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Troops free 293 girls, women in Sambisa •They’re not from Chibok, says DHQ

Segun Adio

Group News Editor

•••A total of

293 females have been rescued from Boko Haram in Sambisa Forest, as Nigerian troops raided the notorious last stronghold of the terrorists in Borno State, military authorities disclosed on Tuesday.

Two hundred of those rescued were girls, while the remaining 93 were women, the Defence spokesman, Major-General Chris Olukolade, confirmed in a series of tweets.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

Chairman, NATCOM Consortium, Dr. Olatunde Ayeni (right); receiving the licenses and other instruments of ownership from the NITEL/MTEL Liquidator, Otunba Olutola Senbore. With them are members of the Technical Committee of the National Council on Privatisation, Mr. Emmanuel Ijewere (second left) and the Director General, Bureau of Public Enterprises, Mr. Benjamin Dikki (left) during the formal handing over of NITEL/MTEL Assets to NATCOM in Abuja…. On Tuesday PHOTO: JOHN BABA

FG hands over NITEL to new owners

Indonesia executes four g4 Nigerians, others g6 Nine legislators impeach Speaker in Adamawa govt house g4

AIT can cover g 23 Buhari, says APC Delta raises 98-man 12 g transition committee

2

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, April 29, 2015

3

Politics Page Three Æ s Editorial Averting another fuel scarcity

A

ll indications point to a looming fuel scarcity in the next few days if nothing is done immediately to ameliorate the situation.

This observation is coming on the heels of recent threats by Major Oil Marketers Association (NOMAN) to halt all fuel importation unless the Federal Government pays the outstanding N256.2 billion being owed it. According to NOMAN Executive Secretary,Mr. Obafemi Olawore,the association may not be able to import petroleum products as result of the debt. Painting a grim picture of the situation, Olawore lamented that the industry is bleeding while their suppliers are harassing them to pay up. “What we have at our Apapa depots will only last for three and half days, which shows that our members are finding it difficult to bring in products”, he said.

Definitely, these are grim times for the country and it would be insensitive of any one or organisation to add to the mounting miseries. That is why we are calling on the government and relevant agencies to honour all agreements reached with the oil marketers in order to stave off the impending fuel scarcity and its ugly aftermaths.

As we speak, the queues at the filling stations are fast returning, even as some of them claim to have already exhausted their supplies. We are scandalised by the fact that only recently, the Federal Government claimed to have paid the $30 billion exchange rate differentials owed the marketers over the last couple of months. Even the Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele, said that more than $500 million

Letters of Credit had been opened by banks on behalf of the marketers. With all these assurances, one is still at loss knowing who is telling the truth and what is amiss.

Nigerians have for long been subjected to lives of miseries and hardships by those charged to look after their welfare. Invariably, the citizens are made to look impish and confused whenever they are faced with the hard realities of a pitiable existence in the midst of plenty. Of course, it is difficult to explain the fact that Nigeria, as the world’s sixth largest exporter of crude oil, the citizens still queue like war refugees to buy petrol at filling stations.

It is even more absurd that inspite of four refineries, the country still imports more than 90 percent of petroleum products for internal consumption. Incidentally, the four refineries have a combined production capacity of 445,000 barrels per day, enough to satisfy demand. This sad state of affairs is not only an indictment on both past and present governments, it is a pointer to the lack of political will to tackle the issue of petroleum shortage for the last time.

That is why we are calling for the privatisation of the refineries. Without that, Nigeria will forever witness shortages, and more importantly, will go on losing income and jobs to those countries from where the products are imported. Already a lot of money have been committed into resuscitating them to no avail. Besides, the government should encourage the establishment of private refineries. That is the only way out of the continuing cycle of fuel importation and scarcity.

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Ominous sign of the dark days Sam Nzeh

•••

The barring of the African Independent Television (AIT) from covering activities of the President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) --- notwithstanding the decision to reverse it by the All Progressives Congress (APC -- has raised fears that the nation might return to the dark days of the military when journalists and media outfits were routinely harassed and persecuted for doing their jobs.

On Monday, security men attached to the Presidentelect barred the AIT correspondent, Tinabeso Bebei, from covering Buhari’s functions.

Buhari’s media aide, Mallam Garba Shehu, attributed the decision to some nebulous security and ethical concerns about the media outfit.

However, not a few see the ban as a revenge by the President-elect over AIT’s airing of documentaries critical of Buhari in the days leading to the just-concluded general election in the country.

Even if that was the case, many see the decision as unnecessary in a democracy where the journalists and media houses have the duty of educating the electorate on the characters of public office seekers as well as holding government and its officials accountable.

As long as the media outfit broke no laws and has so far not been adjudged guilty by any court, the Presidentelect by the action has most

Words On Marble :

dailytimesng

certainly overreached himself.

The President-elect should be reminded that in a democracy, dissent is constitutional and that the media provides the platform for people to ventilate their views on issues and personalities whether critical or not as long as they stay within the confines of law. And, if the law is breached in any form, democracy provides due avenues for redress The President-elect must surely learn to tolerate opposing views, including those critical of his person.

Nothing must be done by him and his incoming administration to throw Nigeria back to the days of military jackboots, where dissent was not only forbidden but also punished, to the eternal damnation of the country.

STATEMENTS BY THOSE WHO MATTER

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Publisher

Fidelis Anosike

Group Managing Director

Editor, Standard, Archives and Special projects

Associate Editors

Tunji Okegbola

Isime Esene Remi Ogunkoya

Chief Commercial Officer

Editorial Director

Group News Editor

Group Managing Editor

Deputy Editors

Editorial Page Editor

Noel Anosike

Doyin Awomosu

Gabriella Osamor

Editor

Yinka Olujimi

Chude Jideonwo Yemi Ogunsola Sam Nzeh

Acting Bureau Chief, Northern Operations Lateef Ibrahim

Segun Adio Okay Osuji

Sports Editor

Andrew Ekejiuba

Head of Operations Innocent Nwankwo

Online Editor

Adetayo Adelaja

Business Editor

Emmanuel Ogbonnaya

Head ICT (Shared Services) Banjo Ayorinde

Head Graphics King Ododoru

The opinions expressed in the articles published in this newspaper are solely those of the authors. Articles may be reproduced, provided that the original source is indicated.

Anatole France

(Leroy) Eldridge Cleaver

Martin Luther King Jnr.

An education is not how much you have committed to memory, or even how much you know. It is being able to differentiate between what you do know and what you do not know.

You’re either part of the solution or part of the problem.

Nothing in all the world is more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity.

News 4

5 News

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Troops rescue 200 girls, 93 women from Sambisa Continued from page 1 The rescued had raised hopes that the Chibok girls who were kidnapped by members of the sect from their school over one year ago had at last been found.

However, General Olukolade told the Daily Times that the girls were not from Chibok, for whom a world plea for rescue is on.

When asked by the Daily Times in a text message if the report of the rescue was true, Olukolade responded: “Yes.” In another text message, however, the General said: “Not Chibok girls, please. Thanks.”

Earlier, the Army boss had in the tweets disclosed that the identities of the rescued persons had not been ascertained, adding that pro-

cess for that had begun.

His first tweet read: “FLASH: Troops this afternoon rescued 200 girls & 93 women from #Sambisa Forest. We cannot confirm if the #ChibokGirls are in this group.”

About two minutes later, the military chief tweeted again: “Troops captured and destroyed 3 terrorists camps including the notorious Tokumbere camp in the #Sambisa Forest Operation.”

He then added: “#Sambisa Forest: The freed persons are now being screened and profiled. We will bring you details later.”

The National Security Adviser, Colonel Sambo Dasuki (rtd) had on March 14 pledged that the military would reclaim the Sambisa forest before President Goodluck Jonathan hands over power.

The military, which had been incapacitated in dealing with the Boko Haram menace for a long time gained considerable strength in weaponry shortly before the last presidential election. Recently, the sect announced a change of name to the Islamic State in West Africa, an indication that its focus would now be shifted to the sub region and not necessarily seek to impose its Islamic rule on the North Eastern part of Nogeria.

“Right now, all Boko Haram camps, except Sambisa Forest have been destroyed,” Dasuki had said.

He added: “Every movement of the terrorists is being monitored and every necessary detail is being taken care of to rid the country of the last bastion of terrorists’ infestation.”

Queue at Oando Petrol station Aa Mobolaji Johnson, Industrial Estate, Alausa, Lagos… on Tuesday PHOTO: BOLAJI OLASUNKANMI

FG hands over NITEL/ MTEL to new owners Augustine Aminu & Mathew Dadiya, Abuja

•••The liquidated assets of Ni-

gerian Telecommunications Plc (NITEL) and Nigerian Mobile Telecommunications Limited (MTEL) have been formally handed over to new private sector owners in Abuja Tuesday.

Vice President Sambo stated during the formal handover ceremony that Nigeria would not attain the desired economic growth without adequate reforms and liberalisation of the telecommunications sector.

He said that the new legal framework provided the basis upon which the process of privatising NITEL commenced in 2001, since then, there have been four different unsuccessful attempts to privatise NITEL to private operators and one failed management contract all aimed at re-positioning the company, to play a significant role in the Nigeria economy.

In this regard, he stated that privatisation must be seen as a necessary tool for the deregulation and opening up of hitherto government dominated sectors of the economy to the private sector as well as divestiture of government’s interest in such sectors.

Sambo noted that the formal handover of NITEL and MTEL assets to NATCOM Consortium was a clear indication of what can be achieved where there was focus and determination adding that “this is a ceremony that would not have been possible without the leadership, unparalleled support and commitment of President

Goodluck Jonathan, to the roadmap for the provision of robust telecommunications services to drive the economic transformation of Nigeria.”

This handover ceremony, the VP noted, is a culmination of years of painstaking efforts by the National Council on Privatisation (NCP) and its Secretariat, the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), the Liquidator, the Federal Ministry of Communications Technology and other key stakeholders to increase competition in Nigeria’s Telecommunications Industry.

“It was the realisation that Nigeria will not attain the desired economic growth without adequate reforms and liberalisation of the telecommunications sector that informed commencement of the telecoms sector reform in 2001.”

“These led to the attempted privatisation of NITEL and MTEL through Strategic/Core Investor sale to Investors International London Limited.”

“Unfortunately, that flagship transaction failed as the preferred bidder could not meet deadline for the payment of the purchase consideration.”

Giving a breakdown of history that led to the privatisation Sambo observed that Failure of the first Strategic Investors sale led to the execution of a Management Contract with Pentascope in 2005.

The management contract did not improve the operational and financial position of NITEL and MTEL and was terminated.

Orascom Telecoms emerged the highest bidder with a bid of Continued on page 6

Nine, of 25-member Adamawa Assembly, ‘impeach’ Speaker

Wale Akintunde & Tom Garba, Yola

•••The

lingering face-off between the executive and legislative arms of government in Adamawa State on Tuesday assumed a comic dimension when nine lawmakers believed to be loyal to the State Governor, Bala James Ngilari, sat at the conference hall of the Government House and impeached the Speaker, Hon. Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri.

Before now, 11 aggrieved lawmakers had issued a statement accusing Fintiri of highhandedness and unilateral closure of the

house which lasted for weeks and issued a warning to the effect that by that action they had no alternative than to convene the sitting elsewhere.

The development forced the speaker to shift the plenary to commence on Monday, April 20 to Monday, 27, 2015. But even at that, the lawmakers could not convene on the appointed day as the assembly premises remained under lock and key.

As the crisis escalated, 9 among the 11 aggrieved lawmakers on Tuesday convened at the Government House where they impeached the speaker and his deputy.

Shortly after the 9 lawmakers arrived at the Government House, the member representing Gombi constituency, Hon. Jerry Kumdisi, moved for the appointment of Wale Fwa as Protem speaker and was seconded by member representing Girei constituency, Abubakar Umar Girei.

While leading the session, the Protem Speaker, Hon. Wale Fwa, noted that the reason for convening of the session followed consistent refusal of the Speaker to reconvene the assembly after entreaties made to him fell into deaf ears.

She added that majority of the

lawmakers had lost confidence in the leadership of Fintiri as a result of which 17 members representing 2/3 of the lawmakers duly signed for the impeachment of the speaker and his deputy.

“All the members who signed the impeachment notice have resolved to remove the speaker and his deputy,” she noted.

It was at that point that member representing Verre constituency, Hon. Salihu Kabillo, moved for the impeachment of the speaker and his deputy leading to the removal of Fintiri.

After this, he again moved for the nomination of Hon. Jerry

Kumdisi as the new speaker of the assembly and was seconded by member representing Yola South, Hon. Abuzarri Ribadu.

In his inaugural speech, Kumdisi pledged to end the era of impunity as was entrenched by Fintiri’s leadership which led to his eventual fall.

He promised to work in harmony with the executive arm of government as the relationship was earlier frosty which affected the people of the state, adding that Fintiri also ensured that the assembly complex remained under lock and key for some months.

However, he described some of the lawmakers who failed to Continued on page 6

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Dangote Cement's shareholders to benefit from new projects •••

As shareholders of Dangote Cement meet today to approve the company’s 2014 financial results, indications have emerged that the investors will have a lot to be thankful for as a result of the massive expansion project being embarked upon by the company in 16 African countries, outside Nigeria.

Returns from the African projects are expected to start reflecting on the company’s account from this 2015 financial year.

The directors have however recommended that a dividend payout of N6.00 per share be paid to all the shareholders for the 2014 financial year. This dividend payout, will translate to a yield of 3.9 per cent and payout ratio of 63.5

per cent.

Meanwhile, the company’s new plants in Senegal and Cameroun have commenced operations. The Cement plants in Ethiopia and Zambia are also expected to start production next month.

The new Senegalese plant, located in Pout district, about 75 kilometers from Dakar, the country’s capital, is expected to create more than 1,000 jobs, with a total production capacity of 1.5 million tons annually. With the new plant, the company hopes to improve the country’s cement production capacity with an additional 1.5million tons, while serving an export market demand of two million tons along the Mali axis.

It would be recalled that the

Country Head, Dangote Industries, Senegal, Luk Haelterman, disclosed that the group has invested about $300 million in the cement plant, adding that actual production and sales started on January 10, 2015.

Said he: “In this country, Dangote will not only stop at producing cement, will also help beyond cement, which is the idea of the owner, to become a pan-African enterprise. Senegal is a market with over-capacity of cement, because it had two cement factories before now. But today, Dangote has become the biggest and best, because we have produced the 42.5R only, which is better than what we met on ground, which is the 32.5R”.

Group Executive Director of the

company, Mr. Devakumar Edwin said: “I am proud to report that we have commissioned nine million tons of new capacity at our Obajana and Ibese plants, and this puts them amongst the biggest cement plants in the world.

“Outside Nigeria, we opened up new factories in South Africa and Senegal in 2014, and our grinding plant in Cameroon has just become operational. We have started commissioning our plants in Zambia and Ethiopia and are on track to open more factories in Africa, in the coming years. The success of our expansion is evidence that we are delivering on our strategy to become e a much larger, more international company.

Tinubu faults Bode George's apology claim

••• National Leader of the All

President-elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) (left); Executive Vice Chairman, Dantata & Sawoe, Alh. Mubarak Dantata and Managing Director, Dantata & Sawoe Ltd, Mr U. Heichuster during a courtesy visit to Buhari in Abuja… on Tuesday

FG suspends Perm Sec over ‘recall’ of envoys Egena Egena, Abuja

••• President Goodluck Jonathan has approved the suspension of the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Amb. Danjuma Sheni.

This was contained in a letter dated April 28, 2015 and signed by the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mr. Danladi Kifasi.

The letter sighted by our correspondent was not officially released to the press.

According to the letter, the suspension was with immediate effect.

The letter said Sheni's sus-

pension was connected to his invitation to the Acting High Commissioner of Nigeria to South Africa and the Consul General of Nigeria in Pretoria to visit the Ministry for consultation in the aftermath of the xenophobic attacks in South Africa.

Kifasi in the letter said the invitation from Sheni was without authorisation, and further directed Ambassador Bulus Lolo to take over from Ambassador Danjuma Sheni, while he is directed to stay away from duty until further notice.

"The President has directed your immediate suspension

from duty as a result of your invitation to the Ag. High Commissioner of Nigeria to South Africa and the Consul General of Nigeria in Pretoria to visit headquarters for consultation in the aftermath of the xenophobic attacks in South Africa without authorisation", the letter read in part.

The letter further stated that, "Your action has brought great embarrassment to the country and impacted negativity on the bilateral relationship between Nigeria and South Africa. You are to hand over your duties to Amb. Bulus Lolo and stay away from duty until further notice."

Progressives Congress (APC), Ashiwaju Ahmed TInubu has explained his latest encounter with Chief Olabode George, a PDP chieftain, where the latter claimed Tinubu apologized to him for his ‘sins’ against him.

The former Lagos State governor, though admitted he met Chief George in Ibadan at the burial of Chief Alao Arisekola, however, maintained that he was prevailed upon by the likes of Obe Otudeko and Governor Ajimobi to greet Chief George, which he did saying, saying “Good Afternoon Egbon.”

In a message issued by Tinubu media office and which was made available to the Daily Times, Tinubu said that Chief George lied to claim that he (Tinubu) apologised to him at the event. The statement read, “Mr. George claims the alleged apology was made at the burial of Chief Alao Arisekola.

On that date, personalities such as Oba Otudeko and Governor Ajimobi approached me because I did not greet Mr. George initially.

They pleaded that, in the memory of the man we were all gathered to honor, I should greet Mr. George.

At their request, I turned back and came to greet him by saying ‘Good Afternoon Egbon.’ That was all.”

Tinubu also used the opportunity to wash his hands off the travails of the former Chairman of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA).

5 News Okada accidents increase by 34% in 2015-LASG •••

Lagos State Government on Tuesday said the number of commercial motorcycles, popularly called Okada related accidents, have increased in the last four months by 34 percent.

Meanwhile, the state government has revealed that at least 61, 138 vehicles that violated the state road traffic law were impounded in 2014, even as it said 400 Bus Rapid Transportation (BRT), would be injected into the transport fleet, to complement existing ones.

Commissioner for Transportation, Mr. Kayode Opeifa, who disclosed this at the 2015 ministerial press briefing in Alausa Secretariat, Ikeja, lamented that the number of Okada related accident had reduced previously by 81 percent before the latest upsurge.

According to him, “We have started witnessing an increase since January 2015, both in reported death cases and injuries. Specifically, injuries in Okada related accidents have increased by 34 percent when compared with the 4th quarter of 2014.

Rainstorm destroys 50 buildings in Ondo •••

About 50 buildings were on Monday evening destroyed by rainstorm in Ikare-Akoko and Arigidi-Akoko in Akoko NorthEast Local Government Area of Ondo State.

The rainstorm, which rendered many residents homeless, lasted for one hour, as it reportedly started at 7pm and stopped at 8pm. School buildings, commercial centres and shops were also affected by the rainstorm.

Also affected were electric poles in the two communities, as many of them fell down while the rain lasted.

Consequently, power supply to the areas had been affected, prompting resident’s to appeal to authorities of the Benin Electricity Distribution Company (BEDC), to do necessary repairs and restore power.

Victims of the disaster, who are still counting their loses, lamented their fate, just as they solicited assistance from government. A community Leader in Ikare-Akoko, Chief Saliu Okoya, called on both the state and federal governments to come to the aid of the victims.

News 6

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Despite global plea, Indonesia executes four Nigerians, others •••Four Nigerians and two Aus-

tralians were among persons executed on Tuesday for drug charges under Indonesian law.

The execution was carried out despite global pleas ----- and threats.

The Nigerians were Martin Anderson, 50; Silvester Nwolise, 47; Jamiu Abasin, 50 and Okwudili Oyatanze, 41.

The two Australians were Myuran Sukumaran and Andrew Chan were among those executed early Wednesday, according to the Jakarta Post.

“We’ve carried out the executions,” an attorney general’s office official told the Jakarta Post.

The convicts were given a 72hour execution notice over the weekend, which intensified lastditch efforts to win reprieves for them.

A total of eight prisoners were killed in Wednesday’s execution, the Jakarta Post reported. One Filipino woman however received a last-minute reprieve, according to the newspaper.

“We want to send a strong message to drug smugglers that Indonesia is firm and serious in tackling the drug problem, and one of the consequences is execution if the court sentences them to death,” Indonesian President Joko Widodo told Al Jazeera last month.

Widodo, the first Indonesian president not to come from the country’s political or military elite, took office last fall, and has vehemently pursued harsh sentences for drug smuggling, calling illegal drug use a “national emergency.”

In January, the Indonesian government put six convicts to death, including five foreigners — more executions than the country ordered in the previous six years combined.

In an earlier interview with the Jakarta Globe, Widodo rebuffed foreigners’ calls for clemency.

“I will say this firmly: No one may intervene with the executions because it is our sovereign right to exercise our laws,” he said.

The push to move forward with the executions sparked international outcry from diplomats, lawyers, rights groups and a smattering of celebrities.

U.N. Secretary General, Ban Ki-moon, called for a moratorium on Indonesia’s executions and a move toward abolition. The governments of Australia, France and the Philippines — which don’t have a death penalty — threatened diplomatic consequences if the country went through with the executions.

Efforts continued on behalf of other prisoners scheduled for execution who were convicted for drug smuggling but who are not among the “Bali Nine.” Lawyers for Rodrigo Gularte, a mentally ill Brazilian man, filed a last-ditch appeal Tuesday arguing he should be hospitalised, not executed.

And women’s rights groups demonstrated for the release of the Filipino prisoner, 30-year-old migrant worker, Mary Jane Veloso, who said she was set up by a recruitment agency.

Veloso was spared from the death sentence Wednesday, the Jakarta Post reported.

On Nusakambangan Island, where family members made their last visits with the nine convicts, hope was in short supply. Family members sobbed as they pushed their way through a crowd of reporters, police and onlookers to the prison. A convoy of a dozen ambulances followed soon after.

Nine of the vehicles contained a white coffin, one for each of the people to be executed.

Chan’s new wife, Indonesian pastor, Febyanti Herewila, paid a final visit to the man she married just the night before. She and Chan met while he was in an Indonesian jail where she conducted outreach — marrying her was Chan’s final request, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. A small group of family and friends attended the ceremony, a subdued affair at the island’s maximum security prison.

“It’s tough times but it’s happy times at the same time,” Michael Chan, Andrew’s brother, told reporters outside the jail Monday, as the New York Times reported. “We just hope that the president somewhere will find some compassion and mercy for these two, this young couple so they can carry on with their lives.”

L-R: Auditor General of the Federation, Mr. Samuel Ukura; Head of Service of the Federation, Mr. Danladi Kifasi; Minister of State, Finance, Amb. Bashir Yuguda and Accountant General of the Federation, Mr. Jonah Otunla during launching of Accrual Accounting Manual (IPSAS Complaint) held in Abuja... on Tuesday PHOTO: JOHN BABA

FG hands over NITEL/MTEL to NATCOM Continued from page 4 $256million during the second privatisation attempt. Its bid was however rejected by the Federal Government as it was below the reserved price.

The National Council on Privatisation in 2006 adopted the willing Buyer-Willing Seller or Negotiated Sale Strategy. This strategy was adopted to shorten the transaction period since the financial position of NITEL and MTEL was deteriorating, TransNational Corporation of Nigeria Plc (TRASNCORP), the selected bidder at the time however failed to turn around the fortunes of the enterprises after two years of taking over.

After evaluation, only NATCOM Consortium met the technical requirement and its financial proposal was publicly opened on Octoober 24, 2014.

He disclosed that the first bid was USD221 million which was below the reserved price, but after a second round of bidding,

the revised bid of USD252, 221,000 was above the reserved price and NATCOM was therefore, declared the preferred bidder.

“The reform and privatisation program are rightly focused on the big picture, that is, the impact on the economy as a whole and ultimately the greatest good for the number of Nigerians.”

“I would like to gratefully acknowledge the leadership of Mr President and the commendable roles of the NCP Chairman, NCP/ BPE, the Liquidator and Ministry of Communications Technology in the actualization of this dream,” the VP noted.

He congratulated NATCOM Consortium for their patience through a very rigorous and transparent transaction process, saying that the process you have gone through has matched international best practice.

“We appreciate your faith in the process and your faith in the Nigerian government and economy.

We look forward to your resuscitating the company and improv-

ing service delivery to the Nigerian consumers.

“Today’s handover of assets of NITEL and MTEL to NATCOM Consortium is a clear confirmation of the words of the late Nelson Mandela that says ‘Things always seem impossible until they are done” Delivering his welcome address, the Director General of BPE, Benjamin Ezra said that “Today we begin to reap the efforts of over a decade of reform and privatisation of Nigerian Telecoms sector. A lot has been happening and a lot has been achieved and a lot more are in the works and the end result will significantly improve the lives of Nigerians.”

“We faced numerous challenges including outstanding unpaid terminal benefits of ex-staff of NITEL and MTEL, arrears of salaries of the retained staff and outstanding security and huge accumulated unpaid license and other fees due to NCC that would have killed the transaction.

