Daily Times of Nigeria

NSE GAINERS AND LOSERS AS AT 20th April 2015.

EXCHANGE RATES Currency

Buying(NGN)

Central (NGN)

GAINERS

Selling(NGN)

LOSERS

US DOLLAR

196

196.5

197

FLOURMILL

35.7

1.70

4.76%

7UP

163.1

-6.91

-4.24%

POUNDS STERLING

292.3536

293.0994

293.8452

ASHAKACEM

21.02

1.00

4.76%

FO

200

-4.25

-2.13%

168

-2.00

-1.19%

41.65

-1.78

-4.27%

EURO

210.2492

210.7856

211.3219

CCNN

11.68

0.54

4.62%

GUINNESS

SWISS FRANC

203.4884

204.0075

204.5266

OANDO

18.69

0.53

2.84%

UNILEVER

https://twitter.com/DailyTimesNGR

www.facebook.com/dailytimesngr

NIGERIA

ABUJA Low 25°C High 41°C

https://plus.google.com/+DailytimesNgr/posts

dailytimesng

TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2015 VOL. 1. NO.90

ENUGU Low 26°C High 36°C

KANO

LAGOS

Low 20°C High 42°C

Low 27°C High 34°C

MAIDUGURI Low 26°C High 42°C

N150

P/HARCOURT Low 23°C High 32°C

Buhari to resume oil search in Chad Basin

ÏÏÏIn line with his resolve

to boost the socio-economic fortunes of the country, the President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari, (retired) has declared his intention to resume oil exploration in the Chad Basin.

General Buhari, who spoke on Sunday, added that his incoming administration would also focus on bringing stability to the North East.

Buhari spoke at his residence in Kaduna while responding to requests by GovCONTINUED ON PAGE 4

A cross section of Advocate for Peoples’ Rights and Justice members protesting over the xenophobic attacks on Nigerians and other Africans at the entrance of the South African Embassy in Abuja... on Monday PHOTO: Temitope Balogun

Aviation sector 19 needs clean-up – Expert

US to sanction poll riggers, others

Gunmen attack Taraba villages, kill seven

4

4

Nigerians mourn 12 Chukwumerije

Cholera kills 30 in Delta 6

Impeachment: Ekiti schools fail to resume 4

2

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Politics Page Three

3

s

Editorial Nigeria’s unending gas flaring

A

t the recent meeting of major oil companies in Washington D.C, USA, it was revealed that Nigeria is yet to sign the “Zero Routine Flaring by 2030”, initiative.

The United Nations (UN) World Bank- backed initiative which already has nine countries, 10 international oil companies (IOCs) and six development institutions, was launched by United Nations Secretary-General, Ban KI-moon and World Bank President, Jim Yong Kim. Among countries that signed up to the initiative are Russia, Cameroun, Kazakhstan, Gabon, Uzbekistan, Republic of Congo, Angola and France, which collectively represent over 40 percent of global gas flaring. It is unfortunate that Nigeria, with the second largest gas flaring record in the world after Russia is yet to be a signatory.

Every year, over 140 billion cubic metres of natural gas together with oil is flared at thousands of oil fields around the world, which results in over 300 million tonnes of CO2 being emitted into the atmosphere; equivalent to emissions from approximately 77 million cars.

Yom Kim says such volume of associated gas is enough to generate more electricity than the entire African continent consumes today.

Sadly, the gas is flared for a variety of technical, regulatory, and economic reasons, while its use is not given high priority.

According to Jim Yong Kim, “the situation is a visual reminder that we are wastefully sending CO2 into the atmosphere. Together we can take

concrete action to end flaring and use this valuable natural resource to light the darkness for those without electricity.”

This is very true.

It is on record that about 17 million tonnes of carbon monoxide are emitted yearly into the atmosphere through gas flaring in Nigeria. In addition, it is estimated that the country loses $800 million worth of gas annually through flaring. Incidentally, this is happening at a time the country’s capacity to generate electricity is constrained by insufficient gas supply.

For long, all initiatives to end gas flaring have failured due to insincerity on the part of the government and oil companies.

Unless such initiatives are matched with sincere action, the country and oil-bearing communities would continue to suffer environmental pollution with the attendant health hazards.

Curiously, the Nigerian government’s main interest in the oil industry is to maximise its monetary profits. On their part, oil companies find it more economically expedient to flare the gas and pay the meagre fine than to re-inject it back into the oil wells. Additionally, because there is an insufficient energy market, especially in rural areas, these companies do not see any economic benefit in saving the gas.

That is why we are calling on the government and other relevant agencies to put in place the requisite infrastructure to stop gas flaring and pipe the gas to solve the power problem that has held back the nation’s economy for so long.

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

Zulu King, Goodwill Zwelithini, urging South Africans to stop xenophobic attacks... on Monday.

Photo: Getty Image

Crying over spilt milk?

Sam Nzeh

ÏÏÏSince losing the Presi-

dency and some governorship positions in the country, the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has continued to bemoan the loss, making many to wonder if the party has any serious intention to regain the positions soon.

Rather than focus the internal forces within the party that led to its loss, the PDP has continued to accuse the opposition party and the soon-to-be Nigeria’s governing party, the All Progressives Congress (APC) of being behind its woes.

Just on Sunday, the party accused the APC of plotting to impose a one-party system in Nigeria by approaching some senior members of the PDP with phantom promises and threats designed to destabilize the party.

The PDP in a statement signed by its national publicity secretary, Olisah Metuh, said it was aware of the APC’s plot, adding that “while some of their accomplices have openly decamped, we know that others have been instructed to stay back and cause crisis within our ranks.”

While it is right for the PDP to cry over what the APC is doing or not doing against it, the party must

Words On Marble :

dailytimesng

realise that time for such weeping is over.

Now is the time for the party to move on, do serious internal house cleaning and strategise on the way forward.

The reality is that the PDP has lost the 2015 general election and it must now learn to be the opposition party after May 29, 2015.

So, the party must think less of what the APC is doing against it and focus more on how to get back to reckoning. This should begin by the party recruiting men and women, including youths in all fields, who will by their activities in the media and other fora keep the APC-led Federal Government on its toes --- post May 29, 2015.

STATEMENTS BY THOSE WHO MATTER

www.facebook.com/dailytimesngr

Publisher

Fidelis Anosike

Group Managing Director

Editor, Standard, Archives and Special projects

Chief Commercial Officer

Deputy Editors

Noel Anosike

Doyin Awomosu

Group Managing Editor Gabriella Osamor

Editor

Yinka Olujimi

Tunji Okegbola

Yemi Ogunsola Sam Nzeh

Acting Bureau Chief, Northern Operations Lateef Ibrahim

Group News Editor

Online Editor

Editorial Page Editor

Business Editor

Segun Adio Okay Osuji

Sports Editor

Andrew Ekejiuba

Head of Operations Innocent Nwankwo

Adetayo Adelaja Emmanuel Ogbonnaya

Head ICT (Shared Services) Banjo Ayorinde

Head Graphics King Ododoru

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

Peter F. Drucker

Winston Churchill

Benjamin Disraeli

“Leadership is not magnetic personality that can just as well be a glib tongue. It is not ‘making friends and influencing people’ – that is flattery. Leadership is lifting a person’s vision to high sights, the raising of a person’s performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations.”

“Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm.”

“The secret of success is consistency of purpose.”

News 4

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Buhari to resume oil search in Chad Basin Continued from page 1 ernor Kashim Shettima; the Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Abubakar Ibn Umar Garbai Elkanemi and some elders from Borno State during a congratulatory visit to the Presidentelect.

Buhari said he was very much aware of the problems of the North

East and would not waste time in tackling them. He promised to pay special attention to the security and economic potentials of the North East so as to make it attractive for investments.

While acknowledging delays in oil exploration in the Chad Basin, the incoming President said he was very much aware of exploration ac-

tivities in the area since 1978 as Minister of Petroleum and would take it up as President when he settles in office.

Buhari said he had, years ago, suggested the need to take the search for oil in the North seriously, not only to increase the export potentials of Nigeria, but also to balance cross-regional perceptions and man-

President Goodluck Jonathan (right) and Cote D’Ivoire President, Alassane Ouattara addressing State House correspondents in Abuja… on Monday Photo: STATE HOUSE

age agitations so as to enhance the stability of the country.

The President-elect also assured the delegation that the receding of Lake Chad would be addressed through the transfer of water from the Central African Republic to the lake to boost its commercial activities for fishing and irrigation farming.

He noted that the lake has the potentials to create millions of jobs through irrigation and other commercial uses it was noted for years ago.

On security, Buhari said his administration would enhance collaboration with neighbouring governments of Chad, Niger and Cameroun to curtail the trans-border movement of Boko Haram insurgents, cut supply of arms, cut recruitment and training of fresh recruits.

Governor Shettima who led the delegation in company of traditional rulers, elders, elected National and State Assembly members and other stakeholders, had earlier disclosed that they were at the resident of the president-elect to congratulate him over his historic victory at the polls and to also remind him of problems affecting Borno State.

The governor said the people of Borno felt so attached to General Continued on page 6

US to sanction polls riggers, others ÏÏÏThe United States on Monday

reiterated its determination to impose visa restrictions on Nigerians found to have incited violence or interfered with the electoral process.

The U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, in a statement yestetday said the United states would shut its doors on people involved in any form of violence during the polls.

“Anyone found to have incited violence or interfered with electoral processes will be unwelcome in the United States and subject to visa sanctions,” she said.

However, she did not give any names of those considered for sanctions.

According to Ms. ThomasGreenfield, while the elections were generally without significant scale of violence, and irregularities in some parts of the country, some people were resolved to undermine the will of Nigerians and interfere with electoral processes, resorting Continued on page 6

Impeachment: Fayose’s alarm stalls school resumption in Ekiti

Gunmen attack Taraba villages, kill seven

Gbenga Sodeinde Ado Ekiti

ÏÏÏGunmen,

ÏÏÏFollowing

the panic that engulfed Ekiti State over alarm raised by Governor Ayodele Fayose that the 19 All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmakers planned to invade the state House of Assembly on Monday, public and private schools in the state failed to reopen on Monday to commence the third term academic session.

Fayose, had in a state-wide broadcast on Sunday alleged that the Hon. Adewale Omirin-led lawmakers were planning to storm the Assembly on Monday and begin his impeachment and called on the people to mobilize and defend the mandate freely given to him.

When newsmen visited the

State Secretariat in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, which is the converging point for civil servants, few workers reported to their duty posts to offer skeletal services for the political functionaries over fear of attack.

The roads leading to the Assembly was barricaded by security agencies while the Assembly complex was under lock and key.

Stern-looking heavily armed policemen also blocked all the major roads linking to the complex and only few vehicles that were allowed passage were thoroughly checked before they were allowed to go.

Members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who were mobilized by Caretaker Chairmen in all the 16 Local Government Areas of the state also laid siege to the Assembly.

The party members were seen in clusters at every strategic point around the complex and kept vigil to prevent the lawmakers from being brought in to perfect the impeachment plot against Fayose.

In some of the schools visited in Ado Ekiti, particularly the public schools, few teachers and pupils were on ground, which signalled that the tension must have created fears in the minds of the people.

Public and private schools in the state were supposed to resume for third term on Monday, which the tension elicited by the impeachment saga, had stalled.

The protesters however did not mount barricades at all the entry points into Ado Ekiti from other neighbouring states, as they had been doing since the protests Continued on page 6

suspected to be Fulani herdsmen, have attacked some villages in Donga Local Government Area of Taraba State, in the early hours of Monday, killing, at least, seven persons, while many other people are missing.

According to some residents, the gunmen’s first port of call was Ayiase village in Takum Local Government Area, which they reportedly razed and moved to Tse-Gbaun and Gaza villages in Donga Local Government Area.

The gunmen, were said to have killed a man, identified as Msugh Gaza and three of his sons in Gaza, while the other three persons were killed in Tse-Gbaun and Ayiase.

An eyewitness said “the attack took place in the early hours of today (Monday). Now, the area is not

safe, so we cannot search for our missing relations. But we have, so far, recovered seven dead bodies”.

State Police Public Relations Officer, Joseph Kwaji, said efforts to reach the Divisional Police Officer of Donga for details of the attack, failed as his phone was switched off.

The Acting Governor, Alhaji Sani Abubakar Danladi, according to his aide, had directed that military personnel be deployed to the area to maintain peace.

Recently, there have been threats of attack from Fulani herdsmen, which caused many residents to flee to safety.

Donga is one of the local government areas where the run-off election would hold on Saturday, April 25, but the attack had caused many people to flee the area.

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, April 21, 2015

CJN appeals for judiciary autonomy

Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, SAN (left); Nigerian Film Maker, Mr. Tunde Kilani (right) and Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Lateef Ibirogba, during a peaceful protest by Nollywood actors and producers to Fashola at the Lagos House, Ikeja, against pirated products in the market… on Monday

Andrew Orolua Abuja

ÏÏÏ The Chief

Justice of Nigeria, Justice Mahmud Mohammed, has appealed to governorselect, who were to be inaugurated on May 29, to implement Judiciary Financial Autonomy, as provided for in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended).

Mohammed made the appeal on Monday, in Abuja, at the opening ceremony of the national workshop for magistrates on judi-

5 News

cial ethics and corrupt practices, organised by the National Judicial Institute.

Several state governments have refused to implement the judiciary financial autonomy despite a federal high court judgment. The disagreement has led to an industrial action that, since January, has paralysed the courts in some states.

Represented by a Justice of the Supreme Court, Justice Samuel Walter Onoghen, Mohammed said failure of incumbent governors to implement the relevant constitutional provisions on the financial autonomy of the judiciary was the cause of financial insecurity hampering magistrates from effectively discharging their responsibilities.

Ouattara hails Jonathan’s handling of presidential election

Election violence: Amaechi inaugurates nineman panel

Monday Agu Jnr

Faith Faithful

ÏÏÏ President Alhassan Ouattara of Côte d’Ivoire has commended President Goodluck Jonathan over the way and manner he handled the aftermath of the March 28 Presidential election.

In an interaction with State House Correspondents, after a closed-door meeting with President Jonathan in the State House, Ouattara said the way Jonathan quickly accepted defeat, even before the final results were an-

nounced, saved the country from strife.

The Ivorian leader recalled the civil war his country had to fight, due to the refusal of former president Laurent Gbagbo to accept defeat, saying that Jonathan had, therefore, set an example for the rest of Africa to follow.

He said he was in Abuja to congratulate President Jonathan, the President-Elect, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd) and the people of Nigeria on the successful general election, as well

as to appreciate the leadership Jonathan had provided for the sub-region.

Turning to Jonathan, who was present at the press briefing, he said: “And so, I wanted to tell you our appreciation over the leadership we have received from you during these years. You know that about five years ago, Côte d’Ivoire had elections and I won the election and the former president decided not to leave office.

“This brought the civil war.

Three thousand people were

killed and we were put at the hotel for protection by the United Nations for four and a half months.

We were there without food, because the hotel was guarded by the president.

“It was only after four and a half months of imprisonment in that hotel that we were finally able to leave the hotel after the former president left office for me.

“I’m saying this to say that what happened in Nigeria is a lesson to all of us and please accept my admiration,” he explained.

Abuja

ÏÏÏ

Arewa Youth Parliament (AYP), an umbrella body of all northern youth organisations, has thrown its weight behind the outgoing Senate minority leader, Senator George Akume, to emerge as the next Senate President of the 8th National Assembly.

It said it was a democratic norm that whenever a minority party becomes the majority, the minority leader automatically becomes the

Araraume

leader of the parliament in question.

Addressing a press conference, on Monday in Abuja, Speaker, Arewa Youth Parliament, Mr. Bashir M. Maru, said his group was duty bound, at all times, to promote excellence, equity and equality in the affairs of Nigeria.

“Following extensive deliberations and consultations, we have decided to throw our weight behind Senator George Akume to emerge as the next Senate President of the 8th National Assembly. This is premised on the need for democratic consoli-

Imo PDP youths flay Araraume, Anumudu for joining APC

dation, fair play, justice and equity.”

According to the group, Akume, a third-term senator, “has distinguished himself as Pan-Arewa, detribalised Nigerian and excellent performer in all his previous outings.”

The northern youths believed that Akume could truly be described as a genuine breed of the Sir Ahmadu Bello school of thought, having always put the interest of his people, region and country above any other consideration.

They, therefore, called on all Nige-

ÏÏÏThe

Peoples Democratic Party Youth Movement (PDPYM), has taken a swipe at the exodus of some prominent chieftains of the party to the nascent All Progressive Congress (APC), advising Nigerians, including the APC, to be wary of the defectors.

In a statement in Owerri, the Imo State capital, the chairman

ÏÏÏ Rivers State Governor and

Akume

Chairman of the Nigeria Governor’s Forum, Hon. Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi, has inaugurated a 9-man commission of inquiry to commence investigations into the politically-motivated killings in Rivers State.

Members of the commission include Professor Chidi Odin-Kalu as chairman, Sir Samuel Egbe, secretary and Professor Nlerum Okogbule. Others are Professor Owunari A. Georgewill, Dr. Richard Ofuru, Mrs. Asivosuo M. Oriye, Dr. Joy Ejiofor, Mrs. Ayo M. O. Obe, and Rev. Father Michael Akiri as members.

Speaking during the inauguration at Government House, Port Harcourt, Amaechi congratulated the members and said their fact-finding exercise would last for 30 days.

He explained that the reason for setting up the commission was to investigate why the victims were killed, who killed them, under what circumstances and for the commission to make useful recommendations that would help government prevent a repeat.

of the youth movement, Mr. Greg Okwuozo, expressed shock and disappointment that instead of remaining with the PDP that had, over the years, nurtured democracy in the country and acquired fame and credibility as the largest political party in Africa, “these chieftains of the party, who are expected to assist in providing effective opposi-

tion, only chose the inglorious path of defection.”

Okwuozo, a lawyer, described as most unfortunate and shameful the actions of some politicians as Sen Ifeanyi Araraume, Jerry Chukwueke and Humphrey Anumudu, who ascended to limelight on the platform of the party only to abandon it after the presidential election.

Arewa youths back Akume for Senate presidency Augustine Aminu

Port Harcourt

News 6

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Fayose’s alarm stalls school resumption in Ekiti Continued from page 4 against the plot to remove Fayose commenced.

Meanwhile, the Ekiti State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has praised drivers and motorcycle riders associations in the state for refusing to obey Gov. Fayose’s order to foment trouble over alleged plan by the 19 APC lawmakers to storm the Assembly with thugs to impeach him.

In a statement on Monday, the party’s publicity secretary, Taiwo Olatubosun, commended the transport workers for their courage and wisdom to stay away from the Assembly.

“We praise the drivers and motorcycle operators for their courage and wisdom. Fayose is used to protecting his own interest and keeping his children in safety while he distributes guns to the children of others to foment trouble.

“The day he was first impeached in 2006, he asked his supporters to meet at Fajuyi to confront the soldiers. It was later that his supporters discovered that the governor had bolted (away) in the booth of his car to safety while his supporters were tear-gassed with several of them wounded,” Olatubosun said.

In a related development, all the 25 newly elected PDP House of Assembly lawmakers in Ekiti State on Monday issued a statement, where they alleged that the personal ambition of both embattled Speaker, Adewale Omirin, and a federal lawmaker, Senator Babafemi Ojudu, was responsible for the aggravation of the ongoing political crisis in the state.

Cholera kills 30 in Delta ÏÏÏAt least 30 people have been killed in the latest cholera outbreak in Isoko South community of Delta State, a health official said on Monday.

Chief Epidemiologist at the Delta State Ministry Health, Steven Ofili, said prompt response and physical attention of health workers had curbed the spread of the disease.

According to him, people of

the local community had been facing challenges of cholera disease since 2010, when their main source of drinking water was polluted.

He said, rather than seeking medical help at the local health centre, the people resorted to traditional medicines and self-medication to cure themselves.

“It was not until after the disease had claimed five lives that

they (the local residents) brought it to the knowledge of the local authorities,” Ofili said.

Confirmed cases of cholera were promptly treated at the local health facility.

In 2010, more than 30 people had died when the first cholera outbreak was recorded following the pollution of the main source of water supply in the same area of Delta State.

to violence and voter intimidation.

She commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and its chairman, Attahiru Jega. She also encouraged Nigeria and other nations to continue to explore the use of relevant technologies in future elections.

FAAC raises panel over unremitted $1.48bn by NNPC ÏÏÏWorried by the inability of the

L-R: Assistant Director, Health Services Management Board in Katsina State, Alhaji Abubakar Abdullahi and the Branch Manager, Katsina, of First City Monument Bank (FCMB), Mr. Garba Kabir, at the community outreach programme on the Priceless Gift of Sight project held in Katsina State... on Monday.

Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation to pay the $1.48 billion into the federation account as directed by PriceWaterHouse Coopers in its forensic audit of the corporation, the Federation Account Allocation Committee on Monday constituted a committee to find out the reasons for the delay in making the funds available to the three tiers of government.

PriceWaterHouse was last year hired to carry out the exercise following an allegation by the former Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Lamido Sanusi, that $20 billion was not remitted to the Federation Account by the NNPC. Sanusi, who is now the Emir of Kano, had written a letter to President Goodluck Jonathan that $49 billion was not remitted to the Federation Account by the NNPC. But following the controversy, which the letter generated, a committee was set up to reconcile the account.

Oil search to resume in Chad Basin – Buhari Continued from page 4 Buhari having served as military governor in the state. He said the citizens looked up to him with so much hope because the Presidentelect was very much familiar with the problems of the State and how it

has suffered in the last six years owing to massive killings of its people and destruction of communities and public institutions.

The Shehu of Borno, Alh Abubakar Ibn umar Garbai Al Amim El-kanemi, appealed to Buhari to consider making the Federal Gov-

ernment take over the welfare of youths volunteers fighting insurgency in the state, noting that Borno State Government has been spending so much on that in addition to huge expenditures on managing the Boko Haram insurgency. The Shehu also appealed for Buhari’s interven-

‘US will deal with election riggers, others’ Continued from page 4

Cholera, an infectious disease, causes severe watery diarrhoea, can lead to dehydration and even death if untreated.

“Despite some technical glitches, it is clear that technology and use of social media ---INEC’s online posting of results for each polling unit, live tweeting of results, the use of biometric permanent voter cards and electronic card readers --- improved efficiency and limited fraud.”

Ms. Thomas-Greenfield added,

“Now more than ever, it is up to all Nigerians to stay united so that Nigeria can move forward with a clear set of priorities for the future.”

She said the U.S. welcomed all commitments made by the outgoing and the incoming presidents towards a peaceful transition process.

“This next phase is critical as

the world continues its hopeful watch for what happens in Nigeria,” she said.

The conclusion of a peaceful electoral process in Nigeria, she said, would serve as an example to other nation preparing for elections, adding that, “Nigeria’s democracy will be a beacon across the continent and beyond”.

tion on resumption of commercial airlines to Maiduguri International Airport suspended almost two years ago.

Chairman of Borno Elders Forum, Ambassador Usman Gaji Galtimari, expressed optimism that with Buhari’s track record of service, he would address the needs of Borno citizens and also move the nation forward.

Buhari

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, April 21, 2015

PDP clears air over N2trn campaign fund controversy Lateef Ibrahim Abuja

ÏÏÏ Members of

the National Working Committee (NWC) of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), have distanced themselves from the controversy surrounding the handling of the PDP presidential campaign funds.

National Publicity Secretary of the party, Chief Olisa Metuh, in a statement on Monday, stated that the NWC never received any amount from any quarter for the campaign.

While fielding questions on a radio programme in Abuja, Metuh said that President Goodluck Jonathan had denied spending such an amount of money

on his campaign, but, added that the NWC was not involved in the management of any fund released for the campaign.

Metuh pointed out that all funds for the campaign were managed by the Directorate of the Presidential Campaign Organisations, which the NWC had no control over His words, “As a party, we have refrained from joining issues on this matter, but in the light of series of enquiries arising from allegations that the NWC embezzled the campaign money, we need to make some clarifications.

“As the spokesperson of the PDP, I want to place it on record that the National Working Committee was not part of the man-

agement of funds for the Presidential campaign.

"The NWC did not receive any money, neither was it, in any way, involved in how the funds were spent. Even as the National Publicity Secretary of the party and Chairman of the Publicity Sub-Committee, I did not receive any money from anybody and no fund,whatsoever, was given to me for the campaign.

“Apparently, out of ignorance, this NWC has been unjustly demonised and labelled. How can anybody expect the NWC to account for funds it never received?

Can we account for funds we did not manage?

"The President, in his wisdom, set up directorates and gave them

the responsibility to directly manage the elections, including the funding”, Metuh said.

He decried the unnecessary heating up of the party system by certain elements within and outside the party to sponsor negative publications against the party leadership.

Calling on such individuals to desist, Metuh urged all party members to unite and support the leadership in its re-engineering efforts aimed at returning the party to power in 2019.

He said the primary focus of the leadership at the moment was how to ensure that the party’s candidates in all the rescheduled elections across the country emerge victorious.

Ekiti: PDP urges APC lawmakers to embrace Fayose’s peace offer

PDP advises APC on Rivers guber poll Faith Faithful Port Harcourt

ÏÏÏ Following the controversy

that trailed the recently concluded gubernatorial election in Rivers State, which was won by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the All Progressives Congress [APC] leadership is set to challenge the election results released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at the tribunal.

The Rivers PDP, in its reaction, described the APC decision as a wasteful venture, expressing optimism that its candidates and the Governor-elect, Nyesom Wike, would still emerge victorious.

PDP state chairman, Felix Obuah, in a statement, said that inasmuch as it was normal and democratic for election results to be challenged justifiably, it viewed the APC’s case as not yielding any positive result, as the party did not have any authentic evidence to justify its claims that the elections were compromised

by INEC officials, security agencies and the state PDP.

