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Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has withdrawn the list of recommended candidates for admission earlier sent to tertiary institutions.

This is contained in a statement issued by Dr Fabian Benjamin, JAMB Head of Media and made available to newsmen on Sunday

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The statement said the list was withdrawn to enable the Senate of the respective institutions perform the statutory responsibility of conducting the selection of candidates and refer it to JAMB. Continued on page 7

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MONDAY, AUGUST 1, 2016 VOL. 2. NO. 163

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GAINERS AS AT 29th July, 2016 FIDELITYBK

JAMB withdraws 2016 admission list sent to tertiary institutions

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Property Club

The Daily Times of Nigeria Plc, the nation’s heritage and legacy newspaper has concluded arrangement to float Nigeria’s first property club.

The innovative Real Estate Club in the nation’s newspaper industry, proposed for every Thursday, is a new platform for complete and sustained interface between operators and potential clients.

The club scheduled for inauguGé`ë ƈƏƌ è n ^Ƌƅè LƏê j ƕ &ƋƑƌƆƋƑì &ƌƈƏ Ƈ E è 6`6 LƑ ƌƌ ƗƑ d Ƒ ƈ G ƌƈƗ 99ì Ƈ ƏƌƆƏ 1L#ƃ &Rè n ^Ƌƅè LƏê ^ ƈƋƋƈƍ RƗƑ Ɩ ì ƈ ƓƈƇƆè CƑƌ ƈì Ɨ ƆƓ ration in the second week of Sep1L#ƃ &Rè n ^Ƌƅè LƏê EƆ ƆƗƕ nƖ Ɗ è ƗƑƏƈ Ɛ Ɔ Ɔ Ɨé ƇƇ ƅƆƏƆƌ ƕ ƈ ƑƏ Ƈ RƗƑ Ɩ è ƆƋƗ ƈ G d ƐƑƏƗ ƕ tember, allows property companies time to register for membership. All intending members are expected to pay N200, 000 per annum as subscription fee.

INCENTIVES FOR MEMBERS 1. Three free adverts for members per year.

2. All subsequent adverts attract 50% discount on total value.

3. Two copies of Daily Times for all members every Thursday and 4. Daily Times aggressive coverage 7 B1 of members’ activities.

For more information call Ifeanyi – 08086296714 12 Ayo – 08159568807

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Daily Times Nigeria Monday, August 1, 2016

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, August 1, 2016

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Editorial Alarming gully erosion in South East

I

f there is any topic that has dominated national discourse in recent times, it is that of gully erosion in the South East geopolitical zone. Indeed, this ravaging force of nature in the zone and other parts of the country is not only alarming but also concentrating minds on how to combat the menace.

The formation of gullies has become one of the greatest environmental disasters facing many towns and villages in southeastern Nigeria.

The region is fast becoming hazardous for human habitation, even as the governors are demanding the imposition of a state of emergency as a necessary step towards checking the scourge. The sheer magnitude of the problem is not only beyond the capability of the regional authorities to handle, the gullies have sacked towns and villages while forcing thousands of residents to relocate to safer communities.

Worst hit among the erosion prone areas are the towns of Nanka and Ekwulobia in Anambra State, where large tracts of land have been destroyed in recent years, even as highways running through them have been ruined by yawning gullies, leading to numerous accidents and deaths. In fact, the menace of gully erosion in the South East has reached an epidemic intensity. However, we are happy that the scale of the problem is eliciting both national and international attention.

Only recently, some Senators visited the affected areas and promised to bring Federal Government’s attention to the menace. Before the Muhammadu Buhari administration, the immediate past government of Goodluck Jonathan disclosed that the administration was negotiating with the World Bank to raise $400m special fund to tackle erosion in the

South East. So far, Nigerians are yet to know the status of that fund since the Jonathan administration left office. That should not be so, given that government is a continuum.

Aside, the South East, the incidence of gully erosion is rearing its head in places such as Edo, Cross River, Rivers and Kogi states. That is why the authorities must act immediately to halt the spread before the fury extends to other parts of the country.

Before then, it is pertinent that the governments and other stakeholders carry out sensitisation campaigns on the causes of gully erosion.

It is embarrassing that until now, the authorities have continued to pay scant attention in this regard. It bears repeating that some gullies result from natural cracks in the earth, even as most of are unnatural and can be prevented. Majority of them are traceable to bad management practices such as roads without proper drainage or catchments; unguided farming practices that cause flooding, indiscriminate felling of trees and improper chanelling of floodwater, etc. For long, there have been calls for funding of huge engineering projects to curb erosion menace in the country.

In the meantime, we call for immediate control measures that include reduction of surface runoff from impervious surfaces; drainage of surface runoff that would include the construction of interception ponds.

Most importantly, the people should be encouraged to plant grasses in open spaces to reduce the amount of bare soils exposed to the erosive force of the rains.

In addition, there should be intense forestation in areas more susceptible to gully formation including the planting of indigenous leguminous plants to stave further menace.

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode (middle); Chairman, Eko Pearl, Mr. Elias Saad; Group Managing Director, Access Bank Plc., Mr. Herbert Wigwe (2nd left); Chairman, Eko Atlantic City (EAC), Mr. Ronald Chagoury, and others during Ambode’s inspection visit to the EAC, Victoria Island… at the weekend.

L-R: British Prime Minister’s Trade Envoy to Nigeria, Hon. John Howell; Managing Director/CEO, Guinness Nigeria, Mr. Peter Ndegwa and Acting Deputy British High Commissioner, Bashir Ahmed during the envoy’s visit to Guinness Nigeria Plc’s Ogba Brewery, Lagos…at the weekend.

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Gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Edo State, Mr. Godwin Obaseki (right), acknowledging cheers from party supporters at the Edo Central campaign flag-off of APC in Irrua, … at the weekend.

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Goodluck Jonathan

Matthew Ashimolowo

Julius Nyerere

“Nobody’s political ambition is worth the blood of any Nigerian”.

“If you must make a difference in life, then change your mind set”.

“Independence cannot be real if a nation depends upon gifts.”

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Daily Times Nigeria Monday, August 1, 2016

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, August 1, 2016

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Daily Times Nigeria Monday, August 1, 2016

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, August 1, 2016

7 News

Insertions in 2016 Budget went overboard – Jibrin Segun Adio Lagos

ÏÏÏMore revelations were made

on Sunday in the budget padding scandal rocking the House of Representatives, with the former chairman of the House Committee on Appropriation, Abdulmumin Jibrin saying the ‘insertions’ made into the budget went overboard.

Speaking in an interview with Channels Television aired on Sunday, Jibrin further described as ‘senseless’ the insertions made.

Jibrin said what was done was the mother-of-all-insertions, and that he stands by his word.

The scandal broke out when Jibrin alleged that House Speaker, Hon. Yakubu Dogara and some principal officers padded the 2016 Budget to the tune of over N40billion.

He further alleged that the padding was done at a secret location with the backing of the Speaker and three principal officers including Deputy Speaker Yusuff Lasun, House Whip Alhassan Ado Doguwa and Minority Leader Leo Ogor.

Last week, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, while reacting to the scandal, said the feud in the House of Representatives over alleged padding of the 2016 Budget

confirmed his earlier position that Nigerian lawmakers are “armed robbers and rogues”.

Obasanjo had in 2012 alleged that rogues and armed robbers filled the National Assembly.

During the interview with Channels Television aired on Sunday, Jibrin also said that Obasanjo was not totally wrong on his corruption statement about the National Assembly members.

He also said he has submitted enough documents to anti-graft agencies, as evidences to back his allegations.

He further told Channels Television that some of the documents would nail some of his colleagues

he had mentioned in the padding saga.

The lawmaker said that he has called for the security of the appropriation office and his office at the National Assembly where more indicting documents are.

He expressed readiness to help fight corruption in the National Assembly.

Officials of the Department of State Security Service (DSS) had on Saturday, sealed the Office of the House Committee on Appropriation.

This move by the DSS is believed to prevent any attempt to tamper with documents in the office of the Appropriation Committee.

Abdullahi

Ex-A’Court president seeks investigation of conflicting judgments ÏÏÏFormer President of the Court

of Appeal, Justice Umaru Abdullahi (rtd), says there is need for the National Judicial Council (NJC) to investigate reoccurring conflicting court judgments in the country.

Abdullahi, who spoke with newsmen in Abuja on Sunday, said that conflicting judgments and activities of corrupt politicians had undermined Nigeria’s judicial system.

He decried politicians’ attitude of going to another court to get a new judgment instead of appealing the earlier one if they were not satisfied with it. ``NJC must wade in to address these contradictions; investigate if there is any corrupt undertone in these judgments; arrest the indisContinued on page 12

Heaps of refuse at Bonojo Road, Ijebu-Ode… on Sunday.

Photo: BOLAJI OLASUNKANMI

Impeachment threat withdrawn as Zamfara Gov, Assembly strike deal

ÏÏÏThe

Speaker of the Zamfara State Assembly, Sanusi Rikiji, on Sunday, said lawmakers in the state have withdrawn the impeachment threat against Governor Abdulaziz Yari.

Rikiji made the announcement in Gusau, the state capital, after a meeting of stakeholders.

The stakeholders included the governor, all the 24 members of the Assembly and traditional rulers.

The traditional rulers were led by Attahiru Muhammad, the Emir of Anka, who is also the chairman of the state Council of Chiefs.

The speaker told newsmen at the end of the meeting that the lawmakers gave the governor terms and conditions before they agreed to suspend the impeachment threat.

He said the intervention of traditional rulers and the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the state helped in addressing the issues that caused the face-off between them and the governor.

In a separate interview with newsmen, Governor Yari described the cause of the face-off between him and the legislature as “the handiwork of the devil.”

“The cause of the misunderstanding was addressed at the meeting and we have now agreed to put aside our differences and work together for the advancement of our state,” he said.

The lawmakers had threatened to impeach the governor for alleged abuse of budget implementation, misappropriation of bailout funds released to the state by the Federal Government.

Other reasons listed by the legislators included deductions in workers’ salaries and failure by Yari to pay the salaries of 1, 400 youths employed by the government two years ago.

Gov. Yari

JAMB withdraws 2016 admission list sent to tertiary institutions Continued from page 1 It added that it was also withdrawn to enable the institutions confirm the admission in line with the criteria of merit, catchment area and educationally disadvantaged states, as directed by the Minister of Education at the policy committee meeting. ``The earlier list was sent to help fast track the process of admission so as to allow other tiers of institutions also conduct their admission,” the statement said.

It urged candidates not to panic, saying it was part of the process of the 2016 admission exercise.

It, however, expressed regret over any inconvenience the decision would have caused the tertiary institutions.

News 8

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, August 1, 2016

Mbaise leaders meet Okorocha Ahiara Catholic crisis Val Okara, Owerri

Î

Prominent leaders from Mbaise communities of Imo State have met with Governor Rochas Okorocha, where they appealed to him to intervene in the lingering crisis that has engulfed the Ahiara Mbaise Catholic Diocese for years over the posting of Bishop Peter Okpaleke as the substantive Bishop of the Diocese.

The stakeholders were led by the Deputy Chairman of the State Council of Traditional rulers for Owerri zone, and Chairman Mbaise Council of Traditional Rulers, HRM Eze Chidume Okoro.

They equally expressed gratitude to the governor for locating a University

in Mbaise and told him that Mbaise people love him and he should not take the unfriendly dispositions of few Mbaise sons against his government to mean that of Mbaise people.

The Mbaise leaders used the opportunity offered to them by the visit to invite the governor to the 2016 edition of Iriji Mbaise.

In his response the governor assured them that he would meet with all the parties involved in the Ahiara Mbaise Catholic Diocese crisis to see to the resolution of whatever is the bone of contention and regretted that a case of that nature involving the church could be allowed to linger for so long.

He also reminded the

Mbaise leaders that his administration has been exceptionally fair to their people both in terms of projects and appointments, as he remarked that, apart from Mbaise people being the greatest beneficiaries of the free education programme of his administration, he is also building a University in the area because of the love he has for them.

The governor reminded them that the Commissioner for Commerce & Industry, Chief Chidi Ibeh, the Economic Adviser, Chief Ike Njoku, his Chief Press Secretary, Sam Onwuemeodo, the Director of Ochiedike Diagnostic Centre, Dr. Ifeanyi Nwachukwu, the DirectorGeneral, Imo Foundation, Mrs. Esther Eke, Com-

Okorocha

missioner in ISOPADEC, Chief Pschal Nwogu, two newly appointed Permanent Secretaries, Chairman SUBEB, Dr. Mrs. Ejiogu, the Director-General of his Campaign Organisation Barr. Iheukwumere Alaribe and Chief Basil E. Ogwunga, General Manager, lands and lands, are all from Mbaise.

Bombardment: Arepo residents fear reprisal attacks, mass exodus at Ibafo Kayode Adelowokan

ÎResidents of Arepo com-

munity in Ogun State have appealed to military authorities to save them from possible reprisal attacks in the hands of militants.

This call followed the aerial bombardment carried out in the community against pilpeline vandals where scores of them were reportedly killed in the process.

It has been gathered that the military has vowed to continue in the assault against then militants damaging the nation’s economic resources.

“The bombardment began on Thursday evening with one missile released but on Friday evening, another missile was fired at the community,” an eyewitness said.

In the same vein, some

residents in Ibafo area of Obafemi-Owode Local Government of Ogun State have commenced mass movement out of the homes as fears grow over possible attacks by the military in the area. The residents fear possible mistaken identity from the militants.

When the Daily Times visited the area, the community have now turned to a ghost area.

A resident who identified herself as Dupe Olarewaju, said that the militants in the area are now raping women and steal livestock since they could not go out to buy things in the market.

Farmers in the area also said that all their labours have been taken away by the “merciless” militants who now enters compounds and do stop and search for any individuals

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, August 1, 2016

Politics MIMIKO

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Æs

APC accuses Mimiko of sponsoring hatred campaign against Buhari

‘Tosin Ajuwon, Akure

ÎThe Ondo State All Progressives

Congress (APC) has accused the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ruling government of sponsoring mischievous and provocative campaign of calumny aimed at inciting electorate in the state against the Federal government led by President Mohammadu Buhari.

Director of Publicity of APC,

Steve Otaloro, made the accusation, on Sunday, in a press statement issued to journalists in Akure, the state capital.

Otaloro accused Mimiko of embarking into false dissemination of distorted information aimed at projecting the administration of President Mohammadu Buhariled Government as being responsible for the people’s hardship in Ondo State.

He alleged that the state govern-

ment owned media organs (OSRC & Orange FM) had been awashed with propaganda churning out provocative jingles aimed at inciting the people against the APC-led Federal Government as creating hardship for the people through unfavourable economic policies.

“Instead of Mimiko addressing the massive corruption and the unprecedented syphoning of the nation’s resources by the Leaders CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

Anenih plays selfish politics, says Oshiomhole Titus Akhigbe, Benin

Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo State has described Chief Tony Anenih as a selfish politician who caters for himself and his immediate family to the detriment of the majority of people from Esanland, his Senatorial district.

Reeling out a list of projects his administration has done in Esanland, at the All Progressives Congress campaign flag-off in Edo central, Oshiomhole said his achievements in Edo Central includes 113 Primary Schools, 29 Secondary Schools, a brand new General Hospital, roads crisscrossing the length and breadth of Esanland, water projects in virtually al,l areas in Edo central, among others, adding that “I’ve done more for Esan people than Chief Anenih’s PDP will ever do.”

He said: “never in history has anybody done as many roads as we have done in Esan land”, and he went ahead to list all the roads to the thousands of party faithful and supporters who thronged the Eguare Primary School, Irrua, venue of the Campaign.

He said: “my great people of Esanland, the truth is too stubborn. I ask you: for ten years of PDP, can you list any road they did in your area? So, when Chief Tony Anenih said we are marginalising Esan, the old man needs to find out the meaning of marginalisation. I have done more for Esan people than Anenih’s PDP will ever do, even in his own Lo-

cal Government.

“We have done 113 Primary schools across Esan land, all of them wearing red roof. How many schools did PDP do, zero.

We have done 29 Secondary Schools, complete with red roofs.

We connect with the people, we don’t deceive them. Your Party, the APC has performed and it will continue to perform.

“In AAU, don’t forget in the year 2002, AAU was closed by the PDP for one year, the average they were paying to AAU from Edo State Government was less than N100 million. Today as I speak, every month, we deliver to AAU N254 million subvention and even the one for this month has been delivered. We are paying our teachers because they are number one. We have increased the minimum wage and we are paying wages and even pensioners are paid the same day as we are paying workers.

“The arrears of pensions and gratuties for pensioners, when I came in was twelve years. Today, we have reduced it to 3 years and before I leave office, we will pay them. Nobody knows the problem of pensioners than myself because the Union of Pensioners was one of our strongest affiliates.

“If PDP had paid the gratuities of those they sacked, I wouldn’t have paid one kobo, but for twelve years, nobody was paid.

Never forget that they dismissed between 5,000 and 7,000 civil servants in 2000. They sacked all the Permanent-Secretaries in 2000 and did not pay them any gratuity.

“Anenih can say he made himself Minister, correct. He made himself the Chairman of NPA, correct. He made Onolemenmen from Uromi Minister, correct, but we can’t pass through the road to Benin, and we can’t pass the road to Uromi. He produced Itotoh as Minister of Education, they did not build schools in Uromi, I did. For Anenih, empowerment means giving jobs to your family members, but Esan people is not about Anenih’s family, it’s about the man in Opebholo, the man in Ubiaja, the man in Ewohinmi, the man in Igueben, the man in Irrua, the man in Opoji, and everywhere, that is what we call Esan. Esan is not equivalent to Chief Anenih and his immediate family, no I refuse.

“The truth is PDP can never forgive people like me because we have over-liquidated them. They are finished in Abuja, they are finished in Benin, they are finished in Uromi, we are in charge.

“They told all kind of lies that they wanted to do water in Uromi and I refused to bring N300 million. The truth is, the traditional ruler of Ugboha led a delegation to my office in 2011 when the then Vice President, Namadi Sambo said he was coming to commission a water project. When they wrote, the traditional ruler said he would not allow them because they took water from Ugboha river, destroyed their farmland, and said they were taking water to Uromi. Why would they in Ugboha not get water, so I said no. Our brothers and sisters in Uromi told me, and it is the truth, that

OSHIOMHOLE there is no water even in Uromi, what they have done, typical of PDP, was to put overhead tanks, put water tanker, pour water into it for Namadi Sambo to commission.

“When I went to Abuja, I told Namadi Sambo, are you ready to be part of Chief Tony Anenih’s deceit, I told him he was being deceived to commission one overhead water tank which they called Esan Water works. He now sent SSS to confirm, and he was shocked that although they took

the money in full, pocketed N2.5 billion, they did not do the water.

“Chief Anenih has achieved a lot for himself in politics, but not for his people. He didn’t get them water, hospital, nothing.”

Oshiomhole said the APC gubernatorial candidate, Mr Godwin Obaseki has been part of his government for almost eight years and understands the issues. So he will continue from where he (Oshiomhole) stops on CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

Politics 10 APC accuses Mimiko of sponsoring hatred campaign CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

of Mimiko’s PDP-led immediate past Federal administration, the Governor had perfidiously shifted blame on President Mohammadu Buhari-led Government that is assiduously working to better the lots of the citizenry and reposition our economy that had been battered and bruised by the previous PDP-led administrations as being responsible for the nation’s woes.

“If Mimiko had utilized the N14.6billion bailout funds he got from the Federal Government in paying workers; managed the hundreds of billions of naira received in the past 7 years from the Federation Account and if the State finances had not been opaque to accountability and due process, perhaps we wouldn’t have found ourselves in the present hardship to warrant dolling out food items (rice and beans) to the indigenes of Ondo State by his administration as if the people were beggars” he said.

The opposition party also condemned the food palliative measure embarked upon by the Mimiko led government in the state noting that it was a means to hoodwink the people in supporting the ruling PDP in the forthcoming governorship election.

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, August 1, 2016

Battle for Ekweremadu’s seat shifts to Senate –Ben Uwajumogu Stories by Akinjide Akintola For the Deputy Senate President, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, what appeared to be a mere rumour in the challenge to his position by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) is gradually coming to fruition.

This followed last weekend’s senatorial rerun election in Imo State where the candidate of APC won the polls and emerged the only APC Senator from the South East geo political region, thus posing a great threat to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which has been holding the position since the commencement of the new dispensation last year.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at the weekend declared Mr Ben Uwajumogu of the APC winner of Imo North Senatorial District rerun election held on July 28.

Uwajumogu scored 56,076 votes to defeat Mr Athan Achonu of the PDP who scored 43, 815 votes.

Prof. Arinze Agbogu, the INEC Returning Officer for Imo North Senatorial District, who announced the result in the early hours of Friday, said the outcome was a summation of scores of July 23 and that of July 28 exercise.

The News Agency of Nigeria

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

Ekweremadu

(NAN) recalled that Uwajumogu, had scored 48,921 on July 23, while Achonu, of the PDP, scored 40, 142 votes which made INEC to declare the rerun inconclusive.

Agbogu said that available data before him showed that Uwajumogu had majority of lawful votes cast, and therefore returned elected for the Imo North Senatorial District.

Similarly, INEC declared Mr Nkenna Nzeruo of the APC winner of Oru East State Constituency, while Mr Collins Chiji also

of APC was declared winner for Isiala Mbano State Constituency.

The two state constituencies’ elections were equally declared inconclusive due to reported cases of violence that marred the exercise in some communities in the two areas on July 23.

Uwajumogu told journalists in Owerri that he was highly elated over the victory, adding “my gratitude goes more to Gov. Rochas Okorocha whose strucCONTINUED ON PAGE 11

Oba Sonariwo devoted live to lift Yorubaland - OPC The National Coordinator of the Pan-Yoruba Group, the Oodua Peoples Congress, (OPC), and Otunba Gani Adams has expressed sadness over the recent passing on of the Akarigbo and Paramount ruler of Remo land, Oba Michael Adeniyi Sonariwo but urged the Yoruba people to take solace in the fact that the renowned monarch lived a fulfilled life. “Given all that Oba Sonariwo achieved during his lifetime, he should be celebrated rather than being mourned. He lived a fulfilled life”, Adams said.

Oba Sonariwo died in the United Kingdom last Saturday.

Adams in a statement he signed on behalf of himself and the OPC said the death of Oba Sonariwo

is shocking and that it came at a time that the Yoruba race needed his wisdom most.

He commiserated with the Royal family of Akarigbo of Remo, government and people of Ogun State saying the monarch lived an eventful and accomplished life He described the late Ogun first class monarch as a respectable Yoruba Oba saying his good deeds will surely live after him.

“Oba Sonariwo brought great development to Sagamu in terms of infrastructural development and he made sure that Sagamu people are united in spite of their diversity”, Adams said.

He further stated that Oba Sonariwo who until his death was the Chairman, Ogun State

Anenih plays selfish politics, says Oshiomhole

Traditional Council and who ascended the throne of his forefathers on July 14, 1990 was a reputed philanthropist who will be missed by the people of Sagamu and Yorubaland especially the downtrodden.

According to Adams, Oba Sonariwo’s contribution to the progress of Ogun State and Yorubaland cannot be quantified.

