chief of Air Staff, who died in Kano last Friday. The officers were on their way back to Abuja when the staff car was attacked somewhere around Yan-lemo about nine kilometers off Kano city. Spokesman of the military-led joint task force,

Lt. Ikedichi Iweha, confirmed the attack in an interview, but declined further comment, saying the Air Force Base will be more competent to give details of what happened. I can only confirm that there was an attack and some air force men in a staff car died in the process. As at the time of filing this report, the Yan-lemo end of the busy Zaria Road had been cordoned

off by military and policemen, causing traffic jam on the highway and stampede by panic-stricken residents. Spokesman for Kano Police Command, Mohammed Dutse, confirmed a similar attack at Hotoro, another Kano flash-point where two civilians were killed by gummen suspected to be terrorists. In another development, policemen in Kano last night killed four sus-

pected Boko Haram members during a gun battle in the university town of Kabuga. Kano Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Idris, said some terrorists attempted to attack a mosque in the area but were confronted by policemen who engaged them in a gun battle resulting in the death of four of their members. Idris added that his men have taken control of the area.

L-R : Emir of Birnin Gwari, Malam Zubair Jibril; representative of the Emir of Zazzau, Sarki Fadan Zazzau, Alhaji Abbas Ahmed Fatikan and Sheikh Ahmed Abubakar Gumi, during the 7th Annual Ramadan Lecture in Kaduna, at the weekend.

Trafficking: JTF intercepts 20 vehicles with 103 children

embers of the Joint Task Force (JTF) stationed in Lokoja, Kogi State, yesterday intercepted 20 vehicles conveying more than 103 children to an unknown destination. The JTF Commander, Lt-Col. Gabriel Olorunyomi, made this known in Lokoja yesterday. He said his men became curious when they discovered that the occupants of the vehicles were mostly children, accompanied by some men and women. He said the vehicles and the occupants had been taken to the Army Records Headquarters in Lokoja, where they would be screened to ascertain their actual destination. Olorunyomi, however, said that 103 of the passengers were children with ages between three and 16 years, while 79 others were of 19 years to 53. He said preliminary investigations revealed that the vehicles were conveying the passengers from different communities in Benue, Cross Rivers and

Kogi States. “Most of the passengers are from Obi, Oju and Gwer Local Government Areas of Benue, while the remaining few are from Iyala Local Government Area of Cross Rivers and Olamaboro Local Government Area of Kogi,” he said. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that all the passengers, apart from giving similar excuses for their movement from their various communities, also said that they were all heading to Ondo, Ekiti, Osun, Oyo, Ogun, Lagos and Edo States. NAN also learnt that most of the passengers conceded that they were heading to the South-West states for the first time in search of vacation jobs, while some said that they wanted to go and work in the farm in those states. Two of the drivers, Bolaji Olusola and Adedeji Oluwaseun, told journalists that they picked up the passengers at motor parks.

They said some of the passengers paid their transport fares at the loading points, while some promised to pay theirs when they got to their destinations. NAN recalls that the JTF on July 27 arrested a man conveying 10 children with ages ranging between six years and 16 in an ash coloured Camry car to Lagos. The man, who was arrested on the same route, was later handed over to the police for interrogation. Also speaking to journalists, the Commander of Army Records, MajGen, Alphonsus Chukwu, said the children might be victims of child trafficking. He said initial interrogations revealed that the children would be received at their destinations by some yet-to-be-identified persons, who would then pay their transport fares to the drivers. Chukwu said the drivers were also suspected to be accomplices, as they

failed to produce the passengers’ manifest and agreed to carry many of the passengers without collecting their transport fares at the loading points. The army officer said the vehicles, drivers and passengers would be transferred to the police for proper investigations and action. Chukwu, however, said that the development indicated that many parents had failed in their responsibility toward their children’s upbringing. He urged parents to take proper care of their children so as to ensure that they did not fall into wrong hands.

IGP, Muhammed Abubakar

Monday, July 30, 2012

New senatorial districts and federal constituencies: Opposition mounts against House’s resolution

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Politics

Whither Edo PDP after guber loss? 14

Impeachment threat, mission impossible – Momoh …Party expresses worries over members’ involvement AYODELE OJO

he National Chairman of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Prince Tony Momoh has described the impeachment threat issued against President Goodluck Jonathan by the House of Representatives as a mission impossible. The House had on July 11 threatened to impeach the President for failure to implement the 2012 Budget.

The House threatened that if President Jonathan fails to implement the budget 100 per cent by September, when they resume from their recess, they would proceed with the impeachment procedure. Though Momoh admitted that there are enough grounds of impeachment against President Jonathan, especially spending money without appropriation and subsidy funding, he said the procedure of impeaching a president is

too cumbersome. “The threat of impeachment issued against the President by the House of Representatives is a mission impossible because the steps you take to impeach a sitting president are awesome and daunting that it will take a miracle for such action to succeed,” he told National Mirror yesterday. “The House or Representatives cannot impeach the president without the Senate; the two houses of the National Assembly must

work together and agree to impeach the president. The procedures are also cumbersome.” Momoh, a lawyer, said the National Assembly must confront the President with the allegations while a panel of seven members set up by the Chief Justice of Nigeria, CJN, must investigate the allegations. “The panel will ultimately arrive at a conclusion of either absolving the president of the allegations or finding him guilty of such. And

even if he is found guilt, the two-third majority of the National Assembly must be secured for the impeachment to scale through,” he explained. The CPC national chairman said it will be difficult to successfully impeach a president in a compromised environment. “We live in a country of compromises. Anything can be compromised and hijacked. So, impeaching President Jonathan is a mission impossible. If you know the procedure, you will know that it is impossible.” The National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olisa Metuh, could not be reached for comment yesterday, but a highly placed party official told National Mirror that there is no issue in the impeachment threat. “It is a mere barking. The threat won’t yield any result. We will handle the matter appropriately,” the source said. It was also learnt that the PDP is worried about the

development in the House as many of its members are the arrowheads of the impeachment plot. National Mirror learnt that contrary to the insinuation that the members of the opposition parties, particularly the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), are behind the impeachment plot, a principal officer of the House elected on the platform of the PDP was behind the impeachment plot. “Before the issue of impeachment was discussed on the floor of the House by a caucus, a principal officer elected on the platform of the PDP from the South raised the issue and planned to bring the matter for discussion. But he was persuaded not to be the arrowhead as a PDP member. There it was agreed that Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, the Minority Leader and ACN member, agreed to raise the matter. “So, most of the things being done in the House against the President are being sponsored by the PDP members,” a source said.

Annie Okonkwo joins APGA OLAJIDE OMOJOLOMOJU L-R: Wife of the Bayelsa State Deputy Governor, Mrs. Seleipre Jonah, her husband, Rear Admiral John Jonah (rtd), First Lady of South Africa, Her Excellency, Mrs. Nompumelelo Ntuli-Zuma; Governor Seriake Dickson and his wife, Racheal, at a reception organised in honour of the South African First Lady on her visit to the state in Yenagoa.

Akwa Ibom: Eket Zone wants PDP to respect zoning

chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Anweidighe-Abasi Adiakpan yesterday called on the party to respect the existing zoning arrangement for the 2015 governorship race in Akwa Ibom State. Adiakpan, who made the call while addressing newsmen on Sunday in Eket, said that it would be an injustice should the party jettison the zoning arrangement. He reminded the party that Uyo and Ikot Ekpene Senatorial Districts had had their slots, adding that it was now the turn of Eket Senatorial District to take a shot at the

governorship position at the end of Chief Godswill Akpabio’s tenure. He recalled that the zoning arrangement had been in operation in the state since the advent of the present political dispensation and urged those working to scuttle the arrangement to have a rethink. “We will neither compromise nor negotiate as all amounts of blackmail, intrigues and power play by a particular section of a society will fall like a pack of cards. “I wonder what makes them think Eket don’t have competent hands to sustain the tempo of infrastructural and industrial

he senator who represented Anambra Central senatorial zone in the Sixth Senate on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Annie Okonkwo, has pitched his camp with the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA). Okonkwo, who won the

development being done by Akpabio, when the best is yet to come,” he said. Adiakpan said that power shift to the district was not only fair but would make Akwa Ibom a

model for other states to emulate. He said that appropriate machinery had been put in place to ensure that the next governor comes from the district.

JAMES DANJUMA

PDP wins by-election in Katsina

KATSINA

he ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has won last Saturday’s bye-election into the Katsina State House of Assembly for Dutsi constituency. The party’s candidate, Bilya Sani Yemel, scored 17,537 votes to beat his opponent, Shehu Yamel, of the Congress for Progres-

sive Change (CPC), who polled 1,279 votes. The results were made known to newsmen in a statement issued by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)’s Public Relations Officer in the state, Muhtari Abubakar. Abubakar however commended stakeholders for ensuring successful

conduct of the election. The statement said that Yamel, having scored the highest votes, was returned as the duly-elected member of the state Assembly for Dutsi Constituency. The by-election was held following the death of Alhaji TasiuYamel, the legislator representing the area, in June.

primaries for Anambra Central, but was denied the PDP ticket in the 2011 general elections and later contested under the banner of the Accord Party said that: “Injustice like chameleon may pretend to deceive, but its intent always lay it bare. The unrelenting machine of political deceit and injustice in Igbo land have run its full circle, and should quietly give way to honest superior efforts to rid our people its ravages and rancour.” He called on all Igbo both at home and in the Diaspora to move en masse into the APGA fold “to recover their identity.” Okonkwo was recently elected the president of an Igbo socio-political action group, the Committee 21 (C21), an organisation with the sole aim of uniting and harnessing Igbo political and economic potentials.

Politics

Monday, July 30, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Whither Edo PDP after guber loss? The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Edo State is presently suffering a crisis of confidence after its shocking defeat by the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in the July 14 governorship election in the state, writes FELIX NWANERI.

his is not the best of times for the Edo State chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which recently lost the state’s governorship election to the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) in what many have termed “mother of all defeats,” given the landslide victory of the incumbent, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole. Oshiomhole clinched victory by amassing 477,478 votes representing 76 per cent of the valid votes of 630,099, leaving Major General Charles Airhiavbere of the PDP with 144,235 votes, which represents 23 per cent. Chief Solomon Edebiri who flew the flag of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP) was only able to manage 3,642 votes, representing less than one per cent. Although the victory did not surprise many as Oshiomhole had in the last three and a half years raised the stakes in terms of delivery of democracy dividends to the people of the state, his defeat of acclaimed godfathers of Edo politics, even right in their enclaves has triggered a cold war among members of the PDP in the state. Among the PDP chieftains who fell for the ACN “broom revolution” are the former chairman of its Board of Trustees (BoT), Chief Tony Anenih; business mogul and the Esama of Benin Kingdom, Chief Gabriel Igbinedion, Minister of Works, Mr. Mike Onolememen; Chief of Staff to President Goodluck Jonathan, Chief Mike Oghiadhome and Senator Odion Ugbesia. It is against the backdrop of this routing that some members of the party in the state are at the moment calling for a restructuring of Edo PDP’s leadership. In the vanguard of this campaign is the Edo State Stakeholders Forum (a group within the party), which penultimate Friday gave a 48-hours ultimatum to members of the state executive led by Chief Dan Orbih to resign. The group hinged its call on what it described as the failure of the Orbih-led executive to represent the interest and wishes of party members as well as lack of capacity to attain “electoral victory which is the hallmark of the existence of a political party in any political system” as proven by the result of the July 14 election. In a communiqué signed by Mr. Kamin Asunogie, the forum stated: “We call on the national body to institute a probe panel to investigate the funding and finances of the party in the state in the past three years and also constitute an interim committee to oversee the affairs of the party at the state level pending when congresses will be held to elect new officers.” The group further called on the party’s national body and the Federal Government to disregard any list of nomination to federal boards or any appointment by the present leadership of the party in the

Anenih

Orbih

IF A CHIEF OF STAFF TO THE PRESIDENT AND FORMER DEPUTY GOVERNOR OF A STATE CANNOT DELIVER

HIS WARD, LOCAL

GOVERNMENT AND, AT LEAST, SENATORIAL ZONE TO HIS PARTY, THEN HE HAS NO BUSINESS BEING THERE

Airhiavbere

state. But in a swift reaction, Edo PDP’s Director of Publicity and Strategy, Okharedia Ehimekpen, dismissed the authors of the statement as unknown members of the party, who have either defected to the ACN or expelled. Beside the call for the restructuring of the party executive, others believe that it is time Anenih, the leader of Edo PDP, quit the centre stage of affairs. Popularly called “Mr. Fix It,” Anenih had boasted before the election that his party would emerge tops. But the former Minister of Works was forced to swallow his words as he was roundly beaten by Oshiomhole in his ward. He only managed to deliver his polling booth by one vote as the PDP won by 40 votes to ACN’s 39. Many had advised him ahead of the poll to rather dwell more on national politics and play the role of an elder statesman, than take the captainship band of domestic politics. He however shunned the counsel, insisting that he has what it takes to turn the table against Oshiomhole. Those rooting for Anenih’s exit, argued that he has failed to “fix” the party to the state’s seat of power for the second consecutive time. In his stead, they want Oghiadhome as the new leader of the party in

the state. The anti-Anenih campaigners believe the President’s Chief of Staff, they believe, have enough experience to upset the ACN in 2016. A two-time deputy governor of the state, Oghiadhome is from Edo North, the same senatorial zone as Oshiomhole. His successful delivery of his polling unit to the PDP, despite the loss of the zone makes him the only PDP bigwig who maintained a grip on his unit in the election and this, his supporters say, is a proof of his recognition at home. Result from Polling unit 4, Ward 2 in Fugar, Etsako Local Government Area, where he voted showed that the PDP scored 263 votes to ACN’s 221. This, however, in the views of those in Anenih’s camp does not reflect true popularity, even as they insist that the Iyasele of Esanland should not be singled out for the PDP’s loss. They argued that a party chieftain’s delivery of a polling unit is not enough to make him a leader. “If a Chief of Staff to the President and former deputy governor of a state cannot deliver his ward, local government and at least senatorial zone to his party, then he has no business being there,” they said. Some other political pundit,s believe that Oghiadhome has not done anything to advance the cause of the party in the state. They said he did not do anything to ensure victory for the party in the last election,

because he is a close ally of Governor Oshiomhole and has been providing necessary support for him to an extent of being the arrowhead of those working on the governor defecting to the PDP. They recalled Anenih’s contributions to the growth and sustenance of the party, not only at the national level but in Edo State, which include leading it to victory in 1999, 2003 and 2007 before the victory was upturned in 2008 by the Court of Appeal sitting in Benin in favour of the ACN. But, in what seemed an apparent move to douse the tension already generated by the crisis, the national leadership of the PDP has called for the reconciliation all members of the party in the state despite the electoral defeat. It also passed a confidence vote on the Orbih-led executive, The National Chairman of the party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur, in separate letters addressed to Orbih and Airhiavbere, dated July 19, said the reconciliation will help rebuild Edo PDP and position it to re-take the state in the nearest future. Tukur particularly commended the PDP governorship candidate to for his efforts during the poll and charged him to remain commited to the reconciliation and re-building process of the party in the state. In praising Orbih for his effort during the poll, Tukur stated: “I would like to put on record your efforts in the just-concluded Edo State gubernatorial elections in which we lost. Though a painful loss, considering the quantum of preparation and mobilisation which the party mustered towards the election, I identify with the spirited effort and discipline demonstrated by the party under your good leadership.” He further wrote: “Reconcilling all members of the party as a precursor to rebuilding PDP is a task in which I solicit your usual cooperation and support. I encourage you to keep the PDP family intact. We shall re-strategise and build on your present commitment to reclaim Edo State for PDP, God willing.” Tukur’s optimism would not be shared by many who believe that the PDP is as good as dead in Edo State. Former Special Adviser to former President, Olusegun Obasanjo and Prof. Julius Ihonvbere believes that the fate of the party is sealed in the state. The professor of Political Science, who dumped the PDP for the ACN after failing to clinch its ticket for the just held poll said: “Nothing can revive the PDP in Edo State.” He further said the election’s result showed that the people rejected the PDP “as a party of wickedness, failure and darkness; a party led by insensitive people, who do not mean well for the people.” He added that Oshiomhole owes it a duty to handover an ACN that will win the next governorship election in the state so that the PDP would be finally send to oblivion. The Edo PDP leadership is however not giving up. The party insists that contrary to Ihonvbere’s belief, it is not dead in the state, describing his statement as the ranting of a frustrated politician who has lost out of the political equation in Edo State. The party through its Assistant Publicity Secretary, Bisi Idahomi, said contrary to Ihonvbere’s assumption, Edo PDP is very CONTINUED ON PAGE 15

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Politics

Monday, July 30, 2012

SINA FADARE writes on the recently passed resolution of the House of Representatives for the increase in Nigeria’s senatorial districts and federal constituencies.

he recent endorsement of the House of Representatives for the creation of additional senatorial districts and federal constituencies in the country has generated a public discourse. Hon. Mohammed Ango Abudullahi had, in a motion raised on the floor of the House, drew the attention of the lawmakers to the fact that the population explosion in the country has called for additional representation. Abudullahi claimed that some constituencies have as many as 42 wards; a size the lawmaker said was unbearable for most legislators to manage. According to him, expanding the senatorial districts and constituencies will give the people more social, economic and political representation, noting that section 73 (1 and 2) of the constitution mandated the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to review the districts and constituencies at “intervals of not less than 10 years.” He pointed out that section 73(2) specifically empowers INEC to carry out the review in line with the growing population of the country. His words: “The population of the country is increasing by the day at an annual growth rate of 3.18 per cent from 2006 census and the 2006 census stands at 140,003,542.” Abdullahi called on the National Population Commission (NPC) to begin preparation for the 2016 census to reflect the exact population of the constituencies and districts. He argued that “this will also check the burden of the National Assembly members who have two, three or four local governments as a federal constituency without consideration to its population density or seven, eight, nine or 10 local governments as a senatorial district for a senator without consideration to its population density.” Against the backdrop of Abudullahi’s submission, the House mandated its Committee on INEC to look into the matter and submit its report within a few weeks. The committee was directed to “liaise with INEC to review federal constituencies and senatorial districts across the country in accordance with the 1999 Constitution and report back to the House within four weeks.” But in as much as the resolution of the House was logical and desirable, it is out of tune with the reality on the ground putting into consideration the recent pronounce-

NEW SENATORIAL DISTRICTS AND FEDERAL CONSTITUENCIES

Opposition mounts against House’s resolution

Tambuwal

ment of the Central Bank of Nigeria governor, Mallam Lamido Sanusi that 25 per cent of the nation’s budget is being spent on overhead cost of running the National Assembly. At present, there are 109 senatorial districts and 360 federal constituencies across the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. With this staggering figure, the nation’s wealth has been at the mercy of the lawmakers, whose allowances and salaries have taken up huge funds from the counrty’s resources. Some political pundits are of the view that it is out of place for the lawmakers to make such a resolution, especially at this critical moment of the nation’s history. Former Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Alhaji Maitama Sule, noted that it is unthinkable to have more National Assembly members when the present lawmakers are milking the nation’s wealth. The elder statesman noted that the cost of maintaining the present lawmakers is too expensive talk less of having additional members. He said: “I am very comfortable with the old parliamentary system. The cost of maintaining the parliamentary system of government in the First Republic was just three per cent of the country’s budget. We merely have three sessions in a year. There is no permanent member in the First Republic. We were merely spending three per

Whither Edo PDP after guber loss? CONTINUED FROM 14 vibrant, cohesive and ready to face challenges, especially after the recently held governorship election, which it noted, was marred by irregularities. It said: “As a national party that can boast of prominent national officers, the PDP cannot be said to be dead in the state. We make bold to state that the PDP in Edo State is the strongest and most focused political party in Edo today, with an umbrella that can accommodate everybody, including Ihonvbere, himself.” The party therefore advised the former

presidential aide to note that he would be doing himself more harm than good over unnecessarily criticisms as his “new found political allies are already negotiating their ways to join the PDP which is the only national party they can achieve their aspirations contrary to the illusions he parades.” No doubt, the recent victory has further consolidated the ACN’s grip of Edo State, it will take the PDP more than change of leadership to bounce back into reckoning in the Heartbeat of the Nation, in which it hitherto held sway for almost a decade.

Balarabe

OF WHAT USE WILL IT BE IF THE LAWMAKERS PASSED A RESOLUTION TO INCREASE THE NUMBERS OF THE

NATIONAL ASSEMBLY MEMBER WHEN THE WHOLE COUNTRY IS

CRYING OVER THE... COST OF MAINTAINING THE PRESENT ONE?

cent of the budget. The system we are operating today is very expensive. We cannot afford it. “The first session in a year is the budget session which is six weeks and the second session is for the supplementary budget which is three weeks and the third session is for any emergency.” He argued that the time is ripe for African countries to go back to the basics and fashion out an indigenous African system of governance that will include traditional values and orientation of doing things, which he described as “Afrocracy.” He also noted that it would include the traditional system of governance and would reduce cost. Speaking to National Mirror, Senator Lekan Balogun said that with lots of challenges the country is facing, such mundane issue should not be the priority of the lawmakers. According to him, the National Assembly as it is presently constituted is one of the most expensive in the world, gulping about 73 per cent of the overhead cost. “Of what use will it be if the lawmakers passed a resolution to increase the numbers of the National Assembly members when the whole country is crying over the effect of the cost of maintaining the present one?” Balogun asked.

He regretted that instead of the lawmakers to put on their thinking cap on how to improve on governance and how the people at the grassroots will feel the impact of a good government, they were all chasing shadow. Former Vice Chancellor, University of Ado Ekiti, Prof. Akin Oyebode, said that it is not only odd, but very unfortunate that the lawmakers would pass such a resolution at this critical moment. Oyebode, who teaches international law at the University of Lagos, in an interview with National Mirror pointed out that aside the fact that the cost of maintaining the present National Assembly members is very expensive, no right thinking human being will advocate for more members of the National Assembly on the excuse of bloated population. According to him, “the present National Assembly is the most expensive in the world. Our senators are earning more than the President of United States.” The university don pointed out that if he has his way, the act of legislating would be on a part-time basis. “Can’t we collapse the Senate and the House of Representatives? Should we just borrow everything that happens in America? Why can’t we tailor our institution to our need? We need to cut cost, on the money expended on the institution,” he added. He argued that the part-time legislature was not new to the country, adding that in the First Republic when the country practised parliamentarianism, the legislature then was on part-time basis. “If 73 per cent of the budgets were spent on emolument of the lawmakers, according to Sanusi, how much is left for capital projects? he asked. Also, speaking to National Mirror on the issue, the former governor of old Anambra State, Chief Chukwuemeka Ezeife said that the lawmakers cannot be serious on such a resolution, adding that the reality on ground does not favour such an idea. He regretted that if the cost of maintaining the National Assembly is so high to the extent that it affects all other sectors, they have no moral right to discuss an idea that will increase the number of the present National Assembly. “We are spending oil money and they are not thinking about what next if the oil well suddenly dries up. What they are discussing is not an issue. No reasonable person will advocate for more members at the National Assembly with what the country is spending on the current one. That is not what we need now,” Ezeife noted. Speaking in the same vein, the former governor of Kaduna State, Alhaji Balarabe Musa noted that the lawmakers did not actually know what they are saying. “There are many issues that require national attention more than such a nonissue. It is glaring that we do not need such an idea now,” he said. The days ahead will determine whether or not the House will proceed with the creation of additional senatorial districts and constituencies against popular wish.

Monday, July 30, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Views

Monday, July 30, 2012

Impeachment: Where is the politician in Jonathan? HeartBeat

CALLISTUS

OKE

Callistusoke@nationalmirroronline.net 08054103275 (SMS ONLY)

o we call the overt but managed face-off between President Goodluck Jonathan and the federal lawmakers a tiff, a family feud, or a major altercation? With the outburst of the type that poured out on the floor of the House of Representatives on July 19, 2012 Nigerians might be about to witness a major political hiatus, if not well managed. Mouthing an impeachment threat against the most senior partner in the federal government (?) could pass as exaggerated anger. But those who are politically correct would know it might be Act One in a long drawn drama. And talking of anger reminds me of the wisecrack of the American novelist, Louis Dearborn L’Amour: “Anger is a killing thing: it kills the man who angers, for each rage leaves him less than he had been before - it takes something from him”. Could a bitchy national economy be inducing the worse from our Reps, who out of anger, challenged Dr. Jonathan to a dwell? Is his non-performing economic recipe that is the 2012 Budget enough

reason to tell him to his face that he is impeachable? Did that expressed anger “take something from the Reps” in the form of being on the ‘shit list’ of Mr. President? Will Aminu Tambuwal be given the Ghali Umar Na’Abba treatment because of his courage? Too many questions begging for answers. While Jonathan enjoys a national mandate, each of the Reps enjoys a limited local mandate. Given their numerical strength, theirs could be a more representative mandate, and they can feel more Nigerian pulses than Mr. President! So their grouse against President Jonathan over the bitchy economy and sloppy administration of the 2012 budget recipe is understandable. So virulent is their indignation that they dared him with impeachment on July 19. You and I know Nigeria is not enjoying a robust health, socioeconomically and politically. There are visible signs of stress and strain everywhere - pervasive insecurity; deficit social infrastructural provisioning; depressing public power supply with runaway electricity tariff; grinding unemployment and underemployment, and rapacious corruption. Of course, these are unnerving for the eyes and ears of the people. We can forgive them for losing their temper and telling Mr. President “Prepare to be impeached in September, 2012”. All the issues raised and other woe betiding curses our dear country suffers from, are within the purview of the executive arm of government, and they are the reasons for annual ritual budget-

WHAT PRESIDENT JONATHAN SHOULD DO TO SWIM OUT OF TROUBLE IS TALK LIKE THE POLITICIAN HE IS ing, an exercise over which the executive has prerogative power. Budgeting process in Nigeria does not constitute a difficult task; it is like you sitting down to count your chickens before they are hatched or racking your brain to think of how to maximize your satisfaction from spending the money you have in your pocket. But the big issue is that governments have become grossly incompetent in implementing budgets designed by them. It is like they have agreed that budgets are mere paper work that could be ignored! The 2012 Budget for instance, was passed by the National Assembly on March 17, 2012 and the President only signed it into law on April 13, 2012. Yet the financial year runs from January to December. The 2012 Budget is beautiful on paper. The total of sum of N4.697trn is to be spent, excluding the N180 billion earmarked for projects under the Subsidy Re-investment and Empowerment Programme (SURE-P); N1.33trn goes for capital projects while non-debt recurrent expenditure takes the lion share of N2.425 trillion. Its pay line is budget of ‘Fiscal consolidation, inclusive growth and job creation’. The problem? We have an idealist Min-

ister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr. Ngozi OkonjoIweala as the arrowhead of the budget implementation machinery. Deploying textbook concepts of utilization and performance as bases for release of appropriated fund has made her to lose the sense of urgency of a budget that was birthed more than three months after D-Day! At the time the Reps declared war on the executive, only N404 billion had been released to Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs) for this financial year- N304 billion for the first quarter and N100 billion for the second quarter. Though she has updated her records with budget performance now climbing to 58 percent by July ending and could achieve an all time high of 80 percent by December, for all the Reps care, this is textbook economics. As politicians they are right. They feel the pulse of the people as they are closer to them than members of the executive arm of government. The talk of global economic dynamics and oil discovery in many African countries as intervening variables in federal government’s new template for budget implementation cannot resonate with the politicians in government. What President Jonathan should do to swim out of trouble is talk like the politician he is. The neo-liberal economists in his government and the idealists in his cabinet cannot save him. What can save him is approaching the crisis like a politician; after all, the political basis of budgeting exists!

Presijo’s unusual shelling and Shell’s shellshock

as Kimono’s “Under pressure” hit song is apt for the federal legislature-executive rhapsody of musical chairs with the National Assembly shelling President Goodluck Jonathan with an aluta ultimatum to implement 2012 budget within three months or be impeached. Presijo too, has ordered Shell to sneeze out $5 billion “administrative fine” for the jumbo oil spill from the Bonga offshore export platform in Rivers State. After all Presijo’s executive needs money badly to implement sundry abandoned projects, for which he is being crucified for the collective sins of the three arms of government. The executive is lax for keeping and feeding an incompetent and grossly corrupt civil service. The legislature sleeps on oversight functions and fails to prune recurrent budgets, which eats up 75 percent of total budget, leaving a miserly 25 per cent for capital projects and for National Assembly eating 25 percent of this national budget, according to the Central Bank of Nigeria. An incorrigible judiciary allows treasury looters to escape justice. Finance Minister and Coordinating Minister of Economy, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala says the locust PDP federal administration in 13 years has set world record of over 6,300 abandoned capital projects, incurred recklessly by 30 ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs). She said N7 trillion is required

to complete the projects, which is more or less masked slush funds jobs for the boys, unintended for completion. With the 0ver N4 trillion budget for 2012, it would take about two years national budget to finish these projects, that is if NASS and government officials forfeit their financial emolument in recurrent budget, and discounting ballooning contract price variation. An unpatriotic bureaucracy allowed $16 billion waste on power in eight years of Obasanjo administration, with darkness as dividends. Nigeria’s voodooist economy is incomprehensible. An oil exporting country for 50 years has little to show in welfare and allows a reign of an international rogue ring of oil thieves collaborating with regulatory agencies like NNPC, PPPRA, PEF, military task forces in oily Niger Delta region, ruling party chieftains and other security agencies along with marketers to steal fuel subsidies. At last, Presijo admits “embarrassing” oil thefts, wondering, strangely, why Nigeria is the only country in the world with ignominy of crude theft. Officially, $7 billion crude is lost yearly, apart from subsidies’ theft of nearly N1 trillion yearly. Ghost workers, pensioners, and contractors rob in trillions; lawmakers and governors rob via constituency votes and security votes. Yet, plugging these leakages by a helpless government is hard, too afraid of a few rascals holding

AN UNPATRIOTIC BUREAUCRACY ALLOWED

$16

BILLION WASTE ON POWER IN EIGHT

OBASANJO ADMINISTRATION,

YEARS OF

WITH DARKNESS AS DIVIDENDS 150 million to ransom, a leadership that preaches pious sermons for economic terrorists to quit just like expecting flies or vultures to quit feasting on a carcass. Presijo’s comment that public declaration of asset would discourage moneybags from accepting public office was disingenuous. Counsel from U.S. President Barak Obama’s “mistake”: “There aren’t two sets of rules. You know, one for prominent people and one for ordinary folks who have to pay their taxes. We don’t begrudge anybody for achieving success. And we believe that success should be rewarded. But what gets people upset, and rightfully so, are executives being rewarded for failure. Especially when those rewards are subsidized by U.S. taxpayers,” Obama said.

Roadmap SONI EHI

ASUELIMEN

soniasuelimen@yahoo.com, 08023459055 (SMS ONLY)

To what extent will Presijo demonstrate Obama’s audacity of hope? Shell has already promised a fight and vowed not to pay the $5 billion fine for the 30,000 barrels oil spill of last December compared to 40,000 barrels spilled in December 2010, the biggest in 10 years. Presijo had promised then to extract compensation from Shell, but mum is the word till date. Yet, Obama personally prosecuted demand for Shell’s compensation for the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico while China extracted compensation from Conoco Phillip oil multinational for oil spills. Will Presijo call Shell’s bluff and reaffirm Nigeria’s sovereignty? Send your views by mail or sms to PMB 10001, Ikoyi, or our Email: mail@ nationalmirroronline.net mirrorlagos@ yahoo.com or 08164966858 (SMS only). The Editor reserves the right to edit and reject views or photographs. Pseudonyms may be used but must be clearly marked as such.

