Monday, September 10, 2012

Subscribers dump Starcomms, Visafone, Multilinks, others EXCLUSIVE KUNLE A ZEEZ

Johnson

Vol. 2 N0. 444

S

evere technology limitations, inadequate financial

Lagos under siege:

muscle and low innovations in terms of valueadded service offerings in Nigeria have forced over four million telephone subscribers to dump the networks of

telecoms operators in the Code Division Multiple Access, CDMA, segment in the last three years, National Mirror can reveal.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 5>>

BUSINESS

THE

Fresh crisis looms over imposition of new port charges

SECTION

Aganga tasks D-Gs, perm sec on performance Free insi inside nsiide de P.A6,A7

Monday, September 10, 2012

N150 FRANCIS SUBERU AND MURITALA AYINLA

Robbers kill two A cops, seven others 3 NNPC engineers die as pipeline vandals strike

rmed robbers yesterday launched attacks in some parts of Lagos metropolis, killing two policemen and seven others.

At least 10 persons were also said to have been seriously injured during the operations that saw the robbers shooting indiscriminately.

The robbers struck in

P.4

CONTINUED ON PAGE 2>>

Presidency assures of 5,400mw by December P.4

L-R: Vice-President Namadi Sambo; President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf of Liberia and Commandant, Nigerian Defence Academy, Maj.-Gen. Chukwuemeka Onwuamaegbu, after the conferment of honorary Doctor of Management Science on the Liberian leader, at the passing out parade of the 59 Regular Course at NDA in Kaduna at the weekend.

Adenuga, Odili, IGP, govs, others bag national honours Suswam, Suntai, Olanipekun, Mobolaji-Johnson make list

Foreign, local airlines owe FAAN N1.7bn

P.5 P.8

Fresh anxiety over First Lady’s health

Jonathan may visit her in Germany P.8

Chioma Ajunwa confirms delivery of triplets

P.53

2

News

Monday, September 10, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Robbers kill two cops, seven others in Lagos CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

Ijesha, Adekunle in Yaba, Gbagada, Anthony, Maryland, Pen Cinema in Agege, Ojodu Berger, and Falolu/ Aguda in Surulere.

At Ijesha, a commercial motorcyclist, popularly called Okada, was killed, while two other persons were seriously injured.

At Adekunle Street in Yaba, an Okada rider and another person were killed, while in Gbagada area a man was shot and three other people injured.

An eyewitness told our correspondent that the robbery at Ijesha led to pandemonium in the area as the robbers shot sporadically at different directions in a desperate move to snatch a Toyota Camry car.

He said the Okada rider, who was hit by a stray bullet, died on the spot.

“It happened about 2p.m.

The incident was sudden and dreadful. We just heard their gunshots and saw them trail a Toyota Camry.

When they got to Ijesha market, they crossed the vehicle, dragged the owner out of the car and drove off.

“They were three young men and they carried AK47 rifles. They were shooting sporadically. Apart from the Okada rider who was hit by a stray bullet, there was a shop keeper who was also hit on the leg by a stray bullet.”

At the Oke-Odo area of Agege, it was gathered that seven armed robbers

attacked foreign exchange dealers in an operation that lasted about one hour.

Unconfirmed reports said the robbers who drove in two SUVs, a Toyota Prado and Nissan Armada, shot dead four bureau de change operators, who refused to surrender their foreign currencies.

The robbers and the police exchanged gunshots, while many people were injured via stray bullets.

It was also learnt that two bags containing local and foreign currencies running into millions were carted away by the criminals.

Some of those injured were rushed to a private hospital at Oke-Koto but they were rejected and were taken to another private medical centre at Alfa Nla Street in the same vicinity.

A stray bullet was said to have hit a six-year-old girl in the eye and her grandmother was shot in the forehead while they were watching television in their home at 15, Alfa-Nla Street, Agege.

Another bullet also hit a parked Volvo ambulance with registration number HL 355 AAA belonging to Motolani Medical Centre, and shattered the back windshield.

National Mirror learnt that as the robbers were escaping in their SUV, a team of Rapid Response Squad, RRS officers, chased them in their patrol vehicle with

registration number 525.

The police team caught up with the robbers at Guinness bus stop, along Oba Akran Avenue in Ikeja but the robbers shot dead the police patrol team driver and another policeman on the spot before they escaped with their loot.

At Gbagada, another gang of robbers attempted to rob the ATM belonging to a branch of GTB in the area.

Just like the robbers at Ijesha, they were also shooting sporadically, killing one man and injured at least three people in the process.

The robbery at Adekunle area of Yaba, which left a commercial motorcyclist dead, led to a brief protest

by Okada riders in the area as they carried the corpse of their colleague to Adekunle Police Division.

There was also a protest by Okada riders at Area F in Ikeja over the killing of two commercial motorcyclists.

It was also gathered that there were robbery incidents at Morgan Estate 2, Ojodu, Surulere, Anthony and Maryland where an official of the Lagos State Transport Management Authority, LASTMA, was reportedly shot.

The state Police Commissioner, Mr. Umar Manko, has ordered all police officers in the command to ensure that the gang members were arrested.

The Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Ngozi

Braide, told our correspondent that the rampaging armed robbers were of the same gang, even as she confirmed that the hoodlums killed two police officers.

She said: “They are the same set of armed robbers running around as police officers chase them.

“We have lost two officers and we are still on their trail because the CP has ordered all police officers in Lagos to be on duty and ensure that the robbers are arrested.

“There is no cause for alarm as police officers in the state are battle ready to stamp out criminals and criminality in the metropolis.

“Let me assure you that the police will not rest un-

til the robbers are arrested.

Officers have been deployed to strategic locations to ensure their arrest.”

Also, two persons, including a policeman, died yesterday in an accident involving a Volkswagen LT commercial bus at Ikeja bus stop, Lagos.

The policeman and the driver (names unknown) died instantly as the bus with registration number AX336-EKY skidded off the road at about 2:30p.m. and crashed into the rail lines near the bus stop.

An eyewitness, Mrs. Kudirat Ayoola, said that the bus contained three people – the driver, the conductor and the policeman.

She said that the bus that CONTINUED ON PAGE 5>>

L-R: Managing Director, NIPCO Plc, Mr. Venkataraman Venkatapathy; Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and Task Force Chairman and Managing Director of Access Bank , Mr. Aigboje Imoukhuede, addressing journalists in Abuja at the weekend.

Subscribers dump Starcomms, Visafone, Multilinks, others CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

In Nigeria, the telecoms companies in the CDMA segment are Starcomms, Visafone, Multi-Links and ZoomMobile.

The over four million subscribers on their networks in the last three years also account for 53 per cent of the total subscribers on the networks, as subscriptions fell significantly from 7.5 million in 2009, when the networks had the highest subscriber base, to the current 3.5 million subscribers as at June 2012.

National Mirror investigations noted that the 2007-2008 were the golden years for CDMA operators as they grew their combined subscriber base from 384,315 lines to

over six million during the period.

Though this upward trend in subscriber growth increased to 7.5 million telephone lines in 2009, the subscription growth pattern changed the following year, dropping to 6.1 million lines at the end of December 2010.

Further decline was experienced in 2011 as challenges facing the CDMA operators intensified, making it extremely difficult for them to favourably compete with their Global System for Mobile Communications, GSM, counterparts.

By December 2011, the industry subscriptions on all CDMA networks, including Visafone, Starcomms, Multilinks

and Zoom-Mobile had declined to 4.6 million active subscriptions.

The downward trend continued in 2012 with consistent decline in CDMA subscription from January to June, when the Nigerian Communications Commission released the latest industry data.

As a result, with CDMA’s total active subscribers standing at 4.4 million in January 2012, the figure dropped further to 4.03 million, 4.01 million in February and March respectively.

In April, May and June, the number of connected and active telephone users on CDMA networks fell to 3.9 million, 3.7 million and 3.5 million respectively.

However, statistics from the regulator showed that, though the CDMA operators combined had upgraded their networks to accommodate up to 17.2 million subscribers, only 3.5 million telephone lines are active on their networks.

This means that they now have redundant capacity on their networks, as over 13.7 million lines which their networks can still accommodate, thereby improving their incomes, are currently non-existent on their network.

Further analysts revealed that, in all, the CDMA segment have lost about 53 per cent of their total active subscribers between 2009 and June, 2012.

However, while the CDMA operators have been putting up a poor performance in terms of subscriber base, the GSM companies have maintained impressive performance building their combined subscribers from 266,461 telephone lines in 2001 to over 102.3 million lines at the end of June 2012.

In 2002, GSM operators increased their subscriber base from 266,461 telephone lines in 2001 to 1.5 million. In 2003, the figure rose to 3.1 million while in 2004, it jumped to 9.1 million.

The GSM subscriptions further increased significantly to 18.2 million lines in 2005; 32.1 million in 2005; while active GSM subscriptions

swelled to over 40 million in 2006 and further to 56.9 million and 65.5 million in 2007 and 2008 respectively.

By the end of December 2009, GSM subscriber base climbed to 65.5 million; 81.19 million in 2010 and by December 2011, the subscriber base has increased to 90.5 million.

In the first half of 2012, the GSM subscriptions have increased from 91 million to 98.3 million.

Speaking on the development, a telecoms analyst, Mr. Akin Akinbo, noted at the weekend that, “the CDMA have been facing a number of challenges top of which is the fact that they have limited coverage unlike CONTINUED ON PAGE 5>>

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Monday, September 10, 2012

3

4

Photo News

Monday, September 10, 2012

L-R: Member, House of Representatives, Hon. Stella Dorgu; Chairman, African Centre for Citizens Orientation, Mr. Olugbenga Adeleye and Secretary, Mr. Abdulkareem Tijjani, during a working visit to the National Assembly in Abuja, at the weekend.

PHOTO: ROTIMI OSASONA

L-R: Managing Director, Samsung Electronics, West Africa, Mr. Bravo Kim; Business Manager, Mr. Daesong Ra; Retail Marketing Manager, Ms. Olubunmi Omikunle and Head of Sales, Mr. Olumide Ojo, at the opening of Samsung’s Experience Store in Lagos, at the weekend.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

L-R: Former Defence Minister, Dr. Haliru Bello Mohammed, Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola, his wife, Serifat and former Minister of Information, Chief Alex Akinyele, during the presentation of Governor of the Year in Information Communication Technology award to Aregbesola at the 8th Nigerian Telecoms Awards in Lagos, at the weekend.

L-R: Marketing Manager, Lager, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Mr. Tony Agenmonmen; Marketing Director, Mr. Walter Drenth and Brand Manager, Legend, Mr. Funso Ayeni, at the Legend Celebration of Excellence Award in Lagos, at the weekend.

PHOTO: YINKA ADEPARUSI

National News

Pipeline vandals kill three NNPC engineers at Arepo UDEME AKPAN

P

ipeline vandals have killed three engineers of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, at Arepo, Ogun State, while carrying out repairs on a ruptured pipeline.

The engineers, drawn from the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company, PPMC, a subsidiary of the apex oil corporation, were on maintenance duty of the pipeline that was breached by vandals last week before they were attacked by unknown hoodlums on Friday.

The pipeline, which enhances the distribution of petroleum products, was vandalised last week, thereby disrupting efficient distribution of petrol between Lagos and Ogun states.

Our correspondent

gathered that the vandals, who went back to the scene to steal the product, were not pleased to notice the presence of the engineers and security personnel mobilised to provide security backup for the rehabilitation of the facility.

Consequently, the hoodlums, who made use of canoes and speedboats, descended on the engineers and others at the scene.

The NNPC acting Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs Division, Mr. Fidel Pepple, confirmed the attack in a statement.

He said: “The management of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation at the weekend confirmed the killing of three of its personnel after suspected oil pipeline hackers opened fire on a team of engineers and technicians of the Pipe-

lines and Products Marketing Company, PPMC, deployed to effect repairs on the recently vandalised products pipeline in Arepo Village near Lagos in Obafemi/Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State.

“From all indications, vandals were not happy to watch the renewed efforts of the NNPC to maintain and secure the pipeline.

“They perceived the presence of the engineers as a serious threat to their illegal business and, therefore, decided to fight back.”

Pepple said that while three members of the repair team had been confirmed dead, some others were receiving treatment as a result of injuries sustained after they were shot by the vandals.

He said the NNPC had dispatched a team of pipeline engineers

and technologists to the ruptured products pipeline site in Arepo after it successfully put out the flames by ensuring a complete cut-off of product supply to the pipeline from the Atlas Cove.

“The PPMC team was on the verge of gaining access to the damaged point to commence proper assessment of the scope of work when they were ensnared in an ambush,” Pepple said.

Describing the situation as sad and regrettable, the NNPC spokesman called on Nigerians to collaborate with the corporation in its quest to ensure effective supply and distribution of petroleum products across the country by reporting the nefarious activities of pipeline vandals to the security agencies.

He said: “Nigerians need to identify with the NNPC and recognise

that it is our collective responsibility to work towards securing the nation’s oil installations which are our collective national assets.

“It is no news that our economy relies heavily on what comes out of these pipelines, thus our

economic destiny is tied to our pipelines “It is, therefore, imperative for us to strive to protect these installations in order to ensure continuous flow of oil for the benefit of the Nigerian people.”

Floods kill 137, displace thousands

A

bout 137 people have been killed by floods across Nigeria, while more than 30,000 others have displaced since the beginning of July, the Red Cross said yesterday.

The country has a rainy season from May to September and suffers from seasonal flash floods, which are sometimes lethal, especially in rural areas or overcrowded slums where drainage is poor or nonexistent.

The Red Cross

spokesman, Umar Mairiga, said the floods had affected some 15 local government areas, with the worst hit being Adamawa, Taraba and Benue states in the east-central part of the country.

He said: “We are expecting the number of dead or displaced to keep building up.”

Mairiga, who put the latest displaced figure at 36,331, said there had been no reports so far of major damage to agriculture or industry.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

News

Monday, September 10, 2012

5

Adenuga, Odili, IGP, govs, others bag national honours

C

hairman of Globacom, Dr. Mike Adenuga and 148 other Nigerians are to be conferred with the National Honours Award on September 17.

This is contained in a statement signed by Dr. Henry Akpan, the Permanent Secretary, Special Duties Office, Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

The statement said that only Adenuga would be conferred with the Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger (GCON).

It said that 11 Nigerians are to be honoured in the category of the Commander of the Federal

Adenuga

Abubakar

Republic (CFR).

They include Hon. Justice Mary Odili, Inspector-General of Police Mohammed Abubakar, Chief Gabriel Igbinedion and the first Governor of Lagos State, Brig.-Gen. Mobolaji Johnson (Rtd).

Similarly, 25 Nigerians will be honoured in the category of the Commander of the Niger

Suswam

(CON).

They include Governors Gabriel Suswam of Benue, Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta, Martin Elechi of Ebonyi, Danbaba Suntai of Taraba and seven senators.

The statement listed Mr. Oluwole Olanipekun (SAN) and Mr. Alex Izinyon (SAN), among 24 Nigerians who are to be

Odili

honoured with the award of the Officer of the Federal Republic (OFR).

It said that 38 people including Mrs. Esther Gonda, the Permanent Secretary, Special Services office in the office of the Secretary to Government of the Federation, are to be honoured with the Order of the Niger (OON).

Igbinedion

Alhaji Salisu Maikasuwa, the Clerk of the National Assembly and Alhaji Mohammed Ahmed, the Director General of PENCOM are also among those to be honoured in that category.

In the category of the Member of the Fed-

Subscribers dump Starcomms, Visafone, Multilinks, others CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

L-R: Plateau State Deputy Governor, Mr. Ignatius Longjan; Majority Leader, Plateau State House of Assembly, Mr. Daniel Dem and senatorial aspirant of Peoples Democratic Party, Plateau North, Mr. Gyang Pwajok, at the entrepreneurship training for unemployed graduates in Jos recently.

PHOTO: NAN

Robbers kill two cops, seven others in Lagos CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

was on a high speed from Oshodi, suddenly skidded off the road before it was stopped by the rail tracks.

Meanwhile, Governor Babatunde Fashola at the weekend dismissed the argument that state police would be abused if established.

The governor’s reaction came on the heels of disclosure by the Lagos State Security Trust Fund, LSSTF, that it had donated over 400 patrol vehicles to the police in the last five years, while the Federal Government donated 20 in the last six years.

Fashola, who spoke in Lagos at a meeting with some journalists, cited the recent clash between the police and miners of Malema in South Africa,

saying even in the biggest democracies of the world, there were reported cases of abuse by policemen on the citizens.

He argued that if a referendum was organised in Nigeria today on the issue, Nigerians would unanimously pitch their tent with those in support of an efficient state police that could protect lives and property even if it could be subject to abuse.

Fashola also debunked the claims that state police would be used for electioneering purposes, saying that such claims had been gaining currency in Nigeria because no attempt had been made to properly organise elections, necessitating the deployment of heavy security personnel,

including soldiers, to monitor elections.

According to him, “Nigeria operates a constitution that creates federal and state governments, federal and state legislature, federal and state courts to adjudicate on the laws made by the different levels of parliament but sadly there is no state police.”

Also speaking in the same vein, the LSSTF Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Fola Arthur-Worrey, bemoaned the failure of the Federal Government to adequately equip the police.

This, he said, made governors to champion the security of their states through subventions and trust funds.

He noted that the security trust fund had also pro-

vided about 30 armoured personnel carriers, APCs, stationed at strategic locations in the state, eight armoured gunboats and smaller speedboats.

Commending the residents of Lagos for contributing generously to the funding of the state security outfit, OP MESA, Arthur-Worrey said the substantial donation come from the state government and other donors, largely financial institutions and corporate organisations.

He added that the trust fund also contributed from its proceeds to the State Security Service, SSS and prison service and commended Fashola for setting up a transparent trust which had the confidence of Lagosians.

eral Republic (MFR), 38 people will be honoured with the award, including nine traditional rulers and three religious leaders, while 12 recipients will be conferred with the Member of the Niger.

The statement said that President Goodluck Jonathan would confer the awards on these deserving Nigerians at the International Conference Centre, Abuja.

It added that the Special Duties Office was working assiduously to ensure a hitch free ceremony.

the GSM companies, though they do have universal licences. The GSM operators have their network almost everywhere in the country with required financial muscle to support and build their network.

He said, by virtue of their national presence, subscribers on GSM networks were able move freely to anywhere in the country without having to face immediate coverage limitation typical of CDMA networks.

Speaking in the same vein, the President, National Association of Telecom Subscribers, Chief Deolu Ogunbanjo, said the limitation in network coverage could discourage mobile telecoms subscribers to stick to a CDMA line for long, arguing that “GSM offers wider coverage than the CDMA and this could be a point of attraction to customers.”

He specifically noted that players in the CDMA segment have the limitation of technology, inadequate financial muscle and low innovations in terms of offering value-added services to their customer.

Over the years, the merger option has been recommended for the CDMA operators to create a strong network with national coverage that will be able to compete with their GSM counterparts but the idea, first

advocated by the former Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Mr. Ernest Ndukwe, was not considered by the operators until last month, when some CDMA operators announced moves to merge as a single operator.

Meanwhile, Ogunbanjo pointed out that the plan by three of the CDMA operators – Starcomms, Multilinks and MTS, to come together as a single entity, through a merger arrangement, might be the beginning of a turnaround in the CDMA segment, thereby bringing them back to profitability.

The President, Association of Telecoms Companies of Nigeria, Mr. Lanre Ajayi expressed hope that though the CDMA segment of the nation’s telecoms sector industry has been in doldrums for the past few years, the new merger arrangement, if well implemented, might open a new chapter for the operators.

“The development holds a good omen for the CDMA sector in Nigeria and subscribers who dumped their land lines would dust them up and make good use of them once again and I think this may be the beginning of a turnaround for the ailing operators.”

The Consumer Protection Council of Nigerian has however raised eyebrows about the merger move saying it was against the spirit of competition.

6

Monday, September 10, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Newswatch: Court restrains Ray Ekpu, Agbese, others

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Monday, September 10, 2012

7

Newswatch: Court restrains Ray Ekpu, Agbese, others

8

News

Monday, September 10, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Presidency assures of 5,400MW target by Dec OBIORA IFOH ABUJA

T

he Federal Government has said that Nigerians would begin to experience uninterrupted power by December, as power generation would be increased from the current 4,400 megawatts to 5,400.

Speaking at the weekend in Abuja, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, said the National Integrated Power Project (NIPP), would add 1,000MW to the 4,400MW currently available in the country.

He noted that a little above 1900MW was available before Goodluck Jonathan assumed office in April, 2011.

He said President Jonathan inherited grounded and moribund NIPP, as 10 of the projects were abandoned.

Okupe said: “Contrary to the insinuations that power increased because of increase in the water level, the generating capacity has been increased. Between now and December, we are expecting nearly 1000MW because of the arrangement that has been made by NIPP. “Jonathan inherited 10 abandoned NIPP projects, but today is different. By December, some people will enjoy electricity.”

He, however, said the President had started fulfilling the promises he made to the people during his campaign, insisting that the electoral reform, which was part of his promises, is gradually becoming a part

of the nation.

Okupe added that the government adhered to rule of law because lack of adherence to the rule of law would affect foreign and local investment in the country.

Answering questions from journalists on the planned introduction on N5,000 note, he said that President Jonathan gave his approval, adding that Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) needs to carry the people along.

He said the introduction of the N5,000 note would reduced the demand on dollars, as people who purchase dollars do so to reduce the volume of money they carry about, insisting that the introduction would not conflict with the cashless society initiative.

“It does not conflict with cashless society. Cashless society does not mean that you do not go about with money or pay for items with money. The printing of N5,000 note has no conflict with distinction. It will reduce demand on dollars, because people that purchase dollars do so to reduce the volume of money they carry about.

“We are losing so much on issue that is not as important as other issues.

We tend to politicise issues and this is an issue we should have left in the hands of experts, it will not have impact on the economy. I did not say that consultation should not be done, but Nigerians should focus their attention on issues that have direct impact on the economy,” Okupe said.

CJN flags-off new Legal Year Wednesday EMMANUEL ONANI ABUJA

C

hief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) Justice Aloma Muktar will flag- off the 2012/2013 Legal Year on September 12 with the swearing-in of new Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs) at the main auditorium of the Supreme Court, Abuja.

This was contained in a statement signed by the Deputy Director of Press and Information of the Supreme Court, Mr. Festus Akande.

The statement reads: “The recess marking the end of the current legal

year 2011/2012 which commenced on July 16, 2011 is expected to terminate on September 9, 2012.

“The special valedictory court session in honour of the retired Hon. Justice Francis Fedode Tabai will hold on September 13, 2012 at 10 am at the same venue.”

It will be recalled that the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee (LPPC) had on June 25 named Human Rights Activist Mr. Femi Falana, Chief Rotimi Jacobs and 23 others as successful candidates to be conferred with the prestigious rank of Senior Advocate this year.

Kwara State Governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed (left) and Etsu of Tsaragi, Alhaji Aliyu Abdullahi Kpotwo, during the governor’s peace visit to Share and Tsaragi communities, at the weekend.

Foreign, local airlines owe FAAN N1.7bn OLUSEGUN KOIKI

A

irlines operating in the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, owe the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) over N1.7bn in six months, it was learnt.

The debts were incurred between March and September 1, 2012 when the Societe Internationale de Telecommunique Aeronautiques (SITA) under the International Air Transport Association (IATA) took over the aeronautic revenue point for the agency in March this year.

Investigations by National Mirror at the weekend revealed that the debts were owed by both indigenous

and international carriers with Arik Air topping the list with N682.2m from MMIA alone.

The debts exclude flight operations into other airports in the country by the airlines, while debts owed the agency before SITA took over in March was also not included in the current debts.

Industry unions have, however, vowed to picket erring airlines before the end of the month if they refused to reconcile their debts with the agency.

The unions feared that if the debts were not paid soon, FAAN might not be able to pay this month’s salary for workers.

But Arik Air denied owing FAAN, challenging the agency to come out with its

figures against it.

Investigations indicated that Arik Air owed N682.2m, Aero Air, N122.2m; Saudi Arabian Air, N77.1m; Emirates, N74.2m; Ethiopian Air, N74m; Virgin Atlantic, N49.3m; British Airways, N47.7m, Etihad Airways, N45.5m; Allied Air, N40.3m; DHL Aviation, N39.6m; KLM Royal Dutch Airline, N38.9m.

Other airlines with massive debts profile include Cargolux, N38.6m; South African Airways, N35.8m; United Airlines, N35.4m; Middle East, N35m; Delta Airlines, N31.7m; Groupe Air France, N31.2m, Qatar Airways, N31.2m; Lufthansa, N28m; Avient Aviation Limited, N27.7m;Kenya Airways, N22.7m and Turkiah, N22.1m.

Airlines with small

debts include Air Cargo Germany, Alitalia, Aksy, Associated Aviation, Bristow Helicopters, Caverton Helicopters, Chanchangi, Dana Air, Egypt Air, Iberia, IRS, Julius Berger, Mobile Producing Limited, Overland Airways, Pan African, Royal Air Maroc, Air Nigeria, Rwanda Airways, Sudan Airways, Top Brass Aviation, Wings Aviation, World Airways and Zambia Airways.

Aviation Minister, Stella Oduah

Fresh anxiety over First Lady’s health ISE-OLUWA IGE AND ROTIMI FADEYI

A

s President Goodluck Jonathan begins a three-day working visit to Malawi and Botswana today, the continued admission of his wife, Patience, in a German hospital is generating fresh anxiety within the Presidency.

The President’s trip will be the second time that the First Lady will not be accompanying him.

Jonathan was in Ethiopia last week to attend the burial of the late Prime Minister Meles Zenawi.

Mrs. Jonathan was flown out of the country, 11 days ago to a hospital in Wiesbaden, German, for treatment over what a Presidency source called “food poisoning.”

…Allison-Madueke too There have been several twists to the First Lady’s illness with some claiming that she had ruptured appendicitis, while others said she was in the hospital for abdominoplasty or “tummy tuck.”

Her long stay, however, is generating ripples in the Presidency, even as her trip and admission in the German hospital is still a well guarded secret in government circles.

Attempts to speak to her Media Assistant, Mr. Ayo Osinlu yesterday on her present state of the health were not successful as there was no response from his telephone.

But Osinlu had, last week, disclosed that it was uncertain when the First Lady would return to the country.

An online publication

said last night that President Jonathan was planning a secret trip to see his hospitalised wife in Germany.

The First Lady has been accompanying President Jonathan on many foreign trips, the most recent being to the United Kingdom, where she met with Nigerian women in the Diaspora.

She would have also played a prominent role last week Monday at the second edition of the youth empowerment programme, “YouWin! for Women” held at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa.

Meanwhile, it was reported yesterday that Petroleum Minister, Mrs. Diezani Alison-Madueke, cut short her London trip to avoid further concerns

about her condition of health.

The minister, who was reported to be receiving treatment for an undisclosed illness in a London hospital as an out-patient will cut short her trip by one week and return to Nigeria today, according to Sahara Reporters.

The minister had, last week, debunked speculations about her ill-health in posting on her Facebook page, but officials at the Petroleum Ministry have been evasive and have refused to comment on the matter.

The Director of Press at the Ministry of Petroleum, Mr. Kingsley Agha, said yesterday that he was not privy to any information concerning the minister’s health as he was himself on admission in a hospital in Abuja.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

News

Monday, September 10, 2012

9

Furore over discrepancies in JSS 3 exam results MOJEED ALABI

T

he recently released results of students in Junior Secondary School III in Lagos State is already generating ripples between the state’s examination board and parents of the affected students, over what they described as discrepancies in the results.

The examination results that were released in the last week of August were

discovered by many parents not to have revealed the true status of their wards who sat for the examination as many average students were said to have been awarded excellent grades while better students either recorded failure or performed poorly in major subjects including English and Mathematics.

The situation prompted probes into the cause of the alleged discrepancies and according to one of

the parents, who does not want his name in print, it was discovered that the students’ scripts were wrongly marked and subsequently grades wrongly awarded.

Apart from some private schools affected by the situation, one other public school involved is Ojodu Junior Grammar School, Ikeja, where many parents, last week, protested the results while the school principal merely appealed for calm.

Another parent said she

was shocked to meet other parents and principals of various schools at the office of the state’s examination board last week when she went to lodge her complaint. She said the principals were summoned by the board’s director, Mrs. Modupe Coker, to explain what warranted “such embarrassing error.”

“Some of the teachers of the affected schools even believed that the scripts were not marked as they

confirmed that even students who were absent or even those who were no longer in the schools were awarded marks,” another parent reported.

When National Mirror spoke with the director, she explained that the error was traced to wrong handling of the marking system newly introduced in the state.

“The Optical Mark Reader (OMR) that we used to mark the examina-

Foreign reserves up by 9.2% in one month

Stakeholders call for cancellation of Abuja, Kaduna Disco bids

I

JOHNSON OKANLAWON

N

igeria’s foreign exchange reserves are at their highest in a year, rising by $3.35bn or 9.20 per cent to $39.76bn as at September 9 from $36.4bn just a month earlier.

The forex reserves stood at $34.9bn in the same period in 2011, representing $4.99bn increase in one year.

Analyst attributed the increase to the rising crude exports, which hit a record high of 2.7 million barrels per day (bpd) on August 1, this year.

According to Financial Dealers Market Association, the steady rise could be attributed to strong oil prices and foreign exchange inflows from the non-Central Bank of Nigeria sources to the official market.

Also, FSDH Securities Limited, an investment firm, said, “The volatility in oil price at the international market may pose a risk to the foreign exchange earnings of Nigeria, but the robust foreign reserves, in addition to the managed float strategy of the CBN should keep foreign exchange rate stable.”

The Chief Executive, Partnership Investments, Mr. Victor Ogiemwonyi, said that an increase in foreign reserve will significantly reduce the pressure on the CBN to meet the country’s foreign currency demands, adding, “This will help shore up the value of the naira.”

The firm, however, said that market liquidity will remain tight in spite of the N5.1bn expected to be injected into the money market this week via the Open Market Operation.

tion scripts was not properly handled by some of the schools we sent them to.

This OMR was not properly completed and we found out that those meant to be used for Mathematics were used for English Language while those for Basic Sciences were used for other subjects.

“And since the machine could not recognise the correct answers it awarded marks for those that tallied,” Coker told National Mirror.

L-R: Managing Director, MultiChoice Nigeria, Mr. John Ugbe; Manager, Anti-piracy; Mr. Gozie Onumonu; Director General, Nigeria Copyright Commission (NCC), Barrister Afam Ezekude and Director of Public Affairs, Sir Charles Olisaeloka Obi, at the presentation of operational equipment to NCC in Lagos at the weekend.

Mainstreet Bank gets one-week ultimatum over staff benefits MESHACK IDEHEN

N

ational President of the Association of Senior Staff of Bank Insurance and Financial Institutions (ASSIBIFI), Mr. Sunday Salako, has said that the union will shut down the operations of Mainstreet Bank nationwide by Monday, September 17, 2012.

Salako said the ultimatum has become necessary because of the failure

of the management of the bank to comply with the recommendations of the committee set up to settle the disputed benefits of affected workers.

It will be recalled that the bank and some of its former workers, numbering over 800, had been locked in a dispute after they were sacked by Mainstreet Bank in June, for what the bank said was a workforce rationalisation exercise.

He said the union has demonstrated maturity

while the “offensive” lasted; adding that officials of the union had been under fire in the last few months through the actions and behaviours of the affected workers.

According to him, the union was giving the owners of the bank a one-week ultimatum, which would end on Friday, September 14, 2012 to settle the benefits of its members; warning that by Monday, September 17, the union would be left with no other option than

Three die, four injured in Ogun auto crash FEMI OYEWESO ABEOKUTA

A

t least three people have been confirmed dead while four others were seriously injured in an accident that occurred yesterday in Odeda along the Abeokuta-Ibadan Road in Odeda Local Government Area of Ogun State.

The auto crash, which occurred yesterday afternoon, involved a DAF Truck marked with registration number: LAGOS

FST 86 XB and a white Nissan bus, which registration number plate could hardly be identified as XB 386.

Ogun State Sector Commander of the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), Ayobami Omiyale, who confirmed the accident, also said that it was as a result of a wrong overtaking by the driver of the articulated truck which resulted in a head-on collision with the Nissan bus.

The Odeda ghastly auto crash, which left a male

and two females dead was coming barely 24 hours after 12 people were roasted in another accident which occurred at the OsosaOdogbolu axis of the Lagos-Benin Expressway on Saturday.

The FRSC sector commander, however, said the remains of the deceased had been deposited at the morgue of the Ogun State General Hospital in Ijaye, Abeokuta the state capital, while the injured were also said to be receiving treatment at the hospital.

to shut down the operations of the bank nationwide.

“We shall not be held responsible for actions that will follow should our members’ benefits remain unpaid after Friday, September 14, 2012.We are holding this press briefing to educate the public why the union would have to take the last option.

“We have no problem with the management, but as we do not know the premises or houses of the owners, the only place is the office and that is why we will shut down all the offices until our demand is met,” he warned.

According to him, the tripartite committee set up by the Labour ministry to look into the issue had concluded its job and submitted its recommendations to the Labour minister three weeks ago.

“The tripartite committee concluded its sittings and submitted its report to the minister on Monday, 13 August, 2012 requesting the bank and its principals to look into the payment of the disputed benefits.”

ndication has emerged that Abuja and Kaduna disco bids were not free of the incidents that led to the cancellation of the bid for the Afam and Enugu evaluation bids.

This led to stakeholders in the industry asking for cancellation of the Abuja and Kaduna Disco bids.

Specifically, Skippers Nigeria Limited; NAHCO Power Consortium; KANN Consortium Utility Company Limited; Interstate Electrics Ltd; ENL Consortium Ltd; bidded for the Abuja Disco; while NAHCO and Skippers were the only companies that bidded for the Kaduna Disco.

It has, however, being confirmed that the former Minister of Power, Prof. Bath Nnaji, who resigned last week over alleged interest in companies that bidded for the Enugu and Afam Discos, is also allegedly associated with Skippers Nigeria limited.

Sources at the ministry which confirmed this development, reasoned that in any of the two companies associated with the former Minister (Eastern Electrics and Skippers Nigeria Limited), the bids should be reviewed as it was done in the case of Enugu and Afam. Skipper did put in bids for Afam, Abuja and Kaduna.

The National Council on Privatisation had last week cancelled the technical bid evaluation process conducted for the Afam Generation Company Limited and the Enugu Distribution Company Limited as two companies having links with the former minister, participated in the bids.

10

South-West

Monday, September 10, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Tokyo: Oyo petitions Federal High Court CJ •Accuses Registrar of abuse of office T he Oyo State Government has petitioned the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court, alleging abuse of office by the Deputy Chief Registrar of the Ibadan Division of the court over the case instituted against it by the former Chairman of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW), Alhaji Lateef Akinsola, popularly known as Tokyo.

The Deputy Registrar

had in a letter with reference no FHC/IB/111/2012 sought for police assistance in reinstating Tokyo as the NURTW Chairman in the state.

The letter purportedly authored by A. A Tahir, Esq, the Deputy Chief Registrar, Ibadan Division, was written to the Commissioner of Police, Oyo State, and copied the Assistant Inspector Gen-

eral of Police Zone XI. In the petition written by the Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice, Mr. Adebayo Ojo, the state government said by the letter, the Deputy Chief Registrar was seeking for police assistance to execute a declaratory judgment to which neither he personally nor his office was a party to.

Ojo said: “It is worthy of

note that there is a pending application before the court by the persons named as the second to the 13th applicants, praying the court to set aside its judgment on the grounds that the suit was fraudulently commenced in their names without their knowledge or consent.

“Under these circumstances, the letter of the Deputy Chief Registrar is

therefore a thing of curiosity and if actually confirmed to be authored by him, ought to raise suspicions as to what his interest is in seeking the assistance of the Nigeria Police in executing a declaratory judgment.’’

He said that Tahir’s act was tantamount to an attempt to usurp the powers of the court by issuing an order of execution under the guise of a letter of assis-

tance to execute a judgment.

The commissioner added: “We, therefore, urge your lordship, in your capacity as the administrative head of this noble court, to cause an investigation to be carried out into the authenticity of the letter and the conduct of Mr. A. A. Tahir in order to nip in the bud, activities which might cause embarrassment to the impartial status and dignity of the court.”

Plot to discredit Amosun’s govt’ll fail –ACN FEMI OYEWESO ABEOKUTA

T

he Ogun State chapter of the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has assured that Governor Ibikunle Amosun would fulfill his pre-election promises to the people.

The party said that it would not succumb to any form of blackmail aimed at destabilising the Amosunled administration through peddling of falsehood and “orchestrated mischief” from the opposition.

The party’s position came against the criticisms L-R: Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi; Chairperson, Nigerian Institute of Public Relations, Oyo State chapter, Mrs. Yetunde Alagbe that are trailing the alleged and Vice-Chairman, Mr. Henry Adegboye, during a courtesy visit to the governor in Ibadan, at the weekend. planned by the state government to take N100bn bond.

In a statement issued yesterday in Abeokuta by Voter Education held in for anybody who meets the OJO OYEWAMIDE its Publicity Secretary, Sola conditions.

Akure, the state capital.

AKURE Lawal, ACN described the The REC said voting by He said INEC would bond issue as part of the ndo State Resident only entertain cases of lost proxy would not be allowed “orchestrated mischief” by Electoral Commis- voter cards if the affected during the exercise, calling the opposition to discredit on the electorate to keep sioner (REC) Akin people followed a set of the governor’s personality.

Orebiyi has said that the procedures 30 days before their voter cards safe and Citing the N26m allegthat no other form of idenIndependent National Elec- the governorship poll. edly spent by Amosun on According to him, the tification would be accepted. toral Commission (INEC) Orebiyi said: “Voting on procedures include getting would replace lost cards of a police report, swearing behalf of another person is registered voters ahead of the October 20 governor- to a court affidavit and not allowed. Come out and MOJEED ALABI writing an application to vote personally. Using an- INEC Chairman A. Jega ship election in the state. uthorities of Ekiti Orebiyi spoke at the INEC, assuring that a re- other person’s voter card sonation. It is a crime punState University, weekend at a Forum on placement would be made is wrong. It is called imper- ishable under the law.’’

Ado-Ekiti, has promised to cater for the family of the late Abubadescribed the planned go into extinction if even- will only benefit from the kar Sani, a lecturer in the KEMI OLAITAN institution’s Faculty of tually coined as people process.

N5000 note, the coining of IBADAN “Printing with that Law who was last week the three other denomina- would dump them for the tions of N5, N10, and N20 notes, adding that their substantial amount will murdered by suspected chieftain of the as undemocratic and un- weight would make them not only cause hyper in- terrorists while on a trip Action Congress acceptable. unacceptable while the flation, but dealt a severe to his home state - Bornu. of Nigeria (ACN) He said if the of Janu- people will be forced to blow on our ailing econoThe university’s Vicein Oyo State, Hon. ‘Niyi ary fuel subsidy removal pay more for products or my. It will also, of course, Chancellor, Prof Oladipo Adeagbo, has joined oth- could make the price of services of unequal quan- make money launder- Aina, stated this when er Nigerians flaying the sachet water to be in- tity and quality. ing and embezzlement he addressed the instituplanned introduction creased from N5 to N10, He said: ‘’Since the easier as it will afford tion’s law students, who of the N5000 note by the the prices of goods and CBN has spent much on the corrupt elements to were in mourning mood Central Bank of Nigeria services would go up as the cashless policy pro- carry substantial amount after they had organised (CBN). the least acceptable me- cess which has not yield- around without anybody a candle light procession Adeagbo, who spoke dium of transaction will ed any benefit, N40bn has aware. One bundle of the for the late Sani. through his media aide, be N50 because people will been allegedly earmarked new note will be half-aThe VC said the uniMr. Sikiru Akinola Oran- not carry coins. for the printing of the million naira which you versity lost a brilliant, miyan, in a statement isThe politician said N5, new bill, it will also not can carry without being promising and dedicated sued yesterday in Ibadan, N10 and N20 notes would succeed as the few rich noticed. member of staff in the

Ondo poll: INEC to replace lost voters’ cards

O

chartered aircraft to Saudi Arabia for lesser hajj, Lawal said that the Amosun’s administration had already been crippled by the N78bn debt it inherited than to consider going for a bond.

