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TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015 VOL. 1. NO.47

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Obasanjo under fire, quits PDP Ï d ƕ è óƐ Ɔƕ Ɠ ƐƆƗ Ɛ ƆƔƍƆƋ ƌƆô Ï 6Ɔ Ɠ ôƐ ƄƆ ƌƈ ƆƗ – Ruling party Ï LƈƋƈƐ Əƕ ƅ ƈƗƆ Ƈ ƏƌƆƏ ƍƏƆ ƈƗƆ Ɛ Ï dƐ ƐƆ ƅ ƍƐƆƏ ƆƔƍƆƋ ƆƔéƏƑƋƆƏ

Life&

TIMES Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Damilola Adegbite, Chris Attoh

in secret wedding Why I still L miss my late mum – Lizzy Anjorin P

IK Ogbonna to wed girlfriend soon! L4 P

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Bode George, Babatope, others want Jega sacked

Ibru’s daughters sue Maiden, in-law

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INSIDE MESSI

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Key to Barca’s future –Iniesta

Poster!

SUGAR RAY LEONARD

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EXTRATIME

SUGAR RAY LEONARD

INSIDE

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EXTRATIME

PERSONAL INFORMATION Real name: Nickname: Rated at:

Height: Reach: Nationality: Born: Place of birth: Stance:

Ray Charles Leonard Sugar Welterweight Light Middleweight Middleweight Super Middleweight Light Heavyweight 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)[1] 74 in (188 cm) American May 17, 1956 (age 58)[1] Rocky Mount, North Carolina, U.S. Orthodox

BOXING RECORD Total fights: Wins: Wins by KO: Losses: Draws: No contests

3 1 0

MEDAL RECORD Olympic Games Gold:

1976 Montreal Light Welterweight

40 36

25

TITLES IN BOXING Major World Titles: WBC Welterweight Champion (147 lbs) WBC Welterweight Champion (147 lbs) WBA Light Middleweight Champion (154 lbs) WBA Welterweight Champion (147 lbs) WBC Middleweight Champion (160 lbs) WBC Super Middleweight Champion (168 lbs) WBC Light Heavyweight Champion (175 lbs) The Ring/Lineal Championship Titles: The Ring Welterweight Champion (147 lbs) The Ring Welterweight Champion (147 lbs) The Ring Light Middleweight Champion (154 lbs) The Ring Middleweight Champion (160 lbs) Regional/International Titles: NABF Welterweight Champion (147 lbs)

X5

“Looking back, yes, I made too many comebacks. But each comeback I was 100 percent sure that I would win. I never came back for the money, because I didn’t need it. The adulation I was getting anyway in other spheres.

But I’m a guy who likes to see how close he can get to the edge of the mountain that’s what makes me tick,” –Sugar Ray Leonard “I was not athletically inclined. I was very quiet, introverted, and nonconfrontational. My three older brothers were athletes - basketball, football - but I was kind of a momma’s boy. Then one day, my brother Roger encouraged me to go to the boxing gym with him. I tried the gloves on, and it just felt so natural,” –Sugar Ray Leonard “Muhammad Ali was a god, an idol and an icon. He was boxing. Any kid that had the opportunity to talk to Ali, to get advice from Muhammad Ali, was privileged. He’s always given me time to ask questions, although I was so in awe that I didn’t ask questions,” –Sugar Ray Leonard “The likes of Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, and Tommy Hearns were true champions. There were some incredible fights between us, and I was happy to give them all an opportunity to fight me,” –Marvin Hagler

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

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IBE, AKPOM IN NFF RADAR X3

AGE SAGA HAUNTS

YAKUBU X2

D’Tigers set for Afrobasket qualifiers X7

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Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Politics Page Three

3

s

Editorial Nigeria-Niger public spat

T

he recent public disagreement between top military officials of Nigeria and the Niger Republic is, to say the least, embarrassing. In a leaked document, the Nigerien Defence Minister, Mahamadou Karidjo was quoted to have called Nigerian soldiers “cowards”, who run away in the face of battle with Boko Haram insurgents. “Our soldiers are not like Nigerians. They don’t run”. In a quick, knee-jerk reaction, the Nigerian Director of Defence Information, Major General Chris Olukolade described soldiers from Niger Republic as “looters” who collaborate with terrorists as a way of surviving the poverty in their country. Furthermore, Gen. Olukolade accused that country’s Defence Ministry of aiding Boko Haram by supplying the sect with mercenaries.

We frown at such altercation by top military bosses because it is uncalled for and also capable of eroding the confidence and spirit of cooperation that has so far existed between the multi-national armies.

This public spat is capable of corroding the ‘espirt de corps’ for which militaries the world over are renowned, especially when they are fighting a common enemy.

It is worth restating that soldiers from Nigeria, Chad, Cameroun and Niger form bulk of the Multi-National Joint Taskforce (MNJTF) of 7,500 troops being assembled by the African Union (AU) and United Nations Organisation (UNO) to end the Boko Haram insurgency.

What should be paramount now is for the governments of the four countries to equip their troops with adequate resources to defeat Boko Haram once and for all.

We know that if not well handled, such petty comments ascribed to the Nigerien Defence Minister and the adversarial comment by the Nigerian General have the potential to breed suspicion and bad blood between soldiers of both countries.

That must never be allowed to happen because it could spell disaster for the present military campaign.

Definitely, the eventual beneficiary will be Boko Haram.

There is no gainsaying that the jihadist sect is enjoying this public scene between the military top echelon of the anti-terror war and would wish that it degenerate further.

Nigeria and Niger have been very friendly neighbours since independence in the 1960s. Nothing should be done to put a wedge between them. That is why we view Mahamadou Karidjo’s remark as not only undiplomatic, but also unbecoming of an official of his status.

Both countries can resolve any misunderstanding through diplomatic channels and not by making uncharitable comments in the public sphere. We reiterate that nothing must be done to introduce a rift between the two countries, especially now that Boko Haram is being pushed to the wall. We therefore call on all to bury the hatchet and face the task for which the multi-national force was assembled.

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Keeping faith with our institutions Sam Nzeh ÏÏÏSince

the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) announced the postponement of the February 14 and 28, 2015 general elections to March 28 and April 11 respectively, not a few persons and groups have expressed reservations on the exercise holding on the new dates.

While many, including the All Progressives Congress (APC) are smelling a rat over the shift, others have continued to express doubts on the polls holding at on the new

date. Some have even accused President Goodluck Jonathan of not being ready for the election and plotting to foist an Interim National Government on the nation.

However, the Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) last week denied any plans to foist ING on the nation. President Jonathan during his media chat last Wednesday also assured that the polls would hold as scheduled. The National Security Adviser has also assured on the new dates for the polls.

Unfortunately, despite these assurances, several persons and groups continue to express doubts on the polls holding as slated. Just last Saturday, a group, Nigerians United

Words On Marble :

dailytimesng

for Democracy, a coalition of professional associations, civil society organisations and political parties staged a protest in Abuja demanding that the new dates be sacrosanct.

This pessimism is unfortunate, unnecessary and dangerous. It shows that the people involved don’t believe in the nation’s institutions. Rather, they believe their doubts and fears. How sad!

We must as a people and individuals have faith in our institutions. It is time we accepted the assurances given by the institutions of government, including Mr. President, that the polls will hold on the new dates and work in concert to realise this in a peaceful atmosphere.

STATEMENTS BY THOSE WHO MATTER

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Publisher

Fidelis Anosike

Group Managing Director

Editor, Standard, Archives and Special projects

Chief Commercial Officer

Deputy Editors

Noel Anosike

Doyin Awomosu

Group Managing Editor Gabriella Osamor

Editor

Yinka Olujimi

Tunji Okegbola

Yemi Ogunsola Sam Nzeh

Bureau Chief, Northern Operations Celestine Okafor

Group News Editor

Online Editor

Editorial Page Editor

Business Editor

Sports Editor

Head ICT (Shared Services)

Segun Adio Okay Osuji

Andrew Ekejiuba

Head of Operations Innocent Nwankwo

Adetayo Adelaja Emmanuel Ogbonnaya

Banjo Ayorinde

Head Graphics King Ododoru

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

Pablo Picasso

John F. Kennedy

Nelson Mandela

Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working

One person can make a difference, and everyone should try

As I walked to my freedom, I knew if I didn’t leave my bitterness and hatred behind, I’d still be in prison

News 4

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Obasanjo under fire, quits PDP Abiodun Taiwo, Abeokuta

ÏÏÏAfter

months of a frosty relationship with the Goodluck Jonathan administration, former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Monday formally dumped the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

He made a dramatic show of his decision by causing his membership card to be openly torn to pieces.

In reaction, the state chapter of

the party expelled the former President while its national leadership expressed disappointment at the action but added that he would not be missed. Also, the military top echelon openly chided the former President, a retired Army General.

Obasanjo, a former chairman, Board of Trustees (BoT) of the party, said that his decision was primarily because he learnt that the leadership planned to expel him.

Obasanjo said: “They want to

expel me from PDP. Although I have not been told, but I have my ears on ground”.

The former president, who had been highly critical of President Jonathan who is seeking reelection, told the executive of the PDP’s Abeokuta ward 11 who visited him at his hilltop house, tore his membership card and vowed to henceforth remain a statesman.

Obasanjo, who ruled out joining another party, said: “We’ve been trying to run away from a man but he pleads we wait for him at the

President Jonathan welcoming the European Union Election Chief Observer S.F. Ayxela in Abuja …on Monday

other side of the river. I have told you before that I became president on the platform of PDP. Once I leave PDP, I will not join any party”.

He continued: “I will only be a Nigerian. I am ready to work with anybody regardless of political affiliation.

“Why would some people say they want to send me away? They don’t need to bother themselves.

Here’s your membership card, take it (handing it over to the ward Chairman, Sunmonu Oladunjoye who subsequently tore it).

He spoke further: “This is my PDP’s membership card. Where I am standing is that Nigeria belongs to everybody including babies.

‘From today on, in the presence of all us and with your support, I am not going to be in any political party in Nigeria.

“I am no more a politician but a statesman both internally and externally.

“The issue that they want to expel me from the party. Once you people are with me, what other people am I looking for? And on the day of election, whatever it takes, the PVC must be obtained.

You don’t need to be a politician before you get your PVC. “On the day of election, you can vote for your choice. But I will vote for those who will repair Nigeria and not those who will destroy it.

“What is important is that we should hold Ward 11 community

together. What we are going to do now is that after I don’t have burden of PDP again, help me tear into pieces my membership card.”

While denying allegation that he intends pushing for an interim government, Obasanjo said: “How can anybody in his right senses talk of ING in a democratic setting? Some of them are working for it. God will not allow it. In my ward, we’ll be meeting from time to time to discuss and interact on whatever you want and what I want.

“I don’t want to be carrying membership card around but you can do that. But when election comes, we’ll pray God would direct us to vote rightly. Nigeria will be okay, Ogun will be alright.

“You asked me two questions and I will answer them comprehensively. Before I answer them.

This Nigeria belongs to all of us and it must not be destroyed.

“We must not allow anybody to destroy it wherever they come from, whatever they have and if they destroy it, it becomes our burden to our children and incoming generation.

“The question asked is that which party am I? I belong to the group that believes that Nigeria must not be destroyed. Those of you that are marketers you observed that there’s inflation in the market.

“The bureau de change operaContinued on page 6

Bode George, Babatope want Jega sacked

Ibru’s daughters sue Maiden, in-law

ÏÏÏ“Having

Andrew Orolua, Abuja

failed decisively in his appointed role of a neutral, nonpartisan electoral umpire, (Professor Attahiru Jega) should hereby be removed forthwith for gross dereliction of duty and deliberate partisan complicity.”

With those words, the South West Presidential Contact Committee Group of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Monday called for the removal of the national chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Professor Attahiru Jega.

They made the call after a meeting on Monday in Lagos State.

Those who made the call included a national leader of the party in the South, Chief Olabode George; a former Minister of Works, former Minister of Transport, Chief Eb-

enezer Babatope; Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe; and former Ogun State Governor, Otunba Gbenga Daniel.

The group, in statement released after the meeting, also declared that the decision of former President Olusegun Obasanjo to leave the PDP would have no serious impact on the party in the region.The statement read: “President Goodluck Jonathan deserves the support of all meaning Nigerians in the arduous challenges of Nation building.

“It is cruel and unforgiving to intimate that the rescheduling of the election date was done to favour the Peoples Democratic Party.

“From all verifiable indices, the Independent National Electoral Commission was grossly unprepared to carry out a free and fair

ÏÏÏTwo Jega

election as the published collection of the Permanent Voter’s Card was deliberately skewed in favour of the North.

“The intervention of former President Olusegun Obasanjo in the current national challenges is distorted, unstatesmanly, too personalised and provocative.

“Former President Obasanjo Continued on page 6

daughters of the late publisher of the Guardian newspaper, Mr. Alex Ibru have dragged his widow, Mrs. Maiden Ibru, and seven of their father’s investment companies before a federal high court in Abuja. The daughters are praying for an order directing the Court Registrar to take over the management of the assets of late billionaire’s four investment companies, namely: Alurum Investment Ltd, Oma Investment Ltd, DadIfol Ltd and RFC ltd.

The daughters, Ms. Grace Ibru and Ms. Mabel Ibru, also joined the Ikeja Hotels Plc, Capital Hotels Plc, Tourist Company of Nigeria Ltd and the Corporate Af-

fairs Commission as defendants.

They stated in a 54-paragraph petition that Maiden Ibru and her brothe, Alexander Thomopulos who are not shareholders in any of Alex Ibru’s investments have become parasites and impostors on the deceased’s investment and estate.

In the suit marked FHC/ABJ/ PET/17/14, dated December 9, 2014 and filed on behalf of the plaintiffs by their counsel, Ahmed Raji (SAN), the daughters held that their father died on 21 November 2011, leaving wills dated 22nd May, 1989 and another dated July 6, 1992 and that Omano Trust under Part C of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), of which they are co-trustees, is Continued on page 6

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, February 17, 2015

5 News

Reactions to Obasanjo shredding of PDP membership card

Defence Hqts: Obasanjo’s utterances disappointing Lateef Ibrahim Abuja

ÏÏÏThe

Defence Headquarters on Monday said that former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s conduct and utterances were short of the standard of discipline expected of one who had undergone military service and risen to the position of General.

The military high command made particular reference to the allegation credited to Obasanjo that the postponement of the general elections was to enable President Goodluck Jonathan use the nation’s Service Chiefs to plot a tenure extension.

This, according to Defence Headquarters, is “to say the least, very surprising”.

The Director of Defence Information, Major-General Chris Olukolade, in a statement in Abuja, said it was surprising considering the fact that the retired General chose to ignore the clarification and emphatic assurances of non-partisanship of the military as declared in a DHQ statement on the position of the Armed Forces in the ongoing political activities.

The statement by Olukolade read in part: “The Defence Headquarters has noted the remarks of a former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo as reported in the media stating his views on perceived state of the armed forces and the roles being allegedly played by the military in the nation’s political process in recent times.

“The leadership and cross section of the military believe that the former President and retired General has every right to be interested in the actions and fate of the military. Hence, his views like many others will continue to be accorded the well-deserved attention.

“It is however noteworthy that most of his utterances lately indicate an attitude of playing to the gallery or indulging in politicization of serious national security or military affairs.

“For instance, the comments credited to Chief Obasanjo alleging that the postponement of the General Elections was to enable President Jonathan to use the Service Chiefs to plot a tenure extension is to say the least, very surprising.

“It is surprising indeed, considering the fact that the retired General chose to ignore the clarification and emphatic assurances of non-partisanship of the military as declared in a DHQ statement on the position of the Armed Forces in the ongoing political activities.

“His motive as usual remains unknown but it is certainly less than

noble or well intentioned. We dare say again that Chief Obasanjo’s assertions are false.

“Much as the military desires to respect the old General and his views, it has become necessary to point out that his conduct and unguarded utterances of late have fallen short of the standard of discipline expected of an individual who has had the privilege of service in the military and risen to the status of a General.

“The behavior of retired General (Chief) Obasanjo has been so unbecoming and continues to constitute a serious embarrassment to the military before all who have reasonably and rightly adjudged the essence of military background in terms of the high value and standard it tends to contribute to statesmanship.

“We feel constrained to remind the old General that the world has moved beyond that parochial and self-adulating reasoning and mindset which he seems stuck to”, he said.

The Defence Headquarters pointedly said that Obasanjo, indeed, needs to be told that by virtue of their better training, exposure, education, assessment and environment, the military personnel of today are already far beyond his level in their appreciation of democracy and it’s indispensability for the stable and prosperous society which Nigerians cherish.

The statement added, “In this instance, the military wishes to inform the retired General that the institution which he bequeathed to the nation has certainly developed beyond how he left it.

“The Nigerian military is now better placed to strive for the maintenance of the legacies and ethos of service, valour, subordination to constituted authorities, and nonpartisan commitment to duty and fatherland.

“It has to be restated that the military as an institution, is neither as inept in the discharge of its duties, nor is it being misused for political ends in the manner the retired General Obasanjo who was also a former President has possibly been made to believe.

“Indeed, the system now strongly believes in Democracy as well as its structures and institutions to the extent that it will do nothing whatsoever to undermine or truncate the steady growth and development of the nation’s democracy”, it said.

The statement gave assurance that the military would remain professional as it keeps doing its best along with others to ensure adequate security and defence of the nation’s territorial integrity in this auspicious period in the country.

PDP Ward 11 leader of Abeokuta North Local Government Area, Alhaji Surajudeen Oladunjoye, with former President Olusegun Obasanjo, tearing the party membership card of the former president in Abeoukuta ...on Monday

It was painful watching Obasanjo tear our card, says PDPPCO Lateef Ibrahim Abuja

ÏÏÏThe

Peoples Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Organisation (PDPPCO) has said that Obasanjo did not have to spit in their faces by publicly tearing the party card.

The PDPPCO, in a statement by its Director of Media and Publicity, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, said “Watching our party membership card being torn up whilst President Obasanjo was standing there and smiling was painful and tragic.”

According to Fani-Kayode, “This is a party which he helped to build and on whose platform

he was elected President for eight good years.

“The truth is that President Obasanjo is far better and far bigger than that. Such behavior is provocative and unacceptable.

“He is free to leave the party but does he have to spit in our faces by tearing up our party card in public and before the television cameras?

“This knee-jerk reaction is most unlike President Obasanjo and it is very insulting.

“It is clear that he has burnt all the bridges and that he has left us forever.

“On a personal note, I feel saddened by this but the truth is that many in our party have heaved a

huge sigh of relief. “Many of us love President Obasanjo and we shall continue to do so regardless of whether he is in our party or not, but tearing up that party card was too much to bear.

“It spoke volumes and it was indicative of the deep hatred and contempt that he has for us and our cause.

“It reminded me of the biblical passage in which King Saul rejected David and then planned to stop him from ascending to the throne by attempting to kill and destroy him.

“Thankfully the Lord was with David and not only did he deliver him from Saul but he also crowned him King”, he said.

Obasanjo’s action childish, self-serving, cruel - Southwest PDP Gbenga Sodeinde Ado Ekiti

ÏÏÏThe

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Southwest has described Obasanjo’s action as “childish, self-serving and cruel, “adding that “instead of turning himself to a masquerade, dancing naked in the market place, Obasanjo should be honest enough to disclose those selfish demands that he made from President Goodluck Jonathan, which the president declined.”

Zonal Chairman of the party, Chief Makanjuola Ogundipe, said in a statement that the party will not miss the former president.

He said; “Obasanjo ceased from being a member of the PDP since last year. He only formalised his exit from our party today and we in the PDP are relieved now that we no longer have a mole among us.”

“In the first instance, he has never contributed a dime to the PDP, a party that made him president. Rather, he has promoted strife and rebellion among members for his own selfish interests.

“It was his selfishness that caused us the governorship election in Ogun State in 2011 and it was his high handedness that led to the exit of key members of the party. We are therefore happy that

Obasanjo

he has finally bid us farewell and we will not miss him.”

Ogundipe called on members of the party, especially in the Southwest to remain steadfast in their support for the party, its presidential candidate, President Goodluck Jonathan and other candidates of the party in the forthcoming general elections.

News 6

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Bode George, Babatope seek Jega’s sack Continued from page 4 cannot and must not assume the role of the Nigerian overlord with infallible wisdom.

“Former President Obasanjo has descended into the bitter fray of a common partisan actor without the distinction and dignity of a rallying unifying leader.

“Former President Obasanjo has been very inciting, precipitous and violent in his utterances and, therefore likely to provoke untoward events in this nation.

“We condemn vigorously with all sense of patriotic candour any attempt by former President Obasanjo or anybody else, to provoke the

collapse or vitiation of our democracy.

“For emphasis, we restate that the rescheduling of the election date is a patriotic and legitimate decision which will prevent the disenfranchisation of about 34 per cent of Nigerian citizens.

“In the light of the deliberate, overt and tendentious policies of Professor Attahiru Jega pertaining to his partisan gestures, nuances, conflicting protestations and most especially his overwhelming partiality in the distribution of the Permanent Voter Cards to the detriment and marginalisation of about 16 million eligible voters of SouthWest, we, the South-West Presidential Contact Committee Group,

hereby appropriately resolves that Professor Attahiru Jega, having failed decisively in his appointed role of a neutral, non-partisan electoral umpire, should hereby be removed forthwith for gross dereliction of duty and deliberate partisan complicity.”

Other signatories to the statement calling for Jega’s removal are Maj. Gen. A.T. Olanrewaju, Elder Joju Fadairo, Otunba Adebisi Omoyeni, Amb. Toye Olofintuyi, Sen. Adefemi Kila, Chief Segun Adegoke, Prince Nekan Olateru-Olagbegi and Mr. Kingsley Kuku.

The rest are Olayinka Omilani, Sen. Dr. Olu Alabi, Dr. Saka Balogun and .Alh. Mustapha Omokunmi.

Under fire, Obasanjo quits PDP Continued from page 4 tors exchange dollars with 150naira then and is going to be 250 naira to a dollar.

“What it means is that, what you’ve been buying for 150 naira will be bought for 250, this is not the kind of country we dream of.

“There’s no job, employment.

Some people have started destroying Nigeria and I will never be in a party that will destroy Nigeria.

“Perhaps, you don’t understand that it is because there’s Nigeria that is why PDP exists. Without Nigeria, there will be no PDP anymore.

“What some of us should be concerned (about) is how to make

Appeal court upholds Fayose’s election Andrew Orolua, Abuja & Gbenga Sodeinde, Ado Ekiti

ÏÏÏThe Court of Appeal, Abuja

L-R: Head Of NAFDAC, Oyo State, Mrs Stella Dosumu; former head, Rev. Benjamin Haruna; Public Relations Officer, Mr Anslem Okonkwo and Zonal Coordinator, Southwest, Mrs Yedunmi Adenuga, at a stakeholders meeting in Ibadan… on Sunday

Division yesterday upheld the victory of Governor Ayodele Fayose of Ekiti state in the June 21, 2014 governorship election.

An elated Governor Fayose described the judgement as the triumph of the will of the people over that of a cabal.

The court dismissed the appeal brought by the All Progressive Congress (APC) challenging the

Nigeria stronger and our economy would witness economic growth”.

The Ogun State chapter of party wasted no time in expelling him.

A statement by its state chairman, Bayo Dayo, said the decision followed his series of unabated anti-party activities unbecoming of a highly celebrated party man.

“The totality of the executive, leaders and members of the Peoples Democratic Party family in Ogun State hereby state categorically that as from today Monday 16th February, 2015 Olusegun Aremu Obasanjo stands expelled and excommunicated from the party.

He thereby loses all rights previous privileges and respects of our teeming party members,” the statement read.

decision of the Election Petition Tribunal which on December 19, 2014 affirmed Fayose’s election.

The APC had approached the appellate court to challenge the decision of the tribunal. In its appeal, APC submitted that the Tribunal erred when it dismissed the ground challenging its allegation that Fayose forged a certificate.

The Appellants also challenged the decision of the Tribunal to strike out the Chief of Army Staff and the Nigerian Army as parties in the petition.

They also challenged the Tribunal’s decision to deny jurisdiction to pronounce whether the army had a role to play in an election or not.

The Court of Appeal, in a full panel headed by Justice Abdul Aboki, held that the appellants did not prove beyond reasonable doubts that the certificate of the respondent issued by the Polytechnic Ibadan was forged.

Ibru’s daughters, wife in court over estate, shares Continued from page 4

Maiden Ibru

the executor of the purported third will of their late father dated September 8, 2011.

The petitioners stated that the validity of the purported third will is currently the subject of litigation in two separate suits pending at the Lagos State High Court, adding that despite the pendency of the two suits and a restraining order of the court, the first respondent continues to interfere, administer, act and meddle with the assets of the estate of the late Alex Ibru.

The petitioners said Mrs. Maiden Ibru and her brother have been unlawfully representing and holding out themselves as agent, representatives and the alter ego of the late Alex Ibru’s investments as they claim that the restraining order of the court did not cover the late Ibru’s corporate assets.

They said that Mrs. Maiden Ibru’s ultimate ambition is to unlawfully ride on Alex Ibru’s estate companies to become the Chairman of Ikeja Hotels Plc and thereby consolidate her position as a “de facto and maximum controller” of Alex Ibru’s estate and to finally dissipate them to the total

exclusion of all the beneficiaries of Alex Ibru’s will, including the first three children of Alex Ibru, born by his first wife.

They prayed the court for an order restraining Ibru’s investment Companies from selling, mortgaging or otherwise disposing of any of its properties and assets, movable and immovable, pending the final determination of the cases as well as restraining the respondents from causing any of their records with the CAC to be changed or altered.

The petitioners also prayed the court to direct the Chief Registrar of the Federal High Court

to exercise all the rights, powers and privileges accruing to Ibru’s investment companies in respect of their shareholdings in every public and private companies and to also take over the management of the companies.

When the matter came up Monday before Justice Abdulkadir Kafarati, counsel to Alurum investment ltd Etigwe Uwah (SAN) told the court that his clients were not served with court processes and that every steps taken on his behalf was a nullity.

