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The Senate, on Tuesday, set machinery in motion to dissect issues around the $15 billion Memorandum of Understanding with the Indian government as it summoned the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Mr. Ibe

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Kachukwu, to throw light on the loan deal.

Kachikwu is also expected to explain the details of the over $80 billion MoU he signed with Chinese firms in the same sector.

The Senate resolved to summon Kachikwu after adopting a motion moved by Senator Clifford Continued on page 12

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Ondo polls: S’Court refuses to bar A’Court’s panel Ï Awards N9m punitive cost against Jimoh Ibrahim’s lawyer Ï 3 Apeal Court Judges to get N3m each for being maligned Ï Joining the Judges in suit, an attempt to undermine judiciary –Ag CJN Ï Appeal against Jegede’s joinder for hearing tomorrow

Andrew Orolua, Abuja

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Supreme Court on Tuesday, ordered the Court of Appeal, Abuja

division, to proceed and conclude the hearing of all outstanding cases emanating from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) goverContinued on page 12

Nigeria spends 13 $3.8bn importing ICT wares annually

MPC retains benchmark rate at 14%

L-R: Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Fidelity Bank Plc. and co-chairman, World Conference of Banking Institute (WCBI), Mr. Nnamdi Okonkwo; President/Chairman of Council, Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), Prof. Segun Ajibola, FCIB; Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode and 2nd Vice President, CIBN, Mr. Bayo Olugbemi, FCIB, during a courtesy visit on Ambode in his office, Lagos… on Tuesday.

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Senate urges FG to establish inland ports in Onitsha, Enugu, others 26

Local firms seek participation in transportation of crude oil

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Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, November 23, 2016

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Editorial Checking illegal migration to Europe

R

ecently, the European Union (EU) raised alarm at the number of Nigerians illegally migrating to Europe. Available statistics show that Nigeria has the fifth highest number of citizens illegally migrating to Europe in search of illusive greener pastures.

More harrowing is the fact that many have lost their lives in the bid to cross the treacherous Mediterranean Sea in rickety and sea- unworthy vessels to reach Europe. Usually, the route for this illegal migration is the Sahara desert and Libya, the former, which is not hospitable and wild, and the latter wracked by violent internecine civil war between Islamic fundamentalists. There have been many reports of how some are forced to go hungry for days and weeks and how they have managed to keep hydrated in the deserts by drinking the urine of themselves and of others. Over 10,000 Nigerian illegal migrants, in their bid to cross to Europe, had reportedly died on the high seas.

Not withstanding the tragedies, many Nigerians are still willing to risk their lives and limbs in order to escape the crushing poverty in the country. The continuing mishaps encountered by these citizens in search of better opportunities in Europe, even through illegal routes, is a sad comment on the parlous economic situation in Nigerian. It is sadder still that reports of tragedies such as these do not discourage other would-be illegal immigrants. Definitely, not many would contest that the reason behind the illegal immigration is the ever-deteriorating economic condition at home.

The presumption is that the streets of Western countries are paved with gold and that life outside Nigeria

would necessarily be better. However, who is to blame for such misconception when there is mass unemployment, decaying infrastructure and insecurity stalking the citizens at every turn?

The list of woes is unending and nothing could be more scary. Remarkably, the amount of determination and skill deployed by many of these illegal migrants shows them to be highly creative and would have been great assets to the socioeconomic development of Nigeria, if their inherent talents are developed and tapped at home. Invariably, these would be illegal migrants are not oblivious of their talents and need to put them to creative use.

However, in situations where federal government policies have progressively denied the youth segment of the population adequate opportunities in education, employment and other means of self-actualisation, the tendency is for them to escape to those countries that offer brighter opportunities even at extremely high price.

There is, no doubt, that Illegal migration has proven to be bad in every ramification. Nevertheless, stakeholders have expressed concern as to why some Nigerian youths are still risking the travel through illegal channels despite government efforts to put stop to this. We are therefore calling on the authorities to fight those ills that continue to encourage illegal migration of Nigerians to Europe. There is no gainsaying the fact that only the implementation of good policies would discourage more Nigerians from fleeing abroad as illegal immigrants. It is, therefore, imperative that governments at all levels improve conditions at home and make the governance process more citizen-friendly.

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“It isn’t the mountains ahead to climb that wear you out; it’s the pebble in your shoe.”

“You don’t have to be great to start but you have to start to be great.”

“The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear.”

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Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Central Bank of Nigeria

Communique No 109 of the Monetary Policy Committee Meeting of Monday and Tuesday 19th and 20th September 2016

T

he Monetary Policy Committee met on 19th and 20th September 2016, amidst persistently subdued global and domestic economic and financial environments. The Committee assessed the prevailing global and domestic risks to September 2016, and the outlook for the last quarter of the year. In attendance were 10 out of 12 members.

International Economic Developments The Committee acknowledged the tepid growth performance of global output, but noted the constraints imposed by lingering legacy factors, the June 23rd Brexit vote, continuing weak demand in the emerging markets and contracting productivity. Whilst the advanced economies, led by the United States, are showing signs of growth recovery, the outlook remains fraught with uncertainty as long-term government bonds have nosedived to multi-year lows on expectations of loose monetary policy from the advanced economies and continuing depressed output in the Euro Area, Japan and China. Consequently, the IMF had in July 2016, downgraded its baseline global growth forecast to 3.1 per cent from 3.2 in April. The World Bank in its June 2016 Report on Global Economic Prospects showed even less optimism in forecasting 2016 global output growth at 2.4 per cent from the 2.9 per cent in January. The subdued global growth prospects is traced to persistently weak aggregate demand in the emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs), soft commodity prices, diminished investment, contracting trade, weak demand and rising inflation. Volatility in the global financial markets appeared muted in the second quarter of the year despite the UK Brexit vote. While crude oil prices remained tepid following supply disruptions in Nigeria, Iran and Iraq.

Expectations of US interest rate hike remained ripe but not heightened.

US economic growth firmed up at a seasonally-adjusted annualized rate of 1.1 per cent in Q2 2016, although with a downward adjustment of 0.1 per cent from an earlier first estimate of 1.2 per cent. It, however, still represents a noticeable improvement compared with the 0.8 per cent growth recorded in Q1 2016. The improved performance of the economy was attributed to increased private consumption spending, a robust labor market and increased exports, even as retail sales and manufacturing output declined.

Japan’s economy expanded against the backdrop of weak wage growth and an external sector that is undermined by a strong yen, at an annualized seasonally adjusted rate of 0.2 per cent in Q2 2016 compared with 1.7 per cent in Q1 of 2016. Fearing that monetary policy may be approaching its limits, the government on 2nd August, approved a fiscal stimulus of ¼13.5 trillion (US$132 billion) in a spirited attempt to jumpstart the economy, even as the Bank of Japan (BOJ) dismissed market speculation that it was planning to stop its monthly monetary stimulus program of ¼6.7 trillion ($69.07 billion). The massive fiscal and monetary stimuli are, however, yet to have the desired impact.

Real GDP in the Euro area expanded by 0.3 per cent, a significant decline compared with the 0.6 per cent recorded in Q1 2016. Downside risks and expectations from the Brexit vote may not have

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Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Central Bank of Nigeria

Communique No 109 of the Monetary Policy Committee Meeting of Monday and Tuesday 19th and 20th September 2016 crystallized yet and no attendant major economic shock to the euro zone has yet been experienced.

As such, many of the conditions that had driven the recovery remained in place, suggesting that Q3 growth may further improve.

Following its September 8th, 2016 meeting, the Governing Council of the European Central Bank resolved to leave its key interest rates on the main refinancing operations, the marginal lending facility and the deposit facility unchanged at 0.00, 0.25 and -0.40 per cent, respectively. The Council also reaffirmed its commitment to sustain the monthly asset purchases of â‚Ź80 billion (US$90.4 billion) until end of March 2017 or until a sustained adjustment is seen on the path of inflation, towards the 2.0 per cent policy target.

5 The Bank of England (BoE), at its August 4th meeting, and in attempts to further blunt the aftershocks of the Brexit vote, decided to cut its benchmark interest rate for the first time since 2009, by 25 basis points from 0.5 per cent to 0.25 per cent, the lowest ever in the Bank’s history. The Committee voted to increase its monthly assets purchase program financed through the issuance of reserves by another 60 billion (US$80.4 billion) from 375 billion (US$502.5 billion) to 435 billion (US$582.9 billion). Furthermore, the BoE revived its financial crisis-era U.K. government bond buying program financed through the issuance of reserves, up to 10 billion ($13.4 billion), in effort to stimulate the economy and steer inflation towards its 2.0 per cent target.

While major EMDEs continue to be constrained by low capital inflow, the intractable macroeconomic environment faced in 2015 and through to the first half of this year is gradually abating. The prospects for near term full economic and financial recovery in the EMDEs remain subdued, with the IMF (WEO July 2016 Update) projected growth rate forecast for this group of countries at 4.1 per cent, a downward review from 4.3 projected in April. However, the resumption of growth is expected to be powered by rising credits and a surge in government spending.

The potential alliance between OPEC and non-OPEC members like Russia, to reduce quota, in the face of disruptions to production in Nigeria, Libya and Iraq, have aided relative stability in crude oil prices. Globally, general price levels remained tapered due to sustained low oil and other commodity prices. In the advanced economies, despite the uncertainties arising from the UK referendum, accommodative monetary policy stance of the region’s central Banks, negative interest rate in Japan and elsewhere, as well as various fiscal stimuli, global inflation has remained suppressed. As deviations in macroeconomic fundamentals in the advanced economies and the EMDEs widen, monetary policy could continue to diverge between the two in the short to medium term.

Domestic Economic and Financial Developments Output Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in August indicated that the economy had slipped into recession following another contraction in Q2, 2016. The August 2016 data showed domestic output in Q2, 2016 contracted by 2.06 per cent. This represented a decline of 1.70 percentage points in output from the - 0.36 per cent recorded in Q1, and 4.41 percentage points lower than the 2.35 per cent growth in the corresponding period of 2015. The non-oil sector contracted by 0.38 per cent, compared with the 0.18 per cent contraction in the preceding quarter. Agriculture; Other Services; Education; Arts, Entertainment & Recreation; and Information & Communication, grew by 4.53, 4.32, 2.88, 1.80 and 1.35 per cent, respectively.

The shocks associated with energy shortages and price hikes, scarcity of foreign exchange and depressed consumer demand, among others, apparently proved to be more damaging than expected.

Recognizing that the conditions which precipitated the current economic downturn were not essentially sensitive to monetary policy, the MPC again renewed its call for urgent complementary fiscal policies to resuscitate production and engineer aggregate consumption. In particular, members underscored the imperatives of diversification of the economy away from oil into agriculture, manufacturing and services as well as more efforts towards payment of salaries and arrears of public sector employees; particularly in states and local governments to stimulate aggregate consumption, as part of the overall fiscal policy menu kit. On the supply side, efforts must be intensified

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Central Bank of Nigeria

Communique No 109 of the Monetary Policy Committee Meeting of Monday and Tuesday 19th and 20th September 2016 at increased capital expenditure to redress infrastructural deficits, improve the business environment and spur growth.

Prices The Committee noted that headline inflation (year-on-year) rose again in August to 17.6 per cent, from 17.1 per cent in July 2016, thus maintaining the upward trend since January 2016. The increase in headline inflation in August reflected increases in both food and core components of inflation.

Core and food inflation have increased from 16.93 and 15.80 per cent in July to 17.2 and 16.43 per cent, respectively, in August 2016.

The Committee nonetheless, noted that the month-on-month evolution of consumer price inflation has been less phenomenal. The headline inflation index rose by 1.0 per cent in August from 1.3 per cent in July, 1.7 per cent in June; and 2.8 per cent in May 2016. Similarly, the core index has been increasing at a decreasing rate since May when it rose by 2.7 per cent. It moderated to 0.85 per cent in August from 1.22 per cent in July and 1.83 per cent in June. The same pattern of moderation is seen in the food (month-onmonth) index which rose by 1.2 per cent in August from 1.21 per cent in July, 1.4 per cent in June and 2.6 per cent in May. The MPC further noted that the pressure on consumer prices continues to be associated with reform-related legacy and structural factors including high costs of electricity, transport, production inputs, as well as higher prices of both domestic and imported food products. The MPC expects that with the onset of the harvest season, the restrictive stance of policy as well as the flexible FX regime, prices will begin to taper in the fourth quarter.

Monetary, Credit and Financial Markets Developments Broad money supply (M2) grew by 8.08 per cent in August, 2016, compared with the July level of 10.75 per cent. When annualized, M2 grew by 12.12 per cent in August 2016 above the growth benchmark of 10.98 per cent for 2016. Net domestic credit (NDC) grew by 20.09 per cent in the same period, annualized at 30.14 per cent. At this rate, the growth rate of NDC was above the provisional benchmark of 17.94 per cent for 2016. The development in NDC, essentially reflected the relative growth in credit to the private sector of 21.07 per cent in the month, annualized to 31.61 per cent. Credit to government grew by 1.99 per cent in August 2016, which annualized to a growth of 3.0 per cent compared with the growth benchmark of 13.28 per cent. The growth in M2 was traced to exchange rate effect following the depreciation of naira in the second quarter of the year.

Money market interest rates reflected liquidity conditions in the economy. Average inter-bank call rate, which stood at 15.00 per cent on 8th July 2016, closed at 30.00 per cent on August 26, 2016.

Between July 8th and 26th August 2016, interbank call rate averaged 24.95 per cent. The rates increased to 50.0 per cent on July 15, 2016. The sharp increase was attributed to the drop in net liquidity during the period.

The Committee noted a decline in the equities segment of the capital market as the All-Share Index (ASI) fell by 3.51 per cent from 28,733.90 on July 18, 2016, to 27,725.40 on September 15, 2016.

Similarly, Market Capitalization (MC) declined by 3.55 per cent from N9.87 trillion to 9.52 trillion during the same period. In addition, relative to end-December 2015, the capital market indices fell by 20.06 per cent and 3.35 per cent, respectively, reflecting the slowdown in the economy. Overall, the capital market did not show vulnerabilities to domestic and external sector developments.

External Sector Developments The average naira exchange rate weakened at the inter-bank segment of the foreign exchange market during the review period. The exchange rate at the interbank market opened at N285.25/US$ and closed at N305.90/US$, with a daily average of N302.87/US$ between July 1st and August 26, 2016. The Committee observed that total foreign exchange inflows through the CBN increased by 89.14 per cent, from US$1,092.21 million recorded in July to US$2,065.79 million in August 2016.

This increase was due mainly to receipts of foreign flows within the month. Total outflows, how-

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Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Central Bank of Nigeria

Communique No 109 of the Monetary Policy Committee Meeting of Monday and Tuesday 19th and 20th September 2016 ever, decreased by 4.57 per cent from US$2,728.12 million to US$2,603.35 during the same period.

In efforts to deepen the foreign exchange market and stabilize the financial markets generally, a number of policy instruments were deployed since the last MPC meeting, including an increase in the benchmark interest rate and the directive to IMTOs to sell forex directly to Bureau de Change Operators, in order to improve liquidity in that segment of the foreign exchange market. While challenges remained, the Committee expressed optimism the policy menu was in the right mix.

The Committee’s Considerations The Committee acknowledged the weak macroeconomic performance and the challenges confronting the economy, but noted that the MPC had consistently called attention to the implications of the absence of robust fiscal policy to complement monetary policy in the past. The Committee also assessed the impact of its decision to tighten the stance of monetary policy by raising the MPR in July 2016. At the time, the Committee understood the complexity of the challenges facing the economy and the difficulty of arriving at an optimal policy mix to address rising inflation and economic contraction, simultaneously. The Committee also recognized that monetary policy had been substantially burdened since 2009 and had been stretched. The Committee noted that new capital flows into the economy, approximately US$1 billion, had come in since July, while month-on-month inflation has declined continuously since May 2016. Against this background, members reemphasized the need to channel monetary policy instruments essentially in addressing stability issues around key prices (consumer prices and exchange rate) as prerequisites for growth. The MPC noted that stagflation was indeed a very difficult economic condition with no quick fixes: having been imposed by supply shocks, culminating in twin deficits: fiscal and current account. Consequently, the policy framework must be reengineered urgently to provide a lever for reversing the negative growth trend. While the imperative for ensuring financial system stability remains, the MPC reiterated the fact that monetary policy alone cannot move the economy out of its present condition.

The MPC considered the numerous analysis and calls for rates reduction but came to the conclusion that the greatest challenge to the economy today remains incomplete structural reforms which raise costs, risks and uncertainty. The calls came mainly from the belief that reducing interest rates will spur credit growth to promote consumption and investment spending not only in the private sector but also by the public sector. The Committee was of the view that in the past, the MPC had reduced rates ostensibly to achieve the above objectives; but found that rather than deploy the available liquidity to provide credit to agriculture and the manufacturing sectors, the rate cuts provided opportunities for lending to traders who deployed the same liquidity in putting pressure on the foreign exchange market which had limited supply, thus pushing up the exchange rate.

With respect to providing opportunity to the public sector to borrow at lower rates, the Committee agreed that while it was expected to stimulate growth by encouraging aggressive spending, doing so without corresponding efforts to boost industrial output by taking actions to deepen foreign exchange supply for raw materials will not help reduce unemployment nor would it boost industrial capacities. The Committee was also of the view that consumer demand for goods which will be boosted through increased spending may indeed be chasing too few goods which may further exacerbate the already heightened inflationary conditions. The urgency of a monetary-fiscal policy retreat along with trade and budgetary policy, to design a comprehensive intervention mechanism is long overdue.

The Bank has since 2009 expanded its balance sheet to bail out the financial system and support growth initiatives in the economy. While stimulating economic growth and creating a congenial investment climate always is and remains essentially the realm of fiscal policy; monetary policy in all cases only comes in to support sound fiscal policy. Nevertheless, the Bank has and shall continue to deploy its development finance interventions to complement the overall effort of fiscal policy towards reinvigorating the economy. The interest rate decisions of the Bank are, therefore, anchored on sound judgment, fundamentals and compelling arguments for such policy directions. The Committee also feels that there was the need to continue to encourage the inflow of foreign capital into the economy by continuing to put in place incentives to gain the confidence of players in this seg-

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Central Bank of Nigeria

Communique No 109 of the Monetary Policy Committee Meeting of Monday and Tuesday 19th and 20th September 2016 ment of the foreign exchange market.

Consequently the Committee considers that loosening monetary policy now is not advisable as real interest rates are negative, heightened demand pressure exists in the foreign exchange market while inflation is trending upwards.

The Committee noted the positive response of the deposit money banks (DMBs) to the Bank’s call for increased credit to the private sector between July and August. As the growth in the monetary aggregates spiked above their provisional benchmarks, headline inflation continued its upward trajectory in August 2016, and now close to twice the size of the upper limit of the policy reference band. Supply side factors including energy and utility prices, transportation and input costs, have continued to add to consumer price pressures. Members emphasized that improved fiscal activities, especially, the active implementation of the 2016 Federal Budget, and payment of salaries by states and local governments, will go a long way in contributing to economic recovery. In the same direction, the Committee urged the fiscal authorities to consider tax incentives as a stimulus on both supply and demand side of economic activities Outlook The data available to the Committee and forecasts of key variables suggest that the outlook for inflation in the medium term appears benign. First, month-on-month inflation has since May 2016 turned the curve; second, harvests have started to kick-in for most agricultural produce and should contribute to dampening consumer prices in the months ahead; and third, the current stance of monetary policy is expected to continue to help lock-in inflation expectations which, has started to improve with the gradual return of stability in the foreign exchange market. In this light, the MPC believes that as inflows improve, the naira exchange rate should further stabilize. Overall, the major pressure points remain the challenges in the oil sector (production and prices), output contraction, and other financial system vulnerabilities as well as foreign exchange shortage.

The Committee’s Decisions The Committee assessed the relevant risks, and concluded that the economy continues to face elevated risks on both price and output fronts. However, given its primary mandate and considering the limitations of its instruments with respect to output, the Committee elected to retain the current stance of policy, evoked at its last meeting when it raised the MPR from 12 to 14 per cent.

Conscious of the need to allow this and other measures like the foreign exchange market reforms to work through fully, the Committee decided to retain all the monetary policy instruments at their current levels.

In summary, all 10 MPC members voted to: (i)Retain the MPR at 14.00 per cent; (ii) Retain the CRR at 22.5 per cent; (iii) Retain the Liquidity Ratio at 30.00 per cent; and (iv) Retain the Asymmetric Window at +200 and -500 basis points around the MPR Thank you for listening.

Godwin I. Emefiele

Governor, Central Bank of Nigeria 20th September 2016

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Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Politics

Wike

s

Amaechi

Dakuku

Cycle of violence: Who can calm stormy Rivers?

Amaka Agbu, Port Harcourt Who will pull the chestnut out of the fire? Who will stop Rivers State from continually boiling over?

Who will appease the gods of the rivers?

You are confronted with questions and questions and no one seems to know the answers.

The cup of political violence started running over last year with the general elections that took place in all parts of the country. There were pockets of violence here and there in other states, but Rivers certainly took the first prize in infamy.

The European Union Election Observer Team confirmed the large-scale violence that characterised the April 11, 2015 polls, saying: “Problems were most pronounced in Rivers and Akwa Ibom states.” The EU team reported 30 deaths nationwide with most occurring in the two states, while the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), said there were 66 incidents of violence targeted at its officials in 19 states during the elections.

Rivers State has always had some sprinkling of political violence since the 2003 general elections. However, what was witnessed before, during, and after the 2015 general elections appeared to have come from the pit of hell.

A number of reasons may be advanced as to why Rivers State became a hot bed of political violence. One of the reasons could be the intense struggle for power between the then Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi and his bitter rival, Chief Nyesom Wike. This battle for supremacy manifested in 2014 when Wike allegedly sponsored five out of the 32 members of the Rivers State House of

Assembly to attempt the impeachment of the Speaker to pave way for the impeachment of Amaechi.

The bitterness goes deep down. So, during the 2015 general elections, it was a straight fight between the All Progressive Congress (APC), and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). The polling was still on when Amaechi started crying foul. He accused the electoral commissioner in charge of Rivers State of deliberately truncating the electoral process so as to favour the PDP. Amaechi, who was the governor then, called for the immediate cancellation of the polls conducted in the state. He personally led other APC supporters to the Rivers INEC office in Port Harcourt to demand the cancellation of the polls.

The subsequent utterances of the leaders of both parties set the stage for violent disputations and confrontations.

Despite the ruckus, INEC went ahead to declare the governorship candidate of the PDP, Chief Nyesom Wike, as the winner of the April 11, 2015 governorship elections in the state. The results prompted the APC and its candidate, Dr Dakuku Peterside, to seek redress at the tribunal.

That challenge brought what members of the PDP saw as pyrrhic victories at both the tribunal and Court of Appeal.

However, the Supreme Court verdict of Wednesday, January 27, upheld the mandate of Governor Wike and validated.

Following his victory at the Supreme Court, Governor Wike was emboldened and he started shoring up his defenses.

Seeing that the re-run elections could pose fresh dangers for him and his party, the governor literally threw caution to the winds. He started issuing threats to the opposition and officials of INEC. He boasted that any attempt to rig the

What people do not understand is that armed robbers do not only rob banks they can also use guns to rob our votes. They are all armed robbers.

So if they are coming with clean hands to conduct free and fair elections, they have nothing to fear.

Therefore I will stand firm to fight armed robbers. So my APC brothers should join me to fight those with guns to steal our votes. Nobody will sit in Abuja and write the Rivers State results legislative re-run elections would attract dire consequences. According to him, those who plan to rig elections would be treated as armed robbers. He declared: “Anybody who would come to the state with the intention of stealing our votes by force of arms will be treated as an armed robber because armed robbers do not only steal money in Banks. Anybody who plans to rig our election would be resisted.

“So any armed robber coming to the state on March 19 for rerun election

should first call his wife, his first son, and his lawyer to write his will because he would not come back. I have no apologies for saying that because Rivers is PDP and PDP is Rivers State,” Wike said while addressing his supporters at his inter-denominational thanksgiving and victory service in Port Harcourt on Saturday, February 27.

He continued: “The Federal Government promises to conduct free and fair elections. We will support them. But we will not support stealing of our votes.

So I am surprised that whenever I say those who want to steal our votes will be treated as armed robbers, they say I am threatening them. Yes, I will continue to threaten armed robbers.

“What people do not understand is that armed robbers do not only rob banks they can also use guns to rob our votes. They are all armed robbers. So if they are coming with clean hands to conduct free and fair elections, they have nothing to fear. Therefore I will stand firm to fight armed robbers. So my APC brothers should join me to fight those with guns to steal our votes. Nobody will sit in Abuja and write the Rivers State results,” he said.

Reacting swiftly, Senator Magnus Abe, the APC candidate in the Rivers South East Senatorial District re-run election slammed Governor Wike for threats against his life and that of officials of INEC, saying: “There is an evil in Rivers State and I have chosen to speak against it. If anything happens to me, Nigerians, Rivers, Ogoni people, and my family should hold Governor Nyesom Wike and his PDP responsible because the threat against my life is too much.

“In the last two weeks, five events have occurred to raise red flags relating

to insecurity and electoral violence in Rivers State. The first was the slaughter of 24 people in one day at Omoku in Ogba Egbema Ndoni LGA of Rivers State. The second was the attack on the military at Yeghe town in Gokana Local Government Area by well-armed militant youths after it was alleged the army killed some residents in the area.

“The third was the burning down of the campaign office of Senator Magnus Abe at Bori, Khana LGA by suspected political thugs. The fourth was the killing of 18 people following gun-duels in Gokana and Khana Local Government Area of Rivers State. The last was an attack on a bank and the engagement of citizens and the Police by armed robbers at the new GRA axis of Port Harcourt,” Senator Abe enumerated.

At this point, anything was possible in the state. The state was virtually in flames and the political gladiators were busy fanning the embers. Both Amaechi and Wike were short of exchanging fisticuffs.

In an attempt to head off the storm which was already raging, the Rivers State government petitioned the United Nations, UN, European Union, EU, African Union, AU, and the governments of about 50 countries demanding global surveillance on the process to ensure the conduct of a free, fair, and credible election in the state. This came as Amaechi challenged Wike to stop him if he had the powers as he (Amaechi) would be at Wike’s ward on Election Day. The petition from the state government, which was signed by the state Commissioner for Information and Communications, Dr. Austin Tam-George, and CONTINUED ON PAGE 11

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, November 23, 2016

11 Politics

Ondo polls: We will not postpone election, says INEC Patrick Okohue Despite the continuous clamour for the postponement of the Saturday, November 30, governorship election in Ondo State, by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and 20 opposition political parties and youths, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) yesterday insisted that it will go on with the elections, as there were not enough reasons to do otherwise.

Responding to a question by The Daily Times yesterday, the Chief Press Secretary to the INEC chairman, Mr. Rotimi Oyekanmi, said none of the grounds for which those

calling for the postponement meets the requirement of the law to do so.

According to Oyekanmi, “As I write this, INEC has no plan to and does not intend to postpone the election. Preparations for the Ondo governorship election started since March and 12 out of 14 activities planned for the poll have already been carried out.

“Besides, the grounds for postponing any election are enshrined in the Electoral Law and certainly, such calls for postponement are not one of the grounds.

“The 13th activity, namely the stakeholders’ forum will begin shortly here in Akure today (Tuesday). The commission therefore will

not postpone the election,” he said.

It will be recalled that 20 opposition political parties and youths in Ondo State joined the PDP on Monday to seek the postponement of the poll, warning that the level of insecurity in the state due to unresolved legal issues concerning the PDP candidate in the governorship race could rise to alarming proportions.

Their position was further enhancedby Governor Olusegun Mimiko who on Monday visited President Muhammadu Buhari, to according to him, apprise the President of the looming security threat in the state over the governorship election.

While briefing newsmen in Abuja

over the matter on Monday, after a meeting of the National Caretaker Committee of the PDP, with former ministers from the party’s platform, the spokesman of the PDP, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, said since INEC was partly responsible for creating the confusion over its candidacy, the body should postpone the election to allow the court decide on who should pick the ticket of the PDP. According to him, “The point we are trying to make is that INEC should immediately postpone the Ondo election. We have reasons for saying that. In the case of Edo State, they postponed it for no just cause.

In the case of Rivers, they also postponed it, and with respect to Ondo

State there is enough justification for postponing the election.

“The fact is that a major political party has issues regarding its candidacy and in a matter that was principally caused by INEC, because it monitored the primary conducted by the National Caretaker Committee which produced Eyitayo Jegede as the PDP candidate for the election.