Nine Adamawa lawmakers impeach Speaker Continued from page 4

turn up for the impeachment as cowards, adding that despite their failure to show up at the sitting, the decision to impeach the leadership of the assembly remained sacrosanct as their signatures were duly appended and acknowledged.

The new speaker later moved for the adjournment of the sitting to Wednesday (today).

While reacting to what he called a nullity, the embattled speaker, Umaru Fintiri, said he remained the constitutionally recognised

speaker of the assembly as those that claimed to have remove him from office did not follow due process of the law.

He said: “It beats my imagination for nine lawmakers who are under the payroll of the governor of the state to sit down with a fake mace at the Government House to effect my removal,” “If they are right, they ought to come to the floor of the House and effect my removal not at Government House”.

Furthermore, Fintiri asked: “Is it legal to hold an impeachment

process outside the Assembly complex if need be it; why must it be in Government House? It shows the governor of the state is engineering them to remove me so as to steal from the coffers of the state.

“We’ve been cooperating well the executive arm of government in the state; we were supportive in passing of bills for the sake of the governor, so what else does he want at this point in time that is only 30 days left for handing over?

According to him, the impeachment does not hold any water as it

does not have any constitutional backing. He said he remained the speaker of the assembly with a scheduled sitting today (Wednesday).

“I am an elected speaker which was done in the state assembly complex and any impeachment to be carried out against me should be in the same hall of our meetings,” he added.

He said the people of Adamawa State know who their representatives are and called on the media to safeguard the truth and the constitution of Nigeria.

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Ogun police kill four trans-border bandits, injure two Abiodun Taiwo Abeokuta

•••

The Men of Special AntiRobbery Squad, in Ogun State, have reportedly killed a gang of armed robbers in a gun duel, at Itoku, in Abeokuta, the state capital, leaving two seriously injured.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Muyiwa Adejobi, disclosed this, on Tuesday, at the SARS Office, Magbon, Abeokuta, while parading the two injured members of the syndicate, who were arrested after the clash.

Adejobi said the incident occurred on Sunday, at 9:30 p.m. under the newly constructed flyover bridge in the market, while the bandits, who were allegedly based in Ghana, attempted to loot the shops of the operators of bureau de change.

According to Adejobi, those who were arrested were Adamu Bamako and Ibrahim Tanko, who spoke Hausa language.

He said the suspects did not have any fixed address and that the Command could not identify their states of origin as of the

moment of parading them before newsmen.

Adejobi said the Command would take steps to unravel their state of origin and take vital information from them.

“The SARS has placed them under surveillance through information that we have gathered from different angles that these members of the syndicate are based in Ghana, Togo.

"The SARS laid ambush for the syndicate. When they got to the scene, there was an exchange of gun fire, they engaged our men

in gun duel that lasted for almost an hour. “Four of them fell during the battle while two of them were fatally injured and were arrested.

One of our men sustained injury and has been treated,” he said.

Adejobi told newsmen that the two suspects arrested would be given medical treatment so as to get vital information to assist the command in its investigation.

He however, said that the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Val Ntomchukwu, has assured residents of the state of safety of lives and property.

FCTA approves domestication of trade, investment Idu Jude Abuja

•••

In order to accelerate the volume of trade, investment and industrial development of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Executive Committee has approved the of domestication of FCT Trade and Investment Policy.

The FCT Minister, Senator Bala Abdulkadir Mohammed, while making the disclosure, said that the executive council gave its nod on the policy, on Monday, during its meeting, in Abuja, to ensure strict compliance of trade investment.

Bala reiterated that the overall objective of the domestication policy was to accelerate the pace of industrial development, by radically increasing value added at every stage, and increase total factor productivity (TFP) by pursuing knowledge and skill for intensive production renewal for sunset industries and encourage innovation.

Comrade Wabba

L-R: Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Arc. Musa Mohammed Sada; Ambassador of the Republic of Korea, Amb. Noh Kyu-duk and Consellor/Economy of the Republic of Korea, Mr. Dae-Sup Lee during a courtesy visit to Sada in Abuja... on Tuesday Photo: JOHN BABA

Gombe Speaker dismantles borehole after election loss

•••The Speaker of

the Gombe State House of Assembly, Mr. Inuwa Garba, has allegedly dismantled a borehole he sank in Garin Bappi, Yamaltu-Deba Local Government Area of the state, after losing his return during the last general elections.

Inuwa, a former chairman of the Conference Speakers of Nigeria, it was learnt, had reached a deal with the people of the area to vote for him after sinking the borehole.

However, after the election, it

was gathered that Inuwa, who stood for the elections under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) only secured fifteen votes from the village, as against his rival in the All Progressive Congress (APC) Alhaji Abubakar Sadiq, who secured more votes and even won the election for the Yamaltu West State Constituency.

A resident in the community who confided in our correspondent disclosed that “following the defeat of the speaker at the poll, he shamefully ordered irate

youths to vandalise the borehole in the community.”

Other neighbouring communities, who enjoyed the services of the borehole were said to have called on the member-elect, Alhaji Abubakar Sadiq Ibrahim, to, as a matter of urgency, assist in restoring the borehole since Garba was no longer interested in alleviating the sufferings of his people.

All efforts to get the Garba’s views on the issue was unsuccessful.

Kogi NLC on collision course with govt over wages

Ibrahim Momohjimoh

and chairman of the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), in the state, Alhaji Suleman Abdullahi, stated this, on Tuesday, shortly after the State Working Committee meeting of the labour union in Lokoja.

According Abdullahi, the decision of the state government to pay 100 percent to officers on grade level 1-6, while those on 7

Lokoja

•••

The Nigeria Labour Congress, (NLC) Kogi State council, has threatened a show-down with the state government, if it refuses to rescind its decision to cut down the April salaries of the state civil servants by 40 percent.

The Vice-Chairman of NLC

7 News

Court decides veterinary council's fate June 3 Andrew Orolua Abuja

•••

A Federal High Court, in Abuja, will on June 3, 2015 decide whether or not the current Board of the Veterinary Council of Nigeria (VCN) was properly constituted.

The presiding judge, Justice Evoh Chukwu, on Tuesday, reserved the ruling in the suit marked No. FHC/ABJ/837/2013, challenging the alleged illegal constitution of VCN's Board by the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, The plaintiff, Emmanuel Ebirim, had averred in the suit that the setting up of the council, by Adesina, was done in violation of section 2 (i) (e) Veterinary Surgeon Act CAP V3 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2007, as well as section 148(1) of the Nigerian Constitution.

He had joined Adesina, the Veterinary Council of Nigeria and its Council President, Prof G.A.T Ogundipe, as respondents in the suit, but the matter has been pending on the undefended list since 2013.

When the matter came up on Tuesday, counsel to the plaintiff, Chika Favour Ben, who held brief of M.A Ofeoshi informed the court that, in accordance with the order of the court at the last sitting on the matter, the plaintiff served hearing notice on the defendants and yet, they were not in court when the case came up.

Justice Mohammed, CJN

and above would be paid 60 percent was unacceptable to the labour union.

He disclosed that workers in the state where not invited to a round table meeting for discussion on how to go about the alleged short fall in the monthly allocation to the state before the decision was taken .

8

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Politics Hon Kako Are

Æs

KAKO ARE

No internal democracy in APC

While many are moving towards it, Hon. Dauda Kako Are, defected from the All Progressive Congress (APC) to Accord Party and clinched the Mushin Federal Constituency 1 sit, despite stiff opposition. In this interview, the Deputy Chairman, House Committee on Information, spoke with MUTIAT ALLI, why he left APC when others are rushing in, party politics and other sundry issues. Excerpts: Congratulations on your

victory, how did you feel when you were eventually announced the winner?

Thank you so much, sincerely I was happy and feel fulfilled that the voice of the people has finally prevailed.

Did you ever think you were going to win the election considering the fact that your party was not as popular as the ruling parties in the country?

Yes, I believe I would win be-

cause of the fact that people know me so well and I equally have their trust so I was expecting to be victorious at the end of the election. The fact that we have two dominant parties - People’s Democractic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC) is not really the bone of contention here but the fact is that people want dividends of democracy. Over the years, we have been able to give CONTINUED ON PAGE 9

PDP defectors may pollute us

–Adamawa APC leaders cry out Tom Garba, Yola Following the victory of Gen. Muhammmdu Buhari’s victory over President Goodluck Jonathan in the recent election, a massive defection of people from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) has become the order of the day in the country especially in Adamawa State.

Our correspondent who went round the city of Jimeta, the administrative and economic base of the state for views of PDP supporters on the development which has become a daily occurrence gathered that party supporters were condemning the defectors.

The former PDP national chairman, Dr Bamangar Tukur criticized the development

APC ELDERS COUNCIL:

PDP lost because it took electoral success for granted

but insisted that he will never shift his base to the APC, having worked so hard to raise up PDP to its present state, adding that there is no better home than PDP. The one-time Governor of old Gongola State stated: “There is no way I can leave PDP; the party we worked hard to bring up, the party that gave me so much, where else do I go that will be better than PDP?” Tukur asked He berated those defecting to APC because of the victory they got under the guise of change describing them as greedy politicians who do not want democracy in Nigeria to grow. He admitted that it was the mistakes of PDP in so many quarters that gave APC an edge over PDP. According to him, CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

After a careful review of the just concluded general election in the country, the Elders Council (Igbimo Agba) of All Progressives Congress (APC), Osun State has declared that the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lost to the APC because it took its previous electoral victories for granted.

Rising after a meeting held over the weekend, the council said the outgoing PDP government was successful early in its tenure but took its electoral success for granted as according to

Jonathan

them, decadence, corruption and arrogance of power later set in when it predicted that it would rule Nigeria for the next 60 years.

Speaking through their chairman, Engineer Sola Akinwumi, the elder statesmen submitted that it was at that stage that President Goodluck Jonathan became contemptuous of and disregarded good advice while PDP leaders and members relished in lawlessness as a state craft.

They therefore warned the APC against behaving in likewise manner in order to allow

what happened to PDP be their lot.

According to them: ”the electoral success we fought for has now been achieved. The advice we have to give General Muhammadu Buhari and other APC leaders across the country is that they must recognise that only a thin line separates success from failure.

“Adequate care”, the elders stressed, “must be taken so that success does not turn to failure.

Success needs careful handling to stave off failure that stalks its every footstep. When success is

in the bedroom, failure always knocks on the door to displace it”.

They demanded the enforcement of an all-out forensic war on corruption with strict party discipline from the Presidentelect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari and leaders of the party.

The politicians who lauded all leaders who made the electoral triumph of APC possible called for a transparent and unsparing anti-corruption war that must take place across all political diCONTINUED ON PAGE 9

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, April 29, 2015

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

them that which is normal for them to vote for me in the election; the people were not looking at Accord Party, rather, Hon. Dauda Kako-Are. You were a strong member of the progressives, why did you leave?

I want to also believe that Accord Party is also progressive.

The issue of leaving the APC is all about internal democracy because those that must be in the party offices must be elected and not selected. What they have now are selections and the same selected executives cannot vote for somebody that is going to work for the elective party. So those are the areas where we have our conflicts, that is even progressive because anything that is progressive should be primary related. If anybody is going to represent you, you should have a voice, vote in who the person is and this is currently lacking in the APC and this is the main reason why we left.

Is it possible that you might go back to APC? I don’t want us to look at the fact that without APC we cannot win. I strongly believe that power belongs to God and the people of Odi-Olowu decided who to give their mandate to. In the House of Representatives election, they voted massively for me, when it came to the house of assemblies even though we had some issues, they voted for APC candidate. As to whether to go back or not, today, we are still Accord members and we still hope to maintain the party; although political issues in the

9

Politics

Why I left APC –Are future might determine whether to stay or not.

What is your general opinion about the 2015 general election?

For me, it seems very fair and free. I must give kudos to the INEC chairman, Prof. Attairu Jega and his entire team for their doggedness and also give praise to the out-going president, Goodluck Jonathan who promised that the election was going to be peaceful which we seems to have witnessed at the end of the day. The only issue was the card reader that malfunctioned. So many voted without the use of the card reader and I know that before the election, Jega said no card reader, no election. So what I am saying here is that some place where manual accreditation was done, what happens to such place since Jega insisted that no card reader, no election.

You were a member of the state house of assembly.

Some are of the opinion that the house has not performed up to expectations?

No, I don’t want to agree that the House has not performed up to expectations. We have done the very best that we can do, al-

“The time frame, resources and the entire situation of things can prove that we have performed reasonably well. We have always been on the side of the masses through our bills.”

Are though we have allowed politics to play in our legislative functions which is not good at all.

Of course, there is nothing anybody can do about that, after all, we are all politicians. The time frame, resources and the entire situation of things can prove that we have performed reasonably well. We have always been on the side of the masses through our bills. I think the problem has always been that the executives do not imple-

ment most of our legislations.

For instance, the local governments are closer to the people and we have recommended their self-autonomy but the bill was stalled by the state government. So, if you look at most of these issues, it is not really our fault but the fault of the executive arm of government. I think the leadership of the house has performed very well.

Looking

at

records

of

achievement here in your constituency, you have contributed to the grass-root development, what brought out the much talked about Mofebe free school ride?

I have been opportune to travel out of the shores of our great country and I know in most countries, student don’t necessary have to struggle before going to school and also in most CONTINUED FROM PAGE 11

APC must not allow its victory to get to its head –Elders Council CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

Mu’azu

vides including the APC. They warned that the twopronged programme of anticorruption campaigns and party discipline are needed to cure the nation of the tumour of decadence and indiscipline in political party system.

“General Buhari must wage total, unsparing and forensic war against the cancer of corruption which has eaten deep into the public and private facets of life in Nigeria. Nigeria’s incoming president must ensure that all those who have contributed to the economic woes of Nigerians through various acts of sabotage, fraud, embezzlement, misappropriation, misapplication, white

elephant projects and outright stealing of public funds must not only account for, but also refund the proceeds into the coffers.

“We call for a forensic anticorruption war using constitutional and lawful mechanisms of the state to enforce the existing statutes without recognising any sacred cows. Buhari must ensure that the war covers both the APC and the PDP and must be pursued to logical conclusion in Nigeria’s public life.

This is the only way to justify the mandate Nigerians, against all odds erected on their ways, gave to our party on March 28, 2015”, they said.

Calling on the President-elect to save Nigeria from the cancer

of corruption and indiscipline, the APC Elders declared that “we are your age mates and wish to leave a clean, safe, sound and rewarding Nigeria for posterity. Nigerians are in full support of the efforts to stamp out corruption from their country. That was the basis of the mandate which they gave to you and for which they rejected your opponents”.

While commending the State of Osun Governor, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola for his untiring efforts, the Igbimo Agba advised that those who have staked their all, particularly Governor Rotimi Chibuike Amaechi, to achieve the APC success must be rewarded.

Governor Aregbesola and his colleagues, they noted further,

must be honoured for their patriotic shuttles and bridgebuilding efforts that have contributed to the achievement of a new Nigeria.

While calling for the enthronement of party supremacy, the Igbimo Agba counselled that all efforts must be made towards efficient management of the electoral success of the APC to prevent failure from setting in.

According to them, ”the electoral success we fought for has now been achieved. The advice we have to give General Muhammadu Buhari and other APC leaders across the country is that they must recognise that only a thin line separates success from failure”.

Politics 10 CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

defectors as those that do not know the meaning of politics, whose ideology and principles in politics is childish that will not bring good omen to Nigerian democracy.

“I remain an opposition man patiently waiting to see the change they’ve been talking about; all what I know is that PDP has worked, Jonathan tried his best, indeed one of the good presidents the country has ever produced; those leaving the party are politician who are narrow minded in their political thinking and bringing bad omen to our nascent democracy. Our democracy needs a faster growth to catch up with other countries which developed because of good political policies in their mindset”, he added.

Party chairman in the state who had on many occasions blamed PDP at the national level for sowing the seed of failure in the state, however accepted defeat in good faith saying it will properly grow up the tenents of democracy in the state. He assured the people of the state that PDP is intact, more organised to be a better opposition party in the state despite defection of some few party members to APC. To him, those who defected would surely come back because there is not going to be comfort for them in APC, as PDP is an umbrella that shelters all and sundry without sentiments of whatever kind.

Another PDP loyalist and former political adviser to President Goodluck Jonathan, Ahmed Ali Gulak said he should have been the first person to defect to APC because he was the worst hit in the political game such that he sustained so many political wounds in all parts of his life. He added that despite this, he was still standing tall for PDP in spite of the political

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, April 29, 2015

GALE OF DEFECTIONS IN ADAMAWA:

Bad omen for democracy –PDP “Our democracy needs a faster growth to catch up with other countries which developed because of good political policies in their mindset.”

cheating and deprivation of his right. According to him, he was removed as political adviser to President Jonathan because some people thought he has a close relationship with Jonathan and as such, he might shut them out of reckoning adding that his senatorial ticket was snatched from him and given to somebody whom they know will never deliver PDP in the state.

“But bad as is it may be, I have never thought of leaving PDP even for a second, I rather remain an opposition man till thine kingdom come if that is what God wants it to be”, he said.

According to him, he eats PDP, and carries PDP wherever he goes to help in making it a strong opposition party in the country.

He cautioned the likes of Senator Jonathan Zwingina, Dr Idi Hong, the Sardaunan Michika, Abubakar Kyari to remember the good things that they got from PDP which made

them what they are today, having been offered such opportunities as ministers, senators and many other position in the country and described them as ingrates who do not mean well for our democracy.

Adamu Kamela, the only PDP candidate in the Adamawa State who won in Michika/ Madagali House of Representative after a very serious tussle between him and Umar Duhu of APC, warned those who defected and those thinking along that line to have a rethink because the country’s democracy is still struggling to be strong.

Kamela said it takes some time for democratic institutions and governance to develop to a high level by allowing the opposition to checkmate the activities of those in power, adding that without opposition, there will not be orderliness and serious development describing decampees as enemies of democracy and development most especially in Adamawa State.

Tukur

Atiku

Zwingina

Gulak

“I remain an opposition man patiently waiting to see the change they’ve been talking about; all what I know is that PDP has worked, Jonathan tried his best, indeed one of the good presidents the country has ever produced; those leaving the party are politician who are narrow minded in their political thinking and bringing bad omen to our nascent democracy.”

Jonathan

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Pius Terwase I have been following with ardent interest discussions regarding who should be the Senate President in the next administration. Already, candidates have been endorsed by various individuals, institutions, groups etc.

But what surprises me is that, somebody like Dr. Barnabas Gemade, who has served this nation in various capacities and has demonstrated charisma or magnetism of a good leader has not been endorsed by anyone for the position of the senate presidency.

Based on what I have observed so far, majority of the people who are endorsing candidates for the senate presidency position, are looking at who contributed more for APC’s victory, who has spent years in APC more than others, who is more popular in APC than others and so on. I heard some people saying that Senator George Akume should be compensated due to the fact that he once contested for senate presidency but failed.

Leadership should be given to someone, based on his credibility or integrity and not because he is more popular than others; not because he has money more than others or he is more influential than others. Some people are influential but dangerous and should not be allowed to lead or rule. Leadership should not be given on the ground of compensation. You compensate someone when you are responsible for his loss.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

countries where the distance between the homes and school is much, the government comes in to assist without the parents laboring themselves to get their wards to school. I know also that the poverty level here is very low, because I know of some students who ordinarily ought to be in school but because of unavailability of transport allowance from their parents, they won’t go, so I thought it wise to come in from that angle and we thank God that it was well accepted by the people and the principals of schools can also attest to the fact that the population of students have increased in schools now.

Will it be right to say that the distribution of PMS to religious organizations was also one of the strategies employed during your campaign and eventual success of the

11 Politics

SENATE PRESIDENCY:

Why not Gemade?

I took my time to examine and re-examine Senator Gemade, and I realized that he is a peace loving personality. He demonstrated that when the outgoing Governor of Benue State, Suswam tactically hijacked the senatorial ticket from him, under the platform of the injured PDP, to prevent him from coming to National Assembly for the second time. Being a man of peace, he quietly left Suswam in PDP

“Leadership should be given to someone, based on his credibility or integrity and not because he is more popular than others; not because he has money more than others or he is more influential than others”

and joined APC to enable him actualize his senatorial ambition. Thereafter, he defeated Suswam neatly.

He is also a perfect gentleman at heart. Gemade has also demonstrated his gentility when he was the National Chairman of PDP. When Dr. Audu Ogbeh was more interested in becoming the National Chairman of PDP while Dr. Gemade was still the Chairman, Gemade quietly stepped down for Ogbeh. After that, the so called PDP neglected him and did not even give him any position until 2011when his statesmanship attitude made the people of Benue North East to send him to the National Assembly to represent them.

Senator Gemade possessed so many qualities of a good leader and he should be respected and honoured with the Senate Presidency.

Conclusively, I want to sound a note of warning: don’t give the position of senate president to an arrogant, selfish and corrupt person, look for someone with better leadership qualities, such as credibility, selflessness, gentility and considerate.

I present, Engineer, Dr. Barnabas Andya Gemade.

Gemade

Lagos Assembly would have done more but... –Are election?

You see, let me clear this area because I have embarked on most of these programmes before coming into the office. For instance the free school ride project has been in existence for about 22 years now; it is a function of relating and giving back to the society, even before I became a politician. I was doing them without any plan of leaving APC. Also for the fuel project, though we never envisaged that the situation will arise like this, but we were aware that electricity has been the major challenge and places of worship are where we need to encourage people to go. Some people stopped going because of their inability to contribute money to buy fuel. It is the failure of the government to make electricity

available to the people, so I just felt whatever little contribution I can do in that angle, I will.

“My key area will be making sure that a lot of Nigerians have their own houses because the laws that we have is not in favour of the common man to own a house.”

Now that you have won the election, what new innovations are you bringing on board?

We will intensify more on what we started. For the free school ride and PMS distribution, we will definitely continue on that and bring in new buses for the use of the students.

In terms of legislation, I am looking forward to a situation where we are going to look into our mortgage laws and make the funds readily available to lots of Nigerians. My key area will be making sure that a lot of Nigerians have their own houses because the laws that we have is not in favour of the common man to own a house.

We will look at the possibilities of expanding government projects in most of these our constituencies.

What of the area of youth empowerment?

I am an employer of labour and through my various projects; I have been able to take out so many youths off the street to key in into my programmes. In my constituency as we speak, some of the youths handle the fuel distribution and holiday coaching project I organize. One of the key areas I want to focus on this time around as part of empowering the youth is to look out for budding youths who have good working ideas and we assist in setting them up with finance and other assistance from our capacities.

News 12

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, April 29, 2015

PDP accuses Amaechi, APC of plot to stop Wike’s swearing-in Mathew Dadiya Abuja

•••

Okowa

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in Rivers State, has alleged that Governor Chibuike Amaechi and his party, the All Progressive Congress (APC), were plotting to secure a court injunction, in Awka, Anambra State, to stop the swearing-in of Governor-elect, Chief Nyesom Wike, on May 29, 2015.

The allegation was contained

in a statement signed by the state Chairman, Media and Publicity Committee of the PDP Campaign Organisation, Mr. Emma Okah, and made available to the Daily Times.

According to him, the plot was to allegedly shop for and buy a judge, outside Rivers State, who would agree to do the dirty job, since the judiciary in the state had been paralysed by the Amaechi administration.

The PDP also accused Amaechi

and the APC of being bent on carrying out a threat that the governor would not handover to Wike.

However, the PDP urged the people to “remain calm as their Governor-elect will be sworn in on May 29, 2015, as ordained by God, like his colleagues in other states.”

“The wish of the enemies of Rivers people to cause constitutional crisis and chaos is not the wish of God for Rivers State, light will surely triumph over darkness,” he stated.

Amaechi

Mr. Bosun Jeje, who disclosed this in Alausa Secretariat, Ikeja, while rendering the account of activities embarked upon by the ministry, said that 10, 000 represented the number of houses constructed since inception of the administration in 2007.

Jeje noted that the houses had been handed over to the residents of the state, through several strategies, saying “one of the strategies is the Lagos Home Ownership Mortgage Scheme,

Lagos HOMS, draws.”

He explained that the monthly draw by the government had produced over 603 winners since the draw commenced a few months ago.

He however said the number of houses produced had not drastically reduced the state housing deficit, which the Federal Bureau of Statistics placed at one million housing units. “But the government has started the process of reducing it without

considering the cost of housing in the country and the limited resources at the states disposal,” Jeje said.

The commissioner lamented that: “The government isn’t expected to be the constructor of houses; it is expected to create a conducive atmosphere that will allow private investors to thrive in the housing sector. In the absence of this, that was why the state government commenced the Lagos HOMS.

Okowa inaugurates 98-member Fashola delivers 10,000 houses in eight years transition committee ••• Kehinde Ayinla

Joe Ogbodu Warri

•••Governor-elect

for Delta State, Senator Ifeanyi Okowa, has inaugurated a 98-man committee to ensure a smooth transition.

It includes those for Technical Committee on Programme Development/ Governance, Committee on Hand Over and the Committee of Night of Praise.

The Committee on Programmes Development/Governance has Professor Sam Oyovbaire as Chairman, that on Handover has Chief Clement Ofuani as Chairman, while that on Night of Praise has Mr. Richard Mofe-Damijo as Chairman.