Judiciary official jailed for defrauding LASG

Lateef Ibrahim Abuja

ÏÏÏThe Peoples Democratic Par-

ty (PDP) in Abuja, has called on all political stakeholders in Ekiti State, especially the All Progressives Congress (APC) lawmakers, to embrace the new spirit of reconciliation, forgiveness and dialogue, being offered by Governor Ayo Fayose.

The PDP, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Olisa Metuh, on Monday, commended Fayose for extending an olive branch to his detractors, describing it as a mark of a true leader, committed to peace and the welfare of the people.

According to Metuh, “Governor Fayose’s new posture is a step in the right direction, geared towards achieving the much desired peace and development in the interest of the masses, who freely gave him their mandate.

“It is in this spirit that we charge all political stakeholders in Ekiti State, especially, the APC lawmakers, to embrace peace and work with their governor to move their state forward.

"The unity, stability and progress of the state must be paramount and placed over and above all personal and group interest", he added.

7 News

Titilope Joseph

ÏÏÏ A staff of the Probate diviLong queues at the NNPC Mega Station, Central Area, Abuja ... on Monday. Photo: Daniel Matthew

Disregard rumoured appointments, zoning of offices – APC ÏÏÏ The All Progressives Con-

gress (APC) has urged Nigerians to disregard the wild speculations making the rounds on the appointment of ministers and the zoning of offices in the incoming administration of the President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari.

In a statement issued in Abuja on Monday, by its National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the party said there was no truth about the issue of appointment, especially, the zoning of the National Assembly's principal positions and other offices.

It said that in the true tradition of the APC, all issues of public interest would be handled transparently and conveyed to Nigerians through the usual communication channels. ''No appointments have been made and no offices have been zoned. The main concern of our party at the moment is to ensure a smooth transition and to hit the ground running, in the overall interest of the long-suffering people of Nigeria. ''At the appropriate time, Nigerians will be informed of the ap-

pointments made and the offices zoned,'' APC said.

Buhari

sion of the Lagos State Judiciary, identified as Mrs. Bukola Adeosun, has been sentenced to a threeyear jail term by an Ikeja High Court, for stealing money belonging to the state government.

In a judgement pronounced by Justice Latifat Okunnu, on Monday, the accused was found guilty of two of the three-count charge of conspiracy, stealing and alteration brought against her by the prosecution. Justice Okunnu held that Adeosun was guilty of stealing N1,114,000, belonging to the state government, however, she acquitted her of conspiracy because there was no evidence linking her conduct with anybody, as claimed by the prosecution.

Adeosun and another probate official, Mrs Funmilayo Kazeem, were accused of defrauding the government and unsuspecting victims who came for official transactions at the probate division of the court.

8

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Politics Francis Fadahunsi

Buhari can’t repair economy within a year, will step on toes

s Candidate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Osun-east Senatorial District in the last election, Chief Francis Fadahunsi, in this interview with select journalists argues that despite huge defection, Nigeria is not politically stable to have a one party system. SODIQ ADEKUNLE, was there. Excerpt: Why did your party performed poorly in the just concluded general election?

As an insider, I believe leadership struggle and crisis is the major cause of the defeat of PDP in

the 2015 general election. Some of our leaders are not committed to the course of the party and its development. Struggle for power and resources were the major concern of the leaders within the party. Our leaders indulge in self aggrandisements at the expense of the interest of the masses.

There is also lack of commitment to the course of the party and its development and attempts by the PDP governors to impose their successors at the detriment of other candidates also seriously affected the party. Again at a point, President Goodluck Jona-

than sees himself as the President of Ijaw rather than that of Nigeria. He cornered all available positions for his kinsmen. During the time of former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Musa Yar’Adua administrations positions were spread across the country, but in Jonathan era all are meant for his kinsmen. He was told about the lopsidedness, but believes he could manage it, but see where he has landed the party.

Unlike what is happening in APC which enhanced the party in CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

Jonathan is father of new Nigeria - Uranta Executive Secretary, Nigeria National Summit Group (NNSG), Mr. Tony Uranta, in this interview praised President Goodluck Jonathan for accepting the result of the presidential election and sets agenda for the President–elect, General Muhammadu Buhari among other salient issues. Deputy Political Editor, JONATHAN EZE reports.

What are the expectations of Nigerians from the Presidentelect as he takes over by May 29?

It will be proper to begin by congratulating General Buhari for having true persistence and doggedness because I am still astonished at a general of his

Wike

age repeatedly contesting for that office and not being deterred by the fact that he was losing consistently. So, he kept at it like they say Abraham Lincoln did and he is President-elect today. I will not restrict that congratulations to General Buhari alone but will expand it to include one of the best politicians Nigerian has, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, who has created a national opposition party. I don’t know how well welded together it is, how sustainable it may be, but one thing we cannot write away is that Bola Tinubu has been able to put up a very credible fight and put in a new President in Nigeria and was able to win over nearly all the states that were opposed to the APC before. Having said

PDP panics as tribunal moves to Abuja

that, I think the greatest applause has to necessarily go for the man who many have described as the hero of democracy in Nigeria but whom I want to modestly but in all sincerity acknowledged as the father of the new Nigeria, that is President Goodluck Jonathan.

Because if Jonathan had not created and allow for the existence of an enabling environment, a free and level playing field, if he had not subscribed to and encouraged freedom of information, freedom of discourse, freedom of association and protest on a level that we have never had in Nigeria, not even in the pre-military era. If he had not been such a democrat that he was even to be subtly supportCONTINUED ON PAGE 9

Faith Faithful

Port Harcourt As part of efforts to test the authenticity of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) victory, the All Progressives Congress, (APC) leadership is set to challenge the Rivers State Governorship election results released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) at the

Uranta

tribunal.

The Rivers State chapter of the PDP, sure of the credibility of the polls described the decision of the APC as a wasteful venture, expressing optimism that its candidates and the Governor-elect, will still emerge victorious.

The PDP chairman, Felix Obuah in a statement, said “in as much as it is normal and demo-

cratic for election result to be challenged justifiably, it finds the Rivers APC’s case as not yielding any positive result, as they do not have any authentic evidence to justify their claims of the exercises being compromised by INEC officials, the security agencies and the PDP in the state”.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 11

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, April 21, 2015

9 Politics

Buhari can’t ignore confab recommendations, must restructure Nigeria- Uranta CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

ing in some cases, individuals that did not belong to his party.

For example, in Edo, Anambra, Ondo, he created a new atmosphere; the atmosphere of come out, run and come out, vote, and know that it is one man, one vote and each vote will be counted and each vote will count. More than this, he went ahead and allow Nigeria to exist till this moment because the potency of danger which was about to engulf us, the reality that Nigeria may have been on the skid, about to break up, post-March 28, we cannot wave away. But by his (Jonathan) conceding and conceding in time and graciously, and compelling his party (PDP) not to contest the outcome of the presidential election, he did not only created such a first in Nigeria, but has gone into the annals of history as a leading African leader in circumstances such as Nigeria was finding itself then where the whole world led by the United States had even foretold our failure this year and were expecting it to start from the presidential election but he consciously calculated everything, held back and has allowed peace to prevail, that is the first thing we have to recognised. President Jonathan has shown that he is a man greater than even the office of the president of Nigeria.

As to what we expect of the general when he assumes office, the first thing he has to do is let us learn to stop calling him ‘General’. He has to shed that toga of him being the military whether benevolent, autocratic or brutal dictator. He has to become a truly democratic civilian President in the new Nigeria where peace, democracy, rule of law and respect for other people’s sensibility has to take control. We expect him, most of all, to focus on the restructuring of Nigeria. You will remember that the Yoruba’s

Afenifere and a great deal of people supported President Jonathan not because they liked his face, not because they necessarily liked his politics, but because they like the fact that he committed to restructuring this nation as it is needed and necessary if it is to sustainably continue as a united, progressive Nigeria. One of the biggest platforms on which he now created this ethos of restructuring is the platform of the National Conference.

Many of us, who were supportive of the National Conference and its recommendations, have been calling for the implementation of the recommendations of the Conference. If all that General Buhari does is to implement the National Conference’s recommendations, the President-elect would be a hero. But, he has already begun to win my heart by announcing that he will not nominate or appoint anybody into public office who has not sworn

to declare his assets in Court, not just to the Code of Conduct Bureau. People should note the elements here: if you lied to the code of Conduct Bureau, you could be indicted and sanctioned, these are maybe’s. But if you swear to a falsehood in Court you are liable to be prosecuted for perjury. What Gen Buhari has therefore said is that he would only use people who are ready for us (Nigerians) to shine searchlights on them to confirm that whatever they say in Court as concerning their past is true. I believe that means he may be serious about appointing only non-corrupt Nigerians into office. I don’t know how many non-corrupt politicians we have in the county, but then he has said that even his transition committee will be filled with technocrats, so maybe he is going to lead this country with technocrats, which could be a welcome development.

We must remember that one of President Jonathan’s major key-

players, who also was a key-player under former President Obasanjo is Mrs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a technocrat’s technocrat. Maybe with more technocrats, we will have less corruption, maybe. All that remains to be seen, but it is a welcome development and we are going to hold General Buhari to this. If anybody he appoints or needs to be appointed cannot stand up to the full glare of public scrutiny, we are going to shout and shout very loud.

Since we have all accepted the fact that the President-elect would take over on May 29, it follows that we all have to work with him to improve Nigeria. Therefore, I will be joining others to throw a very bright searchlight on him and his appointees, not for any partisan reasons, but mainly from the viewpoints of his own promises to Nigeria, through which, as Jega assures us, he convinced us that he is truly above board, patriotic and devoid of ultra-fun-

damentalisms, be they religious, ethnic, feudal or parochial, and that he is going to surround himself with people of the same calibre who are truly above board.

I applaud him on another issue, the fact that the General has said he would campaign vigorously to stop one the greatest abuses I have campaigned against for some time, the fact that governors sat down unilaterally and awarded themselves humongous retirement pension benefits, disregarding the fact that they have not been able, in most cases, to even pay minimum-wage-based salaries when and as due to the electorate of Nigeria. Now, that General Buhari has said he is going to work against those pensions and humongous benefits being collected by these politicians, many of whom performed far below average, is another very welcome development. We are going to support him in this.

Of course, very importantly, we will expect that General Buhari does one thing that everybody is expecting him to do as soon he assumes office; he must end the terrorism and insurgency in the North East as soon as possible because that was the key promise of his campaign”we will stop Boko Haram, we know how to stop Boko Haram and we know who Boko Haram is”. Yes, that is his pledge. And, truly, since, we must admit, they have not attacked us so much since he won the election, I want to assume that once he ascends into power, Boko Haram will formally sign-out. But in reality, we know that Boko Haram has formally aligned itself with its cousins ISIS, we know that the Al-Shabab is increasing operations in East Africa, AQIM is expanding through North-Western Africa further south into Mali etc, Yemen is burning, Syria is CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

“I applaud mainly the Jagaban of Bourdillion as they call him, Bola Tinubu. He is a man whom I have had a lot of respect for long before he went into politics and social activism in the ‘90s Senate and NADECO, even from his fledgling Chicago days as a friend of Otunba Remi Abdul. I respect his being able to weld together different existing political forces that were seen as existing parties and already held sway in certain regional enclaves in Nigeria.”

Tinubu

Politics 10

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, April 21, 2015

‘Positions sharing will split APC’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

forging ahead, the PDP depends on federal government which was not forthcoming. The Ministers are not funding the party in their states. Could you believe that Ogun state has two ministers?

They don’t even know Akinwumi who is the minister from Ogun State. Any time we went for party rally, they will still be introducing party leaders to Akinwumi. If he had been funding the party in that place, himself and Buruji would have snatched the government from Amosun. How many will I count? One of the dancing lady in Ibadan, Jumoke Akinjide, I challenged her because one woman was challenging her that she refused to fund the party, I asked her whether it is it true, she said ‘don’t mind them’, so, that is what has caused the failure of PDP to function. Now that we don’t have many representatives in the next government, maybe the few that we have will use the resources at their disposal to fund the party and form a strong opposition to APC. Did you foresee another political party coming out from the remnants of PDP? Half of APC members are PDP defectors. It is not easy to repair a house; it is either you demolish the whole house and build a new one or you repair what you have.

If you are re-building a house, it is easier than renovating a house because it is very expensive than building a new one. I am very sure that all those people that run away will come back. They are not going to get anything there.

If you know the man from Daura that has just clinched the Presidential slot, he is above 70 and cannot be changed. He said they are not going to probe, let us wait till May 29, by the time he gets to that Presidential Villa, and he opens the books. Chief Olusegun

Obasanjo pledged the other time that he will never probe anybody, up to two months ago; he was still recovering Abacha’s loot. Unless there is no looting there, that is why the man will not probe. I think he has phobia for corruption, although it is the corrupt people that brought him there, he will leave those people to pursue our own. For us, we will be praying for him. We in the PDP are not going to oppose him blindly, we are going to engage new government in constructive and serious criticism. We are having some of our members in the assembly and House of Representatives who will help us to do the job very well.

Also, in the State Houses of As-

sembly, we are having representatives. We have some in Lagos State House of Assembly now. It is only in Osun that the Jagaban of Osun is very reluctant which resulted in fierce shooting of guns during the State Assembly Election.

Close to one week, there was sporadic shooting everywhere especially in Ifetedo in Ife-South Local Government of Osun State. But we have prepared our mind that if you hear gun shot, don’t run, if you run, it may hit you.

Do you agree that those defecting to APC may spoil it?

There are many rooms in APC. The owner of the house said there is no room in the house for people and you are rushing there. Look at

those people who had gone there for a long time, where are they today? Look at Elder Peter Babalola, Prince Olagunsoye Oyinlola, maybe through the help of Former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, he may get something better. If not that Isiaka Adeleke had money through his younger brother Deji, Adeleke will not be anywhere. Look at former Attorney General and Commissioner of Justice in Osun State who is also the Asiwaju of Iwo, Barrister Gbadegesin Adedeji, where is he now? So, if you look at those people who had already left and joined APC long time ago, and you will say you are still going there.

You have to stay and nurture your

own party. It doesn’t take time. So, politically we will stay here.

Are you not afraid that the nation might be heading to a one party state?

There cannot be only one party in Nigeria. Nigeria is not politically stable to that stage. Sharing of political offices will cause problem in APC government because it is already congested. Those that run away are surely coming back.

Nigeria cannot do with one party.

Can you predict any bright future for Nigeria under Buhari?

Buhari will begin to step on toes of Nigerians shortly when he gets to power house. The political environment from where Buhari emanates will play a major factor when he gets to office. Buhari is Hause\Fulani extraction including El-Rufai who can insult anybody. Yar’adua is also Fulani and when he got to office newly, he brought everybody on board but by the time he settled down, he became a Fulani. By June this year, this Fulani man from Daura, Buhari assume office, I can bet you he will now turn to real Fulani man. When Jonathan got to office, he had no slippers. He was the Daniel of the whole world.

We voted him. When he settled down, he became an Ijaw man. It is only Chief Olusegun Obasanjo that was the president in that villa that his Chief of Staff is from Kwara and Jos at the same time.

The only person that was close to him was the Director of SSS, one Aare from Abeokuta and one Mr. Taiwo who resumed as his private Chief of Staff in the house, the remaining aides are mainly Ibos and Fulanis which include Dangote, El-Rufai, Kema chikwe, Okonjo Iweala, Diezani. But Jonathan spoilt the whole system by cornering all available key posiCONTINUED FROM PAGE 11

‘Buhari must restructure Nigeria’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

exploding, so whether Boko Haram is going to die that kind of a natural death remains to be seen.

But, having had the opportunity to work with him politically in the past, I want to believe the General is man of his word. If he does not put Boko Haram Out of business within the first 90 days of his being in office, Nigerians would be able to say to him very openly and frankly, “General, you lied to us”, because of his re-

peatedly assuring us of being able to make Boko Haram stop immediately he becomes President.

These are the imperative things General Buhari must do for us to within the first 100 days, to get us to welcome him and say that truly Jega’s Nigerians did not make a mistake; then we all will applaud him and say, “we chose a better leader by bringing in Buhari.

How do you think the opposition was able to warm its way into the hearts of Nigeri-

ans and do you think the PDP would be able to serve as a virile opposition party?

Again, I applaud mainly the Jagaban of Bourdillion as they called him, Bola Tinubu. He is a man whom I have had a lot of respect for long before he went into politics and social activism in the ‘90s Senate and NADECO, even from his fledgling Chicago days as a friend of Otunba Remi Abdul. I respect his being able to weld together different existing

political forces that were seen as existing parties and already held sway in certain regional enclaves in Nigeria. He welded them together and presented them as a formidable opposition and for the first time since the military took over we had a truly virile national opposition party in Nigeria. Anybody who does not give kudos to Tinubu for that does not know anything about politics. However, he did not win over Nigerians through the welding together of

those enclaves or those parties, he putatively won the hearts of Nigerians by strategically positioning himself in the media both by owning, subscribing to and having controlling interest in many traditional media- radio, Television and Newspapers, while he very calculatedly and assiduously developed and encouraged the new/ social media in Nigeria, helping sustain and create new blog ownCONTINUED ON PAGE 11

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, April 21, 2015

11 Politics

Why APC trounced PDP - Fadahunsi, PDP chieftain CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10

tions for his kinsmen and drove others from other tribes away from his government; that was the beginning of the problem for the outgoing administration. Had he known, he would not have allowed them to use the money they garnered under his government against him and his government.

Now, now those people that left the PDP are those winning the election on the platform of APC. So, when Buhari gets there also, like he had been telling Nigerians what he want to do, whether you like it or not, he will do it and he will offend a lot of us, he will offend his sponsors. You know kingmaker will want to elect an Oba because of the bribe they want to collect and they will want

to have another king in the next two years and collect bribe from another person. But, it is the king that will say, ok, if you know how to take bribe, he will know how to discharge them.

Secondly, the economy of the country is not favourable at present. When the economy was about 130 dollars per barrel, we didn’t do well. We would have saved lot money in the nation’s treasury.

But we didn’t. It was the Saraki group when he was the Governor of Kwara State that challenged the Sovereign Fund saving with the CBN before the Supreme Court which was started by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo administration. Obasanjo left about 33 billion dollars of the excess crude oil money in reserve. And the Supreme Court held that the federal

government cannot keep such money, that every money that goes to the account of CBN as revenue must be shared. That is why we don’t have a kobo in that account again.

What is your advice for Buhari?

There are many advisers and there are many state elders. But are they genuine advisers? The man, who has been looking for power three, four or five times, knows what to do. Now the economy is going down and with the heavy load on presidential government, it is going to be very difficult for Buhari. He cannot revamp the economy of this country in a year or two, and to even pay salary, his government has to go to the reserve and the reserve is going down, and if the reserve

is below 30 billion dollars, there will be no cash to bring in foreign goods. The almighty Minister of Economy, who was sacked by Chief Olusegun Obasanjo government was brought back as Minister of Finance and Coordinator of the Economy. This is the same set of people that Jonathan brought back to manage our economy and this was the beginning of our economic problems.

Kehinde Akinpelu Ilorin

Fadahunsi

‘What Buhari must do within 100 days’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10

ers dotted all over the cyberspace.

We forget that, at the end of the day, it is not just the truth that sets you free, but the truth that you know and do. He was able to tell us what he wanted us to know. For example, Jonathan was beaten in media space outright long before the election by the APC. Nobody knew any achievement of the president and we must lay that blame squarely at the feet of his so-called image makers, they failed him woefully; they are mainly my friends but they failed to market President Jonathan’s remarkable achievements, person and potentials adequately enough to NIgerians and the world. It is sad that Ifeanyi Ubah’s TAN did better marketing of GEJ in four months than all the President’s men did in four years.

Tinubu and the APC managed to market themselves through the media, which as I said he owned, controlled and influenced greatly.

As to the PDP, I will not say that I am totally sorry that it has been rudely shaken awake and is currently being dismembered the way it is, because this will bring those people who are in that party to a realization that the era of ‘business-as-usual’ is for ever gone. All these loud talk, from the present leadership, about ‘we are going to re-jig ourselves’, is nothing but mere talk which is cheap; it is going to take some time for the PDP to get itself together.

But one good thing the PDP has going for it is that it is now being perceived as evolving a new ethos of patriotic integrity that is beginning to manifest. That integrity that was propelled by Presi-

dent Jonathan’s development of the enabling environment space for free and fair elections, and amplified by the President’s very gracious concession to defeat which has been copied nearly across board by all PDP leaders.

Where PDP candidates have been defeated, they have acknowledged defeat nearly immediately. Even where the party said we would contest the results, the individuals have called to congratulate those they contested with. And in a unique case of Ekiti State, even where he is now confirmed as the governor by the Supreme Court, I heard Ekiti Governor Fayose say “if I have offended anybody forgive me”. That is a new spirit and people must not be ignorant of these things, it is a spirit that would probably not have been born if President Jonathan had

said he was going to contest the result.

I must note at this point that it is very sad that APC candidates have not shown such a spirit of patriotic sportsmanliness, as they have not conceded defeat in anywhere. Is APC saying that it expected to win all 36 states, all 774 local governments? Something must be wrong with the psyche of the leaders of the APC if they are still thinking that way, if they are still thinking like ‘door-die’ military dictators; if they are not yet thinking like democrats; if it is a do-or-die battle for every seat; if, sadly, they have not still learnt that in a true democracy, you win some and lose some; and, if you are yet to learn that you are not the sole repository of knowledge, strategy, sophistry and even rigging.

Rivers PDP panics over movement of tribunal to Abuja CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

The party, cautioning Gov Amaechi, Dakuku, Ikanya and other APC chieftains on their actions, says “it is aware that they have procured and are funding productions of fake and doctored video footages, which are currently being produced in known video studios in Port Harcourt and two other Local Government Council Areas in the state”.

Reacting to a statement credited to the state APC chairman, Davis Ibiamu Ikanya, claiming that their effort was to reclaim the party’s mandate, the PDP explained that it

was the PDP mandate that was stolen by Gov Amaechi and the APC that has been recovered, stressing that Rivers people have spoken through their overwhelming votes for the PDP and the Governorelect, at the polls.

“The PDP has nothing to fear in case Ikanya and his team of bad losers approach the Tribunal.

Our concern is the fact that they should rather prepare to go to jail for the numerous electoral frauds committed not only in Rivers but in other states during the March 28 and April 11 elections, including Sokoto, Kano, Abia, Imo, Kaduna,

Bauchi, Jigawa etc”, it said.

The PDP calls attention of the International community and INEC to the continued hiring of groups and local people, decorating them as foreign or accredited local observers with huge sums paid to them by Governor Amaechi as inducement only for them to condemn the conduct of the elections in the state.

The latest of these actions it said was an event in which Senator Magnus Abe gathered an obscure group of persons in Ogoni to discredit the elections that have been applauded to be free and fair,

Lawmaker pledges elevated proceedings at Kwara Assembly

and which outcome has given the people of the state their Governorelect, and other duly elected citizens of the state.

“It is regrettable that Chief Ikanya and his co-travelers have refused to accept the reality and join forces with the real progressives and democratic minds to move the state forward”, it added and called on the public not to be deceived by the lies peddled around by the APC supporters about the upturning of the election results saying such is an imagination of the underdogs.

Amaechi

The Chairman House of Representatives Committee on Justice, Dr Ali Ahmad has reaffirmed that the eighth legislature will raise the standard and level of proceedings at the Kwara State House of Assembly to serve as check and balances to the executive arm of government.

Dr Ali Ahmad who gave the assurance on Saturday when the Ilorin branch of the Nigeria Bar Association (NBA) paid him a courtesy visit in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, said the level of legislation would be raised without being antagonistic and confrontational.

According to him, it is time to serve the people and raise the bar, saying that high premium will be placed on the professional bodies to assist by taking part in governance and noted that politicians should not be left alone to run the affairs of politics.

Dr Ali Ahmad charged the NBA to work towards providing good leadership in fashioning out programmes that would enable the government achieve developmental goals and serve as watchdog to the three arms of government.

The lawmaker, who thanked the executive of the NBA for the visit, assured that the eight legislature in the state would protect copyright laws and intellectual properties and amend the state laws to make it the most up-to-date in the country.

Speaking earlier, the Chairman of the Ilorin branch of Nigeria Bar Association,Barrister Mobolaji Ojibara, who congratulated the lawmaker for his resounding success in the poll, stressed the need to sustain the symbiotic relationship existing between the Bar and the House.

News 12

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Chukwumerije 1939 - 2015 Okorocha expresses sadness Val Okara Owerri

ÏÏÏ Imo State Governor, Ro-

chas Okorocha, has said he was saddened by the news of the death of one of the illustrious sons of Igboland and one of the outstanding, patriotic Nigerians, Senator Uche Chukwumerije, at the age of 75.

Okorocha, in a press release by his media aide, Mr. Sam Onwuemeodo, on Monday, in Owerri, said that he could not believe the news of Chukwumerije’s death in a private hospital in Abuja, when he first heard about it, until certain telephone calls he made to that effect confirmed it.

“For years, Senator Chukwumerije served the nation with a very high sense of commitment and responsibility, and had also dutifully served Ndi-Igbo, and his death, at this time, would no doubt create a vacuum that would not be easily filled in the politics of the nation and in the life of the National Assembly, because Nigerians would now miss his experiences and all that he represented.”

Okorocha said Nigerians would no longer witness the doggedness of Chukwumerije and would have wished he had continued to live, because of what he truly stood for.

“Senator Chukwumerije had not only believed much in the unity and progress of Nigeria, but had also worked to see it happen, especially through his legislative activities,” he added.

The governor expressed deep regret that Chukwumerije died, when his services and wealth of experience were most needed. He prayed God to grant the soul of Chukwumerije eternal peace, and the family members the fortitude to bear his loss.

Jonathan mourns

ÏÏÏ President Goodluck Jona-

than, on Monday, expressed sadness over the death of Senator Uche Chukwumerije.

His Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Dr. Reuben Abati, said in a statement that Jonathan expressed heartfelt condolences to the government and people of Abia State on the death of the senator.

Jonathan also commiserated with the Senate over the passage of Chukwumerije whom, he said,

was an ardent believer in national unity, peace, political stability and progress.

Jonathan joined them in mourning the late patriot and nationalist, who has left behind an impressive legacy of discipline, honesty, integrity and hard work in public service.

Jonathan said he believed that the late Chukwumerije, who had a distinguished career as a journalist, social critic, minister and senator, would long be remembered

for his dedication and passion for a just and equitable society.

As the nation mourns him, Jonathan urged Chukwumerije’s family, friends and associates to honour his memory by continually upholding the values and principles, which he lived for, and never stopped fighting for till his death.

Jonathan prayed that God would comfort all who mourned him and grant his soul well-deserved peace.

. . . Igbo, activists lament his death Ifeanyi Onwuneme

ÏÏÏ

The National President of Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO), Comrade Uche Wisdom Duruke, has expressed shock over the demise of Comrade Senator Uche Chukwumerije, describing it as a huge loss to Nigeria and the Igbo race in particular.

Duruke pointed out that Chukwumerije was a man who distinguished himself at the Senate and expressed the hope that the

Igbo people would get another to wear the shoes he left behind.

The Abia State Chairman of CLO, Comrade Pedro Azuogu, recounted how he featured prominently during the election that produced Prof. Joe Irukwu as the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo, describing him as a dogged Igbo fighter; a very outspoken politician.

Azuogu said that the comrade, in his days as Biafran propagandist, was known for keeping hope alive for Biafrans from the infor-

mation he chummed out from his propaganda machinery.

According to the activist: “Chukwumerije made Biafrans to believe in their invisibility, as propagated by Chukwuemeka Ojukwu, the Biafran warlord. He was at his best in 1993, during the Abiola saga.

“His propaganda machinery came alive again when he doused every tension and saved Nigeria from hitting the precipice, for which Nigeria become history.

He should, therefore, be regarded

National Chairman of All Progressives Congress (APC), Chief John Oyegun (left) President-elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari during a courtesy visit to latter in Kaduna… at the weekend.

It’s a big blow to Nigeria, says APGA Lateef Ibrahim Abuja

ÏÏÏ

The leadership and members of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) has described Senator Uche Chukwumerije’s death, on Sunday in Abuja, as shocking.

The party described

Jonathan

Chukwumerije as a patriotic Nigerian and statesman, adding that his demise was a big blow to Nigerians, particularly the political class.

“He was a politician’s politician, who served the nation meritoriously in different capacities,” APGA said in a statement signed by its national

Leader, Chief Maxi Okwu.

The statement read: “The leadership and members of the All Progressives Grand Alliance received with shock, the news of the transition to glory of Senator Uche Chukwumerije on Sunday, aged 75 years.

“We are deeply pained and saddened by the demise of

an illustrious son of NdiIgbo, a patriotic Nigerian and statesman.

“We share the grief of members of his family and loved ones. May God comfort and strengthen all those affected by this irreparable loss.

“We are glad that he lived a life worthy of emulation,” it said.

as one of Nigerian heroes.”

Azuogu further noted that, “as a two-timer at the Senate, representing Abia North Senatorial Zone, his potent contributions on the red floor helped, in no small measure, in reshaping modern day Nigeria.”

The Senate spokesman, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, described Chukwumerije who, until his death, was the chairman, Senate Committee on Education, as a political giant and one of the nation’s finest legislators.

...He was a fine gentleman – Atiku

ÏÏÏ Former vice-president and

chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Atiku Abubakar, has bade Senator representing Abia North, and former Minister of Information, Senator Uche Chukwumerije, a farewell to eternity, describing him as a fine gentleman.

Abubakar said, in a press statement signed by his media office in Abuja, on Monday, that the news of Chukwumerije’s death, on Sunday evening, came to him as a rude shock.

“Senator Chukwumerije was in the class of those gentlemen you cannot but notice his outstanding qualities, even whIle standing in the midst of other men.

“His mannerism came across as someone who was well cultured.

He was very sartorial in style and in presentation, and he never confused you about the disciplined background of his origin. He was a very worthy ambassador of his people,” Atiku eulogised.

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Bomb attack on UN bus kills seven in Somalia

This image made from video shows the scene following a bomb attack on a van carrying U.N. employees in Garowe, in the semi-autonomous Puntland region of northern Somalia, on Monday.

ÏÏÏ

Militant group al-Shabab has claimed responsibility for a bomb attack Monday on a United Nations bus in northern Somalia that killed at least seven people and wounded several others.

The U.N. Children's Fund said four of its staff members were killed and another four were in serious condition after the blast in the town of Garowe, which happened as they traveled from their guest house to their office.

A local police official said the

dead included four foreigners, two Somalis and a suicide bomber.

There was no immediate word on the nationalities of the foreign workers. U.N. Special Representative for Somalia Nick Kay condemned the attack, saying on Twitter he was "shocked and appalled by loss of life."

The bombing was al-Shabab's third deadly attack against international personnel in the span of three days.

On Sunday, al-Shabab mili-

tants killed three African Union peacekeepers from Burundi and wounded several other soldiers in the southern town of Lego.

The AU called that attack a "cowardly ambush."

"This attack on AMISOM peacekeepers is part of the continuous effort to subvert Somalia," AU envoy to Somalia Maman Sidikou said in a statement. "It is an attempt at disrupting the growth that is evident across all regions, by the enemies of the Somali

people." The governor of the Lower Shabelle region, Abdulkadir Mohamed Nur "Siidi," told VOA Somali that at least 11 al-Shabab militants were killed during an exchange of heavy fire.

An attack Saturday on a Kenyan convoy killed three soldiers and wounded eight others while they were on a route patrol in the Delbio area of Lower Jubba region.

Al-Shabab is attempting to overthrow the Somali government and establish an Islamic state.

ÏÏÏ

erate to the opposition the government's willingness to revive the dialogue [which is] the only route that ends with a calmer political climate and inclusive elections," the statement said.

Diallo confirmed he had received the group of senior officials but emphasised that cancelling protests planned for Monday was "out of the question" without the guaranteed implementation of a 2013 agreement stipulating that local elections take place before a

Xenophobia: Zulu king calls for calm

Zulu King, Goodwill Zwelithini has appealed for calm after recent violence against migrants in South Africa.

He had been accused of fuelling the attacks, which have killed, at least, seven people, after saying foreigners should "go back to their countries".

More than 300 people have been arrested in the unrest.

ÏÏÏ

More migrant ships head for Europe ÏÏÏ

New distress calls have been received from migrant boats in the Mediterranean, as EU ministers met in Luxembourg to discuss the crisis. Italy and Malta confirmed they were working on rescues of at least two boats in distress.

The EU added the migrants issue to its agenda after a boat sank early on Sunday with hundreds feared drowned. EU ministers are under pressure after last year's decision to scale back search-andrescue efforts.

Italian PM Matteo Renzi said on Monday his country was working with Malta to rescue two boats in distress. The Maltese navy told the BBC that there were a number of new incidents involving rescues being co-ordinated off Libya by the Italians. Migrants on the boat that ran aground off Rhodes on Monday. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) also said it had received a distress call from a boat sinking in the Mediterranean with at least 300 migrants on board.

CIA chief in talks with Egyptian President ÏÏÏUS

presidential contest. The protesters were due to march on the headquarters of Guinea's national electoral commission on Monday.

Supporters of Diallo's Union of Democratic Forces of Guinea have rallied in recent days over the electoral timetable, which they claim has been pushed through without consultation and gives the ruling party an unfair advantage.

They are also angry about the fragile security situation in the west African nation, which they

blame on President Alpha Conde's regime.

Hundreds of youths hurled stones at police who responded with tear gas and warning shots in two days of violence on April 13 and 14, bringing traffic to a standstill on a main highway into central Conakry, Guinea's capital.

The opposition said three people were killed, including an unidentified young girl, and 50 wounded - at least 12 by gunfire during the clashes.

Central Intelligence Agency director, Paul Brennan held talks with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi during an unannounced visit to Cairo, the president's office said.

The Sunday evening meeting came amid a quickening rapprochement between the longtime allies after Washington in March lifted a partial freeze on its $1.5bn annual aid to Egypt that it imposed when then-army chief Sisi ousted elected president Mohamed Morsi in 2013.

"The meeting underscored the strong ties between Egypt and the USA and the importance of their strategic relationship as well as their commitment to promote relations," a statement from the president's office said.

Thousands packed into a stadium in the eastern city of Durban to hear King Zwelithini's address. He says his comments were distorted by the media.

In King Zwelithini's speech, he said it was not fair to blame the violence on one individual, pointing out that there had been several previous outbreaks of xenophobic violence in South

Africa.

He added that the South African Human Rights Commission should investigate the hate speech charges against him without hindrance.

Among the latest arrests were three men detained in connection with the murder of a Mozambican national in Alexandra, a township in Johannesburg.

Zwelithini

Guinean govt meets opposition leader ahead of protests A Guinean government delegation has met opposition leader Cellou Dalein Diallo at his home for talks, ahead of fresh protests due Monday calling for a disputed electoral timetable to be scrapped. A statement released on Sunday by the delegation, headed by justice minister Cheick Sako, said their first meeting in almost 18 months had "re-launched a dialogue" with former prime minister Diallo.

"This step was intended to reit-

13 Africa

World 14

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, April 21, 2015

White House condemns ISIL massacre of Ethiopian Christians

This still image from a video uploaded to social media purportedly shows Ethiopian Christians kneeling on the ground in front of masked militants from the so-called Islamic State before their execution in a desert area at an undisclosed location in Libya.

ÏÏÏThe White House has con-

demned "in the strongest terms" the mass murder of 30 Ethiopian Christians in Libya claimed by Islamic State.

A spokeswoman said Sunday, "That these terrorists killed these men solely because of their faith lays bare the terrorists' vicious senseless brutality."

She said the killings show the

urgent need for a political settlement to the chaos in Libya, and a unified rejection of terrorist groups.

Militants from the so-called Islamic State stand behind what are said to be Ethiopian Christians in Libya, in this still image from an undated video posted to a social media website on April 19, 2015.

Militants from the so-called Is-

lamic State stand behind what are said to be Ethiopian Christians in Libya, in this still image from an undated video posted to a social media website on April 19, 2015.

In claiming responsibility for the massacre, Islamic State group posted a graphic video showing men kneeling on a beach and beheaded. Others are shot in the back of the head.

It is similar to a February video showing Islamic State militants cutting off the heads of Egyptian Christians.

An Arab League official told the French news agency military chiefs from the region would meet in Cairo this week to discuss creating a joint military force against Islamic State militants.

A United States-led coalition of several regional partners continued attacks against the IS nerve-center on Sunday, with 12 airstrikes in Iraq and one in Syria.

In Ethiopia, government spokesman Redwan Hussein said officials were in contact with its embassy in Cairo to verify the video's authenticity. Hussein said he believed those killed likely were Ethiopian migrants hoping to reach Europe. Libya has become a hub for migrants across Africa hoping to cross the Mediterranean to enter Europe for work and better lives.

"If this is confirmed, it will be a warning to people who wish to risk and travel to Europe though the dangerous route,'' Hussein said.

Abba Kaletsidk Mulugeta, an official with the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahdo Church's Patriarchate Office, told the AP he also believed the victims likely were migrants.

US, Philippines begin major Large Student explosions rock kills teacher military drills Yemeni capital at Spanish ÏÏÏ ÏÏÏ school ÏÏÏA young teenage student is

in police custody on suspicion of killing a teacher and wounding four other people at his school in Barcelona on Monday.

"A teacher is dead," killed "by a bladed weapon," just after classes started at the Joan Fuster secondary school in Barcelona, a police spokesperson said.

The weapon used in the attack was a crossbow, Cataluna TV3 reported, but there was no confirmation from police.

The suspect is under 14 years old and was being held by police at the campus in northeastern Spain, as medics also rushed to the scene.

Four other people were slightly injured, the police spokesperson said, adding that many details of the attack remained unclear.

Philippin and American soldiers began their biggest combined military exercise in 15 years on Monday, in a demonstration of Washington's commitment to its long-time ally as it rebalances to Asia in the face of China's expansion in the South China Sea. The annual “Balikatan” (shoulder-to-shoulder) war games are part of a new U.S. military initiative known as Pacific Pathways, involving a series of drills across the Asia-Pacific as America deploys more troops, ships and aircraft in the region.

“The exercises this week are part of a U.S. rebalance to Asia starting with Balikatan in the Philippines,” Major-General Raul del Rosario told Reuters as more than 1,000 US Army troops joined the drills at a jungle army base.

Pacific Pathways, which Washington says is part of a plan to establish a “semi-permanent” U.S. presence in Asia, will comprise

29 exercises across 12 countries in the region over the next five years.

The exercise comes a few days after the Philippines said it was seeking more “substantive” support from the United States on how to counter China's rapid expansion in the South China Sea. China's rapid reclamation around seven reefs in the Spratly archipelago of the South China Sea has alarmed claimants, including the Philippines and Vietnam, and drawn growing criticism from U.S. government officials and the military.

U.S. President Barack Obama has said Washington is concerned China is using its “sheer size and muscle” to push around smaller nations in the disputed sea, drawing a swift rebuke from Beijing. “We make no pretense that we are helping the Philippines as it fields a minimum credible defense,” U.S. Ambassador Philip Goldberg said at the drills' opening ceremony.

Powerful explosions have rocked the Yemeni capital, shattering windows and waking residents up, as Saudi led-airstrikes target suspected weapon caches and missiles held by Shiite rebels.

Mushroom clouds rose in the sky over Fag Atan, in western Sanaa, where the capital's largest weapons caches are located.

"The hanging ceiling and chandelier fell because of the explosions," resident Mohammed Mohsen said. Saudi Arabia and allied countries began launching airstrikes on 26 March, hoping to roll back the rebels, known as Houthis, who seized Sanaa in September and have overrun large parts of the country.

Western governments and Sunni Arab countries accuse the Houthis of receiving arms from Iran. Iran and the rebels deny that, though the Islamic Republic has provided political and humanitarian support to the group.

180 rescued after ferry runs aground off Turkey ÏÏÏMore than 180 people were

rescued early on Monday from a ferry which ran aground off a Turkish island in a storm, after an overnight ordeal lasting 14 hours, state media and officials said.

The passenger ferry was travelling to the island of Gokceada near the mouth of the Dardanelles Strait in the Aegean Sea when it ran aground on Sunday afternoon because of strong winds.

The ferry sustained some damage but there were no injuries to the 188 passengers on board, including 31 children, all of whom were evacuated on Monday morning after being stranded for 14 hours, Anatolia news agency reported, quoting local officials.

Private Dogan news agency showed footage of passengers waiting with their life jackets on inside the ferry, with some screaming in panic in fear that they would drown. There were also 39 vehicles on board.

Venezuela receives $5bn funding from China

ÏÏÏCash-strapped

Venezuela has received $5bn in financing from China, President Nicolas Maduro announced on Sunday as his country struggles with an economic crisis.

"We just received $5bn more in financing for development," Maduro said in a radio and television address.

He did not provide further details on the loan from China, a major political and economic ally of Venezuela.

Plummeting global oil prices have caused huge distress for Venezuela, a member of Opec that relies heavily on its oil revenue to keep its lumbering command economy afloat.

Inflation in 2014 reached 68.5% in the South American country and many basic goods are in short supply.

Maduro

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, April 21, 2015

15 Opinion

Buhari and the tyranny of perception

T Franklin Otorofani

he other day, I casually and light-heartedly sounded out a colleague at work, a well-educated Nigerian, just like me, of Yoruba extraction, what he thought of Buhari’s victory in the Nigerian presidential election. And before I could finish the question a seemingly hackneyed answer popped right of his lips as if a kindergarten regurgitating some crammed line: Why wouldn’t he?

His man won and like many he was still basking in the afterglow of victory celebration.

“He will fight corruption and insecurity and make the country better”, he gushed, his eyes glittering, with a rather triumphant smile playing on his lips. Like most Nigerians who voted for the APC presidential flag bearer, this educated but seemingly politically naïve Nigerian, had rooted for Buhari solely based on his perception of the man as an incorruptible corruption fighter, albeit with pretty scanty evidence of that at his disposal.

If my memory serves me well, UPN leaders of the Yoruba, who were herded to the polls by Bola Tinubu had suffered the most from Buhari’s Kangaroo special

military tribunals that had been pre-programmed by Dodan Barracks, headquarters of Nigeria’s military junta, to return only guilty verdicts against UPN governors while giving a pass or at worst a slap on the wrist not only to former President Shehu Shagari and his infinitely corrupt NPN governors and ministers. Rather than deal with President Shehu Shagari who was presiding over the most corrupt administration in Nigeria’s history then, it was Chief Obafemi Awolowo himself, founder and leader of the UPN and UPN governors, such as Chief Bisi Onabanjo and Professor Ambrose Ali that Buhari hounded and pounced on for allegedly funding the UPN from their state coffers.

It is interesting to note that contrary to time-honored standard tenets of criminal jurisprudence, Buhari’s special military tribunals shifted the onus of proof on the defendants rather than the prosecution to prove their innocence. It was no surprise then that the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) boycotted the Kangaroo tribunals working to an answer. Needless to state that both Ambrose Ali and Bisi Onabanjo later died from the traumatic experience visited on them by Buhari, who never executed a single project anywhere in Nigeria during

his two-year tyrannical rule.

I am not here to re-litigate the election but to point out the delusions that produced its outcome.

Even the trillion naira PTF programme said to be equal to the Federal budget solely administered

by Buhari could not produce any lasting developmental legacy worth mentioning save perhaps for earth roads that couldn’t survive the rains as everything seemed to have gone away with Abacha leaving only Buhari to permanently fix his gaze on the presidency, which a nation suffering from degenerative dementia and amnesia has so callously handed over to him and his Western backers.

Buhari’s election will go down in history as the dumbest vote ever-in Nigeria’s electoral history. In addition, to explain it away in terms of his purported anti-corruption disposition is to rob salt into an injury. That might be the perception of the average Joe, but perception is different from reality. The real anti-corruption Nigerian leader known to history, was Gen. Murtala Mohammed of blessed memory, not General Muhammdu Buhari, the pretender with a phony War Against Indiscipline (WAI).

Yet Buhari found time to cause, through his military administrator in Lagos, the cancelation of former

UPN Governor Lateef Jakande’s Lagos Metroline project that would have cost the state a mere $4bn at the time under the pretext of fighting corruption. Needless to add that the state is now executing a vastly scaled down version of the project at astronomical costs setting the nation back 35 years. Yet it’s these junta template kangaroo trials, which almost every military junta had carried out that earned Buhari his anti-corruption moniker that swept him into office after three previous fruitless attempts as if Nigerians suddenly woke up from their slumber.

This is what I called the tyranny of perception, which has ensnared and enslaved many a Nigerian, even supposedly educated ones amongst us into voting for the past rather than the future. It’s an anachronistic mindset of mass delusion that is certain to come back to bite them in their behinds, and pretty soon, too because a vote for the past cannot deliver the future.

Before long the scales of mass delusion will fall off their eyes and reality will set in. I dare say that Nigeria will not rise beyond Buhari during his tenure, which means that his poor development records will define Nigeria’s progress in the next four to eight years depending on when he leaves office.

Jonathan: Man of the decade

T Tochukwu Ezukanma

ears dripped from my eyes as I watched President Goodluck Jonathan’s nationally televised address.

His speech was short but momentous. He conceded defeat, and accepted the electoral victory of his political opponent, Mohammadu Buhari. In the lawless and unprincipled milieu of Nigerian politics, that concession of defeat by an incumbent president was unparalleled, almost, inconceivable. With that speech, President Jonathan levitated from a politician to a statesman; he left a footprint in the sands of time.

I wondered at my effusion of tears, which I thought was a strange reaction to a TV footage of a presidential speech. It occurred to me that the speech I watched was extraordinary. It was transcendent; it transcended selfish ambitions, arrogance of power, contempt of the popular will, etc. It subordinated personal ambitions and clique interests to the collective good of the country. It encapsulated honour, courage and patriotism. By the vindictive and vicious standards of African politics, it was hagiograph-

ic – just plainly saintly. President Jonathan’s concession speech was an apogee of the Nigerian best.

There was at least one earlier prediction that Nigeria will disintegrate in 2015. In the weeks leading up to the presidential election, it seemed as though the Third World War loomed in Nigeria. With the tension, political desperation, partisan frenzy and the bawdy and hate rhetoric that marked the political campaigns, election violence seemed imminent. Pessimists thought that Nigeria was edging dangerously towards the predicted 2015 disintegration. In addition, optimists thought that there would be violence –massive violence – but that it will not precipitate the dissolution of Nigeria. In anticipation of the impending doom and a total breakdown of law and order, many Nigerians made contingency plans and preparations. They stockpiled on food and other necessities. Some left perceived trouble areas for supposed safe havens. On the day preceding the election, some businesses shuttered their doors, and those that opened operated half day, so as to allow their employees enough time to scamper home before the outbreak of the brewing violence. Refresh-

ingly, to the credit of Nigerians, no violence attended the election.

Over the years, African politicians made nonsense of elections, and showed utter contempt for the popular will. A onetime Sierra Leonean president Siaka Stevens, in his disdain for the electoral process, asked rhetorically, “How can the pieces of paper we printed (ballot papers) remove us from office”. In Ivory Coast, an incumbent president, Laurent Gbagbo, in repudiation of the collective will of Ivoirians, refused to accept the victory of his political opponent, Alassane Quattara. The then Nigerian president, Olusegun Obasanjo, said that his party’s victory in the 2007 presidential poll was a do-or-die affair. Incontrovertibly, do-or-die politics is contemptuous of the rule of law and the tenets of democracy.

It countenances no defeat.

Therefore, it seemed paradoxical that an incumbent Nigerian president would, so graciously, concede defeat and congratulate his triumphant political opponent.

Isaiah Berlin once wrote that, “Greatness is the ability to change a paradox into a platitude.” President Jonathan literally turned a paradox into a platitude. He made

that which seemed contrary to reason, and even, almost impossible, commonplace. With that speech, he restrained his crestfallen and agitated supporters, and stunned and sobered his overjoyed opponents. He made good on his earlier affirmation that (his) “ambition is not worth the life of any Nigerian”, and saved Nigeria from what would have been a protracted, gruesome and bloody armed conflict. Goodluck Jonathan exemplified that Nigerian politics can be premised on the rule of law. It does not have to be a do-or –die affair; there is room for humility, honour and the spirit of sportsmanship in politics. And that no political ambition should be advanced at the expense of any Nigerian life, thoughtless, of the peace of the country.

Acts of greatness can be appreciated by the number of lives they affected, directly and indirectly. By readily accepting the people’s verdict, President Jonathan guaranteed the peace of the country. That entrenched democracy and reinforced political stability in Nigeria, and burnished Nigeria’s badly battered international image. In addition, these are of most beneficial effects on the lives of 170m Nigerians.

16

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, April 21, 2015

bgl capital | bgl securities limited | bgl asset management | bgl private equity

www.bglgroupng.com

Business Times

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, April 21, 2015

s

17

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

Stockbrokers canvass reinvestment of unclaimed dividends Ugochukwu Onyeocha Some capital market operators are advocating the ploughing back of the nation’s N50 billion unclaimed dividends in the Nigerian bourse.

The operators are seeking the approval of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for this to happen.

According to them, investing a fraction of unclaimed dividend in the market would assist in boosting liquidity.

They argued that the idle funds would be the best buffer to leverage the confidence of the investing public, especially during liquidity squeeze challenges.

Mr Emeka Madubuike, President, Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria (ASHON), comfirmed that the idea was a proposal.

Madubuike said that market operators were still discussing

Mournir Gwarzo, Ag DG

New projection for global oil demand trends upward Funmi Coker The IEA Oil Market Report for April raised its forecast of 2015 global oil demand by 90 000 bpd to 93.6 million bpd, a gain of 1.1 million bpd on the year. The notable acceleration from 2014’s 0.7 million bpd growth builds on cold first quarter temperatures and a steadily improving global economic backdrop.

Global supply rose by an estimated 1 million bpd during March, to 95.2 million bpd, as OPEC production recorded its highest monthly increase in nearly four years. Year on year

gains totalling 3.5 million bpd were split between OPEC and non-OPEC production.

OPEC crude oil output soared by 890 000 bpd in March, to 31.02 million bpd, on sharply higher Saudi Arabian, Iraqi and Libyan supplies. The OMR ‘call on OPEC crude and stock change’ was revised marginally higher for the current quarter, to 30.35 million bpd, above the group’s official production ceiling, but left unchanged for full 2015 from the March Report, at 29.5 million bpd.

OECD industry stocks slipped by 1.7 million bbls in February, despite a massive 36.4 million

bbls build in crude oil stocks.

Preliminary data show OECD inventories up a counter seasonal 29.2 million bbls in March, as US crude holdings extended recent builds and refined products defied seasonal trends.

Global refinery crude demand is expected to fall seasonally to 77.3 million bpd in the current quarter, from 78 million bpd in the first quarter of the year.

While Atlantic Basin refiners mostly completed turnarounds in the last quarter, Asian refinery maintenance is set to ramp up sharply this quarter, with up to 2.5 million bpd of distillation capacity offline at its peak in May

with registrars and quoted companies on the modalities before issuing a position paper to the apex capital market regulator.

Dr David Ogogo, Registrar/ Chief Executive Officer, Institute of Capital Market Registrars (ICMR), said that operators were of the opinion that a fraction of the unclaimed dividend could be invested in the market to boost liquidity.

Ogogo said that the institute had insisted that it could only discuss with the operators on the possibility and modalities, if the existing status quo on unclaimed dividend remained.