“It did not monitor the primary conducted far away in Ibadan by the Sheriff-led illegal committee that produced Jimoh Ibrahim. And when candidates’ names were announced, Jegede’s name was announced as the candidate of the party,” Adeyeye said.

Cycle of violence: Who can calm stormy Rivers?

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10

sent to the embassies of the 50 countries, read in part: “I write on behalf of the government and people of Rivers State, Nigeria, to inform you respectfully of the imminent danger posed to the peace and stability of Rivers State by the actions and provocative utterances of the leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC).”

The commissioner accused APC leaders in Rivers State, notably Amaechi and the APC candidate in the last governorship election in the state, Dr. Dakuku Peterside, of resorting to “intimidation and openly inciting violence against members of the PDP and anyone who holds a different political view in the state.”

The petition added: “In a series of media interviews that began with an appearance on ‘Focus Nigeria’ a live programme on African Independent Television (AIT) in Abuja and radio stations in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi, the Minister of Transportation in Nigeria, continues to use language that is both inciting and dangerously divisive.”

The state government expressed disappointment over the fact that repeated appeals to the President to call Amaechi to order had gone unheeded, and warned that the eruption of violence in a state like Rivers, with “multi-ethnic fault lines could cripple Nigeria’s ailing economy and reverberate across the country’s borders.”

Former Governor Amaechi insisted that he would monitor elections in Wike’s ward to prove that the governor has no powers to stop anybody from partaking in the process. Addressing APC supporters in Etche and Gokana Local Government Areas, Amaechi said he had enough security to counter any threat that Wike would muster, adding that he was looking forward to an encounter between the forces.

Wike countered, declaring that any attempt by the former governor to move around polling booths on election day would be vehemently resisted by the people who would publicly disgrace Amaechi for violating the electoral guidelines.

The threats and counter threats got

Abe

to a ridiculous point where some voters began to see voting as a death warrant.

Speaking during the grand finale of the Rivers East Senatorial District campaign rally of the PDP at Elele in Ikwerre LGA, Wike said: “All those who plan to swap result sheets, may their souls rest in peace. Nobody will rig in Rivers State.

“Anybody who thinks Amaechi will give them result sheets to swap should be ready to swap their dead bodies. I have told the REC, you were here before, you can’t play games with me.” Both the APC and the PDP sought the President’s intervention to douse the flames of political violence.

The APC leaders in the state appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to take decisive action to end the lingering political violence and bring the perpetrators to book. The party made the request in a statement in which it commended the President for coming out boldly to condemn the needless carnage in Rivers and to describe it as “worrisome”.

The Rivers APC Chairman, Dr. Davies Ikanya, said: “We received with happiness the recent statement credited to President Muhammadu Buhari that the murderous re-run election in Rivers State was shameful, unfortunate and barbaric. We agree with Mr. President

Idiris

that more Nigerians have been killed in Rivers than any other state in the country.

“Our question is what are the steps to be taken by the Federal Government to secure the state and her people? That Rivers State has been turned into a killing field should give all Nigerians concern because we don’t know who will be the next victim as the Army, Police, youth corps members and hapless Rivers residents are not spared.”

President Buhari had spoken while in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, through his media aide, Mr Femi Adesina. He vowed to deal with the sponsors of the violence decisively, adding that the killing of people over political differences was primitive, barbaric and unacceptable.

“We will show that violence in any form will no longer be tolerated before, during or after elections,” the President said at an interactive meeting with Nigerians resident in Equatorial Guinea.

Many groups, including the Beyond Boundaries Legacy Leadership Initiative (BBLLI) called on the United States government to assist in the investigation of the killings that occurred on March 19 during the Rivers State re-run elections.

The organisation called special attention to the murder of Samuel Dumebi Okonta, a youth corps member who was

assisting INEC during the elections. In a letter addressed to the US Ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwhistle, BBLLI stated that Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike should be held responsible for the violence that afflicted the rerun elections.

“The unpleasant atmosphere created by stakeholders of the two major parties – the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) – particularly the series of unwarranted threats by Governor Wike, no doubt are at the root of the wanton killings and destruction of property,” said Anthony Onuya Yusuf, the BBLLI Director of Monitoring and Evaluation.

“We have it on record that Governor Wike, who is statutorily duty-bound as the chief security officer to maintain peace, law and order in Rivers State, openly threatened violence and death to stakeholders before and during the rerun elections,” the statement said.

Several months after the re-run elections, tragedy struck again. This time, an activist lawyer, Ken Atsuete was killed in cold blood by unknown assailants. The APC blamed Governor Wike and the PDP for the gruesome murder of “a strong opposition voice in the state.”

Rivers APC in a statement said: “Barr.

Atsuete, a renowned human rights ac-

tivist who was one of the speakers at the just concluded conference of the Nigerian Bar Association held in Port Harcourt, must have been assassinated principally for his stoic stand against the Wike administration in Rivers State.”

Rivers APC lamented that over 200 of its members have been killed in less than two years, noting that “the strategy has changed, with the targets now being those defending the APC in Rivers State, after which the leaders of APC will be the next group to be destroyed.”

The party regretted that Atsuete’s assassination allegedly came shortly after Governor Wike recently attended a security meeting in Abuja with the Inspector General of Police, Director of Directorate of State Service (DSS), and Rivers APC leaders, Rt. Hon. Chibuike Amaechi, Senator Magnus Abe, Dr. Dakuku Peterside and Dr. Davies Ikanya. It recalled that Wike at that peace meeting promised that there would no longer be any political killings in Rivers State.

PDP leaders in the state claimed that the key objective of APC was to conquer Rivers State, having failed to do so at the polls and at the courts. They accuse the APC of deliberately painting, amplifying and broadcasting a gloomy picture of perpetual doom in Rivers State.

The smouldering fire was once again fanned into flames when INEC announced December 10 as a new date for the jinxed re-run elections. Already, the political temperature is rising to a feverish pitch. On November 17, the bubble burst again. The two political parties took to the streets of Port Harcourt, to protest for different reasons.

While APC supporters protested that two of their elected members in the state House of Assembly were yet to be sworn in, the PDP supporters said they were out to register their support for the leadership of the House and the government of Rivers State.

At the end of the day, there was a clash between the PDP supporters and the police. Many people were reportedly injured. So, once again, another round of accusations and counter accusations ensued. Will December 10 settle the scores?

News 12

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Ondo polls: S’Court refuses to bar A’Court’s panel Continued from page 1 norship primaries in Ondo state.

It dismissed the motion filed

by Chief Biyi Poroye seeking to disband the second panel of justices of Court of Appeal set up to hear all appeals emanating from Ondo state PDP governorship primary.

The Court of Appeal had last week Thursday, abruptly suspended, indefinitely, the judgment and hearing of appeals emanating from the PDP gubernatorial primaries in Ondo state after the Modu Sheriff faction of the party brought a motion accusing Justice Ibrahim Saulawa of bias.

But in its ruling, yesterday, the Supreme Court dismissed the motions for lack of merit and awarded a punitive cost of N1 million each to the three justices of the Court of Appeal’s panel on each of the three motions where their names were mentioned as respondents to the appeal. The court ruled that the total cost, about N9 million, is to be paid personally by Beluolisa Nwofor (SAN), counsel to Chief Biyi Poroye.

The court also awarded N500, 000 cost against the appellant (Chief Biyi Poroye) in favour of each of the respondents, excluding the justices.

Nwofor (SAN), the lead counsel to Chief Poroye, whose PDP faction nominated Jimoh Ibrahim, had brought the motion seeking to disband Justices Ibrahim Saulawa, Ignatus Igwe

Agube, Gorge Mbaba panel.

Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Walter Onnoghen, in his lead ruling, said he had carefully gone through the 14 motions and the exhibits attached, and “I observed that earlier in the proceedings, Nwofor had withdrawn the motion seeking a stay of proceeding and the motion was dismissed.”

Onnoghen said that the jus-

tices of Court of Appeal were not party to the appeal. “Joining the Justices is not only an intimidation but attempt to undermine the judiciary.

“It is on record that applicants have earlier petitioned and disbanded the first panel,” he said, adding that if allowed to continue with such prank, there will not be justice in the country and it will not augur

well for our democracy.”

Nwofor (SAN) had last week filed the interlocutory appeal, which generated 14 separate motions following the Court of Appeal ruling that granted Eyitayo Jegede, a contender for the PDP governorship candidacy, to be joined and appeal against the judgment of Federal High Court that gave Jimoh Ibrahim the PDP governorship ticket.

But at the hearing, Nwofor (SAN) withdrew his motion for stay of proceedings. The court consequently dismissed it because the respondents have responded to the motion.

The main appeal challenging the permission granted Eyitayo Jegede to appeal against the Federal High Court judgment has been fixed for Thursday this week for hearing.

L-R: Deputy Governor of Edo State, Mr. Philip Shuaibu; British High Commissioner to Nigeria, Mr. Paul Arkwright; Chairman, Guinness Nigeria Plc., Mr. Babatunde Savage; Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki and Managing Director, Guinness Nigeria Plc., Mr. Peter Ndegwa, during inauguration of the new Guinness Spirits Production line at the Guinness Benin Brewery, Ikpoba Hill in Benin… on Tuesday.

Senate summons Kachikwu over $15bn MoU with Indian govt Continued from page 1

Odia (Edo Central) titled, ‘The need for a detailed explanation of the $15 billion proposed investment with Indian Government and over $80 billion MoU signed by the Minister of State for Petroleum with Chinese firms’ during the plenary.

According to the motion, the minister should appear before the Senate joint committee on Petroleum Upstream, Gas and Foreign Affairs to proffer a detailed explanation of the MoU signed in China and the proposed MoU with India and their anticipated impact on the country’s economy.

Senator Ordia in his lead debate drew attention of the Senate that the Minister of State for Pe-

troleum negotiated a $15 billion investment with India where the Indian government would make an upfront payment to Nigeria for crude oil purchase.

The Edo Central lawmaker told the Senate that the two countries have agreed to sign an MoU to facilitate investments by India in the Nigerian oil and gas sector and specifically in areas such as refining, oil and gas marketing, upstream ventures, development of gas infrastructure and the training of oil and gas personnel in the country.

He noted that the minister also carried out a road-show in China where a MoU worth over $80 billion to be spent on investments in oil and gas infrastructure, pipe lines, refineries, power, facility

refurbishment and upstream financing spanning five years were signed with Chinese companies.

Senator Ordia listed the Chinese firms involved in the MoU to include China North Industries Corporation (NORINCO Group), China Cinda Asset Management Company Limited (CINDA), China National Offshore Oil Corporation, China Petroleum, China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation/Addax Petroleum and International Chamber of Commerce/ China National Development and Reform Commission.

He noted that outside the MoUs for $80 billion investment, the two largest oil companies in China, Sinopec and CNOOC, signed investment MoUs with the minister committing the companies to fur-

ther investments in the country’s upstream oil sub-sector to the tune of $20 billion.

Senate Leader, Mohammed Ali Ndume, had sought further explanations on whether the minister has the power to endorse any MoU involving billions of dollars without the participation and endorsement of the National Assembly.

Senator Abdullahi Adamu explained that what the minister did was ‘a mere intention that has not matured.”

Senator Adamu noted that when the deal matures, the National Assembly will be brought into the deal.

Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, in his remarks, thanked the movers of the motion

for drawing attention of the Senate to the MoU. He said the essence of the motion was to ensure transparency in a matter that involves future investment in the oil and gas sector of the country.

The minister signed the MoU in June 2016.

Kachikwu

Daily Times Nigeria zƆƗ Ɔ Ɨ ƕè M ƒƆƌƄƆƏ ƾƢè ƾƠơÕ

MPC retains benchmark rate at 14% ÏÏÏ The Monetary Policy Com-

mittee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Tuesday, kept the Monetary Policy Rate (MPC), otherwise called Benchmark Rate, at 14 per cent, Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) at 22.5 per cent and Liquidity Ratio at 30 per cent due to some economic uncertainties.

Available data and forecasts of key economic variables indicate that the outlook for growth and inflation in the medium term continue to be challenging while growth is expected to remain less robust given the absence of sufficient fiscal space. Current tight stance of monetary policy and 25 improved agricultural harvests are expected to contain further price increases and moderate price expectations as the trend has already revealed.

The Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, said that the committee assessed the relevant risks to the global and domestic economy and concluded that the risks to the economy remained highly elevated on two fronts of price and output.

The MPC, also, said that it endorsed the raids on the foreign exchange operators by the security agencies, adding that they should sustain their checks on the activities of illegal foreign exchange operators in order to bring sanity to that segment of the market.

It reiterated that the extant foreign exchange regulation outlaws the trafficking of currency on the streets as some unlicensed operators currently do.

Mr. Emefiele, who read the communiqué after the meeting said, “considering the importance of price stability, and being mindful of the limitations of monetary policy in influencing output and employment under conditions of stagflation, the committee decided unanimously in favour of retaining the current stance of monetary policy, thus keeping the MPR at 14.0 per cent alongside all other policy parameters.”

He revealed that members took a unanimous decision to retain the MPR at 14 per cent, CRR at 22.5 per cent, and Liquidity Ratio at 30.00 per cent, while also retaining the Asymmetric Window at +200 and -500 basis points around the MPR. Analysts were quick to point out that the decision of the MPC was borne out of NBS report, which few days ago, showed that real income actually worsened in Q3, 2016 as output contracted further by 2.24 per cent.

Similarly, the NBS report further indicated that the non-oil sector grew by 0.03 per cent, driven by agriculture, which grew by 4.54 per cent, following the 0.38 per cent contraction in Q2 2016.

13 News

Local firms seek participation in transportation of crude oil ÏÏÏ Some operators in the petro-

leum industry on Tuesday said the non-participation of indigenous vessel owners in transportation of crude oil had created a setback for the economy.

They told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in separate interviews in Lagos that the problem was denying indigenous firms the necessary capital to build-up capacity, while encouraging capital flight.

The Logistics and Facility Manager, International Oil Companies (IOCs), Mr. Robinson Elerubo, said that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) over the years, had been giving foreign companies the contract to

transport crude.

“I do not see the big thing these foreign companies are doing that the indigenous ones cannot do.

“It is not in our national interest that our companies are relegated to the background in the transportation of crude oil.

“The nation is losing a great deal and capital flight is the order of the day as many of these companies involved in crude transportation, repatriate the proceeds to their countries,’’ Elerubo said.

He said at this moment, the Federal Government ought to block every revenue leakage to save the nation’s economy.

A transport broker, Mr. Uba Basil-Ajala, said that denying the

indigenous transporters the slots in carriage of crude oil was “antidevelopment.’’

Basil-Ajala said that the stringent conditions being given by government agencies for indigenous companies to participate in the transportation of crude favoured foreign firms who had access to cheap loans.

“Of what advantage is it for us to put guidelines which companies in our society cannot meet; making the foreign ones to continue to have a field day.

“With indigenous carriers carrying our crude, many jobs will be available on-board for our teeming youths and seafarers,’’ he said.

According to him, the indigenous players are not comfortable with the trend because we are being sidelined.

He suggested that the Federal Government should streamline its policies to encourage domestic businesses.

The Head of Emergency Services, Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Mr. Akin Oderinde, said the agency was working in collaboration with the NNPC to make a national fleet feasible.

“The national fleet which is to be operated on Private Partnership Participation basis will assist in growing the economy of the nation”, he said.

Gé`ë Lƈ ƈ ƐƆƏ Ƈ dƐ ƐƆ Ƈ Ə &ƗƑƅ Ɛƈ è ^Ə Ƈê Ɛ ƕ ƓƑƊ ì &ƔƆƅƑƐƈƒƆ dƆƅƏƆƐ Əƕè M Ɛƈ Ƌ n ƈƒƆƏ ƈƐƈƆ ƌƌƈ ƈ è ^Ə Ƈê ƄƑƄ Ɗ Ə ` ƆƆƗ Ɨ Ƈ ƏƌƆƏ Lƈ ƈ ƐƆƏ Ƈ ^ ƓƆƏè ^Ə Ƈê ƈ ƆƗƑ MƆƄ è ƗƑƏƈ Ɛ Ɔ ƍƏƆ Ɔ Ɛ Ɛƈ Ƈ ƍƏ ƒƈ ƈ Ƌ ƋƈƅƆ ƅƆ Ɛ Ɔƈ Ɛ ƆƓ ƍƏƈƒ ƐƆ Ƒ ƈƒƆƏ ƈƐƈƆ ƈ ƄƑƉ Č jƑƆ Ɨ ƕê

Nigeria spends $3.8bn importing ICT wares annually ÏÏÏ

Nigeria loses $3.8 billion (about N11.4 trillion) annually from importation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) goods and services, including software and hardware imports.

This figure was given on Tuesday by the Director General of the Nigeria Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mr. Isa Ali Ibrahim Pantami, during the 9th edition of eNigeria in Abuja.

He explained that locally manufactured or assembled computers in the country represent less than eight percent of all the computers used in the country.

According to him, “Nigeria is projected to expend about $143.8 billion on ICT by 2019, a large sum that translates to over seven times the value of the 2016 national budget.

“We strongly plead with our international manufacturers to domesticate their products in order to achieve a win-win relationship,” he said.

He further explained that, “within the limits of the mandate

that set up NITDA, we are repositioning ourselves to filter the IT gadgets being imported to the country in the overall interest of the nation.

“We want to transform NITDA from its administrative outlook to IT-driven and knowledge-based agency, and we request the support of all to materialize this aspiration.”

He pointed out that “there is tremendous gain to be made from a Local Content Policy that encourages the development of local ICT products and services. Among other things, it will significantly reduce capital flight.

“In addition to the emphasis that NITDA will lay on regulation, local content development and capacity building, we are making concerted efforts to create, as well as review, existing standards and guidelines. This will enable us to regulate the sector in line with the highest global standards.

“We are committed to ensuring that the proliferation of fake and sub-standard ICT products and services in the country is eliminated or at least, significantly cur-

tailed.

Mr. Pantami promised that “security in the 21st century is highly reliant on ICTs and we want to encourage the development of ICTenabled security services across all sectors of the economy.

In addition to our support for the use of ICT for physical security, we are also committed to ensuring the cyber security of our nation. Our Computer Emergency Readiness and Response team (CERRT) and our Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) project will support in these efforts.

“Job creation is also very important to us at NITDA. According to the National Bureau of Statistics’ national youth survey report, there are nearly 70 million people in the 15 to 35 age bracket.

“Unfortunately, they also report that over half of these are unemployed, and many more are underemployed. We recognize that this challenge gives us a good opportunity to use ICT to empower our youth, create jobs and generate revenue for the country.

“Interestingly, the Federal Government of Nigeria through the

office of the Vice-President created 200,000 jobs for Nigerians.

He further noted that in order to bring about the realization of the objectives set up under his leadership, NITDA will correct irregularities, fight corrupt practices and resist unnecessary and unproductive interference in the affairs of the agency. He called on all Nigerians, particularly IT stakeholders, to work toward the fulfillment of the task.

In his keynote address, Prof.

Abubakar Daniel Sambo, said nations of the world that are aware of the global knowledge economy are flourishing by optimising the benefits of ICT. The former Director General of Energy Commission reminisced that before independence, Nigeria relied majorly on agriculture for its foreign exchange earnings.

He however said that practice was gradually taken over by oil, which provided the nation with substantial income but which has recently lost its relevance with its dwindling price in the international market that has, amongst others, led Nigeria to recession.

14 Opinion

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Denoting Trumpism and Buharism as word of the year

Y

Farooq A. Kperogi

ou are probably already aware that Oxford Dictionaries’ word of the year is “post-truth.” It is an adjective, which the dictionaries define as “relating or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.”

In other words, the word signifies the demotion of verifiable empirical proofs and the elevation of feelings, biases, prejudices, etc. in the formulation of thought-processes and courses of action. The reality the world lexicalises is not by any means new, but it is a voguish new addition to our vocabulary.

“Post-truth” joins a long list of trendy words that capture the sense of instability and dislocation that has accompanied human progress in the last few decades. Words like “postmodern,” “post-Christian,” “post-structural,” “post-Marxist,” “post-feminism,” etc. have existed in the English lexicon, especially in academese. Nevertheless, they are no longer the awkward academic neologisms they were years ago; they are now crossing over to mainstream usage.

“Post-truth” most certainly derived etymological inspiration from the arcane language of humanities and social science scholars who seem enamoured with the “post” prefix.

However, it is a useful concept to explain the dissolution of certainties, the explosion of settled narratives, and the stubborn persistence of wrong, mistaken, and patently false beliefs even in the face of what lawyers call clear evidentiary proofs.

It is telling that “post-truth’s” lexical birth was actuated by two politically consequential seismic shocks the world just experienced: Brexit and the election of Donald Trump.

“It’s not surprising that our choice reflects a year dominated by highly-charged political and social discourse,” Oxford Dictionaries president Casper Grathwohl told the AFP. “Fuelled by the rise of social media as a news source and a growing distrust of facts offered up by the establishment, ‘post-truth’ as a concept has been finding its linguistic footing for some time. We first saw the frequency really spike this year in June with buzz over the Brexit vote and again in July when Donald Trump secured the Republican presidential nomination.”

It is not just Brexit and Trumpism that luxuriate in and exploit our emergent post-truth world; posttruthism is also the lifeblood of the President Muhammadu Buhari administration in Nigeria. In the face of its crying failures and ineptitude amid the worst economic crisis in recent memory, the administration is whipping up emotions, turning logic on its head, and doing so much unconscionable violence to truth and basic decency as a defence mecha-

nism.

Lies, deceit, and mindless propaganda are now the oxygen of the Buhari administration. If you deprive it of lies, deceit, and mindless propaganda, it will suffocate and die.

In addition, there is a shrinking but nonetheless potent corps of Buharists, especially in the Muslim north, who perpetually lie to themselves—and to others—to the point of believing their own lies that Buhari’s administration is the saviour of the nation. For example, they believe lies that Boko Haram has been “technically” defeated. The facts of the unceasing Boko Haram attacks in Borno State and the tragic spike in the murder of soldiers there do nothing to change this narrative.

The fact that Nigerian soldiers have not been paid their legitimate salaries, not to talk of allowances, for at least three months is hidden from the public by government’s propaganda machine and is dismissed as “untrue” by Buhari supporters.

So is the heartrending malnutrition among, and deaths of, internally displaced Boko Haram victims, especially children—and the sexual exploitation of their young women.

Buhari is hailed as “fighting corruption” even when no one has been prosecuted for corruption more than one year after the government came to power—and when clear cases of corruption against the president’s own loyalists are brazenly swept under the carpet. Post-truths Buharists almost always retort that “corruption is fighting back” when anybody calls attention to the invidious selectivity and insincerity in the so-called fight against corruption.

Buhari is still called a “man of integrity” even when it came to light that he didn’t tell Nigerians the truth when he claimed he was so poor that he couldn’t afford to buy his party’s presidential nomination form and had to take a bank loan. At the time

he made the claim, at least two of his children were studying at UK universities.

The president had said in the past that he had no other house outside Kaduna and Daura, but his partial, half-hearted asset declaration in 2015 said he has a house in Abuja. Only multi-millionaires and billionaires own homes in Abuja. Yet, the president feigned that he was poor in order to win voters’ sympathy—and their donations.

He has repudiated even his most basic campaign promises, such as fully declaring his assets, yet he is touted as a “man of integrity.”

He is called a “frugal” and “modest” man even when evidence shows that he is probably Nigeria’s most profligate president. He is, for instance, the first and only president to spend millions of naira to build a helipad for his exclusive use in his hometown, which will be useless after his presidency. He is the only president in recent memory who officially goes abroad for “holidays,” while the majority of Nigerians he governs writhe in agony as a consequence of his economy policies.

It is only post-truthism that can blind anybody to the truth that Buhari’s government is pushing Nigeria to the brink of the precipice, that he is not the poor person he said he was, that his claims to “integrity” “modesty” and “frugality” have no basis in evidence.

However, for post-truthers, emotion is all that matters. Evidence is an annoying, expendable encumbrance.

In what follows, I reproduce AFP’s story on the choice of “post-truth” as Oxford Dictionaries’ word of the year.

The runners-up for words of the year included the British term “Brexiteer” used for anti-EU advocates.

“Alt-right” also made the shortlist, defined as an ultra-conservative grouping in the United States “char-

acterised by a rejection of mainstream politics and the use of online media to disseminate deliberately controversial content”.

Trump’s appointment of anti-establishment media firebrand Steve Bannon, seen as a leader of the “altright” movement, as his chief of staff earlier this week has proved highly controversial.

Oxford Dictionaries said the word “post-truth” had become “overwhelmingly” associated with politics.

Charlotte Buxton, associate editor at Oxford Dictionaries, said the term “caught the public imagination” in Britain and the US, with social networks playing a key role.

“It’s tied in quite closely with the social media world now and how people are accessing their news.”

“I think it reflects a trend of how emotion and individual reactions are becoming more and more important.

“People are restricting their news consumption to sources that don’t claim to be neutral.”

Social media networks, in particular Facebook, have come under fire since the US election for allowing “fake news” and misinformation to be widely shared.

The term “post-truth” is “reflective of the mood of the past 12 months,” said Buxton, but it has been around for some time.

Oxford Dictionaries traced its first use to a 1992 essay by late SerbianAmerican playwright Steve Tesich in The Nation magazine about the IranContra scandal and the Gulf War. “We, as a free people, have freely decided that we want to live in some post-truth world,” Tesich wrote.

“There is evidence of the phrase ‘post-truth’ being used before Tesich’s article, but apparently with the transparent meaning ‘after the truth was known’ and not with the new implication that truth itself has become irrelevant,” Oxford Dictionaries said.

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, November 23, 2016

15 Opinion

Hordes but not barbarians at the gates

A Uddin Ifeanyi

ttempts to understand, to explain, even, the people, processes, and things leading up to the epochal presidential vote in the United States of America have leaned surreptitiously on Marxist-Leninist registers. The dominant explanation has many Americans, “left behind” by the “globalised and digital economy”, led in an insurrection against the “establishment”. You need only then recall that the Brahmins who make up what passes for the establishment in the U.S. are as bourgeois as any ruling class can get to complete the link between them and the “new proletariat”.

Beyond that, there is the point about the “necessary” and “sufficient” conditions of a successful “revolution”. Lenin did believe that for a revolution to be successful, the people must no longer be able to live in the old ways, as indeed has become the lot of those parts of the U.S. “left behind” by changes in the global economic architecture. There are those, in the Rust Belt, who have lost jobs, as the production of goods lower down the value chain moved to locations were factors of production are cheap-

er. However, the concerns of this new “class” go way beyond this. Automation also means that manufacturing will never employ as many factory hands as it used to up to the late 1980s. Therefore, even if all the jobs outsourced were to somehow return to the U.S. many of those left behind would remain so.

The service economy, only further exacerbates the problem.

Start-ups in the service sector have parlayed the information and technology revolution in their reinvention of huge swathes of the American economy. Expectedly, their innovations have returned humongous fortunes to their promoters. Unfortunately, this other “revolution” has been carried out with far fewer “factory hands”.

One unintended result has seen the returns to top management/business owner’s account for a far bigger share of wealth created in the country than previously. In consequence, the gap between what the “establishment” takes home, and what those “left behind”, is wider today than at any other time in America’s history.

Against this volatile background, the “revolution” at whose head Mr. Donald Trump sits aims to unseat the “establishment”. Alternatively, put differently, to make it difficult for the leaders to rule, as they were wont to. This latter out-

come, Lenin argued, was the “sufficient condition” for a proletarian uprising.

As is to be expected, the path to this goal is strewn with contradictions. Of the contradictions that will form, both the subjective and objective milieu within which the Trump presidency will play out, the jury is still out on the most prominent.

On one hand, according to one of the more colourful imageries to make the echo chambers, Mr. Trump leads a baying mob, pitchfork, tar, and burning torches at the ready, on its way to drain the swamp. So brazen has been his baiting of his legion that they are unlikely to stop until they secure a thoroughgoing redistribution of wealth in their favour, (raising Social-Security spending by much, for instance), shackle Wall Street, muzzle the “nattering nabobs of negativism”, etc. However, along the way, pressure will grow for increases in the minimum wage, paid holidays, unemployment benefits, etc. Genuflecting this army of anger before the altar of populism.

All of which would have been okay as left-leaning policy. Except that Mr. Trump leads this army while heading a party ideologically pledged to cut taxes for the wealthy and big businesses (how can anyone forget the pledge to

cut the headline corporate tax rate by a massive 2,500 basis points!).

Small government and pro-market, the Republican Party would rather have markets correct themselves than throw good government money at it. Even the Bush administration flinched at the consequence of this worldview when it had to deal with the 2008-09 economic and financial crisis. Of course, Obamaism consciously repudiated it.