Editorial

Monday, July 30, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

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

STEVE AYORINDE

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HEAD, GRAPHICS

CBN’s move against multiple bank charges

he Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), according to recent reports, is about now reviewing all extant guidelines on bank charges in use since 2004 in an exercise aimed at curtailing the multiple and extortionist charges banks currently subject their customers to, and setting a standard for such charges. The CBN will, among others, also set a maximum limit to lending rates on Monetary Policy Rate plus 8 (eight) percent, with the range allowing for risk being taken by the bank. Full disclosure to bank customers and their consent must likewise be sought on any changes to agreed rates, or on additional interest. Charges on internal and external Automated Teller Machines (ATMs) also form part of the review process. This seems a welcome development in the light of incessant complaints by customers on the sundry charges not related to services rendered, which some banks force them to cough up. Consequently, the CBN may need to speed up its scrutiny and ensure proper and adequate supervision of the new guidelines expected to compel compliance. Both banks and their customers should also be adequately sensitized about the new guidelines for maximum effect, success and the nurturing of a customer-friendly banking culture.

THE NEW DRAFT GUIDELINES MUST NOT END UP A MERE

‘PAPER TIGER’ AS WAS THE CASE IN 2006 WHEN, FOLLOWING COMPLAINTS BY

CUSTOMERS, THE APEX BANK SET UP A COMMITTEE TO REVIEW THE PREVAILING BANK CHARGES AND RETIRED TO SLEEP It can scarcely be disputed that customers deserve quality services and benefits from transactions with their banks; and the draft guide to banking charges is said to be just one of several other measures designed to ensure customer protection. It is, therefore, thoughtful of the CBN to, through the new guidelines, align banks’ tariff regime with present economic realities and offer a platform for the standard application of charges on different types of banking products and services. The banks themselves may

have nothing to lose but their gluttony for outrageous profits - at the expense of their hapless customers - since ultimately the latest CBN measure seeks to accommodate the freedom of bank operators to charge competitive prices, on the one hand; and protect consumers from arbitrary and excessive charges, on the other. No less heartwarming are reports that the apex bank, under the new dispensation, would set up a Consumer Protection Department which would come up with a template of fines and other sanctions against any bank found culpable of illegal deductions or charges on customers’ accounts without evidence of commensurate services to justify such deductions; as well as handle other customer complaints. Indeed, the CBN initiatives were long overdue considering the penchant of money deposit banks especially to heartlessly fleece their customers through exorbitant and frivolous charges in their obvious desperate bid to make up for the profit-eroding effects of their provisioning for self-inflicted toxic assets and/or non-performing loans. It is, perhaps, pertinent to warn that should multiple bank charges persist, any campaign aimed at encouraging Nigerians to imbibe the banking culture would end up

a huge failure since unrestrained deductions from customers’ accounts discourage many people from lodging cash in banks. This is one of the major reasons the CBN must endeavour to make a success of the proactive strides it has taken and quickly, too. The new draft guidelines must not end up a mere ‘paper tiger’ as was the case in 2006 when, following complaints by customers, the apex bank set up a committee to review the prevailing bank charges and retired to sleep. The banks have clearly overstretched their desperation to make profits they do not deserve through unrestrained deductions from customers’ accounts and need to be called to order. This is notwithstanding the fact that some customers, while hurrying, aid the extortion by failing to check their account balances before and after each transaction to verify the amounts deducted from their accounts. Customers seeking loans and related facilities from banks, who often fail to take cognizance of some of the conditions for such facilities, seem the worst hit. A committed and firm application of the new rules as contained in the draft CBN guidelines; as well as perpetual vigilance on the part of all stakeholders, particularly customers and whistle blowers, seem inevitable for the success of the current plan by the apex bank.

ON THIS DAY July 30, 2006 Lebanon War: At least 28 civilians, including 16 children were killed by the Israeli Air Force in what Lebanese called the Second Qana massacre and what Israel considered to be an attempt to stop rockets’ being fired, from Lebanon, at Israeli civilian targets. The 2006 Qana Airstrike (also referred to as the 2006 Qana Massacre) was an air strike carried out by the Israel Air Force (IAF) on a three-story building in the small community of alKhuraybah near the South Lebanese village of Qana.

July 30, 2003 In Mexico, a federal constitutional republic in North America, the last ‘old style’ Volkswagen Beetle rolled off the assembly line. The Volkswagen Beetle, officially called the Volkswagen Type 1 (or informally the Volkswagen Bug), is an economy car produced by the German auto maker, Volkswagen (VW) from 1938 until 2003. With over 21 million manufactured in an aircooled, rear-engined, rear-wheel drive configuration, the Beetle is the longest-running and most-manufactured car.

July 30, 762 Baghdad was founded by Caliph Al-Mansur. Baghdad is the capital of the Republic of Iraq, as well as the coterminous Baghdad Province. The population of Baghdad as of 2011 is approximately 7,216,040, making it the largest city in Iraq, the second largest city in the Arab World (after Cairo, Egypt), and the second largest city in Western Asia (after Tehran, Iran). Located along the Tigris River, the city was founded in the 8th century and became the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate.

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Business Courage

Monday, July 30, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Cover Barely one and half years in operation, Energy Bank Ghana, a subsidiary of the high-flying Global Fleet conglomerate, owned by Barrister Jimoh Ibrahim, (OFR) is fast outpacing older banks to emerge as one of the best preferred banks in Ghana. Energy Bank was recently ranked as the fourth best bank in ratio of equity as a proportion of assets in the country among other positive rankings

Energy Bank Ghana, Kumasi branch

A giant at infancy

By Semiu Salami

in February 2011 with 60 million Ghana cedis, has reinvested all its profits to get stronger, working along a cautious and prudent arithmetical growth, rather than adopt the conventional geometrical growth at the expense of its customers in the name of competition. Instructively, Energy Bank’s 63.655 million cedis shareholders’ funds by the end of December 2011 meant that the bank has the 18th biggest capital base in Ghana’s banking industry.

y February 2013, Energy Bank Ghana would mark its second year of corporate existence in the neighbouring West African country. However, long before it clocks two, the bank, which is a subsidiary of the Global Fleet Group, is already causing jitters among the established banks, especially with its recent ranking as one of the best performing banks in Ghana. At a little above one year, Energy Bank is the youngest bank in Ghana but it is already bigger than three other older banks, ranking 23rd by total assets, which stood at 200.275 million Ghana cedis. But the growth is instructive in the sense that, apart from being the youngest in the country, Energy Bank has the least branch network in Ghana, with only three so far located in Tema and Kumasi, and the head office branch in Accra, the Ghanaian capital.

More importantly importantly, the status gave the bank the fourth best ratio of equity as a proportion of asset in the entire banking industry, of a massive 31.78 per cent, providing security to its customers and indeed, all stakeholders in the bank’s chain of activities. By the end of last year, and with just nine months in operation, Energy Bank Ghana already amassed 107.307 million in deposits, while its prudent financial management ensured

Business Courage A Publication of GLOBAL MEDIA MIRROR LTD BARRISTER JIMOH IBRAHIM, OFR PUBLISHER

Dr. Ibrahim

More importantly, however, the feat reflects the sheer financial solidity of the bank right from the start, having being an

offshoot of one of the most highly diversified, financially strong conglomerates in Nigeria. The bank, which started out

SEMIU SALAMI BAMIDELE OBAFEMI ADEJUWON OSUNNUYI FESTUS OKOROMADU TAYO ADELEKE

EDITOR ASSOCIATE EDITOR STAFF WRITER STAFF WRITER SENIOR REPORTER

OLATOYE RAPHAEL SEYI OKUMODI

HEAD, PRODUCTION SENIOR GRAPHIC ARTIST

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Business Courage

Monday, July 30, 2012

A3 21

Cover that in just nine months, it posted a pre-tax profit of 5,001 million Ghana cedis, the 21st best in Ghana, coming against the backdrop of 10,369 million cedis as total income, which placed it the 25th in the entire industry. According to a recent survey conducted by BusinessWeek in Ghana on the 27 banks presently operating in the country, five of which have Nigerian origin, Energy Bank came atop in most of the indices applied by the survey. For instance, in the Advance/Deposit ranking, Energy Bank is rated 18th in the entire banking industry in Ghana with 64.2 million cedis but emerged best of all the five Nigerianowned banks in Ghana. It beats the likes of UBA to the 19th position with 63.56 million cedis. GTBank was ranked 22nd with 56.74 million cedis, followed by Access Bank in the 24th position with 44.88 million cedis and Zenith Bank with 34.77 million cedis to the 25th position. Under the Expenses/Income ranking, Energy Bank dusted Access Bank and UBA, ranking third among the Nigerian banks and 18th in the entire Ghana banking industry. UBA and Access Bank were ranked 23rd and 24th respectively. In the Equity/Asset ranking, Energy Bank is ranked fourth in the entire Ghana’s banking industry and second among the Nigerian-owned banks in Ghana. The bank, with 31.78 million cedis beats GTBank, which has 23.49 million cedis to the eighth position and UBA which recorded 16.42 to the 12th position and Zenith Bank with 15.72 million cedis to the 14th position. Investment analysts who spoke on the rising profile of the bank in the last one year were of the opinion that the bank has all it takes to become one of the best banks in the Ghanaian banking industry. They cited the string of transformation initiatives the bank had introduced into the banking system, which they claim has upped the ante of banking service delivery in the West African country. The commencement of business by Energy Bank Ghana Limited, a subsidiary and banking arm of the Global Fleet group, on February 22, 2011 with a shareholders’ fund of 60 million cedis, makes it one of the most capitalised banks in that country. Moreover, with the current balance sheet size standing at about 160 million cedis, and three branches opened within a spate of nine months with two more to be opened before the close of the current financial year, analysts say the bank has proven to be one of the fastest growing and most progressive banks in the former Gold Coast. Energy bank is indeed the first bank wholly owned by a

Nigerian in the person of Barrister (Dr.) Jimoh Ibrahim, OFR, and wholly sited in Ghana with its motto as the meeting of its clients’ aspirations, applying the timeless principle of loyalty to deliver premium values to all its stakeholders. After receiving its licence from the Bank of Ghana, the bank was commissioned into activity by former President of Ghana, late Professor John Evans Atta Mills. Of the 27 banks in Ghana currently, most of which are perceived by analysts as fringe players, Energy Bank stands out. In fact, the Managing Director of the bank, Sam Ayininuola, has already predicted a high probability of consolidation in the Ghanaian financial industry, in the manner of the 2005/06 Nigerian experience, which saw 89 banks becoming 25 with a minimum capital base of N25 billion each. However, with its current balance sheet size in the region of 160 million cedis, Energy Bank can only grow from strength to strength, despite the ongoing global economic downturn. Chairman of the bank, who is also the Chairman of the Global Fleet Group, Dr. Jimoh Ibrahim, OFR said, “The recession has nothing to do with the bank and the group; we are exempted from the recession and that is why we are growing from strength to strength. We also pray that Ghana will be exempted from the recession.” The Global Fleet group is a conglomerate of diversified interests made up of 16 sister companies, whose activities span the aviation, oil, insurance, media, education, hospitality, banking and manufacturing sectors, among others, with offices spread all over the globe including a group head office at the Donald Trump House at 40, Wall Street in the US, in the UK, in Sao Tome and Principe, in Ghana, in the United Arab Emirate, in Nigeria, and others, and whose balance sheet is in

Source: BusinessWeek, Accra

Ayininuola

excess of $10 billion. However, despite the seeming giant strides achieved by the bank in just one year of its opening business, analysts are already confident that the bank will achieve better feat in the near future, considering the pedigree of its board and management staff, as well as its strategic expansion in key locations of the Ghanaian society. At the helm of the board is Ibrahim, who brings in years of expertise in strategic management, having steered many companies, including comatose ones, into viability and profitability, especially within the Nigerian economy. The wizardry with which he handled the NICON Insurance Plc’s turnaround from a comatose insurance firm into a profitable entity is still a matter of discourse among management pundits in the country. Ibrahim is a lawyer and graduate of both the Obafemi Awolowo and Harvard universities and has investments in many regions of the globe including Africa, Europe and

America. In an interview with Business Courage, Ayininuola, said though there are currently 27 banks in Ghana with Energy Bank being the latest, the bank has benefitted from the uniqueness of its selling point which derives first from the ‘Energy’ in its name, “which depicts the drive, vitality and vigour with which the bank pursues customer service through the efficient use of state-of-the-art facilities to satisfy the aspirations of its customers. And that is what will set us apart. We shall also hinge our services on the timeless principle of loyalty to the customer and to all stakeholders of the bank.” However, pundits have said that part of what has continued to strengthen the bank and ensure its acceptability in Ghana derived from the assurances by Ibrahim at the flag off of the bank last year that “Energy Bank is at your doorstep; it’s your bank and is ready to do business with you to ensure that your enterprises prosper.

The purpose of bringing the bank here is to ensure that you have access to modern and convenient banking services.” Ibrahim had declared that Energy Bank would also be commissioned in Sao Tome and Principe to enable its customers have access to international banking across its branches. “Our major focus is to develop entrepreneurs within Ghana, and we believe that if only 20 to 30 high-profile entrepreneurs are developed in the country, so much employment would be created such that the Ghanaian government would have more time to face the development of infrastructure,” he had stated. It’s however, instructive to note how fast Energy Bank has effectively integrated into the Ghanaian economy in just a little above one year of operation. The bank has widened the scope of products and services rendered to its fast increasing customer base, such that aside from the normal deposit accounts, Energy Bank has introduced special products like the Energy Temple Account, Energy Kid Account, among others. It has also started Western Union collections, ECG among others. Besides, the bank has entered into strategic alliances with reputable institutions to aid financial transactions across the globe. Energy Bank also has one of the robust information technology (IT) platforms to aid seamless transactions in the entire banking industry. Built around the corporate vision of the timeless principles of loyalty, which remains the hallmark of the entire Global Fleet Group, the bank has consistently ensured that it does not profit at the expense of its partners with its core discipline and focus fashioned along the win-win principles. Besides, the bank has ensured that in its dealings, only those who can help build mutually beneficial relationship shall be worthy of its loyalty and commitment, even as it adopts simple and flexible organisation design and structure that ensures that things are done with minimal stress. Energy Bank Ghana in the past one year has also ensured that it effectively measures what is important and rewards the right results in the process of creating a visual knowledge-based workforce, a passionate people with thirst for excellence. Perhaps, one of its core values is the culture of listening hard and acting decisively to suggestions, complaints and ideas that will assist the bank in exceeding the expectations of its stakeholders as well as practice what it preaches that ensured that it does not sacrifice these guiding rules on the altar of convenience or profitability. BC

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Business Courage

Monday, July 30, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

News

Akpolobokemi

NIMASA Act was hurriedly passed to beat time’ By Francis Ezem

he Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency has said that its enabling legislation, the NIMASA Act, 2007, was hurriedly passed, which has given rise to several inadequacies and challenges in the enforcement. As part of measures to create a formidable maritime administration such as obtained in other maritime jurisdictions, the Federal Government had in 2007 merged the defunct National Maritime Authority with the former Joint Maritime Labour Industrial Council to form NIMASA, which enlarged the functions of the new agency to include port state control, flag state control as well as labour related functions, among several others. This new arrangement led to the passage of the NIMASA Act, 2007 to give a legal backing to new and enlarged agency. Board Secretary and legal adviser of the agency, Matthew Egbadon, who also played a major role during the passage of the Bill at the 6th National Assembly, said the law was passed in a hurry so that the new process would be concluded by the President Olusegun Obasanjo administration. It was gathered that there were apprehension that the fate of the new legislation might be left in the balance if it was concluded by the administration that came up with the vision, which was part of its programme of reforming the port industry. For instance, within a space of two years, the agency’s name was changed twice from the former National Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NAMASA) to its current name NIMASA, which marked its period of evolution. This development has given

rise to inadequacies in the act and therefore poses a great challenge in the enforcement of the legislation. For instance, section 24 of the act, lists the various functions of the agency such as administering the registration and licensing of ships, regulate and administer the certification of seafarers, regulate the safety of shipping as regards the construction and navigation as well as providing search and rescue. Others include to provide direction and ensuring compliance with vessel security measures, carry our air and coastal surveillance enforce and administer the provisions of Coastal and Inland Shipping Act, 2003, perform port and flag state control duties, provide maritime security and establish the procedure for the implementation of conventions of the IMO, International Labour Organisation and other international conventions and protocols. Meanwhile, section 45 of the act barred the agency from prosecuting operators that fail to comply with the nation’s maritime regulation, which the agency is by the law expected to enforce. This development had practically incapacitated the agency in the discharge of its statutory functions, a situation most foreign shipping companies and other operators have capitalised to carryout illegalities on the nation’s territorial waters. Investigation further showed that the international nature of the shipping business, which seriously frowns a detaining a ship beyond a specified period of time due to that additional huge cost that may arise as a result of detaining such a vessel. The Act that the agency is to approach the office of the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice through the Federal Ministry of Transport in order to secure approval to prosecute an offending vessel or operator, a development that is not helped by the bureaucratic nature of civil service in Nigeria. It was gathered that moves by the agency to redress this situation by writing the attorney general to be given a fiat to prosecute offending shipping companies met a brick wall when the minister turned down the request, saying he would not give the agency a blank cheque. The AGF had in turn directed that it could issue such a fiat on a case by case basis, which implies that any time the agency makes arrest; it has to apply to the minister for the fiat, which might take at least one month to be

processed since it must be routed through the minister of transport. Due to this ugly development, the agency has resorted to directing its prosecution cases to the Federal Ministry of Justice since it might take a longer time to secure the fiat even when the vessel is being detained. Operators however believe that best solution to this problem is for the National Assembly to commence an amendment of the NIMASA Act so as to give the agency powers to prosecute ships that fail to comply with the regulatory requirements as is the practice anywhere in the world. The stakeholders had also argued that NIMASA is the only port and flag state regulator in the world without the enabling statutory powers to prosecute offenders.

Oduoza

UBA to turn Zambian operations into local bank

nited Bank for Africa (UBA) at the weekend announced its decision to turn its Zambian operations into a local bank and consider a public issue of shares to meet new capital rules in Africa’s top copper producer. Kayode Fadahunsi said the bank had submitted a proposal to Zambia’s central bank on how it intended to recapitalise its unit before the December deadline and that the lender already had a capital of $20 million, necessary to become a local bank. Zambia became the latest African country to hike capital requirements to $100 million for foreign banks from $2 million, after Ghana and Kenya, as it tries to insulate its banking sectors from the effects of a weak global economy.

Foundation awards scholarship to Ondo State students

s part of its strategic contribution to the development of Ondo State, the Jacob Abiloye Foundation

is awarding scholarship of N1million to 30 students of Ondo State origin in tertiary institutions across the country. Beneficiaries of this year’s scholarship scheme were drawn from Akoko South East Local Government comprising of Ipe, Isua, Ifira, Sosan and Epinmi towns in the state. The scholarship award ceremony scheduled to hold on Saturday, August 28, 2012 at the Palace of Olupe of Ipe Land, Oba Francis Ola Apata, is one of the activities lined up for commemoration of this year’s Ipe day. Speaking on the annual scholarship award scheme, Abiloye Olutade Martins, Chairman, Mart Signature Ltd, said that the scheme was instituted on behalf Chief Jacob Abiloye, his father, a community leader and philanthropist who is committed to the welfare of Ondo people and the socioeconomic development of the State. He added that the scheme which is in its seventh year has supported the education of over 400 students and lifted manpower development as some of the beneficiaries of the scholarship scheme are now gainfully employed and contributing to the growth of the state. On the qualifying criteria, Abiloye said that students only need to demonstrate brilliance and commitment to academic excellence, which he said will be evidenced by the quality of their academic performance and that such student must be lacking in financial support to enable them draw from the scholarship scheme. “If these criteria are not there, the essence of the scholarship scheme will be defeated because we seek to promote socio-economic balance in the society by supporting underprivileged students who have shown evidence mental resourcefulness,” Abiloye said. Over the past seven years, Jacob Abiloye Foundation has spent over N15 million on its annual scholarship scheme, with this year’s edition seeing each of the 30 recipients getting N30, 000.00. Also, donation of books in the sum of N100, 000.00 will be made to neighbouring pre-secondary level institutions to encourage the culture of reading.

Union Bank records N8bn first quarter profit By Bamidele Obafemi

t appears the ongoing reforms at Union Bank of Nigeria Plc are beginning to yield results as the group’s net profit grew by 69 per cent to

Osibodu

N8 billion in the first quarter of 2012 compared to 2011. Interim report and accounts of the Bank for the year ended March 31, 2012, presented in compliance with the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS), showed that group bottom-line performance was driven by significant improvement in the profitability of the bank as net profit rose by 127.2 per cent to N6.32 billion in 2012 as against N2.78 billion in 2011. Group net profit thus spiraled upward to N7.62 billion compared with N4.51 billion in corresponding period. Earnings analysis showed a bright outlook for the bank with basic earnings per share of 117 kobo in first quarter 2012 compared with 18 kobo posted in comparable period of 2011 and a loss per share of N14.06 recorded for the full-year ended December 31, 2011. With the first quarter net earnings indicating earnings yield of more than 26 per cent at current share price on the secondary market, the report showed impressive investment outlook for the bank. Annualized, the first quarter earnings implied probable basic earnings per share of N4.68 for the full year ending December 31, 2012, showing greater prospects with earnings yield of some 106 per cent at current market consideration. The report showed that Union Bank continued to improve on the efficiency and profitability of its core banking operations as net interest margin improved from 72.9 per cent to 74 per cent. Interest income stood at N20.8 billion while net interest income was N15.33 billion. Net fee and commission income rose from N3.33 billion to N6.63 billion, representing an increase of 99 per cent. Shareholders’ funds stood at N193.84 billion in 2012 compared with deficit of N123.7 billion in first quarter of 2011. The first quarter performance also showed appreciable increase above shareholders’ funds of N186.99 billion recorded at the

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Business Courage

Monday, July 30, 2012

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News end of 2011. Total assets stood at N1.1 trillion with deposit of N565.34 billion in 2012. Funke Osibodu, Group Managing Director, Union Bank of Nigeria (UBN) Plc said, the first quarter report was indicative of the efforts by the board and management to return the bank to its place of pride as a foremost financial institution that consistently creates value for all stakeholders. She assured that with the continuing intensive restructuring being undertaken by the management, the bank has come out from the category of a bailed out bank with negative capital to one of the most promising financial institutions in Nigeria. Osibodu commended the board, staff and all stakeholders that supported the management through the recapitalization exercise against all odds. Meanwhile, analysts have said the first quarter report has rekindled the growth prospect of Union Bank, which had projected that it might pool as much as N66 billion in pre-tax profit in the course of three business years between 2012 and 2014. In a three-year forecast earlier made available to shareholders, the bank said it expected that shareholders would have as much as N47 billion in net earnings, which the board and shareholders could decide on at general meetings. Profit after tax, otherwise known as net earnings after tax or post-tax earnings, exclusively belongs to shareholders who may decide to wholly or partly distribute the sum in cash payouts or bonus shares or plough back such into the business. According to the forecasts, profit before tax is expected to be about N66 billion for the three-year period between 2012 and 2014. Profit before tax is expected to be N13.1 billion in 2012 and thereafter to N24.6 billion and N27.7 billion in 2013 and 2014 respectively. Net earnings distributable to shareholders is expected to be N9.16 billion in 2012 and subsequently rise to N17.9 billion and N19.4 billion in 2013 and 2014 respectively.

Access Bank rakes in $350m from Eurobond Offer By Festus Okoromadu

he management of Access Bank Plc last week said that it has successfully concluded the debut of its Eurobond issue which was launched to raise $350 million through a road-

Aig-Imokuede

show in Europe and USA. The bank stated that the settlement in respect of the offer took place on Wednesday July 25, 2012 while the notes were admitted to trading on the London Stock Exchange on Thursday, July 26, 2012. According to the statement, sent to the Nigerian Stock Echange, the proceeds of the offer will be applied to support the bank’s business of foreign currency earnings, particularly in the oil and gas and power sectors. It is also expected to help stabilize and strengthen the bank’s foreign currency books. According to the bank’s announcement, the offer is a Senior Unsecured Notes due in 2017 and the Notes are issued by Access Finance B. V., a subsidiary of Access Bank Plc and are irrevocably guaranteed by Access Bank Plc. Goldman Sachs International and Citigroup acted as advisers to the transaction as well as Joint Book runners for the offer.

Umar

Stakeholders canvass partnership with govt for Greenfield ports

takeholders in the port industry have canvassed for private sector, government partnership for the development of green field ports in order to decongest the over stretched ports in the country. This resolution was arrived at during a summit jointly organised by Golden Edge

Consult Limited and Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) at Rockview Hotel, Apapa, Lagos. Minister of Transport, Senator Idris Umar explained that government had recognised that partnering with the private sector was a sure way of engendering a sustained development of the maritime sector. The minister who was represented by the Deputy Director, Maritime services in the ministry, David Kumuyi explained that Nigerian Ports Authority had been partnering with other stakeholders in the industry to develop green field deep seaports at Lekki, Ibaka in Akwa Ibom State, Olokola in Ogun/Ondo states and Badagry in Lagos State. He said: “Apart from generating jobs for thousands of our young compatriots, the multiplier effects will be very visible on the economy.” Echoing him, the Managing Director of Golden Edge Consult Limited, Samuel Egbewole said that the country must harness all her potentials to develop the port sectors. He said: “It has been realised that the country is losing as much as N1.5 billion to activities of foreign ports and shipping operations due to various factors. Chief Adebayo Sarumi, former managing director of NPA also lamented the state of the existing ports, noting that the ports in the country were not sufficient enough to hold the volume of cargo coming in. Sarumi said: “Our ports are over stretched, if we must attain the expected goals, the country must shift from brown port development to green field port development. Nigeria has not utilised 10 percent of its water front.” The Managing the Director of APM Terminals Apapa Limited, Dallas Hampton also said that container throughput at the ports in Lagos is expected to hit 2 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in the next six years. In his paper ‘An overview of the Nigerian Ports’ Location as a Major Determinant of the Greenfield Port Success in Nigeria’, said the maximum capacity that the ports and Inland Container Depots (ICDs) in Lagos can accommodate is 2.2 million TEUs. Represented by the company’s Media Advisor, Bolaji Akinola, Hampton said that Lagos ports, made up of both Lagos Port Complex Apapa and Tincan Island Port Complex, were congested and relied heavily on ICDs. “Lagos ports alone handle 90 per cent of the cargo in and out of Nigeria. With container volumes forecasted for Lagos, the combine capacity of Apapa fully developed and Tincan Island Port and all the ICDs in Lagos area is expected to

be inadequate within the next six years,” he said. He said the same situation also applied to general cargo terminals. “A new port will be needed to keep up with the demand for capacity as the existing ports are surrounded by the city and cannot be further expanded,” the APM Terminals boss stated.

Robust data network, future of telecoms Etisalat

he country’s fifth Global System for Mobile Communications operator, has said robust data network by telecoms companies to offer seamless internet or data service to the growing subscriber base is the future any telecommunications market. The Director, Products and Services, Etisalat Nigeria, Lucas Dada, who said this in Lagos recently during the unveiling of a new Easy Blaze promo, said it was on the basis of the relevance of data in the current and future economy of a nation that Etisalat has continued to invest in boosting its data network. Speaking on the promo, Dada said it was introduced to reward new customers who purchase a USB and Mi-fi modem with free bonus data at the end of every 30 days for a consecutive period of six months. He said the promo allows customers to enjoy a Modem, data SIM card and 200MB free monthly data; or a Mi-Fi, data SIM and 1GB monthly data. The offer, according to him, was designed to reward its ever growing population of customers who subscribe to data packages on the Etisalat network and also to encourage new subscribers to its network. “Robust data network is the future of telecommunications. In the light of this, the new Easyblaze promotion is not only designed to encourage consumers to enjoy high speed internet at the most affordable prize, but also encourage new customers to take advantage of the different data packages on offer by the network that makes your communications lives easier.” While highlighting the mechanics of the new Easyblaze package, he said that to enjoy the promo, subscribers are required purchase a data plan of 200MB every month after the first month of activating the easyblaze data plan. This gives them 30 per cent instant bonus when they subscribe to any of our data plans from 200MB. “To participate in the promo, you have to buy either

LOCAL FLIGHT SCHEDULE Air Nigeria Los-Abj: 07.15, 11.40, 14.00, 16.30, 17.00, 17.20, 18.30 (Mon-Fri/Sat/Sun) 08.00, 12.40, 13.10, 20.00 (Fri) Abj-Los: 07.00, 09.30, 10.30, 11.15, 16.15, 19.15, 19.25, 19.35 (Mon-Fri/ Sat/Sun) 14.55, 15.15, 20.45 (Fri) 19.45, (Sun) 11.25, 13.35, 16.25 (Mon) Abj-Kano: 18.40 (Mon-Fri/Sun) Kano-Abj: 08.35 (Mon-Fri/Sat) Abj-Sok: 09.35 (Mon) 10.10 (Fri) 11.20, (Wed/Sun) Sok-Abj: 11.35 (Mon) 12.00 (Fri) 13.20, (Wed/Sun) Los-Owr: 14.25 (Tues-Fri/Sun), 12.40 (Mon/Sat) Owr-Los: 14.25, (Tues-Fri/Sun), 14.50 (Mon/Sat)

Arik Air Los-Abj: 07.15, 09.15, 10.20, 15.20, 16.20, 16.50, 18.45 (Mon-Fri/Sat/Sun) Abj-Los: 07.15, 09.40, 10.20, 12.15, 15.15, 16.15, 17.10, (Mon-Fri/Sat); 12.15, 15.15, 16.15 (Sun) Los-PH: 07.15, 11.40, 14.00, 16.10, 17.15, (Mon-Fri) 07.30, 11.40, 15.50 (Sat) 11.50, 3.50, 17.05 (Sun) Abj-PH: 07.15, 11.20, 15.30 (Mon-Fri) 07.15, 16.00 (Sat) 13.10, 16.00, (Sun) PH-Abj: 08.45, 12.50, 17.00 (Mon-Fri) 08.45, 17.30 (Sat) 14.40, 17.30 (Sun) Abj-Ben: 08.00, 12.10 (Mon-Fri/Sat) 08.55, 12.10 (Sun) Ben-Abj: 09.55, 13.30 (Mon-Fri/Sat) 10.50, 13.30 (Sun)

Aero Contractors Los-Abj: 06.50, 13.30, 16.30, 19.45 (Mon-Fri/Sat/Sun) 12.30 (Sun) 16.45 (Sat). Abj-Los: 07.30, 13.00, 19.00 (Mon-Fri/ Sat) 10.30, 14.30, 19.30 (Sun) 18.30 (Sat) Los-Ben: 07.45, 11.00, 15.30, (MonFri/Sat/Sun) 12.30 (Sun) 15.30 (MonFri/Sat/Sun) Ben-Los: 09.15, 12.30, 17.00 (MonFri/Sat/Sun) 17:00 (Sat), 14.00 (Sun)

a USB (for N5, 500) or a Mifi (for N20, 000) from any of the Etisalat Experience Centres. The USB comes with preloaded 200MB free data while the Mi-fi comes with pre-loaded 1GB free data, but to enjoy the free data for the remaining five months, you are required to purchase a minimum of 200MB (i.e. N1000) on your line within each month,” he said. The Etisalat director further disclosed that the purpose of integrating the bonuses was to add value to our customers. “Etisalat Nigeria rolled out the unique High Speed Packet Access (HSPA+) 3.75G technology offering speed that is up to 42Mbps in September 2011. This allows Etisalat subscribers to achieve high speed internet access, faster file downloads, video calling, live streaming and other related activities,” he added. BC

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Business Courage

Monday, July 30, 2012

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Global News

Cardillo

US economic growth slows in second quarter

rowth in the US economy slowed in the second quarter to an annualized pace of 1.5 per cent, as consumer spending eased. But growth in the first three months of the year was revised up to two per cent from a previous estimate of 1.9 per cent, the Commerce Department said. Previous years’ data was also revised to show the economy shrank 4.7 per cent from the start of the recession in 2007 until it ended in 2009. It had earlier been thought the economy contracted by 5.1 per cent over that period. The Commerce Department said the slowdown reflected weaker consumer spending which grew by 1.5 per cent in the second quarter, compared with 2.4 per cent growth seen in the first quarter. It also cited acceleration in imports for the slowdown in growth. Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital, said the headline growth number was “a bit better-than-expected, but still the consumption is weak”. “If the economic data next week continues [to be weak], then probably the market can keep their hopes up that [the] Fed would eventually resort to more stimulus.” Last month, the US Federal Reserve cut its forecast for economic growth in 2012 to 2.4 per cent from 2.9 per cent.

the country returned to democracy. Separately, Spain’s third largest bank reported an 80 per cent fall in net profits. CaixaBank said net profits fell to 166 million euros ($203m; £129m) during the January to June period. CaixaBank also set aside 2.7 billion euros against its property assets, in accordance with reform requirements stipulated by the government in May. Last Thursday, Spain’s biggest bank, Santander, reported that its profits halved during the period. Spain’s economy is in dire straits and economists see few signs of improvement any time soon. “Things are only going to get worse,” said Capital Economics’ Ben May, adding that “With the economy unlikely to expand any time soon, and the dire position the economy is in, Spain is probably more likely to fall deeper into recession.” Earlier last week, Spain’s borrowing costs jumped above seven per cent on worries that the debt problems being faced by several of the country’s regional governments would push Spain towards seeking a full bailout. Bond costs above seven per cent are generally considered to be unsustainable in the long run. However, the European Central Bank (ECB) president Mario Draghi said the bank would do “whatever it takes” to preserve the single currency. Spanish bond yields fell back to 6.85 per cent following MDraghi’s comments, amidst expectations that the ECB might soon intervene in the market, for instance by buying bonds.