Uwah asked the court for an order that his clients be served with court processes.

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, February 17, 2015

7 News

First Lady condoles with families of dead Bayelsa women Akam James Yenagoa

ÏÏÏThe Wife of

the President, Dame Patience Jonathan, has paid a condolence visit to the bereaved families of the eleven female politicians from Bayelsa State, who died in last Saturday’s motor accident.

The accident occurred near the Old Ahoada Market road, along the East-West road of Rivers State last Saturday on their way from a visit to the First Lady in her Okrika home.

The First Lady, who arrived

early Monday in Yenagoa, was clad in a black attire and accompanied by prominent members of her Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), Women for Change Initiatives, including the wife of the first Executive Governor of the State, Margaret Alamieyeseigha and former Bayelsa State Commissioner for Transport, Marie Ebikake.

Dame Patience, at the home of one of the deceased and wife of a staff of the Bayelsa Radio Corporation, Mrs. Ayakpo Otolo, condoled with the family, and with tears, prayed that God would

grant them the fortitude to bear the loss.

She also visited the homes of a former member of the State House of Assembly from Brass Local Government and Special Adviser to Governor Seriake Dickson, Mrs. Ruby Benjamin; that of a former Commissioner for Women Affairs, in the Timipre Sylva administration, Hon. Gimbra Panowei; wife of the Secretary to the State Government, Mrs. Elizabeth AllisonOguru and a woman leader from Otuoke Community in Ogbia local government area of Bayelsa

L-R: Sokoto State All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship running mate, Ahmed Aliyu; governorship candidate, Hon. Aminu Tambuwal and Governor of Sokoto State, Alhaji Aliyu Wamako at the party’s rally in Dangen Shuni LGA recently.

Ado Ekiti

ÏÏÏThe

All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ekiti State has asked the Minister of Justice and Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to prosecute persons involved in conspiring and perpetrating acts to unseat the former Governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, in a manner other than that stipulated by the Constitution.

In the petition by the State Chairman of APC, Chief Olajide Awe, dated February 13, 2015, APC called their attention to an audio recording by Captain Sagir Koli of the 32 Artillery Brigade, based in Akure which was released to the public, allegedly capturing the voices of Governor Ayo Fayose; Commanding Officer, 32 Artillery

that were allegedly planned and perpetrated by these men, stressing that the act contravened Section 1(2) of the 1999 Constitution as amended.

He added that during the meeting, strategies to intimidate voters to perform electoral fraud were hatched to take control of the government of Ekiti State, in a manner contrary to the provisions of the constitution and other relevant statutes. The APC chairman listed other infractions of the constitution by the suspected persons to include: The use of the military to assist in electoral manipulation, contrary to the purpose of the military as provided for by the Constitution; the use of stickers for the identification of persons not to be harassed and detained by the military.

to express the sorrow he felt by the loss of these distinguished Ijaw amazons.

Group backs Buhari

Egena Egena

ÏÏÏA group, Activists for Good

ÏÏÏMinister of Culture, Tourism

Brigade, Brig-General Aliyu Momoh; Senator Iyiola Omisore, Police Affairs Minister, Jelili Adesiyan; former Minister of State for Defence, Musiliu Obanikoro and others, in a meeting where they strategised to rig the June 21, 2014 governorship election in favour of Fayose.

APC asked INEC to investigate the matter and prosecute its staff involved while it asked the police authorities to investigate their personnel for the act of undue influence, conspiracy, treason and breaching the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution and Criminal Code in the prosecution of Ekiti election in favour of the PDP candidate.

Awe pointed out that the import of the alleged audio recording was the revelation of the criminal acts

Patience

Jonathan appoints Duke as Supervising Minister of Information Abuja

Ekiti APC seeks probe of leaked polls fraud tape Gbenga Sodeinde

State, Madam Consider Amadi.

Also visited by the First Lady were the homes of a retired Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Mrs. Pere Kalama and Mrs. Clara Abila.

Speaker of Bayelsa State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Konbowei Friday Benson, also described death as a heartache that no one can heal, adding that only God has the capacity to console the bereaved.

While condoling with the families, the Speaker noted that the incident was a state tragedy, adding that words seem inadequate

and National Orientation, High Chief Edem Duke has been appointed as supervising Minister of Information.

A statement by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim said Chief Duke will oversee the activities of the ministry as an additional responsibility pending the appointment of a substantive minister.

The statement, signed by the Special Assistant to the SGF on Media, Sam Nwaobasi said President Goodluck Jonathan’s directive to that effect was occasioned by the exit of the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Dr. Nurudeen Mohammed from the cabinet on account of his political ambition.

The statement read: “His Excellency, Dr. GoodluckEbele Jonathan, GCFR, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, has directed that, in addition to his duties as Honourable Minister of Tourism, Culture and National Orientation, High Chief Edem Duke is to oversee the activities of the Federal Ministry of Information until a substantive Minister is appointed for the Ministry.

“The President’s directive followed the disengagement of Dr. Nuruddeen Muhammad, the Hon. Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, who was overseeing the activities of the Federal Ministry of Information, and who is now the Deputy Governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party.

Eberechi Obinagwam Governance (AGG), has declared its support for the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari in Lagos.

The group speaking through its spokesman, Comrade Declan Ihekaire, stated that out of the two major presidential candidates, President Goodluck Jonathan of (PDP) and Buhari of APC, the group chose to support Buhari, because records have shown that he detests corruption.

Emir vows to reunite IDPs Moses Ikyaa-Gba Jos

ÏÏÏThe

Emir of Wase, Alhaji Sambo Haruna Mahammadu has promised to reunite those displaced as a result of the 1998 to 2010 crisis in WaseLocal Government Area of Plateau State.

He made the commitment while receiving the All Progressives Congress (APC) gubernatorial candidate in Plateau State, Simon Lalong in Wase.

He said that over 100 villages have been affected by the crises caused by selfish and ambitious politicians in Wase Local Government Area. “So, as the traditional father, I am willing to reconcile all the people, so that we can speak with one voice.

News 8

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Defections: Niger gov seeks quick determination of cases

Fashola urges students to collect PVCs

Saka Bolaji

ÏÏÏLagos

Minna

ÏÏÏNiger State Governor, Dr. Mua-

zu Babangida Aliyu, has said that the judiciary should speedily determine the cases of defection to other political parties by elected political office holders to bring stability and morality to politics.

He made the request, in Minna, on Monday, when he received the 2014 hajj report from the leader of the state delegation to the holy land, Professor Sheikh Abdallah.

“We need morality in politics, we need the courts to properly interpret the section of the constitution on defection. I believe that you cannot go

Monarch backs PDP guber candidate for A’Ibom Eno-Obong Okon Uyo

ÏÏÏThe Paramount ruler of Mk-

pat Enin Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State, HRM Edidem A. Ekpene, has said that he is eagerly waiting for the swearing -in ceremony of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, on May 29, 2015, to pilot the affairs of the state.

Ekpene, who made the remark on Monday, while receiving the PDP governorship candidate, Mr Udom Emmanuel and his entourage, on a courtesy call at his palace, expressed satisfaction with the stature and personal profile of the PDP candidate and called on his subjects to vote for the PDP. The PDP standard bearer, Udom Emmanuel, assured the people of the area that the next Vice Chancellor of Akwa Ibom State University, will hail from Mkpat Enin.

Udom, while interacting with the monarch, revealed that the Faculty of Engineering in the Akwa Ibom State University, which he started working on as an SSG, will be actualized in collaboration with Exxon Mobil and other relevant agencies.

Udom said the Technical College at Ikot Akata, will be revisited and upgraded to a skill and entrepreneurial acquisition centre for manpower development and its legacy sustained.

to another party with the mandate given in another political party.

“If you are dissatisfied with what is going on in your party and you, as an elected politician, resign your position before joining another political party, that way the public will see politicians as people who should be respected.

Aliyu also submitted that defectors to other political parties have betrayed the electorate, because they were not originally elected on the platform of the party to which they have defected.

He, therefore, advised the electorate, as the general election draws near, to critically view those politicians that have left their original

parties and vote them out in the elections to show that they could not be taken for a ride any more.

“In Niger State, I suggest to the electorate to punish immoral politicians by defeating them at the polls,” Aliyu said.

He commended the Hajj committee for ensuring a hitch- free hajj, in 2014, and prayed that the next committee will build on the gains of the 2014 team.

Aliyu advised early preparation for the 2015 hajj and that the state’s Pilgrims Welfare Commission should fix the hajj fares using additional 30% of last year’s fares as benchmark.

He suggested that three weeks

should be made the maximum period pilgrims should spend in the holy land.

Similarly he said the ratio of first-time pilgrims should be 90-10 as against the 80-20 last year to give more opportunity to fresh intending pilgrims.

Abdallah disclosed that though the exercise was successful, three pilgrims lost their lives during and after the pilgrimage.

He commended the wife of the Governor, Hajia Jumai Muazu Babangida Aliyu for the support given to the pilgrims throughout the pilgrimage. He also commended the exemplary behaviour of members of the Amirul hajj.

Governor of Oyo State, Sen. Abiola Ajimobi (2nd left); new Commissioner of Police, Mr Mohammed Musa Kastina (2nd right); Oyo State Deputy Governor, Chief Moses Alake Adeyemo (right) and Secretary to the State Government, Mr. Ismail Olalekan Alli during a courtesy visit of Katsina ...on Monday Photo: OYO GOVERNMENT HOUSE

ÏÏÏRuling

on the preliminary objection filed by the Founder, Living Faith Church, a.k.a. Winners’ Chapel, Bishop David Oyedepo, against a suit accusing him of breach of contract, has been fixed by a Federal High Court, Lagos.

Justice Mohammed Yunusa adjourned till March 25 to rule on the preliminary objections after entertaining submissions from both parties.

The suit was instituted by a stock brokerage firm, Valueline Securities and Investment Limited and its Managing Director, Samuel Enyinnaya.

The plaintiffs are seeking, among others, monetary claims

State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola (SAN), has urged students in the South-West geo-political zone to collect their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs), in readiness for the forthcoming general election.

He gave the advice to representatives of students in tertiary institutions in the South-west, who paid him a courtesy visit on Saturday.

The students pledged to vote massively for the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), General Muhammadu Buhari, come March 28, 2015.

The students spoke at the Lagos House Marina, where Fashola said that the PVC was the first step to realising their aim, adding that the forthcoming general election was not about ethnic or religious sentiments but about liberty and choices.

NEMA gives relief materials to Enugu community Moses Oyediran Enugu

ÏÏÏThe

N9bn deal: Court fixes March 25 to rule on Oyedepo’s objection Peter Fowoyo

Joy Ekeke

in the sum of about N1.86 billion from Oyedepo, his family, his book publishing company and the Winners’ Chapel for allegedly breaching agreement on a N9 billion investment entrusted to the plaintiffs.

Sued along Oyedepo is the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), which the plaintiff accused of being biased in its investigations into the business dispute.

The plaintiffs pleaded that the court should declare as illegal the freezing of their bank accounts

by NSE and to make an order to unfreeze their accounts.

When the matter came up on Monday, counsel for Oyedepo, Mr. Chioma Okwuanyi, brought to the court’s notice his client’s pre-

National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), on Monday, distributed relief materials valued at several millions to them to victims of 2014 flood disaster in Agbor Enugwu Okutu community, in Nsukka Local Government Council Area of Enugu State.

Daily Times recalls that the community was seriously flooded during last year’s rainy season, due to poor drainage system in the community.

Speaking during the presentation of the items, Director-General of NEMA, Alhaji Mohammad Sani Sidi, said the gesture was aimed at ameliorating the plight of the victims of the flood disaster.

Kogi Police command assures of security ÏÏÏThe Oyedepo

liminary objection to the stokebroker’s claims.

In the three grounds of objection, Okwuanyi contended that the Federal High Court lacked jurisdiction to adjudicate on a matter pertaining to capital market.

Kogi State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Samuel Adeyemi Ogunjemilusi, has pledged to provide effective security to the people of the state, before, during and after elections in state.

Ogunjemilusi, who made the pledged while speaking with newsmen at his office, in Lokoja, on Monday, stated that the police would maintain law and order with zero tolerance for any form of violence.

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, February 17, 2015

9 News

I am still in PDP- Ex-gov Idris Ibrahim Momohjimoh Lokoja

ÏÏÏThe immediate past governor

L-R: Chairman,Ndokwa East Local Government, Mrs. Nkechi Chukwura; Governor of Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan; Commissioner for Works, Hon. Funkekeme Solomon; Commissioner for Economic Planning, Mr. Ebifa Ijoma and others during the commission of newly constructed Aboh Road in Delta... recently.

of Kogi State, and leader of Kogi State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) elders forum, Alhaji Ibrahim Idris, has denied plans to defecct to the major opposition party, the All Progressives Congress, (APC).

The former governor, who stated this on Monday, in Lokoja, after presenting the report of their committee to Governor Idris Wada, at the Government House, said he would not abandon his house to become a tenant in someone else’s house.

According to him, nothing has

happened to warrant his defection to the opposition, saying that the elders of the party were working very hard to ensure the victory of the PDP in the re-scheduled election slated for March 28 and 11th April, 2015.

“It is very ridiculous for me to leave a house that I built to become a tenant in another person’s house.

I have not left and there is no basis for me to consider leaving”, he stressed.

On how to bring back aggrieved members of PDP who had left, he assured that discussion was ongoing, calling on all members to continue to work for the success of the party.

N200bn Agric loan missing during Obasanjo’s govt – NCGA alleges Michael Bamigbola, Osogbo

ÏÏÏA damning allegation of

financial impropriety, has come the way of former President Olusegun Obasanjo, as the Nigerian Cassava Growers Association (NCGA), alleged that the sum of N200 billion appropriated for farmers loan got missing during his administration.

The association alleged that the administration of former President Obasanjo could not account for the missing fund meant as loan for cassava farmers in the

TAN denies plans to sponsor stoning of Bayelsa gov Akam James Yenagoa

ÏÏÏThe Transformation Ambas-

sador of Nigeria (TAN), a pro- Jonathan group, last weekend denied allegations that the group was factionalised and planning to sponsor youths to stone the Bayelsa State Governor, Hon. Seriake Dickson.

The Bayelsa State chapter of the grou, has come under media attacks, one of which was the claim that the leadership of the TAN was factionalized and was involved in a plot to attack the state governor.

A statement issued n Yenagoa,

country despite the approval of all relevant agencies of government.

The South West zonal chairman of the association, Dr. David Ogunsade, in a chat with newsmen in Osogbo, shortly after distributing over 9,000 fertilizers to some cassava farmers, also alleged that the administration of Obasanjo was corrupt, saying that a lot of improprieties were committed in the agricultural sector.

He said: “The sum of N200 billion appropriated for cassava farmers got missing during the

the state capital, by its Secretary, Hon. Gesiye Isowo, declared that the group had no reason to plot against the governor, as they were both working to achieve the same goal of the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan through different platforms.

Isowo said: “It is unfortunate that the sponsors of the media attacks on TAN have decided to take this infamous route to achieve their selfish desire. This dishonourable path chosen by these sponsors in spite of the unprecedented robust and ever-growing support base created by the present leadership of TAN for the re-election of President Goodluck Jonathan, which remains the focus of TAN, including that of the state chapter.”

“The present leadership of TAN in the state is an assemblage of people who have at one time and another contributed immensely to the development of the state.”

administration of Obasanjo and the money could not be accounted for up till today. The administration of Chief Obasanjo, deceived us but we later discovered that the money was shared among those in government.

“We were asked to open bank accounts and we did that in expectation that we would get the loan, but at the end of the day, we did not get the money and we were not told what happened to the money which we were earlier told had been approved for us as loan.”

While comparing the adminis-

tration of Obasanjo with that of the incumbent administration of President Goodluck Jonathan, Ogunsade noted that latter’s government was more open and transparent than that of the former, adding that farmers have benefited more in the current administration.

He hinted that the present administration through the efforts of the Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, has released tractors, herbicides, fertilizers and loans to all categories of farmers in the country.

Obasanjo

I will crush opposition for PDP – Ngilari

Ngilari

Wale Akintunde Yola

ÏÏÏContrary

to rumours going round in Yola, Adamawa State capital, Governor Bala James Ngilari, has vowed to lead the ruling People’s Democratic Party (PDP) political generals to crush candidates of

the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Social Democratic Party (SDP) in next month’s polls in the state.

In a press statement signed by his Director of Public Affairs, Mr. Phineas Elisha, Nggilari, reiterated his commitment to the victory of the PDP candidates in all elective posts adding that he will lead PDP political generals to defeat opposition parties.

The statement refuted a media report that Gov. Ngilari donated the sum of N250 million to the Buhari Campaign Organisation, saying that the report was the imagination of the writers of such story meant to tarnish the governor’s image and pass wrong information to the public since Ngilari is PDP leader in the state.

He also denied reports that he is romancing with the gubernatorial

candidate of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Engineer Markus Gundiri, saying that Nggilari has only one candidate in the poll who is Malam Nuhu Ribadu.

Ngilari said that he remained committed to the victory of Nuhu Ribadu of the PDP and no other person, adding that he will continue to showcase PDP candidates from the House of Assembly to the presidential level.

He called on his teeming supporters to rally round President Goodluck Jonathan and Malam Nuhu Ribadu in the polls.

In his words: “I am a member of the ruling people’s Democratic Party in which I am contesting for Northern Senatorial poll under its platform. APC and SDP are my opponents and I will lead my party to crush them.”

News 10

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, Feburary 17, 2015

APC responsible for own woes - Reps candidate

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, SAN, (right),Commandant, Lagos State Command of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Gabriel Ayodele Abafi during his courtesy visit to the Governor at the Lagos House, Ikeja… on Monday.

Freddie Adamgbe

I’ve fulfilled my campaign promises to Bayelsans, says Dickson Akam James Yenagoa

ÏÏÏThe Bayelsa State Governor,

Hon. Seriake Dickson has scored his administration’s efforts in the last three years, high.

He said he had fulfilled his campaign promises to the people in terms of infrastructural development and reforms in vital sectors of the state.

Dickson, in a statement issued by his Chief Press Secretary (CPS), Mr. Daniel Markson-Iworiso, on Monday, said the three years of his first term in office as Governor showed remarkable fulfillment of the promises he made to the people during his electioneering campaigns.

The governor said, although, his administration was faced

with some financial challenges, the determination and fiscal discipline of his administration led to significant progress in areas such as infrastructural development, education, security and reforms in the public service.

According to Dickson, “through determination and fiscal discipline, the present administration had completed some critical infrastructure, including the first flyover project in the state, the Ogobiri/Toru-Ebeni Bridge, dualisation of roads including Hospital, Diete-Spiff, Road Safety and Water Board in Yenagoa, while several other ongoing projects such as the dualisation of the Isaac Adaka Boro Expressway and AIT-Elebele Road have reached advanced stages of completion.”

He added that work on the 17-storey five-star Tower Hotel, initiated by President Goodluck Jonathan, as Governor of the state, was also underway, while he reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to redoubling effort to ensure that the Bayelsa International Cargo and Passenger Airport was put to use before the end of the year.

“The State government had built over 400 primary and postprimary schools supplied with state-of-the-art facilities, including head teachers’ quarters, sports academy, language and music schools and a teachers’ training institute”, he added.

The governor also disclosed that over 1,000 students were pursuing various courses at post-primary, graduate and post gradu-

ate levels, within and outside the country under the state’s scholarship scheme.

“The ‘Restoration’ slogan, over the years, has assumed a real life of its own and it is no longer a mantra, as you put it. It started as a vision and an aspiration in terms of where we want our state to be. In most of the areas, we wanted to effect corrections and I can gladly say here that, three years down the line, anybody visiting Bayelsa, will see clearly, the reality of restoration in all the critical sectors of peace, security, reforms in the governance process, such as the transparency initiative and all the associated mechanisms, where we publicly account for every naira and kobo that comes into the coffers of our government” he added.

Ex-NASS members task INEC on credible polls Saka Bolaji Minna

ÏÏÏThe Forum of former Mem-

bers of the National Assembly has asked the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure that it conducts transparent, credible and free elections next month that will be acceptable to all stakeholders.

The forum, which is on a nationwide sensitisation tour, made the call in Minna on Monday, while briefing newsmen after a closed-door meeting with the Niger State Governor, Dr Muazu Babangida Aliyu at the Government House.

Its leader and former Senate President, Dr. Joseph Wayas,

also told the electoral body that it ‘only when the results of the elections are acceptable to all, that people will go home happy, the winner will be happy and the loser will be happy”.

Wayas, who spoke through a former member of the House of Representatives, Chief Obi Anoliefo, specifically, asked INEC to, “if possible”, make sure that 100% of those that have been registered to vote get their Permanent Voter’s Cards, adding that it would now be left for the eligible voter to exercise his franchise.

He challenged the judiciary, which, he described as the last hope of the common man, to live above aboard in handling the law suits to be filed by aggrieved par-

ties after the general election.

Wayas also urged the elder statesmen to guard their utterances while commenting on the political development in the country, in order not to cause more disaffection among the people.

He said the leaders have access to ‘the powers-that-be’ where they could express their views, instead of castigating the leadership in the media.

Wayas, in a similar vein, told candidates to avoid blackmail and castigation of opponents, but, should tell the electorate their manifestoes, especially, in the areas of employment, fight against corruption and national unity.

Wayas

Makurdi ÏÏÏA Guma/Makurdi Federal House of Representatives candidate, Surveyor John Tondo has urged the All Progressives Congress (APC) to look inwards and fish out the culprits responsible for a recent attack on the party property, rather than pointing accusing fingers at the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Tondo, a member of the PDP said the APC has internal wrangling bordering on the imposition of candidates and should not blame the PDP.

Mimiko condoles with Kekemeke’s family ‘Tosin Ajuwon Akure

The Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko has condoled with the State Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Isaac Kekemeke over the untimely death of his wife, Celestina.

In a condolence visit to the residence of the bereaved family in Akure, Mimiko said the people of the state were with the family and prayed that God would grant the family the fortitude to bear the loss.

In his response, the widower, Kekemeke appreciated the governor and members of his delegation for the visit.

He said members of his family were grateful and were encouraged by the show of solidarity by the governor.

Ebonyi lawmakers accuse Elechi of misappropriation Val Okara

Owerri ÏÏÏThe political crisis rocking Ebonyi State has deepened as the lawmakers are closing in on the governor, Chief Martin Elechi by accusing him of misappropriation of funds and anti-party activities.

The state lawmakers accused Elechi of misappropriating over N1.1 billion Sure-P funds, appointment of 13 transition chairmen and 28 development centre coordinators among others, without the approval of the House of Assembly.

Elechi was also accused of funding the Labour Party (LP) with state funds, an action the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) lawmakers described as anti-party.

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, February 17, 2015

APCON worried by politicians’ unethical conduct Dilionye Dilibe Onitsha

ÏÏÏThe

Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON) has expressed concern over the incessant unethical print and electronic adverts being rolled out by media organisations across the country.

The Zonal Officer, Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria, Mr. Ikechukwu Ogbu, made the remark, while fielding questions from journalists in Onitsha on Monday.

He expressed worry over the continuous flouting of rules guiding advertising practice in Nigeria, and accused the print

and electronic media of accepting to publish or air offensive political jingles and advertisements aimed at offending the integrity of political opponents and called for restraint by media organisations or face sanctions from APCON. Ogbu, who lamented the low patronage of the print and electronic media by advertising agencies in the South-East, attributed the low quality advert aired by some radio and television stations to ignorance. He advised the public to go through certified advertising agencies for quality copy and publicity of their goods and services.

He added that majority of ad-

verts by radio and television stations were less creative and of low quality.

While urging media organisations to seek the certification of APCON before rolling out their adverts, Ogbu reiterated the need for politicians to play by the rules by dwelling on important national issues that would attract the interest of the electorate, rather than abuses.

He argued that as a commercial town, Onitsha and the entire South-East should utilise the presence of APCON as advertising regulatory body, established

by Act No.55 of 1988, with the mandate to regulate advertising practice in Nigeria.

Chief Executive Officer, Medview Airline, Alhaji Muneer Bankole (2nd right); Head of Engineering, Lookman Animashaun (left); Captain Mohammed Mwondha (2nd left); Crew, Mr. Abdul Rahman Shaibah and Captain Stephen Fevrier during the arrival of a new Boeing 737400 aircraft, in addition to the fleet of Medview Airline at the tarmac of Murtala Muhammed Airport 2 in Lagos… on Monday

New pump price: Adamawa independent marketers defy FG order Tom Garba Yola

ÏÏÏ

All but one independent marketer in Adamawa State have defied the Federal Government’s order for reduction of pump price of petroleum products, Daily Times can authoritatively report.

The Petroleum Minister, Diezani Alison-Maduekwe, recently announced a reduction in pump price from N97 to N87 with immediate effect.

Daily Times investigations in Yola and Jimeta revealed that all the marketers were stilling selling petrol at the old price of N97, except for one filling station in Jimeta town.

The marketers complained of not getting the product directly from the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), and they had to buy from other major marketers, at exorbitant prices.

When contacted, the Sales Representative of the NNPC mega station, in Yola, Abubakar Nasir, blamed the independent marketers for not being fair to people in the state, and disclosed that plans were being made to address the issue.

Nasir said selling petrol at or above N97 was illegal.

He said the independent marketers fouling the law had no human feelings.

I’m LP’s authentic Niger guber candidate - Engr Daudu

Photo: OLAWALE ROTIMI

Augustine Aminu

ÏÏÏThe

Niger NUJ warns members against violence ahead of election Pita Chikwem Minna

ÏÏÏMembers

of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), have been urged to eschew crisis as they prepare for its forthcoming council elections in the state. The national body of the union has also been urged to be fatherly and be ready to inaugurate the next executive members

this weekend.

Speaking against the backdrop of speculations that there was connivance between some members of the State Council and the National Executive Council of the NUJ to disqualify some members, who have already been cleared by the electoral committee, the Executive Director of Newsline newspapers, Mr. Ndama Abubakar, said there should not be any form of sentiments.

He said the crisis experienced at the recent election of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) should not be avoided at the Niger State Council.