Thus, a party that would not have lifted a finger to help those adversely affected by the externalities of the sub-prime mortgage crisis, in the conviction that, left alone the market would sort itself out, is being led into battle by a demagogue who has plighted his troth to the redemption of the “new proletariat”.

In the final round, the test of Mr. Trump’s presidency would be whether and how he can reconcile the expectations of the wave of popular anger that swept him to office with the ideology of the party that was the vehicle for getting there.

Any which way, hope springs eternal. The resolution of antagonistic contradictions in the old Soviet worldview invariably led from worries over quantity to a new higher qualitative state. One conclusion is, at least is that this is one insurgency that was never going to leave the world exactly as it met

Who are those that murdered a seven-year old kid?

I Fred Nwaozor

f the news that’s currently making rounds on the social media holds water, then Wednesday, 16th November 2016 – a day that reportedly claimed the life of a 7-year-old boy owing to alleged attempted misdemeanour – was another day Nigeria, and mankind at large, would live to mourn; a day that would cease to rest until justice is duly done to wickedness; a day that would stop at nothing to ensure that humanity is separated from insanity.

On that fateful day that could be best described as unfortunate, the said kid was reportedly set ablaze by a so-called angry mob at a locality in Lagos State for allegedly attempting to steal ‘Garri’ from a trader’s shop. He was caught by dwellers cum passersby, brutally tortured to stupor, and therein burnt with fuel and condemned tyres. The report equally had it that, while in the hands of the monsters, he pleaded for freedom, for the umpteenth time, still the vulnerable plea fell on cancerous and deaf ears. Even if he was more than seven years, or involved in felony as claimed

by the police, did it call for such reaction?

As I sat soberly and tried to recall the news, my emotions kept burning until I ostensibly lost my senses that I could not see nor hear anything, not even the like of the horn of a moving train.

Whilst in the tattered mood, my utmost worry remained that, the public kept watching the scene until the fire engulfed that helpless ‘kid’; probably they were deriving pleasure from it. Worse still, the scene was videotaped, perhaps having been considered a mere melodrama. Any sane and rational since takes a closer look at these two observations would begin to wonder how wicked the heart of man is, as well as in whose image he was really made of.

It is even more overwhelming to realize that the police, or any other law enforcement agency, was nowhere to be found throughout the incident that lasted for over an hour. I am yet to believe that while the duration of administering the obnoxious jungle justice lingered, no bit of notice got to any security outfit within, in spite of the obvious fact that

the arena in question is urban. I refuse to be convinced that there is a district in any state in Nigeria, let alone Lagos, that lacks at least a police station.

Do not get it twisted, because the truth remains that some incidents deserve a query and tangible response. You’ll never be right in your feelings till you try to put yourself in the shoes of the bereaved family, if any; ‘if any’ in the sense that it could be the murdered kid was homeless. You can never give this case the thought it truly deserves unless you make effort to painstakingly study what actually transpired therein.

Let us assume the kid had a family. How would the parents live to narrate what befell them on that godforsaken day; would they tell the world, particularly sympathizers, that their poor child was put to death because he attempted to steal a handful of garri to quench hunger? Such narration would not just be hurtful but disastrous; indeed very painful and unspeakable, to say the least.

It becomes more painful when we realize that so many unimagined extrajudicial killings had taken

place across the country in recent times.

Few weeks ago, it was learnt that the five prime suspects in connection with the murder of the 74-year-old Mrs. Bridget Agbahime in Kano State had been acquitted by the Magistrate Court handling the case. Mrs. Agbahime who hailed from Imo State was gruesomely killed on 2 June 2016 at Kofar Wambi market over alleged blasphemy by a group of Islamic fanatics. According to the report, the freedom granted to the accused was not unconnected with the directive of the Kano State’s Attorney General.

Since the evil deed is already done, it would be pertinent to jettison retrogressive issues towards concentrating on progressive ones, though the former would invariably be needed if the latter must be successful. As an ardent rights activist, what else would I seek than justice? Regarding this one, the anticipated justice is meant to be all-inclusive, thus not only those who carried out the ungodly act should be brought to book but everyone who witnessed it. Think about it!

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Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Education Times

17

s TETFUND donates N10m for Army water project

Education minister backs JAMB, orders publicity of unutilised admission slots in varsities

Augustine Okezie, Abuja

Minister of State for Education, Prof. Anthony Gozie Anwukah, has thrown his weight behind the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board’s (JAMB) decision to abolish the uniform cut-off marks for admission into all tertiary institutions in the country, maintaining that the current policy lacks fairness, equity and logic.

The minister also threw his weight behind the decision of the JAMB Board to introduce discriminatory cut-off marks for admissions into Nigerian universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education.

Anwuka, who gave the nod in Abuja after a one day marathon meeting with Chief Executive Officers under the Ministry, said it does not make any sense subjecting candidates who are seeking admission into Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education to the same cut-off marks when the durations and contents of their courses are radically different.

Furthermore, the minister directed JAMB to consult widely with relevant stakeholders to come up with new and separate cut-off marks for University admission, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education which will take effect in the next academic session – 2017/2018.

The Minister restated that the responsibility for admission into tertiary institutions rests solely with the Senate or the Academic Boards of such institutions, adding that in the case of universities

The Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) at the weekend made a donation of N10 million to the Nigerian Army for the provision of bottle water for over one month for one battalion as part of the ongoing’ thank you campaign project embarked upon by the army for soldiers fighting insurgents in the North East part of the country.

Executive Secretary of the Fund, Dr. Abdullahi Bichi Baffa, while making the donation, said it was in response to the call by President Muhammadu Buhari urging spirited individuals and corporate bodies to identify with the ‘’thank you for your service initiative’’, in recognition of the efforts of the gallant soldiers.

He said: ’’Every Nigerian is aware of your heroics in the North East and your efforts to secure the country. In answering the call by Mr. President for all Nigerians to appreciate and to key into the thank you service campaign initiated by the Chief of Army Staff, we are donating N10 million’’.

Receiving the donation on behalf of the Chief of Army Staff, Director General of the Nigerian Army Resource Center, Major General JGS Hammakin, thanked the fund for the gesture, promising the that army will partner with TETFund especially in the area of research and resource sharing.

His words: ‘’We are ready to cook our research proposal to ensure they meet TETFUND expectation. Thank you for service initiative is the least we can do for our gallant soldiers who are fighting to ensure peace in the country’’.

Augustine Okezie, Abuja

L-R: Anchor, NTA Good Morning Nigeria, Mr. Kingsley Osadolor; Mrs. Ugomma Okoroanyanwu; Editor Special Projects, The Sun Newspaper, Emeka Okoroanyanwu; Host, Prof. Pat Utomi and Franchise Director, the Coca-Cola Company, Felix Ofuwe at the Alumni of the Department of Mass Communication, University of Nigeria, Nsukka reunion party in Lagos... recently. Photo: OLAWALE ROTIMI “Senate admits, Senate graduates, full stop”.

In a related development, the minister has ordered the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) to publish in full, the list of unutilised admission slots into all Universities, Polytechnics and Colleges of Education on a course by course basis at the end of the first leg of admission process to enable students and or parents take full advantage of existing admission vacancies in institutions where such vacancies exist.

This, according to him, will prevent a situation where some institutions

have more than the number of students they need, while others can hardly fill their quota.

The minister used the opportunity to advise parents not to keep their wards at home for the simple reason that they have not gained admission into an institution or course of their choice, explaining that it is better to have their children in school while they await admission into their school and courses of choice.

Making his presentation earlier at a meeting between the minister and Chief Executives of agencies under the Ministry, JAMB Registrar, Prof.

Ishaq Olarenwaju Oloyode, told the minister that the notion generally being held that the carrying capacity of Nigerian Universities is far below the number of candidates that qualify for admission is wrong.

Prof. Oloyode said the fact that 1.5 million candidates have sat for JAMB does not translate to 1.5m qualifying for admission, explaining that only those with the requisite 180 cut-off marks can be considered for admission. He added that even out of those who make 180, a significant number may not have five credits required for varsity admission.

Exam malpractices: WAEC approves cancellation of results

Esther Taiwo

The Nigeria Examinations Committee (NEC) of the West African Examinations Council (WAEC), which is the highest decision-making organ of WAEC on examination-related matters in Nigeria, has approved appropriate sanctions in all established cases of malpractice, as prescribed in the Rules and Regulations governing the conduct of the Council’s examinations.

The committee which meets twice a year, to consider matters relating to the conduct of the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE) for School Candidates and Private Candidates recently held its 62nd annual NEC

meeting in Ogba Lagos where it received a report on Irregularity, Special and Clemency Cases arising from the conduct of the November/ December 2015 WASSCE, earlier considered at the 61st Meeting of the Committee.

In a press release signed by the Head Public Affairs, Mr. Demianus Ojijeogu, the Committee also considered a report on the conduct of the WASSCE for School candidates in 2016, as well as irregularity cases arising from the conduct of the examination.

“In the course of considering the various reported cases of malpractice, the Committee, after diligent deliberations approved that the entire results of candidates involved in proven cases, which attract Can-

cellation of Entire Results (CER) be cancelled, while subject results of those involved in proven cases which attract Cancellation of Subject Results (CSR), be similarly cancelled”.

In addition, some candidates will also suffer other sanctions such as barring them from sitting for the Council’s examinations for a certain number of years while some schools will be derecognised, their Principals reported to the Ministry of Education for disciplinary action while erring Supervisors will be blacklisted.

The decisions of the Committee will be implemented without delay and the affected candidates and schools will be duly informed by the Council.

However, the results of candidates who were exonerated by the Committee will be released.

Furthermore, the Committee considered Special Cases, Clemency Cases, Restitution, Petitions and Previous Cases Referred for Further Investigation from Previous Examinations.

The Committee noted the various shortcomings of the candidates as reported by the Chief Examiners and re-emphasised some of the remedies suggested which are that Governments at all levels should train and retrain teachers through workshops and seminars to keep them abreast with global best practices in the teaching of various subjects; that candidates should be exposed to more practical activities

and that teachers should make use of the feedback provided by WAEC through Chief Examiners’ Reports to prepare candidates adequately for its examinations.

It also commended the Council for deploying a technology that can stop candidates barred because of malpractice from registration for its examinations for a stated period.

In addition, the Committee because of the high incidence of schools writing on the chalkboards for their students to copy during the WASSCE for School Candidates in 2016 decided that if a school is warned for aiding and abetting cheating three times within a period of five years, it would be derecognised. It also took a decision to withdraw the recognition of two schools for assaulting a Supervisor.

Education Times 18

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Emphasis on varsity education, detrimental to vocational skills- Prof. Odugbemi Esther Taiwo Former Vice Chancellor of the University of Lagos and pioneer Vice Chancellor of Ondo State University of Science and Technology (OSUSTECH), Prof. Tolu Odugbemi, has described too much attention given to university education as a bane of vocational skills relevant to building the Nigerian economy.

Prof. Odugbemi said this at the launch/public presentation of his book “Experiences on Starting a New University in Developing Country Setting” presented at the University of Lagos Staff School where he remarked that it is rather unfortunate that university education in a developing country

setting is riddled with unpleasant and unproductive consequences because of misunderstanding of what universities should be by various stakeholders.

According to him, in some cases, some undeserving applicants gain admission into the few places available in the universities while in some situations, the teaching and non-teaching staff who get employment into the university system do not know what universities stand for.

“It is economic desperation of no other means of livelihood that push majority to seek employment in universities. The qualifications, experience, skills and background of applicants for employment and

admission do not often count.

This suggests that our university curricula do not address how graduates could be self-reliant and job creators”, he said.

He also bemoaned situations whereby technology in universities in developing countries is not directed at immediate challenges of Nigerians as he suggested that universities should pay more attention to researching into social and economic ills, hunger and ill-health as well as current trends of local and global climate change.

“This book is about rethinking on how to make Nigerians command respect in the comity of nations through research output applicable to the needs of the society”, he said.

Vice Chancellor of UNILAG,

Prof. Odugbemi

Prof. Rahman Bello, said for someone to document what he has done for posterity, such a person should be celebrated, adding that starting a new pub-

lic university in Nigeria is no mean feat.

While reviewing the book, Head Department of Education, Prof. Ngozi Osarenren, said it is a 10 chapter, 406 paged compendium flowing from determination, perseverance, painstaking efforts, sacrifices and heavy doses of integrity.

“The book is replete with rich pictures of virtually all the activities and events that took place during the tenure of Prof.

Tolu Odugbemi as the pioneer Vice Chancellor of OSUSTECH. I do highly recommend the book to stakeholders in education, proprietors of tertiary institutions and above all those who sincerely are interested in quality education in Nigeria”, she said.

Elumelu harps on importance of entrepreneurship education Esther Taiwo

L-R: Area Sales Manager, Ilorin Central, Airtel Nigeria, Oluseye Odunsi; Head Teacher, Iyeru-Okin Primary School L.G.E.A, Adesoye Adebanke; Education Secretary L.G.E.A Offa, Olori Kudirat Tunrayo; Primary five student, Iyeru-Okin Primary School L.G.E.A, Sherifat Adetona; Regional Operations Director, West Region, Airtel Nigeria, Olusina Adegoke; Head of Service, Human Resources, SUBEB, Mr. A. S. Afolabi and Area Sales Manager, Offa, Airtel Nigeria, Finbarr Obiyan, during the Reading for Leading Book Donation Campaign at Iyeru-Okin Primary School L.G.E.A Offa, Kwara State...recently

NOUN alumni membership hits 50,000 President-elect of National Open University of Nigeria Alumni Association (NOUNAA), Mr. Ggbadamosi Kamal, says the group has no fewer than 50,000 members.

Kamal, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja, said that the strength of the association made it one of the biggest alumni in the country.

He urged all members of NOUNAA to embrace peace in order to move the association forward.

“We will try to resolve all misunderstandings in the alumni; I urge all the members to bring their experience to bear on the association.

“This is the biggest alumni asso-

ciation in Africa with 50,000 members.

“NOUN is locally and internationally recognised and we want to ensure that quality and good standard is maintained in the school as well as among the members of the alumni.’’

According to him, the problems of acceptance into the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and Nigeria Law School will be addressed.

He said that NOUN graduated up to 5,000 to 10,000 students every year, adding that it would be difficult to admit the large number of NOUN graduates into the scheme.

“If close to 10,000 students from

NOUN alone would go for NYSC, imagine the cost implication for the Federal Government.

“Secondly, how many organisations will be ready to accept these students alongside graduates from other institutions?

“We will look at the nitty gritty of the matter by setting up a committee to see how those that will be relevant for NYSC are accepted,” he said.

NOUNAA had on Saturday held its 2016 election in Abuja, where Kamal was elected National President.

Mr. Usman Shaibu was elected Deputy National President, while Mr. Gamaliel Agbara was elected National Secretary.

African business leader and philanthropist, Mr. Tony Elumelu, has stated that the importance of entrepreneurship education among Nigerian and African Youth cannot be overemphasised.

Elumelu, who addressed the students of the Lagos State University, faculty members and officials of the Lagos State government, whilst delivering the institution’s first Distinguished Lecture Series in Ojo, Lagos, spoke on theme, ”Entrepreneurship: The Challenges and Opportunities for Nigeria’s Future Leaders”.

According to Elumelu, any nation that pays attention to its youth is bound to succeed in terms of development, stressing that the future of any society is in its youths. He added that the problem of unemployment cannot be solved except through entrepreneurship.

“What makes the difference between me and my classmates despite the fact that I made a Second Class Lower division is the transformative power of entrepreneurship”, he said.

The United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc Chairman said entrepreneurship makes a lot of difference and to be a successful entrepreneur, youths have to learn what it takes to be a successful leader, adding that leadership is demonstrated at all levels of an institution.

“A leader is simply someone who gets results” he said, and

challenged the students to embrace leadership, even at this early stage in their lives.

“Whether you are leading a team of people, or just yourself, your responsibility is to generate, secure or deliver results. I believe you can be a leader at any stage in your life and career, and in any career path you choose,”Elumelu said.

He warned participants against complacency as he offered them tips to successful entrepreneurship which include focus, prudence, humility, high level of integrity, good foresight, vision and thinking long term.

“Just as I seek to democratise luck with the work of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, so equally I believe every soldier carries a general’s baton in his pack.

The key is self-belief – and an environment that enables.

Through the Tony Elumelu Foundation’s Entrepreneurship Programme, we will identify, train, mentor and seed 10,000 African businesses over the next 10 years, creating 1 million jobs and $10 billion in additional revenues across the continent.

Your idea CAN transform Africa,” he stated.

He called on the students to embrace entrepreneurship as a career, saying: “If you pursue entrepreneurship, your options for advancement would not be limited to just finding a job. You can create your own employment opportunities, as well as for others, and help to transform your communities, and the country”.

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, November 23, 2016

EDUMARK bags award as SME company of the year Esther Taiwo

Foremost educational consulting company, Edumark, has emerged the best SME Company of the year at the 2016 Sustainability Entrepreneurship and Responsibility Awards (SERAS) held in Lagos recently.

The award comes in recognition for the good works the organisation has done through its several Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes. Prominent amongst those programmes is the “We Are the Future of Our Nation” (WATFON).

Through WATFON, over 20, 000 secondary school students have been trained and mentored by thought leaders across the country.

Edumark is also responsible for pioneering many positive changes in the education sector through the “Concerned Parents and Educators Network” (CPE). Under this platform, grants have been given to indigent students. The group has also facilitated “The Gathering, a stakeholders’ discourse geared towards formulating policies and deliberations.

Mrs. Yinka Ogunde, the Founder and CEO of Edumark, expressed her appreciation for the award and pointed that the organisation is set to do even more in the years to come.

Niger govt. to equip 4 tertiary institutions with N84.4m The Niger State Government has approved N84.408 million for the purchase of science equipment and construction of laboratories in four tertiary institutions in the state.

The Commissioner for Education, Hajiya Fatima Madugu, made the disclosure in Minna, the state capital, while briefing newsmen on the outcome of the meeting of the state executive council.

She said that books would also be purchased for the libraries in the four institutions.

She said that the four institutions were being equipped to meet up with accreditation requirements.

“Most of the programmes in those schools are due for accreditation; if these items are not put in place, there is no way the programmes can be accredited,” she said.

The Commissioner named the four schools as: Fati Lami Abubakar Institute of Legal and Administrative Studies, Institute of Technology and Innovation both in Minna.

Others are the School of Health Technology Tunga Magajiya and School of Agriculture Mokwa.

19 Education Times

World Bank chief warns against misuse of $100m Education Fund The Senior Education Specialist, World Bank, Dr. Tunde Adekola, has warned against the misappropriation of the 100 million dollars Global Partnership for Education (GPE) Fund.

Adekola, who is also the Task Team Leader of the project, gave the warning at the GPE/ Nigeria Partnership in Education (NIPEP) support mission and stakeholders workshop on Monday in Abuja.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the GPE fund being implemented by NIPEP is meant to eradicate illiteracy in five northern states of the country.

He urged the participants, who were made up of beneficiaries from the five states namely – Kano, Katsina, Jigawa, Sokoto and Kaduna to be accountable in the project implementation.

“The money is for a particular purpose that must be achieved, therefore you must make sure you are accountable.

“We must be transparent in our activities; it is not enough to say you are open, you must be seen to be open, and there should be adequate evidence on ground to show that work is going on.

“The World Bank believes in transparency and the money should not just be used for organising workshops.

“The fund should be used in procuring instructional materials, equipment to work with and capacity building for teachers and head teachers,’’ he said.

Adekola urged the participants

President, Student Union Government, ABSU, Mr. Alugo Victor Uche (left); winner of the Glo Campus Data Diva, Okwuosa Uju (second left); Globacom’s National Sales Coordinator, South East, Mr. Gabriel Okoli (second right) and the winner of the Glo Campus Data Dude, Ejike Daniel Chukwuemeka (right), during the Glo Campus Storm music concert at the Abia State University, Uturu...recently to interact, ask questions and share information as it was paramount to achieving the set goal.

He appealed to the states to ensure they paid teachers’ salaries, adding that 26 out of 36 states of the federation were still owing salaries.

“26 out of 36 states have not paid salaries and all these things we are doing won’t be fruitful if teachers are not paid.

“We are deceiving ourselves if we expect teachers to perform optimally without pay,’’ Adekola said.

Earlier, Mrs Anne Okonkwo, the Director, Basic and Second-

ary Education, Federal Ministry of Education, said that the workshop was organised to perfect strategies on how to boost education system in the country.

She also urged participants to effectively share information in the five focal states and give feed back to the coordinating office, adding that it was cardinal to getting positive results.

She commended the development partners and GPE for their efforts in moving the sector forward, stating that their contributions could not be over emphasised.

Mr. Joseph Acheide, the Project

Coordinator of NIPEP, while giving the status report of the project, said that 14,850 girls had been given scholarship out of the 53, 000 targeted.

He urged the Federal and State government to provide support in funding welfare for implementers of the project.

He said that there was need to strengthen the Monitoring and Evaluation at local and state government levels.

Acheide advised that a survey should be conducted to verify the exact number of out-of -school children in the country.

UniAbuja explains sack of SSANU chairman, scribe Augustine Okezie, Abuja

The management of the University of Abuja on Monday in a press release to newsmen explained why it suspended two of her personnel, namely: Chairman of the university branch of SSANU, Mr. Jude O. Nwabueze and the Secretary, Malam Nurudeen T. Yusuf, saying the duo had engaged in a series of acts of misconduct including wild publications in the media against the university administration alleging among other things corruption which they claimed had resulted in the inability of the university to pay staff their full salaries.

The release which was signed by the Deputy Registrar Information, Malam Garba Waziri, further dismissed a publication made in

the media as false the call by the Vice-President, Western zone of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Comrade Alfred Jimoh, who was quoted as having called on President Muhammadu Buhari to sack three Vice-Chancellors, including the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Abuja, Professor Michael U. Adikwu, for alleged abuse of office, gross misconduct and corrupt practices, as unwarranted.

The statement read: ’’The University of Abuja is constrained to respond to the reasons adduced by the union which it felt warranted the sack of the Vice-Chancellor. The claim that Professor Adikwu has suspended the Chairman and Secretary of the University’s branch of SSANU “without even half salary for daring to ask questions about ongoing maladministration in the

University of Abuja, is far from the truth’’.

Waziri further maintained that the Vice-Chancellor and other principal officers took time to explain to the executive members of the staff unions on campus, and equally responded to their claims in the press, that the shortfall in salaries was not the fault of the university but from the government, which also affected all public universities, the SSANU officials still persisted in publishing unsubstantiated allegations against the University Management.

The statement reads in path: ‘’The duo had at some point become impatient with constituted authorities including the properly constituted anti-corruption bodies to which they claimed to have reported the alleged corruption. They, therefore, engaged in reckless publications and circulation of materials which

to say the least were malicious’’. ‘’The University took the appropriate step to get to the root of the matter by setting up a committee in accordance with the provisions of the University act. Both officials, however, refused to appear before the committee, thereby giving the impression that they were above the law. Indeed, because of their pre-occupation with the needless confrontation with the University authorities, they had distracted from their primary duties’’. ‘’It must be noted that in the matter of the suspension of the two SSANU officials, due process had been followed as contained in the University act, notwithstanding their belligerent attitude to the committee and the University Management aimed at creating a persecution scenario and winning undue public sympathy for themselves’’.

Education Times 20

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, November 23, 2016

ASUU strike: Adamu in the eye of the storm The call by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on President Buhari to remove the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, from office, has suddenly placed the latter in an un-enviable focus in the search for the solution to the myriads of challenges facing the sector. AUGUSTINE OKEZIE writes: Making the call for the minister’s sack for his “insensitivity and lack of commitment to reversing the dwindling fortunes of the Nigeria education sector”, the Federal University of Technology (FUT) Minna, Niger State Chairperson of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Dr. Ndamisa Mohammed Attahiru, said the just ended one week warning strike wouldn’t have been necessary if the minister had been alive to his responsibility and engaging with the union on its repeated demands and correspondences.

He further maintained that the minister has shown that he is insensitive to what led him there and so should be removed.

He said: ’’We see the minister as a stumbling block. He is our custodian; he is our intermediary between the union and Mr. President. Since this government came on board, ASUU has been trying to get access to Mr. President; the minister has not allowed that communication between our union and Mr. President”.

“He should be removed because you cannot stay in a place you are not doing your job. If he was very sensitive to the issues today, I don’t think the strike would have been called for. If his removal will bring prosperity to education because Nigeria is bigger than an individual, so be it; we must move forward. If a minister is sitting down on his seat and sabotaging the efforts of education, I think he should be removed. He doesn’t need to be there”.

Attahiru further confirmed that the branch joined the industrial action as directed by the national headquarters of the union.

He said:” We in this branch had our congress and our congress resolved

that we are to commence the strike as directed by NEC and the strike is total, comprehensive. We are withdrawing all academic services”.

On the fate of the strike if after one week, the government did not show positive response, he declared that the action will continue.

He said: “We have one week, two weeks, three weeks and continued negotiations. If nothing is done after one week, we will re-evaluate the situation on ground and move to the next option which is two weeks. If after two weeks nothing is done, we will look at the situation and move to three weeks. If after three weeks nothing is done, we will go on full blown strike. The notice of the strike must have been served the minister because we don’t have secrets”.

Attahiru said several policy pronouncements and decisions taken by the Education Minister in the last six months of his appointment as minister has only succeeded in reversing the limited successes recorded before his coming on board.

Take for instance, the decision to scrap the post-UTME exercise by varsities which not only did not go down well with the Academic Staff Union of Universities, which the union condemned the action. It has also created several confusions in the admission system including several supremacy fights between the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB) and the universities on the one hand.

University of Lagos branch Chairman of ASUU, Dr. Deji Omole, described the minister’s decision on the ban as no gain to the Nigerian educational system and that it is ill-timed as Federal Government currently owes public universities about N1 billion

COEASU protests delay in appointment of provost The Academic Staff of the College of Education, Pankshin, Plateau State, has protested alleged delay in the appointment of a substantive provost for the college.

The workers made the protest under the aegis of Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), College of Education (FCE), Pankshin Chapter.

In a letter to the Minister of Education dated November 14 and signed by the Chairman and Secretary of the union, Mr. Emmanuel Hemba and Mr. Mershak Yenle respectively, the union described the alleged delay as “very unnecessary and detrimental’’ to educational standards.

“We have noted with disillusion the non-appointment of a substantive provost for the college since March, 2015, ‘’ the union stated in the letter, a

copy of which was made available to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Pankshin.

“COEASU noted with dismay that the period allowed for an acting provost has since expired due to the stipulation that it is temporary and should not exceed six months and extendable for one or two months to allow for appointment of a substantive provost.

“Since March, 2016 when the Ministry of Education conducted an interview for the vacant position of the provost, staff and students have awaited with anticipation, the release of the result of the interview to no avail.

“The delay throws to the wind the proactive step taken at advertising the vacancy of the position of the provost in July, 2015, more than six months ahead of its expiration,’’ COEASU stated.

Education Minister, Adamu Adamu

ASUU president, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi

intervention fund.

He said the pronouncements by the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, had eroded the autonomy of university in admission of students.

He said: ’’The autocratic pronouncement was a non-issue when compared with fundamental issue of funding universities and meeting ASUU-FGN 2009 agreement’’.

Omole also flayed Education minister for being oblivious of extant university autonomy granted the Senate of Nigerian universities to determine the procedures for the conduct of admission and regulate admission of its students.

“A Nigerian Minister of Education must make pronouncement based on sound academic research not on road-side talk which queries his very essence of being appointed as a Minister,” the union leader said.

Even the spate of protests and rancour that greeted the sack of 13 Vice Chancellors by Adamu had not been forgotten so soon as some members of the academic community claimed that it is only the Governing Council that could remove the vice chancellors and that due process should be followed rather than arbitrary action by government, but the clamour for reversal of this policy has so far remained unheeded.

A human rights organisation, Coalition of Civil Society Groups which protested against the sack in a letter to President Buhari, demanded the reversal of the decision, saying four out of the 12 newly appointed vice chancellors were from Bayero University Kano, an action they said, was a clear violation of the federal character principle.

Adamu’s veiled interest as seen in the regionalisation of Nigeria’s education in favour of his native North has seen him apportioning huge budgetary allocations for universities in the area and ensuring that academics from these institution are given federal appointments to the relegation of those from other parts of Nigeria.

The list of several policy summersaults already witnessed under Adamu’s tenure as Education minister will keep going on and on including his slow approach to decision making

process remains a source of worry to not a few discerning Nigerians until solution is found.

Recall that at their emergency National Executive Council Meeting held in Abuja recently, ASUU took a decision to commence a one week nationwide industrial action following what it called government’s failure to fully implement its 2009 Agreement with the union.

