Dtn 11 1 16

Anti-grant war: Release of Buhari’s ally vindicates us – PDP Ï d ƕ LƆƐƑ ô ƅ Ɛƈ ƑƆƗ ƗƆƐƆ Ɛƈ ƓƈƐƅ é Ƒ Ɛ that the release of the asso…Accuses EFCC of compromise ciate of President MuhamÎÎÎThe Peoples Democratic

Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja

party (PDP) on Sunday said

madu Buhari and All Progressives Congress (APC)

chieftain, Brig. General Jafaru Isa (rtd) by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), barely eight hours after arrest while its spokesman,

Chief Olisa Metuh, remains detained and without being charged to court since last Tuesday, vindicates its Continued on page 6

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N150

MONDAY, JANUARY 11, 2016 VOL. 2. NO. 20

GAINERS

LOSERS

NSE GAINERS AND LOSERS AS AT 8th January 2016.

OKOMUOIL

33

36.25

3.25%

IKEJAHOTEL

3.12

3.27

0.15%

NB

113

109.5

-3.5%

FLOURMILL 20.8

DANGSUGAR

5.76

6.04

0.28%

VONO

0.92

0.96

0.04%

GLAXOSMITH

31.1

30

-1.1%

ETI

ƕƆƋ ƍ ƋƋë

Dickson wins amid intrigues, violence

17.64

19.76

-1.04%

16.78

-0.86%

Table of Summary of results: Registered voters:

654493

Accredited voters:

242114

Total valid votes:

225520

Rejected votes:

6647

Total votes cast:

232167

APC — 86,852 PDP — 134,998 PDM — 1,572 Others — 2,098

Ï d ƕ ë M ƅƆƋƆƄƏ Ɛƈ ƄƆƅ Ƒ Ɔ Ƈ ƋƈƒƆ Ƌ Ɛ Ï zƈƋƋ Ƈ Ɛ Ɔ ƍƆ ƍƋƆ ƍƏƆƒ ƈƋƆƗ – Wike Ï ^#^ ƐƐƏƈƄƑƐƆ ƒƈƅƐ Əƕ Ɛ óƏƆ ƈƋƈƆ ƅƆ Ɨ Ƒ ƅ ƌƌ ƅ ƑƏ Ɔô Ƈ ƕƆƋ ƍƆ ƍƋƆ Ï 0 ƕ Ɔ ƈƋ ƒƈƅƐ Əƕè ƋƑƐƆ ƕƆƋ Akam James, Ɔ

ÎÎÎVoters in Bayelsa state have

given a fresh mandate of another four years to Governor Seriake

Dickson, as the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Sunday night declared him the winner of the governorship poll.

Dickson, who ran on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was declared the winner and elected at about 8:30pm by the Collation/Return-

ing Officer for the election, Prof.

Zana Akpagu who announced the results of the supplementary Continued on page 6

23 states restructure N576b debt with 15 banks — DMO gB1

Fresh anxiety over plea bargain for treasury looters g 8 Anambra Central g14 Senatorial Election: APC rejects politics of imposition

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PHOTO: Nairaland.com

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9ice’s gL1 huge plans at 36

2

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, January 11, 2016

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Daily Times Nigeria Monday, January 11, 2016

3

Politics Page Three Æ s Editorial Importation of pencils

R

ecently, the Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Ogbonnaya Onu, lamented the importation of pencils into the country. While on an inspection tour of the Projects Development Agency (PRODA), Enugu, the minister decried a situation where the country continues to import pencils from China, 55 years after Independence.

We share the minister’s pains and embarrassment at this development, especially when pencil does not require any sophisticated technology to manufacture. It is even more shameful and disheartening that the authorities should allow importers to fritter the nation’s foreign exchange on its importation.

Definitely, the importation of such low technology item shows the nadir the country has been plunged over the years. There is no doubt that Nigeria’s huge market of 170 million people has been taken over by goods produced in other countries. Today, we have been turned into a nation of shopkeepers and sellers of every and any item from other lands.

The rapid de-industrialisation and a shriveling real sector has wiped out jobs from the local economy, compounding the task of keeping the booming youth population out of crime. Incidentally, what goes for pencil is reminiscent of the entire economy. From toothpicks to motor vehicles and from textiles to newsprint, all find their way into Nigeria through importation.

More painful is that majority of the imported items are not only substandard, but also, second hand. A reason for this unrestrained importation syndrome is that the country hardly boasts of any manufacturing outfit worth the name. For example, until few years ago, the country used to boast of local tyre-manufacturing

firms. Owing to a hostile operating environment, one by one, they shut down their factories and relocated to other countries with more favourable business climates. It may shock Nigerians to know that majority of stationery in our markets and bookstalls are imported, even when the country has abundant raw materials to manufacture these items. In the process of importing stationery, the country loses billions of naira that could have been better utilised in the economy for infrastructure development.

Question is: How can the country engage in the manufacture of stationery and other ancillary products when the paper mills established with taxpayers’ money have since closed down. The minister’s remark at the continued importation of pencil may serve its political purpose, especially as it was made at PRODA, an institute that had over the years been battling with dilapidated equipment and deteriorating infrastructure. It also does not speak well of the authorities, especially when it is known that PRODA is government owned.

The handicap facing the institute is symptomatic of the general neglect being suffered by similar corporations across the country. Unfortunately, it is not only pencil that is imported into the country; Nigeria also loses billions of naira to the importation of chicken and fish, even as we also import refined petroleum products, when we are among the world’s leading producers of its raw material. We agree with the minister that the local manufacture of pencil would create more than 400,000 jobs, especially through the value chain.

However, we hasten to add that that cannot be achieved when the country lacks the critical infrastructure and enabling environment for enterprises to thrive.

APC’s warning against ‘insulting’ Buhari Sam Nzeh

ÏÏÏThe unexpected hap-

pened recently when the All Progressives Congress (APC) warned Nigerians in general and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in particular against insulting President Muhammadu Buhari and officials of his administration.

The warning, according to a statement signed by the party’s national chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, became necessary due to what it called the PDP’s “unprovoked insults and unguarded statements” on President Buhari and other members of the APC. APC’s warning comes as a rude shock to many Nigerians who have not forgotten how the party and its chieftains while in op-

position rained all manner of insults on former President Goodluck Jonathan and then ruling PDP. The party on many occasions denigrated the office and person of former President, depicting him as clueless and incompetent.

Many chieftains of the party also poured invectives on Jonathan and officials of his administration.

Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir el-Rufai, for instance, while in serving as interim Deputy National Secretary of the APC, in a post on his twitter page during the Jonathan administration, described Jonathan as “lazy, docile, incompetent, clueless, hopeless and useless leader.”

The Interim National Chairman of APC, Chief Bisi Akande, on one occasion, described Jonathan as a kindergarten president. Several other leaders of the party also took to raining abuses on Jona-

Words On Marble :

than and his administration at every turn.

Fact is that if the APC and its chieftains did not see anything wrong in raining insults on Jonathan and officials of his administration, then the party need not warn the PDP and Nigerians against so-called “unprovoked insults and unguarded statements” on President Muhammadu Buhari and other members of the APC. Whether such insults and unguarded statement come from the PDP or other Nigerians, the APC must learn to live by it, after all, what is good for the geese is good for the gander. The party set the pace in abusing the former President and ridiculing his office while it was in opposition. Now that it has found itself in power, the APC and President Buhari should be mature enough to soak in the ‘insults’ as the former occupier of the office of the President and his party did.

STATEMENTS BY THOSE WHO MATTER

Publisher/Editor in Chief – Fidelis Anosike Managing Editor Yinka Olujimi Daily/ Online Editor Biodun Durojaiye Deputy Editor/Southern Bureau Chief Sam Nzeh Deputy Editor/Northern Bureau Chief Lateef Ibrahim

Group News Editor Segun Adio Politics Editor Akintola Akinjide Business Editor Friday Atufe Head, Graphics/Design King Ododoru

Group Managing Director Noel Anosike

Business Dev. Manager Bello Ganiyu

Head Finance/Shared services Simpa Ajayi

Sales & Marketing Manager Tunde Dosumu Technical Adviser To Publisher Innocent Nwankwo

Group Executive Commercial/ Business Developement Ifeoluwa Isijiola 08086296714

Adverts/Partnerships/ Corporate Subscription Ifeanyi Emefu 08086296714 Konnie Agu 09033765031

More info: www.dailytimes.com.ng https://plus.google.com/+DailytimesNgr/posts https://twitter.com/DailyTimesNGR

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Sam Amadi

Mike Igini

Oba Ogunwusi

“In this country, we suffer from three things – lack of rigour and role occupant ethic as well as excessive populism.”

“The card reader is meant to empower voters, and any decision against the use of the card reader is an act that disempowers voters.”

“There will be no need for superiority contentions once we realise and accept that though, all fingers are not equal, they are all important and dependent on one another.”

44

Daily Times Nigeria Daily Times Nigeria Monday, January 11, 2016 Friday, November 13, 2015

‘PEACE ADVANTAGE’ Frequent Flyer Program

Overview PROGRAM OVERVIEW The Air Peace “Peace Advantage” Frequent Flyer Program is a customer initiative by Air Peace to show appreciation to & continuously reward its frequent flyers for their patronage from inception of Air Peace flight operations. The Peace Advantage FFP offers distinctive value to frequent fliers by delivering ‘recognition’, ‘rewards’ and differentiated service levels with an integrated customer interaction strategy to allow for continuous customer expression & feedback via a unique smartphone app (Android/iOS/blackberry 10 versions) and a dedicated website.

The “Peace Advantage” FFP aims to clearly communicate to Air Peace customers the value Air Peace places on their patronage & Air Peace’s commitment to building long lasting mutually beneficial relationships with its customers. The basic principle being that – The More You Fly with Air Peace, The More You Get Back From Air Peace.

The “Peace Advantage” Program rewards program members with an exchangeable loyalty currency called “Peace Points” for all their qualifying International, Regional & Domestic flights on Air Peace. Earned ”Peace Points” can be exchanged by program members for Air Peace flights nationwide, and in Future Air Peace promotional offers, gift merchandise, vouchers & other lifestyle related items from a dedicated online rewards catalogue – The Air Peace Loyalty Shop. In addition, program members will also be entitled to additional benefits – discounts & status benefits – from a network of Air Peace partners nationwide.

EARNING “PEACE POINTS” Peace Points are awarded to program members for flights flown as follows

The “Peace Advantage” program has 4 Member levels - Peace Bronze, Peace Silver, Peace Gold & Peace Platinum with the following benefits – TIER BENEFITS & QUALIFICATION

**Based on Availability

All individuals / passengers above 16 years of age will be eligible to enrol in the Peace Advantage Program, whilst to cater for our numerous passengers with families, Family Memberships will be allowed for passengers / individuals below 16 years of age, who will be enrolled under a parent / adult utilizing the Family Membership option.

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, January 11, 2016

5

FEDERAL AIRPORTS AUTHORITY OF NIGERIA GENERAL PROCUREMENT NOTICE IN RESPECT OF PROCUREMENTS UNDER FAAN 2016 IGR BUDGET (SUPPLIES) A. INTRODUCTION. In compliance with the Public Procurement Act 2007, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN) intends to undertake the under listed projects under its 2016 financial year (IGR) budget. Consequently, the Authority wishes to invite competent and reputable companies to submit bid under its General Procurement Notice (GPN) in the following projects: LIST OF PROJECTS: Lot 1 - Supply of Fuel /Lubricants Lot 2 - Supply of Fire/Safety Equipment and Accessories (e.g. Breathing Apparatus, Fire Delivery Hose etc.)

Lot 3 - Supply of Fire/Safety Consumables (e.g. foam compounds, fire extinguishers etc.)

Lot 4 - Supply of Electrical spare parts/Instruments and other Accessories (including: Distribution Transformers, Low Voltage (LV), Medium Voltage (MV) and High Tension (HT) Cables, SF6 Ring Main Unit (RMU) and Instruments) Lot 5 - Supply of Uniforms and Operational Outfits Lot 6 - Supply of Operational Vehicles.

Lot 7 - Supply of Stationeries and Printing of Non-Security Documents etc.

Lot 8 - Supply of Furniture.

Lot 9 - Supply of Office Equipment.

Lot 10 - Supply of Computers and Accessories.

Lot 11 - Supply of Water Engineering Consumables.

Lot 12 - Supply of Water Engineering Equipment.

Lot 13 - Supply of Aviation Security Accessories.

Lot 14 - Supply of Heavy Duty Generator Spare Parts.

Lot 15 - Supply of Security Equipment, Spares and Accessories Lot 16 - Supply of Communication Equipment, Spares and Accessories.

Lot 17 - Supply of Civil and Building Engineering Consumables.

Lot 18 - Supply of Mechanical Engineering Equipment and Consumables/Accessories.

Lot 19 - Supply of Operational Accessories (e.g. marshalling, tools etc.)

Lot 20 - Supply of Tractors and Slashers Lot 21 - Supply of Gully Emptier Lot 22 - Supply of Birds / Wildlife hazard controls consumables Lot 23 - Supply of Corporate Items Lot 24 - Procurement of Haulage services for the movement of goods and heavy duty equipment B. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

GENERAL PROCUREMENT NOTICE REQUIREMENTS Evidence of company registration [Certificate of Incorporation of the Company] Certified true copy of memorandum and article of association with CAC forms CACO2 & CACO7 inclusive (where applicable).

Pencom Clearance Certificate and evidence of remittance.

Evidence of Tax payments (Current Tax Clearance Certificate) for the last three years - (2013, 2014 & 2015).

Copy of VAT Certificate or Registration and evidence of remittances.

Corporate Profile with Curriculum Vitae and credentials of the key personnel.

Evidence of financial capability to execute the project (Bank Reference Letter/Bank guarantee will form part of the evaluation criteria).

Copies of the Audited Account of the company for the last three (3) years - (2013, 2014 & 2015).

Verifiable evidence of similar works successfully completed/on-going (e.g. Letter of Award, Certificate of Completion, Contract Agreement and Payment Certificate) Certificate of compliance with Industrial Training Fund (ITF) regulation and evidence of payment.

Evidence of registration with Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP).

The Sworn Affidavit from Federal or State High Court disclosing as follows:That all documents submitted are not only correct but genuine.

That the Director(s) has /have never been convicted by any court of law.

That the firm’s Director or company is not bankrupt.

Whether or not any of the officers of FAAN or BPP is a former or present director of the company.

C. SUBMISSION OF DOCUMENTS. • The documents are to be submitted in four (4) copies in A4 paper size and neatly bound. The document should be arranged in the order listed under General Procurement Notice requirements and clearly separated by dividers.

• The documents must be sealed in an envelope and the Project Name and Lot number must be clearly written at the top left corner of the envelope.

• All documents must be submitted to the office of “The General Manager (Procurement)”, FAAN Headquarters, Ikeja – Lagos.

• Contacts: - Phone No. 08033075384, E-mail Address: procurement@faannigeria.org D. CLOSING AND OPENING OF SUBMISSIONS. Submission of General Procurement Notice tender shall close at exactly 11.30 am on Monday, February 29, 2016. All submissions will be opened on the same day at 12 noon in The FAAN Training School Annex, Transit Camp, Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja- Lagos.

E. IMPORTANT INFORMATION. • The FAAN reserves the right to verify the authenticity of any claims made on the General Procurement Notice documents submitted by companies.

• Failure to comply with the instruction(s) and provide any required document(s) may automatically result in disqualification.

• FAAN reserves the right to reject any or all the General Procurement Notice documents.

• Original of all documents above must be produced for sighting at the opening and any other time requested.

• Tender documents submitted late shall be rejected.

• All submissions must be in English language.

• Submission should be very clear on the areas of specification and Lot(s) of interest.

• This advert shall not be construed to be a commitment on the part of FAAN, nor shall it entail the applicant to make any claim(s) whatsoever and/ or seek any indemnity from FAAN, by virtue of such applicant having responded to this publication.

Signed MANAGEMENT

News 6

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, January 11, 2016

Bayelsa poll: Dickson wins amid intrigues, violence Continued from page 1 election.

He scored a total of 134,998 votes to beat former governor of the state, and candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Timipre Sylva, who scored 86,852 votes.

Sunday’s election was supplementary to the the substantive election in the state which held on December 5, 2015.

INEC later fixed January 9, 2016 for the supplementary election after it declared the substantive election inconclusive, following the cancellation of the poll in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area and and 102 other polling units across the state due to

reports of widespread electoral malpractices and violence.

The supplementary election was marred by intrigues and violence.

There were reports of ballot box snatching and killings.

The Bayelsa State Police command’s Spokesman, Mr Asinim Butswat, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, reportedly confirmed that two suspects were arrested for forcefully removing the box at Otuokpoti, Unit 1, Ward 2, Ogbia Local Government.

Also, no fewer than 12 persons suspected to be militants and security agents, including four policemen and two soldiers, were feared

killed during the supplementary elections.

The supplementary election was also characterized by intrigues as there were undue delays at the points of collation and announcement of the final results, spawning fears of possible last minute manipulation.

Meanwhile, Dickson has thanked the electorate for their gallantry in ensuring his re-election, insisting that the challenge of improving the material condition of Bayelsans remains more urgent.

He said there would be no celebration because of the number of lives that have been lost.

The governor in a state-

ment signed by his Chief Press Secretary, Daniel Iworiso-Markson, Sunday night in Yenagoa, however said he would do everything possible to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

Also in a swift reaction, the PDP has hailed the people of Bayelsa State for their support for its candidate, Governor Seriake Dickson.

The party stated this through the Director of Publicity, Restoration Campaign Organisation, Jonathan Obuebite, shortly after the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared the incumbent governor winner.

He thanked the people for renewing Dickson’s mandate

for another four-years, attributing it to the “resilience and uncommon courage” of the people.

Obuebite who noted that the victory was important because it came the way of the PDP even in the face of intimidation, tyranny, threats and violent attacks, added that “despite the challenges, democracy won.”

In his own reaction, Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike declared that the re-election of Governor Dickson is a victory for democracy in the face of unrelenting external forces.

In a congratulatory message to the Bayelsa State Governor, Governor Wike said that the will of the people of Bayelsa State has prevailed as they have resolved to remain with the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. A statement issued by the Governor’s Special Assistant on Electronic Media, Simeon Nwakaudu, pointed out that the people of Bayelsa State exhibited the true Niger Delta spirit which abhors oppression and injustice. He said that with the re-election of Governor Seriake Dickson, a clear message has been sent to the dark forces

of rigging and electoral manipulation that they will never find accommodation in this geo-political zone.

Ekiti State Governor, Mr Ayodele Fayose, on his part, hailed the re-election of Dickson, describing it as a demonstration of the resolve of Bayelsa people to choose their own governor and resist imposition of a governor on them by the powers that be in Abuja.

The governor, who described the people of Bayelsa as “worthy heroes of democracy that stood their ground against agents of darkness that were prepared to shortchange them by imposing a governor they do not want on them,” said Governor Dickson’s victory was another vindication of his prediction on 20 things to expect this year.

Governor Fayose said in a statement signed by his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media, Lere Olayinka that it was shameful that several people were killed in an election in Bayelsa State with eight Local Government areas in which more than 20,000 security personnel, including soldiers were deployed.

Buhari urges unity among Nigerians, hails armed forces R-L: Wife of Enugu State governor, Mrs. Monica Ugwuanyi; Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi; Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Most Rev. Matthew Kukah; Bishop Calistus Onaga of Enugu Diocese; Bishop Emeritus of Enugu Diocese, Most. Rev. Dr. Anthony Gbuji; former Governor of old Anambra State, Sen. Jim Nwobodo; his wife, Patricia, during Thanksgiving Mass to mark Nwobodo’s wedding anniversary at the Catholic Church, Holy Ghost Cathedral, Ogui, Enugu State... at the weekend

Anti-grant war: Release of Buhari’s ally vindicates us – PDP Continued from page 1 position that the Federal Government is not fighting corruption but on a clampdown mission on PDP leaders.

The PDP noted with regret that its spokesman, who was arrested without invitation by the anti-graft agency, has remained incarcerated since Tuesday while the APC chieftain who even disregarded the commission’s invitation and had to be arrested was quickly released after the EFCC boss meeting at the Presidential Villa.

The PDP, in a statement

signed by the National Legal Adviser, Barrister Victor Kwon, said there can be no clearer indication that the APC-led administration is on a manhunt against PDP leaders, and that it has a personal grudge against Metuh, ostensibly for his stance as opposition spokesman, particularly his recent exchange with the government and the APC over their dictatorial activities.

The party queried the action of the EFCC in freeing Brig. General Jafaru Isa, eight hours after his arrest last Wednesday night while Metuh is still being

detained even when the two were being investigated over same allegation of receiving funds from the office of the National Security Adviser.

The PDP said: “The release of Jafaru Isa, a known associate of the President and chieftain of the APC eight hours after his arrest while our spokesman remains in detention even when the two are being investigated over same allegation, clearly shows that the President Buhariled APC government is not fighting corruption but using the much hyped crusade as a cover to persecute

PDP leaders and decimate the opposition, a project the EFCC has clearly yielded itself as a willing tool.

“We have information of the marching order from the Presidency for the immediate release of the President’s associate and that his issue is one of the major reasons for the repeated visits of the EFCC Chairman to the Presidential Villa within the period of his arrest. Of course, there is nothing hidden under the sun.

“We ask, how can the EFCC now explain to the Continued on page 12

ÎÎÎPresident Muhammadu

Buhari on Sunday called on Nigerians to build on things that unite rather than divide the country in spite of diverse cultures and religions.

He gave the advice at the Inter-Denominational Church Service to mark the 2016 Armed Forces and Remembrance Day at the National Christian Centre, Abuja.

Represented by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, the President said the nation was proud of the contributions of the armed forces for ensuring peace, justice, freedom and prosperity of the nation. ``Let us renew our determination to build a strong and united nation where freedom, justice, peace and prosperity are easily within reach; a nation where we emphasise those things that bind us rather than those things that divide us.

``We are a country of diverse cultures and even religions but let us tap more into that diversity for strength rather than for strife.’’

According to him, the country today celebrates the families of the fallen heroes, their wives and children as well as their other family members. ``No one has suffered as much loss as you have and no one can truly understand your pain but today our nation commends you. ``Your great loss is the gain of millions of Nigerians and generations yet unborn. ``We applaud you and the heroic men and women of our armed forces and we thank God for the worthy lives they lived.’’

The President further applauded those who made contributions in various Continued on page 12

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, January 11, 2016

$2 billion arms deal: SERAP writes Jonathan for explanations

ÎÎÎSocio-Economic

Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has sent an open letter to former President Goodluck Jonathan seeking explanations from him on what knows on the apparent diversion and sharing of over $2 billion meant for purchase of arms to fight Boko Haram.

The letter dated 8 January, 2016, and signed by SERAP Executive Director, Adetokunbo Mumuni, reads in part: “SERAP is sending you this open letter to seek explanations from you, as former President and Commanderin-Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces, on what you knew, or had reason to know

on the apparent diversion and sharing of the over $2 billion meant to purchase arms to empower Nigerian soldiers to fight Boko Haram.

“SERAP considers that there is enough material in the public domain to suggest that over $2 billion meant for purchase of arms to equip Nigerians soldiers fighting Boko Haram in the North East of the country was diverted and shared among high-ranking government and party officials under your watch as President and Commander-in-Chief of Nigerian Armed Forces.

“SERAP and indeed Nigerians reserve the right to

pursue justice through appropriate national and international accountability mechanisms to ensure that everyone involved in this heinous crime is brought to justice and in accordance with international standards of fairness.

“Is it correct to suggest that the budget of over $2 billion to purchase arms for Nigerian soldiers fighting Boko Haram in the North-East of the country was authorised by you or your office? In other words, did your former National Security Adviser (NSA), Col. Sambo Dasuki (rtd) seek your approval to collect from the Central Bank

of Nigeria the over $2 billion meant for purchase of arms for Nigerian soldiers?

“If so, Nigerians would like to hear from you whether the apparent diversion and sharing of our commonwealth by your former NSA was expressly or implicitly authorised by you.

“Is it then correct to suggest that the former NSA implements presidential decisions and not make them? If so, is it also correct to suggest that the apparent diversion and sharing of the over $2 billion meant for purchase of arms was a presidential-level decision and that you signed off on it?

Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State (3rd left) flanked by former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Chief Dubem Onyia; Member representing Enugu North/Enugu South Federal Constituency, Hon. Chime Oji (left) and the Chief of Staff, Government House, Enugu, Sir Victor Atuonwu (right), during a visit to the site where the Executive Secretary of the Movement for the Actualisation of Adada State, late Barr. Ejimofor Ozongwu was murdered by some hoodlums,recently, at Okwojo Ngwo in Udi L.G.A.

NIRA registers 22,113 .ng domain names in 2015 ÎÎÎThe President of the Ni-

geria Internet Registration Association (NIRA), Mr. Sunday Folayan, on Sunday, said that a total of 22,113 .ng domain names were registered in 2015.

