Dtn 20 10 15

ƍƍƆ Ƌ ƑƏƐ Ƈ ƈƋ Ɛ ƗƆƋƈƒƆƏ ƉƑƗ ƌƆ Ɛ d Ə Ɗƈô ƆƐ ƐƏƈ Ƌ Andrew Orolua, ƄƑƉ

ÎÎÎThe Court of

Appeal, Abuja Division,

on Monday, failed to deliver judgment on the appeal filed by Senate President, Senator Bukola Saraki, challenging his trial at

Code of Conduct Tribunal (CCT).

Rather than deliver the judgment it had last Friday reserved for Monday, the court

announced an indefinite adjournment, sayContinued on page 2 www.facebook.com/dailytimesngr

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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2015 VOL. 1. NO.212

GAINERS

N150

LOSERS

NSE GAINERS AND LOSERS AS AT 16th October 2015.

FO

280

10.00

3.57%

ZENITHBANK

17.51

0.66

3.77%

MOBIL

148

-7.00

-4.73%

TRANSCOHOT

6.42

-0.68

-10.59%

UACN

28.05

1.20

4.28%

GUARANTY

23.51

0.47

2.00%

GUINNESS

150

-1.00

-0.67%

ETI

18.3

-0.55

-3.01%

Screening: Senate to

clear Amaechi today

Ï ^ ƆƋ Ɨƈ ƌƈ Ɔ ƍƆƐƈƐƈ ƈ Ɛ d Ɗ Ɛ ƌƈ ƆƆ Olufemi Samuel, ƄƑƉ

ÎÎÎThe

controversies surrounding his nomination notwithstanding, the Senate is set to clear the former governor of Riv-

ers State, Rotimi Amaechi, today.

The Senate, all things being equal, will also clear the nominee from Sokoto State, Ms Aisha Abubakar, contrary to the wish of petitioners from her state who were

bent on preventing her screening by the Senate.

Checks by the Daily Times are indicating that save for a pocket of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Senators, majority of

Senators have agreed to clear Amaechi when he appears for screening today.

The Senate shelved Amaechi’s screenContinued on page 2

Gé`ë ƈƆƇ Ƈ Ɛ Ɔ M ƒ Ƌ Ɛ ƇƇè yƈƅƆ ƗƌƈƏ Ƌ 9Ƅ Ɗ &ƊƓƆé9Ƅ ì ƈƆƇ Ƈ Əƌƕ dƐ ƇƇè GƐê 1Ɔ ê jƑƊƑƏ ƑƏ Ɛ ƈì ƈƆƇ Ƈ #ƆƇƆ ƅƆ dƐ ƇƇè 1Ɔ ê Ƅ ƕ ƌƈ RƋ ƈ Ɗƈ ì ^ƆƏƌ Ɔ Ɛ dƆƅƏƆƐ Əƕè Lƈ ƈ ƐƏƕ Ƈ #ƆƇƆ ƅƆè ƋƈƕƑ dƑƌ ƈƋ ì yƈƅƆ ^ƏƆ ƈƗƆ Ɛ Ɔƌƈ R ƈ Ƅ Ɖ Ɨ ^ƏƆ ƈƗƆ Ɛ LƑ ƌƌ ƗƑ Ƒ Əƈ ƗƑƏƈ ƆƅƑƏƈƐƕ ƌƆƆƐƈ Ɛ Ɛ Ɔ ^ƏƆ ƈƗƆ Ɛƈ Ƌ yƈƋƋ ƄƑƉ Č L Ɨ ƕ

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News 2

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Screening: Senate to clear Amaechi today Continued from page 1 ing last week on the basis of failure by the Ethics, Privileges and Public Petition to present a report on probe of a petition filed by

a group, which named itself Integrity Group from Rivers State against Amaechi.

The Committee had sited litigation on Amaechi’s case already filed in court

as reason it could not sit on the petition, just as it said it was constitutionally barred to do so.

Members of the Committee were earlier in disarray on whether or not to

approve the clearance of Amaechi, while many of them, mostly from Rivers State and PDP stayed away from subsequent meeting of the Committee to write the report on the probe of

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode (middle); first civilian governor, Alhaji Lateef Jakande (right), his wife, Alhaja Abimbola at the Swearing-in ceremony of Commissioners and Special Advisers at Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, the Secretariat, Alausa, Ikeja,Lagos... on Monday.

A’Court fails to deliver judgment on Saraki’s asset trial

... Adjourns indefinitely Continued from page 1 ing a future date will be communicated to the parties.

The Court registrar, Mrs. Christie Aruna, who announced the adjournment, could not give reason for the sudden adjournment that left lawyers and spectators who were in court to receive judgment disappointed.

Some dignitaries comprising Senators, chieftains of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and supporters of the Senate President who had stormed the court as early as 8am for the judgment slated for 2pm left the court premises disappointed when the reality dawned on them that the judgment will not be delivered after all.

The indefinite postponement raised speculation that the trial of Bukola Saraki by CCT slated to begin tomorrow (Wednesday) may suffer same fate as Saraki’s legal team are prepared to file a stay of proceeding of the trial pending the decision of the Court of Appeal.

The Daily Times gathered that Saraki who had pleaded not guilty to the 13 counts charge at the tribunal and had challenged his trial would insist that the Court of Appeal gives its judgment first.

Arguing the appeal last week, Joseph Daudu SAN led counsel for Saraki had stated that the tribunal erred on five grounds by arraigning the Senate President before a tribunal that lacks competence to try him by virtue of its composition.

He explained that the sitting of two members of the tribunal instead of three members as prescribed by the statute robbed the tribunal of its jurisdiction.

Counsel argued that the CCT erred in law by proceeding with the trial with two members instead of mandatory three as provided by the constitution.

He said the sitting violated paragraphs 15(1) of the 1999 constitution by sitting with two members instead of three and asked the court

to nullify the CCT proceedings of last month due to lack of quorum.

Daudu also disagreed with Rotimi Jacobs SAN that Interpretation Act should be applied to resolve the issue of quorum. Jacobs had argued that the Act which established the tribunal was silent on the number of judges that would form quorum for its sitting.

Daudu insisted that the Interpretation Act cannot override the constitution being the supreme law and the Act being inferior to the constitution.

“To ask that the Act of Interpretation be used to override constitutional provision is wrong and unheard off.

“That itself will amount to product of mis-interpretation because constitution is the supreme law and not an Act”.

He also argued that the tribunal was wrong in assuming criminal jurisdiction against the Senate President when it was not a superior court of record.

Daudu, who cited several authorities, submitted that

the tribunal cannot assume concurrent jurisdiction with the federal high court, adding that the CCT was by law inferior to the federal high court.

He therefore urged the Court of Appeal to nullify the proceedings of the tribunal against Saraki and to also set aside the criminal charges filed against him by the Federal Government on account of being illegal and unlawful.

In his submissions and responses to the argument, the Federal Government through its counsel, Rotimi Jacobs SAN, asked that the appeal case be dismissed for lacking merit.

Jacobs submitted that the constitution was silent on the quorum of the tribunal memberships.

He urged the court to invoke the Interpretation Act to resolve the issue in favour of the respondent.

He maintained that the tribunal has criminal jurisdiction because of the use of words like “guilty” and “punishment” in the law that established the tribunal.

petition against the former governor.

A Senator representing Oyo State, Senator Abdulfatai Buhari, in a chat with the Daily Times on the issue, said the Senate today will treat the issue of Amaechi without sentiment.

He said there has never been any court order or special case file against the former governor likely to stop his clearance by the Senate.

He said the White Paper reportedly issued on Amaechi by the government of Rivers State, detailing his alleged infamy while in Office is not binding on the Senate.

Senator Buhari said specifically that Senate was never concerned about the local politics of PDP in Rivers State, stating also that anyone who has personal

grudge against Amaechi should settle with him and not begin to use the Senate to do that.

He said the timing of the probe of Amaechi by Rivers State government as well as the issuance of a White Paper on the probe of his past administration was suspect and hence would not be looked into by the Senate because it was a Rivers State matter.

Also the Senate Ad Hoc Committee Chairman on Media and Publicity, Senator Dino Melaye, said the Senate has no restriction not to clear Amaechi, affirming that so far the Senate has not received any injunction from the court purportedly aiming to stop his screening.

However, the Senate indicated earlier in the day Continued on page 6

EFCC quizzes ex-Kebbi gov, Dakingari over fraud allegation Ï ƌƌƈ ƈ ƗƆ ƈƆ ƄƐ ƈ ƈ statements from suspects under duress Monday Agu Jr. Abuja

ÎÎÎFormer

Governor of Kebbi State, Alhaji Saidu Dakingari, was on Monday, quizzed by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), for alleged corruption.

This is even as the Chairman of Commission, Ibrahim Lamorde, on Monday, denied allegations that suspects who are being investigated for alleged corrupt practices by the Commission are made to give their statements under duress A team of detectives from the Economic Governance Unit of the anti-graft agency interrogated the former governor for alleged abuse of office, misappropriation of funds and money laundering-related offences.

A top operative of the commission told our correspondent that the commission was probing the former governor for offences he allegedly committed during his tenure as a two-term governor of Kebbi State from

2007 to 2015.

Investigations revealed that the ex-governor reported at the Idiagbon House Headquarters of the commission to honour the agency’s invitation at 10am on Monday.

As at the time of filing this report, Dakingari was still undergoing the interrogation with the EFCC operatives.

Spokesman of the Commission, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, confirmed that the former governor was invited and that he reported at the commission on Monday.

He said: “The former Governor of Kebbi State was invited and he honoured the invitation.”

Prior to Dakingari’s invitation, the commission had invited his wife, Hajia Zainab Dakingari, who is one of the daughters of former President Umaru Ya’Adua, for interrogation over an alleged N2 billion fraud on July 22, 2015.

Meanwhile, the EFCC chairman, Ibrahim LamContinued on page 6

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, October 20, 2015

3

Politics Page Three Æ s Editorial BOI and Graduate Entrepreneurship

R

ecently, the Bank of Industry (BOI) set aside N2billion Graduate Entrepreneurship Fund (GEF) for graduates in need of securing loan facility for their businesses. The scheme which is being implemented in conjunction with the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), is to identify the innate talents of young graduates to enable them build capacities for self reliance and create jobs for themselves and other youths. We commend the BOI for this initiative, especially in the understanding that it is meant to inculcate the culture of self reliance in our youths and wean them from the perpetual drudgery of vainly searching for non-existing white collar jobs immediately after graduation.

It is fact that Nigeria has one of the highest youth unemployment in the world and the figure continues rising with no appreciable efforts by the various governments and other stakeholders to ameliorate the situation.

Available figures from the Bureau of Statistics (BOI) put the current youth unemployment rate at over 60 percent.

This means that 60 million of youth population of about 100 million is unemployed. The percentage is even more staggering among those with higher educational qualifications. It is estimated that more than two million graduates enter the labour market every year with extremely limited opportunities for job.

In view of this scenario, it is imperative that the government makes youth employment its priority through such measures like the one being advanced

by BOI. High youth unemployment has negative effect on the country’s development agenda. It also responsible for terrorism, political unrest, economic instability, drug abuse, human trafficking and kidnapping. Sadly, unemployed youth lose their self-esteem and this has an adverse negative effect on their families

and the overall national productivity and contribution to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Moreover, graduates with no jobs are always feeling insignificant and believe that they are ostracised from the rest of the society, and most often, are regarded as parasites by other people.

If government needed to know the gravity of the nation’s graduate unemployment, the trampling of job seekers to death during stampedes at the last Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) recruitment drive across the country, presents a graphic picture of the problem. That incident, alone tells us that something needs to be done urgently to address the scourge of unemployment in the country. As a government agency, we urge the BOI to liaise with some private sector organisations in the training of unemployed graduates for skill acquisition.

This they can do through taking responsibility for the payment of their stipends while the training lasts. We are advocating this because a large percentage of the graduates do not have the financial wherewithal to sponsor themselves through skill acquisition programmes, especially those lacking the capacity to venture into businesses requiring technical and professional skills. The problem of graduate unemployment requires more pragmatic actions from the government and the private sectors. However, it is the responsibility of the government to initiate such work-friendly policies that would encourage the private sector to buy into the programme. They should do this by reducing taxes for those businesses that undertake the training of unemployed graduates. They also can encourage self-employment through advancing loans with long-term repayment schedule. That way, the government would have helped solve the scourge of unemployment and poverty among the youth

Corruption: Must the West take over Nigeria’s job?

Sam Nzeh

ÎÎÎWhen last week Tues-

day, President Muhammadu Buhari called on Britain and Switzerland to speed up the processes of investigation and prosecution of corrupt former Nigerian officials and their accomplices as well as repatriation of the stolen funds, not a few Nigerians were excited.

They were not excited because the call portrayed that Nigeria had failed in bringing such corrupt officials to book. Nigerians were also not excited because the call meant that Nigeria had inadvertently outsourced the prosecution of such former officials and others who corruptly enriched themselves

to Britain, Switzerland and other countries of the West.

Among the questions that agitated many Nigerians in view of the call were - First: Was President Buhari by the call not asking both countries and others in the West to do Nigeria’s primary job of ensuring that officials who engage in corruption are swiftly investigated, prosecuted and sanctioned appropriately within her jurisdiction?

Second: Was the President by the call not showing early signs of helplessness with regards to the fight against corruption as well as the slow pace of corruption cases in Nigeria?

Whichever way, the fact is that the call by President Buhari would not have been necessary if Nigeria did a good job in swiftly investigating and prosecut-

Words On Marble :

ing corrupt officials.

If the war against graft were fought in Nigeria as in other countries of the globe, the West in particular, the number of Nigerians who elope with public funds to Britain, Switzerland and other Western countries would have reduced.

Fact is that it is Nigeria’s duty to ensure that public officials who tamper with funds in their care are brought to book and that swiftly. When Nigeria fails to do her duty, it becomes easy for her to ask others to do so for her.

This is sad and President Buhari, who rode to power promising to fight corruption to a standstill should refrain from giving the impression that the West should take over the task of fighting corruption in Nigeria.

STATEMENTS BY THOSE WHO MATTER

Publisher/Editor in Chief – Fidelis Anosike Group Managing Editor Molara Wood

Group Managing Director Noel Anosike

Ag Head Operations Segun Bamigboye

Deputy Editor Sam Nzeh

Technical Adviser To Publisher Innocent Nwankwo 08033072614

News Editor Segun Adio

Group Executive Commercial/ Business Developement Ifeoluwa Isijiola 08086296714

Adverts/Partnerships/ Corporate Subscription Ifeanyi Emefu 08086296714 Ifeoluwa Isijiola 08054934941 Konnie Agu 09033765031

Head, Graphics/Design King Ododoru

Group Head Accounts & Control Samson Abiodun

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

dailytimesng www.facebook.com/dailytimesngr

Goddy Uwazurike

Mike Ozekhome

Shehu Sani

“I think only Mr. President will decide who he wants to work with, but in doing so, he must follow the constitution.”

“Government affairs should not be carried out with the eerie secrecy with which witches and wizards carry out their nefarious activities.”

“The battle against insurgency is the battle for the soul of Islam, for the soul of the North and for the soul of Nigeria”.

4

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, October 20, 2015

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Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, October 20, 2015

5

News 6

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Election Tribunals: PDP cautions A’Court President against interference Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja

ÎÎÎThe

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has cautioned the President of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, against undue interferences in the activities of various election petition tribunals and other judicial cases in the country.

The PDP gave the warning on Monday sequel to what it called “reports of undue interferences, emanating from her (Bulkachu-

wa’s) office, in the activities of various election petition tribunals and other judicial cases, ostensibly to sway them against the PDP and in favour of the APC”.

The opposition party, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr. Olisa Metuh, further cautioned that such complete interference was unacceptable to it as it principally detracts from the sanctity of the judiciary as the citadel of justice and erodes the trust reposed on it by the people.

Rather, the PDP advised the President of the Court of Appeal to understand that an impartial judiciary is critical to the survival of the nation’s democracy and the stability of this nation.

It thus urged her to ensure that there is no further interference in electoral matters in tribunals and courts, as they must be allowed to run through the full course of justice.

The statement reads: “The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) alerts the Presi-

dent of the Court of Appeal, Justice Zainab Bulkachuwa, of reports of undue interferences, emanating from her office, in the activities of various election petition tribunals and other judicial cases, ostensibly to sway them against the PDP and in favour of the APC. “While we would not want to believe that the President of the Court of Appeal is so involved, given the sensitivity of her office, we wish to caution in very strong terms, that such is

completely unacceptable as it principally detracts from the sanctity of the judiciary as the citadel of justice and erodes the trust reposed on it by the people.

“We expect the President of the Court of Appeal to understand that an impartial judiciary is critical to the survival of our democracy and the stability of this nation.

“In this regard therefore, we urge her to ensure that there is no further interference in electoral matters in tribunals and courts, as they must be allowed to run through the full course of justice.

“Furthermore, we wish to reiterate our earlier call

on the Chief Justice of the Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, to guard jealously the independence of the judiciary which he heads, and ensure that any activity that tends to undermine the sanctity of this arm of government is stiffly resisted in the interest of democracy.

“In any case, the PDP restates that it will continue to closely monitor proceedings in various tribunals and other judicial cases, and will use every means within the ambit of the law to ensure that nobody, no matter how highly placed, interferes in judicial matters, especially political cases”.

Screening: Senate may clear Amaechi today Continued from page 2

Former Senate President, Ken Nnamani; Pro-Chancellor, University of Ibadan, Dr. Umaru-Musa Mustapha; Ondo State Governor, Dr. Olusegun Mimiko and former Minister of Education, Prof. Tunde Adeniran at the presentation of a book “Serving My Fatherland” held in Ibadan… on Monday

Fraud: EFCC quizzes ex-Kebbi gov, Dakingari Continued from page 2 orde, on Monday, denied allegations that suspects who are being investigated for alleged corrupt practices by the Commission are made to give their statements under duress.

Lamorde, who spoke in his office, when two officials of Amnesty International (AI), paid him a visit, said the state-of-the-art recording facilities in the EFCC interrogation rooms would not allow any interrogator to humiliate a suspect.

He said: ‘‘The EFCC follows the rule of law. Our statements are recorded and are not taken under duress.

Our rooms have cameras in

them, so it is not possible to humiliate anyone.”

Lamorde, who expressed gratitude to the AI team for opening an office in Abuja, also described corruption as the worst type of human right abuse, adding that AI must continue to lend its voice to the anti-corruption war in Nigeria.

He said: ‘‘Western countries must end the impoverization of developing countries. They must reject and return stolen funds, so that respective governments of the affected developing countries could use the money to better the lives of the poor in their countries. It is the common wealth of the people that has been diverted for

private use. So, it is the worst form of human rights abuse.

When corruption and impunity become the order of the day, human rights abuses flourish. ‘‘When you consider the cause of water-borne diseases suffered by people in rural areas, it is because someone has diverted the funds meant for pipe borne water in those areas. Also, when you consider the fact that our hospitals lack the basic amenities, it is because some people have kept the funds allocated to the hospitals to themselves. I, therefore, urge you to consider partnering with the EFCC,’’ he said.

In his remark, Mr. Colm O Cuanachain, Senior Di-

rector, Office of the Secretary General of Amnesty International, said that only nations that take anti-corruption war seriously could experience ‘‘phenomenal growth’’.

Cuanachain, who further expressed the readiness of AI to partner EFCC, also talked about the activities of the AI in the North- Eastern part of Nigeria, the Niger Delta and Port Harcourt, Rivers State, where he said corruption had contributed to human rights violation.

He, however, decried death penalty as punishment for looters of the treasury, adding that ‘‘it is not the best option in the fight against corruption.’’

that the screening of the nominee from Sokoto State will not get a hitch since the petition filed against her was flawed.

The Ethics, Privileges and Public Petition Committee, which opened debate on the petition against Ms Aisha Abubakar, noted that the petitioner did not route the protest against the nominee properly as they erred by addressing it to President Muhammadu Buhari and not directly to the Senate President as demanded by the Senate Rule.

The Committee Chairman, Senator Samuel Anyanwu, had pointed the flaw to the petitioners, stating that since they failed to address it to the Senate President directly, the petition, by implication was not meant to be treated by the Senate.

The Committee, however concluded that the petition which was handwritten and not even typed was ‘dead on arrival’.

Although signatories to the petition against the Sokoto nominee, Hajiya Balarabe Abdul, Hadiza

Zabobo, Hajiya Kulu, Hajiya Fati and Rabe Jonah, made attempt to impress it on the committee that they had a new petition properly addressed to the Senate, the Committee failed to entertain their new move.

The Chairman quoted sections 147, 14 (3), 66 of the constitution which state the qualification for appointment as a minister, stating that Ms Aisha Abubakar had met the criteria for her to become a minister, notwithstanding the petition against her.

The Committee said since she was a an indigene of Sokoto State and that having fit into the idea of gender balance as canvassed by President Muhammadu Buhari during his presidential campaign, the nominee should enjoy the privilege of being screened for appointment as a minister.

The Senate has scheduled another 10 set of nominees to be screened during today’s plenary, while it screened 18 nominees who it confirmed for ministerial jobs through a memo it officially sent to President Buhari at the close of work last week.

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Osun drags lecturers to court over 10-month strike action ÏÏÏOsun

State Government has dragged lecturers in the state owned tertiary institutions to the Industrial Court for embarking on an industrial action running to ten months.

The state government also alleged that the Labour Union is illegal as the association was not registered under the law.

The lecturers have however insisted that they would not resume despite being dragged to court by the Government until their demands were met.

According to the court summon presented to the striking lecturers under the Council of Academic

ÏÏÏThe

Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) has announced the appointment of Mrs. Mojisola Ruth Adeola as the Council Secretary and Head of the Council Secretariat.

Mrs. Adeola’s appointment, according to a statement follows on The Exchange’s decision to drive greater efficiency and innovation by separating its Legal Department from the Council Secretariat.

Mrs. Adeola, a lawyer and chartered secretary, has extensive company secretarial, legal and governance experience, having held prior relevant positions. Most recently, she served as Company Secretary/Legal Adviser to Acorn Petroleum Plc. She holds an LLB degree from the University of Lagos and qualified to practice as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 2005.

Mrs. Adeola takes over from

Cleric urges FG to address youth unemployment Adedeji Sulaiman

ÏÏÏThe

Federal Government has been urged to address youths unemployment in the country in order to arrest moral decadence in the society just as parents were also advised not to rush their children and wards into marriage.

Teribiya Kolapo Saka Tijani, Director of Religious Affairs of Shafaudeen In Islam Worldwide, made the appeal in Ibadan while speaking with newsmen.

The Director said that Nigerian youths needed to be gainfully employed to enable them refrain from sexual immorality after attaining physical and economic maturity adding that he was confident the

Staff Union of Osun State Owned Tertiary Institutions, the State Government claimed that their industrial action was not according to law.

Speaking, counsel to the State Government, Mr. Wale Afolabi said before filling the case at an Ibadan Industrial Court, a letter had been written to the Federal Ministry of Labour and Productivity to confirm if CASUOSTI was duly registered as a union under it.

While noting that the proceedings on the case would commence early next week, Mr. Afolabi urged the striking lecturers to call off their strike without delay.

But rising from their Southwest Zonal Executive meeting held at the Osun State Polytechnic, Iree, the lecturers said with the new step taken by the State Government, they are fully ready to appear in court as the last hope of the common man.

NSE appoints new Council Secretary Ms. Tinuade Awe who served as Council Secretary from January 2011. Ms. Awe will remain at The Exchange as General Counsel and Head of the Legal and Regulation Division. In this role, she will focus on driving greater efficiency in The Exchange’s regulatory functions within the zero tolerance rubric, improving its relationship with other regulators, and preparing The Exchange for demutualization. Mrs. Irene Robinson-Ayanwale who previously headed both the Legal Department and the Council Secretariat retains her role as Head of the Legal Department where she will focus on protecting The Exchange from legal liability and providing first class legal support for The Exchange’s ongoing initiatives. government of President Muhammadu Buhari would address that problem of youth unemployment .

He pointed out that though marriage was ordained by God, "parents should guide and nurture their grown up children and not rush them into the institution because of its numerous challenges" Tijani reminded men of their responsibilities to marriage stressing: "a man who cannot carry shoulder high, the load of his household is a blunderous failure, for no matter how fabulous the income of the wife, God ordains She should depend on her man" "As a road, marriage is never straight forward, or smooth path.

The path to success in marriage is very lonely, and fearful only they (the couple) who are bravely cheerful trek it. It is slippery, rough, rocky and gruesome", he added.

7 News

L-R: A pan-African Social Enterprise, Dr. Lola Dare; Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Angela Merkel and Executive Director of DSW, Mrs. Rebate Bahr at the launch of the global programme on Secure and Resilient Health Sector at the recently concluded 70th United Nations General Assembly, New York … recently

Logistics, weather hampering war against Boko Haram - CDS Egena Egena Abuja

ÏÏÏChief of Defence Staff, Gen-

eral Abayomi Olonishakin on Monday said weather and some other logistic issues were militating against the ongoing battle with the Boko Haram insurgents.

Speaking with State House Correspondents after a meeting with the President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, the defence chief said the Armed Forces were committed to meeting the December deadline set by the President in spite of the current challenges. " It's a normal consultation to intimate him on the issues on ground, we briefed him on the security situation on ground after a 60-day review and we had to brief him on the challenges we have and

ensure that the mandate we have is properly delivered, " Of course, the challenges we are looking at are the issues of probably the weather as it were and some other logistics that we feel we should have so that the mandate can be quickly delivered", he said.