ASUU President, Comrade Biodun Ogunyemi, said after series of meetings with the Minister of Education and the National Assembly on the need to respect the 2009 Agreement and the 2013 Memorandum of Understanding, the union had no tangible results on key issues contained in the Agreement.

The union lamented chronic underfunding of the education sector, saying the low Budgetary Allocation to education sector from 11 percent in 2015 to 8 percent in 2016 under the present Administration calls for worry.

“We tried to correct the impression that the capital and research grants to universities were being handled by the Tertiary Education Trust Fund on the grounds that grants from intervention agency cannot replace statutory funding of education at a time we believe allocation to education should be 26 percent as recommended”.

“Section 6.4a of the 2009FGN-ASUU Agreement provides that the areas of agreement would be renegotiated every three years”.

“A renegotiation of the agreement by the parties would have afforded both the government of Nigeria and ASUU to bring up unresolved issues in the areas of conditions of service, funding, university autonomy and academic freedom”.

“Our members have said they are tired of government’s empty promises on setting up its Negotiating Team for the review of Agreement as consistently requested by ASUU since 2012,” Ogunyemi explained.

Observers opine that Adamu can only redeem himself before ASUU when he promptly sets up a negotiating committee as demanded by the union, and carry the union along particularly on matters concerning the tertiary education in the country.

Feature Educationists decry diminishing indigenous languages Two educationists at the weekend in Lagos, adduced reasons for inability of Nigerians to speak indigenous languages, which are fast diminishing They told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in separate interviews in Lagos that indigenous language was an identity that every society must jealously guard and preserve.

Mr. Afeez Oyetoro, the Head of Department, Theatre Arts, at the Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education, Lagos, said the inability of some parents to instill speaking of mother tongue in their children was a serious factor.

Oyetoro, who is also a Nollywood actor popularly known as `Saka, expressed worry that it was quite unfortunate that parents did not allow their children to speak the language of their father fluently.

He said that any Nigerian who could speak his or her indigenous language had lost his identity.

According to him, the teachings, learning and speaking of indigenous languages should be made compulsory to curb social and moral problems in the society.

He said indigenous language would also restore cultural values in the society.

“If we neglect our language, it means we have neglected our cultural values.

“A law should be made that will make speaking of indigenous language compulsory for people, especially the children, in order to stem local language extinction, social and immoral crises.

“By speaking their language, people will understand their values, culture, background and they will appreciate the essence of their life.

Similarly, Prof. Akinloye Ojo of the University of Georgia, U.S., said one of the major challenges confronting the indigenous language in Nigeria was orality and non-documentation.

Ojo, a professor of Yoruba and Linguistics, said that “when a language is not documented, it will be impossible to use it in the modern and Western day educational system’’.

“When languages are not used by their speakers and not documented, they become gradually moribund; meaning the only speakers would be adults.

“The first risk a language suffers is when children do not speak it,’’ he said.

The professor attributed the inability of most children to speak their indigenous language to some economic factors.

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, November 23, 2016

TERSOO KINGDOM ORPHANAGE

21 Public Notice

PENIEL LIGHTHOUSE GLORY CHURCH

TOTAL RIGHTS ADVANCEMENT INITIATIVE.

The general public is hereby notified that the above named, has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for Registration under part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Act 1990.

The general public is hereby notified that the above named has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under part C of the Companies and Allied Matters Act 1990.

This is to inform the general public that the above named organisation has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission ( C A C) Abuja, for registration under part C of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2004.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Rev.James Gire 2. Mr Daniel kwahar 3. Dr Mrs Nguwasen kwahar 4. Engr Timothy Ahile.

TRUSTEES ARE 1 PASTOR DAVID OLAYIOYE-OLADIPO 2 PASTOR ( MRS ) BUKOLA MARGARET OLAYIOYE-OLADIPO 3 PASTOR OLADELE OLASEHAN 4 BRO HASSAN IBRAHIM 5 PASTOR JOSEPH ALI OBEKPA

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Adaora Anne Oguejiofor 2. Barthram Udechukwu. 3. Ijeoma Esther Umeji

THE AIM AND OBJECTIVE: 1. To assist the widows and orphans and give them education Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the RegistrarGeneral of Corporate Affairs Commission Maitama Abuja within 28 days of this publication SIGNED: ANAUKYAA MNENGE PETER 08030717127

AIZEHI CLARA ABHULIMEN FOUNDATION

AIMS AND OBJECTIONS 1 To Preach The Gospel Of Jesus Christ To The Would 2 To Render Help To The Needy Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General Corporate Affairs Commission, plot 420 Tigris Crescent off Aguiyi Ironsi Street maitama Abuja within 28days of this publication SIGNED: P. I. LEMUT

LIFE & LIVING SOLUTIONS FOUNDATION

AIM AND OBJECTIVES 1. To promote a holistic approach towards the advancement and protection of human and people’s rights in all their ramifications.

2. To advance the cause of the masses by engaging in issue - based advocacy campaigns and other forms of engagement to realize the full protection of citizens’ rights.

3. To carry out research, documentation and dissemination of findings, on issues on human rights, good governance, democratic tenets and social justice.

Any objection ( S) to the registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Maitama, Abuja, within 28days of this publication.

SIGNED: SECRETARY

GOD’S PRESENCE DIVINE POWER CHURCH

The general public is hereby notified that the above named has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under part C of the Companies and Allied 1990.

The general public is hereby notified that the above named has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under part C of the Companies and Allied Matters Act no 1990.

The general public is hereby notified that the above named church has applied for registration with Corporate Affairs Commission Abuja, under Part C of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 1990.

TRUSTEES: 1. Barr. (Dr.) Peter Aidangbe Otaigbe 2. Barr. Paulyn Abhulimen 3. Mr. Ben Okpalefe 4. Mr. Nelson Ihenyen

TRUSTEES ARE 1. UDOBONG EDNA CHINYELE 2. UDOBONG ALFRED PATRICK

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. To promote enlightenment and grant educational support to indigent citizens.

2.To facilitate empowerment and support for indigent men and women in their small scale businesses.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. To provide packaged first aid services for offices 2. To provide advocasy in medical sciences to schools, offices and churches 3. To act as aids and medical assistance to human societies

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. DOOBEE PETER (president) 2. NNAA JAMES BARIDAKARA (Secretary) 3. DOBA LETAM 4. GBARAKORO KOBANI BARISER 5. FINIMA JOLLY 6. DICK MENEKPUGI 7. GIBSON PATRICIA AMA

Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General Corporate Affairs Commission plot 420 Tigris Crescent off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28days of this publication

Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General Corporate Affairs Commission, plot 420 Tigris Crescent off Aguiyi Ironsi Street Maitama, Abuja within 28days of this publication

Signed - Abhulimen & Co. ( Aizehi Chambers) 08068875363.

Signed: BARR. AGBOEGBULEM ERIC

THE SALT SOCIAL CLUB OF NIGERIA

THE GENERAL PUBLIC IS HEREBY NOTIFIED THAT THE ABOVE NAMED HAS APPLIED TO CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, ABUJA FOR REGISTRATION UNDER PART “C” OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT, NO. 1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. NGENE CHIDI 2. AJAH JOHNSON OGBONNAYA 3. REUBEN SIMON AIM & OBJECTIVE: 1. To foster unity among the members.

Any objections to the registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General Corporate Affairs Commission plot 420 Tigris Crescent off Aguiyi Ironsi street Maitama Abuja within 28days of this publication.

SIGNED: TRUSTEES.

BELIEVERS SUPREME RENEWAL MINISTRY. This is to inform the general public that the above named “MINISTRY” has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under the part C of Companies and Allied Matters Acts 1990.

TRUSTEES ARE 1.Prophet Olakunle Zaphenathpaneah Emmanuel - Gen. Overseer/President.

2. Adegbola Emmanuel Mishael. - Dep. Gen. Overseer.

3.Emmanuel Grace - Secretary. 4. Hannah Emmanuel Adegbola - Asst. Secretary.

5. Azariah Emmanuel Adegbola - Treasurer.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. To propagate the gospel of Jesus Christ.

2. To promote Christian love,fellowship,respect and peaceful co - existence among members.

3. To preach the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to the believers and the universal word.

4. To teach and transform the universal Christians brothers and sisters in Christ with the deeper knowledge of God. 5. To renew and transform the universal believers in Christ through divine revelation and knowledge.

6. To deliver the oppressed,heal the sick and set the captive free,give hope to the hopeless and liberate life for living.

7. To organise seminars,conferences,workshops,faith clinics,training centres and schools to enhance the spiritual growth of the people in the Lord.

Any Objection(s) to this registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General, Corporate Affairs Commission, plot 420, Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, PMB 198, Garki, Abuja within 28 days from the date of this publication.

Signed by: SECRETARY.

This is to inform the general public that the above named, has applied for Registration to the Corporate Affairs Commission under Part “C” of the Companies and Alied Matters Act 1990

This is to inform the general public that the above named, has applied for Registration to the Corporate Affairs Commission under Part “C” of the Companies and Alied Matters Act 1990

Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the Registrara general Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, Off Aguiyi lronsi Street, Maitama Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

SIGNED BY AUGUSTINE UWEM JAMESJOHNSON ESQ: 08023062976 LIKE MINDS PROGRESSIVE INITIATIVE. The General Public is hereby notified that the above named Initiative has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under Part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2004.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. ANELE UGOCHUKWU-CHAIRMAN. 2. AKAEDU GODWIN UCHECHUKWU-VICE CHAIRMAN. 3. BERNARD UZOMA CHIDUBEM- SECRETARY. 4. ONYEANUSI IFEANYI FRANCIS. 5. NDIOGU ANAYO HERBERT AIM AND OBJECTIVE: 1. TO PROMOTE THE UNITY AND WELFARE OF ITS MEMBERS. Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the Registrar-General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, Off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, P.M.B. 198, Garki, Abuja within Twenty-Eight (28) days from the date of this publication.

SIGNED: SECRETARY.

SIGNED: SECRETARY

HIS DWELLING PLACE MINISTRY ASERO ABEOKUTA

POWER IN THE GLORIOUS CHRIST ASSEMBLY

AMIS AND OBJECTIVES 1. To preach the gospel of Jesus Christ

Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420 Tigris Crescent, Maitama District, Abuja within 28 days from the date of this publication

This is to inform the general public that the above named “MINISTRY” has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under the part C of Companies and Allied Matters Acts 1990.

TRUSTEES ARE 1. Bro Dayo St John 2. Bro Lanre Adeboye.

3. Bro Solomon Obasuyi 4. Bro Kola Ogunlola 5. Bro Femi Adesanya 6. Bro Ojo Oluyemi 7. Bro Adedayo Thomas 8. Bro Omolayo Ariyo 9. Sister Yinka Adeboye AIMS AND OBJECTIVES. 1.To preach the gospel as entrenched in the canonised Holy Bible and educate, inform and reform people through the same 2. To raise men that will live, walk and labour after the pattern of Christ.

3. To be a forum for culturing disciples of Jesus Christ who lives as close as possible to the tenets and principles operational in the churches in the New Testament.

Any Objection(s) to this registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General, Corporate Affairs Commission, plot 420, Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, PMB 198, Garki, Abuja within 28 days from the date of this publication.

Signed by: TRUSTEES.

ABLAZE CHRISTIAN CENTER

TRUSTEES: 1. Torstine Ehimen Edward 2. Faith Osarieme Linus 3. Daniel Oshiname Alabi – Eric

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1. To preach the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2. To set the captives free.

TRUSTEES 1. OGBOH PETE CHUKWUFUMNAYA – PRESIDENT 2. OGBOH FLORISH AKUCHUKWU – VICE PRESIDENT 3. UKWU RUTH NKECHINYERE – TREASURER 4. ANAYOCHUKWU O. JOY – BOARD MEMBER 5. ELUE BLESSING UJU – SECRETARY 6. ENGR. BENJAMIN AKONOBI – PRO 7. MRS. JULIANA NKIRU NNAJI – ADVICER

MAC GETTY HOPE FOUNDATION

The General Public is hereby notified that the above named Foundation has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under Part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2004.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1.NDIDIAMAKA GERTRUDE IHEKUNA 2.MODESTUS UCHECHUKWU IHEKUNA. 3. STEPHANIE CHIDIMMA IHEKUNA. 4. OMAR MAITAMA. 5. GHAJIGA GIDEON SIMON

Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the Registrara general Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, Off Aguiyi lronsi Street, Maitama Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE: 1. To promote and protect the fundamental right of vulnerable women and children.

2. To engage in holistic counselling of sexually abused persons and victims of other abuses with a view to integrating them positively in the society.

Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the RegistrarGeneral, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, Off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, P.M.B. 198, Garki, Abuja within Twenty-Eight (28) days from the date of this publication.

SIGNED BY SECRETARY

SIGNED: Secretary

AMIS AND OBJECTIVES To preach the word of God

PEACE AND TRANSFORMATION CHURCH

LADY’S STRENGTH PINNACLE INITIATIVE

The General Public is hereby notified that the above named Church has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under Part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2004.

The General Public is hereby notified that the above named Organization has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under Part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2004.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. PASTOR MIKE OLANREWAJU 2. PASTOR (MRS.) BUNMI OLANREWAJU 3. BRO. SAYO OLANREWAJU 4. ELDER SUNDAY OLALEYE 5. PASTOR (MRS.) ESTHER ODOFIN 6. ELD. SAMSON AJONGBOLO

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. MRS. FEMI BETULLI - President 2. PRINCESS ONOAHON OKOJIE - Secretary 3. MADAM MARY ABURIME - Member

THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE: 1. To proclaim the goodnews of Christ to all nations.

2. To establish branches whenever converts are made for the expansion of the gospel.

Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the Registrar-General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, Off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, P.M.B. 198, Garki, Abuja within Twenty-Eight (28) days from the date of this publication.

SIGNED: SECRETARY

THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE: 1. To assist the less privileged in the society; such as orphans, widows and physically challenged.

2. To set up trust and foundations for advancement of education of children either by award of scholarship, prizes endowments or any other means in society.

Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the RegistrarGeneral, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, Off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, P.M.B. 198, Garki, Abuja within Twenty-Eight (28) days from the date of this publication.

SIGNED: SECRETARY

22 Public Notice UNDIUTUNG FOUNDATION FOR WIDOWS AND LESS PRIVILEGED

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, November 23, 2016

BETHEL PENTECOSTAL INTERNATIONAL CHURCH WARRI

The General Public is hereby notified that the above named Foundation has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under Part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 2004.

Notice is hereby given to the general public that the above named church in UGBOMRO –WARRI Delta State has applied for registration under the Companies and Allied Matters Decree. No 1 of 1990 part C.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. AGIM MARTHA AGEDE- CHAIRMAN. 2. AGIM GODWIN APPLE- VICE CHAIRMAN. 3. AGIM SIMEON ABUOKWEN- SECRETARY. 4. OCHUI DAVID AGIANPUYE- MEMBER.

TRUSTEES ARE 1. PASTOR ERAIYOMA ALEX ONAKORAME (FOUNDER / GENERAL OVEERSEER) 2. DEACONESS ERAIYOMA TAIWO ESEOSA 3. MRS. EGHWUBARE ELOHOR 4. BRO. OMOYOVWIN EDWIN 5. BRO. IDOGHOR JOHN

AIM AND OBJECTIVE: 1. TO HELP WIDOWS, LESS PRIVILEGED AND ORPHANS BY EMPOWERING, TRANING AND SUPPORTING THEM. Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the RegistrarGeneral, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, Off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, P.M.B. 198, Garki, Abuja within TwentyEight (28) days from the date of this publication.

SIGNED: SECRETARY

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. To reach the world with the gospel of our lord and savior Jesus Christ 2. To build people’s lives upon the foundation Jesus Christ the son of the living God 3. To establish Bible institute and train workers for the work of the ministry Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the Registrar / General Corporate Affairs Commission, P.M.B 198 Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

SIGNED: M.O. ILUWA ESQ. 08027467296

LEADERSHIP ENGAGEMENT AND RESEARCH NETWORK THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED HAS APPLIED FOR REGISTRATION TO CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION UNDER PART C OF COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO.1 OF 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1.OKEKE AUGUSTINE ELOCHUKWU 2.UKAEGBU UWAKWE EJIEKE AIM AND OBJECTIVE TO FOSTER QUALITY LEADERSHIP IN NIGERIA ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO REGISTRAR - GENERAL CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION PLOT 420 TIGRIS CRESCENT OFF AGUIYI IRONSI MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS OF THIS PUBLICATION SIGNED: BARR G.OKOLIE ESQ

SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS CLUB

NATURE AND HEALTH FOUNDATION

PEAR-SETTERS INITIATIVE

The General Public is hereby notified that the above named CLUB has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for Registration under Part C of the Companies and Allied Matters Act 1990.

This is to inform the General Public that the above named FOUNDATION has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for Registration under Part C of the Companies and Allied Matters Act 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE:(1) AGBOOLA OLUSHOLA OLUYEMISI - CHAIRMAN (2) AGBOOLA ADEWALE ELIJAH -VICE CHAIRMAN (3) SANGODARA MONSURAT BOLANLE - SECRETARY 4. DR. OSINDERO OLUSOLA -MEMBER 5. AGBOOLA ODUNAYO ADENIKE -MEMBER

THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED HAS APPLIED FOR REGISTRATION TO CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990

THE TRUSTEES ARE:1. DAVID NDUAGUIBE CHIDOZIE -CHAIRMAN 2. GRACE OLATUNDE -TRUSTEE 3. SEYI ADEOLA OKUYEMI - SECRETARY 4. OLUWATOYIN LOIS CHIDOZIE -VICE CHAIRMAN

TRUSTEES 1. IBIRONKE JAMES 2. JUDE JAMES 3. ADEBOLA LAWANSON

THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE:1. To promote effective and innovative information communication technology knowledge among social media users 2. To promote online ethics and conduct among members

THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE:1.TO PROMOTE SUSTAINABLE NATURAL ENVIRONMENT THAT CAN REDUCE THE OCCURRENCE OF NAUTURAL DISASTERS AND MAN MADE DISASTER 2.TO CREATE AWARENESS ON THE EFFECTS OF DAY TO DAY ACTIVITIES ON NATURE, OUR HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENT

Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to Registrar-General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, Off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama Abuja within 28 days from the date of this publication

Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to Registrar-General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, Off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama Abuja within 28 days from the date of this publication

ANY OBJECTION TO THIS REGISTRATION SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL. CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUYI IRONSI STREET. PMB 198, MATIAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28 DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION.

SIGNED BY: SECRETARY

SIGNED BY : SECRETARY

SIGNED: SECRETARY

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES TO EMPOWER THE YOUTH AND LESS PRIVILEGE IN THE SOCIETY

EMPOWERED YOUTHS CLUB

FIRQOTUL-MOEMONAT ISLAMIC SOCIETY OF NIGERIA

CHRIST GRACE & MERCY POWER PRAYER GOSPEL MINISTRY

This is to inform the General Public that The above named CLUB has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for Registration under Part C of the Companies and Allied Matters Act 1990.

This is to inform the General Public that the above named has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for Registration under Part C of the Companies and Allied Matters Act 1990.

This is to inform the general public that the above named has applied for Registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission under part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matter Act 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE :1. DAVID NDUAGUIBE CHIDOZIE - CHAIRMAN 2. OLUWATOYIN LOIS CHIDOZIE -VICE CHAIRMAN 3.GRACE OLATUNDE -SECRETARY 4. AKINNIKU TAWAKALITU DUROTOLA -MEMBER THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE:1.To Promote entrepreneurial values in young ones 2.To provide scholarship for brilliant indigent and physically challenged youths

THE TRUSTEES ARE:1. AJIJOLAANABI ABDULRASHEED AKANBI - FOUNDER 2. AMUSA FASASI ATANDA - PRESIDENT 3. BEWAJI FAISU ADIO - VICE PRESIDENT 4. TAJUDEEN. FATIU OLANREWAJU -GENERAL SECRETARY 5. AKINBO NOIMOT AJOKE - TREASURER 6. AGBAJE SAIDAT AMOPE - P.R.O 7. IDOWU ADIJAT -WELFARE 8. AJIJOLA ABDULAHI OLAMIDE. - MISSIONER 9. AJIBOLA ABDUL AZEEZ ASEY - MISSIONER

Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to Registrar-General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, Off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama Abuja within 28 days from the date of this publication

THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE:1. Islamic and arabic coaching centre mosque 2. Muslim comunity development Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to Registrar-General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, Off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama Abuja within 28 days from the date of this publication

SIGNED BY:- SECRETARY

SIGNED BY : SECRETARY

BOARD OF TRUSTEES (1). ADEWUMI KAYODE (3). MRS RACHAEL ADEWUMI (5) MR FOLORUNSO OJO (7). MR ORILOYE ADELEYE

(2). OLUSEGUN ADEWUMI (4). SISTER ADEWUMI AYOMIDE (6). MR. SAMUEL ABIODUN

AIMS/OBJECTIVES: 1. TO PREACH THE GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the Registrar-General Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420 Tigris Crescent off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days from the date of this publication.

SIGNED : THE TRUSTEES.

REAL-ACHIEVERS KLUB INT’L.

BROADWAY REAL ESTATE AGENTS ASSOCIATION

ADAZION HOUSE OF PRAYER AND HEALING MINISTRY

This is to inform the general public that the above named has applied for Registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission under part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matter Act 1990.

This is to inform the general public that the above named has applied for Registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission under part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matter Act 1990.

This is to inform the general public that the above named has applied for Registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission under part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matter Act 1990.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES (1). ADAZION KELVIN ABUNIS (2). KELVIN ABUNIS (3). SYLVANUS UWANKWO (4). ABEL KINGLEY (5). FIDELIA OZOEMENE (6). MARCEL IHEDI

BOARD OF TRUSTEES (1). AJIBOLA KAYODE SUNDAY (2). FALUYI BANKOLE OMOTAYO (3). FAGBE AYODELE (4). OLUSANYA EBENEZER SUNDAY (5). ABDULAZEEZ SESAN ORIOLA.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES 1. MR. NDIDIAMAKA CHUKWU 3. OKORODUDU MICHEAL 5. IDUBOR NORAGBON

2. LIBERTY AKIOYA 4. IYERE OSEGHALE CHARLES 6. IGBINOVIA JULIUS

AIM AND OBJECTIVES 1. To foster unity and protect the interests of her members 2. To render assistance to their members 3. To give them a sense of purpose in the society 4. To reach out to every persons to believe in the unique abilities to affect their world and inspire them for greater height Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the RegistrarGeneral Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420 Tigris Crescent off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days from the date of this publication.

Signed: SECRETARY

AIMS/OBJECTIVES: TO PREACH THE GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the Registrar-General Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420 Tigris Crescent off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days from the date of this publication.

SIGNED: THE TRUSTEES.

AIMS/OBJECTIVES (1).TO PROMOTE FRIENDSHIP AND PEACEFUL CO-EXISTENCE AMONG MEMBERS. Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the RegistrarGeneral Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420 Tigris Crescent off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days from the date of this publication.

Signed: SECRETARY

THE DISCIPLES COMMUNITY CHURCH OF GOD IN AFRICA

AWESOME INCOMPARABLE LOVE OF GOD MINISTRY INTL

OKPOSI OKWU YOUNG STAR SOCIAL CLUB

This is to inform the general public that the above named has applied for Registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission under part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matter Act 1990.

This is to inform the general public that the above named Ministry has applied for registration to Corporate Affairs Commission Under Part C of the Company and Allied Matters Act No.1 of 1990.

This is to inform the general public that the above named has applied for registration to Corporate Affairs Commission Under Part C of the Company and Allied Matters Act No.1 of 1990.

BOARD OF TRUSTEES 1. MR. ESHIAGUE OLADAPO ADEBAYO 2. MR. GERALD OITHAPEME ADEBAYO 3. MRS. VICTORIA INUMIDUN METEREYIKU

BOARD OF TRUSTEES: 1. Pastor Joseph Igwenagu - Chairman 2. Brother Patrick Umeh - Secretary 3. Pastor Mrs Florence Igwenagu - MEMBER 4. Pastor Mrs Amaka Igweze - MEMBER 5. Brother Emmanuel Ogbonna - MEMBER

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Okoro John Uchechukwu 2. Nwanja Chukwunweolu 3. Omoke Obinna Okike 4. Chukwu Ogbonnaya Michael 5. Okorie Zion Ndubisi

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To Preach The Word of GOD

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1. To foster unity among the members.

Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the RegistrarGeneral Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420 Tigris Crescent off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days from the date of this publication.

Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General, Corporate Affairs Commission, 420, Tigris Crescent, Off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Pmb 198, Maitama, Abuja within 28th days from the date of publication.

AAny objection to this registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General, Corporate Affairs Commission, 420, Tigris Crescent, Off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Pmb 198, Maitama, Abuja within 28th days from the date of publication.

Signed: SECRETARY

SIGNED: SECRETARY

SIGNED: TRUSTEES.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. To preach the word of God to all nations 2. To win souls for the kingdom of God 3. To raise men and women who will be of great influence in the society

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, November 23, 2016

AILERU ABDULRAHAMAN OLALEKAN

I, formerly known as Aileru Rahman Olalekan wish to be known and addressed as Aileru Abdulrahaman Olalekan.

All former document remain valid, general public please take note.

ABRAHAM JACK CHUKWUDI

ELUONYEKOBIA IKECHUKWU LUCKY

I, formerly known as Nwaokolo Ikechukwu Lucky wish to be known and addressed as Eluonyekobia Ikechukwu Lucky. All former document remain valid, general public please take note.

AJAYI OLUWATOYIN OLUWASEUN

AZEEZ LATIFAT OLAJUMOKE

I, formerly known as AZEEZ ABENI JUMOKE wish to be known and addressed as AZEEZ LATIFAT OLAJUMOKE. All former document remain valid, general public please take note.

ATTAH BLESSING ALADI

BAKARE AFOLAKE MISTUROH

I, formerly known as Miss Okunloye Afolake Misturoh wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Bakare Afolake Misturoh. All former document remain valid, general public please take note.

IMOH FRIDAY UDOH

ADEPOJU ADEYEMI YISAU

I, formerly known as Imoh Friday Etuk wish to be known and addressed as Imoh Friday Udoh. All former document remain valid, general public please take note.

I, formerly known as Mr Adepoju Adeyemi wish to be known and addressed as Mr Adepoju Adeyemi Yisau.

All former document remain valid, general public please take note.

I, formerly known as Abraham Jack Odua wish to be known and addressed as Abraham Jack Chukwudi. All former document remain valid, general public please take note.

I, formerly known as Ajayi Toyin Samuel wish to be known and addressed as Ajayi Oluwatoyin Oluwaseun.

All former document remain valid, general public please take note.

I, formerly known as Attah Blessing wish to be known and addressed as Attah Blessing Aladi. All former document remain valid, general public please take note.

ABIFARIN TEMITOPE BOLATITO

UMUKORO OLORUNWA ADEKEYE I Formerly known and addressed as MISS ALONGE OLORUNWA ADEKEYE Now wish to be known, called and addressed as MRS UMUKORO OLORUNWA ADEKEYE All documents and certificates bearing my former names remain valid. General public and Relevant authorities Please take note.

ADETUNJI ADETOKUNBO ADESOLA

FREDERICK ADODO

I, formerly known and addressed as ADETUNJI ADETOKUNBO, now wish to be known and addressed as ADETUNJI ADETOKUNBO ADESOLA. Former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

Formerly known and addressed as INEGBE OSEnow wish to be known and addressed as FREDERICK ADODO. All Former Documents remain valid, and general public note

I formerly know and addressed as KAREEM TEMITOPE BOLATITO. Now wish to be known and addressed as ABIFARIN TEMITOPE BOLATITO. All former document remain valid general public take note DADA SAMUEL KOLAWOLE

Formerly known and addressed as DADA KOLAWOLE now wish to be known and addressed as DADA SAMUEL KOLAWOLE . All Former Documents remain valid, and general public note CHUKWUEBUKA STANLEY NWANDENDE

WILLIAMS FOLAKE MARY

MORONFOYE AKANBI BOLANTA

FUNMILOLA ABIODUN OKE

I FORMERLY KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS AJIBOYE FOLAKE MARY. NOW WISH TO BE KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS WILLIAMS FOLAKE MARY. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID. GENERAL PUBLIC TAKE NOTE

Formerly known and addressed as SAMSON OLUGBENGA OGUNSETAN now wish to be known and addressed as MORONFOYE AKANBI BOLANTA. All Former Documents remain valid, Embassies and public note

Formerly known and addressed as FUNMILOLA AJAYI now wish to be known and addressed as FUNMILOLA ABIODUN OKE. All Former Documents remain general and public note

CHIDERA NGOZI OZIOMA

AROH PRINCESS SARAH

CHANGE OF NAME/CONFIRM MATION OF NAME.

