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Marketers sell fuel over N100 per litre

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Thursday, November 5, 2015

DPR, NNPC allay fears about product scarcity

UDEME AKPAN AND KEMI OLAITAN Kachikwu

Vol. 5 N0. 1237

any oil marketers have started selling petrol in excess of N100 per litre in different parts of the country.

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Broad Street,

Investigations by our correspondent in Lagos and environs showed that filling stations now sell fuel

Lagos.

PHOTO: SAMUEL

ADETIMEHIN

Odunlami: Where the dead are celebrated P.48

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Senate announces 65 S committee chairmen

N150

GEORGE OJI

...APC gets 40, PDP 25

David Mark not named in any committee

enate President, Bukola Saraki yesterday announced the composition of new Senate standing committees, which incidentally was increased from 56 to 65. He announced the list immediately after yesterdayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s plenary session. One striking observation from the list was that the immediate past Senate President, Senator David Mark, was completely left

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Fasoranti recants, remains Afenifere leader P.12 N3.1bn fraud: EFCC fails to arraign Suswam

P.11

Suspected co-mastermind of October 1 bomb blast at Eagle Square, Charles Okah, after being arraigned at the Federal High Court, Abuja, yesterday.

PHOTO: ROTIMI OSASONA

killed Reps query NERCâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s N2.7bn severance Six in Edo package for Board members bank ...chairman takes N400m, six members pocket N380m

Kogi in safe hands with Wada

P.15

P.5

robbery

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Thursday, November 5, 2015

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out, as his name did not appear in any of the committees, either as chairman, vice chairman or ordinary member. Further analysis of the committee membership showed that while the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, senators heads 40 committees, Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, chair 25. The list shows that Senators Ahmed Lawan chairs the defence committee, George Akume (army), Dino Melaye (Federal Capital Territory, FCT), Dajuma Goje (appropriation), Ahmed Yerima Sani (marine transport), John Owan Enoh (finance), Abdullahi Adamu (agriculture), Kabiru Gaya (works), Andy Uba (public accounts) and James Manager (power). Others are Senators Adamu Aliero (customs), Oluremi Tinubu (women affairs), Uche Ekwunife (petroleum, downstream), Aliyu Wamako (education, basic and secondary), Munsurat Summonu (foreign affairs), Lanre Tejuosho (health), Barnabas Gemade (housing), George Thompson Sekibo (interior), Sam Egwu (industries), Ben Murray Bruce (privatisation), Obinna Ogba s(ports) and Donald Alaosaodura (petroleum, upstream). Some of the Senators, who retained the same committees from the 7th senate, are Hope Uzodinma (aviation), Gilbert Nnaji (communication) and Enyinnaya Abaribe (information and national orientation). Other committees and their chairmen are Duro Faseyi (air force), Godfrey Utazi (anti corruption and financial crimes), Rufai Ibrahim (banking, insurance and other financial institutions), Isiaka Adeleke (capital market), Abubakar Danladi (cooperation and integration in Africa and NEPAD), Mathew Urhoghide (culture and tourism), Rose Oko (Diaspora and civil societies), Joshua Ledani (drugs and narcotics), Bukar Abba Ibrahim (ecology and climate change), Suleiman Nazi (employment, labour and productivity), Olaka Nwogu (environment), Emmanuel Pulker (establishment and public service), Salihu Egye (federal character and inter governmental affairs). Bassey Akpan (gas), Bu-

hari Abdulfatai (ICT and cyber crime), Abubakar Kyari (INEC), Bayero Usman Nafada (inter parliamentary affairs), David Umaru (judiciary, human rights and legal matters), Olugbenga Ashafa (land transport), Abdullahi Gumel (local and foreign debts), Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi (media and pub-

lic affairs), Abdulsalami Ohiare (public procurement), Marafa Kabir (national identity and national population), Musa Rabiu Kwakwanso (national planning and economic affairs). The rest are Isah Hamman Misau (navy), Peter Nwaoboshi (Niger Delta), Abu Ibrahim (police affairs),

Mao Ohuabunwa (primary health care and communicable diseases), Robert Ajayi Boroffice (science and technology), Joshua Dariye (solid minerals), Murtala Nyako (special duties), Abdullahi Gumel (states and local government), Binta Masi Garba (tertiary institutions and TETFUND), Fatima Raji Ra-

saki (trade and investment), Mohammed Shittu (water resources) and Ali Wakili (poverty alleviation and social welfare). New senate spokesman, Senator Abdullahi, while fielding questions from newsmen on the committees, explained that the composition was carried out

carefully by the selection committee to ensure that all contending interests were taken care of. He stated that the two main groupings in the senate, i.e. the Unity Forum and the senate like minds were all evenly accommodated in the chairmanship of the CONTINUED ON PAGE 5>>

L-R: Burundian First Counsellor, Myriam Hakizimana; Special Burundian Envoy, Maj.-Gen. Ndayishimiye Evariste; President Muhammadu Buhari; Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Paul Lolo; Chief of Staff, Mr Abba Kyari and Burundian Honorary Roving Ambassador, Mr Dieudonne Kwizera, after a meeting with President Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, yesterday.

Marketers sell fuel over N100 per litre CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

for between N90 and N150 per liter, depending on the location. Stations managers, especially those of independents marketers, claimed they cannot sell at the Federal Government regulated N87 per litre because of limited supply. Attempt by our correspondent yesterday to get the reaction of major marketers and depot owners did not succeed as they did not pick their calls. But a reliable source in Apapa, where many of them lift imported fuel, confirmed that there was no increase in depot price of the product. A market survey by our correspondent also showed that some oil marketing companies, including MRS, shut their retail outlets along Ikorodu Road due to what attendants at the stations called insufficient stock. There were also long queues in other stations that had supplies. In a related development, Department of Pe-

troleum Resources, DPR, yesterday confirmed that it was monitoring the activities of some of the marketers with a view to sanctioning culprits. DPR said it was aware of the antics of the marketers, and would apply appropriate sanction on anyone caught. It stated: “The Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR, wishes to inform the general public that it has set up a 24 hours surveillance monitoring team of petrol stations nationwide to ensure unhindered sale of petroleum products at government regulated prices. “This is in response to reported cases of panic buying in some petrol stations across the country. “DPR wishes to state that the current stock level of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, in depots nationwide is about 365million litres and we are also expecting over 800million seaborne litres to be discharged before the end of the week. This translates to a stock

level for thirty (30) days’ supply. “To further ensure the supply of products, DPR has fast tracked the granting of product import permits and vessel clearing process to aid rapid stock build up for importers. “We hereby appeal to all Depots and Petroleum Product Retail Outlets nationwide to ensure that products are sold at government regulated price as the DPR will not hesitate to enforce necessary sanctions against any erring marketer.” It also urged the public not to engage in panic buying as there was adequate supply of petroleum products nationwide to meet demand. In its own response to the situation, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, said it had stepped up measures to eliminate the noticeable queues in some petrol stations across some major cities in the country. Consequently, the Corporation, in a statement

yesterday, said it has injected additional volumes of PMS to enrich product availability in the affected areas. NNPC hinted of its commitment to ensure zero fuel queues ahead of the forthcoming yuletide and beyond by working assiduously with its downstream subsidiary company, the Pipelines and Products Marketing Company, PPMC, and other downstream players to consolidate the prevailing stability in the supply and distribution of fuel nationwide. “Apart from increasing the volume of products distributed to stations across the country, inspection team from the PPMC have been commissioned to go round our operational areas to ensure compliance with laid down rules regarding loading and product evacuation across board to eliminate hoarding and other vices detrimental to the free flow of products,” it said. The statement also con-

firmed the approval by the Federal Government for the immediate payment of N413bn to oil marketers as outstanding payment for subsidy claims. “The Corporation believes that with the outstanding payment due to oil marketers now assured, the marketers and other downstream players will join hands with NNPC to guarantee that the nation remains wet with petroleum products all year round,” the statement added. Meanwhile, DPR has sealed off no fewer than 50 filling stations across Oyo State for various offences Our correspondent learnt that the sealing and sanction became inevitable as some independent marketers have resorted to selling petroleum products far above the government approved price Other offences the fuel marketers were sanctioned for include hoarding of product, thereby creating artificial scarcity, abscondCONTINUED ON PAGE 5>>

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Thursday, November 5, 2015

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Thursday, November 5, 2015

NEWS

L-R: Assistant Legal Attaché, FBI, US Consulate, Lagos, Paula Parkinson; Head, Subsidiaries Conduct and Compliance, Access Bank Plc, Yinka Jimoh Abdulraheem; Group Deputy Managing Director, Obinna Nwosu and Chief Conduct and Compliance Officer, Pattison Boleigha, at the Bank’s Compliance Awareness Week Stakeholders workshop in Lagos, yesterday.

L-R: Etisalat Board Member/ Magajin Garu Zazzau, Alhaji Ahmed Nuhu Bamali; Fagachin Zazzau/ representative of the Emir of Zazzau, Alhaji Junaid Dikko; Alhai Umar Mohammed and Vice President, Regulatory and Corporate Affairs, Etisalat Nigeria, Ibrahim Dikko, during the formal handover of renovated classrooms of Nuhu Bamali Primary School to the community, recently.

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L-R: Managing Director, Arik Air, Mr. Chris Ndulue; Managing Director, Risk Analist Insurance Brokers Limited, Mrs. Funmi Ashaye and Managing Director, Oldmutual, Mrs. Rachel Emenike, during the signing of MOU on Arik Travel Insurance, between the companies in Lagos, yesterday.

L-R: Assistant Director, Securities and Issuance Unit, Debt Management Office Nigeria (DMO), Alfred Anukposi; Executive Commissioner, Legal and Enforcement, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Sa’adatu Bello; Director-General, SEC, Mounir Gwarzo; Director-General, DMO, Dr. Abraham Nwankwo; Executive Commissioner, Corporate Services, SEC, Hon. Zakawanu Garuba and Head, Portfolio Management Department, DMO, Oladele Afolabi, during a visit to SEC by DMO DG in Abuja, yesterday.PHOTO:ROTIMI OSASONA

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Senate urges Buhari to Probe SURE-P George Oji

enate yesterday urged President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately put a machinery in motion to probe every penny spent on the Subsidy Re-investment and Empowerment Programme, SURE-P, and other poverty alleviation programmes of the past administration. The Senate also turned down the request by some Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, senators to compel the President to commence the payment of monthly N5,000 stipends to unemployed youths in the country in line with his campaign promises. The resolution to probe the SURE-P programme, which was adopted amidst dissenting voices from the opposi-

tion PDP senators, was sequel to an additional prayer moved by Senator Babajide Omoworare to Senator Bassey Albert Akpan-sponsored motion on the “Urgent Need to Curb the Soaring Rate of Unemployment in Nigeria.” After the initial prayers of the motion were adopted, Senator Philip Aduda raised an additional prayer, urging the Federal Government to fulfill one of its numerous campaign promises, to pay a monthly stipend of N5,000 to unemployed youths in Nigeria. Aduda said: “The Federal Government should immediately commence payment of the N5,000 monthly stipend it promised during preelection campaign.” Senate Minority

Leader, Godswill Akpabio, rose and seconded the additional prayer. But rising under order 53(6) of the Senate standing rules, Omoworare opposed the additional prayer, thereby, leading to bickering among the senators. Senate President, Bukola Saraki, however, intervened, after about 22 minutes to bring the bickering to an end by asking Aduda to repeat his additional prayer, which the latter did. When Saraki put the additional prayer to voice vote, the nays had the day. The Senate President, thereafter, gave Omoworare the privilege of raising another additional prayer. Omoworare said: “I want to move that the immediate past govern-

ment be made to account for every penny spent on SURE-P and other poverty alleviation programmes, and I so move, Mr. President.” When Saraki put the question to voice vote, the ayes response came from the APC senators, but the PDP senators kept mute to the nay call. While leading the debate on the motion, Akpan observed that the latest figures of soaring unemployment in the country by National Bureau of Statistics, NBC, had increased to 8.2 per cent in the second quarter of 2015 from 7.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2015 and 6.4 per cent in the last quarter of 2014. “The latest statistics as released by the Bureau reveals that economically active population, or

working age, comprising Nigerian within the age range of 15 to 64, is now 103.5 million, increasing from 102.8 million in the last quarter of 2015, while the unemployed labour force now stands at 74 million Nigerian youths. This is truly a calamity,” he noted. He expressed concern that about N2trn had been expended on intervention funds by the Federal Government to boost the productivity of various sectors of the economy in the last five years without any commensurate impact on employment generation. “With a projected population growth of 200 million by 2020, we project an unemployed population of about 100 million Nigerians or more. Where lies the economic future of this country?

“If the unemployed youths of this country are effectively engaged in gainful employment, terrorism, kidnapping, armed robbery and other socio-economic and cultural vices will be drastically reduced as the saying goes, ‘an idle mind is the devil’s workshop,’” he said. In their various contributions, the senators gave support to the motion, leading to its passage, including the additional prayer by Omoworare. In another development, the Senate paid tributes to its deceased former members, the late Emir of Borgu in Niger State, Senator Haliru Dantoro and Gyang Pwajok, (Plateau State), who served in the Seventh Senate.

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Reps query NERC’s N2.7bn severance package for Board members UBONG UKPONG ABUJA

ouse of Representatives yesterday, expressed deep displeasure over the decision by the Board of Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission, NERC, to pay a whopping N2.7bn to its members as severance package, dismissing it as unacceptable practice. The House, which resolved to probe the Commission and the Board members, directed its Committee on Power to engage the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission and NERC, with a view to investigating the matter and report back to it within two weeks. Hon. Mohammed Garba Gololo from Bauchi State had raised a motion on urgent national importance on the need to halt the planned payment of N2.7bn by the Board of NERC to its members. The lawmaker disclosed that while the chairman of the Board was slated to take N400m as his severance package, the six commissioners would take home N380m each. Gololo stressed that the approval of the severance package by the Board members to themselves conflicted with the recommendations of the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, as well as offends Section 42 (1) (a) and (b) of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act. He noted that Section 80 (1) of the 1999 constitution (as amended) stipulated that all revenues or other monies received by the federation shall be paid into and from one consolidated account. The legislator disclosed that the N2.7bn intended to cover, among other things, upfront salaries of two years for each member of the Board pursuant to Section 35 (2) of the Electric Power Sector Reform Act, which bars a member of

the Board from working in the power sector for a period of two years after leaving office. The lawmaker told the House that he was convinced that members of the Board were not entitled to the payment of upfront salaries of two years since Section 36 (2) of the act did not bar them in any way from working in nonpower sectors during the period. He said the plan by the Board to pay its outgoing members the severance package was “unlawful and unconstitutional as it is not authorised by the National Assembly in the 2015 Appropriation Act.” The lawmaker puts that the budget of the Commission for the year at N42, 290, 077, which is for capital expenditure. Gololo said he was convinced that the Commission had no recurrent expenditure in the 2015 budget. This, he said, implied that either it does not pay any salaries to its Board and staff or pays from funds that have not been paid into the Consolidated Revenue Fund in contravention of the constitution. He asked the House to probe the payment of such severance package, which he described as indefensible, lacking in transparency. According to him, with the dwindling resources accruing to the nation, it is the duty of leaders of public institutions to manage public funds judiciously, adding that it is also within the constitutional powers of the National Assembly to authorise withdrawals from the public funds of the federation. Others who contributed to the motion were full of fury as they condemned the arrangement. The contended that it was suicidal for a group of people to decide and allocate such large chunk of money to themselves, when

Senate announces 65 committee chairmen CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

committees. The lawmaker also dispelled what he described as the misinformation about juicy committees, stressing

that as far as the leadership of the senate was concerned, all the committees are equal and there are no special or juicy committees.

a large section of the populace were languishing in hunger and abject poverty. A lawmaker, Tajudeen

Yusuf, in his contribution, urged the House to expedite action in probing the matter.

Consequently, the motion was carried. The Speaker, Yakubu Dogara, consequently man-

dated the Committee on Power to investigate the Commission and the seven Board members.

Workers of Warri Refinery and Petrochemical Company protesting yesterday at Ekpan, Delta State.

Marketers sell fuel at over N100 per litre CONTINUED FROM PAGE 2

ing from station when people queue up to buy fuel and delaying sales till late in the night to make illegal gains It was gathered that DPR team with the support of men of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC, while acting on a tip-off and complaints from members of the public, visited the interior parts of the state where sharp practices were most rampant. It was learnt that at Apete, Awotan and Yidi

Arola, where the team visited, petrol was selling for between N105 and N110 per litre with an additional charge of N100 for every 10 litres bought. Fuel stations sealed off for selling above the approved N87 per litre include Fatoil located at the Sango-Eleyele road, Romkol Global Oil, Apete, Solace Global Resources Limited, Apete, Muhatorm Petroleum Oil and Gas Nigeria Limited in Awotan-Iludun, Mericom Business Heritage, Arola, Towafad Interbiz Limited, Arola and Gilog Oil Nigeria Limited, Awotan.

Others are Moore at Apata Odo Ona, D-Nest, Apata/New Garage Expressway, Kuola and Sabara oil, Oleyo road, Ashipa, while two stations operated by Fem Mesh, at Ijebu Ode road and Arapaja junction were sealed for refusing to sell fuel, claiming that they left the fuel for reserve. Operations Controller, Ibadan field office of DPR, Mr. Olakunle Ogunlana, who described the scarcity as artificial, said: “Government is doing enough to ensure availability of petroleum product across the country and will not hesitate to deal with sabo-

teurs. “It is the gimmick of the marketers to make it look as if government is not paying subsidy but government is paying. Even despite the directive to cut down on importation, it is still the duty of importers to import as long as they have the license to do so.” While reinstating the determination of his team to enforce government directive to the letter, Ogunlana urged fuel marketers in the state to be patriotic and save the public from untold hardship.

Court stops FRC from hindering Stanbic IBTC’s operations WALE IGBINTADE

ederal High Court in Lagos yesterday restrained Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria, FRCN, from hindering the operations of Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc. Justice Ibrahim Buba in a ruling on the motion for interlocutory injunction filed by Stanbic IBTC Holdings also restrained FRCN from inviting the company’s entire Board of Directors to any meeting in connection with any statutory investigation of its financial statements until the final determination of the pending suit. The judge barred FRCN from preventing the plaintiff or its subsidiaries

“from carrying on their lawful businesses.” The orders, the judge said, will subsist “until the hearing and determination of these proceedings.” IBTC told the court that FRCN, since August 3, has been investigating its audited accounts for the year ended December 2014. The investigations concern liabilities accrued in the plaintiff ’s 2014 accounts in respect of franchise fees owed to Standard Bank of South Africa, the registration of which it said has been pending before NOTAP since 2011. Following a meeting on October 16, the council informed IBTC that it committed criminal offences and that it would be

reported to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, and the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC. But the plaintiff contended that the council has no statutory or other powers to summon the its entire board of directors to a meeting in order to determine their complicity or otherwise in any alleged criminal offence. Arguing the plaintiff ’s application, Prof Fidelis Oditah, SAN, said FRCN has been acting beyond its powers. According to him, the council “is not a prosecutor or a court,” adding that it engaged in a campaign of calumny against the plaintiff.

The consequence, Oditah said, is that Stanbic IBTC’s share price fell from N23 to less than N19 within a week. But FRCN’s lawyer, Chief Olusina Sofola, SAN, urged the court not to grant the application because the invitation had been overtaken by events. In his ruling, Justice Buba held that the application has merit saying “There is a strong case for the maintenance of status quo.” In its suit, the plaintiff is asking the court to determine among others whether FRCN has the power to impose a fine of N1bn on it. FRCN had last week sanctioned Stanbic IBTC over its audited accounts for 2013 and 2014.

Thursday, November 5, 2015

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$5.2bn fine: MTN denies pact with NCC, cautions note holders Isaiah Erhiawarien

TN Group has denied going into any agreement with the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, over the $5. 2 billion fine imposed on it for failing to deactivate unregistered SIM. A statement issued in South Africa by the group

yesterday described the reported pact with the commission as a rumour, while restating its readiness to continue to engage the Federal Government and its representatives on the matter in discussions. The MTN Group stated: “These reports are false as no resolution has yet been reached. MTN Group continues to engage the authorities in Nigeria on this

Reps overrule MDCN on licence before doctors’ participation in NYSC Kemi Olaitan Ibadan

uccour may have come the way of new medical student graduates across the country, as the House of Representatives has called on the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria, MDCN, to urgently direct the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, to admit into the Batch ‘B’ 2015 Orientation camps all medical professionals with evidence of completion of internship and payment receipts for permanent licence pending issuance of such licences by the body. The call at its plenary was the resolution of the House following a motion moved by Hon Bosun Oladele, representing Irepo/ Oorel ope /O l o r u n s o g o Federal Constituency of Oyo State, under matter

of national urgency to halt the harrowing experience prospective qualified doctors were being subjected to by the NYSC. While moving the motion, the lawmaker expressed worries that about 2,500 medical doctors were supposed to be in various NYSC orientation camps across Nigeria to commence the one year National Youth Service to motherland, but most, if not all of them may miss the Batch ‘B’ 2015 service year, thus denying Nigeria their services at this critical time.” Oladele said the House has cognisance of the fact that the process of issuing permanent licences that ought to take less than one week was now taking months without assurance of getting same despite having

made

statutory

payments, unless the applicant was ‘connected’.

Reps want military commands in recaptured territories Ubong Ukpong Abuja

ouse of Representatives yesterday asked Defence Headquarters, DHQ, to embark on establishment of military commands in all territories reclaimed from Boko Haram terrorists in the North East. The action, the Reps said, would enhance the protection of those territories. This is even as they asked the Federal Government to urgently clear all wreckages of military hardware scattered across the recovered territories in Adamawa, Borno and Yobe states, and also assist the victims and families of landmine explo-

sions in the North East zone. This followed a motion brought by Adamu Kamale and Asabe Vilita on the urgent need for cleanup of wreckages of military hardware and landmine in the North East zone. The Reps noted that the successes recorded by the Nigerian armed forces and other security operatives in the fight against Boko Haram in the North East had led to the recovery of several local government areas previously under the control of the insurgents, especially between March and April 2015, which had resulted in hundreds of Internally Displaced Persons, IDPs, returning to their various homes.

matter. “All stakeholders of the group are reminded that MTN Group and the company will inform them of any material developments in our engagements with Nigerian authorities. Note holders are also asked to exercise caution when reacting to information that has not been released by MTN Group or by the company,” it added. While expressing confi-

dence in the Nigerian telecoms market, the group, which has operated in Nigeria for over a decade, stated that as in other markets where MTN Group had maintained presence, it has conducted its business in accordance with established principles related to sound corporate governance. This is even as it disclosed that as a group, which owes its founding

and growth to the emerging world, it is conscious of its responsibility to invest in the growth of local economies and development of communities wherever it operates, saying that “Nigeria is no different.” According to the statement, the group claimed that since launching more than a decade ago, MTN Group had made significant investments in connecting customers to

its network and took its responsibilities and obligations very seriously, anchoring its growth and success on its commercial propositions. The MTN Group also assured of its commitment to maintaining solid partnerships with regulators, governments, communities and its markets in Nigeria, to build a sustainable industry that contributes to the growth of local economies.

L-R: Head of Financial Inclusion Secretariat, CBN, Temitope Akin-Fadeyi; Special Adviser to CBN Governor on Development Financing, Mr Paul Nduka-Eluhaiwe, and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, during a meeting on Financial Inclusion of People Living with Disabilities in Nigeria, at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, yesterday.

Reps urge INEC to create more state constituencies Ubong Ukpong Abuja

ouse of Representatives has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to as a matter of urgency, create additional state constituencies in affected states, to increase the number of seats at the Houses of Assembly. The resolution followed a motion yesterday, brought by Francis Charles Uduyok, Akwa Ibom PDP, on the need for INEC to comply with the mandate of creating additional state constituencies in accordance with the provision of the 1999 Constitution. Uduyok Inone in his prayers told the House that INEC ought to have created additional state constituencies in Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bayelsa, Jigawa, Sokoto, Kogi, Imo and Benue states. He noted that Section 91 of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution stated that “a House of Assembly of a state shall consist of three or four times the number

of seats, which that state has in the House of Representatives divided in a way to reflect as far as possible nearly equal population: provided that a House of Assembly of a state shall consist of not less than 24 and not more than 40 members.” The lawmaker told the House that it was solely the duty of INEC to create state constituencies in line with Sections 112, 113 and 114 of the constitution. However, he was disturbed that people of some

states may not be well-represented at the moment going by the requirements of fairness in Sections 91, 112 and 114 of the constitution, as is currently in several states, where these provisions were not complied with. The legislator in his prayer further asked the House to urge all other government agencies concerned with ensuring the creation of constituencies to comply with the provisions of the constitution. During the debate, some members pointed out to the

House that the INEC had resisted all previous efforts to get it to create additional state constituencies. After a thorough debate on the matter by the House presided over by Speaker Yakubu Dogara, the motion which received overwhelming support was passed with a slight amendment that names of states be removed from the motion’s prayer to read only “all affected states,” carrying along every other state that desired additional state constituencies.

Ooni-elect to spend 5 days in Obatala shrine Boladale Bamigbola Osogbo

s the pre-installation rites for Ooni-elect, Enitan Adeyeye Ogunwusi, enters second week, investigation yesterday revealed that the monarch will spend the last five days of his seclusion in Obatala shrine. Olufon of Ifon-Orolu, Oba Adekunle Abdul Mahroof Magbagbeola, Olu-

moyero II, in a chat, also said Ooni pre-installation rites must include sacrificial worship of Obatala. He added that “being the first son of Obatala, I must move to Ile-Ife to participate in the rites.” Ogunwusi, who began the 21-day confinement in Ilofi, where every Ooni-elect must be prepared before ascension, on Friday, November 30, sources said, would perform rites in Obatala shrine,

the last 5 days of his confinement. According to informed sources, the rites that would be performed in Obatala shrine would climax with the celebration of a festival called “ekuru”. Meanwhile, Iremo Quarters, where Ilofi is located, is still being heavily guarded by armed policemen, but this does not affect business and movement of people.

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Kwara Assembly summons police commissioner WOLE ASSEMBLY

wara State House of Assembly has summoned the police commissioner, an Area Commander and Divisional Police Officer, DPO, in charge of Adewole Housing Estate over alleged incessant harassment and extortion of road users in the area by his men. The three were directed to appear before the House Committees on Ethics, Privileges, Public Petitions

and Judiciary to explain the incessant harassment and extortions. The directive followed a Matter of General Public Importance raised by a member representing Ilorin Northwest Constituency, Alhaji AbdulRafiu AbdulRahman, alleging the extortions. Deputy Speaker Mathew Okedare, who presided over the sitting, said the officials’ appearance would help to curb the excesses of some alleged bad eggs in the force. AbdulRahman had,

while raising a Matter of General Public Importance, commended the Nigerian Police for ensuring peaceful co-existence and curbing crimes in the state but noted that the activities of some allegedly few bad eggs

had caused untold hardship on road users plying Adeta, Adewole roundabout and called on the House to wade into the matter with a view to finding enduring solution to the menace. Member representing

Odo-Ogun Constituency, Mr Kamaldeen Fagbemi, said the House of Assembly had constitutional power to invite the hierarchy of the Nigerian Police in the state to appear before it to explain infringe-

ments on the fundamental human rights of citizens they were supposed to protect. The committee, according to the Deputy Speaker, has two weeks to submit its report.

Varsity suspends six lecturers WOLE ADEDEJI ILORIN

wara State University, KWASU, Malete, has placed six lecturers on suspension for alleged misconduct. A statement by the varsity’s Director of Information, Dr Isiaka Aliagan, said their suspension “followed a report to the university management that on Tuesday, October 27, the affected lecturers abused and harassed the chief safety officer of the university in the course of performing his lawful duty. “The CSO, in an attempt to address a group of academic staff, including the suspended lecturers, was found holding a meeting in the Visual and Performing Arts, VPA Open Theatre without official approval or permission to use the facility, and was harassed by the group.” Aliagan added, “Using the VPA Open Theatre without official permission and harassing and abusing an officer of the university while performing his lawful duty were considered by the university management to be acts of gross misconduct, which are not only inimical to the integrity of the university, but also undermined its authority. “Thus, the university management, having decided that by such act the affected academic staff members have contravened the extant provisions of the Code of Con-

duct for Staff, approved their suspension from duty with immediate effect until further notice. “In addition, it was also decided by the management that the matter be referred to the Senior Staff Disciplinary Committee before which the suspended academic staff will appear.’’ He said the affected academic staff members who have been served their letters of suspension had been directed to hand over all university properties in their possession to their Heads of Departments or Provosts, while also being barred from accessing the campus, especially academic areas. National Mirror gathered that the affected lecturers were those who formed a chapter of the Academic Staff Union of University, ASUU in the school which was not approved of, and which could be responsible for their ordeal.

New members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) taking oath during the 56th induction ceremony in Lagos, yesterday. PHOTO: NAN

N3.1bn fraud: EFCC fails to arraign Suswam DOOSUUR IWAMBE ABUJA

rraignment of former Benue State Governor, Dr. Gabriel Suswam, by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, for alleged money laundering and corruption charges did not take place yesterday. Although the anti-graft agency has filed a ninecount charge bordering on money laundering to the tune of N3.1bn against Suswam, who ruled Benue State from 2007 to 2015 at the Federal High Court Abuja, the case file has not been assigned to a judge of the court for adjudication by the Chief Judge, Ibrahim Auta.

After waiting several hours for the arrival of Suswam, journalists were informed by EFCC counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, that Chief Judge Auta was attending a seminar organised for judges outside the court premises. Journalists and lawyers, who had besieged the court following a statement from EFCC over the planned arraignment, left disappointed after waiting several hours without any arraignment. Jacobs, who came to the court complex accompanied by Mr. Adebisi Adeniyi, was among several other lawyers in court in respect of the case. Suswam and his former finance commissioner, Omodachi Okolobia, were

alleged to have diverted proceeds of sale of shares owned by the Benue government and Benue Investment and Property Company Ltd. The offence is punishable under section 15(3) of the Money Laundering (Prohibition) Act 2011 as amended in 2012. The EFCC had grilled Suswam and Okolobia for many days last month but released them on administrative bail. The two men, it was learnt from their interrogators, were shown documents relating to the alleged crimes preferred against them and were asked to defend themselves to enable the commission determine their culpability or other-

wise. While Suswam is facing trial brought by EFCC, he had successfully stopped his probe by the state governor, Samuel Ortom, by securing the order of the Benue State High Court to restrain the commission of inquiry raised by the governor from investigating his tenure. It is not clear if Suswam will also get the same court to restrain EFCC from proceeding with his trial. Meanwhile, a group under the auspices of Benue Coalition for Justice, Equity and Fairness has claimed that the invitation of the former Benue governor, Suswam, by EFCC is the handiwork of political heavy weights in the state.

Ambode assures on commitment to education FRANCIS SUBERU AND TUBOSUN OGUNDARE

agos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode yesterday reaffirmed his administration’s commitment towards improving quality of education in the state as the springboard of any development of any nation. The governor, who stated this while hosting the OneDay Governor, Master Sonoiki Idowu, in his office in

Alausa, Ikeja, assured that his administration was favourably disposed towards making education a priority, just as he appreciated receiving the guests for the first time since commencement of this present administration. He commended the OneDay Governor and his cabinet for excelling in various examinations that produced them as representatives and occupants of the number one seat in the state for a day. The governor also com-

mended the winners of the various educational competitions in the state for establishing themselves as future leaders and assured that the state is committed towards keeping the education environment flying, while assuring the team of government’s readiness to cater for the OneDay Governor and his team. Earlier, the One-Day Governor, Sonoiki Idowu had praised Ambode for vacating his seat for him and commended Senator Oluremi Tinubu, the originator and

founder of the Spelling Bee Competition that produced the One-Day Governor, for her initiative and vision. He said that Lagos State educational system is worthy of emulation by all other states particularly with such programmes as the Spelling Bee competition, which has turned the lives of many students around, irrespective of tribe or religion. He also noted that the programme has provided free education for both the privileged and less-privileged

students and thus serves as leverage for the beneficiaries. The One-Day Governor also encouraged his fellow students and friends to be more studious and determined so as to achieve greatness and excellence in their field of studies. Urging all stakeholders in the education sector to strive towards achieving excellence, Sonoiki also called on the state government to encourage teachers and improve on their welfare for optimal performance.

South West

Thursday, November 5, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

NDLEA intercepts 41 bags of Indian hemp Femi Oyeweso Abeokuta

peratives of Ogun State command of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, yesterday intercepted three vehicles loaded with bags of substances suspected to be cannabis sativa popularly known as Indian hemp. The three vehicles, which included a Ford bullion van marked (LAGOS) SMK 707 XF, a Nissan pick-up van marked (LAGOS) FKJ 731 XQ and a Mitsubishi pull-van marked (LAGOS) LSR 837 XR were intercepted at Ijebu-Igbo in Ijebu North Local Government Area of Ogun State. State Commander of NDLEA, Bala Fagge, briefed journalists yesterday in Abeokuta, the state capital, saying the operatives of the narcotic agency intercepted the contraband at Ijebu-Igbo where the suspects had abandoned them after a close chase by NDLEA officials. He explained that owner of the Ford bullion van identified as Ismail Adeoyo was also arrested at Ilara town in Imeko/Afon Local Government Area

of the state with another species of cannabis called “skunk”, which is considered more dangerous than the conventional Indian hemp. Fagge also said 41 bags of the contraband were neatly concealed in two of the pick-up vans, while the third Ford vehicle was carrying unspecified number of “skunk”, all weighing 512 kilogrammes. Ogun State NDLEA boss further stated that the 38-year-old Adeoyo, a native of Ibadan in Oyo State, confessed to being a trans-border drug dealer who buys the drug from the Republic of Benin. He said Adeoyo was arrested on Tuesday and would be charged to court accordingly. Concerning the bullion vans, Fagge said it took a lot of intelligence to foil the plan of the drug dealers, adding that there was no way anyone could have suspected that such utility vehicles were being used to carry illicit drugs. Fagge, however, maintained that investigations were on to arrest owners of the other two abandoned vans.

Ekiti set to disburse CBN/MSME loan Abiodun Nejo Ado Ekiti

kiti State Commissioner for Finance and Economic Development, Chief Toyin Ojo, yesterday said the state government was ready to begin disbursement of the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN/MSME loan to applicants. Ojo said the loan would be disbursed as soon as CBN’s final approval was obtained, adding that applicants would be able to access a maximum amount of N1 million. The commissioner, who spoke at a forum in AdoEkiti, Ekiti State capital, assured workers of continued prompt payment of their salaries and allowances. He restated the commitment of the present administration in the state to workers’ welfare despite

the meagre allocation accruing from the federation account. Ojo, however, sought the patience and understanding of the people, stressing the need for all and sundry to promptly pay their taxes in order to empower government to serve them better. He also called for prayers for the success of the administration and improved economy, saying the economy of the nation needed divine intervention.

Fayose

L-R: Lagos State One-Day SSG, Master Musa Habeeb; One-Day Deputy Governor, Master Abdul-Liadi Faaiz; Deputy Governor, Dr. (Mrs.) Oluranti Adebule; Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode; One-Day Governor, Master Idowu Sonoiki; One-Day Commissioner for Science and Technology, Miss Onikoyi Abimbola; One-Day Commissioner for Education, Miss Adesuyi Adetutu and One-Day Speaker, Master Dahunsi Fehinti, during the One-Day Governor’s visit, at the EXCO chamber, Lagos House, Ikeja, yesterday.