“The people of the ancient kingdom of Remo and the entire Yoruba people would miss the wisdom and caring of the peace-loving Oba who during his lifetime provided conducive environment for indigenes and non-indigenes and equally aided socio- economic development of Remoland “, Adams said in the statement.

Sonariwo

November 12 and do more for the people of Esanland.

On his part, the party’s candidate, Mr Obaseki said he will build on the legacies of great Esan leaders including Chief Anthony Enahoro, Prof Ambrose Alli and others and build on the successes recorded by the Oshiomhole government in almost eight years.

He promised that his government will connect Edo North and Edo Central through Anegbette to Uzea, saying his government will focus on human development.

On agriculture, Obaseki said Esanland used to produce most of the nation’s poultry requirements, promising that reviving the poultry industry in Esanland will form part of the agricultural revolution of his government.

Top PDP leaders in Esanland dumped the party for the All Progressives Congress at the rally.

Among those who decamped with hundreds of their supporters include a founding member of the PDP, Engr Ayere; Hon Victor Emoakhagbon, from Esan South-East, Colonel David Imuse (rtd) from Esan West, among others.

They said they joined the APC because of the developmental strides of the APC-led Government of Governor Adams Oshiomhole and the outright lies and deceit of the PDP.

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, August 1, 2016

11 Politics

LG election; OYSIEC seeks collaboration with NOA Remi Oladoye Ibadan

The Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC) under the leadership of its State Chairman/ Commissioner Jide Ajeigbe has extended a hand of partnership to the National Orientation Agency, (NOA) Oyo State Directorate on evolving a strategic plan towards an effective conduct of a free, fair and acceptable elections in all the 33 Local Government Areas of Oyo State in line with the commission’s mandate.

In a statement from the office of the Director, National Orientation Agency Mrs. Dolapo Dosunmu, the newly inaugurated 12 member – committee rallies support of the Agency towards the realisation of its onerous task of conducting a credible election, seeking the Agency’s support in the areas of public sensitisation through

a robust political and civic education, citizenship mobilization and value re-orientation which cumulatively will engender a well informed, responsible and responsive voters during the exercise.

In her goodwill message, the State Director of National Orientation Agency commended Oyo State Governor, Senator Isiaq Abiola Ajimobi for creating a conducive political atmosphere which she said is a precursor to attainment of electoral success in the State.

Mrs. Dosunmu noted that elections alone do not make a true democracy hence, she said all hands must be on deck to ensuring a well managed and successful election at the forth coming local government polls.

She therefore urged OYSIEC to ensure a level playing ground for all parties concerned without fear or favour. This, she said, will be in line with the global best practices.

The Director also maintained

Battle for Ekweremadu’s seat shifts to Senate –Ben Uwajumogu CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10

AJIMOBI that conducting a credible election is akin to leaving a good legacy for posterity and therefore called on prospective contestants to map out developmental agenda in pursuance of common good and wean themselves away from primordial egoistic sentiments, adding that election should not be a business as usual. Her words: “We should convince the whole world that as a Pace setter State we are capable of putting in place a smooth and rancor free democratic process

that will ultimately throw up people that are visionary and masses –friendly.

Mrs. Dosunmu enjoined OYSIEC to live up to its billings and conduct local government election that will be a reference point to other states as she promised that her Agency will not renege on its efforts in the sensitisation, education and moblisation of the electorate particularly at the community level which is the nearest to the people.

ture helped me to win this senatorial election’’.

It would be recalled that before the July 23 election, Governor Okorocha had predicted that the days of Ekweremadu as Deputy Senate President was numbered as the APC would soon take over what rightfully belonged to with the then upcoming polls which he assured would be won by his party.

But not to be outdone, Ekweremadu described the statement as a pipe dream saying the PDP would win the position and refuted claims by Okorocha that he was in Imo State prior to the July 23 election to muster support for the PDP candidate.

Ekweremadu

Our Committee Will Be Fair To All – Kogi Auditor General The location and work schedule of the Kogi State Staff Screening Review and Complaints Committee will be announced on Wednesday. The Chairman of the committee and State Auditor General, Alhaji Yakubu Yusuf Okala, said this while speaking after the inaugural meeting of the committee at the Government House, Lokoja.

Alhaji Okala said all Kogi State civil servants and pensioners, who felt aggrieved with the outcome of the staff screening exercise but have relevant documents to support their claims should make themselves available to the committee. He said all cases will be treated carefully and fairly.

He reiterated that the admin-

istration of Governor Yahaya Bello is determined to keep every genuine worker in its employment and was only interested in removing ghost workers or those who are working illegally in the state civil service.

Following the presentation of the report by the Staff Screening and Validation Committee last Monday, Governor Bello set up a 23-man Complaints Review Committee immediately and charged them to work speedily and justly to ensure that all issues arriving from the Screening Exercise are quickly resolved. In the report, a total of 18,211 Ghost Workers or Unintended Beneficiaries were discovered to be drawing salaries from the State and Local

Gov Yahaya Bello

Government. This meant that approximately N213b had been lost to these people over the last 13 years.

Asked what the terms of reference were for his committee, Alhaji Okala said, “One: Further screening of the ‘Cleared List.’ Two: Scrutinise further those currently on ‘Problem List.’ Three: Attend to complaints with the view to resolving them.

“After our meeting next Wednesday, we will announce the venue for the exercise along with the work schedule and modalities so that each ministry, agency, department and local government area will know when to come and present their case. We promise that the pro-

cess will be as painless and organised as possible. Everyone will be given the chance to prove their case before the committee.”

The committee is made up of seasoned professionals, career civil servants, and law enforcement officers. Barrister I.O. Alhassan, representing the Attorney General, is the Committee Secretary, while the Local Government Areas Auditor General, Alhaji Ahmed Ododo, is a member. Other members include Former Auditor General, Hajia Maryam Ladi Ibrahim; State Legal Adviser, Barrister Femi Adegboyega and the Representative of the Ministry of Local Governments and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr. Alfa Arome.

News 12

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, August 1, 2016

MASSOB rejects conditional release of Kanu, others ÏÏÏThe Movement for the Actuali-

sation of Sovereign State of Biafra, (MASSOB) has carpeted the Federal Government’s reported offer of a conditional release for the detained Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Nnamdi Kanu.

MASSOB leader, Comrade Uchenna Madu, in a statement on Sunday, declared that the conditions “are not only laughable but inconsequential.”

The statement wondered how any sane man thought that Nnamdi Kanu would renounce Biafra and sell-out the good people of Biafra clamouring for self-rule.

The statement noted that Biafra

struggle was bigger than Nnamdi Kanu or any other leader, pointing out that “nobody, not even Kanu can stop the tide.”

“MASSOB’s reaction on the Federal Government’s condition on Nnamdi Kanu’s release is a bluff of government that knows nothing about genuine self-determination.

This condition is not only laughable but inconsequential.

“MASSOB does not see Mazi Nnamdi Kanu as one who can betray his belief on Biafra. He is not a sellout, his ideologies on Biafra may differ, but he can never betray hundreds of Biafrans that died recently

on the course of Biafra.

“Secondly, Biafra is not a religious faith that can be renounced or abandoned. Nobody can renounce Biafra, it is an identity, culture, tradition and existence of group of nationalities; it’s not personal or individualistic.

“There are thousands of Biafranistic persons more determined, consistent, dangerous, focused, and unshakable than Nnamdi Kanu, Uchenna Madu and other leading figures in Biafra struggle. Biafra is also bigger than all the leading figures put together.”

“It is childish on Federal Govern-

ment to expect Nnamdi Kanu to renounce Biafra, the fate of over fifty million people.

“MASSOB advises Buhari to save his battered Nigeria’s face from more diplomatic shame by allowing the court to grant Nnamdi Kanu and others bail.

“We shall continue to press for their release including the ultimate aim of Biafra actualisation with non-violence. Nigeria will soon experience another dimension of nonviolence struggle that will marvel them. Soon the world will celebrate the downfall of the most corrupt country,” the statement asserted.

Wheel on wheels on Lagos-Ibadan Expressway… recently.

Ex-A’Court president seeks investigation of conflicting judgments Continued from page 7 cipline and recklessness by some judges. ``Politicians should learn to appeal unfavourable court decisions rather than making unlawful utterances and fomenting crisis. ``Politicians are desperate to win their cases; rather than appeal a particular unfavourable judgment, they approach a similar court with another version of the case in an attempt to mislead the judge resulting in conflicting judgments,’’ he said.

He made references to the recent judgments on Abia State governorship tussle and that of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s leadership crisis.

Abdullahi advised aggrieved parties to petition the NJC if they were not satisfied or felt the need for clarification in the face of conflicting judgments.

He said that NJC acted based on petitions before it.

Lagos Govt. warns traditional rulers on use of fake number plates

ÏÏÏThe Lagos State Government

Photo: BOLAJI OLASUNKANMI

PDP: Sheriff chairmanship, a mistake – Fayose Gbenga Sodeinde Ado-Ekiti

ÏÏÏEkiti

State Governor, Mr. Ayodele Fayose, has described the chairmanship of Senator Ali-Modu Sheriff in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, as a mistake.

The governor, who noted that “I take responsibility for that? I will not be in the forefront again to carry responsibility for any man” but pointed out that he will first seek the face of God to choose the right man for the people. .

Fayose, made the remarks Saturday evening, in his speech while

commenting on the chairmanship tour of Dr. Raymond Dopespi to Ekiti State at the Jibowu Hall, Government House.

He said the PDP in Ekiti is deeply concerned on the current situation of the party, saying the party has broken into factions because everybody wants to be masters in the party.

Fayose, who condemned those going to court to express their grievances over party matters, also condemned those who are paying lip services to the party.

He pointed out that the “dry bones of the PDP will rise again”,

saying “God will give the PDP a new leader that will reposition the party to progress in the country.

Fayose said: “In Ekiti, we have no anointed candidate; we would come to Port Harcourt with open mind and let God do Justice”.

In his speech, while soliciting for support in Ekiti, the PDP chairmanship aspirant, Chief Raymond Dokpesi, pleaded with the stakeholders to allow him to serve the party.

According to him, he is a leader, a transformer and a bridge builder, who will promote, protect and project the PDP by bringing fresh-

ness into the party.

Dokpesi said the APC since the last general election has not allowed the PDP leaders to rest, but urged the PDP to stand and defend the democracy in the country.

“The leader who believed in the people that is the leader we need in our democracy,” Dokpesi said.

He later debunked the insinuation that he had stepped down for Chief Bode George, saying: “I am still in the race. At no time have I stepped down for Chief Bode George. We need fresh blood to run the PDP. I will stand by you and defend the PDP”.

has warned traditional rulers and their relations against indiscriminate use of fake vehicle number plates.

This is contained in a statement issued by Head, Public Affairs, Lagos State Environmental Task Force, Mr. Adebayo Taofiq, and made available to newsmen on Sunday in Lagos.

The statement warned that anyone caught using fake number plates would be arrested and charged to court.

It read in part: ``It observed that traditional chiefs and their relations use vehicles with different fake special number plates which contravene the Lagos State Road Traffic Laws of 2012. ``Investigations revealed that most of these council chiefs and their relations have special fake vehicles number plates being used to commit environmental and other crimes in the state. ``The government urged traditional rulers to check the excesses of their chiefs and relations within their domains by ensuring that all their vehicles with special traditional number plates are registered,’’ the statement added.

Meanwhile, the task force on environmental sanitation on Sunday arrested 85 people across the state.

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, August 1, 2016

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13

Opinion 14

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, August 1, 2016

Did Erdogan stage the coup?

A

Yinka Odumakin

ftermath of the failed televised coup in Turkey, what we feared all along had started in Turkey, a massive crackdown on opposition elements in thousands.

A good read of that country’s history for forty years shows that the putsch was coming about a decade late as the military in Turkey had thrown away a despised government once in 10 years.

As the ill-prepared and incompetent plotters wobbled through their putsch, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who once banned social media sites, ironically took to Facebook and Twitter to rally the people to confront the soldiers on rampage. The coup plotters failed to arrest the President and the Prime Minister which is rudimentary to any successful putsch. This has made conspiracy theorists to advance that this could have been staged managed.

The almost-20-year interregnum between the last military intervention in 1997 and the putsch created the impression among many in Turkey and the West that the coup era was over. The same way pro-democracy forces humiliation of the military to the barracks in 1999 after five years of street and intellectual battles with the murderous Abacha junta has given Nigeria non-stop 17 years of break from military intervention in governance. During this period, the ruling Justice and Development Party, known as AKP, and its leader, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, used both constitutional reforms and dubious criminal prosecutions of senior officers to bring the military under control.

This was why it was astonishing to so many, especially Turks, when tanks appeared on the streets of Istanbul and fighter jets streaked low across the sky. For a few hours, it seemed to those nostalgic for another era, when the military’s general staff styled itself as the last check on the excesses of Turkey’s civilian leaders, that the military had finally returned to its old form and was resetting Turkish politics.

The coup however failed as the people trooped to the streets to confront the tanks joined by the deliberately equipped police who were disarming the soldiers. It was a titanic battle for the lesser of two evils as Erdogan is not a leader a people should ordinarily lay their lives down for. His skin is so thin to criticism. He has promoted nepotism to a state art as

Erdogan he is surrounded by his relations.

He has waged wars of attrition against the press, civil society as well as the judiciary. His ostentation knows no bound as he resides in a presidential mansion that had 1,150 rooms built at a cost $615m. Corrupt officials of the regime are above the law in a country of unequal justice.

The benevolent dictator has however ensured that Turks have better infrastructure and more money in their pockets which have endeared him still to about half of the electorate which has consistently elected him since 2007. This gives him the social base to rally as it would have been a totally impossible dejected, hun-

gry, angry and disoriented people to go confront the tanks.

Turkey has indeed changed since coups seemed a routine feature of the country’s politics.

In previous eras, the military could easily intimidate opponents into succumbing to the repressive principles of modern Turkey’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

Yet as Turkey has become a more complex society and the AKP has sought to integrate it globally, the conformity of Kemalism no longer works. In 1997, many Turks welcomed the military’s intervention to undermine Turkey’s first experiment with Islamist-led government. A decade later when the military sought to prevent one

of the AKP’s founders, Abdullah Gul, from becoming president — opposing, among other things, the fact that Gul’s wife wore a headscarf — Turks protested, declaring that they neither wanted Islamic law nor military rule.

Having survived, Erdogan has already portrayed the failed coup as an assault on Turkish democracy. Yet he is largely seen to have something other than democratic politics in mind. Arriving in Istanbul, he declared the coup “a gift from God … because this will help us claim our military from these members of this gang” — referring to followers of exiled cleric Fethullah Gulen, who was once a partner of the AKP, but has more recently become Erdogan’s enemy. The colour of things to come is emerging.

The implications are clear: AKP will now hunt down opponents — real or imagined — with impunity, consolidating Erdogan’s already formidable personal power and fueling his ambition to further transform Turkey.

Rather than an opportunity for democracy, the failed coup will only consolidate Turkey’s elected autocracy with festering impunity. The big man will likely become bigger.

The fact that this coup failed is not as important as the fact that in a region that has been descending into chaos, Turkey (which borders the chaos in Syria and Iraq but is also a NATO ally) was touched by chaos. The fact that this coup was not successful does not mean that chaos has not come to Turkey. A heavy handed response by politicians seeking to use the coup as an excuse to completely eliminate their opponents is not the sort of thing that will eliminate the threat of chaos to Turkey.

Turkey needs a leader who can step back and reconfigure to be able to stabilise the polity. But Erdogan does not carry that anointing. He is likely to continue his hard line posture and bulldozing which can only mean that chaos is only suspended in Turkey.

The massive crackdown on opposition within and outside Turkey which has seen about 10,000 (!!!) people arrested has clearly reinforced the suspicion that this coup was possibly staged by Endorgan to have an opportunity for a massive crackdown. He has even come to Nigeria to ask that all Turkish schools in Nigeria be closed over the coup and suggesting that a Nigerian bank was involved in movement of money.

The world watches as this cinema in Turkey rolls on.

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, August 1, 2016

15 Opinion

The Redeemed 64th Annual Convention

T

Matthew Oye

he Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) 64th Annual convention begins today August 1, 2016 at the Redemption Camp, KM 46 Lagos/Ibadan Express way.

The convention holds every first week of August every year. The Redeemed Christian Church of God popularly known as RCCG is one of the largest Christian Organisations in the world with parishes in over 129 nations. The story of the Redeemed Church is a very interesting narrative which can be divided into two chronicles. RCCG was founded by Rev. Josiah Akindayomi, A man could not read or write but was mighty in prayer. It was said that he wrote the name The Redeemed Christian Church of God down and asked somebody to read it for him. God made a covenant with him that if he would serve faithfully, the Redeemed Church will spread all over the world and all other denominations will come and learn to worship God in the Church. Also, that the Redeemed Church will disappear but will be around when Je-

sus comes. Interesting before Pastor Enock Adejare Adeboye joined the Church, God has already revealed that He is sending an intellectual to the Church who will take over as the Genersl Overseer. Innocently a university lecturer was having some personal challenges so he was invited to the cChurch in 1973.That very day the founder knew that the man was in the church. Pastor Adeboye fully joined the church and God warned him never to leave the Redeemed Church. Few years after joining, he was ordained a pastor. There was no turning back.

At a prayer meeting in Tulsa, USA, while the founder and other church leaders including Adeboye were praying, the foundation of the hotel shook and fire fighters came to check what happened. It was there the Founder announced that the leadership baton will be handed over to Adeboye after the founder is gone. And true to the instruction, Pastor Adeboye took over as the General Overseer in 1980. The mathematics lecturer resigned his post to become a fisher’s of men.

He threw himself unreservedly to the work on God. The Church grew in leaps and bounds. From a

little 40 parishes when he took over, Redemmed Church has now grown with millions of membership all over the world.

I am so proud of Pastor Adeboye who is a worthy ambassador of not only Nigeria but also Africa and Christianity. And when I think about Adeboye, I see a man who has a pure heart and disarming humility. I also admire the rigour he bought into his ministry and his simplicity of teaching the gospel.

Pastor Adeboye is my mentor and I look forward to personally meeting him soon.

The theme of this year Convention is ‘AMEN’ and it is promises to be uplifting.

This convention will attract millions of attendees. It is important that government agencies do everything possible for the success of this convention. Enough security personnel should be deployed so that there will be ease of movement of persons and vehicles along the Lagos/Ibadan Express road.

The General Overseer has spent thousands of hours in praying since he came to settle at the Redemption Camp. Everyone attending this should make sure we keep

the camp clean. We should remember that this is a House of God. Since I relocated to Nigeria I was so excited to attend the July Holy Ghost Night, I had gone to the auditorium to find myself a good place to sit so that I can dance, sing, pray and listen to the message. But what do I get? Many of the chairs in the front have been “reserved”. In fact in two places that I sat down, I was kicked away.

This is not good enough. During this convention, no chair should be reserved for anyone except for dignitaries, elders and senior pastors. Someone cannot come from the village commandeer five or six chairs saying they are reserved for those chairs for those still in the village. It should be first come first served.

It is my sincere prayer that the good Lord will strengthen His servant, Pastor A Adeboye as he prepares to preach and minister during this convention. I pray that all delegates will come and return safely to their destination and that the God will answer the prayers that about two million people praying for Nigeria during this convention.

Abia and certificates of return

S Okechukwu Ukegbu

ince the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC issued the controversial Certificate of Return to Uche Ogah, the document has become an object of ridicule. Every now and then, people , especially on the social media, are flaunting one manner of certificate or the other and lay claims to the governorship position of the state. The situation is indeed ridiculous and depicts the deplorable level at which our coveted political offices have been ridiculed.

Last week, Uche Ogah’s certificate of return came under serious scrutiny in the public court .The validity of the document was questioned on various grounds. One is the date of election and second is that the document does not bear the Nigerian Coat of Arms.

It will be recalled that the April 11, 2015 governorship election in Abia could not produce a winner because elections in some units in some local government areas were nullified and a supplementary election was rescheduled. The total votes of the affected areas where supplementary election was held surpassed the margin with which Okezie Ikpeazu, winner of the election was leading the runners up, Dr. Alex Otti of the All Progres-

sives Grand Alliance, APGA and there was no clear winner. . The law stipulates that in such situation that a supplementary election would be conducted for a winner to emerge.

When the supplementary election was conducted later, Ikpeazu maintained his lead and was declared the winner. Ikpeazu’s certificate, unlike Ogah’s controversial certificate of return, reflected the two dates of the elections.

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Abia State was the first to fire the salvo .The party roundly condemned the judgment of Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which purported to have sacked Governor Okezie Ikpeazu, adding that their position was informed by fact that Governor Ikpeazu was a public servant who paid his taxes appropriately under the Pay As You Earn (PAYE) system.

According to PDP, Governor Okezie Ikpeazu’s Certificate of Return was a product of the elections of April 11 and April 25 of 2015, as properly reflected on the Certificate of return. The party therefore vehemently rejected the Certificate of Return erroneously issued to Mr. Ogah for, among many other reasons, the enormous fact that the Certificate of return failed to reflect the fact that the governorship election took place on two different dates.

To the best of my knowledge, since the argument questioning the validity of Ogah’s certificate of return erupted, the issuing authority has not offered any explanations to clarify the issues raised.

The main relief came with the pronouncement of Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja which said that the Abia State Governor, Dr Okezie Ikpeazu should retain his seat as governor pending the time the court will hear his appeal.

Political observers are earnestly waiting the commencement of the fireworks at the Court of Appeal where the five grounds of appeal by the Abia State Governor would be looked at .The governor said that the Federal High Court lacked the power to order him to vacate the seat of Abia State Governor. The notice of appeal reads: “The trial judge erred in law when he ordered as a consequential order that the appellant vacates his office as the Governor of Abia state immediately when there was no jurisdiction in the Federal High Court to remove, vacate the occupier of the office of the governor of a state or order the removal of such officer after the unsuccessful challenge of the result of the election at the Tribunal and swearing in of the appellant as the governor.”

The governor said that the only power, authority and order exercis-

able by the Federal High Court was to disqualify the candidate from contesting the election based on section 31(6) of the Electoral Act 2010.

He also faulted the judge when he held that he did not pay his tax for the years 2011, 2012 and 2013, at when due, when he was a public officer whose tax deduction was under Pay As You Earn (PAYE) scheme Ikpeazu said the Abia State Board of Internal Revenue Service that issued the tax certificates had not declared them forged and that the trial court did not invite the issuing authorities to give evidence in the course of the trial.

The governor accused the trial judge, Justice Okon Abang of violating his right to fair hearing by embarking on judicial investigation without giving him the opportunity to address the court on the issue.

The conduct of Abians in the face of these undue provocations is commendable. The people who deserve greater commendation are the people of Ukwa- Ngwa ethnicnationality. They have not had a shot at the governorship since its creation in1991. Also, the “Abia Charter of Equity”, a document guiding the distribution of the governorship position in the state should be respected.

Ukegbu, a public policy analyst and communication startegist, writes from Umuahia, Abia State.

16

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, August 1, 2016

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Daily Times Nigeria Monday, August 1, 2016

Features Æ s

CATTLE RANCHES:

We have left so much undone for a long time - Dr Vivian Iwar Gbubemi God’s Covenant Snr Following the announcement by Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbe, that 11 states had offered 55,000 hectres of land for the ranches, Search for Common Ground, a nongovernmental organisation recently organised a highlevel dialogue on grazing reserves in Jos to address the continued apprehension between farmers and herdsmen as well as stakeholders.