Inaugurating the commitees, Okowa informed Deltans that he would ensure equity and fairness in running the affairs of the state and that membership of the committee was not an automatic ticket to be members of the state Executive Council.

IGP flags off primary health care workshop

About 10,000 houses have been constructed by the Fashola administration, in Lagos State, aimed at reducing housing deficit.

Meantime, the state government said 21 applicants of the Lagos Home Ownership Mortgage Scheme, Lagos HOMS, demanded refund of deposit paid for their homes.

Commissioner for Housing,

L-R: Diocesan Bishop of Lagos, Church of Nigeria, (Anglican Communion), Most Rev. Dr. Adebola Ademowo; Asst.

Synod Secretary, Ven. Tunde Oduwole and another Asst.

Synod Secretary, Mrs. Yetunde Akinluyi, during the 3rd session of the 32nd synod press conference on the forthcoming synod at the Archbishop’s Palace, Marina Lagos… on Tuesday

Ameh Jonathan Abuja

•••

The Nigeria Police Medical Services (NPMS) has received a boost, with the flag-off of a five-day, capacitybuilding workshop by the acting Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Solomon E. Arase, at the International PeaceKeeping Training Centre,

Force Headquarters, Abuja.

The workshop is aimed at strengthening the primary health care delivery service in the NPMS. Arase remarked that the programme was strategic to a healthy police force, in the realisation of its desire to stamp-out all forms of criminalities in the country.

The opening ceremony, which

had in attendance Dr. Ado Mohammed, (Executive Director-National Primary Health Care Development Agency), Dr Linus Awute (Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Health) and other resource persons, would have in attendance heads of police medical facilities across the country.

Ohanaeze appoints interim exco in A’Ibom Eno-Obong Michael Uyo

•••

In a bid to resolve the parallel leadership crisis rocking the Akwa Ibom chapter of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Wing, an interim executive coouncil has been appointed, to co-ordinate its affairs.

It would be recalled that the National President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Wing, the national, apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Chief Okechukwu Isiguzoro, at a town-hall meeting of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Akwa Ibom Chapter, held in Uyo, dissolved the Executive of the State Youth Wing over issues bothering on parallel leadership.

However, the National Executive Council of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Wing, has appointed Mazi Emmanuel Ikechukwu-Jonathan as the interim State Chairman and Mr. Kayceey Chidiadi as the interim State Secretary.

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, April 29, 2015

13 Africa

TV crew Central African nations to merge Five members found dead in two regional bodies

FILE - Chadian President Idriss Deby delivers his opening remarks at the special summit of the 10-nation Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) in Ndjamena on January 9, 2014.

•••Central

African ministers in charge of economic integration have drawn up a program to eventually merge the regions two economic blocks -- the Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC), and the Economic Community of Central African states (ECCAS).

The ministers say the two structures are getting too expensive to

run and their conflicting roles make integration difficult. The result is that the region has remained one of the poorest in the world despite its plentiful natural resources.

Dr. Leon Modubu Konande, political analyst at CEMAC, said the rivalry now hurts ECCAS, created 34 years ago to reduce inequalities and poverty in Angola,

Burundi, Rwanda, Cameroon, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Chad, and Sao Tome and Principe. CEMAC was created for the same purpose in 1999 by Gabon, Cameroon, the Central African Republic, Chad, the Republic of Congo and Equatorial Guinea.

"ECCAS cannot organize a meeting inviting ten countries

and CEMAC organizes the same meeting with the same objective inviting six countries. It is not normal. At central Africa all the countries are very rich, but we don't have a common integration process," said Konande.

Emile Ahohe, director of the Central African regional office of the Economic Commission for Africa, said such conflicts have caused central African states to fail to achieve their main goal of improving the living conditions of their people.

"They need to have one common trade scheme rather than two in the sub region. If you take the issue of macroeconomic convergence, there has to be one scheme for convergence. If you take the issue of free movement of people there has to be one harmonized scheme between CEMAC and ECCAS," said Ahohe.

Cameroon's Minister of the Economy, Emmanuel Nganou Djoumessi, said the goal of a functioning common market and customs union remains distant and that is the reason why millions of people are mired in poverty.

He said that despite the region's potential, economic growth was barely 3 percent last year instead of the 5.2 percent forecast, and even then, the growth hardly trickles down to the people.

Kenya: Court Over 5, 000 Burundians flee to Rwanda in two days •••More than 5 000 Burundians Rwanda are women and children, "We think that this violence orders govt fled to Rwanda over the weekend Rummery said, adding that the might continue and this fear of mounting tensions in refugees had reported facing in- violence might continue and that to register gay following the east African country, bring- timidation and threats of violence there might be a bigger outflux, ing the total number of arrivals in linked to upcoming elections. particularly to Rwanda," she rights group April to nearly 21, 000, the UN said The outflow came as the official warned.

•••

A Kenyan court has ordered a government agency that regulates non-governmental organisations to recognise and register a human rights group seeking to protect the rights of gay people in the country. The three judges of the high court said in their ruling on Monday that the Kenyan constitution recognises and protects the rights of minorities.

The non-governmental organisation co-ordination board had refused to register Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transsexual Intersex Queer-Kenya rights group on religious and moral grounds.

The attorney general and the NGO board and other parties had opposed the registration of the gay association but the judges said the Kenyan Constitution does not allow limitation of rights on moral or religious grounds.

on Tuesday.

"There has been a sharp increase in the number of Burundian refugees arriving in Rwanda," Ariane Rummery, spokesperson for the UN refugee agency said.

"Five thousand people entering the country in two days is quite a significant jump... It is certainly concerning," she told reporters in Geneva.

The Rwandan government has put the number of Burundians arriving in the country since the beginning of April at 21, 000, and expects the number could rise to 50, 000.

Another 3, 800 Burundian nationals have meanwhile fled to the South Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo since the beginning of the month, the UNHCR said.

Most of the new arrivals in

list of candidates for Burundi's presidential elections on June 26 was published at the weekend, with President Pierre Nkurunziza's bid to cling to power for a third term sparking massive demonstrations.

At least five people have died since clashes broke out on Sunday after the ruling CNDD-FDD party, which has been accused of intimidating opponents, confirmed Nkurunziza's candidacy.

The government has banned all protests and deployed large numbers of police and troops to quell the unrest. Some of those killed were shot at close range.

Hundreds of stone-throwing protesters have been arrested.

"The situation is quite chaotic at the moment," the UNHCR spokesperson Karin de Gruijl told reporters.

Rwanda, which is already hosting more than 74,000 refugees mainly from neighbouring DRC, has allocated land in Mahama in the Eastern Province for a new refugee camp, with the capacity to hold up to 50 000 people.

The UNHCR said it was helping move refugees there in daily convoys of up to 1, 500 people.

Nkurunziza

Libya

•••

Five crew members from a private Libyan TV network were found dead on Monday, eight months after they were abducted in eastern Libya, a government spokesman said.

Spokesperson Hatem al-Aribi told The Associated Press that the bodies were found near the eastern city of Bayda - the temporary home of Libya's internationallyrecognised government.

The capital, Tripoli, was overrun last year by militias allied with Islamist factions - who then set up their own government and revived the previous parliament. The elected parliament now meets in the eastern city of Tobruk and the executive branch operates from nearby Bayda.

Al-Aribi said that the five, from the Barqa TV network, were abducted in August while travelling to their hometown of Ajdabiya after covering the opening of the parliament in Tobruk. A sixth member fled abduction but the circumstances of his escape were not immediately clear.

Togolese president extends lead in vote

•••

Togo's incumbent President Faure Gnassingbe has extended a strong lead over his main rival in a weekend poll, according to the latest partial results issued on Tuesday.

Gnassingbe looked poised to win a third term, with 69% of the vote against almost 18% for challenger Jean-Pierre Fabre, according to figures from the Independent National Electoral Commission (CENI).

Gnassingbe's family has ruled the small west African country for almost half a century.

The president, who first came to power in 2005 on the death of his iron-fisted father Gnassingbe Eyadema, saw his bid for a third term sharply boosted by overwhelming support from the north of the country, a family stronghold. Figures released so far by the CENI concern about 26 percent of the estimated number of voters in Saturday's election.

Tchaboure Gogue, one of three candidates from small opposition parties who chose to take on both Fabre and the president, also found support in his native north.

World 14

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Korea, China wary of US-Japan military pact

Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, left, and Defense Minister Gen Nakatani, second from left, attend a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, third from right, and Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter, not visible, in New York, on Monday.

•••

A new defense pact between the United States and Japan that will give Tokyo’s forces a more ambitious global role provoked wary reactions from neighbors South Korea and China Tuesday.

Even though South Korea may stand to benefit from a stronger Japanese military presence to counter the North Korean threat and China’s rising power, officials remain reluctant because of lingering tensions over Tokyo’s wartime past.

South Korea’s Defense Ministry spokesman Kim Min-seok was non-committal when asked about the revised U.S.-Japan defense guidelines and what it meant for

52 feared dead in Afghan landslide

•••

At least 52 people, mostly women and children, are feared dead after a landslide swept through a village in Afghanistan's remote mountainous northeast on Tuesday, the latest natural disaster in the war-torn nation, officials said.

The disaster, which buried dozens of houses in Badakhshan province, comes nearly a year after another landslide triggered by heavy rains killed at least 300 people in the isolated region.

Th disasters highlight the challenges facing the underdeveloped

Seoul. Kim said South Korea’s participation in the agreement still needs to be worked out.

The guidelines allow for Japan to exercise “collective selfdefense” to aid other countries in the region that come under attack. And they endorse a Japanese cabinet resolution last year expanding the military’s role by reinterpreting the country’s postWorld War II pacifist constitution.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said Washington has an “iron-clad” commitment to Japan’s security. He also said that commitment covered all islands under Japan’s administration,

nation as it battles a resilient Taliban insurgency in what is expected to be the bloodiest spring-summer fighting season for a decade.

At least 25 women and 22 children were among those missing in the landslide in Jaryo Bala village, said deputy provincial governor Gul Mohammad Beidar.

"We have asked Kabul for help and they have said they are sending two helicopters to assist with the rescue operations," Beidar told AFP. "This is a remote area on the border with Tajikistan and the road to this district remains closed for six months of the year," he added, highlighting the challenges facing the relief effort.

Lal Mohammad Ahmadzai, the police spokesperson of Badakhshan, confirmed the toll.

"Initial information shows 100 houses have been destroyed in the landslide and 52 people are missing," Ahmadzai told AFP.

including the Senkaku islands, which China claims as its own and calls the Diaoyu islands.

North Korea’s growing nuclear threat has been cited to justify the need for a stronger Japanese military. Japan has also voiced concern about what it has said is China’s growing assertiveness when it comes to its territorial claims and its military’s lack of transparency.

In a white paper on defense last year, Japan said Beijing’s assertiveness in the air and at sea is posing threats to regional stability, and highlighted China’s unilateral establishment of an air defense identification zone over a

Greek PM hopeful of EU debt talk •••Prime Minister Alexis Tsip-

ras has said Greece is in the final, critical stretch of talks with its international creditors and that he believes an interim deal will be in place by 9 May. The objective was to find an agreement this week or next week at the latest, he said in a marathon TV interview.

He defended Finance Minister Yanis Varoufakis, who was sidelined from Greece's negotiating team on Monday.

But he admitted mistakes had been made in talks with EU partners. Since Greece's left-wing Syriza party came to power on

large part of the East China Sea including the Senkaku islands.

Beijing maintains that its rise is peaceful and has accused Japan of “deliberately exaggerating” what it calls the “China threat.”

But Tokyo is not alone in raising its concerns about Beijing’s assertiveness.

China insists its territorial claims are based on historical fact and immutable, but its claims frequently are at odds with that of its neighbors. In the South China Sea, China claims most of the area is its sovereign territory, even parts that are well within neighboring countries’ exclusive economic zone.

Tsipras

25 January, it has sought to renegotiate the terms of the country's 240bn (£170bn; $260bn) bailout from the IMF and EU. But its negotiators have so far failed to satisfy Greece's international creditors with the scope of economic reforms required before the EU hands over the latest 7.2bn tranche of the bailout, which the government needs to pay its bills.

Mr Varoufakis was left isolated at an EU finance ministers meeting in Latvia on Friday, skipping a state dinner and tweeting a line from late US President Franklin Roosevelt.

Nepal Quake: UN says eight million affected •••

The United Nations says eight million people have been affected by the weekend earthquake in Nepal that killed close to 4 400 people and 1.4 million people are in need of food assistance, but the challenge would be to reach them.

Jamie McGoldrick, the UN resident co-ordinator in Kathmandu, told reporters that of those affected two million people are in the 11 worst-hit districts.

He says that 72 hours after the quake on Saturday, "people are still in a very much hard-ship mode".

The challenge of supplying to small villages at high altitudes and in rough terrain "is quite significant”, he said.

After flying by helicopter over Dhulikhel town, on the north side of the Kathmandu valley, he estimated that about 40% of the houses were damaged, but the destruction was erratic.

"Some areas on one ridge are completely untouched, on the other side it's completely flattened," he said.

14 dead in Salvador landslide •••

At least 14 people were killed in landslides in the city of Salvador in north-east Brazil on Monday.

Heavy rains flooded streets and triggered two separate landslides, sweeping away hillside homes in poor neighbourhoods and injuring 10 people.

Firefighters are still searching for a number of missing.

Meteorologists said the rain was the heaviest in two decades, with more than half of the monthly average falling in the space of only 10 hours.

Seven people died in the neighbourhood of Barro Branco and another seven in Marotinho.

Patients also had to be evacuated from the Santo Antonio hospital in the city after it was flooded.

Landslides are not unusual at this time of year when heavy rains are frequent.

Barro Branco has been hit by landslides before. In 1996, 13 people died and 300 were left homeless.

Almost 1,000 people died in Rio de Janeiro state four years ago when whole hillsides collapsed after heavy rain.

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, April 29, 2015

15 Opinion

PDP, APC and social contract with Nigerians

G

Peter Claver Oparah

oing by the Babel of reactions to the outcome of the 2015 election by chieftains, leaders, members and supporters of the newly minted Nigerian opposition party, the PDP, it is certain that the party cannot fathom what really struck it during the just concluded general election.

From tearing at each other, picking holes with their methodologies of politics, calling themselves names, blaming the opposition, the international community and other sundry impediments to its suzerain rule, the PDP seem not to know where exactly to lay the handle for its disastrous outing. Get me right, the party members and leaders may be individually right in the causes of their woeful state today but they seem to technically avoid the two single greatest factors that led to the downfall of the party. I do not get to hear these from the cacophony of reasons the members advance for the glitch that hit PDP. This furthers the notion that is trending in Nigeria’s discourse today that the PDP is marching to its grave. Even in its sordid state,

the members decide to live a lie and avoid telling themselves the truth.

PDP’s fall remains a natural trajectory of a party that has been in power for 16 years and left the country worse than it met it. What befell PDP is a natural reward for a party that had been so carried away with its capacity to manipulate the process to continually return it to power that it had treated the people; critical determinants in a democracy, to heightened contempt and scorn. The outcome of the 2015 general election was a payback to a party that had tried to subvert the democratic rights of a people and replace them with its own crooked means of culling flattering electoral results at every election. The result of the just concluded election remains a good referendum for the PDP and it risks further damnation if it pretends the message did not sink.

What happened to PDP in the 2015 general election is the expected reaction from a people to a cabal that treasures power for its own stake and which has removed the people’s content from political power.

Perhaps, with the exception of

the members and beneficiaries of the PDP, other Nigerians saw what happened to PDP in this year’s election coming especially with the successful formation of the APC as an agglomeration of legacy parties that have been in opposition since 1999. With APC presenting an alternative platform to the arrogant PDP, it was obvious that PDP’s days were numbered. Given the dirty and dangerous way and manner the PDP campaigned in the just concluded election, there is little doubt that the leaders of the party did not see the Tsunami that hit them. Given the way and manner the party threw money into the election campaign, given the indecent manner it threw hate, character assassination, lies, blackmail, insults, abuses and invectives into the campaign, it was obvious that only a threatened and unsure ruling party that will resort to such underhand practices in prospecting for a re-election in an election it was supposed to campaign on its lofty achievements.

Nigerians scripted the scrolls of what happened in this year’s general election and the precepts was drawn from the grand failure of the PDP in sixteen years as well

as the mind boggling corruption that oiled that leviathan. It was not an act of happenstance or a mere accident. In fact, the electoral decision of 2015 built up over the period PDP was walking with such big swagger through our national shores, leaving ordinary Nigerians kissing the dust in its uncaring gait. As it honed in rank arrogance and petulant contempt of the Nigerian people, Nigerians made the final decision that for the country and democracy to survive, the PDP must be done away with. It is obvious that the PDP was oblivious of this resolve until very late in the game hence its failure in arresting its ouster even with the welter of harried moves it launched as the election neared. That its members are sounding so disoriented and confused as to what caused its disastrous electoral fortunes is proof that the PDP hierarch allowed it to be benumbed by the façade of unaccountable power that it lost touch with reality in a country it claimed to govern. Methinks it will take PDP several years to start building a new platform again, as it evades the principal reasons for its failure; the PDP is merely furthering its years in the cold.

South Africa: Barking up the wrong tree

F

Joseph Rotimi

or some years, it has been a macabre indulgence of South African poor blacks to visit their anger and frustration on the so-called ‘strangers’ in there midst.

The latest rounds of attacks were ostensibly instigated by the misspoken words of a local potentate who unfortunately have become a common rallying point of pointless anachronism and threatened violence in most African countries.

From the apartheid days in south Africa blacks have always been treated with the utmost disdain and the homelands were nothing other than large slave camps to support the white-led government in its continued domination of the country. The incident of the Marikana miners is a sad reminder that apartheid tactics are still very much the norm in South Africa. Apartheid ended about 20 years ago and yet the average black person still lives as if the system was still in place. Any right thinking person would agree that apartheid only changed its tactics by putting up a black front and retaining most of its benefits and privileges. It is these benefits and privileges

that have precluded black South Africans from full participation as equals. The whites in South Africa hold the rights to most of the best agricultural lands, leaving blacks feeling alienated and dispossessed.

Because the natives have not really organised themselves to fight back, they fight themselves or foreigners in their midst. One thing we always fail to get is that white supremacy would begin to crumble the day we stop fighting amongst each other. Our confusion and internalised self-hatred are the bane of black existence on the planet. Here we are immersed in an ocean of plenty and yet pitifully reaching out for a cup of water.

Mandela was a great individual and his sacrifices for the emancipation of South Africa are well documented. However, the freed Mandela was different from the one that was incarcerated for nearly 30 years. When Mandela became the first black President of South Africa, it was with the tacit understanding that white socio-political and economic structures would be left largely intact. The real meaning of this was that South Africans would have their symbolic Madiba, while the wind to the sail of national economic equilibrium is largely taken away. Mandela surprised some close watchers by

instituting the so-called peace and reconciliation committee where members of the public who were wronged by the apartheid regime met with some of their oppressors and publicly ‘reconciled’. In a rather synchronized display of public reconciliation, the aggrieved and the murderers and criminals ‘forgot grievances and injustices’ as if they never happened. At that point, it was easily understandable that peace and reconciliation without justice cannot solve South Africa’s deep divisions and uneven economic opportunities.

The ‘peace and reconciliation’ only positioned the whites and black elites to continue the over lordship with a vague sense of forgiven guilt. South Africa has had black leadership for more than 20 years and yet the economic emancipation of the majority of its people appears a distant prospect.

The only conclusion that can be drawn is that South Africa is not yet liberated; there has only been a transfer of power from white supremacists to their black surrogates who suffer an apparent amnesia of years of oppressive apartheid. The white man understands our psychology and can easily manipulate us to achieve anything he wants. Blacks in South Africa see each other as ene-

mies more than they see the white man because it is easier to vent on fellow oppressed people than the oppressor. This template is evident in most of Africa’s conflicts where pogroms and genocides have been carried out between tribes in order to avenge ancient crimes or ‘solve’ land disputes. In all these disputes, white oppression and colonial designs can easily be traced as the precursor or the enhancer of such conflicts. The recent xenophobic attacks on so-called foreigners who are victims of the same slave master by indigenous black South Africans is pathetic and should be condemned in the strongest terms.

South Africans should be fair and strong enough to throw off the last yokes of white supremacy in their midst, whether it is white Boers or the new black elite that are now insulated from the struggles of the ordinary people ensconced in homelands that look very much like prisons. All Africans, or at least most of them, stood by South Africa during its most depressing times as a nation; it is therefore unconscionable for it to play the xenophobic card, whether the whistle is blown by an overzealous tribal bigot or an acquiescent central government that to all intents and purposes is not really in power or has been swallowed by it.

News 16

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Bauchi State Governor, Isa Yuguda (middle); Pro-Chancellor, Bauchi State University, Prof.

Ango Abdullahi (left) and Vice Chancellor, Prof. Izzeldin Abdulraman (right) during the Governor's inspection visit to the permanent site of the university in Bauchi… on Monday.

IGP orders tight security in media houses nationwide Andrew Orolua Abuja

•••

The Acting Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Solomon E. Arase, has ordered water-tight security around media houses in the country.

A statement by Force spokesman, Emmanuel Ojukwu, an acting Commissioner of Police (CP) said Arase was concerned with the recent attacks on media houses and journalists.

He said the order "is in line with the mandate of the Nigeria Police Force to protect lives and property of the citizenry under the law. The IGP acknowledges the valuable roles of the media to the enthronement of democracy in Nigeria."

The IGP also advised citizens to be more vigilant and proactive and report any suspicious movement or persons to the police promptly for appropriate action.

Although, reference was not made to any specific incident in

the statement, four persons were killed and several others sustained serious injuries in a bomb attack on a community radio station, TAO FM in Okene, Kogi State, on Monday night.

The bomb exploded at the radio station, operating on 101.5 frequency, at about 8pm.

No group had claimed responsibility for the attack and the reason for the bombing of the radio station, located at the centre of Okene town, which is the head-

quarters of Kogi Central Senatorial District, remained unknown.

Kogi State Police Public Relations Officer, Shola Collins, confirmed the incident and said that detectives were already investigating the incident.

Collins said the attack affected part of the radio station building, adding that four persons had already been confirmed dead, while many others injured are receiving treatment in various hospitals in the area.

Man NERC boss laments absence of arraigned for advocacy for consumers cultism Augustine Okezie

Titilope Joseph

•••A 31- year old man, Taiwo

Adoti, has been arraigned before an Ikeja Magistrate's Court in Lagos for alleged membership of Black Axe confraternity.

The defendant was alleged to have committed the act on March 18, 2015 at NNPC, Ejigbo, Isolo, Lagos.

He was arraigned on a threecount charge of being a member of Black Axe confraternity and unlawful possession of one locally made double barrel shot gun, without relevant licence.

According to the prosecutor, Mr Samson Ekikere, the offence is punishable under section 328(d) of the criminal Laws of Lagos State.

Abuja

•••

The Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Dr. Sam Amadi, has decried the yawning gap in the electricity market between the industrial operators and consumers, which has denied the latter a credible broad based advocacy for electricity.

Amadi, who made the observation during an interactive session in Abuja on Tuesday, with members of the civil society organisations, representatives of industrial, commercial and residential electricity consumers, said: "One of the observable gaps in the emergent electricity market in Nigeria is the absence of knowledgeable, credible and broad based advocacy for elec-

tricity consumers.”

The NERC boss, who also noted that information asymmetry was not in the interest of electricity market, recommended geographical or occupational clusters of knowledgeable consumer advocates as needful to galvanise accessibility and reliability of service in the market.

He, however, cautioned that efforts at establishing a virile consumer advocacy groups should be based on rational economic decisions rather than an attempt at instigating the consumers against the operators.

According to him, “there is a noticeable under-representation of consumer voice, with superficial and adversarial tendency that lacks impact.

“This is in sharp contrast to the powerful position of the ser-

vice providers, who though few in number, have the fund and negotiating power to push their demands, thus, a deficit in the democracy of the electricity market.” ‘’A deficit occurs when the ordinary processes of governance of an institution creates and reinforces dis empowerment of critical stakeholders of an institution. In this case, the system is the Nigerian electricity market and the critical stakeholder that is dis-empowered, is the consumer’’, Amadi said.

A concept note on the formation of an advocacy network to be fine-tuned by a 15-man committee of the various advocacy groups present at the interactive session, is expected to be produced and presented during a reconvened session at a later date.

Provost advises new students on academic records 'Tosin Ajuwon Akure

•••

New students of the College of Health Technology, Akure, in Ondo State, have been advised to shun acts detrimental to their academic pursuit.

Provost of the College, Dr. Noah Akinola, gave the charge on Tuesday, at the 21st matriculation ceremony, held at the institution's campus in Akure.

Akinola, who said 511 students from nine departments of the college were matriculated, noted that the new entrants have been found qualified for their respective courses of study.

He disclosed that the matriculation marked the formal enrolment of the new in-takes as members of the great institution. "I share the joy of today with the matriculants and congratulate them for being found worthy of admission after passing through a rigorous selection process".

