DTN 7 5 15

NSE GAINERS AND LOSERS AS AT 5th May 2015.

EXCHANGE RATES AS AT 6th May 2015.

Currency

Buying(NGN)

Central (NGN)

GAINERS

Selling(NGN)

LOSERS

US DOLLAR

196

196.5

197

TOTAL

157.4

7.07

4.49%

NESTLE

935.75

-14.25

-1.52%

POUNDS STERLING

298.5472

299.3088

300.0704

CONOIL

38.02

1.81

4.76%

NB

157

-1.00

-0.64%

169

-1.00

-0.59%

11

-0.58

-5.27%

EURO

220.1276

220.6892

221.2507

ETI

22.28

1.06

4.76%

GUINNESS

SWISS FRANC

212.0753

212.6163

213.1573

WAPCO

95

1.00

1.05%

CCNN

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NIGERIA

THURSDAY, MAY 7, 2015 VOL. 1. NO.102

ABUJA

ENUGU

Low 25°C High 38°C

KANO

Low 26°C High 37°C

LAGOS

Low 28°C High 42°C

MAIDUGURI

Low 27°C High 36°C

N150

P/HARCOURT Low 24°C High 34°C

Low 30°C High 49°C

PDP heading for collapse, says Mark Ï zƆôƒƆ ƒƆƏƅ ƌƆ ƍ ƐéƆƋƆƅƐƈ ƐƏ Ƒƌ – Metuh Sunday Isuwa & Lateef Ibrahim, Abuja

Ngozi Okafor London

ÏÏÏSenate President, Da-

vid Mark foresees a cataclysmic end for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) if its members do not put an immediate end to their public brawl.

However, its National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh, believes that the party has already got over its post-election trauma.

Senator Mark, in an open statement on Wednesday, issued by his Chief Press Secretary, Paul Mumeh, lamented the continued acrimony among members of the party.

“The PDP is already haemorrhaging,” he said.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 4

Tears as 5 vehicle crushes OAU Law student

ÏÏÏAs

Grant

Umunna

Onwurah

Osamor

Four Nigerians in UK parliament race

Presidency to APC: Talk less, wait for May 29 4

Britons go to the polls on Thursday (today), four of those in the race for the House of Commons are of Nigerian heritage.

The trio of Shadow Business Secretary, Chuka Umunna, MP; Chi Onwurah, MP; and Kate Osamor, are contesting on the platform of Labour party, while Helen Grant, is flying the ToCONTINUED ON PAGE 6

Gunmen kill four in Plateau villages 5

FG advises Buhari to retain power sector reforms

4

2

Daily Times Nigeria Thursday, May 7, 2015

Daily Times Nigeria Thursday, May 7, 2015

Politics Page Three

3

s

Editorial Violence Against Persons’ Prohibition(VAPP) Bill

I

t is good news that after languishing for 13 years in the National Assembly, the Violence Against Persons’ Prohibition (VAPP) Bill has finally been passed by the Senate. Before the recent passage, the House of Representatives had earlier given its consent in 2014. This now gives legal teeth to a law that is billed to eliminate, or reduce to minimum, cases of sexual, domestic and all other forms of gender-based violence in the country.

We cannot but join other Nigerians in commending the National Assembly for the passage of the bill, especially given its place in a modernising society like Nigeria. Statistics show that domestic violence is on the increase in the country, with wife-battering being the commonest. Moreover, children are increasingly being battered by their parents and guardians at the filmiest of excuses, while some lovers resort to other unimaginable forms of violence to settle disagreements.

In addition, is the increase in rape cases, and more frightening is that involving minors which is very worrisome.

According to reports, at least 4,000 rape cases have been reported in the Nigerian media in the past three years.

Surprisingly, perpetrators of rape cut across class, status and religion.

When enacted, the law seeks to abolish obsolete ordinances relating to the subject matter such as rape, assault etc and bringing them in line with present realities.

The bill re-defines rape to include penetration of any orifice of a woman such as the private part, anus, and mouth, which is an improvement on the penal/

criminal codes definition. In addition, it makes provisions for compensation to victims and the protection of their rights, even as it stresses penalties for indecent assault and sexual violence against any person and prohibition of female genital mutilation.

As expected, the bill includes offences such as willfully placing a person in fear of physical injury; forceful ejection from the home; forced financial dependence or economic abuse; forced isolation or separation from family and friends; abandonment of spouse, children and other dependents without sustenance. Notably, the passage of VAPP Bill is coming 20 years after the Beijing Declaration that denounces all forms of violence against women.

Every right thinking Nigerian believes that violence against women is a human rights violation and a serious impediment to their progress in any area of life. Moreover, it undercuts their health, prospects for education and productive work, including ability to participate as full members of their societies, among other consequences.

The consequences of violence against women in terms of mental, physical and social health are severe and often chronic. Women and girls in violent relationships are at heightened risk of experiencing psychological and behavioural problems, including depression, anxiety, low self-esteem, substance use and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Such violence is not an act against an individual woman; it is an attack against us all - to our country, to our community and to our loved ones. It is time to stop it. We urge President Goodluck Jonathan to sign it without delay.

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How long will this hemorrhage continue?

Sam Nzeh

ÏÏÏRegrettable

as the pains suffered by Nigerians more than one week now due to the scarcity of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) otherwise called petrol, one clear fact that has emerged is that until the massive importation of the product is eliminated and the nation’s refining capacity enhanced through revamping existing refineries and building of new ones, the bleeding of the economy via fuel subsidy payment will continue.

Last Thursday, the Federal Government paid N156 billion to oil marketers being part of the amount owed

them for products imported into the country. With this, the total amount paid the oil marketers as fuel subsidy in the last five months comes up to N500 billion.

Again, on Tuesday, the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Dr. Ngozi OkonjoIweala, disclosed that about N145.2 billion had been provided for subsidy payments on petroleum products in the 2015 budget. According to her, N100 billion was provided for subsidy payments on petrol while N45.2 billion would cover subsidy on kerosene during the fiscal year.

All these payments are clearly bleeding the nation’s economy to death. And this is unfortunate. Like a vicious cycle, there appears to be nothing to show that

Words On Marble :

dailytimesng

Nigeria will get out of this quagmire any time soon.

This is so because some powerful forces benefiting from the subsidy on fuel including those in the labour unions and civil society groups who always drag Nigerians to the streets in support of retention of the policy are determined to ensure that the bleeding of the economy.

But this hemorrhage cannot continue indefinitely.

Fact is that the amount Nigeria pays as fuel subsidy is humongous and unsustainable in the long run. It has the capacity to grind the economy to a halt one day.

So, something urgent must be done to squarely deal with the issue once and for all, including total removal of subsidy on petrol.

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Adolf Hitler

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The great masses of the people… will more easily fall victims to a big lie than to a small one.

The only thing worse than being talked about is not being talked about.

The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing.

Emmanuel Ogbonnaya

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.

News 4

Daily Times Nigeria Thursday, May 7, 2015

Presidency to APC: Talk less, plan for takeover Egena Egena Abuja

ÏÏÏThe Presidency has advised

leaders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to guard their tongues and plan more, as the nation moves towards the 29th May inauguration dateline.

The Special Adviser to the President on Political Affairs, Prof. Rufai Ahmed Alkali, gave the advice on Wednesday in reac-

tion reacting to the alarm raised on Tuesday by the APC that President Jonathan is running the economy aground before handing over.

Alkali said: “The allegation is immature, reckless and out of tune with the President’s desire and patriotic commitment to a peaceful transfer of power”.

He said further: “Nigerians will recall that shortly after the

results of the Presidential elections were announced, President Goodluck Jonathan inaugurated a high powered transition committee to plan and organize a hitch free transition programme for the inauguration of the incoming administration.

“Surprisingly, it took the APC more than three weeks to wake up to its responsibility to constitute its own transition committee.

L-R: President-elect, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), President, ECOWAS Bank for Investment and Development, Mr Bashir Mamman; Director, Internal audit & Evaluation of Operation, Mr Isaac Olagunju and Director, Research and Strategic Planning, MacDonald Saye Goanue at a congratulatory visit to the President-elect at the Defence House in Abuja …on Wednesday

“How then can they turn round to accuse the government of frustrating the transition programme?”

Alkali reminded the APC that “since the setting up of the committee, the President and the entire machinery of the Federal Government have been put on the transition mode and all government officers have been giving maximum cooperation to the incoming transition committee”.

He cautioned the APC to refrain from blackmailing the President over recent Federal Government policies and decisions saying that “by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Jonathan remains in office up to the 29th of May 2015 when he formally hands over to the incoming President”.

Alkali further warned that the President should not be stampeded, coerced or undermined in the exercise of his constitutional responsibilities.

According to him, “the machinery of government cannot be put on hold or frozen because the country is in transition”.

On the allegations that government is running the economy aground, Alkali reminded APC that “governance is a serious business.

He added that with the sudden and unexpected concession of

FG urges Buhari not to reverse privatization policy in power sector Egena Egena Abuja

ÏÏÏThe Federal Government on

Wednesday urged the incoming administration of Gen Muhammadu Buhari to avoid reversing the extant privatization policy in the power sector.

Speaking to State House Correspondents against the backdrop of suggestions to that effect, the Minister of Power, Prof Chinedu Nebo said the policy was implemented in the overall interest of the nation.

“I think the incoming government will be ill-advised to reverse privatisation and liberalisation of power generation, transmission and distribution because any attempt to do that would be to set Nigeria back many many many decades,” he said.

The minister added: “The gains of privatisation are very obvious.

If we can solve the problem of gas like we are talking about energy mix, we are not just going by gas, we are doing hydros.

“It was this same administration that flagged off Zungeru hydro power plants for 750 megawatts and it is in the bid to flag off Mambilla 3,050 megawatts. Shiroro has been improved, revamped, Kanji revamped and improved, the same as Jebba.

“So there is a lot of work being

Continued on page 6

Continued on page 6

ing “Nigeria and our democracy would be better for it if we play credible opposition to ensure good governance and delivery of dividends of democracy to Nigerians”.

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, yesterday commended its leader, President Goodluck Jonathan for his matured and timely intervention in ending the bickering among leaders of the party as a result of the outcome of the 2015 general elections.

Metuh in a statement in Abuja, expressed expressed regrets that the party has in the last few days been engaged in open acrimony.

He said in a press statement: “The leadership of the PDP regrets any embarrassment the

avoidable skirmishes may have caused the members of our great party, especially our founding fathers and teeming supporters across the country.

“We are aware that this unfortunate development is a consequence of post election trauma arising from our first ever defeat.

We however note with relief that we have now overcome this challenge.

“The National Working Committee assures that in the new spirit of harmony in the PDP family, the re-engineering process which began on Tuesday with the inauguration of the Post Election Review Committee will be vigorously sustained to restore the lost glory of our great party.’’

PDP heading for destruction, says Mark Continued from page 1 According to the statement, the Senate President stated this while receiving the Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, who heads the PDP post – election assessment committee.

He pointed out that “unless we halt the bleeding and find the necessary therapy, we may be heading for the final burial of the party”.

He also noted that “the party is already in a comatose status and we should do all we can to resuscitate the party rather than this unnecessary rancour and buckpassing”.

He said further: “The emerging factions are absolutely un-

necessary.

The combatants must sheathe their swords and embrace dialogue. My appeal is that we should not do anything further that would damage the already fragmented house.

“Everybody should come together and rebuild the party. We have gotten enough bruises. We need not inflict further pains on ourselves, with continuous bickering. Enough of this blamegame. We should return to the drawing board and need not wash our dirty linen in the public, anymore.”

Mark continued: “I believe a useful lesson has been learnt from the PDP electoral misfortune. As for me, it is time to put on our thinking caps and chart a

new course.”

“I trust Senator Ekweremadu that he and his team will do a good job and unearth the remote and immediate causes of our misfortune and make recommendations that will enhance the future of the party”, Mark added.

While noting that he had worked closely with Ekweremadu over the years and was confident of his capacity to handle issues, Mark called on all stakeholders to rise above the present circumstances and work hard to rejuvenate the party.

He said the new status of the PDP as an opposition is a challenge which members must face with all honesty, sincerity of purpose and dedication to duty, add-

Daily Times Nigeria Thursday, May 7, 2015

5 News

Vehicle crushes OAU Law student Sodiq Adekunle Osogbo

ÏÏÏTragedy

struck in Osogbo on Wednesday as a Law undergraduate of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, was crushed by a school bus.

It was gathered that the undergraduate, identified as Miss Mary Ibitolu, died around 10:30 am.

The incident occurred in front of the Osogbo Grammar School at Dada Estate area.

It was learnt that the accident involved the bus of Muslim Girls Model College, Onibu Eja and a commercial motorcycle, boarded by the young lady.

Our correspondent gathered from an eyewitness that the bus was faulty and the driver pleaded with passers-by to assist him in pushing it.

“While they were pushing it, the vehicle came to life, but, the driver lost control of it. He jumped in, stepped on the brake, which failed. While struggling

to stop the bus, he hit the motorcycle carrying the student, while two other persons, including the rider of the motorcycle sustained injuries”, the eyewitness added.

According to another eyewitness, Ibitolu was rushed to a private hospital opposite the Customary Court at Oke Fia before she died.

Calls put through to Osun State Police Public Relations Officer, Mrs. Folashade Odoro, did not get through, but, a police source confirmed to our correspondent

that the school bus and the motorcycle have been impounded by the Nigeria Police Force, Dada Estate Divisional Area.

Meanwhile, a funeral Mass for the deceased was held at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Osogbo, with many tearful sympathisers in attendance.

One of the bereaved family members said, “She was going to 300 level in the Faculty of Law in OAU. In fact, she was supposed to resume on May 31, 2015. This is so painful, it is so saddening.”

Speakership: North Central endorses Dogara

Bayelsa State Governor, Hon. Seriake Dickson (middle) with the newly sworn in Special Adviser on Strategy, Documentation and Community Relations, Dr.Seiyifa Koroye (right) and his counterpart on Local Content Matters, Barr. Lloyd Owonaro (left) at Government House, Yenagoa, Bayelsa State… on Wednesday

Henry Omunu & Augustine Aminu, Abuja The North Central caucus in the House of Representatives has thrown its weight behind the candidature of Rep. Yakubu Dogara as Speaker of the House.

The caucus, in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja on Wednesday said members from the six states of the region and the Federal Capital Territory resolved to give “bloc votes” to Dogara next month when the House is inaugurated.

The statement, jointly signed

Gunmen kill four in Plateau villages

ÏÏÏIn

were stolen with no arrest being made yet by security operatives.

Ward head of Kakpwis, Dagwom Ahmadu Dung Hwere said the attacks occurred around 11pm when Emmanuel Joshua and Bot Joshua were killed in their homes.

Our correspondent gathered that Emmanuel, 32, and Bot, 30, were shot dead while chatting close to where their cows were kept.

While confirming the incident, Councillor representing Kakpwis Ward in Foron District of Barkin Ladi Local government Hon. Istifanus Gwom Dung decried the non-challant attitude of the security agencies in the LGA, especially, the men of the Special Task Force saddled with the re-

sponsibility of keeping peace and protecting lives and property for not arresting perprietors of the evil act.

Hon. Daniel Dem, member representing Riyom state constituency and majority leader of Plateau State House of Assembly, told our correspondent on phone that the gunmen laid siege in the early hours of Wednesday when the two men were on their way to the farm.

He added that the attackers further mobilised and returned to attack the community.

Meanwhile the media and information officer of the Special Task Force (STF), Captain Ikedichi Iweha, when contacted on the incident, refused to comment as at the time of filing this report.

what appears to be an unusual step to demonstrate his leadership style, the Presidentelect, General Muhammadu Buhari, has instructed police and military personnel attached to him to respect traffic regulations during his movements.

In a statement, signed by Garba Shehu, of the President-elect’s Directorate of Media and Publicity and released in Abuja, Buhari said being law abiding would be the guiding philosophy of his administration, adding “without leadership by example, the ordinary citizens would become copycats of the lawlessness of their leaders.”

The President-elect explained that the “arrogance of power, lawlessness and disregard for the rights and convenience of fellow citizens would have no place in his government.”

Defendants in a case of ilDefendants ask ÏÏÏ legal possession of firearms in State have turned the table Lagos CJ to probe Lagos against the magistrate before they are standing trial. magistrate whom In a petition they sent to the

layo Atilade, they claim that the trial magistrate (names withheld) is a live-in lover of the complainant’s counsel and that she is using her position to oppress them unfairly.

The magistrate had in the open

court on April 13, 2015, raised an alarm over an alleged threat to her life by the defendants.

They want the Chief Judge to investigate the allegation and accused the magistrate of using the instruments of state to deny them

Chijioke Kingsley Jos

ÏÏÏThe Berom people of Foron

district in Barkin Ladi Local Government Area of Plateau State have expressed worries over the fresh killing of two young men in Kakpwis village by unknown gunmen suspected to be Fulani herdsmen on Wednesday.

Two other persons were also killed in another attack by unknown gunmen in the early hours of Wednesday on their way to the farm in Rim village of Riyom LGA. The Berom expressed concern over incessant attacks by the Fulani herdsmen, which had claimed over 40 lives in the past two days, while over 200 cattle

state Chief Judge, Justice Funmi-

The late Ibitolu

by a group of serving and elected members of the House of Representatives from the six states of the North Central and the FCT, read: “The North Central zonal caucus of the House of Representatives, hereby, announces its endorsement of Hon. Yakubu Dogara as Speaker of the House in the next assembly.”

“We have resolved to deliver bloc votes to Dogara during the election and ensure that we further canvass for votes and support for him from other zones.

“We are pleased with his aspiration, which is motivated by selfless service, the desire to consolidate on the gains of the seventh assembly recorded under the able leadership of Speaker Aminu Waziri Tambuwal from 2011 to date”, it added.

Buhari orders security aides to obey traffic rules According to him, for leaders to inspire respect, they must obey the laws of country, adding that when leaders treat the country’s laws with contempt, they might send the wrong message to the citizens.

General Buhari lamented a situation where fellow citizens are punished at traffic points and public roads because of the “arrogant lawlessness of the leaders.”

He said in a democracy, leaders should not inflict inconveniences and other unbearable ordeals on the citizens for their own comfort.

their fundamental human rights.

The accused persons claimed that the lawyer whose petition to the Police led to their arrest, detention, and arraignment (names withheld) lives with the magistrate as a lover.

News 6

Daily Times Nigeria Thursday, May 7, 2015

FG advises Buhari to retain power sector reforms Continued from page 4 done by the government, however to turn back on privatisation would mean stopping all of these companies and then reversing the massive inflow of investments coming into the power sector.

“Nigeria’s power consumption per capita is one of the lowest in the world and that is part of the efforts of government to reverse that. So I don’t think it is in the best interest of the country.”

On the epileptic power supply being suffered by Nigerians , Nebo said he had never been frustrated this way in his life.

He said his frustration was caused by vandalism of gas pipelines which he said was being carried out regularly by Nigerians who were possessed by demons.

“These are the real reasons we have darkness nationally. We apologise for that but again it is our own nationals that are doing

this to Nigeria.

“Yes. These evil forces inhabit human beings. Can a sane human being go and bust pipelines that is bringing gas to power stations?

Stopping the industries from working, manufacturers cannot work, governments cannot work, even hospitals cannot work. Can a sane person do it without demon possession? These people are possessed! That is the extent of depravity that will lead people to punish their country the way these hoodlums are doing.”

He spoke further: “I have never in my life seen anything as frustrating as what we are experiencing today. Every month, the Nigerian gas company spends a minimum of N120 million to fix gas pipeline. Every two weeks, western axis pipelines are vandalised and that is pure sabotage; the eastern axis pipelines are vandalised and that is oil theft.

At the end of the day, the gas that is supposed to go to the turbines

don’t get to the turbines to generate electricity.”

Expressing his frustration further, the minister said: “As I speak to you today, we have not installed capacity which is more, but available if you give us gas right now we will produce 5,500MW. “But when the pipelines are in the state of disarray as they are now, in fact the recent thing they are doing is testing the integrity of the entire system. And when you have broken something over and over again, you have to really look at the entire spectrum to make sure whether the rest of the pipeline has integrity to bear gas.

“Four major joints they are working on is going to cost them N1.5 billion. Is that the way to give light to the country?

Nebo said planning was part of the problem and putting all the nation’s eggs in one basket which this administration had done everything to reverse.

He said so long as the nation

continues to depend on gas which is vulnerable to attacks on a regularly basis, the situation would persist.

The minister said there were days he felt like crying over vandalism.

He continued: “There are days I feel like just crying. You finish the repairs that took two weeks, within 36 hours they are burst again. As you finish the repairs again, in two weeks they burst it again at various points.”

He admitted that the past three weeks had been horrible because both the East and the West are affected and as a result, gas that is available is too small.

On what government has done to deal with the vandals, he said: “I stand on good authority that a lot of people have been jailed , the thing is that a lot of noise is not being made about it.

“People are being arrested, some even said how much they were paid to burst the gas pipe-

Mr. Suleman Hashim leading other members of the Bring Back Our Girls group, on a solidarity walk for the abducted Chibok school girls in Abuja... on Wednesday.

Photo: TEMITOPE BALOGUN

line, for nothing. That is they don’t get anything for bursting it but they get paid for bursting it and some of them are even people involved in finding people that will fix it. So a lot is being done.

“Has armed robbery stopped in Nigeria in spite of all the executions? Look at what happened to many kidnappers and yet they are still kidnapping.

“There is a lot that needs to be done but I do hope that as our people get more educated and patriotic all these things will be behind us.”

Talk less, plan for takeover, President tells APC Continued from page 4 victory to them, it appears that the APC is beginning to face the full reality of managing the great challenges of a complex nation”.

The Professor of Political Science observed that “their recent, frequent and unnecessary attacks on the President clearly shows that they are losing their nerves and are beginning to lay the foundation to justify their failures in the near future “and we want to remind them that Nigerians are not ready to accept any excuses for their failure.

“They promised to bring change so they must bring positive change to the well-being of Nigerians and urgently too”.

Alkali urged the APC to give space to the joint transition committee to work in harmony to ensure a peaceful and seamless transition.

Four British-Nigerians eye Parliament as UK decides Continued from page 1 ries flag.

The British will be electing both their next Prime Minister, in what is seen as one of the closest to call elections in recent memory, and Members of Parliament, MPs. Although the polls have both incumbent Prime Minister David Cameron and Labour’s Ed Milliband running neck to neck, not surprisingly, two former Labour Mayors have pitched their tents with their party’s leader to be the next occupant of 10, Downing

Street.

Former Enfield Mayor, Councillor Kate Anolue – who lost to Osamor in February’s Labour primaries in Edmonton – told the Daily Times: “It is election of the century. No single party will sweep to Downing Street with clear majority. However I believe that Labour Party has a clear mandate to win.”

In an interview with Daily Times, former Mayor of Lambeth Council, Councillor Ade Aminu was on Wednesday afternoon upbeat about the chances of the Labour Party. “Labour will win

the elections,” he declared with certainty.

Aminu, however, tipped all four British-Nigerians flying both the Labour and Conservatives flags to make Westminster.

On 47-year-old Osamor, Aminu said: “It is a safe Labour seat, so she should have no problem wining it.”

He was also bullish about the chances of both Onwurah, 50, and Umunna, incumbent MPs for Newcastle Central and Streatham, South East London, respectively. Though Grant, 54, is from the ruling Tory party, the former

Mayor expects her to retain her Maidstone and the Weald seat (in Kent) and make her way back to the Commons.

Anolue explains why she thinks her party, Labour, will reclaim the keys of 10, Downing Street thus: “Labour’s pledges are clear,” and these, among others, include, building an NHS with time to care for people, controls on immigration, reducing student tuition fees to £6000, and raise maintenance grant for students.”