Spain unemployment hits new high

ome 5.7 million Spaniards, equivalent to almost one in four, are now seeking work, according to official figures. The country’s unemployment rate rose to 24.6 per cent during the April to June quarter, up from 24.4 per cent during the previous quarter. That’s the highest level since 1976, soon after the death of the right-wing dictator Francisco Franco, and before

Draghi

Kenya’s sugar plans to raise $400m for new plant

enya’s biggest sugar producer, Mumias Sugar plans to raise $400 million for a new plant and cane plantation aimed at doubling

five per cent to the bottom line, Kebati said.

Kebati

profit in three years, its chief executive said at the weekend. Peter Kebati said Mumias had yet to structure the deal for its plan to produce 200,000 tonnes of sugar a year in Kenya’s coastal region, where cane matures more quickly than in the west, where it currently produces 250,000 tonnes a year. “We are thinking it will be something like, 50-70 per cent debt and 30 per cent equity,” Kebati told Reuters, adding that there was interest from development finance institutions and other foreign investors. He said raising equity would wait until after next year’s election, widely seen as a possible flashpoint. East Africa’s biggest economy produces about 500,000 of the 850,000 tonnes a year of sugar that it consumes, importing most of the rest from east and southern Africa. Kebati saw demand rising to one million tonnes a year in 2015. Mumias said costs would be 30 per cent lower through larger scale production at its planned new project via the Tana and Athi River Development Authority in the coastal region, where cane matures in 10-12 months compared to 18-20 in western Kenya. It plans a plantation of 16,000 hectares with about 4,000 large-scale out growers. It currently has 104,000 farmers with an average of 1 hectare each. Favourable weather should lift profits for the year to the end of June, he said. First half profits rose by 4.5 per cent to 1.3 billion shillings, while revenue fell five per cent to just under seven billion shillings. Its share price has gained 31 per cent in the year to date. Kebati said the quantity of cane crushed was seen rising 20 per cent to 2.4 million tonnes in the 2012/2013 (July-June) financial year. A new source of revenue from a new 22 million litres per year ethanol plant commissioned in June, is expected to account for about 10-15 per cent of total revenues in the next year, while a 16 million litre per year water plant would add at least

million bpd in September, the same as in the preliminary programme issued on July 17. The latest schedule lists 49 cargoes, unchanged. Angola dropped one cargo of Girassol crude from the programme and added an extra cargo of Nemba, a trader said, although the Nemba is thought to be a delayed August cargo. The dropping of the Girassol shipment follows a production problem that prompted operator Total to declare a force majeure, which has now been lifted.

S.Africa not keen on further rate cut Chikwanda

Zambia to require state-owned firms to list locally

ambia will require stateowned companies to list on its stock exchange, the finance minister said on Friday, a move that could help invigorate the small equity market in Africa’s top copper producer. “For governmentowned companies, government will require them to list to enhance capitalisation and afford Zambians a chance to own stock,” finance minister Alexander Chikwanda said in a statement. He also appealed to all companies of “meaningful size” to list on the Lusaka bourse. State-owned companies include the Zambia State Insurance Corporation, the National Airports Corporation and the Zambia National Broadcasting Corporation. There are currently 24 companies listed on Lusaka’s All-share index. Regulators and governments in frontier African countries are keen to draw more investors to equity markets. However, that growth has been hampered by low liquidity and the shortage of listed firms. The All-share index is down 8.2 per cent so far this year in local currency terms and down 3.5 per cent in dollar terms, making it one of the worst performers in sub-Saharan Africa.

Angolan Sept oil exports to slide in revised plan

ngola’s crude exports in September are set to fall by about 300,000 barrels per day (bpd) to the lowest since June 2011 in a final loading schedule issued last Friday. Exports are set to average 1.57

he risks to South Africa’s moderate inflation outlook are external and further interest rate easing will not be automatic, Reserve Bank Governor Gill Marcus said at the weekend. “Given the subdued domestic economy, the risks to the inflation outlook are mainly of a costpush nature,” Marcus told reporters at the Reserve Bank’s annual general meeting, referring to higher input costs. The bank has said upside risks to the inflation outlook emanate from the oil price and the rand exchange rate. The bank surprisingly cut interest rates to five percent the previous week, after keeping rates steady for 19 months, citing concern about the effect of the global economic downturn on Africa’s largest economy. It cut its inflation forecast to 5.6 per cent for 2012, from six per cent as recent prices came in below market expectations. “There has been much speculation as to whether this was a beginning of a renewed interest rate easing cycle. Further monetary easing is not automatic and will be highly dependent on global and domestic developments,” Marcus said. Marcus also said there was no evidence of interestrate rigging in South Africa, suggesting local banks would avoid the scandal currently plaguing British rivals. “Domestically there has been no evidence to suggest that there could have been manipulative practices in the determination of the local equivalent of LIBOR, the JIBAR rate, over the past decade.” Separately, British bank Barclays on Friday pledged to repair the damage to its reputation caused by its role in the interest rate rigging scandal that has rocked the banking industry. Barclays is the majority shareholder in Absa Group, South Africa’s third-largest bank. BC

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Monday, July 30, 2012

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Dr. Chidi Anyaegbu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Chisco Group, is a man with dogged determination to succeed. Armed only with a Primary School Leaving Certificate, Anyaegbu plunged into spare parts merchandising after undertaking the required tutelage from his uncle. Today, about 31 years after he started with a seed capital of N120, the spare parts business which he started in EbuteMetta, Lagos, has grown into a conglomerate, which includes real estate, oil and gas, transportation, logistics, hospitality to mention but a few.

A dogged entrepreneur

hidi Anyaegbu made spirited efforts to be numbered among the teeming number of university graduates in Nigeria, but twice, his plans did not materialise. After several years in business, the Saint Andrew’s Primary School leaver, who hails from Amichi in Nnewi South Local Government of Anambra State registered for the Evening Class Programme at the University of Lagos with an eye on LLB in Law. The purpose, he disclosed, was not for him to practice the law profession, but to add value to his life. “What I actually wanted to achieve was to add value to my knowledge and my person, not that I was aiming to practise law,” he said. However, in the course of pursuing a degree in law, Chidi

discovered that his business was going down seriously. So, faced with the predicament of not finding qualified and dedicated manpower to run his business effectively, he decided to abandon his studies and concentrate on his business. “I had to take a decision. Instead of continuing the course and become a lawyer but lose the business, I stopped the course. As someone who was used to certain standard of living, I was afraid of getting back to square one. I decided to go back to my business to acquire an alternative higher degree because more years in business means more years of experience,” he recalled. After passing out from St. Andrew’s Primary School, Amichi, in 1971, Chidi enlisted as an apprentice under

his uncle, Daniel Ofodum, who trained him in the business of motor spare parts sales. For four years, Chidi learned the trade under Ofodum’s tutelage and by 1975 when he decided to go solo, he had fully grasped the basic tricks of the business he started his own business with a seed capital of N120 given to him by Ofodum at Ebute-Metta in Lagos State. Today, Chidi said his success story cannot complete without the mention of Daniel Ofodum and one Mama Fasholati. According to him, the N120 seed money from his uncle was instrumental to him being able to rent a shop from Mama Fasholati who she said gave him the opportunity to kick start his business at Ebute Metta, Lagos. “You see, I can’t tell my complete story without mention-

ing them. I am just being honest. Maybe other people would have done what they did. I am not very sure. Mama Fasholati was the first person who rented a shop to me. She could have given it to another person who could have paid more money. She had options but she decided to give it to me and for that reason I am eternally grateful because God used her to bless me,” the Chisco boss said. Chidi started with the spare parts business he learnt from his uncle, later graduated to importation of general goods, thus, enlarging the scale of his business. As businesses continue to grow, he launched into the real estate business, acquiring properties and renting them out. Chidi, who is the Grand Patron of the Spare Parts Sellers Association owns

Anyaegbu

majority of the shops at the spare parts market in Yaba and Ebute Metta. “Over 5,000 people that deal in spare parts in Yaba and Ebute Metta, whether Igbo or Yoruba, I trained majority of them. I am the Grand Patron of the Spare Parts Sellers Association in Yaba and Ebute Metta. So, if I am not the one who trained you, then you must have been trained by the person I trained,” he boasted. But in 1981, six years into weathering the storm of entrepreneurship, Chidi decided to add another feather to his cap. He launched into the transport business, and Chisco Transport Nigeria Limited came into existence. But just like his experience in the spare parts business, transportation equally proved very challenging but Continue on pg A8

Business Courage

being a rugged businessman that he is, he decided to face the challenges head on. “When I went into the business, I discovered that it was very difficult. But I am the type of person that does not run away from challenges. So, when I saw the challenges, I told myself that I would stay around and see how it would end,” he recalled. Another challenge which Chidi had to battle with in the transport business was perception. “I kept pushing. Then, the business was like it was meant for dropouts and once you are in the business; people refer to you as a tout. Meanwhile, this is a very capital-intensive business for which people go to banks to borrow millions”. He however resolved to find solution to that challenge through various means. First, he was determined to put finesse into the business. He then came up with the initiative to introduce corporate outlook into the business. He stopped his drivers from carrying attachments (extra passengers) on transit. Besides, he also got corporate offices as terminals for Chisco Transport Limited, instead of loading passengers in the public garage as he also changed the outlook of his workers. He transformed the fierce looking and rough workers to a more presentable and civil personnel. In his pursuit for taking the business to the next level, Chidi was the first person in Nigeria to introduce transport as a course in the university. He built a transport studies department for the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka to enable people to go and study transportation in the university and become professionals. “For instance, when banks want to employ workers, they employ professionals like accountants but you cannot see such in the transport sector. Transport issue is very important in other climes but, here in Nigeria, transporters are not regarded. I felt that something

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Monday, July 30, 2012

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Fashola commends Anyaegbu (right) for successfully steering chisco transport to new height

was missing. If you go to the Nigerian labour market today, nobody can come out to say that he has a degree in transportation from any Nigerian university. This was why I built department and, within the next five years, we would be having graduates in transportation studies from the University. It would be a study in Nigerian transport system and not that of London or New York,” he stressed. He observed that the few trained personnel available in the transport sector in Nigeria today are not suitable for employment as they lack knowledge of the challenges inherent in the sector in Nigeria. “What

The Chairman and Chief Executive of Chisco Transport Nigeria Limited has invested N78m in building the faculty for transport studies at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka christened the Chidi Anyaegbu Endowment for Transport Studies

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you would find in the labour market now are graduates from Britain or American Universities, who read transport and, if you employ them, they would be telling you how transportation is done in America. But there, they don’t teach them that a bus would be coming down from a hill and Customs officers or police men would put a road block down the hill. They would not be taught about potholes on the road, or highway robbers who block the roads to rob passengers. These things don’t happen there. What they are taught there is what is obtainable in their own environments and, since we have a different transport environment from that of Europe or America, it then means that graduates of transportation from those universities cannot be of any value to our own environment. That was why I decided to build a department that would provide degree in the Nigerian transport system and I know that when students begin to graduate from the department, the Nigerian transport system would be taken to a different level because the major thing they are studying there is the ills in our transport system, and how to correct them”, he enthused. To achieve that singular but laudable goal of creating a course of study in the Nigerian university, alien to the system of education in the country, the Chairman and Chief Executive of Chisco Transport Nigeria Limited say he has invested N78m in building the faculty for

transport studies at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka christened the Chidi Anyaegbu Endowment for Transport Studies. “With this, you can employ professionals to run a transport company. Just like the bank, as a managing director is old and leaving the bank, you have young people who are experts in banking, economics, accounting and risk management ready to take over. But you don’t have such in the transport sector,” he said. Chisco also believes that when there are no professional mechanics, electricians, and you don’t have people who studied Nigerian transport, getting qualified replacements for those running the business now is often problematic. “There is this proverb by my people, that a community populated by only men is at the brink of extinction because there will be no procreation. The only people around are those who studied transport in United Kingdom where things are well planned. Unfortunately, things are not well planned here. In Nigeria, you will be a transporter, you’ll be Inspector-General of Police, road safety authority, local government chairman; you have to build your own park, you have to protect your passengers all around. To make it work, you have to do your own job and that of the government,” he said. Though Chidi confessed that the transport arm of the Chisco Group is not the cash cow in his business dynasty, he would not

also let go of it as he believes that the business is a service to humanity. “Transport business is unique in the sense that it is a means of rendering service. Therefore, you need people who like to render service, people who are committed. You must have passion and sympathy for people. Some of the staffers in Chisco Transport have been there for the past 25 years. Transport doesn’t really generate much money but we are still in it because of the service,” he stressed. Though the transport arm of his business appears to have enjoyed the best of visibility, Chidi says that other subsidiaries have been the mainstay of the group. “I started with importation of spare parts. I still do it big time. I am into real estate, hospitality and oil and gas. If transport business is that lucrative, how come that the number of operators is reducing? Most state and local governments established transport companies in the past. Where are they today? A lot of people that made cheap money elsewhere veered into transportation business, where are some of them? The true position is that, if you don’t have subsidy from elsewhere, you can’t succeed in transport business. All the successful transporters you see – Young Shall Grow, ABC etc, they all have other businesses. Transport is the heart of any economy and that is why we are begging government to fix our infrastructure and see how the economy will boom,”

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Monday, July 30, 2012

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Though Chidi Anyaegbu could not earn a degree, his love for knowledge has led him to acquire relevant knowledge, which has helped him to run his business effectively

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he said. Notwithstanding the challenge of infrastructure which has made the transport business less lucrative, Anyaegbu is determined to remain in the business as he hopes to continue to increase its market share in the industry both in Nigeria and in the West African sub-region. According to him, Chisco Transport Limited which now operates between Nigeria and Ghana is seeking to open up new routes as it plans to extend its operations to the whole sub-region in the next 10 years. At the present, Chisco transport business operates in 28 states in Nigeria, with offices in 104 points. Chidi believes that transport business will boom in Nigeria but insists that would only happen when the government pay serious attention to building and maintaining good roads in the country. “The most essential ingredient of transportation is road. We need the roads. Once we have very good road networks, it would help to reduce the suffering of the poor masses because it would reduce the depreciation of the vehicles visa-vis the huge foreign exchange we use in buying the buses and spare parts. It is our roads that are spoiling the buses, which means damaging our economy, because if our buses are durable, we would channel the money intended for new buses into other areas”, he lamented. As a long distance runner, Chidi did not rule out the possibility of going into manufac-

turing of automobiles but that he said would come only when the operating conditions for operators in the transport sector improves. “We can even go into manufacturing and use it to employ a lot of people. I know that one of the major challenges of this government is how to tackle unemployment. If the roads are maintained, transporters would, instead of spending all their money on maintaining their buses, use the money to build industries that would generate employment. If the roads are good, it would also help people to remain in the business, instead of running away from it, as it is now the case”, he said. To continue to survive in the difficult terrain where it operates, Chidi says Chisco Transport Nigeria Limited has continued to introduce innovative ideas to make its customers comfortable with its services. Despite the difficult challenges

of wear and tear due to bad roads, Chisco says the company encourages its customers by providing gadgets for security checks among other security measures. Apart from putting security gadgets, the company ascertains that its buses are equipped with tracking equipment to know when they have problem on the highway. “We have also trained our personnel on how to detect explosives. Another thing is that, we have a structure on the ground as most of the Chisco terminals have hotels where customers can sleep if the bus arrives late. These are some of the reasons why Chisco Transport Company has continued to flourish”, Chidi grinned. Apart from spare parts sales and transportation, Chidi is also into courier/logistics, hospitality, oil and gas, Bureau de change, haulage, real estate and investment among others. He owns CTN Express Lim-

ited, which is the courier arm of the business as well as Villa Angelia Guest House and Angel Park Place Hotel, both rendering services to customers, especially passengers of Chisco Transport Nigeria Limited in the hospitality industry. Chidi’s other businesses include Havillah Oil & Gas, Chisco Haulage & Keenline Investment Limited. Anyaegbu is an advocate of enduring business. He says business dynasties should outlast their founders and as a result of this belief, he has put in structures that would ensure that the Chisco Group remains a going concern even long after he would have gone. Part of his succession plan is the training of a couple of young men who will take over from him as he says; he would take the back seat in the next three to four years though he is still less than 60. But topmost of his strategy is to adequately equip some of his children to carry on from where he would stop. His son studied accounting at Cardiff University, London and came out with First Class and has also acquired a Masters degree in Logistics and Transport at Cronwell University, London and he is already deeply involved in the running of his father’s business. Though Anyaegbu could not earn a degree, his love for knowledge has led him to acquire relevant knowledge, which has helped him to run his business effectively. In the course of his business, he has attended several short Management and Entrepreneurial courses in

France, USA, Brazil, Germany, and United Kingdom. He was conferred with a Doctorate Degree in Business Administration (Honoris Causa) by Penn State University, USA in 1996. He is a Fellow, Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport (International) London and possesses the Business Certificate Award by University of Houston USA. Anyaegbu is a Fellow, Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport Nigeria, and was conferred an honorary Senior Fellowship by the Institute of Internal Auditors of Nigeria. For his philantrophy and contribution to the growth and development of his immediate community, education and economy of Nigeria, Anyaegbu has been decorated both by the government and different associations and organisations in the country. He was awarded the Distinguished Leadership Award by the Police Community Relations Committee, zone 7 of the Nigerian Police. He is a pillar of development in Anambra state Foundation and National Merit Award in Transport at the Institute of International Auditors of Nigeria. He was also awarded a certificate of Excellence for Exemplary Leadership and Integrity by the Institute of Internal Auditors of Nigeria, Awarded West African Beacon of Hope by the West African Students’ Union. He was awarded the Honorary Member of Dependable Resources of Ecumenical Centre by President Obasanjo, GCFR and he also received the prestigious Federal Government award of Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR). He was appointed as one of 100 distinguished Nigerians Bid Ambassadors for Abuja 2014 (Commonwealth Games). After more than 30 years of wheeling and dealing, Chidi is slowing down to give back to society. In 2010, he publicly presented his biography titled “You too can do It” and a Foundation to take care of his philanthropic interests. He believes that success can be achieved by anyone who sets his mind to it. BC

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10 Questions

Capital market regulators need to dev Gbade Giwa, Managing Director of Tripple Gee Plc, in this interview with Festus Okoromadu speaks on the challenges facing quoted companies in the country and the impact which the crisis in the banking sector is having on the manufacturing sector. Excerpts…

s a key player in the capital market, how far has the lull in the market affected the company’s fortunes? First of all, I will like to explain that Tripple Gee has been in the market for the past 23 years, because we were listed on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange in 1991. We were listed initially as a second tier company, but with very good performance within two years, we got elevated to the main market, the first tier sector and we’ve been there since then. Of course, we have also met the post listing requirement because you will notice that a lot of companies have been sanctioned at various times for failing to fulfil post listing requirements. We have not been sanctioned at any time since we became listed because we work by the dictates of the market rules and we do our best to obey corporate governance rules. However, the question about the recent developments in the capital market and how it affects us, I think the melt-down to me was a wakeup call because as we have found out, lots of lapses have been detected. I am confident, however, that the capital market will survive the current situation and most of the lessons that will come up would help to further deepen and strengthen the market to be able to withstand any other shocks in the future. In business, shocks do happen from time to time, so, I cannot say it will not happen again but if we put strong regulatory frame work in place, the effect will not be as devastating as it is at the moment.

Let’s be specific, how much has the current situation affected quoted companies like yours? The meltdown did affect quoted companies negatively, because most companies rely on capital from the capital market for their operations and since the meltdown, getting money from the market has been very difficult. In our own case, we were really affected because we were one of the companies that had commenced moves to raise fresh capital at the time but had to abort it because of the market situation and we have not been able to raise any fresh capital since that time up. This also is the situation with many other companies. Most of the quoted companies which were seriously in need of funds had to go elsewhere to source, some went into private equities while some took bonds from the banks. But the hope is that, the capital market should bounce back and provide the platform for quoted companies to raise funds. In our own case, we have to abort the exercise and make do with the alternative source of capital like our 10 year convertible bond. Many companies also have to shut down while others that were so desperate to survive have to bring in private equities quietly. But I think that the Stock Exchange should do something to prevent quoted companies from taking private equities like many of them did during that time. What we found out at

you will also need quite a lot of leg solders to help get things done. Look, I have seen a situation abroad, for example, where you find somebody running a sells service (buy & sell) business with about four or five outlets and have a turnover of billions of dollars. But it is absolutely difficult to do so in Nigeria because you have a situation where, am not complaining about anybody but am only saying things as they are, only last week a mail came to me, the post master wrote to me that I should come personally to pick the mail, why should it be so. You want to deliver something two to three kilometres away, you have to get you own vehicle. There are areas where there should have been service providers who you can just hire. Our environment is a bit tough. Of course, what I am saying is no excuse, but it could be really tough if you are not lucky to have good hands to help, most things you will have to do yourself. Sometimes you even attempt to give responsibilities on trust, but before you know it, it’s working against the interest of the company. These are issues, in fact, it’s one of the reasons why I went public so that one will be able to have a pool of both capital and human resources but unfortunately, it has not been so. But then, I know that the fact that I am not lucky yet doesn’t mean that I should not keep on trying.

that time was that, after taken the money, the companies would return to the market to regularize the processes and the next thing you will hear, especially those that are big names, is that XYZ has acquired 50 percent of ABC. In other instances, you have some people take the money and later go for rights issue and whether the issue was successful or not doesn’t matter because they already have the money. The next thing you see is that, one investor is buying about 80 or 90 percent of the offered stocks, this is not right. Most businesses are adopting the electronic platform, with your type of business, are you not worried that you may soon be muscled out of existence? What strategies have you adopted to ensure that Tripple Gee remains relevant in its line of business? Definitely, the e-business thing is affecting our business and this is happening in two major ways. Firstly, anything that affects the banks affects us because banks constitute 80 percent of our clientele when the going was good. Aside that, the conversion to electronic transactions also affected our business because most of our operations are based on hard copies. But like any business, no businessman should expect that a good business today will remain good for ever because life itself is dynamic. Initially, we thought it was going to be for a short time but we have since found out that it was lasting so much longer. So, we have to look at our exposure to

the banks and reduce it, and develop new product lines that are not heavily dependent on the banking sector. Printing is a very wide and diversified line of business, but we also believe that the industry is not going to continue to be in crisis, so we will definitely remain a key player in that industry. As you may have known, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) is running a policy to discourage banks from using foreign printers to print cheques. So, that in itself should mean good business for local printers. But beyond that, we also look at other products that can give us better income and that has been responsible for the improvement you have seen in our financials for the year ended in March 2012. This development is ongoing and I believe that in the coming years, it will be better off than where we are today. Looking at the figures you posted, one would have thought that a company of this status, that has been around for 23 years should have done better. Does these figures justify the long years of the existence? Well, there have been challenges, you should also remember that this is a company that started from the scratch and that we are here today is also by the grace of God. One major challenge that has confronted us is getting somebody to share our vision. Because no matter what you do, as the visioner and the person that puts the vision into action, but given the environment that we find ourselves today,

Why are you finding it difficult attracting the right human resource in your own case while others, including the multinationals are recruiting local personnel to run their businesses? What is inherently problematic about Tripple Gee? It is the environment not me. Let me give you a good analogy, if you start a business and depending on the level of your business, let’s say it is at the level of a goat and somebody somewhere within your system try to be mischievous and slice away the leg of the goat, you know it will become a big problem to you. If your level of business is at the level of an elephant and somebody decides to slice say, ten kilos of the flesh of the elephant, you know your elephant will keep walking, it can still keep going. That analogy is what is holding back many indigenous companies. I can tell you as a person that I will never advise anybody to set up a business in these our environment and go to sleep somewhere and expect returns. By the time you come back in say; six months, the business would have disappeared. But in your own case, you’ve been the CEO since inception, are you saying there are no competent hands to hand over to so that they can inject fresh ideas into the running of the company? If I tell you the long list of efforts we have made to bring in the desired people, you will be surprised. We have made so many efforts to do so, we’ve tried not less than ten times now but none has been successful. I have recruited a general

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Business Courage A11 29

Monday, July 30, 2012

velop eagle’s eye – Giwa

How would you describe the present economic situation in the country viza-viz its effect on your operations? What would you consider as the way forward? You see, the truth about human life is that, no matter what you say, there is no perfect economy anywhere in the world. If you go to India today and you ask, they will tell you there is economic crisis, if you go to America they will tell you the same thing, you go to Britain it’s the same thing you will hear. So, to that extent you can only relate the economy to the welfare or wellbeing of the citizens of that economy. You see, what we have in our country is even rather pathetic because I believe very strongly that with the resources available here; Nigerians ought to be better off. Every time I pass through the road and I

see people my heart bleeds, I feel so sorry. Even if you look at the current government, I am not sure that they have sufficient policies that could make a good change, but you see, talking of people; it’s also so not the easiest thing to manage. Effect of economic policies take time to manifest whether it’s good or bad but I think there are some good things they are doing but I believe that quite a lot can still be done. Take for example, the policy on cassava bread; to me, it’s a good policy, it good because it will provide jobs, it will also provide the challenge to improve on whatever shortcomings that could be there. And for as long as these shortcomings are not health related, if there is just taste or perception, it will change over time. I have tasted cassava bread, you can easily see the difference between cassava bread and wheat bread but it’s all a matter of taste. So, since there is no health risk, the policy should be encouraged because of its economic benefit to the society. We expect to see more of policies like this that will affect the economy for good. Look at the Lagos State policies of creating cluster automobile mechanic

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villages that will automatically take away a large number of people from the unemployment market. Such policies ought to be replicated in every state, it a pity I am not a politician but some of the ACN states are doing something similar, I equally know that Ondo State is doing something for farmers. The problem now is that while some states are embarking on policies that will help improve the economy, others are busy doing nothing and that is why, for instance, when you employ 25,000 people in Lagos in a few weeks, more than that number of persons will migrate to Lagos. So, if opportunities like this exist everywhere, the issue of migration and over stretching resources in one state would not be a serious issue. Once you are able to create employment for a good number of the society, you will see that a lot of problem would have been solved unknowingly, but if people are idle and jobless, it’s always a big problem. So if we get the policies right and of course corruption is subdued, this country can be the best place to do business. For now, I don’t want to talk about corruption because it is a major problem and I think

Printing is a very wide and diversified line of business, but we also believe that the industry is not going to continue to be in crisis, so we will definitely remain a key player in that industry

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manager, we recruited somebody who has been a general manager of a multinational thinking that he is sufficiently experienced to come and help, but it was a sorry story. I’ve tried over many times to train somebody from assistant general manager, to general manager and then to the level of executive director, almost to the level of managing director designate, it was also precarious. Very recently, that is less than three years ago, I recruited a managing director, and of course, this is somebody who has been a managing director elsewhere to come and help, but the result was the same. You see what we discovered is that, you either find somebody who is honest and committed but not competent or you see somebody who is competent but not honest. This is a huge problem. If somebody is competent but not honest and you bring him to run your business, he will actually be running his own business. Alternatively, you have somebody who is committed and honest but is not taking good decisions; he does not know his left from right. But that is not to say that I am going to stay here forever; of course, we will continue to try. Just have to explain in detail to let you know that it is not because I have entrenched myself here in the running of the company. And of course, I cannot say that I am responsible or depriving someone else from coming in to take over the running of the company for now. In short, the last attempt when we recruited the managing director and we found that he was not competent, the day we had the board meeting that he was to go, I specifically ask in that meeting whether I was in any way inhibiting his performance and he said no. Of course, being a director, we have to ask him, after he has been shown that he wasn’t performing and I did want somebody to say may be it was because of my presence, actually what we tried to do was to have somebody who can run the place well and I will just stay aside and allow him to run it for a year or two and if it’s okay, we let be but if it doesn’t work out, then I will come back. So, at that meeting, I asked him whether I was inhibiting his performance and he said no, but why he didn’t perform I don’t know. Nevertheless, we just have to keep trying and at the moment, we are on another experiment and this will be ongoing until we get it right.