JOHNSON CLIFOORD OSEMEN

I formerly known and addressed as EKENG FRANCIS now wish to be known and addressed as JOHNSON CLIFOORD OSEMEN. All former documents remain valid. General public to please take note.

ONWUNAH CLEMENTINA UCHENNA

IJEOMA MARYJANE ONUORAH

ONYEKWELU :I formerly known as Miss ONYEKWELU CLEMENTINA UCHENNA now. wish to be known as Mrs ONWUNAH CLEMENTINA UCHENNA. former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

NJOKU:I formerly known as IJEOMA MARYJANE NJOKU now wish to be known as Mrs IJEOMA MARYJANE ONUORAH. former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

ODOH JACINTHA UCHENNA

I FORMERLY KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS AROH ADAEZE PRINCESS NOW WISH TO BE KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS AROH PRINCESS SARAH. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID GENERAL PUBLIC SHOULD TAKE NOTE ARRANGEMENT OF NAME

AMUSA QUADRI OLADIPUPO.

I formerly known and addressed as HAMZAT QUADRI OLADIPUPO now wish to be known and addressed as AMUSA QUADRI OLADIPUPO. All former documents remain valid. General public to please take note.

EKE NKECHI CHUKWU

ODO INNOCENT ERIONWU ODO: I, formerly known and addressed as MR ODO INNOCENT,now wish to be known and addressed as MR ODO INNOCENT ERIONWU. All former documents remain valid. Enugu LG Service Commission , Isi – uzo LG Council and General public should please take note.

OZOEMENA: I, formerly known and addressed as OZOEMENA MBA ESELE, now wish to be known and addressed as MOSES OZOEMENA MBA. All former documents remain valid.

Banks and General public should please take note.

CHUKWU: I, formerly known and addressed as CHUKWU SUSAN NKECHINYERE, now wish to be known and addressed as EKE NKECHI CHUKWU. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

ANIELO PIUS ARINZE

UGWU GEORGE VITALIS

HELEN ESSIET SYLVANUS

UGWU: I, formerly known and addressed as UGWU VITALIS CHUKWU EBUKA, now wish to be known and addressed as UGWU GEORGE VITALIS. All former documents remain valid. Banks and General public should please take note.

EZE FELICIA IFEOMA AND EZE EMMENUEL EMEKA

EGBE: I, formerly known and addressed as MISS HELEN ERNEST EGBE, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS HELEN ESSIET SYLVANUS.All former documents remain valid.

NYSC and General public should please take note.

UMEZULIKE: I, formerly known and addressed as MISS UMEZULIKE FELICIA IFEOMA and UMEH EMMANUEL UCHENNA now wish to be known and addressed as EZE FELICIA IFEOMA and EZE EMMENUEL EMEKA. All former documents remain valid. Banks and General public should please take note.

JONATHAN RUTH

ODO HOPE NONYE

ANIKE: I, formerly known and addressed as ANIKE RUTH PRECIOUS, now wish to be known and addressed as JONATHAN RUTH. All former documents remain valid.

Banks and General public should please take note.

MODUPEOLA FOLORUNSO ELUGBAJU

OLORUNDARE KUDIRAT ABIONO

I FORMERLY KNOWN AND ADDRESSD AS MISS YUSUFF KUDIRAT ABIONO NOW WISH TO BE KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS MRS OLORUNDARE KUDIRAT ABIONO. ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID GENERAL PUBLIC SHOULD TAKE NOTE

I formerly known and addressed as MODUPEOLA FOLORUNSO SORUNKE now wish to be known and addressed as MODUPEOLA FOLORUNSO ELUGBAJU. All former documents remain valid. General public to please take note.

JOSEPH: I, formerly known and addressed as ANIELO PIUS JOSEPH, now wish to be known and addressed as ANIELO PIUS ARINZE. All former documents remain valid. BANKS and General public should please take note.

IFENZE CATHERINE CHINWENDU.

I FORMERLY KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS MISS PETER MARTHA IFEOMA AND BANWUNA MARTHA. NOW WISH TO BE KNON AND ADDRESSED AS MRS ONWUACHU MARTHA IFEOMA ALL FORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID GENERAL PUBLIC SHOULD TAKE NOTE

This to inform the General Public that my name was wrongly arranged as ABDULRAMAN MOHAMMED GUJJA instead of GUJJA MOHAMMED ABDULRAMAemain valid.

General public to please take note.

UKWUMA: I, formerly known and addressed as MISS UKWUMA JACINTHA UCHENNA, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS ODOH JACINTHA UCHENNA. All former documents remain valid.

BANKS and General public should please take note.

UGWU: I, formerly known and addressed as UGWU CATHERINE CHINWENDU, now wish to be known and addressed as IFENZE CATHERINE CHINWENDU. All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

AFOLASHADE OLUWATOSIN OROLADE

Formerly known and addressed as SHADE TOSIN OROLADE now wish to be known and addressed as AFOLASHADE OLUWATOSIN OROLADE . All Former Documents remain valid, and general public note

OLAJIRE AHMED SAMUEL

WASIU LAJA KILANI

VERONICA NGOZI OSADEBE

Formerly known and addressed as SUNDAY RUTH .U now wish to be known and addressed as OPIA RUTH UDOKA. All Former Documents remain valid, and general public note

BASSEY TINA IME

I, formerly known as TINA EFFIONG UBOH wish to be known and addressed as BASSEY TINA IME . All former document remain valid, general public please take note.

Formerly known and addressed as OLAJIDE AHMED now wish to be known and addressed as OLAJIRE AHMED SAMUEL. All Former Documents remain valid, and general public note

AMAKA QUEENDARLYN ANAMS

I FORMERLYKNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS EHIEMERE NGOZI OZIOMA NOW WISH TO BE KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS CHIDERA NGOZI OZIOMA. ALLFORMER DOCUMENTS REMAIN VALID GENERAL PUBLIC SHOULD TAKE NOTE

UFOH: I, formerly known and addressed as VERONICA NGOZI UFOH, now wish to be known and addressed as VERONICA NGOZI OSADEBE. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

OPIA RUTH UDOKA

AZEEZ FATIMOT OPEYEMI

I, formerly known AFOLABI FATIMOT OPEYEMI as wish to be known and addressed as AZEEZ FATIMOT OPEYEMI. All former document remain valid, general public please take note.

i formerly known and address as Amaka Queendaline Anams now wish to be known and address as Amaka Queendarlyn Anams. all former documents remain valid. General public should take note

I formerly known and addressed Chukwuebuka Nwadenze and Chukwuebuka Stanley Nwandezde now wish to be known and addessed as Chukwuebuka Stanley Nwandende all former documents remain valid general public should take note

I formerly known and addressed as WASIU LAJA MAKINDE now wish to be known and addressed as WASIU LAJA KILANI. All former documents remain valid. General public to please take note.

CHUKWUNONSO JOHNBOSCO UGHELU

I, formerly known as Nonso Johnbosco Ughaehu wish to be known and addressed as Chukwunonso Johnbosco Ughelu. All former document remain valid, general public please take note.

23

OGBU: I, formerly known and addressed as MISS OGBU HOPE NONYE, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS ODO HOPE NONYE. All former documents remain valid. Banks and General public should please take note.

NGENE VINCENT AFAMEFUNA

NGENE: I, formerly known and addressed as NGENE ARINZE AFAMEFUNA , now wish to be known and addressed as NGENE VINCENT AFAMEFUNA . All former documents remain valid .BANKS and General public should please take note.

ILOCHI LUCY CHEKWUBE

MOSES OZOEMENA MBA

DURU- IFEANYI TINA AMARACHI EZIAKU

COLLINS: I, formerly known and addressed as MISS COLLINS TINA AMARACHI, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS DURUIFEANYI TINA AMARACHI EZIAKU. All former documents remain valid.

Federal Teaching Hospital Abakaliki (FECTHA) and General public should please take note.

ENYINNAYA VICTORIA CHINWENDU

EDEH: I, formerly known and addressed as MISS EDEH LUCY CHEKWUBE, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS ILOCHI LUCY CHEKWUBE. All former documents remain valid.

NYSC and General public should please take note.

ENYINNAYA: I, formerly known and addressed as ENYINNAYA VICTORIA CHINENYE, now wish to be known and addressed as ENYINNAYA VICTORIA CHINWENDU. All former documents remain valid .BANKS and General public should please take note.

KELECHUKWU PATRICIA NGOZI IBEKWE: I, formerly known and addressed as MISS IBEKWE PATRICIA NGOZI, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS KELECHUKWU PATRICIA NGOZI. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

CHUKWUKENE: I, formerly known and addressed as CHUKWUKENE CHIJIOKE, now wish to be known and addressed as CHUKWUKENE MARK CHIJIOKE. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

CHUKWUKENE MARK CHIJIOKE

ABISOYE BUKUNOLA FUNKE

I formerly known and addressed as OKUNOWO BUKUNOLA FUNKE now wish to be known and addressed as ABISOYE BUKUNOLA FUNKE. In my international passport my first name was wrongly written as BUKONLA instead of BUKUNOLA. All former documents remain valid.

General public to take note.

ADARAOKAREN JOSHUA EJUYA

I formerly known and addressed as SAMUEL JOHN EJUYA now wish to be known and addressed as ADARAOKAREN JOSHUA EJUYA. All former documents remain valid. General public to please take note.

NWOBODO DAMIAN KENECHUKWU

NWOBODO: I, formerly known and addressed as NWOBODO DAMIIAN COSMAS, now wish to be known and addressed as NWOBODO DAMIAN KENECHUKWU. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

ANI ELIZABETH OBIAMAKA ANIZOBA: I, formerly known and addressed as ANIZOBA OBIAMAKA ELIZABETH, now wish to be known and addressed as ANI ELIZABETH OBIAMAKA All former documents remain valid. Banks and General public should please take note.

EFIDI EMELDA ECHEZONACHUKWU

AGUNNA: I, formerly known and addressed as AGUNNA EMELDA ECHEZONACHUKWU, now wish to be known and addressed as EFIDI EMELDA ECHEZONACHUKWU. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

EZENWAEDEH UGOCHUKWU QUEEN

OMEKARA: I, formerly known and addressed as MISS OMEKARA UGOCHUKWU QUEEN, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS EZENWAEDEH UGOCHUKWU QUEEN. All former documents remain valid. IMT, NYSC and General public should please take note.

24

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, November 23, 2016

ÏÏÏA woman, Mrs. Deborah Ekundayo has dragged her daughter-in-law, one mrs Ikeoluwa Adelugba and her mother, Risikatu Adelugba, before the Grade C Customary Court, Agodi-Ibadan, Oyo state.

The mother-in-law had alleged that Ikeoluwa wanted to abandon her son for another man.

The plaintiff who filed the suit on behalf of his son, Kayode Ekundayo, prayed the court to grant her the custody of the only child of the union.

In her testimony on Tuesday, Ekundayo narrated how his son impregnated Ikeoluwa in 2015 and the couple wanted to abort the pregnancy.

“I quickly intervened when I heard that my son and Ikeoluwa wanted to get rid of the pregnancy by taking the defendant to a hospital where she registered for her ante-natal.

Woman drags daughter-in-law to court over alleged plan to remarry “She was safely delivered of the baby and I spent about N50, 000 during delivery.

“But Ikeoluwa started following other men to hotels to commit adultery two weeks after her delivery.

“Her easy virtues made me to conduct a DNA-test to confirm that my child was the biological father of the baby and the test was positive.

“I got information recently on the Facebook about a proposed wedding between Ikeoluwa and another man, and I do not want her to take my grandson to another man.

“I pray the court to allow me have the custody of the only child of the marriage

CHIDIMMA OKEKE NWAJIDEOBI

NWEKE-SIMEON NICHOLAS CHIDINMA JULIET

I, formerly known and addressed as, MISS. CHIDIMMA STANLEY OKEKE, now wish to be known and addressed as, MRS. CHIDIMMA OKEKE NWAJIDEOBI. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as, MISS. NNEJI CHIDINMA JULIET, now wish to be known and addressed as, MRS. NWEKE-SIMEON NICHOLAS CHIDINMA JULIET. All former documents remain valid.

General public should take note.

ADDITION OF NAME

I, OKERE CHIBUZOR WISDOM, wish to add, WISDOM, to my name which was formerly, OKERE CHIBUZOR. I now wish to be known and addressed as, OKERE CHIBUZOR WISDOM. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

AGBO JOY ONYINYECHI

OGODO: I, formerly known and addressed as MISS OGODO JOY ONYINYECHI, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS AGBO JOY ONYINYECHI. All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

IFEOMA ONYEKELU

ADAMMA: I, formerly known and addressed as MISS ADAMMA OKOLIE, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS IFEOMA ONYEKELU. All former documents remain valid. Banks and General public should please take note.

CORRECTION OF NAME

CONFIRMATION OF NAME I, KALU MARGARET CHIDINMA, KALU MARGARET ONWUNTA, AND IHEUKWU MARGARET CHIDINMA, refer to one and same person but, now wish to be known and addressed as, KALU MARGARET CHIDINMA. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

ONAH HARRISON NJIDEKA ONAH: I, formerly known and addressed as ONAH HARRISON JIDE, now wish to be known and addressed as ONAH HARRISON NJIDEKA. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

NKIRU AUGUSTINA JAGGERS CHUKWUJI: I, formerly known and addressed as MISS NKIRU AUGUSTINA CHUKWUJI, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS NKIRU AUGUSTINA JAGGERS. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

FAMILY CHANGE OF NAME

who is six months old, so that I can take good care of him, “ she said.

The defendant, Ikeoluwa, was not in court but her mother, Risikatu, who was also joined in the suit, was present to defend the case.

She admitted that the tes-

timony of the plaintiff was true but told the court that her son in-law, Kayode, was not interested in the child’s welfare when her daughter got pregnant.

She also pleaded with the court to continue to allow her be in possession of the

ÏÏÏThe EFCC on Tues-

morning to close the case against the former governor.

In response, the lead defence counsel, Mr. Omosanya Popoola, said that he would file ‘no case submission.’

“In view of the closure of the prosecution case, we shall be making no case

submission pursuant to section 303 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act’’, Popoola said.

He said he would serve the prosecution with the written address, next week.

The trial judge, Justice Adebukola Banjoko, adjourned the case till Dec 5.

News Agency of Nigeria

ALAEKE UZOCHUKWU PAULINUS

LUCY OLUMA ELENDU I, formerly known and addressed as, MISS. LUCY ONYE, now wish to be known and addressed as, MRS. LUCY OLUMA ELENDU. All former documents remain valid.

NYSC and General public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as, ABERE JOHN, now wish to be known and addressed as, IBI-ILATE TYGER. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

day closed its case against former Taraba governor Rev. Jolly Nyaeme, who is standing trial before the FCT High Court on charges of N1.6 billion fraud.

The EFCC’s counsel, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), told the court that the prosecution had decided this

I, formerly known and addressed as, ALAEKE PAVE, now wish to be known and addressed as, ALAEKE UZOCHUKWU PAULINUS. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

AMEAWUHULE AMARACHI GRACE

IBI-ILATE TYGER

(NAN) reports the prosecution closed its case after calling 14 witnesses during the trial which started since 2010.

Nyame is facing trial on a 41-count charge of criminal misappropriation of N1.64 billion state funds, during his tenure as governor.

CHINYERE BLESSING AHANONU I, formerly known and addressed as, CHINYERE BLESSING FIDELIS, now wish to be known and addressed as, CHINYERE BLESSING AHANONU. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

AUGUSTINA GERTRUDE OSEMENE ONWOCHE

I, AMEAWUHULE AMARACHI GRACE, AND OKAFOR GRACE AMARACHI, refer to one and same person but, now wish to be known and addressed as, AMEAWUHULE AMARACHI GRACE. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

ABIEBU ZILLAH SUNDAY.

I, AUGUSTINA GERTRUDE ONWOCHEI, TINA GERTRUDE OSEMENEONWOCHEI, OSEMENE AUGUSTINA, OSEMENE AUGUSTINA GERTRUDE, TINA GERTRUDE OSEMENE, OSEMENE ONWOCHEI AUGUSTI, AND TINA GERTRUDE ONWOCHEI, refer to one and same person but, now wish to be known and addressed as, AUGUSTINA GERTRUDE OSEMENE ONWOCHEI. All former documents remain valid.

General public should take note.

I, ABIABUE ZILLAH SUNDAY, ABIEBU ZILLAH SUNDAY, AND ABIEBU ZILLAH, refer to one and same person but, now wish to be known and addressed as, ABIEBU ZILLAH SUNDAY. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

I, GRACE ANTHONY NDUKIRE, wish to correct my name which was wrongly as, GRACE ANTHONY CHINAGOROM, instead of, GRACE ANTHONY NDUKIRE, in my bank details. I now wish to be known and addressed as, GRACE ANTHONY NDUKIRE. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

UGWOKE MOSES CHIEDOZIE

UGWOKE MATHIAS .C. DIEKE: I, formerly known and addressed as DIEKE EBUKA, now wish to be known and addressed as UGWOKE MATHIAS .C. All former documents remain valid. Banks and General public should please take note.

OGBUAGU AMAKA FLORENCE

OBI I, formerly known and addressed as MISS OBI AMAKA FLORENCE, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS OGBUAGU AMAKA FLORENCE. All former documents remain valid. Banks and General public should please take note.

NSUDE OKAFOR AMAECHI OKAFOR: I, formerly known and addressed as OKAFOR NSUDE AMAECHI, now wish to be known and addressed as NSUDE OKAFOR AMAECHI. All former documents remain valid. Banks and General public should please take note.

UGWOKE: I, formerly known and addressed as UGWOKE MOSES EDOZIE, now wish to be known and addressed as UGWOKE MOSES CHIEDOZIE. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

EBERE JUDITH OBIEZE

NNAMANI: I, formerly known and addressed as MISS NNAMANI JUDITH EBERE, now wish to be known and addressed as MRS EBERE JUDITH OBIEZE. All former documents remain valid.

General public should please take note.

OHAJIMKPO CHIGOZIE HYCENTH

CORRECTION OF NAME This is to inform the general public that my name UDOH CHINENYE Awas wrongly written when opening my account but now wish to be corrected and addressed as UDOH NWAMAKA CHINENYE. All former documents remain valid.

Banks and general public should please take note.

EDWIN WHYTE IGUMBOR

We, formerly known and addressed as OKORIE CHIDERA SANDRA and OKORIE CHINECHEREM MERCY, now wish to be known and addressed as OKORIE ODIEGWU CHIDERA SANDRA and OKORIE ODIEGWU CHINECHEREM MERCY. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note.

I was formerly known and addressed as ODIGBO CHIGOZIE, but now wish to be known and addressed as OHAJIMKPO CHIGOZIE HYCENTH. All former document remain valid general public take note.

I was formerly known and addressed as EDWIN EBONKA IGUMBOR now wish to be known and addressed as EDWIN WHYTE IGUMBOR, all former document remain valid general public take note

IHEKAIRE AMARACHI BLESSING

ESSIENTON TEMISHOLA OTOJARERI

AIYEGBUSI OGHENEVWEDE FLORAH

COMFORT IDIETOR DICKSON-ALIODI

I, formerly known and addressed as, OVBIGHOWHARA OTOJARERI TEMISHOLA, now wish to be known and addressed as, MRS. ESSIENTON TEMISHOLA OTOJARERI. All former documents remain valid.

General public should take note.

tained one-year old.

After then, the plaintiff could be allowed to have the baby in her possession, Balogun said.

He warned both parties against causing any troubles but that they should allow peace to reign.

N1.64bn fraud: prosecution closes case against Nyame

This is to inform the general public that my name NGWU ADARO KATEwas wrongly written when opening my account but now wish to be corrected and addressed as NGWU ADAORA KATE. All former documents remain valid. Banks and general public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as, MISS. EKENTA AMARACHI BLESSING, now wish to be known and addressed as, MRS. IHEKAIRE AMARACHI BLESSING. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

child saying the child was too young to be given to the plaintiff.

In his judgment, the president of the court, Chief Mukaila Balogun, ordered that the child should remain with her mother till when he would have at-

I, formerly known and addressed as, MISS. ESHAREGHARAN OGHENEVWEDE, now wish to be known and addressed as, MRS. AIYEGBUSI OGHENEVWEDE FLORAH. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as, MISS. COMFORTER GOODNEWS ALIODI, now wish to be known and addressed as, MRS. COMFORT IDIETOR DICKSON-ALIODI. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

CONFIRMATION OF NAME.

This is to confirm and certify that, ANIEKWE JACOB EGWUONWU and ANEKWE JACOB EGWUONWU refer to one and the same person, now wish to be known and addressed as ANIEKWE JACOB EGWUONWU. All former documents remain valid. General public should please take note AZUBUIKE OBINNA PRINCE

I, formerly known and addressed as, CHARLES ZIMIRO, but now wish to be known and addressed as, AZUBUIKE OBINNA PRINCE. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

OKPARA DONATUS GODDY

I, formerly known and addressed as, GINIKA DONATUS OKPARA, now wish to be known and addressed as, OKPARA DONATUS GODDY. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

CORRECTION OF NAME

ADDITION OF NAME That I was formerly known and addressed as EMEHEL GILBERT that I now wish to add CHUKWUEMEZIE to my former name that I now wish to be known and addressed as EMEHEL GILBERT CHUKWUEMEZIE. All former documents remain valid. Banks and General public should please take note.

CHIMOBI OKPARA

I, formerly known and addressed as, MISS. CHIMOBI UZOMA, now wish to be known and addressed as, MRS. CHIMOBI OKPARA. All former documents remain valid. NYSC and the general public take not.

PETER EZE I, formerly known and addressed as, PETER O. EZE, PETER OKEKE EZE OBINNA AND PETER FRIDAY O. EZE, now wish to be known and addressed as, PETER EZE. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, November 23, 2016

25 News

ASUU strike: Students appeal for government’s urgent intervention

ÏÏÏSome

students of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) have appealed to the Federal Government to urgently look into grievances of striking lecturers to forestall incessant strikes in universities.

The students made the appeal in Nsukka on Tuesday while reacting to the ongoing warning strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

The President of the Students Union Government (SUG) in the university, Mr Emmanuel Chukwu plead-

ed with President Muhammadu Buhari to urgently address the grievances of the striking lecturers.

Emmanuel Chukwu said that this had become necessary in order to prevent disruption in the academic calendar of universities in the country.

Miss Amarachi Okafor of the Department of Psychology urged the Federal Government to dialogue with ASUU not to allow the strike snowballed into an indefinite one.

Okafor also pleaded with ASUU to consider the plight of students who would be

spending extra years in the university, especially in this period of recession.

“The longer the strike lingers, the more the rate of crimes will increase and parents will be paying more for extra years spent in school,’’ she said.

Another student, Mr Emmanuel Ochi of Mass Communication Department pleaded with ASUU to consider the interest of students in order not to constitute a setback to their academics.

“I want the Federal Government and ASUU to resolve their misunderstand-

ing amicably in the interest of students and tertiary education in this country.

“Students have suffered enough over incessant strikes and we do not want a repeat of what happened in the last administration

by ASUU,’’ he said.

Academic activities have continued to be paralysed at the UNN over the warning strike by ASUU. The chairman of UNNASUU chapter, Dr Ifeanyi Abada told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that academic activities grounded in the university in compliance of directive

by the National Executive Committee of ASUU. “NEC made efforts to resolve this issue with government but it remained unyielding because of its insensitivity to issues concerning education.

“Since government failed to do the needful, ASUU is left with no option than to proceed on a one week warning strike and failure to meet with our demands we will go on an indefinite strike,’’ he said.

Abada said that ASUU was not taking it lightly with government on issues raised, especially the de-

High court dethrones sitting monarch

Protesters clash in Benin ÏÏÏ

Amaka Agbu, Port Harcourt

ÏÏÏThe occupant of the Eze

Epara Rebisi stool, Prince Victor Woluchem, has been sacked by a state High Court, presided over by Justice Monima Danagogo. The court yesterday ordered the Eze Rebisi to vacate the seat pending the determination of a substantive suit pending against him.

In a ruling delivered on a motion filed before him by Chief Emeka Anyabelem, the claimant of the stool, to set aside the recognition of Prince Woluchem, Justice Danagogo stated that the action of the 10th defendant, former Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi) was a clear manifestation of respect for the court of law.

The presiding Judge consequently restrained Chief Woluchem from parading himself, either through his servants or privy, agents or in any form as Eze Epara Rebisi, pending the determination of the substantive suit before the court, and that the order also applied to other defendants.

There had been a long legal battle for the throne following the death of the last occupant of the Eze Apara Rebisi, Eze Sunday Nnanta Woluchem, for which the Oro-Olozu community was split into two factions on who ascends the throne.

The Governor Amaechi administration, however, recognized Prince Victor Woluchem as the Eze Epara Rebisi.

mand that universities be exempted from the Treasury Single Account (TSA) policy.

“The strike compliance in UNN is total, no lectures, no examinations no departmental and faculty meetings as members will not participate.

“UNN chapter will not renege on the directive of the national body till government addresses all the issues raised.

“Our monitoring team is moving round and any lecturer found teaching will be sanctioned accordingly,’’ he said.

L-R: Members, House of Representative Committee on Army, Yakub Abiodun Balogun; Balarabe Inuwa Dutse and Kwewum Rimamnde Shawulu during the public hearing on “The killings of unarmed civilians in the South-East” at the National Assembly, Abuja… on Tuesday. Photo: TEMITOPE BALOGUN.

World Bank appoints Okoro as Senior Vice President, General Counsel

Tony Nwakaegho

ÏÏÏWorld

Bank has appointed Sandie Okoro, as her group senior vice-president and general counsel.

Announcing the appointment, Jim Yong Kim, World Bank Group President said that “Sandie Okoro is a highly regarded thought leader with a strong track record of developing new legal approaches in the field of international finance.

“Her experience managing legal and financial risks at global financial

institutions will make her a great asset for the Bank Group and our Board.”

Sandie Okoro, a British national, is currently the Global General Counsel for HSBC Global Asset Management.

She is also Deputy General Counsel of HSBC Retail Banking and Wealth Management and a member of the Executive Management Committee of HSBC Global Asset Management.

Before joining HSBC, Sandie Okoro was Global

General Counsel at Barings. She has also been appointed as the Management Board and Panel of Experts of The Hague-based Panel of Recognized International Market Experts in Finance, which assists with the settlement of international disputes of complex financial transactions.

Sandie Okoro played a leadership role during the financial crisis particularly in respect to the mitigation of counterparty risk exposure.

She has received several

accolades for her work and volunteer efforts. Most recently, in July 2016, she was named as one of the 100 Women to Watch by the Female FTSE Board.

As World Bank Group Senior Vice President and General Counsel, sandie Okoro will be the principal adviser and spokesperson on all legal matters. She will also serve as the legal adviser to the Board, management, the Inspection Panel, and the CEO of the Global Environmental Facility Programme.

Pro-government and anti-government protesters clashed in Benin on Tuesday over the alleged plan of the Edo Government to build N300 million retirement homes for former Governor Adams Oshiomhole and his deputy Dr. Pius Odubu.

The pro-government group and members of some civil society organisations (CSOs) fought at Ring Road, Benin, when the latter marched through the streets over the amendment of the law for the pension of the governor.

Edo State House of Assembly last week amended the 2007 Pension Rights of the Governor and Deputy Governor Law to include the provision of a building valued N200 million for a former governor and N100 million for his deputy.

The Speaker of the assembly, Dr. Justin Okunobor, had said that the new provision was justified as there was an existing law on pension benefits for former governors and deputies.

The civil society groups had claimed that the amendment would ensure the provision of a N200 million house for Oshiomhole, and another N100 million house for his deputy, Dr. Odubu.

The anti-government protesters, under the aegis of Edo Civil Society Organisations, had converged on the museum ground in Benin as early 8 a.m. and marched toward the Anthony Enahoro House of Assembly Complex to announce their rejection of the new pension benefits.

News 26

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Senate urges FG to establish Inland ports in Onitsha, Enugu, others Chris Emetoh, Abuja

ÏÏÏ The Senate has urged

the Federal Government carry out a feasibility study with the aim of establishing inland ports in Onitsha, Enugu, Aba, Bauchi, Maiduguri and other land-locked states in the country to accelerate commerce and ensure speedy recovery of the economy.

It urged government to direct the Nigerian Shippers Council to carry out the exercise, while it also mandated its committees on Transport and works to ensure full compliance with planned establishment of Inland Ports in the designated parts of the country.

The Senate also took into cognizance the fact that those Inland Ports that have had feasibility studies done on them for establishment of inland waterways Ports should be revisited.