According Olonishakin, the President was happy to receive the periodic briefing and gave his words on what the government would do regarding the challenges they had outlined.

The CDS also stated that government was not yet considering an extension of the December deadline to defeat the insurgents.

"We have not said that. The mandate is that we should clear Boko Haram from the occupied territories and ensure that we reclaim all

the lost grounds. That is exactly what we are doing," he said.

Asked if he was sure the mandate and the deadline were feasible, he said: "it is a military operation and military operations have time-lines and these time-lines, we are working on them assiduously".

On the support promised by the United States and United Kingdom, he said: " When we get there, we will let you know. They have been involved in some capacity building and of course when we get the tangible ones, we will let you know about it."

Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Alhaji Aliyu Ismaila also told correspondents that President Buhari had directed the military to continue the work it was doing in the northeast and south south.

Ambode to new cabinet: Hit The Ground Running Benjamin Omoike

ÏÏÏLagos

State Governor, Mr. Akinwunmi Ambode on Monday swore in the newly appointed Commissioners and Special Advisers, with a charge on them to work round the clock and ensure that the state fulfils its potentials.

Speaking at the well attended ceremony held at the Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, Alausa Secretariat, Governor Ambode reminded the new appointees that their primary allegiance is to the people of the state, irrespective of creed and colour urging them to dedicate themselves to the service of the state.

The Governor said that the state is currently experiencing rapid urbanization and thus requires hard thinking solutions to develop befit-

ting infrastructure to cater for the increasing population.

“My fellow colleagues in the cabinet, Lagos is on the brink of greatness and you have all been given this platform to write your names in gold. You must work to leave a legacy that will be spoken of in glowing terms in years to come,” he said.

He said as the most promising city state in Africa, Lagos has all the ingredients to compete globally in all sectors, saying that he expects his new team to join hands with him to move the state forward. “The challenges that come with the boisterous profile of the state as one of the world’s fastest growing cosmopolitan City-state are as many as the opportunities that abound in it.”

“We have all the ingredients to compete globally in all sectors; and we must. We owe it to the people of Lagos and to ourselves. You are today, being handed the reins to the government of Lagos State and together, we must fulfil the massive potentials of our State.

"Lagos is a magnet for many Nigerians who want to pursue the Nigerian dream. The dream that wherever you are from, regardless of tribe or creed, you can achieve what you wish, this is the Lagos dream,” he said.

Amode

8

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Politics

Æs

Economy, Security, inseparable – SGF

Babachir Lawal

Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Babachir Lawal has observed that the issues of economy and Security in the country are inseparable.

He spoke when the National Economic Summit Group (NESG), the organiser of the

Nigerian Economic Summit (NES), presented the report of the 21st NES to President Muhammadu Buhari.

Mr Kyari Bukar, presented the 100-page report to Mr Lawal, on behalf of President Buhari.

Lawal, who spoke on sustainable solutions for peace and

threats to human security, said that economy and security were inseparable.

He said that Federal Government was doing its best to address the security challenges in the North-East and to create employment for the youth in the zone.

He, however, urged all sectors of the economy to be involved in re-building the zone.

The secretary recalled that those in the zone had lost all their means of livelihood.

“I am from the zone and I have to tell you that my people did not harvest any food last year as a result of insurgency.

“Insurgency has also affected education and youth development. Our youths have been deprived of education for almost six years.

“Also, I will like to let you know that before the problem of insurgency, 90 per cent of youths in the zone were not employed,’’ he said.

Dr Tayo Aduloju of Institute of Workforce Development said, at the plenary on security matters, that the impact of environmental problems had become driver of conflicts and insecurity.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 9

Why we want North East Commission Hon. Haliru Dauda Jika, is a member of the House of Representatives and a two-time former Speaker of the Bauchi State House of Assembly. He is representing Ganjuwa federal constituency in the 8th National Assembly. In this interview, he lauded the Speaker of the House of representatives RT. Hon. Yakubu Dogara for moving a motion aimed at rebuilding and reconstructing the North Eastern Region of the country which has been devastated by insurgency.

Excerpts:-

Experience in the House of Reps?

First and foremost, I thank the Almighty Allah for spearing our lives to see today, as you know, the House of Representative is different in terms of dependence from the executive than the State House of Assembly, where in the State Assembly, you have interference from the Executive side, but actually the House of representative is entirely different or entirely independent from the Executive.

Crisis in the house of Reps as setback for APC? Actually, what transpired on the floor of the Honourable House was purely the business of Legislators, because part of our responsibilities as Legislators or as lawmakers is to ensure that square peg is placed in a square hole which was why we were elected; we were given the mandate by our elector-

Hon Jika

Dogara

ate to represent them, the house of reps is a House for Nigerians and not a House of Political parties, so what transpired on the floor of the House is not the affairs of the PDP,

APGA, APC, LP or any of the Political parties, it is an affair in the House of the Nigerian people, the day we took an Oath of office as Members of the 8th national As-

semble on the June 9th, we became members of the National Assembly not just Members the APC. What are your priorities?

I said this whereever I go, what

inspired me to join politics was the passion I have for youths and women because they are the back bone of every politically and democratically elected government around the world; but, they are the first victims of that politics, so we want to change that notion, we want a change from the normal business, so we want to see how we can impact positively on their lives. This is one of the major reasons I joined politics and this is what I set to achieve and this is my priority.

Advocating for a North-Eastern Commission?

As you can see from what transpired on the floor of the house, you can see that the mover of that motion, it was the Speaker himself; he stepped down as the Speaker and moved the motion as a Member of the house of reps: as Yakubu Dogara because of its importance, when you look at the North-Eastern part of this country, it is the most devastated zone in Nigeria. 80 per cent of the insurgency attack occurred in CONTINUED ON PAGE 9

Why ICPC is investigating Aregbesola, LG officials

Aregbesola

The Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has begun the investigation of Osun State Governor, Mr Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola, few of his former aides and 31 Local government officials in the State over allegations of financial fraud leveled against them by the Civil Societies Coalition for the Emancipation of Osun State(CSCEO.

According to chairman of CSCEO, Comrade Adeniyi, Alimi Sulaiman the office of the Chairman of the anti-graft body, Mr. Ekpo Nta has commenced proper investigation on the petition written to the Commission against Mr. Aregbesola, his aides and local government officials.

Comrade Sulaiman would soon be CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

Ekpo

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, October 20, 2015

9 Politics

In defence of Aisha Abubakar Usama Dandare

Since the announcement of Hajiya Aisha Abubakar as a Ministerial nominee representing my beloved Sokoto State, a lot of political brouhaha have been going on regarding the person of Aisha Abubakar. Many individuals have expressed their views either in support or against this nomination, citing numerous reasons to buttress their points.

Well, I intended not to join issues with anyone on this ground but being me a indigene of Sokoto State whom Aisha was nominated to represent, I feel voicing my personal opinion is also imperative. Though I believe all these heated debates either in support or against the nomination of Aisha are for the interest of democracy but to be frank, i found almost all the reactions to be totally baseless, childish and uncalled for.

Basically, what drew my attention to this whole subject is the political brouhaha going on within and outside the state owing to lack of patriotism, vested interest and ignorance. Some influential figures in the state are all out to assassinate the character of Hajiya Abubakar and hell-bent on bringing her down against all decorum just to satisfy their selfish interests and that of their paymaster.

After recruiting some media attack dogs to blackmail and tarnish her credibility, to an extent of requesting her withdrawal from the ministerial

Aisha Abubakar nominee list for no defined reason, they hired thugs and unambitious women under the aegis of “Concern Women Group of Sokoto State” to stage shameful protests all in an attempt to disqualify and get her substituted for their low profile political godfather.

The real reason behind this shameful exhibition of ignorance according to a petition they submitted on the floor of the red chamber; they claimed that albeit Aisha Abubakar is from Sokoto State but she is not known by 99% of women in the state and therefore she should

be replaced by a more popular choice. This is one of the most callous and pointless reason that can be told only to the marines. When does it become a law that a ministerial nominee must be known by at least 99% of same gender people in his/ her state? This is the highest form of ignorance and lack of idea. But nonetheless, I blame Senator Gobir for even having the time to entertain such. garbage not to mention of submitting it for consideration.

Another pointless point they raised was that Aisha Abubakar spent her service years abroad

and she never served Sokoto State in any capacity, therefore she’s not qualified to represent the state. Although they may be right to some extent, it is true that Aisha never served officially in Sokoto State but whether she served in the state or elsewhere, she has immensely contributed her knowledge, time and energy serving Nigeria for decades and unless you ceded Sokoto out of Nigeria, then Aisha has perhaps ser served the state since it is a Nigerian state. Moreover, which section of the Nigerian constitution mandated that someone must officially served his state before being considered for ministerial appointment? We saw several scenarios where hundreds of Nigerians were called from UK, US and several foreign nations to come back home and take up public appointments just because they are fit for the job.

And to the best of my knowledge, Aisha Abubakar spent her entire working career serving Nigeria if not her stay as a Senior Bilateral Cooperation Officer at African Development Bank, Abidjan, Ivory Coast for a period of four years between 1993 – 1997.

The naysayers went on to state that “her nomination has created a lot of skepticism and worries among the generality of the people of Sokoto State.” This is not true! I am currently in Sokoto State and I can confirm that this claim is nothing but a lie, as there’s no such skepticism and CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

Why we want North East Commission

Hon Jika CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

the region. North- Eastern part of the country is the most affected area so we feel it is our priority as legislators and representatives of the people of the North-East, we should move the motion to make a sister ministry or agency like that of the Niger –Delta development Commission in order to rebuild or reconstruct and redevelop the North-eastern part of Nigeria. It was the decision of the members of the House of Representatives to move that motion on the floor of the House and the same thing will be done on the floor of the Senate soonest.

What the Speaker did, was to try to get the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to organise an international donor conference for the North East, which I believed the World Bank has already pledged two billion dollars to be spent on the North East which I believe very soon President Muhammadu Buhari will organise such a conference and then we can kick off.

Unemployment, a time bomb – NECA Economy, Security, The Director-General, Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA), Segun Oshinowo, has warned that if the high rate of unemployment in the country is not checked, it is a time bomb that would explode any time.

He lamented that the rising unemployment trend in the country portends grave danger, adding that was akin to pointing a gun at head of the country which the trigger may be pulled at any time.

Oshinowo said government’s projection on the economy was yet to synchronise with the reality, even as he faulted figures released by the Nigeria Bureau

Osinbajo of Statistics (NBS).

His words: “If we are talking about good governance, it is

not figures that will showcase such, but quality of life of the people. We should be looking at things such as accessibility to health and additional jobs that had been created. To the best of my knowledge from interacting with Nigerians and observing happenings around, one cannot really say that there has been any significant improvement in this economy.”

The NBS recently published new rates of unemployment for Nigeria’s economy from 2010 – 2014 based on a new methodology, which suggested that the economy is almost at full–emCONTINUED ON PAGE 11

inseparable – SGF CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

Aduloju said that the impacts of climate and business practices such as oil exploration and offshore deep-water trawling had increasingly become drivers of conflict and they poised real threats to human security.

“These practices cause human displacements, high inequality, imbalance in social benefits, fragility, resentment and latent or actual conflict, resulting in significant decrease

in economic productivity.

“It therefore goes without saying that there is an urgent need for concerted solutions to threat of human security in Nigeria,’’ he said.

Some experts who spoke at the session called for huge investment in youth development through vocational and formal skill.

They also recommended long term investment for women and youths to enhance inclusive growth and sustainable development.

Politics 10

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, October 20, 2015

In defence of Aisha Abubakar CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

worry among the peace loving people of Sokoto State, if not for those hired and paid to protest against her nomination.

The bitter truth is that Hajiya Abubakar is not only an indigene of Sokoto State but from the Sultanate Royal Family, being among the descendants of the legendary Usmanu Ibn Fodio. Like her or not, but the palpability that she possessed all the educational requirements, experience, dedication, credibility, integrity and exposure to represent any state or even the country anywhere in the world cannot be disputed. She’s loyal, humble, educative, religious, caring, honest, charismatic and above all, a technocrat.

It is however idiotic to insist that Aisha didn’t deserve to be a minister based on the fact that she never stayed in Sokoto for

a long period that will enable her know and mingle with the people. Since the return of democracy in 1999, Sokoto State has been producing as ministers people who served the state in various capacities and people widely known by almost every resident in the state, but I doubt if there exists a single achievement that all these so-called past ministers brought to the development of the state. I stand to be corrected.

Have we forgotten so soon the words of President Muhammadu Buhari while addressing American government in New York just three months back?

The president came out to tell the world that he would not only appoint patriotic Nigerians but decent and experienced ones as ministers, people who are committed to the progress of Nigeria and clean hands who have never soiled their palms with

corruption irrespective of religion, tribe, gender or political inclination. So any claim that Aisha Abubakar has never being a member of the APC or any political party is totally bullshit, Aisha was nominated based on merit not on political ground or compensation. Must you belong to the ruling party or any political party before you can be considered for ministerial appointment?

It is in view of the aforementioned, that any attempt to challenge Buhari’s choice of ministers will be perceived by we (the masses) as a fight against our national development, it’s also an act of distraction to sabotage the ‘change agenda’ of President Muhammadu Buhari toward rebuilding a new Nigeria for all to be happy. It is vexatious and absolutely hypocritical CONTINUED ON PAGE 11

Aisha Abubakar

Why ICPC is probing Aregbesola, LG officials CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

invited to defend the various degree of financial allegations, ranging from inflation of contracts sum, duplication of contracts sum, engage in moribund projects, money laundering, among others, leveled against Mr. Aregbesola, his son (Kabiru), former aides of the governor council officials.

The group had urged ICPC to conduct proper, thorough and credible investigation into the alleged financial misconduct of Aregbesola’s government from November 2010 to August 2015 and as well as forensic audit of the Osun State government Account books.

The group had alleged in the petition dated Thursday 10th of September,2015 that the immediate past Commissioners of Finance, Dr Wale Bolorunduro, Special duties and Regional Integration, Mr. Ajibola Bashiru, and Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Mr. Kolapo Alimi with their Permanent Secretaries, Aregbesola’s former Special Advisers on Works, Mr. Sabitu Oladepo Amuda and Environment and Mr. Bola Ilori should be investigated and possibly arrested because they did not have immunity from arrest like the Governor and Deputy-Governor.

Besides, CSCEO urged the

Aregbesola ICPC to probe all the 30 local government Executive Secretaries with their Heads of Local Government Administration (HLAs) and Directors of Finance (DFs),alleging that they were collaborators of Mr. Aregbesola in defrauding Osun people of their meager resources through the phantom projects at the council areas of the State.

Comrade Sulaiman had also alleged that Aregbesola began

Ekpo his fraudulent activities with the criminal and satanic increment of State wage bill of workers, retirees and political office holders alike from N1.3 billion to N3.6 billion when no fewer than 5,000 workers had retired voluntarily from the service of the State government in December 2012, as a result of the Pension Contributory Scheme policy of the Federal government, maintaining that Aregbesola like now, did not

also constitute the members of his cabinet for period of eleven months, but still claiming the same amount of wage bill in the period.

The group want the anti graft agency to ensure that the sanctity of truth and rule of law that will bring egalitarian society in allocation of meager resources accrued to the State from the Federation Account as enshrined in the amended 1999 Constitution

for the purpose of promoting good government and welfare of all persons in our country on the principles of Freedom, Equality and Justice and for the purpose of consolidating the Unity of our people.

“The private investigation conducted by the members of our coalition revealed that the average monthly earnings of the State between the year 2007 and November 2010 was N1,969,622,514.25, while the average monthly earning income of the State between the years January 2011 to December 2014 was at N3,050,074,327,25 and these figures represents Osun earnings from the Federation Account alone and does not include that of Excess Crude Oil fund:N61.7 billion, SURE-P:N14.4billion,Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Fund:N13.9billion, Internally Generated Revenue(IGR) fund:N43.6billion, Value Added Tax(VAT) Ecological Fund and Millennium Development Goals fund (All for the period of 20112014”, the group stressed.

Comrade Suliman therefore urged the anti-graft agency to make the report of the outcome of its investigation public as the people of the State at home and abroad have been watching keenly, the unfolding events on the financial mess facing the State in recent past.

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, October 20, 2015

11 Politics

Defending Aisha Abubakar CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10

for anyone to oppose Buhari’s choice of ministers especially those in the APC akin to what is presently going on in Sokoto State. Buhari has made a choice and therefore his choice must be respected. I expect strong opposition if the chosen ministers failed to deliver but as for now, it is uncalled for.

To make things clear, Aisha Abubakar must not need not have to obtain an associated degree from the University of Pittsburgh in the United States of America or claim to have Masters degree from Ahmadu Bello University Zaria before qualifying for a ministerial job. She might not be popular in town because she doesn’t go around throwing out wads of naira to the people on the streets in a free-for-all manner which obviously cannot be a reason for her disqualification. She might also not be fit for a ministerial appointment because she doesn’t walk around with thugs causing havoc and chaos to the peace of the masses if that’s what the naysayers considered party loyalty.

The naked truth is that nobody can force the President to appoint someone whom he wouldn’t be comfortable work-

Aisha Abubakar ing with and when he does, both the president and the naysayers themselves will pay the price of their inability to deliver as promise. The immediate past regime of former President Jonathan which sacrificed merit on the alter of vested interest remains a classical example for anyone wishing to learn. What

Saraki is more important is that neither the protesters nor their paymaster can falsify the fact that Aisha Abubakar is perhaps fit and qualified for appointment based on nothing but merit.

What is even more alarming is that instead of the APC leaders in Sokoto State and their dubious godfather to hail Buhari’s

Unemployment, a time bomb – NECA CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

ployment, as the rate for last quarter of last year stood at 6.4 per cent. The rate as at first quarter of this year was 7.5 per cent. One is not so much concerned about the methodology used because they are based on certain assumptions, so if any of the assumptions is relaxed, the calculated rate may be different.

Oshinowo noted that the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate might be saying something to the contrary.

He asked rhetorically: “Government might say that they have posted 6.5 or 7.0 per cent but when you really look at the facts on the street, how many jobs have we created? To

what extent has the quality of life of Nigerians been significantly improved in the last six months? How many businesses have come on stream?”

He added: “Currently, we have started a survey on the health of our member companies, especially those in the North, and from the discussions we’ve had with them, we’ve been told that sales had gone down by 25 per cent. And if the trend should continue by the end of the year, quite a number of them will have to downsize. So, the outlook is grim, I must say.”

He wondered why Nigeria continues to experience unemployment growth despite its rating as one of the fastest growing economies in the world.

Osinbajo

determination to form a cabinet full of technocrats and join the president to deliver his “change agenda” down to the local level, they are now cowardly pressurizing him to appoint political a nuisance into his government, all in their desperation for a safe landing.

Alas! When merit is sacri-

ficed on the alter of sympathy, compensation or vested interest, then surely, the inevitability of backwardness is absolutely guaranteed. Aisha Abubakar will deliver, i am optimistic she will give us reasons to be proud of. Indeed, if it is a matter of eating and not of selling, then the hen is better than a horse.

News 12 Constituency lauds Dogara Olatorera Dickson-Amusa Abuja

ÏÏÏIndigenes of Bogoro, Tafawa

Balewa and Dass Constituency of Bauchi State have showed their appreciation for the unswerving developmental efforts and leadership qualities of Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, when a delegation that constituted of the various District Heads and reputable members of the constituency paid him a courtesy visit.

The leader of the delegation and Head of Tafawa Balewa District, Maha Muhammed expressed the community’s unflinching loyalty to Hon. Dogara’s administration.

Titilope Joseph

ÏÏÏAn Assistant Director in the

litigation department of the Lagos State Judiciary, Mr. Abdussalam Oluwole, has testified before a Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja, on how the judiciary computed the sum of N352.5m which was allegedly paid to a Lagos based lawyer, Chief Ladi Rotimi-Williams (SAN) as a judgment debt.

In his testimony before Justice A. Okuwobi, Abdussalam told the court that the cost were awarded on different rates.

Led in evidence by the defence counsel, Mr. Adeyinka OlumideFusika, Abdussalam explained that the calculation was done by himself and his team and the total judgment debts plus interest include, interest (1-3), special damages, cost awarded and actual refund.

Abdussalam also told the court

Joe Odumakin, others protest unlawful killing by police officer Titilope Joseph

ÏÏÏA

police corporal, Musiliu Aremu has been re-arrainged before an Ebute-Meta Magistrate court, Lagos, for allegedly killing a mother of four, Idongeit Sunday.

Human rights activist and President of Women Arise, Dr Joe Okei Odumakin, family members of the deceased and other protesters, were all over the court premises seeking justice for the unlawful killing of Idongeit.

The protest was led by Women Arise and other protesters who were seen at the court premises with various placards bearing the following inscriptions: "Injustice to one is injustice to all" "we demand responsible policing of Nigeria" "Justice must be served on killer cop, Museliu Aremu" and

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Mr. Muhammed, in his complimentary speech, hailed the Speaker‘s achievements as contributing to the historical reputation of the constituency.

The group noted that Dogara’s style of leadership proved to the Honourable members who elected him that he is capable of translating decisions to the arms of government and the general public.

Peace and stability to the House were also qualities of his good leadership that has been translated to the achievement of this present government.

He said, “We are proud of you, and the deserved appointment which has again brought the constituency and Bauchi State to lime light, having produced the First Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in person of Alhaji Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa.”

Litigation officer in court over alleged N352.3m judgement debt

Former Ambassador to United Kingdom, Hamzat Ahmadu (right); with (Mrs.) Tola Oyediran during a condolence visit to late HID Awolowo’s residence at Ikenne, Ogun State… on Monday. Photo: DAVID IDOWU

Nigerian Army, force to reckon with – COAS Andrew Orolua Abuja

that the calculation was based on the judgment documents obtained either by original or the certified copy.

Under cross examinations by claimants' counsel, Mr. Chris Eneje, the witness, maintained that he started the computation of the interests from the month of June of the same year.

It would be recalled that in 1998, T.S.A Industries had filed a suit before an Ikeja High Court, accusing First Bank of Nigeria Plc. of negligence and allowing fraudulent activities to be carried out on its account domicile with the bank. several others.

The defense counsel, Barrister Lekan Alabi, pleaded with the court's Chief Magistrate, Mrs Folasade Botoku, to admit the defendant to bail.

Chief Magistrate, Mrs Folasade Botoku, declined the appeal of the defense counsel, adding that the court lacked the jurisdiction to prosecute such matters and that the case is still premature because it had not exceeded 60 days. She stated that "the court is not aware that there is a difference between the defendant, a public servant, and an ordinary citizen, hence bail is hereby refused.”

Odumakin

ÏÏÏDespite

the current insurgency challenges, the Nigerian Army is a force to be reckoned with at all times, Chief of Army Staff (COAS), Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai has assured.

He told the Republic of Netherlands Defence Attaché to Nigeria, Colonel Eric Adriaan de Landmeter who paid him a courtesy call at the Army Headquarters that the army is solidly on ground and would very soon overcome the internal security challenges.

General Buratai thanked the Defence Attache for the visit, emphasis that the two countries have been participating in Peace Support Operations for a long time. He stated that the Multinational Joint Task Force has commenced opera-

tion, adding that troops contributing countries are expected to operate within their territories.

He also gave the Defence Attaché and the international community assurance of the Nigerian Army’s determination to end Boko Haram activities soon. He further stated that Netherlands is a country with good innovations in many areas and commended them for expressing their concern on the current security challenges facing the nation.

Earlier, while expressing his courtesy, the Defence Attaché had thanked the COAS for the audience despite short notice and commended the Nigerian Army for their effort in the current fight against insurgency.

He further stated that his country was interested in what is happening in Nigeria, stressing that

Netherlands have the capacity to offer specialty in many areas to the country especially on the current security challenges facing the country.

In a related development, the Managing Director (MD), Total, E&P, Nigeria, Mr. Nicolas Terraz has commended the Nigerian Army for protecting lives and property of the citizens.

He made the commendation when he led some management staff of the company on a courtesy visit to the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai at the Army Headquarters. He specifically applauded the troops for the professional manner in which they are carrying out their assigned roles and urged them to help tackle oil theft and pipeline vandalism that has for years been the company major problem.

Stop your unwarranted personal attacks, insults on Metuh, PDP tells Adesina

Lateef Ibrahim Abuja

ÏÏÏThe

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Monday, declared that the Special Adviser to the president on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina lacks depth on his current assignment and has no credible defence.

The PDP maintained that Adesina is being overwhelmed in his job of trying to launder the image of the present President Muhammadu Buhari-led government, stressing that this can be seen in his characteristic resort always, to lies, malice and vituperations This was contained in a statement signed by the Media Assistant to the PDP National Publicity

Secretary, Mr. Richard Ihediwa in Abuja.

According to the statement, "Our attention has been drawn to a vacuous statement by the media aide to President Muhammadu Buhari, Mr. Femi Adesina, in his futile attempt to counteract facts presented by the PDP that this administration is dictatorial and selective in its fight against corruption.

"Mr. Adesina, in his habitual deceptive and diversionary manner, left the critical issues of governance raised by Sunday’s press conference, addressed by the PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, and as usual, embarked on insults, shadow-

chasing and fouling of the media space with uncouth language.