what the government is doing now is nothing to write home about. Corruption is not only in the public sector, it is also neck deep in the private sector and it is all a reflection of the society. If more hands can be engaged in meaningful employment, corruption will come down. It is not that it will be eliminated but the corruption tendencies will be reduced. From a loss after tax of a little above N49m in 2011, your company has now recorded a profit after tax of N6.234m but isn’t the figure rather too small considering the kind of business you do and the market you operate in? If you look at our figures two to three years back, it’s almost double the figures you are seeing here because we’ve had over a billion turnover in the time past. Don’t forget I told you that we had 80 percent of our customers in the banks and when something happens to 80 percent of your market, definitely it will affect your bottom-line and there is nothing you can do and until you recover. So, we are just on the verge of recovery and now we are developing other products that should help mitigate such effect. We are still in the bank, but if you look at the customers that are responsible for the figures we have now, definitely bulk of them are not from the banks. All I am trying to say is that, relying solely on one segment of the economy, yes, it gave us good money in the past but this is the effect. It’s just like our country now, if tomorrow they say there is no need for oil anywhere, this country will be in trouble. The account also reveals that about N1.097m actually came into your purse through the disposal of fixed assets. Was this done in order to get funds to help in the running of the company or a case of asset stripping? The whole idea about the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS), is actually to give company’s opportunities to account for only those assets that were employed in the generation of the income for the period and if you have ideal assets either excess or as a result of changes in your production process or changes in the product line, you will dispose such assets. In some cases, some people will even dispose it at a loss but in our case, we did so at a profit. What I am saying here is that, the asset was disposed because it was no longer relevant to our production process and in meeting up with the new accounting requirement; we have to dispose them off. If you look at the account, you will see that our fix assets have also increased because we are also acquiring other assets that are relevant to our new line of business. Now, are there plans to diversify your business just like other quoted companies are now doing? That is what I am saying. You know Tripple Gee has been in the printing and printing related business from the onset, we been into packaging, we actually sidelined that because there was a law in manufacturing in the mid 80s and it was just about that time when the financial sector came on the mainstream. You know that in the 80s and early 90s, we were having about 89 banks, so there were enough customers to service, but now, we are going back to packaging and packaging related businesses just as the manufacturing sector is just about taking off again. We are definitely not sitting down folding our arms; we are also developing other things to increase our product mix. BC

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Another looming face-off over masts regulation Telecoms operators and Lagos State government are set to lock horns over the latter’s insistence on regulating the construction of base stations in the state By Adejuwon Osunnuyi

or now, it appears the last has not been heard over who has the right to regulate the activities of the telecommunications industry, especially as it concerns the siting of telecommunications masts in the country. Aside the occasional closure of telecoms Base Transceiver Stations (BTS), popularly known as base stations by various arms of government over alleged unpaid taxes, recent activities of the National Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency, (NESREA),which has shut down telecoms base stations without due reverence to the telecoms industry regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission, (NCC) has created bad blood. It would be recalled that while NASREA had few months ago sealed off a BTS belonging to MTN in Abuja for breach of environmental laws, the NCC, infuriated by the action, had moved to unseal the place, after a futile dialogue between both government agencies. The NCC, had insisted that “shutting down of the base station was wrong as it has been affecting the quality of service in and around Abuja. While NESREA had claimed its action was right, Executive ViceChairman of NCC, Dr. Eugene Juwah noted that it was improper for NESREA to disrupt telecoms services in the name of enforcement, explaining that thousands of subscribers were already affected by the action. NESREA Director-General Dr. Ngeri Benebo, on his own stressed that what NESREA did was because MTN breached environmental laws and the only way to react, was to come into the matter and enforce the Nigeria’s environmental laws. But while the dust raised by the NESREA and NCC face-off is yet to settle, another tension is already brewing as the Lagos State government, through its newly established agency known as Urban Furniture Regulatory Unit (UFRU), has said it would start to regulate the building and maintenance of telecom

masts across the state. The new agency, according to government, will regulate the activities of telecoms operators and Internet service providers in the area of mast and tower installations in the metropolis. Presently, opinions are divided on whether the former Lagos State Infrastructure Maintenance and Regulatory Agency, LASIMRA, which went underground two years ago after a court ruling over its legitimacy to regulate telecommunications in the state is the same that has now resurrected as UFRU. This is more so as Joe Igbokwe, who headed the former LASIMRA incidentally is also the head of the UFRU. A fortnight ago, Igbokwe had during a stakeholders meeting with telecoms operators, as well as those involved in using masts and antennae for transmitting voice and data services and all banks operating in the state warned that telecommunications masts which did not meet ‘installation standard’ would be pulled down. He said the measure became necessary, following the incessant collapse of masts and towers in the state, damaging property worth billions of naira and in some cases, claiming lives of people and leaving many in critical health conditions. In a similar development, the State Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Toyin Ayinde to whom Igbokwe reports had earlier revealed that UFRU had been mandated “to immediately commence its regulatory functions, while calling on the public, especially telecoms operators, ISPs and all organisations involved in the use and installations of masts and towers in the state, to take the agency seriously and comply with the regulations that would be released by UFRU soonest.” Worried by the indiscriminate installation of communications masts and towers and the perceived danger they pose to environment, Ayinde said the establishment of the UFRU was

A car smashed by a telecom mast

to address anomalies created by persons and organisations who erect masts and towers indiscriminately without regard to the Lagos State Urban and Regional Planning and Development Law 2010, and other regulations made in respect of the law. He also warned that the telecom masts would be examined and pulled down if they were found to be improperly installed. Of the 6,196 masts said to be available in the state, Engr. Titi Omo-Ettu, a private telecommunication consultant observed that only 1,599 or 25 percent of them are properties of telecommunication firms.

Igbokwe

According to Igbokwe, there was the need to remind the affected parties of the letters written to them to submit the list of all their existing structure for database and to be prepared to subject all masts and tower structure to integrity test. Speaking further, he explained that it would remain illegal for any mast, towers or antennae in the Lagos metropolis to be built without seeking permit from UFRU, the body empowered by PPUD to regulate masts and towers installation in the state while calling on them to cooperate with UFRU, to enable Lagos government serve the banks and their customers better.

According to him, “the whole essence of regulation is to forestall the incidence of mast collapse in the state, which has claimed lives and destroyed property worth billions of naira in the past.” Igbokwe warned that if the banks failed to pull down their weak masts and towers, UFRU, would embark on such exercise at the expense of the banks as it did in the past. Majority of the banks, who were present at the stakeholders’ meeting, spoke with one voice promising to cooperate with the state government in its move to save lives and property in the state. Although telecoms operators who were present also welcomed the development of regulating to save lives and property in the state, they however advised the state government to align with the Federal Government agencies such as National Environmental Standards, Regulatory and Enforcement Agency (NESREA) and others, to avoid double regulations and multiple taxation. To the telecoms operators, taking a critical look at the establishment of the UFRU for the purposes of regulating telecom masts in the state might be another way of distorting quality of service. To show their displeasure, the Association of Licensed Telecoms Operators of Nigeria, (ALTON), the umbrella body of the operators, has vowed to resist any attempt by the Lagos State Government to regulate operations of its members. Sources from within ALTON indicate that telephone operators

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are not really happy with the latest development, as they are said to be poised for showdown with the government. According to the ALTON President, Engr. Gbenga Adebayo, the operators would not hesitate to sue the state if it fails to redirect the mandate of the agency from intervening in the telecom regulation which, he said, was the statutory function of the NCC. “We have heard that after we fought a battle with the Lagos State Infrastructure Maintenance and Regulatory Agency in 2006 and won from the state’s stance to regulate telecoms infrastructure, the state has again come up with UFRU with the same objective. We shall take the state to court if it overstretches us,” he said. Adebayo recalled that in 2006, the operators sued LASIMRA, which he said the court delivered judgement in their favour. Stating that the operators would take to similar legal process for resolving an attempt by the state government to regulate their activities through a new agency. Explaining further on the 2006 legal tussle, he said: “On the main issues raised in the originating summons, the judge held that, though the LIMRA law looks innocent on the face of it, its provisions clearly seek to regulate telecoms and usurp the functions of the NCC. Adebayo, while describing Lagos State’s action as an attempt to regulate telecoms, expressed fear that if such action is allowed to stay, similar legis-

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Monday, July 30, 2012

lations would spring up in other states of the federation. Adding that with UFRU, Lagos State, apparently, must have chosen to define telecommunication masts as Urban Furniture, he noted that it is set out to go into battle under Joe Igbokwe, the same CEO who headed LASIMRA. “In consequence, the Judge declared the law unconstitutional and granted a perpetual injunction restraining the Lagos State Government and its agents from implementing the law. “Fortunately, the Lagos State Government filed an appeal against this ruling at the Appeal Court and ALTON won. By implication, the ruling is binding on all other states of the federation from enacting such law,” he revealed. Industry experts maintained that Lagos State may be doing all these to shore up its revenue by focusing on telecommunication service providers. They stated that presenting the case in the form of protecting life and property was only meant to secure public sympathy. Omo-Ettu noted that the Lagos State plan is a potential huge burden on telecom growth, quality, and cost. According to him, it is in the interest of the public to challenge Lagos State on the matter failure of which telecom operators might just commence pressure on the NCC for different telephone tariff for Lagos phone users to cover the unfair cost that the State government was going to introduce. “The Constitution empowers NCC only to regulate telecommunications and Lagos, being a big centre of telecom operation in Nigeria is bound to slow down the progress that has been made in telecommunications,” he warned. But speaking with Business Courage, Igbokwe said the operators should not construe the action of the state government as a way to shore up revenue. According to him, “These people should not tie everything to money. To them, everything we do is how to extort money from them, but that is not what we are after. We are talking about the safety of Lagos state people. We have seen a lot of calamities happen since 2001. And there is no responsible government that would just sit down and watch its people die if it is something that we can avoid. These are the issues. So that is the position of Lagos state. We need to tell them where to put these things and when they get permit, when structure collapses we know where to go to.” “These masts are collapsing...it’s not stories or hearsay, we have records of them. There is no structure that you build in this world that cannot go down. If a structure collapses, you lose the structure to the government. Hope you know that?” Igbokwe noted. Answering question on whether the agency is only concerned about the construction

of mast or the health hazard allegedly associated with it, he explained, “I can assure you, there is nothing like that. There is no danger. From researches that have been made so far it has been proved beyond reasonable doubt that there is no emission danger to people’s health. Even the phones that we use that we bring so close to our bodies are more dangerous than the base stations. If you are talking about residential areas, if you don’t have those things there you cannot use phones to communicate. Hope you understand?” The UFRU said progress is being made in the various discussions they have been having with the operators as they are seen as very critical and important partners in the state. “In summary, we are all partners in progress. We see them as very critical and important partners in Lagos state. And we need them to make Lagos state the land we all desire. “So it is not confrontation. As at now, we are making progress, we are discussing and I know that at the end of the day, we will reach compromise that everybody will be happy about. We are not here to exploit anybody. We are here to encourage them.” “We are not having any issue with the NCC as per the issuance of license to telephone operators that is the work of NCC. But when it comes to putting structures on ground in Lagos, you have to talk to Lagos state government. That’s what we are talking about. You cannot build a mast or tower in Lagos without permit from Lagos state government.” Suggesting ways of curbing a re-occurrence of overlapping functions among government agencies especially in respect of the face-off between NCC and NESREA and the expected one with the Lagos State government, the ALTON boss called for the establishment of One-Stop Shop (OSS) Permitting Model that will coordinate and harmonize the relevant government MDAs in a single way of issuing approval for telecoms site-build operations. Condemning government agencies that shut down telecoms masts without recourse, he described such action as a threat to national economy and security, even as he called for the amplification of the role of NCC as statutory regulator of telecommunications in Nigeria. According to him, there is also need for education campaigns and capacity building for MDAs as well as passage of critical national infrastructure law to guard against future occurrence of rivalry between government parastatals. But having a One-Stop Shop (OSS) permit centre for approval to build telecoms infrastructure across the country as proposed by ALTON might remain a dream as even the NCC might have technically rejected such

Juwah

Adebayo

plan. Speaking during an Information and Communication Technology session at a conference organised by the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Lagos recently, Dr. Juwah, said that since telecoms focuses more on physical infrastructure which could encroach on the responsibility of other government agencies and government at all levels, the idea may be difficult to create. The NCC boss, who was represented by the Assistant Director, Legal and Regulatory Department of the Commission, Yetunde Akinloye, said his position followed a proposal by ALTON, which seeks a single-place approach for getting all necessary permits for installation of telecoms towers and other infrastructure to avoid duplication of charges coming from government agencies and address the regulatory issues for telecoms infrastructures. Explaining why the operators’ proposal for a one-stop per-

mit centre is not feasible, Juwah said, “Although we acknowledge the challenges operators are facing, we cannot however, have a one-stop permit centre.” He said, “Telecommunications infrastructures are often physical equipment whose impact, permeates every aspects of our life and there are agencies that regulate activities in those other sectors. Section 135 of the Nigerian Communications Act 2003 also stipulates that licensees are mandated that necessary approvals are taken from different levels of government as may be required.” However, promising that the Commission would continue to collaborate with necessary agencies to ensure that other agencies’ activities do not affect telecoms expansion, he noted, “We cannot do away with collaboration because telecoms permeates every section of the society and by virtue of that, chances are that NCC will be dealing with many agencies and we are already doing that.” BC

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Business Courage

Johnson

FG targets 10 per cent broadband penetration by 2017 Stories by Kunle Azeez

he Federal Government has set a target of 10 per cent broadband penetration for the country in the next five years into 2017. This new target was disclosed by the Minister of Communications Technology, Omobola Johnson during an International Broadband Forum organised by the Nigerian Communications Commission with the theme: ‘Demand as catalysts for Broadband services’ in Lagos at the weekend. According to Johnson, the government plans to deepen broadband penetration through elaborate plans which is ongoing to attract foreign direct investments and local investors into the country’s broadband sector. The minister, who spoke on the government policy and direction for broadband development in the country, acknowledged that that broadband penetration in the country currently stands at two per cent. “Government’s intent is to purse, by the end of 2012, a five-fold increase in broadband penetration over the 2012 penetration rate. Our objectives for broadband are three folds which include accelerating the penetration of reasonably-priced broadband internet in the country; fostering broadband usage for national development; and ensuring the rapid development of broadband policy support and implementation framework,” she said. She explained that Nigeria now stands at the cusp of a data revolution, noting that there were many corollaries between where the country stand today and the contextual factors that were present in the years preceding telecoms revolution in Nigeria. According to her, all over the world, broadband or universal access to broadband was becoming a significant indicator of development and competitive among nations. Broadband, according to her,

has the potential of enabling entire new industries and introducing significant efficiencies into education delivery, health care provision, energy management, public safety, government/citizen interaction and the overall organisation and dissemination of knowledge. “It is, therefore, no wonder that empirical data that tell us that ever 10 per cent increase in access to broadband in developing countries results in a commensurate 1.38 per cent in Gross Domestic Product. These compelling statistics should provide the impetus to meet broadband demand and, if it is not there, create that demand,” she said. The minister, however, noted that in Nigeria, there was already clear evidence of demand for broadband in many facets of the country’s economic and social lives. “There are very few aspects of our lives that are not impacted or affected by the internet. So, the demand is there. In fact, so is the supply when you take into considerations the internet capacity that we have landed on our shores. The challenge, for us in Nigeria, is not the proverbial last mile but the last hundreds of miles, taking that landed capacity to cities, communities, institutions and homes,” she added. She also listed a number of strategies which the government intended using to ensure that broadband infrastructures and services are made available in the country. According to her, “The government will provide periodic review of the broadband penetration targets in order to determine further action for broadband expansion; promote both supply, and demand side policies that create incentives for broadband backbone and access network deployment; facilitate broadband development and deployment, leveraging on existing universal service frameworks; and promote eGovernment and other e-services that would foster broadband usages,” among others.

Oxygen Broadband targets 20,000 at Computer Village

xygen Broadband Networks, a Wireless Fidelity, Wi-Fi, service provider Nigeria is set to provide full delivery of its wireless service to over 20, 000 businesses and individuals at Nigeria’s premier Information and Communication Technology market, Computer Village located in the heart of Ikeja, Lagos State. The IT company, which started business recently said it will deliver extensive internet services to stakeholders in the

Monday, July 30, 2012

Computer Village who require fast and reliable internet service through Wi-Fi connectivity. The ICT hub, said to have over N10 billion turnover monthly, presently has over 60 access points over 1km2 radius of Computer Village with over 6,000 unique devices registered on the network and Oxygen Broadband is set to leverage this potential for its businesses. Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Oxygen Broadband Networks, Wande Adalemo, described the company’s offer as first-of-its-kind metropolitan Wi-Fi network in Nigeria, aimed at delivering mass market broadband to the Nigerian market through two unique packages known as “Oxygen For You” and “Oxygen For Business”. Explaining the two offers, Adalemo said ‘Oxygen For You’ provides users with limitless access, to surf the net, listen, watch and download at Oxygen Wi-Fi hot zones while ‘Oxygen For Business’ provides businesses with the opportunity to enhance their retail environment by partnering with Oxygen Broadband Networks. He disclosed that over the next few months, Oxygen Broadband networks will spread its coverage to major streets, Estates, Stadiums, Shopping malls, Offices and Business areas around Lagos state. Oxygen Broadband Networks has partnered with Main One Cable Company, the first submarine cable company offering open access wholesales broadband capacity in West Africa and VDT Nigeria’s leading Metro access provider with presence in 26 states. VDT is a Main One partner. Oxygen is also partnered with Loop21 Mobile Net a software development company located in Austria, which offers a well developed Wi-Fi hot-spot software and location based services that covers complete areas. “Presently, Oxygen’s business partner includes the Nigerian Interbank Settlement System, which is at the forefront of providing alternative payment to cash, providing reliable data channel, effective operations and ensuring higher POS availability. “NIBSS turned to Oxygen

Adalemo

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Broadband Networks to provide always-on reliable and extremely affordable connectivity for their entire providers POS terminals. “UNA Collective, which is media partners of Oxygen Broadband Networks, will be in charge of Oxygen’s digital and marketing strategy while another company called Bar Baric, is the online social aggregator on twitter,” he said. While stating that Oxygen pocket-friendly vouchers were available at designed spots at Computer Village and environs, Adalemo disclosed that in the next few weeks, recharging for data plan online on the Quick Teller platform of Interswitch would be introduced for customers’ convenience.

Samsung supports Nigeria’s software industry

eading electronics and mobile phone maker, Samsung Electronics West Africa has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with CoCreation Hub (Cchub) Nigeria’s foremost technology innovation centre. The agreement will allow Samsung to provide expertise, resource, capacity building, and marketing support to local mobile apps developers in addition to availing them the right platforms to create awareness for and monetize their creations. As part of the partnership, Samsung recently sponsored the June 2012 edition of CcHUB’s ‘Developers Parapo’, where Nigerian web and mobile application developers network to share and gain knowledge required for starting and growing viable businesses. Head, Product Marketing, Samsung Electronics West Africa, Mr. Jude Omozegie, who officially opened the event with a presentation entitled Samsung Business Content, expressed Samsung’s delight at the opportunity provided by the platform to interface with young developers whose contributions are critically needed to drive local participation in the blossoming mobile application industry. “Learning, entertainment, social networking, health services, financial services etc are going mobile. As a result, applications have emerged as a fundamental part of this evolution, as more and more consumers want to access relevant content on the go on their mobile devices,” he said. Omozegie added that Samsung is in tune with this dynamics, and recognises the pivotal role of mobile phones in facilitating innovationbased services, which he said, explains why Samsung is

currently the topmost Smartphone manufacturer in the world. “At Samsung, our core business is apps and technology solutions, but we still rely on different stakeholders to help provide content; hence our interest in building a strong mutually beneficial relationship with Cchub. Samsung recognises the need for partnership because fastgrowing portfolios of mobile applications would be fuelled by efficient developer ecosystem.” The Head, Content and Services, Samsung South Africa, Mr. Thabiet Allie, urged the young developers to strive to combine marketing and business perspectives with their technology or coding background, stressing that this is key to their emerging successful entrepreneurs. “The essence of apps developing business is recognising a niche market and matching it with a solution,” he said. Chief Executive Officer,

Omozegie

Co-Creation Hub, Mr. Bosun Tijani, in his remarks commended Samsung for supporting the community, which according to him had availed local technology entrepreneurs of the opportunity to meet face to face with Samsung to explore mutually beneficial opportunities. “Our relationship with Samsung will enable members acquire new skills and leverage Samsung’s extensive reach in the market to promote their solutions. Opportunities available to members under this partnership will include the possibility of preloading their apps on Samsung devices and retailing them at Samsung apps store, among others,” he added. Tijani implored other corporate organisations to follow in the footsteps of Samsung by partnering with local technology entrepreneurs and developers for the overall benefit of mobile phone users. Samsung and CcHUB also used the event to announce an Ideation Challenge for developers to develop concepts for localized content in the Nigeria market. BC

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage A15 33

Monday, July 30, 2012

Reflections with Semiu Salamii 07043280449 sms only

Aviation sector and the emergency call

ast week Friday, the Technical and Administrative Review Panel on Domestic Airlines (TARPDA), set up by the Federal Government in the wake of the June 3 2012, Dana Air mishap submitted its report to the Minister of Aviation, Stella Oduah. The Group Captain John Obakpolor (rtd)-led panel recommended for a declaration of state of emergency in the industry to facilitate the immediate fixing of the moribund operational facilities and guarantee air transport safety in the country. The panel warned that to do otherwise might pose serious danger to air travel passengers’ lives and undermine the integrity of the nation’s aviation sector in the global air travel industry. In addition, it canvassed the setting up of several flag carriers and national carrier with the latter having a strong public sector participation in order to consolidate on the achievements of the ongoing reforms in the sector. “In summary, we have recommended that the Federal Government should immediately declare an Aviation Sector Emergency Programme (ASEP) which will fast-track the process of transforming the old and outdated infrastructure in the sector, particularly airport terminals that were built in the 70’s, ensure sustained

provision and maintenance of air navigation and meteorological equipment and all other requirements for moving the aviation sector to catch up with International best practices. We have also recommended the setting up of several flag carriers and National Carrier but with strong public sector participation in the form of the shareholding”, Obakpolor said. The Panel said that it based its recommendations on information gathered from all relevant authorities, airline operators and stakeholders across the country and that in order to ensure its quality, a web portal was opened for collation of technical safety records from all the airline operators. In a way, the recommendations of the panel are germane, but it is by no means the first time such recommendations aimed at strengthening the aviation industry and ensure safety in the Nigerian airspace would be made. Similar panel was instituted in the wake of the strings of air crashes that claimed several lives in 2006 by the government of former president Olusegun Obasanjo. Obasanjo even went as far as organising a public debate and roundtable, which he personally anchored, at the end of which several far-reaching decisions were taken. Part of the decisions reached then, was the establishment of the Avia-

tion Stabilisation Fund to assist the industry and the entire sector. However, whether the initiative has achieved any significant result is a matter for public debate. In Nigeria, it is of common knowledge that sound policy decisions have never been of any challenge. The major stumbling block remains the fact that, most of these decisions are rarely implemented and even when they are, most of the implementations are done haphazardly, such that at the end, the primary objectives are often defeated. In most cases, it’s either the people charged with the responsibility of implementing the recommendations lack the requisite spirit, commitment and zeal or they are influenced by corruptive tendencies, which have often become the bane of most government policies and actions. I t is in view of this that I find the current panel’s revelation that key decision makers in the aviation ministry, like it applies in other arms of governments, are often times not available when critical decisions that sometimes bothers on safety are needed to be taken. The panel stressed that ceaseless travels by professionals, particularly in the aviation ministry at most critical times undermines the reforms and smooth running of the ministry.“We observed that on several occasions that we required the input

of major stakeholders in the industry they were all in Abuja attending one Inquiry, Public Hearing, Probe or other meetings with numerous National Assembly Committees, EFCC, CIB and so on. “Besides the large financial drain occasioned by these travels and hearings, a lot of work remains on hold as major decisions are never taken due to the absence of the principal officers for weeks every month. These also have their safety implications as daily decisions relating to operations and regulatory functions are largely delayed or interfered with. We believe the Federal Government must define its priorities and insist that all arms of government work in harmony”, the Panel noted. Though the situation is not limited to the aviation sector alone, the critical position of the sector to both the individual and national concern is enough to suggest that the government and all other stakeholders in the industry shºould raise the stakes. Like the minister pledged to study and implement the panel’s recommendation, it is my considered opinion that nothing but a strict implementation of the report should be carried out to minimise the incidences of air mishaps and its attendant loss of precious lives and properties. This is not the time for rhetoric; it is a time that calls for serious introspection and ensure that we do what is right once and for all. BC

BELIEVABILITY INDEX

Conoil Plc: Striving to deliver value in a complex marketplace By Festus Okoromadu

he proposed payment of N2.50 per share to shareholders of Conoil Plc as dividend for the financial ended December 31, 2011 can be said to be as a fulfilment of a promise. The proposed dividend is an improvement on the N2.00 per share paid-out to shareholders in 2010. Hence, it can be safely argued that is in line with the oil marketing company’s board’s vow to pursue strategies that will deliver growth in earnings and dividend to shareholders. It will be recalled that the chairman the board of directors of Conoil Plc, Dr. Mike Adenuga (Jnr) while addressing shareholders at the company’s 41st Annual General Meeting (AGM) held at the Premier Hotel, Ibadan on Friday, June 24, 2011 had assured investors of consistent annual returns on investment. “Let me, at this juncture; reiterate the Board’s commitment, in partnership with management, to sustain its policy of consistent annual return on investment while implementing further performance enhancing initiatives that will result in attractive profit level and cash generation”. Elaborating on the growth strategy, the chairman said, “For several years now, our strategy has remained constant, proven and effective. It was designed to improve returns and grow value for shareholders by focusing on our market strengths without jeopardizing the development of our portfolio”. Re-echoing his confidence on the ability of the deployed strategy to deliver value, he concluded, that, “We are confident that this is the right path to succeed in today’s turbulent industry environment”. The company’s financials for the year under review shows that the strategy has worked, at least so far. Turnover grew by 53.11 per cent to N157.512 billion from N102.88 billion in 2010, while profit before tax and profit after tax both grew by 9.15 and 5.7 per cent each from N4.021 billion

to N4.389 billion and from N2.790 billion to N2.949 billion respectively. While earnings per share of the stock during the period grew by just 5.7 per cent to 425k from 402k, the return on earnings in terms of dividend rose by 25 per cent. Similarly, distributing agents who are equally stakeholders in the company had a fair share of the cake too, as cost of sales appreciated by 59.83 per cent to N142.55 billion from N89.192 billion. However, profit and loss account reveals that the company’s earnings from other sources which include subsidiaries and interest and similar charges depreciated during the year. The figures show that other income for the period stood at N239.482 million compared with N580.312 million posted during the corresponding period, representing 58.73 per cent decline. Following same trend, interest and similar income depreciated to 89.69 per cent to N48.899 million from N474.060 million in 2010. This performance, however, falls short of the chairman’s promise to investors when he said, “Looking to 2011, we are focused on the execution of our growth projects and generating additional integration value”. It is obvious that additional integration value is yet to bear positive fruits. Meanwhile, in spite of the proposed increased dividend as well as growth in the audited accounts for period under review which is in agreement with the chairman’s value creation projection, the investing community appeals to be thinking otherwise. This is evident in the unimpressive performance of the equity in the stock market in terms of share price movement. Available statistics show that an investor who bought into value creation preposition of Dr. Adenuga (Jnr) and bought the shares of the company from the market would have lost money and may continue to do so. Analysis of the equity’s pricing from

Adenuga Jnr

the day preposition agenda was made shows that the stock has shed N13.01 or 52.06 per cent between then and Thursday July 26, 2012. Data obtained from the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) reveals that the share price of Conoil Plc closed trading on Friday, June 24, 2011 when the company held its 41st AGM at N40.00. The price trend analysis shows that the stock’s price remained stable at the price only one trading day thereafter (that was on Monday June 27, 2011), by the next trading day, Tuesday 28, the stock lost N2.00 and had since then, commenced a southward movement, which climaxed in a rock bottom price of N19.61 on Tuesday, June 19, 2012. Although some market analysts have attributed consistent depreciation in the equity’s share price since mid April, 2012 to the company’s failure to submit its 2011 financial result to the market on time, there are indications that the release of the audited account to the market could not sustain the gains recorded in anticipation for too long a time. For instance, prior to the release of the account to the market

on July 18, 2012, the stock commenced its depreciation drive from July 10, 2012 with the price moving upward to N20.54 from N19.61 where it had remained stable for over two weeks. The Northward movement of the equity continued until Wednesday, July 24, 2012 when it rose to N27.00 after which it started another downward journey, shedding as much as N1.31 on Thursday to close at N24.99 cumulating in the loss of N2.01 within two days. Thus, while Adenuga may have kept to his promise of growing returns to stakeholders and has actually done so by increasing dividend pay-out, the market has proven to have a different perception. However, when compared with its peers in the subsector where the stock is listed on the Daily Official List of the NSE, Conoil has done fairly well in terms of price movement and its impact on investors. Year to date price movement, the January 2012 to Thursday July 26, 2012 shows that while Conoil has shed 20.67 per cent of its price, Oando has lost 37.5 per cent to Mobil’s 6.65 per cent, Total’s 29.29 per cent, and Forte Oil’s 2.67 per cent respectively. By implication, the sector has had its fair share of the crisis in the capital market, thus inhibiting the actualisation of the promises of corporate executives as well as investors. It is obvious that when Dr. Adenuga (Jnr) declared his optimistic position about the 2011 financial year that, “There is nothing yet to suggest early respite from the current economic hardship or the volatile conditions in the downstream oil sector. However, we are positive that your company is in good shape and continues to make progress towards delivering superior shareholders value”, he was determined to act on his words. And he did promised, but the external factors outside his control in the market place may have robbed investors the value created comparatively. BC

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Business Courage

Morison raises hope of returning to profitability By Festus Okoromadu

he prospect of Morison Industries Plc return to profitability at the end of the current financial brightened last weekend when the company published its unaudited financial account for the second quartered June 30, 2012. The company which consistently recorded losses in recent years presented an account which shows a profit after tax of N9.97 million as against a loss after tax of N24.99 million in similar period of 2011 representing 139.9 per cent growth. The unaudited results further reveal that revenue generation equally increased by 108.4 per cent during the period under review to N199.26 million compared with N95.59 million in 2011. Similarly, other operating income during the period grew to N3.784 million from N1.592 million representing 137.7 per cent. The company’s balance sheet equally showed improved performance as total current assets grew by 12.8 per cent to N200 million compared with a total liability which rose by 1.3 per cent to N119.896 million, indicating the application of a strategy of deliberately enhancing assets while reducing liability. Although there was a decline in the valuation of plant, property and equipment of 1.6 per cent during the second quarter of 2012, compared with similar period of 2011. Net assets increased by 3.2 per cent. Better still, the results show that the company now have more working capital to run its operations with minimal stress. Working capital, the account says, rose to N80.121 million

Popoola, MD, Morison Industries Plc

compared with N58.99 milion in 2011. There are indications that so much efficient and result oriented personals were recruited to boost the company’s performance during the period and this must have accounted for the rise in its administrative cost by 85.3 per cent to N62.299 million, compared with the N33.622 it spent in 2011. It is believe that if the current trend continues, the company may as well write off the N26.137 million loss after tax posted for the year ended December 31, 2011 and go ahead to record profits. It will be recalled that the company posted a loss after tax of N33.127 million in 2009 before it was reduced to N26.137 million in 2010. It is however not certain if the company will be able to reward shareholders by the end of the current year. The last time shareholders were paid dividend was in 2009 when 0.5 kobo per share was distributed. BC