Kwara gov vows to curb youth restiveness Ola Yekeen Ilorin

•••

Kwara State Governor, Dr Abdulfattah Ahmed, on Tuesday, promised to institute empowerment schemes to checkmate youth involvement in incessant violence.

The governor made the pledge when he received community heads in Ilorin Emirate, represented by Mogajis and Alanguas in his office.

They were on a solidarity visit to condemn last weekend's bloody clash between hoodlums and NDLEA operatives in the state capital. He said the empowerment scheme would be designed in such a way to transform the youths to be responsible citizens.

He promised that his administration would set up an enlightenment committee on how to end hooliganism in the society.

Ahmed reiterated his administration’s zero tolerance for acts of criminality by street urchins, popularly called “good boys”.

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Business Times Æ s

17

Business Editor: Emmanuel Ogbonnaya Email: emmanuelogbonnaya@dailytimes.com.ng

Union demands reinstatement of sacked SAHCOL workers

Abioye

The National Union of Air Transport Employees on Tuesday demanded an immediate reinstatement of four workers of Skyway Aviation Handling Company Ltd. (SAHCOL), who were dismissed on Monday.

The union’s Assistant Secretary-General, Olayinka Abioye, made the demand while addressing newsmen at the end of a peaceful protest over the dismissed workers.

SAHCOL, a privately-owned company, is one of the few avia-

tion handling companies that process passengers and cargo for airlines.

The company had on Monday, sacked four of its workers, who were protesting against the company’s poor welfare package.

Abioye said that the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity had intervened in the matter and called for an urgent meeting on the matter. ``While we are going to honour the invitation from the ministry, our industrial action continues

as from this night because what we intend to do is to ground all their international operations.’’

Abioye lamented that the company had continued to employ Nigerians as casual workers which he said was against labour law. ``We have heard situations where people are placed on contract that is unending, people are earning as little as N30, 000. ``Some inexperienced and unprofessional people are placed as general managers with double promotions and cars, those are

Executive Director, UBA Plc, Mr. Rasheed Olaoluwa; Director, UBA Plc, Mrs. Foluke Abdulrasaq; Director, UBA Plc, Alhaji Ja’afaru Paki; and Executive Director, UBA Plc, Alhaji Abdulqadir Bello, at the 50th Annual General Meeting of the Bank held in Lagos... on Friday

Don proffers solution to ports decongestion Funmi Coker As part of efforts to address the perennial traffic gridlock in Apapa Port, a Professor of Geography at the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, Ogun has stressed the need for government to encourage the use of water and railway to evacuate cargo from the seaports.

He explained that the perennial gridlock in Apapa had heightened inflation in the nation’s economy.

Badejo noted that the gridlock had brought additional inflation because a container that takes about N85, 000 to lift now goes for

about N180, 000 due to the cost implications of having to wait for hours.

Badejo said: “There was concern for security, safety, pilferages and robberies; so if we are able to analyse social cost, there is need for drastic action to resolve the quagmire on that road.”

“There are options. There is need to encourage the use of water mode to redistribute the goods that were brought into the port.

“There are terminals around that can be develop as acoustic measure. There are Jetties at Mile 2, Ikorodu, Epe and all this can serve as immediate measure.

“Nigerian railways had

stopped operating from the port and what led to that decision was mysterious to me because in 1985, the railway evacuated 85per cent of goods at the port while road accounted for 15 percent.

“Immediately they pulled out the rail system, there was no provision for other mode of transportation to accommodate the 85 percent that was withdrawn hence, the road became jampacked with containers.

Badejo was of the opinion that if the rail system was no more in use and additional 85 per cent was added to a sector that could not accommodate more than 15 per cent, the nation would face consequences on the roads.

The university don suggested that the best solution was to resuscitate the rail system to move goods from the port to the hinterland.

He advised the government to create satellite port especially around Badagry, Agbara Mile 2 or Ikorodu.

He added: “We have not done serious analytical implications of that corridor to know what it is causing socially, environmentally and its health and economic implications.

“If we identify the real cost implications we will know the effect of not taking drastic measures at addressing this quagmire on the economy of the country.”

the issues that we are having with the management.’’ ``We are accusing management of anti-labour practices arising from failure to review the condition of service since it expired in June 2014. ``Several attempts to call SAHCOL to reason with the union and come to a negotiating table have failed,’’ he said. In his reaction, the company’s General Manager, Communications, Mr Basil Agboarumi, said that the situation was under control.

Foreign currency spenders now risk jail term

Ugochukwu Onyeocha

The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has frowned at the use of foreign currencies such as the dollar, euro, and pound sterling as mediums of exchange in the country, saying that such practice is an offence punishable by a sixmonth prison term.

The Director of Corporate Communications, Ibrahim Mu’ azu, expressed the concerns of the apex bank with the increasing use of foreign currencies as mediums of payment by individuals and corporate organisations in the country.

“The attention of the bank has been drawn to the increasing use of foreign currencies in the domestic economy as a medium of payment for goods and services by individuals and corporate,” the statement read.

“It has also been observed that some institutions price their goods and services in foreign currencies and demand payments in foreign currencies rather than the domestic currency (the Naira), which is the legal tender in Nigeria.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the attention of the general public is hereby drawn to the provisions of the CBN Act of 2007, which states inter-alia that ‘the currency notes issued by the bank shall be legal tender in Nigeria… for the payment of any amount.’

Labour 18

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, April 29, 2015

New NLC chairman, others emerge in Kebbi State Stories by Joy Ekeke joy.ekeke@dailytimes.com.ng Members of the Nigerian labour Congress (NLC) in Kebbi State has elected Malam Murtala Usman, as the new Chairman at its triennial delegates’ conference held in Birnin Kebbi.

The Returning Officer for the conference, Mr Kafas Dogonyaro, said that Usman polled 603 votes against the incumbent Chairman, Alhaji Sadiq Kao’je, who garnered 437 votes.

The other officials elected as exofficio included Malam Samaila Sawwa, Malam Aminu Kangiwa and Malam Abubakar Danladi.

Dogonyaro also announced that other officials of the NLC that were returned unopposed included Malam Yunusa Musa,Vice Chairman; Malam Tasiu Lawal,Vice Chairman; Malam Umar Kalidu, Treasurer and, Malam Abubakar Umar, Auditor.

He described the election as one of the freest nationwide.

The newly elected chairman commended members for electing him and pledged to ensure that workers’ interests were protected through dialogue with authorities.

He called on members to ensure they contributed toward effective implementation of people-oriented policies and programmes by the federal and state governments.

The newly elected Chairman of Nigeria Labour Congress in Oyo State, Mr Waheed Olojede, has given an assurance that enhancement of workers’ welfare would attract due attention.

Speaking to newsmen in Ibadan shortly after his election, Olojede said: ``I am ready to take care of the interest of workers in Oyo State. We shall pursue workers’ welfare since the only hope of workers is the NLC’’.

Olojede, who contested the election on the platform of the NUT, scored 745 votes to defeat Ayobami Ajayi who had 573 votes.

The new NLC chairman promised to represent the interest of the workers to the best of his ability and with total commitment.

Others elected into the executive were Titilola Sodo and Eniola Olawale as Vice Chairman and Secretary respectively while Olatunbosun Olatunji emerged as the Treasurer.

Olawuwo Olaniyi and Ajayi Emmanuel were returned unopposed as Ex-Officio members.

In his remarks at the occasion, the outgoing NLC Chairman, Mr Bashir Olanrewaju, expressed happiness at the peaceful conduct of the election.

Olanrewaju, however, flayed the parallel congress held by some trade union groups including NUPENG, NRC and NUBIFIE. “Oyo NLC is one and indivisible,” he said.

The Oyo State Head of Service, Mr Soji Eniade, who delivered a paper at the opening segment of the congress, called on the state NLC to cooperate with Gov. Abiola Ajimobi’s administration to promote development in the state.

24 unions out of 27 affiliates of the NLC in Oyo State took part in the election while the remaining three had their on congress at the National Museum of Unity, Aleshinloye, Ibadan.

Nwobodo emerges Chairman of NLC in Enugu

Wabba

MOMAN canvasses for downstream deregulation The Major Oil Marketers Association of Nigeria (MOMAN) on Monday said that deregulation of the downstream sector of the oil and gas industry remained the best option to move the economy forward.

The Executive Secretary of MOMAN, Mr Obafemi Olawore, made the assertion in Lagos.

Olawore said that deregulation would bring in investments into the sector, adding that only deregulation would encourage the establishment of private refineries in the country.

According to him, the Federal Government should summon the courage to fully deregulate

Elected Oyo NLC chairman promises workers better welfare

and remove subsidy or embark on continuous subsidy regime payment as at when due. ``If government likes, they can introduce gradual removal of subsidy but it should not go beyond 6 to 18 months period. ``If fully deregulated with rules, you will have the serious investors coming in to invest adequately,” Olawore said. ``The government must also show that in the areas where there have deregulation, people are gaining and that whatever comes in as funds will be used for the benefit of the people. ``People should know that the subsidy refund is not dash

money. It is what you have paid for and somebody is paying you back because you have been told to sell below the market price. ``We were hoping that we will be paid back on time but the refund is delayed infinitely. Banks are on us demanding for their money and interest,” he said.

The executive secretary also said that the foreign exchange element affected the business. ``When you buy a product at 160 to 1 dollar, for instance, and you don’t get the money until the exchange rate has been raised to 240, it means that you incur a huge loss. Who bears that?

Mr Virginus Nwobodo has emerged Chairman of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Enugu State council.

He was elected at the delegate’s conference which took place in Enugu Mr Onyekachi Okezie and Mr Eze Maurice emerged Vice Chairmen while Oraedu Nnenna emerged Vice Chairperson, Women Committee.

Mr Paul Nnaji was elected Treasurer, Lambert Onoh and Mr Edward Edema emerged state Auditors while Jane Ozoemena and Mr Ugwu Joseph emerged Ex-Officio members.

The returning officers to election, Dr Dipo Fasina and Mr Olusegun Rotimi, said they emerged as unopposed candidates.

In his acceptance speech on behalf of the new executive, Nwobodo thanked the State Government for the conducive environment for the event.

He commended the outgoing state executive led by Chumaife Nze, the electoral committee and the entire delegates for their

peaceful conduct and support in making the election a resounding success.

He pledged his loyalty to workers of Enugu state and promised to ensure that their efforts would not be in vain.

Earlier, the outgoing Chairman, Nze, thanked the workers for their support throughout his tenure.

Nze said that he regretted that the minimum wage struggle which was both national and state was not concluded.

He explained that despite the negotiation with the state government, the agreement reached was not signed till date. ``The actions and inactions of some of us frustrated the organised labour’s efforts in this direction. ``Not even the enormous efforts of the national body of NLC and TUC could save the situation. ``The actions of some of us to destabilize labour is very unfortunate’’, Nze said.

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, April 29, 2015

19 Money

Why FCMB’s corporate identity was changed – CEO … Posts 38% profit increase Stories by Adesola Akindele The Group Managing Director/Chief Executive, First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Limited, Mr. Ladi Balogun has explained that the rebranding of the bank’s corporate identify was to project the vibrant state of the company.

Balogun made the clarification while speaking with Journalist at FCMB’s 2nd Annual General Meeting in Lagos, where earnings analysis revealed that the Group recorded a Profit before tax (PBT) of N23.9 billion for the full-year 2014, up 32 per cent from N18.2 billion for the full-year 2013.

Profit after tax (PAT) of N22.1 billion for the year ended December 2014, up 38 per cent from N16.0billion for the year ended December 2013.

“The change of identity of the bank today heralds a new chapter in the evolution of FCMB, as we unveil a refreshed corporate identity, looking at our colours of black and gold which hitherto speaks to an exclusive audience

we have chosen to replace with a vibrant combination of purple and yellow, the aim is basically to enable us speak to a broader audience. Same goes for our logo which have also been modified to be slightly less formal and more contemporary, yet retaining a distinctly FCMB feel,” he said.

According to him, a long term vision to be the premier financial services group of African origin, has been set as target by the bank, stressing that at the heart of the group is emerging a vibrant retail bank that seeks to rewrite the rules of the game.

“We have reached a tipping point in our evolution, and we feel we are now ready to wear a new look that is reflective of not only where we are, but also where we are going. Today, our products provide practical solutions to the borrowing, saving, investment, and payment needs of our customers. Every month, we welcome 50,000 new customers and we disburse 20,000 new loans, with over 2,000 monthly to women owned micro-enterprises.

Every month over 70,000 customers are registering on our mobile banking solutions that offer

reliable and convenient ways to bank.

“Our future is intertwined with the collective future of our customers. We do not believe that we can succeed if the customers do not. Hence, we will reinforce our position of being an inclusive lender. We will support sectors that will drive the prosperity of the markets in which we operate.

We will bring greater accessibility to a broad range of financial services. By so doing, we will build one of the most relevant financial service franchises of African origin, providing the best customer experience. We are optimistic about the future and determined, whatever the challenges, to make this happen,” he said.

FCMB Group Plc which comprises First City Monument Bank Limited, FCMB Capital Markets Limited and CSL Stockbrokers Limited, received the approval of its shareholders to pay a dividend of 25 kobo per ordinary share held for the financial year ended December 31, 2014.

Commenting on this, the Coordinator of Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), Sir Sunny Nwosu noted

Balogun

that, the increase is commendable. He added that “It is a clear signal that things are looking up.

We are also happy that FCMB has emerged as a strong player in retail banking and from what we have seen so far, we are optimistic that the Bank will continue to wax stronger’’.

The Managing Director of FCMB Group Plc, Mr. Peter Obaseki, noted that, “the Group

is on track to deliver on its promise to its various shareholders’’.

He added that despite regulatory and macro-economic challenges, ‘’our future outlook is bright, our capital base remain strong, the bank’s strategies are yielding results and we will focus more improving contribution to revenue from the non-banking businesses, especially in the wealth management space’’.

Shareholders commend UBA over regional ratings

Elumelu

Pan-African financial services group, United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc has been commended by its shareholders for its pole ratings in other African countries.

The board and management of the Bank which held its 53rd Annual General Meeting (AGM) at the Oriental Hotel in Lagos recently, were jointly praised by shareholders over the 2014 performance of the Bank.

Shareholders also unanimous-

ly approved the annual reports and accounts presented by the Board and all resolutions presented at the AGM, including the dividend proposal.

Shareholders were particularly excited at the increasing penetration of the Bank in other African countries, lauding the emergence of UBA as the best bank in Cameroun and Senegal for the fourth and third consecutive year respectively.

“I commend the appointment of Tony Elumelu as the Chairman. He has proven business leader. I am also happy with the bank’s performance, I have no doubt that it will continue to improve with Elumelu as Chairman,” said Mukhtar Mukhtar, one of the bank’s shareholders.

Another Shareholder, Alhaji Kabiru Tambari commended the Management for focusing on both

the short and long term growth of the bank, saying that shareholders are not only interested in the profit the Bank makes this year but also in the ability of the Bank to sustain its leadership position over the long term.

In his remarks, Tony O. Elumelu, CON, also expressed his appreciation for the support of all shareholders and reiterated the commitment of the Board and Management in sustaining the leadership and dominant position of UBA on the continent.

While affirming the bank’s commitment to strict adherence to the best practice in corporate governance, Elumelu explained the bank’s dividend policy in the current financial year was guided by the need to be prudent.

“Though UBA is adequately capitalised with capital adequacy ratios in excess of regulatory re-

quirement, we proactively raised additional capital during the year to further boost our capital base and it would not have been prudent to pay so much dividend after raising capital from the market. Shareholders should however expect higher dividend in future” said Elumelu.

Speaking on the bank’s financial performance, Elumelu said, “we recorded a gross earnings of N290 billion in the year, an appreciable growth of 10 per cent over our performance in 2013.

This improved performance was buoyed by the increased volume of transaction across all our service channels and growing share of our customers’ wallet. Notwithstanding the relatively high cost of doing business in Africa in the year, we remained prudent in our operations, thus ensuring our profitability in the year.

Given increased extraction gains from our unique Pan-African platform, we are optimistic on delivering a stronger performance in 2015.”

Phillips Oduoza, the Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of UBA Plc, Mr. Phillips Oduoza also affirmed that UBA is gaining critical mass across the African continent and the benefit is fast reflecting in the contribution of the African subsidiaries to the Group’s profit.

“In 2014, the African subsidiaries contributed one-fifth of our earnings, a unique diversification benefit which UBA offers its shareholders. We will profitably and prudently grow our market share in all the 19 African countries (including Nigeria), where we operate, as we look forward to delivering superior returns to our shareholders” Oduoza said.

ICT 20

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, April 29, 2015

App to watch Snapchat rising fast on cheap content

Mba, NBC boss

NBC set to license free view TV channels Stories by Tony Nwakaegho

National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) has commenced the process of issuing licences for the provision of free view digital television content to be transmitted to Nigerian households.

Director of Public Affairs, NBC, Mr. Awwalu Salihu, who made this known recently, said the regulatory agency, after careful assessment of the current television market, observed serious gaps in the content available to serve the social and economic needs of Nigerians.

The Commission therefore invited prospective service providers to submit proposals for meeting the gaps as a preliminary step towards applying for licences.

He explained that the commission categorised FTV digital television into several genres, including general entertainment, kids, lifestyle, sports, movies/soaps/ sitcoms, music, documentaries and factual/news.

According to him, the channels would strictly comply with the programming mandates of the commission as well as the Nigerian Broadcasting Code and other conditions to be set out in the licences to be granted to successful

applicants.

“In keeping with the commission’s laid down procedure, successful applicants shall be invited to formally apply for licences to provide channel content in accordance with the National Broadcasting Act, the Nigeria Broadcasting Code and the Digital Terrestrial Television Regulations,” Salihu said.

He affirmed that the proposals would be considered in a fair, reasonable and non-discriminatory selection process measured against high quality domestic and international content channel appeal across a range of demographics.

MTN Data Centre, Ojota receives tier III certification MTN Nigeria has been awarded the Tier III Certification for design of its data centre at Ojota Lagos from the Uptime Institute.

MTN Data Centre was assessed on various criteria, all of which were passed successfully by the Uptime Institute which is an internationally recognized evaluator of data centres; haven awarded 490 certifications in 66 countries across the globe.

Established in 1993, its Tier classification system is widely accepted as the standardized methodology used in determining the functionality, capacity, availability and performance of data centres.

Chief Executive Officer, MTN

Nigeria,Michael Ikpoki said “The Tier III Certification award mirrors the depth of investment in our network infrastructure. With this, our enterprise customers can be assured that all elements of the critical infrastructure in our data centre are capable of enterprisegrade performance in terms of power, security, cooling and disaster mitigation in the event of a fire outbreak”.

MTN’s Data Centre can achieve 99.98 per cent availability and can operate uninterrupted during routine maintenance or equipment change, with only 1.6 hours interruption per year.

“This award is yet another testament to our commitment to

fulfilling our value proposition to our customers through collocation, managed hosting and cloud solutions. We will continue to invest in modern infrastructure and deliver world-class services to our customers as we strive to lead the delivery of a bold new digital world,” Ikpoki added.

The Data Centre accreditation is defined by four tiers. The tiers start at a simple Tier 1 level, which is equivalent to a server room and goes up to the most robust levels of Tier 3 and 4, which offer guaranteed availability and are designed to host mission critical computer systems with fully redundant subsystems, power, security and access control.

Earlier dismissed by critics as a smartphone app that didn’t do much but let lovers trade the type of photos they didn’t want saved, Snapchat is gathering huge audiences on a new feature called Stories making it the latest example of how a tiny company can rise up fast with a business strategy that could make it the next hot technology sensation.

Much like Facebook in its early days, Snapchat is turning the stakes around so quickly and unexpectedly. Early Stories advertisers include Coca-Cola, Universal Pictures, Macy’s and Samsung.

Recently, thousands of fans descended on the Coachella music festival this month to rock out to their favourite bands and party day and night. But a far bigger audience from around the world, at least 40 million joined in remotely through video snippets from Snapchat.

Those snippets, no more than 10 seconds long, were shot and posted by Snapchat users at no cost to Snapchat. The fast-growing startup simply stitched clips together using software.

It’s now selling advertising for those programs; with free content, the profit margins would be huge.

Consider the potential: Top broadcast shows, such as CBS’s “NCIS,” average about 20 million viewers, half the Coachella audience. Snapchat’s reach, advertising industry analysts say, is big enough to siphon ad dollars otherwise spent on television and YouTube.

“You have a TV-sized audience all viewing at once, or at least within a day,” said Michael Boland, chief analyst at ad consultancy BIA/Kelsey. “Brand advertisers really like that.”

The under-35 crowd, spending less time with TV, has been a pesky lot to track down for advertisers, but Snapchat is among the few social media

apps in which they see possibility. Spending on mobile ads that take a user’s location into account is expected to balloon to $19.3 billion in 2018 from $4.3 billion in 2014, according to BIA/ Kelsey. Snapchat aims to take a big piece.

There’s no certainty that it will. The private company’s profits will have to be huge and sustained for many years before it can justify its market value, reputedly about $15 billion based on recent venture capital investments.

That assumes some hefty advertising revenue. Adweek reported this year that the company was asking brands for $750,000 a day to place ads on the platform. Snapchat declined to say how much it makes from advertisers.

Facebook, founded in 2004, deemphasised advertising in its early years, when founder and Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg talked about building a social network first. When it got big enough, advertising dollars would follow, and they did. Now Facebook is becoming a channel for videos and other content and is pulling in annual revenue of $12 billion a year and growing.

Snapchat is taking a more aggressive approach to ad revenue than Facebook did. The disappearing message feature grew fast by attracting mostly young users who sought a more shrouded social network than the highly public Facebook could provide. And then it took off yet again as it added mobile video. When Facebook launched, technology for online video was still fairly crude.

Snapchat’s content is cheap.

User-sent video costs next to nothing -- just some software and human curators to piece together compelling snippets, which differs substantially from the disorganised mess that confronts visitors to YouTube.

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Today in History Æ s Compiled by ‘Tunji Okegbola

21

Cartoons from our Archives

1986 Roger Clemens strikes out 20 batters in single game On April 29, 1986, in a game against the Seattle Mariners at Fenway Park, Roger Clemens of the Boston Red Sox became the first pitcher in Major League Baseball to strike out 20 batters in a nine-inning game.

Ten years later, Clemens repeats the feat, the only player in baseball history to do so.

Clemens was drafted in 1983 by the Red Sox as the 19th pick overall and made his debut with the team on May 15, 1984. Two years later, on April 29, the 23-year-old Clemens broke St. Louis Cardinal Steve Carlton’s record of 19 strikeouts in a nine-inning game, which was set in 1969 and duplicated by the Mets’ Tom Seaver in 1970 and the California Angels’ Nolan Ryan in 1974. In 1962, the Washington Senators’ Tom Cheney had 21 strikeouts in 16 innings. Kerry Wood and Randy Johnson each recorded 20-strikeout games after Clemens; however, the “Rocket” as Clemens is known, is the only

1991

pitcher in the history of baseball to do so twice. Clemens struck out 20 batters for a second time while pitching for the Red Sox on September 18, 1996, in a game against the Detroit Tigers at Tiger Stadium. He was so fond of striking out batters, he gave each of his four children names that started with the letter K, the symbol for strikeout.

Clemens spent 13 seasons with the Red Sox, during which time he won three Cy Young awards, an annual honour given to the best pitcher in the Major League.

He then pitched two seasons with the Toronto Blue Jays and took home the Cy Young award twice more while leading the league both seasons in strikeouts, ERA and wins. Clemens joined the New York Yankees in 1999 and won his first World Series that season. On June 14, 2003, while playing for the Yankees in a game against the St. Louis Cardinals, he recorded his 300th win and 4,000th career strikeout.

Cyclone kills 135,000 in Bangladesh

On this day in 1991, a devastating cyclone hit Bangladesh, killing more than 135,000 people.

Even though there had been ample warning of the coming storm and shelter provisions had been built in the aftermath of a deadly 1970 storm, this disaster was one of the worst of the 20th century.

“Cyclone” is the name given to hurricane-type storms that arise in the Indian Ocean. “Typhoons” are those that start in the Pacific Ocean and “hurricanes” are those found in the Atlantic. Cyclone 2B, as this storm was known, had been tracked for a week as it made its way north through the Bay of Bengal. It slammed into the southeastern coast of Bangladesh on April 29.

The south-eastern region of Bangladesh is a river delta where the Ganges and other rivers flow into the Indian Ocean. It is particularly prone to floods and is also in the path of many cyclones. Despite the dangers, the poor people of the region continue to live in the area because of its fertile soil.

Many thousands of people also inhabit the small islands and ex-

posed coast of the southeast.

In 1970, nearly half a million people lost their lives to a powerful cyclone, prompting locals to build some storm shelters. However, not enough people took advantage of these havens before the 1991 storm (approximately 100,000 sought shelter), deciding to wait out the cyclone in their mud and straw huts. This proved disastrous when 150 mile-perhour winds caused a 20-foot surge of water across the region. Some islands were entirely swamped.

Thousands of people were washed out to sea and drowned during the nine-hour storm.