She continued: “These are some of Labour pledges and that is why we will win this election. “

Labour, she added, “is for working and ordinary families and on course to win.”

However, two newspapers do not share the views of both Anolue and Aminu, having publicly backed Cameron to retain his seat. In its Wednesday’s edition, the London Evening Standard said it was going with the Conservatives. Less than 24 hours later, City A.M, a London business paper, also threw its weight behind the incumbent premier. Both newspapers said the Tories have shown that they hold the aces to a prosperous Britain.

Daily Times Nigeria Thursday, May 7, 2015

Police kill three kidnappers, free two hostages in Anambra ÏÏÏThree kidnappers who operated between Imo and Anambra States were, on Wednesday, shot dead by the men of Nigeria Police Force, after holding their victims hostage for several weeks, in their den.

Parading the lifeless bodies of the suspects at the Command headquarters, in Owerri, the spokesman of the Imo State Command, Mr. Andrew Enwerem, said the suspects met their waterloo, in Nnewi area of Anambra State, when they engaged the policemen in a gun battle in their hide-out.

Enwerem disclosed that the

suspects had separately kidnapped a man, Lazarus Ezuka on April 28, and Mrs. Livina Nwaeze on May 3, 2015 both of Akatta community, in Oru East Local Government Area of the state.

He said the suspects established contacts with both families and demanded N500 million and N30 million as ransom from the man and the woman, respectively.

Enwerem disclosed that the anti-kidnapping unit of the Command, acting on a tip-off stormed the kidnappers’ den, on Tuesday, engaged them in a

shootout.

He said the suspects fell to the superior fire power of the police, resulting in their death, while the two victims were freed.

Narrating their ordeal in the hands of the kidnappers, one of the victims, Ezuka, said it was like a hell fire being in the kidnappers’ den, saying they were starved of food and water.

The 60-year-old victim identified one of the dead suspects, who he described as Cosmas Odeiegwu as a member of his family.

He thanked the Imo State Police Command for saving them

from the hands of the kidnappers, whom he said were bent on harming those of them held hostage if no money was given to them.

Gov. Obiano

ÏÏÏLeading

Ogun State Governor, Sen. Ibikunle Amosun (4th left), leading top government functionaries on an inspection of the site of a vandalised pipeline on Ajura bypass, Iperu road… on Wednesday

Troops destroy seven terrorists' camps, rescue women and children Andrew Ororlua Abuja

ÏÏÏ

Government troops, on Tuesday, overran and destroyed seven additional terrorists’

Olukolade

camps and killed several terrorists, in the ongoing onslaught to flush them out of Sambisa forest.

They also rescued 25 women in the process.

The Director of Defence Information, Major-General Chris Olukolade, said that the troops, scaled a series of land mines, in continuation of the assault, to capture the camps.

The captured camps include the four notorious Alafa camps, as well as those in Rogo Fulani, Laraga and others used as training camps in the forest.

Traffic Warden impersonator arrested in Ondo 'Tosin Ajuwon Akure

ÏÏÏ A middle aged man, who

Glo restates commitment to social responsibility National telecommunication company, Globacom, has once again restated its commitment to corporate social responsibility in Nigeria.

The company also expressed its readiness take on civic and social projects that would have direct and significant positive impact on the lives of youths in various communities across the country.

Globacom Business Director, Lagos State Division, Mr. Kunle Akanmu, made this remark, on Tuesday, in Lagos, when Globacom donated a 100KVA power generating set to the Lagos State Orientation Camp of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC), in order to enhance the comfort of corps members serving in the state.

“We are aware of the need by youths to have regular access to electricity, so that they can have unrestrained access to data and voice call services. They need to call their loved ones when they are on the mandatory one year national youth service and also be on the social media regularly.

It is this knowledge that has moved us to donate this power generating set so that they can stay abreast of happenings around the globe without fear of power interruptions,” Mr. Akanmu said.

7 News

"Various weapons including rocket propelled grenades, antiaircraft guns and a number of vehicles were either captured or destroyed during the operation,” the military said.

It said that four soldiers, who were wounded in the process of the attacks, were receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital.

The military assured that the operation was still on with troops demonstrating high morale and fighting spirit, as they searched the forests for terrorists, arms and hostages.

had allegedly been parading himself as a policeman attached to the Motor Traffic Warden of the Ondo State Police Command has been arrested.

A police source, who requested anonymity, disclosed this to journalists, on Wednesday, in Akure, the state capital.

The officer said the identity of the man which couldn't be revealed due to investigation was allegedly extorting money from commercial motorists at Iyalaje area of Ondo, when he arrested by motor-bike operators, otherwise known as “Okada riders”.

The officer added that the suspect, dressed in a complete police uniform, was requested to show his identity card for prove that he was actually a policeman but refused.

His arrest followed an argument he had with an Okada rider, which led to his being reported to the police.

Kogi LG staff denies assassination plot against Assembly member-elect ÏÏÏA

local government staff, in Kogi State, Onu Friday, has the denied any link with an assassination plot, as claimed by a member-elect of the State House of Assembly, Mr. Friday Sanni.

He stated that the allegation was a frame-up to tarnish his image.

Onu, who was speaking with newsmen, in Lokoja, on Wednesday, stated he was surprised to see some publications, where the lawmaker alleged that he and one other person attempted to assassinate him on the election day.

Earlier, while addressing journalists, in Lokoja, shortly after the election, Sanni alleged that Friday and one other person laid an ambush on the way to his village, in an attempt to kill him.

8

Daily Times Nigeria Thursday, May 7, 2015

Politics

s

Politics Editor: Akinjide Akintola Email: akinjide.akintola@dailytimes.com.ng

Buhari should convene genuine Economic Summit – Yar’Adua Ahmed Aminu Yar’Adua was a gubernatorial aspirant in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Katsina State ahead of the 2015 general election and Secretary to the Katsina State Government during the first tenure of Governor Ibrahim Shema. An alumnus of the prestigious Nigeria Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies, NIPS, Jos; a retired director in the Federal Ministry of Works and former Managing Director of the Nigerian Inland Waterways Authority (NIWA). In this interview with AUGUSTINE AMINU, he pointed out key issues he wants the incoming Buhari administration to tackle in order to fix Nigeria and place it on the track of development. Excerpts:

After your retirement, you aspired for the governorship seat of Kastina State on the platform of the PDP, what prompted you into politics after successful career in the civil service, especially with the dictum: politics is a dirty game?

I don’t believe politics as a dirty game, it depends on how an individual practices it, and your purpose of joining politics. It’s true I Ahmed Yar’adua

Buhari

Ibrahim Shema

CONTINUED ON PAGE 9

PDP’s dance of death

Jonathan Akinjide Akintola For the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), its like all things have fallen apart and the centre can no longer hold.

Certainly, unless a miracle happens, the death knell for the party is already sounding and with the

Issues that will shape emergence of new senate leadership

Muazu

Anenih

ongoing startling revelations, the whole roof might come crashing down even before it finally vacates office on May 29, which is barely three weeks to go.

The surprising thing is that there is no one to call to order, all those baying for each other’s blood as the crisis in the party es-

calates by the day with fresh revelations, allegations and threats.

Leader of the party, President Goodluck Jonathan has maintained a dignified silence as allegations and counter allegations laced with threats and intimidation continue to fly around.

Chairman of the Party’s Board

As the 8th National Assembly is set to elect its principal officers, SUNDAY ISUWA looks at the possibility of the emergence of Women Principal Officers and other intrigues that will shape the selection of the Senate leadership.

Much skepticism marked the

formation of the All Progressive Congress (APC) in 2013. Having convinced Nigerians that APC was not a religious based party, it was able to cruise to victory, through massive support of Nigerians across all divides.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 9

Prof. Wale Oladipo of Trustees, Chief Anthony Anenih, who used to be referred to as ‘Mr. Fix It’ has failed to fix anything and nothing has been heard from him since the party lost at the polls.

Also, one of outgoing President Jonathan’s vociferous backers at the zenith of his power and Ijaw

Bukola Saraki

leader, Chief Edwin Clarke has remained curiously silent since the PDP lost out ignominiously at the polls.

With the way things are going, it might take the efforts of anticorruption agencies in the coun-

Binta Masi Garba

CONTINUED ON PAGE 9

George Akume

Daily Times Nigeria Thursday, May 7, 2015

9 Politics

Opening the PDP Pandora’s Box CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

try to find out the true position of things and sanitise the whole process, a development that many fear would lead to the eventual eclipse of the party once touted to be the greatest in Africa.

The first shocking revelation was the allegation that the National the Working Committee, (NWC), of the party helped themselves to the party’s funds shortly after Jonathan lost the poll. According to revelation first published online, Jonathan’s associates had released documents of huge cash withdrawals by the NWC members shortly after the president’s defeat.

The associates disclosed that Jonathan felt betrayed by the “greedy actions” of the NWC members. The Presidency sources gave internal vouchers showing that the party’s NWC members distributed over a quarter of billion naira to themselves on April 8, 2015.

The monies paid out of the party’s Zenith Bank account number, ending with 6016, showed that the party’s national chairman, Adamu Muazu, was paid N100 million through Julius Berger PLC while the deputy chairman of the party, Uche Secondus, received N40 million. The documents provided by the Presidency also revealed that the PDP’s national secretary, Adewale Oladipo, got N30 million. Other members who got N30 million each include Bu-

Muazu

hari Bala, who is national treasurer of the party, Bolaji Akpan Anani, national financial secretary, Olisa Metuh, national publicity secretary, Adeyanju Fatai, the party’s national auditor and Abubakar Mustapha, national organizing secretary.

The insinuation was that the money shared was supposed to have been used for the President’s election but was not and was distributed amongst themselves instead which was responsible for the President’s loss.

However, the NWC in its re-

sponse said that President Goodluck Jonathan should not hold the National Working Committee, responsible for losing the presidential election.

Addressing Journalists, in Abuja, PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh while exonerating the party from Jonathan’s failure, stressed that the defeat was because the party and its leadership were not carried along and their advice was ignored.

Metuh who noted that hate campaign by the Presidential Campaign Committee resulted in the failure of the party, said that members of the NWC did not play any significant role in the 2015 presidential campaign of the party, adding that the abysmal performance of the party in the north was a result of the hate campaign adopted by the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation against the APC and its presidential candidate, General Muhammadu Buhari, retd.

Reacting to an online report that NWC members shared part of the presidential campaign funds among themselves, he said the NWC was never involved in the disbursement of campaign funds, and disclosed that the party spent over N4 billion to sponsor their candidates in the presidential, governorship, National Assembly and the House of Assemblies elections.

Metuh said, “we did not lead the party to failure, we were not

PDP’s loss due to lack of internal democracy – Yar’Adua CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

was a civil servant all my life, but while in public service, I was involved in political activities since my school days. When I was at the University, I was in the student wing of the Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) of the late Aminu Kano. After graduating, when our elder brother, the late Gen. Shehu Musa Yar’adua started organizing his political movements which gave rise to many political parties in Nigeria, like the Peoples Front (PF) and the PDM, we were all there from the inception. In the first attempt of the late President Umaru Musa Ya’adua to become the SDP governor of Kastina under the Ibrahim Babagida admin-

istration, we were all there with him; and when he came back in 1999 to seek for the same governorship seat on the platform of the PDP, we were part of his foot soldiers. Even though I did not hold any active position in the party then, I participated actively to ensure that he won the election.

And when he (Yar’adua) came back for the second tenure, I was part and parcel of the people that ensured his victory at the polls. It was done with my active involvement in politics both at the state and federal level, which was why I was appointed secretary to the Kastina state government under the Ibrahim Shema’s administraAhmed Yar’adua

Ibrahim Shema

CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

involved in the campaigns and our advice was ignored. If we had handled the campaign, Mr. President would have won the election.

We cannot be held responsible when our advice was ignored.

As if these controversies were not enough, stringent calls have been made on the national leadership especially the Chairman, Alhaji Adamu Muazu and National Secretary, Professor Adewale Oladipo to resign their positions based on the allegations against them and for leading the party to failure in the last elections.

But both of them have declined saying they could not be forced out of office for no just cause.

The National Secretary, Prof.

Oladipo, condemned the call on him and the National Auditor, Alhaji Adewole Adeyanju, to resign from the NWC of the party insisting that he would not resign, faulting the communiqué purportedly issued by some PDP leaders in the Southwest calling CONTINUED on PAGE 10

8th Senate leadership and UN affirmative action CONTINUED FROM PAGE 8

The governing party, as the President elect Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, coined it will face a litmus test. Officials of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and social critics are of the opinion that all eyes are on the APC to see how it will treat the women folk in the sharing principal offices in the legislative arms.

So far, eight women made it to the 109-member senate as opposed to seven elected in 2011. Three of the eight women senators are of the All Progressives Congress (APC). They are; current member of the senate, Oluremi Tinubu (APC Lagos Central), incumbent Speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Monsurat Sunmonu (Oyo Central), and Binta Masi Garba (APC Adamawa North).

Binta is the only Woman Senator from the entire Northern Nigeria.

The five other women who will CONTINUED ON PAGE 10

Politics 10

Daily Times Nigeria Thursday, May 7, 2015

How new senate leadership may emerge ‘Shema, a dictator ’

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

be joining the Upper Legislative Chamber are from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). They are House of Representatives member, Uche Ekwunife (Anambra Central); former Aviation Minister, Stella Oduah-Ogiemwonyi (Anambra North); Rose Oko (Cross River North); House of Representatives member between 2003 and 2007, Fatimat Raji-Rasaki (Ekiti Central), and Abiodun Olujimi (Ekiti South), a former deputy governor of the state.

Senator- elect from the North Central, North East and others are jostling for the Senate President’s slot. The regions have several prominent contestants for the office of the senate president who returned to the red chamber on the APC platform.

The fight had earlier been between former governor of Kwara State, Bukola Saraki, a former governor of Benue State and current Senate Minority Leader, George Akume, and a former National Chairman of the PDP, BarnabasGemade. However, Some North East Senators have joined the race. Prominent among them are Sen.-elect, Binta Masi Garba and Sen. Ahmed Lawan.

But 12 out of the 13 senators elected on the platform of the APC from the North East said in Abuja recently that they were not in support of Senator Lawan’s emergence as the consensus candidate of the geo-political zone for the post of Senate President in the incoming Eighth National Assem-

Bukola Saraki bly.

The lawmakers, led by Senator Danjuma Goje (Gombe Central) at a news conference, said they were still pleading with the leadership of the party to zone the position of Senate President to their region but that they had not picked anyone as the consensus candidate. They also vowed to resist any attempt by anyone or group of people, to impose a candidate on them. The Senators said they

would decide on the consensus candidate on their own instead of queuing behind a candidate anointed by outsiders.

With agitation from the people of the North- East that the region has always been short changed when it comes to the office of the Senate President, Binta Masi Garba seems to be gathering more support for a principal office than Lawan.

Investigations revealed that

Binta is the first female Chairperson of any political party in Nigeria having been elected as the Adamawa State Chapter Chairperson of the APC in April last year. She is still holding that position till today.

As state party chairperson, Binta was able to unite the camps of former Vice President Atiku Abubakar and Governor Murtala Nyako. The unity she brought to the party in a state dominated by influential men, brought about the successes APC recorded in the recent general election.

As a woman, Binta did not only work hard to ensure that APC won the three Senatorial seats in Adamawa, her gubernatorial candidate; Mohammed Bindo defeated a prominent PDP candidate, Nuhu Ribadu.

Her achievement as APC chairperson did not stop there. Binta who hails from the same Senatorial District with the present Governor of Adamawa State Bala Ngilari, former acting governor, Rt. Hon Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, silenced PDP politically by winning 22 out of the 26 seats in the State House of Assembly.

As Chairman, Binta’s party won six out of the eight House of Representatives seats in Adamawa State. The result of one seat is still inconclusive.

Many have expressed optimism that if given a principal office role at the 8th National Assembly, Binta will do exceedingly well, considering her leadership qual-

CONTINUED ON PAGE 11

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

tion.

As a key member of the PDP in Kastina State, How would describe your party’s loss to the APC in the general election?

What happened in the PDP primaries in Kastina State was not in the best interest Katsina people and the PDP in the state. Nine of us contested the PDP gubernatorial primaries but, PDP as a party has no internal democracy at all.

In the first instance; none of the eight candidates except that of the governor were involved in the selection of delegates to the primaries. The party primaries committee members who came from the national headquarter of the party in Abuja were hidden by the governor in government house; we had no access to them. The 1200 delegates to the primaries were solely chosen by the governor. This was done solely to enable his candidate emerge as the flag bearer of the PDP. We wrote petitions to the national working committee of the party, but nobody listened to us, they only chose to listen to the governor. The conduct of the primaries was carried out in such a manner as to push us aside and bring out the governor’s candidate.

All of us, the eight contestants went to the venue of the primaries just like ordinary observers and it was at venue we knew the pattern CONTINUED ON PAGE 11

PDP: The battle within CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9

on the two national officers to resign.

According to the communiqué, the resignation was to pave way for the dissolution of the National Working Committee as a fall out of the disastrous outing of the party in the 2015 general election.

However, Oladipo said “a very careful examination of the inherent breaches in the procedures adopted in the convening of the meeting as well as the content and tone of its resolution shows an orchestration by a few individuals bent on sowing a seed of discord within the PDP fold in the zone.”

In a statement, Oladipo said: “It is indeed undermining and a

clear breach of protocol the fact that a meeting of some leaders of the zone would be convened to discuss issues of the party’s Presidential campaigns and the highest-ranking national officers of the party from the zone were excluded.

“This is in continuation of the apparent marginalisation of the National Working Committee and the party structure at all levels in the handling of the Presidential campaigns.

“Moreso, even some of those who attended the meeting were not privy to the agenda and the eventual content of the communiqué issued at the end.

“Moreover, members of the PDP in Osun State, my primary constituency, have already passed a vote of confidence on me in my

capacity as the National Secretary.

“Furthermore, while some of those asking us to resign performed very poorly even in their polling units, it is on record that the National Auditor and my humble self performed creditably and delivered our areas in the general elections.

“What our party needs now in the southwest and indeed across the country is for all hands to be on the deck as we work harmoniously in our determination to reposition the PDP to regain power in 2019”, he said.

However, efforts by the NWC to reposition the party with the constitution of a post-election assessment committee appeared to have received cold shoulders from stakeholders in the party

Anenih

Prof Wale Oladipo

who shunned the inauguration of the committee slated for Tuesday May 5.

The Committee is to review and evaluate the performance of the party in the just concluded 2015 general election and make recommendations for the repositioning of the party.

Membership of the commit-

tee are: Sen. Ike Ekweremadu (Chairman); Gov. Godswill Akpabio, Gov. T.A. Orji, Gov. Ibrahim Hassan Dankwambo, Chief. Nyeson Wike, Malam. Ibrahim Shekarau, Engr. Abdulkadir Kure, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha, Mr. Abba Moro, Alh. Adamu Waziri, Sen. CONTINUED ON PAGE 11

Daily Times Nigeria Thursday, May 7, 2015

11 Politics

INEC should conduct LG polls – Yar’Adua CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10

chosen by the governor to conduct the primaries. We saw 34 ballot boxes representing the 34 local government areas of the state and the governor leading his local government to the voting point while one man was writing on every body’s ballot papers, we protested and staged a walk out. At the end of the day, they gave 30 votes to the eight of us that contested while the one anointed by the governor, Nashihu, got 1,300 votes.

The man the governor chose to fly the PDP flag in Kastina State may have been successful in his field of endevaour, but we knew that he was a nobody in the political arithmetic of Kastina State.

He was brought into politics as special assistant to the governor, but in politics, it is a different ball game. It depends on your commitment to the development of the people. The governor imposed the candidate and by the end of the day, this is where we are to day.

The governor did not only impose the gubernatorial candidate on us, but all the Senatorial, House of Representatives and state assem-

bly members. The primaries were a sham. The governor sat down in his house and hand picked them without consulting the stakeholders of the party. He did the same thing in the Local government elections, he handpicked all the counselors and chairmen in the 34 local government areas of the state without consulting anybody in the party. What we had in PDP in Kastina State was simply a dictatorship and not democracy, and that was why PDP lost out woefully in all the elections.

How do you assess the general conduct of the 2015 elections, vis avis the roles played

by INEC. In which areas do you think there is need for improvements in future elections?

In my adult life, I have witnessed about six elections, and I think that the 2015 general election seemed to be the best so far; because in these elections, INEC ensured that the votes of the people count. This is a very important part of any election. The electorate were given a chance to chose whom they want and remove whom they didn’t want. If we consolidate on the successes of the

2015 general election, there will be integrity in our electoral body. We have to commend INEC and Professor Attahiru Jega has written his name in gold in the Nigerian history. We have to commend them for the use of technology, because; if you bring in technology into anything, there will be a remarkable difference. The card reader is one good example of such technology. We have to also acknowledge the roles of the social media, they played a great role in conducting the people on what to do. The civil society organizations and election monitors played active roles in ensuring that the elections were free and fair in all the states. We have to also acknowledge the commitment of the electorate, not only for voting on election days, but for their determination to prevent electoral frauds at the polling units. I was at polling units in my state, I saw how they resisted any hooligan that would want to snatch ballot boxes and disrupt the electoral processes. In the past elections, there were lots of frauds when conveying results from polling units to the collation centers and INEC offices: that was where

‘Governors caused PDP woes’ CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10

Ahmed Moh Makarfi, Chief Makanjuola Ogundipe, Chief Pegba Otemolu, Mrs. Funmi Ayoola and Sen. Walid Jibril- Member/Secretary.

Mu’azu, Governor Godswill Akpabio of Akwa Ibom, Theodore Orji of Abia and Ibrahim Dankwabo of Gombe who are part of the 15-member Committee refused to turn up for the inauguration.

Also absent at the event was the Secretary of the PDP Board of Trustees, Alhaji Walid Jibril, appointed as the secretary to the committee.

Those who turned up for the inauguration included Deputy Senate President Ike Ekweremadu, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Emeka Ihedioha; Interior Minister, Abba Moro; Rivers State Governor-Elect, Nyesom Wike; Makanjuola Ogundipe, Alhaji Adamu Waziri and Chief Pegba Otemolu.

Ekweremadu confirmed that the party’s performance at the election was, indeed, poor, but appealed to aggrieved members of the party to stop blaming each other over what had happened and could not be immediately remedied.

According to Ekweremadu, the party’s pains and disappointments are well founded, especially given the enormous hopes

Ahmed Yar’adua results should were changed. This time around INEC ensured that all these frauds were reduced to the barest minimum. For future elections in the country, I recommend that INEC should stringently monitor how political parties maintain internal democracy.

APC may appear to be getting

it right now, but by next elections we shall see how they will manage the issue of delegates and contestants, the issue of internal democracy. I am also suggesting that there should be a constitutional amendment to make INEC to conduct local government elections in the states.

Will 8th Senate observe UN affirmative action?

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 10

Jonathan and prospects the party holds as a pan-Nigerian movement for social, economic, and political transformations.

He said the current situation was an opportunity to reassess and reinvent the PDP to retake its place in the Nigerian.

However, following this development, an appeal came from President Goodluck Jonathan to feuding members of the party to sheath their swords and focus on repositioning the party ahead of other elections in the country.

ity in leading a team of men that did not only defeat prominent politicians such as: Bamanga Tukur, Barr Ahmed Gulak, Marcus Gundiri, Ahmed Modibbo amongst others, the party was hitherto in crises before she emerged state chairperson and she totally united it and rooted out PDP from Adamawa State.

Political pundits are also calling for the full implementation of the United Nations affirmative action in the selection of the Senate leadership. Nigeria is a signatory to the UN affirmative action.

Affirmative action is the policy of favouring members of a disadvantaged group who suffer from discrimination within a culture.