"This office has noted Mr. Adesina’s several previous unwarranted personal attacks and insults deliberately targeted at the person of the PDP National Publicity Secretary, in his desperate attempt to impress his paymaster and retain his job.

"Our answer remains that inasmuch as we know that this Presidency aide lacks depth on his current assignment and has no credible defence, being overwhelmed in his job of trying to launder the image of this government, the characteristic resort always, to lies, malice and vituperations should not be an option.

13 International

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Migrants stranded between Serbia, Croatia

Children take shelter from the rain in Sredisce ob Dravi, a border crossing between Croatia and Slovenia, Oct. 19, 2015.

ÏÏÏSeveral

thousand migrants were stranded Monday along the Croatian-Serbian border, having spent a cold, rainy night with little food after Hungary shut down its crossing into Croatia early Saturday.

About 2,000 people were sitting inside unheated buses Sunday, waiting to cross into Serbia on their way to the European Union.

Since Hungary closed off its border crossing with Croatia, the buses are now forced to take a much longer route through Slovenia. That country has decided to limit the number of migrants who can cross each day.

Babar Baloch, a spokesman for the U.N. refugee agency, said Hungary is only compounding the hardship of the migrants.

Israeli police kill North Korea Eritrean migrant ÏÏÏNorth Korea Sunday rejected ÏÏÏAn

Eritrean migrant has died after being shot Sunday

by Israeli police after another man killed an Israeli soldier and wounded 10 other people in a stabbing attack.

Police said an officer shot the Eritrean after mistaking him as a second attacker. Media reports say the man was also beaten by an Israeli mob at the scene.

Israeli security officials identified the man who carried out the stabbings as a 21-year-old Arab Israeli who did not have a past record of militant activity.

The attack at the main bus station in Beersheba was the single bloodiest incident in more than two weeks of violence against Israelis that has left eight Israelis and 41 Palestinians dead.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry called for restraint Monday as he prepares to meet separately this week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

"We want to see calm restored and we want to see the violence stop, and I think everybody in Israel and in the region would like to see both of those things happen," Kerry said.

resuming international talks to end its nuclear program and instead called upon the United States to negotiate a formal peace treaty.

The call for a peace treaty was part of a North Korean Foreign Ministry response to comments made by President Barack Obama and South Korean President Park Geun-Hye Friday in Washington, where they said they were ready to engage with Pyongyang if the country agreed to give up its nuclear weapons. In a statement published by the North’s state controlled Korea Central News Agency and read in part on state-run television KRT, the North’s foreign ministry said past efforts to focus exclusively on international denuclearization talks failed.

North Korea agreed to dismantle its nuclear weapons program in exchange for economic aid, security guarantees and improved diplomatic ties under a 2005 joint agreement made by the six regional parties participating, North Korea, South Korea, the United States, China, Russia and Japan.

But Pyongyang failed to live up to its commitment and conducted nuclear tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013, all of which undermined the deal and resulted in U.N. imposed sanctions on North Korea.

"The decision by Hungary to close its border has certainly added to the suffering and misery and the length of the journey for these desperate people. There will be challenges if the process becomes slow or we have a backlog of people," he said.

While Slovenia said it has no plans right now to close its border, it is limiting the numbers of those

who can cross each day to 2,500 to prevent the tiny EU member from becoming overwhelmed.

"We cannot accept a number of migrants larger than the number of those who will continue their journey. In a very short time, maybe in 10 days, we would have 35,000 migrants in Slovenia which is unacceptable for us," Slovene Interior Ministry official Bostjan Sefic said Sunday.

The EU can expect around 700,000 migrants escaping war and poverty in places such as Syria and Afghanistan by the end of the year.

EU leaders have so far failed to come up with a firm plan on how to take care of these people and distribute them equitably among the bloc's 28 member states.

Many of the migrants arrive in Europe through Greece and Turkey. German Chancellor Angela Merkel was in Turkey Sunday, offering to help Ankara's stalled EU membership efforts if it agrees to do more to control its borders and take back some of the migrants turned away from other European states.

Turkey is already taking care of more than 2 million refugees from war. Merkel said the rest of Europe should help ease Turkey's burden.

calls for peace talks From Pyongyang’s perspective it has been the U.S.’s hostile polices and provocations, including its large-scale joint military exercises on the Korean peninsula, that have “chilled the atmosphere” and increased regional tensions.

In the Foreign Ministry statement Pyongyang said the best way forward is for Washington to negotiate a peace treaty to replace the 1953 armistice that ended hostiles.

North and South Korea remain technically at war under the truce signed in 1953 with the United States, which had led U.N. forces backing the South, and China, which fought for the North.

A peace treaty, Pyongyang said, could reduce tensions and build confidence to make it possible to “finally put an end to the nuclear arms race.”

The foreign ministry statement also made it clear that continuing to increase diplomatic pressure and sanctions will not bring North Korea to the negotiating table.

"If the United States insists on taking a different path, the Korean peninsula will only see our unlimited nuclear deterrent being strengthened further," said the October 18 foreign ministry statement. Chung-in Moon, a political science professor with Yonsei University, has long been a vocal advo-

cate for a peace treaty to be negotiated with North Korea.

“North Korea will never give up its nuclear weapons unless their security concerns are addressed and the best way of addressing North Korea’s security concern is to have some sort of talks regarding the creation of a peace regime on the Korean peninsula,” Moon said. Moon said now is the time to try a new engagement strategy, given Pyongyang’s recent cooperative behavior in hosting family reunions this week and its decision to hold off on its threat to launch a long-range rocket.

“North Korea has shown its retraining behavior and therefore it will be very useful if the United States can come up with some kind of targeted reinforcement on North Korea,” Moon said. Of course negotiating a peace treaty would be extremely complicated given that both South and North Korea still technically lay claim to the entire Korean peninsula.

Geun-Hye

Guineans divided as Conde re-elected ÏÏÏGuinea's incumbent Presi-

dent Alpha Conde won the country’s second democratic election, but Guinea’s opposition parties have rejected the results calling for demonstrations.

Bakary Fofana Fofana, the head of Guinea’s Independent National Electoral Commission, announced President Alpha Conde’s re-election victory late Saturday.

Fofana said before the constitutional court’s final validation of the results, the electoral commission proclaims Conde as the winner in the first round of voting held last Sunday. Before the results were announced, Guinea’s main opposition leader and former Prime Minister Cellou Dalein Diallo announced he and the six other opposition candidates would reject them.

The candidates last week claimed widespread fraud in the voting. International observers have said the vote was free and fair, but they did criticize the electoral commission for poorly organizing the elections, saying some people waited hours to cast ballots.

German leaders: Stay away from anti-migrant rally ÏÏÏGermany's

political leaders stepped up their warnings about right-wing violence ahead of a rally in the eastern German city of Dresden on Monday to mark the first anniversary of the antiforeigner Pegida movement.

Pediga, which lost much of its following this year amid internal fights, has gotten new momentum as more and more Germans expressed concerns about the country's policy to ease European asylum rules so it can take in those escaping war-torn parts of the Middle East and Africa.

Police are expecting thousands to turn out for the weekly Monday's Pegida march through Dresden after about 9 000 people joined a rally a week ago.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's spokesperson said on Monday the chancellor believed those attending the protests organized by Pegida - Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West - "had hate in their hearts."

Merkel once again warned people stay away from the rally At last week's Pegida's rally one protester carried gallows marked "reserved" for Merkel, while one of the movement's leaders described the chancellor as "the most dangerous woman in Europe".

News14

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Why we sacked LG chiefs — Oshiomhole Titus Akhigbe Benin

ÏÏÏThe suspension of four Lo-

cal Government Chairmen by the governor of Edo State, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole has got nothing to do with the political calculations ahead of the 2016 gubernatorial elections in the state.

Dropping the hint on Monday at the swearing-in ceremony of Prince Joe Okojie as a Commissioner in the state Executive Council, and Mr. Busari Yesufu as Chairman, Etsako West Local Government Area of the state, Oshiomhole said: “Today, we have ensured that with all the crisis in Nigeria, when many state governments are unable to pay salaries, I am proud to say that in Edo, we are paying. However, some of these local governments, for some reasons were not able to pay salaries as and when due, and we have looked at some of their books, we have received some petitions, it is true that finances are low, but even if your finances are low, you also need to cut your

wastages.

“We looked at the locally generated revenue, in many cases, these locally generated revenue are never reflected in the books of the local government. It’s just generated and paid directly to some of the local government chairmen.

There have been several other abuses and I am proud to say that when the new local government chairmen were sworn in, I made sure all the revenue accruing to local governments before we conducted elections, were left in the treasury of the local government, so the local governments could use them judiciously to develop their various localities.

“I know for example in Akoko Edo, we had more than N560 million that they inherited because I directed the Heads of Service of the Local Governments not to spend the money of the local government. Some inherited N600 million, N400 million accruing from previous years and of course, all the debts which their predecessor incurred, we made

sure that all of those were paid.

That is how far we have gone, whereas, in some states, the local government money comes and the governor just spend it, in Edo State, we don’t do that and we will never do that, and if any future governor wants to do that, I will expect the local government chairmen to react.

“Now if we give you so much free hand, and we help you to save so that you can use the resources to develop your area, and in the end you put us in bad news, you are not able to pay salaries and while you are not paying salaries, you are employing your relatives.

Many times, you employ all kinds of characters and you are diverting resources to...", he added.

Jacob Ogodo Abakaliki

ÏÏÏAnglican Bishop of Abaka-

liki, Rt. Rev. Monday Nkwoagu has urged the Federal Government to diversify the economy by aggressively venturing into agriculture and solid mineral exploration and exploitation.

Nkwoagu, who spoke at 6th synod of the Anglican Communion, Diocese of Abakaliki expressed hope that the diversification would boost the economy of the country and create employment opportunities for the youths.

He called on every Nigerian to join the on-going war against corruption as championed by President Muhammadu Buhari.

He said corruption has robbed

Man bags 7-yr -jail term for raping minor 'Tosin Ajuwon Akure

ÏÏÏA Oshiomhole

middle-aged man, Odimayomi Edward, has been sentenced to a seven-year imprisonment for allegedly defiling a minor in Ondo State.

Edward, 28, was accused by the Chief Magistrate Court in Owo, Owo Local Government Area of the state for raping 9- year-old Funmilola.

Saka Bolaji Minna The leadership of various opposition political parties in Niger State has applauded the Niger State Independent Electoral Commission (NSIEC) for its reassuring that the 7th November, 2015 local government elections remained sacrosanct.

The parties, in a press briefing on Monday in Minna, called on the state government to urgently give the Commission adequate logistic support and assistance to enable it conduct a free, fair, credible and acceptable election in the interest of the people of the state.

ÏÏÏ

President, Women Arise, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin (3rd right); Godwin Udoh, husband of the deceased woamn (4th right) and others during the arraignment of Corporal Musiiu Aremu before an Ebute-Metta Chief Magistrate's Court for the murder of Comfort Udoh, in Lagos...on Monday. Photo: OLAWALE ROTIMI

Clergy urges FG to diversify economy Nigeria of infrastructures like motor-able roads, electricity and portable water.

‘In every sphere of our lives now, Nigeria wears the look of a worn out clothes like motor-able roads, electricity and portable water, because of the extent corrupt officials have dealt with this country. ‘’It is responsible for the high rate of unemployment which in turn predisposes young people into joining dangerous gangs such as the Islamic insurgents and other dreaded men of underworld’’, he said.

But, he pleaded not guilty to the offence.

Police Prosecutor, Sergeant Edu Owolabi, told the court that Edward committed the offence at Abuja Camp in Ipele, Owo LGA on the September, 2014.

Owolabi said the offence is contrary and punishable under Section 218 of Criminal Code Cap 37 Vol.1 Laws of Ondo State of Nigeria 2006.

In his judgment, Magistrate Anjola Ayeni, said the accused was guilty of the offence as charged.

Anjola sentenced the rapist to seven years behind the bars with hard labour.

Niger opposition parties applaud SINEC on LG polls The Publicity Secretary of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Mohammed Saba, who led the 12 other political parties in the state, charged INEC, security agencies in the state to utilise their wealth of experience especially in the conduct of the last general election to facilitate a smooth conduct of the forthcoming local government elections in the state.

Poor sanitation: Dangote Foundation assures intervention ÏÏÏAgainst the background of

an estimated 124,000 children under the age of four years dying annually due to poor sanitation, the Dangote Foundation last weekend promised to step up its advocacy campaign against preventable diseases in the country.

The Chief executive Officer of the Foundation, Mrs Zuoera Youssoufou gave this promise in a message she sent to the Community Staff School, venue of the

demonstration of the United Nation’s Global Hand Washing Day, observed in Abuja, in conjunction with the Federal Ministry of Water Resources and other organisations, like UNICEF and Water Aids.

She said it pained the Foundation that Nigeria is still contributing so much to the number of children deaths recorded globally owing to poor sanitation and described the situation as unaccept-

able.

Mrs. Youssoufou stated that the Foundation had already planned to scale up her advocacy and intervention in the preventable deaths owing to equally preventable diseases such as poor sanitation, hunger and malnutrition, diarrhoea, cholera and dysentery.

The Foundation boss explained that it was in realisation of the factor of hygiene and good sanitation in the prevention of these

avoidable deaths, that made the United Nation to set aside a day to mark the Hand washing Day in order to demonstrate and encourage the children on the need to always wash their hands and maintain good sanitation so as to stay healthy. She said a situation where the nation is losing her children to preventable deaths would not augur well for the development of the country in future, because the rank of the children

on whose shoulder the task of the development lie would have been depleted. Said she: “Children are change agents and that is why we have to target them to ensure they stay healthy for the betterment of our society. Our partnership with the Federal Ministry of Water Resources on this demonstration of globally accepted hand washing methods was in furtherance of our believe in focusing more on the health of our children.”

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, October 20, 2015

15 Opinion

Much ado about ministerial list

W Arthur Nwankwo

e are all aware of the Biblical account of the exodus of the children of Israel from Egypt to the Promised Land. One aspect of this movement, which signifies change in trajectory of the emergence of the Hebrew nation, is the crossing of the Red Sea. Accounts from the Bible, the Jewish historian, Josephus Flavius and other authorities like Layard, Justin Martyr etc suggest that the Israelites were hemmed in by the Red Sea, on both sides were swamps and behind them a furiously charging Egyptian army under the command of Pharaoh. Faced with a difficult option, Moses communed with heaven and declared to the Jews to “stand still and see the salvation of the Lord”. True to this prophetic declaration, salvation came from heaven for the Jews. What this signifies is that whenever a nation is at crossroads, there is need for introspection and spiritual communion with heaven to provide a solution. At such point of spiritual communion, the people wait patiently with expectation, hoping it would be worth the wait.

Such was the expecta-

tion of Nigerians when Buhari declared that he was taking time to get his ministers; more so when he had assured that no corrupt politician would make it into his cabinet. With such pious declaration, Nigerians prayed for angels of God to guide him aright. We hoped that after such a long wait, we would see the emergence of angelic beings as ministers. After four months, Buhari unveiled his “angels” of change. Millions of Nigerians dismissed the list as the crazy imagination of overzealous journalists. However, to everyone’s consternation Buhari owned up the list as authentic. Nigerians were awed by this act of treachery and deceit. The names on the list were those Nigerians are familiar with.

A few days after the submission of the list to the senate Buhari suddenly realised that most nominees were far past prime and intellectually dead. He made some minor adjustments and resubmitted.

However, the fundamental question is: was the long wait worth it? Why and how did he pack the ministerial bus with dead woods?

Is it that he did not consult widely or was not aware of the true health status of some of his nominees?

On the other hand, could it be that Buhari deliberately packed the bus merely to serve some narrow politi-

cal interest?

For instance, I noticed that featuring prominently on the list are some ex-governors most of who had ruled their states for upwards of eight years. We also know that most of these ex-governors superintended could not pay workers salaries and provide basic social amenities for their people. Much as I do not doubt, the ability of these ex-governors, I am worried on the dangers of elite circulation in power. Having served as executive governor, one expects them to use the benefit of hindsight to judge their own performance in power and explore ways of improving society.

I understand that most of the former governors in the presidential list did a lot to enthrone Buhari in office. Buhari has a moral duty to show them appreciation. However, where such gestures are perceived as a deficit to social governance, we have a duty to complain. There are ways to show appreciation without endangering public thrust.

Buhari and his APC must not lose sight of the circumstances that brought them to power. The APC was manifestly successful in demonising the PDP and it promoters as harbingers and vessels of corruption; of supervising the rot in the country and incapable of

containing Boko Haram insurgency. Soaking the political terrain with this, the APC promised, “change”.

“Change” for the avoidance of doubt, is one word that drips with hope and expectation. Nigerians expected a dramatic departure from the “PDP ways of doing things” to a structure that truly protects the rights of the people, afford them life-opportunities and sustain social justice. The APC, since assumption of power last May, has demonstrated its naivety in political leadership; it has demonstrated that there is no fundamental difference between it and the PDP. The APC has left no one in doubt of its inability to drive the change ideology; that its understanding of change is merely the change of signatories to Nigeria’s account so that the looting will continue by other means.

The Buhari ministerial list is a testimony to this assertion. However, we can avert this tragedy; save ourselves the pain of this collective immolation and re-engineer a truly Nigerian state predicated on agreed terms by the various ethnic nationalities. In implementing those recommendations, we can like Moses look heavenwards and declare to our people “stand still and see the salvation of Nigeria.

NYSC: Realities, challenges and way forward

T

Suleiman Ahmad Ya’u

here has been a sudden upsurge in the debate over the years as to whether the NYSC scheme which was introduced by the Gen. Yakubu Gowon led military administration in 1973, after the civil war, to help in uniting the nation is still relevant or not. While many are of the view that the scheme had outlived its usefulness and the purpose for which it was introduced had since been defeated and hence called for the total and outright abrogation of the entire scheme, others on the other hand argued that the scheme is still very much relevant? Whatever side of the argument one fact that both side unanimously agree on is that the NYSC of today is not the same as that of 1973 and some of the facts are clear for everyone to see. The idiosyncratic choice of corps members to redeploy to another state is enough to send a message of discontent to the government that the scheme is actually losing touch with theintended goal- promotion of national unity.

The NYSC scheme of today like many other national schemes has been deeply contaminated with endemic and insidious corruption. It

has turned into an avenue through which some few cabals make money through dubious means and inflated contracts.

Many Nigerians have continued to raise concern over the years as to the actual amount being budgeted for each corps member throughout the year mandatory service.

The management should expeditiously make the figures available as Nigerians have the right to know. The NYSC Zonal/Local governments inspectors are now are now smiling with the spate of abscondment in the NYSC as they have found a lucrative business through which they extort huge sums of money from those corps members that abscond. The reason for the abscondment may be due to ill health, insurgency, marriage and even laziness. No matter the reason, what matters to the Zonal/ Local government inspectors is just what will go into their pockets.

They chargecorps member an amount ranging from N5, 000 - N11, 000 monthly for clearance while some corps members are even forced to forfeit the entire N19, 800 monthly allowances. That may be why many new faces appear on day of collection of certificates and one continues to wonder where they have been in the year, who has been

signing their monthly clearance form.

Another worrisome factor is the overdependence on the corps members who have no teaching qualifications, aptitude or even any teaching skill by schools especially those in the rural areas. It is worthy of note that the incumbent Director General of the NYSC, Brig. Gen. Johnson Olayumi in an interview in March 2015 acknowledge that they had cases where corps members are made acting Vice Principals in some schools/ colleges because there are no classroom teachers. This may be reason why some people argue that rather than reduce unemployment, the scheme increases it.

According to them, the employers of labour like schools and have found corps members as source of cheap labour.

This argument may be right, verifiable and substantiated considering how some private schools use corps members to teach their students several subjects only to pay them a paltry amount of as low as N2, 000 monthly.

Despite the the shortcomings of the scheme, we must in the spirit of justice and fairness give it its due. The NYSC has succeeded to some extent in instilling some

salient societal norms and values in corps members and has made appreciable impact on the social and cultural spheres of life. It has also succeeded in giving the youths opportunity to know more about other parts of the country. It is now 42 years since the scheme was introduced in 1973. Question is whether the NYSC scheme has succeeded in bringing about the national unity and integration that it was primarily designed to achieve.

Many corps members circumvent the scheme because they believe they are redundant and not productive in their places of primary assignment (PPA) and they therefore prefer to bribe the officials to abscond only to be fraudulently issued with completion certificate at the end.I wish to call on the Director General of the NYSC, Brig.

Gen. Johnson Bamidele Olayumi to ensure discipline among his staff and anyone found wanting especially among the Zonal/LG inspectors be severely dealt with to serve as deterrence to others.

President Buhari should set up a committee to review the activities of the NYSC scheme and come up with feasible recommendations that will help in reforming it to solve the growing rate of unemployment among the youth.

16

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Business Times Æ s

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, October 20, 2015

17

Fidelity restates commitment to SMEs Adeesola Akindele

L-R: Divisional General Manager Sales Jaguar Landrover Cos charismatic Motors, Mr. Ufuoma Umukoro, Deputy Group Managing Director, Coscharis Group, Mr. Okay Nwuke; Executive Director Access Bank, Mr. Victor Etuokwu and General Manager Marketing and Corporate Services, Mr. Abiona Babarinde at the Ride and Drive event for Jaguar Landrover brands organised by Coscharis Motors for Customer and Prospects at Tafawa Balewa Square in Lagos recently

NSE restructures for optimisation ÏAppoints new council secretary Friday Atufe The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) said yrhas restructured its legal and council secretariat as part of its plan for demutualization Under the new arrangement, the NSE has appointed Mrs. Mojisola Adeola as its council secretary and head of the council secretariat to take over from Ms. Tinuade Awe who has been serving as council secretary since 2011

Friday Atufe Coscharis Motors has partnered MTN, Stanbic IBTC Plc and Access Bank Plc at an event in Lagos over the weekend tagged “Ride and Drive” organised by Coscharis for its existing and prospective customers to have first time experience of its latest ranges of Jaguar Land Rover brands.

Mr. Abiona Babarinde, general manager, marketing and corporate services said “The Ride and Drive event,” is designed to offer our customers and prospects a unique driving experience on the untapped capabilities and luxury features of the Jaguar Land Rover brands.”

He said some of the owners of

Adeola’s appointment follows the Exchange’s decision to drive greater efficiency and innovation by separating its Legal Department from the Council Secretariat.

Mrs. Adeola, a lawyer and chartered secretary, has extensive company secretarial, legal and governance experience, having held prior relevant positions.

Most recently, she served as company secretary/legal adviser to Acorn Petroleum Plc. She holds an LLB degree from the University of Lagos and qualified to practice as a Barrister and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Nigeria in 2005.

Awe will remain as general counsel and head of the legal and regulation division. In this role, she will focus on driving greater efficiency in the exchange’s regulatory functions within the zero tolerance rubric, improving relationship with other regulators, and preparing the exchange for demutualization.

Mrs. Irene Robinson-Ayanwale who previously headed both the legal department and the council secretariat retained her role as head of the legal department where she will focus on protecting The exchange from legal liability and providing first class legal support for the exchange’s

on-going initiatives.

Commenting on this development, Oscar N. Onyema, OON, chief executive officer, NSE said, “The executive management and council note the significant contributions of Mrs. Irene Robinson-Ayanwale who combined the two roles reporting to Ms. Awe prior to the appointment of Mrs. Mojisola Ruth Adeola. I must also thank Ms. Tinuade Awe, who assumed the role of council secretary at a challenging time for the exchange during the interim administration and was instrumental in building the governance structure currently at the exchange.

Coscharis partners MTN, Stanbic IBTC, Access Bank the Jaguar Land Rover variants “may be under-utilising these vehicles given what they actually offer in terms of on-road and offroad capabilities plus luxuries.”

He added, “The lack of expert knowledge in handling these vehicles sometimes results in mechanical and electrical problems.”

He said the Coscharis partnered with Stanbic IBTC and Access Bank so that they could provide funding for those who are interested in purchasing the vehicles and liquidate the loan gradually while MTN is also targeting

such calibre of its customers for patronage.

He said the event, which is the third in a series, targets prospects and customers of premium brands that share similar premium client-base with the Jaguar Land Rover brands, adding that has necessitated the partnership with MTN, Stanbic and Access Bank.”

He said this particular edition of the Ride and Drive event was specifically geared towards offering our premium customers, in conjunction with those of our partners, added value in their expert knowledge of handling these

luxury vehicles.

All the latest Jaguar Land Rover models within the Coscharis dealership were exhibited at the event. Some of the latest Jaguar Land Rover models within the Coscharis dealership were exhibited at the event and the company’s foreign experienced instructors were on ground for the ride and drive event and ensured that guests experienced the very best offered by these vehicles.

Coscharis Motors has the sole franchise for Jaguar Land Rover models in Nigeria and also offers after-sales services and genuine parts for these vehicles.

Given the immense potentials inherent in the nation’s Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) space, Nnamdi Okonkwo, managing director/chief executive officer, Fidelity Bank Plc, has said that the fledgling sector, if properly positioned, could play critical roles in diversifying Nigeria’s monolithic economy.

Okonkwo who made this remark at the maiden edition of the South-East Regional SME Conference in Enugu recently, said the bank’s renewed focus on the segment was driven by the increasing role of SMEs in the transformation of economies.

“This conference could not have come at a better time than now when the South East/Nigeria is repositioning herself to contain the current economic hamstring occasioned by the precipitous drop in global oil price,” adding that “the free fall in global oil prices has constrained the resources available to the new administration.”