Fasoranti recants, remains Afenifere leader

Ojo Oyewamide Akure

lder statesman, Pa Reuben Fasoranti, has rescinded his decision to step aside as chairman of apex Yoruba socio-political group, Afenifere. The new development followed the rejection of his resignation by members of the group. Fasoranti had on Sunday resigned his position as national chairman of Afenifere, citing old age and disunity among members of the association. In a letter sent to General Secretary, Chief Sehinde

Francis Suberu

overnor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State yesterday told the new Head of Service, HoS, Mrs. Olabowale Ademola, and three other Permanent Secretaries that he would not accept excuses for non-performance. Ambode, who performed the swearing-in ceremony at the State House, Alausa, Ikeja, charged Ademola to see the appointment as a call to service and immediately get to work so as to justify the responsibilities placed on her. The governor charged

Arogbofa, he lamented that the group had derailed and failed to realise its dream of a great nation and united Yoruba race. But Afenifere yesterday rejected Fasoranti’s resignation at an emergency meeting of the group in Akure, Ondo State capital. The meeting was attended by prominent Yoruba leaders, including chiefs Olu Falae, Ayo Adebanjo, Sehinde Arogbofa, Yinka Odumakin, among others. They resolved that the octogenarian should continue as chairman of the group. Odumakin, who briefed journalists after the meeting that lasted for about

five hours, said members of the group had rejected Fasoranti’s resignation in its entirety. He said the meeting appreciated the selfless service of the elder statesman since he assumed office till date. He said: “In spite of his old age, he has discharged credibly well. He is a man of character. He is somebody that maintains the balance and we appreciate him for that. “Meeting therefore, unanimously resolved to reject his offer to step aside as leader of Afenifere. We have pleaded with him to carry on his responsibility as leader of the group.

“We are glad to inform you that after listening to the meeting, our leader, Chief Fasoranti, graciously accepted to carry on and withdrew his resignation letter. “The meeting thanked all Yoruba people, all our supporters and members who have expressed concern. We want to assure them that there is no crisis in Afenifere. “We resolve to enjoin all our members and supporters to remain fully committed and add value in order to move Nigeria forward. We will not relent in our effort to take Afenifere to greater heights.”

I won’t take excuses for non-performance, Ambode tells HoS, others the HoS to build on the achievements of her predecessor and work to take the state to greater heights in the delivery of good governance for the benefit of all residents and investors in Lagos State. Ambode also told Ademola that the immediate responsibility before her was to build on the gains of the recent reforms and re-alignment the current administration has undertaken in the civil service and ensure the overall objectives of prompt, efficient and effective ser-

vice delivery are achieved. He expressed confidence in the ability of the HoS to rise to the challenge before her, considering her years of experience and knowledge of the dynamics, peculiarities and strengths of the state public service. Meanwhile, Governor Ambode equally elevated three substantive directors: Tunde Ogunleye, Taofik Fashola and Fola Padonu as permanent secretaries in the Ministry of Finance, Audit Service Commission and Ministry of Wealth Creation and

Employment, respectively. While swearing-in the permanent secretaries, Ambode enjoined them to see their appointment as a reward for dedication, urging them to promptly attend to all matters always. The governor reminded the appointees that they were chosen from a pool of equally qualified and competent officers, adding that they must uphold the tradition of excellence, which the Lagos State Public Service is known for.

Thursday, November 5, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Politics

INEC: Challenges before the new leadership The National Council of State recently approved the nomination of Professor Mahmood Yakubu as the new Chairman for the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC. GEORGE OJI & OMEIZA AJAYI write on the challenges before the new INEC boss.

omehow, the recent appointment of Prof. Mahmood Yakubu as the new INEC Chairman has not generated a lot of ripples usually associated with such development in a country as partisan as Nigeria. Well, that might be understandable considering the fact that the new appointee was never really in contention for the plum but tasking job. At least, not overtly. The council had also approved the appointment of five National Commissioners for INEC including Amina Zakari (North-West), Anthonia Okosi-Simbine (North Central), Alhaji Shettima (North- East), Dr. Mohammed Mustapha (South-South) and Mr. Soyebi Solomon (South West). Mr. Lawrence Nwuruku is retained for the South-East zone. Yakubu, if he has faced any serious challenge before, then the next five years might even be more nightmarish for him despite being an expert in guerrilla warfare and counter-terrorism. The end of one electoral cycle heralds the beginning of another. In other words, one starts preparing for the next elections just as the one at hand is ending. In spite of the enormous challenges that appears set before him, Yakubu’s job has however been made easier as both Amina Bala Zakari and Lawrence Nwuruku have been on ground as national commissioners for some years now. Yakubu is therefore set to draw a lot from their experiences. Also, Prince Solomon Soyebi, one of the newlyappointed national commissioners is not new to the workings of INEC as he has been appointed in that capacity even before the 2011 general elections. The second plank on which this premise is based is that immediately after the 2011 general elections, the commission had developed a Strategic Plan and Action Implementation Plan which began in 2012 and ends in 2016. Most of the activities of the commission are centered round this plan. All he needs do is to see to their continued implementation. There are several tasks before him, but the immediate one has to do with studying and understanding the commission itself. This is why he would have to study the report on the last general elections.

sions, such as INEC, must have a quorum of one third of its members to take certain top-level management decisions. Several critical decisions were taken with regards to the conduct of both elections. Specifically, that section states that; “the quorum for a meeting of any of the bodies established by section 153 of this Constitution shall be not less than one-third of the total number of members of that body at the date of the meeting”. It is not known for sure if the new INEC boss would order the rescheduling of the polls.

Amending the 2010 Electoral Act This is going to be one of the greatest headaches of the new INEC chief. Having to work with the Electoral Act 2010 is like giving a man a vast land to c lear with obsolete equipment. INEC had continued to make several representations to the National Assembly but their cries were not exactly heeded. Aside calling for an improved welfare for its staff to get them more committed, the need to incorporate technology into Nigeria’s electoral process is a request that did not also see the light of the day. For instance, electronic voting would have greatly enhanced the fidelity or integrity of the last general elections, even as greater use of such technology would lead to a drastic reduction in electionrelated litigations.

Yakubu

At first, voter education with regards to the introduction of this new technology was either low or inappropriately designed and disseminated

The 2015 General Elections Report The 232-page report which was unveiled just days ago is an expert analysis of anything and everything that has to do with the last general elections. It has also provided suggestions as to how best to improve on Nigeria’s electoral process. It evaluates pre-election activities undertaken by the commission, including the inauguration of an internal committee to collaborate with an external consultant to evolve a Strategic Action Plan for the commission. It outlined several challenges which might be of interest to Prof. Yakubu. One of such challenges is in the area of operations and logistics. In Nigeria’s electoral history, polling units have always been designed to open before or at 8am. However, this has never been the case in most parts of the country during general elections. Like the report rightly stated, the Memorandum of Understanding entered into with the Nigeria Union of Road Transport Workers, NURTW was observed more in the breach.

The Kogi, Bayelsa Guber elections and Akwa Ibom partial re-run

The hitches with the PVC, SCR There were unresolved issues over the deployment of Permanent Voter Cards and the Smart Card Readers. At first, voter education with regards to the introduction of this new technology was either low or inappropriately designed and disseminated. Then, even electoral officers flouted the guidelines on their usage as in some cases they just made a resort to the use of manual registers without necessarily satisfying the conditions for such a switch. All the problems associated with this novel technology have to be resolved before the Kogi and Bayelsa elections.

Delimitation of constituencies and creation of polling units Having read the above report, the urgency of retooling the commission’s staff ahead of the forthcoming governorship elections in Kogi and Bayelsa states slated for November 21 and December 5, 2015, respectively cannot be over-emphasized. If he fails in this first task, then it will be pretty difficult for him to redeem his battered image. He is however very fortunate, in that the immediate-past acting chairman of the commission, Amina Bala Zakari had gone far with preparations for the polls. Even more cheering for Yakubu is the fact that Zakari is still a National Commissioner in INEC and she would always be available to put him through on some of the arrangements already made. The tribunal which sat on the election petitions from Akwa Ibom only recently delivered its judgment calling for a re-run in 18 out of 31 local government areas in Akwa Ibom state. This has to be done before the end of January next year. Section 159(1) of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended, stipulates that commis-

These were things that INEC should have done before the last general elections. However, the issue generated so much controversy that INEC feared they could jeopardize the conduct of the general elections. Unfortunately, constituency delineation is something that has to be done on a regular basis as prescribed by the relevant laws. Is he going to revisit the issue of the creation of additional 30, 000 polling units, with the north still having over 21, 000 of the units as initially planned by Prof. Attahiru Jega, his predecessor? Aside these, there are other challenges which the new INEC boss may have to contend with. He will have to work with few Resident Electoral Commissioners, RECs as more than half of them have already served out their terms. Fortunately for him, the next general election is still over three years away and before then hopefully, the vacancies would have been filled. The good news is that he will be working with six national commissioners for now. In effect, he will never have CONTINUED ON PAGE 14

Politics

Thursday, November 5, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

INEC: Challenges before the new leadership CONTINUED FROM PAGE 13 to go through a situation where most of the national commissioners will retire the same day, leaving him with just one or two to carry on with the onerous task of leading INEC. Although, Prof. Yakubu comes to the job with an intimidating resume, there have been series of attack on President Muhammadu Buhari for appointing him. The most virulent of the attacks came from the Governor of Ekiti state, Ayodele Fayose, who said the appointment of Prof. Yakubu as INEC chairman merely attests to the fact that President Muhammadu Buhari is a sectional leader. He said the appointment vindicates his earlier position that the President sees himself “as leader of the Hausa/ Fulani, and not that of the entire people of Nigeria”. Mr. Fayose said he had expected the new INEC Chairman to be chosen from one of the three Southern geopolitical zones, especially the South Western part of the country being the only zone yet to produce chairman of the nation’s electoral umpire. Although, Buhari is from Katsina state in the Northwest, Yakubu from Bauchi in the Northeast, they both shared one language and close cultural affinity. For, indeed when Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was the President, he never appointed a Yoruba man as INEC chairman. Dr Goodluck Jonathan too did not appoint an Ijaw man as INEC Chairman. Even during the Shehu Shagari era and the military days, no president appointed a man from his tribe to chair the electoral body. While some pundits may have applauded Buhari on Prof. Yakubu’s appointment, this is indeed a crunch time for the Professor of History and International Studies. His knowledge of Nigeria, nay Africa and her chequered electoral history might come in handy for him. The choices he make and the ones he abandon would define the course of political events ahead the 2019 general elections. Interestingly, Mahmood seems well-cut out for his new assignment. He has already outlined several measures to deal with some of the above tasks. He did this when he appeared for his confirmation before the senate last week.

On Early Primaries Prof. Mahmood said the success of any election depends on the ability of the commission to properly organise and arrange the election in advance. But unfortunately in this country we have a culture of last minute rush, he had said. As a result of this, so many things that are supposed to be done early are not done. If six months is the time limit under the law at present, he said there is the need for INEC to come back to the National Assembly for an amendment to enable her tap long period of time that will enable us have longer period of preparation. On Direct and Indirect Primaries, he said he would like to see a commission, which consults widely, rather than a commission that will sit in judgment. There are mechanisms for consultation with the parties through quarterly meetings and there is the mechanism of consultation with the parties through the inter party advisory council. So, instead of making a commitment one way or another on direct or indirect primaries, INEC he said will throw that up for consultations with the political parties and at the end of which, it will come up with the best method to adopt. Then, on Proportional Representation, he recalled that the Uwais’ commission made a recommendation like that even as it is one of the outstanding issues in the Uwais report. “I do not know what the international best practice is that we will adopt because I have a problem with international best practices. You know you cannot transplant the experiences of other jurisdictions; you can only borrow, where that borrowing will have value. But in case of the Uwais report, the proportional representation is in respect of two areas”, he said. The first is gender sensitivity, particularly the membership of women at the National and State assemblies. Then there is the representation of the youths. These are issues that again will be further

and INEC must consolidate on that, rather than begin a new experimentation with longer span of testing the validity of the process. “Fortunately for us at the governorship election, we have staggered election by default. In many states, elections come at different times. Very soon, it will be Kogi and Bayelsa, thereafter, we will have Ondo, Osun, Ekiti, Edo and Anambra, where we need to test run some of these new innovations, but there must be a guiding principle. The workability of these technology and consultations with the stakeholders, otherwise we will just get bogged down.

Untested Card Readers and the Challenges

Zakari

discussed with the political parties, because you are not going to do it the German way where after elections, parties receive votes and you are assigned membership of the National Parliament, the Bundulstag on the basis of the national votes that the parties received. To him, this one will be an arrangement similar to those of the United Kingdom, where you have safe constituencies and you nominate. It will be the decision of the Nigerian people through the ballot box. But these are issues that are outstanding in the Uwais report. But the principle is sound, that all segments of the Nigerian society and Nigerian population that are eligible under the Nigerian Constitution and other extant laws of the country should find representation in the governance of this country. One of the tasks before him has to do with the ongoing debate on electronic voting. He said the system is both desirable and inevitable. According to him, if you look at the trajectory in the last 10 years, the voter register comes in an electronic form. Initially, it was just the register, then photographs were added, then in the last election, both photographs and biometrics were added. So, it is inevitable that one day we shall go to e-voting, he said. “The experiences of other nations shows us that we will have to tread cautiously. It’s technology, may be untried, untested, will get bogged down? Is it pure electronic voting or electronic voting with paper trail like they do in Venezuela? So, it is desirable, it is inevitable but we need to examine the implications of what we do otherwise, we rush into it and get bogged down. There must be no room for experimentation. He has also shown that he will not deviate from the objectives set by his predecessor, saying as far as he is concerned, something has happened in this country in 2015

The most virulent of the attacks came from the

Governor of Ekiti state, Ayodele Fayose, who said the appointment of

Prof. Yakubu as INEC

chairman merely attests to the fact that

President

Muhammadu Buhari is a sectional leader

Anything that is not testable comes up with challenges. The problem with technology is that it always comes up with challenges. At a time, I was suspicious, not of the card reader, but the electronic mechanisms. As a chief executive in a federal parastatal, I received so many proposals from individuals for ICT-based projects. They are nice people, they come in nice suits, they talk nicely, slam a big bill on you and at the following day the system collapses. So, there are challenges, but these are challenges we must overcome”, he vowed. Mahmood was however quick to add that INEC is not using electronic voting, but electronic accreditation, and there is one advantage. The advantage, according to him, is that INEC should explore the possibility for 2019 or even the bye-elections of the governorship elections to eliminate accreditation and after sometime, actual voting. With the card reader, we can do the two simultaneously; accredit and then allow the voters to vote. On the new reforms he would introduce, he said he was not coming for experimentation, even as he paid glowing tributes to Prof. Attahiru Jega for doing a marvelous job in reforming the electoral system in the country. Since he is not coming for experimentation, it follows therefore that he is coming in for consolidation because, like he said, Nigeria cannot be experimenting all the time. “For the first time, we have achieved tremendous democratic stability in Nigeria. With every election since 1999, there is a new electoral act. But there are still some issues and we will consult with the National Assembly because you have the powers to make laws. Once that is done, we will then move into the era of consolidation”, he pledged. Democracy is not about here and now, it is about here and forever. Mahmood said his long term objective is to have an electoral system in which, Nigerians vote seamlessly, without caring a hoot about who is the Chairman of the electoral commission and who are the members of the electoral commission. According to him, he witnessed two elections in Great Britain, and in none of the elections was the name of the chairman of the election commission mentioned and “I did not want to know who the chairman of the commission was. We need to strengthen the institutions so that they can discharge their functions, seamlessly and efficiently”, he stated. On Diaspora Voting, he also said it is inevitable. As a student of history, the new INEC boss recalled a time in this country in the first republic, when political parties in this country had branches overseas. They registered members and even made financial contributions to the parties. “The contemporary reality is that you have a large population of Nigerians, one estimate puts it at 15 million and they remit $20 billion annually in returns to the country. Also, they play a very active part in the political process. They even had an unwritten article of faith such that no campaign is complete without the parties holding political town hall campaigns outside this country. So, it is desirable. People outside this country must have to vote. May be we will not go the French way. The French way is that, not even that they have created constituencies overseas, they get a member to represent the Diaspora in the parliament. We may get to that point later, but before we do that, there are certain fundamental decisions that must be done and fundamental reforms, as well as the amendment of the constitution”, he explained.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Politics

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Kogi in safe hands with Wada Jacob Edi

egun Olulade’s article on Pg. 44 of National Mirror on Tuesday, 3rd November 2015 is drenched in outright lies and half truths. Titled ‘Why Kogi must be rescued’ the work is an undisguised condemnation of Capt. Idris Wada, Governor of Kogi State and his party the People’s Democratic Party, PDP under which he is seeking re-election.. Conversely, and not surprisingly though, Olulade reserved his kind words for candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC and one time governor Alh. Abubakar Audu who has been serially rejected by the Kogi electorate for his unequalled records of arrogance, foppery and effeminacy. For the records, Olulade is a serving member of the House of Assembly in far away Lagos, whose demand of duties afford the time and luxury to perform oversight functions on another state. So, as a Nigerian we conceded his freedom to pass informed comments on public affairs. No one begrudges his right to condemn or to commend as he may deem fit, provided the fundamental principles of fairness and objectivity are not in any way sacrificed. Unfortunately, the Lagos lawmaker is unable to rise above putrid, parochial and partisan sentiments in his diatribe. This rejoinder is necessitated by the need to set the records straight and liberate unsuspecting readers who may have been hoodwinked by the yellow writer. Now, let us consider Olulade’s fallacies and the sacred facts. Yes, we agree with his opening montage that as the nexus between the North and Southern parts of our country, Kogi State richly harbours virtually all economic potentials of the two regions. Apart from being the confluence of two of Africa’s largest rivers- the Niger and Benue, its cocktail of solid mineral deposits easily qualifies it as a continental wonder. The Capt. Idris Wada administration is conscious of this and has left no stones unturned in its thirst to attract foreign investors for the industrialization of the State. Till date, the administration has signed more than 20 Memorandum of Understanding, MOUs with various investors notably from America, Vietnam, China, Korea and development agencies, since inception in 2012. As someone who should be conversant with public policies and the workings of governments, Olulade may be aware that there is a gestation period between conceptualization of an idea and optimal implementation. Even at that, some of the MOUs on bilateral relations have started yielding fruits. They include the one with Korea International Cooperation Agency, KOICA which has produced a friendship institute of vacation and advanced technology in Felele; the one with Kagyl Investment of United States, a partner on the first Staple Crop Processing Zone in Alape; the one with the United Nations Habitat which is seeing to the development of Lokoja as a millennia city and lastly the one with CINOSREP cement at Itobe among others. All the data supplied by Olulade to support his unjustified attack are cooked up and products of his confused imagination. For instance in one breath, he claims that from 2012 to 2014, under Wada administration Kogi State earned N240 Billion as revenue and in another he says the state earns N80 Billion as monthly allocation. What a rude knowledge of mathematics? We are at a loss over how a 80 Billion multiplied by 12 months in three years will give a paltry N240bn. In any case, the total amount that came to the state from the federation account from 2012 to 2014 is N161 Billion. The total monthly revenue of the state for 2015 on the average is N2.8 Billion. The figures are regularly published in the media for verification. We challenge Olulade to either come out with proofs of his wild figures or cover his face in shame. The claim that civil servants of the state government queue to collect 20% of their total monthly income is completely untrue and perhaps intended to course public disaffection in the state. Till date, the Wada administration has never paid any of its more than 23,000 workforce less than their full salary. It must also be emphasized that Kogi

Wada

State ranks foremost among states where civil servants enjoy full minimum wage. The writer must be living in a dreamland. He needs to crosscheck his information. What he probably meant to refer to is the local government work force. Yet, the situation on ground is not anywhere close to what the Lagos boy painted. Olulade’s comment on the salary intervention fund is completely off the mark. What the state applied for is N80.9 Billion which would have been used to offset arrears mainly at the Local Government level, gratuities for pensioners and one month arrear for state government workers. We do not know how the Lagos busy body got his N210 Billion claim. In any case what was approved by the CBN is N50.8 Billion. Unfortunately, even that amount has not been released due to a grand treachery orchestrated by the APC, its candidate in the forthcoming governorship election and Governor Eneffiele of the Central Bank of Nigeria. The said writer laboured unsuccessfully to paint the Kogi Governor with the tar of indolence and cluelessness. Among other things, the governor has devoted enormous energy to transforming the state. Some of his legacy projects are conceived to impact positively on the state’s economy on the long run and shift focus from the federation account. Projects in this category include the Twelve Storey Kogi House in Abuja, the remodelling and reconstruction of Kogi Hotels, the newly inaugurated Korea-Nigeria Friendship Vocational Centre of Advanced Technology, the Six Hundred vehicles capacity ultra modern vehicle pack and the accelerated rice/ cassava production initiatives. The governor is also laying solid foundation for infrastructure and development. One landmark project in this area is the on-going Sixteen Kilometer dual carriage bye pass from Ganaja to Otokiiti town in Lokooja the state capital. The more than Twenty Kilometer road from Welcome to Lokoja through Zango city- LokongomaIBB Way down to the International Market is also being upgraded. A significant aspect of the urban development project is the land protection/ beach embarkation effort along the banks of rivers Niger and Benue. The exercise is a long time preparation against flooding. These are in addition to the continuation and completion of several projects that the administration inherited from its immediate predecessor. The inherited projects which have been completed include Greeter Lokoja Water Scheme, Phase Two of State Secretariat, the 40,000 capacity ultra modern Confluence Stadium, the Reference and Imaging Center of the Specialist Hospital, Lokoja, Anpka Township road and

The lawmaker either deliberately or ignorantly ascribed some of the project to

Audu, his pay master. For the avoidance of doubts

Audu did not build the

stadium nor did he build the

Specialist Hospital

Idah township road. The lawmaker either deliberately or ignorantly ascribed some of the project to Audu, his pay master. For the avoidance of doubts Audu did not build the stadium nor did he build the Specialist Hospital. They were initiated by former Governor Ibrahim Idris. Even the Lugard House Audu left behind was significantly remodelled and improved by Idris. It is rather unbecoming for a so called honorable public servant to rob Peter to pay Paul just to satisfy a paymaster. Olulade’s picture about beggars on the streets of Lokoja and alleged increased level of violence in the state are misleading. It is public knowledge that there are beggars in every major town in Nigeria. In fact, clearly there are more beggars on the streets of Lagos than there are in the entire Kogi State. He should also provide further proof to his infamous claim of increased level of violence and criminality in Kogi State. We are worried that an otherwise respected lawmaker will deliberately misinform the public in the name of politics. Olulade displayed his crash ignorance in the write up as he laboured all through to destroy the reputation of Governor Wada and the PDP. We sympathise with his ignorance and poor knowledge on Kogi affairs. However, we do not blame him. Those who should know as his informants are probably disconnected from their roots since they do not come home regularly. Now politics is in the air. They have been transferred to Kogi on errand, as prelude to making the Confluence a vassal state. God forbid.

Politics

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Alaibe’s support group backs Sylva, APC Osahon Julius YENAGOA

head of the December 5 gubernatorial election, a group known as the Timi Alaibe Support Group, yesterday dismissed the claims by some politicians in the state that the decision by the former Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Ndutimi Alaibe to support the candidature of the flagbearer of the All Progressive Congress, APC, Chief Timipre Sylva was based on negotiation. According to the group, Alaibe’s decision to support Sylva ahead of the December 5 gubernatorial poll was a collective decision taken in the overall interest of the APC, his teeming supporters and the people of Bayelsa State. Timi Alaibe Support Group, in a statement issued in Yenagoa and signed by Comrade Patterson Ogon, insisted that the politicians involved in the false and unsubstantiated claims against the former NDDC boss, Timi Alaibe were scavenging opportunists masquerading as political leaders. According to the statement, “In the last few days, the political plain of Bayelsa state has been characterized by unsavory developments which ordinarily deserved no serious attention. But for purposes of putting the records straight, the platform upon which our Principal, Ndutimi Alaibe sought the governorship of our dear State deems it necessary to alert the unsuspecting public of the activities of some scavenging opportunists masquerading as political leaders.” “It might interest the public to know that, from the time of the conceptualization of the governorship ambition by our principal up to the time of the eventful withdrawal from the race, at no time did he display desperation. Like others who desired to run on the platform of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Chief Alaibe’s burden was how to extricate the state from the abysmal

leadership failure that now holds sway. “ “As individuals, their approaches may have differed even as the routes to the much-expected destination appeared to be diverse. All the same, their individual visions for the state are now a collective bond that they all cherish and guard zealously under the APC. “Therefore, the decision taken by our principal to back the candidature of Chief Timipre Sylva for the December 5 governorship election in Bayelsa State was not a personal one. It was a collective decision taken in the overall interest of the APC, his teeming supporters and the people of Bayelsa State. “Since that historic decision to back the APC, we have witnessed some desperate moves to malign our principal. We have noted with dismay, the shameless attempts to either paint a picture of insincerity on his part or a deliberate effort to deceive the public that Chief Alaibe’s support for Sylva only came after some imaginary negotiations. “We understand why. Not only has that singular decision to mobilize Bayelsans for Sylva created panic in the camp of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP in the state, it has simply shown that politics is only for principled minds and men of character. For our principal, the APC’s vision is one; its mission is also one - the realization of change for Bayelsans. This, in our collective resolve, is far more important and enviable than any imaginary issue on the part of those who have lost character. In this regard, no amount of blackmail will stop us from realizing this change through effective mobilization for Sylva”, the group said.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Group organises debate for guber candidates in Kogi Wale Ibrahim LOKOJA

civil society group , the Coalition For Popular Participation and Credible Election in Kogi State, COPPCEK has said that it had concluded arrangements to organize a debate for all the 22 candidates contesting the November 21 governorship election in Kogi State.

The Coordinator of COPPCEK, Reverend Father Leonard Odomeja who made this known in Lokoja yesterday said that the debate will hold on Sunday, November 8. Odomeja said that the aim was to make the electorate have better knowledge and understanding of the candidates and their manifesto. He listed the Justice Development and Peace Commission of the Cath-

olic Dioceses of Lokoja and Idah, the state chapters of Council of Ullamahs, Christian Association of Nigeria, CAN and the Correspondents Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ as members of the coalition. He explained that it was the belief of the coalition that the debate will give the candidates the opportunity to explain their programmes to the

L-R: Osun State Governor Rauf Aregbesola; Chairman Osun State All Progressive Congress (APC), Prince Gboyega Famodu and Site Engineer, Engr Rahmon Akinkunmi, during the inspection of the construction of Oshogbo High School and Seventh Day Adventist High School Ede, yesterday.

Lagos assembly increases standing committees to 32 Robert Awokuse

agos State House of Assembly has increased its standing committees from 24 to 30 to enhance efficiency . In a motion moved by the Leader, Hon. Sanai Agunbiade, he said that in pursuant to the House resolution dated June16, a seven-man ad-hoc committee was set up with a mandate to review the business rules and standing orders with a view to breaking

the bigger committees to enhance efficiency. Agunbiade, who is also the chairman of the adhoc committee further revealed that shortly after the constitution of the committee, the governor announced by executive order (N0.EO/AA 01 of 2015) changes to the composition , duties and nomenclacture of some Ministries, Departments and Agencies, MDAs of the State. He said that the changes in the ministerial responsibilities and

nomenclature of the affected MDAs, informed the consequential changes in the oversight functions of corresponding House Committees. He said the ratification by way of resolution will enable the House constitute the new committees. The new committees added to the existing committees include, Committee on Wealth Creation and Employment, Committee on Local Government Administration and Community Affairs, Commit-

Osun Assembly urges striking doctors to suspend action

he State of Osun House of Assembly has prevailed on the striking medical and dental officers to suspend their strike action. At a meeting with the executive of the medical officers under the forum of

people and make them have a better knowledge of all the candidates. Odomeja expressed the optimism that the debate will also assist the electorate to make an informed decision while casting their vote. He described the debate as the modest contribution of the coalition towards having a violence-free, fair and credible governorship election on November 21.

Osun State Association of Medical and Dental Officers, OSAMDO, the house leadership, led by the Speaker, Honourable Najeem Salaam said it would support the officers to get their dues. The Speaker, at the meeting empathized with the

medical personnel over their demands, saying all efforts would be made to ensure that their demands are met. Briefing the press after the meeting, OSAMDO Chairman, Dr Isiaka Adekunle and the Chairman, House Committee on Information

and Strategy, Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, said the discussion between the union and the parliament was fruitful. Adekunle who commended the Assembly for its intervention said the union executive would call an emergency meeting on

tee on Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation and Job Creation. Others are Committee on Tourism , Arts and Culture, Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights, Public Petitions and LASIEC among others. Earlier, the House in another resolution had called on the Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode to direct relevant agencies to urgently carry out repairs on Lekki-Epe expressway in order to reduce man hours spent on that road.

Thursday to inform its members and decide on the next line of action. Noting that the decision to suspend the strike could not be taken alone, he said all efforts would be made to convince the union members to suspend the action.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Views

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Rose Obi, the new pride of Anambra CHIEDU UCHE OKOYE

nambra State teems with academic high-fliers, literary stars, business moguls, sports icons, musical superstars, political sages, and venerable men of the cloth. The late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, political titan and Pan-Africanist, hailed from Anambra State. Power Mike, a former world wrestling champion; Mary Onyali-Omagbemi, the former African sprints queen of the tracks; Chief Osita Osadebe, high-life music maestro; Chike Obi, a great mathematician; Chinua Achebe, the father of modern African literature; Chief Emeka Anyaoku, the former Common Wealth secretary general, etc, all hail from the state, whose slogan as well as motto is the ‘Light of the nation’. It is a fitting epithet that captures succinctly Anambra State’s essence. More so, Governor Willie Obiano is consolidating and improvin on the achievements recorded in the educational sector by the immediate past Mr. Peter Obi-led civilian administration. It was he who revamped schools in the state and articulated and executed practical educational polices, which have been yielding positive results for the state. Anambra State has emerged as the best performing state in such examinations as SSCE and NECO for three successive years. And Team Anambra won the national Inter Basic Debate Competition. The laudable and spectacular feat achieved by Team Anambra happened soon after Rose Nkem Obi won the 2015 Maltina Teacher of

the Year competition organized by the Nigerian Breweries. By her uncommon accomplishment Rose Nkem Obi has entered the Pantheon hall of Anambra State great achievers. A native of Agulu, Anambra State, the lightskinned lady with infectious effervescence and deep scholarly bent was born in 1978. As a precocious and brilliant lass, Rose represented Anaocha LGA in a school competition held at Enugu while a pupil of Practising School, Agulu. And expectedly, she had a credit pass in the First School Leaving Certificate Examination in 1989. She outshone other pupils in that examination. After completing her primary education, Rose proceeded to Loretto Special Science School, Agulu, for her post-primary education. While a student in the school, Rose was molded by Mrs. Nwachukwu, her school principal; Mr. Chukwuezi, her mathematics teacher; and Mr. Nwajiobi, her Chemistry teacher. They imparted knowledge to her and inculcated the virtues of industry, punctuality, love of books, obedience, and humility into her. While her mathematics teacher would teach them some topics after school hours, her chemistry teacher simplified organic chemistry for them with his effective and unique methodology of teaching. She attended Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka, and earned a first degree in Pure and Industrial Chemistry in 2000. During her mandatory NYSC programme, she worked as a graduate assistant to Professor

BY HER UNCOMMON ACCOMPLISHMENT, ROSE NKEM OBI HAS ENTERED THE

PANTHEON HALL OF ANAMBRA STATE GREAT ACHIEVERS P.A.C Okoye. Mrs. Rose Nkem Obi, the erudite chemistry teacher at Federal Government Girls’ College, Onitsha, possesses post-graduate certificate in education and an MSc in Chemistry. It was in 2013 that she was fully absorbed as a senior education officer by the Federal Ministry of Education after her 10 year stint at Federal Government Girls’ College as a PTA teacher. Her teaching job at FGGC Onitsha and the tutelage she received at home and schools are the factors behind her emergence as the Maltina Teacher of the Year. At Federal Government Girls’ College, Onitsha, teachers are monitored and assessed periodically. And when the quality of a teacher’s teaching starts to dip, he/she would have to undergo tutelage. More so, being the daughter of a secondary school mathematics teacher, Mrs. Akpulu, she developed a great liking for Mathematics and the sciences. Mrs. Rose Nkem Obi, who has a good grasp of Chemistry, does her teaching job painstakingly

and conscientiously. No wonder, her students do mill around her in the same way as bees are attracted to honey. Before emerging the overall winner, she had scaled the hurdle placed before her. She wrote a 150 word essay on her teaching philosophy; and a 750 word case study of her teaching strategy, practicality of the strategy and challenges. And not only was she assessed while teaching her students in a classroom by a panel set up by Nigerian Breweries Ltd, the panel of judges each interviewed her in Lagos. Outside academic activities, the wife of a lawyer and mother of a seven year old daughter is a keen fan of athletics, being a sprinter, who participated in 100m, 200m, and 4x100m races. She was the games prefect in her school in 1995. However, her mother discouraged her from seeking a career in athletics. For her efforts, Rose received N500, 000 and N1, 000, 000 respectively for being both state and national champions. And for five years, she will receive one million naira each year on world teachers’ day, which takes place on every October 5. Moreover, for being the national champion, she will undergo further professional training outside Nigeria. And Nigerian Breweries Plc, sponsor of the competition, will execute infrastructural project in her school that is worth N25 million. Okoye, a poet and civil servant, wrote from Uruowulu – Obosi, Anambra State.