Folayan made this known in a statement obtained by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

The statement said that there was an increase of 3,240 .ng domain names registered in 2015, when compared to the 18,870 registered in the year 2014.

It said that the internet association renewed 14,462 .ng domain names in 2015,

showing an increase of 3,143 renewals, as against 11,319 in 2014. ‘’NIRA engaged in the transfer of 85 domain names in 2015. We also witnessed an increase in the number of NIRA-accredited registrars with an increase of five. ‘’NIRA can now boast of having 53 accredited registrars. We are hopeful their number would increase in 2016, with the additional accreditation of local and foreign registrars. ‘’It has been proved that with more registrars across the country, Nigerian

presence online would increase,’’ the statement said.

It would be recalled that in January 2015, 1,542 .ng domain names were registered, 1,029 were renewed and 41 transfers were done.

The statement also said that 1,512 registrations, 1,003 renewals and 45 transfers were carried out in February, while in the month of March, 1,805 registrations, 1,362 renewals and 67 transfers were executed.

It also said that 1,509 registrations of .ng names, 1,308 renewals and 63 transfers were carried out in April, while 1,511 registra-

tions, 1,205 renewals and 32 transfers were done in May, 2015.

According to the statement, the association registered, renewed and transferred 2,087, 1,214 and 54 .ng domain names, respectively, in the month of June, while in July, it registered 2,260 .ng names, renewed 1,249 and transferred 33.

It added that 1,990, 1,138 and 40 .ng domain names were registered, renewed and transferred, respectively, in August, as it moved to register 1,975, renewed 1,347 and transferred 33 names in September.

7 News

PSC approves promotion of 3,684 Police Inspectors

Arase

ÎÎÎThe Police Service Com-

mission has approved the promotion of 3,684 Inspectors to the rank of Assistant

Superintendent of Police (ASP).

This is contained in statement issued by the Mr. Ikechukwu Ani, Head, Press and Public Relations of the Commission in Abuja on Sunday.

It said that eight pilots were also promoted from ASP to the rank of Deputy Superintendents of Police (DSP) and two aircraft engineers to DSPs. The statement stated that the promotions took effect from January 1.

Imo marketers blame petrol price hike on NNPC

ÎÎÎPetroleum

Product Marketers in Imo state have blamed the hike in the pump price of petrol across the state on the lapses from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

Chief Christopher Amadi, Chairman, Association of Imo State Petroleum Marketers/Dealers, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Owerri, on Sunday.

Amadi said that the increase in the pump price of petrol in Imo state was caused by the inability of the NNPC to dispense the product from its Enugu, Aba, Markudi and Port Harcourt depots.

NAN reports that aside from NNPC filling station on Onitsha-Owerri road, every other stations sell the product between N130 and N150 per litre as against the official price of N86.50 per litre.

He told NAN that the dealers in the state were finding it difficult to source the product. ``As I am talking with you, no marketer in Imo state has loaded the product at the government-approved price since the new price regime by the government. ``All the products we sell are sourced from private tank farms and the owners sell above the government’s rate.

PMAN plans entertainment village for Edo ÎÎÎThe

Edo state chapter of the Performing Musicians Association of Nigeria (PMAN), said in Benin on Sunday that it was proposing a multi-billion naira Entertainment Village in Edo. The state chairman of the association, Mr. Maleke Idowu, stated this when he led other leaders and members of the union on a courtesy visit to the secretariat of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Edo state Council.

He said the village would serve both as a revenue earner for the state and a one-stop point for entertainment activities.

Idowu said that the proposed entertainment village

would boast of music and film schools, health facilities, a sports centre and other needs, for musicians and entertainers.

But the association has frowned at the activities of the Copyright Society of Nigeria (COSON), who they said has been collecting money on behalf of artistes, but was not transparent in the distribution of the revenue.

Idowu said the proposal for the entertainment village and a prototype of the village have been presented to the state government.

Meanwhile, PMAN also said that it had petitioned the state House of Assembly on the activities of COSON.

8

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, January 11, 2016

Politics

Æs

Metuh’s detention: We are not running a one-party state — APC The All Progressives Congress (APC) has denied allegations that the Muhammadu Buhari’s administration is running a one-party state.

The opposition Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP), had at the weekend alleged that the APC government was running a one-party state following Tues-

day’s arrest and incarceration of man, Olisa Metuh by security over his alleged involvement in billion arms deal.

According to a statement CONTINUED ON PAGE 9

its spokesagents the $2.1 by APC secretary, Metuh

Fresh anxiety over plea bargain for treasury looters

Buhari There is fresh anxiety in the land following last week’s decision of the Economics and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to release the list of many more prominent Nigerians indicted in the ongoing probed of the $2.1billion.

The announcement by the

Magu acting chairman of EFCC, Ibrahim Magu, came barely a week after the Federal Government said that there would be no plea bargain for those facing corruption charges.

The Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN), disclosed this when of-

Secondus

ficials of the advocacy group, BringBackOurGirls campaign movement, led by its convener, Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, visited him in his office in Abuja.

“I cannot imagine someone being responsible for monumental deaths of our citizens CONTINUED ON PAGE 9

Oyegun

Lagos State 2016 budget: Lawmakers harp on cooperation of eligible taxpayers The Lagos State House of Assembly’s Committees on Finance and Public Accounts has said that the cooperation of eligible taxpayers is crucial to the successful implentation of the state’s 2016 budget.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the House passed the state’s 2016 N662.58 billion Appropriation Bill on Dec. 31, 2015 and Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode signed it into law on Jan. 4.

The Chairman, House Committee on Finance, Mr Yinka Ogundimu, told NAN that the budget performance required both the will of the Executive arm of Government and the cooperation of residents in tax payment.

Ogundimu said, ``It requires the government’s will for the budget to have 100 per cent performance of the electoral promises made to the people. ``Since the money is not stored somewhere, it is just expected income. We need to do more on Internally General Revenue (IGR). ``If about 52 per cent of the 2016 budget will be financed by the IGR, so there is need for everybody to be able to work hard to re-orientate the people on the importance of paying taxes. ``Efforts should also be intensified to bring more people into the tax net. This will go a long way towards getting the expected income.”

According to him, people will be encouraged to pay taxes if they see amenities and more infrastructural development.

The lawmaker emphasised the need for his colleagues to discharge their oversight functions, without any compromise. ``We should do our own work

and make sure that we ask corrective questions during the oversights, for the people to see the dividends of democracy,” Ogundimu said.

Also, speaking, the Chairman, House Committee on Public Accounts(Local), Mr Bisi Yusuff, said that the flow of the expected income would determine the success of budget, in terms of implementation.

Yusuff, who commended Gov. Ambode and his predecessors for their prudence, told NAN that many eligible taxpayers should be made to pay their taxes. ``If you look at the budget, about N540 billion would be generated in the state. We should appeal to our people to pay their taxes. ``If all taxable adults in Lagos State pay their taxes, you could imagine what the state would be getting. We may not even have to depend on the Federal Government anymore,” he said.

According to him, less than one per cent of the eligible taxpayers pay taxes in the state.

The lawmaker, however, expressed confidence in the governor to ensure the performance of the budget, while commending him for massive road repairs since his inauguration.

Yusuff noted that the expenditures of all other ministries will depend on the amount of revenue generated by the government during the fiscal year, saying that the lawmakers would review the books of the ministries quarterly.

The lawmaker gave assurance that the electorate would soon begin to enjoy the dividends of having voted for the administration.

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, January 11, 2016

9 Politics

Fresh anxiety over plea bargain for treasury looters CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

and then going scot-free arising from plea-bargain as a policy,” the minister said, adding “It has never been the policy of the government to make compromises on terrorism and financial crimes. It will never be tolerated by the office of the AGF.” Malami disclosed that the Federal Government had put in place a formidable team of prosecutors to drive the government’s anti-corruption war at the various courts in the country.

The BringBackOurGirls group, championing the call for the release of the abducted Chibok girls since 2014, was on the visit to engage the minister on ways of securing the release of the abducted girls from Boko Haram captivity.

Malami assured the group that President Muhammadu Buhari was committed to bringing all perpetrators of corrupt practices that led to heightened insurgency in the country to book.

According to him, “We have put in place a national prosecution team that comprises all stakeholders for the purposes of ensuring the success of what charge is presented

Buhari before the courts.”

He added that “The committee will be saddled with the responsibility of preferring relevant charges and ensuring that charges are preferred in

Magu line with the dictates of the law without compromises.”

While noting that corruption cases under past administrations in the country were deliberately compromised during

investigation in order to pave way for criminal elements to escape prosecution, Malami assured that steps had been taken to audit such cases with a view to bringing the culprits to jus-

tice.

His words: “It is not just about having a team that will be prosecuting but ensuring that relevant audit is taken as it relates to previous prosecution to ensure that those that are found wanting are brought to book.

“Then the future of prosecution in this country is further enhanced by having in place an effective legal team that will involve legal drafters for efficient drafting of charges, efficient investigators that will ensure that adequate proof of evidence that will establish the required ingredients of an offence are put in place.

“And then competent prosecutors that will now ensure that the required proofs are presented before relevant courts for the purpose of establishing guilt.”

The minister’s comment is coming against the barrage of condemnation that had attended an earlier announcement by the government that many people who had quietly returned looted funds in their possession might not be prosecuted.

The Professor Itse Sagey Presidential Advisory ComCONTINUED ON PAGE 11

Metuh’s detention: We are not running a one-party state — APC CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

Malam Mai Mala Buni, the allegation by the PDP acting national chairman, Uche Secondus is false and misleading.

The party said it is aware of the intensified orchestrated attacks by the PDP and their agents on the ongoing war against corruption being waged by the President Muhammadu Buhari administration.

According to the APC National Secretary, Mai Mala Buni, the party is also aware of the plot by the PDP and their agents to stampede and blackmail anti-corruption agencies over ongoing corruption cases being investigated.

Last Week, Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka urged President Buhari not to be intimidated or blackmailed by powerful forces over the ongoing anti-corruption war which he said would want to

fight back.

The APC said in three orchestrated press statements issued on Friday, the Deputy Senate President, Ike Ekweremadu and Ekiti State governor, Ayodele Fayose among others alleged plans by the APC and President Buhari’s administration to silence the opposition through a selective anticorruption fight. Also, the acting National Chairman of the PDP, Uche Secondus accused the APC of attempting to turn the country into a one party state.

But Mai Mala Buni said: “The APC urges anti-corruption agencies not to be distracted by these syndicated and coordinated attacks and continue to employ all legal and legitimate avenues to bring to book all looters of our common wealth.

His words: “It is clear that the PDP is out of sync and out of step with the generality of Nige-

Metuh

Oyegun

rians on the clamour to bring to book all looters of public funds.

The days of impunity are over.

The PDP and treasury thieves must pay for the recklessness and shocking mis-management of public funds perpetuated under the defunct 16-year PDP rule. It is however reassuring that in spite

of desperate and shameless attempts by the PDP and it’s agents to discredit President Buhari’s anti-corruption efforts, the war against corruption is being won.

“The PDP camp in baseless allegations accuses the president of a selective anti-corruption fight while members of the APC

‘with serious corruption allegations go about their businesses’.

The PDP camp in continuation of its laughable conspiracy theories also speaks of ‘a calculated attempt to decimate and silence the opposition’ through the anti-corruption fight and an attempt to turn the country to a one-party state.

“The position of the APC has not changed. For the umpteenth time, if the PDP has any proof of corruption against any APC member as alleged, we advise that they approach any of the anti-graft agencies constitutionally mandated to handle such cases. The ongoing war against corruption is not selective. Anybody guilty of corrupt practices must face the law. The political will and sincerity of purpose of the present administration to CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

Politics 10

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, January 11, 2016

Youth leader wants South East governors to restore LG glory The President of the Igbo Youth Congress (IYC) in Lagos, Mr Bright Ezeocha, on Sunday urged governors, especially those in the South East, to restore the glory of local governments.

Ezeocha told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that such a restoration would drastically abate youth restiveness and also foster development and progress in the region.

“There is no real third tier of government in our geo-political region. Local government administration is virtually inactive in our system.

“They are supposed to be the closest government to the grassroots, but that is not the case.

“Meanwhile, local governments are the most capable to create employment, engage the people and empower the grassroots,” the youth leader said.

Ezeocha condemned the regular postponement of local government elections in the zone and the use of care-

taker committees or administrators as the managers of local councils.

He urged the South East governors and legislators to ensure that council elections were held in consonance with the law and that financial autonomy was granted to the councils.

Ezeocha also called for the election of more responsible and people-oriented leadership in the zone for its rapid development.

“The enemies of the Igbo today are those that call themselves our political leaders. Our leaders are desperate to enrich themselves and amass wealth for themselves and their families. ``There is truth in the claim that some of our leaders are richer than the state that they are supposed to be gover ning.

“Poverty is widespread in our region because our leaders don’t think Igbo; they invest less in Igbo land and invest more in their pockets,’’

Ikpeazu

Okorocha

Obiano

he said.

Ezeocha urged political leaders in easter n Nigeria to always embark on projects that would have positive impact on the people.

He noted that the Federal

Government could not provide the region with everything it needed to develop, saying that ``our leaders need to be responsible and think development’’. ``We can resort to self-help

and look inward for our development.’’

Ezeocha urged President Muhammadu Buhari to ensure even distribution of federal projects in all the regions of the country.

We are not running a one-party state — APC CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

tackle corruption from the roots to the upper echelons no matter whose ox is gored is unwavering.

“We advise individuals being investigated on corruption charges to cooperate with investigators instead of declaring innocence on newspaper pages and other media outlets.

“Again we state that the PDP and their agents do not have the luxury of dictating how the present administration and anti-corruption agencies carries out its legitimate duty of catching looters of public funds, as long as it conforms with the rule of law.

“On the allegation by the acting PDP National Chairman, Uche Secondus that the APC is attempting to foist a one-party system on the country, such idle chat does not deserve a response.

But the PDP on Saturday persisted that the continued incarceration of its spokesman, Metuh by the EFCC since Tuesday, without charging him to court, clearly shows the dictatorial character of the President Muhammadu

Secondus

Oyegun

Buhari-led APC Federal Government, which has not hidden its disdain for rule of law and an appetite to gag the opposition.

The party said the continued detention is in clear breach of Metuh’s constitutionally guaranteed liberty and fundamental rights.

The PDP in a statement signed by the National Legal Adviser, Victor Kwon on Saturday stressed

that relying on a purported ‘holding charge’ said to have been derived from a Magistrate to detain Chief Metuh beyond the statutory period allowed by the law is in total violation of the constitution and extant corresponding rulings by several trial and appellate courts in the country.

“We draw the attention of all Nigerians and the international community to this illegal clamp-

down on the opposition spokesman by the EFCC, using a purported holding charge said to have been derived from a magistrate court.

“Holding Charge which implies ‘arrest before investigation’ instead of ‘investigation before arrest’ is clearly an aberration and abuse of judicial process which has since been declared by several courts as illegal, null and void, and of no effect as it is totally in contradiction with section 35 (1), (4), (5a) of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“The PDP is particularly worried that Chief Metuh, since his arrest on Tuesday, is being inhumanly kept in an underground cell where he is daily threatened by officials, who we gathered, have been mounting pressure on him to accept guilt of fictitious figures and implicate PDP leaders.

“The public is very much aware that the EFCC Chairman has visited the Presidential villa at least twice since Chief Metuh was arrested and detained by the

commission, ostensibly to get further directives on the case.

“We invite the world to note that President Buhari’s election promise of fighting corruption has now been turned into a man-hunt of PDP leaders, while known corrupt APC leaders are being shielded by the system and rewarded with ministerial positions and other government appointments.

“Our nation is now being turned into a police state with its inherent constitutional violations and infringement on rights of citizens, a scenario which poses grave danger to national stability and survival of our democracy.

“The PDP strongly cautions against the avoidable tension and looming political crisis over the continuous clamp-down on our leaders and particularly, the continued incarceration of our spokesperson, Chief Olisa Metuh, who was arrested a few days after he confronted the Federal Government and the APC over their dictatorial pronouncements and actions.

11 Politics

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, January 11, 2016

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

mittee on Human Rights had called on those who had state funds in their possession to return them in order to escape being prosecuted. There were reports that many prominent people had been making returns to government in order to escape being prosecuted.

Sequel to this a lot of Nigerians had called on the government not to encourage plea bargaining as it is not only illegal but encourages corruption especially by a government that promises to fight corruption.

Among those who spoke against it were Second Republic member of the House of Representatives, Dr. Junaid Mohammed, who cautioned Federal Government against the use of plea bargain to resolve cases of corruption.

Mohammed in an interview who spoke in specific reference to the ongoing trial of the former National Security Adviser, Col. Sambo Dasuki (retd.), over the arms purchase scandal, argued that entertaining such a deal would send the wrong signal about Nigeria’s anti-corruption war.

Mohammed, who is the Convener of Coalition of Northern Politicians, Academics, Professionals and Businessmen, said the Dasuki case provided a unique opportunity for Nigeria to show the world how serious it was about fighting corruption.

According to him, the nation owes it a duty to change the reality, not just the perception about corruption in the country.

He stated, “The idea that we should now enter into plea bargain with some people for violating the law while others, who are assumed to be not important persons, are sent to prison to languish for a very long time and some to even die there, is in my view patently unjust.

“And I believe it will be wrong morally, it will be wrong procedurally, it will be wrong against our own tradition.

“Plea bargain is not part of the proper British traditional system of criminal justice administration, it is an American system.

“America is a capitalist class system, where justice for the rich is different from justice for the poor. I have not been given any reason to convince me or any sane Nigerian that plea bargain is the way to go.”

He stressed that the question to ask was whether the anti-graft war was merely to recover money or to sanitise society from a cancer, which if

Fresh anxiety over plea bargain for treasury looters

Buhari

Magu

Malami

Sagay

not properly handled, could destroy the society.

His words: “My view is that the war against corruption is not just to recover money because whatever money you recover will also be squandered or lost to succeeding generations of corrupt public officers.

“As much as possible, we should use the ongoing cases in court to send a very powerful message that there is a new dispensation in town and in the country. Those who believe they can get away with murder must be shown that there is a change in administration and the attitude in government, so that those coming after them will not carry on with the kind of impunity we witnessed during the last administration”, he

stressed.

Besides, Chairperson of the House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs, Hon. Nnenna Elendu Ukeje, has appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to quickly give presidential assent to the Asset Forfeiture Bill passed by both legislative chambers with a view to giving bite to the anti corruption drive of the government.

Ukeje, in an interview said, the Assets Forfeiture Bill will play a pivotal role in combating financial crimes in Nigeria immediately it gets a presidential assent.

She explained that “three pieces of legislations were passed by both houses of the national assembly: the Foreign

Assistance in Criminal Matters Bill, the Asset Forfeiture Bill and the FATF bill”.

“As we speak now, those three bills are waiting assent and in the midst of that, there should also be the executive commitment to this fight against corruption because in the Criminal Assets Forfeiture Bill for instance, if today that bill is not passed into law, and we say a person has proceeds of crime, because there is no law in place to give the federal government the powers to take the proceeds of crime back, it can’t.

“The FATF Law is the international law that tracks stolen funds; we need to sign it into law for us to be able to deal with the movements of money and money laundering.

“The Foreign Assistance in Criminal Matter Bill, we have to pass that into law; it helps us in extradition, it helps us when Nigerian citizens are arrested abroad and we want them to come back, we need to have that immediately passed into law.

“Aside from the extradition treaties and laws, we must have those laws in place.

“So I would be urging the executive arm of government, Mr President to please sign these into law so that whatever we do in this fight against corruption has the legal backing that is required for it to be effective”, Hon. Ukeje said.

On why lawmakers failed in their oversight functions over agencies in the last administration, she said: “Everybody sticks to the fact that we must be alive to our responsibility as legislators. But you would recall that at the twilight of the last administration, we had challenges with inviting ministers to come before committees of the National Assembly.

“You would also recall that it was actually the call for litigation asking whether we have the power to invite certain ministers before the National Assembly and that put a clog in the wheel of what we did.

“Of course it was difficult for us to do the work for which we were elected to do when we were working with an executive arm of government, with ministers who did not think that they had any cause to answer to the summons of the National Assembly.

“And so it was a bit difficult towards the end. And I would say that was probably also responsi-

ble for the fact that we were not able to capture the last phase in the budget.

“But let me also say that yes, while it is a concern for the Legislature, we also must engage with the Executive arm of government.

“The Executive arm of government must realise that it is on a vertical relationship where all of us are co-partners in this Nigerian project.

“So we must be willing to keep to the spirit and the letter of the constitution when it comes to submitting themselves to the oversight functions of the National Assembly.

“And of course everybody has seen all the stories that are going around; of course, we all know that the constitution says every person is innocent until proven guilty. We are waiting for the outcome of all the litigation. But even the fact that this mind burgling figures are been thrown up, is a call for the Executive arm of government to also be committed to the spirit and the letter of the constitution”, she stated.

The Executive bill awaiting assent was entitled: ‘A Bill for an Act to make Comprehensive Provisions for the Confiscation, Forfeiture and Management of Properties derived from unlawful activities and for Other Connected Matters (HB.693).

The bill, which was promoted by the House leader in the 7th Assembly, Hon Mulikat AkandeAdeola in June 2014 is signed into law also provides a recognised management of confiscated and forfeited properties and how they should be administered.

Akande-Adeola had then lamented that the absence of such a legal framework in Nigeria has left some confiscated and forfeited properties dilapidated without utilisation.

She added that when passed, there will be streamlined and coordinated functions of the anti-graft agencies like the EFCC, ICPC and other related agencies, towards the fight against corruption in the country.

The then leader had argued that “in the present situation, nobody knows the whereabouts of monies and structures confiscated by authorities from such corrupt officials, as the bill aims to provide a coordinated process of managing the properties”, she explained.

News 12

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, January 11, 2016

Hijab a divine commandment, Muslims’ll reject its ban, MSSN warns FG ÎÎÎThe Board of

Trustees of the Muslims Students Society of Nigeria (MSSN), on Sunday cautioned the Federal Government against banning use of hijab (veils)

by Muslim women in any part of the country.

Chairman, Board of Trustees of MSSN, Justice AbdulKadir Orire, who gave the caution during

a meeting of the board in llorin on Sunday, said hijab is a divine commandment from Allah and disagreed with those attributing spate of bombings to those wearing hijab as unfortunate Orire, pioneer Grand Khadi of Kwara state’s Sharia Court of Appeal, said MSSN will not accept the ban of anything that is

part of Islamic doctrines as divinely ordained by Allah.

He, therefore, condemned calls by some people for the banning of hijab which he described as part of dress of Muslim women.

Orire condemned insinuations that the use of hijab was aiding suicide bombings in the Boko Haram infested north-eastern parts

of the country. ``Wearing of hijab is part of life of Muslims. Certainly Muslims will not accept the banning of anything that is part of Islam”, he said.

Orire was of the view that removing religions knowledge as a subject from schools curriculum would further compound moral

decadence in the society.

He said one of the factors that aided Boko Haram was lack of adequate religious knowledge which he said would be worsened if religious teaching was removed from school curriculum. ``Anybody that is calling for the banning of faith teachings in schools curriculum is kidding. Muslims will not accept it”, he said.

Member of the Board, Alhaji lsiaq Kunle-Sanni, called on the federal government to install screening machines at public places to curtail bombings and other security threats.

He said the entry and exit in markets, Churches, Mosques and other public areas should be well guarded to prevent planting of bombs and other explosives.

Buhari urges unity among Nigerians, hails armed forces Continued from page 6

Minister of information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed (right), during a courtesy visit to Prof. Wole Soyinka’s office in Lagos... at the weekend.

Anti-grant war: Release of Buhari’s ally vindicates us – PDP Continued from page 6 world that it is not corrupt and teleguided by the Federal Government to persecute PDP leaders?

“What happened to the illegal holding charge upon which it has detained the PDP spokesman beyond the limit stipulated by section 35(5a) of the constitution and in violation of his guaranteed personal liberty under the law?

“Are there now two separate sets of laws; one for PDP leaders and perceived foes of the President Buhari-led government which allows them to be detained beyond constitutional limits without being charged to court and another set, for associates of the President associates and APC leaders, which guarantees them a slap in the back and immu-

nity from investigation and prosecution, and if arrested, an immediate release?

“Is it really true that the fund Jafaru Isa was alleged to have received from the former NSA was traced near the corridors of those who today bestride power in the country?

“Furthermore, can the Federal Government and the APC now in all honesty face the world and announce that this administration is indeed waging war against corruption?

“Can the EFCC explain what has happened to several petitions by Nigerians on corruption issues against many APC leaders including those who as former governors looted funds belonging to their states? “Are they now under immunity for the fact that they are in the APC and that most of

the funds they looted where used to finance APC’s Presidential campaign?

“While we reiterate our support for any effort aimed eradicating corruption in our nation, we stand our ground in demanding that the fight must be holistic, credible, within the limits provided by the laws irrespective of political affiliations.