He said that unclaimed dividend funds would no longer be in the hands of the registrars if the new rules on unclaimed dividend by the commission was implemented.

“We can only discuss the proposal if the status quo on unclaimed dividend remains, but if the rules are amended, un-

claimed dividend funds will no longer be with the registrars,” Ogogo said.

In February SEC proposed new rules that stipulated that all unclaimed dividends in the custody of the registrars shall be returned to the company that paid it 12 months after the date of approval of such dividends.

The proposed SEC rule known as rules 108(b)(1-11) titled “Return of dividends unclaimed” also provides that an evidence of remittance of the unclaimed dividend should be forwarded to the commission within 24 hours.

The rule reads: “Where dividends are returned to the company unclaimed, the company may invest the unclaimed dividend for its own benefit in a guaranteed income investment outside the company and no interest shall accrue on the dividends against the company.”

Money 18

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Switzerland hosts PPP summit for African, EU counterparts Joy Ekeke

Dangote

Dangote Sugar sets pace in food safety certification Charles Okonji

Nigeria’s foremost sugar refinery, Dangote Sugar Refinery has been certified by the Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) as a food safety compliant Company, becoming the first sugar producer with three ISO certificates in Nigeria.

The management of the Refinery said at the weekend that it had successfully obtained the Food Safety Management Systems certification (NIS ISO 22000:2005) issued by the Standard regulatory body.

According to the Deputy Group Managing Director, Dangote Sugar, Engineer Abdullahi Sule, “the Food Safety Management System is a standard that guides the refinery’s core business, the refining of high quality sugar using safe practices to manufacture finished product using hygienically habits in the production processes.”

He added that the Food Safety Management System, FSMS, (ISO 22000:2005); certification is the third in the series of ISO certification on Quality, Process Safety/Security and Food Safety, achieved by the Sugar Refin-

ery, and thus making it the only sugar organisation in the country with three ISO certification.

He disclosed that in addition to the Food Safety Management System, (FSMS) ISO 22000:2005; Dangote Sugar Refinery is also ISO 9001:2008 Quality Management System (QMS), and ISO 18001:2007 Occupational Health and Safety Management System (OHSMS), certified.

These certifications the company said, attested to the Sugar Refinery’s relentless efforts at achieving its set goal to be one of the world’s leading integrated sugar producers, with high quality products and using best practices in the day to day running of its operations, in line with internationally accepted standards.

“Dangote Sugar Refinery is currently working towards the achievement of FSSC 22000, (Food Safety System Certification); a GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative) recognised scheme.”

“The Refinery is actively pursuing a backward integration master plan with a target of producing a total of 1.5 million tons of sugar per annum. The

target is to enable it meet the National Sugar Master Plan. It plans an additional Investment of N180billion for 4 factories in Sokoto and Kebbi States and has 150,000 hectares of land allocated for the project in Kogi, Kwara, Jigawa, Sokoto, Taraba and Kebbi,” Sule said.

Dangote Sugar acquired the moribund 50, 000 tons per annum capacity sugar producing factory-the Savannah Sugar Company Limited in Numan, Adamawa State in 2002. The buy-over, midwifed by the Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE), was the fallout of the failure of several attempts made by the Federal Government to reposition the nation’s foremost sugar company.

Dangote Industries Limited emerged as the preferred bidder and core investor and after which it quickly went into turnaround activities in the Company. To put the company back in shape, Dangote began investments of several billions of Naira. Specifically, N12 billion initial investments was made

by Dangote Group as core running expenses into the business after the take-over in the first five years.

The first non-political, nonpartisan, economics-driven meeting between African and European business communities and government leadership has been billed to hold in Switzerland.

According to the organisers of the convention, Dayo Consulting, the objective of the summit is to drive discussions and enable partnerships that will bring new opportunities for economic prosperity between Africa and her neighbours.

In a statement, the Chief Executive Officer of the firm, Dayo Ogunsola-Gisler, said: ”Our mission is connecting private and public companies, investors, business experts and government entities to create global economic Integration between African nations and the rest of the world.”

“It is my pleasure to invite you to participate in the first African Public-Private Partnership Investment Convention that will take place October 22-23, 2015 at the Conference Center in Kloten municipality, Kloten-Zurich Switzerland.”

He stated that purpose of the A-PPP Convention is collaboration, stressing that as the organisers they were optimistic that it would serve as a veritable forum for businesses to connect with investors, government officials to participate in discussions and for

Ogunsola-Gisler,

all participants to create a foundation for economic and social prosperity within Sub-Saharan Africa and around the world.

“We are expecting more than 250 participants from African and non-African countries, including leaders of major companies, financial investors and entrepreneurs.

“We expect the attendance of more than 150 government representatives who can guide us through the complexities of rules, regulations and expectations. We expect “light bulb” moments when participants learn of valuable opportunities. We expect economically and socially viable projects connected to finance solutions,” he said.

Strike: Trade union leaders cautioned against violence Sodiq Adekunle, Osogbo The Committee for the Defence of Human Right Rights (CDHR), Osun State Chapter, has warned trade union workers to desist from violence.

The right group said this while reacting to a violence caused by the factions of Trade Union Congress in Osun over differences of opinion on a three-day strike.

During the crisis, journalists, especially the cameraman of Channels Television, Mr. Oyegbenile Oloyede were pounced and attacked with weapons by some thugs brought inside a TUCbranded vehicle.

Also, a female member of the National Youth Service Corps reportedly sustained several injuries on her body.

CDHR in a press release by its Chairman, Comrade Akinkunmi

Asifat, described the attitude as an absurd idea, saying that it was unbecoming of a union leader to use thugs to effect an order.

Asifat also called on the security agencies to ensure that all those who are culpable of the “unprovoked” attacks on the journalists were arrested and prosecuted.

He explained that sweeping such case under the carpet would degrade the image of the security agencies.

Asifat said, “The attack on journalist by thugs hired by a factional chairman of the TUC, who is trying to enforce his three-day warning strike order, is highly condemnable. Osun has been freed from thuggery and violence since 2010, and the state government and security agents must not allow anybody to introduce violence and thuggery into the state.

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, April 21, 2015

19 Interview

Buhari should clean up political impositions in aviation sector – Saidu Comrade Razaq Saidu, a one-time Secretary General of National Union of Air Transport Employees(NUATE) and a former member of the Civil Society Representative(Aviation) in MTSS, believes that one major task awaiting the incoming Administration of Gen Muhammadu Buhari, will be to reengineer the transport sector by removing identified clogs in the wheel of the sector’s progress. He also sheds light on other critical issues. CHUKWUEMEKE IWELUNMO with excerpts.

What should be the priority or focal point of the in-comming administration of Gen., Mohammadu Buhari?

What the president-elect should do, not only in the aviation sector but also in all other sectors is to ensure putting round peg in a round hole. That is, he should let professionalism be his yardstick in appointing people into positions of authority.

The Ministry of Aviation should be out rightly scrapped to whittle down the interference in the duties of the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) and allow NCAA to carry out its obligations and oversight without political interference from the Minister.

Look at this scenario- some staff that were overdue for promotion were recently promoted by the management of one of the agencies and they have been acting on their new positions for months only for a Minister to come in and suspend the exercise only to pave way for his political impositions from outside the system.

That is not good. People have kept the system going before the Minister came and if the management deemed it fit to promote those whom it feel deserves promotion due to their productivity, so be it.

However, appointing a Minister of Aviation this time around will be counter-productive and if at all, the in-coming president is to appoint one, he or she must be a professional in the field of aviation like appointing somebody with medical background as Minister of Health. What we have in most of the Aviation Agencies are political impositions.

Placements for jobs are no longer being advertised as required by law so as to get the best personnel for the highly technical job of the sector. Appointments are no longer on professional qualification or competence but job

for the boys on political patronage. Those that came in through this unorthodox way should be shown the way out so as to start in earnest the sanitisation of the industry.

I repeat, the politically imposed appointments must be cleansed from the system. There are a lot of people not doing anything and many more duplication of duties or functions and many more still not qualified for the position they are occupying in the system. This has dragged the aviation standard backward instead of progressing.

I strongly feel that even at that, what is good in this modern era is allow all modes of transportation to be under one Ministrythat is-Ministry of Transport under one Minister and structured into three departments (Aviation, Maritime and Land sub divided into Rail and Road).

Each of this department supervised by a permanent secretary who shall in turn report to the Minister. Duplicating or Triplicating into different Ministries of these transportation modes is counter-productive in modern economies.

Most times appointment made on this old premise are politically motivated without adequate considerations for professionalism and competence and they always come in with policies that are at variant with set standards and procedures for administering these modes of transportation.

For example, in Aviation, previous Ministers of Aviation have always work against the acceptable International Civil Aviation Organization(ICAO) set standards and recommended practices and imposed their personal thoughts and views on the industry without the in-put of operators and professionals in the industry and other indispensable stakeholders. This has brought gross set-backs to the aviation industry.

CORRUPTION

Saidu

Even, a blind person or deaf man knows that there is corruption in the aviation industry perpetrated by the political class in the Aviation Ministry.

Their unnecessary political interference through the dishing out of policies not in tune with the workability of the industry and not in line with ICAO set standards and has invariably led to the corruption of the system.

For example, BASA account is not meant to be shared as political patronage but ploughed back into the industry through repositioning, replacement of obsolete equipment and training and retraining of personnels. This are what BASA account was meant to achieve.

They thought may be BASA is for the federal Government. It was Nigeria Airways commercial agreement that gave birth to BASA In the days of Nigeria Airways, it established and developed some routes but due to lack of capacity fleet to match foreign airlines on those routes in order to reciprocate, it went into commercial agreement with those airlines in which the airlines had to pay an agreed amount per passenger per extra capacity they lifted which Nigeria Airways couldn’t meet up with.

The royalties accruing there from were therefor paid into the BASA account created. When Nigeria Airways was liquidated, the Federal Government through

the Ministry of Aviation hijacked the BASA account which had been transferred to NCAA for the development of the industry.

When Stella-Oduah became the Minister, strange things started happening. The depletion of the millions of US Dollars in BASA account started in earnest.

This is why I want the in-coming government to look into this, especially the disbursement of the money that accrued into the BASA account. It must be critically looked into so as to determine whether various withdrawals follow due process and what were the various withdrawals expended on.

Was it not because one of the NCAA DGs refused to compromise on illegal spending of BASA fund that he was removed? Since his removal, many others were also removed on similar ground.

The NCAA is expected to draw from this money for the training and retraining of its technical staff to enhance its oversight functions, especially on ascertaining the airworthiness compliance of airlines.

To achieve this, the Authority’s staff must be trained both locally and abroad. How many times have they been able to do that due to paucity of funds? Where are the millions of US Dollars in the BASA account? We want to know.

NIGERIA AIRWAYS

Another area which has been the clog in the wheel of progress of the industry in Nigeria was the wrongful and illegal liquidation of Nigeria Airways. This airline was then the symbol of national unity and pride.

It was and is still my view that if at all the national carrier was to be liquidated, a Bill to that effect ought to have been sent to the National Assembly because the airline was set up through an Act of Parliament in 1958 and the Act is still in our Statute book and not yet repelled. However, it was hurriedly liquidated through false premise of alleged huge indebtedness.

I want to believe that the former President Olusegun Obasanjo under whose administration Nigeria Airways was liquidated must have been misled into believing that Nigeria Airways was owing a lot without properly cross checking on those that were owing the airline of which the Federal Government was the major debtor. As at the time Nigeria Airways, was not owing the amount they claimed it owed.

The liquidator has till today not told Nigerians how much he sold Nigeria Airways and its properties both here and overseas, that is, in the USA, Britain, Belgium, Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Ghana and I other African countries, and most importantly in

Continued on page 20

Money 20

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Stories by Ugochukwu Onyeocha

Timothy Oguntayo, Skye Bank GMD/CEO

Skye Bank warns against neglect of MSME sector

Following strong growth in Diamond Bank’s balance sheet and tremendous upsurge in assets from N1.52trillion to N1.93trillion, Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, of the Bank, Uzoma Dozie, has predicted a better run for the company in 2015 propelled by massive investments in digitization.

For the year ended December 31, the group recorded a growth of 27.3 per cent in total assets from N1.52 trillion in the previous year to N1.93 trillion. This was driven mainly by growth in deposits, which surged 23.8 per cent from N1.21 billion in 2013 to N1.49 billion, demonstrating the Bank’s strong ability and network to generate cheap deposits from the retail and middle market segments. Also, the Bank grew its loan portfolio to customers from N689 billion to N791 billion, representing 14.8 per cent increase.

Speaking on the results, Dozie stated that the performance and steady growth in the BY under review despite the inclement operating environment, was the result of management’s focus on the strategic projections.

Skye Bank has warned against neglecting the Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the country, noting that any act of complacency over issues bothering the sector would adversely affect the fortunes of Nigeria’s economy.

Addressing over 200 customers and business partners drawn from the MSME sector that attended the South East edition of Skye Bank’s SME seminar held recently at De Lumen Hotel, GRA, Onitsha, Anambra State bank’s Regional Director, South East I, Dr. Charles Udogu,said “Having identified the gap in the SME sector, Skye Bank organised this seminar to bridge this gap through the Bank’s business seminar series.” .

Themed ‘’Nurturing Businesses for Growth’’, the bank described the seminar as part of its contributions towards developing the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) sector of the Nigerian economy.

Udogu stressed that MSME was an important growth driver in any economy, warning key economic players in the nation’s polity not to neglect the sector.

Speaking in the same vein, Mrs. Ayo Olojede Head, Small Business Group, Skye bank disclosed that the Bank was coming up with solutions that would help to minimise the cost of doing businesses for small business owners.

Olojede however warned that, “If you want to access a loan, there are some simple but fundamental requirements the bank will expect - like a business plan, cash flow projections and basic business skills to determine the viability of the business and ways of partnering with customers to deliver value.’’

Commenting on the seminar, she said it was organised to enlighten the bank’s customers on areas of managing their cash flow and other areas of business operations among other issues.

In his keynote speech, the Managing Director, Dilimson Holdings Limited, Mr. George Umobi, charged participants to confront challenges faced in the course of growing their businesses and charged them to seize the opportunity Skye bank presented to them and make the best of it.

Digitization will propel Diamond Bank to greater profitability – Dozie

Dozie

“We at Diamond Bank are pleased to announce continued success in implementing our strategy across the group, following another year of strong top line growth and an asset base that grew from N1.5 trillion to N1.9 trillion in 12 months”.

According to the CEO, “Amidst regulatory headwinds that characterised the industry, and a dynamic macroeconomic environment, growth was recorded in operating income although our

profit before tax dropped from 2013 levels on the back of higher operating expenses and loan impairment charges. For further growth and profitability in 2015, we shall implement our digital banking strategy rigorously, and this will go a long way to reduce operating costs and drive customer acquisition as we seek to increase market share by converting existing bank account holders and attracting those who are owning formal bank accounts for the first time.”

We are expecting Buhari’s revival of Nigeria Airways - Saidu Continued from page 19 Nigeria including Kano and GRA, Ikeja.

Those that bought the national carrier’s office complex and hangar at local terminal in Lagos are yet to fully pay for the purchase even though it was under-valued at the time of sale. The staff that were forcefully sacked have not been settled to date.

Therefore, in order to bring sanity into the air transport sector, the president-elect must bring Nigeria Airways back as promised during his campaigns for election and ensure that the staff, many of whom had died get paid their entitlements.

Then, we should ask from the liquidator how much Nigeria Airways was sold? How much was paid for its acquisition by the buyer? Into which account was the proceeds therefrom paid

into? All these are puzzles that needed to be unravelled if we are to move forward.

It is from here that corruption crept in to the industry. It is from the dust of Nigeria Airways that corruption began to be the order of the day I the aviation industry.” You come and chop and go and the next also do the same up to the ministry level. It is a cycle of you chop, I chop”.

This has been the domino effects since the demise of Nigeria Airways, which has also affected the dilapidation of infrastructural facilities including replacements of obsolete equipment until we started to give warning alerts recently where some of these gadgets are now being replaced and reposition like the Doppler Weather Radar put in place by NIMET and NAMA too.

CONTRACT

MANIPULA-

TION During the first tenure of the Minister of Finance, Okonjo Iweala under the then President Olusegun Obasanjo, she introduced what was called Medium Term Sector Strategy (MTSS) to determine the contract/projects to be executed two, three years ahead.

It involved identifying such projects, cost the contracts and it goes into an “envelope” after they must have been determined by a committee whose members are drawn from within and outside sectors involved in such projects.

In that envelope, you cannot go beyond what was approved. It does not give room for contract inflation or manipulation in a way that after somebody must have bided for and won the contract, at the last stage the name of the contractor is then substi-

tuted and replaced by another that did not bid.

However, in her second coming under President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, this system-MTSS- was jettissioned.

If the MTSS is still in force, and enforced as before by the Budget Office of the Federation, the high level of corruption in contract awards as witnessed in the Aviation sector would not have happened.

The MTSS through the Budget Office then was where the issue of over inflation and duplication of contracts, diversion of money approved for certain projects were been captured and it used to be “ arrested” It is an irony that in the second coming of Iweala, this system of checks was removed and replaced with Medium Term Expenditure.

What about the real MTSS

where you will be able to itemise contracts where government will determine whether it will be able to fund them or through the internally generated revenue of the affected agencies.

The MTSS encompass not less than 19 Ministries/Agencies.

This is another area we want the new government to look into. For now, nobody is talking about it.

I have the right to talk about it because I represented the Civil Society (Aviation) in the MTSS Committee before it was made moribund by Iweala.

Since 2006, I have written several memos to the Minister and other officials without response.

Whereas, we knew then that the Budget Office of the Federation was did a very nice job when the MTSS was functional. Now, everything has been turned upside down to allow corruption to flourish.

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, April 21, 2015

21

Daily Times Advert Rates Colour

Vat

Vat

Vat

F/PAGE

409,500.00

17,403.75

10”X6

389,025.00

16,533.56

6”X3

87,749.87

3,729.37

H/PAGE

233,415.00

9,920.14

10”X5

324,252.34

13,780.72

6”X2

58,499.95

2,486.25

Q/PAGE

125,716.50

5,342.95

10”X4

259,401.87

11,024.58

5”X5

121,874.89

5,179.68

14”X5

397,215.00

16,881.64

10”X3

194,551.41

8,268.43

5”X4

101,415.24

4,310.15

14”X4

317,772.00

13,505.31

10”X2

101,415.24

4,310.15

5”X3

73,124.89

3,107.81

14”X2

158,886.00

6,752.66

9”X6

350,122.50

14,880.21

5”X2

48,749.95

2,071.87

FPS 6”X3

671,835.94

28,553.03

9”X5

291,827.10

12,402.65

4”X2

38,999.96

1,657.50

FPS 6”X2

447,890.63

19,035.35

9”X4

233,461.68

9,922.12

3”X3

43,874.94

1,864.68

BPS 6”X3

652,640.63

27,737.23

9”X3

161,635.50

6,869.51

3”X2

29,249.98

1,243.12

BPS 6”X2

435,093.75

18,491.48

8”X6

311,282.25

13,229.50

2”X2

19,499.98

828.75

ROP2”X6

152,382.01

6,476.24

8”X5

259,401.87

11,024.58

1”X2

9,749.99

414.37

FPS 2”X6

447,890.63

19,035.35

8”X4

207,521.50

8,819.66

1”X1

4,875.00

207.19

BPS 2”X6

435,093.75

18,491.48

8”X3

143,693.55

6,106.98

BPS 2”X2

268,734.38

11,421.21

13”X5

368,842.50

15,675.81

8”X2

95,786.12

4,070.91

13”X2

126,749.88

5,386.87

7”X5

226,976.64

9,646.51

EARPIECE 2”X2

281,531.25

11,965.08

11”X5

356,677.57

15,158.80

7”X4

158,886.00

6,752.66

CENTRE SPREAD

1,151,718.75

48,948.05

11”X4

285,342.06

12,127.04

7”X2

68,249.93

2,900.62

DOUBLE SPREAD

1,023,750.00

43,509.38

11”X2

107,249.90

4,558.12

6”X4

143,693.55

6,106.98

DOUBLE SPREAD (1/2)

511,875.00

21,754.69

S/N

Vat

Black & White

S/N

Vat

S/N

Vat

1

F/PAGE

309,684.38

13,161.59

16

10”X2

73,734.38

3,133.71

31

6”X2

44,240.63

1,880.23

2

H/PAGE

176,520.09

7,502.10

17

9”X6

264,780.15

11,253.16

32

5”X5

92,160.88

3,916.84

3

Q/PAGE

95,073.11

4,040.61

18

9”X5

220,687.29

9,379.21

33

5”X4

73,734.38

3,133.71

4

14”X5

300,393.28

12,766.71

19

9”X4

176,566.55

7,504.08

34

5”X3

55,300.74

2,350.28

5

14”X4

240,315.08

10,213.39

20

9”X3

119,483.60

5,078.05

35

5”X2

36,867.18

1,566.86

6

14”X2

121,533.92

5,165.19

21

8”X6

235,399.77

10,004.49

36

4”X2

29,493.75

1,253.48

7

13”X5

278,936.62

11,854.81

22

8”X5

196,185.05

8,337.86

37

3”X3

33,180.45

1,410.17

8

13”X2

95,847.32

4,073.51

23

8”X4

156,948.04

6,670.29

38

3”X2

22,120.32

940.11

9

11”X5

269,728.90

11,463.48

24

8”X3

108,668.25

4,618.40

39

2”x6

48,173.99

2,047.39

10

11”X4

215,783.12

9,170.78

25

8”X2

58,987.50

2,506.97

40

2”X2

14,746.87

626.74

11

11”X2

81,107.81

3,447.08

26

7”X5

171,661.92

7,295.63

41

1”X2

7,373.44

313.37

12

10”X6

294,200.16

12,503.51

27

7”X4

121,533.92

5,165.19

42

1”X1

3,686.72

156.69

13

10”X5

245,208.10

10,421.34

28

7”X2

51,614.05

2,193.60

43

DOUBLE SPREAD

774,210.94

32,903.96

14

10”X4

196,185.05

8,337.86

29

6”X4

108,668.25

4,618.40

15

10”X3

147,138.80

6,253.40

30

6”X3

66,360.90

2,820.34

44

DOUBLE SPREAD (1/2)

387,105.47

16,451.98

Political

Colour 532,350.00

22,624.88

H/PAGE

303,439.50

12,896.18

Q/PAGE

163,431.45

6,945.84

PHOTO SPLASH 100,000.00

4,250

Pictures & Captions 1

F/PAGE

35,437.47

1,506.09

Classified Advert 1

Black & White

Vat

F/PAGE

3,675.00

24,500.00

1,041.25

2

71,662.50

-

Vat

1

F/P

262,756.26

11,662.81

17,110.06

2

H/P

158,581.13

7,038.85

H/PAGE

229,476.12

9,752.74

3

Q/PAGE

85,411.25

3,791.10

Q/PAGE

123,595.04

5,252.79

4

10”X2

55,476.05

2,357.73

5

8”X2

44,380.56

1,886.17

6

7”X2

38,832.99

1,650.40

7

6”X2

33,282.11

1,414.49

8

5”X2

27,736.42

1,178.80

9

4”X2

22,187.85

942.98

Rate for Computer & IT/Educational Property/Vacancy/Home & Décor (Color)

1

F/P

Colour

2 3

Vat

10

347,446.29

15,421.90

H/P

209,694.05

9,307.57

Q/PAGE

112,940.48

5,013,02

PLEASE CONTACT LAGOS Moses-08169118913 Helen-08035208749 Rolland-08055086970

ABUJA Femi-08033550468

Vat

402,589.69

-

1

S/N

F/PAGE

S/N

Loose Insert

Rate for Computer & IT/Educational Property/Vacancy/Home & Décor (Black & White)

11

3”X2 2”X6

16,640.27

707.21

33,283.03

471.54

(BOTTOM STRIP)

12

2”X2

11,094.96

471.54

13

1”X2

5,547.58

235.77

14

1”X1

2,773.79

117.89

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

22

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Today in History Compiled by ‘Tunji Okegbola

s

Cartoons from our Archives

753 B.C. Rome founded According to tradition, on April 21, 753 B.C., Romulus and his twin brother, Remus, founded Rome on the site where they were suckled by a she-wolf as orphaned infants. Actually, the Romulus and Remus myth originated sometime in the fourth century B.C., and the exact date of Rome’s founding was set by the Roman scholar Marcus Terentius Varro in the first century B.C. According to the legend, Romulus and Remus were the sons of Rhea Silvia, the daughter of King Numitor of Alba Longa.

Alba Longa was a mythical city located in the Alban Hills southeast of what would become Rome.

Before the birth of the twins, Numitor was deposed by his younger brother Amulius, who forced Rhea to become a vestal virgin so that she would not give birth to rival claimants to his title. However, Rhea was impregnated by the war god Mars and gave birth to Romulus and Remus. Amulius ordered the infants drowned in the Tiber, but they survived and

1930 A fire at an Ohio prison kills 320 inmates, some of whom burn to death when they are not unlocked from their cells. It is one of the worst prison disasters in American history.

The Ohio State Penitentiary was built in Columbus in 1834.

Throughout its history, it had a poor reputation. A cholera epidemic swept through the facility in 1849, killing 121 convicts.

In 1893, a prison superintendent wrote that Ten thousand pages of history of the Ohio Penitentiary would [not] give one idea of the inward wretchedness of its 1,900 inmates. The unwritten history is known only by God himself.

The prison, built to hold 1,500 people, was almost always overcrowded and notorious for its poor conditions. At the time of the 1930 fire, there were 4,300 prisoners living in the jail. Construction crews were working on an expansion and scaffolding was set up along one side of the building. On the night of April 21, a fire broke out on the scaffolding.

washed ashore at the foot of the Palatine hill, where they were suckled by a she-wolf until they were found by the shepherd Faustulus.