He reiterated that “the bill before the Ogun State House of Assembly seeks for a law to establish procedure for the incumbent and future administrations to utilise a whole gamut of financial instruments including promissory notes, loans, contractors financing arrangements and so on”.

Lawal, however, said that Governor Amosun, who himself is a charted accountant, intended, through the bill, to inject sanity into governments financial engagements.

He said: “If the bill is passed, it will repeal all previous anti-people financial legislations, including, in particular, the obnoxious N100bn bond law the Gbenga Daniel administration hurriedly passed during the closing chapter of its tenure.”

EKSU promises to lift slain lecturer’s family

‘Introduction of N5, 000 note unacceptable’

A

A

person of Sani, but that the community and the nation at large would miss his deep knowledge, thoughtfulness and compassion.

He recalled that the late lecturer intervened when there was a misunderstanding between the Hausa community and their host community of Ado-Ekiti recently.

Prof. Oladipo commended the students for the peaceful procession and urged them to pray for the repose of the soul of the deceased.

The students’ leader, Mr. Adeoye Aribasoye, urged the Federal Government to find urgent solution to the issue of terrorism confronting the country.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

South-West

Monday, September 10, 2012

Lagos again alerts public on Lassa fever L agos State government has again reiterated the need for members of the public to ensure and maintain adequate personal and environmental hygiene at all times as part of precautionary measures to prevent the outbreak of the Lassa fever in the state.

Commissioner for Health, Dr. Jide Idris, who disclosed this in Lagos, at the weekend, said the advice became necessary since the government desires to stem the possible outbreak of the

disease in Lagos in the wake of reported cases of Lassa fever outbreak in parts of the country.

Idris similarly urged members of the public to avoid contact with rats, to cover their food and water properly, to cook all their food thoroughly, as well as block all rat hideouts and holes to prevent them from gaining access into homes.

He also stressed the importance of storing grains

and other dried food items in containers with covers, properly disposing of refuse, maintaining adequate sanitation, as well as keeping pets like cats in the house.

The commissioner explained that Lassa fever is an acute viral infection caused by the Lassa virus that is associated with persistent high fever, adding that as the disease progresses into a severe form, the pa-

tient begins to develop facial swelling, fluid in the chest, bleeding from the mouth, nose, vagina and the gut, low blood pressure, shock, disorientation, coma and kidney and liver failure.

According to him, other symptoms include general weakness, malaise headache, sore throat, nausea, diarrhea, and vomiting.

“The disease spreads by exposure to and eating of food contaminated with rat

dropping or urine. It could also be by direct contact with the blood, urine, faces or other bodily secretions of person with Lassa fever,” Idris noted.

He said members of the public should report cases of people with the above symptoms or persistent high fever that is not responding to standard treatment for malaria and typhoid fever to the nearest health facility in the state

11

just as he advised health workers to ensure that they take universal safety precautions when dealing with patients.

Idris noted that though Lagos State is not in the Lassa fever belt, members of the public should practice adequate personal and environmental hygiene at all times as it is only by so doing that the outbreak of the disease can be prevented in the state.

Amosun restates commitment to implementation of MDGs

O

gun State Governor, Ibikunle Amosun, has said that poverty eradication requires innovative action, fulfillment of electioneering promises and commitment to masses-oriented programmes.

The governor disclosed this in Abeokuta while declaring open the third South West - Kwara Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) Conference 2012, organised in partnership with the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DfIDUKAID).

L-R: Instructor on paramedics, Nidr Barian; Ekiti State Commissioner for Special Duties, Dr. Wole Olugboji; Deputy Governor, Mrs. Amosun explained that Funmi Olayinka; training coordinator, Alowy Moshe and Commissioner for Information, Mr. Funminiyi Afuye, at the flag-off of the poverty eradication, the training programme for the newly recruited firemen and paramedics in Ado-Ekiti, recently. theme of the conference, was a focal point of his administration’s “Mission to (NULGE) in the state had in court would include “an him”.

Rebuild Ogun State”.

ABIODUN NEJO Others are: “That the alleged that Governor Fay- order to compel the assemExplaining that for the ADO EKITI emi was deducting N1bn bly to summon Governor Auditor-General for local first time, actual timelines monthly from the local gov- Fayemi to explain to the governments should be and deadlines were set he Peoples Demo- ernment allocations. people of the state what he compelled to publish the for the purpose of benchcratic Party (PDP) The governor, who said knows about the alleged de- audited accounts of the 16 in Ekiti State has the allegation was untrue ductions.” councils in the state since called on the state House of He said PDP would also the beginning of the Fayemi and an attempt to smear his Assembly to, as a matter of reputation, had last Tuesday, seek an order to compel administration and that the urgent public interest; in- through his lawyers, issued the assembly “to institute a state government should be ABIODUN NEJO stitute a public hearing into NULGE and the newspaper public hearing on whether made to pay the promised ADO EKITI the recent allegation that outfit that published the re- the governor, on a monthly N19, 300 minimum wage to bout 4,000 primary Governor Kayode Fayemi il- port seven days ultimatum basis, deducts money from council workers without and secondary legally deducted some mon- to retract the publication, councils’ statutory alloca- further delay. school teachers ey from local governments’ among other conditions or tions from the federation The PDP chairman adin Ekiti State are understatutory allocations. account and if the governor vised lawmakers in the state face litigation. going training to update Ekiti State PDP Chairman, But, the PDP chairman is culpable, the assembly to stand on the side of the Mr. Makanjuola Ogundipe, said in the statement yester- should begin an impeach- people, noting that posterity their knowledge with a view to exposing them to said the party would not hesi- day that his party’s prayers ment proceeding against would judge them. modern teaching methtate to drag the assembly and ods. the state governor to court if Ekiti State Universal the legislative arm failed to from the area, Chief Ad- and Ilaje are the same.

O JO O YEWAMIDE Basic Education Board toe the line which would enThe group said it was ewale Omojuwa, Chief Olu AKURE (SUBEB) Chairman, Prof. able citizens know the true Tawose and Chief Wole Eru- only the ACN that had the Modupe Adelabu, said position of things. embers of the Ila- aye, have expressed their blueprint to develop Ilaje the training being unOgundipe, in a statement je Elders’ Forum, support for the choice of the which, according to it, had dertaken by her board by his media aide, Mr. Femi at the weekend, party. suffered neglect from the in conjunction with the Omolusi, yesterday, said threw their weight behind Speaking through its government of Dr. OluseUniversal Basic Educathe state lawmakers ought the nomination of Dr. Paul spokesman, Prof. Esi Ebi- gun Mimiko, in the last tion Commission (UBEC) to know that “they have a Akintelure, as the deputy semiju, after a meeting at three and half years. constitutional duty to let governorship candidate of However, Ebisemiju was part of efforts to enIgbokoda, the Ilaje apex the people of the state know the Action Congress of Ni- group said although, it was charged Barrister Rotimi hance learning and teachwhat is going on in the cor- geria (ACN) in the October painful that an Ilaje man Akeredolu (SAN) and ing processes in public ridors of power”.

20, governorship election in did not get the deputy gov- Akintelure, not to forget schools.

Adelabu told journalIt will be recalled that Ondo State. ernorship slot, but it con- the people of Ilaje if electists in the Ado Ekiti trainthe Nigeria Union of Local Also, three ACN deputy sidered Akintelure as one ed in the forthcoming elecing venue, at the weekend, Government Employees governorship aspirants of their sons as both Ikale tion.

marking government policies, programmes and projects, the governor pointed out that the MDGs inspired new hopes in the United Nations system.

Governor Amosun said much progress has not been made due to challenges that range from the fact that the focus on global blueprints has not sufficiently taken into consideration the importance for local involvement and local solutions.

Alleged N1bn fraud: PDP threatens to sue Assembly, Fayemi

T

Amosun

Ekiti trains 4, 000 teachers on modern teaching methods

A

Ondo guber race: Ilaje elders back Akintelure

M

that the teachers were being trained in English, Yoruba and French languages, Information Communication Technology, Mathematics, Science and School Administration in four centres located at Ado, Ijero, Ikere and Ikole.

She expressed satisfaction with the large turnout of participants at all the designated centres, stressing that government was irrevocably committed to improving the standard of education in the state.

One of the participants, Mr. Oluwatoyin Ojo, lauded the state government and SUBEB for organising the workshop, assuring that the participants would utilise the knowledge gained at the workshop to revamp the lost glory of education in the state.

12

South East

Monday, September 10, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

South-East govs form coalition against kidnapping DENNIS AGBO ENUGU

G

overnors of the South-East states yesterday met in Enugu with the leadership of security outfits in the zone to form a coalition that will stem the tide of security challenges facing the zone, particularly kidnapping.

After over three hours of deliberation, Chairman of the South-East Governors’ Forum and Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, said the meeting was with the joint committee of all the security councils of the various states in the geo-political zone to discuss a common security operation for the zone.

The meeting was attended by the governors of Enugu, Anambra, Imo and Abia States. Others at the meeting were the deputygovernors of Ebonyi, Enugu and Imo States, and the

General Officer Commanding, 82 Division of the Nigeria Army, Major-General Olayinka Oshinowo, the AIG of Zone 9, Umuahai, all the Commissioners of Police in the zone, head of Immigration and Custom Services as well as other heads of other security agencies in the zone.

Governor Peter Obi, who read the communiqué after the meeting, said the SouthEast governments are committed to eradicating all forms of criminality in the zone.

He added that the meeting was held to discuss common operation and there after, a committee headed by the GOC of 82 Division to come out with a plan on how to deal with security issues in the zone would be set up.

Obi said that the committee, which has two weeks to draw up the master plan, will tackle all forms of criminality, espe-

cially kidnapping. He said the committee will come up with what is required that the states will provide them with. “We want to make the South-East a safe haven.”

Imo State Governor, Owelle Rochas Okorocha, who also spoke about the meeting, said; “The meeting is a joint security council meet-

ing to address the issue of insecurity that is fast becoming very common in the zone, particularly issues of kidnapping and armed robbery.

“We decided to have a joint security council meeting so that there will be exposure of criminals in the South-East.”

Okorocha said nobody should hide under the guise of unemployment to commit crime. He advised youths to utilise the opportunity offered by agriculture to seek for employment other than seeking for non-existent jobs.

He disagreed that it was because of unemployment that there are kidnappers;

saying “Why didn’t they utilise the millions they have collected as ransom to set up employment for themselves?”

The Imo governor called for a return to agriculture, insisting that it is through agriculture that the issue of unemployment could be solved in the country.

9th Mile Road terminals, no parking zone –FRSC DENNIS AGBO ENUGU

T

he Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) has declared all highway road terminals leading into 9th Mile Corner Ngwo, Enugu as strictly no parking zones.

Ninth mile corner Ngwo is an Enugu suburb nine miles away from Enugu metropolis that is a junction connecting routes to the north and the rest of South East states.

In a statement issued by the 9th Mile Unit Command of the commission, it said the decision became necessary considering the increasing rate of avoidable accidents within the area.

The Unit’s Head of Operations, Nicholas Agu, said the rescue initiative has become urgent and paramount due to the high incident of avoidable highway accidents and remarkable loss of human lives and valuables recurring weekly at the various expressway terminal entries into 9th Mile Corner Ngwo.

“FRSC command 9th Mile attributes this unacceptable trend to the

obstruction occasioned by trailer trucks which occupy both sides of the expressway obscuring views of traffic commuters and pedestrians”.

The commission declared that all trailers and trucks operating within the axis are strictly advised to provide packing facility where none exists.

“The no parking prohibition applies on the Eke and Owa Road junction of the expressway terminal into 9th Mile Corner.”

FRSC warned owners of abandoned or broken down vehicles within 9th Mile highway and commercial streets to remove all such vehicles within two weeks.

“After two weeks of this notice, all such vehicles will be evacuated as hazards to the highway and or any such identified owners prosecuted,” the commission warned.

“All major streets’ display and selling of wares which encroach on the highway are prohibited and defaulters are liable for prosecution. All transit commuters into 9th Mile are also to comply with this directive,” the statement added.

L-R: South-East Governors; Mr. Sullivan Chime, Enugu; Owelle Rochas Okorocha, Imo; Mr. Peter Obi, Anambra and Chief Theodore Orji, Abia, after a meeting of the governors in Enugu, yesterday.

MASSOB, rights groups flay decay in Ojukwu’s Onitsha gateway CHARLES OKEKE AWKA

C

oalition of human rights and good governance watch groups operating in Anambra State, led by the Movement for the Actualisation of the Sovereign State of Biafra (MASSOB), yesterday condemned the decay in the Onitsha gateway into an area where all sorts of illegal activities routinely take place.

The group, which also includes Campaign for Democracy (CD), International Society for Civil Liberties and Rule of Law, Human Rights Club and Human Rights Development International, deplored the poor

state of the former Upper Iweka and Niger Head Bridge areas that were renamed Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu’s Gateway in honour of the former Igbo leader.

The group said they are worried about the slow pace of reconstruction work around the area where the statue of the late Igbo leader now stands; saying the arena has been taken over by criminals, who extort money from members of the public under different guises.

“The statue of the late Ikemba is erected and abandoned in a filthy environment and den of criminals, a sort of Sodom and Gomorah where anything goes,”

they said.

The groups added that environmentally, the gateway is also nothing to write home about as illegal kiosks and shanties adorn the whole area.

They also condemn what they described as an eyesore, the status of the gateway and called on the state government to salvage the area, to give it a befitting outlook.

The groups said; “If funds are responsible for putting the work at the lowest pace, Governor Peter Obi should provide enough funds immediately and seek refund from the Federal Government later; and if the construction firm is the problem, the govern-

ment should issue an ultimatum to the company and in consultation with the President, revoke the contract and re-award it to a more competent firm.”

They said any project in Ikemba’s name and honour should be executed appropriately and without delay and any form of excuse.

The groups’ position on the issue came against the backdrop of the fact that President Goodluck Jonathan unveiled Ojukwu’s statue built by Anambra State government at the former Niger Head Bridge and Upper Iweka areas during his August 30, one-day working visit to Anambra State.

Ebonyi govt seeks Japan’s assistance in development

T

he Ebonyi State government has sought the assistance of the Government of Japan to complete numerous projects embarked upon by the state government to enhance their relationship.

Acting Governor of the state, Chief Dave Umahi,

made the request at the weekend in Abakaliki, after leading a delegation of the UN Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and Japan’s Ambassador to Nigeria, to inspect projects across the state.

Umahi asked for support in the area of the completion and reticula-

tion of its N12bn ultramodern water schemes, assisting rural women in small-scale salt processing and exploration of mineral resources in the state, among others.

“We would appreciate the sustenance of our partnership with both the Embassy of Japan and

UNIDO in agriculture and agro-processing, especially rice processing and value addition.

“It is interesting to note that the modern rice mills being constructed in the three senatorial zones of the state are being equipped by the Satake Corporation of Japan.”

Monday, September 10, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

13

Politics

2015: Buhari races ahead of time

14

Insecurity challenges a passing phase – Mark GEORGE OJI AND EMMANUEL ONANI

S

enate President, David Mark, has described the current insecurity challenges plaguing the country as a passing phase in the nation’s political development.

He noted that the challenges are not insurmountable and expressed the belief that “if we as a nation collectively confront these challenges the country would return to the path of growth and development in no time.”

Mark, according to a statement from his media

office, expressed this optimism in his acceptance remarks after he was conferred with an honorary Doctorate degree of Political Science by his alma mater, the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA), Kaduna at the weekend.

While stressing the important role the military

has been playing in the peace and unity of the country, Mark said: “We recognise the fact that the armed forces have played significant role in maintaining peace and order in the present dispensation and must be encouraged to do more by way of capacity building and upgrading its

equipment and materials.”

Mark tasked the military leadership to double its efforts in the training of its personnel, upgrading equipment, improving research and development in tandem with global development of military capability.

At the ceremony, Liberian President, Mrs. Ellen Sirleaf Johnson was awarded Doctorate degree of Management Science while former Commonwealth Secretary General, Chief Emeka Anyaoku received honourary Doctorate degree of Letters.

Mark told the graduands: “You must always see your responsibility as an honour to fatherland and endeavour to lay solid foundation upon which future generation of officer corps shall build upon”.

The Senate President reassured the armed forces

that the National Assembly particularly recognises the strategic role the military has been playing in sustaining the present democratic order, saying “we shall continue to provide support for the development of our armed forces to guarantee your welfare and enhance professionalism.”

Recalling with nostalgia his days as a cadet at the NDA, Senator Mark stated: “I have always counted myself privileged and eternally grateful to God to have passed through this foremost military academy that prepared me to face the vicissitudes of life and made me what I am today.

This honour therefore has a special place in my heart and I will cherish it for the rest of my life.”

Mark graduated from the NDA in 1969/70. He belonged to the 3rd Regular Course.

ACN calls on EFCC to probe N588m contract

L-R: Governor Jonah Jang of Plateau State and his Akwa Ibom State counterpart, Godswill Akpabio exchanging views in Abuja at the weekend.

Oni vs Fayemi: PDP blasts ACN over guber suit OLAJIDE OMOJOLOMOJU

T

he Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the South-West has described as cheap blackmail, the claim by the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) government in Ekiti State that the PDP National Vice-Chairman (South-West), Chief Segun Oni, boasted that Vice-President Namadi Sambo had reached out to the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Aloma Mukhtar to ensure that Oni became victorious in the suit he filed at the Supreme Court challenging the composition of the Appeal Court panel that sacked him from Office on October 15, 2010.

Speaking through its zonal Publicity Secretary, Kayode Babade, the party noted that the blackmail

and arm-twisting tactics the ACN is employing would fail.

The PDP said: “Oni is not known to engage in underhand deals in pursuing his course, and on the case before the Supreme Court, what the ACN should do is to file its defence instead of engaging in blackmail that cannot work.”

A faceless group, Conference of Ekiti Youths, which the PDP believed was camouflaging for the ACN had claimed in a letter addressed to President Goodluck Jonathan, and which was published in some newspapers last Friday that Oni met with 177 former Ward Development Officers (WDO) and directed them to mobilise 50 persons per ward that would move to Ado-Ekiti to celebrate his victory at the Supreme Court, which the

group claimed he had been assured of.

Babade said that ordinarily, the PDP would have ignored the publication, because the group was non-existent, but it was compelled to, because “we are aware that the publication was part of the sinister plan of the ACN government in Ekiti State to

once again blackmail and arm-twist the judiciary on the pending case at the Supreme Court.”

The PDP therefore call on the President, the Vice President, the CJN and others who may be blackmailed by the ACN in its “attempt to perverse the course of justice to continue to ignore them.”

T

he Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to immediately investigate the non-performance of the N588, 499, 725 contract awarded to a serving senator from one of the South Eastern states for the establishment of Cactus Opuntia plantation in the six states of Borno, Niger, Katsina, Kebbi, Kaduna and Jigawa states.

In a statement issued in

Gov sues for peace between warring communities

K

wara State governor, Abdulfatah Ahmed yesterday described peace as the pivot of national cohesion and communal development.

The governor made the remark when he visited Alhaji Aliyu Abdullahi Kpotwo, the Etsu of Tsaragi in Edu Local Government Area and Alhaji Abubakar Garuba, the Olupako of Share in Ifelodun Local Government Area.

The visits were part of his efforts to engender peaceful relations between the two warring communities.

Ahmed said no nation or community can develop in an atmosphere of violence, rancour and distrust, saying: “The heterogeneity of our nation is God ordained and it’s for a purpose. God never makes mistake.”

Ahmed said that the two warring communities

must, at all time, work for peaceful coexistence as their being neighbours was not by accident but a deliberate decision by their forefathers.

The governor appealed to the communities to always strengthen their bond of unity in order to achieve sustainable development.

He appealed to mischief makers to desist from fanning the embers of discord or face the wrath of the law.

Lagos yesterday by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said just as Dr. Doyin Okupe, the embattled Senior Special Assistant to the President collected a whopping N886 million as mobilisation fee from the Benue State Government and failed to execute the contract, this serving senator also collected the sum of N166 million from the Federal Ministry of Environment in 2010 and absconded with his fund without even visiting any of the sites.

According to the party, the establishment of the Cactus Opuntia plantations in these six states was part of the National Afforestation Programme of the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua designed to roll back the expanding sahara desert and generally put in place mitigation measures to combat the imminent effect of climate change which regrettably has been unleashing havoc in several parts of the country today.

14

Politics

FELIX NWANERI writes on the recent declaration by former Head of State and leader of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC), Gen. Muhammadu Buhari of his readiness to confront the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2015 presidential election.

Monday, September 10, 2012

2015: Buhari races ahead of time WILL THE SCORES OF OPPOSITION PARTIES TAKE ADVANTAGE OF

T

he stage is once more set for a tough battle over who occupies the nation’s number one position between the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the opposition political parties as political gladiators strategise for the 2015 elections despite the fact that the polls are more than two years away from now.

Although some analysts have described the moves as too early in the day on the grounds that the tenure of the President Goodluck Jonathan-led administration is yet to go halfway, former Head of State and the presidential candidate of the Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) in the 2011 general elections, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), believes that it is time to start building political bridges if the opposition is to wrest power from the PDP. Buhari, who has never pretended about his bid to return to the seat he vacated 27 years ago, despite vowing to stay off active politicking at the eve of last year’s election, has restated his readiness to confront the PDP once more.

Speaking at the Kano State Government House penultimate week during a courtesy call on Governor Rabiu Kwankwaso, Buhari said: “I am in Kano to open our party office following the intra and inter party squabbles that cost us the election. But I want to tell you that we are already settling down and are ready to face you guys (PDP) squarely.”

The CPC leader blamed the rot in the country’s electoral system on the PDP, stating that the constitution has been consciously raped and sidelined by the party. His words: “Under normal circumstances we are supposed to work strictly within the perimeter guaranteed by the constitution, but this is Nigeria and nothing is perfect and the only thing they have not tampered with between 1999 to date in Nigeria is the Holy Quran.”

Kwankwaso in his response commended Buhari for the visit, saying: “This kind of visit by political leaders will no doubt ginger understanding among party faithful and supporters for the desired growth.”

However, his party (the PDP) feels otherwise. It believes that Buhari’s comments were aimed at inciting the people against the government.

Expressing shock at what it dubbed “continued incitement of the people” by the former Head of State, the PDP urged Buhari to show statesmanship in his assessment of the contributions of the PDP-led government to the cause of democracy and good governance, pointing out that under his military government; several people were incarcerated in prison for simply expressing their views, as he is doing at the moment without being hounded.

THE OPPORTUNITY BETWEEN NOW AND

2015 TO CLOSE

RANKS AND COME UP WITH A FORMIDABLE PLATFORM THAT WILL MATCH THE RULING PARTY IN STRENGTH?

Buhari

The party also expressed worry that Buhari could be telling “lies and deceiving people just to score political points and advance his selfish interest” and challenged any political party or alliance, to produce him at the next presidential election and face another “shameful defeat.”

The PDP’s National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, said that political differences notwithstanding, it expected Buhari, as an elder statesman and a former Head of State, to acknowledge the significant progress that Nigeria has made in internalising democratic culture since the return of democracy in 1999.

His words: “There is still room for improvement no doubt, but Nigeria, under the PDP, has recorded tremendous gains in terms of advancing the rule of law and the fundamental rights of Nigerians, indeed, in other indices of good governance which democracy is usually expected to guarantee.”

Metuh reminded Buhari of his party’s imposition of candidates in its congresses in 2011, which according to him, is still hunting CPC till date. He also queried if such act is a mark of the rule of law that the former military ruler is preaching at the moment.

He asked: “General Buhari, the evangelist of the rule of law, Nigerians wishes to know if unlawful incitement of the populace to violence and attack on the institutions of democracy is part of the rule of law? Is the imposition that marked the congresses of the CPC in 2011, which is still hunting the party till date an act in rule of law?”

However, while some political analysts agreed with the PDP spokesman that the CPC shot itself on the foot in the last elections by the way most of its candidates

were surreptitiously substituted at the 11th hour by the party’s leadership, others are of the view that the ruling party’s attack on Buhari is not unconnected with his ambition, which according to them, the PDP had never been comfortable with.

They cited advice by some chieftains of the PDP, including that of the former Deputy National Chairman of the party, Chief Olabode George, of recent that it is high time that Buhari call it quits with politics after his defeat in the last elections. George had told National Mirror in an interview late last year that: “I will tell my oga, Gen. Buhari that enough is enough, let it be. He has tried; the important thing is that his platform does not have the spread; it does not carry the colouration of this country. There is no corner in Nigeria that you won’t find the PDP’s flag, it is the only party that is national in outlook.”

But Buhari insists that he will not quit politics “until the polity is sanitised and people enjoy the fruits of democracy at all levels of government.” And if he makes good his vow, 2015 would be the fourth attempt by the Katsina-born Army General to lead the country again, having occupied the position between December 31, 1983 and August 27, 1985 as a military ruler.

His first shot was in 2003, on the platform of the All Nigeria Peoples Party (ANPP), but he was defeated by former President Olusegun Obasanjo of the PDP. He was back in 2007, also on the platform of the ANPP, but was again defeated by Umaru Yar’Adua (now late), who hailed from the same state with him.

In March 2010, he left the ANPP to found the CPC. He described the CPC then as a solution to the debilitating, ethical and ideological conflicts in the ANPP. It was under this platform that he vied for the 2011 presidential election against the incumbent, Goodluck Jonathan (PDP), scoring 12.2 million votes against Jonathan’s 22.4 million.

The intrigues and power play which characterised the elections, especially

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

the collapse of an alliance between the CPC and the Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), which would have given the PDP a run for its money, forced Buhari to declare at the eve of the presidential poll that he will not seek any elective office again.

At the grand finale of his election campaign then, Buhari said: “This campaign is the third and last one for me since after it I will not present myself again for election into the office of the president.”

But that is now history as the CPC leader has made it clear that he is not giving up yet even as the twist has not only jostled the camp of his opponents but that of supporters. A handful of his lieutenants, especially those from the North had believed that his exit from the stage will pave the way for them to contest the 2015 presidency.

While some analysts have argued that age is no longer on Buhari’s side (he would be 73 in 2015) and that contesting the presidential poll will amount to another “political gamble,” the fresh move by the leading opposition parties to form an alliance is more than enough to make the PDP jittery.

Unlike the last experiment which commenced close to the polls, the new move is three years ahead of the polls and findings by National Mirror, showed that the PDP will be given a run for its money in the elections, should the proposed merger among ACN, CPC and the ANPP pull through.

Already, the ACN and CPC seem to have drawn lessons from the botched 2011 experience as they are inching closer to a new deal. Their leaders – former governor of Lagos State, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu and Buhari – have intensified strategy talks with old areas of misunderstanding being ironed out.

Tinubu recently declared that members of the opposition will unite against the PDP in 2015. Though he admitted that “lack of spirit of compromise” was responsible for the failure in 2011, he averred that they are now poised to wrest power from the ruling party.

Buhari, who spoke in like manner, urged opposition elements not to give up in the struggle for the attainment of full democratisation of the country. He recalled the political destiny that brought him and Tinubu together in an effort to form a credible platform that was poised to galvanise the opposition to change things for the better under the National Democratic Movement (NDM).

“I have worked closely with him (Tinubu) on the NDM, which was an amalgam of opposition leaders who tried to move forward the process we initiated before the 2007 elections to bring the major opposition players under one banner ahead the 2011 elections,” the CPC leader said, noting that though the NDM did not succeed in its stated objective, “it opened a window of opportunity of cooperation for opposition forces which must never be shut if our people are to get out of the evil grip of those who do not mean well for Nigeria.”

While Buhari and the PDP continues to trade tackles ahead of the elections, the questions is: will the scores of opposition parties take advantage of the opportunity between now and 2015 to close ranks and come up with a formidable platform that will match the ruling party in strength?

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Views

Monday, September 10, 2012

15

A case against unicameral legislature HeartBeat

CALLISTUS

OKE

Callistusoke@nationalmirroronline.net 08054103275 (SMS ONLY)

A

healthy debate on what I call the substance and structures of government is silently going on. The debate is ineluctably tied to the high cost of governance in Nigeria. You and I, indeed all Nigerians agree that we run the most expensive government anywhere in the entire world. People blame it on our presidential political order, a mimicry of rich United States of America. The system is working well there, but in Nigeria it is an apology. The problem should be with both the constitution and its operators. Do we need to adopt wholesale American type presidential system hook, line and sinker?

Let me prove why the operators are the problem. The first time ever we put the system into practice in the Second Republic, the ruling National Party of Nigeria (NPN) government of President Shehu Aliyu Shagari elevated patronage system to the ridiculous level of Minister for and Minister of to create jobs for party boys.

Under the NPN reincarnate PDP, incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan has 43 ministers to man 30 ministries, all in the

P

same attempt to create jobs for the party boys in the guise of Minister of State. We do we need a Presidency with a coterie of special advisers, senior special assistants to special assistants, and all drawing their emoluments from the national coffer. Why should a poor country like Nigeria maintain 11 aircraft in the Presidential Fleet?

Our 360 representatives and 109 senators and their support staff at the National Assembly collectively had between them N150 billion to waste in 2011. Assuming we share the money equally among the lot, it comes down to N320 million per legislator for one year! The unwholesomeness of this development is better captured when we juxtapose it with the nation’s median income, which will be less than N10 million per annum. This is less than the quarterly allowances of N27m for each Rep and N45m for each senator! The nation runs 263 statutory commission and scores of departments that must be captured in the annual budget.

The reward system in the National Assembly is the most exposed and therefore, the members of the legislative arm of government are expectedly the most demonized and criticized. This perhaps, could have accounted for my friend and colleague, Dr. Dele Seteolu, “the Marxist in the House”, as we members of the Editorial Board of this newspaper address him, singling out the institution for reform. In his last Wednesday piece titled: A case for unicameral legislature, he settled for the adoption of unicameral legislature at the centre to “reduce the cost of government, enhance law making ef-

THE UNIFORM REPRESENTATION OF ALL THE CONSTITUENT UNITS IN A FEDERATION IN THE

SENATE UNDERSCORES THEIR EQUALITY IN THE POLITICAL UNION ficiency and divert funds for pressing social issues”. His piece is quite expository on the causative factors of Nigeria’s underdevelopment and deficit infrastructure provisioning.

As laudatory as his prognosis might be, I do not share his optimism that a one chamber central legislature is the panacea for the high cost of governance in the country. The national bureaucracy is the most wasteful and inefficient. It is instructive to note that bicameralism is a common and important feature of federalism. This means that a federation must necessarily have a bicameral legislature. The uniform representation of all the constituent units in a federation in the Senate underscores their equality in the political union. Each of the 36 states in Nigeria, irrespective of population size, has three representatives in this upper house. In the larger House of Representatives, the preponderance of population weight in deciding representation among the constituent

units is very visible. It is only in this chamber that population size is an advantage.

Conceptually, the idea behind a second legislative chamber was to make it a restraining voice against the exuberance of the youthful House; it is expected to be a more deliberative institution. According to John Dickinson, a delegate to America’s Convention of 1787, the Senate should “consist of the most distinguished characters, distinguished for their rank in life and their weight of property.” And of its usefulness, hear what James Madison, the “Father of American Constitution”, has to say: “The use of the Senate is to consist in proceeding with more coolness, with more system, and with more wisdom, than the popular branch”.

My thesis is that the substance and vision of government rather than its structure determines its cost. Why do we throw open the race to the Senate? We have very distinguished Nigerians that will dignify the Senate with their membership. Imagine the quality of debate, resolutions and laws that would come from accomplished men and women like Hayford Alile, Aliko Dangote, Jimoh Ibrahim, Pat Utomi, Grace Alele-Williams, Muhammadu Buhari, Theophilus Danjuma.

Definitely, they will not be distracted by mundane concerns of where they would stay and the type of vehicles they will drive To be continued

Pulled apart by political cabal and state police

resident Goodluck Jonathan fervently but furtively believes in decentralizing the Nigeria Police Force for a better check on roaring criminality countrywide through the establishment of the now controversial state police. What with new virus strains of violence, which are offspring of untamed mothers of corruption unleashed by Boko Haram coupled with rapacious kidnapping of children, infants, extremely aged, pregnant women, etc.!

However, a political cabal profiting from the current lopsided use of a unitary and centralized police force in a supposedly loose federation as decreed by the 1999 Constitution is mobilizing opposition. This followed the cabal’s reading of Presijo’s body swagger of likely favouring police decentralization. The sudden rise of the unregistered national association of retired inspectors general of police some days ago got me curious that something was fishy in the waterways of fisherman Jo. All the ex-IGPs sang same song that Nigeria is unripe, that state police could destroy the nation’s unity (as if united before) through abuse by ambitious governors.

Earlier, the Nigerian Governors’ Forum had unanimously endorsed state police.

With the cabal’s intervention, however, the governors broke ranks. The Northern Nigerian Governors’ Forum rebelled. While southern governors’ expressed disappointment, Plateau State, under the assault of Boko Haram and Fulani herdsmen, detached from northern u-turn position. The Constitution that makes a governor state

CSO denies him control on state commissioner of police, who reports to and takes orders for crime control directly from the IGP in far-away Abuja.

From experience, Presijo is convinced that state police could end criminality culture of impunity. As former Bayelsa deputy governor and later governor, Presijo said, “There was a time we were frustrated and we felt that we should have our police that we will be able to manage criminality in our state better (than federal unified police). Policemen from other parts of the country find it difficult to go into the water, but for us who were born inside the water, even in the night we can enter an ordinary canoe to go to anywhere.”

After all, at pre-independence the colonial Native Authority Police and the post independence local government police existed. If local government police existed after independence, why is it frightening to have police at a higher state government level? Hear Presijo at the NBA AGM in Abuja, “But when I discussed the issue of state police with former presidents before a State Council meeting, they said it is a good idea that probably one day we’ll get there.

One day we’ll get to that point. But, presently, we have to be careful how we go about it.

Experiments have been made. There was a time when the police came with a policy that police officers from the rank of inspector and below should be posted to their states of origin as a way of testing whether police familiar with the environment will make changes, but (the situation got worse) so the police had to discontinue the policy”.

THE CONSTITUTION THAT MAKES A GOVERNOR STATE CSO DENIES

HIM CONTROL ON STATE COMMISSIONER OF POLICE What Presijo must understand is that the commanding top police hierarchy foiled this sound indigenization of security policy. Police cabal prefers posting to juicy states from where they make graft returns.

That is why “community policing” policy has failed to take off after training officers abroad. Presijo should make a policy for indigenes to head state police commands and for indigenes to constitute the majority of footmen, familiar with local language and culture: key ingredients of intelligence gathering. As with three tiers of government, three tiers of policing can comfortably exist with levels of jurisdiction and hierarchy clearly established to check abuse and for remediation, as with the judicial levels of appeal from magistracy to, high, appeal, and Supreme Court.

Another excuse by Presijo was that governors abused control of State Independent Electoral Commission (SIEC) to deny opposition victory and so could not be trusted. Similarly, federal government is accused of abusing exclusive control of police and INEC to rig national and state elections, which is why no opposition party has displaced the center’s ruling party since 1999. Even, Presijo confessed he resisted

Roadmap SONI EHI

ASUELIMEN

soniasuelimen@yahoo.com, 08023459055 (SMS ONLY)

pressure, likely from PDP, to use security agents and possibly INEC, to rig Edo State polls.

In effect, no tier of government is immune to abuse of police power. Each state is free to set up state police when the Constitution permits. After all, a semblance is LASTMA and KAI for control of traffic and environment in Lagos and Hisba for Sharia enforcement in Kano.

With or without state police enshrined in the Constitution, there must be a decentralization of police’s administrative and command structure for state governors to have firm grip on insecurity as CSO. Governors would be able to command state police bosses to forestall, apprehend, and redress criminality.

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

16

Monday, September 10, 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

MD/EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

YELE AKINROLABU

ED OPERATIONS

SEYI FASUGBA

DAILY EDITOR

BOLAJI TUNJI

SUNDAY EDITOR

GBEMI OLUJOBI

SATURDAY EDITOR

LANRE OYETADE

GENERAL EDITOR

DOZIE OKEBALAMA

COORDINATOR, EDITORIAL BOARD

ADESOYE ADEKOYA

CONTROLLER, PRODUCTION

CALLISTUS OKE

EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR

ISE-OLUWA IGE

ABUJA BUREAU CHIEF

KAYODE BALOGUN JNR

SM, STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENT

FRANK OBOH

HEAD, GRAPHICS

G

The N5,000 note controversy

overnor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi stirred the hornets’ nest recently when he announced a revision of the denominations of the nation’s currency. Specifically, he announced that beginning from the first quarter of 2013, the apex bank would introduce N5,000 bank notes, 50 kobo, N1 and N2 coins; and would convert the N5, N10 and N20 notes to coins.

Reports said the project would cost a whopping N40 billion.

Indeed, there may be nothing wrong with the proposed large denomination notes, since according to the CBN, doing so would mean printing a smaller quantity of bank notes and would also be more cost effective. In addition, on parity with other currencies like the Euro, Dollar and Pound Sterling, the naira has about the least large denomination. The N1,000 note which is Nigeria’s highest denomination, for instance, is equivalent to four British pounds, which are coins in the United Kingdom. Therefore, the CBN seemed convinced that the proposed N5,000 note would make more sense as a larger denomination since it would be the equivalent of about 20 British pounds.

Critics, however, have also rightly pointed out that the idea of introducing the N5,000 note appears a negation of the CBN’s cashless policy whose main target is to reduce the volume of physical cash used

THE CBN HAS ALSO NOT COME UP WITH ANY SUPERIOR OR SPECIAL ARGUMENT ON WHY

THE NATION’S PRESENT CURRENCY REGIME NEEDS TO BE SUDDENLY CHANGED for daily transactions. To such critics, the N5,000 note project is a policy summersault. Besides, the introduction of N5,000 notes has the capacity to enhance public sector corruption and money laundering; as crooks can effortlessly exploit it to move huge sums of money around for criminal purposes such as funding terrorism and drugs, among others. This is in addition to triggering intensified counterfeiting and money doubling crimes.

Coming to the proposed coins, it is also public knowledge that Nigerians are no longer used to coins, let alone carrying or making transactions with them. It is not unlikely that many youths in their late teens and early twenties have not set their eyes on any Nigerian coin. Critics, again, say if the proposed coins are not accepted and used by the Nigerian public, as is most likely to be the case judging from past experience, it could worsen the

country’s inflationary trend as small retail transactions, which represent a predominant feature of the country’s economy, may be hindered when retail prices are pegged at the nearest available bank note. Of significance also is the apprehension that the CBN has no guarantee that the coins when introduced, would do better than the ones dumped in the past by way of adequate functional values.

Reports have indicated that President Goodluck Jonathan approved the CBN proposal and that the Federal Government’s economic management team endorsed it as well. The National Assembly, however, appears nonexcited about the initiative. The Senate wants it suspended; while the House of Representatives has summoned Sanusi over the proposal in what many fear might lead to a face-off between the executive and the legislature.

The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN), eminent economists and the manufacturing sector have all condemned the initiative as counter-productive; but the CBN seems hell bent on carrying on with it.

Except the FG and CBN have other reasons yet undisclosed, we see nothing that warrants the proposed heating up of the economy through the latest CBN currency project. Indeed, the N40 billion purported cost of the project is a huge sum that could serve a better purpose if channelled to infrastructure

provisioning that would have multiplier effects on the economy than the vanity of printing and circulating higher denomination notes. Even if the CBN is not spending as much as the said N40 billion on the project, the apex bank spent a total of about N125 billion in just three years (between 2009 and 2011) on the printing of currency notes. The CBN has also not come up with any superior or special argument on why the nation’s present currency regime should be suddenly changed.

We therefore view the proposed huge spending on currency rejigging as a needless adventure which the CBN wants to embark upon strictly for the purpose of self glorification or other reasons unknown as yet. It is, therefore, crucial that the NASS should thoroughly scrutinise the necessity or otherwise of the project against the backdrop of the pitfalls of similar exercises elsewhere as have been pointed out by experts.