“The PDP therefore restates its demand that the EFCC immediately release its spokesman, Chief Olisa Metuh or charge him to court if they have any case against him. His continued detention without being charged to court is only indicative of the fact that the commission has not been able convince itself of enough evidence of guilt and is now lending itself as a willing instrument of

persecution against Chief Metuh.

“The public will recall that the PDP is not given to frivolous claims as evidenced in many instances including our alert last year of a meeting between the Presidency, the then newly appointed INEC Chairman and top security officers just before the Kogi and Bayelsa governorship elections.

“Finally, we state with every sense of responsibility that now that it is clear, with the release of Jafaru Isa eight hours after his arrest, that the continued detention of our spokesman is politically motivated, this party can no longer guarantee that it can rein in its members and supporters who have been exercising restrain since this particular arrest by the EFCC.

ways to support the military. ``On a day like this, we not only commend the gallantry of the armed forces; we remember in particular all those among them that have paid the supreme price. ``They belong to the distinguished company of those we refer to in our national anthem with the words, ``the labour of our heroes past shall never be in vain.’’ ``Today, we honour their service and their memories.’’

Buhari noted that the reputation of the armed forces for courage and service had often been noted not only at home but also abroad especially the military’s contributions to several international peace keeping missions.

He specifically mentioned Nigeria’s military and heroic operations in Congo, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Dafur.

According to him, at the end of 2015, Nigeria had 2,972 troops active in various UN missions and Nigeria is one of the top 10 contributors of troops to the UN all across the world and top five on the African continent ``The armed forces contribute and represent one of the most patriotic institutions in the land playing a leading role in nation building. ``It diligently attends to their traditional duty of defending and protecting our territorial integrity. ``Their remarkable efforts

in particular at this time in combating insurgency in the north-east is greatly appreciated by the Nigerian people ``Boko Haram and insurgency in the north- east has now been degraded militarily; the insurgents no longer hold territory and can no longer launch military style attacks as they had done in the past.’’

He expressed gratitude of the nation to the military, adding ``we are confident and we pray that with God on our side, the armed forces of Nigeria will complete the work that they have started. ``They will also in due course continue to render the kind of service that they have rendered to our great nation and even better in the years to come. ``Our armed forces and military have been assisting and will continue to help our communities in the affected areas to recover and resume their normal lives especially in securing their communities, clearing land mines and keeping terrorists out.’’

Buhari acknowledged the support of Nigeria’s foreign partners in the fight against terrorism adding that their contributions and encouragement had been worthwhile.

He said the administration was confident that they would maintain the backing and even step up such support where needed as the nation advanced into the final stage of combating the insurgency.

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, January 11, 2016

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13

14 News

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, January 11, 2016

Anambra Central Senatorial election: APC rejects politics of imposition Segun Adio

ÏÏÏThe

ruling All Progressives Congress has reiterated its resolve to give every aspirant within its fold equal opportunities to represent the party at all elections, saying there was no room for imposition of candidate in the APC. Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Timi Frank was reacting to alleged plans by a

cabal in the party in Anambra State to impose Sen. Uche Ekwunife to run for the Anambra Central Senatorial seat in the National Assembly.

It would be recalled that Sen. Ekwunife recently dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the ruling APC after her seat was late last year was declared vacant by the Court of Appeal. There are reports that she is already

perfecting plans to contest the seat in the banner of the APC. The move, it is being reported, has attracted a lot of criticisms by some people in the senatorial district as well as some APC chieftains.

Speaking with the Daily Times, Mr. Frank said the APC was a party for every progressives in the country, but which was founded on the principle of fair play. His words, “It is a welcome devel-

opment that Sen. Ekwunife crossed to our great party, the APC. We are ready to welcome anyone as it is an open party. We are also a party with a great pedigree of giving everyone the chance to test his popularity.”

On alleged plans to frustrate Barr. Sharon Ikeazor out of the senatorial race by the new decampee, Mr. Frank continued, “Barr.

Sharon should be allowed to test her might in the politi-

cal space in Anambra State.

We should give everyone a chance to prove him or herself irrespective of age, sex, religion or ethnic bias.

“We have said repeatedly that our ticket is not for sale anywhere in the country, not even in Anambra State.

We should conduct a free and fair primary election for the Senatorial seat that is coming. We as a party should do what is right. So, Barr. Sharon is eminently

Wada ready to pay 1 of 3 months’ salary arrears

4 dead in Bida auto crash

Pita Chikwem, Minna

Ibrahim Obansa, Lokoja

ÏÏÏThe

ÏÏÏAgainst the backdrop

of the refusal of the workers to call off the strike, the Governor of Kogi State, Captain Idris Wada, has appealed for the suspension of the strike, and said that he would pay one month salary, out of three being owed.

This indication was given, over the weekend, in Lokoja, the state capital by the Special Adviser to the governor on Media and Strategy Mr. Jacob Edi. He noted that Wada was ready to pay the one month salary but was constrained by what he described as the unwarranted strike action by workers of the state civil service, who should have been on their desks to prepare vouchers for the payment.

Edi maintained that despite the low revenue from the Federation Account to the state coupled with high wage bill, Wada had been working hard not to owe the workers and pensioners, and stressed that what happened to October, November and December salaries was beyond the governor’s control.

L-R: Fifa Acting President , Issa Hayatou ; winner second place CAF African Footballer of the Year Yaya Toure, Director Globacom , Mrs, Gladys Talabi and Minister of Sport ,Solomon Lalong during the Glo CAF Award held in Abuja... at the weekend.

PHOTO: TEMITOPE BALOGUN

Saraki decries violence in Bayelsa guber re-run ÏÏÏSenate President, Dr.

Abubakar Bukola Saraki, on Sunday night, lamented the reports of violence and deaths trailing the rescheduled governorship election in Southern Ijaw Local Government area of Bayelsa State.

In a statement by his Special Adviser, Media and Publicity, Yusuph Olani-

yonu, in Abuja, he said that it was unacceptable that an election meant to produce a governor for the state was turned into a theatre of warfare with attendant loss of life and destruction of property.

He called on the security agencies to restore peace, while urging them to ensure that the perpetrators

of violence were identified, arrested and prosecuted to serve as deterrent to others.

“The sheer level of violence that has been reported, following the conduct of the rescheduled elections in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area is absolutely unacceptable. To descend to the use of force

in a democratic process will no doubt negate and put a question mark on the outcome of the elections.

“I call on the security agencies to quickly end the bloodbath and also ensure that those responsible for the violence are arrested and prosecuted irrespective of the political affiliation,” Saraki stated.

Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC), Bida Command, on Sunday, confirmed the death of four persons in a road crash in the city.

FRSC Bida Unit Command, Mr Ifeanyi Echebiri, made this known in an interview with our correspondent.

He said that the other persons in the 14-seater bus had been taken to hospital for treatment.

“The accident happened on Friday on a bridge near the Federal Government Girls College, in Niger State. The bus ran into a river,” he said.

An eyewitness, Mr. Sadiq Mohammad, told our correspondent that, “The driver of the bus did not know the existence of the narrow bridge. Four persons died instantly, while three persons were taken to Federal Medical Centre, Bida for treatment,” he said.

Yoruba unity tops Ooni, Afenifere’s meeting

Sodiq Adekunle, Osogbo

ÏÏÏThe Ooni of

Gov. Wada

qualified to run and flag the banner of our great party.”

On allegation that a substantial amount has already changed hands to have a particular candidate favoured in the state, Mr. Frank said the ticket of the party was not for sale. He continued, “I can not confirm that she wanted to buy the ticket. I am not aware of any transaction but if that happens, it is going to be a big disgrace. We should allow everybody test his or her popularity. We should not impose any candidate on the party and on the people.

Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi Ojaja II and the Afenifere Renewal Group (ARG) have expressed concern over the disunity among Yoruba people.

They made known their view during a visit by

members of the ARG to the Ooni at the Oduduwa Palace in Ile-Ife, Osun State.

According to the Ooni, peace remained an important ingredient that for Nigeria, especially the Yoruba race to grow.

The monarch explained that one of the major things he sets to achieve during his reign was uni-

ty, and emphasized that that would be achieved by working with other leaders in Yoruba land.

He said, “I have been praying to God for unity among the Yoruba race and in Yoruba land as a whole because our unity is germane to the progress of the world. The Yoruba people are gifted and will always make impact any-

where they go. However, there has recently been a challenge on who will sacrifice by leading to resolve crisis among the Yoruba people, mostly as a result of our bravery.

“Love and unity among Yoruba people will bring about many positive things. It is time for unity to return to Nigeria and we must all return to

the source to achieve it.

If we forget our source, we may go astray. To bring love, I have decided to work with leaders in Yoruba land.

“Growth is not difficult in Yoruba land; unity is the challenge. With my emergence, unity is returning to Ife and it is gradually spreading to other places across Yorubaland.”

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, January 11, 2016

15 Opinion

Buhari: Accepting the past, facing the future (1)

C Magnus Onyibe

hristine Lagarde, the Managing Director of the IMF recently visited Nigeria.

The last time the global financial intervention agency, IMF beamed its gaze on Nigeria (1985-6), was to convince government to embark on financial reforms including devaluation of the naira.

I have heard many commentators lament that Nigeria’s economy is in dire straits similar to the situation in the mid 1980s compelling the then army general, Muhammadu Buhari to oust the democratically elected government of Shehu Shagari, which was accused of gross irresponsibility in governance which in the light of the centrality of the need to seek alternative means of generating revenue since robust oil income has become elusive, it behoves of government to enlighten Nigerians who are wary of foreign loans, by making a connection between TSA and IMF which one reckon is expected to render technical assistance to Nigeria in the implementation of the TSA and facilitate more efficient and effective tax collection to boost government’s revenue earning capacity which is quite commendable.

Viewed from the prism of the stance of Nigerians against IMF

loan during the reign of another army general, Ibrahim Babangida, IBB, who toppled Buhari’s military regime some 30 years ago, a thorough understanding of the role of IMF in Nigeria by members of the public can not be taken for granted.

Keep in mind that IBB initiated a public debate on whether Nigeria should take IMF loan or not, resulting in Nigerians opting to say a resounding no to IMF and yes to a home grown Structural Adjustment Program, SAP, in 1986.

Arising from the above, the inherent social value accruable from articulating clearly the presence of the IMF chief in Nigeria need not be overemphasized.

The Minister of National Planning, Udoma Udo Udoma, responsible for crafting the budget, has affirmed the rough road Nigerians are bound to travel- economy wise, in 2016 and beyond, just as finance minister, Kemi Adeosun, charged with managing the economy, has also asked Nigerians to brace up for the grit and grind on the road ahead which will not be lined with petals and roses.

As evidence of their plan to rely on borrowed funds, they have factored into their whooping N6.1 trillion budget proposal to NASS, about N1.9 trillion or approximately 30% of the total budget to be sourced from loan.

Whether the credit facility would be from the IMF or regular local and

international financial institutions like investment bank, Goldman Sachs etc is yet to be determined as neither the planning or finance ministers have offered explanations.

However, the existence of some critical economic and social development enablers in Nigeria makes the prospects of the nation’s economy surviving the global commodity price crash possible by leveraging on credit, provided the borrowings are properly applied in job creating and revenue yielding projects.

Such growth fundamentals are (1) abundant natural assets -sixth largest oil producer in OPEC (2) 60% of population are youth and therefore of productive age with capacity to be translated into veritable workforce (3) burgeoning middle class and as such large consumer market with potential robust purchasing power (4) new government with huge appetite for change and therefore without inhibition for reforms (5) lack of or decaying infrastructure therefore a huge opportunity for international investors to stake their funds in new roads,electricity power , agriculture, housing and transport infrastructure with verifiable and rapid return on investments (6)stable democracy that has transited peacefully from one ruling party to another without the much anticipated violence etc.

Unsurprisingly, the visiting

IMF top shot, Lagarde alluded to the prevailing investment friendly climate in Nigeria when she addressed a joint session of congress, saying, “Looking back four years ago, massive democratic changes have occurred in this country peacefully.

Nigeria has become the largest economy in Africa, certainly the most populated and with a very attractive market”.

We shall return to the critical fundamental elements that could be considered as the unique selling point, USP of Nigerian economy and could therefore serve as incentive and collateral to potential foreign investors, but first let’s identify the succour and palliatives that are supposed to serve as sweeteners to the generally bitter taste that the 2016 budget is expected to bring to the taste bud of generality of Nigerians, especially the poor.

Measures such as the planned N5, 000 payment to the unemployed and poorest of the poor as social safety measure that would offer succour to the masses comes into focus.

The one meal a day for school children policy is another balm being proposed to soothe the pains expected to accompany some of the policy thrust of government in 2016.

So also is the planned conversion of unemployed graduates in the rural areas into teachers, an initiative aimed at drastically reducing poverty.

Reflections on imperative of war against indiscipline

S

Bolaji Kazeem

ince inception of the present democracy, ineptitude, corruption and indiscipline gradually crept into our ways of life eroding the cultural values that we held in high esteem. The tendency to accumulate wealth through any means has been fostered on our young ones and everybody is scrambling to get their share from the national cake.

The penchant for easy money had beclouded our creativity and innovative capacity.

In all facets of life economic, political, social and religious, corruption had found ways to permeate our daily endeavours. The traffic gridlock in Lagos State is due to indiscipline on the part of motorists, which had been extended to Abuja. The inability of some of the elites to be orderly on the roads reflected our corrupt tendency and vision to cheat to get to our destinations.

This bad attitude exhibited by some Nigerians everyday portraits us as citizens that lack understanding of orderliness and respect for simple traffic rules.

The desirability of imposing sanctions on people that broke the laws can draw reference on what the government of former Governor of

Lagos State; Raji Fashola did to motorists in Lagos to create orderliness on the road. This has been replicated in other areas of human activities in the city. However, Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode came on board, his pronouncement on the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), which the citizens misconstrued created avenue for some Nigerians to go back to their former ways.

A mere observation of our society depicted that the following attitudes constitute act of indiscipline, rushing into buses; driving against traffic; littering the streets, jumping the queue; cheating; taking undue advantage of scarcity to inflate prices; public nuisance; lack of commitment to duty; absenteeism; forgery; impersonation; and lack of care for children and elderly to mention a few.

In retrospect, the military regime of Muhammadu Buhari in 1983-84 supported the argument by public commentators that effective execution and imposition of sanctions on any Nigerians that breaches the law.

During this period, Nigerians imbibed the spirit of queueing and taking turn in every sphere of daily activities. The tendency to be corrupt or take bribe reduced drastically.

The War Against Indiscipline (WAI) was launched in March 20, 1984 to

address the perceived lack of public morality and civic responsibility in the society. The Federal Ministry of Information then ensured that the message of orderliness was communicated to all in the cities, towns and villages.

The beauty of the period was that the “WAI Brigade” under the Ministry of Information ensured that rules and regulations were maintained in collaboration with security agencies.

It is common conversation among Nigerians who travel outside the country abides with the rules and regulations in such countries but refuse to comply with similar ones in Nigeria. It is widely acknowledged that activities of everybody in those developed countries are closely monitored.

Fourteen years after WAI was launched, things seem to have gone from bad to worse because of the failure of successive governments to tackle demons of lawlessness. The inability of successive governments from 1999-2015 to sanction erring Nigerians and corporate organisations that are bereft of discipline, had led to gross impunity. Not only that, our past governments continue to choose judgments of the court they would comply with without knowing that their action was eroding rule of law. For

example, there were many judgments that the executive arm of government refused to enforce based on the fact that it affected the supporters of the then ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) while opposition’s rights were easily infringed upon.

Since assumption of the present administration of Muhammadu Buhari, which every Nigerian knows abhors corruption and indiscipline, things have started taking shape. It is well known that normalcy is seen to gradually being restored to many facets of our daily activities.

It is imperative for government agencies such Federal Ministry of Information and Culture and that of Education to charge their various departments to take the message of the “Change” to all nooks and corners of the country. Effort should be made to create institutions that will back up apostle of “doing right things” in the society.

Government should support institutions that will sustain the tempo of discipline and change.

There is need to change attitude of Nigerians to work and core values such as orderliness; meritocracy; political neutrality; integrity; discipline; professionalism; patriotism; impartiality; anonymity; accountability, and transparency.

16 News

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, January 11, 2016

Ondo 2016: Ex-Assembly Speaker joins guber race, laments poor infrastructure ’Tosin Ajuwon, Akure

ÏÏÏThe erstwhile speak-

er of the Ondo State House of Assembly, Rt. (Hon.) Victor Olabimtan, has said that he would

contest the forthcoming governorship election in the state, under the banner of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Olabimtan, who unveiled his platform branded “Victor Olabimtan

Initiative for Change and Emancipation (VOICE 2016)”, during a media parley, at the weekend, in Akure, the state capital, said he was participating in the election in order to revive the infrastructure

deficit in the state.

He said that if he was elected the governor of Ondo State, he would work with positive-minded people towards salvaging it from its present predicaments.

He decried the deficit infrastructure in the state under Governor Olusegun Mimiko, and noted that despite its riches in natural resources, unemployment and poverty were still a major concern

among the people.

The ex-speaker also criticised the Mimiko administration for the poor state of road networks, especially on the Akoko axis, and stressed that the huge loans borrowed by it ought to have been used to push the development of the state.

He added that roads and infrastructures were better off in the ancient days when government had little and smaller resources compared to nowadays, when financial resources were quite huge.

“Any time I am going to my hometown in Akoko, I think twice because the road from Owo to any part of Akoko is the worst in the history of that area. I am 58 years old this year, that road was better 58 years ago than it is today. Let us ask ourselves: where are we going?

“What is happening, if roads during my forefathers’ days were now better than my own days, when the quantum of money that is within the economy and expertise in road construction are 100 times over what my fathers used to have? And those roads were still better during my forefathers’ days, then something must be wrong”, he said.

According to him: “Today we can hardly pay workers’ salaries. Yes, government is bound to borrow money for development. But when government borrows money, what is the money spent on? You can just go and borrow money to eat, for nugatory and aesthetic purposes.”

The APC chieftain also narrated his experience when he wanted to get an overdraft to christen his first child, comparing it to the economic impropriety of the incumbent administration on its cosmetic projects.

“The money you want to borrow is not for development: it is to eat food, to wine and dine, and you are going to pay back; that is a loss. At the end of the day, what you will get is a loss and not a gain,” he said, mentioning how the bank manager dissuaded him from such a profligacy.

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, January 11, 2016

Features

17

Æs

STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT:

Mixed reactions greet Emefiele’s SAP proposal When the Naira hit a low of N265 to 1 US dollar, CBN Governor, Godwin Emefiele said ‘We need structural adjustment Now’ and his reasons were many. GBUBEMI GOD’S COVENANT SNR weighed the governor’s argument and asked from stakeholders whether Nigerians can survive a further belttightening measure beyond the current economic crunch.

Balogun market, Lagos.

Besides the 22% depreciation of our national currency, The Central Bank Governor, Godwin Emefiele revealed that the nation’s foreign reserve is empty.

“The reserves are no more there,” he announced and his recommendation of the infamous Structural Adjustment Policy (SAP) of the Ibrahim Babangida era has unsettled many quarters in low and high places. But the apex bank chief ’s arguments raised some questions Nigerians must address.

Nigerians must stop importing rice, tooth pick;

Nigerians must stop importing tomatoes from South Africa; Nigeria is importing 20 million eggs daily from African countries and this must stop.

“All these we can do without,” Emefiele said and recommends that all imports should be restricted to raw materials and machineries.

“To reduce pressure on the Naira and save our economy, importers should restrict imports to raw materials and machineries only instead of finished products and foods. We will encourage

small scale industries to boost local manufacture.”

And what would Nigerians live on in the interim?

“Let us go back to the soil,” Emefiele said; “Till the ground, agriculture will fill the gap and boost our Gross Domestic Product while local industries would be producing what we need.”

Daily Times investigation revealed that the Nigerian markets are saturated with finished foods and other import from smaller neighboring countries.

“It would shock you to know that we

have ordinary rubber slippers made in Ghana and sold in Nigeria and Nigerians prefer them because they last longer,” said a top business source at the Katankowa market.

Our check confirmed also that Nigerian women prefer palm oil imported from Togo, and gari from Kutonou to our own local equivalents.

“Ordinary dettol, matches and tooth pick made in other countries are sold in our markets by Nigerians, so what

Continued on page 18

Features 18 Continued from page 17 do you expect?”, our source said.

Our features desk felt the pulse of some prominent Nigerians on the Godwin Emefiele’s recommendation of SAP and asked whether the ordinary Nigerian can survive the measure this time around.

Balarabe Musa (Former Governor z of Kaduna state) In the first place it is wrong to think of bringing back SAP because it didn’t work during the Ibrahim Babangida regime, so why should return it when we know it didn’t work before? It is even the fall out of the problems that we are still grappling with, so why not think of a better option?

We suggest, for instance, that the best measure is to reconstruct the economy in such a way that government plays the leading role in the economy to ensure free, equality, justice and dignity of the human person and progressive human development.

It doesn’t mean that government should do everything, no. Government and the private sector should participate fully but under the leadership of government because it is government that represent the interest of the people.

So everyone in the economy, both private sector and the public sector should participate strongly but under the leadership of the public sector because the public sector has more responsibility to the nation and to the people than the private sector.

So there is no sense going back to SAP because it has failed us. This thing we should do is reorganize the system in a way that it is public interest first and personal interest second. Therefore, we should have economic system whereby public plays leading role to ensure peace, equality, justice, dignity and justice and progressive human development.

Emefiele should not take us back to SAP. What we need first and foremost is a strong leader who is well informed, progressive, nationalistic, and patriotic and who is radical enough to face the nation’s problem. Once we have such a leadership the next is playing the leading role in the state of the economy. There is no point in having a leadership which is not up to the task, which is not radical enough to face radical problems. It would be wasting our time as it has wasted our time in the past.

Does the former governor believe Buhari meets all the qualification of that radical

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, January 11, 2016

There is no sense going back to SAP now — Balarabe Musa

Buhari

The SAP Emefiele is talking about can be managed well.

Any business you do and generate money in Naira, nobody is bothering you for that; if you are exporting, nobody is bothering you. It is when you want to get foreign exchange from the lean foreign exchange we are getting from oil that we are saying, no we will not give you – GP James leader?

O yes, he has the constitutional authority to do so because he is the President and C-in-C of the armed forces and he is in charge of security and all the finances of the country are under his control so he has the constitutional authority to deal with the problem if he sees himself radical enough to deal with the radical situation

Emefiele

Balarabe Musa

A tomatoes market

Nigeria is facing.

Barr. Wahab Shittu (Lawyer and human rights activist) You are talking of a policy framework here; it would depend on the thinking behind the policy, then the discipline, integrity and at the same time the credibility of the leaders who are to implement the policy.

I think now we have in place a new leadership that has God as his discipline and credibility. I believe so much on the Buhari administration.

SAP is a belt tightening policy designed to cut costs and ensure that Nigeria is put on the right track again. If we have to experience comfort we also have to be ready to nurture some pain.

I think whatever the policy, what we need to do is support the leadership so that it would be able to achieve its aspirations.

Barr Shittu disagreed that only the poor would bear the brunt of the adjustment. “The belt tightening measure goes across the board with emphasis on getting the rich to subsidise the poor,” he stressed.

Mrs. Yomi Adeosun (Matron and social worker) During the Ibrahim Babangida SAP, we, the ordinary Nigerians were the ones that managed the lack through; we couldn’t get kerosene, we cooked with saw dust, we lacked everything and many families starved.

I remember my neighbours;

they partitioned their single room into two with a curtain and turned the parlour into a canteen. Babangida and other government officials didn’t suffer all that.

With the situation as it is now, thinking of another SAP will be very unfair to Nigerians whose generation survived the first one. Let Emefiele think of another way out.

Barrister G. P. James (Political analyst and cleric) The SAP Emefiele is talking about can be managed well.

Any business you do and generate money in Naira, nobody is bothering you for that; if you are exporting, nobody is

Continued on page 19

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, January 11, 2016

Continued from page 18 bothering you. It is when you want to get foreign exchange from the lean foreign exchange we are getting from oil that we are saying, no we will not give you.

What are your expectations?

If as Buhari was saying they can look into the solid minerals sector, it is a great potential source for Nigeria to get money.

What is dollar? If you are mining solid mineral, then you are exporting and earning dollars; it’s not like oil. The products and bi-products you get from solid minerals have a ready market for stable clients.

If government also wants to put money in agriculture it is another avenue of earning money.

Akwa Ibom Akwa Ibom is zero not because there is no land there for farming; the state is zero because they have been stealing money from government.

Look at the vast land mass and then the people who are ready to farm them but they cannot do that because of the issue of people stealing money, they prefer to steal the money and turn a blind eye to the people and to the land.

I want this free money sharing formula to fizzle out; let everybody, every state earn their money.

Engr David Odedokun (Retired textile engineer) Already we are under structural adjustment policy now even though it has not been officially declared. When there is no free devaluation of the Naira; government’s official rate is lower than at the black market - and people still prefer the black market, which means we are operating under the policy.