The dialogue brought experts, government officials, conflict managers,

community leaders as well as herdsmen and farmers to have a common ground and create the needed understanding of any policy that would end the crises.

Although the key stakeholders - farmers and the herdsmen - express different views on the government decision, governments at all levels, non-governmental organisations and corporate bodies have continued to enlighten the public on what is expected from the stakeholders.

Dr Vivian Iwar, Head, Livestock Department of ECOWAS, said that the Nigerian government must ‘recreate and regulate’ the

livestock system if the ranches policy was to succeed.

“We have left so much undone for a long time; there are many challenges we did not prepare for, like the climate change that has thrown the herdsmen into wandering around the forest without any pattern in the search for grass and water.

“Sometimes, one feels very sorry for the cows that suffer through thick forests and have to cope with all manners of insects, disease, wild animals and all manners of weathers.

“If Nigeria does not regulate the sector, we shall fail because ranches are not in

themselves the solution.

“They are only a path to the solution and required a much broader approach and strategy to reach the Promised Land,’’ she said.

Iwar emphasised the need to establish a policy where the crop and livestock farmers could cohabit and work together towards a symbiotic relationship since the herdsmen needed the grass, while the farmers needed the cow dung as manure.

“We must emphasise such mutual benefits and let the farmers and herdsmen see the need to work together rather than working at cross purposes,’’ she said.

17

The Ministry of Justice and private lawyers should be involved in the planning of the ranches so that the rural community would know the legal implications of the policy and ensure that all interests were protected - Prof. Sharubutu Mr Shamil Idriss, President of Search for Common Ground, likened the mutual disagreements and distrust to the circumstances that led to the U.S./ Vietnam war which led to the establishment of the organisation in 1982.

“We must seek and emphasise common grounds; CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

Features 18

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, August 1, 2016

Peace building is like breaking stones, tough, but inevitable – Idriss CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17

the herdsman and farmer must be made to see and work on common areas that unite them towards the goal of promoting peace for the benefit of their individual selves and the society,’’ he said.

Noting that a key part of peace building was to keep the process steadily ongoing, he pointed out that conflicts were normal in every setting.

“Conflicts are normal; we should never be scared of them. But violence is not normal and only crops up if we cannot control conflicts through dialogue to search for common grounds.

“There are fears, suspicion, anxiety and mutual distrust; these are natural in view of every human being’s survival instinct.

They are natural reactions to any perceived threat to what one is used to.

“Peace building is certainly not easy. It is like breaking stones - tough, but inevitable,’’ he explained.

Also, Gov. Simon Lalong of Plateau, said that the clashes between the farmers and herdsmen had remained a major area of concern for his administration.

He said that the state had yet to take any decision as to whether or not to establish ranches or grazing reserves.

However, Lalong said the state had set up a 14-man committee to examine the issues involved and advise government, insisting that the state would be guided by the technical advice of the committee.

Prof. Garba Sharubutu, Chairman of the 14-man committee and President of the Veterinary Council of Nigeria, who shared his team’s findings with the audience, described the ranches idea as good.

“The minister of agriculture has told us that it is the local community that will rule the ranches.

“He has told us that we must involve the local communities in whatever step we take to minimise situations where animals could

Gov. Lalong

invade the ranches leading to the confusion and violence we have been trying to avoid,’’ he said.

Sharubutu emphasised the need for mass education to check apprehension, misinformation and rumour mongering, stressing that there was palpable fear, even among herdsmen, that ranches would ‘arrest’ the cattle into one area and deny them their ‘right’ to freedom of movement.’’

He, however, suggested that the Ministry of Justice

Vivian Iwar

in Plateau and private lawyers should be involved in the planning of the ranches so that the rural community would know the legal implications of the policy and ensure that all interests were protected.

In his contribution, Prof.

John Wade, Director-General, Plateau Bureau for Research and Development, challenged stakeholders to work toward a successful establishment of the ranches.

“When we conducted a painstaking research on

Govt would need to check apprehension, misinforma tion and rumour mongering,

because there is palpable fear, even among herdsmen, that ranches would ‘arrest’ the cattle into one area and deny them their ‘right’ to freedom of movement.

the violence in Plateau, we found that out of the 52 causes of the violence, half of them bordered on open grazing.

“We therefore started looking at how to tackle the persistent conflicts between farmers and herdsmen. We found that grazing reserves were obsolete and opted for ranching,’’ he said.

On the issue of security, Plateau Deputy Governor Sonni Tyoden, said that each ranch would have its security outfit made of trained members of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC).

“So, people using the ranches have nothing to fear. The cows, the herdsmen and the farmers will be well secured to avoid rustlers and clashes,’’ he explained.

In spite of this, Alhaji Nura Abdullahi, Chairman, Plateau chapter of the Miyetti Allah Cattle

Breeders Association of Nigeria (MACBAN) said: “We prefer the grazing reserves and will never accept ranches until we are fully convinced.’’

He regretted that no one had taken the pain to speak directly with the Fulani on the ranches policy even when they would be more affected by it.

Alhaji Nafiu Bayero, who supported Abdullahi, said: “The Fulani man is generally seen as an insurgent, a killer and a criminal.

“Unless we erase that impression in the minds of the average Nigerian, no policy on cattle rearing can succeed.’’

Participants at the forum, however, agreed that the dialogue must be sustained with more efforts to convince MACBAN and other skeptics that the establishment of ranches represented the best effort towards ending herdsmen/ farmers clashes.

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, August 1, 2016

19 News We’re proud of our NASS members – Ijesha in Diaspora Remi Oladoye Ibadan

ÏÏÏThe Ijesa people in the Dias-

L-R: 2nd Vice President, Nigeria Indigenous Association of Manufacturers (NIAM), Alhaji Bashir Abasu; President NIAM, Chief Eric Umeofia; Secretary, NIAM, Alhaji Umaru F. Abdullahi and 1st Vice President NIAM, Dr. Innocent Chukwuma at a media roundtable in Lagos… at the weekend.

Photo: QUADRI OLOWOLAGBA

Edo’ll reject PDP over nation’s woes — Oshiomhole ÏÏÏGovernor Adams Oshiomhole of

Edo State says people of the state will not allow the PDP loot and deplete the state’s treasury the way they depleted the nation’s treasury, calling on people of the state to reject the PDP and its candidate in the governorship election holding on September 10.

Speaking at a rally of the All Progressives Congress (APC) holding at Afuze, Owan East Local Government Area, at the weekend, Governor Oshiomhole said the nation is presently in an economic recession because the past PDP government looted the treasury dry.

Said he, “The people who bled the treasury are now coming to tell you, the victims, that rice is now expensive, naira has suffered devaluation.

If one man took over N2 billion, in Edo alone, what they have confessed to EFCC to have taken is over N5 bil-

lion.

“If they took so much dollars meant for defense to protect Christians against attacks from Boko Haram, to protect mosques from Boko Haram attack, these people took the money in dollars, converted it to naira, depleted our dollar reserves, shared it into their pockets, their generals dug soak-away pits and put dollars inside. The whole dollars from the Central Bank was taken and from a reserve of over $50 billion, PDP bled the reserves and today it is down to about $20 billion.

“When a man comes to your house, burgled your store where you kept your food and in the morning you find the store burgled, can you immediately feed your children?

What President Buhari is doing now, when he found that PDP broke into the treasury and emptied it, he has

started rebuilding of the door of the treasury to resecure it, and the ones they have taken he is recovering them one after the other.

“The way PDP put fire on our economy, to rebuild it cannot be overnight. Today, my confidence about the future of our country is that Buhari is blocking all the leakages in our economy.”

On the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Mr Godwin Obaseki, Oshiomhole said: “we have shown that Edo is viable, Godwin’s task is to focus on how to get jobs for the youths, because when we built roads we wanted to attract investors, when we built schools, we wanted to develop the human capital and when you develop the human capital the next task is for him to create the environment for those who have gone to schools to be qualified for work.

You can see that this is not something that came out of the blues.

“It is the product of the 20-year development plan for the state which he chaired as Chairman up to the year 2020. nation’s don’t grow on the basis of the rule of the thumb, everything in the life of a nation is the vision, the clarity of purpose of the leadership.

“When the leadership cannot see beyond the nose, he cannot do what he cannot imagine. We are clear of the past, we are clear of our destination, we have identified the route, Godwin will take us to the next level.”

On his part, Mr Godwin Obaseki, the gubernatorial candidate of the All Progressives Congress said the Comrade has done well in the past seven and half years but that more needs to be done.

Army tasks officers to promote transparency, accountability Segun Adio

ÏÏÏThe Nigerian Army has ended

its 2nd quarter conference with a charge to the beneficiaries to utilise the knowledge gained to promote transparancy and accountability in all aspect of public bureaucracy.

The theme of the 2016 Chief of Account and Budget Conference, “Defence Procurement: Imperative of the Public Procurement Act (2007) for the Nigeria Army’’, was held at the Army Finance Corps, Apapa, Lagos.

Participants were senior officers drawn from the army headquarters and other formations and units in the

army.

Acting Chief of Accounts and Budget (Army), Brig.-Gen. Jahadi Jakko, said the conference was designed to enlighten officers on guidlines necessary for defence procurement.

“The issue of procurement in the Nigerian Army in particular and defence procurement in general has become quite challenging. ``If you recall contracts that are awarded in January last year were based on the dollar exchange rate of N197 to dollar. ``And most of our defence procurement, particularly the hard wares, the arms and ammunitions are de-

nominated in dollars even though we have to convert them to our currency in naira. ``Today, If you are to execute such contracts with the increase of naira exchange from N197 to like N350 today, you can see that you might not even be able to pay half the price of a contract. ``Now these are part of the challenges that are confronting us,`` he said.

Jakko said the central objective of the reforms of the Federal Government was to promote transparancy and accountability in all aspect of public bureaucracy.

Buratai

pora, a social cultural group of all Ijesa indigenes across the globe, have commended the representative all the six Local Government Areas of Ijesaland at both the Senate and House of Representative for their steadfastness and continual exhibition of the omoluabi trait and not being part the ongoing show of shame in the name of Forgery and Budget padding at the National Assembly.

This was contained in statement issued by the Chairman of the Ijesa People in the Diaspora board of trustees, Chief Bobaseye Akinyemi Fasakin .

According to the statement , Fasakin particularly extoled the virtues of one of their representative at the green chamber Hon Ajiblola Famurewa (APC) Ijesa South Federal Constituency who opted out of the House of Representative Speakership race on the instruction of his party’s leadership in spite of massive support of his colleagues ,‘ we reliably gathered Famurewa’s unshaking loyalty to his Party caused him Chairmanship position in the green chamber but yet has remained resolute and unswerving to wellbeing of his constituent and structured legislation through developmental motions as displayed in his motion for the establishment of Federal Medical Center Ilesa.’

Why EFCC visited NAHCO Chukwuemeke Iwelunmo

ÏÏÏOfficials of

the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), last Thursday, visited the Head Office of the Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) Plc. The visit which was without incident was basically a fact-finding one as the operatives asked to the see the MD/CEO, Mr. Norbert Bielderman, who was currently out of the country.

In the absence of the MD, it was gathered that they asked to see the Executive Director/Company Secretary, Mrs. Folashade Ode, who was also out of the premises at the time.

Unable to meet with any of the two top Company officials, they then requested to see the Chief Financial Officer, Mr. Bamidele Adelaja, with whom they spent some time sorting out some Company documents which they were interested in.

News 20 Okorocha plans 3-working days for Imo workers Val Okara Owerri

ÏÏÏGovernor Rochas Okorocha

of Imo State, on Friday said government was contemplating to reduce working days for state civil and public servants from five to three days per week.

Okorocha made the disclosure while briefing journalists on the state of affairs at his private residence in Owerri.

He said the reduction from five to three days was to enable workers to have more time to attend to other activities that would enable them raise fund to supplement their monthly earning . ``I encourage Imo workers to find additional things to do so as to support their families because of the economic situation we are facing in Nigeria. ``We are considering plans to reduce working days from five to three in Imo so that workers will use the rest of the days to work and support their families’’, he said.

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, August 1, 2016

NERC appeals judgment on powers to regulate electricity tariffs Peter Fowoyo

ÏÏÏTwo

weeks after a Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos, ordered the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) not to embark on a hike in electricity tariff, the commission has filed a Notice of Appeal against the judgment.

In the Notice of Appeal before the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal, counsels to NERC, Chief Anthony Idigbe (SAN), Nnamdi Oragwu, Peter Edokpayi and Tobenna Nnamani the appellant set out 14 grounds of appeal for the appellate court to determine.

The case which originated at the Federal High Court with Suit No: FHC/L/CS/768/2015 had as defendant the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and

the 13 plaintiffs included Barrister Toluwani Yemi Adebiyi, Abuja Electricity Distribution Plc, Ibadan Electricity Distribution Plc, Esco Electricity Distribution Plc, Ikeja Electricity Distribution Plc, Kaduna Electricity Distribution Plc, Kano Electricity Distribution Plc, Jos Electricity Distribution Plc, Benin Electricity Distribution Plc, Enugu Electricity Distribution Plc, Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Plc, Yola Electricity Distribution Plc and Ziklagsis Network Ltd. Appellant particularly stated in the grounds of appeal that: The trial Judge erred in law when he held that the court had jurisdiction to entertain the 1st Respondent’s originating summons when the processes were incompetent and refused to decline

jurisdiction to entertain the 1st Respondent’s originating summons when it was clear that the action was statute barred, having been brought outside the statutory period prescribed under Section 2(a) of the Public Officers Protection Act, Cap P41, LFN, 2004.

The trial judge took the position of the litigant by assisting the 1st Respondent in couching its claim.

The trial judge erred in law and deprived the Appellant of its constitutional right to fair hearing when he raised in its judgment issue of compliance of the Appellant’s counter affidavit with provision of the Evidence Act, admissibility of newspaper publication and granting relief to the 1st Respondent not sought without first giving the parties opportunity to

address him on the issues raised suo motu.

The trial judge erred in law when he held that the 1st Respondent was allowed to approach the Court without exhausting the Appellant’s internal dispute resolution mechanism pursuant to Section 45 and 50 of the Electricity Power Sector Reform Act 2005 (EPSRA) because of the use of the word “may” in Section 50 (1) of the EPSRA 2005 when the clear intendment of the Act was establishment of condition precedents to exercise of jurisdiction by the Federal High Court.

The trial judge erred in law when he held that Appellant did not comply with the provision of Section 76 of the Electricity Power Sector Reform Act 2005 (EPSRA) in preparing its tariff methodology.

NDLEA, NGO task community to fight illicit drugs Chijioke Kingsley Jos

ÏÏÏThe

Commandant Nigeria Drug Law Enforcement Agency, Plateau State, Mrs Ngozi Madubuike, has decried the absence of community leaders in the fight against consumption of illicit drugs.

Madubuike said the major fight against consumption and trafficking of illicit drugs lies in the hands of the communities, that NDLEA is only there to assist and boost community efforts.

She stated this at the monthly security meeting organized by a Non Governmental Organization, known as, Search For Common Grounds, founded by the European Union (EU), under the auspices of Peace Architecture Dialogue (PAD), to address the issues of security challenges that has engulfed Plateau in recent times.

The NDLEA boss said that Traditional rulers should play major roles in the fight as she also called on those who are adversely affected by the consumption of illicit drugs to go for treatment, stating that early treatment help in rehabilitating drug addicts.

L-R: Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Amb. Danjuma Sheni; Chairman, Federal Civil Service Commission, Mrs. Joan Ayo; Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita; Representative of the Vice President, Pastor Oluseyi Malomo and other officials, at the service to mark the Civil Service Week in Abuja… on Sunday.

Nigeria’s future is bright, says Bauchi gov Pita Chikwem Minna

ÏÏÏThe Governor of Bauchi

State, Mohammed Abubakar, has predicted a bright future for the country, despite the dwindling economic fortune and other social challenges.

He said the enthronement of probity and transparency by the All Progressives Congress (APC)led administration were pointers that the country was on the path of regaining her lost glory.

Abubakar, who spoke with newsmen, on Sunday, in Minna

shortly after he paid a visit to Niger State governor, Abubakar Sani Bello, expressed optimism that the country would bounce back and occupy her rightful position in the league of nations.

“There is hope for Nigeria despite the present challenges. The All Progressives Congress (APC)led federal government has engendered probity and it has also engendered transparency in the running of the affairs of government and these have started to yield a lot of fruits,” he noted.

The governor cited the increase in revenue from non-oil sector

that had culminated in increase in internally-generated revenue due to prudent and transparent management of the nation’s resources as an indication of good things to come.

He also admitted that President Muhammadu Buhari and the ruling party were aware of the expectations of the people and appealed for patience and understanding on the part of members of the public.

He argued that many years of mismanagement and fraud would require time, patience and prudent management of the resources to put the country back on track.

“Human beings tend to forget quickly that it was 16 years of fraud and of mismanagement that brought us to where we are now and what we are doing in the last one year and few months is to stabilise the politics and with the probity and transparency of this administration, Nigeria is set for greatness again”.

On move by the APC Governors’ Forum to mediate in the crisis engulfing the National Assembly, Gov. Abubakar said that various litigations by the lawmakers may have restrained their intervention.

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, August 1, 2016

21

Public Notice 22 GOVERNMENT SECONDARY SCHOOL ILORIN 1999 SET The general public is hereby notified that the above named, has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for Registration under part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Act 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. TUNDE SALAWU 2. OLORIEGBE YUSUF 3. LAYI SULEIMAN 4. MOSHOOD AMASA 5. SAHEED AJIBOYE 6. JUBRIL ALI 7. SAYI MURITALA 8. SEMIU KAREEM THE AIM AND OBJECTIVES: 1. To strengthen and bring together under one umbrella all Government secondary school Ilorin’s old students of 1999 for purpose of sharing information, networking, associating and otherwise enhancing the relevance and status of government secondary school Ilorin 2. To observe, highlight, address, inform, educate and proffer legislative and administrative measures that may either directly or indirectly affect the interest of the association and it’s members Any objection to this registration must reach the Registrar-General of Corporate Affairs Commission Maitama Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

Signed: Olowa kehinde Muhammed-Awwal 2nd floor, right wing, Afri Investment House, Plot 2669, Aguyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, FCT Abuja 07065283517 / 07039503354

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, August 1, 2016

ARMY OF CHRIST MINISTRY This is to inform the general public that the above Named has applied to the corporate Affairs commission for registration under part’ C’ of the company and Allied Matters Act of 1990.

NAMES OF TRUSTEES: 1. Prophet akingbehingbe arogundade 2. Deaconess temitope bakare 3. Elder dele akpan 4. Pastor mrs. oluwatoyin arogundade 5. Evang. temitope omoniyi Aims: To preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, Off Aguiyi ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja, within 28 days of this Publication.

Signed: Trustees.

CENTRE FOR BIBLICAL SURVEY & THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY This is to inform the general public that the above Named has applied to the corporate Affairs commission for registration under part’ C’ of the company and Allied Matters Act of 1990.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. OLADAPO TIMOTHY OLUFEMI 2. AKINWANDE OSUOLALE PRAISE 3. AKINWANDE AKINPRAISE TOPE 4. EDWARD ALABI 5. OWOLABI OLATUNDE 6. POPOOLA OLAWALE 7. MAKANJUOLA OJEWUMI 8.OLUSEYI OLAYINKA 9. AKANDE CAROLINE AIMS: 1. . To operate biblical survey and theological education in all ramifications.

Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the Registrar General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, Off Aguiyi ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja, within 28 days of this Publication.

SIGNED: TRUSTEES

COVENANT GLOBE MINISTRY LAND OF FREEDOM

HOPE OF GLORY (JAH) REDEMPTION CHURCH

CITADEL COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE

Notice is hereby given to the General Public that the above Named Organisation has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja, for the registration under Part C of the Companies and Allied Matters Acts No. 1 of 1990.

The General Public is hereby Notified that the above named FOUNDATION has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under part C of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAP 20) LFN 1990

The general public is hereby notify that the above named Non Governmental Organisation (NGO) with it headquarters in PortHarcourt Rivers State, has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja, for Registration in accordance with Part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Act 1990.

NAMES OF TRUSTEES 1. OLAFIMIHAN BABATUNDE 2. AYOKA VICTOR ABIDEMI 3. OLORUNYOMI ADEBIYI OLUMIDE 4. OLAITAN OLAKUNLE BOLARINWA

THE TRUSTEES ARE; 1. CHIEF PRINCEWILL ODIARI CHRISTOPHER. 2. HON. NWANOSIKE SAMUEL. 3. MR. JAMES TYCHO EMMANUEL .

4. MR. CASIDY DORGU.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1.To preach, teach and propagate the gospel of Jesus Christ.

2. To foster unity and cooperation among members 3. To promote Christian growth, Christian love and Christian fellowship among the Church members..

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ; 1. To initiate and promote sustainable development actions.

2. To formulate and drive human development and empowerment.

3. To forestall a good working environment for peaceful Co-existence.

4. Making the community conducive for successive habitation.

5. Promotion of economic growth of community using the available resources.

6. To engender a process for improved future sustenance.

TRUSTEES: I. SEIGHA JANE DICKSON 2. HELEN DICKSON AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: I. To raise an Assembly of God people in a place to be known as COVENANT GLOBE MINISTRY LAND OF FREEDOM and to engage in regular worship service and mid week meeting for ministration, prayers, teaching and preaching the good news of our Lord Jesus christ.

2. To heal the sick, through the power of the Holy Ghost and to engage in quality worship and supplication for liberation of man from all influence of negative force. .

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

Any objection to this publication should be forwarded to the Registrar General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420 Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, PMB 198 Maitama,Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

signed: UZOMA IBEGBULEM (MRS)

SIGNED CHAIRMAN

ALHAJI ABDULRAHEEM ADEGOKE ISHOLA SHITTU EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION The General Public is hereby Notified that the above named FOUNDATION has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under part C of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAP 20) LFN 1990 THE TRUSTEES ARE:(1) SHITTU ABDLRAZAQ AYODELE AYODEJI ADEYI CHAIRMAN (2) GBENJO SUNDAY OYEKANMI (3) AMOSUN KUNLE IDOWU SECRETARY (4) SHITTU SOFIATLAHI OYERONKE (5) SHITTU ABDLRAQIIB ADEGOKE (6) SHITTU ADUNOLA MOROUNFOLU (7) BASHIRU OLAYIWOLA BUSARI (8) AZEEZ FATAI ADENIYI THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE:(1) TO AWARD SCHOLARSHIP AND BURSARIES FOR INDIGENT DESERVING STUDENTS OF PRIMARY, SECONDARY AND TERTIARY EDUCATION. (2) TO PROMOTE AND SUPPORT SPECIAL EDUCATION FOR CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL NEEDS. Any objection to this publication should be forwarded to the Registrar General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420 Tigris Crescent, off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, PMB 198 Maitama,Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

SIGNED BY: SECRETARY

SIGNED ; CHIEF PRINCEWILL ODIARI CHRISTOPHER .

ITELORUN SOCIAL CLUB OF EKITI

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

Trustees 1. MR OLABISI OMOTOSHO. - PATRON 2. MR ILESANMI OKE. - CHAIRMAN 3. MR ALAYEROGUN BANKOLE -MEMBER 4 MR TOBA OLUSOLA. - TREASURER 5.MR TUNDE GBOLA ADEBAYO - GENERAL SECRATARY.