Reared by Faustulus and his wife, the twins later became leaders of a band of young shepherd warriors. After learning their true identity, they attacked Alba Longa, killed the wicked Amulius, and restored their grandfather to the throne. The twins then decided to found a town on the site where they had been saved as infants. They soon became involved in a petty quarrel, however, and Remus was slain by his brother. Romulus then became ruler of the settlement, which was named “Rome” after him.

To populate his town, Romulus offered asylum to fugitives and exiles. Rome lacked women, however, so Romulus invited the neighbouring Sabines to a festival and abducted their women. A war then ensued, but the Sabine women intervened to prevent the Sabine men from seizing Rome.

Prisoners left to burn in Ohio fire The cell block adjacent to the scaffolding housed 800 prisoners, most of whom were already locked in for the night. The inmates begged to be let out of their cells as smoke filled the cell block.

However, most reports claim that the guards not only refused to unlock the cells, they continued to lock up other prisoners. Meanwhile, the fire spread to the roof, endangering the inmates on the prison’s upper level as well.

Finally, two prisoners forcibly took the keys from a guard and began their own rescue efforts. Approximately 50 inmates made it out of their cells before the heavy smoke stopped the impromptu evacuation. The roof then caved in on the upper cells. About 160 prisoners burned to death.

Although some guards did work to save the lives of their charges, the seemingly wilful indifference displayed by other guards led to a general riot. Fire-fighters initially could not get access to the fire because angry prisoners were pelting them with rocks.

Daily Times March 21, 1961

1953

Roy Cohn and David 1967 GM celebrates millionth U.S.Schine return to U.S 100 made cars

Roy Cohn and David Schine, two of Senator Joseph McCarthy’s chief aides, return to the United States after a controversial investigation of United States Information Service (USIS) posts in Europe. Upon their recommendation, thousands of books were removed from USIS libraries in several Western European countries.

Cohn and Schine had risen to fame on the coattails of Senator McCarthy as he conducted his well-publicized hunt for subversives and communists in the United States. Cohn became chief counsel to the McCarthy Senate subcommittee devoted to investigating communism in the U.S. government, and Schine, one of Cohn’s close friends, became a “special consultant.” In the spring of 1953, Cohn and Schine departed for a seven-nation tour of Western Europe. Their primary task was to investigate the workings of the USIS posts, foreign offices of the United States Information Agency that had recently been established to serve

as propaganda centers. The posts hosted speakers, showed movies, and set up libraries containing what were considered to be representative pieces of American literature. Cohn and Schine were appalled by the authors they found on the USIS bookshelves.

The two men reported that over 30,000 books in the libraries were by “pro-communist” writers and demanded their removal. The authors they targeted included crime novelist Dashiell Hammett, African-American intellectual W.E.B. Du Bois, Herman Melville, John Steinbeck, and Henry Thoreau. The State Department, which oversaw the operations of USIS, immediately ordered thousands of books removed from the libraries.

The irony of the situation did not escape commentators of the time. With the Nazi book burnings of World War II still fresh in the collective memory, many felt it was questionable that America had joined the ranks of nations that censored literature.

On April 21, 1967, General Motors (GM) celebrated the manufacture of its 100 millionth American-made car. At the time, GM was the world’s largest automaker.

General Motors was established in 1908 in Flint, Michigan, by horse-drawn carriage mogul William Durant. In 1904, Durant invested in the Buick Motor Company, which was started in 1903

by Scottish-born inventor David Dunbar Buick. Within a few years of forming his company, Buick lost control of it and sold his stock, which would later be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. (In 1929, Buick died at age 74 in relative obscurity and modest circumstances). Durant made Buick Motors the cornerstone of his new holding company, General Motors, then acquired Oldsmobile, Cadillac and Reliance Motor Company, among other auto and truck makers.

In 1911, Durant founded Chevrolet Motor Company, which by 1918 was part of GM.

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Governor of Niger State, Dr. Babangida Aliyu (Middle); Niger State, Commissioner for Local Government, Alh. Yusuf Garba Tagwai (right) and others, during an inspection tour of the new Minna Ultra-Modern Stadium … on Monday

Taraba guber re-run: Women drum support for Alhassan Akor Ejumene Abuja

ÏÏÏ Ahead of

the re-run of the Taraba State governorship election on April 25, between the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Senator Aisha Jummai Alhassan, and that of the Peoples Democractic Party (PDP), Mr. Darius Ishiaku, two women groups have started drumming up support for APC candidate.

They also appealed for transparency and neutrality of the security agencies

and officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), in the conduct of the exercise.

The Ladies of Grace and the Agape Sisters, at a press conference, in Abuja, warned of grave consequences should the “Abuja political cabal” insist on influencing the outcome of the re-run election.

Alhassan, the women insisted, had represented them well enough to be entrusted with the position of the Governor of the state.

Referring to her genderfriendliness, while she

was the Chief Registrar of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, the women listed Alhassan’s modest contributions to include the erection of the multi-billion Naira FCT High Court complex, employment and promotion of female lawyers and giving scholarship to indigent students.

They presented some students, who, according to them, were among the many that had benefitted from Alahassan's gesture.

Representatives of the two groups, Mrs. Ladi

Kehinde Akinpelu

ÏÏÏ Kwara State Governor, Dr. Abdulfatah Ahmed, has said that contrary to fears in some quarters, the success of the All Progressives Congress (APC), in this year’s general election, cannot transform Nigeria into a one-party state.

Ahmed said this after receiving his Certificate of Return from the National Electoral Commissioner in charge of Kwara, Niger, Kaduna and Federal Capital Territory, Dr. Chris Iyimoga at the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) office, in Ilorin.

“The APC’s sweeping victory across the country,

has led to speculations that our country is headed for a one-party state. For me, that fear is unfounded, because real power has actually been restored to the people, rather than the party systems, as the determinants of our democracy.

“And the message is clear: Elected officials must meet the aspirations of our people for good governance or the people will kick them out”, he said.

The governor, who also spoke on behalf of the National Assembly members, who also received their Certificates of Return, stressed that the outstanding success of the APC was a call for more service delivery to the people.

According to him: “We promise to work even harder to make your life better.

For us, the significance is immense. Our people have not only spoken in unison for change, they have also cast a resounding vote for a Kwara State that is progressive and in the mainstream of Nigeria politics.”

He commended the people for electing APC candidates for all elective positions, recalling that it was the first time that a political party would achieve such a feat in the state.

The governor also commended INEC for presiding over what he described as “perhaps the most credible and conclusive election in our national life.”

Lab scientists task Buhari on health sector Akor Ejumene Abuja

ÏÏÏThe

Association of Medical Laboratory Scientists of Nigeria (AMLSN), has charged the Presidentelect, General Muhammadu Buhari, to ensure improved health sector, devoid of crisis as he assumes office on May 29.

The President of the association, Toyosi Raheem, at a press briefing to commemorate the 2015 World Biomedical Science Day, in Abuja, urged the President-elect to appoint cred-

Jega

Jatau and Madam Alice Ishiaku, the "powerful interest groups from Abuja", as well as Taraba, to steer clear and not influence the outcome of the election in any way.

ible and unbiased administrators to pilot the affairs of the Ministry of Health.

He said the association was convinced that, when the right people take charge of the affairs of the ministry, the nation’s health system would further experience effective and affordable health care delivery.

Raheem also urged Buhari to ensure that the National Health Act 2014, was implemented to ensure that all the positive gains expected from it would be delivered to the masses.

Amosun’s re-election divine, says OPF leader

ÏÏÏThe

National President of Ogun Patriotic Forum (OPF) and a stalwart of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Ogun State, Mr. Seyi Shodipo, has applauded the overwhelming support received by Senator Ibikunle Amosun, in the recently held Ogun State gubernatorial election.

He also said that the decision of the 12 governorship candidates of other political parties to concede defeat immediately after

the election, showed that his re-election was divine.

Shodipo made the remarks at the weekend, at a special thanksgiving/ prayer session organised to appreciate God for Amosun’s re-election, held at Igbore, Abeokuta South Local Government Area.

Shodipo was confident that the future of the state, under Amosun, would not only witness the completion of his rebuilding mission, but achieve a greater level of development.

IOE to partner NASS on entrepreneurial skill

APC success, not path to one party state - Ahmed Ilorin

23 News

Oladele

Nduka Uzuakpundu

ÏÏÏ

As the country awaits the assumption of office of the President-elect, General Muhammadu Buhari, the Institute of Entrepreneurs (IOE) Nigeria, has said that it would liaise with the incoming National Assembly to explore avenues that would engender growth and development of the country’s economy.

Speaking at a conference, with the theme: “Entrepreneurship as a Desirable Path to Accelerated Development”, organised,

by IOE, its Executive Secretary, Dr. Rotimi Oladele, said the liaison would, primarily, influence policies and laws for leadership and entrepreneurship.

He said the IOE would also do same with the National Institute of Legislative Studies, Abuja, as well as the National and State Ministries of Education, to design curriculum development, as it did with the National Open University of Nigeria (NOUN), and the Lagos State Government.

Oladele said that the body's planned liaison with the National Assembly, for instance, was of the belief that “entrepreneurship is a lifestyle, as demonstrated

by the Socialist Republic of Cuba.”

The IOE’s pro-entrepreneurial, legislative initiative, Oladele said, would be predicated on entrepreneurship as a strategic option for the country, aimed at “freedom from ignorance, education for illumination, discountenance of myopic mindset that blurs a creative probe into the future, by taking a cue from China and the Asian Tigers”, with a healthy bias for small- and medium-scale enterprises.

In effect, such an initiative would be knowledgebased, to sculpt a new socioeconomic order, like Dubai, so that future industries would not collapse.

News 24

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Irele disease: Ondo warns residents against Ogogoro Tosin Ajuwon Akure

ÏÏÏ Ondo State Government has

warned against the consumption of a local dry gin, also known as Ogogoro, as indication emerged that victims of the strange disease in Irele could have died from ethanol poisoning.

The Commissioner for Health in the state, Dr. Dayo Adeyanju, gave the warning on Monday, while updating journalists on the efforts of the state government to contain the spread of the disease.

Dr. Adeyanju said the state government had begun sensitisation on why people should avoid taking all manner of local gin, especially

those mixed with herbs, at this period.

He disclosed that the source of the strange disease, believed to have surfaced as a result of heavy intake of poisonous alcoholic substances by the victims in Irele community, was still very difficult to trace.

The Health commissioner maintained that casualty figure of death from the strange disease still remains at 18, while five persons were presently receiving treatment at the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, Oyo State.

He assured that the state government is on top of the situation and stressed that the final report

on the investigations into the mysterious deaths, especially the toxicology test, would soon be made public.

Also speaking at the briefing, the state Coordinator of World Health Organisation (WHO), Dr. Akinola Fatigerun, disclaimed the organisation from its earlier report that the victims of the #IreleOutbreak died from pesticide, and aligned with the government’s position of methanol poisoning.

Earlier, members of the IreleOutbreak team, led by the Health commissioner, visited the governor to brief him on their activities so far, during which Mimiko commended them for their proactiveness.

APC victory’ll end Plateau killings – Kwande Ben Nwachukwu Abuja

ÏÏÏ A member of the House of

Representatives, Suleiman Yahaya Kwande of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has disclosed that the emergence of the party’s governorship candidate, Simon Lalong as the incoming governor of the state, would end the killings in the state.

Kwande, in a chat with Daily Times in Abuja, said the people of Plateau State waited this long to have a government that would make the state home for all, irrespective of religion or tribe.

Clergy tasks Buhari on insecurity, corruption Val Okara Owerri

ÏÏÏ The pastor of

A cross section of the Catholic Women Organization on a procession during the mass to mark the 2015 Mother’s Day celebrations at the Our Lady’s Queen of Nigeria, Cathedral, Garki, Abuja… at the weekend

Indaba 2015: Organisers allay fears of Xenophobic attacks Tayo Adelaja

ÏÏÏ The

Chief Executive Officer of South African Tourism, Thulani Nzima, has condemned the appalling xenophobic attacks taking place in various locations in South Africa.

Thulani said: “It is with embarrassment and shame that I come before the world, and especially my fellow Africans, to apologise for these senseless attacks. I hold in contempt the loathing and subsequent attacks suffered by our brothers and sisters from the continent.

Speaking further, he said “The majority of us South Africans perceive and carry ourselves as

Africans and believe what we have witnessed in some parts of our country goes against the grain of who we are as a people, our constitution and the principles of Ubuntu that we so dearly adhere to. I personally extend my sincerest apologies to you.

“As my colleagues and I prepare for our Pan-African Trade Show, INDABA, from May 9 to 11, in the city of Durban, we wish to reassure all INDABA delegates and foreign nationals coming into South Africa that our country is safe for you to visit.

“We do not take for granted the support we have enjoyed over the years from our brothers and sisters throughout the continent,

in contributing to the growth of tourism in our country. We are also appreciative of the backing of our counterparts on the continent, who have ensured that our flagship Trade Shows, INDABA and Meetings Africa, has grown in stature in the years they have been in existence,” Thulani said.

He assured the delegates and visitors of Indaba 2015 that, “this matter is being managed at the highest level of the land. President Jacob Zuma has assigned the South African ministers of Home Affairs, Police, State Security, to work with provinces affected to contain the violence. Task teams have been established to coordinate the response.”

The lawmaker said the incoming governor is the needed balance, and maintained that those agitating for a true governance in the state should sheath their swords and rally round the governor-elect to enable him distribute the dividends of democracy, which eluded them in the past administrations.

He stated that the major dividend the people would need from the incoming government is peace, unity and oneness.

Kwande further said the people of Plateau State spoke with their votes and that was why the APC government cannot afford to disappoint them.

the Baptist Church of Nigeria, Rev. Sampson Ayokunle, has tasked the President-elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd) on the fight against corruption and Boko Haram insurgency in the country.

Speaking in Owerri last weekend, during the annual church convention, Rev. Ayokunle said the annual convention was organised to tackle some salient issues concerning the church and stop corrupt issues that may endanger the growth of the church, by exposing those behind it.

He described the occasion as a

Buhari

season of grace, period to pray together as one body in the name of Christ and win souls.

Rev. Ayokunle, who is also the National Vice President, Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) said the denomination had touched human lives in different ways, particularly human capacity, by establishing Baptist Academy of Nigeria, in Obanikoro, Lagos.

“We have been preaching for peace of the nation, especially on the just concluded election, calling on the electoral umpires to conduct free, fair and credible election for the co-existence of peace in the country”, he said.

Cattle breeders want Buhari to recover grazing reserves, end rustling ÏÏÏ A Fulani community leader, Alhaji Dodo Oroji, has appealed to the incoming administration of Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) to address the problems of grazing reserves and stop cattle rustling, in order to save Fulani herdsmen in the country.

Oroji, making the appeal in an interview on Monday, in Kaduna, said it was important to properly tackle the two problems, which had resulted in conflicts, avoidable deaths and loss of means of livelihood to hundreds of cattle breeders cross the country.

He advised the government to devise a new policy to settle the herdsmen in one place, so as to maximally tap the economic ben-

efit of their vocation. ``Once you halt cattle breeders from migrating from one country to another in search of food for their animals and families, you have not only ensured their safety, but also have the opportunity to tap the vast economic benefits from their occupation,’’ he revealed.

Oroji said it was important for the Federal Government to provide strategic grazing reserves and social amenities, including schools, water and health services across the country, to keep the herders from moving about.

He argued that most herdsmen would prefer to remain in one place if the government would take care of some of their basic problems.

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, April 21, 2015

APC may probe Jang's administration

Moses Ikyaa-Gba

Ă?Ă?Ă? The All Progressives Congress (APC) in Plateau State has stated that it might be forced to investigate the activities of Governor Jonah Jang, should he continue to embark on what it called 'unwarranted policies', geared towards leaving a heavy burden for the in-coming administration.

The leadership of the APC in the state told journalists in Jos, on Monday, that sources close to the government revealed that it has commenced indiscriminate recruitment of

staff, and replacement into the state civil service, barely six weeks to the end of Jang's administration.

Daily Times gathered that since the coming of Governor Jang's administration in 2007, there has been no employment nor promotion in the state civil service, rather thousands had been laid off or sacked.

The APC Chairman in the state, Mr. Latep Dabang, however, said the party was not comfortable with the 'hasty recruitment' exercise being embarked upon by Jang at this critical moment, saying it was done in bad

faith 'since the exercise did not follow due process and meant to leave a burden for the in-coming government'.

"While governance is a continuous process, the incumbent government should ensure the smooth take-off of the new administration without any form of rancour.

"It has come to our notice that about 6,800 people's names, cutting across ministries and departments, and at the state university, have been sent to the Civil Service Commission for the execution of mandate.

"Are these actions not

6

$ 3

& # # 0 % ( ( % ! 4 5 3 &&

2

#$

% ! & '

( ) *

)

# %

( ) )

Buhari won’t fail Nigerians, says Wamakko

Ă?Ă?Ă? Gov. Aliyu Wamakko

wicked, with a grand design to set booby traps for the in-coming government? Six weeks to the exit of the Jang government does not provide justifiable reasons to embark on major policy decisions and execution like recruitment, with attendant financial implication.

"The APC has a clear policy on employment, empowerment and engagement of citizenry. We do not need an out-going regime to do any of these for us, and without due consultations with the incoming government," Dabang stated.

+ , $

- $ (

$ # )$ . . $ % !

&

/0

1

!!! "

# " $ % & " "' (" ) * + $,- , . /" " + /. " 0 1 2, ) " 3

,0 4 /"

!"

of Sokoto State has assured Nigerians that the President-elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (retd) will not fail the nation.

'The APC-led Federal Government under Buhari will strive to meet the expectations and yearnings of Nigerians, irrespective of religious, ethnic or cultural differences,'' he said.

Wamakko stated this on Monday in Sokoto, when members of the Correspondents' Chapel of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) in the state paid him a courtesy visit. ''Buhari will ensure social justice, adherence to the rule of law, youths and women empowerment, improvement of security and the power sector. ''All Nigerians will be treated equally and fairly under Buhari, the electorate in the country, as well as the international community, will find Buhari to be a worthy democratic leader.'' he added.

Wamakko said that the peaceful conduct of the 2015 general election was a victory for democracy, and urged Nigerians to continue their support and prayers for the new administration to deliver.

25 News

Otukpo Old Boys Association congratulates Akume Tom Okpe

Abuja

Ă?Ă?Ă? The Otukpo Govern-

ment Secondary School Old Boys Association (OGSSOBA), has congratulated third-time Senator-elect, George Akume, on his victory at the just concluded National Assembly election.

Speaking to Daily Times during a general meeting in Abuja, Chairman of Abuja branch of the association, who was also of the 1972 set of the school, Chief Gabriel Anmo Oigabo, stressed that the victory of Senator Akume is well deserved, describing the senator as a workaholic, who always avails himself with the motto of his alma-mater: 'Discipline and Service'.

Senator Akume, a member of the 1971 set, who has been in the Senate since 2007, after governing Benue State for two terms (1999– 2007), is seen as an epitome of humility, and always ready to serve.

Akume

“Akume had in many occasions enjoyed the mandate of his people to serve through his act of discipline which has been imbedded in him from his days in GSS Otukpo�, Chief Oigabo added. While speaking further, Chief Oigabo argued that “As senior and experienced senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, currently serving as the senate minority leader, Akume is qualified to be the senate president when the 8th senate will be inaugurated come 4th June, 2015, according to the rules of the National House of Senate. “We pray and hope that Senator Akume attain this political height to enable him deliver and render more service to his people and to Nigeria in general.�

Skye Bank holds SMEs seminar in Onitsha

Augustine Aminu Abuja

Ă?Ă?Ă?

Over 200 customers and business partners in the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) sector, attended the South East edition of Skye Bank’s SMEs seminar, held recently at De Lumen Hotel, GRA, Onitsha, Anambra State.

Themed: 'Nurturing Businesses for Growth', the bank described the seminar as part of its contributions towards developing the MSMEs sector of the Nigerian economy.

While delivering his remark, the bank’s Regional Director, South East I, Dr. Charles Udogu, said MSMEs was an important growth driver in any economy, warning key economic players in the nation’s polity not to neglect the sector.

Dr. Udogu said: “Having identified the gap in the SMEs sector, Skye Bank organised this seminar to bridge this gap, through the bank’s business seminar series.�

Speaking in the same

vein, Mrs. Ayo Olojede, head, Small Business Group, disclosed that the bank was coming up with solutions that would help to minimize the cost of doing businesses for small business owners.

Olojede, however, warned that “If you want to access a loan, there are some simple but fundamental requirements the bank would expect - like a business plan, cash flow projections and basic business skills to determine the viability of the business, and ways of partnering with customers to deliver value.’’ Commenting on the seminar, she said it was organized to enlighten the bank’s customers on areas of managing their cash flow and other areas of business operations, among other issues.

In his keynote speech, Managing Director, Dilimson Holdings Limited, Mr. George Umobi, charged participants to confront challenges faced in the course of growing their businesses.

26

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Law

s

Plea bargaining: There’s need for legislative intervention - Akpedeye Dafe Akpedeye, a Senior Advocate and former Delta State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice in this interview told PETER FOWOYO that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) introduced the concept of plea bargaining into Nigeria. Besides, the fiery lawyer spoke on the doctrine of necessity, constitutional amendment and sundry other issues.

Speculations are rife that the M inister of Petroleum may be quizzed by the anti-graft agency over allegations of corruption and a soft landing known as “plea bargaining” is being arranged for her. What is plea bargaining?

Plea bargain is an agreement in a criminal case between the prosecutor and defendant whereby the defendant agrees to plead guilty to a particular charge in return for some concession from the prosecutor.

This may mean that the defendant will plead guilty to a less serious charge or to one of several charges in return for the dismissal of other charges. It may also mean that the defendant will plead guilty to the original criminal charge in return for a more lenient sentence. Black’s Law Dictionary, 9th Edition (2009), defines it as “A negotiated agreement between a prosecutor and a criminal defendant whereby the defendant pleads guilty to a lesser offense or to one of multiple charges in exchange for some concession by the prosecutor usually, a more lenient sentence or a dismissal of the other charges.

In respect of speculations about the Minister of Petroleum, as a lawyer, it will not be right for me to speak in conjectures, most especially when it

involves allegations of crimes which no law enforcement agency in the country has officially investigated or pronounced upon. When the facts are clear and no longer in the realm of speculations, I can confidently speak on it.

Is plea bargaining legal in Nigeria legal jurisprudence?

In Nigeria, plea bargaining is usually employed in the trial of financial crime cases by making it part of the negotiation for the accused person to surrender some portion of money which he has embezzled and for which he is being tried. The origin of plea bargaining in Nigeria can be traced to 2005 where the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) introduced it, when it was first used in the trial of the former Inspector-General of Police, Tafa Balogun and later in the case of Diepreye Alamieyeseigha, the ex-Governor of Bayelsa State. The accused persons were allowed to enter guilty pleas to lesser charges after they had agreed to forfeit most of their assets acquired with the funds they stood accused of misappropriating to the State. It has also been subsequently used in a number of other high profile official corruption and banking fraud cases.

The only Nigerian legislation

In Nigeria, plea bargaining is usually employed in the trial of financial crime cases by making it part of the negotiation for the accused person to surrender some portion of money which he has embezzled that specifically mentions plea bargaining is the Lagos State Administration of Criminal Justice Law, 2007 which provides in Section 75 that “Notwithstanding anything in this law or any other law, the Attorney-General of the State shall have power to consider and accept a plea bargain from a person charged with any offence where the Attorney-General is

of the view that the acceptance of such plea bargain is in the public interest, the interest of justice and the need to prevent abuse of legal process.”

It is interesting to note that some legislations also provide for a process similar, though debatable, to the concept of plea bargaining. This is found in the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) Act, 2004.

Section 14(2) of the EFCC Act, 2004, which provides that “Subject to the provision of section 174 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (which relates to the power of the Attorney-General of the Federation to institute, continue or discontinue criminal proceedings against any person in any court of law), the Commission may compound any offence punishable under this Act by accepting such sums of money as it thinks fit, not exceeding the amount of the maximum fine to which that person would have been liable if he had been convicted of that offence.”

In fact, EFCC introduced the concept into Nigeria by relying on this Section of their Act. It has been observed that, in plea bargaining, accused persons usually forfeit sums of money running to millions, even billions in some cases, whereas there is no law prescribing fines close to such amounts of money.

It may be conceded that plea bargaining is a welcome development which speeds up the criminal justice process as it also enables the Government, retrieve stolen public funds.

However, I believe that its use should not be entrusted to the whims and caprices of law enforcement agencies and the courts. There is a need for legislative intervention which would stipulate the guidelines for its applicability. The effect of lack of such guidelines was observed in the pension fraud case where one John Yusuf, an Assistant Director with the Police Pension Board allegedly misappropriated about N32.8 billion and upon his making a guilty plea, he was given a sentence of two years’ imprisonment or an option of paying N750, 000 as fine.

I hope this was taken into consideration by the Legislature while passing the Administration of Criminal Justice Bill 2013 currently awaiting Presidential Assent.

Don’t you think it’s another form of encouraging corruption?

Plea bargain has proven to be very useful in Nigeria’s Criminal Justice System by saving time and at the same time reducing public expenditure which would have been

Continued on page 27

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, April 21, 2015

27 Law

‘1999 Constitution needs much amendment’ Continued from page 26 incurred during prolonged trials. However, it has been vehemently condemned in some quarters as being unknown to the Nigerian jurisprudence especially the federal laws. It is also argued that it is being used to provide soft-landing for influential and elitist law-breakers, while ordinary persons who commit crimes of less economic implications languish in prisons. Like I said earlier the use of plea bargain should not be entrusted to the whims and caprices of law-enforcement agencies and the courts. There is a need for legislative intervention which would stipulate the guidelines for its applicability.