The first SAP under Ibrahim Babangida was mismanaged; the advice given to IBB by the professor from University of Ibadan, Olu Falae and other professors were not carried out.

Falae, an economist wanted to be very strict about the Naira but IBB did not allow it. Before he took the government from Buhari and Idiagbon the Naira was exchanging N1 to $1. Shortly after that Naira glided down from 2, 5, 13 and on until it hit N120 to the dollar and that was where Nigeria missed the mark.

IBB allowed laxity in foreign exchange control. When you are practising SAP the first thing to do is stop all unnecessary imports into the country, IBB did not.

IBB battered the Naira and the common man indulged in

19 Features

Nigerians should support the leadership — Wahab Shittu gerians will pick up before you know it. In the meantime, Nigerians have to adjust.

Buhari should focus on banning all importation of finished goods; help local industries by importing only raw materials and machines to produce. Lastly Buhari must stop the free flow of the dollar anywhere in the country.

A fruits market

the consumption of foreign materials like foods, meats, clothes. So where did that leave the farmers who had nothing?

They couldn’t sell their produce because imported goods flooded the country.

If SAP is stringently applied the elites won’t be able to buy whatever foreign thing they want. Let Nigerians produce what they need and what they want.

If there is no SAP the small scald industries will not revive and produce. When you can’t see foreign goods to buy, you buy the local ones, period.

On the inability of Customs and Immigration to curb influx of foreign finished goods, Engr Odedokun has a solution: I it simple; if CBN can check the availability of dollars so that importers can no longer get it to buy from the black market, importation of foreign things will stop because if they cannot get the dollar to buy, they cannot import.

And when the dollar in their foreign account runs out, they can no longer be able to replenish it and continue importation, so SAP is a very good measure if the CBN can control the flow of the dollar.

Of corruption in the con-

Nigeria is importing tomatoes from South Africa and 20 million eggs daily from African countries. We are importing rice and tooth pick. We can do without all these foods. All imports should be restricted to raw materials and machineries. We will encourage small scale industries to boost local manufacture. Let us go back to the soil – CBN Governor trol of the smuggling Killing corruption is not a one day thing because it is in the blood of Nigerians; it will reduce gradually.

Danger of imported foods stuffs It is dangerous to bring gar and palm oil from Kotonou and tomatoes from South Africa.

Mark my words; those people who consume such foods before long you will begin to hear of strange and funny diseases in their bodies.

The rice importers are bringing to Nigeria is over 15 years on the shelf; they are meant for their animals, not for human consumption. But our business men go and buy it from them at very cheap rate.

Because of corruption Nigerian business men will go there, pay small money and bring them into Nigeria; that is how many of them became rich.

The rice imported from China is synthetic rice, not natural rice; then they polish away all the food contents and put some resin at the back of the rice to deceive us.

Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) Just like the Customs, SON cannot stop counterfeit and junk goods from coming in because of corruption, and that is why we want SAP to be fully implemented so that those foreign finished foods and items cannot come in again.

Buhari has promised to help local manufacturers to start work again. Once small scale industries begin producing, Ni-

The Australian formulae If you are a foreigner in Australia and you have foreign currency, you are not allowed to spend foreign currency in their economy; you are required to take your foreign currency to their bank and buy the local currency so you can buy in their local stores.

You will deposit your passport with them until you are leaving the country.

Now if you are a citizen of the country, you will explain where and how you got the foreign currency you want to change. That is the strict control Nigerians don’t want, but that is a way out.

Nigeria is importing tomatoes from South Africa and 20 million eggs daily from African countries. We are importing rice and tooth pick. We can do without all these foods. All imports should be restricted to raw materials and machineries.

We will encourage small scale industries to boost local manufacture. Let us go back to the soil – CBN Governor The SAP Emefiele is talking about can be managed well.

Any business you do and generate money in Naira, nobody is bothering you for that; if you are exporting, nobody is bothering you. It is when you want to get foreign exchange from the lean foreign exchange we are getting from oil that we are saying, no we will not give you – GP James If you are a foreigner in Australia and you have foreign currency, you are not allowed to spend foreign currency in their economy; you are required to take your foreign currency to their bank and buy the local currency so you can buy in their local stores. Also, you will deposit your passport with them until you are leaving the country. That is how to check foreign exchange and Nigerians don’t want that – Textile Engineer Odedokun

20

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Daily Times Nigeria Monay, January 11, 2016

21

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(LAGOS) IFEANYI - 08086296714 (ABUJA) FEMI - 08033550468

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PLEASE CONTACT

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OPERATIONAL HEADQUARTERS DTN COMPLEX LATEEF JAKANDE ROAD, AGINDIGBI, IKEJA, LAGOS CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS 44 ADETOKNBO ADEMOLA CRESCENT WUSE 2, ABUJA

21 News

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, January 11, 2016

Jacob Ogodo, Abakaliki

ÏÏÏThe

former National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and Anambra Central Senatorial candidate of the party, Chief Victor Umeh, has described the defection of Senator Uche Ekwunife to the All Progressives Congress (APC) as crass ignorance of the laws of Nigeria.

Umeh stated this in Onueke, Ezza South Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, while speaking with newsmen during a civic reception organised for Governor Dave Umahi by the Ezza Ezekunna clan.

An Appeal Court in Enu-

gu had on December 6, 2015, nullified the election of Ekwunife on grounds of irregularities and ordered the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct a fresh election within 90 days in the zone, following a petition brought before it by Umeh.

But Ekwunife, last Friday, announced her defection from the Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP) the party under which she contested the annulled election, to the All Progressives Congress ahead of the re-run.

Umeh said the Appeal Court judgment had already disqualified Ekwunife from being part of the re-run and there was no way she could be part of it

MRS. ADEJUMO KHADIJAT DIJE

I formerly known and addressed as MISS SHUAIBU KHADIJAT DIJE, now want to be addressed as MRS. ADEJUMO KHADIJAT DIJE. All former document remain valid. The general public take note.

PLACE YOUR ADVERT HERE

ABEOKUTA ACADEMIC CLUB 8591 The general public is hereby notified that the above named CLUB has applied to the corporate Affairs commission Abuja for registration under the part C of the companies and allied matters act,cap 20, LFN 2004 as amended.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Olateju Abimbola Oludare.

2. Folorunso Wobolatito Oluwadamilare.

3. Adewale Mofolorunso Delu.

4. Joseph Babatunde Tukuru.

5. Adebeshin Owolabi Oladapo.

6. Soyinka Olatunde.

7. Afolabi - Ogunmefun Olaide.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: 1. To rekindle, promote and sustain the founding of vision, ideals, welfare and infrastructure of Abeokuta Grammar School.

Ekwunife’s defection to APC is ‘crash ignorance of Law’ – Victor Umeh any longer.

“I think what she is doing is that she is exhibiting crass ignorance of the laws of Nigeria. When she was disqualified by the Court of Appeal, Enugu Division, there is no way she could take part in that election

any longer”.

He insisted that the defection of Ekwunife to APC with the intention of flying the party’s flag was a decision of the ignorance of the laws, noting that the Supreme Court had firmly settled the issue of wheth-

PROHETESS BOSEDE ADIMABUA MINISTRY This is to inform the general public that the above named ministry has applied for registration to the Corporate Affairs Commission under part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Act of NO I 1990.

TRUSTEES: (1) PROPHETESS BOSEDE ADIMABUA (2) REV. (DR.) PETER AWOJOBI (3) SPECIAL APOSTLE (DR.) JOSHUA DANIEL (4) OLORUNTOBI IKENNA ADIMABUA (5) MISS OLUWASEUN NNEKA ADIMABUA (6) PASTOR MOSES ADEMOLA POPOOLA AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: To spread the gospel of Lord Jesus Christ.

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

Signed by :Adeniyi Adebisi Esq

FAITHFUL & TRUTH CHURCH OF GOD THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED HAS APPLIED FOR REGISTRATION TO CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990 TRUSTEES: 1.PASTOR MRS AMARACHUKWU CHUKWUEMEKA 2.MR EMMAUNEL CHUKWUEMEKA 3.MRS UNAEGBU NDIDIMAKA 4.PASTOR AFAM OKONKWO 5.MR AYO OLAPADE 6.MRS NJIDAKA IWUEKE 7. SOPURU NZEKWE OGBU.

PRESIDENT SECRETARY MEMBER MEMBER MEMBER

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. To eradicate poverty amidst informal sector and comfort tailors on every side Any objection to this publication should be forwarded to Registrar-General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Abuja, within 28 days of this publication.

ALICE HEALTH CARE FOUNDATION

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

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

THE TRUSTEES ARE:1. Bamiduro Olutosin Stephen 2. Bamiduro Olabisi Aminat 3. Bamiduro Florence Ebun.

THE TRUSTEES ARE:1. Orunto Hezekiah Olatunji 2. Orunto Elizabeth olufunmi 3. Orunto Olamide David 4. Esan Olukemi Deborah 5. Olaiya Ayinde Augustine 6. Olawale Taiwo Alice 7. Ajagbe Motunrayo Adebola THE AIM AND OBJECTIVE IS: TO PREACH THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST.

Signed by:Adeniyi Adebisi Post

THE AIM AND OBJECTIVE IS:TO PREACH THE GOSPEL OF 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.

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. OYEWOPO ZACCHEAUS ADERANTI 2. AJIA OLANRENWAJU LAWAL 3. OLATUNDE OLADELE 4. ADURAGBA ABDUL-MOMEEN 5. ISAIAH ADEWALE OLUSEGUN

DIVINE HOLY CROSS CHURCH OF THE LORD, ALADURA

SIGNED : Olukayode Joseph - Hunvenu Esq.

THE TRUSTEES ARE:1. FLOURENCE TITILAYO JESULOLOGO 2. YUSUFF AKEEM JESULOLOGO 3. YUSUFF ADEWALE JESULOLOGO 4. YUSUFF KOLAWOLE JESULOLOGO 5. SEUN JESULOLOGO 6. SOLA JESULOLOGO

TAILORS PEACE MAKING MINISTRY INT’L, ILORIN, NIGERIA This is to inform the general public that the above named ministry has applied for registration to the Corporate Affairs Commission under part “C” of the Companies and Allied Matters Act of NO I 1990.

Signed TRUSTEES

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

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

tion ordered thereof.

“The Supreme Court of Nigeria in 2009 through a judgment delivered by Justice Ogbuagu made it abundantly clear that you can no longer change candidate or withdrew/replace the one in place.

SIGNED DADA JOHN MAYOKUN ESQ.

Any objection to this registration should be forwarded to the registrar general corporate affairs commission plot 420 tigris crescent of aguiyi ironsi street maitama Abuja within 28 days from the date of this publication.

JESULOLOGO WHITE GARMENT CHURCH OF NIGERIA

er a political party could change its candidate in a rerun election ordered pursuant to the annulment of the previous election.

“The law is that the dramatis personae in the previous election will go for the rerun election or fresh elec-

THE AIM AND OBJECTIVE IS:To provide a comprehensive healthcare assistance to the less privilege most especially pregnant women, children, widow and matured citizen at large.

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 BY :KUTI Jeremiah 0802329524

BIGG UNITED STAR BROTHERS SOCIAL CLUB OF NIGERIA

FIGHT OF FAITH CHRISTIAN ASSEMBLY

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

This is to inform the general public that the above named church has applied to Corporte Affairs Commission for registration under Part C of the Companies and Allied Matters Act No 1 of 1990

THE TRUSTEES ARE:1. CHUKWUEMEKA PATRICK Chairman 2.EZEIKE CHIDIEBERE ISSAC 3.CHIJIOKE ONYEKA 4.OKEKE CHIMEZIE CHRISTIAN 5.EZIEKWE ROBINSON OKECHUKWU

TRUSTEES ARE; 1.Mbah Peculiar Amachi 2.Peculiar Harriet Chioma.

3.Muritala Saheeb Akorede.

4.Bello Abudu Unoakme.

THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES ARE:1. To Promote peace and unity among members 2. To promote, support members in need . Vsit, assist motherless Babies homes and promote peace and unity in the country

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1.Evangelising the teaching of christ.

2.Winning souls for christ.

3.Teaching the word of God.

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

Any Objection to this Registration should be forwarded to the Registrar - General corporate Affairs Commission . plot 420 Tigres crescent off Aguiyi lronsi street MAITAMA ABUJA within 28th days from the date of publication

Signed by :CGM ACHOMADE ESQ

SIGNED SECERTARY

HEROES FOOTMARK INTERNATIONAL GOSPEL CENTRE THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED HAS APPLIED FOR REGISTRATION TO CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990 TRUSTEES: (1) APOSTLE HINDI, TERSUUR ANDREW (2) ENGINEER MARK MORRIS (3) PASTOR MRS MERCY ELOHO HINDI (4) BISHOP ABRAHAM JAMES EKOJA

–PRESIDENT –SECRETARY

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. TO PREACH THE WORD OF GOD WORLD WIDE 2. TO WIN SOULS FOR CHRIST

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. To preach the Gospel of Christ all over the world.

2. To take care of the welfare of its members.

3. To establish Local Branches for the propagation of the Gospel worldwide.

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

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

SIGNED: SECRETARY

SIGNED: SECRETARY

IKPERE ALE-MEJE WOMEN TRADERS ASSOCIATION (1T/NO/22249) THIS IS TO INFORM THE GENERAL PUBLIC THAT THE ABOVE NAMED HAS APPLIED FOR CHANGE OF TRUSTEES TO CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION UNDER PART C OF THE COMPANIES AND ALLIED MATTERS ACT NO. 1 OF 1990 CHANGE OF TRUSTEES AND AMENDMENT OF CONSTITUTION OLD TRUSTEES: 1. MADAM MERCY OLOWU -RETAINED 2. MADAM COMFORT MENE -RETAINED 3. MRS OLELU OMUNU -REMOVED 4. MADAM EMILY AJEKRENBIAGHAN -RETAINED 5. MADAM DORIS OMIEDE -RETAINED 6. MRS HELEN TIEMO -RETAINED NEW TRUSTEES APPOINTED: 1. MABLE EGBAYINO 2. BRIDGET FREGENE 3. ELIZABETH DAJE 4. LILIAN OKORODUDU AKAGBOSU 5. REGINA ATUMU THE CONSTITUTION SHALL BE AMENDED TO REFLECT THE CHANGES ANY OBJECTION TO THIS CHANGE AND AMENDMENT SHOULD BE FORWARDED TO THE REGISTRAR-GENERAL. CORPORATE AFFAIRS COMMISSION, 420, TIGRIS CRESCENT, OFF AGUIYI IRONSI STREET. PMB 198, MAITAMA, ABUJA WITHIN 28TH DAYS FROM THE DATE OF PUBLICATION SIGNED: SECRETARY

22 News

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, January 11, 2016

Borno Police clear air over murder of IDP Chijioke Kingsley Jos

ÏÏÏContrary to media re-

ports on the issue of a murder case in one of the IDP camps in Maiduguri, men of the Nigeria Police in Maiduguri have recovered the body of an internally displaced person (IDP) murdered recently with his head intact and not headless.

Preliminary investigation points to group fighting among IDPs. Our correspondent who

was on a cross visit to Maiduguri reports that, even though the identity of the murdered IDP could not be revealed immediately because of the poor identification processes existing in the camps, his body was found tied up with multiple bruises on his head as a result of heavy pounding by his assailants at the Monguno teachers village.

The murdered fellow was said to have had a heated disagreement with camp colleagues over unspecified reasons leading

to his death as a result of body injuries.

Reacting to the incident, Governor Kashim Shettima of Borno state was said to have received the news of the development with utter shock and sadness because it has never happened before.

The fenced camp, located at Pompomari, hosts about 13,000 IDPs from Ngala and Kukawa Local Government Areas and their Divisional Police Officers (DPOs), alongside men under their formations, as part of secu-

rity measures long adopted by government to forestall such developments.

Governor Kashim Shettima, who is very much disturbed by the development has since ordered immediate investigations by the police and directed the arrest of any person connected to the incident.

Chairman of the Borno state Emergency Management Agency, Garba Satomi, informed the governor that the police has arrested a displaced person in connection with the attack and

that more suspects were being trailed.

Satomi also said the investigation has so far pointed at a disagreement between a group of young IDP’s who later conspired and attacked the fellow involved and murdered him.

According to Shettima, government will never accept threats in any IDP camp where citizens already suffer the trauma of being displaced as a result of lingering insurgency.

Kano govt to deal directly with farmers Yakubu Salisu Kano

ÏÏÏThe Director – Gener-

al, Media and Communications to the Executive Governor of Kano State, Halilu Ibrahim Dantiye, has said that the state government will hence forth deal directly with farmers in the state when it comes to the issue of sales and distribution of fertilizers.

Dantiye said the traditional method of supplying fertilizers through middle men has been discovered to be detriment the farmers whom are often left without nothing as a result of the middle men and some racketeers diverting the goods somewhere else.

According to him, the state governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has concluded plans to take actual census and data of farms and farmers so as to enable government ascertain specific inputs needed by individual farmers and agricultural cooperative societies and that henceforth, fertilizer and other farm inputs would be sold to them directly.

L-R: Member, Ibadan Progressive Union (IPU), Baale Muritala Alayande; President of the Union, Pastor Johnson Adeniji; Oyo State Governor, Senator Abiola Ajimobi; immediate past President of IPU, Very Rev’d, Ademola Moradeyo and other members, Chief Kayode Arowolo and Pa Ayo Akintunde, during a Thank-you visit to the governor following the resolution of the Ibadan chieftaincy promotion dispute, at the Governor’s Office, Ibadan... at the weekend.

Ekiti loses 5 lives in 141 fire incidences in 2015 Gbenga Sodeinde Ado-Ekiti

ÏÏÏFive

lives and property worth about N213.72 million were lost in 141 fire incidences recorded in Ekiti state between January and December, 2015.

The state Commissioner for Information, Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Lanre Ogunsuyi, who made this known in Ado Ekiti, however, disclosed that the state Fire Services Department was able to save 29 lives and property worth about N3.0583 billion during the same period.

Mr. Ogunsuyi put the figure of Special Services and accidents recorded during the year at 21, noting that, as usual, higher numbers of incidences were recorded during the dry season particularly in the months of January and December.

The Commissioner said that according to available data, 41 fire calls were recorded in January while 23 occurred in December, 2015.

He noted that apart from May when 11 fire incidences were recorded, other months recorded between 4 and 10.

Delta leaders, others caution against misrepresentation

ÏÏÏNotable

personalities in Delta state, including leaders of ethnic and youth groupings, political parties, former council chairmen and past political appointees, last weekend, commended the state House of Assembly Speaker, Hon. Monday Igbuya for bringing to his job a rare verve and conviction.

“Rt. Hon Monday Igbuya will never violate the norms of good governance, progressive leadership, integrity and cred-

ibility” the leaders said.

At a meeting in Asaba, the leaders condemned those insulting the intelligence of the people through misrepresentation.

“Mr. Speaker should not be a subject of undue attack but should be supported and applauded in his quest to bring about economic and social development in Delta state” they said.

In a statement issued after the meeting by the Director of Communica-

tions, Delta Leaders Forum, Chief Michael Tuoyo, the leaders praised the Speaker and his colleagues for subjecting themselves to the principles of morality and justice in the discharge of their duties.

“The Delta state House of Assembly is quite on course. It is doing well and giving the necessary support and enabling environment to the government of Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa” the statement said.

The leaders, who also

took a deep look at the relationship between the executive and legislature in the state, commended the maturity of the legislators.

“The legislature and the executive are partners in progress. There is no uneasiness in the relationship. There is nothing like legislative arrogance, selfmisperception and megalomania. Mr. Speaker is not hindering the principles of separation of powers. He is charting a course that is people and

service oriented” the leaders said.

On the speaker’s integrity, the leaders said, “Politics to Hon. Igbuya is not an avenue to make money or wield any undeserving influence but a platform where lives can be changed drastically”.

They urged Deltans at home and abroad to reject all anti-democratic agents.

“Rt. Hon Monday Igbuya is an achiever. He remains unshaken in the noble objective to develop Delta state” the leaders added.

Gov Udom seeks re-appointment of A’Ibom indigene as NDDC chair Julius Joseph

ÏÏÏAkwa

Gov. Ganduje

Ibom state governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel has made a call for the re-appointment of an indigene of the state as the Chairman of the Niger Delta Development Com-

mission (NDDC).

The governor made the call on Sunday, during a mega rally at Eket Township Stadium, held in his honour by the people of Eket Senatorial District.

He said that it will be unfair if an Akwa Ibom indigene

is not re-appointed by President Muhammadu Buhari to replace Sir. Dan Abia, an indigene of the state whose tenure was unceremoniously brought to an end.

According to him, the four years tenure of Akwa Ibom has been truncated

with the sack of an Akwa Ibom indigene and his replacement with an indigene of Rivers state.

He said that it is the right of Akwa Ibom to complete its four years tenure, since it was based on rotation among the oil producing

states on a four years term.

In a ceremony, attended by major stakeholders of Eket Senatorial District, Udom reiterated his commitment to project Nigeria, stressing that the unity of the country is sustained by equity, justice and fairness.

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, January 11, 2016

‘Tosin Ajuwon, Akure

ÏÏÏThe Ondo State chap-

ter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), on Sunday, alleged that a huge sum of money in foreign currency was purportedly found on Governor Olusegun Mimiko by security operatives on his way to campaign for the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Seriake Dickson, in the governorship re-run election in Bayelsa State.

In a statement signed by the APC Director of Publicity, Mr. Steve Otaloro, and issued to journalists in Akure, said the governor was allegedly involv-

23 News

Ondo APC accuses Gov Mimiko of financing Bayelsa re-run election ing in such unlawful action at a time the state was finding it difficult to pay its workers their salary.

Otaloro noted that it was obvious that the intention of the Ondo State Government was to prevent the media from having access to details of the incident by keeping quiet, since last week, when the news was broken.

He explained that the state government neither owned up to the story nor denied it as usual, because

it knew the denial might provoke the response of the security agency to set the record straight.

The statement said the opposition APC in the state views the governor’s action as mindless profligacy with grave consequences at a time when an average citizen of the state found it difficult to have a decent meal per day, and at a time when the state government owed workers two months’ salary.

“It is shocking and com-

pletely unacceptable to hear that the State Chief Executive is said to be taking a huge sum of money to campaign in Bayelsa State.

We have often heard such stories, which we found difficult to believe until this instance that was intercepted by operatives of the security agencies. This, however confirms why Dr. Mimiko is regarded as ATM Governor outside the state, while people he swore to serve are living in squalor and

abject poverty.

“Governor Mimiko owes it a duty to tell the people of Ondo State the source of the money he is squandering all over the place, especially in the oil-rich Bayelsa State, in which he used to prosecute the rerun election.

“The resources of Ondo State, if well managed and directed to purposeful projects, should have made impact in the life of the ordinary citizens of the state”, Otaloro said.

Adeyemi College staff found dead in apartment

Fresh bird flu cases recorded in Kano Yakubu Salisu, Kano

’Tosin Ajuwon, Akure

ÏÏÏThe

ers of thought in the area, described the late Ozongwu as a good citizen of the state, who had championed the course for the creation of Adada State.

Ozongwu, a lawyer, who was in his late ’50s, was reportedly killed over a disputed piece of land in his village, Okwojo Ngwo, near Enugu at about 2 p.m.

A community leader, Ozo Ramsey Onyia, described late Ozongwu as a “libera-

tor to the community”, adding that what happened to him was beyond the issue of land dispute. He said that the late lawyer had been protecting the interest of the villagers from the early ’90s, especially the downtrodden and expressed confidence that the governor’s visit would go a long way to address the issue to the satisfaction of the people of the community and the general public at large.

deadly bird flu, which claimed thousands of poultry lives last year, has again resurfaced in Kano.

Confirming the outbreak, the Kano State Director of Veterinary Services at the Ministry of Agriculture, Dr. Shehu Bawa, said the outbreak had so far hit three poultry farms in the state and that his department had already taken samples from the three affected farms and sent to the National Veterinary Research Institute, Vom, in Plateau State, for further investigation.

Bawa, who wouldn’t mention how many birds had died so far from the flu, explained that it was too early to give the figures, as his men were still working to get the exact figures. He further explained that his ministry has begun seminars with poultry farmers on the dangers of the disease, symptoms and how to prevent it.

He called on the affected poultry farmers to report to the appropriate authorities for prompt action to prevent mass infection of a whole farm.

Ivaje and Sule Adavudi, respectively, said that with the coming of Alhaji Yahaya Bello as governor of Kogi state, the area needed

a vibrant representation in the upper legislative chamber.

According to the group, the area had suffered seri-

ous setback, deprivation and inadequate representation, noting that Atta, if elected, would effectively bridge help matters.

ÏÏÏA female staff

of the Adeyemi College of Education (ACE) Ondo, Ms. Evelyn Ajagun, has been found dead in her apartment located in Palm Groove Street, behind Catholic Church junction, Oka Road, in Ondo town.