It took several weeks to recover the bodies of the victims. Best estimates put the loss of life at between 135,000 and 145,000 people.

One-and-a-half million homes were decimated by Cyclone 2B. Additionally, a million head of cattle were lost. Because of this, and the heavy loss of crops, starvation posed a critical danger to the survivors.

Seven of the nine most deadly cyclones or hurricanes of the 20th century took place in Bangladesh.

Daily Times March 29, 1961

1992

Rodney King trial verdict announced

An jury of 10 whites, one Hispanic, and one Filipina in the Los Angeles suburb of Simi Valley acquitted four police officers who had been charged with using excessive force in arresting black motorist Rodney King a year earlier. The announcement of the verdict, which enraged the black community, prompted widespread rioting throughout much of the sprawling city. It wasn’t until three days later that the arson and looting finally ended.

Immediately after the verdict was announced that afternoon, protestors took to the streets, engaging in random acts of violence. At the corner of Florence and Normandie streets, Reginald Denny, a white truck driver, was dragged from his truck and severely beaten by several angry rioters. A helicopter crew caught the incident on camera and broadcast it live on local television. Viewers saw first-hand that the police, woefully unprepared, were unwilling—or unable—to enforce the law in certain neighbourhoods

of the city.

As it became evident that breaking the law in much of South Central Los Angeles would yield little, if any, consequences, opportunistic rioters came out in full force on the night of April 29, burning retail establishments all over the area.

Police still had no control of the situation the following day.

Thousands of people packed the streets and began looting stores.

Korean-owned businesses were targeted in particular. For most, the looting was simply a crime of opportunity rather than any political expression.

The acquitted police officers were later convicted of violating Rodney King’s civil rights in a federal court trial. Reginald Denny’s attackers were identified through the helicopter videotape, arrested, and convicted of assault and battery. However, the jury declined to convict on attempted murder charges, apparently due to the defence’s argument that the defendants had only fallen prey to uncontrollable mob rage.

1854

First AfricanAmerican college chartered By an act of the Pennsylvania legislature, Ashmun Institute, the first college founded solely for African-American students, was officially chartered.

Established in the rolling farmlands of southern Chester County, Pennsylvania, Ashmun Institute was named after Jehudi Ashmun, the U.S. agent who helped reorganize and preserve the struggling AfricanAmerican colony in Africa that later grew into the independent nation of Liberia. The Ashmun Institute, chartered to give theological, classical, and scientific training to African Americans, opened on January 1, 1857, and John Pym Carter served as the college’s first president. In 1866, the institution was renamed Lincoln University.

News 22

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Social critic slams closure of Adamawa Assembly Tom Garba Yola

•••A social commentator and a former Commissioner for Information, in the Murtala Nyako administration in Adamawa State, Alhaji Bubakari Kamela, has condemned the way and manner the executive and the legislative arms of government were disgracing and embarrassing the people of the state with impeachment threats for

PDP wins Ebonyi supplementary election Jacob Mbam Abakaliki

•••The supplementary election held in five state constituencies in Ebonyi State have been won by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The five constituencies are Ezza North-East, Ezza

selfish ambitions.

Kamela, who is the spokesman of the former Lagos State military administrator, Brig-General Buba Marwa, lambasted Governor Bala James Ngilari and the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Alhaji Umaru Fintiri, for allowing their personal interests to overshadow that of the people, which had led to the closure of the state Assembly Hall for over a month.

North-West, Ohaukwu North, Ohaukwu South and Abakaliki South.

It would be recalled that election in the affected areas was marred by violence and electoral fraud, which the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), to declare the exercise inconclusive.

The result of the supplementary elections was confirmed by the INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in the state, Dr. Lawrence Azubike.

NIPR lauds CBN, warns quacks Nduka Uzuakpundu

•••The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has taken a step to signal good leadership and its readiness to liaise actively with the Nigerian Institute of Public Relations (NIPR), as the body gets set to sanitise the profession.

The President of the NIPR, Dr. Rotimi Oladele, commended the apex bank, at a recent induction of new members, in Lagos, for going about setting up an image-making department that was in conformity with the rules and standard recognised by the NIPR. Oladele said that it was encouraging that the CBN took Public Relations as a serious profession, especially when his organisation’s advice was sought on the kind of personnel the apex bank should engage.

“It was a conscious step in the direction of creating and enforcing the culture of credibility and integrity at the highest point of banking in the country,” Ol-

adele said.

He said the CBN’s example was about the standard practice and accepted norm, which should be followed by all federal and state ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs), local governments, individuals and corporate bodies.

Oladele said that time was fast thinning out for individuals and corporate bodies that operate public relations unit without the approval of the NIPR. “With effect from July 1, 2015,” Oladele said, “we shall start picketing the offices of such individuals and corporate bodies, with the assistance of security agents, if only to compel them to follow the rules guiding the profession of public relations in the country.”

And, just in case picketing appeared to be unavailing, Oladele said legal processes would be taken against unregistered individuals and corporate bodies.

Black market fuel hawkers waiting for customers in Abuja... on Tuesday Photo:Temitope Balogun

AIT: APC reverses Buhari’s directive •PDP faults President-elect Lateef Ibrahim Abuja

••• The All Progressives

Congress (APC) has said that all accredited media organisations in the country, including the African Independent Television (AIT), were free to cover the activities of the President-elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari.

In a statement, issued in Abuja, on Tuesday, by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said

the incoming Buhari administration would not discriminate against any media organisation, irrespective of its role during the campaigns leading up to the recent polls.

In a reaction to the development, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described as unacceptable the directive by the President-elect, Gen. Buhari to bar AIT from covering his activities.

The PDP reaction was contained in a statement by its National Public-

ity Secretary, Olisa Metuh.

The party maintained that the suppression of the media, under any guise, portends danger for the nation’s democracy.

The party, however, enjoined all media organisations to observe the highest level of professional standards in carrying out their duties. ''There is a code of ethics guiding the practice of journalism in Nigeria, and this demands that every journalist should ensure a strict adherence

to the highest levels of ethics and professionalism in carrying out their duties.

“There must be repercussions, within the realms of the law, for media organisations that have wantonly breached the code of ethics of the journalism and turned themselves to partisans instead of professionals. But such repercussions will not include barring any accredited media organisation from covering the activities of the Presidentelect,” APC said.

Group canvasses zoning of Speaker to S’South Henry Omunu Abuja

•••

As the All Progressives Congress (APC) continues consultations on the zoning of key leadership offices in the National Assembly, an advocacy group, the Coalition for Justice and Fairness (CJF), has warned the party on the danger of excluding the South-South geo-political zone from its zoning formula. The group, in a statement signed by its convener, Muraina Ahmed, warned that the exclusion

Buhari

of the zone, especially as it relates to the election of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, would negate the Federal Character principle enunciated in Section 14 (3) of the Nigerian Constitution.

Ahmed expressed worry over reports that the APC was considering zoning the National Assembly leadership to the North-East and South-West regions and by implication excluding the South-South geo-political region, even though the President-elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari was from the zone and the VicePresident-elect, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, comes from the South-West.

“The knotty issue that will test the APC's abhorrence of impunity, which

was one of the major reasons Nigerians voted for it, is the zoning of the listed leadership offices in the National Assembly.

"To be fair, there are circumstances that may hamper the even spread of legislative offices to all the six zones in Nigeria.

For instance, the SouthEast has no APC senator at all and has not produced any top-ranking APC member in the House of Representatives.

“The South-South has one senator, who is a fresher and does not meet the ranking criterion. But the South-South has four members-elect in the House of Representatives, two of whom are top ranking, with one of them, Hon. Pally Iriase, parading impeccable

credentials and legislative leadership experience.

"In the spirit of fairness and adherence to the Federal Character principle, the position of Speaker, House of Representatives, should be zoned to the South-South geo-political zone,” Ahmed added.

According to him, there were dangers in deliberately shutting out the SouthSouth from the speakership of the House of Representatives, asserting that “the South-South lost the presidency and if APC fails to be magnanimous in victory but embarks on vendetta by denying the zone the opportunity of Speaker, the government may, start on a controversial note in the minds of discerning Nigerians.

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, April 29, 2015

HEALTH AND WELLNESS OPTIMIZATION FOUNDATION

23 Public Notice

KAJOLA PLANKS AND WOOD SELLERS ASSOCIATION , OKEHO

The General Public is hereby notified that the above named foundation has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission Abuja, for registration under part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Act of 1990.

The General Public is hereby notified that the above named association has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission Abuja, for registration under part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Act of 1990.

Trustees.

1. Lisa Paul Adesina Adejobi. - Chairman.

2. Dr. Iziaq Adekunle Salako. - Secretary.

3. Hon. Isiaq Abiodun Akinlade.

4. Aremo Jacob Oluranji Akindele.

5. Mrs. Risquat Oluremi Salako.

Trustees.

1. Salaudeen Mufutau Oyewumi. - Chairman.

2. Gbadegesin Enock Adewumi. - Secretary.

3. Wahab Idris Akolade.

4. Salam Rasheedat Oretayo.

5. Olalere Emmanuel.

Aims and objectives.

1. To advocate for priority attention and focus on health promotion and diseases prevention by health authorities in Nigeria especially with regards to non-communicable diseases.

2). To promote the adoption of healthy lifestyles.

Aim and objective.

To cater for the welfare of members.

Any objection to this 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 28 days of this publication.

Signed ; Barr. Modupe Omomeje Longe

GOD’S FOLD ASSEMBLY

Any objection to this 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 28 days of this publication.

Signed; Secretary

ACEJO HERITAGE FOUNDATION

HERITAGE SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND POVERTY ALLEVIATION NETWORK This is to inform the General Public that the above named body has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission, for registration under ‘Part C’ of the Company And Allied Matters Act,1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE:1. Eniayekan Ayodeji Nelson 2. Eniayekan Oluwafisayo Elizabeth 3.Ogbolu Henry Chukwunedum 4.Adejugbe Bamidele Oluremi 5.Ajayi Adeyemi Olujide THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE:1. To empower the economically active poor through provision of micro-credit services in form of microloans, financial education and entrepreneurial skills to combat poverty.

2. To create a sustainable platform for providing alternative funding structures to those who are traditionally shut out from the existing financial system.

3. Set up Educational Endowment funds to assist children of the economically active poor acquire education up to University level. 4. Collaborate with Insurance institutions who share our vision in providing micro-insurance services to ensure protection against unforeseen/adverse economic circumstances.

5. Collaborate with relevant Governmental Agencies in organizing skill acquisition initiatives. (E.g. Soap making, Hair Dressing, Vulcanizing and entrepreneurship education) Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the Registrar-General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420 Tigris Crescent, Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, FCT, Abuja,within 28 days from the date of this publication.

SIGNED BY:- Secretary

OBONG BASSEY ALBERT INT’L FOUNDATION

The general public is hereby informed that the above named assembly has applied to the Corporate Affair Commission for registration under part “C “ of the companies and allied matters act 1 of 1990.

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

The General Public is hereby notified that the above named FOUNDATION has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission Abuja, for registration under part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Act of 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE:1.Ugozi Charity obiekwu Pastor 2. Oluchi Elizabeth Mbagwu- Secretary 3.Martha Chidima Mbagwu- Treasurer

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Owie Adesuwa Omoniho 2. Charles Olusegun Adekuajo 3. Aluyi Kate Isoken 4. Abikwi Godson

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Obong Bassey Albert 2. Mrs. Nkiru Bassey Albert

The Aims and Objectives are:Winning souls for Jesus

AIMS AND OBJECTIVE: 1 Settlement of internally displace persons 2.Privision of homes/Shelter for children born of female prisoners 3. To provide education and remove child hawkers from the streets 4. Provision of education for indigent female children.(North)

Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the registrargeneral, corporate affair commission, plot 420, Tigris Crescent, off Aguyi Irosi Street, Maitama, Abuja, within 28 days from the date of this publication.

SIGNED BY: - Barr. A I .Ojini.

Any Objection(s) 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 of this Publication.

Signed: Secretary

HANDS AT WORK IN AFRICA INITIATIVE

ZENITH COMMITTEE OF FRIENDS CLUB NIGERIA

The General Public is hereby notified that the above name Association has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for Change of its Trustees under Part ‘C’ of the Companies and Allied Act, 1990.

The General Public is hereby notified that the above named ASSOCIATION has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission Abuja, for registration under part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Act of 1990.

OLD TRUSTEES NEW TRUSTEES: A. Marc Myburgremoved A. Oluyede, Oluwagbenga Omotayo B. George Snymanretained B. Lynn Chotowetz C. Rex Yinusa Ajenifujaremoved C. Mwenda Levy D. David Oluranti Aderintoremoved E. Dan Adeleye Aderintoremoved The reason for change of Trustees is as result of the removal of four Trustees who have ceased to be members of the Initiative.

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

Signed: Secretary

LIFESPAN DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE The general public is hereby notified that the above named has applied for registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission Abuja, Under Part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matter Act 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE:1. Dr. Chinedum Ovy Orluideye Chukwuma - President 2. Mrs. Tonye Chukwuma - Vice President 3. Miss Jemima Obuto Ovy Chukwuma - Secretary 4. Chukwuma Nwawhetueze Abraham - Member 5. Animashaun Olaniyi Mayowa - Member 6. Dr. Albert Efiong Ukpong - Member

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Ezeamadi Augustus Ozoemena 3. Anyaogu Chimezie Simeon 5. Umeoduagu Felix 7. Ezeamadi Hyginus Anayo 9. Obi Emeka

2. Ugorji Benedict 4. Nwagbo Solomon Okechukwu 6. Ochuba Jonathan Chidozie 8. Umahi Uchenna Fabian

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1. Striving towards the welfare of every member 2. To foster good relationship among members, moreover being brother’s keeper.

3. To promote peace and love among members 4. To help one and other.

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, Abuja within 28 Days of this Publication.

Signed: Secretary

CONSOLATION FOUNDATION FOR LESS PRIVILEDGED The General Public is hereby notified that the above named foundation has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission Abuja, for registration under part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Act of 1990.

Trustees.

1. Afunmiso Oladele Seun - President 2. Afunmiso Gloria Ashioma - Secretary 3. Ipaye Sherifat Amoke

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES:To promote longer lifespan through good health, education, agriculture, shelter, environmental practices and campaign initiative.

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: DR. CHINEDUM OVY ORLUIDEYE CHUKWUMA President

Aims and objectives.

1. To take care of the less privileged and the widows.

2. Help the members’ interims of need.

Any Objection(s) 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 of this Publication.

Signed: Secretary

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To cater for the welfare of the vulnerable in the society.

Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the RegistrarGeneral, Corporate Affairs Commission, P.M.B 198, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, Off Aguyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days of this publication Signed: EZINWA B UKOHA FOUNTAIN OF LIVING WATERS EVANGELISM AND DELIVERANCE OUTREACH The general public is hereby notified that the above named has applied for registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission Abuja, Under Part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matter Act 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE:1. Evangelist Norman Ene Iboroma - President 2. Pastor Collins Nwachukwu - Vice President 3. Evangelist Ima Olu - Secretary 4. Elder Ibim Francis - Elder AIMS AND OBJECTIVES:1. To preach the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2. To preach the word of God unto salvation.

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: EVANGELIST NORMAN ENE IBOROMA President

ISAIAH 43:4 PRAYER MINISTRY INTERNATIONAL The General Public is hereby notified that the above named ministry has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission Abuja, for registration under part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Act of 1990.

Trustees.

1. Ademola Elijah (General Overseer) 2. Samson Adeyemi ( Secretary) 3. Mrs. Lola Shoroye 4. Mr. Seun Adetayo 5. Bisi Ololpade 6. Mrs. Bimbola Ademuyiwa 7. Mr. Andrew Jesse 8. Mr. Tolu Adeoye Aims and objectives.

To preach the gospel of Christ Any Objection(s) 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 of this Publication.

Signed: SECRETARY

ALL ABOUT JESUS MINISTRY INTERNATIONAL

CITY OF MERCY PRAYER AND PRAISE MINISTRY

The General Public is hereby notified that the above name centre has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for Change of its Trustees under Part ‘C’ of the Companies and Allied Act, 1990.

The general public is hereby notified that the above named ministry has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja for registration under Part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matter Act,1990.

The general public is hereby notified that the above named ministry has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja for registration under Part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matter Act,1990.

Trustees.

1. Dada Modupe.

2. Dada Oluwaseyi Caleb.

3. Dada Rufus Oladele.

4.Dada Ogooluwa

The Trustees Are 1. Oladokun Bolarinde Akinwale - Rev 2. Oladokun Titilayo Lizzy - Pastor 3. Bamgbola Alexander Oyewole - Apostle

REFINER’S FIRE CHRISTIAN CENTRE

The Trustees Are 1. Adeniyi Samuel Abiodun - Pastor 2. Oluwunmi Abimbola Oluwakemi - Asst Pastor 3. Jolayemi Lateef Babatunde - Secretary 4. Ikhle Paulin Ekemahnse - Treasurer 5. Bankole Gladys Afusat - Member 6. Oluwunmi Paul Adewale - Member

Aim and objective.

To preach the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Aims and Objectives : 1. To preach the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord.

2. To enlarge in evangelism.

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

Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the Registrar-General, Corporate Affairs Commission, P.M.B 198, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, Off Aguyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days of this publication

Signed ;

Barr. Ebenezer.

Aims and Objectives : To preach the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Signed: Elias Adedokun

Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the Registrar-General, Corporate Affairs Commission, P.M.B 198, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, Off Aguyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days of this publication Signed: Secretary

News 24

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday April 29, 2015

Osun Speaker assures civil servants of support Sodiq Adekunle Osogbo

••• The Speaker of Osun

State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Najeem Salaam, has assured civil servants in the state of support for their understanding over the delay in the payment of salaries.

The Speaker, who spoke during the Assembly’s plenary session on Tuesday, commended the workers for being patient, despite being owed five months’ salary arrears.

The Speaker, however, blamed the non-payment

of the salaries on reduction of allocations from the Federation Account.

He said, “In spite of the difficulties, they (civil servants) are prepared to move on and for this gesture we are also assuring them of our support.

“And if there is anything they need from us, we are ready to support them. This is a trying period, yet, the workers have abided by the civil service rule to come to work and discharge their duty diligently.”

Salaam also charged newly-elected lawmakers

Self determination: LNC demand referendum from FG Faith Faithful Port Harcourt

•••

In a bid to regain its freedom from enslavement caused by the amalgamation of Northern and Southern Nigeria, the Lower Niger Congress (LNC), has said that it was ready to shake off the bur-

den of slavery longer in the national set up.

Speaking during a oneday workshop in Port Harcourt, the chairman of the occasion, Colonel Joe Achuze [retrd] said the kind of maltreatment to which the people of the Lower Niger Congress, in recent times, would no

FINGER OF GOD RELIEF TRUST FUND

into the Assembly, following their victory at the April 11 governorship and State Assembly elections, not to forget the masses that put them into power.

He added, “There are lessons that we can learn from the elections and the lesson is that power is transient and we must be ready to leave landmark achievements that everyone will be proud of.

“The power to elect is in the hands of the people and they have used that power in our favour. Therefore, we must justify the confidence they reposed in us.”

longer be accepted.

Achuze averred that the bond of amalgamation, as crafted by Lord Frederick Lugard, in 1914, was no longer binding, and so the people of the Lower Niger Congress had regained their freedom.

The President of the group, Mr. Fred Agboegba, explained that the group had decided to take its destiny in his own hand and pursue its goal accordingly.

Bauchi gov sacks over 2,000 aides

Senate cuts 2015 budget by N200bn

••• Bauchi State Gover-

Abuja

nor, Mallam Isa Yuguda, on Monday sacked over 2, 000 of his political aides but retained very few on essential services.

The sacking, which was contained in a statement by the Permanent Secretary, Political Affairs, Government House, Hashimu Yakubu, on behalf of the Secretary to the State Government, stated that the sacking of all Special Advisers, Senior Special Assistants and Personal Assistants was with immediate effect.

Although, the number of aides sacked was not disclosed in the government statement, it was, however, learnt from a government source that they might well be over 2, 000.

The source said, “I don’t know how many of them were sacked but they can be more than 2, 000 because even shortly before the elections, the Governor was said to have ap-

ABDURAHMAN AHMED-MUSA

I formally know and addressed as Olajiire Morufat Oriyomi, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Badmus Morufat Oriyomi Olajiire. All former documents bearing my former name remain valid. The General public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Ojimadu-John C., now wished to be known and addressed as Abdurahman Ahmed-Musa.

All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

GLORIOUS EVANGELIC REVIVAL CHAPEL

The Trustees Are: 1. Apostle Favour Eghator Sunday.

2. Mrs. Favour Rita Ochombia.

3. Mr. Mustapha Temitayo Mumuni.

4. Pastor Chizoba Eunice Onyebueke.

5. Evangelist Deborah Favour Lambart.

6. Uguru Rowland Uzoma.

7. Idowu Johnson.

The general public is hereby notified that the above named MINISTRY has applied to the corporate affairs commission Abuja for registration under the part c of the companies and allied matters act 1990.

The Trustees Are: 1.Bishop Sunday Dick.

2.Pastor Mrs Patience S. Dick.

3.Elder Friday Akpan.

4.Elder Michael Archibong.

5.Brother Moses S. Dick.

Aims & Objectives: To preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, set the captives free.

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 28days from the date of this publication.

SIGNED: SECRETARY

Nigerians may be confronted with harsh economic realities this fiscal year, no thanks to the upper chamber of the legislature.

Only yesterday, the Senate decided to cut down this year’s budget expenditures to the tune of over N200 billion compared to what was passed in the 2014 fiscal year.

The Nigerian upper chamber yesterday passed the sum of N4,493,363,957,158 as the budget for the 2015 fiscal year, as against the sum of N4.71 trillion that was passed in 2014, leaving the balance of over N200 billion.

In addition, the Senate, in its approved budget estimates, tactically scrapped the subsidy regime, as it did not make any provision for the payment of subsidy on fuel and kerosene, which is an indication that the long queues in the filling stations may not abate for long.

OSHINEYE-AGBOKE OMOBOLANLE LATEEFAT

Trustees: 1. Mr. Aminu Momoh- Chairman 2. Mrs. Osaze Ukpemhen Momoh- Secretary 3. Mrs. Violet Oyarekua- Member 4. Mrs. Augustina Ossai- Member.

GENESIS GOSPEL MINISTRY

•••

I formally know and addressed as Miss Agboke Omobolanle Lateefat, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. OshineyeAgboke Omobolanle Lateefat. All former documents bearing my former name remain valid. The General public should take note.

The general public is hereby notified that the above named CHURCH has applied to the corporate affairs commission Abuja for registration under the part c of the companies and allied matters act 1990.

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 28days from the date of this publication.

Signed: Mr. Aminu Momoh- Chairman

Sunday Isuwa

BADMUS MORUFAT ORIYOMI OLAJIIRE

The general public is hereby notify that the above named has applied to the corporate affairs commission Abuja for registration under the part c of the companies and allied matters act 1990.

Aims & Objectives: 1. To provide moral and financial support to the indigent students in our community 2. To provide welfare to the less priviledged people.

pointed over 70 aides.”

The statement read, “The Executive Governor of Bauchi State, Mallam Isa Yuguda, has approved the disengagement of all Special Advisers (with the exception of the Special Adviser, Due Process).

“Also, all Senior Special Assistants, Special Assistants and Personal Assistants (with the exception of those who work directly under His Excellency the Executive Governor or the Deputy Governor).”

According to the statement, all those affected are requested to hand over government property in their possession (if any) to the heads of organisations where they served.

Yuguda therefore expressed his appreciation to the disengaged political aides for their contributions to the development of Bauchi State in their various capacities and wished them the best in their future endeavours.

Aims and Objectives: 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, off aguiyi ironsi street, maitama Abuja within 28days from the date of this publication.

Signed: secretary.

FATHU RAHMAN ISLAMIC FOUNDATION The general public is hereby notified that the above named FOUNDATION has No 3 Public Notice for Wednesday 28th March 2015 applied to the corporate affairs commission Abuja for registration under the part c of the companies and allied matters act 1990.

Name of Trustees are: 1. Alhaji Odubajo Abdulfatai Babatunde (Chairman).

2. Alhaji Ali Balogun (Secretary) 3. Alhaji Anifowose Alade Muh. Jamiu.

4. Alhaji Isa Seni Alakija 5. Alhaja Lateefat Bolanle Amodu.

Aims & Objectives: To propagate the word of Allah.

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 28days from the date of this publication.

SIGNED: SECRETARY

AGBATA HANNAH OSHIORHENOYA

EUNICE OLUWAKEMI ABOLARIN

I formally know and addressed as Imomoh Hannah Oshiorhenoya, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs. Agbata Hannah Oshiorhenoya. All former documents bearing my former name remain valid. The General public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Mrs. Eunice Oluwakemi Adigun now wished to be known and addressed as Eunice Oluwakemi Abolarin. All former documents remain valid. General public take note.

RODA STEVENSON IMARHIAGBE

OJINI PHILOMINA OGECHUKWUKANMA

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Philips Rosa Ufot now wished to be known and addressed as Mrs. Roda Stevenson Imarhiagbe.