How would you assess the two anti graft agencies set up to fight corruption?

One major challenge that has continued to plague Nigeria over the years is the issue of corruption and its debilitating effect. This led to the establishment of the Independent Corrupt Practices Commission under the ICPC Act 2000 to fight corruption and other related offences and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to tackle economic and financial crimes, including international and advance fee fraud for which Nigerians were infamously known globally, and money laundering under the EFCC Act 2002.

EFCC has recorded more successes with more far-reaching effects than the ICPC. It has made unprecedented arrests of retired and serving officers, political bigwigs, governors, company chiefs, etc, and recovered looted funds. That is not to say the ICPC has been idle. There are, however, still a huge number of persons and groups with questionable wealth who are yet to come under the scrutiny of the EFCC, thus adding to the speculations that the anti-corruption war is selective.

A governor in the SouthWest has cried out that the President-elect may not be able to complete his tenure due to ill-health which may force us adopting the Doctrine of necessity. Is constitutional?

The Doctrine of Necessity is a basis upon which extra-judiciary powers are used by the judiciary to restore order in a polity.

otherwise. To avoid a reoccurrence of this situation, I believe the Constitution needs to be amended to provide for this.

There is a provision in the American Constitution that stipulates that when a Vice President completes the term of office of the President for up to two (2) years of the four (4) year term, it would be taken as a full term for the Vice President meaning he would only be entitled to just a single further term in office. However, there is no such provision in our Constitution, hence a Vice President can complete his President’s term and go on to complete two fresh terms of his own. Perhaps, there may be need for us to borrow that provision and make it part of our Constitution.

‘‘It is also argued that it is being used to provide soft-landing for influential and elitist law-breakers, while ordinary persons who commit crimes of less economic implications languish in prisons.’’

It was first used in Pakistan in 1954 when the Pakistani Chief Justice Muhammad Munir used it to validate the extra-constitutional use of emergency powers

by Governor General, Ghulam Mohammad. Again in Grenada, in 1985 the Chief Justice of the High Court of Grenada invoked the doctrine of necessity to validate the legal existence of a court then trying for murder the persons who had conducted a coup against former leader Maurice Bishop.

In Nigeria, the doctrine was made popular when the National Assembly on Tuesday, February 9, 2010, used it to pass a resolution confirming then Vice President Goodluck Jonathan as Acting President.

Both chambers of the Assembly passed the resolution after President Umaru Yar’Adua, who, for about 78 days had been in Saudi Arabia receiving medical treatment, refused to formally empower the Vice President to exercise full powers as Acting President, as provided for in Section 145 of the Constitution.

The section provides that whenever the President transmits to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House of Representatives a written declaration that he is proceeding on vacation or that he is otherwise unable to discharge the functions of his office, until he transmits to them a written declaration to the contrary, such functions shall be discharged

Akpedeye

by the Vice-President as Acting President. There is no constitutional provision empowering the National Assembly to pass such a resolution, thereby causing the Senate President, David Mark, to assert that the Senate had been guided by the “doctrine of necessity” in arriving at its decision. The only way, it appears, to fill the lacuna in the Constitution is by resort to other means to remedy the situation or for the provision of the Constitution to be amended to take care of the omission this dilemma has exposed.

The doctrine of necessity allows judges to do justice even where situations arise that the law did not envisage. Where there are emergencies and the law does not cater for them, steps can be taken to cater for them in the interest of justice and the public. Our lawmakers should, therefore, be able to take necessary steps to deal with whatever vacuum is created in the office of the President as a result of the President’s absence and his lack of transmission of a written declaration regarding his vacation. It is apparent that the situation was not envisaged by drafters of the Constitution, therefore, something extraordinary was needed to resolve it making the act of the National Assembly a step worth taking and worthy of applause.

The Constitution does not envisage a situation whereby

a President could spend six years before seeking re-election for another four-year term. Do you think there’s a need for constitutional amendment in this regard?

This is another situation not foreseen by the Nigerian Constitution. There are differing views on whether or not the President could contest in 2015.

The matter was even adjudicated upon by an Abuja High Court in 2013 where Justice Mudashiru Oniyangi held that Jonathan’s assumption of the office of the President after the demise of the late former President Umaru Yar’Adua was in line with what the National Assembly aptly described as Doctrine of Necessity and not as a result of emerging winner in any by-election conducted after the death of the former President. Upon the death of Umaru Yar’Adua, there was no election or bye election. President Jonathan was merely asked to assume the office of the President in line with Doctrine of Necessity. Having exhausted the late President’s tenure, he sought for his party’s ticket and ran for the office of the President successfully in the 2011 general election.

But outside the courtroom, while a number of analysts feel Jonathan does not have the constitutional right to seek another mandate from the Nigerian electorate come 2015, others felt

What other areas of the constitution do you think should be amended?

The 1999 Constitution needs a lot of amendments. These will be in areas providing for true and fiscal federalism, creation of multi-level policing, devolution of power, removal of state of origin to be replaced with state of residence, providing for state prisons, reduction of the 68-item exclusive legislative list et al. These and many more need to be effected in the Constitution. Although, a lot of commentators have argued that rather than effecting all these amendments, which could make the Constitution look unwieldy, it may, perhaps, be best if we just have a totally new constitution.

Some senior members of the Bar are advocating that only constitutional matters should go to the apex court.

Do you share this view?

I align myself with the submissions of these senior members of the Bar. The Supreme Court is over-worked. There are so many matters that ought not to get to the Supreme Court at all. For instance why should tenancy or chieftaincy or land matters terminate at the Supreme Court? We can have a situation where each state would have its Supreme Court where some of these matters would terminate, while also having some matters that can go up only to the Court of Appeal while the Supreme Court handles constitutional and other few matters.

This is part of the reasons why some persons are calling for a totally new constitution.

ExtraTime 28

Ofere

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday April 21, 2015

Frontzeck replaces sacked stars in Korkut at Hannover Celtic’s Cup loss M

N

igeria striker, Edward Ofere, seems to love scoring against Scottish champions, Celtic.

Penultimate Saturday, he scored for the Caley Jags in the 1-1 draw against the Hoops at Tulloch Caledonian Stadium in match day 33 of the Scottish Premiership.

On Sunday, he scored again as Celtic were knocked out of the Scottish Cup at the semifinal stage.

The Hoops were beaten 3-2 by Inverness in the last four with Ofere scoring for the victors.

The 28-year-old scored in the 96th minute to temporarily give Inverness a 2-1 lead but the Hoops hit back through John Guidetti in the 103rd minute.

With penalties looming, David Raven made it 3-2 to the underdogs to send the home supporters into despair.

For Ofere, it was a day of celebrations and he has now scored three goals for Inverness in all competitions this season.

ichael Frontzeck has been named the new coach of Bundesliga strugglers Hannover going into the final five games of the season.

With the club just two points clear of the relegation zone, Hannover opted to sack Korkut on Monday after going winless thus far in 2015.

Having taken charge in December

2013, Korkut guided the club to a 10th-place finish at the end of last season but Hannover struggled badly this term and have won just seven of their 29 league matches.

Former Borussia Monchengladbach and St. Pauli coach Frontzeck will be the man tasked with keeping Hannover up - agreeing a contract until the end of the campaign.

“Michael Frontzeck has our full

Ogbeche ends goal drought

F

ormer Nigeria international striker, Bartholomew Ogbeche, scored for Eredivisie club, SC Cambuur on Saturday to help rescue a point against Excelsior.

The striker scored deep into stoppage time in the 1-1 draw at Cambuurstadion to take his tally for the season to 13 league goals.

Ogbeche, 30, who was booked in 51st minute of the contest last scored in the league on March 21 in the 1-2 defeat to AZ Alkmaar.

Ofere

Ogbeche

confidence as the new head coach to lead the team away from relegation,” President Martin Kind said in a statement.

“His only goal in the remaining games is to keep Hannover 96 in the Bundesliga.”

Former Germany international Frontzeck’s first game at the helm comes against Hoffenheim at the HDI Arena on Saturday.

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday April 21, 2015

29 ExtraTime

F F N HAMMER

FALLS ON CHARLES, MATADOR T

L-R: President, Nigerian Schools Sports Federation, Mallam Ibrahim Muhammed; Chief Marketing Officer, Etisalat Nigeria, Angelone Francesco; Director, Brands & Experience, Etisalat Nigeria, Enitan Denloye, and Head, Events & Sponsorships, Etisalat Nigeria, Modupe Thani, at the press conference/match draw of the Etisalat U-15 Schools Cup, held at Four Point By Sheraton, Victoria Island, on Monday.

Andrew Ekejiuba he Referees Committee of Nigeria Football Federation NFF, has suspended, until the end of the current season, Referee John Charles and Assistant Referee

Ogunta Matador, for poor performance in a Glo Premier League Week 4 match on Sunday.

Both arbiters were on duty when Sunshine Stars FC of Akure hosted Dolphins FC of Port Harcourt on Sunday. The homers won the game

2-1.

Chairman of the NFF Referees Committee, Alhaji Yusuf Ahmed Fresh, said the two officials were suspended for “gross misconduct and performance below the required standard.”

Flying Eagles step up World Cup training

A

frican champions Flying Eagles have stepped up their preparations for the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup in New Zealand.

Thirty players trained on Monday morning at the FIFA Goal Project in Abuja, as the battle for placement in the final 21-man squad for the World Cup intensified.

Only Enyimba midfielder Kingsley Sokari was missing after he featured for his club in a league match on Sunday at Kano Pillars.

The team will train twice a day till Friday, according to Coach Garba Manu, who insisted that all squad

places for the World Cup are up for grabs.

Officials said the four Europe-based players will join the squad at their training camp in Germany next month.

The players are Wilfred Ndidi (Genk, Belgium), Moses Simon (Gent, Belgium), Isaac Success (Granada, Spain) and Kelechi Iheanacho (Manchester City, England).

The Flying Eagles are drawn in a first round group that has Brazil, Hungary and North Korea.

They begin their campaign on June 1 against Brazil in New Plymouth.

Flying Eagles line-up before a match.

AAG: Ohale excited with her form

S

uper Falcons’ defender, Osinachi Ohale, has said she is happy and excited as she helped her team pick the All Africa Games (AAG) ticket.

Ohale, who was part of the team that did not qualify for the AAG and Olympics four years ago, said she still remembers the pain the team felt when they could not qualify for both tournaments and assured that the Olympics ticket will also be picked.

“I feel really excited because we have picked the ticket to AAG, and so I am grateful.

In 2011, I was among the players who went to Ghana

and Cameroon and could not pick the ticket for AAG and Olympics, respectively.

“I am grateful we have picked the AAG ticket and I believe that we will make it right this time around as regards the Olympics because no team will stop us from achieving that,” she said.

The former Houston Dash player, who now acts as the team captain on the departure of Captain Evelyn Nwabuoku to BIIK FC, said she is under no pressure as team captain as the girls are disciplined and have remained focussed to the task ahead.

Sanusi hails Supersand Eagles

N

Ohale

FF General Secretary, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, has praised the efforts of Supersand Eagles in claiming bronze at the 2015 African Beach Soccer Championship in Seychelles.

A narrow defeat in overtime (3-4) by Senegal in Saturday’s semi finals meant the two-time African champions missed the cut for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup in Portugal, but Audu Adamu Ejo’s wards fired from all cylinders to pound Cote d’Ivoire 9-1 on Sunday and finished in third place.

“We refuse to condemn the team.

They put in their best effort each time they went on the beach and they

Sanusi certainly wore the green-white-green with passion and pride.

“Yes, they narrowly missed qualification for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup. But we have to commend them for their effort and the fact that they gave it their all.

“I believe that their performance has done much to boost the efforts we are making to start a Beach Soccer League in Nigeria,” Sanusi said in Abuja on Monday.

The Nigeria delegation to the championship is expected back in the country on Wednesday.

ExtraTime 30

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday April 21, 2015

STARS OF YESTERYEAR

IVAN

ZAMORANO

I

van Luis Zamorano Zamora (born January 18, 1967 in Santiago) is a retired Chilean football striker.

Along with Marcelo Salas and Elias Figueroa, he is regarded as Chile’s most celebrated footballer of all time.

He was a member of the Chilean national team and played in the 1998 World Cup and four Copa America tournaments.

Zamorano played for several clubs, notably Sevilla and Real Madrid, as well as Italian club Internazionale.

He won the 1994-95 La Liga title and was the season’s top scorer with Real Madrid. He also won the UEFA Cup with Internazionale. A powerful and prolific goal-scorer, he was particularly renowned for his ability in the air, with many of his goals coming from headers.

In 2004, Zamorano was selected among the FIFA 100, a list of the best living football players in the world compiled

by Pele.

Zamorano started his career at the club Trasandino, then he moved to Cobresal in Chile in 1985.

In 1988, he moved to Europe to Swiss team FC St. Gallen, scoring 34 goals in 56 matches in three seasons.

In 1991 Zamorano debuted in the Spanish Primera División with Sevilla, where he would play 59 matches and score 21 goals before he was sold to Real Madrid for $5 million.

With Real Madrid, between 1992 and 1996, Zamorano won one league, one Copa del Rey, and one Spanish Supercup title. In 1995, under manager Jorge Valdano, Zamorano helped Real Madrid win the Spanish League title, scoring 27 goals – including a hat–trick against FC Barcelona – and received the Pichichi Trophy as the season’s top scorer. That year, he formed a particularly effective attacking partnership with playmaker Michael Laudrup.

In the 1992–93 and 1994–95 seasons, he won the EFE Trophy, which is awarded to the best Ibero-American player in La Liga every year by Spanish news agency EFE. In total, Zamorano

Zamorano

appeared 173 times for Real Madrid, scoring 101 goals.

After five seasons in the Spanish league, Zamorano played four seasons in Serie A with Internazionale, from 1996 to 2000, where he was the teammate with Youri Djorkaeff, Diego Simeone, Javier Zanetti, and Ronaldo, among others.

He was initially the club’s premier striker, holding the coveted number nine shirt. However, upon Baggio’s arrival at the club, Ronaldo was forced to give up number ten, and wear number nine, therefore Zamorano had to give up his number and started wearing a shirt bearing the number ‘1+8’, therefore making him mathematically still a number 9 striker.

In May 1998, Inter won the UEFA Cup after beating Lazio in the final 3–0, with Zamorano scoring the opening goal. He had also scored in second leg of the previous year’s final, with the game going to penalties. However, Zamorano missed his penalty as Inter lost to Schalke 1–4.

Zamorano moved to Mexico in 2001 to play for America for two seasons, winning the Torneo de Verano in the first season. He concluded his career playing in Colo-Colo making a childhood dream come true, in 2003, after a professional career spanning more than 16 years.

Zamorano made his debut at the age of 20 on June 19, 1987, scoring a goal in a 3–1 friendly win against Peru.

He scored five goals on April 29, 1997 in a 1998 World Cup qualifier against Venezuela, which ended in a 6–0 victory.

He played all four of Chile’s matches at the 1998 World Cup, setting up Marcelo Salas’ goal in a 1–1 draw against Austria.

In the 2000 Olympic Games, he won the bronze medal, scoring a brace in a 2–0 victory against United States and was the top scorer with six goals.

His last international match, at age 34, was a farewell friendly between Chile and France on September 1, 2001, which Chile won 2–1. Zamorano was capped 69 times, scoring 34 goals.

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday April 21, 2015

31 ExtraTime CRICKET

Hoggard

Faldo

surprised at being named best England bowler

O D L A F

Matthew Hoggard admits he was “surprised” to be named England’s best Test bowler in a special study devised and commissioned by BBC Sport.

The 38-year-old, who took 248 Test wickets, finished top after a formula was applied to determine which of the 10 leading England wickettakers had taken more of their wickets against better batsmen.

“I was very surprised,” said Hoggard. “There were some fantastic bowlers in the top 10 but it’s given me plenty of bragging rights.”

Hoggard played the last of his 67 Tests in 2008 and retired from county cricket in 2013, and he says his role in the team was to build pressure rather than being an out and out strike bowler.

And what about Hoggard’s best performances in an England shirt? He took seven five-wicket hauls, but rates the one he recorded against South Africa at the beginning of 2005 as his personal highlight.

“My best bowling was most probably the second innings at Johannesburg,” said Hoggard. “I took 7-61 and 12 in the game.

“I got 5-144 in the first innings and I thought I’d bowled like a bag of spanners.

“It was always a friendly pitch - they called it the green mamba in South Africa - but I’d never bowled well on it until this day.

“It seemed to click in the second innings.

I got Jacques Kallis first ball and to bowl South Africa out in 70 overs was fantastic.”

Golf

S

ix-time major winner Sir Nick Faldo will play in his last Open in July.

Faldo, who will turn 58 during the 2015 event, has won the Claret Jug three times, including in 1990 at St Andrews, the venue for this year’s competition.

“The Open and St Andrews will forever hold a significant place in my heart,” said Englishman Faldo.

“My fondest moments on my journey with this great sport are woven with pictures and emotions in this setting. It all means a huge amount to me.”

Faldo also won Open titles at Muirfield in 1987 and 1992, as well as winning the Masters at Augusta on three occasions.

He will join five-time Open champion Tom Watson, who will also be making his final appearance in the

TO PLAY LAST OPEN IN

JULY

Championship, held from July 16-19.

Peter Dawson, chief executive of golf’s governing body The R&A, said: “Sir Nick Faldo is an inspirational figure in British golf and has enjoyed a remarkable career in the Open.

“I’m sure there will be great anticipation among the galleries at St Andrews to see him play in the Open once again and he will receive a rousing ovation worthy of a great champion.”

Hoggard

Motorsport

RUGBY

NZ’s Cruden set to miss World Cup

N

ew Zealand fly-half Aaron Cruden is almost certain to miss the World Cup, after tearing cruciate knee ligaments while playing for Waikato Chiefs.

The 26-year-old is to have a knee reconstruction, with his recovery expected to take about six months.

New Zealand’s first match at the tournament - against Argentina - is five months away on September 20, with the final on October 31.

Cruden was the starting fly-half in New Zealand’s 2011 World Cup final triumph.

He has collected 37 international caps, most recently in his nation’s 2421 win over England in November, and scored 280 points for the All Blacks.

Cruden gained his place in the side

for the 2011 final after injuries to first and second-choice number 10s Dan Carter and Colin Slade.

Cruden himself was forced off in the first half of the 8-7 win over France with a knee injury, leaving Stephen Donald - who had been on a fishing holiday at the start of the tournament - to kick the decisive penalty.

Ferrari F Cruden

errari are holding off signing a new contract with Kimi Raikkonen, saying the reason is to ensure the Finnish driver stays motivated this season.

His deal runs out this year and Ferrari have an option to retain the 35-year-old alongside Sebastian Vettel in 2016.

Team boss Maurizio Arrivabene said: “He has demonstrated he’s a great driver so if you’re asking now if he deserves to renew the option, I’m going to say yes.

Ferrari

to delay new Raikkonen deal “But if I’m going to say yes, I don’t want a driver to fall asleep.”

Arrivabene was talking after Raikkonen’s best performance so far this season, a second place behind Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton in Bahrain on Sunday.

Raikkonen was outperformed comprehensively by then team-mate Fernando Alonso in 2014, but has been much more competitive with Vettel this season following Alonso’s move to McLaren.

Extra

Nigerians lack a viable reading culture L2 TUESDAY, APRIL 21, 2015

VOL. 1. NO.90

www.facebook.com/dailytimesngr

News

Xenophobia: Zulu king calls for calm P13 P26

Plea bargaining: There’s need for legislative intervention - Akpedeye

Politics

Jonathan is father of new Nigeria - Uranta P 8

Price: N150

https://twitter.com/DailyTimesNGR

https://plus.google.com/+DailytimesNgr/posts

dailytimesng

Shekau: Time Magazine missed it this time

Debbie Ariyo

ÎÎÎ

Law

For the first time in history, four Nigerians made it onto the prestigious Time Magazine 100 Personality of the Year Award.

Nigeria’s Presidentelect, Muhammadu Buhari; the arrow head of the “Bring Back Our Girls” campaign, Dr Oby Ezeikwezili , awardwinning Nigerian writer, Chimamanda Adichie and curiously, Abubakar Shekau, leader of Boko Haram.

To be on this list is no mean feat. In the past, top achievers like the late President Nelson Mandela, The Dalai Lama and other important contributors to positive life on Earth have been so recognised. As a Nigerian, it is indeed pleasing to see the

President-elect, Adichie and Ezeikwezili recognised this way.

Though I did not support his campaign for Presidency, there is no denying that General Buhari is a huge inspiration to many Nigerians. Having run for office in all the last four presidential elections since 2003, the fact that he was successful at the last attempt is of huge significance to many Nigerians who are wont to ascribe “spiritual” meanings to the most mundane of occurrences.

Again the doggedness of Dr Ezeikwezili and the leadership role she has played in highlighting the issue of the missing Chibok Girls is also worthy of commendation.

On her own part, Chimamanda has been a great export of Nigeria on the international scene. A prolific writer, she commands respect across the globe for the brilliance and versatility of her work.

I believe these three recognitions are well deserved and should be cel-

ebrated. They are the sort of positive icons we need across Nigeria, Africa and the black race to motivate and inspire our children and young people to achieve and develop.

What is confusing though is to see these noble names on the same list as that of Shekau Abubakar, the leader of the terrorist group, Boko Haram.

It is baffling to see the name of the one person responsible for total carnage, death and destruction across the landscape of Nigeria over the past six years equally on the Time magazine list. That Shekau – blood-thirsty terrorist and butcher of children and women --- is named as an “Influential Personality” of the year

by Time Magazine is an insult to the about 15,000 men, women and children killed by this man and his gang of terrorists across the length and breadth of Nigeria.

We of course must not forget the over 2 million people who have been displaced across Nigeria and in neighbouring countries

by Shekau’s nefarious activities and all those maimed and orphaned by him and his group.

How influential can Abubakar Shekau be regarded by the multitudes of children and students killed by Boko Haram?

Ranging from the July 6, 2013 attack at Mamudo Government Secondary School in Yobe where at least 41 children and one teacher were killed to the 29 September 2013 Gujiba College massacre where suspected gunmen entered the male dormitory in the College of Agriculture in Gujiba, Yobe State, killing at least 44 students and teachers, the Baga massacre of April 19 to 20, 2013 in Borno State where over 228 people were murdered as well as the first major onslaught on March 8, 2010 in the Dogo Nahawa in Plateau State where over 500 villagers, including several children, were killed in cold blood.

There were also other attacks carried out in churches, markets with high children casualty.

Which of these victims,

dead or alive, would regard Abubakar Shekau as “influential”? Whether negative or positive, the word “influential” cannot and should not be used to describe a terrorist and a mass murderer.

The irony of this recognition is sickening.

Shekau, responsible for the abduction of over 200 girls from their school on the night of 14 April listed together with Ezeikwezili, the key person who has been highlighting the case of the Chibok girls.

The key question is: “Why couldn’t Time Magazine recognise the Chibok girls themselves on its influential list?

Their plight is well known and recognised all over the world. Thousands of people have called for their release, girls across the world expressed concern for their suffering, including Malala who was also recognised on the list.

Having a major terrorist recognised as an “Influential Person of the year” is a way to encourage young people into terrorism.

What the Time magazine

has unwittingly done is to turn Shekau into a hero.

If he wasn’t so recognised before, he is now a hero to other terrorists and potential terrorists around the world.

This Time magazine recognition, in my view, is a major disservice to the entire universe. I do not know what inspired the Magazine to so award and recognise the one person who has done so much damage. He is not the sort of influential person we want in Nigeria. This man should be found, arrested and indicted for crimes against humanity.

He should be prosecuted and jailed for the rest of his life for the evil he has perpetrated on Nigeria and Nigerians. In Nigeria, we do not and can never recognise or accept him as our “Influential Person of the Year”. ...Ariyo OBE is Chief Executive of AFRUCA UK (www.afruca.org) and a postgraduate student at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Published by FOLIO COMMUNICATIONS LTD, Lateef Jakande Road, Agidingbi, Ikeja. website: www.dailytimes.com.ng; email: info@dailytimes.com.ng. Tel: 018447948. EDITOR: YINKA OLUJIMI News Hotlines: 08138773277, 08173901838. Advert Hotlines: 08169118913, 08075038528

Life &

TIMES Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Omena Daniels A versatile media personality L2

P

Stain and odour solutions for clothesL P

4

How to tell if he’s cheating on you

L3

P

Interview L2

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday April 21, 2015

Nigerians lack a viable reading culture

– Omena Daniels Nkarenyi Ukonu

Call him an all round media personality and you won’t totally be wrong. Meet Omena Daniels; writer, brand architect, motivational speaker, lawyer, publisher, script writer, host of ‘The Lounge,’ CEO avenue3media and executive director, OUCH., a wholly indigenous Nigerian fashion brand. He opens up on a few of his passions, chief of which is his decision to re write the history of Delta State via his DELTA 100 project.

Life&

T E A M

What is the DELTA 100 project all about?

It is basically part of the commemoration of 100 years of Nigeria. The centenary celebration got me thinking about doing something unique to equally celebrate Delta State indigenes who have been outstanding in their various endeavors in the last 100 years of the existence of Nigeria.

We started the process of DELTA 100 over two years ago and suddenly developed cold feet because we felt that Nigerians may not totally value the essence of what we plan to do as we lack a viable reading culture. But we eventually got round to kick starting it. Instead of making a history book, we decided to make a documentary and a photo book since Nigerians like to look at pictures. So rather than run lengthy interviews with these selected 100, we plan to run a short interview of not more than 200

or 300 words and just splash pictures of their growing up years till date. Basically focus on their lives and how they have been able to make something of themselves.

Why focus on only Delta State?