Residents told the Daily Times on Sunday that Ajagun, who had a building apartment on Palm Groove Street, was found lying lifelessly on the floor, after a strange odour in the surrounding was traced to her room.

A student of the Adeyemi College of Education, who did not want her name in print, revealed that Ajagun was last seen, on Tuesday, last week, while circumstances surrounding her death still remained a mystery to neighbours and close associates.

The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) in-charge of Enu Owa Police Station, Mr. Adekunle Omisakin, told the Daily Times, that preliminary investigation had revealed that Ajagun was sick and locked herself up until she gave up the ghost, since nobody could attend to her.

Gov. Mimiko

Senate President, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki with the Chief of Air Staff, Air Mashall Sadiq Baba Abubakar (right) when the Senate President represented President Muhammadu Buhari at a Jumat Service as part of activities to mark the 2016 Armed Forces Remembrance Day at the National Mosque in Abuja... on Friday. With them is the Minister of State for Aviation, Sen. Hadi Sirika.

Moses Oyediran, Enugu

ÏÏÏGovernor Ifeanyi Ug-

wuanyi of Enugu State, at the weekend, visited the site at Okwojo Ngwo, in Udi Local Government Area, where a prominent lawyer in the state and the Executive Secretary of the Movement for the Actualisation of Adada State, Mr. Ejimofor Ozongwu, was brutally murdered by yet to be identified hoodlums, following a land dispute, and promised that government would look into the matter and take decisive decision,

Murder of Enugu lawyer: Ugwuanyi pledges decisive action

in order to forestall further occurrence of such a dastardly act.

Ugwuanyi, who was accompanied to the site by the member representing Enugu North/South Federal Constituency in the National Assembly, Hon. Chime Oji, the former Minister of State, Foreign Affairs, Chief Dubem Onyia, former State Commissioner for Justice, Chief Anthony Ani (SAN), and other lead-

Kogi Central re-run: Group drums support for Atta

Ibrahim Obansa, Lokoja

ÏÏÏA group known as Ad-

vocates of Democracy and

Transparency, (ADT), has called on the people of Kogi Central Senatorial District to give their votes to the candidate of the Labour

Party, (LP) Kabiru Onimisi Idris Atta, in the rescheduled senatorial election.

The Chairman and Secretary of the group, Audu

24 News

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, January 11, 2016

I’ve no hand in Faleke, Audu son’s arrest –Bello ÏÏÏKogi State’s Governor-

elect, Yahaya Bello, has said that he had no hand in the arrest of his running mate, James Abiodun Faleke and Muhammed Audu.

In a statement issued through his media office, on Sunday, January 10, he distanced himself from the arrest made by the Department of State Services (DSS).

Bello said that he never

sent a petition against the duo to the DSS, but that, “The allegation that I sent a petition to the DSS is an absolute falsehood and nothing can be further from the truth.

“I did not send any petition to the security department to invite Honourable Faleke. The insinuations that I might have written a petition to push for their invitation is absolute false-

hood. Nothing can be further from the truth.”

Bello stressed that the DSS, under its current leadership, had proven to be a highly professional body and, therefore, could not be pushed around by any single individual or group.

He urged the members of All Progressive Congress (APC) and the people of the state to always seek for amicable resolution of issues in

the interest of the state.

“Honourable Faleke is a respected member of the APC who has made his own contribution to the success of our party. Instigating his arrest cannot be a part of the reconciliatory moves and peace-building efforts that we have initiated ahead of our January 27th inauguration.

“As we count down towards this historic inau-

guration of our Change government, our focus remains the enactment of responsive and responsible leadership for Kogi citizens, who have reposed their trust in our party.

“We are determined to deliver the dividends of democracy to our persevering and patriotic people at the fastest speed. At last, a new Kogi State is born with a triple belief in

peace, harmony and an allround development,” Bello said.

DSS operatives, in Abuja, reportedly detained James Abiodun Faleke and Mohammed Audu, on Saturday morning. It remains unclear why the duo were invited, but sources say the matter was not connected with the upcoming governorship inauguration in the state.

Ogun SDP denies receiving campaign fund from Falae Abiodun Taiwo, Abeokuta

ÏÏÏThe Ogun State Chap-

Akwa-Ibom State Governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Obong Umana Okon Umana (middle) when he was received by thousands of his supporters, in Akwa-Ibom... at the weekend.

ter of Social Democratic Party (SDP), has denied ever receiving any financial or campaign logistics from the National Secretariat of the party or any of its principal officers.

It said in a press release, titled “Re 2015 Election Campaign Funding”, issued in Abeokuta, and signed by its State Chairman, Olu Agemo and the Publicity Secretary, Clement Adeniyi, that the SDP in Ogun State was never notified of or involved in any negotiation to partner with the PDP or any other party

Buhari, Tinubu, Dangote, others for Ladoke Akintola 50th remembrance ÏÏÏPresident

Mohammadu Buhari, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, governors and other dignitaries are to grace the 50th remembrance of former Premier in the Western Nigeria, Chief Samuel Ladoke Akintola.

The remembrance of Akintola – who was Pre-

mier between from 1959 to 1962, was murdered on January 15, 1966, during Nigeria’s first military coup, which resulted in the assassination of many leading politicians, mostly members of the Northern People’s Congress – will come up on January 14

and15, 2016, in Ogbomoso, Oyo State.

The Chairman Planning Committee for the memorial remembrance, Mr. Yemi Adedokun, made this known on Sunday, during memorial and thanksgiving service by the family of the late icon at First Baptist Church,

Okelerin, Ogbomoso.

Adedokun added that former president Olusegun Obasanjo, senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu and captains of industries, traditional rulers, prominent politicians and political associates of the late Akintola and family were expect-

ed to grace the occasion.

The programme will also features lecture in memory of the former Premier and foundation laying of Samuel Ladoke Akintola postgraduate building at Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, LAOTECH on Thursday 14, January.

Oshodi demolition not targeted at Igbo traders, APC chieftain ÏÏÏA

chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State, Barr.

Nkechi Chukwueke, on Sunday, said that the demolition of the popular Owonifari Market in Oshodi area, was not targeted at any particular tribe, especially the Igbo.

Pouring encomiums on the State Government for taking the bold move, Chukwueke, who served as Special Assistant on Women Ethnic Group Mobilisation/Empower-

ment to former Lagos State governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, said that it was not only Igbo people, but traders from other ethnic groups were also affected in the exercise, which, according to her, “was carried out in good faith and in accordance with the rule of law”.

She further urged the State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode, to focus on his task of ensuring a crime-free Lagos that was conducive for all.

“I have told a lot of my people from the East that

the exercise was carried out in good faith by the State Government to rid Lagos of crime, restore sanity to the area and ensure that the master plan of Lagos State was not tampered with.

“From facts available, the State Government gave enough notice to the traders there and even provided alternative market for them to relocate, but many of them refused to go because they believed they won’t make much sales if they go to the new place.

“The truth is, we must

rally round the Governor to ensure that Lagos works.

The Governor means well for Lagos and he stands to gain nothing by demolishing people’s shops. There are laws of the land and they must be obeyed by all for the state to progress,” she said.

Also, Chairman of Conference 57, the umbrella body of Executive Secretaries of Local Government and Local Council Development Areas in Lagos State, Hon. Alabi Kolade David, faulted those castigating

Ambode for the demolition, and insisted that the action was a positive step geared towards development and progress.

Gov. Ambode

for the purpose of winning the election or maintaining peace during the period.

It would be recalled that the National leader of SDP, Chief Olu Falae, had earlier said that he actually collected N100 million from Chief Tony Anenih, and explained that the money was meant for campaign for the former President Goodluck Jonathan as his party did not field candidate for the presidency.

But Ogun SDP in the release said that it was never informed by the National Secretariat of the party of the decision to adopt former President Goodluck Jonathan or any other candidate as the party’s presidential candidate”.

Army urged to put away old ways ÏÏÏThe

Director, Nigerian Army Chaplaincy (Protestant), Col. Dawuk Danfulani, has urged officers and men to put away old ways of 2015 and put on a new and improved leaf in 2016.

Danfulani spoke to our reporter in respect of his New Year message to Nigerian army protestant faithful.

“As we step into 2016, we should emulate the words of Saint Paul which invites us to a new life of positive change, while putting away the old,” he said.

According to him, the New Year called for improved loyalty and service to God and the Nigerian military; the watch-word is newness in the New Year.

Danfulani also said that every soldier should, at the beginning of 2016, resolve to improve upon in their commitment and loyalty to service.

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, January 11, 2016

25 Opinion

Like besieged Samaria, like Nigeria

Yinka Odumakin ÏÏÏ There is a story in the Second Book of Kings Chapter 6 in the Bible of how the king of Israel was walking around one evening and a woman accosted him and narrated a “story that touch”.

The woman told the king how she and her friend because of terrible famine in besieged Samaria had agreed to take turns in cannibalism by cooking their children for food.

The foolish one among the duo volunteered her son to be cooked the first day which they both had for pepper soup. They ate, crunched the bones and cleaned mouth after. The following day, the mother of the deceased showed up at her friend’s house to ask her to bring out her son for barbecue. Instead of bringing out her son, she feigned ignorance of their agreement and would not honour the deal. Now the king is summoned to intervene.

The King of Israel was mad, tore his robes and said, “May God do so to me and more also, if the head of Elisha the son of Shaphat remains on his shoulders today”. (2 Kings

6:31) The King of Israel was pushed over the edge by the news he heard and wanted Elisha dead because Prophets’ lives were often at risk in those days and they were seen as the cause of national trouble. The king knew that the calamity in the land was wrought by the God of Elisha. Similar words were spoken by Jezebel about the Prophet Elijah who was Elisha’s predecessor.

Before the executioners of King of Israel could reach Elisha, he had prophesied that within 24 hours, a Shea of the finest flour and two Sheas of barley will sell for a shekel each in Samaria.

There was a Professor from London School of Economics who was a palace official and heard the words of Elisha and from his own knowledge said that even if God were to open the windows of heaven, the words of Elisha did not conform with the law of demand and supply and therefore could not come to pass.

Elisha in a prophetic fury told him “you shall see it but your mouth will not taste of it”.

So it was within 24 hours that the fear of the Lord came upon the next city (Aramea) and they fled leaving all they had behind. Some lepers from Samaria entered the city and saw food all over the place. When they ate to the full, they remembered they had to take the good news to Samaria.

The king of Israel was perplexed when he heard that there was no one in Aramea and he thought the people of the city

Okwuchukwu

knew there was famine in Israel and wanted them to come so they could entrap them. His officials then advised him to send emissaries to go confirm what is going.

They came back to confirm what had happened and the king led his people to the city to end their famine. He placed the LSE professor who doubted the words of Elisha at the city gate where he was trampled upon by the people rushing to buy their ration of cheap foods. The words of Elisha over him was thereby fulfilled.

Like it was in besieged Samaria, so is it now in Nigeria where bizarre things now trouble our souls.

The Lagos State Police

W E A T H E R ABUJA

ASABA

LAGOS

Low 24°C High 41°C

Low 25°C High 38°C

Low 23°C High 33°C

KADUNA

IBADAN

ILORIN

Low 18°C High 36°C

Low 22°C High 38°C

Low 21°C High 42°C

Arase

Command last week arrested a 28-year-old man, Okwuchukwu Ibekwe, for allegedly selling his five-month-old son to a syndicate in Anambra State for N400,000.

News report had it that that Okwuchukwu, who lives on Shinaba Street, in the Iyana Iba area of Lagos, had some difficulties in his trade of spare parts business which probably was caused by the CBN restrictions and allegedly decided with his wife to raise some money by selling one of their children.

The Ibekwes had contacted one Chinelo, who is still on the run, on December 17, 2015, for the transaction. It was said that Chinelo, who stayed in Ihiala, Anambra State, paid the Ibekwes

N400,000 — N250,000 to the father and N150,000 to the mother of the baby.

Like the two women in the Bible, trouble started between the couple when the husband pocketed the whole money from the transaction and denied the wife her own share of the proceeds. This prompted the wife to report the incident to the police.

Okwuchukwu while being paraded by the police said he collected N400,000 from Chinelo in exchange for his son with the full knowledge of his wife.

“Chinelo was to give me N400,000 for the baby.

My wife was the one who suggested that we dispose off the baby to meet our business needs.

“But Chinelo gave me

N250,000 for the baby when I went to deliver him to her in Anambra State.”

“When I returned, my wife and I quarrelled and she ran away for three days. I did not know that she went to report the matter to the police. She was concerned with her own share of N150,000.”

“I sell vehicle spare parts in Ladipo market.”

“It was a lawyer who called me that my wife had reported me to the police, and that I should come and see her. When I went there, I was arrested.”

“I do not know the whereabouts of my son.

I did not know Chinelo would run away with my child.”

Where are we headed as a country?

R E P O R T KANO Low 17°C High 36°C

BENIN CITY Low 8°C High 21°C

P/HARCOURT Low 23°C High 38°C

CALABAR Low 25°C High 37°C

ENUGU Low 24°C High 38°C

WARRI Low 25°C High 35°C

26

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, January 11, 2016

Our Heritage Æ s

A memorable encounter with Adunni Olorisa

Seven years ago, tomorrow, Susan Wenger, better known as Adunni Olorisa, joined her ancestors ‘in the land beyond’. For many traditionalists and lovers of traditional Yoruba culture, especially, the millions that throng Osogbo, in Osun State, for the yearly international Osun Osogbo festival, she was a beloved priestess, a sage, a mother and a mentor. More than anything, she was an artist, in every sense of the word. The late Adunni Olorisa, was the nonagenarian matriarch of the world renowned Osogbo Art School, from where she co-ordinated a closed circle named the Osun Sacred Art Cult. She was also a powerful force in the preservation, protection and global promotion of the Osun Grove, Osogbo. As tomorrow marks the seventh year of her ‘death’, AGOZINO AGOZINO, who had the last interview with her, recounts the encounter.

“...What about getting an interview with Susan Wenger?” I suggested to my Editor at that time, during a Monday editorial meeting, who looked at me and quipped “You think it is easy? because, I know, she hardly grants press interviews’’.

His response stirred my interest, because, since I was a child, having heard so much about the Wenger myth, I felt this would be an opportunity to meet with the woman, no matter the cost. But to get the interview, one must have to travel to Osogbo, Osun State, her adopted home. So, I embarked on the journey, which appeared like an excursion, because I was very anxious to return, not only with a story, but an interesting one.

Boarding a vehicle at Berger in Lagos was the first experience.

As an adventurer, it was a unique assignment that welled up an unexplainable, but, nostalgic feeling in me. Although, a very easy journey, but intermittently, I was carried away by thoughts of what, possibly, could be the outcome of my journey. For in reality, how would I go about getting an exclusive interview with such a personality that I was told did not favour press interviews.

Could my journey be a waste of time?

Eventually, Osogbo, about 80 kilometres from Lagos, welcomed me. The town is home to a sizeable number of prominent artists, who have their galleries in the city. Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, a retired Brigadier General, was the governor of the state as at the of my visit. In the ancient town, even to date, Wenger’s image looms large.

Seeking her out in the town was not difficult, her name evoked familiarity, so much that the taxi driver would tell you about her curious art-choked two-floor house, and would be willing to take you there, for a fee, of

Agozino, left with Wenger in Ile Abolude home of the artist.

course. She was so popular that the indigenes knew her itinerary. Apart from that, the army of international and local art tourists that were regularly trooping in to visit her also made her home a Mecca of sort. She was a legend.

I, finally, arrived the great artist’s home on a motor bike popularly called okada, and the motor bike operator was my guide. “Oga abi this na your first time to come Osogbo. Make I tell you, many many oyinbo people de come here. If you want her to talk, you go follow Nike Okundaye’’, he said with a smile. To this million-dollar advice I heeded, running back to Chief (Mrs.) Okundaye, who, coincidentally, was in Osogbo, is not only popular in the town, but, she was a confidant of Wenger, so with Mrs Okundaye as my link, the

prospect of getting a good interview with Wenger, looked very bright.

Susan Wenger’s house, “Ile Abolude” at 41A, Ibokun Road, Osogbo, is one of the best Brazilian houses located on a narrow street on the mainland quarters of Osogbo. As you climb the wooden staircase, an echoing silence would overwhelm you.

Clustered around the dimly-lit living room, were wood carvings, metalworks, stone sculptures, paintings and hand-printed fabrics, adire. From a careful mind, it would be noticed that all must have been placed with care and have been there for a long time, judging by the dust that settled on them. Other household items were also placed in a way that suggested deep esoteric meaning. For the uninitiated, the images, works and their

nature might be mistaken, but, those familiar with her understood their interpretation.

Beautiful flowers covered part of the building to give it a shade, thus making the building cool.

As I entered the building, I noticed that the staircase, table and chairs were all made of artworks, some made of steel, stone, wood and oil paintings, while the walls were adorned with artworks. The special attraction here was the corner of the living room, where she regularly consulted with the gods and every visitor to the living room, must go to the corner, where some ritual objects and clay pots were placed, to pay obeisance to the gods. One woman came and knelt down, bowed and gently touched the ground with her forehead while making some incantations.

Another close confidant of Wenger was her adopted daughter, Mrs. Doyin Faniyi, who always attended to those who had questions to ask.

My eventual encounter with Adunni Olorisa in her home, that was bereft of electricity, was nostalgic for me. For a 93year old, she was very intelligent and witty, her articulation was striking. Although, not ready to engage the press, like my editor warned, she responded to my questions, sometimes, because of Mrs Okundaye’s intervention.

On her art in Osgbo for the past 39 years and what inspired it, she said it was to preserve a culture and history. It was not as if others did not see what she saw, but for her, it was like a typical callCONTINUED ON PAGE 27

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, January 11, 2016

Front view of Wengers home in Osogbo

Encounter with Adunni Olorisa CONTINUED FROM PAGE 26

ing to do that type of work.

Dedicating her life to the Osun goddess is one that people talk about, but, which she hardly responded to, so, she always had short responses to questions.

Doyin, one of her three adopted children, stepped in, dressed in a manner to tell you about her Osogbo roots, and she shed more light on the daily activities of her mother. “All the works you see here are from different artists who want their works to be placed here. It is because they love what we are doing that they chose to preserve their works here,” Doyin informed. Like the other children, who, Wenger adopted at very young age, Doyin, in her 30s, then, had spent almost all their time working in their mother’s art studio.

She noted that the legacy of her mother lies more in the contribution she had made over the years in preserving some works that, otherwise, would have been lost or destroyed. This, according to her, had not been an easy assignment. “For instance, it takes a great sacrifice to ensure that the works are intact”, she said heartily, disclosing that she had put in more than 20 years, then, in the studio.

Her main work now “is to assist Adunni in attending to her numerous visitors”. Given her age and the stress of her work around Osogbo, especially, with the army of visitors to her home,

Wenger could not talk much, rather, she referred inquiries to Doyin who took charge on her behalf.

Doyin said that it is a daily ritual to preserve many of the works in the home/studio, so that nothing untoward happens to the works. “This is not an easy work”, she noted.

Also, Mrs Okundaye describedWenger’s work as one that helped to ensure that artists in Osogbo and the country get global recognition. “She had helped to ensure that artists in Osogbo and in Nigeria have international acceptance. She is a true mother to all artists”, Okundaye appraised. According to her, it was as a result of this that the late Ataoja Osogbo has admitted Wenger in as a full citizen of Osogbo.

Wenger was an Austrian by

Okundayo

birth, an explorer by temperament and Nigerian tradition, in its entirety, became her adopted culture since almost half a century, she came to Nigeria in the 1950s .Her huge inspiration to others was different. It was not like that of other Europeans visiting at that time. Originally, she came with a passion to study and know more about the African people, how they live and carry on with life. Before coming, she was already a professional painter, but, the love of Africa and, especially, her discoveries of the Osun goddess, led her to decide not to return to Europe, but, she chose to settle in Nigeria. She then gave her whole life and dedicated everything to the worship of Osun deity.

She started her romance with Yoruba deities in Ede, Osun State, through the building of shrines and befitting abodes for the gods in the late 1950s. Then, she was a partner of the late Prof. Ulli Bier, who, as at the time, was an extramural language teacher in the University of Ibadan. Before her death, she was an Obatala priestess, resident in Osogbo. She committed much of her life, creativity and resources to the Osun Grove on the bank of Osun river. Her works and activism earned the Grove the honour of being one of the UNESCO recognised cultural reserves in the world, and this has put Osogbo on the world map forever.

27 Our Heritage

Eagles officials visit City g 30 coach in hospital suspend

O

fficials of the Super Eagles visited assistant coach Jean Francois Losciuto at the University of Pretoria hospital, where he went under the knife on Saturday.

Belgian coach Losciuto underwent surgery Saturday after he apparently

Losciuto

swallowed a metallic object when he ate.

“He is in stable condition,” simply reported one of the officials, who visited the coach.

Officials said he is likely to be discharged from hospital early this week before the team fly out to Rwanda for the 2016 CHAN.

Page 28

Iheanacho new deal over agents row Monday, January 11, 2016

Nigerian

Super Eagles Eagles

Stories by Mike Otanwa

T

he home-based Super Eagles will slug it out with the rest of Africa in Rwanda from January 16 to February 7 in the fourth edition of African Nations Championship (CHAN) with their sights fixed on a first crown.

Nigeria are only taking part in the competition for the second time after they finished third on their debut at the 2014 CHAN in South Africa.

This Confederation of African Football (CAF) competition is strictly for the players plying their trade in their home country leagues.

The Nigeria league is not lacking quality stars and coach Sunday Oliseh will be

battle ready for first CHAN title in Rwanda

looking forward to break new grounds in Rwanda.

This bi-ennial competition is a good stage for the home lads to play themselves into the heart of Oliseh for consideration into the mainstream Super Eagles.

It will also be a shop window for these players to move overseas as 2014 CHAN MVP Ejike Uzoenyi bagged a lucrative contract with top South African club Mamelodi Sundowns, which pays him more than 100 million Naira a year.

To qualify for this year’s CHAN, Nigeria saw off Burkina Faso 2-0 on aggregate after a 2-0 win in Nigeria and a goalless draw in Ouagadougou.

Though the team will be without league hotshot Gbolahan Salami, who pulled out

Aigbogun is Enyimba’s new Technical Adviser

C

oach Paul Aigbogun has been confirmed as technical adviser of Nigeria Professional Football League reigning champions Enyimba.

The former Warri Wolves handler replaces Ikhana who led the Aba Elephants to a record Nigeria Professional Football League win.

“Enyimba Football Club can confirm that coach Paul Aigbogun has been appointed as the new Technical Adviser of the club,” the club’s website announced.

“The management, players and staff are pleased to have Paul back as head coach because he not only has toplevel experience, he is equally familiar with our club and share our passion and ideals.

“In his previous spell as assistant coach in 2013 when we won our third Federation Cup, he stood out as a thorough professional, one that is as driven as we are for glory and success.

“We are very confident he can guide

in anticipation of a transfer to Europe, and U23 star Etebo Oghenekaro, who was not called up, the team still boast quality.

Warri Wolves central midfielder Bartholomew ‘Mosquito’ Ibenegbu has proved his class in the team despite being drafted after the qualifiers, while Ifeanyi Matthew from El Kanemi Warriors has caught the eye in training camp in Pretoria, South Africa, will his whole-hearted contributions from midfield.

U23 star Usman Mohammed has turned down a chance to move to Europe so as to feature at this tournament. He works hard for the team and wishes to stake another claim in the full international squad after his debit against Niger in September.

the team to great heights and will give him all the support he needs to succeed.

According to the club’s website, Aigbogun’s appointment ‘takes effect immediately’. Aigbogun will be poised to lead the Nigeria champions in their bid for a third Caf Champions League title.

Enyimba will travel away to face Ugandan champions Vipers SC with the first leg on the weekend of 12-14 February.

They will later welcome Edward Golola’s side to the Enyimba International Stadium in Aba a fortnight later.

Aigbogun

League gets new kick-off date Mike Otanwa with agency report

T

he new Nigeria league season will no longer begin on January 31 with a new date now likely to be after the 2016 CHAN in Rwanda.

The CHAN will parade players who feature in their home leagues and it will start on Saturday and end on February 7 with Nigeria making their second appearance in Rwanda.

Officials also said the pre-season Super 4 will now be staged between January 20 and 24, but a venue has yet to be decided as several state governments including that of Akwa Ibom have indicated interests to bankroll the competition.

Cash crunch affecting the clubs, who are mostly owned by state governments, is one of the reasons behind a shift in the January 31 big kick-off.

A cross section of players in the country’s premier league has also kicked against the original start date for the competition, arguing that clubs clear outstanding payments to them as well as putting in place mechanisms for clubs not to again fail to pay them as and when due.

Enyimba are defending champions after they won their seventh championship in November.

Bayelsa United , FC Taraba, Sharks and Kwara United have been relegated, while Niger Tornadoes, Plateau United, MFM FC and Ikorodu FC won promotion from the lower Nigeria National League (NNL).