The nature of positive discrimination policies varies from region to region. Some countries, such as India, use a quota system, whereby a certain percentage of offices must be reserved for members of a certain group. In some other regions, specific quotas do not exist; instead, members of minorities are given preference in selec-

Binta Masi Garba tion processes.

The United Nations Human Rights Committee states that the principle of equality sometimes requires States parties to take affirmative action in order to diminish or eliminate conditions which cause or help to perpetuate discrimination prohibited by the Covenant.

The Women folk in Nigeria has suffered unprecedented sideline when it comes to the formation of leadership in the red chamber and the principle of affirmative action is to promote societal equality through the preferential treatment of socio-economically disadvantaged people.

Often, these people are disadvantaged for historical reasons, such as oppression or slavery.

News 12 Abia election tribunal warns against uncomplimentary remarks Sunday Nwakanma Umuahia

ÏÏÏThe

Daily Times Nigeria Thursday, May 7, 2015

Amosun blames NNPC for pipeline vandalism Abiodun Taiwo Abeokuta

National Assembly and Houses of Assembly Election Petition Tribunal Panel 1 for Abia State has commenced sitting with a warning to counsels to avoid uncomplimentary remarks.

Chairman of the three-member tribunal, Justice Mohammed B. Wakili, gave the warning in his inaugural speech at the maiden sitting of the tribunal held at the state High Court, Umuahia, saying that the tribunal was conscious of the constitutional provision which requires the conclusion of proceedings within 180 days.

While warning counsels appearing before the tribunal that “we would not take kindly any uncomplimentary comment of frivolous petition against this tribunal”, the chairman also appealed to journalists to be fair and objective in reporting the proceedings.

“Avoid sensational reporting to prevent triggering up of notions and heating the surrounding environment unnecessarily,” Wakili warned, adding that journalists should seek clarifications of the legal meaning of intendments of the events at the tribunal before publishing or broadcasting “in order to avoid running into trouble with the tribunal”.

To this end, he stressed the need for counsels to the parties to cooperate with the tribunal for a smooth dispensation of justice within the stipulated time to enable those that might not be satisfied with the outcome to seek further redress at a higher court.

He stated that the tribunal was properly constituted under Section 285 of the constitution to hear petitions presented before it by petitioners in accordance with Sections 133(1) and 137 (1) and (2) of the Electoral Act , 2010 and the Electoral (Amendment) Act 2010.

ÏÏÏThe

Albino Foundation tasks Buhari on discrimination

Gbenga Sodeinde

Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, has attributed the incessant vandalism of petroleum pipelines in various parts of the country to the dereliction of duty on the part of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).

Amosun, who said this when he visited the scene of a vandalised pipeline along Iperu-Ogere road

in Ikenne Local Government Area, said the act of vandalism was a reflection of the state of the nation.

According to him, “vandalism is a daily occurrence, which shows the way we are as a nation.

I still maintain that NNPC is part of the problem, being the agency assigned to ensure that things like this do not happen. This is either a dereliction of duty or neglect on the part of the government agency.

The governor lamented a similar incident at Arepo, which claimed the life of a pregnant woman last week, pointing out that he had a meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan in 2012 when they discussed how to combat the menace, but, nothing had been done till date.

Amosun said that governors who have the pipelines passing through their states, should be involved in checkmating the vandals.

While decrying the manner in which the Federal Government commissioned some vigilance groups to guard the pipelines, he noted that in this age and time when technology and relevant security agencies were in place, Nigeria should do better in safeguarding the pipelines and advised the Federal Government to employ the services of credible stakeholders and security agencies in forestalling the menace.

NNPC seeks global partnership in gas devt Segun Adio

ÏÏÏThe

L-R: President, Association of Resident Doctors (ARD), U.C.H branch, Dr Luqman Ogunjimi; General-Secretary, Dr Anthony Uden; Public Relations Officer, Dr Segun Olaopa at a news conference on the ongoing strike action over the non-implementation of the association’s demands by the University of Ibadan Management on Tuesday.

Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, (NNPC), is leading the drive to attract massive global investments into the nation’s gas sub-sector as a way of ameliorating the effect of drop in crude oil prices on the Nigerian economy.

In an address at the panel session organinsed by the Petroleum Technology Association of Nigeria, (PETAN), at the ongoing Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston, Texas, the Group Managing Director of the NNPC, Dr. Joseph T. Dawha, noted that with its immense gas potentials, Nigeria “needs not be and must not be a victim of price drop, instead we should position to benefit from it”.

Robbers kill ex-commissioner’s brother in Delta Joe Ogbodu Warri

ÏÏÏSuspected

armed robbers have killed one Christopher Timinimi, said to be a younger brother to Mr. George Timinimi, a former Commissioner for Transport in Delta State.

According to a family source, “The incident occurred at about 7:30 pm around Idiaregbe by Okere

Ado Ekiti The incoming administration of General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd) has been called upon by the Albino Foundation, Ekiti State chapter, to place importance on how to maintain an egalitarian society that would prevent discrimination against albinos in the country.

ÏÏÏ

Ugborikoko road when the suspected bandits shot Christopher, a middle aged man from Kunukunuma of Gbaramatu Kingdom on the leg while reversing his car in a petrol filling station after buying fuel.

“He was rushed to a nearby clinic by some people after the gun men escaped and as at when I got there, the doctor on duty had commenced treatment and he was revived that Saturday night.

“It was unfortunate that on the next day Sunday, at about 9:30 am, the doctor had invited another colleague, identified as a bone specialist, without the consent of the family, he carried out a surgical operation on the leg and, in the process, our brother bled to death”, the family member added.

State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Celestina Kalu, said she was yet to be briefed.

IGP, Arase

The body also called on the National Assembly to enact a law that would banish all forms of discrimination against them.

Delivering a paper on Wednesday in Ado Ekiti at an event organised by the Foundation, former Dean, School of Postgraduate Studies, University of Maiduguri, Prof.

Muyiwa Igbalajobi, noted that the discrimination in areas of employ-

ment, marriage was killing the potentials of members and reducing them to beggars in the society.

He said: “There is an urgent need for the National Assembly to ensure the passage of a bill into law that would mainstream albinism into the Nigerian family system.

This law will assist the albinos in the areas of employment, welfare packages, and prevent regular

discrimination and stigmatisation these people are facing in Nigeria.

State Coordinator of the group, Muyiwa Abegunde, and a Director in the Ministry of Agriculture and a leader of the Albino Foundation, Dr. Ebenezer Ogunlade, appealed to the government at all levels to look into the prevalence of albinism in Nigeria for proper policy formulation.

Daily Times Nigeria Thursday, May 7, 2015

CAR militias agree to free child soldiers

An anti-balaka child soldier wears lucky charms around his neck in the Ouengo district of Bangui, Central African Republic.

ÏÏÏThe

U.N. Children’s Fund reports leaders of armed groups in the Central African Republic have agreed to release all child soldiers under their control and to end future recruitment.

UNICEF said the agreement is one positive result to come out of an expected weeklong national reconciliation forum that opened

Al-Shabaab militants kill govt official in Mogadishu ÏÏÏ

Al-Shabaab Islamist militants shot dead a government official in the Somali capital Mogadishu on Wednesday, police and a spokesperson for the group said.

Abdifatah Barre, the deputy district commissioner of Mogadishu's Wadajir district, was shot dead in his car.

"Gunmen opened fire on the car of the deputy district commissioner this morning. The official died and the gunmen escaped," Major Ibrahim Hussein, a police officer, told Reuters.

Al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab claimed responsibility and threatened more attacks.

"We killed the deputy district commissioner and we shall continue killing the enemies. This is part of our operation in Mogadishu," Sheikh Abdiasis Abu Musab, its military operations spokesman, told Reuters.

Al Shabaab carries out attacks frequently in Somalia and in neighbouring countries.

Monday in the capital Bangui.

The forum – which brings together members of the government, parliament, political parties, and leaders of various communities and militias – aims to restore peace. The Central African Republic has been at war for more than two years.

It is in this setting that leaders

of the country’s armed factions signed an agreement to let the children go. UNICEF estimates the groups are holding 6,000 to 10,000 children.

Not all of the children have been serving as combatants, according to UNICEF. Some have been used for sexual purposes, or in roles such as cooks and mes-

sengers.

UNICEF spokesman Christof Boulierac said many of these children likely will have a tough time readjusting to civilian life and reintegrating into their communities.

"It is a very difficult process to ensure the transition of a child who had a Kalashnikov to a normal life," Boulierac said.

"We are working a lot, also, with communities, with social leaders to make sure that these children also do not face stigma. That is a paramount important point: acceptance by the community where we want them to be back.

Their families want them to be back."

UNICEF said a schedule for the children’s release and reunification with families and communities has yet to be worked out.

In the meantime, it said the leaders of the armed groups agree UNICEF and its partners will have immediate and unrestricted access to the areas under their control. This will allow the humanitarian agencies to identify the children, verify their numbers and plan for their release.

Violence in the Central African Republic has created one of the world’s worst and almost forgotten humanitarian crises.

US ‘not well-informed’ about crisis, says Burundi govt ÏÏÏA senior advisor to Burun-

dian President Pierre Nkurunziza said the government believes the United States is not well-informed about what is happening in Burundi. Willy Nyamitwe, senior presidential advisor on media and communications, accused the U.S. of meddling in Burundi’s internal affairs. Burundi has been rocked by violent protests since the ruling CNDD-FDD party nominated Nkurunziza to stand for a third term in the coming June 26 presidential election. The country’s Constitutional Court ruled Tuesday that Nkurunziza could run for a third term.

Acting U.S. Deputy State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke said Tuesday the United States believes the only way to respect both the terms of the Burundian constitution and the Arusha agreement is for Nkurunziza not to seek a third term.

Nyamitwe said the ruling party believes Nkurunziza has the right to seek another term.

“The ruling party believes and it’s convinced that the incumbent

president has the right to run again because this doesn’t violate our constitution. According to Article 96, the president of Burundi is elected through universal suffrage and can run for two mandates. But, our president has been elected through universal suffrage in 2010 because, in 2005, he had been elected by a colleague of PMs (members of parliament),” he said.

Meanwhile, protesters Monday clashed again with police leaving at least three dead. Dozens of people, including police officers, have been hurt.

Nyamitwe said the protesters should use legal channels to address their concerns and not engage in violence.

“Whoever thinks that this [third term] violates the constitution, there is a way to refer their case to the Constitutional Court, not to take the way of violent protest, because what is happening in Burundi is not a peaceful protest but a violent protest,” Nyamitwe said.

He denied the military had deprived Burundians of their rights

13 Africa Two UN peacekeepers killed in DR Congo ambush ÏÏÏTwo U.N. peacekeepers from

Tanzania were killed in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the Congo on Tuesday when their patrol was ambushed in an area where government forces are fighting Ugandan rebels, the country's U.N. mission said.

The peacekeepers were attacked in the village of Kikiki, about 50 kilometers north of the town of Beni in North Kivu province, Felix Basse, spokesman for the mission known as MONUSCO, told Reuters.

"The ambush took place today, this afternoon. ... The death toll is two and we have a couple of injured," he said.

The Congolese army said earlier Tuesday that it had killed 16 Ugandan Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) rebels during fierce fighting in the same zone over the weekend.

Tuesday's ambush was the second attack on U.N. forces in the area in 48 hours. A MONUSCO helicopter carrying the mission's military chief was fired upon by unidentified gunmen Monday.

11 dead after Mali separatists launch fresh attack ÏÏÏMembers

Nkurunziza

to gather peacefully and political parties and candidates to campaign.

“We have our own laws and one who violates the law has to be banned. So, those protesters were violent. They have been burning tires, barricading roads and injuring policemen,” he said.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, speaking in Nairobi this week, said the decision by Nkurunziza to seek a third term violates Burundian laws.

Nyamitwe said no government or institution can impose itself in the internal affairs of another country.

of a coalition of separatist groups attacked a town in central Mali on Tuesday, killing 11 people and moving violence farther south after a cease-fire was broken last week, a spokesperson and the government said.

Moussa Ag Attaher of the Coordination of Azawad Movements said that they attacked the town of Tenenkou in the central Mopti region. He said the violence was a reaction to the attack against the town of Menaka last week by groups allied with the government, which broke a cease-fire agreement.

"The attack in Tenenkou is a consequence of the violation of the cease-fire in Menaka," he said.

"We want to show the Malian parties that we can also launch hostilities and we will mark our presence on all territories where we can."

Mali's government said in a statement on state television that 10 of the 11 who died were attackers, and several others were wounded.

World 14

Daily Times Nigeria Thursday, May 7, 2015

Afghanistan sentences four to death over mob assault

US places $20m bounty on ISIL leaders ÏÏÏ

Defendants in the mob beating case attend their trial at the Primary Court in Kabul, Afghanistan.

ÏÏÏA

court in Afghanistan has sentenced four men to death and imprisoned eight more for the beating death of a woman in March.

Farkhunda’s mother stood in front of a courtroom in Kabul Wednesday morning and asked for justice for her 27-year-old daughter. The judge responded by announcing a death sentence for four men and 16 years imprison-

US approves ferry service to Cuba ÏÏÏ

The Obama administration took another step forward in its efforts to normalize relations with Cuba by restoring commercial ferry services between the former Cold War rivals.

The U.S. Treasury Department Tuesday issued licenses to at least four companies to ferry passengers and cargo along the 150-kilometer (90-mile) route from the southern tip of Florida to Havana. Three of the companies are based in Florida.

In a related story, U.S.-based airliner Jet Blue announced Tuesday it would provide charter flights between New York City and Havana beginning in July.

Ferry service between the U.S. and Cuba was commonplace in the years before the 1959 commu-

ment for another eight.

Among the condemned was Mullah Zainul Abideen, who accused Farhunda, falsely, of desecrating the Muslim holy book, the Quran. But the judge added that this verdict was not final and they had the right to appeal.

The men listened with stoic faces.The 20 minute process was the culmination of a trial that started last Saturday and lasted only five

nist revolution led by Fidel Castro that overthrew the regime of dictator Fulgencio Batista.

U.S. citizens who wish to travel to Cuba can only do so under limited guidelines, including educational and cultural tours.

Washington and Havana have held a number of high-level talks since U.S. President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raul Castro announced last December the two countries were renewing diplomatic ties after more than five decades.

Obama and Castro held face-toface talks at last month's Summit of the Americas in Panama City, Panama.

Obama

days. Farkhunda was killed by a mob in March after being accused of burning a Quran.

Cell phone video showed people beating her with sticks, pushing her body from a rooftop and running it over with a car, before dragging it through streets of Kabul, burning it, and dumping it in the river.

Her violent death sparked a wave of protests and demands for

Arsonists attack German asylum-seekers' refuge ÏÏÏPolice in western Germany

said on Wednesday that unidentified arsonists had set fire overnight to housing being prepared for asylum-seekers, causing 50,000 euros worth of damage, before fleeing the scene in a car.

"We cannot yet assess whether there is a racist background to this," police in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate said in a statement. "Other motives are also being investigated."

There was no report of anyone being injured in the arson attack in the small town of Limburgerhof, where prefabricated housing was being erected to shelter 16 asylum-seekers.

The arsonists set fire to rolls of bitumen roofing felt and witness-

action. The administration promised swift justice.

Thirty civilians and 19 police officers were arrested and charged with either participating in the attack or failing to stop it.

Wednesday's court hearing was to announce the verdict for the civilians, 18 of whom were acquitted for lack of evidence. The verdict for the 19 police officials will be announced Sunday.

es then saw them "driving off in a black car with screeching tyres", police said.

A similar arson attack last month in the eastern German town of Troeglitz sparked debate about hostility to asylum-seekers in some communities in Germany, after a 60% surge in the number of people seeking shelter in the country last year.

The interior minister is reported to have told lawmakers this week that the number of people seeking asylum could double to 400 000 in 2015.

Concerns about immigration have come to the fore since the grassroots movement Pegida (Patriotic Europeans Against the Islamisation of the West) began attracting growing crowds at its rallies late last year, though their numbers have since ebbed.

The government has condemned the attacks and the protests, saying racism has no place in Germany which needs immigrants to offset the shrinkage of its working-age population.

The United States is offering rewards of up to $20 million for information leading to the capture of four top Islamic State leaders.

They include Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, official spokesman for the group. The State Department calls him the "main conduit" for Islamic State messages, including those calling for attacks against Westerners.

The other three on the rewards list are Abd al-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli, a former Islamic State deputy leader; Tarkhan Tayumurazovich Batirashvili, who ran an Islamic State prison where foreign hostages may have been held; and Tariq Bin al-Tahar Bin al Falih al-Awni al-Harzi, whom the State Department calls one of Islamic State's first members and a fundraiser for the terrorists.

The money is being offered thorough the U.S. Rewards for Justice program, which has paid out more than $125 million for information on wanted terrorists since it began in 1984.

Four dead, nine missing in Indonesian landslide ÏÏÏFour people were killed and

nine others remain missing after a landslide buried homes on Indonesia's main island of Java, an official said on Wednesday.

A landslide triggered by a pipeline explosion on Tuesday engulfed eight homes and trapped villagers in a West Java village.

The pipeline, belonging to a geothermal project in the area, had been damaged in a previous landslide caused by days of torrential rain.

"The search for victims of the landslide continues," said Sutopo Purwo Nugroho, spokesperson for the National Disaster Management Agency.

More than 100 residents, fearing further landslides, had taken refuge in a village hall, he added.

Landslides are common in Indonesia, one of the world's most natural-disaster prone nations.

The national disaster agency estimates around half the country's 250 million population live in areas prone to landslides.

Daily Times Nigeria Thursday, May 7, 2015

15 Opinion

Who really betrayed Niger Delta Cause? Ï9 ƆƎƓ Ɔ ƕ Ɔ Ǝ Ƅ ƊƄ Ǝ Ɔ ƐƄƍ ƕ ƐƄƍ Ɔ ƕ ƄƒƋƄƃƎƆ ƕƆƅƅƄƍƄ Ǝ ƍƄ ƏƉƎ ƉƂƄƍƎ &Ɔ ƎƄƆ

S Uche Igwe

ince the first part of this article was published last week, many persons have contacted me to respond to its contents. It is interesting that many people felt that what I initiated was a timely and worthwhile debate. I have therefore chosen to raise a few more issues that can help us deepen the conversation further in search of solutions. There are those who rather than take on the issues raised, decided to attack my person. One of them, Ms Ann Kio Briggs even contacted my university. However, I am gratified that many persons who learnt about her action condemned it and amplified my position that she is not an activist but a conflict entrepreneur. After more than six years of deliberate silence, I listened to her inciting young people in Port Harcourt to secede from Nigeria. How else will one describe hypocrisy?

The last time I saw Ms Briggs, four mobile policemen in a convoy of cars were escorting her.

We must not allow any distractions or blame game to distract us. It is not time to be

judgemental either. Rather it is a time to revisit and rigorously interrogate what we now know and call the Niger Delta cause.

Was/is they are a cause? If we all answer in the affirmative then do we mean the same thing? Is the cause about lingering questions lacking in clarity or are there answers already provided? Was the cause/answers in economic, political, environmental issues or a combination of the three? Is it the same thing as resource control or amnesty programme? My point here is that there seem to be no coherent Niger Delta cause, rather a plethora of causes submerged and almost lost in the pursuit of self-interest and opportunism.

When a politician, a traditional ruler, a youth leader, a fisherman, an indigenous oil company, a multinational oil company and a government official come together in one room to talk about the Niger Delta, will we expect any form of agreement? Beyond the Ogoni Bill of Rights and the Kaiama Declaration, where else can we find the Niger Delta cause articulated?

Who should speak or act on our behalf going forward and do they have our consent? Do they repre-

sent our collective interest and do they report to us? What approach will be most fashionable? Will going back to the creeks, as many people including the Delta State Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan seem to be suggesting, be helpful or an avoidable complication? Is the Niger Delta cause the same as Ijaw cause or is it broader?

Without pretending to have all the answers I argue that while the Ijaw is a dominant tribe in the region, there are more than 40 ethnic groups and 250 dialects whose interest we need to consider.

There are the Ogoni, Ibibio, Esan, Bini, Itsekiri, Isoko, Efik, Annang, Oron and others. There cannot be a better time than now to have an inclusive conversation that will give equity and voice to the minority who has been murmuring since the days of the Willink’s Commission.

With the new government coming into power in the coming days, this is a time for the Niger Delta people to undertake a deliberate stocktaking and introspection.

We must be more strategic, more issue based and less adversarial.

This is no longer a time for a few people to select themselves as

representatives and give themselves the license of speaking for the Niger Delta for their own selfenrichment.

Beyond the implementation of the UNEP Report and comprehensive clean up the region, omnibus agencies like the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) need to be reviewed and restructured from a patronage centre that it is at the moment to a development agency that it ought to be.

Putting monies into the pockets of the rich all these while has not taken the region anywhere. Those who are funding and abetting the mindless proliferation of small arms within the region must be told that the stray bullet can hit anyone.

The Niger Delta is a regional unit of Nigeria and the plan to develop it should be an integral part of a holistic approach to move the country forward. Those who want to profit from calls for secession should be made to understand the meaning of treason as soon as law enforcement kicks. Those who betrayed the Niger Delta are here with us.. To some people the truth hurts, but to others a debate is a gratifying opportunity to learn.

Finally, Democracy in Nigeria

B Michael Nnebe

ack in January, I published an article on Nigeria Presidential elections and who I would vote for. It is no secret that in spite of Jonathan’s overwhelming shortcomings in his administration of Nigeria I still voted for him. But Nigerians just have had enough, and could not give him a second chance. The election result was not even close, Buhari won convincingly, Nigerians have spoken, and as a democrat I wish Buhari well. As a Nigerian, however, I shall pray for his success, for his success means success for Nigeria.

To win or lose an election is no big deal in civilized countries, but it is a huge deal for a sitting president to lose an election in Africa, and more importantly to concede to being defeated. Election results are often predictable in Nigeria and across Africa, no wonder the huge shock across the world when Jonathan lost and immediately congratulated Buhari. George Washington could have been President for life, but he gave up power after two terms in office. Mandela only served once, and felt he has given all to his country. These two men

will forever be remembered by history for the precedents they set. By this singular act, perhaps Jonathan has possibly bequeathed the best legacy to Nigeria’s democracy, and for this we shall forever be thankful of what appears to be an upcoming smooth transition.

I have stayed off this medium for the past couple of months because the polity was becoming too heated across Nigeria in the months leading to our last election. While I did not want to contribute towards heating up the political discuss, I knew that INEC has finally become truly independent. My last article was specifically about INEC’s independence. I equally made it clear that I believe Jonathan would willingly hand over power if he loses the election. In the end, that was just what happened. The biggest and the untold story of this last election is the beginning of true democracy in Nigeria. It will take several more cycles of free and fair elections before we can talk about the entrenchment of democracy. But surely, it is a good beginning, one which we ought to be proud of. Since that Presidential and National Assembly elections, I have closely followed the governorship and state House of Assem-

blies, as well as all the reruns and supplementary elections. Even in states that are vigorously contested by both parties, the people spoke their minds, often loud and clear with their votes. What hopefully may develop from this is that some politicians may finally begin to see their electorate as powerful enough to get rid of them if they failed to perform. This is a huge win for democracy in Nigeria.

Some have wondered why the people rejected Jonathan so thoroughly after giving him an overwhelming victory four years earlier. Well, the PDP have had it so good for so long, they began to feel invincible. But people like me knew they were all along vulnerable. Jonathan and his administration have failed on many fronts, especially in some of the most important areas in the life of the average Nigerian.

I have written dozens, perhaps hundreds of articles, criticizing, advising, and sometimes warning of consequences. The truth is that they never listened because they felt invincible. If only they listened. Those who pointed out their shortcomings were instead seen as enemies of progress, or haters. But that was not the case for everyone.