Because I am from there. Delta for me is home, my father is Isoko while my mother is from Itsekiri. Even though I was born in Lagos, I have had cause over the years, to constantly interact with people from all the tribes in Delta. I feel that I should bring development to my home state. Yes it is a cliché that home is the best place but I have since found out that if I put all of the abilities and skills that I have garnered over the years and use it to beam light on Dellifelong passion. There is a saying that it is only a bastard that looks back and insults his father’s house. If I see anything about my homestead that I believe I have the capacity to improve on, as a son of the soil, why not?

Editor Nkarenyi Ukonu n.ukonu@dailytimes.com.ng 08029030427

What are the criteria for coming up with 100 Delta state indigenes to showcase in a documentary and photo book ?

We have a nomination process which is still on-going. Anyone irrespective of whether you are from Delta State can nominate whoever they think is worthy of being showcased and my crew takes a thorough look at the person’s background with authenticity or otherwise of some of the claims by the person. Thereafter, the name, goes on a preliminary list if it meets the standards of the editorial crew. At the end of the day, we merge the nominations from online and those from traditional rulers to the vetting process where historians, people who have a fair knowledge of the goings on in Delta State and art enthusiasts, further prune down the list to 100. Members of these vetting process do not necessarily have to be Deltans because we want to give vour. Thereafter, we will now commence with putting together articles on the successful 100.

You mentioned earlier that a documentary will be part of the project Yes we are doing a malected 100 Deltans. It will focus on their lives and times. There will be two other short documentary called ‘Unity in Diversity’, focusing on the different ethnic tribes in Delta State and how they have been able to synergize into one state. The other will be called, ‘Possibilities beckon’ and it will be about the tourism and business potentials of Delta State.

How has it been trying to get all of these done

Music Correspondent Akintayo Opeoluwani o.ogunjimi@dailytimes.com.ng 08126223784

Movie Correspondent Mutiat Alli m.alli@dailytimes.com.ng 08115557378

because it is obviously a lot of work?

It is quite tasking. I have been back and forth in Delta State for over a year, talking to government agencies, government functionaries, getting the government to endorse the project because Delta State is large and we would need help from the government to get all of these accomplished. Also, putting in place an event team, a production crew, a research crew domiciled in Delta State to carry out editing and research, a logistic team which interfaces with the traditional rulers and teams in Lagos working on corporate sponsor-

Is this project like a spring board to your eventual foray into politics?

Well if politics is about position, ofof having a sense of entitlement as a leader, then no, I am not interested.

But if politics would put me in a position to deliver dividends to the people of Delta, to enrich and develop them, to bring people who before now were relegated to the fore, then yes, I think I would want to go into politics.

Your write ups have graced the pages of newspapers, magazines and books, inspiring both young and old. Why did you dump the wig for the pen?

I have always wanted to be a writer, to build on my innate skills to write and talk but every other person felt I would be better off studying law including my parents. My personality satisfy my father.

Do you hope to dust up your No, I won’t be needing it.

You were once a publisher draining. The challenges are huge of a lifestyle magazine called - Bloke which you aptly called a tual outcome of the project. ‘bible’ on men for women. What happened to it. Has it been With such a humongous project rested? to execute, what exactly is in it It is still closest to my heart and no for you? it hasn’t been rested. It is now on line For me as a Delta State indigene, I but with plans to publish a bumper will say I am a visionary and as a writ- edition of all the on line editions every er, being able to chronicle a part of year. The reading culture in Nigeria I history is outstanding alone. Cooking must reiterate hasn’t improved hence the need to go on line. But I must add As a person, it has suddenly made that Bloke was ahead of its time. me feel like a walking encyclopedia of Delta State. But most important, I And you write seamlessly on am only interested in giving back. It relationships yet you aren’t is my hope that 50, 100 years down married. What gives you the line, there will be a crop of young the authority to talk about relationships? project which will also include sumI started writing about relationmits and leadership programmes ships at age 15 for church journals, and who I would expect to carry on working with singles fellowship and from where I stopped. I expect to till date, I have compiled over 200 have successors because there is no relationship quotes. Besides, my fasuccess without a successor. ther is a Bishop and I have heard him talk about marriage and relationships All through the process of on countless occasions. I grew up collating names, meeting with among women from whom I learnt fellow Deltans and travelling quite a lot about their opinion on men the length and breadth of Delta, and what they expect of their men. what would you say was most So I learnt the female perspective outstanding for you? about men from a young age even What I have learnt and still learning before I learnt that of men. Let’s just is that as diverse as they are, Deltans say that I have a very robust relationhave very similar traits. The average ship background.

Deltan is strong but also laid back.

Laid back in the sense that nothing What would you say must have is too important to him. The average Deltan knows how to laugh, have a who you are today? good time but isn’t a push over irreSeveral things. From a very young spective of his economic status or age, I was very much into putting up educational background. An average a show. I was a shy kid but all that Deltan works hard and cannot be shyness disappears when you put a over looked, he strives to be on top microphone in my hands or place me and even when you try to relegate in front of an audience. I was also a him, he ensures he creates his own go-to - ideas person. I grew up wanting to do all these things and that is are generally happy people. basically why I am who I am today.

Society Correspondent Isaac Oguntoye i.ogundoye@dailytimes.com.ng 08069489893

Photography Quadri Olowolagba q.olowolagba@dailytimes.com.ng 08029745478

Graphics Austine Agbovi a.agbovi@dailytimes.com.ng 07060402397

Daily Times Nigeria

Tuesday April 21, 2015

L3 Relationship

Is he straying in your marriage?

Ngozi Ndubisi

ngozindubisi2013@yahoo.com Husband: As she sat by him, he whispered, eyes full of tears, “You know what?

You have been with me all through the bad times. support me.

When my business failed, you were there.

When I got shot, you were by my side.

When we lost the house, you stayed right here.

When my health started failing, you were still by my side...

You know what Martha?”

Wife: “What dear?” she gently asked, smiling as her heart began to

4. He criticizes you at every turn with you you do.

Your marriage is one of the most important things in your life, and looking for signs your husband is cheating is devastating. So why look for what will hurt you? Instead of looking, if you suspect your man is cheating on

Comparing new with the old: comparing past relationship with your marriage, even your friend’s marriage with yours.

Pride and ego: Carrying oneself with so much pride that he tramples on others emotions.

and re-establish your love and care for each other. Don’t allow another to reap where you have sown in tears, sweat and blood.

Unhealthy association: Knowledge is good, but what we do with it is what could lead one to cheat or either make or break a home.

Why do people have affairs?

Inviting a Third Party: A bad friend or advice could lead a spouse to cheat and destroy his home.

Husband: I’m beginning to think you’re bad luck.

When a man or woman cheats, it is hardly ever just because they have met someone they cannot resist, there’s often a hidden meaning

What do you have to say to him?

Email: ngozindubisi2013@yahoo. com

examine some common reasons for cheating and the chances for recovery:

The cheating husband

Gary Neuman a marriage therapist for 23 years has this to say on cheating husbands; “92 per cent of men who cheat are sexually satischeat because they want more physmissing an emotional connection at home, so they cheat on their wives.

Surprisingly, 77 per cent of husbands who cheated had best friends who also cheated on their wives. This means that your husband’s friends have a very real, direct effect on your marriage. If your husband’s best friend is cheating, then the chances are that your husband may cheat on you.”

Signs your husband is cheating

A woman’s intuition is the most important indicator that a man is cheating, but if you are experiencing mixed signals from your instincts, it’s because this is an extremely emotional subject!

So how would one know for sure that he is cheating outside your intuition?

1. He avoids physical and emotional contact 2. He’s not as interested in physical intimacy as he was before 3. He stays away from home

Other reasons why married couples cheat

Dissimilarity: This is a situation when one or both partners won’t argue. They skirt around differences rather than work through them. As they are not sharing everything, they won’t feel as close, which leads to loneliness, so they seek out closeness elsewhere.

Vulnerabilities: To some couple, the fear of letting down their guard and showing their vulnerability, and admitting their dependence and need of their partner, frightens the life out of them, that they prefer to argue.

Their goal becomes to see and hear the other is at fault.

Unable to handle reality: In this case, with the culprit, when the honeymooning is over and the day to day married life demands hits him or her, it becomes too complicated for them and they tend to blame the other spouse for whatever is bugging them and this sometimes leads to affairs and their subsequent break-up.

Sexual addiction: Like every adcraving leaves a feeling of emptiness and the need to go outside the marriage to satisfy the addiction becomes a do or die affair, but it never really lasts.

Wanting to eat his cake and have it: This is when the cheating partner wants it all. He (it’s usually the he) wants his wife and family but wants a mistress as well.

Unguarded utterances: When a spouse continues being at the receiving end of abuse or belittling comments, at a point there will be a rebelmove on.

Class differences: Couples carry their family pride into the marriage to the detriment of the union and the family also bears down on the unequal spouse.

What we all need for our bliss is a little giving and a little bending backwards.

Men who don’t make good husbands

Some men are great fun to date, but are not just it when it comes to marriage. For whatever reason, they are not just husband material. These category of men are: The guy who broke your heart and never really apologized Just because he is all you desire of a man, and he gives you all the green lights, does not make him a material for long lasting marriage when he keeps hurting you over and over with no apologies. He will leave the marriage before you say Jack.

The cheat It’s not the matter of “Once a cheat always a cheat,” but if you were cheated-on, time and again, why think he will change when you marry? Why enter a marriage where trust is an issue from the onset?

The I, before others man If a guy is too preoccupied with be more of that in marriage, where he is the lord and master of the home.

If they deny you little, little things you love; think before you leap sister!

The con artist If your man connives to dupe and spend money lavishly on you, sorry sister, your guy just showed and proved he cannot be trusted. Even if he never does the same to you, conmen are shady characters, and you never can tell what he’ll do next that may land you in police net or worse.

The workaholic Being ambitious is admirable. But working so late “week in, week out” calls for a rethink, he’ll never be there when you need him. Maybe when he’s just starting out and it’s the only option to get ahead it is okay, but after that, be wise...

for now and you don’t mind, you see him doing what no other could do as sign of his love for you. Your stay at home man should contribute in some way to making your home a happy one. It’s either he cooks, cleans, or cares for the kids. Frustration awaits you on the other side. Stop, think, before your ‘I Do.’ The can’t-handle-tough-times man Sorry to say this, but there is a reason for the ‘for better or worse’ phrase in a marriage vow. A man who shuts down when the going gets tough won’t be there for you when you need him the most. Honestly, You don’t need a husband you can’t count on when the chips are down.

House –husband (Mr. lazy) Maybe you are the breadwinner

JOKE OF THE WEEK

Fashion & Style L4

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday April 21, 2015

Natural solutions for removing stains and odours from clothing Eyola

eyola@aol.com

Prevent and remove sweat stains

Those horrible stains and yellow discolorations on the armpits of your favourite white T-shirt (or shirt) need not distress you anymore. Fill an empty spray bottle with water and lemon juice, spray the mixture on the sweat stain and rinse before washing.

Remove lipstick stains Odourless trainers

Spray lipstick stains with hairspray and let it sit for a few minutes before washing the garment.

To remove (and prevent) bad odours from your trainers after an exercise workout, or after wearing them casually for some time, pour a little baking soda inside the trainers to eliminate bad smells and to soak up sweat.

No stain-souvenirs left on suede.

Say goodbye to red wine stains

Red wine is notoriously known to permanently ruin whatever surface or clothing it comes into contact with. Need a simple solution? Just pour some white wine over the red wine stain, preventing the stain from setting.

Undo chewing gum disasters

Being a casualty of chewing gum stuck on clothing can be a cause of frustration. An easy method for removing gum from clothing, furniture, your hair or anywhere else is using ice. Getting the gum as cold as possible hardens it, making it easier to scrape off.

To get rid of any surface dirt from your suede shoes or clothing, remove the crust from a loaf of bread and allow it to become stale. Gently rub the edge of the stale bread over dirt and stains and watch them magically disappear.

Removing water stains on leather

As for watermarks on leather boots, a few drops of vinegar in a bowl of cool water does the trick. Just dip a soft bristle brush in the mixture and gently scrub the stains until they are no more.

Finally, let your leather boots dry naturally outside in the open air

Daily Times Nigeria

Tuesday April 21, 2015

L5

Kiddies World L6

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday April 21, 2015

Opeoluwani Akintayo

Know your heroes/heroines Inspiration

Herbert Macaulay

Send them outside!

Most 21st Century parents believe it’s safe and much healthier to have their kids play only around the house and in their backyards. Wrong! Studies have shown that it isn’t all the time that kids should be subjected to in-house fun alone. Letting them go outside to play with friends, buying them footballs, jump ropes and other outdoor fun things go a long way to make your child grow into a healthier kid. So, send them outside and stop the backyard fun.

Ways to motivate kids to help with chores members need to help each other. drive to get chores and other boring tasks done. themselves but for others also at the table. help put household utensils scattered around the house in their rightful places. chairs and furniture. One thing parents should know is that their kids imitate them whenever they see them do things around the house. So, asking you girl or boy to help with dusting those tables won’t be much of a bother for the kids.

When kids are involved in the day-to-day running of the household, they will feel like they are a part of something larger than themselves. Chores show kids that families are built on mutual obligations and that family Herbert Macaulay Olayinka Macaulay Badmus was born in Lagos on November 14, 1864 to Thomas Babington Macaulay and Abigail Crowther. They were children of people who were captured from what is now present day Nigeria. They had settled in Sierra Leone but eventually returned to present day Nigeria. Thomas Babington Macaulay was one of the sons of Ojo Oriare while Abigail Crowther was the daughter of Bishop Samuel Ajayi Crowther, the ritory. Thomas Babington Macauondary school in Nigeria, the CMS Grammar School, Lagos.

Herbert Macaulay was an unlikely champion of the masses and tionalists and for most of his life, a strong opponent of British rule in

Nigeria. In 1908, he exposed European corruption in the handling argued successfully for the Chiefs whose land had been taken by the British in front of the Privy council in London. As a result, the colonial government was forced to pay compensation to the chiefs. In retaliation for this and other activities of his, Macaulay got jailed twice by the British.

He co-founded the National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons, NCNC, together with another nationalist, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and became its president. The party was designed to bring together Nigerians of all ethnic and religious groups to ask for independence.

Herbert Macaulay later died and was buried at Ikoyi cemetery in Lagos on May 11, 1946.

Rich or not We all have got Chances in lifetime To live quite sublime

More rich people become richer And the majority poor more poorer It’s not how much money brings boost But having enjoyed life not its cost

Healthy body makes an active mind Once sick can’t make good things rewind Beware of taking too much of everything Good health is wealth and the best thing

children to do chores!

Symptoms you shouldn’t ignore in your kids Take note. Whenever you notice any of these symptoms, call your doctor Symptom #1: High fever: A fever that’s 100.4F or higher in a baby younger than 3 months; higher than 101F in a baby 3 to 6 months; or higher than 103F in a child 6 months to 2 years.

Symptom #2: Long-lasting fever: A fever that doesn’t go down with treatment, or that lasts more Symptom #3: Fever with headache: A fever that’s accompanied by a stiff neck or headache or a rash that’s either bruise-like or looks like tiny red dots.

Call your doctor, these can be signs of meningitis and need immediate attention.

Signs your child is a video game addict Some people are wired to become addicted to the unique stimuli provided by video games. See checklist of signs parents should watch for.

Does your child …

Play almost every day?

Play for extended periods (more than three or four hours at a time)?

Play for excitement?

Get restless and irritable if he or she can’t play?

Poem: Health

preparation is also another way. There, they can watch how meals are being cooked and can also help pass cooking ingredients to you. This helps them learn but, make sure they’re not there at the time you want to light the gas! Some kids are experimental in nature. They can also help out with laundry, bed-making, etc.

Play instead of doing homework?

Try in vain to limit playing time?

Seem to be losing interest in real-life activities?

If your child exhibits some or all of these signs of addiction, or you just want to help prevent them, consider the safeguards for video game play. In order to diminish the adverse effects that video games may have on your child, consider the fol-

lowing safeguards:

Set time limits.

Make sure your child completes his chores and homework before play.

Be intimately involved in choosing the games your child plays.

Remember: you are the grown-up! Model good viewing and gaming habits yourself. self-control.

Monitor attitudes and behaviors with your child when he plays with friends or siblings.

Encourage your child’s friends to play at your house.

Watch for signs of addiction to video game play, particularly with boys.

Daily Times Nigeria

Tuesday April 21, 2015

L7 Teen’s World

Parents-children relationship

What’s the appropriate curfew for teenagers?

Ngozi Ndubisi

ngozindubisi2013@yahoo.com Teens come with a whole new set of parenting concerns, more so now, no thanks to foreign exposures. Once upon a time, our teenage children behaved as expected and were happy to abide by their parent’s rules. Yes there maybe one or two naughty ones, not too many to raise a national panic.

Today, the reverse is the case, some children are so bad behaved, while some are out rightly unruly and we are supposed to wave it off with “oh, it’s just a teenage thing” Whatever that means, I am yet to fully understand.

Most Teens think setting a curfew and dress code are detrimental to their social developmental graces. stubborn as possible.

My dears, it is not true, if anything, it’s to produce the highest principled child who can withstand any obstacle and come out the victor.

Know this also that parents worry a lot when you go out especially in this our trying time and being in

a country where security is next to nothing like in Nigeria. Because they love you so much, they need to monitor your movement just in case of any eventuallity.

Teens curfew: How to set limits Giving your children the freedom and independence they need to make their own choices does not mean you have to stop being a concerned or involved parent; in fact the opposite is the case. It means being even more involved in your child’s life, but in a different way. A way that allows your children to know you are still there for them and they are still answerable to you, but are free to experience life.

Involve your children in setting their night time boundaries: Reach an agreement together as to a curfew time that is age-appropriate for each child. Compromise if necessary but not to be seen as weakness on your part. You don’t always have to be the “winner.” Communicate clearly what the agreed upon times are, through written and verbal reinforcements.

Execute the consequences of bro-

ken rules. When a child is late, give them a chance to freely comment and explain why they broke the rule. together. If a teen still breaks the curfew rule, let the agreed-upon consequences fall into place. (Withhold something they love from them).

If your teen has missed curfew because drinking or drugs were involved, then the consequences are more serious. You must carry out a more serious punishment (than withholding) that have been agreed on and more where absolutely necessary.

Please teens adhere to these rules for yours and your parent’s peace of mind.

Do you have any question you want answered, or advice on any subject? email: Aunty on ngozindubisi2013@yhoo.com and you’ll be glad you did.

Teenagers

Music & Movie Chart Opeoluwani Akintayo and Mutiat Alli

Top 10 music chart

Nigeria

1.Wizkid-Ojuelegba 2.Kiss Daniel – Woju 3.Falz Ft. YemiAlade- Marry Me 4.Iyanya- Finito 5.Mavin- LookuLooku 6.Phyno- Yayo 7.Korede Bello- God Win 8.Olamide- FalilaKetan 9.M.I Ft Moti- Bad Belle 10.Charass Ft. Davido& Phyno- Coco Butter

Top 10 music chart

International

1.Mark Ronson Feat. Bruno Mars Uptown Funk 2.Ellie Goulding Love Me Like You Do 3.Maroon 5 Sugar 4.Wiz Khalifa Feat. Charlie Puth See You Again 5.Rihanna, Kanye West & Paul McCartney FourFiveSeconds 6.Ed Sheeran Thinking Out Loud 7.Rihanna Bitch Better Have My Money 8.Omi Cheerleader 9.Hozier Take Me To Church 10.The Weeknd Earned It (Fifty Shades Of Grey)

Top 10 movie chart

English

1.October 1st 2.30 Days in Atlanta 4.Apaye 5.Head Gone 6.Tango with me 7.Devil in the details 8.Flower Girl 9.Mirror Boy 10.Champagne

Top 10 movie chart

International

1.Furious 7 2.Home (2015) 3.Cinderella (2015) 4.Get Hard 5.The Divergent Series: Insurgent 6.It Follows 7.Kingsman: The Secret Service 8.Do you believe?

9.The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 10.Run All Night

Daily Times Nigeria

Tuesday April 21, 2015

L8 Television

Showing on

Showing on

131 LifetimeChannel

104M-Net Movie Comedy

19:00

12:14 Tue, 14 Apr | PG

Tue, 14 Apr | Family

In this heart-warming sequel to the hit musical comedy, the sisters call on singer Deloris (Whoopi Goldberg) to help teach music to a group of students whose school is doomed to close.

Whoopi Goldberg, Maggie Smith, Kathy Najimy.

(1993) Bill Duke

A woman begins to suspect her husband is cheating on her. While trying to save her marriage, her mysterious past begins to emerge, making her paranoid, delusional and violent. Heather Locklear, Max Martini. (2011) Jeff Renfroe

101 M-Net West

01:10 The Fault In Our Stars 03:15 Made In Hollywood 04:00 MasterChef Australia 05:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 06:00 Modern Family 06:30 The Blacklist 07:17 Behind The Scenes: Step Up: All In 07:30 NCIS: Los Angeles 08:16 Behind The Scenes: Chef 08:30 Justin And The Knights Of Valour 10:02 Behind The Scenes: The Boxtrolls 10:14 Behind The Scenes: Planes Fire...

10:30 Two And A Half Men 11:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 12:00 MasterChef Australia 13:00 NCIS: New Orleans 14:00 The Newsroom 15:00 The Fixer 16:00 The Ellen DeGeneres Show 17:00 2 Broke Girls

120 BBC Entertainment

118 Telemundo

00:30 The Del Monte Dynasty 01:20 The Impostor 02:10 Aurora 03:00 Fearless Heart 03:50 Labour Of Love 05:20 The Del Monte Dynasty 06:10 Aurora 07:00 Fearless Heart 07:50 Labour Of Love 08:40 The Impostor 09:30 Forbidden Passions 10:20 Aurora 11:10 Fearless Heart 12:00Labour Of Love 12:50 The Impostor 13:40 Forbidden Passions 14:30 Aurora 15:20 Fearless Heart 16:10 Labour Of Love 17:00 The Impostor 17:50 Forbidden Passions 18:40 Aurora 19:30 Fearless Heart 20:20 Labour Of Love 21:10 The Impostor 22:00 Forbidden Passions 22:00 Forbidden Passions

00:05 The Cube

11:15 My Family

00:50 Top Gear

11:50 My Family

01:45 The Musketeers

12:20 Top Gear

02:40 Come Dine With Me

13:15 Come Dine With Me

03:35 EastEnders

14:10 Celebrity MasterChef

04:05 Top Gear

15:05 The Weakest Link

05:00 Mr. Bean: The Animated Series

16:00 Casualty

05:25 QI

18:00 The Cube

05:55 Would I Lie To You?

19:00 New Tricks

06:30 EastEnders 07:00 Antiques Roadshow

20:00 Michael McIntyre: Hello Wembley!

07:55 The Weakest Link

21:00 Dragons’ Den

08:45 QI

22:05 Live At The Apollo

09:20 Would I Lie To You? 09:50 Hell’s Kitchen USA

21:45 My Family: Christmas 2007

10:35 Deal Or No Deal

22:20 Live At The Apollo

17:00 The Chase

155 AfricaMagicWorld

155 AfricaMagic Family

00:00Tinsel 00:30 Living With Trisha 01:15 Star Gist 01:42 Making Of A Mogul 02:10 At Home With Michelle Attoh 03:05 Good Morning Africa 04:07 Channel O: Volt 04:33 Channel O: Volt 05:00 The Comedy Club Live In Lagos 05:53 Behind The Scenes: Invasion

06:00Good Morning Africa 07:00 Star Gist 07:25 A Dead End 08:42 Living With Trisha 09:27 The Comedy Club 10:20 Good Morning Africa 11:17 Tinsel 11:43 Star Gist 12:10 Channel O: Volt 12:37 Channel O: Volt 13:05 At Home With Michelle Attoh 14:02 Through The Eyes Of An African 14:37 Fashion Coast 15:00 Making Of A Mogul 15:30 Coco Bill

00:00 Noose Of Gold 00:30 Good Morning Africa 01:25 Nemesis 01:40TheDzigbordi Show 02:37 Good Morning Africa 03:38 Good Morning Africa 04:35 Noose Of Gold 05:00 Good Morning Africa 06:00 Foot Prints

06:30 Foot Prints 07:00 Star Gist 07:30 Star Gist 08:00 Lies That Bind 08:18 Nemesis 08:30 Lies That Bind 09:00 Good Morning Africa 10:00 So Wrong So Wright 10:30 So Wrong So Wright 11:00 Affections 11:30Jara

12:00 Jara 12:30Katemba Mu Kkooti 13:00 Music On Africa Magic 14:00 Noose Of Gold 14:30 Noose Of Gold 15:00 Deception 15:30 Foot Prints 16:00 Foot Prints 16:30 Lies That Bind 17:00 Lies That Bind 17:30 Star Gist 18:00 Star Gist

128 SONY MAX

00:15 Unbeatable Banzuke 00:40 Unbeatable Banzuke 01:05 Guy Code 01:30 Poorman’s Bikini Beach 01:55 Return To The 36th Chamber 03:35 Hole In The Wall 04:00 Hole In The Wall 04:30 Unbeatable Banzuke 05:00Ninja Warrior 05:25 Ninja Warrior 05:50 Video Zonkers 06:15 Video Zonkers 06:40 Hole In The Wall 07:10 Hole In The Wall 07:40 Most Shocking 08:40 What Went Down 09:10 Repo Games 09:40 World’s Wildest Police Videos 10:40 Video Zonkers 11:10 Video Zonkers 11:40 Most Shocking 12:40 Hole In The Wall 13:10Hole In The Wall 13:40 What Went Down 14:10 Killer Karaoke 15:10 Killer Karaoke 16:10 1000 Ways To Die 16:40 Hole In The Wall 17:10 Hole In The Wall 17:40Video Zonkers 18:05 Video Zonkers 18:30 What Went Down 19:00 Most Shocking 20:00 Tattoo Nightmares 20:30 Tattoo Nightmares 21:00 Hip Hop Squares 21:30Poorman’s Bikini Beach 22:00 Kenny vs Spenny

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Tech Times

s

TT 1

Inye Kemabonta, Editor, Tech Times inye@technologylaw.com.ng

INSIDE

Nigeria ranks 2nd in broadband affordability index-A4AI PAGE TT 3

The physically challenged and the Director General,NITDA, Mr Peter Jack in Abuja, recently.