Beware, that canned food is death by instalment! MOSES RICHOFFOR

ood fortification has made much progress since the revolutionisation of the food processing industry, but it has also caused adverse effects on the health of consumers. Primarily, food processing industries use canning as a method during food processing and preservation. However, using primary processing methods like cooling and drying is quite safer than canning because the canning process enables the concentration of particular chemicals and nutritional components, which have deadly effects on the human body. Can products contain compounds that may look fine and even taste good, but have sinister consequences on every of its consumers. One of such is compounds, aluminum. Aluminum foils that wrap foods and those in Coke, Pepsi and beer cans can leech into food and drinks. Also, aluminum added to baking powder, table salt, cake mix and processed cheese, accumulates into various tissues in the body once ingested. In tissues within the kidney, brain, lungs, liver and thyroid, it competes with calcium for absorption, and it can result in skeletal mineralization. In infants, it retards growth. It could also lead to malfunction of Blood Brain Barrier, stomach and intestinal ulcer, gastrointestinal disease, heartburn, headaches and hyper activity. Since there is really no way to be 100

CONSUMPTION OF

CANNED FOODS IS VERY DETRIMENTAL TO HEALTHY LIVING percent aluminum free, its best cure is to measure and remove them from the body. The Aluminum Heavy Metal Test Kit is a simple test that one can be performed to determine whether one’s aluminum level is within safe limits. And if it is not, medicines and metal cleansers can help remove the substance from the body tissues. Also, study has shown that many canned goods still contain Bisphenol Abased epoxy (BPA), a chemical known to have links to breast cancer, reproductive problems, heart disease and other illnesses. The world’s largest food companies and brands coat their metal food cans with BPA. According to the USA Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, BPA was found in 93 percent of urine sample testing in America, meaning that people are regularly being exposed to the Bisphenol A-based epoxy. A study conducted by Environmental Working Group (EWG) states through its Research Director Reeve Director, that less than one-third of the 252 brands surveyed use BPA-free cans for their products; 43 percent gave ambiguous, incomplete answers to the use of BPA while others did not respond entirely. According to EWG, BPA copies thyroid and sex hormones in both

animals and humans. It has been revealed to alter the brain and nervous system development as well as change reproductive system, even at a low exposure. To this effect, therefore, many countries like Canada, the European Union and China have banned BPA use in baby bottles and baby food packaging. In essence, there is a need for the National Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) to strictly monitor the production of canned foods in domestic companies as well as scrutinize can foods importation from other countries. Another adverse effect of canned food is in the food modification process that its food undergoes. Advanced food processing techniques of separation such as centrifugation, milling and pressing have enabled the changing of nutritional content of canned foods, saving some nutrients while removing others. One major nutrient that features in most food processing procedure is sugar. Canned and coated foods like drinks, lollies, cakes, biscuit, pies and pastries contain sugar, which researchers say is fraught with health problems. Researchers argue that eating sugar puts one at a higher risk of Type 2 diabetes, weight gain, and that it could pose effects that abusive drugs like cocaine and heroin have on the skin. According to Dr. Nora Voller at the National Institute of Drug Abuse and Psychology, “sugar leads to dopa-

mine release at the nucleus accumbens - an area of the brain associated with motivation, novelty and reward. This is the same brain region implicated in response to cocaine and heroin. Another scientist showed that eating excessively sugary or starchy foods may make the eyes more vulnerable to age related macular degeneration, that is, vision loss. Consequently, sugar intake through the consumption of various canned foods is also known to affect the teeth, heart, bones and the immune system. Apparently, the only solution will be to stop eating excessively sugary items that are contained in most canned foods. In conclusion, consumption of canned foods is very detrimental to healthy living. In itself, the canning of food results to quick death, yet people are ignorant of this. This may be because its adverse effects seem inconspicuous at per unit consumption, but on the long run, studies have shown that canned foods are one of the highest causes of killer disease and, ultimately, drastic increase in mortality. Richoffor is a student of Communication and Language Arts Department, University of Ibadan and can be reached on 08189629362 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

Thursday November 5, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

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

SUNDAY OLAJIDE MANAGING DIRECTOR/CEO BEN MEMULETIWON ACTING DAILY EDITOR GBEMI OLUJOBI SATURDAY EDITOR AYO OLESIN SUNDAY EDITOR DOZIE OKEBALAMA COORDINATOR, EDITORIAL BOARD CALLISTUS OKE EDITORIAL PAGE EDITOR OBIORA IFOH ACTING ABUJA BUREAU CHIEF AUGUSTUS IMEKAN ACTING HEAD, GRAPHICS

Uncouth Enugu’s waste management agency officials

f the report credited to an activist group, Civil Rights Realisation and Advancement Network (CRRAN), is anything to go by, then Enugu State’s internal revenue generation agencies, particularly the Enugu State Waste Management Authority (ESWAMA), are no better than creatures from the caves. According to CRRAN: “The continuous deterioration of human rights’ situation in Enugu reached its peak last Friday, October 23, 2015, when the environmental fees collection outfit of Enugu State Government caught up with two citizens (Mohammed Koma and Haruna Koma) in the course of their revenue drive and, in broad daylight, used shovel and heavy iron rods to break and shatter the ankles and knee cap bones of the duo, reminiscent of the precivilisation era of barbarity. This is the worst human rights abuse we have ever recorded in modern Nigerian history. Two citizens of this country were caught like animals in a trap and the agents of the state used heavy metals to pieces their legs and incapacitated them”. The group said it had written severally to the governor of the state that the mode of operations of the agency “is not only barbaric, but dangerous to healthy survival of any decent democratic society, but the government looked the other way just because it believes

in revenue collection for the state irrespective of the mode of collection, overriding the entrenched fundamental rights of citizens of the state”. The rights outfit also revealed that a Federal High Court in Enugu, presided over by Justice D.V. Agishi, had in the past, given judgement against ESWAMA over the torture, humiliation, dehumanisation and unlawful detention of one Miss Nma Ukonu. Unfortunately, the activities of such notorious, official killer squads are not evident in Enugu State alone. We recall that in 2013, the Government of Abia State embarked on the mission of increasing the state’s internally generated revenue, which was put at N150 million monthly when former Governor Theodore Orji came to office in 2007, to N400 million per month. Reports credited to the Abia State Physical Planning and Infrastructural Development Fund Board in November that year (2013) also said the state government set a target of N1.2 billion to be collected as revenue from infrastructure and property taxes annually. That same November, a hapless student was allegedly shot fatally by a policeman attached to a revenue collection agency at a school in the Ogbor Hill area of Aba, a popular commercial town in the state. The tragedy struck when the student refused to cooperate with a group of infra-

THE IMPUNITY WITH WHICH SOME STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS IN THE COUNTRY UNLEASH TERROR ON

NIGERIANS…IS NOW VERY ALARMING

structure levy collectors that laid siege to the school. Later the same month, youths from Ogbor Hill Autonomous Community went on rampage to avenge alleged assault on their traditional ruler by revenue collection agents and their thugs. The former governor was to lament later that whereas his government’s intention was to ensure that taxes were paid without grudges, dubious revenue collection agents adopted all kinds of draconian methods to collect revenue on behalf of the state, but in the end, connived with corrupt government officials and were pocketing over 80 percent of the IGR they generated. Before the Federal Government, ostensibly acting on the advice of the National Economic Council (NEC), ordered the police in August last year to dismantle all road blocks on the nation’s highways used for revenue collection, scores of revenue collection touts redefined the tax laws of the country to impose outrageous taxes on

road users; and applied extreme coercive measures to collect them. Indeed, the impunity with which some state and local governments in the country unleash terror on Nigerians, with the police as accomplices most times, in the name of revenue collection drive, is now very alarming. The development demands urgent FG intervention, especially now that it has become crystal clear that most states in the country are not creative enough to explore other sources of revenue outside their monthly handouts from the Federation Account and are thus troubling the citizenry with heavy tax burden. The Enugu State government should halt forthwith the brazen assault occasioning grave harm or even death on citizens by desperate state revenue-generation outfits. The civil society should rise against the alleged criminality and rights infraction perpetrated against the Koma brothers in the interest of justice. Indeed, the two victims should not relent in seeking redress in court. We commend CRRAN for exposing the rot and urge it to persevere in supporting the victims and seeing to it that no stone is left unturned until ESWAMA and its crude officials behind the dehumanization of the Koma brothers pay dearly for their alleged crimes.

ON THIS DAY

November 5, 1995

November 5, 2009

Andre Dallaire attempted to assassinate Prime Minister Jean Chretien of Canada, but was hindered when the Prime Minister’s wife locked the door against him. Dallaire, a Canadian, claimed that he heard voices that led him to break into Chretien’s 24 Sussex Drive residence. At trial, Justice Paul Belanger agreed with the diagnosis, and found Dallaire was guilty of attempted murder, but not criminally responsible.

United States’ Army Major Nidal Malik Hasan murdered 13 people and wounded 32 others at Fort Hood, Texas in the deadliest mass shooting at a US military installation. Hasan was arraigned by a military court on July 20, 2011 and was charged with 13 counts of premeditated murder and 32 counts of attempted murder under the Uniform Code of Military Justice. His courtmartial began on August 7, 2013.

November 5, 2013 India launched the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM), its first interplanetary probe. The MOM is a spacecraft orbiting Mars since September 24, 2014. It was launched by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) under the guidance of the Programme Director, Mylswamy Annadurai. The mission is a ‘technology demonstrator’ project to develop the technologies for design, planning, etc. of an interplanetary mission.

Thursday, November 5, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Education Today

IN CONJUNCTION WITH

AFE BABALOLA UNIVERSITY, ADO-EKITI (ABUAD) In ABUAD, You Get It All —Dr Ayodele Fayose, Ekiti State Governor.

ABUAD will remain a model —Founder ... as university turns out 65 First Class

TUNBOSUN OGUNDARE

henever he has the opportunity, the founder of Afe Babalola University, Ado-Ekiti (ABUAD), Aare Afe Babalola talks boldly and passionately about his love for quality university education for Nigeria. He has expressed this love many times at public fora hinging his reason, among others on the fact that it is only through quality education that Nigeria can attain socio-economic prosperity that will enable it competing favourably with other developed nations of the world. Babalola, a famous lawyer and self-made man having sponsored himself throughout his education career has again re-echoed this thinking while addressing the audience at the 3rd convocation and sixth founder’s day ceremonies of ABUAD held in AdoEkiti recently. After congratulating the graduating students totaling 736 from which 65 graduated with First Class honours in various disciplines, Babalola proudly told the audience that he established ABUAD based on that philosophy. He however mentioned two eminent Nigerians who triggered his interest in establishing the university where he is now bringing his dream to fruition. They are former President Olusegun Obasanjo and the immediate past Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Attahiru Jega according to him. Explaining their respective roles towards the establishment, Babalola said, “During Obasanjo’s second term in office, he was miffed by the spate of corruption at University of Lagos (UNILAG) Akoka and he sent me there as the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Council to stem the spate of corruption. And with the cooperation of other members of the council and the management, I turned the place around for the better so much that I won the Best Pro-Chancellor Award twice while the university was also voted as the Best in the country then. “During the period,” we explained further, “I have the privilege of seeing the rot and decay in our educational landscape first hand and the condition was not only incredible, but unacceptable for me. This propelled

STUDENTS IN ABUAD GRADUATE ON RECORD TIME WITH SOUND KNOWLEDGE AND SKILLS THAT CAN MAKE THEM COMPETE FAVORABLY WITH THEIR PEERS ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD

Babalola me to establish my own university which is a model today. “As for Prof. Jega, he was the Chairman of the Visitation Panel to UNILAG in 2004 to evaluate what the university had done in the previous four years. Despite that I was absent throughout the visit, the panel had the following, among others to say about my person, thus: “The Chairman of council acted commendably by paying his bills anytime he chose to stay in a hotel and by donating his sitting allowances to the University’s Endowment Fund,” “The leadership style

of the chairman was exemplary,” “The leadership style of the council was characterised by optimum time and resource utilisation and a good team spirit.” This is Aare Babalola’s story. The story of what prompted him to come to the then jungle that housed all kinds of dangerous animals to site ABUAD, which is today, regarded as a fastest growing private university in Africa and a model for other universities. Aare Babalola, who is also a big-term farmer noted that, ABUAD since inception,

had never deviated from pursuing excellence, the condition he said had continued to make the university remaining on top in the training of well-rounded students. Students who would not be found wanting in skills, character, punctuality, dressing, comportment and respect for constituted authorities upon graduation. However, the legal luminary pointed out that the achievement was not a product of his solo effort but combining with that from his committed and dedicated management and members of staff. ABUAD in a serene environment six years down the line can boast of parading first-class infrastructural facilities, wellequipped laboratories and other facilities that is conducive for learning and teaching. And in making these human and material resources to achieve their purpose, the university is jealously guided the students to success. “So, ABUAD is the only known university in the country” according to the founder “that makes it compulsory for students to be in class between 8:00am and 3:00pm and between 7:00 and 10:00pm on daily basis to learn, study and do research. Aare Babalola however thanked parents for choosing the university for their children despite its newness among numerous older universities, saying their decision is a well-thought one. “Students in ABUAD graduate on record time with sound knowledge and skills that CONTINUE ON PAGE 23

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‘Type of VC we want for LASU’ 20

FSTC teachers with children in school to pay 50% PTA levies 22

Why Kwara Poly always in admission ‘crisis’ —Rector 21

Education Today

Group inaugurates Child Rights Club in Gombe school WILLIAMS ATTAH GOMBE

ollowing the rising number of malnourished children in Gombe State as indicated by recent findings, one sure way of getting the government to take action is by mobilizing children to be on the vanguard of the campaign against malnutrition and recognition of other rights of children for teh purpose of securing their future. This is reason a non-governmental organisation-Save the Children- has taken the campaign to secondary schools with the inauguration of the Child Rights Club at Government Day Secondary School, Ahmadu-Gombe in Gombe metropolis. Inaugurating the club, Mr. Ifedilichukwu Innocent, the Advocacy and Campaign Coordinator of the group, said the aim of setting the club was to allow children to speak for themselves on issues that concern their future both academically and otherwise. According to him, Save the Children feels that efforts at giving children a better future is by allowing them speak for themselves rather than adults making the advocacy all the time. He said, “Nobody is expected to stop them from expressing their rights as we intend for them to sit and dialogue with members of the state legislature of Gombe State. This voice from the children is not going to be for Gombe children alone but also for other children from the rural and hinterlands.” Responding, President of the Club, Sagir Hassan promised to mobilise other students in advocating for the rights of children especially the downtrodden ones. Earlier, school’s Principal, Mallam Ismail Hussaini thanked the group for making his school a pilot scheme in the state and promised to put hands together with all stakeholders to ensure the attainment of the set objectives.

President of the club, Sagir Hassan making a remark at the event.

Foundation to boost Ekiti college with N10m auditorium

n education-focussed non-profit foundation, Dr Florence Bola Ala Foundation, has unveiled plans to build a multi-purpose, state-of-the-art auditorium, initially valued at N10 million for the College of Education, Ikere-Ekiti, Ekiti State. The foundation was set up in memorial of late Florence Bola Ala, an outstanding learned and first woman to be dean in the college. The foundation announced the plan to donate the auditorium at the 22nd convocation ceremony of the college where it also presented cash prize awards to some deserving graduands. The state governor, Dr Ayodele Fayose commended the initiative, urging other individuals and organisations to emulate the gestures by the foundation. The N20, 000 cash prize award and book for the three beneficiary students from the School of Education and Early childhood Care Education were handed over to the Registrar of the college by a member of the board of trustees of the foundation, Mr. Abayomi Adeyeri. He said the foundation was not only committed to collaborating with the college in achieving its mandates but would also sustain and build on the initial cash prize awards and further undertake significant special projects, including the building of the multi-purpose N10m auditorium. Registrar, College of Education, Ikere-Ekiti, Mr. Gbenga Ojo appreciated the kind gesture and thanked the foundation.

Thursday, November 5, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Type of VC we want for LASU —Unions

... Condemn govt attempt to ban activism SAIDAT ALAUSA

agos State University, LASU, Ojo is synonymous with crises and the recent one is between the institution’s Vice-Chancellor, Prof. John Obafunwa and the staff unions comprising the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Non Academic Staff Union (NASU) and National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT). The vice-chancellor was pelted with sachets of water and forced out of the university while preparing for the convocation ceremony of the university some months ago. The unions last week disclosed to journalists at the institution, activities according to them aims at warding off evil in LASU, which include a seven days prayer and fasting for all members of staff, joint press conference, symposium on statute and conditions of service in an ideal university, university autonomy and academic freedom as well as declaring LASU Independence Day marked with festivities and fun fair. According to ASUU-LASU Chairman, Dr. Adekunle Idris, the seven-day activities is designed to bring to an end the administration of Prof. Obafunwa, stressing that his four-year-tenure is that of pains and anguish for students and members of staff. He described the period as deeply rooted in fundamental problems of gross incompetence, disregard for rules, acts of impunity and perversion of justice among others.

Obafunwa “Worst of all is the orchestrated plan to clinically exterminate our great union and implement the obnoxious UNILORIN model in our university- a model that makes members of staff not only voiceless but also intimidated and subdued. The union leader however appreciated the efforts made by the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akiwunmi Ambode for his readiness to halt festering leadership crisis in the university as expressed in recent inauguration of the 10th Governing Council. Idris said the appointment of a serving renowned erudite scholar and Professor Bayo Ninalowo and many academics on the governing council is a laudable step in the right direction. He equally described as silver-lining in the horizon, the on-going effort of the state House of Assembly in reviewing the university’s extant laws to accommodate Vice-Chancellors for one term of five years, saying these are commendable efforts that would engender peace and harmony in the university. He however urged the

Idris state government on a number of urgent steps to be taken in order to insulate the university of ill-luck which include, adoption and implementation of the Universities Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 2012, 70 years retirement age for academic staff on the professorial cadre and 65 years for nonacademic staff. Others include payment of the 45 percent balance of the increment in salary arrears, due since 2009, immediate reissuance of the maliciously withdrawn PhD certificate of the ASUU-LASU Chairman, Dr. Adekunle Idris, Promotion of all members who are due since the promotion exercise of 2011/2012 and 2012/2013 sessions among others. On the appointment of the new Vice-Chancellor, which post has been advertised earlier, Idris said the ideal Vice Chancellor for LASU must possess the following attributes: God fearing, a scholar of international repute that has wide experience within the academic community. “Such a person must have human feelings, someone that understands human capital development, high L-R: ViceChancellor, National Open University of Nigeria, Prof. Vincent Tenebe; author, Dr. Abdullahi Shehu and a guest and former Chairman of Economic and Financial Crime Commission, Mallam Nuhu Ribadu during the launch of a book, titled: ‘Nigeria: The way through corruption to the well-being of a people’ in Abuja, recently

emotional intelligence and not just academic scholar, creative enough to generate internal revenue”, he said. The ASUU-LASU chair also urged the Lagos State government to follow due process in the selection of new Vice-Chancellor for the university by inviting the first three candidates to address staff which would expose their true character through body language. Idris said staff would do everything in their capability to launder the image of LASU particularly using sports, emphasis to be placed on acquiring best stars in each sport via scholarships and concessional admission policy, government and private sponsorship for sporting events and active participation in sporting events to bring LASU positive focus and limelight. On his part, SSANU-LASU Chairman, Mr. Saheed Oseni urged the Governing Council on the following, reinstatement of wrongly sacked 44 members of nonteaching staff, approval and promotion of staff, payment of salaries of staff unjustifiably placed on interdiction, reinstatement of the payment of cheque-off dues unlawfully stopped to union and reversal of irregular appointment at the university Health Centre, among others. Chairman of Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU), Albert Agosu on his own part welcome members to the special and remarkable exodus of Prof Obafunwa, stressing that what led the University to where it is presently could be established in the truism “Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts.”

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Kogi community wants secondary school WALE IBRAHIM LOKOJA

he people of Osaragada community in Adavi Local Government area of Kogi State have appealed to the state government to establish a secondary school and provide desks for the only primary school in the area. The community made the call at the 2nd annual community stakeholders’ forum on “promoting women and young people’s rights through knowledge building and community.” The event was held within the community primary school premises. The programme was funded by the European Commission (EC) and implemented by the ActionAid Nigeria in collaboration with Kogi-based Participation Initiative for Behavioural Change in Development (PIBCID). Spokesman of the community and chairman of the community development association, Mr. Umaru Akande disclosed that one of the two classroom blocks in the primary school was provided through intervention by the ActionAid Nigeria and PIBCID. Akande noted that the roof of the block provided by government was blown off by rainstorm in July, this year and the structure had remained like that without a roof thereby forcing all the pupils irrespective of grade to fill-up the available block of four classrooms. The community leader also solicited the assistance of the government and non-governmental organisations in establishing a secondary school and primary healthcare centre in the area to meet their educational and health needs. On her part, Mrs. Hajarat Ademu, ActionAid Nigeria Programme Officer, Women’s Rights Unit said the community’s demands would be looked into.

NECO : Learn Africa to reward candidates JOHNSON OKANLAWON

s part of its commitment to the celebration and promotion of academic excellence, the Learn Africa Education Development Foundation has concluded plans to honour candidates that posted outstanding performances during the June/July 2015 Senior Secondary School certificate Examination conducted by the National Examination Council, NECO. Some of their teachers and the schools that produced them will also receive various awards of excellence. The company in a statement fixed between November 17 and December 2 this year for the award presentations in Lagos and there would be national and state awards. It explained that the national awards would go to the overall best three candidates: Alabi Philip Toluwase of Our Lady & St Francis Catholic College, Osogbo, Osun State (first position); Nwaoha Justin Ifeanyi of Isolog College, Ojodu, Lagos State (second position) and Babalola David Oluwasayo of Oritamefa Baptist Model School, Ibadan, Oyo State (third position).

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Alhaji Mas’ud Elellu, a former Director at the Industrial Training Fund and Rector Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin speaks to DARE AKOGUN on admission challenges facing the institution and what to do to bring parity between the first degree and HND holders in the country. What have you done so far since you assumed office as a rector six years ago? By the grace of God, my administration has done so many things for this polytechnic. I will only mention just a few of them for now. On assumption of duty, we initiated a 3-point agenda for the proper management of the institution namely; staff orientation and development, infrastructural development and students’ welfare. Before I was appointed, I was the only staff who had ever travelled abroad in the college. The story has changed today. Through the staff development programme, about 300 staffers have so far been sponsored by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) for overseas training. That is a good exposure for them and I must also say, it has enhanced their performance at work. The training has two faces. Some went for Masters and PhD programmes while others went for seminars and conferences. Another area of interest is Staff Industrial Training, where certain numbers of staff proceed on Industrial Training in industries across the country during the long vacation. The experience gathered at the industries will be imparted on the students and this has helped the staff to update their knowledge with new innovations and best practices. After the successful completion of the training, the school also organised a stakeholders meeting that involved National Board for Technical Education (NBTE) officials, Nigeria Labour Congress representatives, educationists and education administrators like the commissioner for education, industrialists and heads of tertiary institutions in the state and a host of others. The stakeholders meeting came up with resolutions like funding and equipping the technical colleges to serve as catchment areas for the polytechnic students in order to move away from Humanity courses to achieve the real aim of establishing polytechnics and science and technology based institutions. Some said that the external people were the ones dictating to the polytechnic on who to admit into various programmes, what do you have to say about this? Let me state this sound and clear Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin would not bow to any external influence in offering admissions to students this year. We have set up a mechanism that eliminates all influences including human in the cause of selecting candidates for admission into programmes. And this mechanism has since commenced. The polytechnic is having admission challenges because it has become more attractive to prospective candidates in the recent time and this is due to its uninterrupted academic calendars for the last five years. Sir, we don’t use to hear about cultists and their activities in this polytechnic, what happens?

Education Today

Why Kwara Poly always in admission ‘crisis’ —Rector

The management is also proposing a new hostel accommodation for its increasing student population that would be financed by a World Bank organisation. We have signed a Memorandum of Understanding, MoU, with the organisation on the proposed hostel project. The growing student population had grown beyond that at the inception of the hostels constructed in the 1970s, which are obsolete. These hostels are not only old but inadequate, costing the institution a lot of money in maintenance.

The seemingly dichotomy between Bsc and HND holders in the country has been a matter of discuss in different fora for a very long time, how do you think this can be resolved? Elellu The unconstitutional dichotomy created The seemingly peaceful atmosphere and between university and polytechnic gradureduction of vices in the institution could ates to absence of industries caused by some largely be as a result of the inclusion of stu- people in Nigeria for their own selfish interdents in the scheme of things that affects est. them in the institution. This approach show This dichotomy became visible when that students also matter in the day-to-day manufacturing companies that hitherto look running of the school. out to employ polytechnic graduates started It is a common phenomenon in Nigerian folding up. There shouldn’t be an issue on the higher institutions that students’ union elec- discrepancies because each certificate should tion is usually brutal because of vested inter- carve a niche for itself based on the difference est from certain quarters, but since my as- in the method of acquiring knowledge. sumption of office as rector in 2009, about five The kind of knowledge been impacted in SUG elections had been held under peaceful the polytechnics is purely practical oriented atmosphere because the management gave which enables the students to have hands on them free hands to choose their leaders. experience on what they are being taught in The institution always takes part in the the classrooms, while the university knowlelection of union leaders by supervising the edge is largely theoretical. whole process from beginning to the end, We should not be talking about disparities where elections were held in auditorium, bal- because each based on how the curriculum lot boxes were placed in front of the rector is designed. If Nigerian economy is buoyant and the counting done in the full glare of the enough as it used to be in the 70s, no polytechstudents. nic graduates will be looking for job in the After the process, the losers will openly public sector. congratulate the winners and things will conGovernment as a matter of economic strattinue from there. egy, should stimulate the economy such that The management did not only give them the industries and factories will also grow and free hand but went a little bit further, espe- by encouraging entrepreneurship and procially in the area of managing their funds and vide friendly environment for private sector. instilled the sense of responsibility in every So that the HND holders will have enough SUG government in such a way that the SUG place to practice their skills, and there will not levies is put as part of school fees. be need to struggle for ministries work that is Management handover the money but al- already not even enough for the university ways task them to present a proposal on how graduates. the money will be spent, and they have been forthcoming embarking on numerous projects within the school for the usage and benCONTINUED FROM PAGE 19 efits of the students. It is worthy to mention that all full-time can make them compete favorably with their students of this polytechnic now have access peers anywhere in the world,” he stressed. to quality healthcare services through regIn his own, the Vice-Chancellor of the uniistration in the National Health Insurance versity, Prof. Michael Ajisafe spoke on some Scheme, NHIS. testimonies so far recorded by the university The students can access the service anywithin its short time in existence. where in the country once they present their He noted that graduates coming out from students’ identity cards. This was part of the the university are assets to the economy. institution’s effort to improve students’ welAccording to him, in addition to the deep fare and ensure they are learning under a and thorough education received by our stufriendly environment. dents in their various disciplines, they are Another area of interest is the introducalso equipped with good leadership and ention of Entrepreneurship Development Centrepreneurial skills as well as good character. tre. This is also to take care of the students’ While reaffirming that the university is a future, especially in the acquisition of special template for Engineering Education in the skill. The Entrepreneurship Centre trains evcountry as acknowledged by the Nigeria Soery student on an area of interest to acquire ciety of Engineers (NSE), the vice-chancellor one skill or the other so that the students will disclosed that the students as well as staffers not be job seekers but job creators in the fuCONTINUED ON PAGE 26 ture.

ABUAD...

Education Today

Thursday, November 5, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

FSTC teachers with children in school to pay 50% PTA levies

Expert advocates children empowerment

Tunbosun Ogundare

Saidat Alausa

s a way of boosting their morale for better performance at work and other endeavours, teachers in Federal Science and Technical College, FSTC, Yaba, Lagos who have any of their children as student of the college are now to be paying half of the levies the school’s ParentTeacher Association charged members. The chairperson of the association, Mrs. Oby Igwillo disclosed this at the school’s World Teachers’ Day celebration held last Thursday and sponsored by the group. According to her, nothing would be too much to give to teachers as a way of encouraging them to do more at work more so that many of them are not well paid. “They are the ones taking good care of our children. They impart on them knowledge and skills that help them positively as they grow older in life,” she added. “And that is why we have also taken it upon ourselves to celebrate them together with their non-teaching staff counterparts every year by rewarding them with gifts.” During this occasion, many teaching and non-teaching staff including those at the management cadre who are found to be exceptional year-round at work usually

L-R: Chairman, School Based-Management Committee, Federal Science and Technical College, Yaba, Lagos, Elder Akintuyosi Akinwole; Principal, Rev. Chris Ugorji and Chairperson, Parent-Teacher Association, Mrs. Oby Igwillo during the World Teachers’ Day celebration in the college, last Thursday.

go home with one type of gift or the other depending on their levels. Speaking on the delay in the completion of the ongoing 1,000bed space girls’ hostel project, Igwillo said the association had resolved to expedite action on the project and complete it before the end of this year. “We believe the hostel facility will greatly ease the accommodation problem facing the college and therefore no more delay,” she assured. While declaring that the congress and not the leadership makes decisions for the association, Igwillo noted that PTA had become

a formidable supporter of government not only at FSTC but in other public schools nationwide in the provision of sound and qualitative education at all levels. “That is why PTAs like ours embark on hostel projects, renovation of structures as well as hiring and remuneration of some teachers and support-staff for schools,” she stressed. In his remark, the Principal of the college, Rev. Chris Ugorji, who appreciated PTA for celebrating the teachers and other workers in the college, disclosed that the management had made a u-turn by ready to convert another classroom to hostel

to be able to accommodate more students. He said with the new arrangement, all students especially the new intakes who so desired in application would be allocated bed space in the hostel. He noted that the multi-purpose hall in the college would now serve as temporary classrooms pending when the hostel under construction would be open for use. The principal, who is a director in the ministry, used the occasion to urge his junior colleagues and other categories of workers to remain focus and more dedicated to their duties.

resident, Animal Care Services Konsult Nigeria Limited, Lagos, Dr. Olatunde Agbato has said that empowerment of children through quality education and conducive learning environment could transform communities and the nation. Agbato who was the chairman on the occasion was represented by Mrs. Olutomi Abdulkareem stated this during the 25th anniversary celebration of Babcock University Staff School, Ilishan-Remo, Ogun State held at the school premises recently. According to him, parents and teachers play significant roles in providing a positive learning environment conducive for the holistic education of the children. He used the opportunity to commend the teaching and non teaching staff, parents and the community for their continued support of the school. Speaking during the occasion, the chairperson of Babcock University Schools Management Board, Dr. Janet Ola urged the government to give education and adequate remuneration of teachers’ priority in order to move the nation forward. She also said that education authorities should organise certificate programmes for teachers as it is done abroad and also make health insurance available for them and their families.

Lagos Principal bows out of service amid pomp and ceremony. National Mirror’s Photo journalist, Samuel Adetimehin captured the event at Eko Akete Grammar

School, Lagos Island, venue of the event .

Mr. Ganiyu Ibrahim and his wife, Celebrant/ Principal, Eko Akete Grammar School, Mrs. Ibrahim; Chief Yemi Ayanda; Mrs. Nimota Ayanda and Former Tutor-General of District 3, Mrs. Taiwo Adeyinka, at the event.

Mrs. Ibrahim signing the Logbook which signifies her retirement

L-R: Tomiwa Ibrahim (son); Celebrant; husband, Mrs.Abidemi Alaya.

Members of staff, Eko Akete Grammar School.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Education Today

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Standard of education has fallen!

igerians appear to be unanimous on the poor state of the Nigerian educational sector. Curiously, however, some eminent Nigerians now and then voice opinions to the contrary. The latest of these is the recent pronouncement by Professor Adebayo Adeyemi, suggesting that all is well with the Nigerian educational system. In his opinion “despite claims of fallen standard in the country’s education system, the products of Nigerian institutions compare favourably with their peers on the international stage”. Coming from a person of his status as Vice Chancellor of Bells University of Technology Ota in Ogun State, and current Chairman of the Committee of Vice Chancellors and Registrars of private universities in Nigeria, this statement can potentially cause confusion about the actual state of the educational sector and scuttle efforts to amend the situation. The honourable professor came to this conclusion on observations that Nigerians who travel abroad to do post graduate studies usually excel in their studies. It is true that many Nigerians that travel abroad for post-graduate studies actually excel in their chosen fields of study; this has been my observations too but cannot justify the conclusion that the system has not collapsed. I would like to point out to the honourable professor that this group represent a minority of the products of our educational system for which we can scarcely take credit. It is no secret that the standard of education which I will like to define as the value added to the life of an individual as a result of interactions with the educational system in Nigeria has continued to depreciate over the years. As I have alluded to in this forum sometime earlier, the majority of the products of our primary school system cannot read and write. I have personally been confronted with a public secondary school in my home state, which incidentally was the only one in that locality, where the teachers have resorted to the use of the Queen Primer to teach the articulation of two and three letter words to students of JSS classes I-III. We had to contribute our widows’ mite to the purchase and distribu-

Sam Eferaro

wenty finalists from secondary schools across the country smiled home with awards of cash prizes and scholarships, last Tuesday, for this year’s prestigious National Art competition organised by NNPC/Chevron Joint Venture for Nigerian Secondary school students. The competition which attracted 600 entries from 400 schools across the country was brought to a climax with the announcement that 16 year-old Ukaegbu Christopher of Hallel College Boarding, Port Harcourt has emerged the 2015 overall winner, carting away the cash prize of N100,000 and a one year scholarships in the same amount. Abel Joshua a JSS 3 student of Oto Awori Junior Grammar School, Oto-Awori, Lagos State also emerged winner for the junior category of the competition. Welcoming guests to the event, the Chairman/Managing Director of Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL) Mr. Clay Neff represented by Mr Steeve Freman, the company’s Director of Gas, described the competition as one of the activities by CNL dedicated to enhancing the quality of art education in Nigerian secondary schools. “Our aim is to raise and sustain students’ interest in the study of fine and creative arts while also promoting the spirit of healthy competition,” he said. Mr Neff was particularly pleased with the standard of this year’s edition of the competition. He recounted:“In 2005, when Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL) set out to organize the maiden edition of this competition, we had no doubt that it was going to be a success. That was because we knew that Nigeria

tion of these pamphlets to those who could not afford it; and that was only last year! We cannot be permitted to doubt that the standard of education has fallen if pupils fail to imbibe the rudiments of education after six years contact with the primary school system. How can the youngsters start to appreciate the intricacies of the sciences and mathematics if they are still grappling with such rudiments of pedagogy? The problem for many Nigerian students is that there is no foundation on which to lay the fundamental principles of science and technology, which is the golden fleece of aspiring modern nations. The poor standard of education is also very visible in the declining performance of candidates in the Senior School Certificate Examinations. In the recent past, the performance had dipped below the ten percent pass rate and only just approaching the 40% mark in the last few years. Even so, it is not possible to attribute the improvement to any improvement in the teaching and learning process because of the all-pervasive examination malpractice. The West African Examination Council recently revealed that Nigeria had the highest incidence of examination malpractice in 2015 leading to the withholding of the results of over 118,000 candidates. However, these cases represent only the tip of the iceberg in what has become a national calamity. The transformation of many public and private secondary schools into “miracle centres” in public glare has highlighted the impotency or lack

of resolve of the establishment to rein in this monster called examination malpractice! Many pupils who are scarcely able to read transit from the primary through the secondary school system into the universities, thanks to the nearly illiterate teachers who are products of the tertiary institutions. The selection process for admission of candidates into the tertiary institutions orchestrated by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board has been plagued by maladministration, incompetence and examination malpractice. Despite the introduction of the Post-UTME by the tertiary institutions, the quality of admissions in many tertiary institutions have only improved marginally due to the unhampered examination malpractice and unauthorized concessional admission which now constitutes a significant feature of the admission process. The impact of the poor quality candidates admitted into the universities and other tertiary institutions is even more pronounced in the quality of teachers produced. Unresolved aversion of applicants for the teaching profession has forced the continued channelling of candidates rejected in other institutions and disciplines into the Colleges of Education and the Faculties of Education of the universities, the continued production of poor quality teachers and the maintenance of the vicious circle of poor quality products. Overcrowded facilities, lack of equipment, poor administration, poor fund management, misplaced priorities, poor quality lecturers with poor attitudes, and corrupt practices have relegated Nigerian universities to the backbench. The sum total of these indices is that no Nigerian university is among the first ten in Africa, and only one among the first 30 according to the 4 International Colleges and Universities (4ICU) ranking of universities in Africa! There is no doubt that the education sector is plagued by multiple problems. Let all unite to chip away at them in a systematic manner.

Secondary students shine at Chevron art contest …competition focuses on environmental protection is blessed with talented young men and women. “Ten years down the road, the level of success and acceptance is truly astounding. This year, we had hundreds of exceptional entries out of which our judges have chosen the most outstanding twenty for the purpose of prize-giving. “It shows how well the competition has gone in providing our kid-artists, a veritable platform of artistic expression. It is important to note that former winners of the competitor have gone ahead to higher institutions to study fine arts, graphic design, engineering and other courses.”

He added that the theme for this year’s competition – Protecting People and the Environment – aligned with the company’s Core Values, which is part of its efforts to further create awareness on the importance of sustainable environment. “For Chevron, responsible treatment of the environment is fundamental for doing business in Nigeria and everywhere else in the world. We consistently apply tested principles and practices in finding and producing hydrocarbon to ensure minimal impact on the ecosystem. We care about the environment and are committed to be part of the solution to global environmental issues.”

In a goodwill message, the acting Permanent Secretary, Mrs H.U. Abdullahi, represented by the Principal, Federal Science and Technical College, Yaba, Lagos, Rev. Chris. Ugoji, disclosed that the education ministry had supported the competition right from its inception “not only because of its focus in children who are future leaders but for the realization that Art Education is important to human development. “This competition is one of the programmes that would complement our efforts in stimulating our children’s interest in Fine Art,” she further said. In her remark, the Lagos First Lady, Mrs Bolanle Ambode, represented by Mrs Abiodn Olajumoke Opeifa congratulated the winners and finalists of the competition and urged them not to rest on their oars. She further enjoined them to help spread their superior knowledge to other students not only in art, but also in also other subjects. Overall winner, Ukaegbu Christopher (4th from left) flanked by (L-R) representative of the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), CNL Director of Gas, Mr. Steve Freeman, Wife of CNL CEO, Mrs Neff and the winner’s teacher.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Edited by: Saidat Alausa saidat.alausa@yahoo.com 08027633686

Proprietor canvasses soft loans for fresh graduates

L-R: Dean, African Development and Leadership Centre, Covenant University, Ota, Prof. Charles Ogulogu; ViceChancellor, Prof. Charles Ayo (3rd left); Education Secretary, Living Faith Church, Prof. Bridget Sokan; Chancellor, Dr. David Oyedepo; Deputy Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Taiwo Abioye; Registrar, Pastor Olamide Olusegun with other principal officers of the institution during the university’s 14th matriculation ceremony, recently.