All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as Miss Mordi Philomina Ogechukwukanma now wished to be known and addressed as Mrs. Ojini Philomina Ogechukwukanma. All former documents remain valid.

General public take note.

DEPEND ON GOD ALONE MINISTRY The above named organization has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration in accordance with the provision of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, 1990 Part C. The Trustees are: 1. Onyewesi Paul Chukwudim 2. Onyewesi Ifesinachi Celestina 3. Nnamezie Joachim Chidiebere 4. George Eze Ezekiel 5.Charles Igwebuike Mbakwe Aims and Objectives: 1. To propagate the message of our Lord Jesus Christ.

2. To encourage worship and fellowship among believers (Christians).

3. To cater for spiritual and physical interests and general welfare of her members and the less privileged.

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

Signed: LOCUS (Barristers & Solicitors) 0808 4991 286, Lagos

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Hausa community denies marginalisation by Fayose Gbenga Sodeinde Ado-Ekiti

•••

The Hausa Community in Ekiti State has denied indicting Governor Ayo Fayose of allegedly clamping down on members and crippling their businesses when they allegedly voted against President Goodluck Jonathan during the March 28, 2015 presidential poll.

A statement signed by its leader, Alhaji Musa Kanga and Secretary, Alhaji Babangida Umar in Ado Ekiti on Tuesday, said the action of government banning indiscriminate display of wares, particularly on

highways, including the Fajuyi-Adebayo-Opopogbooro road, dominated by Hausa traders, should not be linked to politics.

The body dissociated itself from the rumour, saying it was targeted at creating friction between the government and the Arewa people, who have co-existed in most mutual manner, since Fayose became the state governor.

The body said “Anybody, irrespective of tribe or state of origin contravening environmental law should be sanctioned according to the law.

“That the government decided to act to prevent

violation of the law, such should not be linked to politics or be perceived to translate to a clampdown on Hausa for not voting Jonathan during the presidential poll.

“Election has come and gone and the governor must be given peace of mind to govern the state properly”, it said. The body promised unalloyed support and unhindered collaboration to the state government in all facets to fast-track development in the state, regardless of rumour being peddled around to strain the smooth relationship.

“Fayose is very close to

Oyo NLC chair urges Ajimobi to pay outstanding workers’ salaries Bolaji Omosanya lbadan

•••The Oyo State Govern-

ment has been called upon to, as a matter of urgency, pay the outstanding salaries being owed the civil servants.

Chairman of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Oyo State wing, Comrade Waheed Olojede, made the plea on Tuesday in lbadan.

According to him, contrary to the belief that the salaries of the workers for this year, had been paid, it was only those on Grade Level 1-6 that had collected their January salary.

Olojede also disclosed

that since then, the state government had not been forthcoming on the higher cadres, neither were those of February, March and April settled yet.

He said that the situation might be understandable due to the pressure of campaigns and the just-concluded general election as the reason for the delay, but that with the successful reelection of the incumbent governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, nothing should further delay the payment of the remaining salaries.

The NLC Chairman, who is also the State Secretary of the teachers' union (NUT), said that if workers

were well motivated, they could not, but, give their best in their official engagements.

To him, even teachers cannot give their all on empty stomach, as doing so, would result in low level in performance which would in turn have negative impact on the future development of the State and Nigeria in general.

On the plight of pensioners, Olojede expressed sadness that people who used their productive years to serve the state and the country, were being made to suffer due to non-payment of their gratuities and pensions.

Domestic observers rate Abia supplementary election high Sunday Nwakanma Umuahia

•••A

coalition of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) accredited domestic observers, have rated the election as free, fair, credible and peaceful.

Addressing newsmen in Umuahia, the Abia State capital on Tuesday, the group, led by their Coordi-

nator, Hon. Philip Kalu, said the election in nine Local Government Areas started with accreditation exercise by 8.00am, while actual voting started around 1.30pm.

They observed that in the areas they visited, there was an appreciable improvement on card readers, while there was adequate security personnel, media coverage by both domestic and international observ-

ers who monitored the election in the state.

Though, turnout of voters in most units were low, the observers said they were satisfied that the people demonstrated a “high sense of maturity, peaceful co-existence, love and development” of the state.They said they did not notice any rigging, while result collations were peaceful and accurate.

25 News

Chukwuemeke Iwelunmo

•••Two

Hausa people and has always handled any issue relating to our well-being with special care and interest. He has been supportive.

“The rumour that the governor is disturbing us or preventing us from selling our wares is in the imagination of those peddling the rumour, for their personal reasons, as nobody from the government has been disturbing us.

“We are all aware of the efforts being made to keep Ekiti clean and Hausas as stakeholders, will continue to support the government in this regard” the statement added.

suspected vandals, were on Tuesday arrested at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) pipelines at Mosinmi, Sagamu, Ogun State.

The vandals, according to the spokesman of one of the security outfits, Mr Lateef Lawal, were arrested at Amere village, one of points where the company guards.

He alleged that the suspects had loaded a Nissan cab with registration number, KNN368XA, with seven 50 litres plastic kegs.

“They were already escaping with their loot, when they were accosted by our security men at about 5.00pm.

The suspects, the cab used for the illegal opera-

Two pipeline vandals arrested at Mosimi tion and the kegs of looted fuel were later handed over to the Chief Security Officer (CSO) of NNPC at Mosinmi, where they would transfer them to the Sagamu Police Station for further interrogation after which they would be handed over to the Ogun State Police Command, Eleweran, Abeokuta.

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26

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Education Times Æ s

International Students and Xenophobia in South Africa Tunde Atobatele A 300 level law student at the Monash University, South Africa, Grace Williams recently declared that “I Love South Africa, it is very cool here, with fascinating landscape, mountains and wild life”. However, amidst all these great feelings for South Africa, the Nigerian Student was also quick to say, “Studying in South Africa since the first break out of xenophobia in 2008, is becoming increasingly more dangerous ”.

Notwithstanding these beautiful notable features that inter-

est all other African countries about South Africa, among which are the physical and environmental aesthetics, as stated

by Williams, the cost of education in the country is also one of the attractions that endear foreigners to the country. At South African Universities, foreign student pays lesser than what are obtainable in Britain or America, infact, almost one third lesser, Also, is the consideration of proximity to students’ native home, which forms a major concern for seeking formal education in South Africa by fellow Africans. In the words of Wil-

UJ students stand together against the slew of xenophobic attacks plaguing South Africa.

Xenophobic Attacks In South Africa

liams, “When I first arrived here in South Africa, I quickly fell for the serenity of the learning environments and the regular amenities like good roads, and 24 hour electricity services.”

“Our School fees as foreign students also are very competitive compared to other European Countries”. She concluded.

However the recent xenophobic attack in South Africa has eroded all these attractions, as many foreign students in the country are now living with fears of further attack and possible maltreatment on their various campuses.

According to Jide Owoye, a

200 level medical student at the University of Cape town who spoke on phone that, foreign students, particularly the brilliant ones amongst contemporaries, are now afraid of attacks, and maltreatment even in the hands of South African lecturers and supervisors.

His words, “following the recent Xenophobic attacks in South Africa, we, the foreign students are now very cautious and exercise a lot of restrain both within and outside our various campuses. Even the brilliant ones among us know they have to be very careful in the exhibition of their brilliance in the lecture rooms” Owoye said.

Since, part of the causes that sparked the latest attacks were linked to the fact that, the foreigners were doing better than the native South Africans in all endeavors, the foreigners get jobs during interviews, they are the better students in academics, their businesses blossom, all seemingly at the expensive of South Africans, who feel largely, deprived in their father’s land. §However, Owoye, while narrating some of the inherent benefits the country, south Africa, gains from foreigners had to declare that, “the home lads soon forget or have chosen to ignore the immeasurable supports of foreigners to the south African economy, we pay our taxes and in the education sector, we pay almost twice than the native students ” he affirmed.

These recent attacks which the whole would describes as a travesty, claimed some lives and led to an unprecedented looting and destruction of properties, owned by foreigners, has even turned a new but sad

development, as countries like Zimbabwe, Zambia have evacuated their willing citizens from the country, which experts say would impact negatively on the students for whom such evacuation is inevitable.

Owoeye, who said his assertion were based on his day to day experience as a foreign student in the university said, a lot of foreign students are also considering leaving the country.

And in another twist to the ugly dimension, a somewhat diplomatic row is gradually snowballing between Nigeria and South Africa, owing to the recall of Nigerian Ambassador to South Africa. The Nigeria action has been condemned by their South African Counterpart, describing it as regrettable and unnecessary.

Though in a recent agitation that erupted after the xenophobic violence, the education sector in South Africa has come out clearly in full supports of international students and academics. There have been heavy verbal attacks against the inhuman acts, calling it immoral and indecent by the South African Universities and Higher Education Associations .Also, there have been a series of antixenophobia protests on university campuses around the country.

Incidentally the education sector in South Africa has started recording and counting the losses, being an aftermath effect of the xenophobia violence. The University communities and the ministries of Higher Education and science and technology have officially said the attacks have exposed gaps in research into xenophobia.

27

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Inside Campus Æ s

Inside Campus Editor: Mutiat Alli mutiat.alli@dailytimes.com.ng

Invest in Agro -entrepreneurship, don urges students, others

Meet Unilag Best graduating student Mutiat Alli

Akinpelumi Korede

21-year-old Chemical Engineering student, Akinpelumi Korede, has emerged the overall best graduating student of the University of Lagos in the 2013/2014 academic session graduating with a total Cumulative Grade Point Average of 4.96. Akinpelumi was awarded the laurel at the convocation ceremony held Tuesday at the University main campus in Lagos.

Akinpelumi emerge the best amongst the total of 125 students of the total 10,600 graduating students for the 2014 session that finished in the First Class Division.

Recalling his moment in the university, Akinpelumi disclosed that due to his age, he got admitted through the foundation programme of the institution in 2010/2011 academic session and ever since he was determined to come out at the end in flying colours. The Ondo

state born student who lost his father last August is a lover and champion of chess game.

All through his sojourn in the university, genius as he is called by friends, had a total of 49As and only three Bs all through his academic session. He was a registered student with matriculation number 100401013.

Other awardees at the ceremony include Sedan Shittu of the Department of Finance who emerged the second best graduating student with a CGPA of 4.91, Dr. Isaac Akpan, with the thesis entitled: “ Processing and Characterisation of Selected Biodegradable Fibre-PLA Composites,’’ who emerged the best Doctorate student.

Speaking at the event, the Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Rahamon Bello, emphasised UNILAG’s resolve to continue to produce quality first class graduates capable of competing favourably with their counterparts in any part of the world.

Izedonmi

Eddy Uwoghiren UNIBEN Students and civil servants have been called upon to invest in Agro entreprenuership among other areas as a way of stemming rising unemployment in the country Prof. Famous Izedonmi, a professor of Accounting in the University of Benin, Edo State gave the charge at the 155th inaugural lecture series of the institution held at the Akin Deko Auditorium with the theme, “If You Want To Be Poor, Be an Employee only: An Accountants perspective of wealth creation,” Delivering the lecture, Izedonmi stated that paid employment as people believed is not in the equation of wealth creation.

While calling on civil servants to invest part of their current income in viable shares, fixed deposits, agro-entrepreneurship, he said that lack of information

Proper management, way forward for Nigerian economy Mohammed Suuru Abdullahi It is high time to discuss the economy of Nigeria that has affected all the nooks and cranny of the country.

Nigeria, the home of natural resources in the whole West Africa is in state of unstable economy or economic downturn as a result of some politicians who see the country’s economy as a means of enriching themselves which in return leads to underdevelopment of the country.

However, the tradition of sending our endowed natural resources to developed countries to help us to modernize them for final consumption is a major factor of unstable economy which makes life unbearable for most citizens of Nigeria especially the proletariat.

In our environment, there is and there would be for a long time to come much that is ugly and distasteful if Nigeri-

ans fails to realise that proper management of our natural resources is paramount in all our endeavours.

It is the mismanagement of our resources that leads to the economic scarcity in the country. We are in the period of economic uncertainty, that is, the period of chaos and opportunities and in a situation of uncertainty such as we are now, the level of risk is higher, hence investors should be cautious and if care is not taken, uncertain economic times can bring one down along with the market.

To move our society from the present economic uncertainty to future economic satisfaction, it is highly suggested that Nigerian government should continue to strive hard by putting both strategic plans and statistics in order to improve local productivity.

If proper attention is given to what we produce locally by the

government of the day, there is ninety percent assurance that our economy will increase and change positively and as a result, there will be improvement in the lifestyle and living condition of the entire citizens in Nigeria and abroad.

In line with this, local production will never be achieved without paying much attention on agricultural sector simply because agriculture is the root source of any production.

Several countries of the world are expecting Nigeria to be producing different kinds of products from different parts of the country because of our natural resources but unfortunately, we are ‘‘killing the goose that lays the golden eggs’’; that is to say, we are sacrificing the future needs for immediate wants.

To change the living condition of our people, we must have entrepreneurs of different interests and for this to

happen, the importance of conducive environment for businesses cannot be over-emphasized So with this, I want to seize this opportunity to implore the President-elect, Major-General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) to embark on the journey of ‘‘positive change’’ in all aspects of his administration which most citizens of Nigeria expect.

Finally, the vision and mission of any government of the day to improve the economic conditions and eradicate extreme hunger and poverty just to change the living conditions of their people will never be achieved without the strong support of citizens and this implies that both the ruler and the ruled must play their roles to drive the car of their government to the land of success.

Abdullahi is a final year student of Kwara State UniBuhari versity, Malete.

about ways of wealth creation has made many civil servants to leave from hand to mouth.

He further disclosed that it is rather unfortunate that while government at all levels have over the years been consciously and unconsciously promoting and pursuing anti-workers wealth policies that have resulted in an army of poor employees and retirees, tertiary institutions in the country on the other hand are collectively breeding an army of job seeking graduates majority of whom are unemployable, underemployed, unemployed and have also inherited poverty.

In his recommendation, Izedonmi called for proper skills acquisition programme for graduates while still in universities, proper attitudinal orientation of youth to avoid overdependence on the government for job and mass education of employees to avoid operating on a single source of income.

28

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, April 29, 2015

&

Industry TECHNOLOGY Issues

By MOSES OWOLABI, mosesowolabi2005@yahoo.com; 08053064507(sms only)

Timessearch e-mail: oyin_K@yahoo.com 08055103156

Educate me on retirement benefits •••I

would want to know what happens to the retirement benefits of an employee who is already under a pension scheme existing before the commencement of the new pension scheme.

I would also want to know how the Federal Government would fund the redemption bonds, as well as the accrued benefits.

Mumunni Abba, P.O. Box 2210 Gamji Sokoto State

Abdu Bulama

NASENI in the national innovation system •••The least the new government can

do for Nigerians is to free them totally of the burden of Federal Ministry of Science & Technology and letting NASENI take over the ministry’s duties.

NASENI has very important roles to play in building the fledgling innovation system in Nigeria. National Innovation System ensures that innovations and inventions eventually reach the market place unlike what happens now when they end up on the shelf.

Two major challenges often faced by innovators and inventors are finances for the commercialisation process and infrastructure to mass produce for the market, especially in the case of engineering products.

As from around 1994, when the Centre for Automotive Design & Development (CADD), Zaria started thinking seriously about commercialising its prototypes, one of the challenges it faced was that of lack of heavy-duty press to stamp body parts of the vehicles. Tours were undertaken round the country to see if there was adequate engineering infrastructure to support the project. Only Ajaokuta Steel Company had something near the required capacity. This, eventually, made the centre to decide on using fibre glass, instead of sheet metal, for the body panels of its prototypes.

At that time, NASENI was still very young and still trying to find its feet.

But even now, two decades later, as a result of unwarranted change in status, the agency cannot be said to have what it takes to successfully contribute its quota as a part of the system.

Therefore, it’s our humble submission that If our country is to move forward and become a technology giant, the government should implement the NASENI blueprint to the letter. Implementing it half measure (by taking NASENI to the Presidency while the ministry is retained) will only serve self interests, whereas the national interest should supersede personal interests.

On its own part, NASENI should self- audit and see where it had missed it and make amends. For example, instead of dabbling into production of consumer products, it should concentrate on provision of infrastructure and the use of reverse engineering in making machines used in producing other machines! To illustrate, although the temptation may be there to dabble into plastic products manufacturing, NASENI shouldn’t do it, not even to make plastic extruders (machines used in making plastic items) but rather make machines for making extruders!

Sarah ODEDE

At the National Pension Commission (NPC), Maitama District, Abuja, the enquiries of Mumunni Abba were taken up with a top official of the commission who revealed that employee’s right to accrued retirement benefits for the previous years he/she has been in employment is guaranteed by the Pension Reform Act 2004.

In case of the public service of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, where pension scheme was unfunded, the right would be acknowledged through the issuance of a “Federal Government Retirement Bond,” to such employee. The bond will be redeemable upon retirement of the employee.”

The official added that the Federal Government has established a Retirement Benefit Bond Redemption Fund Account in the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

In the case of funded pension schemes in the public service of the federation and the private sector, employers shall undertake actuarial valuation of the employee’s accrued benefits and credit the Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) of its employees with such funds and in the event of any deficiency, the shortfall shall become a debt and shall be treated with same priority as salaries owed.

The employer shall also issue a written acknowledgment of the debt and take steps to meet the shortfall.

“Pension Boards in the private sector existing before the coming into force of the Pension Reform Act 2004 will continue to administer the pensions of the existing pensioners and the National Pensions Commission (NPC) will supervise such boards,” the official said.

However, on the Public Service, the official said that the Pension Departments had been created to carry out the functions of the relevant pension boards or offices in the public service of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory with a view to making regular and prompt payment of pension to existing pensioners.

What’s NOUN all about?

•••

This letter is my second attempt at contacting TIMESEARCH to please help throw more light on the issue of the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN) and how I can benefit from it because I am still eager to study.

My enquiries border on how to receive lectures from the university, when was its last convocation, and I would also want to know more about the university generally before applying.

Christopher Uvoribe P.O. Box 33218 Effurun Delta State At the National Open University of Nigeria Office, Victoria Island, Lagos, Uvoribe’s enquiries were tabled before one of the top officials who craved anonymity.

The official had this to say, “January this year, made it the third convocation of the university. “In the open university system, you do not need lecturers for every course.

All you need is to get people to write the course material.”

According to the official, the former Vice Chancellor of NOUN and Secretary to the Kogi State Government, Professor Olugbemiro Jegede, brought the best lecturers from universities in Nigeria to write the course materials, which the university started on.

“When you have that, what you need is your satellite system. We had already started using the satellite when NICOMSAT was launched and was working. The Obasanjo government decided that we were going to use two areas to test if our communication satellite was working. They used tele-medicine and tele-education.”

“In tele-medicine, they connected several hospitals, while for tele-education, they gave , NOUN to us and we connected 15 of our study centres.”

According to the official, 2008 was the first time NOUN had e-examination all over Nigeria. People said it could not be done, and we insisted it could be done. The Vice Chancellor at that time made it possible, by challenging himself and Nigeria, and today, it is on record that we “NOUN” were the first in Africa to conduct e-examination in 40 study centres all over Nigeria for all our students.

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Features Æ s Tension in Benue over first class chieftains

29

Features Editor: Gbubemi God’s Covenant Snr. E–mail: gbubemi.godscovenantsnr@dailytimes.com.ng

Last minute moves by outgoing Governor of Benue State to impose First Class Chiefs before leaving office on May 29th is causing a stir in government house.

FREDDIE ADAMGBE reports from Makurdi.

Suswam

Ortom

Palpable tension has enveloped Benue State over the planned imposition of First Class Chiefs in the state by the outgoing administration of Governor Gabriel Suswam.

The alarm which was raised yesterday by the Benue State Governor-elect, Chief Samuel Ortom, indicated that the outgoCONTINUED ON PAGE 18

Buhari

Chime

Coal miners at work

MINING INDUSTRY OF NIGERIA:

Our generation is pinning away – Coal miners lament At one time the lifeline of people of the SouthEastern Nigeria, fortunes of the coal mining industry, along with other precious stones, dimmed drastically after the discovery of oil in early 1960. Miners made redundant by the oil boom that displaced the coal business, many of whom are in their 80s and 90s lament the tragedy that befell them shortly after the Nigeria attained her independence.

Why mining dwindled Daily Times investigation showed that Nigeria was a major producer of tin, columbite and coal from the 1940s, but after the boom of the 1960s, mining of minerals generally dropped to only 0.3% of the gross domestic product (GDP), leading to importation of minerals that could otherwise been produced in abundance locally.

The Nigerian civil war did not help matters as it led many expatriate mining experts to leave the country. Abandoned mineral cadas-

tres in the Northern states and in Plateau State is full of abandoned mining sites, some since the independence.

Environmental officials with the government of Plateau state believe that over 1,100 tin and columbite mines, abandoned after the mining boom of the 1960s, now pose serious health risks to as many as 2 million people living in the area.

Radioactive mine tailings were reported to be a danger to local people living around mining fields in Jos, Barikin-Ladi, Bukur, Bassa and Ri-

yom districts.

In Bauchi State up from Jos, over 800 mining sites abandoned since the civil war also pose serious health and environmental problems in all the mining towns and villages stretching from Zalau Rishi to Rishi, a border town with Kaduna state.

Historically, Nigeria’s mining industry was monopolised by stateowned public corporations. This led to a decline in productivity in CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

Features 30

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Mechanised mining wil restore the coal industry – Shehu CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17

almost all mineral industries; the Obasanjo led administration started a process of selling off government owned corporations to private investors in 1999, compounding the woes of local mining workers in the country.

Memories of forceful disengagement still hunts mine workers evicted from their quarters after the civil war. One of the miners made redundant without pay at the famous Iva mine, octogenarian, Nze Nwokoye, told Daily Times in Ihunoma village, Enugu how Enugu State government forcefully evicted retired mine workers without providing alternative accommodation for them and without paying their severance pay.

“We were not given any notice; one day bulldozers came and destroyed what have been our homes since our young days. They didn’t care where we went or what happened to us. It was horrible.

“They promised to reinstate us when government begins to generate 1,000 megawatt of electric light from coal, but that was a lie. Akuko (story!).”

A new hope in mining Following up on the electioneering promises of President-elect, General Muhamadu Buhari during his campaign in Enugu prior to the election, the Miners Association of Nigeria (MAN), has reminded the incoming government of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) of his promise to prioritise development of the solid mineral sector.

Speaking in Abuja last week, MAN President, Alhaji Sani Shehu said the association was optimistic that Buhari would fulfill his presidential camptaign promise to develop the sector for economic diversification and job creation.

Benue state is neck-deep in debt – Ortom

The APC presidential candidate had said he would bank on huge coal deposits located at Amasiodo, Inyi and Leje axis of Enugu coal belt to generate 1,000 megawatt of electric power and export coal from the region.

At the campaign which took place at Enugu West APC Zonal Rally held in Orie, Awgu Market, Awgu Local Government Area of the state, Buhari had promised he would, if elected president, award contract for mining and construction of coal-fired-power-plant. In his words, “We believe that coal is the most abundant fossil fuel in Enugu State and Enugu Coal is one of the most qualitative brands in the world, which means that while some are used to generate electricity, some will be exported.”

A member of the campaign team had told the mammoth crowd at the rally that an APC led federal government if elected will cash in and use the coal industry to drive economic expansion that would ultimately lead to higher levels of social and economic well being for the South-East and to Nigerians in general.

The MAN president also stressed the need for the incoming government to urgently diversify from its mono to multi-economy through development of the coal and other solid mineral sector.

“Forty four minerals have been discovered in commercial quantity across the country, so the priority of the new government is to develop industrial, metallic and energy minerals.”

Shehu listed minerals the government should focus upon to include gold, iron ore, coal, limestone, kaolin, lead/zinc, bitumen, cassiterite, columbite and copper. He concluded that the development of the solid minerals sector could only

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17

ing administration has prompted the traditional institution to rush into the appointment of First Class Chiefs.

Suswam’s intention, it was revealed is to present them with the staff of office before May 29th 2015 handover which the incoming government considered unacceptable on the grounds that the state is at the moment in huge debt and budget deficit.

According to the Governor-

Entrance to abandoned coal mine in Enugu be achieved through the encouragement of mechanised mining of industrial minerals by local industries.

Daily Times investigation revealed that intellectual debates, party politics and arguments have hindered the progress of the coal industry since the end of the civil war.

It would be recalled that organised mining began in 1903 when the Mineral Survey of the Northern Protectorates was created by the British colonial government.

A year later, the Mineral Survey of the Southern Protectorates was founded.

Bottlenecks Rights to ownership of mineral resources is held by the Nigerian government, which grants titles to organizations to explore, mine, and sell mineral resources. But under the old regime prior to 2006, the MCO operated under the mines department, not as an autonomous body.

The mines department at that

elect, whose speech was presented during a media briefing by the Deputy Governor Elect, Engr Benson Abounu, ‘’there is ongoing massive recruitment in government ministries, parastatals and agencies with indiscriminate promotions going on with backdated or documented as replacement warning that beneficiaries of the fraud or those used to perpetrate the illegality will have to face the consequences when the new government takes off.’’