These resolutions of the Senate were sequel to a motion sponsored by Senator Stella Odua (Anambra North).

In her motion titled ‘Need for the Establishment of Dry and Inland Ports at Onitsha, Enugu and other land-locked states’, Senator Odua said the development of dry ports and inland water transport in Onitsha, Aba and other land-locked areas would facilitate commercial and industrial activities in export and importation of raw materials and equipment as a major component.

She noted that the existing maritime Ports in Lagos, Port Harcourt and Calabar are be-

ing over stretched and that the congestion of these Ports constitute serious security threat to lives and property, especially now that there is heightened concern at crowded locations.

The Anambra-born politician lamented that due to congestion in the existing Maritime Ports and the bureaucracy associated with the clearing of goods, a lot of precious time which would otherwise have been committed to other productive economic engagement is often wasted.

The lawmaker noted that there have been causes of avoidable loss of lives and destruction of goods due to movement by road of containers and heavy equipment carrying trucks, adding that the situation has led to stagnation of economic growth and lack of access to global market.

She expressed optimism that creation of these alternative Ports would enhance trade, industries, Export and import within these zones, noting that bottom-up economic growth would give rise to global access and job creation.

Odua’s motion enjoyed overwhelming support of the Senators present at yesterday’s plenary.

Speaking on the motion for which he also commended Senator Odua for bringing to fore, the Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, directed the relevant committees of the Senate to ensure that the Federal government gives priority attention to establishment of the inland Ports in the affected states.

Senate, ASSU to meet tomorrow over strike Olufemi Samuel, Abuja

ÏÏÏThe Senate ad hoc sub-

committee currently mediating in the standoff between the Federal Government and the Academic has scheduled Thursday for a meeting with stakeholders to trash out all outstanding issues leading to the strike action by the university lecturers.

The Committee set up by the Senate President, Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has been meeting with the representatives of the Federal Government and ASUU since last Wednesday.

The Chairman Senate Committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFUND, Senator Jibrin Barau, who made this known expressed

hope that Thursday’s meeting will come up with solutions meant to resolve the dilemmas of ASUU and the Federal Government on the agreement they had signed.

Barau who is the head of the Senate Intervention Subcommittee noted that Senate has made tremendous progress in its intervention to prevent the proposed strike having reached agreement on five out of the six key issues raised by ASUU. Speaking to newsmen on the issues at stake, Barau said: “We had about six issues and all of them were very well discussed. We deliberated and agreed on all of them except one, and that one has to do with the earned allowances.

Plastic containers contain cancercausing chemicals, expert warns ÏÏÏ A medical practitioner

at the Federal Medical Centre, Jabi, Abuja, Dr. Arikawe Adeolu, has warned that some plastic containers contain a chemical that causes cancer.

Adeolu told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Abuja that particular chemicals used in the production of plastic containers increased the risk of having certain types of cancer.

He cautioned against the continued use of these chemicals in the country and the inability of relevant agencies to curtail the problem.

He said that although a lot of research was still ongoing to discover more negative ef-

fects of these chemicals, the United States had already placed a ban on the use of these chemicals in production of feeding bottles for babies.

“Most of what we use comes in plastic and with consumption of items from these plastic containers; we get further exposed to these chemicals that have negative effects on our bodies.

“It is an increasingly important discussion in the health field because of the significant amount of exposure we get as this substances or compound is able to disrupt the abnormal balance of the human body.

“Over the years, more evidence has surfaced from vari-

ous researchers showing that plastic bottles, metal food containers, detergents, toys, cosmetics all contain particular substances referred to as endocrine disrupting chemicals.

“These chemicals can increase the risk of prostate cancer and breast cancer because these are cancers that respond to hormonal levels.

“These chemicals can disrupt the production and metabolism; that is the break down, or even the physiological effect of these hormones within the body.

“Anything that disrupts hormone levels in the body will affect the predisposition to having cancers in certain organs,” Adeolu said.

He said that other health risks include its effect on reproduction, adding that it could also disrupt the function of the thyroid gland, cause obesity and some cardiovascular conditions.

According to him, some have said that it is responsible for the increasing rate of infertility and others have identified that it is also responsible for precocious puberty.

“Precocious puberty is when children begin to experience puberty at very young ages.’’

Adeolu identified ‘Bisphenol A’ as the most common endocrine disrupting chemical found in plastic bottles.

A cross section of Igbo leaders with the Deputy Governor of Plateau State, Sonni Gwanle Tyoden (middle), during a courtesy visit at Government House, Jos, on Tuesday.

ASUU strike: Unical deserted… economic activities dwindle Edem, Calabar

ÏÏÏAs

the strike actions embarked by the Academic Staff Union of the University of Calabar (UNICAL) entered its sixth day, the economic, social and political activities in the University have been grounded and Students have deserted the Institutions while traders and other business men and women have turned the ground of the University to a play and football ground.

Our correspondent who was at the University on Tues-

day, observed that the Institution had been deserted by students and very few staff were seen in some offices while economic, social and political activities have been grounded.

Some traders, business men and women were seen playing football and other games.

Mr John Odey, a computer operator told our correspondent that the strike has affected their business.

“We have nothing to do than to relax ourselves by playing this ball and other games.

Look round, how many students have you seen? They

have all gone home. We have no alternative than to come here and relax ourselves, at least forget about tension at home. Look over there; other traders are playing other kind of games to ease tension. It’s not our faults” he stated.

At various offices, This Newspaper observed that staffs were doing their personal businesses of trading and sowing while others have not reported at all. Efforts to get the worker’s comment proved abortive as they said they were under instruction not to talk to anybody. However,

the Public Relations Officer, Mr Eyo Effiong told our correspondent on phone that the strike was for one week.

“We pray the people should call off the strike for it was a warning strike that supposes to last for only one week” maintaining that, immediately it was called off, things will return to normal. However, the Chairman of ASUU, Dr. Tony Eyang, had earlier said ASUU had declared that the union will not surrender until government does the needful act by addressing the union’s demands.

Features

s

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, November 23, 2016

27 Features

Grazing reserve: Still a long wait for legal backing Doubts still surround the Federal Government’s hasty promises of creating grazing reserves across the country for the Fulani herdsmen, as there appears to be no legal framework to back it, writes IDU JUDE.

Herdsman with his Ak-47 rifle

The Federal Government’s efforts to create an enabling environment for livestock farmers, and, especially, the nomadic Fulani herdsmen, who collides with indigenous, who are perennially at war with rural farmers in different parts of the country, particularly Northern communities, may have taken another twist.

It is therefore, like a bomb waiting to explode, as daily, reports of clashes among the herdsmen and their hosts, continued to create political and economic crises, sometimes leading to deaths of innocent people.

Indeed, the turn of event at the National Assembly against the grazing reserve bill is a source of concern, more so as, unrestrained attacks by the herdsmen still torment the communities.

In fact, vicious attacks by the Fulani herdsmen, otherwise known as Miyetty Allah, have remained a big minus for the President Muhammadu Buhariled government, prompting many states, such as Ekiti and Anambra, to make moves to curtail them.

Recently, the Fulani Herdsmen, in the Federal Capital Territory, counselled the Federal government on the economic value of settling the cattle breeders in Nigeria, by providing grazing reserves equipped with adequate facilities, like water dams for irrigation, hospitals and veterinary hospitals, nomadic schools, markets for the inhabitant, as ways out of addressing the challenge.

It argued that moving the herdsmen to neighbouring countries would create economic values to such neighbouring

Honourable Yahaya’s argument, was that, it was against their human rights to even banish his people out of the FCT to a desolate area. countries, both in providing them with value food chain and in boosting their economies.

Other areas of concern noted by the cattle breeders, is how to differentiate between the indigenes and non-indigenes.

The association, in one of its meetings with the security

agencies in Abuja, recently, said that, several directives given by the Federal Government through the FCT Minister, Mallam Mohammed Bello, on how to manage the herdsmen, could spark out ethnic crises in the capital city of Nigeria, if not well handled, and could spill over to other states in the country.

Among its reactions, which brought to bare, government’s crass ignorance about the cattle breeders, the group said, was the fact that the government saw them as nomads.

But, the herdsmen said they were against being called normads, since some of them are not just settlers where they are, but are actual indigenes of such communities, as enshrined in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

According to their leader,

Honourable Isa Yahaya, the request by the Federal Government to move all cattle breeders out of their own ancestral homes is quite absurd and unconstitutional.

Honourable Yahaya’s argument, was that, it was against their human rights to even banish his people out of the FCT to a desolate area.

He revealed that the FCTA has set a booby trap that may, in a long run, spark up wars between the Fulani herdsmen and the inhabitants of the so-called grazing reserves, if they failed to resettle the owners of the lands before handing the lands to the Fulani herdsmen, saying that the process of resettlement was yet to take place at all.

The leadership also insisted that the Fulani youths needed proper education to shun crimes and criminalities.

News 28

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Redeem image of judiciary, Delta CJ pleads Isaac Olamikan, Warri

Ooni of Ife, His Imperial Majesty, Adeye ye Ogunwusi Ojaja II (6th right); Obalufe of Ile-Ife, Oba Idowu Adediwura (5th right) with other traditional rulers in Ile-Ife at the unveiling ceremony of Moremi Statue of Liberty in Osun State… on Monday. Photo: SODIQ ADEKUNLE.

Ooni unveils tallest statue in Nigeria, wants youths in governance Sodiq Adekunle, Osogbo His Imperial Majesty Ooni Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi Ojaja on Monday evening at Ile-Ife unveiled Moremi Statue of Liberty, which is the tallest in Nigeria.

Ooni Ogunwusi dedicated the 42ft statue, which is not only the tallest in Nigeria but the third tallest in Africa, to the economic liberation of African youth.

This is as to admonish the governments across the continent of Africa on the adequate and meaningful engagement of the youths in the nation building.

The historic unveiling event, which was witnessed by over five thousand youths from all over Nigeria at the new world class heritage site.

The site was contructed100 percent indigenously by the youths right inside the compound where ‘the

heroine of liberty’ lived thousands of years ago.

While extolling the virtues of Moremi Ajasoro, Ooni Ogunwusi described the youths as the greatest accessories for the development of any nation that must be given first priority by the various African governments. He also lamented the redundancy of the youths caused by the over patronage of the foreign goods and services.

He said, “Nigerian and African youths are naturally endowed, and with the level of their education or training undergone, they are the materials needed to develop this country and the continent of Africa.

“It surprises me that our governments across Africa still encourage capital flights by giving jobs to the foreigners at the expense of our youths, several of whom are more qualified and competent to do the jobs” “I am proud to say that this project

is the first of its kind to be 100% indigenously constructed, all of them numbering about 200 are youths and all the materials used were sourced locally traceable to all the 774 local government areas in Nigeria.

“I want to say that Nigeria has manpower that can create, construct, and build standard and original goods, I therefore appeal to the governments in Africa to empower them and give them the chance to display their capacities”.

The African foremost monarch described Moremi as the mother of liberty in the world, saying that the Ile-Ife queen played a pivotal role in the liberation of mankind.

“She has successfully established the legacy of what a man can do, a woman can do better. Her influence cuts across the world, especially in America where her spirit of liberty was greatly considered while building their statue of liberty. Our own

Moremi Ajasoro indeed brought the spirit of freedom to ife”, Ooni Ogunwusi added.

The Ooni’s Director of Media, Comrade Moses Olafare, told journalists that Moremi Ajasoro is truly worthy of the celebration and urged the women all over the world to emulate her.

“What we are doing today is like giving honour to whom is due because mama Moremi Ajasoro is worthy to be so celebrated having lived her life for the freedom of mankind by sacrificing her only child to the goddess of Esinmirin river in order to liberate the people of Oodua land from the incessant invasions of faceless terrorists.

“I just hope that our women of today will emulate her just like Funmilayo Randsome-Kuti, Mariam Makeba, Queen Aminat, Margaret Ekpo did in their lifetime too”, Olafare said.

Traditional ruler’s son, two brothers to die by hanging Titilope Joseph Son of a traditional ruler in Mafoluku, Oshodi in Lagos State, Mr. Bashiru Omilade’s son, Ibrahim Omilade and two brothers have been sentenced to death by hanging by a Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja.

Justice Kudirat Jose pronounced the death sentence on Baale’s son alongside Shola Oni and Kayode Oni who are siblings after finding them guilty of murdering one Suleiman Afolabi.

The three young convicts were

charged for conspiracy and murder of one Suleiman Afolabi during a fight on a Christmas day in 2012 at Eyin Ogun Street, Mafoluku, Oshodi, in Lagos State when Suleiman was cut with a machete.

While delivery the judgment, Justice Jose said “I pronounce the defendants guilty in respect of the charge of murder and conspiracy…, they shall be sentenced to death, hanged by the neck until their death.”

She however cautioned youths to learn from the ordeal that befell the convicts. Young ones should be care-

ful of going about to attack people to settle scores.

The trial on 25th December, 2012 during a fight at the deceased house when according to the defendants they were invited by a neighbour to celebrate the Christmas with him.

They said it was not too long on the said date that a young boy came in and informed them that the deceased brother, Akeem Afolabi had threatened to deal with them.

They claimed that they went to inquire the reason for the threat but while discussing Akeem ordered

them to get away. He was alleged to have gone inside the house to get a cutlass with which he tried to attack one of them, an attempt, they said another blocked with his hand and got injured.

The convicts further told the court during trial that it was while they were trying to dodge and plead with a berserk Akeem that Suleiman, a younger brother to the deceased was hit by the waist.

They said they got to know some days later that a doctor had pronounced the deceased dead.

The Chief Judge of Delta State, Justice Marshal Umukoro, has called all in the judiciary (the bar and bench) to make concerted efforts towards redeeming the image of the profession particularly now that the profession is facing some challenges across the country.

Justice Umukoro represented by the the Administrative Judge of Effurun Judicial Division, Hon. Justice G.B Briki Okolosi, made the call at the maiden edition of the Effurun Bar/Bench Forum held at the High Court premises Effurun, Uvwie Local Government Area, weekend.

He stated that the forum was necessary for everybody to reexamine himself, saying it was not meant to witch hunt anybody but to correct the anomaly which has bedevilled the profession.

“There is no gain saying that the legal profession has almost lost its value because of the prevailing situation, so we are here as professional colleagues to rob minds to move the body forward. We must save the profession from collapsing”.

No excuse is tenable, Bello tells contractors Saka Bolaji, Minna Niger State governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello, has warned that no excuse for delay in execution of projects will be acceptable from any contractor handling projects in the state.

He handed down the warning when he paid an unscheduled inspection to some road project sites in Bosso and Chanchaga Local Government area of the state.

Gov. Sani Bello also directed the state Ministry of Works and Infrastructural Development to ensure quick completion of the renovation work on Minna-Bida Road and to meet with the contractor handling the Federal maintained MinnaSuleja Road with a view to see palliative measure that can be applied to relief motorists of challenges on the 98 kilometre road.

The governor expressed disappointment at the pace of work on the 10 km Tagwai Dam Road in Tungagoro said excuse for non-performance by any contractor is not tenable.

Despite the spirited efforts by the contractor of the project to justify the pace of work on the road and to assured the governor of meeting the March 2017 deadline for completion, the governor expressed doubt on the contractor meeting the deadline at the pace of its work.

Mid-Week Service

29

Daily Times Nigeria

Enlargement of supremacy

Altars

By Prophetess Ronke Akin-Ooye 08087414122

By Henry Akinbolade-Roberts

To pitch your tent with the man that God has His covenant with makes you the partaker of his covenant, and this in turn gives to man the enlargement for supremacy.

Oracle from Genesis 9:18-29

Altar is a place of decision. It is a place of sacrifice backed with powers either negative or positive, blood of redemption, destruction on the altar.

Inferences and unmelodious pronouncements are made on the altar.

It is not the structure that depicts the power but the background, purpose and effect.

There are different types of Altar Alter of decision (Genesis 12:7) Abram built an altar for the Lord after his encounter. It becomes his place of reference, that decision was made.

Alter of prophecy (Genesis 15:9-12) Blood is a seal of covenant with life in it. Altar of prophetic of 3 years old heifer, 3 years old female goat, 3 years old ram, turtle dove and a young pigeon.

These are animals for sacrifice and atonement, all cut item in twos, down the middle and place each piece to other.

It is specific, but thank God for the blood of Jesus Christ that had become our perfect blood redemption.

Alter of encounter (Genesis 18:22) Jacob encounter with God made the ground a place of value. He laid on the land, poured oil on it and renamed the place. When you encounter God, it can be your place of value between you and God. God is not the stone that Jacob poured oil on, but the place of Jacob’s encounter with God become a place of reverence and value for him. Most powerful place of encounter can be where you least expected. God is not restricted to the temple, church, fellowship.

He is everywhere, which is why he is omnipotent, omnipresent and omniscient. He is everywhere, God is in you.

Alter of confirmation (Ikings 13:5) It is rather unfortunate that the potency of today’s altar is doubted. Today’s altar is spited into two and ashes poured out them, which is a sign of rejection.

Many altar confirms sin, blasphemy,

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

blood money etc.

Alter of destruction :( ikings 18) Elijah repaired the altar of Baal to bring down the presence of God. Which altar are you building on and expect God’s fire? What is the altar of your church made of ? It is rather unfortunate that so many are under the bondage of wrong altars and are suffering, until, you know the truth and it will make you free.

The 12 stones built represent the tribes of Israel a covenant seed on the altar. There must always be sacrifice, filled with water, as one of the symbol of the Holy Spirit is water depicting that He is available. Sacrifices of Wood placed in order, bull cut in pieces, called God of his father’s.

What name will you call God to attract His attention? Fire attracts attention, destruction and judgement. The fire consumed, brought execution and testimonies follow.

There is no altar that does not carry sacrifice.

What sacrifice must you pay?

Abraham was willing to pay the sacrifice of his son, Isaac.

Jesus Christ laid down his life as a sacrifice at Golgotha (place of altar). No pain, no gain!

Jesus Christ is the best and perfect sacrifice.

Prayers: Every evil altar raised on my behalf from my background, family, society, either celestial or terrestrial; catch fire in Jesus name.

Open my eyes to the relevant, effective sacrifice on the specific one for my destiny to leap over.

Evil altar of strange spiritualist, baals fighting and challenging the altar of God in my life; catch fire in Jesus name.

Prophecy of the week This week Altars of Baals contending with you; catch fire in Jesus name.

Standing out to be the Chief noble or the noblest in a lineage does not make you the choice of the lineage.

Because in the place of obedience, sons are few, what makes you the choice of God in a lineage is your obedience.

Nobility can be arranged, it can be worked out; a man can work his way out to the height where men would say he is the noblest in the family.

You can attain this height through certain achievement. But these are not the criteria to be God’s choice, for family heritage: Obedience to God places you there, the man that know how to obey God, champions God’s program for the lineage.

It is a normal thing to celebrate victory, but most times, that is where the enemy comes to wait. The celebration that should follow the victory over every catastrophe should be modest, in order not to end such celebration in calamity.

The enemy is aware of your victory. Remember he never gives up, he calculates the attachments to lives, he know that in celebration we usually lose guard. The devil knows that the celebration point is also a relaxation point and that is the time he will be waiting for to give the most deadly blow.

Keep the guard at your celebration point; don’t let your weakness override you, if not the celebration might not last.

The nakedness of the fathers must not be uncovered, no matter what could be the flaws of the father. This is a law that put authority in place, this law gives immunity to the court of the forefather has the only authority that endow continuity, powers that transfer family heritage. You don’t naked the authority that carries the word that gives birth to the glory of the next generation. True son of the father should not celebrate the sight of his father’s nakedness, but cover it for your covering to be sure.

Children that cover their father’s nakedness secure the continuity of their generational blessing. Blessings are transferred from one generation to another which is why the devil work on the flaws of the father, promo to blackmail, scandalize, and make it look as if God could not go

beyond that.

This is the devil’s tool to rob generations of their blessings, the devil knows that the only transferring agent is the father, by so doing; he uses the children to open their father’s flaw. Automatically this breaks the flow of generation blessings and sometime replaces it with curse.

In authority if he or she is not under an authority, we must all submit to God as the final authority to whom all the authorities of Nations, Kingdoms and government submit to.

To be under an authority and maintain status quo, qualifies you as a man to be in authority. Authority is power, but God does not give to any man absolute power. Neither does God give any man power to dominate other men or people.

The curse that makes a man to become the servant of servants is a curse that robs the man of an excellent spirit, and replaces it with a reprobate mind.

Curse is a terrible thing, when a curse is released, it penetrates straight to the subconscious of the carrier, it is saved there as bank for generations. So curses and blessings are saved in the subconscious of the man that carries it and whatsoever that is in subconscious is acted upon automatically because it is kept there to remote the actions about the man.

Reprobate mind is not born in man neither is it a tendency, but it is pasted in the form of a curse and whatsoever that is pasted can be turned off and pasted another. But once there is no one to put in such effort in a generation, it remains.

There is nothing bad to be the servant of him that carries the covenant of blessing. The applied wisdom that such a man needs is to believe in the God of his covenant, then you will become the beloved.

Every beloved is a carrier of great grace, being a beloved puts you in a position where no man in life and in life to come accuses you before the Father. There is nothing absolutely wrong to pitch your tent with the man that God has His covenant with.

It only makes you a beloved and a better person as you partake of the covenant it will give you an enlargement for supremacy.

Prophetic prayer: Lord, I will not be ashamed to pitch my tent with such a man whose God`s covenant abide for I know I will partake of it for enlargement and supremacy.

Oladipo tasks stakeholders on ex-internationals’welfare ANDREW EKEJIUBA

T

he President General of Nigeria Football and other Sports Supporters Club, Dr Rafiu Oladipo, has called on the Nigeria Football Federation, Corporate Nigeria and football stakeholders to come to the welfare of some ex-internationals and appreciate them for taking

Nigerian football to global level.

Speaking exclusively to Extra Time in Lagos, Olapido said the plight of some ex-internationals in the area of their welfare made him use his foundation (Rafiu Oladipo Foundation) to organize the annual All Stars Soccer tourney in Lagos to appreciate the great contributions they have made towards the development of football in

the country.

“For more than three months some of the ex-internationals in Lagos have been battling for honours at the ongoing Oladipo All Stars tourney, I put together for them through my foundation.

“This is my little way of appreciating these great players for contributing to the success story

of Nigerian football and interacting with them.

“If you check round, not all the ex-internationals are doing well, so they need the support of NFF, Corporate Nigeria and even some well-meaning Nigerians to come to their rescue.

“Whatever we realize from this tourney, my foundation will use it to

Page 30

assist some of the ex-internationals by getting them attached to some lesser clubs as coaches and some of them encouraged to go for their coaching courses,” Oladipo said.

He further revealed that the next edition of the competition in 2017 will be a national event and exinternationals from other states will also feature.

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Football coach in police net for sodomy Joy Anyim

T

he police in Lagos have arrested a 49-year-old indigene of Imo state, Frank Darlington for allegedly engaging in anal sex with his 18-year old-player.

The State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, who paraded the suspect before journalists on Monday at the command headquarter, Ikeja disclosed that the coach who was notorious for the act would always lure the players to his house by asking for their assistance with his house chores and then have carnal knowledge of the young boys through the anus.

Owoseni said the suspect was arrested at the Elere police Division, Agege on Thursday after two of the several young boys he had molested reported their experience to their parents.

According to the suspect who said it all started in February 2015, the absence of his wife led him into the act.

He said: “My wife relocated to the east since 2015 due to financial difficulties. Since then I have been alone and I started a football Academy called Super Warriors Football Academy in Agege.

“It was the urge for sex that led me into this act. Whenever I had sexual urge I would lure any of the boys to my house and have

carnal knowledge of them. I don’t do it all the time but sometimes I just romance them to relieve myself of my feelings for my wife.

“I don’t force the boys to make love with them. However, after I have wondered on my life style I decided to put a stop to it in July this year. But after a while again I started it all over, I couldn’t stop it and always wanted more.

“I was arrested by the parents of one the boys I had carnal knowledge of, I have not seen the boy for about three months and I wanted to get my jersey back from him, so I went to his mother’s shop but not knowing he had reported me to his elder brother.

“Unfortunately, when I got to the boy’s mother shop, his elder brother came out and pounced on me and they started beating me and I was later handed over to the police.

“I regret my action, but in everything we have to give thanks to God, I believe if am not arrested I would have continued with my bad life style. I also believe that God want to change me for better and show me the true salvation of Christ,” the suspect lamented with a tinge of regret.

One of the victims who spoke to Extra Time in confidence disclosed that the coach had slept with him for about five times.

Another suspect who does not want his name in print said, he had lost counts of time the coach slept with him.

FIFA retains Mba as Africa’s TA on refereeing Frank Jumbo

W

orld football – governing body, FIFA has retained Nigerian Linus Mba, a former FIFA referee, as its Technical Adviser in Africa for Refereeing.

Mba, one of the finest ‘Gentlemen of the Whistle’ to have come out of Nigeria, and who is also NFF Consultant on Refereeing, is one of only two Africans retained in that position – the other is former Tunisian FIFA referee Neiji

Jouini.

Both men have been involved in FIFA development activities for close to two decades now.

Mba, a Member of the CAF Referees Committee for 10 years, has continued to serve as Referee Instructor for FIFA and CAF, and has trained referees in virtually all English –speaking National Associations in the African continent. He also serves as Referee Assessor in top grade FIFA World Cup and Africa Cup

of Nations qualifying matches, and is involved in general referee instruction programs for CAF. Jouini has a long –term contract with the Qatar Football Association and works for CAF during a number of championships.

Both men are in the company of the likes of Pierluigi Collina (Italy), Barry Neale (England); Batta Marc (France), Vicar Donald (Scotland) and David Elleray (England) as FIFA Mba Technical Advisers.

Darlington

NPFL kicks off Dec 18 — Dikko

T

he League Management Company (LMC) has now proposed a new kick-off date of December 18 for the Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL).

“Our target now is to start December 18 and end July 9, while our Super 4 will be between December 5 and 11,” disclosed LMC chairman Shehu Dikko.

“We also plan to start the 2018 season by the end of August 2017.

“All the clubs already have the schedule and planning.

“We want to align our calendar to Europe by the end of the 2017 season, which would be hugely beneficial for us both in terms of organization, planning and even finances.

“This will get our clubs going in CAF competitions as they will play at least 13 to 15 games before the start of CAF competitions in February 2017.”

This past season ended on October 2.

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

EXTRATIME

31

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE… UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE… UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE…

Bayern without Robben, others for Rostov trip B

ayern Munich have confirmed that Arjen Robben, Arturo Vidal and Javi Martinez remain absent for today’s Champions League encounter against Rostov.

Robben picked up a minor muscular problem while away on international duty with

Netherlands and missed the 1-0 Bundesliga defeat to rivals Borussia Dortmund at the weekend, while Javi Martinez sustained a hamstring injury against Augsburg last month.

The duo resumed training on Monday and were thought to be in line for a return in the Group

D contest, but Bayern confirmed the pair will stay behind in Munich rather than make the trip to Russia.

Vidal, who picked up a knock while on Chile duty during the international window, has also been omitted from the squad.

Bayern were already without

Ronaldo´s best yet to come – Figo Portugal legend Luis Figo believes Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo has yet to hit his peak and has hailed his compatriot’s hunger for success. It has been a memorable year for Ronaldo as he added a third Champions League trophy to his collection before leading Portugal to Euro 2016 glory.

The 31-year-old is widely regarded as one of the best players in the game after years of success in Madrid and Manchester United, but Figo feels there is still more to come from the prolific attacker.

Robben the services of goalkeeper Manuel Neuer (calf) and Kingsley Coman (leg).

Carlo Ancelotti’s men have already qualified for the knockout stages heading into the game against Rostov, having collected nine points from their opening four Group D fixtures.

Kompany set to miss Gladbach clash

M

Kompany

anchester City captain Vincent Kompany is set to miss the key Champions League match with Borussia Monchengladbach after sitting out training on Tuesday.

The Belgium international had to be substituted during the 2-1 Premier League win over Crystal Palace on Saturday after complaining of blurred vision.

City confirmed that he is not likely to be risked for the meeting in Germany, but midfielder Fabian Delph could be available for the first time since August.

“Fabian Delph returned to training ahead of City’s trip to Monchengladbach, but Vincent Kompany

looks set to miss out,” the club said in a statement.

“The Man City skipper was forced off against Crystal Palace on Saturday after suffering from blurred vision and won’t be risked in Germany.

“Delph hasn’t featured for the first team since the end of August when he was an unused sub against West Ham. He required surgery on a troublesome groin problem and his return will give Pep Guardiola another midfield option.”