The inflationary setbacks of the new currency regime should be closely examined especially considering the problems such initiatives created in countries like Argentina, Zaire/DRC and Zimbabwe. If the purpose of the project is to facilitate the easy movement of election funds come 2015, as is being speculated in some quarters, then the project is dishonest and would spell doom for the nation. We believe the NASS has the muscle to put a stop to the charade; and we so urge it.

ON THIS DAY September 2004 September3, 10, 2008 Beslan The Large school Hadron hostage Collider crisis –at day CERN, 3: Thedescribed Beslan hostage as the crisis biggest ended scientific with experiment the deaths ofinover history 380 people, was powered more than up in half Geneva, of which Switzerland. were children.

The Large The Hadron BeslanCollider school (LHC) hostage is crisis the world’s commenced largest on andSeptember highest-energy 1 when particle armedaccelerator. terrorists took It was children built byand theadults European hostage Organization in Beslan for in North Nuclear OsseRetia, search Russia.

(CERN) Thefrom crisis1998 lasted to 2008, three with days the and aiminvolved of allowing the capture physicists of over to test 1,100 thepeople predictions as hostages of different (including theories 777 chilof dren), particle ending physics with and the high-energy death of over physics.

380 people.

September September10, 3, 2003 1987 In Anna a coup Lindh, d’état the in foreign Burundi, minister President of Sweden, Jean-Baptiste was fatally Bagaza stabbed while was deposed shoppingby and Major she died Pierre the following Buyoya. day Bagaza . Ylva (born Anna Maria 1946) was Lindh a Burundian (June 19, 1957 politician – September who11,was 2003) Chairwas a man Swedish of the Social Supreme Democratic Revolutionary politician, chairman Council in of Burundi the Social until Democratic November Youth10, League 1976, and 1984-1990, President member from of November parliament 10, 1982-1985 1976 to and September 1998-2003. Ascending 3, 1987. While to the government travelling abroad, as minBagaza ister of environment was deposedin in1994, a military she wascoup elevated d’état. to minister He was refor placed foreignby affairs Pierre by prime Buyoya minister as theGöran country’s Persson president. in 1998.

September September 3, 1945 10, 1967 Three-day The people celebration of Gibraltar was voted heldtoin remain Chinaafollowing British dependenthe victory cy rather over Japan thanDay becoming on September part of 2.Spain.

As theGibraltar final official is asurrenBritish der overseas of Japan territory was accepted locatedaboard on thethe southern battleship endUSS of the Missouri Iberian inPeninsula Tokyo Bay aton the September entrance of 2, 1945, the Mediterranean. the Nationalist Government It has an area ofofthe 6.8Republic square kilometres of China, which (2.6 sq mi) represented and a northern China on border the Miswith souri, Andalusia, announced Spain.the Thethree-day Rock of Gibraltar holidays is tothe celebrate major landmark V-J Day, starting of the region.

September At its3.foot Starting is the densely from 1946, populated September city area, 3 washome celebrated to almost as “Victory 30,000 Gibraltarians of War of Resistance and otheragainst nationalities.

Japan Day”.

A2 18

Business Courage

Monday, September 10, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Cover

On the

firing line The telecommunication industry counts losses as pre-meditated attacks by the violent religious sect, Boko Haram leaves several telecommunication infrastructures destroyed in some parts of the northern states. The attacks, which many have seen as a strategic shift targetted at the economic base of the country, may have cost the operators several billions of naira

By Adejuwon Osunnuyi

F

or the leading telecommunications companies in the country, the events of the past few days have been rather devastating. For about three days last week, the violent Boko Haram Islamic sect dealt a deadly blow on the telcom operators, in coordinated attacks that left several base stations blown up.

About 30 Transceiver Base Stations (BTS), belonging to MTN, Airtel, Etisalat,Glo, Visafone, Helios Tower and IHS Nigeria located in Bauchi, Borno, Yobe, Gombe and Kano states were attacked. Another report indicated that Multilinks base stations located

at Mainok Village, Borno and another one at Abari Village in Damaturu, were damaged.

Regulatory Affairs Manager, MTN Nigeria, Bankole Falade, said the effect of the vandalisation of the base stations and fibre optic cables is also felt by the banking industry as sometimes bank customers find it difficult to make withdrawals at the automated teller machines.

As at weekend, stakeholders are still expressing shock at the magnitude of the attack on the telecommunication infrastructure, the loss which has been conservatively put at about N1.5 billion.

Engineer Gbenga Adebayo, National Chairman, Association of Licensed Telecommunications Operators of Nige-

One of the bombed base stations

ria (ALTON), told Business Courage last Friday that the attacks were unprecedented in the history of telecoms sector. He described the extent of damage on the Information and Communication Technology infrastructures as ‘great setback for the economy and threat to further investment’ in the telecoms sector. Beyond the issue of damaged infrastructure and the trauma of the personnel posted to the affected sites for day-to-day maintenance, Adebayo said the attack poses great setback for local and Foreign Direct Investment inflows into the nation’s telecommunication sector. “It is a major setback for us as an industry and it is capable of discouraging investors and I must also say that it has also created a situation where investors are beginning to see Nigeria’s economy as not being safe for investment again and that is why I say it is a major setback for the industry,” he said.

The ALTON boss expressed worries that with the number

of base stations affected, the negative impact of the bombings would be felt not only by subscribers in the affected areas but also nearby areas which are connected to hub stations that were destroyed during the attacks. “Some of the telecoms towers destroyed are hub sites that connect to several other base stations and the impact in terms of service disruption can go as far as recoating the nearby states such as Adamawa andKano states,” he said.

Another analyst, Biodun

Ajiboye, Chairman, Logica Media Group said the development was the worse-ever in the history of telecoms development in the country. “We have never had any damage to telecoms infrastructure in this magnitude in this country and this has caused great setback both to the operators and to the country as a whole.

Without an iota of doubt, infrastructure expansion costs telcos a lot of money and in spite of that, we still complain about the quality of service.

So, the challenges being faced

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

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage

Monday, September 10, 2012

A3 19

Cover

in the affected areas now is better imagined than discussed,” Ajiboye said.

He argued that operators’ enthusiasm in extending services to places not yet covered by their networks especially in the northern parts of the country has further been dampened, due to rising spate of insecurity, even as he said that several subscribers will groan under poor service quality, while businesses and government institutions in the areas will suffer.

Telcoms infrastructure analysts says an average base station costs about N39.47 million ($250,000), adding that with about 30 affected base stations, an investment of about N1.2bn might have gone down the drain.

Though the attack that riled through many of the telecom operators’ base stations caught the entire industry unawares, discerning minds have reasoned that the government’s lack of capacity to contain the growing insurgence, which has increased

the group’s confidence, has further encouraged the sect to carry out its act. It would be recalled that in April this year, Boko Haram had threatened to attack telecom operators for aiding security agencies in the arrests of its members through the tracking of their telephone lines.

The group threatened not to hesitate in taking punitive measures against anybody who sabotage or assist others that are sabotaging their efforts. “This is why we are fighting the Nigerian government and its collaborators, including telecommunication companies. We would continue attacking them (telecoms) until the time they stopped releasing information about our activities.

In what appeared to be a warning of its next target, Boko Haram said that it had also established that through its various programmes, the Voice of America (VOA), has “launched a campaign of calumny against Islam. We have resolved to fight back by

tracking and killing its employees. Any employee of the VOA that wants to remain alive must quit,” it said.

As at press time last week, most operators who spoke with Business Courage were cautious on what the response of the operators who were particularly affected by the onslaught would be on their operations in the northern part of the country.

An official of one of the affected companies who spoke under anonymity last week said that if it becomes impossible to continue to do business in the face of rising attacks on telecoms sites, operators will naturally suspend operations in the area, because according to him, the latest attack was beyond base stations. The sect, he feared, may begin to target telecoms operators‘ offices and data centres among other key infrastructure, stressing that is why it is important that the situation is curtailed before it gets to that point.

“During military coups, dissidents attack newspaper and television houses as well as telecommunications centres and infrastructure to destabilise the government. This is not different from what we are experiencing now as people’s phones can’t be reached in the affected areas,” he said.

A Chief Executive Officer of one of the GSM companies, who asked not to be named, said though the company was not contemplating suspending its operations as of now, it could be forced to do so if the situation persisted. “We are not contemplating the withdrawal of services as of today but if the situation continues like this in the next four to five days, we may have to withdraw service. But we are not contemplating that now,” he said.

Other operators who spoke on the issues said that the final decision, which is being subjected to ‘critical review,’ will be considered, but cautioned that the final decision would be considered taking into consideration, the likely security, economic and social implications which a total shut down could pose to the people.

A top management source at one of the telecoms firms said the decision is being seriously considered because most staff working in the area are currently working in fear.

“I think something urgent needs to be done and shutting down operations in the areas may be an option. But I think because of the negative

Steven Evans, Etisalat CEO

impact of shutting down their operations, which can further trigger greater security risks if people are not able to call each others, they might be working on alternative measures with less negative impacts,” he said.

Speaking at a critical

Jim Ovia, Visafone Chairman

ICT Infrastructure roundtable organised by the ALTON and Nigerian Communications Week, and chaired by Dr Ernest Ndukwe, former executive vice chairman of the Nigerian Communication Commission (NCC), most of the speakers lamented the

A4 20

Business Courage

Monday, September 10, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Cover

Mike Adenuga (Jnr), Globacom Chairman

Brett Goschen, MTN CEO

lack of requisite laws protecting telecom and ICT facilities from vandalisation.

The forum in its preliminary communiqué, called on the Federal Government to declare telecoms facilities as Critical National Security Infrastructure, pending the time necessary laws would be enacted to protect Information and Communication Technology infrastructure such as cables and towers owned by the government or private or-

News Etisalat confirms judges for Innovation Award

A

ll is now set for the first edition of the ‘Etisalat Prize for Innovation,’ as telecommunications company, Etisalat has announced members of its judging panel who will decide winners of the most innovative mobile broadband product or service in Africa.

The judging panel will be chaired by Steven Evans, CEO, Etisalat with Bill Best, former CTO of GSM Association as co-chair of Judges. Joining them are Usen Udoh, Senior Director at Accenture Nigeria, Chukwuemeka Afigbo, Head of Developer Outreach across Africa for Google, and serial entrepreneurs like Ken Banks, founder of Kiwanja.net, , Sim Shagaya, founder and CEO of DealDey and Konga.Com along with Tayo Oviosu, founder and CEO of Pagatech.

ganisations.

Most analysts who spoke with Business Courage last week argued rather than suspend operations because of the recent attacks, the telecommunication companies would rather intensify their expansion drive, not minding if such action affects their quality of services. In fact, a source who preferred anonymity last week said that the attack would be a genuine excuse for most operators, as subscribers within

the region where the attacks were concentrated would have no choice than to cope with what the operators could offer.

It would be recalled that the NCC had early this year imposed huge fines on four major telecommunications operators- Globacom, MTN, Etisalat and Airtel for failing to meet specific Key Performance Index (KPIs). MTN and Etisalat were fined N360 million each, Glo N180 million and Airtel N270 million.

At that time, the operators had noted that the operating environment was “frustrating and volatile” and remain a major hindrance to achieving the pre-determined benchmark set by the regulator. The operators had disclosed plans to expend over N400 billion on various telecoms infrastructure upgrades in the country between before the end of December.

The GSM operators, which claimed over N1 trillion in-

Announcing the confirmed judges, Chief Executive Officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Steven Evans said, “The thinking behind the ‘Etisalat Prize for Innovation’ is to encourage and celebrate valuable innovation for driving or facilitating mobile broadband use in the Africa market. Having some of these notable professionals in their different fields as judges will further encourage and reward corporate organisations; small and growing businesses as well as individuals who are constantly making efforts to the development of mobile broadband solutions and platforms in Africa”.

Each of the judge’s experience and knowledge of the telecommunications industry will make them valuable assets to the ‘Etisalat Prize for Innovation’ judging panel, as they will recognize the best individual or organization with the most innovative broadband products and services.

Entries for the award close on Thursday 6th of September 2012 while it is expected to be made via the Etisalat website

on www.etisalat.com/innovation.

The entries must show demonstrable impact on broadband usage, impressive uptake from customers and would have made a visible commercial or social impact in the community.

Entries are open to African Mobile Network Operators (MNO) and Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO) with innovative Broadband products or services using the GSM network family (2G GPRS & EDGE, 3G, HSPA, LTE), Handset and/or Device manufacturers, App Developers and other Software service providers making use of mobile broadband capability, Radio and Core network Infrastructure suppliers enabling broadband products and content developers.

The ‘Etisalat Prize for Innovation’ which will be one of the major attractions at the 15th Annual Africa Com Conference scheduled to take place in Cape Town, South Africa in November 2012 is aimed at encouraging and celebrating valuable innova-

tion in the African market and will be awarded in 2 categories; both prizes will be for driving or facilitating mobile broadband use in Africa.

The first prize of $25, 000 is for the most innovative product or service launched in the last 12 months and a second prize of $10,000 for the most innovative idea.

“Effective data storage remains sure way to business enlargement”

E

ffective data storage has been described as a sure bet to ensure a business enlargement even as data will keep expanding and enlarging at individual company and global level, District Manager, West Africa, NetApp, Rex Mafia made this known at the NetApp yearly innovation programme held in Lagos recently.

At the NetApp yearly innovation programme which has now metamorphosed into “BIG DATA”, Rex, who declared the

vestments in building and enhancing mobile networks in the country over the last 10 years, said the decision became necessary due to the falling standard of telecoms services in the country.

The operators had argued as unfair, government’s expectation of the same standards in Nigeria, as obtained in Western countries, when infrastructures, such as power supply, are lagging behind, thereby compelling the operators to make additional investment to fill the yawning gap.

They argued that maintenance of GSM infrastructure in the country is similar to running a complete economy, complete with power generation, provision of security for staff and equipment, creating access roads in some instances, even as they are subjected to heavy and multiple taxations by all tiers of governments.

Currently, there are about 22, 000 base stations already deployed in the country by the telecoms operators. On a monthly basis, it costs the operators about N673,200 to keep a base station up and running and this increases to about N8 million annually. if the estimated N8 million spent in maintaining a base station annually is multiplied by the total number of base stations already deployed in the country, it costs telecoms firms an accumulated N178 billion annually. BC

event opened, said going by data which keep expanding and enlarging at individual company and global level, with NetApp storage foundation, resources will go further while businesses move faster.

“With efficient and flexible storage infrastructure our customers don’t have to choose between saving money and improving business responsiveness,” he said.

Rex said one of the areas of strength of Net App innovations is that it lowers capital and operating expenses, helping their customers to outpace competition and delighting their customer s with better, higher quality services.

Noy Hassan, Africa regional head for NetApp said “Data protection and management is about business not technology and even the SMES are taking into consideration with flexibility of our packages” One of the participants, who simply identified himself as Smart, describing the event as an eye opener, commended the company in helping people get link to the past in terms of accurate information accessibility.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage

Monday, September 10, 2012

A5 21

News contract, adding that the government is determined to ensure enhanced performance, transparency and accountability in governance.

FG orders Metallurgical Development Centre to commercialise operations

T

Usman

Planning Minister tasks employees on service efficiency

Stories by Tola Akinmutimi (Abuja)

T

he Minister of National Planning, Dr Shamsuddeen Usman, has signed performance contract with the Secretary to the Commission and Chief Executives Officers of the Commission’s three parastatals and charged them to ensure effective budget implementation and service delivery in their entities.

The affected Chief Executives that signed the contract are; Professor Olufemi Taiwo of National Institute for Social and Economic Research (NISER), Dr Kabir Kabo Usman of the Centre for Management Development (CMD) and Dr Yemi Kale of National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The signing of the performance deal, according to the minister, was in compliance with the policy directive of the present administration which saw President Jonathan signed performance contract with members of his Executive Council, during the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting held on August, 22, 2012.

Speaking at the formal signing event, the Minister said that the performance contract, was a new drive initiated by President Jonathan to measure performance of public office holders which is aimed at effective budget implementation and service delivery to Nigerians He warned staff of the Commission that, it is not going to be business as usual and every staff must live up to expecta-

tion for the commission to meet up with its part of the contract as designed The Secretary to the Commission, Ntufam Fidel Ugbo, who also supervised directors of the commission’s signing of the contract, assured the minister that they would work closely to ensure that the Commission achieved its targets and by extension, assist in government’s drive towards improved delivery in budget implementation and services.

The President while signing the Performance Contract with ministers described the ceremony as momentous ceremony since it represented the first of its kind in the history of the nation’s democracy. “There have been all kinds of speculations about this exercise. It is important to state what it is and what it is not. I want to assure every one of you who has taken part in the exercise that this is not meant to witch-hunt anybody. It is to remind all of us, from President to Directors General, to Advisers and other aides that we are representatives of the Nigerian people, and we are accountable to them at all times.

“I had stated clearly during the inauguration of the Federal Executive Council that Ministers are expected to be accountable, productive, transparent and focused. In the past two months, many of you have had to make detailed presentations on the Key Performance Indicators in your ministries.

Today’s exercise is yet a reminder of our commitment to service delivery for the common good of Nigerians”, the President added.

He listed the objectives of his administration as necessitating the Performance

he National Metallurgical Development Centre, Jos has been charged to commercialise its services to generate revenue for self sustenance in view of prevailing government financial situation in the country.

The Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Arc. Musa Mohammed Sada, who gave the advice at the stakeholders forum of the centre in Abuja, said that the centre has enormous potentials to sustain itself like its counterparts in Malaysia, India and other parts of the world.

A statement by the Deputy Director Press of the Ministry, Marshal Gundu, at the weekend quoted the minister as saying that the solid minerals sector was becoming more vibrant and the services of the centre would be needed by investors and operators in areas like beneficiation and milling of mineral ores; extractive and physical metallurgy; chemical analysis; foundry technology; feasibility studies for mineral projects; failure analysis; development of flow-sheets among others.

The minister said that the minerals and metals industrial sector is one of the most valuable sectors of an industrialised economy because of its enormous capacity to support and stimulate growth in virtually all other sectors of an economy.

Arc. Sada said that the mandate given the centre was to provide the research and development inputs for the industrial and economic growth of Nigeria’s solid minerals and metallurgical

Sada

industries through innovation and adaptation of mineral processing and metallurgical technologies so that the ever increasing proportion of the country’s requirements in those areas could be met.

While interacting with journalists on the sidelines of the event, the Minister disclosed that foreign companies operating in the nation’s minerals and metals sector were struggling to approach the capital market to raise funds for their projects In his keynote address at the event, Professor Peter Onwualu, the DirectorGeneral of the Raw Materials Research and Development Council (RMRDC), who was represented by Kazeem Biliaminu ,said that the mineral resources of Nigeria have been mobilized to contribute to national economic and industrial development.

Onwualu said that to ensure that optimal benefits are obtained from these resources, schematic and purposeful steps had to be taken to ensure continual development of the resources.

He noted that the mineral industry had a vital role to play in ensuring a sustainable future for economic growth, adding that the challenge is to exploit the solid minerals in such a manner to guarantee sustainable development and that in view of the various uses of the minerals, there is a high market potential for products derivable from minerals The RMRDC boss advised that Nigeria should be more pragmatic and resolute on the issue of resources as no nation can boast of sustainable development if her economy is absolutely import dependent. “We therefore need to collectively re-examine the strategies so far put in place and chart a new direction for the Minerals and Metals sector,” he said.

The Director-General of the National Metallurgical Centre, Jos, Plateau State, Engr.(Prof.) Ibrahim Madugu said that the agency has

been making significant contributions to the solid minerals and metallurgical sector of the nation’s economy in: characterization and beneficiation of most of the available raw materials for iron and steel making, tests, analyses and beneficiation studies on other solid minerals including cassiterite, tantalite, niobium, lead/zinc ores among others. The agency also engages in the conduct of tests of construction bars to ascertain their suitability for construction purposes.

The Director-General said that in order to augment the funding from the Federal Government, it engages in research and development services for investors and operators in the solid minerals and metallurgical sector to generate revenue.

Noah

LASAA uncovers over 300 per cent increase in structures

T

he enumeration exercise to capture data of all paid and unpaid signage and outdoor advertising structures embarked upon by the Lagos State Signage & Advertisement Agency (LASAA) in March 2012 has uncovered over 300 per cent increase in structures that were not previously captured in its books. Managing Director of the agency, George Kayode Noah who disclosed this during the sendforth ceremony organised for the enumerators, said that the agency has recorded huge increase of 70 per cent in the number of billboards. The project, a key component of LASAA’s Outdoor Masterplan, was aimed at making the Agency operate efficiently as possible. It involved verifying, collating and evaluating a detailed robust and structure signage/ outdoor database. ‘’From the reports compiled by the Enumeration Project Team, we now have on our database over 300 per cent increase in signs not previously captured on our books. The

A6 22

Business Courage

Monday, September 10, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

News enumeration has confirmed our earlier assumption that signs and outdoor structures on our books were enormously understated” he said.

Noah said that as part of the task, the “enumerators were required to evaluate all signs and outdoor structures in the sate. A dedicated software was provided for this purpose to enable the enumerators capture and categorize data in terms of image, GPIS location, size, content and chargeable rate”. He went on further: “the outcome of this report will provide a veritable platform for regulatory efficiency and revenue optimization without increasing our rates”.

With the enumeration completed, the agency, he said, is better positioned to manage its signage regulatory functions, as it has created a digital map of all signs in all locations across the state. More importantly for the Agency’s stakeholders, its revenue profile is set to increase as the data captured will provide key details of all unregistered signs and structures of owners who will be required to regularize their signs

Dangote

Dangote promises more investments for jobs creation

F

ollowing a recent global survey which declared Nigeria as having the potential to lead the continent in terms of growth by 2020; President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote has reassured that all his investments would be tailored towards job creation for gainful employment so as to alleviate poverty among the people.

Dangote who is a member of the National Economic Management Team stated in Lagos at the weekend that what Nigerians needed most presently is economic empowerment and that it is only a working population whether self-employed or engaged that could be economically empowered.

Speaking against the background of a report on Africa’s growth and job creation by Mckensey Global Institute which described Africa as the second fastest growing region in the world with decline in

poverty, Dangote said all hands must be on deck to ensure the dream of Nigeria’s economic turn-around becomes a reality.

He therefore urged that local investors should complement the efforts of the Federal government at ensuring the success of the economic agenda by delving into manufacturing as one of the means of empowering Nigerians through job creation.

According to the report titled “Africa at Work: Job Creation year” published in August by Mckensey and Company, Africa is the secondfastest-growing region in the world with decline in poverty.

Africa is harnessing its natural wealth, and that sectors across the economy are growing rapidly. These sectors are said to be agriculture, manufacturing, and local services such as retail, banking, and transportation and communications, in addition to the natural resources sector, which was the largest single contributor to growth.

It stated; “The three largest oil producers—Algeria, Angola, and Nigeria— earned $1.3 trillion from petroleum exports from 2001 to 2011, compared with $300 billion in the 1990s.

However, manufacturing and service sectors remain relatively small, accounting for just one-third of GDP on average.

Because the resources sector employs few people, there are large differences in the labour markets across Africa’s oilexporting economies.”

The report believed that, Nigeria, for example, enjoys abundant natural gas and a growing local construction industry, comparative advantages that have already brought some major private-sector success stories. “Dangote Cement PLC has benefited from Nigerian gas to become Africa’s largest cement producer and today meets about half of Nigeria’s cement needs. From this domestic base, it is already expanding into other African markets, including Cameroon, Ethiopia, Senegal, Tanzania, and Zambia.

However, the report indicated that Nigerian manufacturing still face a range of obstacles, including weak infrastructure and logistics bottlenecks, and removing these would allow similar success stories to emerge.

Dangote then advised that Nigeria should take the advantage of analysis of state of agriculture, manufacturing, and retail and hospitality sectors which suggested that Africa can accelerate employment growth in these sectors, with the potential to create up to 72 million wage-paying jobs across all sectors by 2020 and that capturing this potential would move Africa closer to matching the job-creation trajectory of South Korea and

other successful emerging markets.

He promised that he would do all within his powers to ensure that any investment he makes is job creation focused and urged other investors to do same for the nation to be where it ought to be 2020.

The business mogul noted that it was only through the active involvement of the private sector that the areas of infrastructure deficit could be tracked and tackled by government, adding that all countries of the world whose economy have made appreciable impact on the citizenry have done so through manufacturing.

“The McKensey report is very instructive, it says that half of the 30 million jobs in African manufacturing offer wage paying employment, a higher share than most sectors. If current projections for manufacturing value-added growth hold, it is estimated that that the sector will create eight million more stable jobs by 2020.”

Umar

Fresh crisis looms over imposition of new port charges

By Francis Edem

S

trong indications emerged that crisis might be looming in Nigeria’s maritime industry over the decision of the Federal Government to impose additional range of charges on goods imported into the country to raise funds for the fledging Council for the Regulation of Freight Forwarding in Nigeria created since 2007.

In addition to the imposition of additional charges on all goods imported through the air, seaports and land borders, the government had also approved the collection of annual registration and subscription fees by all freight forwarders practicing in the country.

Minister of Transport, Mallam Idris Umar had communicated government’s approval to the stakeholders through a letter dated July 3, 2012 and entitled RE: Report on the stakeholders’ meetings n the annual subscription and other fees to be collected by the

CRFFN with reference number T.0160/S.172/1.

Meanwhile, in a meeting held by the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents, the biggest freight forwarding group, members were of the consensus that none of their members should comply with the new charges, which they described as arbitrary and unwarranted, an indication that a major face-off is imminent in the industry.

In addition to resisting the payment of the new charges, president of the association, Prince Olayiwola Shittu was also mandated to resign his membership of the governing board of the CRFFN so as not to leave anybody in any doubt that the association is poised for a showdown.

ANLCA mandated its leadership to write the Minister of Transport to explain the possible implications of collecting transaction fees from licensed customs agents and importers.

It was further gathered that if all entreaties to dissuade both the minister and the CRFFN to rescind their decision on the collection of the charges, the association should immediately put measures in place in order to go to court to stop the council from collecting the fees from port operators.

The well attended meeting also decided that the leadership of the association should turn down an off the CRFFN in which it suggested that the council should be paying annual subvention to all freight forwarding associations registered by the council.

It was gathered that members warned the leadership to be careful with the proposed subvention to associations, which many saw as a Greek Gift to make the an appendage of the council and therefore voiceless.

Under the new fees, importers will now pay N1.50 per kilo of every air cargo, N1, 000 per 20-foot container, N2, 000 per each 40-foot container, N500 per car or Jeep imported into the country sand N1,000 per every truck or 20-foot equivalent.

Others include N2, 000 per truck or 40-foot equivalent, N3.50 per every ton of general cargo imported into the country and N1.00 per ton of every dry bulk cargo handled in any of the nation’s seaports The minister also approved various registration fees for freight forwarding practitioners including Nigerians and nonNigerians, which range from N7, 500 to N50, 000 annually depending on the category of membership as well as annual subscription fees ranging from N10, 000 to N60, 000 for the various levels of the membership of the council.

In order to facilitate ease of collection, the minister had directed NPA to ensure that the

council was represented at the daily berthing committee meetings of the authority.

Monehin

UBA introduces MasterCard

T

he United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc says it is set to dominate the electronic card segment of Nigeria ’s financial industry with the introduction of its MasterCard for banking convenience of its customers across the globe.

With the UBA MasterCard customers of the bank can now carry out their electronic financial transactions, through the Automated Teller Machines (ATMs), Point of Sales (PoS) and on the Internet, anywhere in the world, in a seamless manner even as they benefit from the bank’s range of cost saving e-banking products and services Commenting on the benefits of the new MasterCard, Head Cards, UBA Plc, Adedeji Olowe said MasterCard is partnering with UBA to accept and issue payment cards across 19 African countries.

According to him, “UBA is offering customers world-class products to roam their Money in Naira and 3 other currencies, Dollar, Pounds and Euro.

UBA represents the biggest potential for MasterCard in Nigeria today and across Africa .”

MasterCard is the second largest financial network in the world and is accepted in 210 countries, over one million ATMs and 32 million merchant locations. MasterCard has witnessed massive growth in Nigeria in the last 5 years Part of the benefits to Cardholders, according to Olowe is that the usage of UBA MasterCard in other currencies will have no annual spend limit adding that UBA has concluded plans to provide full bouquet of payment cards across debit, prepaid and corporate cards. These Cards, he maintained, will also come in premium levels such as Gold, Platinum and World.

“Mastercard is delighted to partner with one of the lead-

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage

Monday, September 10, 2012

A7 23

News ing bank on the continent on the deployment of MasterCard to 19 countries on the continent,” Daniel Monehin, Division President, Sub-Sahara Africa, MasterCard Worldwide said. “Our partnership with UBA had come a long way, and the financial institution has an entrenched card based products and channels, millions of customers on the continent would benefit from,” Monehin added.

Aganga tasks D-Gs, Perm Sec on performance

D

r Olusegun Aganga, the Minister of Trade and Investment, has advised Directors-General, Permanent Secretaries and directors under the ministry to be performance focused. Aganga, who gave the advice at the signing of performance contract with them, noted that their performance would be monitored, adding that the contract was in tandem with the directive of President Good luck Jonathan.

Aganga said they were expected to focus on how they could deploy human and financial resources for optimum performance. ``When you ask for a budget, you explain why and what are the benefits to the country because we were all appointed to serve the country,’’ he said.

He said the Industrial Training Fund had established training centres across the country for the development of industrial skills but the concern should be how many of its graduates could be gainfully employed. ``Weight and measures have been introduced into the country for the first time with special focus on power, telecom, oil and gas.’’ He advised the National Sugar Development Council to focus on backward integration, where raw materials were sourced locally.

The minister urged the Nigerian Investment Promotion Commission to work toward improving the investment climate in Nigeria to attract more investors. Aganga said the National Automotive Council should strive to reduce the number of vehicles imported into the country. He noted that Small and Medium Enterprises ``are the drivers of any economy and should be encouraged to thrive. ``This is a new phase of the presidents transformation agenda and we must all support it.’’

Dr Samuel Ortom, the Minister of State for Trade and Investment, said the contract would determine those who were ready to deliver and those who were not. He

Aganga

recalled that the President had warned that ministers, who failed to perform, would be sanctioned, adding that same would apply to the signatories. ``If you don’t perform, you will be sanctioned, the key performance indicator was done in consultation with you and you all made inputs; so there is no excuse for failure.’’

Prof Longmas Wapmuk, the Director-General of ITF, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the contract was a wake-up call for everybody in the quest to transform Nigeria.

Wapmuk said the president ``is in hurry to transform the country and should be supported fully’’.

David Adelugba, the Director-General of the Nigerian Export Promotion Council, said it was time for the principals, who were not up and doing to have a rethink. He said the council had done well so far but needed to increase its productivity level.

to set up a committee that would ensure adherence to rules and ethical conducts of environmental health Officers. Oludare stressed the need for all industries, private and government establishments to comply with the law regulating the conduct of fumigation and pest control services. ``We want to ensure that when that committee is put in place we will go from place to place to ensure that the right personnel is the one that is actually fumigating and controlling pests. ’’ He noted that when chemicals were wrongfully used, they could lead to health problems. ``If wrong bio-chemicals are used in fumigation, basically the danger is inherent on the entire environment which includes human existence. ``The wrong chemical, when used inappropriately, either in the under-dose form or over-dose form, would amount to health problem. `` It’s either the result is not gotten, that the rats pests are not controlled or human lives are endangered by accumulation of unregulated chemicals.’’ The association president advised that chemicals used in fumigation should be regulated by the National Agency for Drug and Administrative and Control (NAFDAC). He also suggested that the agency should also determine the right doses of chemicals to be used during fumigation as well as the right personnel to be engaged.

Expert wants trained personnel to handle fumigation

T

he Lagos State Environmental Health Officers Association of Nigeria (EHOAN) has recommended that only trained personnel should be allowed to fumigate homes and industries.

Lawal Oludare, the president of the association, who made the recommendation in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, said that fumigation involved the use of chemicals which must be administered properly to avoid wrong usage.

According to him, wrong usage of chemicals can be injurious to health, stressing that the state ministry of environment was planning

Mailafia, Minister of Environment

Group commends FG on approval of new ICT policy

T

he Joint Action Committee on Information and Communications Technology

Badaru

and Development (JACITAD), has commended the Federal Government for approving the new National Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Policy, noting that the new policy will complement the national economic growth aspirations.

National President of JACITAD, Shina Badaru, said that, “Our Association is encouraged by the news of the recent approval in principle granted

by President Goodluck Jonathan at the Federal Executive Council which we believe represents the administration’s commitments to leverage ICTs for overall national growth and economic development.”

According to the group, a key highlight of the new policy thrust is the pursuit of true convergence based on the proposed merger of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the industry regulator for telecommunications and the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), the broadcasting industry regulator in line with convergence.

“JACITAD is very encouraged by the plan to merge the NCC and NBC as it reflects growing industry advocacy for Nigeria to pursue strategic policy thrust reflecting convergence of regulatory functions, roles and responsibilities to promote true convergence in the Nigerian ICT sector”, Badaru added.

Under the plan, the infrastructure and frequency held

by NBC will now be merged with NCC which is envisioned to become a Converged Regulator for the sector. NBC will subsequently be saddled with the responsibility of regulating broadcast content.

With the new National ICT

Policy, Nigeria has defined a new roadmap for its aspiration to be a key player in a connected global economy and fast-paced globalisation while also showing that government has heeded industry advocacy that government promotes true convergence running the entire gamut of her policies and across regulatory institutions as well.

The Ministry of Communication Technology has said that the National ICT Policy was developed to complement the development goals of Nigeria’s Vision 20:2020.

With a vision to make Nigeria a knowledge-based and globally competitive society, the new National ICT Policy hopes to fully integrate ICTs into the socio-economic development and transformation of the country into a knowledgebased economy.

“Our commendation also goes to Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs. Omobola Johnson, for painstakingly pursuing the formulation of the new National ICT Policy within record time following her appointment by President Goodluck Jonathan on July 17, 2011”, the JACITAD President adds.

The Minister had on August 25, 2011 set up an Ad-hoc Committee to harmonise all existing Policies for the different sectors in ICT including Telecommunications, Information Technology, Broadcasting and Postal Services.

The Committee reviewed the National Telecommunication Policy 2000, Draft Communications Policy 2011, Nigerian Postal Service Act 2004, National Broadcasting Commission Act 1992 (as amended), National Information Technology Development Agency Act 2007, National Outsourcing and Institutional Framework for Nigeria (Jan. 2007), National Policy for Information Technology, Report of Presidential Committee on Master Plan and Roadmap for the Implementation of Information and Communication Technology for National Development (Sept.

2010) and Nigerian Communications Act 2003, among other documents.

The new National Executive of JACITAD which was elected into office in February 2012 said that it is committed to promoting developmental journalism under which it will partner with diverse industry stakeholders to promote growth and development in the Nigerian ICT sector. BC

A8 24

Business Courage

Monday, September 10, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Global News Ivory Coast’s economy makes up around 40 per cent of the eight-nation West African CFA franc currency zone.

Mauritius attains 20 per cent FDI in six months Lagarde, IMF, Managing Director

IMF cuts Seychelles 2012 GDP growth forecast

T

he Seychelles economy will expand slightly less than previously expected this year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said, as the island chain’s tourism sector feels the impact of the crisis in the euro zone, its main source market.

“The most important risks to the economic outlook ... are external risks, including a further deterioration of the situation in Europe that could lower tourist inflows, and piracy,” the IMF said in a report published late last week.

The hijacking of private yachts and commercial vessels

by Somali pirates in recent years in the waters off the palmfringed Indian Ocean archipelago have also hurt the tourism sector, largely due to a fall in visits by cruise ships.

Cutting its growth forecast for the Seychelles to 2.8 per cent from the three per cent it predicted in June, the IMF said it expected tourist arrivals to increase by 3.5 per cent this year, half the rate of 2011 when the economy expanded 4.9 per cent.

“This and the projected negative impact of imported inflation on real disposable income will drive economic growth in 2012 down,” it said.

The country teetered on the edge of bankruptcy during a balance of payments crisis in 2008, when it defaulted on a Eurobond interest payment.

It undertook reforms late that year to liberalise its once highly managed economy.

Its central bank responded to inflationary pressures in June 2011 by raising banks’ minimum reserve

F

oreign direct investment in Mauritius rose by 19.8 per cent in the first six months of 2012 to 4.077 billion Mauritius rupees from 3.401 billion a year ago, the central bank said on Friday.

The Indian Ocean island, which markets itself as a bridge between Africa and Asia, was hit last year by the global downturn that curbed investment flows, which dropped 32.2 per cent to 9.456 billion rupees.

The central bank said first half investment was directed mainly to the real estate sector, attracting 2.1 billion rupees, followed by construction, which got 1.2 billion.

South Africa was the biggest source of foreign direct investment with 1.29 billion rupees followed by France, which put in one billion.

Last July, Board of Investment chairman, Maurice Lam, said he expected this year’s foreign direct investments to at least match those of 2011 despite the global slowdown, with money flowing into a new range of sectors in the economy.

Bank of Mauritius said the country’s current account deficit narrowed in the second quarter of 2012 to 10.9 per cent of gross domestic product from 12.4 per cent a year earlier, helped by a higher surplus in trade in services.

It said the current account deficit stood at 8.77 billion rupees, lower than 9.68 billion in the same period last year.

“Trade in services generated a higher surplus of 7.45 billion during the second quarter of 2012 compared to a surplus of 4.22 billion recorded in the corresponding quarter last year,” the bank said.

Ivory Coast inflation rises to 1.9 per cent

T

he Year-on-year inflation in Ivory Coast rose to 1.9 per cent in August from 1.7 per cent in July, according to figures from the National Statistics Institute.

The monthly report showed food and soft drink prices rising at a rate of 1.8 per cent, power, gas and water prices at 2.1 per cent, and communication costs dipping 2.1 per cent.

Meanwhile, healthcare prices were down 2.1 per cent and transport was up two per cent.

Lam

EgyptAir suspends Flights due to cabin crew strike

T

he state-owned EgyptAir last Friday suspended international flights from Cairo because of a strike by cabin crew

of the national airline over pay and conditions. The airline said in a statement, carried by the state news agency, that flights would be suspended from 4 a.m.

(0200 GMT) until midnight (2200 GMT). It had earlier said flights would start again at 4 p.m.

(1400 GMT).

EgyptAir said it had extended the suspension as negotiations with the striking crew members continued. It also said it organised six flight departures using crews of private airlines.

A spokesman for the cabin crew, Tamer al-Sioufi, said the strike was called for Friday after he said the airline had failed to respond to long-standing demands.

Domestic flights were not affected by the strike, the airline said.

Witnesses reported crowds of frustrated passengers. The airline urged travellers to check before turning up at the airport to confirm when their flights would depart.

Saad, EgyptAir, Chairman

... Lufthansa too

S

imilarly, Lufthansa cabin staff also embarked on a 24-hour nationwide strike on Friday, affecting about 900 flights and causing disruption chaos for thousands of passengers.

A Lufthansa spokesman said: “On average there are 1,800 Lufthansa flights during a normal day, around half of these will take place.”

All German regions and all types of flights have been affected, said the spokesman, including long-haul. The airline had been expected to cancel up to 1,200 flights.

Thousands of passengers face disruption as the strike called by the UFO union - affects Germany’s six main airports including Frankfurt, Berlin and Munich.

Frankfurt airport has been “strongly affected”, the airline said.

UFO is seeking a five per cent pay increase for cabin crew and assurances on jobs. The union, which represents about two-thirds of Lufthansa’s 19,000 cabin crew, argues that its members have had no pay rise for three years.

UFO also wants guarantees that Lufthansa will not outsource jobs or use more temporary workers, as it has at Berlin airport.

Lufthansa spokesman Klaus

Walther said that the airline had offered to stop fixed-term contracts and halt the use of temporary staff, but the airline is only proposing a 3.5 per cent rise in salary.

Chabane

S.Africa lifts moratorium on shale gas exploration

S

outh Africa has lifted a moratorium on shale gas exploration in the Karoo region, where the extraction technique of “fracking” might help tap some of the world’s biggest reserves of the energy source and deliver a big boost to the local economy.