People like me voted for Jonathan

in 2011 and wished him well. But that cannot trump my responsibility as a Nigerian, and my desire to see things done right for the sake of our beloved country. In the end they never listened, and the people chose to throw them out. This is what democracy is all about; you are ultimately accountable to those that sent you there in the first place, and if they believe that you have not performed, they can vote you out of office.

What made this election so credible is that nothing was totally predictable. Who could have thought that the PDP will win every seat in much contested Ekiti House of Assembly, or that APC will win the governorship seats in Plateau and Benue states, presidential election as well as two senate seats in Benue. In spite of all odds, the PDP governor retained his seat in Taraba state after a rerun, and Rochas, and APC governor equally retained his seat in Imo state after much wrangling and supplementary elections. In state after state, the people spoke; rewarding those who they believed have performed, and punishing those who have taken their earlier votes for granted. I am truly excited about this development in Nigeria.

16

Daily Times Nigeria Thursday, May 7, 2015

At Acorn Petroleum, we remain committed to delivering unrivaled products and services to our customers. Acorn Petroleum Plc., your new energy

Business Times

Daily Times Nigeria Thursday, May 7, 2015

s

17

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

Wapic’s 5yr-plan targets industry top spot Kayode Adelowokan

than’s administration: in 2011 it recorded N180 billion; N200 billion in 2012, N285 billion in 2013 and estimated N300 billion in 2014.

Before Jonathan’s administration, the industry received N27.7 billion, N33.1 billion, N44.5 billion and N55.9 billion premiums in 2000, 2001, 2002 and 2003 respectively.

The insurance industry also pooled a total written premium of N69.4 billion, N76.3 billion, N82.3 billion and N100.6 billion in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007, respectively.

Commissioner for Insurance, Mr. Fola Daniel, noted that the Nigerian insurance industry

has witnessed tremendous changes in recent times owing to the new reforms embarked upon by National Insurance Commission (NAICOM).

These reforms according to Mr. Daniel, include the introduction of Risk Based Supervision, migration to International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS) from the Nigerian Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (NGAAP) and Market Conduct Reforms.

Similarly, under President Jonathan, the No Premium, No Cover policy was fully implemented and has in turn been adopted in a country like Ghana.

In a move to set pace for other insurance companies in Nigeria, Wapic Insurance Plc has set out plans to be among the top two insurance companies in the country by 2019.

Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Chairman of the firm, stated this at the Company’s 56th Annual General Meeting (AGM) held in Lagos.

Aig-Imoukhuede, revealed that the implementation of the company’s five-year strategy will transform Wapic into a leading insurance company in the country.

While speaking on the company’s performance in the 2014 financial year ended, being the first year of implementation of its five-year plan, the Chairman noted that Wapic outperformed industry growth in Gross Written Premium (GWP) as it posted 40 per cent growth as against an industry average of 15 per cent.

“Equally, we have also improved our other financial indices as evidenced by our maiden A.M Best rating of B- , which makes us only the 3rd Nigerian insurer to achieve an international rating. We are therefore on the right track and we are making progress,” he said.

Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, also said that the firm made a change to its business model, culture and other facets of its operations, saying, it equally launched its new corporate identity in Nigeria, which resonated positively with customers and other stakeholders.

“We realigned our customer segmentation to deliver quality service to our clients across strategic business units and to reinforce our promise to serve our customers with excellence, empathy and expertise,” he add-

Emmanuel Ogbonnaya

are doing in emerging economies around the world.

OPIC-supported projects in health, education, agriculture, renewable energy, small and medium enterprise financing and other sectors are helping create jobs, improve lives and stimulate economic growth in critical development sectors. Impact Awards will be given in five categories including Innovation, development im-

pact; access to finance; renewable resources and American small business.

According to the statement, “Impact award winners were selected through a rigorous process that considered their focus in priority sectors or regions, innovation in overcoming difficulties, quality of results, risk mitigation practice, development impact and other factors, such as serving

L - R: Ashish Desai, Group Managing Director, Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Chairman, Board of Directors and Bode Ojeniyi, Executive Director; All of Wapic Insurance Plc at the Company’s 56th Annual General Meeting held in Lagos.

How insurance industry grossed nearly N1 trillion under Jonathan’s administration Kayode Adelowokan Without mincing word, the growth in the Nigeria insurance industry under President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration is highly commendable as it recorded almost N1 trillion in its Gross Premium Income (GPI) between 2011 and 2014.

The GPI, which amounted to N965 billion, grew by 14.8 per cent, from the N840 billion recorded within a period of 10 years before Jonathan took over as president in 2011.

The breakdown of income recorded by the sector in Jona-

OPIC plans impact award for development partners

The Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) has announced plans to recognise some of the organisation’s outstanding partners with the 2015 OPIC Impact Awards for excellence in development.

The awards, which will be presented on May 19, will highlight the important work OPIC clients

ed.

Stating that Wapic Insurance commissioned a new processing Centre for seamless treatment of retail requests, he added that its operational evolution has now positioned the company to consolidate its strategic objectives and the brand promise.

The company, according to him, grew its Profit after Tax (PAT) from a loss position in 2013 to N237 million in 2014, adding that Gross Written Premium grew by 38 per cent from N3.76 billion in 2013 to N5.2 billion in 2014.

“Solvency Ratio stood at 171 per cent which was significantly above the regulatory threshold of 100 per cent and remains one of the highest in the industry.

Your company is now well positioned to deliver greater shareholder value in coming years given the significant changes in strategy, business focus and capacity,” he assured shareholders.

In the same vein, the Managing Director, Wapic Insurance Plc, Mr. Ashish Desai, said in 2014, the company launched its new brand identity as well as its new corporate logo, stating that this generated both positive commentary from across all stakeholder groups and equally created positive momentum for its business development efforts.

The group, he said, achieved a 38 per cent Year-on-Year (YoY) growth on Gross Written Premium (GWP), an increase in the group’s underwriting profit of 1,272 per cent and a return to profitability with a Profit After Tax(PAT) position of N236 million.

The firm recorded a 38 per cent premium growth as it increased to N5.204 billion in 2014 from N3.761 billion it reported in its 2013 financial year end.

as a model in project development and execution.”

The OPIC Impact Awards were launched in 2014 and these inaugural awards recognised eight clients working in regions from Iraq to Togo to Honduras.

“We’re looking forward to honouring the winners on May 19 and sharing more details about each project in the coming weeks,” the statement read.

Brands & Marketing 18

Daily Times Nigeria Thursday, May 7, 2015

Nigerian brewers striding confidently in an unstable economy The Nigerian Economic landscape has witnessed unprecedented headwinds in recent times. However, the brewery Industry seems to be doing well amidst these economic avalanches. GODWIN ANYEBE reports.

No doubt the uncertainty in the economy occasioned by the age of global oil glut and falling prices, has created a sense of panic and caution in the economies of oil producing nations, who have resorted to many stringent fiscal policies to buffer the negative impact.

One of such solutions was the austerity measure adopted by the Nigerian government, which translates into a cut in expenditure.

Being a mono-product economy depending solely on oil, it is given that whatever affects the price of the commodity will equally affect Nigeria’s planning and budget.

Speaking against this backdrop the coordinating Minister of the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala said the decision to trim down revenue projection was part of measures to maintain economic stability, boost oil revenues, reduce waste and plug loopholes.

So, the government will introduce Luxury Good tax and restrict foreign travels and training for civil servants, among other measures.

Therefore from official quarters, this new austerity measures were meant to insulate the economy from the falling crude oil prices which is a global issue.

Though some financial analysts criticised the development, others considered it a welcome development for the purpose of continuity. For some of them, every time and season in life comes with its own challenges, the oil producing countries of the world are currently passing through their own trying time, and Nigeria is not an exception. All Nigerians need to do now is to ensure that all hands are deck in order to come out with a workable solution.

In all these, the Nigerian Beer Industry seems to be waxing stronger, with Guinness Nigeria signing a memorandum of understanding of about ten billion naira with Standard Chartered Bank recently in Lagos in order to jack up business activities and give shareholders a good value for their investment.

On the other hand, Nigeria

Breweries has promised their shareholders a mouth-watering return on investment for the year 2014, an indication that the company did well despite the dwindling economy.

Speaking on shareholders dividend for the year 2014 at a pre annual general meeting press briefing in Lagos, the Managing Director, Nigeria Breweries PLC, Mr. Nicolaas Vervelde disclosed that; “the directors are pleased to recommend to shareholders at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting, the declaration of a total dividend of thirty seven billion, two hundred and five million, two and thirty three thousand, six hundred and forty eight naira only.”According to him, the Directors accept responsibility for the preparation of the annual financial statements to give a true and fair view in accordance with the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS} and in the manner required by the Companies and Allied Matters Act of Nigeria, Cap C20, Law a of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, and the Financial Council Reporting Council of Nigeria.

Commenting on the merger between Nigeria Breweries and Consolidated Breweries PLC, he noted that; “following the merger with Consolidated Breweries Plc, the enlarged company obtained an eighty nine per cent equity interest in the Benue Bottling company. The subsidiary is an entity with no business activities that holds land, buildings and some idle production assets.”

While reviewing the company’s operation for the year under review, he said that; “in the course of the year under review, the company concluded the legal process which culminated in a merger with Consolidated Breweries Plc resulting in an enlarged company.

The statements of financial position for the year are therefore a combination of the financial position of the old Nigerian Breweries Plc and dissolved Consolidated Breweries Plc”.

Reacting to the impact of the company in the agricultural sector of the Nigerian economic, he said that it has been positive. His word; “the company, in conjunction with Heineken Supply Chain B.V. of the Netherlands and other Heineken companies, is involved in activities aimed at development of new hybrid sorghum varieties, with potential of increasing the yield/output for sorghum farmers as well as improving the

quality of sorghum malt, which is a major input in our operations. Two high-yielding hybrid sorghum varieties have been developed and registered by the company; the process of commercialising their production is ongoing. The company has a subsisting consultancy agreement with Nigeria professor on the development of sorghum seeds”.

Though the Managing Director admitted the fact that, the insecurity challenges in some part of the country had an effect on the

distribution of their products, but that does not stop them from employing Nigerians in their various breweries across the country.

On the employments standard, he stated that the company does not discriminate when it comes to employments.

His words; “Nigerian Breweries Plc is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on any grounds.’’

Thus, we provide employment opportunities to physically challenged persons. However, this also

goes beyond the need to ensure that there is no discrimination against such persons, but driven by a deep conviction that even in disability, there could be immense ability. At present, we have eight physically challenged persons on our employment.”

For him, one of the things that keep them going despite the economic down tone is their cost leadership which has help them to remain strong and even new break grounds in terms of brand exploration.

L-R: R&B Singer, Kola Soul; Hip Hop/Reggae Singer Terry G and Innovation Commercialization Manager, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Mr. Ubani Christian at the Smirnoff Double Side Party to launch Smirnoff Ice Double Black with Guarana at the weekend.

Diageo unveils new Smirnoff flavour in unusual venue Godwin Anyebe Smirnoff vodka from the stables of Diageo Brands Nigeria has launched its new variant, Smirnoff Ice Double Black with Guarana amidst fanfare in the most unexpected venue – an auto workshop.

The Double Side launch party was the first of its kind in Nigeria as guests were welcomed to an unconventional venue for a party- a thriving auto workshop turned into a party venue.

Arriving at the venue located in Lagos, guests were eager to experience the uniqueness and dynamics of taking the party to such an unusual venue.

Unveiling the brand, the Head

of Marketing, Spirits and RTD, Liz Ashdown said Guinness Nigeria is driven by innovation and the company is committed to launching products that meet more of their consumers’ needs and occasions.

“Smirnoff Ice Double Black with Guarana has been produced to satisfy the quest of our younger consumers who want to make less obvious choices because that’s what makes their nights better and more memorable. The refreshing taste of this new Smirnoff variant is the outcome of an extensive research that resulted in the right blend of the best ingredients” Liz Ashdown said.

Regarding the possibilities of

the new variant putting sales pressure on the existing variants, Ashdown explained that “we have provided consumers with greater choice and with a drink that is more relevant for higher tempo occasions than many other offerings in the market”.

“The #doubleside idea is the celebration of an alternative side of life –be that of places doubling as something more epic or oneself that is more expressive and open to new experiences. The double side party brought this to life through the unexpected performances and location – an auto workshop doubling as a party venue at night” Ashdown further clarified.

Features THE COMPUTER VILLAGE SQUEEZE:

Here, we create something from nothing

Shops don’t come cheap at the Computer Village. Daily Times visited the hard/software business hub recently and witnessed the entrepreneurs’ uncanny skill at managing time and space.

GBUBEMI GOD’S COVENANT SNR reports.

One of the reasons that the average Igbo man would sell just about anything, anywhere, came to light at the Computer Village when our correspondent talked

Daily Times Nigeria Thursday, May 7, 2015

s

19

Features Editor: Gbubemi God’s Covenant Snr. E-mail: gbubemi.godscovenantsnr@dailytimes.com.ng

with some innovative young men in the software/hardware hub in the heart of Ikeja, Lagos.

To start with, 48-year old Joe Nwabueze, a relation of a feared native doctor from Ihunoma village, Mission, Enugu, gave Daily Timesone reason.

“If you go inside Enugu town, you will find some very rich families with big houses and exotic vehicles. The people around them know that one of their sons had CONTINUED ON PAGE 20

A trader opening ‘shopcar’ at computer village

Oduyoye at home with friends at Ibadan

Oduyoye

Language engineer, researcher, teacher and author

Celebrated exegete and polyglot, octogenarian Modupe Adedoyin Oduyoye, in this interview with GBUBEMI GOD’S COVENANT SNR comments on some mysteries of life, including blood transfusion, death, reincarnation, etc.

A conflict between sense and reason, Oduyoye is the first to admit that his findings may be largely debatable. He recalled the partition that separated his teachings from commonsense and uncommon radical sense.

“When I first began to say some things, somebody mentioned the phrase, ‘far-fetched’, I was confronted with words like, ‘are you

not going too far?’ Why Yoruba and the Hebrews? Do you think there can be any connection between Yoruba land and India?

“That was what I faced and, therefore, needed patience in trying to answer the objections raised, but, it paid off, eventually, and it gladdens me to notice, when things became clearer, that there are people who now say, ‘I think he’s saying something important’. I am grateful to them and those who organised the seminar that celebrated my 80th birthday.

In Physics, it is said that for every action, there is an equal reaction, although, Omniscience scholars say, there

Multi-linguist speaks about meaning of life

are unequal reactions to every action. As a Christian Scientist and traditional religionist, Oduyoye has his own conviction about blood transfusion.

“I don’t think there is anything wrong with it; it’s not a religious issue with me. I’ve had blood transfusion before when I had an operation. There are certain things that human beings have known, which I accept and even take for granted. And I didn’t see anything in my Scriptures which makes me study,examine or worry over it.”

On the argument between scientists and theologians concerning God, creation and science:

“When I read somewhere in one of the Prophets, where Jehovah was speaking: I created light and I created darkness; I was first shocked because in Genesis 1, what we read is, ‘Let there be light.’ So God created light and that was what we learnt as children. Therefore, we associate God with creation of light, and not creation of darkness.

“Then the question is, since God has the power to create light, why did He not banish darkness altogether? Why do we still have darkness today? “Now, that tells me that darkness has its own function. If darkness was not created, how would we enjoy our sleep? Before electricity and

lamps, if there was no darkness, how would we know when to stop work and go in?God made other beings that move in the dark, like the nocturnal animals, so we share the same thing.

People think that it’s God that created darkness, whereas, it is the rotation of the earth which makes you think that darkness exists. The sun never sets, it never blackens out, but, when you turn towards the sun, you say it’s daylight, when the rotation changes later, you say ‘there is darkness’.

I don’t want to call darkness an illusion, but our eyes cannot pick things out like nocturnal animals.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 20

Features 20

Daily Times Nigeria Thursday, May 7, 2015

Computer village: ‘We work out our wealth with fear and Godliness’ - Nwabueze CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19

given his life to become the source of that wealth, which, eventually, won’tlast for a long time. When they are making the medicine, the dibia(native doctors) don’t tell them how long they have to live and enjoy spending the money.

“After the person dies, the family, usually, becomes poor again, but, the big houses would still be there, with nobody to rent or buy them, because everyone knows the history. And when the cars cannot move again, they park them in the yard as memory.”

So why did you come to Lagos?

“I had two friends from the same family who wanted to be very rich; they wanted to become big men and there is nothing wrong with that. In Enugu, there is an adage that says, ‘If a rich man tells you what he did to become rich, you will prefer to remain poor for life. So they went to a native doctor to ‘cook’ them so that they could become millionaires”.

That native doctor was Joe’s uncle. He told the boys, Oke and Ike (not their real names), that he would, initially, turn them into

vultures, then after performing his magic, he would turn them to human beings again and the boys agreed.

“We were told that the money ritual works like a vulture. You know that wherever there is a corpse, vulture is drawn to it.

Money will become like a corpse; wherever there is money to be made, things will happen: the person doesn’t have to work for it. Everybody will work, but they will be there at the right moment and reap the benefits”.

But the ritual went awry after the witchdoctor turned Ike and Oke into vultures; left them in his shrine and went to the market to buy the essential materials, but he didn’t make it to the market because he was killed by a reckless driver in a speeding vehicle as he tried to cross the road to the market.

When news of his death reached the neighbourhood; the two vultures flew out in the evening and perched on top of athatched roof, while the people, engrossed with the varied reports of the incident, were oblivious of what had happened in the witchdoctor’s shrine.

“By the second day, the vultures

flew to their parents’ home and perched on the roof. When it was noticed that the two boys were missing, it was thought odd for vultures to be seen on top of a living family home, but the concern was the whereabouts of their sons.

“When someone shouted their names, ‘Oke and Ike, where are you?’ the two vultures were said to have responded through body movement while on the roof. Later, the truth became known. The boys died as vultures after the family could not find a way to reverse their condition.

“After that incident, many young people changed our minds to live by our sweat and labour, we decided to work hard with honesty and fear of God for our wealth and that is the main reason behind the unstoppable drive of most of usto make it anywhere, anyplace, but, not anyhow”.

The Igbo race is diversified through ethnicity; can that reason be generalised as the push behind the Igbo man?

“Maybe not generally, but the motive to make it clean is general.

If our people go to Kaduna, Maiduguri or Kafanchan, without the

necessary capital to trade, he or she can build up capital over time, by selling handkerchiefs, snacks, etc. until he gets enough money to start his trade line”.

Back to the Computer Village, Joe said the space squeeze was what brought the idea to turn your car into a showroom/shop.

“We call it ‘shop-car’ because it serves both purposes. Every trader with a shop or a whole house here is part of the success story or they inherited the shop or got it through a special arrangement.

There is no new shop or space to rent in the village”, he said.

Daily Times investigation revealed that some traders who were displaced from Ebute-Ero were actually the group that said

‘look, every spot is a shop. If I park my car here, I will turn it to my shop and sell my goods.

They pay land rent to the market administration, which, in turn, honours its commitment to the Ikeja Local Government and its officials.

ChuksIgwebuike, one of the shop-car owners, showed our correspondent the contents of his car. Inside were goods he was advertising to customers while the goods on the car roof, bonnet and booth are for everyone to see and buy.”

The zeal and tenacity to ‘make it’ lawfully at the Computer Village underline the adage that says, ‘necessity is the mother of invention’.

one of the shopcars at computer village

‘I faced confrontation when I started’ - Oduyoye

Oduyoye with a tray of coriander leaves

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 19

“Now, God is all seeing, He is the one who created those animals that can see in darkness, and He created those animals in His image, of course, to teach us that it is possible to see in the dark.

Therefore, nothing can happen in the dark which is not naked before God”.

Some of your disciplesargue that the GOD of the Bible must have also been created, that there is no infinite GOD. Is this your understanding?

“The noun for infinite is infinity. We were taught in Class One in the Secondary School that two parallel lines are lines that never meet, no matter how far you pull

them at both ends. We worked at Geometry problems in Class1 to 4 with this axiom and we were able to solve some of the problems.

But in Class 5, one of our teachers was amazed that nobody got one out of the five Geometry problems we tried to solve, and this was because we were using the same axiom that two parallel lines never meet.Then he said to us, ‘Are you children so ignorant?

Don’t you know that parallel lines meet at infinity?’

It was a bombshell; we now made the lines meet, and the problem got solved.

The question now is, is there a point called infinity? Infinity is something that will always recede, so infinity is a postulation, a working hypothesis, and I believe eternity is the same, unreachable.”

In the past 80 years now, what would you say life has taught you?

“Many things, but I would like to single out one. About 15 or 20 years ago, I came to the realisation that life, the universe goes in a circle, likewise the earth, moon, sun, Mars, but for the big size of the earth, all living things would have been feeling dizzy.

“Then it occurred to me that, if all these things are circling, there is no plain level ground. What we have is the surface of a curve; then I realised, forward ever, backward never is impossible: you go forward and forward, you end up where you began.

“It was very illuminating for me, and it is this continuous return to the beginning that will make it endless; if it was going on a straight line, it will certainly end one day, but since it has the ability of curving back to the beginning, it can roll endlessly.

So I told myself that it was wise for human beings to realise that that was what life is. For instance, since we were born, our life is sleeping and waking repeatedly.

If somebody says ‘I want variety, I don’t want this sleeping and waking anymore’, then such a person is not ready to live anymore, because life is defined by sleeping and waking daily.

“Life is all abouteating breakfast, lunch, supper, sleeping and waking; life is about leaving your house and returning later. Life is about planting and reaping.

In case of water: rain falls to the ground, the sun laps it up and through evaporation, the same

rain forms clouds which become heavy and pour down again; life is just a circle.We must never try to get tired of repetition.

At 80 years of age, how long do you expect to be around?

If anybody says I am still hoping to live longer, I ask the person, ‘to do what?’ What is it that I’ve not had the opportunity to do? I think we’re enjoying life, because there’s still something to do tomorrow.

If by tomorrow, I am supposed to wake up, have breakfast, wait for lunch and supper and repeat that routine for a week, I don’t think I will be enjoying my life anymore. So when projects end, one will, surely, say, ‘I’ve done everything I wanted to do’.

For instance, if there’s no compulsory retirement age in any employment, won’t some people stay at work till the age of 110?

For a man to continue working till the age of 110, means he would become a burden to his colleagues, because he would always be asking for their assistance in carrying out his assignments. At that point, someone should tell him , ‘now you have many assistants, sir, shall we reduce your salary?’

Daily Times Nigeria Thursday, May 7, 2015

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Daily Times Nigeria Thursday, May 7, 2015

Today in History Compiled by ‘Tunji Okegbola

s

Cartoons from our Archives

1902 Volcanic eruption buries Caribbean city On this day in 1902, Martinique’s Mount Pele began the deadliest volcanic eruption of the 20th century. The following day, the city of Saint Pierre, which some called the Paris of the Caribbean, was virtually wiped off the map.

Mount Pele, the name meaning bald in French, was a 4,500foot mountain on the north side of the Caribbean island of Martinique. On April 2, 1902, new steam vents were spotted on the peak, which overlooked the port city of Saint Pierre. Three weeks later, tremors were felt on the island and Mount Pele belched up a cloud of ash.

Caught up in the midst of an important election, residents of Saint Pierre failed to heed the mountain’s warnings and evacuate. The nearby residents mistakenly believed that the only danger from the volcano was lava flow and that if lava started to flow, they would have plenty of time to flee to safety. In fact, some

people came from outside the city to view the action, even after ash from the eruption began to block roads.

On May 7, activity on the volcano increased dramatically and the blasts grew significantly stronger. Overnight, there were several strong tremors and a cloud of gas with a temperature of more than 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit spilled out of the mountain. Finally, a tremendous blast in the early morning hours sent an avalanche of boiling ash down the side of the mountain.