Yaya Toure - who scored both goals after being handed a surprise recall against Palace - also worked with the first team, although he is ineligible for the match.

A win for Guardiola’s side will guarantee their place in the last 16 with one game to spare.

Wenger expects trio to be fit for PSG A

rsenal manager Arsene Wenger says Alexis Sanchez is fully fit to face Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League today.

The forward sustained a hamstring injury while on international duty with Chile and was noticeably short of sharpness during Saturday’s 1-1 Premier League draw with Manchester United.

There had been concerns that Sanchez could be forced to sit out the meeting with the Ligue 1 champions at

the Emirates Stadium, while there were also doubts over Theo Walcott and Aaron Ramsey, who both missed the Gunners’ latest training session.

But Wenger expects all three to be available for selection and is adamant he did not play Sanchez against United in defiance of worries from the medical staff.

“Everybody recovered from Saturday,” said the Frenchman at a media conference on Tuesday.

“We left Walcott and Ramsey out of training for recovery but they should be alright. Lucas Perez is back in training but not with the squad.

“Sanchez has recovered completely. I follow all the instructions of the medical staff and the player.

“I never forced, in my whole life, any player to play. I never demanded any player be injected to play. The suggestions that we push him to play are completely wrong.”

Conte:EPL tougher than ever before!

Antonio Conte fears Chelsea face a tough task to hold on to top spot in the Premier League table as he feels the English top flight is stronger than ever before. The Stamford Bridge side beat Middlesbrough 1-0 on Sunday to leapfrog Liverpool and go top of the table, much to the delight of Conte. However, the former Juventus boss has warned his team they are not there just yet due to the quality of their rivals.

Griezmann

hates me,says

Ronaldo

“Cristiano, I hate you!” That is how Antoine Griezmann jokingly greeted Cristiano Ronaldo after the Euro 2016 final. What promised so much ended in heartbreak for host nation France, who lost to Portugal 1-0 after extra time in the European Championship decider in July. Portugal captain and Real Madrid star Ronaldo hobbled off in the first half with a knee injury but he still managed to claim bragging rights over his Atletico Madrid rival Griezmann, who was desperate to hoist the international trophy aloft

Wenger challenges

Arsenal strikers

Wenger

Arsene Wenger has challenged Arsenal to respond in style to those who criticised their performance in the 1-1 Premier League draw at Manchester United on Saturday. The Gunners produced a lacklustre display at Old Trafford and only snatched a point through substitute Olivier Giroud’s header in the 89th minute, which was their only effort on target of the game. Despite having now drawn three of their last four league games, Arsenal remain unbeaten since their opening-day defeat against Liverpool and can secure top spot in their Champions League group today if they beat Paris Saint-Germain at the Emirates Stadium.

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Editor Daily: ROSE MOSES

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 2016

VOL. 2. NO. 240

Football coach in police net for sodomy P 30

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Lagos agog for Etisalat U-15 School Cup finals ANDREW EKEJIUBA

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he city of Lagos is agog as the eight teams that qualified for the National Finals of the third edition of the Etisalat U-15 School Cup have begun their quest for the Tournament’s grand prize at the Digital Bridge Institute, Oshodi, Lagos State.

The quarter-finalists include Socrates Secondary School, Ilorin; Sultan Bello Secondary

School, Sokoto; Niger College, Benin; FOSLA Academy, Abuja; Asegun Comprehensive Secondary School, Ibadan; New Layout Secondary School, Enugu; General Hassan Usman Kastina Unity College, Bauchi and West Itam Secondary School, Itu, Akwa Ibom.

In Tuesday’s opening fixtures, Kwara represented by Socrates Secondary School, Ilorin locked horns with Niger College, Edo State while Sultan Bello Secondary School, Sokoto squared up

Maradona is a ‘fighter’ than Messi – Menotti

F

ormer Argentina and Barcelona coach Cesar Luis Menotti believes the biggest difference between Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi is that the former was more of a fighter because of the difficulties he endured throughout his life and career.

Messi has often been likened to his illustrious compatriot for his style of play and the duo are widely regarded as two of the greatest ever.

Menotti has nothing but praise for both

Maradona

of his fellow Argentines, but sees one notable difference between the two.

“Diego was more rebellious than Messi. When something did not go his way, he got angry with himself. He was a great team-mate who was very supportive,” Menotti said.

“But he comes from a different background than Leo. He came from a very humble neighbourhood and took one step at a time, first at Argentinos Juniors and then at Boca Juniors.

He endured more difficulties not just on the pitch, but in life in general as well. Diego was more of a fighter. They are different characters.

“But Messi never gives up either. He expresses himself in a different way than Maradona, but they both do magical things on the pitch.”

His failure to deliver Argentina a major trophy has seen Messi receive his fair share of criticism, but Menotti feels the 29-year-old is not being treated correctly in his native country.

against FOSLA Academy, FCT. According to the Director, Brand and Experience, Etisalat Nigeria, Elvis Ogiemwanye, said, “The key objective of the competition in 2016 is to connect and unite football lovers from different parts of the country using the universal language of football.

For us at Etisalat, football goes beyond winning goals; it is all about the friendship and connection it brings. It is also a good platform to teach these students life values such as team work, discipline,

Secretary, Nigeria School Sports Federation (NSSF), Olabisi Joseph (left), President, Nigeria School Sports Federation (NSSF), Mallam Ibrahim Muhammad (2nd from left) receiving the Champions Trophy from the Director, Brand and Experience, Elvis Ogiemwanye (2nd from right) and Head, Events and Sponsorship, Modupe Thani (right), both of Etisalat Nigeria during the Press Conference/Match Fixtures Draws for Etisalat School U-15 Cup National Finals held in Lagos on Monday.

tolerance and sportsmanship.”

The national champion of the 2016 edition will receive the Champions Trophy and a cash prize of N2 million educational award while its players will go home with N50,000 each.

The second-placed team will go home with N1 million with the players pocketing extra N30,000 each while the third-place winner will have the sum of N750,000.00 for its efforts with its players receiving N20,000.00 each.

Business Times Daily Times Nigeria

Overland Airways begins Asaba–Abuja operations Page B2

FG highlights practical solutions to solve economic challenges

Page B3

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Maritime industry growth will advance global economic interest - NIMASA

Page B6

OPEC: Why Barkindo must ensure oil cut deal for Nigeria Opeoluwani Akintayo As the world patiently waits on the organisations for Petroleum Exporting Countries, OPEC to come to a concrete figure to cut, Nigeria happens to fall among countries whose economies for now, rests solely on the success of the freeze deal.

Already, oil prices rose to their highest level since October on Tuesday as a result of OPEC’s expected output.

However, analysts warned that a failure to agree on a cut could lead to a deepening supply glut by early 2017.

OPEC and non-OPEC Russia, are at the fore of the cut deal, with Putin recently calling on other non-OPEC countries like the United States of America who was among the major cause of the glut, to join the freeze deal.

International Brent crude oil futures rose as high as $49.63 a barrel on Tuesday, up 1.5 percent from the last settlement and the highest since Oct. 31, before dipping back to $49.22 per barrel at 0735 GMT, still up 32 cents, or 0.65 percent.

U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures were up 35 cents, or 0.73 percent, at $48.59 a barrel.

As at Tuesday, OPEC basket of fourteen crudes stood at $42.33 a barrel.

OPEC is trying by Nov. 30 to bring its 14 member states and non-OPEC producer Russia to agree on a coordinated production cut to prop up the market by bringing production into line with consumption.

“With investors becoming more optimistic about OPEC reaching an agreement on production cuts, oil prices should continue to edge higher,” ANZ bank said on Tuesday.

“The single most important country in OPEC, Saudi Arabia, wants it (a production cut)...

OPEC’s leadership is cognizant of the risks posed by failing to reach a deal,” RBC Capital Markets said on Tuesday in a note to clients.

L – R: Managing Director, Greenwich Asset Management Ltd., Dayo Obisan; Managing Director, FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange, Bola Onadele-Koko; and Managing Director, Greenwich Trust, Yetunde Demuren, at the Pioneer Memorandum Money Market Fund Listing tagged: ‘Greenwich Plus Money Market Fund on FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange, in Lagos on Monday.

FG to reduce unemployment through social security net Joy Ekeke

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige, has said that the federal governments target is to ensure that millions of Nigerians are lifted out of poverty line while at least 50 per cent of the population is captured in the social security net to address unemployment The Deputy Director (Press) in the ministry, Mr. Samuel Olowokere, in a statement on quoted Ngige as saying that the social intervention scheme was one of the cardinal programmes of the

administration to address unemployment.

The statement said the minister announced the scheme while presenting the country’s position at the on-going World Social Security Summit in Panama City, Panama.

He said that the objective was to tackle youth unemployment and restiveness through job creation, notwithstanding the tough economic challenges facing the country.

He said, “Some of the programmes in our integrated social protection scheme are already being implemented as evidenced

in the 200,000 graduates who will commence work by next month.

“The decision of the Federal Government to employ 200,000 graduates in the first phase, in spite of the teething economic challenges is quite a good one.

“It is an eloquent expression of its dogged commitment to lift millions of Nigerians out of poverty,’’ he said and promised that more jobs were coming.”

Speaking on the theme “Evolving Role of Social Security in a Changing World,’’ Ngige said that in spite of the challenges facing the country, the federal government would remain com-

mitted in pursuing its social security goals.

He added that the priority attention being given to healthcare delivery system to the rural dwellers was core to the agenda of the government.

He also said that the government was poised to give more support to the operations of the National Health Insurance Scheme as well as that of the National Pension Commission.

The minister assured that the National Social Insurance Trust Fund was being enhanced to make it more responsive to achieving social security goals.

Fitch affirms BoI’s sovereign rating, stable outlook Charles Okonji Fitch Ratings has reaffirmed the national ratings of the Bank of Industry (BoI), describing its outlook as stable, even as it downgraded the support ratings of other banks.

Fitch had last year downgraded Nigeria’s Long-Term Local Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to ‘B+’ from ‘BB-’, as a result

of which it is now equalised with the Long-Term Foreign Currency IDR. The rating agency, which downgraded other banks due to doubt in government’s ability to support them in foreign currency as a result of weakening and eroding foreign currency reserves/ revenues, as well as limited confidence that any available foreign currency will not be used

to execute other policy objectives, noted that BoI’s ratings were retained because its operations are solely in local currency.

According to Fitch, the IDRs of BoI, a state-owned policy bank, are driven by its SRF of ‘B+’ and reflect a limited probability of sovereign support.

“The IDRs of BOI, a stateowned policy bank, are driven by its SRF of ‘B+’ and reflect a

limited probability of sovereign support. They consider its 99.9% state ownership, policy role and strategic importance to Nigeria’s economic and industrial development. They also consider the authorities’ stronger ability to support BOI than commercial banks, as BOI’s operations are solely in local currency.

BOI’s Long-Term IDR has a CONTINUED ON PAGE B2

Business News B2

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Fitch affirms BoI’s sovereign rating, stable outlook

Erisco Foods loses N450m to fire Charles Okonji Erisco Foods, pioneer tomato paste manufacturer in the country, on Monday suffered a fire which gutted one of its raw material warehouses.

The value of the loss was estimated at N450 million which has further compounded the woes of the company.

General Manager, Mr Tokunbo Agbede, who disclosed this in Lagos, at the company’s head quarters noted that if the government agencies had supported the curse of manufacturers, the raw materials would have been totally utilized for production.

Agbede stated that the police and the Lagos State fire Service were still carrying out investigations to ascertain the cause of the fire, which started in the early hours of Monday.

He said that dried tomato was where the company recorded the highest loss, adding that the company is losing N450 million. He blamed the National Agency for Food Administration and Control (NAFDAC), the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment for negleting the manufacturing sector.

He regretted that the Central Bank of Nigeria CBN frustrated his company by not granting them the needed foreign exchange, lamenting that CBN has been giving forex to importers of substandard tomato paste into the country.

Dangote, an uncommon promoter of development - KACCIMA The pan-African Conglomerate, the Dangote Group has launched out in grand style at the on-going Kano International Trade fair where Kano Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture, KACCIMA single out the company as best active promoter and sustainer economic interest of the country President of KACCIMA, ALHAJI Umar Farouk Rabiu Dansuleka, at a press briefing shortly after formal opening of the Fair, commended Dangote Group for outstanding performance during the fair in Kano over the years.

This year, four countries from Europe and Asia indicated interest to participate with more than 15 countries from the West African sub-region, the KACCIMA boss disclosed.

He pointed out that Dangote Company had been a worthy partner of KACCIMA, and recalled exceptional performance of the Group during 2013 Kano International Trade Fair when the company sold more than one thousand trucks of cement.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE B1

NPA

L – R: Ambassador of Norway, Mr. Jens-Petter Kjemprud in a handshake with the Managing director of Nigerian Ports Authority when he paid a courtesy visit to the agency.... recently

Overland Airways begins Asaba–Abuja operations Joy Ekeke Overland airways yesterday commenced flight operations from Abuja to Asaba, Delta State According to the airline, the Asaba-Abuja fights will operate at 12:30 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays, while the Abuja-Asaba flights will operate at 10:30a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The flight services will be operated with Overland Airways globally renowned ATR turboprop aircraft with superior technological design for unmatched performance on short-distance flights in terms of economic reliability, safety and comfort.

With expanding routes including Lagos, Asaba, Abuja, Dutse,

Minna, Bauchi, Jalingo, Akure, Overland Airways looks to begin regional flights in West African in the first quarter of 2017.

According to the Chief Executive Officer of Overland Airways, Capt. Edward Boyo,the accelerated development of the economy of Delta State is strategic to the development of the economies of various regions in the country especially the South-East and South-South regions, which makes air transport an important element in the efforts to develop Delta State.

According to him, “Delta State is endowed with great human and sundry resources which should be carefully harnessed by relentless efforts of both the government and the private sector. Overland

Airways is dedicated to creating new high-value for the indigenes and visitors to Delta State by providing our trademark excellent, reliable, safe and comfortable air services to Asaba.”

Boyo

ELAN urges FG to deploy leasing for economic development The Equipment Leasing Association of Nigeria (ELAN) had called on the Federal Government to utilize the equipment leasing option to achieve its set out economic initiatives.

This call came during the 14th National Lease Conference of the Association, which was held recently in Lagos, with the theme “Leasing and Economic Development in Challenging Time”. This annual event, according to the Chairman of ELAN, Chuka Onwuchekwa, “remains the highest gathering of stakeholders in the Nigerian leasing industry, which has become a major platform for the discussion of pertinent issues affecting the development of the

leasing industry and the economy at large”.

The Chairman commended the Government on its economic direction on diversification of the economy to reduce reliance on revenues from oil and gas exports with focus on agriculture, mining and manufacturing as well as massive investment in infrastructure. He noted that the global economic developments in the recent times especially the decline in oil price have continued to impinge greatly on Nigeria’s key macroeconomic variables, with consequential slow growth recorded in major sectors of the economy.

Highlighting the role of leasing in the current efforts of gov-

ernment to address the recession in the economy, he stated that equipment leasing has gained significant global recognition as a creative financing alternative for the acquisition of capital assets used to facilitate access to the much-needed equipment generating an annual average of over $850bn.The appeal of leasing lies in the fact that it meets the diverse equipment needs of the lessee (user) be it government, large organisations or small businesses.

In the United States of America for instance, leasing remains the single most widely–used method of external finance, representing 30% of investment in capital equipment.

stable outlook, reflecting the stable outlook on the sovereign rating.

“BoI’s IDRs, SR and SRF are sensitive to a weakening in Nigeria’s ability to support the bank, which would be indicated by a downgrade of Nigeria’s sovereign rating. The ratings could also be downgraded if Fitch’s view of the state’s willingness to support the bank changes adversely, for example if there is a material change in the government ownership or a change in the bank’s policy role.

This is not Fitch’s base case”, a statement from Fitch added.

StarTimes launches Integrated Digital TV StarTimes Nigeria, a paytv and technology company has unveiled its newest innovation and smart option for Nigerians - the integrated HD digital TV set. The new television product which comes in three sizes and already available in the market is designed with in-built decoders integrated with the television thereby saving users the stress of buying TV and a decoder separately as well as avoiding clumsy wiring connections.

The smart product which comes permanently with over 100 pay TV and free-to-air channels will grant end users instant access to join the digital TV train as currently being promoted by the Federal Government of Nigeria.

The new StarTimes integrated digital TV set comes with upgradeable operating system, full HD LED screen category, 2 HDMI ports, 5mm Bezel, 1920*1080 resolution, 8W*2 digital noise filter system, and 100-240V, 75W Voltage with 12 months’ warranty.

Speaking at the official unveiling ceremony in Lagos, StarTimes Nigeria Chief Operating Officer, Tunde Aina, stated that as a pay TV industry leader, StarTimes is committed to new innovations and technologies that can enhance digital TV experience for Nigerians and Africans. He rallied the people to enjoy maximum dtv entertainment at very affordable rates.

According to Aina, “StarTimes commits itself to providing customers with the most endurable Digital LED TVs and the most splendid viewing experience, integrated with the cutting-edge technologies and exquisite craftsmanship.

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, November 23 , 2016

NDIC reiterates commitment to protect depositors’ funds The Nigeria Deposit Insurance Corporation (NDIC) has reiterated its commitment to uphold its mandate of protecting depositors fund all the time.

This is just as the corporation announced postponement of the workshop on differential premium assessment system (DPAS) earlier organised for operators of Primary Mortgage Banks (PMBs) from Wednesday, 23rd to Friday, 25th November, 2016.

The NDIC, which is a component of the Nigerian financial safety net, was set up primarily to protect depositors in case their bank or any other insured financial institution fails or is unable to make payments on deposits.

The deposit insurer notes that it mandated to provide a formal system for the Government in addressing problems which may arise in the banking sector, adding that it also helps in maintaining confidence in the financial sector as well as encouraging savings.

Overall, it contributes to financial system and macroeconomic stability.

It is however, necessary to notes that the majority of funds received by a deposit-taking financial institution in its normal course of business are insured by the NDIC, and these include, Savings Account Deposits; Current Account Deposits; Time or Term Deposits and Foreign Currency Account Deposits.

The Daily Times checks revealed that inter-bank placements; Insider deposits (i.e. deposits made by staff, directors and other connected parties); and deposits held as collateral for loans are not insured by NDIC. Also not covered are the financial instruments such as; Stocks, Bonds; Mutual Funds; Annuities; Commercial Papers, among many others.

B3 Money Market

FG highlights practical solutions to solve economic challenges

Ï`ƆƋƆ Ɔ MƿƾƠƄ Ƈ Ə ƅ ƍƈƐ Ƌ ƆƔƍƆ ƗƈƐƑƏƆ ƍƏ ƉƆƅƐ

Enelamah

The federal government has highlighted practical solutions intended to solve the nation’s economic challenges, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Mr. Okey Enela-

ELAN

mah, has said.

Speaking on the topic: ‘Open for Business: Matching Opportunities with Patient Capital’ at the recently concluded FBNQuest Investor Conference, the minister noted that since the fall in oil revenues and the current Nigerian economic crises the government has been proffering different solutions that will lift the country out of its current situation. The government plans to restructure the economy through borrowing, targeted investment and diversified growth.

According to him, the government is implementing a plan that would transform the economy and we are focused on delivery. The short-term headwinds should not becloud the funda-

mental attractiveness of the market. The government seeks to partner with private capital to diversify and grow the economy.

Enelamah explained that the government recently released about N420 billion for capital expenditure projects in key sectors of the economy like power, works and housing, interior, transport, agriculture and defense which is part of the plan to reflate and re-position the economy out of recession.

Also, in line with external borrowing plan to enable government borrow cheapest monies available to fund ongoing projects; the government has concluded plans to raise additional $1 billion through Euro bond capital raise with repayment tenor

as long as 40 years.

He explained further that this will help the government intervene in some specific areas like agriculture, education, health, rebuilding of movable things, and railway projects considered key to government effort to revamp the economy. The Nigerian government also hinted at selling some of the country’s asset to boost the public coffers.

The minister, however, encouraged Nigerians to engage more with the government not to only find solutions but also implement solutions that will work for all. He emphasized that Nigerians need to move from being despondent or discouraged or even just talking about solutions to actual implementations.

R – L: Andrew Efurhievwe, Executive Secretary, Equipment Leasing Association of Nigeria (ELAN); Abdullahi M. Ibrahim, Vice Chairman ELAN; Olutoyin Okeowo, Director, ELAN; I.K.Mbagwu, Managing Director/CEO Cumbrian Consults Limited and Adebayo Adeleke, Managing Director/CEO Opticom Leasing Limited at the 14th National Lease Conference of the Association held recently in Lagos.

Ecobank sensitises customers on MasterPass QR Ecobank Nigeria has embarked on sensitization exercise of mass and conventional markets of its innovative global digital payment system, MasterPass QR, which was launched in Lagos recently.

The Ecobank MasterPass QR allows people to pay for services using mobile phones. It also enables micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to receive digital payments from millions of their customers.

Addressing members of the public during market storm exercise in different parts of Lagos

last week, Head, Consumer Distribution, Ecobank Nigeria, Tunde Kuponiyi, said the sensitization exercise which is on-going in different parts of the country, is to create awareness amongst members of the public on the benefits inherent in the global digital payment platform, stressing that, the technology makes electronic payments safe, simple and smart.

According to him, the new digital platform is also in line with Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN)’s cashless policy and financial inclusion goals, adding that it will attract the unbanked to the finan-

cial landscape.

“I am impressed with the level of acceptance of this digital payment system since it was launched in October. Some merchants in Lagos have already started using It. More merchants across the country are expected to sign up. The enthusiasm displayed by members of the public since we commenced this sensitization exercise shows that this product will bring more people to the banking system and also revolutionize the nation’s payment system within the shortest possible time,” he said.

Kuponyi further explained that customers will also be able to pay for goods and services using Ecobank Masterpass QR thereby reducing the need to carry cash or bank cards, noting that, the Bank will use its unrivalled network to give customers access to more choice with a larger range of products and services than any other bank across Africa.

In similar direction, Head SME / Value Chain Banking , Commercial Banking, Sunkanmi Olowo, said the payment system enables MSME sector connect more efficiently to the national and global

economy, stating that, it would grant the sub-sector a convenient and secure way of receiving funds.

“It is a well-known fact that about 96 per cent of Nigerian businesses are MSMEs. Despite the major part they play in the nation’s economy, about 98 per cent of them still do their transactions using cash. With this payment system, this business segment will be able to contribute their quota to the nation’s economy.

This technology allows them to seamlessly leapfrog into the digital age,” he noted.

Capital Market B4 Stories by Afolabi Adesola Depreciation recorded in the equities market continued for the eighth day running for the eighth day running yesterday, as the All Share Index (ASI) lost 0.15 percent more to close at 25,461.34 points.

Market capitalization declined N13 billion to settle at N8.765 trillion as the year-todate losses increased to -11.11 percent According to market analysts, weak macroeconomic data as well as high discount rate remain the major drag to market performance.

This is even as the economic remains in the rut with Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contracting to -2.24 per cent yearon-year in real terms as at the end of Quarter Three (Q3) 2016

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Weak Macroeconomic data, high discount rate drags equities market further and inflation rising to a record high of 18.3 percent in October 2016.

“We expect sentiment to stay anchored on macroeconomic policy responses, particularly on FX management, to the economic recession” said an analyst at Afrinvest.

However, market performance as measured by the total volume traded showed an appreciation of 8 percent to 120.9 million units valued at N1.186 billion and transacted in 2,397 deals compared to 112.4 million

shares valued at N858.5 million transacted in 2,532 deals on Monday.

Diamond Bank emerged the most traded stock for the day with 18.3 million shares valued at N16.6 million. Access Bank followed with 14.6 million shares worth N80.8 million, while Transcorp traded 13.7 million shares valued at N9.2 million.

Skye Bank was responsible for 10.1 million shares worth N5.1 million and FBN Holdings came fifth, exchanging 7.7 mil-

NSE

and Mobil added 2.63 percent to close at N195.01 per share.

On the other hand, Forte Oil led the declining stocks by 9.74 percent to close at N74.62 per share, this was followed by Livestock feeds that shed 5 percent to close at 76 kobo per share and Total that lost 5 percent to close at N255.58 per share.

Neimeth Pharmaceuticals and Nascon Allied Industries likewise dropped 4.88 and 4.77 percent each to close at 78 kobo and N7.19 per share respectively.

FMDQ lists N7.96 billion Sterling Investment Management SPV PLC Bond

L – R shows Oscar N. Onyema, OON, Chief Executive Officer, The Nigerian Stock Exchange and Wale Adeosun, Chief Investment Officer, Kuramo Capital Management and Representative Member of Verod Capital Growth, Fund II Limited Partners Advisory Committee at the Closing Gong Ceremony at the Exchange yesterday

NSE Oil Index crashes 2.1 percent as higher oil prices boost equities worldwide The Nigerian Stock Exchange’s Oil and Gas Index at the end of yesterday’s performance recorded a significant decline of over 2 percent amidst rising values recorded in counterparts across the globe.

Specifically, European and Asian stocks received a boost on Tuesday as Wall Street’s all four major indices closed at record highs for the first time since 1999 as a result of renewed focused on the oil rally which was driven by rising hopes that OPEC members will strike a deal next week.

“There are clearly no signs of profit taking yet, with Donald Trump’s reflationary economic plans of cutting taxes, infrastructure spending and less regula-

lion shares for N23.1 million.

Investors’ appetite, remained negative as market breadth closed with 11 gainers paired against 17 losers.

Champion Breweries led the gainers chart with an 8.41 percent appreciation to close at N2.45 per share. Flourmills followed with a 5 percent growth to close at N17.85 per share, while Africa Prudential Registrars recorded a gain of 4.91 percent to close at N2.78 per share.

Unity Bank grew by 3.57 percent to close at 58 kobo per share

tions remain to be the number one reason fueling stocks’ gains.

Although the bull might become tired soon, shorting equities at record highs doesn’t seem a great idea.” said Hussein Sayed, Chief Market Strategist at Forex Time (FXTM) West Texas Intermediate (WTI) also known as Texas light sweet, a grade of crude oil used as a benchmark in oil pricing has rebounded by more than 15 percent from its November 14 low to trade at its highest levels in three weeks after comments from Iran and Iraq, who are considered OPEC’s most hesitant members to cut or freeze output are sending signs that they are willing to join forces.

According to Hussein, Russia

was also an additional factor contributing to the rally with Putin saying he sees a high probability that an agreement to curb production will be reached by end of November. Prices are clearly driven by sentiments and there is still more room to the upside, so it’s better for OPEC to be united in Vienna, not only to spike prices, but to gain back some credibility.

“The WTI’s rebound with prices charging towards $49, the repeated comments from Iraq and Iran displaying their readiness towards fighting the oversupply woes have played a key part in oil’s resurgence while Russia’s willingness to join an OPEC led production freeze continues to boost investor attraction towards the commodity.

FMDQ OTC Securities Exchange has listed the Sterling Investment Management SPV PLC N7.965 billion short- medium term bond.

According to a statement from Sterling’s management, the bond which is in series 1, 7-Year at 16.50 percent Fixed Rate is part of a N65 billion Debt Issuance Programme.

Sponsor of the bond on FMDQ, Mr. Niyi Omojola, Partner at Constant Capital Partners Ltd., stated that the transaction was crafted in a unique, innovative investment structure which enabled the Sterling SPV Bond share in the same investment grade rating as Sterling Bank PLC, thereby, enlarging the range of potential investors in the bond.

“The innovative structure protects investors by providing Federal Government of Nigeria bonds-backed credit enhancement while investing in the Tier II Note of Sterling Bank PLC. This innovation has allowed investors benefit from an enhanced rating, while providing Tier II capital to Sterling Bank PLC.” Omojola stated.

Other highlights during the listing included the demonstration of FMDQ’s appreciation to the

issuer and sponsor for their contributions to the development of the Nigerian debt capital market (DCM) in the form of the unveiling of the FMDQ Listing Scrolls, presentation of the FMDQ Listing Plaques, and the autographing of the FMDQ Bond Listing Wall of Fame.

Ms. Tumi Sekoni, Vice President & Divisional Head, Marketing & Business Development at FMDQ, whilst delivering the welcome address, congratulated the issuer for successfully raising N7.96 billion from the Nigerian DCM, notwithstanding the current economic climate. She further highlighted that the listing would contribute to the growth of the Nigerian corporate bond market, invariably injecting renewed confidence into the DCM. Ms. Sekoni went on to assure all parties that the FMDQ Listings & Quotations Service was continually refined and tailored to provide, among others, a unique opportunity for issuers to raise the profiles of their issues and access a deep pool of capital, thereby meeting their long-term funding needs even as investor confidence is promoted through the availed transparency, information disclosure, price formation and visibility.