Trustees 1. PASTOR MEZIE NNAMDI CROSS 2. MRS EZINNE NNAMDI CROSS 3. RUTH CHINONSO.

Aim and objectives.

1. To promote and support Ekiti state developmental programmes.

2. To work for the progress and advancement of Ekiti state.

Aim and objectives 1. The preach the gospel of our lord jesus christ through out the whole Nation.

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.

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. EMEKA AGBO

Signed. EMEKA AGBO

BODIJA MARKET ONIONS SELLERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA.

This is to inform the general public that the above named has applied for registration to Corporate Affairs Commission under Part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Act N0. 1 of 1990.

The General Public is hereby notified that the above named ASSOCIATION has applied to Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under part C of the Companies and Allied Matters Act NO.1 Part C 1990.

Aim and Objective:.

To preach the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Any objection to the registration shouls be forwarded to the Registrar-General, Corporate Affaira Commission, Plot 420 Tigris Crescent, Off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days of this Publication.

Signed; Straight Path Consulting. 08023694015.

MEENA SHEHU FOUNDATION This is to inform the general public that the above named has applied for registration under part C of the. Companies and Allied Matters Act of 1990.

TRUSTEES 1.OLUMIDE OLAWALE PHILIPS 2.SALMA UMMU PHILIPS AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1.TO CARRY OUT CHARITY WORKS IN NIGERIA. 2.TO ASSIST WIDOWS,ORPHANS, AND LESS PRIVILEGED IN THE SOCIETY. 3.TO ENCOURAGE AND EMPOWER THE YOUTHS BY ORGANISING WORKSHOPS,SEMINARS AND TRAINING PROGRAMMES TO ENABLE THEM ACQUIRE AND DEVELOP SKILLS. Any Objection to 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: BARR FOLAKE AYOADE.

LIVING ROCKS CHRISTIAN CENTRE

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

ABUNDANCY OF CHRIST CHURCH.

Trustees are: 1. CHIGOROM JUDE GREAT. 2. CHIGOROM IFEYINWA BENEDINE. 3. CHUKWUEZE AMAKA.

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

THE TRUSTEES ARE:1. Alhaji Yahaya Ahmadu (Chairman).

2. Alhaji Tukur Hamed (Vice/Chairman).

3. Alhaji Adamu Garuba (Secretary) 4. Alhaji Dahiru Isa (Assistance Secretary) 5. Alhaji Mohammed Haruna (Treasurer) 6. Alhaji Mohammed Amusa (Ex-officio).

THE AIM AND OBJECTIVE IS:To foster mutual relationship among members Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to RegistrarGeneral, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, Off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama Abuja within 28 days from the date of this publication SIGNED BY: SECRETARY

PUBLIC NOTICE

PRINCE OF PEACE EVANGELICAL MISSION The General Public is hereby notified that the above named has applied to Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under part C of the Companies and Allied Matters Act 1990.

TRUSTEES 1.APOSTLE(DR) PAUL ETIM OKON- GENERAL OVERSEER 2.MRS UNWANAOBONG PAUL ETIM- SECRETARY 3.ELDER CLEMENT ASUQUO 4.ELDER JOSEPH CHALOKWU 5.HYACINTH CHINWEOKE UKAUMUNNA 6.BLESSING OKON ETIM 7.PST (BARR) EFFIONG JOHN OBOHO AIM AND OBJECTIVE TO PREACH THE GOSPEL OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to Registrar-General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, Off Aguiyi Ironsi Street, Maitama Abuja within 28 days from the date of this publication SIGNED: PST (BARR) EFFIONG JOHN OBOHO 08038723535

PUBLIC NOTICE

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, August 1, 2016

Navy blocks escape route of pipeline vandals in Ogun Segun Adio

ÎÎÎThe Nigerian Navy says

it had successfully blocked all escape routes of the pipeline vandals in the Arepo areas of Ogun State.

Flag Officer Commanding (FOC), Western Naval Command, Rear Admiral Fergusson Bobai, said this at a news conference held at the Command’s Headquarters in Apapa, Lagos.

According to him, ``We

have blocked escape routes toward Ogun State and we are going to sustain this operation and see, where it will lead us. ``The essence of having this blockade by land and water is that when they are running out, we will be able to grab them, profile and investigate them,’’ he said.

Admiral Bobai, who confirmed that there was an ongoing operation at the Arepo area, said the directive for

the operation came from the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), Gen. Abayomi Olonishakin.

He continued, ``The directive came from him, for us to carry out the operation in the Arepo area. ``This is with a view of dismantling the vandals who are scattered in Arepo, Ibafo and Ishawo areas of the state.

Initially, we were directed not to use air power. ``But when we carried out an assessment of the area,

LOSS OF DOCUMENT This is to inform the general public of the loss of original copies of the RIGHT OF OCCUPANCY, RECEIPT OF PAYMENT FOR THE CERTIFICATE OF OCCUPANCY of Plot No. 62, File No. MISC 108818, Cadastral Zone C20, Sector Centre F, and measuring about 2113.95m2 belonging to Oladunni Adekunle Ibiola of Suite A205, Millennium Verdict Plaza 35, Wuse allocated to SAAOGE INVESTMENT LTD by Federal Capital Territory Administration. All efforts made to trace the said documents proved abortive. If found, please return to the nearest police station. Concerned authorities to take note.

RACHEL EBERECHI OGBONNA I was formerly known and addressed as RACHEL EBERE DWYER, Now wish to be known and addressed as RACHEL EBERECHI OGBONNA. All former documents remain valid. General public to take note.

ADAMU ABDULLAHI BABA

CHIKA JANEFRANCIS UDEFI I, formerly known and addressed as CHIKA JANEFRANCIS OKEKE now wishes to be known and addressed as CHIKA JANEFRANCIS UDEFI. All documents remain valid.

General Public take note.

MRS. FAVOUR LUCKY OKOCHI

Vice Admiral Ibas

IGHODALO EHISOTIE KENNETH

a lot of the vandals moved from the areas accessible by water and land to areas that were difficult terrain into the swampy areas. ``We had to use the air power, which was granted by the CDS,’’ he said.

The FOC said the Navy collaborated with Lagos and Ogun governments since the operation was between both territories.

Bobai said other security agencies were participating, stressing that the navy had also employed the Special Boat Services alongside the Directorate of State Services.

He added that the Navy would not only arrest the vandals but would also get at their sponsors.

The FOC, who also spoke about the kidnapped of the monarch of Iba, noted that there were ongoing meetings with the Police to ensure that the Oba was safe, even if he was within the area of operation.

UFOMBA CHRISTIAN UWAOMA

News 23

2 Nigerians killed in Johannesburg –President, Nigerian Union ÎÎÎPresident,

Nigeria Union in South Africa, Mr Ikechukwu Anyene, has confirmed that two Nigerians were killed in Johannesburg, Gauteng Province.

Anyene told NAN on Sunday in Port Harcourt in a telephone interview from Pretoria that the two men were killed on Friday, July 29, at different areas of Johannesburg.

He said that the first victim, Gideon Ogalaonye, an indigene of Onitsha, Anambra, was allegedly shot dead at 7 p.m. while on a visit to the residence of his daughters.

He said that the second victim, Nnamdi Michael, an indigene of Enugu state, was allegedly stabbed to death by a Zimbabwean national at Yeoville at 8 p.m on the same day.

Anyene said eyewitnesses said the assailant first demanded for money from Michael, which was not given and later attempted to forcefully remove his phone.

MRS. VIVIAN NNENNA ACHIS CHIJIOKE IYIEKE

I formerly known, called and addressed as IYOHA IGHODALO KENNETH. Now wish to be known, called and addressed as IGHODALO EHISOTIE KENNETH. All documents bearing my former name remain valid, general public should please take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as, ACHUNWOKO UWAOMA, now wish to be known and addressed as, UFOMBA CHRISTIAN UWAOMA. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

MONDAY AKPAN BLESSING

IGWEGBE EMEKA CHRIS

CONFIRMATION OF NAME

I, formerly known and addressed as, MISS. VIVIAN NNENNA OKEREUKU, now wish to be known and addressed as, MRS. VIVIAN NNENNA ACHIS CHIJIOKE IYIEKE. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

He said that the assailant stabbed the victim, adding that Nigerians at scene pursued and arrested him.

Anyene said: `` The Zimbabwean has been handed over to the police and we will follow the case. `` The two incidents have been reported to the Nigerian mission in South Africa and the South African police. `` The Nigerian community in South Africa are not happy with the killings. `` We urge the Federal government to persuade its South African counterpart to investigate and prosecute incidents of killings of Nigerians in that country. `` We are getting worried about these incessant killings and we want the culprits prosecuted.”

Ikejiaku Chinedu, a 35 year-old Nigerian businessman, was killed on July 26 at Mokopane town, Limpopo Province by operatives of a private security firm.

ODU SAMSON DON I, formerly known and addressed as, ODU SAMSON OSAS, now wish to be known and addressed as, ODU SAMSON DON. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

ADDITION/CORRECTION OF NAME

I, Ismail Adamu, of 10 Edmund Crescent Yaba Lagos do want to be known as Adamu Abdullahi Baba. All former documents remain valid. First Bank of Nigeria and general public take Note.

I, formerly known and addressed as, MISS. FAVOUR NYENEIME GEORGE, now wish to be known and addressed as, MRS. FAVOUR LUCKY OKOCHI. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as, BLESSING COOKEY, AND MONDAY BLESSING COOKEY, now wish to be known and addressed as, MONDAY AKPAN BLESSING. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as, IGWEGBE EMEKA PATRICK, now wish to be known and addressed as, IGWEGBE EMEKA CHRIS. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

I, AMAECHI UGORJI, AND AMAECHI ODOGU UGORJI, refer to one and same person but, now wish to be known and addressed as, AMAECHI ODOGU UGORJI. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

MRS. NWAEDOZI DEBORAH CHIMEZIE

FRANCISCA CHINYERE ONYEKWERE

I, formerly known and addressed as, MISS. OBIAKOR DEBORAH CHIMEZIE, now wish to be known and addressed as, MRS. NWAEDOZI DEBORAH CHIMEZIE. All former documents remain valid.

General public should take note.

I, formerly known and addressed as, FRANCA CHINYERE ONYEKWERE, now wish to be known and addressed as, FRANCISCA CHINYERE ONYEKWERE. All former documents remain valid.

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MRS BADEJO OLORI KAFAUYAT ABENI

MRS JOHNSON TRICIA CHEKUBE

MR OLADAPO MICHAEL OLUFEMI

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I, formerly known as MISS SUALIM PATRICIA CHEKUBE wish to be known and addressed as MRS JOHNSON TRICIA CHEKUBE . All former document remain valid, general public please take note.

I, formerly known as KOLAWOLE OLUFEMI MICHAEL wish to be known and addressed as MR OLADAPO MICHAEL OLUFEMI. All former document remain valid, general public please take note.

I, formerly known as MISS ABEL ONYINYECHI NAOMI wish to be known and addressed as MRS NNADI ONYINYECHI NAOMI. All former document remain valid, general public please take note.

NNADI CHRISTIAN UCHENNA

EZEAGU TOCHUKWU DOMINIC SIMON

EMMANUEL NAOMI FUNMILAYO

ONAH JULIET OLUCHI

EMEKA MARK KALU

YUNUS BRIGHT ABDUL

I, formerly known and addressed as, AYO EGBA AJAKA, now wish to be known and addressed as, EMEKA MARK KALU. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

I, formerly known as YUNUS SAMMY BRIGHT ABDUL wish to be known and addressed as YUNUS BRIGHT ABDUL. All former document remain valid, general public please take note.

IJEOMA DORIS EKWONWA

EMMANUEL OLUSOLA JAMES

CONFIRMATION OF NAME

I,formerly known and addressed SOYOOYE IDOWU JAMES,SOYOOYE OLUSOLA JAMES and Mr and Mrs OULSHOLA FUNMILAYO Soyoye.

Now wished to be known and addressed as Emmanuel OLUSOLA JAMES. All former documents remain valid General Public Take Note.

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I, formerly known and addressed as, IJEOMA ISAAC, now wish to be known and addressed as, IJEOMA DORIS EKWONWA. All former documents remain valid. General public should take note.

I, formerly known as AGBARAKWE CHRISTIAN UCHENNA wish to be known and addressed as NNADI CHRISTIAN UCHENNA. All former document remain valid, general public please take note.

I, formerly known as EZEAGU TOCHUKWU DOMINIC wish to be known and addressed as EZEAGU TOCHUKWU DOMINIC SIMON . All former document remain valid, general public please take note.

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OMEOKWE NNAMDI ANTHONY I FORMERLY KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS NNAJI NNAMDI NOW WISH TO BE KNOWN AND ADDRESSED AS OMEOKWE NNAMDI ANTHONY. ALL FORMER DOCUMENT REMAIN VALID GENERAL PUBLIC TAKE NOTE

I, EKIKO JAMES UDEME, wish to add, EKIKO, to my BVN details. And correct my name which wrongly written as, JAMES UDEME AKIKO, instead of, EKIKO JAMES UDEME, in my PVC. All former documents remain valid.

General public should take note.

MRS NNADI ONYINYECHI NAOMI

I, formerly known as ONAH CHINECHEREM wish to be known and addressed as ONAH JULIET OLUCHI. All former document remain valid, general public please take note.

JONAH PRAISE OKENEME

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News 24

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, August 1, 2016

Amnesty boss assures ex-militants of continuous payment Mathew Dadiya Abuja

ÏÏÏAgainst

Muiz Banire

Law Report, Lawyers Digest for launch in Lagos

the background of delayed payment of stipends to exagitators in the Niger Delta region, the Special Adviser to the President on Niger Delta/Co-ordinator of the Presidential Amnesty Programme, Brig-Gen. Paul Boroh (rtd), on Sunday, gave an assurance to the effect of a continued payment from Monday, August 1, 2016, appealing to the ex-agitators to shelve the planned protests today (Monday).

Boroh, who expressed great concern over the plight of the exagitators in respect of their delayed stipends, maintained that President Muhammandu Buhari appreciated their patience, adding that the hiccups in the payment of their stipends were already being addressed.

According to the Amnesty boss, Buhari attached so much importance to the Amnesty Programme, which explained why the President in his inaugural address to the nation specifically promised “to

invest heavily in the projects, and programmes currently in place for the ex-agitators in the region”.

He commended the ex-militants and the people of the Niger Delta for their usual co-operation, reiterating the commitment of the Federal Government in making the programme to run better for the benefit of the 30, 000 ex-agitators and other youths in the region.

Boroh further noted that Buhari, was already putting together a youth development and empowerment package that would directly

impact the ex-militants and other youths in the region.

He said protests along major roads would not be the solution as such protests could be hijacked by hoodlums who would use the occasion to disrupt public peace in the region.

Boroh commended the state governors in the region for their role in maintaining law and order, while thanking the leadership of the ex-agitators for their co-operation in these challenging times in our nation.

ÏÏÏA new law report book, Ap-

peal Cases Of Nigeria (ACN) is set to hit Nigerian legal literature with the aim of easing legal practitioners’ cases in Appeal and Supreme Courts.

The Law Report titled: “Appeal Cases Of Nigeria,” and a book entitled: “Practice Digest For Legal Practitioners,” will be launched at the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Ikeja branch of the Lagos High Court, Ikeja Division on 10th August, 2016 at 10a.m. prompt.

According to the publication’s Editor-in -Chief, Mr. Adeyinka M. Kotoye Esq., the law reports was the brain child of Pagelaw Books Nigeria Limited.

The event will be chaired by an erudite lawyer, Dr. Muiz Banire (SAN), former Commissioner Environment in Lagos State.

L-R: Ogun State Commissioner for Environment, Mr. Bolaji Oyeleye; Vice President, Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Ibadan zone, Dr. Dolapo Oguntuga; Ogun State Commissioner for Commerce and Industry, Otunba Bimbo Ashiru and State Chairman, MAN, Mr. Wale Adegbite during the 31st Annual General Meeting of the Association in Ota… at the weekend.

Delta monarch raises the alarm over hoodlums’ invasion of farmlands

Rep seeks amendment to EFCC Act

Nosa Ogiugo Asaba

bill seeking to amend the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Act with a view to making it more independent and efficient in its operations is now pending before the House of Representatives.

The amendment bill was sponsored by the member representing Ikenne/Sagamu/Remo North Federal Constituency of Ogun State, Hon. Oladipupo Adebutu.

The amendment bill seeks to make the nation’s anti-graft agency, EFCC, more independent by making the removal of its Board and Director-General before the end of their tenure

ÏÏÏThe traditional monarch of

Ugoani Okpanam Community, near Asaba, Delta State, HRM Michael Mbanafo Ogolu, on Sunday, raised the alarm over the influx of armed hoodlums to the community’s farm lands –including threats to life.

In a letter he personally signed and sent to the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Zana Ibrahim, and dated July 18, 2016, the monarch alleged that miscreants had been overrunning their farmlands and terrorising farm owners.

His words: “We are beginning

to witness miscreants/hoodlums in our farm lands, they terrorise our farmers, rob them, and make away with their crops” and appealed to law enforcement agents to come to their aid.

He warned that unless urgent steps were taken to bring to book the hoodlums, they would wreak further damage to the community.

He continued, “In the past two weeks, suspected miscreants/hoodlums have returned to Obodogba farmland to lay siege on our innocent residents/members of the public especially natives, wielding offensive weapons to harass and intimate them”.

The monarch recalled that on

July 17, 2016, one Chiedu Emecheta of Umuosuma Village, Obodogba Quarters, was allegedly attacked by the gun-totting hoodlums, adding that the following day, one Victor Ntoka from the same community was beaten to stupor with gun butt and was left in his pool of his own blood.

Also, on June 29, 2016, the monarch disclosed that one Chakwuba Iwedika was accosted by some hoodlums and was allegedly attacked in his farm land, adding that the frequent attacks and harassment of the community’s residents, including the farmers, might portend bad omen if urgent steps were not taken to bring the hoodlums to book.

Lateef Ibrahim Abuja

ÏÏÏA

subject to confirmation of the Senate.

The bill indicated that under the current EFCC Act, the appointment of its Board and Director-General was subject to approval of the Senate.

Another core area the Amendment Bill targets is to increase the level of EFCC’s operational efficiency, by separating the Board of the Commission from the Executive Management of the Commission.

Presently, the Board of the EFCC is headed by an Executive Chairman of the Rank of Assistant Commissioner, while the Board has Heads of Security Agencies, like the Police, State Security Services, National Intelligence Agency etc., as members.

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, August 1, 2016

25 News

Cost cutting: FG bans souvenirs at workshops, seminars Mathew Dadiya, Abuja

ÎÎÎIn

continuation of the on-going cost-cutting and efficiency drive in the utilisation of public fund, the Federal Government has banned the procurement and distribution of bags, T-shirts and other souvenirs at events and activities such as conferences, workshops and seminars organised and funded

by Federal Ministries, De-

partments and Agencies (MDAs).

The new measures were approved by President Muhammadu Buhari following recommendations by the Efficiency Unit of the Federal Ministry of Finance, and conveyed to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and the Ministers of Finance and Budget and National Planning, the Chief of Staff

to the President, Alhaji Abba Kyari, for implementation.

A statement made available to the Daily Times by the Director of Information, Federal Ministry of Finance, Salish Na’inna Dambatta stated that the directive was in recognition of the fact that in a period of lean financial resources faced by huge national infrastructural deficit, wasteful and unnecessary expenditure on overheads such as on

souvenirs and conference bags were luxuries that the government must eliminate to release funds for infrastructure and services such as health and education that would have direct positive impact on the well-being of the citizenry and promote economic development.

The directive also contained specific guidelines that would reduce the cost of printing invitation cards, programme of events, bro-

chures, folders and note pads. Among the guidelines are that they should be in black and white and limited to only one page and in the case of brochures they should be stream-lined to contain only essential information.

Similarly, the directive has banned the printing of unnecessary publications and books of short shelf life which have no real value to the concerned public institu-

tions or the citizens.

While noting a need for the citizenry and other interested parties to be aware of the initiatives, activities and programmes being implemented by the government, the MDAs were directed to save costs by uploading such publications on their websites which had the added benefit of wider visibility, and print only limited number of hard copies of such publications.

Kwara to launch N4.2b Infrastructure Fund Kehinde Akinpelu Ilorin

ÎÎÎThe Kwara State Government is set to launch its Infrastructure Development Fund ‘InfraFund Kwara’, (IF-K) with an initial investment of N4.2billion in the energy sector in the fourth quarter of 2016.

Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed, revealed this during an interaction with community leaders in his office at the weekend. He said that IF-K had been cod-

Gov. Ahmed

ified into the Kwara State Public Private Partnership Law, which he assented to in 2015.

According to him the IF-K project was a result of the Kwara Infrastructure Investment and Finance strategy, which he approved following an infrastructure assessment exercise that was concluded in 2014.

He said the outcome of the exercise showed an estimated N225 billion deficit value of infrastructure across all the 16 local government areas and spanning all sectors, which required both government and private investment, in order to boost the state’s productivity and wealth creation.

Ahmed said the main objectives of IF-K were to provide a guided, systemic and outward facing framework for continuous and consistent infrastructure development, optimally leverage private sector or resources for infrastructures development and maximize the state’s resource allocation policies.

Protests trail Adamawa LG polls

ÎÎÎProtests have trailed the

local government elections conducted by the Adamawa State Independent Electoral Commission.

The elections which held on Saturday were marred by delays, as voting commenced in most polling units in the afternoon.

The protests, which were still ongoing, at the headquarters of the Councils, particularly in Numan, Michika and Lamurde, were against the non-delivery of results sheets and shortage of electoral materials.

The Inter-Party Advisory Council of political parties in the state, on Sunday, described the elections as a charade.

The IPAC chairman Adamawa State chapter, Saad Adamu, said there was nowhere, that council elections on Saturday in the state started as scheduled.

The body accused the Adamawa State Independent Electoral Commission which conducted the elections of shoddy preparation for the polls and also of colluding with ruling All Progressive Congress in the state to rig the polls in its favour.

L-R: Legal Officer, Stanbic IBTC, Ms. Ajirioghene Orovwuje; Social Welfare Officers, Mr. Benson E.; Mrs. Giwa Oniru and Tony Mogekwu of Stanbic IBTC’s legal team in a photo session after donation of furniture and other items by Stanbic IBTC to the Lagos State Government Social Welfare Rehabilitation & Training Center, Ikorodu… at the weekend.

663m lack access to clean water globally –UNICEF Sodiq Adekunle, Osogbo

ÎÎÎThe

European Union and United Nations International and Emergency Fund have said that no fewer than 663 million people had no access to clean water across the world.

Osun state UNICEF/ Water Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Consultant, Olowole Modekai, said that 2.4 billion people did not have access to improved sanitation while 946 million people defecate in the open.

He added that nine out of ten of the people defecating in the open lived in rural areas.

Modekai disclosed this during a two-day workshop

on Wash Capacity Building Media Network in Osun, held at Timsed Hotel, IjebuIjesa to engage media practitioners on strategies to promote water and sanitation hygiene in Osun.