The city of Saint Pierre was buried within minutes and virtually everyone died instantly.

There were only two reported survivors--one was a prisoner held in an underground cell. Legend has it that he went on to be a circus attraction. In addition, 15 ships in the harbour were capsized by the eruption. One ship managed to stay afloat with half the crew surviving, although most suffered serious burns.

1915 Lusitania sinks On the afternoon of May 7, 1915, the British ocean liner Lusitania was torpedoed without warning by a German submarine off the south coast of Ireland.

Within 20 minutes, the vessel sank into the Celtic Sea. Of 1,959 passengers and crew, 1,198 people were drowned, including 128 Americans. The attack aroused considerable indignation in the United States, but Germany defended the action, noting that it had issued warnings of its intent to attack all ships, neutral or otherwise, that entered the war zone around Britain.

When World War I erupted in 1914, President Woodrow Wilson pledged neutrality for the United States, a position that the vast majority of Americans favoured.

Britain, however, was one of America’s closest trading partners, and tension soon arose between the United States and Germany over the latter’s attempted quarantine of the British isles.

Several U.S. ships travelling to Britain were damaged or sunk by German mines, and in February 1915 Germany announced unre-

stricted submarine warfare in the waters around Britain.

In early May 1915, several New York newspapers published a warning by the German embassy in Washington that Americans travelling on British or Allied ships in war zones did so at their own risk. The announcement was placed on the same page as an advertisement of the imminent sailing of the Lusitania liner from New York back to Liverpool. The sinkings of merchant ships off the south coast of Ireland prompted the British Admiralty to warn the Lusitania to avoid the area or take simple evasive action, such as zigzagging to confuse U-boats plotting the vessel’s course. The captain of the Lusitania ignored these recommendations, and at 2:12 p.m. on May 7 the 32,000-ton ship was hit by an exploding torpedo on its starboard side. The torpedo blast was followed by a larger explosion, probably of the ship’s boilers, and the ship sunk in 20 minutes.

It was revealed that the Lusitania was carrying about 173

Daily Times May 7, 1961

tons of war munitions for Britain, which the Germans cited as further justification for the attack. The United States eventually sent three notes to Berlin protesting the action, and Germany apologized and pledged to end unrestricted submarine warfare. In November, however, a U-boat sunk an Italian liner without warning, killing 272 people, including 27 Americans. Public opinion in the United States began to turn irrevocably against Germany.

On January 31, 1917, Germany, determined to win its war of attrition against the Allies, announced that it would resume unrestricted warfare in war-zone waters. Three days later, the United States broke diplomatic relations with Germany, and just hours after that the American liner Housatonic was sunk by a German U-boat. On February 22, Congress passed a $250 million arms appropriations bill intended to make the United States ready for war. In late March, Germany sunk four more U.S. merchant ships, and on April 2 President Wilson appeared before Congress and called for a declaration of war against Germany.

1945

Germany surrenders unconditionally to the Allies at Reims

On this day in 1945, the German High Command, in the person of General Alfred Jodl, signed the unconditional surrender of all German forces, East and West, at Reims, in north-western France.

At first, General Jodl hoped to limit the terms of German surrender to only those forces still fighting the Western Allies. But General Dwight Eisenhower demanded complete surrender of all German forces, those fighting in the East as well as in the West. If this demand was not met, Eisenhower was prepared to seal off the Western front, preventing Germans from fleeing to the West in order to surrender, thereby leaving them in the hands of the enveloping Soviet forces. Jodl radioed Grand Admiral Karl Donitz, Hitler’s successor, with the terms.

Donitz ordered him to sign. So with Russian General Ivan Susloparov and French General

Francois Sevez signing as witnesses, and General Walter Bedell Smith, Ike’s chief of staff, signing for the Allied Expeditionary Force, Germany was-at least on paper-defeated. Fighting would still go on in the East for almost another day. But the war in the West was over.

Since General Susloparov did not have explicit permission from Soviet Premier Stalin to sign the surrender papers, even as a witness, he was quickly hustled back East-into the hands of the Soviet secret police, never to be heard from again. Alfred Jodl, who was wounded in the assassination attempt on Hitler on July 20, 1944, would be found guilty of war crimes (which included the shooting of hostages) at Nuremberg and hanged on October 16, 1946-then granted a pardon, posthumously, in 1953, after a German appeals court found Jodl not guilty of breaking international law.

Daily Times Nigeria Thursday, May 7, 2015

Timessearch e-mail: oyin_K@yahoo.com 08055103156

Sarah ODEDE

What is FG doing to address estimated billing, others? continue, thus affecting innocent consumers like me and several others, if nothing concrete is done to address the issue.

Mr. Joseph Ibecheme 30, Rosanwo Street, Surulere – Lagos

Jonathan

ÏÏÏFebruary this year to be precise, the Minister for Power, Chinedu Nebo, disclosed that the nation’s Power sector was still operating under grossly poor metering situation that about 50 percent of electricity consumers are yet to be adequately metered by Electricity distribution companies (DISCOS.) This information was made known to all Nigerians at a regional workshop for distribution utilities organised by the National Power Training Institute of Nigeria (NAPTIN) and the United States Energy Association (USEA) in Lagos The minister said that the situation had eaten deep into the revenue generation of the power companies and ripping-off consumers through estimated billing, which is a fact.

Not only this, some school of thought said that the estimated billing emanated from PHCN exstaff who were yet to be paid, thereby using the estimated bills to serve as a means of getting money to fend for their families.

Judging from this information about the ex-staff of the PHCN regarding the estimated bills, could this not have emanated from nonpayment of their entitlements by the Federal Government?

At this point, what is the Federal Government doing to make sure the former staff of the PHCN are paid their entitlements? It would be a relief if a thorough investigation is carried out in this regard because the issue is a pressing one and may

An official of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) who was contacted on the issue of Mr. Ibecheme at the Headquarters on hearing the nature of the enquiry did not hesitate to reveal to the TIMESEARCH that the Federal Government had set motions in place to install about one million electricity meters in all the 11 Discos soon.

The official who craved anonymity revealed further that the Federal Government would soon roll out the modalities of sharing the meters among the Discos and ensure that further products are purchased from the indigenous meter manufacturers to entrench sustainable growth in the domestic manufacturing sector.

As regards the unpaid ex-staff of the PHCN, the official said, “ the Federal Government paid about N390 billion to over 45,000 workers of the defunct Power Holding Company of Nigeria (PHCN) during the privatization exercise.

The remaining 2000 acclaimed workers were being investigated before payment could be made, and that indications from the facts gathered by government showed that many of them were ghost workers.

In answer to a question, it was revealed that names of the acclaimed workers according to the Minister kept reoccurring many times on the payroll of various DISCOS showing that there was something hidden, or wrong somewhere.

For this reason therefore, adequate care has to be taken to make sure the right workers are paid.

In reply to another question, the official said that the Minister had earlier said that the remaining 2000 workers were still under scrutiny.

“However, our teams are across the country to investigate the ghost workers among them”, the official concluded.

The official, who was very pleased with the TIMESEARCH for its investigative gestures, promised to always be on grounds to comment on any important issue like the one of enquirer in the future, and also congratulated the Daily Times for the column.

23 News

We’re not for sale, Anambra tribunal tells politicians Nkiru Nwagbo Awka

ÏÏÏThe

Anambra State Election Petitions Tribunal, sitting in Awka, has warned that it would resist any attempt by either petitioners or respondents to influence it in the discharge of its duties.

Its Chairman, Justice J.N. Ananabo, said, at its inaugural sitting, on Wednesday, that the panel would do justice to all cases brought before it, adding that it was only the quality of evidence made available by both parties that would determine their fate.

Ananabo further urged counsels representing the

el-Rufai alerts on impostors Sunday Isuwa

ÏÏÏThe Office of Kaduna

State Governor-elect, Malam Nasir el-Rufai, on Wednesday, alerted the general public of fraudulent acts by an unknown impostor using his name.

Two students, women killed in Edo cult clashes ÏÏÏTwo

students and two women, were reportedly killed, on Tuesday, by suspected cultists in different areas of Benin, the Edo State capital.

There have been an increase in cult-related killings recently in the state due to suspected reprisals.

It was learnt that the women, said to be the mothers of two men, who had been targeted by suspected cultists, were shot dead at Virginia Junction and New Benin, when the gunmen could not find their targets.

The other two victims were said to be schooling at the Edo State College of Agriculture, Iguoriakhi, in Ovia South West Local Government Area.

petitioners and respondents to ensure that justice and its processes were not compromised.

Other members of the panel are Justice I.B. Garba and Justice N.K. Hamidu.

Daily Times observed that four petitions had been filed for the Senatorial Election, 12 on House of Representatives Election and 14 already on the State Assembly Elections.

According to Ananabo: “Election matters are very serious matters that cannot be treated with levity and I wish to state that any attempt to try to sway us in one way or the other will not work.

“It is the quality of the evidence before the court and what the constitution says that would determine who is the winner or loser.

We shall discharge our duties, in keeping with the constitution and the law.

The tribunal is set up to ensure that those who actually won the election are those that the people elected to represent them.”

Speaking on behalf of Anambra Forum of Chairmen of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), the Awka branch chairman, Uba Anene, noted that the Bar would co-operate with the tribunal to ensure that matters were discharged effectively.

His spokesperson, Mr. Samuel Aruwan, disclosed in a statement issued to newsmen in Kaduna.

According to Aruwan, the impostor had created an e-mail address in the name of El-Rufaithe and criminally soliciting money from the general public.

The statement read: “Some fraudsters with the email address: nelrufai@ hotmail.com claiming to be Malam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai, Kaduna State Governor-elect, has sent scam messages asking

people to remit N150,000 to a Mainstreet Bank account.

“This is not only a case of theft of identity, but a case of fraud, impersonation and total misrepresentation of the person of the Kaduna State Governor-elect, Malam Nasir Ahmad El-Rufai.

“We are by this notice calling on the general public to disregard any electronic message and others received in this regard. It is criminal and not from the person of the Governor-elect.

Group canvasses law on immunisation Abiodun Taiwo Abeokuta

ÏÏÏA

non-governmental organisation, Association of Civil Society Organisations Working on Malaria, Immunisation and Nutrition (ACOMIN), Ogun State chapter, has advocated a law that would force parents to immunise their children against killer diseases.

ACOMIN, which expressed dismay at the rate of children who suffer from polio disease in Nigeria as a result of their parents’ refusal to get them immunised, specifically called on the Federal Government to enact a law that would compel each parent to get his child immunised or face the consequences.

An executive member of the Ogun State chapter of the group, Mrs. Olufumilayo Olatunji, who spoke on behalf of the organisation, regretted that despite all persuasions and enlightenment programmes, many parents, especially those from the Northern part of the country have consistently refused to allow their children to beimmunised.

ACOMIN, which is an amalgamation of over 40 organisations, told some journalists in Abeokuta, Ogun State, on Wednesday, that though immunisation had reduced the death rate of victims of polio from two to three million in the country annually, the figure could be significantly less if more children were immunised.

News 24

Daily Times Nigeria Thursday, May 7, 2015

Suswam defies court order on Tiv traditional council chiefs Freddie Adamgbe Makurdi

ÏÏÏ

Despite court injunction restraining the Benue State government from appointing the proposed First Class Chiefs, Governor Gabriel Suswam, on Wednesday, confirmed the selection of six out of the 10 by the Tiv Area Traditional Council.

The six first class chiefs, mainly selected from the Tiv speaking area of the state, known as TOR, include Chief Ambrose Iortyer for Tor Kwande, Chief Ajoko Afatyo for Tor Jemngbagh; Chief Goddy Ikyereve for Tor Gwer;

Chief Moses Anageende for Tor Lobi; Chief J T Uganden for Tor Jerchira and Chief Terkula Suswam for Tor Sankera respectively.

The Tiv Traditional Council, headed by the Tor Tiv Or' Chivirigh Akawe Torkula and Chairman Benue State Traditional Council, on Monday, held the selection in his palace and submitted the names to the governor.

The Secretary to the Tiv Traditional Council, Mr. Torsar Shinyi, in a statement, noted that the selection of the traditional rulers was based on the provision of the law, saying

that those selected justified the positions.

Speaking to newsmen on Wednesday in Government House, Suswam denied that he was served any court injunction restraining the state government and Tiv Traditional Council from performing their legitimate right.

A top government official who spoke to Daily Times on condition of anonymity pointed out that "this issue has been endorsed by the majority of stakeholders and the general public through public hearing before the bill was sent to the state assembly for hearing.

"Even at the state assem-

bly, it went through first, second and third reading, in fact, it passed through a normal legislative process and was finally consented to by the state government.

So, any attempt by any dissident lawmaker who duly participated in the process of passing the bill into law to scuttle its implementation is not only anti people but unpatriotic".

Recall that the incoming government had on several occasions warned the outgoing government to stay action on some salient issues, such as the conduct of the local government election, promotion of workers, among others.

Representative of the Group Managing Director, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Dr. David Ige (middle) and others cutting the tape to declare open the Nigerian pavilion at the Offshore Technology Conference (OTC) in Houston, Texas… on Wednesday

Jonathan marks 5th anniversary as president Sunday Ode Abuja

ÏÏÏ

President Goodluck Jonathan, on Wednesday, marked the fifth anniversary of his presidency.

Jonathan was sworn-in as the substantive President on May 6, 2010 by the then Chief Justice of Nigeria (CJN), Justice Aloysius Katsina-Alu, after the death of late President Umaru Yar'Adua.

He had ruled in an acting capacity for about one year when Yar'Adua was bed ridden. At the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting on Wednesdayday, President Jonathan sprang a surprise to his

cabinet members when he announced his swearing-in five years ago as birthday.

The President had arrived the council chambers, venue of the meeting and took a swift look on all the ministers in attendance in an unusual manner.

After the national anthem and national pledge had been rendered, Jonathan announced to the bewildered ministers that one of them was marking his birthday. Accordingly, he directed that instead of the usual national prayer, two members of council, a Christian and a Muslim, should offer prayers for the council member (the celebrant), before the meeting

would continue with the day's business.

The ministers, who were obviously in a state of confusion, glanced at one another wondering who among them could be the celebrant.

Seeing that ministers had no clue to the poser, President Jonathan then reminded them that Wednesday, May 6, marked his 5th anniversary as substantive President. The reminder thrilled the cabinet members and sent them into a frenzy of shouting and clapping in excitement.

Minister of Power, Professor Chinedu Nebo then said the Christian prayer while the Minister of State for Fi-

nance, Bashir Yuguda said the Muslim prayer.

Jonathan had said: "Today, we will not say the national prayer. Somebody is celebrating birthday so we will offer special prayers for him. Two very Godly people will pray, Nebo and Yuguda.

Do you know the person?"

Jonathan

Don't rejoice yet, Igbo youths tell Ekwunife Nkiru Nwagbo Awka

ÏÏÏThe executive leaders

of a coalition, Igbo Youth Groups for the defence of Igbo land, rose from a meeting in Awka on Wednesday and in a communiqué they issued, lamented that “Chief Victor Umeh, as a selfless Igbo leader, is too expensive to be mesmerised by political strangers in Igbo land and vowed to resist any plan or political conspiracy against him.

They advised that Hon. Uche Ekwunife and her political sponsors should not celebrate yet because the clock is about to be re-

World Asthma Day: GSK partners ENOF on control ÏÏÏAs

part of activities to mark this year’s World Asthma Day, themed “You Can Control Your Asthma”, GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals Nigeria Ltd, a leading research-based pharmaceutical company, recently lent its support to the Elias Nelson Oyedokun Foundation (ENOF), in raising awareness about the disease and how it can be controlled.

Speaking at a symposium to mark the day, Dr. Omolabake Okunubi, Medical Science Liaison, GSK Nigeria,

Ogodo Mbam

ÏÏÏThe

International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD)’s implementation support scheme programme, will help farmers in Ebonyi State to boost food production in the state.

Mr. Sunday Ituma, the State Agriculture Development Programme Coordinator, said this in Abakaliki, during a facility tour of IFAD in the state, noting that the support scheme will be implemented through proper budgeting and policy implementation.

“It will assist the farmers in the provision of necessary farm input, infrastructure such as roads, bridges and culverts and widening

versed on APGA favour.

They congratulated Governor Willie Obiano and All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) leadership for the victory of the party’s candidates in the House of Assembly elections.

The groups, which are nine in number and whose leaders signed the communiqué, said they stand for the enhancement of political, economic and academic development of Igbo land. They, however, pledged total support and loyalty to APGA-led administration of Governor Obiano for continuous development of Anambra State. stated that, until recently, awareness in Nigeria about asthma was relatively low and, as a result, people were not aware that the disease could be controlled. According to her, even though there is no cure for asthma, it can be effectively controlled.

She said: “In line with our commitment at GSK to improve the quality of human life, we aim to create as much disease awareness as possible. We do this in partnership with health organisations, government organisations and nongovernment organisations such as the Elias Nelson Oyedokun Foundation (ENOF). This partnership with ENOF will help us increase people’s awareness on the burden of asthma in Nigeria and how it can be controlled.”

IFDA to assist Ebonyi farmers boost food production of market opportunities for their farm produce” Ituma said.

According to him, the IFAD team was in the state to strengthen relevant institutions, determine modalities put in place by the state for the scheme’s implementation as well as issues concerning budget, logical framework for programme and areas of weaknesses.

Daily Times Nigeria Thursday, May 7, 2015

Niger Gov washes hands off Assembly crisis Saka Bolaji Minna

Ă?Ă?Ă? The crisis rocking the

Niger State House of Assembly has been described as internal and has nothing to do with Governor Mu’azu Babangida Aliyu as speculated in some quarters' Recall that on Monday, crisis erupted in the Niger State House of Assembly which claimed principal officers including the Speaker, Adamu Usman.

A statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the governor, Mr. Israel Ebije, had intimated that speculations over im-

peachment moves against the governor was false and should be treated as such.

He further stated that the governor enjoys robust relationship with the House of Assembly. According to him, shortly the after alleged impeachment of the Speaker, Rt Hon. Adamu Usman, those parading themselves as new leadership, led by Hon. Isah Kawu, met with the governor to explain their action and pledged their continuous support.

Ebije said the healthy relationship between the governor and the lawmakers has made Niger State one of the best with high

turnover of new laws. He added that the governor had worked with the lawmakers, establishing and sustaining robust partnership to deliver dividend of democracy to people of the state since 2007.

He also said that in the past eight years, Gov. Aliyu had commissioned projects, curbed unemployment and poverty rates in the state with policies which had received endorsements of the lawmakers with resounding accolades from within and outside the country. “Let me debunk speculations over alleged impeachment threat against

6

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Two chairmen emerge in Ebonyi APC Ogodo Mbam

Governor Aliyu.

The speculation is sponsored by mischief makers and should be discarded for what it is. The governor has enjoyed robust relationship with the House and that has not changed. “The action of the House is internal and the decision to change leadership has no other ulterior motive more than the change of leadership which they have allegedly done. Let me therefore call on supporters of Governor Aliyu within and outside the country to remain calm,�

Ebije said.

The spokesman of the governor therefore, urged

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Ă?Ă?Ă?As the crisis rocking the Ebonyi State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) further deepened, two factional Chairmen, Hon. Ben Nwaobasi and Pastor Eze Nwachukwu Eze, has emerged.

Members of the party, led by Engr. Ngaji Nwodoh, Ephraim Eze, Pastor Eze Nwachukwu and Prof.

Francis Ibiam, had in their resolutions passed vote of no confidence on Hon. Nwaobasi led executives and elected the Deputy Chairman, Pastor Eze Nwachukwu Eze as the new chairman.

They therefore relieved Nwaobasi of his duty, accusing him of financial misconduct, incompetence, negligence of duty, dictatorship and wrongful substitutions of the party’s candidates during the general election.

Also relieved of their duties were the Party’s Secretary, Pastor Victor Elem, his assistant, Anthony Eze, the Treasurer, Alloy Nwibo and Financial Secretary, Ignatius Chima.

25 News

Okerafor Athanatius Jalingo

Ă?Ă?Ă?A 3-man Election Peti-

tion Tribunal, saddled with the responsibilities of giving fair hearing and justice to cases and/or petitions filed by politicians, who were not satisfied with the results of the just concluded 2015 general election as declared by INEC in Taraba State has been inaugurated in Jalingo, the state capital.

At the inaugural ceremony, which took place at the Sharia Court of Appeal, Jalingo, the Chairman of the Tribunal, Justice Raymond Afojulu Ozoemena advised counsels to prepare well for their cases, saying,

Taraba Election petition tribunal begins sitting "there will be room for lobbying".

Justice Ozoemena further warned against playing what he described as hanky panky games during the court processes, by ways of bribing the panel.

"Anyone who indulges in any form of business of giving out money to any member of the tribunal will be wasting his time or resources", he said.

Soldiers deployed to Petroleum varsity as crisis rocks institution Joe Ogbodu Warri

Ă?Ă?Ă?

Fresh crisis have broken out at the Federal University of Petroleum Resources, Effurun in Delta State as Urhobo people engaged authorities of the institution in battle over ViceChancellor position.

The crisis had forced the deployment of soldiers to the institution as youths threatened to unleash mayhem in the institution if the position is not conceded to them.

Sources said that tension mounted on Wednesday following the threat by Urhobo youths to disturb the peace of the institution.

Soldiers had mounted water-tight security around the institution to forestall possible mayhem from the lingering crisis between the governing council of the institution and the youth wing of the Urhobo Progress Union.

Security sources at the 3 Battalion, Effurun barracks of the Nigeria Army, who craved anonymity, told Daily Times that soldiers were deployed to the institution following order from above to checkmate possible breakdown of law and order.

Urhobo youths led by Comrade Ovie Igho, had allegedly issued a seven-day ultimatum to the school authority to comply with its demand or risk inevitable mayhem in the foremost Nigerian oil training university.

Ovie Igho, who con-

Amange

firmed the development said; "We have given them seven-day ultimatum from today (Wednesday).

"We are demanding for the appointment of a substantive Vice Chancellor of Urhobo ethnic extraction in the university just as it is done in all federal universities across the country.

Meanwhile, Urhobo Progress Union President General, Chief Joe Omene and the Secretary General, Chief Albert Akpomuje (SAN), has sent a petition to President Goodluck Jonathan, to protest the nonappointment of an Urhobo Vice Chancellor in the university from the outset.

UPU had in the petition urged President Jonathan to intervene in the crisis rocking the governing council of the university and the Urhobo nation.

For a long time now, Urhobo people had been agitating for an indigene to be appointed as substantive Vice chancellor of the university.

All efforts to reach the University’s Governing Council’s Chairman, Senator Nimi Barigha Amange, proved abortive but sources said there have been chaotic situation in the school since the threat.

26

Daily Times Nigeria Thursday, May 7, 2015

Health

s

Health Editor: Lara Adejoro Email: omolara.adejoro@dailytimes.com.ng

Lagos Assembly approves Health Insurance Scheme Bill Lara Adejoro The Lagos State House of Assembly (LAHA) has approved the State Health Insurance Bill.

The bill consists of a basic, defined minimum benefit package of healthcare services for Primary Care.

However, the scheme would ap-

ply to all residents of the state, employees in the private and public sectors, the self-employed and the unemployed, when it becomes operational Part of the highlight of the bill was that when passed into law, the scheme would provide healthcare services to contributors in direct proportion to their contributions.

According to the Chairman, LAHA’s Committee on Health Services, Mr Suuru Avoseh, it would allow the residents have access to good medical care through a health insurance scheme.

Also, Mr Rotimi Olowo, (APCShomolu I) suggested that the agency that would be managing the scheme should not be inde-

pendent, but be under a ministry.