According to him: “There must be no sitting on the fence, every journalist must declare where he stands. You must all be vigilant. We need to resuscitate the NUJ in Niger State.

He said that the NUJ’s image in the state could be a lot better and it was time to make the body shine.

Leaders of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and National Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ) and Chairmen of various chapels in the State endorsed the candidature of Mohammed Mohammed for Chairman and Aisha Wakaso as Secretary.

11 News

gubernatorial candidate of the Labour Party in Niger State, Engr. Yahaya Daudu, has insisted that he remains the bona-fide standard bearer of the party in the forthcoming election.

He was reacting to reports that he had been disqualified by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) from

Alison-Maduekwe

A manager of Wadanda filing station in Yola, Mamman Hassan, said he hardly got petrol at a time it was needed.

He said: “We don’t get the product directly from the NNPC, but from other major marketers at a price above that recommended by the federal government. Some of our colleagues are still with old stock wanting to sell it before going back to normal price.”

Mamman maintained that maximising profit and minimising loss is one of the cardinal policies of a good business man.

He called on the government to always consider independent marketers first, because of their closeness to the grassroots.

“We deserve to be given close attention, because of our closeness to people with low income in our societies. We need federal government’s intervention in this aspect,” he added.

contesting the April 11 elections.

Daudu, who stated this on Monday, while briefing newsmen in Abuja, said he participated in the party’s primaries, in Minna, on December 10, 2014, and was declared the winner unopposed.

According to him, INEC apparently acted within its enabling laws but these laws were made to ensure decorum, sincerity, transparency in the conduct of their affairs – and not to encourage or endorse illegality.”

When contacted, the spokesperson for the INEC chairman, Kadoye Idowu, said INEC would recognise the name of any candidate nominated by a political party.

Alaba market shut over Babaloja’s death Kingsley Ndimele

ÏÏÏTraders

at the Alaba Oro market in the Ajeromi Ifelodun Local Government Area, in Lagos, did not do business on Monday following the death of a notable figure among the traders.

The market was shut down in honour of the deceased, who was said to be a strong opinion leader.

A regular customer of the market, who preferred anonymity, told Daily Times that as a result of the development, it was difficult to get goods to buy.

Africa 12

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Sudan seizes print runs of 13 newspapers - media watch ÏÏÏSudanese Three Mano River Union leaders after a meeting recently

West African leaders promise ‘Zero Ebola infection’ in 60 days ÏÏÏLeaders of

the Mano River Union (MRU) comprising Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone have committed themselves to achieving “zero Ebola infection” within 60 days.

The announcement came at the end of a summit in Guinea’s capital, Conakry, which brought together the leaders of all three countries.

Presidents Alpha Conde of Guinea, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of Liberia, and Ernest Bai Koroma of Sierra Leone were joined by Ivory Coast Foreign Minister Charles Koffi Diby.

Sierra Leone government

spokesman Abdulai Bayraytay said the leaders emphasized the importance of infection prevention control, social mobilization and cross-border collaboration.

“Already we are using all the efforts at the national level, which is mobilizing all the contacts, doing more surveillance and social mobilization and to make sure that there is effective surveillance put in place between, and among, these respective countries in the Mano River Union,” he said.

Bayraytay said the leaders agreed that by effectively controlling their national borders, they

50 ISIL militants killed in air strike

Burundi president considers 3rd term bid

ÏÏÏA

Libyan air force commander said 40 to 50 militants were killed in Monday’s air strikes against ISIS targets in Libya.

“There are casualties among the individuals, ammunition and the communication centres belonging to them,” Saqer al-Joroushi said on Egyptian state television. “The number of deaths are not less than 40 or 50 for sure,” he said.

Egypt’s air force announced on Monday it had bombed ISIS targets inside Libya, a day after the group released a video appearing to show the beheading of 21 Egyptians there.

Libya said it had joined and co-ordinate with Egypt on the strikes.

ÏÏÏBurundi’s

president will bid for a third term in June elections if selected by his party, his spokesperson has said, defying campaigners who say such a move would violate the constitution and risk violence.

President Pierre Nkurunziza will stand if selected to run by his ruling CNDD-FDD party “in compliance with the constitution” said spokesperson Willy Nyamitwe.

The announcement follows the launch of a campaign by over 300 civil society groups earlier this month calling on Nkurunziza not to run for a third term to “prevent further violence”.

will be able to catch new infections before it can spread.

He said the leaders also agreed to implement a post-Ebola socioeconomic recovery plan with emphasis on building their crumbling healthcare systems.

“That is a point that was even raised, that we are now going to implement the World Banks Africa Development Initiative, which is going to deal with how to further strengthen the respective healthcare systems in the countries that are hardest hit by Ebola,” Bayraytay said.

A statement put out by Sirleaf ’s

The group called for the president to “take a lesson” from neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo, where deadly protests broke out in January over opposition fears that President Joseph Kabila was trying to extend his stay in power.

But Nyamitwe warned that anyone seeking to spark protests would face the law.

“Whoever calls on people to take to the streets... will be considered a troublemaker and will be treated as such,” he said.

“The people of Burundi aspire to peace and it will not stand idly by in this case.”

Rights groups have warned of growing fears of the risk of violence ahead of elections,

press secretary said the subregional leaders agreed that in support of post-Ebola recovery, member states will allocate a proportion of their public investment in local small and medium Scale enterprises.

They believe that this decision will improve the resilience of their economies by supporting national product4ion and creating employment opportunities.”

Bayraytay said the Mano River Union leaders also called on the international community to help in achieving their goal of “zero Ebola infection.”

Nkurunziza with a string of attacks including a five-day battle last month between the army and rebels.

Burundi, a small landlocked nation in central Africa’s Great Lakes region, emerged in 2006 from a brutal 13-year civil war.

The political climate remains fractious ahead of local, parliamentary and presidential polls in May and June.

security officers seized the print runs of 13 newspapers on Monday in one of the most sweeping crackdowns on the press in recent years, a media watchdog said.

The National Intelligence and Security Service seized copies of the dailies - which included progovernment as well as independent titles - “without giving any reasons,” Journalists for Human Rights said.

NISS often confiscates print runs of newspapers over stories it deems unsuitable but it rarely seizes so many publications at one time.

Journalists for Human Rights said that the “rise” in newspaper seizures “represents an unprecedented escalation by the authorities against freedom of the press and expression”. No immediate word from authorities The editor of Al-Tayar, Osman Mirghani, confirmed to AFP his newspaper’s print run had been seized.

Warring forces in South Sudan recruiting children - Rights Group ÏÏÏSouth

Sudan government and rebel forces are both recruiting children as young as 13 to fight in the country’s civil war, a rights group said on Monday in a report rejected by the government.

The government is “actively recruiting” teenagers, often by force, while rebels are also using child soldiers in the 14-month long conflict, said Human Rights Watch.

“Despite renewed promises by both government and opposition forces that they will stop using child soldiers, both sides continue to recruit and use children in combat,” said HRW’s Africa director Daniel Bekele. Minister for Information Michael Makuei dismissed the report, saying there were plenty of men still able to fight.

“How can we recruit child soldiers at a time when we have sufficient manpower?” he told AFP. “We have no child soldiers.”

But HRW say that government forces are taking children, in some cases, such as in the northern wardamaged town of Malakal, “from right outside the United Nations compound.” Malakal, in oil-rich Upper Nile State, has changed hands six times since the war started in December 2013, and 21 000 civilians have sought shelter and safety behind the UN’s barbedwire fences.

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, February 17, 2015

13 World Brazil carnival suspended after fatal shooting

Thai military officers inspecting mock evacuation site during Cobra Gold 2015

Thai junta defies US, conducts military exercises ÏÏÏThere

are continuing tensions between Thailand’s military junta, which seized power from the country’s elected government last May, and the United States, which has called for the immediate end to martial law and a return to democratic rule. That has led to changes in an annual, multi-national military training exercise in the kingdom.

At the Royal Thai Navy’s UTapao airfield, this year’s exercise saw troops carry out a mock mass evacuation of Japanese, American and Thai civilians.

A devastating earthquake has struck in an Asian nation. Countries are anxious to rescue their traumatized nationals and get

them out of harm’s way. That is the scenario that played out at the tip of the Gulf of Siam on Sunday during the Cobra Gold military exercises.

The annual multi-national drill, which has run for more than 30 years, this year involves some 6,700 participants and observers from 24 nations.

But the 2015 edition almost did not happen.

The United States took a hard look at canceling after Thailand’s military carried out another coup last year. In the end, Washington decided to scale back Cobra Gold.

Gregory Poling, an analyst at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington,

said the United States wanted to send a nuanced message to Thailand. “It’s one of still being a long term friend of Thailand, our longest-term ally in Asia, but also a sign of discontent with the coup,” said Poling.

Royal Thai Navy Rear Admiral Wannapol Glormgeao expressed relief Cobra Gold went ahead this year. However, he lamented the lack of a maritime landing component.

The admiral said Thailand expresses thanks to every country participating, saying the exercise “is useful for each country to improve relationship-building and to exchange experiences.”

These simulations, he ex-

Thousands attend anti-austerity march in Greece

three years, told the AFP news agency. A protester wearing a mask of German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble and wielding a large plastic needle with “austerity” daubed on it jousted with a fake Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras armed with a huge pair of red scissors.

“I’m not afraid of anything, whatever bad was going to happen has already happened,” 62-year-old pensioner Vimitra told AFP, referring to five years of severe austerity in the debtladen country. About 8,000 people also thronged the streets in Thessaloniki, Greece’s second biggest city in the north of the country, calling on Brussels to loosen the noose of austerity.

Danish police charge two in Copenhagen attacks

ÏÏÏAbout

18,000 people have gathered in central Athens to support the newly elected government’s push for a better deal on Greece’s debt.

Participants at Sunday’s rally outside the parliament in the Greek capital carried banners denouncing economic austerity and Greece’s creditors. “We want justice here and now... for all the suffering Greece has gone through the past five years,” 58-year-old Theodora, who has been unemployed for the last

ÏÏÏDanish police said on Mon-

day they had charged two people with aiding the man suspected of shooting dead two people in attacks on a synagogue and an event promoting free speech in Copenhagen at the weekend.

The shootings, which Prime Minister Helle ThorningSchmidt called acts of terrorism, sent shockwaves through Denmark and have been compared to the January attacks in Paris by Islamist militants that killed 17.

“The two men are charged with helping through advice and

plained, are valuable for actual military operations.

The U.S. military’s mission commander for the civilian evacuation drill, Marine Corps Captain Hector Contreras, agreed.

“If an actual operation comes up, humanitarian assistance/disaster relief, that type of scenario, we know we have partners in this region of the world like Thais, like Japanese, who can partner with us, strengthen our ability to help the local nationals,” said Contreras.

But will Cobra Gold put on this kind of show next year, especially if Thailand remains under military rule? Analyst Gregory Poling at CSIS said that depends.

deeds the perpetrator in relation to the shootings at Krudttonden and in Krystalgade,” the police said in a statement, referring to the location of the two attacks.

Police had no further comment on the two men, who were detained on Sunday.

The gunman struck on Saturday afternoon, attempting to shoot his way into a cafe hosting a free speech event with Swedish artist Lars Vilks, who has received death threats for depicting the head of the Prophet Muhammad on a dog.

ÏÏÏ Authorities have suspended carnival festivities in the Brazilian city of Paraty after gunfire killed one person and injured nine others.

The mayor’s office of the seaside colonial city said a man opened fire in a central plaza during the Bloco da Lama, or Mud Street Party, killing a 21-year-old man and injuring nine others. Police are searching for the shooter.

City officials met with Carnival representatives and decided to suspend festivities on Sunday.

They did not say if they would be allowed to resume on Monday and Tuesday.

A statement from the municipality called the decision “an act against violence and to promote peace”.

In Paraty’s Carnival, revellers throw themselves into mud deposits, emerging totally covered in sludge. They dance on the beach amid cavemen chants of “uga, uga.”

Sri Lanka’s new leader in India for talks ÏÏÏSri

Lanka’s newly elected president Maithripala Sirisena is in India, where he received a ceremonial welcome Monday.

He met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other Indian officials and is expected to sign agreements strengthening ties between the two countries.

Sirisena’s trip to India is his first foreign visit since defeating last month long-time leader Mahinda Rajapaksa, whose government rejected an international investigation into allegations of possible war crimes during the country’s decades-long civil war.

Government troops killed as many as 40,000 Tamil civilians during the offensive that ended the war in 2009, according to a U.N. report. The U.N. has said the death toll during the war could be as high as 100,000 people.

Sirisena

Opinion 14

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Nigeria, history and present danger

T

Chido Onumah

hese are perturbing times.

On the eve of what promises to be Nigeria’s fiercest election, one that has set the country on edge, it is important that we sound alarm bells.

Even though we have seen it all before – whether we are talking about the 1964/65 elections (postponed for several weeks due to disagreements over the voters’ list) that precipitated the first military coup in January 1966 and the civil war the year after or the June 12, 1993 debacle and the Interim National Government (ING) contraption that followed – Nigeria today is in uncharted waters. We haven’t had an election this close with war raging in a part of the country.

The angst that followed the postponement, by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), of the presidential election scheduled for February 14 is therefore understandable.

The speech by Prof. Attahiru Jega, Chairman of INEC, an-

nouncing the postponement has been debated widely by Nigerians. Clearly, there are many questions begging for answers.

But if we focus on Jega, his pronouncements and the “politics” surrounding the postponement, we miss the forest for the trees.

And here, I am not addressing the party faithful who can’t see the big picture even if it is as large as the 400-metre monolith called Aso Rock.

Even though I have strong reservations about elections holding on the new dates announced by INEC, I am inclined to give Prof. Jega and INEC the benefit of the doubt. I sincerely hope all eligible Nigerians get the opportunity to collect their Permanent Voters’ Card (PVC) and that the war on terror would have been won appreciably in the next six weeks to justify the postponement.

So, while we continue to prepare for the elections, patriots and active civil society – or what is left of it – should necessarily begin to interrogate why every election (and census, I must add) in Nigeria is a referendum on

the continued existence of the country and why elections have literally become wars that the military would have to “supervise”.

It is for this reason that we must do a deep and sincere reflection on the current situation. If we do, we will, undoubtedly, arrive at the conclusion that more than anything else, we need a genuine national conversation about whether this country is sustainable the way it exists today.

President Jonathan was elected president in 2011 in a bloody election (postponed from January to April) that witnessed the death of hundreds of Nigerians, including patriotic youth who were serving their fatherland. He became president by default the year before following the death of his principal, Umaru Yar’Adua, who came to power in 2007 in one of the most farcical elections the country has witnessed.

President Yar’Adua, alongside then Vice President Goodluck Jonathan, was anointed by his predecessor, Olusegun Obasanjo,

who was handpicked by the military, on the eve of their “departure” in 1999, to return the country to “civilian” rule. It was the same Obasanjo, as an army general in 1979, who ushered in the country’s 2nd Republic which was led by President Shehu Shagari who was overthrown in 1983 by Gen. Muhammadu Buhari – who is currently running for president – in a coup that saw the country go through four military regimes in 16 years, the annulment by Gen. Ibrahim Babangida, of the June 12, 1993 election won by Moshood Abiola – who was murdered by the military regime of Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar while in detention – and ultimately, the return of a retired general as president in 1999.

Clearly, our democracy socalled is nothing but “Army Arrangement”, apologies to Afrobeat maestro, Fela Anikulapo-Kuti. Then again, the question is, can we really blame our military? Looking at our history, is it out of place to say, as someone has noted, that Nigeria was rigged to fail?

Nigeria: Time to consider a unity government

I

Adekoya Boladale

f there is one thing political events in the past few days has taught us about the forth coming general election, it is the fact that the term ‘free and fair’ may become too expensive for the country to afford if it eventually goes to the poll on March 28th and April 11th, 2015.

Few months ago, I opined a crash to death scenario if the general election was to take place on February 14 as earlier planned basing my postulation on the notorious state of politics the opposition APC and the PDP seems be devising in order to win the electorate to their side.

Issues and policies that directly affect the lives of citizens are neglected; propaganda, smear campaign, ethnicity and religious sentiment reign supreme.

While both parties have continuously attacked each other on the failure to concentrate on issue-based campaign, the political adverts sponsored by the two either directly or through proxy have given a new definition to pettiness and dirty politics. The continuous running of a documentary titled ‘The Real Buhari’ by the PDP on television stations

which shows a grand mixture of lies and minimal truth against General Muhammad Buhari would not have gone pass the table of the censor board anywhere in the world.

The opposition on the other hand has also created tons of videos online sponsored via ads for a viral effect on social media with some been aired on various television stations, continuously ridiculing the office of the President with some descending as low as attributing the President to a baboon and even the devil!

Both parties even with so much campaign emphasis on the need to discuss what affects the economy, depreciating naira, skyrocketing unemployment ,have continued to pay lip-service to attending presidential debate while both have concentrated on cacophony of fact-less, caricature and sweettongued promises at various campaign rallies, leaving the question of the feasibility of these promises begging for answers.

Beyond the pettiness and propaganda, the outcome of the election no matter how transparent and fair will never be accepted by either party.

A commentator said recently, that the most fearful issue is that

each political party believes it has won the election and anything short of that will be seen as rigging.

While granting an interview recently, General Buhari in an attempt to answer a straightforward question on what he will do should he lose at the poll said ‘I won’t lose’. The implication of this is that Buhari already sees himself as a President in-waiting.

One wonders how he would take disappointing outcome. Such disagreement wouldn’t be fought on the pages of newspapers or television screen but with guns and machetes.

Each political party has enough excuses to disregard the outcome of the election, even if supervised by angels.

To the PDP, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has become a close ally of APC with the party issuing press releases which in recent times have been aligning with most of its policies and actions.

This naturally is bound to create displeasure with the ruling party as such sudden found love means that the electoral body may be dancing to the tune of the opposition. Evidences have shown that the fear of PDP may be in order

.For example, INEC claims to have distributed over 80 percent of Permanent Voter’s Cards (PVC) in the northern part of the country which beyond doubt is the opposition strong hold, while the South only has only 55 percent collection rate. The implication is that more people will be able to vote in the North compared to the South.

While the International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued a warning to both parties on the need to ensure a peaceful pre and post election period, history has shown that such warnings are not strong enough to avert the possibility of chaos.

I believe it will be in interest of peace for stakeholders to consider the formation of a unity government to avert the looming chaos.

Considering the already deepening division in the country and the need for peace at this time the APC and PDP should consider the idea of unity government.

Nigeria should not be allowed to descend to a nation at the mercy of the western world as evidence shows a more than normal interest of the United States and European Union in the affairs of the country. The case of Libya, Afghanistan,Syria and Iraq is a good example.

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, February 17, 2015

15 Opinion

2015: Just before Nigerians vote

I

E.O. Eke

n a few weeks, more than 60 million of Nigerians, if all the registered voters get their permanent voter’s card (PVC), will go to the poll to elect a new president and the chances are that it will either be Goodluck Jonathan or Muhammadu Buhari.

Both are candidates of two very morally bankrupt and corrupt political parties, whose members have plundered Nigeria.

Today, the fall in the value of the naira, triggered by Buhari’s coup, has reached its lowest level at the same time he wants to return as president. It is clear that like the weather, certain things have a way of returning.

The campaign has been ill tempered and marred by suspicion, threats and accusations. There has been absence of real debate about what matters to the people and how to solve the main problems obstructing Nigeria’s evolution into a civil society and economic and technological giant. I am left wondering why Nigerians seem incapable of philosophical discuss of reality.

The question of why a father’s

past should be the future of his children has not been answered by supporters of Buhari and, those of Jonathan have not made any coherent case why a president that has shown such disregard for probity should be reelected.

It is on this premise, that the choice between Jonathan and Buhari is one between bad and worse.

Granted that both have some good qualities, which are rooted in their religious beliefs, but surrounded by very corrupt and unscrupulous men who demand little or nothing from them, the choice of who to support is bound to be a difficult one.

I have tried to imagine a Nigeria with Femi Fani-Kayode at the seat of power and the one with Tinubu.

I could not see any difference.

What evil can Jonathan do with Femi Fani-Kayode, which Buhari cannot better with Bola Tinubu?

I am aware that at a desperate time, an ass dressed as a lion would be preferred to a bull. However, how can a person who knows that what is pretending to be a lion is an ass continue to pretend that it is lion because it is dressed as one?

I wish Nigeria well, but history

seldom lies, which is why it has an uncanny way of repeating itself.

I was living in Nigeria in the 80s and experience the Buhari era, which is remembered with such nostalgia. I was in university of Ife, and was not docile. I also remember how Buhari treated some politicians because of their ethnic origin and how 52 suit cases belonging to the Emir of Mubi or so were cleared. Time, indeed plays trick on our memory. Then I read Wole Soyinka saying he has 60 reasons why Jonathan should not be elected and then failed to mention one of the 61 reasons why Buhari is equally undeserving of the presidency.

Buhari comes from a generation Nigerians should better forget.

When I see men like Gowon, Buhari, Shagari, Babangida, Obasanjo etc., attending NEC meetings and still deciding what happens in Nigeria, it churns my stomach.

It shows that the cabals that have led Nigeria into irrelevance and anarchy and turned the country into a cesspit of corruption and extremism are still in power.

APC should have selected a progressive; broader minded and better informed Nigerian from the

North and not another member of the evil and rapacious generation.

Corrupt as Jonathan, has been, I know there are evils more dangerous, like the spirit of Boko Haram and minds that see Sharia as the solution to all immoralities. It is a hard thing for a man to choose between ignorance and bigotry and corruption and cowardice.

It is not Ijaws that selected Jonathan to become president of Nigeria. He is a product of party political permutation. Buhari was ordained to be APC presidential candidate even after he has lost three elections. This is what many who are fanning the flame of ethnic politics; do not seem to have factored in their analysis.

Nigeria cannot develop, if we continue to play ethnic politics.

Every Nigerian is free to choose either Buhari or Jonathan, this is beauty of democracy. Nigerians who will vote Buhari are not wiser than those who would vote Jonathan. People vote at elections for selfish political interest first.

Rarely do people vote for what is in the best interest of all. One man’s saint is another man’s sinner.

One man’s hero is another man’s villain.

How Western countries rob Africa

N

Toyin Dawodu

o one wants to talk about it and no one will admit to it. But the continent that is richest in natural resources has the poorest inhabitants in the world.

Why is that?

Global news would have you believe Africans are the problem with Africa. But that’s like trying to force bullying to go away by blaming the kids being bullied.

But no one wants to talk about this, not even Africans. And Western countries are robbing Africa blind while the whole world watches.

When I first saw this story in the Wall Street Journal, the headline piqued my interest, but it was woefully misleading. Western news agencies always report on Africa as if Africa is killing herself. It is not Africans stealing money and having the money sent abroad. It is big business and Western governments sticking their quick hands and bony fingers into the pot and stealing from Africans. It pisses me off how the media tries to slant the story. “$60 billion leaves Africa illegal-

ly each year” – Voice of America “Africa loses $60 billion a year illegally” – World Bulletin “Africa losing $60 billion every year” – World Affairs Journal I think the Wall Street Journal may have been the worst of all: “Scams cost Africa billions, Panel Says.”

Because the media has already instilled in the minds of Westerners that Africans, specifically Nigerians, are scam artists – some sort of fabled gang of wandering gypsies, 170 million people strong, who go from place to place scamming people out of their hardearned money.

Western news agencies report on Africa’s challenges as if the problems rest with Africans. Meanwhile, these all-seeing, all-knowing propaganda machines turn a blind eye to the truth because it is inconvenient. They can’t blame Western companies, big banks, and government agencies. No! How would they generate ad revenues? How would they pass socially liberal laws? For more than 100 years, the “news” has run the same game on the world and used Africa as its dumping ground.

Nowhere in the article did the Wall Street Journal reporter men-

tion anything about the complicity of the Western banks that receive this stolen money. The entities on the receiving end of this windfall should be the focus of these articles, not “poor Africans” living on the “poorest continent.”

The only reason the Chinese and the West have any presence at all in Africa is for our natural resources.

In fact, a recent article on ICIJ.com lists HSBC among the big banks that are handling money for some of the world’s most corrupt and under-handed criminals, including traffickers, drug lords, dictators and the very folks who are bleeding Africa of its wealth.

Don’t be misled: You can’t send tens of millions of dollars around without every government knowing about it.

Can you imagine what the ramifications would be if an individual or a company tried to pull this same racket on the US or the UK? Stealing $60 billion of US tax revenue?

When France blew the whistle on the Swiss banks and started naming account holders back in 2010, the US decided to go after the bank for helping U.S. citizens skip out on paying taxes in their home country. The IRS and the FBI

demanded the names of all US tax evaders and the Swiss bank turned them over. Not only did it turn over the names, but the bank also had to pay billions of dollars in fines to the U.S. government.

But the Swiss, like most Western governments, have been glad to hang on to the wealth, which the same thieves have been stealing from African countries for generations. Yet, the only things the western journalists fixate on are the hundred-dollar scams from hapless Nigeria chain letter writers.

When will the West do the right thing for once? The West is quick to condemn Africans and their weak institutions. Western journalists dig deep when they are reporting news that disparage Africa, but the extent of their investigation is always, superficial.

Every penny and franc that leaves stolen from the shores of Africa is absolutely traceable by every western bank and their government. Yes the African institutions are weak, and I don’t excuse the desperate, egomaniacal, corrupt behaviour of some African leaders, but I know the West is more than happy to capitalise on Africa’s weaknesses, while pretending to be interested in solving its problems.

16

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Politics

s OLAFARE Presidency: Afenifere can’t decide for Yorubaland

Moses Olafare

17

Comrade Moses Olafare is the Director General, South West Independent Campaign Organisation (SWICO), a group of pro-Yoruba self-determination activists currently rooting for General Muhammadu Buhari’s electoral victory in the southwest in the presidential election slated for March 28, 2015. In this interview, he spoke on how his group arrived at the choice of Buhari, which is contrary to the stance of the Afenifere and other issues. Excerpts:

What actually led to the formation of your group, the South West Independent Campaign Organisation, (SWICO)?