While noting that the theme of the conference, “Positioning SMEs for Growth in the South East Region,” was apt and at the heart of the bank’s commitment to building entrepreneurs in the region, Okonkwo pointedly said that the conference sought to build the capacities of SMEs operating in the South-East region of the country, as well as provide a veritable platform for them to network amongst themselves. He explained that the bank has realigned its resources and processes to assist SMEs raise their level of competitiveness in a highly volatile environment.

In his words: “We created a dedicated SME Banking Division (Fidelity Managed SMEs) which focuses on providing solutions to the challenges faced by SMEs through a multi-faceted approach.”

He told the over 100 upcoming businesses in the South East that through its robust business advisory service, Fidelity Bank practically handholds and guides entrepreneurs in their quest to build sustainable businesses.

He proffered fresh remedies to the financing constraints hindering the growth of SMEs in Nigeria, advising more financial institutions to deliver low cost banking transactions to small businesses.

Aviation 18

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Expert tasks Govt on radar communications The federal government has been urged to upgrade the nation’s aviation communications and radar systems after 25 years to a 21st century technology in order to stop equipment from moving to inaccurate positions.

Delivering a paper titled, “Impacts of Air Traffic Management on National Security” Mr. Samuel Akerele, a retired air traffic controller at the air traffic controllers AGM in Akure Ondo state declared that the upgrade in communications would avoid vectoring aircraft into each other and prevent disastrous consequences.

Akerele opined that foreign airlines would only do business in a conducive environment, adding that recently security has become a major issue not only in civil aviation but also in all modes of transportation.

The retired air traffic controller while enumerating the objectives of air traffic management to include the prevention of collision between aircraft, expedite and maintenance of an orderly, economic and efficient flow of air traffic and use of satellite air navigation to guarantee flexible routing.

According to Akerele ATM will ensure the protection of the people, assets and integrity of the country from external and internal aggression and to secure Air Navigational system facilities and operational rooms.

He noted that in the past Civil ATM trained military personnel on the use of Civil ATC Radar system to the level of obtaining civil licenses while ATC facilities were manned together harmoniously.

Akerele called for the reinforcement of operational personnel room facilities and most importantly, the ATM personnel be protected as aircraft manufactures were busy building security measures in the cockpit due to modern security threats.

He opted for the training of 200 ATM personnel with 12 months to be addressed in 2016 budget as a top priority for aerodromes, airstrip and heliports.

Dunoma, MD, FAAN

L-R : British Airways Regional Commercial Manager, West Africa, Mr Kola Olayinka; British Deputy High Commissioner, Ray Kyles and President, Nigerian-British Chamber of Commerce (NBCC), Dapo Adelegan at the re-launch of British Airways On Business Programme, held at Eko Hotel & Suites, Victoria Island, in Lagos recently.

ATCs want recruitment of more personnel Stories by Chukwuemeke Iwelunmo As a result of the shortage of air traffic controllers in the country members of the association of air traffic controllers have called on the federal government to as a matter of urgency approve the recruitment and training of ATCs. A communiqué signed by Victor Eyaru and Banji Olawode president and general secretary respectively declared that employment of more ATCs and training would reduce the acute shortage of manpower in air traffic control being a critical element to safety.

The communiqué urged government to exempt air traffic control from the embargo on foreign training to allow for statutory training not available in Nigeria be undertaken at other international aviation organisation approved training organizations.

It also called for synergy between the civil and military ATCs in order to promote improved interaction in training to enhance meaningful contribution to na-

tional security.

While calling for the exchange of programmes for ATCs in the country to be revived to improve traffic coordination with adjoin flight information region, NATCA said all stakeholder must be fully involved on policy formation.

According to the communique, the management of NAMA in line with federal government directive should without further delay pay all outstanding eleven months 2012 and another four months 2015 salary arrears owed ATCs. It also charged the management of Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, Zaria not to delay in reducing the wide gap existing between the remuneration of ATC and flying instructors at the college while a health assistance scheme to assist Nigeria ATC should be instituted.

The communiqué resolved also that ATC should maintain personal discipline and team work at workplace to sustain situation awareness, adding that they will continue to make the airspace as one of the safest in Africa in spite of all the challenges.

Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), has begun test-run of its high profile projectthe deployment of Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Contract/ Controller Pilot Data Link Communication (ADS-C/ CPDLC) in the nation’s airspace.

The test-run which commenced last week at the Lagos Area Control Centre (ACC) was witnessed live by the managing director of NAMA, Engr. Ibrahim Abdulsalam, accompanied by the director -general of the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Capt.

Usman Muhtar and the managing director of Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), Engr.

Saleh Dunoma.

A successful log-on and communication with British Airways, Lufthansa Airlines and Emirates Airlines was activated to the admiration and excitement of the aviation CEOs. Other airlines include Arik Air, Ethiopian Airlines and Etihad Airlines.

NAMA had issued an Aeronautical Information Circular (AIC) to aviation stakeholders worldwide including airlines, service providers and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) on the availability of ADS-C/ CPDLC in the Nigerian airspace to sensitize stakeholders on the commencement of the service in the country and also to highlight the benefits derivable from the use of the service, intended scope of the service as well as requirements for airborne equipment, flight planning and operations.

Meanwhile, a successful Site

NAMA commences test run of ADS-/CPDLC Acceptance Test (SAT) has been conducted, just as a four-day site training of critical personnel including engineers and air traffic controllers drawn from both Kano and Lagos ACCs has ended in Lagos, preparatory to the actual takeoff of the service.

Speaking on the successful testrun of ADS-C/ CPDLC, NAMA’s managing director, Engr. Ibrahim Abdulsalam dedicated the success of the project to the collective effort of members of staff of the agency “who have toiled endlessly to see to this wonderful addition to the digitalization of air traffic management in Nigeria,” stressing that, “it therefore behoves our indigenous airlines to tap into the service in order to take advantage of the benefits and deliverables of enhanced safety and efficiency that come with ADS-C/ CPDLC.” Engr. Abdulsalam further explained that the current test-run is in line with international best practices, to allow operators adapt to the new service and make necessary comments and observations, prior to full implementation scheduled for 12th November, 2015.

He also said that a similar testrun at the Kano ACC would commence soon.

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, October 20, 2015

19 Labour

NUPENG condemns killing of oil worker in Bayelsa

R-L: Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo; Chairman, Sterling Bank Plc, Mr. Asue Ighodalo and Group Head, Strategy & Communications, Sterling Bank Plc, Mr. Shina Atilola when the Vice President visited the Sterling Bank stand at the just concluded 21st edition of the Nigerian Economic Summit in Abuja.

TUC kicks against planned hike in electricity tariff Stories by Joy Ekeke Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has vowed to resist plans by electricity distribution companies (DISCOs) in the country to hike tariff on electricity by an average of 49.4 percent.

In a statement made available to Daily Times, the TUC noted with dismay recent media reports that a number of proposals have already been submitted to the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) in pursuant to increasing electricity tariff.

The union stressed that “in view of the present harsh economic realities in the land, it is our view that the proposed increase is wrong and lacks human face.”

“Why should the masses be at the receiving end of every wrong and retrogressive policy in the country? Why must they always pay for what the rich consume more of ? What sense does it make for a man who earns less than N20,000 per month to

be made to pay over N8,000 for electricity bill alone within the same month? Why should they pay so much for what they do not use regularly enough, with officers of the distribution companies rarely bothering to read the analogue metres? Why should these questionable issues that are spared no thought in other climes always take centre stage in Nigeria? Surely Nigerians deserve a much better deal.”

Also, the Congress said it has been informed that NERC was considering introducing measures that will facilitate reduction of the rate of the fixed charge on consumers.

The union also flayed the telecom sector for either assigning tones to subscribers or enrolling them on plans that attract daily, weekly or monthly deductions without the customers soliciting for them.

“We say no to this nonsensical idea. The N750 charge is fundamentally fraudulent and unjust and must be outrightly abolished. Anyone canvassing its sustenance or any increase

in tariff does a grave disservice to the nation,” the union said.

According to the union, implementation of the planned increase would amount to an invitation to anarchy as it was totally oppressive, indefensible and retrogressive.

“Little wonder that the NERC has been foot-dragging on the issue of making prepaid meters readily available to consumers of electricity because of the excessive billing they have been imposing on all and sundry.

There is no gainsaying the fact that the present billing system is crazy, and any increase in tariff at this time is bound to make it even crazier.

“The NERC and DISCO will do well to shun anything that would attract the wrath of the masses. Rather, Nigerians expect them to earnestly adopt genuinely consumer-friendly policies. The fact that power supply is relatively improved within the last few months does not mean that the myriad of challenges bedevilling the sector are over,” the TUC said.

Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) has condemned the killing of an oil worker at Kolo Creek Flow Station belonging to Shell Petroleum Development Company in Ogbia, in Bayelsa State by gunmen.

The union noted that it “is worried and disturbed that the killings of oil workers is one death, too many,” added that oil workers who toil day and night to produce hydrocarbon which is the mainstay of the economy should not be exposed to such dangers due to security lapses, despite the hazards of their jobs.

NUPENG added that the death of the oil worker, identified as Austin Ikechukwu Igwe was unfortunate despite the presence of men of the Joint Military Task Force, Operation Pulo Shield at the flow station.

The union expressed its disappointment and displeasure at the Joint Task Force men at the flow station who were caught napping by the gunmen and

who carted away their weapons.

NUPENG called for a full investigation into how the gunmen gained access to the flow station and killed the oil worker.

NUPENG wants oil flow stations to be adequately protected by the JTF outfit, so that oil worker will feel safe to work both day and night. The nations oil installations must be fitted with modern gadgets and alarms that will keep the military guards at alert, instead of been taken unawares.

The union wants Shell management to provide adequate compensation to the dead oil worker and insure workers in oil installations, because of the risk involved in their jobs.

This is borne out of the fact that over 100 oil workers work at a flow stations at any point in time and they therefore need adequate security to make the work place safe for them. It calls on the law enforcement officers to spread their dragnets and bring the culprits to book.

Ex-Councillors from the 16 local government areas of Kwara State have urged Gov. Abdulfatah Ahmed to redeem his promise to pay their severance allowance totalling N2.5 billion.

The ex-councillors, under the aegis of “Ex – Local Government Political Office Holders 2007 – 2010,” made the appeal in a statement signed by Chairman of the Association Mr Sulyman Olota.

Olota recalled their different encounters with Gov. Ahmed where he personally assured them of his resolve to pay their severance allowances.

He said the ex-Councillors met with the governor on July 31, 2014 when they staged a peaceful protest to the Government House.

According to the chairman, failure of the Arbitration Committee set up by the Governor to effect payment of the allowances prompted the group’s second protest to the Government House in September 2014.

Olota said the Councillors also met the governor in December 2014 where he assured them that the allowances would be paid immediately after the general elections in 2015.

He said that the governor had not redeemed his pledge since he was sworn in for the second term.

Olota said this prompted the ex-councillors to book an appointment with the governor

Kwara ex-Councillors renew appeal for payment of severance allowance vide a letter to the Chief of Staff, Alhaji Abdulwahab Yusuf.

He appealed to the Chief of Staff to facilitate their meeting with the governor as many of their members were suffering.

The chairman said that his members might have to march to the Government House enmass by if top government officials failed to deliver their message to the governor.

The ex-councillors were turned back at the Government House over the weekend on the ground that Gov. Ahmed was away on official assignment in Abuja.

Ahmed

Energy 20

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, October 20, 2015

PENGASSAN warns oil coy against sacking workers Stories by Opeoluwani Akintayo Petroleum and Natural Gas Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (PENGASSAN), has called on the International Oil Companies (IOCs) to stop using crash in crude oil prices as reason to sack their workers.

PENGASSAN President, Mr. Francis Olabode Johnson, made the call during a leadership programme with the theme “Managing New Skills in Labour Relations,” organised for branch chairmen, secretaries and industrial relations officers under the Lagos, Warri and Kaduna zones of the asso-

Total rallies golfers for charity Total E&P has flagged off the 20th edition of Total’s Annual Golf Charity Tournament at the IBB International Golf & Country Club Abuja.

This year’s competition which will be by Stable Ford format and played over 18 holes, will see about 150 golfers from various parts of the country participating.

The tournament is designed to raise funds for improvement of infrastructure in selected local charity homes as part of the company’s social responsibil-

ity.

According to the management, all participants will make voluntary donations as participating fees which will be added to a special fund set aside by Total and presented to the chosen charity organisations.

Proceeds from this year’s tournament will be donated for improvement of infrastructure at the Zaamar Institute, Abuja, a learning ability centre for children with Autism.

While speaking, Managing Director, Total E&P Nigeria Ltd,

Nicolas Terraz, said “Total E7P Nigeria is proud to continue supporting such initiatives aimed at giving back to society”.

Two charities in Lagos, Ajofa Special Education Foundation for the Deaf and the St. Kizito Clinic, Adi-Araba, benefitted from proceeds of this initiative in 2013.

In 2014, the Compassion Home, Kkogu, Port-Harcourt, Rivers State, a care centre for physically challenged children was the beneficiary.

ciation in Benin, Edo State recently.

Speaking, the union leader said: “The international oil companies (IOCs) should not be using the fallen crude oil prices as reason to sack workers. You cannot say that because there is a fall in crude oil price, which is something that is temporary and fluctuating, you want to make our members redundant and you are employing new people as contract or casual workers. It is not acceptable to us.”

While commending the Federal Government’s effort to ensure that Nigeria has functional refineries, he noted that the more the government allows for

Oil demand will improve- Saudi’s oil minister Saudi Oil Minister, Ali alNaimi, has said he foresaw global oil demand improving despite the economic slide in China, and that the market’s supply/demand balance would soon move more into line.

He said this in the Moroccan capital, Rabat, where he was attending a meeting to prepare the 14th Arab congress of Industrial Development and Mining Organization (AIDMO).

Oil prices have almost halved in the past year because of excess supply although analysts see signs that OPEC’s strategy

Subsidy removal remains a political issue— Daniel-Nwaobia Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Finance, Mrs. Anastasia DanielNwaobia, has said that the debate on subsidy removal would remained a political issue which could only be handled by political authorities.

Daniel-Nwaobia said this during the just concluded annual meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Lima, Peru.

According to her, government is still studying recommendations on subsidy reforms submitted by parties commissioned to review the issue and will comment on the issue in

the months ahead.

In a related development, reacting to queries on what the Muhammadu Buhari-led government was doing to diversify the Nigerian economy with shrinking crude income, Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr. Godwin Emefiele, stated: “In Nigeria, we have been implementing reforms, and the prime issue from the fiscal side has focused on our effort to expand our tax base. Last year, we engaged the firm of Mckenzie to work with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) to see how we can widen the tax base and we were able to achieve about N75

billion in addition. But this year, we are looking at earning over N150 billion.”

He also hinted that the Federal Government would in the years ahead support the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and other revenue collecting agencies to shore up their capacity to enable them collect more revenue.

Emefiele promised that the apex bank would soon resume disbursement of its intervention fund for the power sector after resolving outstanding issues with the Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) and the Nigeria Bulk Electricity Trading Plc (NBET).

local ownerships of refineries, the more jobs would be created.

“Government can look at giving Nigerians more licences; let Nigerians build refineries because they can also create jobs.

When you have a legal framework for oil and gas, the issue of pipeline vandalism and illegal refineries would be taken care of.”

He urged the federal government to consider the calls for diversification in order to ensure a stable and sustainable economy. “We want to appeal to the government that in view of the fluctuating crude oil prices, it must be looking at diversifying the economy.”

Daniel-Nwaobia

of following prices to fall to put a squeeze on growth in highcost production areas is having some impact.

Oil prices fell more than one percent on Thursday, October 15, down for the fourth day as the U.S. government reported a larger-than-expected crude stockpile build.

Asked when he saw a recovery in the oil price, Maimi said, “The market decides on prices, and when demand and supply get close, prices will be steady.

Only the market can decide prices, no-one else.”

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, October 20, 2015

21

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

22 News

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Senate: Rice importers owe Nigeria N44bn Olufemi Samuel Abuja

ÏÏÏ

The Senate ad-hoc Committee on Import Duty Waivers on Monday accused two foreign companies, Messrs Stallion Group and Olam International, which are involved in rice importation into the country, of owing Nigeria N44bn as import duties on 457,000 metric tonnes they imported since May 2014.

The panel stated this when the representatives of the two firms appeared before it to answer their connection with the “flagrant abuse of rice waivers’ policy in the country.”

Chairman of the committee, Senator Adamu Aliero, demanded full payment of the money owed by the foreign firms, insisting that “Nigeria would not fold its hands and watch the huge debt swept under the carpet.”

He said: “There is no way the government will ignore this kind of money.

We have to ensure that this money is collected and deposited into the federation account.”

Aliero further claimed that the comanies imported rice into the country without paying waivers, off-loaded it into their warehouses and refused to pay required duties when asked by the Nigeria Customs Service.

He noted with concern that while the Nigeria Customs Service confronted Stallion Group with payment demand notices, the firm opted to drag NCS to court.

He also accused the company of exceeding the quota given to it to import 157,000 metric tonnes of rice, saying it imported 457,000 metric tonnes in excess of its required quota.

But while defending the action of his firm, Executive Director of Stallion Group, Harpreet Singh, claimed that their mission in Nigeria was to ensure that the country was selfsufficient in rice production.

He also said the firm had planned that the nation is saved from the global scarcity of the commodity.

He also claimed that Nigerian borders were porous and that former President Goodluck Jonathan granted the approval on fiscal policy on rice production on May 26, 2014.

According to him, the Ministry of Agriculture opted to flout the tenets of the policy by giving

quotas to “non-existing millers and investors who have no connection with the policy while existing investors were left blind.”

He claimed further that the Stallion Group’s investments in Nigeria were not giving jobs to foreigners but to Nigerians.

He said his company had lost millions of Naira to activities of smugglers as a result of porous borders.

Also speaking, Olam, through his spokesperson, Ade Adefeko, claimed that it had the largest rice farm in Africa and that it has been operating in Nigeria in the past 35 years.

He argued that given its long period of business operation in Nigeria, the company would not consider short-changing the nation.

According to him, Olam was seeking a legal opinion on the matter, saying whatever counsel it is given, it will be duly followed.

Abuja DISCO to investigate alleged unfair practices ÏÏÏ The Abuja

Electricity Distribution Company has reacted to alleged malpractices in her employment unit, pledging to investigate any wrongdoing and apply necessary sanctions.

In a statement in Abuja, the firm reiterated its commitment to level playing field for all job seekers, but clarified that there were misrepresentation in the story published by an online news site.

The full text of the statement reads: “On Friday 16th October 2016, a news article was published online by Premium Times alleging malpractice in some aspects of

Abuja Electricity Distribution PLC (AED)’s human resources practices and specifically its recruitment and remuneration activities.

“While it is not the intention of this press release to respond to the specific allegations, AED Management would like to put it on record that Mr. Siyanga Malumo who was named as the Board Chairman of AED is not its Board Chairman and information attributed to him in the article is incorrect.

“As a company committed to good corporate governance and best practice in all aspects of our operations we will, with im-

We don’t torture suspects, Lamorde, EFCC boss

ÏÏÏ The Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Lamorde on Monday cleared the agency of any wrongdoing despite reports of systematic torture during interrogation of suspects in its facility.

“The EFCC follows the

rule of law; our statements are recorded and are not taken under duress”, according to a statement credited to the EFCC boss and signed by its spokesman, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren.

“Our rooms have cameras in them and the state-ofthe-art recording facilities in the EFCC interrogation

I, formerly known and addressed

The General Public is hereby notified that the above named Ministry/Church has applied

as

to the Corporate Affairs Commission, for registration under part “C” of the Companies and

Miss

Okereke

Charity

Chizurum, now wish to be known and addressed as Mrs Madumere Ugochukwu

Chizurum,

all

former documents remain valid.

The general public take note.

SAN - SAN FAMILY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION UGBEGE

PLACE YOUR ADVERT HERE

ADVOCATE HOUSE ASSEMBLY

The General Public is hereby notified that the above named Association has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission, for registration under part “C” of the Companies and Allied matters Act NO.1 of 1990

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

TRUSTEES 1. Kpatako Appearance Ejumogbantsughan - Chairman 2. Tari Sylver Okpako - General Secretary 3. Asoro Tari Kpatako (Mrs) - Treasurer 4. Kpatako Nelson Ejumogbantsughan - Financial Secretary 5. Victor Ejumogbantsughan Kpatako – PRO

THE TRUSTEES ARE: 1. Apostle Enobong Akpan Ekaetor 3. Mrs. Abiola Adebayor Helen

AIMS AND OBJECTIVE 1. To provide a platform for educational advancement of the Ugbege Community through scholarship schemes.

2. To promote the culture and tradition of the San-San Family.

3. To promote the social development of the Ugbege community.

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

Signed: Barr Anasudu Simon Okeke- Solicior 08033498922.

Lamorde

rooms will not allow any interrogator to humiliate a suspect,” the statement quoted Lamorde as saying.

Lamorde stated this during a visit to the commission by officials of Amnesty International.

RESTORATION DOMAIN CHURCH

MRS MADUMERE UGOCHUKWU CHIZURUM

Aliero

mediate effect, institute investigations through independent auditors on these allegations and take the necessary steps required to correct any malpractices. In addition, appropriate actions will be taken against any of our officers who is found to have engaged himself/herself in these malpractices. AED strives to provide a fair and conducive workplace where all its employees can thrive.

“We therefore wish to assure all our stakeholders of Management’s unwavering commitment to international best practices in all our operations as we grow AED into a World Class project”, it stressed.

2. Chief Akpabio Michael 4. Pastor Charity Ossai Ekaetor

THE AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. To preach the word of God. 2. To be used as a forum to encourage miracle and religion.

3. To encourage the study, understanding and practical application of Bible truths in everyday life.

4. To organize Prayer Meetings and conduct Open Crusades at any place as deemed fit and in the interest of the Church.

Any objection to the Registration should be forwarded to the Registrar general, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420, Tigris Crescent, Off Aguyi Ironsi Street, Maitama, Abuja within 28 days of this publication.

Signed: OKOKPUJIE ODION ESQ Suite AP-K 1 AMAC Plaza, Wuse Zone 3, Abuja 08033610598

Allied matters Act NO. 1 of 1990.

TRUSTEES: 1. Mr. AbiodunSopitan (Chairman)

2. Mrs. Anita Adeyemi (Vice Chairman)

3. Mrs. FunmiGbayo (Secretary)

4. Bishop AdebowaleOmooba (Member)

5. Dr. Isaac Ofili (Member)

6. Mr. Sola Ajadi (Member)

7. Mrs. Toyin – Ayo Olumoko (Member) AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 1. To rescue and to preserve lives.

2. To raise reformers in the society.

3. To preach and teach the bible as the infallible word of God and to witness to the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Any objection to the registration should be forwarded to the Registrar-General, Corporate Affairs Commission, Plot 420, Tigris crescent, off AguiyiIronsi Street, Maitama, Abuja, within 28 days from the date of publication.

Signed by: Secretary

CHRIST PROPHETIC PRAISE AND POWER INT’L MINISTRY The general public is hereby notified that the above named Ministry has applied to the Corporate Affairs Commission for registration under part C of the Companies and Allied Matters Act No 1 of 1990.

The Trustees Are: 1. Prophetess Olufunmilayo Eniola 2. Bolutayo Adewale Emmanuel (Secretary) 3. Fausat Popoola 4. Komolafe Oluwakemi Omobolanle 5. Adams Idegu Aims And Objectives 1. To preach the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ worldwide.

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

Signed: Secretary

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Emir of Kano advocates implementation of Shari'a law on cattle rustlers Yakubu Salisu Kano

ÏÏÏThe

Emir of Kano, Alhaji Muhammed Sanusi II, has recommended the application of Islamic laws on perpetrators of cattle rustling, ranging from amputation of their arms, legs outright execution, imprisonment or piercing of their body with a sharp vertical stick.

He made the recommendation in Kwanar Dawaki, Kano, when the Nigeria Police Command paraded suspected cattle rustlers, who arrested by a special squad, constituted by the State Commissioner of Police, Muhammad Musa Katsina. The squad has recovered rustled animals within the last 30 days of intense combing at the Falgore Game Reserve.

Parading the suspects and the recovered cows and sheep before

the state governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje and the Emir of Kano, His Highness, Muhammad Sanusi II at Kwanar Dawaki, in Dawaki Kudu Local Government Area, where the animals were kept, Katsina disclosed that three of the notorious cattle rustlers were killed in a gun duel during the operation, while a police officer sustained injury in the process, but have been treated and discharged.

According to Katsina, the police recovered large cache of arms, while some of the suspects were clad in police, army and air force camouflage, when they were nabbed, which they used to intimidate and rob Fulani herdsmen.

Katsina revealed that the police recovered 21 arms, 42 AK-47 rifles, 15 9.mm ammunition, 28 live cartridges and 12 locally made AK-47 ammunition and 224 rustled cows.

Ganduje described the activities of the cattle rustlers arrested, whose ages ranged between 18 and 45, as worrisome, stressing that, “this is happening as we are yet to get out of the menace of insurgency, but now another frightening dimension of crime has resurfaced, which is indeed alarming.” Visibly worried and pained that out of the 818 cattle rustlers arrested many were Fulani, Ganduje urged security agencies to ensure that they faced the full wrath of the law, while assuring that his administration would back efforts to flush out other suspects involved in cattle rustling.