Collins Chabane, a minister in the President’s office, said the cabinet had decided to lift the moratorium, imposed in April last year, after a study eased safety concerns over the method which has been highly criticised by environmentalists. “When (the results of the study) ... came back, they recommended that it was clearly safe for us to have that programme of exploration of shale gas,” Chabane told reporters on Friday.

Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, involves pressurised water, chemicals and sand being pumped underground to release gas trapped in rock formations. Some landowners and environmentalists say the process can pollute water supplies.

However, it has been increasingly taken up in the United States, releasing huge quantities of natural gas and setting in motion an energy revolution other countries are keen to follow.

According to an initial study commissioned by the US energy information administration, South Africa has 485 trillion cubic feet of technically recoverable shale gas resources, most of which are located in the vast semi-arid Karoo Basin.

The reserves, which would rank as the fifth largest among 32 countries included in the study, could be a long-term solution for the energy problems of Africa’s largest economy, which is under pressure to boost its supply of electricity and cut its dependence on coal, now fuelling 85 percent of its power plants.

A revocation of the moratorium could benefit Royal Dutch Shell, Falcon Oil & Gas and Anglo American, the Eurasia

political risk consultancy said this year, calling it “a game changer” for South Africa’s economy.

Glencore warns over Xstrata deal Mining firm Xstrata has received a fresh takeover proposal from Glencore that contains a compromise to meet the demands of a key investor.

Glencore raised its offer to 3.05 of its shares for each Xstrata share, from the 2.8 previously offered.

Qatar Holding, which owns about 12 per cent of Xstrata, had said it would block the merger as it wanted a ratio of 3.25.

Glencore delayed Friday’s shareholder meeting to vote on the proposal as a result of “developments overnight”.

Glencore has proposed that its chief executive Ivan Glasenberg should lead the merged entity instead of Xstrata’s boss Mick Davis, who would have been the new chief executive under the old terms.

Under the old deal, Glasenberg would have become deputy chief executive of the new business.

It is not clear what position Davis would take if the new arrangements were to be voted in.

Richard Buxton, head of UK equities at investment house Schroders - which is an Xstrata shareholder - said the new deal still undervalued the merger, saying he was “not particularly enthused”.

Buxton said an offer of 3.5 Glencore shares for each Xstrata share would be appropriate, but that he would have accepted 3.25 as proposed by Qatar.

But David Cumming, head of equities at pensions group Standard Life - which is also an Xstrata shareholder - said he was supportive of the improved terms. “The deal will, we believe, enhance the growth prospects of the combined group and consequently, as shareholders both of Xstrata and Glencore, we are pleased with the proposed outcome,” said Mr Cumming.

Earlier last Friday, Glencore announced it would delay a crucial shareholder vote on the proposed merger, leading to speculation it was about to improve the terms of the deal. BC

Cumming

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Monday, September 10, 2012

Business Courage

A9 25

A boardroom

administrator Senator Udoma Udo Udoma is a trained lawyer, just like his father- late Justice Egbert Udoma. But Udoma junior has no aspirations of gunning for the heights his father attained in the legal profession. Rather, he chose to explore the opportunities available both in business and politics but he effectively used the law practice as a stepping stone to achieve greatness in other fields of life. Incidentally, Udoma’s explorations paid off, emerging a two-term senator and as well as a renowned boardroom icon. This is the story of an outstanding son of a Supreme Court Justice, who directs the affairs of some of the large business corporations in Nigeria.

By Bamidele Obafemi

S

enator Udoma Udo Udoma, CON, studied at the Oxford University, England, where he bagged both the first and second degrees in Law. He qualified for a Bachelor of Arts (Law) in 1976 and immediately proceeded to obtain a post graduate degree in advanced legal studies in 1977. Udoma was called to the Nigerian bar a year later, having passed through the Nigerian Law School where he obtained the B.L. degree.

But unlike his father, a former Justice of the Supreme Court of Nigeria and Uganda’s Chief Justice, Udoma, a 1972 graduate of King’s College, Lagos, Nigeria, decided to acquire expertise in the commercial aspects of the law profession, having set his mind on ruling the Nigerian business world from inception. His legal expertise therefore includes company law, banking and finance, securities law and capital market transactions. He also acquired some expertise in constitutional law and natural resources law.

However, Udoma’s journey into the world of business and politics did not commence immediately after he left the law school. He first went into academics where he had a very short stint as a classroom lecturer at the University of Lagos (UNILAG). He lectured in UNILAG between 1979 and 1980 before he returned to the path which he had chatted for himself from his days in the university.

Continue on pg A8

Udoma

Business Courage

Straight from the university system, Senator Udoma joined the banking system as an investment analyst with Chase Merchant Bank but his stay was rather brief. Within the same year of his joining Chase Merchant Bank, the junior Udoma moved on to join Chris Ogunbanjo & Co (Solicitors), where he was tutored in the real practical side of the law profession.

The highly mobile Udoma would not spend more time than necessary to be taught the practice of law at the first and only Law Chamber he worked for before establishing his personal law practice firm, the Udo Udoma & Co (now Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie) in 1983, barely three years after he joined the Chris Ogunbanjo & Co law firm.

About 29 years after Udo Udoma and Belo Osagie was established, the first rate law firm has grown to become one of the largest commercial law partnerships in Nigeria. The firm with eight partners and twenty-eight associates specialises in working with their Nigerian and nonNigerian clients to create and implement innovative transactions, financial and otherwise, designed to facilitate business in Nigeria and globally.

In recognition of the outstanding performance of the firm where Udoma works as a senior partner, Chambers Global ranks the firm in band one for the firm’s corporate and commercial and banking and finance specialisations, while the firm is ranked as a first tier law firm in the areas of banking, project finance, capital markets, and mergers and acquisitions by Euromoney Institutional Investor Plc’s IFLR 1000. The firm and several of its partners are recognised in Who is Who Legal 2009 as well as EMEA Finance’s award for the best law firm in Nigeria 2009.

The Udo Udoma and Belo Osagie lawyers are acknowledged to combine the technical skills, insights and experience derived from their varying legal backgrounds to develop transactions that are tailor-made for the Nigerian and international market. Several of its lawyers, like the key founder, have either had previous hands-on commercial experience or have served on various governmental and corporate advisory panels, thereby acquiring valuable expertise that enables them to better understand the objectives and concerns of its clients.

“Our role in various frontline assignments and transactions has given us unique perspectives that enable us to set charges that reflect our knowledge and experience rather than our learning costs. Dedicated client and transaction teams are structured to draw on the experience and the areas of expertise of designated team members, who are always co-

Monday, September 10, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Sen David Mark congratulates Udoma after receiving honorary Doctor of Law UNIUYO

‘

The Udo Udoma and Belo Osagie lawyers are acknowledged to combine the technical skills, insights and experience derived from their varying legal backgrounds to develop transactions that are tailor-made for the Nigerian and international market

‘

A10 26

ordinated by one of more of our seasoned Partners to ensure a seamless and dynamic response to specific client requirements”, the firm had boasted.

In the past years, the firm has continued to offer legal and professional representations to multinational and domestic corporations, multilateral and bilateral financing institutions, high net worth individuals, international organisations, embassies and state governments, as well as the government of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The law firm provides legal services to both local and multinational telecommunications companies, independent power providers, foreign and domestic commercial, merchant and investment banks, shipping

companies, oil exploration, service and trading companies, consumer product companies, engineering and construction companies, manufacturing and trading companies, local and international charitable organisations and pharmaceutical companies. It also provides local expertise on a regular basis to foreign colleagues, organisations and consortia working on Nigerian transactions, and has established relationships with various international professional firms.

Udo Udoma and Belo-Osagie works throughout Nigeria, although its principal office is situated in Lagos, it also has offices in Abuja, Port Harcourt and Uyo. The firm also provides legal services to various clients

in conjunction with Bentsi-Enchill, Letsa and Mate, which are its associate office in Ghana.

Notwithstanding his lofty achievements in the law practice, Udoma’s quest for success has long remained insatiable and this has propelled him to move beyond just playing the role of a consultant to corporate organisations to actually investing in them and before long, he held the business world by storm.

Senator Udoma, son of Sir Egbert Udo Udoma, Chief Justice of Uganda for six years, is very visible in the corporate sector of the Nigerian economy as he occupies boardroom positions in a couple of choice corporations operating in the country.

As part of its strategic moves to make waves in the world of investment, he joined the board of the United African Company of Nigeria (UACN) Plc, one of the country’s oldest conglomerates in 1995 as director and after five years of making meaningful contributions to the growth of the group, he emerged Chairman of the board of the board UACN Plc at age 56. Udoma stepped into the large shoes of Lt. General Mohammed Inuwa Wushishi (rtd), who voluntarily retired from office on January 1, 2010, having attained the age of 70.

Being an outstanding corporate strategist with a vast experience in corporate and commercial and banking and finance specialisations, project finance, capital markets, and mergers and acquisitions,

UACN plc, obviously has benefitted immensely from the wealth of experience of Senator Udoma Udo Udoma.

The conglomerate under the Udoma’s chairmanship has made some aggressive business alliances and acquisitions in recent times that analysts believe will further boost its fortune.

The most recent of Udoma’s daring moves as Chairman of UACN plc was a memorandum of understanding (MoU), he led the conglomerate to sign with Livestock Feeds Plc for the purpose of making an equity investment.

Sources close to the deal disclosed that the proposed investment by Udoma and his team in Livestock Feeds is driven by potential synergies between the two companies in the animal feeds industry and is in accordance with UACN’s strategy which envisages the building of a portfolio and partnerships that deliver long-term growth and value to the company and its stakeholders.

UACN believes the investment will provide new growth vector leveraging on Livestock Feeds’ manufacturing platform to penetrate new market geographies as well as deepening presence in existing markets, enhance and consolidate market power, achieve scope and scale economies in procurement, production and optimise manufacturing configuration that mitigates concentration risks.

The new investor said Livestock Feeds (LSF), will have the opportunity to realise its full potential under a good corporate parent and aggressive manager of performance. LSF will leverage UACN’s superior technical capabilities and complementary resources to deliver value.

In a formal notification to the Nigerian Stock Exchange, UAC stated that the proposed transaction will lead to significant development of the agro-allied business industry, a key pivot of Nigeria’s drive for enhanced agricultural sector contribution to the national economy.

Earlier, in 2011, the boardroom guru had made an incursion into Portland Paints to acquire a majority equity stake.

UAC Plc said the proposed transaction was driven by potential synergies between the two companies, noting that the move was in line with UACN’s strategy of building a portfolio of brands and businesses geared to the growth segments of the Nigerian economy, and partnerships that deliver longterm value to the company and its stakeholders. The transaction will allow Portland Paints to leverage the relative strengths of UACN and yield considerable benefit to stakeholders in both companies.

“UACN and Portland Paints, with their established presence in the Nigerian paint industry,

are uniquely positioned to partner on deepening the presence of both companies in existing markets, achieve scope and scale economies in procurement, production and distribution”, the company wrote on its website.

Also in May 2011, UAC entered into a partnership agreement with Tiger Brands Limited of South Africa in respect of UAC Foods Limited. The transaction which was approved by UAC shareholders and the regulatory authorities was aimed at strengthening the packaged snacks, dairies and bottled water categories of UAC’s portfolio of brands.

Group Managing Director/ CEO of UAC of Nigeria Plc, Larry Ettah said: ‘’The strategic merits of this alliance ensures best immediate and long term value for UACN shareholders and the company itself. It preserves our strong iconic brands, category focus and provides strong delivery capability for growth and innovation”.

“The terms negotiated are fair, reasonable and in the best interest of our shareholders having taken into consideration the commercial assessment of UACN directors. Our customers, employees and other stakeholders will benefit from the enlarged reach, size and competitiveness of the new UAC Foods Limited. We are proud to have a global partner with such pedigree as Tiger Brands Limited,’’ he added.

Senator Udoma Udo Udoma had told shareholders of UACN during the 2011 Annual General Meeting about the plan of his team to lead their company to attain an enviable height during his stay as Chairman.

“Our company’s strategy is to target top-line growth that significantly exceeds Nigeria’s annual GDP growth rate,” he had hinted.

Besides being Chairman at UAC of Nigeria Plc, Udoma is also on the board of other companies including Unilever Plc and Linkage Assurance, where he is the vice chairman of the board. He is also a director of First Hydrocarbon Nigeria Limited (FHN), a company that offers oil and gas exploration and production services. The company which owns and operates oil and gas assets was founded in 2009 and is based in Lagos.

However, the story of Udoma’s exploit in the business and financial world would not be complete without mentioning his appointment as Chairman on the Boards of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). The two-term senator had the rare privilege to be appointed the first Chairman of CAC between 1991 and 1992 and was until recently, a Non-Executive Chairman of SEC. However,

Business Courage A11 27

Monday, September 10, 2012

Udoma’s tenure as Chairman of SEC did not go without opposition, as he was accused of undermining the principles of Corporate Governance by occupying the position of a regulator which will also afford him the opportunity to preside over the matters of the companies where he had interests. Despite lobbies to push him out of office at SEC, Udoma stayed until the end of its tenure as nothing shady could be found against him to warrant his removal from office. Being a man known for his integrity, he had made a full disclosure of his interests in the companies where serves as director.

In fact, his tenure as SEC board chairman was rather riotous as series of petitions, particularly by the former Chairman of Senate Committee on Capital Market; Ganiyu Solomon resonated throughout his tenure.

In spite of the campaign to get him out of SEC, Udoma however remained unperturbed and resolute in his vision to properly position the market regulator along the line of international best practices. At some time, he could not understand which the senate committee on capital market was the arrowhead of the campaign to remove him when the same committee was fully aware of his board engagement long before his nomination was confirmed. “Solomon was aware that he (Udoma) was serving on the boards of UACN Plc, Linkage Assurance Plc and Unilever Nigeria Plc during his screening by his Committee,” a source close to him had said at

‘

In fact, his tenure as SEC board chairman was rather riotous as series of petitions, particularly by the former Chairman of Senate Committee on Capital Market; Ganiyu Solomon resonated throughout his tenure

‘

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

the time.

Apart from being a first class jurist and boardroom technocrat, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, though not actively involved in politics at the moment, is a well known personality in the country’s political landscape, being a two time elected Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria representing Akwa-Ibom South constituency of Akwa-Ibom. Again in politics, Udoma showed the stuff he is made of right from the moment he stepped into the upper chamber of the legislative arm of government.

After taking his seat in the Senate in June 1999, he was appointed to committees on Public Accounts, Judiciary, Banking and Currency, Science and Technology, Privatization and Drug and Narcotics (vice chairman).

Udoma’s high point at the Senate was his stout opposition to the amendment of the constitution to partly allow for third term for elected officials, particularly the president and governors.

Senator Udoma, whom a public analysts described as brave, unselfish and a man of integrity stood to challenge the president on the third term bid in spite of his closeness to him. This is what a political commentator says about Udoma as regards his bravery in the issues of the third term proposal “a leading member of the Nigerian legislative branch, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma (Akwa Ibom), broke ranks. His public repudiation of the effort to amend the Nigerian Constitution to allow for a third term for the president and state gov-

ernors was the greatest homage any leader could pay to our nascent democracy”.

A no compromise Senator, Udoma who was then the Senate Chief Whip, publicly rendered his position on the thirdterm bid, acquitting himself.

“Indeed, he spoke on behalf of his many spineless colleagues.

He also spoke for many Nigerians, doing so with stoic and succinct elegance. The beauty of his publicly stated opposition to the third-term bid is that he did not have to do so. He was not forced nor was he expected to oppose. He could have taken the easy way out, by being quiet on the issue or joining those who clamour for a third term”, a source who chose to be anonymous stated.

Whilst in the Senate, he also served as the leader of the South-South caucus, leader of the Akwa Ibom State Legislators Forum, member of the National Caucus of the PDP, and member of the National Executive Committee of the party. As a senator, he piloted the bill to abrogate the on-shore/offshore dichotomy in revenue allocation through the Senate and till it was signed into law. in 2004.

He served as the Deputy Chairman of the Presidential Committee on the review of the Nigerian Constitution.

Senator Udoma Udo Udoma however gracefully left the Senate without being forced after a successful completion of a second term, though by law, he had the opportunity to seek reelection as long as his constituency continues to return him.

Up until 2000, Udoma was a director of the Economic Summit Group, a private sector think-tank that, amongst other things, organises the annual Nigerian Economic Summit where the heads of the major private sector organisations meet with senior government officials to stimulate economic development and growth.

He has served in several other public roles such as being the legal member of the working committee that implemented the first Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas project, the legal member of the Presidential Committee on the Development of a Solid Minerals Policy, a member of the Legal Advisory Committee of the Technical Committee on Privatisation and Commercialisation, and as Special Adviser to the Minister of Petroleum, amongst others. He is also regularly consulted by both Federal and State Governments on various issues, including legal problems relating to the exploitation of crude oil, natural gas and other natural resources and the related problem of revenue allocation between the different levels of government.

He is a recipient of several honours including Hon. LLD, University of Uyo. BC

A12 28

Business Courage

Monday, September 10, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

ThebuddingEntrepreneurs

Making it big in the

men’s world

She had wanted to study medicine, but the ethno-religious crisis in the North made her to have a slight career shift into zoology.

Again, after graduation, she equally had the opportunity to convert her internship at Exxon Mobil into a full-time job, but the urge for a more challenging and exciting life rather than the regular 8am-5pm job pushed her into a field generally considered the preserve of the men folks; farming.

This is the story of Cynthia Mosunmola Umoru, the award winning and internationally acclaimed young entrepreneur and owner of Honeysuckles PTL.

By Salami Semiu

N

aturally, farming is a job that is almost exclusively reserved for the men folks.

However, with the turn of the century, more women, especially those with the drive and the entrepreneurial spirit have not only explored the “men’s world,” they have equally challenged their male counterparts into a serious contest with their zeal, industry and vigour.

This is the category of the Nigerian women, which Cynthia Mosunmola Umoru belongs. She studied Zoology at the Lagos State University, after she was forced to abandon her first choice, Medicine at the Bayero University, Kano as a result of ethno-religious crisis.

However, as it turned out, the educational shift appears to have ultimately paid off for her. Apart from running Honeysuckles, an agricultural business enterprise that has identified an uncharted niche in the production, packaging and delivery process of agric food products; Mosun also runs Abira Business Support, through the Abira Women Agribusiness Support { Abira WAS} and Abira Youth Empowerment Scheme {Abira YES}.

Interestingly, Mosun registered Honeysuckles in September 2004, but her interest in agrorelated businesses dates back to her university days, when she used to supply meat products to choice fast foods in Lagos.

The first signs of her entrepreneurial quality were seen early, when she made hair clips and

ribbons that she sold at nearby secondary schools, while a recreational interest in agriculture had led her to become the president of the Young Farmers’ Club in her fourth year of secondary school.

It was in the university that she gave her interest in agriculture more attention, as she took courses in fisheries, and multilevel marketing, and ran a successful cake and cookie business.

Mosun also realised how useful mini-livestock farming could be for peaking young peoples’ interest in the profession of agriculture and went on to write a short book breaking down this revelation.

Not able to completely divorce herself from the big industries that often appeal to brilliant youth in Nigeria, Mosun also participated in an internship at ExxonMobil while at university and she displayed such a capacity for extra work that she was allowed to participate in an outside vendor evaluation, which taught her a great deal about quality, methods, and assessment.

She could have secured full time employment at Exxonmobil if she wanted, but the urge for a more challenging and exciting life rather than the regular 8am-5pm job shifted her attention elsewhere. “I needed satisfaction,” she says, “and that gave me a reason to start digging into what I could do differently. Fortunately for me, my background is in Zoology, which gave me the opportunity to take elective courses in Fisheries while in school. Hence, I decided to give farming a try,” she said.

What she learnt at Exxonmobil, however, became handy

Umoru

for her when in her final year of study, she launched Honeysuckles PTL Ventures with the primary aim of selling processed food produce.

Soon after launching Honeysuckles, she got the opportunity to supply dressed chicken and catfish to one of the fastest growing food retail chains in the country, when the quick service restaurant industry was emerging in Nigeria. However, scarcity and inconsistent quality forced her to begin researching production with the intention of a backward integration in preparation for adequate positioning on the food supply chain. She launched a farm to meet this need.

Initially, Honeysuckles was meant to start off as a fish farming venture but the plan changed when her father intervened. “I could recall that I was reported by my father to the General Manager of the raw material sourcing department of Tantalizers that I refused to take on a paid employment. Through my discussions with her, I discovered that Tantalizers had problems with sourcing for farm produce. I saw it as a good opportunity for me to fill in the gap. I latched onto it and I started sourcing snails, and later chicken.”

Mosun travelled to different parts of the country in search of snails. And anywhere she went,

she was told there were snails in abundance. She would travel down to buy and supply Tantalizers. Along the line, she discovered that snails were seasonal, and she became very curious and decided to try her hands on breeding them. That was how she got into farming and that singular but interesting experience she had later evolved into poultry farming and chicken processing.

Like most businesses, Honeysuckles started in different phases. When she began in 2004, Mosun had just N80, 000 as start-up capital. That was her savings, the money she got from the sale of GNLD products and the cakes she baked.

Fortunately for her, in the early part of 2005, a friend read her business plan and was impressed by what she had put together and decided to help her with N300, 000. “That really helped because I could not get a bank loan at the time. I also got a loan from an uncle who was very supportive.

Hence, I was able to meet the demand for my products. But as the demand grew, I had to get more money. I borrowed money from friends and family members. This sustained me for a while. Later in 2006, I had to get a bank loan,” she said.

Despite the financial supports she got as well as the bank loans, running Honeysuckle for Mosun was still very tasking. Apart from the fact that she had loans with interests to pay, lack of infrastructural support, particularly for small businesses tremendously tasked her. “I have to get

Management Principles

Total Quality Management

T

otal Quality Management (TQM) is a management approach that describes the culture, attitude and organization of a company that strives to provide customers with products and services that satisfy their needs. TQM has been coined to describe a philosophy that makes quality the driving force behind leadership, design, planning, and improvement initiatives. For this, TQM requires the help of key elements which can be divided into four groups according to their function.

Foundation TQM is built on a foundation of ethics, integrity and trust. It fosters openness, fairness and sincerity and allows involvement by everyone. This is the key to unlocking the ultimate potential of TQM. These three elements move together, however, each element offers something different to the TQM concept. * Ethics – Ethics is the discipline concerned with good and bad in any situation. It is a two-faceted subject represented by organizational and individual ethics. Organizational ethics establish a business code of ethics that outlines guidelines that all employees are to adhere to in the performance of their work. Individual ethics include personal rights or wrongs. *Integrity – This implies honesty, morals, values, fairness, and adherence to the facts and sincerity. The characteristic is what customers (internal or external) expect and deserve to receive. People see the opposite of integrity as duplicity. TQM will not work in an atmosphere of duplicity. *Trust – This is a by-product of integrity and ethical conduct. Without trust, the framework of TQM cannot be built. Trust fosters full participation of all members. It allows empowerment that encourages pride ownership and it encourages commitment. It allows decision making at appropriate levels in the organization, fosters individual risk-taking for continuous improvement and helps to ensure that measurements focus on improvement of process and are not used to contend people. Trust is essential to ensure customer satisfaction. So, trust builds the cooperative environment essential for TQM. Bricks Based on the strong foundation of trust, ethics and integrity, bricks are placed to reach the roof of recognition. It includes training, which is very important for employees to be highly productive. Supervisors are solely responsible for implementing TQM within their departments, and teaching their employees the philosophies of TQM. Training that employees require are interpersonal skills, the ability to function within teams, problem solving, decision making, job management performance analysis and improvement, business economics and technical skills.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage A13 29

Monday, September 10, 2012

ThebuddingEntrepreneurs

Jonathan with Umoru

At the farm

land, supply the electricity, put up a building. Everything is a big struggle. There are no commercial parks which I can latch onto to

use the facilities available. Infrastructure is a big challenge and it is one of the reasons why I admire the courage of entrepreneurs in

*Teamwork – To become successful in business, teamwork is also a key element of TQM. With the use of teams, the business will receive quicker and better solutions to problems.

Teams also provide more permanent improvements in processes and operations. In teams, people feel more comfortable bringing up problems that may occur, and can get help from other workers to find a solution and put into place. * Leadership – It is possibly the most important element in TQM. It appears everywhere in an organization. Leadership in TQM requires the manager to provide an inspiring vision, make strategic directions that are understood by all and to instil values that guide subordinates. For TQM to be successful in the business, the supervisor must be committed in leading his employees. A supervisor must understand TQM, believe in it and then demonstrate their belief and commitment through their daily practices of TQM. Binding Mortar *Communication – This binds everything together. Starting from foundation to roof of the TQM house, everything is bound by strong mortar of communication. It acts as a vital link between all elements of TQM. Communication means a common understanding of ideas between the sender and the receiver. The success of TQM demands communication with and among all the organization members, suppliers and customers. Supervisors must keep open airways where employees can send and receive information about the TQM process. Communication coupled with the sharing of correct information is vital. For communication to be credible the message must be clear and receiver must interpret in the way the sender intended.

Roof *Recognition This is the last and final element in the entire system. It should be provided for both suggestions and achievements for teams as well as individuals. Employees strive to receive recognition for themselves and their teams. Detecting and recognizing contributors is the most important job of a supervisor. As people are recognized, there can be huge changes in self-esteem, productivity, quality and the amount of effort exhorted to the task at hand. BC

Nigeria,” she said.

Besides, Mosun lost almost all the seed capital she invested due to poor and bad business decisions she made simply because there was nobody she could talk to. “There was a void of mentors or credible educational agencies in Lagos to offer valid information to upstart agribusiness entrepreneurs at the time. The few that did, never had actual business operations to offer as references,” she said.

However, eight years after she started out, Mosun’s Honeysuckles is not only making waves, producing high-quality food products using modern packaging and fast delivery, with its own farms and ponds, it has equally catapulted her into global reckoning.

In 2009 and 2010, she emerged the Business Owner of the Year award, a category of the Future Awards and was a Goldman Sachs Scholar - the United States Investment Bank’s initiative to empower 10,000 Women across the globe in collaboration with Enterprise Development Services of Pan African University, Nigeria.

Mosun’s Honeysuckles’ target market comprises people who eat meat products from beef to chicken, turkey, cat fish, snails, shrimps, prawns and so on. The value proposition to this is that delivery is made as it is desired i.e. fresh, frozen or processed.

As the business progresses, handling high volume orders and managing several farm outlets has continue to task her ingenuity. But for someone in her mould, who is well equipped with the modern trends of doing business, Honeysuckles has been able to conveniently navigate the twists and turns. Apart from the fact that the business have a few poultry, ponds, cribs and the likes, what Honeysuckles has done to meet the growing demand, was to enter into alliance with contract farmers where it has terms for mutual agreements as well as benefits.

With the level of success and international exposures she has running Honeysuckles, Mosun is currently focusing on ways to get a new generation of young people interested in and successful at modern agriculture. For those whose interests have already been peaked, she provides the quality training missing in the general sector, to really help modernize their venture. She is also engaging schools, governments, and businesses to recognize the absence of infrastructure to participate in modern agriculture, especially for youth.

With the goal of creating an enabling environment for interested youth to succeed, she is assisting these institutions to recognize the importance of shifting their curriculum to incorporate a more business-oriented understanding of agriculture, as well as provide the programmes and services that can assist youth through each step of the process of launching and scaling a 21st century agribusiness. BC

Personal Finance Relationship marketing strategies

R

elationship marketing is the art of developing a personal relationship with your customers. Anybody can start a business but not everybody can build a strong customer relationship.

According to Henry Ross Perot, business is not just doing deals; business is having great products, doing great engineering and providing tremendous service to customers. Finally, business is a cobweb of human relationship.

If building a business successfully from scratch is your major priority, then, you need to put a strong relationship marketing strategy in place and the goal of this strategy is to build a strong customer relationship for your business. Building a strong customer relationship begins with you asking yourself the question: How well do I know my customers?

Customers are known to be indecisive but they are all looking for something in common, “value at a fair price.” Customers are looking for solutions to their problem and how do you know their problems when you have no relationship with them.

Customers value relationship a lot, they are always looking for someone to discuss their problems with and this is where you come in.

Discussed hereunder are strategies that will help you build a strong customer relationship. It will also show you how to brand your business name on the heart of your customers and build brand loyalty for your business

ler for quality.

Make customers interaction count Your first strategy to building a strong customer relationship is to make every customer interaction count. Don’t take a single customer for granted. Each and every interaction with a customer is a gift and should be valued.

Reward loyal customers This is a point that can never be over emphasized. Most businesses go after new customers while forgetting that the existing customers need to be taken care of. Introducing a loyalty programme is a very effective relationship marketing strategy.

Nothing strengthens a bond more than appreciation. Thanking customers for sticking to your brand will go a long way to make them know they are important. A simple thank you package might be all your business needs to connect personally with your existing customers.

However, it is important to note that building a strong customer relationship is not rocket science. All you need to do is to take into consideration the little things that matters. Creating long lasting relationships helps to ensure long-lasting customers and repeat sales. BC

Follow-through on commitments and claims Your business must make a specific promise to the customer and deliver on that promise if it intends to win the heart of the customer. False claims however should be avoided at all cost as it can harm your credibility.

Offer benefits and product value that responds to the customer’s desires Another positive step to building a strong customer relationship is to offer value to the customer. Go all out to let your customers know you are a stick-

Treat customers with respected As an entrepreneur, I believe you know how hard it is to find one good customer. I hope you also know that it cost more to find a new customer than to take care of existing ones.

Listen to customers Even complaints can be a gift if handled properly and quickly. Be available and accessible when customers have questions, concerns, or comments. Humans always look for someone to talk to or share their problems with. If you can listen more to your customers, you will end up knotting the bond between the customer and your business.

Build a strong brand identity Make it easy for your customers to identify your business or products in the midst of the crowd. Create a winning slogan, tagged with a catchy logo and a unique theme. Most important, make a specific promise and deliver on that promise. You can also forge that specific promise into a Unique Selling Point (USP).

Provide valuable information Keep your customers informed on the latest trend, price or development. You must also make it easy for customers to reach you; if possible, be their next door neighbour by using emails, website content, social media, and other methods of outreach.

A14 30

Business Courage

Monday, September 10, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Battle of the

smartphone titans As world’s big names in smartphone continue the roll-out of new models in a desperate battle for supremacy in the highly lucrative market, Apple and Samsung slug it out in the world’s patent courts over allegations of “copy-catting” Tim Cook, Chairman, Apple

By Adejuwon Osunnuyi

W

orld’s leading mobile phones manufacturer, Samsung, appears to be walking a tightrope as far as the battle for supremacy in the highly lucrative smartphones market is concerned. Still bewildered by the decision of a California jury asking it to pay a princely sum of $1.05 billion to its competitor, Apple, for infringing on dozens of its patents right, the latter is back in court with a shopping list of Samsung’s products which it wants the court to ban entirely in the United States.

Samsung was found to have violated Apple’s “trade dress” by making smartphones that look too similar to the iPhone.

Samsung was also found to be in violation of several Apple software patents covering elements of the smartphone user interface. Apple, for example, was the first company to market a touch-screen interface featuring the ability to zoom in and out. Apple also owns patents on certain aspects of screen scrolling behaviour, including the particular way a scrolling screen bounces if it’s pushed too far.

In a fresh patent infringement action filed against Samsung, Apple alleges that the South Korean electronics giant has continued to steal its technology despite the recent court ruling. The new claim which was filed in San Jose, California maintained that Samsung, which last month was found guilty of “wilfully” infringing Apple’s patents, is still using its rival’s technology.

According to Apple, Samsung has been copying its intellectual property, including its very broad design patents for rectangular “electronic devices”.

Specifically, Samsung’s series of smartphones like the new (rectangular) Galaxy tablet and (rectangular) Android-based

smartphones as well as Droid Charge, Galaxy Prevail, Galaxy S 4G, Galaxy S Showcase, Galaxy S2, Galaxy S2 AT&T, Galaxy S2 Epic 4G, Galaxy S2 T-Mobile, Galaxy S III and Samsung Galaxy S III may be off the shelves if Apple should triumph again at the patent court.

It would be recalled that in February, Apple had alleged that at least, 17 Samsung products infringed on its patents, in the amended lawsuit, maintaining that those 21 Samsung smartphones, media players and tablets released after August 2011 were “copycat products.”

Apple said Samsung’s flagship smartphone Galaxy S3, Verizon Galaxy S3, Galaxy Note and Galaxy Note 10.1 should be banned out rightly.

“Despite that lawsuit, Samsung has continued to flood the market with copycat products,” Apple said, stressing that “Rather than innovate and develop its own technology and a unique Samsung style for its smartphone and tablet computer products, Samsung has chosen to copy Apple’s technology, user interface and innovative style.”

The iPhone and iPad maker claimed, “Apple will suffer and is suffering irreparable harm” because of the alleged infringement.

The dispute actually started in April 2011, when Apple brought its lawsuit against Samsung to the US courts. The legal fight has since expanded to at least, nine countries including Germany, France and Australia.

If the court finds the new set of devices infringing on Apple’s patents, what it means is that, it could temporarily halt sales in the US market even before the trial begins, an outcome Samsung is anxious to prevent.

A new study reveals that Apple’s iPhone has already crushed the eight Samsung smartphones that it wants to have banned in the US markets, Wired.com reports.

In July, less than three months after its release, Samsung’s Galaxy S3 hit the 10 million global sales mark. The rampant sales drove Samsung’s quarterly profit to a record high of nearly eight trillion won ($7 billion) for the June quarter. At the time, analysts were forecasting that Samsung, which controls more than a third of the global smartphone market, would sell 15 million to 20 million of its Galaxy S3 in the September quarter.

Advertising analytics firm Chitika measured a week’s worth of US mobile web traffic generated by the iPhone versus the eight contested Samsung phones and revealed that iPhones drove eight times the mobile web usage of all eight Samsung models combined. In other words, iPhones accounted for 88 per cent of all web traffic analyzed, versus 11 per cent generated in total by all the Samsung phones.

However, reacting to the development, Samsung says the string of law suits being

Lee Kun-hee, Chairman, Samsung

filed by Apple has clearly shown that Apple is hellbent in blocking the iPhone competition. According to the South Korean smartphone giant, with its latest attempt in halting the US sales of Galaxy S3 smartphones, the iPhone maker, Apple only enjoy using litigation to limit consumer choice. “Apple continues to resort to litigation over market competition in an effort to limit consumer choice,” Samsung said in a statement. Vowing to continue to take the necessary legal measures to ensure the availability of its innovative products in the United States, Samsung has vowed to appeal the verdict, all the way to the Supreme Court, if necessary.

Interestingly, as the longrunning global patent war between the two smartphone giants continues, latest attempt

by Apple at blocking sales of some Samsung products in Japan, where both firms have seen their popularity rise in a market traditionally dominated by domestic powerhouses such as Sharp and Sony, suffered a setback as a Japanese court rejected its claim that Samsung stole its technology.

Tokyo District Judge Tamotsu Shoji, on behalf of a three-

member panel, said Samsung’s Galaxy smartphones and tablet computers did not violate Apple’s AAPL +0.24 per cent patent for the synchronization of music and video data on devices with servers.

But while the Japanese court case addressed only the synchronizing technology that allows media players to share data with personal computers, it is not however comparable in scope to charges which Apple made in California, which covered seven patent claims and counter claims by Samsung.

While the victory by Samsung is a marked contrast to Apple’s emphatic win in the US court, experts said the victory underscores the different ways that patent law is enforced in Japan, where plaintiffs have a much harder time convincing a court that an infringement has taken place.

For instance, based on a patent litigation study by consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, patent holders that manufacture products using a patented invention have a 38 per cent success rate in patent litigation claims in the US courts. In Japan, plaintiffs won 21 per cent of intellectual property cases, including patent infringement rulings, in 2010, based on data from Japan’s Supreme Court.

However, the landmark case in California has already sparked a debate among stakeholders. There are those who believe that Apple’s victory over Samsung could mean more lawsuits. To a large extent, the patent war has captured the attention of the technology industry, not only because of the revelation of juicy—and otherwise secret—details of product development, but also for its potentially far-reaching ramifications for reshaping

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage A15 31

Monday, September 10, 2012

Technotips

What to expect from iPhone 5

W

hile no one outside of Apple’s inner circles know what it will be called — iPhone 5, new iPhone or something else altogether — all signs point to a new device on the market by the third week of September.

The new phone is expected to be officially announced on September 12, when preorders would also start, and available about a week later.

So what’s the iPhone 5 going to have, you ask? A lot, by all accounts -- and we’re not even referring to what’s confirmed to be in the upcoming iOS 6 operating system. Let’s take a look at what we know and what we think we know.

the competitive landscape of smartphones and tablet computers.

Some industry watchers were of the opinion that some of the issues raised in the lawsuit were actually design errors, like the notorious round edges, which meant iPhones kept dropping all over the place. Others submitted that it was right for Apple to fight not to lose its stronghold on the North American market to an Asian company, stressing that “The risk is very real. It would be wrong for Apple to be humiliated on their turf.

But to fight over design flaws means that Apple is beginning to show signs of desperation in preventing Samsung from selling some phones on their territory.”

To industry watchers, the current legal tussle will produce winners and losers, but they insist that Google’s Android operating system which has been a stunning success that has captured an enormous and growing share of the global mobile phone market may not be a significant beneficiary of the ongoing Samsung/Apple battle.

Google’s Android revenue is very meagre, and of all the companies out there making Android phones, only Samsung is earning profits. Dealing a billion-dollar hit to its only real rival in the smartphone profit game is a big win for Apple, and the fact that the trade-dress infringements will disrupt Samsung’s manufacturing and supply chain makes it a particularly solid blow.

Secondary losers include the other manufacturers of Android devices. Many of them are likely immune to the tradedress charges but can be hit with parallel suits over the userinterface issues. Since the nonSamsung smartphone makers are already having trouble making money, anything that causes hiccups in their process or adds licensing fees to the

cost of making Android phones will sting.

Google too has obviously been dealt a blow. It’s not entirely clear that Google’s strategic decision to write and release a free mobile operating system was a wise one, but having made that decision, Google needs to make the strategy work. The patent litigation means that Android is no longer free to Google’s customers, since they too could get sued. Google’s financial risks are smaller. Since Android hasn’t been a major profit centre for Google, its downside risks are limited and its core search, email, and advertising businesses are still as strong as ever.

However, the bigger losers may be the telecommunications companies that sell mobile phone plans. These operators have had a love-hate relationship with the iPhone for years. They love the way the iPhone created a mass consumer market for expensive mobile broadband plans, but they are not comfortable with the fact that the iPhone is so popular that Apple has enormous leverage in its negotiations with operators.

Apple’s phones are sold without carrier customization, and the iPhone is such an enormously profitable product because the carriers pay Apple enormous subsidies for the right to sell the phones.

These subsidies badly hurt operator profit margins, but inability to deliver the world’s most popular smartphone is a crippling disadvantage for telecoms that don’t accede to Apple’s demands. The rise of Android has been a godsend for AT&T, Verizon, and the rest, because it has created feature-rich, touch-screen smartphones that can be sold to customers who don’t have their hearts set on an iPhone.

Since high-quality Android phones are made by more than one company, telecoms have

their leverage back and can get away with lower subsidies and more customization.

The carrier dream would be superstar Android phones that are credible challengers to the iPhone. Anything that’s bad for Android is bad for telecom operators, and a blow to Samsung is particularly damaging since Samsung has come closer than anyone to creating a profitable and recognizable alternative to the iPhone.

All of this makes Apple’s old rival Microsoft, one of the biggest winners here. Its Windows Phone operating system hasn’t gained traction in the marketplace despite being a generally well-regarded product.

The problem is pretty simple: There are too few Windows Phone users to make it an attractive platform for developers, and without developer interest, users shy away from a platform that’s lacking in quality apps. To reach critical mass, Microsoft desperately needs some group of stakeholders to turn away from Android as their go-to alternative to the iPhone. Legal trouble for Android might be just the thing.

Nokia, Microsoft’s key partner on Windows Phone, is seen as a double winner. Nokia benefits from the boost to the Windows ecosystem and also from the fact that as a mobile phone pioneer, it owns a lot of potentially relevant patents.