Ours is a group of like minds in the civil rights organisation who realised that our principle is in tandem with the ideology of the proponents of the All Progressives Congress, (APC). We x-rayed the records of the APC’s presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari, and came to the conclusion that he has what it takes, judging by his an-

tecedents, to lead the country out of its present sorry state.

But as your name suggests, your agitation is primarily to promote the well being of the Yoruba people. So, what do you say to the insinuations that Buhari is anti-Yoruba?

As human beings, we are at liberty to hold different views about a person. You cannot expect everybody to see Gen. Buhari from the same angle. There is bound to be divergent opinCONTINUED ON PAGE 18

Executive takes legislature for granted – Laori Barrister Kwamoti Laori is the Deputy Speaker of Adamawa State House of Assembly. He was one of the founding fathers of the PDP in the state. Since 1999 when the party formed the government in the state he has been very visible and functional in all activities of the party both at the state and national levels until recently when things went sour between him and other politicians in the state and the national headquarters of the party in regards to the crisis that erupted during the process of picking candidates for the 2015 elections.

In an interview in Yola with WALE AKINTUNDE, he bared his mind on national issues and political developments in the state. Excerpts: It will not be out of place to say that you have paid your dues politically, how would you describe your experience having been at the head of the Adamawa State legislative house as acting Speaker and Speaker of the State Assembly

“The electorate think what those people in executive arm of government are doing is expected of the lawmaker to replicate” for two consecutive times?

Honestly, this is my second tenure as a law maker representing Numan State Constituency. Presently, I am occupying the post of the Deputy Speaker in the House. The experiences I had are very interesting. Firstly there are a lot of misconceptions about what representation is. The duty and the function of the legislature by the electorate has being misconceived. I found out that the electorate are rarely vastly educated on the duties

Tarzoo

Why I turned down polls debate,

by PDP candidate

and the functions of the legislature, they always mistake the lawmakers to be a local government chairman or a governor.

The electorate think what those people in executive arm of government are doing is expected of the lawmaker to replicate.

It is quite funny, and I discover of course that I have to educate people on the function of a legislature. It has taken a while, but I am happy that no matter how it is happening, we are achieving result ,making these people know what they should expect from the lawmakers. In my capacity as deputy speaker and once a speaker of the house, I had to put in my best to paddle the affairs of the house.

There is no motion or issues that has direct bearing to the people that I have no input. I have also raised certain fundermental issues that have to do with lives ofour people in Adamawa State, I have forwarded it and with the help of my colleagues the motion have always been successful for CONTINUED ON PAGE 19

Freddie Adamgbe, Makurdi The Tarzoor/Ngbede Gubernatorial Campaign Organisation has refuted insinuations that the Benue State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship candidate, Rt Hon. Terhemen Tarzoor and his running mate John Ngbede deliberately ‘’dodged’’ the recent debate organised by Tivnet

Laori

for gubernatorial candidates for all political parties in the state.

The campaign organisation in a statement signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the Director General, Mr Tom Chiahemen maintained that it became necessary to correct the misinformation saying Tarzoor did not ‘dodge’ the said debate as erroneously reported in the media.

‘’It would be wrong and mischievous to suggest that Prince Tarzoo ‘dodged’ the debate when, in the first place, our candidate did not, at any time, accept to participate in the event. For the avoidance of doubt, Prince Tarzoor could not honour the invitation because some of the persons slated to participate in the exercise are phantom candidates.”

Politics 18

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, February 17, 2015

‘Buhari is not anti-Yoruba’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17

ions. Even between husband and wife, there are disagreements.

Many saw his government as military head of state in 1983 as being very dictatorial?

In 1983, it was not Buhari that ruled dictatorially but the government he headed then. Let’s get this very clear. There is a wide difference between Buhari as a person and the military government headed by Buhari.

Don’t forget that the government came to being as a result of the resolve of a group of military officers to check the activities of some corrupt politicians at that time. Decisions then are based on the majority. They came with a policy, as a government and enacted decrees to back their policies up. And whether we like it or not, those decrees are laws that must be respected by the citizens.

So, when you infringe on any of such decrees, you are punished accordingly. What actually happened was that he punished some people whom he believed, contributed to the economic decay of that time. And this was done indiscriminately. You know what happened to Barkin Zuwo, Uba Ammed, Aminu Kano, Alhaji Shehu Shagari and even Umaru Dikko. So, for anybody to label Gen. Buhari as a tribalist based on the activities of the government he headed is simply unfair and false.

So, what actually led to your endorsement of the Buhari/ Osinbajo ticket?

When you talk of the order of hierarchy in the present government, we see that our race, the Yoruba is in the first eleven. So, for Buhari to have considered a Yoruba man as his deputy is enough to earn him our support as a group with sincere and genuine feeling for the Yoruba.

Don’t forget the saying that the worst of your children is better, to you than the best of others’ children. The Yoruba have been so marginalised under the present administration. Buhari has

always been the best candidate since he had been contesting elections in this country.

He is a tested hand as governor, minister, Head of State and Chairman of the Petroleum Trust Fund, (PTF). This is a man that does not believe in amassing wealth. He has no house in Lagos, neither in Abuja. He has only two houses in Daura, his home town and Kaduna and these two houses were built over 30 years ago.

Here is a man with zero tolerance for corruption which he has demonstrated by personal example. What he will not do, he will not promise. You can see these in how he has been going about his campaign, telling Nigerians that he would only focus on transparency, diligence and discipline, which are major things we need to imbibe as a nation to get out of the current mess.

But how do we reconcile your own position with that of Afenifere which is rooting for the second coming of the incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan?

We are in a world of divergent views. That they have spoken does not mean everybody will fall in line. They have said the current administration as led by President Jonathan is okay, it is then left for the Yoruba to chose.

And which can we say enjoy larger followership in Yorubaland, your group or the Afenifere?

In terms of visible followership, there is nothing to compare. We are far ahead. There is no community in the whole of Yorubaland that I will go and I will not be able to mobilise, at least, a hundred people. This is so because we that constitute SWICO have been long in the struggle for the emancipation of the race from the shackles of lingering oppression.

We have played key roles in several groups that have been formed in this pursuit and we have always played active roles that endears us to the people. Our people rely more on what we tell them than what one side of Afenifere, which leaders they only see on television, tell them. I was once the

“Buhari is a tested hand as governor, minister, Head of State and Chairman of the Petroleum Trust Fund, (PTF). This is a man that does not believe in amassing wealth. He has no house in Lagos, neither in Abuja. He has only two houses in Daura, his home town and Kaduna and these two houses were built over 30 years ago”

Buhari

National Secretary of the Oodua Peoples Congress (OPC), so we have come a long way.

They (Afenifere) too know this. Even when they have programmes, they call us to fill the gap for them. In fact, we got our nomination to the national confab through them. And that was one of the kite they flew when they wanted to lobby us to support Goodluck Jonathan but we told them we cannot sell our conscience. This is where you will draw the line.

What is your take on the recent postponement of the election date from February 14 to March 28, 2015?

Well, we will be deceiving Nigerians if we say we have not seen this coming. The body language of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), since the commencement of campaign, has not suggested in any way that they are indeed prepared for the election.

We have seen a display of wanton disregard for the electorate by their playing down on showcasing their manifesto but rather engage largely on innuendoes, abuse and name calling. We have heard many of their leaders calling on the presidency to sack the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) boss, Prof.

Attahiru Jega and the display of sundry anti election practices, all in an effort to cover their sins and elongate the incumbent’s tenure, even as it seems the overwhelming majority of Nigerians are eager for change.

Now that the elections have been shifted what does this portend for Nigeria’s democracy?

The inaction, so to say, has confirmed to the world that we an are uncoordinated people.

It has shown clearly that our leaders are bereft of the wherewithal to drive us on the part of advancement, as a nation. It has further made a mess of our battered image among the comity of nations.

It has portrayed the incumbent administration as enemy CONTINUED ON PAGE 19

“We have heard many of their leaders calling on the presidency to sack the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) boss, Prof. Attahiru Jega and the display of sundry anti election practices, all in an effort to cover their sins and elongate the incumbent’s tenure, even as it seems the overwhelming majority of Nigerians are eager for change”

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, February 17, 2015

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 17

the governor to implement. Mostly, the challenges we are having is from the executive to implement what the legislature have done.

We are aware the resolution is just an advise to the governor to implement them or not. Practically when it comes to the issue of bill, when it becomes a law the governor has no option than to implement it. Funny enough the executives sometime take our resolution with levity. I remember there was a time we had to take a drastic action against the governor to the extend we refused any communication from the executive to make sure our resolutions were obeyed. So, our democracy is a growing one but I believe with the knowledge we are having we can hasten this growth and catch up with the developing world to meet up with the standard of those we are copying.

I know the journey so far in Nigeria in respect of democracy is a tremendous one and there has been quite a lot of achievements even the participatory nature is better than a military reign we had. But we politicians have to put our hands together for the things we need to do. We need to actually allow the people’s will to prevail and we need to cut off the issues of corruption deep down from the fabric of our society and it is becoming the bane of our development. We as politicians, people are expecting too much from us, sometimes, it is the people that made the politicians corrupt because of their insatiable demands. Things that you are not supposed to do, people will demand from you. If there are areas you cut corners so that they can have a means but all that boils down to political education to educate electorate on the role of legislators. With this I think democ-

19 Politics

‘Why I dumped PDP for SDP’

Jonathan racy will be rooted in our system.

I believe all of us should put our hands on deck so that democracy can succeed. More especially the press, they need to educate and enlighten the people, they also have to be very incisive and ask decisive questions to bring out the best and also to challenge the elected representative in order to do what is expected of them.

During the crisis period in the PDP in the state you stood firm on the ground and make

sure the right thing was done why did you dumped the party?

As you pointed out, it is true that I was in the thick of the birth and the renaissance of the PDP in Adamawa State, even when some people labelled us and gave us all sorts of names. It is the same PDP people who are coming in and enjoying the cause. When we started, there were some bad eggs that cropped in, selfish individuals who joined to spoil the party

we laboured for. Even those people in opposition when they came, they refused to follow the rules of the party and failed to wait on the bench for their turn to come.

Rather they went straight and direct to the driver seat. And this are some of the things that caused injustice in the PDP. Personally, I felt, I cannot continue with what was happening in the party therefore I had to leave PDP for other platform. For your information it has been on record

“My right was threatened in the party, then I stood up and fought a gallant fight since I felt that pursuing my ambition in PDP is like a whipping dead horse” that I have never changed party before now since 1999 when political parties were formed. I don’t believe in the ideology of jumping party, I was a committed member of the PDP till the impurity in the party got to its height in which I could no longer tolerate. For instance, Alh. Bamanga Tukur who was doing well, people labeled in him all sorts of names saying that he was busy fighting, in reality he was not. But what he was doing then was to lay a solid foundation for the party supremacy where due process will be strictly abided by all members of the party no matter how highly placed the person is, what we need not somebody that will sit down and take a decision at his whims and caprices and think that everybody will obey. You cannot practice that in democracy because people have the right to express themselves, they have the right of choice. I am sure there is no way I can get justice in PDP, because I have not beeen given a fair playing ground.

My right was threatened in the party, then I stood up and fought a gallant fight since I felt that pursuing my ambition in PDP is like a whipping dead horse. DefiCONTINUED ON PAGE 20

Buhari is not anti-Yoruba, says Laori CONTINUED FROM PAGE 18

to the growth of genuine democracy in Nigeria and it is so sad. If we, as a nation can fail to fix election and make it hold in four years, simply because there is crisis in less than 15 local councils out of the 774, then something is very wrong with our leaders.

Remember that elections held in countries where there are full scale war, like Syria, Afghanistan and others. Why is our own always different? We all know the true situation and I can assure you that, at the appropriate time, everything will come

to the open and we shall have no option than to decide our fate by ourselves.

What is the cause of your coalition’s agitation, as a proYoruba self-determination organisation?

It is because we are appalled by the array of calls for the postponement of the general elections as earlier scheduled and its eventual shift. Recent happenings in the polity, especially, the desperation being infused in the game plan by some close associates of President Goodluck Jonathan are pointers to the fact that there is more to this than meet the eye.

Of concern is also the arrest and continued detention of loyal senior army officers who complained of inadequate funding of their operations in the troubled areas in the northern part of the country. The increasing indictment of government agencies for corrupt practices has also caught our attention.

Our concern is borne out of the growing concern in the nation today and its attendant societal discrepancies and administrative ineptitude that stinks to high heavens.

We are deeply touched by the depleting economy of our nation, the Yoruba, and the drastic

ebb being recorded, by the day, in our almost impeccable social order, rich tradition and values, engendered by acute misadministration by those who have constituted the tail-wagging-the-dog of Nigeria.

It is now a nation where human lives is as worthless as a cockroach on the sidewalk, where people die like ants, particularly in the north east, and where the socio-political order is a hangman.

But INEC seems not to be well prepared for the elections as earlier fixed and the need to shift the election came in order to prevent many Nigerians that would

have been disenfranchised, under the situation, the opportunity to participate in the election?

That is not correct. Elections have held before this time and there has never been a time the country recorded 100 percent participation. INEC, through its Chairman, had not for once hidden its preparedness to hold the election. The main reason adduced for the postponement is the insecurity at the north eastern zone of the country and that cannot be the fault of INEC but that of the presidency which supposed to see to the security of lives and property through the Nigeria Armed Forces.

Politics 20

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, February 17, 2015

SDP: The flying horse to beat in Adamawa State Tom Garba, Yola The re-emergence of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) on the political landscape of Nigeria has turned into a pleasant surprise to many while others who have forgotten or unaware of the antecedents of the party have been shocked beyond words. The party came into prominence in 1993 when its candidate, world renowned business mogul, Chief MKO Abiola and his running mate, Alhaji Babagana Kingibe won the June 12 Presidential elections which was later annulled by the then Military President, Gen. Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida.

Despite this, the SDP remained a national party with lots of supporters and loyalists across the country and its popularity and unity stood the test of time particularly against the annulment and not until the military pushed aside the toothless interim government of Ernest Shonekan which saw the emergence of Gen Sani Abacha in power. It was Abacha who imposed the most tyrannical regime in the land which resulted into many Nigerians seeking political asylum outside the country for fear of being killed or jailed. During Abachas’s regime, Abiola ended up in detention and later died in the gulag while fighting the cause of social justice.

Thus in the 1998 registration of parties, it was decided to have multi party democracy instead of a two-party state in order to have a plurality of choice and wide acceptance in the country. This was why the likes of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alliance for Democracy, (AD) and All Peoples Party (APP) were formed. APP later metamorphosed to ANPP and now fused up with many parties to become APC.

“SDP has plans to challenge other older parties to surprise many in Adamawa State. The ongoing mass defection of politicians to SDP is like joining the party of success.”

The SDP was later re-registered in the countdown to the 2015 election and became a toddler party struggling to stand on its crutches and is trying to wade off its present challenges as a sort of a new party that can save the country from total collapse of the economy and backwardness.

SDP THE NEW PARTY FOR ADAMAWA PEOPLE Thus the wide acceptability of the party in Adamawa State is not surprising as it is seen as the only party for both the rich and poor, the high and lowly, the downtrodden and people of high spirit, the hurt and the aggrieved people. It is regarded as the party for social justice. Another phase of the coin that is manifesting in the political system of Adamawa State is the decampment of stalwarts of PDP who have been ruling the state into the SDP. Being a PDP state, but the imposition of unpopular candidates and refusing to allow the roots of democracy take its full cause has turned the state into a political battle field of sort. At the moment, internal party crisis is the order of the day.

Abiola As PDP is being overwhelmed by internal party crisis, SDP in the state is busy strategising on how to form government in 2015 by wooing and welcoming many new members into the party. The massive defection of politicians from PDP to other parties most especially SDP as a result of crisis in the party has strategically positioned SDP in an advantageous side where the likes of Engr. Marcus Gundiri who pulls crowds from every corner of the state and enjoys the loyalty of many of the indigenes of Adamawa people.

Gundiri can be likened to a wounded soldier who sustained serious injuries and blows received from the ruling party that destroyed his political ambition and chances of becoming the next governor during the recent primary of the party. Smarting from the shock, he decided to join SDP with thousands of his supporters.

With his political records and antecedents, he was made the gubernatorial flag bearer in the forth coming general elections.

With him in the party, one can see the white horse turning into a

unicorn which is flying at a very high speed ready to break any other obstacle coming her way.

Gundiri’s defection to SDP with his unwavering supporters in all parts of the state has automatically made SDP a celebrated party. At the moment, thousands of youths are beginning to drum support for the party as one of the political stalwarts in southern zone and the second man in the Adamawa state house of assembly, Barr. Kwaomati Lauri has also defected to the horse party to contest in the House of Representatives race.

The man in charge of the affairs of the party in the state and championing the cause of the party in Adamawa told journalist of their readiness and certainty to win the February 2015 election as the party has come back with full force to dislodge any other party on ground. According to Mr Ibrahim Bebetu, the vibrant coming of the party is not only in Adamawa but Ondo State as well as some other south east states of the country who are backing the party’s manifestoes of social liberation of all Nigerians.

He was also instrumental in making the party lively in Taraba State where it parades many supporters with aspirants contesting in various positions. Despite all odds, Bebetu is certain of the party’s ability to change Adamawa for good.

From whichever angle one may look at it, SDP has plans to challenge other older parties to surprise many in Adamawa State. The ongoing mass defection of politicians to SDP is like joining the party of success. It is an irony of life that the party that was once silent and unknown to many is turning into a hot cake while the popularity of the party is sky rocketing to every nooks and crannies of the state.

‘Insatiable demands by electorate make politicians corrupt’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19

nitely I left to where my worth will be appreciated that is what informed my decision to change to SDP. The Adamawa PDP is now fragmented to three bodies due to one crisis or other which was as a result of injustice. Some were imposed instead of allowing things to follow due process.

The rule of the party were set aside and rules were formulated by the powers that be to achieve personal agenda. That

is of course what brought hullabaloo in the PDP and the nation at large. So, I can no longer talk much about.

PDP. I have left that party for good. What ever that it is happening is now their kettle of fish, let them know how to handle it. I am a card carrying member of SDP with a symbol of a white horse.

Our national officers are men of proven integrity well respected that cannot tolerate what is happening in the PDP the way it has been acting with impunity. We in the SDP don’t act in such a way.

Recently, national leaders of SDP endorsed PDP presidental candidate in person President Goodluck Jonathan as their choice in the next presidential poll, don’t you may SDP teaming supporters at the grassroots who are illiterates and may vote in PDP candidates in all electives post.

It is true SDP don’t have its own presidential candidate because of the problem the party had. The person who was supposed to be its candidate withdrew at the last minute when it

was too late to change a candidate by INEC regulation.

So the party found itself in a situation where it could not field a presidential candidate which made the PDP to approach SDP for an alliance in respect of adopting their presidential candidate for the poll. People are being educated on who to vote for because they will appear differently. It is obvious that the ballot papers will indicate this is for Senate, this, is for Rep, this is for President and this is for Governor and of course this

is for the House of Assembly. I personally commend INEC this time around. I learnt although, I am not sure until I see the ballot paper. They are trying to customize it in such a way that only the parties that fielded candidates their names will appear on the ballot papers. If that is implemented, it is going to help the electorate tremendously. This time around it will be quite easier people are becoming more familiar with the party logo and also make their own appropriate decisions.

e President customer service,

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Tech Future

s

21

Edited by Inye Kemabonta inye@technologylaw.com.ng

The Power of NITDA (1) NITDA (the National Information Technology Development Agency) was born at both a critical and very opportune time in the life of the nation; a time when the country was, and still is, in dire need of a diversified revenue base; a time when the country needed, and still needs, to join other knowledge-driven economies. NITDA was born at a time when it could, and still can, become a great institution, comparable to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) in terms of its relevance, influence and contributions to the economy.

Indeed, NITDA is to technology and knowledge what the CBN is to finance and banking.

However, because technology is a cross-cutting enabler, NITDA’s strategic role places her in a much more potentially powerful position than any other government Agency! This is not idle talk at all. There are regulatory documents which confer enormous powers on NITDA. These powers, which remain to be fully exercised, are still potent, even if latent. The window of opportunity to make Nigeria great still exists, especially under the leadership of its visionary Governing Board

Omobola

and Chief Executive, Peter Jack.

The aim of this article is to show how that potential can still be achieved for the good of the ICT industry and the whole country.

On April 16, 2006, NITDA was officially designated the “Clearing House” for Information Technology (IT) in Nigeria by the Federal Government through an SGF circular with ref number SGF.6/s.19/T/65. That declaration was largely due to the then Enterprise and Strategic Partnership Agreement between the Federal Government and Microsoft Corporation, with NITDA as administrator.

The most important part of that circular was the directive that all MDAs should consult NITDA before embarking on any IT project. Before then, and even up to the present moment, MDAs paid scant attention to the existence of an IT regulatory Agency. Government Agencies could procure whatever kind of IT services or infrastructure they wanted or thought they needed with recourse to the technical advice of NITDA, and without any thoughts as to whether the overall procurement was in fur-

Federal Executive Council approves postal reform bill 2014

“COBIT is the single, most important framework for IT governance in the world today. It is capable of helping the country to leap-frog to a developed economy in a few short years!” therance of national IT strategy.

Billions of naira were expended without real value accruing to the economy. But NITDA was hamstrung by the fact that it had no regulatory teeth. Now it does. Its enabling law was enacted in April 2007. How it enforces that legislation will determine whether the nation will be great in the near future or still remain a developing economy.

If we imagine the role of CBN as the clearing house for banking and financial transactions, or the role of the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) as the clearing house for public procurement, then we can begin to see the stra-

Tony Nwakaegho Plans to reform the Nigerian postal sector and to restructure the Nigerian Postal Service (NIPOST) received a boost with the approval of the Nigeria Postal Commission Bill 2014 by the Federal Executive Council (FEC) on Wednesday February 11. The Bill will be forwarded to the Legislature to be passed into law.

The Postal sector in Nigeria has grown over time with more than 1,200 post offices owned by government, close to 2,000 postal agency outfits

Peter Jack

Technology is a cross-cutting enabler

tegic importance of NITDA in the IT industry and the economy at large. It is indeed an extremely strategic and powerful role for any Agency to whom every MDA must come for clearance.

The strategic position of NITDA, apart from being subsequently codified in the NITDA Act of 2007, was echoed and further expounded in another and more recent landmark circular from the office of the SGF, circular number SGF .6/S. 12/C .2/II/788 of July 17, 2012. Although this circular is devoted to the issue of local content in Information Technology, it again gives primacy to NITDA, especially where it states

that procuring entities shall: (I) Prior to tender, obtain the technical advice of NITDA ( to be given not later than 15days from date of the request) on the configuration of the information systems suitable for the purpose intended; (II) Incorporate the specifications and configuration advised by NITDA in their bid and tender documents; (III) Without naming the brands of the products include in the invitation to tender, such statements which indicate that the items for bidding shall be lo-

managed by individuals, and over 290 registered private courier companies. However statistics from the National Bureau of Statistics show that whilst year-on-year growth is increasing, the contribution of the Post and Courier Services sector to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (at 0.03%) is still low.

The Nigeria Postal Commission Bill 2014 is designed to reform and reposition the postal sector in line with global trends and international best practices. It promotes a postal sector that is efficient, cost ef-

fective, better funded and capable of delivering service that meets universal obligations embedded in National policies and programmes such as the Transformation Agenda and Vision 20:2020.

The postal sector is managed by NIPOST, therefore the growth of the sector is intrinsically tied to the reform of NIPOST. The process of reforming NIPOST began in the early 2000s, the National Council on Privatisation (NCP), through the Bureau of Public Enter-

Continued on page 22

Continued on page 23

Tech Future 22

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, February 17, 2015

PAPDA to begin local assembly of mobile phones soon - Nwosu The Computer Village, Ikeja, Lagos is an ICT cluster in Nigeria with its membership stretching across all the rungs of the ICT value chain. But little is really known officially about all the associations that dot the market. The Phones and Allied Products Dealers Association, (PAPDA) Ikeja, is one such association. It claims to have created over 25,000 jobs and manufactures made-in-Nigeria mobile phones. These are issues that aroused the curiosity of TECH FUTURE and prompted a visit to the Ikeja computer village. The President of PAPDA, Mr. Geofrey Iyke Nwosu spoke with Tony Nwakaegho on its activities in the ICT space. Excerpts:

What is PAPDA all about?

PAPDA is a trade Association of people involved in some aspect of IT business technically and the accessories that are related to mobile phones. The Association was formally formed like any other association to take care of the interest of its members, to protect their business interest, and to help fashion out a way that our mobile phone business can grow.

When was the association formed?

It was formed in 2007 with membership strength of over 4,000 made up of about 3,000 financial members that actually pay their dues.

How do you operate in such a cluster within a residential environment?

NITDA power

Jack

As you can see there is a lot of businesses that border around IT and there are other associations as well. But our association is a very active association as things stand today in the market. We take care of our members who are basically mobile phones dealers.

We do not go outside the foray of mobile phones. So anybody that trades on mobile phone is a member of the association officially or unofficially. As it stands, this association is the mouth piece of every phone dealer in this market.

Are your members categorized into local and foreign phones dealers?

All the phones we use in Nigeria here are all imported phones, and the association is an association of everybody that deals on mobile devices. What we need to

Continued from page 21 cally manufactured or assembled brands The circular also mentions that such products must be those certified by NITDA. The import of these circulars are two-fold: first, it means that no MDA can procure IT equipment and products (hardware or software), or embark on any kind of IT project without first checking with NITDA to obtain a “no objection” certificate. Second, it means that the IT products to be procured must be those certified by NITDA as having met required standards and being suitable for Nigeria.

The fact that IT products and services are used for e-government, security, e-learning, e-commerce, e-payment, capacity building, communication, word processing, etc. means that there is almost no MDA that would not need the technical advice of NITDA. It is quite easy to see the real in-

Nwosu

understand is that association is not something we have to force people to join. There are still people in the market who are doing business here and are not members of the association, but in one way or the other the benefits of the association still rubs on them.