He said that the funds that would accrue to the agency should be properly monitored.

Similarly, Mr. Taiwo Kolawole, the Deputy Speaker, who presided at the plenary, however, told the clerk of the House to forward the bill to the Governor for his assent.

Regular eye checks necessary to prevent glaucoma – Dr. Morgan

Morgan

Dr. (Mrs.) Regina Morgan is a Chief Consultant Ophthalmologist at the National Hospital Abuja. In this interview with SEGUN ADIO, the eye expert reveals the inherent danger in the eye disorder called glaucoma.

What is glaucoma?

Glaucoma is a group of usually inherited eye disorder characterised by damage to the optic nerve-head which is called the optic disc, and it has characteristic visual failed damage, and raised intraocular pressure may be a factor.

The intraocular pressure is like blood pressure; every human being has the intraocular pressure. It is a complex mechanism of a fluid which flows inside the eye called aqueous humor. Usually, the rate at which the aqueous humor is produced is in equilibrium with the rate at which it

goes out. If for any reason, there is an increase in the rate of production but the rate of out flow is the same, then there is a buildup of pressure, but if the rate of inflow is the same but the rate of out-flow is impeded, then there is a build-up of pressure.

That is the only factor we can actually modify in glaucoma and that is why we are laying emphasis on the intraocular pressure. It is usually inherited.

Is it infectious?

It is not an infection. Like I said, it is an optic neuropathy which is usually inherited. The cause of glaucoma is not known, but there are factors that may lead one to suspect that somebody can have glaucoma.

One of such factors is inheritance, that is, if anybody has glaucoma in the family, especially, if parents have it, the likelihood that their children will have glau-

‘‘Whatever has been damaged by glaucoma remains damaged and, unfortunately, again, blindness is sure. All we do is try as much as we can to detect it early and start treatment’’ coma is very high. Then anybody who is a black person, unfortunately, is at risk of developing glaucoma. Also, anybody who is 40 years and above is at the risk of having glaucoma. People who have refractive error, especially, those who are short-sighted are at risk of developing glaucoma. So, glaucoma is not an infection; it is not infectious.

What is the difference between Apollo and glaucoma?

Apollo could be infectious via handshake or eye contact but it is not so with glaucoma. Before anybody complains about the eyes in glaucoma, a lot of damage would have been done.

What are the forms of treatment of glaucoma?

There are many forms of treatment, but, our emphasis is on early detection because if it is not detected early, it causes a lot of damage to the sight and, unfortunately, that damage is irreversible.

So, whatever has been damaged by glaucoma remains damaged and, unfortunately, again, blindness is sure. All we do is try as much as we can to detect it early and start treatment and that is why we are campaigning that people should always test their eyes because, usually, glaucoma does not cause any problem to you.

Glaucoma is asymptomatic, that is what we call it in medicine.

Because it is asymptomatic, until much damage is done, the person does not feel anything. The person can still be seeing well but what is happening to him is that, although, he sees straight ahead, he does not see from the sight, but, many do not know that.

The truth is that until much damage is done, glaucoma does not show any symptom. So, we advise that everybody should get their eyes checked especially those who have any of these factors that I have described. Also, some people, through general or routine eye check-ups, they find out that they have glaucoma.

And once glaucoma is detected early, there are things we can do to bring to the barest minimum the rate of progression. One of

Continued on page 27

Avoseh

’Can opener’ molecule makes HIV vulnerable to attack A molecule that mimics a particular kind of protein has been demonstrated by a new study to render HIV vulnerable to antibodies that could kill infected cells, Medical News Today reports.

Researchers from the Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM) Research Centre in Canada have described the molecule in question, JP-III-48, as acting like a “can opener” due to the way that it forces the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) to open up and expose its vulnerable parts.

Study author Andrés Finzi, a professor at the University of Montreal, states the team also found that people infected with HIV-1 virus have naturally occurring antibodies with the potential to kill infected cells.

“We just have to give them a little push by adding a tiny molecule that acts as a can opener to force the viral envelope to expose regions recognized by the antibodies, which forms a bridge with some cells of the immune system, initiating the attack,” Prof. Finzi explains.

The development of a vaccine to prevent HIV infection has long been a goal of researchers.

At present, antiretroviral drugs are used to slow the virus down but they are unable to prevent the formation of HIV “reservoirs” - areas where the virus remains hidden and dormant within cells. As soon as antiretroviral treatment ends, the virus returns.

Daily Times Nigeria Thursday, May 7, 2015

27 Health

LUTH gets new CMD, DA

Lara Adejoro

The Federal Government has approved the appointment of Prof Christopher Bode as the new Chief Medical Director of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).

The appointment is effective from March 25, 2015.

Also, Mr. Babajide Lukman Grillo was appointed Director of Administration/Secretary to the Management Board of LUTH. Bode, aged 59, is a renowned Paediatric Surgeon, from Ejigbo, Osun State. He obtained his MBCHB from the University of Ife (now Obafemi Awolowo University), Ile-Ife in 1980 and

trained as a surgeon in LUTH from 1982-1990.

Bode joined the College of Medicine of the University of Lagos in November 1992 as a lecturer and was Honorary Consultant Paediatric Surgeon to LUTH, with special interest in neonatal oesophageal surgery and paediatric penile reconstruction.

He rose to become Professor of Surgery in 2010 and served LUTH as SERVICOM Nodal Officer from 2008-2012 and as Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee from 2012-14. Bode was Secretary General of the West African College of Surgeons from 2001-2007 and Treasurer, Pan African Association of Sur-

Bode

‘Millions of Nigerians are suffering from glaucoma’

‘Ensure proper implementation of Health Act’

Continued from page 26

Akor Ejumene Abuja Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Health, Linus Awute, has charged members of the Technical Working Group (TWG) of the National Health Act to dedicate themselves to their assignment in order to ensure a successful implementation of the Act. Awute, who made the call while speaking at the inaugural meeting of the group on the implementation of the National Health Act (NHACT) in Abuja, said that the “Act is seen as one of the greatest dividends of the transformation agenda of President Goodluck Jonathan in the health sector”.

He added that the Act, if successfully implemented, would renew the country’s health system where the roles of various actors are clearly understood and adhered to towards greater efficiency.

Awute also said that the implementation of the Act would reemphasise and strengthen the role of primary health care as the bedrock of the National Health System, amongst others.

He stressed that in recognition of the potential benefits in the successful implementation of the NHACT, the committee could not afford to fail Nigerians.

geons (PAAS) among others.

Grillo, 51, an alumnus of the University of Lagos, where he graduated in Sociology in 1989, has Masters degrees in Industrial Sociology, Public Administration and Business Administration. He is a member of many professional associations and has over 24 years of post-M. Sc experience as a seasoned administrator.

Grillo had served in various management and board committees at the LUTH and was appointed Acting Director of Administration on September 30, 2014 while his appointment as substantive Director of Administration was confirmed March 30, 2015.

Awute

The Committee which is chaired by the Minister of Health, Khaliru Alhassan, has the Permanent Secretary as the co-chair, while the terms of reference of the committee includes providing overall Technical Support to the Federal Ministry of Health in implementing the National Health Act in Nigeria, in line with the National Health Policy and NSHDP; Developing a detailed Media and Advocacy Plan/ toolkits to ensure widespread support for implementation of the national health act and to carry out other function related to the implementation of the national health act as may be directed by the Minister of Health.

Others were to play advisory role to the ministry and relevant parastatals /agencies, and develop National Health Act implementation guidelines /manual which includes a comprehensive Monitoring and Evaluation/Performance Framework.

Awute emphasised that the committee has the obligation to come up with recommendations and strategies for the implementation of the Act in a most effective and efficient manner.

such ways is medication; some they put eye drops in the eyes; some would have to put medicine by mouth. This will help to reduce the intraocular pressure which I said is a modifiable factor in glaucoma.

If medical treatment does not succeed, we can also use laser to do a procedure, not surgery per se, but a procedure which will help to increase the rate at which the fluid goes out of the eye.

If this fails, we can also do real surgery which is called Trabeculectomy. This will help to increase the rate of the flow of the fluid out

of the eye. So, we can either give medicines, use laser or do surgery as treatment for glaucoma.

However, none of these is a cure for glaucoma. All we try to do is to bring to the barest minimum the rate of progression of glaucoma.

What is the statistics of people suffering from this disease?

Worldwide, glaucoma is the second cause of blindness. Cataract is the commonest cause of blindness. Millions of Nigerians are suffering from glaucoma and most do not know, yet, it is damaging their sight gradually. Gen-

erally, most people do not know they have glaucoma and it is saddening.

What is your advice to Nigerians?

Generally, anybody who is known to wear glasses, when you go for glasses, insist on having your eyes examined by an eye care provider, preferably, an ophthalmologist. Anybody who is a black man, we Nigerians are black, and once you’re over 40 years, you should strive to have your eyes tested, at least, once in a year. And anybody who has a family trace of glaucoma should have his eyes tested as well.

Expert tasks health professionals on regular hand washing As Nigeria joined the globe to commemorate the global health professionals hand hygiene day, medical experts have urged healthcare workers to practice regular hand washing to reduce the spread of potentially life-threatening infections at medical facilities.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), there is need for healthcare workers to improve and sustain hand hygiene practices at the right times and in the right way.

Speaking, the first vice president and Chair of the Association for Public Health Professionals in Nigeria (APHPN), Dr

Doyin Odubanjo, said that hand hygiene was very key in the control of most diseases that posed public health challenges.

“In public health, it is stressed that prevention is very key in disease reduction, and hand hygiene as it were, is core to all interventions.

“Regular hand washing contributed about 30 per cent in reduction of deadly infectious diseases especially as human hands are usually the first contact with microorganisms that cause infectious diseases.

“Hand washing contributes a great deal to limit the spread of infections in health care fa-

cilities and health care workers should strictly adopt this practice.

“Beyond hand washing for health workers, hand washing should be a regular practice for every Nigerian as the benefits are enormous, as we experienced during the case of Ebola.”

He however said there was need to increase awareness on the importance of regular hand washing.

In November 2014, the WHO declared May 5 as global health professionals hand hygiene day, with the theme “Save lives – Clean your hands”.

28

Thursday, May 7, 2015

EXTRATIME

FIFA appoints Ogunmuyiwa for World Cup

W Real Madrid team

Real Madrid top Forbes most valuable clubs list D espite a five per cent decrease in their value, Real Madrid kept their place atop Forbes’ list of the most valuable football teams in the world.

Real have topped the list since displacing Manchester United in 2013 and, with a value of $3.3billion, are once again at the summit ahead of arch rivals Barcelona ($3.2bn).

The reigning European champions’ total revenue of $746million is the highest of any sports team on the planet.

Eight Premier League teams feature in the top 20 of Forbes’

list, which is put together by using equity and net debt based on current stadium deals, pre-tax operating income and player trading.

United, whose operating income of $211million dwarfs that of any other club, are third on the list with a value of $3.1bn. Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool are also in the top 10.

The value of Premier League teams seems likely to only increase thanks to a new domestic TV deal that pays an average of $2.7bn annually for three years starting from the 201617 season.

Forbes says that when the Premier League’s international rights are finalised at the end of the year, its total media rights will surpass $4bn - second only to the NFL’s national rights ($5bn).

Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich are fourth on the list, with Serie A duo Juventus and Milan - who suffered a 10 per cent drop in value rounding off the top 10.

The top 20 teams are worth an average of $1.16bn, which represents an 11 per cent increase from last year.

orld football – governing body, FIFA has appointed Nigerian Jelili Ogunmuyiwa to officiate at this summer’s FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup competition taking place in Espinho, Portugal.

Ogunmuyiwa, 36, who officiated the final match of last month’s African Beach Soccer Championship in Seychelles, between Madagascar and Senegal, is among only three Africans in the 24-man list for the global tournament that takes place July

9 -19.

Said Hachim from Madagascar and Tunisian Bessem Boubaker are the other Africans. Four referees were picked from Asia, three from North and Central America, five from South America, one from Oceania and eight from Europe.

Nigeria’s Supersand Eagles narrowly failed to qualify for the FIFA Beach Soccer World Cup, finishing in third place in Seychelles where the top two teams (Madagascar and Senegal) qualified for the finals.

Fed Cup: FC Taraba, Akampa to play in Makurdi

T

he Round of 64 match of the men’s competition of this year’s Federation Cup between FC Taraba of Jalingo and Akampa United of Cross River State will now take place at the Aper Aku Stadium, Makurdi on Thursday, May 14, starting from 1pm.

Ruth David, Head of Federation Cup Unit, confirmed to Extra Time on Wednesday that the

match between ABU FC of Zaria and Ajiroba FC of Osun State will now start at 1pm at Confluence Stadium, Lokoja on Wednesday, May 13, while that between Kaduna United and Enugu Rangers, at the same venue, starts at 4pm.

Also, Junior Spotlight of Katsina will take on Lobi Stars in Abuja from 1pm on Wednesday, May 13 before Heartland FC and Bizi Cashless begin at 4pm same day.

Thursday, May 7, 2015

EXTRATIME

NICEGA honours Sanusi

Rio 2016 Qualifier:

Okon warns Falcons against complacency Mike Otanwa

A

head of this weekend’s 2016 Olympic Games qualifier against the Eagles of Mali, Super Falcons coach, Edwin Okon, says they cannot afford to underestimate their opponents.

Both teams faced each other last month over two legs in the All Africa Games qualifiers, which the Nigerians won 9-1 on aggregate, but Okon says that result cannot be the yardstick to predict the outcome of Saturday’s fixture.

“We cannot predict the outcome of Saturday’s game on that fact that we beat them 9-1 last month.

“No two games are the same and we must understand that and stop talking about that 9-1. If we are still talking about it, that means we are taking them for granted and we cannot afford to underestimate our opponents, and I say that to the players all the time,” Okon said.

He further stressed that he’s only interested in getting a “reasonable advantage” before heading for the second leg.

T

Okon

We need solid friendlies before World Cup –Oshoala

R

eigning African Women’s Player of the Year and Super Falcons striker, Asisat Oshoala, has called for solid friendly matches for the team as they continue preparations for this summer’s FIFA Women’s World Cup in Canada.

The Liverpool forward, who’s been Nigeria’s best player for the past year, says it is important for them to play friendly matches against quality opposition as that will expose their weaknesses and give them the opportunity to correct them before the World Cup. “We have to play a series of friendly games against better

opponents; big opposition as that will really go a long way in helping us prepare better.

“Such games will expose our weaknesses and we’ll have time to correct them before the World Cup. “When you play such games, it also helps to build the team’s confidence and like I said help improve on your weaknesses,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Super Falcons will play the Malian senior women’s football team again, but this time in a Rio 2016 Olympic Games qualifier at the Abuja National Stadium this weekend.

Nigeria Pitch Awards gets new date Andrew Ekejiuba

O

Oshoala

29

rganisers of the Nigeria Pitch Awards have announced a new date and venue for the 2014 Award Ceremony earlier scheduled to hold on Wednesday, May 6, in Lagos.

Shina Philips, CEO of Matchmakers Consult International, promoters of the Awards stated in Lagos that after extensive discussions with their partners, the award ceremony will now hold on Saturday, June 13, in Abuja.

Explaining the rationale for the shift, Philips said: “Our partners, including the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) and the Nigeria Television Authority (NTA) are

convinced that the popular attention which the awards have generated among Super Eagles and football fans necessitated the need to shift it to a new date and venue which will afford all parties the opportunity to attend and facilitate with winners. The wish of many nominees especially the Super Eagles players was to be physically present at the Awards Ceremony and that the new date and venue would make that possible.”

According to Philips, “an Awards Ceremony is boring without the winners.” The new date coincides with the Nigeria-Chad 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier that is taking place the same day.

he executive council and entire members of the Congress of Nigeria Colleges of Education Games Association (NICEGA) have expressed deep appreciation to the Executive Committee of Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) for appointing its “indefatigable” president, Dr. Mohammed Sanusi as the General Secretary of Nigeria’s football ruling body.

In a letter addressed to the President of NFF, and signed by Dr. Idris Saba, NICEGA’s Secretary General, the body extolled Sanusi’s leadership qualities and expressed firm belief in his ability to provide Nigerian football administration with a new, exciting direction.

“As a member of the NICEGA family, current President of NICEGA, immediate past PRO of NAPHER-SD and a member of many national and international associations, including ICHPERSD, we recount his purposeful and wonderful leadership style, his passion for youth development through sports and his contributions to the growth and development of NICEGA which he holds very firmly to his heart and nurtured to an enviable height.

“The association has no doubt in his ability to turn around the fortunes of the NFF to the benefit and admiration of all Nigerians, Africans and the world at large.”

Sanusi

30

Thursday, May 7, 2015

EXTRATIME

Don’t write off Real Madrid,

Marcelo warns

M

adrid defender Marcelo has warned people not to write off his side after their 2-1 Champions League loss to Juventus on Tuesday.

Carlo Ancelotti’s men were widely regarded as the favourites ahead of the first leg of the semifinal tie but their poor performance in Turin sees them in real danger of missing out on a spot in the final in Berlin.

Nevertheless, Marcelo remains optimistic ahead of the second leg and feels that Madrid still have every chance of turning around the tie.

“We weren’t the best team of all time before this game, nor are we the worst after it,” the Brazilian international said.

“It was a bad result because we wanted to win but it’s still wide open and we’ll do better in the second leg.

“Juventus are a great side; they wanted to have the ball. We didn’t have the best performance but we’ll have to wait for the second leg.

“Our fans always get behind us and support us. We know that the boss has confidence in our ability and we know what we’re capable of doing in each match.”

Bale’s agent blasts Keane

G

areth Bale’s agent has hit back at Roy Keane in the wake of fierce criticism following Real Madrid’s loss to Juventus in the Champions League, insisting his client pays no attention to “failed managers”.

Bale was highlighted by the television pundit after an underwhelming display in an unfamiliar centre-forward position as the holders face an uphill task to avoid elimination in next week’s semi-final second leg.

Keane insisted Madrid were effectively “playing with 10 men” with Bale a periphery

figure on the pitch, but Jonathan Barnett dismissed the remarks with the Welshman unconcerned by irrelevant comments.

“Why should we take any notice of comments from people who don’t know what they are talking about - and from people who have failed in management,” Bale’s agent said.

“This is only an issue in England. Gareth is at the biggest club in the world. He is one of the best players in the world. He is fine.

“He only listens to relevant comments. He is 100 per cent focused on Real Madrid.”

Buffon tips Juve for greatness J

uventus’s win over Real Madrid has strengthened their conviction that they are good enough to rejoin European football’s elite after years of watching the Champions League final stages from the sidelines.

Once regarded as one of the continent’s biggest and most powerful clubs, the twice European champions have had to fight their way back to the top following the Calciopoli match-fixing scandal that saw them stripped of two Serie A titles and relegated.

Their life has been further complicated by the steady decline of Serie A, where dwindling budgets means that clubs are no longer able to attract the world’s top players.

Boosted by the opening of their own stadium in 2011, however, Juventus believe that, by investing wisely, they can once again compete alongside the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona.

They have already re-established themselves as the dominant force in Italian football and last Saturday wrapped up a fourth successive Serie A title with four matches to spare.

Bale

Fiorentina

can overrun Sevilla, says Mbia

“We wanted to prove to ourselves that we can play at this level and face the European champions on level terms,” said goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.

The 37-year-old is the only survivor from the Juventus side that beat Real Madrid 4-3 on aggregate in their last semi-final appearance in 2003, having stayed at the club even when they played in Serie B in 2006/7.

S

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE TODAY’S FIXTURES Napoli v Dnipro Sevilla v Fiorentina

SOUTH AMERICA DORES – COPA LIBERTA TODAY’S FIXTURES ns Guaraní v Corinthia

o São Paulo v Cruzeir ional A. Mineiro v Internac b

g Clu Wanderers v Racin

Mbia

evilla may be the defending champions, but Fiorentina surely have what it takes to reach the Europa League final at their expense Stephane Mbia.

Fiorentina will face Spanish club Sevilla in the Europa League semi-finals tonight in Seville, in what should be a great encounter between two attack-minded teams.

Vincenzo Montella’s side has redeemed themselves after being eliminated by Juventus in the Round of 16 last season by reaching the final four for the first time since 2007-08.

The Gigliati should fancy their chances against the reigning champions because they will get the chance to play the style of football they want, and they have demonstrated that it has worked by defeating some strong teams on the way to the semi-finals.

Sevilla are known for their attacking style of play and they have excellent attacking weapons such as wingers Vitolo and Jose Antonio Reyes as well as strikers Carlos Bacca and Kevin Gameiro. Unai Emery’s side have two fine midfielders in Stephane Mbia and Ever Banega who control the play in the middle of the park.

This can play to the advantage of Fiorentina.

They know that the Spanish side won’t be pragmatic like a stereotypical Italian outfit so the Viola should get more space to play their shortpassing game.

Montella’s side have a rather Spanish flavour to them. There are Spaniards such as Joaquin, Marcos Alonso and Borja Valero in the team; not only that, but Gonzalo Rodriguez and midfielder Mati Fernandez played for Villarreal in the Spanish Primera Division.

Thursday, May 7, 2015

EXTRATIME

31

Federer piles pressure on Nadal Federer

R

oger Federer has piled the pressure on rival Rafael Nadal after claiming he is the clear favourite to win the Madrid Masters. Nadal has yet to find his best form so far in 2015 after winning just one ATP title in Buenos Aires.

The Spaniard will return to play in front of his home fans as he tries to win his fifth title in Madrid.

His run to the semi-finals at the Monte Carlo Masters will give him some confidence and he has resorted to using his old racket

CRICKET

after some poor performances.

Novak Djokovic beat him in Monte Carlo but the world number one will take a short break this week and so Federer is adamant that Nadal is the man to beat.

He said: “My focus this week will be on my own game rather than the field or Novak not being here.

“I still believe Rafa is the favourite at this event even though he may not be playing his absolute best tennis in recent times, but it is Spain, it is Madrid, where he has won in the past.”

ATHLETICS

IPL GAME: Yuvraj rues Delhi Daredevils loss

A

fter rediscovering his form with a stroke-filled half century, Yuvraj Singh rued that his team Delhi Daredevils could not deliver the knock-out blow on the Mumbai Indians despite reducing the hosts to 40 for 4 and lost the crucial IPL cricket game.

“We had them (reeling) at 40 for 4. We should have won the game from there, but we didn’t pick up wickets,” said Yuvraj at the postmatch press conference after MI won by five wickets with three balls to spare at the Wankhede Stadium.

“I think after the rain came, the dew set in and the wicket got better.

There was no spin. I think it worked to their advantage. No doubt they played well. But from 40 for 4, you should win games from there,” he added.

Yuvraj, who made 57 off 44 balls - only his second half century this season, complimented rival skipper Rohit Sharma and Ambati Rayudu for the manner in which they guided MI from the rut and took them close to the winning target of 153.

TENNIS

D

espite the drop in rating from IAAF World Challenge to Area Permit, the Ponce Grand Prix will have several big names in action on Saturday, May 23.

The men’s 400m features American world champion LaShawn Merritt. Representing the new breed is world junior champion Machel Cedenio of Trinidad & Tobago with multiple global medallist Jeremy Wariner (USA) on the other side of the spectrum.

Triple jump star and World champion Caterine Ibarguen of Colombian will test herself in the long jump against American Janay Deloach and Brazilian Olympic winner Maurren Maggi, who is in her final season.

In the 400mH, Javier Culson will hope for his second home win in a row. His competition includes American Jeshua Anderson and Omar Cisneros of Cuba.

GOLF

Vonn brushes off Woods split

A

merican ski queen Lindsey Vonn ducked questions on Wednesday about her split from Tiger Woods and said she was firmly focused on reclaiming her Olympic downhill crown at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Games.