Blackberry maker Research in Motion is also a winner on these same grounds, which is why both companies’ shares started Monday sharply up. The verdict was essentially confirmation that under contemporary conditions, if you want to get in the technology game, a product people want to buy isn’t good enough. You’ll also need an arsenal of patents that you can use in countersuits to force a cross-licensing agreement with the incumbents you’re trying to challenge. BC

*Bigger screen It’s not likely to be as big as the Samsung Galaxy S III’s 4.8-inch display, but iPhone 5 will likely have a bigger screen than the 3.5-incher we’ve been staring at on the iPhone since it launched in 2007. According to photos leaked to MacRumors.com a few days ago, the new iPhone might be about 14 per cent bigger, up to four inches in diameter. That’s not a significant bump up in size, mind you, but certainly better for web browsing, messaging, ebooks, GPS navigation, games and video (in fact, the increase will likely change the aspect ratio from 3:2 to a widescreen 16:9). Apple will also pack more pixels on the taller screen, to ensure it’s still a “Retina” display -- meaning its pixel density is so high the human eye is unable to distinguish individual dots. *Thinner body, bigger battery & new connector The new screen — likely to be one of the biggest features in the iPhone 5 — will also be thinner, contributing to an even svelter smartphone.

Apple was recently awarded a patent related to integrating touch sensors with the actual display circuits, opposed to placing the touch sensors on top of the LCD screen (curiPhone 5

rently, the way it’s done). This will result in a thinner display, expected to trim the entire iPhone’s depth by about 1.2mm.

On a related note, rumour has it the iPhone will have an all-new housing with a full metal back, replacing the breakable glass on the iPhone 4S. As for the connectors, it seems the headphone jack has been moved from the top left of the phone to the bottom left, beside a small connector compared to the wide-mouth 30-pin connector in the current suite of iOS devices (iPhone, iPod touch, iPad) and the Apple nano, too.

On the subject of hardware, it’s no secret the iPhone 4S battery is less than ideal for all of the phone’s power-draining abilities. A leaked photo acquired by 9to5Mac points to a bigger battery in the iPhone 5 — but not by much. The current iPhone 4S sports a 1,430mAh battery (up from 1,420 mAh on the iPhone 4), and this photo shows a slightly better 1,440mAh battery, and upping to 3.8 volts from 3.7. *New wireless tech There’s talk (and photos) of a new nano SIM under the hood of iPhone 5 to give the iPhone cellular connectivity. Apple has been pushing for this as a standard for some time, so we’ll soon see if iPhone 5 is the first to house this new SIM card.

Other changes to its wireless capabilities include 4G/ LTE data speeds which take full advantage of the faster wireless networks available in select markets.

Already in the new iPad, LTE support in the iPhone 5 is extremely likely. While not as likely as LTE, the iPhone 5 might also include near-field communication (NFC) and a small wireless radio that essentially turns the smartphone into a digital wallet. BC

A16 32

Business Courage

Resourcery, partners to discuss data centres devt in Nigeria Stories by Kunle Azeez

A

leading system integrator in West Africa, Resourcery, in conjunction with its partners such as Systimax CommScope, NetApp, Gamatronic, KitsKoo, Cisco and Data Group IT are set to discuss new trends in developing eco-friendly data centres for maximum performance for Nigerian businesses.

As such, the companies have concluded arrangement to organise a one-day business seminar tagged; “Data Centre: An evolution in IT requirement for Business Service Delivery,” later this month to drive home the objective.

The event, according to Resourcery, is targeted at mid-level information technology managers who are in charge of data centre conceptualisation, design, implementation and management across all business sectors in Nigeria and Ghana.

With leading data experts drawn from the United States of America, the United Kingdom and Nigeria as speakers, the one-day business session provides a very important opportunity for attendees to learn first-hand the dynamics of the new trend in data centre design, development and management.

Speaking on the plans for the event, Business Solutions Manager, Enterprise Network Infrastructure for Resourcery, Bisike Uba, said that with the world going green on all fronts, Resourcery would deploy the session as an opportunity to explore the need for the development of eco-friendly data centres in which the mechanical, electrical and technology systems are designed for maximum energy efficiency with very minimum

Uba

environmental impact.

He said organisations in Nigeria currently are facing the unrelenting economic need to reduce cost, adding that the Information Technology units are not immune from this pressure. “This is why we have brought together leading lights in the development and management of data centres with a view to helping our customers’ transit from costly data center operations into fluid and efficient processes that deliver savings to their organizations.”

Uba added that it had become common knowledge that partnership is the new way to go in the development of data centres “which explains why you’ll find organizations like Cisco, NetApp and VmWare working together to develop the Flexpod.”

HE added that such partnership was also evident with CommScope developing the cabling aspect of a data centre while Gamatronics focus on the power aspect, stressing that such trends are helping data centres achieve convergence without losing capability.

Speaking on the technical importance of the event, Technical Manager, Resourcery, Eyitayo Ajayi, noted that the need for adequate , reliable and uninterrupted power and cooling dominate data centre requirements today.

He, however, pointed out that in the coming years, the need to minimise carbon footprints and the use of alternative energy sources such as photovoltaic, heat pumps and evaporative cooling would shape data centre development and maintenance globally.

He buttressed his claim by a recent study by Gartner, a globally ICT research firm, which found energy consumption shall remain a dominant trend in data centre development in the next five years.

“However, there is now a growing need to reduce energy consumption and it is going to take various forms like ‘green’ technologies, such as chilled water or refrigerant cooling at the device level, to real-time infrastructure management.

This new drive would allow the movement of resources based on workloads and time of day,” he said.

Also speaking, a data centre specialist with Resourcery, Tunde Oshunkoya, stressed the need for data centres’ virtualization by data centre managers in Nigeria.

He said: “They should also be prepared to implement new trends like row- and rackbased cooling for higher-density equipment. This can help reduce energy consumption by up to 15 per cent while making the data centre more scalable.

“Once organisations understand how an efficient data centre aligns with their business goals, management can

Monday, September 10, 2012

easily see opportunities for consolidation and transformation of its operations from a cost centre to a value-based centre.

“In all, our invited guests shall get the necessary exposure to the best global trends in the development and management of data centres that suit their organizations future needs,” he said.

Evans

Etisalat extends entries for Prize for Innovation

N

igeria fourth largest telecoms subscriber Etisalat, has announced the extension of the deadline for entries for the first edition of the ‘Etisalat Prize for Innovation’ at this year’s Africa Com Conference to September 13, 2012.

This latest development which extends the submission of entries by one week is due to popular demand and a flood of last-minute entries from Nigeria and across the continent.

The ‘Etisalat Prize for Innovation’ is aimed at encouraging and celebrating valuable innovation in the African market and will be awarded in two categories. Both prizes will be for driving or facilitating mobile broadband use in Africa.

The first prize of $25, 000 is for the most innovative product or service launched in the last 12 months and a second prize of $10,000 for the most innovative idea.

Speaking on the new development, Chief Executive Officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Steven Evans said, the award which will be one of the major attractions at the 15th Annual Africa Com Conference scheduled to take place in Cape Town, South Africa in November 2012 has been extended to give more participants the opportunity to enter for the award.

“Due to the positive response we have received from participants’ from the first day we announced the award, it has become necessary to extend the deadline for submission of entries in order to give

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

more individuals and organizations the opportunity to enter,” he said.

He explained that the ‘Etisalat Prize for Innovation’ Award seeks to reward corporate organisations; small and growing businesses as well as individuals developing advanced mobile broadband solutions and platforms in Africa.

“We have launched this award because we realise the importance of innovative broadband projects, products and services which have improved the way we live and work. Innovation is core to our business strategy at Etisalat and we see ourselves as a young and innovative business setting the pace for others in the Nigerian telecommunications industry,” he said.

Evans also added that, “Entries are open to African mobile network operators, MNO, and mobile virtual network operators, MVNO, with innovative Broadband products or services using the GSM network family (2G GPRS & EDGE, 3G, HSPA, LTE), handset and/ or device manufacturers, app developers and other software service providers making use of mobile broadband capability, radio and core network Infrastructure suppliers enabling broadband products and content developers.”

ACCA strengthens reporting standards

T

he Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, has strengthened its reporting standard with the publication of its first Annual Report for 2011 / 12. The report produced for the first time as an integrated report, follows the initial approach set out by the International Integrated Reporting Council, IIRC. ACCA is a member of IIRC’s Pilot Programme for organisations seeking to move to integrated reporting.

The Chief Executive Officer, ACCA, Helen Brand, in a statement, said, “Our first inte-

Brand

grated report aims to present a clear and coherent picture of our strategic performance, and our future prospects as a global organisation. It is important for us as a professional body to explain how we create value for our stakeholders, especially our members, and the place we occupy in society. This report is our first attempt at doing this using the emerging discipline of integrated reporting.”

She said through IIRC, integrated reporting aims to collate the material information about an organisation’s strategy, governance, performance and prospects that reflects the commercial, social and environmental context within which the organisation operates.

ACCA’s report lists key achievements for ACCA throughout the strategic year 2011 / 12 and discloses more performance measures than ever before.

According to Brand, The report gives a fuller explanation around ACCA’s strategic performance in the interests of greater transparency and accountability. “Its content is based on materiality analysis which identifies the issues of importance to readers of our report, and an evaluation of how we create value for our stakeholders, especially our members. These are both key elements of the integrated reporting concept,” she said.

Also speaking on the integrated report, ACCA’s President, Mr. Dean Westcott, said it was a step forward in how ACCA report its annual performance.

He said: “ACCA has been involved in the work of the IIRC since its inception, and we welcomed their proposals to strengthen the relevance of corporate reporting to investors and other stakeholders. That is the point of this report, which alongside ACCA’s Corporate and Social Responsibility statement and our financial accounts mean we are sharing with our stakeholders fuller and more relevant information on the progress ACCA is making towards its strategic goals.

“ACCA’s involvement as an IR Pilot Programme organisation ensures that we can use our experience to contribute to the development of the global IR framework and learn from other major companies who are also moving down this path.”

He added that ACCA’s annual report, Corporate Social Responsibility statement and financial accounts are available on ACCA’s website.

“This corporate information is released in advance of ACCA’s Annual General Meeting, which takes place on Thursday September 20, 2012,” he said. BC

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage A17 33

Monday, September 10, 2012

Reflections with Semiu Salamii 07043280449 sms only

Dana Air suspension and error of judgment

T

here is something very interesting about the way governance is practiced here in Nigeria. And clearly, too, about the way and manner people entrusted with the responsibilities of implementing various government policies, programmes and actions carry out their various assignments.

Last Friday, Stella Oduah, Nigeria’s aviation minister stunned me and most likely too, some other Nigerians, when she admitted that the suspension of the operating licence of Dana Airlines immediately after one of its aircrafts crashed in Iju-Area of Lagos, killing about 170 persons on June 3 was in error. According to Oduah, the decision taken three days after the crash was against global aviation practices, and that what was allowed in the aviation sector was to segregate an aircraft and conduct an audit.

The government had last week lifted the suspension slammed on Dana Air after it expressed satisfaction with the airworthiness of the airline after what the minister says was a rigorous technical,

operational and financial audit.

Expectedly, the decision, at a time when the remains of most of the victims of the ill-fated air are yet to be buried, family members yet to be compensated and investigations on the crash yet to be concluded has drawn sharp criticisms by people who saw the government’s action as the highest level of insensitivity.

In the midst of all these passion-filled sentiments, I am tempted to thumb up the Federal Government for at least, owing up to a mistake and admitting guilt for what is fast turning out to be a clear case of administrative ineptitude.

However, there is something that is not clear about the sudden volte face in the government’s action against Dana Air. Why did it take the government over three months for it to discover that the decision to suspend the airline’s operational licence was done in error? Is Dana the first and only airline that had suffered this fate in the aviation sector in Nigeria? At what point did the officials in the aviation ministry and the various parastatals responsible for supervis-

ing aviation sector discovered that the action was not in tandem with global aviation practices? In this instance, who should be blamed or should take responsibility for this messy situation (assuming the action of the government was indeed, against the global aviation practices)?

Crisis management is an art as well as a science and when crisis occurs, it tests not just the integrity and resilience of those in charge but also the prudence and sagacity of the actors, including the victims. Sadly, the dead are gone and the families they left behind are left to lick their wounds but I find it irreconcilable that Oduah, who waxed so tragically on television screens and threatened thunder and brimstone at the time of the crash, has suddenly become subdued and professional. If the decision to suspend Dana Air’s licence was truly wrong, who pays for the alleged wrongdoing that has seen the airline lost about three months of inaction, with several million of naira gone down the drain?

For the same minister to have turned herself into an advocate for Dana as one of the best airline in the country is like a dog taken back its own vomit.

There are way too many lessons in the Dana crash saga but one critical lesson here is that, for us to be taken serious as a nation, all our actions must be guided by best reasoning and international convention. No serious country allows issues of national importance to be dictated by emotion and what has come to the fore in this Dana saga is that, Nigeria is a nation that first leap before it even have a look at where it was leaping into.

Now, Dana Air’s licence is restored, meaning that business can now continue as usual, even when some of the victims of the crash still lie cold in the mortuary, their families yet to be compensated and the reasons that led to the crash yet to be ascertained.

Candidly, however, I am sure that this is really not the best way to go but all I can say is to offer the poor man’s prayer, God help Nigeria. BC

BELIEVABILITY INDEX

SCOA Nigeria, still working the promises

By Festus Okoromadu

D

ynamism coupled with strategic restructuring as well as the application of appropriate managerial and marketing strategies may have helped in reinventing the wheel of SCOA Nigeria Plc. With things looking up for this multinational company, it is not surprising therefore, why Henry Agbamu, the chairman, Board of Directors, SCOA Nigeria, is optimistic that the conglomerate will deliver improved value to stakeholders in the coming years.

Agbamu, who spoke at the company’s 44th Annual General Meeting (AGM), recently, assured investors of a bright future ahead, though doing business in Nigeria is increasingly becoming more costly by the day. He told shareholders that a road map has been designed to make sure that they continue to get rewards. “A road map to the continuing growth and development of our company has now been clearly defined and established and the company can thus deliver revenue growth despite lingering economic uncertainties,” he said.

However, but for the most recent financial reports from the company, the chairman’s statement would have been taken for granted as one of the usual stories which shareholders are inundated with at AGMs to give them false hope. The unaudited result for the second quarter ended June 30, 2012 indeed confirms that the road map can at least for now bring about revenue as well as bottom-line growth.

Analysis of the profit and loss account for the period shows that revenue grew by 178.25 per cent to N3.17 billion when compared with N1.14 billion posted in similar period of 2011. Simultaneously, net profit grew by 185.6 per cent to N89.40 million from N31.32 million.

Government on its part benefited from

the growth in revenue as tax payable during the period under review rose to N38.315 million from N13.416 million in 2011 representing 185.6 per cent.

However, the cost of doing business during the second quarter of 2012 soared to N2.49 billion from N816.344 million in the comparing period of 2011, representing 204 per cent. The impact of this rise in the cost of operation, for instance, while the cost of sales for the full year ended December, 2011 stood at N2.65 billion, the cost of sale for the first half of Agbamu 2012 is already N2.49 billion.

It’s important to state here that, the bottom-line for the second quarter of 2012 would have performed better but for the reduction in other income to N3.78 million compared with N8.42 million generated in 2011.

Although, the financials for the second quarters of 2012 still give room for improvement, the growth recorded if sustained till the year end, and continued in that direction could mark the beginning of a turnaround for SCOA Nigeria Plc. The company’s financial history reveals that between 2009 and 2010, revenue dropped from N3.37 billion to N3.15 billion, while net profit figures for the respective year stood at N710 million and N212 million, implying a higher cost of operation even when sales are declining. But the tide turned in 2011, when revenue rose to N3.53 billion and net profit appreciated to N226 million. However, further probe into the 2011 results shows that the growth recorded in net profit is attributable to an exceptional item which contributed a

total of N166 million to the balance sheet.

The turnaround road map as unveiled by Agbamu had been put in place back in 2010 when it became obvious to the board and management of the company that there was the need to take a strategic review of their business activities and overhaul those that are no longer delivering value as expected.

Hitherto, SCOA’s principal activities as well as those of its subsidiaries include distribution, maintenance and leasing of motor vehicles; assembly, sales and servicing of power generators; sales, servicing and repairs of earthmoving and construction equipment, industrial compressors, agricultural tractors, machinery and designs; the supply of medical systems, general merchandising and supermarket and the production of fruit juices and foods.

But in 2010, the company reviewed these activities and reengineered them in a way that they can deliver better value, taking cognisance of market needs and relevance. Agbamu had told shareholders at the company’s AGM in 2011, that the company had underwent a gradual shift towards the equipment business, focusing on agriculture, construction, road works, drilling, irrigations, water and power generation.

If the 2011 financial results can be said to have justified the initiated shift, then the second quarter report is a consolidation of the gains of the operational shift. To actualise this transition, a good number of SCOA’s business units or divisions

as they are known were restructured to take advantage of the changes in market demand. The auto business unit was one of such, as the company acquired the exclusive distributorship of MAN Trucks and Buses of Germany, late in 2011. In order to get maximum benefit from the relationship, SCOA sent its technicians and sales personnel on training to acquaint them with MAN’s sales and aftersales standards.

Another business unit that underwent transformation is the equipment division, particularly agric, mining, and industrial and road construction, all of which SCOA has metamorphosed to become professional solution provider.

Agbamu said that SCOA now partners with the Federal and State Governments, in providing agric tractors and implements, under the Public Private Partnership programmes and assured investors that the board and management are intensifying efforts to reinforce the company’s expertise in road construction activities.

The power sector is another market SCOA has chosen to continue to play in, seeing the opportunities inherent therein.

SCOA’s power generation business continues to offer a variety of energy options, including, local assembly of power generators, and production of canopies. SCOA Power division offers rural electrification solutions, as well as the distribution, installation and services of diesel generators, gas generators, power plants, power stations, transformers and engines.

Although, the shift in the financials of SCOA Plc may not have resulted in a positive shift in the share price of the equity in the market for now, it is believed that in the not too distance future, investors will see value in the stock and go for it. BC

A18 34

Business Courage

Monday, September 10, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Behind d Wheels

Amazing features of new 2014 Maz Mazda is on a big push to improve the efficiency of all its new vehicles by using a suite te of technologies called SkyActiv. The company, already dropping ping a new 40-mpg SkyActiv fourcylinder engine into the e 2012 Mazda 3, launched the efficient 2013 CX-5 crossover, ssover, and now is following up with the 2014 Mazda 6 sedan. Like the CX-5, the new midsizer is designed from om the ground up to follow the SkyActiv mantra of reduced fficiency. The car weight and improved efficiency. made its official debut at the Moscow Motor Show in Russia, and will go on sale around the world later this year.

M

azda had dropped strong hints about the design of the new Mazda 6 with its previous Takeri concept, and much of that language has made its way to the production of the car. As the CX-5 did, the 2014 6 follows Mazda’s new kodo design philosophy. The semi-circle front grille, angled headlights with chrome eyebrows, and angular lower fascia are all reminiscent of the CX-5. As on the Takeri concept, aggressive flares over the front wheels taper softly into the front doors. The headlights get Mazda’s first-ever use of LEDs, for a halo ring illumination. While the front half of the 6 has plenty of styling drama, the rear is much more sedate. The roofline and rear glass slope gently into a stubby trunk with an integrated spoiler. Narrow taillights wrap onto each fender, and a silver chrome strip connects the lights above the license-plate indentation.

The sheet metal is built on a new SkyActiv-Body principle that uses more high-strength steel than the old Mazda 6, allowing the car to be lighter yet

30-percent stiffer than its predecessor. Measuring 191.5 inches in length, the new sedan is about two inches shorter than the outgoing model, but Mazda says that better packaging and a slightly longer wheelbase improve interior room. Rear-seat legroom grows by 1.5 inches while knee room increases 1.7 inches. The trunk opening is 1.25 inches wider,

and it uses a “swan” hinge that doesn’t impede on cargo room.

The cabin itself is smart but understated. The instrument cluster has a three-binnacle design, with the right-most spot occupied by 3.5-inch LCD trip computer. The tidy centre stack, large touch-screen radio, and clear three-dial climate controls are all familiar from the CX-5.

The interior is composed mostly of dark plastics, but satin metal trim pieces help break it up and

keep the design from being too dull. Based on experiences with the CX-5, all cabin materials should be pleasant to touch and well put-together.

Efficient Power trains One of the biggest goals of 2014 new Mazda 6 is to offer drastically improved efficiency, so to that end, the Russianspecification car is launching with two SkyActiv-G four-cylinder gasoline engines. Mazda will announce final details on Amer-

ican p o w e r train options later this year, but they should closely mirror the choices seen here. The 2.0-liter engine produces 148 hp and 155 lb-ft of torque, and can be mated either to a six-speed manual or

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage A19 35

Monday, September 10, 2012

Behind d Wheels

zda6

sixspeed automatic transmission.

Mazda says this engine will return the equivalent of 39 to 40 mpg combined. The larger 2.5-liter engine makes 189 hp and 189 lb-ft, and is offered only with an automatic transmission. It’s claimed to return a combined 37 mpg.

To further increase fuel economy, both engines can be fitted with i-stop, Mazda’s stopstart system that can restart the engine in as little as 0.35

Autocare second after the car has been idling. The 2.5-liter engine also is offered with i-ELOOP, a system that recharges a capacitor when the car decelerates. The capacitor can power some accessories like the radio and climate control while the car is idling, reducing engine load from the alternator.

Mazda says iELOOP can reduce fuel consumption by as much as 10 per cent.

Other nods to efficiency include u n d e r body trays and the aforement i o n e d trunk lid spoiler, which conspire to keep the aerodynamic drag coefficient down to just 0.26 Cd. A weight-loss regime compared to the old Mazda 6 also helps bolster fuel economy.

The 2014 model is claimed to weigh as little as 2954 pounds, a drop of nearly 300 pounds compared to the 2012 car.

Zoom-Zoom Chassis Despite the quest to save every drop of fuel, Mazda claims it hasn’t neglected the sporty driving characteristics that endear buyers to the company’s vehicles. Mazda says its SkyActiv-Chassis design has agile suspension, direct steering, and strong brake feel that are meant to “give the driver the feeling of being in complete control.” The

electric power steering has been specifically tuned to keep the car stable at high speeds and reduce “pull” on uneven road surfaces. The brakes, steering, and accelerator are all said to have a linear, consistent feel.

The Russian-spec car shown in Moscow has either 17- or 19inch alloy wheels.

On top of that, the 6 receives an array of new active safety gadgets. Automatic high-beams and adaptive headlights help with night visibility. A new feature called Emergency Stop Signal makes the taillights flash rapidly when the driver brakes especially hard. Designed to attract attention from other drivers, the system is unlikely to be legal under America’s strict lighting standards. A lane-departure warning system and Smart City Brake Support, which can apply the brakes to prevent collisions at speeds up to 19 mph, are more likely to be sold on the American-spec Mazda 6. Hill-start assist and a blind-spot warning system also are available.

Ready For Primetime?

The Mazda 6 has long struggled in America’s highly competitive midsize sedan segment.

The 2014 version faces an even tougher crowd, as it must face off against Ford’s brand-new 2013 Fusion, Hyundai’s Sonata, the ever-popular Toyota Camry, and the upcoming 2013 redesign of the Honda Accord.

Mazda hopes its blend of daring design, improved fuel economy, and an engaging driving experience will make the 2014 6 sell in greater numbers than its predecessor ever did. While the first two of those aspects are sure to help Mazda fight the segment mainstays, it remains to be seen whether midsize buyers have any interest in driving enjoyment.

The 2014 Mazda 6 goes on sale later this year. BC

Car maintenance checklist for DIYs

I

t doesn’t take too long to check the basic maintenance items in your car like engine oil, transmission fluid or tyres. Here are the basics for a Do it Yourself (DIY) enthusiasist: - Read your car owner’s manual, it has all the information on car maintenance as well as safety precautions.

- Keep all the fluids (e.g. engine oil, transmission fluid, coolant, etc.) clean and topped up.

- Follow your maintenance schedule, there are a number of things that need to be regularly serviced or replaced at certain intervals (e.g. brakes, air filter, timing belt, spark plugs, etc.)

- Check tyre pressure regularly.

- Change your windshield wipers if they don’t clean properly.

- Wash and wax your vehicle once in a while to keep the car finish shiny and protected from corrosion.

- Deal with any problems as soon as they arise, before they become more serious and require expensive repairs.

- Use only original parts.

- At least once a year, have your car check out in a garage.

How to check engine oil Check engine oil regularly, especially if you notice that the oil level drops between the oil changes. Engine oil cools down and lubricates the engine.

Driving with very low oil level can cause engine problems.

Park your vehicle on a level ground. Set the parking brake.

Make sure the transmission is in “Park”. Stop the engine. Wait for a minute or two to let engine oil drain into the oil pan. Pull the engine oil dipstick. If you don’t know where it is located, check your owner’s manual.

Wipe the dipstick off. Insert it back fully. Pull it out again and check the oil level.

Check the oil condition: If it’s way too black, it’s definitely time to change it. If it’s brown, but still clean and transparent, it’s ok. If engine oil is of the “coffee with milk” colour, it means that engine coolant mixes with oil.

This is a sign of some internal engine problem, such as, for example, a leaking head gasket - have your car checked out.

If oil looks clean, but the level is low, you can just top it up. To top up engine oil, use a recommended type of oil; for example, if your owner’s manual or the oil filler cap indicates SAE 5W-20, use SAE 5W-20 oil. If your engine needs synthetic oil, use only synthetic oil. You can find the recommended oil

type for your car in your owner’s manual.

How to top up engine oil: Add a little amount of oil into the oil filler neck. Wait for a minute to let oil to flow into the oil pan. Check the oil level again with the dipstick. If it’s still low, add some more. But don’t overfill it. Don’t forget to install the dipstick back and close the oil filler cap when you finished.

Engine coolant (antifreeze) Visually check the engine coolant level in the overflow tank. Your owner’s manual has the directions. The level should be between “Low” and “Full” marks. (Don’t open the radiator cap or the pressurized overflow tank cap when the engine is hot! The cooling system is under pressure when hot!) If the coolant level is low, you can top it up using recommended type of coolant mixed with water.

Again, your owner’s manual has the proper way to do it.

Add coolant only when the engine is cool. Use only recommended engine coolant.

Sometimes engine coolant is sold already premixed with water and sometimes you will have to mix it. Check your owner’s manual or read the directions on the coolant bottle. Carefully add the coolant into the overflow tank to make it between “LOW” and “FULL” marks.

If the coolant level drops within a short time after topping up, there may be a leak. Have the coolant system checked lack of coolant may cause the engine to overheat which may result in serious damage.

Engine air filter The engine air filter keeps the air entering the engine clean, but over time the filter gets dirty and restricts the air flow. The engine air filter is usually recommended to be replaced every 12,00015,000 miles or 20,000-24,000 kilometres. Typically, the air filter gets checked when you bring your car for an oil change.

If you want to check it or replaced yourself, on most cars and trucks it’s a fairly easy task.

Your owner’s manual has the directions. If you find that the air filter is dirty, replaced it; it’s not a very expensive part. It’s best to use an original air filter.

When you are installing the air filter, make sure it’s installed correctly; again, check your owner’s manual. If the filter is not installed properly, unfiltered air entering the engine could damage the airflow sensor and increase engine wear. BC TO BE CONTINUED

A20 36

Business Courage

Flour Mills to consumate merger with subsidiaries

By Festus Okoromadu

N

igerian foremost flour miller, Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc has disclosed that it will be merging its bag making subsidiaries, namely: Nigerian Bag Manufacturing Company Plc (‘BAGCO’) and Northern Bag Manufacturing Company Limited (BAGCO-NORTH).

When the proposed merger is actualised, the three entities will be identified as Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc. According to a statement obtained from the Compliance Unit, Listing Regulation Department of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) last weekend, the proposed merger will result in a significant enhancement of shareholder value.

Justifying the transaction, the company said the decision is based on “the need to streamline operations, reduce administrative costs, improve operating efficiency and capture full synergies arising from the merger, which in turn will result in a significant enhancement of shareholder value”.

The merger proposition obtained from the NSE is titled, “Proposed merger between Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc on one hand and Nigerian Bag Manufacturing Company Plc (‘BAGCO’) and Northern Bag Manufacturing Company Limited (BAGCO-NORTH) on the other hand”.

Part of the statement reads, “Please be informed that the above institutions have notified the Exchange of their proposal to merge the three entities into one with Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc as the surviving entity”. It further clarified the status of the entities involved in the proposed merger, thus, “Both Flour Mills and Bagco are public companies listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange while Bagco-North is a private limited”.

The statement explained that the merger will result in the transfer of all assets, liabilities and undertakings of Bagco and Bagco-North to Flour Mills.

Consequently, the entire issued share capital of Bagco and Bagco-North, respectively would be cancelled and the minority shareholders of Bagco will have

Ukpabi, MD, Flour Mills

an option to elect for cash or shares in Flour Mills at a price to be determined using mutually agreed methods.

Upon the completion of the valuation process, Bagco and Bagco-North will be dissolved without winding up, the release stated. It however, highlighted that the announcement is just a notification of intent by the organizations and not an application for approval of the merger.

The reason for such clarification may not be unconnected with the fact that the merger process will require the approval of shareholders of but companies as well as court order meetings and approval by other regulatory bodies.

Efforts to reach Olalekan Saliu, Company Secretary of Flours Mills Plc, to comment on the issues proved abortive as he could not respond to questions sent to his e-mail box as at the time of filing this story. However, some analysts see the initiative as a positive development which will benefit shareholders of the companies in the long run.

It will be recalled that Bagco was quoted on the NSE in 2007, when Flour Mills sold 30 percent of its equity holding to the Nigerian public. In the same year, Bagco Morpack Nigeria Limited (Morpack) was established as a wholly owned subsidiary of Bagco Plc to manufacture printed and laminated flexible films to provide packaging for food, confectionery and detergent market. BC

By Tayo Adeleke

C

since it became publicly quoted with dividends paid consistently since 1997 till date, totalling about N368.5 million.

Despite the fact that Earnings per share (EPS) dropped marginally to 15 kobo from 16 kobo in 2012, the company still proposed a dividend payout of 12 kobo per share in its financial year ended April, 2012. It will be recalled that the same 12 kobo was paid in the previous year.

Details of the first quarter balance sheet showed total assets moved to N1.089 billion from N943.69 million in 2011, inventory grew to N390.9 million from N335.4 million while working capital close at N282.699 million.

However, long term prepayment drop by 11.8 percent to N8.25 million from N9.35 million while cash and cash equivalents as well drop to N16.36 million as at first quarter ended June 30, 2012. The rate of the company’s exposure to borrowed funds has also increase greatly from previous year. The figure had 65.4 percent growth to close the period at N316.9 million. BC

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Return of Dana Air and other matters

T

Cutix records N23.6m profit in 3months utix Plc has announced a profit after tax of N23.6million for first quarter ended June 30, 2012.

The figure stood at N8.15million in June 30, 2011. The company’s unaudited financial results just released to market operators, showed a turnover of N296.45million as against N388.9 million in the comparable period of 2011.

Analysts believe that this improved result have raised investors’ hope for a better performance by the end of the ongoing financial year. Gross profit increased by 26.2 percent to N122.46 million while profit before tax grew from N12.53 million to N36.32 million.

“This is a good development for its shareholders who might expect better return on their investments at the end of ongoing financial year”, an analyst remarked.

Cutix Plc had ensured that returns were distributed fairly to all shareholders over the years. For instance, it ascertained that it paid regular dividends to its shareholders

Monday, September 10, 2012

he lifting of the suspension of Dana Air’s operations last Wednesday by the Federal Government after three months of grounding was a welcome development for aviation industry stakeholders and even air travellers given the current severe shortage of airline seats in the nation’s airspace.

The grounding, following the unfortunate accident of June 3 that left 153 passengers and crewmembers dead as well as 10 persons on the ground, was a necessary precautionary measure to avoid a repeat occurrence that could have eroded whatever confidence travellers still have in the safety of the nation’s airspace.

However, some stakeholders had considered the suspension of the airline’s operations for such a long period as unnecessary or even high-handed, moreso as the crash investigators have been unable to establish any serious case of negligence against the airline while the necessary processes of payment of compensation to victims families had commenced with at least 60 families receiving the initial insurance $30,000 payout.

Dana Air’s management itself had in the past two months been lobbying the Federal Government to lift the suspension citing huge losses incurred in having to pay staff while it was not flying. It found allies in the various aviation industry unions and some vocal stakeholders, who argued that the prolonged suspension could send negative signals to investors, particularly potential foreign ones, who are already showing interest in the development of the aviation sector.

In lifting of the suspension of the Operating Licence of airline, the Ministry of Aviation said it was satisfied with the air worthiness status of the airline following a rigorous technical, operational and financial audit of the airline.

Nonetheless, the Dana saga underlines the serious challenges that continue to face the aviation sector.

Just last week, the national flag carrier, Air Nigeria, announced its decision to suspend all operations citing an unfriendly operating environment as it has constituted a committee to restart the airline in 12 months.

Virtually all the operators are at their wits ends trying to remain in the skies, as they engage in an uphill struggle against several negative forces including high cost of aviation fuel; poor and inadequate facilities and infrastructure at the airports; multiple charges and an unexplainable tariff regime that compels airlines to pay 15 per cent tariff on imports of aircraft and spares. This is compounded by a dearth of highly-trained personnel such as pilots and engineers as most airlines resort to employing expatriates to man aircraft.

While I will not speculate on the causes of the Dana crash, similar

accidents in the past have been directly or remotely linked to cost-cutting, resulting in poor maintenance of equipment, and it cannot be ruled out in this case.

The government has made a song and dance about remodelling the airports and looking for new investments from abroad to overhaul and modernise airport infrastructure, but some of the issues affecting airlines can be addressed immediately.

For example, why do Nigerian airlines have to pay duty on aircraft and spares, when it is not the case in other countries? Why is it that Nigeria cannot have a standard aircraft maintenance facility so that our carriers do not have to go abroad to do mandatory checks at great cost? Why can’t our airlines fly at night so that schedules can be more flexible instead of crowding at airports at certain times of the day? Why is it that we only have search and recover infrastructure instead of search and rescue? I wonder why the local airlines have to use only one runway in Lagos in the past three or four years simply because somebody has neglected to install lightning at the second runway.

There seems to be so much confusion in the aviation sector with regulators and operators not knowing even where to start. What we see are lot of bickering and suspicion with many stakeholders at daggers drawn with government over sundry issues including revenue collection, cargo operations and services. Passengers are not even treated with the courtesy they deserve even after buying expensive tickets sold by touts who still operate unchecked especially in Lagos and Abuja.

Yet, foreign airlines are making a kill in the midst of our collective blundering, carting away billions of naira yearly as we remain tied to Open Skies Agreements with their respective home countries, which we cannot reciprocate. Nigerian carriers that have ventured abroad have generally had a raw deal in terms of slot allocations and the rest.

A group of foreign investors are planning to set up a budget carrier to be based in Accra, Ghana to service the West coast. It is easy to guess why they did not consider Lagos.

The government needs to come up with a concrete strategic plan to revamp the aviation sector. We’ve enough of the showmanship and grandiose schemes that after come to nought as soon as a cabinet reshuffle occurs.

A good sign has however emerged with the approval of N106bn contracts for aviation projects including five new international airports and six perishable cargo terminals, but one hopes that these projects will not be abandoned half-way as with many others.

The aviation sector remains a key driver of any economy and Nigeria may just be going round in circles if its myriad BC issues are not addressed permanently. BC

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage

Monday, September 10, 2012

A21 37

NSE’s ASI hits 24 points threshold

T

he twin equities market performance measuring indices, the NSE All Share Index (ASI) and Market Capitalisation, each closed on a positive note last week, advancing by 974.7 basis points as the bulls dominated transactions on the bourse.

It was an interesting week for investors as the bull-run which continued the previous week was sustained throughout the trading days last week. The NSE All-Share Index (ASI) on Tuesday crossed the threshold of 23.00 points into 24.00 points, signalling a rise in stock prices.

The ASI appreciated by 4.58 percent (YTD 19.82 percent) to close on Friday at 24,838.70.

Similarly, the equities Market Capitalization which opened at N7.56trillion also appreciated by 4.59 percent to close at N7.91trillion.

A turnover of 3.468 billion shares worth N23.994 billion in 21,542 deals were recorded last week in contrast to a total of 1.461 billion shares valued at N10.142 billion that exchanged hands previous week in 20,322 deals. The Financial Services sector was the major driver contributing 92.05percent to the turnover volume with 3.193 billion shares valued at N20.138 billion exchanged by investors in 12,659 deals. Similarly, the Banking subsector of the Financial Services sector was the most active during the week (measured by turnover volume); with 3.091 billion shares worth N20.059 billion traded in 11,979 deals. Volume in the Banking

Oscar Onyema, DG, NSE

subsector was largely driven by activity in the shares of Union Bank Nigeria Plc, UBA Plc and First Bank Plc, as trading in the shares of the three banks accounted for 2.520 billion shares, representing 81.54 percent, 78.93 percent and 72.66 percent of the turnover recorded by the subsector, sector and total turnover for the week, respectively.

Also traded during the week were 23,727 units of NewGold Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) valued at N61.738 million exchanged hands in 16 deals in contrast to a total of 3,997 units valued at N10.164 million transacted last week in 17 deals. However, there were no transactions in the Federal Government Development Stocks, State/Local Government Bonds, and Corporate Bonds/ Debentures sectors. All the

six sectorial indices appreciated; Bloomberg NSE 30, Bloomberg NSE Consumer Goods, Bloomberg NSE Banking, Bloomberg NSE Insurance, Bloomberg NSE Oil/Gas, NSE-Lotus II all reaped 4.68 percent, 3.98 percent, 7.10percent, 0.02 percent, 1.49 percent and 3.63 percent respectively (see table below).

Meanwhile, fifty (50) equities appreciated in prices during the week, higher than forty-three (43) of the preceding week. Flour Mills Plc led on the gainers’ table by 15.68 percent to gain N8.39 followed by Nigeria Breweries Plc by 3.66 percent to gain N4.50. Fifteen (15) stocks depreciated in prices lower than twenty-six (26) of the preceding week. Arbico Plc led on the price losers’ table, dropping by -14.14 percent to shed N1.80 followed by Morison Industries Plc with a loss of N0.64 or -9.58 percent. Other event during the week includes; the listed Rights issue of 263,651,183 ordinary shares of 50kobo at N1.69 kobo per share of Vono Products Plc on Friday, 7th September 2012. By this action, the Issued Shares of the Company is now 563,651,183 shares.

Also, The Exchange on Monday, 3rd September 2012 moved Beta Glass Plc from Consumer Goods sector (Household Durables sub-sectors) to Industrial Goods sector (Packaging/Containers sub-sector). BC

Custodian & Allied Insurance to pay 5k interim dividend

By Festus Okoromadu

T

he Board of Directors of Custodian & Allied Insurance Plc has proposed the distribution of 5kobo per share as an interim dividend to shareholders for the first half of the year.

According to the company, only shareholders whose names appear on its register on Wednesday, September 19, 2012, will be qualified to benefit from the largesse, while payment is expected to be made on Tuesday, October 2, 2012.

The insurance firm is proposing to reward investors for the first half of the year despite having posted a decline in net profit for the period.

The firm’s unaudited account for the second quarter ended June 30, 2012 saw profit after tax (net profit) decline to N922.588million as against N1.285billion in similar

Wole Oshin

period of the preceding year representing 25.46 percent.

However, gross premium rose by 15.82 percent to N4.584billion during the period under review compared with N3.958billion in 2011.

Further analysis of the

account shows that the depreciation in net profit, equity’s earnings per share (EPS) dropped by 5.76 basis point or 22.86 percent to 19.26kobo compared with 25.20kobo in similar period of 2011. The firm’s financial assets during the period rose by 215.37 percent to N6.111billion from N1.662billion, while Insurance Liability grew by 21.54 percent to N4.782billion from N3.752billion.