Monday, January 11, 2016

EXTRATIME

Ayew

Stories ANDREW EKEJIUBA

F

our-time former African Player of the Year Award winner Yaya Toure has given kudos to Borussia Dortmund striker, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, for dethroning him in the just concluded Glo/CAF Award ceremony.

Speaking exclusively to Extra Time shortly after the event at the International Conference Centre, Abuja, on Thursday, the Manchester City of England defender said he felt emotionally shocked losing the crown.

“As a human, I may feel dissappointed that I did not win it this time, but what can I do? We see issues like this in football where you win some and lose some matches.

“Frankly, my brother and friend, Aubameyang was in good form for both his club and country in the past season, so I wish him luck,” Toure said with a tinge of regret.

Reacting to Yaya Toure’s failure to win the coveted crown for a record fifth time, former Cote D’Ivoire coach Herve Renard said he was dissappointed at the outcome of events.

“Yaya deserves the 2015 African Player of the Year Award

storms out of Glo/CAF Award venue

G

L-R: Somalian FA president, Abdiqani; a Globacom official, Mr.Boniface Sageonin, winner (Club Of The Year) Mchand Kamwanya and Mr. Adolphus Joe-Ekpe with others. Photo: Temitope Balogun

Toure

thumbs up

Aubameyang Aubameyang

because he was my captain when Cote D’Ivoire won the 2015 AFCON trophy and he was also in top form for Man City. So what are we saying?

“Toure scored 20 goals in the EPL to help Man City win the Premiership last season, so I’m shocked at the final outcome,” he said.

hana’s sensational striker, Andre Ayew, stormed out of the International Conference Centre, Abuja, venue of the 2015 Glo/CAF Award ceremony on Thursday imm ediately after the event without waiting to attend the post media conference wit h journalists that covered the event.

A visibly angry and dissapp ointed Ayew blatantly refused to grant any interview from journalists regarding his fee lings following his failure to clinch the African Player of the Year Award.

Borussia Dortmund dare-d evil striker, Pierre-Emerick Aubameya ng, dethroned Yaya Toure to the second pos ition and further dusted Ayew who finished third to capture Africa’s top prize in football.

Extra Time authoritatively reports that shortly after Ayew storme d out of the venue, miscreants and som e of his travelling supporters who felt shortch anged over the emergence of Aubameyang as the ‘New king of African Football’ wan ted to become aggresive and rowdy in their actions, but they were quickly dispersed by the security men on ground.

Ayew was quickly led to his waiting car by the security personnel to ave rt any breakdown of law and order.

29

30

Monday, January 11, 2016

EXTRATIME

Wenger

W

atford manager Quique Sanchez Flores is unconcerned about Arsenal’s reported interest in Troy Deeney and is confident his captain will remain at Vicarage Road.

Deeney, who scored the winner in Watford’s 1-0 FA Cup third-round win against Newcastle on Saturday, has been linked with a surprise move to north London this month.

But Flores believes Deeney and his strike partner Odion Ighalo, who dropped to the bench for Saturday’s Cup clash, will still be at Watford when the transfer window closes.

“It is normal as Deeney has scored a lot,” said Flores when asked about Arsenal’s interest in his captain, whose winner against the Magpies was his seventh goal of an impressive campaign.

“It is important for the confidence of

hails Gunners winning spirit

A

r s e n e Wenger took another step towards becoming the most successful manager in FA Cup annals on Saturday as he hailed Arsenal’s “special solidarity” in fighting back to record a 3-1 third-round win over Sunderland.

The Frenchman has set his sights on landing the trophy for a record seventh time, eclipsing the mark he shares with George Ramsay who led Aston Villa to six triumphs between 1887 and 1920.

Yet after piloting Arsenal to a 13th straight FA Cup victory as they seek to win the trophy for a third consecutive year, another unprecedented feat in the modern game, Wenger said there were worrying moments after Sunderland took a 17th-minute lead through Jeremain Lens.

“It was a test for us to come from behind. There was a great mental response and there is a special solidarity in the team,” Wenger told

reporters. “ Y o u a l w a y s w o r r y because, no matter how long you are in this job, you never know what is next.”

What came next was an impressive response from the Premier League leaders, inspired by a driving display in midfield from Alex OxladeChamberlain and kicked off by Joel Campbell’s half-volleyed 25th-minute equaliser.

Ighalo

going nowhere in Januar y-Sanchez Ighalo

City suspend

Roofe floors Swansea in FA Cup

K

emar Roofe scored twice as fourth-tier Oxford United pulled off the first major shock in this season’s FA Cup by stunning Premier League stragglers Swansea City 3-2 on Sunday.

In Swansea’s first game since Alan Curtis was placed in charge until the end of the season, the Welsh club, 17th in the Premier League, took a 23rd-minute lead courtesy of a classy back-heel by Jefferson Montero.

But Liam Sercombe’s

Iheanacho Roofe

penalty drew Oxford level on the stroke of halftime and Roofe’s classy 10-minute brace took the League Two club into round four despite Bafetimbi Gomis replying for Swansea in the 66th minute.

“It’s going crazy out there.

Everyone is bouncing. The atmosphere was brilliant and it’s the same in the dressing room now,” Roofe, who came through the youth ranks at West Bromwich Albion, told BBC Sport.

L -Ranieri Be focused

tells Leicester Wenger

the players and I am happy because he is scoring but I am not worried about what happens in the future.

“Deeney and Ighalo are good players for this team, and for this project we need players of this level. I am sure these players will not be going in the middle of the season.”

Deeney capitalised on a woefully misplaced backpass by Georginio Wijnaldum to coolly convert the only goal of the game on the stroke of halftime.

Newcastle, who have now lost their last four FA Cup ties, enjoyed greater possession than the Hornets and created the game’s best chances, but were made to rue a number of wasted opportunities.

It marked the fourth successive 1-0 defeat for Steve McClaren’s side, and the travelling support at Vicarage Road turned on their team, and their owner Mike Ashley, at the final whistle.

players

eicester City’s overachieving players will be sold if they lose their focus and slide down the table in the second half of the Premier League season, manager Claudio Ranieri said.

The Foxes were top of the league at Christmas but

new deal over agents row

E

nglish Premier League giants, Manchester City have put on hold talks for a new improved contract for Nigeria starlet Kelechi Iheanacho following a legal tussle involving agents representing the player.

It has now been specially gathered that US-based First Eleven Management, who secured Iheanacho his first City deal, have asked the Football Association arbitration to cancel a new management contract, which Iheanacho has signed with UK-based Stellar Group.

This tussle could well boil over to a civil court battle between the two highhave slipped to second, two points behind Arsenal, and are goalless in their last three games after losing 1-0 to Liverpool and drawing 0-0 with Manchester City and Bournemouth.

Italian Ranieri has spoken all season about the need to secure 40 points – the tally

Iheanacho

profile agents.

“Talks over a new contract for Kelechi have been suspended until the FA arbitration decides on who his agents are. First Eleven who first managed him have asked for the FA to cancel a new management contract the player has entered with Stellar Group,” a top source informed.

“It is only after the decision by arbitration that the situation will be a lot clearer. But even then, this could go all the way to the courtroom the way things are going.”

deemed sufficient to ensure Premier League survival – but is worried his players will ease up now after reaching the total.

“If they lose impetus I will be very furious and desperate. If someone loses this focus, they are out,” Ranieri said.

Ranieri

Monday, January 11, 2016

EXTRATIME

i s s e M e l c a r i m a ‘is ’ d o G m o fr - Turan B

arcelona midfielder Arda Turan has described Lionel Messi as “a miracle from God” after the Argentina international scored a hat trick in the 4-0 win over Granada.

Turan finally made his La Liga debut for Barca, having been forced to wait for their transfer ban to expire before he could be registered.

It took just eight minutes for the two players to link up as Turan provided the assist for Messi’s opener.

Messi

B

Bakambu

Villarreal win to stay in title hunt

V

illarreal stayed hard on the heels of the La Liga leaders when Congo forward, Cedric Bakambu hit a double to secure a 2-0 victory at home to promoted Sporting Gijon on Sunday.

Bakambu opened the scoring in the 26th minute at the Madrigal when he tapped in Roberto Soldado’s pass and doubled the home side’s lead six minutes into the second half with a curling effort that went in off a post.

Villarreal have 39 points in fourth at the halfway stage of the campaign, which would be good enough for a berth in Champions League qualifying.

Coached by Marcelino Garcia, they are through to the last 32 of this season’s Europa League and play their first leg at home to Italian side Napoli on February 18.

In La Liga, Villarreal are a point behind third-placed Real Madrid, who thrashed Deportivo La Coruna 5-0 at the Bernabeu on Saturday in Zinedine Zidane’s debut as coach.

“I have never seen anyone like Leo Messi,” Turan told Turkish newspaper Sabah. “He is a miracle from God. I like it when he does his

And the former Atletico Madrid player was full of praise for Messi, who is expected to win the Ballon d’Or for a fifth time today.

ayern Munich midfielder Mario Gotze has described playing under Pep Guardiola for the past two and a half seasons as positive.

Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure’s agent has questioned the credentials of Pep Guardiola and claimed his grandfather could win the league in Spain and Germany.

Guardiola will leave Bayern Munich in the summer at the end of his contract, and he has revealed that he will join a Premier League club.

Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester United have all been linked with him, but City are expected to name the former Barcelona boss as their manager

things on the field.

“It’s not jealousy -- I feel good, for instance, when he nutmegs someone.”

Turan also explained why he opted to leave Atletico, where he won La Liga and picked up a runners-up medal in the Champions League -- although he missed the final through injury -- in favour of the Camp Nou. Lionel MessiArda Turan made his Barcelona debut against Espanyol in the Copa del Rey in midweek “Luis Enrique wanted me at Barcelona because of my ability to hold on to the ball, my desire for winning and hard work,” he said.

“He told me that these are the reasons he wanted me. I will show everyone on the pitch why he wanted me at this team.”

Toure’s

31

Aubameyang

going nowhere - Tuchel

B

orussia Dortmund coach, Thomas Tuchel has insisted that top scorer, and recently-crowned African Player of the Year, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will not be sold in the transfer window.

The 26-year-old Gabon international striker is one of Europe’s hottest properties and has been linked with a move to the English Premier League with Arsenal and Manchester United believed to be his chief admirers.

“I can’t imagine for one moment Aubameyang leaving,” Tuchel said from Dubai, where Dortmund are holding a training camp during the Bundesliga winter break.

“He is the core of the team. We have a lot still to do with him. There is no debate about it.”

Aubameyang is currently the leading scorer in the German Bundesliga with 18 goals in 17 games.

agent doubts ord Guardiola’s rec in place of Manuel Pellegrini at the end of the season.

Guardiola won La Liga in three consecutive seasons at Barca before finishing second to Real Madrid in his final campaign.

He has won the Bundesliga in each of his two seasons in Germany, with Bayern currently eight points clear as he chases another hat trick.

Toure and Guardiola look likely to be reunited at the Etihad

after the Ivory Coast international -- who surrendered his African Football of the Year award to Borussia Dortmund striker PierreEmerick Aubameyang last week -- played under him for two years before joining City in 2010.

But his agent Dimitri Seluk did not sound delighted by the prospect of Guardiola arriving at City.

e n a d i Z hails Madrid

Inter

stunned by Sassuolo at San Siro

D

attitude

R

eal Madrid head coach Zinedine Zidane was in a joyous mood after his first game in charge ended with a 5-0 win.

New Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane hailed the attitude of his players and the finishing of Gareth Bale after the Welshman’s hat trick along the way to Saturday evening’s 5-0 stroll past Deportivo La Coruna at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.

Zidane’s fellow Frenchman Karim Benzema started and finished the scoring -- with the other three goals from Bale, who had been reported this week to be upset at his dressing room ally Rafa Benitez being replaced earlier in the week.

The mood in the Bernabeu stands was much more positive than during the last few months of Benitez’s ill-starred and short time in charge, with the players on the pitch looking more liberated and confident than in some recent games.

Aubameyang

Zidane

omenico Berardi converted a penalty in the fifth minute of injury time on Sunday to give Sassuolo a shock 1-0 win away to Serie A leaders Inter Milan, who dominated the match but were repeatedly foiled by the visitors’ goalkeeper Andrea Consigli.

Berardi sent Inter goalkeeper Samir Handanovic the wrong way to complete an extraordinary win for Sassuolo, who were beaten 7-0 in the same fixture last season, as Inter coach Roberto Mancini watched in disbelief.

The penalty was awarded after Inter defender Jeisson Murillo mistimed a header, then teammate Miranda clumsily bundled over Gregoire Defrel as the hosts made a pig’s ear of dealing with an innocuous Sassuolo attack.

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mondaY, JanuaRY 11, 2016

g 29

VOL. 2. NO.20

Price: n150

Toure thumbs up aubameyang

Caf

award excites

n a i l a m o S fa President

I

t was an emotional moment for Somali FA President Abdiqani Said Arab when he was crowned the African Football leader of the year 2015 at the Caf Glo awards ceremony in Abuja.

The recognition was the culmination of his efforts in helping build the game in the war torn country and it was a satisfying moment for Abdiqani to be recognized in a gathering that represents the best of football on the African continent.

Abdigani was elected President of the Somalia Football Federation in 2014 after almost a decade as the Secretary General. It has not been an easy journey for the federation with unstable political conditions and war that has raged on since the overthrowing of former president Siad Barre.

The Somalia football federation under President Abdigani have soldiered on

despite so many odds against them and their development has been the talk of not only in the region but across Africa.

Passion, commitment and love of the game has seen Somalia wake up from the deep slumber as they focus and take shape in football development.

Organised under the motto of “Improving the Game by Learning from the Best,” Somalia have successfully managed to organize a football league that has actually attracted over 26 foreign players.

Abdiqani was recognized by Caf as the leader of the year because of his dedication to football and the professional organization of football development programs that protected thousands of Somali youths from falling into the hands of notorious criminals in the country.

That was an amazing achievement

especially in the era of terror group Al Shabaab recruiting the youth.

In his opening address of the Glo awards ceremony, Caf president and Fifa acting president, Issa Hayatou, commended Somali FA president for the good organization of football activities back in his war-devastated country of Somalia.

“A special salute this year goes to the president of the Somali Football Federation, Abdiqani Said Arab, honored in the [leader of the year] category. In a very complex context, he succeeds to continue hoisting football as a vector of peace, a rallying factor, a cause of hope for the Somali youth” Hayatou said in his opening address.

After receiving the award, Abdiqani said that such high profile recognition was marking a great honor and publicity for him, his federation members and the

Somalia FA President Abdiqani (3rd right)

entire people of Somalia.

“On behalf of Somali Football family, I would like to thank Caf president Issa Hayatou and his executive committee for honoring Somalia to have such high level award. Somalia has gained this victory with a team work, so thanks to my executive committee members, the secretariat and the stakeholders for their cooperation” president Abdiqani Said Arab noted.

“I take this opportunity to thank Caf Secretary General, Hicham El Amrani and his team for being fully aware of what is going on around the continent and particularly in Somalia” president Abdiqani explained.

“Knowing the difficulty situation in the country, we are committed to increasing our efforts until we realize our dreams of approaching a higher level than we are today” Abdiqani added.

Business Times Daily Times Nigeria

CoT removal: Banks to face revenue Page B3 challenges in 2016

MTN Nigeria recalls over 90% disengaged Visafone employees Page B2

FG paid N496.58bn accrued rights of 99,069 RSAs, DBAs holders Page B5

FG to enforce employee safety, insurance compliance

CBN assures Dangote of FOREX for $14b refinery

Joy Ekeke Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, has announced the intention of the federal government to embark on the enforcement of employee safety and insurance laws in all private sector establishments across the country.

Ngige advised employers of labour in the country, who do not have standardised welfare programme for their workers to sit CONTINUED ON PAGE B2

Opeoluwani Akintayo with agency report

L-R: Deputy Governor of CBN, Economic Policy, Sarah Alade, CBN Governor, Mr. Godwin Emefiele, listening to the GM, Process and Site Coordinator, Dangote Fertilizer, Anuraj Jaiswal while the President of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote also listens with rapt attention during the inspection of the Dangote Refinery and Fertilizer Plant, by the CBN officials on Sunday.

23 states restructure N576b debt with 15 banks — DMO Motolani Oseni Debt Management office of Nigeria (DMO) has said 15 deposit money banks (DMBs) were involved in two phases of N575.516 billion debts restructuring operation for some 23 states in the country.

According to the DMO, the states had submitted requests for the bank loan-to-FGN bond restructuring in order to meet their financial obligations, which include payment of salaries, due to

Monday, January 11, 2016

the fiscal imbalance that is been faced by most states of the federation.

DMO said phase one of the restructuring consisted of 11 states which had completed and submitted all necessary documentations, including the submission of jointly authenticated balances with banks as at August 14, 2015.

These states had their bank loans restructured into 20-year FGN bonds effective August 17, 2015 while phase two of the restructuring consisted of twelve states

whose bank loans were restructured into 20-year FGN bonds effective September 16, 2015.

However, 14 banks were involved in phase one of the debt restructuring operation and their total loans to the eleven states which were restructured amounted to N322.788 billion. Twelve banks were involved in phase two of the restructuring operation and the total loans restructured for the twelve states amounted to N252.728 billion bringing the total restructured amount for the 23

states to N575.516 billion. Some banks featured in both phases but the total number of banks involved was 15.

The restructuring was effected using a re-opening of the FGN Bond issued on July 18, 2014 and maturing on July 18, 2034. The pricing was based on the yield to date of the bond at a 30-day average, resulting in a transaction yield of 14.83 percent.

Daily Times gathered that immediate cause of the fiscal imbalCONTINUED ON PAGE B2

Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, has said it would assist the Dangote Group to access foreign exchange to facilitate its $14 billion refinery project.

Godwin Emefiele, the Governor of the CBN, said this yesterday during a tour of the refinery located in the Lekki Free Trade Zone in Lagos which is projected to refine 650,000 barrels of crude oil per day.

The CBN governor said that the support was to ease the importation of equipment needed to bring the Dangote refinery to reality.

“Your on-going $14 billion refinery investment will enjoy our support, no doubt. “We are doing this to fast- track the importation of equipment you need for a speedy completion of that project and to encourage other Nigerians to follow your lead,” Mr. Emefiele said.

According to him, the tour is necessary to lend our support to this laudable project that will transform Nigeria’s downstream oil sector.

According to him, the tour is necessary to lend our support to this laudable project that will transform Nigeria’s downstream oil sector.

NECA commends FG on fuel price modulation

Oshinowo

Employers of labour in the country under the aegis of Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), has commended the Federal Government for the new fuel price modulation.

The Director-General of NECA, Mr Olusegun Oshinowo made the commendation while fielding questions from journalists in Lagos.

Oshinowo said that He said

that hopefully, the issue of fuel subsidy and its financing would not surface again in government’s budget, predicated on what it called ``price modulation’’.

According to him, it is pertinent for the government to focus on the policy framework as well as incentives that will ensure that Nigeria is self-sufficient in the refining capacity to meet her energy needs.

However, Oshinowo noted that

the organised private sector was expecting a decisive, unambiguous and explicit policy statement that fuel subsidy regime has ended.

He said that the government should also ensure the privatisation of the four refineries and jointly agree on a timeline and modalities with Investors on the utilisation of the licences already issued for the setting-up of Private Sector-owned Refineries.

The Director-General stated that there should be redefinition of the role of the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA) as an ombudsman.

This, he said, would ensure compliance with products standards and fair competition that would guarantee reasonableness of products pricing.

He urged the government not to delay any further in pursuing the points listed by NECA.

Business News B2

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, January 11, 2016

23 states restructure N576b debt with 15 banks — DMO

FG to enforce employee safety, insurance compliance

CONTINUED FROM PAGE B1

CONTINUED FROM PAGE B1

up as his Ministry from the second quarter of this year will engage in aggressive enforcement of regulation of labour laws in the country.

The Minister revealed this in Nnewi when he led a team of the officials of the Ministry to inspect the Gas Factory at Nnewi, Anambra State, razed down, late December last year, in which eight persons were confirmed dead and several others injured.

Ngige frowned at non-compliance to labour laws by many employers of labour on safety regulations as enshrined in the Factory Act of 2004 to ensure adequate safety for workers at work places as well as draw up effective emergency plan and response programme.

He vowed that from the second quarter of this year, his Ministry will embark on aggressive regulatory activity in all the factories nationwide to ensure safety and registration of employees with the National Insurance Trust Fund by companies which have more than three workers.

The Minister said that a situation where filling stations spring up every in nooks and crannies in the country with only Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR)’s approval cannot happen again except his Ministry sanctions that they complied with the employees’ minimum safety requirement.

Senator Ngige said that these measures were not against the employers or employees, but for the interest of both, saying there are enough Labour Laws to protect both employers and employees, but failure to invoke them has been the problem, promising that this time around, all those relevant labour laws will take its full course.

“The Department of Factory and Safety in my Ministry will implement this. We must make sure employers provide safety measures in the work place before take-off. I will institutionalize it, so that even if I leave, there will be ready machinery for its enforcement,” he said.

Ngige

Moolman, MD MTN Nigeria

MTN Nigeria recalls over 90% disengaged Visafone employees Ï& ƎƆƃƄ ƃƏ Ǝ ƊƄƍ with free airtime Tony Nwakaegho MTN Nigeria has said that it has recalled over 90 per cent of Visafone employees excluding drivers and office assistants it disengaged following its acquisition of the company.

One of the recalled staff who craved anonymity confirmed the development and added that they are now awaiting their new salary remuneration packages and work guidelines.

“When we were asked to leave, we were given only three months salaries in lieu of notice, which was not too good because some of us have put in five to 10 years of service. Visafone Communications came into Nigeria at a time when the defunct Multi-Links and Starcoms were dominating the CDMA sector. It broke their monopoly and instantly became the fourth largest network in the country,” he said.

On the number of staff affected, our source said about 500 and not 2,000 as reported by a national daily were involved because of the consecutive lay-off in 2013 and 2015 respectively.

He revealed that MTN did not want to take on liabilities originally until it discovered that its technical crew could not understand the CDMA network, which it acquired because of its spectrum.

“When MTN realised that it does not understand how the CDMA works, it had to appeal to us to come back to put them through the network,” he added.

Prior to Wednesday’s sack, Visafone had laid off half of its workforce in 2013 and early 2015 in anticipation of the acquisition.

Visafone was founded by Mr. Jim Ovia with the aim to take

CDMA network to another level but, it could not compete with its GSM counterparts that always enjoyed governmental support.

In a related development, MTN Nigeria has commenced massive customers’ biometrics revalidation/profiling, as the company now entices customers with free airtime in lieu of their biometrics registration.

The operator with over 65 million subscribers is presently in legal battle with the industry regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) for her failure to deactivate about 5.4million subscribers with incomplete SIM card registration.

And, in a bid to lure the subscriber to the biometric revalidation exercise, MTN Nigeria is giving the customers free airtime up to N10,000, usable only when the full biometrics registration is confirmed by the network.

Daily Times investigation revealed that the subscribers on the network who have recently updated their data capturing and user’s profile are also receiving the same Short Message Service (SMS) apart from new users on the network directing them to go to the nearest centre to do fresh registration.

The investigations also show that, part from MTN’s regulator customer centres which are operated by her partners, the operator has been creating new clusters of registration centres at some strategic locations in Lagos state with a view to getting closer to the subscribers.

A subscriber on the network who spoke to Daily Times on condition of anonymity said an MTN SMS sent to her read thus: ”You have been compensated with N10, 000 valid for 7-days to activate, please visit any MTN registration outlet to update your biometrics”.

ance was the structural drop in the international price of crude oil by more than 43 percent and the resultant drop in the revenue allocation from the distributable pool for all governments in the federation by about 40 percent.

The situation constrained the ability of many states to meet their financial obligations, including payment of salaries, therefore, the government’s decision for a prompt response.

As one of the salutary options for short-term fiscal stabilisation, the DMO however, put forward a proposal for restructuring the short-term bank loans of states into long-term Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) Bonds.

The purpose, according to the office was to reduce the debtservice outflow of states and free resources for meeting other obli-

gations, particularly, clearance of arrears of salaries and pensions.

Meanwhile, monthly debt service burden has dropped by a minimum of 55 percent and a maximum of 97 percent, among the 23 states while interest rate savings for them ranges from three percent to nine percent per annum.

“The restructuring is good not only for the states but also for the banking system because banks’ balance sheets will improve as weak sub-national loan assets are replaced with high quality Sovereign assets; the FGN Bonds enjoy enhanced liquidity as they are traded in the secondary market; and, banks would have improved space to lend to other sectors of the economy as they are free to convert their FGN Bond holdings into cash in the secondary market,” the DMO added.

Nigeria is safest place to shop online — Fagbure Tony Nwakaegho Nigeria has been described as one of the safest places in the world to shop online.Co-CEO of Supermart.ng, Mr. Gbolahan Fagbure has said.

Fagbure who spoke recently with journalists in an interview in Lagos said that most nations of the world are gradually moving towards touchless payment system where people don’t have to put in any authentication in the course of their online transactions, but it is only in Nigeria that online transactions are secured with three step authentication.