Now that people are clamoring for local content in ICT

sector as in the oil and gas sector, are there made in Nigeria phones at the moment?

As at the moment we can talk about Nigerian brands, but specifically all the brands are still being manufactured outside. However, some of the inputs in terms of design and applications that are used on the phones have local content. We have a brand of phone

tention for the creation of NITDA. Every sector of the economy has a regulator. Therefore, NITDA is to Information Technology what BPP is to public procurement, what CBN is to banking and finance and what the Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) is to national standards. The real power and relevance of NITDA is not that it is the center of attention for the implementation of a clearing house policy for technology.

Rather its power is in its potential and opportunity to create millions of jobs and build great local companies by implementing the contents of the various circulars.

NITDA also, by the adoption and launch of COBIT 5 Framework on December 4 2013, prepared the ground for business process improvements, IT Enterprise governance and commensurate return on IT investments among MDAs and indeed the private sector. COBIT 5 is the acronym for Control Objectives

for IT (and Related) Technologies version 5.0, an international framework for the management and governance of enterprise IT. The framework which is in its 5th version has assisted very many developed economies become extremely competitive and successful in their business processes. COBIT is the single, most important framework for IT governance in the world today. It is capable of helping the country to leap-frog to a developed economy in a few short years!

So what must NITDA do against the foregoing backdrop of potentials and promise? Having launched COBIT5, NITDA must take urgent steps to put a regulation around it, develop a compliance framework for it, popularize it among public and private institutions and assist the institutions to build capacity for its implementation without further delay.

NITDA will need to develop,

called Maxtel that about thirty of us came together in partnership to push. So we are still talking to our technical partners that in the next two or three years we will be able to have an assembly plant where these phones are to be coupled right here in Nigeria.

Like here in Nigeria some of the difficulties we face are caused by policies which do not really encourage people to do well in the industry. Some of the difficulties existing in the market borders on foreigners having access to the market and being able to trade, being able to import, distribute and even do retail. When you see a situation like that then you will start to appreciate the fact that local industries would find it difficult to sustain their growth, because we don’t have the strength in terms of the finance or the infrastructure or the technicality to be able to compete with these people. I still believe that with what we are doing now, trying to tabulate some of the challenges of our businesses, if we are able to face the government and talk to them about some of these things, we should be well taken care of and Nigerian businesses would flourish in spite of the competition that is coming from the Asians.

Do your members to have

Continued on page 23

communicate and review a national IT strategy to guide public and private investments in IT infrastructure and services.

An enforcement and compliance mechanism will then kick in to give effect to both circulars of government. A rigorous IT products certification program is a necessity. It will save Nigeria from being a perennial dumping ground for substandard and pirated products. It will also imbue confidence into the IT sector and allow for the emergence of a truly regulated sector. To achieve that, NITDA needs to collaborate with and strengthen trade associations in the industry. Most of their members would feature as assessors in NITDA’s implementation of its clearing house role on IT projects in MDAs. The impact this would have is the emergence of a strong, cohesive, dominant and indigenous IT industry.

To be continued

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, February 17, 2015

23 Tech Future

Local assembly of mobile FG okays phones coming - Nwosu

postal reform bill Omobola

Continued from page 21 prise (BPE), started with objectives that included: Establishing a low cost universal postal service that provides a solid communication medium and link nation-wide, providing a safe and efficient postal service that is sustainable and keeps pace with development in the rest of the world, introducing private sector participation and the development of the postal service into a commercially viable enterprise and creating a convenient means of savings mobilisation and payment and/or funds transfer system for the entire country through the postal network.

However, whilst the conceptual framework for reform was developed, the process of its ownership and actualisation has suffered significant delays and action, and on some aspects has stalled. For example it may be recalled that a number of (private members) Bills to amend the Nigerian Postal Service Act, 1992 have been considered by the legislative arm of Government but none passed into law.

Since 2011 and the start of President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan administration, the focus of reform has been to promote NIPOST as a “necessary tool for the promotion of social, financial and digital inclusion”. The Administration has sought to restructure NIPOST along business lines through the establishment of a new management style that focuses on operational excellence, quality improvement, customer focus, result-oriented management, and cost control. In a bid to empower NIPOST to respond more effectively in a very competitive environment, the deployment

of massive ICT infrastructural system with focus on carrying out ICT-based services, including on-line and automated services in post offices is being implemented (in stages). The anticipated result will be improvement in the quality of service and process efficiency, and through that the regaining of public confidence in service delivery.

Speaking on the approval of the Bill in relation to efforts to reform the postal sector, the Honourable Minister of Communication Technology, Dr (Mrs) Omobola Johnson described it as: “a timely impetus to push harder and further with the reform of the Nigerian postal sector, and we look to the Legislature to quickly pass this into law.“ The Hon Minister went on to explain that: “the passage of the Bill into law will allow for the establishment of an effective, impartial and independent regulatory authority for the postal sector; and this will help to ensure fair competition in the postal industry.”

Such a move will introduce greater transparency and predictability in the sector and will encourage private investment and development of the broader economy “…practically every sector of the economy depends on service providers in the postal industry.”

Passage of the Bill into law will also help to promote the provision of modern universal, efficient and easily accessible postal services. By ensuring that the needs of the poor, disabled and elderly persons are taken into consideration, and setting a robust framework for protecting the right and interest of consumers; the Bill aids in furthering the attainment of more inclusive socio-economic development in Nigeria.

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Continued from page 22 easy access to loans?

That is one of the most difficult aspects of the business. It is very difficult to get access loan locally. Some of the financial assistance we get are in the form of consignments from our suppliers overseas. 70 per cent of our members have witnessed growth in their business based on the support they get from their manufacturers overseas. It is a very good thing for Nigerians to be able to access credit in countries like China and Hong Kong, because to some extent the credibility of Nigerians has been put to test and the reputation of Nigerians has remained intact.

Does this process of accessing funds abroad for your businesses not amount to capital flight?

To some extent it could be regarded as capital flight, but on the other hand I think we are getting more benefits from our partners because the majority of the goods are on consignment on a cycle of one month pay back. Some people have access to about $250,000 on credit on equipment and devices.

That is indirectly bringing foreign direct investment in Nigeria.. As far as I am concerned we have been able to create a lot of jobs and sustain them on the Credit lines that we are getting from our partners overseas.

How has your association dealt with the issue of substandards phones and devices against the background of the regulatory activities of the Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) and the Nigerian Communications Commission

(NCC) ?

Obvoiusly, in the last three years, we have done very well in terms of the fight against substandard products. We have entered into a memorandum of understanding with SON and have a working relationship with NCC. In terms of SON we have a wonderful relationship and the success is there for everyone to see.

One of the relationships led us to China on a trip which I organized myself where we had an interactive session with over 65 manufacturers of mobile phones and the SON officials and the Engineers were able to tell them that these are the requirement of the products that they intend to export into Nigeria. Of course the regulation of our e- product registration and all the documentation are of standard, like SUNCAP. Being able to channel every product through a particular representative in Nigeria has worked well for us. After the trip, things changed in this market. like we had over 45 new brand officially registered products by Standard Organisation of Nigeria. We also impressed it upon every manufacturer that wants to be in Nigeria to make sure that they have a working service center where after sales services would be taken care of because I believe that Nigerians deserve value for their money. Before my tenure it was not like this, and one of the things I believe is that we always wanted Nigerians to be able to have dominance in this industry even though we don’t manufacture. Like most of the things we do here we should have at least 50 per cent or 70 per cent of it. We have done so well with SON, though sometimes we

do have some misunderstanding in the area of their operations or the way they go about their job. It’s been a wonderful government agency to work with.

On the side of NCC, they don’t normally do enforcement in the market. But the NCC, SON, and CPC, they can work together. NCC is more on frequency, so what we do is to advice every brand that comes here to make sure they get their type approval from NCC. Which means the product goes to through the rigor of NCC to ascertain the standard of the frequency to make sure that it is good for human use.

Is your association familiar with the activities of the National Information Technology Development Agency, (NITDA)?

Yes, I have heard about the agency and met one of the officials. We have been talking, but the extent of the discussion right now has not gotten to the stage that we can take advantage of that agency because we are still very new to them, having been introduced to them by a media person who works closely with them and who felt that what we are doing here needs government attention.

I do believe that after the election, we should be able to pursue some of these agencies and see how they would be of advantage to our association.

Do you have any feelers now of what NITDA offers?

Well, basically it’s more of local content. They try to encourage Nigerians with ideas or with development. It’s an IT agency which is very crucial to our trade, and if we will work closely with them. I think we will be able to achieve a lot in terms of software development and other applications that would help Nigerians to position themselves to take advantage of the vast market that is opening up to us here, which foreigners are taking undue advantage of unfortunately.

Is your association also familiar with the activities of Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria, (SMEDAN)?

Like I mentioned before we have difficulties accessing funds and trainings that will help us better our positions. I don’t know why most of these agencies have not taken interest in a market like this. You know that anything like the economics or the development of any country now is hinged on

Continued on page 24

Tech Future 24

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, February 17, 2015

‘We’ll soon begin local assembly of mobile phones’ Continued from page 23 IT. So if they are not doing that I think people like you should tell them that there are young Nigerians in a particular market who have done well for themselves and need assistances to exceed where they are at present. I hear about these things and I read about them, but most times you really have to chase these people, and if you chase them they will think that there is something in there for you. But as we go as an association, I believe that for the past two or three years there is no government agency that will say that they have not read anything about our association, especially some of the things we have done with government agencies, even with the Lagos Inland Revenue Collectors where we cooperate with them to make sure that every member of the association pay taxes.

What happened to the Phone Expo that was held at UNILAG? It was called off for some reasons by the organizer, Mr Shina Badero of Technology Times that was working with me as part of the planning. We are looking towards April 2015, but I think it might change again due to the election period. But whenever we have time for the Phone Expo which is going to be first of its kind in Nigeria I think there would be a press release..

The Computer Village, Ikeja is sited in Residential area and is congested. Is there any move

NBC DG visits Computer Warehouse Group Teleport Tony Nwakaegho The Director General of the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC), Mr. Emeka Mba, has paid a working visit to the corporate head office of Computer Warehouse Group Plc (CWG) in Lagos to inspect the CWG’s satellite facility that will serve as the support base for the soon to be launched SES digital TV platform.

Nwosu

for the relocation of this market by government?

Though people are expanding outside the computer village but this market is the primary cluster for ICT in Nigeria. It has gathered and gained some names for itself and the congestion and dealing with the traffic is also an issue.

But the Lagos State Government is right now talking about relocation. And the last time we had a meeting a location was earmarked for this a mega ultramod-

ern shopping mall at Katagowa, along the express way. The stakeholders have met and what I think the developers are waiting for now is the concession of the different stakeholders as the up takers of the mall before they can kick off. It is going to take about two to three years to finish. It is a public private partnership (PPP), so we can say that government is working towards the relocation.

What is your assessment of the Communication Technology Min-

L-R: Mr. Philip Obioha, COO, CWG Plc; Mr. Emeka Mba, DG, NBC; Mr. Austin Okere, Founder and CEO, CWG Plc and Mr. Gbenga Odegbami, Head, Presales, CWG Plc when DG. Mba visited CWG’s corporate headquarters in Lagos,recently.

After welcoming the delegation, Mr. Gbenga Odegbami, Head, Presales, made a brief presentation, where he gave an overview of CWG’s history of innovation and service excellence.

According to Odegbami, CWG offers integrated ICT solutions that add value to the operations of diverse clientele, using highly skilled and well-motivated workforce, adding that “At inception, CWG was basically an IT infra-

structure sales firm. The group has since evolved into a Pan-African ICT Powerhouse, with focus on enabling businesses through strategic partnerships with worldclass organizations and OEMs. CWG recently innovated her business model to be based on Subscription and Cloud Computing under an umbrella aptly tagged CWG2.0.

Explaining the business concept, Odegbami said that “CWG

istry after about three and half years in this sector?

I think the Minister of Communication Technology, Mrs Omobola Johnson has done very well as somebody that is very knowledgeable. In some of the town hall meetings she always focused on how Nigeria will play active role in the sector. And one of her primary aim is to encourage Nigerians to be partakers in the industry not just like receivers. So that we can grow with the pace other countries are growing and be able to create and sustain jobs. The first time she came to the Computer Village she was amazed when she saw our young people on the streets repairing phones. She was amazed how these young people out of sheer doggedness would able to do those things she saw, as they can repair anything on any android phone and download as well. She has done well considering it’s a new Ministry.

Can you say how many people that are gainfully employed by your association?

We have an association of about 5,000 members but the number doing telephone business in the market is well over 5,000 and an average shop in computer village employs a minimum of five people, so if you multiply it by 5,000 then you know the extent of job we have created. The job also rub off the people that are not employed under us such as the repairers and people that pick phones who also have to depend on us for consumers that come

through us for their daily sustenance. We have been able to sustain the jobs irrespective of the difficulties of the business and have encouraged the young ones to pursue a good education, with some of them doing part time.

How is your product, Maxtel, faring in the market?

As people who are in the business, I believe that if we are going to get into production now we would get it wrong because we know what the market demands from us .And that is why we established groups in the market.

We have about four, five groups in the market that is like a distribution channel. We can even take up a distributorship for our product and run it through our channel and control it and make sure it gets where it is supposed to be. Using that channel has been easy for us to push our own brand across the country because the product itself was carefully manufactured.

What will you like people to remember you for at the end of your tenure?

I want to be remembered as the man who positioned Nigerian traders to take control of the business in Computer Village not allowing the Indians to come and ride on us for whatever reason, and as one of those that encouraged them to project their own brand, working for their good. I also want to be remembered as the person who taught our people how to do things right following the legal way of doing things.

2.0 is a cloud based subscription business model birthed and driven by the quest to help Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) grow and make notable social impact. This includes Openshopen, an e-commerce platform that allows shop owners open their own virtual stores online; and SMERP, an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) solution built to assist business owners manage their Accounting and Financial Record Keeping.

“Our strategic collaboration with SES Astra, a foremost global satellite company to bring the first Direct to Home digital TV is an integral part of our CWG 2.0 vision. The partnership entails SES providing space segment, using their ASTRA 2F satellite, at 28.2 degrees East, while CWG will manage the teleport services required to project the signals to viewers, using high operational standards.”

Addressing the delegation, Mr. Austin Okere, Founder and Chief

Executive OfficerCWG, commended the NBC for its efforts in ensuring that the nation beats the ITU June 17 deadline for migration to digital TV broadcasting.

According to Okere, “the CWG/SES platform, beyond being a business idea, is our social impact investment contribution to ensure that none of the 27 million households in Nigeria are left out in the digital TV switchover. Firstly, visual content will be made available to millions of households at no cost, through a Free to Air (FTA) medium. Secondly, we are offering a platform that will enable broadcasters deliver their content to a broader audience cost-effectively. Most importantly, our platform offers the nation the opportunity of meeting the core requirements needed to beat the ITU transition to digital broadcasting deadline.”

In his response, Mr. Emeka Mba praised CWG’s vision in introducing a free to air DTH TV to the Nigerian broadcasting climate.

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Chronicle Today in History

25

s Cartoon from our Archives

Compiled by ‘Tunji Okegbola 1906 The first “Trial of the Century” Union leaders Bill Hayward, Charles Moyer, and George Pettibone were taken into custody by Idaho authorities and the Pinkerton Detective Agency.

They are put on a special train in Denver, Colorado, following a secret, direct route to Idaho because the officials had no legal right to arrest the three union executives in Colorado. The Industrial Workers of the World (IWW), of which Hayward was president, tried in vain to stop the unofficial arrests.

Idaho had resorted to this gambit in an attempt to bring the union leaders to justice for the assassination of former governor Frank Steunenberg. On December 30, 1905, a powerful bomb affixed to Steunenberg’s front gate exploded and killed him as he was returning to his home in Caldwell, Idaho. The former governor was a target for union miners after his role in breaking a strike in Coeur d’Alene years earlier.

In order to solve the crime, Idaho called in the Pinkerton Agency and the country’s most famous private detective, James McParland. He was the man responsible for bringing down the Molly McGuires, a secret Irish society from Pennsylvania’s mining district.

All men visiting Caldwell were

1966

1966 Brian Wilson rolls tape on “Good Vibrations,” take one From the very beginning, the Beach Boys had a sound that was unmistakably their own, but without resident genius Brian Wilson pushing them into deeper waters with his song writing and production talents, songs like “Surfin’ Safari” and “Surfin’ U.S.A.” might have been their greatest legacy. While the rest of the band toured during their mid60s heyday, Wilson lost himself in the recording studio, creating the music for an album—Pet Sounds—that is widely regarded as one of the all-time best, and a single—”Good Vibrations”—on which he lavished more time, at-

detained and questioned after the bombing, and police began to focus on a man named Tom Hogan.

Through a combination of trickery and intimidation, McParland got Hogan to admit that his name was really Harry Orchard and that he had been hired by the Western Federation of Miners. Orchard implicated Bill Hayward, Charles Moyer, the president of the Western Federation of Miners, and others in the plot to kill Steunenberg. However, these men were in Colorado, where local authorities were friendly to the unions and would not extradite them based on the confession of a murderer.

1915 Zeppelin L-4 crashes into North Sea After encountering a severe snowstorm on the evening of February 17, 1915, the German zeppelin L-4 crash-lands in the North Sea near the Danish coastal town of Varde.

The zeppelin, a motor-driven rigid airship, was developed by German inventor Ferdinand Graf von Zeppelin in 1900. Although a French inventor had built a power-driven airship several decades before, Zeppelin’s rigid dirigible, with its steel framework, was by far the largest airship ever constructed.

The L-4’s captain, Count Plat-

Daily Times February 17, 1961 en-Hallermund, and a crew of 14 men had completed a routine scouting mission off the Norwegian coast in search of Allied merchant vessels and were returning to their base in Hamburg, Germany, when the snowstorm flared up, bombarding the airship with gale-force winds.

Unable to control the zeppelin in the face of such strong winds,

the crew steered toward the Danish coast for an emergency landing, but was unable to reach the shore before crashing into the North Sea. The Danish coast guard rescued 11 members of the crew who had abandoned ship and jumped into the sea prior to the crash; they were brought to Odense as prisoners to be interrogated. Four members of the crew

Brian Wilson rolls tape on “Good Vibrations,” take one

1993

tention and money than had ever been spent previously on a single recording. Brian Wilson rolled tape on take one of “Good Vibrations” on February 17, 1966. Six months, four studios and $50,000 later, he finally completed his three-minute-and-thirty-ninesecond symphony, pieced together from more than 90 hours of tape recorded during literally hundreds of sessions.

Brian Wilson began “Good Vibrations” that February night in 1966 with the intention of including it on Pet Sounds. Harmonica player Tommy Morgan recalled how those sessions would work:

Haiti Approximately 900 people drowned when a passenger ferry, the Neptune, overturns near Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on this day in 1993. The ferry was dangerously overloaded, and carried no lifeboats or emergency gear.

The Neptune was a 150-foot boat, with three decks, that made regular trips transporting people, farm animals and some cargo from Jeremie to Port-au-Prince.

The 150-mile voyage usually took about 12 hours. The Neptune should have carried a maximum of 650 people, but it regularly took on larger numbers of passengers. In addition, the boat was

“You’d sit with a music stand with a blank piece of paper, waiting for Brian to give you your notes. He knew exactly what he wanted. He had every note in his head.” The problem was that Wilson had an awful lot of those notes in his head—notes for different keyboards, different strings, different percussion instruments and, most famously, notes for the most “different” instrument ever to appear on a pop record: the otherworldly electric theremin, an early electronic instrument previously heard only in movies like It Came From Outer Space.

were believed drowned and their bodies were never recovered.

One month earlier, the L-4 had taken part in the first-ever air raid on Britain in January 1915, when it and two other zeppelins dropped bombs on the towns of Great Yarmouth and King’s Lynn on the eastern coast of England.

Four civilians were killed in the raid, two in each town.

Ferry sinks near Haiti

1993 Ferry sinks near

notorious for its lack of safety equipment.

On the night of February 17, the Neptune was about halfway to Port-au-Prince when it encountered bad weather. There was no passenger list, but it is believed that approximately 1,200 people were on board the ferry at the time, along with numerous animals and a large amount of charcoal. When the Neptune began to roll in the water, the passengers panicked. Many rushed to the upper deck and to one side of the boat. Captain Benjamin St. Clair later reported that the sudden shift in weight caused the upper deck to collapse and the boat to capsize.

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Law

26

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Retired Judges ought to serve in election petition tribunals His mother, Dame Virgy Etiaba, was the first female governor in Anambra state, South-Central, in Nigeria’s history from November 2006 to February 2007. Emeka, whose late father, wife and two siblings are also lawyers, was called to the Bar over two decades ago.

He told PETER FOWOYO, that Anambra state did well under his mother. Besides, he spoke on immunity clause, federalism, the need to have retired Judges in election petition tribunals and sundry other issues.

Your mother was the first female governor in Nigeria; do you think the country can produce another female governor especially in the forthcoming elections?

Of course, I believe this country can still produce a female governor but whether it is in this dispensation, this election we are going in, I wouldn’t know but I know that Nigeria is ripe for female governors and experience has also shown that women are forces to reckon with so, I don’t think Nigeria as a country will suffer by reason of a woman being the governor of a state.

Anambra state under my mother did very well but, whether we are going to produce one now is what I am not sure about.

Gubernatorial elections will not hold in some parts of the country. Is this in the spirit of federalism?

It is not an anomaly. The constitution says that the tenure of a governor starts from the day he was first sworn in. Those states that have conducted gubernatorial elections will not participate in the forthcoming election and there is nothing wrong in it. It is federalism, the truth about it is that what happens in Lagos must not happen the same way in Ekiti, it must not happen the same way in Anambra, it must not happen the same way in Edo that is why we are saying that the center is very powerful, too strong, it has to be loose so that

Etiaba federalism will actually take shape and will be nurtured. They lose nothing; those states that have conducted gubernatorial elections lose nothing.

The Assistant Inspector General of Police, Joseph Mbu has told governors that their immunity does not extend to the polling booths. Do you agree with him?

His view is correct but, did he have to say it the way he said it? No, that is the problem with Nigeria of today, he didn’t have to communicate with the governors in the news media. The governors are the governors of the states and he cannot even succeed as the AIG in Zone 2 without the cooperation of the governors. So, what he said is true,

Mbu

immunity does not cover them when it comes to election and activities surrounding election.

My own grouse is that he didn’t have to say that to the press, he has audience with the governors, he met with the governor of Lagos state the other day, nothing prevented him from telling the governor that my people will not agree if you carry this immunity too far but to serve governors notices in the media is not acceptable to me, there must be decorum when you do things and you are not talking to bastards, you are talking to governors, someone like Fashola who is a lawyer and also a Senior Advocate.

There are calls from eminent Nigerians that section 308 which deals with immuni-

ty clause should be expunged from the constitution. Do you share their views?

The truth about it is that immunity clause has been abused like every other thing in Nigeria, it has been abused. If you look at the abuse you will easily say,’ call it off ’, remove it from the constitution but, if you realize that it was put in place to forestall the nuisance that people constitutes when every morning they file a suit on somebody that has done nothing, you see the need for it because if you don’t curtail it every morning a governor of a state will be going to court for one flimsy excuse or the other.

When will he have the time to think about the state and then how to run the state? So that is

“The governors are the governors of the states and he cannot even succeed as the AIG in Zone 2 without the cooperation of the governors”.

basically why that law was put in place.

The National Assembly has summoned Jega to come and explain why the shift in polls.

Does the legislative arm of government have the power to do this?

They are oversight function of course, they have the power to summon, to hear his reasons as to why he shifted the dates but, they are not in position to annul what he has done, they cannot annul it but, being the representatives of the Nigerian people, they have the right to know so that they can go to their constituencies and explain better but, not that Jega needed to come to them before shifting the polls.

But some lawyers have argued that Jega has no power to shift the election timetable.

What is your view?

How can somebody come up with election timetable and you say that he does not have the power to tinker with it? That does not make sense. The important thing is that elections must hold 30 days before hand over date that is what the constitution says and Jega was the one that made a proposal of the timetable and he is the one that shifted it, you cannot say that he has the power to draw the timetable but doesn’t have the power to shift it.

I don’t buy that argument.

But their argument was that Jega was coerced into shifting the polls. Do you agree with that?

Where is the evidence? I am a lawyer, I deal with facts and figures, where is the evidence that he was coerced? A comes up and tells you we are not quite ready, they produced 100 per cent PVC, they’ve given out 64.5 per cent and you think it is not bad enough to say let’s give some more time for other people to get theirs. I don’t believe that he was coerced but, if he was coerced let the people come up with the figures and facts, let’s understand. You see, law is not politics where you make unguarded and uninformed statements. Law is not an academic CONTINUED ON PAGE 18

Law 27

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Retired Judges should serve in election petition tribunals thing. None of them have come out to say this is how they coerced him, the man has not said he was coerced, no INEC official said he or she was coerced, at most what they said is that we have problem with PVC, the security agents have told us they are not quite ready because of security reasons.

There are calls that election petition tribunals should be manned by retired Judges to handle election petition matters so that serving Judges can concentrate on cases in regular courts. What is your take?

My view is that the call is a good one, it is something that every lawyers who have participated in election petition matters will encourage, reason being that this election petition matters come in droves and Judges who are serving Judges who handle them leave their jurisdiction to attend to these petitions and some of the cases they are handling are even more important than those election petition matters so to forestall a situation where justice is delayed in the regular courts, those Judges should stay back and do their work.

I also know that many Judges at their retirement are still energetic, they are still articulate and basically they do nothing when they retire, these crop of Judges who are still articulate can be brought in to do the work and the advantage with their coming in is that these are people who have done these work many years so they really can fall back on their experiences more than the ones serving. In a nutshell, I say it’s a welcome call.

Some lawyers have argued over the timeframe given to hear election petition matters.

While some are saying 180 days is not enough others believe it is more than sufficient.

What do you think?

If you cannot hire, you cannot fire, Jega was the one that set up the timetable without the help of anybody including the National Assembly.