He said that there were nearly 1.7 billion cases of diarrhea diseases every year and about 800,00 children died as a result of lack of clean water, improved sanitation and open defecation.

He said that one of the specific goals of the WASH was to ensure the availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all in the current SDGs. Speaking on the effort of the UNICEF in the state in the recent time Modekai

said that no fewer than 103 rural communities were now free from open defaecation through the implementation of Water and Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) Projects in the state.

Modekai said that out of the 304 trigger communities, 50 were also approaching the status of open defaecation representing 50 percent of all rural communities engaging in open defecation in the state.

According to him, 215 water facilities had been completed out of 259 awarded through the collaboration of the state government, Rural and Water Environmental Sanitation Agency (RUWESA) and EU/UNICEF to ensure equitable access to water supply for 65,

500 people in the state especially the rural areas.

He said that 2, 387 improved latrines had been constructed in Osun and 4,800 school children were having access to hygienic water, adding that the target of Water Supply and Sanitation Sector Reform Programme (WASSSRP) was to ensure that 120,000 people in n the state had equitable access to water supply in 2017.

Modekai explained that 7,515 were engaging in open defaecation but virtually all houses in the two focal local governments, Ayedaade and Odo-otin where WASH programmes were currently ongoing had constructed household latrine.

26

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, August 1, 2016

Our Heritage Æ s

Gate to Igun street

Welcome to Igun, the street of bronze AGOZINO AGOZINO visited Benin, recently, and found a street, though regular in appearance, to a first time visitor, but unique, in the sense that it is home to priceless artistic bronze treasures.

Bronze casting is one of the oldest crafts in Benin Kingdom and its origin dates back to the beginning of the kingdom. There is a fable that the Bini bronze casters “came with the art from heaven” to settle in Benin.

To a first-time visitor, searching for bronze art, he has to get to Igun Street in Benin City, the Edo State capital, and he won’t find the street attractive in any way.

He would, however, change his mind, after a closer look and realises that the street accommodates a booming bronze casting industry, which, daily, keeps attracting people from all over the world.

At the entrance to the street, from the Sakpoba Road axis, is a brown painted arc with the sign ‘Guild of Bronze Casters’, World Heritage Site’ which proclaims to the visitor that he has entered a unique place. The road is tarred like many others in the city, yet, it is a road with a difference.

It is reputed to be one of the oldest in the city, dating back to centuries.

On Igun Street, only direct descendants of the bronze casters are qualified to continue the practice in the kingdom, so, here,

you see fathers, sons, uncles and brothers, all direct descendants of the same family of bronze casters engaging in the trade, thus, making it the heartbeat of Benin art.

Igun Street is about one kilometre from the Oba’s palace and like many roads in Benin City, it had it’s fair share of potholes until the current administration of Governor Adams Oshiomhole decided to give the road a facelift.

The street is also one of the longest in the city, stretching to a distance of about 12 km from the Ring Road or King’s Square through the breadth of most of the densely populated parts of the city to the Murtala Muhammed Way, which extends into the Ikpoba River and beyond.

There are several mud houses on both sides of the street, some date back to the 14th century AD and still retain their traditional Bini architecture. For many of them, modernity necessitated their frontage being redesigned to accommodate extensions for shops, which were built into the ancient walls to showcase beautiful bronze works.

Some shops on the street are filled with

countless bronze works and wood carvings, including those of heroes and heroines, while some sell charcoal and firewood, the vital raw materials for bronze casting.

In the beginning, those who were permitted to work were restricted to the palace walls of the Omo ‘n’ Oba and were expected to produce works of art, using brass, to decorate the palace with exquisite art pieces, some of them, life size casts of past kings, queens, warriors and military commanders revered for their positive contributions to the development of Benin Kingdom.

Today, however, bronze casting had left the confines of the palace, although, many of the Palace Iwebo Society are allowed by the Oba to engage in the trade, but, the casters now reside on Igun Street. It is worthy to note that each family involved in the business in the city, has a head who is a chief in the palace of Oba of Benin and the chieftaincy title, like the business, is hereditary.

However, the average Bini man, who is engaged in bronze-casting, and is not from the traditional families is seen as an alien.

In the whole of Benin, non-Bini indigenes are not expected to be bronze casters. Even, if the man makes a fortune and tries, for several years, to be accepted, it may not be possible.

Bronze casting involves combining brass, copper , zinc and laterite to produce the object of interest, which, on completion, is bronze. Afraid of letting out their trade secret, the practitioners are always reluctant to disclose the procedure to a visitor. But, many believe that the inspiration comes from the Bini rich cultural past.

The bronze caster’s daily routine involves going to the workshop in the morning to mash the mud, which he often later mould into the form of any figure he gets through inspiration, although, not all the figures on display at the shops require any fresh inspiration to cast, they are age-long pieces which have been inspirationally produced earlier, but, now, regularly, reproduced by family descendants.

For example, there is the replica of the famous FESTAC mask, which is a comCONTINUED ON PAGE 27

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, August 1, 2016

Art gallery with bronze sculptures for sale at the Igun street

...a day in the street of bronze CONTINUED FROM PAGE 26

mon sight in all the shops. Walking sticks, bells, locks and keys, gongs, axes are some of the many works of art that are commonly produced from the bronze. Exquisite traditional Idia heads, Benin swords, plaques and others, are restricted to the Oba’s palace.

Mathew Ini, a bronze caster explained that the restriction was to avoid proliferation of royal sword, in particular, which is one of the greatest symbols of authority in Benin Kingdom.

Do these works of art serve other purposes than being used for decoration? Nosa Obaseki, one of the bronze caster, said that there are busts of several historical figures which have spiritual significance and are restricted to the palace wall and many shrines in the kingdom, these cannot be

Bronze sculptures for sale at the street

reproduced for sale or the maker/ seller and buyer would incur the wrath of the ancestors.

For Eno Louis Enobakhare, Chief Executive Officer of Edorodion Ventures, an organisation primarily concerned with promotion of the rich heritage of the Bini bronze, the challenges facing the bronze casters are numerous, “we need financial support from the government”, this could help to expand the business, and earn more foreign exchange for the country, through tourism.

Speaking on how Bini bronze casting came about, although, some trace it to the reign of Oba Ozolua (1270 AD), others believe it was Oba Eweka I who introduced bronze casting to Benin, and this is the view of Friday Idubor, a Benin-based bronze caster, who said, “It was when Oba Eweka

went to Portugal that he learnt bronze casting”.

He added that “On his return to Benin, the Oba started casting bronze, but, it was restricted to the palace. Later, when the white people started visiting him, they loved the bronze artworks they saw and started buying them.

When the Oba saw how popular the bronze works were, he decided to expand its practice and thus made it a growing industry in the palace”.

A visit to Benin and Igun Street, in particular, shows that the bronze casting industry is not a small one, especially, as it has been recognised by global institutions, including the United Nations, thus, making the street a World Heritage Site, giving the Bini the much deserved prestige and recognition.

27 Our Heritage

Foreign 28

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, August 1, 2016

Pope Francis urges Polish Catholics to embrace ‘New Humanity’ ÎÎÎPope

Francis told hundreds of thousands of pilgrims Sunday in Krakow, Poland to “believe in a new humanity” that does not use borders as roadblocks and rejects hatred for each other.

Francis addressed the congregants, who had traveled from all over the world, on a large field on the last of his five day visit to southern Poland.

In an acknowledgement to a world dominated by the Internet, Francis urged the crowd to “download the best link of all, that of a heart which sees and transmits goodness without growing weary.”

The pope also told the gathering that the Catholic church’s next World Youth Day will be held in Panama in 2019. He did not indicate where in Panama the event would take place.

His visit to Poland included a stop Saturday night at the Auschwitz death camp and an impromptu prayer stop at a Krakow church for victims of terrorism.

Francis condemned the “devastating wave of terrorism” and wars in regions throughout the world.

didate Donald Trump was engulfed in controversy Sunday after he suggested his creation of thousands of jobs was a “sacrifice” comparable to the death of a Muslim-American soldier who was killed fighting in Iraq.

Khizr Khan, the father of Army Captain Humayun Khan, told CNN that Trump is “totally unfit for the leadership of this country.”

Khan, a Pakistani immigrant, said in an emotional speech at last week’s Democratic National Convention that his family would never have been allowed to immigrate to the U.S. under Trump’s immigration policies.

Khan said that Trump during his life has “sacrificed nothing and no one.”

Khizr Khan, father of fallen US Army Capt. Humayun S. M. Khan holds up a copy of the Constitution of the United States as his wife listens during the final day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia , July 28, 2016.

Trump, in an interview that aired Sunday on ABC News, said, “I think I’ve made a lot of sacrifices. I work very, very hard,” creating “thousands and thousands of jobs. I think those are sacrifices, I think when I can employ thousands and thousands of people, take care of their education, take care of so many things.”

The Republican contender questioned why Khan’s wife, Ghazala, stood by her husband while he spoke

says the government may reinstate a cease-fire with Maoist -led rebels.

President Rodrigo Duterte lifted the unilateral truce Saturday, six days after is was issued, because the rebels had not responded to a deadline to reciprocate.

The truce was intended as a goodwill gesture ahead of formal peace negotiations in Oslo next month.

Sunday, the Communist Party of the Philippines said in a statement it would be “willing to issue a unilateral cease-fire declaration separately but simultaneously with the Duterte government on August 20.”

Militants launch deadly attack on Iraqi gas facility, oil field

ÎÎÎIraqi

Pope Francis incenses the altar as he celebrates a Holy Mass in Brzegi, near Krakow, Poland... yesterday

Trump ignites new controversy ÎÎÎU.S. Republican presidential can-

Philippines may reinstate ceasefire ÎÎÎA senior Philippines official

at the convention and said nothing, suggesting that as a Muslim woman “maybe she wasn’t allowed to have anything to say.”

Ghazala Khan said in an opinion article in The Washington Post that “walking onto the convention stage, with a huge picture of my son behind me, I could hardly control myself.

What mother could?” She said her husband asked her if she wanted to speak, “but I told him I could not.”

“Donald Trump said he made a lot of sacrifices,” she concluded. “He doesn’t know what the word means.”

Trump’s opponent in the November national election, former U.S. secretary of state Hillary Clinton, told a rally Saturday in the midwestern state of Ohio, that Trump “attacked the distinguished father of a soldier who had sacrificed himself for his unit, Captain Khan.”

Trump

officials say militants have launched two attacks on energy facilities in northern Iraq, killing at least five people.

Both assaults Sunday took place in inside Kurdish-controlled areas of Kirkuk province.

Authorities say in the first attack about 15 kilometer northwest of Kirkuk, gunmen shot dead four of the gas facility’s employees and planted explosive devices around the building.

Rights group demands prosecution of Afghan militia

ÎÎÎAn international human rights

group Sunday demanded authorities in Afghanistan prosecute militia forces linked to a top government official for recent killings and other abuses against civilians in the northern Faryab province.

The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) says that its probe into the late June attack has found members of the Junbish militia loyal to First Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum were behind the violence.

The findings are based on interviews of villagers conducted in the aftermath of the attack, it added.

The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) also documented in its mid-year report on civilian sufferings that Afghan army and Junbish forces jointly conducted a military offensive against Taliban insurgents in Fayryab on June 26, killing at least 13 civilians and wounding 32 others.

After Taliban fighters left the area, Junbish forces entered four villages and assaulted villagers, mainly ethnic Pashtuns, accusing them of supporting the Taliban.

The attack left five civilians dead and 12 others injured.

HRW officials say that some villagers told them regular Afghan

military forces stood by when the Junbish members entered their villages. Although they did not participate in the assaults, they did nothing to stop them or apprehend militia fighters committing offenses, according to the report.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has reportedly ordered an investigation into the alleged abuses, and some militia members have also been detained for their suspected role.

A spokesman for Dostum’s Junbish-e-Mili Islami party rejected allegations leveled by HRW. Basher Ahmad Tayani told VOA members of the party had not been part of any operations government forces

have undertaken in Faryab.

Local and foreign rights groups have long implicated Dostum, a former Afghan warlord, in war crimes, including the deaths of hundreds of Taliban prisoners in November 2001 in the custody of his militia forces.

“The killings in Faryab are the latest in a long record of atrocities

by Dostum’s militia forces,” said Patricia Gossman, HRW’s senior Afghanistan researcher. “The fact that these forces, and Vice President Dostum himself, have never been held accountable, has undermined security in northern Afghanistan,” she noted.

13 killed in Somalia car bombing ÎÎÎAt

least 13 people have been killed, including seven attackers, in an assault on a Somali police compound in Mogadishu Sunday.

Somali internal security Minister Abdirizak Omar Mohamed told VOA Somali that the target was the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) headquarters.

“Two suicide bombers speed toward the main gate of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) headquarters, one exploded at the

front gate and the other one in the middle of the road and then five heavily armed militants tried to enter the building, three of them were killed outside and two as they passed the main gate.” Omar said.

Omar siad at least 10 people were wounded.

Abdikamil Mo’alin Shukri, who is the spokesman of the internal security ministry of Somalia said the 13 killed included: seven attackers, a government soldier, and five civilians.

Agu slams F Siasia over playing position

C Porto midfielder Mikel Agu has told AfricanFootball.com he was unhappy he was played out of position in central defence by Nigeria Olympic team coach Samson Siasia.

Agu is a big defensive midfielder, but he revealed he was made to play “90% of the time” in central defence, which

he did not like.

“I did not like the position I was played in the national team,” he said.

“For 90% of the trainings and games I did for the team, I played in central defence.”

In the new season, Agu will play on loan at another Portuguese club Vitoria Setubal.

“After a long time off due to injuries, I am happy to get some good playing time at a club like Vitoria Setubal,” he enthused.

“Everything is going well at my new club and I believe I made the right decision to get back to the top from this club.”

Agu still has two more years left on his Porto contract.

Page 29

Monday, August 1, 2016

ANDREW EKEJIUBA

Mikel Obi (right) with Azubuike Okechukwu in training.

H

ead Coach of the Nigeria Olympic team, Samson Siasia has appointed Chelsea midfield ace John Mikel Obi as captain of the team going into the men’s football tournament of the 31st Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Making the announcement on Saturday while meeting with players and other officials, Coach Siasia said the choice of Mikel Obi was automatic as he is the captain of the Super Eagles and also the captain of Team Nigeria to the Games.

“It’s just natural for me to pick Mikel as our captain. Aside the fact that he is the captain of the Super Eagles, he is also Team Nigeria captain, so after meeting with both of them and explaining my position, I am pleased to say Azubuike Okechukwu who has been our captain understood and was happy to hand over the captain’s band to Mikel.

“It is a thing of joy for my team to produce the first footballer to captain Team Nigeria to the Olympics. This, to me, is more than gratifying,” he said.

The players unanimously accepted Mikel Obi as their captain and expressed delight at the role he has been playing since he joined the team. On his part, Mikel expressed joy at being made the captain of the Dream Team and said he sees it as an honor that must yield result in Brazil.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria U-23 will now depart Atlanta, United States of America for Brazil today. The earlier arrangement was for the team to depart for Brazil in batches due to difficulties in securing seats for team, but the Nigeria Football Federation decided against that movement and is now thinking of either getting them to Brazil as a team or chartering a private plane to take the team directly to Manaus, venue of the first team’s first match.

assumes duty,assures Eaglets

N

Siasia names

l e k i M Dream VI captain

to NPFL summit

R

Bewarang VICTOR THOMPSON

Rangers return angers are back on top of the Nigeria league table after they forced a 1-1 draw in the ‘Oriental derby’ against champions Enyimba.

Rangers are now top of the table with 48 points from 28 matches, a point ahead of Wikki Tourists, who lost their leadership after they lost 3-0 at Akwa United, also on Sunday.

Agu

Striker Stephen Chukwude gave Enyimba the lead in the 45th minute when he fired home a low, left-footed shot beyond goalkeeper Itodo Akor off an assist by Joseph Osadiaye.

However, moments later Rangers restored parity through Godwin Aguda with a cut-back from Bobby Clement.

In other matches, Shooting Stars defeated Sunshine Stars 2-1, Lobi

hammered Warri Wolves 3-0, Plateau upstaged hosts MFM 1-0 and Niger Tornadoes stopped Abia Warriors 2-1.

IfeanyiUbah extended their unbeaten run to 10 matches after they defeated Kano Pillars 2-1, while the match between Rivers United and Ikorodu United was shifted after the Port Harcourt outfit were involved in a road accident.

ewly–appointed National Technical Director, Mr. Bitrus Bewarang on Friday visited the NFF/FIFA Goal Project to monitor the Golden Eaglets’ training session ahead of next week’s 2017 Africa U-17 qualifier against Niger Republic.

It was the former Super Eagles assistant coach’s first official duty following his appointment and it afforded him the opportunity to interact with the team’s technical crew and to familiarize with the schedule of the U-17 side.

The 65-year-old, who had previously worked at all levels of the national teams bar the Golden Eaglets, advised the youngsters to be of exemplary conduct and follow the instructions of the coaches to the latter.

“I’m happy to be in your midst and to actually ascertain your progress and we are going to put our heads together to ensure the success of your programme,” he stated. “I’m always interested in the welfare of coaches and players, and with the cooperation of the NFF, you will get the desired support.”

The visit was a reunion for the former BCC Lions’ coach with his former players, in the shape of Golden Eaglets’ coaches Manu Garba (who played under him in the 1990s) and Nduka Ugbade (during his days with the Super Eagles along with Dutch coach Clemens Westerhof).

Bewarang added: “I’m happy you are with result-oriented coaches and I have known both Manu and Nduka for a very long time and you have to listen to them as well as your other coaches for us to achieve good results,” noted Bewarang who was in company with NFF Enyimba striker, Samuel Chukwude (left), on the prowl against Rivers United.

30

Monday, August 1, 2016

EXTRATIME

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE…ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE… ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE…

Costa

A Conte indoubt over Costa’s future

ntonio Conte has admitted he is not sure if Diego Costa will remain a Chelsea player next season.

The Spain international striker missed Saturday’s 3-2 International Champions Cup defeat to Real Madrid with a back injury amid widespread speculation in the British media over a potential return to Atletico Madrid.

And speaking after the match in

Wenger: Pogba fee is ‘crazy’ A

rsenal manager Arsene Wenger has confirmed he is in the market for a new centre-back but insisted he will not be forced into paying over the odds after calling Paul Pogba’s expected £100m transfer to Manchester United “completely crazy”.

Pogba is said to be finalising a record-breaking transfer from Juventus to United for a fee in excess of £100m.

Wenger was asked about Pogba’s potential move at a news conference in Los Angeles.

“It is completely crazy if you cannot afford to pay it. If you can afford to pay it you can justify it,” Wenger said.

Klopp unsure over

Ojo loan Pogba

“It is completely crazy if you compare it to normal life. That is for sure. But we live in a world where every activity that is worldwide makes a lot of money.

“Football has become a worldwide competition and that is why clubs can afford to do it. Does it make sense in the way the player can give you that investment back? Nobody ever could calculate.

“Since I am in this sport I always thought the record cannot go higher and I was always wrong.

Maybe in a few years it will be 200, 300 million,

who knows.”

Arsenal have signed three players so far this summer - Granit Xhaka, Tasumo Akano and Rob Holding - but Wenger is keen to further strengthen his squad before the transfer window closes.

The Gunners are understood to be in talks with Valencia over a deal for their German centre-back Shkodran Mustafi after German centre-back Per Mertesacker sustained a serious knee injury in a friendly against Lens and Wenger confirmed he does not expect him back before 2017.

Mahrez distracted by transfer rumours

–Ranieri

L

Mahrez

only for today and today Costa is Chelsea’s player. Tomorrow if you ask me if Costa will remain with us, I don’t know.”

Conte was also questioned in his post-match press conference about whether he was interested in signing Romelu Lukaku from Everton.

But he refused to comment on suggestions he wants to bring back the Belgium striker who was sold by Chelsea in 2014.

Michigan, Chelsea manager Conte stated he did not know if the striker would still be at the club when the Premier League season starts next month.

“I can say that today Costa is a Chelsea player,” he said.

“He didn’t play in these games because of injury and if he solves the injury and I see in training that he is in good shape it can be possible to see him in the next game against Milan.

“But I can say only this. I speak

eicester City manager Claudio Ranieri believes the ongoing speculation linking Riyad Mahrez with a move to Arsenal is becoming a distraction for the Algeria international.

Mahrez was a star turn in a Leicester side that clinched an unlikely Premier League title success last season, scoring 17 goals and setting up 11 more - form that saw him win the PFA Player of the Year award.

The 25-year-old’s sublime season soon led to rumours of an exit from the King Power Stadium with Barcelona reportedly interested, while Arsenal have emerged as favourites for his signature.

Ranieri has so far insisted Mahrez will stay at the King Power Stadium, but Arsenal manager

Arsene Wenger reportedly visited Leicester’s International Champions Cup defeat against Paris Saint-Germain to see Mahrez in action.

And Ranieri has acknowledged the former Le Havre man is struggling to remain focused on his current club.

“Maybe Riyad is distracted a bit by all of these rumours and speculation,” Ranieri said at a news conference. But that is also an experience for my players.

“It is important that he understands that he should stay with us.

“He has to improve his fitness and play for the team as well last season.”

Mahrez has a contract with Leicester until June 2019.

J

urgen Klopp has revealed he is still unsure whether to send “wonderful” Sheyi Ojo out on loan this season but admitted the England U-19 star’s longterm future was at Liverpool.

The 19-year-old impressed on Saturday when he came off the bench during Liverpool’s 2-0 win over AC Milan in Santa Clara, assisting in the build-up of a goal for Roberto Firmino.

Klopp said after the match he had not decided whether to send Ojo, who has spent time out on loan with Championship sides Wolves and Wigan, away from Anfield temporarily.

“I don’t know. We will have to see,” Klopp said.

“Sheyi is a wonderful player that’s for sure and his future is 100 per cent at Liverpool. We don’t have to make decisions so early.

“We have time and we have to use the time. We have had some injuries.

We need to make the boys as fit as possible.

“Ojo has only been with us for five days after coming from the tournament with England Under-19s.”

Ojo turned down an offer of a summer holiday so that he could participate in Liverpool’s pre-season tour, which began just four days after England’s semi-finals exit from the U-19 European Championship in Germany.

Ojo

Monday, August 1, 2016

EXTRATIME

31

TRANSFERS…TRANSFERS…TRANSFERS… TRANSFERS…TRANSFERS…TRANSFERS…

Balotelli

unwanted

by Besiktas coach

Balotelli

B

esiktas coach Senol Gunes has no interest in signing Mario Balotelli despite reports linking the Liverpool forward with a move.

Besiktas chairman Fikret Orman said he wanted Balotelli and that the 33time Italy international was keen to join. However, Gunes shut down those suggestions, saying he had no desire to bring the former AC Milan and Manchester City forward to the club.

Schalke, Sevilla reach agreement

Morata

not for sale, says Zidane

R

Morata

eal Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane has confirmed he has no intention of letting Alvaro Morata leave the club this summer.

The Spain international striker returned to the Bernabeu from Juventus last month after the European champions activated the buy-back clause in his contract.

Following Saturday’s International Champions Cup 3-2 win over Chelsea in Michigan, Zidane was asked about rumours linking Morata with the Premier League side - and he insisted he is not looking to immediately sell him at a profit.