He decried the fear that Nigerians are currently nurturing about online shopping which came as an offshoot of the 419 (fraudsters) era in Nigeria, adding that the 419 era is now largely gone and that people do not have to deny themselves of the many privileges of online shopping for the fear of being defrauded.

Commenting on the privileges that online shopping has to offer, Fagbure stated that the many advantages of online shopping are not just for Nigerians as individuals but also for the growth of the Nigeria economy.

He explained that the online market is where an average person can get a wide range of assortments of whatever they want to buy in one place.

Fagbure who cited his company, Supermart.ng as a case study, said that Supermart.ng has partnered with leading supermarkets and local markets to put up a one stop shop online with over 60,000 items including fresh food, foreign products, Nigerian ingredients, general groceries and baby products among others.

On how e-commerce will impart the economy, he explained that the more convenient shopping becomes, the higher the sales that businesses will make because customers will be willing to buy more.

He urged entrepreneurs to seek possible partnerships with local markets as currently being practiced by Supermart.ng such that the sellers at the local markets are able to reach sophisticated consumers with their products without necessarily meeting the buyer in person.

“The people selling at the local market may not be able to have access to some kind of customers that we have access to, through partnerships, we are able to sell their products to these customers and help them increase their sales” he added. He however advised businesses that are looking forward to greater growth to embrace the use of the internet in reaching a wider audience even if they already have an established offline presence.

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, January 11, 2016

B3 Money Market

Inflation to rise to 9.42% in December 2015 -FSDH FSDH Research has disclosed that the December 2015 inflation rate (year-on-year) would inch up to 9.42 percent from 9.37 percent recorded in November 2015. The increase would be driven by higher Food and Non-Alcoholic Beverages division, and transportation division due to the fuel shortage.

Food prices at the international market in 2015 dropped because of abundant supply, weak global demand and an appreciating U.S. Dollar.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Food Price Index (FFPI) for the month of December 2015 released at the weekend, shows that the Index averaged 154.1 points. This is 0.98 percent lower than the revised value in November 2015.

According to the FAO, all the commodities included in the FFPI dropped except for sugar and oil prices.

The Dairy Price Index fell by 1.04 percent and was at its lowest annual average since 2009.

The prices of milk powders fell while those of butter rose and those of cheese were unchanged.

On the other hand, the FAO Vegetable Oil Price Index was up by 2.10 percent, primarily driven by soybean oil. The FAO Sugar Price Index was up 0.65 percent, due to concerns over harvesting delays from the sugar exporting countries caused by harsh weather conditions.

The prices of food items that FSDH Research monitored in December 2015 moved in different directions. The prices of food items such as sweet potatoes, yam, palm oil, fish, meat and rice increased by 20 percent, 18.33 percent, 8.17 percent, 6.92 percent, 4.55 percent and 2.27 percent respectively.

However, the price of tomatoes, onions and Irish potatoes fell by 7.21 percent, five percent and 4.55 percent respectively.

Meanwhile, the prices of garri and beans remained unchanged.

“The movement in the prices of food items during the month resulted in 0.95 percent increase in our Food and Non-Alcoholic Index to 185.25 points. We also noticed an increase in the prices of Transportation, Housing, Water, Electricity Gas and other Fuel between November and December 2015,” the report said.

L-R: Director, D-Boat, Mrs. Dorothy Ogharandukun; Director, Information Management Division, Centre for Black and African Art and Civilisation (CBAAC), Mrs. Osayande Osaro; Group Marketing Director, 3D Makery, Mr. Aderemi Akinwale; Chief Executive Officer, Ginani Fashion Academy, Eunice Oghinan; Facilitator, Zaris Fashion and Style Academy, Jennifer Benson-Akinremi and Publisher, Fashion & Life Magazine, Mr. Peter Roc Onwuka, during the 4th Fashion & Life Magazine International Conference held in Lagos…on Friday.

Photo: OLAWALE ROTIMI

CoT removal: Banks to face revenue challenges in 2016

Stories by Motolani Oseni

Compounding the existing operating challenges in the banking industry over revenue challenges facing the sector, Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) zero Commission on Turnover (CoT) directive which began in January, 2016 is widely believed to further compound banks’ revenue generating ability in 2016.

The apex bank had last year unfolded plans to commence a gradual phasing out of CoT in the country in the revised guideline which introduced a gradual reduction of CoT from N5 per mille in early 2013 to N3 per mille, N2 per mille in 2014, N1 per mille in 2015 and has ordered zero CoT in 2016.

The Managing Director of APT Securities and Funds Limited, Mallam Garba Kurfi, explained to our correspondent in Lagos at the weekend that the CBN policy on CoT removal would have negative

effect on deposit money banks (DMBs) revenue which might erode profitability and dividend payout to shareholders.

According to him, banks operation this year might be facing huge challenges as CBN policy on general provision on loan exposure from one per cent to two per cent and the policy on COT removal might affect profitability.

In fact, under this circumstance, the decision of the CBN to reduce COT to zero witnessed strong protest from banks, who felt this process will impede on their revenue source and consequently, their level of profitability.

A former Executive Director of Keystone Bank, Richard Obire, explained that the annual N550 billion average revenue for the 21 banks, about N100 billion is raked from the COT. Obire explained that bank’s revenues are made up of interests on loans, which constitute 70 per cent of the total revenue. Fees and

commission make up the remaining 30 per cent. Fees and commission covers 30 per cent of the total revenues.

Obire said banks should be moving towards income diversification to shore up their revenue base. He said lenders should be creative and think of how to diversify to support activities that generate foreign exchange from local industries. He said aside the COT-free banking, the lenders will face pressure arising from interest revenues on loans.

Meanwhile, our investigation has shown that some financial institutions in the country have failed to oblige with the CoT instruction issued by CBN guide on bank charges issued last year.

Some DMBs are still charging N3 per Mille, while some others have begun the phase two of the road to zero CoT. In a circular dated June 11, 2014 and titled: ‘Implementation of the revised guideline to

bank charges- Commissions on Turnover’, referenced FPR/DIR/ GEN/CIR/01/008, the CBN said information at its disposal indicates that some banks continue to charge CoT at the rate of N3 per mile, which was the agreed rate for 2013.

It, therefore, directed all banks that have charged customers in excess of the agreed CoT since March 27, 2013 “to refund same to the affected customers, not later than 30 days from (June 11, 2014).”

The CBN noted that the guide was part of efforts to standardise charges for various products and services offered by banks in the country, lamenting a situation where the banks have continued to abuse the portion that says that CoT is negotiable.

This, however, is an indication that all the windows to which banks make their profit are graduating closing, meaning, banks must explore other alternatives to make ends meet.

Naira appreciates slightly against dollar at parallel market

The nation’s currency, naira at the weekend hedged up slightly against the dollar at the parallel market amid calls for the apex bank to relax its strict foreign exchange policy.

The naira appreciated by 0.4 per cent on Saturday evening as it exchanged for N277 against the dollar from N278 it traded for previously.

However, the naira closed at N197 to the dollar at the official

interbank window.

Traders at the parallel market expressed concern that in spite of the resumption of forex auction to Bureaux de Change (BDCs) operators, the scarcity of the greenback was still exerting pressures on the naira.

The CBN had on Wednesday sold about 15.5 million dollars to about 1,650 BDCs, with the demand of the greenback doubling.

Meanwhile, the Senate had recently urged the CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, to relax the strict forex policy, arguing that the policy “was doing more harm than good.”

This was also re-echoed by the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Ms. Christine Lagarde, when she advised the apex bank to operate a flexible forex policy.

Thought Leadership B4

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, January 11, 2016

Nigerian transfer pricing regulations: Any safe harbour?

Victor Adegite Background The Nigerian Transfer Pricing (TP) Regulations officially known as Income Tax (Transfer Pricing) Regulations No 1, 2012 regulates transactions between connected taxable persons (controlled transactions).

The regulation seeks to ensure that transactions among connected taxable persons are carried on at arm’s length. Applying the arm’s length principle to controlled transactions can be a tedious and time consuming process, hence the need to exempt some transactions or categories of taxpayers from transfer pricing rules. This partial or full exemption is known as safe harbour or safe haven provisions.

This post will attempt to review the safe harbour provisions in the Nigerian transfer pricing Regulations with a view to highlighting matters arising.

Global Perspective The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has published the Transfer Pricing Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and Tax Administrations (OECD TP Guidelines) to assist multinational enterprises and tax authorities in the evaluate transfer pricing transactions as well as provide a level consistency among countries in the application of such arm’s length principles. The OECD TP Guidelines has been adopted by most tax authorities, either wholesale or with some level of customization to address local fiscal issues.

According to the OECD TP guidelines, applying the arm’s length principle can be a fact-in-

tensive process and can require proper judgment. It may present uncertainty and may impose a heavy administrative burden on taxpayers and tax administrations that can be exacerbated by both legislative and compliance complexity. These facts have lead OECD member countries to consider whether safe harbour rules would be appropriate in the transfer pricing area.

The challenge posed by a strict application of subsisting transfer pricing rules can be circumvented by providing circumstances in which tax payers could elect to follow a simple set of rules under which transfer prices would be automatically accepted by the tax authorities.

Safe harbor provisions offer essential benefits to taxpayers and tax administrators such as compliance relief, administrative simplicity and certainty.

Safe harbours will typically take two forms, exclusion of certain classes of transactions from transfer pricing regulations; and stipulation of margins or thresholds for prescribed classes of transactions. Developed and developing economies alike have adopted safe harbour provisions.

In the United States, there are safe harbour provisions for intra-group services and other non-core services. Similarly, in Brazil, a taxpayer will be deemed to have an appropriate transfer price with respect to export sales when the average export sales price is at least 90% of the average domestic sales price of the same property, services, or intangible rights in the Brazilian market during the same period under similar payment terms.

In Mexico, companies engaging

in contract manufacturing (Maquiladoras) operations are subject to a flat tax rate under the safe harbour provisions of the Mexican tax authorities. Australia and New Zealand have safe harbour provision with respect to certain categories of non-core intra-group services.

Nigerian Perspective and Matters Arising According to Paragraph 15 of the Income Tax (Transfer Pricing) Regulations No 1, 2012, “a connected taxable person may be exempted from the requirements of regulation 6 of these Regulations where – (a) the controlled transactions are priced in accordance with the requirement of Nigerian statutory provisions; or (b) the prices of connected transactions have been approved by other Government regulatory agencies or authorities established under Nigerian law and satisfactory to the Service to be at arm’s length.” (emphasis mine).

While cursory review of the above provisions may lead to the conclusion that Nigeria has safe harbour provisions, a critical analysis of these provisions makes one question the adequacy or perhaps the existence of same. Contrary to what is obtainable in other tax jurisdictions, no specific categories of taxpayers or specific types of transactions have been identified in the Regulations to which the safe harbour provision will apply. This indeed denies taxpayers the benefit of certainty. The phrase “… in accordance with the requirement of Nigerian statutory provision” is rather too generic if not ambiguous. Regulation 15 (b) appears to provide a leeway to tax-

payers with respect to connected transactions for which approval has been obtained from other government regulatory agencies or authorities established under the Nigerian law. However, the provision quickly added that such approvals must be satisfactory to the tax authority to have been given at arm’s length. It is important to note that although a government regulatory agency may consider economic and commercial circumstances when reviewing taxpayers’ application for the relevant approval, it may not necessarily apply the arm length principles. For instance, a company that depends on its foreign related entities for management and technical services is required by law to obtain approvals from the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP). In granting the relevant approval, NOTAP has often times adopted rule of the thumb. Approval for licenses such as patent and trademarks is usually set at 0.5 to 5 percent of net sales value or profit before tax when net sales value is not available. Management service fees approval is usually set at a range of 2 to 5 percent of the local company’s profit before tax.

From the foregoing, it is clear that the arm’s length condition attached to the Paragraph 15(b) totally defeats the essence of a safe harbour provision as put forth by the OECD transfer pricing guidelines. Thus, the benefits of compliance relief, administrative simplicity and certainty are therefore unavailable to the taxpayers.

Further, it is also important to note that the Nigeria transfer pricing regulations did not spec-

ify the categories of tax payers or the types of transactions to be covered by the safe harbour provisions. This is contrary to the norms as put forth in the OECD transfer pricing guidelines. According to Paragraph 4.95 of the guidelines, “A safe harbour may have two variants regarding the taxpayer’s conditions of controlled transactions: certain transactions are excluded from the scope of application of transfer pricing provisions (in particular by setting thresholds), or the rules applying to them are simplified (for example by designating ranges within which prices or profits must fall)…”

For the safe harbour provisions to be useful to taxpayers, the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) may need to publish further guidance in this regards. The FIRS may also need to amend Paragraph 15(b) to make it conform to global best practice.

In conclusion, it will be very helpful for the FIRS to provide additional guidance that will guarantee certainty and ensure taxpayers enjoy the benefits of safe harbor provision.

Victor Adegite is a Manager with the Tax, Regulatory and People Services, KPMG Advisory Services, Lagos, Nigeria victor.adegite@ng.kpmg.com © 2016, KPMG Professional Services, a partnership registered in Nigeria and a member firm of the KPMG network of independent member firms affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative (‘’KPMG International’’), a Swiss entity. All rights reserved.

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, January 11 , 2016

B5 Insurance

FG paid N497b accrued rights of 99,069 RSAs, DBAs holders Stories by Isaac Agber The Federal Government has paid N496.58 billion pension accrued rights of 99,069 Retirement Savings Accounts (RSAs) and Defined Benefits Accounts (DBAs) holders as at third quarter of 2015, Daily Times has learnt. It was gathered that the amount was the total sum paid by the government since the inception of the Contributory Pension Scheme (CPS).

Investigation showed that the National Pension Commission (PenCom) is working with the government to ensure the outstanding is paid to enable retirees who retired in the fourth quarter get their benefits.

The Chairman Pension Fund Operators Association of Nigeria (PenOp) and Managing Director, AIICO Pension Managers Limited, Eguarekhide Longe,

said the little challenge on accrued rights would be resolved when the government settles down fully, adding that the government before now has been faithful to its pension responsibilities.

Meanwhile, Lagos State which is one of the leading lights among states that have embraced the new pension scheme has paid N6.8 billion accrued pension arrears to 1,754 retirees of the state’s civil service between August and October 2015.

The Director General, Lagos State Pension Board (LASPEB), Mrs. Folashade Onanuga, said since the release of N11 billion by the State’s Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode in July 2015, for payment of accrued pension rights of pensioners who had been on the waiting list, LASPEB has been paying the pension rights monthly.

L-R: Celebrant, Chief (Dr.) Rasaq Okoya; Chief Gboyega Ladipo; General Manager Eleganza Group Chief Mrs Shade Okoya; Alhaji Tajudeen Okoya and Chief Gbenga Obasa during the Islamic Jumat Prayer to celebrate Chief Rasaq Okoya 76th Birthday in his house in Lagos…on Friday. Photo: QUADRI OLOWOLAGBA

Retail insurance is solution to unemployment, says Anchor boss

Adeduro, MD Anchor

Population density, ICT to boost Nigeria’s insurance market this year — Expert

Anchor Insurance Plc has said that its agents have contributed about 23 per cent to its gross premium income in 2015. The Managing Director/CEO of the Company, Mayowa Adeduro disclosed this during the company’s New Year/ get together party to appreciate its agents and staff that have contributed immensely to the growth of the company in 2015 held today in Lagos, that 40 per cent contribution to their bottom line in terms of profitability were made possible by agents attached to the company.

According to him retail business is a big area of growth in

Nigeria, because the insurance industry is sure of the population, adding that without retail insurance the industry cannot really reach the people at the grassroots.

He said that” if just a single telecommunication company has over hundred million Nigerians in their platform why can’t any insurance company be proud of having five million Nigeria as registered policy holders.

“This is the vision we have in Anchor insurance away from oil and gas business. Yes we are still in the business of oil and gas no doubt but a situation where you

do a business and 70 per cent of that business goes to foreign reinsurance is no business. We are thinking of a business you will do in Nigeria and retain in Nigeria and contribute to our bottom line,” he said.

On how they have been able to sustain the agents, he said that they have been able to build partnership with the agents letting them see the company as their own company, noting that they have sustained a long-time relationship that goes beyond being an agent but partners in the business of retail.

On agency network, the An-

chor boss said that the company has agency network of over 300 spread across the country, adding that some of the agents also have sub agents who work for them but noting that the company only relates with principal agents.

He said that if the retail business is taken seriously by insurance industry, the industry should be able to create jobs for Nigerians by empowering the youths through product innovations. These products he said will help to alleviate the suffering of the people in the grassroot and thereby creating jobs for unemployed Nigerians.

A recent analysis has been published by KPMG and has predicted that the insurance market in Nigeria will see its growth picking up speed despite some of the challenges it has been facing over the last while.

The forecast was made based on its expanding use of ICT and telecom facilities for sales, as well as the population density.

The analysis results were published in “The African Insurance Market at a Glance” report issued by KPMG. Within it, the organization underscored its prediction that the sophistication increases in the markets in Sub-Sahara Africa – including the Nigerian marketplace –

will be having a notable impact on their growth rate. The report detailed its forecast for positive outcomes from the collaborations between insurance companies and regulators. It expressed that improvements were being seen in active market regulations such as those sought by the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM).

This collaboration within the insurance market, says the report, is laying a strong foundation for the future of Africa insurance industry growth.

The report provided the example of the recent interaction between NAICOM and the National Association of Insurance

Commissioners (NAIC) in the U.S., in which they endorsed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between them. The goal of this agreement was to encourage and keep up safe, efficient, stable and fair insurance marketplaces within both the United States and Nigeria.

Both of those regulatory organizations stated that they felt that cooperating in this way will give them the ability to more effectively provide regulation within the insurance industry and to solidify international best practices. Within the MoU, these regulatory authorities will be occasionally offering each other assistance in the

Kari

Capital Market B6

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, January 11, 2016

Stock market last week

Stock market index drops 5.63% A turnover of 899.604 million shares worth N7.669 billion in 14,164 deals were traded by investors on the floor of the Exchange last week in contrast to a total of 2.965 billion shares valued at N9.364 billion that exchanged hands last week in 7,174 deals exchanged in the preceding week..

The Financial Services sector of the NSE (measured by volume) led the activity chart with 764.790 million shares valued at N4.858 billion traded in 8,904 deals; thus contributing 85.01percent and 63.34 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

The Conglomerates sector followed with 40.164 million shares worth N100.471 million in 626 deals. The third place was occupied by the Consumer Goods Industry with a turnover of 40.006 million shares worth N1.707 billion in 2,116 deals.

Trading in the top three equities namely – Access Bank Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc

and United Bank for Africa Plc (measured by volume) accounted for 339.027 million shares worth N2.800 billion in 3,116 deals, contributing 37.69 per cent and 36.51 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

Also traded during the week were a total of 12,016 units of Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) valued at N2.050 million exchanged in 25 deals, compared with a total of 60,171 units valued at N484,396.36 executed in the preceding week in 20 deals.

There was transaction in the bond segment during the review week. The NSE All-Share Index and market capitalization depreciated by 5.63 percent to close the week at 27,028.39 and N9.296 trillion respectively.

In the same vein, other Indices finished lower during the week, with the exception of the NSE Industrial Goods Index that rose by 0.45% to close at 2,176.44.

L-R:CEO National Center for Disease Control Prof. Abdulahi Nasidi, Minister of State for Health Dr. Osagie Ehanire and Minister of Health Prof, Isaac Adewole when the Minister streassing a point on the outbreak of Lassa fever in some state in Nigeria in Abuja over the weekend.

Analysts advise investors to take overweight position Stories by Azubike Nnadozie Analysts at Meristem Securities Limited, a dealing member of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) have advised investors on what to do in declining equities market.

The analysts observed that in a declining market, “investors become very apprehensive and question why they are in a declining market, investors become very apprehensive and question why their advisors did not preinform them of the eventuality.”

They added that, “however, no one has a crystal ball to get such done but based on the current events and our outlook on the key drivers/drags of the market, we

present below our advice to navigate the current equities market cycle.”

According to them, such investors take overweight position on dividend aristocrats (companies with proven consistent dividend payment culture) over growth companies.

They also advocated that investors should take cover in defensive stocks, stocks with beta (maximum of 1 year) lower than one (1) as well as “Stocks of companies with modest earnings growth outlook for 2016 even when stressed under the worst case scenario.”

Others are stocks with positive skewness over the last 6 months i.e. stocks with frequent small losses and a few extreme gains having greater chance of occur-

rence and stocks with low standard deviation of returns and much more lower semi-deviation of returns.

“Stocks with less volatile distribution around the expected values are considered safer than those with wider distributions and reduction of exposure to companies whose operations are highly correlated with the factors dragging the market.

“Stocks that are delights of foreign investors as there is no potent demand to drive up prices as well as companies with huge FX exposure either through significant imported inputs in their production or foreign currency loan servicing.”

In an interview with a member of the Meristem Research unit,

Mrs. Kemi Akinde, told Daily Times that her company was however bullish on government’s renewed efforts at widening the country’s revenue base through improved tax collection and administration, strict implementation of Treasury Single Account (TSA) initiative and repatriation of looted funds, which may form part of dividends from the current government’s anticorruption drive.

“In the same vein, we expect the monetary policy committee (MPC) of the CBN, in line with the federal government’s effort towards real sector development, to pursue an accommodative monetary policy regime centred on gradually driving the policy rate to one digit levels while also creat-

Abegunde, Meristem MD

ing an enabling environment for increased capital flows to micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs).

“Our outlook for the Nigerian economy remains positive given expectations of increased public and private expenditures in 2016.

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, January 11, 2016

B7 Capital Market

NSE DAILY ACTIVITY SUMMARY ( EQUITIES) 08-01-2016

Business Interview B8

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, January 11, 2016

Why we are advocating peace, rule of law at 1004 Estate — MD ‘‘We have no difficulties on the accounts whatsoever, but what has happened is that some residents brought KPMG to audit the accounts and that effort did not work because KPMG did not give us a non-disclosure agreement not to reveal other businesses of the company apart from the service charge.’’

Ukpong

As 2016 begins and industry chiefs make projections for the year, Samuel Ukpong, Managing Director of 1004 Estates Limited, in this interview with Okay Osuji, speaks on facility management, effects of economic challenges on real estate business, litigations and recent invasion of the estate by unauthorised persons. Excerpts: What did last year (2015) mean to you as a facility manager and to the real estate business in general?

You will recall that even by the beginning of the last quarter of 2014 people had started to withhold their funds to know what the outcome of the elections would be. Many took a cautious approach. Most foreign investors and even local investors were apprehensive. That was unfortunate because election or no election, people should continue to do business without hindrances. You remember that by the time the election dates were postponed, it further increased the apprehension until it eventually happened.

Even after the elections, people waited to see the direction of the APC government. Moreover, after inauguration, it took another six months for President Buhari to constitute his cabinet. Well, I am very hopeful with his cabinet because many of the ministers are persons of integrity with accomplishments in their various fields and past assignments. The change is already here, but people have to exercise a little patience for it to be fully realised. Total change is not magic wand. Perhaps, the only magic wand is the social contract in which all agree that

the country can and must work.

It is going to take everybody’s effort to make it work. Question is, to what degree do you want it to work. The irony is that Nigerians are among the brightest in the world. In addition, it is ironic that we have been unable to project a country that depicts the quality of human capacity we have. You cannot find Africans who are as energetic and bold as Nigerians are. Look at the kind of projects that Nigerians undertake – they want to fly jet, they want to build refineries, they want to build large estates, they want to be the richest Africans, etc. Therefore, this is the Nigerian dream. What we actually need is to emphasise the greatness in every Nigerian.

For a Nigerian, all things are possible. You see the Americans; they spend their effort in creating the American dream. Therefore, we must realise that we have the Nigerian dream and we must promote it.

Coming back to real estate, everything has been in a state of lull. You know real estate business is huge. You cannot engage in it without knowing what the exchange rate will be; what the government policy is; what the import duty is going to be; what the rental and capital values are

going to be. The rental values have remained stable. In essence, we have not seen as much dynamism as we saw two or three years ago. I expect to see more dynamism. Therefore, I think 2016 will be better, regardless of the current price of crude oil in the world market.

Nigerians are complaining over the parlous state of the economy. What advice do you have to jump-start it?

There is always a philosophy behind everything that is going on. There is a Nigerian dream inside every Nigerian. That dream, makes us believe we are as good as any other person in the world.

Seek out any person talking or arguing at any international airport, probability is that he or she is Nigerian. We have the capacity to be at forefront of anything good. The point is that we seem to have wrapped ourselves in the belief that something can come from only one source. You see what Nollywood has become; you can see what the Nigerian music industry is. Such are ways the economy should begin to grow. We need to harness the potentials in order to achieve success. Government must provide the enabling environment through friendly policies and regulations in order to eliminate bureaucracy and bottlenecks. Our high energy level is our greatest asset. We have had oil for more than 50 years and it has not taken us to El- Dorado. Let us begin to re-orient our psyche. The former Minister of Agriculture reminded us that agriculture is a big business. What people should ask is how we can take advantage of the 180 populations, which is a big market. That is what Dangote has done. Today, petroleum products are becoming scarce; therefore, government should create the environment for those desiring to build new refineries for the Nigerian market. Oil refining should not be the exclusive preserve of the government. Already, there is much noise over subsidy.