He disclosed that a body had been constituted to ensure that the recovered livestock were returned to their rightful owners, adding that those involved in cattle rustling should realise that their days were numbered.

Jacob Ogodo

Abakaliki ÏÏÏAnglican Bishop of Abakaliki, Rt. Rev. Monday Nkwoagu, has urged the Federal government to diversify the economy via an aggressive venture into agriculture and solid mineral exploration and exploitation.

Nkwoagu, who spoke at 6th synod of the Anglican Communion, Diocese of Abakaliki, expressed hope that the diversification would boost the country’s economy and create employment opportunities for youths.

He called on every Nigerian to join the on-going war against corruption as championed by President Mohammadu Buhari.

He said corruption had robbed Nigeria of infrastructure like motor-able roads, electricity and potable water.

560 women die daily during Daniel Jolly

Bauchi ÏÏÏThe Bauchi State Co-ordinator, Evidence for Action (E4A), Ahmed Mohammed Ahmed, has lamented the increase in the national mortality rate from 547 to 567 in every life births.

He explained that the State was one of the worst places for a woman to deliver in the country.

Ahmed made the disclosure during a meeting to strengthen the existing Mamaye Youths Clubs and solicit the commitment of the

Jacob Ogodo Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Umar Ganduje (middle) applying the anti-polio drop on a child to flag-off the immunization exercise at Tudun Wada town, Kano ... recently

Niger Govt., NUT set to clash over deductions of salaries

Pita Chikwem

Minna ÏÏÏThe Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) Niger State chapter and the state government are set to clash over deductions from teachers’ salaries for the running of computer training and purchase of Ipad computers for teachers in secondary schools.

The government and Youths Empowerment Education Initiative (YEEI), a non-governmental organisation, had reached an agreement for the training of secondary school teachers to make them computer literate and to also ensure they (teachers) had Ipad computers.

Under the agreement, according to investigations, the government is to foot the cost of the programme by about 40 percent while the teachers are to each

pay the balance of 60 percent.

On a monthly basis, it was gathered that each teacher in the secondary school would have not less than N2,200 deducted from his or her salary on a monthly basis.

The scheme was said to have started last year by the immediate past administration of Governor Babangida Aliyu.

However, according to the investigation, while the teachers have honoured their part of the agreement, the government was reported to have reneged on its part of the bargain, making the non-governmental organisation to abruptly stop the training and distribution of the Ipad computers after only a negligible fraction of the teachers had benefited from the exercise.

Worried by the development,

the state chapter of the NUT was said to have put a letter of protest through to the Ministry of Education asking the government to ‘immediately’ put a stop to the deductions from its members’ salaries.

In the letter, a copy of which is in possession of our correspondent, sent to the Permanent Secretary Ministry of Education titled, ‘Re: Internet Training and Supply of Zinox IPAD tablets for secondary school teachers in Niger State,’ dated October 14, 2015 and signed by Comrade Labaran Garba, NUT Assistant Secretary, the union said ‘no deduction should be effected from the salary payroll of secondary school teachers as September 2015 was the last month for the payment of the 60 percent ZPAD agreed upon to be paid by the teachers’.

Abakaliki

ÏÏÏA

police corporal, Samuel Okere, serving at Ugbodo Division in Ebonyi Local Government Area of Ebonyi State, has been arrested by the state Juvenile Welfare Centre (JWC), for allegedly defiling a 3-year-old girl and nursery pupil (name withheld).

Okere was said to have committed the act in Ugbodo at the victim father’s house, when she returned from school.

The victim’s parents had gone for their teaching jobs when the police officer allegedly committed the act.

When the parents returned from work, the little girl started complaining of pains in her genitals as she could not work properly which made the father, Emmanuel Iyiekuna, to ask her what happened to her, and she told him that the policeman inserted something inside her.

The situation forced Iyiekuna to Okere’s house and he (Okere) allegedly admitted committing

23 News Clergy urges FG to diversify economy “In every sphere of our lives now, Nigeria wears the look of a worn out clothes, because of the extent corrupt officials have dealt with this country. This what is responsible for the high rate of unemployment, which, in turn, predisposes young people into joining dangerous gangs, such as the region-based insurgents and other dreaded men of underworld,” he said.

Buhari

leadership of the institution towards the formation of “Mamaye Youths Club” as well as recruitment of more Mamaye activists and formation of the club in the Bauchi State University He stressed that out of the estimated 295,000 deliveries per year in the state, only 16 per cent of the women in the state delivered in health facilities as compared to the national average of 36 per cent.

He however, called on the State Governor, Hon. Mohammed Abdullahi, to ensure that every maternity ward in all the secondary health facilities had at least four midwives to ensure safe delivery at birth.

Police corporal defiles 3 year old girl in Ebonyi the crime, but said he only used finger on the girl and did not insert his manhood.

He appealed to Iyiekuna not to disclose the matter to anyone and offered him N50, 000 to take care of the victim which Iyiekuna rejected.

Iyiekuna later took his child to a nearby clinic where after examining the girl, a nurse told him that the girl’s private part has been broken.

In anger, the man went and reported the case to the state family law centre, a special court in charge of treating such cases and other issues.

At the court, the suspect denied having carnal knowledge of the girl.

The Chairman of the court, Mrs. Elizabeth Nwali, petitioned the state Commissioner of Police, CP Peace Ibekwe over the matter, calling for intervention.

News 24

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Ekiti Lions Club donates borehole to orphanage home

Kwara college workers threaten strike over salaries

Kehinde Akinpelu Ilorin

ÏÏÏAcademic and non-Ac-

ademic Workers of Kwara Colleges of Education in llorin, Oro, Lafiagi and College of Arabic and lslamic Legal Studies, llorin, on Monday, commenced an indefinite strike over non-payment of their salary.

The Kwara State Government is owing the workers of the four affected tertiary institutions six months’ salary.

The Chairman of the Committees of Unions of Tertiary lnstitutions, in the state, Comrade AbdulKareem Amuda-Kannike, announced the commencement of the strike at an

emergency meeting with the workers, in llorin, on Monday.

He said the strike had become imperative since the state government had showed little sign of readiness to help their plight.

Amuda-Kannike said the directive of the state government that the four affected colleges should use their internally generated revenue to pay the salary arrears was not practicable.

He said several letters and series of meetings with the state government representatives to avert the strike action ended in a deadlock.

Amuda-Kannike said, “Since the the state government had declared its inabil-

ity to pay the salary arrears following dwindling of monthly Federal allocation, strike is the next option.”

He directed academic and non- academic members of staff of the four colleges to stay at home until further notice.

The Senior Special Assistant to Governor AbdulFatah Ahmed on Media and Communication, Doctor Mutideen Akorede, condemned the strike. “The state government is surprise that they will resolve to strike when they know the non-payment of their subventions was due to drop in allocation from the Federal Government”, Akorede said.

Gbenga Sodeinde

He said the monthly allocation to the state government has dropped from three N3.2 billion to N1.7 billion.

Akorede described the plight of the striking workers as unfortunate and urged them to call of the strike for the students’ sake

Ahmed

I’ll transform Adamawa, Gov. Bindow vows

Yola

ÏÏÏGovernor

Muhammadu Umaru Jibrilla of Adamawa State has said that he would transform the socio-economic status of Adamawa people through government-community participation.

He vowed to revamp the economy of every community, in the interest of greater development and transformation of the state.

Jibrilla said this when he graced the inauguration of the corporate head office of Bonghe Microfinance Bank Nig. Ltd, Numan, and lauded the community initiative of Bachama Chiefdom, comprising Numan and Lamurde local government areas, for establishing the

bank for economic growth.

While appealing to other communities in the state to emulate the initiative of Bachama Chiefdom, Jibrilla said that his government was ready to partner with the people there for the socio-economic development and growth of their respective communities, in particular, and the state in general.

The Chairman of the Micro finance, Chief L.D Nzadon, also lauded the co-operation and support accorded to the initiators by the community, which had resulted in the success story of Bonghe Bank, which graduated from a community bank to micro-finance bank.

He disclosed that the bank

was the first to become the first and only micro-finance bank in Adamawa State to access the Central Bank of Nigeria’s N220million for small and medium scale enterprises fund in November 2014 and April 2015.

According to him, the bank, which had existed since 1992, had, with the cooperation of the community, been able to meet the guidelines and conditions of the Central Bank of Nigeria for the establishment of microfinance bank in Nigeria.

The bank, which was then known as Numan Community Bank Ltd, he said, was one of the first five community banks in the country to satisfy the conditions, and its application was given provisional approval in

Club International, District 404B-2, Ado Metropolitan, has donated a N500, 000-worth borehole to a private orphanage in Ekiti, Winning Children Foundation, to boost water supply and check diseases in the motherless babies’ home. It has also offered free eye treatment to 2,000 Ekiti residents with various eye defects to mark the World Sight Day in the state.

The District Governor, Dr. Olufunke Adebajo, said the gesture was part of the humanitarian services be-

FG plans home grown school feeding L-R: Director Special Duties, Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Mr. Alex Ekeanyanwu; Director General, NIIA, Prof. Bola Akinterinwa; President, Yoruba Council of Youths (YCY), Barr.

Oladotun Hassan; Director of Art and Culture, (YCY), Princess Folashade Adeyemi and National Secretary, (YCY), Prince Israel Akintola during the courtesy visit of YCY delegation to DG NIIA in Lagos…

Photo: OLAWALE ROTIMI

Tom Garba

Ado Ekiti

ÏÏÏLions

February 2007 and final approval to operate as a micro finance bank in September 2007.

“Since its conversion, the bank has continued to exhibit strong resilience to tough challenges which include economic, social and religious disturbances. This is in addition to climatic conditions like excessive rains that brought about floods and strong harmattan."

He said the bank was able to weather other socio-economic and cultural storms, which included increased banditry and community clashes, invasion of harmful insects and birds which destroyed agricultural products and the negative effects of insurgency.

Tom Okpe Abuja

ÏÏÏThe

Federal Government said it has concluded arrangement to introduce home grown National School Feeding programme targeted at the valuable segments of the population.

The programme would encourage school enrolment, address out-of-school syndrome, and tackle the challenge of stunted growth amongst children.

The Permanent Secretary Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Architect Sonny Echono, who said this in Abuja, on Friday, while addressing jour-

ing rendered by the body to improve the well-being of the populace.

Adebajo described the programme as a part of the core projects designed by the Club to complement Government’s efforts at ensuring that the people of the state enjoyed improved healthcare delivery.

The newly sworn-in President of the club, Dr. Pius Adeojo , said the club would continue to give supports to the needy to help their suffering and create a better society where all citizens could have access to good life and opportunities. nalists as a part of activities marking the 35th World Food Day celebration, said creating business opportunities in the rural areas and stimulating the growth of micro, small and medium scale enterprises (MSMEs), would help improve the income of farmers.

He said, “All players in the agricultural sector must sharpen their efforts by taking advantage provided for massive food production.”

The Permanent Secretary also maintained that social protection existed when government developed policies and programmes to address economic, environmental and social vulnerabilities to food insecurity and poverty.

According to him, the objective of celebrating World Food Day was to promote effective action to end hunger, malnutrition and poverty.

Urhobo leaders eulogise Delta Speaker, call for unity Hussenat Ohize

ÏÏÏUrhobo leaders at the

weekend, took a hard look at the recent judgement of the State and National Assembly Election Tribunal sitting in Asaba, describing the dismissal of the petition filed by All Progressives Congress (APC), Sapele Constituency as a good omen. “It is a sign of good things to come to Urhobo land”, they said.

The remark of the leaders came amid similar sentiments expressed by the Delta State Elders’ Forum.

The APC candidate failed to rebut the presumption of regularity raised in favour of the Independent National Electoral Commis-

sion’s official declaration of results which was in favour of the Peoples |Democratic Party. The leaders in a statement, in Ughelli expressed satisfaction with the judgement.

They also congratulated Rt. Hon. Ovwigho Igbuya, on his victory at the tribunal and urged him to continue being the good ambassador of the Urhobo nation.

The statement signed by the spokesperson of Urhobo Unity Forum (UUF), Dr. Mudiaga Oghene, praised Igbuya, for offering high quality service to the state, raising the office of the speaker to greater heights and reaching out to the sick and vulnerable.

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Law Æ s

25

Judiciary has fared well since independence—Falana Although he is an indigene of Owo in Ondo state, Chief Femi Falana, the ‘Baamofin’ of Arepo land in Ogun state read law at the Ondo State University now University of Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State and was called to the Nigerian Bar. In this interview with PETER FOWOYO, he recounts his ordeal in bearing a name that is associated with a renowned right activist, Femi Falana, a senior advocate but concluded that the name has also brought fame and fortune in plying his trade.

You answer the same name with a renowned activist and senior advocate, Femi Falana, has there been any time there was confusion in the courtroom when announcing your appearance before a Judge?

Yes, it reminds me my first experience after been called to Bar in 2000. I was to work with Mr Segun Ajibola SAN and on that day, he gave me a test case which was before Justice Marsh. I was to go and adopt summons for direction. I did it happily and I came back to meet him at the Court of Appeal. At that time, Justice Oguntade was the Presiding Judge at the Court of Appeal, Lagos. On getting into the Court, Femi Falana SAN happens to be senior to Segun Ajibola SAN. Few minutes when I came in, the learned silk, Falana, walked in and sat behind us. The matter was called and Segun Ajibola stood up and announced appearance before the Justices been Presided by Justice Oguntade.

When he now mentioned his appearance and said appearing with me are my learned friends Tunde Kalaro and Femi Falana.

I stood up to take a bow and already lawyers were wondering why Segun Ajibola will announce the appearance of Femi Falana who is his senior at the Bar. The lawyers were astonished when they saw me standing up because I was a new wig at that time. The whole court began to laugh. I took a bow and wanted to sit down quickly but, Justice Oguntade held me on to it. He asked: “where is this new lawyer coming from?” I thought I could have it expressed by smiling and nodding but he asked me: “are you in any way related to the popular Femi Falana?” I said my Lord, biologically, no but, professionally, yes. He is my learned senior.

Justice Oguntade again asked:

“are you from the same state?”

I answered no. I am from Owo in Ondo state and Mr. Femi Falana SAN is from Ilawe in Ekiti state and I told Justice Oguntade Ekiti state was carved out of Ondo state. All those in court were laughing. If I had been the timid type, it could have been enough to give me a pin fall. At the end of the day, Justice Oguntade said: “the new Femi Falana, I think it will be better to look for a way so that you can also distinguish yourself.”

Also, there was a time a letter was written to a client of mine. Again, there was an altercation. Somewhere, somehow, somebody mischievously wrote a petition against me, sent it to the learned silk, maligning that I was actually parading myself as a SAN. When he read the petition he put a phone call to me and said: “is that Femi Falana SAN?” I was just coming out of the court and I answered him no sir. He asked again: “is that not Femi Falana SAN?” I said this is Olufemi Falana. He asked: “is there any difference between Olufemi Falana and Femi Falana?” I said Femi Falana is a popular one who is a SAN but this one is Olufemi Falana, he is not a SAN. He now greeted me and said: ”this is Femi Falana SAN, you may have to come and see me in my office, somebody has written a petition against you saying that you have been parading yourself as a SAN.” I went to his office, read the petition and he understood it was one of those lawyers that want to take advantage because I am having an edge in a case so; they were looking for a way to distract me.

He gave a fatherly advice to surmount and resolve any problem that could have engendered by virtue of their intention. His wife too was very instrumental to unraveling the mystery and

‘‘The Nigerian judiciary has gone far and wide, it has excelled, as a matter of fact, lawyers are being taken from the system to now represent Africa, to now be part of the World Court’’ the mischief of that petition at that time.

However, everywhere I introduce myself, I will be expecting the next question to that asking if I’m related to the popular Femi Falana SAN so, I will have to distinguish or explain and taking to mind that there are some issues I would have loved to take personal, be dogged and attack squarely but, I wouldn’t be able by virtue of the name.

I have attained more benefit by virtue of his popularity than the bad.

Nigeria celebrated her 55th independence anniversary last week, how would you assess the nation’s judiciary from independence?

The judiciary has fared a little

Falana

better, some development has taken place. Prior to 1960 there wasn’t anything like Nigerian Law Report, Chief Gani Fawehinmi SAN came, brought it up and now we have our own indigenous law reports even after his demise, the law reports is still going on. Prior to that time, we rely on the British Law, most of our laws then were all imported laws but now we have our indigenous reported cases into the judicial system we now cite. Citing of cases is part of the authority we use. Also, prior to 1960, there wasn’t any senior advocate but, we now have them, we now have Nigerian Law School, we have Advanced Legal Studies.

The Nigerian judiciary has gone far and wide, it has excelled, as a matter of fact, lawyers are being taken from the system to now represent Africa, to now be part of the World Court, Justices Elias was there, Kayode Eso was there, Bola Ajibola was there, amongst others. if you look at some of the cases being handled by the highly classical and intelligent Judges in recent times, you compare them with Lord Denin of old. When we talk about computer too, it has come in although we have not got to the level of the developed world but we are making an impact.

Immediately after the independence we were only having one Supreme Court and now if you look at the hierarchy of the court it has changed tremen-

dously. We now have different courts handling different issues.

In 1975, Federal High Court was created. We now have National Industrial Court that takes care of industrial disputes while the FHC takes care of matters under section 71, federal matters that are basically on the exclusive list. We now have different Court of Appeal into many divisions, we have it in Akure, Lagos, Ibadan, Ilorin, Enugu, Kaduna, Sokoto so, there has been an improvement, there has been a lot of development and even in the learning of the law. The judiciary has not done badly, they’ve done well.

There is a suggestion that only constitutional matters should be allowed to go to the Supreme Court due to the volume of cases pending at the apex court. Do you share this view?

We will be compelled to look at the economy of the state if you now suggest a multi-dimensional courts into the system, where is the wherewithal, the human and financial resources to back them up. We will take into account at the moment that if you want to advice based on what operates in a developed country, if you bring it down to Nigeria, it may collapse. The foundation in 1960 may be good but thereafter, we couldn’t live up to it, it became porous, in such a way that putting something on it is like putting something on noth-

Continued on page 26

Law 26

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, October 20, 2015

We don’t have peoples’ constitution— Falana Continued from page 25 ing. The system is so loose at the moment, we have not been recording successes in everything we’ve been doing and it all bothers down on corruption.

If an average Nigerian wants to enlist in the Army or Police, his or her main target is not to serve the fatherland but, to be corrupt and that system comes into the judiciary system. If you now say let there be a Supreme Court strictly responsible for constitutional matter while another will be for allied matters.

The problem now would be that because our system is so corrupt, it will lack coherent of the decisions to be taken up there.

We are having just one apex court, when they bring out decisions from there we are still having problems there, the only thing lawyers would say is that Supreme Court has overruled itself.

We have seven Justices at the Supreme Court to make a full court on constitutional matters though five of them could sit on allied matters or read judgments, the same also at the Court of Appeal, one Justice could read a judgment of three, if other two are not available in such exceptions but, as it is presently, some of the courts don’t sit because they don’t form quorum, where they are three, several times, if one of them is sick, the court of appeal will not sit and several times the Supreme Court could not form a quorum when they were to sit on constitutional matters and backlog of cases were there especially during the Babangida regime.

If we now want to divide the Supreme Court, where are the personnel? Where is the economy to sustain them? That again will necessitate going back to the constitution and have it amended, if it is going to be amended, who will amend the constitution? How do you want to amend the constitution that you did not draft? To what extent is it going to be formidable? Ordinary civilians have never drafted a constitution in this country except the 1963 constitution. It is not only constitutional matters that goes to the apex court, we still have other criminal matters that are of capital punishment unto which you can’t separate them, they are of right in an appeal, straight to the apex court.

Whereas there are some matters that got stocked at the Court of Appeal, for instance, electoral matters.

It has been said that the constitution lied about itself

Falana

as a result of the preface which states that: “We the people of Nigeria…” whereas it was only few individuals that drafted it. Are you also of this view?

I am of this view and I concur with the same argument of these people who believe that we are just alien to the constitution that we claimed to be ours. We are just masquerading to the fact that we have a constitution. The constitution which states that: “We the people of the Federal Republic of Nigeria having solemnly sat together to make this constitution that we would call ours”, was there a referendum between us that suggested what we wanted and now say let this be our constitution? No. When the military came in prior to 1979, the military suspended the constitution and were ruling us with decrees and regrettably the decrees were housing many provisions of the constitution, the military suspended substantially all parts of the constitution.

When Obasanjo left in 1979, Shagari came in and we said we were back to constitutional life, a civilian regime but, we know that the constitution that was suspended prior to 1979 was the 1963 constitution. To make a constitution, every voice of members of that country must be heard but what they did was to inaugurate a constitutional

drafting committee that was headed by the late Chief Rotimi Williams SAN and other friends of the military who were made to be part of it. The constitution was drafted, never passed into law in anywhere. When they now transferred government to the civilians, they said: “this is your constitution, the 1979 constitution.”

We read it in the preamble that “we the people”, life continues from there compared to the American constitution of hundred thousand words that originated from the scratch to the last. It went on and in 1983 it was again suspended when Buhari came back. From that 1983 till 1999, we were being ruled by military fiats, decrees, we knew a lot of them. When it was getting to 1999 they said 1999 constitution, “we the people of Nigeria”, are the military the only people in Nigeria? We met and found ourselves in a state of helplessness, in such a way that there wasn’t anything we could do even though there were many to be done but, it’s a thing that will bring anarchy into the system.

No wonder people keep saying we have no constitution and that being the reason it has been so difficult for them to amend it and that being the reason why there is still anarchy in the land, because the constitu-

tion we called ours is not ours, it was formulated by a few. At a point in time when they realized the High Court was having too much power, the 1979 constitution called it unlimited jurisdiction somebody just woke up in his room and said this unlimited jurisdiction we have to take it away from the High Court and it was turned to limited. Where did we sit to agree it should be limited? At a point in time, somebody just felt they need more land and they said let there be Land Use Act and they have it included in the constitution and before you know it, they took our lands away, we no longer have the freehold, land became the leasehold.

These were all laws and activities that were planted into the 1963 constitution; they were rolling the constitution over, including so many laws and till it got to the 1999 constitution which now became as amended.

The constitution we operates today does not originate from the people, it originates from the military, right from Aguyi Ironsi down to Abdulsalam Abubakar that last ruled us, they were the ones making the constitution.

So which of the constitutions adopted by the country would you adjudged to be the best for the people?

None, except the independence constitution and the 1963

constitution that was basically formulated by the civilians though they were originally incorporated by our British masters, changed it into our system and we start operating it that is the one that reflects whom we are, our ethics, ethos and practices. But, if you look at it from that period, they were constitutions made by the military, handed over to us to be using including the 1999 constitution as amended that we call ours. There has not been anyone made by civilians but by a group of the military who have ruled us for so long and bought us down to this level we are now.

There is no constitution I can say is the best.

The 1999 constitution incorporated the desire of some few individuals like I earlier mentioned in some sections that were brought there. Whatever we want to incorporate into the constitution such as National Industrial Court, the Land Use Act, Federal High Court, all these must come from the people. It should not be a thing dictated to us by Obasanjo and have it incorporated and have it handed over to us in such a way that the Land Use Act is no longer an act that can be quashed by the National Assembly but, part of the constitution.

Some lawyers are advocating for the adoption of report of the last national conference. Do you think that the implementation of the confab report is a way forward for the country?

I say equivocally and without any regret but with absolute sense of responsibility that that confab report is not the way forward, there is nothing there.

A lot of those icons who went into the confab went there with good intention believing that most of the bad areas in the constitution would be put right but, after coming out of it, their intention was not total. A lot went to protect their selfish hegemony; some went there to make money. Ask some of them that what did they bring from the confab, what did they contribute? Some said the name of the country be changed, is the name of the country the problem? No. What is our problem?

It is corruption and to what extent is that confab able to handle the issue of corruption from the grass root? I have not seen where it has actually been addressed. All the sector of the economy has been infected in such a way that even if Jesus Christ is to come and amend it, he would be infected.

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

EXTRATIME

LMC postpones Sunshine, Rangers clash

T

he League Management Company (LMC) has postponed Week 34 game between Sunshine Stars and Rangers scheduled for Wednesday.

The shift in date for the game was because Sunshine Stars have six players with the CHAN Eagles.

A new date for the game will be announced before October 22.

LMC rule states: Article 15.14; where a club has five (5) players in the National Camps, its matches may be postponed at the request of the club in writing: provided such application is received not later than 72 hours before the scheduled match.

Sunshine Stars Ikechukwu Ezenwa, Stephen Eze, Dayo Ojo, Prince Aggrey, Tunde Adeniji and Paul Onobi are all in the home-based Eagles who will face Burkina Faso in a CHAN qualifier this weekend.

F

ormer Golden Eaglets coach, Henry Nwosu has warned against complacency in the side’s clash against Chile.

The reigning world champions will confront the South Americans in the group’s match day 2 clash today at the Estadio Sausalito Vina Del Mar. Nwosu said categorically that the Chileans will not be pushovers in the clash as the Nigerians hope to cement their knockout stage ticket.

“The Chileans are team to worry about as far as the ongoing championship and every other age grade competitions are concerned.

“Aside being the hosts of the ongoing championship, Chile are not pushovers so Eaglets cannot afford to overlook or underrate the South Americans.

“There is nothing in the form book to suggest that the Chileans will be easily run over as they did to the Americans.