“He’s a Madrid player, we’re delighted with him,” he said.

“We are delighted to have him back, back to his original home. He will remain a Madrid player.”

However, fellow Spaniard Jese looks set to leave Real Madrid this summer as Zidane confirmed he is in talks over a move to Paris SaintGermain.

When asked why Jese was not involved against Chelsea, Zidane explained: “He’s in talks with PSG, although nothing is signed yet”.

Zidane was also asked about Chelsea forward Eden Hazard who scored two late goals in the game but refused to suggest Real Madrid were looking to sign him.

over

Rahman undergoes Coke Schalke medical C oke is primed to swap Sevilla for Schalke after the Bundesliga club announced a deal was in its final stages. The 29-year-old full-back passed a medical on Sunday and will today complete the “last formalities” of the deal. Captain Coke has been an integral part of the Sevilla side that claimed a record three consecutive Europa League titles, scoring twice in May’s 3-1 final victory over Liverpool.

Lucescu: Witsel keen over Juve move

A

xel Witsel could be on his way to Juventus after Zenit coach Mircea Lucescu said the Belgium international had asked to leave the club. The midfielder has been linked with the Italian giants, after a potential move to Everton reportedly fell through earlier this month.

Speaking after the Russian Premier League opener against Lokomotiv Moscow, Lucescu admitted that Witsel was keen to leave.

C

Rahman

helsea left-back Baba Rahman is undergoing a medical at Schalke ahead of a season-long loan move to the Bundesliga club, according to sources.

Rahman, 22, joined Chelsea from Augsburg only last summer, signing a five-year deal at the club, and provided cover for first-choice left-back Cesar

Azpilicueta last season.

The Ghana international made 23 appearances in all competitions for the Blues during the 2015/16 campaign, but has been deemed surplus to requirements by new head coach Antonio Conte.

Conte is currently shaping his squad ahead of his first season at Chelsea and has already allowed a number

of younger players leave the club on loan, including Nathan Ake, Charly Musonda and Lewis Baker.

Rahman spent three years in Germany prior to joining Chelsea, spending two seasons at Bundesliga 2 side Greuther Furth, where he made 48 appearances, scoring twice.

West Ham make £20m Ayew bid

W

est Ham have made a £20m bid for Swansea forward Andre Ayew, according to sources. But Swansea have not made a decision on the offer and are keen to secure attacking reinforcements before allowing the 26-year-old to leave.

Ayew attracted interest from West Ham last summer, but joined the Swans on a free transfer and went on to score 12 goals during his debut

season in the Premier League.

The Ghana international, who is contracted to Swansea until 2019, is one of only two senior forwards at the club following the departure of Bafetimbi Gomis to Marseille on a season-long loan.

Swansea hope to sign two strikers before the close of the summer transfer window and are interested in signing Sevilla forward Fernando Llorente.

West Ham manager Slaven Bilic is also looking to strengthen his forward options ahead of the new season and is currently preparing for life without Diafra Sakho.

The Hammers have agreed a fee with West Bromwich Albion, understood to be in the region of £16m, for the 26-year-old.

Ayew

Published by folio communicationS ltd, Lateef Jakande Road, Agidingbi, Ikeja. email: info@dailytimes.ng Tel: 018447948.

DAILY EDITOR: Biodun duRoJaiYE

mondaY, auGuSt 1, 2016

VOL. 2. NO.163

Price: n150

Morata

P 30

not for sale, says Zidane

news Hotlines: 08138773277, 08173901838. advert Hotlines: 08086296714

F

ormer AC Milan and Italy coach Arrigo Sacchi feels Diego Maradona was a better player than Lionel Messi and believes the Barcelona star does not have the same strong personality his compatriot had.

Messi is widely regarded as one of the best players in the history of the game and has won a plethora of medals with Barcelona, while collecting the prestigious Ballon d’Or award on five occasions.

However, Sacchi believes Maradona has the edge as he proved his talent in La Liga and Serie A with Barcelona and Napoli respectively.

“Messi is the best player in the world right now, but he lacks Maradona’s personality. Maradona could play anywhere. Diego made the difference in Spain and Italy,” Sacchi told reporters.

“Maradona and Alfredo Di Stefano are Argentina’s two greatest players ever. Playing against Maradona was the worst thing that could happen to you. I have never seen anyone like him.

He could create something from out of nowhere.

“We once played against him with Milan and totally dominated. Then Diego got the ball, shook off two players and setKeshi up Careca, who scored the 1-0 for them. I have never seen someone who was so decisive.”

One of the criticisms levelled at Messi is his failure to match his supreme domestic record on the international stage with Argentina, while Maradona spearheaded the nation’s World Cup victory in 1986.

But Sacchi says that is an unfair comparison.

“A team has a certain potential and not even Messi can unlock that on his own. Argentina are missing a clear game plan. You can never rely on just one player,” Sacchi added.

“I once told Silvio Berlusconi that not even the greatest actors could save a movie without a great script, not even Robert De Niro, Jack Nicholson or George Clooney.

“Football is the same. You need 11 players who are hugely motivated and want to play for the team. And a coach with a clear philosophy.

Argentina are always among the favourites, but maybe they need more cohesion and team-spirit.”

Messi incomparable Modric

to Maradona

–Sacchi

CAF supervise Eaglets MRI scan T

Golden Eaglets coach, Manu Garba.

he Confederation of African Football (CAF) have moved to independently supervise the MRI scans for the various U-17 teams including that of five-time world champions Nigeria in a new offensive against age cheats according to reports.

A top Egyptian doctor arrived the country early last week to ensure the Golden Eaglets MRI scan was not manipulated.

“This is the first time that a doctor from an independent country will be sent by CAF to supervise the MRI scan. It is expected to further rid the U-17s of age cheats,” a source informed AfricanFootball.com “A doctor from Nigeria was also in Cameroun to do

the same thing all in an effort to ensure only eligible players feature in the U-17 AFCON, whose qualifiers will begin this month.”

The Golden Eaglets now under Coach Manu Garba have therefore had to repeat the MRI scan under the Egyptian doctor this past week after they first did the scan without such independent supervision.

A total of 60 players underwent this examination and the successful ones among them will be the ones who will be registered for the U-17 AFCON qualifiers.

Nigeria begin their qualifying campaign against next-door Niger on August 5 with the return leg slated for a fortnight later.

Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona (right) with Lionel Messi during South Africa 2010 FIFA World Cup.

NPFL RESULTS

3SC

2–1

Sunshine Stars

FC Ifeanyiubah

2–1

Kano Pillars

MFM FC

0–1

Plateau United

Enyimba

1–1

Rangers

Lobi Stars

3–0

Warri Wolves

Akwa United

3–0

Wikki Tourists

Tornadoes

2-1

Abia Warriors

Business Times Daily Times Nigeria

FG considers request by foreign airlines for increased frequencies

Page B2

Enugu private sector urges early passage of Competition Bill A private sector coalition comprising the Enugu Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ECCIMA) and other key Business Membership Organisations in Nigeria in collaboration with Enhancing Nigerian Advocacy for a Better Business Environment (ENABLE) has called on members of the National Assembly to pass the Competition Bill before them on time so that the country will derive the enormous benefits of having in place such a law in place.

Acting Chairman of the National Association of Small Scale Industrialists (NASSI), Enugu State Chapter, Mr. Josephat Onoh, told a news conference at the weekend in Enugu that the coalition was organizing a series of activities in Enugu aimed at advocating for the quick passage of the Competition and Consumer Bill in the country.

Onoh said that some of the benefits of the Competition and Consumer Law in Nigeria included the fact that the law would set out the rules that regulate the operation of commercial entities within the economy so as to ensure that virtues of competition are not impeded as well as the prohibition of agreements or contracts between or among firms aimed at restricting or eliminating competition in a given market.

The law, he noted, would CONTINUED ON PAGE B3

Thought Leadership

Skye Bank gets N100b liquidity from CBN

Page B3

Page B4

How NPDC withheld over $5b oil sales dividends

… NPDC as NNPC’s unexplainable ‘fund raising’ arm

Opeoluwani Akintayo The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, severally, has been accused of inventing makeshift system for financing its operations which allows it to retain ever-growing amount of

money.

This makeshift system has been traced to its five oil trading subsidiaries which are Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) - NNPC’s main upstream division, Pipeline and Product Marketing Company, Ltd, (PPMC) Department of

SEND-OFF

Petroleum Resources, (DPR), National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS), and Crude Oil Marketing Division, (COMD).

Section 162 of Nigeria’s 1999 Federal Constitution requires that all governmentcollected revenues enter the

Federation Account. Contrast this with Section 7 of the 1977 NNPC Act, which broadly allows the corporation to maintain a “fund” to bankroll its operations. NNPC has used the resulting confusion to retain money by fiat, outside CONTINUED ON PAGE B2

l-r: former GMD/CEO, UBA Plc, Mr. Phillips Oduoza, his wife, Jumai; New GMD/CEO, UBA Plc, Mr. Kennedy Uzoka, his wife Lotanna; Chairman, UBA Plc, Mr. Tony Elumelu and his wife, Awele, during the send-off ceremony in honour of Oduoza, held in Lagos on Saturday

2.2m bpd oil forecast for budget overstated –PwC Opeoluwani Akintayo

International auditing firm, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, PwC, has said President Buhari’s 2.2 million barrels per day oil forecast for 2017, is overstated.

The statement was made by the Company’s Partner, Head of Tax & Regulatory Services, Taiwo Oyedele, during a one-day capability enhancement workshop for journalists held over the

Monday, August 1, 2016

weekend in Lagos.

The workshop held in Lagos on Friday, 29, saw Business journalists from various media houses in Nigeria, gather to have their skills and knowledge sharpened for the challenges of everyday media reporting.

According to Oyedele, taking into consideration the spates of vandalism on oil and gas pipelines by militants in the Niger Delta, it is over the top for the government to still place the bud-

get on a 2.2 million bpd estimate.

According to him, the 2.2 million bpd estimate is an old figure Nigeria used to produce before the pipeline vandalism started.

“For us at PwC, the budget is overstated for obvious reasons.

There is no way the Federal Government should still peg the budget on the old 2.2 million barrels per day production because we know that even NNPC’s recent data shows that production is now down by some 700, 000 bpd.

This means it is now around 1.31.5bpd. so the budget is overstated and we simply are on our way to another failure on such projection,” he said.

Last week, FG sets a benchmark of $42.5 per barrel for the 2017 budget.

This was revealed by the Minister of Budget and National Planning, Udoma Udoma, at the presentation on the 2017-2019 medium term expenditure framework (MTEF) to civil society

groups in Abuja.

According to him, next year’s budget would be based on oil benchmark of $42.5 per barrel and average daily oil production output of 2.2 million barrels per day.

The move the Minister said, is part of the key assumptions. He then said crude oil benchmark price and production under the 2018-2019 MTEF would be at $45 per barrel and $50 per barrel respectively.

Business News B2

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, August 1, 2016

Brief

How NPDC withheld over $5b oil sales dividends

GSMA’s Accelerator Innovation Fund to inject £2m in Africa, Asia

CONTINUED FROM PAGE B1

of regular public financial management controls.

NNPC sold its shares in several joint venture licenses to NPDC. NNPC valued these assets at $1.85 billion, and according to an audit by P r i c e Wa t e r h o u s e C o o p e r s , PwC, NPDC has so far paid $100 million towards this amount.

PwC however, estimated the value of these assets at $3.4 billion. “Adding insult to injury, NPDC apparently did not pay NNPC or the treasury any dividend on over $5billion in oil sale revenue from its producing blocs,” PwC said.

In its review of the Sanusi accusations, PwC sorted through three sets of conflicting figures, and estimated total earnings from NPDC oil sales at $6.82 billion over a 19-month period in 2012 and 2013. “NPDC does not need such large withholdings: the majority of its blocks are developed under contracts— including one service contract and several Strategic Alliance Agreements—that require private partners to cover its share of operating costs,” it said.

Who collects and controls the revenues from NPDC sales is unclear from available information. Even NPDC’s own financial statements do not list them, and the company has no settled practice of paying dividends to NNPC or the treasury. Instead, NNPC COMD sells the oil for NPDC and proceeds are lodged in an “NPDC/NNPC Special Account” which NNPC controls.

According to Nigeria Extractive Industry Transparency Initiative, NEITI, $3.975 billion went into the “Special Account” for 2012 oil sales.

Recently, the Nigerian Senate Finance Committee concluded that this arrangement “undermines [NPDC’s] status as a separate legal entity and makes proper accounting difficult.” And till date, NNPC has not explained how the funds are spent.

Tony Nwakaegho

LAUNCH

L-R: Divisional Chief Executive Officer, Switching and Processing, Interswitch, Mr. Akeem Lawal; General Manager, Mobile Finance Services, Craft Silicon, Mr. Niladri Sekhar Roy; Chief Evangelist, Chatpay, Mr. Gbanga Adams and Sales Head, Craft Silicon,Mr Ketam Pulau, during the launch of Chatpay held at Civic Centre, Lagos…on Friday.

Enugu private sector urges early passage of Competition Bill CONTINUED ON PAGE B2

prohibit the abuse of dominant position or market power (using a dominant position to unfairly restrict or eliminate competition especially from smaller players or new entrants into the market).

According to him, the law will among others regulate mergers and acquisitions to ensure that competition in the relevant market is not eliminated by the merging of two or more firms.

He noted that Nigeria has no Competition Law at present and previous efforts made by the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment to get the Competition Bill passed into law did not succeed.

On efforts being made so far to ensure that the Competition is passed by the National Assembly soon, Dr. Ugwu disclosed that as part of the

activities to ensure that the Competition Bill is passed by the lawmakers within the next few months, the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) and other key Business Membership Organisations in Nigeria had successfully organized a Competition Walk in Lagos in June as part of the sensitization programme and sustain the pressure on the lawmakers to pass the Bill. A workshop on the Competition was also held last week in Kano as well as the Competition Walk in Kano.

Apart from the well-attended Public Hearing held in Abuja by the House of Representatives Committee on Industry, Trade and Investment in May in Abuja, there is also a national conference and courtesy call on the Speaker of the House of

Representatives in Abuja later in the year.

In his remarks, the Coordinator of the advocacy programme in Enugu, Dr. Chris Ugwu, the Executive Director of the Society for the Improvement of Rural People (SIRP) and Founder and CEO of SIRP and former Head of Service of Enugu State, said that the group would be organizing a one-day workshop on the Consumer and Competition Bill on August 9th in Enugu, while a Competition Bill Walk would hold on Wednesday August 10 in Enugu.

Ugwu therefore urged the media to join the coalition in its advocacy programmes to ensure that the will is passed by the National Assembly before the end of this year.

He invited the journalists, stakeholders and the general public to attend these advocacy programmes in Enugu.

GSMA has unveiled the GSMA Ecosystem Accelerator Innovation Fund worth over £2 million to support innovative10 to 15 start-ups from and operating in Africa and selected countries in Asia in January 2017.

The Fund is backed by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) and supported by the GSMA and its members.

Mats Granryd, Director General of the GSMA said, “The launch of the Ecosystem Accelerator Innovation Fund is an exciting opportunity for the mobile industry to work with entrepreneurs in developing markets to create services that will deliver important socio-economic benefits to their communities. I anticipate that we will see some incredible applications and I look forward to seeing the first selected start-up businesses flourish.”

The Fund will provide funding and mobile-focused mentoring and technical assistance to selected start-ups, and establish partnerships between operators and start-ups to increase the reach of innovative mobile services.

The Fund will run several rounds between 2016 and 2020, with each round having specific areas of focus. During the first funding round, which will disburse approximately £2 million, applicants must be aligned with one or both of the following focus areas in order to be eligible: For the first round, applications will be assessed through a two-stage application process. In the “pitch stage”, applicants are required to complete an online questionnaire providing an overview of their product or service; the deadline for submitting pitches is the 18th September 2016.

A maximum of 30 pitches will be selected to advance to the proposal stage; an independent panel of experts will then appraise the proposals and make awards totaling £2 million to approximately 10 to 15 start-ups in January 2017.

FG considers request by foreign airlines for increased frequencies Chukwuemeke Iwelunmo The federal government has promised to improve the economic and operational viability of the nation’s designated international airports by creating the enabling environ-

ment for international airlines operating in Nigeria to use them.

According to the Minister of State, Aviation, Senator Hadi Sirika, government would give consideration to requests by serious foreign airlines for increased flight frequencies as

long as the nation’s interests are not compromised.

The minister who made these promises while receiving the Turkish Ambassador to Nigeria, Hakan Cakil in his office, said the nation’s relationship with foreign airlines would be based strictly on the Bilateral Air Ser-

vices Agreements with the Airline’s home governments.

He informed the Ambassador of government’s determination to revamp the aviation sector through the concessioning of its airports, beginning with “the big four” in Lagos, Abuja, Kano and Port Harcourt. The conces-

sion, he said, is to address issues of infrastructure, and ensure world class maintenance.

He commended the cordial relationship that exists between Nigeria and Turkey, and condemned the recent coup attempt in Turkey, describing it as undesirable and anti-development.

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, August 1, 2016

B3 Money Market

L- R: Member, Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN), Mrs. Funke Nwankwo; President Of Aaan, Mr Kayode Oluwasona and Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, during a courtesy visit by members of the association to the Presidential Villa in Abuja... recently.

Stories by Motolani Oseni Skye Bank Plc has disclosed that it received more than 100 billion naira or 315 million US dollars in liquidity from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), which was in a move to boost its operation and ensure customer confidence in the nation’s banking industry.

The injection of the whopping multibillion naira was said to have been necessary, due to inability of the immediate past top management of the bank to meet minimum capital requirements, which eventually led to their sacking by the apex industry regulator.

The Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of the bank, Mr. Adetokunbo Abiru, at the weekend stated that the bank exposure to Oil and Gas sector during the boom period highly contributed to the pre-tax loss recorded in the financial year ended December 31, 2015.

While addressing news men in Lagos, Abiru said that the Central bank staffers have been working for two weeks inside the Skye headquarters in Lagos to support the lender.

He explained that Skye Bank

Skye Bank gets N100b liquidity from CBN Ï ƎéƆ ƃ ƊƄ ƍ ƎƆ è ƉƆƌƏƆƕƆƎƓè Ǝ Ƅƍ ƋƍƄƐƆ Ə Ɔ ƏƄ é ƂƆƍƏ as the eighth-largest bank in the country declared drop in its Profit before Tax (PAT) last year, because of the high Non Performing Loans (NPL) accrued from oil-related debts and withdrawals of public sector deposits through introduction of Treasury Single Account (TSA) by the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Taking necessary precautions to avert poor financial performance, Abiru, noted that the bank under his leadership would conduct an audit to see what the new management of the bank inherited and establish how much liquidity was needed.

Pointing out some of the steps to be taken later this year, so as to turn the future of the bank around, he said, “We hoped to have an overview by December

after which Skye could focus on being a frontline retail bank.

Some branches would be closed to bring down costs, pending approval from the CBN.” The Daily Times Nigeria Newspaper (DTN), notes that the lender’s NPL stood at 13 percent as at the end of last year, representing an eight percent higher than the required five percent by the CBN. His words: “The losses largely arose from issues relating to the cost-income ratio which was “above the industry standard”, plus “the liquidity challenge as well and asset quality issues, and the resulting effect of all that.”

The bank also explained how the introduction of the TSA by the FG had affected its financial status, which was attributed to the bank high dependence on

public sector debt deposits, since the commencement of the full implementation of the TSA on September 15th, 2015.

However, it is worthy of note that half of Skye’s bank loans book was in foreign currency from the oil industry which has been hit by low crude prices.

“The bank’s capital adequacy ratio was 10.4 percent last year, compared with an industry standard of 16 percent, and its cost to income ratio was “close to” 103 percent, rather than the standard of about 65 percent”, he added. Consequently, the CBN, through its Governor, Godwin Emefiele, and the corporate communication department have reiterated severally that there is no need urged the general populaces not to panic about the banking system.

More pressure looms in DMBs as MPR hikes to 14%-Fitch Global credit rating agency, Fitch has projected high probability of Deposit Money Banks (DMBs) operating in Nigeria to face more challenges as the nation’s Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) recently hike to 14 percent by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN).

The MPR, which serves as the benchmark interest rate in the country raised by two points from 12 percent to 14 percent at end of the CBN’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting concluded last Tuesday.

The benchmark interest rate,

which hovered around six percent from 2001 to 2011, currently standing at14 percent, and a move the MPC said, was to curb inflation and strengthen the local currency, naira, even though there have been mixed reactions by various economists and financial analysts over the MPC outcome.

In a note at the weekend, Fitch said, “Rising rates are likely to put additional pressure on banks’ asset quality. Almost all lending is extended at floating rates and banks should be able to reprice their loans quite quickly but borrowers will face more difficulties

in servicing their debts.

“Impaired loans are already high in the Nigerian banking sector, where average non-performing loan ratios reached 6.2 per cent at end-March 2016, partly reflecting the impact of currency depreciation on businesses as well as higher oil-related problem loans at some banks.”

Fitch expects loan growth (excluding foreign-exchange translation effects) to slow during the second half of 2016 and into 2017.

Banks have already tightened underwriting standards as economic conditions in the country

worsen.

The nation’s Gross Domestic Product contracted by 0.4 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter of 2016 and Fitch forecasts the GDP growth to fall to 1.5 per cent in 2016.

Meanwhile, recent report from the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) forecasted that Nigeria’s economy would probably contract by 1.8 percent in 2016.

The IMF forecast says Nigerian economy will now grow at a much slower pace than South Africa’s, which is expected to grow at 0.1 percent in 2016.

Economy diversification: Access Bank restates commitment to support agric sector, others As both the monetary and the fiscal authorities in Nigeria continue to come with policies and measures on how best to deal with the nose diving nation’s economy, Access Bank Plc has restated its commitment to capacity and desire to support the government ‘s fforts in diversification of the economy, especially in the agricultural sector.

The Group Managing Director/ CEO of the bank, Herbert , in a message posted from his Twitter handle @HerbertOWigwe, he said, ‘As our nation desires to diversify its economy, Agriculture has become the new focus of government and the private sector and as such, Access Bank Plc is well positioned to provide necessary support in this sector.’

Wigwe advised Nigerians to take advantage of the various incentives in the financial system that support agriculture. He noted that agricultural intervention schemes from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and some of other facilities come at single-digit interest rates adding that Access Bank was ready to help customers access any of the agricultural intervention schemes.

Sterling Bank clinches best non-interest banking award Sterling Bank Plc has been awarded the Non-Interest Bank of the Year – Africa 2016, for its Non-interest banking window, Sterling Alternative Finance.

The award courtesy “The European,” is one of the major categories at the Global Banking & Finance Awards held in London.

Sterling Bank commenced Non Interest Banking in 2013 when the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) granted the Bank the license to operate the window.

The Bank in a statement made available over the weekend noted that the Award was conferred on the Bank based on its success story in the last three years coupled with its ability to use non interest banking contracts to structure transactions in the most unique manner.

With about 200 branches offering non interest banking services, the Bank’s coverage which is considered the best in Africa, quality of staff, consultants and advisors such as Sheikh Abdulkader Thomas who belongs to several advisory boards globally also gave the Bank an edge over competitors.