They want to protect those at the lower end of society, at the same time, those in the oil importation should also be protected.

For sometime, the 1004 Es-

tate has been embroiled in crisis. What is the issue at stake?

By the terms of the deed of sublease, the management and administration of 1004 Estate was vested on 1004 Estates Limited. It must be understood clearly that the estate does not only comprise the 1004 flats; there are other businesses such as land that we are still developing, water and sewage plants, among others. There is agreement that 1004 Estates Limited will continue to manage it, for the reason that you can’t have 1,000 people managing the estate at the same time. Therefore, we formed an association whose membership comprises those who bought flats as well as the residents. We made available a single trustee for providing information because when there is no free flow of information, people entertain all sorts of imagination. Unfortunately, eight people went and formed another association, registered it and started making demands on us.

Initially, we accommodated those demands. Sadly, they continued to make endless demands. Later, we reminded them that they purchased an apartment, which is different from 1004 Estate Limited. Therefore, if they wanted to become a part of the company, they had to buy shares. Some of their demands were frivolous. After, they began interfering with the management of the estate by asking residents to under-pay annual service charge from N450, 000 to N350,000, later to N180,000, to N15,000, and now to zero. We approached the Lagos State High Court to interpret the sub-lease document and whether those persons had right to interfere with the management of the estate.

What is the state of the litigation?

The case has been on for two years, but a few days ago, Justice Daudu of the Lagos State High Court delivered judgment that the operating document of the estate was the 1004 Estate sub-lease. In the ruling, the court said because we have been exchanging communications and correspondence with this group, they would want to recognise them as the valid as-

sociation on the estate.

The next aspect of the judgment was whether they were entitled to ask for account and to know how the estate is administered.

The judge also held that they are entitled to view the account and know how the estate is being run.

Based on that, we left the court believing the next thing was to give an account in line with the ruling and invite the association to a meeting. However, we have been waiting for the certified true copy of the judgment to be endorsed by the judge so we can use it as basis to present the accounts to the association.

We have no difficulties on the accounts whatsoever, but what has happened is that some residents brought KPMG to audit the accounts and that effort did not work because KPMG did not give us a non-disclosure agreement not to reveal other businesses of the company apart from the service charge.

Besides, one of the firm’s partners is also a member of the association. What we now did was to appoint Ernst &Young to audit the service charge accounts from 2010 to 2014. We expected that after the December 2, 2015 judgment, they would ask or we invite them to see the accounts. Regardless, our belief was that we owe accounts to individual flat owners, not to a collective group. Therefore, if no one paid rents to me he/she cannot demand to see the accounts.

To our surprise, on December 3, a member of the association broke into our transformer and tried to reconnect somebody whose services had been restricted, whom we think should not continue to enjoy services paid for by other people. In their attempt, they brought down/disconnected 120 units in the high-rise apartments and damaged our facility offices. We petitioned the Commissioner of Police (CP) and the AIG on the damage to our equipment, demanding that arrest and prosecution of those involved.

The police issued warrant of arrest and two persons responsible for the damage actually came. The police then gave us an opportunity to reconcile and report to them.

Life&

TIMES Monday, January 11, 2016

9ice’s

Huge plans at 36 L2

P

Celebrities L2 Mutiat Alli

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, January 11, 2016

9ice plans big for 36th Birthday Award winning act, Adegbola Abolore Akande fondly known as 9ice has hinted that as part of his forthcoming 36th birthday anniversary, he will officially unveil the artwork for his forthcoming 8th studio album that will be released before the end of the year.

9ice who is planning big towards the celebration disclosed that aside from the recent release of a new single ‘ Abefe’ off the studio album, some singles from the yet to be released album will equally be performed at the birthday bash.

Meanwhile a promotional art work of the album is out and will be circulated both internationally and within the country.

Lola Alao set to release

new movie It’s been quite a while since we saw a work from Lola Alao and the delectable actress, who celebrated her birthday recently with friends and colleagues in grandeur has released a movie for the New Year titled “Suuru” (Patience).

The movie is about the role of a mother as one of the greatest determinants of a child’s success. Featuring veteran actress, Ayo Mogaji as its lead actress and the mother character in the movie, it shows a mother who has to sacrifice quite a lot to help her children. In addition, the movie brings forward the story of the struggle to make success in life.

In Concussion, Doctor Ben Omalu makes Nigerians proud

Life&

T E A M

Will Smith’s first scene in his latest movie, Concussion, will make any Nigerian glow with pride. Playing Doctor Bennet Omalu, the Nigerianborn forensic pathologist, who incidentally discovered a disease entity termed ‘Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE)’. Will Smith’s Omalu, sporting a wobbly accent and an everyman’s self-effacement, serves as an expert witness in a trial and establishes his thing for hands.

The hands say it all for Dr Omalu as he comes to demonstrate with style. But before that, Omalu attempts to convince the court of his expertise

and gives an oral reading of his qualifications. He starts by listing the University of Nigeria, Nsukka as his alma mater before going on to humbly brag about other post graduate achievements: Masters Degrees, fellowship awards, diplomas etc. But the building blocks for this modern day American hero were raised in a sleepy town in the Eastern state of Enugu.

Before Will Smith took on the role of Bennet Omalu, few Americans and even fewer Nigerians had heard of the good doctor.

It is the year 2002 and aside from performing as an expert Movie & Music Correspondent Mutiat Alli

witness in trials across the country, Omalu works in the Allegheny County, Pennsylvania coroner’s office where he spends more time than is allocated working on cadavers. In Hollywood iterations, that’s always a good thing, a sign of a hard, dedicated worker; but for colleagues of such workaholics and a system dealing with chronic underfunding, they constitute a nuisance. Omalu faces hostility in the form of Daniel Sullivan, a co-worker played by Mike O’Malley but he earns an ally and mentor in Doctor Cyril Wecht (a prickly Albert Brooks).

Society Correspondent Isaac Oguntoye

Photography Quadri Olowolagba

93Days: Producer finally speaks on allegations Few days after relatives of late Dr. Ameyo Stella Adadevoh came out to state that the Adadevoh family disapproves of the upcoming Steve Gukas movie “93 Days”, producers of the film have finally responded to the allegations. According to them, the movie is not the biopic of any individual and has never claimed to be the story of Dr. Stella Adadevoh. Here is what the producers of the movie have to say: “We hereby categorically and strongly deny all the allegations contained in the recent press statement released by one Dr. Anna Adadevoh, who claims to be acting on behalf of the Cardoso and Adadevoh families. The said allegations are not only untrue they are malicious and scurrilous and a calculated attempt to sabotage our feature film, “93Days”.

“93 Days is not the biopic of anyone individual and has never claimed to be the story of Doctor Stella Adadevoh.

Whilst that in itself is a strong story, we found it more compelling to tell a story that celebrates many of the heroes of the fight against Ebola. These include the doctors, nurses and staff of First Consultant’s Hospital, the employees of the Lagos State and Federal Ministries of Health, members of the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), corporate and individual Nigerians who rose to the challenge of fighting the scourge as well as the WHO team that came into help at the risk of personal injury and even death.

“For us, this presented a more universal story of human courage, dedication and sacrifice that may inspire our great country and its people. Ours is a pride story that shows Nigeria at one of its finest hours and casts our country in a positive light around the

Graphics Sunday O. Emmanuel

world. To ensure the universal appeal of the film we enlisted, at great cost, Nigerian and International actors to feature in the film. Amongst these were Danny Glover, Keppy Ekpeyong and Bimbo Akintola. We want to state plainly that we do not require anyone’s consent to make the film as we have a constitutionally guaranteed right to freedom of speech and expression. Besides, the matters portrayed in the film were derived from facts that are well within the public domain and those facts which were not already publicly known were provided to us by those privy to the said facts. For instance, we obtained additional information from interviews with the survivors of those who lost loved ones, volunteer doctors and nurses as well as officials of the Lagos State Ministry of Health.

“To this end and contrary to the allegations contained in the press statement released

by Dr. Anna Adadevoh, we enlisted the help of the Adadevoh and Cardoso families from day one. They gave their comments on the script and their amendments were incorporated into the final script. Further, the late Stella Adadevoh’s son, Bankole Cardoso, consented to the making of the film and to being portrayed in the film. Not only did he consent, he was kind enough to provide us with information concerning his late mother’s actions during those trying times. The facts provided by him proved useful in the development of the script and we have his interview on film should anyone require further proof. In essence, the story of Dr. Stella Adadevoh depicted in the film was obtained partly from facts provided to us by the Adadevoh and Cardoso families and more importantly by her son, Bankole Cardoso.’

L3 Celebrities

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, January 11, 2016

Mutiat Alli

Frank Oshodi, others dazzle at LoudNproudLive luxury edition It was on a nice note that the entire LoudNproudLive team ushered in the New Year with the LoudNproudLive Luxury Edition held at MaisonFahrenheit. It was a fitting and special end to 2015, celebrating excellence with live music platform combining effortlessly.

Nigerian Fashion icon and legend, Frank Oshodi representing House of Bunor‎ showcased a glamorous, timeless & exquisite collection which oozed luxury and grace. New generation Nigerian designer MCMEKA tailored menswear range was in a class of its own. David Tlale (South Africa) ‘drop dead gorgeous’ collection had all elements of edge, timeless street chic, fairytale elegance.

Reigning Miss Nigeria 2015 Lessi Peter -Vigboro - stayed on the runway and communicated well with the audience during her chat.

Hosted by former Tanzania queen and international super model, Millien Magese equally made brief appearances on the runway showcasing respective designers by leading out the ‘army’ of well-choreographed international fashion models to grace the runway. Truly, a compelling sight and a fashionista dream show bursting with creativity on all fronts.

Life &Times brings to you how it all went down at the Maison roof top.

Frank Oshodi at LoudNProudLive Luxury Edition

McMeka showcasing whilst TRex performs with One Sound Frank Osodi at LoudNProudLive Band at LoudNProudLive Luxury Edition Luxury Edition

International Super Model Ex Miss Tanzania Millen Magese talks to current Miss Nigeria Lessi Peter Vigboro at LoudNProudLive NYE Luxury Edition

T-REX performing live with LoudNProudLive ONE SOUND band at Luxury Edition

Linda Ikeji with designer Gabby

Ovo Ogufere with Ngozi Omambala MD-CEO LoudNProudLive

< 32 Award winning artist DAREY performs at LoudNProudLive Luxury Edition

Miss Nigeria in official costume dressed by Frank Osodi does a walk of honour before the runway show comMcMeka menswear at LoudNmences at LoudNProudLive ProudLive Luxury Edition Luxury Edition

< Beautiful celebrity guests Susan Peters and her friend at LoudNProudLive Luxury Edition Maison Fahreneit roof - top

L4

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, January 11, 2016

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, January 11, 2016

L5

Wellness L6

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, January 11, 2016

Agboola Oluwarantimi

Halitosis affects how you feel about yourself, not to mention how others perceive you. Bad breath is mostly caused by bacteria that breeds inside your mouth, it can also be caused by smelly food like onion, garlic, and some spices can also cause bad breath.

The odour lingers while food particles stay in your mouth but these foods give you a double whammy, once they make it through your system, their stinks chemicals travels through your blood stream to the lungs when you breathe them out.

Maintaining that good breath

Here are few tips on how to maintain a good and fresh breath: Ò Brush your teeth occasionally with baking soda - The bacteria that causes bad breath thrive in an acidic oral environment. Brushing your teeth with baking soda helps to neutralize excess acids found in the oral cavity. Ò Eat foods rich in fiber - high fiber food actually helps prevent halitosis.

Avoid eating heavily processed food that contains refined carbohydrates such as cookies, cakes, sweet and ice cream. Ò Use mouthwash - some mouthwash or oral rinses are effective at preventing bad breath, however you should never use alcohol based mouthwashes because the alcohol makes the mouth very dry which would actually make the problem worse. Ò Avoid drying medications - try not to take anti-depressants, pain reliever and antihistamine unless it is medically necessary. These drugs inhibit saliva flow and can cause chronic dry mouth. Ò Clean your mouth after eating meat, fish or dairy products - practicing consistent and thorough oral hygiene is an effective prevention tool. Ò Breathe through your nose in-

stead of your mouth - try to address any snoring or sleep apnea issues that could be affecting your breath and causing dry mouth. Ò Stop smoking - studies have shown that smokers are at higher risk of developing periodontal disease. Furthermore, people who smoke may also engage in other habits that promote this condition such as drinking alcohol and suffering from chronic anxiety conditions that require exacerbating prescription medication. Ò Keep your mouth Post by drinking plenty of water. Ò Proper oral care - brush and floss your teeth at least twice a day, be sure to get a tooth brush with soft bristles and also use fluoride toothpaste. Brushing and flossing helps to remove any food and plaque which can be used as fuel source by the anaerobic, sulfur producing bacteria that are at the root of these problems. Ò Take a dietary supplements - Vitamin C, Vitamin E, Vitamin D and Vitamin B are effective at helping your body eliminate excess mucus and toxins naturally.

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, January 11, 2016

L7 Nutrition

MANGOES: Zaheenab Abdullahi

Healthy and sweet-tasting Lush, succulent, and delicious, the king of the fruits, mangoes, are back in season again. Though it is widely believed that whatever is tasty can never be healthy, Mangos are rich in the goodness as much as it is in the taste. They have many health benefits. All seasonal fruits have special nutrients for the season. Mango is a member of the drupe family, a type of plant food in which an outer fleshy part surrounds a shell with a seed inside. They also belong to the genus Mangifera, consisting of numerous tropical fruiting trees, cultivated mostly for edible fruit. There are different species of mangoes that range in color, shape, flavor and seed size. While the skin color of mangoes can vary from green to yellow or orange, the inner flesh of the mango is mostly a golden yellow. They have a sweet and creamy taste and contain over 20 vitamins and minerals.

Some of the possible health benefits of consuming mango include a decreased risk of macular degeneration, a decreased risk of colon cancer, improvement in digestion and bone health and even benefits for the skin and hair.

Daily consumption of mangoes can help manage high blood sugar, particularly in obese people. According to a study which included 20

adults, both men and women, it was determined that mangoes considerable reduce their blood glucose levels. However, researchers couldn’t identify the actual mechanism in mangoes that helped this occurrence.

In another study, researchers at the College Station, Texas-based university’s Institute for Obesity Research and Program Evaluation, revealed that compounds, such as those found in mangoes, possess cancer-fighting properties.

A 200g serve of ripe mango (the equivalent of less than one mango) provides you with up to three times your recommended daily intake of Vitamin A and Vitamin C. Vitamin C, an antioxidant important for protecting the body from infection, is required in the formation of collagen, a protein that gives structure to bones, cartilage, muscle and blood vessels.

Vitamin C also aids the absorption of iron, necessary for transporting oxygen from the lungs to cells all around the body.

Mangoes are very low in saturated fat, cholesterol and sodium. They are also an excellent source of dietary fiber and vitamin B6. Mangoes are rich in minerals like potassium, magnesium and copper, and they are one of the best sources of quercetin, beta-carotene, and astragalin.

These powerful antioxidants have the power to neutralize free radicals throughout the body.

Mangoes are good for the eyes.

Being an excellent source of vitamin A, mangoes are one of the best foods to consider maintaining optimum eye health. They also slashes Blood Cholesterol, because they are rich in pre-biotic dietary fiber, pectin and vitamin C. Mangoes help lower blood serum cholesterol levels and cut the low density lipoprotein content, thereby reducing the amount of bad cholesterol in the body.

It is a common notion that mangoes are bad for diabetics. In fact, it is also widely believed that diabetics should avoid many types of fruits.

However, according to Yemisi Olowookere, a Nutritionist in Garki Hospital, diabetics could benefit from eating fresh mango due to the fruit’s positive effect on the arteries.

Mangoes can also help improve digestion as they contain certain enzymes that speed up the breaking of protein. They strengthen the brain and boost concentration and memory due to the glutamic acid present in them.

In India, raw mangoes soaked in water were a cure for heart ailments like stroke and cardiac arrest. All you had to do was soak the green mangoes in water in an earthen pot and

then drink it.

Mangoes are rich in iron, which makes them beneficial for people suffering from anemia. A regular, moderated intake of mangoes can help eliminate anemia by increasing the red blood cell count in the body.

Mangoes are also very beneficial for pregnant women, since the iron requirements during pregnancy is extremely essential.

However, as a note of caution, the temptation to eat too much mangoes may come with some side effects.

Too much of mangoes may lead to diarrhea if you have Dietary Fructose Intolerance, ( DFI). The condition is a common cause of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), which is characterized by intestinal gas, bloating, abdominal pain and cramping, nausea, and diarrhea or constipation. People with DFI can also have indigestion and excessive belching. Mangoes are one of many foods that can increase symptoms of IBS because they are higher in fructose, or fruit sugar, than they are in glucose.

The fructose in mangoes is problematic for some people because of the way it’s absorbed. In those suffering from DFI, fructose is absorbed poorly; as a consequence, it gets transported to the large intestine where it’s broken down by bacteria

How to make mango chutney Mangos are mostly eaten fresh and raw. But there are more creative ways to use mango.

They can be used for

fruit salads, salsa, as mango juice and in

Ò 1 1/2 cups (375 mL) granulated sugar

pepper, sugar, onion, raisins, vinegar, and gingerroot in a large stainless steel

Ò 1 cup (250 mL) finely chopped onion

or saucepan.

4.

Bring to a boil over high heat,

ice creams and sorbets. They can also

Ò 1/2 cup (125 mL) golden raisins

reduce heat, and boil gently, uncovered,

be used to make mango chutney using

Ò 1/2 cup (125 mL) white vinegar

for 20 minutes or until fruit is tender and

semi ripe mangoes which gives a sweet

Ò 1/4 cup (50 mL) finely chopped

mixture is thickened, stirring occasionally.

and tangy taste to the chutney. Mango

peeled gingerroot

5.

Add lemon juice, curry powder

chutney is native to India and can be

Ò 1 tablespoon (15 mL) lemon juice

served as a side dish along with a main

Ò 2 teaspoons (10 mL) curry powder

6.

Boil gently for 5 minutes.

course meal.

Ò 1/2 teaspoon (2 mL) of ground

7.

Add salt to taste.

8.

Don’t overcook as the mixture

nutmeg and salt

Ingredients Ò 3 medium apples, peeled, cored, and chopped Ò 2 large mangoes, peeled and chopped Ò 1/2 medium sweet red pepper, chopped

and nutmeg.

will become thick.

Preparations 1.

Peel

and

9. finely

chop

the

mangoes.

2.

If the mangoes are very juicy

and fibrous, you can just remove the pulp.

3.

Combine apples, mangoes, red

Remove the mango chutney in

a bowl.

10.

Serve mango chutney warm or

at room temperature as dip or spread.

11.

Mango chutney stays good for

2-3 days in the refrigerator.

in the colon, resulting in the production of methane and hydrogen gas.

At the end, it may lead to a noticeable increase in intestinal gas Selection and storage When selecting mangos, choose a fruit that is firm and exhibits a sweet aroma. There should be no sap on the skin. Mangos should be handled gently, as it bruises easily. Pick it up and gently press your thumb against the flesh, it should really have sweet smell. A very ripe mango will often have some black speckling outside or a little bruising. Don’t worry about that but avoid mangoes that are black all over.

Always use your nose when you’re choosing mangoes. 99percent of the time, a mango that smells wonderful tastes wonderful. If the stem end smells sour or acidic, reject it. If a mango is firm and green, it won’t have any smell, but if it looks good, you can take it home and ripen it yourself.

Leave a firm, unripe mango out on the counter for a few days until it colors, develops a sweet aroma, and is a bit soft when you press it very gently. But never refrigerate a mango. Storing a mango below 50 degrees for any length of time will take the flavor out. They can be stored at room temperature for one to two days.

Daily Times Nigeria Monday, January 11, 2016

Tinsel

Showing on

13:30 Mon, 04 Jan | PG13

Showing on 150 Africa Magic Showcase ‘S8/E1536 - 8/1536’. Tsav takes a huge risk to deliver a personal message to Amaka. The girls adjusts their travel plans as the Baale and Prince Ojo pay a very special visit. Bimpe confronts Nina and causes trouble for Soji.

101 M-Net

L8 Television 166 Channel

Married Again

08:00 Mon, 04 Jan | PG

‘S1/E94 - 1/94’. Yash’s father is accused of having another child outside his marriage. He agrees to take a DNA test to prove he is not the father. Aarti breaks into Radha’s house in search of ammunition and is shocked at her findings.

120 BBC Entertainment

118 Telemundo

128 SONY MAX

00:20 Would I Lie To You? 00:50 The Cube 01:40 Call The Midwife: Christmas...

03:00 EastEnders 03:30 EastEnders 11:00 Ellen’s Design Challenge 12:00 The Voice 13:00 Royal Pains 14:00 Arrow 15:00 Resurrection 16:00 Ellen’s Design Challenge 17:00 The Goldbergs 17:30 The Voice 18:30 Grey’s Anatomy 19:30 Mysteries Of Laura 20:30 Elementary 21:30 Carte Blanche 22:30 Hello Ladies: The Movie

154 AfricaMagic Family

00:55 Out Of The Ghetto 02:30 Jane And Abel 03:00 Good Morning Africa 04:00 Scarlet 05:00 At Home With Michelle Attoh 06:00 Good Morning Africa 07:00 Star Gist 07:25 Redial 08:30 Living With Trisha 09:25 Mashariki Mix 10:00 Good Morning Africa 11:00 Tinsel 11:30 Star Gist 12:00 Music Block 13:00 At Home With Michelle Attoh 14:00 Goge Africa 14:30 Nowhere To Be Found

04:00 EastEnders 04:30 EastEnders

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

15:00 At Home With Michelle Attoh 16:00 Prem 16:30 Tenant 17:30 Mary Slessor 18:00 Jane And Abel 18:30 Jane And Abel 19:00 Tinsel 19:30 Star Gist 19:55 Paul’s Puzzle 21:00 Nowhere To Be Found 21:30 Goge Africa 22:05 Living With Trisha

05:00 Mr. Bean: The Animated Series

14:10 Total Wipeout UK

05:25 QI

16:00 EastEnders

06:00 The Thin Blue Line

16:30 Deal Or No Deal

06:30 EastEnders

00:30 Killer Karaoke

17:10 The Cube

07:00 Antiques Roadshow

01:30 Tattoo Nightmares

07:55 The Weakest Link

18:05 Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

02:00 Most Shocking

08:45 The Chase

19:00 Celebrity MasterChef

09:30 Total Wipeout UK

20:00 Hell’s Kitchen USA

10:30 The Cube

21:00 Hell’s Kitchen USA

11:20 New Tricks

21:50 The Graham Norton Show

12:20 Top Gear

22:40 Would I Lie To You?

13:15 Come Dine With Me

22:30 Would I Lie To You?

15:05 The Weakest Link

155 AfricaMagic World

03:00 Most Shocking 04:00 Exposed 04:30 Exposed 05:00 Criss Angel Mindfreak 05:25 Exposed 05:50 Exposed 06:15 Video Zonkers 06:40 Video Zonkers 07:05 World’s Wildest Police Videos 08:05 Disorderly Conduct: Video On Patrol 09:05 South Beach Tow 09:35 Most Shocking 10:35 Most Shocking 11:35 Video Zonkers 12:05 Video Zonkers 12:35 World’s Wildest Police Videos 13:35 Disorderly Conduct: Video On Patrol 14:35 South Beach Tow

00:05 Music Block 01:10 Good Morning Africa 02:10 Deal Or No Deal SA 03:00 Deal Or No Deal SA 04:00 The Dzigbordi Show 05:00 Good Morning Africa 06:00 The Heart Of A Shepherd 07:50 Star Gist 08:25 Star Gist 09:00 Good Morning Africa 10:00 The Dzigbordi Show 11:00 Deal Or No Deal SA 12:00 Deal Or No Deal SA

13:00 Music Block 14:00 Star Gist 14:30 Star Gist 15:00 Star Gist 15:30 Lies That Bind 16:00 The Dzigbordi Show 17:00 So Wrong So Wright 17:30 So Wrong So Wright 18:00 The Dzigbordi Show 19:00 Kumwesu 19:30 Kumwesu 20:00 Revelation 21:20 Jara 21:55 Music Block

15:05 Most Shocking 16:05 1000 Ways To Die 16:30 Video Zonkers 17:00 Video Zonkers 17:30 Caught On Camera 18:30 What Went Down 19:00 South Beach Tow 19:30 Hardcore Pawn: Chicago 20:00 Enemy Territory 21:30 Poorman’s Bikini Beach 22:00 Sexy Car Wash 22:30 Most Shocking