“Rather Eaglets must approach the encounter as Cup final aimed at securing the whole three points at

NPFL: Tenger plots Abia Warriors fall

L

obi Stars head coach, Justin Tenger has said his wards are mentally and psychologically prepared for the clash at Abia Warriors.

The Pride of Benue will be the guests of Warriors in Wednesday’s Nigeria Professional Football League (NPFL) match day 34 clash at the Umuahia Township Stadium.

Watchers of the top flight were apprehensive of possible boycott of the clash by the Makurdi outfit after days of protest over unpaid salaries.

Tenger said his charges are back to their trenches to perfect plans to fight for the whole three points at stake with the hosts, Abia Warriors.

“The players are back to training and quite happy after they made their points known to the management and the financiers, Benue state government and ready to confront Abia Warriors for the three points at stake.

Golden Eaglets goal poacher Victor Osimhen (right) on the prowl in their opener against USA.

CHILE NOT WORLD CUP PUSHOVERS, NWOSU WARNS stake.

“Victory in the encounter will secure qualification for the side to the next stage of the championship.

“Eaglets must avoid any form of complacency or situation that will make them to struggle in the

championship.

“The watchword is do not underrate the Chileans and avoid complacency and the needed victory will be guaranteed,” said the former Nigerian star.

Nigeria won 2-0 against the United

Eaglets settle in

States of America (USA) in match day 1 clash on Saturday while the hosts, Chile were held to a 1-1 draw by Croatia.

Victory will see Eaglets amass six points and a secured ticket to the knockout stage of the championship.

VINA DEL MER

T Sunshine midfielder Paul Onobi.

27

he Golden Eaglets on Sunday arrived the iconic city of Vina del Mar ahead of their FIFA U-17 World Cup Chile 2015 second Group A match against the host country, Chile at the Estadio Sausalito today.

The Eaglets, upon their arrival at Vina del Mar swiftly began their preparation on Sunday evening with their first training session at Municipality Sport Sausalito where Coach Emmanuel Amuneke yet again made a clarion call to the players.

“Once again, we want to congratulate you for a good job done on Saturday against USA, but we still have a long way to go,” noted the 1994 African Player of the Year. “To win the World Cup, a team must play seven matches and as such, we must not get carried away and be complacent because we beat the USA.” Amuneke warned that the match against the host would be a different ball game since it is a must win for them to be in contention for the knockout stages. He maintained that the players

must gird their loins to rumble against the hosts who would play yet again in front of their partisan fans.

He explained: “The match against Chile would be tougher and we want to approach the match with seriousness and high sense of responsibility. We have to be focused because there would be no margin for errors against Chile today.”

The Golden Eaglets had a feel of the Sausalito Stadium on Monday as mandated by the rules and regulations guiding the championship.

In a related development, Mr. Tiwalade Adelanwa, Charge d’Affaires at the Nigeria Embassy in Argentina who saw Nigeria beat USA 2-0 on Saturday, has equally charged the Golden Eaglets to remain focused.

“This is the third time I’m watching our boys play and I’m impressed with their discipline and tactical approach against Argentina, Racing Club and against USA,” said the diplomat. “They stand a good chance if they can show the same discipline against Chile today.”

MFM LEKKI HONOURS MFM FC ANDREW EKEJIUBA

A

side Dr Daniel Kolawole Olukoya who is the General Overseer of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries Worldwide and financier of MFM Football Club of Lagos, no other individual has encouraged the team like Pastor Olumide Oni, the Senior Regional Overseer, MFM Region 1, Lekki.

Earlier this year, Pastor Oni hosted MFM FC after emerging the Best Football playing church in the world with victory at the Church World Cup in Goa, India. On that occasion, the amiable man of God did not only shower cash and other gifts on the players and officials, he also donated a Mazda Sports Utility Vehicle to the

team.

It was celebration in MFM FC’s camp last week with the news of the team’s invitation to MFM Region 1, Lekki.

They all remembered the goodies that accompanied such invitation from Pastor Oni the last time. So, on Friday, October 16, 2015, all roads led to Eagle Church, Lekki to be part of the regions annual Praise and Worship event known as Hosanna night.

As expected, there was so much to eat and drink. The players and officials danced and sang all night. The climax of the event put together by The Kingdom Builders and supported by the Church Council came when Pastor Oni announced cash reward and material gifts to MFM FC. Speaking during the presentation ceremony, Pastor Oni expressed his

Pastor Olumide Oni (left) receives an award from MFM Assistant General Overseer, Pastor Gbesan Adebambo joy at the achievements of MFM FC. “We at MFM Region 1, Lekki are grateful to our General Overseer, Dr Olukoya for his vision to empower youths of this generation through football. To show our appreciation, we have decided to use this year’s Hosanna Night to celebrate MFM FC for the glories you have brought to the church.

“You made every MFM member

happy in December 2014, when you went to India and beat all other churches to emerge the best football playing church in the world. And less than 10 months after, MFM made history again as the first church to gain promotion to the Nigeria Premier League.

“We are very proud of you”, concluded the former MFM Mowe Regional Overseer.

28

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

EXTRATIME UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIXTURES

EURO

NEYMAR

Today’s Matches BATE Borisov v Barcelona 19:45 Bayer Leverkusen v Roma 19:45 Arsenal v Bayern Munich 19:45 Dinamo Zagreb v Olympiakos 19:45 Dynamo Kyiv v Chelsea 19:45 FC Porto v Maccabi Tel Aviv 19:45

Neymar

Valencia v Gent 19:45 Zenit St. Petersburg v Lyon 19:45

Wednesday, October 21, 2015 Malmoe FF v Shakhtar Donetsk 19:45 Paris Saint Germain v Real Madrid CSKA Moscow v Man United 19:45 Wolfsburg v PSV Eindhoven 19:45 Atletico Madrid v FC Astana 19:45

Galatasaray v Benfica 19:45 Juventus v Borussia M’gladbach19:45 Manchester City v Sevilla 19:45

vows to sign new Barca deal

N

eymar has revealed he will sign a new contract with Barcelona - and has urged the club’s supporters to remain “calm”.

The striker has been heavily linked with a move to Manchester United since the summer, with his father claiming talks were held between the two clubs over a move for the Brazil forward.

But Neymar, who scored four goals in Barca’s 5-2 win over Rayo Vallecano at the weekend, insists he wants to remain

with the European champions.

“The renewal is underway. I have many years of contract here and I’ll sign, calm,” he told reporters. “The fans have to be calm.”

It comes after the club’s director of football Roberto Fernandez said the Catalan giants are working on a deal to keep the 23-year-old for the rest of his career.

“We are currently working on Neymar’s contract extension and I don’t

think there will be any type of problem,” he said.

“I have no doubt in my mind that Neymar will spend the rest of his life at Barcelona. We will reach an agreement with him sooner or later, this season if possible.”

Neymar is set to feature in Barcelona’s Champions League game against Bate Borisov today.

The former Santos frontman has scored eight goals this season.

DI MARIA:

I won’t celebrate against Real

P

aris Saint-Germain attacker Angel di Maria promised not to celebrate if he scores against former club Real Madrid in the Champions League.

The Ligue 1 leaders host Madrid at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday in a clash between two teams with perfect records in Group A. Di Maria, who won the premier European club competition with Madrid in 2014, said his memories at the club meant there would be no celebration if he scored.

“If ever I score a goal, I will not celebrate,” the Argentinian said.

“Because deep in my heart I will never forget what I

experienced at Real.”

Di Maria said he knew PSG would draw the La Liga giants in the Champions League after heading

Buffon in doubt for Gladbach clash G

ianluigi Buffon has confirmed he is in doubt for the game against Borussia Monchengladbach in the Champions League on Wednesday after picking up an injury against Inter.

The Juventus veteran appeared to hurt his calf during a 0-0 Serie A draw at San Siro on Sunday and was limping throughout much of the second half of the match.

Buffon will now wait for medical checks before the fixture in Turin but is confident that

understudy Neto is a more than adequate replacement.

“I managed the problem for about 65 minutes, which is a good sign, but we’ll see what the tests say,” he said.

“I don’t know if I can recover but we have Neto, a very strong goalkeeper, who it’s not fair to call a back-up.”

Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said after the Inter draw that he hopes to see Paulo Dybala - who was left out of the

starting XI - continue to work hard to improve his game after an inconsistent start to the season following his move from Palermo.

Buffon, however, has backed Juve’s younger attacking players to establish themselves as world-class talent in the future.

“We have players with the potential to be attacking stars. They’re very young, and like all young people, they’re positive and have things to improve,” he added.

Di Maria

to Paris from Manchester United in August.

The 27-year-old believes Laurent Blanc’s men have the quality to challenge European powerhouses.

Buffon

ANCELOTTI HAILS BENZEMA AS WORLD´S BEST

C

arlo Ancelotti believes Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema is the best out-and-out striker in world

Benzema

football.

Bayern Munich’s Poland international Robert Lewandowski has stolen headlines with his phenomenal goalscoring feats this season, netting 22 times in 16 appearances for club and country.

But Ancelotti feels Benzema remains a cut above the competition, with his presence even making life easier for fellow forwards

Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale.

“It is ideal for Ronaldo and Bale… to me, Karim is the best player in the world in his position and not just as a goalscorer,” Ancelotti said ahead of the eagerly anticipated Champions League showdown between two of the Italian’s former clubs, Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain.

“Talking about whether he should score 30 goals is a false debate. He has great qualities; he is a complete player.”

Much of the build-up to the match at the

Parc des Princes, for which Benzema remains a doubt with a hamstring problem, is likely to focus on the duel for supremacy between two other forwards on display – Ronaldo and PSG’s enigmatic star Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

Having worked with both men, Ancelotti appreciates their considerable qualities.

“Cristiano has scored many goals and has a great ability to focus,” he said.

“I can say the same for Ibrahimovic, I think he was more important to change the mentality of the PSG players.”

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

EXTRATIME

29

ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE

PEDRO: Premier

League is ‘hard’

C

helsea winger Pedro has admitted he is finding it hard to adapt to English football following his summer switch from Barcelona.

The Spaniard moved to Stamford Bridge in a £21.4m deal but has struggled to hold down a regular first-team place and the 28-year-old, who was also linked with a switch to Manchester United, said playing in the Premier League has been a challenge.

He said: “It’s hard. It’s very different to what I’m used to.

“But, little by little, I’m integrating more, adapting with my team-mates

and the team and that’s the most important thing.”

Pedro scored on his Blues debut against West Brom in August, but has found the net only once since then in the League Cup win over Walsall.

The winger could feature in Chelsea’s Champions League clash away to Dynamo Kiev today.

“Everything is different, very different to the football I’m used to. I think there are a lot of differences, very physical football, very strong.

“A lot of players attack and it’s always complicated. All the games are competitive and very balanced.”

Pedro

MAN CITY’S NAVAS PLEASED WITH SEVILLA´S PROGRESS

M

anchester City winger Jesus Navas is delighted

by Sevilla’s progress ahead of Wednesday’s Champions League reunion with his former club.

Navas swapped the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan for the Etihad Stadium ahead of the 2013-14 season, having twice won the Europa League under its former guise of the UEFA Cup. Sevilla followed those triumphs with two more in 2014 and 2015 – last season’s glory lifting them into the Champions League this time around.

“I am very happy, seeing them grow year on year, keep doing well and now enjoying the Champions League – where they’ll get to know themselves better,” Navas told reporters.

“It pleases me a lot. I watch their matches on television.”

Sevilla and City have three points apiece, having beaten Borussia Monchengladbach and lost to Juventus in their Group D outings so far.

Navas believes that their established Europa League pedigree will give Sevilla

Navas

extra hunger to establish themselves in Europe’s premier competition.

“The truth is that it’s not easy to win the Europa League and, as I say, now it’s another step for them and they will want to do something important,” he said.

Navas was reluctant to talk up City as potential Champions League winners, but feels Manuel Pellegrini’s squad boasts the quality to make an impression in the latter stages of the competition.

Toure

TOURE

UPSET BY MEDIA TREATMENT M anchester City midfielder Yaya Toure has revealed his frustration with how he is treated by the media in England, insisting they are slow to praise and quick to criticise.

Toure has been in impressive form this season in helping City to the top of the Premier League as they look to reclaim the title they relinquished to Chelsea.

But the Ivory Coast international has dismissed talk of him ‘turning the corner’

P

etr Cech is set to start Arsenal’s Champions League game against Bayern Munich after David Ospina was ruled out.

Ospina was picked for Arsenal’s opening two group games in the competition, scoring an own goal in a 3-2 home defeat to Olympiakos that left his side pointless heading into Bayern’s visit.

Wenger later clashed with reporters after the selection of his No 2 goalkeeper was repeatedly questioned, but the decision will this week be taken out of his hands.

Ospina was missing at Watford at the weekend after reporting back injured from Colombia’s World Cup qualifiers.

And Wenger, speaking at his press conference on the eve of the Bayern game, said: “Ospina is out injured. He came back from Colombia with a shoulder problem and he’s out.”

Arsenal have been knocked out of Europe by Bayern in two of the past three seasons, on each occasion losing a first leg at home before winning one second leg and

after a perceived difficult campaign last season, insisting there was no great dip in form.

“Everyone thinks that I’m happy,” he said. “I’ve won titles, earned lots of money, but no, I’m not happy.

“In recent weeks, journalists have spoken about a new beginning for me.

But what new beginning?

“I’m coming off a season when Man City finished second in the Premier League, which is the most difficult in the world. The season before, I scored 26

goals, 20 in the Premier League, and it doesn’t get mentioned.

“Last season I had to leave the club to join my national team who were playing the Africa Cup of Nations. I missed almost two months, and I then I was criticised for not scoring as many goals as the season before.

“You understand a little my disgust.

Here, when it’s bad, the British journalists highlight the faults. When it’s good, they say nothing. They have always used their little ways to annoy me to distraction.”

OSPINA

to miss Bayern game

David Ospina (middle) drops the ball into his own net during Arsenal’s home defeat to Olympiakos.

drawing the other in Munich.

Wenger believes that side were the equal of Pep Guardiola’s current

one, who at the weekend became the first to open a Bundesliga season with nine straight wins.

30

Tuesday, October 20, 2015

EXTRATIME

EXTRATIME

Rugby

Football

England World Cup review panel named

F

Platini

PLATINI

SURE OF REPLACING BLATTER

M

ichel Platini believes he is “bullet proof” insisting he has not lost support in his bid to replace Sepp Blatter as the head of FIFA. The UEFA president’s chances of taking over the equivalent post at the world governing body appeared to be in tatters after he was handed a 90day ban from all footballing activity earlier this month.

The Frenchman, along with Blatter and secretary general Jerome Valcke,

were suspended by FIFA’s ethics committee as it continues its investigation into their conduct.

Speaking to French reporters on Monday. Platini confessed there was no written contract between himself and outgoing FIFA president Sepp Blatter for an alleged “disloyal payment” which resulted in the pair’s suspension from the organisation.

Last week, Blatter called a reported two million Swiss franc payment to Platini in 2011 for work the French-

man claims he carried out for FIFA between 1999 and 2002 a “gentleman’s agreement”.

The transaction is the subject of a criminal investigation by the Swiss attorney general and on October 8, the pair were provisionally suspended for 90 days by FIFA’s Ethics Committee.

Platini says he undertook a verbal agreement due to the trust he had for his colleague.

The 60-year-old revealed the de-

TROTT, ARCHIBALD Cycling

win Euro cycling golds G

Trott

reat Britain’s Katie Archibald clinched gold in the individual pursuit and elimination race and Laura Trott won the omnium on the final day of the European Track Cycling Championships.

Both riders ended the event in Switzerland with three gold medals.

Trott, 23, had already won gold in the scratch race and women’s team pursuit - alongside 21-year-old Archibald.

GB topped the medal table with six golds and three bronzes as Ciara Horne came third in the individual pursuit.

Double Olympic champion Trott easily won the six-discipline omnium after the points race, having led overnight.

Earlier, she finished second in the

time trial and first in the flying lap to build a commanding lead.

It was her 10th European track title overall, making her the competition’s most successful rider.

“I am super happy with that - I absolutely love the Euros,” Trott enthused.

Team-mate Archibald, meanwhile, retained her individual pursuit title.

She clocked three minutes 32.832 seconds to win gold from the Netherlands’ Elise Delzenne.

After the event, Archibald said she was “pretty happy, pretty sweaty - all the things you’d expect”.

Horne’s bronze was her second medal of the event after she was part of the team pursuit squad alongside Trott and Archibald.

tails of the work he undertook for the alleged payment.

“I worked on the reform of the global competition calendar, on the ‘Goal Project’ – a device to aid and support to poorer federations within FIFA worldwide,” Platini explained.

“And I accompanied Blatter in many of his travels. In short, I really worked and many people can testify to that.”

Platini described the situation as “shameful” and feels his name has been sullied by association.

ormer World Cup winner Ben Kay and ex-Lions coach Sir Ian McGeechan will help decide the future of England head coach Stuart Lancaster.

England became the first World Cup hosts to be eliminated at the group stage after losing to Wales and Australia.

The Rugby Football Union (RFU) says the World Cup review will include “extensive input from players, coaches and management staff”.

A five-man review panel will be led by RFU chief executive Ian Ritchie.

It also includes former Football Association chief executive and current England Rugby 2015 board member Ian Watmore and Professional Game Board chairman Ian Metcalfe.

No date has been set for the completion of the review. The next RFU board meeting will take place on November 17.

Golf

Donald

DONALD to host 2016 British Masters

L

uke Donald will host the 2016 British Masters at The Grove in his home county of Hertfordshire.

The Hemel Hempstead-born 37-year-old succeeds fellow Brit Ian Poulter, who hosted the 2015 event at Woburn.

This year’s tournament was the first since 2008 and was won by Sheffield’s Matthew Fitzpatrick.

The Grove has only ever held a European Tour event once before in its history - when Tiger Woods won a World Golf Championship tournament in 2006.

“We knew the British Masters would get great crowds,” said Donald.

“The British people love coming out and supporting their events and supporting the British players. It was a fun and successful week.

“Woburn was a tremendous venue and Ian did a brilliant job as the ambassador. It’s my turn next and I will be looking forward to coming back and hopefully having even more success and bringing even more people to this amazing tournament.”

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, October 20, 2015

31 Opinion

Captive Renewable Energy: An Opportunity for Nigerian Businesses Habeeb Salawu

ÏÏÏIn

the 2014/15 Global Competitiveness Report which assesses the competitiveness landscape of 144 economies globally, Nigeria is ranked 134 in the area of infrastructure and a further 136 in electricity infrastructure. Each year, countries are assessed on national competitiveness to determine the level of productivity and in turn prosperity. Access to power is integral to the growth and development of any country.

The availability or lack of energy has a direct impact on the socio-economic wellbeing of its people. With an estimated population of 170 million, Nigeria has proven fossil reserves and abundant renewable energy sources to meet its energy needs. In spite of this wealth of resources, Nigeria’s per capita electricity consumption is 168 kWh, well below the sub-Saharan average of 535 kWh. Irregular and epileptic power supplies have ruined commercial ventures in the country as well as affected regular daily activities and business opportunities. The trend shows that the nation is highly dependent on energy as shortfalls in its supply have adversely affected the country’s GDP and business cycles in the financial sector due to economic fluctuations.

Industry, commerce and pri-

vate households are suffering from a severe shortfall in electricity generation.

In its 2015 edition of Doing Business report, the World Bank ranked Nigeria 187 out of 189 countries with regard to the ease of getting electricity. It takes an average of 260 days for a business in Lagos to obtain permanent electricity connection.

Enter captive generation.

This is what we have always done at all levels of business in the country. The industrial sector has been heavily dependent on diesel generators with Nigeria being among the top five major importers of generators globally. Bobby the barber has a small generating set, XYZ bank has two heavy duty diesel generators which work almost non-stop during business operations.

In the two instances, captive power generation is in operation, which simply means these businesses have found an alternative source of

power which is entirely consumed by them. “Estimates suggest that between eight and 14 GW of decentralised diesel generator capacity is currently installed in the country. About 86% of the companies in Nigeria own or share a generator and about 48% of their total electricity demand is covered by these private generators” [GIZ; Mar 2015]. Captive generation which is technically offgrid is ridiculously expensive when powered with fossil fuels. It basically threatens the survival of the businesses in Nigeria, no matter the size.

While large businesses and corporates have the ability and resources to easily expand, this may be more challenging for MSMEs as there are other obstacles they need to overcome in order to thrive. In addressing the cost of doing business in the country, captive renewable energy generation must be promoted and developed

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to meet the energy needs of companies, particularly with solar photovoltaic (PV) technology.

There is a common resistance about this from various quarters. People often see solar systems as expensive and an unpopular choice for captive power. This is however changing. For many commercial off-grid applications, solar PV is already competitive with small gasoline and diesel generators based on levelised cost of energy (LCOE). In its report on Low Carbon Development Opportunities for Nigeria (2013), the World Bank recommends that off-grid solutions be developed using renewable energy sources, commenting that “PV and hybrid systems are already economically competitive for many off-grid applications. Gasoline and diesel generators produce power at LCOE between US$ 0.23 and $0.42/kWh. The cost of electricity from PV

and hybrid PV-wind diesel systems are in the range of $0.30/kWh and $0.22/kWh, respectively. As the costs of renewables continue down the learning curve, and fossil fuel prices in Nigeria revert to global market prices (“export parity”), the economic advantages of renewables will become ever greater.”

Renewable energy has been tested and proven to be a reliable source of alternative energy worldwide.

We all recall between April and May this year when the shortage of petroleum products nearly shut down this nation. Businesses suffered, banks were shutting down and so were the hospitals too, however with renewable energy this would not have been the case.

Similar challenges of power have affected businesses in India. As a matter of fact, since 2010 there has been an estimated 7% decrease in turnovers from Indian companies because of power shortages. Captive solar systems have come to their rescue however. According to the Energy Alternative India, in July 2013, after solar PV power production was successfully deployed on some level, the LCOE production from small scale captive solar PV power production cost was about Rs8/kWh (N24) including batteries, and after subsidies and incentives had been factored in the calculations. This was against the regular cost of grid supply, which was Rs4-7/kWh (N12.04 – N21.07) and diesel, which was pegged at Rs1318/kWh (N39.13 – N54.18).

This doesn’t include O & M and the environmental costs associated with continuous emission of greenhouse gas-

es into the atmosphere.

Captive generation comes with some distinct advantages for industrial consumers who can generate the power required for their operations and use electrical power optimally since theoretically there are no technical or commercial losses to be dealt with. There should be strong focus supported by policies to stimulate captive renewable energy generation and lower the use of diesel and other fossil fuels in the commercial sector for improved productivity and socio-economic prosperity.

On the prospects of large scale renewable energy installations in Nigeria, I visited the Feldheim Village, a 100% renewable energy community as part of a trade mission in July, 2015. This village has a solar farm with a total of 9844 photovoltaic modules which produces a total power capacity of 25.2 MWp and annual output of 2748 MWh, enough to cover the annual power requirements of around 600 fourperson households; as well as a biogas plant that has an installed electric power capacity of 526 kW with annual biomass input consisting of 8,600m3 of manure, 8,700 tonnes of maize and 190 tonnes of cereal wholegrain all produced and supplied by the local agricultural cooperative within the village.

With about 1% of its land mass covered with highly efficient PV modules, Nigeria has a potential for electricity production from solar PV in the range of 207,000 GWh per year.

Habeeb Salawu is a Consultant on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency.

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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: 08086296714

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2015

VOL. 1. NO. 212

Price: N150

ANDREW EKEJIUBA WITH AGENCY REPORT

F

IFA’s Executive Committee are holding an emergency meeting in Zurich today after outgoing president Sepp Blatter and UEFA chief Michel Platini were handed 90-day suspensions by the world governing body amid corruption allegations.

Both men deny any wrongdoing, but Extra Time gathered that the emergency meeting may lead to the postponement of the presidential election currently scheduled to take place on February 26, 2016.

Meanwhile, Ramon Vega is considering standing as a candidate in February’s FIFA presidential election.

According to reports, Vega has said he will decide at the end of the week if he intends to stand against UEFA president Michel Platini.

“I come without baggage and I have substantial experience from both football and in finance,” Vega said on Monday.

The 44-year-old played for Grasshoppers in his native Switzerland, then Cagliari, Tottenham, Watford and Celtic before ending his playing career with French side Creteil in 2003, having also won 23 international caps.

Since hanging up his boots, Vega has worked in the financial sector.

TOURE UPSET BY MEDIA P.29 TREATMENT

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S T E E M FIFA A G E V S A , TODAY Y C N E D I S E R P S E Y E X2

CHILE 2015: EAGLETS SEEK SECOND ROUND TICKET AGAINST HOST

TROTT, ARCHIBALD WIN EURO CYCLING P.30 GOLDS

Life&

TIMES Tuesday, October 20, 2015

OMOLOLA

SHONOWO On motherhood and fame

L2

P

Interview L2

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, October 20, 2015

My plan is a bigger Fashion fusion show…

–Lolar Shon Olajide Dolapo &Babalola Oluwaseun As an undergraduate, Omolola Shonowo known as Lolar Shon participated in many beauty pageants and won several of them amongst which is Miss Spotless LASU tops. She is a wife, a mother, a happy lady who loves life, an entrepreneur, a publisher and a makeup artiste; she’s indeed a ‘multisocket’ plug.