This has always been a sort of arguments among election petition lawyers and I sincerely know because I am very deeply involved in election petition matters, that that idea of 180 days is superb, it’s awesome, it’s wonderful because in the case of Peter Obi vs. Chris Ngige, we were in court for 33 months close to three years and a total of over 480 witnesses were called just to buy time and all that but, basically, 180 days is good, what is not good, what is not good about it is that most other issue you really need to revisit them. Now you have practiced it over the years to know where you have problem and see how you can tinker with it, amplify it and make it friendlier.

For example, there are quite a lot of respondents at the tribunal and they may have assumed office so their interest is to make sure they frustrate the petition so when you sue them they come up with preliminary objections, the tribunal rules against them, they go on appeal, the Court of Appeal also affirms the tribunal’s decision, they come back and raise another issue, they will be going to and fro until 180 days elapses. So my take is that those periods of appeal should

Etiaba be removed from the 180 days so that whoever challenges a petition and goes on an appeal, when he or she comes back clock will now start ticking again, those 40 or 45 days spent at the Court of Appeal will not be counted among the 180 days that is the only thing I find wrong with that time limit. 180 days is good but because respondents take advantage of it by filing frivolous applications, going on an Appeal to buy time or kill time, the best thing is, those time they are killing will not be counted as part of the 180 days. So election petition can last up to 200 days, 240 days depending on whether the respondents wasted time on appeal or not.

Are you not afraid that the judiciary can be indicted in the forthcoming election just as the military in the Ekiti state gubernatorial election?

What happened in Ekiti state is subject of litigation going on now, nobody is sure until a court of law says it happened but if you are afraid that the judiciary may be dragged into the mud

then you are wasting your time because the bible says he who looks at the weather will never cultivate. If judiciary doesn’t want to play its role because of indictment then we are worst off for it. Whoever wants to indict the judiciary, the judiciary has always been indicted even when they are not guilty of anything.

If you find anything wrong with a judge, write a petition to the NJC and the NJC will consider it so basically, I am not afraid that there may be one or two blemishes on the judiciary, we are part of the process.

Few days after the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria (JUSUN) resumed from strike there were bombings of courts in Rivers state. What does this portend for our democracy?

Rivers state has always been a very trouble spot you will remember that the courts have been shut before now, the opening of the courts or what has been on ground before that caused the bombing and nobody knows whether it was really a

“If you find anything wrong with a judge, write a petition to the NJC and the NJC will consider it”

bomb so it will be wrong to really use Rivers state as a test case because they’ve always been having these issues but basically, I believe that the judiciary is one arm of government that must be taken care of, well nourished and their independent guaranteed.

That was part of why JUSUN was on strike because of financial autonomy which the executive arm of government has denied it.

Some senior lawyers have faulted the judgment that gave financial autonomy to the judiciary. What is your take on this?

Lawyers are nothing but human beings. A judgment subsists until it is upturned, nobody has upturned it, nobody, not even the executive. Until it is upturned, it remains the law. It is not enough for you to sit in the comfort of your office and begin to pass judgment over a Judge or his judgment, go to Court of Appeal challenge it and if you succeed it is upturned but, today, nobody has upturned it so, it remains a good judgment.

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Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Business Times

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Challenges, stepping stone for a stronger economy – Dangote Charles Okonji Investors have been advised

by President of Dangote Group and Chairman of Dangote Cement Plc, Aliko Dangote to sustain their confidence in the Nigerian economy as it goes through turbulence, stressing that the economy is set to bounce back more resilient than ever before in a short while.

Dangoted urged Nigerians to see the current economic challenges being faced by the country as a wakeup call for all to re dedicate themselves to the task of building the nation through production activities.

The business mogul said though the economic downturn is ravaging most countries of the world including Nigeria, the situation is not unsurmountable if properly addressed adding that it could also serve as a stepping stone that will further strengthen the economy in the future.

Dangote, Nigeria’s biggest private sector investor, told a delegation of cement distributors from across the country who paid him a visit in his office in Lagos that Nigeria remains the destination of choice for investments despite the economic and

security challenges.

He explained that with good support for the government of the day in the task of tackling the challenges and the transformation agenda of the Federal Government, the current challenges would soon be a thing of the past and Nigeria would come out stronger from it.

Said he; “I have always said it that Nigeria is a good place to have investment. God has given us in Nigeria what many other countries don’t have and they keep searching for it. We have got fertile land for agriculture, we have the minerals resources and we have oil. All we need do is harness them for our good.

“The present challenges we are facing should not deter us from growing our economy. It shouldn’t stop us from investing. It’s just a passing phase.

Other countries whom we refer to as developed started from somewhere. They all experienced some of these challenges in the past. So I want us to see these challenges as obstacles towards attaining greatness.”

Dangote told the distributors that it was for these reasons that he had continued investing in Nigeria’s economy because – “If Nigerians do not invest in their

Dangote, President of Dangote Group

country, other people would not come. They will want to see our success story before they can come.”

He took time to answer questions and observations raised by the distributors who also commended him for his doggedness in investment locally as opposed to others who chose to take money away from the country.

It would be recalled that Dangote Cement had just added two new lines to the 6 million metric ton capacity per annum at Ibese to shore up its capacity to 12 million while an additional three million capacity line is being added to Obajana plant to bring total capacity to 13.25 million tons per annum.

Also the Dangote Group had signed an MOU with the Federal Ministry of Agriculture; a deal that will see Dangote providing N165 billion for rice cultivation in five states as part of the Agricultural revolution of the transformation agenda of the federal government.

Earlier, Dangote has noted his readiness to ensure timely completion of his petroleum refinery in Lagos thus making him the first Private Nigerian to obtain license and commence actual construction of the refinery.

Experts task CBN on fiscal-friendly policies

Don urges FG to engage specialists on industrialisation

Ugochukwu Onyeocha

Sodiq Adekunle, Osogbo

Financial experts have urged the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to pursue more friendly economic policies in 2015 to ensure growth and development of all the sectors of economy.

The experts speaking in Lagos, stressed that some CBN tight monetary policies in 2014 were in the interest of economic growth but might affect banks’ financial results and dividend declaration.

The CRR is a monetary policy tool used to set the minimum deposits commercial banks must keep as reserves.

Emefiele, CBN governor

CRR is usually applied to influence borrowing and interest rates by changing the amount of money at banks’ disposal to create loans.

Mr Okechukwu Unegbu, a former President, Chattered

Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), said that the monetary policy led to liquidity squeeze in the banking industry.

Unegbu claimed that banks relied more on hidden charges in 2014 for survival.

He said that friendly economic policies in 2015 would help the financial and other sectors of the Nigerian economy to grow.

Mr. Godwin Anono, Chairman, Nigeria Professional Shareholders’ Association, pointed out that shareholders desired policies that would boost banks’ financial results and dividends declaration.

A Professor at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), IleIfe, Professor Ambrose Anozie, has identified the establishment of private industries as the only panacea to challenges of economic growth and has called on the Federal Government to leave the process in the hands of specialists.

Anozie made the remarks while delivering the 271st Inaugural Lecture of the OAU titled: ‘Creativity and Innovation: The Applications of Thermodynamics and Synthesis Techniques in Improving and Creating Process

Industries’.

Professor Anozie asked the federal government to desist from using what he termed the traditional method of creating industries, which has not achieved the desired results and subjected the country to continue battling poor economic growth.

He said, “Nigeria is capable of forming private sector project managers to create new industries.

The formation of private sector project managers to assemble industries in Nigeria will be very attractive to Nigeria and will be a step in the right direction.

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, February 17, 2015

29 ICT

Nigeria domain name registrations on the rise Stories by Tony Nwakaegho

Kilfoil, Eaton’s Managing Director Africa, Electrical Sector

Eaton hosts 1st regional tech day for industry Eaton, a power management company in order to provide safe, reliable, efficient and sustainable solutions in the selected sectors, especially in Nigeria has hosted its inaugural West Africa Technology Day in Lagos to showcase the company’s solutions spanning five industry segments: Data Centre and IT, Oil and Gas, Electrical Utilities, Mining, Solar and Wind.The Company said it is on a mission to Nigeria with potentials to overcome its power generations, transmission and distribution challenges.

According to statistics, 600 million, representing 70 per cent of the population in Sub-Saharan Africa are without electricity and it is also estimated that $300 billion fund will be required by 2030 to provide all Sub-Saharan Africans access to electricity.

In an keynote speech to declare the Day open, Commissioner for Commerce & Industry, Lagos state, Mrs. Olusola Senapon Oworu, said that Eaton has made the right decision by establishing presence in Nigeria, adding that power is a critical sector where its solutions are critically needed, hence both the Federal and Lagos State Government have demonstrated interests in working with the private sector in plugging the deficiencies.

Oworu advised Eaton not to relent on the ‘Power Africa’- US government initiative to double access to power in sub-Saharan Africa, by dealing with the pressing needs of access to electricity power, sustainability, economic growth and development.

The President of the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NIRA), Mrs. Mary Uduma, has said that 1,542 .ng domain names were registered in the month of January.

The disclosure was contained in statement by Uduma in in Lagos on Saturday. She noted that there was a slight increase in domain name activities in January, 2015 compared to 1,425 registered in January, 2014.

She said that .ng (like Nigeria’s currency – Naira - and +234 for country code) was the official Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) approved country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) for Nigeria.

According to her, availability of names is better on the .ng ccTLD than on the generic toplevel domain (gTLD) like .com, .org.

She said that, with the .ng domain name, branding and

geo-targeting of local content to the Nigerian market would be easier. ‘’With the .ng, our primary DNS servers are secure and locally managed with multiple cast servers located around the world,’’ Uduma said.

She said that hosting businesses on the .ng would help to support the Nigerian economy and provide jobs for local information technology professionals.

Uduma said that 1,070 domain names were renewed in January, 2015 with an increase of 259 renewals when compared to 811 in January, 2014.

She said that the association transferred 41 domain names, showing a decrease of eight, compared to 49 transferred in January, 2014. ‘’With more appreciation of the Nigerian Identity on the Internet, as the year progresses, more activities will be noted within the domain name industry,’’ the NIRA president said.

Uduma, President, NIRA

Mori Baba, NIPOST, PMG

NIPOST Partner NIGCOMSAT, others on financial inclusion Nigerian Post Office (NIPOST) has entered into collaborations with Nigeria Communications Satellite (NIGCOMSAT), One Network and First Bank of Nigeria to launch projects aimed at promoting financial inclusion in the country.

Commenting on the agreement, Mallam Ibrahim Mori Baba, Postmaster General said “we are re-inventing NIPOST through collaborations with different stakeholders from the public and private sectors. The two projects we are launching today are products of such collaborations. The first one, ‘Promoting Financial Inclusion and Opportunities through KA-BAND Utilization’ is a partnership with our sister parastatal, NIGCOMSAT and One Network”.

He noted that One Network Agent Management Limited is meant to empower NIPOST with connectivity in order to extend financial and digital ser-

vices and access to rural and underserved areas, hence One Network is collaborating with NIPOST in broadening and deepening financial services to the citizens, especially in underserved areas.

The second project is ‘the Firstmonie Mobile payment scheme, owned by First Bank, which marks the extension of the firstmonie scheme to the post office counters and making customers of Firstmonie now to have access to transactions at post office.

NIGCOMSAT is providing connectivity to rural post office with this project, which will enable NIPOST to extend its electronic money order service, called Postcash to the rural areas.

NIPOST will use this project to key into Transformation Agenda of the present administration by providing complete digital and financial inclusion to the populace.

Sage One, MTN Business partner on easy cloud access Following a partnership between Sage Pastel Accounting and MTN Business, the Sage One Accounting cloud software is now available in a number of major markets throughout sub Saharan Africa.

The distribution agreement will cover all 10 countries which include Nigeria, Uganda, Cote d’lvoire, Guinea Conakry, Cameroon, Swaziland, Zambia, Ghana, Rwanda and South Africa in which MTN offers cloud services.

MTN Group Chief Enterprise

Officer, Mteto Nyati, said the partnership will provide easy access to accounting cloud solutions, adding that “As a leading provider of digital solutions in Africa, our aim is to offer our clients access to flexible, customisable cloud solutions that help them to improve productivity and reduce costs. As a simple, secure online accounting solution, Sage One Accounting ticks all the right boxes and gives small business owners the control and confidence they need to achieve

business success.”

Commenting on the partnership, Steven Cohen, Sage Pastel Managing Director said that Sage One Accounting is a simple, secure and affordable online accounting solution, developed specifically for small businesses in Africa, adding that based on the solid foundation of Sage Pastel’s My Business Online software, this cloud-based solution gives SMEs on the continent a new level of flexibility in the way they run their businesses.

Nyati, MTN Group Chief Enterprise Officer

Real estate 30

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Another bamboo house was recently featured in the first European solar decathlon.

The official Chinese submission used this traditional [to them] building material to construct a technologically modern yet aesthetically throwback (check out the upturned roofs, reminiscent of Chinese pagodas) house. in order to build the house quickly on site, the team pre-fabricated the majority of the house and prepared the material before shipping to Madrid.

Rendering of outdoor space and garden images courtesy of Tongji university

Eco-friendly bamboo architecture back in style

Construction phase at the solar villa

This Bamboo Courtyard House is a project by the Shanghai-based Harmony World Consulting & Design company, which specialises in architectural design. The house was completed in 2012 and it spreads over 4,306 square feet of space. It is situated in Yangzhou, China and its unique architecture is inspired by the traditional Chinese style. In the courtyard you immediately notice the expansive use of bamboo. Needless to say, the result is absolutely stunning.

Michael Olatunji

Though bamboo as a building material carries connotations of ancient Asiatic architecture, a Chinese bamboo bridge is referenced in writing as early as 960 AD and the east’s bamboo scaffolding is world renown – but there has been a recent re-

surgence of it as sustainability and friendlier, ‘greener’ building start to enter into our consciousness.

The widely available wood is enjoying a resurgence in experimental design. Architects the

world over are unearthing vernacular techniques and mining contemporary parametric capabilities to produce bamboo structures that fit today’s tastes for both the organic and aweinspiring compositions.

This pavilion acts as a signifier for Taiwan’s aspiration of a low-carbon future. The commission came from the Masadi Art Festival to draw attention to an adjacent threatened forest. Architects presented 11 parabolic vaults constructed of green bamboo, organised in a circle to echo a tree’s rings. Explained the architects, “Forest Pavilion’s relationship to the existing site is diaphanous and light – the pavilion sits lightly in its environment with minimal disruption, yet with lighting becomes a beacon at night, underscoring the relative emptiness of the valley.”

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, February 17, 2015

31 Global business Apple sets sight on auto industry

Apple car concept

India’s clean energy effort gets cheaper credit boost India’s power minister Piyush Goyal, said with cheaper credit along with investment from overseas the government expects India to afford the renewable power targets it outlined at a green-energy conference in New Delhi on Sunday.

Goyal, India’s power minister

The world’s third-largest polluter hopes the new sources of funding would help pay for an ambitious goal of boosting clean energy fivefold by 2022.

The nation of 1.2 billion people currently relies on dirty, coalfired power and has some of the planet’s most toxic air.

“Interest rates will come down,” Goyal said on the sidelines of the conference, adding he sees a greater role for overseas funding sources in part as stability in the rupee cuts the cost of hedging currency risk.

“A lot of international money is available for renewables. We need to tap that.”

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in his conference speech, said the clean-energy drive is part of a push to curb blackouts and give every Indian household electricity. While world leaders such as U.S. President Barack Obama back the effort to har-

ness power from the sun, wind and water, finding the $200 billion Goyal estimates is needed remains an obstacle.

Modi’s administration announced plans at the conference, called RE-Invest, for 170 gigawatts of clean energy capacity by 2022, and for renewables to account for 15 per cent of power within a decade.

It said banks have committed to finance more than 3 trillion rupees ($48 billion) of projects and that manufacturers intend to set up 60 gigawatts of equipment production capacity. State Bank of India, the country’s largest lender by assets, said it can finance 750 billion rupees by 2020 depending on the viability of the proposals.

Lower hedging expenses could cut the total cost of overseas loans to six per cent to seven per cent in the next two years, the power minister said.

Swiss banks forced to seek polish relief Swiss financial titans UBS and Credit Suisse are expanding their operations in provincial Poland in a cost-saving drive made more urgent by the surge in the value of the Swiss franc.

Economic imperatives are forcing the banks to transfer some of their functions to cheaper locations and swap lakeside Zurich, with its streets lined with luxury boutiques,

for the rougher-edged charm of Krakow and Wroclaw.

Even before the Swiss central bank abandoned its cap on the currency in January, the cost of taking on someone in Poland was just 50 to 60 per cent as much as hiring an equivalent employee in Switzerland, according to two industry sources.

But since the cap was removed, the savings from shift-

ing operations eastwards have become even bigger. Poland’s zloty has fallen 11.6 per cent against the Swiss franc since Jan. 15.

UBS is planning to open what it described as a “new business solution centre” in the southwestern Polish city of Wroclaw, according to an advertisement it posted on LinkedIn looking for a manager there.

Technology giant Apple is looking beyond mobile devices to learn how to make a self-driving electric car, and is talking to experts at carmakers and automotive suppliers, a senior auto industry source familiar with the discussions said on Saturday.

The Cupertino, Californiabased maker of phones, computers and, soon, watches is exploring how to make an entire vehicle, not just designing automotive software or individual components, the auto industry source said.

“They don’t appear to want a lot of help from carmakers,” said the source, who declined to be named.

Apple is gathering advice on parts and production methods, focusing on electric and connected-car technologies, while studying the potential for automated driving, the source said.

“Fully automated driving is an evolution. Carmakers will slowly build the market for autonomous cars by first releasing connected and partially automated cars,” the auto industry source said. “Apple is interested in all the potential ways you can evolve the car; that includes au-

tonomous driving.”

Whether it will build and release an electric car or a more evolved autonomous vehicle remains to be seen, the source said.

An Apple spokesman in London on Saturday declined to comment on “rumors or speculation”.

Trying to build an actual car would mark a dramatic shift for the maker of the iPhone and iPad. Apple often researches projects which are then discarded, but has so far mainly stuck to its core expertise in mobile and electronic devices.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Apple had set up a secret lab working on the creation of an Apple-branded electric car, citing people familiar with the matter. The lab was set up late last year, soon after Apple revealed its forthcoming smart watch and latest iPhones, the Financial Times said.

The Journal said that the Apple project, code-named “Titan”, employed several hundred people working a few miles from Apple’s headquarters in Cupertino.

Austria Loses AAA Badge to slow bank restructuring Austria lost its top debt grade from a second ratings company as Fitch Ratings downgraded the Alpine republic to AA+, citing worsening debt dynamics caused by the nation’s protracted six-year bank restructuring.

Fitch, which followed a downgrade by Standard & Poor’s to AA+ three years ago, expects Austria’s debt to peak this year at 89 percent of gross domestic product rather than the 75 percent anticipated earlier, the company said in a statement.

Apart from bank rescues, stricter European Union rules for

government accounting also affected Austria more than expected and growth has weakened, Fitch said.

“Within a short space of time the debt dynamics of Austria have deteriorated significantly,” Fitch analysts led by Enam Ahmed said. “Recent upward revisions to the debt ratio mostly reflect the impact of bank restructuring on public finances.

Since the 2008-09 crisis, the progress with the restructuring of medium-sized banks that fell into serious distress has been slow.”

Nutrition

Health L7 benefits of banana fruit replenishes energy and revitalizes the body instantly; thus, for these qualities, bananas are being used by athletes to get instant energy and as supplement food in the

yellow, and emanate rich fruity fragrance.

Ripe fruit peels off easily. Ripened, fresh bananas are nutritionally enriched and sweeter in taste than the raw green ones.

VOL. 1. NO.47

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flavonoid poly-phenolic antioxidants such as lutein, zea-xanthin, ß and -carotenes in

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Business

Challenges, stepping stone for a stronger economy P 28 – Dangote

West African leaders promise ‘Zero Ebola infection’ in 60 days P12

Benefits of Bananas:

derived free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) that play a role in aging and

first solid food, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics

vitamin-B6 (pyridoxine), provides about 28% of daily-recommended allowance. Pyridoxine is an important B-complex vitamin that has a beneficial role for the treatment of neuritis, and anemia. Further, it helps decrease homocystine (one of the causative factors in coronary artery disease (CHD) and stroke

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they are un-appealing.

Price: N150

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Retired Judges ought to serve in election 26 petition tribunals

on when you want to use them; greener ones should last for more days, while yellow and brown-spotted bananas should be eaten in a few days.

of soluble dietary fiber (7% of DRA per 100 g) that helps normal bowel movements;

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2015

Law

healthy food when included in a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol. While many factors affect heart disease, diets low in saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of this disease.

sodium-free

source of vitamin-C (about 8.7 mg per 100g).

West African leaders promise

Women can make the difference

Taiwo Olukoya

Charles Malik was right when he said, “The fastest way to change society is to mobilize the women of the world.

ÎÎÎShe considers a field

and buys it; Out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.

17 She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.

(Proverbs 31:16-17) In 2008, the film, Pray the Devil Back to Hell won the award for the Best Documentary at the Tribeca Film Festival.

The documentary centered on the activities of over 3,000 women who set out to bring lasting peace to Liberia, led by Leymah Gbowee, who went ahead to win a Nobel Peace Prize.

Resolute in their mission, the women forced the then President Charles Taylor to attend a peace meeting in Ghana.

At the stalled peace meet-

ing, they stood outside in silent petition, threatened to stay on if the men did not commit to the talks and forced an agreement.

Over 3,000 determined women brought peace to Liberia after a 14-year Civil War, and helped the country’s first female President ascend to power, proving the undeniable power of women to make a difference.

In 2006, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development devised the Gender, Institutions and Development Database, which measures the economic and political power of women in 162 countries. It proved one fact: the greater the power of women harnessed, the greater the country’s economic success.

It would have been near impossible for Rwanda to heal itself after the devastating effects of the genocide, without the power of women. Women at the grassroots level took full responsibility for peace and reconciliation postconflict. They combined their efforts to ensure the survival of their families. They organized themselves into socioprofessional associations, cooperative groups, and development associations.

At a point there were over a hundred of these groups in each commune, assisting survivors, widows, returned refuges, and even working on construction.

Rwanda women were seen

on building sites working side by side with men or sometimes women alone trying to cope with the difficult challenges of constructing houses. Today Rwanda has become the first country with a majority of women in parliament.

Charles Malik was right when he said, “The fastest way to change society is to mobilize the women of the world.” As Nigeria heads to the polls in March, women are a critical force. Consider what will happen if women who are better discerners of character and disseminators of humane policies mobilize, for the common good, to vote the candidate that appeals to their concerns.

The truth is, when women move, the conscience of a nation moves. The question now is, where are the women? It was Melinda Gates who said, “A

woman with a voice is by definition a strong woman.” Our women cannot afford to lose their voices or remain on the sidelines. You have kept quiet long enough, and the cost on your children and our collective future has been

unprecedented.

Women have the potent power to check the wanton distrust and insecurity that has buffeted us for decades. It is time for wives, mothers and women everywhere to raise their voices and insist on peaceful elec-

tions, mobilize and vote in the direction of their consciences and take up the initiative to drive Nigeria in the direction of sustainable peace and prosperity. I believe women can make a difference.

I believe they will.

ABA

AKURE

SOKOTO

MINNA

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Published by FOLIO COMMUNICATIONS LTD, Lateef Jakande Road, Agidingbi, Ikeja. website: www.dailytimes.com.ng; email: info@dailytimes.com.ng. Tel: 018447948. EDITOR: YINKA OLUJIMI News Hotlines: 08138773277, 08173901838. Advert Hotlines: 08169118913, 08075038528

Life&

TIMES Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Damilola Adegbite, Chris Attoh

in secret wedding Why I still L miss my late mum – Lizzy Anjorin P

IK Ogbonna to wed girlfriend soon! L4 P

5

L4

P

Society L2

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Isaac Oguntoye

Where is

i.ogundoye@dailytimes.com.ng

Between

Tokunbo

Tobun-Adegbenwa and Obasanjo

Did you know that former president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, is a stepfather to Adetokunbo TobunAdegbenwa?

Also, in case you didn’t know, she is the only woman, among 14 aspirants who vied for the All Progressives Congress (APC) 2015 guber ticket in Lagos State.

She comes from a political family.

Her father, Chief Adekunle Tobun, was a governorship aspirant in the Third Republic, who died a few weeks ago.

Tokunbo, as she’s fondly called, is also the daughter of the late Major Moji Adekunle-Obasanjo, which makes her Obasanjo’s step-daughter.

Tokunbo is the founder of Moji Adekunle Women Leadership Foundation and currently serving as Senior Special Assistant to Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola on School Environmental Advocacy.

Chief Remi Adiukwu-Bakare is a top society lady who had contributed, immensely, to the partisan politics of Lagos State.

Between 2009 and late 2011, she was everywhere, both in the media and the social scene. There was a time, she was alleged to be romantically linked to the ‘James Bond’ of Nigerian movie industry, Saheed Balogun.

In fact, rumours had it then that she was part of the reason why Balogun’s wife, Fathia left him, but, the actor later cleared the air in the media that she was just his godmother. But, for some time, this very delectable society lady has been ‘missing in action’, especially, from social events and political party campaigns. One wonders where she could be.

What people are saying about Bola Shagaya

Pastor Ayorinde’s

?

Facts in

vitality in Christendom

Samson Ayorinde, is, arguably, one of the most influential and popular televangelists of his time, due to the numerous ‘miracles’ manifesting in the lives of his followers. This, we also learnt, had increased the number of miracle seekers trooping to his church. But recently, little or nothing had been heard about the top seer, while his television programmes, also seem to have been suspended.

Remi Adiukwu -Bakare?

Rumours mongers allege that the pastor’s church has been facing a decline in membership, as new members are not joining while the old ones are leaving due to the pastor’s alleged controversies. Even at this political season, when other pastors are busy predicting and endorsing political candidates, Pastor Ayorinde is yet to be seen on TV or social media doing same.