The Governor Elect reasoned

Coal mine chart time concurrently supervised mining activities, which was characterised by a multiplicity of functions; outdated mineral titles that rendered the entire cadastre system opaque; and the issuance of mining

rights without recourse to the Mining Act. Thus, the Nigerian mining cadastre was symbolised by policy inconsistency, where the policy makers had undue regard for the law.

that the primary objective at the moment should have been to offset salaries and allowances owed the civil servants to stabilise for a smooth take over, but the Suswam led administration has rather resulted to compound the problem after literally grounding the state.

According to Chief Ortom, ‘’the outgoing Governor had agreed to stay action on the conduct of local government elections, put aside the idea of recruitment into the public service and discontinue the process

of appointing more traditional rulers because of the huge financial implication; but instead he reneged on the same issue days later.’’

While warning officials used in perpetrating the evil as well as beneficiaries of the fraud to be cautious, Chief Ortom appealed that all matters that can possibly implicate the outgoing government in financial terms should be put on hold even though the incoming government holds the traditional institution in high esteem.

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday, April 29, 2015

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Another approach to the South African attacks

Bola Ahmed Tinubu

•••

MINING INDUSTRY OF NIGERIA: Our generation is pining away P29

The destructive attacks in South Africa on Nigerians and other subSaharan Africans are tragic and mindlessly wrong.

The assaults sorely bruise the objective of inter-African harmony. They also put an eraser to the idyll of progress and domestic tranquility many people saw when gazing at South Africa. The xenophobia is actually a lethal show of misdirected angry. The attacks point to deep, underlying ruptures within the South African political economy that actually have little to do with the presence of Nigerians or other Black Africans in that nation. Nigerians have become scapegoats in a fundamentally domestic struggle.

The Black populace is

roiling because their economic plight has worsened since the end of apartheid.

If prosperity had come to them, they would not have come to this. The political and economic accommodation between the traditionally White-controlled economic superstructure and the post-Mandela Black political elite is under challenge. This model of governance has failed to make adequate provision for the bulk of the Black population. Due to his unique status, Mandela was able to give the Black population succor and hope while counseling them patience. That great man is no longer there.

Gone with him is the succor he gave and apparently the patience of the people. South Africans thus lashed out in frustration.

They attacked Nigerians and other Africans not so much because our people were the cause of their woes. They attacked our people because they could do so much easier than they could attack the actual sources of their ire and economic predicament.

It is easier to destroy the wares of the local shopkeeper than to change the

political economy. The former merely requires an eruption of anger; the latter requires sustained political organization, vision and dedication. Thus, although they want political economic reform, all they did was to attack nonSouth Africans who provided goods and services to them at the neighborhood level.

While the government of South Africa may be questioned about its continued adherence to a political economic model that appears to have exceeded its best-use date, it is completely wrong to say the South African government had even a hand in instigating the unrest.

Thus, recalling the Nigerian High Commissioner is inappropriate and counterproductive. Instead of pulling the diplomat, Nigeria should name a high-level special envoy to visit the nation and engage directly with President Zuma. Nigeria should also send an Interagency Coordinated Action Team (ICAT) to South Africa to complement enhance efforts to provide consular services, liaison with police and security and ensure that af-

fected Nigerians receive proper restitution.

We should also talk to major South Africa businesses resident in Nigeria.

It would help douse tensions and ill will here if they announced a plan to contribute to the restitution of affected Nigerians.

Some observers have questioned the swiftness and efficiency of the South African government’s response to the mayhem.

Such is their right to do so. However, the South African government did not cause the problem. They had no reason for it. To blame the government is to increase tension and confusion, not douse them.

Recall of an envoy is usually prompted by an adverse act by the host government itself. It is not good practice to recall a High Commissioner for a tragedy the host government could not have prevented and one for which its appears to be working in good faith to end.

The recent social upheaval should be likened more to a natural disaster as the government had no proximate control over its eruption. To recall our High Commissioner might

satisfy our sense of outrage; it would do little else, however. The move implicitly signals to the South African government that we blame it for causing the outburst or for being negligent in the aftermath.

Such a move would make it harder to encourage the South African government to act as we would like toward affected Nigerians.

The more we diminish our presence is the more we diminish the daily pressure on the government in Pretoria. The more we diminish the pressure is the less we can positively influence that government’s action. Pulling our envoy decreases not increases our diplomatic leverage in this particular circumstance.

Also, much of the world and many Nigerians in South Africa will perceive the move negatively; they will think we are abandoning our citizens during the height of their travail.

This might demoralize them to a material degree.

The absence of the High Commissioner for an appreciable period of time will undermine the efficacy of our diplomatic mission at the moment when that mission should be do-

ing its utmost for that segment of our Diaspora in South Africa.

A more constructive step would be to designate a presidential special envoy to liaise directly with President Zuma and appropriate cabinet-level officials in South Africa.

The official should be a well-known statesman preferably with a prior relationship with President Zuma. A former head of state or someone like former Commonwealth Secretary Anyaoku would be ideal for the position.

This step would underscore Nigeria’s concerns for its citizens abroad. It would also signal to the South Africans that this episode cannot simply be left to fade into memory as has happened in the past.

The envoy would press to ensure that adequate security is availed the Nigerian community to prevent further incidents this time of tension.

...Excerpted from a statement issued by Asiwaju Tinubu, the national leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), on Tuesday

Published by FOLIO COMMUNICATIONS LTD, Lateef Jakande Road, Agidingbi, Ikeja. website: www.dailytimes.com.ng; email: info@dailytimes.com.ng. Tel: 018447948. EDITOR: YINKA OLUJIMI News Hotlines: 08138773277, 08173901838. Advert Hotlines: 08169118913, 08075038528

Iheanacho

Poster!

cleared to join U-20

ADAM SCOTT

g X3

g X4,5 Wednesday, April 29, 2015

I S S ME S Y A S , E K I L D IS GO

Beckenbauer

g X2

Shut up...

O H N I R U MO g

X8

tells critics

X2

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

EXTRATIME

Chukwu warns Keshi Mike Otanwa

F

ormer Nigeria national team coach, Christian Chukwu, has warned returning Super Eagles coach Stephen Keshi to make the most of his second stint in charge.

He said, Keshi had made a lot of mistakes with the team, and must look to avoiding same mistakes this time.

“Keshi made a lot of mistakes in the past and now that he has returned I hope he had learnt from them. It is not easy being the Super Eagles coach trust me and I know you made some mistakes”, he said.

“Now that you have returned, you have to make things right. You have to avoid making same mistakes again, because you may never have another chance, so he has to make sure he doesn’t fall the same place twice,” he admonished.

Reds lead race to sign Moses

Liverpool are reportedly desperate to beat a host of clubs including Tottenham and Fenerbache in the race to sign Gent 19-year-old Nigerian international Moses Simon.

It was gathered that the Nigerian is a part of Brendan Rodgers summer plans that also include a raid for Aston Villa Christian Benteke, Danny Ings of Burnley and Memphis Depay of PSV. However, according to reports in Turkey, they face competition for the services of the 19-year-old who has been capped twice at senior level by Nigeria from the likes of Fenerbache and Tottenham but presently the youngster is rumoured to be close to Liverpool than the aforementioned duo.

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Eguma throws

down gauntlet at Egwim As the 2015 Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) continues, and they hope to make a better impact on the season gathers momentum, Dolphins coach, Stanley Eguma, has boasted that Ifeanyi Egwim can be a 20-goal striker this season.

“It is something that has to do with hard work. I believe that Egwim has the potential and all that it takes to score 20 goals but you cannot do that unless you work hard and that is the challenge that has been given to him,” Eguma added.

The striker has just a solitary strike in the league this season, against Rangers in the 1-0 win recorded last week, but Eguma says, following the trend, his striker can grab 20 goals at the very least.

Mass exodus hits Newcastle

A

frica stars, Papiss Cisse and Cheick Tiote, are among 14 players reportedly set to leave Newcastle United at the end of the season.

The West African duo have been key performers for the Magpies in recent years, but with the club in the process of an

overhaul they are keen on moving onto greener pastures. United have also suffered seven straight defeats in the Premier League.

Tiote, 28, Cisse, 29, along with Dutch goalkeeper Tim Krul and French midfielder Moussa Sissoko, are angling for moves away from St James Park in the European summer.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

EXTRATIME

FEDERATION WATCH

X3

WITH OSARETIN EMUZE

Enyeama

Girard defends

Flying Eagles team

Enyeama in PSG’s rout Stories: Mike Otanwa

L

ille’s trainer Rene Girard has insisted that Nigerian goalkeeper, Vincent Enyeama, was not to blame for the 1-6 loss to PSG in Ligue 1 over the weekend.

Enyeama made just one save all game as Les Parisiens scored from six of the seven attempts they mustered on target.

It was an evening to forget for the Nigerian shot-stopper, who endured the nadir when PSG’s

marksman, Edinson Cavani, chipped nonchalantly past him to make it 2-0 in the fourth minute prompting the shell-shocked 34-year-old to call for a change of gloves.

It did not translate to a change in fortunes for Enyeama as he shipped in four more goals as his side suffered their heaviest defeat of the season.

Girard has now moved to offer words of comfort for his Nigerian charge, insisting that the Nigerian was not responsible for the heavy defeat.

FA Cup M Win:

Adarabioyo

lauds

Solanke

andAina

anchester City U-18 skipper, Tosin Adarabioyo, has proven not to be a sore loser and has lauded Chelsea for winning the FA Youth Cup for the second year in a row.

The England youth international was one of the five Nigerian-born players that were handed starting spots along with teammate Kelechi Iheanacho and Chelsea trio Dominic Solanke, Ola Aina and Fikayo Tomori. ‘’Massive congratulations to Chelsea. They have very good players, performed well and scored the goals so well done to them,’’ Tosin Adarabioyo said.

Having said that, the AngloNigerian has praised his teammates for not throwing in the towel despite losing the first leg 3-1.

Iheanacho

cleared to join U-20

Iheanacho

O

n a personal level, Manchester City’s teenage sensation Kelechi Iheanacho silenced his critics following his immaculate display against Chelsea’s U-18 squad in the final of the FA Youth Cup. And no wonder the Nigeria youth international celebrated his fifth minute goal at Stamford Bridge by putting a finger to his mouth, a sign to any doubting Thomas to

‘shut up’.

Prior to the contest in London, there had been speculations that the Taye Academy pupil would not be fit for this summer’s FIFA U-20 World Cup due to an ankle injury.

Having come through the game against the Chelsea U-18s unscathed, Kelechi Iheanacho’s management team has said that he will link up with the Flying Eagles at their training camp in Germany.

WYC:

F/Eagles may depart for Germany today

F

oreign invited professionals of the Nigeria U-20 team has been given Friday to turn up at the camp according to the team secretary, Ibrahim Aliyu Auwal.

Aliyu said, the team, which will hopefully depart for Germany on Wednesday (today), will be camped in Nuremburg and all invited foreign players are expected to join them ahead of the World Youth Championship (WYC).

However, following doubts that some players might not be released by their professional sides Aliyu said the team will meet on Friday after their arrival in Germany to set a deadline for the invited foreign based players.

“We will set a deadline on Friday and stand by it as we will be flexible to all of the players in our decision,” he said “We might consider different dates for the players based on the demands of their various teams as already some teams have made it known they will release their players mainly based on their position in their leagues we have to respect that.

X4

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

EXTRATIME

CHAMPIONSHIP PERFORMANCES

(Top 20 finishes) US Masters: Winner 2013, 2nd= 2011, 8th.= 2012, 9th= 2002, 14th= 2014, 18th= 2010.

US Open: 9th= 2014, 15th= 2012.

Open: 2nd. 2012, 3rd.= 2013, 5th = 2014, 8th= 2006, 16th= 2008.

PGA: 3rd= 2006, 5th. = 2013, 9th= 2004, 8th. 2011, 12th= 2007, 15th. = 2014.

PROFESSIONAL CAREER Total Victories: 21

PGA Tour Victories:

10 (2003 Deutsche Bank Championship. 2004 THE PLAYERS Championship, Booz Allen Classic. 2006 THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola. 2007 Shell Houston Open. 2008 EDS Byron Nelson Championship. 2010 Valero Texas Open. 2011 World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational. 2013 Masters Tournament, The Barclays.)

International Victories:

11 (2001 Alfred Dunhill PGA Championship [SAf]. 2002 Qatar Masters [Eur], Gleneagles Scottish PGA Championship [Eur]. 2003 Scandic Carlsberg Scandinavian Masters [Eur]. 2005 Singapore Open [Asia], Johnnie Walker Classic [Eur]. 2006 Singapore Open [Asia]. 2008 Commercialbank Qatar Masters [Eur].

2009 Australian Open [Aus]. 2010 Barclays Singapore Open [Asia]. 2012 Talisker Masters [Aus].)

Major Victories: 1 (2013 Masters)

PLAYER NOTES

•Adam Scott was born in Adelaide, South Australia, and moved with his family at the age of 9 to the Sunshine Coast, Queensland. They settled on the Gold Coast, Queensland in 1993. Initially at The Southport School, an Anglican boys’ school on the Gold Coast, Scott completed his high school education at The Kooralbyn International School, also on the Gold Coast, where he undertook extra subjects in golf. He was a member of the Golf Australia National Squad. He later attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

•Scott turned professional midway through the 2000 season after some impressive performances early in the year on the European Tour. He earned his card for the 2001 European Tour season in just eight starts as a professional, his best result being a tie for sixth at the Linde German Masters. Scott also made a handful of appearances on the PGA Tour but made only one cut in six events.

•Scott’s playing career took off in 2001, his first full year as a professional golfer, when he won the European Tour’s Alfred Dunhill Championship in Johannesburg, South Africa, for his very first professional title. This event was Scott’s first start of the year and was co-sanctioned by the European and Sunshine Tours. He beat Justin Rose to the title by one stroke. Scott had three other top-3 finishes throughout the season and went on to finish 13th in the Order of Merit in his first season.

•The following year in 2002, Scott enjoyed a very successful season, with two emphatic victories on the European Tour and a final position of seventh on the Order of Merit. His first win of the year was a six-shot victory at the Qatar Masters. Later in the year, Scott obliterated the field in the Scottish PGA Championship, shooting a final round of 63 to win by ten shots. This is still the biggest ever margin of victory he has achieved in his career. In between these victories, Scott made his debut at the Masters Tournament, where he finished a very respectable tied 9th.

•At the 2013 Masters Tournament, Scott emerged from the chasing pack on the final day to enter into a tie for the lead heading into the 72nd hole. Scott proceeded to birdie the 18th from a considerable distance, prompting wild celebrations as he looked to have won the title. However, former champion Ángel Cabrera produced an excellent approach and subsequently also birdied the 72nd hole to tie Scott for the lead at -9, leading to a sudden-death playoff. Both players parred the first hole, the par-4 18th, with Cabrera inches away from birdie. On the second hole, the par-4 10th, Cabrera once again missed his birdie putt by inches, leaving Scott a 12-foot birdie putt for the championship, which Scott holed. It was Scott’s first major championship and marked the first time an Australian has won the Masters. It was also seen by many as redemption for his failure to win the previous year’s Open Championship, where he lost a four-shot lead with four holes to play. His Masters victory moved him to No. 3 in the world golf ranking, equalling his career high ranking.

•Scott had a disappointing 2013 U.S. Open, finishing in a tie for 45th place. He rebounded with another strong showing at the Open Championship, taking a onestroke lead heading into the back nine on the final day before eventually finishing in a tie for third. In the final major of 2013, the PGA Championship, Scott finished in a tie for fifth.

PERSONAL INFORMATION Full name: Adam Scott Age: 33 Hometown: Crans-Montana, Switzerland Birthplace: Adelaide, South Australia, Australia Birthdate: July 16, 1980 College: University of Nevada, Las Vegas Turned Professional: Height: Weight:

2000 6 ft, 0 in 180 lbs

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

EXTRATIME

ADAM

SC TT

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Wednesday, April 29, 2015

EXTRATIME

Messi

Is god-like, says

Beckenbauer B

ayern Munich and Germany legend Franz Beckenbauer has labelled Barcelona star Lionel Messi “godlike” and believes the Catalans hopes of success this season rest on his shoulders.

The 27-year-old has recovered from a disappointing end to 2014 to inspire his side to a fine run of form domestically and in Europe to leave the club challenging for silverware on three fronts.

Barca lead La Liga by two points ahead of Real Madrid and face Bayern in the semi-finals of the Champions League, while Athletic Bilbao await in the Copa del Rey final.

Beckenbauer will, of course, hope Messi has a dip in form as his side take on Luis Enrique’s men over two legs, but admitted he is a big admirer of the Argentina international.

He said: “He is a divine player, he is god-like.

The hopes of Barcelona are reliant on Messi.”

The European tie will see Bavarians coach Pep Guardiola face Barca for the first time since leaving the club in 2012 and Beckenbauer believes his knowledge of the club could be key.

“Guardiola knows the ins and outs of Barcelona. He knows the smallest of details that could put Bayern on their way.”

Messi

I I didn’t expect my number 4 to retire –ZANETTI

nter legend and vice president Javier Zanetti expressed his surprise and delight at the club’s recent announcement that his famous number four shirt will be retired The Argentine was speaking ahead of the May 4 ‘Zanetti and Friends’ match at the San Siro that will be held for the PUPI Foundation, and while the 41-year-old admitted he was happy to receive word on the retiring of his number, he was looking forward to the star studded affair in the name of charity.

“I didn’t expect to have my number four shirt retired,” he told reporters at the unveiling of the event at the Palazzo Marino.

“I want to thank president [Erick Thohir] and the Inter family who have also shown my affection. I am really looking forward to this match next Monday, most of all for my foundation.

“There will be a lot of stars, like former AC Milan captain Franco Baresi.

“As soon as they asked me to organize this friendly I said yes, I can’t wait to return to play at the San Siro.”

Kurt

Bundesliga debut unspectacular –Kurt

I

n Saturday’s 1-0 win over Hertha BSC, Bayern Munich’s newest prodigy took the field for his Bundesliga debut. Sinan Kurt made a much publicized €5m transfer from Borussia Mönchengladbach to Bayern Munich last summer and has spent the interim eight months bouncing around between the senior team and the U-19 squad. It was exactly the debut performance you would expect from an 18-year-old: unspectacular.

Coming on at the start of the second half, Sinan Kurt replaced Gianluca Gaudino and slotted in on the right wing while Philipp Lahm moved into central midfield. From that position, Sinan Kurt’s raw statistics look like he performed decently: 28 passes at 93% accuracy, 6 crosses, 1 shot.

It’s an altogether solid looking performance from that angle.

KROENKE increases

Gunners ownership shares

A

rsenal majority shareholder Stan Kroenke has purchased two more shares in the club.

It strengthens his grip on the Gunners, as they bid to try and get back to challenging for the Premier League title again next season.

It has been a decade since they got their hands on the trophy, and Kroenke, along with the rest of the Arsenal board, will reportedly back Arsene Wenger with funds to try and fund a title charge this summer.

They are still very much in the hunt for second spot, despite Sunday’s goalless draw with champions elect Chelsea.

Kroenke has backed Wenger to stay at the helm at the Emirates in the past, and the side’s impressive second half to the season will see him get another crack at the whip next term.

His case will be strengthened further, should they land their second successive FA Cup against Aston Villa in the final next month.

Wednesday, April 29, 2015

EXTRATIME

Cricket:

Zimbabwe considering tour of Pakistan

Z

imbabwe are close to accepting an invitation to play in Pakistan next month in a one-day series that could mark the first visit by a test-playing nation since 2009.

Zimbabwe were keen to undertake the tour but still need to settle financial guarantees and a memoranda of agreement has yet to be signed,

Zimbabwe Cricket communication manager Lovemore Banda said from Harare.

“We are still talking but hope that it can be finalised anytime from now. We need to agree matters with Pakistan and also have to get our own players to agree as well,” he said.

Zimbabwean media reported that players were seeking as much as

$10,000 per man to tour to Pakistan where security concerns have stopped international teams from touring since March 2009 when Sri Lankan cricketers and officials were attacked by gunmen in Lahore.

Foreign teams have shunned Pakistan since the attack, in which six Pakistani policemen were killed, meaning they have had to play their “home” matches at neutral venues,

Swimming:

Phelps to set up camp in Arizona

E

ighteen-time Olympic gold medallist Michael Phelps is following his long-term swimming coach Bob Bowman to Arizona.

The 29-year-old - who won six of his 22 Olympic medals at London 2012, four gold and two silver - revealed in a series of tweets he is to make Arizona State University his base ahead of next year’s Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Phelps previously worked with Bowman at the North Baltimore Aquatic Club.

Athletics:

Phelps tweeted: “I am pumped for Bob, this is a great opportunity for him and I know he will be successful in building a great program at ASU. “He has been there for me throughout my career and he will always be my coach.

“I’ll continue to train under him in Arizona and look forward to following the training program we have set in place as we work towards 2016.”

Phelps announced his retirement from competitive swimming following the London Games but confirmed his return to the pool in April 2014.

Golf: Tough WGCCadillac draw for McIlroy

W

orld number one and WGC-Cadillac Match Play top-seed Rory McIlroy has been drawn in a difficult group with three Americans at this week’s tournament at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco.

The Northern Irishman is joined in group one by 2014 FedEx Cup champion Billy Horschel, 2012 FedEx Cup winner Brandt Snedeker and 2013 US PGA Champion Jason Dufner.

The tournament has a new format this year, with 16 groups of four and one winner from each group advancing to the knockout stages after the round-robin games between today-Friday.

Group two contains recent Masters winner Jordan Spieth and Lee Westwood, while elsewhere Bubba Watson has been drawn in a heavyweight group four with Louis Oosthuizen, Keegan Bradley and Miguel Angel Jimenez.

McIlroy

Mokoena

‘Croc’ promises more bite

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aking inspiration from legendary jumpers Carl Lewis and Mike Powell, South African champion Khotso Mokoena wants to prolong his career in the jumps.

According to the City Press website, the 30-year-old had initially hinted at hanging up his spikes after next year’s Olympic Games, but he believes he still has years of high-level competition left.

“It was my plan (to retire) but now I’m back on my horse and I’ll push it like Lewis and Powell. I’m actually at my peak now and I can go on for the next four years,” said Mokoena, who defended his national triple jump title at the SA Senior Track and Field Championships last weekend.

Americans Lewis and Powell were long jump rivals in the late 1980s and continued to battle each other through much of the 1990s.

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Wednesday, April 29, 2015

EXTRATIME

EXTRATIME

CHELSEA

Shut up! or...,

Mourinho tells critics

C

helsea boss Jose Mourinho has taken another swipe at critics labelling his style as “boring” and asked whether they would prefer football on the moon.

Mourinho’s side have all but wrapped up the Premier League title after playing out a dull draw at Arsenal, which kept the Blues’ closest rivals 10 points behind.

The Portuguese was later criticised for his defensive approach, but again hit back at claims that his team plays boring football.

“What is style and flair? The way people analyse that is to take the goals off the pitch,” he said.

“It’s the football they play on the moon and the surface is not good there. Some holes. But no goals.

This comes from managers who can only teach their guys to keep the ball.

ABRAMOVICH

happier with Chelsea

R

oman Abramovich is more than happy with Chelsea’s brand of football, according to Mourinho.

The Blues are 10 points clear at the top of the Premier League following Sunday’s goalless draw at Arsenal and require two more wins to clinch the crown.

Tonight’s trip to Leicester represents their first obstacle and they could confirm their status as champions by making it six points out of six at home to Crystal Palace on Sunday.

However, Mourinho’s decision not to field a recognised striker from the outset at the Emirates saw Gunners supporters label the league leaders as “boring” as they held out for a point.

Mourinho

T

Oscar

FA

he Football Association (FA) are set to review Sunday’s incident which saw Oscar suffer a blow to the head.

The 23 year old took a knock when he ran through on goal and collided with Arsenal goalkeeper David Ospina. The incident happened in the 16 minute but Oscar went on to play until half time.

Chelsea are been criticised following their failure to withdraw the Brazilian straight away and now the FA want to set up new guidelines. Headway, the brain injury charity, are one of the organisations who are advising players not to risk any further injury after suffering a blow to the head.

to investigate Oscar’s head injury

Abramovich

Terry’s best English centre-back –Mourinho

C

helsea boss Jose Mourinho has heaped further praise on captain John Terry by describing him as the best English centre-back of his generation.

The 34-year-old, who was

named in the PFA Team of the Year, has played a key part in the Blues’ charge to the brink of the Premier League title this season.

Mourinho was particularly impressed by Terry’s performance against Arsenal last time out,

which he felt was the defender’s “best” during his time at the club.

Ahead of tonight’s meeting with Leicester City, the Portuguese has now labelled his skipper as being one of the greatest to play the game on these shores.

Costa in fitness battle

C

helsea striker Diego Costa will be given until the very last minute to prove his fitness by the weekend according to manager Jose Mourinho.

The 26 year old has been out for the past few weeks with a hamstring problem but is slowly gaining his fitness.