Thought Leadership B4

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, August 1, 2016

Managing staff cost through union engagement Bolu Apanpa Depending on the nature of a company’s business, staff cost can be a material cost item in the income statement. Although employers and investors keep a keen eye on staff cost, they sometimes do not have absolute control over how this cost item changes. One of the factors outside their control is regulatory requirement, such as the Pension Reform Act, 2014. Any increase in the rate of pension contribution will trigger an automatic pay increase for employees. Other examples are employee union agreements, internal and other market forces. Although these factors may be outside the employer’s control, they should not be left unchecked to avoid any unintended adverse consequences on the business, knowing fully well that most increases in staff cost are guaranteed and become permanent once implemented.

This article focuses on how employee unions drive staff cost and how businesses can better manage the issue in a mutuallybeneficial way for all parties involved. The impact of union on staff cost is even more pertinent at this time of persistent economic slowdown, increasing pressure on income and the need to better manage cost to pull through the storm.

Most companies in key sectors of the economy are unionised. Examples of such unions are FOBTOB, NUCFRLANMPE, NUFBTE, NUPENG, PENGASSAN, etc . Given the pervasiveness of union activities across industries, they tend to wield a huge influence on how businesses operate and allocate resources.

No doubt, they are a key stakeholder. Negotiations take place at the national level and are meant to apply across a sector.

One key area of union impact for a lot of businesses is Staff Cost. Through the annual / biennial negotiations with their employer association counterparts, employee Unions often propose regular pay increases, which, according to most employers, are not aligned with business and economic realities. Employers are of the opinion that union increases over time outpace business performance and are not sustainable.

It remains to be seen how businesses with pre-existing Union agreements for increases in 2016 will implement such terms and still survive the tough economic period of lower income, occasioned by weak consumption and spending. This is because the

agreed increases are not based on business performance and would definitely not have anticipated the prevailing tight economic situation. Although companies without the capacity to implement such increases can engage their employees via internal negotiations to agree on a more affordable review, the fact is that the baseline / starting point for such discussions still remains the original agreement in the first place. Hence, the national/sectoragreed increases still remain a major driver of actual reviews that employers carry out.

To better appreciate how union agreements drive overall staff cost, employers should examine the impact of such increases on the reviews implemented for their non-unionised staff (termed Management staff, for the purpose of this article). Although some companies claim that they disregard union increases in managing pay for non-unionised staff, the reality is that this is not feasible. The companies usually consider union increases in dealing with their Management.

Since union increases push up pay levels for unionized staff, most employers, knowingly, or otherwise, also ensure that pay levels for Management staff increase at similar rates, in order to avoid pay compression and internal equity issues. In cases where a Chinese Wall had been maintained between both staff categories, the ultimate outcome had been that the unionized staff eventually catch up and, in some cases, overtake some of their Management counterparts. Hence, even though many employers may not realise this phenomenon, Union increases inevitably drive up costs across a company’s entire grading system.

Beyond the issue of cost, employee Unions actually play a vital role on several other issues pertaining to: protecting employees’ rights, putting in check employer excesses (by serving as some sort of “watch dog”), working with employers to arrive at workable solutions to industrywide employee issues, providing a platform for employees to collaborate on common issues, etc.

No doubt, employee unions are key stakeholders and play a vital role in the employer-employee relationship. Hence, employers that take union engagement seriously and are proactive in managing this relationship are more likely to enjoy a more congenial interaction and stand a better chance of better managing their staff cost, amongst other benefits.

Depending on the level of complexity and size of an orga-

nization, the issue of managing union relationship may require employing a specialist that is well experienced and knowledgeable.

Managing unions must be viewed as a serious business and should not be abandoned to the HR Manager /Head to deal with. Not all HR Managers/Heads possess the requisite skills and capabilities to effectively manage and forge a good relationship with unions.

A single badly managed union issue can cost the company a fortune to correct. Hence, an employer must define a strategy for union engagement, continually carry out an evaluation on how its objectives are being achieved with current capabilities and determine best lines of action from time to time.

Employers must focus on proper communication in dealing with unions; and they must do this in a creative and strategic manner, with a clear goal in mind.

The union must be carried along on how the business is performing under the prevailing market and economic conditions. Where information is available, a future outlook should also be shared with the unions. The objective is to manage union expectations from the business. This calls for some level of openness and transparency on the part of companies in dealing with unions.

Also, where there are initiatives that can potentially impact employees in a pervasive manner in areas such as career, pay, performance, etc, it is critical to carry the union along, to enhance better understanding of the objectives and buy-in. The employer should identify and develop a relationship with key union representatives, who can in turn in-

fluence and inform other union members. However, in sharing information with the union, the employer must continually carry out a thorough assessment of what to share, when to share, the level of detail to provide, with whom to share and how best to share.

In carrying the union along, the most important objective is to ensure awareness and understanding of the factors driving business decisions, the process involved in arriving at a position / decision, etc. Although fostering such an understanding may not necessarily guarantee agreement, but it will go a long way to engender a culture of trust, openness and transparency between both parties, while areas of disagreements are still being thrashed out.

Employers must continue to press for union agreements to better reflect business and economic realities and ensure sustainability. Although some level of success has already been recorded over the years in this area, given the downward trend in union increases, much is still left to be done. For example, biennial Union increases that used to be in the range of 40%, have now moderated to about 20% in the Manufacturing segment of the economy over the period. While this is a significant improvement for businesses, the fact remains that growth in Staff Cost, occasioned by union agreements, is still inconsistent with business performance and companies’ ability to pay. Therefore, the issue of sustainability is still foremost on the minds of a lot of companies.

Apart from aiming to better align union increases to business

and economic realities, employers should consider engaging unions towards agreeing to tie a portion of agreed increases to performance i.e. all union increases should not be 100% guaranteed; a portion should be made contingent on performance. In other words, where the business does not achieve the threshold specified, the increases will not crystallize. This will not only contribute to driving a high performance culture across sectors, it will also ensure that businesses derive optimal value for the increases implemented.

In summary, employee unions wield a significant impact on businesses, especially in the area of Staff Cost, a material cost item in a company’s income statement.

Union agreements are key drivers of staff cost across industries.

The increases are often guaranteed and become permanent once implemented. Employers do not have much control over the increases. However, if the unionemployer relationship can be properly managed in a proactive and strategic manner, companies stand a better chance of engendering a culture of trust, openness and transparency, which, in turn, can translate to better-managed discussions and agreements that impact staff cost. At a time of persistent pressure on income and rising costs, employers need to develop a creative strategy for managing unions, as one of the potential areas for adding value and better managing the impact on staff cost.

Bolu Apanpa, Senior Manager, Compensation & Benefits, Tax, Regulatory and People Services, KPMG in Nigeria

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, August 1, 2016

B5 Insurance Experts to discuss robust pension benefits for retirees

President of the Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria (CIIN), Lady Isioma Chukwuma, presenting award of honour to President of the Association of Registered Insurance Agents of Nigeria (ARIAN), Mr. Olamerun Gbadebo, at the National Insurance Conference in Abuja.

Shareholders decry heavy monetary fine on underwriting firms Stories By Kayode Adelowokan Shareholders of insurance firms across the country are unhappy that their companies continue to pay monetary fines running into several millions of Naira, on a yearly basis, to the regulators for violating account submission deadline or other infractions, even, when it is obvious the affected companies have yet to declare dividend in a long time.

The shareholders, who expressed their grievances at the Annual General Meetings (AGMs) of the few underwriting firms that had so far held their AGM, were unhappy that their companies had to cough out several millions of Naira as monetary fines to the regulators, thus, clipping the wings of the companies to pay meaningful dividend or bonus to shareholders, while some had their accounts in negative as a result of the huge

fines.

Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) had set 31st of March as the deadline date for listed entities to submit their financial statements of the previous year, while failure to comply attracts monetary fines until the affected firm is able to submit the account.

In the same vein, insurance companies are given till 30th of June by National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) to submit their accounts, failure to which attracts N5,000 each day after the deadline until the concerned firm submit the financial report to it for approval.

Over time, underwriting firms find it difficult to comply with these deadlines, hence, were made to pay monetary fines, until they were able to comply.

In 2014, 21 underwriting firms paid 60 million fines to NSE for failure to submit their 2013 finan-

cial accounts to the regulatory body on or before 31st March. This doesn’t include the fines, running into several millions of Naira, paid to NAICOM as well.

In 2015 as well, about 21 insurance firms paid N39.9 million fines to NSE for late submission of their 2013 and 2014 accounts, which rose above N45 million, when the fines being paid by erring underwriting firms to NAICOM for the same offense, is added.

In the current year, (2016), a data sourced from the X-Compliant Report on the NSE website in May 2016, revealed that 13 underwriting firms in the country have paid N33 million fines to NSE for failure to submit their 2013, 2014 and 2015 financial accounts to the regulatory body on or before 31st March.

Some shareholders, alleged that NAICOM, on most occasions, deliberately delays the approval of

accounts in order to charge insurers.

The shareholders, however, called on the concerned underwriting firms, to work closely with the Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) to make their grievances known to these regulators.

Mr. Robert Igwe, a shareholder said regulators, especially, NAICOM, should try to be considerate in meting out punishment to insurance companies, noting that the current regime of sanctions is depriving insurance companies of income to pay the shareholders dividend or bonus.

Operators, through NIA, he said, should try to comply with regulations to avoid sanctions, stating that insurers should liaise with regulatory authorities, to so see whether waivers could be granted to them, should in case there is tangible reason for late submission of accounts.

How to create robust pension benefits for retirees would be the focus of the 2015 Nigerian Insurance and Pension – Inspen Awards.

A statement by the Chief Executive Officer, Inspen Media, Mr. Chuks Udo Okonta, said that experts drawn from insurance and pension sectors would be on hand to seek solution to the plights of retirees and make contributions on how to improve retirement benefits operations.

He noted that the theme paper: “Robust Pension Key to Better Life After Work” will be delivered by the Director-General, Ondo State Pension Commission, Mr Jaiyeola Olowosuko, adding that the award presentation ceremony will hold on Friday, August 12, 2016 at the Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry Conference and Exhibition Centre, Alausa Ikeja, Lagos.

He posited that the event will be Chaired by Former Board Member, National Pension Commission (PenCom) and Director, Centre for Pension Right Advocacy, Mr Ivor Takor, adding that the Former Director General, Chartered Insurance Institute of Nigeria, CIIN, Mr Adegboyegba Adepegba, will be the Special Guest of Honour.

Okonta said discussants were drawn from the National Insurance Commission; Nigerian Insurers Association; Lagos State Pension Commission; Nigerian Council of Registered Insurance Brokers; Nigeria Union of Pensioners; Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria and Association of Registered Insurance Agents of Nigeria.

He said the yearly award was designed to celebrate excellent performances exhibited by individuals and organisations and by extension deepen insurance and pension awareness.

Swiss Re acquires 25% stake in Leadway Assurance Leadway Assurance Company Limited has announced that Swiss Re has purchased a 25 percent stake in the company.

Leadway Managing Director, Mr Oye Hassan-Odukale made this known in Lagos, saying that the acquisition of shares

by Swiss Re marks the beginning of a new chapter in the firm.

He said the complementary capabilities and philosophies of the two firms would bring great

opportunities for Leadway to emerge as a leading African financial institution.

He said: “Swiss Re was selected as an investor because of the existing and well-established relationship between the two organisations. This comes in addition to Swiss Re’s longstanding commitment to the insurance sector which combines financial strength, risk transfer expertise and its direct investments.

“The investment allows Swiss Re to deploy capital in-line with its strategy of accessing new risk pools in emerging markets and to support insurance development across the globe. The investment comes after the exit of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank, which was the second largest shareholder of Leadway Assurance.

“The relationship between Swiss Re and Leadway started

nearly 40 years ago when the then domestic insurer was in the process of ramping up its direct and personal line insurance operations into commercial and industrial line insurance operations to compete in a market which was dominated by much older foreign linked insurers.’’

Hassan-Odukale added: “For over 45 years, Leadway has enjoyed steady growth while providing integrated insurance and

financial services to its numerous clients and policyholders.

It has substantial investment in key sectors of the economy with a diversified portfolio of subsidiary investments in pension fund management, trusteeship and hospitality. The company’s remarkable success has been possible because of its sound professional and business standards backed by the integrity of its board of directors and executive management.’

Capital Market B6

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, August 1, 2016

Stock market last week Ecobank Group records N31.1 billion as Half Year profit

NSE Indices appreciates 1.27% last week The NSE All-Share Index and Market Capitalisation appreciated by 1.27 percent to close last week at 28,009.93 and N9.620 trillion respectively.

Similarly, all other indices finished higher during the week, with the exception of the NSE Consumer Goods Index, NSE Oil/Gas Index, NSE Lotus II and the NSE Industrial Goods Index that declined by 0.38 percent, 5.16 percent, 0.11 percent and 2.24 percent respectively, while the NSE ASeM Index closed flat.

Thirty-five (35) equities appreciated in price during the week, higher than fifteen (15) equities of the previous week. Thirty– one (31) equities depreciated in price, lower than forty–four (44) equities of the previous week, while one hundred and fourteen (114) equities remained unchanged lower than one hundred and twenty-one (121) equities recorded in the preceding week.

Trading in the Top Three Equities namely – United Bank for Africa Plc, FBN Holdings Plc and Access Bank Plc (measured by volume) accounted for 929.361 million shares worth N4.085 billion in 4,053 deals, contributing 49.77 percent and 25.02 percent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

A turnover of 1.867 billion shares worth N16.330 billion in 21,584 deals were traded this week by investors on the floor of the Exchange in contrast to a total of 1.350 billion shares valued at N9.287 billion that exchanged hands last week in 18,679 deals.

The Financial Services Industry (measured by volume) led the activity chart with 1.591 billion shares valued at N9.787 billion traded in 13,810 deals; thus contributing 85.18% and 59.93% to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively. The Conglomerates Industry followed with 72.101 million shares worth N141.675 million in 857 deals. The third place was occupied by the Healthcare Industry with a turnover of 57.563 million shares worth N148.547 million in 400 deals.

Six months performance on Ecobank Group Plc for the period ended 30th June 2016, shows a 38 percent decline in Profit After Tax (PAT) of N31.1 billion from N48.1 billion recorded in the preceding period of 2015.

Highlights of the group’s income statement reveals that Gross Earnings dropped 0.2 percent to N273.4 billion, while Profit before tax fell 32 percent to N41.6 billion from N61.4 billion recorded in the review period of 2015.

A deeper view of the group’s balance sheet indicated a 28 percent increase in Total Assets to N5.9 trillion from N4.6 trillion in H1 2015, while Loans and advances to customers improved 23 percent to N2.9 trillion from N2.3 trillion.

Deposits from customers in the

period under review advanced by 26 percent to N4.01 trillion compared to N3.2 trillion recorded for the corresponding period of 2015, while Total equity added 16 percent to N598.4 billion from N517.1 billion recorded for the prior period.

Commenting on the results, Group CEO, Ade Ayeyemi said: “Our results for the first half of the year were modest, achieved in a period of subdued economic activity and market uncertainty.

Our diversified business model, a source of competitive strength, and strategy positively contributed to underlying results.

“Revenues, in constant dollars, were relatively unchanged from the prior year period, while earnings decreased due to higher impairments.

The efficiency ratio of 64.3 percent was within target, despite the revenue headwinds, driven by actions we continue to take to reduce costs which will yield future benefits. Though the economic environment broadly continues to be challenging, we are seeing progress in our initiatives to improve credit quality.

“Our balance sheet growth was significantly impacted by the depreciation of the Naira and our cautious stance on lending. Our capital adequacy ratio at period end was 23.9 percent under Basel 1.”

“We see opportunities to serve our clients in these challenging period and applaud Ecobankers, our most valuable resource, for continuing to deepen relationships with our clients.”

Onyema

Summary of activities on NSE ASI

28,009.93

DEALS

4,427.00

VOLUME

4,646,456,565.02

VALUE

442,530,999.00

CAP

9,619,993,596,791.44

Stories by Afolabi Adesola Sterling Bank Plc has announced a profit after tax of N4 billion for the half year (H1 2016) period ended 30th June 2016. The group’s profit for the period represents a decline of 25.9 percent from N5.4 billion recorded as profit for the same period of 2015.

Gross earnings stood at N50.1 billion from N55 billion posted one year ago, a reduction of 9.1 percent.

Net interest income grew 31.9 percent to N25.6 billion from N19.4 billion buoyed by a 4.3 percent rise in interest income to N41.5 billion from N39.8 billion recorded in the prior period, and a 22 percent reduction in interest income to N15.9 billion from N20.4 billion posted for the first six months of 2015.

L-R: Vice Principal Command DAY Secondary School (CDSS) Ikeja, Mrs. Ogbechie Efefem; Commandant CDSS ,Lt. Col. Joseph Eduoku and Divisional Education Officer, Col. Yakubu Momol during the 2015/2016 Valedictory Service of the School in Lagos...on Thursday.

H1 Results: Sterling Bank posts profit of N4 billion Furthermore, the bank reduced its Non-performing loan (NPL) ratio to 2.8 percent by June 2016, significantly below the industry threshold of 5.0 per cent, from 3.3 percent recorded in comparable period of 2015 just as the Bank concludes plans on its N35 billion tier 2 capital raise.

The report also showed that the Bank’s cost of funds declined to 4.7 per cent as against 5.9 per cent, underlining the increasing success of the Bank’s retail banking strategy and the prefer-

ence by depositors for its brand.

The balance sheet of the bank continued to improve. Net loans and advances increased by 36.5 per cent to N462.3 billion largely driven by foreign exchange revaluation. Also, customer deposits increased to N627.9 billion from N590.9 billion. Total assets excluding contingent liabilities increased by 20 per cent N959.2 billion by June 2016 as against N799.5 billion recorded by December 2015.

The results came on the background of general depression

in earnings in the financial services industry and several other industries due to a period of sustained deterioration in the domestic economy during the first half of 2016. The economy, which has been posited to be in recession, was impacted by depressed commodity prices, continued sabotage of oil assets, weak investor confidence and a slow convergence of both monetary and fiscal policy.

Managing Director, Sterling Bank Plc, Yemi Adeola, noted that the bank has remained ir-

repressible as demonstrated by the strength of its core business.

According to him, the bank prioritized improvement in asset quality which was reflected by a 70 basis point decline in the non-performing loans and a 100 basis point reduction in cost of risk. Cost of funds also declined by 120 basis points to 4.7 percent.

This was in spite of the foreign exchange liberalization policy, the attendant liquidity squeeze and the rising inflation rate which peaked at 16.5 per cent in June 2016.

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, August 1, 2016

B7 Business Interview

Our business provides one stop-shop solutions for SMEs — Saint -Nwafor

Saint-Nwafor

Linda Saint-Nwafor is the Chief Enterprise Business Officer, MTN Nigeria. In this interview with Tony Nwakaegho, she talks about what MTN Business is doing for SMEs in Nigeria, Tech+ conference and other sundry issues.

Excerpts: What is MTN Business doing for SMEs in Nigeria?

MTN Business seeks to be the reliable and dependable supplier of business communication solutions to the Nigeria enterprise market, offering a suite of Voice, Internet, Data and Branch Connectivity Solutions. We have a platform we currently have developed for small and medium enterprises. SMEDAN record today shows that we have 37 million SMEs in Nigeria. Some of these SMEs have not been able to develop their businesses. So we have suite and portfolio of product that will enable them to commence and roll their business and register their business. We have developed a very detailed platform that will enable the

SMEs to manage their businesses and develop their businesses and that platform is called the ‘market place’. Currently we are working with ecosystem of partners to bring all the solutions that an SME may need to enable them to roll their business. That is like a one stop-shop that they need to roll their business.

What is the impact of these solutions on end users?

For the SMEs segment, it is basically about how I roll my business. If you speak to an ordinary person on the street that has one business or the other he believes that he is the next Dangote. It is all about understanding what the needs of the market segments are and using the network of ecosystem partners that we have to

developing solutions that will enable them to have access to those ingredients that are required for them to do their business. So if you look at them from that perspective and you go to the MTN SME market place today we have portfolio of solutions and they are able to interact with each other and they are able to get access to materials that will enable them to roll their businesses. We have for example materials for financial management and stock taking among others. Over and above that we have the platform that will showcase their business and the product that they are selling. It is a one stop-shop, it’s not just an e-Commerce site.

It is not just where they showcase their product. It’s a platform that give them access to materials that will enable them grow their businesses, learn the skills and also have an access to even follow SMEs where they can engage and share ideas on what they have been able to achieve in order to help the other people grow their businesses.

It is believed that SMEs are the backbone of any economy, so what is your vision for the SMEs in the next three to four years in terms of growth?

Most economies around the world are being sustained by the SMEs and we do know that in Nigeria today the SMEs have not been enabled to grow to their maximum potentials. With the platform that we have delivered we in the MTN have a tie with 150,000 SMEs registered on that platform and our target is to grow that number to 1 million SMEs by the end of this year and to further grow it to 10 million SMEs in the next 3 years.

We do believe that with the kind of access that we are giving and also available to the SMEs they will be able to not just connect their business, they will be able to grow their business and also even manage their business beyond what it is today. Our target is to have the small business growth become the micros and the basics as we have today.

From micro we become basic and from basic we become medium enterprises. And we have a set of solutions that will guide them through the value chain of connecting their business, growing their business and managing their business.

How many businesses has MTN been able to assist so

far?

Like I said every corporate in Nigeria today is a customer either a direct customer of MTN or indirect customer of MTN. Every single entity in Nigeria starting from the banking, oil and gas and even government establishment are all powered

by MTN.I will say that most of the enterprises in Nigeria are beneficiaries of the solutions, connectivity solutions, cloud solutions that MTN has been able to deliver. Now on the SME front I did mention that majority of SMEs in Nigeria by virtue of our size are already on MTN platform. We might be providing for them basic voice services and basic SMS services. Our challenge today is how to move them across the value chain to just not only those people who are consumers of voice and data services but other solutions that we can put to overlay the SMS services to help to grow their businesses.

On that platform today we have close to 150,000 SMEs already registered and our target is to grow that base to 1 million this year and over the next 3 years 10 million SMEs will be registered on that platform.

What opportunity does Tech+ provide for you to reach out to your prospective consumers?

For Tech+, MTN is a technology organisation and our vision is to lead boldly in the digital world to our consumers and taking that leadership position means that we have to find platforms and invest on those platforms that will make technology to become pervasive and get technology solutions to be made known to the wider range of people and that is exactly what we are doing today. So as a lead sponsor of Tech+ we believe that technology is going to shape the way we live and the way we work. We believe also that there is a lot of potentials in Nigeria for young start-ups who are making giant strides in the technology space and do not have that opportunity to showcase their product. So we are here as MTN to enable people showcase their product and as MTN we are again showcasing so many solutions that we have. We are showcasing our connected and Smart City solution in our booth. A solution that enables cities to be connected and that solution will enable people to be notified when there are issues,

for example if there is traffic in a particular in that part of Lagos or that kind of social unrest in a particular part of Lagos we will be able to alert people who are in that environment and should be able to engage and communicate with them and even show them visuals of what is going on in that area. We should be able to get the incident management agencies to go and rescue people out of that environment. That solution is what we are showcasing today. Overlaying other kinds of solutions on that we spoke about collected homes where at the touch of a button on your phone you are able to control what is going on in your house, be able to manage your energy efficiently and to turn off television and refrigerator in your home at a push of a button sitting wherever you are. You don’t need to scream to be at home to have access to all that. We are working with OEMs to develop solutions that will help you, remind you what you need to do in teams of the appliances that you have at home. Imagine a situation where you have a Samsung washing machine for example and you bought it and you don’t even remember when you bought it, but at some point it has to remind you that it’s due for maintenance and servicing. That way you don’t need to necessarily carry the overhead of that device breaking down before you effect the necessary servicing that is required to keep it going. All of these seat of IoT solution, Internet of Things, getting everything connected, expanding the market size is what MTN is all about. That is why we believe so much in this platform to enable us showcase and enable other people who are astute members of the technology industry, especially the small and medium enterprises, people who are innovators, who have innovative ideas that have never found that expression and providing this platform is something that we believe in. We believe that Tech+ has showcased a lot of these people and I invite you to go out and see very proudly a car that was made in Nigeria, designed by some students of the University of Lagos. It just tells me that there are huge potentials that this country has and MTN is always at the forefront of showcasing these potentials and enabling people to be the very best of what you want them to be.