By Tayo Adeleke

capitalization opened at N7.35trillion appreciating by 0.87 percent to close at N7.41trillion. On the other hand, Bloomberg NSE 30 index rose by 6.19 points (0.57percent), Bloomberg NSE Consumer Goods Index also rose by 0.03 points. While Bloomberg NSE Banking Index depreciated by -0.93 points (0.27percent), Bloomberg NSE Insurance Index depreciated by -1.23 points (0.95 percent), and also Bloomberg NSE Oil/ Gas Index depreciated by -1.51 points (0.84percent). Twenty-two (22) equities appreciated in prices during the week, lower than thirty (30) of the preceding week. Dangote Cement Plc. led on the gainers table by 4.17percent to gain N5.00 followed by Unilever Nigeria Plc. by 3.14 percent to gain N1.07. Other price gainers in the Top 10 category include. On the loser side, thirty-seven (37) stocks depreciated in prices higher than thirty (30) of the preceding week. Lafarge Wapco Plc. led on the price losers table, dropping by -4.99 percent to shed N2.22 followed by Flour Mills Nigeria Plc. with a loss of N2.20 or -4.00 percent. Other price losers in the Top 10 category include. The Rights issue of 2,677,079,286 ordinary shares of 50kobo each at par of Niger Insurance Plc. was listed on the Daily Official List of The Exchange on Friday, 27th July 2012. By this action, the Issued Shares of the Company is now 8,413,677,757 shares. BC

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

As the fuel subsidy scam unravels

Investors splash N11.87bn on shares ast week, on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), investors in shares spent a total of N11.87 billion on 1.639 billion units of company equities. However, the figure represents a marginal decrease compared to N11.897 billion spent on1.634 billion shares the preceding week in 22,412 deals. Meanwhile, the Financial Services sector was the most traded during the week as was the case penultimate week. The sector accounted for 1.058 billion shares valued at N6.821 billion traded in 11,583 deals. The Healthcare sector followed with 335.039 million shares valued at N189.010 million traded in 357 deals. The Banking subsector of the Financial Services sector was the most active during the week (measured by turnover volume); with 950.455 million shares worth N6.754 billion exchanged by investors in 11,023 deals. Volume in the Banking subsector was largely driven by activity in the shares of Fidelity Bank Plc., First Bank of Nigeria Plc. and Zenith Bank Plc. Trading in the shares of the three banks accounted for 451.761 million shares, representing 47.53 percent, 42.67percent and 27.57percent of the turnover recorded by the subsector, sector and total turnover for the week, respectively. The NSE All-Share Index (ASI) opened at 23,095.31 appreciating by 197.49 points (0.86 percent) to close on Friday at 23,292.80. Similarly, the bourse market

Monday, July 30, 2012

s the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission begins the trial of some 20 individuals and companies for the massive fraud perpetrated in the operations of the fuel subsidy regime, one begins to wonder if Nigeria can ever be free from the stranglehold of a rapacious elite that have perfected the art of simply converting state resources to personal use. Of course it is no surprise that those who have been docked by the EFCC include the sons of prominent Nigerians such as the Chairman of the ruling People’s Democratic Party, Alhaji Bamanga Tukur; one of his predecessors, Dr Ahmadu Ali and billionaire businessman, Alhaji Abdul Azeez Arisekola Alao. Who else would be in such vantage position to get the juicy fuel importation contrast even when they were not qualified? Yours truly? Certainly not. The facts that have so far emerged from the EFCC investigation are to say the least shocking given the impunity through which this “mother of all scams” was executed. Indeed it is a serious insult on the intelligence of the 99 per cent of Nigerians that are merely struggle to survive. Even before the EFCC’s indictment, the probes conducted by the House of Representatives ad hoc Committee, had established that the fuel subsidy regime was one huge fraud and had raised doubts about whether the subsidy payment were required ab intio. The follow up probe by the AigImoukhuede, the findings of which were announced last week only confirmed what we already know - that people got billions of naira in subsidy payments for fuel not even imported and that the government had been cheated of some N382bn in just one year. For once, Nigerians saw that substantial effort was made investigating the matter and building what appears to be a strong case against the suspects. The committee’s report makes an interesting read as it shows how these companies claimed to have imported fuel with ships that have been long scuttled or non-existent in the first place. Others claimed to have imported fuel with ships that were found to be in China at the same time these criminals claimed they were discharging into Lagos depots. There were also situations where fuel was discharged in storage facilities, and after the proper documentation is done, the cargoe is back loaded into the same vessels which goes offshore to a so-called mother ship and returns with the same shipment a few days later to process another set of claims. This scam was obviously made possible with the connivance staff of the Petroleum Products Pricing and Regulatory agency (PPPRA) and the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR), men of the Nigerian Navy, Nigeria Custom, banker, independent auditors and others involved in the various stages of fuel importation. These people acted in breach of all

the guidelines governing the fuel import programme and it appears that some of the fuel import contracts were contrived to create vast amounts of money from thin air. Now looking at the popular figures involved, it is clear that the PDP chairman now has a moral burden hanging on his neck. In any civilised society, his resignation should by now be receiving attention by the party executives, because his son cannot be standing trial for looting the national treasury, while he is leading the party in power. This is a case of where the father must also answer for the sins of the son. The case of the Ali’s is even more odious, in that the father of the accused was the PPPRA chairman when the contracts were awarded to the son. If this is not a case of material conflict of interest, I wonder what is. Ali senior, should be in the dock as well. The searchlight should also be beamed on the banks which made all these possible. It was obvious that monies were coming into their coffers that could not be really accounted for or were supported by forged documents, making them accomplices in some of the cases. I will also express some disappointment with the indictment of respected audit firm, Akintola Williams Delloite. The House committee had earlier recommended the blacklisting of the company for complicity in the subsidy fraud, which it protested, but I guess they company’s management will have to live with the sullying fact that a director is now on trial in relation to the scam. This company should charged as an entity. It cannot claim that the director acted alone Invariably, the trail of the subsidy fraudsters presents the Goodluck Jonathan administration with an opportunity to show that it is determined to fight corruption though many Nigerian believe it doesn’t have the liver. It is bad enough that government has to import fuel and pay subsidies to marketers due to the dearth of local refining capacity. That these payments are being pocketed by some corporate vampires adds salt to the injury. But one only hope that the arraignment in full glare of the media is not just to hang some scapegoats out in the sun to dry to appease frayed nerves. What will make sense is if the EFCC, at the end of the day, secures the necessary convictions and the judges impose the appropriate punishment. Unfortunately, the Attorney General of the Federation by missing the initial arraignment has already cast doubt about government’s willingness to diligently prosecute these cases, despite all the noise made so far. Nigerians note that certain former governors arraigned for looting over three years ago are still walking free, while the only bank managing director convicted for looting bank funds got a six month sentence, spent in a high-brow hospital in Lagos. We must not be taken for another ride in this case.BC BC

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage A17 35

Monday, July 30, 2012

Multiverse expands operations to Abuja, Nassarawa By Festus Okoromadu

he management of Multiverse Resources Plc has announced plans aimed at consolidating its efforts towards becoming the market leader in the mining sub-sector. To this effect, the company has expanded its quarry business to the Abuja market with the setting up of 1.2 million metric ton per annual plant in Apo Village as well as expands into solid mineral extraction in Nassarawa State. In a notification sent to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) last week, the company stated that it is currently expanding its operations into exploration of solid minerals namely, Lead Ore (Galena). According to the company, it has acquired an exploration License EL 187 dully endorsed by Cadastre Office in line

Ayedun Fasina, MD Multiverse Resources Plc

with the Nigerian Minerals and Mining Acts 2007. To further strengthen its operation, the company said it is currently seeking strategic alliance with multinationals com-

panies off-shore to provide the needed technical knowhow, leverage cheaper and longer term funds to expand its operations with the resultant improvement in profitability. It will be recalled that the company’s financial accounts recently sent to the NSE reveals a declining trend in profitability. For instance, profit after tax for the year ended December 31, 2011 shows a dropped by 40.68 per cent to N25.569 million compared with N43.104 million reported in the corresponding period of 2010. The unaudited account for the first quarter ended March 31, 2012 continued the same trend dropping by 60.41 per cent to N14 miilion from N35 million in similar period of 2011. BC

Mainstreet Bank again?

n January this year, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), rolled out the Cash-Lite Lagos policy, aimed at reducing physical cash transactions while encouraging more electronicbased transactions (payments for goods, services, transfers etc). Good idea you would say, but ironically, it is becoming a source of pain to many. The problem is not with the policy per see, but with the way some of the banks are implementing it. The policy which was designed to enhance and quicken transaction has probably become a nightmare for many bank customers, but the situation appears worse in Mainstreet Bank, where it has become obvious that the necessary infrastructure for the execution of the project are lacking. Although, it is becoming a common thing to spot customers loitering around bank ATMs to carry out their transactions, the case of Mainstreet Bank is becoming exceptional. When any passerby does not see people standing before the bank’s ATMs, the immediate impression an uninformed person will get is that the bank is efficient; but that would be far from the truth. Mystery shopper’s findings showed that the main reason why there is constant absence of queues at the Mainstreet Bank’s ATMs locations is because they are almost always not working. A customer of the bank who has an account with the headquarter branch on Broad Street told Mystery Shopper that the ATMs work only in the morning before 12 noon and that is even when they chose to work. Incidentally, a visit to the Head-Office branch by Mystery Shopper to verify the authenticity of the allega-

tion confirms it. It was observed during the visit that customers who came in the morning before 11.00a.m were able to collect money through the ATM. Some customers were however turned back as the machine could not dispense the amount they requested, claiming that cash was not sufficient for disbursement. But customers who came later in the afternoon were unable to access cash from the machine as it usually relay “the transaction is invalid” to customers. A customer, who was ignorant of the timing, dived across the road on Broad Street to the branch opposite the head-office but he met the same brick wall. Looking troubled, the young-man went into the bank to try and cash some money over the counter, but he was told to wait as the systems were down. Another customer who was asked to wait for network to comeup, told Mystery Shopper that he spent over three hours waiting that day to no avail. He stated that the most annoying part of the issue was that, while he was waiting, customers like him who have friends in the bank, went through the back doors to withdraw money. Yet, another customer said that for over one week, he has continuously tried to get money through the bank’s ATM machine to no avail. He pointed out that until he became aware through observation that collecting money from the bank can only be guaranteed when it is done in the morning hours, he constantly ran into problems with the bank. Another customer of the bank who claimed to have been operating with the bank for a couple of years said he has remained with the bank because he runs a salary account with it. “My boss is still loyal to the bank despite the

Market Indicators for Week Ended 27-07-12 All-Share Index 23,292.80 points Market Capitalisation N7,413,714,368,395.11 Stock Updates GAINERS COMPANY

Tuedor-Matthew

fact that they offer inefficient services, so I have no option”. He told Mystery Shopper that he usually withdraws his salary once it is paid. “Why should a bank’s internet almost always be faulty. Is that how to do business in this competitive environment?” he asked rhetorically. According to this old customer of the bank, prior to the CBN’s intervention in the affairs of the bank, the situation was better. He alleged that the nationalisation of the bank has aggravated its problems, wondering why a bank that is under the direct supervision of CBN and AMCON cannot have access to the necessary facilities to operate efficiently. Mystery Shopper’s investigation however revealed that a good number of the bank’s customers are still loyal despite the poor service been rendered. Meanwhile, a good number are hoping that Faith Tuedor-Matthew, Group Managing Director/CEO and her colleagues will take necessary actions to turnaround the fortune of the bank before it is sold to some investors at a giveaway price because of inefficiency in service delivery. BC

OPENING PRICE

CLOSING PRICE

CHANGE

AGLEVENT

1.00

1.05

5.00

EVANSMED

1.00

1.05

5.00

IKEJAHOTEL

1.23

1.29

4.88

HONYFLOUR

1.85

1.94

4.86

PORTPAINT

2.74

2.87

4.74

LOSERS COMPANY

OPENING PRICE

CLOSING PRICE

CHANGE

ETERNA

2.40

2.28

FIDSON

0.80

0.76

-5.00 -5.00

ARBICO

20.14

19.14

-4.97

RTBRISCOE

1.55

1.49

-3.87

DANGSUGAR

4.70

4.53

-3.62

Inter-Bank Rates TENOR

RATE%(PREV) 19-July-2012

RATE%(CURR) 26-July-2012

OBB

14.0000 – 14.5000

14.0000 – 15.5000

CALL

14.0000 – 14.7500

16.7500 – 19.0000

Primary Market Auction TENOR 182-Days

AMOUNT (N’mn) 65,403

RATE (%) 14.89

DATE 12-July-12

91-Days

30,159

13.75

12-July-12

364-Days

60,000

15.60

28-June-12

Open Market Operation TENOR

AMOUNT (N’mn)

RATE (%)

DATE

364-Days

60,000

15.60

26-July-12

182-Days

60,000

14.94

26-July-12

91-Days

34,889

13.95

26-July-12

Wholesale Dutch Auction System AMOUNT OFFERED

AMOUNT SOLD

DATE

$250m

MARKET DEMAND $217m

$217m

25-July-12

$300m

23-July-12

A18 36

Business Courage

Monday, July 30, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

STOCKWATCH Stock Exchange weekly equities summary as at Friday, July 27, 2012 SECURITY

PRICE (=N=)

AGRICULTURE/AGRO-ALLIED Crop Production FTN COCOA PROCESSORS PLC NT OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. 31.39 PRESCO PLC 15.35 Fishing/Hunting/Trapping ELLAH LAKES PLC. NT Livestock/Animal Specialties LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC. 1.37 CONGLOMERATES Diversified Industries A.G. LEVENTIS NIGERIA PLC. 1.05 CHELLARAMS PLC. NT JOHN HOLT PLC. 5.32 S C O A NIG. PLC. NT U A C N PLC. 33.50 CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Building Construction ARBICO PLC. 19.14 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. 27.63 ROADS NIG PLC. 7.21 Real Estate Development PINNACLE POINT GROUP PLC NT UACN PROPERTY DEV 9.85 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 NT Beverages--Brewers/Distillers CHAMPION BREW. PLC. NT GOLDEN GUINEA BREW. PLC. NT GUINNESS NIG PLC 240.00 INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. 5.68 JOS INT. BREWERIES PLC. NT NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. 117.00 PREMIER BREWERIES PLC NT Beverages--Non-Alcoholic 7-UP BOTTLING COMP. PLC. 40.12 Food Products BIG TREAT PLC NT DANGOTE FLOUR MILLS PLC 6.50 DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC 4.53 FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. 52.80 HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC 1.94 MULTI-TREX INTEGRATED FOODS PLC NT N NIG. FLOUR MILLS PLC. NT NATIONAL SALT CO. NIG. PLC 4.50 P S MANDRIDES & CO PLC. NT U T C NIG. PLC. 0.57 UNION DICON SALT PLC. NT Food Products--Diversified CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. 14.80 NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. 500.00 Household Durables BETA GLASS CO PLC. 10.55 NIGERIAN ENAMELWARE PLC. NT VITAFOAM NIG PLC. 3.30 VONO PRODUCTS PLC. 2.88 Personal/Household Products P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. 25.00 UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. 34.07 Textiles/Apparel UNITED NIG. TEXTILES PLC. NT FINANCIAL SERVICES Banking ACCESS BANK PLC. 7.60 DIAMOND BANK PLC 2.46 ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INC. 10.30 FIDELITY BANK PLC 1.38 FIRST BANK OF NIG. PLC 11.45 FIRST CITY MONUMENT BANK PLC. 3.20 GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. 17.02 SKYE BANK PLC 2.97 STANBIC IBTC BANK PLC 7.00 STERLING BANK PLC. 1.13 U B A PLC 4.26 UNION BANK NIG.PLC. 4.00 UNITY BANK PLC 0.50 WEMA BANK PLC. 0.50 ZENITH BANK PLC 14.50 Insurance Carriers, Brokers & Services AFRICAN ALLIANCE INS. COY. PLC 0.50 AIICO INSURANCE PLC. 0.50 CONFIDENCE INSURANCE PLC NT CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INS. PLC NT CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC 0.65 CORNERSTONE INS. COY. PLC. NT CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED INS. PLC 1.49 EQUITY ASSURANCE PLC. NT GOLDLINK INSURANCE PLC NT GREAT NIGERIAN INSURANCE PLC NT GUINEA INSURANCE PLC. NT INTERCONTINENTAL WAPIC INS. PLC NT INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INS. PLC 0.50 INVESTMENT AND ALLIED ARN. NT LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. 0.50 LAW UNION AND ROCK INS. PLC. 0.50 LINKAGE ASSURANCE PLC 0.50 MANSARD INSURANCE PLC 1.60 MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC. 0.50 N.E.M INSURANCE CO (NIG) PLC. 0.50 NIGER INSURANCE CO. PLC. 0.53 OASIS INSURANCE PLC NT PRESTIGE ASSURANCE CO. PLC. 0.50 REGENCY ALLIANCE INS. COY PLC NT SOVEREIGN TRUST INSURANCE PLC NT STACO INSURANCE PLC NT STANDARD ALLIANCE INS. PLC. NT UNIC INSURANCE PLC. NT UNITY KAPITAL ASSURANCE PLC NT UNIVERSAL INS. COMPANY PLC 0.50 Mortgage Carriers, Brokers &Services ABBEY BUILDING SOCIETY PLC NT ASO SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC NT RESORT SAVINGS & LOANS PLC 0.50 UNION HOMES SAVINGS&LOANS PLC NT Other Financial Institutions CRUSADER ( NIG) PLC. 0.50 DEAP CAPITAL MGT & TRUST PLC NT NIG SEW. MACH. MAN. CO. PLC. NT NIGERIA ENERYGY SECTOR FUND NT ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC. 0.58 HEALTHCARE Healthcare Providers EKOCORP PLC. NT Medical Equipment UNION DIAGNOSTIC &CLINICAL PLC 0.50 Medical Supplies MORISON INDUSTRIES PLC. NT Pharmaceuticals EVANS MEDICAL PLC. 1.05 FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC 0.76 GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER PLC 25.50 MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. 1.69 NEIMETH INT PHARM PLC 0.76

NOTE NT=Not Traded on 27-07-12

QUANTITY

52 WK HIGH

52 WK LOW

SHARES OUTSTANDING

EPS

MOV. (%)

NT 23 780 117 535

0.64 33.00 16.15

0.50 14.53 6.40

2 200 000 000 476 955 000 1 000 000 000

0.00 8.23 1.69

N/A 0.00 -0.26

NT 31.39 15.39

4.26

60 000 000

0.00

N/A

133 715

1.49

0.48

1 199 549 736

0.04

-8.05

1.49

379 216 NT 69 NT 206 945

2.54 7.60 8.82 8.28 42.50

0.74 6.43 5.32 5.52 28.70

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

0.21 0.30 0.00 0.35 7.03

9.38 N/A N/A N/A N/A

0.96 NT 5.32 NT 34.40

53 507 NT

26.00 95.49

19.14 95.49

148 500 000 196 876 000

0.00 4.50

N/A N/A

NT NT

7.97 14.46

2.46 14.46

920 573 765 125 000 000

0.00 0.00

N/A N/A

NT NT

22 261 666

62.26 8.69

21.55 3.01

1 200 000 000 20 000 000

4.11 3.66

0.00 N/A

27.63 7.21

NT 10 730

7.28 20.15

7.28 8.82

1 375 000 000

0.00 1.66

N/A 0.31

NT 9.82

NT NT

100.00 50.00

97.00 50.00

20 000 000 250 019 781

11.75 0.75

N/A N/A

100.00 50.00

0.50

4 772 528 415

0.00

N/A

0.50

NT NT 366 621 53 740 NT 1 686 939 NT

4.63 0.68 255.00 7.10 3.20 117.00 0.97

2.23 0.68 186.00 5.23 2.26 72.50 0.93

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

0.00 0.03 12.04 0.07 0.00 5.21 0.00

N/A N/A 0.25 N/A N/A 0.86 N/A

3.29 NT 239.40 5.98 NT 116.00 NT

3 312

48.91

38.31

640 590 362

3.15

N/A

40.12

NT 1 191 631 2 921 227 183 234 368 005 NT NT 644 860 NT 409 418 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 54.87 2.01 1.21 21.48 3.86 5.66 0.50 4.22

2 000 000 000 5 000 000 000 12 000 000 000 1 879 210 666 7 930 197 658 3 722 493 620 178 200 000 40 000 000 1 233 375 004 360 000 000

0.00 0.00 0.59 3.60 0.36 0.00 1.20 0.81 0.16 1.13 0.00

N/A -1.52 -4.63 -4.00 -3.48 N/A N/A -4.05 N/A 7.55 N/A

NT 6.60 4.75 55.00 2.01 NT 21.48 4.69 NT 0.53 NT

135 294 100 795

29.20 500.00

9.15 367.83

3 129 188 160 792 656 250

1.24 21.21

-0.47 0.00

14.87 500.00

505 339 NT 118 742 50

15.58 42.66 6.75 3.67

12.08 36.19 3.20 2.66

63 360 000 819 000 000 300 000 001

3.90 1.61 0.54 0.00

N/A N/A 2.80 N/A

10.55 NT 3.21 2.88

2 306 785 1 692 746

43.50 34.07

22.07 22.56

3 176 381 636 3 783 296 250

0.51 1.32

-3.85 3.24

26.00 33.00

0.97

0.57

843 284 027

0.00

N/A

3 220 203 8 387 439 877 060 6 475 239 9 898 487 446 937 7 617 722 1 208 394 7 653 252 9 962 116 4 801 173 1 401 903 30 372 18 906 261 14 900 261

11.10 9.27 17.05 3.20 16.12 8.30 17.02 10.17 11.38 2.91 4.26 10.07 1.92 1.75 16.70

4.76 2.01 9.97 1.14 8.50 3.20 11.64 2.88 6.40 0.97 1.64 1.96 0.50 0.50 11.70

17 888 251 479 14 475 243 105 9 873 614 567 28 974 797 023 32 632 084 358 16 271 192 202 29 146 482 209 13 219 334 676 18 750 000 000 12 563 091 545 32 334 693 693 13 509 726 273 33 675 576 085 12 821 249 880 31 396 493 790

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

1.33 6.03 -0.10 3.76 -2.14 -3.03 1.01 -1.00 0.00 -5.04 1.91 -6.10 0.00 0.00 -1.36

7.50 2.32 10.31 1.33 11.70 3.30 16.85 3.00 7.00 1.19 4.18 4.26 0.50 0.50 14.70

1 000 564 540 NT NT 661 500 NT 103 210 NT NT NT NT NT 77 778 NT 40 000 5 000 350 200 2 711 225 30 000 187 000 17 500 NT 29 800 NT NT NT NT NT NT 30 000

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

0.50 0.50 0.61 0.50 0.65 0.50 1.55 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.95 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50 0.50

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

0.00 0.09 0.00 0.06 0.10 0.01 0.27 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.06 0.00 0.02 0.02 0.10 0.00 0.08 0.10 0.25 0.01 0.02 0.11 0.03 0.10 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.01 0.00

N/A 0.00 N/A N/A 0.00 0.00 0.00 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A 0.00 N/A N/A N/A 0.00 0.00 N/A 0.00 N/A N/A -1.96 N/A 0.00 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

0.50 0.50 NT NT 0.67 NT 1.50 0.50 0.56 NT 0.50 0.72 0.50 NT 0.50 NT 0.50 1.60 0.50 0.50 0.53 NT 0.51 NT 0.50 NT NT NT NT 0.50

NT NT 4 200 000 NT

1.51 0.50 0.50 0.99

1.33 0.50 0.50 0.50

4 200 000 000 8 679 148 676 13 175 732 404 7 812 500 000

0.03 0.10 0.00 0.00

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

NT 0.50 NT NT

2 000 NT NT NT 390 081

0.61 2.02 0.15 552.20 0.66

0.50 2.02 0.15 555.20 0.50

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

0.00 0.00 0.00 12.68 0.05

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

0.50 NT NT NT 0.58

5.31

5.05

498 600 908

0.12

N/A

2 000

0.50

3 553 138 528

0.00

N/A

0.50

10.54

7.39

152 178 750

0.00

N/A

336 220 702 736 38 557 439 500 154 125

1.45 3.20 29.65 5.61 1.96

0.50 0.76 19.30 1.90 0.76

486 473 856 1 500 000 000 956 701 192 980 000 000 1 925 717 268

0.19 0.27 2.41 0.21 0.09

5.00 -3.80 1.39 -1.17 -3.80

1.00 0.79 25.15 1.71 0.79

N/A=Not Avialable

SECURITY

PRICE (=N=)

NIGERIA-GERMAN CHEMICALS PLC. NT PHARMA-DEKO PLC. NT ICT Computer Based Systems COURTEVILLE BUSINESS SLN PLC 0.50 Computers and Peripherals OMATEK VENTURES PLC NT Electronic Communications Services MTECH COMMUNICATIONS PLC NT IT Services NCR (NIGERIA) PLC. 13.12 TRIPPLE GEE AND COMPANY PLC. 2.41 Processing Systems CHAMS PLC 0.50 E-TRANZACT INTERNATIONAL PLC 4.04 Telecommunications Carriers STARCOMMS PLC 0.50 Telecommunications Services IHS NIGERIA PLC PREF SHARES NT IHS PLC NT MTI PLC NT INDUSTRIAL GOODS Building Materials AFRICAN PAINTS (NIGERIA) PLC. NT ASHAKA CEM PLC 9.30 BERGER PAINTS PLC 8.12 CAP PLC 24.10 CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC 4.48 DANGOTE CEMENT PLC 120.00 DN MEYER PLC. NT FIRST ALUMINIUM NIGERIA PLC 0.50 IPWA PLC NT LAFARGE WAPCO PLC. 42.28 PAINTS & COATINGS MANFACT.PLC NT PORTLAND PAINTS & PRDT NIG. PLC 2.87 PREMIER PAINTS PLC. NT Electronic and Electrical Products AUSTIN LAZ & COMPANY PLC NT CUTIX PLC. 1.66 NIGERIAN WIRE AND CABLE PLC. NT NIGERIAN WIRE IND. PLC 2.58 Packaging/Containers ABPLAST PRODUCTS PLC. NT AVON CROWNCAPS & CONTAINERS NT GREIF NIGERIA PLC NT NIG. BAGS MANFACT. COY PLC 1.79 POLY PRODUCTS (NIG) PLC. NT W A GLASS IND. PLC. NT Tools and Machinery NIGERIAN ROPES PLC NT STOKVIS NIG PLC. NT NATURAL RESOURCES Chemicals B.O.C. GASES PLC. 5.70 Metals ALUMACO PLC NT ALUMINIUM EXTRUSION IND. PLC. 10.55 Non-Metallic Mineral Mining MULTIVERSE PLC 0.50 Paper/Forest Products HALLMARK PAPER PRODUCTS PLC. NT THOMAS WYATT NIG. PLC. 1.38 OIL AND GAS Energy Equipment and Services JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SER. PLC 0.63 Integrated Oil and Gas Services OANDO PLC 13.95 Petroleum &Petroleum Products Distributors AFROIL PLC NT BECO PETROLEUM PRODUCT PLC 0.50 CONOIL PLC 25.50 ETERNA PLC. 2.28 FORTE OIL PLC. 11.29 MOBIL OIL NIG PLC. 125.00 MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC. 32.29 TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. 133.00 SERVICES Advertising AFROMEDIA PLC 0.50 Apparel Retailers LENNARDS (NIG) PLC. NT Automobile/Auto Part Retailers R T BRISCOE PLC. 1.49 Courier/Freight/Delivery RED STAR EXPRESS PLC 3.00 TRANS-NATIONWIDE EXPRESS PLC. NT Employment Solutions C & I LEASING PLC. 0.50 Hospitality TANTALIZERS PLC 0.50 Hotels/Lodging CAPITAL HOTEL PLC NT IKEJA HOTEL PLC 1.29 TOURIST COMPANY OF NIGERIA PLC. NT TRANSNATIONAL CORP. OF NIG.PLC 1.05 Media/Entertainment DAAR COMMUNICATIONS PLC NT Printing/Publishing ACADEMY PRESS PLC. 1.64 LEARN AFRICA PLC 1.99 STUDIO PRESS (NIG) PLC. NT UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC. 4.35 Road Transportation ABC TRANSPORT PLCPLC NT Specialty INTERLINKED TECHNOLOGIES PLC NT SECURE ELECTRONIC TECH.PLC NT Transport-Related Services AIRLINE SERVICES AND LOGISTICS PLC 1.81 NIG. AVIATION HANDLING COY PLC 6.00 ASeM CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Property Management SMART PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC NT CONSUMER GOODS Food Products MCNICHOLS PLC 1.02 Personal/Household Products ROKANA INDUSTRIES PLC. NT HEALTHCARE Pharmaceuticals AFRIK PHARMACEUTICALS PLC. NT INDUSTRIAL GOODS Electronic and Electrical Products ADSWITCH PLC. 1.63 NATURAL RESOURCES Metals W.A. ALUM. PRODUCTS PLC. NT OIL AND GAS Petroleum & Petroleum Products Distributors ANINO INTERNATIONAL PLC. NT CAPITAL OIL PLC 0.50 RAK UNITY PET. COMP. PLC. NT UNION VENTURES & PET. PLC NT SERVICES Apparel Retailers UDEOFSON GARMENT FACT. NIG PLC NT Food/Drug Retailers and Wholesalers JULI PLC. 2.76 ETF’s Sector ETF NEWGOLD EXCHANGE TRADED FUND 2 638.00

QUANTITY

52 WK HIGH

52 WK LOW

SHARES OUTSTANDING

EPS

MOV. (%)

NT NT

12.91 4.28

8.59 3.50

153 786 012 100 000 000

0.00 0.00

N/A N/A

8.59 NT

500

0.52

0.50

2 960 000 000

0.08

0.00

0.50

2 941 789 472

0.04

N/A

0.91

4 966 666 668

0.00

N/A

650 3 850

18.28 3.59

3.25 2.41

108 000 000 492 825 600

1.82 0.00

N/A N/A

13.12 NT

500 000 100

0.50 4.97

0.50 4.04

4 620 600 000 4 200 000 000

0.00 0.00

N/A N/A

0.50 4.04

10 000

1.47

0.50

6 878 478 096

0.00

N/A

0.50

NT NT NT

2.25 3.50 0.50

0.00 2.46 0.50

4 400 000 000 4 893 594 400

0.00 0.00 0.00

N/A N/A N/A

NT NT NT

NT 545 598 10 300 49 600 921 699 761 998 NT 100 000 NT 390 610 NT 50 000 NT

3.32 30.00 12.57 43.98 15.49 132.51 3.51 0.75 0.99 48.05 3.36 5.28 13.40

2.86 9.10 8.06 14.50 4.20 95.00 0.93 0.50 0.91 37.00 0.52 2.27 10.93

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

0.00 1.60 0.15 1.76 1.83 8.01 0.00 0.00 0.00 1.74 0.16 0.39 0.00

N/A -0.75 0.00 0.00 5.41 4.35 N/A N/A N/A -4.99 N/A N/A N/A

NT 9.37 8.12 24.10 4.25 115.00 NT 0.50 NT 44.50 2.27 NT NT

NT 24 204 NT 15 000

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 4.40 N/A N/A

NT 1.59 NT 2.58

NT NT NT 1 034 665 NT NT

3.98 6.91 15.03 3.60 1.86 0.63

3.98 3.10 13.28 1.60 1.05 0.63

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

0.00 0.15 0.90 0.22 0.30 0.00

N/A N/A N/A -0.56 N/A N/A

NT 2.42 12.98 1.80 NT NT

NT NT

8.69 0.14

8.26 0.14

265 409 280 2 918 000

0.00 0.00

N/A N/A

8.26 NT

105 000

9.20

5.70

393 120 000

0.93

0.00

5.70

NT 50

7.75 12.39

7.75 10.55

75 600 000 100 000 000

0.00 0.13

N/A N/A

NT 10.55

822 500

0.50

4 058 989 226

0.00

N/A

0.50

NT 1 000

3.22 1.38

50 000 000 220 000 000

0.04 0.00

N/A N/A

NT 1.38

3 742 754

1.87

0.54

6 262 701 716

0.16

-4.55

0.66

1 551 895

78.97

13.95

2 262 711 568

7.47

-5.04

14.69

NT 500 205 355 92 482 163 025 7 516 3 060 16 806

20.71 0.70 41.89 5.59 28.69 163.50 72.00 240.00

20.71 0.50 19.61 2.28 9.12 125.00 32.29 125.00

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

0.00 0.00 5.98 0.88 0.00 13.06 4.08 11.22

N/A N/A 2.25 -17.99 0.00 0.00 N/A 0.00

NT 0.50 24.94 2.78 11.29 125.00 32.29 133.00

500

0.72

0.50

4 035 497 307

0.00

N/A

0.50

3.48

0.19

N/A

454 129

3.65

1.12

980 294 400

0.22

-12.87

1.71

248 200 NT

3.67 6.40

2.11 3.28

589 496 310 198 819 763

0.63 0.26

2.74 N/A

2.92 3.23

100

1.64

0.85

865 808 912

0.20

N/A

0.50

0.75

0.50

3 211 627 907

0.01

N/A

0.50

NT 4 468 935 NT 8 607 653

8.00 2.59 4.76 1.82

3.00 1.17 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 17.27 N/A -4.55

NT 1.10 NT 1.10

0.50

0.48

8 000 000 000

0.00

N/A

0.50

1 442 272 350 NT 176 099

3.68 8.00 2.92 6.82

1.64 1.99 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 0.00

1.64 1.99 NT 4.35

0.80

0.50

1 507 000 000

0.00

N/A

NT NT

5.15 1.88

4.90 0.80

236 699 511 5 631 539 736

0.00 0.03

N/A N/A

NT NT

2 195 797 960

2.78 11.75

1.54 5.15

634 000 000 1 230 468 750

0.38 0.81

N/A 3.45

1.65 5.80

1.43

1.04

45 000 000

0.12

N/A

500

1.02

201 885 335

0.00

N/A

1.02

0.60

30 000 000

0.00

N/A

0.50

24 898 850

0.00

N/A

14 000

1.88

1.63

125 005 250

0.00

N/A

1.63

0.50

6 650 000

0.00

N/A

NT 10 000 NT NT

0.21 0.50 0.31 0.63

24 200 000 5 857 500 000 15 000 000 98 600 000

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

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

NT 0.50 NT NT

0.50

20 000 000

0.00

N/A

16 000

3.05

2.76

194 700 000

0.00

N/A

2.76

100

2 706

2 422

0.00

2 638.00

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage A19 37

Monday, July 30, 2012

Bagco Plc: Commitment to shareholders satisfaction amid liquidity challenges company as well increased its gross profit by 26.3 per cent, from N4.71 billion to N5.95 billion in 2012. However, the management could neither cut down nor reduce its administrative expenses during the review year. Cost of sales increased by N4.4 billion to N18.28 billion in 2012 while distribution/ admin expenses stood at N3.183 billion from N2.95 billion in 2011. As a result, profit after tax growth suffered for it and dropped to N35.4 per cent in 2012, from 190 per cent growth in 2011.