Just imagine how mischievious human beings can be sometimes.

The latest gossip in town is that billionaire businesswoman and best friend of Dame Patience Jonathan, Hajia Bola Shagaya, has, allegedly, abandoned her sick husband.

Although, Bola Shagaya and her husband parted ways before their first son got married, but, many people think she should, at least, show some concern, after learning of the man’s bad state of health.

According to the rumour mill, Alhaji Ganiyu Shagaya had been on the sick bed for some time and Bola, who bore four children for him and still bears his name, had, allegedly, abandoned him.

Did you know that Dame Abimbola Fashola cannot listen to 9ice’s hit single, ‘No Be Mistake’ and still remain on her seat?

Did you know that the cold war between KWAM 1 and Gbenga Islander was caused by a woman?

Did you know that Rotimi Ajanaku cannot do without clubbing at Quilox on the Island after KWAM1 rubbished his relationship with Gbenga Islander?

Did you know that top comedian, Ayo Makun a.k.a AY cannot support another party aside APC due to his closeness with Gov. Fashola’s wife?

Did you know that Toolz, of Beat FM, got most of her contracts from Globacom, through top socialite, Niyi Adewunmi, who is a close pal of Mike Adenuga?

Did you know that top businessman cum politician, Deji Adeleke has parted ways with Davido’s stepmother, Teju Adeleke?

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, February 17, 2015

My societal status doesn’t affect my choice of hairstyles

Foluke Daramola

L3

Hairways

Opeoluwani Akintayo

o.ogunjimi@dailytimes.com.ng 08126223784

If you describe her as the actress with the big-size boobs, you are not far from the truth. Aside that, she’s one of the goddesses of the Nigerian movie industry. Here on Hairways, Foluke Daramola talks about her hair experience.

When do we get to see your natural hair?

No! I, sometimes, wear my natural hair. It’s just that as celebs, we are expected to always put up appearances.

My natural hair is full, but, some years ago, I used to have problems with the front hairline, because it broke off. So, I had to wear low cut for some time and then allowed it to grow back.

Why did you cut it?

I just got tired of it and wanted something different. In fact, I wanted to go bald, but, my mom advised against it, so, I went for baby curls.

So, aside trying to keep up appearances, when last did you wear your natural hair?

Do you have facial hair?

If you find yourself with a sudden influx of hair on your face, you may want to remove it. But, with all the information and misinformation about the best hair removal methods, maybe you’re lost. Here is a basic guide on the major hair removal methods.

Try tweezing. Tweezing or pulling the hair out with tweezers, is a cheap and effective way to remove hair from any area on the face. The major downsides are that it is time-consuming and somewhat painful, especially in sensitive areas.

Try an epilator. An Epilator is a device, which works by pulling out multiple hairs at once. While effective, fast, and, relatively, inexpensive, it can be painful the first few times it’s used. Like with waxing,

however, the pain lessens over time as you become used to the sensation.

Try dyeing the hair. Often referred to as “bleaching”, this is the practice of dyeing the hair to be the same or a similar colour to the skin tone. This makes it less noticeable.

What colour you choose will be based on your skin tone and special kits can often be purchased for the face.

Try a chemical depilatory. This is any one of a number of creams, lotions, and similar products, which use a chemical process to “melt” the hair. These are cheap, easy to use, and, generally, pain-free. However, they can cause chemical burns, if used incorrectly and the effects, generally, last only a week.

Source: Wikihow

k c i p r i a H of the week

Wearing my natural hair is no big deal. And, you know, I have a baby face. So, baby curls make me look natural and innocent.

But, if I don’t want to wear my natural hair, I go for braids. I love lace wigs too, because they give me a different look. And as to the last time I wore my natural hair, I still had it on last week.

What’s the craziest hairstyle you’ve ever made?

There was a time I went to Surulere to make my hair.

By the time the stylist was through, the hair was full that it made me look razz. I couldn’t wear it to the event I made it for so, I had to loosen it and covered my hair to the event. I loosened it same day. Another crazy hairstyle I made was Suku, bonded with needle and thread. After making the hair, I couldn’t sleep, because it was painful.

Can you use crazy colours on your hair?

Sometimes, I use a touch of red.

Can you cut your hair again?

Yes! why not!

Buzz Byte L4 M.I

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, February 17, 2015

plans concert

Mutiat Alli

Chocolate City rapper, M.I Abaga has announced that he will be holding a live concert in Lagos in May, 2015.

The rapper, who released his third studio album, ‘The Chairman’ in October, 2014, made the announcement via Instagram where he wrote: “MI live in concert. It’s amazing that for so many

How IK Ogbonna fooled us all!

…plus wedding bells ringing soon Opeoluwani Akintayo

o.ogunjimi@dailytimes.com.ng Phone: 08126223784 Just when we thought things were going well between IK Ogbonna and Ghanaian actress, Juliet Ibrahim, their affair seemed to have fallen apart, like a pack of cards.

Just last year, Juliet, a mother of one, who is no longer with her baby’s daddy, was touted to be deeply in love with IK, or should we say IK was the one who was head over heels for Juliet.

While IK didn’t deny the affair, Juliet was quick to shut down wagging tongues, saying it was mere rumour.

Fast forward to late 2014, IK made a rebound, with a new girlfriend, his Columbian boo, Sonia Moralez, and before we could say Jack, news filtered out that Sonia was six months pregnant.

Let’s not forget, IK, already, has a daughter with an ex-girlfriend. That makes two kids for him now.

Sure, we know, definitely, he must be crazy about Sonia, no wonder, he shows her to the world, all the time, on social media.

Sources hinted Life & Times that IK and Juliet, truly dated, but, Juliet didn’t feel comfortable with the relationship anymore, that’s why she broke up with him.

In a bid to retaliate because Juliet left him, IK, quickly, moved on to Sonia, who looked, almost exactly, like Juliet; fair skin with big butts.

years, I have never had my concert in Lagos! Just did the deal for May 3, 2015. I’m excited.”

The Chocolate City rapper is gearing up for the release of his music video for ‘Bullion Van’.

MI will be joining artistes with the like of Darey ArtAlade, Olamide and K1 de Ultimate, who organised the concert.

Damilola Adegbite, Chris Attoh married!

We guess we ain’t done with those surprises yet. Loads of them hitting us this year!

As you read this, Tinsel actress, Damilola Adegbite and Ghanaian actor, Chris Attoh are now husband and wife.

Surprise? Don’t be.

The couple, who, already have a son together, secretly wedded in Ghana on Saturday, Valentine’s Day, February 14.

Of course, the media didn’t get wind of anything, until Damilola made the announcement on Instagram, Sunday, Feb.15, saying Saturday was the happiest day of her life.

As to the reason why she’s the happiest woman on earth right now?

Chris Attoh planned out the whole thing and gave her the surprise of her life. They got married!

The beauty said 10 years ago when she met Attoh, she, immediately, knew she’d met her man.

Congrats to the couple!

How he got us all fooled!

Tongues started wagging that his affair with Sonia was just a fling yet, as we speak, Sonia is pregnant with his baby!

Our source also hinted that Sonia is going nowhere as IK is determined to walk her down the aisle, after she delivers their baby.

Sonia, we heard, had been frequenting Nigeria and had, already, met with IK’s family. IK, in return, had also met with Sonia’s family and arrangements were already on for the wedding.

Ice Prince’s new look

NewVideoalert!

XPLODE – Aunty Sade ft. Papa Xplode is back!

In the spirit of Valentine’s Day, Xplode has collaborated with Papa (Miss P) to characterise the romantic musical interplay between ‘Ade’ and ‘Sade’ in this song, Aunty Sade, produced by Shakagbum (BStone).

Featuring the ‘Oga Thomas’ star, the song is no exception from what Xplode is known for. Adding to the tune, Papa (Miss P), the ‘Oga Thomas’ crooner, delivers a captivating verse with the ingenuity of a musical duchess.

Foluke Daramola

celebrate 2nd wedding anniversary Yoruba actress, Foluke Daramola and her husband, Kayode Salako, celebrated their second wedding anniversary Sunday, February 15, 2015, at their home in Omole Estate, Lagos.

The event was a two-in-one celebration as it also doubled as the actress’ birthday.

Daramola and Salako got married on February 15, 2013, after the actress’ marriage to her ex-husband, Mr. Sobowale hit the rocks.

The celebrant’s colleagues in the movie industry including Bisi Ibidapo-Obe, Laide Bakare, Fathia

Balogun, among others, graced the occasion.

In a brief chat, Daramola’s husband had this to say about his wife: “It is exactly 2 meritorious and challenging years I have lived with her. Exactly on that occasion of Wednesday, February 15, 2012.

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, February 17, 2015

L5 Interview

Why I still miss my late mum – Lizzy Anjorin Badagry-born actress, Elizabeth Yenukunme Anjorin, popularly known as Lizzy, is sure one of the most sought-after producers cum actresses in the movie industry, after she gained prominence with the release of her first movie, entitled, Iyawo Ojo Kan and her blockbuster flick Kofo Tinubu and the most recent Kofo, The First Lady.

This graduate of Banking and Finance from the Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, Ogun State, also holds a degree in Transport Planning and Management from the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State. In this chat with MUTIAT ALLI, Lizzy opens up on her new pet project, amongst others.

It’s two years that you lost your mother, how are you coping?

Life goes on, in any situation you find yourself, and, as such, since I lost my mother, life has not been that easy, but, thank God, I’m doing great and I’m very sure that she will be happy, seeing her daughter doing great.

So what is it that you missed about her?

So many things (Chuckles), I miss her parental care, because I can remember when I was going on location, she, sometimes, helped me with packing my luggage. I also miss her cooking; she was a fantastic cook and I think I learnt that from her and, more importantly, were her jokes, because, whenever I travelled, she would be like, aunty e ba mi ra bum short wa, then when I tell her that what’s her business with that; then she would reply with her slang lo roojo ni kansu.

What is the one thing you learnt from her?

Surely, that was the business idea thing, because my late mum would tell me that “forget the fact that you own a degree from the best school, but, the most important thing is having a work of your own, which, I am proud of now and if money is not forthcoming from my movie projects; my business give me returns.

So what kind of business do you run?

I run a store, which I call Peak Me Reloaded. I started in Abule-Egba before opening another branch in Ojodu. I can also call it a one-stop shop because, in my store, you get stuffs ranging from party wears, shoes, bags, beads, jewellery, wines, assorted biscuits, Aso-Ebi amongst others.

How do you make time to run your

business?

When I am not on set or a shopping spree, I stay in my shop from morning to night, just to see that my business is properly managed.

Would it be right to say that after your movie Kofo, the First Lady, you smiled to the bank?

Maybe, but at the end of it all, I was fulfilled, because it, really, brought out some inner abilities I have in movie production.

It did very well in the market, compared to other stuffs that I have done in recent times.

My fans really enjoyed it and it is actually a continuation of my popular flick, entitled Kofo Tinubu.

What brought about the movie?

Well, people still find it difficult that it is not the real me in the movie; but it was just one of my acting skills that I showcased.

The inspiration of Kofo, the First Lady, came at the time when I discovered that much had not been said about the physically challenged, whom I see the special people in the country. When one does not get close them, you don’t know how they feel. Kofo, the First Lady, as a movie is an eye opener that these special children can also be useful in the society, if given the opportunity.

Do you have one of them in your family?

Not at all, people keep saying that, but, the fact remains that I love them and that is the reason why I am speaking for them. You don’t say because you have one of them as a child, then you hide them from your friends, business associates and all that. I don’t have any of them as family member.

Didn’t you find it difficult interpreting the role?

It’s not an easy task playing such role, because, at the end of the entire production and release, I took ill and was admitted in the hospital. I thought it was something that I could just do easily, but, I had to put in extra effort in interpreting the role, especially, the areas of twisting my head, mouth and bending my legs. I had knee pains in the cause of doing that and, at the end of the day, the movie was widely accepted.

What is Lizzy Anjorin Foundation all about?

LAF, as I call it, is a non-governmental foundation targeted at putting smiles on the faces of the ‘special children’, in terms of catering for their well-being and other stuffs and I believe, with God on my side, all things

Lizzy are possible.

What should we expect from you this year?

Expect nothing, but the best from me; I will be hitting location for some jobs, which are bumper packages; I implore my fans to keep their fingers crossed, as I don’t usually disappoint them.

NewMUSI alert!

How do you feel when people call you Egun?

I am always proud if fans call me that, because I cannot deny my origin, but, where problem will start is when you now speak the language to me and expect me to respond. It amazes people when I mention my Badagry name, which is Yenukunme, meaning ‘in their presence, I will make it’.

Some months back, you moved into your Lekki home and got a new Range Rover E-vogue ride?

Yes! (smiles), I moved into another apartment, got a new ride and I spoilt myself a bit, in essence, I will say its hard work that paved way for me and I am enjoying every bit of my work and several businesses, it is through the grace of God. Acting is not the only thing I do, I’m into supply of diesel, I’m into oil and gas, I sell richly embroidered kaftans to corporate executives and I have set up an outfit to handle my movie production.

Fluorish - Lord of the Ring

Flourish Agu, a graduate of Public Relations and Advertising from the Eastern Mediterranean University and who was a contestant at the just concluded Project Fame, is out with her debut single, ‘Lord of the Ring’.

Flourish, who hails from Imo State, was born and bred in Port-Harcourt.

Although Project Fame was her first attempt at music, she is set to truly take the music industry by storm.

Her new single entitled Lord of the Ring, produced by Ex-O, is a humorous and captivating song for young ladies who have been engaged for years without marriage.

Chart L6

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, February 17, 2015

movie and music chart

The Daily Times weekly movie and music chart, started last week. It’s our pleasure to bring you top exciting Nollywood movies and Nigerian music, straight from the hearts of Nigerians, and of course, an experienced panel of judges.

Our weekly chart include movies and music/music videos getting the highest attention to TV, radio, You Tube, Vevo, etc.

DTN Movie chart (English) 1. On Bended Knees 2. October 1st 3. Anchor Baby 4. Don’t Cry For Me 5. Single, Married and Complicated 6. Flower Girl 7. Head Gone 8. Silence 9. Being Miss Elliot 10. Number One Fan

Top 10 m u

sic chart

1 P-Squ are- Shek ini 2 Timaya – Sanko 3- Falz ft . Yemi Ala de- Marr 4 Iyanyay Me Finito 5 Kiss Da niel – Wo ju (New E 6 Wizkidntry) Ojuelegb a 7 Dammy Krane - A min 8 M.I ft M oti Cakes -Bad Bell 9 Sean T e (New e izzle- Lok ntry) e Loke 10 SkukiPeteru

So as to create fair play in the movie sector, this forum has divided the movie section into Yoruba and English.

Feel free to participate by sending movies and music, videos inclusive that you think can stand the heat.

Send to- o.ogunjimi@dailytimes.com.ng Thank you.

DTN Movie chart (Yoruba) Igba N’bajo Arinnokore Aroba Inu Ewatomi Oyenusi Mufu Olosha Oko Oritoke Ijoya Bella

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, February 17, 2015

L7 Nutrition

Know your

Banana!

Chiquita/ nutrition and you

Nutrients and Calories in a Banana: Bananas are a smart, convenient addition to a healthy lifestyle. With 110 nutrientdense calories per serving (126 grams, or one medium-sized banana) it is deliciously easy to add Chiquita bananas to your family’s routine.

Did you know?

Bananas can help you eat healthy on a budget!

Discover how bananas can help you meet USDA-recommended dietary guidelines.

Nutrients in a banana, per serving*: Ï yƆƎ ƊƆ Õ êƾ Ɗ Ï L Ƅ Ƅ êƠ Ɗ Ï yƆƎ ƊƆ Ö Ɗ Ï ^ Ǝ ƆƏƊ ƽƾƞ Ɗ Ï #ƆƄƎ ƍƓ 0ƆƂƄƍ Ơ Ï ^ƍ ƎƄƆ Ɵ Ï L Ƅ ƆƏƊ Ơƽ Ɗ Ï 0 Ɖ ƎƄ Ƽƾêƞ Ɗƃ Ï `ƆƂ ƅƉ ƐƆ êƟ Ɗ Ï MƆ ƃƆ êƢ Ɗ Ï yƆƎ ƊƆ ƢƟ 9n Ï 9ƍ êƠ Ɗ

Health benefits of banana fruit

Ï ƅƍƏƆƎ Ɔ Ƅ ƅ Ǝ Ƅ Ɔ calorie tropical fruits. 100 g of fruit provides 90 calories. Besides, it contains good amounts of health benefiting anti-oxidants, minerals, and vitamins. Ï ƋƏƉƋ Ɔ ƃ ƊƋ Ƅƕ ƅ ƅƎè easily digestible flesh with simple sugars like fructose and sucrose that when eaten replenishes energy and revitalizes the body instantly; thus, for these qualities, bananas are being used by athletes to get instant energy and as supplement food in the treatment plan for underweight children. Ï j Ƅ ƅƍƏƆƎ Ɖƕ ƕ Ɗ Ə Ǝ of soluble dietary fiber (7% of DRA per 100 g) that helps normal bowel movements; thereby reducing constipation problems. Ï 9Ǝ ƃ Ǝ Ɔ Ƅ ƉƎ Ƌƍ Ɗ ƎƆ flavonoid poly-phenolic antioxidants such as lutein, zea-xanthin, ß and -carotenes in Ɗ ƉƉ Ɗ Ə Ǝ ê j Ƅ Ƅ ƃ ƊƋ Ə ƕ ƄƉƋ ƃƎ as protective scavengers against oxygenderived free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS) that play a role in aging and various disease processes. Ï 9Ǝ Ɔ Ɖ ƐƄƍƓ ƕ ƏƍƃƄ ƅ vitamin-B6 (pyridoxine), provides about 28% of daily-recommended allowance. Pyridoxine is an important B-complex vitamin that has a beneficial role for the treatment of neuritis, and anemia. Further, it helps decrease homocystine (one of the causative factors in coronary artery disease (CHD) and stroke episodes) levels within the body. Ï j Ƅ ƅƍƏƆƎ Ɔ Ɖ Ɗ ƕƄƍ ƎƄ source of vitamin-C (about 8.7 mg per 100g).

Consumption of foods rich in vitamin-C helps the body develop resistance against infectious agents and scavenge harmful

oxygen-free radicals. Ï 0ƍƄ Ƃ Ƌƍ ƐƆƕƄ ƕƄƌƏ ƎƄ levels of minerals like copper, magnesium, ƕ Ɗ Ƅ Ƅê L Ƅ ƆƏƊ Ɔ Ƅ Ƅ ƎƆ Ɖ for bone strengthening and has a cardiacƋƍ ƎƄƃƎƆƐƄ ƍ ƉƄ ƑƄƉƉê L Ƅ Ƅ Ɔ Ə Ƅƕ by the body as a co-factor for the antioxidant enzyme, superoxide dismutase. Copper is

required in the production of red blood cells. Ï 0ƍƄ Ƃ Ɔ ƐƄƍƓ ƍƆƃ source of potassium. 100 g fruit provides ƠƾƢ Ɗ Ƌ Ǝ ƆƏƊê ^ Ǝ ƆƏƊ Ɔ important component of cell and body fluids that helps control heart rate and blood pressure, countering bad effects of sodium.

Selection and storage

Once ripened, bananas are very fragile and start decaying in short time. In the field, mature bananas generally harvested while they are still in the green (firm and raw) stage as it enables them for easier transportation.

In order to ripen, they are usually subjected to ethylene spray or kept in close proximity with other ripened fruits.

In the stores, choose banana fruits based on when you want to use them; greener ones should last for more days, while yellow and brown-spotted bananas should be eaten in a few days.

Ready to eat bananas should be bright yellow, and emanate rich fruity fragrance.

Ripe fruit peels off easily. Ripened, fresh bananas are nutritionally enriched and sweeter in taste than the raw green ones.

Avoid mushy or damaged bananas, as they are un-appealing.

Benefits of Bananas:

Ï d ƅƄ ƕ ƋƏƍƄ Ƅ Ə ƅ ƍ Ƃ ƂƓô first solid food, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics Ï ƍƄ ƎƄƍƍƆƅƆƃè Ƅ ƍƎé healthy food when included in a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol. While many factors affect heart disease, diets low in saturated fat and cholesterol may reduce the risk of this disease. Ï M ƎƏƍ ƉƉƓ ƅ Ǝéè ƃ ƉƄ ƎƄƍ Ɖé ƕ sodium-free Ï ƕ ƏƍƃƄ ƅ Ƌ Ǝ ƆƏƊè dietary fiber, manganese and vitamins B6 & C

Television L8

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, February 17, 2015

Showing on 104 Movies Comedy

Showing on 113 M EDGE

01:00

23:00

Tue, 17 Feb | 16 L

Mon, 16 Feb | PG 13 VL

‘S2/E4- Magic Number’. Big action and even bigger egos mix in this drama from the creator of White Collar, about undercover agents sharing a beach house. Briggs and Charlie take a risk in this episode. (2014)

Steven Spielberg directs a fast-paced and clever criminal adventure that follows Goldie Hawns as a woman who must resort to criminal behavior to reunite her broken family. Ben Johnson, Michael Sacks, Goldie Hawn. (1974) Steven Spielberg.

254 Channels

00:00 Movie 01:00 Sunrise Daily 03:00 News Track 03:30 Diplomatic Channel 04:00 News Track 04:30 Law Weekly 05:00 News @ Ten 06:00 News Track 06:30 Turning Point 07:00 Sunrise Daily 09:00 News Track 09:30 Sports This Morning 10:00 Business Morning 11:00 News Track 11:30 Winning Ways Express 12:00 News Track 12:30 Africa Journal 13:00 News Track 13:30 Channels Discovery 14:00 News Track

00:00 The Queen Of The South 00:30 Aurora 01:20 Fearless Heart 02:10 The Queen Of The South 03:00 Labour Of Love 03:50 Broken Angel 05:20 Where Is Elisa?

06:10 Aurora 07:00 Fearless Heart 07:50 Labour Of Love 08:40 Broken Angel 09:30 Where Is Elisa?

10:20 Aurora 11:10 Fearless Heart 12:00 Labour Of Love 12:50 Broken Angel 13:40 Where Is Elisa?

14:30 Aurora 15:20 Fearless Heart 16:10 Labour Of Love 17:00 Broken Angel 17:50 Where Is Elisa?

253 AIT

00:00 AIT Midnight News 00:30 Movie: 02:00 Da New Live Beats 00:00 Total Wipeout UK

06:30 EastEnders

00:25 Top Gear

07:00 Antiques Roadshow

01:15 Scott And Bailey

07:55 The Weakest Link

02:00 Come Dine With Me

08:45 The Cube

02:50 EastEnders

09:30 Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

03:20 The Weakest Link

10:20 Deal Or No Deal

04:05 Top Gear

10:55 My Family

05:00 Mr. Bean: The Animated Series

11:30 Hell's Kitchen USA

05:25 QI

12:20 Top Gear

05:55 Hebburn

13:15 Come Dine With Me

02:30 Sports Today 03:00 Focus Nigeria 04:00 What Life Took From Me 05:00 Oremus 06:00 Kaakaki 09:00 Documentary 09:30 Newman Street 10:00 Focus Nigeria 11:00 The Money Show

135 BET 00:00 Boom Town

128 SONY MAX

00:00 Cheaters 00:20 Unbeatable Banzuke 00:45 Unbeatable Banzuke 01:10 LFL USA 2013 02:10 Devil In A Blue Dress

120 BBC Entertainment

118 Telemundo

03:45 The Smoking Gun Presents: World's...

04:30 Unbeatable Banzuke 05:00 The Rebel Intruders 06:35 Cheaters 07:20 The Smoking Gun Presents: World's...

08:05 World's Wildest Police Videos 09:00 I Bet You Will 09:25 Most Shocking 10:20 The Smoking Gun Presents: World's...

11:15 The Smoking Gun Presents: World's...

12:10 Cheaters 13:00 World's Most Amazing Videos 13:50 World's Wildest Police Videos 14:50 Black Cobra

01:00 Music Africa 02:00 Boom Town 02:30 STV Sports Café 03:00 Local Movie 05:00 Symphony 06:30 Insights For Living 07:00 STV AM News 07:30 Today On Stv 09:00 Magic Morning 10:00 Mr. Nigeria 10:30 Video Vault

14:30 So Wrong So Wright

18:02 MTV Base

11:00 Rhythm Of The City

15:00 Together

19:00 STV News @ 7

11:30 SB Lifestyle

15:30 Brights

19:30 Taste of Love

12:00 Nigeria Decides

16:05 Nickelodeon

20:00 Dream Movie

13:00 Music Africa

17:00 The Journey

21:30 Global Perspectives

14:05 Good Life

17:30 Health Wise

22:00 STV News @ 10

MESSI

Key to Barca’s future –Iniesta

Poster!

SUGAR RAY LEONARD

X8

X4,5

EXTRATIME

SUGAR RAY LEONARD

X4

EXTRATIME

PERSONAL INFORMATION Real name: Nickname: Rated at:

Height: Reach: Nationality: Born: Place of birth: Stance:

Ray Charles Leonard Sugar Welterweight Light Middleweight Middleweight Super Middleweight Light Heavyweight 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)[1] 74 in (188 cm) American May 17, 1956 (age 58)[1] Rocky Mount, North Carolina, U.S. Orthodox

BOXING RECORD Total fights: Wins: Wins by KO: Losses: Draws: No contests

3 1 0

MEDAL RECORD Olympic Games Gold:

1976 Montreal Light Welterweight

40 36

25

TITLES IN BOXING Major World Titles: WBC Welterweight Champion (147 lbs) WBC Welterweight Champion (147 lbs) WBA Light Middleweight Champion (154 lbs) WBA Welterweight Champion (147 lbs) WBC Middleweight Champion (160 lbs) WBC Super Middleweight Champion (168 lbs) WBC Light Heavyweight Champion (175 lbs) The Ring/Lineal Championship Titles: The Ring Welterweight Champion (147 lbs) The Ring Welterweight Champion (147 lbs) The Ring Light Middleweight Champion (154 lbs) The Ring Middleweight Champion (160 lbs) Regional/International Titles: NABF Welterweight Champion (147 lbs)

X5

“Looking back, yes, I made too many comebacks. But each comeback I was 100 percent sure that I would win. I never came back for the money, because I didn’t need it. The adulation I was getting anyway in other spheres.