“Everybody travels to Leicester,”

said Mourinho. “I don’t know if Diego will play, I have to think about the gamble. Do we wait a few more days to be really sure? If he was a player without an injury history, I would play him for sure.

But he has history.”

The 34-year-old, who was named in the PFA Team of the Year, has played a key part in the Blues’ charge to the brink of the

Premier League title this season.

Mourinho was particularly impressed by Terry’s performance against Arsenal last time out, which he felt was the defender’s “best” during his time at the club.

Ahead of tonight’s meeting with Leicester City, the Portuguese has now labelled his skipper as being one of the greatest to play the game on these shores.

Life&

TIMES Wednesday, April 29, 2015

Tessy

Jibodu The designers teacher

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Weird beauty treatment L P

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Accessory trend:

The printed scarf L4,5

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Interview L2

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday April 29, 2015

There is more to fashion designing than glamour Adedotun Okesola

clothes. Our students put to practise what they have been taught by creating designs so most of the clothes I put on are made by my students.

Even though there has been an upsurge in the number of fashion designers that daily spring up, there are sadly, only a few fashion academy that actually teaches one the nitty gritty of fashion designing. Tessy Jibodu is one of the very few who have decided to take up the gauntlet of imparting the necessary skills through her Zaris Fashion and Style Academy.

She speaks of her sojourn and what it takes for anyone to be a foremost fashion designer.

How was Zaris fashion academy conceived?

I had a fashion outfit before this, a while back, called Texas concept.

It was a fashion factory where we made and sold clothes to customers.

But in an environment where there are no jobs and where people have lost faith in the educational system and respect for certificates, skill is very important to our young people.

We felt that we could do more for the society by training young people to make the clothes themselves. That was what gave birth to Zaris fashion and style academy. I have always been an advocate of imparting skill.

So the whole essence of the academy is to impact on the younger generations creatively, to help creative Nigerians rediscover their creative side. We want to develop their interest in fashion. It is to help young minds achieve their dreams. A young mind does not have any age limit. What we emphasize on is the passion for fashion. In Nigeria, the younger generation is interested in developing skills. This set of people want to do it right. Nigerian youths are very talented but most of them do not know how or where to channel their talents. That is why I call on Nigerian adults, who have had the privilege of acquiring knowledge and training especially in the area of craft, not to hoard the knowledge but to impart them to the young ones. This country would be better if most of us are job creators instead of job seekers. Young people can increase their effectiveness and productivity if they are trained to develop the proper work place ethics and have respect for time.

Life&

T E A M

How has the experience been so far?

We thank God, it’s been wonderful.

Zaris is going to be four years soon.

We’ve been able to so far, graduate

Besides teaching fashion, what else do you do?

Nothing, I just do fashion.

If your weren’t into fashion education, what else would you have been doing?

If I was not doing this I would be a fine artist. I may have been a painter or artist because my training prepared me for art, not design.

Will you say you are fulfilled?

Oh very much so. I am fulfilled because I am doing something I have a passion for because if you are doing a job and don’t have passion for it, I don’t know how you will make a living out of it. So far so good I think am fulfilled.

How would you describe a woman’s perfect fit for clothes?

First, it’s the body shape. Then, you design clothes to fit that shape.

The right way to be a fashion designer is to know how to draw, make patterns and relate with your customers. A designer should be able to understand the temperament of her customers. If you do not understand your customers, you may not be able to get the job done.

Tessy

Jibodu

more than three hundred students from the academy. Grooming students to conquer in the creative world wouldn’t have been possible without the support of the Federal Government and a few other associations that have also helped with the growth of the academy What would you say has been your greatest challenge so far running the academy?

What I do is on fashion education and consultancy, we train people, so naturally, the only challenge we have apart from power, is getting students to train, who are willing to hone their creative skills.

How did your interest in fashion

Editor Nkarenyi Ukonu n.ukonu@dailytimes.com.ng 08029030427

Music Correspondent Akintayo Opeoluwani o.ogunjimi@dailytimes.com.ng 08126223784

evolve?

For me, fashion is life. I have lived and done fashion all my life and I put everything I have studied into practise. So basically fashion has been all of my life. I have been doing this for over 20 years and I got my own basic training at Yaba College of Technology where I studied Industrial Design as well as at the London College of Fashion and Style.

But was there anything about your growing up years that defined your eventual path in life?

I just found out that as an eightyear-old, I could draw. It is a natural skill and people always wondered

Movie Correspondent Mutiat Alli m.alli@dailytimes.com.ng 08115557378

What fashion accessory can’t you do without?

Shoes. I like shoes but I am not a label freak.

And your beauty routine?

I like to be simple. I don’t add too much on my face.

what my future would look like with all the drawings. It is something that every child should be encouraged to develop.

Do you wear designs from other designers or you wear strictly your own designs?

At Zaris academy, we don’t make

Society Correspondent Isaac Oguntoye i.ogundoye@dailytimes.com.ng 08069489893

Photography Quadri Olowolagba q.olowolagba@dailytimes.com.ng 08029745478

What advice would you give to an upcoming designer?

One of the things I have noticed about upcoming designers is that they are not patient.

To be a designer means you have to be extremely patient. It is very important. A lot of people just want to make names for themselves and some just want to truly make clothes. There is more to being a fashion designer than the glamorous side of it. You have to pay particular attention to what you what you are doing. So staying focused, having the passion for it and patience are the three most important elements you need to remain on top of your game in this business.

Graphics Austine Agbovi a.agbovi@dailytimes.com.ng 07060402397

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday April 29, 2015

L3 Global Fashion & Beauty news

Nkarenyi Ukonu and Ethel Okonkwo

FADAN debuts designers’ mart

As part of its plans to promote fashion design in Nigeria’s cultural, social and economic sphere, the Fashion Designers Association of Nigeria (FADAN), recently unveiled its monthly programme with the name Designers’ Mart, where young fashion designers can come together to display their latest products and designs. The programme since its inception has attracted many fashion lovers and has proved to be profitable to the fashion designers who have taken advantage of the Designers’ Mart.

Funmi Ajila-Ladipo, FADAN president

OUCH unveils its latest fashion campaign Indigenous Nigerian fashion brand, Ouch, a men’s wear brand, has unveiled its latest fashion campaign featuring former Mr Nigeria and model/ actor Bryan Okwara, the creative director of the brand, Uche Nnaji and model/actor and television presenter, Melvin Orji. Uche Nnaji, the winner of the Style Entrepreneur Award at The Future Awards 2009, has been able to grow his brand, OUCH, to become one the fastest growing global brand in the premium lifestyle products industry. For almost ten years, OUCH’s reputation and distinctive image have consistently been developed across an expanding number of products, brands and international markets and is known to support the needs of discerning men and women with fashion and lifestyle products.

Bryan Okwara, Uche Nnaji and Melvin Orji

At the Nigerian Television Fashion show, 2015

Actresses Beverly Naya and Zainab Balogun unveiled as faces of hair care brand, Dark and Lovely Perhaps, as a sequel to actress Beverly Naya’s campaign, aptly called Fifty shades of black, aimed at inspiring young girls to feel confident about themselves and skin color, international hair care brand, Dark and Lovely has unveiled her, alongside, colleague, Zainab Balogun as the faces of the brand. Beverly is a British-born Nigerian actress who within a short time of joining the Nigeria movie industry, has gotten quite a number of awards in her kitty. A graduate of Philosophy, Psychology and Sociology from the Brunel University and script writing and film-making from the Roehampton University, Beverly who’s mentors are Ramsey Nouah and Genevieve Nnaji considers the rapid growth of Nollywood and the opportunities that it creates for aspiring actors as her major reason for relocating.

Zainab Balogun on her own part is also an actress, a model, a television presenter and producer. A co-founder of J-ist TV, an online entertainment web-series that highlights African culture and a range of topical issues, Zainab who began her modelling career at 16 has featured in several international campaigns for different

brands. Besides being a presenter on Jumia Tv, a teleshopping show, she is also an associate producer of the show. Born in London, England to Nigerian parents, Zainab once studied music and eventually formed an R&B girl group called Regne, with two friends.

She is a graduate of Law from the University of Kent, Medway. One of the highlights of her acting career was being on set with legendary American movie director, Christopher Nolan in 2011 for the film The Dark Knight Rises.

Beverly Naya Zainab Balogun

Wana Sambo opens flagship store

The annual Nigerian Television Fashion Show, (NTFS), held over the weekend at Yard 158, Oregun with great designers in attendance. Organised by Nollywood entertainment, it was a parade of beautiful designs from the 15 designers. Some of the designers who showcased their pieces were Rave plus, Mor, Modella etc. Some of the celebrities sighted at the fashion show were, Jahbless, Woju Remix diva, Tobi Grey, Nancy Ismean among several others.

Designer, Wana Sambo, recently opened her flagship store in the Lekki area of Lagos as well as unveiled rapper and makeup artist, Eva Alordiah as the face of the Wana Sambo Resort 2015 Collection which was also unveiled alongside the store opening.

Wana Sambo began her self named clothing company, Wana Sambo, in her teenage years in the university at the Igbinedion University where she studied International Relations and Diplomacy, where she sought a particular style which wasn’t sold and decided to create such brand that she and her friends could relate to.

Model for Rave

Model for MOR

Wana Sambo

Eva Alordiah

Fashion & Style L4

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday April 29, 2015

Accessory trend:

The

printed scarf

Nkarenyi Ukonu

Love these three individual looks?

You too can get them with these style suggestions.

Yves Saint Laurent leopard silk scarf

Turqoise green printed silk scarf

Tortoise brown Fendi sunglasses

Powder blue Russel shirt

Hawes and Curtis fitted white shirt

Beyonce

Elohor Aisen

Rolex stainless steel watch with silver diamond dial

Michael Kors white wrist watch

Navy blue pants

Skinny jeans

Alain Quilici Payson skate lace-up boots

Aldo red handbag

Zandra Rose navy blue crocodile skin bag Red patent bow peep toe Lumina DOrsay pumps

Tamu Mcperson

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday April 29, 2015

L5 Fashion & Style

Other ways you can wear

Red leopard printed red silk scarf

Cartier bracelet

printed Scarf

For such a cheap, stylish and versatile accessory, most people do not make take good advantage of printed scarves.

Here are ways you can incorporate them into your outfits

As an accessory for your bag: You can go for the edgy look by simply tying the scarf around the handle of your hand bag.

White jumper blouse

Celine faux wool mid length skirt

As a skirt:

To brighten up black:

White pumps

As hair wrap:

Tying scarves around your hair not only adds a bright flash of color it is one of the best go to looks for when you have bad hair days as it hides a multitude of sins and it’s so easy to do. Smaller, thinner scarves tend to be better for this look.

One way to wear printed scarves is to add a statement pop to an all-black outfit. Whether it’s a work suit or a chic little black dress and jacket, the right scarf can light the look up, and make it utterly irresistible. A bright red scarf is perfect for rocking the contrast look, or if you prefer patterns, try zebra or leopard print.

Just loop around the neck and you’re ready to go – it’s super easy, and oh-so-chic.

You’ll need a wide printed scarf to achieve this look.

Appropriate for the beach or at a swimming pool party. Instead of adding a scarf to your outfit as an accessory, make it one of the main features by tying it around your waist like a skirt.

Simply choose a swimming costume or small playsuit in a coordinating color, and hold the scarf around your back.

Tie at the front, slightly to one side, to have a maxi-length skirt with an opening at the front.

Beauty L6

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday April 29, 2015

Weird Spa/beauty treatments Nkarenyi Ukonu

Placenta facial

For $350 to $500 a session, you can get facial treatments using human placentas obtained from Russian maternity wards. Proponents of placenta-based beauty treatments claim that it does wonders for sun and acne-ravaged skin. The practice seems to have originated in Asia.

A Singapore company called Maylande markets a facial treatment made from human placentas that it obtains in Japan. Its placenta-based products include a tonic, a soap, a facial mask and others, which it claims provides a range of benefits, from clear skin to brain stimulation.

So you want to pamper yourself with a visit to a luxury spa, but you’re bored with the regular things you get to experience at spas, like aromatherapy, heated stones, V-jay rejuvenation etc. Well, here are some suggestions for you to try out.

Even if they all sound strange, don’t be deterred. Hopefully, they should meet your expectations.

Snake massage

Want to escape the glitzy spa scene? There’s no place better to do that than at Ada Barak’s carnivorous plant farm in Israel, which in addition to its fine selection of Spa services also offers therapeutic snake massages. For $80, a client gets to remove his or her cloths, lie down and experience the sensation of small snakes crawling on their skin. The proprietress reportedly dreamed up the treatment after snatching a snake from one of her plants and passing it around to guests, whom she observed seemed to feel more relaxed after they’d handled it. One elderly woman described the snake as soothing, like a cold compress. The treatment is said to help relieve migraines and soothe sore muscles.

Vampire facial

A vampire facial is a medical procedure in which a person’s own blood is used to create a more youthful appearance. Unwanted folds and wrinkles can be smoothed out, creating a younger, more vibrant look. Only about two tablespoons are taken from your arm for the facial. The vampire facial was created in 2010 by Dr. Charles Runels.

Injections of platelet rich fibrin matrix are used to create a non-surgical facelift. There are many wonderful benefits to having a vampire facial done on your face. These includes; smoothing out facial wrinkles, improvement in clarity of skin, skin is tighter, color of skin will be better, sagging skin is eliminated and there are no down time. The cost varies anywhere from $900 to $1500 for a treatment that last at least 15 months, if not longer.

Bull semen hair treatment

A Santa Monica, California salon that specializes in allnatural hair masks offers the bull semen hair treatment to its clients. The semen actually comes from real bulls, and it is supposed to strengthen the hair shaft promoting hair growth. This kind of treatment is for those daring souls willing to try anything. We will take their word for it.

24 carat gold facial

Gold-flecked serum applied to the face reportedly lifts, tightens and lightens skin, while reducing fine lines and wrinkles. It also supposedly slows down collagen depletion that causes sagginess, and helps fade age spots. One session of this facial costs $475

Carp pedicure

This procedure was first developed inTurkish salons which sees clients immersing their feet in tanks of water and allowing tiny carps, known as “doctor fish,” to nibble away dead skin.

This practice has since spread to other parts of the world and have grown to become favourite spa treatments. A 25-minute session with the fish, followed by a pedicure, is available for $65.

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday April 29, 2015

L7 Beauty

Geisha nightingale excrement facial

The traditional Japanese women entertainers known as geishas once wore heavy white makeup containing toxic lead and zinc, which damaged their skin. As a remedy, they applied a face mask containing a somewhat distasteful ingredient, nightingale droppings. The birds’ poop, as it turns out, contains enzymes that are said to break down dead skin cells and guanine, which supposedly gives the complexion a warm glow that made the hostesses’ faces porcelain white but had the added effect of brightening, healing and re-texturizing skin while leaving it a pearly lustre. The Shizuka New York Day Spa offers a modernized version of the regimen, in which the droppings are first drenched in ultraviolet light to sanitize them and then mixed with rice bran. The rice bran exfoliates the skin. The hour-long treatment costs $180.

Beer bath

According to legend, Cleopatra helped preserve her beauty by bathing in milk. But just incase you are lactose intolerant, you may prefer a brewski. In other words, next time you’re in the Czech Republic, head to the Chodovar family brewery for a therapeutic beer bath. Since 2006, the brewery’s “beer wellness land” has been offering visitors a 20-minute soak in a tub of a special “bathing beer” specially brewed to stimulate the skin and internal organs, followed by a complimentary mug of the brewery’s rock lager, for just $29.

Snail slime facial

Chilean snail farmers, who were up to their elbows in snail goo each day, noticed that their hands were softer and smoother, and that small cuts healed more quickly without infection.

That’s how snail slime became a coveted, if surprising, ingredient in beauty products for years, prized for its supposed anti-aging and skin-rejuvenating properties. Presently, a Tokyo spa is giving its patrons the unique opportunity to let snails crawl across their face and apply the slimy elixir themselves. The treatment, is however only available at the Ci:z.Labo salon in Tokyo for now. During the facial, the client’s face is washed before the mollusks are gently placed on the cheeks and forehead and left to their slimy devices for five minutes.

The slithering around is followed by face masks and other beauty treatments. The snails’ secretions reportedly contain proteins, antioxidants and hyaluronic acid, all ingredients that beauty product mavens recognizes as components of some of the most expensive moisturizers on the market. These natural chemicals can purportedly help skin retain moisture, reduce inflammation, remove dead skin and help alleviate skin conditions like burns and rashes. “Slime from snails helps remove old cells, heal the skin after sun burn and moisturize it. A 60 minute snail slime facial is priced at 24,150 yen (US$240) and the chance to have live snails spread their slime across your face for five minutes will add another 10,500 yen (US$100) to the bill.

Detoxification with leeches

It may sound medieval and loathsome but leeches are known for their usage as blood sucking little parasites. There are actually over 600 species of leeches, but only 15 of them are used medicinally and as an alternative beauty treatment. Leech suck therapy can be used to help detoxify the body. Ancient Egyptians once considered leeches a cure-all, and they are also sometimes used in reconstructive surgery to help reattach body parts. Apparently the leeches crawl on you before biting you and, as they work their magic, they swell up, their little bodies filling with blood. The treatment goes for $600 a session.

Hay bath

Hay bath is an ancient practice established in Tyrol for the farmers who would find refuge and solace in the soft hay bed after a long working day. Cut during the summertime, hay brews from couple of hours up to few days. The fermentation process makes it reach high temperatures between 40 and 70 degrees so that’s why it’s commonly used for the thermal practices. By adding mountain herbs such as arnica, pulsatilla, genepi, rapunzel and gentian, there is an amazing benefit for those who suffer from the following diseases: arthritis, muscle tension, the herniated disc, sciatic pains and neuralgia. In fact, with the amount of heat produced by the hay fermentation, the herb principles penetrate the body dispensing the benefits. It is estimated that after the series of five applications, starting from 12 up to 30 minutes, you are getting the satisfactory results. Applied every other day, the hay bath makes you loose from 500g up to 2 kg due to the sweating process lasting for 3-4 hours after the bath.

Ceramic crystal facial

Having pieces of porcelain injected into your face with a gun might not be your idea of a good time, but £450 ceramic crystal therapy is one of the latest beauty fads to come out of Paris. It promises to create a face lift effect without a scalpel. The skin is injected with minute crystals, suspended in hyaluronic acid this holds the skin up and encourages collagen production.

Thai face slapping therapy

It is a real treatment offered by a Bangkok masseuse in her San Francisco massage parlor. The treatment consists of pinching and manipulating the skin and lightly slapping the skin, which is thought to restore a more youthful appearance. Thai Face Slapping is supposed to smooth wrinkles and shrink the pores as well.

The price for this treatment is $350 for a mere 15 minutes. If you are into pain and humiliation, this might be a great treatment for you.

Daily Times Nigeria Wednesday April 29, 2015

L8 Television

Showing on

Showing on

112 STUDIO UNIVERSAL

104 M-NET MOVIE COMEDY

15:15

13:05

Wed, 29 Apr | 13LV

Wed, 29 Apr | PG13SL

Chaos reigns in this hilarious and lovely romantic comedy as a writer impulsively moves to a villa in Tuscany. But nothing is as it seems and she thinks she might have made a mistake. Raoul Bova, Sandra Oh, Diane Lane. (2003) Audrey Wells

After strange weather events, a man discovers robotic spaceships preparing for an alien invasion. With aliens about to sweep the country, he has to keep himself and his kids alive.

Tim Robbins, Dakota Fanning, Tom Cruise. (2005) Steven Spielberg

101 M-Net West

00:01 Gotham 01:00 Time Of Death 02:00 Stolen 03:31 Behind The Scenes: Trash 04:00 MasterChef Australia 05:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 06:00 Mom 06:30 Caught On Camera 07:30 Grey’s Anatomy 08:30 The Legend Of Hercules 10:30 Mike & Molly 11:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 12:00 MasterChef Australia 13:00 NCIS: Los Angeles 14:00 Elementary 15:00 Chicago Fire 16:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 17:00 The Middle 17:30 MasterChef Australia 18:30 Modern Family 19:00 Two And A Half Men 19:30 The Blacklist 20:30 CSI: Cyber 21:30 NCIS: Los Angeles 22:30 Gotham

120 BBC Entertainment

118 Telemundo

00:30 The Del Monte Dynasty 01:20 The Impostor 02:10 Labour Of Love 03:00 Fearless Heart 03:50 Queen Of Hearts 05:20 The Del Monte Dynasty 06:10 Labour Of Love 07:00 Fearless Heart 07:50 Queen Of Hearts 08:40 The Impostor 09:30 Forbidden Passions 10:20 Labour Of Love 11:10 Fearless Heart 12:00 Queen Of Hearts 12:50 The Impostor 13:40 Forbidden Passions 14:30 Labour Of Love 15:20 Fearless Heart 16:10 Queen Of Hearts 17:00 The Impostor 17:50 Forbidden Passions 18:40 Labour Of Love 19:30 Fearless Heart 20:20 Queen Of Hearts 21:10 The Impostor 22:00 Forbidden Passions 22:50 Labour Of Love

00:35 Top Gear

11:35 Hell’s Kitchen USA

01:29 Silent Witness

12:20 Top Gear

02:21 Come Dine With Me

13:20 Come Dine With Me

03:09 EastEnders

14:15 Hell’s Kitchen USA

03:39 Would I Lie To You?

15:05 The Weakest Link

04:09 Top Gear

16:00 EastEnders

05:00 Fool Britannia

16:30 Deal Or No Deal

05:25 QI

17:10 The Cube

05:55 Would I Lie To You?

18:00 Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

06:30 EastEnders 07:00 Antiques Roadshow 07:55 The Weakest Link

19:00 Dragons’ Den 20:05 Top Gear

08:45 The Cube

21:05 Hell’s Kitchen USA

09:35 Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

22:00 Fool Britannia 22:25 Fool Britannia

10:20 Deal Or No Deal

22:50 QI

11:00 My Family

155 AfricaMagic World

154 AfricaMagic Family

00:00 Tinsel 00:30 The African Child 01:00 Star Gist 01:30 Making Of A Mogul 02:00 At Home With Michelle Attoh 03:00 Good Morning Africa 04:00 Channel O: Volt 04:30 Channel O: Volt 05:00 The African Child 05:20 Behind The Scenes: Choice 05:30 The 5 Brides

06:00 Good Morning Africa 07:00 Star Gist 07:25 Life Begins 08:30 Living With Trisha 09:00 Comedy Club Live In Kampala 10:00 Good Morning Africa 11:00 Tinsel 11:30 Star Gist 12:00 Channel O: Volt 12:30 Channel O: Volt 13:00 At Home With Joselyn Dumas 14:00 Through The Eyes Of An African 14:30 Jara 15:00 Making Of A Mogul

00:00 Noose Of Gold 00:30 Good Morning Africa 01:40 The Dzigbordi Show 02:35 Good Morning Africa 03:31 Good Morning Africa 04:30 Noose Of Gold 05:00 Good Morning Africa 06:00 Foot Prints 06:30 Foot Prints

07:00 Star Gist 07:30 Star Gist 08:00 Lies That Bind 08:30 Lies That Bind 09:00 Good Morning Africa 10:00 So Wrong So Wright 10:30 So Wrong So Wright 11:00 Affections 11:30 Jara 12:00 Jara

12:30 Katemba Mu Kkooti 13:00 Music On Africa Magic 14:00 Noose Of Gold 14:30 Noose Of Gold 15:00 Deception 15:30 Foot Prints 16:00 Foot Prints 16:30 Lies That Bind 17:00 Lies That Bind 17:30 Star Gist 18:00 Star Gist 18:30 So Wrong So Wright 19:00 So Wrong So Wright 19:30 Jara 20:00 Jara 20:35 The Dzigbordi Show

128 SONY MAX

00:15 Unbeatable Banzuke 00:40 Unbeatable Banzuke 01:05 Freakshow 01:30 Poorman’s Bikini Beach 01:55 Chameleon 2: Death Match 03:20 Panic Button Canada 04:10 Unbeatable Banzuke 04:35 Unbeatable Banzuke 05:00 Takeshi’s Castle 05:25 Takeshi’s Castle 05:50 Video Zonkers 06:15 Video Zonkers 06:40 Panic Button Canada 07:30 Most Shocking 08:25 What Went Down 08:55 Repo Games 09:20 World’s Wildest Police Videos 10:20 Video Zonkers 10:50 Video Zonkers 11:20 Most Shocking 12:20 Panic Button Canada 13:20 What Went Down 13:50 Exposed 14:15 Repo Games 14:40 Repo Games 15:10 World’s Wildest Police Videos 16:10 1000 Ways To Die 16:40 Panic Button Canada 17:40 Video Zonkers 18:05 Video Zonkers 18:30 What Went Down 19:00 Most Shocking 20:00 Don’t Trust Andrew Mayne 20:30 Impractical Jokers 21:00 Freakshow 21:30 Poorman’s Bikini Beach 22:00 Kenny vs Spenny 22:30 Tool Academy 21:30 Poorman’s Bikini Beach 22:00 Kenny vs Spenny