By Tayo Adeleke

t appears the Nigerian Bag Manufacturing Company’s (BAGCO), strategic decision to invest in the state-of-theart production technology has started paying off, as the company’s turnover has been growing in recent time. The increased level of productivity and efficiency achieved with the new technology may have contributed to the improvement in the company’s performance in the financial year ended March 2012. This was complimented by improved product quality, which helped it to stimulate higher demand for the Bagco brand and consequently increased sales by 30 per cent in 2012. The company is also showing a sense of accountability to its shareholders, as it has fulfilled its promise to reward them at the end of every financial year. For five consecutive years, those who invested in the shares of Bagco Plc have been rewarded with dividend, with more than N3.1 billion paid as dividend in the last five years. However, it seems the company has not found the right strategy to solve the liquidity challenges facing it. This particular area has been its weak point for over five years. Currently, the Bagco Group has a capacity of 30 million sacks per month, which are used to package powder and granular Industrial products (Cement, Fertilizer, Flour, Sugar, Salt, Detergent, etc) and Open Market products (Shopping Bags, Agricultural BAGCO Plc Financial Data

products etc). Also, additional products such as webbing (Webby), sewing yarns, small cases (Trabag) and flexible intermediates bulk containers (Jumbo bags) have been added to the Bagco Group product portfolio. Bagco Morpack (Nigeria) Limited (Morpack) was established in Lagos in 2007 to manufacture printed and laminated flexible films to provide packaging for the Food, Confectionary and Detergent markets. Further expansion in Morpack in 2009 has added Blown film to its range of products. Strategy In order to consolidate its export market, the company has embarked on expansion drive aimed at increasing its production capacity by an additional 10 million bags per months. To accommodate the additional flexibility of its required capacity, the company has reviewed its shift pattern and reverted to its traditional two shifts, three gang system during the year. Value for investors Investors in Bagco Plc have received returns on their investment in the recent time as the Shareholders get better dividend at the end of financial year ended March 31, 2012 with the proposed payment of 14 kobo per share. The proposed dividend is one kobo higher than the 13 kobo paid in the corresponding period of 2011. Analysis of the results shows that earnings per share

2012=N=(‘Nm)

2011=N=(‘Nm)

2010=N=(‘Nm)

Turnover

24,222

18,585

16,143

Cost of sales

18,277

13,876

12,444

Gross Profit

5,945

4,709

3699

Profit Before Taxation

2,126

1,499

874

Profit After Taxation

1,388

1,025

353

Shareholders fund

9,766

9,186

8,969

Interest Expenses

989

584

727

13,567

11,921

10,405

Current Liabilities

9,426

10,754

7,931

Trade Debtors

2,214

1,306

721

Trade Creditors

2,500

1,454

998

Current Asset

Profitability Ratios Return on Equity (%)

14.21

11.16

3.94

Gross profit Margin (%)

24.54

25.34

5.41

Profit Margin (%)

5.73

5.52

2.19

Pretax Profit Margin (%)

8.78

8.07

5.41 1.31

Liquidity Ratios Current Ratio

1.44

1.11

Quick Ratio

0.44

0.33

0.55

Debtors(No of days)

33.36

25.65

16.3

Creditors(No of days)

49.93

38.25

29.27

Earnings per Share(kobo)

16.5

Dividend Per Share(kobo)

Investment Ratios

George Coumantarus, Chairman Bagco Plc

grew by 44.1 per cent to 22.33 kobo in 2012, compared to 16.50 kobo. Breakdown of the dividend history shows that the company paid five kobo in 2008 and 2009 and 13 kobo in both 2010 and 2011. This implies that, investors have received 50 kobo, higher than 49.5 kobo earnings in five years. Performance The company recorded a growth in its top line measuring indices in the last five years and recorded the highest in its audited financial year ended March 31, 2012. Year on year, since 2008, the company’s sales have been growing. It moved from N11.8 billion in 2008 to N18.56 billion in 2010 before it grew by 30 per cent to N24.22 billion in 2012. Further analysis on the company’s turnover in the last five years shows that in 2009, turnover increased by 24.18 per cent before 2010’s 10.06 per cent to N16.14 billion. Then, financial year 2011 finished with 15.13 per cent rise which was improved upon in 2012. According to its chairman, John Coumantaros, the significant improvement in performance was largely driven by enhanced operational efficiency and rigorous cost and financial discipline. The

Liquidity One more crucial area that the management of Bagco Plc needs to improve on is its liquidity. Though, both current and quick ratios had a significant improvement from previous year’s figure, they fell short of the accepted rule of thumb. The current ratio which expresses the relative relationship between current assets and current liabilities stood at 1.44:1 in 2012 compared with 1.11:1 in 2011. Similarly, quick ratio (acid -test ratio) which measures the debt-paying capacity of a company also dropped from the preceding years figure. Quick ratios stood at 0.44:1, compared with 0.33:1 figure recorded in 2011 and 1.5:1 minimum value for a company with strong assets base. Trade debtors grew from N1.31 billion in 2011 to N2.21 billion (representing N900 million increases) as trade creditors also increased in 2012 by 71.9 per cent to close at N2.5 billion from N1.31 billion. Further analysis shows that the company allowed its debtors to make payment within 33 days (debtors number of days) while the company was permitted to pay its creditors within 50 days. Consequently, working capital increased from N1.17 billion in 2011 to N5.42 billion at end of financial year ended

March 2012.

Assets Quality A review of the balance sheet of the company as at 31 March 2012 showed that stocks improved by 13.5 per cent from N8.33 billion to N9.45 billion, while fixed assets stood at N10.79 billion compared with N11.19 billion in 2011. There is a modest increase in assets that can readily be converted to cash to pay outstanding debts and cover liabilities without having to sell fixed assets (Current Assets), having increased from N11.92 billion in 2011 to N13.57 billion in 2012. Similarly, the company recorded a growth in net assets from N9.19 billion to N9.77 billion in 2012. Meanwhile, current liabilities dropped by 12.4 per cent during the year under review. The figure fell to N9.43 billion from N10.75 billion 2011. Profitability ratios Return on equity (ROE) outgrown the previous year by 3.05 basis points. The figure moved from 11.16 per cent in the preceding year to 14.21 per cent in 2011. Both pretax profit margin and profit after tax margin in 2011 also improved over the 2011 figures as pre-tax profit margin went up to 8.78 per cent, from 8.07 per cent while net profit margin rose to 5.73 per cent. The company’s total cost as a percentage of gross earnings stood at 75.48 per cent, up from 74.66 per cent recorded in the corresponding period of 2011. A growth in the percentage of operating expenses, cost of sales, interest charge, general and administrative costs were key components in the bottom line unimpressive figure in the face of impressed revenues.

Prospects It is clear that the management of Bagco Plc is struggling to improve on its liquidity position as a result of huge trade creditors and differed taxation. Having realised this, analysts are of the opinion that the management should start thinking of workable strategy to keep current liabilities low. However, with full implementation of its strategic plans, the Chairman assures the company stakeholders of bright future. “I would like to reassure shareholders that Bagco’s future remains bright and promising. We shall continue to explore opportunities to grow our business by adding more production capability” he noted. BC

Monday, July 30, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Monday, July 30, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Law & Justice nationalmirrorlaw@yahoo.com

“Justice, however, takes into consideration social factors, that is to say that justice admits of the existence of inequalities.”

JUSTICECHUKWUDIFU OPUTA, RETIRED JUSTICE OF SUPREME COURT OF NIGERIA.

Law as instrument of change:

Lawyers, stakeholders advocate war against corruption

N’Assembly lacks power to give us constitution –Uche 42

Extra-judicial killings: Remembering the Apo six 44

India’s Supreme Court bans tourism in tiger parks 41

Aloma Mukhtar

KAYODE KETEFE

awyers and stakeholders in the country have advocated that corruption be made a strict liability offence in the statutes. Notable legal practitioners who canvased this view, among others, include a lecturer of International Law and Jurisprudence at the University of Lagos, Prof. Akin Oyebode and human rights activist, Mr. Bamidele Aturu. Oyebode, a former Vice-Chancellor, University of Ado Ekiti told National Mirror recently that the country might need to try the Chinese formula, that is, imposing execution by firing squad on those who steal from the public purse. According to him, ‘’It seems corruption has become the fundamental objective and directive of the state policy in this country. Corruption is threatening to subvert the entire polity. If we do not stop corruption, corruption will stop Nigeria.’’ Aturu, on the other hand, suggested that the Federal Government should shift the onus of proof on the accused and make corruption a strict liability offence, adding that this must be put in the Constitution.

AGF Bello Adoke

INDEED, THE PROBLEM OF CORRUPTION IN NIGERIA HAS DEFIED ALL ATTEMPTS TO CURTAIL IT NOT TO TALK OF REMOVING IT Besides, he argued that the lawmakers should amend the law to provide that in every charge of corruption, it must be determined within three months. ‘’If we can give time limit for election petitions, why can’t we do the same for corruption?” he queried. Indeed, the problem of corruption in Nigeria has defied all attempts to curtail it, not to talk of removing it. It keeps ravaging the country in all aspects, hardly sparing even the sectors considered critical or sacred. It is usually the case that when the law enforcement system itself is corrupt, when the bureaucracy is opaque, rather than being transparent and those charged with supervisory and oversight functions are themselves enmeshed in corruption, people give up that the battle might never be won. However, there are many cases that had

been considered too corrupt for positive change in the past which have managed to triumph over or at least reduced the pangs of the scourge to the barest minimum to move their nations forward. Examples of these countries include Hong Kong, Sinapore and China and to a lesser extent, Ghana. One common denominator in methodology employed by these countries is strict law that is rigorously enforced. Hong Kong, for instance, used a three-pronged approach through enforcement of the law, prevention and education to turn the tide against corruption. Many stakeholders have, at one time or the other, called on Nigeria too, to exploit the instrumentality of tough legislation to check the menace of corruption. In China today, corruption is punishable with death! Although this has not removed the scourge, there is considerable reduction in corruption in that land. At present, Nigeria has a plethora of laws which between themselves aim at curbing corruption in all its ramifications. The basic foundations of these laws are two, viz, Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences CONTINUED ON PAGE 40

Law & Justice

Monday, July 30, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

‘Corruption charges should be determined within three months’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 39 Commission Act, 2000 which seeks to prohibit official corruption and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) Act, 2002 which seeks to extirpate most forms of economic crimes by any person whatsoever. Other laws which feature provisions on corrupt practices to a varying extent under Nigerian law are: Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act, 2004 Investigation of Assets (Public Officers and other Persons) Decree of 1988; the Corrupt Practices Decree of 1975; the Public Officer (Special Provisions) Decree of 1976; Recovery of Public Property Decree 1984; Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Act 1990; and the Public Complaint Commission Act, 1990. Others were, the Code of Conduct Bureau and Tribunal Act, 1990; the Criminal Code Act, 1990; the Penal Code Act 1990; Recovery of Public Property (Special Military Tribunal) Act, 1990; Failed Bank Act, No 16, 1996; Advance Fee Fraud and other Related Offences Act, No 13, 1995; the Failed Banks (Recovery of Debts and Financial Malpractices) Act, No 18, 1994, the Foreign Exchange (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, No 17, 1995; Money Laundering Act, No 3, 1995; and the Promulgation of the Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters within the Commonwealth (Enactment and Enforcement) Act, No 13, 1988. The grundnorm itself, the 1999 Constitution, also prohibits corruption when in its section 15 (5) it provides “(5) The State shall abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power.” Apart from these legions of laws, corruption thrives unabated with reports after reports of credible international organisations placing Nigeria at the topmost spots of global corruption index. There are countless number of scandals involving public officers, as well as major players in the private sector. At present, investigations into alleged fraud in the capital market sector and fuel subsidy scam are still on going. We have had Wilbros bribery scandal, Halliburton scandal etc. A number of former governors and ministers have been indicted or convicted for stealing public funds and money laundering while some governors are still facing trials for same offences. Similarly, scores of commissioners, chairmen and high-ranking civil servants have been arraigned in court on corruption charges. Since corruption is not native to any particular land or country, questions might be asked on how some nations have fought the war successively against the scourge of sleaze. Apart from Hong Kong, Singapore, and China which employed the instrumentality of harsh legislation, other modern nations are using tactic to beef up the anti-corruption regime. Although, the United Kingdom is not a country one might rank as a top corruption country, that country, nevertheless, became phenomenally proactive in fighting corruption when, in 2010, it passed a legislation that has been described as the toughest law on corruption in the world. The law, called “The Bribery Act, 2010” received royal assent on April 8, 2010 and became fully operational on July 1, 2011. Commentators have described the Act as

Prof. Akin Oyebode

Mr. Bamidele Aturu

Ibrahim Lamorde, EFCC Boss

“the toughest anti-corruption legislation in the world”, which was seen as having raised the bar above the standard set by the United States’ Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. Under the Act, it repeals all pre-existing statutory and common law provisions on the offence of bribery and replaced them with crimes under four categories, viz, giving bribery, being bribed, bribery of foreign public officials, and the failure of a commercial organisation to prevent bribery on its behalf. Thus, the law is so comprehensive that even the receiver of the bribe is adjudged to have committed a felony and liable on conviction to imprisonment together with a fine! Similarly, the Act does not only cover acts and deeds done in the UK, but also those committed in any part of the world if those deeds would have amounted to infringement under the Act if they had been done in the UK. Generally, the penalties for infringing provisions of the Act is a maximum period of 10 years, but this is alongside with a fine and confiscation of properties acquired with the proceeds of illegal deals! Some stakeholders believe that if Nigeria can make her law as stern as that of the UK, and ensure an equally strict enforcement, success would be recorded in the battle against corruption. The fact that there are a lot of loopholes in the Nigerian law and that the enforcement regime is not rigorous, is borne out by the case of the former Governor of Delta State, James Onanefe Ibori who was let off under the Nigerian legal system, but convicted and sentenced to 13-year imprisonment by a London court. National Mirror spoke with a number of lawyers on the fundamental questions on how law might be used as an instrument to fight the endemic corruption in Nigeria and the responses obtained are as diverse as they are informative. Prof. Akin Oyebode prescribed what he called the Chinese Formula, in dealing with the scourge. He said: “We might need to try the Chinese formula, execution by firing squad for those who steal from the public purse.

WE HAVE ALL THE LAWS WITH OUR ANTI-GRAFT AGENCIES, WHAT WE

menace. He said, “The powers that be should ensure that the police are well equipped. Police should fight all sundry crimes while offences like bank fraud, money laundering, which are very bad for the economy, should be fought by the EFCC. Corruption is the bedrock of our problems. Given our huge resources, no Nigerian should go to bed hungry. “So, EFCC is essential, if you like, restructure it, give its staff more training, nothing is bad about that, but don’t hamper its operation. To illustrate the effect of the commission, a businessman friend of mine told me this: “If the police are looking for me, I can sleep with my two eyes closed. But if they say the EFCC is looking for me, I know there is real problem, that is why I will start to look for your house for protection.” Aturu, however, said “We must specifically insert copious provisions on war against corruption in the constitution, not like we have at present under section 15 (5) of the constitution which provides that “The State shall abolish all corrupt practices and abuse of power” “We must simply amend every area we can use to tackle corruption. This will entail the provisions on the Executive, the Legislature and the Judiciary. For example, at present, the onus of proof in a criminal charge is on the prosecutor, but we may insert a provision that where a man or woman has been found with huge resources that cannot be defended just on the face of it, that man or woman has the onus to prove how he or she has come about the money. We should shift the onus and make corruption a strict liability offence and this must be put in the Constitution. Furthermore, there must be no interlocutory appeal in every charge of corruption so that the matter will not go on almost indefinitely. We should provide that in every charge of corruption, it must be determined within three months. If we can give time limit for election petitions, why can’t we do the same for corruption?”

NEED IS THE POLITICAL WILL TO APPLY THE LAW Even then, in China, we still have a face of corruption. Since corruption is inherent in man, all we can do is to limit the incidence of corruption, we cannot eliminate it. The second thing we have to address is the notion of impunity. People act corruptly, believing that nothing will happen to them, they act as if they are above the law. That sense has to be curtailed. Look at Singapore, people who know what happens in that country recognise the effort by that county to keep corruption to a minimal level. “We have all the laws with our anti-graft agencies, what we need is the political will to apply the law to the letter, no matter whose ox is gored. I think there is too much tolerance for corrupt people. It is in Nigeria that corrupt people get medals, they get front row in the church and are given the highest titles of the land. It seems corruption has become the fundamental objective and directive of the state policy in this country. Corruption is threatening to subvert the entire polity. If we do not stop corruption, corruption will stop Nigeria. “If we don’t want Nigeria to go yonder, we will do something about it, because no amount of fasting and prayer would stop corruption. A drastic malady requires a drastic remedy. If we recognise that there is fire on the mountain, corruption is hanging on Nigeria like a sword of Damocles, the ruling class should be ready and willing to do what needs to be done in order to salvage and sanitise the polity.’’ Chief Ladi Williams (SAN) advocated the refurbishment of the police and other law enforcement agencies, especially the EFCC, as a strategic measure to fight the

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Monday, July 30, 2012

Ex-Anglo Irish bank executives in court

Foreign

Mrs. Mazrui and a veteran journalist, Dr. Haroun Adamu.

L-R: First vice-chairman, NBA, Mr. Martin Ogunleye, the Chairman, Mr. Taiwo Taiwo and the Secretary, Mr. Alex Muoka

wo former senior executives of the Anglo Irish Bank have appeared in court in Dublin over alleged financial irregularities at the bank. Willie McAteer, 60, who has been arrested was the second most senior executive at the bank before his resignation in January 2009. BBC reports say McAteer is facing 16 charges, under Section 60 of the Companies Act. They are in relation to a failed attempt to prop up Anglo’s share price after a stock market collapse. Money was given out by the bank to a select group, nicknamed the Maple 10, for the purchase of shares in the bank as its value plummeted in 2008. Also in court was 50-year old Pat Whelan from Malahide, County Dublin, a former head of lending and operations at the bank. The charge against McAteer, of Rathgar, Dublin, is that he gave unlawful financial assistance in connection with the purchase of Anglo shares to 16 people in July 2008. They include six members of the Quinn family, some of whom are embroiled in increasingly bitter lawsuits with the rebranded Anglo, the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC), as it chases debts of 2.8bn Euros run up by former billionaire, bankrupt Sean Quinn senior. His son, Sean junior, imprisoned last week for contempt of court after trying to hide 500m euros of property assets from the bank, was one of the 16. The others included Sean senior’s wife Patricia, and his children Co-

Cross section of participants at the lecture

Cross section of lawyers at the meeting

McAteer outside the court

ndia’s top court banned tourism in tiger reserves across the country in a ruling that aims to protect the endangered big cats but may disrupt travel plans for droves of tourists. The Supreme Court also announced stiff penalties on Indian states that have not created buffer zones around tiger habitats, said Wasim Kadri, a lawyer with the National Tiger Conservation Authority. According to the BBC, the court fined six states for failing to declare buffer zones around tiger reserve forests and gave officials three weeks to act on its orders. India is home to more than half of the world’s estimated 3,200 tigers, with most of them living in wildlife re-

Indian Supreme Court building

India’s Supreme Court bans tourism in tiger parks India serves set up since the 1970s. Hundreds of hotels and shops operate inside the ti-

ger reserves to cater to wildlife-watching tourists. The court said the ban was temporary, pending its final judgment on a case

filed by a wildlife activist demanding that all commercial activity be banned from the core area of the reserve forests where the tigers live.

Events The 8th AELEX annual lecture with the theme “This House Must Not Fall: Constitutional Reform and the People’s Will” took place recently. Below are some of the dignitaries at the event.

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Lagos Branch held its Annual General Meeting recently at the Foyer of the Lagos High Court. Here are some of the faces that graced the event.

Renowned scholar, Dr. Ali Mazrui (L) and retired Supreme Court jurist, Justice Kayode Eso. Chief Emeka Ngige (SAN) and a Life Bencher, Mrs Hariat Balogun

Dublin lette Marie, Aoife, Ciara and Brendan. The other investors were Anglo customers and major figures in the world of property and development. They were Belfastborn developer Paddy McKillen, Mennolly Homes’s Seamus Ross, auctioneer Brian O’Farrell, John McCabe of McCabe Builders, developer Gerry Maguire, Belfast’s Patrick Kearney, Gerry Gannon of Gannon Homes who had a stake in the K Club Ryder Cup golf resort, Kildare businessman Jerry Conlan, Sean Reilly of the McGarrell Reilly firm and developer Joe O’Reilly. The court was told McAteer made no reply when the charges were put to him in the Bridewell Garda station in Dublin city centre. McAteer was granted bail until 8 October by Judge Cormac Dunne with conditions, including a 1,000 euros bond of his own and a 10,000 euros cash surety from wife, Maria, who was also in court. The former banker was ordered to hand in his passport. Mr Whelan, who faces the same charges, was granted bail on condition that he handed in a 1,000 euros bond of his own with an independent surety of 10,000 euros He was ordered to reside at his current address and to give 48 hours notice if he is travelling anywhere outside the UK as he is back and forth to London on business. Anglo was nationalised in 2009. Its rescue cost Irish taxpayers about 30bn euros.

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N’Assembly lacks power to give

Professor Uche Uko Uche is a renowned scholar. A graduate of the University of Ghana, he later pursued his Masters’ and Ph.D degrees in the University of London. He was called to the English Bar in February 1965. A seasoned lecturer, Uche was also the Dean of Law, University of Nairobi, Kenya. In this interview with WALE IGBINTADE, he speaks on the declining standard of legal education and quality of legal practice and the appointments of judges, among others. Excerpts.

How have you engaged yourself over the years? Before I finished my masters’ programme and registered for my PhD in the University of London, I was appointed a lecturer at the University of London to teach Law at the School of Oriental and African Studies which was one of the five colleges of the University of London. As a staff, I got seconded to the University of Nairobi, Kenya as Dean of Law originally for two years and after two years, they wanted a second helping for four years and after four years, they wanted some more helping for another six years. But, I said no that I had to go back to London. I went back to London, but the pressure to come back to Nigeria was strong because my uncle, who was then the first Vice- Chancellor of the University of Lagos, told me he was in bad health and that I should come back to Nigeria. I was a visiting professor at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs for one year and in 1968, I started a law practice. What is your assessment of legal education in Nigeria? Everybody is complaining about the deteriorating state of education generally and legal education is one of them. The one that pains us most is the legal one because that is where we should make things look excellent. So, it is true that there has been this complaint about deteriorating standard of legal education in Nigeria. What do you think should be done to correct this negative trend? Well, a number of suggestions have been touted by many people. The most current one is that of raising Law to the status of a second degree. It would help in making a lot of people more knowledgeable, more mature and it would help legal education and legal practice. It would help Law generally because once there is fairness and maturity at the Law level, it goes round. Some lecturers have argued that most students that apply to study Law as second degree hardly attend classes due to their work or businesses? As for division between part- time students and full- time students, it is a matter of determination and what you really want to do. Some people who come into Law after a long exposure in other areas, always have a feeling that this is what they had always wanted to do, but they couldn’t probably because their parents wanted them to study medicine and become doctors or wanted them to join them in business. The types of people we are talking about are those who will get into the university, qualify in a degree there and then take on Law as a continuation. It is possible that they may see it as additional expense on the part of their parents, but everything has a sacrifice element. If they don’t have to read Law, then they don’t need to. It is not good lowering standard because you what to differ to peoples’ wishes. Law is an expensive outing, if you cheapen it, you cheapen the practice.

Uche

ONE MISTAKE FROM THE JUDICIARY COULD EASILY DENT THE IMAGE OF THE JUDICIARY Are you bothered when you hear about allegation of corrupt practices among top members of the judiciary? Naturally, I feel terrible, it shouldn’t be the case. When you are having a white shirt on and there is a drop of blue ink on a white shirt, it becomes a soiled shirt. It may just be a drop, but it is no longer a white shirt, that drop disqualifies it from being a white shirt. So, one mistake from the Judiciary could easily dent the image of the Judiciary. It should never be the case particularly if you want to be taken seriously in any encounter between two people. You have to be above board, you have to be reliable and you have to be dependable. It should not be because the other man is related to you or he has seen you in other capacity or he is a member of your club and you want to favour him. It should never be the case for the Judiciary and any attempt to leave it that way is a colossus tragedy. It is something that ought to be avoided as much as a plague should be avoided. If something other than the law is determining what you are going to do, then it is a very sad thing and when it is found out, the person should be penalised. Some people have suggested that politicians have constituted negative influence on Nigerian Judiciary. Do you agree with this? I will give you two interesting examples. One totally unrelated to issue of law practice. There is this particular priest that came into Church and said ‘’may

the peace of the Lord be with you’’ and the Church responded ‘’and with you also’’. Then the priest tapped on the microphone and said ‘’something is wrong with this microphone’’ and the Church responded ‘’and with you also’’. A group of law firms in international law practice held a meeting in South Africa, I was the only African at the meeting. So they asked me what I thought of what was going on. I then told them that if you are sitting in the reassuring safety of an air-conditioned office and you get a letter telling you that there is a contract which has been awarded and performed and about $60 million are in issue and they are having difficulty in getting the $60 million. If you help them get the money, you will get $25 million and you buy into it, then you are part of it because there is nothing you have done to deserve it except something crooked. That tells the story as to who is cooperating with whom. Are you comfortable with the retirement age of judges, or do you think it should be increased? Sometimes, we ignore the fact that the pressures that our judges face and the current kind of our administration of justice are telling on the health of those judges. Many of them before they get to the age of 65 are already tired. And when people are saying it should be increased to 70 or 80, it is not the same as that of Lord Denning of this world. We are putting two incompatible systems. Lord Denning was a very eminent judge in England. Of course, we have our local Denning; we have very good judges here in Nigeria too. If I start naming them, it would be unfair to the others because they are quite few. Despite the problem we have, these judges still triumph. But you see, you don’t define a rule by the exceptions, you say what the rules are and the exceptions will stay as exceptions.