She launched the first ever Fashion show in Nigeria some years back; Fashion Fusion, and at the maiden edition all the runway models on parade were people living with HIV/AIDS; they were celebrated without stigmatization. She however didn’t stop at that. Fashion Fusion V was also a huge success with a mass turnout of the crème de la crème of Nigeria’s entertainment industry.

She is currently the publisher of Lolar Shon Fashion Catalogue, CEO Lolar Shon Fashion Store, and Celebrity fashion blogger.

Life&

T E A M

Being a wife, a mother and a showbiz personality, how do you manage all of these demanding roles?

It not been easy but I try my best to get a balance, I my duties as a wife, mother and also perform well in showbiz.

How did you journey into showbiz?

I started in 2000, after I won the Miss Lekki Beach pageant; I presented the DTD Jam Show. After which I dabbled into dancing and later makeup. In 2006 I had the first ever make over show in Nigeria where I use people living with HIV/AIDS as models. I started my fashion catalogue in 2010 and we are in its 5th edition and 10th edition of the Fashion Fusion.

What were your challenges as a starter?

Starting was quite tedious because of my age and the industry was fast growing, but to God be the glory here I am today going and still counting.

As a makeup artiste, can you list some of the people you have beautified?

I have done make up for the likes of Denrele Edun, Charly Boy, Lady Diane, Sunny Nneji, Face, Felix Duke, 2Shot, Michael Power, Keith Richards to mention just a few. Not to even forget late Goldie.

As an undergraduate at LASU you won some modeling contests, yet you don’t see yourself as a model, so how would you describe Lolar Shon?

Firstly, I would love to say that Lola Shon is coin-name from my name and surname; Omolola Shonowo. I won Miss Spotless LASU in 2000 and the1st runner up Miss Theatre, but that was then. I am just a happy lady who loves life. I am just a mother, wife, an entrepre-

Editor Nkarenyi Ukonu n.ukonu@dailytimes.com.ng 08029030427

neur, I own a fashion store, publishes Fashion Catalogue and I am also into makeup.

You started Fashion Fusion some years back, what was its driving force, and what should we expect next?

Fashion Fusion started in 2006 with the help of Azeezat who motivated and encouraged me. It’s a concert and we are here for the 10th edition, which will guarantee is going to be lots of music, comedies and creative designs on display with the rebirth of myself named Fashion Catalogue Lola Shon.

What was growing like for you, relating it with how it has influenced what you do?

Growing up was fun, I am from a Christian home. I have amazing brothers and sisters.

And I have a strong feeling that my interest in Fashion and Showbiz is as a result of the warmth and love I enjoyed growing up with my wonderful folks.

As a fashionista, what inspires your designs?

My environment, people around me and objects, all of these inspires my frame of mind and invariably my designs.

What prompt your publishing of a fashion catalogue?

I decided to start the fashion catalogue to document my designs and works. We use top Nigerian models to showcase our various collections every season.

How has the experience being?

It’s been quite interesting though cumbersome and tasking. But the acceptability has kept me going. We sell the catalogue world over. From top shops in Lagos, Accra, London to Dubai.

What are your future plans for expansion as a brand?

I am looking forwards to a bigger fashion store and also fashion programme.

Music Correspondent Akintayo Opeoluwani

Movie Correspondent Mutiat Alli

Society Correspondent Isaac Oguntoye

Photography Quadri Olowolagba

Graphics Kingsley Onyemali

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, October 20, 2015

L3 Relationship

When relationships go messy!!!

Olajide Dolapo If you or someone you care about is in an abusive relationship, there are ways to break away and stop the cycle of domestic violence. I personally know people who have experienced physical and emotional abuse, and lived through the challenges associated with rebuilding their lives I am here to say that it is not only possible to survive, but it is possible to thrive with the right support and commitment. Some people don’t even know they are in a domestic relationship.

Steps to know that you in a violenceprone relationship It’s your entire fault. Everything that goes wrong, in or out of the relationship, is because of you. Abusers all use a variant of the same old line: “I wouldn’t have to do this if you didn’t provoke me into it.”

It’s amazing how many abuse victims believe this, making excuses for the abuser, such as “he really loves me” or “he just wants to help me improve myself.”

Threatening suicide. This is an old trick abusers use to keep you in line. Abusers value themselves way too highly to let you go that easily. They are very good at faking suicide by nicking the veins just enough or taking just enough pills to scare you into obedience.

Inflicting pain. Hitting, pushing, pinching or squeezing you, usually leaving marks than can be covered with your clothes, is just the beginning. This is to let you know who’s boss. It’s one of the biggest warning signs that you should get out .If you put up with it, your abuser will become confident that you are not going to report bigger things. The more the abuser gets away with, the

more he will escalate the violence.

Nobody says it’s easy to walk away from a relationship; domestic relationships can break you emotionally and even physically, why not just walk away before it gets too messy and uncontrollable. Emotional abuse is often hard to detect and accept; it helps to have an objective perspective on the abusive relationship.

Sometimes you’ve got to let everything go – purge yourself. If you are unhappy with anything . . . whatever is bringing you down, get rid of it. Because you’ll find that when you’re free, your true creativity, you’re true self comes out.”

Here are five important steps you can follow to walk away when the road gets too rough and messy:

Rebuilding yourself confidence: Leaving an abusive relationship may appear to be hard especially if your abuser succeeded in convincing you that no one else would want you. He damaged your self-confidence through continues criticism just to keep you tapped and so the first thing you should do is to rebuild your selfconfidence. It’s the first step towards leaving an abusive relationship.

You should focus on restoring your social life.

Most abusers isolate their victims and prevent them from seeing their friends. This may happen because of jealousy towards them or even sadism!! Sometimes the abuser enjoys watching you suffer while having no one else to return to. Restoring your relationships would allow you to get rid of your suppressed emotions and so you will be able to take better decisions and feel much better.

Walk away

Be financially independent, the abuser will sometimes control the finances in order to prevent you from escaping. Being financially independent by having a job is the most powerful thing you can do to leave an abusive relationship. Even if you decided not to leave, having a job could be the thing you use to threaten your abuser. “I am financially independent, if you continued doing so, I will leave you”. Don’t think that he is emotionless, if he wasn’t terrified of the idea of you leaving him he wouldn’t have prevented you from seeing your friends.

Confront the abuser, of course this should happen after you decide to leave, tell him that he is weak, tell him that he failed to control his life and that’s why he is trying to control you. Tell him that he has no selfconfidence and that he is in need of treatment. He will laugh when you tell him so and act as if it didn’t affect him, but in reality, you reminded him of his deep wound.

Hopefully, this will be enough to make him reconsider the way he treats you, but still, you should leave him.

Find ways to reconnect with the powerful person you truly are, i.e. someone that would never tolerate being treated in such a manner. Engage and connect with other people that support and love you for exactly who you are. At the end of the day, only you can decide if his controlling behavior is something you are willing to live with or not. Relationships should be something that supports your growth, not something that diminishes it. Love celebrates who you are; it does not put you down. You deserve to have a powerful and loving relationship. So start with yourself. Love yourself enough to take the first step in reclaiming you.

For feedback/Contributions email: Allimutiat@yahoo.com or 07035429758 (SMS ONLY)

Fashion & Style L4 Mutiat Alli & Afolabi Omobolaji Miss Nigeria is an annual pageant show that showcases special and positive attributes of Nigerian young women. This show is to promote and build up women integrity to combine beauty with intellect. Daily Times newspaper founded the Miss Nigeria pageant in 1957. Winners have portrayed effective use of moral, beauty and intellect before they were selected as winners of Miss Nigeria pageant.

Here are some of the few queens of the Miss Nigeria pageant in no particular order.

Grace Atinuke Oyelude 83 years old Grace Atinuke Oyelude was the first woman to be crowned Miss Nigeria. She was born on November 16, 1931 in Kano.

She was a nurse and a hospital administrator. She was also given a different chieftaincy title, Iyaolu of Isaluland and Iyalode of Okunland and was described as a woman who combined beauty and intellect to help others women. She would continue to be remembered.

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Miss Nigeria in r

Nwando Okwuosa

Ene Lawani

Helen Anyamaeluna Helen was the second woman to be Nigeria’s queen collecting the crown from her predecessor.

The queen was a student as at 1958 and became the first queen to wear the crown without been an indigene of Nigeria.

She was eligible as Southern Cameroon was under Nigerian juirisdiction in 1958.

Nene

Etule

Nene was the 3rd woman to wear the Miss Nigeria’s crown but she got married to the former Director of United Nations Information Services in Nigeria, Pen Malafa.

Bibiana Ohio

Wunmi Adebowale

Damilola Agbajor

Feyijimi Sodipo

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, October 20, 2015

retrospect

L5

Title Holder 1957 Grace Oyelude 1958 Helen Anyamaeluna 1959 Nene Etule 1960 Rosemary Anieze also “ 1961 Clara Emefiena 1962 Yemi Idowu 1963 Alice Aleebe 1964 Edna Park 1965 Anna Eboweime 1966 NOT HELD 1967 Rosaline Balogun 1968 Foluke Ogundipe 1970 Stella Owivri 1972 Victoria Bamidele 1977 Toyin Monney 1978 Irene Omagbemi 1979 Helen Prest 1980 Syster Jack 1981 Tokunbo Onanuga dethroned 1982 Rita Martins 1984 Cynthia Oronsaye 1985 Rosemary Okeke 1986 Rita Anuku 1987 Stella Okoye

Ekpo Amina

1988 Wunmi Adebowale 1989 NOT HELD

2001 Miss Nigeria Amina Ekpo is a native of Akwa Ibom State who replaced Valerie Peterside. Amina Ekpo is the 44th winner of Miss Nigeria. She was crowned in 2001 and has since then used the platform to help society. After over a decade of royalty, the Kaduna State born mother of one is still passionate to undertake new project.

1990 Binta Sukai 1991 Bibiana Ohio 1992 NOT HELD 1993 Janet Fateye 1994 Clara Ojo

Vien Tetsola

1998 Regina Nwabunar 1999 NOT HELD 2000 Vien Tetsola also known as the “Millennium Queen” 2001 (a) Valerie Peterside dethroned 2001 (b) Amina Ekpo replaced Peterside 2002 Sylvia Edem 2003 Nwando Okwuosa 2004 Ene Lawani 2010 Damilola Agbajor 2011 Feyijimi Sodipo 2012 NOT HELD 2013 Akudo Anyaoha

More exciting pictures from the 2015 auditioning from all regions…..WATCH THIS SPACE

Sylvia Edem Slyvia Edem became Miss Nigeria in the year 2002 and was the first Edo woman to wear the Miss Nigerian crown. She is the 46th woman to be crowned as Miss Nigeria. She is a graduate of International Relations from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife., Osun State.

Rosemary Okeke

L6

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Teens World

an American

Nigerian With Leslie Olabisi Vaughn

Creating mutual understanding with your teens As your kids go into their teen years, it’s obvious that things are going to change. To get along and help your 13-19 year old develop in a positive direction, you’ll need to change your expectations and develop empathy, all the while establishing boundaries. You don’t need to handle your teens harshly, treat them in a way that will make them understand the correction is for their own good, and also because you love them. Here are the steps you need to attain while handling your teenager.

Change your expectations: It’s tempting to treat our teenagers as though they are capable of reasoning, making well thought out decisions, and controlling their impulses. But the truth is, they’re not. Their brains are in a critical stage of development and they need you to help them through this part of their lives. Instead of expecting them to act and think like an adult, expect them to be somewhat out-ofcontrol and help them with it. When he/she gets out of hand, always draw them back in line (lovely).

No teenager appreciates it when he/she is being scolded.

Stop treating them with suspicion: Teenagers deal with fear as a constant companion.

Fear of the other kids, fear of fitting in, fear of their teachers, fear of being mocked or ridiculed... they don’t need their parents adding to it. When they come home, their home

should be their sanctuary away from these fears, a place where they feel safe and protected, where they find love and acceptance.

When your child walks into a room, your countenance should light up with happiness to see them.

Not with a jaded eye and questions of where they’ve been and what they’ve been up to. Unconditional love and acceptance is the greatest gift you can give them, one that will not only boost their confidence to face another day, but will also steer your relationship with them in a positive direction. Once you trust your teen, you need not worry about their where about.

Develop empathy: Remember what it was like when you were a teenager, multiply that by 10, and cut your teen some slack.

At this crucial time in their lives, they’re looking for someone to understand what they’re going through.

We all need understanding, but your teenager needs it a lot more than you can possibly imagine, and it needs to come from you.

When they come home, stop what you’re doing (no matter how important you think it is) and give them your undivided attention.

Look them in the eye.

Discipline yourself to stay focused on them and what they’re saying, not on what you’re going to say, and guard your response to them. It’s often been said that people need others just to listen. They generally don’t need you to fix their problems for them (they’ll figure that out

for themselves), but rather they need someone who’ll listen and empathize with them. This is what your teen needs from you. And if you don’t give this to them, believe me, they’ll find someone who will.

Open your home to their friends Your teens are looking for a place to hang out.

Be a good sport about it.

Have some healthy snacks around for them, let them play their music and make yourself available. You’ll be surprised how many of their friends might need a listening ear. If this makes you really uncomfortable, it’s your house and you have the right to enforce your rules. However, be aware that this won’t help the situation in any way.

It will make them feel that you do not trust or respect them. Open communication is always a better approach.

Show them you love them so much. A warm hug, a kiss on the cheek, an ‘I love you’. These small actions are very, very important, although your son/daughter now prefers hanging around with friends over being in mother’s arms. But out there, they will face things that can make them astonished, or scared, and they run to you. Let them know, you are always there, not only to explain, but also to help and love them. Always use yourself as an example whenever you are advising them. Always talk to them in such a way that will always make them feel free whenever something bothers them.

Celebrating Nigeria’s Independence in Washington This year’s Nigerian Independence Day brought much cause for celebration. An election concluded peacefully, that transferred power without strife, violence, court battles and recounts.

Allow me to reintroduce the man at the centre of it all – Professor Attahiru Jega, former INEC Chairman who on Tuesday received the Charles T. Manatt Democracy Award from the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) in Washington DC, USA. Many came to celebrate this historic Democratic benchmark in Nigeria’s political legacy, including US Congresswoman, Sheila Jackson Lee, co-founder of the Congressional Nigerian Caucus.

After viewing an inspirational video (produced by Voices of America – Africa Division) in which we saw Prof. Jega announce to the Nigerian public that there would be no news of the election results until the designated time, the Professor mounted the podium with a serene, regal-like presence. He acknowledged that the journey to ensure the unbiased, democratic elections held in Nigeria, despite the initial six-week postponement, was not without its difficulties. However, as he thanked the entire INEC team, through hard work and perseverance, the country accomplished a great feat.

All in all, it was a pride-filled night, with the future-dial set squarely on ‘Prosperity’, marked for the path of holding free and open elections, continuously removing lay-

ers of oppression and fear in the Nigerian political arena.

IFES followed the awards ceremony with a panel on ‘Assessing Nigeria’s Historical 2015 Elections’. Mr. Negussie Menegesha, Africa Division Director for Voice of America, opened the discussion by stating his pleasure in covering the 2015 elections. With so many negative stories constantly reported from all over Africa, here emerged a wonderful story of successful Democratic process in Nigeria. “The political mood in Nigeria is extremely upbeat following the peaceful conduct of the general elections held in March 2015,” says Rola Abdul-Latif, Senior Research Evaluation and Learning Manager for IFES, which has been present in Nigeria since 1998, working to strengthen the capacity of Nigerian election management bodies.

Following the 2015 elections, IFES conducted postelection surveys to measure the exposure of voter education campaign, examine perceptions, and measure awareness and trust of INEC. From a total number of 2616 respondents, 2003 said they voted. Of those, 1308 were female, 73% of those polled believed the quality of the elections improved from 2011, with 61% believing the elections were free and fair. INEC implemented Permanent Voter Cards (PVC) which were required to vote this year. Drawing comparison between Nigeria’s and other African elections, Ms. Abdul-Latif thought worth

mentioning was the number of voters that unabashedly admitted to taking money for their votes, whereas other nations are less inclined to be so forthcoming. Whereas before, “the general consensus was that INEC was just an institution here to deliver elections to the highest bidder,” says Jega. The 2015 elections only allowed eight months preparation for January voting to be ready, as stipulated by the constitution. But after looking at the register of voters, it became clear that having an accurate representation of the voting public was of the utmost importance, and a decision had to be made.

In the shortest time in history, the constitution was amended. Jega continued to say that a key point must be made - eight months is too short for strategy planning, which is the most important for such a complex election - so they focused on the basics: guidelines, transparency, mobilizing voters, and most importantly, a more credible register of voters.

During the extra time they created a strategic plan, and restructured the organization to make it trim, effective and efficient; they managed to clean a 73.5 million voter’s register, with four million repeats, down to 69 million people.

After much hard work and many hurdles, Nigeria’s 2015 elections were successfully concluded, and the Nigerians in Washington, DC. acknowledge and appreciate the continued progress of our mother country.

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, October 20, 2015

L7

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, October 20, 2015

L8 Television Showing on

Showing on

153 Africa Magic Urban

139 M-Net Movie Zone

02:30

01:25

Tue, 20 Oct | 16

Tue, 20 Oct | 16VSNL

AMOF. A Casanova receives a rather interesting birthday surprise when his three girlfriends show up at his house at the same time - uninvited. Felix Omokhodion, Chukwudi Oji. (2014) Ehizojie Ojesebholo.

In this quirky and fun romance Academy Award nominee Virginia Madsen stars as a depressed mom whose family is healed by her son’s new love interest. Virginia Madsen, Graham Rogers.

(2013) Sarah Siegel Magness.

101 M-Net West

00:35 Hellion 02:20 Grassroots 04:00 Britain’s Got Talent 05:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 06:00 The Big Bang Theory 06:30 Proof 07:30 Idols SA 09:30 Resurrection 10:30 The McCarthys 11:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 12:00 Britain’s Got Talent 13:00 State Of Affairs 14:00 Revenge 15:00 Madam Secretary 16:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 17:00 Playing House 17:30 America’s Got Talent 18:30 Chicago PD 19:30 Mr. Robot 20:30 Battle Creek 21:30 State Of Affairs 22:30 Secrets & Lies

120 BBC Entertainment

118 Telemundo 00:30 Elena’s Ghost 01:20 Cruel Love 02:10 For Love And Justice 03:00 Part Of Me 03:50 Queen Of Hearts 05:20 Elena’s Ghost 06:10 Husband For Hire 07:00 Part Of Me 07:50 Queen Of Hearts 08:40 For Love And Justice 09:30 Cruel Love 10:20 Husband For Hire 11:10 Part Of Me 12:00 Queen Of Hearts 12:50 For Love And Justice 13:40 Cruel Love 14:30 Husband For Hire 15:20 Part Of Me 16:10 Queen Of Hearts 17:00 For Love And Justice 17:50 Cruel Love 18:40 Husband For Hire 19:30 Part Of Me 20:20 Queen Of Hearts 21:10 For Love And Justice 22:00 Cruel Love 22:50 Husband For Hire

00:45 The Weakest Link

12:25 Top Gear

01:31 Mad Dogs

13:20 Come Dine With Me

02:20 Come Dine With Me

14:15 Live At The Apollo

03:05 EastEnders

15:05 The Weakest Link

03:35 QI

16:00 EastEnders

04:05 Top Gear

16:30 Deal Or No Deal

05:00 Miranda

17:10 Pointless

05:30 QI 06:00 My Family: Christmas 2008

18:00 Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

06:35 EastEnders

19:00 QI

07:05 Antiques Roadshow

19:35 QI

08:00 The Weakest Link

20:05 Would I Lie To You?

08:45 Pointless

20:40 Mr Sloane

09:35 Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

21:15 Miranda Special Xmas 2014

10:20 Deal Or No Deal

22:25 Mrs Brown’s Boys

11:00 My Family 11:30 Hell’s Kitchen USA

154 Africa Magic Family

00:00 Tinsel 00:30 Star Gist 01:00 At Home With Michelle Attoh 02:00 Good Morning Africa 03:00 Good Morning Africa

04:00 Music Block 05:00 At Home With Michelle Attoh 05:50 Behind The Scenes: Nemesis 06:00 Good Morning Africa 07:00 Star Gist 07:25 Separate Lives 08:45 Coco Bill 09:00 Katemba Mu Kkooti 09:30 Kumwesu 10:00 Good Morning Africa 11:00 At Home With Michelle Attoh 12:00 Music Block 13:00 Tinsel 13:30 Star Gist

14:00 Nowhere To Be Found 14:30 Rolling With Faith History 15:00 Lies That Bind 15:30 Lies That Bind 16:00 At Home With Michelle Attoh 17:00 Kumwesu 17:30 Mashariki Mix 18:00 Katemba Mu Kkooti 18:30 Kakibe Ki 19:00 Tinsel 19:30 Star Gist 20:00 Karma 20:30 The 5 Brides 21:00 Jara 21:30 Break In

21:50 Mrs Brown’s Boys

155 Africa Magic World 00:30 Jara 01:00 Good Morning Africa 02:00 Music Block 03:00 Deal Or No Deal SA 04:00 Jacob’s Cross 05:00 Good Morning Africa 06:00 City Of Kings 09:00 Good Morning Africa 10:00 So Wrong So Wright 10:30 Prem 11:00 Jacob’s Cross 12:00 Jacob’s Cross 13:00 Music Block 14:00 Music Block 15:00 Star Gist 15:30 Star Gist 16:00 Star Gist 16:30 Star Gist 17:00 Jacob’s Cross 18:00 Jacob’s Cross 19:00 So Wrong So Wright 19:30 My Good Will 21:25 Music Block 22:25 Music Block

128 SONY MAX

00:20 Disorderly Conduct: Video On Patrol 01:10 1000 Ways To Die 01:35 1000 Ways To Die 02:00 Where The Day Takes You 03:45 Disorderly Conduct: Video On Patrol 04:35 What Went Down 05:00 World’s Wildest Police Videos 05:50 World’s Wildest Police Videos 06:40 Video Zonkers 07:05 Whaddyado 07:30 Hole In The Wall 08:00 Sports Gone Wild 08:30 Disorderly Conduct: Video On Patrol 09:30 What Went Down 10:00 World’s Wildest Police Videos 11:00 World’s Wildest Police Videos 12:00 Whaddyado 12:30 Hole In The Wall 13:00 Sports Gone Wild 13:30 Disorderly Conduct: Video On Patrol 14:30 What Went Down 15:00 Max Knight: Ultra Spy 16:30 Video Zonkers 17:00 Hole In The Wall 17:30 Sports Gone Wild 18:00 Whaddyado 18:30 Extreme Reality Clips 19:00 Disorderly Conduct: Video On Patrol 20:00 Bad Ink 20:30 Guy Code 21:00 Online Dating Rituals...

22:00 Poorman’s Bikini Beach 22:30 World’s Wildest Police Videos

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, October 20, 2015

Tech Times Æ s

TT 1

Inye Kemabonta, Editor, Tech Times inye@technologylaw.com.ng

ICT offers opportunity for job, wealth creation — NITDA DG Stories by Tony Nwakaegho Director General of the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), Mr. Peter Jack has said information communications technology [ICT] offers Africa tremendous opportunity for job and wealth creation, and especially for Nigeria that is blessed with over 1.2 billion people with a huge opportunity for growth and improvement.

Jack, who made this declaration at the just concluded DEMO Africa, hosted by Nigeria and sponsored by NITDA, noted that African youths are beginning to rise up to explore the power of ICT in order to create “a new lifestyle for themselves”.

DEMO Africa is one of the flagship initiatives of LIONS@ FRICA and aims to connect African startups to the global ecosystem. DEMO Africa is the place where the most innovative companies from African countries get a platform to launch

their products and announce to Africa and the world what they have developed. Nigeria has hosted Demo Africa twice, 2014 and 2015.

Jack said Nigeria was delighted to host its friends and partners within and outside the continent for the important technology event. “This is such an event where African ICT startups and entrepreneurs have the opportunity to show to Africa and the rest of the world their innovative products that are addressing specific challenges within our continent, and perhaps with potential for export to other parts of the world with similar challenges.”

“Africa has a huge population of over 1 billion people. Despite this contrast, Africa possesses a huge market potential for trade and investment and a huge opportunity for growth and improvement. Building the value chain that will deliver these end results has become or should become the collective responsibili-

ties of many players across the world”, he explained.

According to him, through ICT, great companies such as Microsoft, Google, Facebook, Twitter and Amazon which are products of DEMO Africa have been birthed.

In Nigeria, he added, the country has witnessed the emergence of virile ICT companies such as Computer Warehouse, Interswitch, Systemspecs, Precise Financial Systems, Konga and Jumia. Pagatech, Wakanow, Jobberman, DealDey, AlliedSoft, Cinfores and iSec are some of the graduate startups from the iDEA Hub that attracted US$10m.

“Out of obscurity, from garages, campus rooms, coffee shops, lecture rooms, technology giants have doggedly and painstakingly trodden the lonely and not-too-friendly paths of innovation and entrepreneurship to become what they are today.

As the saying goes, the reward of hardworking is success,” he concluded.

Jack

NITDA plans to deploy technologies to ensure credible polls National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) has said that it will deploy technologies for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to ensure credible polls in the future.

Mr Peter Jack, director- general of NITDA, said that the aim of the project was to leverage on other country’s experience.

Jack who spoke at a press conference in Abuja, represented by a director in the agency, Dr Vincent Olatunji, said the process of deployment of these technologies would precede the eNigeria Conference scheduled for November this year.