Emeka Chukwuemeka Unizik, Awka

ounder and Chancellor, Tansian University, Anambra State, Prof. Johnbosco Akam has called on the government at all levels to provide soft loan for young graduates and other youths with vocational skills. According to him, providing support for those that had acquired skills but have no money to set up their businesses would help reduce unemployment and crime among youths. He made the appeal in his keynote address entitled: “Combating Unemployment in Nigeria: The Role of Entrepreneurship” presented at the grand finale of the Nigeria Entrepreneurship Challenge and Enterprise Awards 2015 held at Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Awka, Anambra. He said a lot needed to be done to create more entrepreneurs that would become employers of labour in the country.

FUTA student wins quantity surveying essay contest Tunbosun Ogundare

500-level Quantity Surveying student of the Federal University of Technology, Akure, FUTA, Opeoluwa Akinradewo has emerged the winner of the national essay competition organised by the Nigerian Institute of Quantity Surveyors during her second research conference hosted recently by the university. Akinradewo came top among students of higher institutions nationwide who participated in the competition. They wrote on “Emerging development in the Nigerian Construction Industry: The roles of Quantity Surveyors.” He was rewarded with a plaque and a certificate of excellence, which were presented to him by the President of the institute, Murtala Aliyu. Aliyu congratulated him and other competitors urged them to remain focus to the studies. Also congratulating Akinradewo, the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Adebiyi Daramola described him as a worthy ambassador of the university and an exemplification of the quality and excellence the institution is known for.

‘Yomi Ayeleso

300L, Bus Admin AAU

Professor of Zoology, Prof. Tola Badejo has advised Alumni Associations to monitor the efforts of the university administration in producing and implementing strategic Plans within the specified time. He gave the charge while delivering a lecture at the maiden edition of Adekunle Ajasin University Alumni Association with the theme “ The University and Alumni: 21st Century Expectations and Realities “ held at the institution, recently. Prof. Badejo said the old students of institutions have a lot of role to play in the development of univer-

Don wants alumni to participate in university administration sities in terms of improving the revenue and work together to produce synergistic results. In his thought provoking lecture, he charged university administrators in the country in conjunction with their Alumni associations to be more aggressive in seeking funds from channels other than their proprietors. He challenged universities in the country to have huge profit yielding investments and must source external funding both locally and

globally. Prof. Badejo said the Alumni Association should embark on career mentoring and monitoring for fresh graduates as they grow in their field and they should be encouraged to give back into the system. He said most of the leading applications that are being used all over the world were developed by alumni of Stanford University. He itemised mirage of problems confronting universities in the country as a result of poor funding,

urging the AAUA alumni association to collectively identify the institution’s problems so as to combat it constructively, effectively and sustainably. In his remark, Pro-chancellor and chairman of Council, Amb. Oladele Akadiri, congratulated the alumni for the success of the convention and also their sustained interest in the progress of their alma mater, which is exemplified by the foundation laying of the Alumni Secretariat Complex in the university.

UNIBEN Pharmacy students take anti-drug campaign to secondary schools Ezekiel Efeobhokhan 500L Pharmacy Uniben

harmacy students, University of Benin UNIBEN, under the auspices of AntiDrug Misuse and Abuse Program, ADMAP have visited secondary schools around the Uselu environs in order to enlighten them on the dangers of drug abuse. With the theme “Save the young, save the afflicted and help the addicted” the students preached abstinence from narcotic substances to the young students as they held

a two day campaign against mental illness. The chairman ADMAP, Isaac Ehimen, stated that students are under an obligation to obey their parents but she should never accept any offer made by anyone to drink alcohol. “Alcohol can lead to dependence and taking alcohol at this early age could lead to a very catastrophic event in future; hence run any errand your parents ask you to but never accept alcohol from anyone, it destroys”. Speaking in Uselu secondary

school, a government owned secondary school,one of the undergraduate, Austin Aigbagenode stated advised that since substances like marijuana, indian hemp, and other form of abuse could lead to mental illnesses they should be avoided totally to avoid having any unwanted effect later in life. “Don’t allow any friend to tempt you into trying anything for the first time, they may persuade you by telling all sort of sweet stories about the substance, never belief them as a lot of the mental illnesses are currently caused by addic-

Pharmacy students, University of Benin with students of Eagles College during the anti-drug campaign, recently.

tion of some sort”. However it was gathered that the pharmacy students targeted to reach a thousand students in the environs. Commenting on this target one of the organiser, Ehidiamen Olobor stated that the target was feasible as the students reached would also pass the information across to other persons in the environs. Addressing the students in Eagles College, the president of Pharmaceutical Association of Nigerian Student PANS, Benjamin Idiakhoa, encouraged them to face their books and never allow any form of peer pressure to derail them from fulfilling their lifelong goals, Expressing his gratitude to the pharmacy students, the proprietor of Eagles College stated that he was highly pleased with their campaign strategy and gave optimism that the lectures that were rendered to the students would impact on them positively. A member of the Anti-drug misuse committee, Maxwell Esebanmhen, applauded the president of Pharmaceutical Association of Nigerian Students PANS, Benjamin Idiakhoa for supporting the ADMAP committee in its campaign.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Edited by: Saidat Alausa saidat.alausa@yahoo.com 08027633686

Kogi varsity gets new VC

The star prize winner, Nigeria Entrepreneurship Challenge and Enterprise Awards 2015, Henry Uba receiving 150,000 cheque from the organiser at UNIZIK, recently.

Wale Ibrahim Lokoja

ollowing the expiration of tenure of the immediate past Vice-Chancellor of Kogi State University, Ayigba, Professor Hassan Isah, the visitor of the university who is also the governor of the state, Captain Idris Wada (retd) has approved the appointment of Professor Mohammed Sanni Abdulkadir as the new Vice-Chancellor for the university. This was contained in a weekly university bulletin and copy of which was made available to journalists in Lokoja. Prof. Abdulkadir who was at Bayero University in Kano as a professor of Economic History until his appointment has since assumed duty as the 4th vice-chancellor of Kogi State University. While speaking at handover ceremony, the new VC called for teamwork, pledging to run inclusive and consultative administration. Professor Abdulkadir who described himself as a tree that needs support of others to make a forest, calling for sincere and honest advice and stated that he was willing and ready to throw his door open. He also called on other stakeholders to join hands with him in moving the university forward. Speaking earlier, his predecessor, Professor Isah urged the principal officers as well as other members of staff in the university to extend their full support to the new helmsman. He expressed gratitude for the support and cooperation he enjoyed while serving as vice chancellor.

FUNAAB mourns student ...debunks alleged negligence towards deceased

Saidat Alausa

uthorities of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB, Ogun State have described as unfortunate and a great loss, the sad demise of Miss Maria Atere, a 300-level student in the Department of Plant Physiology and Crop Production, College of Plant Science and Crop Production (COLPLANT), of the university. Miss Atere, a 22-year-old student was on a commercial motorcycle, when she was knocked down by a car, along the Camp-Alabata Road, around the Ogun-Oshun River Basin Development Authority (OORBDA) gate, in Abeokuta, Ogun State. When the sad incident occurred, some Good Samaritans brought two unidentified victims of the accident to a private clinic at Camp. Miss Atere was later discovered to be one of them. She was given first aid treatment before being referred to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Abeokuta, for better medical attention due to the severity of the injuries sustained but unfortunately, she passed on. According to a release by the Head, Directorate of Public Relations university and the university spokes person Mrs. Emi’ Alawode stated that contrary to unfounded allegations of negligence, made by some individuals against the university, Atere was never brought to the university Health Centre for treatment, hence, no doctor had the opportunity to quickly examine her and arrive at a decision on the most appropriate form of medical treatment. Nevertheless, the university ambulance was despatched to the private clinic at Camp, when a request was made. Meanwhile, the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Olusola Oyewole, has approved the immediate constitution of a Committee to investigate the circumstances that led to the unfortunate incident. “Management sympathises very deeply with family members and the entire university community, praying that the Infinite God grants everyone the much needed fortitude to bear this really painful loss,” the statement stated.

Youths clean-up community in Kwara

rin, said they carried out the exercise to show by example the essence of cleaning 300L, Law Unilorin the environment and to let the commuwo non-governmental organ- nity know that it is everyone’s duty to isations, BRAIN Builders In- participate in keeping the environment ternational and We Are M.A.D clean. (Making a Difference) Initiative were According to him, “Health begins at last weekend engaged in sanitation ex- home and it is the responsibility of evercise at an illegal dumpsite in Kulende ery resident to dump solid waste at desarea of Ilorin, the Kwara State capital. ignated sites. Most illegal dumpsites are The exercise brought together many created by waste generated from nearby volunteers who are mostly students houses in the community” and urged of the University of Ilorin and youths residents to desist from such act. from the community. He added that they also undertook the Speaking during the exercise, the exercise to help inhabitants of area find principal initiator of BBI, Mr Olasupo solution to the problem of dumpsites in Abideen, a student of University of Ilo- the community.

Habeebulah Morakinyo

Eddy Uwoghiren

400L, Medi & Surg Uniben

he University of Benin (UNIBEN), Edo State recently inducted newly qualified medical doctors and dental surgeons with an advice to shun unethical behaviours and be guided by the rules of the medical profession. The induction ceremony which was held at the institution’s main auditorium saw 90 medical doctors and 14 dental surgeons swearing to the hippocratic oath. The Vice-Chancellor of

Miss Tony Joy, a graduate of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife and coordinator of We Are M.A.D said the project had been carried out in Ondo State and now Kwara and would be extended to other states across the country as the vision is to see a dirt-free Nigeria by 2020. She encouraged residents of the area to take charge and desist from unhealthy practice that can engender epidemic breakout. Both organizers thanked the Kwara State Environmental Protection Agency (KWEPA) and the State Ministry of Environment and Forestry for their support.

Shun unethical practice, UNIBEN doctors’ inductees told the university, Prof. Faraday Orumwense commended them for successfully completing their training. While calling on them to show compassion when attending to their patients, he stated that UNIBEN had successfully discharged her duties by training them to the present level. He emphatically told them to be proud considering the fact that they trained in one of the best medical

Cross section of inductees during the ceremony.

schools in Nigerian and Sub Saharan Africa. He later encouraged them to go into the medical field and perform exploit like alumni of the university are currently doing. Dean of Medicine, Prof. Moses Mommoh, who commended the new doctors for making their parents proud by finishing the medical training, said they must be guided by the ethics of the profession else the law would

catch up with them. He further charged them to seek ways of improving the health sector rather than compounding the loads of issues currently bedeviling the sector. Mommoh used the occasion to commend the VC for his developmental strides in the medical college. He also thanked the lecturers and doctors that trained the new graduates. The dean further pleaded with the Medical and Dental Council of Nigeria (MDCN) to consider an upgrade of the current admission quota of UNIBEN Medical School. “Every year, we watch thousands of qualified candidates refused admission because of our current carrying capacity. We just pick the best from the thousand qualified. Our Medical School happens to be the most subscribed in Nigeria because of the policy of Merit as a consideration for admission which was instituted by the former VC. “We will be glad if the quota is increased so we can accommodate more students considering the fact that we have the facilities on ground and we are building more,” Mommoh said.

Thursday, November 5, 2015

“I

n the first quarter of this year, that is between Janu

ary to (and) March 2013….” (Alternatively, from January to March) But, hold on: who does not know that the first quarter of any year refers to January, February and March? Does the publication think that its readers are daft? This is too clumsy, loose and uneducated for an editorial! “Local refineries are also springing up with all the pollution that come (comes) with the activities.” “…to serve as a deterrent to other people who plan to stealing (steal) our oil.” “…no other parts (part) of the country is completely safe.” “For long, Nigeria and the US have shared strong partnership in security cooperation except for period (the period) during the regime of late (the late) Gen. Sani Abacha when the ties were strained.” “There should be no preferential treatment for foreign

White elephants trained (foreign-trained) graduates as what is good for the goose is also good for the gander.” Conscience, Nurtured by Truth: what is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. Did you know that ‘big brother’—usually misapplied in Nigeria—means a sinister organisation, a bully or dictator? “…whose looks belly (belie) her age.” “When they do well, we praise them but if they ere (err), we march against them.” Wrong: “If I was you”; Right: If I were you…. This is the subjunctive aspect of grammar. Wrong: “I wrote him”; Right: I wrote to him

Avoid circumlocutions: “despite the fact” (although); “owing to the fact” and “for the reason that” (as/because); “in addition to which” (and); (Source: Correct English by J. E. Metcalfe & C. Astle). “…the amnesty deal has run into murky water (the murky waters)….” “Pre-schoolers (Pre-scholars, you mean?) handling hi-tech with kids’ gloves” Education Today: kid gloves. “Delta swears-in electoral commission for LG polls” Is it the commission or its members that were sworn in (take note of the phrasal verb)? Also, note that ‘swearing-in’ is correct as a noun. “Federation polls: Elected members walk out in protest” An example of half-literacy: ‘walk out’ demonstrates ‘protest,’ among other meanings. So, why the redundancy?

Owoeye urge youths on vocational training Saidat Alausa

he Chairman Governing Council, Lead City University, Ibadan, Oyo State, Prof. Jide Owoeye has urged Nigerian youths to embrace vocational training in addition to higher education. He said this at an event in Ibadan where a private firm, ‘Dexterity Plus’ graduate students after completing training in event decorations. Prof. Owoeye who commended the firm for empowering many youths through training in event decoration

Saidat Alausa

ormer Vice-Chancellor, University of Uyo, AkwaIbom, Prof. Fola Lasisi has reiterated the need to introduce mentoring into educational institutions for sustainability. He said this while delivering the 29th convocation lecture of Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, titled,” Sustainable Development: Entrepreneurship and Mentorship Roles in Youth Empowerment recently. According to him, there is also the need for sustainable development to take firm root in “our national planning and implementation.” “The challenge is for the relatively new Nigerian national government to take the leadership role in looking at existing programmes in entrepreneurship for better focus and control.” He disclosed that funding for education is at the centre of some of the failures recorded in the country but “when funding for education gets around 20 percent of budget as recommended by UNICEF, the impact should be felt with appropriate and verifiable controls on known leakages. The Professor of Structures and Environment however said

business said any graduate with a vocational qualification stands a better chance in the labour market. “Universities in the country are turning out millions of graduates into the labour markets every year which is making it more competitive years-in years-out, but I believe anyone with a vocational qualification would survive more. “Every human has an inborn talent, it is high time our youths look inward to identify their innate talent and work towards developing it along with their academic activities, and that is why I’m happy with this development”, he stated.

ABUAD... CONTINUED FROM PAGE 22

L-R: Popular stand-up comedian, Akpororo; Chairman, Lead City University, Prof. Jide Owoeye; Registrar, Dr. Omobola Ayeni, and a member of popular dance group ‘Explixit’, Tope, at the event, recently.

Don reiterates need for students’ mentoring in schools that both trainee and mentor stand to benefit greatly when the goals and expectations of their mentoring relationship are clearly defined, the responsibilities and activities are well executed, and goals and objectives are achieved in a timely fashion. Prof. Lasisi who is also an Alumnus of the college further stated that children and young people’s participation and empowerment need to go beyond platforms of participation and move beyond token to intrinsic engagement. This according to him requires

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governments to avail basic access to information especially the marginalised, younger and hard to reach youth demographically. Also by promoting mass information, education and communication that enable young people to express their needs and participate in making decisions affecting them and lastly by empowering young women with life skills to be economically independent in order for them to circumvent problems affecting them at all levels.

On entrepreneurship as a way of empowering the youth, the lecturer said a lot of challenges are facing the development in the country which include, political instability, inadequacy of information, inflation, capital, insecurity, lack of stable power supply and economic problems among others. He therefore said that to empower youths for sustainable development, the thinkers which are the politicians and leaders of today, builders which include civil society, private sectors and most importantly the women and the sustainers which are the youths must play their parts well for sustainable development in Nigeria.

L-R: President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Dr. Frank Jacobs; Guest Lecturer/former Vice-Chancellor, University of Uyo, Prof. Fola Lasisi; Rector, Yaba College of Technology, Lagos, Dr. Margaret Ladipo and Deputy Rector(Academics), Mr. Innocent Akhnemokhan, during the 29th Convocation Lecture of YABATECH, recently. PHOTO: SAMUEL ADETIMEHIN

have won various local and international laurels for the university. “Four of our students are dubbed Team LifeWatch for inventing AtshmaVisor, a device to manage Asthma, particularly in children declared as African Champions in this year’s Microsoft Imagine Cup finals in the US. While my humble self joined seven other academics from across the globe to win this year’s Golden European Award for Quality and Business Prestige in Education sphere in Nigeria held in Rome,” he said proudly. ABUAD at the convocation which has Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti State among other high profile personalities in attendance conferred honourary doctoral degrees on four eminent Nigerians who have contributed so much to their respective fields and humanity. They are the immediate past Chairman of Independent National Electoral Commission, Prof. Attahiru Jega; the former Chairman of Independent Corrupt Practices Commission (ICPC), Justice Emmanuel Ayoola (retd); the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto, Dr. Mathew Hassan Kukah and the Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Adeyemi III. While Jega and Ayoola were conferred with Doctor of Public Administration and Doctor of Law, respectively, both Kukah and Alaafin of Oyo were conferred with Doctors of Letters. They were all expressed happiness for the honour as well as for becoming alumni of the university. Jega for instance, said “I am very proud to be an alumnus of ABUAD.” He however commended the founder for not only establishing ABUAD, but for also putting all known efforts in ensuring that the university takes the lead in the country. “Aare Afe Babalola is an inspiring leader, a great Nigerian, who takes courses and pursues them passionately. It is to the credit of humanity and to all Nigerians that he is taken education and has pursued it passionately to establish ABUAD. And so, from what I have seen and learnt so far, I have no doubt that give it another five years, ABUAD will be one of the best universities in the world,” Jega said.

Business Thursday, November 5, 2015

Broadband Challenge: Awakening the potentials 31 of SAT 3

Customs appoints 6 new Deputy Comptrollers General28

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Former lawmaker supports new national carrier project, vairports’ privatization 29

Entrepreneurship key to Africa’s development –CIS President Tola Akinmutimi

he Acting President of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers, CIS, Mr Oluwaseyi Abe, has urged governments and other stakeholders in the economy to prioritise policies and programmes that could help build entrepreneurial skills and other capacities in Nigerians in view of the far-reaching benefits of entrepreneurship to broad-based national development. Giving the advice in his opening remarks at the opening session of the 39th Annual Conference of the Institute held last week in Lagos, the chartered stockbroker described long-term investments through the capital markets as crucial to fast-tracking economic development in African countries and a lever for pulling the continent out of the vicious cycle of poverty. Abe explained that the capital markets provided dependable windows for African governments through which the countries could raise required long-term funds for repositioning their economies, adding that failure to deepen the markets by attracting investments into them through enabling policies could only be to the detriment of the continent. He said: “The importance of entrepreneurship and entrepreneurs in economic development cannot be overemphasized. Entrepreneurship has been defined as the capacity and willingness to develop, organise and manage a business venture along with any of its risks in order to make a profit. “It is also a journey of opportunity exploration and risk management to create value for profit and /or social good. “A typical entrepreneur is someone of very high mental aptitude, who pioneers change and possesses characteristics

found only in a small fraction of the population. He or she translates an innovative idea into new demand to create substantial wealth with more rapidity than the ordinary business owner” he added. According to him, the African continent “can break out from the vicious cycle of poverty into prosperity when entrepreneurs and governments develop a dominant and pervasive culture of financing ven-

tures and projects through the capital markets”. The CIS leader explained that the theme of the conference ‘‘Entrepreneurship and the Capital Market: Fast Tracking a New Economy for Africa’’ was indicative of our pan- African sentiment and that both the theme and subthemes were conceived to enlighten African businesses, entrepreneurs and governments on the way forward to

fast track new and prosperous economies across the continent. Abe pointed out that Africa needed to break out from a vicious cycle of poverty with its attendant socio-economic disequilibrium, adding that the Institute believes this can be achieved through optimal utilization of the instrumentality of the capital market to finance and drive entrepreneurship.

AIRLINES’ FLIGHT SCHEDULES Med-View Airline Lagos- Abuja (Mon-Fri): 07.00, 08.50, 12.00, 16.30. Abuja- Lagos (Mon-Fri): 09.00, 14.00, 15.00, 18.30. Lagos-Yola (Mon-Fri): 8.50am. Yola-Lagos (Mon-Fri): 13.00. Lagos- PHC (Mon-Fri): 17.00. PHC-Lagos: 19.00. Abuja-Yola: 11.00. Yola-Abuja: 13.00. Lagos-Abuja (Sat): 08.00, 08.50. Abuja-Lagos (Sat): 10.00, 15.00. Lagos-PHC (Sat): 17.00. PHC-Lagos (Sat): 19.00. Lagos-Yola (Sat): 08.50. Yola-Lagos (Sat): 13.00

Dana Air

L-R: Head of Sales, Olam Benin, Mr Opadeji Olufemi; Chairman, Rice Dealers Association, Aba, Chief Ifeanyi Okeke; Associate General Manager, Rice Imports, Marketing, Sales and Distribution, Olam, Nigeria, Mr Mahesh Nimje and Head of Sales and Marketing, Olam Nigeria, Mr. Joshua Aiyeku, during the tour of Mama’s Pride Rice distributors, Eastern Region to Olam Rice Farm, Rukubi, Nasarawa State.

NOSDRA fines Mobil Producing N10m for oil spill UDEME AKPAN

he National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency, NOSDRA has slammed N10 million fine on Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited, MPNU over oil spill. The agency accused the oil company of non-compliance with the nation’s environmental laws despite its written reminder notifying them of the sanctions imposed by NOSDRA for failure to effect clean up of the oil spill incident at Qua Iboe Terminal.

NOSDRA stated: “It would be recalled that the Director General/ CE of NOSDRA Sir Peter Idabor wrote a reminder letter to Mobil Producing Nigeria Unlimited directing them to pay the sum of Ten Million Naira (N10, 000,000) levied against the company for sundry violation of the provisions of the Agency’s enabling Act and it’s Oil Spill Recovery, Clean Up, Remediation and Damage Assessment Regulations 2011.” “Consequently, NOSDRA has directed the oil company to pay the said fines or face the legal machinery available to the Agency to com-

pel the company to comply with the directive,” it added. MPNU had at various times been accused of polluting the environment as a result of oil spillage and gas flaring and had upon the accusations offered to pay compensation to people in such communities as well as execute some projects and programmes for them. The company, which operates a Joint Venture with the Federal Government of Nigeria, through the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), commenced operations in Nigeria in 1955 under the name Mobil Exploration Nigeria Incorporated, MENI.

Abuja-Lagos 9am, 1pm, 5.28pm daily Lagos-Abuja 7am, 11am, 1.23pm,3.30pm daily Lagos-PH: 7.20AM, Ph-Abuja9.54am, Abuja-ph: 3.30pm and Ph-Lagos: 5.28pm daily Lagos-Uyo: 9.20am, Uyo-Abuja: 11.07am, Abuja-Uyo 1.05pm, Uyo-Lagos: 3pm daily Weekends Lagos-Abuja: 7.02am, 9am, 3.30pm Abuja-Lagos: 9am, 2.20pm and 5.28pm Lagos -Phc: 11.07am Phc-Lagos: 1.05pm Phc-Abuja: 12.51pm Abuja-Phc: 10.50am Lagos-Uyo: 9.18am Uyo-LOS -3.03pm Uyo-Abuja: 11.07am Abuja-Uyo: 1.05pm

Aero Contractors Lag-Abj: 06.50, 13.30, 16.30, 19.45 (Mon-Fri/Sat/Sun), 12.30 (Sun) 16.45 (Sat) Abj-Los: 07.30, 13.00, 19.00 (Mon-Fri/Sat, 10.30, 14.30, 19.30 (Sun, 18.30 Sat) Lag-Benin: 07.45, 11.00, 15.30 (Mon-Fri/Sat/ Sun) 12.30 (Sun 15.30 (Sat) Ben-Lag: 09.15, 12.30, 17.00 (Mon-Fri/Sat/Sun) 17.00 (Sat) 14.00 (Sun)Lag-Owe: 7.45am, 2pm daily

Business News

Thursday, November 5, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Customs appoints six new Deputy Comptrollers General FRANCIS EZEM

he Nigeria Customs Service, NCS, has appointed six new Deputy Controllers General on acting capacity to drive the ongoing reform in the service. It would be recalled that five serving DCGs comprising, Mr. John Atte from Bayelsa, Musa Tahir, from Yobe State (North East) Ibrahim Mera from Kebbi State (North West zone), Chukwuma Nwosu from Enugu State (South-East) and DCG Ade Adewuyi from Oyo State (South – West) zone, had last Thursday resigned their appointments from the service. A statement by the National Public Relations Officer of the service, Mr. Wale Adeniyi, indicated that the ComptrollerGeneral, Col. Hameed Ali (Rtd), approved the appointment of six new DCGs, who would be on acting capacity for now in line with the ongoing re-organisation in the service. Also appointed are a total of eight ACGs, who were before now Comptrollers. According to the PRO, the six DCGs, who were before now Assistant Comptrollers General include former ACG Idris Suleiman is now DCG in charge of Finance, Administration and Technical Service, former ACG Iya Umar now takes over as DCG in charge of Tariff and Trade, Dan

Ugo is DCG in charge of Enforcement Investigation and Inspection while Grace Adeyemo takes over as DCG Excise, Free Trade Zones and Industrial Incentive. Others are DCG Austin Warikoru, who takes over as DCG in charge of Human Resource Development even as Paul Ukaigwe takes over as DCG, Strategic Research and Policy. The newly promoted ACGs include, former Comptroller Umar Sanusi, who takes over as ACG Headquarters, Funsho Adegoke takes over as ACG in charge of Information Communication Technology while Mohammed Abbas and Olatunji Aremu take over as ACG Board and Command and Staff College, respectively. Similarly, former Comptroller Charles Edike takes over as the new Zonal Coordinator Zone A, former Comptroller Abubakar Dangaladima takes over as Zonal Coordinator Zone B while Azarema Abdulkadir and Chidi Augustine take over as Zonal Coordinators in charge of Zones C and D respectively Meanwhile, the exercise also involved the redeployment of seven serving officers of the rank of ACG, who include ACG Adesina Odunmbaku, who moves to Finance and Technical Services, ACG Robert Alu moves to Tariff and Trade, ACG Ade Dosumu resumes at the Enforcement and Drugs while ACG Monday Abueh goes over to Excise & Industrial

NASC organises awareness campaign on improved seeds Gloria Usman, Abuja

he National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC) yesterday organised an awareness campaign on the importance and benefits of improved seeds in order to increase national food production nationwide. The sensitisation programme was organised for farmers in the FederalCapital Territory. The Director Council, Dr Philip Ojo, said that the aim of the event was to enlighten farmers on the importance of improved seeds without the Growth Enhancement (GES) scheme roll out. According to him, the effort through the activity would increase awareness on the use of improved seeds over traditional land races. He explained that the use of improved seed was most cost means of enhancing agricultural productivity per unit area.

The Director said: ‘’The development and adoption of improved seed were responsible for the achievements in green revolution, availability of food at prices profitable to producers and affordable to customers. It also reduces rural poverty in many developing nations.” He pointed out that the Council, in its efforts to get rid of fake and adulterated seeds, had enforced activities to confiscate such adulterated seeds in the agro market. In his remarks, Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, FMARD, Arc. Sonny Echono, reiterated the importance of using improved seeds by farmers, adding that it is a sure means of increasing food productivity in the country. He cautioned farmers against fake using adulterated seeds and advised seed companies to confiscate and destroy all fake seeds anywhere they are found in the country.

Incentive department. Other redeployed ACGs include ACG Ahmed Mohammed, who moves to Human Resource Management, ACG Patience Iferi moves to Strategic Research and Policy department while Comptroller Aminu Abba moves to Technical Services department. It was gathered that all the changes take immediate effect. The CG, who urged the newly elevated officers to brace up for the reforms in the service, also charged them to redouble their efforts in order to justify the confidence reposed on them and also

ensure that the desired objectives of the reforms were met. The Customs CG had said that his decision to sack a total of 35 senior officers of the service comprising Deputy Comptrollers General, Assistant Comptrollers General and some Comptrollers was in line with the mandate given to him by Preside The CG, who also announced the sack of three Assistant Comptrollers General at the weekend, comprising Madu Mohammed, who was Secretary to the Nigeria Customs Board, Victor Gbemudu, Zonal Coordinator Zone

A and Bello Liman, Assistant Comptroller-General in charge of Headquarters, said the exercise was in line with the on-going reorganisation in the Service. According to him, the retirement of the 35 officers, which takes immediate effect as part of the re-organisation of the Service, is one of his core mandates handed down by the president.

Also affected in the shake- are officers of the rank of Comptrollers serving in Customs Headquarters, Zonal Offices and various Area Commands.

L-R: Former Chairman, Council of Registered Builders of Nigeria, Sen. Ahmed Abubakar; Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Prof. Akin Akindoyeni; Mr George Ossi, and the Chairman of Corbon, Prof. Bala Kabir, at the Builders Congress 2015 Conference in Abuja, yesterday. PHOTO:NAN

African countries parley over environmental degradation menace Richard Ndoma, Calabar

t least 28 African countries are currently brainstorming in Calabar, Cross River States, on how best to adopt effective policies and measures to tackle deforestation and environmental degradation challenges in the African continent. National Mirror reliably gathered that participants would at the end of the programme acquire skills that would aid them know how best to create policies and programmes that would help to address deforestation and environmental degradation after serious brainstorming. The UN Reduced Emission on Deforestation and Degradation REDD+ week long Program drew participation of experts from Food and Agricultural Organization FAO , United Nations Development Project UNDP, as well as the United Nations Environment Program UNEP. Speaking at the inaugural ceremony, senior regional technical advisor Elsie Attafuah said UN REDD PLUS has a role

to play beyond the reduction of emissions from the Forest sector as it has also contributed to the environmental perspective and promoting green economy development. The UN official declared that, there is need to explore various sectors to the challenges of deforestation and forest degradation, stated that UN-REDD regional Academy will therefore bring African Countries together to play leadership role in their various national economies. The goal of the regional UN-REDD training workshop, the senior technical expert explained that, sessions will discuss the concept for the UNREDD+ academy and identify priority capacity building needs with REDD countries, and other relevant partners. Declaring the programme open, Cross River State Governor, Professor Ben Ayade, noted that deforestation and forest degradation were the third largest global contributors to greenhouse gas emissions, after those in global energy and industrial sectors.

The governor who was represented by his deputy, Professor Ivara Esu, pointed out that climate change represented not just one of the greatest challenges of humanity but also a tremendous opportunity for developing nations to move towards an efficient and sustainably developed societies. He charged UN-REDD to evolve an objective policy and strategy that will ensure transparent and acceptable management of the continent’s forest resources, while also guaranteeing maximum benefits for conservation efforts of communities and states in the form of carbon credit concession. The Governor also harped on the need to strengthen the state Forestry Commission as a key player in the implementation of the UN-REDD programme, stating that the Commission is saddled with the statutory au-

thority of management of the forest and sued for greater synergy with the UN-REDD PLUS, especially in areas of retraining, capacity building and skills transfer.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Business News

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Former lawmaker supports new national carrier project, airports’ privatization Olusegun Koiki

former member of the House of Representatives and Chairman House Committee on Aviation, Hon. Awwal Tukur, has said that for the Nigeria’s aviation industry to compete, it required a strong national carrier. He also advised the Federal Government to privatised most of the nation’s airports for improved revenues. Speaking with journalists in Lagos recently, Tukur said that it was the job of the government to promote, regulate the national carrier and en-

sure it operates profitably. According to him, the economic benefits of the national carrier to the nation include revenues, training of technical personnel for the industry and employment of young and capable hands. “We need a strong carrier and it is the job of the government to promote and regulate it economically. “Strong carriers which are Nigeria’s, I think is what I will go for, including how the federal government wants to bring up the new national carrier, and we will give our support as Nigerians,” he said. The former lawmaker also

stressed the need to make the country’s airports functional for global market competitiveness. He decried that lots of the country’s airports had not grown with the size of population base, adding that “even the toilets are designed for certain number of people and

by the time that number exceed, you cannot cope, there will always be problem, the runway system, the checking counter is the same thing, so our facilities have not grown with our population base.” Tukur advised the government to be more proactive, less bureaucratic by privatis-

ing the airports and removing them from bureaucratic control of the civil service, adding that if government regulates the airports, get lots of private sector involved, be proactive, the entire industry would move from its present state to a more improved environment.

CTO scribe lauds Nigeria on Daudu’s appointment as WRC15 Chair

ecretary-General Shola Taylor has congratulated the Nigerian Government for election of Engr. Festus Daudu, as Chair of the 2015 World Radiocommunication Conference (WRC-15) which kicked off on Tuesday in Geneva, Switzerland. Taylor also congratulated Alan Jamieson from New Zealand and Daniel Obam from Kenya, both Commonwealth citizens, as two of the vicechairmen for the Conference. He enthused: “I am delighted at the election of a Commonwealth candidate to chair this important Conference, and having known Engr Daudu for many years, I have full confidence in his ability to steer the Conference successfully, especially when considering his calm and professional disposition. This is a pride to Nigeria, Africa and the Commonwealth.” Early last month, Daudu took part in the Commonwealth preparatory conference convened by the CTO in London, and which resulted in a Commonwealth Action Plan for WRC-15. In his opening remarks, Daudu said that decision taken at the “Conference are critical to our Administrations, to much of the telecommunications industry, and for the many other important uses of the radio frequency spectrum. They will further promote connectivity, directly affect the lives of our citizens and have important economic impacts in each of our countries.”

“I also have to thank all the African Administrations for collectively putting my name forward and I thank my country Nigeria for given me this unique opportunity to serve the global community”, he added. Houlin Zhao, SecretaryGeneral of the ITU also shared his satisfaction at Daudu’s election as well as the other vice chairmen, saying that he has confidence in their abilities to ensure a smooth and efficient running of the conference over the four coming weeks.” “I am confident that Festus Daudu will lead us successfully at this Conference,” added Francois Rancy, Director of the ITU’s Radiocommunication Bureau. The Commonwealth countries will be meeting once a week during the Conference to continue to coordinate the views of Commonwealth countries during the Conference. All leaders of the 6 regional groups – the Arab Group, CITEL, APT, ATU, RCC and CEPT all expressed individually their congratulations and confidence in Engr. Daudu to lead the Conference to a successful end. Over 3,800 delegates from 162 Member States and many international organisations, including the CTO, are taking part in the event. It is the first time for an African to be elected to this position in the 150 years history of the Genevabased International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

Comptroller-General, Nigeria Customs Service, Retired Col. Hameed Ali (right) and Area Comptroller FCT, Nigeria Customs Service, Abubakar Bashiru, during the Comptroller-General’s Familiarisation visit to FIRS in Abuja on Tuesday.