The 2010 downhill gold medallist and the former world number one golfer had become the golden couple of American sport after meeting at a charity event in 2012.

But Vonn announced their split on Sunday in a statement on her Facebook page, citing hectic and incompatible schedules.

“I don’t really want to talk about my personal life,” Vonn said when asked about the rift with Woods during a press briefing in the South Korean capital, Seoul.

“I think I said everything in my Facebook post. I will just leave it at that,” she added.

Top athletes to feature at Ponce Grand Prix Machel Cedenio of Trinidad & Tobago expected to feature at Ponce Grand Prix on Saturday, May 23.

Strange love birds! American ski queen Lindsey Vonn (left) with Tiger Woods before their love went sour.

Health

Lagos Assembly approves Health Insurance Scheme Bill

P26

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How to be smart with your money (2) Tunde Oyedoyin Financial Intelligence

ÎÎÎ

As I was saying last week, I didn’t suspect anything, much less think I was standing in front of a smooth operating conman.

As courtesy demands, we exchanged glances and he reached out for handshake. After the exchange of pleasantries, in the moderately packed train that afternoon, this chap went straight to business, starting with the question: “Are you a believer ?” Almost as soon as I answered in the affirmative, I became suspicious of what he was up to. Thinking he could be recruiting disciples for a terror group, I quickly asked him, “believer in what?”

He then began to narrate how he had come from Leeds to London on a day trip and that, having recently declared his Christian faith openly to his big brother, the latter had stopped supporting him and had actually sent him packing. To cut a long story short, he said

he needed £10 from me to complete the fare for his return journey to Leeds.

Though I didn’t tell him I didn’t believe his narrative, I just made it clear I couldn’t help. He went a step further and gave me the option of paying the money directly to National Express, the bus company. I shook my head to indicate ‘ no’ again, just before we both got off two stops later. Did I judge him wrongly, I doubt it.

Reason being that his behaviour and plan B after my refusal indicated that he was an experienced con artiste.

Assuming I may have judged him wrongly, we’ll all do that at some point. The key thing is knowing when not to part with your money is but one aspect of being smart with it. Let me make it clear that being smart with your money doesn’t mean you’re always suspicious or don’t trust people – far from it. Rather, it just means you’ll develop the ability

to read between the lines when people tell you all manner of stories.. In fact, asking just one question may even make their story fall flat before they finish telling it. But don’t get me wrong, majority of those who are smart with their money are the most generous, but they can still discern when stories don’t add up.

I’ve heard people say the reason they have nothing or don’t have much in life is because they are so generous and just can’t refuse anyone.

While being stingy has nothing to do with being smart with your money, please wake up to reality if your alibi for having no clues as to how to fund your kids’ university education is because of your -lousy - generosity. You can’t claim to be smart with your money without keeping some back to look after your own immediate family. Yeah! Never forget that charity actually begins from home. Just last week, this paper reported

that Anambra State governor, Dr Willie Obiano has decided to henceforth give his monthly salaries to the needy with immediate effect. Really inspiring. One of the reasons he gave was that what he earned while still in the private sector is enough to look after his family.

Now that we’ve laid the foundation, so firstly, to be smart with your money, you must go through your bank statements every month end or the first day of a new month.

Thankfully, the month is just a few days old, so pull out your bank statements and go through your transactions for April and see if you’re happy with all your outgoings.

Just as some will make you glad, you may feel like pinching yourself with how you spent some.

Before explaining why this is key to being smart with your money, have you come across anyone who’s always complaining that “I don’t know how my salary just goes

away.” Well, before you moan about what’s been happening to your salary, go through your last three months bank statements.

You should know why afterwards. Remember last week’s opening quote by Nobel winning physicist , Albert Einstein?

In other words, if you want to know where your salary goes each month, then you have to do something different - go through those statements again, from your bank. If, according to them, you’ve been spending your salaries paying bank charges, then you know you can’t continue doing that. Never let any month go by without creating the time to go through your bank statements. Sir Richard Branson wrote of a time – or habit – when he decided to sign every single cheque leaving his business. Wonder why he’s a billionaire? ...To be continued.

Yours truly

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 Thursday, May 7, 2015

Africa magic

launches Igbo channel in Enugu L6

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Mercy

Aigbe-Gentry On movie making and keeping her home

L2

P

Interview L2

Daily Times Nigeria Thursday May 7, 2015

is really killing us

- Mercy Aigbe-Gentry Mutiat Alli Edo state born star actress and proud mother of two, Mercy Aigbe-Gentry is no doubt a household name in the movie making business. Not only is she an actress, she is also a movie producer as well. The fair skinned mother of two who also doubles as the CEO of MAG DIVAS, a fashion and beauty outlet is also one of the most sought after actress. The

that the wait will be worth the while . But for now my major focus is on my new movie which will be premiered in the UK, US and Nigeria.

Are you likely to make Osas Omoge Benin into a television series in the I am working towards preparing to go on set for the part two of the movie and then we can take it up from there.

What inspired your fashion and

current project, work, family and sundry issues

I have been up and doing, shuttling from one location to another, managing the affairs of my business and keeping my home as a wife and mother What project are you currently working on? have my movie, Victims, shown in the cinema. It was directed by Imaseun Lancelot and it stars Nolly-

Not really. It is 40 per cent Eng-

How do you relax when you are not working?

I spend quality time with my family. I take my two children out or I go somewhere exotic with my husband because I am romantic at heart. So, any time I am off work, I try to bond with them.

I will say my love for fashion because I love to look good and get compliments for looking good as well.

your husband?

What is your take on actresses going into other ventures besides

he is my father, my love and more importantly my baby as I am fond of calling him.

He is a caring and loveable person and the best thing that has ever happened to me.

investing in business ventures because pirates are gradually killing us and I want to implore the government to come to our aid, to enforce more laws so that the perpetrators do not go unpunished.

Will the issue of pirates stop you

Saheed Balogun, Seun Akindele, ers. It is blockbuster movie and I am sure my fans and movie lovers will like it.

are just wonderful. They are my source of joy and inspiration. Let me say here also that I am more matured now in handling things the way it should be because I have also got a matured husband.

ity because when you invest so much in a at the end of the day and somebody out there is busy making money off your sweat, it is frustrating.

How are you able to juggle being an actress, a movie producer, a wife and a mother and still come out

Style simple means the ability to dress comfortably and still look sexy and nice. I believe the way you dress is the way you will be addressed. Also one thing about me is that I like to combine several colors of my choice and I when I storm red carpets, fans and friends are usually like; “Mercy I strongly believe that the way we dress should go with your age bracket.

What is the secret to your youthful I take very good care of myself. I drink lots of water at the right time. I eat a lot of vegetables and I try as much as possible to stay away from foods with high calories.

scripts on set; Yoruba and English. I am It a lot of hard work but the lord has been of speaking Yoruba but because of the way the script was written, she did not have to speak much of Yoruba language.

at all. I try as much as possible to manage my home front as a mother and a wife.

my facials, massage, and body exfoliation.

Even without make-up I still look good and fabulous.

What is your view about aging

It is personal but basically because I have worked with him on several movie ing to direct a Yoruba movie and he quickly accepted. It was a huge challenge for him but he overcame.

Life&

T E A M

When do you hope to release the second part of Everybody keeps asking me but believe me sincerely, we are currently working on it. My fans should exercise patience and

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

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

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

As a mother, will you encourage

Well whatever she insists on doing, I will be there to encourage and give all the want to be an actress because she is more on the reserved side .

Will you say you are enjoying every bit of motherhood?

Yes I am because I have got the best husband whom I call my baby and my kids

Society Correspondent Isaac Oguntoye i.ogundoye@dailytimes.com.ng 08069489893

I think you should age gracefully as you are expected to glide into it. I am not afraid of aging but so many people are because they are afraid they may not have the will power to continue to look stylish. I am goin getting old before I fade out. When you see my mother, then you will appreciate nature because she looks younger than her present age.

Photography Quadri Olowolagba q.olowolagba@dailytimes.com.ng 08029745478

Graphics Austine Agbovi a.agbovi@dailytimes.com.ng 07060402397

Daily Times Nigeria Thursday May 7, 2015

L3 Celebrity’s Best

9

Mercy

Aigbe-Gentry’s Mutiat Alli

1

What is your favourite food?

-

nitely be my best choice

4

A pair of jean and a T-shirt. It allows me show a bit

best

7

2

Favourite colour?

Blue.

What about your favourite drink?

I love Fanta

5

Favourite television personality?

I love so many of them but insisting I mention one, that will be Ebonylife TV boss, Mo Abudu.

8

Favourite Car? I love cars. I will say the Acura MDX is my favourite car.

3

Fashion fetish?

item I love, I love them all; shoes, bags, wigs, everything!

9 6

Favourite holiday spot?

I love the Bahamas but for the sake of my kids so that they will be happy reading this, it would be Florida.

What will you not be caught dead wearing?

That will surely be spiky clothes

Music Gists L4

Daily Times Nigeria Thursday May 7, 2015

Opeoluwani Akintayo

otz h s 2 is coming back!

D’banj returns to court today The court case against the Kokomaster, -

-

D’banj -

-

-

-

-

2shotz

MC Galaxy signs two new acts on his record label

New act to watch, Cude

MC Galaxy

PHOTO OF THE DAY

Cude

New album alert!

Davido on stage with 50 Cent at the SLS pool party in Las Vegas to celebrate boxer, Floyd Mayweather‘s victory against fellow boxer, Manny Pacquiao.

Lord of Ajasa- The Spirit

-

Daily Times Nigeria

Thursday May 7, 2015

L5 Movie Gists

Mutiat Alli

Lizzy Anjorin warns married Celebrities storm Biodun women to stop the hate Okeowo’s store opening Top Nollywood celebrities led

by Iyabo Ojo stormed the grand opening of Biodun Okeowo

Lizzy Anjorin Kofo Tinubu star actress, Lizzy Anjorin has denied any allegation of involvement in a recent husband snatching saga from London based Olawunmi Shorunke Gbadamosi, that has been circulating on popular online platform, stelladimokokorus. Ironically, after taking time to dig deep and get to the root of the matter, Life &Times can authoritatively disclose that the tales are false, as a and wife to Olayinka Gbadamosi, popularly known as Wese Peckham, who denied any truth to the tale currently enjoying media buzz as well as distancing herself from being the one who circulated the news much less, tell the said blogger to put it up on her blog. She added that her marriage was indeed intact as no actress (Lizzy Anjorin) snatched her husband from her. The man in the middle of the whole saga, Wese equally

Olawunmi Shorunke Gbadamosi denied the romance tale as he described the actress as a good friend whom he assists whenever she comes shopping in London. In his words, “We are just business partners and my wife and my entire household.”

The well orchestrated lie began when Lizzy who traveled to London to stock up on the goods she sells in Nigeria, got help from Wese in freight forwarding the goods back to Nigeria.

The receipt for the goods which he handled for her was also made available to Life & Times.

Reacting further, Lizzy Anjorin noted that married women who allege that she is a husband snatcher should be careful as any more falsely cooked up stories will not be tolerated. “I feel so about me. For the record, if you accuse of me of dating your husband next time, I will go as far as marrying the husband” she said.

Iya Rainbow makes cameo appearance in Faleela

Victoria Beauty store opening.

Anchored by Comedian, nessed a series of activities with Iyabo Ojo kicking it off with an opening prayer. There was also a dancing competition among the actors and a host of others.

The newest CEO, Biodun Okeowo, disclosed that having seen the trend with women wanting to look good and attractive, was what prompted the opening of the store to enable her teaming fans get every beauty kit they desire at an affordable price.

It is important to note also that the star actress owns the popular wine store, Vicasho. Other colleague of hers who came to felicitate with her were Lola Idije, Funke Etti, Opeyemi Ayieola, Iyabo Ojo, Sikiratu Sindodo, Mercy Aigbe-Gentry, Fathia Balogun, Regina Chukwu, Fuji star, Malaika, Bimbo Thomas, Tope Bali, Lola Abuta, and Liz Da Silva amongst several others.

Biodun Okeowo

Biodun Okeowo, Funke Adesiyan and Bimbo Thomas

Mercy Aigbe gears up for Hair show Omoge Benin star actress, Mercy Aigbe-Gentry has announced to fans to come out en mass as she

Veteran actress, Idowu Philips popularly known as Iya Rainbow has made a cameo appearance in Hypertek star, Dammy Faleela where she played the role of mother, a very strict disciplinarian. Iya Rainbow has joined the league of celebrities with like Babatunde Omidina (Baba Suwe) in Solid

state between 16th-23rd May, 2015. The motive behind the show according to Mercy, is to enable friends, customers and colleagues in the industry, an opportunity to transform their old hair extensions and turn them into beautiful custom

she said. amongst others, who have made cameo appearances in music videos.

Iya Rainbow

Dakore Akande inspires mothers Nollywood actress and ambassador for Amnesty International, Dakore Akande through her media platform,

Mercy Aigbe

My woman will enjoy sex with me Antique star actor, Seun Akindele has hinted that his soon-to-be wife will enjoy more sexual activities from

challenges she faces as a parent on a daily basis as it concerns digital media, new technology and television.

Recounting her experience in the cause of nurturing her children, the actress divulged that her children are now monitoring several programmes ranging from musical videos and shows to mention but a few. Advising mothers, the actress urge parents of the need to be prepared to contend with a lot these days as, telling them to be

Dakore and baby

cially and emotionally, then you are on the verge of losing her. In as much as I like curvy ladies, I will be there dies, be prepared for Seun, if you are the lucky one, sex at all times and at every corner will be your main staple.

Seun Akindele

Movie Gists L6

Daily Times Nigeria Thursday May 7, 2015

Mutiat Alli

Africa Magic fetes stars in Enugu; celebrates launch of Igbo channel

Genevieve, Onyeka Onwenu, others join women empowerment

L-R: John Ugbe, Managing Director, MultiChoice Nigeria; Patience Ozokwor; Wangi MbaUzoukwu, Regional Director AfricaMagic West Africa and comedian Bright Okpocha during the launch of AfricaMagic Igbo held at DE DOME Event Place, Edward Nnaji Street, New Haven, Enugu on Thursday 30th of April, 2015.

On Thursday, April 30th, 2015 , Africa world class African entertainment, hosted a ebrate the new Africa Magic Igbo channel.

Hosted by ace comedian and Nollywood

for Africa by Africans. We are renowned for tertainers a platform to show the world what they can do.

Nollywood

with the traditional and symbolic breaking of which held at The Dome, had in attendance, tenacity in making sure the Africa Magic Igbo

early Igbo language content. Veteran enter-

neth Okonkwo, Clem Ohameze and Francis Duru amongst others were present at

the Regional Director, M-Net (West), Wangi Mba-Uzoukwu, said: “Africa Magic is re-

ONE Africa Executive Director, Dr. Sipho S. Moyo (in native attire in the middle), ONE Nigeria Country Representative, Mr. Edwin Ikhuoria (Last Right) and ONE members at the Nigerian launch of ‘Poverty is Sexist’ as part of the African Union Year of Women Empowerment, a campaign and online petition on www.one.org/sexistcalling on world leaders to put girls and women at centre-stage in 2015. It held recently in Abuja

neth Okonkwo in the opening prayers and the new channel to produce rich and enduring Igbo content. performances by an Igbo traditional troupe and stellar performances from artistes in-

songs.

Opeyemi Ayeola bounces back

actress,

Gen-

eran singer, Onyeka Onwenu, Why Girls and Women Must colleague Omotola JaladeBe at the Heart of The Fight to - others. The campaign was launched at a policy forum that call on world leaders on the was attended by representaneed to take urgent action toahead of the establishment of the post-2015 sustainable Children Nigeria among others. in hand, whether you look at A recently released report by health, education or work.

MC Ayanfe rocks Ogun State at maiden edition of Laff Xpress rising comedian and compere, Abel Oladokun otherwise known as MC Ayanfe, was birthed on May 1, 2015. The show which was powered by MTN Nigeria, commenced at about 6pm and ended three hours later, but not without implanting memories of amusement and delight into the audience who came out en mass to watch at the

Nollywood actress, Opeyemi Aiyeola is back with a bang as she was recently alongside Muyiwa Ademola, Jide was directed by Okiki Afolayan. It would be recalled that the actress

was turned into a den of cracked ribs as they reeled out

with her husband and kids, featured Onilara,

Baba eleshin among others, before she relocated.

Opeyemi Ayoola and Funso Adeolu

MC Ayanfe

giant is poised to see that it helps upcoming artistes

Daily Times Nigeria

Thursday May 7, 2015

L7 Music & Movie Review

Mutiat Alli and Opeoluwani Akintayo

TIMAYA: SANKO

A perfect street groove!

I love the opening scene- those legs rocking that old school pair of shoes, and then comes the funny looking guy dressed in a complete yellow suit, dabbing his face and lips with a yellow face towel, and swinging his huge briefcase! Enough to get you cracking from the beginning.

The raggae beat is quite catchy, something different from the kind of music Timaya has been known for, The galala dance steps is just on point- those dancers killed it.

ankle boot and then his dark sunshade are just perfect enough to make him look like a street dude.

Timaya killed the song with his voice ranges and then, the drama in the video could serve as a comic relief any day any time.

Artiste: Timaya Running Time: 3:24 Sec Producer:

Unforgiveable Dayo Amusa makes a lasting expression

-

violence against women, the deadliest cancer disease and marital issues at large where Dayo was able to portray the true act of forgiveness.

intrigues from the beginning to the end. It was a seamless transition of characters, plots and even the emotion that the soundtrack evoked was heartrending.

delivered. breaking the news of cancer to a patient did it without emotion, in fact, she looked very happy.

Credibility should however be given to Dayo for her efforts in making the characters tell the story themselves with more ac-

Produced by: Cast: Mike shaves off Dayo’s hair for the movie role Mike Ezeronye and Dayo Amusa

Casts studying script

Director: Desmond Elliot

-

Daily Times Nigeria

Thursday May 7, 2015

L8 Television Showing on

Showing on

117 Universal Channel

111 M-Net Movie Star

06:35

00:05

Thu, 7 May | 13

Thu, 7 May | PG13V

101 M-Net

A man who neglects his family is visited by a heavenly being who takes away everything from the man. Now homeless,

roommate from college stays at the house to recover from a breakup, and everyone at the house seems to want a piece

his ways. Mark Webber, Jasen Wade. (2012) Rob Diamond

James Widdoes

118 Telemundo

120 BBC Entertainment

128 SONY MAX

00:30 The Del Monte Dynasty 02:10 Labour Of Love 03:50 Queen Of Hearts 05:20 The Del Monte Dynasty 06:10 Labour Of Love

03:05 Time Of Death

00:30 The Weakest Link

06:00 The Middle 15:10 The Weakest Link

10:20 Labour Of Love 12:00 Queen Of Hearts

10:30 Mom

16:30 Deal Or No Deal

14:30 Labour Of Love 16:10 Queen Of Hearts 15:30 Two And A Half Men 04:30 What Went Down 10:20 Deal Or No Deal 20:20 Queen Of Hearts

21:30 Miranda

155 AfricaMagic World

22:50 Labour Of Love

06:15 Video Zonkers 06:40 Video Zonkers

154 AfricaMagic Family

11:00 Tinsel 11:25 Video Zonkers

12:00 Music

11:55 Video Zonkers

13:00 At Home With Joselyn Dumas

12:25 1000 Ways To Die

14:00 Prem

12:55 1000 Ways To Die

00:00 Tinsel 00:30 Living With Trisha

12:00 Jara

15:00 Making Of A Mogul

12:30 Jara

01:30 Making Of A Mogul

14:55 The Treasure Hunters

04:30 Prem

02:00 At Home With Joselyn Dumas

14:25 What Went Down 16:40 Video Zonkers

04:00 Music 05:00 At Home With Joselyn Dumas

16:30 Living With Trisha

06:00 Agony Of The Prince 15:00 Kakibe Ki

Daily Times Nigeria Thursday, May 7, 2015

NCS Journal

N1

s

Determining sustainable port logistics operation in a developing economy Dear Readers, Welcome to our bi-weekly shipping journal on maritime issues.

This edition has quiet a pot pourri of insightful professional knowledge on port development.

We bring you a research paper by Prof. Princewell Owualah, a Professor of Transport Economics and Logistics, Titled “Determining Sustainable Port Logistics Operation in a Developing Economy”.

The ports is known to be the gate way and essential to the development of any countries economy.

Moving goods and people from one place to another is critical to maintain strong economic and political ties between regions. The relevance of transportation to the country’s national development has progressively increased over the years with rapid population growth, urbanisation, agriculture and industrial development.

Like I say, competitiveness must become part of maritime operations in Nigeria,that must be done to ensure best practices and professionalism.

The Nigerian Maritime sector needs to position itself as the Hub of Maritime trade in Africa. We are not where we ought to be but definitely, we are not where we used to be.

As usual we have our distinguished training programs, The ABC of Shipping and The Understanding Cabotage & Local Content in the Nigerian Oil & Gas Industry training workshop scheduled for the month of June 2015. Our novel PGD and Certificate Programme in Maritime/ Oil & Gas has kicked off at the Niger Delta University (NDU), Amasoma, Bayelsa State. Financial Institutions, Oil companies, Maritime Organisation and Government/ Public sector organizations are enjoined to grab the opportunity with both hands.

We are just poised to positively affect our Shipping and Logistics sphere of business in the quest to strongly support the development of our National Economy. We welcome and encourage you to send in your relevant topical articles.

Please join our boat. Welcome!!!

Ify Anazonwu-Akerele Director General

Tincan island port

Effective cargo handling system for a port requires that terminal operators, freight forwarders, ports authorities and other stakeholders provide modern and efficient cargo handling equipment, consolidation facilities, storage facilities etc to ensure discharge and loading, operations must be carried-out fast to achieve just-in-time principle of logistics and inventory handling system of companies. One very important aspect which is indispensable and must be effective and efficient for the cargo handling chain to work properly is the “equipment” aspect. It requires that cargo handling equipment and gears must be functional and in shape, not only that, for a port system to be modern and achieve customers target with respect to cost and time of Cargo handling in ports, modern Cargo handling equipment must be in place. Training of the local manpower on the use of the equipment must also be a routine task because availability of modern equipment requires that skilled man power with sound technical know-how on the operation of each and every cargo handling equipment must be available to run the equipment.

Such Cargo handling equipment that must be available and properly manned to improve the shipping economics and productivity of a ports system include but not limited to the following: Operational challenges There is always high cost of

doing business in Nigeria ports as well as delays continually witnessed over the years in ports operations all over Nigerian ports this has been attributed to poor Cargo handling systems and equipments in use in the various ports.

Cases of Cargo losses while in the ports, damages and breakages to cargo during stevedoring (handling) are all problems which have affected negatively the cargo and vessel handling capability of the Nigeria ports over the years.

The research in line with the above challenges, identified the following specific problems.

1. There is the problem of use of aging, bad and dilapidated Cargo handling equipment like cranes and forklifts by terminal operators in ports in the loading and discharge of cargo which lengthens handling time, causes damages and in severe cases pollution and port congestion.

2. There is the problem of lack of professional trained skilled manpower on the use of modern Cargo handling equipment, thus, useful man-hours are lost in the port and terminals due to use of unskilled manpower in operating modern equipment.

3. There is the problem of lack of understanding of how the Nigeria ports have fared over the years in their ability to handle cargo of various types.

4. There is the problem of poor documentation system and high cost of handling Cargo through Nigeria Ports.

Cargo handling role of a port The primary functions of a port are the loading and discharging of cargo and transfer of same. These activities remain the lifeline of ports operations as these operations are performed simultaneously during the operations of the overall cargo handling system (B.C Ndikom, 2006).