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us new constitution –Uche How will you react to a situation whereby retired justices acts as consultants to law firms? We are back to the issue of integrity. If anybody has integrity, you don’t get pushed around by anybody. If a case is on the table, there are rules that govern the case. If you are satisfied that the judge is going to apply the law, you wouldn’t worry. But, if you are crooked, when you meet at the club, you begin to say gentlemen, there is a matter coming before you and I am their consultant and I think this should be the case and then you buy into it. If you buy into it, then you are one of the crooked ones. The person who is doing that to you is not doing you a favour, he is destroying the system. A retired judge should not become a farmer because he has retired nor should he go to clear cement at the Wharf. If people seek his advice or his input in anything, he should be able to give them an honest input and he should stop at that. It is not prudent for him to go the extra mile of pushing it to whoever is the judge that is deciding the case. What the President of theNigerian Bar Association is saying also applies to senior members of the Bar. It is not just limited to the retired justices. Many senior members of the Bar have been seen or known to cooperate in the corruption saga rightly or wrongly. Many of them are guilty of it because of this get-rich quick syndrome. I do not believe that earning something legitimately is wrong. I believe that once you apply the rules and there is a large element of integrity, it shouldn’t worry you. If I have a matter, nobody will make me decide the wrong way once I know what the right way is. How do you think the conviction of James Ibori by a London court for money laundering can impact on the country‘s criminal jurisprudence? Have you asked yourself the question, how strong the prosecution was and how far did they go in making sure that the charge was presented to the judge properly? The decision of the court was not to discharge and acquit Ibori as far as I know. Probably, he could have been re-arrested. Having said that, it is still the kind of indictment that we are talking about, there are 102 courts in the Courts of Justice in London and they do not have that type of generous way of framing criminal charges. You have to be more specific about what the person did right or wrong. It is not a good thing for our Judiciary, I agree. But we should also look at the prosecution because it is not just the Judiciary, the people who filed the suit are also influenced somehow. So, there has to be integrity before anybody becomes judge, before anybody even becomes a senior member of the Bar and before anybody practises Law. It goes right down from the beginning to the end. Could you compare the standard of legal practice when you started law practice with what is obtainable now? Sadness is a good description. You are a bit sad because that is not what you expect. When a lawyer talks, you should understand that this is a gentlemen talking. After all, the first law was the one God made “let there be light’’. That was the first decree. We see ourselves as those who should get nearer to God. We are the only profession, while all the others are pursuits to be able to earn a living. Somebody may even dress well, particularly the bankers, we welcome them. Some lawyers have been charged to court for allegedly defrauding their clients. What is your take on this? Lawyers are part of the Nigerian system and there is a get-rich quick syndrome, everybody wants to get rich quickly enough. Nobody wants to gradually get there. Some, when they get out of the Law School, they want to drive the cars their seniors are driving. They want to live in houses their seniors have built. It is this get rich quick syndrome that leads to all sorts of complications. This also reflects poorly on the state of governance

I cannot comment on her because I haven’t practised before her, but I have heard people talk about her. All the things I have heard are good, so I am hopeful that we are going to have a good system. Do you support the view that the powers of the Chief Justice of Nigeria exercisable in the NJC should be reduced? Well, I do know that all power corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. There has to be a shedding out of power, so that you can have checks and balances. Because, even if you put an angel there, he could make a few mistakes, if he feels he is completely in charge. If you pile up all the powers on the table of the Chief Justice, you make it more difficult for him to manage and you also compromise quality because he is human. So, the powers should be divided into portable areas which will give other people the opportunity of having an input into power.

LAWYERS ARE PART OF THE NIGERIAN SYSTEM AND THERE IS A GET-RICH QUICK SYNDROME, EVERYBODY WANTS TO GET RICH QUICKLY ENOUGH because if governance has done the things they should do, you will not need to be buying diesel to power your generator. But, we can start by cleaning up governance a bit. A former presidential candidate told us that if you go to the market to buy fish, you should smell the head. If the head is rotten, then the whole fish is rotten. So, let’s clean out from head to toe and let us not just talk about the back, the neck and the legs when the head is not okay. Seek ye first the kingdom of good governance and all these other things will be added onto you. What can you say about the new CJN, Justice Mariam Aloma Mukhtar?

How do you see the appointment of judges in Nigeria? We should be able to give more room to practising lawyers in the appointment of judges. The current system gives room for too much influence and it has not helped. You find people who are on the Bench without adequate preparation for it. If they had been desk lawyers in one capacity or the other and coming to learn the procedure for the first time, it is not good for the administration of justice. But, successful lawyers may not want to go to the Bench. However, they should be persuaded. It is not only in Nigeria that practising lawyers should be pushed into the Bench; in other systems, they do encourage successful lawyers to serve their country. If you go to United States or United Kingdom, if they are appointing justices to their Supreme Courts, they could pick a very successful academician. But, it should not become a free for all. If you are to make recommendations on how to improve the extant fiscal federalism structure in Nigeria, what would be your recommendations? My position is the fact that when we had the four regions, it was peaceful. We had healthy rivalry among the regions. If Azikwe started a University in Nsukka, Chief Awolowo started one at Ife and Ahmadu Bello established Ahmadu Bello University, these are great things. Unfortunately, because we had the intervention of the military in 1966, we have forgotten the principle of federal structure and we have to go back to it. We have to go back to regional structure. It may not be three or four regions anymore. Since we practise six zones, why not use them as federating units? Then, it will become easier to manage, it will not be a question of sending everybody to Abuja for everything. It will not be a question of every month you start sharing money at Abuja. People will start thinking about how to create wealth and how to work towards the satisfaction of people who live within their zones and beyond. Therefore, there will be no question of one person having all the powers there is in the world. Even more importantly, we should stop killing each other because since all the wealth is in Abuja everybody wants to go there. If I want to go and you want to go, one of us has to die, but that shouldn’t be the case. It is a way to doom and people are pretending not to hear. This is our greatest woe; there is no reason why it should be like this. People should not because they are in power seem to be deaf and uninterested on how to make it better. Few people that gathered at the National Assembly don’t have the power to give us a Constitution. They don’t have the power; they were elected under a constitution. We are talking of a constitution that will be by the people, so that we can be honest enough to say ‘we the people of Nigeria’. It is not what the military gave us that is ‘we the people’ and any attempt to call it, that is a misnomer, in fact it is misleading. We should not pretend that all is well when all is not.

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Extra-judicial killings: Remembering Apo Six Six traders were killed extrajudicially by the Police in Apo village, Abuja, seven years ago. Following the incident, the Federal Government set up the Justice Olasumbo Goodluck Judicial Commission of Inquiry to probe the killings. In its report, the commission indicted the police and recommended that the families of the six deceased persons be paid N3 million each as compensation. FRANCIS FAMOROTI, Ag. Head, Judiciary writes.

n the early hours of June 8, 2005 between 1.00 and 3.00 am, five young men and a lady had an encounter with some policemen in Abuja, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), while the police were on patrol duty. Regrettably, all the six persons now commonly referred to as ‘’Apo Six’’ were killed in very horrendous circumstances. The gruesome murder of these young men and lady, who were traders at Apo village in June 2005, was greeted with resentments and condemnation by all and sundry, including the local and international media. The incident would have passed for the usual excuse of ‘’shoot out with armed robbers ‘’ as the police had, initially, through the media, labelled the victims armed robbers and hurriedly buried them. But it was not to be for the vigilance of some citizens who knew that they were not armed robbers. The traders killed by the police were, Chinedu Meniru (21), Ifeanyi Ozor (25), Paulinus Ogbonna (23), Isaac Ekene (22), Anthony Nwokike (23) and Miss Augustina Arebun (22). All the deceased except Arebun, a fiancé to Ozor, were said to be traders in motor spare parts of various types in Apo Mechanic Village, Abuja. Arebun assisted her mother, Monica Arebun in petty trading before her death. According to a publication of the CLEEN Foundation titled: ‘Opportunity for Justice’’, the subsequent violent clash between the police and some Apo traders, which followed the killings led to the setting up of the Mike Okiro panel by the then acting Inspector General of Police, Mr. Sunday Ehindero. The national outcry that followed the chilling revelation and the fact that the police were implicated in the killings made the government to disband the panel. The then President, Olusegun Obasanjo, thereafter constituted a six-member Judicial Commission of Inquiry with specific terms of reference to, among others, determine the remote and immediate causes of the eruption of the violent clash between the Police and some traders in Apo Village; establish whether or not there was any armed robbery incident at Gana Street, Maitama, Abuja on June 7, 2005; and determine the identity of the six persons killed at

Chief Obasanjo

FAMOUS CASES Gimbiya Street, Abuja between June 7 and 8 , 2005 and the circumstances surrounding their deaths. Other terms of reference were, to determine whether the six civilians killed at Gimbiya Street, Area 11, Abuja were, indeed, involved in any armed robbery incident at Gana Street, Maitama, Abuja; identify those behind the killings and destruction of lives and valuable property at Apo village; and recommend appropriate measures to be taken to avoid the recurrence of similar incidents in future. The commission, headed by Justice Olasumbo Goodluck, a judge of the Abuja High Court, held its first public sitting on June 29, 2005. On the whole, the commission conducted 21 public sittings, heard and examined 48 witnesses, who were represented by lawyers. The report of the Commission of Inquiry on the killings showed that the panel obtained testimonies from several witnesses including the siblings and relations of the deceased. According to the commission’s report, Mr. Elvis Raphael Ozor, the 21st witness told the panel that he was a younger brother to the late Ifeanyi Ozor, and they both engaged in the sale of Peugeot spare parts and repair of Peugeot cars at Apo Village. He said’’ On the 6th of June, 2005, one Hon. Abubakar Abdullahi of the Adamawa State House of Assembly brought a Peugeot 406 car to his deceased elder brother, Ifeanyi Ozor for repairs. After making a part pay-

Ehindero

ment of N150, 000, leaving a balance of N87, 000, an invoice was issued to him.’’ The witness was said to have testified that Abdullahi told his late brother to his hearing not to use the Adamawa State House of Assembly plate number for security reasons while carrying out the repairs on the vehicle. It was this vehicle that his late brother used with his late friends on that fateful day after having fixed another plate number on the Peugeot car. But surprisingly, the police linked the deceased to the robbery incident on June 7, 2005 at 7.00 pm at the residence of the Director -General, National Emergency Management Authority (NEMA) at Plot 417, Lake Chad Crescent, Maitama. The then Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Operations, FCT, Abuja, Ibrahim Danjuma, who also testified on circumstances leading the killings, said he was told that the armed robbers who invaded the DG, NEMA’s house escaped after their operation in an ash coloured Peugeot 406 and a Red Starlet car. He had told the commission that almost within the same time, another robbery incident struck at Crown Guest Inn, off Gimbiya Street at about 1.30 am. The Police officer claimed that the occupants of Peugeot 406 engaged the police in a shoot-out and, in the process, one of them was killed while five occupants sustained injuries. The DCP said he thereafter ordered that the presumably dead person and the five injured ones and their vehicle be taken to Garki Police Station. In yet unclear circumstances, the injured were killed. In the course of the proceedings, the bodies of the deceased were exhumed on July 29, 2005 following the commission’s directive and post-mortem was carried on them. In its final report submitted to the government on August 25, 2005, the commission concluded that the Peugeot 406 car driven by the six deceased was never used in the robbery operations at Gimbiya Street and the DG, NEMA’s residence in Abuja. Besides, the commission found that the two locally made pistols allegedly recovered from the Peugeot car were planted in the

ALL THE SIX PERSONS NOW COMMONLY

REFERRED TO AS ‘’APO

SIX’’ WERE KILLED IN VERY HORRENDOUS CIRCUMSTANCES

vehicle by the police at Garki Police Station. The Justice Goodluck panel also noted that there was no threat to the lives of the policemen that warranted the shooting and killings of the six deceased persons at Gimbiya Street and thereafter. According to the commission, ‘’the four bodies, Ifeanyi Ozor, Paulinus Ogbonna, Chinedu Meniru and Anthony Nwokike were found lying dead around 3 am at Garki Police Station as confirmed by ASP Idrisu Umaru and P.C Asawa. Miss Augustina Arebun and Isaac Ekene were taken alive to Garki Police Station and subsequently killed by the Police between 4am and 7 am on June 8, 2005.’’ The commission also found that PC Anthony Idam, who was billed to testify at the trial of eight police officers implicated in the murder was allegedly poisoned on June 18, 2005. Going by reports narrated by witnesses before the commission, Idam was said to have seen and known the circumstances that led to the death of the six deceased persons. It was learnt that prior to his murder, he had indicated his readiness to spill the beans before the Okiro panel. The Justice Goodluck commission further recommended the payment of N3m as compensatory damages to each family of the deceased and additional N500, 000 as funeral expenses for each of the seven deceased persons, including late PC Idam. The commission specifically directed that DCP Ibrahim Danjuma , DPO Abdulsalam Othman, Inspector Suleiman Audu, Ezekiel Acheneje, PC Sadiq Salami, PC Dennis Asawa, Emmanuel Baba and ASP Nicholas Zachariah be charged and tried in accordance with the appropriate law.

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My heart beat was fast –Busari Olatunji

y first solo appearance in court was before Justice Ayotunde Philips, who is now the Chief Judge of Lagos State. My principal directed that I should be going to court and that he would join me. I was expecting him, but he failed to come to court. I kept calling him, but his

Law & Justice

Monday, July 30, 2012

number was not going. Later, when I got him on telephone, he said he was stuck in traffic and that he would not be coming to court. At that point my heart began to beat fast I was panting and thinking of what to do. It was an application for joinder. And it was obvious the judge was not willing to join us in the suit. In fact, my boss had written a petition to the National Judicial Council against the judge. But, when the case was called, the judge was kind to me because she was actually expecting my principal to come to court. I informed the court that my Princi-

Bar Jokes

An occupational hazzard

gang of robbers broke into a lawyer’s club by mistake. The old legal lions gave them a fight for their life and their money. The gang was very happy to escape.

“It ain’t so bad,” one crook noted. “We got $25 between us.” The boss screamed: “I warned you to stay clear of lawyers... we had $100 when we broke in!”

Trust me... I’m a lawyer

awyer: “Judge, I wish to appeal my client’s case on the basis of newly discovered evidence.”

Judge: “And what is the nature of the new evidence?” Lawyer: “Judge, I discovered that my client still has $500 left.”

A most unusual defence

Olatunji

pal was held-up in traffic. The court directed that I should move the application. It wasn’t easy, but I thank God I was able to move the application.

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

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

Valedictory honour: As Justice Tabai bows out of S’Court Bench OLA OLATAWURA

n attaining 70 years on July 25 2012, Francis Fedode Tabai JSC would have spent 42 years on the Bench, sixteen of these at the Supreme Court. Having reached the constitutional stipulated retirement age, he has the third longest judicial career in this country. By any standards the occasion calls for celebration, reminiscences, and introspection by the Torugbene native and Bayelsa state jurist, his friends and admirers, and the legal profession. A quiet, firm and kind man with an accessible and humble disposition, he is not fazed by the environment he finds himself. This arises from his assured belief in own Creator, his destiny, and well-meaning disposition to all. He is at home in all places. A secondary and modern school teacher between 1961 and 1966, Tabai had his legal education at the then University of Lagos between 1966 and 1969, attended the Nigerian Law School and was called to the Nigerian Bar on 26 June 1970. After three years post-call practice he was appointed a Magistrate Grade 1. From then he secured promotions and appointments that brought him to the Federal High Court as Deputy Chief Registrar in 1980. He was appointed a judge of the High Court of Rivers State in 1985. By 1998 he was a justice of the Court of Appeal. By 2005, he was a Justice of the Supreme Court. Justice Tabai’s early judicial career experiences flag one attribute: the strength to do what is right for society with the law. In a region filled with superstition about sorcery and witchcraft, the sharp, clever, and daring, seeking influence, power, and followership turned out as witches or witch hunters to be feared by their fellow citizens, young Magistrate Tabai did not hesitate to publicly demonstrate the ineptitude of various defendants who caused pain, death, and ostracisation of

the mentally weak and old. In two criminal cases, one involving a self-professed witch, who claimed coven powers to cause rain in the hot summer months, and the other a discharged soldier who claimed Biblical powers to identify and battle evil wizards. Magistrate Tabai gave each defendant the opportunity to soundly demonstrate the powers in public. The witch had three occasions to prove her rain making powers. Failing, they ended up in jail. This earned Magistrate Tabai a reputation in the Divisions as a powerful man who could see through people and also ruthlessly deal with unseen forces and evil people. The result in the Divisions meant that all fake priests and real witches and wizards left the town or stopped their unproductive vocation, since they were never sure they could be brought before the man. The greater point in these narrated events is that from his early career, he was not a formalist. He could have freed the defendants, by holding they had the right to express their opinions in accordance with their religious beliefs, but only those who acted on their views to victimise the old and the weak should solely be held responsible. The greatest example of his rejection of formalism is perhaps the Associated Discount House case. Amalgamated Trustees v Associated Discount House Ltd [2007] 15 NWLR (Pt. 1056) 118. The point had been rightly canvassed by counsel for a prolonged indebted company that a judgment rendered by a five member Supreme Court panel in a strictly constitutional case was contrary to section 234 of the Constitution (1999) and therefore void. It was clear the panel believed the appellant was abusing the judicial process. Justice Tabai remonstrated the appellants. I have canvassed that Associated Discount House is legally classified as a ‘special case’. As a matter of constitutional integrity and sanctity, the decision of the original case would bind the parties, but

JUSTICE TABAI’S JUDGMENTS REMIND OF HOW JUDGMENTS SHOULD BE EXPRESSED IN THE LIGHT OF JUDICIAL TRADITIONS not constitute precedent in other cases. For when the Supreme Court is wrong, as it must sometimes be, lawyers and judges must find proper rationalisations without necessarily following plain errors. As a Justice of the Court of Appeal, he delivered several illuminating judgments. Many judgments reflect his eagle eyed demeanour. On the Bench and elsewhere he surveys his scene without being intrusive. Then he makes the point observed without leaving any one to doubt. One of the crises of quality facing the judicial system today is the expression of language adopted by justices. grammar, modesty, and courtly language in our legal profession seem to be a time past. Increasingly flamboyant, plebeian, oppressive, and sometimes, rude opinions will be noticed. I read a judgment whereby a senior trial judge’s fair, and possibly, right judgment was described as “preposterous”. Justice Tabai’s judgments remind of how judgments should be expressed in the light of judicial traditions. One undoubtedly sees bearings of his teacher-training education and learning from the old judges of the 1980s. A man at home with all, he asks for no favour other than that which he deserves, and pushes no boundaries other than what will be for the good for society through other human agents. He loves the noble. This has earned him a lot of deserved respect. To spend six years at the pinnacle must naturally occasion high and low points of

labour. We must recount and thank him for the decisions in INEC v Obi, which set the basis for upending sit-tight governors. The workload of the justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria is one of the most excruciating in the world’s judiciary. Volumes of documents, weight of cases, particularly political ones, and in-house scandals take their toil on individual and collective productivity, health, and family. The learned justice certainly owns mannequins in that regard. The resulting issue is whether our judges should not be granted the right of sabbatical every five years to engage in meaningful pursuits that refresh the brain and body. I believe many of the justices want and deserve this. The society would be better for it. When Musdapher CJN, the immediate past CJN promised us visible modernisation and transformative reforms, I always thought it included equitable ones too. This is one that should have been implemented like a lightening strike. What other uniqueness can we attach to him? He is narrowly edged out of first prize in the judicial long service award by Belgore and Onu JJSC’s 43 years in occupying judicial office. This is because they became Magistrates immediately after being called to Bar. As Tabai bowed out on July 25, not many would dispute his good innings on judicial match days. From my moments with him, he is acutely concerned with the balance and rupture of the federal system of the country, peace, security and terrorism, and the efficiency and effectiveness of dispute resolution mechanisms and values of justice in his Niger Delta area. Authorities in Governments, who care, will do well to sound him for meaningful practical contribution, if not noble, precise, and well-reasoned advice. Dr. Olatawura of Goldmann Lagos Transnational Lawyers writes from Abuja

Monday, July 30, 2012

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Monday, July 30, 2012

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Community Mirror “Security challenges in some parts of the country called for concerted actions by the three arms of government.” PRESIDENT GOODLUCK JONATHAN

IG, others sued for violation of human rights KEMI OLAITAN IBADAN

n Ibadan High Court presided over by Justice Mashud Akintude Abass, has fixed October 17 ,2012, for hearing in the N100million suit instituted by a student of the Osun State College of Education, Ila Orangun, Mr. Adebayo Olaide, against the Inspector General of Police, IGP, and a policeman, Mr. Mukailu Gujuba with force number 768142 and three others. In the suit number, M/554/11 filed by his counsel, Mr.Peter Idowu, he is claiming the sum as general, exemplary and aggravated damages for the violation of fundamental human rights and dignity of his human persons resulting in loss of the left eye and a severe damage to the right eye. Olaide also want the court to declare that the conduct of the third respondent, Mukailu Gujuba, by using a long stick and butt of his rifle to hit him at Alagbayaun Village, near Odo Oba in Ogo Oluwa Local Government Area of Oyo State, which resulted in the loss of the left eye and a severe damage to the right eye was a violation of his fundamental Human Rights as enshrined in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999. He stated that on June 25, 2009, he was riding a Bajaj Motorcyle with registration number QL 201 KRD to Odo Oba when he accosted policemen at a check point in Alagbayun where Mukailu Gujuba, with Sgts. Charles Omonia, Hammed Balogun Ajolasi Bunmi, Abdulmalik Hassan, Morakinyo

Joseph , Julius .Apinu, Abtrous Daniel Ayeni Sunday , Akogun Bright and Akaogba Saso were on duty. He submitted that as the first set of policemen waved him on after being checked, Mukailu Gujuba, suddenly swung a long stick across the road hitting him on his left eye as he fell down with blood coming out of his left eye. He was taken to Ayo Oluwa Hospital and later to Baptist Hospital both in Ogbomoso before

being referred to University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital for further treatment. He declared that Gujuba was arrested and detained at Ajawa Police station where he admitted responsibility for the injury on him and undertook to pay the hospital bill, but later denied in the presence of the state Police Public Relations Officer at Eleyele, where he promised to deal ruthlessly with him if he failed to withdraw the case.

In his counter affidavit filed on his behalf by his counsel, Mr. O.A. Kupolati, Gujuba declared that the event of June 25, 2009 in Odo Oba was an accident and not in any way intended to happen. According to him, he was clutching a rifle and was trying to cross the road few meters from the check point, and in the bid to avoid collision that may result in fatal accident between the two, his rifle accidentally hit the applicant in the eye.

He admitted that he was invited for questioning at Ajawa Police Station and that he visited the victim both at the University of Ilorin Teaching Hospital and his house where he met with his parents and other relatives. He also emphasized that it was true that he promised to pay the sum of N200, 000 to the claimant to mitigate the pains and expenses he might have incurred in the hospital and that he had paid N193, 000 of the total sum.

Passengers queuing for BRT buses at Ojota area of Lagos.

FCTA threatens to shut motor parks Oro cult warned against restriction of movement OMEIZA AJAYI

n the aftermath of protests at its decision to phase out commercial mini-buses from the city-centre, the Federal Capital Territory Administration, FCTA, has threatened to shut down any motor-park where its officials, now on sensitization campaign on the operation of new routes, are attacked by hoodlums. The territory, which has shifted the commencement of the policy, however, expressed displeasure at the behaviour of NURTW members at the Mombassa Mo-

tor Park where its officials were reportedly attacked. Secretary, Transport Secretariat in the FCTA, Engr. Jonathan Ivoke, who stated this while receiving members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW in his office, advised that they form a cooperative to enable them pool their resources to purchase high capacity buses for their operations as the FCT intends to drastically reduce the number of mini buses operating within the city, even as he promised to facilitate their access to soft loans from the Urban Development Bank and other private financiers.

FEMI OYEWESO ABEOKUTA

ollowing the alarm by the Muslim community over possible outbreak of religious violence in the state, the Ogun State Government has ordered the Oro cult group to restrict its activities and traditional rites within the precinct of their communities in the spirit of peaceful co-existence as well as allowing for free movement of people. The order followed the resolution reached at a peace meeting convened by the government which had in attendance, leader-

ship of the two groups and held at the governor’s office. The meeting, which had the Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affair, MuyiwaOladipo in attendance, resolved that no religious group should infringe and disturb the rights of other groups. It, therefore, ordered the Oro festival cultists to adjust their practice and restrict their movements in areas where their religious rites are to be held. The government also requested that the Commissioner of Police, Ikemefuna Okoye deploy his men to the area to en-

force the order and prevent any likely breakdown of law and order during the celebration. Community Mirror however, recalled that an Islamic Organization, Muslim Rights Concern, MURIC, had petitioned the state government on July 19, 2012, copies of which were sent to the Akarigbo and Paramount ruler or Remoland, Oba Adeniyi Sonariwo, state Security Service, SSS, and the media, warning of an impending sectarian crisis if those concerned failed to check the activities of Oro cult group in its determination to restrict the movement of persons during the Ramadan period.

Cocktail

Monday, July 30, 2012

Oddities

Man frees 17-pound lobster from restaurant

Connecticut man purchased a 17-pound lobster at a Waterford restaurant, then released the crustacean back into Long Island Sound. Don MacKenzie of Niantic tells The Day of New London (http://bit. ly/MGvGHb ) he knew the lobster, nicknamed “Lucky Larry” by local children, would have to be about 80-years-old to reach his current size and felt it deserved to live.

“It takes seven years for him to even become a lobster big enough to keep,” MacKenzie said. “For a lobster to live this long and avoid lobster traps, nets, lobster pots ... he doesn’t deserve a bib and butter.” MacKenzie won’t say how much he paid The Dock restaurant to take Larry off the menu last Tuesday. “Let’s just say that it’s the most expensive lobster I never ate.” MacKenzie told the newspaper.

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Venomous spiders invade man’s apartment

Nebraska man says his apartment has been invaded by venomous spiders. Dylan Baumann of Omaha said brown recluse spiders are crawling across his walls and floor boards. He has

to sleep with his bed away from the wall and shake out his clothes and shoes before putting them on, KETV, Omaha, reported Wednesday. The spiders are not aggressive but they are venomous. Dennis

Ferraro at the Douglas County Extension Office said the mild winter and hot summer may be making the infestation worse. “We virtually did not have a cold winter this winter, and the

hotter temperatures that we’re having would probably allow for more reproduction,” Ferraro said. Baumann said he plans to move out of the apartment in September.

Ohio suspect asked to confess at NY church

ine days after a slain woman’s body was discovered in a burning home in Ohio, her fugitive boyfriend turned up at a New York City church seeking to make a confession, police said. Authorities in Columbus had charged Jonathan Smith with murder last week after identifying him as a suspect in the death of his girlfriend, Darlene Hart. Amid a manhunt, Smith

showed up Monday at St. Francis of Assisi church in Manhattan and “asked to make a confession,” said New York Police Department spokesman, Paul Browne . Browne had no information on what Smith said to make the clergy call the police, or whether he revealed anything in a confessional. But after NYPD officers arrived, the suspect made statements about the slaying in Ohio, the spokesman said.

Image of a bite from a brown recluse spider.

PHOTO: UPI

Monday, July 30, 2012

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World News

US Republican candidate supports Israel’s stance on Iran

“In any case there are three roads to a solution: military, political and diplomatic, or all three at the same time.” DR CONGO PRESIDENT, JOSEPH KABILA

Ghanaian churches dedicate Sunday service to Mills

ost churches across Ghana yesterday dedicated their Sunday services to the memory of former President John Evans Atta Mills, the Joy News Ghana has reported. As the first Sunday after the death of the late President, church leaders are paying glowing tribute to the late President who was also openly known as an astute Christian. The General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana, Rev Fred Degbe, called on all to be prayerful. He said the Christian Council will do all it can to give the late President a befitting burial. “In spite of all the divisions we have, he is our elected President and therefore the one who is

the symbol of the unity and the stance of the nation and to lose a person like that in office, it’s quite tragic and sad,” Rev Fred Degbe told Joy News. The General Secretary of the Christian Council of Ghana added that “we share in prayer with the NDC leadership and then, we will certainly reconvene and work with the authorities and all those who are working on the next steps to see how we can also contribute our quota to give our President a befitting burial.” Joy News’ Nana Agyei Essuman who visited a number of churches in Accra Sunday reported that the mood in the churches was mixed. At the Nima Assembly of the Christ Apostolic Church, the Senior Pastor,

A board of remembrance for late Ghana President John Atta Mills in Accra, Ghana on Friday. PHOTO: AP

Rev Osei Yaw Dankwah told Joy News his sermon was based on the passing of the President. Rev Mrs Jane Ackon of

of God; the way he lived [and] the way he was able to live at peace with everyone.”

‘Egypt unveils new government on Thursday’

African leaders to seek UN Mali mandate –Ouattara

est African leaders are poised to submit a new request for military invention in Mali to the U.N. Security Council, and boots could be on the ground within weeks, Ivory Coast President Alassane Ouattara told French weekly Journal du Dimanche. “A new request to the U.N. Security Council will be shortly submitted in the name of the Economic Community of West African States that I preside over,” Ouattara said in the interview published in yesterday’s edition. “If the situation does not change for the better, yes, there will be military intervention in Mali,” he said, adding that it could happen within “weeks and not months”. Al-Qaeda-linked rebel forces have taken over the northern zones of the West African nation once seen as a model of democracy in the otherwise turbulent region. The country is still reeling from a March coup in the capital that has rocked its institutions. Its interim president returned on Friday after weeks convalescing abroad following an attack by a mob. The envisioned African force would be

the Victory Bible Church, Kokomlemle, speaking to Joy News encouraged Ghanaians “to take example from this great man

President Ouattara answering journalists’ questions during a joint press conference with French President at the presidential Elysee Presidential Palace recently. PHOTO: GETTY IMAGES

made up of soldiers from Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and possibly Chad and other countries, Ouattara said. The West African bloc (ECOWAS) is looking to France and the United States to provide logistical support, he said, citing equipment as well as advisors. “The fact that France assumes in August the rotating presidency of the U.N. Security Council is very good news because we are totally in sync with the French authorities,” he added. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius - who has similarly cited the probable use of military force in Mali - is in Africa this weekend to discuss solutions to the crisis.

gypt’s new cabinet will be announced on Thursday, state media said on Saturday, ending what was seen as a long wait for a new government following the swearing-in of President Mohamed Mursi three weeks ago. “I will announce the formation of the cabinet in its final form next Thursday,” Prime Minister Hisham Kandil said in statements carried by state news agency MENA and state TV. He said he had briefed Mursi on his meetings with possible candidates. The former Irrigation and Water Resources Minister was designated premier last week, despite concerns the little-known technocrat may not have the political or economic experience needed for the

job. The time it took Mursi to name his prime minister underlined how Egypt is struggling to turn new political freedoms into an effective government following the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak in a popular uprising a year and half ago. A Muslim Brotherhood politician and Egypt’s first freely elected civilian president, Mursi is seeking to stamp his authority on a state where the military that assumed power from Mubarak still wields enormous influence. Kandil said Mursi was in contact with the army generals on the choice of a new defence minister, a post currently occupied by Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, who held the post for 20 years under Mubarak.

WORLD BULLETIN

Mali’s PM to stay on despite resignation deadline Mali’s interim prime minister says he will stay on as head of government despite criticism he has failed to tackle the country’s twin crises and just days before a deadline set by neighbouring states for the naming of a new team. The West African nation, once seen as a rare stable democracy in a tumultuous region, has been split in two since a coup on March 22 paved the way for a military advance by northern separatists and al Qaeda-linked Islamists. An interim government was formed under Prime Minister Cheick Modibo Diarra, a former NASA astrophysicist and political novice, to usher Mali to elections and reconquer the north. But, three months on, crippled by internal bickering, it has achieved little. West Africa’s ECOWAS bloc, which is pushing for the deployment of a 3,000-troop intervention force in Mali, earlier this month gave the country’s political leaders until the end of July to form a new, more representative government.

‘Thousands flee Ethiopia’s clashes’ Ethnic clashes in southern Ethiopia are reported to have left at least 18 people dead and 12 others injured. More than 20,000 people have crossed into Kenya to escape the fighting, the Kenyan Red Cross says. A spokesman told the BBC that people were continuing to cross the border although Ethiopian government forces had intervened to stop the fighting. The clashes, in the Moyale area, are thought to have been sparked by a simmering dispute over land rights. Fighting involving the Borana and Garri communities is said to have started mid-week, and to have continued until Friday. Local reports speak of armed militias taking up positions in outlying villages on Wednesday, with the fighting spreading to Moyale town, on the Ethiopia-Kenya border, on Thursday.