The NITDA DG, noted that eNigeria project would re-engineer the national electoral process through the adoption of high-tech electronic voting system.

On the eNigeria project, he said, “the 2015 edition is targeted towards improving our electoral process through ICT development. The aim is to use this platform to leverage on the

Olatunji

experiences of other nations that have effectively deployed ICT to enhance credible and successful electoral processes in their countries and develop appropriate mechanism that would enhance our own electoral process in Nigeria.”

He also pointed out that the eNigeria project would give room for indigenous ICT innovative application and services for development and management of elec-

toral process.

Jack explained further that “the eNigeria annual conference focuses on trends and development in the global ICT industry and how we can leverage on them for sustainable national development in Nigeria.

“It is also a platform for agenda setting for planning policy initiatives and decisions targeted towards the development of the Nigerian ICT sector.”

iDEA Nigeria and Africa Internet Group (AIG) are partnering to co-host ecosystem fire side chat in Lagos, Nigeria on 23rd of October.

The Managing Directors of six Africa Internet Group companies will make themselves available for startup fireside chat on the 23rd of October at 3pm.

According to Olufunbi Falayi, Centre Manager of iDEA, “The purpose of this event is to connect the AIG leadership team with Startup founders in the Nigerian tech eco-system for the purpose of sharing knowledge, business showcase, product feedback, co-creation and more”.

The Managing Directors of Carmudi Nigeria, Jovago, Lamudi, Easy Taxi, Hellofood and Kaymu will be present at the event.

The organisers, IDEA and AIG believe that more engagements like this are one of the key avenues for growing the technology ecosystem.

According to AIG MDs, inter-

iDEA Hub, AIG to co-host ecosystem fireside chat in Lagos acting with the other startups and entrepreneurs is a great opportunity to learn more about the ecosystem, identify potential collaborations, discussing shared challenges and smart approaches and shall be hosted at Idea Hub at 296 Herbert Macaulay, Yaba, Lagos. iDEA Nigeria is an incubator/accelerator established to leverage information technologies to bring disruptive change by supporting a new generation of Nigerian digital entrepreneurs to develop solutions that make businesses and commerce more efficient.

Africa Internet Group (“AIG”) is an ongoing success story and is already the leading Internet Group in Africa.

Founded in 2012, it is currently operating in 26 countries.

Tech Times TT 2

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, October 20, 2015

FG pledges to nurture ICT innovators via policies, intervention programme Stories by Tony Nwakaeho Dr. Tunji Olaopa, permanent secretary, Federal Ministry of Communication Technology said the Federal Government has pledged to continue to nurture information communication technology [ICT] innovators in the country through the provision of friendly policies, enabling environment and legislative frameworks that support their growth.

Dr. Olaopa, made this position known in Lagos at the just concluded DEMO Africa 2015, stressing that ICT is an enabler for all sectors and spheres of life.

“As we realize day by day, we are compelled to embrace, explore and leverage on its roles to change things positively. From government perspective, we cannot afford to ignore the geese that lay the golden eggs – that is, the ICT innovators, the software and hardware developers, the ICT en-

trepreneurs.

“While they are incomplete without the entire ecosystem of investors, academia, and mentors and so on, we must continue to nurture them through enabling environment, platforms such as DEMO Africa, right policies and legislative framework that support their growth”, he said.

He added that the federal government is aware that ICT is one of the sectors that have steadily contributed to the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP) from 5.46% in 2011, to 112.25% in the second quarter of 2015 with 6.26% growth in real terms.

“This has not happened magically without strategic inputs from all stakeholders. While we have strengthened our industry with policies, interventions, programmes the industry is also exploring the business opportunities of our fast growing and large consuming class (over 40 million people according to

US McKinsey and Company) – by creating consumer facing ICT businesses across the country.

“While our ICT entrepreneurs are beginning to tap into this, there is still a huge opportunity for all players to democratize ICT entrepreneurship in order to leap frog into reaping in huge benefits of economic diversification and growth,” he said.

He maintained that DEMO Africa has begun to yield some positive results for African nations who have participated since its inception.

Since participating in DEMO Africa as far back as 2012, he pointed out; Nigeria has witnessed the emergence of at least 26 ICT startups with four in 2013, 14 in 2014 and eight in 2015.

“They have created jobs, raising funds to grow their businesses, expanding the frontier of entrepreneurship,” he added.

To deepen the impact that

Olokpa, Permanent Secretary Min. of Communication Technology.

platforms DEMO Africa has created in our nation, he enjoined African governments to support innovation and entrepreneurship through various policies, initiatives and programmes that will not only support the ICT entrepreneurs, but also grow the innovation ecosystem.

“It is high time we stepped up our involvement in supporting

them through various catalytic interventions, taking cue from other nations like the US, Britain, Israel, India, China,” he emphasized.

The focus of the present administration, he opined, is strongly hinged on diversifying the economy, creating jobs and wealth that will improve the socio economic lot of the people.

CWG has IT infrastructure to operate NgREN– Agada

Okere

Computer Warehouse Group (CWG) said it has the necessary IT infrastructure that will power the Nigerian Research and Education Network (NgREN) that will enable it to provide world-class research tools such as virtual laboratories and simulators to tertiary institutions in Nigeria.

The pan-African IT company stated this ” at the 2015 education conference organised by the Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC), the American University of Nigeria (AUN) and the Digital Promise Foundation, in Abuja.

CWG’s chief technology officer, Mr. James Agada, while speaking on the topic “Using PPP to Advance ICT in Tertiary Education” said CWG can operate the NgREN and provide a high-performance computing facility that will provide worldclass tools such as virtual laboratories, simulators and academic and research tools to users at an affordable cost.

He said the service can be rendered at a fixed subscription fee per student per semester or on a pay per use basis for both students and the faculty of schools.

“We are already working on this model and look forward to the support of the NUC and the universities to make it a success,” he said.

He added that the ability of tertiary institutions to generate useful knowledge depends on access to other repositories, access to tools, laboratories and an ability to work in an enabling ecosystem which technology has made accessible and affordable.

“Tools like Google, Cousera and Authorea has made it possible to democratise access to an almost infinite pool of knowledge, tools, laboratories and collaborators without hindrances of time and distance,” he stressed He, however believed that the cost of acquisition, operating, maintaining and upgrading ICT will make it difficult for Nigerian universities acting individually to achieve as much as they do not have the budget for anything beyond a modest investment in ICT. He said, this is because most universities are by nature and law, not profit making organisations, so it is difficult for them to make these investments and hope to recoup.

Agada also noted that this challenge is compounded by the fact that Government funding of the universities is going to be continually hampered by the fast dwindling revenue. He advised that the Public Private Partnership (PPP) option remains the only viable option for funding the higher utilization of ICT for research and learning in tertiary institutions.

He explained that PPP can be made attractive for private organisations if they are allowed to build out and maintain the infrastructure and services while the university community utilises the ICT infrastructure for research and learning within an established social and legal contexts.

The Nigerian Research and Education Network (NgREN), was built by a consortium of indigenous technology companies led by the Computer Warehouse Group (CWG Plc). The project was implemented under the Science and Technology Education Post-Basic (STEP-B) initiative. It covers 27 Premier Federal Universities in Nigeria and their over one million students and staff.

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NiRA seeks support as .ng domain names surpasses 27,000 Stories by Tony Nwakaegho Nigerian Internet Registration Association (NiRA) has released its latest statistics in which it recorded 27,454 domain names, inclusive of new registrations and renewals at both second and third levels, from January to September 2015, compared to the renewals in other months of the year except in March 2015.

In the report titled, “Domain Name Report – January to September 2015”, NiRA said that the significant increase was with domain name renewals at the third level, while seeking stakeholders support to deepen .ng domain name adoption.

Mr. Sunday Folayan, president of NiRA, stated that without the support and efforts of all stakeholders, it will be an uphill task to make .ng popular within and outside the country.

The Association, however, said that in general for September 2015, domain name registration was the lowest in the past four months.

From January to September 2015, NiRA said it recorded a total of 16,191 domain names

Folayan

registered and 11,263 domain names renewed.

“It is worthy to note that from January to September 2015, we have 27,454 domain names, inclusive of new registrations and renewals at both second and third levels,” the Association said in the report.

According to Folayan, NiRA’s president, “Our engagement strategy is borne out of the desire to popularize the brand and grow the numbers. The media is very key, as a partner, in promoting the .ng brand. We continue to have interactions and engagements on the social

media, print and electronic media, in order to create further visibility of the brand.

“This week, I was a guest on the interview segment of TechTrends of ChannelsTV discussing the domain name industry ecosystem. I took time to explain why Nigerians should embrace the .ng brand and register their domain name(s), through NiRA Accredited Registrars. I elaborated on the benefits of having a .ng domain name, pointing out the competing global brand price of .ng domain name, brand protection, national pride, faster response time and ranking from the search engines.

“We believe that domain names are very similar to real estate. In the coming weeks, .ng will be more visible on the social media and other platforms, as we engage more Nigerians to take advantage and claim their own turf, before other investment savvy individuals do so.

“Have you registered your own .ng domain name? Better late than never, contact a NIRA Accredited Registrar as soon as possible.”

He disclosed that as part of NiRA’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programmes, it has instituted the ‘.ng Best Graduating Student in B.Sc Computer Science’ award in selected Federal Universities.

“One of such awards will be made at the Federal University Dutsin-Ma, Katsina State on the occasion of the Maiden Convocation Ceremony of the university. The award is to recognize, honour and encourage graduating students whose academic achievements display the best level of excellence and distinction in Computer Science at the university each year. NiRA aims to be socially responsible in educating the Nigerian public, especially the young public, creating the awareness and promoting the pride in/of the .ng brand,” he said.

The NiRA president added “The knowledge and opportunities available from being part of the .ng ecosystem is eminent.

We recognize the employment opportunities especially for the youth, in growing our economy.

We need the involvement of our people from a very young age”.

NITDA, AEA set to establish Abuja ICT hub In an effort to improve the technological advancement of the Federal Capital Territory, (FCT), the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) in conjunction with Abuja Enterprise Agency (AEA) is planning to establish Information Technology Hub in the Capital Territory.

This decision was reached when the Executive Chairman of Abuja Enterprise Agency, Mallam Arabi Tukur, paid a courtesy visit to NITDA headquarter in Abuja.

The hub that is to be established would be a replica of the IT hub in Lagos when completed and also serve as the northern zone hub for IT and innovation hub.

Tukur, while commending the

efforts NITDA has put in place in transforming Lagos to smart city, insisted that such stride could also be replicated in Abuja, adding that, “ it is high time the Agency and NITDA come together to consider the establishment of the hub.”

He said that there are available facilities in FCT that could be leveraged upon to provide the hub for IT innovation adding that his Agency could avail the parties the office complex that could be used for the take off of the hub.

The AEA Chairman, while enumerating some of the achievement of the Agency reiterated the need for collaboration with Agency like NITDA to give it the impetus to achieve more and add credibility to its programmes.

He disclosed that the Agency has trained Nigerians on Business Proposal Development Plan and organised a competition among youth in the area of ICT, Agriculture and fashion.

He hinted that the Agency intend to cash in on the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) N250billion Small and Medium enterprise loan to assist in some of the training.

Director General of NITDA, Mr. Peter Jack, in his response, said the agency would partner with the AEA to explore some of the opportunities it presented.

The DG NITDA while acknowledging the investment of ICT in entrepreneurship said the relationship between NITDA and AEA has been nurtured over time and it high time it became

TLIG, CWG to hold eCommerce marketing training

TLIG AFRICA in partnership with the Computer Warehouse Group (CWG) will hold an e-commerce marketing training tagged “Maximizing Business Sales With E-commerce” that will enable attendees to create and operate an Openshopen and Start selling online.

According to the organisers,

the training is scheduled for Saturday, October 24, 2015 from 10:00 AM - 1:00 PM , adding that “Whether you have one product or thousands of products to sell, you can now open an online store and start your own business in seconds. Build your store at no cost with our 30-day free trial onwww.openshopen. ng”.

Tukur

beneficial to the country at large.

Jack assured the Agency of NITDA’s contribution to some

of its programme like capacity building development and Abuja business plan competition.

E-commerce is the buying and selling of goods and services, or the transmitting of funds or data, over an electronic network, primarily the Internet.

These business transactions occur business-to-business, business-to-consumer, consumer-to-consumer or consumer-tobusiness.

The benefits of e-commerce

include its around-the-clock availability, the speed of access, a wider selection of goods and services, accessibility, and international reach.

Giving an overview of the event, the Organisers also said, ”Chidi will be teaching you on how develop your branded ecormmerce website on www.

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openshopen.ng and upload your products in less than 30minutes.

He will also teach you how to increase your sales and customer database with little budget and make massive income from your e-cormmerce website. CWG Crew will also be on ground to teach you on accounting skill for your business.

“Abbey Oyetunji will be handling a pratical class on social media and online promotion + Email Marketing and how to build your business list. Also you will learn how to send free

TLIG, CWG hold eCommerce marketing training 3.1 millions targeted email per day.

“Kehinde Olagbenjo will teach on Marketing Skill for SMEs, while Franca Afolabi will also be there to help you develop your skill on how to manage your business”.

ITU Telecom World 2015 beams spotlight on global innovation

L-R: Regional Operations Director, Airtel Nigeria, Oladokun Oye; Guardian of beneficiary, Mr. Samuel Owoeye; Brother of the beneficiary, Tomiwa Ayeni; Head, CSR, Airtel Nigeria, Chinda Manjor, at the Airtel Employee Volunteer scheme cheque presentation to Oluwaseyi Ayeni who was diagnosed with a Posterior Fossa Tumor in Lagos,recently.

Intel, CSR Children’s Right equip girls for scientific future Stories by Tony Nwakaegho Intel, the world’s leading silicone innovator and semiconductor manufacturer, recently partnered with a local child rights advocacy group, Foundation for Corporate Social Responsibility and Children’s Rights (CSR Children) on a symposium tagged “Preparing Girls for a Scientific Future”, in continuation of its global campaign to bridge the gender gap in technology by promoting digital literacy and equipping girls for careers in Science, Technology and Mathematics.

Toyin Olakanpo, chief executive officer, CSR Children, who welcomed guests to the event, declared that the sociocultural, economic and political factors impeding equal access to science and technology education in sub-Saharan Africa remained unaddressed despite increased awareness over the past decade.

Olakanpo noted that, “At CSR Children, we have come to realise that the many obstacles to effective education of the girl child in Africa will not be

surmounted by governments and their institutions. The challenge requires a firm commitment from socially responsible corporate citizens who understand the dangers of having a huge part of our population unable to function properly in a technology-dependent world.”

Babatunde Akinola, group manager, Corporate Affairs at Intel, who was on a panel discussing the importance of mentorship in breaking stereotypes about appropriate career paths for girls, highlighted Intel’s contributions to the quest for gender equality in the world of Science and Technology.

Akinola said, “We started “She Will Connect” with a mission to empower 5 million girls in the next five years. “She Will Connect” Program aims to reduce the gender gap in technology all over the world through collaborations that would bring about an innovative combination of digital literacy training, an online peer network and gender relevant content.”

He added that, “We will continue to lead the way in the drive for gender parity in the world

of technology, equip young girls with and women with digital literacy skills and an improved understanding of technology.”

Students from Aunty Ayo Secondary School lauded the Intel ‘She Will Connect’ initiative, from which they had benefitted.

The Intel ‘She Will Connect’ Spokesperson for Nigeria, Titilope Sonuga noted that ‘She Will Connect’ will continue to empower young girls from their foundational stages, because exposure to technology and sciences can unlock creativity and inquisitiveness in young women.

Intel, through its “She Will Connect” had earlier in the year supported the girls from Aunty Ayo Secondary School to attend entrepreneurship and digital literacy training at a Technology camp organised by local Non-Governmental organisation partner, Junior Achievement Nigeria (JAN); where the students were taught Microsoft Office skills such as Power Point presentation and Introduction to Spreadsheet; as well as Multimedia under the Intel Easy Steps Curriculum.

ITU Telecom World has continued to beam its sportlight through action-packed programme of workshops, pitching sessions and collaborations, as ITU Telecom World 2015 Young Innovators Competition winners networked, shared ideas and benefited from expert mentorship to help accelerate their innovations globally.

The programme took place at the ITU Telecom World 2015 event, which is took place from 12-15 October in Budapest.

The Young Innovators Competition onsite programme provides an unprecedented opportunity to connect, share experiences and learn from participants across the industry, including with other SMEs and start-ups present at the event, from developed and developing countries alike.

“These talented young people have made great use of ICTs to meet a wide range of development goals, and their innovations have the potential to impact lives for the better. Start-ups such as these have a key role to play within our ICT ecosystem and I am very pleased that ITU Telecom World 2015 is providing them the global platform to showcase their innovations,” ITU Secretary-General, Houlin Zhao said.

“The Young Innovators are an inspiring group. Every time I speak with them, it’s a window onto a generation of young people willing, ready and able to answer the challenges of the future using innovative technologies.

They are absolutely a group of young people to watch, they’re going to change the world, and they know it,” AfriLabs Foundation, and Young Innovators Competition Mentor, Tayo Akinyemi, CEO said.

The programme kicked off with an innovation hub tour held

by Kreater, a leading social innovation agency, covering a range of key entrepreneurial aspects.

The next day the innovators attended a one-day design thinking workshop, which focused on key success factors for social entrepreneurs and how to balance their goals with the objectives of donors and the needs they strive to serve.

The workshop was presented

by SAP, who will also support the ITU Telecom World Young Innovators programme with a new challenge focusing on Healthcare and Big Data in 2015/16.

The learning experience continued with workshops covering topics from time management to live events, pitch preparation, guerrilla marketing and the benefits and pitfalls of bootstrapping a venture. Workshops were hosted by NESsT, Jan Samuelsen, Caroline Meaby, and Clement Charles.

At the event, Young Innovators Competition winners showcased their winning entries in the Innovation Space, shared views, and met and networked with delegates in ITU Telecom World 2015 Forum debates and dialogues.

They also took part in the Acceleration Platform, a specially-designed day of dialogues between government, industry and SMEs, including capacitybuilding, networking and pitching sessions for Competition winners and SMEs participating at the event.

“The Acceleration Platform is a great way to offer new resources to the tech entrepreneurs at ITU Telecom World. Bringing together the industry leaders and decision makers with the local entrepreneurship community and a rising global generation of social entrepreneurs shows why ITU Telecom World is the place to have the kinds of conversations the Acceleration platform seeks to initiate,” Managing Director, Berliner Strategen, Christian Schellenberger, said.

GUINEA U-17 g X2 TARGET FIRST WIN

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WARNS AGAINST g X2 COMPLACENCY

NIEKERK Wayde van Niekerk is a South African track and field sprinter who competes in the 200 metres and 400 metres. He holds personal bests of 19.94 seconds and 43.48 seconds for the distances, respectively. He has held South African records for both but currently he only holds the record for the 400m event. He is the first athlete from Africa to run the 400m in under 44 seconds.

Van Niekerk was the silver medallist in the 400 m at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and took bronze in the 4×400 metres relay at the 2013 Summer Universiade. He also represented South Africa at the 2013 and 2015 World Championships in Athletics. At the latter event he took the gold medal in the 400 and is the reigning world champion.

Van Niekerk was born in Cape Town. He attended Grey College before going on to study marketing at University of the Free State.[5] He made his international debut at the 2010 World Junior Championships in Athletics, where he placed fourth in the 200 m with a personal best time of 21.02 seconds. He also ran in the 4×100 metres relay heats with the national team, alongside Gideon Trotter. His senior breakthrough came at the age of eighteen at the 2011 South African Athletics Championships when he won the 200 m title in a new personal best of 20.57 seconds. He competed at that event at the 2011 African Junior Athletics Championships, but did not make the final. He ran sparingly in 2012, but began to show a talent for the 400 metres, setting a best of 46.43 seconds.

The 2013 season marked van Niekerk’s emergence as a 400 m runner. He won the second national title of his career over that distance at the 2013 South African Championships, winning with a sub-46-second time. He won the IAAF Meeting de Dakar before travelling to Europe and placing second to Olympic champion Kirani James at the Golden Spike Ostrava, improving his best time to 45.09 seconds in the process. He entered the 400

About

Name: W ayde van Niekerk Nationalit y: Born: South Afr ican Cape Tow A ugust 15, n, South A 1992 frica Sport:

Event(s): Track and field Medal Re S printing cord World Ch ampionsh ips Gold med al – 1st pla ce Commonw 2015 Beijn ealth Gam g 400 m es Silver me dal – 2nd p la c e African C 2014 Glas hampions gow hips 400 m Silver me dal – 2nd p la ce 2014 Universia Marrakec de h 400 m Bronze m e d a l – 3rd pla m relay ce 2013 Kazan 4 ×4 0 0

PERSON INFORMA AL TION

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Niekerk

Wayde van

metres at the 2013 Summer Universiade, and narrowly missed out on the final as the fastest non-qualifier. He managed to reach the podium and receive his first international medal in the 4×400 metres relay as the South African men took the bronze medals. His performances earned him a place at the 2013 World Championships in Athletics, where he competed in the heats only.

A national title win in April 2014 saw van Niekerk top the world rankings with a best of 44.92 seconds – his first sub-45-second run. After a win at the FBK Games in the Netherlands he ran at the New York Diamond League race and placed second to LaShawn Merritt, but his time of 44.38 seconds was a new South African record, bettering Hendrick Mokganyetsi’s time from September 2000.[12] A 200 m best of 20.19 seconds followed in a fourth-place finish at the Athletissima meet.[8] He entered both sprint events at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and won his first individual senior medal over 400 m, placing behind Kirani James with a time of 44.68 seconds (his second fastest run at that point). He reached the semi-final of the 200 m, but did not repeat his success of the longer sprint.

In the 2015 IAAF World Championships, he won gold in the 400 meters with a personal best time of 43.48 seconds, making him, as of the August 26, 2015, the fourth fastest person in history, and the fastest non-American.

Personal bests 100 metres – 10.45 sec (2011) 150 metres – 15.89 sec (2011) 200 metres – 19.94 sec (2015) NR 300 metres – 31.63 sec (2015) 400 metres – 43.48 sec (2015) AR

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Guinea U-17 target AMUNEKE WARNS AGAINST first win COMPLACENCY

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uinea Under-17 national team will take on Korea Republic in La Serena today, in their 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup’s second Group B outing.

The ‘Syli Cadets’ will be eyeing their first win at the showpiece event, after launching their Chilean campaign with a 1-1 draw against England on Saturday.

One goal down just past the hour mark following Kaylen Hinds opener, the West Africans managed to level matters and salvage a point through Naby Bangoura 14 minutes from time.

And while national coach Hamidou Camara was satisfied with the result, he insisted his side will have to improve their finishing when they take on their next opponents.

“This match went well. We have great respect for our opponent. We played our game but we scuffed the football at some moments and wasted opportunities,” Camara said after their World Cup opener.

Guinea U-17 star, Fode Camara (left), in action against England.

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oach Emmanuel Amuneke has warned his wards to expect a dogfight against hosts Chile in their second match at the FIFA U17 World Cup at the Sausalito Stadium in Vina del Mar tonight.

The Golden Eaglets on Monday morning trained at the Enap Oil Company Training Centre in Con-Con district of the beautiful city where all the 21 players were involved to perfect strategy for the match.

“Tonight’s match against Chile is a crucial game and you must expect a dogfight,” hinted Amuneke. “But we must approach the match with discipline and responsibility; we must be ready to fight for 90 minutes.”

World football ruling body FIFA have named officials for the match with Ruddy Buquet as the centre referee.

The 38-year-old Frenchman has been a full international for FIFA since 2011. Others listed for the match that would be watched by a capacity crowd also include Buquet’s compatriots Guillaume Debart and Gringore Cyril as assistant referees while the fourth official is Abdulrahman Al-Jassim of Qatar.

Meanwhile, Golden Eaglets will yet again don white jerseys against Chile as they did in Saturday’s 2-0 win against the USA.

Defending champions, Golden Eaglets of Nigeria, celebrate after seeing off USA 2-0 in their opener at the ongoing Chile 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup.

CHILE 2015: EAGLETS SEEK SECOND ROUND TICKET AGAINST HOST

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IFA U-17 World Cup champions Nigeria will battle host country Chile in a second group match as they look to book a place in the second round of the competition.

The game will kick off 12 midnight of October 20 Nigerian time.

The Coach Emmanuel Amunekeled team opened their campaign on Saturday with a 2-0 win over USA, while hosts Chile were held to a 1-1 draw by Croatia.

Amuneke said their winning start will further boost their confidence.

“It was important we won the first game since it would boost our

confidence going into the next game against hosts Chile, so we are happy but will continue to work harder,” he assured.

Nigeria have won the trophy four times and are now seeking a fifth title, while Chile are gunning for their firstever title as their best performance at the competition was winning bronze at Japan 1993, when they beat Poland 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw.

Nigeria are participating in the competition for the 11th time, but this is Chile’s third appearance, having played at the tournament in 1993 and 1997.

Both countries have not met at this level previously.

Former Golden Eaglets star Olanrewaju Kayode said the players should keep working hard game by game and not get carried away with the win over USA. “They are good side. The win against USA is a good way to start the tournament. They should keep working hard ahead of Chile game,” the Austria Wien striker said.

“They should forget about the win over the USA and look ahead to the next game. I am sure they will reach the stage they wanted.”