Summary of activities on NSE ASI DEALS VOLUME VALUE CAP

25,461.34 2,397.00 120,931,010.00 1,186,104,713.92 8,764,841,179,346.78

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, November 16, 2016

B5

D aily M ark e t Ro u n d U p Th e e q uities m ark e t co n tin u es t o p ost losses as t h e A ll Sh are In d e x (ASI) close d lo w er f or t h e 8t h co nsecu tive sessio n. Th e ASI d eclin e d 17b ps t o close a t a 7m o n t h lo w o f 25,462.28 p oin ts, brin gin g YTD loss o f t h e in d ex t o 11.1 % . M ark e t ca pit aliz atio n also dip p e d N12.9b n t o se t tle a t N8.8t n as overall p erf orm a nce w as w eig h t e d d o w n by sell pressure in F O RTE (-9.7 %), T O T A L (-5.0 %) a n d PZ (-3.3 %).

H o w ever, m ark e t activity im prove d as volu m e a n d valu e trad e d rose 7.6 % a n d

To p 10 G ain ers Tick er CH A MPIO N FLO URMILL A FRIPRU D U NITYBN K M O BIL SK YEB A N K UC AP O ANDO A CCESS ZENITHB A N K

Price (N) 2.45 17.85 2.78 0.58 195.01 0.51 2.45 4.00 5.56 14.20

Price Ch g % 8.4 % 5.0 % 4.9 % 3.6 % 2.6 % 2.0 % 1.7 % 1.3 % 0.5 % 0.4 %

To p 10 Tr a d es b y V olu m e Tick er V olu m e (m) DIA M O N D BN K 18.3 A CCESS 14.6 TRA NSC ORP 13.7 SK YEB A N K 10.1 FBN H 7.7 UB A 7.3 ZENITHB A N K 5.9 FIDELITYBK 5.1 FC M B 5.0 G U ARA N TY 4.0 To p 10 Tr a d es b y V alu e

Price Ch g % -1.1 % 0.5 % -1.5 % 2.0 % 0.0 % 0.0 % 0.4 % -2.4 % -1.9 % 0.3 %

Price (N) 74.62 0.76 255.58 0.78 7.19 2.67 0.51 14.49 2.39 0.80

Price Ch g % -9.7 % -5.0 % -5.0 % -4.9 % -4.8 % -4.6 % -3.8 % -3.3 % -2.4 % -2.4 %

Tick er NB NESTLE U NILEVER G U ARA N TY ZENITHB A N K A CCESS UB A FBN H TOTAL M O BIL

Price Ch g % 0.0 % 0.0 % 0.0 % 0.3 % 0.4 % 0.5 % 0.0 % 0.0 % -5.0 % 2.6 %

T o p 10 Lose rs

38.2 % t o se t tle a t 120.9m u nits a n d N1.2b n resp ectively.

B a n k i n g In d e x So l e G a i n e r Co n trary t o t h e b e arish p erf orm a nce o f sect or in dices o n M o n d ay, yest erd a p erf orm a nce w as bro a dly mixed. Th e O il & G as in d ex (-2.5 %) h o w ever m ain t ain e d its losin g stre a k as sust ain e d d eclin e in F O RTE (-9.7 %) a n d T O T A L (-5.0 %) dra g g e d t h e in d ex lo w er. A lso, t h e Co nsu m er G o o ds in d ex m argin ally lost 2b ps o n acco u n t o f w e a k a p p e tit e in PZ (-3.3 %) a n d D A N GSU G A R (-1.6 %). O n t h e flipsid e, t h e Ba n kin g in d ex reb o u n d e d 5b ps o n t h e b ack o f b arg a in h u n tin g in A CCESS (+0.5 %), ZE NIT H (+0.4%) a n d G U A R A N T Y (+0.3 %). Th e In d ustrial G o o ds

Tick er FO LIVEST O CK TOTAL NEIM ETH N ASC O N U A C-PROP WEM ABA NK PZ VIT A F O A M FIDELITYBK

NSE A ll Sh ar e In d e x

32,000

Naira Value (m)

NSE All Share Index

a n d Insura nce in dices close d fla t.

N e g a t iv e Se n t i m e n t Pe rsists as M PC M a i n t ai ns St a t us Q u o o n P o licy Ra t es

V alu e (m) 291.4 272.3 163.2 83.7 82.9 80.8 31.0 23.1 20.0 19.6

14,000

29,500

10,500

27,000

7,000

24,500

3,500

Invest or se n tim e n t w a n e d t o d ay as m ark e t bre a d t h re tre a t e d t o 0.6x (fro m 0.8x yest erd ay) a f t er 11 st ocks a dva nce d a g ainst 17 d eclinin g st ocks. Th e b est p erf ormin g st ocks t o d ay w ere C H A M PI O N (+8.4 %), FL O UR M ILL (+5.0 %) a n d A FRIPRU D (+4.9 %) w hile F O RTE (-9.7 %), LIV EST O C K (-5.0 %) a n d T O T A L (-5.0 %) d eclin e d t h e m ost. Th e M o n e t ary Policy Co m mit t e e (MPC) o f t h e CBN co nclu d e d its last m e e tin g f or t h e ye ar t od ay a n d h eld all p olicy ra t es co nst a n t in lin e wit h co nse nsus f orecast. H o w ever, co m mit t e e m e m b ers f aile d t o give a ny g uid a nce n or m ark e t-frie n dly o pinio n o n t h e curre n t a d ministra tive struct ure o f t h e FX 22-Nov

19-Nov

16-Nov

13-Nov

10-Nov

07-Nov

04-Nov

01-Nov

`

29-Oct

26-Oct

23-Oct

20-Oct

17-Oct

14-Oct

N o n e t h eless, w e d o n o t rule o u t p ossibility of t h e m ark e t closin g in t h e gre e n in

22,000 11-Oct

b elieve se n tim e n t f or e q uities w o uld re m ain w e a k in t h e sh ort t o m e diu m t erm.

08-Oct

m ark e t. Th us, w it h n o e n d ye t in sig h t t o t h e p e g g e d exch a n g e ra t e re gim e, w e

sessio ns a h e a d give n t h e b arg ain h u n tin g o p p ort u nities in b ell w e t h er In d ustrial G o o ds

and

Ba n kin g

e q uities

M a cr o e co n o m ic G ist th

Term of t h e d a y D e m u t u aliz a tio n is w he n a m u t u al com p a ny o w n e d by its users/m e m b ers co nverts in t o a com p a ny o w n e d by shCost-t are h old ers. ef ftect, o-In co mIne Ra io t h e users/m e m b ers exch a n g e t h eir rig h ts o f use f or sh ares in t h e d e m u t u aliz e d com p a ny A n im p ort a n t m e asure o f t h e e f ficie ncy o f fin a ncial instit u tio ns, t his re f ers t o t h eir o p era tin g exp e nses divid e d by t h eir o p era tin g reve n u es.

Th e M o n e t ary Policy Co m mit t e e h eld its 6 a n d last m e e tin g f or t h e ye ar o n M o n d ay a n d Tu esday, 21st a n d 22n d N ove m b er. A ll m e m b ers o f t h e co m mit t e e vo t e d t o m ain t ain st a t us q u o o n k ey ra t es. Co nse q u e n tly; (i) MPR w as re t ain e d a t 14 p er ce n t; (ii) CRR w as re t ain e d a t 22.5 p er ce n t; (iii) Liq uidity Ra tio w as re t ain e d a t 30.00 p er ce n t; a n d (iv) t h e Asym m e tric W in d o w w as re t ain e d a t +200 a nd -500 b asis p oin ts aro u n d t h e MPR

Maritime B6 Stories by Babajide Okeowo

Maritime stakeholders have called on the Nigerian Shippers’ Council (NSC) not to cause chaos in the industry as the agency’s two-week deadline for the activation of Inland Container Depot (ICD) concessions nears.

The National Publicity Secretary of the National Association of Government-Approved Freight Forwarders (NAGAFF), Mr. Stanley Ezenga, said the NCS should withdraw its threat as this is not the right time to invest in the country.

“Essentially, the ICD’s initiative was to decongest the seaports considering the high volumes of traffic in our ports in time past. However, as at today, the case has changed, even the terminal operators do not have cargoes to handle at the moment, not to talk of transferring those cargoes to ICDs as the case may be,” he said.

“It is unfortunate that millions of naira have been sunk into the project, but with the current economic recession nobody would want to build a world class facility and in the end no cargo goes into the place. That would be a problem because every investor wants to make profit and the place

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, November 23, 2016

ICD: Stakeholders call for calm over NSC’s threat would be under-utilized.

However, government should withdraw their threats because this is not the right time for anybody to invest in Nigeria due to government policies.”

Similarly, Frank Aliakor of the Association of Nigerian Licensed Customs Agents (ANLCA) posited that the Council’s directive is coming at a time when the economy is bad.

“The terminal operators at the moment don’t have vessels or cargoes to handle, we shouldn’t even be talking about the ICDs at the moment because of the low cargo throughput, the ports are not performing at optimal level and government is talking about withdrawing the licenses of the ICD’s investors. This is a wrong move at the moment. Rather than the threat, the Shippers Council needs to advice government on how to boost international trade and not to sanction investors who are afraid to invest at the moment,” he added.

On his part, Comrade Increase Uche, Deputy

how do they expect investors in such projects to have money to execute such massive projects?

The threat of withdrawal of agreements is not the best, rather, government should encourage them in their own little ways,” he said It would be recalled that the Executive Secretary of the NCS, Hassan

Bello, had last week given ICD concessionaires two weeks ultimatum to study the contents of the new agreement with a view to carring out the provision of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC) by ensuring their facilities come alive by next year or risk having their licenses revoked.

Pirates attack Maersk container ship off Nigeria

BELLO

Executive Secretary Nigerian Shippers’ Council

President of NAGAFF urged the NCS to ease off as many investors have relocated from Nigeria.

“Shippers Council should play it cool as many companies have relocated from Nigeria

considering the current policies in place. If the investors are not assured of cargoes to handle it would be difficult for them to invest in the ICD projects. If government itself is saying that they are broke,

A Maersk Line container vessel came under attack from Nigerian pirates on Saturday, according to a report by a security broker.

The Singapore-flagged 61,614 dwt boxship Maersk Cotonou was attacked close to Bonny Island, Rivers State according to a report security brokers Asket.

Asket said that the container ship had been attacked by eight armed men in a speedboat and the Maersk Cotonou suc-

cessfully applied counter piracy measures. The vessel then continued to its destination.

Asket said the attack was carried out by the same group that attempted an attack on a convoy of supply vessels earlier on 19 November. In that case a security vessel escorting the convoy intercepted the pirate skiff and came under fire.

The security vessel returned fire and the attack was aborted.

Maritime industry growth will advance global economic interest - NIMASA The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Dr. Dakuku Peterside, has stated that if Nigeria must advance its global economic interest then the country must ensure that it gets the regulation of the maritime sector right.

The DG who made this statement in an interview said that 90% of global commerce is conducted via sea borne trade and Nigeria is strategically placed between West and Central Africa, which puts it at a global advantage.

“If we must advance our global economic interest, then we must ensure that we get the maritime industry right, precisely the regulation of the industry,” he averred.

Peterside added that in view of the need to make Nigeria’s voice heard in the global maritime trade, the Agency has come up with various interventionist programmes that would speedily impact positively on the sector alongside the restructuring, reforming and repositioning of NIMASA. In the light of this, the DG hinted that the Agency is concluding the process of acquiring a modular floating dry dock that would allow Cabotage vessels and other vessels calling at the Ports to be maintained in-country and save the much needed foreign exchange, in addition to creating employment opportunities for Nigerians.

The NIMASA helmsman also observed that

about 400 vessels participate in the Cabotage trade and at least 5,000 vessels call at the nation’s ports, yet most of them routinely take their vessels outside the country for regular dry docking and maintenance, thereby making the country lose a lot of foreign exchange.

“As an interventionist measure, we decided that NIMASA can acquire a floating dockyard, set it up in the country, so that instead of people going outside to dry-dock their boats on regular basis they can maintain their boats here, dry-dock their boats and off course we will save the much needed foreign exchange,” the DG maintained.

In addition, the DG stated that in line with

the Agency’s mandate of building capacity for the industry, the ship repair yard is expected to employ a minimum of 100 persons with different kind of skills and save time used for dry-docking outside the country.

While seeking continuous co-operation and collaboration amongst Stakeholders in the industry, Peterside gave the assurance that in no distance time, Nigerian will become the preferred maritime destination in Africa.

It would be recalled that the NIMASA DG had recently informed the public of the restructuring of the Agency for better service delivery in the Maritime Sector.

Peterside

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Stories by Tony Nwakaegho Mobile phone users will be facing tough times if proposal by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) Governor, Godwin Emefiele to the federal government to introduce mobile phone call tax get its approval.

Emefiele has proposed an alternative to source of revenue for the government, and recommended a telecoms tax for phone call conversations above 3 minutes and also suggested that the federal government introduce a tax on properties.

The CBN Governor, who spoke at the 2016 Annual Bankers’ Dinner organised by the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) in Lagos on the theme: “Policy options for reversing Nigeria’s economic downturn” said such tax, targeted at the middle, upper class and long phone call makers, can generate N100 billion annually into the federal government coffers.

He said the country’s economy is currently facing a classical case of “stagflation” and although the 2016 budget is well on track

CBN proposes N100bn mobile phone call tax on users to tackle it, there is need to boost revenue generation base though increased taxes.

Emefiele advocated that government could explore opportunities for more revenues to wriggle out of stagflation and recession by introducing a negligible telecom surcharge to be paid by initiator of a telephone call.

“There are several ways we can raise additional revenue to finance the increased expenditure that is needed to engender fast and sustainable growth in the economy. I think we can consider introducing a negligible telecom surcharge to be entirely borne by the initiator of a call. In order to protect the poor and vulnerable amongst us, we could structure it to only take effect after the third minute of talk. Some analyses have indicated that the government could earn about N100 billion per annum from this alone,” he explained.

According to him, the surcharge will mainly be borne by middle

and upper class people since many poor people do not make calls for more than three minutes.

Stagflation, he explained occurs when a country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is falling or stagnant while unemployment and inflation are rising, all simultaneously.

“As recent data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) indicate, Nigeria’s GDP growth decelerated by 0.36 percent and 2.1 percent in the first and second quarters of 2016, respectively.

More also, the rate of price inflation for the months of September and October were 17.9 percent and 18.3 percent, respectively, while official statistics also indicate that the country’s unemployment rate increased to 12.1 percent and 13.3 percent during the first and second quarters,” he stated.

Emefiele stated that stagflation is a difficult condition for policymakers to deal with, insisting that no single macroeconomic policy

can address rising inflation and slow growth simultaneously, because fighting inflation may require implementing policies that

might, in the short term, be inimical to economic growth, whereas expansionary policies to stimulate growth usually worsen inflation.

Nigerian businesses lose $550m in rising cybercrime-Report

INTEL L-R Bunmi Ekundare, Country Manager, Intel; Lukecia Gunter, Director of Desktop Partner Marketing and Engagement, Intel; Kunle Afolayan, Movie Producer; and Adim Isiakpona, Marketing and PR Manager, Intel West Africa at the Intel Meets Nollywood roundtable discussion with film makers, cinematographers and graphic designers, recently.

Glo raises new 4G LTE coverage to 20 locations The new Glo 4G LTE network has continued to increase with additional 20 locations, including Ikorodu in Lagos, Ota in Ogun State and Zuba in Abuja going live on the network.

Globacom announced this in a press statement from its head office in Victoria Island, Lagos, indicating that over 60 locations are now live on the company’s brand new 4G LTE network.

Among the new locations are Idi Araba, Idi Oro, Mushin, Apapa and

B7 ICT

Oyingbo in Lagos; Jikwoyi, Dawaki, Gudu, Karu, Kado, Kuje and Zuba in Abuja and Eagle Island, Chinda, Abuloma, Iwofe, Choba, and Onne in Port Harcourt.

Globacom launched Nigeria’s first 4G LTE nationwide mobile network on October 4, 2016 in nine cities. The launch cities of the advanced technology include Lagos- Lekki, Ikoyi, V.I, Ajah and Akoka; Port Harcourt- Aba Road, Trans Amadi, Diobu, Old GRA and UNIPort; Warri, Eket; Benin; Abuja- Maita-

ma, Wuse, Asokoro, Garki/ Central Business District and Airport Road; Jos; Yola – ABTI and Zaria- ABU among others.

The addition of the latest 20 locations lends strong credence to the operator’s promise to take the advanced mobile telecommunications network to every part of the country.

Glo 4G LTE network offers subscribers efficient mobile broadband internet which is several times faster than a 3G network. It enables them to surf the inter-

net at the speed of light and download ultra-high definition videos in seconds.

Adenuga

A new pan African cyber intelligence report has revealed that Nigerian businesses lost slightly more than half a billion US Dollars in the last twelve months to cyber criminals.

The Nigeria Cyber Security Report 2016, said to be the first of its kind in Nigeria, which sheds light on the impact that cybercrime has had on local businesses is expected to be launched next week at the eNigeria Conference and Expo in Abuja.

Nigeria Cyber Security Report 2016 was researched, analysed, compiled and published by Kenyan based Serianu in collaboration with Nigeria’s Demadiur Systems and the United States International University (USIU)’s Centre for Informatics Research and Innovation (CIRI).

Commenting on the report, Mr. William Makatiani, Serianu’s Managing Director, said that in developing the research, the firm’s Cyber Threat Intelligence Team reviewed publicly and privately available data from individual indus-

tries and performed interviews of business leaders and IT security practitioners.

Makatiani stated that the Nigeria Cyber Security Report 2016 established that the annual cost of cybercrime to Nigerian business is close to N173,387,500,000 (USD550 Million). The report further reveals that more than half (56.3 percent) of Nigerian businesses remain exposed to cyberattacks.

“A vast majority of these companies and organizations are not even aware of the threats that they are exposed to from criminals, who are always trawling the Internet for firms to raid,” Makatiani said.

Systems found to be most at risk, according to the Nigeria Cyber Security Report 2016, were MikroTik routers, Apache HTTPD web servers, IIS Servers and Cisco routers.

The most vulnerable applications identified were exchange servers and those running Microsoft Outlook Web Applications emerged as the most common.

Aviation B8

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Cash-strapped FAAN seeks appropriation to link MMIA, new terminal Sequel to dwindling inter nally-generated revenue (IGR), the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) is soliciting appropriation from the federal government to enable it connect the existing Murtala Muhammed International Airport terminal with the one currently being constructed.

The managing director of FAAN, Engineer Saleh Dunoma, made this known in Lagos during the visit of the Senate Committee on Aviation.

According to the FAAN helmsman, the airport authority was expending its dwindling revenue to handle bad runways in Abuja, Enugu and Akure and the airlines were not paying

because of their dwindling revenue as a result to reduction of traffic.

He also blamed the inability of the airlines to pay on the scarcity of jet A1 stating that airlines were already finding it difficult and FAAN could not squeeze them out.

“Facilities are being overstretched and FAAN as an organization in 2016 did not have any appropriation. This organization solely depends on its IGR for maintenance and semi-capital projects.”

“As it is now, FAAN is working on two or three airports’ runways that have critical issues. We are already deciding on the Abuja runway and we will be seeking the public’s co-

operation as the runway will be closed. Also there is the Enugu Airport runway and that of Akure which may not be much problem because of the low traffic volume there.”

“We are currently working on six terminals, four of which are being built by the Chinese and we need funding in Lagos so we can connect the existing terminal to the new structure so they will not stand apart and be two terminals.” ”We also want to prioritize the construction of the Abuja and Lagos terminals so we can finish them and by saying that we do not mean that we are stopping work on the others, no. We want to ensure that we finish them because of the volume of traffic.”

Dunoma

FAAN

L-R: Member Senate Committee on Aviation, Senator Rilwan Soji Akanbi; Senator Shaaba Lafiagi; FAAN, Managing Director, Engr.

Salah Dunoma; Deputy Chairman Senate Aviation Committee, Senator Bala Ibn Na’Aila and Senator Jeremiah Useni, during the inspection tour of the Airport facilities, by the Aviation Committee, in Lagos Monday.

Carriers jostle for “Airline of the Year” at NIGAV awards Chukwuemeke Iwelunmo.

Come December 9, 2016, Med-View, Arik Air, Air Peace, Dana and Azman Airlines will compete to be named “Airline Of The Year” at the Nigerian Aviation (NIGAV) Awards in Lagos.

Other organizations and personalities have been nominated in other award categories including Aviation Personality Of The Year with Engr. Saleh Dumona, Managing Director of FAAN; Sir Joseph ArumemiIkhide, Arik Air’s Chairman, and Captain Muhtar Shaibu Usman, Director-General, NCAA. Chris Ndulue, Managing Director/Executive Vice President Arik Air; Allen Onyema,

CEO, Air Peace, and Alhaji Muneer Bankole, Managing Director/CEO, Mediveiw Airline, have been nominated for Airline CEO Of The Year.

Chief Convener of the award programme, Mr Fortune Idu, in a statement, said the NIGAV event is designed to identify and recognize individuals and organizations that have brought remarkable changes and improvements to the industry through works and acts that added value to aviation development, air transport service delivery and safer air travel.

Mr Idu said that FCI International Ltd, the pioneer of Nigeria Aviation development promotion events, put up the event to recognize and motivate per-

sonnel of the aviation industry.

Mr Idu added that the selection process is though public opinion either sent through email or filled out in the form which the organiser had made available on its website since July this year. Any one can nominate and justify it with reasons.

According to him the submission will be subjected to a review by NIGAV committee to arrive to final selection.

“The awards are goodwill awards for industry promotion which also supports selected charities. This year will be the seventh year of NIGAV award with over 30 awards conferred in various categories of endeavours.

Overland opens Ado-Ekiti ticketing office In its bid to provide easy access for the purchase of Overland Airways tickets and for other enquiries, the carrier has opened its City Ticketing Office in Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State.

The airline operates thrice-weekly flights (Monday/Wednesday/ Friday) between Akure and Abuja.

With the launch of this City Ticketing Office, the people of Ekiti, in addition to going online, can easily avail themselves of Overland Airways’ services without necessarily travelling to the airport in Akure, the Ondo State capital.

To date, Overland Airways is Nigeria’s most longest serving airline providing uninterrupted flights and opening up Nigeria’s remote economies over the last 14 years.

Managing Director of Overland Airways, Capt. Edward Boyo, said “Our customers are our top priority at Overland Airways. The City Ticketing Office in Ekiti will save Ekiti indigenes the stress of travelling to Akure each time they need to make a booking or get information on Overland Airways’ flights.”

“Development takes such deliberate plans and efforts to be achieved. At a time Nigeria’s economy needs pragmatic diversification from over-dependence on crude oil, States are now required to look inwards to transform their numerous resources. Ekiti State is in the frontline of regions to change the trend in Nigeria. Overland Airways is committed to partner in the realization of the economic, social, cultural and other potentials of Ekiti State, even in harsh economic conditions as we have seen in the past weeks and months.”

NiMet DG bags fellow of Astronomical Society of Nigeria In recognition of his contributions towards the growth and advancement of science and technology in Nigeria, the Director-General/CEO of NiMet, Dr. Anthony Anuforom, has been named Fellow of the Astronomical Society of Nigeria. .

The induction took place during the 2016 Annual Conference of the society which was held at National Space Research and Development Agency in Abuja recently.

Dr. Anuforom expressed his profound gratitude to the society for the award and promised not to relent in the discharge of his duties.

He noted that the use of scientific methods for the general well-being of Nigerians is a neverending task scientists must apply themselves to.

He therefore called for in-

creased collaboration between the agencies especially in the area of research, stressing that the synergy would impact positively on the nation’s space programme as well as the power sector.

Dr. Anuforom further stated that “this is an emerging area of research that we believe NiMet can collaborate with NASRDA and ASN in space science and technology, which can assist in power system management.

We need to key in as a country and as an agency, and working together as organizations; I believe we should be able to make contributions to national development in this regard. This is because some phenomena in the outer space do affect satellite telecommunications and the power grid systems.

Life&

TIMES Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Mike

Aremu

The unique Saxophonist

L2

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Interview L2

Daily Times Nigeria

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

I went into Jazz because I fell in love with it - Aremu have to grease palms to get your music played. That is an issue we need to address; that style of greasing palms to get your music played does not sit well with me. I am not ready to compromise before my music is played on the radio.

I believe my music is good enough.

When I give my album to some On Air Personalities, I tell them to enjoy

From the time I was a trumpet player, people said that I sound like a saxophonist. The sound of the saxophone itself is something that appealed to me. I listened to a few jazz saxophone players

saxophone. The only thing is that blowing the saxophone affected my front tooth because of the way my teeth grip the embouchure tooth recently. Other than that, to be honest, there is no health hazards associated with blowing the saxophone.

It felt terrible because he never saw me become successful. He never saw me become a star; he only saw me as his child who he called to always entertain his friends with the guitar that I made by myself. That was all he knew about me. He knew me as a trumpet player but he did not see me as the person other people have come to love his songs. He was more into my academic and never had a problem with it but he always knew that I am gifted. He wanted me to be in a profession like medicine, law, or engineering.

He never saw me rise into stardom and up till today, I always imagine how he would feel if he was alive. I remember the way he used to be very proud of my sister who is a lawyer and he always

but if you love it, then feel free to play it. Of course, a lot of stations play my songs and those are the ones that love good music. They play the songs not because of who I am but because they love good music. Everything has changed about the industry. I have chosen a genre of music that I know would appeal to people who love good music. When it comes to giving people nominations a lot but I feel somehow when I have to campaign for votes. I did it the last time and I cleared a lot of awards but in my heart, I asked myself why I had to campaign for votes. That is just my school of thought.

I went into jazz because I fell in love with it. When I started out, there was no incentive. I began to play jazz because I love it and I want to be a blessing to people. It was not because of any I have a passion for it. Everything I have done, even Sax Appeal is because of passion and not because of what I can get from it. When I began Sax Appeal, people questioned my reasoning because there was no money to be made in the venture, I had to even sell some of my property but I have no regrets. I like the fact that I am able to create something for a certain people who care about good music. When we started Sax Appeal for instance, I wanted to do the kind of music that would be on the mainstream and not in the background. That is why the kind of publicity we did for it was similar to that of a normal hip-pop concert. As it is, jazz jazz artiste to be recognised. I did not choose this genre of music have for it. It just happened that it appeals to that set of people.

Someone once met me at an event and asked how much I was paid and when I replied, he was shocked. Those that value the music really appreciate it.

wonder if he would have given me a nickname as well.

The truth is that I actually do a lot of things in Nigeria. I have music being played or is it as popular as it used to be? The honest

Life&

T E A M

three albums, you did not have to chase after people to play your music. If your music was good, they would play it, unlike what we

Entertainment Correspondent Mutiat Alli

who the person is. At different times, I try to see what suits me especially because I play an unpopular genre of music. I like my

Society Correspondent Abimbola Obatayo

beards.

She loves it and she is crazy about it . She will always refer to the way I looked in Sax Appeal 3, where I kept a full beard. She likes it, different women with different opinions. She tells me that mind and I think it is her thing.

Yes, and I think it is a good enough reason; anything to keep your wife happy.

I have always loved our culture and fashion is what makes Africa unique. I love associating my brand with Africa. I also wear It is part of me representing Africa and showing the uniqueness of our fashion.

Daily Times Nigeria

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Mutiat Alli

Fashion & Style L3

Ade Bakare Couture name 2017 Summer Collection ‘Total Luxury’ ….To honour the late Remi Lagos

Total luxury and proudly Nigerian are the themes of

adire blouses and their puff sleeves also feature. The

maintaining an international appeal.

Ade Bakare

L4

Daily Times Nigeria

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Daily Times Nigeria

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

L5

Fashion & Style L6

Daily Times Nigeria

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Photos: Ejiro Amos Tafiri, Lanre Dasilva, Taibo Bacar, David Tlale other showcase at the GTB Fashion weekend

The GTB Fashion weekend which held at the Landmark centre, Oniru might have come and gone but the will never be forgotten easily from the retail stands to master class and the breath-taking run-away show. Life &Times brings to you fantastic run-away models in top Lanre Dasilva, Taibo Bacar, Ejiro others.

Daily Times Nigeria

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Fashion & Style L7

L8

Daily Times Nigeria

Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Showing on

Movies Stars Channel 111

17:02

Showing on

Movies Romance Channel 107

11:50

Wed, 23 Nov | PG 13

101 M-Net West

118 Telemundo

152 Africa Magic Epic

Wed, 23 Nov | PG 13

120 BBC Brit Entertainment

155 AfricaMagic World

128 SONY MAX