Bank of America to sell $87bn money-market fund business

ank of America Corp, the No. 2 U.S. bank, has agreed to sell responsibility for about $87 billion in money-market funds and other products it manages to BlackRock Inc in one of the money market industry’s largest deals ever. The transaction comes as massive banks have faced pressure to simplify their businesses since the global financial crisis and marks the largest in a series of deals reshuffling the cash-management industry before a set of costly regulatory reforms take effect in 2016. The agreement is expected to lift the global cash-management business at BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, from about $285 billion to $372 billion. The New York-based company - a manager of mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, private equity pools and other investment products - is already the world’s largest money manager, with $4.5 trillion in assets. The company’s heft is partly the result of similar acquisitions, including that of Merrill Lynch & Co’s investment management business in 2006. Merrill Lynch was later acquired by Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America Corp and remains a

major distributor of BlackRock products to individual investors and institutions. “This transaction is consistent with Bank of America’s ongoing efforts to simplify its business, in this instance, by outsourcing certain product manufacturing functions to an industry leader,” said Bank of America spokeswoman Susan McCabe in an emailed

statement, adding that the bank would now focus on distributing money market funds from BlackRock and other third-party providers. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. The deal is expected to close next year, subject to standard approvals, BlackRock said in a statement. (Source – Reuters.com)

EU to clear $37bn Avago, Broadcom deal without conditions

.S. chipmaker Avago Technologies is set to win unconditional approval by the European Union’s competition regulators for its proposed $37 billion takeover of Broadcom Corp, two people familiar with the matter said on Tuesday. The deal is one of several in the global semiconductor industry this year, with consolidation driven by demand for cheaper chips and new products to power Internet-connected gadgets as well as the need to cut costs. Avago offered concessions last Friday, according to the European Commission website, without providing details. Avago serves the wireless and

industrial markets while Broadcom’s chips are used widely in smartphones made by Apple and Samsung Electronics European Commission spokesman Ricardo Cardoso declined to comment. The EU competition authority extended its deadline for a decision on the deal to Nov. 23 from Nov. 9. U.S. regulators nodded through the takeover in August. Avago and Broadcom did not immediately reply to emails for comment. The merged company will be based in Singapore and known as Broadcom. (Source – Reuters.com)

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Steel & Mining Industry

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Mining engineers canvass improved funding for sector CHIDI UGWU, ABUJA

he Nigerian Society of Mining Engineers (NSME) has said that with adequate funding Nigeria would be able to develop the mining sector and tap the potentials that exist in the industry for revenue generation. The group said the development of the solid minerals sub-sector as would help accelerate diversification of the economy and save the country from the ever crashing prices of oil and gas. The society is of the view that to revive the economy, the Nigerian government needs to return to critical sectors of wealth generation including solid minerals, with funding to tap the potentials that exist there for revenue. “Before the discovery of crude oil, Nigeria funded its development with revenue from agriculture and mining. But oil diverted attention of the government from these critical sectors. Now oil price has crashed, and the commodity cannot even sell at give away because there are no buyers. The government needs not ponder; return to the very sectors that provided the foundation for development,” Engr. Adedeji Adetunji, Publicity Secretary of the society told Daily Trust in Jos. Engr. Adetunji said the society’s growing concerns for the nation’s economy has compelled the engineers as critical stakeholders in this sector,

to organise its forthcoming 15th Annual General Meeting (AGM) in line with the current concerns, which is the diversification of the economy to save the country from the crashing oil sector. He said the AGM, which will hold in Jos, capital of Plateau State, which is also Nigeria’s capital of Tin Ore, will discuss “Resurgence of the Mining Industry: A Key to Revival of Ni-

Gold Deposit Scheme to offer 2.5% interest for launch today

he Government of India is planning to create Diwali cheer ahead of the festival of lights to unleash four gold related investment schemes today, two days before Dhanteras (Hindus buy gold and precious metals) Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the gold monetisation scheme or GMS along with three other gold related Schemes on 5th November Under the gold monetisation scheme people can deposit a minimum gold equivalent to 30 grams and it shall be raw gold (bars, coins, jewellery excluding stones and other metals). There is no maximum limit for deposit under the scheme. The gold deposits will be accepted for short term tenure (1-3 years), medium term tenure (5-7 years) and long term tenure (1215 years). The short term deposits will fetch 2.25 per cent interest on current price of

gold while the long term investment would fetch 2.5 per cent interest. The government plans to tap unused gold in private possession, lockers and deposit boxes lying idle to help banks raise their deposits and benefit from the liquidity which deposited gold would generate The gold deposited under the scheme will be auctioned by MMTC or any other agency authorised by the central government and the sale proceeds will credited to the central government’s account with the Reserve Bank of India.

To tap the Indian love for yellow metal PM Modi will be launching the gold coin scheme. For the first time there will be official Indian gold coin bearing the national emblem of Ashok Chakra engraved on one side. These gold coins will be available in denominations of 5 and 10 grams.

gerian Economy.” The theme, according to him, was chosen because of the prevailing concerns over the dire consequences of neglecting the sector, which he said, funded Nigeria’s development during the pre-oil period. “Solid minerals are now hot cake in the market. You cannot continue

to neglect this critical sector of the economy; doing so is to kill the country, especially now that oil revenue is continually crashing, with low demand. But demand in solid minerals is resurging, and we are better placed as a country to develop this sector to save our economy,” the society’s spokesman said.

Assocham wants auction route for cooking coal blocks

ndustry body Assocham has made a plea to the government to auction coking coal blocks, a move that would boost indigenous production and generate revenue for the exchequer. “Assocham has urged the government to put coking coal blocks in auction mode and allocate the same through competitive bidding,” the industry chamber said in a statement. “Coking coal blocks should not be allotted on a nomination basis as it would delay the development of coking coal in India and create a non-level playing field in the steel industry,” it added in a communication to the Steel Ministry. According to the Assocham Secretary General D S Rawat, there is an urgent need to revamp domestic mining to bolster production as the country’s steel sector demand for coking coal is expected to reach about 180 million tonnes per annum (mtpa) by 2025, from the current level of about 50 mtpa.

“Allocation of coking coal blocks to steelmakers has much merit because the industry is capable of efficiently utilizing 100 per cent prime coking coal reserves from the blocks,” Mr Rawat said. The apex body also said many virgin blocks of Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL), a Coal India arm, are currently lying underdeveloped despite being allocated long back and even the operating blocks of the company are unable to produce to their full potential. Besides, steelmakers in the public sector which have been allocated coking coal blocks have failed to ramp up production, it said. Owing to limited availability of appropriate coking coal quantities, there is a huge gap in the country’s coking coal production vis-a-vis demand, two-thirds of which are being imported by the Steel Industry, it said. “This is resulting in a loss of forex reserves, stress in inland transportation and logistics, together with congestion at ports,” Assocham said.

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Info Tech

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Broadband Challenge: Awakening the potentials of SAT 3

or fast growing economies globally, broadband internet access is key to driving social economic and other related activities. Like other developing economies, Nigeria has continued to grapple with the challenge of broadband inadequacy for years. However, there seems to be some signs of hope in the nation’s drive towards increasing broadband access to users nationwide with the planned deployment of SAT 3 by NATCOM Development and Investment Limited, the new owners of NITEL, now ntel. Isaiah Erhiawarien reports:

In the last 10 years of Nigeria’s telecoms growth, no subject has attracted so much concern at telecoms fora as how the country could overcome the challenges of broadband inadequacy and by so doing, create a technologydriven competitive platform for telecommunications services users in the country. For instance, at every global ICT forum, stakeholders in the sector, including the telecoms industry regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, harped on its criticality in leapfrogging the country into the circle of countries that have achieved great socio-economic and political developments through reliable, high speed and affordable internet-powered communication channels. Ironically, despite the several efforts being made to provide more broadband internet access for the country through the auctioning spectrum to boost bandwidth, such efforts have not translated into what some analysts term next frontier of our economic development, particularly as it relates to the deployment of technology. Speaking recently at a public event in Lagos, the Special Assistant to the Imo State Governor, on ICT, Mr. Ikechukwu Ogbonna, noted that state was hinging its growth on the impact of technology. According to him, the state is committed to deploying technology to impact the life of the Imo state people saying that Governor Rochas Okorocha considers ICT very critical in delivery essential social services like health and education to the people. But the broadband challenges even in the mist of landed and landing submarine cables makes that dream of the Imo State Government almost unrealistic. Noting this major gap in the ICT sector, the new owners of the defunct NITEL, NATCOM Development and Investment Limited, has pledged to reawaken the potentials of SAT 3, the nation’s first submarine fibre cable. The Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mr. Kamar Abass, at a stakeholders’ forum recently highlighted critical role of broadband as a reason for its determination urgency to tap

into the potentials of SAT 3. According to him, broadband usage drives economic growth since it enhances better social relationships between people, improved education through e-learning, increased productivity from mobile accessibility. He explained that beyond the fact that broadband increased innovation and new ways of doing business, it also impacts on the GDP saying that a 10 per cent increase in mobile penetration leads to an increase in GDP/ capita growth of 0.8 per cent just as the doubling the speed of broadband adds 0.3 per cent to GDP. Forecast from the GSMA revealed that in the next five years, mobile broadband connections in Nigeria will be five times the total number of mobile broadband connections in the last 9 years adding that over the period of 15 years, Nigeria’s total mobile connection grew at a Compound Annual Growth Rate, CAGR, of 51 per cent. Examining the potentials of SAT 3, which has remain docile in the eight years of moribund NITEL, the NATCOM boss revealed that it is the first undersea cable connecting West Africa to Europe, South Africa and Asia saying that the cable system is divided into two sub-systems, SAT-3/WASC in the Atlantic Ocean and SAFE in the Indian Ocean. He explained that SAT-3, which has been the pride of Nigeria for many years stands for South Atlantic Telecommunications Cable number 3, WASC stands for West African Submarine Cable and SAFE stands for South Africa Far East adding that the cable system began operations in 2002 with 17 landing points in 15 countries. Despite the fact that many African countries has not considered its economic value to the continent, it today stands as Africa’s longest submarine cable covering a distance of 28,800km with a total lit capacity of about 1,000 gigabytes per second,Gbps. Abass revealed that the cable system is funded and owned by a consortium of 35 foremost telecoms operators from different parts of the world

the impact of

Abass saying that NATCOM is the fourth highest shareholder with a share of 6.23 per cent thereby putting it at advantage position to exploit it for the growth of broadband in the country. He said that key features of the SAT 3 cable, which makes it standout than others include the direct connectivity to 15 countries and the coverage of Europe, Asia and Africa, which also provides onward connectivity globally via partners. Abass said further that SAT3 has high-capacity links that provides high-quality Voice, Video and Data Services and with low latency supporting mission critical applications stressing that it is highly stable cable infrastructure maximising availability with a cost-efficient Broadband

SAT-3 is not felt

in the market because most

organisations and Internet service providers

(ISPs) subscribe to more

than one undersea cable operator except for government agencies where it takes time to change from one operator to another

access compared to Satellite services. He revealed that ahead of the prediction from Telegeography, an IT research group that by the year 2019, the market’s bandwidth demand is expected to exceed the existing supply by 334 Gbps, SAT 3 is poised towards achieving an additional capacity of 200Gbps from SAT-3 adding that a planned capacity upgrade within the next year would help to meet some of the demand in the broadband market. It was learnt that currently, the impact of SAT-3 is not felt in the market because most organisations and Internet service providers (ISPs) subscribe to more than one undersea cable operator except for government agencies where it takes time to change from one operator to another. For instance, there are undersea cable projects such as Main One and Glo 1, the West African Cable System (WACS), an initiative operated by nine countries (including Nigeria’s MTN Group) and the ACE submarine cable system covering Nigeria and other countries. Industry analysts have however hailed the SAT 3 cable system as tech-

nology and commercial breakthrough of unparalleled significance for Africa that has the capacity to offer a faster, more efficient trading channel between the continent and international markets.

Info Tech

Thursday, November 5, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Nigeria’s teledensity Phonejoy Gamepad drops by 26%

2 solid upgrade

Stories by Isaiah Erhiawarien

he teledensity of the telecoms sector, which has been on the increase since the beginning of 2015, has dropped by 26 per cent. Teledensity is calculated based on a national population of 140 million. According to the September subscribers’ statistics released by the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, the nation’s teledensity fell from 107.87 per cent in August to 107.61 by the end

here’s no shortage of Android gamepads these days, at prices at ranging from just reasonable for international brands like Steelseries and Mad Catz. Most of the gamepads available online are either tiny controllers (which are really not the most comfortable to use), or - as is much more common now roughly the size (and shape) of an Xbox One controller, with a flip-out handle in the middle where you can attach your phone. It’s a good solution, for the most part, since you don’t need a separate stand to prop up the phone when playing, and the large size also means that the controller tends to be comfortable to use during long gaming sessions. The catch is that most of the controllers of this style tend to be a little bulky - you can’t exactly slip one into your pocket and carry it around. A good compromise between portability and comfort is the Phonejoy Gamepad and an improved version of the gamepad is going to be available soon. The Phonejoy looks like a miniature controller - and can be used like one, if you’re gaming on a tablet or a smart TV - but it actually splits down the middle and can be stretched like an accordion to wrap around your phone. The result is something like a PlayStation Portable, and if you’re a fan of the idea, you can install a PSP emulator from the Play Store, assuming you have a stash of legal PSP games available, of course. The original Phonejoy gamepad, is comfortable to use with (and without) a phone. There were a few issues though - the shoulder buttons were spongy, and the analog sticks were too short to use comfortably, and

worst of all, there were some pretty serious compatibility issues. The new version of the Phonejoy, which we’ve been using for a week now addresses all these issues, and the result is a controller that is a delight to use with a battery that is still going strong after 10 hours of gaming. Compatibility is also not as much of a problem as it was last year, though the credit for that lies with Android. The small, yet chunky Phonejoy Gamepad 2 is almost unchanged in terms of design, and while it’s a little too thick to just slip into your jeans, it’s small enough to put into a jacket pocket or cargo pants. The interlinked metal section in the middle is reassuringly solid looking, and springs back with a snap - this might change over time, but one year down the line, the Kickstarter edition of the original Phonejoy is still feeling pretty solid. The LG G3 just about fits into the Phonejoy Gamepad 2, though the ideal size is a little smaller around 5-inches. If your phone is bigger than six inches then it won’t fit in the controller - you’ll have to prop it up on a stand while gaming instead. The buttons all feel very solid, and clicky. The D-pad is still a little spongy though - it’s better than last year, but this is one area where there is still room to improve. The same is true for the analog sticks - they’re a definite improvement over the original, but compared to the full controller style gamepads like the Amkette Evo Gamepad Pro, this is still pretty short, and not as satisfying. It’s a necessary compromise to allow you to slip your Phonejoy into your pocket, but it does feel a little stiff as a result.

of September as against the increase experienced in July whereby teledensity moved from 106.27 per cent in June to 107.67 per cent in July. The report showed that the numbers of active GSM phones lines witnessed a huge drop of 276,117 lines falling from 148,703,160 in August to 148,427,043 in September as against what was experienced between July and June whereby active GSM lines scaled from 146,486,786 in June to 148,495,205 July. Investigation revealed that the recent clamped

down on mobile operators who flaunted the NCC SIM card registrations over improper subscribers registrations was responsible for the decrease in the active GSM lines across the all network. For the fixed wireless lines, however the case was different as the period under review indicated a significant performance so that subscribers rose from 189,523 in August to 191,573 in September, however, the CDMA lines witnessed a great fall tumbling from 2,125,9412 August to 042,015 in September.

Students trying their hands on Computers during the Commissioning of 3 e-learning Centres Donated to Primary School Schools in Lagos, by ExxonMobil, recently.

NCC, stakeholders commend ATCON on achievements at 21

he Nigerian Communications Commission and stakeholders in the Nigerian telecommunications sector have poured encomium on the Association of Telecommunications Companies of Nigeria, ATCON for the role it has played on the development of the industry in the last 21 years. The umbrella body recently invited all stakeholders and telecoms companies to mark its existence as a pressure, particularly at the inception of the deregulation. Speaking at the event, the Acting Executive Vice Chairman of the NCC, Prof Umaru Danbatta expressed appreciation on how the activities of the group have helped to sharpen the development of the sector. Danbatta praised the body for its efforts on policy advocacy for the industry and engagement of all stakeholders, including the gov-

ernment for the promotion of a sustainable business environment for investors and practitioners in the industry. The EVC who was represented by the Director of Public Affairs, Mr Tony Ojobo disclosed that the NCC will be working the Governors Forum on how to deploy ICT tools for the betterment of their states. He said that there was an underestimation of the potentials of the industry and how far it will perform adding that the present growth of the market is an indication that Nigeria as a country can get it right. Ojobo noted that the problem of quality of services in the sector is largely due to the dearth of infrastructure adding that the NCC will soon rollout the programme for the auctioning of some spectrum. Former Minister of Commu-

nication and Chairman of the occasion, Engineer Olawale Ige, said Nigerians will remain grateful to founding fathers of ‎the Association for their vision and championing of the course for telecommunications revolution in the country. He added that the present government should rely on the foundations laid by the past leaders to create more robust industry. President of ATCON, Engr Lanre Ajayi, said although ATCON recognises the achievement the country has recorded in telecommunications sector, it has also realised that there is still more work to be done. Ajai said, “Our broadband penetration only grew from six per cent in the year 2013 to a mere 10 per cent in 2015‎, mid-way into the year 2018, which our broadband plan targets we should reach a broadband penetration of 30 per cent.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Info Tech

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Government Technology

Huawei pledges to cooperate with AU Stories by Isaiah Erhiawarien

hinese telecoms vendor company, Huawei, has announced plans to collaborate more closely with the African Union, AU, on ICT in order to build a better connected Africa. Huawei’s Senior Vice President, Gong Xingyuan, who made the pledge when the Chairperson of the African Union, Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma visited Huawei’s Beijing Research Center in Beijing, China, thank Zuma for supporting Huawei and the entire ICT industry. Xingyuan said Huawei wants to see in the future we a Better Connected World, saying that ICT will play an even larger role in boosting socioeconomic progress in Africa. He also said that as a global ICT leader, Huawei is ready to strengthen cooperation with the African Union and con-

tribute to Africa’s national plan implementation and ICT advancement. The Huawei’s Senior Vice President, while exchanging views with the AU leader on Africa’s ICT strategy, industry development, and talent nurturing said, “We will also develop more ICT professionals for Africa, and our Seeds for the Future program is a key part of this goal.” Zuma remarked, “I appreciate Huawei’s strategic innovation solutions to advance development globally in the ICT industry. I also appreciate the initiatives for developing the ICT industry on the African continent.” He added: “Specifically, I appreciate the work Huawei is doing with the African Union in technology support and capacity building and through specific training programs, and also encourage Huawei to continue cooperating with Africa.” Huawei has experienced remarkable growth in the

L-R: Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), Mr. Oscar N. Onyema, OON; President, NSE , Mr. Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, CON, and Council Secretary, Mrs. Mojisola Ruth Adeola, at The Nigerian Stock Exchange Port-Harcourt/Onitsha Zonal Branch Council Annual General Meeting, yesterday.

African market over the past 16 years. While seeking steady development, Huawei is committed to localising its operations and expand-

ing investment in Africa. Its customer-centric innovative solutions have created great value for its customers. Huawei has set up 24 rep-

resentative offices in Africa, covering 54 countries on the continent. Among its 7,100 employees in Africa, about 70 per cent are local hires.

Financial Technology

Apple iStore offers 50% discount on latest iPhones Isaiah Erhiawarien

pple iStore has announced a new offer of up to 50 per cent discount of the current iPhone value, when traded for a new one on any cash purchases at iStore in Ikeja Mall, Lagos.

Most exciting about the offer is that, Apple loyalists can trade-in up to two Apple iPhones and use the total trade-in value towards a single new iPhone. Located at Shop L62 at the Ikeja Shopping Mall, the official Apple iStore is the home of absolutely everything Apple ranging from iPhones, iPads to the latest sleek MacBook. The offering being first of its kind in Nigeria makes it easier for customers to trade in their working device and derive maximum benefit and product security of one year warranty from Apple for every “buy official” rather than buying grey products from unauthorised resellers. To enjoy these deals, customers need to only register online and proceed to iStore

with the confirmed receipt to trade their current iPhone for a brand new one . The trade-in values apply to new iPhones purchased from iStore. The values range from N27 000* for iPhone 5 16GB to N120 000* for iPhone 6 Plus 128GB. Consumers in Nigeria have been advised once again that getting the new iPhone from iStore would entitle them to expert advice, support, and free training. They also have the added peace of mind of knowing that the device has all its stunning features fully activated, including FaceTime for video calling over cellular of WiFi networks. In addition, there is an official one-year warranty from Apple , and fullest assurance that the new iPhone will be fully compatible with Nigerian cellular networks. According to one of the iStore official, “you can tradein up to 2 devices and put that value toward a new iPhone. All you need to do to obtain your trade-in voucher registered at a specified website of the company.

The voucher will be sent by email, and can be used at iStore when you trade in your current iPhone for a brand new one. If you would prefer not to register online, you can come straight into the store

and be assisted with your trade-in.” iStore is an Apple Authorised Reseller (AAR) which is a dedicated hub for Apple products and accessories. It aims to maximise customer

value offerings by providing an authentic Apple experience and offering customers exclusive services such as instore complimentary training, technical support, and technical setup.

Global stocks pull back from rally, oil prices rise

nited States shares pulled back from Monday’s rally and the benchmark S&P 500 index flickered in and out of negative territory as a crude oil price rise boosted the energy sector while the healthcare and consumer staples sectors lagged. European shares were also volatile, held back by engine problems at Volkswagen and Standard Chartered’s announcement of a plan to cut jobs and raise $5.1 billion capital. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was the strongest of the three major US indexes, led by Visa Incorporation. “This morning’s action is natural, quiet consolidation. It’s a digestion of yesterday’s strength,” said Andre Bakhos, managing director at Janlyn Capital in Bernardsville, New Jersey. The three

top U.S. indexes had risen around 1 percent or more on Monday. Around mid morning Tuesday the Dow Jones industrial average rose 62.53 points, or 0.35 per cent, to 17,891.29, the S&P 500 gained 0.02 points, or 0 per cent, to 2,104.07 and the Nasdaq Composite dropped 2.05 points, or 0.04 percent, to 5,125.10. New orders for US factory goods fell for a second straight month in September as the manufacturing sector continued to struggle under the weight of a strong dollar and deep spending cuts by energy companies. The decline of 1.0 per cent was bigger than economist forecasts for a 0.9 per cent drop. Investors were still seeking clarity on the next move from the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank. US jobs data due on Friday is expected to be an influ-

encer for the timing of a Fed rate hike. “Clearly the December FOMC (Federal Open Market Committee) meeting is much more in the balance than we thought it was a couple of weeks ago,” said Adam Cole, head of currency strategy at RBC Capital Markets. Europe’s FTSEurofirst was last up 0.25 per cent, but was dogged throughout the trading day by a slump in Standard Chartered shares and a drop in Volkswagen stock after its emissions test cheating scandal widened to include its luxury brands Porsche. Investors in Europe were also waiting for an appearance by European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, whose ECB is flagging more stimulus, at a normally low-key evening event in Frankfurt.

Global News

Thursday, November 5, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Chrysler report robust Valeant’s crisis fuels feud Toyota, U.S. auto sales in October between Ackman, Hempton T J ust before Bill Ackman gave a presentation on Friday to defend one of his biggest investments, Valeant Pharmaceuticals, from allegations of accounting and insurance fraud, he was taunted by John Hempton, who runs a small hedge fund from Australia. It was the latest act in a long-running feud. In an email he sent Ackman, who is one of the world’s bestknown hedge fund managers, was a link to Hempton’s latest critique of the Canadian drug maker’s potential problems, one of the most detailed produced by anyone yet. It concluded that while Valeant (VRX.TO) had probably not been artificially inflating its sales numbers, its relationship with the specialty pharmacy firm Philidor RX Services “may well cause Valeant to collapse,” taking its share price to zero. For Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management hedge fund that is a scary thought. Pershing’s Valeant investment was worth as much as $5.1 billion at its peak in August, though it has now lost more than half of that. As of Oct. 31, the

Bill Ackman

fund has lost 19 per cent this year, largely because of Valeant, though it did gain 40.4 per cent in 2014. Hempton said in the email that he should have given Ackman an advance copy as “it would have helped you prepare for your call today.” He signed off with “Love as always, John.”It isn’t the first time in recent weeks that Hempton has needled Ackman. Indeed, Hempton has been attacking Ackman since soon after Ackman launched a billion-dollar short bet against nutritional supplement company Herbalife Ltd (HLF.N) in 2012. While Ackman has a long posi-

tion in Valeant and Hempton says his fund, Bronte Capital, is betting against it, the opposite has been the case on Herbalife, with Ackman short and Hempton long. In the world of finance, the contrast between the two almost couldn’t be greater. The Adelaide University-educated Hempton, 48, runs less than $200 million of funds from a tiny office he sometimes sleeps in near Sydney’s Bondi Beach. He looks more like the Australian public servant he once was – with large round spectacles, while sweaters and jeans are as often part of his garb as collared shirts and ties. The 6-ft 3-inch tall Ackman has distinguished silvery locks. He runs $16.5 billion at Pershing Square with its expensive midtown Manhattan offices. He has an MBA from Harvard, is big on New York’s philanthropy circuit, and is impeccably groomed with perfectly knotted ties and expensive suits.One investor who has knowledge of both said Ackman can be a “Master Of The Universe type” while Hempton behaves like an underdog who wants to get even. Both are “wound way too tight,” the investor said.

he U.S. auto industry on Tuesday was on its way to reporting another month of booming sales in October, despite concerns about a slowdown in consumer spending and stagnant wages. “October was a huge month for the industry, smashing expectations and continuing its hot streak,” said Bill Fay, Toyota’s U.S. general manager. Truck and SUV sales are expected to show big gains in October as low gasoline prices and low interest rates continue to attract consumers, analysts said. But U.S. economic data also suggests consumer spending lost momentum at the end of the third quarter, with consumption in Sep-

tember posting its smallest increase in eight months. Personal incomes also barely rose that month. Analysts have said they expect October sales to be between 8 percent and 12 per cent higher than last year, and many expect last month’s sales to be the highest since 2001, when automakers offered 0 percent financing in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks. A Reuters poll of 45 economists showed expectations of a seasonally adjusted annualized sales rate of 17.7 million vehicles for October. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCAU.N)(FCHA.MI) said the U.S. auto industry’s sales for last month will top 18 million on an annualized basis, well above the expectations of industry analysts.

Toyota car

Keystone XL’s builder faces blight prospects Activision Blizzard buys ‘Candy

aced with dimming prospects for approval, the Canadian company behind the proposed Keystone XL pipeline chose to plead with the U.S. government for a delay on its fate, signaling that prolonged uncertainty is preferable to rejection of the $8 billion project. Monday’s appeal by Calgarybased TransCanada Corp has been widely interpreted as an attempt to avert an impending “no” from President Barack Obama to the nearly 1,200-mile (2,000-km) cross-border pipeline. Keystone XL would carry heavy crude oil from Alberta to Nebraska and on to Gulf Coast refineries, and has become the symbolic heart of a struggle between environmentalists opposed to oil sands development and defenders of fossil fuels.

Oil pipeline

The U.S. State Department said it had received a letter from TransCanada asking for the delay but a spokesperson said the review would continue for now. TransCanada spokesman Mark Cooper said the company would not speculate on what the decision may be or when it may come. But the Obama administration has become more vocal and active on climate change issues as it closes in on its final year in office, and the president has repeatedly expressed doubts about the merits of the pipeline. TransCanada’s request for a delay came amid a darkening political outlook for the project on both sides of the border. In Nebraska, the company re-

mains embroiled in time-consuming disputes with landowners over the proposed pipeline route. And in Canada, it lost a powerful advocate in October when Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who had openly allied with Republican leaders in his aggressive lobbying for Keystone, was defeated by Liberal leader Justin Trudeau. Although Trudeau has offered cautious backing for Keystone, he has also warned that both the pipeline and wider oil sands development must demonstrate improved environmental sensitivity. Nor does Trudeau face any political damage from U.S. rejection of a pipeline so closely identified with Harper. The incoming prime minister has already made clear he will not follow his predecessor in allowing the politics of Keystone to disproportionately define relations between the two countries. In Washington, U.S. lobbyists close to the case said TransCanada was finally facing political reality, recognizing that a delay would better protect shareholder value than allowing Obama to reject the project. The request for a delay came on the eve of TransCanada issuing an earnings report, and shortly after the White House said it still expected Obama to make a decision on whether to grant the permit before he leaves office in January 2017.

Crush’ maker for $5.9bn

ideo game maker Activision Blizzard (ATVI.O) is to buy “Candy Crush Saga” creator King Digital Entertainment (KING.N) for $5.9 billion, as the heavyweight of console and PC gaming makes a major push into the faster-growing mobile market. The deal would be one of the biggest in the industry in recent years, more than twice the size of Microsoft’s (MSFT.O) $2.5 billion purchase of “Minecraft” maker Mojang last year, and the biggest-ever acquisition of a mobile gaming company. The failure of King to replicate the success of Candy Crush with follow-up titles such as “Farm Heroes” and “Pet Rescue” has led some investors to worry it may be a one-hit wonder. But Activision is betting its experience in sustaining long-running blockbuster franchises like “Call of Duty” and “World of Warcraft” can help it develop new hit series. The deal also gives the U.S. company a major presence in the mobile market, where games sales are expected to grow 21 per cent this year to $20.6 billion, according to research firm Newzoo. That compares with expected growth of seven per cent for computer games and two per cent for TV and console games, although they

will still represent the lion’s share of the $91.5 billion overall industry, according to the industry researchers. Activision is paying $18 per share in cash, a takeover premium of 16 per cent over King’s current market value, showing how the company’s fortunes have flagged since its 2012 initial public offering at $22.50 per share. The company’s net revenue - still heavily reliant on Candy Crush - fell 16 per cent in the second quarter. With the gaming business driven as much by hits as the movie business, some young companies like Finland’s Rovio, the maker of Angry Birds, and online games company Zygna (ZNGA.O) have faded from prominence.

CEO Robert Kotick

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Brands & Marketing

APCON: Grappling with policy hurdles in standardisation drives in industry The recent dissolution of boards of government agencies has once again brought to the fore the impact of lack of continuity in governance at all levels of the nation’s public sector. In this report, DAVID AUDU examines how the decision is adversely affecting the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria’s, APCON’s quest for effective regulation of the advertising industry.

emember those years when growing up as a young man; we were fascinated by the Jamaican exports of reggae music genre. Of cause, with all the swagger and youthful exuberance, we dance and were particularly obsessed with the likes of Jimmy Cliff, Bob Marley, U-roy, and Peter Tosh among many others. Then it was reggae all the way. Even today, the love for reggae is still there. One reggae icon, well, not so much in the stature of the listed names above but remained popular at that time with his slow moving lyrics, which encapsulate in it the human foibles of the societal struggle for development and the forces which draws it back. Yes, in the the song ‘One Step Forward Two Steps Backward, Max Romeo and the Upsetters of the popular album ‘War Ina Babylon’ did mirror our collective struggle for self actualisation against the odds of life which tend to pull back. Though it appears Max Romeo actually got his catch phrase from Lenin, because the phrase was used as a title of a 1904 revolutionary pamphlet by Vladimir Lenin, its lessons remain relevant. The Wikipedia insight into the phrase is however worth noting here as it captures the essence of the subject matter’s relevance and the political frustrations which perpetually draws humanity and institutions back. According to Wikipedia, “Two steps forward one step back...” is a catchphrase reflecting on an anecdote about a frog trying to climb out of water well; for every two steps the frog climbs, it falls back by one step, making its progress arduous. “The phrase is sometimes cynically rearranged to “One step forward, two steps back...” to reflect a situation where, seemingly for every attempt to make progress in a task, an actual retrograde performance is achieved.” As one reflects on this song one is tempted to agree that this is the situation Nigerias advertising regulatory body, the Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria, APCON has found itself in the past three years or so. For those who have been following the council’s journey, all seem well before Mr. Chris Doghuje came on board and throughout the duration of his tenure, and a few months after him, when Mr. Lolu Akinwumi took over. Akinwumi had a smooth start, and was determined on repositioning the industry as he came up with far reaching reforms. The reform one can confidently say precipitated a discontent that polarised the industry, leading to what some industry watchers described as a lack of confidence in some of the reform issues. To some extent, the discontent led to the call for a non practitioner to head the regulatory body, as some have argued that an active practitioner should not regulate an industry he has vested interest. There was no doubt that the various contending issues could be been resolved and the council more strengthened, but Akinwumi reforms were cut short eight months before

Udeme

AAAN President, Kelechi Nwosu

AS IT IS NOW, THE COUNCIL IS HARM-STRUNG. WE DON’T HAVE THE FREEDOM TO OPERATE THE WAY WE WOULD HAVE LOVED TO OPERATE, BECAUSE OF THIS NON-CLARITY OF GOVERNMENT’S POSITION ON APCON COUNCIL. WHAT IT MEANS EFFECTIVELY AND VERY SADDENING IS THAT FOR THE PAST TWO YEARS, APCON COUNCIL HAS REALLY NOT BEEN OPERATIVE his tenure expired through the federal governments thoughtless blanket dissolution of federal agencies and department then. This act alone, analysts believed, was mainly responsible for slowing, not only the reforms, but other activities of the council. It was believed that one, dissolution of a council in the midst of reform have the tendency to slow down the boldness of the reformer, and two, it gives the opposing forces the gut to continue to subvert. As the ding dong continues, without proper consultation, the government announced a new council member in Abuja, where a Mr. Ngozi Emioma was said to be the chairman, and then paraded himself as one, for the time being, until the triabe between him and the then minister of information, Labaran Maku, ensued. For almost 18 months, APCON council was limbo, until industry stakeholders rose in unison towards the twilight of President Jonathan’s administration. While the denials and accusations continued, the business of regulating APCON suffered. APCON Registrar, Alhaji Garba Kankarofi once lamented to this correspondent then, saying “there are thing APCON could not do without a sitting a chairman and council in

place”. True, the impunity of political advertising during the last general election reminds all of the numbness of APCON then. Even when Udeme was later appointed and council inaugurated, it took months to get the council to begin to work. Again, as it seem the act of regulating the advertising industry is gathering momentum, then came the recent dissolution of all federal agencies. APCON is among them. And where do we go from here is the question on the lips advertising practitioners. Expressing his frustration after the dissolution, APCON chairman, Udeme Ufot said “it is so unfortunate because it was coming at a time we had gone through a rigorous process of setting up the committees that would work in the council, everything was beautifully set up, and then this interregnum came again. What it means effectively, and very saddening is that for the past two years, APCON council has really not been operative. ‘We are in a difficult situation now, following Mr President’s blanket dissolution of all boards, commission and parastatals, APCON ideally being set up by law is not one of those institutions, but the time we are in, everybody is too scared to appear to cross

the president or confront government. We’ve sought clarity about our position, which has not been forthcoming. “Everybody is saying let us wait, let us get something from the president, and that is where our concern is. We have paid a courtesy call to congratulate him, but as it is now, the council is harm-strung. We don’t have the freedom to operate the way we would have loved to operate, because of this nonclarity of government’s position on APCON Council. We are set up by statute, and like Nigerian Medical Council and Nigerian Institute of Architects, we shouldn’t, ordinarily be affected, but nobody in the Ministry is keen to stake up their necks to take the risk. We’ve made overtures to the government through appropriate quarters; it wasn’t possible much earlier, because as you very well know, the new government has taken its time in picking its key players. Reacting to the development, the Executive Secretary, Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria, Mr. Lekan Fadolapo, explained that the federal government have always been making the mistake of dissolving APCON council whenever they are dissolving government parastatals. He clarified that APCON is not in the category of department of government, rather it is a regulatory agency comprised of professionals which regulate professional practice. APCON is like the medical council which regulates doctors. On what will be the fate of the APCON chairman who was appointed early this year, he said that would be left for government to decide, adding that the new council was set to work, but with the development certainly it will slow down whatever plan the council have. However, a key member of APCON who do not want his name to be quoted debunked the claim that APCON is not an agency of government in the Ministry Of Information. He challenged this correspondent to check government website to verify the list of government agencies and parastatals. Therefore, he said nobody should lose sleep if a new government comes to power and want to things in its own way. According to him APCON is not the only agency affect by the dissolution. Another frontline practitioner also believed dissolving the council of parastatals now and then augur well for planning and development, noting that it does not allow consistency of policy. But on the issue whether APCON is government parastatal, he said it is not in the place of any agency to determine that. But as long as they get subvention from government and the staff there are civil servants, they belong and what government policy is in place affects them. Analysts believe that as things are now it is all fingers crossed to await what the federal government will do next especially with the imminent appointment of ministers.