Why public servants must undergo computer literacy tests It is trite to say that every profession or vocation requires some level of computing skills today. Indeed, the concept of literacy has long since been redefined to mean abilities in the 3Rs plus computing. But what has not actually caught on is the pervasive application of the new definition in employment circumstances. It is perhaps only in jobs described as ‘white collar’ jobs that HR practitioners sometimes bother to consider the computing skill of candidates as an advantage. In other words, ‘illiterate’ persons (by the new definition) may be hired in public and private corporations but they stand a better chance if they are literate!

Strange as this may seem, it is indeed what goes on today in employment situations where

candidates are not subjected to computing proficiency tests before employment.

Worse still, a lot of ‘illiterate’ persons are promoted daily in public service and even in the private sector because the new definition of literacy is hardly considered a factor or criterion for promotion or career advancement. Many Permanent Secretaries and Directors have retired from service without booting a computer. Many still rise to those positions without any kind of test to determine their computing literacy levels.

Of course, there are efforts by individual corporations to encourage their staff to become literate in computing but the efforts are purely dictated by caprice. There is no national standard against which to

Jack, DG NITDA

benchmark the training. There is no national guideline or regulation to guide or direct the efforts of corporations and their employees.

It is gratifying though that NITDA has shown examples in the past and in the current time.

Between 2002 and 2006 NITDA embarked on extensive training of senior government officials including legislators. At that time the ECDL (European Computer Driving License) or the ICDL (International Computer Driving License) as it is known outside Europe, was the curriculum recommended and used for the NITDA public sector trainings.

Recently, NITDA took a bold and commendable step to insist on the retraining of its entire workforce. This time the curric-

ulum was the IC3 (Internet and Computing Core Certification)

by CERTIPORT, the US-based certifying body. Both the ICDL and IC3 are acclaimed world class standards. The action of the IT Agency is quite auspicious. The knowledge age is upon us, and no one can be competitive without being literate in the new definition of literacy.

Besides, the current ubiquity of e-commerce, e-services and indeed, e-governance demand the emergence of a population and workforce that is literate, computer literate.

This imperative is heightened by the fact that every business is now going online, every service now has an online access.

Government is being reformed all over the world. In fact some CONTINUED ON PAGE TT 2

PAGE TT 2

UniAbuja, NITDA host FCT students on Robotics Technology

African SMEs PAGE TT 3 under pressure to use technology more effectively- Blundell

NOTAP decries turning Nigerian institutions into IT imported consumers’ PAGE TT 4 hub

Tech Times TT 2

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Johnson commends NiRA, others

UniAbuja, NITDA host FCT students on Robotics Technology Adikwu

Tony Nwakaegho University of Abuja played host to hundreds of Students at the inaugural FIRST® LEGO® League Competition held to stimulate the use of technology in education among young students in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

The Coderina Day held recently at UniAbuja with the visionary leadership of Professor Michael Umale Adikwu, vice-chancellor of the University whose passion in stimulating young students’ interest in Science and Technolo-

gy knows no bound as he offered support to the organisers, making hundreds of students around the FCT turning up to compete in the inaugural FIRST® LEGO® League program at the University library.

The FLL program is a global initiative of a US organisation FIRST® and® LEGO® the Educational toys giant. The program has an Abuja Based NGO Coderina Education & Technology Foundation as its Regional Operational Partner.

FIRST® LEGO® League is an innovation and robotics pro-

gram, designed to get children excited about Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM), and teach them valuable employment and life skills.

Tech Times gathered from Mr Olajide, a director at Coderina what is interesting about the FLL, and that which sets it apart from every other robotics program, is that it encompasses other elements such as Project where kids carry out actual research work to find innovative solutions to real life issues and it also hems-in Core Values – making kids responsible individuals

as well as team players.

The world has become a global village with problems growing at tremendous rate, but there is limited resources and dearth of professional engineers to solve some of these problems globally.

“Since the mission of FIRST is to inspire students to learn, there exists a symbiotic relationship between FIRST and engineering colleges and universities. In short, FIRST excites students and universities educate students.

“The event at Abuja followed another hugely successful one CONTINUED ON PAGE TT 4

‘Computer literacy tests crucial for public servants’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE TT 1

countries have moved from the e-government concept to M-government (mobile government, accessible to citizens on the go) and U-government (ubiquitous government, available to citizens anywhere). Technologies to support the drive are also evolving. Today, mobile and hand-held devices are replacing traditional desktops PCs to satisfy the needs of a highly mobile population. Broadband infrastructure are being erected to meet the ubiquity of e-services.

A manager or CEO can manage his whole office or do just about everything on his handheld device while away from the office. Distance and time are no longer barriers to business. This is why NITDA must go on to ensure that the nation’s workforce is ready for the global trend.

The time to act is now because technology is so fast-paced that every passing day counts. However the ubiquity of the Internet and digital technology poses ethical and security challenges, among others. This is why the

acquisition of computing skills cannot be a haphazard venture.

The business of governance and the management of corporations cannot be left in the hands of poorly trained computer users. The risks are too high.

There is a compelling need for standards which cover the field, from ethics to security.

What NITDA must do.

Having retrained its entire workforce on an international standard, NITDA stands on a moral high ground to propose the same to other MDAs. Indeed it is an obligation conferred on it by section 6 of its enabling law. What is required however is a clear national standard and entry point. Gladly, NITDA has experience with both the ICDL and the IC3. A regulatory intervention along the following lines would be well worthwhile.

First, there is the need to adopt both IC3 and ICDL as national standards, to give citizens freedom of choice. International standards are domesticated by either adoption or adaption.

There is no need, and no time,

to ‘re-invent the wheel’. So ICDL and IC3 satisfy the broad needs of the nation. They can be tweaked in the process of adaption to ensure that any specific national aspiration is covered.

There is therefore no reason why NITDA cannot make an immediate regulatory proclamation of both certifications as national standards and entry levels for literacy in Nigeria.

It has the power to do so, and should exercise it forthwith.

Second, a similar regulation that makes the acquisition of either certification as a require-

ment for employment or promotion in the public service is necessary. Again, such a regulation is within the mandate of NITDA. The idea has been mooted over the years, but an outright regulation is the right and conclusive step to take. This will officially begin the process of developing a literate workforce ready for the knowledge economy, its characteristics and challenges. Such a step by NITDA is not only desirable now but also a fulfillment of its mandate.

Inye Kemabonta. Email: inye@technologylaw.com.ng

Director General NITDA, Mr Peter Jack ( right) donating a set of working tools to a corps member in Abuja, recently.

Dr. Omobola Johnson, minister of Communication Technology, has commended the Nigeria Internet Registration Association (NiRA) and their Registrars for their resolve to utilize the uniqueness of the .ng domain name in showcasing the international relevance of Nigeria’s Country Code Top Level Domain (ccTLD).

Johnson made the statement while commissioning the NiRA office complex at 8 Funsho Willaims Avenue, Iponri, Suru-Lere, Lagos.

She identified .ng domain name as the country’s unique identity in the cyberspace, and urged the accredited Registrars to work assiduously in serving the internet community locally and register .ng domain name on behalf of the Registrants worldwide and aspire to become big players like the “GoDaddy” of USA. “It is ours and our internet economy grows in leaps and bounds, we must proudly secure our identity in cyberspace. I therefore assure Nigerians that we are in for eccit.i.ng times,” she said.

According to the minister, the NiRA House which was commissioned, Friday was purchased from the proceeds of past sales of premium domain names, which confirmed the fact that the business and wealth creation opportunities in the domain name registration industry are noteworthy.

The property serves as operational headquarters of NiRA, and also a resource centre for training and certification in Domain Name System (DNS), with an elibrary for research in DNS, fully furnished offices for short term hiring, and a canteen.

“I am fully assured that the Executive Board of Directors will ensure sustainable good use of the premises,” Johnson said.

The Minister of Communication Technology acknowledged the contributions of the Ministry, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), and other stakeholders in keeping NiRA’s dreams alive.

Recounting on the association’s experience, the President of NiRA, Mrs. Mary Nma Uduma, said “For us at NIRA it’s a dream come true, looking back from our humble beginning, when we started from nothing, our sustainance then was out of the goodwill of our stakeholders, CONTINUED ON PAGE TT 4

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, April 21, 2015

TT 3 Tech Times

Nigeria ranks second in broadband affordability index-A4AI

Blundell

African SMEs under pressure to use technology more effectively- Blundell Stories by Tony Nwakaegho African Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are said to be under growing pressure to use technology in more complex ways to meet the expectations of their customers, reduce costs, and stay ahead of growing regulatory and tax compliance demands.

General Manager for Sage Pastel Accounting, Daryl Blundell, who made this assertion recently, noted that it is more important than ever for SMEs to educate themselves about the latest technologies.

“With the growing pace of change in society, business and technology, SMEs must integrate technology into their business to remain competitive.

Their customers are online and demand even small businesses to have the ability to serve them using digital channels. Regulators and tax authorities demand prompt and accurate reporting.

And in an uncertain economy, it’s more important than ever for smaller businesses to be lean, agile and smart in the ways that they do business”, Blundell said.

Today’s technology empowers small businesses to access new markets, drive costs out of their businesses, and improve relationships with their customers – helping them to boost their

revenues and profits.

Research such as a recent Boston Consulting Group (BCG) study commissioned by Microsoft shows that ICT gives smaller businesses an edge, whether they are in developing or established markets. The study of 4,000 SMEs in the US, Germany, China, India, and Brazil found that entrepreneurs who were early technology adopters increased their annual revenues 15 per cent faster than their competitors.

According to Blundell, the challenge for SMEs is that they often don’t have in-house ICT resources to investigate and drive new technology opportunities for them and also lack the capital to build substantial in-house IT infrastructures adding that this leads to a misconception among SME owners and managers that technologies such as social media, analytics and the cloud are too expensive and complex for their businesses.

But the reality, he said is that powerful enterprise business applications, collaboration tools, reporting tools, and digital platforms are more affordable than ever before, no thanks to the rise of cloud computing, as SMEs can choose from a wide range of affordable solutions that help them compete with large companies with big IT budgets.

“The industry shares some blame here because some vendors have focused too much on selling the technology and not enough on the underlying benefit. SMEs want solutions to business problems, such as keeping accurate financial records, getting visibility into business trends, and reaching new customers. The cloud puts affordable solutions to these business problems within their reach”, he added.

Blundell explained that “the flexibility and simplicity of the cloud are among its most significant advantages for smaller organisations as it enables them to buy business applications as a service they pay for per month, rather than them needing to invest in software licences, servers and an IT department to keep everything running smoothly. It also gives them the ability to access their applications and data anywhere they have an Internet connection and mobile device or computer.

“This eliminates much of the risk and complexity SMEs have come to associate with IT.The cloud lets SMEs focus on the business outcomes technology enables, rather than the plumbing. Given their limited budgets and access to IT skills, every SME can benefit from technology that is simple to implement and use”, he commented.

The Alliance for Affordable Internet (A4AI) in March 2015, at Barcelona, Spain at the Mobile World Congress, ranked Nigeria number two on the recent Broadband Affordability Index in its 2014 Affordability report.

This is sequel to the international communities’ commendation for the successes attained in repositioning her technology space, through the broadband initiative and research covering 51 countries based on its current penetration, usage rates, policy and the regulatory environment put in place that could lead to additional progress.

To advance the cause of affordable access to both mobile and fixed-line Internet in developing countries, the A4AI, which is a global coalition of private sector, public sector, and civil society organisations, came together from different countries of the world to work.

A4AI therefore works to catalyse policy change in order to drive down the cost of broadband and unlock rapid gains in Internet penetration rates across the globe, by partnering governments, companies, policy makers to deliver open competitions and innovative broadband markets.

Sonia Jorge, executive director of A4AI, expressed her pleasure with the strong leadership and regulation of the Nigerian broadband industry in Nigeria, especially on its robust broadband strategy, effective competition in the telecommunications sector,

efficient spectrum allocation, universal access to rural and underserved population, and infrastructure sharing, among others.

According to Sonia Jorge who read the report, “Nigeria comes second in the Affordability Index’s ranking of developing economies, scoring higher than other African developing economies like Kenya, Morocco and Uganda, and higher even than some emerging economies, including Mexico, South Africa, Thailand and Tunisia.

“The backbone infrastructure in Nigeria has improved significantly over the last decade, with multiple players, including Phase 3, Glo 1, Suburban Telecom, Multilink and MTN, building fibre networks that crisscross the country.

“The Telecommunications’ regulator, the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), plans to award seven licenses to regional infrastructure companies to extend broadband infrastructure nationally.”

Omobola Johnson

African Union of Broadcasting tasks members to collaborate on digital migration Senegalese Secretary of State for Communications, Yakham Mbaye has tasked African Union Broadcasting (AUB) members to collaborate more in order to promote experience sharing as the continent move towards digital migration this year.

Mbaye made this remark to the delegates attending the 8th Ordinary session of the General Assembly of the African Union of Broadcasting (AUB) which took place recently in Dakar, Senegal.

The General Assembly of the AUB, Daily Times learnt, saw the gathering of 23 organisations from 40 member countries

including partner-organisation s, such as Vatican Radio represented by Mgr. Joseph Ballong, formerly Head of the French Africa department at Vatican Radio, International Telecommunication Union (ITU), Radio France International (RFI) and European Broadcasting Union (EBU).

The Assembly extended the President of the AUB, Algerian Tewfik Kelladi’s term of office until the next ordinary General Assembly, deliberated on sundry matters including the AUB General Assembly recommendation on the programme production project by the end of this year.

Tech Times TT 4

Daily Times Nigeria Tuesday, April 21, 2015

NOTAP decries turning Nigerian institutions into IT imported consumers’ hub Stories by Tony Nwakaegho National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP) has decried the practice where Nigerian institutions of learning, including 129 universities, polytechnics and research institutions have been turned into IT imported consumers’ hub.

Director General of the National Office for Technology Acquisition and Promotion (NOTAP), Engineer Umar Buba Bindir, made this statement during the recent launching the Technology Storyboard initiative of the Office and unveiling of the Technology Storybook, stressing that NOTAP for the past five years, has been facilitating the linkage between the industry and the academia.

He added that the registration of technology transfer agreement, gave NOTAP the opportunity of constantly interacting with both bodies which availed NOTAP the opportunity of knowing the challenges of the industry as it affects demanddriven research.

He said the storyboard initiative was targeted at “catching the school pupils young” to begin to develop enduring interest in science, technology and innovation development which is the engine that steers socio-economic growth of every nation.

Bindir said no Nigerian child will pass through the pictorial product production/manufacturing processes through primary and secondary schools without

developing interest in science and technology.

The NOTAP boss pleaded with Federal and State Ministries of education to collaborate in ensuring that these storybooks are distributed in all Nigerian Schools.

Earlier, Minister of Science and Technology, Dr. Abdu Bulama who was represented by Dr. Saidu Mahammed, director general of National Space Research and Development Agency (NASRDA), commended NOTAP for the launching of the Technology Storyboard initiative of the Office and unveiling of the Technology Storybook, adding that Nigerians should embrace the initiative to leap-frog technology development in Nigeria.

Bulama explained that with the Technology Storyboard initiated by NOTAP, Nigeria was at the threshold of demystifying Science and Technology and to promote a rapid technological revolution by an efficient assimilation/absorption of foreign technology, concerted development of indigenous technological capability through a proactive commercialization and promotion of locally motivated technologies.

He reiterated that NOTAP by this laudable initiative has demonstrated commitment to ensuring that science and technology which is globally the engine that steers development is demystified through a simplified pictorial representation of products production/manufacturing processes.

Dr. Omobola Johnson, minister of Communication Technology; Mary Nma Uduma, president of NiRA; executive board members of NiRA and other invited guests during the commissioning of NiRA House in Lagos recently.

Johnson commends NiRA, others on .ng domain name

CONTINUED FROM PAGE TT 2

people of like mind in the DNS industry as well as some members of the association.

“NiRA’s office was a single room in a residential apartment in SuruLere, Lagos before NITDA gave us an office space at Kofo Abayomi Street, Victoria Island, Lagos.

“The success of NIRA cannot be complete, without appreciating our supervising Government Agencies; Ministry of Communication Technology (COMTECH), National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), our stakeholders such Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), Nigeria Computer Society (NCS), Internet Service Providers Association of Nigeria (ISPAN), Computer Professionals Registration Council of Nigeria (CPN), Internet eXchange Point of Nigeria (IXPN), Institute of Software Practitioners of Nigeria (ISPON) and other ICT stakeholders.

“I would also seize this moment to appreciate and thank our

an Incorporated Trustee on February 9, 2007.

NIRA’s formation brought to an end the long years of controversy in the country, over the management of this critical national resource, following the intervention of the then President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo.

The re-delegation of the .ng ccTLD came nearly 12 years after the country code was hosted first in Italy, and later by Mr Randy Bush, an American.

While Mr Bush was the technical contact for the ccTLD, Mrs. Ibukun Odusote served as the administrative contact.

NIRA’s Constitution was adopted by Stakeholders, at a meeting held on March 28, 2006. A Board of Trustees (BoT) was elected among the stakeholders with Dr. Isaac A. Odeyemi as the pioneer Chairman, shortly after the adoption of the Constitution.

By May 1, 2007, the first Executive Board of NIRA was elected with Engr. Ndukwe Kalu of blessed memory leading a 10-man Board.

UniAbuja, NITDA train students on Robotics tech CONTINUED FROM PAGE TT 2

Bindir

Board of Trustees, my colleagues on the Executive Board of Directors, staff of NiRA, our Accredited Registrars, Registrants, members of the Association and the public for their immense contributions.

“My joy is that history will not forget us because victory is ours and all achievements of NiRA are for the development of our nation Nigeria”.

Daily Times gathered that NiRA was founded on March 23, 2005 as a stakeholder-led organisation, charged with the management of the Nigeria’s country code Top Level Domain Name (ccTLD), dot ng.

The transfer of the appropriate management of this important National Resource was coordinated by the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) on behalf of the Federal government of Nigeria.

Stakeholders within Nigeria’s Internet community participated in its formation. It was registered as

that took place at the indoor sports hall of the University of Lagos on the 14th of March 2015.

“These competitions are wildly exciting, energetic and motivating. They have been described as ‘part robot-festival, part music-concert and all around fun, ” Ajayi said.

Teams from seven Public/ Government Schools, University of Abuja Staff School and four private Schools made up the 12 competing teams with each team parading ten team members and two mentors.

Highlight of the students com-

peting in project, robot game, robot design and core values.

After three rigorous rounds, two teams, NITDA Techno Group and NITDA Spiders emerged to compete in a best of 2 rounds finals.

With the finals concluded and a review of results of other components by the head judge, Judge Advisor and the Lead judges NITDA Techno Group was unanimously crowned as the overall champion.

Principal of University of Abuja International Secondary School, Mr. Audu Sheidu was commended for his interest and motivation of his students, in getting them involved in the pro-

gramme.

Other awards recipients include NITDA Spiders (Great Heights Academy Abuja) – Gracious Professionalism; NITDA Lion (Hillside School Abuja) – Robot Tech; NITDA Techno Group (Tudunwada Secondary School) – Robot Performance; NITDACrown (University of Abuja International School) – Judges Award; NITDA Crystallite (Government Secondary School Area 10 Abuja) – Project Award; Outstanding Volunteer Award went to Bello Saliu of Government Secondary School Area 10 Abuja and Outstanding Coordinator Award – Mrs Bankole of Banky’s School.

XT Exclusive Ofere stars in Celtic’s Cup loss 28

FALDO to quit golf

in July

31

X2,3 Lille Chelsea

Belgium U-15 Belgium U-16 Belgium U-17 Belgium U-19 Belgium

Senior career 2007–2012: 2012–Present: National team 2006: 2006: 2006–2008: 2007–2009: 2008–Present:

HAZARD

Royal Stade Brainois Tubize Lille

Youth career 1995–2003: 2003–2005: 2005–2007:

EDEN

Eden Hazard Eden Michael Hazard January 7, 1991 (age 24) La Louviere, Belgium 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) Attacking midfielder/Winger Chelsea 10

Name: Full name: Date of birth: Place of birth: Height: Playing position: Current team: Number:

Poster!

EDEN HAZARD PERSONAL INFORMATION

X4

EXTRATIME

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

EXTRATIME

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

S ’ I S S E M S T N E M ACHIEVE

E L B A T A UNBE E U Q I R N E – X4

Flying Eagles step up World Cup training 29

X5

Monday, April 20, 2015

Eden Hazard Eden Michael Hazard January 7, 1991 (age 24) La Louviere, Belgium 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) Attacking midfielder/Winger Chelsea 10

Royal Stade Brainois Tubize Lille

Lille Chelsea

Belgium U-15 Belgium U-16 Belgium U-17 Belgium U-19 Belgium

Name: Full name: Date of birth: Place of birth: Height: Playing position: Current team: Number:

Youth career 1995–2003: 2003–2005: 2005–2007:

Senior career 2007–2012: 2012–Present:

National team 2006: 2006: 2006–2008: 2007–2009: 2008–Present:

PERSONAL INFORMATION

X2

EXTRATIME

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

X3

EDEN

HAZARD

EXTRATIME

X4

Tuesday, April 21, 2015

EXTRATIME

EXTRATIME Messi

S ’ I S S E M Pogba S T N E ACHIEVEM , E L B A T A E B N U SAYS ENRIQUE

Barcelona coach Luis Enrique believes Lionel Messi’s record of 400 competitive goals may never be matched.

The Argentina international hit the milestone with the second goal in a 2-0 Liga victory over Valencia at the weekend, reaching the quadruple century in his 471st appearance.

“Messi is in top condition,” said Luis Enrique. “400 goals? That’s almost impossible. Unrepeatable I would

say.”

Messi, who surpassed Paulino Alcantara as Barca’s all-time leading scorer last season, has broken a host of records this term.

In November, he struck a hat-trick against Sevilla to overhaul Telmo Zarra’s previous best La Liga goals mark of 251. Messi’s La Liga numbers now come in at 278 goals in 309 matches.

During the same month he surpassed Real Madrid great Raul as

the UEFA Champions League’s all-time top goalscorer, although he now lies level with great rival Cristiano Ronaldo on 75.

When Messi took home the matchball against Rayo Vallecano in March it was his 32nd hat-trick - passing another of former Athletic Bilbao striker Zarra’s Spanish records.

Barcelona host Paris Saint-Germain in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final today, leading 3-1 from the away leg.

to leave Juve for ‘right offer’

Paul Pogba’s agent says his client will be allowed to leave Juventus if the right offer is made for his services.

The France international has been linked with the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain in recent weeks, despite agreeing a new five-year contract in Turin just six months ago.

Pogba, 22, is currently out injured with a hamstring problem but agent Mino Raiola says the calls continue to come in for one of Europe’s best players.

“I must have received more than 2,000 phone calls for him since the beginning of the year,” he said.

“Almost 20 calls a day, at least a couple of which were to negotiate.

“With Juventus we signed for five

Drogba’s Suarez

arture p e d ’s d r a r r e G saddened by

Barcelona forward Luis Suarez says it makes him sad to think of former teammate Steven Gerrard leaving Liverpool.

At the end of this season, Gerrard will depart Anfield and head to LA Galaxy in MLS, thus ending a 17-year playing career with his boyhood club.

The midfielder’s last chance to sign off with a trophy disappeared with Sunday’s 2-1 FA Cup semi-final defeat to Aston Villa and Suarez, who spent three-and-a-half years at Liverpool with

Gerrard, was full of praise for his ex-colleague.

“I try to watch all the Liverpool games.

They have really good players,” he said.

“It’s sad when I hear Stevie is leaving because for me he’s an amazing player, and when I was at Liverpool they knew my dream was to play for Barcelona.”

Suarez was speaking ahead of Tuesday’s UEFA Champions League quarterfinal second leg with Paris Saint-Germain at Camp

injury worry Gunners Didier Drogba’s ankle injury could mean Chelsea are forced to take on Arsenal on Sunday without a fit forward.

The Ivorian has been leading the line in Diego Costa’s absence, after Chelsea’s top scorer pulled up in the recent 2-1 win over Stoke City with a hamstring problem.

Loic Remy scored the winner in that game for the Premier League leaders, but he too has missed the last two matches with a calf injury.

Drogba had been due to play in a charity match on Monday, joining the likes of Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo in a game which will see the proceeds go to help those countries affected by the Ebola

years, but we’re all gentlemen and if the right offer comes along for Pogba and for Juventus, then it will be done.

“The big challenge for Juventus will be to rebuild the team. You have to change when you are strong, not when you have to.

Paul Pogba

PSG, Chelsea in hot chase for Dybala

Palermo’s sought-after striker Paulo Dybala has been the subject of bids of around £30million from both Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain, according to the player’s agent. Dybala has enjoyed an impressive Serie A season, netting 13 times in 30 appearances to help Palermo to mid-table.

UCL: Lopetegui wary of Bayern backlash Drogba virus.

However, Drogba tweeted to say he had been forced to pull out because of an ankle problem, which could give Jose Mourinho a serious selection headache ahead of Sunday’s meeting against Atsenal in the league at the Emirates Stadium.

Julen Lopetegui is searching for “simple answers” as his Porto side attempt to complete one of the great UEFA Champions League upsets against Bayern Munich. Porto travel to Munich with a 3-1 lead from last week’s quarterfinal first leg after surprising the German champions on their own turf. Despite that advantage, Pep Guardiola’s Bayern are heavily fancied to turn the tie on its head in today’s return encounter at the Allianz Arena.