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, August 1, 2016

B8 Capital Market

Life&

Times Monday, August 1, 2016

Desmond Elliot’s

‘I am not PHCN’ still makes waves

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Amazing nutritional facts about Okra

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Shittu L2

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Applauds Delta Innovation Hub

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Daily Times Nigeria Monday August 1, 2016

Desmond Elliot’s

Abimbola Obatayo

‘I am not PHCN’ still makes waves Statement of Honourable Desmond Elliot representing Surulere 1 Constituency in the Lagos State House of Assembly that “I am not PHCN” is still making waves on the internet. Elliot had told Adeyi Samiat, one of his constituents via Twitter that he is not PHCN when he was demanding an improvement in power supply in his area.

Adeyi Samiat wrote: ‘’I just want

Desmond

to tell you sir that you promised to restore our light at Ogunmola close during your campaign; you haven’t fulfilled that sir’’.

Desmond Elliot, enlightening him on the extent of his influence as a lawmaker, replied saying: “Adeyi Samiat, I said I will do my best. Am not PHCN my dear, and I have been working hard at it. Patience and see.”

“I will work on it is what I said and that’s

Communications Minister applauds Delta Innovation Hub

Minister of Communications, Barrister Adebayo Shittu, has stated that the Federal Government is ready to do everything possible for the provision of effective support for innovation Hubs across the length and breadth of Nigeria.

The minister stated this in a keynote address delivered at the public presentation of the Delta State Innovation Hub in Asaba, the state capital, saying: “If equitably established across the country, the innovation Hubs will provide unique opportunities for start-ups and SMEs to acquire

Barrister Adebayo Shittu, Minister of Communications

important ICT skills, build key networks and access necessary funding.”

Furthermore, Shittu said: “We, at the Federal Ministry of Communications, are keen to support you in this process. Our policies are geared towards using Information and Communications Technologies (ICTs) as a catalyst for innovation in every sector of the economy. A key part of my road-map is the establishment of new innovation hubs and support for existing ones as Innovation hubs serve as magnets for high-end thinkers and a birth place for ideas and channels for investment.

“They are crucial in the Federal Government’s drive to create jobs, generate wealth and increase revenue. We will keep our promise to create new hubs across the country and strengthen existing hubs for greater effectiveness. We are conscious of the need to support these hubs by creating a virile ICT Innovation Ecosystem within the country”.

The minister also stated that as a result of a recent trip to the Silicon Valley, the Ministry is currently exploring a partnership that will assess the current state of our ecosystem, disclosing that the consultants will propose a framework for developing an ecosystem in line with global best practices capable of making ICT innovation become second nature to Nigerians.

Celestial Church condemns pastor for chaining, starving son

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Soon after the media broke the story of Korede Taiwo, a nine-year old boy who was chained and starved by his father for weeks, the Celestial Church of Christ (CCC) released a statement over the issue to correct whatever misconception must have been created about the church.

The father, Francis Taiwo, who was fingered for the act, is believed to be a Shepard at the CCC, Key of Joy Parish, Ajiwo, Ogun State.

The leadership of the church in a statement, condemned the pastor, saying: “Our attention has been drawn to media reports concerning the activities of Prophet Francis Taiwo, Shepard in Charge, C.C.C , Key of Joy Parish, Ajiwo at Ajibawo in Ado Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun State.

“Prophet Francis Taiwo was reported to have

Entertainment Correspondent Mutiat Alli

chained his nine year old son and starved him of food for months, after the boy was accused of habitual stealing. The nine year old boy was eventually rescued by men of the NSCDC who stormed the church premises for that purpose.

“Latest reports indicate that the culprit, Prophet Francis Taiwo was later arrested by the police with the help of his church members. This report has drawn the ire of the public and our great church has been receiving undeserved flakes therefrom.

“We are thus compelled to issue this statement to correct whatever misconceptions must have been created about the church, in the minds of the general public, by this shameful and totally unacceptable incident. Let it be known that the Celestial Church of Christ does not condone child abuse and violence of any form.

Society Correspondent Abimbola Obatayo

Photography Quadri Olowolagba

what I’m doing. I am a career person in politics and giving the very best to the people of Surulere is my goal,” he had tweeted. The tweet has continued to generate a lot of reactions.

In 2014, Elliot moved into politics and joined the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). The following year, 2015, he ran for a seat in the Lagos State of Assembly and won.

Prof. Johnbull, Glo TV series, treats pregnancy and trust issues in episode The second episode of the hilarious TV drama series, Professor Johnbull, sponsored by data grandmasters, Globacom, aired on Tuesday night, with focus on the issue of pregnancy and betrayal of trust between children and their parents. The episode titled, ‘Eliza My Daughter’, opened with the lead character, Professor Johnbull (Kanayo O. Kanayo) tending his garden while listening to the music of the prolific highlife crooner, Flavour.

Professor Johnbull’s engineer son, Churchill (Junior Pope) entered the scene and was asked by his father about who repaired his transistor radio and made it possible for him to enjoy the radio set once again. Churchill confirmed that he repaired the radio and the conversation evolved into choice of career for the son.

“I am highly impressed with your genius in fixing gadgets”, Professor Johnbull posited as he tried to dissuade his son from becoming a musician, describing music as “arrant balderdash”.

His son however felt otherwise and tactfully and respectively maintained his stance.

Just then, the daughter, Elizabeth (Queen Nwokoye), entered the scene hurriedly, looking sickly and uncomfortable. She soon started vomiting, getting his father worried.

In the midst of the confusion, Mai Doya (Funky Mallam) arrived to share with Professor Johnbull the good news that his wife was pregnant and also expressed his concern that she was vomiting all over their house. That information piqued Professor Johnbull’s interest, and he began to suspect that his undergraduate daughter who was also vomiting might be pregnant.

He listened more carefully to Mai Doya especially on the nexus between pregnancy and vomiting to buttress his suspicion about his own daughter.

Graphics Daniel Ekiye

What followed was a series of rash steps by Prof. Johnbull in a bid to confirm if his daughter was pregnant or not and who was responsible.

After conducting what he called “optical examination and initial parental diagnosis” on Elizabeth, Professor Johnbull discreetly procured pregnancy testing strips from a local pharmaceutical shop, and enlisted the help of Caro as well as a medical doctor, acted by Pascal Atumah, to unravel the pregnancy mystery.

Interestingly, in her characteristic illiterate manner, Caro gave the pregnancy testing strip to her lover boy, Olaniyi, the nkwobi seller, acted by Yomi Fash-Lanso, who turned the issue to a communal discussion involving Mai Doya and Samson, the “adjudicator” acted by the comedian, Ogus Baba to make Professor Johnbull a laughing stock.

The drama also promoted personal hygiene by teaching proper handling of drugs and covering of nose whilst sneezing.

In the end, it turned out that Elizabeth was not pregnant and Professor Johnbull had to swallow the humble pie and apologies to his daughter.

Professor Johnbull wrapped the episode up, stating: “by not trusting my trustworthy daughter, I could easily have destroyed the trust and love that existed in my family. Oh yes, I overdid this one!”

He admonished parents from over-reacting and stop being overtly suspicious of their girls despite the prevalence of sexual immorality amongst the youth.

The programme, bankrolled by Globacom, runs on Tuesdays at 8.30pm on NTA Network, NTA International and Startimes while the repeat episode runs on Fridays on the same channels at the same time.

Daily Times Nigeria

Monday August 1, 2016

Ajibade Alabi/ Abimbola Obatayo In a bid to put paid to incidences of domestic violence in the society, sensational music act, Abidemi Abidoye, a.k.a Bidemi Bright, has come out with double album titled, Women’s right, volume 2 and Abimi-mogo.

Hear her: “I did the Volume 2 of Women’s right to curb domestic violence that has become prevalent in our society.

There is a high rate of domestic violence these days and we need to educate the general public so that such menace could be curbed.”

She stressed that besides domestic violence, women’s place in Africa and Nigeria as a whole needs serious evaluation, saying: “there’s need for orientation on how best we should treat our women; this comprises girl child, sisters, ladies, wives and mothers both old and young”.

L3 Buzz Byte

Bidemi Bright set to dazzle fans with twosome Bidemi whose journey in music started over 10 years ago has three albums to her name, Women’s right; O fe mi and Abimi-mogo that is set for launch.

She added that her new album, Abimi-mogo (Born with Glory) is a prayer oriented album that is meant for every household especially with the

current situation in the country today where prayer is necessary.

The launch of the two albums took place on July 31, 2016 at Celestial Church of Christ, Afola-Oluwabi parish Iju-Ishaga area. The event was star studded with the likes of Segun Nabi, Mega 99, Seyi Michael and a host of others performing.

Aisha Buhari launches ‘Get Involved’ In order to reduce the rate of malnourished children in the country, wife of the President, Aisha Buhari recently launched ‘Get involved’ to provide solutions to problems of malnutrition among children in the country.

According to UNICEF report, 2.5 million Nigerian children suffer from malnutrition with about 500,000 likely to die from the deficiency within a year. Thus, Aisha Buhari has taken it upon herself to put a stop to this issue eating up innocent children.

The ‘Get Involved’ Initiative envisions the active participation of well-meaning Nigerians, private sector and non-governmental organisations in response to the alarming outbreak of undernourishment at internally displaced camps.

According to her, with collective effort of everyone, no child in Nigeria should lack good nutritional diet.

Aisha Buhari

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Daily Times Nigeria Monday August 1, 2016

Daily Times Nigeria

Monday August 1, 2016

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Daily Times Nigeria Monday August 1, 2016

Oluwapelumi Babatunde

Amazing nutritional facts about

Okra

The okra or okro, popularly nicknamed the “lady’s finger” because of its slender look, is indigenous to tropical, subtropical and warm temperate regions. The plant is found in Ethiopia and some West African countries; and is available all year round. The whole vegetable is completely edible with green coloured exterior and slimy interior. One of the reasons why it is widely loved and eaten is because of its nutritional values as popularly said that “you are what you eat”. Further, okra is known for harnessing a superior fiber, which helps with digestion, stabilizes blood sugar, and helps to control the rate at which sugar is absorbed. Below are the nutritional values of okra:

1.

Low calorie: The okra is one of the fruits recommended for weight loss and cholesterol control programs owing to the fact that it has minimal calories; contains no saturated fats or cholesterol.

2. Eases digestion: In a very rich amount, okra contains dietary fiber which helps in digestion and eases constipation conditions.

3. Improves vision: With nutrients like vitamin A, and a high level of anti-oxidants, okra helps to improve situations of impaired vision.

4. Detoxifies: It contains Flavonoids that helps in prevention from lung and oral cavity cancers; regulates the intestinal metabolisms and cleanses the tract, keeping it safe from ulcers and colon cancers, contains vitamin A which is also good for a healthy skin and serves as a natural laxative.

5. Fetal formation: It contains folates which help in the healthy formation of babies at the fetal stage.

6. Boosts immunity: Okra is a good vitamin-C source- helps human body develop immunity against infectious agents, cold/cough and protects the body from harmful free radicals.

7. Blood circulation: Okra vegetable helps in foisting a healthy blood circulation and is also good for anemic conditions- production of red blood cells. It also contains vitamin K which is responsible for blood clotting.

8. Respiration: Because of its antioxidant and vitamin C properties, okra helps in the treatment of respiratory/ asthma conditions.

Okra leaves have anti inflammatory properties which suits the respiratory/urinary/genital treatments.

9. Healthy bones: It contains Calcium and vitamin K which are responsible for building strong bones, thus help to prevent such health cases as Osteoporosis.

10. Body development: As a good protein source, the okra vegetable helps in body growth as well as in giving a healthy hair.

11. Okra promotes a healthy pregnancy: Okra promotes a healthy pregnancy. An extremely

important B vitamin for producing and maintaining new cells, folate is an essential compound for optimal pregnancy. The vitamin helps prevent birth defects like spina bifida and helps the baby to grow sufficiently. Vitamin C is also essential for fetal development. Okra is rich in both folate and vitamin C. 12. Helps prevent diabetes: Thanks to fiber and other nutrients, okra proves beneficial in normalizing blood sugar in the body, helping with diabetes.

13. Helps with kidney disease: Regular consumption of okra can help prevent kidney disease.

Those who ate okra daily reduced clinical signs of kidney damage more than those that simply ate a

diabetic diet. This also ties in with diabetes, as nearly 50% of kidney disease cases are caused by diabetes.

14. Supports colon health: Okra is full of dietary fiber, which is essential for colon health and digestive health as a whole. The fiber Okra provides helps to clean out the gastrointestinal system, allowing the colon to work at greater levels of efficiency.

Additionally, the vitamin A contributes to healthy mucous membranes, helping the digestive tract to operate appropriately.

15. Promotes healthy skin: Vitamin C helps keep the skin looking young and vibrant. The vitamin aids in the growth and repair of bodily tissues, which affects collagen formation and skin pigmentation, and helps to rejuvenate damaged skin. Okra is full of vitamin C. Topical tip: Boil a handful of okra until soft. After letting it cool, mash it, and apply it to your face. After 5 minutes, your skin should feel smooth and rejuvenated.

Daily Times Nigeria

Monday August 1, 2016

L7 Wellness

Maureen Onuigbo

As we all know, it’s rainy season again and driving in the rain can be a scary thing, and in the night, it is even worse. It is difficult to see out of the window, and the other car’s light seems to make it worse especially when you begin to hydroplane. Here are some tips to avoid getting into an accident while it’s raining.

1.

Keep both hands on the steering wheel at all times.

Keep all distractions, such as cell phones or even the radio off and away from you while you focus to your front. Do take a look in back view mirror as well as right hand side and left hand side so that you get a 360 degree overview of what is happening around any mud slide or falling tree, electric pole, hanging electrical wires or in coming hazard, etc.

2. Turn on your headlights.

This will make it easier for you to see what is in front of you thereby, preventing any accident.

3. Keep a minimum of a good five car length from the car in front of you. You never know what other drivers are going to do or what could happen to you. If that feels too close or too far, a rule of thumb is 1 second of following distance per 10 mph (16km/h) that holds true especially in bad weather.

4.

Drive at or below the speed limit at the extent that you are comfortable with, and you can see far enough in front of you to appropriately make driving decisions.

5. Be aware that the maximum speed at which you can drive is directly related to your tires. Be sure to know what their condition is in. radial tires have better traction than the old bias ply polyester tires, but even they lose their ability to grip wet pavement and channel water out as the tread wears out.

6. Be aware of hydroplaning.

This is when your vehicle travels on top of the water and has no or very little contact with the ground. Your traction is reduced significantly. To safely get out of a hydroplaning situation, let off the gas and steer straight or slightly in the direction you must go. Do not make sudden motions and remain calm.

tips this rainy season 7.

Avoid flooded roads.

Never drive through standing or flowing water in a road way unless you have no choice or you are able to follow someone else to judge the depth of the water. Flooding the engine of your car can cause the engine to stall, and deep water can actually float your car and take it off the roadway.

8. Turn on the defroster if the windshield begins to fog.

In hot, muggy weather, air conditioned air (which cannot contain as much moisture) will usually clear the inside of the windshield faster than non-air conditioned.

9.

Be aware that brakes can be affected by water. Wet drum type brakes are especially prone to decreased stopping power after driving through deep water.

10. Watch for splashing from potholes and pools of water that accumulates “ruts” where the

heaviest traffic tracks and you may be able to position your vehicle while remaining in your lane to avoid this.

11. Use a rain repellent product on side windows and mirrors to clear standing raindrops.

12. Beware of driving in the rain, especially at night.

Motorcycles or even other dark coloured cars can be camouflaged amongst glistening raindrops on side windows and mirrors. It’s best to have a light coloured car that isn’t easily camouflaged in the night.

WARNINGS:

• If it’s really hard rain and you just can’t see, no matter what the setting of your windshield wipers are, pull over!

You may end up in an accident if you are not able to see.

• Don’t try to speed up, slow down or change direction while hydroplaning. Wait until

you’ve stopped hydroplaning to make corrections.

• Do not use your cruise control in rain or snow. If your vehicle begins to hydroplane while you are using cruise control, your car’s computer might read that the extra power it is sending to your tires isn’t bringing the car to the set speed so it will keep spinning the tires faster and faster.

• Most new vehicles will detect a discrepancy between wheel speeds and disengage the cruise control instead, but even this can cause an unexpected and sudden change in power application and still exacerbate the situation.

• Never stop in the roadway. Pull to the side if you must, but always try to stop in a parking lot.

• Remember, your tires are your car’s only contact with the road. Worn tires greatly affect handling, inclusive of accelerating, braking, and turning, and in all conditions.

L8 TV guide

Daily Times Nigeria

Monday August 1, 2016

Showing on

Showing on

102 M-Net EDGE Channel

112 Studio Universal

01:00

05:20

Mon, 1 August | 16L

Mon, 1 August | 13

‘S3/E4 - Chapter 30’. Kevin Spacey stars as the ruthless politician Frank Underwood in this multiple Emmy award winning drama.

Claire Underwood struggles to salvage her Mideast peace plan in this episode.

101 M-Net West

A has-been divorcé basketball coach is asked to run the local high school girls basketball team. He finds an unexpected chance to get back on his feet again.

Emma Roberts, Rob Corddry, Sam Rockwell. (2009) James C. Strouse.

120 BBC Entertainment

118 Telemundo

128 SONY MAX

00:05 New Tricks 01:00 The Cube 01:50 Come Dine With Me 02:40 Downton Abbey 03:30 EastEnders 01:10 The Imposter 03:00 The Double 05:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 06:00 Modern Family 06:30 Blue Bloods 07:30 The Fixer 08:30 Moms’ Night Out 10:30 2 Broke Girls 11:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 12:00 MasterChef Australia 13:00 Nashville 14:00 Arrow 15:00 Marvel’s Agents Of S.H.I.E.L.D. 16:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 17:00 The Goldbergs 17:30 MasterChef Australia 18:30 Grey’s Anatomy 19:30 Mysteries Of Laura 20:30 Elementary 21:30 Carte Blanche 22:30 A Good Marriage 23:04 Strike Back 22:30 Mob City 23:00 Strike Back 23:50 Rome

04:00 EastEnders 00:30 The Impostor 01:20 The Impostor 02:10 The Impostor 03:00 The Impostor 03:50 The Impostor 05:20 The Del Monte Dynasty 06:10 Labour Of Love 07:00 Part Of Me 07:50 Queen Of Hearts 08:40 The Impostor 09:30 Forbidden Passions 10:20 Labour Of Love 11:10 Part Of Me 12:00 Queen Of Hearts 12:50 The Impostor 13:40 Forbidden Passions 14:30 Labour Of Love 15:20 Part Of Me 16:10 Queen Of Hearts 17:00 The Impostor 17:50 Forbidden Passions 18:40 Labour Of Love 19:30 Part Of Me 20:20 Queen Of Hearts 21:10 The Impostor 22:00 Forbidden Passions 22:50 Labour Of Love 23:05 Would I Lie To You?

04:30 EastEnders 05:00 Spy 05:25 QI 00:45 Perils Of The Sentimental Swordsman

06:00 The Thin Blue Line 06:30 EastEnders 07:00 Antiques Roadshow

16:30 Deal Or No Deal

02:15 Most Shocking

08:00 The Weakest Link

17:10 The Cube

03:10 Most Shocking

08:50 The Chase

18:05 Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

04:05 Exposed

19:00 Celebrity MasterChef

05:00 Criss Angel Mindfreak

20:00 Hell’s Kitchen USA

05:25 Exposed

21:00 Hell’s Kitchen USA

05:50 Exposed

21:50 The Graham Norton Show

06:15 Video Zonkers

22:45 Would I Lie To You?

06:40 Repo Games

23:45 Tanked

07:10 World’s Wildest Police Videos

09:35 Total Wipeout UK 10:30 The Cube 11:20 New Tricks 12:20 Top Gear 13:10 Come Dine With Me 14:10 Total Wipeout UK 15:10 The Weakest Link 16:00 EastEnders

155 AfricaMagic World

00:05 President For A Day 01:10 Sequence 02:00 Jara 02:30 Jara 03:00 Good Morning Africa 04:05 53 Extra

08:10 Disorderly Conduct: Video On Patrol 09:10 South Beach Tow 09:40 Most Shocking 10:40 Most Shocking 11:40 Video Zonkers 12:10 Repo Games 12:40 World’s Wildest Police Videos

154 AfricaMagic Family 04:50 Perfect Union 06:00 Good Morning Africa 07:00 Star Gist 07:25 Vanity’s Last Game 08:30 Living With Trisha 09:25 The African Child 10:00 Good Morning Africa 11:00 Tinsel 11:30 Star Gist 12:00 Music Block 13:00 At Home With Joselyn Dumas 14:00 Prem 14:30 Goge Africa 15:00 Family Ties 15:30 At Home With Michelle Attoh 16:30 Living With Trisha 17:30 Comfort Zone 18:00 Meet The Adebanjos

04:30 Exposed

13:40 Disorderly Conduct: Video On Patrol 14:40 South Beach Tow 15:10 Exposed 01:00 Series TBA 02:30 Good Morning Africa 03:30 Good Morning Africa 04:30 Prem 05:00 Good Morning Africa 06:00 My Good Will 09:00 Good Morning Africa 10:00 So Wrong So Wright 10:30 So Wrong So Wright 11:00 Lies That Bind 11:30 Lies That Bind 12:00 Jara 12:30 Jara 13:00 Series TBA 14:00 53 Extra

14:30 53 Extra 15:00 Kakibe Ki 15:30 Noose Of Gold 16:00 Foot Print 16:30 Lies That Bind 17:00 Lies That Bind 17:30 Star Gist 18:00 Star Gist 18:30 Star Gist 19:00 Prem 19:25 So Wrong So Wright 20:00 Secret Adventure 22:40 Series TBA 22:55 Series TBA 23:45 Why Stop Now? 18:30 So Wrong So Wright

15:40 Criss Angel Mindfreak 16:10 1000 Ways To Die 16:40 Video Zonkers 17:05 Repo Games 17:30 World’s Wildest Police Videos 18:30 South Beach Tow 19:00 Disorderly Conduct: Video On Patrol 20:00 Max Knight: Ultra Spy 21:30 Poorman’s Bikini Beach 22:00 Kenny vs Spenny 22:30 Tool Academy