Brands & Marketing

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Expert urges government agencies on engagement of PR professionals DAVID AUDU

communications expert, Mr. Tony Ojobo, has once again emphasized the need for government agencies to engage professional public relations personnel to handle their PR jobs. Ojobo who is the Director of Public Affairs at the Nigerian Communications Commission, NCC, gave the advice at the Public Relations Consultant Association of Nigeria, PRCAN, breakfast meeting in Lagos, recently. Speaking on the topic, Communication in the Public Sector: Issues, Challenges and Prospects, he said, a clear and transparent public communication is essential for successful public organization in order to get the message through and disseminate information to all accessible channels, hence the need for competent and trained professionals to handle communications channels in organizations. Ojobo said public relations and public communication staff is skill based, but lamented that most organizations in the public sector do

not have a public relations officer or spokesperson. “Sometimes, the CEOs of public sector organizations do not understand the role of the PROs and therefore cannot improve communication, thereby hampering communication strategies”. He explained that such deficiencies on the parts of public organisation through incorrect communication of activities could result in the loss of activities, as people will not get to know about the organization’s true achievements. He suggested that training of PR staff and spokespersons is crucial for a successful organisation. He also used the occasion to urge public communications practitioners to learn to listen more to the voice of the public and learning from citizen’s demands, noting that doing so is a need based approach that can increase and improve the effectiveness and influence the final results of an organization. “At the end, it is a win-win situation. Citizens are satisfied to be heard and that their needs are perceived, and organization is satisfied to build up and strengthen relations

with community and society”. “The reputation of any organization can only be enhanced if the needs of their community are recognized by the management. However, there is no organization, whether public or private, which doesn’t place trust and credibility at the top of their agenda. The answer is not just continuously communicate more but to always improve the communication outlook given the dynamic nature of society and technology”. Some of the challenges in public sector communications, according to Ojobo, include “the tendency to protect the organization from unnecessary exposure, resulting in many speculations in the public domain thus creating problems. “The inability of public agents to strike a balance between their loyalty to government and the interest of the citizens, make public officers shy away from telling the whole truth to avoid embarrassing the government. “There is also the possibility of public relations spokesperson to be misunderstood and classified as a saboteur.

L-R: Marketing Manager, Commercial Air Conditioning, LG Electronics West Africa operations, Mr. Sandeep Koul; General Manager, Air Conditioning and Energy Solutions division, LG Electronics West Africa operations, Mr. Cholyong Park; Managing Director, Blue Ocean Technical Services, Mr. Anupam Ghosal; and Marketing Head, Blue Ocean Technical Services, Mrs Jennifer Onoyom, during Africa Hotel and Resort Expansion Forum, in Lagos recently.

35 institutions compete for Marketing Institute’s students awards DAVID AUDU

total of 67 students from the nation’s 35 tertiary institutions have signified their intention to contest for this year’s Best Marketing Students’ Awards of the National Institute of Marketing of Nigeria, NIMN, which would see a total of 5 winners emerge at the end of the competition. The Awards, sponsored by Unilever, according to the institute, requires 35 tertiary institutions to forward names of the best two students in their marketing departments, after which the candidates would be required to undergo different screenings and

tests before the winners will be declared on Nov. 24, the date of the Award. The institute’s Registrar, Mr. Sydney Ogodo, described this year’s Award as a continuation of the tradition set up in 2007 by the institute to re-position the practice and harness marketing potential from the cradle, the nation’s tertiary institutions. While expressing the institute’s commitment to upholding quality in the practice, the institute’s Registrar however expressed the institute’s resolve at ensuring that the best five marketing talents from the nation’s tertiary institutions are celebrated. Meanwhile , the institute has

stated that its recently inaugurated polling research unit, set up to monitor build-up activities to the forthcoming governorship elections in Bayelsa State had recorded significant in-roads in the task of sourcing for information concerning the polls and making results of such findings available to the public. Explaining the rationale behind the setting up of the research unit within its Training and Consultancy Committee, the institute’s president, Ganiyu Koledoye stated that besides providing useful information for consumers and brands custodians, it would also go a long way in enhancing the bottom-line of the institute.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Startimes to explore more African countries’ markets for business SYLVA EMEKA-OKEREKE

fast-growing digital TV, StarTimes said the unveiling of its new brand ambassador would boost its penetration to other African countries. Already, the pay TV plans to expand to more than 12 African countries as currently operating with its seamless viewing signals. The digital TV, which holds exclusive television rights in Africa for major European league, is currently operating in Nigeria, Tanzania, Mozambique, South Africa, Kenya, Congo and Uganda among others. Unveiling Kanu Nwankwo as the new face of brand Ambassador, the Chief Executive Officer of StarTimes

Nigeria, Mr. Jack Liu, said the company would leverage on the football star to reach out to other African nations. Kanu, according to Liu, will be supported by another ex-international, Jonathan Akpoborie, who was also appointed as sports programmes strategist as well as celebrity guest analyst on live television shows. The three-year partnership deals will also see Kanu making special guest appearances at major StarTimes events in and outside Nigeria while promoting the brand across Africa in addition to numerous activities ahead of the digital TV switch over. Liu said, “Given Kanu’s successes in international football and his popularity are not limited to Nigeria alone, but cuts across most African countries”.

Firm unveils plans to hold ICT Fest DAVID AUDU

n a bid to bridge the gap between Nigeria and her global counterpart in areas of ICT challenges, Mascot Information and Technology Solutions will hold its maiden edition of Nigeria ICT Fest. The event aims at positioning Nigeria to brace up with emerging cutting edge technology. Managing Director of the firm, Mr. Agbolade Omowole said they are in the midst of a technological revolution and Nigeria is fortunate to be included on the emerging cutting-edge technologies such as robotics, artificial intelligence, nanotechnology, biotechnology and genetic engineering which can be of help to Nigerians.” Whilst most of these technologies are being developed at Silicon Valley, California, USA, and other technologically developed regions of the world, there is need for Nigerians and Africa as a whole to embrace them. According to him, the need for

Nigeria and Africa as a whole to be at global centre stage when it come ICT informed the idea behind organizing Nigeria ICT fest. The maiden edition of Nigeria ICT Fest will pull technology thought leaders including trans humanists, futurists and bioethicists to Nigeria to discuss emerging technologies and how they can be used by Nigerian industries, organizations and institutions to aid her socio-economic development. He added. He said that the event which is scheduled to hold in December 2015, will focus on topics such as ICT and entertainment industry in Nigeria, ICT and the media, ICT and the economy, ICT as a tool for social change, ICT and enterprise development, and ICT and innovation, among others. Speakers for the event include Artificial General Intelligence expert based in Honkong, Ben Goertzel, UK British based Philosopher, David Pearce, Executive Director, Brighter Brains Institute, Hank Pellissier.

NBC offers trade asset financing support for women DAVID AUDU

n furtherance of its commitment to women empowerment in its value chain, the Nigerian Bottling Company, NBC, Limited has identified a unique opportunity to empower indigent women from communities in Lagos where football pitches are upgraded under the COPA CocaCola tournament. It is expected that it would provide the women with trade assets and products for a sustainable livelihood. Speaking at the handover ceremony of the trade assets and products at the Jakande Estate Pitch, Isolo, Uzo Odenigbo, Head Public Affairs and Communications, NBC Limited said “Women empowerment and youth development remain key focal areas of our interventions as the Company continuously partners with

communities on shared values”. His words: “As a business, we leverage women’s economic power as a force for growth to further our shared objective of social and economic development. Our route to market is leveraged on women entrepreneurs who represent nearly 70 percent of our dealers, operating our distribution channels and retail outlets across the country. We believe that unleashing the entrepreneurial potential of women is one of the surest ways to make our business sustainable, and one of the most effective and lasting ways we can help families and communities prosper.” The event took place simultaneously with the presentation of upgraded pitches and donation of football training equipment to the communities, as part of COPA Coca-Cola activation.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Brands & Marketing

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Union Bank launches ‘UnionKorrect’ product DAVID AUDU

nion Bank of Nigeria Plc has launched a savings product which is aimed at helping its customers to develop a savings culture. The UnionKorrect allows customers win extra cash up to N1 million in quarterly draws when they save. This followed the recent unveiling of the bank’s new identity in its bid to make banking simpler and smarter both for customers and prospects. Speaking at the launch of the product in Lagos on Monday, the Head of Retail Banking, Union Bank, Mr. Carlos Wanderley, said the product was available at any Union Bank branch. He explained that the UnionKorrect account will be opened as a sub-account linked to the current or savings account of a customer. All a

customer need to do transfer N5,000 every month from his or her main account at Union Bank to the UnionKorrect account. Wanderley explained: “When I came to Nigeria, One thing I noticed is that a lot of Nigerians use their savings account as a transaction account. So, at the end of the day, their monies do not stay in their account for the purpose of saving for the future as they want. And there are no incentives for such account holders. “So, what we have done is to improve the ability for people to maximise their savings, and that is what the UnionKorrect account is all about. You save for a tenor of two or four years, enjoy interest on your savings and you stand a chance of winning a fantastic cash prize every quarter. “So, at the end of the period, 300 people among 10,000 customers of

Union Bank would be getting cash reward of between N100,000 and N1 million. A customer can have as many UnionKorrect accounts as they wish.” Wanderley said the UnionKorrect is the first of many innovative products that the bank would introduce to the market. Union Bank is here to win, he added. Also, the Head, Retail Products, Union Bank, Mr. Sheahan Arasaratnam, explained that the idea of having 10,000 customers participate in the first tranche is to make it possible for a lot of customers to have a chance to win. What we are trying to do is to help Nigerians imbibe the culture of saving and they get rewarded for it. When you save, in four years you can have a lump sum of money to achieve your dream.

BRAND talk with Michael Umogun

Tel: 08023117969/08031100462 Email: michael.umogun@millwardbrown.com

Measuring App Effectiveness

ontinuing our discussion about apps, let’s look at how we measure the success of apps from established brands. One thing is for certain—we need to go beyond the number of downloads they receive or the type of audience they reach. While these metrics are important, they tell only half the story. The other half, which is absolutely critical, is the impact the app has on the brand. If we think of an app as a piece of creative, we can draw on familiar advertising concepts to frame and understand its brand impact. For example some of the critical questions Millward Brown asks to measure the effectiveness of the app include: Is the app engaging? Does it draw users in and provide them with an enjoyable experience? Does the app leave users with a compelling impression that is linked

to the brand? Does the app encourage users to continue using the brand or to take some specific action? With apps, there are also new things to think about: What is the brand’s role in the app? How does the app perform from a usability perspective? Is it intuitive? Can consumers find what they’re looking for? How does the app perform from a technical perspective? Is it reliable? Does it do what users want it to do? It is with the answers to these questions in mind, together with the number of downloads and audience statistics, that app effectiveness should be measured. Do you agree with us? Let’s know your thoughts @ michael.umogun@millwardbrown. com + 234 802 311 7969 / + 234 809 023 5545

Walmart-backed CurrentC expands test, partners with Chase

A Editorial staff, Janet Udogu, Editor-in-chief, Mrs. Maureen Umana, and Editorial Consultant, Quaye Tawiah all of Billboard World Magazine during the press conference on the upcoming Brand as King Award scheduled for November in Lagos.

s mobile payment use and adoption continue to grow, the retailer-backed Merchant Customer Exchange has expanded its test to more stores. The MCX began testing CurrentC at a handful of stores in August and has now expanded that test to 200 locations at 12 retailers in Ohio. MCX was developed by a consortium of merchants, most notably Walmart (NYSE:WMT), which has

led the charge to find a payment solution that reduces so-called swipe fees. Mobile payment options are rapidly appearing, JP Morgan Chase announced today that it is preparing to roll out Chase Pay, which will allow users to pay for goods and services in physical stores. Chase has approximately 94 million customers and one of the most popular mobile apps today.

Brand X-Ray

LG Electronics introduces 5 door refrigerators into Nigerian market DAVID AUDU

or many household, the need to preserve food is very paramount; and the refrigerator is one of the most important pieces of equipment in the home for keeping foods safe; we are instantly reminded of its importance in our daily lives when power goes off or the unit fails, putting our food’s safety in jeopardy. In a great way, refrigeration slows bacterial growth. This concern is what sparked the introduction of the P-Star1, 5 Door Refrigerator by LG Electronics, one of the global leader in home appliances and consumer electronics. Aimed at reinventing the concept of food hygiene and elevating consumer lifestyle, LG Electronics new P-Star1 5 Door Refrigerator which comes with an Inverter Linear compressor helps keep food fresher for longer and it is also backed up with

10 year warranty on the compressor. LG’s P-Star1 5 Door refrigerators with the innovative Hygiene Fresh+ TM automatically cleans and purifies its internal air ensuring that the air inside is kept fresh and hygienic. Speaking on the new product, General Manger, Home Appliances division, LG Electronics, West Africa operations, Mr. Hyunwoo Jung said: “In the pursuit of a higher quality of life, over the years LG refrigerators have been popular with consumers of all ages. The LG P-Star1 with a new design concept totally changes the perception of refrigerator space management; it is a scientific intelligent storage systems that enable fruits and vegetables stay fresher for longer. It also comes with the Inverter Linear Compressor as well as the Hygiene Fresh+TM feature”. Unlike other appliances, refrigerators run 24 hours a day; this makes them the main energy culprit in most homes, in other hand it also a

great place to achieve energy savings through innovation. The heart of a refrigerator is its compressor, which circulates the cool air and maintains refrigerant pressure. In a conventional compressor, there are four points of friction. In LG’s Inverter Linear Compressor, there is only a single point of friction, which increases overall energy efficiency, reduces vibrationrelated noise levels and makes the entire compressor more durable. For many consumers, real smart appliances should be able to bring more convenient experience as well as a green, healthy and freewheeling lifestyle. LG P-Star1 comes with a smart storage system, to provide consumers with a wide range of food storage solutions. LG P-Star1 refrigerator has three freezer drawers in lower part, apart from the Side by Side refrigerator in upper part, the first drawer is called the Multi-use compartment in which the temperature can be regulated from freezer to refrigerator

depending on the food item you want to store and the second and third are completely freezer compartment. As the leader in the household appliances industry, LG Electronics looked deep into consumers concerns, seeking to grasp their sensitive and acute needs. LG has always insisted on using smart technology in order to enable users create a healthy lifestyle. To improve customer healthy lifestyle, LG was able to come up with Hygiene Fresh+™, a 5-stage filtering system with a fan that actively sucks in contaminated air from the refrigerator and sends it through the powerful filters meaning food can breathe in cleaner air and stay fresher for longer; this filtration system destroys the cell of bacteria and fungi directly. LG’s Hygiene Fresh™ sterilizes 99.999 per cent of bacteria inside the fridge and this is certified by the UK’s trusted quality and safety provider INTERTEK. P-Star1 has another edge out feature called the Smart Diagnosis sys-

tem, this feature ease customer stress of taking the refrigerator to service center as a result of minor refrigerator issues, by placing your mobile phone on the Smart Diagnosis icon located at the right hinge cover of the fridge, the buzzer transfers data to Service Call Center, where it is analyzed and solution will be send to your mobile phone instantly. P- Star1 is an outstanding example of its kind, from the intuitive LED display button to the Contour Door and Chrome Deco, this definitively a refrigerator for consumers who desire an elegant lifestyle and not compromising what technology has to offer. On the whole, the new LG P-Star1, 5 Door refrigerator is an ideal solution for fresher, more hygienic, and more natural food storage. It virtually eliminates the need for regular cleaning, and it alleviates any stress over bacterial growth, particularly in the warm summer months.

Insight

Thursday November 5, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Speed boat attacks: Lagos gr The marine police must prove that they exist in coastal states in Nigeria, as PATIENCE OGBO reports that in Lagos recently, bandits and other criminals have devised a new means of attacking their targets and escaping in speed boats through the various waterways and creeks, before the conventional police and other security agents arrive at the scenes.

onsidering the manner in which armed robbers from the canals, creeks and water ways are attacking banks, maiming and killing residents and security operatives in Lagos and its environs, it has become imperative to rev up the war against bandits and criminals in Nigeria’s commercial capital city. Also, kidnapping and pipeline vandalism, two hydraheaded crimes associated with the Niger Delta region of the country, are equaling rising in the south-west part of the country, thus, giving residents and security agents sleepless nights. Recently, Lagosians, nay the nation was woken up to the horrifying news of the killing of seven undercover detectives attached to the Department of State Security (DSS) at the Ishawo Ikorodu area of Lagos. The killing of the DSS operatives came barely one month after vandals killed four policemen on August 30 at Olanukan Village, Ishawo, Agric area of Ikorodu. The killed policemen were among a team of security agents deployed to Ikorodu to check the spate of killings by vandals and rising incidence of bank robberies. Earlier in the year, suspected armed robbers shot and killed a pregnant woman during a gun duel with members of the Oodua People’s Congress (OPC) at the Arepo, Obafemi Owode area of Ogun State. The clash which caused pandemonium, led to the killing of the pregnant woman identified as Mrs. Damilola Fajana, and another pedestrian at the Unity Estate. Before the incident, another set of bandits had raided two banks in Ikorodu and escaped through a speed boat on the waterfront. The dare-devil gang said to have been led by vandals, attacked Zenith and First Bank branches at the Ogolonto area, leaving in their wake loss of unspecified lives and destruction of the banks’ properties and vehicles of some customers and escaped in a speed boat with their loot. A few weeks after, however, the police arrested four suspects in connection with the bank robberies. The suspects are: Omoboye, alias ‘Alarm Blow’, 39; Bright, 25; Ikuesan, 37, and Abiwa, 20. The gang on parade, stated that they were among a 12-man gang that carried out three bank robberies at the Ipakodo , Lekki and Ijede areas of Lagos. Two of the suspects were said to be fishermen employed by the vandals to convey them to and fro for the bank operations. Narrating how the vandals cum armed robbers carry out their operation, Omoboye said, “The gang usually lodged close to their targets, noting that for the Lekki attack, they camped in Epe. “We went to Epe area and lodged there. I was the boat operator and I drove them in all the operations. I don’t usually leave the boat and one or two men are left to stay with me because the gang will contact them and they will alert me when it’s time to move. “I was contacted about one month after the Lekki operation and informed of the Ijede attack, I got N400,000 each from Lekki and Ijede. But for the Ebute business, I was given N2million. “I was not the one they called on the telephone. It was one of their men before we rode to the jetty side to carry them. My boat is a fibre boat. I usually take them to the creeks in Ishawo but they don’t allow us close to where they share money. “Our business in the creek is illegal bunkering, pipeline vandalism and armed robbery. I took part in all the robberies because I was their boat operator. I am married with five children but my wife does not know what I do.” Ikuesan, another boat operator, said his only role

Ambode

ACP Mba redeployed over FESTAC bank robbery

A bombed bank in FESTAC

was ferrying the hoodlums after their boat broke down when they robbed the banks in Lekki. He claimed that he operated a boat, whose owner

Two of the suspects were said to be fishermen employed by the vandals to convey them to and fro for the bank operations

contacted him to carry the armed robbers when their boat broke down in February. “I am not a member of the group but I know I have carried them once. I was contacted by the owner of the gun boat to carry them because their boat broke down in the water. “The owner was given N400,000 but he gave me N180, 000 and Baba Ibeji added N10,000, making N190, 000. I have never followed them for any operation.” National Mirror learnt that the DSS agents were deployed to the area to arrest the suspected vandals who killed four policemen. Sadly, the vandals after killing the operatives escaped with their corpses. While the country was yet to grapple with the killings of the DSS officers, the sad news of bank attacks was reported in FESTAC town recently. The FESTAC attack allegedly carried out by more than 50 gunmen dressed in army camouflage uniform, who stormed two

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Insight

Thursday November 5, 2015

rapples with new crime wave banks on the 4th Avenue, raided the banks and stole unaccounted millions of naira. The attack left a middleaged nurse, Mrs. Jane Ndirika and her 14-month-old baby, Mmesoma, killed by stray bullet released by a dare-devil robbery gang. Reports said the nurse and her baby were killed right in their sitting room, as the robbers shot sporadically while escaping from the dragnet of the army that had been called in to assist the overwhelmed police. The bank robbery in FESTAC town came a few months after Toyin Nwosu, wife of the Deputy Managing Director of The Sun Newspapers was kidnapped from her house by suspected armed robbers, who stormed the area in a canoe from the canal. Although, the police authority stated that their intelligence officers had been deployed to arrest the bandits, there has not been any cheering news about the killers of the security operatives and residents, with robbers still on the rampage in Lagos and Ogun states as the year draws to a close. But the new Assistant Inspector General (AIG) of Police in charge of Zone 2 Police Command, Onikan Lagos, Mr. Bala Abdulahi Hassan, has vowed to fish out the killers of the policemen and stop further killing of security agents by vandals. Hassan said, “Although kidnapping is nothing to worry about much in Lagos, but we are setting up an anti-kidnapping unit and we are going to ensure that this unit maintains the low level of kidnapping in this particular zone and also any case of kidnapping would be attended to expeditiously so that what is happening in other zones would not filter in and become a thing of problem to this particular zone.” AIG Hassan also promised that his team would also tackle the surge in traffic robbery. “We are sitting down to devise strategy to ensure that this thing is stopped. Most of these people capitalise on the holdups and traffic situation in Lagos, but we are going to tackle it frontally on two ends, through visibility policing. If you keep police men in some places, that would deter people from committing crimes. “Secondly, apart from preventing crime we will face the issue of traffic decongestion in Lagos by deploying some of our men to go to the road to ensure free flow of traffic. If this is done, it is another way of mitigating these people who go about pretending to be selling while robbing innocent citizens,” he said. Also, respite may soon come the way of Lagos residents, who have been on the edge following renewed activities of deadly armed robbers who attack neighbourhoods from the creeks and waterways. AIG Hassan further said, “We attended a meeting with the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Solomon Arase, concerning the security challenges in Lagos State especially on the issue of armed robbers using the waterways. Among other strategies to be deployed to halt this crime, the IGP has ordered that we deploy helicopters to monitor the waterways. “So very soon Lagos State will get a helicopter monitoring its waterways and this will be a continuous operation. We are going to arrest these armed robbers. The police authority will deploy all means to ensure we arrest these criminals and protect lives and property in the state.” The helicopter, it is learnt, is fitted with modern communication gadgets to aid effective surveillance in the waterways and creeks. While describing the helicopter’s arrival as a welcome development, the AIG applauded the Inspector General of Police, Arase, for his commitment to ensure peace and security in the zone. National Mirror, however, learnt that before the aerial surveillance, the Lagos State Commissioner for Police, Fatai Owoseni, has beefed up security in FESTAC town and waterways in the environs. Already, the Area E Commander, ACP Frank Mba,

Former Lagos State governor, Fashola (middle) when he launched waterways safety campaign

Ikorodu bank robbery suspects who escaped through the creeks after their arrest

has been redeployed following the bank robberies. “ACP Frank Mba has been deployed to Osun State Police Command as the Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of Criminal Investigation Department. His posting follows the failure of his men to avert the bank robberies and killings. His redeployment is with immediate effect.” Speaking on the danger vandals and other criminal elements pose to the country , the AIG in charge of Zone 5 Bauchi, Mr. Tunde Ogunsakin, urged world leaders to assist Nigeria to curb the spate of terrorism in the country. The police boss disclosed this during the 33rd International Symposium on Economic Crime held recently at the Jesus College, University of Cambridge in United Kingdom Ogunsakin who delivered a paper titled “Compliance versus Organised Crime and Terror,” affirmed that the act of terrorism was strange in Nigeria and Africa at large, but in recent time it has become a common phenomenon. According to him, “In Nigeria, the act of terrorism has become rampant and has taken a major toll on Nigeria. The kind of communal living in Nigeria frowned against terrorism but suddenly from the operations of

The Area E Commander, ACP Frank Mba, has been redeployed following the bank robberies organised crimes, from oil bunkering to money laundering and terrorism.” He added, “This cannot be totally divulged from the impact of globalisation that has taken a centre stage in interstate relationship globally. “The effect and impact of organised crimes in Nigeria is enormous. It affects the development of the country and discourages investment, particularly in the area of insecurity, Organised crimes have eroded the people’s conscience.” He said this menace has in no small measure greatly affected the development and growth of the country, especially in the volatile zones in the northern states.

Cocktail

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Oddities

Catholic bishops seek ‘welcoming church’

atholic bishops have called for a more welcoming church for cohabitating couples and Catholics who have divorced and civilly remarried, endorsing Pope Francis’ call for a more merciful and less judgmental church. Bishops from around the world adopted a final document at the end of a divisive, three-week synod that exposed the split in the church between conservatives and progressives over how to better minister to Catholic families. In a win for the progressive camp, the document emphasized the role of dis-

cernment and individual conscience in dealing with difficult family situations, especially the vexing issue of whether civilly remarried Catholics can receive Communion. Conservatives had resisted offering any wiggle room on the issue, since church teaching holds that such Catholics are committing adultery and are therefore barred from receiving the sacraments. While the document doesn’t chart any specific path to receiving Communion as originally sought by the liberals, it opens the door to case-by-case exceptions.

Dentist aims Halloween candy

n Albuquerque, New Mexico, dentist, Byron Wall, is hoping to get ahead in the fight against postHalloween cavities with cash. Reports said yesterday that Wall, of Cosmetic Dentistry of New Mexico, said he had offered to buy candy back from trick-or-treaters on Sunday afternoon. He said children 14 years old or younger can pawn their sweets at his office, adding

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

that his office would pay $1 for every pound of candy up to $5. The purchased candy goes to Blue Star Moms, a nonprofit supporting New Mexico troops. Wall said the organization packages the candy along with clothes and food in holiday boxes to ship to soldiers in November. His office collected more than 1, 000 pounds of candy last year.

Israeli minister wants stray dogs, cats deported

laws were out yesterday after an proposed sending stray dogs and cats to another country as an alternative to government-funded efforts to sterilize them. “Use the budget to transfer stray dogs and/ or cats of one gender (all the males or all the females) to a foreign nation that will agree to accept them,” Ariel suggested in a letter to a cabinet colleague leaked to the mass circulation Yedioth Ahronoth daily. The proposal, which a spokesman for Ariel said had been rejected after initial consultations within the Agriculture Ministry, was roundly criticized by animal rights activists and bemused opposition politicians. “No way am I going to apply for a foreign passport for Pitzkeleh,” former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni tweeted above a photo showing the smiling Zionist Union party politician reclining on a sofa and feeding her cat.

The newspaper report said Ariel, a religious Jew and a member of the farright Jewish Home party, views spaying and neutering as possible violations of God’s directive “to be

fruitful and multiply” and ritual law that prohibits animal cruelty. But Zahava Galon, head of the opposition left-wing Meretz party, wrote on Facebook that

Israeli Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel

Ariel’s idea ran contrary to what he called basic morality and she quipped that it was time to find a country prepared to grant the minister shelter instead.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Capital Market

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Index drops 0.07%, Oando leads gainers’ chart Johnson Okanlawon

rading in stocks plummeted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange yesterday on weak investor sentiments as the market remained under pressure from sell-offs. Specifically, the All Share Index depreciated by 0.07 per cent to close at 29,032.44 points, compared to the decline of 0.29 per cent recorded the preceding day to close at 29,052.87 points. Market capitalisation shed N7 billion to close at N9.977 trillion, lower than

the N29 billion recorded the preceding day to close at N9.954 trillion. The depreciation recorded in the Index today could be attributed to the losses recorded in the share prices of some highly capitalised stocks such as Diamond Bank, PZ Cussons, Access Bank, Nestle and Unilever, amongst others. Oando Nigeria Plc led the gainers’ table with 47 kobo or 7.22 per cent toclose at N6.98 per share, followed by Guinness Nigeria Plc with N6.49 or 4.99

per cent to close at N136.42 per share. Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc appreciated 94 kobo or 4.97 per cent to close at N19.85 per share, while UACN Plc added N1.25 or 4.97 per cent to close at N26.41 per share. AG Leventis Plc rose five kobo or 4.85 per cent to close at N1.08 per share, while Eterna Oil Plc was up seven kobo or 4.52 per cent to close at N1.62 per share. Mobil Oil Plc shed N15.01 or 9.75 per cent to close at N138.99 per share, while Fidson Healthcare Plc depreciated 33 kobo or 9.68 per

cent to close at N3.08 per share. Cutix Plc dropped eight kobo or five per cent to close at N1.52 per share, while Unilever Plc was down N1.74 or 4.98 per cent to close at N33.18 per share. Ikeja Hotel Plc fell 16 kobo or 4.94 per cent to close at N3.08 per share, while UAC-Properties Plc declined 35 kobo or five per cent to close at N6.65 per share. A total of 181.6 million shares valued at N2.055 billion were exchanged in 3,073 deals.

Stanbic IBTC shares up 4.9% after CBN intervention Johnson Okanlawon

hares of Stanbic IBTC appreciated 4.9 per cent yesterday after the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, said it did not find material misrepresentation on the commercial lender’s past books and saw no need to ask it to restate accounts. The Financial Reporting Council, FRC, last week gave the bank 60 days to restate its 2013 and 2014 accounts because of what it said were misleading disclosures relating to expenses, and imposed a fine of N1 billion. Stanbic IBTC shares had fallen 17.78 per cent in the week since the FRC ordered the

bank to restate its accounts. The CBN said it could not spot any wrongdoing in the bank financials. According to the CBN, contrary to the allegation of the FRC that the bank did not obtain approval from the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion, NOTAP, for payment of affiliate software license, it said the bank actually obtained approval from NOTAP. On the allegation of nondisclosure of intangible assets in the financials, the CBN said the bank adequately recognized the software as an intangible asset in its 2011 financials and sufficiently disclosed the disposal of the software in the

2012 financials. “Consequently, the said software could not have been reported as an intangible asset in the succeeding years 2013 and 2014,” it said. On the allegation of lumping several expenses items under ‘others,’ the CBN declared that the items were not material enough to appear as line items in the income statement and that the non-disclosure of the items did not materially affect the true and fair view of the financial statements. Also, the apex bank said it agreed with the FRC that Stanbic IBTC erred in the classification of some line items, but the identified misclassifications did not understate or overstate its

assets and liabilities, neither did it increase nor decrease its income to have cause misrepresentation of the financials. The bank, “Stanbic IBTC used its judgment to capture the donation of N275 million under ‘others’ because it was of the opinion that it was not a charitable donation but a mandatory contribution towards the victims of terrorism in the country. “For the avoidance of doubt, this contribution was agreed at a Bankers’ Committee Meeting, with the share for each bank clearly spelt out. Therefore, we agree with the bank’s position, as presented.”

Global stocks rebound on ECB’s stimulus plans

lobal equities were set for their third straight day of gains yesterday, buoyed by positive economic data and a fresh pledge from the European Central Bank to ramp up stimulus if necessary. A stronger-than-expected reading for private-sector US job growth added to the optimism, lifting the US dollar and Treasury yields and putting Wall Street shares on track to open higher. Over the past month, markets have clawed back losses from a summer sell-off driven by fears of a China slowdown. Investors are betting that the global economy is going through a short-lived rough patch rather than a deeper downturn. European equities rose just over one per cent, euro zone bond yields were flat to a touch

lower and the euro fell after ECB President Mario Draghi said policymakers would review measures so far deployed when they meet in December. The rally spilled over from Asia, where economy-friendly comments from China’s president lifted Shanghai stocks and Japan Post’s $12 billion initial public offering boosted Tokyo firms. And Wall Street’s main S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial and Nasdaq markets were set to open 0.2 to 0.3 per cent higher after the ADP’s report on private employment showed an addition of 182,000 jobs in October, compared with the forecast of 180,000. In Europe, private-sector surveys indicated Germany was on a solid growth path going into the fourth quarter. French activity expanded at its fastest clip in four months in

October. “A lot of the (growth) concerns that in the summer have been pushed to one side ... We are seeing investors getting on board,” said Nick Lawson, a managing director at Deutsche Bank, though he cautioned that an underwhelming earnings season and a still-sluggish macroeconomic backdrop remained a concern. Frankfurt’s DAX index underperformed peers, dragged down by an eight per cent fall in Volkswagen shares. Fresh admissions over its emissions scandal threatened to make a serious dent in car sales. Europe’s earnings season is past the halfway point and just over half of the companies that have reported have failed to meet forecasts. Companies exposed to the commodities

Source: NSE

Inter-Bank Rate Naira N197 Market indicators All-Share Index 29,032.44 points Market capitalisation 9.98trn

Stock Updates GAINERS COMPANY

OPENING

CLOSING

CHANGE

% CHANGE

OANDO

6.51

6.98

0.47

7.22

GUINNESS

129.93

136.42

6.49

4.99

STANBIC

18.91

19.85

0.94

4.97

UACN

25.16

26.41

1.25

4.97

AGLEVENT

1.03

1.08

0.05

4.85

ETERNA

1.55

1.62

0.07

4.52

WEMABANK

0.94

0.98

0.04

4.26

LEARNAFRCA

0.71

0.74

0.03

4.23

NAHCO

4.25

4.40

0.15

3.53

ETI

18.20

18.49

0.29

1.59

CHANGE

% CHANGE

LOSERS COMPANY

OPENING

CLOSING

MOBIL

154.00

138.99

-15.01

-9.75

FIDSON

3.41

3.08

-0.33

-9.68

CUTIX

1.60

1.52

-0.08

-5.00

UAC-PROP

7.00

6.65

-0.35

-5.00

UNILEVER

34.92

33.18

-1.74

-4.98

IKEJAHOTEL

3.24

3.08

-0.16

-4.94

CHAMPION

4.35

4.14

-0.21

-4.83

CHELLARAM

3.95

3.76

-0.19

-4.81

AFRPAINTS

2.72

2.59

-0.13

-4.78

DIAMONDBNK

2.55

2.43

-0.12

-4.71

FGN Bonds

slump have been hit hard: Shares of Vedanta Resources fell one per cent after suspending its dividend, though Glencore got a lift after saying it was on track to cut debt. Rate (%) Inflation

8.2

MPR

Crude oil price

$58.96

US Dollar

Offer

Bid

Description

Price

Yield

Price

Yield

15.10 27-APR-2017

1.55

101.99

13.62

102.14

13.51

16.00 29-JUN-2019

3.73

106.01

13.86

106.31

13.76

15.54 13-FEB-2020

4.35

105.41

13.83

105.71

13.74

16.39 27-JAN-2022

6.31

109.40

14.08

109.70

14.01

14.20 14-MAR-2024

8.43

99.49

14.30

99.79

14.24

10.00 23-JUL-2030

14.79 68.00

15.59

68.30

15.52

Closing Market Prices of October 7, 2015

Treasury Bills Maturity Date

Bid

Offer

Exchange

Rates (N)

07-Jan-16

8.93

9.13

WAUA

270

USD

197

07-Apr-16

11.05

11.69

EURO

214

01-Sep-16

11.63

13.00

CFA

0.32

YEN

1.64

Tenor

Rate (%)

SWISS FRANC

202

O/N

2.0833

POUNDS STERLING

293

14.0654

15.3013

SDR

273

16.7049

NIBOR

The Fixings of October 7, 2015

Thursday, November 5, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Digitisation: We are launching world’s biggest Free-to-Air platform –NBC Stories by LEONARD OKACHIE

n preparation for digital terrestrial Television Broadcasting, the Director General of the National Broadcasting Commission, Mr. Emeka Mba has said that the Commission in collaboration with all the broadcasters in Nigeria will launch the biggest Free-to Air platform in the world. Mba stated this when he led a team of his Senior Management to the Consumer Protection Commission on a courtesy visit. He pointed out that the Commission was tasked with the challenge of migrating 26 million Television households in Nigeria to digital in less-than two years. Mba, according to the statement on NBC website said: “For everyone who has a TV set in their homes or office, digital terrestrial Television Broadcasting is coming. This means that your analogue television set will no longer work as it were.” He admitted that if there was anything that would ignite consumer issues, this transition would be the biggest. Mba stated that the Commission was aware of this and thought that the best thing was to begin a proactive engagement in anticipation of the likely consumer protection related issues that may arise when the country go fully digital. He noted further that the visit was to see how to build a template for dealing with those possible consumer issues and likely complaints “so that with your experience, you can, probably advice us so that we could red-flag those issues and begin discussions of pr-emptive management. “The platform we are launching with all the broadcasters in Nigeria is going to be the biggest Free-to-Air platform in the world because it is going to service all the TV homes in Nigeria.26 Million of them. There is no other. Not in the continent, not anywhere in the world,” “The platform we are launching with all the broadcasters in Nigeria is going to be the biggest Free-to-Air platform in the world because it is going to service all the TV homes in Nigeria.26 Million of them. There is no other. Not in the continent, not anywhere in the world.” Mr. Mba stressed that the visit was also an opportunity to get to know one another and begin an interaction that would hopefully be beneficial to the Nigerian consumers. Welcoming the guests, the Director General, CPC, Mrs. Dupe Catherine

Digital studio

Atoki, noted that Nigerians would be better for it if all Government Agencies had the spirit displayed by the DG, NBC. She bemoaned the lack of cooperation amongst Government Agencies and regretted that every Agency resorted to building a wall around itself. “For me, today is a happy day for us at CPC that an Agency like yours has

regarded the value added to collaboration that you thought it fit to have discussion with us ahead of a huge intervention that you are going to make in the economy which will affect consumers. It clearly shows your personality, it clearly shows your focus, your professionalism, and your zeal to succeed because, and I tell a lot of people that,

most Agencies do not know that CPC is their necessary ally.” She advised that any Agency that sees CPC as an ally would succeed and enjoy maximum profit. The visit ended with a tour of a studio where CPC record, edit and produce its programmes for broadcast. In the same vein, the Director General, NBC, Mr. Emeka Mba paid a visit to NCC to dialogue on strategies to improve Nigeria’s broadcast and telecom sectors. Receiving the NBC DG and his management team at the NCC Corporate Headquarters in Abuja, the Executive Vice Chairman, Nigerian Communications Commission – Prof Umar Garba Danbatta thanked the NBC for taking the laudable initiative and stated that it was important to keep such dialogue going forward; to share experiences and knowledge. He added that sitting together constantly in such engagements would help both organizations understand each other and work together better. Mba used the occasion to congratulate the NCC,EVC, on his present appointment and sought to strengthen the existing cordial relationship between the two organizations, especially in the area of spectrum management vis-à-vis managing the DSO in an increasingly converged communication space.