Meanwhile, the Insurance firm has presented a financial forecast for the fourth quarter ending December 31, 2012 to the NSE. The forecast says gross premium is expected to hit N12.200billion, profit before tax and taxation for the period are projected to be N1.875billion and (N243.758million) respectively and profit after tax anticipated to hit N1.631billion. BC

Market Indicators for Week Ended 07-09-12 All-Share Index 23,864.05 points Market Capitalisation N7,907,110,876,606.15 Stock Updates GAINERS COMPANY

OPENING PRICE

CLOSING PRICE

CHANGE

EVANSMED

1.00

1.05

5.00

ACCESS

8.07

8.47

4.96

LONGMAN

2.02

2.12

4.95

RTBRISCOE

1.82

1.91

4.95

INTBREW

10.18

10.68

4.91

COMPANY

OPENING PRICE

LOSERS CLOSING PRICE

CHANGE

TRANSCORP

0.80

0.76

JAPAULOIL

0.63

0.60

-5.00 -4.76

UTC

0.63

0.60

-4.76

PAINTCOM

1.99

1.90

-4.52

REDSTAREX

2.70

2.58

-4.44

Inter-Bank Rates TENOR

RATE%(PREV) 30-Aug-2012

RATE%(CURR) 05-Sept-2012

OBB

10.7500 – 13.7500

10.0000 – 13.8500

CALL

10.7500 – 14.5000

11.0000 – 12.7500

Primary Market Auction TENOR

AMOUNT (N’mn)

91-Days

33,648

RATE (%) 14.00

23-Aug-12

DATE

182-Days

20,000

15.08

23-Aug-12

91-Days

32,057

14.50

09-Aug-12

Open Market Operation TENOR

AMOUNT (N’mn)

58-Days

16,632

14.20

RATE (%)

04-Sep-12

DATE

72-Days

17,364

14.50

04-Sep-12

59-Days

10,000

14.00

03-Sep-12

Wholesale Dutch Auction System AMOUNT OFFERED

AMOUNT SOLD

DATE

$200m

MARKET DEMAND $200m

$200m

05-Sep-12

$200m

$200m

$200m

03-Sep-12

A22 38

Business Courage

Monday, September 10, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

IHS Nigeria: Strategising for greater earning

By Tayo Adeleke

P

rofit and loss as well as balance sheet indices of IHS Nigeria Plc for the year ended April 2012 are on the downward slide. However, despite the poor performances, analysts still believe that the company would soon return to profitability in view of the injection of funds by both local and international lenders, as part of its effort to improve operations and attain continental expansion.

The net losses incurred in the financial year under review, are basically due to the high financial charges associated with the aggressive capital expenditure programme as well as the goodwill impairment performed on its various subsidiaries to further optimize the balance sheet. IHS has witnessed transformation from being a leading managed services and deployment provider into one of the major collocation players in the African continent.

Though, collocation may have smaller turnover than managed services , it has a higher profit margin and since the company is evolving from a managed services company to a collocation provider, the effect has retracted its turnover for the year under review, falling from N17.25 billion in 2010 to N15.196 billion in the review year.

IHS Plc. was established in 2001 as a telecommunications service provider in Africa. The company provides a full range of infrastructure deployment, technology and management services as well as ownership and collocation services. It has built over 2,000 sites, managed more than 3,500 sites and own 800 sites throughout Nigeria, Ghana and Sudan.

Expansion As part of its achievements during the year under review, IHS purchased 459 sites in Nigeria to increase its tower portfolio in the country. The company also refinanced its existing loan of $74 million (split into $55.5 million dollar facility and $18.5 million Naira facility) from Stanbic IBTC Bank/ African Export Import Bank (AFREXIM) at improved terms and longer tenor and moratorium. This refinancing exercise relieved the company from the burden of huge financial charges.

The previous loans attracted double-digit interest rates, while the new ones are single digit interest rates. IHS is transforming its organization from a leading Nigerian telecommunications services provider into the premier pan-

company’s performance as 2012 profit closed at a negative figure of N2.04 billion. The below par performance clearly has taken its toll on the ability of the company to reward shareholders in the last two years.

William Saad, Managing Director, IHS Nigeria Plc

African collocation operator.

One of the collocation model’s greatest advantages is locking in the customer for a long period of time (minimum five years).

Performance Close scrutiny shows that the IHS’s performance has deteriorated after raising a fund in financial year 2010 to refinance its costly loans and expand its collocation business in Nigeria. Consequently, it led to negative earnings during the financial year ended 2012.

Though, turnover stood at N15.2 billion in 2012 against N14.85 billion in 2011, the huge interest paid on its loan has plunged the profit.

Operating cost went up by 1.88 per cent to close at N12.4 billion against N12.18 billion in 2011 while administrative expenses followed the same trend to close at N1.27 billion from N1.24 billion in 2011.

Meanwhile, the significant growth recorded in interest income, operating cost and administrative expenses in the review period impaired its bottom line, as loss worsened from the previous year figure. It will be recalled that company’s bottom-line dropped to the red zone in 2011 with a loss after tax of N1.65 billion compared to a profit of N554 million in 2010.

It should also be noted that the current trend negates the

IHS Financial Data

2012=N=(‘Nm)

2011=N=(‘Nm)

Turnover

15,196,106

14,852,667

2010=N=(‘Nm) 17,247,902

Cost of sales

12,412,015

12,182,913

13,108,755

Gross Profit

2,784,091

2,669,754

4141147

Profit Before Taxation

-2,886,917

-1,839,383

675,353

Profit After Taxation

-2,039,226

-1,653,719

553,707

Operating Profit

-1,076,368

913,697

2,154,291

Admin Expenses

1,274,523

1,235,425

1,986,856

Shareholders fund

25,226,025

8,459,848

10,578,448

Interest Expenses

1,994,284

1,174,770

1,397,851

Current Asset

16,682,177

10,402,198

14,738,159

Current Liabilities

5,051,599

7,758,683

15,548,678

Total Assets

47,889,846

25,562,129

26,274,175 10,975,674

Current Assets-stocks

15,582,029

9,386,206

Trade Debtors

8,691,965

7,762,691

9,104,211

Trade Creditors

5,051,599

4,777,727

4,400,335

Return on Equity (%)

-8.08

-19.55

5.23

Gross profit Margin (%)

18.32

17.97

3.92

Profit Margin (%)

-13.42

-11.13

3.21

Pre- tax Profit Margin (%)

-19

-12.38

3.92

Current Ratio

3.3

1.34

0.95

Quick Ratio

3.08

1.21

0.71

Debtors(No of days)

208.78

190.77

192.66

Creditors(No of days)

148.55

143.14

122.52

-46

-38

13

Profitability Ratios

Liquidity Ratios

Investment Ratios Earnings per Share(kobo)

Profitability The audited results for the year ended April 31, 2012 show that profitability experienced a slight decrease compared with the preceding year. Return on Equity (which shows the financial gain its bringing to its shareholders on money they invest) reveal that the company could not justify the shareholders’ funds as the figure was negative in the review year. Return on Equity (ROE) stood at -8.08 per cent from -19.55 per cent achieved in 2011. The cost associated with unit sale increased at the end of financial year ended April 31 2012. The pre-tax margin went down to -19 per cent in 2011 from -12.4 per cent in 2011. This implies that, the company’s total cost as a percentage of turnover stood at 119 perc ent, up from 112.4 per cent in 2011.

Analysts believe there is the need for the management to put a system in place to check the growing trend. Further analysis by Business Courage shows that the company made a loss of N13 on every N100 earned in 2012 as loss margin stood at -13.42 per cent against -11.13 per cent in 2011.

Liquidity A cursory look at the company’s liquidity position shows that IHS Nigeria Plc will be able to meet its entire financial obligation if all its debtors were to come up once, despite recording an unimpressive performance in both top line indices and profitability indices in the last two years. Current ratio, which expresses relationship between current liability and current assets stood at 3.30:1 in 2012 against 1.34:1 in the previous year. This implies

that, IHS has N3.30 of current assets to meet N1.00 of its current liability. Similarly, quick ratio which was regarded as an acid test of liquidity for a company stood at 3.08:1 in 2011, up from 1.21:1 achieved in the previous year. This shows that the company has 308 kobo of quick assets to meet 100 kobo of its current liability. However, the number of days which debtors take to pay increased from 191 days in 2011 to 209 days, an indication that the quality of it debtors is decreasing. Trade creditors moved from N4.78 billion in 2011 to N5.05 billion.

Assets Quality The total assets of the telecomm service provider stood at N47.89 billion at year ended 2012, up by N22.33 billion from N25.562 billion in 2011.

The proportion of total assets to number of holding share stood at 10.88. This implies that, if the company happens to stop business today, each shareholder will go home with N10.88 per share. This obviously shows the quality of IHS assets base which is a good omen for its shareholders that the company’s future is bright.

Current assets moved from N10.40 billion to N16.68 billion while its current liabilities dropped by N2.71 billion to N5.051 billion. Shareholders’ funds during the year improved

by N16.766 billion to N25.226 billion from N8.460 billion in 2011.

Future The African telecom market is set for explosive growth, given that penetration levels are less than 40 per cent in most African countries and poor network coverage and access to rural areas is low. Subscriber base is forecast to grow by 300 million by 2013. IHS believes in its technical capabilities and its excellent quality of service to get its fair share of the boom market. Thus, coupled with strong financial partners, IHS management believes the company will be in the position to play a major role in any of the tower carve-outs that may take place across Africa. It believes that by re-aligning its Go-To-Market approach, the company will be able to address the challenges of poor network coverage, CAPEX and OPEX reduction that telecom operators currently face. BC

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business Courage A23 39

Monday, September 10, 2012

STOCKWATCH Stock Exchange weekly equities summary as at Friday, Sept 7, 2012 SECURITY

PRICE (=N=)

AGRICULTURE/AGRO-ALLIED Crop Production FTN COCOA PROCESSORS PLC 0.50 OKOMU OIL PALM PLC. 35.00 PRESCO PLC 14.90 Fishing/Hunting/Trapping ELLAH LAKES PLC. NT Livestock/Animal Specialties LIVESTOCK FEEDS PLC. 1.34 CONGLOMERATES Diversified Industries A.G. LEVENTIS NIGERIA PLC. 1.35 CHELLARAMS PLC. NT JOHN HOLT PLC. NT S C O A NIG. PLC. NT U A C N PLC. 36.07 CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Building Construction ARBICO PLC. 10.93 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. 28.55 ROADS NIG PLC. NT Real Estate Development PINNACLE POINT GROUP PLC NT UACN PROPERTY DEV 10.00 Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs) SKYE SHELTER FUND PLC 100.00 UNION HOMES REAL ESTATE INV NT CONSUMER GOODS Automobiles/Auto Parts DN TYRE & RUBBER PLC 0.50 Beverages--Brewers/Distillers CHAMPION BREW. PLC. NT GOLDEN GUINEA BREW. PLC. NT GUINNESS NIG PLC 252.00 INTERNATIONAL BREWERIES PLC. 10.68 JOS INT. BREWERIES PLC. NT NIGERIAN BREW. PLC. 127.50 PREMIER BREWERIES PLC NT Beverages--Non-Alcoholic 7-UP BOTTLING COMP. PLC. 40.00 Food Products BIG TREAT PLC NT DANGOTE FLOUR MILLS PLC 6.51 DANGOTE SUGAR REFINERY PLC 4.99 FLOUR MILLS NIG. PLC. 61.89 HONEYWELL FLOUR MILL PLC 2.00 MULTI-TREX INTEGRATED FOODS PLC NT N NIG. FLOUR MILLS PLC. NT NATIONAL SALT CO. NIG. PLC 4.98 P S MANDRIDES & CO PLC. NT U T C NIG. PLC. 0.60 UNION DICON SALT PLC. NT Food Products--Diversified CADBURY NIGERIA PLC. 22.00 NESTLE NIGERIA PLC. 550.00 Household Durables BETA GLASS CO PLC. NT NIGERIAN ENAMELWARE PLC. NT VITAFOAM NIG PLC. 3.10 VONO PRODUCTS PLC. 2.88 Personal/Household Products P Z CUSSONS NIGERIA PLC. 23.90 UNILEVER NIGERIA PLC. 37.43 Textiles/Apparel UNITED NIG. TEXTILES PLC. NT FINANCIAL SERVICES Banking ACCESS BANK PLC. 8.47 DIAMOND BANK PLC 2.98 ECOBANK TRANSNATIONAL INC. 10.99 FIDELITY BANK PLC 1.55 FIRST BANK OF NIG. PLC 14.31 FIRST CITY MONUMENT BANK PLC. 3.03 GUARANTY TRUST BANK PLC. 19.24 SKYE BANK PLC 2.94 STANBIC IBTC BANK PLC 7.00 STERLING BANK PLC. 1.12 U B A PLC 4.65 UNION BANK NIG.PLC. 6.48 UNITY BANK PLC 0.50 WEMA BANK PLC. 0.50 ZENITH BANK PLC 16.70 Insurance Carriers, Brokers & Services AFRICAN ALLIANCE INS. COY. PLC NT AIICO INSURANCE PLC. 0.50 CONFIDENCE INSURANCE PLC NT CONSOLIDATED HALLMARK INS. PLC 0.50 CONTINENTAL REINSURANCE PLC 0.61 CORNERSTONE INS. COY. PLC. NT CUSTODIAN AND ALLIED INS. PLC 1.17 EQUITY ASSURANCE PLC. NT GOLDLINK INSURANCE PLC NT GREAT NIGERIAN INSURANCE PLC NT GUINEA INSURANCE PLC. NT INTERCONTINENTAL WAPIC INS. PLC 0.66 INTERNATIONAL ENERGY INS. PLC NT INVESTMENT AND ALLIED ARN. NT LASACO ASSURANCE PLC. 0.50 LAW UNION AND ROCK INS. PLC. NT LINKAGE ASSURANCE PLC 0.50 MANSARD INSURANCE PLC 1.68 MUTUAL BENEFITS ASSURANCE PLC. NT N.E.M INSURANCE CO (NIG) PLC. 0.50 NIGER INSURANCE CO. PLC. 0.50 OASIS INSURANCE PLC NT PRESTIGE ASSURANCE CO. PLC. 0.50 REGENCY ALLIANCE INS. COY PLC NT SOVEREIGN TRUST INSURANCE PLC NT STACO INSURANCE PLC 0.50 STANDARD ALLIANCE INS. PLC. NT UNIC INSURANCE PLC. 0.50 UNITY KAPITAL ASSURANCE PLC 0.50 UNIVERSAL INS. COMPANY PLC 0.50 Micro Finance Banks FORTIS MICROFINANCE BANK PLC NT NPF MICROFINANCE BANK PLC 1.10 Mortgage Carriers, Brokers &Services ABBEY BUILDING SOCIETY PLC NT ASO SAVINGS AND LOANS PLC 0.50 RESORT SAVINGS & LOANS PLC 0.50 UNION HOMES SAVINGS&LOANS PLC NT Other Financial Institutions CRUSADER ( NIG) PLC. 0.50 DEAP CAPITAL MGT & TRUST PLC NT NIG SEW. MACH. MAN. CO. PLC. NT NIGERIA ENERYGY SECTOR FUND NT ROYAL EXCHANGE PLC. 0.52 HEALTHCARE Healthcare Providers EKOCORP PLC. 5.05 Medical Equipment UNION DIAGNOSTIC &CLINICAL PLC NT Medical Supplies MORISON INDUSTRIES PLC. 6.04 Pharmaceuticals EVANS MEDICAL PLC. 1.05 FIDSON HEALTHCARE PLC 0.89 GLAXO SMITHKLINE CONSUMER PLC 32.20 MAY & BAKER NIGERIA PLC. 1.66

NOTE NT=Not Traded on 07-09-12

QUANTITY

52 WK HIGH

52 WK LOW

SHARES OUTSTANDING

EPS

MOV. (%)

Previous

8 724 183 146 140 688 700

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 11.11 -0.67

0.50 31.50 15.00

NT

4.26

4.26

60 000 000

0.00

N/A

NT

193 694

1.49

0.48

1 199 549 736

0.04

-1.47

1.36

150 000 NT NT NT 380 168

2.54 7.60 8.82 8.28 42.50

0.74 5.81 5.32 5.52 28.70

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

0.21 0.30 0.00 0.35 7.03

14.41 N/A N/A N/A N/A

1.18 NT NT NT 35.51

10 NT

26.00 95.49

14.09 95.49

148 500 000 196 876 000

0.00 4.50

N/A N/A

12.73 NT

NT NT

7.97 14.46

2.46 14.46

920 573 765 125 000 000

0.00 0.00

N/A N/A

NT NT

67 940 NT

62.26 8.69

21.55 3.01

1 200 000 000 20 000 000

4.11 3.66

6.85 N/A

26.72 NT

NT 1 101 269

7.28 20.15

7.28 8.82

1 375 000 000

0.00 1.66

N/A 0.00

NT 10.00

50 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 NT

59 500

0.50

0.50

4 772 528 415

0.00

N/A

0.50

NT NT 187 621 64 325 NT 775 319 NT

4.63 0.68 255.00 7.28 3.20 122.30 0.97

2.23 0.68 186.00 5.23 1.61 72.50 0.93

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

0.00 0.03 12.04 0.07 0.00 5.21 0.00

N/A N/A 0.00 N/A N/A 3.66 N/A

NT NT 252.00 8.42 1.53 123.00 NT

4 324

48.91

38.31

640 590 362

3.15

N/A

40.00

NT 788 188 19 288 467 1 177 344 653 850 NT NT 835 365 NT 253 919 NT

0.50 19.90 16.20 95.00 6.60 2.70 43.96 6.70 5.66 0.88 4.22

0.50 4.15 3.64 52.50 1.91 1.21 21.48 3.86 5.66 0.50 4.22

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

0.00 0.00 0.59 3.60 0.36 0.00 1.20 0.81 0.16 1.13 0.00

N/A 6.03 19.66 15.68 0.00 N/A N/A 5.96 N/A -20.00 N/A

NT 6.14 4.17 53.50 2.00 NT 21.48 4.70 NT 0.75 NT

1 188 185 114 655

29.20 500.00

9.15 367.83

3 129 188 160 792 656 250

1.24 21.21

23.25 0.00

17.85 550.00

NT NT 974 516 11 923

15.58 42.66 6.75 3.67

10.03 36.19 3.01 2.66

63 360 000 819 000 000 300 000 001

3.90 1.61 0.54 0.00

N/A N/A 3.33 N/A

10.03 NT 3.00 NT

1 582 666 485 202

43.50 36.45

22.07 22.56

3 176 381 636 3 783 296 250

0.51 1.32

4.55 5.94

22.86 35.33

NT

0.97

0.57

843 284 027

0.00

N/A

NT

22 057 12 267 511 1 143 577 25 611 085 25 347 297 3 078 695 20 275 582 6 857 711 1 873 815 9 820 825 41 782 482 1 223 629 68 000 13 165 76 038 081

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

4.76 2.01 9.97 1.14 8.50 3.04 11.64 2.73 6.40 0.97 1.64 1.96 0.50 0.50 11.70

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

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

10.00 9.96 6.70 10.71 5.69 1.00 8.09 9.70 4.48 6.67 2.88 27.06 0.00 0.00 8.58

7.70 2.71 10.30 1.40 13.54 3.00 17.80 2.68 6.70 1.05 4.52 5.10 0.50 0.50 15.38

NT 3 724 763 NT 2 500 20 307 578 NT 250 237 NT NT NT NT 143 699 NT NT 115 000 NT 20 000 57 998 NT 40 000 41 670 NT 51 600 NT NT 100 000 NT 2 000 2 000 73 114

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

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

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

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

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

NT 0.50 NT 0.50 0.61 NT 1.20 0.50 0.52 NT NT 0.55 0.50 NT 0.50 NT 0.50 1.68 0.50 0.50 0.50 NT 0.50 NT NT 0.50 NT 0.50 0.50 0.50

NT 800 000

NT NT

NT 800 000 2 000 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 0.50 NT

300 000 NT NT NT 52 540

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 0.51

91

5.31

5.05

498 600 908

0.12

N/A

5.05

NT

0.50

0.50

3 553 138 528

0.00

N/A

NT

22 196

10.54

7.39

152 178 750

0.00

N/A

6.68

197 469 987 000 158 076 1 555 680

N/A=Not Avialable

1.45 3.20 29.65 5.61

0.50 0.76 19.30 1.62

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

0.19 0.27 2.41 0.21

0.00 5.95 1.26 24.81

1.05 0.84 31.80 1.33

SECURITY

PRICE (=N=)

NEIMETH INT PHARM PLC 0.85 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. NT Processing Systems CHAMS PLC 0.50 E-TRANZACT INTERNATIONAL PLC NT Telecommunications Carriers STARCOMMS PLC NT Telecommunications Services IHS NIGERIA PLC PREF SHARES NT IHS PLC NT MTI PLC NT INDUSTRIAL GOODS Building Materials AFRICAN PAINTS (NIGERIA) PLC. NT ASHAKA CEM PLC 11.75 BERGER PAINTS PLC 7.63 CAP PLC 29.15 CEMENT CO. OF NORTH.NIG. PLC 4.75 DANGOTE CEMENT PLC 116.98 DN MEYER PLC. 0.74 FIRST ALUMINIUM NIGERIA PLC NT IPWA PLC NT LAFARGE WAPCO PLC. 45.55 PAINTS & COATINGS MANFACT.PLC 1.90 PORTLAND PAINTS & PRDT NIG. PLC 3.31 PREMIER PAINTS PLC. NT Electronic and Electrical Products AUSTIN LAZ & COMPANY PLC 2.00 CUTIX PLC. 1.38 NIGERIAN WIRE AND CABLE PLC. NT NIGERIAN WIRE IND. PLC NT Packaging/Containers ABPLAST PRODUCTS PLC. NT AVON CROWNCAPS & CONTAINERS NT GREIF NIGERIA PLC NT NIG. BAGS MANFACT. COY PLC 1.80 POLY PRODUCTS (NIG) PLC. NT W A GLASS IND. PLC. NT Tools and Machinery NIGERIAN ROPES PLC NT STOKVIS NIG PLC. NT NATURAL RESOURCES Chemicals B.O.C. GASES PLC. 5.98 Metals ALUMACO PLC NT ALUMINIUM EXTRUSION IND. PLC. NT Non-Metallic Mineral Mining MULTIVERSE PLC 0.50 Paper/Forest Products HALLMARK PAPER PRODUCTS PLC. NT THOMAS WYATT NIG. PLC. NT OIL AND GAS Energy Equipment and Services JAPAUL OIL & MARITIME SER. PLC 0.60 Integrated Oil and Gas Services OANDO PLC 14.00 Petroleum &Petroleum Products Distributors AFROIL PLC NT BECO PETROLEUM PRODUCT PLC NT CONOIL PLC 19.75 ETERNA PLC. 2.36 FORTE OIL PLC. 11.40 MOBIL OIL NIG PLC. 114.50 MRS OIL NIGERIA PLC. 32.29 TOTAL NIGERIA PLC. 128.01 SERVICES Advertising AFROMEDIA PLC NT Apparel Retailers LENNARDS (NIG) PLC. NT Automobile/Auto Part Retailers R T BRISCOE PLC. 1.91 Courier/Freight/Delivery RED STAR EXPRESS PLC 2.58 TRANS-NATIONWIDE EXPRESS PLC. NT Employment Solutions C & I LEASING PLC. 0.50 Hospitality TANTALIZERS PLC 0.50 Hotels/Lodging CAPITAL HOTEL PLC 6.60 IKEJA HOTEL PLC 1.15 TOURIST COMPANY OF NIGERIA PLC. NT TRANSNATIONAL CORP. OF NIG.PLC 0.89 Media/Entertainment DAAR COMMUNICATIONS PLC 0.50 Printing/Publishing ACADEMY PRESS PLC. 1.64 LEARN AFRICA PLC 2.12 STUDIO PRESS (NIG) PLC. NT UNIVERSITY PRESS PLC. NT Road Transportation ABC TRANSPORT PLCPLC 0.50 Specialty INTERLINKED TECHNOLOGIES PLC NT SECURE ELECTRONIC TECH.PLC NT Transport-Related Services AIRLINE SERVICES AND LOGISTICS PLC NT NIG. AVIATION HANDLING COY PLC 6.00 ASeM CONSTRUCTION/REAL ESTATE Property Management SMART PRODUCTS NIGERIA PLC NT CONSUMER GOODS Food Products MCNICHOLS PLC NT Personal/Household Products ROKANA INDUSTRIES PLC. NT HEALTHCARE Pharmaceuticals AFRIK PHARMACEUTICALS PLC. NT INDUSTRIAL GOODS Electronic and Electrical Products NT ADSWITCH PLC. 1.63 NATURAL RESOURCES Metals W.A. ALUM. PRODUCTS PLC. NT OIL AND GAS Petroleum & Petroleum Products Distributors ANINO INTERNATIONAL PLC. NT CAPITAL OIL PLC NT RAK UNITY PET. COMP. PLC. NT UNION VENTURES & PET. PLC NT SERVICES Apparel Retailers UDEOFSON GARMENT FACT. NIG PLC NT Food/Drug Retailers and Wholesalers NT JULI PLC. 2.76 ETF’s Sector ETF NEWGOLD EXCHANGE TRADED FUND 2 638.00

QUANTITY

52 WK HIGH

52 WK LOW

SHARES OUTSTANDING

EPS

MOV. (%)

Previous

278 880 NT NT

1.96 12.91 4.28

0.76 8.59 3.50

1 925 717 268 153 786 012 100 000 000

0.09 0.00 0.00

11.84 N/A N/A

0.76 NT NT

18 000

0.52

0.50

2 960 000 000

0.08

0.00

0.50

NT

0.50

0.50

2 941 789 472

0.04

N/A

0.50

NT

0.91

0.91

4 966 666 668

0.00

N/A

NT

47 104 NT

18.28 3.59

13.12 2.41

108 000 000 492 825 600

1.82 0.00

N/A N/A

13.12 NT

40 000 NT

0.50 4.97

0.50 4.04

4 620 600 000 4 200 000 000

0.00 0.00

N/A N/A

0.50 NT

NT

1.47

0.50

6 878 478 096

0.00

N/A

NT

NT NT NT

2.25 3.50 0.50

0.00 2.46 0.50

4 400 000 000 4 893 594 400

0.00 0.00 0.00

N/A N/A N/A

NT NT NT

NT 5 783 368 39 206 199 209 267 523 336 364 125 416 NT NT 657 576 100 000 216 727 NT

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

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

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

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

N/A 21.13 0.00 0.52 12.56 2.52 N/A N/A N/A 3.50 N/A N/A N/A

NT 9.70 7.63 29.00 4.22 114.10 0.81 NT 0.73 44.01 2.09 NT NT

1 000 69 600 NT NT

2.00 2.50 0.73 2.58

2.00 1.33 0.50 2.58

510 396 608 2 220 000 000 15 000 000

0.03 0.11 0.00 0.00

N/A -4.17 N/A N/A

2.00 1.44 NT NT

NT NT NT 1 447 647 NT NT

3.98 6.91 15.03 3.60 1.86 0.63

3.98 2.19 13.28 1.60 1.05 0.63

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

0.00 0.15 0.90 0.22 0.30 0.00

N/A N/A N/A 20.00 N/A N/A

NT NT 12.98 1.50 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

7.85 NT

100

9.20

5.70

393 120 000

0.93

0.00

5.98

NT NT

7.75 12.39

7.75 10.55

75 600 000 100 000 000

0.00 0.13

N/A N/A

NT NT

55 000

0.50

0.50

4 058 989 226

0.00

N/A

0.50

NT NT

3.22 1.38

3.22 1.38

50 000 000 220 000 000

0.04 0.00

N/A N/A

NT NT

3 373 439

1.87

0.54

6 262 701 716

0.16

5.26

0.57

4 696 342

78.97

13.95

2 262 711 568

7.47

0.00

14.00

NT NT 13 543 283 500 22 422 10 076 4 656 139 216

20.71 0.70 41.89 5.59 28.69 163.50 72.00 240.00

20.71 0.50 19.61 2.12 9.12 111.51 32.29 125.00

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

0.00 0.00 5.98 0.88 0.00 13.06 4.08 11.22

N/A N/A 0.10 2.61 8.88 2.68 N/A 0.00

NT 0.50 19.73 2.30 10.47 111.51 32.29 128.01

4 035 497 307

0.00

N/A

0.50

0.19

N/A

NT

NT

0.72

0.50

NT

3.48

3.48

315 638

3.65

1.12

980 294 400

0.22

6.11

1.80

384 250 NT

3.67 6.40

2.11 3.28

589 496 310 198 819 763

0.63 0.26

0.39 N/A

2.57 NT

134 700

1.64

0.85

865 808 912

0.20

N/A

0.50

50 000

0.75

0.50

3 211 627 907

0.01

N/A

0.50

200 231 459 NT 12 777 703

8.00 2.59 4.76 1.82

3.00 1.16 4.31 0.50

1 548 780 000 2 078 796 396 1 772 884 297 25 813 998 283

0.18 0.92 0.00 0.22

N/A 0.88 N/A 0.00

NT 1.14 NT 0.89

5 000

0.50

0.50

8 000 000 000

0.00

N/A

0.50

7 200 103 908 NT NT

3.68 8.00 2.92 6.82

1.64 1.94 2.78 3.09

403 200 000 771 450 000 425 641 111

0.14 0.29 0.01 0.50

N/A N/A N/A #VALUE!

1.64 2.03 NT 4.52

359 775

0.80

0.50

1 507 000 000

0.00

N/A

0.50

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

NT 575 341

2.78 11.75

1.54 5.15

634 000 000 1 230 468 750

0.38 0.81

N/A 11.11

1.93 5.40

NT

1.43

1.04

45 000 000

0.12

N/A

NT

NT

1.02

1.02

201 885 335

0.00

N/A

NT

NT

0.60

0.60

30 000 000

0.00

N/A

NT

NT

0.50

0.50

24 898 850

0.00

N/A

NT

NT 500

1.88

1.63

125 005 250

0.00

N/A

NT 1.63

NT

0.50

0.50

6 650 000

0.00

N/A

NT

NT NT NT NT

0.21 0.50 0.31 0.63

0.21 0.50 0.31 0.63

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

0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00

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

NT NT NT NT

NT NT 16 000

0.50

0.50

20 000 000

0.00

N/A

3.05

2.76

194 700 000

0.00

N/A

NT NT 2.76

100

2 706

2 422

0.00

2 638.00

40

Monday, September 10, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Monday, September 10, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

41

Law & Justice nationalmirrorlaw@yahoo.com

“The law is in the breast of the judge and he can make use of it at any time.”

JUSTICE NIKI TOBI, RETIRED JUSTICE OF SUPREME COURT

Bakassi: Experts differ on NBA’s call to revisit ICJ judgment Bar, Bench not committed to fight corruption –Akanbi 42

Attorney General of the Federation, Mohammed Bello Adoke (SAN)

Adaka Boro’s trial, conviction 45

The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) rose from its Annual General Conference in Abuja recently with a resolution among others, urging the Federal Government to reopen the Bakassi dispute case at the World Court. KAYODE KETEFE examines the issue.

T Ghanaian court quashes rejection of Nigerian as bank CEO 46

he Nigerian Bar Association, at the end of its 52nd Annual General Conference which recently ended in Abuja, issued a communiqué in which it made certain observations and a number of recommendations on some issues of national importance. Cogent among the issues is the judgement of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague over the dispute on Bakassi peninsula between Nigeria and Cameroun which was delivered on October, 10, 2002.

The court, which gave judgement in favour of Cameroun, had held that Cameroun had sovereignty over the disputed peninsula.

The lawyers’ body, in its communiqué, however, recommended that the Federal Government should revisit the judgement by applying to that court to review the judgement under one of the provisions in the statute that

ICJ President, Judge Peter Tomka

set up that court.

The said provision states that an aggrieved party can re-apply to the court for the review of its judgement on the grounds that fresh facts have emerged which necessitated the review.

But such application for review needs to be done within 10 years of the delivery of the judgement. At the time the NBA gave its recommendation last Friday, August 31, Nigeria still had only six weeks before the expiration of the 10 years of the judgment.

In the communiqué read by the immediate past President of the association, Mr. Joseph Daudu (SAN) the body recommended, inter alia, that “That the NBA is aware that there are grounds upon which the Government of Nigeria may legitimately apply for a revision of the ICJ judgment of 10th October 2002, and having adjudged those grounds (or fresh facts that were not considered by

THERE ARE GROUNDS UPON WHICH THE

GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA MAY LEGITIMATELY APPLY FOR A REVISION OF THE

ICJ JUDGMENT

the ICJ earlier on) as being worthy of reconsideration: Consequently, the NBA calls on the Government of Nigeria to, without further delay, apply under Article 61 of the ICJ statute of 1946, to the ICJ for a revision of what is an unjust judgement over Bakassi” The new President of the NBA, Mr. Okey Wali (SAN), also re-echoed the NBA position a few days ago, when he said, “We must make use of that window that gives us up to October to ask for a review.

“If nothing is done by October 9, 2012, then nothing can ever be done concerning the issue.

It will be recalled that the ICJ had, on October, 10, 2002, held that ‘’sovereignty over Bakassi lies’’ with Republic of Cameroun.

The World Court mandated Nigeria to transfer possession of the peninsula to Cameroun, even though it held that the inhabitants of the oil-rich peninsula were Nigerians.

The former Attorney-General and Minister of Justice, Chief Richard Akinjide (SAN) led the Nigerian team to the court.

The judgement caused serious controversy and criticisms across the length of Nigeria and beyond The then presidents of Nigeria and Cameroun, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo and Mr. Paul Biya respectively entered into an agreement called Green Tree Agreement (GTA) in 2006. Under the Articles 1 and 2 of CONTINUED ON PAGE 44

42

Law & Justice

Monday, September 10, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Bar, Bench not committed Justice Mustapha Akanbi is a former President of the Court of Appeal and past Chairman, Independent and Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC). In this interview with WOLE ADEDEJI, the retired jurist speaks on corruption in the judiciary and justice delivery system in the country, among other issues. Excerpts.

What role should the judiciary play in eradicating the scourge of corruption in the Nigerian society?

Well, I want to say one thing; a lawyer has basically three duties. A duty to himself, a duty to the court and he has a duty to the client. Therefore, he will only need to be balanced in his duty. I think we all have a responsibility in this issue of corruption to see that it is wiped out. Because, you see, as the chairman of an anti-corruption body, I have come to realize that most of the crimes we have committed in this country are due to corruption. If you have to smuggle goods across the border, you have to bribe the Customs officers, you committed a crime and the police wanted to arrest you, you have to bribe the police.

If the matter goes to court, you might be thinking of how to bribe the judge. So, if you study the spate of corruption in the economy of the country, you will know better that it involves serious crimes. Now, the law and most lawyers believe that what they go to court to do is to protect the interest of their clients, which, to me, is not the proper attitude. Yes, you have the interest of your client to protect as a matter of fact, you don’t judge whether your client is guilty or not guilty. It is not your business to judge. As a matter of fact, in a case of corruption, you are engaged to prosecute, you will do your best, but if you are engaged to defend, in defending, you keep to the ethics of the profession.

The ethics require that you can’t go to court for the sake of it or for the sake of money. A man has told you that he actually took the money, then the witness comes to explain who took the money and not your client. You know it is not true, the ethical values, your conscience should show you that you shouldn’t ask that kind of question, and ordinarily, the burden of proof lies with the prosecution to prove their case beyond every doubt.

All you need is to identify the loopholes and not to tell lies. But I am afraid to say that all in the name of law, lawyers most of the time in the name of money often give their clients the impression that in order to get him out of the case, you have to bribe the judge. When it is not actually true! Such lawyers at times may not even have access to the judge.

I remember, when I was a state counsel, I went to do a case in Minna. Justice Adegbite was then the Chief Magistrate in Minna, when he was in the study in his chambers, one lawyer came in and said ‘good morning sir and he went out, not knowing that he had told his client that he was going to give money he had collected from him to the Judge. So, when they came to court on the day that judgement was to be delivered, Adegbite convicted the accused person. The accused person was shocked and he angrily opened up and said you collected money from my lawyer; this- this- this and the judge got to know the mischief that was done and he was shocked. He called the lawyer, you see then (that time) the lawyer was practising here in Ilorin and you know Adegbite is from Offa and definitely he knew him. He just went to do a case in Minna; and Adegbite had to challenge him, the lawyer was arrested at the end of the day, they locked him up. I think there was an intervention.

Judges should please be very careful when lawyers come and make courtesy visits to them. If he is your friend, as long as you are on the bench, you have to keep

Akanbi

JUDGES SHOULD BE VERY CAREFUL WHEN LAWYERS COME AND MAKE COURTESY VISITS TO THEM him at longer distance as much as you can. So, the issue of corruption is everybody’s responsibility; lawyer or no lawyer.

We all have to fight corruption to the end. As a matter of fact, if you had come early, you see; I was closing a paper as the head of an anti-corruption committee and I was just reading over to prepare another paper for an event. So, you see, the issue of corruption is one that we all got to fight. Corruption is such that if we don’t kill it, it will kill us. Each day, I ruminate over it, thinking of what we are going to do. In quite a number of years, I do say that the whole thing is a pity because if the economy is good, your work will be going well.

Corruption thrives where the economy is bad and development is not made even.

Do you think the Nigerian Bar Association and particularly the lawyers have been involved in the task of bringing corrupt public officers and politicians to book?

I don’t think they have, because most of the time, they are the ones defending them. I am not saying they should not defend people. You don’t have to decide that. So, I don’t say because this man is corrupt, they should not defend him. It is not your duty, I used to say.

When we started the anti- corruption law and the bill was passed into law, the general feeling and the fears of lawyers particularly, you know Chief Williams and Ben Nwabueze took the stand that the Federal Government had no power to legislate on corruption for the whole country, that it is a matter of each state doing what it thought is right. The matter had to go to court. What I

discover is that five states were on the side of the Federal Government. All other ones were opposed to it and Chief Williams and Nwabueze appeared for them. I had to beg Chief Afe Babalola to appear on the other side. Chief Williams, everybody knows is a legal guru.

Nwabueze is an authority on the constitutional law.

They were able to talk to draw more money from their clients whereas we didn’t have money to hire a SAN. In fact, I had to beg Afe Babalola to appear for us. So at the end to the day if we were not lucky we wouldn’t have won. It took us almost two or three years to be able to get that judgement. Do you know that time, when we arrest people, we were hesitant to take them to court in the event of the Supreme Court deciding otherwise?

So, there was a lull in our investigation activities. Now, I don’t want to believe that they knew that the Federal Government had the power to do that legislation. Maybe, it is a matter of differences of opinion. The Bar has not, I am sorry to say, shown that commitment which will help us in fighting corruption even the courts. I will give you another example. We arrested somebody, we took him to court as I talk, I know the name, but I won’t mention the name. We took the fellow to court, after the court has given us permission or leave to file the action and got the chap locked up, the following day when they came to court, they brought an application for bail, not for question of what the charge looks like but just for bail, the judge who sat; one Justice Bello, just discharged and acquitted him. A first-year lawyer or a journalist like you, knows that when there is no evidence called or anything, you cannot discharge and acquit people, but this one was acquitted. We had to file an appeal to the Court of Appeal and of course, the judge applied for an order based on principle allowed the appeal and allowed us to re-order the arrest of the person. Are you saying that the judge who acquitted the accused did it in ignorance? Is he not creating an impression of a human being who is even corrupt himself ? Then, we had cases where we were arresting the younger generation of the old people, they were accus-

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.neta

Law & Justice

Monday, September 10, 2012

43

to fight corruption –Akanbi ing us of catching small fishes. Now, when we went in to catch big ones, they went to court and the court made an order that we should not investigate. You see, it is wrong in basic law; they got an order ordering us to stop investigating an allegation of corruption? That was Fawehinmi in his case; Fawehinmi vs. Inspector General of Police that you cannot stop the police from investigating a case. It was an allegation only. Just to be investigated first. So it is to me, that they did it deliberately. So, I was shocked! Again, we had to take certain actions because you know the process of appeal may take long.

Are you then saying the law has lapses or is it that the operators of the system should be blamed?

I have always wondered that it is like some of the judges do not understand the underpinning philosophies behind the anti- corruption law. And you see, I have complained about the courts. Nuhu Ribadu had complained about the courts. Farida Waziri complained about the courts. So, almost everybody did.