This chapter examines various literatures that have been written in the area of cargo handling operation, port throughput and the variable that aids for effectiveness of the system to yield all the benefits desirable. It starts by following the historical background of the research problems, then a review of related literatures by looking at their contributions to cargo handling operations and port cargo throughput.

Objective of effective cargo materials handling management systems Having explained the concept of cargo/material handling and management systems as covered in the introduction of this study.

This study, posits that the main objectives of materials management is to plan, acquire, coordinate, direct and using all logistics requirements to achieve just-intime applied concept.

Material and logistics management according this study cover the following headlines: a) Logistics Planning and Scheduling

b) Purchasing and Expediting c) Material Handling d) Inventory Control e) Warehousing f) Value Engineering and Value Analyses a). Planning and Scheduling: This involves preplanned determination of quantity of materials to be purchased and shipped at a time, with right documents prepared before hand to facilitate quick clearing from customs, shipping agents and port authorities, with special emphasis on ”Lead time” b). Purchasing and Expediting: This has to do with sourcing for cargo/materials far and near-international markets where materials can be sourced at minimum possible cost. The cost reduction aspect is important in material sourcing to help reduce cost of material handling. c). Material Handling: Transportation, Packaging, Insurance or Transfer of material from sources to port and delivery plant/warehouse. d). Warehousing: Emeghara (2004) also noted that warehousing should be the most important cargo handling operations which the ports and shipping logistics stakeholders cannot afford to overlook in order to safeguard logistics, stakeholders cannot afford to overlook in order to safeguard materials from loss due to pilferage, robbers, fire hazard, sorting out easily etc.

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NCS Journal N2

Daily Times Nigeria Thursday, May 7, 2015

Cargo handling operations and trends

Cranes at cargo handling site

Emeghara (2002) is of the view that Cargo handling operations is the loading of goods which includes raw materials, finished commodities and all moveable items; and the handling system comprises the equipment in use ad all methods employed in the loading and offloading/ discharging operation. The methods of working must ensure not only economic efficiency but also safety of operation in which no efficient distribution can take place without appropriate cargo handling.

According to I.I. Buxton (1987), every cargo handling system consists of a number of readily identifiable elements. This is a source and a sink between which materials are transferred; there may be quayside storage area or a ship hold. Then there is the material itself which may any form such as dry bulk trade, bulk liquid trade, general cargo and unitised cargo.

Finally, there is the medium by which the material is transferred which in practice may be manual labour or specially designed equipment or a combination of two. In an efficient system, all of three elements must be properly matched.

The earliest efforts to increase

handling rates were concentrated mainly on the last mentioned element, the transfer medium. They led to the development of a wide range of mechanical equipment.

Cranes, conveyors etc which had substantially improved loading and discharging rates respectively especially of homogenous (usually bulk) cargo.

General cargo handling however, has not benefited “to such a great extent from such development. In the liner trades, the principal impediment to high handling rates has always been the large variety of packages used for general cargo, so that significant improvement has only become possible by reducing the number of different forms in which goods are presented for shipment. Thus it is only with the adoption of unitization that general cargo carriers have achieved high transfer rates and been able to take advantage of handling techniques similar to those which have been developed for homogenous cargo.

Port operations and cargo security Port operations includes all activities for ensuring the movement of cargo from the arrival of the vessel at the port, discharging

of the goods, internal mobility and to the eventual movement of same cargo out of the port by a known mode of transport to its destination. Over the years, the unfolding trends and relevance of shipping activities worldwide have been seen as vital trade enable operational facilitation to a developing nation’s economic prosperity and growth. It is pertinent to note that shipping is the pivot of development and growth in any economy, developed or developing. This is because a buoyant seaborne trade is often a reflection of a buoyant economy. Despite the tremendous contribution of maritime transport, which could be seen as the major channel for sustainable movement of people and growth of socio economic developments, the sub sector cannot be described as healthy. However, the present level; of operational performance of the sector in the part of the globe can still be improved on, to achieve the necessary growth impetus. The fact that maritime transport is central to growth, development and civilization, the attendant transformation is not appreciated in Nigeria as it is in many advanced nations (Ndikom, 2006). Maritime transport is the potent ingredient for the socio-

economic and political development of any sector/nation.

The sophistication and complexity which characterizes maritime transport in the modern world are the result of very long and sustained efforts by policy makers and stakeholders in the sector to improve on one of the most fundamental because life involves active movement, trade and exchange activities which reflect various initiative that sustain society, hence competitive ports and maritime transport activities are inevitable part of life (Ndikom 2008).

The maritime industry is a highly technical, professional competitive, critical and complex industry, which is labour and capital intensive. Also cargo is a critical factors in the survival of the ports the system. The notion “No cargo, No port” is to support and emphasis the relevance of cargo to a port system. Terminal operations would not be possible without the movement of cargo through the port. Thus, it is important that there is a syndicated security plan for movement so that the port can be viable and competitive. In this time and age when port security plan and management are almost at zero level, in terms of performance appraisal, there is need to synthesize strategies for securing cargo so that importers and exporter can have confidence and hop in maritime activities.

All over the world, port terminal and cargo security is often a subject of controversy in terms of how loose or tight the security arrangements are in a given terminal. This is because coverage over some imported and exported cargo have not, at any time, justified the existence of some port terminals, especially those in Nigeria. In this part of the world, the port system is rather porous in terms of cargo safety and security. It is common knowledge that cargo no matter the form has not been secured by any known domestic conventional rule or regulation which the international maritime business, has been associated with. It is also known that terminal operations and cargo security management in Nigeria were some time ago subject to the whims and caprices of loose security operatives.

It is common knowledge that the issue of safety and security of our seaports all over the world are obvious and the height of the unseriousness to that was indeed seen in the terrorist attack on the U.S.A. This attack shook the world as everyone was surprised that such could happen in the

U.S. with all their sophisticated equipments. This attack ignited the desire and obvious need for some safety measure. The maritime community then opted for SOLAS- (Safety of Life At Sea) amendment act that eventually transformed the concept called ISPS code. It is an “IMO policy initiative that ignited as a result of the terrorist attack on US grounds and how it significantly connotes some specific measure to enhance the maritime security and safety process at both the port and ship.

Some of these measures include: (a) Government should; i.

Approve the recognized security organization required. ii.

Carry out port facility security plan (PFSA) and set security levels as appropriate etc. (b) Company should: i.

Appoint chief security officer ii.

Ensure all their ships have ship security officers and an approved ship security plan. iii.

Prepare declaration of security if appropriate etc. (c) Port facility should: i.

Appoint port facility security officer ii.

Achieve the statement of compliance of a port facility iii.

Prepare declaration of security document etc.

Importance of cargo handling Cargo handling operations is very important in ports. Examining its relationship to economic and socio activities (which are directed to production, distribution and exchange of wealthy cargoes, such as raw materials for building of factories, houses transportation, track, road construction and installation of plants, exploration and mining of materials etc) without effective and available cargo handling will only remain on the drawing board of such projects.

Also the transportation of world resources to meet human necessities in the forms of food, clothing, shelter, etc is dependent on cargo handling.

The fact is that the cargoes have to load for conveyance and unload at the required place of need using appropriate equipment and methods.

» Page N3

Daily Times Nigeria Thursday, May 7, 2015

The majority of ports in develop countries at present provides only conventional break-bulk facilities and occasionally has to handle unit loads.

Many ports have already been mechanized through the introduction of the pallets as dock tools or through the use of mechanical handling equipment such as tractors and trailer unit, mobile cranes, fork trucks or various design and capability etc. The necessity to handle large quantities of heavy units load does not yet rise but no infrequently the conventional ships calling at the port carry a limited of containers, flats or other types of unit load. Clearly, the port will have to cope with a steady increase in the amount too insignificant for consideration of specialized facilities to handle this particular portion of the general cargo trade.

The situation described above is extremely common in many developing ports and it is certainly true, instead of increasing productivity and throughput, this unit load especially containers actually decrease the productivity and cause severe disruption of the routine port operations. Most Nigerian ports fall in this category of developing ports mentioned above. For instance, the Lagos ports complex which happens to be the largest sea port in West African sub-region is operating the conventional berths it inherited since mid-tenth century except for the expansion and development of few specialized berths in the past decades. Majority of the cargo handling in the ports is done through manual ship derrick (quay).

G. de Monie (1975) recommended that in handling a mix of break-bulk cargo and small number of unit load, the ports basic infrastructure will have to be utilized in its present state. Thus the conventional general cargo remains the base for the operation, and attention of the traffic department should be concentrated on the mechanical handling equipment that will allow a speedy and cost effective flow of the unit loads through the berth system. The capital investment should be kept to a minimum and should be capable of easy maintenance by the port engineering services.

He also added that because the changing port environment affects the status of the dock workers, it is important to improve personnel policy if specialized unit load facilities are to become workable proposition. The management effort in this respect should concentrate on four major areas.

1. Training of specialized (drivers of mechanical equipment, mechanical and civil engineers, traffic controllers’ etc.).

2. Advanced planning of the la-

N3 NCS Journal

CMA-CGM breakbulk cargo

Impact of unitised cargo system on ports in developing countries bour and staff requirements with a regular revision of the require quote.

3. Gradual conversion of the status of the dock worker from a casual to permanent working force.

4. Development of a payment system based on time incorporating adequate social security provision.

Port handling facilities With the complexity of modern ports and the increasing cost of manual labour, mechanical aids have been developed. The main purpose of all such appliances is to speed the turn round time of ship theory reducing cargo handling cost and increasing port throughout. Many millions of foreign currency has been spent on floating quayside and mobile crane, mechanical and magnetic grabs, and pneumatic plants for handling cranes, conveyor belts, pumping equipment for bulk liquids and a host of smaller dockside equipment such as forklifts trucks, portable stacker, mobile conveyor belts shutting tractors and a variety of electric and petrol; driven run about frocks with or without trailers. Care must be taken to use these equipment to maximum advantages but its unloading capacity must be related

to the share reception facilities.

Clearly cargo must not be discharged at a rate faster than it can be cleared into land vehicles of the dock area. The width of quays, availability of roads, type of transit sheds and number of lines of railway track, must be considered in relationship to the speed of unloading, however owing to the great variety of general cargo, it is difficult or impossible to adopt any form of standardization which means that in planning for such mixed classed of traffic, there must be a compromise.

In the process of unloading therefore, available facilities are used to the greatest effect according to the merchandise being handled (R.W. Faulk, 1977).

Wolf Hard (1989) identified port problems in developing countries as under capacity, insufficient cargo handling and berthing facilities and expertise and the use of outdated infrastructural. In most developing countries, port suffers from inadequate berth capacity compared with the number of vessels that requires the berths. Most ports still use obsolete gearing and handling equipment that are inadequately maintained. More so, unreliable and inadequate statistical data collected by ports administration is an-

other problem militating against the efficient port planning and operation in developing countries.

The result of under capacity and others highlighted, subsequently leads to congestion of many ports in the world especially the developing countries.

Usually the type of cargo carried and the nature of packing used determines the type of handling equipment to be used.

Development in the shipping industry has resulted in machined methods of cargo handling. Bulk cargo such as grains, sugar, coal etc are subject to mechanical handling and if the equipment is properly utilized to cover capital charges and interests, then it will speed up the output in return. In the case of bulk cargos, handling facilities are always in the form of propelled conveyors or belt usually fed at the hand word end by a hoper (a large container on legs) or grabs which may be magnetic for one handling and fixed to a high capacity trucking crane. These gantries move not only parallel to the quay but also run back for considerable distance and conveying a large stacking area. Elevators are usually used for grains. These may either be bucket elevators or the suction types which suck the grain out of the ship hold R. E.

Thomas (1989).

Furthermore, the handling of liquid from tankers is done by means of pipeline connected to the shore tank while pumping equipment is provided by the tankers storage plants or refinery ashore. Due to the risk involved with this cargo, it is necessary to provide special berths some distance away from the main duck system on the Seward side. With general cargo, the tendency had always been towards containers and the system has firmly established that container cargoes are highly mechanized and has a lot of added advantage in cargo handling. However, some general cargoes are handled by cranes in the quay, floating cranes or by ships derricks. There is numerous cargo handling equipment which include the shiny which is used for wooden cases or bedded cargo.

When the cargo consists of heterogeneous collection of packages of different size weight and shapes; its loading and unloading is compared to the handling of bulk shipments, which usually present a very complex problem especially in the use of mechanized equipment. Cargo nets are suitable for mail bags and other similar cargo that is not liable to be crushed when hoisted. Heavy lifting beams are ideal for heavy and long articles such as locomotives boilers, or railway passenger coaches, while cargo trays and pallets are suitable for cargo of moderate dimensions which can be conveniently stacked such as cartons. Bags or crates (D. Badejo 1998).

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Daily Times Nigeria Thursday, May 7, 2015

Types of cargo handling equipment The type of cargo handling is based on the type of good and generally, the choice of equipment is governed by economic and safety considerations.

Cargo handling operations involves the use of some equipment for loading and discharging of the cargo from the vessel and unto the vessel. The equipment can be mechanical equipment and also manual. As such, some of the mechanical equipments involves: cranes (mobile, stationary floating), ship gear, forklifts, straddle, carrier, conveyor belts, hand trucks, wheel barrows, etc.

Some auxiliary appliances are usually used in making up cargo sets for lifting by ships gear, cranes or fork lift. These appliances are called cargo handling gears and they include: For efficient and effective cargo handling operation, some safety certificates are provided in ports such as the safety equipment certificate which covers the inspection of life boats, life rafts, jackets etc.

Another type of certificate is cargo gear certificate for the safety of stevedores working in the ports and ships and it ensures the maintenance of winches, derricks, cranes and risk of death or injury through falling objects.

Equipment maintenance High technological equipments, call for close monitoring for it is to perform well. Close monitoring demands that repairs and maintenance be made when necessary. When the appraisal of the maintenance requirements of equipments are not made before it is purchased, but becomes problematic. The maintenance capabilities of the port should match with the immense investments in modern port facilities.

A minor electrical fault on a sophisticated floating crane for instance is capable of paralyzing the port operations for some considerable length of time.

J. I. Merville (1985) recommend-

ed two types of maintenance system, needed for effective use of port facilities. They are: 1. Preventive maintenance that should be carried out periodically to ensure equipments operates well and is in good condition.

2. The corrective maintenance which should be carried out when equipment is actually faulty.

Objective for equipment maintenance Doubia Bakare (1985) in his lecture titled “maintenance of port Infrastructure and superstructure” at the third African Port Symposium Abidjan, Cote D’ivoire, highlighted the following objectives for equipments maintenance in ports.

These are stated as follows.

I. Port equipment involves heavy investment, and these impose the necessity to maintain and keep in good shape the devices to ensure that they last corresponding to the expected depreciation period.

II. Improving the reliability of equipment maintenance aims at increasing its reliability (thereby reducing incidence of breakdown). This leads to a reduction in handling cost by particularly reducing the idle times of ships and avoiding underutilization of clock workers. Its reliability also improves the reputation of port and port community.

III. Increase the security of gear operators and quay personnel’s.

IV. Improves the efficiency and output of equipment through permanent consultations between the operator and the organism responsible for maintenance.

V. The corrective maintenance which should be carried out when equipment is actually faulty.

The cost of maintenance of ports equipment is very high nowadays let alone the cost of personnel’s to maintain this equipments. This possess very big problem to port management.

Cargo handling equipment

Data Presentation & Analysis Table A: Cargo throughtout handled in metric tons in eastern and western ports of nigeria in pre and post concession

YEAR

LAGOS PORTS

EASTERN

TOTAL (MT)

(WESTERN) (MT)

PORTS (MT)

1999

15,751,331

6,481,605

22,232,936

2000

19,230,496

9,702,384

28,932,880

2001

24,668,791

11,271,901

35,940,692

2002

25,206,380

11,780,861

36,987,241

2003

27,839,293

11,926,652

39,765,945

2004

26,907,075

13,909,872

40,816,947

2005

29,254,761

15,697,312

44,952,073

2006

31,937,804

17,235,520

49,173,324

2007

33,722,488

20,918,560

54,641,048

2008

41,385,973

23,806,946

65,192,919

Source: Nigeria Ports Authority Headquarters; Lagos.

Summary The research analyzed cargo handling systems and equipment and the role in improving shipping economics particularly in Nigerian ports and maritime industry, it particularly made use of cargothroughput and revenue generation figures from all Nigeria ports and terminals comprising the eastern ad western ports. Summarily, average throughput handled by the port per annum over the period 1999-2008 was 41,863,601 MT (Forty-Million, Eight Hundred

and Sixty Three Thousand, Six Hundred and One) metric tons. In comparison to the pre-concession annual cargo throughput of the ports this figure indicates an improvement in cargo handling systems and equipments in Nigeria as well improved shipping economics of the Nigerian Ports Systems.

The geometrical analysis shows a continuous annual improvement in cargo handling capacity and capability of the ports being highest and best in the year 2008 as show in the graph. The revenue genera-

tion potential supports the above claims and show that shipping economics improves with improvement in cargo handling systems and equipments in Nigeria as well as improved shipping economics of the Nigeria ports systems. The geometrical analysis shows that a continuous annual improvement in cargo handling capacity and capability of the ports being highest and best in the years 2008 as shows in the graph. The revenue generation potential supports the above claims and shows that shipping economics improves with improvement in cargo handling systems and equipments.

Conclusion There exists a correlation between cargo handling systems and equipments in port and the productivity and economics of the ports industry. The more improved, modern, effective and efficient the cargo handling and transfer system and equipment, the greater the productivity of the ports/shipping industry and vice versa. For improved productivity and economics of the Nigeria/ shipping industry therefore, use of modern and effective cargo handling systems and equipments must be enhanced.

Professor Princewill Ugo. Owualah, Ph.D.(Professor of Transport Economics and Logistics)

Okon

Poster!

GIOVANI DOS SANTOS

raises Rio 2016 alarm

29

X2,3 Thursday, May 7, 2015

l a e R top Forbes richest clubs list

Federer eyes Madrid Open crown

28

31

Arsenal duo auction jerseys for sick Farren

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X2

Thursday, May 7, 2015

EXTRATIME

GIOVANI DOS SANTOS

RAMÍR

REZ

Thursday, May 7, 2015

EXTRATIME

Personal Information

Full name: Date of birth: Place of birth: Height: Playing position: Current team: Number: Youth career 2002–2006: Senior career 2006–2007: 2007–2008: 2008–2012: 2009: 2010: 2011: 2012–2013: 2013–Present: National team 2005: 2007: 2012: 2007–Present:

Giovani dos Santos Ramírez May 11, 1989 (age 25) Monterrey, Mexico 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in) Attacking midfielder Villarreal 9 Barcelona Barcelona B Barcelona Tottenham Hotspur Ipswich Town (loan) Galatasaray (loan) Racing Santander (loan) Mallorca Villarreal

Mexico U-17 Mexico U-20 Mexico U-23 Mexico

About Giovani

dos Santos

Giovani dos Santos Ramírez (born May 11, 1989), often simply referred to as Giovani, is a Mexican footballer who currently plays for Spanish club Villarreal CF. He plays mainly as an attacking midfielder, but can also play as a winger and forward.

Giovani began his football career at a young age, being recruited by Spanish club FC Barcelona and played for their B team until age 18.

He made his way up the ranks, eventually playing for the senior squad, making his debut in 2007. After playing one season, he was transferred to Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur in 2008 in search for more playing time. Though he would stay with the club until 2012, his time there was mostly spent away on loan, at Ipswich Town, Galatasaray, and Racing Santander, with varying degrees of success.

Tottenham eventually sold him to Mallorca in 2012.

After Mallorca’s relegation, he was sold to Villarreal in 2013.

Giovani was a member of the Mexican under-17 team that won the 2005 U-17 World Championship held in Peru. He made his debut for the senior national team in a 1–0 victory over Panama on September 9, 2007. He has represented Mexico at the 2010 and 2014 World Cups. He was also a member of the team that won the gold-medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Giovani is the son of former Brazilian footballer Zizinho, who played for the Mexican football clubs América and León in the late 1980s. His mother, Liliana Ramírez, is a Mexican national.

Giovani has two brothers and two half-brothers; the elder, Éder dos Santos, used to play for América in the Primera División de Mexico as a defensive midfielder before retiring, and his younger brother, Jonathan dos Santos currently plays for Villarreal CF in La Liga.

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Thursday, May 7, 2015

EXTRATIME

EXTRATIME

ARSENAL

Wenger clarifies transfer plans A

rsenal boss Arsene Wenger has sought to clarify recent reports suggesting that he’s set to do minimal transfer business this summer due to the club’s form this season.

The boss set the record straight whilst speaking.

Reports emerged last week carrying quotes from Wenger in which he appeared to state that Arsenal’s sensational form of late had “massively” affected his transfer plans for the summer.

“We are not in need of absolute change. We have a strong squad.

We have some strong young players

behind,” the boss was quoted as saying.

However, after their 3-1 win against Hull City, the boss was quick to clarify those comments, instead stating that he wants quality rather than quantity this summer.

“What I meant by that is that we do not need a number of players,” Wenger

Ramsey, Wilshere auction jerseys for Farren

W

Wenger

Keown predicts

hen the news broke that Derry City legend Mark Farren was battling cancer, Farren’s family have since been inundated with messages of support after they set up a fundraising campaign to help him get the treatment he needs to battle a Grade Four brain tumour.

And in aid of Farren’s cause, Arsenal duo Aaron Ramsey and Jack Wilshere have stepped up to the plate.

The midfield pair, who both

joined the Gunners in 2008, have agreed to not only sign two shirts for the campaign but also auction them off via Ebay.

Bidding for each jersey starts at 100 Euros with all proceeds going toward Farren’s care and treatment in the hope of restoring some normality to his life.

Farren, 33, underwent a third operation on his brain at the beginning of April and as a result his speech and mobility have been affected.

Arsenal duo Aaron Ramsey (left) and Jack Wilshere celebrate in style after a victorious outing.

‘exciting’ summer for Gunners

Hart

M

artin Keown is backing Arsene Wenger to strengthen his Arsenal side in the right areas this summer as the Frenchman bids to transform the Gunners into title contenders.

The north London side kept up their recent fine run of form with a 3-1 victory over Hull City at the KC Stadium to move to within three points of secondplaced Manchester City with a game in hand.

A slow start to the Premier League season left Wenger’s men with an uphill task to catch Chelsea despite their recent run of nine wins out of their last 10 games.

The former Arsenal defender does not feel that the Gunners are in need of a radical overhaul this summer, but rather a small number of signings in key positions.

Keown wrote: “Arsenal have an excellent squad but there is room for improvement. In the last two years they have signed superstars from Real Madrid and Barcelona without having to worry about selling key players in the opposite direction.”

Keown

‘Arsenal almost signed Hart’

F

ormer Arsenal youth team player, Ben Smith, has revealed that Gunners almost signed England keeper, Joe Hart, from Shrewsbury.

Writing in his new book, ‘Journeyman: One Man’s Odyssey through the Lower Leagues of English Football’, Smith explains that he played with the current Man City keeper at Shrewsbury Town, where he was already attracting attention.

“Our reserve keeper, however, was a seventeen-year-old called Joe Hart. It was obvious from training that Joe was going to be a brilliant keeper and I can honestly say I am not surprised in the slightest that he has gone on to have the success he

has had.”

An injury gave Hart his chance in the first team and he kept his place.

Smith continues: “A few games into his career I saw a familiar face in the crowd: Steve Rowley – the man who initially signed me for Arsenal and was now their chief scout – was at a Shrewsbury game. It did not take a genius to work out who he was watching.

“Steve obviously asked my opinion on Joe and I gave him a glowing reference. Steve said Arsenal had earmarked him as one of the best three young keepers in Europe. I could not stress any clearer how good Joe was and how much potential, in my opinion, he had.”