Freedom Park to host Yaw, Olisa, others for NECLive series

head of plans for the 2016 edition of Nigerian Entertainment Conference, organisers have announced the inaugural mini workshop titled NECLive series. NECLive Series will hold conversation with celebrities on Friday 6th November 2015 at Freedom Park, Broad Street (Gate 4 entrance) Lagos Island. Notable industry personalities expected to take part include OlisaAdibua, Toni Kan, JahmanAnikulapo, Victor Akande and Yaw. There will also be sessions with YetundeBabaeko, TundeLaoye, Chris Ihidero, Femi Falodun, OloriSupergal and many more. Shedding light on the need for the introduction of ‘NECLive series’ and its agenda, TheNetNG publisher and NECLive chairman AyeniAdekunle recently commented, “NECLive Series is a platform for enhancing cooperation and increasing knowledge within the Nigerian creative industry. It was created in response to the recurring problem of limited capacity building in the indus-

try, which was identified at the past three editions of the Nigerian Entertainment Conference. The goal is to bridge identifiable gaps in the creative sector, and in so doing advance the agenda of CORA and NEC to support the industry in Nigeria.” Lead sessions at the inaugural NECLive Series include a Masterclass titled ‘Power of Photography - Pictures in A New Age’ and panel conversations titled ‘Protecting Intellectual Property’ and ‘Bridging Pathways to the Creative Industry of Our Dreams’. Objectives for NECLive Series include skill enhancement for industry practitioners, provision of opportunities for related conversations, dissemination of new knowledge, practical demonstration by experts and networking. Convened annually since 2013 by Nigerian Entertainment Today (NET), the industry’s leading content platform, NECLive serves as a platform for discussing challenges, exchanging ideas and setting the agenda for

the entertainment industry in Nigeria. NECLive Series is a spin-off from the broader conference, which held in April 2015.

Yaw

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Young & Next Generation

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Nigerian team emerges champion at 2015 K-POP World Festival

Joel Ajayi Abuja

igerian K-POP team ‘Pacific Starz’ recently, in far away South Korea emerged overall winner of 2015 K-POP World Festival. The Kaduna based team also pocketed the grand prize and prize money of $12,000 from ‘K-POP world fiesta held on 30th Oct, Changwon, South Korea. Five members of Pacific Starz passionately performed the Korean POP song ‘Danger’ by K-POP star crew called BTS and prevailed over other participants. Pacific Starz representing Nigeria on the 1st of August

2015 won the K-POP Dance Competition Nigeria held in Abuja, which was the preliminary stage towards the K-POP World Festival. Organisers of the K-POP World Festival were surprised by high standard of Nigerian team who participated for the first time. The 5th K-POP World Festival is organised by KBS, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, and Changwon City. There were around 12,000 participants from 84 teams and 67 countries that participated for the global preliminary stage. Among them 14 teams (Australia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Finland, Morocco, Rumania, Ecuador, Japan,

Philippine, United Kingdom, Mexico, Uruguay, Germany, Nigeria), 57 participants were selected for the final stage. Audience judges comprising of Changwon citizens and expert judges comprising producers, composer, choreographer scored participating teams based on singing, lyrics delivery, stage presence, choreography, and technique. The contestants performed various K-POP songs from Shinee, 4minute, EXID, VIXX, BTS and AOA, Red Velvet, the K-POP star crew representing K-wave, made special stage performance which did liven up the atmosphere of the festival. KBS will broadcast live recording of the K-POP World Festival to over 100 countries via KBS World this month. KBS also will be broadcasting the documentary ‘Behind story of K-POP World Festival’ next month which features participants story from the global preliminary to final stage in Korea.

Pacific starz

Headies organises rookie contest for upcoming talents Leonard Okachie

rganisers of Nigeria’s biggest annual music industry award show, The Headies, have given members of the public the chance to nominate talented upcoming talents to perform onstage in a competition

Headies nominees 2012

tagged ‘Headies 2015 Rookie Contest’. From Monday, the 2nd of November to the 2nd of December, 2015, members of the public will be given the chance to nominate talented upcoming talents to perform onstage at Nigeria’s biggest annual music industry award show, The Headies in a com-

petition tagged ‘Headies 2015 Rookie Contest’. The top 5 acts selected from the public nominations in the one month competition, from November 2 to December 2, will be announced a week later, and voting will open for three weeks subsequently on www.theheadies.com. Once voting is over, the act

with the most votes will be announced as the winner and gets to perform on the Awards night. The 2nd and 3rd runner-up acts will perform at one of The Headies Nominees Concert. Giving an insight into the nature of the contest, Ayo Animashaun stated, “This is another once in a lifetime opportunity for one talented upcoming act to perform on the big stage of The Headies in front of the biggest names in the industry a well as millions of Nigerians watching on TV. If you know a talented upcoming act whom you think deserves this opportunity, nominate them on the website and get voting!” The Headies organisers have further revealed in order to be eligible for the contest, the nominated artiste must be a Nigerian citizen who has never been nominated for or won any award categories at The Headies including nominations at this year’s event. He or she must also have at least one officially released single in the Nigerian music market with no album to their name released before Febru-

ary 2015. Those wishing to nominate an act should visit http:// hiphopworldmagazine.com/ t h e h e ad ie s/rookie - com p e tition-nomination-for m/ between November 2 and December 2 and follow the instructions. The shortlist of five rookies with the most nominations will be announced between December 3 and December 10, and voting will commence immediately. The winner of the contest will get to perform at The Headies, while the 1st and 2nd runner-up will perform at the nominees concert. Meanwhile, organisers of The Headies Awards have announced that the 2015 ceremony will hold on December 30 at the Landmark Events Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos. The annual event, which recognises outstanding work by Nigerian music talents and rewards them in grand style is expected to attract the crème de la crème of Nigeria’s entertainment industry including superstar musicians, A-list Nollywood artistes, media personalities and many others.

Young & Next Generation

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Strongbow launch excites youths Leonard Okachie

t was fun galore for thousands of youths who were guests at the Ikeja City Mall, Alausa, Lagos, recently to witness the introduction of Nigeria’s first locally brewed Cider, Strongbow Apple Cider. The 4-day event tagged, “Strongbow Golden Hour” featured an impressive demonstration of the Strongbow brewing process, from farm to brewery, complete with a mini brewery alongside special effects. The centre piece of the activation was a farm truck ride simulation which gave guests the experience of transporting freshly harvested apples to the factory. Other attractions included an apple extract rain and a levitating bottle of Strongbow at the end of the captivating sensory experience which took more than a week to put together on site. The experience then took another turn as guests were ushered into an afterparty for the final part of the experience with bottles of Strongbow and food. Popular DJ Snoop Da Damaja provided pulsating music as excited guests sampled the exciting taste of cider and partied well into the night with friends and companions.

inners of the second edition of Fayrouz L’Original Expression show, Team Meddlelane made their debut on an International stage at the just concluded 2015 Lagos Fashion and Design Week. The group, which features a designer, a makeup artist, a photographer and a model, showcased a total of 20 pieces at the fashion show. Mai Atafo, one of the Judges at Fayrouz L’Original 2, who was also present at LFDW 2015 said, “This group is certainly one to watch. They have such amazing pieces. Everyone in the hall was pleased with their designs and they got one of the biggest cheers of the day. I’m glad they took in all the advice and feed-

I started Ankara shoe, bag-making in secondary school –Undergraduate Leonard Okachie

Youths enjoying the golden hour.

Speaking about the event which generated thousands of excited reactions on social media through multiple displays with the hashtag #GoldenHourExperience and over 12 million impressions, Senior Brand Manager for Strongbow, Ngozi Nkwoji remarked, “The Strongbow Golden Hour is a popular experience enjoyed by people all over the world with their friends and colleagues after working hours and we are very pleased to finally bring this experience to Nige-

ria. “Judging by the reactions we have received, Nigerians are responding enthusiastically and this consumer experience in particular has gone a long way towards making Nigerians understand what Strongbow represents.” Organised by Nigerian Breweries, the Strongbow Golden Hour experience marked the introduction of Strongbow Apple Ciders, the world’s most popular Cider brand into the Nigerian market.

Team Meddlelane debuts on international stage Leonard Okachie

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

back given to them on Fayrouz L’Original 2.” On her part, Senior Brand Manager Fayrouz, Nnenna Ifebigh-Hemeso commented,”The platform of Fayrouz l’Original 2 has proved to be invaluable to Team Meddlelane, not just because of the exposure and publicity it gave them, but also because the technical instruction they received was of the very highest standard, from the very best in the business. I am very proud of what they have achieved so far and with Fayrouz l’Original 2 being their breakout opportunity, I wish them all the success they can have.” Team Meddlelane showcased their designs alongside designers like Orange Culture, House of Marie, Akpos Okudu,

Josh Samuels, Orente Ayaba, Moofa, Ejiro Amos Tafiri, Loza Maleombho, Maki Oh and the Okunoren twins on that day. Team Meddlelane took home the prize at the second edition of Fayrouz L’Original expression show, a youth targeted fashion competition, which held earlier this year with the winning prize of 4 million Naira and numerous fashion opportunities. Other designers who will showcase their work include Mai Atafo, Bridget Awosika, Iamsigo, Rayo, April By Kunbi, Lanre Da Silva, Ade Bakare, Iconic Invanity, Meena, Titi Belo, Mc Meka, Reni Smith, Dzyn, Toju Foyeh, Andrea Iyamah, Kelechi Odu, Sunny Rose, Washington Roberts, Eki Orleans and many others.

luwatofunmi Adeyanju, is a Mass Communication undergraduate at Moshood Abiola Polytechnic, who has been into Ankara shoes and bags of different fabrics, even before she gained admission into higher institution. She said, “Even before I finished my secondary school education, I already knew how to make shoes and bags of different types with any fabrics, I never took my time to learn it anywhere, or pay money to anybody to teach me.” Speaking on her creativity and motivation, she explained that the art of making Ankara shoes and bags is an interesting venture because it gives people the liberty to come up with their own innovations and inventions, stressing that creativity and self-motivation are required to succeed in business. “My parents were also a huge encouragement because they inspired me as I started gradually and today, I am a boss” she stated. Listing her major challenges in the business, Oluwatofunmi noted that like every other business venture, the main challenge in Ankara shoes and bag making is finance, saying she lacks the requisite fund for capital to start on her own. She said, “Finance is a major challenge, I want to start on my own by buying materials and other things that would boost the business but the money is not there for now. My parents have been very supportive, but the fact remains that people are really showing interest in what I do”.

Ankara shoes and bags

Oluwatofunmi

Science for Kids

TV viewing, video game play contribute to kids’ attention problems –Study

Team Meddlelane

owa State psychology doctoral student Edward Swing (left) and Associate Professor of Psychology Douglas Gentile (right) have found that playing video games has a similar effect on attention problems in youths as television viewing.Credit: Photo by Bob Elbert, ISU News ServiceClose Parents looking to get their kid’s attention -- or keeping them focused at home and in the classroom should try to limit their television viewing and video game play. That’s because a new study led by three Iowa State University psychologists has found that both viewing television and playing video games are associated with increased attention problems in youths. The research, which included both elementary school-age and college-age participants, found that children who exceeded the two hours per day of screen time rec-

ommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics were 1.5 to 2 times more likely to be above average in attention problems. “There isn’t an exact number of hours when screen time contributes to attention problems, but the AAP recommendation of no more than two hours a day provides a good reference point,” said Edward Swing, an Iowa State psychology doctoral candidate and lead researcher in the study. “Most children are way above that. In our sample, children’s total average time with television and video games is 4.26 hours per day, which is actually low compared to the national average.” Collaborating with Swing on the research were ISU’s Douglas Gentile, an associate professor of psychology and Craig Anderson, a Distinguished Professor of psychology; and David Walsh, a Minneapolis

psychologist. The researchers assessed 1,323 children in third, fourth and fifth grades over 13 months, using reports from the parents and children about their video game and television habits, as well as teacher reports of attention problems. Another group of 210 college students provided self-reports of television habits, video game exposure and attention problems. Previous research had associated television viewing with attention problems in children. The new study also found similar effects from the amount of time spent with video games. “It is still not clear why screen media may increase attention problems, but many researchers speculate that it may be due to rapid-pacing, or the natural attention grabbing aspects that television and video games use,” Swing said.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

300 buses get free fuel in Osun Boladale Bamigbola Osogbo

s scarcity of petroleum products persist in Osun State, about 300 commercial minibus drivers were yesterday given free petrol to lessen the effect of high cost of the product. The initiative, which was financed by a businessman and politician, Mr. Kayode Oduoye, saw the commercial buses loading fuel at designated filling stations within Osogbo, the state capital. Many filling stations in the state capital shut their doors on customers, while few others dispensing fuel sold above official pump price. Some residents of Osogbo, Ile-Ife and Ilesa, while speaking with newsmen, accused petroleum marketers of creating artificial scarcity to enable them rip off customers. However, some petroleum marketers that spoke with National Mirror on condition of anonymity said many of them did not have enough products to sell, blaming the development on lack of supply from Ibadan depot. Meanwhile, benefitting commercial minibus drivers

that got free fuel from the Kayode Oduoye Foundation, said the gesture would lead to reduced transport fares in the state. Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, Mr. Ibrahim Omooka, who chaired the group of commercial minibus drivers popularly called ‘Koropo’, said three filling stations within Osogbo metropolis were selected for the exercise, adding that each of the buses got 10 litres of fuel each. Representative of the foundation, Pastor SamSegun Progress, said the product was given free to the motorists after reaching an agreement with Oduoye that they would reduce transport fare. He stated that the sponsor of the initiative “apart from meaning well for the people of Osun State, understands the pains scarcity of the product was causing and chose to help out with his meagre resources.” He challenged all agencies of government monitoring sales of petroleum products to ensure people are no longer subjected to avoidable harrowing experiences occasioned by scarcity of fuel.

Economy: Lagos’ll strengthen arbitration laws —Ambode Francis Suberu

overnor Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State has restated the commitment of his administration to build on past successes recorded in the area of arbitration practice for economic gains that would also benefit people of the state. Ambode stated this at the opening session of the Annual Conference of the United Kingdom’s Chartered Institute of Arbitration (Nigeria branch) in Abuja. He said Lagos has the most modern Arbitration Law in Nigeria that conforms to any arbitration statute in the world, and that his administration was prepared to consolidate and strengthen the efforts of previous administration to make Lagos the preferred seat of arbitration in Nigeria and the West African sub-region. The governor, who was represented by AttorneyGeneral and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Adeniji Kazeem, restated that Lagos being a commercial hub is the leading destination for for-

South West

Thursday, November 5, 2015

eign investment, having accounted for over 99 per cent direct foreign investment in the country by second quarter of 2015. Pledging his support to the institute in its drive to encourage direct foreign investment through development of Alternative Disputes Resolution, ADR, mechanisms, Ambode stated that Lagos was open for business, adding, “In order to show full commitment, Lagos is one of the first states in Nigeria to establish an Office of Overseas Affairs and Investment - Lagos Global.” He explained that as the name suggests, the office was designed to attract foreign direct investment into Lagos through creation of a one stop-shop where investors can seamlessly obtain regulatory approvals and other incentives in order to drive further investment to create jobs. He disclosed that this initiative has been rewarding with steady flow of prospective investors since his administration took off on May 29.

Strike: Osun Speaker assures doctors Boladale Bamigbola Osogbo

sun State House of Assembly Speaker, Najeem Salaam, yesterday stated parliament’s readiness to assist striking doctors under the state government to get their dues. He disclosed this at a meeting the state lawmakers held with executive of

Osun State Association of Medical and Dental Officers, OSAMDO. He empathised with the medical personnel over their demands, saying all efforts would be made to ensure their demands were met. In a joint press briefing after the meeting, OSAMDO Chairman, Dr Isiaka Adekunle, and Chairman, House Committee on Infor-

mation and Strategy, Olatunbosun Oyintiloye, said the discussion between the union and parliament was fruitful. Adekunle, who commended the Assembly for its intervention, said the union executive would call an emergency meeting on Thursday to inform its members and decide on the next line of action. Oyintiloye said the union

and the Assembly had some understanding on the need to suspend the strike in the interest of the people. He said the Assembly would at all times ensure that industrial harmony prevails in the state. He, however, appealed to them to return to work and support the government in its quest to provide effective, qualitative healthcare delivery to the people.

L-R: Group Managing Director, ARCO Group Plc, Mr. Alfred Okoigun; Chairman of the Board, Chief Joseph Akpieyi; Company Secretary, Barr. Denis Ayisire and Director, Mrs Julie Okeigun, during the company’s AGM in Lagos, yesterday. PHOTO:ADEMOLA AKINLABI

Insecurity: Vigilance group pledges to support police, others Kemi Olaitan Ibadan

ommander of Oyo State chapter of Vigilante Group of Nigeria, VGN, Sunday Olajide, has said the group was committed to assisting the police command and other security agencies in checking the menace of Boko Haram insurgency and other criminal activities in the state. He made the commitment during a visit to Gbala village with over six communities in Ikoyi-Ile, Oriire Local Government Area of the state. He said men and officers of the group have been receiving training on monthly basis on how to combat terrorism and other crimes. According to him, the synergy between VGN and other security agencies is paying off, stating that this has led to the arrest of many offenders, including cattle rustlers and village invaders, among others.

Olajide added that his men have been exposed to international training, especially from India and Dubai on how to increase intelligence gathering, conflict resolution and contribute positively on how to track and arrest criminals and hand them over to police for further interrogation and possible prosecution. Giving insight into how crime offenders could be arrested in the hinterland because of their suspicious behaviour, he enjoined those living in the community to cooperate with security agencies, especially the police by reporting suspected criminals in their community. He also lauded the Commissioner of Police, Leye Oyebade, the Area commanders and all Divisional Police Officers, DPOs, in the 33 local government areas of the state, for working hand-in-hand with other security agencies towards reducing crime in the state to the

barest minimum. Olajide also used the opportunity to settle the dispute between Hausa/ Fulani, Bororo and farmers, calling on the hunters to desist from carrying arms unlawfully, and allow love to exist among all the people living in the community for peaceful co-existence. Speaking on behalf of the traditional rulers, Oba Jimoh Atanda lauded the efforts of the police and activities of the vigilante group in improving security in the area, assuring of total loyalty to the vigilante group. While thanking VGN, representative of the Hausa- Fulani/Bororo herdsmen, Jahun Muhammed, said he and his people were happy over the outcome of the settlement as everyone in the community had promised to live peacefully. He then solicited more of such meetings, while calling on youths in the community to join the

group. Head of the farmers’ union, Ayuba Salami, appealed to people of the community to always live in peace, promising his cooperation to the security agencies for peaceful development. Present at the event were representative of Alaafin of Oyo, Oba Lamidi Olayiwola Adeyemi III, traditional rulers and chiefs, village heads, Seriki Fulani, Seriki Hausa, farmers union, religious and opinion leaders, NURTW and commercial motorcyclists union, among others.

Arase, IGP

South East

Thursday, November 5, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Enugu warns against rights abuse Emmanuel Ezeh Enugu

nugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi yesterday warned all agencies and government officials against indulging in any form of human rights abuse. The governor, while restating its stand against abuses by its agencies and personnel, warned that anyone caught engaging in such acts will face severe punishment. In a statement signed by Secretary to the State Government, Mr G.O.C. Ajah, the governor said it neither condones nor encourages abuses or any form of rascality by any government agencies in the conduct of their official duties. Meanwhile, State Waste Management Authority, ESWAMA, has denied allegations that its staff attacked and injured two security men at a residential house in Enugu, while carrying out an enforcement operation. The development had prompted a group, Civil Rights Realisation and Advancement Network, CRRAN, to accuse ESWAMA of keeping a killer squad. However, reacting through a statement, Managing Director of

the Authority, Mr. Dom Okonkwo, described the allegation as ‘false and mischievous’, lamenting that two members of its staff were now unjustly facing prosecution on the strength of the claim. He said the allegations were part of a smear campaign mounted by some people in the state against his agency in a bid to discredit and prevent it from carrying out its lawful duties. Giving the agency’s side of the story, Okonkwo said contrary to the allegations, two of its staff who had gone to a residential house at Independence Layout, Enugu, to enforce sanitary laws of the state were actually the ones that were attacked by two security men working in the house. The ESWAMA staff, he said, had upon being attacked, followed standard procedure and reported the incident at the Independence Layout Police Station, adding that a police unit was promptly dispatched to arrest the two security men who, according to him, escaped before they could be arrested. The ESWAMA boss said he was later to learn much to his surprise that the police detained his men and charged them to court on charges of assaulting and injuring the security men.

Nine die in Ebonyi road crash Aliuna Godwin Abakaliki

ine people were yesterday confirmed dead in a fatal road crash that occurred in Ishiagu, Ivo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State. An eyewitness, Mr. John Okochi, said the accident claimed the life of three members of a family and driver of the bus. The accident, he noted, occurred when an articulated vehicle with a bus carrying 18 passengers coming from opposite directions collided. According to him, the crash happened at Ishiagu-Awgu road, Ezietor in Amaeze community, Ishiagu-Ivo Local Government Area of Ebonyi State. Okochi whose relative was involved in the crash, told newsmen that the articulated vehicle marked Anambra JJT143XA, coming from Ishiagu had a head-on collision with the

18-seater bus marked Edo SGD541SA returning from Enugu. He said the driver and eight others died on the spot, while other victims who sustained various degrees of injuries were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment. He added that all the victims were indigenes of Ishiagu community returning from Enugu in Enugu State. Okochi, who blamed the incident on poor visibility occasioned by a heavy downpour in the community on the night of the crash, said the entire community has been thrown into mourning. “The accident is indeed a fatal one and as I talk to you, nine people died on the spot and their corpses deposited at a mortuary in Aki-na-ukwa in Aninri Local Government of Enugu State. “Others who sustained injuries were taken to Nyeche Hospital in Amaeze community, Ishiagu.

Director, Freedom of Information Unit, Federal Ministry of Justice, Mrs. Stella Anukam (left) presenting a booklet on Guidelines on the Freedom of Information Act 2011 to the Director General, National Orientation Agency(NOA), Mr. Mike Omeri, during an advocacy visit of Freedom of Information Unit of Federal Ministry of Justice to NOA Corporate Headquarters in Abuja, yesterday.

ESUT medical students protest order to vacate hostels Emmanuel Ezeh Enugu

edical students of Enugu State University of Science and Technology, ESUT, hav e been asked to vacate the college. The development attracted angry reaction from the students, who complained that the order had left them in serious frustration. One of them told our correspondent that it was

a very difficult situation because we were asked to leave with all our properties. Where are we going to keep our luggage?” It was gathered that management of the college of medicine of the university had earlier notified the students in a letter signed by the Secretary, Mr. D. K. Okpala, on behalf of the provost, asking them to vacate the premises. The letter reads: “I am directed to inform all

students of the ESUT College of Medicine that they must vacate the hostels and the college premises before 4pm today, November 3. Students must leave the college with all their belongings and leave doors to the rooms open on vacating the rooms. Note that any property left behind in the hostel after 4pm will be deemed to have been forfeited.” However, Public Relations Officer of ESUT, Mr. Osita Ugwuoti, disclosed

that the order was to give the hostels a facelift. According to Ugwuoti, “we had written the students notifying them that we are embarking on renovation of the hostels. We gave them ample time before we wrote them again. “We are embarking on renovation because the facilities are deplorable. It is also pertinent to embark on the exercise ahead of accreditation for the college.”

Mentally challenged causes accident in Abakaliki

esidents of Abakaliki, Ebonyi State capital, have urged the state government to remove mad men from the streets due to the menace they constitute. The call followed an incident yesterday in which a mad man, throwing stones at the early morning traffic, caused a tricycle carrying pupils to veer off the road and collide with the pedestrian sidewalk. Early morning traffic was interrupted by the stone-throwing mad man, whose activities led to the lone accident at Mile 50, Transformer bus stop, Abakaliki Road. On being hit, the tricycle veered off the road and hit the sidewalk, causing injuries to the occupants. An eyewitness at the

scene, Mr. Isaac Otubo, said the naked mad man threw stones at vehicles as he walked in the middle of the road. He said the tricycle conveying school pupils was one of the unfortunate victims of the mad man’s activities, as the rider was hit. Otubo said such incident could be avoided, if efforts were made to take them off the streets. “The government should take mad people off the streets because they are posing serious danger to motorists, pedestrians and the public at large,” he said. He decried the fact that social service officials and security agencies allowed mentally unstable people to roam the streets.

Another eyewitness, Mr. Buckno OJ, said the collusion of the tricycle with the pedestrian walkway happened when the mad man threw stones forcefully and at close range at the tricycle rider. “There are lots of mad people in Ebonyi; there was a similar case of a mad man who cut off an old man’s hand with a knife at Ishielu Local Government Area here in Ebonyi. “How can they be allowed around the city troubling people and causing problems to the public? I suggest they should be collected and taken to rehabilitation centres, to avoid further damages,” he said. Another resident, Mr Eddy Okogwu urged federal and state governments,

churches and departments of social services, among other stakeholders to work assiduously to remove mad people from the streets as they posed a threat and constitute an eyesore in their nakedness. “Mad people both male and female constitute an eyesore on our roads; seeing them naked in the public could cause major collusion on busy highways; they should be rehabilitated,” Okogwu said. Another resident, Mrs. Theresa Igwe suggested that mad people should be relocated to rehabilitation homes, where they could be cared for. She expressed the fears that with their growing numbers, they could do more havoc, if unchecked.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Broad Street, Lagos. PHOTO: SAMUEL ADETIMEHIN

Broad Street Diary

Thursday, November 5, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Odunlami: Where the dead are celebrated

A burial ceremony put in place by funeral managers

f you traverse Odulami Street, Lagos Island, there is an item people find very curious and difficult to identify with, but a must buy when the imminent occurs. This stuff winks and beckons on you even as you struggle not to look in its direction. Yes! It is a casket or coffin as it is called in some quarters. Odunlami Street, Lagos Island has been the home of sales of caskets from time immemorial and has remained so till date with ever increasing innovations. For those who are not too familiar with Lagos Island, Odulami Street is adjacent to the popular CMS bus stop on Lagos Island when going from CMS to Obalende. Broad Street Correspondent, BSD, went out to visit one of the showrooms and the men who are into the business to find out how they are faring in the business, particularly during this economically depressing moment in the country. Broad Street Diary spoke with Mr. Moses Ramos of Ramos Caskets, 35, Odulami Street Lagos Island, who shared his experience in the business. According to him, his father who started the business over 50 years ago bequeathed it to them (his children) before he died in 2014. “My father started this business over 50 years ago long before we the children were born. “He died last year, ever since, I have continued with the running of the business along with my mother. “Although, I am not the first born in the family, but because of the interest that I have shown in the business over the years and my experience in it, I have continued to maintain the tempo of the business till date. Asked why the choice of Odunlami Street as sales point for caskets on Lagos Is-

land, he narrated that the business according to the history began in the whole of Nigeria at Odunlami Street on Lagos Island from where other people from other parts of country began to copy them. “From what my father told me of the business, it started by designing furniture for the church and the church later asked my dad whether he could make a casket for the church to give their dead members a befitting burial. “He did this so well to the satisfaction of the church and because the demand rate for caskets increased, hence, making it an area of specialisation that it has been till today. It may also interest you to know that my father, the late chief executive of “Ramos Caskets” modernised the business on the Island and made it what it is now in this area. Asked why he chose the path of this dreaded business as a young man, he said, he went into the business because he understood the intricacies and the rough edges of the business. “Before I joined my father’s company, I worked in one of the foremost funeral companies in Nigeria also located at Odunlami Street which is a modern innovation into the business. With vast experience in funeral management as a whole, I have garnered enough experience before joining my father’s company here in Ramos Caskets in 2012. “You know, in every business there are intrigues and techniques you need to understand before dabbling into it. “It is not just enough to have money to invest in a given business, but the aforementioned skills have to be acquired before venturing into any business if you don’t want to blame yourself. So, I chose the path of the business because of my accumulated understanding

of the business and because it affords me the privilege to travel round the country. You know the business is all encompassing in order words, it is not only limited to the making and sales of caskets, it also involves other aspects of funeral arrangement depending on what the clients want. For instance, we are into sales of comfortable and befitting caskets, decoration of venue of lying in state, embalmment, arrangement of vaults to mention, but a few. “This array of funeral events take me round the entire country as people engage us from many parts of the country to manage their funeral ceremonies. It is also a profitable business to invest in if you understand what it takes to flourish in the business. You can imagine the business that my father did for over fifty years and transferred to us before he finally gave up the ghost. We all fed on the business so it is a profitable business. On the spiritual implication of selling caskets, he said; “I am only doing my business just as any other person. So, regarding the taboo of seeing ghosts in the dream for selling caskets, i have not seen one before and I cannot say much about that. Although, It may be true, but I have not personally experienced such, but I know that there is a spiritual side of the business which I think those mortuary and burial ground attendants will be more familiar with. Every business man prays for boom in their business each day, this led us to ask him what the lines of his prayers are daily. Moses said: “When I wake up in the morning I pray to God like every other person that God should give me my daily bread” When reminded that that the answer to such prayer may likely be the calamity and sorrow of others’, he responded: “The truth

PHOTO: SAMUEL ADETIMEHIN that we are all shying away from is that, we are all going to die one day or the other. ‘’It is imminent whether man likes it or not, we will die one day and that is the emotional aspect of this job at obsequies when biography of the deceased is read, it makes me ponder on the futility of life . On the average cost of a casket in the area, Moses said an average casket cost, is from N15, 000 and above. “An average casket is from N15,000 and above even to N1,000,000 depending on the choice and financial capability of the client. “For example, we have the one of N1.5million naira here in our show room. It is a metal type that we usually import based on request by the clients. “The one of N15,000 is the ordinary bare wooden type without the bar handle, so it is about client’s financial prowess and desire. However there is a penchant for white colour caskets among our clients. Most of our clients often go for white colour because according to them, it symbolises peace, hence, the cliché after interment at the burial ground “Rest In Perfect Peace, RIP.” On the average sales, he said his company sells at least four caskets a month. He admonished would-be casket business men to have a background in furniture making first before going into the business as this would enable the fellow to create his own idea of various patterns and designs. “Let me advise any interested fellow who may want to go into the business that he should start making furniture first. This is very important because we import most of the materials for the making of caskets and in order to stand tall in the business, you must learn how to create your own design through innovations. –Omoju Busayo

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Broad Street Diary

Thursday, November 5, 2015

agos and money! Can one confidently say they are children from the same mother? Yes! Lagosians obviously know how to make money. They are notoriously known for their business oriented lifestyle; they have an insatiable penchant for making money anywhere, anytime, any day and of course parties, especially the Owambe types are not left out! Have you ever been to one? Apart from the organisers of the party, one can undoubtedly conclude that every other individual grace the event to make extra bucks for themselves. In the history of Nigeria, Lagos is known for the numerous and ridiculous ways they have devised in making money in the most unimaginable locations, including the most fatiguing traffics, churches, mosques, and under the long bridges. However, the most baffling is the means by which they make money in all kinds of parties. Indeed in Lagos every where Na market A typical Lagos party always have a colour chosen for the event, the colour chosen for the event is then used in decorating the hall or wherever is chosen for the event, women with high “gele” and “aso ebi”, men with their big “agbada” or Ankara shirt and trousers are also to be noticed. Round tables and chairs are arranged for the guests to sit, DJ stands or in some cases band stands are available. In a typical Lagos Island party, people find different ways to make their own money no matter how inappropriate it might be. Only in Lagos Island parties would you find people breaking high denomination of money to lower ones with profits attached. The guests in their bid to find out who can spend the most basically bring “their banks” to the party. Then typical Lagosians with the hope of breaking high sums of money down for those interested in spraying started bringing low denominations of money to parties in other to break high denominations down. You could give them a one thousand naira note and in turn, they give you a smaller denomination. In an interview with a guest who refused to give her name at a party recently, she said that, “if you want the change in N100 naira note, you would be given N900 with N100 as their profit, but if you want the money in N50 denominations you would be given N800 with N200 as their profit”. If one is wondering how they come by these various notes, one may need to go knocking on the doors of any nearby bank. “The truth is that the banks make the crispy notes available to us, and we also buy at a margin to sell to the consumers at parties who like to make lasting impressions with their spraying of notes”, one of the currency note sellers averred. The money-making spree also continues with the boys who serve the various dishes. For a guest who needs a good ration there is a way to go about it. According to a woman who identified herself as Mama Modupe, one can get all she wants by making

How smart Lagosians make brisk business at parties

A typical party on Lagos Island a tip. “It is not happenstance that you see some table more fortified with assorted kinds of dishes than others. It is the tip. If you give the boys serving food and drink a little money, they will make sure you have enough to eat and drink and possibly also take home.” Getting a pack to take home some of these items like drinks and food packs become another business opportunity at most Lagos Island parties. And that is the sale of polythene bags. At the local shop it goes for N10, but at parties like this where one is bent on taking away bottles of wine aside food, be prepared to pay N50. Also in Lagos parties where people pick up empty plastic bottles, plastic spoons and plates to sell to companies that would recycle the plastic products, people also sell polythene bags for those who do not have bags to pack their souvenirs home. Take away packs are also sold at parties for people to put their food in, especially during the Islamic fasting period; the packs are sold at more expensive prices. Lagosians also do ridiculous things like practically bringing their shops to the party venue; they target children of the guests who love sweet things like biscuits, chewing gums, sweets, chocolates etc. these vendors pack them-

selves at the entrance of almost every part on the island in a bid to make extra cash on a busy Saturday. Another common business scheme Lagosians conduct is photography business, this is mostly done by photographers, they bring their cameras to the party venue and take people pictures, then they run to their office and print the picture out fast, so that they can give the picture to the guests and collect their money before the guests leave the party, it is commonly known as ‘wait and get pictures’ or ‘10 minute pictures’. Although there are complaints that such pictures do not last long, photographers make brisk business because the guests want to have a lasting memory of that attire they wore to such parties. And availing N250 per pictures will not be burdensome at such instance. It has also gotten to the extent that people use parties as opportunities to sell their musical albums, body products etc. wannabe musicians, both Christian, reggae, hip hop and rap. They all struggle to produce one CD then try and get the MC of the party to publicise the CD. Writers also bring their books to the parties, especially story books for children; they give the

young children the books and tell them to show their parents to buy the book for them. Depending on the class of the party, makeup artiste also come to tie gele and do quick makeup for women whose gele are not really authentic, women are known for their “gele competition” for the biggest and well tied gele, so some makeup artiste attend parties mostly high class parties though to add more money to their pocket, as the women enter the party, makeup artistes would waylay them and try to convince them to retie their gele and freshen their makeup so as to look better than other women in the party. Churches also use wedding ceremonies as opportunity to get money for fund raising in their churches, at a point during the ceremony, the pastor would stand up, start praising God and convincing the guest to raise certain amount for the growth of the church. Basically, not only churches do such, even party host try to raise money for donation of some sort (depending on the party type though), In Lagos nowhere is alien to business and money making. Perhaps, this is one of the reasons why Lagos State is the sixty third largest economy in the world.