But I’m a guy who likes to see how close he can get to the edge of the mountain that’s what makes me tick,” –Sugar Ray Leonard “I was not athletically inclined. I was very quiet, introverted, and nonconfrontational. My three older brothers were athletes - basketball, football - but I was kind of a momma’s boy. Then one day, my brother Roger encouraged me to go to the boxing gym with him. I tried the gloves on, and it just felt so natural,” –Sugar Ray Leonard “Muhammad Ali was a god, an idol and an icon. He was boxing. Any kid that had the opportunity to talk to Ali, to get advice from Muhammad Ali, was privileged. He’s always given me time to ask questions, although I was so in awe that I didn’t ask questions,” –Sugar Ray Leonard “The likes of Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, and Tommy Hearns were true champions. There were some incredible fights between us, and I was happy to give them all an opportunity to fight me,” –Marvin Hagler

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

IBE, AKPOM IN NFF RADAR X3

AGE SAGA HAUNTS

YAKUBU X2

D’Tigers set for Afrobasket qualifiers X7

X2

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

EXTRATIME

YAKUBU BRUSHES OFF AGE DOUBTS Reading striker Yakubu has brushed off renewed questions about his age after arriving at the Madejski Stadium on a free transfer.

The Nigerian - officially 32 years old - scored on debut in a 2-1 FA Cup victory over Derby County on Saturday, netting an

82nd-minute winner.

Yakubu, though, has been plagued by doubts surrounding his age throughout his career, but insists he will not allow the issue to affect his form.

“You can see the way I play, so I am not talking about my age,” he said. “It is normal.

People can choose if they don’t believe it, so it’s up to them.

“But for me I am just enjoying my football.

“The hunger is always there. When you play in England you always have the desire to play. You cannot hide here.”

MOURINHO TELLS HAZARD TO SCORE LIKE MESSI, RONALDO Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho has charged Eden Hazard to be more prolific in front of goal and become more like Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.

The Belgium international has scroed nine goals in 25 league appearances for the Stamford Bridge outfit this season, compared to 26 in 23 for

Yakubu

Hazard

RODGERS EYES EURO SILVERWARE Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers stands by his ambition to win a trophy this season and believes the UEFA Europa League presents the ideal opportunity to do so.

The Anfield outfit, who are also into the FA Cup quarter-finals following a victory over Crystal Palace at the weekend, face Besiktas in the Europa League’s last 32, beginning with Thursday’s first leg at home.

And Rodgers is confident of a strong run in Europe’s secondary club competition, having been knocked out of the Champions League at the group stage.

“Now they’ll recover and really look forward to the Europa League, because it’s a competition we really want to do well in,” he said. “It’s a European competition, a very prestigious tournament and we are very focused on doing Rodgers “But we well in it. would like to get a trophy to signify “We have tough games with that growth and the Europa League is a Besiktas, but we’ll be ready for them. chance for that. The prize of Champions The players are young and hungry, and League qualification for winning the this is a group that can grow over the Europa League does make it more next couple of years. attractive. But we’ve a way to go before

BRIEF

BUFFON: I FAILED AS JUVE CAPTAIN Juventus captain Gianluigi Buffon shouldered responsibility for not inspiring his team-mates in Sunday’s 2-2 draw at Cesena. Serie A leaders Juventus were uninspiring in their 2-2 draw with second-bottom Cesena and captain Gianluigi Buffon said he failed in his role as captain, having not done enough to restore focus among his team-mates.

Buffon

Barcelona’s Messi and 28 in 20 for Ronaldo of Real Madrid.

And Hazard has revealed Mourinho is keen to see him find the net more frequently.

“Jose Mourinho would like for me to score more,” Hazard said. “We forwards need to score and to pass. But I think I compensate for that given how many chances I create.

“I’m fouled a lot, there are a lot of free-kicks and penalties that I win. But he’d like me to score more, like those great players, Messi and Ronaldo, who score two or three times each game.

“What strikes me the most is that Mourinho leaves us to it! He doesn’t put much pressure on us, he takes it on him and he lets us play.

“Obviously when we don’t win he’s not happy and you can see it during the week in training, but he doesn’t do our heads in saying ‘No, do this, do that’ every second.

“He lets us express ourselves on the pitch, he observes and from time to time he sees that we need a little push, so he says something honestly, whether it’s good or not good.

“Everyone respects him, he’s won everything and he still wants to win.”

Chelsea take on Paris Saint-Germain in the UEFA Champions League last 16 today.

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

EXTRATIME

AMAO

tasks coaches, players on

AFCON lessons Ojieva Ehiosun

F

ormer Nigerian international, Fatai Amao, has charged coaches and players in the country to learn from the lessons from the just concluded Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Equatorial Guinea.

Amao who has expressed deep worries in the dwindling fortune of Nigerian football, said in a telephone conversation that both coaches, as well as players must wake up to the challenge, adding that the result of the 2015 AFCON , has shown that there are works to do.

Akpom

X3

Amao

“The task of rebuilding Nigerian football does not rest with the NFF alone, it is the responsibility of all football stakeholders in this country, to assist in moving this round leather game forward.

“The just concluded AFCON 2015 in Equatorial Guinea is a lesson both for Nigeria football managers and the players. We all have to share in the blame because what I saw Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire display at the event amazed me.

“It’s an indication that we still have a long way to go. Every stakeholder in this business must brace up for the task ahead because if we fail the blame will go to us all.

“When I watched the finals of the last AFCON, I fell in deep love with those young players both countries paraded.

They made me feel proud as an African!

NFF targets DIKE

IBE, AKPOM for

EAGLES Ben Nwachukwu, Abuja

T

Ibe

he Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) will in a bid to rebuild the country’s senior national team, Super Eagles, will embark on a hunt for Jordan Ibe and Chuba Akpom who are making waves in the English Premiership.

The duo of Ibeh in Liverpool FC and Akpom in Arsenal FC are the rave of the moment among Nigerian-born players plying their trade in the world’s most prestigious football league.

President of the NFF, Pinnick Amaju told Extra Time that the NFF will certainly go for the two Nigerian born players who have distinguished themselves so far in the ongoing 2014/15 football season in England.

Amaju noted that the NFF missed a lot due to the country’s failure to qualify for the recently concluded AFCON held in Equatorial Guinea.

He argued that the lack of zeal,

national morale, selflessness and hunger was the bane of the country’s dwindling fortune and also led to the non-qualification of Eagles for AFCON 2015.

Amaju who played a major role in the championships by commissioning six matches said he noticed that the players who participated at the AFCON were very hungry for honour which has been lacking in the Super Eagles since they won the championship in South Africa two years ago.

He also noted that the NFF will certainly join the universal trend of building the national team around players between the ages of 18 and 21 years, maintaining that this is why some top officials of the Federation will travel to England to secure the services of Liverpool’s Ibeh and his compatriot in Arsenal.

He however maintained that the NFF is looking beyond the present crop of players in the Super Eagles, but noted that that does not mean the Federation will shut them out completely.

charts way forward for NIGERIAN football Andrew Ekejiuba

N

igeria must return to the basics by making sports and football particularly a culture if it must get it right at the continental and world stage, Rev. Fr. Obinna Dike has said.

Dike, a FIFA Grade One coach revealed this in Nanka, Orumba South council, Anambra, at the opening ceremony of the maiden sports fiesta for the Catholic Priest in Awka Diocese.

The coach regretted the absence of the Super Eagles at the just concluded AFCON finals in Equatorial Guinea, saying that the development was a manifestation of lack of commitment and insincerity of the administrators of the Football House.

The priest who is also the Director of Sports Administration in Awka Diocese (DOSAD), said Nigeria, must evolve the sporting culture where sport becomes part of the curriculum in the college system, as seen in North Africa and European countries.

He also said that corruption was the major challenge to the growth and development of Nigerian football.

‘Nigerian football will grow when the administrators pursue transpar-

NFF boss, Amaju Pinnick. ency as is seen in western countries; we also need to develop it as a culture and make it part of the college system, instead of beginning sport at the age 18. We will find it difficult to improve afterwards!

“Generally, African football is growing but the pace is slow. Nigeria missed out of the Nations Cup, due to the problem that is not essentially of the bench, but from the society. There is need to clean up the administrative system as I can see them doing now, I believe soon, we shall get there,” he said On the DOSAD games, the coach said it was for the physical and mental wellbeing of the clergy in the dioceses and also a practical example for all, on the benefit of keeping fit.

“DOSAD is all about fitness, wellness, talent identification and excellence; we all need to be fit and as it enhances wellness spiritually, intellectually and mentally.

“Here we identify talent, train them, nurture them and take them to where they want to be socially; it is a vocation and an enterprise,” he said.

The participants are competing in football, volleyball, basketball, tennis, badminton.

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

EXTRATIME

SUGAR RAY LEONARD

X4

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

EXTRATIME

PERSONAL INFORMATION Real name: Nickname: Rated at:

Height: Reach: Nationality: Born: Place of birth: Stance:

Ray Charles Leonard Sugar Welterweight Light Middleweight Middleweight Super Middleweight Light Heavyweight 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) 74 in (188 cm) American May 17, 1956 (age 58) Rocky Mount, North Carolina, U.S. Orthodox

BOXING RECORD Total fights: Wins: Wins by KO: Losses: Draws: No contests

3 1 0

MEDAL RECORD Olympic Games Gold:

1976 Montreal Light Welterweight

40 36

25

TITLES IN BOXING Major World Titles: WBC Welterweight Champion (147 lbs) WBC Welterweight Champion (147 lbs) WBA Light Middleweight Champion (154 lbs) WBA Welterweight Champion (147 lbs) WBC Middleweight Champion (160 lbs) WBC Super Middleweight Champion (168 lbs) WBC Light Heavyweight Champion (175 lbs) The Ring/Lineal Championship Titles: The Ring Welterweight Champion (147 lbs) The Ring Welterweight Champion (147 lbs) The Ring Light Middleweight Champion (154 lbs) The Ring Middleweight Champion (160 lbs) Regional/International Titles: NABF Welterweight Champion (147 lbs)

“Looking back, yes, I made too many comebacks. But each comeback I was 100 percent sure that I would win. I never came back for the money, because I didn’t need it. The adulation I was getting anyway in other spheres.

But I’m a guy who likes to see how close he can get to the edge of the mountain that’s what makes me tick,” –Sugar Ray Leonard “I was not athletically inclined. I was very quiet, introverted, and nonconfrontational. My three older brothers were athletes - basketball, football - but I was kind of a momma’s boy. Then one day, my brother Roger encouraged me to go to the boxing gym with him. I tried the gloves on, and it just felt so natural,” –Sugar Ray Leonard “Muhammad Ali was a god, an idol and an icon. He was boxing. Any kid that had the opportunity to talk to Ali, to get advice from Muhammad Ali, was privileged. He’s always given me time to ask questions, although I was so in awe that I didn’t ask questions,” –Sugar Ray Leonard “The likes of Sugar Ray Leonard, Roberto Duran, and Tommy Hearns were true champions. There were some incredible fights between us, and I was happy to give them all an opportunity to fight me,” –Marvin Hagler

X5

X6

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

EXTRATIME

FEATURE

Celebration galore! Golden Eaglets celebrate after winning the 2013 FIFA U-17 World Cup in UAE.

NIGER 2015:

!

EAGLETS IN LITMUS TEST ANDREW EKEJIUBA

T

he 2015 CAF U-17 Championship commenced on Sunday in Niamey with Nigeria making an impressive start following their 2-0 win over hosts, Niger.

Goals from Victor Osimhen after 18 minutes and skipper Kelechi Nwakali’s beautiful free-kick from outside the box gave Eaglets victory at the Stade Seyni Kountche and sending an early warning signal to other opponents in Group A, namely Niger, Guinea and Zambia, that Emmanuel Amunike-led lads are in Niger for serious business.

With Nigeria being the most successful team in the history of the FIFA U-17 World Cup, it’s expected that the Golden Eaglets would make soccer-loving Nigerian proud again far away from home.

As a kicker, if Nigeria’s own strength at the U-17 age level is not enough, the four-time world champions were also handed an excellent draw in Group A. Having won the CAF U-17 Championship twice and surprisingly lost the away leg of their third round qualifier in Gabon 2-1, but they had

no problems in overturning the deficit with an emphatic 5-0 whitewash in Calabar.

The massive win shows that the team is not lacking in potent strikers who has the power to deliver goals whenever they are needed.

Also, on record, the Golden Eaglets have a highly experienced coach in Amunike, who played in the 1994 FIFA World Cup in USA, as well as the Confederations Cup and the Olympics, winning gold in 1996. He stated his confidence in his team before Golden Eaglets made a flying start in their opener on Sunday.

“We are here for business and by the grace of God, it shall go well for us here in Niamey,” he said shortly after the teams’ arrival at the weekend.

Having scored 11 goals in the four matches they played to qualify for the finals, Amunike knows he can count on goal-getters like Ebere Osinachi and Ndu Iheakam, while captain Kelechi Nwakali, who is on the books of English Premier League side Manchester City, is being tipped as one of the potential stars of the tournament.

In Group A, Niger, whom the Golden

Eaglets defeated in the opening game in the Stade General Seyni Kountche on Sunday, have once before played in the competition, but were disqualified for fielding an ineligible player after qualifying for the semi-finals.

Zambia though are genuine debutantes, but Coach Chris Kaunda believes they are the real deal, telling reporters: “I can assure you we have a team that can do the honors. We are ready.”

The fourth team in Group A, Guinea, have thrice qualified for the World Cup and finished fourth in the inaugural competition in 1985. Their best place at the African championships is third, in 1995.

In Group B, title holders Côte d’Ivoire appear to be the side to beat. The West Africans, who advanced to the quarterfinals at the last U-17 World Cup at UAE 2013, had a comfortable passage into the finals, beating Libya 4-0 in the first leg of the second round before the North Africans withdrew. They then beat Angola 4-1 on aggregate in the third round to book their place in Niger.

However in Group B, the perennial under-achievers of African youth

football, South Africa, are looking to ensure their first-ever place in the global competition. The Amajimbos have only twice made it to the finals of the CAF competition, finishing fourth in 2005 and failing to escape the group phase two years later.

Coach Molefi Ntseki, whose side had to dig deep to qualify with a 2-2 draw in Cairo against Egypt, has been able to fine-tune his side in a number of friendly matches in the run-up to the competition.

One of the players who impressed was striker Luvuyo Mkatshana, who has shown a knack for appearing on the score sheet, and the Wits player scored in South Africa’s 1-0 victory against Niger during the week.

“We believe we are a good side. We believe we have what it takes to go far in this tournament. After the friendly against Niger we know what to expect in the tournament and it is up to us to qualify for Chile later this year,” he enthused.

Standing in South Africa’s and Côte d’Ivoire’s way of qualifying are Cameroun and Mali, both of whom have plenty of experience playing

Golden Eaglets coach, Emmanuel Amunike.

“Golden Eaglets have a herculean task ahead in their quest for glory in Niger, as all the eight competing countries have the potential to lift one of Africa’s most prestigious youth soccer tournaments. Therefore, Niger 2015 U-17 Championship promises to be a real celebration of African youth football, as fans anxiously look forward to the trophy resting in Africa’s most populous black nation, Nigeria.”

at this level. Les Lionceaux won the competition in 2003 and have a fourthplace finish, while Mali made it through to the semi-finals four times and have two quarter-final appearances from the World Cup to their name.

From the foregoing, Golden Eaglets have a herculean task ahead in their quest for glory in Niger, as all the eight competing countries have the potential to lift one of Africa’s most prestigious youth soccer tournaments.

Therefore, Niger 2015 U-17 Championship promises to be a real celebration of African youth football, as fans anxiously look forward to the trophy resting in Africa’s most populous black nation, Nigeria!

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

EXTRATIME

BASKETBALL EXTRA

X7

With Philips Tayo

D’Tigers

set for Afrobasket qualifiers, says DIKE Lopez

Lopez

gets Angola’s top job

S

paniard Moncho Lopez has agreed a seven-month contract to coach Angola at AfroBasket 2015, which will take place in Tunisia from August 19-30.

Lopez replaces former Angolan international Paulo Macedo, who guided the Angolans to their 11th continental trophy two years ago in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.

Under Macedo, the Angolans finished 17th out of 24th at last year’s FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain, following defeats to Lithuania, Slovenia and Mexico, which prevented the African champions from advancing to the Final Phase for the first time in four consecutive World Cup appearances.

At the time Macedo threatened to quit for alleged criticism and personal attacks to members of his family, but he later told FIBA.com that he was available if considered for the job.

The Angolan Basketball Federation (FAB) chose Lopez after considering a list of five Angola-based head coaches, but, apparently none matched Lopez.

The 45-year-old, who currently coaches Dragon Force in the Portuguese second tier, will not start working with Angola until March.

Meanwhile, Lopez’s assistants Emmanuel Trovoada - widely acclaimed for leading Cape Verde to a third-place finish at AfroBasket 2007 - and Manuel da Silva Gi, who coached Angola’s side at the 2014 FIBA U17 World Championship in Dubai, will guide the Angolans at the All Africa Games qualifier in Harare, Zimbabwe, from February 21 to 27.

More than anything, Lopez - who helped his native Spain finish runnersup at EuroBasket 2003, and later coached Portugal, has been charged with the task of getting Angola back to the Olympic Games map again.

ARGENTINA step up preparations for FIBA tourney

Santana

A

rgentina will commence preparations for the FIBA Americas Women’s Championship that will take place in Canada on August 9-16.

The stakes will be high, something all of the players will be acutely aware of when they arrive at the Centro Nacional de Alto Rendimiento Deportivo (CeNARD) to begin a six-day training camp.

One of those to be involved is

24-year-old Ornella Santana, who is on the books of Deportivo Berazategui.

The 1.79m center has experience in the national side that is coached by Cristian Santander.

She first featured in the senior team at the 2011 FIBA Americas Women’s Championship.

Argentina will also play at the Pan American Games this year and later at the Americas Championship in Edmonton, Canada, where Olympic qualification is the main aim.

After taking part in the 2012 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Women and coming up well short of their goal, Argentina also failed to reach the 2014 FIBA World Championship for Women.

The hunger to do well has created a competitive environment.

“Reaching the Olympics is the dream and we are all fighting for a place in the team,” Santana said.

D’Tigers celebrate after defeating Congo DR 75-93 in their second game of the 2013 AfroBasket in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.

M

ercurial forward guard of Dodan Warriors Basketball Club of Lagos, Azuoma Dike, has revealed the readiness of the 14 invited home-players camping in Abuja to lead the charge for the qualification of Nigeria in next FIBA Africa Basketball Championship in Cameroun. He said most of them having been part of the previous national teams’ selections, have a reservoir of experience to fall back on when they file out against their fellow Zone 3 contenders.

Speaking to Extra Time, Dike who is revered for his three-point artistry, said DSTV League players are capable of raising a strong squad to represent Nigeria at any international stage.

“Let me say that we are in the camp preparing seriously ahead of the qualifier which will soon dunkoff. Thus, we can lead the charge for winning the qualification ticket for the Men’s FIBA Afrobasket Championship, even in the absence of the foreign-pros.

“The home-based players have all

DSTV

Basketball dunks off March 13

–Pinheiro N

igeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) League Management Committee chairman, Coach Agboola Pinheiro, has assured that March 13 dunk-off date for the new season of the DSTV-sponsored Men’s Professional League will not suffer any postponement.

Speaking in a telephone interview with Extra Time, the former D’Tigers handler and current board member of NBBF doused

NBBF boss, Tijani Umar. the fresh apprehension likely to pervade the conscious minds of the relevant stakeholders on the effect of the political calendar throwing spanners into the wheels of the commencement of the DSTV League.

“The board after the stakeholders’ forum have fixed March 13 as the dunk-off date for our DSTV Basketball League, and we’re now ready!

it takes to represent Nigeria on the international stage. Personally, I have been part of the previous D’Tigers’ teams to some Afrobasket and All Africa Games competitions with some home- based players and we had medals to show for our efforts.

“I think the present clamour for foreign-players is just a figment of negative sentiments being built into the polity to dampen our morale. Now, we’ve been given the chance, we will prove ourselves to the surprise of all and sundry,” Dike stated.

“We have to start preparation on time because commencing our league on time will help keep our players fit,” he said.

While speaking on the season’s league format which has been subject of speculations of probable change to accommodate obvious political exigencies, Pinheiro maintained that the format remains the same and within the two league conferences—Savannah and Atlantic.

“The teams and their conferences remain the same. There wouldn’t be any abridged format because they are to play on the usual home and away format.

“A total of 126 matches are to be played throughout the season in the two conferences. Also, there will be conference final playoff of the best six teams respectively where the best four teams are to emerge for the National finals of the best eight teams in Lagos. Consequently, the season’s champion is expected to emerge out of the lot,” he said.

Meanwhile, the All-Stars weekend is expected to hold May 16, while the league is expected to end on July 23.

X8

Tuesday, February 17, 2015

EXTRATIME

EXTRATIME

BARCA

BARTRA HAILS

BARCA ROTATION POLICY

B

arcelona’s fringe players are ready to play a part in the club’s bid for silverware this season, according to defender Marc Bartra.

After a much-changed Barcelona side eased to a 5-0 win over Levante on Sunday, Marc Bartra feels plenty of credit should go to Luis Enrique’s more underused players.

The Barca boss made eight changes to his starting XI from the Copa del Rey win over Villarreal in midweek with Lionel Messi’s hat-trick and further goals from Neymar and Luis Suarez helping the Catalans move within a point of leaders Real Madrid.

And Bartra, who set up Messi’s second, is hopeful of contributing more towards Luis Enrique’s bid for trophies.

“This big win is a result of the hard work we do in training. We are feeling fit and are all playing a part in this good run,” he told reporters after Barca’s 11th consecutive victory in all competitions.

“The most important thing is that we maintain the same level when we less regular players get a game. Or to even improve the level if we can.

“If the boss needs me, then I’m always ready to answer his call. I need to be ready to help out at any time.”

MESSI Essential to Barca’s future –Iniesta

B Bartra

arcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta feels the future of Lionel Messi is “fundamental” to the club’s ability to compete both domestically and in Europe over the coming years.

The Argentina captain - who marked his 300th Liga appearance with a hat-trick in Sunday’s 5-0 win over Levante - has seen his future become the subject of much discussion in recent months.

An apparent disagreement with Coach Luis Enrique, coupled with suggestions from Messi that he did not know where he would be playing next season, fuelled rumours the 27-year-

old may leave Camp Nou. However, Iniesta told the media: “I hope and wish that Leo can be with Barca for a long time, because he has been, is and will be fundamental to our competing for honours. That’s my sole desire.”

While Sunday’s win extended Barca’s winning streak to 11 matches in all competitions, the last few months have been somewhat tumultuous for the Catalan giants.

With a court case ongoing with regards to alleged tax fraud surrounding the signing of Neymar and the club subject to a transfer ban in 2015 for broken rules in relation to the signing

Messi

of youth players, Iniesta acknowledged it has been difficult to keep focus.

“Look, there’s no denying that when there’s so much talk on the outside and when it’s not about football or your play, it can affect things,” he added.

“You try, or at least should try, to ignore all of that because a lot of it isn’t true. The sheer number of reports can annoy you. That said, we know we’re at a club where a lot is asked of you, where everything is magnified tenfold.

“There are so many opinions and a lot of things can come from that. When things aren’t going exactly to plan, then we have to deal with those kind of situations.

MESSI’S

HAT-TRICK RECORDS PUT RONALDO IN THE SHADE

SUAREZ

, ’ R E K I R T S E R U P ‘A SAYS ENRIQUE

B

arcelona coach Luis Enrique hailed Luis Suarez as “a pure striker” after the Uruguayan’s bicycle kick against Levante.

Suarez capped off Barcelona’s 5-0 thrashing of Levante in La Liga on Sunday with a bicycle kick, after also scoring in their 5-2 triumph at Athletic Bilbao last week, and Luis Enrique labelled the Uruguayan “a pure striker” after the victory at the Camp Nou. The former Liverpool forward has scored four league goals in his

past eight matches after taking until December to open his account in La Liga and Luis Enrique was thrilled to see Suarez start to prove his worth even if the 44-year-old coach insisted the striker contributes more than just goals.

“Beautiful goal, it has been a great action, a great play changing the orientation of the game, nice pass from Adriano and a great bicycle kick with the left foot,” Luis Enrique said.

“A typical goal from a pure striker,

Suarez

that helps him a lot. There are many times when it is more difficult for players that are closer to goal to score in 90 minutes, but then they play just 20 and score.

“It helps him personally too, although he doesn’t need that because he contributes in many things in the attack, and good news he scored.”

Suarez came on for Neymar in the 67th minute and struck six minutes later.

T

here is no stopping Lionel Messi at the moment. Barcelona’s brilliant Argentine hit another hat-trick as the Blaugrana beat Levante 5-0 on Sunday and added more records to his ever-growing collection - as well as overtaking Cristiano Ronaldo on goals scored in 2014-15.

Messi’s comparatively slow start to the season saw him fall way behind his Real Madrid rival in the scoring stats, but the Argentine has hit a purple patch and has scored 14 to Ronaldo’s four so far in 2015.

Leo’s latest treble saw him tie Telmo Zarra for domestic hat-tricks (31) and draw level with Ronaldo on Liga triples (23). But before he had

even scored there was another record for the four-time Ballon d’Or winner as he superbly set up Neymar for the first goal and surpassed Luis Figo’s mark of 105 assists in the Primera Division. At hat-trick of records in addition to his treble on the pitch.

Assists records only date back 25 years, but it is likely nobody else has more in the history of La Liga and even if they did, Messi would probably beat them eventually anyway.

Two more strikes with his supposedly weaker right foot and a third from the penalty spot saw him reduce Ronaldo’s Liga lead to two goals (28 to 26) in the race for the prestigious Pichichi prize.