World News

Monday, July 30, 2012

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US Republican candidate supports Israel’s stance on Iran

itt Romney, the US Republican presidential nominee, has held highlevel talks in Israel about how to handle fears over Iran’s nuclear ambitions, on a visit aimed at burnishing his foreign policy credentials, Al Jazeera has reported. “Like you, we are very concerned about the development of nuclear capabilities on the part of Iran and feel it is unacceptable for Iran to become a nuclear-armed nation,” Romney said after meeting President Shimon Peres yesterday. “The threat it would pose to Israel, the region and the world is incomparable and unacceptable.” Romney would support Israel if it were to decide it had to use military force

to stop Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, a senior aide said ahead of the planned meetings in Jerusalem. “If Israel has to take action on its own, in order to stop Iran from developing that capability, the governor would respect that decision,” Dan Senor, Romney’s senior national security aide, told reporters travelling with the candidate. The Republican challenger, who will face off against President Barack Obama in November’s US election, flew in from Britain late on Saturday for a one-day visit expected to focus on Iran’s nuclear programme, which Israel and much of the West believes is a covert attempt to develop atomic weapons. “Iran and its effort to

Mitt Romney praying next to the Western Wall, in Jerusalem, yesterday.

become a nuclear-capable nation [is one] which I take with great seriousness, and look forward to chatting with you about further actions that we can take to dissuade Iran from their nuclear folly,” Romney told Prime Minis-

ter Binyamin Netanyahu earlier on Sunday in remarks carried on Israeli public radio. He also said the two could discuss “developments about the region” including in Syria and Egypt. Netanyahu told him it

Assad forces strike Aleppo, declare Damascus victory

he government of Bashar al-Assad declared victory yesterday in a hard-fought battle for Syria’s capital Damascus, and pounded rebels who control of parts of its largest city Aleppo, Reuters has reported. Assad’s forces have struggled as never before to maintain their grip on the coun-

try over the past two weeks after a major rebel advance into the two largest cities and an explosion that killed four top security officials. Government forces have succeeded in reimposing their grip the capital after a punishing battle, but rebels are still in control of sections of Aleppo, clashing with reinforced army

troops for several days. “Today I tell you, Syria is stronger... In less than a week they were defeated (in Damascus) and the battle failed,” Foreign Minister Walid Moualem said on a visit to Iran, Assad’s main ally in a region where other neighbours have forsaken him. “So they moved on to

Aleppo and I assure you, their plots will fail.” Rebel fighters, patrolling opposition districts in flat-bed trucks flying g reen-white-and-black “independence” flags, said they were holding off Assad’s forces in the southwestern Aleppo district of Salaheddine, where clashes have gone on for days.

ADVERTS SPACE FOR SALE

was important to have “a strong and credible military threat” because sanctions and diplomacy “so far have not set back the Iranian programme by

PHOTO: AP

one iota”. “I think it’s important to do everything in our power to prevent the Ayatollahs from possessing that capability,” he said.

Iran urges baby boom

ran’s new message to parents: Get busy and have babies. In a major reversal of once far-reaching family planning policies, authorities are now slashing its birth-control programs in an attempt to avoid an aging demographic similar to many Western countries that are struggling to keep up with state medical and social security costs. The changes — announced in Iranian media last week — came after Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei described the country’s wide-ranging contraceptive services as “wrong.” The independent Shargh newspaper quoted Mohammad Esmail Motlaq, a Health Ministry official, as saying family planning programs have been cut from the budget for the current Iranian year, which began in March. It’s still unclear, however, whether the highlevel appeals for bigger families will translate into a new population spike. Iran’s economy is stumbling under a combination of international sanctions, inflation and double-digit unemployment. Many young people, particularly in Tehran and other large cities, are postponing marriage

or keeping their families small because of the uncertainties. Ali Reza Khamesian, a columnist whose work appears in several pro-reform newspapers, said the change in policy also may be an attempt to send a message to the world that Iran is not suffering from sanctions imposed over the nuclear program that the West suspects is aimed at producing weapons — something Tehran denies. Abbas Kazemi, a doorman in a private office building, said he cannot afford to have more than two children with his salary of about $220 (4.2 million rials) a month. “I cannot afford daily life,” he said. “I have to support my wife and two children as well my elderly parents.” More than half of Iran’s population is under 35 years old. Those youth form the base of opposition groups, including the so-called Green Movement that led unprecedented street protests after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s disputed re-election in 2009. Some experts have said that trying to boost the numbers for upcoming generations also could feed future political dissent.

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North

Monday, July 30, 2012

10,000 PDP members defect to CPC ADEMU IDAKWO LOKOJA

Gombe State Governor, Hassan Dankwambo (left), admiring a souvenir given to Korean Ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. Jong Hum Choi, in Gombe.

Chieftaincy crisis: Four die in Nasarawa governor’s village IGBAWASE UKUMBA LAFIA

t least four people were feared dead in Kwandere village, the country home of the Nasarawa State Governor, Umaru Tanko AlMakura, in a chieftaincy crisis which engulfed the village at the weekend. Several other people were injured when Shabu youths reportedly invad-

ed the village to express anger over what they described as “the greatest injustice of the century”. Structures and other valuables, particularly those belonging to members of the Al-Makura family, were either destroyed or razed during the incident. Crisis erupted at the weekend over the elevation of the traditional stool of the Sangari

Kwandere from second class to first class status by the governor. Incidentally, the person occupying the stool is Alhaji Ahmadu Al-Makura, the governor’s elder brother. However, the elevation did not go down well with youths of Shabu chiefdom who staged a violent protest, claiming that Kwandere chiefdom was answerable to Shabu

chiefdom as “it pays tax to Shabu chiefdom”. The protesting youths described the governor’s action as a mark of gross injustice to Shabu chiefdom. The state Deputy Police Public Relations Officer, Ocholi Cornelius, confirmed the crisis. He, however, said that security had been beefed up in the village to restore normalcy.

the failure of the Federal Government to guarantee safety of Nigerians. The chairman, Senate Committee on Water Resources between 1999 and 2001 observed that the country was completely at a crossroads and required a serious leader with focus and stamina to remove the cankerworm. Waku said the Presi-

dent was imposed on Nigerians because of the insatiable greed of a few who stood behind him. He said: “The Boko Haram menace, as far as I am concerned, is not religious because some people were unjustly humiliated during the last elections and they are expressing their grouse, which is why over 2,000 Muslims have also

been killed by the sect. “President Jonathan at several fora said he knew Boko Haram members, they are even in his government. One is eagerly waiting for him to produce these people since he knows them. After several months of making such utterances, we are yet to see anybody brought to book.”

ver 10,000 members of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in Bassa community of Toto Local Government Area of Nasarawa State have defected to the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC. Elders, youths and women led by Hon. Ahmed Yusuf who paid a solidarity visit to the Chairman of Toto Local Government Transition Management Committee, TMC, Alhaji Umar Bala Muhammed in his office yesterday said their decision to dump the PDP was borne out of the unparalleled achievements of Governor Tanko Al-Makura within a very short time in power. The people said they regretted their membership of the PDP as all the promises made to them by the past administrations in the state were never fulfilled. They appealed to the CPC to welcome them into its fold, promising to contribute positively to the growth of the party in the

area. Muhammed, who received the delegation, expressed delight over the decision of the Bassa community to join CPC, the party he described as the moving train, “conveying serious people to a comfortable destination”. The chairman, however, warned against indiscipline, pointing out that the “CPC is a party that obeys the constitution and all the rules governing its conduct”. He disclosed that the CPC administration in the state had lined up a lot of projects for the benefit of the people. Muhammed listed the projects to include the sinking of boreholes, renovation of schools, opening up and rehabilitation of rural roads as well as procurement and distribution of agricultural inputs. The chairman therefore sought the cooperation of all the people of the area, urging them to live peacefully with one another despite ethnic and religious differences.

Katsina farmers jittery over Jonathan’s administration has legalised corruption – Waku quelea birds’ invasion HENRY IYORKASE MAKURDI

he Vice-Chairman, Arewa Consultative Forum, ACF, Senator Joseph Waku, has lambasted the President Goodluck Jonathan-led administration for its inability to guarantee safety of lives and property of Nigerians. The senator spoke in an interview with our correspondent yesterday in Makurdi, the Benue State capital. Waku expressed disgust over endemic corruption in sectors of the country, particularly the judiciary, the legislature and the executive arm of government. Saying “it appears to have been legalised in the present administration,” the senator urged those in the corridors of power to retrace their steps to safeguard the country’s future. Waku said corruption had become a way of life in the country because of

JAMES DANJUMA KATSINA

nxiety has gripped farmers in Katsina State as thousands of quelea birds have invaded farmlands in Jibia Local Government Area of the state, devouring crops thereby threatening harvest. The birds’ attack came

Kano: Police, Islamic leaders meet over insecurity AUGUSTINE MADU-WEST KANO

olice have been holding meetings with Islamic leaders in Kano State on how to provide adequate security, particularly during Ramadan and Sallah. The state Commissioner of Police, Ibrahim Idris, said at the weekend that the meetings with religious leaders had been successful, resulting in some major decisions. He said: “At the latest meeting with religious leaders with members of the

Hisbah, Vigilante, National Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, and the Federal Road Safety Commission, FRSC, in attendance, it was agreed that during this period, persons coming to the mosque shall remain there until the close of prayers and no loitering around the mosques, erection of barricades where and when applicable. “People should not be allowed into the mosque vicinity with bags, parcels and containers, while any strange object should be reported to the security agencies.

“Preachers should avoid inciting comments, while suspicious movements should attract police attention. Vehicles and motorcycles must be parked at a safe distance and abandoned ones around the mosques must be promptly reported.” Idris also said that in response to public complaints over alleged extortion by police and other security personnel at various checkpoints in the commercial city of Kano, his command had arrested 17 policemen. The commissioner gave the breakdown of those arrested as six inspectors,

three sergeants, five corporals and three constables. He said: “Orderly room trial is in progress to ascertain their culpability and the public is hereby warned to desist from offering money for whatever reason to policemen on duty for they too will be held culpable if caught. And any officer who demands money from members of the public should be reported to the police through emergency numbers and public complaint numbers 08032419754, 08123831575, 08099831808, 064977004, 08031803555, 08057959393.”

on the heels of invasion of worms, suspected to be caterpillar larva, which destroyed farmlands in 23 out of the 34 local government areas of the state. It was learnt that the quelea birds migrated from neighbouring Niger Republic. Katsina is one of the states which have experienced invasion of farmlands by the birds, which target crops such as maize, millet and guinea corn. To keep the birds away, some farmers in Jibia have resorted to sleeping in their farms, and taking turns with their children to guard their farmlands from the invasion.

Gov. Shema

Ramadan Special

Monday, July 30, 2012

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Sultan to Muslims: Shun violence, extremism A ZA MSUE KADUNA

he Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar III at the weekend urged Muslims across the country to shun violence and any form of extremism. He stated this in his keynote address during the 7th

Ramadan lecture organized by NTA/FRCN at Umaru Musa Yar’adua Sports Hall, Murtala Muhammad Square, Kaduna, saying Islam is against extremism. Speaking through the Emir of Birnin Gwari, Malam Zubair Jibrin Maigwari, he said Muslims must understand that Islam does not like

the extremists and extremism is against what Allah SWT revealed to mankind. He added that extremism brought about the present insecurity and hardship while urging them to unite and adhere strictly to the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The Sultan maintained

that the only solution is for all to repent, go back to Allah (SWT) and follow the teachings of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). In his speech, the Guest lecturer, Malam Umar Abdullahi Dada Paiko, who spoke on the topic; “Extremism and Islam” said extremism is alien to the tradition of Islam and Muslims.

Group, journalists pray for Gawat MURITALA AYINLA

he Lagos State branch of the Association of Muslim Media Practitioners of Nigeria (AMMPON) has pleaded with abductors of the missing journalist, Alhaji Rasak Gawat to release him in the spirit of Ramadan. The appeal is coming on the heels of another prayer held for the discovery of the missing journalist by Muslim Media Watch Group in llorin. Speaking after a meeting of the group in Lagos, the interim chairman, Alhaji Taiwo Junaid said that allowing Gawat to return home at this period will put smiles on the faces of many Nigerians, appealing to his abductors to consider the plight of his family who have, since his abduction, been deprived of fatherly care. Junaid added that releasing the ace broadcaster would also put smiles on the faces of all his admirers who gain spiritually and materially through Gawat’s programme during the holy month of Ramadan. “Apart from Muslims, people of other faiths also gain from Gawat’s enriching program during this period. Even Christians are missing Gawat in this holy period as his programme is an enriching one that benefits all, across religious divide.” The body also used the opportunity to alert security forces on the need to be alive to their responsibilities, wondering how somebody of Gawat’s caliber could have been taken away for three weeks without any hint of his whereabouts and called on Nigerians to pray for divine intervention in order for Gawat to be reunited with his family.

L-R: Alhaja Ramdat Fehintola Muri Okunola; Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola SAN and Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Alhaji Lateef Ibirogba, during the 8th Justice Muri Okunola Memorial Ramadan Lecture on two topics, “Islam and Environmental Abuse” and “Motherhood in Islam in Lagos, yesterday.

Prices of food items on the increase L ATEEFAH IBRAHIMANIMASHAUN

amadan, a month of mercy has almost been turned into a season of anguish to many Nigerians owing to increment in prices of fruits and other products, especially food items across the country. A visit to most markets in Lagos shows an increase in the cost of most items, especially fruits, provisions and other food items as a result of the Ramadan fast. In an interview with National

Mirror, Mrs. Bilikisu Layemi, a pap seller in Lagos, said that the rate at which there is increment in the cost of corn, used in making pap, is alarming this year. Layemi claimed that the mallams who sell the corn to them said they are usually taxed heavily by the police on their way to Lagos. Another Rice seller, Alhaja Nafisat Gbadebo said that her sales has dropped because majority of her customers no longer come to buy food due to the fast and she also buys at a higher rate.

Meanwhile, a seller of Islamic clothing materials and other spiritual items like Hijab and Quran said their prices have not been affected by the fast and that they enjoy more sales during the month of Ramadan. A co-partner of Fikr Communications Limited, Barrister Habeeb Lawal said there should be no reason why some people should intentionally increase price of products due to the fast. “Allah has not placed any burden on Muslims and business men and women should not do this.”

Deputy Governor of Kaduna State, Alhaji Mukhtar Yero (left), with the Emir of Birnin Gwari, Alahji Zubair Maigwari, at the Nigerian Television Authority’s 7th annual Ramadan lecture in Kaduna at the weekend. PHOTO: NAN

Day 11

Amosun’s wife organises Ramadan competition

ife of the Governor of Ogun State, Mrs. Olufunso Amosun, through one of her initiatives, Spouses of State Government Functionaries Association (SOSGFA), is organising Essay Writing/Quiz Competition & Qur’anic Recitation for school children across the 20 local government areas of the state. In a statement by the Coordinator of the event, Dr. Rashidat Salisu, the contest aimed at providing opportunity for our school children to enhance their knowledge on Islamic issues and bring home the virtues of the glorious month of Ramadan. “It is specially designed to engender scholarship and encourage reading and research among our school children and keep them occupied as most of them are currently enjoying their academic break.

We hope to promote public awareness on educational sector and enable our students analyse issues from their own perspectives,” she said. She said the topic for the essay competition for Junior Secondary Schools category is; “The Social, Moral and Spiritual Benefits of Ramadan” and for Senior Secondary Schools category, it is; “Maximising the Gains of Ramadan.” She said the first stage of the competition with not more than 250 words, had been written within an hour at four centres on July 25th, while the Quiz Competition & Qur’anic Recitation would take place on July 31 at selected schools in each of the 20 local government areas of the state. “The competition would be rounded up with a prize giving day for winners immediately after Ramadan.”

Governor’s wife pays medical bill DANJUMA WILLIAMS GOMBE

n the spirit of the Ramadan season, wife of the Gombe State Governor, Hajiya Adama Dankwambo has donated N1.8 million as support for the medical bills of four patients at the Federal Medical Centre, Gombe. Making the cash donation on her behalf, her Special Assistant on women and youth, Hajiya Hauwa Musa stated that the first lady was motivated into giving the donation due to the very poor background of the patients. She called on other well-to-do individuals in the society to also help the less-privileged. “The month of Ramadan offers the opportunity for Muslims to engage in such activities.” She explained further that one of the patients, Ahmed Abubakar

Aliyu who suffers from a brain related problem would receive N1 million for an operation at the Usman Danfodio University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH) Sokoto. Others were Abba Zakaria who also received N400, 000 for a cancerous operation while Abba Usman and Abdulkadir Babawuro Bello received N200, 000 each for a related operation. She also promised to continue the philanthropic gesture, especially during this month of Ramadan so as to receive Allah’s reward.

Monday, July 30, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Sport

We are doing everything possible to encourage and motivate Team Nigeria athletes in London

From the London 2012 lens

- SPORTS MINISTER, BOLAJI ABDULLAHI

XXXTH OLYMPIC SUMMER GAMES

London 2012

EVEREST ONYEWUCHI REPORTING

July 27 - August 12, 2012

D’Tigers out-dunk Tunisians

t looked like it was going to be a stroll in the pack after the first quarter ended 18-7 and the second quarter also ended 13-8 in favour of the D’Tigers. But a spectacular collapse by Nigeria in the 2nd half brought back the Tunisians into the game and the North Africans won the 3rd and 4th quarter at 16-14, 25-15 to narrow Tigers’ victory to just four points, ending at 60-56. Speaking after the game, Al-Farouq Aminu who plays for New Orleans Hornets, USA said: “It feels great to win and that today was a big statement match for Nigeria.” Tony Skinn, the point guard who plays for Ironi Ashkelon, Israel, also agreed that Nigeria did not work hard to put the game away in the 1st half but conceded that the game was tough. Alade Aminu, who stars in France for Elan Chalon, however urged Nigerians to remain hopeful, p , saying y g the team would improve in subgames. sequent “This is our first time in Olympics and if we the Ol keep winning we will more attention,” he get m submitted. subm Top scorer in the To game, Ike Diogu, said Tigers could go all the T the way. th “It was our first win at the Olympic Games ever so it has to be a historic day for us,” he said, stressing, “We only have to show the world that we have arth rived on the scene.” r D’Tigers coach, Bakare

Football results Egypt

1-1

N’Zealand

Mexico

2-0

Gabon

Brazil

3-1

Belarus

Senegal

2-0

Uruguay

Japan

1-0

Morocco

S/Korea

2-1

Switzerland

Aruna Quadri battled in vain yesterday, falling to Bora Vang and out of the Olympic race

T/tennis: Turkish dismisses Quadri N igeria’s only hope in table tennis, Aruna Quadri, was yesterday knocked out of the Olympics, completing the woe that has trailed Nigerian players in the event. The Portugal-based Aruna lost his second round match 4-2 to Bora Vang

of Turkey, after he had raised hope of a Nigerian resurgence. The trio of veterans Segun Toriola and Funke Oshonaike and Africa’s number one, Offiong Edem, were eliminated on Saturday in what surprised many Nigerians.

Interestingly, Aruna had expressed his desire to scale the early rounds after preparing for the games with series of competitions. “I want to make this Olympics a historic one for myself and I am determined to excel,” he said.

Boxing: Akanji Officials investigate empty venues Police arrest 16 not up to scratch ticket touts Culture Secretary, Jeremy hree days into the for-

igeria’s Muideen Akanji looked pitiable on Saturday night, right from the moment he stepped into the boxing ring. His movement on the canvass was suspect and so were his punches. When the bell tolled, Irish man O’Neill Darren showed more vim and vitality with sharper reflexes that scored points. Muideen, who looked a shadow of himself, could not deliver the sucker punches that had become his hallmark. On several occasions, he ran into trouble and could not waive off the jabs from which his opponent gained points. He managed to last the distance but lost miserably 15 -6.

mal opening of the ongoing Olympic Games in London, the organisers, LOCOG, have launched an investigation into the embarrassing empty seats staring at their faces at the various venues. LOCOG’s surprise stems from the fact that London 2012 is holding during summer’s school holidays, when even workers had prepared how to juggle their shifts to be present live at events. But since Saturday, it has been empty seats watching the athletes as they compete for medals. National Mirror learnt here that this brings to the fore the several months of public complaints over the inability of thousands in Britain to buy tickets online and at the selling points.

Hunt, the minister responsible for the Olympics, said at the weekend that he was disappointed by the empty seats and that the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) was looking into it. “We think it was accredited seats that belong to sponsors, but if they are not going to turn up, we want those tickets to be available for members of the public, because that creates the best atmosphere. So, we are looking at this very urgently at the moment,” Hunt said. Also, the Sports Minister, Hugh Robertson, said he was surprised that the events were not full, especially since the LOCOG was used to putting up the “sold out” sign within minutes of each tranche of tickets going on sale to the public.

he London Metropolitan police have arrested 16 people for allegedly illegally reselling Olympics tickets since after the opening ceremony on Friday. Detective Superintendent, Nick Downing, said the arrests were made on Friday and Saturday in the Stratford area near the Olympic Park, and in Wimbledon, in the south of the capital after police launched investigation into the cause of the embarrassing empty seats at venues. “Ticket touting is illegal and is a clear exploitation of those who genuinely wish to experience the Games firsthand,” the officer in charge of a crackdown on illegal ticket resellers, known as touts, said.

Sport

Monday, July 30 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

FROM THE LONDON 2012 LENS

Federer jubilates after his victory yesterday

American first lady, Michelle Obama and NBA star, Kobe Bryant

Om Yun Chol of DPR Korea breaks the Olympic record

Australia’s Lauren Mitchell performs on the beam Brazil players celebrate after beating Belarus

Jeff Horn (l) Gilbert Choombe contesting in the light welterweight category

Poland’s Klejnowska-Krzywanska in the women’s weightlifting

Serena Williams

Team USA’s Abigail Johnson and Kelci Bryant in action

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Sport

Monday, July 30, 2012

AYC 2013: Flying Eagles edge Tanzania IKENWA NNABUOGOR

ontrary to expectation, Flying Eagles were in fantastic form yesterday beating Young Heroes of Tanzania 2-1 at the National Stadium in Dar-es-Salaam in the first leg first round of the 2013 African Youth Championships qualifiers. However, the hosts pulled one back in the second half to keep small hopes alive for an upset when they visit Nigeria. The John Obuh-coached Nigerian team have now brighten their chances of advancing to the next round of the 2013 African Youth Championship to be held in Algeria. Two goals in the first half by Enugu Rangers player Alhaji Gero ensured victory for the Flying Eagles, who will consolidate their excellent form M Guinness Low Sugar by beating the young East Afri- Arsenal’s trio of Per Mertesacker (l), Lucas Podolski and Bacary Sagna during the shooting of the Malta Work Out in Lagos yesterday. Inset: Okocha cans in the return leg in Ilorin on August 11. Flying Eagles will meet the winner of the clash between Congo and South Africa should they prevail in the return leg against Tanzania, to finally berth in Algeria for the AYC finals. resolved to win “I watched Okocha show his sublime u ublime The Nigerians were beaten A DEDEJI A DEMIGBUJI skill against goalkeeper Oliver Kahn in a ahn trophies this sea1-0 by Rwanda in Kigali last son. a league game and this memory remains em mains Tuesday in a tune-up game “Arsenal is a big club a said, al rsenal defender, Per Mertesacker, with me,” the Germany international before they flew into Dar-eswith a fantastic team and, adding, “He is my favourite player and I a has described former Nigeria inSalaam. as a new player, I have come to ternational, Austin Okocha, as the enjoyed watching him.” win trophies as well as to score Mertesacker is in Nigeria alongside d felde best African player he admired as a little great goals,” the Polish-born low Gunners, Backary Sagna and Lucas Lu ucas boy. Germany international said. n ness Mertesacker, who spoke with National Podoski, to unveil the Malta Guinness The entire Gunners team errMirror at the launch/filming of the Malta product as part of the club’s partnerwas billed to visit Nigeria for Guinness Low Sugar Work Out in Lagos ship with the company as the offithe project before a pre-season yesterday, said Okocha’s extraordinary cial drink of Arsenal Football Club. tour of China ensured that only Meanwhile, new Arsenal buy, skills lightened the German Bundesliga three of the players made the Afwhile the midfielder played for Eintracht Lucas Podoski, has told National rican tour. Mirror that the Emirates club is Frankfurt.

Okocha, Africa’s best – Mertesacker A

John Obuh

Security: Pepsi U-17 sends right signal AFOLABI GAMBARI

ne of the four teams that participated in the Pepsi U-17 International Tournament, St. Bede’s School, England has conceded that the security situation in Nigeria has been exaggerated. Head Coach of the school, David Legget, said the team had been apprehensive at competing in the two-day event that ended at the MKO Stadium, Abeokuta over the weekend despite the players’ enthusiasm. “The British media

painted a totally different picture and it was pretty hard to convince parents of the players to accept that their wards come to Nigeria,” Legget, who doubles as Head Teacher of the school, told National Mirror at a reception for the team in Abeokuta. “We are pleasantly surprised with the friendly atmosphere that we encountered and the warm people and here we are already thinking of visiting again soon,” he added, stressing, “We will certainly go back to England to correct this

wrong impression.” The Pepsi team emerged winner of the four-team tournament after scoring a final minute goal to edge River Lane Academy, Enugu in the final. Oyo State Academicals whipped St. Bede’s 6-2 to win the bronze. Meanwhile, Director of the Pepsi Football Academy, Dr. Kasimawo Laloko, has said that the tournament is one in the series of activity planned to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the PFA which was founded in 1992.

Wilshere blow for Gunners

rsenal Manager, Arsene Wenger, has ruled out midfielder Jack Wilshere until October due to the player’s ongoing injury problems. Wilshere missed the whole of last season as well as the subsequent European Championships and Olympics.

Wilshere

His initial problem was an ankle injury but the 20-year-old England international also underwent knee surgery in May. Wenger has confirmed that Wilshere is still struggling, while revealing brighter news about another long-term injury concern Abou Diaby, who also failed to make a single start last season. “Hopefully, we will get Wilshere back playing for October,” Wenger said yesterday. “With Abou Diaby returning, it will be like signing two new players. This season, the squad will be strong and competitive.” The October return for Wilshere would rule him out of England’s opening two World Cup qualifiers against Moldova and Ukraine, which take place in early September.

WORLD RECORD

Tallest human tower

Vol. 02 No. 414

N150

Monday, July 30, 2012

The tallest human tower consists of 6 people standing on top of each others shoulders and was performed by the Fuyong Acrobatic Arts Group of Bao An District (all China) on the set of Zheng Da Zong Yi on 18 September 2007.

Creaky homes and messy matrimonies (1)

f you want to gauge the public mood or feel the pulse of the nation, a molue ride is a good starting point. The Lagos molue pulsates with all sorts of emotions: from the drudgery of work to the pains of disappointments, the failure of infrastructure to the neglect of the citizenry; the frustration and anger of an awful business day to the annoyance against corruption in official circles; the fear of fretful and nagging spouses to the treachery of unfaithful partners, all come out in full expression inside the notorious public transportation that some states of the federation are gradually doing away with. A ride on molue can be fun. As a social commentator, I like to enjoy some comic relief through molue debates and discussions, but avoiding the temptation of joining the cacophonous atmo-

ritain’s Paula Radcliffe admits the situation is not looking good as her participation in the marathon event of the Olympics hangs in the balance. A foot problem has flared up again casting a major doubt over whether she will compete in the games. Radcliffe, 38, insisted a decision

Guest Columnist

Abdulwarees Solanke

sphere in the rickety ride. Apart from the pedestrian political discourses and uninformed economic analyses that dominate the air inside the molue, matrimonial wounds are opened. Its stench oozes. It is a matter that awakens in one the realization of so many marital frustrations that couples barely cope with, the matrimonial heat under many roofs and the passionate hate many spouses nurture against their own house mates. Telephone insults, harassment and deception are not uncommon inside the molue as some blame their woes on their matrimonial partners on whom they heaped curses in absentia. Inside the molue, the lamentations on the struggle of living in creaky homes and enduring messy matrimonies find full expression. As I reflect in my silent moments just before dawn, I realize that matters of the heart that become subject of hate inside the molue, not caring who is listening, can be located in certain errors many men make, especially before marriage, but which they lack the courage to address as years roll by in matrimony. In that circumstance, peace of mind is lost, breach of trust comes to the open and the products of the union are held hostage in a loveless home. The purpose of marriage and family - peace and stability of the society - is therefore lost I remember in my elementary civics and

INSIDE THE MOLUE, THE LAMENTATIONS ON THE STRUGGLE OF LIVING IN CREAKY HOMES AND ENDURING MESSY MATRIMONIES FIND FULL EXPRESSION social studies lessons at Abadina School, University of Ibadan and Egba (Comprehensive) High School, Asero, in the early/ mid 70s being tutored that marriage is the foundation of the family. But my full appreciation of those primary and lower secondary school instructions in Ibadan and Abeokuta did not fully come until I read a book authored by one Fathi Yakan in my university years at Akoka, as we call the University of Lagos (or Moshood Abiola University of Lagos) in the mid 1980s. In that treatise addressed to workers on an ideological missionary path, Yakan observed that many of the activists in the mission often lose zeal and abandoned the cause soon after their marriage. He traced the troubling phenomenon to spousal influence and distraction. According to his investigation and analysis, the problem is not unconnected with

factors relating to what has generally being described as blind love, lust or infatuation. By the time the reality and responsibility of marriage and family dawns on the couple, even if they have been in courtship or experimenting as live-in lovers for 10 or more years, they discover they are not meant for each other. They are incompatible. The home is therefore shun of true love, common purpose and shared happiness. The hearts once thought to be one and same in love therefore begin the search for new bliss, in most instances, elsewhere, and not in the home they swore to build together while taking the oath of marriage, for better, for worse. The house creaks; the marriage lapses into a mess or falls into shambles with everyday noises, abuses and assault, over even a thing as trivial as where to press the toothpaste tube. Divorce is in the air. In the worst extreme, depression, leading to suicide or murder, is obvious in the house once said to be built on love as cases in courts and on the newspaper pages have shown. It is sad. Thanks to Yakan, who explained that such unfortunate development could not have risen if intentions were pure and the correct choice made. In essence, marriage ought to be built on sincerity and compatibility, two conditions for love and companionship. These are just two of the many prescriptions he gave for the sustainability of marriage and most importantly for the attainment of the vision of the marital partners. For it is in a happy and peaceful home that the couple, the husband and the wife, can pursue their dream and raise the family, oh the children, to be responsible members of the society. Most homes lack in this. To be continued Solanke, korewarith@yahoo.com, is Head, Voice of Nigeria Training Centre, Transmitting Station Complex, Ikorodu, Lagos

Sport Extra

Marathon: Radcliffe concedes to injury woe to rule her out had not been made, but conceded it was touch and go. “Things are not in shape for me but my heart still competes,” she said yesterday. UK Athletics had, however, said on Saturday that the world record

holder remained part of the Great Britain team. “Paula is still in the team. No decision has been taken and we are continuing to monitor and assess the situation,” a spokesperson said. Radcliffe won gold over the dis-

tance at the World Championships in 2005, but has never won an Olympic medal. Injuries had blighted the marathoner’s appearances at Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 Olympic NFF President, Aminu Maigari games. Paula Radcliffe

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