And of the three, I was the only Judge. Judiciary is my constituency. And I should be slow in attacking the Judiciary, and I made sure that most of the time, I tried to avoid hard comments. But when you are pushed to the wall, you have to say it out as it should be. So, by and large when you are talking about lawyers and the NBA, I am talking about the entire legal profession, both the Bar and the Bench. I think we have to do more in fighting against corruption.

Are you of the view that special courts should be set up to handle cases being referred from the ICPC and EFCC? I don’t think so. You see, in ICPC, the law allows us to have the list of judges to hear our cases. So, we wrote to courts, the High Courts: Federal, State High Courts; give us names of two people who would purely be handling anti-corruption cases. And I thought that was good enough because when we have the list, we can send any of the judges to anywhere to go and hear the cases, but yet we had these difficulties. The designated Judge is only to hear anti -corruption cases.

Even when we started they didn’t have enough cases to handle because we had fewer of the cases reported.

But as we got on, more and more cases were coming up. Well, there were few of them which we stood off, but there were still quite a lot of them who found it difficult to really appreciate the need to try these batches. Then, if we should say say they should set up a special court; that court cannot be a superior court of record unless you amend the constitution.

So, if you now have a court or a tribunal of a kind, the people can go to court to declare that tribunal incompetent or invalid to hear the case. So, they can kill the case from that level. Actually, that method of keeping two justices in every division and bring them directly under the control of the body; ICPC, EFCC was a good thing, because that is why all the names are there. You see, when the case is coming up, you see this charge. That judge knows that he had nothing to do with the High Court anymore. He is handling this case. The fear is that let us look at when the Industrial Court was established; when we went to the Supreme Court, they said it is not a superior court of record. They had to go to the National Assembly to pass through all the necessary legislation before it was recognised as a superior court of record. Otherwise any decision it takes, when it is not a superior court of record, it might be overtaken by the decision of a higher court.

That takes us to the issue of the National Assembly that you just mentioned now. Do you think the legislature has the political will to pass the Bills pending before it into laws?

Well, I thought I heard the Speaker saying that that

ARE YOU SAYING THAT THE JUDGE WHO ACQUITTED THE ACCUSED

DID IT IN IGNORANCE? IS HE NOT CREATING AN IMPRESSION OF A PERSON WHO IS EVEN CORRUPT HIMSELF?

they have no outstanding bills. But actually, if what he said is correct, I have one thing which is worrying me.

For instance, when I was the chairman of the ICPC and people were accusing us that we were not proactive. So, we now look at the law creating us that unless a case is reported, we cannot investigate it. We now decided to ask for an amendment, so that we can pick any case either from the newspaper, whether reported or not, we can go ahead and investigate it. Somebody who is living beyond his means, we can go and ask questions and investigate him.

We also thought our number in the ICPC, we were too many; 12 of us, 13 with me as the chairman. Yes, we had people who are old and have political ambition, and they think ICPC is another government agency for making it; now we wanted the number reduced. We looked at certain sections, compiled all these sections and took it to the National Assembly. I appeared before them. I appeared before Nduka Essien who is now the Commissioner for Works. I appeared before Etta, all of them, before I left. Not only was I anxious to go, I was also anxious to let them see that we are not toothless bulldog if we are given the teeth to fight. Not too long ago, I phoned one of my boys there and asked if they have passed that bill, the ICPC amendment Act and he said up till today, they have not passed it. Now, they create an impression because the ICPC bill before it was passed took them a year to do. That shows lack of political will.

Then after it had been passed these amendments that was not passed is another lack of political will.

Then, when you look at the funding, that they could not give us funding also shows lack of political will. I can’t just say that the political will is there. You know you cannot fight corruption if the lack of political will is there. Like there is lack of funding or an inadequate funding. As for the legal framework, these

are some of the requirements. Legal framework is there, they have already passed the law and they have to make it work. But the question is, why have they not passed it? What is the vested interest that makes them not to pass it?

Do you share the view that the powers of the Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN) as the chairman of the National Judicial Council are enormous and should be reduced?

I do. I am a member of the Committee of 29 of the Judicial Reform set up recently by Dahiru Musdapher, the immediate past CJN. The Bar Association wanted to cut the powers of the CJN. In fact, they went to the extent of saying that he should not be a member of the NJC. I studied the constitution in Pakistan; I studied the constitution in Kenya and other jurisdictions. There is not that body where the CJN will be made the chairman. You see, if you are looking at the individual and he becomes the CJN of the country that decides issues, you are only being subjective. All over the years, the CJN has always exercised the powers which have been there. When you start from say Adetokunbo Ademola, Taslim Elias, Atanda FatayiWilliams, Ayo Irikefe, Sodeinde Sowemimo, all of them up to Mohammed Bello, Lawal Uwais we never had any crisis of confidence. The only time we had crisis of confidence is during the time of Aloysius Katsina-Alu and Ayo Salami. The longest serving Chief Justice of Nigeria served in that capacity for 14 years and I was President of the Court of Appeal and we never had a disagreement for one day. Even when the people were hesitant that they should not make a woman CJ, we made a woman a CJ even in Sokoto. It depends on the character of individual who man the court. Because all we want is the position of all that is good and decent within the judicial system. When you have a wrong man there, you see power being used for his own sake, then you have problem. I said when Bello was there and at the time I took over as the president of the Court of Appeal, I never sent a candidate for appointment or do anything and Bello would say no. In fact, I would have gone to him to say these are the reasons and it would have been explained and sorted out. When I was at the Advisory Judicial Committee or the National Judicial Council, we had robust arguments.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 46

44

Law & Justice

Monday, September 10, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

‘Review of ICJ’s decision impossible under Int’l law’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 41 the said agreement, Nigeria recognised the sovereignty of Cameroun over the Bakassi peninsula and agreed to withdraw its armed forces from the territory within 60 days of the signing.

However, tension continued to mount between the two countries on the implementation of the judgement.

The Bakassi leaders alleged persecution by the Camerounian government and neglect by the Nigerian government. The matter reached its peak on July 6, 2006, when these leaders renounced both Nigerian and Camerounian nationalities and proclaimed their region as an independent “Democratic Republic of Bakassi” in a move that some observers alleged had been instigated by Nigeria.

National Mirror spoke with a number of seasoned lawyers on this issue. In an interview with a renowned international law expert, Prof. Michael Ayodele Ajomo, he was very circumspect in his treatment of the issue.

He concluded that the peninsula was never part of Nigeria.

Ajomo said, “I am the authority on Bakassi in Nigeria today; nobody can claim knowledge of Bakassi as I do. Initially, when we were negotiating, President Paul Biya was prepared to give us concession, but Nigeria was insisting that Bakassi belonged to them.

“Bakassi had never been, at anytime, in Nigerian territory. Since the 1913 treaty which gave the territory to the Cameroun, we have no claim.

“If you look at our maps in those days, the entire map showed Bakassi to be in Cameroun, but the Nigerian government later gave instruction to the Surveyor General, who happens to be somebody I know very well, that they should put Bakassi on the

Akinjide

Nigerian map. But, will that hold water when, from time immemorial, Bakassi has been in the Camerounian territory? So, we were making a claim that was groundless.”

“And I made the point very clear to government when I was called. It was during the time of Obasanjo that we were trying to do something that would have changed the situation in Cameroun. When I was called, I told them we had something known as Cameroons Peoples Organisation (SCAPO), they are the English speaking part of Cameroun and they were forcefully annexed in 1960.

“The French and English Cameroun were supposed to come into agreement and have a confederation like what we have in Nigeria, but the President used his veto and annexed them.

Speaking at a roundtable forum of the Faculty of Law of the University of Lagos, UNILAG, last Wednesday, a Senior

Bola Ajibola, former Judge, ICJ

REINTERPRETATION AND REVIEW OF THE

ICJ’S DECISION IS

IMPOSSIBLE UNDER INTERNATIONAL LAW Lecturer in Energy and International Trade Law, Department, Dr. Dayo Ayoade, said “Reinterpretation and review of the ICJ’s decision is impossible under international law, as there has been no new grounds of appeal, and the Nigerian state has consented at every stage to a legitimate international process that had a disastrous outcome”.

Another Lagos-based lawyer and founder of a non-governmental organisation, Advocacy for Democratic Dividends International, Chief Sola Ojeriakhi is,

however, of the view that Nigeria could still explore the possibility of re-opening the case. He said, “The government has nothing to lose from going back to the court.

The losing of Bakassi to Cameroun is a very painful experience that constitutes a national embarrassment” Mr. Robinson O. Ogundeji, also a Lagosbased lawyer said, “There is nothing wrong with re-applying for to the ICJ for re-opening of the judgement on Bakassi.

“The great question, however, is do we have enough facts to justify the re-opening of the case? Have enough facts come to the fore that we can say were not available at the time of the judgment which could have made that judgement to be determined differently? Will the emergence of these new facts now make that court to re-examine the whole judgements?

All these are objective questions. But there is nothing wrong if we explore the probability of getting the judgement reversed as the NBA had said.

“If this will be done, the government had to act quickly before the expiration of the ten years which would come in a few weeks” In his own view, a Lagos-based human rights lawyer, Mr. Festus Keyamo, stated that the possibility of revisiting the judgement could not be foreclosed, but he insisted that the judgement itself needs to be well studied to see if such option is viable.

Keyamo said, “I have not read the text judgement of the ICJ thoroughly as well as the facts of the case. As a lawyer, I will not give an opinion without reading the facts. But the NBA position may be informed by that fact that they have looked at the judgement thoroughly and they have looked at the facts of the case.”

How world court decided Bakassi dispute FRANCIS FAMOROTI AG. HEAD, JUDICIARY

P

rior to the commencement of the ICJ case, the Camerounian government had dragged Nigeria to the United Nation’s Security Council over the land and maritime boundary dispute on the oil-rich Bakassi Pennisula.

Cameroun, in a letter by its then Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Ferdinard Oyono, had asked the Council to prevail on Nigeria to withdraw to the position before the December 21, 1993 clash between the two countries at Baksassi.

In the letter, he alleged that Nigerian troops had been ‘’advancing further into Camerounian territory and launching artillery attacks on Camerounian positions since February 3, 1996 when the conflict flared up again.’’

But in his reaction to the letter, the then Nigeria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Prof. Ibrahim Gambari, said there was no need to bring the issue to the Security Council since it was already being handled at regional and subregional levels.

To him, bringing the dispute to the Council ran counter to the efforts to

decongest its agenda of African issues, thereby changing the perception of Africa as continent of conflicts and disasters.

When efforts to resolve the dispute failed, Camerounian government took the dispute over the ownership of the peninsula to the World Court at The Hague for arbitration and judgement.

After hearing the case that sought to determine the boundary between Cameruon and Nigeria from Lake Chad to the sea, the ICJ requested each party to withdraw all administration and military or police forces present on territories falling under the sovereignty of the other party.

In its verdict delivered on October 10, 2002, ICJ, the principal judicial organ of the UN, ruled on the case concerning the Land and Maritime Boundary between Cameroun and Nigeria (Cameroun v. Nigeria: Equatorial Guinea intervening).

In its judgement, which is final, without appeal and binding on the parties, the court determines as follows the course of the boundary, from north to south, between Cameroun and Nigeria: ‘’ In the Lake Chad area, the court decides that the boundary is delimited by the Thomson-Marchand Declaration of

SOVEREIGNTY OVER THE BAKASSI PENINSULA LIES WITH CAMEROUN

1929-1930, as incorporated in the Henderson-Fleuriau Exchange of Notes of 1931 (between Great Britain and France); it finds that the boundary starts in the lake from the Camerouon-Nigeria-Chad tripoint (whose co-ordinates it defines) and follows a straight line to the mouth of the River Ebeji as it was in 1931 (whose co-ordinates it also defines) and thence runs in a straight line to the point where the river today divides into two branches. ‘’Between Lake Chad and the Bakassi Peninsula, the court confirms that the boundary is delimited by the following instruments: i) from the point where the River Ebeji bifurcates, as far as Tamnyar Peak, by the Thomson-Marchand Declaration of 19291930 (paras. 2-60), as incorporated in the Henderson-Fleuriau Exchange of Notes of 1931; ii) from Tamnyar Peak to pillar 64 referred to in Article XII of the Anglo-Ger-

man Agreement of 12 April 1913, by the British Order in Council of 2 August 1946; iii) from pillar 64 to the Bakassi Peninsula, by the Anglo-German Agreements of 11 March and 12 April 1913. ‘’ The Court examines point by point 17 sectors of the land boundary and specifies for each one how the above-mentioned instruments are to be interpreted (paras. 91, 96, 102, 114, 119, 124, 129, 134, 139, 146, 152, 155, 160, 168, 179, 184 and 189 of the Judgment).

In Bakassi, the Court decides that the boundary is delimited by the Anglo-German Agreement of 11 March 1913 (Arts.

XVIII-XX) and that sovereignty over the Bakassi Peninsula lies with Cameroun.

It decides that in this area the boundary follows the thalweg of the River Akpakorum (Akwayafe), dividing the Mangrove Islands near Ikang in the way shown on map TSGS 2240, as far as a straight line joining Bakassi Point and King Point. ‘’As regards the maritime boundary, the Court, having established that it has jurisdiction to address this aspect of the case -- which Nigeria had disputed -- , fixes the course of the boundary between the two States’ maritime areas.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 46

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Law & Justice

Monday, September 10, 2012

45

Adaka Boro’s trial, conviction Isaac Adaka Boro was a leading figure in the Niger-Delta in the post-independent era. Boro and two of his followers were however, tried for treason by the Federal Government in 1966.

They were subsequently convicted and the Supreme Court equally affirmed their conviction. FRANCIS FAMOROTI, Ag. Head, Judiciary writes.

A

daka Boro came into prominence in 1966 when he proclaimed an Independent Niger Delta Peoples’ Republic with a flag and an emergency constitution. He paraded himself as the General Officer Commanding the Niger Delta Volunteer Force (DVS) and leader of the Liberation Government.

Due to his intense agitation for resource control, Boro formed a band of fighters and trained them in the use of explosives and arms. One morning, Boro, in early 1966, armed with a theory he called XYZ, declared Ijaw Republic thus: “Today is a great day, not only in your lives, but in the history of the Niger Delta. We are going to demonstrate to the world what and how we feel about oppression”.

Boro and his followers attacked a police station, blew up the armoury and took rifles and ammunition.

They also blew up oil pipelines and engaged the police in a gun battle. Boro and two of his followers, Samuel Timipre Owonaru and Nottingham Dick were arrested and charged before Justice Phil-Ebosie, then of the Port Harcourt High Court, Eastern Nigeria.

Specifically, they were prosecuted for treason contrary to section 37(1) of the Criminal Code (CC).

The charge reads: Isaac Jasper Adaka Boro, Samuel Timipre Owonaru and Nottingham Dick between the 20th day of February, 1966 and the 7th day of March, 1966 at Yenagoa in the Port Harcourt Judicial Division and in diverse other places in the Niger Delta levied war against the State in order to intimidate or overawe the head of the Federal Military Government.

Although the men pleaded not guilty, the trial judge found them guilty of the offence as charged and sentenced them to death.

The trial judge held that Boro and others levied war against the State and did so in order to frighten the government into agreeing to their carving out an area of Nigeria as an independent republic. This, the court declared, was an offence against the enabling proviso of the CC and it did not matter that the government had a superior force or that its head was too far from the scene of the plot to be frightened. Boro and others were, therefore, convicted.

On appeal, their counsel accepted that the men had levied war, but argued that the object of section 37 (1) of CC was to protect the personal safety of the head of state and that to sustain the charge, it must be proved that the head of state was intimated or overawed by fear of injury to his person.

In its verdict, the appellate court dismissed their appeal and affirmed the decision of the lower court.

Aggrieved by the judgment, the appellants appealed to the Supreme Court. Mr. G.K.J Amachree appeared for Boro and

FAMOUS CASES ACCORDING TO THE APEX COURT, ‘’ AFTER HIS ARREST, THE FIRST APPELLANT

(BORO ) MADE TWO DETAILED

STATEMENTS TO THE POLICE IN WHICH HE ADMITTED THAT

HE ORGANISED, AND

RECRUITED MEN INTO, THE

DVS

others while S.D Adebiyi and S.O Sogbetun represented the State.

The Supreme Court panel included the then Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Adetokunbo Ademola, Onyeama, G.B.A Coker, Ajegbo and Lewis.

Delivering the lead judgement on December 5, 1966, the then CJN, Justice Adetokunbo Ademola, reviewed the trial and conviction of the appellants at the lower court and concluded that the two main documents admitted as exhibits were drafted by Boro and typed on his instructions . The court said the copies of these documents were posted in various villages in the course of the operations of the DVS. According to the apex court, ‘’ after his arrest, the first appellant (Boro ) made two detailed statements to the police in which he admitted that he organised and recruited men into the DVS and trained them in the use of firearms and explosives and that he directed and took part in the operations.’’

Justice Ademola said it was in evidence that the other two appellants also admitted being part of the organisation that blew up pipelines at Odi and Oloibiri.

Boro

The Supreme Court said it disagreed with the submission by counsel to the appellants that there was a difference between intimidating and overawing the Head of State. ‘’We consider the Head of State is an embodiment of the State and, in our view, to intimidate the Head of State is the same thing as intimidating the State. In answer to a question from the court, Mr. Amachree admitted that there can be no doubt that there was sufficient evidence before the learned trial judge to show that there was intent to levy war, but he said that there was nothing to show that there was intent to intimidate or overawe. ‘’In our view, however, not only was the levying of war proved in this case but the evidence established an intent to overawe the Head of State of the Federal Military Government when interpreted as the embodiment of the State as we have indicated in this judgement, it should be.’’

The apex court said the only ground of appeal before it failed and the appeal must be dismissed.

The Supreme Court, accordingly, affirmed the decision of the appellate court and also dismissed the appeal. However, fate played out in Boro’s favour as he was, albeit temporarily, rescued from the troubled waters. It was gathered that during the civil

war, the Yakubu Gowon regime granted him amnesty.

Despite Boro’s conviction and subsequent freedom, the Niger Delta people comprising the young, the old and women still adore and revere him as a rare gem whose spirit continues to hang on the skies of the oil-rich region.

Boro, who attended Proccorl Primary School in Kiama and Henry College, Warri before proceeding to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka to study Chemistry died in mysterious circumstances in Okrika.

It was gathered that to his kinsmen, Boro remains the most important figure in Ijaw and Niger-Delta after ‘Izon’, the latter being the man reputed to have founded the Ijaw nation over half a millennium ago. To the Ijaws, Izon occupies the place of Moses in Jewish mythology, but after him, Boro ‘is next.’

Interestingly too, Boro’s popularity from his six-feet celestial home at a memorial park in Port Harcourt, has continued to soar as the intensity of the militant activities in the Niger-Delta increases.

He was the legendary environmentalist whose memory will continue to stir curiosity, even from his grave. Today, the Ijaws, who are his kinsmen, usually mark the annual Isaac Adaka Boro day that often draws over 200,000 participants in the Niger Delta.

Law & Justice

46

Monday, September 10, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Ghanaian court quashes rejection of Nigerian as bank chief

A

n Accra High Court has declared as illegal Bank of Ghana’s rejection of Nigeria’s Yomi Akapo as the Chief Executive of Atlantic Merchant Bank.

According to Daily Guide of Ghana, the Bank of Ghana (BoG) rejected Atlantic Merchant Bank’s selection of Yomi Akapo as its CEO because he was implicated in the recent illegal foreign exchange transaction when he was working with Access Bank, Ghana.

The court, presided over by Justice Uuter Paul Derry ruled that the penalties imposed on Akapo by the BoG had no lawful basis.

It is not clear whether the BoG would, by all means, approve Mr. Akapo as the CEO of the bank.

In rejecting Akapo’s appointment, the Central Bank had cited serious violations of the ForCONTINUED FROM PG 44

In its judgement, the court ‘’requests Nigeria expeditiously and without condition to withdraw its administration and military or police forces from the area of Lake Chad falling within Camerounian sovereignty and from the Bakassi Peninsula. It also requests Cameroun expeditiously and without condition

Ghana

Ghana’s President John Dramani Mahama

eign Exchange Act, 2006, when he was the immediate past managing director of the defunct Intercontinental Bank, Ghana,

explaining that a special investigation conducted into foreign exchange operations at his bank unearthed serious viola-

tions of the Act. Referring to the letter of March 3, 2009 in which BoG communicated the foreign exchange act violations to the applicant, Akapo, the judge noted that the letter specifically mentioned that the applicant violated the Act, pointing out that, “in any case, there is nothing in the letter to show that the said penalties were imposed on the applicant and the bank pursuant to the penalty provisions of Act 673.”

He said that the BoG arbitrarily and wrongfully imposed the said penalties under Act 723, not Act 673.

A Nigerian equity firm, Kaderi Nominees, recently bought 50 percent stake in Atlantic Merchant Bank. The 50 percent shares, hitherto

How World Court decided Bakassi dispute to withdraw any administration or military or police forces which may be present along the land boundary from Lake Chad to the Bakassi Peninsula on territories which pursuant to the judgement fall within the sovereignty of Nigeria. The latter has the same obligation in regard to territories in that

area which fall within the sovereignty Cameroun.

The court takes note of Cameroun’s undertaking, given at the hearings, to “continue to afford protection to Nigerians living in the [Bakassi] peninsula and in the Lake Chad area”.

Finally, the Court rejected Cameroun’s submissions re-

garding the state responsibility of Nigeria. It likewise rejects Nigeria’s counter-claims.’’

Composition of the Court in 2002: President Guillaume; VicePresident Shi; Judges Oda, Ranjeva, Herczegh, Fleischhauer, Koroma, Higgins, Parra-Aranguren, Kooijmans,

Bar, Bench not committed to fight corruption –Akanbi CONTINUED FROM PG 43 No CJ can just impose his views on the rest of the members. Because at that time, we had members who would have confidence that they deserved to be where they were. But when we get to a place where even the CJ want to do something and I remember at a time when they wanted to appoint two people into the Supreme Court, I don’t want to mention name and at that time, I had retired from the Bench, but I was a member of the committee. The two men, most of the justices of the Supreme Court recommended the two and I recommended my hand and told the CJN that I knew the two men at the Court of Appeal and also privileged to know their records. The one who was rejected was the chairman of the constitutional committee and his name rings well in the ears of everybody and what is the basis for appointing this chap? One had been at the Court of Appeal. But because he was a listening CJN, he did not listen to what appeared a general view of everybody but

on the issues that I have raised.

You know that I will never be involved in promoting the cause of anybody that I know will never be good or fit for what he wants to become. You see the new concept that the CJN has all the powers, and I have said it even at our meetings, look at the future, look at the next.

Then two, the only way you feel you can check the CJN that is getting stronger, is by appointing people who had retired, who have seen it, let them be at the panel, people who have the courage of their conviction who can say no, my lord, you can’t do it this way!

Then another thing is that the head of a court should not be too close to the executive. It is not good. It is not in the best interest of the country that the executive will lord its will on the Judiciary or the C Js. The separation of powers is there. They have a duty; they have a stake and have protection of the judiciary not for the interest of the judges, but for the general inter-

est of the nation. You are able to draw the line, the executive exercise its powers in accordance to the rules, and if the judiciary exercises its power according to the rules, democracy will thrive.

So, I don’t buy the idea that they should go and bring somebody who is not in the Judiciary to be

the chairman. However, the military had been largely responsible for what happening to the Judiciary in this country. Some of our Judges move too close to the military authorities who were ruling this country, that even if you keep your distance, those people may even think you are arrogant.

Foreign

held by Ghana’s Social Security and National Insurance Trust (SSNIT), was acquired

by Kaderi with the approval of BoG, making the Nigerians the lead owners and conferring on them the right to appoint, by which powers they selected Akapo as the bank’s CEO. It would be recalled that in the wake of similar accusations in 2009, the Bank of Ghana dismissed Oluwole Ajomale, then managing director of the Amalgamated Bank Ghana Limited which was then owned 51 percent by Meeky Enterprises, owners of majority stake in now defunct Oceanic Bank Nigeria plc. Mali’s Bank of Africa acquired 60 percent stake in Amalgamated Bank in 2011, following Meeky Enterprises’ exit earlier and subsequently re-naming it Bank of Africa Ghana Limited.”

Rezek, Al-Khasawneh, Buergenthal, Elaraby; Judges ad hoc Mbaye, Ajibola; Registrar Couvreur.

Judge Oda appends a declaration to the judgement of the Court; Judge Ranjeva appends a separate opinion to the judgement of the Court; Judge Herczegh appends a declaration to the judgement of the Court: Judge Koroma appends a dissenting opinion to the judgement of the Court; Judge Parra-Aranguren appends a separate opinion to the judgement of the Court; Judge Rezek appends a declaration to the Judgment of the Court; Judge Al-Khasawneh and Judge ad hoc Mbaye append separate opinions to the judgement of the Court; Judge ad hoc Ajibola appends a dissenting opinion to the judgement of the Court.

Event

L-R: : Former Dean of Law, Faculty of Law, University of Lagos (UNILAG) Prof . Oyelowo Oyewo; Dean of Law, UNILAG , Prof. Imran Smith (SAN) and a Lecturer, Department of Jurisprudence and International Law, Dr. Yemi Oke, during the faculty’s roundtable discussion on legal issues recently.

Photo: MOJEED ALABI

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Law & Justice

Monday, September 10, 2012

47

Issues in effective conflict management resolution OLAJIDE OLAGUNJU Continued from August 27, 2012

A Alabi

I had mastered the court language –Lekan Alabi

M

y first day in court without my principal and employer, Jiti Ogunye Esq,was at the High Court Of Lagos State, Ikeja Division. I remember the suit No of the case ID/1438/ 2001:Frank Ukuka V.Danfy Industry Nigeria Limited before Honorable Justice Benedicta Shitta- Bey (as he was then).

I was highly fulfilled because of the privilege I had to address the Honourable court from the Bar. Do not forget that if you are not called to the Nigerian Bar, you cannot address courts from the Bar. So, I was highly elated to have the privilege.

The case was a pro bono one; we were representing the claimant who sustained injury in the course of his duty with the defendant. It was our claim that the defendant owed the claimant the duty of care in the course of his duty to the defendant. Consequently, the defendant was liable for its failure to provide tools for the defendant

to do his job.

I was not intimidated by my colleague. My background as a union leader in the university, coupled with leadership training I received from my mentors in the university greatly assisted my skills, advocacy, courage and character. May I place it on record that Mr. Ogunye, my principal had been taking me to court ever before I was called to the Bar. So, through him, I had mastered the language of the court, courtroom environment and courtroom advocacy. I also belong to the Aka Tradition which is known for excellence. So, I was bold and not intimidated.’’

Bar Jokes

Standing in Line

T

his long line of people are queuing up to get served in a shop. Suddenly one bloke starts massaging the person in front’s back. The other bloke immediately turns round and says to him, “What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

The bloke behind tells him, “Well, I’m a chiropractor and I can’t help myself. I can’t help practicing my art.”

“Are you crazy?” says the bloke in front, “I’m a lawyer, but do you see me f**king the bloke in front of me?”

Testifying

A

witness to an automobile accident was testifying.

The following exchange took place between the lawyer and the witness: The lawyer: “Did you actually see the accident?”

The witness: “Yes, sir.”

The lawyer: “How far away were you when the accident happened?”

The witness: “Thirty-one feet,

six and one quarter inches.”

The lawyer (thinking he’d trap the witness): “Well, sir, will you tell the jury how you knew it was exactly that distance?”

The witness: “Because when the accident happened I took out a tape and measured it. I knew some stupid lawyer would ask me that question.”

Culled from Bar Jokes.com

pproach To Conflict Resolution The second of the seven secrets of effective conflict resolution is our approach to conflict resolution. How do you engage conflict situations? How do you resolve conflict? Or, more correctly, how do you approach conflict resolution.

We have discovered that conflict is simply a situation of unmet needs in a relationship, signaling the end of the old relationship and calling for a new relationship. Therefore, in approaching a conflict to resolve it, I would see myself as a midwife approaching the labour-room of a new relationship. The new relationship if successfully birthed would meet the hitherto unmet needs. Of course, the new relationship may be different from the old relationship that broke down. This would be the case where, for example, the parties or one of them has new needs for which the old relationship is inadequate. It may even mean that the needs have changed or no longer exist. All these instances would necessitate a re-arrangement, a new relationship that puts a final and consensual end to the old relationship.

When we take the above approach to conflict resolution, we become effective mediators and peacemakers.

Forum for effective conflict resolution We cannot make peace everywhere every time. There are places that are conducive for effective conflict resolution. However, the fact that a place was used to effectively resolve a particular conflict does not mean that the same place will always be good for other conflict resolution. It follows that in resolving conflict, a great deal of FLEXIBILITY is necessary in choosing a forum. Any forum is adequate if it serves the end of resolving the conflict at hand or portions of it. Any forum: The telephone is a forum. The fax machine is a forum. A letter is a forum. The Internet is a forum. The teleconference is a forum. You can be as flexible as possible: the end justifies the means. So don’t remain in your office to resolve a conflict if your office is not a good forum for the particular conflict resolution or portions of it. May be you’ll make progress at the bar or pub or at that chance-meeting with one of the parties in the restroom. Similarly, the forum is not inadequate simply because one party is absent. Why not start with the one present.

Ground rules for effective conflict resolution It is true that to get results at peacemaking, a great deal of flexibility is required. However, this does not mean lawlessness. There are three (3) ground rules for effective conflict resolution.

They are, Confidentiality, Emphatic listening, and Courtesy.

The foundation of effective conflict resolution Having had a good grasp of the ground rules, the effective mediator and peacemaker must lay the foundation with parties, the foundation for effective conflict resolution. This is achieved with the pentagon framework. The Pentagon Framework simply stands for the five pillars that the mediator must consciously lead the parties to construct to ensure that the conflict resolution rests on a firm foundation.

The Pentagon Framework Let us look at my attempt above to visualize the pentagon framework. I have tried to mark by their names the five cornerstones and pil-

SO DON’T REMAIN IN YOUR OFFICE TO RESOLVE A CONFLICT IF IT IS NOT A GOOD FORUM FOR THE PARTICULAR CONFLICT RESOLUTION lars of the pentagon framework. They are as follows: Gathering, Hearing the story, Re-hearing the story, Understanding and Conciliation, Reconciliation that adds up to Resolution. .

Building effective conflict resolution You and the parties laid the foundation for effective conflict resolution. But side by side with the foundation is the next function, the building or brickwork, which is largely your task as mediator. This secret is your checklist for effective conflict resolution and it is in 10 steps. But before we do that, please remember that the 10 steps are in the main a checklist. The real work is in the foundation. You need a good foundation (secret No. 5) to have a good building. You need what is dug out in the foundation to build. It is what happens at the foundation that determines what you get in the building.

This approach has the following 10 steps, Full Expression of feelings, dealing with feelings, Understanding the problem, Identifying the needs, Setting out questions for determination, brainstorming, Make the options pleasant, Reality –testing , Offer, and Acceptance.

Key to effective conflict resolution: trust Having completed the building we must hand over the key to the parties. The key to all effective conflict resolution is trust which also means confidence, confidence in me as a mediator, confidence in the parties, the parties’ confidence in me and, finally, the parties’ confidence in one another.

This trust starts with you as a mediator or peacemaker: the trust and confidence you have in yourself. You cannot be a confident mediator or peacemaker without skills, the kind of skills we are sharing at this peacemaking-skill seminar for leaders. When you have imbibed the skills, then your confidence would come up and your trust in yourself will appear.

The trust then flows from you to the parties.

Trust in the parties’ means you are confident of their ability to generate options for the resolution of their conflict. The trust flows from you to them because in reality without the application of your peacemaking skills to their conflict, the parties cannot begin to hope for a new horizon, to develop a confidence in them for a better tomorrow. But once the parties have been properly gathered to you and helped to tell and retell their story through dialectic, caucusing and introspection unto understanding, then of course confidence will come on them.

The parties then begin to trust you fully: the trust you invested in them begins to flow back to you from them. And as you help them move from understanding to offering conciliation and reconciliation, the resultant resolution is embedded in one party fully trusting the other: the circle of trust is complete.

Concluded Olagunju, a Lawyer and Director, Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) Studies Programme, Salem University, Lokoja writes from Kogi State.

48

Monday, September 10, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

World News “Some of the international aid intended for the victims of recent floods in Niger has been stolen”.

INTERIOR MINISTER, NIGER REPUBLIC

Somalia to pick president today •Country close to stable govt. in 21 years TOBORE OVUORIE

WITH AGENCY REPORTS

S

omali lawmakers are scheduled to choose the next president today, moving the nation a step closer to its first stable central government since the 1991 ouster of a dictator. The new parliament, which was selected last month, will hold a ballot to choose the president from about two dozen candidates.

In a letter to lawmakers, the United Nations called for a credible leader who can propel the African nation towards peace.

“After two decades of civil war, a collapsed state and innumerable indigni-

ties to the proud Somali people, we are hours away from the election of a new president,” said Augustine P. Mahiga, the U.N. envoy to the nation.

“The event will completely end the transitional period and move us toward a phase of political and socio-economic transformation.”

The scheduled vote is the latest in a series of political transitions in the nation.

In recent weeks, it has adopted a provisional constitution, held an inaugural meeting of its new parliament and appointed that body’s speaker.

“It has not been easy getting us to this

point,” Mahiga said.

“There have been moments when all seemed lost and we have sometimes been on the brink of despair.”

Candidates include incumbent President, Sharif Sheikh Ahmed, who has been in power since 2009, and his prime minister, Abdiweli Mohamed Ali.

Dictator Mohamed Siad Barre was overthrown 21 years ago, sparking years of warring militias and a transitional government that has remained shaky at best. Over the years, lawmakers have met in neighboring Kenya and Djibouti because of lack of security in Somalia.

African Union and Somali troops are battling Al-Shabaab militants, an al Qaeda-linked group that controls part of the

nation’s south.

In recent months, the troops have driven the militants out of Mogadishu, and the capital is slowly trickling back to normalcy. Coalition forces are exerting control in more areas, but it is not secure enough to hold a nationwide vote. The militant Islamist group has waged an insurgency against the weak transitional government since 2007.

T

a conference in the capital, Bamako.

Northern Mali is now controlled by Islamist militants, following a military coup in March.

Agency reports indicate that the army may have mistaken the preachers for Islamist fighters.

The Dawa sect originated in Pakistan and first spread to Mali in the 1990s.

The massacred 16 Islamic preachers may have been mistaken for militant fighters.

PHOTOS: AL JAZEERA

Sierra Leone takes 10 Iranian ships off register Sierra Leone has removed the registration of 10 ships suspected to be Iranian.

Alhaji Wuroh Jalloh, executive director of the Sierra Leone Maritime Administration told The Associated Press Saturday that ships “hiding” under the Sierra Leonean flag “have recently been removed from the register.”

Jalloh said, “in compliance with UN sanctions,” Sierra Leone wants to ensure that no ships flying the Sierra Leone flag that have a connection to Iran or Syria. He said the action is “in relation to the vessel that was seized in Lebanon recently carrying arms for Syria, and allegedly flying the Sierra Leone flag.”

International aid stolen in Niger

Mali army kills 16 at Segou checkpoint in Diabali

he army in Mali says it has shot dead 16 people after their vehicle failed to stop at a checkpoint in the town of Diabali in the central Segou region.

At least some of the dead are believed to be Islamic preachers from the conservative Dawa sect and included Mauritanians as well as Malians.

They were travelling to

WORLD BULLETIN

Somalis gear up for elections after 21 years of continuous war.

PHOTOS: ASSOCIATED PRESS

Ebola outbreak kills 15 in eastern Congo

A

n outbreak of the Ebola virus has killed 15 people in northeastern Congo and the local communities are quickly learning how frighteningly deadly the disease is, and how to prevent its spread.

“Ebola entered my house and I did not know what it was,” said Gabriel Libina Alandato, who survived the hemorrhagic fever. “My three daughters and their mother died in August, but it is only when I was taken to the quarantine center that I learned about the disease.”

Health officials say the population lacks knowledge of Ebola and must learn that the tradition of washing of corpses before funerals spreads the epidemic.

Although it is the ninth Ebola epidemic in Congo, it

is the first one in the HautUélé territory, in northeastern Congo. Ebola has no cure and is deadly in 40 percent to 90 percent of cases.

The disease causes severe internal bleeding.

Initially restricted to Isiro, a city north in HautUélé, the Ebola outbreak has now spread to Viadana, a town located 75 kilometers (47 miles) away. According to local medical staff, the virus was transmitted to a woman from Viadana when she attended the funeral of an Ebola victim in Isiro. She then travelled back to Viadana where she contaminated several people and died herself.

“A lady participated in a funeral and was contaminated. A second quarantine center was open in Viadana to isolate people who might have been contaminated,” said Dr. Jacques Gumba-

luka, the district’s chief doctor. Three people have already died in Viadana, he said.

The washing and displaying of bodies during funerals, a widespread tradition, is intended to show love and respect for the deceased. But the practice facilitates the propagation of the epidemic as dozens of people come in close contact with victims of the deadly virus.

“The cases that have been identified are linked to certain practices like self-medication or the washing of the corpses and their exposition during funerals. People want to touch and see the body, it’s the tradition everywhere in Africa,” said Faïda Kanyombe, who is responsible for health promotion at Doctors without Borders in the province.

Niger’s Interior Minister says that some of the international aid intended for the victims of recent floods has been stolen.

Abdou Labo revealed to reporters that “at several of the sites where we are housing displaced people, we have determined that the food aid and the products (sent there) did not arrive in their entirety.”

Niger consistently ranks as one of the poorest countries in the world. Torrential rains have caused flooding, killing over 60 people. Millions of dollars of aid has been sent to Niger both to help victims of the floods and to run feeding centers for malnourished children.

Ethiopia starts peace talks with separatist rebels The Ethiopian government and separatist rebels say they have started negotiations.

Ethiopian officials and representatives of the Ogaden National Liberation Front, or ONLF, met in Kenya for peace talks last week, the rebels said in a statement Saturday.

Although the rebels said the peace process has been months in the making, it was not clear if negotiations gained momentum after the death of former leader Meles Zenawi, whose government considered the group a terrorist organization.

Bereket Simon, Ethiopia’s communications minister, confirmed that peace talks are going on.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

South South

Monday, September 10, 2012

49

Erosion: FG must release ecological fund now –Edo SEBASTINE EBHUOMHAN BENIN

E

do State Government has appealed to the Federal Government to immediately consider the release of the Ecological Fund, a national intervention fund designated to tackle natural disasters from severe flooding and erosion.

The government made the appeal after evaluating the destructive effects of erosion in the state.

Responding to enquiry after leading the state government’s monitoring team to some erosion-ravaged communities, the Commis-

sioner for Environment and Public Utilities, Prince Clement Agba, said the government had so far identified about 110 active gully erosion sites threatening lives and property in the state.

He denied that Governor Adams Oshiomhole’s administration had received money from the Ecological Fund to tackle erosion in the state.

Severe floods and erosion have continued to ravage rural communities in the three senatorial districts of the state, especially the northern district, resulting in the death of more than 23 people and the destruction

of many houses, animals and farmlands, estimated at millions of naira.

Agba said Ecological Fund was meant to tackle the problem of erosion, ravaging many of the communities across the three senatorial districts in Edo State.

He said: “However, it is much more severe in the north. Edo State has not received a kobo till date from that fund.

“We have taken invento-

ry of all of these sites. For example, Oshiobugie gully site is the biggest we have in the state. It used to be seven fingers but with a recent survey of the area, we discovered that new fingers are beginning to develop. That is why we decided to visit to see where these fingers have come from. We are doing quite a number of studies including resettlement studies so as to have a plan to settle all those who live

around the areas.

“Mr. President has approved the Nigeria Erosion watershed management programme, which is for five eastern states along with Cross River and Edo states.

“It is going to be a World Bank funded programme.

The board of directors of the World Bank approved $650m facility. But the issue is that there is this imbroglio between the Presidency

and the National Assembly.

They have not been able to approve the national borrowing plan and until that plan is approved, none of the seven states can assess the fund to begin to deal with the problem of erosion.

“Hopefully if the national borrowing plan is approved, we should be able to asses about $75m to $100m to begin to do some real work to address the gully erosion problem.”