South South

Bayelsa poll: Ijaw leaders slam Tambuwal over comment

jaw Leaders Forum, ILF, a body of leaders of thought, has slammed Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal over his comments at the inauguration of the Campaign Council of All Progressives Congress, APC, candidate in Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylva. Tambuwal was quoted as saying on the occasion that the APC will “deliver the state”, a statement the leaders said suggested a plot to rig APC into power by hook or crook. The leaders had predicated their understanding of Tambuwal’s comments on the notion that Sylva was not a popular candidate and as such could not win in a free and fair election except through rigging. In a statement by the Publicity Secretary of the body, Professor Friday BrisbieWilliams, on Wednesday and made available to the press, the group took a swipe at Tambuwal, warning that any attempt to rig the December 5 governorship election will be resisted by the people. The statement, which noted that only Tambuwal among five other members of the Campaign Council constituted by the APC national leadership attended the event, said plans by the opposition party in the state to manipulate the election will fail.

It also said the absence of other members was an indication that Sylva has been deserted because he carries much baggage that could dent their image and should better be avoided. The ILF commended Edo State Governor Adams Oshiomhole for turning down the offer to chair the campaign council just as the other absentee members were praised for “their sense of decency”. The statement recalled the role Tambuwal was said to have played by working against former President Goodluck Jonathan while as Speaker of the House of Representatives, stating that by such actions he was an enemy of the Ijaw nation. Sylva’s credibility as a candidate of APC also came under scathing attack as the leaders were convinced that he lacked the moral basis to lead the state, noting his alleged corrupt past. The forum, however, commended Ijaw leaders like Chief Alex Ekiotene and Senator John Braimbaifa and others for returning to the PDP. It also commended APC Deputy National Publicity Secretary, Timi Frank, “for being forthright by telling the world of his rejection of Sylva, stating further that “for fielding Sylva, APC will lose Bayelsa to the PDP. That’s the fact on the ground in Bayelsa.”

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Sebastine Ebhuomhan Benin

do State government has begun moves to recover the sum of $31 million allegedly taken from government coffers fraudulently during the administration of Chief Lucky Igbinedion as governor. This was part of decision reached at the end of t Edo State Executive Council meeting held in Benin City on Wednesday. Briefing the press, Edo State Commissioner for Information, Mr Louis Odion, said: “There is the issue of a fraud that was discovered while turning our books. We found out that the sum of $31 million was fraudulently taken from state coffers under the administration of Chief Lucky Ogbinedion. The governor has directed the Attorney-General to

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Alleged N7bn fraud: Edo to probe Igbinedion commence legal action in that direction. “So, in the coming days, the state government will take legal action to ensure that what was stolen from Edo State government is recovered. When you convert $31 million to naira, it fetches you a whopping N7 billion. You can imagine what N7 billion can do to improve the human condition in Edo State.” The commissioner, who praised some landlords and companies in the state on the level of compliance with the Land Use Act, said Governor Oshiomhole directed him to express his appreciation and gratitude to the good people of Edo State

as well as members of the private sector, who have voluntarily complied with the Land Use Act. Shedding more light on the $31m fraud, Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Abdul Oroh said: “The $31 million was taken from Edo State people for transaction designed clearly for criminal purposes. This project was called Avrant Cement Company situated at Ekpe, near Ikpeshi in Akoko Edo Local Government.” The government also accused the Igbinedion government of establishing a fruit juice company in Ehor in 2001 at the cost of N368, 458,195 million,

and importing its materials from England at a sum of £310,000 and later selling the company along with a threehectare pineapple farm that was developed at the cost of N283.8 million “at a giveaway price, which could only have been influenced by criminal intentions.” On his part, Chairman of Edo Internal Revenue Service, Chief Oseni Elamah, disclosed that the government has decided to prosecute corporate citizens, including banks, which refused to pay their taxes.

Six killed in Edo bank robbery Sebastine Ebhuomhan Benin

ot less than six persons, including two policemen and a private security guard were killed Tuesday evening when armed robbers invaded Igarra, headquarters of AkokoEdo Local Government Area of Edo State. The robbers were said to have stormed the town in two Sienna cars around 6pm in commando style by first taking over the police station where they killed two policemen, while others went straight to their target where they allegedly destroyed the entry of a bank with explosives. During the operation, the robbers allegedly killed a private security guard in the bank and three other persons, one of which was said to be a commercial motorcyclist, while others were said to be customers apparently in the

bank’s premises to use ATM. There are two banks in Igarra: Unity Bank and Keystone, both of which are situated opposite each other at Momodu Ajayi Road. It could not, however, be ascertained whether both banks were robbed last night or not. However, luck allegedly ran out on the robbers as vigilante groups quickly mobilized and barricaded the exit route at Ekpedo-Ekpe Road, the council’s border with Kogi State, where one of the robbers was reportedly killed with another arrested and one of the operational vehicles impounded. A leader of the vigilante group in the area explained that “when they started the operation in Igarra, we quickly mobilised our people around the surrounding villages because they came through Lampese to Ososo and down to Igarra and were also going back through the axis.

Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike (left), being conducted round by staff of Julius Berger Nigeria Plc, during the inspection of Harold Wilson Road in Borokiri area of Port Harcourt, yesterday.

Elo Ogwara

ver a thousand contract staff of Warri Refining and Petrochemical Company, WRPC, of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, disrupted activities of the company in a protest over non-payment of salaries. The protest, which commenced as early as 6am yesterday, made ongoing repairs at the premises impossible, prevented vehicles from going to and fro the yard, leading to heavy traffic congestion at the ever busy Refinery Road and NPA Expressway in Ekpan, Delta State. The affected staff said

Hundreds of WRPC contract staff protest unpaid salaries the salary owed them spanned over six months for some, while for others, more than a year, the protesters also lamented that all allowances accruing to them for the said months were also yet to be paid. Speaking with National Mirror, the protesting casual staff, lamented serious hardship and working discrimination, adding that many of them had worked up to 10 years, but has not been permanently staffed. On his part, Engr Matthew Robo of Power Plant and Utility, PPU depart-

ment, said “I’ve worked for 15 good years in WRPC as a casual staff. As we are talking, some of our money that was found in Ecobank has been moved to Abuja because of the TSA. That is the money they were supposed to use to pay us, but now the money has been taken to Abuja, leaving us in hunger. Another protester, Mrs. Jeane Ochen, called on the Federal Government as well as the GMD of NNPC, Mr. Ibe Kachikwu, to immediately intervene, stressing that the protest

would continue until they are paid and no one would be allowed to work in any department. The protesters, cut across several departments which include production, programming and quality control, administration, power plant and utility, fire and safety, blamed the non-payment of salaries on management of the WRPC. When reached for comment, Mr. Ohi Alegbe, Group General Manager, Group Public Affairs, said the issue was already being addressed.

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North

Thursday, November 5, 2015

5 die of measles in Niger … cases hit 109 PRISCILLA DENNIS MINNA

Emir of Bauchi, Alhaji Rilwanu Adamu (middle); new Commissioner of Police for Bauchi State, Baba Tijjani (fourth right), and other Police officers during the visit of the Commissioner of Police to the Emir in Bauchi, yesterday.

ASUU flays KWASU’s suspension of union members KEMI OLAITAN IBADAN

uspension of six executive members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Kwara State University, KWASU chapter, by its Vice Chancellor, Prof. Abdul-Rasheed Na’Allah, for participating in union activities, has been condemned by Ibadan zone of the union. Zonal Coordinator of the union, Prof. Segun Ajiboye, gave the condemnation in a statement issued yesterday and made available to journalists in Ibadan, Oyo State capital. He said the action of the university was autocratic, anti-union, undemocratic and a breach of the fundamental rights of the academic staff members to freedom of association granted by the Nigerian Constitution after duly informing management of the institution of its plan to hold a

congress. The six suspended lecturers are Dr. Dauda Adeshola (chairman), Dr. Gafaru Olaiwola Olorisade (secretary), Prof. Innocent Okoye, Prof. Christopher Odetunde, Dr. Ayotunde Alao and Mr. Paul Kunle Dairo. According to him, the punishment meted out to the suspended members include barring them from having access to the university campus; facing Senior Staff disciplinary committee; placing them on half salary and handover of all university properties in their possession to the Head of Department or Provost, as the case may be. It would be recalled that the university is under the Ibadan Zone of ASUU being coordinated by Ajiboye. Ajiboye disclosed that academic staff members at Kwara State University were granted observer status of ASUU during

the last National Executive Council, NEC, meeting of the union at Imo State University, Owerri, between October 10 and 11. While calling on the university management to recall the suspended ASUU members, he urged Governor Abdulfattah Ahmed to prevail on the university to allow free unionism and academic freedom thrive. In a letter titled, ‘Suspension from Duty’ signed by the university registrar, Mr. Surajudeen Oyebode, and addressed to the suspended members, the institution claimed: “It has been reported to the university management that on Tuesday October 28, 2015, you were among a group of academic staff found holding a meeting in the Visual and Performing Arts (VPA) Open Theatre for which no permission was granted for its use. In an attempt by the Chief Security Offi-

cer of the university to explain to the gathering that the facility could not be used for the meeting since there was no permission sought or granted, he was not only abused in the process, he was harassed as well by the group. “Using the VPA Open Theatre without official permission and harassing/abusing an officer of the university while performing his lawful duty have been deemed to be acts of gross misconduct which are not only inimical to the integrity of the university but also undermined its authority,” the letter further stated. The registrar added that the university management approved the suspension of the six academic staff with immediate effect until further notice having “contravened the extant provisions of the Code of Conduct for staff.”

Niger Assembly confirms 8 commissioner-nominees iger State House of Assembly has confirmed eight commissioner-nominees submitted to it by Gover-

nor Abubakar Bello. Speaker, Ahmed Marafa, on the floor stated that the governor forwarded the list in line with section 2, sub-section 192 of the 1999 Constitution of Nigeria as amended.

The nominees are Kabiru Abbas Musa, Dan Mallam Masara, Ramatu Mohammed Yar’Adua, Mamman Musa, Jonathan Vatsa, Fatima Mudugu, Ibrahim Balarabe and Mustapha Jubrin.

In the correspondence, the Speaker stated that the governor explained that the list would come in two batches, with the next list of names to be made available to the House soon.

CHANGE OF NAME Formerly known and addressed as MISS ODEDEYI OPEYEMI BUKOLA, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. ADERIBOLE OPEYEMI BUKOLA. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME Formerly known and addressed as MAKINDE AYODELE MARIAM, now wish to be known and addressed as AZEEZ MUBEEN MORIAM. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME Formerly known and addressed as MISS ODULEYE FATIMAH OLUWABUKOLA, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS. RAZAQ FATIMAH OLUWABUKOLA. All former documents remain valid. General public please take note.

CHANGE OF NAME I formerly known and addressed as MISS IBITOLA OLAMIDE KUSORU, now to be addressed as MRS. AJILEYE IBITOLA OLAMIDE. All former documents remain valid. Ekiti State Teaching Service Commission and general public take note.

PRISCILLA DENNIS MINNA

ive deaths occurred among 109 cases of measles recorded between January and October 2015 in Niger State, says Dr. Aliyu Yabagi Shehu, Executive Director, National Primary Healthcare Development Agency, NPHDA. According to him, the five deaths were of children aged between nine months to five years, following denial of access by their parents during measles vaccination days. Shehu, who disclosed this during a one-day meeting with the media in Minna, the state capital, said 4,392 cases of measles were reported in 296 local government areas in 32 states of the nation in 2014. He explained that to ensure every child between

0 to 5 years is immunised against the virus, the agency would soon embark on a one-week vaccination campaign in which a total of 907,367 children will be vaccinated. The executive director stated that so far, measles vaccination have prevented an estimated death of 15.6 million and reduced global measles death by 75 per cent. Also, the State Immunisation Officer, Dr. Samuel Jiya, said during vaccination campaign the agency will ensure 95 per cent coverage of every child, adding that anything below it will not cover WHO standard. Expressing hope at the commitment by government at all levels to ensure total eradication of measles by 2020, Jiya urged parents, traditional and religious leaders to mobilise their people to ensure they allow their children and wards receive vaccination.

FG pledges support for basic education PRISCILLA DENNIS MINNA

ederal Government has assured of its continuous support to ensure effective basic education delivery at the grassroots in the country. It also noted the need to de-politicise appointment to the office of Education Secretary to ensure better basic education service delivery in the nation, which he said does not augur well for the sector. Director, Basic Secondary Department in the Ministry, Mrs. Anne Okonkwo, at a three-day workshop organised for education secretaries across the 774 local governments in the country, said today the basic education sector is facing fundamental challenges, especially inadequate funding that requires urgent attention. Okonkwo, who was represented by Assistant Director in the ministry, Achede Owolicho, also advocated the professionalisation of the office in order to keep away quacks. CHANGE OF NAME I formerly known and addressed as MISS ADELEYE FOLAKEMI MORENIKE, now to be addressed as MRS. OLANIPEKUN FOLAKEMI MORENIKE. All former documents remain valid. Ekiti State Government, SUSEB, Ado Ekiti and general public take note.

Against this backdrop, she charged participants at the workshop to critically examine and review the legal framework for education secretaries with a view to empowering them to perform their vital roles in the education sector. Niger State governor, Dr. Abubakar Sani Bello, who spoke through the Head of Service, Mohammed Muade, said the importance of education cannot be over emphasised, hence on assumption of office, various measures were taken to overhaul the basic education sector in the state. This, he explained, included the provision of basic facilities, free basic education policy for every child including adults that could not go to school during their youthful years, payment of counterpart funds so as to attract more funding from other organisations for better service delivery for every child in the state, among others. Earlier, the President, National Association of Education Secretaries of Nigeria, NAESN, Dr. Hassan Sule, said the annual conference is an opportunity to brainstorm, particularly on issues that may impede on the performance of its members.

Thursday, November 5, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

World News

We will keep on challenging and pushing until our dreams for the world in the unfolding age become reality.

–US DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL HOPEFUL, HILARY CLINTON

Afolabi Gambari

WITH AGENCY REPORT

cargo plane crashed yesterday on take-off near the international airport in South Sudan’s capital Juba, killing at least 36 people. South Sudan’s Transport Minister, Kuong Danhier Gatluak, said two people were found alive, but one of them later died. It is not yet known how many were killed on the plane, or on the ground. The Antonov An-12 plane was heading to Paloch, Upper Nile State, and crashed 800m (half a mile) from the runway. Presidential spokesman, Ateny Wek Ateny, said the plane carried 18 people, including six crew members. “All of the passengers were from South Sudan,” he added. Ateny suggested reports of a higher death toll could be down to some people being killed on the ground, adding that he had not yet had confirmation of this. Head of the Civil Aviation at Juba airport, Stephen Warikozi, said emergency officials had secured the site of the crash and were in the stage of recovering bodies and black box. “We cannot give you the ex-

Dozens perish in South Sudan plane crash

First Sub-Sahara metro opens Commuters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, now have an option to rise above the notoriously congested streets of the city with the opening of a new metro, the first of its kind in Sub-Saharan Africa. The country’s Minister of Transport, Ato Workeneh Gebeyehu, said yesterday that each day, more than 60, 000 people used the north-south and east-west lines that form the first phase of the project; when completed, the railway should carry 100, 000 people per day. Gebeyehu said that the project focused on providing an affordable solution for the country’s low income workers. “When the government thought of constructing this, it was for low income people, the people who are using the minibuses,” he explained.

Experts target Sinai flight recorders

Wrecked remains of the cargo plane yesterday

act number,” Warikozi added. A man who saw the plane come down told journalists that he thought the plane might crash into a market area, but the pilot seemed to divert it at

the last minute. The plane’s first flight was in 1971, the Aviation Safety Network reported. It was being operated by Allied Services Limited, a logistics company based

in South Sudan, at the time of the crash. The Antonov State Company, which built the plane, is a Ukrainian aircraft manufacturing company.

‘Genital mutilator had fraudulent papers’ anish citizen, Peter Frederiksen, accused of collecting women’s genitals and storing it in his freezer, was in South Africa with fraudulent documents, the Bloemfontein Magistrate’s Court heard on Wednesday. Home Affairs official, Nico Breed, testified at his bail hearing that the department had been investigating his movements since his first appearance in court. The 63-year-old Frederiksen was allegedly issued his first passport in 1985 which expired in 1995, stating that he is Danish and born in Vedboek in Denmark. “No record could be found that he used this passport to enter or depart South Africa,” Breed said. Frederiksen was also issued another passport in 1995, which expired in 2005, which

AFRICAN BULLETIN

stated that he was born in the Danish district of Sollerod. Breed said when Frederiksen applied for a temporary residency permit in South

Peter Frederiksen

Africa, he claimed he owned a construction company. However, recent investigations revealed that the company was not registered under his name.

Breed also told the court that Frederiksen’s ID states that he is single and not married. Frederiksen allegedly has Lesotho travel documents, which reveals that his place of birth is Denmark but his nationality is “Mosotho”. “On several occasions entries were recorded with no departures and departures were recorded with no entries,” Breed said. Earlier yesterday the ANCWL said they were in court to make certain that he does not get bail. “We are here to make sure that justice is served. As a matter of fact we want him to rot in jail. We are hurt, we are sad, we are embarrassed and humiliated as women,” ANCWL member, Joyce Davids, said. The State is opposing bail as hearing continues.

Investigators are turning their attention to the flight recorders retrieved from the wreckage of a Russian plane that crashed in Egypt. Egypt said its experts were being joined by teams from Russia and also the Republic of Ireland, where the Airbus 321 was registered. It crashed over the Sinai peninsula, killing all 224 people on board. Egypt dismissed as propaganda claims that militants linked to Islamic State (IS) brought down the aircraft. Egypt’s Civil Aviation Minister, Hossam Kamal, said the investigators would conclude their last field inspection at the crash site yesterday and start working on the two flight recorders, or “black boxes”. “We have all the tools and experts to deal with the investigation,” Kamal said.

Elephants’ poisoning attracts journalists’ arrest Three journalists from a stateowned paper in Zimbabwe have been arrested and will be charged with publishing falsehoods over a report about the poisoning of elephants, the police said yesterday. A Sunday Mail article alleged that a syndicate, including a top police officer, was behind the recent use of cyanide to kill elephants for tusks. The story was untrue and tarnished the force’s image, the police said. “Some culprits involved had already been arrested, police spokeswoman, Charity Charamba, said. Meanwhile, two travellers from Zimbabwe have been arrested at Hong Kong International Airport with 36kg (80lb) of suspected ivory, worth an estimated $46, 500 (£30, 000), in their hand luggage, the South China Morning Post reports.

Thursday September 4, 2014

Etuhu arrested in Sweden after night club brawl

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Sport

We are not a great club yet until we play big win and more titles

–Manchester City midfielder, Yaya Toure

Osimhe challengings US playing during their opening group match

U-17 World Cup final spot

Eaglets, Mexico in titanic showdown Paul Erewuba

t will be a titanic battle when Nigeria’s Golden Eaglets battle Mexico in a FIFA U17 World Cup semi-final today’s midnight. Nigeria are looking forward to successfully defend the World Cup and continue their superiority over Mexico, who were runners-up in the last edition in UAE two years ago.

Amuneke reportedly said his team must be at their best against the Baby El Tri, who will be hard pressed to avenge their losses at the last tournament. “The Mexicans are a very good side and their performance so far at Chile 2015 is an indication that they have a very solid structure back home,” he noted. “But we are working to ensure that the players are mentally ready for this big match.” Both teams have met three times at

this competition with Nigeria winning two and Mexico winning one. Their first meeting was at the second edition of the competition in Canada in 1987, which Mexico beat Nigeria 1-0 in a group match. Nigeria beat Mexico at the UAE 2013 twice, 6-1 in the group stage and 3-0 in the final. Today’s meet will be a clash between one of the most potent attacks at this World Cup against one of the tightest defences. The coach Emmanuel Amuneke-led

Eaglets are a high scoring side having netted 17 times in the competition, while the Mexicans have a very solid defensive record so far in Chile having conceded just two goals. Eight-goal Victor Osimhen-led attack line have a big task in their hands to get the goals, while Mexico defenders will have their hands full to stop the rampaging Eaglets strike force, who though will be missing Funsho Bamiboye, who is suspended.

NFF considers foreign coach for Falcons

he Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) are said to be working hard in order to secure a partner that will fund the employment of a foreign coach for the Super Falcons. The Super Falcons have been without a head coach since Edwin Okon was sacked after the World Cup in July and the NFF President Amaju Pinnick insists that only a foreign coach can return women’s football to its pride of place in world football. Meanwhile, the Super Falcons will begin the defence of their African Women’s Champi-

onship title they won last year in Namibia with effect from April 8, 2016 with a second and final round qualifying clash against the winners of the tie between Senegal and Guinea. According to the fixtures, the Super Falcons will qualify automatically for the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroun next year if they beat either Senegal and Guinea. Nigeria, South Africa, Ghana Equatorial Guinea and Cote d’ Ivoire drew bye into the second round final qualifying rounds of the Women’s Africa Cup of Nations.

The Super Falcons have been without a head coach since Edwin Okon was sacked after the World Cup late July and the NFF Presid3nt Amaju Pinnick insists that only a foreign coach can return women’s football to its pride of place in world football. Equatorial Guinea will face the winner of Morocco and Mali game while Ghana awaits the winner of Tunisia and Burkina Faso while South AfrIca will play the winner Botswana and Mauritius. Ivory Coast play winner of Libya and Super Falcons in training session Egypt.

xxxxx

Sports

Thursday, November 5, 2015

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Etuhu arrested in Sweden after night club brawl

ormer Super Eagles midfielder, Dickson Etuhu has been arrested in Sweden after allegedly being involved in a scuffle with security guards and police in Sweden. The 33-year-old player, who has previously played for Manchester City, Sunderland, Fulham and Blackburn, is now plying his trade for Stockholmbased side AIK. It was gathered from the UK Mirror that the Nigerian has landed himself in trouble after the incident outside a nightclub in the area. A brawl took place after

Etuhu and two other men were denied entrance to the venue, before the police were called to the scene of the crisis. The Nigerian released a statement via his club’s website. He said: “I want to confirm that I am the AIK player that was involved in the incident that has been reported in the media during the last two days. “I’m coming forward because I don’t want any more speculation surrounding my team-mates about who was involved and I have always stood up for my actions. I have talked to my club and the police about what in my

opinion happened on Sunday night, and I will today file a report to the police about what I believe caused the incident and the way the security staff acted. “I have no further comments since it is now an ongoing police investigation.” AIK’s director of football Björn Wesström added: “It’s never good news when anyone in our club is involved in this kind of matter. “I have been in contact with the player and had a good conversation with him in which he calmly gave his version of the story.”

Ex-athletics chief Diack investigated in corruption inquiry

Paris Masters

amine Diack, ex-head of the IAAF, is being investigated over allegations he took payments for deferring sanctions against Russian drugs cheats. French prosecutors suspect Senegalese Diack, 82, of receiving money in 2011. The IAAF’s new president Lord Coe was questioned by French police on Tuesday,

having offered to co-operate. Athletics’ world governing body says it is “fully cooperating” and confirmed police had carried out searches and interviews at its Monaco headquarters. Diack ended his 16-year reign as IAAF president in August, when Briton Coe, a double Olympic 1500m winner, was elected as his replace-

Etuhu

Osimhen, a goal away from all-time World Cup record

Lamine Diack

ment. The IAAF has previously denied claims of widespread doping in the sport.

aglets star striker Victor Osimhen is just a goal away from matching the all-time goals record of nine goals in the FIFA U17 World Cup. The gangling striker has scored eight goals in the on-going FIFA U17 World Cup in Chile and he is just a goal from the record jointly held by France Florentine Sinama Pongolle and Souleyman Coulibally of Mali in 2001 and 2008 respectively. Osimhen has already equalled the eight goals of Germany’s Marcel Witecczek in China 1985. His class has not been in doubt

Murray races past Coric

ritish number one Andy Murray thrashed Croatian teenager Borna Coric in just 58 minutes to reach the third round at the Paris Masters. Murray, seeded second, won 6-1 6-2 and will next play Belgian David Goffin - a warm-up for this month’s likely meeting in the Davis Cup final. British number two Aljaz Bedene earlier lost 6-3 7-6 (7-3) to American 13th seed John Isner. Rafael Nadal beat Lukas Rosol 6-2 6-2, with Roger Federer in action later. Murray was playing for the first time since losing to Novak

Djokovic in Shanghai 19 days ago, and wasted little time in seeing off Coric. The 18-year-old is the highest-ranked teenager at 46 in the world but could not fashion a single break point as he went down in under an hour. Murray, 27, broke serve twice in each set as he made amends for a shock defeat by Coric in Dubai earlier this year. The Scot has a busy schedule over the next few weeks, with the ATP Finals in London getting under way on November 15, followed by Britain’s first Davis Cup final in 37 years from November 27.

Murray

against three-time champions Brazil and could even have set a new World Cup record in that game but was denied by Brazil goalkeeper Juliano, who made at least point-blank saves against the gangling No.9. Osimhen is the highest scoring Nigerian player at the Chile FIFA U17 World Cup and he will be the third Nigerian player to win the top scorer award at the competition after Wilson Oruma at Japan 1993 with six goals and Macauley Chrisantus at Korea 2007 with seven goals.

National Mirror www.nationalmirroronline.net

Sports

Thursday, November 5, 2015

Sunshine rekindle continental ticket hope ... Maul Rangers 5-1

unshine Stars rekindled their hope of securing a continental ticket with a comprehensive 5-1 thumping of 10-man Rangers in a rescheduled Glo Premier League match day 34 fixture at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Lagos yesterday. The Owena Waves acquainted themselves well at their new home ground after they were banished from the Akure Township following crowd trouble that marred their match day 36 fixture against Lobi Stars last weekend. The club’s Cameroonian import, Tamen Medrano, opened the flood gate of goals when he converted from the spot in the 35th after Rangers captain Okey Odita handled the ball in the box which led to his sending off. Tunde Adeniji doubled the lead in the 51st minute, with Kehinde Adedipe making it three after a

beautiful pass from Adeniji. Two minutes later, diminutive forward, Dayo Ojo, increased the Akure-based outfit’s lead before Adeniji scored his second of the evening to make it 5-0 in favour of his side. In Nnewi, FC IfeanyiUbah beat El-Kanemi Warriors 2-1 in a rescheduled week 33 tie. Chukwude Stephen put IfeanyiUbah ahead from the spot in the 19th minute. Home Eagles star, Ifeanyi Mathew, restored parity with a sublime freekick in the 48th minute. The game looked to be heading for a draw before Afeez Yusuf scored the winner for the hosts eight minutes from time. Taraba United and Nasarawa United played a barren draw after the remaining nine minutes of their week 35 game was completed at the Goal Project in Abuja.

NRA frowns at attack on members Paul Erewuba

Adeniji now top scorer in NPFL

Adeniji

unshine Stars striker Adeniji has now scored 16 goals this season. By virture of his goal, he is now the leading scorer in the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) with 16 goals. He toppled Gbolahan Salami and Esosa Igbinoba of Warri Wolves and Nasarawa United respectively who have 15 goals each. Adeniji scored a brace to help Sunshine beat Rangers 5-1 in a

rescheduled Week 34 games in Lagos. Chisom Chikatara and Bright Ejike of Abia Warriors and Heartland have 13 goals each. Mubarak Umar and Ocheme Edoh of Wikki Tourists and Giwa respectively have scored 12 goals each. Lobi Stars Tony Okpotu has scored 10 goals. Last season, Mfon Udoh of Enyimba set a-new goal- record in the league when he netted 23 goals.

Chess: Foreign players due for NB Open Afolabi Gambari

bout ten foreign players will participate in the 38th edition of Nigerian Breweries Plc-sponsored International Open Chess Championship starting on November 9 in Lagos. Director of Media and Communications of the Nigeria Chess Federation (NCF), Mr. Femi Solaja, who made this disclosure in Lagos yesterday, said

the federation had finalized arrangement to facilitate participation of the foreign players. “We expect their arrival in Lagos later this week and I at the moment, they are busy sorting out their travel arrangement,” Solaja explained. “We are determined to making this championship much better than the previous events in terms of quality participation and representation,” he added, stressing that a total of N3.3million prize money would

be won by participants. “Some of the Nigerian players based abroad like Bunmi Olape will also be competing while veteran Fola Akintola will return from retirement to spice the competition,” the media officer further said. Categories of competition include Masters, Open Section, Amateur Section and Ladies Open. Others are Weekender (with no rating band), Under-14 (boys and girls) and Invitational VIP (with 10 persons only).

he Nigerian (Football) Referees Association, NRA, has condemned in strong terms attack on its members handling matches in the various leagues across the country. The attack is coming especially now that the professional football league in the country is winding up. The body also expressed disappointment with the reaction of the League Management Company, LMC and its indifferent approach to the match officials who escaped death by whiskers in the ill-fated match between FC

Taraba and Nasarawa United in Jalingo. The association, in a statement signed by its National chairman Tade Azeez and made available to National Mirror charged league organisers to protect the referees at all match venues. Azeez, who described the attack on match officials as not only barbaric but also an unwarranted, noted that the action was capable of slowing down the growth of Nigerian football. He insisted that the body will not tolerate the antics of club officials and their sponsored hooligans masquerading as soccer fans at the stadia who vent their anger on referees over their club woes.

Fosla wins maiden Principals’ Cup Afolabi Gambari

osla Academy, Karshi, Abuja defeated Government Secondary School Yangoji 2-0 in Tuesday’s final of the FCT Principals’ Cup Football Competition. The Fosla boys, who played more brilliantly all through the game, also highest goal scorer and the most valuable player

awards. Haruna Farouk of Government Secondary School Yangoji won the best goalkeeper award and a scholarship from the Association of Principals of Secondary Schools in FCT, while Government Secondary School, Zuba which had earlier won the third place trophy after defeating Model Secondary School Maitama 6-4 on penalties, won the fair play trophy.

WORLD RECORD

Largest hockey stick

Vol. 05 No. 1237 Thursday, November 5, 2015

N150

The largest hockey stick is 62.48 m (205 ft) long, weighs 28.12 tonnes (62,000 lb) and was commissioned by Canada’s Federal Government for the Canadian Pavilion at the Expo 1986, in Vancouver, Canada.

Mr. President sir, inspire your people M y friends all, according to a character in the popular American TV epic, Game of Thrones, “it is easier to rule happy subjects than unhappy ones.” Even in recession, you can inspire confidence. When you inspire the people, even in times of hardship they indulge you. They follow your lead and the commonwealth thrives in peace and tranquility. Conversely, stuff the citizenry with tales of despair and incessant statistics of woe and national lethargy becomes contagious. That is not the way of charismatic leaders. Recently, the BBC quoted President Muhammadu Buhari as allegedly calling his compatriots unruly. It soon became the yardstick with which many of the foreign press began to measure the national psyche. Yes, it is good to be brutally honest sometimes in the

lderson Echiejile has disclosed he will join the Super Eagles training camp in Abuja on Monday for a World Cup qualifier against Swaziland. Elderson’s club AS Monaco have a Sunday night French Ligue 1 clash at Bordeaux and it will be after the game that the defender will head out

Guest Columnist

Sola S l

Ojewusi

battle for change, but like the Yoruba would say, “Pele lako o si labo” meaning sympathy is double faced: benign and malevolent. If in the process of trying to inspire, the people are discouraged, the essence is defeated. There is a limit to washing one’s dirty linen in public. I salute the President’s resolve “to always tell the people the truth.” That is good. However the national psyche should not be frequent casualty of this truth. Millions want to go with him on the journey of change, but most may sadly fall behind if the necessary ingredients of inspiration are not injected into the leadership brew. President Buhari’s PR machine needs to be more circumspect and guide the President to weigh his words. Who would want to come and invest in a country so bad-mouthed by its ruler? In modern politics and national marketing, the words of the leader give confidence to the world. Mind your language, Mr President! During the American depression of the late 1920s, President Roosevelt faced an even more morally and economically bankrupt nation. It was a nation in which bootleggers and the mafia held sway. The national till had been bastardised. Organized crime was on high and hunger and privation were the order of the day. Rather than tell the world a tale of despair, President Roosevelt rallied his nation and inspired everyone out of the recession. If the “unruly” branding is true, I

LET US USE WHAT IS GOOD ABOUT OUR LAND TO HEAL WHAT IS BAD ABOUT US think the President should rather tell the world that we have problems that are not unique to us. Let the world know that as in the Yoruba proverb, Ile ti o doja, a lasinwin, meaning a house that must be full of people like a market will also have pockets of insanity. Thus a nation as big as Nigeria must surely have her share of errant citizens. Nigeria is not that bad, Mr President. In spite of the betrayals, treachery of some and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful nation. Let us use what is good about our land to heal what is bad about us. If fear of the future is instilled in the citizenry, hope and productivity suffer. The president must roll his sleeves now and challenge us all to seek glory. Many believe he has been hiding under the canopy of PDP bashing for too long. He must stand out as a man fully ready to govern now that he has his ministers. His work is cut out: Lead with faith. And when you lead, inspire. Sir, we need you to now face the battle. Like a soldier, you shouldn’t be telling the troop about the lack of adequate weaponry due to theft by whoever. Tell the troops that they face a battle that will be won! When the over-

whelming strength of the Hitler machine devastated London during World War 2, Winston Churchill first inspired the people to brace up against a formidable enemy. Britain took the hint and the power of a united, galvanized nation destroyed the evil strength of an invading army. Mr President, your body language is giving the people the impression that we are on a terribly long journey to hope. We need that hope now and the battle against our ills will be half won. And some of Mr. President’s henchmen are not helping matters. The Facebook-savvy Governor of Kaduna State in one of his posts on Monday directly quoted the President as saying that “Nigeria has been destroyed by moral and material vandalism!” Destroyed? If we’ve been destroyed, what is left? See what I mean? If the leader of the nation regularly issues this dampener, what do you expect the rest of the world to say? We have already told the world what we are. We should then be ready to accept whatever derogatory name they give us. Let us borrow a leaf from Paul Kagame of Rwanda. Through his positive steps, he has rebranded Rwanda from a nation of butchers to an oasis of hope and business friendliness. Kagame put the pogrom of 1994 behind him and inspired his people to pursue a future with renewed hope. Let us correct the anomalies of our nation. Let us punish the deviants to serve as deterrent to others, but let us lear n to move on with hope and with faith in our nation and its people. I believe our nation is not as horrible as it is being made to look. Out of nearly two hundred million, the contrary disposition of a tiny few should not make anyone dress the whole nation in derogatory garbs. Sola wrote via solaojewusi@yahoo.com

Sport Extra Eagles vs Swaziland debacle: Elderson joins Eagles Monday to Nigeria. “We have a league game on Sunday night and it is only after that game that I could leave for the Eagles training camp,” Elderson said. Nigeria are away to Swaziland on Friday, November 13, with the return leg in Port Harcourt four days after.

However, after a rather difficult start at the helm of the Super Eagles, coach Sunday Oliseh now has something to cheer him up following Nigeria’s qualification to next year’s Championship of African Nations (CHAN) in Rwanda. The team drawn from the Nigeria

domestic league showed a big heart to eliminate Burkina Faso 2-0 on aggregate to reach the final tournament in January. It will be only the second time Nigeria have qualified for this biennial competition reserved for players plying their trade in their home leagues.

Elderson

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