I deserve condemnation for not attending varsities’ convocations –Jonathan EMMA GBEMUDU YENAGOA

P

resident Goodluck Jonathan at weekend said he deserved condemnation for his failure as a Visitor in attending convocation ceremonies of federal universities across the country in the last two years.

Jonathan said since he became the President, he was unable to fulfil his constitutional role as a Visitor to the universities.

The President disclosed this in Yenagoa at the state government presentation of 250 post-primary school and 300 post-graduate scholarships for indigenes of the state.

He said: “I have been the President for two years plus now and within these two years plus as the Visitor of all the federal universities, I have not been able to attend any of the

convocation ceremonies.

You don’t have to clap for me for that. That does not deserve clapping. It deserves condemnation.”

Jonathan said his interest in education made him attend laudable educational programmes such as the last interactive session in Yenagoa to welcome the 100 students who graduated from various notable international secondary schools across the country.

The students were the first set of beneficiaries of the Goodluck Scholarship Scheme, a programme Jonathan initiated in 2006 as the governor of the state.

He said: “My being here because of these young people tells you the interest we have. Sustaining the scheme will make people in the state to remain relevant in the scheme of things.”

L-R: South African High Commissioner to Nigeria, Dr. Kingsley Mamabolo; Senior Manager, Master Brand, Emamoke Ogoro; traditional ruler of Twon Brass, Rivers State, King Diette Spiff and Chief Security Officer, LM Ericsson, Mr. Hercules Venter, during the MTN World Golfers’ Championship Business Forum in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, at the weekend.

Bayelsa Assembly may re-launch probe into missing N24m EMMA GBEMUDU YENAGOA

I

ndications emerged yesterday that the Bayelsa State House of Assembly my revisit the issues surrounding the missing N24m from the vault of the legislature.

To this end, the House may institute a fresh probe into the missing money to determine how it disappeared from the accoun-

DELSU’ll complete ongoing projects with SURE-P funds –Uduaghan

G

overnor Emmanuel Uduaghan of Delta State has said that part of the state’s proceeds from the removal of subsidy on petroleum products would be used to complete all ongoing projects at the Delta State University, DELSU, Abraka.

The governor, who disclosed this at the weekend in Abraka during the 7th convocation ceremony of

the university, said apart from education, the subsidy fund would be spent on empowerment through microcredit and transportation.

Uduaghan said there were challenges in the funding of three campuses of the university but he assured that none of the projects currently being executed would be left uncompleted by the administration.

He therefore solicited the cooperation of the students, staff and management of the university to ensure that the projects were completed on schedule.

In particular, Uduaghan promised to build a convocation arena with roof for the institution to ensure that with or without rain, the university could hold its convocation regularly.

tant’s office.

Investigation by our correspondent showed that the missing money was stolen from the vault in the accountant’s office during the impeachment of the Speaker, Konbowei Benson, on June 4.

It was gathered that the Speaker, who was reinstated following the intervention of President Goodluck Jonathan and Governor Seriake Dickson, was dis-

appointed over the way the money was stolen.

Already, the Assembly’s accountant has been redeployed to another area in the civil service, following the disappearance of the money.

Though sanity has returned to the House, there are indications that a few lawmakers who plotted Benson’s impeachment are still bent on removing him.

An Assembly source disclosed that the Speaker had done all he could to carry every member along but some people were not satisfied with his leadership style.

The source noted that Benson was determined to stamp out corruption and laxity among lawmakers and staff of the Assembly to ensure transparency and accountability in the system.

A’Ibom, NMA plan health awareness programme TONY ANICHEBE UYO

A

kwa Ibom State Government is set to partner the Nigerian Medical Association, NMA, to launch a robust healthcare awareness programme through the mass media.

The Commissioner for Information, Mr. Aniekan Umanah, disclosed this during a courtesy call on him by the state executive of the NMA.

Umanah said that a team of professionals would be put together to enlighten the people on the scourge of HIV/AIDS and other dreaded diseases, adding that, with such awareness campaign, his ministry and NMA would contribute towards helping the people stay alive and healthy.

He said that Governor Godswill Akpabio had rejuvenated the health sector with the establishment of five new General Hospitals, re-engaged retired consul-

tants, retrained medical doctors and provided utility cars for doctors as well as built an international referral centre, the 20th Anniversary Specialist Hospital, among other things in the sector.

Umanah commended the association for appreciating Akpabio’s ‘Uncommon Transformation’ agenda, which had effectively touched the health sector and assured the doctors that their request would be forwarded to appropriate government quarters.

50

North

Monday, September 10, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Kaduna: Task force smashes car theft syndicate, recovers 19 vehicles OMEIZA AJAYI

T

he Special Task Force on Heinous Crimes constituted by the Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar, has smashed a three-man car robbery syndicate in Kaduna State and recovered 19 vehicles.

The breakthrough was

achieved between August 22 and 28 when men of the task force raided some notorious and dangerous criminal hideouts in the state.

Acting on a tip-off, the task force was in Kaduna State on August 22 where it arrested members of the syndicate.

The arrest led to the recovery of 19 stolen vehicles of various makes and brands.

The Deputy Force Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba, told our correspondent that information about the recovery had been sent to all the 36 state police commands for circulation to the public, “to enable persons whose vehicles were stolen to come forth for necessary identification and possible collection”.

Mba said while com-

mending men of the task force for their exemplary courage and gallantry, even in the face of a very difficult working environment, the IGP challenged personnel of the Force to see the successes recorded by the task force and other numerous police breakthroughs in recent times as a stepping stone to greater achievements.

35% appointments for women: Yakowa deserves applause –Councillor

T

he Women Leader of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and ex-officio member in the North-West Zone, Ms. Naomi Waziri, has lauded Governor Patrick Yakowa of Kaduna State for giving 35 per cent of appointments to women.

She said: “He has been very fair and faithful to his promise to the womenfolk.’’

Ms. Waziri told the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, in Kafanchan, Kaduna State, yesterday that women groups were very happy with the Yakowa government because “for the first time, here is a leader that gives women

priority in whatever he does”.

Ms. Waziri, a supervisory councillor in the Interim Management Committee of Jemaa Local Government, said the governor had always regarded women as the most reliable people he would want to work with.

She said the women also had never disappointed the governor.

MS. Waziri also commended Yakowa’s wife, Amina, for distributing empowerment items aimed at making women self-reliant.

She said: “In Kaduna South Senatorial zone, for instance, 890 women re-

ceived assorted items like sewing machines, knitting machines, cash and other materials, to start their businesses.

“Many of such women have since opened their shops and are already doing well, while working hard to meet the (wife of the governor’s) counsel to strengthen their business outfits so as to empower and employ more women toward a better society.’’

Ms. Waziri also spoke on her recent empowerment scheme, through which she opened and stocked shops for 12 women and a man.

“From my savings and

allowances as a councillor, I spent N1.2m to build 13 shops at Ngaskiya village, near Fadan-Kagoma.

“I also purchased assorted items worth N1.8m and shared these among the shop owners.

“I want to help those in the grassroots. The bigger task will be handled by the local and state governments. I found, at a point, that the women were borrowing to meet basic needs like salt and pepper and felt I should lift them up.’’

Ms. Waziri said she had opened accounts for the beneficiaries into which they would deposit N1,000 every Monday.

He said: “The IGP assured Nigerians that the police will remain dynamic and creative in formulating new strategies for fighting crimes and criminality and urged Nigerians to continue to support the Force.”

The task force was created in the wake of the

emergence of heinous crimes in some parts of the country, as part of renewed efforts by the police to checkmate, through proactive measures predicated on intelligence policing, the activities of the sponsors and perpetrators of these crimes.

Kwara commissioner empowers 8,000 people in Irepodun LG WOLE ADEDEJI ILORIN

K

wara State Commissioner for Finance, Mr. Ademola Banu, at the weekend gave empowerment materials worth millions of naira to about 8,000 people of Irepodun Local Government, where he hails from.

Banu described the programme, which he said focused mainly women and organised movements, as a way to raise the living standard of the people.

At the event held at Ajase Ipo, the historical headquarters of the Igbomina people, the commissioner said he was giving out his widow’s mite to the people to make them appreciate the efforts of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP-controlled government to make life better for the citizens.

He urged all political

office holders in the state to emulate the gesture so that the resources they have would also reach the ordinary man.

Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed, who spoke at the ceremony through the Commissioner for Sports and Youth Development, Mr. Kayode Towoju, said if such programme was replicated in the rural communities, the masses would benefit from the dividends of democracy.

He urged all political office holders, particularly those in his government, to know that they were voted or appointed into office by the people who must also be supported at all times.

The governor explained that the people must be able to recognise that the ruling party was giving back to the society so that they would continue to support and vote for the party at all levels.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

North

Monday, September 10, 2012

51

LG poll: Suswam warns Kogi promises to implement against violence White Paper on Okene crisis G ADEMU IDAKWO LOKOJA

T

he Kogi State Government has promised to implement the 2010 White Paper report on crisis in the Central Senatorial District of the state.

Governor Idris Wada spoke at the weekend when the Senator representing the area, Alhaji Nurrudeen Abatemi-Usman, led a delegation from the district to the Government House in Lokoja to

discuss the way forward on the security challenges confronting the area.

Governor Wada said that he would implement the White Paper on the investigation that was carried during the violence in 2010 in Okene and its environs.

He said: “I have no problem in implementing government positions on the White Paper and if there are changes that have occurred since then, that will necessitate new dimension, we will look at them and take action that

are current and in the best interest of all people”.

Senator Abatemi, who spoke to journalists immediately after the meeting with the state governor, said stakeholders from the Central Senatorial District, called on the state government to ensure speedy implementation of the White Paper on the incessant killings and crisis in the area.

Earlier, the National President of Ebira Peoples Association, Dr. Mohammed Adeiza, accused poli-

ticians of arming youths to rig elections, but now found it difficult to retrieve the weapons from them.

Meanwhile, a lawmaker representing Adavi/Okehi Federal Constituency in House of Representatives, Hon. Badamasiuy Abdulrahaman, has cautioned members of the state House of Assembly not to thinker with the idea of removing the Speaker of the House, Alhaji Abdullahi Bello, in view of the prevailing security challenges confronting the area.

overnor Gabriel Suswam of Benue State has warned aspirants vying for elective offices in the November 24 local government election to shun violence.

Suswam gave the warning at Anyiin while addressing those seeking nomination on the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) platform for the forthcoming local government elections.

The governor advised them to be tolerant of the views of others, as they both belonged to the same community.

He warned them

against engaging in unwholesome practices under the guise of politicking, pointing out that he would not hesitate to disqualify candidates who went contrary to the rules.

Suswam said he had the powers to disqualify such candidates and would not hesitate to discharge the powers to ensure peaceful conduct of the polls.

He, however, commended the political chieftains in the area, Chief Atoza Hindan and King Abu Shuluwa, for maintaining peace even while the two were political rivals.

NAFDAC, group stage campaign against fake drugs A ZA MSUE KADUNA

T

he National Agency for Food and Drug Administration Control (NAFDAC), in partnership with the Journalist Initiatives on Immunisation Against Polio (JAP), at the weekend staged sensitisation campaign against usage of fake drugs in Kaduna.

Speaking at the palace of the Village Head of Ungwa Shanu, venue of the programme, NAFDAC Director Genera, Dr. Paul Orhii, said the fight against fake drugs is not an easy mission, calling on Nigerians to support war against fake drugs.

NAFDAC boss in his address entitled: “The role of the media in fighting counterfeit drugs,” commended the effort of the media towards educating the citizens on the dangers of counterfeit drugs.

Dr. Orhii, who was represented by the Head of NAFDAC in Kaduna State, Mr. Innocent Ahemen, urged the community leaders to take the message of the impact of fake drug hawking and patronage to their people.

His words: “Drugs are regulated products that can only be sold by registered and licensed professionals who understand the potential dangers it can cause even when taken for genuine ailments and at the right prescriptions.”

On his part, the Kaduna State Commissioner for

Health, Mr. Turaki Kalik, represented by the state Director Pharmaceutical Services, Mr. Barnabas Bonat, said the government is doing its best to curb the activities of drug hawkers, stressing that anyone caught would be made to face the full wrath of the law.

Earlier, the Village Head of Ungwa Shanu, Alhaji Nura Ibrahim, declared traditional leaders’ readiness to join the fight against fake drugs, assuring that all the messages against fake drugs would be passed across to their subjects.

Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Information and Communication Technology, Hon. Ayo Yusuf Tajudeen (left) and Kogi State Governor, Idris Wada, during the award of scholarships of the 2012 Back to School Summer Studies Initiative for Senior Secondary School Students in Kabba/Bunu/IJumu Federal Constituency in Kabba, Kogi State, at the weekend.

JIBWIS to launch satellite TV channel soon PRISCILLA DENNIS MINNA

I

n an effort to ensure the propagation of Islamic precepts to its followers across the world, the Jama’atu Izalatil Bid’a Wa Iqamatis Sunnah (JIBWIS) has planned to launch its satellite television channel.

JIBWIS National Chairman, Shiekh Bala

Lau, who spoke at the opening ceremony of the JIBWIS 16th National Quranic Recitation competition in Minna, the Niger State capital, said the television channel would be known as “SUNNAH TV.” According to him, test transmission for the channel had been done in preparation for its official take-off soon in the

country, while content of the programmes to be aired on the channel are being worked upon.

Lau said that when the channel becomes fully operational, the recitation of the Holy Quran and Hadith will feature prominently on the channel for its teaming followers.

He said: “We are optimistic that the chan-

nel will help steer our youths from the unproductive addiction to football games and internet-based activities to religious instructions and other productive activities that benefit them and their loved ones.”

Lau, however, said that the Quaranic contest was organised to assist budding youths to attain their religious goals by

ensuring that they stand out in recital of the Holy Quran and hold fast to the Islamic tenets.

Speaking, the JIBWIS Spiritual leader, Shiekh Yahaya Jingir, called on the three arms of governments to deal fairly and just with all segments of the society so as to address the security challenges confronting the country.

I won’t neglect Nasarawa airport project, says Al-Makura IGBAWASE UKUMBA LAFIA

G Al-Makura

overnor Umaru Tanko Al-Makura of Nasarawa State has said that he would look foolish if he failed to execute the Nasarawa Airport project as captured in this year’s budget.

Al-Makura stated this when he addressed journalists in Lafia, the state capital, preparatory to his inspection of the site earmarked for the proposed airport at Kwandere village.

He said: “Some people should not look at the airport project as a personal idea, but when completed

many people will benefit from it.”

The governor said that the construction of the airport would fast track the economic development of the state by boosting commercial and social activities.

Al-Makura said: “With the proximity of Nasarawa State to Abuja, if the

airport is constructed, it will attract foreign and local investors as many of such investors have since indicated interest to invest in the state.”

He added that establishing the airport would go a long way to decongest the Abuja airport and as well make life easy for the residents of Abuja.

52

Monday, September 10, 2012

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Community Mirror “If local governments are run by brazenly undemocratic caretaker committees, that is not the fault of section 7 of the constitution.”

DEPUTY SENATE PRESIDENT, IKE EKWEREMADU

Railways sacks illegal tenants ONUKWUBE OFOELUE

T

he management of the Nigerian Railway Corporation (NRC) has given a 30 day ultimatum to illegal occupants of its premises and stations in Apapa, Lagos to quit, as it is moves to rehabilitate the area.

The directive was given by the NRC Director of Administration and Human Resources, Mallam Aminu Gusau, who said the purpose of the exercise is to rid the entire stretch of the Apapa rail line of shanties, obstructions and undesirable elements encroaching on its right of way (RoW).

Mallam Gusau, also addressed traders in the area, most of who are illegal occupants, stating that the purpose of the exercise is to compliment the transformation agenda of the Federal Government in improving rail transport and also to

help decongest the Apapa port complex for immediate resumption of container and freight haulage.

The Director said that daily passenger services have resumed at the port and there was need to clear tracks in the area for safe train operations. He commended the Naval Training Command, for the perimeter fencing against trespassers and urged the railway police command, to step up raids on the area, assuring that the Mechanical Engineering Department has been directed to remove all unserviceable coaches and wagons now being used as hideouts from the area, even as he said the exercise will be extended to the Port-Harcourt port.

The NRC management team was accompanied by the representative of the Commissioner of Police NRC Command, Chief Supt.

Mrs. Ronke Okunade.

The Nigerian Railway Corporation, with headquarters at Ebutte Metta, Lagos, recently marked its 112 years of opera-

tion. The railway system has been undergoing rehabilitation

Commuters queuing to board LAGBUS at Oshodi, Lagos.

FG seeks consideration of persons with disability JAMES ABRAHAM JOS

T

he Federal government has asked governments at all levels to give special consideration to persons living with disabilities, in political appointment and employment, as they have the ability and capability to make a great difference in the system.

The Administrative Officer on disability matters in Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Omotunde Ellen Thompson, made the plea in Jos at a stakeholders’ meeting on Community-Based Rehabilitation, CBR, organised by the Plateau State Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development.

According to her, if governments at all levels should get people with disability into strategic political appointment, they will perform well as they have the will to make a differ-

ence in terms of the transformation agenda of President Jonathan.

Mrs. Thompson maintained that if people with disability are empowered, they will quit the streets and become partners in nation building.

In the same vein, the Plateau State Commissioner of Women Affairs and Social Development, Olivia Dazyam, said the stakeholders’ meeting on people living with disability is borne out of the desire of the government to better the lives of those physically-challenged.

She admonished stakeholders to remove all barriers that will put those with disability at any disadvantage; by modifying buildings to enable them have free access.

“To improve the quality of life of persons with disability entails the removal of all barriers by way of modifying buildings, access doors to banking halls, adopting inclusive road

and modernization with the full support of the Federal Govern-

constructions, changing negative perception that such persons are incapable of appreciating their innate potentialities in employment and services.

“In the law and human rights perspective, the rights of these people are non-negotiable. In my my position as commissioner in charge of disability issues, I realise with heavy heart that a class of people are denied their fundamental human rights, even with the international proclamation of their inalienable rights to legal protection, education, housing, equal opportunities, employment and better health,”she said.

Dazyam said the state is the first to organise a stakeholders’ meeting to map out plans on how to improve the lives of persons with physical disabilities, even as she said the administration has approved the establishment of desk for people with disability in all ministries and government agencies.

ment through the Ministry of Transport.

PHOTO: NAN

FRSC commander flays Okada riders FRANCIS SUBERU

T

he Unit Commander, FRSC RS 2.27, Agbado, Ogun State, Assistant Corps Commander, ACC John Alhassan, has described the activities of Okada and tricycle operators in Agbado Ijaye, as irritating, saying they have penchant for breaking traffic rules and regulations.

According to him, most Okada riders in the area constitute nuisance to the neighbourhood.

“Most of the Okada riders are nuisance to this environment.

They do not obey traffic rules and regulations. Can you imagine that in Agbado, an Okada rider can carry up to five passengers at a time and they don’t like wearing crash helmets? Most of them are hemp smokers and so, are not prepared to listen or obey traffic rules.

“The tricycle operators too, are no better as they are a menace on the roads. If you caution any of them, they report you to the Oba or their political godfather.”

Speaking to Community Mirror, Alhassan said one of his ma-

jor challenges was discouraging drivers and Okada riders in the area from overloading. He said despite the fact that most vehicles plying Agbado-Ijaye axis are rickety with bad tyres, they still overload them with persons and goods.

“We have been warning them, but they won’t listen. However, we will keep advising them because we don’t want to record any accidents during this “ember” months. It should be noted that it is not only human factor which is responsible for road accidents, mechanical factor and the environment also contribute.

“To avoid accidents, we advise them not over speed, or overload their vehicles, also they should not use only one wiper, especially when it is raining, is very dangerous. I know some will say the economy is bad and they resort to buying second hand tyres which are the cause of road accidents.

“Now that it is raining, all vehicles should have wipers in good working condition. Other things like trafficators, rear and brake lights, must be in good condition,” Alhassan advised.

Monday, September 10, 2012

Paralympic Games end in style

55

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

53

Sport

The FIFA break has provided some sort rt of relief. But it hasn’t beclouded our ur er focus either

- LIVERPOOL MANAGER, BRENDAN RODGERS S

AFCON 2013: Eagles can still make it–Onigbinde S TORIES: A FOLABI G AMBARI

D

espite dropping vital points against Lone Star of Liberia in the first leg final round of the South Africa 2013 Nations Cup qualifier in Monrovia on Saturday, the Super Eagles remain in contention for the Afcon ticket.

Former Super Eagles coach, Chief Adegboye Onigbinde, who made this assertion in an exclusive interview with National Mirror yesterday, described the 2-2 result at the Samuel Kanyon Doe Stadium as edgy, but said that Nigeria would make amends in the second leg in Calabar next month.

“I have always said that there are no small teams in Africa anymore and in this context, I think the Eagles got a good result,” Onigbinde said.

“I also believe that the team’s crew learnt the right lessons from the encounter and will analyse them with a view to getting the right result in the second leg,” he added.

Onigbinde, who observed that the situation at the moment is different from the last Afcon qualifier where Guinea beat Nigeria to the Gabon/Equatorial Guinea finals, said the Eagles’ crew needed a formula that could guarantee a scoreless draw in the worst case to get the Eagles to South Africa.

“I suppose the coaches have seen the capability of the Liberian side in goal scoring. So, I expect them to evolve the tactics to suppress the Lone Star, especially because at this time there is no more room to take chances, just as there is also need to show that the lesson of missing out in the last finals has been learnt,” he stressed.

The respected former FIFA and CAF technical instructor, however, tasked the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to urgently consider constituting a technical study group that could assist the Stephen Keshi-coached side to advance effective strategy to stop Liberia.

Ajunwa confirms delivery of triplets

O

lympic gold medallist, Chioma Ajunwa, has confirmed news of the delivery of a set of triplets of two boys and a girl.

Ajunwa, who expressed joy in a chat with National Mirror yesterday, said the triplets were in good condition.

“Thank you for your love and concern,” the former long jumper who is currently Divisional Police Officer, Meiran, Lagos State said.

“I delivered the babies on August 27 and they and myself are doing fine,” she further said but declined speaking further.

Ajunwa was once banned for taking drugs by the IAAF before bouncing back to pick the long jump gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, the one of two gold won by

Nigeria, the other being in the football event.

The former athlete, who has severally analyzed athletics and its administration in the country, was prominent at the funeral of later former Olympian, Sunday Bada, last December.

Ajunwa

Monrovia fallout: Keshi threatens ‘unprofessional players’ Striker Ike Uche (15) stood out for Nigeria in Monrovia, only to see his mates reduce his effort to rubbles

A

pparently still angry at the outcome of the Nations Cup 2013 final round qualifier that saw Nigeria surrender a vital lead to drop two points to Liberia at the weekend in Monrovia, Super Eagles Coach, Stephen Keshi, has warned his wards to shed their unprofessional attitude of lose their spots in the team Team’s spokesman, Ben Alaiya, told National Mirror yesterday that Keshi, who addressed the players about an hour after the match, blamed certain players for their laxity in the face of pressure from the Lone Star who desired outright victory to smoothen their path to the South Africa finals next January.

“Keshi told the players that he would no longer tolerate players who lack commitment to the national cause,” Alaiya said.

“He also told the players that that any of them who fails henceforth to beat the deadline of arrival in the camp after invitation risks losing the invitation,” the spokesman added in apparent reference to goalkeeper Vincent Enyeama who arrived in camp late and recorded a below-par outing in Monrovia.

According to Alaiya, Keshi feared that the players’ poor attitude could cost Nigeria the ticket to South Africa after the coach threatened to resign his appointment if he failed to deliver the ticket.

Meanwhile, the Super Eagles were officially decamped yesterday and officials said the team would resume in the first week of October to begin preparation for the crucial second leg match with the Lone Star where the Nigerian

team will require a win or 1-1 draw to secure a berth in South Africa.

The team’s spokesman said the home-based players would resume in the camp ahead of the foreignbased, although the NFF would deliberate this on players to be invited for the encounter.

Keshi

54

Sport

Monday, September 10, 2012

UCL: Mourinho wary of opposition

R

eal Madrid coach, Jose Mourinho, has expressed concerns over what he called a tough Champions League group, saying the level of competition in the early stages will have a debilitating effect on Madrid’s chances of reaching the Wembley final.

“The difference between our group and the others is that we cannot afford to make any mistakes and neither can our rivals,” Mourinho said yesterday.

“Something else to consider is the two teams who qualify from this group won’t go into the knockout stages in the same condition as the other 14 who qualify.

“We will have to battle minute by minute throughout the group stage, with maximum intensity, con-

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

US Open 2012…

centration and pressure.

We will go through to the second round with that effort having taken its toll, both physically and mentally while the other clubs will be fresher, without cards or suspensions and able to rotate their squads.”

The Portuguese gaffer, however, said his team would rise to the challenge.

“It will not be easy. But I know my players well and I have to admit that preparing for such intense games is often easier than preparing for others. It is also as well that other teams will consider us a threat.”

On the looming clash with Manchester City, Mourinho said: “We need to start winning from the very first minute of the match against City at the Bernabeu.”

Andy Murray is set to grab an elusive Grand Slam at Flushing Meadows today

US Open: Lendl tips Murray for victory

A

merican tennis legend, Ivan Lendl, believes the time is right for Andy Murray to end his wait for a Grand Slam title by winning the US Open in the delayed final today when he takes on world number two Novak Djokovic.

Murray, who is a four-time runner-up in Grand Slams, booked his spot in the title decider at Flushing Meadows with a four-set victory over Tomas Berdych.

Jose Mourinho

“Andy is ready to go and win,” Lendl, a winner of eight Grand Slams between 1984 and 1990, said yesterday.

“The lesson he learned from the Wimbledon final was a tough one but he learned it well and put it to good use in the Olympic final. There was a big difference between the loss to Roger Federer and the one he had to Djokovic in Australia the previous year.

“I said to him then, ‘You learn

Varsity don tasks NFF

EKO 2012…

F

Wrestling boss Hockey team intensifies training assures govt

C

hairman of the Lagos State Wrestling Association, Prince Fatai Adenekan, has said that the athletes would not fail to deliver on medals during the forthcoming National Sports Festival.

Adenekan, who spoke at the weekend after the three-day interclub championship, said the association had received huge support from government, stressing that the coaches and athletes could not afford to disappoint the state at the festival.

“We received regular grants from the government to organize competitions and we can only reciprocate the gesture by winning medals at the competition,” Adenekan said.

“I am satisfied with the level of exposure that the wrestlers have got at the moment and we can build well on the preparation as the days go by,” he added.

STORIES: AFOLABI GAMBARI

L

agos State hockey team has stepped up training ahead of the 18th National Sports Festival scheduled for November.

According to the Technical Director of the Lagos State Hockey Association, Ayo Ladeinde, the team has targeted gold in the male and female categories.

“Our Players are hardworking, dedicated and in high spirit to win at the festival and I think we are 70 per cent ready in terms of preparation as it concerns the players’ skills, teamwork and training,” Ladeinde said yesterday.

“What the players need now is encouragement and the Lagos State government has committed to ensuring that the coaches and other personnel in the Lagos State Hockey Association are working hard to make the players achieve the set target,” he added.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the associ-

from certain losses and become depressed from other ones. But when you put it all out there and go hard, you can be proud of yourself ’.

Lendl, who also lost his first four Slam finals before going on to win eight in all, started working with Murray in January this year.

Murray’s hopes will not be hindered by the extra day’s rest he will receive over his opponent due to the final being played on a Monday for the fifth straight year.

Gov. Fashola

ation, Tunde Popoola, has said that the recent two-day hockey championship in the state was organized to prepare the players for the festival as well as to develop the sport at inter-club level in accordance with the state government policy.

Team Lagos Hockey, Union Bank Hockey, Police Hockey Club and Dynamic Hockey Club participated in the male category while Team Lagos Hockey and 90 Degree Hockey Club competed in the female category.

Winners in both categories carted away trophies and cash prize and Dynamic Hockey Club, which came last in the male category, got sets of hockey sticks.

IFA/CAF advisor and senior lecturer at the University of Ibadan, Prof. Babatunde Asagba, has urged the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) to develop football at the grassroots instead of emphasizing on competitions.

The retired FIFA badge referee, who made the call at the graduation of players at the FRENAGE-Progression International Soccer Academy (FPISA) at the weekend in Ibadan, attributed the slide in Nigerian football to the disruption of used to be the progression of amateur players to professionals.

“We failed to qualify for the last Nations Cup finals in Gabon/Equatorial Guinea and we are struggling to qualify for

the 2013 AFCON again,” Asagba observed, stressing that only a comprehensive grassroots approach would return Nigeria to the glory days.

He commended the management FPISA for toeing a path that could redeem what he called Nigeria’s battered football image by giving aspiring footballers basic knowledge.

More than 70 FPISA players who participated in the residential soccer course supervised by former Ajax Amsterdam coach, Sir Tony Calver, received certificates at the ceremony attended by the Secretary of Ogun State Football Association Mr. Akin Leo, and his Oyo State counterpart, Mr. Kehinde Ojelowo.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Sport

Monday, September 10, 2012

55

Pistorius wins 400m gold S outh African “blade runner” Oscar Pistorius finally won his first individual gold medal of London 2012 in the very last race at the Olympic Stadium yesterday.

Pistorius was a hugely convincing winner of the 400m-T44 in a new Paralympic record 46.68, more than three seconds ahead of the field.

After a shock 200m loss and an expected 100m one, the 400m was the one title the 25-yearold wanted to keep hold of more than any other.

Pistorius came into the race with a personal best more than five seconds quicker than the next fastest in the race, none of whom had broken the 50-second barrier. Pistorius can get close to 45 at his best.

“For one of the first times I thought I could actually hear something coming into the home straight,” Pistorius said.

“Usually I’m so focused and so in my zone, but I could hear the crowd and it was just the most amazing feeling that I could have possibly had,” he added.

Alan Fonteles Oliveira, the 200m - T44 champion, was in the lane outside him and for the first half of the race looked like he might pose a challenge.

But Pistorius came into the home straight with a clear lead and, as the Brazilian tired badly, USA athlete Blake Leeper came into second and compatriot David Prince third. Oliveira was fourth.

Paralympic Games end in style

T

Oscar Pistorius

Weir claims fourth gold

G Cyclists competing before the final day

Spectacular lighting at the London Paralympics closing ceremony yesterday

Stone, who has cerebral palsy and rides a tricycle, won his third Paralympic gold medal in the 24-kilometre road race. He is one of the many athletes who have won gold for Britain

reat Britain’s David Weir made it a fantastic four gold medals at London 2012 by racing to an imperious Marathon - T54 victory on The Mall yesterday.

Weir timed his sprint finish to perfection to take the title in 1:30:20.

With thousands of people lining the route to cheer him on, Weir was in a leading group of six racers that broke away early on, content to sit just off the front.

Weir was then second behind Switzerland’s Marcel Hug in a leading pack of three, also including Australian defending champion Kurt Fearnley,

with three miles to go.

The 33-year-old came into view of the finishing straight in the lead and pulled away from his rivals to complete a glorious end to a spectacular week. Hug came home in second place, with Fearnley clinching bronze.

Victory gave the British wheelchair athlete a clean sweep of four gold medals after earlier winning the 800m, 1500m and 5000m T54 titles.

“It’s a dream come true,” Weir said, adding, “Obviously I dreamed about winning all my races, but it was going to be a tough order. I just really had to dig deep.”

David Weir posing with his child after winning his gold medal yesterday

he 2012 Paralympic Games came to a close yesterday at the Olympic Stadium in London after 11 days of spectacular performance by the special athletes.

The ceremony paid tribute to the United Kingdom as a nation famous all over the world for hosting exuberant festivals and it reflected the seasonal cycle of ancient and modern festivals that take place throughout the year, taking the audience on a journey through autumn, winter, spring and summer.

Bestselling band Coldplay also took to the stage, performing a catalogue of songs, including hits such as ‘Yellow’, ‘Clocks’ and ‘Viva La Vida’.

The band performed alongside a cast of more than 1,300 volunteers, 120 child volunteers from schools in East London, and a 200-strong professional cast including Candoco Dance Company, disabled aerial performers and the British Paraorchestra, made up of disabled musicians.

The ceremony also honoured servicemen and women, in a section that saw a dramatic raising of the Union Flag.

Coldplay lead singer Chris Martin said, “This is one of the biggest nights of our lives and we’re very excited to try to create a performance for the last night of the Games.”

Artistic Director, Kim Gavin, commented: “What better way to demonstrate our respect and commitment to these athletes than by celebrating with Britain’s most internationally renowned band. Our ‘Festival of Flame’ took the audience through a dramatic celebration of seasons and music, and featured some very special surprises for the watching world.”

Head of the London 2012 Organising Committee, Seb Coe, said: “What a summer we have had to celebrate.

This ceremony is a fitting celebration of the athletes who have wowed the world, and the volunteers who have made these Games.”

Medal table S/NO Country

G

S

B

Total

1.

China

95

71

65

231

2.

Russia

36

38

28

102

3.

Great Britain

34

43

43

120

4.

Ukraine

32

24

28

84

5.

Australia

32

23

30

85

6.

USA

31

29

38

98

7.

Brazil

21

14

8

43

8.

Germany

18

26

22

66

9.

Poland

14

13

9

36

10.

Netherlands

10

10

19

39

11.

Iran

10

7

7

24

12.

S/Korea

9

9

9

27

13.

Italy

9

8

11

28

14.

Tunisia

9

5

5

19

15.

Cuba

9

5

3

17

16.

France

8

19

18

45

17.

Spain

8

18

16

42

18.

S/Africa

8

12

9

29

19.

Ireland

8

3

5

16

20.

Canada

7

15

9

31

21.

N/Zealand

6

7

4

17

22.

Nigeria

6

5

2

13

23.

Mexico

6

4

11

21

24.

Japan

5

5

6

16

25.

Belarus

5

2

3

10

WORLD RECORD

Longest brocade

Vol. 02 No. 444

N150

Monday, September 10, 2012

The longest brocade measured 42.37 metres (139 ft) long and was created by Jiangsu Wangong Science & Technology Group Co. Ltd. (China). It was presented and measured in Wujiang City, China, on 26 March 2010.

On the plight of Nigerians in Diaspora

E

ach time I get to read about the plight of Nigerians in foreign lands, I feel greatly saddened, depressed and burn with anger within me. Why? I am perturbed that my fellow country men and women suffer endlessly, and in most cases, they are simply marked-down for offences they really know nothing about. It is regrettable that many Nigerians are routinely thrown into jail for offences they may not even have committed.

No doubt, there are several Nigerians living abroad. According to a recent report by the World Bank, these people remitted more than $10 billion into the global economy, in 2009 alone. The government has the constitutional obligation to its citizens whenever they have been accused of any illegality (whether they are innocent or guilty as charged); it has a duty to ensure that they are accorded due process and their fundamental human rights

–

IS THE INTEREST IN THE SECURITY SITUATION OR CRUDE OIL?

Guest Columnist

Adewale

Kupoluyi

not denied.

Regrettably, the federal government has arguably not done much in protecting Nigerians from such vagaries in foreign lands.

This is both unacceptable and indefensible.

These fellow citizens have all left the country with great hopes after been frustrated back at home. For many, it was virtually a lifelong desire. Nothing else mattered to them. Life in itself was literally suspended until they eventually made their way abroad. Not a few of them took loans, sold houses, cars, left lucrative jobs and even threw a lavish sendforth parties before embarking on the search for the golden fleece.

What do they get? These Nigerians end up being worse-off than their counterparts that choose to remain at home. Reports of racist attacks against foreigners, Nigerians mostly the target, in the United States of America, Europe and lately South Africa, have continued unabated.

A few examples suffice. The recent deportation of 125 Nigerians by the South African government for allegedly carrying fake yellow fever vaccination certificates is only one of the many abuses being suffered regularly by citizens who travel abroad, legally or not.

Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, was once denied entry into that country in 1995, despite visiting as a guest speaker at Dr. Nelson Mandela’s birthday. Similarly, Mrs. Kema Chikwe, a former aviation minister needed the intervention of top South African government officials to save her from the hands of the immigration officials.

Much of South African’s hostilities towards Nigerian has been attributed to xeno-

THERE ARE AT LEAST 40,000 NIGERIANS IN PRISONS IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE WORLD, FOR DIFFERENT REASONS phobia, which once sparked a riot, leading to the death of 62 Africans, some years ago. The height of the face-off was the deportation of 125 South Africa-bound Nigerian travellers at the Oliver Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg for allegedly attempting to enter the country without the vaccination cards.

Nigeria, like many other sub-Saharan African countries, falls within the Yellow Fever Belt, but the acute viral hemorrhagic disease, transmitted by infected mosquitoes, has not been recorded in the country in the last 15 years, according to the World Health Organisation.

While many countries in the world no longer require evidence of yellow fever vaccination for visitors from the endemic zone, South Africa still insists on such evidence, and for those who cannot provide convincing evidence of vaccination, they are usually quarantined and vaccinated, at the visitors’ expense, before being allowed into the country, where they are labeled as amakwerekwere, derogatory term for foreigners who have come south in search of a better life, or

who are fleeing political strife and economic hardship in their own countries.

According to the chairman, House of Representatives Committee on the Diaspora, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, there are at least 40,000 Nigerians in prisons in different parts of the world, for different reasons. Nigerians have been executed in Saudi Arabia, Singapore and China for drug offences. The Chinese police in particular have reportedly beaten at least one Nigerian immigrant to death while more than 700 Nigerians are said to be in prisons, mostly convicted of serious offences, like robbery and dealing in hard drugs.

A former Minister of Youth Development, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, disclosed recently that a large number of Nigerians is currently languishing in Chinese prisons with some serving jail sentences up to 10 years for drugrelated offences, fraud, kidnapping, armed robbery and rape. Some have suspended death sentence.

Apart from China, there is the pathetic case of Fausat Abosede, 72-year-old Nigerian, who was discovered in Brazilian prisons when the Dabiri-Erewa-led committee visited the country. She was said to have come to Brazil early 2011 as a result of a promised medical help by a Nigerian, who later abandoned her in the country. With help coming from no quarters she decided to return home, but was arrested at the airport when hard drugs were found in a bag someone allegedly gave her to help deliver in Nigeria.

A similar case is that of Lara Salami, 62, who was said to own a shop in Lagos and had 10 children before being lured to Brazil by a friend. She was arrested at Sao Paulo Airport when drugs stuffed in candles were discovered in her luggage. She has since been in prison. There is also Amaka Isilabo, 28, who allegedly went to Brazil after graduating from the university and joined the drug peddling business to raise money for her impending wedding. She is currently serving the first of her seven-year jail term.

To be continued Kupoluyi, adewalekupoluyi@yahoo. co.uk, wrote from the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta,

Sport Extra

M

cLaren boss, Martin Whitmarsh, has expressed optimism that Lewis Hamilton will not defect to Mercedes at the end of the season despite admitting the driver’s future remains unresolved.

The Italian GP has been dominated by talk of the merits or otherwise of reports that emerged on

F1: ‘Hamilton will not cross over to Mercedes’ Wednesday night suggesting that Mercedes had closed in on securing Hamilton’s highly-prised signature for 2013, but Whitmarsh has moved to dismiss the rumour as pure media imagination.

“Personally, I would doubt it, because Lewis knows that the best

place for him is at McLaren and his career would best be served here,” the McLaren chief said.

Asked what the current state of play was regarding Hamilton’s contract, Whitmarsh replied: “Unresolved. People are having some speculation but I don’t think

that it alters the course particularly.”

The topic of Hamilton’s future has continued to overshadow McLaren’s on-track activities at Monza, although the team has managed to keep it low in qualifyNFF President, Aminu Maigari ing for yesterday’s race.

Lewis Hamilton

Printed and Published by Global Media Mirror Ltd: Head Office: Mirror House, 155/161 Broad Street, Lagos Tel: 07027107407, Abuja Office: NICON Insurance House, Second Floor, Central Business District Area, Abuja Tel: 08070428249, Advert hotline: 01-8446073, Email: mail@nationalmirroronline.net. Editor: SEYI FASUGBA. All correspondence to PMB 10001, Marina, Lagos.

Printed simultaneously in Lagos, Abuja and Ondo State. ISSN 0794-232X.